ἀλγοῦσα μὲν δῆτʼ εἰ γελῶ γʼ ἐν σοὶ γελῶ.
Antigone. Sophocles. ed. Francis Storr. London. 1912.
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Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.
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Current edition Experimental
Ἀντιγόνη (Greek) (Sophocles, Volume 1. Storr, Francis, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann Ltd.; The Macmillan Company, 1912.)
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
Editions (11)
Greek (L. Benloew, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (L. Benloew, 1858)) — 551 focus
οἴμοι τάλαινα, κἀμπλάκω τοῦ σοῦ μόρου;
Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 551 focus
νοῦς τοῖς κακῶς πράσσουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξίσταται.
Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 551 focus
καὶ μὴν ἴση νῷν ἐστὶν ἡ ᾿ξαμαρτία.
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 551 focus
ἀλγοῦσα μὲν δῆτ', εἰ γέλωτ' ἔν σοι γελῶ.
Greek (A. Colonna, 1978) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Colonna, 1978)) — 551 focus
ἀλγοῦσα μὲν δῆτ᾽, εἰ γέλωτ᾽ ἐν σοὶ γελῶ.
Greek (A. Dain, 1955) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Dain, 1955)) — 551.mvp-line-548 focus
ἀλγοῦσα μὲν δῆτ’, εἰ γέλωτ’ ἐν σοὶ γελῶ.
Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979)) — 551 focus
ἀλγοῦσα μὲν δῆτ᾽, εἰ γελῶ γ᾽, ἐν σοὶ γελῶ.
Greek (G. Hermann, 1830) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (G. Hermann, 1830)) — 551 focus
σὺ μὲν γὰρ εἵλου ζῆν· ἐγὼ δὲ κατθανεῖν.
Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906)) — 551 focus
ἀλγοῦσα μὲν δῆτ᾽, εἰ γελῶ γ᾽, ἐν σοὶ γελῶ.
Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924)) — 551.mvp-line-548 focus
ἀλγοῦσα μὲν δῆτ᾽, εἰ γέλωτ᾽ ἐν σοὶ γελῶ.
Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949)) — 551 focus
ἀλγοῦσα μὲν δῆτ᾽, εἰ γέλωτ᾽ ἐν σοὶ γελῶ.
Translations (2)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 556 focus
Nicht ohne daß ich meine Gründe dir enthült.
Dir dünkte jenes, aber mir schien dieses gut.
555
Doch tragen wir ja beide gleich der Sünde Schuld.
Nicht ohne daß ich meine Gründe dir enthült.
Dir dünkte jenes, aber mir schien dieses gut.
555
Doch tragen wir ja beide gleich der Sünde Schuld.
Antigone.
Getrost, du lebst; doch meine Seele brach im Tod
Schon längst, dem Dienst der Todten sich hälfreich zu weih'n.
Getrost, du lebst; doch meine Seele brach im Tod
Schon längst, dem Dienst der Todten sich hälfreich zu weih'n.
Kreon.
Von diesen Mädchen, glaub' ich, ist die Eine jezt
Sinnlos geworden, jene war's von Anbeginn.
560
Von diesen Mädchen, glaub' ich, ist die Eine jezt
Sinnlos geworden, jene war's von Anbeginn.
560
Ismene.
Nie bleibt, o König, selbst der angeborene
Verstand in bösen Tagen; nein, er weicht von uns.
Nie bleibt, o König, selbst der angeborene
Verstand in bösen Tagen; nein, er weicht von uns.
Kreon.
Von dir gewiß, als du mit Bösen Böses thatst!
Von dir gewiß, als du mit Bösen Böses thatst!
Ismene.
Was ist das Leben mir allein werth ohne sie?
Was ist das Leben mir allein werth ohne sie?
Kreon.
nenne sie nicht weiter; denn sie ist nicht mehr.
565
nenne sie nicht weiter; denn sie ist nicht mehr.
565
Ismene.
Die Braut ermorden wirst du denn dem eignen Kind?
Die Braut ermorden wirst du denn dem eignen Kind?
Kreon.
Noch andre Fluren gibt es, wo man pflügen kann.
Noch andre Fluren gibt es, wo man pflügen kann.
Ismene.
Doch keine, wo sich also Herz zum Herzen fand.
Doch keine, wo sich also Herz zum Herzen fand.
Kreon.
Mir graut vor einem schnöden Weib für meinen Sohn.
Mir graut vor einem schnöden Weib für meinen Sohn.
Antigone.
theurer Hämon, wie beschimpft der Vater dich!
570
theurer Hämon, wie beschimpft der Vater dich!
570
Kreon.
Ich hasse dich und hasse deinen Ehebund.
Ich hasse dich und hasse deinen Ehebund.
Der Chor.
Und so beraubst du seiner Braut den eignen Sohn?
Der Todesgott sezt solchem Ehebund ein Ziel.
Beschlossen ist, ich seh' es, daß sie sterben soll.
Und so beraubst du seiner Braut den eignen Sohn?
