Sophocles, Antigone, 140

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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.

Antigone. Sophocles. Berlin. 1806.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by Tufts University.

Current edition Experimental

Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) (Latin) (Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806))

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.

Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921)) — 140 focus

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.

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

Enter Creon, with two attendants.

Creon

My fellow citizens! First, the gods, after tossing the fate of our city on wild waves, have once more righted it. Second, I have ordered you through my messengers to come here

apart from all the rest, because I knew, first of all, how constant was your reverence for the power of the throne of Laius; how, again, you were reverent, when Oedipus was guiding our city; and lastly, how, when he was dead, you still maintained loyal thoughts towards his children.
165

Since, then, these latter have fallen in one day by a twofold doom—each striking, each struck, both with the stain of a brother’s murder—I now possess all the power and the throne according to my kinship with the dead.
170

Now, it is impossible to know fully any man’s character, will, or judgment, until he has been proved by the test of rule and law-giving. For if anyone who directs the entire city does not cling to the best and wisest plans,
175

but because of some fear keeps his lips locked, then, in my judgment, he is and has long been the most cowardly traitor. And if any man thinks a friend more important than his fatherland, that man, I say, is of no account. Zeus, god who sees all things always, be my witness—
180

I would not be silent if I saw ruin, instead of safety, marching upon the citizens. Nor would I ever make a man who is hostile to my country a friend to myself, because I know this, that our country is the ship that bears us safe, and that only when
185

we sail her on a straight course can we make true friends. Such are the rules by which I strengthen this city. Akin to these is the edict which I have now published to the citizenry concerning the sons of Oedipus: Eteocles, who fell fighting
190

in behalf of our city and who excelled all in battle, they shall entomb and heap up every sacred offering that descends to the noblest of the dead below. But as for his brother, Polyneices, I mean, who on his return from exile wanted to burn to the ground
195

the city of his fathers and his race’s gods, and wanted to feed on kindred blood and lead the remnant into slavery—it has been proclaimed to the city that no one shall give him funeral honors or lamentation,
200

but all must leave him unburied and a sight of shame, with his body there for birds and dogs to eat. This is my will, and never will I allow the traitor to stand in honor before the just. But whoever has good will to Thebes ,
205

he shall be honored by me in death as in life.
210

211

Chorus

That is your will, Creon, towards this city’s enemy and its friend. And the power is yours, I believe, to make use of every law whatsoever, both concerning the dead and all us who live.

Creon

See, then, that you be guardians of my commands.
215

Chorus

Lay the weight of this task on some younger man.

Creon

That is not what I meant—the guards for the corpse are already in place.

Chorus

Then what is this other command that you would give?

Creon

That you not give way to the breakers of my commands.

Chorus

There is no one so foolish as to crave death.
220

Creon

I assure you, that is the wage for disobedience. Yet by just the hope of it, money has many times corrupted men.

Enter Guard.

Guard

My king, I will not say that I arrive breathless because of speed, or from the action of a swift foot.

For often I brought myself to a stop because of my thoughts, and wheeled round in my path to return. My mind was telling me many things: Fool, why do you go to where your arrival will mean your punishment? Idiot, are you dallying again? If Creon learns it from another, must you not suffer for it?
225

So debating, I made my way unhurriedly, slow, and thus a short road was made long. At last, however, the view prevailed that I should come here—to you. Even if my report brings no good, still will I tell you,
230

since I come with a good grip on one hope, that I can suffer nothing except what is my fate.
235

237

Creon

And what is it that so disheartens you?

Guard

I want to tell you first about myself—I did not do the deed, nor did I see the doer,

so it would be wrong that I should come to any harm.
240

Creon

Like a bowman you aim well at your target from a distance, and all around you hedge yourself off well from the deed. It is clear that you have some unheard-of thing to tell.

Guard

That I do, for terrible news imposes great hesitation.

Creon

Then tell it, will you, and so unburdened go away?

Guard

Well, here it is. The corpse—some one has just given it burial and disappeared after sprinkling thirsty dust on the flesh and performing the other rites that piety demands.
245

Creon

What are you saying? What man dared do this?

Guard

I do not know. For there was no scar of a pickax to be seen there,

no earth thrown up by a mattock. The ground was hard and dry, unbroken, not rolled over by wheels. The doer was someone who left no trace. When the first day-watchman showed it to us, a discomforting amazement fell on us all.
250

The dead man was veiled from us—not shut within a tomb, but a light cover of dust was on him, as if put there by the hand of one who shunned a curse. And no sign was visible that any beast of prey or any dog had approached or torn him. Then evil words flew thick and loud among us,
255

guard accusing guard. It would even have come to blows in the end, nor was there anyone there to prevent it: every man was the culprit, and no one was plainly guilty, while all disclaimed knowledge of the act. We were ready to take red-hot iron in our hands,
260

to walk through fire and to swear oaths by the gods that we had neither done the deed, nor shared knowledge of the planning or the doing. At last, when our investigating got us nowhere, someone spoke up and made us all bend our faces
265

in fear towards the earth. For we did not know how we could argue with him, nor yet prosper, if we did what he said. His argument was that the deed must be reported to you and not hidden. This view prevailed, and so it was that
270

the lot doomed miserable me to win this prize. So here I stand, as unwelcome to you as I am unwilling, I well know. For no man delights in the bearer of bad news.
275

278

Chorus

My king, my thoughts have long been deliberating whether this deed is somehow the work of gods?

