Sophocles Trachiniae 947-970

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)) — 947 focus
Πότερ᾽ *ἄρα πρότερ᾽ πότερ᾽ ἂν πρότερα πότερ' ἂν πότερ' ἐπιστένω, πότερα τέλεα περαιτέρω,
δύσκριτ᾽ ἔμοιγε δυστάνῳ.
τάδε μὲν ἔχομεν ὁρᾶν δόμοις, τάδε δὲ μελόμεν μέλλομεν μελόμεν' ἐπ᾿ ἐλπίσιν·
κοινὰ δ᾽ ἔχειν τε καὶ μέλλειν.
950
Εἴθ᾽ ἀνεμόεσσά τις
γένοιτ᾽ ἔπουρος ἑστιῶτις αὔρα αὔρα,
ἥτις μ᾿ ἀποικίσειεν ἐκ τόπων, ὅπως
τὸν Ζηνὸς Διός ἄλκιμον γόνον
μὴ ταρβαλέα θάνοιμι θάνοιμι
955
μοῦνον εἰσιδοῦσ᾽ ἄφαρ·
ἐπεὶ ἐν δυσαπαλλάκτοις δυσαπαλάκτοις δυσαπαλλάκτοις ὀδύναις
χωρεῖν πρὸ δόμων λέγουσιν ἄσπετόν τι θαῦμα.
᾿Αγχοῦ δ᾽ ἄρα κοὐ μακρὰν
προὔκλαιον, ὀξύφωνος ὡς ἀηδών ἀηδὼν ξένοι.
960
ξένων γὰρ ἐξόμιλος ἥδε τις βάσις.
πᾶ δ᾽ αὖ φορεῖ νιν; ὡς φίλου
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 947-971 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 947 focus
Which shall come first in my wail,
Which shall be last to prevail,
Is a doubt that will never be done.
Trouble at home may be seen,
Trouble is looked for with teen;
And to have and to look for are one.
Would some fair wind
But waft me forth to roam
Far from the native region of my home,
Ere death me find, oppressed with wild affright
Even at the sudden sight
Of him, the valiant son of Zeus most High!
Before the house, they tell, he fareth nigh,
A wonder beyond thought,
With torment unapproachable distraught.
Hark! ...
The cause then of my cry
Was coming all too nigh:
(Doth the clear nightingale lament for nought?)
Some step of stranger folk is this way brought.
As for a friend they love
Heavy and slow with noiseless feet they move.
Which way? which way? Ah me! behold him come.
His pallid lips are dumb.
Dead, or at rest in sleep? What shall I say?
Oh, woe is me!
My father, piteous woe for thee!
Oh, whither shall I turn my thought! Ah me!
Hush! speak not, O my child,
Lest torment fierce and wild
Rekindle in thy father’s rugged breast,
And break this rest
Where now his life is held at point to fall.
With firm lips clenched refrain thy voice through all.
Yet tell me, doth he live,
Old sir?
Wake not the slumberer,
Nor kindle and revive
The terrible recurrent power of pain,
My son!
My foolish words are done,
But my full heart sinks ’neath the heavy strain.
O Father, who are these?
What countrymen? Where am I? What far land
Holds me in pain that ceaseth not? Ah me!
Again that pest is rending me. Pain, pain!
Now thou may’st know
’Twas better to have lurked in silent shade
And not thus widely throw
The slumber from his eyelids and his head.
I could not brook
All speechless on his misery to look.
O altar on the Euboean strand,
High-heaped with offerings from my hand,
What meed for lavish gifts bestowed
From thy new sanctuary hath flowed!
Father of Gods! thy cruel power
Hath foiled me with an evil blight.
Ah! would mine eyes had closed in night
Ere madness in a fatal hour
Had burst upon them with a blaze,
No help or soothing once allays!
What hand to heal, what voice to charm,
Can e’er dispel this hideous harm?
Whose skill save thine,
Monarch Divine?
Mine eyes, if such I saw,
Would hail him from afar with trembling awe.
Ah! ah!
O vex me not, touch me not, leave me to rest,
To sleep my last sleep on Earth’s gentle breast.
You touch me, you press me, you turn me again,
You break me, you kill me! O pain! O pain!
You have kindled the pang that had slumbered still.
It comes, it hath seized me with tyrannous will!
Where are ye, men, whom over Hellas wide
This arm hath freed, and o’er the ocean-tide,
And through rough brakes, from every monstrous thing?
Yet now in mine affliction none will bring
A sword to aid, a fire to quell this fire,
O most unrighteous! nor to my desire
Will come and quench the hateful life I hold
With mortal stroke! Ah! is there none so bold?
Son of our hero, this hath mounted past
My feeble force to cope with. Take him thou!
Fresher thine eye and more the hope thou hast
Than mine to save him.
I support him now
Thus with mine arm: but neither fleshly vest
Nor inmost spirit can I lull to rest
From torture. None may dream
To wield this power, save he, the King supreme.
Son!
Where art thou to lift me and hold me aright?
It tears me, it kills me, it rushes in might,
This cruel, devouring, unconquered pain
Shoots forth to consume me. Again! again!
O Fate! O Athena!—O son, at my word
Have pity and slay me with merciful sword!
Pity thy father, boy; with sharp relief
Smite on my breast, and heal the wrathful grief
Wherewith thy mother, God-abandoned wife,
Hath wrought this ruin on her husband’s life.
O may I see her falling, even so
