The Suppliants (495-575)

trying to rescue and bury those whom their own acts of insolence haye ruined. Verily then it would seem Capaneus was unjustly blasted by the thunderbolt and charred upon the ladder he had raised against our gates, swearing he would sack our town, whether the god would or no;

nor should the yawning earth have snatched away the seer,[*] opening wide her mouth to take his chariot and its horses in, nor should the other chieftains be stretched at our gates, their skeletons to atoms crushed ’neath boulders. Either boast thy wit transcendeth that of Zeus,

or else allow that gods are right to slay the ungodly. The wise should love their children first, next their parents and country, whose fortunes it behoves them to increase rather than break down. Rashness in a leader, as in a pilot, causeth shipwreck; who knoweth when to be quiet is a wise man.

Yea and this too is bravery, even forethought.

The punishment Zeus hath inflicted was surely enough; there was no need to heap this wanton insult on us.

Abandoned wretch!

Peace, Adrastus! say no more; set not thy words before mine,

for ’tis not to thee this fellow is come with his message, but to me, and I must answer him. Thy first assertion will I answer first: I am not aware that Creon is my lord and master, or that his power outweigheth mine, that so he should compel

Athens to act on this wise; nay! for then would the tide of time have to flow backward, if we are to be ordered about, as he thinks. ’Tis not I who choose this war, seeing that I did not even join these warriors to go unto the land of Cadmus; but still I claim to bury the fallen dead, not injuring any state

nor yet introducing murderous strife, but preserving the law of all Hellas. What is not well in this? If ye suffered aught from the Argives—lo! they are dead; ye took a splendid vengeance on your foes

and covered them with shame, and now your right is at an end. Let[*] the dead now be buried in the earth, and each element return[*] to the place from whence it came to the body, the breath to the air, the body to the ground; for in no wise did we get it

for our own, but to live our life in, and after that its mother earth must take it back again. Dost think ’tis Argos thou art injuring in refusing burial to the dead? Nay! all Hellas shares herein, if a man rob the dead of their due

and keep them from the tomb; for, if this law be enacted, it will strike dismay into the stoutest hearts. And art thou come to cast dire threats at me, while thy own folk are afraid of giving burial to the dead? What is your fear? Think you they will undermine your land

in their graves, or that they will beget children in the womb of earth, from whom shall rise an avenger? A silly waste of words, in truth it was, to show your fear of paltry groundless terrors.

Go, triflers, learn the lesson of human misery;

our life is made up of struggles; some men there be that find their fortune soon, others have to wait, while some at once are blest. Fortune lives a dainty life; to her the wretched pays his court and homage to win her smile; her likewise doth the prosperous man extol, for fear the favouring gale

may leave him. These lessons should we take to heart, to bear with moderation, free from wrath, our wrongs, and do naught to hurt a whole city. What then? Let us, who will the pious deed perform, bury the corpses of the slain.

Else is the issue clear; I will go and bury them by force. For never shall it be proclaimed through Hellas that heaven’s ancient law was set at naught, when it devolved on me and the city of Pandion.

Be of good cheer; for if thou preserve the light of justice,

thou shalt escape many a charge that men might urge.

Wilt thou that I sum up in brief all thou wouldst say?

Say what thou wilt; for thou art not silent as it is.

Thou shalt never take the sons of Argos from our land.

Hear, then, my answer too to that, if so thou wilt.

I will hear thee; not that I wish it, but I must give thee thy turn.

I will bury the dead, when from Asopus’ land I have removed them.

First must thou adventure somewhat in the front of war.

Many an enterprise and of a different kind have I ere this endured.

Wert thou then begotten of thy sire to cope with every foe?

Ay, with all wanton villains; virtue I punish not.