Sophocles, Antigone, Friedrich Hölderlin (Translator), 1284

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KREON

Io! Io! du schmuziger Hafen
1340

Der Unterwelt! was? mich nun? was? verderbest du mich?

Io! der übelberichtet mir

Hersandte das Unglük, führest solch Geschrei du?

Weh! Weh! du hast zu Grunde den Mann gerichtet.

Was sprichstdu, Kind ? was bringest dumir Neues?
1345

Weh! Weh! Weh!

Geschlachtet an dem Boden liege

Des Weibs Theil über allgemeinem Zerfalle.

Antigone. Sophocles. Friedrich Hölderlin (Translator). Frankfurt am Main. 1804.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Experimental

German (F. Hölderlin, 1804) (OCR draft) (German) (German (F. Hölderlin, 1804))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (12)

Greek (L. Benloew, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (L. Benloew, 1858)) — 1284 focus

ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος ᾍδου λιμὴν,

τί μ᾽ ἄρα, τί μ᾽ ὀλέκεις ;

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον ;
1280

αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω.

τί φὴς, τίνα λέγεις νέον μοι λόγον,

αἰαῖ, αἰαῖ,

σφάγιον ἐπ᾽ ὀλέθρῳ ¹

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;
1285

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 1284 focus

ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος Ἅιδου λιμήν,

τί μ᾽ ἄρα, τί μ᾽ ὀλέκεις; ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον;

αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω.

τί φής, ὦ παῖ, τίνα λέγεις μοι νέον,
1230

αἰαῖ, αἰαῖ,

σφάγιον ἐπ' ὀλέθρῳ γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;

Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 1284 focus

ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος ᾅδου λιμὴν,

τί μ᾽ ἄρα, τί μ᾽ ὀλέκεις;

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον;
1260

αἶ, αἶ, ᾽λωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω!

τί φῇς, παῖ, νέον; τίν᾽ αὐδᾷς λόγον;

αἶ, αἶ, αἶ, σφάγιον ἐπ᾿ ὀλέθρῳ

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1284 focus

ἰὼ ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος Ἅιδου λιμήν,

τί μ' ἄρα τί μ᾿ ὀλέκεις;
1285

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον;

αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω.

τί φής, [ὦ παῖ,] τίνα λέγεις νέον μοι λόγον,

αἰαῖ αἰαῖ,
1290

σφάγιον ἐπ᾿ ὀλέθρῳ

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (A. Colonna, 1978) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Colonna, 1978)) — 1284 focus

ἰὼ ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος Ἅιἰδου λιμήν,

τί μ᾽ ἄρα τί μ᾽ ὀλέκεις;
1285

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον;

αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω.

τί φῇς, ὦ παῖ; τίνα λέγεις μοι νέον,

αἰαῖ, αἰαῖ,
1290

σφάγιον ἐπ᾽ ὀλέθρῳ

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (A. Dain, 1955) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Dain, 1955)) — 1284 focus

ἰὼ ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος Ἅιδου λιμήν,

τί μ’ ἄρα τί μ’ ὀλέκεις;
1285

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον;

αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότ’ ἄνδρ’ ἐπεξειργάσω.

τί φῄς, παῖ; τίν’ αὖ λέγεις μοι νέον,

αἰαῖ, αἰαῖ,
1290

σφάγιον ἐπ’ ὀλέθρῳ

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979)) — 1284 focus

ἰώ,

ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος Ἅιδου λιμήν,

τί μ᾽ ἄρα τί μ᾽ ὀλέκεις;
1285

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον;

αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω.

τί φήις, παῖ, τίν᾽ αὖ λέγεις μοι νέον,

αἰαῖ αἰαῖ,
1290

σφάγιον ἐπ᾽ ὀλέθρωι

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;

Ἐξάγγελος

Greek (G. Hermann, 1830) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (G. Hermann, 1830)) — 1284 focus

ἰὼ

ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος Ἅιδου λιμήν,
1270

τί μ᾽ ἄρα, τί μ᾽ ὀλέκεις;

ὦ κακάγγελτά, μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον;

αἰαῖ. ὀλωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω.