As she hath thrown me, to like depth of woe!
Sweet Hades, with swift death,
Brother of Zeus, release my suffering breath!
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 947 focus
Bejammr' ich erst Herakles' Loos,
Und dann der Herrin leztes Leid?
Weh, wo beginn' ich Unsel'ge?
Erste Gegenstrophe.
Das Eine seh' ich im Hause dort,
Des Andern harr' ich in banger Furcht:
935
Morgen und Heute droht schreckend.
Zweite Strophe.
Wenn eilende Lüfte doch
Mit hellem Hauch vom Herde sich erhüben,
Hinweg von dieser Stätte mich zu tragen, daß
Nicht das Entsezen mich sofort
940
Entseelt, wenn ich einsam duldend
Schaue Zeus' gewaltigen Sohn!
Denn, ach! in unnennbar bitterer Qual,
So sagen sie, naht er dem Hause,
Unerhörter Anblick!
945
Zweite Gegenstrophe.
Nicht fern, in der Nähe scholl
Mein Klageton, wie heller Nachtigallen;
Denn fremder Menschen Tritte hör' ich dort. Wohin
Tragen sie ihn? Um ihren Freund
Voll zärtlicher Sorg', erheben
950
Sie geräuschlos stillen Schritt.
Weh! Sprachlos tragen sie dort ihn her!
Wie? Soll ich für todt ihn achten,
Oder deckt ihn Schlummer?
Herakles wird, von Männern aus dem Volke begleitet, schlafend
auf einer Bahre dahergetragen. Hyllos (tritt aus dem Hause).
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 947 focus
Hyllus, Nurse, Chorus, Attendants.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 947 focus
Such things how dared a woman's hand attempt ?
It was a scene of horror: thou with me
Wilt thou attest, when thou shalt know the whole.
Soon as she entering pass'd the gates alone,
And saw her son preparing in the court
A cover'd couch with purpose to return
And meet his father, she conceal'd herself
Where none might see her; then she wail'd aloud
Prostrate before the altar, that her state
Was become desolate; and if she touch'd
Aught which before her hands had used, she wept.
Then through th' apartments as her wand'ring steps
She turn’d, some lov’d domestic if she saw,
Affected at the sight she pour’d a flood
Of tears; her wretched state she then deplored,
And all the riches of her house, no more
With children to be blest. This had an end.
Then to the chamber, where the nuptial bed
Of Hercules was placed, with sudden speed
I saw her rush; conceal'd a secret eye
I kept on her, and there beheld her spread
With busy care the coverings o'er the couch
Of Hercules; this done, she sprung aloft,
And seated on the middle of the bed
Gave the warm fount of tears to gush, and said,
O thou dear couch, long since my bridal bed,
Henceforth farewell; for never shalt thou more
Receive me on thy soft down to repose.
She spoke, and with dispatchful hand unloosed
The golden clasp, which o'er her swelling breasts
Confined her robe; thus was her side laid bare,
And her left shoulder. With my utmost speed
I ran to tell her son what she design'd.
Short was the interval; yet when we came,
We saw her side deep wounded, to her heart
The sword had pierced: at that sad sight her son
Groan'd in the anguish of his soul, for well
He knew that 'gainst herself enraged this deed
She had effected, taught too late what ill
She on her house had brought, without design,
But by the Centaur's evil arts ensnared.
Nor sighs nor tears th' unhappy youth forbore,
Nor lamentations: to her cheek he join'd
His cheek, and to her bleeding side his side;
Thus lying near her many a groan he heaved,
That rashly he had charged her with a crime
Of base intent; then wept, because at once
Of hers and of his father's life deprived.
Such scenes I saw: so that if mortal man
Of one day, or of more should make account,
His thoughts were vain; to-morrow is not, ere
In safety he has pass'd the present day.
Which most shall cause my tears to flow?
Which most shall I lament?
Each is a deed of equal woe,
And dreadful each event.
Beneath this roof may one be seen,
The other comes with threat'ning mein.
The present ill, th' impending dread,
Alike their gloomy horrors spread.
Oh, would some fav'ring whirlwind rise,
Sweep from this house, and drive me through the air
From this dire scene of sorrow far,
And from these miseries spare my aching eyes!
Whilst the son of Jove sustains
Fierce and agonizing pains,
My trembling soul would sicken with affright,
And I should die at such a sight.
See, to this royal mansion near
Some prodigy of woe they bear :
No distant grief excites this mournful strain,
Taught like the thrilling Nightingale's to flow.
In solemn silence moves the stranger train,
Heedful, as friends, with gentle steps and slow :
Nor word nor sound he utters as he lies,.
And death, or sleep, hath closed the hero's eyes.

