Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone — Page 13
The purport of the answer that the God
Il senso della risposta che il Dio
Returned to us who sought his oracle,
Ci restituì quando cercammo il suo oracolo,
The messengers have doubtless told thee—how
I messaggeri ti hanno senza dubbio riferito—come
One course alone could rid us of the pest,
Una sola via potesse liberarci dal flagello,
To find the murderers of Laius,
Trovare gli assassini di Laio,
And slay them or expel them from the land.
E ucciderli o scacciarli dalla terra.
Therefore begrudging neither augury
Perciò non lesinando né augurio
Nor other divination that is thine,
Né altra divinazione che è tua,
O save thyself, thy country, and thy king,
Oh salva te stesso, la tua patria e il tuo re,
Save all from this defilement of blood shed.
Salva tutti da questa contaminazione di sangue versato.
On thee we rest. This is man's highest end,
In te riponiamo la nostra speranza. Questo è il fine supremo dell'uomo,
To others' service all his powers to lend.
Porre tutte le proprie forze al servizio degli altri.
TEIRESIAS.
TIRESIA.
Alas, alas, what misery to be wise
Ahimè, ahimè, che miseria essere saggi
When wisdom profits nothing! This old lore
Quando la saggezza non giova a nulla! Quest'antica conoscenza
I had forgotten; else I were not here.
Avevo dimenticato; altrimenti non sarei qui.
OEDIPUS.
EDIPO.
What ails thee? Why this melancholy mood?
Cosa ti affligge? Perché questo umore malinconico?
TEIRESIAS.
TIRESIA.
Let me go home; prevent me not; 'twere best
Lasciami andare a casa; non impedirmelo; sarebbe meglio
That thou shouldst bear thy burden and I mine.
Che tu portassi il tuo fardello e io il mio.
OEDIPUS.
EDIPO.
For shame! no true-born Theban patriot
Vergogna! nessun vero patriota tebano
Would thus withhold the word of prophecy.
Tratterrebbe così la parola della profezia.
TEIRESIAS.
TIRESIA.
_Thy_ words, O king, are wide of the mark, and I
Le _tue_ parole, o re, sono lontane dal segno, e io
For fear lest I too trip like thee...
Per timore di inciampare anch'io come te...
OEDIPUS.
EDIPO.
Oh speak,
Oh parla,
Withhold not, I adjure thee, if thou know'st,
Non tacere, te ne scongiuro, se sai,
Thy knowledge. We are all thy suppliants.
La tua conoscenza. Siamo tutti tuoi supplici.
TEIRESIAS.
TIRESIA.
Aye, for ye all are witless, but my voice
Sì, perché siete tutti insensati, ma la mia voce
Will ne'er reveal my miseries—or thine.2
Non rivelerà mai le mie miserie—né le tue.2
OEDIPUS.
EDIPO.
What then, thou knowest, and yet willst not speak!
Come allora, sai, eppure non vuoi parlare!
Wouldst thou betray us and destroy the State?
Vorresti tradirci e distruggere lo Stato?
TEIRESIAS.
TIRESIA.
I will not vex myself nor thee. Why ask
Non vorrò tormentare né me stesso né te. Perché chiedere
Thus idly what from me thou shalt not learn?
Così invano ciò che da me non imparerai?
OEDIPUS.
EDIPO.
Monster!
Mostro!
