Seneca: FABULAE

Oedipvs Iam nocte Titan dubius expulsa redit
et nube maestum squalida exoritur iubar,
lumenque flamma triste luctifica gerens
prospiciet auida peste solatas domos,
stragemque quam nox fecit ostendet dies. 5
Quisquamne regno gaudet? o fallax bonum,
quantum malorum fronte quam blanda tegis!
ut alta uentos semper excipiunt iuga
rupemque saxis uasta dirimentem freta
quamuis quieti uerberat fluctus maris, 10
imperia sic excelsa Fortunae obiacent.

Oedipus Now, with night expelled, the wavering Titan returns
and from a squalid cloud a mournful radiance rises,
and his light, bearing a sad, grief‑bringing flame,
will look out upon homes left solitary by the ravenous plague,
and day will display the carnage which night has made. 5
Does anyone rejoice in kingship? O deceitful good,
how many evils you cover with a face so bland!
as high ridges ever catch the winds
and a crag that with rocks sunders the vast straits
is beaten by the wave of the sea, though in calm, 10
so lofty empires lie exposed to Fortune.

Quam bene parentis sceptra Polybi fugeram!
curis solutus exul, intrepidus uagans
(caelum deosque testor) in regnum incidi;
infanda timeo: ne mea genitor manu 15

How well I had fled the scepters of my parent Polybus!
freed from cares, an exile, intrepid, wandering
(I call heaven and the gods to witness) I fell into a kingdom;
I fear unspeakable things: lest my father by my hand 15

perimatur; hoc me Delphicae laurus monent,
aliudque nobis maius indicunt scelus.
est maius aliquod patre mactato nefas?
pro misera pietas (eloqui fatum pudet),
thalamos parentis Phoebus et diros toros 20
gnato minatur impia incestos face.

let him be slain; the Delphic laurels warn me of this,
and they enjoin upon us another, greater crime.
is there any greater abomination than a father sacrificed?
O wretched piety (I am ashamed to utter the fate),
Phoebus threatens to the son the bridal chambers of his parent and dread couches, 20
impiously, with an incestuous torch.

hic me paternis expulit regnis timor,
hoc ego penates profugus excessi meos:
parum ipse fidens mihimet in tuto tua,
natura, posui iura. cum magna horreas, 25
quod posse fieri non putes metuas tamen:
cuncta expauesco meque non credo mihi.
Iam iam aliquid in nos fata moliri parant.

Here fear drove me from my father’s realms,
for this I, a fugitive, departed from my own household gods:
too little trusting in myself, I set, as my safeguard, your laws, Nature.
when you shudder at great things, 25
what you do not think can happen, yet fear it:
I shudder at everything and I do not trust myself.
Now now the Fates are preparing to set something in motion against us.

nam quid rear quod ista Cadmeae lues
infesta genti strage tam late edita 30

for what am I to suppose, that this Cadmean plague,
infesting the race, with slaughter so far and wide dealt out 30

mihi parcit uni? cui reseruamur malo?
inter ruinas urbis et semper nouis
deflenda lacrimis funera ac populi struem
incolumis asto—scilicet Phoebi reus.

does it spare me alone? to what evil are we reserved?
among the ruins of the city and funerals to be bewailed with ever-novel tears
and the mass of the populace,
i stand unscathed—of course, the accused of Phoebus.

sperare poteras sceleribus tantis dari                              35
regnum salubre? fecimus caelum nocens.
      Non aura gelido lenis afflatu fouet
anhela flammis corda, non Zephyri leues
spirant, sed ignes auget aestiferi canis
Titan, leonis terga Nemeaei premens.                              40
deseruit amnes umor atque herbas color
aretque Dirce, tenuis Ismenos fluit
et tinguit inopi nuda uix unda uada.

you could hope that, for such great crimes, there be granted                              35
a healthful kingdom? we have made the sky noxious.
      Not does an aura with gelid, gentle breath soothe
hearts panting with flames, not do the light Zephyrs
breathe, but the Titan augments the fires of the heat-bearing Dog,
pressing upon the flanks of the Nemean lion.                              40
moisture has deserted the rivers and color the grasses,
and Dirce is parched, Ismenus flows thin,
and a bare wave with meager water scarcely tinges the shallows.

obscura caelo labitur Phoebi soror,
tristisque mundus nubilo pallet nouo. 45

Phoebus’s sister glides dark through the sky,
and the world, sad, grows pallid with a new cloud. 45

nullum serenis noctibus sidus micat,
sed grauis et ater incubat terris uapor:
obtexit arces caelitum ac summas domos
inferna facies. denegat fructum Ceres
adulta, et altis flaua cum spicis tremat, 50
arente culmo sterilis emoritur seges.
Nec ulla pars immunis exitio uacat,
sed omnis aetas pariter et sexus ruit,
iuuenesque senibus iungit et gnatis patres
funesta pestis, una fax thalamos cremat, 55
fletuque acerbo funera et questu carent.

no star sparkles on serene nights,
but a heavy and black vapor broods upon the lands:
a hellish aspect has covered the citadels of the gods and the highest homes.
ripened Ceres denies the fruit, and though golden with tall spikes she trembles, 50
with the stalk parched the sterile crop dies.
Nor does any part, immune, stand free from destruction,
but every age alike and both sexes collapse,
and the deadly pestilence yokes youths to old men and fathers to sons,
a single torch burns bridal chambers, 55
and funerals lack bitter weeping and lament.

quin ipsa tanti peruicax clades mali
siccauit oculos, quodque in extremis solet,
periere lacrimae. portat hunc aeger parens
supremum ad ignem, mater hunc amens gerit 60

indeed the very stubborn calamity of so great an evil
has dried the eyes, and, as is wont at the last,
the tears have perished. an ailing parent carries this one
to the final fire, a distraught mother bears this one 60

properatque ut alium repetat in eundem rogum.
quin luctu in ipso luctus exoritur nouus,
suaeque circa funus exequiae cadunt.
tum propria flammis corpora alienis cremant;
diripitur ignis: nullus est miseris pudor. 65
non ossa tumuli lecta discreti tegunt:
arsisse satis est—pars quota in cineres abit?

and she hastens to fetch another again to the same pyre.
nay rather, in the grief itself a new grief arises,
and around the funeral their own obsequies fall.
then they burn their own bodies with others’ flames;
the fire is seized: there is no shame for the wretched. 65
the gathered bones are not covered by a separate mound:
it suffices that they have burned—what fraction goes into ashes?

dest terra tumulis, iam rogos siluae negant.
non uota, non ars ulla correptos leuat:
cadunt medentes, morbus auxilium trahit.                              70
      Adfusus aris supplices tendo manus
matura poscens fata, praecurram ut prior
patriam ruentem neue post omnis cadam
fiamque regni funus extremum mei.
o saeua nimium numina, o fatum graue!                              75

the earth fails for tumuli; now the woods deny pyres.
not vows, not any art relieves the stricken:
the physicians fall; the disease drags help down.                              70
      Prostrate at the altars I stretch out suppliant hands
asking for a timely fate, that I may run before as the first,
my fatherland collapsing, and not fall after all,
and become the last funeral of my own realm.
O too savage numina, O grievous fate!                              75

negatur uni nempe in hoc populo mihi
mors tam parata? sperne letali manu
contacta regna, linque lacrimas, funera,
tabifica caeli uitia quae tecum inuehis
infaustus hospes, profuge iamdudum ocius— 80
uel ad parentes. Iocasta Quid iuuat, coniunx, mala
grauare questu?

Is death, then, denied as so ready to me alone in this people? Spurn the realms touched by a lethal hand, leave behind tears, funerals, the wasting taints of the sky which you carry in with you, inauspicious guest—flee at once, more swiftly—even to your parents. Jocasta What does it avail, husband, to aggravate our ills with lament?

regium hoc ipsum reor:
aduersa capere, quoque sit dubius magis
status et cadentis imperi moles labet,
hoc stare certo pressius fortem gradu: 85
haud est uirile terga Fortunae dare.
Oe. Abest pauoris crimen ac probrum procul,
uirtusque nostra nescit ignauos metus:
si tela contra stricta, si uis horrida
Mauortis in me rueret—aduersus feros 90

I deem this very thing regal:
to take on adversities; and the more the state is doubtful
and the mass of a falling empire totters,
in this to stand the more firmly with a sure, brave step: 85
it is not virile to give one’s back to Fortune.
Oe. The charge of fear is absent, and disgrace is far away,
and our virtue knows not cowardly fears:
if weapons were drawn against me, if the dreadful force
of Mavors (Mars) were to rush upon me—against the fierce 90

audax Gigantas obuias ferrem manus.
nec Sphinga caecis uerba nectentem modis
fugi: cruentos uatis infandae tuli
rictus et albens ossibus sparsis solum;
cumque e superna rupe iam praedae imminens                              95
aptaret alas uerbera et caudae mouens
saeui leonis more conciperet minas,
carmen poposci: sonuit horrendum insuper,
crepuere malae, saxaque impatiens morae
reuulsit unguis uiscera expectans mea;                              100
nodosa sortis uerba et implexos dolos
ac triste carmen alitis solui ferae.
      Quid sera mortis uota nunc demens facis?

audacious, I would bring my hands to bear against Giants encountered.
nor did I flee the Sphinx weaving words in blind modes:
I endured the bloody jaws of the unspeakable prophetess,
and the ground whitening with scattered bones;
and when, from the upper crag, now hanging imminent over prey,                              95
she adjusted her wings for lashes and, moving her tail
after the manner of a savage lion, conceived menaces,
I demanded a song: she sounded horrendously from above,
her jaws creaked, and her talon, impatient of delay,
wrenched at the rocks, awaiting my viscera;                               100
the knotted words of fate and the entangled wiles
and the grim chant of the winged beast I loosed.
      Why, demented, do you now make belated vows for death?

licuit perire. laudis hoc pretium tibi
sceptrum et peremptae Sphingis haec merces datur. 105

It was permitted to perish. This is the price of glory for you:
a scepter, and this recompense of the slain Sphinx is given. 105

ille, ille dirus callidi monstri cinis
in nos rebellat, illa nunc Thebas lues
perempta perdit. Vna iam superest salus,
si quam salutis Phoebus ostendat uiam.
      Chorvs Occidis, Cadmi generosa proles,                              110
urbe cum tota; uiduas colonis
respicis terras, miseranda Thebe.
carpitur leto tuus ille, Bacche,
miles, extremos comes usque ad Indos,
ausus Eois equitare campis                              115
figere et mundo tua signa primo:
cinnami siluis Arabas beatos
uidit et uersas equitis sagittas,
terga fallacis metuenda Parthi;
litus intrauit pelagi rubentis:                              120

that, that dread ash of the crafty monster
rebels against us; that pestilence, though slain,
now ruins Thebes. One sole safety now remains,
if Phoebus should show any road of salvation.
      Chorus You perish, noble offspring of Cadmus,                              110
with the whole city; you look upon lands
widowed of their settlers, pitiable Thebes.
That soldier of yours, Bacchus, is plucked away by death,
your companion even to the farthest Indians,
who dared to ride on Eoan fields                              115
and to fix your standards on the world’s first verge:
he saw the Arabs blessed with cinnamon forests
and the reversed arrows of the horseman,
the fearsome backs of the treacherous Parthian;
he entered the shore of the reddening sea.                              120

promit hinc ortus aperitque lucem
Phoebus et flamma propiore nudos
      inficit Indos.
Stirpis inuictae genus interimus,
labimur saeuo rapiente fato;                              125
ducitur semper noua pompa Morti:
longus ad manes properatur ordo
agminis maesti, seriesque tristis
haeret et turbae tumulos petenti
non satis septem patuere portae.                              130
stat grauis strages premiturque iuncto
      funere funus.
Prima uis tardas tetigit bidentes:
laniger pingues male carpsit herbas;
colla tacturus steterat sacerdos:                              135

