Sophocles Trachiniae 351

Richard Jebb (Translator)

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Trachiniae. Sophocles. Richard Jebb (Translator). Cambridge. 1892.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Trachiniae (English) (Sophocles the plays and fragments, Part 5: The Trachiniae. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse, Sir, translator. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1892. (Modernized by Perseus.))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 351 focus
τούτου λέγοντος τἀνδρὸς εἰσήκουσ᾽ ἐγώ,
πολλῶν παρόντων μαρτύρων, ὡς τῆς κόρης
ταύτης ἕκατι κεῖνος Εὔρυτόν εὔροιτόν εὔρυτόν θ᾽ ἕλοι
τήν θ᾽ ὑψίπυργον Οἰχαλίαν,῎Ερως δέ νιν
μόνος θεῶν θέλξειεν αἰχμάσαι τάδε,
355
—οὐ τ ἀπὶ a Λυδοῖς οὐδ᾽ οὔτ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐπ᾿ Ὀμφάλῃ πόνων
λατρεύματ᾽, οὐδ᾽ ὁ ῥιπτὸς Ιφίτου μόρος·
—ὃν νῦν παρώσας οὗτος ἔμπαλιν λέγει.
ἀλλ᾽ ἡνίκ οὐκ ἔπειθε τὸν φυτοσπόρον
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 351 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 351 focus
I heard this herald say, while many thronged
To hearken, that this maiden was the cause,
Why lofty-towered Oechalia and her lord
Fell before Heracles, whom Love alone
Of heavenly powers had warmed to this emprise,
And not the Lydian thraldom or the tasks
Of rigorous Omphalè, nor that wild fate
Of rock-thrown Iphitus. Now he thrusts aside
The Love-god, contradicting his first tale.
When he that was her sire could not be brought
To yield the maid for Heracles to hold
In love unrecognized, he framed erelong
A feud about some trifle, and set forth
355
In arms against this damsel’s fatherland
355
(Where Eurytus, the herald said, was king)
355
And slew the chief her father; yea, and sacked
Their city. Now returning, as you see,
He sends her hither to his halls, no slave,
Nor unregarded, lady,—dream not so!
Since all his heart is kindled with desire.
I, O my Queen! thought meet to show thee all
The tale I chanced to gather from his mouth,
Which many heard as well as I, i’ the midst
Of Trachis’ market-place, and can confirm
My witness. I am pained if my plain speech
Sound harshly, but the honest truth I tell.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 351 focus
Aus jenes Mannes Munde selbst vernahm ich es
345
In vieler Zeugen Gegenwart, daß Herakles
Um dieser Jungfrau willen nur den Eurytos
Und dessen stolze Veste zwang, daß Eros ihn
Allein von allen Göttern lockt' in solchen Kampf,
Nicht Lydien oder Omphale's mühvoller Dienst,
350
Auch nicht der jähe Todessturz des Iphitos;
Und nun verwirst er's und erklärt das Gegentheil.
Nein, als Herakles nicht bewog den Eurytos,
Die Tochter heimlich als Gemahl ihm anzutraun :
Da bringt er eitle Klage vor um kleine Schuld,
355
Und rückte wider ihre Stadt mit Heeresmacht,
Wo, wie du hörtest, Eurytos den Thron besaß,
Erschlug den König, ihren Vater, und zerstört
Die Stadt. Und heute kehrt er, wie du siehst, zurück,
In dieses Haus sie sendend, nicht mit Unbedacht,
360
Noch als die Sklavin; das erwarte nicht, o Frau;
Wie wär' es möglich, wenn ihn Liebesglut entflammt?
Ich glaubte sorgsam Alles dir, o Königin,
Kundthun zu müssen, was ich hört aus seinem Mund.
Und dies vernahmen Viele noch zugleich mit mir
365
Auf offnem Markt in Trachis; diese mögen ihn
Wohl überführen. Sag' ich Unerfreuliches,
Es thut mir wehe; doch die Wahrheit sprach ich aus.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 351 focus
I heard him say, before attendant crowds,
It was 4.his virgin, this fair slave destroyed
That waged the war — no Lydian servitude,
Nor Omphale, nor the pretended fall
Of Iphytus — for so the tale he brings
Would fain persuade thee. Know, thy own Alcides,
For that he could not gain th' assenting voice
Of Eurytus to his unlawful love,
Laid waste the city where her father reigned,
355
And slew him. Now the daughter, as a slave,
Is sent to thee. The reason is too plain :
Nor think he meant her for a slave alone —
The maid he loves, that would be strange indeed !
My royal mistress, most unwillingly
Do I report th' unwelcome news, but thought
It was my duty : I have told the truth.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 351 focus
And the high-tower'd Echalia. Love alone
Of all the gods incited him to arms;
And not his Lydian slavery, and base tasks
By Omphale commanded, nor the death
Of Iphitus hurl'd headlong from the rock.
This love conceal'd, the herald other pleas
Devised. But when his lord had urged in vain
The sire to give the daughter to his bed
In secret nuptials, he assign'd some cause
Of slight and trivial charge to march in arms
Against her country, where the royal throne
Was held by Eurytus; he slew the king
355
Her father, and his wasted city razed.
355
Her, as thou seest, returning he now sends
355
Thus, lady, not without peculiar care,
- Not as a slave; admit not such an hope;
It is not to be thought, since love inflames
His soul. By duty prompted I to thee
What was my chance to learn from him disclose :
And this, not I alone, but many heard;
Assembled he declared it; and to these
I make appeal. Unwelcome to thy ear
If what I tell thee, I have no delight
In speaking it, but what I speak is truth.

