OEDIPUS.
For all his benefits I would perform
The promise made when I received them first.
CHORUS.
(Ant. 2)
Hither haste, my son, arise,
Altar leave and sacrifice,
If haply to Poseidon now
In the far glade thou pay’st thy vow.
For our guest to thee would bring
And thy folk and offering,
Thy due guerdon. Haste, O King!
[Enter THESEUS]
THESEUS.
Wherefore again this general din? at once
My people call me and the stranger calls.
Is it a thunderbolt of Zeus or sleet
Of arrowy hail? a storm so fierce as this
Would warrant all surmises of mischance.
OEDIPUS.
Thou com’st much wished for, Prince, and sure some god
Hath bid good luck attend thee on thy way.
THESEUS.
What, son of Laius, hath chanced of new?
OEDIPUS.
My life hath turned the scale. I would do all
I promised thee and thine before I die.
THESEUS.
What sign assures thee that thine end is near?
OEDIPUS.
The gods themselves are heralds of my fate;
Of their appointed warnings nothing fails.
THESEUS.
How sayest thou they signify their will?
OEDIPUS.
This thunder, peal on peal, this lightning hurled
Flash upon flash, from the unconquered hand.