From here Phoebus brings forth the risings and opens the light,
and with a nearer flame he suffuses the naked Indians.
      We, the race of an unconquered stock, are perishing,
we slip down as savage, snatching fate seizes us;                              125
a new pomp is ever led to Death:
a long line is hurried to the Manes
of the mournful column, and a sad series
clings, and for the crowd seeking tombs
the seven gates have not stood open enough.                              130
A heavy carnage stands, and funeral is pressed by joined
      funeral upon funeral.
The first force touched the sluggish sacrificial sheep:
the wool-bearer poorly cropped the rich grasses;
the priest, about to touch the necks, had taken his stand.                              135

dum manus certum parat alta uulnus,
aureo taurus rutilante cornu
labitur segnis; patuit sub ictu
ponderis uasti resoluta ceruix:
nec cruor, ferrum maculauit atra                              140
turpis e plaga sanies profusa.
segnior cursu sonipes in ipso
concidit gyro dominumque prono
      prodidit armo.
Incubant agris pecudes relictae;                              145
taurus armento pereunte marcet:
deficit pastor grege deminuto
tabidos inter moriens iuuencos.
non lupos cerui metuunt rapaces,
cessat irati fremitus leonis,                              150

while the hand prepares a sure deep wound,
the bull, with golden, rutilant horn,
slips sluggish; beneath the blow lay open
the neck, loosened by the vast weight:
nor did gore maculate the steel; foul black sanies, poured forth from the wound.                              140
the steed, slower in course, in the very
ring collapses, and with a prone
      shoulder betrayed his master.
The abandoned flocks lie upon the fields;                              145
the bull withers as the herd perishes:
the shepherd fails with the flock diminished,
dying among tabid young bullocks.
stags do not fear the rapacious wolves,
the roar of the angry lion ceases,                              150

nulla uillosis feritas in ursis;
perdidit pestem latebrosa serpens:
aret et sicco moritur ueneno.
      Non silua sua decorata coma
fundit opacis montibus umbras,                              155
non rura uirent ubere glebae,
non plena suo uitis Iaccho
      bracchia curuat:
omnia nostrum sensere malum.
Rupere Erebi claustra profundi                              160
turba sororum face Tartarea
Phlegethonque sua motam ripa
miscuit undis Styga Sidoniis.
Mors atra auidos oris hiatus
pandit et omnis explicat alas;                              165

no ferocity in shaggy bears;
the lair-haunting serpent has lost its pestilence:
it parches and dies with its venom dried.
      Not does the forest, adorned with its own tresses,
pour shadows upon the shady mountains,                              155
nor do the fields grow green with the richness of the clod,
nor does the vine, full of its own Iacchus,
      bend its arms:
all things have felt our evil.
They have burst the bars of deep Erebus—
a throng of sisters with Tartarean torch—
and Phlegethon, its bank upheaved,
has mixed the Styx with Sidonian waves.
Black Death opens the greedy gapes of her mouth
and unfolds all her wings;                              165

quique capaci turbida cumba
      flumina seruat
durus senio nauita crudo,
uix assiduo bracchia conto
      lassata refert,
fessus turbam uectare nouam.                              170
Quin Taenarii uincula ferri
rupisse canem fama et nostris
errare locis, mugisse solum,
uaga per lucos * * *
simulacra uirum maiora uiris,                              175
bis Cadmeum niue discussa
      tremuisse nemus,
bis turbatam sanguine Dircen,
nocte silenti * * *
Amphionios ululasse canes.
      O dira noui facies leti                              180

and he who with a capacious skiff
      guards the turbid rivers,
the sailor toughened by raw old age,
hardly with his incessant pole his arms
      wearied brings back,
tired of ferrying a new throng.                              170
Nay, report has it that the dog has broken
the Taenarian bonds of iron and wanders
in our regions, that the soil has bellowed,
wandering through the groves * * *
phantoms of men, larger than men,                              175
twice the Cadmean grove,
      the snow shaken off, has trembled,
twice Dirce disturbed with blood,
in the silent night * * *
the Amphionian hounds have howled.
      O dire visage of new death                              180

      grauior leto:
piger ignauos alligat artus
languor, et aegro rubor in uultu,
maculaeque cutem sparsere leues.
tum uapor ipsam corporis arcem                              185
      flammeus urit
multoque genas sanguine tendit,
oculique rigent, resonant aures                              187a,188b
stillatque niger naris aduncae                              189
cruor et uenas rumpit hiantes;
intima creber uiscera quassat
      gemitus stridens                              192a
et sacer ignis pascitur artus.                              187b,188a
Iamque amplexu frigida presso                              192b,193a
      saxa fatigant;                              193b
quos liberior domus elato                              193c
custode sinit, petitis fontes                              195

      more grievous than death:
a slothful languor binds the lifeless limbs,
languor, and a flush on the sick man’s face,
and slight stains have spattered the skin.
then a fiery vapor burns the very citadel of the body                              185
      and with much blood distends the cheeks,
and the eyes grow rigid, the ears resonate                              187a,188b
and black gore drips from the hooked nose                              189
and ruptures the gaping veins;
often it shakes the inmost viscera,
      a shrilling groan,                              192a
and the sacred fire feeds upon the limbs.                              187b,188a
and now, cold with a pressed embrace,                              192b,193a
      they weary the rocks;                              193b
those whom a freer house, with the guard lifted,                              193c
permits, seek the sought-for springs.                              195

aliturque sitis latice ingesto.
Prostrata iacet turba per aras
oratque mori:
solum hoc faciles tribuere dei.
delubra petunt, haut ut uoto
numina placent, 200
sed iuuat ipsos satiare deos.

and thirst is nourished even with liquid poured in.
The crowd lies prostrate throughout the altars
and prays to die:
this alone the compliant gods have granted.
they seek the shrines, not that by a vow they may placate
the divinities, 200
but it delights them to satiate the gods themselves.

      Quisnam ille propero regiam gressu petit?
adestne clarus sanguine ac factis Creo
an aeger animus falsa pro ueris uidet?
adest petitus omnibus uotis Creo.                              205
      Oedipvs Horrore quatior, fata quo uergant timens,
trepidumque gemino pectus affectu labat:
ubi laeta duris mixta in ambiguo iacent,
incertus animus scire cum cupiat timet.

      Who is that who with hurried step seeks the palace?
Is Creon at hand, illustrious in blood and deeds,
or does my ailing spirit see false things for true?
Creon is at hand, sought by every prayer.                              205
      Oedipus I am shaken with horror, fearing whither the fates incline,
and my trembling heart wavers with a double emotion:
where joys mixed with hardships lie in uncertainty,
the mind, uncertain, even while it longs to know, is afraid.

Germane nostrae coniugis, fessis opem 210

Brother of our spouse, aid to the weary 210

si quam reportas, uoce properata edoce.
Creo Responsa dubia sorte perplexa iacent.
Oe. Dubiam salutem qui dat adflictis negat.

if you report anything, instruct with a hastened voice.
Creo The responses lie doubtful, perplexed by the lot.
Oe. He who gives doubtful salvation to the afflicted denies it.

Cr. Ambage flexa Delphico mos est deo
arcana tegere. Oe. Fare, sit dubium licet: 215
ambigua soli noscere Oedipodae datur.
Cr. Caedem expiari regiam exilio deus
et interemptum Laium ulcisci iubet:
non ante caelo lucidus curret dies
haustusque tutos aetheris puri dabit. 220
Oe. Et quis peremptor incluti regis fuit?

Cr. By twisted circumlocution it is the custom of the Delphic god
to veil the arcana. Oe. Speak, though it be doubtful: 215
to know ambiguous things is given to Oedipus alone.
Cr. The god bids that the royal murder be expiated by exile
and that Laius, slain, be avenged:
not before will the lucid day run through the sky
and grant safe draughts of pure aether. 220
Oe. And who was the slayer of the renowned king?

quem memoret ede Phoebus, ut poenas luat.
Cr. Sit, precor, dixisse tutum uisu et auditu horrida;
torpor insedit per artus, frigidus sanguis coit.
ut sacrata templa Phoebi supplici intraui pede 225

declare whom Phoebus names, that he may pay penalties.
Cr. May it be safe, I pray, to have spoken—horrid to sight and to hearing;
torpor has settled through my limbs, my cold blood curdles.
as I entered the consecrated temples of Phoebus with a suppliant foot 225

et pias numen precatus rite summisi manus,
gemina Parnasi niualis arx trucem fremitum dedit;
imminens Phoebea laurus tremuit et mouit domum
ac repente sancta fontis lympha Castalii stetit.
incipit Letoa uates spargere horrentes comas                              230
et pati commota Phoebum; contigit nondum specum,
emicat uasto fragore maior humano sonus:
'mitia Cadmeis remeabunt sidera Thebis,
si profugus Dircen Ismenida liquerit hospes
regis caede nocens, Phoebo iam notus et infans.                              235
nec tibi longa manent sceleratae gaudia caedis:
tecum bella geres, natis quoque bella relinques,
turpis maternos iterum reuolutus in ortus.'
Oe. Quod facere monitu caelitum iussus paro,
functi cineribus regis hoc decuit dari,                              240

and, having duly prayed the divinity with pious hands, I lowered my hands,
the twin snowy citadel of Parnassus gave a savage rumbling;
the Phoebean laurel overhanging trembled and set the house in motion,
and suddenly the holy water of the Castalian fount stood still.
the Letoan prophetess begins to scatter her bristling hair                              230
and, stirred, to endure Phoebus; she had not yet touched the cave,
when there flashes forth, with a vast crash, a sound greater than human:
“gentle stars will return to Cadmean Thebes,
if the fugitive guest, guilty through the king’s slaughter, shall leave Dirce, Ismenian,
already known to Phoebus even as an infant.                               235
nor do long joys of the wicked murder await you:
you will wage wars with yourself, you will also leave wars to your sons,
foully, rolled back again into maternal origins.”
Oe. What I am ordered by the monition of the celestials to do, I prepare;
to the ashes of the departed king it was fitting that this be granted,                              240

ne sancta quisquam sceptra uiolaret dolo.
regi tuenda maxime regum est salus:
quaerit peremptum nemo quem incolumem timet.
Cr. Curam perempti maior excussit timor.

lest anyone should violate the sacred scepters by deceit.
for a king, the thing most to be safeguarded is the safety of kings:
no one seeks the man once slain, whom he feared when he was unharmed.
Cr. A greater fear has shaken off concern for the slain.

Oe. Pium prohibuit ullus officium metus?                              245
Cr. Prohibent nefandi carminis tristes minae.
Oe. Nunc expietur numinum imperio scelus.
      Quisquis deorum regna placatus uides:
tu, tu penes quem iura praecipitis poli,
tuque, o sereni maximum mundi decus,                              250
bis sena cursu signa qui uario legis,
qui tarda celeri saecula euoluis rota,
sororque fratri semper occurrens tuo,
noctiuaga Phoebe, quique uentorum potens
aequor per altum caerulos currus agis,                              255

