601–750
†Ἰδαίᾳ μίμνων λειμώνια †ποίᾳ] The manifest corruption in these words seems to be incurable. Neither Hermann's
Ἰδαῖα μίμνω λειμώνι᾽ ἄποινα ('Ι wait for my reward in Trojan meadows'), nor Bergk's
Ἰδῷδι μίμνω χειμῶνι πόᾳ τε ('I abide winter and summer in the Trojan land'), can be admitted as probable. Mr. Paley, adopting
λειμώνι᾽ ἔπαυλα from Seyffert, changes
εὐνύμαι to
ἐνναίων. Without dogmatizing on a point of great uncertainty, I would propose
Ἰδαῖα μίμνων λειμώνι᾿ *ὕπαιθρα, *μηνῶν (Herm.)
ἀνάριθμος αἰὲν *εὐνῶμαι (Bergk), 'Abiding out-door hardships in moist Trojan fields, I make my bed there, months without number.'
ποίᾳ may be due to the association of
λειμώνια, and a further association may have converted
μηνῶν into
μήλων. The metre a' 4. 5 is then the same as in ß' 1, 2. A similar feeling is more fully expressed
infr. 1185-1210.
Cp. especially ll. 1206-10,
κεῖμαι δ' ἀμέριμνος οὕτως, | ἀεὶ πυκιναῖς δρόσοις | τεγγόμενος κόμας, | λυγρᾶς μνήματα Τροίας. In both places the chorus complain at once of irksome exposure and of a life of inaction.
Cp. also Aesch. Agamemnon, ll. 558 foll.,
τὰ δ' αὐτε χέρσῳ καὶ προσῆν πλέον στύγος εὐναὶ γὰρ ἦσαν δαΐων πρὸς τείχεσιν. | ἐξ οὐρανοῦ δὲ κἀπὸ γῆς λειμώνιαι | δρόσοι κατεψέκαζον, ἔμπεδον σίνος | ἐσθημάτων, τιθέντες ἔνθηρον τρίχα. The Trojan meadows are contrasted with the rocky ground of Salamis.
Cp. also Fr. 477, where Menelaus says contemptuously to Agamemnon, who proposes to remain at Troy,
σὺ δ᾽ αὖθι μίμνων που κατ᾿ Ἰδαίαν χθόνα | ποίμνας Ὀλύμπου συναγαγὼν θυηπόλει.
†μηλῶν. Τεὐνόμᾳ] 'I make my bed months without number.' For
μηνῶν ἀνήριθμος, cp. El. 232,
ἀνάριθμος ὧδε θρήνων. Hdt. 9. 3,
ἡ δὲ βασιλέος αἵρεσις ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίην. ἐπιστρατηΐην δεκάμηνος ἐγένετο. The Schol. explains
εὐνόμᾳ by
εὐκινήτῳ ('fleeting time'), and the Triclinian MSS. have
εὐνώμᾳ. For
εὐνᾶσθαι, of keeping watch,
cp. O. C. 1568 foll.,
ἀνικάτου | θηρός, ὃν ἐν πύλαισι | φασὶ πολυξέστοις | εὐνᾶσθαι.
*πόνῳ for
χρόνῳ (Martin) is a probable conjecture, as
χρόνῳ is weak after
παλαιὸς ἀφ᾽ οὗ χρόνος, and
xp may have come from the
τρ of
τρυχόμενος.
κακὰν ἐλπίδ᾽ ἔχων]
ἐλπίς is not here used in the indifferent sense of an expectation; but the phrase is an oxymoron; 'a hope that is a kind of despair.'
'Some day yet to win my way to Hades, the abhorred and dark.'
ἀΐδηλον] · Unillumined' rather than 'destroying.' Essay on L. §§ 53. pp. 98.9.
'And I have Ajax on my hands, defying treatment, fixed in the tent, where Heaven-sent madness dwells with him.'
ἔφεδρος] 'Fixed at my side.' Ajax had remained sitting throughout the previous scene. He had rejected the solicitations of his friends, and apparently returned to his sullen inaction within the tent. Instead of being their hope and pride, he was now an irremovable burden.
Cp. supr. 194 foll.,
ἀλλ᾽ ἄνα ἐξ ἑδράνων, κ.τ.λ. The interpretation of the ancient Scholiast, 'Ready to assail me when other evils are subdued' (an application of the technical use of
ἔφεδρος with reference to contests), is untenable.
μανίᾳ includes the evidence of Ajax's madness, which is still within the tent.
