1 Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus Introduced and Translated by ...

He did, but in doing that he saved it for the worst:
if you are that man he says you are,
you are born to suffer. 1180
OEDIPUS
Oh! Oh! It’s clear as crystal now.
Light of day! This is the last time I look upon you, I, who am shown
to be born from whom I should not have been born,
to have slept with her with whom I should not have slept,
and to have killed him whom I ought not to have killed.
Exit OEDIPUS.
CHORUS
Oh, generations of men,
Your lives add up to nothing.
What happiness 1190
Man thinks he has
Is only an illusion.
It glitters for a moment
And then fades away.
I count no man happy, Oedipus,
When I see you and your suffering,
You and your fate.
You stretched your bow and hit the mark!
Yes, by God, no one more successful and fortunate
Than when you slew the riddle-singing siren
Of the curved claws.
You protected our country,
And stood like a wall against death! 1200
That’s why you are called my king,
Honored with the greatest honors,
Ruler over mighty Thebes.
What can be worse than what followed
A life overturned,
Companion to suffering and wild destruction
One generous harbor
Received both child and father
When they entered their marriage bed. 1210
How long, how long could the field
Plowed by your father
Bear it all in silence
60