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CH.
Thou art worthy of all compassion, Oedipus,
Thyself and these thy daughters. Now, moreover
Since thou proclaim’st thyself our country’s saviour
I would advise thee for the best.

OED.
Kind sir,
Be my good guide. I will do all thou biddest.

CH.
Propitiate then these holy powers, whose grove
Received thee when first treading this their ground.

OED.
What are the appointed forms? Advise me, sirs.

CH.
First see to it that from some perennial fount
Clean hands provide a pure drink-offering.

OED.
And when I have gotten this unpolluted draught?

CH.
You will find bowls, formed by a skilful hand,
Whose brims and handles you must duly wreathe.

OED.
With leaves or flocks of wool, or in what way?

CH.
With tender wool ta’en from a young ewe-lamb.

OED.
Well, and what follows to complete the rite?

CH.
Next, make libation toward the earliest dawn.

OED.
Mean’st thou from those same urns whereof thou speakest?

CH.
From those three vessels pour three several streams,
Filling the last to the brim.

OED.
With what contents
Must this be filled? Instruct me.

CH.
Not with wine,
But water and the treasure of the bee.

OED.
And when leaf-shadowed Earth has drunk of this,
What follows?

CH.
Thou shalt lay upon her then
From both thy hands a row of olive-twigs–
Counting thrice nine in all–and add this prayer–

OED.
That is the chief thing,–that I long to hear.

CH.
As we have named them Gentle, so may they
From gentle hearts accord their suppliant aid;–
Be this thy prayer, or whoso prays for thee,
Spoken not aloud, but so that none may hear;
And in departing, turn not. This being done,
I can stand by thee without dread. But else,
I needs must fear concerning thee.

OED.
My daughters,
Have ye both heard our friends who inhabit here?

ANT.
Yea, father; and we wait for thy command.

OED.
I cannot go. Two losses hinder me,
Two evils, want of strength and want of sight.
Let one of you go and perform this service.
One soul, methinks, in paying such a debt
May quit a million, if the heart be pure.
Haste, then, to do it. Only leave me not
Untended. For I cannot move alone
Nor without some one to support me and guide.

ISM.
I will be ministrant. But let me know
Where I must find the place of offering.

CH.
Beyond this grove. And, stranger maid, if aught
Seem wanting, there is one at hand to show it.

ISM.
Then to my task. Meantime, Antigone,
Watch by our sire. We must not make account
Of labour that supplies a parent’s need.

[Exit]

CH.
Thy long since slumbering woe I would not wake again,
But yet I long to learn.

OED.
What hidden lore?

CH.
The pain
That sprang against thy life with spirit-mastering force.

OED.
Ah, sirs, as ye are kind, re-open not that source
Of unavoided shame.

CH.
Friend, we would hear the tale
Told truly, whose wide voice doth hourly more prevail.