Chorus
We too, O king, are troubled; but till thou
Hast questioned the survivor, still hope on.
Oedipus
My hope is faint, but still enough survives
To bid me bide the coming of this herd.
Jocasta
Suppose him here, what wouldst thou learn of him?
Oedipus
I’ll tell thee, lady; if his tale agrees
With thine, I shall have ’scaped calamity.
Jocasta
And what of special import did I say?
Oedipus
Laius was slain by robbers; now if he
Still speaks of robbers, not a robber, I
Slew him not; “one” with “many” cannot square.
But if he says one lonely wayfarer,
The last link wanting to my guilt is forged.