Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone — Page 11
And now that I am lord,
Et maintenant que je suis seigneur,
Successor to his throne, his bed, his wife,
Successeur de son trône, de son lit, de sa femme,
(And had he not been frustrate in the hope
(Et s'il n'avait pas été frustré dans l'espoir
Of issue, common children of one womb
D'une descendance, des enfants communs d'un même sein
Had forced a closer bond twixt him and me,
Eussent forgé un lien plus étroit entre lui et moi,
But Fate swooped down upon him), therefore I
Mais le Destin s'est abattu sur lui), c'est pourquoi moi
His blood-avenger will maintain his cause
Son vengeur de sang, je défendrai sa cause
As though he were my sire, and leave no stone
Comme s'il était mon père, et ne laisserai aucune pierre
Unturned to track the assassin or avenge
Non retournée pour traquer l'assassin ou venger
The son of Labdacus, of Polydore,
Le fils de Labdacos, de Polydore,
Of Cadmus, and Agenor first of the race.
De Cadmos, et d'Agénor le premier de la lignée.
And for the disobedient thus I pray:
Et pour les désobéissants, voici ma prière :
May the gods send them neither timely fruits
Que les dieux ne leur accordent ni les fruits en leur saison
Of earth, nor teeming increase of the womb,
De la terre, ni la féconde croissance du sein,
But may they waste and pine, as now they waste,
Mais qu'ils dépérissent et languissent, comme ils dépérissent à présent,
Aye and worse stricken; but to all of you,
Oui, et frappés de maux plus grands encore ; mais à vous tous,
My loyal subjects who approve my acts,
Mes fidèles sujets qui approuvez mes actes,
May Justice, our ally, and all the gods
Que la Justice, notre alliée, et tous les dieux
Be gracious and attend you evermore.
Vous soient propices et vous assistent à jamais.
CHORUS.
LE CHŒUR.
The oath thou profferest, sire, I take and swear.
Le serment que tu proposes, sire, je le prends et le jure.
I slew him not myself, nor can I name
Je ne l'ai pas tué moi-même, et je ne saurais nommer
The slayer. For the quest, 'twere well, methinks
Le meurtrier. Pour la recherche, il serait bon, me semble-t-il,
That Phoebus, who proposed the riddle, himself
Que Phébus, qui a posé l'énigme, lui-même
Should give the answer—who the murderer was.
Donne la réponse — qui était le meurtrier.
OEDIPUS.
ŒDIPE.
Well argued; but no living man can hope
Argument juste ; mais nul homme vivant ne peut espérer
To force the gods to speak against their will.
Contraindre les dieux à parler contre leur volonté.
CHORUS.
LE CHŒUR.
May I then say what seems next best to me?
Puis-je alors dire ce qui me semble le meilleur après cela ?
OEDIPUS.
ŒDIPE.
Aye, if there be a third best, tell it too.
Oui, et s'il en est un troisième meilleur, dis-le aussi.
CHORUS.
LE CHŒUR.
Vocabulary
- maintenant
- Adverb meaning 'now' or 'at this moment'.
- seigneur
- Noun meaning 'lord' or 'master', a title of authority.
- Successeur
- Noun meaning 'successor', one who follows another in a position.
- trône
- Noun meaning 'throne', a seat of royal or divine power.
- lit
- Noun meaning 'bed'; also third person singular of 'lire' (reads).
- femme
- Noun meaning 'woman' or 'wife'.
- frustré
- Adjective or past participle meaning 'frustrated' or 'thwarted'.
- espoir
- Noun meaning 'hope', an expectation or desire for something positive.
- descendance
- Noun meaning 'descendants' or 'lineage', one's offspring or progeny.
- enfants
- Noun meaning 'children', young people or offspring.
- communs
- Adjective meaning 'common' or 'shared', held or done together.
- même
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'same' or 'even', indicating identity or emphasis.
- sein
- Noun meaning 'breast' or 'bosom'; also used to mean 'womb'.
- Eussent
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'avoir', meaning 'would have had'.
- forgé
- Past participle of 'forger', meaning 'forged' or 'shaped by force'.
- lien
- Noun meaning 'bond' or 'tie', a connection between people or things.
- étroit
- Adjective meaning 'narrow' or 'close', describing a tight connection.
- entre
- Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among', indicating a middle position.
- Destin
- Noun meaning 'destiny' or 'fate', a predetermined course of events.
- abattu
- Adjective or past participle meaning 'struck down' or 'dejected'.
- pourquoi
- Adverb meaning 'why', used to ask for reasons or explanations.
- vengeur
- Noun or adjective meaning 'avenger' or 'vengeful', seeking retribution.
- sang
- Noun meaning 'blood', the vital fluid circulating in the body.
- défendrai
- First person singular future tense of 'défendre', meaning 'I will defend'.
- cause
- Noun meaning 'cause' or 'reason', something that produces an effect.
- père
- Noun meaning 'father', one's male parent.
- laisserai
- First person singular future tense of 'laisser', meaning 'I will leave'.
- aucune
- Negative adjective meaning 'no' or 'none', used with 'ne' for negation.
- pierre
- Noun meaning 'stone' or 'rock', a hard mineral solid material.
- retournée
- Past participle of 'retourner', meaning 'turned over' or 'returned'.
- traquer
- Verb meaning 'to track down' or 'to hunt', pursuing relentlessly.
- assassin
- Noun meaning 'assassin' or 'murderer', one who kills another.
