§671ἁ λίγεια μινύρεται §672θαμίζουσα μάλιστʼ ἀηδὼν §673χλωραῖς ὑπὸ βάσσαις, §674τὸν οἰνωπὸν ἔχουσα κισσὸν §675καὶ τὰν ἄβατον θεοῦ §676φυλλάδα μυριόκαρπον ἀνήλιον §677ἀνήνεμόν τε πάντων §678χειμώνων·
The clear-voiced nightingale sings, most constantly frequenting beneath green glades, dwelling in the wine-dark ivy and the god's untrodden foliage, rich in berries, sunless, and windless against all storms; where the Bacchanalian Dionysus always walks, accompanying his divine nurses.
ἵνʼ ὁ βακχιώτας §679ἀεὶ Διόνυσος ἐμβατεύει §680θεαῖς ἀμφιπολῶν τιθήναις. §681θάλλει δʼ οὐρανίας ὑπʼ ἄχνας §682ὁ καλλίβοτρυς κατʼ ἦμαρ ἀεὶ §683νάρκισσος, μεγάλαιν θεαῖν §684ἀρχαῖον στεφάνωμʼ, ὅ τε §685χρυσαυγὴς κρόκος· οὐδʼ ἄϋπνοι §686κρῆναι μινύθουσιν §687Κηφισοῦ νομάδες ῥεέθρων, §688ἀλλʼ αἰὲν ἐπʼ ἤματι §689ὠκυτόκος πεδίων ἐπινίσσεται §690ἀκηράτῳ σὺν ὄμβρῳ §691στερνούχου χθονός· οὐδὲ Μουσᾶν §692χοροί νιν ἀπεστύγησαν οὐδʼ ἁ §693χρυσάνιος Ἀφροδίτα.
And, fed by heavenly dew, the narcissus with its beautiful clusters blooms constantly day by day, the ancient crown of the Great Goddesses, and the golden-beaming crocus; nor do the sleepless springs of Cephisus' wandering streams decrease, but ever day by day with swift-bringing life they visit the plains, with pure water of the broad-breasted earth; nor have the Muses' choruses detested this place, nor golden-reined Aphrodite.
§695ἔστιν δʼ οἷον ἐγὼ γᾶς Ἀσίας οὐκ ἐπακούω §696οὐδʼ ἐν τᾷ μεγάλᾳ Δωρίδι νάσῳ Πέλοπος πώποτε βλαστὸν §697φύτευμʼ ἀχείρωτον αὐτόποιον, §698ἐγχέων φόβημα δαΐων, §700ὃ τᾷδε θάλλει μέγιστα χώρᾳ, §701γλαυκᾶς παιδοτρόφου φύλλον ἐλαίας·
And there is a plant, such as I have never heard of as growing in the land of Asia, nor ever in the great Dorian island of Pelops: a plant unsubdued, self-creating, a terror to the spears of enemies, which flourishes most greatly in this land, the leaf of the gray, child-nurturing olive.
§702τὸ μέν τις οὐ νεαρὸς οὐδὲ γήρᾳ §703συνναίων ἁλιώσει χερὶ πέρσας· ὁ γὰρ αἰὲν ὁρῶν κύκλος §705λεύσσει νιν μορίου Διὸς §706χἀ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθάνα.
This, neither any young man nor one who dwells with old age, shall destroy with ruining hand; for the ever-seeing eye of Zeus Morios watches over it, and gray-eyed Athena as well.
§707ἄλλον δʼ αἶνον ἔχω ματροπόλει τᾷδε κράτιστον §710δῶρον τοῦ μεγάλου δαίμονος, εἰπεῖν, χθονὸς αὔχημα μέγιστον, §711εὔιππον, εὔπωλον, εὐθάλασσον.
And I have another praise, the greatest, for this mother-city, the gift of the great god, to declare, the greatest boast of the land: that it is rich in horses, rich in colts, and rich in the sea.
§712ὦ παῖ Κρόνου, σὺ γάρ νιν εἰς §713τόδʼ εἷσας αὔχημʼ, ἄναξ Ποσειδάν, §715ἵπποισιν τὸν ἀκεστῆρα χαλινὸν §716πρώταισι ταῖσδε κτίσας ἀγυιαῖς.
O son of Cronus, for you have established it in this boast, lord Poseidon, by fashioning the healing bit for horses first in these streets here.
§717ἁ δʼ εὐήρετμος ἔκπαγλʼ ἁλία χερσὶ παραπτομένα πλάτα §718θρῴσκει, τῶν ἑκατομπόδων §719Νηρῄδων ἀκόλουθος.
And the well-rowed oar, wondrously fitted to the hands, bounds over the sea, following the hundred-footed Nereids.
O land praised with the greatest praises, now it is your turn to show these bright words in deed!
§722τί δʼ ἔστιν, ὦ παῖ, καινόν;
What is it, my child, that is new?
Approaching is Creon here towards us, and not without attendants, father.
O dearest elders, from you to me may the limit of my safety now appear.
Be of good courage, it will be present; for even if I am old, the strength of this land has not grown old.
