Epeisodion 4
Oedipus
Alas, alas! Why indeed, my wife, should one look to the
hearth of the Pythian seer, or to the birds that scream above our heads, who declared that I was doomed to slay my father? But he is dead, and lies beneath the earth, and here I am, not having put my hand to any spear—unless, perhaps, he died out of longing for me:
965
thus, indeed, I would be the cause of his death. But as the oracles stand, at least, Polybus has swept them with him to his rest in Hades. They are worth nothing.
970
Iocasta
Did I not long ago foretell this to you?
Oedipus
You did, but I was mislead by my fear.
Iocasta
Now no longer take any of those things to heart.
975
Oedipus
But surely I must fear my mother’s bed.
Iocasta
What should a mortal man fear, for whom the decrees of Fortune are supreme, and who has clear foresight of nothing? It is best to live at random, as one may.
But fear not that you will wed your mother. Many men before now have slept with their mothers in dreams. But he to whom these things are as though nothing bears his life most easily.
980
Oedipus
All these words of yours would have been well said,
were my mother not alive. But as it is, since she lives, I must necessarily fear, though you do speak well.
985
Iocasta
Your father’s death is a great sign for us to take cheer.
Oedipus
Great, I know. But my fear is of her who lives.
Messenger
And who is the woman about whom you fear?
Oedipus
Merope, old man, the consort of Polybus.
990
Messenger
And what is it in her that moves your fear?
Oedipus
A divine oracle of dread import, stranger.
Messenger
Proper, or improper, for another to know?
Oedipus
Proper, surely. Loxias once said that I was
doomed to marry my own mother, and to shed with my own hands my father’s blood. For which
reasons I long shirked my home in Corinth—with a happy outcome, to be sure, but
still it is sweet to see the face of one’s parents.
995
Messenger
Was it really for fear of this that you became an exile from that city?
Oedipus
And because I did not wish, old man, to be the murderer of my father.
1000
Messenger
Why have I not relieved you of this second fear, my lord, since I came to give you pleasure?
Oedipus
And indeed you will have worthy thanks from me.
Messenger
And indeed I came specially for this, that
I might profit from your returning home.
1005
Oedipus
But by no means will I ever go near my parents again.
Messenger
My son, it is crystal clear that you do not know what you are doing.
Oedipus
How so, old man? In the name of the gods, tell me.
Messenger
If on account of this you are fleeing from returning home.
1010