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-486-1 πότερα πρότερον 1

mvp-comment-486-2 μέλεα 2 τέλεα 3

mvp-comment-487-1 τάδε 4 μένομεν 5 ἐπ’ ἐλπίσιν 6 μελόμεν’ 7

mvp-comment-488-1 ἔχειν 8 μέλλειν 9 κοινὰ 10

mvp-comment-489-1 ἀνεμόεσσα 11 αὔρα 12 ἔπουρος 13 ἑστιῶτις 14

mvp-comment-489-2 956 ff. It is doubtful whether the MS. Διὸς 15 Ζηνὸς 16 Δῖον 17

mvp-comment-489-3 μοῦνον 18 εἰσιδοῦσ’ ἄφαρ 19 μοῦνον 20 μῶλυν 21 καῦρον 22 μανὸν 23 μαῦρον 24 μαυρὸν 25 μοῦνον 26

mvp-comment-490-1 ἐπεὶ 27

mvp-comment-491-1 χωρεῖν πρὸ δόμων 28

mvp-comment-492-1 θαῦμα 29 θέαμα 30

mvp-comment-493-1 ἀγχοῦ δ’ ἄρα 31 ἀγχοῦ κοὐ μακρἀν προὔκλαιον 32

mvp-comment-493-2 ὀξύφωνος ὡς ἀηδών 33 ἀγχοῦ 34 μακρὰν 35

mvp-comment-494-1 ξένῳν 36

mvp-comment-494-2 ξένων … βάσις 37 στάσις 38 βάσις 39

mvp-comment-494-3 ἐξόμιλος 40

mvp-comment-495-1 πᾷ δ’ αὖ 41

mvp-comment-495-2 βαρεῖαν 42

mvp-comment-495-3 φέρει βάσιν 43

mvp-comment-496-1 ἀναύδατος 44

mvp-comment-497-1 τί χρή 45 φθίμενον 46 θάνατον 47 θανόντα 48

mvp-comment-497-2 A comma should follow χρή 49 τί χρή 50 θανόντα νιν 51

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

947. mvp-comment-687-1 foll. The Nurse goes into the house to lay out the body of Deianira. The Chorus, who, down to l. 862, had been lamenting the imminent fate of Heracles, are doubting whether they should not mourn for Deianira first, when Heracles is brought in, and awakes in agony. The following is the scheme of metres from 947-970...

947. mvp-comment-687-2 πότερ' *ἄρα] This reading is as near to the MSS. as the vulgate πότερα. and secures a more exact metrical correspondence with l.950. For the sense, cp Phil. 337, 8, ἀμηχανῶ δὲ πότερον, ὦ τέκνον, τὸ σὸν | πάθημ᾽ ἐλέγχω πρῶτον, ἢ κεῖνον στένω.