τί φῇς; τίνα λέγεις νέον μοι λόγον;
1275

αἰαῖ, αἰαῖ,

σφάγιον ἐπ᾽ ὀλέθρῳ

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;

Χορός

Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906)) — 1284 focus

ἰώ, 1

ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος Ἅιδου λιμήν, 2

τί μ᾽ ἄρα τί μ᾽ ὀλέκεις; 3
1285

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι 4

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον; 5

αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω. 6

τί φής, ὦ παῖ, τίνα λέγεις μοι νέον, 7

αἰαῖ αἰαῖ, 8
1290

σφάγιον ἐπ’ ὀλέθρῳ 9

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον; 10

Χορός

Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924)) — 1284 focus

ἰώ, ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος Ἅιδου λιμήν,

τί μ᾽ ἄρα τί μ᾽ ὀλέκεις;
1285

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον;

αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω.

τί φής, ὦ παῖ, τίνα λέγεις μοι νέον,

αἰαῖ αἰαῖ,
1290

σφάγιον ἐπ᾽ ὀλέθρῳ,

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;

Χορός

Antigone (OCR draft) Experimental (Antigone) — 1284 focus

Κρέων

ἰώ.

ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος Ἅιδου λιμήν,

τί μʼ ἄρα τί μʼ ὀλέκεις;
1285

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον;

αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότʼ ἄνδρʼ ἐπεξειργάσω.

τί φής, παῖ; τίνʼ αὖ λέγεις μοι νέον,

αἰαῖ αἰαῖ,
1290

σφάγιον ἐπʼ ὀλέθρῳ

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;

Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949)) — 1284 focus

ἰὼ ἰὼ δυσκάθαρτος Ἅιδου λιμήν,

τί μ᾽ ἄρα τί μ᾽ ὀλέκεις;
1285

ὦ κακάγγελτά μοι

προπέμψας ἄχη, τίνα θροεῖς λόγον;

αἰαῖ, ὀλωλότ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐπεξειργάσω.

τί φής, παῖ; τίν᾽ αὖ λέγεις μοι νέον,

αἰαῖ αἰαῖ,
1290

σφάγιον ἐπ᾽ ὀλέθρωι

γυναικεῖον ἀμφικεῖσθαι μόρον;

Χορός

Translations (10)

German (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 1284 focus

O weh! nie versöhnlich Reich, Hades' Schlund,

Ha, du vernichtest mich! O des graunvollesten

Unheils Bote mir, welch Wort sprichst du aus?

Du giebst, ach! dem Todten noch Todesstofs!

O! was kündest du? welch neu Todesloos,
1230

ach ach, ach ach,

des Weibs sagst du mir, in Mord hingeschlachtet sie mein Gemahl!

Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921)) — 1284 focus

¡Ay, ay, implacable puerto del infierno! ¿Por qué, pues, a mí, por qué me arruinas? ¡Oh tú, que vienes con tan fatales y funestas noticias! ¿Qué es lo que dices? ¡Ayay! A un hombre muerto ya, has rematado. ¿Qué dices, hombre? ¿Esa nueva noticia que me anuncias, ¡ayay, ayay!, es la cruel muerte de mi mujer sobre la de mi hijo?

CORO

Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 1284 focus

O inexpiabilis caedium thesaure, cur, obsecro , cur me perdis?

O luctuosae calamitatis nuntie , quemnam edis sermonem? Hei, hei! perditum virum iterum confecisti, Qnid, puer, inquis? quid mihi narras novi? hei, hei, num exitiali isti calamitati accedere etiam uxoris cruentam necem ?

Verna

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1284 focus

O horrible! O charnel gulf

Of death on death, not to be done away,
1285

Why harrowest thou my soul?

Ill boding harbinger of woe, what word

Have thy lips uttered? Oh, thou hast killed me again,

Before undone!

What say’st? What were thy tidings? Woe is me!
1290

Saidst thou a slaughtered queen in yonder hall

Lay in her blood, crowning the pile of ruin?

CH

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1284 focus

Oweh! Warum, unversöhnlich Reich, Hades' Schlund,

Mordest du mich, o warum?
1250

Welches Wort sprachst du aus,

du, der mir schweren Leids Kunde bringt?

Weh, weh! Dem Todten gibst du nochmals den Tod!

O was sprichst du?

Welch grauses Wort sagst du mir?
1255
(Weh, weh, weh, weh!)

Mein Weib, ach! entseelt,

Vom Sohn mitgerissen in graunvollen Tod?

Der Chor.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1284 focus

O death insatiate ! how dost thou afflict me !