Der Todesgott sezt solchem Ehebund ein Ziel.
Beschlossen ist, ich seh' es, daß sie sterben soll.
Kreon.
Bei dir und mir. Jezt keine Zög'rung mehr! Hinein
575
In's Haus, o Knechte, führt sie; fortan sollen sie
Als Frauen leben, nicht so frei sich mehr ergeh'n!
Denn, traun, Beherzte fliehen auch, sobald sie seh'n,
Daß ihrem Leben nahe trat des Todes Ziel.
(Antigone und Ismene werden abgeführt.)
Kreon. Der Chor.
Erste Strophe.
Bei dir und mir. Jezt keine Zög'rung mehr! Hinein
575
In's Haus, o Knechte, führt sie; fortan sollen sie
Als Frauen leben, nicht so frei sich mehr ergeh'n!
Denn, traun, Beherzte fliehen auch, sobald sie seh'n,
Daß ihrem Leben nahe trat des Todes Ziel.
Der Chor.
English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904)) — 583-630 focus
Chorus
Blest are those whose days have not tasted of evil. For when a house has once been shaken by the gods,
no form of ruin is lacking, but it spreads over the bulk of the race, just as, when the surge is driven over the darkness of the deep by the fierce breath of Thracian sea-winds,
585
it rolls up the black sand from the depths, and the wind-beaten headlands that front the blows of the storm give out a mournful roar.
590
Blest are those whose days have not tasted of evil. For when a house has once been shaken by the gods,
no form of ruin is lacking, but it spreads over the bulk of the race, just as, when the surge is driven over the darkness of the deep by the fierce breath of Thracian sea-winds,
585
it rolls up the black sand from the depths, and the wind-beaten headlands that front the blows of the storm give out a mournful roar.
590
Chorus
I see that the ancient sorrows of the house of the Labdacids
are heaped upon the sorrows of the dead. Each generation does not set its race free, but some god hurls it down and the race has no release. For now that dazzling ray of hope that had been spread
595
over the last roots in the house of Oedipus—that hope, in its turn, the blood-stained dust of the gods infernal and mindlessness in speech and frenzy at the mind cuts down.
600
I see that the ancient sorrows of the house of the Labdacids
are heaped upon the sorrows of the dead. Each generation does not set its race free, but some god hurls it down and the race has no release. For now that dazzling ray of hope that had been spread
595
over the last roots in the house of Oedipus—that hope, in its turn, the blood-stained dust of the gods infernal and mindlessness in speech and frenzy at the mind cuts down.
600
Chorus
Your power, great Zeus—what human overstepping can check it? Yours is power that neither Sleep, the all-ensnaring, nor the untiring months of the gods can defeat. Unaged through time,
605
you rule by your power and dwell thereby in the brilliant splendor of
Olympus
. And through the future, both near and distant, as through the past, shall this law prevail: nothing that is vast comes to the life of mortals without ruin.
610
Your power, great Zeus—what human overstepping can check it? Yours is power that neither Sleep, the all-ensnaring, nor the untiring months of the gods can defeat. Unaged through time,
605
you rule by your power and dwell thereby in the brilliant splendor of
Olympus
. And through the future, both near and distant, as through the past, shall this law prevail: nothing that is vast comes to the life of mortals without ruin.
610
Chorus
See how that hope whose wanderings are so wide truly is a benefit to many men, but to an equal number it is a false lure of light-headed desires. The deception comes to one who is wholly unawares until he burns his foot on a hot fire.
615
For with wisdom did someone once reveal the maxim, now famous, that evil at one time or another seems good, to him whose mind a god leads to ruin.
620
But for the briefest moment such a man fares free of destruction.
625
See how that hope whose wanderings are so wide truly is a benefit to many men, but to an equal number it is a false lure of light-headed desires. The deception comes to one who is wholly unawares until he burns his foot on a hot fire.
615
For with wisdom did someone once reveal the maxim, now famous, that evil at one time or another seems good, to him whose mind a god leads to ruin.
620
But for the briefest moment such a man fares free of destruction.
625
Enter Haemon.
Chorus
But here is Haemon, the last of your offspring. Does he come grieving for the doom of Antigone, his promised bride,
and bitter for the deceived hope of their marriage?
630
But here is Haemon, the last of your offspring. Does he come grieving for the doom of Antigone, his promised bride,
and bitter for the deceived hope of their marriage?
630
Commentary
Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))
Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus
551. mvp-comment-323-1 εἰ γέλωτ᾽ ἔν σοι γελῶ Schneidewin's explanation of this line, It is painful to me to be mocking you, my sister, is out of harmony with the tone of Antigone, although it is true that in this line her bitterness is somewhat softened. Either δή, κεἰ must be read, or εἰ explained as = κεἰ. I have grief enough, I assure you, though I laugh a bitter laugh at thee. Cp. 728, εἰ δ' ἐγὼ νέος = Though I am young: Eur. Or. 484, εἰ δὲ δυστυχεῖ, τιμητέος. See Essay on Language § 28. p. 47.