948. mvp-comment-688-1 τέλεα περαιτέρω] The explanation of the Scholiast, πότερα χαλεπώτερα καὶ περαιτέρω δεινότητος, has suggested various alterations of τέλεα into μέλεα, ὀλοά, etc. But the MS. reading gives an intelligible sense, 'Which sorrow first to groan over, which finally and to the last degree, is hard for me, the hapless one, to determine.'

950. mvp-comment-689-1 τάδε μέν, κ.τ.λ.] Deianira is dead in the house. the dying Heracles is momentarily expected. Cp. Ant. 1278-80, ὦ δέσποθ', ὡς ἔχων τε καὶ κεκτημένος, τὰ μὲν πρὸ χειρῶν τάδε φέρων, τὰ δ᾽ ἐν δόμοις | ἔοικας ἥκειν καὶ τάχ᾽ ὄψεσθαι κακά. μελόμενα] Sc. ἐστίν, or ἔχομεν. Εrfurdt and others conjecture μένομεν.

951. mvp-comment-690-1 ἐπ᾿ ἐλπίσιν] ‘In hope.' Cp. El. 108, ἐπὶ κωκυτῷ.

951. mvp-comment-690-2 κοινά] Sc. ἐστίν, ‘It is all one' (i.e. belongs alike to sorrow) 'whether evil be present or looked for.'

953-954. mvp-comment-691-1 εἴθ᾽ ἀνεμόεσσα αὔρα] (1) Might there but spring up a gale from the hearth, wafting me!' ἑστιῶτις = ἀφ' ἑστίας.

955. mvp-comment-692-1 ἐκ τόπων] Cp. ἐκτόπιος, Ο. C. 118. ὅπως, κ.τ.λ.] For the postponement of μή, cp. O. C. 1365, εἰ δ᾽ ἐξέφυσα τάσδε μὴ 'μαυτῷ τροφούς.

957. mvp-comment-693-1 μή, κ.τ.λ.] Connect ὅπως μὴ θάνοιμι ταρβαλέα ἄφαρ μοῦνον εἰσιδοῦσα τὸν Ζηνὸς ἄλκιμον γόνον, ‘That I die not suddenly of fear, after only glancing on the valiant son of Zeus.' ἄφαρ, like εὐθύς, etc., adheres to the participle in grammar, but to the verb in meaning.

961. mvp-comment-694-1 ἄσπετόν τι θαῦμα] Accusative in apposition with the action of χωρεῖν; i. e. the 'Stupendous marvel' is not the person of Heracles, but the manner of his coming.

963. mvp-comment-695-1 προὔκλαιον] I mourned beforehand.' The word suits more exactly with μακράν than with ἀγχοῦ. ὀξύφωνος, κ.τ.λ.] The figure is suggested by the distance to which the notes of the nightingale are carried.

964. mvp-comment-696-1 ξένων γὰρ ἐξόμιλος ἥδε τις βάσις] 'For here comes the step of strangers from another people.' βάσις is abstract for concrete, like ἀνδρῶν Φεραίων εὐμενὴς παρουσία (Eur. Alc. 606), and implies that those approaching are heard but not yet seen. Ας έκτοπος = ἔξω τῶνδε τῶν τόπων, and so 'Foreign,' So ἐξόμιλος = ἔξω τῆσδε τῆς ὁμιλίας. In what follows, the abstract word is treated as a collective; hence the singular number in φορεῖ, προκηδομένα.

965. mvp-comment-697-1 πᾶ δ᾽ αὖ φορεῖ νιν] Hearing the cautious, uncertain tread of those who are carrying Heracles the Chorus cannot distinguish the direction of their movement till they come in sight. αὖ, if genuine, implies that the question occurs to them on taking second thoughts. Meineke conjectures πᾶ καί.

965. mvp-comment-697-2 ὡς φίλου | προκηδομένα] ‘As caring for one who is dear to them, i. e. they move slowly and quietly because they are afraid of hurting him.

966. mvp-comment-698-1 βαρεῖαν | ἄψοφον.. βάσιν] ‘With grief-oppressed and noiseless footsteps.' For βαρείαν, cp. Phil. 207, 8, βαρεία τηλόθεν αὐδά : infr. l. 982, βάρος ἄπλετον ἐμμέμονε φρήν.