High Priest.
Œdipus,
The blind distracted wanderer, whose crime
Predestined and involuntary, seems
Trivial compared to thine, from Pluto's realms
Shall rend Olympus with his thrilling groans,
His bitter accusation, should the gods
Receive oblations from thy guilty hand.
Orestes lashed by furies shall arise
To plead against thee: Justice armed his hand,
And blood demanded blood! Shalt thou escape
The indignation of the gods, unloose
The sacred bonds of nature, and with hymns
And sacrifice of bulls, and glittering gems
Appease the outraged deities?—Despair!
Constantine.
I will not be denied. Where are your rites
Your deep enchantments and mysterious spells,
The smoking incense that ascends to heaven,
The magic frenzy that compels to earth
