§919καίτοι σε Θῆβαί γʼ οὐκ ἐπαίδευσαν κακόν· §920οὐ γὰρ φιλοῦσιν ἄνδρας ἐκδίκους τρέφειν, §921οὐδʼ ἄν σʼ ἐπαινέσειαν, εἰ πυθοίατο §922συλῶντα τἀμὰ καὶ τὰ τῶν θεῶν, βίᾳ §923ἄγοντα φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια.
And yet, Thebes did not train you to be wicked; for they are not accustomed to rearing unjust men, nor would they praise you, if they should learn that you are plundering my possessions and those of the gods, by force carrying off the wretched suppliants.
§924οὔκουν ἔγωγʼ ἂν σῆς ἐπεμβαίνων χθονός, §925οὐδʼ εἰ τὰ πάντων εἶχον ἐνδικώτατα, §926ἄνευ γε τοῦ κραίνοντος, ὅστις ἦν, χθονὸς §927οὔθʼ εἷλκον οὔτʼ ἂν ἦγον, ἀλλʼ ἠπιστάμην §928ξένον παρʼ ἀστοῖς ὡς διαιτᾶσθαι χρεών.
I, at least, if I were entering your land, even if I had the most just of all claims, without the consent of the ruler of the land, whoever he might be, would neither have dragged nor led anyone away, but I would have known how a stranger ought to behave among citizens.
§929σὺ δʼ ἀξίαν οὐκ οὖσαν αἰσχύνεις πόλιν §930τὴν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ, καί σʼ ὁ πληθύων χρόνος §931γέρονθʼ ὁμοῦ τίθησι καὶ τοῦ νοῦ κενόν.
But you are bringing shame upon a city that does not deserve it, your own fatherland, and the accumulating time renders you at once an old man and empty of sense.
§932εἶπον μὲν οὖν καὶ πρόσθεν, ἐννέπω δὲ νῦν, §933τὰς παῖδας ὡς τάχιστα δεῦρʼ ἄγειν τινά, §934εἰ μὴ μέτοικος τῆσδε τῆς χώρας θέλεις §935εἶναι βίᾳ τε κοὐχ ἑκών· καὶ ταῦτά σοι §936τῷ νῷ θʼ ὁμοίως κἀπὸ τῆς γλώσσης λέγω.
So I have said before, and I declare it now, that someone must bring the girls here as quickly as possible, unless you wish to be an inhabitant of this land by force and against your will; and this I say to you sincerely in mind and likewise from my tongue.
§937ὁρᾷς ἵνʼ ἥκεις, ὦ ξένʼ;
Do you see where you have come, stranger?
ὡς ἀφʼ ὧν μὲν εἶ §938φαίνει δίκαιος, δρῶν δʼ ἐφευρίσκει κακά.
For by your origin you appear just, but by your deeds you are discovered doing evil.
§939ἐγὼ οὔτʼ ἄνανδρον τήνδε τὴν πόλιν νέμων, §940ὦ τέκνον Αἰγέως, οὔτʼ ἄβουλον, ὡς σὺ φῄς, §941τοὔργον τόδʼ ἐξέπραξα, γιγνώσκων δʼ ὅτι §942οὐδείς ποτʼ αὐτοὺς τῶν ἐμῶν ἂν ἐμπέσοι §943ζῆλος ξυναίμων, ὥστʼ ἐμοῦ τρέφειν βίᾳ.
I, not because I deemed this city empty of men, O son of Aegeus, nor without counsel, as you say, have performed this deed, but because I knew that no such devotion to my kinsmen would ever fall upon them as to support him in opposition to my will.
§944ᾔδη δʼ ὁθούνεκʼ ἄνδρα καὶ πατροκτόνον §945κἄναγνον οὐ δεξοίατʼ, οὐδʼ ὅτῳ γάμοι §946ξυνόντες ηὑρέθησαν ἀνόσιοι τέκνων.
And I knew that they would not receive a man who is a parricide and impure, nor one for whom unholy marriages with children were found to have coexisted.
§947τοιοῦτον αὐτοῖς Ἄρεος εὔβουλον πάγον §948ἐγὼ ξυνῄδη χθόνιον ὄνθʼ, ὃς οὐκ ἐᾷ §949τοιούσδʼ ἀλήτας τῇδʼ ὁμοῦ ναίειν πόλει· §950ᾧ πίστιν ἴσχων τήνδʼ ἐχειρούμην ἄγραν.
I knew well that they had such a wise council of Ares established in this land, which does not permit such wanderers to dwell together in this city; trusting in this, I laid hands upon this prey.
§951καὶ ταῦτʼ ἂν οὐκ ἔπρασσον, εἰ μή μοι πικρὰς §952αὐτῷ τʼ ἀρὰς ἠρᾶτο καὶ τὠμῷ γένει· §953ἀνθʼ ὧν πεπονθὼς ἠξίουν τάδʼ ἀντιδρᾶν.
And I would not have done this, had he not cursed me with bitter curses, both myself and my race; in return for which, having suffered, I claimed the right to do this in return.
For of anger there is no other old age except death; and no pain touches the dead.
