Of being mine.
jocaste.
Alas!
œdipus.
Take, take this sword,
The instrument of my unhappy rage;
Receive, and use it for a noble purpose,
And plunge it in my breast.
jocaste.
What wouldst thou do!
O stop thy furious grief, be calm, and live.
œdipus.
Canst thou have pity on a wretch like me?
No, I must die.
jocaste.
Thou must not: hear Jocaste,
O hear her prayers!
œdipus.
I will not, must not hear thee.
I slew thy husband.
jocaste.
And thou gavest me one.
œdipus.
I did, but ’twas by guilt.
jocaste.
Involuntary.
œdipus.
No matter, still ’twas guilt.
jocaste.
O height of woe!
œdipus.
O fatal nuptials! once such envied bliss!
jocaste.
Such be it still, for still thou art my husband.
œdipus.
O no! I am not; this destructive hand
Hath broke the sacred tie, and deep involved
Thy kingdom in my ruin. O! avoid me,
Fear the vindictive God who still pursues
The wretched Œdipus; I fear myself,
My timid virtue serves but to confound me;
Perhaps my fate may reach even thee, Jocaste;
Pity thyself, pity the hapless victims
That perish daily for my guilt; O strike,
And save thy Œdipus from future crimes.
jocaste.
Do not accuse, do not condemn thyself;
Thou art unhappy, but thou art not guilty:
Thou didst not know whose blood thy hand had shed
In Daulis’ fatal conflict; when remembrance
Calls forth the melancholy deed, I must
Weep for myself, but should not punish thee.
Live therefore—
œdipus.
No; it is impossible:
Farewell, Jocaste! whither must I go,
O whither must I drag this hateful being?
What clime accursed, or what disastrous shore
Shall hide my crimes, and bury my despair?
Still must I wander on from clime to clime,
Or rise by murder to another throne?
Shall I to Corinth bend my way, where fate
Hath heavier crimes in store for Œdipus?
O Corinth! ne’er on thy detested borders—
SCENE IV.
œdipus, jocaste, dimas.
dimas.
My lord, this moment is arrived a stranger,
He says, from Corinth, and desires admittance.
œdipus.
I’ll go and meet him—fare thee well, Jocaste:
But stop thy tears; no more shalt thou behold
The wretched Œdipus; it is determined:
My reign is past; thou hast no husband now,
I am no more a sovereign, nor Jocaste’s.
Oppressed with ills I go, in search of climes,
Where far removed from thee and from my country,
I still may act as shall become a king,
Worthy of thee, and justify the tears
Thou sheddest for Œdipus: farewell! forever.
The End of the Fourth Act.
ACT V.
SCENE I.
œdipus, araspes, dimas, Attendants.
œdipus.
Weep not for me, my friends, nor thus regret
Your sovereign’s fate: I wish for banishment;
To me ’tis pleasure; for I know ’twill make
My people happy: you must lose your king,
But shall preserve his country. When I first
Came to the throne of Thebes, I served it well;
And, as I mounted, now I shall descend
In glory: honor shall attend my fall:
I leave my country, kingdom, children, all.
Then hear me now, hear my last parting words;
A king you must have; let him be my choice;
Take Philoctetes: he is generous, noble,
Virtuous, and brave; his father was a king,
And he the friend of Hercules; let him
Succeed me: I must hence.—Go, search out Phorbas;
Bid him not fear, but come this moment hither,
I must bequeath him something; he deserves it:
I’ll take my farewell as a monarch ought.
Go, bring the stranger to me—stay ye here.
SCENE II.
œdipus, araspes, icarus, Attendants.
œdipus.
Ha! is it thou, my much-loved Icarus!
The faithful guardian of my infant years,
Favorite and friend of Polybus, my father,
What brought thee hither?
icarus.
Polybus is dead.
œdipus.
Alas? my father!
icarus.
’Twas what we expected;
For he had filled the measure of his days,
And died in good old age; these eyes beheld it.
Where are ye now, mistaken oracles!