Soph. Ant. 456-470 Final
Jacob Schwartz /
- Created on 2023-05-16 02:38:11
- Modified on 2023-05-16 03:00:27
- Translated by Jacob Schwartz
- Aligned by Jacob Schwartz
Ἑλληνική Transliterate
English
οὐ γάρ τι νῦν γε κἀχθές , ἀλλ᾽ ἀεί ποτε
ζῇ ταῦτα , κοὐδεὶς οἶδεν ἐξ ὅτου ' φάνη .
τούτων ἐγὼ οὐκ ἔμελλον , ἀνδρὸς οὐδενὸς
φρόνημα δείσασ᾽ , ἐν θεοῖσι τὴν δίκην
[ 460 ] δώσειν : θανουμένη γὰρ ἐξῄδη , τί δ᾽ οὔ ;
κεἰ μὴ σὺ προὐκήρυξας . εἰ δὲ τοῦ χρόνου
πρόσθεν θανοῦμαι , κέρδος αὔτ᾽ ἐγὼ λέγω .
ὅστις γὰρ ἐν πολλοῖσιν ὡς ἐγὼ κακοῖς
ζῇ , πῶς ὅδ᾽ Οὐχὶ κατθανὼν κέρδος φέρει ;
[ 465 ] οὕτως ἔμοιγε τοῦδε τοῦ μόρου τυχεῖν
παρ᾽ οὐδὲν ἄλγος : ἀλλ᾽ ἄν , εἰ τὸν ἐξ ἐμῆς
μητρὸς θανόντ᾽ ἄθαπτον ἠνσχόμην νέκυν ,
κείνοις ἂν ἤλγουν : τοῖσδε δ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγύνομαι .
σοὶ δ᾽ εἰ δοκῶ νῦν μῶρα δρῶσα τυγχάνειν ,
[ 470 ] σχεδόν τι μώρῳ μωρίαν ὀφλισκάνω .
ζῇ ταῦτα , κοὐδεὶς οἶδεν ἐξ ὅτου ' φάνη .
τούτων ἐγὼ οὐκ ἔμελλον , ἀνδρὸς οὐδενὸς
φρόνημα δείσασ᾽ , ἐν θεοῖσι τὴν δίκην
[ 460 ] δώσειν : θανουμένη γὰρ ἐξῄδη , τί δ᾽ οὔ ;
κεἰ μὴ σὺ προὐκήρυξας . εἰ δὲ τοῦ χρόνου
πρόσθεν θανοῦμαι , κέρδος αὔτ᾽ ἐγὼ λέγω .
ὅστις γὰρ ἐν πολλοῖσιν ὡς ἐγὼ κακοῖς
ζῇ , πῶς ὅδ᾽ Οὐχὶ κατθανὼν κέρδος φέρει ;
[ 465 ] οὕτως ἔμοιγε τοῦδε τοῦ μόρου τυχεῖν
παρ᾽ οὐδὲν ἄλγος : ἀλλ᾽ ἄν , εἰ τὸν ἐξ ἐμῆς
μητρὸς θανόντ᾽ ἄθαπτον ἠνσχόμην νέκυν ,
κείνοις ἂν ἤλγουν : τοῖσδε δ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγύνομαι .
σοὶ δ᾽ εἰ δοκῶ νῦν μῶρα δρῶσα τυγχάνειν ,
[ 470 ] σχεδόν τι μώρῳ μωρίαν ὀφλισκάνω .
ANTIGONE
For these [ laws of the gods ] live not only now and yesterday , but forever ,
and no one knows from what [ time ] they were disclosed .
I was not about to , having feared the pride
of not one man , offer a penalty
[ 460 ] to the gods for [ breaking ] these : for I had known I would die ( and how could I not ,
even if you hadn’t made a proclamation ? ) . But if I should die
before my time , I call it a gain .
For whoever lives as I do , surrounded by many
maltreatments , how can he not bring gain from dying ?
[ 465 ] Thus , for me to meet this fate
is alongside not one grief : but if I had endured him from my
mother having died [ to be ] an unburied corpse ,
then I would have suffered from them [ griefs ] : but I am not grieved by these .
And if I seem to you now to happen to do something stupid ,
[ 470 ] then perhaps I am convicted of stupidity by a stupid one .
For these [ laws of the gods ] live not only now and yesterday , but forever ,
and no one knows from what [ time ] they were disclosed .
I was not about to , having feared the pride
of not one man , offer a penalty
[ 460 ] to the gods for [ breaking ] these : for I had known I would die ( and how could I not ,
even if you hadn’t made a proclamation ? ) . But if I should die
before my time , I call it a gain .
For whoever lives as I do , surrounded by many
maltreatments , how can he not bring gain from dying ?
[ 465 ] Thus , for me to meet this fate
is alongside not one grief : but if I had endured him from my
mother having died [ to be ] an unburied corpse ,
then I would have suffered from them [ griefs ] : but I am not grieved by these .
And if I seem to you now to happen to do something stupid ,
[ 470 ] then perhaps I am convicted of stupidity by a stupid one .