OED. The watchword of my doom.
ATH. Yet dare I not remove thee, till the town
Have heard my purpose and confirm the deed.
OED. By Heaven, I pray thee, stranger, scorn me not,
Poor wanderer that I am, but answer me.
ATH. Make clear thy drift. Thou’lt get no scorn from me.
OED. Then, pray thee, tell me how ye name the place
Where now I sit.
ATH. The region all around
Is sacred. For ’tis guarded and possessed
By dread Poseidon, and the Titan mind
That brought us fire—Prometheus. But that floor
Whereon thy feet are resting, hath been called
The brazen threshold of our land, the stay
Of glorious Athens, and the neighbouring fields
Are fain to honour for their patron-god
[page 263] Thee, O Colonos, first of Knights, whose name [Pointing to a statue [60-95]
They bear in brotherhood and own for theirs.
Such, friend, believe me, is this place, not praised
In story, but of many a heart beloved.
OED. Then is the land inhabited of men?
ATH. By men, who name them from Colonos there.
OED. Have they a lord, or sways the people’s voice?
ATH. Lord Theseus, child of Aegeus, our late king.