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Weh, weh, du solltest allzuspät das Rechte seh'n!

Weh mir!

Zweite Strophe.

Kreon.

Ich hab's erkannt, ich Armer: ja, auf dieses Haupt

Hereinstürmend traf ein Gott, schwer ergrimmt,

Mit schwerem Schlag; in wilde Bahnen stieß er mich,
1240

weh, niederstürzend mein zertret'nes Glück!

Ach, ach, weh, des Menschen mühvolle Müh'n!

Ein Diener (kommt aus dem Palaste.) Die Vorigen.

Der Diener.

Antigone. Sophocles. Johann Jakob Christian Donner (Translator). . .

Current edition Experimental

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) (German) (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (12)

Greek (L. Benloew, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (L. Benloew, 1858)) — 1270 focus

οἴμ᾽, ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.

Κρέων

b

οἴμοι.

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ᾽ ἐμῷ κάρᾳ
1265

θεὸς τότ᾽ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος μ᾽ ἔχων

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,

οἴμοι, λαξπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.

φεῦ, φεῦ.

ὦ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι.
1270

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 1270 focus

Χορός

οἴμ᾽, ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.

Κρέων

οἴμοι,

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ᾽ ἐμῷ κάρᾳ

θεὸς τότ᾽ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος μ᾽ ἔχων
1215

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,

οἴμοι, λακπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.

φεῦ φεῦ, ὦ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι.

Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 1270 focus

ὅμως ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1245

Κρέων

1

οἵ μοι!

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ᾽ ἐμῷ κάρᾳ

θεὸς τότ' ἄρα, τότε, μέγα βάρος ἔχων

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,

οἴ μοι, λαξπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.
1250

φεῦ, φεῦ! ὦ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι!

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1270 focus

οἴμ᾿ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

Κρέων

οἴμοι,

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ᾽ ἐμῷ κάρᾳ

θεὸς τότ᾽ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος μ' ἔχων

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,

63v

οἴμοι, λακπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.
1275

φεῦ φεῦ, ὦ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι.

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (A. Colonna, 1978) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Colonna, 1978)) — 1270 focus

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

Κρέων

οἴμοι,

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ᾽ ἐμῷ κάρᾳ

θεὸς τότ᾽ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος μ᾽ ἔχων

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,

οἴμοι, λακπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.
1275

φεῦ φεῦ, ἰὼ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι.

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (A. Dain, 1955) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Dain, 1955)) — 1270 focus

οἴμ’ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

Κρέων

οἴμοι,

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ’ ἐμῷ κάρᾳ

θεὸς τότ’ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος μ’ ἔχων

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ’ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,

οἴμοι, λεωπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.
1275

φεῦ φεῦ, ἰὼ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι.

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979)) — 1270 focus

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

2

Κρέων

οἴμοι,

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ᾽ ἐμῶι κάραι

θεὸς τότ᾽ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος δικὼν

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,

οἴμοι, λακπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.
1275

φεῦ φεῦ, ἰὼ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι.

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (G. Hermann, 1830) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (G. Hermann, 1830)) — 1270 focus

οἴμ᾽, ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.

Κρέων

2

οἴμοι·

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ᾽ ἐμῷ κάρᾳ

θεὸς τότ᾽ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος μ᾽ ἔχων

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,
1260

οἴμοι, λαξπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.

φεῦ, φεῦ· ὦ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι.

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906)) — 1270 focus

οἵμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

Κρέων
2

οἴμοι, 1

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ᾽ ἐμῷ κάρᾳ 2

θεὸς τότ᾽ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος μ᾽ ἔχων 3

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς, 4

οἴμοι, λακπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν. 5
1275

φεῦ φεῦ, ὦ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι. 6

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924)) — 1270 focus

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

Κρέων

οἴμοι,

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ᾽ ἐμῷ κάρᾳ

θεὸς τότ᾽ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος μ᾽ ἔχων

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,

οἴμοι λακπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.
1275

φεῦ φεῦ, ἰὼ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι.

Ἐξάγγελος

Antigone (OCR draft) Experimental (Antigone) — 1270 focus

Χορός

οἴμʼ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

Κρέων

οἴμοι,

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δʼ ἐμῷ κάρᾳ

θεὸς τότʼ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος μʼ ἔχων

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δʼ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,

οἴμοι, λακπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.
1275

φεῦ φεῦ, ὦ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι.

Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949)) — 1270 focus

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

Κρέων

οἴμοι,

ἔχω μαθὼν δείλαιος· ἐν δ᾽ ἐμῶι κάραι

θεὸς τότ᾽ ἄρα τότε μέγα βάρος μ᾽ ἔχων

ἔπαισεν, ἐν δ᾽ ἔσεισεν ἀγρίαις ὁδοῖς,

οἴμοι, λακπάτητον ἀντρέπων χαράν.
1275

φεῦ φεῦ, ἰὼ πόνοι βροτῶν δύσπονοι.

Ἄγγελος

Translations (10)

German (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 1270 focus

CHOR.

Ach daſs zu spät doch, seh' ich, du das Recht erkennst!

KREON.
Str. 2.

Weh mir!

Ich hab's gelernt, ich Armer! Schwer belastend traf

mir damals im Zorn ein Gott dieses Haupt,
1215

und schlug's, und warf in wilde Pfade mich hinein;

weh mir! niederstürzt' er mein zertretnes Glück!

Ach ach! o der Menschen leidvolles Leid!

Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921)) — 1270 focus

¡Ay!, que tarde parece que reconoces la justicia.

CREONTE

¡Ay de mí! La conozco en mi desgracia. Pero en aquel entonces, en verdad, entonces un dios gravemente irritado contra mi mí, me sacudía la cabeza y me lanzó por funestas sendas, ¡ay de mí!, destruyendo mi felicidad, que holló con sus pies. ¡Huy, huy! ¡Oh infructuosos afanes de los mortales!

EL MENSAJERO

Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 1270 focus

Quanquam sero, videris tamen deüm iustitiam agnovisse!

Creon

Hei mihi! agnosco miser. Tunc scilicet, tunc, inquam, deus gravi calamitate caput meum percussit, instigavitque ad saeva comsilia, hei mibi, impresso pede subvertens gaudia. Heu! heu! labores hominum infelices!

Verna

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1270 focus

Alas for him who sees the right too late!
1270

CR

Alas!

I have learnt it now. But then upon my head

Some God had smitten with dire weight of doom;

And plunged me in a furious course, woe is me!

Discomforting and trampling on my joy.
1275

Woe! for the bitterness of mortal pain!

2ND MESS
Enter 2nd Messenger .

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1270 focus

O king ! thy justice comes too late.
1270

Creon

It doth,

1 know it well, unhappy as I am ;

For oh ! the god this heavy weight of woe

Hath cast upon me, and his fiercest wrath

Torments me now, changing my joyful state

To keenest anguish. Oh ! the fruitless toils
1275

Of wretched mortals !

Messenger
Scene V.

Creon, Chorus.

Messenger

Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889)) — 1270 focus

¡Ah! muy tarde reconoces la justicia de los dioses.

Estrofa 1.a

CREONTE

¡Mísero de mil tarde, sí la he reconocido. Alguna Deidad, irritada contra mi, trastornó mi juicio, y me precipitó en la senda de la crueldad; y con pié despiadado ¡ay de mi! ha derrumbado toda mi felicidad... ¡Ayl... ¡ay! vanidad de los proyectos humanos!...

EL MENSAJERO

anlterior, que sale de Palacio.

German (F. Hölderlin, 1804) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (F. Hölderlin, 1804)) — 1270 focus

CHOR

O mir, wie mufstest du so spät erst seh’n das Rechte.

KREON

Ich hab’s gelernet in Furcht. An meinem Haupt aber

Ein Gott dort, dort mich

Mit grolser Schwere gefalst
1330

Und geschlagen hat, und geschüttelt auf wilden Wegen.

Ach! ach!

Io! ihr Mühen der Menschen! ihr Mühsamen !

Dritte Scene DER BOTE. KREON. DER CHOR.

English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904)) — 1270 focus

1270 Ah me, how all too late thou seemest to see the right !

Creon

Ah me, I have learned the bitter lesson! But then, methinks, oh then, some god smote me from above with crushing weight, and hurled me into ways of cruelty, woe is me,—overthrowing and trampling on my joy! Woe, woe, for the troublous toils of men! Enter MESSENGER from the house.

Messenger

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1270 focus

The dead to those who slew them how allied!

At length, O king, thou seest what justice is.
1270

Too late I learn it now; then, then the god
1270

Laid on my head this load, impell'd me then
1270

To these rough paths, and all our high-raised joys
1270

Spurn'd to the ground. Oh vain, vain toils of men!
1270

Creon
ATTENDANT, CREON, CHORUS.

