Sophocles Trachiniae 1017

Johann Jakob Christian Donner (Translator)

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Sohn des gewaltigen Manns, dies Werk zu bestehen, gebricht es
Mir an rüstiger Kraft: du fass' ihn! Schärfer erspäht auch
Hülfe dein Aug' als ich es vermag.

Trachiniae. Sophocles. Johann Jakob Christian Donner (Translator). . .

Current edition Experimental

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) (German) (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1017 focus
Ὦ παῖ τοῦδ᾽ ἀνδρός, τοὔργον τόδε μεῖζον ἀνήκει ἀνείκει ἀνείκει ἀνήκει
ἢ κατ᾿ ἐμὰν ῥώμαν· σὺ δὲ σύλλαβε. σοί τε γὰρ ὄμμα
ἔμπλεον ἢ δι᾽ ἐμοῦ σώζειν.
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1004-1042 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1017 focus
Ah me!
Ah! ah! Again!
Even now the hot convulsion of disease
Shoots through my side, and will not let me rest
From this fierce exercise of wearing woe.
Take me, O King of Night!
O sudden thunderstroke.
Smite me! O sire, transfix me with the dart
Of thy swift lightning! Yet again that fang
Is tearing; it hath blossomed forth anew,
It soars up to the height!
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1017 focus
What power of medicine can assuage my pain^
Unless great Jove assisted? Health to me
Without him were a miracle indeed.
Let me, oh ! let me rest ; refuse me not
A little slumber ; why will ye torment me ?
Why bend me forward ? Oh ! 'tis worse than death ;
Had you not waked me, I had been at peace.
Again it rages with redoubled force ;
Where are you now, ye thankless Grecians, where.
Whom I have toiled to serve on the rough main,
And through the pathless wood? Where are you now
To help a dying wretch ? Will no kind hand
Stretch forth the friendly sword, or in the flame
Consume me? None, alas ! will cut me off
From hated life.
It is beyond my strength ; thy quicker sight
May be more useful.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1017 focus
Have you repaid? O Jove, with what fierce pains
Hast thou afflicted me? This dire disease,
Whose unextinguish'd rage to madness fires
My bursting veins, oh that I had not known!
What potent charm, what skill medicinal
Can mitigate, without the pow'r of Jove,
These agonizing pangs? Oh might I see
This miracle, though distant! Let me lie,
Ah, let me lie reposed. Why dost thou touch,
Why dost thou raise me up? Each touch is death.
Thou hast awaken'd pangs that were at rest.
Again my tortures are inflamed, again
They rush upon me. Ah, where are you now,
Ye most unjust of all the Grecian race?
With many toils th' infested seas I clear'd,
And all the ruffian-haunted woods; yet now
I miserably perish; not a man
Will bring or fire or sword to put an end
To my afflictions; not a man will come
Willing to rend from me this hated life.
O thou his son, this task requires a strength
Greater than mine; assist him thou, thine eye
Quicker than mine sees what may give him aid.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1004-1040 focus

Commentary

Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))

mvp-comment-514-1 ἀοιδός 1

mvp-comment-514-2 τίς ὁ χειροτέχνης 2 ὃς 3

mvp-comment-514-3 χωρὶς Ζηνὸς 4

mvp-comment-515-1 θαῦμ’ ἂν πόρρωθεν ἰδοίμην 5 πόρρωθεν 6 θ<*>μα 7

mvp-comment-516-1 This passage consists of lyrics delivered by actors (

ἀπὸ σκηνῆς
). As the Chorus takes no part in it, it is not technically a
κομμός
, which is a
θρῆνος κοινὸς χοροῦ καὶ ἀπὸ σκηνῆς
.

mvp-comment-516-2 The lyric structure is complex, but not obscure. The passage falls into two main parts, separated by the five hexameters in 1018—1022 (

ὦ παῖ τοῦδ’ ἀνδρὸς...νέμει Ζεύς
). I. The first part consists of 1004—1017, in which the first three verses correspond metrically with the last three. II. The second part consists of 1023—1043. (It is equal in length with the first part, though the traditional numbering makes it appear longer.) Here, the first four verses correspond with the last four. Then the central portion of part I. corresponds with the central portion of part II. Thus: (1) 1st strophe, 1004—1006,=1st antistr., 1015—1017. (2) 2nd str., 1007—1009,=2nd antistr., 1027—1030. (3) 3rd str., 1023—1026, =3rd antistr., 1040—1043. The dactyls in 1010—1014, and 1031—1040, could also be regarded as forming a fourth strophe and antistrophe.—For the metres see Metrical Analysis.

mvp-comment-517-1 ἐᾶτέ μ’, ἐᾶτε … εὐνᾶσθαι 8 εὐνᾶσαι 9 ὕστατον 10 εὐνάσαι 11 δύστανον 12 δύσμορον 13 ὕστατον 14 ἐᾶθ’ ὕστατον εὐνᾶσθαι 15 μολὼν τοῦ στυγεροῦ; φεῦ φεῦ 16

mvp-comment-518-1 πᾷ … ψαύεις 17 πᾷ 18

Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus

998. mvp-comment-718-1 foll. ἣν μήποτ᾽ ἐγὼ.. καταδερχθῆναι] Heracles, in his delirium, confuses the effect with the cause, ἣν .. ὅσσοις referring to the sacrificial robe (cp. infr. 1048-52). There would be something feeble in his merely wishing that he had not experienced this trouble. And ὄσσοις would then be inappropriate. Wunder supposes Κηναία κρηπίς to be the antecedent to ἥν; but this is of course inconsistent with our punctuation, and is forced in any case.

999-1000. mvp-comment-719-1 τόδε . · καταδερχθῆναι is epexegetic of προσιδεῖν. In what follows ἀκήλητον is taken up and expanded. μανίας ἄνθος] 'Bloom of madness,' i.e. madness in the highest degree. Cp. Ant. 959, 60, οὕτω τᾶς μανίας δεινὸν ἀποστάζει | ἀνθηρόν τε μένος.

1001. mvp-comment-720-1 τίς γὰρ ἀοιδός] 'For what charmer, what master of the healing craft so famous?' etc. Incantations were regarded as a branch of medicine. Cp. Aj. 582, and note. Hermann rightly defends d, which Erfurdt had condemned: 'Incipit poeta, ut si dicturus sit, τίς ἀοιδὸς κατακηλήσει ; tum mutata structura pergit, τίς ὁ χειροτέχνης ἰατορίας, ὃς κατακηλήσει;' Besides giving an antecedent to ὅs, the article asks for one great physician to be named. What charmer, - or who is he, the famed physician?' etc.

1003. mvp-comment-721-1 χωρίς Ζηνός] 'Save only Ζεύς,' who has power to heal as to destroy.

1004. mvp-comment-722-1 θαῦμ᾿ ἂν πόρρωθεν ἰδοίμην] Hermann placed a mark of interrogation after this line, understanding it to mean, 'Am I likely to see a miracle coming from afar?" This is hardly satisfactory. It seems better to take θαῦμα as an adverbial accusative. Cp. supr. 982, βάρος ἄπλετον. • Mine eyes would hail him wonderingly from afar.'

1004. mvp-comment-722-2 foll. ἐ ἔ, κ.τ.λ.] Heracles thus addresses those who approach to lift him from the litter to the bed. Hyllus takes him in his arms and places him there. while he speaks ll. 1007, 8. The outburst that follows, ll. 1009 foll., is made from the bed.