Vocabulary
- senso
- Meaning, sense, or direction of something
- risposta
- An answer or reply given to a question
- Dio
- God, the supreme divine being
- restituì
- He/she/it gave back or returned something
- cercammo
- We sought or looked for something
- oracolo
- An oracle, a divine prophetic response or source
- messaggeri
- Messengers who carry news or important communications
- dubbio
- Doubt or uncertainty about something
- riferito
- Reported or communicated information to someone
- sola
- Feminine adjective meaning 'alone' or 'only'
- via
- A way, path, road, or means of doing something
- potesse
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'potere', meaning 'could'
- liberarci
- To free or liberate us from something
- flagello
- A plague, scourge, or devastating affliction
- assassini
- Murderers or assassins who kill intentionally
- Laio
- Laius, the king of Thebes and father of Oedipus
- ucciderli
- To kill them, referring to specific persons
- scacciarli
- To drive them away or expel them forcibly
- terra
- Earth, land, or territory of a place
- Perciò
- Conjunction meaning 'therefore' or 'for this reason'
- lesinando
- Skimping or being stingy with resources or effort
- augurio
- An omen, wish, or auspicious sign for the future
- divinazione
- Divination, the practice of foretelling future events
- salva
- Save or rescue someone from danger or harm
- stesso
- Adjective meaning 'same' or 'self'
- patria
- Homeland, fatherland, or one's native country
- re
- A king, the ruler of a kingdom
- Salva
- Imperative form: save or rescue from harm
- contaminazione
- Contamination, defilement, or ritual pollution
- sangue
- Blood, either literal or figurative
- versato
- Spilled or shed, often referring to blood
- riponiamo
- We place or put our trust or hope in something
- speranza
- Hope or expectation for a positive outcome
- fine
- End, purpose, or goal of an action
- supremo
- Supreme, highest, or ultimate in rank or importance
- Porre
- To place, put, or direct one's efforts toward something
- proprie
- Feminine plural possessive adjective meaning 'one's own'
- forze
- Strengths, forces, or abilities of a person
- servizio
- Service or work done for others
- altri
- Others, other people in general
- TIRESIA
- Tiresias, the blind prophet of ancient Greek mythology
- Ahimè
- Alas, an exclamation expressing sorrow or distress
- miseria
- Misery, extreme suffering or wretchedness
- saggi
- Wise people or essays; plural of 'saggio'
- saggezza
- Wisdom, the quality of having good judgment
- giova
- Is useful or beneficial to someone
- nulla
- Nothing, not anything at all
- antica
- Feminine adjective meaning 'ancient' or 'old'
- conoscenza
- Knowledge or acquaintance with something or someone
- dimenticato
- Forgotten, past participle of 'dimenticare'
- altrimenti
- Otherwise, or else; indicating an alternative outcome
- sarei
- Conditional of 'essere', meaning 'I would be'
- EDIPO
- Oedipus, the tragic Greek mythological king
- affligge
- Afflicts or troubles someone greatly
- umore
- Mood, humor, or one's emotional state
- malinconico
- Melancholic, sad, or expressing deep sorrow
- Lasciami
- Let me; imperative asking permission or release
- impedirmelo
- To prevent me from doing something specific
- sarebbe
- Conditional of 'essere', meaning 'it would be'
- portassi
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'portare', meaning 'you carried'
- fardello
- A burden or heavy load one must carry
- Vergogna
- Shame or embarrassment felt for wrongdoing
- nessun
- Adjective meaning 'no' or 'not any' before a noun
- vero
- True or real; adjective describing authenticity
- patriota
- A patriot, person devoted to their homeland
- tebano
- Theban, relating to or from the city of Thebes
- Tratterrebbe
- Would hold back or restrain someone or something
- parola
- A word or spoken utterance
- profezia
- A prophecy or prediction about future events
- parole
- Words or speech utterances in general
- lontane
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'far' or 'distant'
- segno
- A sign, mark, or indication of something
- timore
- Fear or apprehension about something harmful
- inciampare
- To stumble or trip over something
- tacere
- To be silent or to keep quiet
- ne
- Pronoun meaning 'of it', 'about it', or 'some'
- scongiuro
- I implore or beg urgently; a conjuration or plea
- supplici
- Suppliants, people humbly begging for help
- insensati
- Senseless or foolish people lacking good judgment
- voce
- Voice, the sound produced when speaking or singing
- rivelerà
- Will reveal or disclose something to someone
- miserie
- Miseries, plural form of suffering or wretchedness
- allora
- Adverb meaning 'then', 'so', or 'at that time'
- eppure
- Conjunction meaning 'and yet' or 'nevertheless'
- Vorresti
- Conditional of 'volere', meaning 'you would want'
- tradirci
- To betray us; infinitive with object pronoun
- distruggere
- To destroy or demolish something completely
- Stato
- The state or government of a country
- vorrò
- Future of 'volere', meaning 'I will want'
- tormentare
- To torment or cause intense suffering to someone
- invano
- In vain, without achieving the desired result
- ciò
- Pronoun meaning 'that', 'this', or 'it'
- imparerai
- You will learn; future tense of 'imparare'
- Mostro
- A monster or frightening creature; I show
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