Creon

Quiet, before your words truly fill me with rage, so that you not be found at the same time foolish as well as old. You say what is intolerable when you claim that the gods have concern for that corpse. Was it in high esteem for his benefactions
280

that they sought to hide him, when he had come to burn their columned shrines, their sacred treasures and their land, and scatter its laws to the winds? Or do you see the gods honoring the wicked? It cannot be. No! From the very first
285

certain men of the city were chafing at this edict and muttering against me, tossing their heads in secret, and they did not keep their necks duly under the yoke in submission to me. By those men, I am certain, they were led astray and bribed to do this deed.
290

Nothing so evil as money ever grew to be current among men. This destroys cities, this drives men from their homes, this trains and warps honest minds to set themselves to works of shame,
295

this teaches people to practise villainies, and to know every act of unholiness. But all the men who did this job for hire have made sure that, sooner or later, they shall suffer the punishment. Now, as Zeus still has my reverence, know this well—
300

I tell you on my oath. If you do not find the very hand that made this burial, and reveal him before my eyes, mere death shall not suffice for you, not before, hung up alive, you have made this outrage plain,
305

so that hereafter you may thieve with better knowledge of where your money should be received from, and learn that it is best not to be fond of money-making from any and every source. For you will find that ill-gotten gains bring more men to ruin than to safety.
310

315

Guard

Will you allow me to speak? Or shall I just turn and go?
315

Creon

Do you not know even now how much your voice sickens me?

Guard

Is the pain in your ears, or in your soul?

Creon

And why would you define the seat of my pain?

Guard

He who did it hurts your heart, but I, your ears.

Creon

God! How plain it is that you are a born babbler.
320

Guard

Perhaps, but never the author of this action.

Creon

Yes, and what is more, you sold your life for silver.

Guard

Ah! It is truly sad when the judge judges wrong .

Creon

Expound on judgment as you will. But, if you fail to

show me the perpetrators of these crimes, you will avow that money basely earned wreaks sorrows. Exit Creon.
325

Guard

Well, may the man be found! That would be best. But, whether he be caught or not—for fortune must decide that—I assure you that you will not see me come here again.

Saved just now beyond hope and belief, I owe the gods great thanks. Exit the Guard.
330

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-166-1 ‘Yes, (you have done it,) and that, too, at the cost of betraying,’ etc. The particle γε ¹ καὶ ταῦτα ² προδούς ³

mvp-comment-167-1 ἦ δεινόν ⁴ καὶ ⁵ γε ⁶

mvp-comment-168-1 κόμψευε . . τὴν δόξαν ⁷

mvp-comment-168-2 τὴν δόξαν ⁸

mvp-comment-168-3

κληδόν’

(the

κληδών

of which you speak), not merely, ‘the word

δόξα

.’ If the v. l.

τὸ δόξαν

(see cr. n.) was intended to mean the latter, it should have been

τὸ δόξα.

mvp-comment-168-4 νυν ⁹ νῦν ¹⁰ ταῦτα … τοὺς δρῶντας = τοὺς ταῦτα δρῶντας ¹¹

mvp-comment-169-1 δειλά ¹²

mvp-comment-169-2 δεινά ¹³ ν ¹⁴

mvp-comment-170-1 ἀλλ’ ¹⁵ εὑρεθείη ¹⁶ καὶ ¹⁷

mvp-comment-171-1 καὶ ¹⁸ γάρ ¹⁹

mvp-comment-171-2 γνώμης ²⁰

mvp-comment-173-1 πολλὰ … κοὐδέν ²¹

mvp-comment-173-2 καί ²²

mvp-comment-173-3 τὰ δεινά ²³

mvp-comment-174-1 τοῦτο ²⁴ πέραν ²⁵ πέρα ²⁶

mvp-comment-175-1 χειμερίῳ νότῳ ²⁷

mvp-comment-176-1 περιβρ … ὑπ’ οἴδμασιν ²⁸

mvp-comment-177-1 ὑπερτάταν ²⁹

mvp-comment-178-1 ἀκαμάταν ³⁰

mvp-comment-178-2 ἀποτρύεται ³¹

mvp-comment-179-1 ἰλλομένων ἀρότρων, ³² ἀρότων ³³

mvp-comment-179-2 ἔτος εἰς ἔτος ³⁴ εἰς ³⁵

mvp-comment-180-1 ἱππείῳ γένει ³⁶

mvp-comment-180-2 πολεύων ³⁷ τοῦτο ³⁸

mvp-comment-181-1 Man's conquests over the animal world are here taken in two groups. First, those of which the primary aim is to kill or to capture. Here the means is netting (

ἀμφιβαλὼν σπείραισι δικτυοκλώστοις

), in its threefold sporting use, as applied to fowling (

ὀρνίθων

), hunting (

θηρῶν

), and fishing (

πόντου φύσιν

). Secondly, those conquests which aim at reducing wild animals to man's service. These are effected by

μηχαναί

(349),— arts of taming and training. And their result is aptly expressed by the word

mvp-comment-181-2

κρατεῖ

: here, man is not merely the slayer or captor; he becomes the master of docile toilers. The horse and the bull are types.

mvp-comment-181-3 Thus, in this ode, the scale of achievement ever ascends: man (1) conquers inanimate nature: (2) makes animals his captives: (3) trains them to be his servants: (4) develops his own social and intellectual life.

