Antig. Hush! for there come this way some reverend men,
To ask the meaning of thy sitting here.
Œdip. I will be silent, and do thou convey
My feet within the grove, till I shall hear
What words they utter; for in learning this
We gather caution in the things we do.
Enter Chorus of Old Men of Colonos.
Stroph. I.[1]
Chor. Look then! Who was it? Where his hiding place?
Where has he fled and rushed,
Of all men boldest found? 120
Look, search, seek everywhere.
A stranger—yea, a stranger must he be.
No countryman of ours, that blind old man;
For never else had he
Approached the holy grove,
By foot of man untrod,
Where dwell the Virgin Ones invincible,
Whose names we fear to speak.
Yea, we pass by, and dare not raise our eyes, 130
Voiceless and speechless all,
Uttering the whispered sound
Of thought that fears to speak.
But now the rumour spreads
Of some one hither come,
Unmoved by touch of awe,
- ↑ In the performance of the tragedy the eager cries, guesses, questionings of the Chorus were uttered by its members, not together, but speaking one by one.
