bed of herWho bore him: lead me to the dark abode,
That I may strike fresh terror to the hearts
Of guilty beings by my punishment:
Lead on, I’ll follow thee.
SCENE V.
œdipus, jocaste, ægina, chorus.
jocaste.
O Œdipus,
Dispel my fears, thy dreadful cries alarm me.
œdipus.
Open, thou earth, and swallow me!
jocaste.
Alas!
What sad misfortune moves thee thus?
œdipus.
My crimes.
jocaste.
My lord!—
œdipus.
Away, Jocaste.
jocaste.
Cruel husband!
œdipus.
O stop! what name is that? am I thy husband?
Do not say husband: we shall hate each other.
jocaste.
What sayest thou?
œdipus.
’Tis enough: I have fulfilled
My horrid fate: know, Laius was my father;
I am thy son.
leader of the chorus.
O guilt!
second person of the chorus.
O dreadful day!
jocaste.
Ægina, drag me from this horrid place!
ægina.
Alas!
jocaste.
If thou hast pity on Jocaste,
If without horror thou canst now approach me,
Assist me now, compassionate thy queen!
leader of the chorus.
Ye gods! and is it thus your vengeance ceases?
Take back your cruel gifts, ’twere better far
That we had suffered still.
SCENE VI.
jocaste, ægina, high priest, chorus.
high priest.
Attend, ye people,
And know, a milder sun now beams upon you:
At length the baleful pestilence is fled,
The graves once more are closed, and death hath left us;
The God of heaven and earth declares his goodness
In peals of thunder: hark!
[Thunder and lightning.
jocaste.
What dreadful flashes!
Where am I? heaven! what do I hear! Barbarians—
high priest.
’Tis done: the gods are satisfied: no more
Doth Laius from the tomb cry out for vengeance:
Jocaste, thou mayest live and reign; the blood
Of Œdipus sufficeth.
chorus.
Gracious heaven!
jocaste.
My son! and must I call him husband too!
Dear dreadful names! is he then dead?
high priest.
He lives,
But from the living and the dead cut off,
Deprived of light: I saw him plunge this sword,
Stained with his father’s blood, into his eyes:
This fatal moment has to Thebes restored
Her safety: such are the decrees of heaven:
Which, as it wills, decides the fate of mortals,
All-powerful to save or to destroy.
Its wrath is all exhausted on thy son,
And thou art pardoned.
jocaste.
Punish then thyself.
[Stabs herself.
Jocaste, thus reserved for horrid incest,
Death is the only good remaining for me:
Laius, receive my blood: I follow thee:
I have lived virtuous, and shall die with pleasure.
chorus.
Unhappy queen, and sad calamity!
jocaste.
Weep only for my son, who still survives.
Priests, and you Thebans, who were once my subjects,
Honor my ashes, and remember ever,
That midst the horrors which oppressed me, still
I could reproach the gods; for heaven alone
Was guilty of the crime, and not Jocaste.
The
