University of Virginia Library

ACT V.

SCENE I.

OEDIPUS, ARASPES, DIMAS, ATTENDANTS.
OEDIPUS.
Here let your anxious murmurs cease; restrain
Your drops of sorrow; know, this banishment
Which you compassionate for me hath charms.
My flight to your misfortunes will secure
A speedy remedy; you lose your sovereign,
But life and future days of bliss are yours.
The time is urgent, Thebes, and all her sons,
Wait the disposal of their fate from me.
When I obtain'd the throne, I saved the state;
And as I mounted, so I shall descend;
Glory will follow, and illume the shade
Of my adversity. Mid all my woes,
All my calamities, to give you safety
Hath always been my envied lot. I now,
My children, throne, and country, quit for you.
For the last time then to my words attend.
Since ye must have a king, consult my choice.
In Philoctetes, bravery, strength heroic,
And virtue meet; a monarch is his father;
Himself was friend to Hercules. Let me
Depart; and place upon his head the crown.
Go, and bring Phorbas hither: bid him, friends,
Appear with honest confidence before me.
'Tis fit, and justice prompts me to bestow
Some small memorial of my bounty on him;
'Tis fit at least, that as a sovereign ought,
I should resign my throne. Before me, likewise,
Bring the Corinthian stranger. You remain.

SCENE II.

OEDIPUS, ARASPES, ICARUS, ATTENDANTS.
OEDIPUS.
Hah! Is it thou, my Icarus! Sage friend,
And guardian of my childhood! High in love,
And just esteem with Polybus my father!
On what important errand dost thou visit
The Theban borders?

ICARUS.
Polybus is dead.

OEDIPUS.
What say'st thou? Hah! My father!

ICARUS.
'Tis a loss
Thou could'st not but expect. Worn out by age
He sunk to his dark tomb; he had fulfil'd
His sum of years; these eyes beheld his death.

OEDIPUS.

ICARUS.
Oh, immortal powers!
How can I dare to speak?

OEDIPUS.
Dost thou reserve
Evils behind, which I am yet to learn?

ICARUS.
Without a witness, grant me for a moment
Thy listening ear.

OEDIPUS.
Go ye; awhile retire.
[To the Attendants.
What means he to unfold!

ICARUS.
No more must Corinth
Thy thoughts engage; if seen within its walls,
Thy death is certain.

OEDIPUS.
To my own domain,
Say, who my entrance shall oppose?

ICARUS.
The sceptre
Of Polybus, another now inherits.

OEDIPUS.
Is then the number perfect! And this stroke
The last!—No; still, imperious Fate, persist!
Add to the weight! my firm sustaining soul
Thou shalt not overcome.—Hah! It is well—
I go to reign. Haste, Icarus, away,
To mix in mortal fight! I fly to meet,
To shew their king to my degenerate subjects.
Wielding, perhaps, amid the caitiff crew
So eager to rebel, the vengeful sword,
I may at least obtain a death of honour.
Dying in Thebes, a criminal expires:
But as a monarch ought, 'tis mine to die.
Who have conspired against me? Say, what stranger
Is seated on my throne?

ICARUS.
The son-in-law
Of Polybus, who placed with his own hands,
In the last hours of life, upon his brow
The royal diadem; while all the people
To their new master bent the willing knee.

OEDIPUS.
Can it be possible! My father likewise,
Hath he betray'd me! Join'd in this rebellion,
And chased me from the throne!

ICARUS.
He did thee justice;
For thou wert not his son.

OEDIPUS.
Hah! Icarus!

ICARUS.
With sad reluctance, and with trembling heart,
Shall I disclose this secret to thy ear;
Much will it shock thee: but necessity
At length demands that thou should'st be inform'd;
And all the realm of Corinth—

OEDIPUS.
Not his son!

ICARUS.
No: and the king himself with dying voice,
By deep remorse oppress'd, to all declared it.
Whilst I his secret counsellor and accomplice,
Fearing the new-raised king would punish me
With justice most severe, am hither come
Imploring thy protection.

OEDIPUS.
Not his son!
Great gods! Who then am I?

ICARUS.
Heaven, who consign'd
Thy infant weakness to my fostering care,
Conceal'd thy origin in deepest night.
I only know, that from thy birth condemn'd,
And on a barren mountain doom'd to perish,
Without my aid, the chearful beams of day
Would have been ravish'd from thy sight for ever.

OEDIPUS.
Thus were my woes coeval with my life.
I was my parent's horror from my cradle.
Where didst thou find me, outcast, and forlorn?

ICARUS.
On mount Cithæron.

OEDIPUS.
Near this place?

ICARUS.
A Theban,
Who call'd himself thy father, in those wild
And dreary haunts of solitude, exposed
Thy tender frame. By some benignant god
My steps were t'ward thee guided; in my breast
Compassion reign'd, I took thee in my arms,
Kindled anew thy warmth almost extinct,
Gave thee to live, and bore thee strait to Corinth.
There to the king presented, (with amaze
Thy destiny contemplate!) He instead
Of his departed child, adopted thee;
And by that fortunately-skilful stroke
Of policy, fix'd firm his doubtful power.
Acknowledged as his son, thou wert brought up
By the same hands which had before preserved thee.
But ne'er hadst thou a title to the throne;
Interest received thee, and remorse expell'd.