Supr. 337, 8.
φρενός οἰοβώτας] 'Feeding his will apart;' i. e. either (1) referring to the wilful solitary raid described by Tecmessa,
supr. 285 foll.: or (2), as Prof. Jebb explains it, 'One who broods sullenly apart, as did Ajax before the outbreak of his frenzy.' Not 'feeding on his own thoughts' (L. and S.), but 'pasturing his heart on lonely paths.'
(1) 'He has proved a mighty sorrow to his friends.'
Cp. Trach. 1075,
θήλυς εὕρημαι τάλας: Aesch. Pers. 743,
νῦν κακῶν ἔοικε πηγὴ πᾶσιν εὑρῆσθαι φίλοις. But
πένθος is not elsewhere used of a person, and it is possible that
εὕρηται may have a middle signification: (2) 'He has procured a mighty sorrow for his friends.' See Veitch, Gr. Irr. V. s. v.
εὑρίσκω.
μεγίστας ἀρετᾶς] 'Evincing' (or 'proceeding from') 'supreme valour.'
'Are fallen to the ground, coldly neglected by the cold, infatuate kings.'
παρά is used as in
παρὰ δικάσταις, etc.; L. and S. s. v.
παρά, Β. ΙΙ. 3. For
πίπτειν, “To come to nought,'
cp. Hdt. 7. 18,
οἷα ἄνθρωπος ἰδὼν ἤδη πολλά τε καὶ μεγάλα πεσόντα πρήγματα ὑπὸ ἡσσόνων.
For the reproachful tone in
μελέοις,
cp. infr. 1156,
ἄνολβον: Hdt. 7. 140,
ὦ μέλεοι, τί καθῆσθε, κ.τ.λ.
παλαιᾷ .. γήρᾳ] 'His mother sunk in years and overtaken by hoary eld.' The opposition with
μέν and
δέ is merely rhetorical. Not
ἔντροφος, but some simpler word, such as
οὖσα, is to be supplied with
γήρᾳ, which is dative of circumstance. Essay on L. § 11. p. 18 c.
λευκὰ δὲ γήρᾳ is a plausible but needless correction.
νοσοῦντα | φρενομόρως] «Fatally afflicted in his mind.' Although the madness of Ajax is relieved, its ZZZZconsequences remain, and he is to be slain not by his madness, but for it.
effects are permanent, and his despair is no less a mental affliction than his madness was.
αἴλινον αἴλινον] This word is governed by a verb, for which
ἥσει is substituted as the sentence proceeds.
οὐδέ] 'But not.' The 'instant burst of clamour' Eriboea would make is contrasted with the sustained melodious wailing of the nightingale, to which such continuous mourning as that of Electra is fitly compared,-El. 107.
ὄρνιθος ἀηδοῦς]
Cp. Ant. 423, 4,
πικρᾶς | ὄρνιθος ὀξὺν φθόγγον.
χερόπληκτοι .. δοῦποι] 'Noise of smiting hands.'
πλήσσειν δοῦπον, «Το make a noise in smiting' would be a legitimate cognate accusative. Hence the passive form. Essay on L. § 53. p. 98.
ἐν.. πεσοῦνται] i. e.
ἐμπεσοῦνται.
πολιᾶς *ἄμυγμα χαίτας] Sc.
ἐγγενήσεται, or some general notion resumed from the preceding verb.
For
῞Αιδα κεύθων, cp. Il. 23. 244,
εἰσόκεν αὐτὸς ἐγὼν ῎Αϊδι κεύθωμαι. Elmsley needlessly corrected
γὰρ Ἅιδᾳ to
παρ' Ἅιδα. ὁ νοσῶν μάταν] (1) - 'One hopelessly afflicted.'
μάταν (as in O. C. 1567,
πολλῶν γὰρ ἂν καὶ μάταν | πημάτων ἱκνουμένων, | πάλιν σε δαίμων δίκαιος αὔξοι) means 'with no good end.' Others take
μάταν here to mean, (2) ‘idly,' i. e. 'with idle or vain imaginations;' comparing Ar. Pax 95,
τί πέτει; τί μάτην οὐχ ὑγιαίνεις; Either is possible.
ὃς .. ᾿Αχαιών] 'Who, by the family from which he came, was, and proved to be, the noblest of the toilworn Achaeans.'
ἐκ is at once 'because of' and 'in accordance with.'
