Sophocles, Trachiniae, Thomas Francklin (Translator), 96

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Card

← Previous Next →

Chorus
723

'Tis fit we tremble at a deed of horror ;

But 'tis not fitting, ere we know th' event,

To give up hope, and yield us to despair.

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)) — 96 focus

῞Αλιον, ῞Αλιον αἰτῶ

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)) — 96 focus

LICH

Dear lady, let the fellow be removed.

To prate with madmen is mere foolishness.
435

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 94 focus

Denn helle Nacht, wenn sie vom Aether entweicht,¹²

Gebiert und wiegt in Schlummer, dem flammenden Gott

Helios, Helios ruf' ich,³
95

Daß er uns verkünde, wo mir, wo mir verweile der Sohn

Alkmene's! Herrscher, leuchtend in strahlender Glut,

Ob auf des Meeres Wogen er, ob durch die zwei Festländer irrt,⁴

Sprich: Alles schaut dein göttlich Auge!

Erste Gegenstrophe.

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 96 focus

Lichas

The man is frentic: Lady, send him hence:

With such to hold vain converse is not wise.
435

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-378-1 ἔργα δείν’ ¹

mvp-comment-378-2 ἐλπίδ’ ²

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

723. mvp-comment-538-1 ἔργα δεινά] (1) ‘A terrible fact,' such as the portent of the crumbling piece of wool. Or (2) 'Actions which are fearful,' as the sending of the robe now proves to have been.

724. mvp-comment-539-1 τὴν δ᾽ ἐλπίδ᾽ οὐ χρὴ .. κρίνειν] This has been explained in two different ways: (1) 'One ought not to judge of a hope,' and (2) One ought not to decide one's judgment of the future.' The first suits the context best. The 'hope' is that with which Deianira had sent the robe (cp. supr. l. 667), and the Chorus urge that it is too soon to condemn that hope as having been ill-founded.

Sophocles Trachiniae 96

Thomas Francklin (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Chorus
723

'Tis fit we tremble at a deed of horror ;

But 'tis not fitting, ere we know th' event,

To give up hope, and yield us to despair.

Current edition Experimental

LICH

Dear lady, let the fellow be removed.

To prate with madmen is mere foolishness.
435

Lichas

The man is frentic: Lady, send him hence:

With such to hold vain converse is not wise.
435

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Chorus 723 'Tis fit we tremble at a deed of horror ; But 'tis not fitting, ere we know th' event, To give up hope, and yield us to despair.

Current edition Experimental

LICH Dear lady, let the fellow be removed. To prate with madmen is mere foolishness. 435

Lichas The man is frentic: Lady, send him hence: With such to hold vain converse is not wise. 435

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Chorus
723

'Tis fit we tremble at a deed of horror ;

But 'tis not fitting, ere we know th' event,

To give up hope, and yield us to despair.

LICH

Dear lady, let the fellow be removed.

To prate with madmen is mere foolishness.
435

Lichas

The man is frentic: Lady, send him hence:

With such to hold vain converse is not wise.
435