§728ἄνδρες χθονὸς τῆσδʼ εὐγενεῖς οἰκήτορες, §729ὁρῶ τινʼ ὑμᾶς ὀμμάτων εἰληφότας §730φόβον νεώρη τῆς ἐμῆς ἐπεισόδου, §731ὃν μήτʼ ὀκνεῖτε μήτʼ ἀφῆτʼ ἔπος κακόν.
Noble inhabitants of this land, I see that you have received in your eyes some fresh fear because of my entrance; do not fear it, nor let fall any evil word.
§732ἥκω γὰρ οὐχ ὡς δρᾶν τι βουληθείς, ἐπεὶ §733γέρων μέν εἰμι, πρὸς πόλιν δʼ ἐπίσταμαι §734σθένουσαν ἥκων, εἴ τινʼ Ἑλλάδος, μέγα.
For I have come not wishing to do anything, since I am indeed old, and I know that I have come to a city that is powerful, if any in Greece is, greatly.
§735ἀλλʼ ἄνδρα τόνδε τηλικόσδʼ ἀπεστάλην §736πείσων ἕπεσθαι πρὸς τὸ Καδμείων πέδον, §737οὐκ ἐξ ἑνὸς στείλαντος, ἀλλʼ ἀνδρῶν ὑπὸ §738πάντων κελευσθείς, οὕνεχʼ ἧκέ μοι γένει §739τὰ τοῦδε πενθεῖν πήματʼ εἰς πλεῖστον πόλεως.
But I was sent, old as I am, to persuade this man to follow me to the land of the Cadmeans, sent not by one person alone, but commanded by all the citizens, because it fell to me by kinship to mourn this man's sufferings most of all the city.
But, O wretched Oedipus, listening to me, come to your home.
πᾶς σε Καδμείων λεὼς §742καλεῖ δικαίως, ἐκ δὲ τῶν μάλιστʼ ἐγώ, §743ὅσῳπερ, εἰ μὴ πλεῖστον ἀνθρώπων ἔφυν §744κάκιστος, ἀλγῶ τοῖσι σοῖς κακοῖς, γέρον, §745ὁρῶν σε τὸν δύστηνον ὄντα μὲν ξένον, §746ἀεὶ δʼ ἀλήτην κἀπὶ προσπόλου μιᾶς §747βιοστερῆ χωροῦντα· τὴν ἐγὼ τάλας §748οὐκ ἄν ποτʼ ἐς τοσοῦτον αἰκίας πεσεῖν §749ἔδοξʼ, ὅσον πέπτωκεν ἥδε δύσμορος, §750ἀεί σε κηδεύουσα καὶ τὸ σὸν κάρα §751πτωχῷ διαίτῃ, τηλικοῦτος, οὐ γάμων §752ἔμπειρος, ἀλλὰ τοὐπιόντος ἁρπάσαι.
All the Cadmean people call you, and justly so, and of them I most of all, by as much as, unless I was born the most wicked of all men, I grieve for your ills, old man, seeing you, wretched one, being indeed a stranger, and always a wanderer, and on a single attendant walking in poverty; whom I, wretched one, never thought would fall into such great dishonor as this ill-fated girl has fallen into, always caring for you and your person in a beggar's life, of such an age, not experienced in marriage, but ready to be snatched by any passer-by.
Is it not a miserable reproach, O wretched me, that I have cast upon you and myself and our whole race?
§755ἀλλʼ οὐ γὰρ ἔστι τἀμφανῆ κρύπτειν, σύ νιν §756πρὸς θεῶν πατρῴων, Οἰδίπους, πεισθεὶς ἐμοὶ §757κρύψον, θελήσας ἄστυ καὶ δόμους μολεῖν §758τοὺς σοὺς πατρῴους, τήνδε τὴν πόλιν φίλως §759εἰπών· ἐπαξία γάρ· ἡ δʼ οἴκοι πλέον §760δίκῃ σέβοιτʼ ἄν, οὖσα σὴ πάλαι τροφός.
But indeed, since it is not possible to hide what is obvious, do you, by our ancestral gods, Oedipus, yielding to me, hide it, willing to go to the city and houses of your ancestors, bidding this city a friendly farewell; for she is worthy of it; but the city at home has a greater claim to be revered by justice, since she was your nurse of old.
§761ὦ πάντα τολμῶν κἀπὸ παντὸς ἂν φέρων §762λόγου δικαίου μηχάνημα ποικίλον, §763τί ταῦτα πειρᾷ κἀμὲ δεύτερον θέλεις §764ἑλεῖν ἐν οἷς μάλιστʼ ἂν ἀλγοίην ἁλούς;
O you who dare anything, and from any just argument would draw some crafty device, why do you try these things, and wish to trap me a second time in those things where I would grieve most if caught?
§765πρόσθεν τε γάρ με τοῖσιν οἰκείοις κακοῖς §766νοσοῦνθʼ, ὅτʼ ἦν μοι τέρψις ἐκπεσεῖν χθονός, §767οὐκ ἤθελες θέλοντι προσθέσθαι χάριν· §768ἀλλʼ ἡνίκʼ ἤδη μεστὸς ἦ θυμούμενος
For formerly, when I was suffering from my own domestic ills, when it would have been a pleasure to be cast out of the land, you did not wish to grant this favor when I desired it; but when I was already sated with anger...