Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone — Page 12
My liege, if any man sees eye to eye
Mon seigneur, si quelqu'un partage pleinement
With our lord Phoebus, 'tis our prophet, lord
La vision de Phébus, c'est notre prophète, seigneur
Teiresias; he of all men best might guide
Tirésias ; lui, mieux que tout autre, pourrait guider
A searcher of this matter to the light.
Celui qui cherche la vérité vers la lumière.
Here too my zeal has nothing lagged, for twice
Mon zèle n'a pas non plus faibli ici, car deux fois
At Creon's instance have I sent to fetch him,
Sur l'instance de Créon, je l'ai fait chercher,
And long I marvel why he is not here.
Et je m'étonne depuis longtemps qu'il ne soit pas ici.
I mind me too of rumors long ago—
Je me souviens aussi de rumeurs d'autrefois —
Mere gossip.
De simples bavardages.
Tell them, I would fain know all.
Dites-les, je voudrais tout savoir.
'Twas said he fell by travelers.
On disait qu'il fut tué par des voyageurs.
So I heard, But none has seen the man who saw him fall.
C'est ce que j'ai entendu, mais nul n'a vu celui qui l'a vu tomber.
Well, if he knows what fear is, he will quail
Eh bien, s'il sait ce qu'est la peur, il tremblera
And flee before the terror of thy curse.
Et fuira devant la terreur de ta malédiction.
Words scare not him who blenches not at deeds.
Les mots n'effrayent pas celui que les actes ne font pas pâlir.
But here is one to arraign him. Lo, at length
Mais voici quelqu'un pour l'accuser. Voyez, enfin
They bring the god-inspired seer in whom
On amène le devin inspiré des dieux en qui
Above all other men is truth inborn.
La vérité est innée par-dessus tous les autres hommes.
[Enter TEIRESIAS, led by a boy.]
[Entre TIRÉSIAS, conduit par un enfant.]
Teiresias, seer who comprehendest all,
Tirésias, devin qui comprends toutes choses,
Lore of the wise and hidden mysteries,
Le savoir des sages et les mystères cachés,
High things of heaven and low things of the earth,
Les choses élevées du ciel et les choses basses de la terre,
Thou knowest, though thy blinded eyes see naught,
Tu sais, bien que tes yeux aveuglés ne voient rien,
What plague infects our city; and we turn
Quelle peste infecte notre cité ; et nous nous tournons
To thee, O seer, our one defense and shield.
Vers toi, ô devin, notre unique défense et bouclier.
Vocabulary
- Mon
- My; possessive adjective indicating possession.
- seigneur
- Lord; a nobleman or person of high rank.
- si
- If; conditional conjunction introducing a clause.
- quelqu'un
- Someone; an indefinite pronoun referring to a person.
- partage
- Share; to divide or distribute among several people.
- pleinement
- Fully; completely or entirely in all respects.
- La
- The; definite feminine singular article.
- vision
- Vision; sight or the ability to perceive visually.
- de
- Of; preposition indicating possession or relation.
- est
- Is; third person singular of verb être.
- notre
- Our; possessive adjective indicating group possession.
- prophète
- Prophet; one who predicts future events divinely.
- lui
- Him; indirect object or disjunctive pronoun.
- mieux
- Better; comparative form of bon or well.
- que
- Than; comparison or relative pronoun introducing clause.
- tout
- All; everything or the complete entirety.
- autre
- Other; different from or additional one.
- pourrait
- Could; conditional form of pouvoir.
- guider
- Guide; to lead or direct someone somewhere.
- Celui
- That one; demonstrative pronoun for masculine singular.
- qui
- Who; relative pronoun introducing descriptive clause.
- cherche
- Seeks; third person singular of chercher.
- la
- The; definite feminine singular article.
- vérité
- Truth; accuracy or conformity with fact.
- vers
- Toward; preposition indicating direction or movement.
- lumière
- Light; illumination or radiant electromagnetic energy.
- zèle
- Zeal; enthusiasm or dedication to a cause.
- pas
- Not; negation or step in physical movement.
- non
- No; negative response or negation particle.
- plus
- More; comparative increase or furthermore.
- faibli
- Weakened; past participle of faiblir.
- ici
- Here; in this place or location.
- car
- For; causal conjunction introducing reason.
- deux
- Two; cardinal number between one and three.
- fois
- Times; instances or occasions of occurrence.
- Sur
- On; preposition indicating position above.
- instance
- Instance; request or urgent appeal made.
- je
- I; first person singular subject pronoun.
- ai
- Have; first person singular of avoir.
- fait
- Made; past participle of faire.
- chercher
- Search; to seek or look for something.
- Et
- And; coordinating conjunction joining clauses.
- étonne
- Amazes; third person singular of étonner.
- depuis
- Since; preposition indicating time duration.
- longtemps
- Long time; for a considerable duration.
- qu'il
- That he; contraction of que and il.
- ne
- Not; negation particle in certain constructions.
- soit
- Be; subjunctive form of être.
- me
- Me; first person singular object pronoun.
- souviens
- Remember; first person singular of souvenir.
- aussi
- Also; likewise or furthermore in addition.
- rumeurs
- Rumors; unverified stories or hearsay.
- autrefois
- Formerly; in earlier times or previously.
- simples
- Simple; plain or uncomplicated in nature.
- bavardages
- Gossip; trivial or idle talk.
- Dites-les
- Tell them; imperative form with pronoun.
- voudrais
- Would like; conditional form of vouloir.
- savoir
- Know; to understand or be aware.
- On
- One; impersonal pronoun or people in general.
- disait
- Said; past tense of dire.
- fut
- Was; past tense of être.
- tué
- Killed; past participle of tuer.
- par
- By; preposition indicating agent or means.
- des
- Some; plural indefinite article or of the.
- voyageurs
- Travelers; people journeying from place to place.
- ce
- This; demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
- entendu
- Heard; past participle of entendre.
- mais
- But; coordinating conjunction showing contrast.
- nul
- None; no one or nobody whatsoever.
- vu
- Seen; past participle of voir.
- celui
- That one; demonstrative pronoun masculine singular.
- tomber
- Fall; to drop or descend downward.
- Eh
- Hey; interjection to attract attention.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →