Sophocles, Trachiniae, Thomas Francklin (Translator), 115

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Nurse

Deianira treads

The last sad path of mortals.

Trachiniae. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.

Current edition Experimental

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 115 focus

πολύπονον ὥσπερ ὥστε ὥσπερ πέλαγος Κρήσιον, ἀλλά τις θεῶν

115

Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 94-140 focus

Χορός

ὃν αἰόλα νὺξ ἐναριζομένα

τίκτει κατευνάζει τε, φλογιζόμενον
95

Ἅλιον Ἅλιον αἰτῶ

τοῦτο καρῦξαι, τὸν Ἀλκμήνας πόθι μοι πόθι παῖς

ναίει ποτʼ, ὦ λαμπρᾷ στεροπᾷ φλεγέθων,

ἢ ποντίας αὐλῶνος ἢ δισσαῖσιν ἀπείροις κλιθείς,
100

εἴπʼ, ὦ κρατιστεύων κατʼ ὄμμα.

103

Χορός

ποθουμένᾳ γὰρ φρενὶ πυνθάνομαι

τὰν ἀμφινεικῆ Δηιάνειραν ἀεί,

οἷά τινʼ ἄθλιον ὄρνιν,
105

οὔποτʼ εὐνάζειν ἀδακρύτων βλεφάρων πόθον, ἀλλʼ

εὔμναστον ἀνδρὸς δεῖμα τρέφουσαν ὁδοῦ

ἐνθυμίοις εὐναῖς ἀνανδρώτοισι τρύχεσθαι, κακὰν
110

δύστανον ἐλπίζουσαν αἶσαν.

112

Χορός

πολλὰ γὰρ ὥστʼ ἀκάμαντος ἢ νότου ἢ βορέα τις

κύματʼ ἂν εὐρέϊ πόντῳ βάντʼ ἐπιόντα τʼ ἴδοι,

οὕτῶ δὲ τὸν Καδμογενῆ στρέφει, τὸ δʼ αὔξει,

βιότου πολύπονον ὥσπερ πέλαγος
115

Κρήσιον. ἀλλά τις θεῶν αἰὲν ἀναμπλάκητον Ἅιδα
120

σφε δόμων ἐρύκει.

122

Χορός

ὧν ἐπιμεμφομένα σʼ αἰδοῖα μέν, ἀντία δʼ οἴσω.

φαμὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἀποτρύειν ἐλπίδα τὰν ἀγαθὰν
125

χρῆναί σʼ· ἀνάλγητα γὰρ οὐδʼ ὁ πάντα κραίνων βασιλεὺς ἐπέβαλε θνατοῖς Κρονίδας·

ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ πῆμα καὶ χαρὰ πᾶσι κυκλοῦσιν, οἷον

ἄρκτου στροφάδες κέλευθοι.
130

μένει γὰρ οὔτʼ αἰόλα

132

Χορός

νὺξ βροτοῖσιν οὔτε κῆρες

οὔτε πλοῦτος, ἀλλʼ ἄφαρ

βέβακε, τῷ δʼ ἐπέρχεται

χαίρειν τε καὶ στέρεσθαι.
135

ἃ καὶ σὲ τὰν ἄνασσαν ἐλπίσιν λέγω

τάδʼ αἰὲν ἴσχειν· ἐπεὶ τίς ὧδε

τέκνοισι Ζῆνʼ ἄβουλον εἶδεν;
140

Translations (4)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 115 focus

CHORUS
CHORUS . 633

O ye that haunt the strand

Where ships in quiet land

Near Oeta’s height and the warm rock-drawn well,

And ye round Melis’ inland gulf who dwell,

Worshipping her who wields the golden wand,—

(There Hellas’ wisest meet in council strong):

Soon shall the flute arise

With sound of glad surprise,

Thrilling your sense with no unwelcome song,

But tones that to the harp of Heavenly Muse belong.

Zeus’ and Alcmena’s son,—

All deeds of glory done,—

Speeds now triumphant to his home, whom we

Twelve weary months of blind expectancy

Lost in vast distance, from our country gone.

While, sadly languishing, his loving wife,

Still flowing down with tears,

Pined with unnumbered fears.

But Ares, lately stung to furious strife,

Frees him for ever from the toilsome life.

O let him come to-day!

Ne’er may his vessel stay,

But glide with feathery sweep of many an oar,

Till from his altar by yon island shore

Even to our town he wind his prosperous way,

In mien returning mild,

And inly reconciled,

With that anointing in his heart ingrained,

Which the dark Centaur’s wizard lips ordained.

