δύ ̓ ἐξ ἑνὸς βλέποντε. τοῖς τυφλοῖσι γὰρ
αὕτη κέλευθος ἐκ προηγητοῦ πέλει.
τί δ ̓ ἔστιν, ὦ γεραιέ Τειρεσία, νέον;
ἐγὼ διδάξω· καὶ σὺ τῷ μάντει πιθοῦ.
οὔκουν πάρος γε σῆς ἀπεστάτουν φρενός.
τοιγὰρ δι ̓ ὀρθῆς τήνδε ναυκληρεῖς πόλιν.
ἔχω πεπονθώς μαρτυρεῖν ὀνήσιμα.
φρόνει βεβὼς αὖ νῦν ἐπὶ ξυροῦ τύχης.
τί δ ̓ ἔστιν; ὡς ἐγὼ τὸ σὸν φρίσσω στόμα.
γνώσει, τέχνης σημεῖα τῆς ἐμῆς κλύων.
εἰς γὰρ παλαιὸν θᾶκον ὀρνιθοσκόπον
ἵζων, ἵν ̓ ἦν μοι παντὸς οἰωνοῦ λιμὴν,
ἀγνῶτ ̓ ἀκούω φθόγγον ὀρνίθων, κακῷ
κλάζοντας οἴστρῳ καὶ βεβαρβαρωμένῳ,
καὶ σπῶντας ἐν χηλαῖσιν ἀλλήλους φοναῖς
ἔγνων· πτερῶν γὰρ ῥοῖβδος οὐκ ἄσημος ἦν.
εὐθὺς δὲ δείσας, ἐμπύρων ἐγενόμην
βωμοῖσι παυφλέκτοισιν· ἐκ δὲ θυμάτων
road, and one for both
for thus it is, the blind.
unless his guide go with him.
O old Teiresias, say, what hath befallen?
That shalt thou learn: do thou the seer obey.
Never as yet have I thy counsel scorned.
Therefore thou steer'st the state unswerved by storms.
I own the profit that I owe to thee.
Once more thou standest on the edge of fate.
What is't? I shudder as I hear thy words.
The tokens of my art will tell thee. Listen!
I sat upon mine old augurial throne,
Where was my haven for each fowl of the air,
And lo! I hear an unknown voice of birds,
Clamouring with fierce and inarticulate rage,
And clawing one another to the death.
Thus much I knew: for their wings' whizzing sound
Told a plain tale. And forthwith in my fear
I sent to try the ignispicious signs
Amid the blaze of the enkindled altars.
There from the victim no clear flame arose,
Ηφαιστος οὐκ ἔλαμπεν, ἀλλ ̓ ἐπὶ σποδῷ
μυδῶσα κηκὶς μηρίων ἐτήκετο,
κἄτυφε, κανέπτυε· καὶ μετάρσιοι
χολαὶ διεσπείροντο, καὶ καταῤῥνεῖς
μηροὶ καλυπτῆς ἐξέκειντο πιμελής.
τοιαῦτα παιδὸς τοῦδ ̓ ἐμάνθανον πάρα,
φθίνοντ ̓ ἀσήμων ὀργίων μαντεύματα.
ἐμοὶ γὰρ οὗτος ἡγεμὼν, ἄλλοις δ ̓ ἐγώ.
καὶ ταῦτα τῆς σῆς ἐκ φρενὸς νοσεῖ πόλις.
βωμοὶ γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐσχάραι τε παντελεῖς
πλήρεις ὑπ ̓ οἰωνῶν τε καὶ κυνῶν βορᾶς
τοῦ δυσμόρου πεπτῶτος Οἰδίπου γόνου.
κατ ̓ οὐ δέχονται θυστάδας λιτὰς ἔτι
θεοὶ παρ ̓ ἡμῶν, οὐδὲ μηρίων φλόγα,
οὐδ ̓ ὄρνις ενσήμους ἀποῤῥοιβδεῖ βοάς,
ἀνδροφθόρου βεβρῶτες αἵματος λίπος.
