between the rock and the cold, cold sea

Κρέων
...σμικρῷ χαλινῷ δ᾽ οἶδα τοὺς θυμουμένους
ἵππους καταρτυθέντας: οὐ γὰρ ἐκπέλει
φρονεῖν μέγ᾽ ὅστις δοῦλός ἐστι τῶν πέλας.
αὕτη δ᾽ ὑβρίζειν μὲν τότ᾽ ἐξηπίστατο, [480]
νόμους ὑπερβαίνουσα τοὺς προκειμένους:
ὕβρις δ᾽, ἐπεὶ δέδρακεν, ἥδε δευτέρα,
τούτοις ἐπαυχεῖν καὶ δεδρακυῖαν γελᾶν.
ἦ νῦν ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἀνήρ, αὕτη δ᾽ ἀνήρ,
εἰ ταῦτ᾽ ἀνατὶ τῇδε κείσεται κράτη. [485]
ἀλλ᾽ εἴτ᾽ ἀδελφῆς εἴθ᾽ ὁμαιμονεστέρα
τοῦ παντὸς ἡμῖν Ζηνὸς ἑρκείου κυρεῖ,
αὐτή τε χἠ ξύναιμος οὐκ ἀλύξετον
μόρου κακίστου: καὶ γὰρ οὖν κείνην ἴσον
ἐπαιτιῶμαι τοῦδε βουλεῦσαι τάφου. [490]
καί νιν καλεῖτ᾽: ἔσω γὰρ εἶδον ἀρτίως
λυσσῶσαν αὐτὴν οὐδ᾽ ἐπήβολον φρενῶν.
φιλεῖ δ᾽ ὁ θυμὸς πρόσθεν, ᾑρῆσθαι κλοπεὺς
τῶν μηδὲν ὀρθῶς ἐν σκότῳ τεχνωμένων:
μισῶ γε μέντοι χὤταν ἐν κακοῖσί τις [495]
ἁλοὺς ἔπειτα τοῦτο καλλύνειν θέλῃ.

With a small bridle, I know, the restive
horses are trained: for [it's not permitted
to whosoever is a slave of [those nearby] their neighbours to intend greatness]
Whoever is a slave of their neighbours is not permitted to think of greatness.
This girl at that time knew well how to commit outrage,
having over-stepped the laws which were set forth.
After she did it, this is a second outrage,
that she exults in these things she's done, and laughs.
And now I won't be a man, but she'll be a man,
if this power rests with her with impunity.
Whether she's [of my sister] my sister's daughter or nearest kin
of all who light upon our Household Zeus
neither she nor her kinswoman will avoid
a most terrible fate. So indeed I accuse
the other equally of resolving on these funeral-rites.
And summon her! For within just now I saw
her raving and not in her right mind.
The soul loves beforehand, to have caught a thief
not one of these being contrived skillfully honestly in darkness: [not a clue here]
I really hate when someone captured in evils
then wants to pride themselves for it.


Ἀντιγόνη
θέλεις τι μεῖζον ἢ κατακτεῖναί μ᾽ ἑλών;

Κρέων
ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδέν: τοῦτ᾽ ἔχων ἅπαντ᾽ ἔχω.

Ἀντιγόνη
τί δῆτα μέλλεις; ὡς ἐμοὶ τῶν σῶν λόγων
ἀρεστὸν οὐδὲν μηδ᾽ ἀρεσθείη ποτέ: [500]
οὕτω δὲ καὶ σοὶ τἄμ᾽ ἀφανδάνοντ᾽ ἔφυ.
καίτοι πόθεν κλέος γ᾽ ἂν εὐκλεέστερον
κατέσχον ἢ τὸν αὐτάδελφον ἐν τάφῳ
τιθεῖσα; τούτοις τοῦτο πᾶσιν ἁνδάνειν
λέγοιτ᾽ ἄν, εἰ μὴ γλῶσσαν ἐγκλῄοι φόβος. [505]


Antigone:
Do you want something more than, since you've captured me, to slay me?

KreonL
I? Nothing: having this, I have everything.

Antigone:
So why do you delay? Since not one of your words
are pleasing to me - nor may they ever please me!
Just so also at the same time [mine] are by nature displeasing to you.
And yet whence could I have held more famous glory
than by laying my own brother in the grave?
They'd say they agreed with this, all of these,
if fear didn't stop up their tongues.

Κρέων
σὲ δή, σὲ τὴν νεύουσαν εἰς πέδον κάρα,
φὴς ἢ καταρνεῖ μὴ δεδρακέναι τάδε:

Ἀντιγόνη
καὶ φημὶ δρᾶσαι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή.

Κρέων
σὺ μὲν κομίζοις ἂν σεαυτὸν ᾖ θέλεις
ἔξω βαρείας αἰτίας ἐλεύθερον: [445]
σὺ δ᾽ εἰπέ μοι μὴ μῆκος, ἀλλὰ συντόμως,
ᾔδησθα κηρυχθέντα μὴ πράσσειν τάδε;

Ἀντιγόνη
ᾔδη: τί δ᾽ οὐκ ἔμελλον; ἐμφανῆ γὰρ ἦν.

Κρέων
καὶ δῆτ᾽ ἐτόλμας τούσδ᾽ ὑπερβαίνειν νόμους;


Kreon:
And you, yes, you, bowing your head towards your foot,
do you claim or do you deny that you've done this?

Antigone:
I say I did it, I don't deny it.

Kreon:
(to someone else)
You may carry yourself away safe, to where you wish,
without a heavy guilt, and free.
(to Antigone:)
And you, tell me, not at length but briefly,
you did know [it was] commanded publically not to do this?

Antigone:
I knew. How could I not? For it was well-known.

Kreon:
And you really dared to overstep these laws?


Ἀντιγόνη
οὐ γάρ τί μοι Ζεὺς ἦν ὁ κηρύξας τάδε, [450]
οὐδ᾽ ἡ ξύνοικος τῶν κάτω θεῶν Δίκη
τοιούσδ᾽ ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ὥρισεν νόμους.
οὐδὲ σθένειν τοσοῦτον ᾠόμην τὰ σὰ
κηρύγμαθ᾽, ὥστ᾽ ἄγραπτα κἀσφαλῆ θεῶν
νόμιμα δύνασθαι θνητὸν ὄνθ᾽ ὑπερδραμεῖν. [455]
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
δώσειν: θανουμένη γὰρ ἐξῄδη, τί δ᾽ οὔ; [460]
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;
οὕτως ἔμοιγε τοῦδε τοῦ μόρου τυχεῖν [465]
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,
σχεδόν τι μώρῳ μωρίαν ὀφλισκάνω. [470]

Antigone:
Why not? Zeus wasn't the herald who proclaimed it to me,
nor is this like the laws Justice of the gods below
laid down among men.
And I don't thing your proclamations are so mighty
as to be able to exceed the unwritten and unfailing customs of the gods
since you're mortal.
For [they aren't] a thing of now or of yesterday, but
they live forever, and no one has known from which time they were made manifest.
On account of these I am not about to, from fear of any man's
arrogance, owe a price to the gods:
for I know well I'll die, how not?
Even if you don't proclaim it. And if
I die before my time, I say that's an advantage.
For whoever lives - like me - among many evils,
how does she not bring forth advantage by dying?
Thus for me to come upon this doom
is near no pain: but if I had suffered the son of my mother
in death [to be] an unburied corpse,
[doing] that I would have grieved. But [doing] this I don't grieve.
And if it seems to you now that I happen to have done folly,
I owe folly to someone near folly.