English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904)) — 1261-1345 focus

Creon

Ah, the blunders of an unthinking mind, blunders of rigidity, yielding death! Oh, you witnesses of the killers and the killed, both of one family!

What misery arises from my reasonings! Haemon, you have died after a young life, youngest and last of my sons! O God! You have departed not by your foolishness, but by my own!
1265

1270

Chorus

Ah, how late you seem to see the right!
1270

Creon

God, I have mastered the bitter lesson! But then, then, I think, some god struck me on my head with a crushing weight, and drove me into savage paths,

—ah!—and overthrew my joy to be trampled on! Ah, the labors men must toil through!
1275

1278 Enter the Messenger from the house.

Messenger

My master, you have come, I think, like one whose hands are not empty, but who has a ready store: first, you carry that burden visible in your arms;

second, you will soon look upon further sufferings inside your house.
1280

1281

Creon

What worse suffering is still to follow upon these sufferings?

Messenger

Your wife is dead, true mother of that corpse, poor lady, by wounds newly cut.

1284

Creon

O harbor of Hades, hard to purify!

Why, why do you ruin me? Herald of evil, of grief, what word do you say? Ah, you have done in a dead man anew! What are you saying, boy? What is this you report to me
1285

God no!—what new slaughter, my wife’s doom, is heaped upon this ruin?
1290

1293 The doors of the palace are opened, and the corpse of Eurydice is disclosed.

Chorus

The sight is at hand. It is no longer hidden inside.

1294

Creon

Ah, misery!

There I see a new, a second evil! What destiny, ah, what, can still await me? I have just now taken my son in my arms, and now I see another corpse before me!
1295

Oh, tormented mother! Oh, my son!
1300

Messenger

By the altar, with a sharp-whetted sword, she struck until her eyes went slack and dark. Before that she bewailed the noble fate of Megareus who died earlier, and then the fate of this boy, and also, with her last breath,

she called down evil fortune upon you, the slayer of her sons.
1305

1306

Creon

Ah, no! I tremble with fear. Why does no one strike me full on my chest with a two-edged sword?

I am miserable—ah—and bathed in miserable anguish!
1310

Messenger

Yes, because you were accused of responsibility for both this son’s death, and the other’s, by her whose corpse you see.

Creon

What was the manner of the violent deed by which she departed?

Messenger

Her own hand struck her to the heart upon learning her son’s sharply-lamented fate.
1315

1317

Creon

Ah this guilt can never be fastened onto any other mortal so as to remove my own! It was I, yes, I, who killed you, I the wretch.

I admit the truth. Lead me away, my servants, lead me from here with all haste, who am no more than a dead man!
1320

Chorus

The course you recommend is to your gain, if there can be gain amidst evil. What is briefest is best, when trouble lies at your feet.
1325

1328

Creon

Let it come, let it appear, that fairest of fates for me, that brings my final day,

the fate supreme! Oh, let it come, so that I may never see tomorrow’s light!
1330

1334

Chorus

These things are in the future. We must see to present affairs.

Fulfillment of these things rests in the hands where it should rest.
1335

Creon

All that I crave was summed in that prayer.

Chorus

Then pray no more; for mortals have no release from destined misfortune.

1339

Creon

Lead me away, I beg you, a rash, useless man.

I have murdered you, son, unwittingly, and you, too, my wife—the misery! I do not know which way I should look, or where I should seek support. All is
1340

amiss that is in my hands, and, again, a crushing fate has leapt upon my head.
1345

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-748-1 φυσιῶν ¹

mvp-comment-748-2 ῥοὴν ²

mvp-comment-749-1 τέλη ³

mvp-comment-749-2 ἔν γ’ Ἅιδου ⁴ ἔν γ ⁵ γε ⁶ ἔν γε ⁷

mvp-comment-750-1 δείξας … τὴν ἀβουλίαν ⁸

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

1236-1237. mvp-comment-699-1 He clung to the maiden, enfolding her in his slackening arm. The construction of ἐς .. ἀγκῶνα is as if λαμβάνει, or some such verb, were to follow. 6

1236. mvp-comment-700-1 ἤρεισε.. μέσσον Drove the blade right into his side. See on O. C. 1595. Essay on Language § 51. p. 85.

