Despite her earlier argument that the witness cannot change his testimony (ll. 849-50), Iokaste’s position now appears be that false statements have been made and should therefore be ignored. Editors of the play are divided, however, on how this line should be printed; should the word μάτην be placed before ῥηθέντα or after μεμνῆσθαι—is it “things said pointlessly” or “pointless to recall things that have been said?” The manuscript tradition places μάτην not beside ῥηθέντα but μεμνῆσθαι, which might suggest that if one is going to recall a statement, discussion must continue until unresolved aspects have been fully addressed. To do this, one must have a strategy for resolving problems that cannot on the face of it be resolved. This makes even better sense when the speech in question is prophecy. If one thinks of prophetic speech, τὰ ῥηθέντα means more than τοὺς λόγους (“speeches,” or “words”) it can mean utterances, statements, declarations, or instructions; it is the word that the Spartan dead in Simonides’ poem use to refer to the object of their undying obedience. This word’s semantic field is pertinent to Delphic prophecy, which can be regarded as providing purposeless information, such as identification of one’s birth parents, or as instruction, what the god would have one do. So, where Iokaste might be expected here to advise Oidipous against wanting to bring up prophecy vainly or pointlessly. She wants to ignore detail and nuance, Apollo, who may be heard speaking through double entendre, cautions against the impulse to do that with prophetic language If the audience has learned anything from this play, however, it is to apply the utmost sensitivity and care to the understanding of every statement. This has been especially productive in relation to Oidipous’s two accounts of the prophecy he received at Delphi, from which the audience discovered that the god was not giving information but instructing Oidipous to take his father’s life. Iokaste’s speech, as it is passed down by the manuscript tradition, expresses the god’s perspective more readily than her own. [Gd] [Mipd]