Translated by F. Storr. From the Loeb Library Edition, Originally published by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA and William Heinemann Ltd, London. First published in 1912.
Chorus:
We too, O king, are troubled; but till thou
Hast questioned the survivor, still hope on.
Oedipus:
My hope is faint, but still enough survives
To bid me bide the coming of this herd.
Jocasta:
Suppose him here, what wouldst thou learn of him?
Oedipus:
I'll tell thee, lady; if his tale agrees
With thine, I shall have 'scaped calamity.
Jocasta:
And what of special import did I say?
Oedipus:
In thy report of what the herdsman said
Laius was slain by robbers; now if he
Still speaks of robbers, not a robber, I
Slew him not; "one" with "many" cannot square.
But if he says one lonely wayfarer,
The last link wanting to my guilt is forged.
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