Chorus
(Str. 1)
Ha!  Where is he?  Look around! 
Every nook and corner scan! 
He the all-presumptuous man,
Whither vanished? search the ground! 
A wayfarer, I ween,
A wayfarer, no countryman of ours,
That old man must have been;
Never had native dared to tempt the Powers,
          Or enter their demesne,
The Maids in awe of whom each mortal cowers,
          Whose name no voice betrays nor cry,
          And as we pass them with averted eye,
We move hushed lips in reverent piety. 
          But now some godless man,
               ’Tis rumored, here abides;
          The precincts through I scan,
               Yet wot not where he hides,
                    The wretch profane! 
                    I search and search in vain.

Oedipus
          I am that man; I know you near
          Ears to the blind, they say, are eyes.

Chorus
          O dread to see and dread to hear!

Oedipus
Oh sirs, I am no outlaw under ban.

Chorus
Who can he be—­Zeus save us!—­this old man?

Oedipus
No favorite of fate,
That ye should envy his estate,
O, Sirs, would any happy mortal, say,
Grope by the light of other eyes his way,
Or face the storm upon so frail a stay?

Chorus
(Ant. 1)
Wast thou then sightless from thy birth? 
Evil, methinks, and long
Thy pilgrimage on earth. 
Yet add not curse to curse and wrong to wrong. 
          I warn thee, trespass not
          Within this hallowed spot,
Lest thou shouldst find the silent grassy glade
          Where offerings are laid,
Bowls of spring water mingled with sweet mead. 
          Thou must not stay,
          Come, come away,
          Tired wanderer, dost thou heed? 
(We are far off, but sure our voice can reach.)
          If aught thou wouldst beseech,
Speak where ’tis right; till then refrain from speech.

Oedipus
Daughter, what counsel should we now pursue?

Antigone
We must obey and do as here they do.

Oedipus
Thy hand then!

Antigone
               Here, O father, is my hand,

Oedipus
O Sirs, if I come forth at your command,
Let me not suffer for my confidence.

Chorus
(Str. 2)
Against thy will no man shall drive thee hence.

Oedipus
Shall I go further?

Chorus
                    Aye.

Oedipus
                         What further still?

Chorus
Lead maiden, thou canst guide him where we will.

Antigone [4]
* * * * * *

Oedipus
* * * * * *

Antigone
* * * * * *
Follow with blind steps, father, as I lead.