Oidipous’s expression τοὔνδικον (“that which is in accordance with justice”) prompts the audience to consider that while Oidipous certainly means his threat quite seriously, if justice is to be served the witness must be preserved. Thus, justice imposes itself upon the god. It is therefore not the god’s whim that determines who lives and dies, but the god’s recognition of the necessity for justice and his commitment to serve it. Even the god serves this higher principle. [Aj] [Dn]