evoting by curses his sons to the unhallowed contest.--With
admiration, with admiration we look on him, who is gone to kill himself for
the sake of his country's land; to Creon indeed having left lamentations,
but about to make the seven-towered gates of the land greatly victorious.
Thus may we be mothers, thus may we be blest in our children, O dear
Pallas, who destroyedst the blood of the dragon by the hurled stone,
driving the attention of Cadmus to the action, whence with rapine some
fiend of the Gods rushed on this land.

MESSENGER, JOCASTA, CHORUS.

MESS. Ho there! who is at the gate of the palace? Open, conduct Jocasta
from out of the house.--What ho! again--after a long time indeed, but yet
come forth, hear, O renowned wife of Oedipus, ceasing from thy
lamentations, and thy tears of grief.

JOC. O most dear man, surely thou comest bearing the news of some calamity,
of the death of Eteocles, by whose shield thou always didst go, warding off
the weapons of the enemy. What new message, I pray, dost thou come to
deliver? Is my son dead or alive? Tell me.

MESS. He lives, be not alarmed for this, for I will rid thee of this fear.

JOC. But what? In what state are our seven-towered ramparts?

MESS. They stand unshaken, nor is the city destroyed.

JOC. Come they in danger from the spear of Argos?

MESS. To the very extreme of danger; but the arms of Thebes came off
superior to the Mycenaean spear.

JOC. Tell me one thing, by the Gods, whether thou knowest any thing of
Polynices (since this is a concern to me also) whether he sees the light.

MESS. Thus far in the day thy pair of children lives.

JOC. Be thou blest. But how did ye stationed on the towers drive off the
spear of Argos from the gates? Tell me, that I may go and delight the old
blind man in the house with the news of his country's being preserved.

MESS. After that the son of Creon, he that died for the land, standing on
the summit of the towers, plunged the black-handled sword into his throat,
the salvation of this land, thy son placed seven cohorts, and their leaders
with them, at the seven gates, guards against the Argive spear; and he drew
up the horse ready to support the horse, and the heavy-armed men to
reinforce the shield-bearers, so that to the part of the wall which was in
danger there might be succor at hand. But from the lofty citadel we view
the army of the Argives with their white shields, having quitted Tumessus
and now come near