mvp-comment-181-4 κουφονόων ³⁹

mvp-comment-181-5 ἀμφιβαλὼν ⁴⁰

mvp-comment-182-1 πόντου … εἰναλίαν φύσιν ⁴¹

mvp-comment-183-1 περιφραδής ⁴²

mvp-comment-184-1 μηχαναῖς ⁴³ ἀγραύλου ⁴⁴ ὀρεσσιβάτα ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-185-1 λασιαύχενά θ’ ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-186-1 ὀχμάζεται ⁴⁷ ἀμφὶ λόφον ζυγῶν ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-186-2 Rhod. 1. 743

κυρίως ἐστὶν ὀχμάσαι τὸ ἵππον ὑπὸ χαλινὸν ἀγαγεῖν ἢ ὑπὸ ζυγόν

. The midd. voice does not occur elsewhere; but this cannot be regarded as an objection, when we remember how many rare middle forms occur in the dramatists. Thus

προσορωμένα

in O. C. 244 is a solitary example of that verb in the midd., and if the license could be taken with so common a word, much more might it be allowed with a comparatively rare one. Blaydes writes

ὀχμάζει ὑπ’ ἀμφίλοφον ζυγόν

: but the Ms.

ἕξεται

indicates that the verb, whatever it was, was of the midd. form.

ὀχμάζεται

was published by G. Schöne in 1833, and by Franz in 1846: they appear to have made the conjecture independently. Donaldson (1848) printed

ὁχμάζεται ἀμφὶ λόφον ζυγῶν

, and seems to ascribe

ζυγῶν

to Franz and Schöne; though Franz, at least, proposed

ἀμφὶ λόφον ζυγῷ. ζυγῶν

has been revived (seemingly without knowledge of a predecessor) by H. Schütz (1886). Sophocles would write

ΑΜΦΙΛΟΦΟΝΖΥΓΟΝ

, and thus

ζυγῶν

changes no letter. Aesch. used the fut.

ζυγώσω

(fr. 110), and Soph. has the verbal

ζυγωτῶν

( El. 702 ). To

ἀμφιλόφῳ ζυγῷ

it may be objected that, being clear, it was not likely to become -

ον ‐όν

: but, when

ἀμφίλοφον

had once been written,

ζυγῶν

(or

ζυγῷ

) would easily become

ζυγόν

. As to the schol. on

ἀμφίλοφον,—ἀντὶ τοῦ, περιβαλὼν αὐτῷ ζυγὸν περὶ τὸν λόφον, ὑπάγει

,—it cannot fairly be urged for

ζυγῶν

(or for any partic.), since it may be merely a paraphrase of

ἀμφίλοφον

.—Schütz's ἐφέζεται ⁴⁹

mvp-comment-187-1 φθέγμα ⁵⁰

mvp-comment-187-2 beginnings of speech...Speech is the development, through imitation, of a capacity of man—the capacity of making a noise.’ This is quite compatible with

ἐδιδάξατο.

mvp-comment-187-3 ἀνεμόεν φρόνημα ⁵¹

mvp-comment-188-1 ἀστυνόμους ὀργάς ⁵²

mvp-comment-189-1 ἐδιδάξατο ⁵³

mvp-comment-190-1 πάγων ⁵⁴

mvp-comment-190-2 ἐναίθρεια ⁵⁵

mvp-comment-190-3 βέλη ⁵⁷

mvp-comment-191-1 παντοπόρος ⁵⁸

mvp-comment-191-2

οὐδὲν … τὸ μέλλον = οὐδὲν ὃ μέλλει

(

ἔσεσθαι

), nothing that is to be (cp. the absolute

τὸ μέλλον, τὰ μέλλοντα

). So Plat. Lach. 197 A

ἔγωγε ἀνδρεῖα καλῶ οὔτε θηρία οὔτε ἄλλο οὐδὲν τὸ τὰ δεινὰ ὑπὸ ἀγνοίας μὴ φοβούμενον = οὐδὲν ὃ μὴ φοβεῖται

. This negative form is as correct as (though actually rarer than) the positive

πᾶν τὸ καλῶς ἔχον

( Plat. Rep. 381A ) for

πᾶν ὃ καλῶς ἔχει

. Donaldson took

τὸ μέλλον

adverbially: ‘in regard to the future, he comes to nothing without resources.’ Cp. 728 ,

μηδὲν τὸ μὴ δίκαιον

, where

μηδέν

is subst., not adv.

mvp-comment-192-1 μόνον ⁵⁹ μόνου ⁶⁰ φεῦξιν — ἐπάξεται ⁶¹

mvp-comment-193-1 ἀμηχάνων ⁶²

mvp-comment-193-2 φυγάς ⁶³

mvp-comment-193-3 ξυμπέφρασται ⁶⁴

mvp-comment-194-1 The ode closes with a more direct reference to the incident which suggested its theme. The daring ingenuity shown by the unknown breaker of Creon's edict is an instance of the subtlety which leads to ruin. The implied contrast with Creon—

ὑψίπολις

by his care for the laws—is effective in view of the destined

περιπέτεια

mvp-comment-194-2 σοφόν τι … ἔχων ⁶⁵

mvp-comment-194-3 τὸ μηχανόεν τ ⁶⁶

mvp-comment-195-1 τοτὲ μὲν … ἄλλοτ’ ⁶⁷

mvp-comment-195-2 ἐπ’ ⁶⁸

mvp-comment-196-1 γεραίρων ⁶⁹

mvp-comment-196-2 5. 67

ἐτίμων τὸν Ἄδρηστον καὶ δὴ πρὸς τὰ πάθεα αὐτοῦ τραγικοῖσι χοροῖσι ἐγέραιρον

. Ar. Th. 960

γένος Ὀλυμπίων θεῶν | μέλπε καὶ γέραιρε φωνῇ

mvp-comment-197-1 θεῶν τ’ ἔνορκον δίκαν ⁷⁰

mvp-comment-198-1 ὑψίπολις ⁷¹

mvp-comment-198-2 ἄπολις ⁷²

mvp-comment-198-3 τὸ μὴ καλόν ⁷³ τόλμας χάριν ⁷⁴

mvp-comment-199-1 παρέστιος ⁷⁵

mvp-comment-199-2 ἴσον φρονῶν ⁷⁶

mvp-comment-200-1 ἔρδει ⁷⁷ ἔρδοι ⁷⁸

mvp-comment-202-1 The choral ode has closed with an allusion to the unknown man ( ὅς ⁷⁹ ἀμφινοῶ ⁸⁰ ἐς ⁸¹

