KREON

Was ist es? wozu kam gerade recht ich her?

WÄCHTER

Herr, nichts doch mag verschwören je der Sterbliche;

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denn Lügen straft der Nachgedank' ihn oft, sowie

ich kaum wol hoffte, wiederum hierher zu gehn,

ob deiner Drohung, die mich damals schwer betraf.

Doch Freude ja, die wider all Verhoffen kommt,

vergleicht an Gröfse nie sich einer andern Lust

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ich komme, schwur ich eidlich gleich zuvor es ab,

hier diese Jungfrau bringend, die betroffen ward

das Grab bestellend. Nicht geschwenkt ward hier das Loos;

mein ist der Glücksfund, mein und keines Andern sonst.

Und jetzo, Herr, selbst nimm sie hin, wie dir's gefällt,

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verhör' und überführe sie; ich frei von Schuld

verdiene ledig dieser Übel auszugehn.

KREON

Und wie ergriffst du sie denn und an welchem Ort?

WÄCHTER

Sie hat den Mann begraben. Alles weifst du nun.

KREON

Begreifst du auch und sprichst du richtig, was du sprichst?

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WÄCHTER

Sie sah bestatten ich den Todten, welchem du das Grab verweigert.

Sprech' ich deutlich dies und klar?

KREON

Und wie gesehen und entdeckt ward sie gefafst?

CORO

Helo saliendo de casa, que a propósito viene.

CREONTE

¿Qué hay? ¿Qué coincidencia me hace llegar oportunamente?

EL CENTINELA

Señor, para los hombres nada hay irrevocable, porque la reflexión modifica el primer pensamiento. Cuando a duras penas hubiera creido yo volver aqui, por las amenazas con que me helé de terror entonces [pero porque la alegria súbita e inesperada no tiene comparación con ningún otro placer, vengo, aunque sea faltando a mis juramentos], con esta muchacha, que ha sido sorprendida cuando preparaba la sepultura. Ahora no se han echado suertes, sino que mio es, y no de otro, este mensaje. Y ahora, ¡oh señor!, que aquí la tienes, interrógala a tu gusto y júzgala; que yo, en justicia, quedo absuelto y libre de este crimen.

CREONTE

Llevas a ésta, ¿cómo, dónde la has cogido?

EL CENTINELA

Ésta sepultó al hombre; ya lo sabes todo.

CREONTE

¿Tienes conciencia y dices verdad en lo que afirmas?

EL CENTINELA

La vi dando sepultura al cadáver que tú habías prohibido que se sepultara. ¿Hablo clara y expresamente?

CREONTE

¿Y cómo fué fue vista y cogida en flagrante?

EL CENTINELA

Chorus

Eccum opportune rursus progreditur foras.

Creon

Quid est? Ecquid contigit satis ex sententia?

Custos

Rex, mortalibus nihil est abiurandum: nam quae príus animo sederant sequeris frustratur cogitatio: quandoquidem confidenter ego spopondisem mnumquam me huc rediturum, ob minas tuas illas, quibus me antea conturbasti. Verum (nulla enim voluptas est tanta, quam quae desiderata percipitur ex insperato gaudio) venio tamen, licet sacramento abiuraverim, puellam hanc adducens, quae deprehensa est cadaveri sepulturam parans. Sors liic iacta nón fuit, sed meüm est, non alius, hoc lucrum. Et nunc, rex, hanc ipse prehensam interroga, ut lubet, et redargue: me vero liberum ab istis malis abire decet.

Creon

Cur autem banc adducis, et unde?

Custos

Ipsa virum sepeliit: omnia discas.

Creon

An et intelligis et vere dicis, quae dicis?

Custos

Utpote qui eam sepelientem viderim cadaver, cuius tu sepeliri vetueras. Satisne aperta et manifesta dico?

Creon

Et quomodo conspecta est, atque in facinore deprehensa?

Custos

CH

Look, he comes forth again to meet thy call.

CR

Enter CREON .

What call so nearly times with mine approach?

WATCH

My lord, no mortal should deny on oath,

Judgement is still belied by after thought

When quailing ’neath the tempest of your threats,

Methought no force would drive me to this place

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But joy unlook’d for and surpassing hope

Is out of bound the best of all delight,

And so I am here again,—though I had sworn

I ne’er would come,—and in my charge this maid,

Caught in the act of caring for the dead

Here was no lot throwing, this hap was mine

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Without dispute. And now, my sovereign lord,

According to thy pleasure, thine own self

Examine and convict her. For my part

I have good right to be away and free

From the bad business I am come upon.