1238. mvp-comment-701-1 πνοήν, which the Scholiast read, is at once a harder reading than ῥοήν, and harmonizes better with the context. And panting hard, he cast on her pale cheek sharp breath of gory dew.' Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1388: Essay on Language § 10. p. 17.

1241. mvp-comment-702-1 εἰν ῞Αιδου δόμοις The particle γε, which Heath introduced, reading ἔν γ', is defended by Seyffert: Apud inferos saltem, inquit poeta, nactus est Haemon nuptias rite confectas, quarum vivus expers fuit: in complexu tenet mortuam mortuus (v. 1235, sq.). But iv, the reading of L², is supported by the other Epic forms which occur in the play. See Introd., and cp. the Homeric καὶ εἰν Ἀίδαο δόμοισι.

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Weh, weh, du solltest allzuspät das Rechte seh'n! Weh mir! Zweite Strophe.

Der Diener.

Current edition Experimental

οἴμ᾽, ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.

Ἐξάγγελος

Χορός οἴμ᾽, ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.

ὅμως ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν. 1245

Ἐξάγγελος

οἴμ᾿ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν. 1270

Ἐξάγγελος

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν. 1270

Ἐξάγγελος

οἴμ’ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν. 1270

Ἐξάγγελος

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν. 1270 2

Ἐξάγγελος

οἴμ᾽, ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.

Ἐξάγγελος

οἵμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν. 1270

Ἐξάγγελος

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν. 1270

Ἐξάγγελος

Χορός οἴμʼ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν. 1270

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν. 1270

Ἄγγελος

CHOR. Ach daſs zu spät doch, seh' ich, du das Recht erkennst!

KREON. Str. 2. Weh mir! Ich hab's gelernt, ich Armer! Schwer belastend traf mir damals im Zorn ein Gott dieses Haupt, 1215 und schlug's, und warf in wilde Pfade mich hinein; weh mir! niederstürzt' er mein zertretnes Glück! Ach ach! o der Menschen leidvolles Leid!

EL MENSAJERO

Creon Hei mihi! agnosco miser. Tunc scilicet, tunc, inquam, deus gravi calamitate caput meum percussit, instigavitque ad saeva comsilia, hei mibi, impresso pede subvertens gaudia. Heu! heu! labores hominum infelices!

Verna

Alas for him who sees the right too late! 1270

CR Alas! I have learnt it now. But then upon my head Some God had smitten with dire weight of doom; And plunged me in a furious course, woe is me! Discomforting and trampling on my joy. 1275 Woe! for the bitterness of mortal pain!

2ND MESS Enter 2nd Messenger .

O king ! thy justice comes too late. 1270

Creon It doth, 1 know it well, unhappy as I am ; For oh ! the god this heavy weight of woe Hath cast upon me, and his fiercest wrath Torments me now, changing my joyful state To keenest anguish. Oh ! the fruitless toils 1275 Of wretched mortals !

Messenger Scene V. Creon, Chorus.

Messenger

Estrofa 1.a

CREONTE ¡Mísero de mil tarde, sí la he reconocido. Alguna Deidad, irritada contra mi, trastornó mi juicio, y me precipitó en la senda de la crueldad; y con pié despiadado ¡ay de mi! ha derrumbado toda mi felicidad... ¡Ayl... ¡ay! vanidad de los proyectos humanos!...

EL MENSAJERO anlterior, que sale de Palacio.

CHOR O mir, wie mufstest du so spät erst seh’n das Rechte.

KREON Ich hab’s gelernet in Furcht. An meinem Haupt aber Ein Gott dort, dort mich Mit grolser Schwere gefalst 1330 Und geschlagen hat, und geschüttelt auf wilden Wegen. Ach! ach! Io! ihr Mühen der Menschen! ihr Mühsamen ! Dritte Scene DER BOTE. KREON. DER CHOR.

Creon Ah me, I have learned the bitter lesson! But then, methinks, oh then, some god smote me from above with crushing weight, and hurled me into ways of cruelty, woe is me,—overthrowing and trampling on my joy! Woe, woe, for the troublous toils of men! Enter MESSENGER from the house.

Messenger

The dead to those who slew them how allied!

At length, O king, thou seest what justice is. 1270 Too late I learn it now; then, then the god 1270 Laid on my head this load, impell'd me then 1270 To these rough paths, and all our high-raised joys 1270 Spurn'd to the ground. Oh vain, vain toils of men! 1270

Creon ATTENDANT, CREON, CHORUS.