mvp-comment-202-2 δαιμόνιον τέρας ⁸²

mvp-comment-203-1 πῶς εἰδὼς ⁸³

mvp-comment-203-2 ἀντιλογήσω ⁸⁴

mvp-comment-204-1 ὦ δύστηνος ⁸⁵

mvp-comment-204-2 δ. πατρός ⁸⁶

mvp-comment-204-3 Οἰδιπόδα— ⁸⁷

mvp-comment-205-1 τί ποτ’ ⁸⁸

mvp-comment-205-2 οὐ δή που ⁸⁹

mvp-comment-205-3 ἀπιστοῦσαν ⁹⁰

mvp-comment-205-4 ἄγουσι ⁹¹

mvp-comment-205-5 colloquialism, it would be nearly as bad as, ‘Have they taken you up?’

mvp-comment-205-6 καὶ ⁹² ἀπιστοῦσαν ⁹³ καθελόντες ⁹⁴

mvp-comment-206-1 Second

ἐπεισόδιον

. Antigone, brought before Creon, avows and justifies her deed. Creon declares that she shall die. Ismene, when led in (531), associates herself with the act, but is not permitted by her sister to claim any part in it. Creon orders that both sisters shall be kept prisoners.

mvp-comment-206-2 ἐκείνη ⁹⁵

mvp-comment-206-3 τοὔργον ἡ ’ξειργ ⁹⁶

mvp-comment-207-1 ἐς δέον ⁹⁷

mvp-comment-208-1 ξύμμετρος ⁹⁸

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.

324. mvp-comment-188-1 κόμψευε . . δόξαν 'Ay do, refine now on the word "opinion."" This does not seem to be one of the cases where viv with the imperative mood should be changed to vuv, as there is a sufficient reason for the emphatic particle.

325. mvp-comment-189-1 ἐξερεῖτε You shall tell the world. Cp. Pind. Pyth. 2. 22, Ιξίονα φαντὶ ταῦτα βροτοῖς λέγειν ἐν πτερόεντι τροχῷ .. τὸν εὐεργέταν ἀγαναῖς ἀμοιβαῖς 332 ff. The chorus, in their first stasimon, express, in a veiled manner, their emotions at what has occurred. Not being able to say what they really think, that Creon's rash edict has already recoiled on his own family, they descant on the wonderful range of human enterprize, adding that where boldness and resource are combined with justice, they confer glory, but only bring ruin where they are subservient to wrong. The elders do not decide who in the present instance is the transgressor. The ode consists of two strophes and antistrophes, in which glyconic rhythms are mixed with lyrical dactyls, iambi, and trochees, in different proportions, the scheme being as follows:- ICC CC CI CICIC α'. } Iamb. Dact. Troch. Glycon. The two long syllables at the beginning of l. 8 of a form the transition from the dactyls to the trochees. There is a sensible change to a lighter and less simple movement at the beginning of β'. The resolved trochees in B' 5 mark a climax of feeling.

332-383. mvp-comment-190-1 Most wonderful of wondrous things is man, Who traverses the surging brine, And wearies mighty earth with yearly furrow. His craft ensnares the finny produce of the seas And taketh captive beast and bird. He compasseth a way to master the monster of the wilds, And brings under his yoke the horse with flowing mane And the never-wearied mountain bull. Selftaught in speech and thought and civil ways, And in providing shelter from the cold and rain, There is no end to his devices. Nothing but death ever finds him unprepared. Even diseases, not to be avoided, are escaped by him. Inventive beyond hope, he moveth now to evil, and again to good. When weaving with his wit the law of justice and piety He is exalted in the city, but outcast when he harbours wickedness for deeds of crime. May I never live with such an one, and may he never share my counsels. 332. Aesch. Cho. 585, πολλὰ μὲν γὰ τρέφει δεινὰ δειμάτων ἄχη,.. ἀλλ᾽ ὑπέρτολμον ἀνδρὸς φρόνημα τίς λέγοι; Troch. Iamb. Troch.

332-383. mvp-comment-190-2 δεινά = ' wonderful,' or mighty, is in transition from the earlier sense of fearful to the later sense of clever. Cp.

332-383. mvp-comment-190-3 ὀλοόφρων.

334. mvp-comment-191-1 τοῦτο This creature, man. The neuter continues the abstract notion from οὐδὲν .. δεινότερον, and is thus more impressive than the masculine would have been.

334. mvp-comment-191-2 πέραν Το the other side of.' Quite over. For the alliteration, which assists the emphasis, cp. El. 210.

335. mvp-comment-192-1 χειμερίῳ νότῳ Impelled by the stormy south-wind. Dative of cause. Essay on Language § 14. p. 21. 335-336. Traversing half-buried in the seething surge. For ὑπό with the dative in this sense, cp. О. С. 673, χλωραῖς ὑπὸ βάσσαις. Essay on Language § 19. p. 27.