Oe. Has any fear forbidden a pious duty?                              245
Cr. The grim threats of an unspeakable chant forbid.
Oe. Now let the crime be expiated by the command of the divinities.
      Whoever of the gods, appeased, surveys the realms:
you, you in whose control are the laws of the headlong pole,
and you, O greatest adornment of the serene world,                              250
you who read the twice-six signs by your varied course,
who unroll the slow ages with your swift wheel,
and you, sister ever meeting your brother,
night-wandering Phoebe, and you who, powerful over the winds,
drive your cerulean chariots over the deep sea,                              255

et qui carentis luce disponis domos,
adeste: cuius Laius dextra occidit,
hunc non quieta tecta, non fidi lares,
non hospitalis exulem tellus ferat:
thalamis pudendis doleat et prole impia;                              260
hic et parentem dextera perimat sua,
faciatque (num quid grauius optari potest?)
quidquid ego fugi. Non erit ueniae locus:
per regna iuro quaeque nunc hospes gero
et quae reliqui perque penetrales deos,                              265
per te, pater Neptune, qui fluctu leui
utrimque nostro geminus alludis solo;
et ipse nostris uocibus testis ueni,
fatidica uatis ora Cirrhaeae mouens:
ita molle senium ducat et summum diem                              270

and you who order the homes bereft of light,
be present: by whose right hand Laius was slain,
let neither quiet roofs, nor faithful Lares,
nor a hospitable land bear this man as an exile:
let him sorrow with shameful marriage-beds and with impious progeny;                              260
let this man also by his own right hand destroy his parent,
and let him do (can anything more grievous be wished?)
whatever I fled. There shall be no place for pardon:
I swear by the realms which now I, a guest, traverse,
and those which I left, and by the gods of the inner hearth,                              265
by you, father Neptune, who with gentle wave
as a twin you play along our soil on either side;
and do you yourself come as witness to our voices,
moving the prophetic lips of the Cirrhaean seeress:
so may he lead a soft old age and his final day                              270

securus alto reddat in solio parens
solasque Merope nouerit Polybi faces,
ut nulla sontem gratia eripiet mihi.
      Sed quo nefandum facinus admissum loco est,
memorate: aperto Marte an insidiis iacet?                              275
Cr. Frondifera sanctae nemora Castaliae petens
calcauit artis obsitum dumis iter,
trigemina qua se spargit in campos uia.
secat una gratum Phocidos Baccho solum,
unde altus arua deserit, caelum petens,                              280
clementer acto colle Parnasos biceps;
at una bimaris Sisyphi terras adit
Olenia in arua; tertius trames caua
conualle serpens tangit errantes aquas
gelidumque dirimit amnis Olmii uadum:                              285

secure may the father render his last day on the high throne,
and may Merope know only the wedding torches of Polybus,
so that no favor will snatch the guilty one from me.
      But in what place was the nefarious deed committed,
relate: does he lie by open warfare or by ambush?                              275
Cr. Seeking the leafy groves of holy Castalia
he trod a narrow path overgrown with brambles,
where the triple road scatters itself into the plains.
one cuts through the soil of Phocis pleasing to Bacchus,
from where the lofty two-crested Parnassus, seeking the sky, leaves the fields,                              280
the hill gently rising; but one goes to the lands of two-sea’d Sisyphus
into the Olenian fields; the third bypath, winding through a hollow
valley, touches wandering waters
and a stream divides the chilly ford of the Olmius.                              285

hic pace fretum subita praedonum manus
aggressa ferro facinus occultum tulit.
      In tempore ipso sorte Phoebea excitus
Tiresia tremulo tardus accelerat genu
comesque Manto luce uiduatum trahens.                              290
Oe. Sacrate diuis, proximum Phoebo caput,
responsa solue; fare, quem poenae petant.
      Tiresia Quod tarda fatu est lingua, quod quaerit moras
haut te quidem, magnanime, mirari addecet:
uisu carenti magna pars ueri patet.                              295
sed quo uocat me patria, quo Phoebus, sequar:
fata eruantur; si foret uiridis mihi
calidusque sanguis, pectore exciperem deum.

here, trusting in peace, a sudden band of pirates,
having attacked with the sword, carried out a hidden crime.
      At that very moment, stirred by a Phoebean lot,
Tiresias hastens, slow, with a trembling knee,
and his companion Manto, dragging him bereft of light.                              290
Oe. Hallowed to the gods, head nearest to Phoebus,
loose the responses; speak whom the punishments seek.
      Tiresia That my tongue is slow for speech, that it seeks delays,
this indeed it is not fitting for you, magnanimous one, to marvel at:
to one lacking sight a great part of the truth is evident.                              295
but where my fatherland calls me, where Phoebus, I will follow:
let the fates be unearthed; if I had youthful and warm blood,
I would receive the god in my breast.

Appellite aris candidum tergo bouem
curuoque numquam colla depressam iugo. 300

Bring to the altars a bull white on the back,
and whose neck has never been pressed down to a curved yoke. 300

Tu lucis inopem, gnata, genitorem regens
manifesta sacri signa fatidici refer.
Manto Opima sanctas uictima ante aras stetit.
Ti. In uota superos uoce sollemni uoca
arasque dono turis Eoi extrue. 305
Ma. Iam tura sacris caelitum ingessi focis.

You, daughter, guiding your light-lacking begetter,
report the manifest signs of the prophetic rite.
Manto The rich victim stood before the sacred altars.
Ti. Call upon the gods above to the vows with a solemn voice,
and build up the altars with a gift of Eoan incense. 305
Ma. Already I have brought incense into the sacred hearths of the celestials.

Ti. Quid flamma? largas iamne comprendit dapes?
Ma. Subito refulsit lumine et subito occidit.

Ti. What of the flame? Has it now caught the lavish banquets?
Ma. It suddenly flashed with light, and suddenly it went out.

Ti. Vtrumne clarus ignis et nitidus stetit
rectusque purum uerticem caelo tulit 310
et summam in auras fusus explicuit comam?
an latera circa serpit incertus uiae
et fluctuante turbidus fumo labat?
Ma. Non una facies mobilis flammae fuit:
imbrifera qualis implicat uarios sibi 315

Ti. Whether did the fire stand bright and shining,
and upright lift its pure vertex to the sky 310
and, spread into the airs, unfold its topmost hair?
or does it creep around the sides, uncertain of its way,
and, turbid with wavering smoke, totter?
Ma. Not one was the aspect of the shifting flame:
such as a rain-bringing cloud entwines various forms to itself 315

Iris colores, parte quae magna poli
curuata picto nuntiat nimbos sinu
(quis desit illi quiue sit dubites color),
caerulea fuluis mixta oberrauit notis,
sanguinea rursus; ultima in tenebras abit. 320
sed ecce pugnax ignis in partes duas
discedit et se scindit unius sacri
discors fauilla—genitor, horresco intuens:
libata Bacchi dona permutat cruor
ambitque densus regium fumus caput 325
ipsosque circa spissior uultus sedet
et nube densa sordidam lucem abdidit.
quid sit, parens, effare. Ti. Quid fari queam
inter tumultus mentis attonitae uagus?

Iris’s colors, which, curved with a painted fold in a great part of the sky,
announces rain-clouds (you would doubt what color is lacking to it or which it is),
cerulean mingled with fulvous marks, then again sanguine; at last it passes into darkness. 320
but look—pugnacious fire divides into two parts
and splits itself, the discordant cinder of a single sacrifice—
father, I shudder as I gaze: blood exchanges the libated gifts of Bacchus,
and thick smoke encircles the royal head, 325
and thicker it settles around the very faces,
and with a dense cloud it has hidden the murky light.
tell what it is, father. Ti. What could I say
a wanderer amid the tumults of a thunderstruck mind?

quidnam loquar? sunt dira, sed in alto mala; 330

What am I to say? They are dire, but the evils are on high; 330

solet ira certis numinum ostendi notis:
quid istud est quod esse prolatum uolunt
iterumque nolunt et truces iras tegunt?
pudet deos nescioquid. Huc propere admoue
et sparge salsa colla taurorum mola. 335
placidone uultu sacra et admotas manus
patiuntur?

wrath is wont to be shown by sure marks of the divinities:
what is that which they want to be brought forth, and again they do not want, and they conceal grim wraths?
the gods are ashamed of I-know-not-what. Hither, quickly bring near
and sprinkle the necks of the bulls with salted meal. 335
with a placid countenance do they allow the rites and the hands brought near
do they suffer?

Ma. Altum taurus attollens caput
primos ad ortus positus expauit diem
trepidusque uultum obliquat et radios fugit.
Ti. Vnone terram uulnere afflicti petunt? 340
Ma. Iuuenca ferro semet opposito induit
et uulnere uno cecidit, at taurus duos
perpessus ictus huc et huc dubius ruit
animamque fessus uix reluctantem exprimit.
Ti. Vtrum citatus uulnere angusto micat 345

Ma. The bull, lifting high his head,
set toward the first risings, shuddered at the day,
and trembling he slants his face and flees the rays.
Ti. Do the stricken seek the earth with one wound? 340
Ma. The heifer, with the steel set in opposition, ran herself upon it
and fell with a single wound, but the bull, having endured two
blows, rushes here and there wavering, and, wearied, scarcely presses out his reluctant life.
Ti. Or does he, quickened, quiver from a narrow wound? 345

an lentus altas irrigat plagas cruor?
Ma. Huius per ipsam qua patet pectus uiam
effusus amnis, huius exiguo graues
maculantur ictus imbre; sed uersus retro
per ora multus sanguis atque oculos redit. 350
Ti. Infausta magnos sacra terrores cient.
sed ede certas uiscerum nobis notas.

or does sluggish gore irrigate the deep gashes?
Ma. From this one, a river poured out through the very path where the breast lies open;
from this one, the weighty blows are stained by a scant shower;
but, turned back, much blood returns through the mouths and the eyes. 350
Ti. Ill-omened rites arouse great terrors.
but declare to us the sure marks of the viscera.

Ma. Genitor, quid hoc est? non leui motu, ut solent,
agitata trepidant exta, sed totas manus
quatiunt nouusque prosilit uenis cruor. 355
cor marcet aegrum penitus ac mersum latet
liuentque uenae; magna pars fibris abest
et felle nigro tabidum spumat iecur,
ac (semper omen unico imperio graue)
en capita paribus bina consurgunt toris; 360

Ma. Father, what is this? Not with a light motion, as they are wont, the agitated entrails tremble, but they shake the whole hands, and new gore leaps forth from the veins. 355
the heart, sick, withers and lies hidden sunk deep, and the veins are livid; a great part is absent from the fibers, and the liver, wasting, foams with black gall, and (ever an omen grave for a single sovereignty) lo, two heads rise upon equal swellings; 360

sed utrumque caesum tenuis abscondit caput
membrana latebram rebus occultis negans.
hostile ualido robore insurgit latus
septemque uenas tendit; has omnis retro
prohibens reuerti limes oblicus secat. 365
mutatus ordo est, sede nil propria iacet,
sed acta retro cuncta: non animae capax
in parte dextra pulmo sanguineus iacet,
non laeua cordi regio, non molli ambitu
omenta pingues uisceri obtendunt sinus: 370
natura uersa est; nulla lex utero manet.
Scrutemur, unde tantus hic extis rigor.

but a thin membrane hides each severed head,
denying a hiding-place to hidden things. The hostile flank rises with robust strength
and stretches seven veins; an oblique boundary cuts them all,
forbidding them to return backward. 365
the order is changed; nothing lies in its proper seat,
but all things are driven back: the sanguineous lung, capable of breath,
does not lie in the right part, nor is the left the region for the heart, nor do the omenta with soft encircling
present their plump fold to the viscera: 370
nature is reversed; no law abides in the womb.
Let us scrutinize whence this so great rigor in the entrails.

quod hoc nefas? conceptus innuptae bouis,
nec more solito positus alieno in loco,
implet parentem; membra cum gemitu mouet, 375

What nefarious thing is this? The conception of an unwed cow,
and, not placed in the customary manner, in an alien location,
fills the parent; it moves its limbs with a groan, 375

rigore tremulo debiles artus micant;
infecit atras liuidus fibras cruor
temptantque turpes mobilem trunci gradum,
et inane surgit corpus ac sacros petit
cornu ministros; uiscera effugiunt manum. 380
neque ista, quae te pepulit, armenti grauis
uox est nec usquam territi resonant greges:
immugit aris ignis et trepidant foci.
Oe. Quid ista sacri signa terrifici ferant,
exprome; uoces aure non timida hauriam: 385
solent suprema facere securos mala.
Ti. His inuidebis quibus opem quaeris malis.

with tremulous rigor the feeble limbs flicker;
livid gore has infected the dark fibers,
and foul trunks attempt a mobile step,
and the empty body rises and with its horn seeks
the sacred attendants; the viscera flee the hand. 380
nor is that a heavy voice of the herd which drove you,
nor anywhere do terrified flocks resound:
the fire bellows at the altars and the hearths tremble.
Oe. What those dread portents of the sacred rite bear,
declare; I will draw in the voices with an unafraid ear: 385
ultimate evils are wont to make men secure.
Ti. You will envy the evils for which you seek help.

Oe. Memora quod unum scire caelicolae uolunt,
contaminarit rege quis caeso manus.
Ti. Nec alta caeli quae leui pinna secant 390

Oe. Relate the one thing the heaven-dwellers want to be known: who has defiled his hands with the king cut down.
Ti. Not even those who with light pinion cleave the high heavens 390

nec fibra uiuis rapta pectoribus potest
ciere nomen; alia temptanda est uia:
ipse euocandus noctis aeternae plagis,
emissus Erebo ut caedis auctorem indicet.
reseranda tellus, Ditis implacabile 395
numen precandum, populus infernae Stygis
huc extrahendus: ede cui mandes sacrum;
nam te, penes quem summa regnorum, nefas
inuisere umbras. Oe. Te, Creo, hic poscit labor,
ad quem secundum regna respiciunt mea. 400
Ti. Dum nos profundae claustra laxamus Stygis,
populare Bacchi laudibus carmen sonet.

nor can the fibra snatched from living breasts summon the name; another way must be tried:
he himself must be called forth from the regions of eternal night,
sent out from Erebus so that he may point out the author of the slaughter.
the earth must be unbarred, the implacable numen of Dis must be entreated, 395
the people of infernal Styx must be drawn out hither: declare to whom you entrust the sacred rite;
for you, in whose keeping is the supreme power of the realm, it is a sacrilege
to visit the shades. Oe. You, Creon, this labor calls for,
to whom, as second, my realms look. 400
Ti. While we loosen the bars of deep Styx,
let a popular song, with the praises of Bacchus, resound.