§956πρὸς ταῦτα πράξεις οἷον ἂν θέλῃς· ἐπεὶ §957ἐρημία με, κεἰ δίκαιʼ, ὅμως λέγω, §958σμικρὸν τίθησι· πρὸς δὲ τὰς πράξεις ὅμως, §959καὶ τηλικόσδʼ ὤν, ἀντιδρᾶν πειράσομαι.
Therefore, do whatever you wish; since my isolation, even if my words are just, nevertheless makes me weak; but against your deeds, nevertheless, even being of such an age, I will try to act in return.
O shameless soul, whom do you think you are insulting here, me, an old man, or yourself?
§962ὅστις φόνους μοι καὶ γάμους καὶ συμφορὰς §963τοῦ σοῦ διῆκας στόματος, ἃς ἐγὼ τάλας §964ἤνεγκον ἄκων· θεοῖς γὰρ ἦν οὕτω φίλον, §965τάχʼ ἄν τι μηνίουσιν εἰς γένος πάλαι.
Who have poured out murders, marriages, and misfortunes from your mouth, which I, wretched, have borne unwillingly; for it was thus pleasing to the gods, perhaps because they were angry of old with my race.
§966ἐπεὶ καθʼ αὑτόν γʼ οὐκ ἂν ἐξεύροις ἐμοὶ §967ἁμαρτίας ὄνειδος οὐδέν, ἀνθʼ ὅτου §968τάδʼ εἰς ἐμαυτὸν τοὺς ἐμούς θʼ ἡμάρτανον.
Since as far as I myself am concerned, you could not discover any reproach of sin, in return for which I committed these offenses against myself and my own.
§969ἐπεὶ δίδαξον, εἴ τι θέσφατον πατρὶ §970χρησμοῖσιν ἱκνεῖθʼ ὥστε πρὸς παίδων θανεῖν, §971πῶς ἂν δικαίως τοῦτʼ ὀνειδίζοις ἐμοί, §972ὃς οὔτε βλάστας πω γενεθλίους πατρός, §973οὐ μητρὸς εἶχον, ἀλλʼ ἀγέννητος τότʼ ἦ;
For teach me, if any prophetic voice came to my father through oracles that he should die by his children, how could you justly reproach me for this, who had as yet no birth from a father, nor from a mother, but was then unborn?
§974εἰ δʼ αὖ φανεὶς δύστηνος, ὡς ἐγὼ ʼφάνην, §975ἐς χεῖρας ἦλθον πατρὶ καὶ κατέκτανον, §976μηδὲν ξυνιεὶς ὧν ἔδρων εἰς οὕς τʼ ἔδρων, §977πῶς ἂν τό γʼ ἆκον πρᾶγμʼ ἂν εἰκότως ψέγοις;
And if again, having appeared wretched, as I did, I came to blows with my father and slew him, understanding nothing of what I was doing and to whom I was doing it, how could you reasonably blame an involuntary deed?
§978μητρὸς δέ, τλῆμον, οὐκ ἐπαισχύνει γάμους §979οὔσης ὁμαίμου σῆς μʼ ἀναγκάζων λέγειν, §979aοἵους ἐρῶ τάχʼ· οὐ γὰρ οὖν σιγήσομαι, §980σοῦ γʼ εἰς τόδʼ ἐξελθόντος ἀνόσιον στόμα.
And of my mother, you wretch, are you not ashamed to force me to speak of her marriage, she being your sister, such as I will soon describe; for indeed I will not be silent, since you have gone so far as to open your unholy mouth.
§981ἔτικτε γάρ μʼ ἔτικτεν, ὤμοι μοι κακῶν, §982οὐκ εἰδότʼ οὐκ εἰδυῖα, καὶ τεκοῦσά με, §983αὑτῆς ὄνειδος παῖδας ἐξέφυσέ μοι.
For she bore me, yes, she bore me—ah, wretchedness of my ills!— she not knowing, I not knowing, and having given me birth, she produced children for me to her own shame.
§984ἀλλʼ ἓν γὰρ οὖν ἔξοιδα, σὲ μὲν ἑκόντʼ ἐμὲ §985κείνην τε ταῦτα δυσστομεῖν· ἐγὼ δέ νιν §986ἄκων ἔγημα φθέγγομαί τʼ ἄκων τάδε.
But indeed one thing I know well: that you willingly abuse me and her; but I married her unwillingly, and unwillingly do I speak these words.
§987ἀλλʼ οὐ γὰρ οὔτʼ ἐν τοῖσδʼ ἁλώσομαι κακὸς §988γάμοισιν οὔθʼ οὓς αἰὲν ἐμφορεῖς σύ μοι §990φόνους πατρῴους ἐξονειδίζων πικρῶς.
But indeed, neither in these marriages shall I be proved wicked, nor in those father-murders which you always bring against me, bitterly reproaching me.
§991ἓν γάρ μʼ ἄμειψαι μοῦνον ὧν σʼ ἀνιστορῶ.
For answer me only one thing of those I ask you.
§992εἴ τις σὲ τὸν δίκαιον αὐτίκʼ ἐνθάδε
If someone here were to threaten you, the just one, right now,