Antig.Different he, of different guise
His arms. Who is the warrior?
Phor.Tydeus he,
The son of Œneus.
Antig.What! the prince who made
The sister of my brother's bride his choice?"
The young and graceful Parthenopæus, the proud boaster Capaneus, and Hippomedon, that "haughty king," are pointed out; but Antigone casts only a passing glance on these, and yearns to behold her brother. "Where is my Polynices, tell me?" "He is standing there near the tomb of Niobe," is the reply. I see him, but indistinctly," says the princess, "I see the semblance of his form:"—
"O could I, like a nimble-moving cloud,
Fly through the air, borne on the wingèd winds,
Fly to my brother: I would throw my arms
Round his dear neck, unhappy youth, so long
An exile. Mark him, good old man, mark
How graceful in his golden arms he stands,
And glitters like the bright sun's orient rays.
Serv. The truce will bring him hither: in this house
His presence soon will fill thy soul with joy."
Although, not among the leading characters, Menœceus, the son of Creon, Jocasta's brother, is a most interesting one. The prophet Tiresias has declared that Thebes must be taken by the Seven, unless this youth will die for the people. In deep distress Creon implores his son to quit this fatal land. Menœceus, "with an honest fraud," deceiving his father, freely gives his life. He says:—
