ἤδη τὸν ᾍδην εἰσορῶσι τοῦ βίου,
Antigone. Sophocles. Paris, France. 1858.
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Current edition Experimental
Greek (L. Benloew, 1858) (OCR draft) (Greek) (Greek (L. Benloew, 1858))
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
Editions (11)
Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 578 focus
πήματα φθιτῶν ἐπὶ πήμασι πίπτοντ᾽·
Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 578 focus
οὐδὲν ἐλλείπει, γενεᾶς
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 578 focus
κομίζετ᾽ εἴσω, δμῶες· ἐκ δὲ τοῦδε χρὴ
Greek (A. Colonna, 1978) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Colonna, 1978)) — 578 focus
κομίζετ᾽ εἴσω, δμῶες· ἐκ δὲ τοῦδε χρὴ
Greek (A. Dain, 1955) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Dain, 1955)) — 578.mvp-line-575 focus
κομίζετ’ εἴσω, δμῶες· ἐκδέτας δὲ χρὴ
Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979)) — 578 focus
κομίζετ᾽ εἴσω, δμῶες· ἐκ δὲ τοῦδε χρὴ
Greek (G. Hermann, 1830) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (G. Hermann, 1830)) — 578 focus
εὐδαίμονες, οἷσι κακῶν ἄγευστος αἰών.
Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906)) — 578 focus
κομίζετ᾽ εἴσω, δμῶες·
ἐκ δὲ τοῦδε χρὴ
Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924)) — 578.mvp-line-575 focus
κομίζετ᾽ εἴσω, δμῶες· ἐκδέτους δὲ χρὴ
Antigone (OCR draft) Experimental (Antigone) — 578 focus
κομίζετʼ εἴσω, δμῶες· ἐκ δὲ τοῦδε χρὴ
Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949)) — 578 focus
κομίζετ᾽ εἴσω, δμῶες. ἐκδέτους δὲ χρὴ
Translations (2)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 583 focus
Ihr Seligen, deren Geschick kein Leid gekostet!
580
Wem sein Wohnhaus Götter erschütterten, niemals
Läßt der Fluch ihn, fort von Geschlecht zu Geschlecht sich wälzend:
Gleichwie das aufgeschwoll'ne Meer,
Wann, vom Thrakersturm erregt,
Es mächtig in die düstere Tiefe hinab sich wälzt,
585
Vom Abgrund auf den schwarzen Meersand
Wühlt und dumpf im stöhnenden
Orkan die flutgeschlag'nen Ufer tosen.
Erste Gegenstrophe.
Ihr Seligen, deren Geschick kein Leid gekostet!
580
Wem sein Wohnhaus Götter erschütterten, niemals
Läßt der Fluch ihn, fort von Geschlecht zu Geschlecht sich wälzend:
Gleichwie das aufgeschwoll'ne Meer,
Wann, vom Thrakersturm erregt,
Es mächtig in die düstere Tiefe hinab sich wälzt,
585
Vom Abgrund auf den schwarzen Meersand
Wühlt und dumpf im stöhnenden
Orkan die flutgeschlag'nen Ufer tosen.
English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904)) — 583-630 focus
Chorus
Blest are those whose days have not tasted of evil. For when a house has once been shaken by the gods,
no form of ruin is lacking, but it spreads over the bulk of the race, just as, when the surge is driven over the darkness of the deep by the fierce breath of Thracian sea-winds,
585
it rolls up the black sand from the depths, and the wind-beaten headlands that front the blows of the storm give out a mournful roar.
590
Blest are those whose days have not tasted of evil. For when a house has once been shaken by the gods,
no form of ruin is lacking, but it spreads over the bulk of the race, just as, when the surge is driven over the darkness of the deep by the fierce breath of Thracian sea-winds,
585
it rolls up the black sand from the depths, and the wind-beaten headlands that front the blows of the storm give out a mournful roar.
590
Chorus
I see that the ancient sorrows of the house of the Labdacids
are heaped upon the sorrows of the dead. Each generation does not set its race free, but some god hurls it down and the race has no release. For now that dazzling ray of hope that had been spread
595
over the last roots in the house of Oedipus—that hope, in its turn, the blood-stained dust of the gods infernal and mindlessness in speech and frenzy at the mind cuts down.
600
I see that the ancient sorrows of the house of the Labdacids
are heaped upon the sorrows of the dead. Each generation does not set its race free, but some god hurls it down and the race has no release. For now that dazzling ray of hope that had been spread
595
over the last roots in the house of Oedipus—that hope, in its turn, the blood-stained dust of the gods infernal and mindlessness in speech and frenzy at the mind cuts down.
600
Chorus
Your power, great Zeus—what human overstepping can check it? Yours is power that neither Sleep, the all-ensnaring, nor the untiring months of the gods can defeat. Unaged through time,
605
you rule by your power and dwell thereby in the brilliant splendor of
Olympus
. And through the future, both near and distant, as through the past, shall this law prevail: nothing that is vast comes to the life of mortals without ruin.
610
Your power, great Zeus—what human overstepping can check it? Yours is power that neither Sleep, the all-ensnaring, nor the untiring months of the gods can defeat. Unaged through time,
605
you rule by your power and dwell thereby in the brilliant splendor of
Olympus
. And through the future, both near and distant, as through the past, shall this law prevail: nothing that is vast comes to the life of mortals without ruin.
610
Chorus
See how that hope whose wanderings are so wide truly is a benefit to many men, but to an equal number it is a false lure of light-headed desires. The deception comes to one who is wholly unawares until he burns his foot on a hot fire.
615
For with wisdom did someone once reveal the maxim, now famous, that evil at one time or another seems good, to him whose mind a god leads to ruin.
620
But for the briefest moment such a man fares free of destruction.
625
See how that hope whose wanderings are so wide truly is a benefit to many men, but to an equal number it is a false lure of light-headed desires. The deception comes to one who is wholly unawares until he burns his foot on a hot fire.
615
For with wisdom did someone once reveal the maxim, now famous, that evil at one time or another seems good, to him whose mind a god leads to ruin.
620
But for the briefest moment such a man fares free of destruction.
625
Enter Haemon.
Chorus
But here is Haemon, the last of your offspring. Does he come grieving for the doom of Antigone, his promised bride,
and bitter for the deceived hope of their marriage?
630
But here is Haemon, the last of your offspring. Does he come grieving for the doom of Antigone, his promised bride,
and bitter for the deceived hope of their marriage?
630
Commentary
Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))
Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus
578. mvp-comment-341-1 'Henceforth these must be really women, and not left at large;' i. e. They must be treated as women. Cp. l. 484. This reading, although defaced in L, may well be defended against such would-be improvements as εὖ δὲ τάσδε χρὴ | γυναῖκας εἶλαι (Dind.), and εὖ δετὰς δὲ χρὴ | γυναῖκας εἶναι (Seyffert), which are to be condemned, amongst other reasons, for destroying the singleness of the emphasis. Creon, as usual, covers his self-will under the appearance of principle. Cp. Plat. Legg. 1.637, ταχὺ γάρ σου λάβοιτ᾽ ἄν τις τῶν παρ' ἡμῶν ἀμυνόμενος, δεικνὺς τὴν τῶν γυναικῶν παρ' ὑμῖν ἄνεσιν : Ar. Pol. 2. 6. The words indicate that Antigone's going beyond the gate, supr. 18, 19, was an exceptional freedom, consequent on the war. Thus Sophocles is contented with a hint, where Euripides thinks an explanation necessary: Phoen. 89-91.