Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone — Page 11
And now that I am lord,
Und nun, da ich der Herr bin,
Successor to his throne, his bed, his wife,
Nachfolger auf seinem Thron, in seinem Bett, mit seiner Frau,
(And had he not been frustrate in the hope
(Und wäre er nicht enttäuscht worden in der Hoffnung
Of issue, common children of one womb
Auf Nachkommen, gemeinsame Kinder eines Mutterschoßes,
Had forced a closer bond twixt him and me,
Hätte ein engeres Band zwischen ihm und mir geschmiedet,
But Fate swooped down upon him), therefore I
Doch das Schicksal stürzte sich auf ihn), daher werde ich
His blood-avenger will maintain his cause
Als sein Bluträcher seine Sache verfechten
As though he were my sire, and leave no stone
Als wäre er mein Vater, und keinen Stein
Unturned to track the assassin or avenge
Unumgedreht lassen, um den Mörder aufzuspüren oder zu rächen
The son of Labdacus, of Polydore,
Den Sohn des Labdakos, des Polydoros,
Of Cadmus, and Agenor first of the race.
Des Kadmos und des Agenor, des Ersten des Geschlechts.
And for the disobedient thus I pray:
Und für die Ungehorsamen bete ich so:
May the gods send them neither timely fruits
Mögen die Götter ihnen weder rechtzeitige Früchte
Of earth, nor teeming increase of the womb,
Der Erde senden, noch reichen Kindersegen des Schoßes,
But may they waste and pine, as now they waste,
Sondern mögen sie dahinsiechen und schmachten, wie sie jetzt dahinsiechen,
Aye and worse stricken; but to all of you,
Ja, und noch schlimmer getroffen; doch euch allen,
My loyal subjects who approve my acts,
Meinen treuen Untertanen, die meine Taten billigen,
May Justice, our ally, and all the gods
Mögen die Gerechtigkeit, unsere Verbündete, und alle Götter
Be gracious and attend you evermore.
Gnädig sein und euch für immer beistehen.
CHORUS.
CHOR.
The oath thou profferest, sire, I take and swear.
Den Eid, den Ihr anbietet, Herr, nehme ich an und schwöre ihn.
I slew him not myself, nor can I name
Ich habe ihn nicht selbst erschlagen, noch kann ich nennen
The slayer. For the quest, 'twere well, methinks
Den Mörder. Für die Suche wäre es gut, dünkt mich,
That Phoebus, who proposed the riddle, himself
Dass Phöbus, der das Rätsel aufgab, selbst
Should give the answer—who the murderer was.
Die Antwort geben sollte – wer der Mörder war.
OEDIPUS.
ÖDIPUS.
Well argued; but no living man can hope
Gut argumentiert; doch kein lebender Mensch kann hoffen,
To force the gods to speak against their will.
Die Götter zu zwingen, gegen ihren Willen zu sprechen.
CHORUS.
CHOR.
May I then say what seems next best to me?
Darf ich dann sagen, was mir als nächstbestes erscheint?
OEDIPUS.
ÖDIPUS.
Aye, if there be a third best, tell it too.
Ja, und wenn es ein Drittbestes gibt, sag es ebenfalls.
CHORUS.
CHOR.
Vocabulary
- nun
- Now; at this point in time or narrative.
- da
- There; since; because; at that place or time.
- Herr
- Lord; master; title of respect for a man.
- Nachfolger
- Successor; one who follows another in a position.
- Thron
- Throne; seat of a king or ruler.
- Bett
- Bed; furniture used for sleeping or resting.
- wäre
- Would be; subjunctive form of 'sein' (to be).
- enttäuscht
- Disappointed; let down; failing to meet expectations.
- worden
- Past participle auxiliary used in passive constructions.
- Hoffnung
- Hope; expectation of something desired in future.
- Nachkommen
- Descendants; offspring; those who come after someone.
- gemeinsame
- Common; shared; mutual between two or more parties.
- Mutterschoßes
- Of a mother's womb; shared maternal origin or birth.
- Hätte
- Would have; subjunctive past form of 'haben'.
- engeres
- Closer; tighter; comparative form of 'eng' (narrow).
- Band
- Bond; tie; ribbon; connection between people or things.
- zwischen
- Between; among; preposition indicating position between two.
- geschmiedet
- Forged; smithed; crafted or formed through effort.
- Doch
- But; yet; however; nevertheless; contrasting conjunction.
- Schicksal
- Fate; destiny; the predetermined course of events.
- stürzte
- Hurled; plunged; threw forcefully downward or upon.
