Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone — Page 6
King Phoebus bids us straitly extirpate
O rei Febo nos ordena que extirpemos rigorosamente
A fell pollution that infests the land,
Uma terrível impureza que infesta a terra,
And no more harbor an inveterate sore.
E que não mais abriguemos uma chaga inveterada.
What expiation means he? What's amiss?
Que expiação ele indica? O que está errado?
Banishment, or the shedding blood for blood.
Banimento, ou derramar sangue por sangue.
This stain of blood makes shipwreck of our state.
Esta mancha de sangue naufraga o nosso estado.
Whom can he mean, the miscreant thus denounced?
A quem ele se refere, o malfeitor assim denunciado?
Before thou didst assume the helm of State,
Antes de assumires o leme do Estado,
The sovereign of this land was Laius.
O soberano desta terra era Laio.
I heard as much, but never saw the man.
Ouvi isso, mas nunca vi o homem.
He fell; and now the god's command is plain:
Ele caiu; e agora a ordem do deus é clara:
Punish his takers-off, whoe'er they be.
Puni os seus assassinos, quem quer que sejam.
Where are they? Where in the wide world to find
Onde estão eles? Onde no vasto mundo encontrar
The far, faint traces of a bygone crime?
Os longínquos e tênues vestígios de um crime passado?
In this land, said the god; "who seeks shall find;
Nesta terra, disse o deus; "quem procura há de encontrar;
Who sits with folded hands or sleeps is blind."
Quem fica de braços cruzados ou dorme está cego."
Was he within his palace, or afield,
Estava ele dentro do seu palácio, ou no campo,
Or traveling, when Laius met his fate?
Ou a viajar, quando Laio encontrou o seu destino?
Abroad; he started, so he told us, bound
No estrangeiro; partiu, assim nos disse, com destino
For Delphi, but he never thence returned.
A Delfos, mas nunca de lá regressou.
Came there no news, no fellow-traveler
Não chegou nenhuma notícia, nenhum companheiro de viagem
To give some clue that might be followed up?
Para dar alguma pista que pudesse ser seguida?
But one escape, who flying for dear life,
Apenas um escapou, que fugindo para salvar a vida,
Could tell of all he saw but one thing sure.
Pôde contar de tudo o que viu apenas uma coisa com certeza.
And what was that? One clue might lead us far,
E o que foi isso? Uma pista pode levar-nos longe,
With but a spark of hope to guide our quest.
Com apenas uma centelha de esperança para guiar a nossa busca.
Robbers, he told us, not one bandit but
Salteadores, disse-nos ele, não um único bandido mas
A troop of knaves, attacked and murdered him.
Uma tropa de celerados, atacou-o e assassinou-o.
Vocabulary
- rei
- King; male monarch ruling a kingdom
- nos
- Us; first person plural object pronoun
- ordena
- Orders, commands; third person singular present
- extirpemos
- We eradicate, root out completely something harmful
- rigorosamente
- Rigorously, strictly, with great severity or harshness
- terrível
- Terrible, dreadful, causing great fear or alarm
- impureza
- Impurity; state of being morally or ritually unclean
- infesta
- Infests, plagues, overruns with harmful presence
- terra
- Land, earth, ground; territory or native country
- mais
- More, anymore; comparative adverb of quantity
- abriguemos
- We shelter, harbor, give refuge to someone
- chaga
- Wound, sore, festering ulcer; source of suffering
- inveterada
- Inveterate, deep-rooted, long-established and persistent
- expiação
- Expiation, atonement; act of making amends for wrongdoing
- indica
- Indicates, points to, specifies something clearly
- errado
- Wrong, mistaken, incorrect; in error
- Banimento
- Banishment, exile; forced removal from one's homeland
- derramar
- To spill, shed; especially shed blood violently
- sangue
- Blood; vital fluid flowing through living bodies
- mancha
- Stain, blemish, taint; mark of guilt or pollution
- naufraga
- Shipwrecks, ruins, causes to founder and fail
- nosso
- Our; first person plural possessive adjective
- estado
- State; political community or condition of affairs
- quem
- Whom, who; interrogative or relative pronoun
- refere
- Refers to, relates to, concerns a person or thing
- malfeitor
- Wrongdoer, evildoer, criminal who commits crimes
- assim
- Thus, so, in this way; indicating manner
- denunciado
- Denounced, accused; formally reported as a wrongdoer
- Antes
- Before; indicating prior time or preference
- assumires
- You assume, take on; second person singular subjunctive
- leme
- Helm, rudder; device steering a ship or state
- Estado
- State; organized political community or government
- soberano
- Sovereign; supreme ruler or relating to supreme power
- era
- Era, age; distinct historical period or epoch
- Ouvi
- I heard; first person singular past of 'ouvir'
- isso
- That; neuter demonstrative pronoun referring to something
- nunca
- Never; at no time, not ever
- vi
- I saw; first person singular past of 'ver'
- homem
- Man; adult male human being
