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.
ChorusI 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 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.
ChorusYour 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, 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. ChorusSee 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. 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. But for the briefest moment such a man fares free of destruction.
Enter Haemon.ChorusBut 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?
CreonWe will soon know better than seers could tell us.—My son, can it be that
after hearing the final judgment concerning your betrothed, you have
come in rage against your father? Or do I have your loyalty, act how I
may?HaemonFather, I am yours, and you keep
me upright with precepts good for me—precepts I shall follow. No
marriage will be deemed by me more important than your good
guidance.CreonYes, my son, this is the spirit you should maintain in
your heart—to stand behind your father’s will in all things. It is for
this that men pray: to sire and raise in their homes children who are
obedient, that they may requite their father’s enemy with evil and honor
his friend, just as their father does. But the man who begets
unhelpful children—what would you say that he has sown except miseries
for himself and abundant exultation for his enemies? Never, then, my
son, banish your reason for pleasure on account of a woman,knowing that this embrace soon becomes
cold and brittle—an evil woman to share your bed and home. For what
wound could strike deeper than a false friend? No, spit her out as if
she were an enemy, let her go find a husband in Hades. For since I caught her alone of all the city in
open defiance, I will not make myself a liar to my city. I will kill
her. So let her call on Zeus who protects kindred blood. If I am to
foster my own kin to spurn order, surely I will do the same for outsiders. For whoever shows his
excellence in the case of his own household will be found righteous in
his city as well. But if anyone oversteps and does violence to the laws,
or thinks to dictate to those in power, such a one will never win praise from me. No, whomever
the city may appoint, that man must be obeyed in matters small and great
and in matters just and unjust. And I would feel confident that such a
man would be a fine ruler no less than a good and willing
subject, and that beneath a
hail of spears he would stand his ground where posted, a loyal and brave
comrade in the battle line. But there is no evil worse than
disobedience. This destroys cities; this overturns homes; this
breaks