- venger
- Verb meaning 'to avenge' or 'to take revenge' for a wrong.
- fils
- Noun meaning 'son', a male child in relation to his parents.
- premier
- Adjective meaning 'first', indicating the earliest or most important.
- lignée
- Noun meaning 'lineage' or 'line of descent', ancestral heritage.
- désobéissants
- Noun or adjective meaning 'disobedient ones', those who refuse to comply.
- voici
- Presentative meaning 'here is' or 'this is', introducing something nearby.
- prière
- Noun meaning 'prayer' or 'plea', a request made solemnly.
- dieux
- Noun meaning 'gods', plural of 'dieu', divine supernatural beings.
- accordent
- Third person plural present of 'accorder', meaning 'grant' or 'give'.
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'neither' or 'nor', used in double negation.
- fruits
- Noun meaning 'fruits', the edible produce of plants; results of labor.
- saison
- Noun meaning 'season', one of four periods of the year.
- terre
- Noun meaning 'earth' or 'land', the ground or the planet.
- féconde
- Adjective meaning 'fertile' or 'fruitful', capable of producing abundantly.
- croissance
- Noun meaning 'growth', the process of increasing in size or development.
- dépérissent
- Third person plural present subjunctive of 'dépérir', meaning 'waste away'.
- languissent
- Third person plural present of 'languir', meaning 'languish' or 'wither'.
- présent
- Noun or adjective meaning 'present', referring to the current time.
- frappés
- Past participle of 'frapper', meaning 'struck' or 'hit', afflicted by something.
- maux
- Noun meaning 'evils' or 'ills', plural of 'mal', indicating suffering.
- encore
- Adverb meaning 'still', 'yet', or 'again', indicating continuation.
- tous
- Pronoun or adjective meaning 'all' or 'everyone', indicating totality.
- fidèles
- Adjective or noun meaning 'faithful' or 'loyal', devoted supporters.
- sujets
- Noun meaning 'subjects', people under the authority of a ruler.
- approuvez
- Second person plural present of 'approuver', meaning 'approve' or 'endorse'.
- actes
- Noun meaning 'acts' or 'deeds', actions performed by someone.
- Justice
- Noun meaning 'justice', the quality of being fair and righteous.
- alliée
- Noun or adjective meaning 'ally' (feminine), a partner or supporter.
- soient
- Third person plural present subjunctive of 'être', meaning 'may be'.
- propices
- Adjective meaning 'favorable' or 'propitious', indicating good conditions.
- assistent
- Third person plural present of 'assister', meaning 'assist' or 'attend'.
- jamais
- Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever', indicating absence or extremity.
- CHŒUR
- Noun meaning 'chorus', a group singing or commenting in Greek drama.
- serment
- Noun meaning 'oath' or 'solemn vow', a serious sworn promise.
- proposes
- Second person singular present of 'proposer', meaning 'you propose' or 'suggest'.
- sire
- Noun meaning 'sire', a formal address for a king or monarch.
- prends
- First person singular present of 'prendre', meaning 'I take'.
- jure
- First person singular present of 'jurer', meaning 'I swear' or 'vow'.
- tué
- Past participle of 'tuer', meaning 'killed', having taken someone's life.
- saurais
- First person singular conditional of 'savoir', meaning 'I would know'.
- nommer
- Verb meaning 'to name' or 'to appoint', to identify by name.
- meurtrier
- Noun or adjective meaning 'murderer' or 'lethal', one who kills unlawfully.
- recherche
- Noun meaning 'search' or 'research', an investigation or inquiry.
- serait
- Third person singular conditional of 'être', meaning 'would be'.
- semble
- Third person singular present of 'sembler', meaning 'seems' or 'appears'.
- posé
- Past participle of 'poser', meaning 'posed', 'placed', or 'put forward'.
- énigme
- Noun meaning 'enigma' or 'riddle', a puzzling question or mystery.
- Donne
- Second person singular imperative of 'donner', meaning 'give' or 'provide'.
- réponse
- Noun meaning 'answer' or 'response', a reply to a question.
- Argument
- Noun meaning 'argument' or 'reasoning', a set of logical statements.
- juste
- Adjective meaning 'just' or 'fair', indicating correctness or righteousness.
- nul
- Adjective meaning 'no' or 'null', indicating absence or invalidity.
- homme
- Noun meaning 'man' or 'human being', an adult male person.
- vivant
- Adjective or noun meaning 'living' or 'alive', currently existing.
- espérer
- Verb meaning 'to hope', to desire something with expectation.
- Contraindre
- Verb meaning 'to compel' or 'to force', making someone do something.
- parler
- Verb meaning 'to speak' or 'to talk', to communicate verbally.
- contre
- Preposition meaning 'against', indicating opposition or contrast.
- volonté
- Noun meaning 'will' or 'willpower', the faculty of conscious decision.
- Puis
- Adverb meaning 'then' or 'next', indicating a subsequent action or time.
- alors
- Adverb meaning 'then' or 'so', indicating consequence or time.
- dire
- Verb meaning 'to say' or 'to tell', to express something verbally.
- meilleur
- Adjective meaning 'better' or 'best', indicating superior quality.
- après
- Preposition or adverb meaning 'after', indicating a later time or order.
- cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'this', referring to something mentioned.
- troisième
- Adjective meaning 'third', indicating the ordinal number three.
- dis
- First person singular present of 'dire', meaning 'I say' or 'tell'.
- aussi
- Adverb meaning 'also', 'too', or 'as well', adding information.
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