ἥκων is used in a double sense: 'Come forth from his father's home,' and 'Come forth,' i. e. 'proved, as bravest.' Ср. О. Т. 1519,
ἔχθιστος ἥκω.
ἄριστος was found by Triclinius in an 'old' MS., but may be merely due, as Blaydes remarks, to the words of the Scholiast,
ἄριστα ἥκων· λείπει γὰρ τὸ ἄριστος. Another possible reading is
ἄριστα. πολυπόνων]
Infr. 1186 foll.
'No longer remains in his habitual frame of mind, but abides outside of it,' i.e. he is no longer in his mind, but out of his mind. For this somewhat strained oxymoron,
cp. Eur. Hipp. 102,
πρόσωθεν αὐτὴν ἁγνὸς ὡν ἀσπάζομαι: Aesch. Pers. 756,
ἔνδον αἰχμάζειν : also Ant. 773,
ἔρημος ἔνθ᾽ ἂν ῇ βροτῶν στίβος, where the privative
ἔρημος is equivalent to a negative.
As his mother will utter the shrill cry of maternal agony, so his father will mourn over the dishonour of the race.
'A calamity such as no life of any son of Aeacus hath ever known, but only he.' Bergk's conj.,
δίων Αἰακιδᾶν, has been widely received. But
αἰών involves only an ordinary use of abstract for concrete, and agrees better with the figurative word
ἔθρεψεν.
If the conjecture advanced on l. 593
supr. is correct. Tecmessa and the child Eurysaces have remained on the stage in silence during the first stasimon. Ajax now unexpectedly comes forth, sword in hand, and addresses the chorus. That he dissembles with them, so far as to lead them to believe that he has abandoned his purpose of suicide, is obvious, because necessary to the situation, and is further evident on comparing 667 foll. with 835 foll., where his inmost feeling is expressed. But, just as the speech of Deianira which deceives Lichas, Trach. 436-69, contains a real indication of her character, so the studiously ambiguous words of Ajax here are the expression of an actual change of mood, -a new phase in the progress of mental recovery. The act which he contemplates is the same which he has intended from the moment of his first awakening, but he regards it in a different temper. Calm resolution has taken the place of rage, and proud submission to the inevitable that of rebellious fury. (
Cp. supr. 389.) And like Antigone, when the struggle is past, he feels the pain of parting from what has brightened life for him; he knows what is implied in leaving Tecmessa and the child. With exquisite truth as well as subtlety, Sophocles has made Ajax express his feeling and intention in words which essentially convey his true meaning, but successfully veil it from those who, if they had divined it, would have interfered. (
Supr. 329, 483). They, on the other hand, are only too readily deceived, -Tecmessa through the difficulty of believing that Ajax is hiding truth from her, and both she and the chorus through their wishes being stronger than their fears. To dissemble under any circumstances has been thought inconsistent with the native dignity of Ajax. But if this be so, it only renders the tragic contrast between his nature and his circumstances more complete. Concealment is no doubt foreign to the original bent of such a proud heroic soul. But Destiny has brought him to a point where it is inevitable, and the more so because of his first undisguised utterance,
supr. 470, foll. Let a man's native character be what it will, the passion of suicide brings with it the means for its own realization. The time that Ajax has spent within the tent appears 'like an age' to him, and he begins by reflecting generally, in a meditative tone, on the changes that are wrought by Time. He wonders at his own calmness, and professes to wonder at his change of mind.
φύει ἄδηλα] 'Rears out of darkness.'
Cp. Hes. Op. 6,
καὶ ἄδηλον ἀέξει. The present is used of a continual process, as in Il. 6. 147, 8,
φύλλα τὰ μέν τ' ἄνεμος χαμάδις χέει, ἄλλα δε θ' ὕλη | τηλεθύωσα φύει. E. on L. § 32. p. 54.
ἄδηλα (sc.
ὄντα) may be regarded as =
ἐξ ἀδήλων (E. on L. § 38. p. 71), but also expresses the obscurity of the first beginnings and early preparations of all things.
Cp. Shak. 2 Hen. IV. 3. 1, 'Things | As yet not come to life, which in their seeds | And weak beginnings lie intreasured, Such things become the hatch and brood of time.' As in
supr. 476,
προσθεῖσα κἀναθεῖσα, the latter part of the antithesis is most dwelt upon, viz.