336. mvp-comment-193-1 περιβρύχιος is probably active = Surging round, and contains an allusion to βρύχω, for which, cp. Aesch. Prom. 1082, βρυχία δ᾽ ἠχὼ παραμυκᾶται βροντής.

338. mvp-comment-194-1 ὑπερτάταν Supreme, as eldest and mother ofall. Solon, Fr. 36. 3, μεγίστη δαιμόνων Ὀλυμπίων | Γῆ. Cр. О. Т. 660, where the primacy for the occasion is similarly given to the sun. Schneidewin remarks that the assonance ἄφθιτον, ἀκαμάταν ἀποτρύεται, .. ἀρότρων helps to express the persistent industry of man. This ode is full of assonance and alliteration, and of correspondences such as ἀνεμόεν, μαχανόεν-παντόπορος, ἄπορος -ὑψίπολις, ἄπολις.

339. mvp-comment-195-1 ἀποτρύεται Wears out for his use (mid.) the still-unwearied Earth. The present implies that the process is never-ending. Even in the common operations of husbandry the old religion finds a ground for awe. The dactyls suit the thought of the continuous round of human labour, as those of the antistrophe express the movement of the steed. The two long syllables, ἱππει-, οὐρει-, at once check the flow of rhythm (as with a renewed feeling of wonder), and by their weight give impetus to the concluding trochees. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 1039-1040, 1063.4.

340. mvp-comment-196-1 ἰλλομένων ἀρότρων As the ploughs keep turning year after year. The force of ἴλλω is limited motion. Thus the shuttle might be said ἴλλεσθαι, because when it reaches either end of the loom it is driven back again. Precisely in the same way the ploughs are said ἴλλεσθαι, “To keep moving to and fro within certain bounds.' ἔτος εἰς ἔτος] i. e. δι' ἔτους εἰς ἔτος, "Through one year into the next,' the first ἔτος being the accusative of duration.

340. mvp-comment-196-2 ἱππείῳ γένει πολεύων Breaking the glebe by the strength of mules. πολεύειν = πολεῖν in Hes. Op. 460, ἔαρι πολεῖν· θέρεος δὲ νεωμένη οὔ σ᾽ ἀπατή- The masc. is more probable than the neuter, both because τοῦτο is re- σει. mote, and because ἀνήρ follows in the antistrophe.

340. mvp-comment-196-3 ἱππείῳ γένει i. e. Prole equarum. Schol. ταῖς ἡμιόνοις.

αἱ γάρ τε βοῶν προφερέστεραί εἰσιν ἐλκέμεναι νείοιο βαθείης πηκτὸν ἄροτρον.

Hom. Il. 10.352. Donaldson also compares Simon. Fr. 13 (Bergk.), χαίρετ' ἀελλοπόδων θύγατρες ἵππων.

343. mvp-comment-197-1 *κουφονόων Light-thoughted. This is Brunck's certain emendation, anticipated by the corrector of R. (Cp. v. rr. on l. 617.) Donaldson well says that as wings express the light-mindedness of light-mindedness is here made an epithet of the winged birds. But the word may further suggest the unsuspicious nature ('Despising the earth where cares abound') which makes them an easy prey. Cp. Plat. Tim. 91 D, τὸ δὲ τῶν ὀρνέων φῦλον . . ἐκ τῶν ἀκάκων ἀνδρῶν, κούφων δέ, κ.τ.λ.

345. mvp-comment-198-1 πόντου τ᾽ εἰναλίαν φύσιν The brood of ocean teeming in the seas. For φύσιν, see Essay on Language § 51. p. 96.

346. mvp-comment-199-1 σπείραισι δικτυοκλώστοις With meshy toils,' is to be joined with ἀμφιβαλὼν ἄγει. Nets (δίκτυα) were used in hunting and fowling, as well as in fishing. For ἄγειν in the sense of making captive, cp. Il. 9. 594, τέκνα δέ τ᾽ ἄλλοι ἄγουσι βαθυζώνους τε γυναῖκας.

346. mvp-comment-199-2 ἄγει suits well with the image of a captive enemy, which is kept up in the words φύλον and ἔθνη.

348. mvp-comment-200-1 περιφραδής By his excellent wit. The 1st strophe exhibits the boldness, the Ist antistrophe the cunning, of primitive man. The 2nd strophe and antistrophe describe the higher functions of civilized life. 349 ff. He not only subdues the animals, but makes them his servants.' In correcting this line, the dactylic metre is to be retained, which is hardly done in the conjj. ἀμφιλόφῳ ζυγῷ or ἀμφὶ λόφον ζυγοῖ. The words ἀμφίλοφον ζυγόν are sound both in meaning and rhythm. Brunck's conj. ὑπάξεται, supplying the preposition required by the Scholia, would be unexceptionable, if such a potential use of the future in an affirmative sentence could be defended. Blaydes' ὑπήγαγεν would be convincing if closer to the MSS. In favour of ἐπάξεται it may be urged that the repetition of the same word is in the manner of the ode, and that the figurative expression, he shall bring to his aid,' agrees with ἄγει, supr. 343. But besides the questionable future, the construction of the 2nd accus., sc. ἐπ᾿ ἀμφ. ζυγόν, is in this case dubious. ὑφέλκεται. . ζυγόν, compels to serve him in the yoke, may be suggested, although the verb ὑφέλκειν is not used elsewhere precisely in the sense required. Else qy. ἐφέλκεται?