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CR

This maiden!

How came she in thy charge? Where didst thou find her?

WATCH

Burying the prince. One word hath told thee all.

CR

Hast thou thy wits, and knowest thou what thou sayest?

WATCH

I saw her burying him whom you forbade

To bury. Is that, now, clearly spoken, or no?

405

CR

And how was she detected, caught, and taken?

WATCH

Der Chor.

Hier tritt er wieder aus dem Haus zu rechter Zeit.

Kreon.

Was gibt es? Wozu kam ich euch gelegen her?

385

Der Wächter.

Herr, verschwören sollte nichts ein Sterblicher;

Denn spät'res Wissen straft den Vorsaz Lügen. So

Gelobt' ich, niemals wiederum hieher zu geh'n,

Ob deiner Drohung, wie sie mich vorhin bestürmt.

Doch denn die Freude, welche nicht gehofft erscheint,

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Vergleicht ja keiner andern Lust an Größe sich

Ich komme troz dem Eide, den ich schwur, zurück,

Und diese Jungfrau bring' ich, die getroffen ward

Das Grab bestellend. Diesesmal ward nicht geloost;

Nein, mir gehört, und keinem Andern, dieser Fund.

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Und jezt, o König, nimm sie selbst, wie dir's gefällt,

Forsch' aus und überführe sie; ich, frei von Schuld,

Muß billig auch von aller Strafe ledig sein.

Kreon.

Wie bringst du diese mir daher, wo griffst du sie?

Der Wächter.

Sie hat den Mann bestattet: Alles weißt du nun.

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Kreon.

Begreifst du's auch und sagst du richtig, was du sagst?

Der Wächter.

Sie sah ich den bestatten, welchem du, o Herr,

Das Grab verweigert. Red' ich klar und deutlich hier?

Kreon.

Wie sah man und entdeckte, wie ergriff man sie?

Der Wächter.

Chorus

Returned, as we could wish ;

Creon

Whom have we here ?

Doth justice smile upon usi

Guard

O my lord !

Never should man too confident assert,

Much less by oath should bind himself to aught,

For soon our judgments change, and one opinion

Destroys another. By thy threats alarmed

But now, I vowed I never would return ;

Yet thus preserved beyond my hopes, I come,

Bound by that duty which I owe to thee

And to my country, to bring here this virgin.

Whom, as she sprinkled o'er her brother's dust

The varied wreath, we seized. The wilKng task

Was mine, nor as of late by lot determined.

Receive her then, O king ! Judge and condemn

The guilty as it best becomes thy wisdom ;

Henceforth I stand acquitted.

Creon

But say how,

Where didst thou find her ?

Guard

To say all, 'twas she

Who buried Polynices.

405

Creon

Art thou sure ?

Guard

These eyes beheld her.

Creon

BOTE

Die ists. Die hats gethan. Die griffen wir,

400

Da sie das Grab gemacht, doch wo ist Kreon?

CHOR

Er kommet eben da zurük vom Haufse.

KREON

Was ist es? welch gemelsner Fall geht vor?

BOTE

Mein König, Menschen müssen nichts verschwören.

Bildung lacht aus die Meinung. Was ich sag’;

405

Ich dachte nicht so leicht hieher zurükzukonımen,

Der Drohungnach, die mich zuvor herumgestürmet.

Deni Ueberraschen einer Freude gleicht jedoch

In keinem Grad ein anderes Vergnügen.

Beschworen komm’ ich, obich gleich es abschwur,

410

Die Jungfrau bringend hier; die ward erfunden,

Wie sie das Grab geschmükt. Da ward kein Loos

Geschwungen. Sondern dieser Fund ist mein,

Und keines andern; nimm, o König, nun

Sie selber, wie du willst, und richt’ und strafe!

415

Ich bin mit Recht befreit von diesem Unglük.

KREON

Wie bringst du diese her? wo griffst du sie?

BOTE

Die hat den Mann begraben. Alles weist du.

KREON

Weist du und sagst auch recht, was du geredet ?

BOTE

Begraben sah ich die den Todten, wo du es

420

Verboten. Hinterbring’ ich klares, deutlichs?

