Œdipus (Voltaire)/Act V
ACT V.SCENE I.
ŒDIPUS, ARASPES, DIMAS, Attendants.
ŒDIPUS.
Weep not for me, my friends, nor thus regret
Your sovereign's fate: I wish for banishment;
To me 'tis pleasure; for I know 'twill make
My people happy: you must lose your king,
But shall preserve his country. When I first
Came to the throne of Thebes, I served it well;
And, as I mounted, now I shall descend
In glory: honor shall attend my fall:
I leave my country, kingdom, children, all.
Then hear me now, hear my last parting words;
A king you must have; let him be my choice;
Take Philoctetes: he is generous, noble,
Virtuous, and brave; his father was a king,
And he the friend of Hercules; let him
Succeed me: I must hence.—Go, search out Phorbas;
Bid him not fear, but come this moment hither,
I must bequeath him something; he deserves it:
I'll take my farewell as a monarch ought.
Go, bring the stranger to me—stay ye here.
SCENE II.
ŒDIPUS, ARASPES, ICARUS, Attendants.
ŒDIPUS.
Ha! is it thou, my much-loved Icarus!
The faithful guardian of my infant years,
Favorite and friend of Polybus, my father,
What brought thee hither?
ICARUS.
Polybus is dead.
ŒDIPUS.
Alas? my father!
ICARUS.
'Twas what we expected;
For he had filled the measure of his days,
And died in good old age; these eyes beheld it.
Where are ye now, mistaken oracles!
That shook my timid virtue, and foretold
That I should prove a guilty parricide?
My father's dead, ye meant but to deceive me;
These hands are not polluted with his blood:
The slave of error, I have wandered long
In darkness, busied in a fruitless toil,
And to remove imaginary ills,
Have made my life a scene of real woes,
The offspring of my fond credulity.
How deep must be the color of my fate
When miseries like this can bring relief!
Bliss spring from sorrow, and a father's death
Shall be accepted as the gift of heaven!
But I must hence, and to his ashes pay
The tribute due:—ha! silent, and in tears!
ICARUS.
Ought I to speak? O heaven!
ŒDIPUS.
Hast thou aught more
Of ill to tell me?
ICARUS.
For a moment grant me
Your private ear.
ŒDIPUS.
Retire.— [To the attendants.
What can this mean?
ICARUS.
Think not of Corinth: thither, if thou goest,
Thy death is certain.
ŒDIPUS.
Who shall banish me
From my own kingdom?
ICARUS.
To the throne of Corinth
Another heir succeeds.
ŒDIPUS.
Ye gods! is this
The last sad stroke which I am born to suffer,
Or will ye still pursue me? Fate, go on
And persecute, thou shalt not conquer me:
Let us away to my rebellious subjects,
I'll go to be their scourge, if not their king,
And find at least an honorable death.
But say, what stranger has usurped my throne?
ICARUS.
He is the son-in-law of Polybus,
Who on his head did place the diadem
In his last moments; the obedient people
Hail their new sovereign.
ŒDIPUS.
Has my father too
Betrayed me, sided with my faithless subjects,
And drove me from my throne?
ICARUS.
He did but justice,
For thou wert not his son.
ŒDIPUS.
Ha! Icarus!
ICARUS.
With terror and regret I must reveal
The dreadful secret, Corinth
ŒDIPUS.
Not his son!
ICARUS.
Thou art not. Polybus, oppressed by conscience,
Dying declared it; to the royal blood
Of Corinth's kings he yielded up his throne:
I who alone enjoyed his confidence,
And therefore dreaded the new sovereign's power,
Fled to implore thy aid.
ŒDIPUS.
Who am I then,
If not the son of Polybus?
ICARUS.
The gods,
Who trusted to my hands thy infant years,
In shades of darkest night conceal thy birth;
I only know, that soon as born condemned
To death, and on a desert hill exposed,
Thou but for me hadst perished.
ŒDIPUS.
Thus with life
Began my sorrows, a detested object
Even from my cradle, and accursed by all.
Where didst thou light on me?
ICARUS.
On mount Citheron,
ŒDIPUS.
