Antigone, ll. 499-508 (Robert Fagles trans.)
July 6, 2022•107 words
Of course I did. It wasn’t Zeus, not in the least,
Who made this proclamation—not to me.
Nor did that Justice, dwelling with the gods
Beneath the earth, ordain such laws for men.
Nor did I think your edict had such force
That you, a mere mortal, could override the gods,
The great, unwritten, unshakeable traditions.
They are alive, not just today or yesterday:
They live forever, from the first of time,
And no one knows when they first saw the light.
- Antigone to Kleon