The Phoenician Women

Euripides

Euripides. The Plays of Euripides, Translated into English Prose from the Text of Paley. Vol. II. Coleridge, Edward P., translator. London: George Bell and Sons, 1891.

  1. Your labor is in vain; you will not gain your prayer.
Antigone
  1. Let me only bathe the dead body.
Creon
  1. That would be part of what is forbidden by the city.
Antigone
  1. At least let me bandage the cruel wounds.
Creon
  1. No; you will never pay honor to this corpse.
Antigone
  1. O my dearest! At least I will kiss your mouth.
Creon
  1. Do not let this mourning bring disaster on your marriage.
Antigone
  1. Marriage! Do you think I will marry your son while I am alive?
Creon
  1. Indeed you must; how will you escape the match?
Antigone
  1. Then that night will find in me another Danaid bride!
Creon
  1. Do you see how boldly she reproaches me?
Antigone
  1. Let the steel know, the sword be my witness!
Creon
  1. Why are you so eager to be released from this marriage?
Antigone
  1. I mean to share my hapless father’s exile.
Creon
  1. A noble spirit yours but there is some folly in it.
Antigone
  1. And I will share his death, I tell you further.
Creon
  1. Go, leave the land; you will not murder my son. Exit Creon.