Page:Masterpieces of Greek Literature (1902).djvu/201

171 ANTIGONE 171

I go to that strong dungeon of the tomb,

For burial strange, ah me ! Nor dwelling with the living, nor the dead.

Chorus. Forward and forward still to farthest verge

Of daring hast thou gone, 915

And now, Ο child, thou hast rushed violently

Where Right erects her throne ; Surely thou payest to the uttermost

Thy father's debt of guilt. Antigone. Ah ! thou hast touched the quick of all my grief, 920

The thrice-told tale of all my father's woe,

The fate which dogs us all, The old Labdakid race of ancient fame.

Woe for the curses dire

Of that defiled bed, 925

With foulest incest stained,

My mother's with my sire, Whence I myself have sprung, most miserable.

And now, I go to them,

To sojourn in the grave, 930

Accursed, and unwed :

Ah, brother, thou didst find

Thy marriage fraught with ill. And thou, though dead, hast smitten down my life. Chorus. Acts reverent and devout 93.5

May claim devotion's name, But power, in one to whom power comes as trust,

Alay never be defied ;

And thee, thy stubborn mood.

Self -chosen, layeth low. 940

Antigone. Unwept, without a friend.

Unwed, and whelmed in woe, I journey on this road that open lies.