OEDIPUS.
Oh, ye, who o'er the fate of kings preside,
Gods! was it then decreed by you, so oft
In this dread day to sink me prone to earth!
And by your oracles, with treachery fraught,
Preparing each dire blow, that ye should thus
Exhaust your store of miracles against
One feeble helpless mortal!—But inform me,
Say, that old man who gave me to thy arms,
Hast thou ne'er since that fatal hour beheld him?

ICARUS.
Never; and Death, perhaps, hath snatch'd away
Him, who alone could have reveal'd to thee
Whence thou derivest thy birth. But to my mind
So oft his features have recurr'd, so strong
Bears it his image still impress'd, no doubt,
Could I behold him, I should know him well.

OEDIPUS.
Unhappy! Why this knowledge should I seek?
Much rather ought I to assist the gods,
And multiply the folds of that kind veil,
Whose darkness shades my sight. I view my fate.
These dire researches only would disclose
New scenes of horror. Conscious of the future,
Spite of the evils I foresee, desire,
Curious desire, hurries my soul along
Far from itself. I can no more remain
In this uncertainty; in my sad state,
Doubt is a torment piercingly severe.
I hate the torch whose light I wish to guide
My footsteps onward: dread to know myself;
Yet cannot bear to live in ignorance.

SCENE III.

OEDIPUS, ICARUS, PHORBAS.
OEDIPUS.
Phorbas, come hither.

ICARUS.
Wonderful event!
The more I gaze, the more—Hah! It is he,
'Tis he himself.

PHORBAS
to Icarus.
Forgive me, if unknown
Thy features.—

ICARUS.
Hast thou no remembrance then
Of mount Cithæron?

PHORBAS.
What of that?

ICARUS.
The child
Thou gavest me there.—The infant whom to death—

PHORBAS.
What say'st thou?—Hah! and what remembrance prompting,
Comest thou t'undo me?

ICARUS.
Reassume thy courage!
Fear nothing; banish every vain alarm.
This place affords no subject but for joy.
That child was OEdipus.

PHORBAS.
Heaven strike thee dead
With its pernicious light'nings! Wretch accurst!
What hast thou said?

ICARUS.
Doubt not, my Lord; whate'er
This Theban utters, he deliver'd thee
Into my arms; thy fate is now disclosed;
There stands thy father.

OEDIPUS.
Oh, fortune, which my labouring sense confounds!
Oh, aggregated misery!—If sprung
[To Phorbas.
From thee, Heaven surely ne'er would have permitted
That I should spill thy blood.

PHORBAS.
Thou'rt not my son.

OEDIPUS.
Hah! not thy son!—Ye gods!—And didst not thou
Expose me when an infant?

PHORBAS.
Oh, my Lord!
Quick let me fly thy presence; spare thyself
This horrid converse.

OEDIPUS.
Phorbas, in the name
Of all the powers above, reveal the whole,
Hide not a tittle from me.

PHORBAS.
Oh! away!
Far from thy children haste! far from the queen!

OEDIPUS.
Nay, to the point—Resistance is in vain.
The infant, which by thee was doomed to death,
[Pointing to Icarus.
Didst thou not to his arms deliver him?

PHORBAS.
I did, I did; and would, alas! that hour
Had been my last of life!

OEDIPUS.
Where was he born?

PHORBAS.
Thebes was his native place.

OEDIPUS.
And wert not thou
His father?

PHORBAS.
Oh, my bleeding heart! Alas!
He from a lineage more illustrious sprang,
And more unfortunate.

OEDIPUS.
Now answer me;
At once declare, who was he?

PHORBAS
, throwing himself at the feet of Œdipus.
Oh, my lord,
What would'st thou do?

OEDIPUS.
Answer my question fully;
Speak, for I will be satisfied.

PHORBAS.
His mother—
His mother was Jocasta.

ICARUS.
Heavenly powers!
Is this then the reward to pity due!
And is my generous kindess thus repaid!

OEDIPUS.
I saw this ruin o'er my head impend,
And fear'd its destin'd fall.

ICARUS.
My lord—

OEDIPUS.
Away,
Inhuman as ye are, and shun my sight!
Tremble, lest ye the recompence receive
For benefits so dreadful! Fly with speed
From the tumultuous horrors, kept in store
By you alone, to urge my soul to frenzy!
Fly, e'er the weight of my vindictive arm
Ye too severely feel, for having saved me.

SCENE IV.

