CRE.  Thyself then wilt thou at the same time bury near the corse.

ANT.  But that is a glorious thing, for two friends to lie near.

CRE.  Lay hold of her, and bear her to the house.

ANT.  By no means—­for I will not let go this body.

CRE.  The God has decreed it, O virgin, not as thou wilt.

ANT.  And this too is decreed—­that the dead be not insulted.

CRE.  Around him none shall place the moist dust.

ANT.  Nay, by his mother here Jocasta, I entreat thee, Creon.

CRE.  Thou laborest in vain, for thou canst not obtain this.

ANT.  But suffer thou me at any rate to bathe the body.

CRE.  This would be one of the things forbidden by the state.

ANT.  But let me put bandages round his cruel wounds.

CRE.  In no way shalt thou show respect to this corse.

ANT.  Oh most dear, but I will at least kiss thy lips.

CRE.  Thou shalt not prepare calamity against thy wedding by thy lamentations.

ANT.  What! while I live shall I ever marry thy son?

CRE.  There is strong necessity for thee, for by what means wilt thou escape the marriage?

ANT.  That night then shall find me one of the Danaidae.

CRE.  Dost mark with what audacity she hath insulted us?

ANT.  The steel be witness, and the sword, by which I swear.

CRE.  But why art thou so eager to get rid of this marriage?

ANT.  I will take my flight with my most wretched father here.

CRE.  There is nobleness in thee; but there is some degree of folly.

ANT.  And I will die with him too, that thou mayest farther know.

CRE.  Go—­thou shalt not slay my son—­quit the land.

OEDIPUS, ANTIGONE, CHORUS.

OED. O daughter, I praise thee indeed for thy zealous intentions.

ANT.  But if I were to marry, and thou suffer banishment alone, my father?

OED. Stay and be happy; I will bear with content mine own ills.

ANT.  And who will minister to thee, blind as thou art, my father?

OED. Falling wherever it shall be my fate, I will lie on the ground.

ANT.  But Oedipus, where is he? and the renowned Enigmas?

OED. Perished! one day blest me, and one day destroyed.

ANT.  Ought not I then to have a share in thy woes?

OED. To a daughter exile with a blind father is shameful.

ANT.  Not to a right-minded one however, but honorable, my father.

OED. Lead me now onward, that I may touch thy mother.

ANT.  There:  touch the aged woman with thy most dear hand.

OED. O mother!  Oh most hapless wife!

ANT.  She doth lie miserable, having all ills at once on her.

OED. But where is the fallen body of Eteocles, and of Polynices?

ANT.  They lie extended before thee near one another.