KREON

Und wie ward sie gesehn und schuldig funden ?

Chorus

Lo, he comes forth again from the house, at our need.

Creon

What is it? What hath chanced, that makes my coming timely?

Guard

O king, against nothing should men pledge their word ; for the after-thought belies the first intent. 390 I could have vowed that I should not soon be here again,—scared by thy threats, with which I had just been lashed: but,—since the joy that surprises and transcends our hopes is like in fulness to no other pleasure—I have come, though ’tis in breach of my sworn oath, bringing this maid; who was taken showing grace to the dead. This time there was no casting of lots; no, this luck hath fallen to me, and to none else. And now, sire, take her thyself, question her, examine her, as thou wilt; but I have a right to free and final 400 quittance of this trouble.

Creon

And thy prisoner here—how and whence hast thou taken her?

Guard

She was burying the man; thou knowest all.

Creon

Dost thou mean what thou sayest? Dost thou speak aright?

Guard

I saw her burying the corpse that thou hadst forbidden to bury, Is that plain and clear?

Creon

And how was she seen? how taken in the act ?

Guard

Chorus

ANTIS. 2.

I stand astonish'd at this sight: too well

I know her, nor this virgin can deny

To be Antigone. Unhappy child

Of an unhappy father! What means this?

Thee do they lead seized in this mad attempt,

Found disobedient to the king's command?

Messenger

MESSENGER, ANTIGONE, CHORUS.

This, be assured, is she that did the deed :

We seized her as the body she interr'd.

But where is Creon?

Creon

Hither he returns.

Messenger

CREON, MESSENGER, ANTIGONE, CHORUS.

What hath befall'n? Hath justice reach'd th' offence?

Never should man, O king, on oath protest

Against a deed; some unseen cause may rise,

And show his former resolution built

On false foundations. By thy threats appall'd

405

I rashly said I never would return;

405

Yet with a joy beyond, above all hope,

405

Creon

Above all other pleasure I am come,

Though strong against me stands my oath, and lead

This virgin, whom I found with her own hands

The dead interring. Now no lot was cast,

Not shared by others. Take her then, O king,

The unexpected meed is all my own,

Judge her, convict her: guiltless I am proved,

And rightly from thy threaten'd vengeance free.

Thou bring'st this virgin, for what cause? where found ?

Messenger

Guard

Here is she, the one who did the deed.

We caught this one burying him. Where is Creon?

385

Chorus

There, he is coming from the house again at our need.

Creon

What is it? What has happened that makes my coming timely?

Guard

My king, there is nothing that a man can rightly swear he will not do. For second thought belies one’s first intent.

I could have vowed that I would not ever come here again, because of your threats by which I had just been storm-tossed. But since this joy that exceeds and oversteps my hopes can be compared in fulness to no other pleasure, I am back—though it is contrary to my sworn oath—

390

bringing this girl who was caught giving burial honors to the dead. This time there was no casting of lots. No, this piece of luck has fallen to me, and me alone. And now, my king, as it pleases you, take her yourself, question her and convict her. But justice would see me

395

released free and clear from this trouble.

400

Creon

Your prisoner here—how and where did you take her?

Guard

She was burying the man. You know all there is to tell.

Creon

Are you clear and sure about what you are saying?

Guard

I am. I saw her burying the corpse that you

had forbidden to bury. Is that plain and sufficient?

405

Creon

And how was she observed? How taken in the act?

Guard

It happened like this. When we had come to the place with those fierce threats of yours still in our ears, we swept away all the dust that covered

the corpse and bared the damp body well. We then sat down on the brow of the hill to windward, fleeing the smell from him, lest it strike us. Each man was wide awake and kept his neighbor alert with torrents of threats, if any one should be careless of this task.

410

So time passed, until the disk of the sun stood bright in mid-sky and the heat began to burn. And then suddenly a whirlwind lifted from the earth a storm of dust, a trouble in the sky, and it filled the plain, marring all the foliage of its woods.

