Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 16.djvu/226

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

204

Œdipus

ŒDIPUS.

The dreadful truth. No, Phorbas; by the gods
I beg thee, tell me all.

PHORBAS.

I beg thee, tell me all. Begone, avoid
Thy children, and thy queen.

ŒDIPUS.

Thy children, and thy queen. Now answer me,
For to resist is vain: that infant, doomed
To death by thee, say, didst thou give it him?

[Pointing to Icarus.

PHORBAS.

I did: and would that day had been my last!

ŒDIPUS.

And of what country was that child?

PHORBAS.

And of what country was that child? Of Thebes.

ŒDIPUS.

And thou art not his father?

PHORBAS.

And thou art not his father? No: alas!
Sprung from a nobler, but more wretched race——

ŒDIPUS.

Who was he then?

PHORBAS.

Who was he then? My lord, what would you do?

[Throwing himself at the feet of Œdipus.

ŒDIPUS.

Speak, speak, I say.

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.