352. mvp-comment-201-1 ἀκμῆτα is preferable to ἀδμῆτα, as the rarer word and as introducing a new and apposite idea. 353 ff. There is a natural progress in the thought. First, navigation and agriculture were mentioned as the arts of subduing the crude forces of nature; then the capture and domestication of animals. Now we come to the humanities and arts of life (the domestication of man himself), and lastly, in ἀντ. β', to moral or political good and evil.

354. mvp-comment-202-1 ἀνεμόεν φρόνημα Windswift thought; i. e. Thought which is viewless, free and nimble as the wind. Sophocles knew that the soul had been identified with the air. Cp. Plat. Phaedo, 96 Β, πότερον τὸ αἷμά ἐστιν ᾧ φρονοῦμεν, ἢ ὁ ἀήρ. ἢ τὸ πῦρ, κ.τ.λ. Schneidewin well compares Hom. Il. 15. 80, foll., ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἂν ἀΐξῃ νόος ἀνέρος, ὅς τ᾽ ἐπὶ πολλὴν | γαῖαν ἐληλουθὼς φρεσὶ πευκαλίμῃσι νοήσῃ | · ἔνθ εἴην ἢ ἔνθα, μενοινήπολλὰ | ὡς κραιπνῶς μεμανία διέπτατο πότνια Ἥρη. Wieseler's conj.

354. mvp-comment-202-2 κατ᾿ ἀν. φρ., adopted by Wolff, is surely unnecessary. Why should not man teach himself to think as well as to count? (See Plat. Rep. 7, p. 522.)

355-356. mvp-comment-203-1 ἀστυνόμους | ὀργάς is well explained by Seyffert, Urbium incolendarum studia. The disposition to inhabit cities. This seems more probable than The tempers of civic life. ἀστυνόμος ὀργή is the social impulse which draws men together to become inhabitants of the same town. comparison of Ar. Pol. 6. 8. 4, (ἑτέρα δ᾽ ἐπιμέλεια ταύτης ἐχομένη καὶ σύνεγγυς ἡ τῶν περὶ τὸ ἄστυ δημοσίων καὶ ἰδίων, ὅπως εὐκοσμία ῃ, καὶ τῶν πιπτόντων οἰκοδομημάτων καὶ ὁδῶν σωτηρία καὶ διόρθωσις, καὶ τῶν ὁρίων τῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ὅπως ἀνεγκλήτως ἔχωσι, καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ἄλλα τῆς ἐπιμελείας ὁμοιότροπα, καλοῦσι δ' ἀστυνομίαν οἱ πλεῖστοι τὴν τοιαύτην ἀρχήν), suggests the conjecture ἀστυνόμους ἀρχάς (already made by Valckenaer), Administrative rule. V reads ὁρμάς, ср. О. Т. 337. Qy. ἀρετάς? Ср. 366. 355, foll. And to avoid the cleareyed influence of comfortless frosts, and the pelting of the pitiless rain.' διαίθρεια, sc. βέλη.

356. mvp-comment-204-1 ἐδιδάξατο He taught himself. For the directly reflexive middle, see Essay on Language § 31. p. 52. The origin of the arts was a favourite problem of the Sophists. Cp. Plato, Prot. 320 D, foll. It is here assumed that they were selftaught without Prometheus or other superhuman aid.

357. mvp-comment-205-1 Musgr. would read either διαίθρεια, or αἴθρεια with φρουρῶν for παρειρῶν in l. 367. G. Wolff reads αἴθρεια and πληρῶν. But the repetition of in ll. 3, 4, and 6 suits the composition of the strophe better than the introduction of the bacchius and cretic in l. 3. διαίθρεια, serene, while keeping up the alliteration, suits the context better than ὑπαίθρεια or ἐναίθρεια, in the open air. Join *διαίθρεια βέλη as well as δύσομβρα βέλη.

360. mvp-comment-206-1 παντοπόρος· ἄπορος This punctuation is justified by the corresponding line of the antistrophe, which cannot be pointed otherwise. παντοπόρος, sc. ὤν, is added, like περιφραδής ἀνήρ, supr. 347, to express the admiration excited by the preceding statements.

360-361. mvp-comment-207-1 οὐδὲν . . τὸ μέλλον] Cp. l. 728, μηδὲν τὸ μὴ δίκαιον. Essay on Language § 22. p. 36.

362. mvp-comment-208-1 οὐκ ἐπάξεται He shall not win. For a similar metaphorical use of ἐπάγεσθαι, where, however, the reading has also been questioned, cp. Thuc. 3.10, τὴν τῶν ξυμμάχων δούλωσιν ἐπαγομένους.

364. mvp-comment-209-1 νόσων δ᾽ ἀμηχάνων φυγὰς | ξυμπέφρασται He hath gathered to him by his thought a remedy for many an unavoidable disease. ξυμ- marks that the healing art is a collective monument of human skill. πέφρασται recalls the notion of περιφραδής, supr. 347. For the oxymoron, cp. supr. 340, ἀκαμάταν ἀποτρύεται.

365-366. mvp-comment-210-1 His power of artful contrivance is a miracle of unimaginable skill, wherewith he followeth one while an evil purpose, at other times a good one.' τέχνας is added as genitive of respect to complete the notion of τὸ μηχανόεν. ὑπὲρ ἐλπίδα, beyond what could have been hoped for, or expected before the event. τι marks the indefiniteness of σοφόν as the predicate. It is in agreement with σοφόν, but has the effect of a particle or adverb (πως).