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 112 focus

Wie man in Weiten der See, wann

Boreas oder der Süd stürmt,

Wogen sich drängend an Wogen,

Kommend und gehend erblickt:
110

So treibt den Sohn Thebe's umher

Des Lebens vielfältige Noth,

Und wächst empor, kretischen Meers

Wallungen gleich; doch läßt ihn nie

Straucheln ein Gott und hält ihn stets
115

Ferne vom Haus des Todes.

Zweite Gegenstrophe.

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 115 focus

Deianira
ANTIS. 1. STRO. 2. DEIANIRA, CHORUS. 663

I fear, my female friends, that I have done

More than became me in my late attempt.

English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 94-140 focus

Enter the Chorus on the other side.

Chorus

You, to whom Night gives birth when she is vanquished and despoiled of her starry crown,

and whom, as you blaze, she lays to rest, I pray you, O Sun, Sun, tell me, where is Alcmena’s son, where dwells her child? O Shining god with your bright flash,
95

is he on the straits of the sea, or does he lean upon the twin continents? Speak, you who surpass all in sight!
100

103

Chorus

For with longing heart, as I hear, Deianeira, the battle-prize, now,

like some mournful bird, never rests her eyes’ longing that they might be without tears, but nourishing a well-remembered fear for her husband’s travels she is constantly afflicted
105

by her anxious, widowed marriage-bed and in her misery anticipates misfortune.
110

112

Chorus

For just as one may see billow after billow

advancing and passing over the wide deep before the tireless south-wind, or the north, so the great toil of his life, stormy as the Cretan sea, now whirls back the heir of Cadmus, now exalts him. But some god always
115

keeps him unerring from the house of Hades.
120

122

To Deianeira.

Chorus

With respect I reproach you for your weeping, but still I will speak in dissent.

You must not, I say, wear away fair hope. Remember that the all-accomplishing king, the son of Cronus, does not appoint a painless lot for mortals. Sorrow and joy revolve to all, as the stars of the Bear
125

move in their circling paths.
130

132

Chorus

Starry night does not remain constant with men, nor does tribulation, nor wealth; in a moment it is gone from us, and to another in his turn come both

gladness and bereavement. So I urge even you, our Queen, to keep these matters firmly in your outlook. You must, for who has
135

known Zeus to be so without care for his children?
140

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-452-1 οὐ δή ποθ’ ¹

mvp-comment-452-2 πάντ’ ἀκήκοας ²

mvp-comment-452-3 τέθνηκεν ³

mvp-comment-452-4 878 For the metres of this

κομμός

(878—895), see Analysis.

mvp-comment-452-5 ὀλεθρία ⁴

mvp-comment-452-6 879 The MS. reading, σχετλιώτατα πρός γε πρᾶξιν ⁵ σχετλίῳ τὰ πρός γε πρᾶξιν ⁶

mvp-comment-452-7 Heinrich Schmidt, whose view of the metre will be seen in the Metrical Analysis, merely transposes

πρός

and

γε

, writing σχετλιώτατά γε πρὸς πρᾶξιν ⁷ γε ⁸

mvp-comment-452-8 By

πρᾶξιν

must be meant here the mode of ‘doing’ the deed, rather than the victim's ‘fortune’; though the latter is the usual sense of the singular ( Ant.1305 n.). After the question, τίνι τρόπῳ ⁹ πρᾶξιν ¹⁰

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

876. mvp-comment-648-1 οὐ δή ποθ᾿ ὡς θανοῦσα (sc. βέβηκε)] 'You cannot mean the way of death! Cp. supr. 668, and note. πάντ᾿ ἀκήκοας] She insists that her first words have told them all; but the Chorus, with the eagerness of sorrow, demand a more explicit statement. Cp. Εl. 676, θανόντ᾽ Ορέστην νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι λέγω.

Sophocles Trachiniae 115

Thomas Francklin (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Nurse

Deianira treads

The last sad path of mortals.

Current edition Experimental

Deianira
ANTIS. 1. STRO. 2. DEIANIRA, CHORUS. 663

I fear, my female friends, that I have done

More than became me in my late attempt.

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Nurse Deianira treads The last sad path of mortals.

Current edition Experimental

Deianira ANTIS. 1. STRO. 2. DEIANIRA, CHORUS. 663 I fear, my female friends, that I have done More than became me in my late attempt.

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Nurse

Deianira treads

The last sad path of mortals.

Deianira
ANTIS. 1. STRO. 2. DEIANIRA, CHORUS. 663

I fear, my female friends, that I have done

More than became me in my late attempt.