Chorus Ah, how late you seem to see the right! 1270

Creon God, I have mastered the bitter lesson! But then, then, I think, some god struck me on my head with a crushing weight, and drove me into savage paths, —ah!—and overthrew my joy to be trampled on! Ah, the labors men must toil through! 1275

Messenger My master, you have come, I think, like one whose hands are not empty, but who has a ready store: first, you carry that burden visible in your arms; second, you will soon look upon further sufferings inside your house. 1280

Creon What worse suffering is still to follow upon these sufferings?

Messenger Your wife is dead, true mother of that corpse, poor lady, by wounds newly cut.

Creon O harbor of Hades, hard to purify! Why, why do you ruin me? Herald of evil, of grief, what word do you say? Ah, you have done in a dead man anew! What are you saying, boy? What is this you report to me 1285 God no!—what new slaughter, my wife’s doom, is heaped upon this ruin? 1290

Chorus The sight is at hand. It is no longer hidden inside.

Creon Ah, misery! There I see a new, a second evil! What destiny, ah, what, can still await me? I have just now taken my son in my arms, and now I see another corpse before me! 1295 Oh, tormented mother! Oh, my son! 1300

Messenger By the altar, with a sharp-whetted sword, she struck until her eyes went slack and dark. Before that she bewailed the noble fate of Megareus who died earlier, and then the fate of this boy, and also, with her last breath, she called down evil fortune upon you, the slayer of her sons. 1305

Creon Ah, no! I tremble with fear. Why does no one strike me full on my chest with a two-edged sword? I am miserable—ah—and bathed in miserable anguish! 1310

Messenger Yes, because you were accused of responsibility for both this son’s death, and the other’s, by her whose corpse you see.

Creon What was the manner of the violent deed by which she departed?

Messenger Her own hand struck her to the heart upon learning her son’s sharply-lamented fate. 1315

Creon Ah this guilt can never be fastened onto any other mortal so as to remove my own! It was I, yes, I, who killed you, I the wretch. I admit the truth. Lead me away, my servants, lead me from here with all haste, who am no more than a dead man! 1320

Chorus The course you recommend is to your gain, if there can be gain amidst evil. What is briefest is best, when trouble lies at your feet. 1325

Creon Let it come, let it appear, that fairest of fates for me, that brings my final day, the fate supreme! Oh, let it come, so that I may never see tomorrow’s light! 1330

Chorus These things are in the future. We must see to present affairs. Fulfillment of these things rests in the hands where it should rest. 1335

Creon All that I crave was summed in that prayer.

Chorus Then pray no more; for mortals have no release from destined misfortune.

Creon Lead me away, I beg you, a rash, useless man. I have murdered you, son, unwittingly, and you, too, my wife—the misery! I do not know which way I should look, or where I should seek support. All is 1340 amiss that is in my hands, and, again, a crushing fate has leapt upon my head. 1345

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Weh, weh, du solltest allzuspät das Rechte seh'n!

Weh mir!

Zweite Strophe.

Χορός

οἴμ᾽, ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.

ὅμως ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1245

οἴμ᾿ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

οἴμ’ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

2

οἵμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

Χορός

οἴμʼ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

οἴμ᾽ ὡς ἔοικας ὀψὲ τὴν δίκην ἰδεῖν.
1270

CHOR.

Ach daſs zu spät doch, seh' ich, du das Recht erkennst!

KREON.
Str. 2.

Weh mir!

Ich hab's gelernt, ich Armer! Schwer belastend traf

mir damals im Zorn ein Gott dieses Haupt,
1215

und schlug's, und warf in wilde Pfade mich hinein;

weh mir! niederstürzt' er mein zertretnes Glück!

Ach ach! o der Menschen leidvolles Leid!

Creon

Hei mihi! agnosco miser. Tunc scilicet, tunc, inquam, deus gravi calamitate caput meum percussit, instigavitque ad saeva comsilia, hei mibi, impresso pede subvertens gaudia. Heu! heu! labores hominum infelices!

Alas for him who sees the right too late!
1270

CR

Alas!

I have learnt it now. But then upon my head

Some God had smitten with dire weight of doom;

And plunged me in a furious course, woe is me!

Discomforting and trampling on my joy.
1275

Woe! for the bitterness of mortal pain!

2ND MESS
Enter 2nd Messenger .

