OEDIPUS.
Doth any bystander among you know
The herd he speaks of, or by seeing him
Afield or in the city? answer straight!
The hour hath come to clear this business up.
CHORUS.
Methinks he means none other than the hind
Whom thou anon wert fain to see; but that
Our queen Jocasta best of all could tell.
OEDIPUS.
Madam, dost know the man we sent to fetch?
Is the same of whom the stranger speaks?
JOCASTA.
Who is the man? What matter? Let it be.
’Twere waste of thought to weigh such idle words.
OEDIPUS.
No, with such guiding clues I cannot fail
To bring to light the secret of my birth.
JOCASTA.
Oh, as thou carest for thy life, give o’er
This quest. Enough the anguish I endure.
OEDIPUS.
Be of good cheer; though I be proved the son
Of a bondwoman, aye, through three descents
Triply a slave, thy honor is unsmirched.
JOCASTA.
Yet humor me, I pray thee; do not this.
OEDIPUS.
I cannot; I must probe this matter home.
JOCASTA.
’Tis for thy sake I advise thee for the best.