415

Soon the wide air was choked with it. We closed our eyes, and endured the plague from the gods. When, after a long while, this storm had passed, the girl was seen, and she wailed aloud with the sharp cry of a grieving bird, as when inside her empty

420

nest she sees the bed stripped of its nestlings. So she, too, when she saw the corpse bare, broke into a cry of lamentation and cursed with harsh curses those who had done it. Immediately she took thirsty dust in her hands,

425

and from a pitcher of beaten bronze held high she crowned the dead with thrice-poured libations. We rushed forward when we saw it, and at once closed upon our quarry, who was not at all dismayed. We then charged her with her past and present doings,

430

but she made no denial of anything—at once to my joy and to my pain. For to have escaped from trouble one’s self gives the greatest joy, but it stings to lead friends to evil. Naturally, though, all such things are

435

of less account to me than my own safety.

440

Creon

You, you with your face bent to the ground, do you admit, or deny that you did this?

Antigone

I declare it and make no denial.

Creon

To the Guard.

You can take yourself wherever you please,

free and clear of a heavy charge. Exit Guard.

445

To Antigone.

You, however, tell me—not at length, but briefly—did you know that an edict had forbidden this?

Antigone

I knew it. How could I not? It was public.

Creon

And even so you dared overstep that law?

Antigone

Yes, since it was not Zeus that published me that edict, and since not of that kind are the laws which Justice who dwells with the gods below established among men. Nor did I think that your decrees were of such force, that a mortal could override the unwritten

450

and unfailing statutes given us by the gods. For their life is not of today or yesterday, but for all time, and no man knows when they were first put forth. Not for fear of any man’s pride was I about to owe a penalty to the gods for breaking these.

455

Die I must, that I knew well (how could I not?). That is true even without your edicts. But if I am to die before my time, I count that a gain. When anyone lives as I do, surrounded by evils, how can he not carry off gain by dying?

460

So for me to meet this doom is a grief of no account. But if I had endured that my mother’s son should in death lie an unburied corpse, that would have grieved me. Yet for this, I am not grieved. And if my present actions are foolish in your sight,

465

it may be that it is a fool who accuses me of folly.

470

Chorus

She shows herself the wild offspring of a wild father, and does not know how to bend before troubles.

Creon

Yet remember that over-hard spirits most often collapse. It is the stiffest iron, baked to

utter hardness in the fire, that you most often see snapped and shivered. And I have witnessed horses with great spirit disciplined by a small bit. For there is no place for pride, when one is his neighbors’ slave.

475

This girl was already practiced in outrage when she overstepped the published laws. And, that done, this now is a second outrage, that she glories in it and exults in her deed. In truth, then, I am no man, but she is,

480

if this victory rests with her and brings no penalty. No! Whether she is my sister’s child, or nearer to me in blood than any of my kin that worship Zeus at the altar of our house, she and her sister will not escape a doom most harsh. For in truth

485

I charge that other with an equal share in the plotting of this burial. Call her out! I saw her inside just now, raving, and not in control of her wits. Before the deed, the mind frequently is convicted of stealthy crimes when conspirators are plotting depravity in the dark.

490

But, truly, I detest it, too, when one who has been caught in treachery then seeks to make the crime a glory.

495

Antigone

What more do you want than to capture and kill me?

Creon

I want nothing else. Having that, I have everything.

Antigone

Why then do you wait? In none of your maxims

is there anything that pleases me—and may there never be! Similarly to you as well my views must be displeasing. And yet, how could I have won a nobler glory than by giving burial to my own brother? All here would admit that they approve,

500

if fear did not grip their tongues. But tyranny, blest with so much else, has the power to do and say whatever it pleases.

505

Creon

You alone out of all these Thebans see it that way.

Antigone

They do, too, but for you they hold their tongues.

Creon

Are you not ashamed that your beliefs differ from theirs?

510

Antigone

No, there is nothing shameful in respecting your own flesh and blood.

Creon

Was not he your brother too, who died in the opposite cause?

Antigone

A brother by the same mother and the same father.

Creon

Why, then, do you pay a service that is disrespectful to him?

Antigone

The dead man will not support you in that.

515

Creon

Yes, he will, if you honor him equally with the wicked one.

Antigone

It was his brother, not his slave, who died.

Creon

But he died ravaging this land, while he fell in its defense.

Antigone

Hades craves these rites, nevertheless.

Creon

But the good man craves a portion not equal to the evil’s.

520

Antigone

Who knows but that these actions are pure to those below?

Creon

You do not love someone you have hated, not even after death.

Antigone

It is not my nature to join in hate, but in love.

Creon

Then, go down to hell and love them

if you must. While I live, no woman will rule me.

525