Chorus
Behold our sovereign, Theseus, Aegeus’ son,
Comes at thy summons to perform his part.
[Enter Theseus]

Theseus
Oft had I heard of thee in times gone by—­
The bloody mutilation of thine eyes—­
And therefore know thee, son of Laius. 
All that I lately gathered on the way
Made my conjecture doubly sure; and now
Thy garb and that marred visage prove to me
That thou art he.  So pitying thine estate,
Most ill-starred Oedipus, I fain would know
What is the suit ye urge on me and Athens,
Thou and the helpless maiden at thy side. 
Declare it; dire indeed must be the tale
Whereat I should recoil.  I too was reared,
Like thee, in exile, and in foreign lands
Wrestled with many perils, no man more. 
Wherefore no alien in adversity
Shall seek in vain my succor, nor shalt thou;
I know myself a mortal, and my share
In what the morrow brings no more than thine.

Oedipus
Theseus, thy words so apt, so generous
So comfortable, need no long reply
Both who I am and of what lineage sprung,
And from what land I came, thou hast declared. 
So without prologue I may utter now
My brief petition, and the tale is told.

Theseus
Say on, and tell me what I fain would learn.

Oedipus
I come to offer thee this woe-worn frame,
A gift not fair to look on; yet its worth
More precious far than any outward show.

Theseus
What profit dost thou proffer to have brought?

Oedipus
Hereafter thou shalt learn, not yet, methinks.

Theseus
When may we hope to reap the benefit?

Oedipus
When I am dead and thou hast buried me.

Theseus
Thou cravest life’s last service; all before—­
Is it forgotten or of no account?

Oedipus
Yea, the last boon is warrant for the rest.

Theseus
The grace thou cravest then is small indeed.

Oedipus
Nay, weigh it well; the issue is not slight.

Theseus
Thou meanest that betwixt thy sons and me?

Oedipus
Prince, they would fain convey me back to Thebes.

Theseus
If there be no compulsion, then methinks
To rest in banishment befits not thee.

Oedipus
Nay, when I wished it they would not consent.

Theseus
For shame! such temper misbecomes the faller.

Oedipus
Chide if thou wilt, but first attend my plea.

Theseus
Say on, I wait full knowledge ere I judge.

Oedipus
O Theseus, I have suffered wrongs on wrongs.

Theseus
Wouldst tell the old misfortune of thy race?

Oedipus
No, that has grown a byword throughout Greece.

Theseus
What then can be this more than mortal grief?