Near Thebes?
ICARUS.
In that deserted place, a Theban,
Who called himself thy father, left thee; there
To perish: some kind God conducted me
That way; I pitied, took thee in my arms,
Revived, and cherished thee: to Corinth then
Carried my little charge, and to the king
Presented thee; who, mark thy wondrous fate!
His child just dead, adopted thee his son,
And by that stroke of policy confirmed
His tottering power: As son of Polybus
Thou wert brought up by him who had preserved thee:
The throne of Corinth never was thy right,
But conscience robbed thee of what chance bestowed.
ŒDIPUS.
Immortal powers, who rule the fate of kings!
Am I thus doomed in one unhappy day
To suffer such variety of woe!
On a frail mortal shall your miracles
Be thus exhausted! But inform me, friend,
This old man, from whose hands you took me, say,
Hast thou beheld him since that fatal hour?
ICARUS.
Never: perhaps he's dead, he who alone
Could tell thee the strange secret of thy birth
But on my mind his image is engraved
So deeply, I should know him well.
ŒDIPUS.
Alas!
Wretch that I am! why should I wish to find him?
Rather, submissive to the will of heaven
Should I keep close the veil that o'er my eyes
Spreads its benignant shade: too well already
I see my fate; more knowledge would but show
New horrors; and yet, spite of all my woes,
Urged on by fatal curiosity,
I thirst for more: I cannot bear to rest
In sad suspense: to doubt is to be wretched:
I dread the torch that lights me to my ruin:
I fear to know myself, yet cannot long
Remain unknown.
SCENE III.
ŒDIPUS, ICARUS, PHORBAS.
ŒDIPUS.
Ha! Phorbas! come this way.
ICARUS.
Surprising! sure the more I look, the more
'Tis he, my lord, it must be he.
PHORBAS.
Forgive me [To Icarus
If still that face unknown
ICARUS.
Dost thou remember?
On mount Citheron
PHORBAS.
How!
ICARUS.
The child you gave me,
The child to death
PHORBAS.
What dost thou say? remember,
Remember what?
ICARUS.
Thou hast no cause to fear;
Be not alarmed: thou mayest rejoice, that infant
WasŒdipus.
PHORBAS.
The lightning blast thee, wretch!
What hast thou said?
ICARUS.
Doubt not, my lord, whatever
[To Œdipus.
This Theban says, he gave thee to my arms;
Thy fate is known; this old man is thy father.
ŒDIPUS.
What complicated misery! Alas!
[To Phorbas.
If thou art indeed my father, will the gods
Ever suffer me to shed thy blood?
PHORBAS.
O no!
For thou art not my son.
ŒDIPUS.
And didst not thou
Expose me in my infancy?
PHORBAS.
My lord,
Permit me to retire, and hide from thee
The dreadful truth.
ŒDIPUS.
No, Phorbas; by the gods
I beg thee, tell me all.
PHORBAS.
Begone, avoid
Thy children, and thy queen.
ŒDIPUS.
Now answer me,
For to resist is vain: that infant, doomed
To death by thee, say, didst thou give it him?
[Pointing to Icarus.
PHORBAS.
I did: and would that day had been my last!
ŒDIPUS.
And of what country was that child?
PHORBAS.
Of Thebes.
ŒDIPUS.
And thou art not his father?
PHORBAS.
No: alas!
Sprung from a nobler, but more wretched race
ŒDIPUS.
Who was he then?
PHORBAS.
My lord, what would you do?
[Throwing himself at the feet of Œdipus.
ŒDIPUS.
Speak, speak, I say.
PHORBAS.
Jocaste was his mother.
ICARUS.
[Looking at Œdipus.
Behold the fruit of all my generous care!
PHORBAS.
What have we done?
ŒDIPUS.
I thought it must be so.
ICARUS.
My lord
ŒDIPUS.
Away, begone, this moment leave me:
The dreadful gifts ye have bestowed on me
Must have their recompense; and ye have cause
To fear my wrath, for ye preserved my life.
SCENE IV.
ŒDIPUS.