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-189-1 μαρτύρων 1

mvp-comment-189-2 Εὔρυτόν θ’ ἕλοι τήν θ’ ὑψίπ. Οἰχαλίαν 2

mvp-comment-189-3 τὴν ὑψίπυργον 3

mvp-comment-189-4 Οἰχαλίαν 4

mvp-comment-190-1 μόνος θεῶν 5

mvp-comment-190-2 θέλξειεν 6

mvp-comment-191-1 οὐ τἀπὶ Λυδοῖς 7 ὑπ’ 8 ἐπ’ 9 τἀπὶ 10 ἐπ’ 11

mvp-comment-191-2 πόνων λατρεύματ’ 12

mvp-comment-191-3 ὁ ῥιπτὸς … μόρος 13

mvp-comment-191-4 Heracles had really killed Iphitus. The denial here refers only to the place which the murder held in the story told by Lichas. Heracles was instigated, not by the Lydian servitude which punished his crime, or by those affronts (262 ff.) which Lichas represented as having moved him to the crime, but, in reality, by the refusal of Eurytus to give him Iolè.

mvp-comment-192-1 ὃν 14 ὃ 15 ὃν … παρώσας 16

mvp-comment-193-1 ἀλλ’ ἡνίκ’ 17 οὐκ ἔπειθε 18

mvp-comment-193-2 τὸν φυτοσπόρον 19

mvp-comment-194-1 κρύφιον ὡς ἔχοι λέχος 20 αἰτίαν 21

mvp-comment-194-2 ἑτοιμάσας 22

mvp-comment-194-3 362—

mvp-comment-195-1 ἐπιστρατεύει … ἄνακτα πατέρα 23 τόνδ’ 24 τῶνδ’ 25

mvp-comment-195-2 (1) It was needless to say that the girl's

πατρίς
was also the realm of Eurytus: cp. 244 f.: 283 ff.: 315. The excuse must be that the Messenger himself had not yet said so; he is wordy, and anxious, in his own fashion, to be lucid. The reading τόνδ’ 26 τῶνδ’ 27

mvp-comment-195-3 (2) Heracles is subject to ἐπιστρατεύει 28 κτείνει 29 εἶπε 30 δεσπόζειν 31 εἶπε 32

mvp-comment-195-4 (3) At v. 377 Deianeira asks,

ἆρ’ ἀνώνυμος
|
πέφυκεν
; i.e., ‘is she of obscure birth?’—and then, for the first time, learns that the girl's father is Eurytus. So she must have understood ἄνακτα 33

mvp-comment-195-5 The only course which removes all these three difficulties is Hartung's,—who brackets the words τὴν ταύτης … πατέρα 34

mvp-comment-195-6 Others read τῶν Εὐρύτου τόνδ’, rendering: ‘in which (Lichas) said that Heracles (

τόνδ’
) holds’ [or ‘wishes to hold’] the throne of Eurytus.’ But Heracles simply laid Oechalia waste; there was no question of his reigning there.—Wecklein ingeniously reads τὸν ἐργάτην 35 τῶνδ’ 36

mvp-comment-195-7 For the change of tenses, cp. Ant.406 n.

mvp-comment-196-1 ἥκει 37 ἔπερσε 38 ἐντεθέρμανται 39 ἥκει 40

mvp-comment-196-2 δόμους ὡς τούσδε 41

mvp-comment-197-1 οὐδ’ εἰκός 42

mvp-comment-197-2 ἐντεθέρμανται 43 ἐν‐ 44 ἐκ‐ 45

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

353. mvp-comment-273-1 ἕλοι] 'Subdued,' viz. killed Eurytus and destroyed Oechalia. For a similar double use of εἶλον, cp Pind. Οl. 1. 142, ἕλεν δ' Οἰνομάου βίαν | παρθένον τε σύνευνον.

