Sófocles Antigone 140

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HEMÓN
Padre, los dioses han dado a los hombres la razón como el mayor bien de todos los que existen, y yo ni podría ni sabría decir que no hayas hablado con rectitud. Pero la cosa, sin embargo, puede que parezca bien vista de otra manera; y yo, que soy tu hijo, debo considerar todo lo que pueda alguien decir, tratar o murmurar de ti; pues tu aspecto infunde tanto terror- terror al ciudadano, que no se atreve a decirte aquello que tú no gustes oir oír. Pero a mi me es fácil oir oír lo que en secreto se dice; cómo llora la ciudad por esta muchacha, que, entre todas las mujeres, no merece de ninguna manera morir ignominiosamente por su gloriosisima gloriosísima hazaña. La que a su propio hermano, muerto en la pelea, no quiso dejar insepulto para que fuese pasto de los voraces perros ni de ninguna de las aves, ésa, ¿no es digna de obtener una gloriosa recompensa? Tal es el rumor que silenciosa y secretamente corre. Para mí, padre, no hay ninguna cosa que me sea más estimada que el que tú vivas feliz. ¿Pues qué mayor dechado de gloria para los hijos que la prosperidad del padre, o para el padre que la de los hijos? No te obstines, pues, en mantener en ti, como única, la opinión de que lo que tú dices es lo razonable, y no lo que diga otro; porque los que creen que solamente ellos poseen la sabiduria sabiduría, la elocuencia y el valor que no tienen los demás, ésos, al ser examinados, se encuentran vacios vacíos. Porque al hombre, por sabio que uno sea, no le es vergonzoso el aprender muchas veces, ni tampoco el no resistir más allá de lo razonable. Tú ves en los torrentes invernales que cuantos árboles ceden, conservan sus ramas; pero los que resisten, son arrancados con sus mismas raíces. Asimismo, el que atesando firmemente la bolina no quiere ceder, hace que zozobre la nave y navega en adelante en las tablas. Cede, pues, y da largas a tu enojo. Pues si algún consejo, a pesar de ser tan joven, me asiste, afirmo yo que seria lo mejor que todo hombre naciera henchido de sabiduria sabiduría; pero que como esto no suele suceder así, bueno es aprender de los que bien te aconsejan.

Antigone. Sófocles. Madrid. 1921.

Sponsored by Perseus Digital Library.