Chorvs Effusam redimite comam nutante corymbo,
mollia Nysaeis armatus bracchia thyrsis,
lucidum caeli decus. huc ades 405

Chorvs you, wreathed with a nodding corymb in your flowing hair,
your soft arms armed with Nysaean thyrsi,
bright ornament of heaven. come hither 405

uotis, quae tibi nobiles
Thebae, Bacche, tuae
palmis supplicibus ferunt.
huc aduerte fauens uirgineum caput,
uultu sidereo discute nubila
et tristes Erebi minas                              410
auidumque fatum.
Te decet cingi comam floribus uernis,
te caput Tyria cohibere mitra
hederaue mollem
bacifera religare frontem,                              415
spargere effusos sine lege crines,
rursus adducto reuocare nodo,
qualis iratam metuens nouercam
creueras falsos imitatus artus,
crine flauenti simulata uirgo,                              420

with vows, which to you your noble Thebes, Bacchus, bring
with suppliant palms.
Turn hither, favoring, your maiden head,
with starry countenance scatter the clouds
and the grim threats of Erebus                              410
and the greedy fate.
It befits you to gird your hair with vernal flowers,
you to confine your head with a Tyrian mitre,
or to bind your soft brow
with berry-bearing ivy, to scatter your flowing locks without rule,                              415
and again to call them back with a drawn knot,
just as, fearing an angry stepmother,
you grew, imitating false limbs,
a maiden feigned with golden hair.                              420

lutea uestem retinente zona:
inde tam molles placuere cultus
et sinus laxi fluidumque syrma.
Vidit aurato residere curru
ueste cum longa regere et leones                              425
omnis Eoae plaga uasta terrae,
qui bibit Gangen niueumque quisquis
      frangit Araxen.
Te senior turpi sequitur Silenus asello,
turgida pampineis redimitus tempora sertis;                              430
condita lasciui deducunt orgia mystae.
Te Bassaridum comitata cohors
nunc Edono pede pulsauit
      sola Pangaeo,
nunc Threicio uertice Pindi;                              435

with a saffron-yellow belt holding the dress:
thence such soft adornments pleased,
and loose folds and the flowing train.
The vast tract of all the Eastern earth
saw you sit on a gilded chariot,
and, in long robe, to guide even lions,                              425
whoever drinks the Ganges, and whoever
      breaks the snowy Araxes.
The aged Silenus follows you on an ugly little ass,
his swollen temples wreathed with vine-leaf garlands;                              430
the initiates conduct the hidden orgies of wantonness.
The cohort of the Bassarids, attending you,
now with Edonian foot has beaten
      the soil of Pangaeus,
now the Thracian summit of Pindus;                              435

nunc Cadmeas inter matres
      impia maenas
comes Ogygio uenit Iaccho,
nebride sacra praecincta latus.
Tibi commotae pectora matres
      fudere comam                              440
thyrsumque leuem uibrante manu
                        * * *                              441a
iam post laceros Pentheos artus
thyades oestro membra remissae
uelut ignotum uidere nefas.
Ponti regna tenet nitidi matertera Bacchi                              445
Nereidumque choris Cadmeia cingitur Ino;
ius habet in fluctus magni puer aduena ponti,
cognatus Bacchi, numen non uile Palaemon.
Te Tyrrhena, puer, rapuit manus,
et tumidum Nereus posuit mare,                              450

now among the Cadmean mothers
      the impious Maenad
comes as companion to Ogygian Iacchus,
her side girded with the sacred fawnskin.
For you, the mothers, their breasts stirred,
      poured forth their hair,                              440
and, with a vibrating hand, shook the light thyrsus
                        * * *                              441a
now, after Pentheus’s torn limbs,
the Thyiads, their members released from the oestrus,
beheld the crime as though unknown.
The realms of the Sea the shining Bacchus’s aunt holds,                              445
and Cadmeian Ino is encircled by the choruses of the Nereids;
the boy, newcomer to the waves of the great sea, has jurisdiction over the billows,
Palaemon, kinsman of Bacchus, a no-base numen.
You, boy, the Tyrrhenian hand seized,
and Nereus set at rest the swollen sea,                              450

caerula cum pratis mutat freta:
hinc uerno platanus folio uiret
et Phoebo laurus carum nemus;
garrula per ramos auis obstrepit;
uiuaces hederas remus tenet,                              455
summa ligat uitis carchesia.
Idaeus prora fremuit leo,
tigris puppe sedet Gangetica.
Tum pirata freto pauidus natat,
et noua demersos facies habet:                              460
bracchia prima cadunt praedonibus
inlisumque utero pectus coit,
paruula dependet lateri manus,
et dorso fluctum curuo subit,
lunata scindit cauda mare:                              465

when the blue straits trade places with meadows:
from here the plane-tree grows green with spring leaf
and the laurel, a grove dear to Phoebus;
a chattering bird makes a din through the branches;
the oar holds the ever-living ivies,                              455
the vine binds the topmost carchesia.
An Idaean lion roared at the prow,
a Gangetic tiger sits at the stern.
Then the pirate swims the sea in fear,
and the submerged have a new face:                              460
the arms are the first to fall from the sea-robbers,
and the breast, dashed into the belly, closes together,
a tiny hand hangs from the side,
and with a curved back he goes under the wave,
a crescent tail cleaves the sea:                              465

et sequitur curuus fugientia
      carbasa delphin.
Diuite Pactolos uexit te Lydius unda,
aurea torrenti deducens flumina ripa;
laxauit uictos arcus Geticasque sagittas
lactea Massagetes qui pocula sanguine miscet;                              470
regna securigeri Bacchum sensere Lycurgi,
sensere terrae te Dacum feroces
et quos uicinus Boreas ferit
arua mutantes quasque Maeotis
alluit gentes frigido fluctu                              475
quasque despectat uertice e summo
sidus Arcadium geminumque plaustrum.
Ille dispersos domuit Gelonos,
arma detraxit trucibus puellis:
ore deiecto petiere terram                              480

and the curved dolphin follows the fleeing
      canvas-sails.
the Lydian wave, rich Pactolus, bore you,
drawing down golden streams from its torrential bank;
he unstrung the conquered bows and the Getic arrows
the milky Massagete who mixes cups with blood;                              470
the realms of axe-bearing Lycurgus felt Bacchus,
the fierce lands of the Dacians felt you
and those whom neighboring Boreas strikes,
changing fields, and the peoples whom Maeotis
washes with its chilly billow                              475
and those whom from its highest vertex
the Arcadian star and the twin Wain look down upon.
He subdued the scattered Geloni,
he stripped the weapons from the savage girls:
with face cast down they sought the earth                              480

Thermodontiacae cateruae,
positisque tandem leuibus sagittis
      Maenades factae.
Sacer Cithaeron sanguine undauit
Ophioniaque caede;                              485
Proetides siluas petiere, et Argos
praesente Bacchum coluit nouerca.
      Naxos Aegaeo redimita ponto
tradidit thalamis uirginem relictam
meliore pensans damna marito:                              490
pumice ex sicco
fluxit Nyctelius latex;
garruli gramen secuere riui,
conbibit dulces humus alta sucos
niueique lactis candidos fontes                              495

Thermodontine cohorts,
with the light arrows at last set aside,
      were made Maenads.
Sacred Cithaeron billowed with blood
and with Ophionian slaughter;                              485
the Proetids sought the woods, and Argos,
with Bacchus present, the stepmother worshiped.
      Naxos wreathed by the Aegean sea
delivered to the bridal chambers the maiden left behind,
balancing the loss with a better husband:                              490
from dry pumice
the Nyctelian liquor flowed;
the talkative streams cut the grass,
the deep ground quaffed the sweet juices,
and the bright fountains of snow-white milk.                              495

et mixta odoro Lesbia cum thymo.
Ducitur magno noua nupta caelo:
sollemne Phoebus
carmen infusis humero capillis
cantat et geminus Cupido                              500
      concutit taedas;
telum deposuit Iuppiter igneum
conditque Baccho ueniente fulmen.
Lucida dum current annosi sidera mundi,
Oceanus clausum dum fluctibus ambiet orbem
Lunaque dimissos dum plena recolliget ignes,                              505
dum matutinos praedicet Lucifer ortus
altaque caeruleum dum Nerea nesciet Arctos,
candida formosi uenerabimur ora Lyaei.

and mingled with odorous Lesbian thyme.
The new bride is led to the great heaven:
Phoebus with his hair poured down upon his shoulder
sings the solemn song, and the twin Cupid                              500
      shakes the torches;
Jupiter has laid down his fiery missile
and, with Bacchus coming, hides his thunderbolt.
While the bright stars of the time-worn world run their courses,
while Ocean will surround the closed orb with its waves,
and while the full Moon will recollect the released fires,                              505
while Lucifer will proclaim the matutinal risings,
and while deep Nereus will not know the cerulean Bears,
we shall venerate the fair faces of beautiful Lyaeus.

Oedipvs Etsi ipse uultus flebiles praefert notas,
exprome cuius capite placemus deos. 510

Oedipus Although my very visage bears tearful marks,
declare by whose head we may placate the gods. 510

Creo Fari iubes tacere quae suadet metus.
Oe. Si te ruentes non satis Thebae mouent,
at sceptra moueant lapsa cognatae domus.
Cr. Nescisse cupies nosse quae nimium expetis.

Creo You bid me to speak what fear urges to keep silent.
Oe. If Thebes rushing to ruin do not move you enough,
then let the fallen scepters of the kindred house move you.
Cr. You will wish to have been ignorant of the things you too eagerly seek to know.

Oe. Iners malorum remedium ignorantia est. 515
itane et salutis publicae indicium obrues?
Cr. Vbi turpis est medicina, sanari piget.
Oe. Audita fare, uel malo domitus graui
quid arma possint regis irati scies.

Oe. Ignorance is an inert remedy for evils. 515
so then, will you even overwhelm the indication of public safety?
Cr. Where the medicine is foul, one loathes to be healed.
Oe. Speak what you have heard, or, subdued by a grievous evil,
you will know what the arms of an angry king can do.

Cr. Odere reges dicta quae dici iubent. 520
Oe. Mitteris Erebo uile pro cunctis caput,
arcana sacri uoce ni retegis tua.
Cr. Tacere liceat. ulla libertas minor
a rege petitur?

Cr. Kings hate the words which they bid to be spoken. 520
Oe. You will be sent to Erebus, a base head in place of all, unless you uncover your sacred arcana with your voice.
Cr. Let it be permitted to be silent. Is any lesser liberty asked from a king?

Oe. Saepe uel lingua magis
regi atque regno muta libertas obest. 525

Oe. Often silent liberty harms the king and the kingdom even more than liberty of the tongue. 525

Cr. Vbi non licet tacere, quid cuiquam licet?
Oe. Imperia soluit qui tacet iussus loqui.
Cr. Coacta uerba placidus accipias precor.

Cr. Where it is not permitted to be silent, what is permitted to anyone?
Oe. He dissolves commands who is silent when ordered to speak.
Cr. I pray you may placidly receive coerced words.

Oe. Vlline poena uocis expressae fuit?
Cr. Est procul ab urbe lucus ilicibus niger 530
Dircaea circa uallis inriguae loca.
cupressus altis exerens siluis caput
uirente semper alligat trunco nemus,
curuosque tendit quercus et putres situ
annosa ramos: huius abrupit latus 535
edax uetustas; illa, iam fessa cadens
radice, fulta pendet aliena trabe.