- caiu
- Fell, dropped; third person singular past of 'cair'
- agora
- Now, at this moment in time
- ordem
- Order, command; instruction requiring compliance
- deus
- God; divine being or deity worshipped religiously
- clara
- Clear, plain, evident; easy to understand or perceive
- Puni
- Punish; imperative form of 'punir', to penalize
- seus
- His, her, their; third person plural possessive adjective
- assassinos
- Murderers, assassins; those who kill deliberately
- quer
- Whether, either; conjunction expressing alternatives
- sejam
- They be; third person plural present subjunctive of 'ser'
- Onde
- Where; interrogative or relative adverb of place
- vasto
- Vast, immense, enormous in extent or size
- mundo
- World; the earth and all its inhabitants
- encontrar
- To find, to encounter; discover someone or something
- longínquos
- Distant, remote, far-off; situated very far away
- tênues
- Faint, tenuous, slight; barely perceptible or weak
- vestígios
- Vestiges, traces, clues; faint remaining signs
- crime
- Crime; serious offense against law or morality
- passado
- Past; time gone by; also passed or gone
- disse
- Said; third person singular past of 'dizer'
- procura
- Search, quest; act of looking for something
- há
- There is/are; third person singular of 'haver'
- Quem
- Who, whoever; interrogative or relative pronoun
- fica
- Stays, remains; third person singular present of 'ficar'
- braços
- Arms; upper limbs of the human body
- cruzados
- Crossed; folded arms indicating idleness or passivity
- dorme
- Sleeps; third person singular present of 'dormir'
- cego
- Blind; unable to see; also metaphorically unaware
- Estava
- Was; third person singular imperfect of 'estar'
- dentro
- Inside, within; indicating interior location
- palácio
- Palace; large, grand official royal residence
- campo
- Field, countryside; open rural or agricultural land
- viajar
- To travel, journey; move from place to place
- quando
- When; conjunction or adverb indicating time
- encontrou
- Encountered, met; third person singular past of 'encontrar'
- destino
- Destiny, fate; predetermined course of events
- estrangeiro
- Foreigner, abroad; relating to foreign lands or people
- partiu
- Departed, left; third person singular past of 'partir'
- lá
- There; adverb indicating a distant location
- regressou
- Returned, came back; third person singular past tense
- chegou
- Arrived, reached; third person singular past of 'chegar'
- nenhuma
- None, not any; feminine negative indefinite pronoun
- notícia
- News, report; piece of information about events
- nenhum
- None, not any; masculine negative indefinite pronoun
- companheiro
- Companion, fellow traveler; someone who accompanies another
- viagem
- Journey, trip, voyage; travel from one place to another
- dar
- To give; provide or offer something to someone
- alguma
- Some, any; feminine indefinite adjective or pronoun
- pista
- Clue, lead, track; hint guiding an investigation
- pudesse
- Could, might; past subjunctive of 'poder'
- seguida
- Followed, pursued; something that can be traced
- Apenas
- Only, just, merely; limiting adverb of restriction
- escapou
- Escaped, fled; third person singular past of 'escapar'
- fugindo
- Fleeing, running away; present participle of 'fugir'
- salvar
- To save, rescue; preserve from danger or death
- vida
- Life; state of being alive, existence
- Pôde
- Was able to, could; third person singular past of 'poder'
- contar
- To tell, recount, count; narrate or enumerate something
- tudo
- Everything, all; referring to the totality of things
- viu
- Saw; third person singular past tense of 'ver'
- apenas
- Only, just; limiting adverb indicating restriction
- coisa
- Thing; any object, matter, or affair
- certeza
- Certainty, sureness; complete confidence in something
- foi
- Was, went; third person singular past of 'ser/ir'
- pode
- Can, is able to; third person singular of 'poder'
- levar-nos
- Take us, lead us; carry us toward a destination
- longe
- Far, far away; at a great distance
- centelha
- Spark, glimmer; tiny flash of light or hope
- esperança
- Hope; optimistic expectation that something good happens
- guiar
- To guide, lead, direct someone toward a destination
- nossa
- Our; first person plural feminine possessive adjective
- busca
- Search, quest; act of looking for something
- Salteadores
- Highwaymen, bandits; robbers who attack travelers on roads
- disse-nos
- Told us; said to us; past tense with clitic pronoun
- único
- Only, sole, unique; one and no other
- bandido
- Bandit, outlaw; criminal who robs or attacks people
- tropa
- Troop, band, group; body of people acting together
- celerados
- Villains, scoundrels; wicked and unprincipled individuals
- atacou-o
- Attacked him; past tense with clitic object pronoun
- assassinou-o
- Murdered him; killed him deliberately and unlawfully
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