366. mvp-comment-211-1 κακόν, . . ἐπ᾿ ἐσθλόν Cp. О. Т. 761, ἀγρούς σφε πέμψαι κἀπὶ ποιμνίων νομάς.

367. mvp-comment-212-1 νόμους παρείρων χθονός When he knits therewith, sc. τῷ μηχανόεντι τῆς τέχνης καὶ σοφῷ, the laws of his land and the oath-observing righteousness of heaven. It is objected to παρείρων that it elsewhere means Inserting incidentally, or by the way, and that such a meaning is unsuitable here. But, as Seyffert has already shown, the word (which is a rare one) may quite well mean Weaving in,' like gold-leaf, for instance, into a chaplet of flowers. Cp. Plat. Legg. 605 D, καὶ τὸν τοῦ Κύρου δασμὸν ὃν ὑπέσχετο Πέρσαις εἰς τὸν νόμον ἐνέδει. Conjectural emendations are γεραίρων, περαίνων, γὰρ αἴρων, τ᾿ ἀείρων, πληρῶν (see v. rr., and note on 357).

370. mvp-comment-213-1 ὑψίπολις For this compound, cp. ἡδύπολις, ὀρθόπολις, μεγιστόπολις, δικαιόπολις. The construction is elliptical, sc. ὑψίπολις ὧν or ἐστί.

370. mvp-comment-213-2 ἄπολις . . χάριν] He is outcast from the state, who harbours evil for the indulgence of crime. Cp. supr. l. 30, πρὸς χάριν βορâs: Plat. Phaedr. 241, χάριν πλησμονῆς. This is better than joining τόλμας χάριν with ἄπολις = He is an outcast for his boldness.

375. mvp-comment-214-1 ἴσον φρονῶν i. e. Of the same party in the state. For the expression, cp. Il. 15.50, ἶσον ἐμοὶ φρονέουσα.

376-378. mvp-comment-215-1 ἐς δαιμόνιον τέρας .. Ἀντιγόνην] I stand in doubt at this strange marvel, how to gainsay what I know, and say that this is not the maid Antigone. The resumption is suitable to the chorus' perturbed state of feeling. Seyffert's ἐς δαιμόνιον τέρας ἀμφινοῶν τότε, referring to the previous scene (1. 278), is without the directness and simplicity of these short anapaestic passages, in which the chorus announce the entrance of a new person on the stage. Cp. 526 ff., 626 ff.

378. mvp-comment-216-1 οὐκ εἶναι, not μὴ εἶναι, because the entrance of Antigone is a patent fact.

382. mvp-comment-217-1 *ἀπάγουσι Sc. εἰς κρίσιν.

385. mvp-comment-218-1 εἵλομεν The v. r. εἴδομεν is supported by infr. 404, 406, 423, and εἴλομεν, the reading of L, etc., may have been occasioned by καθελόντες in the nearer context. But see v. rr. on 655.

386. mvp-comment-219-1 ἐς δέον Cp. Ο. Τ. 1416, εἰς δέον πάρεστι. εἰς μέσον, which Seyffert has restored from L, although having the authority of the chief MS, is more like a MS. conjecture than eἰς δέον. The same may be said of ἐξέβην, as compared with προὔβην. Seyffert reads ξύμμετρ᾽ ἐξέβην τύχῃ.

Sophocles Antigone 140

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KREON

Ja, Hades wird auflösen dieser Ehe Bund.

Creon

And have we lived so long then to be taught

At last our duty by a boy like thee ?

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.

HAEMON

Niemals beleidigen. Bin ich ein junger Mensch, muss man nicht auf die Zeit mehr, als die That sehn.

Chorus
CREON, ANTIGONE, CHORUS. 929

The tempest of her passions yet is high;

Chorus

That is your will, Creon, towards this city’s enemy and its friend. And the power is yours, I believe, to make use of every law whatsoever, both concerning the dead and all us who live.

Creon

See, then, that you be guardians of my commands.
215

Chorus

Lay the weight of this task on some younger man.

Creon

That is not what I meant—the guards for the corpse are already in place.

Chorus

Then what is this other command that you would give?

Creon

That you not give way to the breakers of my commands.

Chorus

There is no one so foolish as to crave death.
220

Creon

I assure you, that is the wage for disobedience. Yet by just the hope of it, money has many times corrupted men.

Creon

And what is it that so disheartens you?

Guard

I want to tell you first about myself—I did not do the deed, nor did I see the doer,

so it would be wrong that I should come to any harm.
240

Creon

Like a bowman you aim well at your target from a distance, and all around you hedge yourself off well from the deed. It is clear that you have some unheard-of thing to tell.

Guard

That I do, for terrible news imposes great hesitation.

Creon

Then tell it, will you, and so unburdened go away?

Guard

Well, here it is. The corpse—some one has just given it burial and disappeared after sprinkling thirsty dust on the flesh and performing the other rites that piety demands.
245

Creon

What are you saying? What man dared do this?

Chorus

My king, my thoughts have long been deliberating whether this deed is somehow the work of gods?

Guard

Will you allow me to speak? Or shall I just turn and go?
315

Creon

Do you not know even now how much your voice sickens me?

Guard

Is the pain in your ears, or in your soul?

Creon

And why would you define the seat of my pain?

Guard

He who did it hurts your heart, but I, your ears.

Creon

God! How plain it is that you are a born babbler.
320

Guard

Perhaps, but never the author of this action.

Creon

Yes, and what is more, you sold your life for silver.

Guard

Ah! It is truly sad when the judge judges wrong .