Oe. Was there any penalty for the voice forced out?
Cr. There is, far from the city, a grove black with holm-oaks 530
around the places of the Dircaean irrigated valley.
a cypress, lifting its head above the tall woods,
with an ever-verdant trunk binds the grove,
and the oak stretches its curved branches, rotten with mould
age-worn: of this one a side 535
devouring old age has broken off; that one, now weary, falling
at the root, hangs propped by a foreign beam.

                        * * *                              537a
amara bacas laurus et tiliae leues                              537b
et Paphia myrtus et per immensum mare                              537c
motura remos alnus et Phoebo obuia                              540

                        * * *                              537a
the laurel with bitter berries and the light lindens                              537b
and the Paphian myrtle, and over the immense sea                              537c
about to set the oars in motion, the alder; and meeting Phoebus                              540

enode Zephyris pinus opponens latus.
medio stat ingens arbor atque umbra graui
siluas minores urguet et magno ambitu
diffusa ramos una defendit nemus.
tristis sub illa, lucis et Phoebi inscius, 545
restagnat umor frigore aeterno rigens;
limosa pigrum circumit fontem palus.

a knotless pine opposing its flank to the Zephyrs.
in the midst stands a huge tree, and with heavy shade
it presses the lesser woods, and, spread with great circuit,
with its branches one tree defends the grove.
gloomy beneath it, unknowing of light and of Phoebus, 545
the moisture stagnates, rigid with eternal cold;
a muddy marsh encircles the sluggish spring.

      Huc ut sacerdos intulit senior gradum,
haut est moratus: * * * *
* * * praestitit noctem locus.
tum effossa tellus, et super rapti rogis                              550
iaciuntur ignes. ipse funesto integit
uates amictu corpus et frondem quatit;
squalente cultu maestus ingreditur senex,                              554

      Hither, as the priest, an elder, brought in his step,
he tarried not: * * * *
* * * the place furnished night.
then, the earth having been dug, and upon the pyres of the snatched-away                              550
fires are cast. The seer himself with a funereal cloak
covers his body and shakes the frond;
in squalid attire, sad, the old man proceeds,                              554

lugubris imos palla perfundit pedes,                               553
mortifera canam taxus adstringit comam.                              555
nigro bidentes uellere atque atrae boues
antro trahuntur. flamma praedatur dapes
uiuumque trepidat igne ferali pecus.
      Vocat inde manes teque qui manes regis
et obsidentem claustra Lethaei lacus,                              560

lugubrious palla drenches the lowest feet,                               553
the death-bearing yew constricts the hoary hair.                              555
sheep with black fleece and black oxen
are dragged into the cavern. the flame preys upon the feasts
and the living herd trembles at the deathly fire.
      Then he calls the shades and you who rule the shades
and him who guards the bars of the Lethean lake,                              560

carmenque magicum uoluit et rabido minax
decantat ore quidquid aut placat leues
aut cogit umbras; sanguinem libat focis
solidasque pecudes urit et multo specum
saturat cruore; libat et niueum insuper                              565
lactis liquorem, fundit et Bacchum manu
laeua canitque rursus ac terram intuens
grauiore manes uoce et attonita citat.
latrauit Hecates turba; ter ualles cauae
sonuere maestum, tota succusso solo                              570
pulsata tellus. 'audior' uates ait,
'rata uerba fudi: rumpitur caecum chaos
iterque populis Ditis ad superos datur.'
Subsedit omnis silua et erexit comas,
duxere rimas robora et totum nemus                              575

and he rolls the magic song and, menacing with rabid mouth,
he incants whatever either placates the light
or compels the shades; he libates blood upon the hearths
and burns whole flocks, and with much blood he saturates the cave;
and he also libates the snow-white liquid of milk besides,                              565
and he pours out Bacchus with his left hand
and sings again, and, gazing upon the earth,
with a graver and thunderstruck voice he summons the shades.
Hecate’s pack bayed; thrice the hollow valleys
sounded their mournful note, the whole earth, the soil being shaken,                              570
the stricken earth. “I am heard,” says the seer,
“I have poured forth ratified words: the blind chaos is burst,
and a path for the peoples of Dis to the upper world is given.”
All the forest subsided and bristled its tresses,
the oak-trunks drew fissures, and the whole grove                              575

concussit horror, terra se retro dedit
gemuitque penitus: siue temptari abditum
Acheron profundum mente non aequa tulit,
siue ipsa tellus, ut daret functis uiam,
compage rupta sonuit, aut ira furens                              580
triceps catenas Cerberus mouit graues.
      Subito dehiscit terra et immenso sinu
laxata patuit—ipse pallentes deos
uidi inter umbras, ipse torpentes lacus
noctemque ueram; gelidus in uenis stetit                              585
haesitque sanguis. saeua prosiluit cohors
et stetit in armis omne uipereum genus,
fratrum cateruae dente Dircaeo satae.
tum torua Erinys sonuit et caecus Furor                              590

a shudder shook; the earth drew itself back and
groaned from deep within: whether Acheron, the hidden
deep, did not bear to be tempted, in a mind not propitious,
or whether the earth herself, that she might give a road to the dead,
with her structure burst, resounded, or in raging wrath                              580
three-headed Cerberus moved his heavy chains.
      Suddenly the earth yawns, and, loosened with a vast
bosom, lay open—I myself saw the pallid gods
among the shades, I myself [saw] the torpid lakes
and the true night; the icy blood stood in my veins                              585
and stuck fast. A savage cohort leapt forth,
and the whole viperous race stood in arms,
companies of brothers sown from the Dircaean tooth.
then the grim Erinys clanged, and blind Furor                              590

Horrorque et una quidquid aeternae creant
celantque tenebrae: Luctus auellens comam
aegreque lassum sustinens Morbus caput,
grauis Senectus sibimet et pendens Metus
auidumque populi Pestis Ogygii malum—                              589
nos liquit animus; ipsa quae ritus senis                              595
artesque norat stupuit. Intrepidus parens
audaxque damno conuocat Ditis feri
exsangue uulgus: ilico, ut nebulae leues,
uolitant et auras libero caelo trahunt.
non tot caducas educat frondes Eryx                              600

And Horror, and together whatever the eternal darkness creates
and hides: Grief tearing the hair,
and Disease with difficulty supporting a weary head,
burdensome Old Age to itself, and overhanging Fear,
and Pestilence, the greedy evil of the Ogygian people—                              589
our spirit left us; she herself, who knew the rites of the old man                              595
and his arts, stood astonished. The fearless father,
and daring in ruin, summons the bloodless throng
of savage Dis: straightway, like light mists,
they flit and draw the breezes in the free sky.
Not so many falling leaves does Eryx bring forth.                              600

nec uere flores Hybla tot medio creat,
cum examen arto nectitur densum globo,
fluctusque non tot frangit Ionium mare,
nec tanta gelidi Strymonis fugiens minas
permutat hiemes ales et caelum secans                              605
tepente Nilo pensat Arctoas niues,
quot ille populos uatis eduxit sonus.
      Pauide latebras nemoris umbrosi petunt
animae trementes: primus emergit solo,
dextra ferocem cornibus taurum premens,                              610
Zethus, manuque sustinet laeua chelyn
qui saxa dulci traxit Amphion sono,
interque natos Tantalis tandem suos
tuto superba fert caput fastu graue
et numerat umbras. peior hac genetrix adest                               615

nor truly does Hybla in mid-spring produce so many flowers,
when a swarm is bound into a dense, tight globe,
nor does the Ionian sea break so many waves,
nor does the bird, fleeing the threats of gelid Strymon
exchange so many winters, and, cleaving the sky,                              605
with tepid Nile balance the Arctic snows,
as many peoples as that sound of the vates led forth.
      Timidly the trembling souls seek the hiding-places of the shadowy grove:
first emerges from the soil,
Zethus, pressing with his right hand a fierce bull by the horns,                              610
and Amphion, who drew rocks by sweet sound, sustains with his left hand the chelys (lyre);
and the Tantalid woman at last among her own sons
bears her head in safety, proud, heavy with haughtiness,
and counts the shades. A mother worse than this is present.                              615

furibunda Agaue, tota quam sequitur manus
partita regem: sequitur et Bacchas lacer
Pentheus tenetque saeuus etiamnunc minas.
      Tandem uocatus saepe pudibundum extulit
caput atque ab omni dissidet turba procul                              620
celatque semet (instat et Stygias preces
geminat sacerdos, donec in apertum efferat
uultus opertos) Laius—fari horreo:
stetit per artus sanguine effuso horridus,
paedore foedo squalidam obtentus comam,                              625
et ore rabido fatur: 'O Cadmi effera,
cruore semper laeta cognato domus,
uibrate thyrsos, enthea gnatos manu
lacerate potius—maximum Thebis scelus
maternus amor est. patria, non ira deum,                              630

the frenzied Agave, whom the whole band follows, the king divided up; and the torn Pentheus follows the Bacchants and, savage, even now holds threats.
At last, often summoned, he lifted his shamefaced head and stands apart far from the whole crowd and hides himself (and the priest presses on and doubles Stygian prayers, until he brings into the open the covered face) Laius—I shudder to speak: 620
he stood dreadful, with blood poured over his limbs, his squalid hair covered with foul defilement,
and with a rabid mouth he speaks: ‘O house of Cadmus, savage, ever glad at kindred gore,
brandish your thyrsi, with god-possessed hand tear your sons rather—the greatest crime at Thebes
is a mother’s love. The fatherland, not the wrath of the gods, 625

sed scelere raperis: non graui flatu tibi
luctificus Auster nec parum pluuio aethere
satiata tellus halitu sicco nocet,
sed rex cruentus, pretia qui saeuae necis
sceptra et nefandos occupat thalamos patris                              635
[inuisa proles: sed tamen peior parens
quam gnatus, utero rursus infausto grauis]
egitque in ortus semet et matri impios
fetus regessit, quique uix mos est feris,
fratres sibi ipse genuit—implicitum malum                              640
magisque monstrum Sphinge perplexum sua.
Te, te cruenta sceptra qui dextra geris,
te pater inultus urbe cum tota petam
et mecum Erinyn pronubam thalami traham,
traham sonantis uerbera, incestam domum                              645

but you are swept away by crime: not by a heavy blast for you does the grief-bringing Auster, nor does the earth, sated with a not-too-rainless ether, harm you with dry halitus, but a blood-stained king, who as the prices of savage slaughter seizes the scepters and the unspeakable thalami of his father                              635
[a hated progeny: but yet a parent worse than the son, heavy again with an ill-fated womb]
and he drove himself into begettings and returned to his mother impious offspring, and what is scarcely a custom even for wild beasts, he begot brothers for himself—an entangled evil,                              640
and more a monster, perplexed by his own Sphinx. You, you who bear the bloody scepters in your right hand, you, I, the unavenged father, will seek with the whole city, and with me I will drag an Erinys as brideswoman of the thalamus, I will drag the resounding scourges, the incestuous house                              645

uertam et penates impio Marte obteram.
Proinde pulsum finibus regem ocius
agite exulem quocumque; funesto gradu
solum relinquat: uere florifero uirens
reparabit herbas; spiritus puros dabit                              650
uitalis aura, ueniet et siluis decor;
Letum Luesque, Mors Labor Tabes Dolor,
comitatus illo dignus, excedent simul;
et ipse rapidis gressibus sedes uolet
effugere nostras, sed graues pedibus moras                              655
addam et tenebo: reptet incertus uiae,
baculo senili triste praetemptans iter:
eripite terras, auferam caelum pater.'
Oe. Et ossa et artus gelidus inuasit tremor:
quidquid timebam facere fecisse arguor—                              660

I will overthrow and crush the household gods with impious Mars.
Therefore drive the king, expelled from your borders, swiftly,
hustle him as an exile wherever; with a funereal step
let him leave the soil: in flowery spring the green
will repair its grasses; the life-giving breeze will give pure breaths,                              650
and beauty too will come to the woods;
Death and Plague, Death, Toil, Wasting, Grief,
a retinue worthy of that man, will depart together;
and he himself with rapid steps will wish to flee our seats,
but I will add heavy delays to his feet and will hold him:                              655
let him crawl, uncertain of the way,
feeling out his grim path with an old man’s staff:
you snatch away the lands, I, the father, will take away the sky.'
Oe. Both bones and limbs a gelid tremor has invaded:
I am charged with having done whatever I feared to do—                              660

tori iugalis abnuit Merope nefas
sociata Polybo; sospes absoluit manus
Polybus meas: uterque defendit parens
caedem stuprumque. quis locus culpae est super?
multo ante Thebae Laium amissum gemunt, 665
Boeota gressu quam meo tetigi loca.