Current edition Experimental

Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921) (OCR draft) (Spanish) (Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (12)
Greek (L. Benloew, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (L. Benloew, 1858)) — 140 focus
δεξιόσειρος 1 .
140
Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 140 focus
Ζηνὶ τροπαίῳ πάγχαλκα τέλη,
140
Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 140 focus
μέγας Ἄρης δεξιόχειρος·
140
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 140 focus
δεξιόσειρος.
140
Greek (A. Colonna, 1978) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Colonna, 1978)) — 140 focus
ζων μέγας Ἄρης δεξιόσειρος.
140
Greek (A. Dain, 1955) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Dain, 1955)) — 140.mvp-line-140 focus
ζων μέγας Ἄρης δεξιόσειρος.
140
Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979)) — 140 focus
μα στυφελίζων μέγας Ἄρης δεξιόσειρος.
140
Greek (G. Hermann, 1830) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (G. Hermann, 1830)) — 140 focus
δεξιόσειρος.
140
Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906)) — 140 focus
δεξιόσειρος. 7
140
Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924)) — 140.mvp-line-140 focus
μα στυφελίζων μέγας Ἄρης δεξιόσειρος.
140
Antigone (OCR draft) Experimental (Antigone) — 140 focus
δεξιόσειρος.
140
Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949)) — 140 focus
δεξιόσειρος.
140
Translations (10)
German (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 140 focus
KREON
Ja, Hades wird auflösen dieser Ehe Bund.
Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 140 focus
Haemon
Pater, dii hominibus ingenerant rationem, omnium, quotquot sunt, rerum praestantissimam. Quae autem modo dixi, vera esse, neque audeam negare, nec, qui negare possim, scio: est tamen ut alius etiam vera dicere queat. Enimvero tu non es talis, qui omnia prospicere queas, quae in te vel dicit quis, vel facit, aut si quid tibi vertatur vitio: iuus enim vultus plebeio cuique timorem incutit circa sermones tales, quos lubens non audias: at mihi clam haec mussantium excipere licet: quantopere huius puellae vicem civitas doleat, quia ob facta maximis digna laudibus pessime pereat mulierum omnium immeritissima , quae suum ipsius fratrem in proelio caesum, insepultum haud passa sit crudivoris canibus alitibusque perdi. Nonne haec aureo digna honore? Tales obscuri clam manant rumores. Mihi vero, pater, nihil aliud optabilius esse potest, quam ut omnia tibi laeta eveniant. Quid enim liberis decori sit magis, quam gloria florens pater? quidve patri cum liberis comparandum? Ne nunc ergo unicum mente hunc habitum indue, ut, quod tudicis , aliudque praeterea nihil, rectum esse putes: quicumque enim vel ipse solus sapere videtur sibi, vel lingua aut animo pollere, ut nemo alius, tales si explices, saepius inanes esse comperias; sed virum, quamvis ille sit sapiens, discere multa haud indecorum est, et non nimis contra tendere. Vides hibernis imbribus tumida ad fluenta quotquot cedunt arbores, ut servant ramos; at stirpitus intereunt, quaecumque obnituntur: similiter quoque navis gubernator, si adductum pedem laxare praefracte renuit, supinis, eversa rate, in posterum navigat tabulis. Verum age, remitte iram, et poenitentiae da locum: iudicium enim si quod et mihi iuniori inest, dico equidem longe optimum esse, si suapte indole vir quisque scientia gaudeat; sin minus (haud enim ita solet evenire) et a bene consulentibus praeclarum est discere.
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 140 focus
HAEM
O my sire,
Sound wisdom is a God implanted seed,
Of all possessions highest in regard.
I cannot, and I would not learn to say
685
That thou art wrong in this; though in another,
It may be such a word were not unmeet.
But as thy son, ’tis surely mine to scan
Men’s deeds, and words, and muttered thoughts toward thee.
Fear of thy frown restrains the citizen
690
In talk that would fall harshly on thine ear.
I under shadow may o’erhear, how all
Thy people mourn this maiden, and complain
That of all women least deservedly
She perishes for a most glorious deed.
695
‘Who, when her own true brother on the earth
Lay weltering after combat in his gore,
Left him not graveless, for the carrion few
And raw devouring field dogs to consume—
Hath she not merited a golden praise?’
700
Such the dark rumour spreading silently.
Now, in my valuing, with thy prosperous life,
My father, no possession can compare.
Where can be found a richer ornament
For children, than their father’s high renown?
Or where for fathers, than their children’s fame?
705
Nurse not one changeless humour in thy breast,
That nothing can be right but as thou sayest.
Whoe’er presumes that he alone hath sense,
Or peerless eloquence, or reach of soul,
Unwrap him, and you’ll find but emptiness.
710
’Tis no disgrace even to the wise to learn
And lend an ear to reason. You may see
The plant that yields where torrent waters flow
Saves every little twig, when the stout tree
Is torn away and dies. The mariner
715
Who will not ever slack the sheet that sways
The vessel, but still tightens, oversets,
And so, keel upward, ends his voyaging.
Relent, I pray thee, and give place to change.
If any judgement hath informed my youth,
720
I grant it noblest to be always wise,
But,—for omniscience is denied to man—
Tis good to hearken to admonishment.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 141 focus
Denn Sieben, um sieben Thore gestellt,
Mann wider den Mann, sie ließen dem Zeus,
Dem Verleiher des Siegs, die gediegene Wehr. 1
Nur das schreckliche Paar, von dem Einen gezeugt
Mit demselben Gemahl, die wider sich selbst
145
Mit siegendem Speer einstürmten, umfing
Des gemeinsamen Todes Verhängniß.
Zweite Gegenstrophe.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 140 focus
Creon
And have we lived so long then to be taught
At last our duty by a boy like thee ?
Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889)) — 140 focus
CREONTE
Así parece. ¡Guardias! conducidlas al interior de Palacio: y desde este momento que sean verdaderas mujeres: sin libertad para salir. Que los audaces procuran huir cuando ven al ojo la muerte. Llévanse á Antígona y á Ismena, quedando en la escena el coro y Creonte.
German (F. Hölderlin, 1804) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (F. Hölderlin, 1804)) — 140 focus
HAEMON
Niemals beleidigen. Bin ich ein junger Mensch, muss man nicht auf die Zeit mehr, als die That sehn.
English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904)) — 140 focus
Haemon
Father, the gods implant reason in men, the highest of all things that we call our own. Not mine the skill—far from me be the quest!—to.say wherein thou speakest not aright; and yet another man, too, might have some useful thought. At least, it is my natural office to watch, on thy behalf, all that men say, 690 or do, or find to blame. For the dread of thy frown forbids the citizen to speak such words as would offend thine ear; but I can hear these murmurs in the dark, these moanings of the city for this maiden; ‘no woman,’ they say, ‘ever merited her doom less—none ever was to die so shamelully Tor deedsclorious as hers; who, ds_so glorious as hers; who, when her own brother had fallen in bloody strife, would not leave him unburied, to be devoured by carrion dogs, or by any bird:—deserves not she the meed of golden honour ?”
700
Such is the darkling rumour that spreads in secret. For me, my father, no treasure is so precious as thy welfare. What, indeed, is a nobler ornament for children than a prospering sire’s fair fame, or for sire than son’s? Wear not, then, one mood only in thyself; think not that thy word, and thine alone, must be right. For if any man thinks that he alone is wise,—that in speech, or in mind, he hath no peer,—such a soul, when Taid open, is ever found empty. 710 No, though a man be wise, ’tis no shame for him to learn many things, and to bend in season. Seest thou, beside the wintry torrent’s course, how the trees that yield to it save every twig, while the stiff-necked perish root and branch? And even thus he who keeps the sheet of his sail taut, and never slackens it, upsets his boat, and finishes his voyage with keel uppermost. Nay, forego thy wrath; permit thyself to change. For if I, a younger man, may offer my thought, it were 720 far best, I ween, that men should be all-wise. by nature ; but, otherwise—and oft the scale inclines not so—'tis good also to learn from those who speak aright.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 140 focus
Chorus
CREON, ANTIGONE, CHORUS. 929
The tempest of her passions yet is high;
English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904)) — 162-330 focus