OEDIPUS
alone.
Thus is the baneful oracle fulfill'd,
Whose unavoidable effect my fear
Hath hurried into birth. And I am stamp'd,
By accidents most frightfully combined,
With incest, and with parricide, though virtuous.
Unhappy virtue! sad and barren name!
By whose ideal dictates I have ruled
A life which I detest? The gloomy fate
Which reign'd at my nativity, thy force
Could not resist; I fell into the snare,
While struggling to avoid it. Dragg'd to crimes
By some all-potent deity, who sunk
Beneath my flying steps a gulph profound.
And in my blindness, spite of all my care,
All my endeavours, of an unknown power
I was the slave, and passive instrument.
These are my evil deeds! I know, alas!
Of none beside; remorseless, cruel gods!
These evil deeds are yours, yet on my head
Descends your punishment severe. Where am I!
What darkness covers with its horrid veil
The radiant beams of day! What blood defiles
Yon crimson'd walls! I see the furies stand!
Each shakes her blazing torch! Avengers stern
Of parricide! The lightnings flash around!
They burst upon me! Hell discloses wide
Its dreary realms! Oh, Laius! Oh, my father!
Is it thy form which I behold! I see,
I own the mortal wound which in thy side
Bears witness 'gainst this guilty hand. Strike home—
Revenge thyself on an abhorred monster;
A monster who hath not withheld pollution
And sacrilege from those who gave him birth!
Come onward! Drag me to the dark abodes!
I hasten to my punishment—to fill
The shades below with wonder and dismay—
Approach—I follow thee.

SCENE V.

ŒDIPUS, JOCASTA, EGINA, CHORUS.
JOCASTA.
Oh, Oedipus,
Speak comfort to my soul! thy lamentation,
With dreadful accents, hath assail'd my ears,
And new-born terrors rise; Oh, speak! dispel them!

OEDIPUS.
Earth, ope thy deep abyss, and swallow me!

JOCASTA.
What unforeseen misfortune now o'erwhelms thee?

OEDIPUS.
My crimes.

JOCASTA.
My lord!

OEDIPUS.
Away! begone, Jocasta!

JOCASTA.
Ah! cruel husband!

OEDIPUS.
Wretched as thou art!
No more! What word was that which pass'd thy lips?
Thy husband! banish from thy tongue for ever
The shocking name; a name which makes us both
Objects of detestation.

JOCASTA.
Hah! What say'st thou?

OEDIPUS.
It is wound up—The horror of our fate
At length is perfect—Laius was my father—
I am thy son.

[Exit.
FIRST PERSON OF THE CHORUS.
Oh, unimagined crime!

SECOND PERSON.
Oh, day tremendous! ever to be mark'd
First in the direful list!

JOCASTA.
Bear me away!
Snatch me, Egina, from this place of terrors?

EGINA.
Oh, bitterness of grief!

JOCASTA.
If ills like these
Have power t'affect thee; if unnerv'd by fear,
Thou still canst give thy succouring hand; assist!
Support! With pity view thy queen's distress!

FIRST PERSON OF THE CHORUS.
Gods! is it thus your hatred ends! Resume!
Resume your fatal benefits! for know,
Relentless powers, that we would rather choose
To feel for ever your inflicted vengeance!

SCENE VI.

JOCASTA, EGINA, HIGH PRIEST, CHORUS.
HIGH PRIEST.
Inhabitants of Thebes! A happy calm
Succeeds these tempests; a serener sun
Beams o'er your heads; the pestilential fires
No longer blaze; the yawning tombs are closed;
Death flies; and heaven and earth's almighty sire
Proclaims his goodness by the voice of thunder.

[Thunder and lightning.
JOCASTA.
Why dart these flashes round me! Heaven! where am I?
What do I hear?—Barbarians—

HIGH PRIEST.
It is done.
The gods are now appeased; Laius restrains
His enmity, nor from the realms of death
Stirs up revenge against thee; to possess
The throne, to live he suffers thee, the blood
Of Oedipus hath satisfied his wrath.

CHORUS.
Immortal powers!

JOCASTA.
Oh, my devoted son!
Alas! and can I, dare I say my husband!
Sad, dreadful union of these dearest names!
Is he then dead?

HIGH PRIEST.
He lives; but by that fate
Which still oppresses him, divided seems
Both from the dead and living; his own hands,
E'er he expires, have violated life.
I saw him thrust into his eyes the sword
Which with his father's blood was erst imbrued;
He hath fulfill'd his melancholy lot.
This destined hour gives the first sign to Thebes
Of health and safety; thus the gods decree;
Their anger rests in peace; they, at their will,
Justice or mercy deal to man below.
They have exhausted all their store of arrows
On thy unhappy son. Live thou, Jocasta—
Thee they forgive.

JOCASTA.
I punish then myself.
[Stabs herself.
O'er-rul'd by some dire power; foredoom'd to incest;
Death is my utmost wish, the only god
To be invoked by me. Laius, receive
My offered blood! Thy manes I pursue
To the dark regions of the dead; my life
Hath been to virtue sacred, and I die
Without a conscious fear.

CHORUS.
Oh, hapless queen!
Oh, destiny, which strikes my soul with horror!

JOCASTA.
Reserve your pity for my son alone,
For he still treads the paths of hated life.
Priests, and you, Thebans, who were once my subjects,
Honour my funeral pile; and let your minds
Bear witness ever, that oppressed by fate,
And in the midst of its encircling horrors,
I fix'd the stain of shame upon the gods,
Whose powerful impulse forced me on to crimes.