Sophocles translates his philosophy of life, of there being a harmony in the workings out of the universal order of things, into a harmony in Oedipus Rex. In the play, Oedipus, for instance, is a free agent with, however, certain limits upon his freedom of action as determined by the will of the gods; a transgression by Oedipus would lead to intervention by the gods since justice must prevail as is evident by the admission of chorus in the play

("But all eyes fail before time's eye, / All actions come to justice there.").

This view of a just universal order is maintained, in the play, by Sophocles through a careful and effective blending of sympathy and censure in his play Oedipus Rex which ultimately results in a moving tragedy.

Oedipus is not presented by Sophocles as a mere puppet. It is precisely his own search for the truth...