Saying that it is likewise unjust to consider the bad to be good and the good to be bad, Kreon seems to argue that it is unjust of Oidipous to judge a good man like him to be bad. The first clause about the bad man being judged good supports this argument by lending Kreon’s comment the character of an axiom, but the audience will think of Oidipous, whom the townsfolk judge to be good but should, if the gods’ treatment of him is just, actually be bad. The problem lies in discerning good from bad; there seems to be no infallible test, except perhaps the judgment of the gods, an idea suggested by χρηστός, the word that Kreon uses here for “good,” but which also means “boding well” or “auspicious,” or in other words: bearing a message inscribed by the god for mortals actively looking for a divine sign. Thus, Kreon’s statement bears upon two problems: that of distinguishing good from bad as well as that of judging the divine sign by its vehicle. As a vehicle for divine messages, the seer, although Οidipous considers him to be κακός, is literally χρηστός. While Oidipous, on the other hand, is considered to be good, he is the bearer of a divine message pertaining to unrecognized ills. [Mpei] [Mi]