Oidipous’s boast that he will prove himself “great” displays an arrogant confidence in his own powers that tends to confirm Teiresias’ss implicit criticism. Oidipous under attack falls back upon the “things” in which he will be found great–presumably, his sagacity. His excessively confident rejoinder to the seer’s criticism challenges the audience to anticipate, as it were to foretell, the way in which Oidipous will indeed be found “great” (μέγαν). Knowing that he will be found greatest in ignominy, the question is: What are the “things” that make him so? While he puts great stock in his own capacity for clear thinking, demonstrated through solving the riddle of the Sphinx and the investigation to find Laios’ killer, the ignominy in which he will end suggests that these talents are somehow deficient, a fact that the present exchange with the seer underscores. Clear thinking is hampered by impatience with the ambiguity of prophetic speech. Communication with the gods is essential to individual and collective wellbeing; it cannot be supplanted by the unaided reasoning even of the most gifted individual. [Mpe] Any speech, including that of seers and oracles, may convey potentially useful insights, but it can succeed only when it meets with the proper receptivity. The acquisition of meaningful insight depends, then, upon a willingness to explore the full range of meanings in prophetic speech. [Mipd]