Page:The Antigone of Sophocles (1911).djvu/37

SOPHOCLES. Nor did I see who did, and it would be

Unfair for harm to come to me for this.

Your aim is shrewdly good to keep yourself

Out of harm’s reach! You must have startling news.

I have indeed—and hesitate to tell.

Out with it—stop this nonsense—and be off.

Well, here it is—the corpse—somebody ’s strewn

Dry dust—just now—upon the flesh, with rites

And offerings to the dead—and gone.

What ’s that? What man could dare to brave my will?

I know not; for there was no dint of pick,

No earth thrown up by mattock, but the ground

Was hard, unbroken, dry, untracked by wheels,—

Whoe’er the doer was, he left no trace.

And when the first day-watchman pointed out

The thing, dismay and wonder fell on all.

The corpse had disappeared from view, not shut

Within a pile of earth, but sprinkled light

With dust, as cast by one who feared a curse.

It had been quickly done, for neither dog

Nor beast of prey had had the time to come

And rend the body, since no track was there.

Recriminations followed thick and fast

And loud among us, guard accusing guard,

And from high words it might have come to blows,

With none to quell the strife,—for every man

Was guilty, though it could be proved on none.

Prepared we were to take up red-hot iron,

To walk through fire, and swear by all the gods

That we had neither done the deed, nor knew

What man had planned, or thus accomplished it,

And finally, when we had searched in vain,

One spake, who moved us all to bend our heads

To earth in fear; since we could not gainsay

His words, nor did we see how, if we failed

To heed his counsel, we could ‘scape mischance.