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?