- daher
- Therefore; hence; for that reason; consequently.
- Bluträcher
- Blood avenger; one who avenges a murdered kinsman.
- Sache
- Cause; matter; thing; affair; issue to be addressed.
- verfechten
- To champion; to advocate; to fight for a cause.
- Stein
- Stone; rock; hard mineral material found naturally.
- Unumgedreht
- Unturned; not turned over; leaving nothing uninvestigated.
- lassen
- To let; to leave; to allow something to happen.
- Mörder
- Murderer; killer; one who commits homicide.
- aufzuspüren
- To track down; to hunt out; to find someone hidden.
- rächen
- To avenge; to take revenge for a wrongdoing.
- Sohn
- Son; male child of a parent.
- Geschlechts
- Of the lineage; of the family; of the generation.
- Ungehorsamen
- The disobedient ones; those who refuse to comply.
- bete
- Pray; first person singular present of 'beten'.
- Mögen
- May; might; expressing a wish or possibility subjunctively.
- Götter
- Gods; plural of Gott; divine supernatural beings.
- weder
- Neither; used in 'weder...noch' (neither...nor) constructions.
- rechtzeitige
- Timely; occurring at the right or proper time.
- Früchte
- Fruits; plural of Frucht; produce of the earth.
- Erde
- Earth; ground; soil; the planet we live on.
- senden
- To send; to dispatch; to transmit something to someone.
- noch
- Yet; still; nor; also used in neither...nor constructions.
- reichen
- To reach; to hand; to suffice; rich in plural.
- Kindersegen
- Blessing of children; abundant offspring; fruitful progeny.
- Schoßes
- Of the womb; of the lap; genitive of Schoß.
- Sondern
- But rather; on the contrary; contrasting conjunction.
- mögen
- May; to like; modal verb expressing wish or possibility.
- dahinsiechen
- To waste away; to languish; to decline slowly in health.
- schmachten
- To languish; to pine; to suffer with longing or misery.
- schlimmer
- Worse; more severe; comparative of schlimm (bad).
- getroffen
- Hit; struck; met; past participle of treffen.
- doch
- Yet; but; still; emphatic or contrastive particle.
- euch
- You; dative/accusative second person plural pronoun.
- treuen
- Loyal; faithful; dative or accusative adjective form.
- Untertanen
- Subjects; citizens loyal and obedient to a ruler.
- Taten
- Deeds; actions; plural of Tat; acts performed.
- billigen
- To approve; to sanction; to accept as acceptable.
- Gerechtigkeit
- Justice; fairness; the quality of being just.
- Verbündete
- Ally; confederate; one united with another in purpose.
- Gnädig
- Graciously; mercifully; with kindness and clemency.
- immer
- Always; ever; at all times; continually.
- beistehen
- To stand by; to assist; to support someone loyally.
- CHOR
- Chorus; group of singers or speakers in Greek drama.
- Eid
- Oath; solemn vow or promise made formally.
- anbietet
- Offers; presents; third person singular of anbieten.
- nehme
- Take; accept; first person singular subjunctive of nehmen.
- schwöre
- Swear; vow; first person singular of schwören.
- selbst
- Myself; himself; oneself; emphatic reflexive pronoun.
- erschlagen
- Slain; killed; past participle of erschlagen.
- nennen
- To name; to call; to identify by a name.
- Suche
- Search; quest; the act of looking for something.
- dünkt
- Seems; appears; archaic third person of dünken.
- Rätsel
- Riddle; puzzle; enigma; something hard to understand.
- aufgab
- Gave up; posed; past tense of aufgeben.
- Antwort
- Answer; reply; response to a question or riddle.
- sollte
- Should; was supposed to; past subjunctive of sollen.
- argumentiert
- Argued; reasoned; past participle of argumentieren.
- lebender
- Living; alive; adjectival form of leben in genitive.
- Mensch
- Person; human being; mankind; mortal individual.
- hoffen
- To hope; to wish for something with expectation.
- zwingen
- To force; to compel; to coerce someone to act.
- gegen
- Against; contrary to; opposing; preposition of opposition.
- Willen
- Will; volition; strong wish or determination to act.
- sprechen
- To speak; to talk; to express something verbally.
- Darf
- May; am allowed; first person singular of dürfen.
- nächstbestes
- Next best; second best available option or choice.
- erscheint
- Appears; seems; third person singular of erscheinen.
- Drittbestes
- Third best; the third most preferable option available.
- sag
- Say; tell; imperative form of sagen.
- ebenfalls
- Likewise; also; equally; in the same way too.
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