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NOTESOedipus. Creon! Creon! What shall I say to him?
How can I justly hope that he will trust me?
In what is past I have been proved towards him
an utter liar.[Enter Creon.]
Creon. Oedipus, I’ve come
not so that I might laugh at you nor taunt you
with evil of the past. But if you still
are without shame before the face of men
reverence at least the flame that gives all life,
our Lord the Sun,^2 and do not show unveiled
to him pollution such that neither land
nor holy rain nor light of day can welcome.[To a Servant.]
Be quick and take him in. It is most decent
that only kin should see and hear the troubles
of kin.Oedipus. I beg you, since you’ve torn me from
my dreadful expectations and have come
in a most noble spirit to a man
that has used you vilely^3 —do a thing for me.
I shall speak for your own good, not for my own.Creon. What do you need that you would ask of me?
Oedipus. Drive me from here^4 with all the speed you can
to where I may not hear a human voice.Creon. Be sure, I would have done this had not I
wished first of all to learn from the God the course
of action I should follow.Oedipus. But his word
has been quite clear to let the parricide,^5
the sinner, die.Creon. Yes, that indeed was said.
But in the present need we had best discover
what we should do.Oedipus. And will you ask about
a man so wretched?Creon. Now even you will trust
the God.Oedipus. So. I command you—and will beseech you—
to her that lies inside that house^6 give burial
as you would have it; she is yours and rightly- Lord the Sun Apollo, ancient Greek god of the Sun, medicine, and prophecy.
3.vilely (VYL lee) adv. wickedly.
4.Drive me from here The oracle of Apollo had declared that the killer of Laius, former
king of Thebes and Oedipus’ father, must be exiled from the city.
5.parricide (PAR uh syd) n. someone who murders his or her father.
6.her that lies inside that house Jocasta, queen of Thebes, Oedipus’ mother and later his
wife, killed herself on realizing who he was.
15202530354045UNIT 3 Independent Learning • from Oedipus Rex IL2