Kreon's Speech Antigone
Sam Lippmann /
- Created on 2023-03-27 20:00:33
- Modified on 2023-03-27 20:19:23
- Aligned by Sam Lippmann
Ἑλληνική Transliterate
English
ἄνδρες , τὰ μὲν δὴ πόλεος ἀσφαλῶς θεοὶ
πολλῷ σάλῳ σείσαντες ὤρθωσαν πάλιν .
ὑμᾶς δ᾽ ἐγὼ πομποῖσιν ἐκ πάντων δίχα
ἔστειλ᾽ ἱκέσθαι τοῦτο μὲν τὰ Λαΐου
σέβοντας εἰδὼς εὖ θρόνων ἀεὶ κράτη ,
τοῦτ᾽ αὖθις , ἡνίκ᾽ Οἰδίπους ὤρθου πόλιν ,
κἀπεὶ διώλετ᾽ , ἀμφὶ τοὺς κείνων ἔτι
παῖδας μένοντας ἐμπέδοις φρονήμασιν .
ὅτ᾽ οὖν ἐκεῖνοι πρὸς διπλῆς μοίρας μίαν
καθ᾽ ἡμέραν ὤλοντο παίσαντές τε καὶ
πληγέντες αὐτόχειρι σὺν μιάσματι ,
ἐγὼ κράτη δὴ πάντα καὶ θρόνους ἔχω
γένους κατ᾽ ἀγχιστεῖα τῶν ὀλωλότων .
ἀμήχανον δὲ παντὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐκμαθεῖν
ψυχήν τε καὶ φρόνημα καὶ γνώμην , πρὶν ἂν
ἀρχαῖς τε καὶ νόμοισιν ἐντριβὴς φανῇ .
πολλῷ σάλῳ σείσαντες ὤρθωσαν πάλιν .
ὑμᾶς δ᾽ ἐγὼ πομποῖσιν ἐκ πάντων δίχα
ἔστειλ᾽ ἱκέσθαι τοῦτο μὲν τὰ Λαΐου
σέβοντας εἰδὼς εὖ θρόνων ἀεὶ κράτη ,
τοῦτ᾽ αὖθις , ἡνίκ᾽ Οἰδίπους ὤρθου πόλιν ,
κἀπεὶ διώλετ᾽ , ἀμφὶ τοὺς κείνων ἔτι
παῖδας μένοντας ἐμπέδοις φρονήμασιν .
ὅτ᾽ οὖν ἐκεῖνοι πρὸς διπλῆς μοίρας μίαν
καθ᾽ ἡμέραν ὤλοντο παίσαντές τε καὶ
πληγέντες αὐτόχειρι σὺν μιάσματι ,
ἐγὼ κράτη δὴ πάντα καὶ θρόνους ἔχω
γένους κατ᾽ ἀγχιστεῖα τῶν ὀλωλότων .
ἀμήχανον δὲ παντὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐκμαθεῖν
ψυχήν τε καὶ φρόνημα καὶ γνώμην , πρὶν ἂν
ἀρχαῖς τε καὶ νόμοισιν ἐντριβὴς φανῇ .
My
fellow
citizens
!
First
,
the
gods
,
after
tossing
the
fate
of
our
city
on
wild
waves
,
have
once
more
righted
it
.
Second
,
I
have
ordered
you
through
my
messengers
to
come
here
apart
from
all
the
rest
,
because
I
knew
,
first
of
all
,
how
constant
was
your
reverence
for
the
power
of
the
throne
of
Laius
;
how
,
again
,
you
were
reverent
,
when
Oedipus
was
guiding
our
city
;
and
lastly
,
how
,
when
he
was
dead
,
you
still
maintained
loyal
thoughts
towards
his
children
.
Since
,
then
,
these
latter
have
fallen
in
one
day
by
a
twofold
doom—each
striking
,
each
struck
,
both
with
the
stain
of
a
brother
'
s
murder—I
now
possess
all
the
power
and
the
throne
according
to
my
kinship
with
the
dead
.
Now
,
it
is
impossible
to
know
fully
any
man
'
s
character
,
will
,
or
judgment
,
until
he
has
been
proved
by
the
test
of
rule
and
law-giving
.