Ὦ ΚΟΙΝΟΝ αὐτάδελφον Ισμήνης κάρα,
ἆρ ̓ οἶσθ ̓, ὅτι Ζεὺς τῶν ἀπ ̓ Οἰδίπου κακῶν
ὁποῖον οὐχὶ νῷν ἔτι ζώσαιν τελεῖ ;
οὐδὲν γὰρ οὔτ ̓ ἀλγεινὸν, οὔτ ̓ * ἄτην ἄγον,
οὔτ ̓ αἰσχρὸν, οὔτ ̓ ἄτιμόν ἐσθ', ὁποῖον οὐ
τῶν σῶν τε κἀμῶν οὐκ ὄπωπ ̓ ἐγὼ κακῶν.
καὶ νῦν τί τοῦτ ̓ αὖ φασὶ πανδήμῳ πόλει
κήρυγμα θεῖναι τὸν στρατηγὸν ἀρτίως ;
ἔχεις τι, κεἰσήκουσας ; ἤ σε λανθάνει
πρὸς τοὺς φίλους στείχοντα τῶν ἐχθρῶν κακά;
ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐδεὶς μῦθος, Αντιγόνη, φίλων
Antigone and Ismene enter from the left-hand door in the Proscenium.
ISMENE, dear in very sisterhood,
Know'st thou that Zeus, for us while yet we live,
Fulfils,-in what sort does he not-the evils
That flow from Edipus? For there is nothing
That causes pain or tends to mischief-nothing
That inly shames, or outwardly degrades,
Of such sort, that in thine and my misfortunes
I have not seen it manifest. And now
What is this herald's message, which, they say,
Our leader has this very morn put forth
To all the populace who throng the city?
Is't known to thee, and hast thou lent an ear?
Or, by thee all unheeded, does the malice
Of enemies come up against thy friends?
To me indeed, Antigone, no tale
οὔθ ̓ ἡδὺς, οὔτ ̓ ἀλγεινὸς ἵκετ ̓, ἐξ ὅτου δυοῖν ἀδελφοῖν ἐστερήθημεν δύο,
μια θανόντων ἡμέρᾳ διπλῇ χερί
ἐπεὶ δὲ φροῦδός ἐστιν ̓Αργείων στρατὸς
ἐν νυκτὶ τῇ νῦν, οὐδὲν οἶδ ̓ ὑπέρτερον
οὔτ ̓ εὐτυχοῦσα μᾶλλον οὔτ ̓ ἀτωμένη.
ἤδη καλῶς, καί σ ̓ ἐκτὸς αὐλείων πυλῶν τοῦδ' * εἵνεκ ̓ ἐξέπεμπον, ὡς μόνη κλύοις.
τί δ' ἔστι; δηλοῖς γάρ τι καλχαίνουσ ̓ ἔπος.
οὐ γὰρ τάφου νῷν τω κασιγνήτω Κρέων,
τὸν μὲν προτίσας, τὸν δ ̓ ἀτιμάσας ἔχει;
Ετεοκλέα μὲν, ὡς λέγουσι, σὺν δίκῃ,
* προσθεὶς δίκαια, καὶ νόμῳ, κατὰ χθονὸς
ἔκρυψε, τοῖς ἔνερθεν ἔντιμον νεκροῖς
τὸν δ ̓ ἀθλίως θανόντα Πολυνείκους νέκυν
ἀστοισί φασιν ἐκκεκηρύχθαι τὸ μὴ
τάφῳ καλύψαι, μηδὲ κωκῦσαί τινα,
ἐᾶν δ ̓ ἄκλαυτον, ἄταφον, οἰωνοῖς γλυκὺν
θησαυρὸν, εἰσορῶσι πρὸς χάριν βορᾶς.
τοιαῦτά φασι τὸν ἀγαθὸν Κρέοντα σοὶ
καμοὶ, λέγω γὰρ καμέ, κηρύξαντ ̓ ἔχειν,
καὶ δεῦρο νεῖσθαι ταῦτα τοῖσι μὴ εἰδόσιν
σαφῆ προκηρύξοντα· καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμ ̓ ἄγειν
οὐχ ὡς παρ' οὐδέν· ἀλλ ̓ ὃς ἂν τούτων τι δρᾷ,
φόνον προκεῖσθαι δημόλευστον ἐν πόλει.
Touching our friends, be it of joy or sorrow,-
Has come, since we two lost our brethren twain
On the same day by a twin murder slain.
But since the Argive host this night departed,
I have it yet to learn if farther still
Good luck or mischief has been active for me.
I knew 'twas so and therefore did I bring thee Without the court, that thou alone might'st listen.
What is't? for sure some tidings stir thee thus.
What! has not Kreon-when our sister-love
Might challenge equal sepulture for both
Of our departed brethren, one of them
Pre-eminently honoured, and the other
Foully disgraced? Eteokles, they tell me,
The dues of justice with just rites augmenting,
And following all the usages, he buried
Deep in the ground, invested with the honours
Which grace the dead below: but Polyneikes,
Who lies where he so miserably fell,-
They say a proclamation to the people
Forbids that any man should veil his corpse
Within the tomb, or utter wailings for him;
But orders that he lie unwept, unburied,
A welcome store of food laid up for birds
Whenso their greedy eyes desire a banquet.
Such is the proclamation, which, they say,
Good Kreon hath set forth for thee and me-
Aye-e'en for me, I tell thee-and to those
Who know it not, they say he cometh here
Himself to make his edict clearly known.
He holds this matter in no small account,
But whoso doeth any one of these things,
His death by public stoning is decreed.
οὕτως ἔχει σοι ταῦτα, καὶ δείξεις τάχα, εἴτ ̓ εὐγενὴς πέφυκας, εἴτ ̓ ἐσθλῶν κακή.
τί δ ̓, ὦ ταλαίφρων, εἰ τάδ ̓ ἐν τούτοις, ἐγὼ λύουσ ̓ ἂν ἢ ̓φάπτουσα προσθείμην πλέον;
εἰ ξυμπονήσεις καὶ ξυνεργάσει, σκόπει.
ποιόν τι κινδύνευμα; ποῦ γνώμης ποτ ̓ εἶ;
εἰ τὸν νεκρὸν ξὺν τῇδε κουφιεῖς χερί.
ἡ γὰρ νοεῖς θάπτειν σφ ̓, ἀπόῤῥητον πόλει;
τὸν γοῦν ἐμὸν καὶ τὸν σὸν, ἢν σὺ μὴ θέλῃς, ἀδελφόν. οὐ γὰρ δὴ προδοῦσ ̓ ἁλώσομαι.
ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;
ἀλλ ̓ οὐδὲν αὐτῷ τῶν ἐμῶν εἴργειν μέτα.
οἴμοι· φρόνησον, ὦ κασιγνήτη, πατὴρ ὡς νῶν ἀπεχθὴς δυσκλεής τ ̓ ἀπώλετο, πρὸς αὐτοφώρων ἀμπλακημάτων διπλᾶς ὄψεις ἀράξας αὐτὸς αὐτουργῷ χερί ἔπειτα μήτηρ καὶ γυνὴ, διπλοῦν ἔπος, πλεκταῖσιν ἀρτάναισι λωβᾶται βίον τρίτον δ' ἀδελφω δύο μίαν καθ ̓ ἡμέραν
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