Merope refuses the nefarious thing of the wedded couch, joined to Polybus; Polybus, being safe, absolved my hands: each parent defends me from homicide and defilement. What place is left for culpability? long before did Thebes lament Laius lost, 665
the Boeotian places than I touched with my step.

falsusne senior an deus Thebis grauis?
Iam iam tenemus callidi socios doli:
mentitur ista praeferens fraudi deos
uates, tibique sceptra despondet mea. 670
Cr. Egone ut sororem regia expelli uelim?
si me fides sacrata cognati laris
non contineret in meo certum statu,
tamen ipsa me fortuna terreret nimis
sollicita semper.

Is the old man a liar, or is the god grievous to Thebes?
Now, now we have the confederates of a crafty trick:
the seer lies, putting forth the gods as a pretext for fraud,
and pledges my scepters to you. 670
Cr. That I should wish my sister to be expelled from the royal house?
if consecrated loyalty of the kindred hearth did not keep me in my fixed station,
yet Fortune herself, ever too solicitous, would overmuch terrify me,
always anxious.

liceat hoc tuto tibi 675

may this be permitted to you safely 675

exuere pondus nec recedentem opprimat:
iam te minore tutior pones loco.
Oe. Hortaris etiam, sponte deponam ut mea
tam grauia regna? Cr. Suadeam hoc illis ego,
in utrumque quis est liber etiamnunc status: 680
tibi iam necesse est ferre fortunam tuam.

cast off the burden, so that it may not oppress you as you retreat:
now you will place yourself safer in a lesser place.
Oe. Do you even urge that I, of my own will, lay down my
so heavy realms? Cr. I would advise this to those
whose position is even now free toward either course: 680
for you now it is necessary to bear your own fortune.

Oe. Certissima est regnare cupienti uia
laudare modica et otium ac somnum loqui;
ab inquieto saepe simulatur quies.
Cr. Parumne me tam longa defendit fides? 685
Oe. Aditum nocendi perfido praestat fides.
Cr. Solutus onere regio regni bonis
fruor domusque ciuium coetu uiget,
nec ulla uicibus surgit alternis dies
qua non propinqui munera ad nostros lares 690

Oe. The most certain way for one desiring to reign is to praise moderate things and to speak of leisure and sleep; quiet is often simulated by the unquiet.
Cr. Does so long a fidelity not defend me enough? 685
Oe. Fidelity provides the perfidious an access for doing harm.
Cr. Released from the royal burden, I enjoy the goods of the kingdom, and my house flourishes by the concourse of citizens, nor does any day rise by alternate turns on which our kinsmen do not bring offerings to our household Lares 690

sceptri redundent; cultus, opulentae dapes,
donata multis gratia nostra salus:
quid tam beatae desse fortunae rear?
Oe. Quod dest: secunda non habent umquam modum.
Cr. Incognita igitur ut nocens causa cadam? 695
Oe. Num ratio uobis reddita est uitae meae?

let the trappings of the scepter overflow; adornment, opulent banquets,
our favor, safety granted to many:
what should I think to be lacking to so blessed a fortune?
Oe. What is lacking: prosperous things never have a measure.
Cr. Unknown then, that I should fall as guilty, the cause unknown? 695
Oe. Has an account of my life been rendered to you?

num audita causa est nostra Tiresiae? tamen
sontes uidemur. facitis exemplum: sequor.

Has our cause been heard, Tiresias? yet
we seem guilty. You make an example: I follow.

Cr. Quid si innocens sum? Oe. Dubia pro certis solent
timere reges. Cr. Qui pauet uanos metus, 700
ueros meretur.

Cr. What if I am innocent? Oe. Kings are wont to fear doubts as certainties.
to fear, kings are. Cr. He who dreads vain fears, 700
deserves true ones.

Oe. Quisquis in culpa fuit,
dimissus odit: omne quod dubium est cadat.
Cr. Sic odia fiunt. Oe. Odia qui nimium timet
regnare nescit: regna custodit metus.

Oe. Whoever was culpable,
once dismissed, he hates: let all that is doubtful fall.
Cr. Thus hatreds are made. Oe. He who fears hatreds too much
does not know how to reign: fear guards kingdoms.

Cr. Qui sceptra duro saeuus imperio gerit, 705

Cr. He who, savage, bears the scepters with hard imperium, 705

timet timentis: metus in auctorem redit.
Oe. Seruate sontem saxeo inclusum specu.
ipse ad penates regios referam gradum.

he fears the fearful: fear returns upon its author.
Oe. Keep the guilty man shut up in a rocky cave.
I myself will turn my steps back to the royal Penates.

      Chorvs Non tu tantis causa periclis,
non haec Labdacidas petunt                              710
fata, sed ueteres deum
irae secuntur: Castalium nemus
umbram Sidonio praebuit hospiti
lauitque Dirce Tyrios colonos,
ut primum magni natus Agenoris,                              715
fessus per orbem furta sequi Iouis,
sub nostra pauidus constitit arbore
praedonem uenerans suum,
monituque Phoebi
iussus erranti comes ire uaccae,
quam non flexerat                              720

      Chorvs You are not the cause of such great perils,
nor do these fates seek the Labdacids, but the ancient wraths of the gods pursue: the Castalian grove
gave shade to the Sidonian guest, and Dirce washed the Tyrian colonists,
when first the son of great Agenor,                              710
weary to follow through the world the thefts of Jove,
stood fearful beneath our tree, reverencing his own robber,
and by the monition of Phoebus
ordered to go as companion to a wandering cow,
which no one had turned aside                              715

uomer aut tardi iuga curua plaustri,
deseruit fugas nomenque genti
inauspicata de boue tradidit.
      Tempore ex illo noua monstra semper
protulit tellus:                              725
aut anguis imis uallibus editus
annosa circa robora sibilat
superatque pinus,
supra Chaonias celsior arbores
erexit caeruleum caput,
cum maiore sui parte recumberet;                              730
aut feta tellus impio partu
effudit arma:
sonuit reflexo classicum cornu
lituusque adunco stridulos cantus
elisit aere
      *                              734a
non ante linguas agiles et ora
uocis ignotae clamore primum
hostico experti.
      Agmina campos cognata tenent,
dignaque iacto semine proles
uno aetatem permensa die                              740

either the ploughshare or the curved yokes of the slow wagon,
she abandoned her flights and handed down to the tribe
a name from the ill-omened ox.
      From that time the earth has ever brought forth new monsters:                              725
either a serpent, brought forth in the deepest valleys,
hisses around time-worn oaks
and over-tops the pines,
higher than the Chaonian trees
it has raised its cerulean head,
while with the greater part of itself it lay reclined;                              730
or the pregnant earth with impious birth
has poured out arms:
the war-call sounded on the bent horn,
and the lituus with hooked bronze beat out
stridulous songs,
      *                              734a
agile tongues and mouths—never before—
first tried with hostile clamor
a voice unknown.
      Kindred ranks hold the fields,
a progeny worthy of the cast seed,
having measured through an entire lifetime in a single day.                              740

post Luciferi nata meatus
ante Hesperios occidit ortus.
horret tantis aduena monstris
populique timet bella recentis,
donec cecidit saeua iuuentus                              745
genetrixque suo reddi gremio
modo productos uidit alumnos—
hac transierit ciuile nefas!
illa Herculeae norint Thebae
      proelia fratrum.                              750
      Quid?

after Lucifer’s courses born
its rising sets before the Hesperian risings.
a newcomer shudders at such great monsters
and fears the wars of the newly-sprung people,
until the savage youth fell                              745
and the genetrix saw her nurslings, only just brought forth,
returned to her own lap—
let nefarious civil crime not have passed beyond this!
let those Thebes of Hercules
      know the battles of brothers.                              750
      What?

Cadmei fata nepotis,
cum uiuacis cornua cerui
frontem ramis texere nouis
dominumque canes egere suum?
praeceps siluas montesque fugit 755

the fates of Cadmus’s grandson,
when the antlers of a vivacious stag
covered his brow with new branches,
and the hounds drove out their own master?
headlong he fled the forests and the mountains 755

citus Actaeon agilique magis
pede per saltus ac saxa uagus
metuit motas zephyris plumas
et quae posuit retia uitat—
donec placidi fontis in unda                              760
cornua uidit uultusque feros,
ubi uirgineos fouerat artus
nimium saeui diua pudoris.
      Oedipvs Curas reuoluit animus et repetit metus.
obisse nostro Laium scelere autumant                              765
superi inferique, sed animus contra innocens
sibique melius quam deis notus negat.
redit memoria tenue per uestigium,
cecidisse nostri stipitis pulsu obuium
datumque Diti, cum prior iuuenem senex                              770

swift Actaeon, and with a more agile
foot, wandering through glades and rocks,
fears feathers stirred by the zephyrs
and avoids the nets which he had set—
until in the wave of a placid spring                              760
he saw horns and savage faces,
where the goddess of too-fierce modesty
had cherished her maiden limbs.
      Oedipus My mind turns over cares and fear returns.
the gods above and below assert that Laius has died by my crime,                              765
but my spirit, innocent on the contrary and better known to itself than to the gods, denies it.
memory returns along a slight trace,
that the one who met me fell by the stroke of my staff
and was given to Dis, when the old man first attacked the young man.                              770

curru superbus pelleret, Thebis procul
Phocaea trifidas regio qua scindit uias.
Vnanima coniunx, explica errores, precor:
quae spatia moriens Laius uitae tulit?
primone in aeuo uiridis an fracto occidit? 775
Iocasta Inter senem iuuenemque, sed propior seni.

when, proud in his chariot, he would drive away, far from Thebes,
where the Phocian region cleaves the three-forked ways.
One-souled consort, unfold the errors, I pray:
what span of life did Laius have as he was dying?
was it in his first age, green, or did he fall when broken? 775
Jocasta Between old man and young man, but nearer to the old.

Oe. Frequensne turba regium cinxit latus?
Ioc. Plures fefellit error ancipitis uiae,
paucos fidelis curribus iunxit labor.
Oe. Aliquisne cecidit regio fato comes? 780
Ioc. Vnum fides uirtusque consortem addidit.

Oe. Was a numerous crowd encircling the royal side?
Ioc. More were deceived by the error of the forked way,
a faithful toil joined a few to the chariots.
Oe. Did any companion fall by a royal fate? 780
Ioc. Faith and valor added one companion.

Oe. Teneo nocentem: conuenit numerus, locus—
sed tempus adde. Ioc. Decima iam metitur seges.
Senex Corinthivs Corinthius te populus in regnum uocat
patrium: quietem Polybus aeternam obtinet. 785

Oe. I hold the guilty one: the number matches, the place—
but add the time. Ioc. Already the tenth harvest is being reaped.
Old Corinthian The Corinthian people call you into the ancestral kingdom;
Polybus has obtained eternal rest. 785

Oe. Vt undique in me saeua Fortuna irruit!
edissere agedum, quo cadat fato parens.
Sen. Animam senilem mollis exsoluit sopor.

Oe. How on every side savage Fortune rushes upon me!
Set it forth, come now, by what fate my parent falls.
Sen. Gentle sleep released his aged spirit.

Oe. Genitor sine ulla caede defunctus iacet:
testor, licet iam tollere ad caelum pie 790
puras nec ulla scelera metuentes manus.
Sed pars magis metuenda fatorum manet.
Sen. Omnem paterna regna discutient metum.

Oe. The begetter lies defunct without any slaughter:
I attest, it is now permitted to lift piously to heaven 790
pure hands fearing no crimes. But a part of the fates more to be feared remains.
Sen. The paternal realms will dispel all fear.

Oe. Repetam paterna regna; sed matrem horreo.
Sen. Metuis parentem, quae tuum reditum expetens 795
sollicita pendet? Oe. Ipsa me pietas fugat.

Oe. I will reclaim my father’s realm; but I shudder at my mother.
Sen. Do you fear a parent who, longing for your return, 795
hangs in anxious suspense? Oe. Piety itself drives me away.

Sen. Viduam relinques? Oe. Tangis en ipsos metus.
Sen. Effare mersus quis premat mentem timor;
praestare tacitam regibus soleo fidem.

