In relation to the fate he has spent his life resisting, Oidipous now expresses resignation and diffidence. He seems to have realized that he must lose any contest with the god, but he has not realized that resistance and resignation are not the only possibilities for his response; he might also choose vigorous cooperation, as he did when instructed by to find and punish Laios’ killer. “Fate” is not, as he perhaps still thinks, a blind force, but the result of joint efforts by mortals and gods. Therefore it is not enough to seek cooperation with the god only when it suits one or to comply with Delphi’s instructions only when one approves of the god’s instructions; one must cooperate at every turn, even when it means doing what one can hardly bring oneself to do. [Mp] [Ap] [Dnc]