ταῦτ ̓ οὖν, τέκνον, φρόνησον. ἀνθρώποισι γὰρ
τοῖς πᾶσι κοινόν ἐστι τοὐξαμαρτάνειν
ἐπεὶ δ ̓ ἁμάρτῃ, κεῖνος οὐκ ἔτ ̓ ἔστ ̓ ἀνὴρ
ἄβουλος οὐδ ̓ ἄνολβος, ὅστις ἐς κακὸν
πεσὼν ἀκεῖται, μηδ' ἀκίνητος πέλει.
αὐθαδία τοι σκαιότητ ̓ ὀφλισκάνει.
ἀλλ ̓ εἶκε τῷ θανόντι, μηδ' όλωλότα
κέντει. τίς ἀλκὴ τὸν θανόντ ̓ ἐπικτανεῖν;
εὖ σοι φρονήσας εὖ λέγω· τὸ μαθάνειν δ ̓
ἥδιστον εὖ λέγοντος, εἰ κέρδος λέγοι.
ὦ πρέσβυ, πάντες, ὥστε τοξόται σκοποῦ, τοξεύετ ̓ ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε, κοὐδὲ μαντικῆς
But in the ashes liquefying grease
From off the bones did ooze and smoke and sputter.
High in the air the vesicles were scattered :
And from the solid fat, which covered them,
The thighs fell out, and lay all bare below.
Such baffled signs of omens indistinct
This boy made known to me. For, as to others
I serve as guide, he serves as guide to me.
Thy will has brought this sickness on the state.
Our altars, high and low, of every sort,
Have taken infection from the birds and dogs.
Which feed upon the son of Edipus,
Fallen by such a dismal-fatal end.
Therefore the Gods no longer take our proffers
Of sacrificial prayers and thigh-bone flames;
Nor do the birds with flapping wings give out
Sounds of good omen, for they all have eaten
The fattening blood of man in battle slain.
Then take these things to heart, my son: for error
Is as the universal lot of man;
But whensoe'er he errs, that man no longer
Is witless or unblest, who, having fallen
Into misfortune, seeks to mend his ways
And is not obstinate: the stiffneckt temper
Must oft plead guilty to the charge of folly.
Then yield thee to the dead, nor further stab
The fallen foe: what bravery is this,
To kill the dead again? With good intentions
I give thee now good counsel, and to learn
Is sweetest when good counsel counsels gain.
Old man, ye all, like bowmen at the butts,
Are aiming at me; e'en with prophet's lore
ἄπρακτος ὑμῖν εἰμὶ, τῶν * ὑπ', ἀργύρου,
ἐξημπόλημαι κακπεφόρτισμαι πάλαι.
κερδαίνετ', ἐμπολᾶτε τὸν πρὸς Σάρδεων
ἠλεκτρον, εἰ βούλεσθε, καὶ τὸν Ινδικὸν
χρυσόν· τάφῳ δ' ἐκεῖνον οὐχὶ κρύψετε,
οὐδ ̓ εἰ θέλουσ ̓ οἱ Ζηνὸς αἰετοὶ βορὰν
φέρειν ἁρπάζοντες ἐς Διὸς θρόνους,
οὐδ ̓ ὡς μίασμα τοῦτο μὴ τρέσας ἐγὼ
θάπτειν παρήσω κεῖνον. εὖ γὰρ οἶδ' ὅτι
θεοὺς μιαίνειν οὔτις ἀνθρώπων σθένει.
πίπτουσι δ ̓, ὦ γεραιέ Τειρεσία, βροτῶν
χοὶ πολλὰ δεινοὶ πτώματ ̓ αἰσχρ ̓, ὅταν λόγους
αἰσχροὺς καλῶς λέγωσι τοῦ κέρδους χάριν.
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