OEDIPUS.
But for thy prompting never had the seer
Ascribed to me the death of Laius.
CREON.
If so he thou knowest best; but I
Would put thee to the question in my turn.
OEDIPUS.
Question and prove me murderer if thou canst.
CREON.
Then let me ask thee, didst thou wed my sister?
OEDIPUS.
A fact so plain I cannot well deny.
CREON.
And as thy consort queen she shares the throne?
OEDIPUS.
I grant her freely all her heart desires.
CREON.
And with you twain I share the triple rule?
OEDIPUS.
Yea, and it is that proves thee a false friend.
CREON.
Not so, if thou wouldst reason with thyself,
As I with myself. First, I bid thee think,
Would any mortal choose a troubled reign
Of terrors rather than secure repose,
If the same power were given him? As for me,
I have no natural craving for the name
Of king, preferring to do kingly deeds,
And so thinks every sober-minded man.
Now all my needs are satisfied through thee,
And I have naught to fear; but were I king,
My acts would oft run counter to my will.
How could a title then have charms for me
Above the sweets of boundless influence?
I am not so infatuate as to grasp
The shadow when I hold the substance fast.
Now all men cry me Godspeed! wish me well,
And every suitor seeks to gain my ear,
If he would hope to win a grace from thee.
Why should I leave the better, choose the worse?
That were sheer madness, and I am not mad.
No such ambition ever tempted me,
Nor would I have a share in such intrigue.
And if thou doubt me, first to Delphi go,
There ascertain if my report was true
Of the god’s answer; next investigate
If with the seer I plotted or conspired,
And if it prove so, sentence me to death,
Not by thy voice alone, but mine and thine.
But O condemn me not, without appeal,
On bare suspicion. ’Tis not right to adjudge
Bad men at random good, or good men bad.
I would as lief a man should cast away
The thing he counts most precious, his own life,
As spurn a true friend. Thou wilt learn in time
The truth, for time alone reveals the just;
A villain is detected in a day.