Sen. Will you leave her a widow? Oe. Lo, you touch my very fears.
Sen. Speak out: what fear, submerged, presses your mind? I am accustomed to render tacit fidelity to kings.

Oe. Conubia matris Delphico monitu tremo. 800

Oe. I shudder at marriage with my mother at the Delphic monition. 800

Sen. Timere uana desine et turpes metus
depone. Merope uera non fuerat parens.
Oe. Quod subditiui praemium gnati petit?

Sen. Cease to fear vain things and lay down shameful fears.
Merope had not been a true parent.
Oe. What prize does she seek for a supposititious son?

Sen. Regum superbam liberi astringunt fidem.
Oe. Secreta thalami fare quo excipias modo. 805
Sen. Hae te parenti paruulum tradunt manus.
Oe. Tu me parenti tradis; at quis me tibi?

Sen. Children bind the proud faith of kings.
Oe. Speak the secrets of the bedchamber, in what manner you receive me. 805
Sen. These hands deliver you, a tiny one, to your parent.
Oe. You hand me to my parent; but who handed me to you?

Sen. Pastor niuoso sub Cithaeronis iugo.
Oe. In illa temet nemora quis casus tulit?
Sen. Illo sequebar monte cornigeros greges. 810
Oe. Nunc adice certas corporis nostri notas.

Sen. A shepherd beneath the snowy ridge of Cithaeron.
Oe. By what chance did you bear yourself into those groves?
Sen. On that mountain I was following the horned herds. 810
Oe. Now add the sure marks of my body.

Sen. Forata ferro gesseras uestigia,
tumore nactus nomen ac uitio pedum.
Oe. Quis fuerit ille qui meum dono dedit
corpus requiro. Sen. Regios pauit greges; 815

Sen. You had borne feet pierced by iron,
having gotten your name from swelling and from the defect of your feet.
Oe. I inquire who he was who gave my body as a gift.
Sen. He pastured royal flocks; 815

minor sub illo turba pastorum fuit.
Oe. Eloquere nomen. Sen. Prima languescit senum
memoria longo lassa sublabens situ.

a smaller company of shepherds was under him.
Oe. Speak the name. Sen. The prime memory of old men languishes,
weary, slipping away in long decay.

Oe. Potesne facie noscere ac uultu uirum?
Sen. Fortasse noscam: saepe iam spatio obrutam 820
leuis exoletam memoriam reuocat nota.
Oe. Ad sacra et aras omne compulsum pecus
duces sequuntur: ite, propere accersite,
famuli, penes quem summa consistit gregum.

Oe. Can you recognize the man by face and countenance?
Sen. Perhaps I shall recognize him: often a slight mark recalls the memory, obsolete and overwhelmed by lapse of time. 820
a light, time-worn memory a familiar sign calls back.
Oe. To the rites and the altars, when all the herd is driven,
the leaders follow: go, quickly summon,
servants, the one in whose hands the supreme control of the herds resides.

Ioc. Siue ista ratio siue fortuna occulit, 825
latere semper patere quod latuit diu:
saepe eruentis ueritas patuit malo.
Oe. Malum timeri maius his aliquod potest?
Ioc. Magnum esse magna mole quod petitur scias:
concurrit illinc publica, hinc regis salus, 830

Joc. Whether that method or fortune has hidden it, 825
allow to lie hidden forever what has long lain hidden:
often the truth, when unearthed, has lain open to the ill of the digger.
Oe. Can some evil greater than these be feared?
Joc. Know that what is sought is great, with great weight:
there collide—on that side the public welfare, on this the king’s safety. 830

utrimque paria; contine medias manus:
ut nil lacessas, ipsa se fata explicant.
Oe. Non expedit concutere felicem statum:
tuto mouetur quidquid extremo in loco est.
Ioc. Nobilius aliquid genere regali appetis? 835
ne te parentis pigeat inuenti uide.

On both sides the same; hold your hands in the middle:
so that you may provoke nothing, the Fates themselves unravel themselves.
Oe. It is not expedient to shake a felicitous state:
whatever is in an extreme position is moved safely.
Ioc. Do you seek something more noble than the royal race? 835
see that you do not regret a parent found.

Oe. Vel paenitendi sanguinis quaeram fidem:
sic nosse certum est.—Ecce grandaeuus senex,
arbitria sub quo regii fuerant gregis,
Phorbas. refersne nomen aut uultum senis? 840
Sen. Adridet animo forma; nec notus satis,
nec rursus iste uultus ignotus mihi.
Oe. Regnum optinente Laio famulus greges
agitasti opimos sub Cithaeronis plaga?

Oe. Or else I will seek proof of the blood to be repented of:
thus it is fixed to know.—Behold a very aged old man,
under whose authority the royal flock had been,
Phorbas. Do you recall the name or the face of the old man? 840
Sen. The form smiles upon my mind; neither known enough,
nor again is that countenance unknown to me.
Oe. When Laius held the realm, as a servant you drove
rich herds beneath the region of Cithaeron?

Phorbas Laetus Cithaeron pabulo semper nouo 845

Phorbas Cithaeron, glad with ever-new fodder 845

aestiua nostro prata summittit gregi.
Sen. Noscisne memet? Ph. Dubitat anceps memoria.

he sends down summer meadows to our flock.
Sen. Do you know me? Ph. My wavering memory hesitates.

Oe. Huic aliquis a te traditur quondam puer?
effare. dubitas?

Oe. To this man was some boy once handed over by you?
speak out. do you hesitate?

cur genas mutat color?
quid uerba quaeris? ueritas odit moras. 850
Ph. Obducta longo temporum tractu moues.

why do the cheeks’ color change?
why do you seek words? truth hates delays. 850
Ph. You stir up things overlaid by a long tract of times.

Oe. Fatere, ne te cogat ad uerum dolor.
Ph. Inutile isti munus infantem dedi:
non potuit ille luce, non caelo frui.
Sen. Procul sit omen; uiuit et uiuat precor. 855
Oe. Superesse quare traditum infantem negas?

Oe. Confess, lest pain compel you to the truth.
Ph. I gave the infant as a useless gift to that fellow:
he could not enjoy the light, nor the sky.
Sen. Far be the omen; he lives, and may he live, I pray. 855
Oe. Why do you deny that the infant handed over survives?

Ph. Ferrum per ambos tenue transactum pedes
ligabat artus, uulneri innatus tumor
puerile foeda corpus urebat lue.
Oe. Quid quaeris ultra? fata iam accedunt prope.— 860

Ph. A slender iron, passed through both feet, was binding the limbs; a swelling innate to the wound was burning the childish body, with a foul plague defiling it.
Oe. What do you seek further? the Fates now draw near.— 860

quis fuerit infans edoce. Ph. Prohibet fides.
Oe. Huc aliquis ignem!

instruct me who the infant was. Ph. Fidelity forbids.
Oe. Someone, fire here!

flamma iam excutiet fidem.
Ph. Per tam cruentas uera quaerentur uias?
ignosce quaeso.

the flame will now shake out faith.
Ph. Will truths be sought through such bloody ways?
forgive, I beseech.

Oe. Si ferus uideor tibi
et impotens, parata uindicta in manu est: 865
dic uera: quisnam? quoue generatus patre?
qua matre genitus?

Oe. If I seem savage to you
and unbridled, vengeance is prepared in my hand: 865
speak the truth: who then? and from what father were you engendered?
by what mother begotten?

Ph. Coniuge est genitus tua.
Oe. Dehisce, tellus, tuque tenebrarum potens,
in Tartara ima, rector umbrarum, rape
retro reuersas generis ac stirpis uices. 870
congerite, ciues, saxa in infandum caput,
mactate telis: me petat ferro parens,
me gnatus, in me coniuges arment manus
fratresque, et aeger populus ereptos rogis
iaculetur ignes. saeculi crimen uagor, 875

Ph. He was begotten by your consort.
Oe. Yawn open, earth, and you, potent of the darkness,
into the lowest Tartarus, ruler of the shades, carry
the courses of my race and stock, turned back in reverse. 870
Heap up, citizens, stones upon the unspeakable head,
slaughter with weapons: let a parent seek me with steel,
my son, let spouses arm their hands against me,
and brothers, and let the ailing people hurl fires
snatched from the pyres. I wander as the crime of the age. 875

odium deorum, iuris exitium sacri,
qua luce primum spiritus hausi rudes
iam morte dignus. redde nunc animos pares,
nunc aliquid aude sceleribus dignum tuis.—
i, perge, propero regiam gressu pete:                              880
gratare matri liberis auctam domum.
      Chorvs Fata si liceat mihi
fingere arbitrio meo,
temperem Zephyro leui
uela, ne pressae graui                              885
spiritu antennae tremant:
lenis et modice fluens
aura nec uergens latus
ducat intrepidam ratem;
tuta me media uehat                              890

the hatred of the gods, the ruin of sacred right,
from the day on which I first drank in my untutored breaths
already worthy of death. Now render a spirit to match,
now dare something worthy of your crimes.—
go, press on, seek the palace with hurrying step:                              880
congratulate your mother that the house is increased with children.
      Chorvs If it were permitted me
to fashion the Fates by my own will,
I would temper the sails to a light Zephyr,
lest the yards, pressed by a heavy breath, tremble:                              885
and a gentle and moderately flowing
breeze, not leaning the side,
would lead the unafraid bark;
let it carry me safe in the middle;                              890

uita decurrens uia.
      Gnosium regem timens
astra dum demens petit
artibus fisus nouis
certat et ueras aues                              895
uincere ac falsis nimis
imperat pinnis puer,
nomen eripuit freto.
Callidus medium senex
Daedalus librans iter                              900
nube sub media stetit
alitem expectans suum
(qualis accipitris minas
fugit et sparsos metu
conligit fetus auis),                              905

life running its course.
      fearing the Gnossian king,
while the mad one seeks the stars,
trusting in new arts,
he strives to conquer true birds, and the boy too much                              895
commands with false pinions—
he snatched a name from the strait.
The crafty old man
Daedalus, balancing a middle course,
stood beneath the middle cloud,                              900
waiting for his bird,
(just as a bird flees the menaces
of a hawk and, the young scattered
by fear, gathers her brood),                              905

donec in ponto manus
mouit implicitas puer.
[comes audacis uiae]
quidquid excessit modum
pendet instabili loco. 910
Sed quid hoc? postes sonant,
maestus et famulus manu
regius quassat caput.—
Ede quid portes noui.

until in the deep the boy moved his entangled hands.
[companion of the audacious way]
whatever has exceeded the measure hangs in an unstable place. 910
But what is this? the doorposts sound,
and the mournful royal servant with his hand shakes his head.—
Declare what new you bring.