O king ! thy justice comes too late.
1270

Creon

It doth,

1 know it well, unhappy as I am ;

For oh ! the god this heavy weight of woe

Hath cast upon me, and his fiercest wrath

Torments me now, changing my joyful state

To keenest anguish. Oh ! the fruitless toils
1275

Of wretched mortals !

Messenger
Scene V.

Creon, Chorus.

CREONTE

¡Mísero de mil tarde, sí la he reconocido. Alguna Deidad, irritada contra mi, trastornó mi juicio, y me precipitó en la senda de la crueldad; y con pié despiadado ¡ay de mi! ha derrumbado toda mi felicidad... ¡Ayl... ¡ay! vanidad de los proyectos humanos!...

EL MENSAJERO

anlterior, que sale de Palacio.

CHOR

O mir, wie mufstest du so spät erst seh’n das Rechte.

KREON

Ich hab’s gelernet in Furcht. An meinem Haupt aber

Ein Gott dort, dort mich

Mit grolser Schwere gefalst
1330

Und geschlagen hat, und geschüttelt auf wilden Wegen.

Ach! ach!

Io! ihr Mühen der Menschen! ihr Mühsamen !

Dritte Scene DER BOTE. KREON. DER CHOR.

Creon

Ah me, I have learned the bitter lesson! But then, methinks, oh then, some god smote me from above with crushing weight, and hurled me into ways of cruelty, woe is me,—overthrowing and trampling on my joy! Woe, woe, for the troublous toils of men! Enter MESSENGER from the house.

At length, O king, thou seest what justice is.
1270

Too late I learn it now; then, then the god
1270

Laid on my head this load, impell'd me then
1270

To these rough paths, and all our high-raised joys
1270

Spurn'd to the ground. Oh vain, vain toils of men!
1270

Creon
ATTENDANT, CREON, CHORUS.

Chorus

Ah, how late you seem to see the right!
1270

Creon

God, I have mastered the bitter lesson! But then, then, I think, some god struck me on my head with a crushing weight, and drove me into savage paths,

—ah!—and overthrew my joy to be trampled on! Ah, the labors men must toil through!
1275

Messenger

My master, you have come, I think, like one whose hands are not empty, but who has a ready store: first, you carry that burden visible in your arms;

second, you will soon look upon further sufferings inside your house.
1280

Creon

What worse suffering is still to follow upon these sufferings?

Messenger

Your wife is dead, true mother of that corpse, poor lady, by wounds newly cut.

Creon

O harbor of Hades, hard to purify!

Why, why do you ruin me? Herald of evil, of grief, what word do you say? Ah, you have done in a dead man anew! What are you saying, boy? What is this you report to me
1285

God no!—what new slaughter, my wife’s doom, is heaped upon this ruin?
1290

Chorus

The sight is at hand. It is no longer hidden inside.

Creon

Ah, misery!

There I see a new, a second evil! What destiny, ah, what, can still await me? I have just now taken my son in my arms, and now I see another corpse before me!
1295

Oh, tormented mother! Oh, my son!
1300

Creon

Ah, no! I tremble with fear. Why does no one strike me full on my chest with a two-edged sword?

I am miserable—ah—and bathed in miserable anguish!
1310

Messenger

Yes, because you were accused of responsibility for both this son’s death, and the other’s, by her whose corpse you see.

Creon

What was the manner of the violent deed by which she departed?

Messenger

Her own hand struck her to the heart upon learning her son’s sharply-lamented fate.
1315

Creon

Ah this guilt can never be fastened onto any other mortal so as to remove my own! It was I, yes, I, who killed you, I the wretch.

I admit the truth. Lead me away, my servants, lead me from here with all haste, who am no more than a dead man!
1320

Chorus

The course you recommend is to your gain, if there can be gain amidst evil. What is briefest is best, when trouble lies at your feet.
1325

Creon

Let it come, let it appear, that fairest of fates for me, that brings my final day,

the fate supreme! Oh, let it come, so that I may never see tomorrow’s light!
1330

Chorus

These things are in the future. We must see to present affairs.

Fulfillment of these things rests in the hands where it should rest.
1335

Creon

All that I crave was summed in that prayer.

Chorus

Then pray no more; for mortals have no release from destined misfortune.

Creon

Lead me away, I beg you, a rash, useless man.

I have murdered you, son, unwittingly, and you, too, my wife—the misery! I do not know which way I should look, or where I should seek support. All is
1340

amiss that is in my hands, and, again, a crushing fate has leapt upon my head.
1345