Creon

Expound on judgment as you will. But, if you fail to

show me the perpetrators of these crimes, you will avow that money basely earned wreaks sorrows. Exit Creon.
325

Guard

Well, may the man be found! That would be best. But, whether he be caught or not—for fortune must decide that—I assure you that you will not see me come here again.

Saved just now beyond hope and belief, I owe the gods great thanks. Exit the Guard.
330

Commentary

Stable identifiers

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Current edition Experimental

KREON Ja, Hades wird auflösen dieser Ehe Bund.

Creon And have we lived so long then to be taught At last our duty by a boy like thee ?

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.

HAEMON Niemals beleidigen. Bin ich ein junger Mensch, muss man nicht auf die Zeit mehr, als die That sehn.

Chorus CREON, ANTIGONE, CHORUS. 929 The tempest of her passions yet is high;

Chorus That is your will, Creon, towards this city’s enemy and its friend. And the power is yours, I believe, to make use of every law whatsoever, both concerning the dead and all us who live.

Creon See, then, that you be guardians of my commands. 215

Chorus Lay the weight of this task on some younger man.

Creon That is not what I meant—the guards for the corpse are already in place.

Chorus Then what is this other command that you would give?

Creon That you not give way to the breakers of my commands.

Chorus There is no one so foolish as to crave death. 220

Creon I assure you, that is the wage for disobedience. Yet by just the hope of it, money has many times corrupted men.

Creon And what is it that so disheartens you?

Guard I want to tell you first about myself—I did not do the deed, nor did I see the doer, so it would be wrong that I should come to any harm. 240

Creon Like a bowman you aim well at your target from a distance, and all around you hedge yourself off well from the deed. It is clear that you have some unheard-of thing to tell.

Guard That I do, for terrible news imposes great hesitation.

Creon Then tell it, will you, and so unburdened go away?

Guard Well, here it is. The corpse—some one has just given it burial and disappeared after sprinkling thirsty dust on the flesh and performing the other rites that piety demands. 245

Creon What are you saying? What man dared do this?

Chorus My king, my thoughts have long been deliberating whether this deed is somehow the work of gods?

Guard Will you allow me to speak? Or shall I just turn and go? 315

Creon Do you not know even now how much your voice sickens me?

Guard Is the pain in your ears, or in your soul?

Creon And why would you define the seat of my pain?

Guard He who did it hurts your heart, but I, your ears.

Creon God! How plain it is that you are a born babbler. 320

Guard Perhaps, but never the author of this action.

Creon Yes, and what is more, you sold your life for silver.

Guard Ah! It is truly sad when the judge judges wrong .

Creon Expound on judgment as you will. But, if you fail to show me the perpetrators of these crimes, you will avow that money basely earned wreaks sorrows. Exit Creon. 325

Guard Well, may the man be found! That would be best. But, whether he be caught or not—for fortune must decide that—I assure you that you will not see me come here again. Saved just now beyond hope and belief, I owe the gods great thanks. Exit the Guard. 330

Commentary

Stable identifiers

KREON

Ja, Hades wird auflösen dieser Ehe Bund.

Creon

And have we lived so long then to be taught

At last our duty by a boy like thee ?

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.

HAEMON

Niemals beleidigen. Bin ich ein junger Mensch, muss man nicht auf die Zeit mehr, als die That sehn.

Chorus
CREON, ANTIGONE, CHORUS. 929

The tempest of her passions yet is high;

Chorus

That is your will, Creon, towards this city’s enemy and its friend. And the power is yours, I believe, to make use of every law whatsoever, both concerning the dead and all us who live.

Creon

See, then, that you be guardians of my commands.
215

Chorus

Lay the weight of this task on some younger man.

Creon

That is not what I meant—the guards for the corpse are already in place.

Chorus

Then what is this other command that you would give?

Creon

That you not give way to the breakers of my commands.

Chorus

There is no one so foolish as to crave death.
220

Creon

I assure you, that is the wage for disobedience. Yet by just the hope of it, money has many times corrupted men.

Creon

And what is it that so disheartens you?

Guard

I want to tell you first about myself—I did not do the deed, nor did I see the doer,

so it would be wrong that I should come to any harm.
240

Creon

Like a bowman you aim well at your target from a distance, and all around you hedge yourself off well from the deed. It is clear that you have some unheard-of thing to tell.

Guard

That I do, for terrible news imposes great hesitation.

Creon

Then tell it, will you, and so unburdened go away?

Guard

Well, here it is. The corpse—some one has just given it burial and disappeared after sprinkling thirsty dust on the flesh and performing the other rites that piety demands.
245

Creon

What are you saying? What man dared do this?

Chorus

My king, my thoughts have long been deliberating whether this deed is somehow the work of gods?

Guard

Will you allow me to speak? Or shall I just turn and go?
315

Creon

Do you not know even now how much your voice sickens me?

Guard

Is the pain in your ears, or in your soul?

Creon

And why would you define the seat of my pain?

Guard

He who did it hurts your heart, but I, your ears.

Creon

God! How plain it is that you are a born babbler.
320

Guard

Perhaps, but never the author of this action.

Creon

Yes, and what is more, you sold your life for silver.

Guard

Ah! It is truly sad when the judge judges wrong .

Creon

Expound on judgment as you will. But, if you fail to

show me the perpetrators of these crimes, you will avow that money basely earned wreaks sorrows. Exit Creon.
325

Guard

Well, may the man be found! That would be best. But, whether he be caught or not—for fortune must decide that—I assure you that you will not see me come here again.

Saved just now beyond hope and belief, I owe the gods great thanks. Exit the Guard.
330