rue reason and intellect. However, Oedipus' hubris leads 6him to believe that his judgements are in fact sound and he continues blindly into a quest for knowledge which may not be beneficial. His flawed perceptions prohibit Oedipus from accurately comparing the pleasure and the pain that his identity would cause him. Tiresias indeed had the "Art of Measurement" as he vehemently tells Oedipus to, "Go on reflect on that, solve that."(185). One of the most prevalent ironies in the play is that Oedipus himself is blind to accurate measurement and truth until he blinds himself. He expressed extremely sound judgement and measurement when he gouged out his own eyes. Oedipus compared the future pain his eyes would give him against the initial pain of the needle and made a justified decision and Oedipus seems content with his decision to wander the mountains. Oedipus had finally seen the light outside the cave, unfortunately, it would be too late to save Oedipus from disgrace.Every decision or quest that Oedipus made was solved by a simple equation. The equation was a matter of simply comparing pleasure and pain to decide the best path to a hedonistic lifestyle. Philosophers of the time such as Plato and Aristotle wrote of such equations and they described things such as the "Art of Measurement" and true reason to help describe what would be needed to correctly solve such an equation. Oedipus as well as other characters in the play embodied these virtues and skills, or even their defects in order to draw yet another link between literature and philosophy. 7Works CitedAristotle. "Ethica Nicomachea". Introduction to Aristotle. Ed. Richard McKeon. Trans.W.D. Ross. New York: Random House Incorporated, 1947.308-545.Friedlander MD, Ed. "Enjoying Oedipus the King by Sophocles". 1 Aug.1999. Online Posting. 2 Nov. 1999. *http://pathguy.com/oedipus.htm*.Plato. "Apology". Plato's Famous Works. Trans. Stanley Lombardo and Karen Be...