354-355. mvp-comment-274-1 Ἔρως.. μόνος θεῶν, κ.τ.λ.] The god of love, and no other, had moved him to this feat of arms.' αἰχμάσαι τάδε] 'Το enter on this warlike enterprise.’ τάδε, cognate accusative.

356-357. mvp-comment-275-1 τἀπὶ . . λατρεύματα] (1) 'Not the toilsome service at the bidding of the Lydians or of Omphale.' Or (2) the preposition may have the merely locative sense in the first instance, and the different meaning, 'In the power of,' with the second word. The labours which he performed among the Lydians and in the service of Omphale.' ἐπί = ' In the power of.' Cp. О. С. 66, ἄρχει τις αὐτῶν, ἢ ἐπὶ τῷ πλήθει λόγος;

357. mvp-comment-276-1 ὁ ῥιπτὸς.. μόρος] ‘The death by hurling from the rock. For a use of the passive of ῥίπτω (with cognate subject) corresponding to this use of the verbal adj.. cp. the oracle in Hdt. 1. 62, ἔρριπται δ᾽ ὁ βόλος (‘Now the cast is made'), τὸ δὲ δίκτυον ἐκπεπέτασται. Cp. also Eur. Or. 990, 1, Μυρτίλου φόνον | δικών, and see Essay on L. § 53. p. 98.

358. mvp-comment-277-1 ov] Referring to "Έρως, the most important subject in the preceding lines. Cp. Ο. C. 86, 7, Φοίβῳ τε καμοί, κ.τ.λ., ὅς, κ.τ.λ. The conjectures ἅ and ὅ are quite unnecessary. παρώσας] « Having thrust aside,' cp. Eur. El. 1037, τἄνδον παρώσας λέκτρα: Plat. Rep. 5. p. 471 C, δ.. παρωσάμενος .. πάντα ταῦτα εἴρηκας. ἔμπαλιν λέγει] 'Tells a different (lit. opposite) tale.'

359. mvp-comment-278-1 οὐκ ἔπειθε] 'He could not persuade.' The imperfect implies that his suit was continued for some time. φυτοσπόρος is originally ὁ σπείρας τὸ φυτόν,

360. mvp-comment-279-1 κρύφιον . . λέχος] ‘In secret marriage,' - accusative in apposition with the action.

362-363. mvp-comment-280-1 These lines have been censured for their tautology, and justly enough; but they are in character with the speaker, who, like the Φύλαξ in the Antigone, has already shown a fondness for false emphasis and superfluous words. The words ἄνακτα πατέρα τῆσδε in l. 364 are in the same manner. ἐν ἡ τὸν Εὔρυτον τόνδ' εἶπε δεσπόζειν θρόνων] 'The same wherein he told us that Eurytus of whom he spake was master of the throne.' The Messenger wants to impress on Deianira that this part of what she has heard need not be unsaid. The reading τῶνδε (see v. rr.) involves a still more superfluous use of the demonstrative.

365. mvp-comment-281-1 ὡς] Hermann's note in defence of ὡς shows a wise caution. He thinks that the rule of grammarians that ὡς for πρός can only be used with persons may be extended so as to cover a case of this kind where the house includes the inmates of the house. It is certainly better to retain a reading which, for anything we know, may be specially suited to express an authorized mission, such as that of Iole under charge of Lichas. ἥκει] 'Heracles is come.' After the words of Lichas in supr. 289, the arrival of Heracles is regarded as an accomplished fact.

366. mvp-comment-282-1 ἀφροντίστως] 'Without special care,' as he would have done, if she had merely fallen to his lot as part of the spoil. Cp. supr. 283-6.

367. mvp-comment-283-1 μηδὲ προσδόκα τόδε] ‘Nay, do not look for that.' μηδέ is rather adversative to Deianira's previous impression than to the preceding words. Others have taken it to mean, 'As it is not the fact, so neither must you think it.' Cp. Aesch. Ag. 879, μηδὲ θαυμάσῃς τόδε, where there is a similar doubt.

368. mvp-comment-284-1 ἐντεθέρμανται] ἐνθερμαίνειν may surely mean ἐντὸς θερμαίνειν, ας ἐμπιμπλάναι means ἐντὸς πιμπλάναι, and unless we are to get rid of all ἅπαξ λεγόμενα, there is no good reason for exchanging this, at some one's suggestion, for ἐκτεθέρμανται, because the Scholiast explains the word by ἐκκέκανται and ἐκθερμαίνειν means somewhere, 'To chafe the limbs.' The addition of this line is suited to the character of the Messenger, whose garrulity unconsciously rubs the sore.