Oedipus at Colonus (1010-1036)

Therefore I now call on the goddesses here, I supplicate them, I beseech them with prayers, to bring me help and to fight on my behalf, that you may learn well what kind of men this city is guarded by.

The stranger is a good man, lord.

His fate has been accursed, but it is worthy of our aid.

Enough of words. The doers of the deed are in flight, while we, the sufferers, stand still.

What order, then, do you have for a powerless man?

Guide the way on the path to them while I escort you,

in order that if you are keeping the maidens whom we seek in these lands, you yourself may reveal them to me. But if your men are fleeing with the spoils in their grasp, we may spare our trouble; the chase is for others, from whom they will never escape out of this land to thank their gods.

Come, lead the way! And know that the captor has been captured; fate has seized you as you hunted. Gains unjustly got by guile are soon lost. And you will have no ally in your purpose; for I well know that it is not without accomplice or resource that you have come to such

outrage, from the daring mood which has inspired you here. There was someone you were trusting in when you did these deeds. This I must consider, and I must not make this city weaker than one man. Do you take my drift?

Or do these words seem as empty as the warnings given when you were laying your plans?

Say what you wish while you are here; I will not object. But at home I too will know how to act.