Nvntivs Praedicta postquam fata et infandum genus 915
deprendit ac se scelere conuictum Oedipus
damnauit ipse, regiam infestus petens
inuisa propero tecta penetrauit gradu,
qualis per arua Libycus insanit leo,
fuluam minaci fronte concutiens iubam; 920

MESSENGER After the foretold fates and the unspeakable stock 915
he discovered, and Oedipus, convicted of crime, himself
condemned, hostile, making for the royal house,
he penetrated the hated roofs with hasty step,
just as a Libyan lion rages through the fields,
shaking his tawny mane with a menacing brow; 920

uultus furore toruus atque oculi truces,
gemitus et altum murmur, et gelidus uolat
sudor per artus, spumat et uoluit minas
ac mersus alte magnus exundat dolor.
secum ipse saeuus grande nescioquid parat 925
suisque fatis simile. 'quid poenas moror?'
ait 'hoc scelestum pectus aut ferro petat
aut feruido aliquis igne uel saxo domet.

a face grim with fury and eyes truculent,
a groan and a deep murmur, and icy sweat flies
through his limbs; he foams and rolls out menaces,
and, plunged deep, great pain wells over.
savage with himself he prepares some great I-know-not-what, 925
like to his own fates. “Why do I delay the penalties?”
he says; “let someone with iron assail this criminal breast,
or with fervid fire, or subdue it with stone.”

quae tigris aut quae saeua uisceribus meis
incurret ales? ipse tu scelerum capax, 930
sacer Cithaeron, uel feras in me tuis
emitte siluis, mitte uel rabidos canes—
nunc redde Agauen. anime, quid mortem times?

what tigress, or what savage bird, will run into my viscera?
will rush in? you yourself, capable of crimes, 930
sacred Cithaeron, either send against me wild beasts from your
woods, send, or rabid hounds—
now give back Agave. my soul, why do you fear death?

mors innocentem sola Fortunae eripit.'
Haec fatus aptat impiam capulo manum 935

Death alone snatches the innocent from Fortune.'
Having said these things, he fits his impious hand to the hilt 935

ensemque ducit. 'itane? tam magnis breues
poenas sceleribus soluis atque uno omnia
pensabis ictu?

and he draws the sword. 'So then? Do you pay brief penalties for such great crimes,
and will you compensate everything with a single
stroke?

moreris: hoc patri sat est;
quid deinde matri, quid male in lucem editis
gnatis, quid ipsi, quae tuum magna luit 940
scelus ruina, flebili patriae dabis?
soluendo non es: illa quae leges ratas
Natura in uno uertit Oedipoda, nouos
commenta partus, supplicis eadem meis
nouetur. iterum uiuere atque iterum mori 945
liceat, renasci semper ut totiens noua
supplicia pendas—utere ingenio, miser:
quod saepe fieri non potest fiat diu;
mors eligatur longa.

you delay: this is enough for your father;
what then for your mother, what for the sons badly brought into the light,
what for the fatherland itself, which has paid 940
for your crime with ruin, to the lamentable fatherland will you give?
you are not solvent: those laws which Nature ratified
she has in one Oedipus turned, devising novel
births; let the same be renewed for my suppliant.
let it be permitted to live again and again to die 945
to be reborn always so that so many times you may pay new
punishments—use your ingenuity, wretch:
what cannot happen often, let it happen for long;
let a long death be chosen.

quaeratur uia
qua nec sepultis mixtus et uiuis tamen 950

let a way be sought
by which he is not mingled with the buried and yet with the living 950

exemptus erres: morere, sed citra patrem.
cunctaris, anime? subitus en uultus grauat
profusus imber ac rigat fletu genas—
et flere satis est?

removed, wander: die, but short of your father.
do you hesitate, my soul? Lo, a sudden outpoured shower weighs down
my face and drenches my cheeks with weeping—
and is it enough to weep?

hactenus fundent leuem
oculi liquorem? sedibus pulsi suis 955
lacrimas sequantur: hi maritales statim
fodiantur oculi.' Dixit atque ira furit:
ardent minaces igne truculento genae
oculique uix se sedibus retinent suis;
uiolentus audax uultus, iratus ferox 960
iamiam eruentis; gemuit et dirum fremens
manus in ora torsit. at contra truces
oculi steterunt et suam intenti manum
ultro insecuntur, uulneri occurrunt suo.

Up to this point will they pour a slight
liquid, the eyes? driven from their seats 955
let them follow the tears: these marital eyes
let them be dug out at once.' He spoke and rages with wrath:
the cheeks, menacing, burn with a truculent fire,
and the eyes scarcely keep themselves in their own seats;
a violent, audacious visage, angry, ferocious, 960
already of one tearing them out; he groaned and, dreadfully roaring,
twisted his hand upon his face. But in reply the grim
eyes stood fast and, intent, they pursue their own hand
of their own accord, they run to meet their own wound.

scrutatur auidus manibus uncis lumina, 965

he greedily probes the eyes with hooked hands, 965

radice ab ima funditus uulsos simul
euoluit orbes; haeret in uacuo manus
et fixa penitus unguibus lacerat cauos
alte recessus luminum et inanes sinus
saeuitque frustra plusque quam satis est furit. 970
tantum est periclum lucis? attollit caput
cauisque lustrans orbibus caeli plagas
noctem experitur. quidquid effossis male
dependet oculis rumpit, et uictor deos
conclamat omnis: 'parcite en patriae, precor: 975
iam iusta feci, debitas poenas tuli;
inuenta thalamis digna nox tandem meis.'
rigat ora foedus imber et lacerum caput
largum reuulsis sanguinem uenis uomit.

from the lowest root utterly torn up at once
he rolls out the orbs; the hand clings in the void
and, fixed deep with its nails, lacerates the hollow
deep recesses of the lights and the empty cavities,
and he rages in vain and raves more than is enough. 970
is the peril of light so great? he lifts his head
and, scanning with his hollow orbits the tracts of the sky,
he experiences night. whatever hangs ill
from the gouged-out eyes he tears away, and, victor, he
cries aloud to all the gods: 'spare, lo, the fatherland, I pray: 975
now I have done what is just, I have borne the due penalties;
at last a night worthy for my marriage-beds has been found.'
a foul shower drenches his face, and his lacerated head
vomits copious blood from the torn-out veins.

Chorvs Fatis agimur: cedite fatis; 980

Chorus We are driven by the Fates: yield to the Fates; 980

non sollicitae possunt curae
mutare rati stamina fusi.
quidquid patimur mortale genus,
quidquid facimus uenit ex alto,
seruatque suae decreta colus                              985
Lachesis dura reuoluta manu.
omnia certo tramite uadunt
primusque dies dedit extremum:
non illa deo uertisse licet,
quae nexa suis currunt causis.                              990
it cuique ratus prece non ulla
      mobilis ordo:
multis ipsum metuisse nocet,
multi ad fatum uenere suum
      dum fata timent.

solicitous cares cannot change the threads of the spindle of the fixed plan.
whatever we suffer, we of the mortal race, whatever we do, comes from on high,
and the distaff of Lachesis, unwound by a hard hand, keeps its decrees                              985
all things go by a sure track, and the first day gave the last:
it is not permitted to a god to turn those things which, bound to their own causes, run.                              990
to each goes a fixed order, movable by no prayer:
to many it harms to have feared the very thing,
many have come to their own fate      while they fear the fates.

Sonuere fores atque ipse suum 995

The doors resounded and he himself his 995

duce non ullo molitur iter
luminis orbus.
Oedipvs Bene habet, peractum est: iusta persolui patri.
iuuant tenebrae.

with no guide he makes his way
bereft of light.
Oedipus It is well; it is done: I have paid the due rites to my father.
the darkness helps.

quis deus tandem mihi
placatus atra nube perfundit caput? 1000
quis scelera donat? conscium euasi diem.
nil, parricida, dexterae debes tuae:
lux te refugit.

what god at last for me
placated, bathes my head with a black cloud? 1000
who pardons crimes? I have escaped the conscious day.
nothing, parricide, you owe to your right hand:
light flees you.

uultus Oedipodam hic decet.
Cho. En ecce, rapido saeua prosiluit gradu
Iocasta uaecors, qualis attonita et furens 1005
Cadmea mater abstulit gnato caput
sensitue raptum. dubitat afflictum alloqui,
cupit pauetque.

this visage befits Oedipus.
Cho. Lo, behold, with a rapid stride the savage Jocasta, mad-witted, has sprung forth, like the Cadmean mother, thunderstruck and raging, who tore off her son’s head or sensed it snatched away. 1005
She hesitates to address the afflicted man, she longs and she fears.

iam malis cessit pudor,
sed haeret ore prima uox. Iocasta Quid te uocem?
gnatumne?

now shame has ceded to evils,
but the first voice adheres to my lips. Iocasta What am I to call you?
a son?

dubitas? gnatus es: gnatum pudet; 1010

Do you hesitate? You are a son; the son is ashamed; 1010

inuite loquere gnate—quo auertis caput
uacuosque uultus? Oe. Quis frui tenebris uetat?
quis reddit oculos?

unwilling, speak, son—where do you turn your head
and your vacant looks? Oe. Who forbids me to enjoy the darkness?
who gives back my eyes?

matris, en matris sonus!
perdidimus operam. congredi fas amplius
haut est nefandos.

mother—lo, my mother’s voice!
we have wasted our effort. To meet any longer the nefarious
is by no means lawful.

diuidat uastum mare 1015
dirimatque tellus abdita et quisquis sub hoc
in alia uersus sidera ac solem auium
dependet orbis alterum ex nobis ferat.
Ioc. Fati ista culpa est: nemo fit fato nocens.
Oe. Iam parce uerbis, mater, et parce auribus: 1020
per has reliquias corporis trunci precor,
per inauspicatum sanguinis pignus mei,
per omne nostri nominis fas ac nefas.

let the vast sea divide us 1015
and let the hidden earth sever us, and whatever globe, under this [vault],
turned toward other stars and an alien sun,
hangs suspended, let it bear off one of us.
Ioc. That is the fault of Fate: no one becomes guilty by Fate.
Oe. Now spare words, mother, and spare your ears: 1020
by these relics of a truncated body I pray,
by the ill‑omened pledge of my blood,
by every right and wrong of our name.

Ioc. Quid, anime, torpes? socia cur scelerum dare
poenas recusas? omne confusum perit, 1025

Ioc. Why, spirit, are you torpid? why, as a partner in crimes, do you refuse to pay
the penalties? all that is confounded perishes, 1025

incesta, per te iuris humani decus:
morere et nefastum spiritum ferro exige.
non si ipse mundum concitans diuum sator
corusca saeua tela iaculetur manu,
umquam rependam sceleribus poenas pares 1030
mater nefanda. mors placet: mortis uia
quaeratur.—Agedum, commoda matri manum,
si parricida es. restat hoc operi ultimum:
rapiatur ensis; hoc iacet ferro meus
coniunx—quid illum nomine haud uero uocas? 1035
socer est.

incestuous one, through you the honor of human law:
die, and drive out the nefarious spirit with iron.
not even if the begetter of the gods himself, stirring the world,
should hurl with his hand coruscant, cruel missiles,
could I ever repay penalties equal to my crimes, 1030
accursed mother. death pleases: let a way of death
be sought.—Come then, lend a hand to your mother,
if you are a parricide. this remains the last for the work:
let the sword be snatched; by this iron my
husband lies—why do you call him by a not true name? 1035
he is a father-in-law.

utrumne pectori infigam meo
telum an patenti conditum iugulo inprimam?
eligere nescis uulnus: hunc, dextra, hunc pete
uterum capacem, qui uirum et gnatos tulit.
Cho. Iacet perempta.

whether should I fix into my breast
the weapon, or press it, buried, into my gaping throat?
you do not know how to choose a wound: this one, right hand, seek this one—
the capacious womb, which bore husband and sons.
Chorus. She lies slain.

uulneri immoritur manus 1040

The hand dies upon the wound 1040

ferrumque secum nimius eiecit cruor.
Oe. Fatidice te, te praesidem ueri deum
compello: solum debui fatis patrem;
bis parricida plusque quam timui nocens
matrem peremi: scelere confecta est meo. 1045
o Phoebe mendax, fata superaui impia.
Pauitante gressu sequere fallentes uias;
suspensa plantis efferens uestigia
caecam tremente dextera noctem rege.

and too abundant gore cast out the steel with itself.
Oe. Prophet, you, you, O god guardian of truth,
I address: I owed only my father to the fates;
twice a parricide, and more guilty than I feared,
I slew my mother: she has been undone by my crime. 1045
O lying Phoebus, I have surpassed impious fates.
With faltering step follow the deceiving ways;
lifting your footprints with soles held suspended,
guide the blind night with a trembling right hand.

ingredere praeceps, lubricos ponens gradus, 1050
i profuge uade—siste, ne in matrem incidas.
Quicumque fessi corpore et morbo graues
semanima trahitis pectora, en fugio, exeo:
releuate colla. mitior caeli status
posterga sequitur: quisquis exilem iacens 1055

Enter headlong, placing slippery steps, 1050
go, fugitive, go—halt, lest you run into your mother.
Whoever, weary in body and heavy with disease,
drag your half-animate breasts—lo, I flee, I go forth:
raise your necks. A milder state of the sky
follows behind: whoever, lying gaunt, 1055

animam retentat, uiuidos haustus leuis
concipiat. ite, ferte depositis opem:
mortifera mecum uitia terrarum extraho.
Violenta Fata et horridus Morbi tremor,
Maciesque et atra Pestis et rabidus Dolor, 1060
mecum ite, mecum.

who retains his life, let his slight breath take in vivid draughts.
go, bring help to the prostrate:
with me I draw out the death-bearing blights of the lands.
Violent Fates and the horrid Tremor of Disease,
and Wasting and black Pestilence and rabid Pain, 1060
go with me, with me.

ducibus his uti libet.

it pleases to employ these as leaders.