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Creon
Scene II.
720cont3
Most honoured citizens,
I see you look with eyes of fear upon me,
Without a cause ; for know, I came not here
730
Intending aught of violence or ill
Against a city so renowned in Greece
As yours hath ever been ; I only came,
Commissioned by the State of Thebes, to fetch
This old man back, if by persuasion mild
735
I could induce him to return \ not sent
By one alone, but the united voice
Of a whole people, who assigned the task
To me because, by blood united to him,
I felt for his misfortunes as my own.
740
Come therefore, Qlldipus, attend me home ;
Thebes calls thee back, thy kingdom now demands thee —
By me she calls thee ; listen to thy friend,
For surely Creon were the worst of men.
745
If he could look on woes like thine unmoved
When I behold thee, in a foreign land
A wretched wanderer, forced to beg thy bread
From place to place, with this unhappy maid,
Whom little did I think to see exposed
750
To misery and shame, of nuptial rites
Hopeless, and thus bereft of every aid, —
Oh ! 'tis reproach and infamy to us
And to our race ; but 'tis already known,
And cannot be concealed. O CEdipus !
755
I here beseech thee, by our country's gods,
Return to Thebes ; bid thou a kind farewell —
For she deserves it — to this noble city,
But still remember thy own dearer country.
761
Beneath fair semblance mean but to betray,
Why wouldst thou tempt me thus? Why thus once more
K
fQO
Ensnare me in thy toils, and make me still
765
More wi-etched than I am ? Long time oppressed
By heaviest woes, I pined within my palace,
And longed for exile ; but you then refused
To let nie go, till, satiated with grief,
My soul at length was calm, and much I wished
770
To spend my few remaining years at home :
Then thou — for little did the kindred blood
Thou talkst of then avail — didst banish me ;
And now again thou com'st to make me wretched.
Because thou seest this kind benignant city
775
Embrace and cherish, thou wouldst drag me hence,
With sweetest words covering thy bitter mind,
Professing love to those who choose it not.
He who denies his charitable aid
780
To the poor beggar in his utmost need,
And if abundance comes, should offer that
Which is not wanted, little merits thanks.
Such is thy bounty now — in word alone,
And not in deed, the friend of Q^^dipus.
785
But I will tell them what thou art. Thou cam'st not
To take me hence, but leave me in the borders
Of Thebes, that so thy kingdom may escape
The impending ills which this avenging city
Shall pour upon it ; but 'twill come to pass
790
As I foretold : my evil genius still
Slmll haunt yon, and my sons no more of Thebes
Inherit than shall serve them for a grave.
Thy country's fate is better known to me
795
Than to thyself, for my instruction comes
From surer guides — from Phoebus and from Jove.
Thy artful speech shall little serve thy purpose,
'Twill only hurt thy cause : therefore begone !
800cont2
I'm not to be persuaded. Let me live
800
In quiet here, for, wretched as I am,
'Twill be some comfort to be far from thee.
Cbeon. Thinkst thou I heed thy words ? Who'll
805
suffer most
For this perverseness — thou, or I ?
Or with my friends.
Crbon. Poor wretch ! no time can cure
810
Thy follies ; thy old age is grown delirious.
Most honoured citizens,
I see you look with eyes of fear upon me,
Without a cause ; for know, I came not here
730
Intending aught of violence or ill
Against a city so renowned in Greece
As yours hath ever been ; I only came,
Commissioned by the State of Thebes, to fetch
This old man back, if by persuasion mild
735
I could induce him to return \ not sent
By one alone, but the united voice
Of a whole people, who assigned the task
To me because, by blood united to him,
I felt for his misfortunes as my own.
740
Come therefore, Qlldipus, attend me home ;
Thebes calls thee back, thy kingdom now demands thee —
By me she calls thee ; listen to thy friend,
For surely Creon were the worst of men.
745
If he could look on woes like thine unmoved
When I behold thee, in a foreign land
A wretched wanderer, forced to beg thy bread
From place to place, with this unhappy maid,
Whom little did I think to see exposed
750
To misery and shame, of nuptial rites
Hopeless, and thus bereft of every aid, —
Oh ! 'tis reproach and infamy to us
And to our race ; but 'tis already known,
And cannot be concealed. O CEdipus !
755
I here beseech thee, by our country's gods,
Return to Thebes ; bid thou a kind farewell —
For she deserves it — to this noble city,
But still remember thy own dearer country.
Beneath fair semblance mean but to betray,
Why wouldst thou tempt me thus? Why thus once more
K
fQO
Ensnare me in thy toils, and make me still
765
More wi-etched than I am ? Long time oppressed
By heaviest woes, I pined within my palace,
And longed for exile ; but you then refused
To let nie go, till, satiated with grief,
My soul at length was calm, and much I wished
770
To spend my few remaining years at home :
Then thou — for little did the kindred blood
Thou talkst of then avail — didst banish me ;
And now again thou com'st to make me wretched.
Because thou seest this kind benignant city
775
Embrace and cherish, thou wouldst drag me hence,
With sweetest words covering thy bitter mind,
Professing love to those who choose it not.
He who denies his charitable aid
780
To the poor beggar in his utmost need,
And if abundance comes, should offer that
Which is not wanted, little merits thanks.
Such is thy bounty now — in word alone,
And not in deed, the friend of Q^^dipus.
785
But I will tell them what thou art. Thou cam'st not
To take me hence, but leave me in the borders
Of Thebes, that so thy kingdom may escape
The impending ills which this avenging city
Shall pour upon it ; but 'twill come to pass
790
As I foretold : my evil genius still
Slmll haunt yon, and my sons no more of Thebes
Inherit than shall serve them for a grave.
Thy country's fate is better known to me
795
Than to thyself, for my instruction comes
From surer guides — from Phoebus and from Jove.
Thy artful speech shall little serve thy purpose,
'Twill only hurt thy cause : therefore begone !
I'm not to be persuaded. Let me live
800
In quiet here, for, wretched as I am,
'Twill be some comfort to be far from thee.
Cbeon. Thinkst thou I heed thy words ? Who'll
805
suffer most
For this perverseness — thou, or I ?
Or with my friends.
Crbon. Poor wretch ! no time can cure
810
Thy follies ; thy old age is grown delirious.
Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.