Before the altar here, yea, summon all
On whom depends the guidance of the flocks.
Old Man: Or chance or providence has kept thy fate825
In darkness hid. What long hath lain concealed,
I bid thee suffer to remain in doubt.
For often truth, when brought into the light,
Becomes the bane of him who seeks for her.
Oedipus: Can any ills be worse than those I fear?
Old Man: Oh, be thou sure the truth is big with fate,
Whose meaning must be sought with toil and pain.