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Now thou art helping our foes even after death,
trying to rescue and bury those whom their own acts of insolence haye ruined. Verily then it would seem Capaneus was unjustly blasted by the thunderbolt and charred upon the ladder he had raised against our gates, swearing he would sack our town, whether the god would or no;
495
nor should the yawning earth have snatched away the seer,
1
opening wide her mouth to take his chariot and its horses in, nor should the other chieftains be stretched at our gates, their skeletons to atoms crushed ’neath boulders. Either boast thy wit transcendeth that of Zeus,
500
or else allow that gods are right to slay the ungodly. The wise should love their children first, next their parents and country, whose fortunes it behoves them to increase rather than break down. Rashness in a leader, as in a pilot, causeth shipwreck; who knoweth when to be quiet is a wise man.
505
Yea and this too is bravery, even forethought.
510
Now thou art helping our foes even after death,
trying to rescue and bury those whom their own acts of insolence haye ruined. Verily then it would seem Capaneus was unjustly blasted by the thunderbolt and charred upon the ladder he had raised against our gates, swearing he would sack our town, whether the god would or no;
495
nor should the yawning earth have snatched away the seer,
1
opening wide her mouth to take his chariot and its horses in, nor should the other chieftains be stretched at our gates, their skeletons to atoms crushed ’neath boulders. Either boast thy wit transcendeth that of Zeus,
500
or else allow that gods are right to slay the ungodly. The wise should love their children first, next their parents and country, whose fortunes it behoves them to increase rather than break down. Rashness in a leader, as in a pilot, causeth shipwreck; who knoweth when to be quiet is a wise man.
505
Yea and this too is bravery, even forethought.
510
Chorus
The punishment Zeus hath inflicted was surely enough; there was no need to heap this wanton insult on us.
The punishment Zeus hath inflicted was surely enough; there was no need to heap this wanton insult on us.
Adrastus
Abandoned wretch!
Abandoned wretch!
Theseus
Peace, Adrastus! say no more; set not thy words before mine,
for ’tis not to thee this fellow is come with his message, but to me, and I must answer him. Thy first assertion will I answer first: I am not aware that Creon is my lord and master, or that his power outweigheth mine, that so he should compel
515
Athens
to act on this wise; nay! for then would the tide of time have to flow backward, if we are to be ordered about, as he thinks. ’Tis not I who choose this war, seeing that I did not even join these warriors to go unto the land of Cadmus; but still I claim to bury the fallen dead, not injuring any state
520
nor yet introducing murderous strife, but preserving the law of all
Hellas
. What is not well in this? If ye suffered aught from the Argives—lo! they are dead; ye took a splendid vengeance on your foes
525
and covered them with shame, and now your right is at an end. Let
2
the dead now be buried in the earth, and each element return
3
to the place from whence it came to the body, the breath to the air, the body to the ground; for in no wise did we get it
530
for our own, but to live our life in, and after that its mother earth must take it back again. Dost think ’tis
Argos
thou art injuring in refusing burial to the dead? Nay! all
Hellas
shares herein, if a man rob the dead of their due
535
and keep them from the tomb; for, if this law be enacted, it will strike dismay into the stoutest hearts. And art thou come to cast dire threats at me, while thy own folk are afraid of giving burial to the dead? What is your fear? Think you they will undermine your land
540
in their graves, or that they will beget children in the womb of earth, from whom shall rise an avenger? A silly waste of words, in truth it was, to show your fear of paltry groundless terrors.
545
Peace, Adrastus! say no more; set not thy words before mine,
for ’tis not to thee this fellow is come with his message, but to me, and I must answer him. Thy first assertion will I answer first: I am not aware that Creon is my lord and master, or that his power outweigheth mine, that so he should compel
515
Athens
to act on this wise; nay! for then would the tide of time have to flow backward, if we are to be ordered about, as he thinks. ’Tis not I who choose this war, seeing that I did not even join these warriors to go unto the land of Cadmus; but still I claim to bury the fallen dead, not injuring any state
520
nor yet introducing murderous strife, but preserving the law of all
Hellas
. What is not well in this? If ye suffered aught from the Argives—lo! they are dead; ye took a splendid vengeance on your foes
525
and covered them with shame, and now your right is at an end. Let
2
the dead now be buried in the earth, and each element return
3
to the place from whence it came to the body, the breath to the air, the body to the ground; for in no wise did we get it
530
for our own, but to live our life in, and after that its mother earth must take it back again. Dost think ’tis
Argos
thou art injuring in refusing burial to the dead? Nay! all
Hellas
shares herein, if a man rob the dead of their due
535
and keep them from the tomb; for, if this law be enacted, it will strike dismay into the stoutest hearts. And art thou come to cast dire threats at me, while thy own folk are afraid of giving burial to the dead? What is your fear? Think you they will undermine your land
540
in their graves, or that they will beget children in the womb of earth, from whom shall rise an avenger? A silly waste of words, in truth it was, to show your fear of paltry groundless terrors.
545
The Suppliant Maidens. Euripides. E. P. Coleridge (Translator). London. 1906.
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