At length the dire prediction is fulfilled,
And Œdipus is now, though innocent,
A base, incestuous parricide: O virtue!
Thou fatal empty name; thou who didst guide
My hapless days, thou hadst not power to stop
The current of my fate: alas! I fell
Into the snare by trying to avoid it:
Heaven led me on to guilt, and sunk a pit
Beneath my sliding feet: I was the slave
Of some unknown, some unrelenting power,
That used me for its instrument of vengeance:
These are my crimes, remorseless cruel gods!
Yours was the guilt, and ye have punished me.
Where am I? what dark shade thus from my eyes
Covers the light of heaven? the walls are stained
With blood; the furies shake their torches at me;
The lightnings flash; hell opens her wide gates:
O Laius! O my father! art thou there?
I see the deadly wound these hands had made;
Revenge thee now on this abhorred monster,
A monster who defiled the bed of her
Who bore him: lead me to the dark abode,
That I may strike fresh terror to the hearts
Of guilty beings by my punishment:
Lead on, I'll follow thee.
SCENE V.
ŒDIPUS, JOCASTE, ÆGINA, CHORUS.
JOCASTE.
O Œdipus,
Dispel my fears, thy dreadful cries alarm me.
ŒDIPUS.
Open, thou earth, and swallow me!
JOCASTE.
Alas!
What sad misfortune moves thee thus?
ŒDIPUS.
My crimes.
JOCASTE.
My lord!
ŒDIPUS.
Away, Jocaste.
JOCASTE.
Cruel husband!
ŒDIPUS.
O stop! what name is that? am I thy husband?
Do not say husband: we shall hate each other.
JOCASTE.
What sayest thou?
ŒDIPUS.
'Tis enough: I have fulfilled
My horrid fate: know, Laius was my father;
I am thy son.
LEADER OF THE CHORUS.
O guilt!
SECOND PERSON OF THE CHORUS.
O dreadful day!
JOCASTE.
Ægina, drag me from this horrid place!
ÆGINA.
Alas!
JOCASTE.
If thou hast pity on Jocaste,
If without horror thou canst now approach me,
Assist me now, compassionate thy queen!
LEADER OF THE CHORUS.
Ye gods! and is it thus your vengeance ceases?
Take back your cruel gifts, 'twere better far
That we had suffered still.
SCENE VI.
JOCASTE, ÆGINA, HIGH PRIEST, CHORUS.
HIGH PRIEST.
Attend, ye people,
And know, a milder sun now beams upon you:
At length the baleful pestilence is fled,
The graves once more are closed, and death hath left us;
The God of heaven and earth declares his goodness
In peals of thunder: hark!
[Thunder and lightning.
JOCASTE.
What dreadful flashes!
Where am I? heaven! what do I hear! Barbarians—
HIGH PRIEST.
'Tis done: the gods are satisfied: no more
Doth Laius from the tomb cry out for vengeance:
Jocaste, thou mayest live and reign; the blood
Of Œdipus sufficeth.
CHORUS.
Gracious heaven!
JOCASTE.
My son! and must I call him husband too!
Dear dreadful names! is he then dead?
HIGH PRIEST.
He lives,
But from the living and the dead cut off,
Deprived of light: I saw him plunge this sword,
Stained with his father's blood, into his eyes:
This fatal moment has to Thebes restored
Her safety: such are the decrees of heaven;
Which, as it wills, decides the fate of mortals,
All-powerful to save or to destroy.
Its wrath is all exhausted on thy son,
And thou art pardoned.
JOCASTE.
Punish then thyself.
[Stabs herself.
Jocaste, thus reserved for horrid incest,
Death is the only good remaining for me:
Laius, receive my blood: I follow thee:
I have lived virtuous, and shall die with pleasure.
CHORUS.
Unhappy queen, and sad calamity!
JOCASTE.
Weep only for my son, who still survives.
Priests, and you Thebans, who were once my subjects,
Honor my ashes, and remember ever,
That midst the horrors which oppressed me, still
I could reproach the gods; for heaven alone
Was guilty of the crime, and not Jocaste.
The End of the Fifth and Last Act.