What cruel news, thou messenger of ill,

Hast thou brought now ?

Chorus

Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889)) — 1284 focus

¡Inexorable Plutón! ¿por qué, por qué te obstinas en consumar mi perdición?... Y tú; mensajero fatídico de dolores, ¿qué es lo que has venido á contarme?... has venido ¡oh Dios! á concluir con mi vida... ¿qué es lo que has dicho?... ¿qué fatal nueva me has traido?... ¡Cielos! no era bastante con mi hijo, y la Muerte sangrienta me arrebata también mi querida esposa. —(Se descubre el interior de pa: lacio y se pone de manifiesto el cadáver de la Reina.)

EL CORO

English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904)) — 1284 focus

Oh Hades, all-receiving, whom no sacrifice can appease! Hast thou, then, no mercy for me? O thou herald of evil, bitter tidings, what word dost thou utter? Alas, I was already as dead, and thou hast smitten me anew! What sayest thou, my son? What is this new 1290 message that thou bringest—woe, woe is me !—of a wife’s doom, —of slaughter heaped on slaughter?

Chorus

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1284 focus

These are my unblest counsels! Omy son,

My son! Untimely is thy fate, cut off

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-803-1 κατέκανον ¹

mvp-comment-803-2 σέ τ’ αὖ τάνδ’ ²

mvp-comment-804-1 πρὸς πότερον … πάντα γάρ ³

mvp-comment-804-2 (1) The MS. ὅπᾳ ⁴ πᾷ ⁵

mvp-comment-804-3 (2) L has πάντα γάρ ⁶

mvp-comment-804-4 (3) κλιθῶ ⁷ καὶ θῶ ⁸

mvp-comment-804-5 πρὸς πότερον ⁹

mvp-comment-804-6 ἴδω ¹⁰

mvp-comment-804-7 πᾷ κλιθῶ ¹¹ πᾷ ¹²

mvp-comment-805-1 λέχρια τἀν χεροῖν ¹³ λέχρια ¹⁴

mvp-comment-805-2 τὰ δ’ ἐπὶ κρατί μοι ¹⁵ τὰ ἐν χεροῖν ¹⁶

mvp-comment-805-3 εἰσήλατο ¹⁷

mvp-comment-806-1 εὐδαιμονίας πρῶτον ¹⁸

mvp-comment-806-2 τά γ’ εἰς θεούς ¹⁹

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

1341. mvp-comment-741-1 σε τ᾿ αὐτάν It is unnecessary to change αὐτάν, which has a natural and pathetic emphasis. He has been the death even of the mother as well as of the son, αὐτήν τε κατέκτεινε καὶ τὸν παῖδα.

1342. mvp-comment-742-1 πρὸς πότερον ἴδω i. e. Whether at Haemon or Eurydice. The words that follow are suggested by the general notion of distraction which is here expressed. The words in L etc.

1342. mvp-comment-742-2 παῖ καὶ θῶ (= 'Which way also I shall order them'), are clearly a corruption of πᾷ κλιθῶ, which, however, was probably a gloss. For if πάντα γάρ is dropped instead, the asyndeton of λέχρια, κ.τ.λ., is very harsh.

1344-1346. mvp-comment-743-1 * πάντα γὰρ.. εἰσήλατο For all that I am engaged with is ready to fall, while from above a destiny hard to be borne has leapt upon my head. The opposition is not between Haemon and Eurydice (Dindorf), nor between present and future (Seyffert), but between the visible circumstances and the invisible hand of fate. λέχριος is used metaphorically. (See Essay on Language p. 105.) Creon cannot bear the misery that surrounds him, and he cannot look up because of the heavy weight of destiny impending over him.

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Experimental

Ἐξάγγελος

Ἐξάγγελος

Ἐξάγγελος

Ἐξάγγελος

Ἐξάγγελος

Ἐξάγγελος

Χορός

Χορός

Χορός

Χορός

CORO

Verna

CH

Der Chor.

O death insatiate ! how dost thou afflict me ! What cruel news, thou messenger of ill, Hast thou brought now ?

Chorus

EL CORO

Chorus

These are my unblest counsels! Omy son, My son! Untimely is thy fate, cut off

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

O death insatiate ! how dost thou afflict me !

What cruel news, thou messenger of ill,

Hast thou brought now ?

These are my unblest counsels! Omy son,

My son! Untimely is thy fate, cut off

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