Commentary

Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))

mvp-comment-124-1 ἐρῶ μὲν οὐχ 1

mvp-comment-124-2 ὅπως 2

mvp-comment-124-3 τάχους ὕπο 3 τάχους 4

Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus

223-330. mvp-comment-136-1 The half-comic or rustic character of the watchman in this play is an extension of the common character of the messenger, whose natural rudeness of speech and thought brings into greater prominence the horror or pathos of the events he describes. The grotesqueness disappears when he speaks of the action of Antigone in 407-440. The employment of this artifice by Sophocles arises from the same motive to which Shakespeare gave a far wider range in such creations as the gravediggers in Hamlet, and the rural fellow in Antony and Cleopatra. The Messenger in the Trachiniae, the Corinthian in the Oedipus Tyrannus, Menelaus in the Ajax, the pretended Shipmaster in the Philoctetes, afford the same sort of contrast to the more tragic personages: and the superstition of the Coloniatae may be compared with the cowardice of the Phrygian slave in the Orestes of Euripides.

223-330. mvp-comment-136-2 The vulgarity of the common-place Athenian of the fifth century в.с. takes the form of misplaced subtlety of wit. Cp. Shak. Hamlet, 5. 1 ,

We must speak by the card, or equivocation will undo us. The age is grown so picked, that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier, he galls his kibe.

223-224. mvp-comment-137-1 I am out of breath, but not with speed. It is not that I ran nimbly hither. Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 14. § 10, quotes 223 thus, Ἄναξ, ἐρῶ μὲν οὐχ ὅπως σπουδῆς ὕπο.., adding, as if from the reply of Creon, τί φροιμιάζῃ; But it is as unsafe to follow his authority in this line, as it would be to substitute τί φροιμιάζῃ for εὖ γε στοχάζει in l. 241. It is evident that he is quoting from memory: and, although it is curious that the Scholiast uses the same word in his explanation, οὐ τοῦτο λέγω, ὅτι μετὰ σπουδῆς ἀσθμαίνων πρὸς σὲ πορεύομαι, yet this does not amount to a proof that this is the right reading. σπουδῆς may be the word which would be more naturally used in prose, but it is less pointed than τάχους in this connection. κοῦφον ἐξάρας πόδα is added in explanation of τάχους ὕπο. ἐξάρας, having set forth from the point of departure, like αἴρειν στόλον.