καὶ φανέντα κρύπτεται, ‘And buries them in himself, after they are come into being,' although the suppression of the old purpose is virtually the revelation of the new. For
φανέντα, cf. Ο. C. 974,
φανεὶς δύστηνος, ὡς ἐγὼ 'φάνην. On the meaning of the middle voice, see Essay on L. § 31. p. 53 (where
ἑαυτήν should be
ἑαυτόν-not Earth but Time), and
cp. Aesch. Cho. 127,
καὶ γαῖαν αὐτήν, ἢ τὰ πάντα τίκτεται ('brings forth of herself').
ἄελπτον] An allusion to Archil. Fr. 76,
χρημάτων ἄελπτον οὐδέν ἐστιν οὐδ᾽ ἀπώμοτον. Cp. Ant. 388,
ἄναξ, βροτοῖσιν οὐδὲν ἐστ᾽ ἀπώμοτον. ἁλίσκεται] 'Is overcome.'
Cp. the use of
αἱρέω in Ant. 606,
τὰν οὔθ᾽ ὕπνος αἱρεῖ ποθ' ὁ παντογήρως.
'Even (
καί) the awe-inspiring oath and steeled resolve.' Neither men's resolutions, nor the sanctions by which they try to strengthen them, are permanent.
Cp. Thuc. 3. 83,
οὐ γὰρ ἦν ὁ διαλύσων οὔτε λόγος ἐχυρὸς οὔτε ὅρκος φοβερός. καί has been changed to
χαί, perhaps rightly, but see Essay on L. § 21. p. 33 b.
'Since even I, who then (
supr. 470 foll.) showed such awful resolve, hard as iron hardened in the surge-even I have lost my manhood's edge, being softened by this woman.' The clause with
ws relates to what precedes, as in Phil. 202 foll.
προὐφάνη κτύπος, φωτὸς σύντροφος ὡς τειρομένου *του.
τὰ δεινά is cogn. accus.;
cp. Ant. 408,
πρὸς σοῦ τὰ δείν᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ἐπηπειλημένοι. Ιη
βαφή there is perhaps a reminiscence of
supr. 351, 2,
οἷον ἄρτι κῦμα φοινίας ὑπὸ ζάλης ἀμφίδρομον κυκλεῖται. βαφῇ, an instrumental dative, depends on the idea of hardening contained in
ἐκαρτέρουν. For similar datives with active verbs,
cp. Ant. 335,
χειμερίῳ νότῳ χωρεῖ, ibid. 589,
Θρῄσσαισιν .. ἐπιδράμῃ πνοαῖς. The abruptness of this construction goes for nothing when weighed against the absurdity of joining
βαφῇ σιδηρὸς ὡς ἐθηλύνθην στόμα, 'My edge is abated, as that of iron is by the surge': although much ingenuity has been spent in defending this way of taking the words.
στόμα, as Ajax intends his speech to be apprehended, can only mean 'edge,' i.e. 'resolution,' although by a mental reservation he may understand himself to mean 'my speech (only) is softened.'
'I am wrung with pity at the thought of leaving her,' i.e. as he wishes to be understood, 'I cannot leave her for pity,' as he understands himself, 'I feel pity in leaving her.'
πρὸς λειμώνας] ‘Τo the bathing-place in the meadow by the cliff,' i. e. where the level ground narrows towards the promontory of Rhoeteum. It is probably meant that Ajax really bathes in fresh water before his last solemn act.
Cp. Eur. Alc. 159,
ὕδασι ποταμίοις. . ἐλούσατ᾽.
ἁγνίσας.. ἐξαλεύσωμαι] Το the chorus and Tecmessa
ἁγνίσας means 'by purging away,' viz in the fresh running water; to Ajax himself, 'after washing off.'
Cp. Shak. Macbeth, 2.2. 67, 'A little water clears us of this deed.'
'And having gone to a place where I may find a place untrodden.'
χώρον is first acc. of place after
μολών, and secondly
ἀστιβῆ χῶρον is accusative with
κίχω. Essay on L. § 36. pp. 66, 7.
τόδ' ἔγχος τούμόν] ‘This my sword.'
Cp. infr. 815-22, 834,899.909. 1025, 1034. Does Ajax destroy himself with the sword with which he slew the cattle? There would be a certain plausibility in his professing an intention of burying the offending weapon (
ἔχθιστον βελῶν) out of sight. But this is nowhere distinctly indicated, and the elaborate reasons connected with Hector tend rather to show that the blade had not previously been used. It is the possession and not the employment of it that is dwelt upon as of evil omen.
κρύψω.. ὀρύξας] There is again an intentional ambiguity between 'I will bury out of sight' and 'I will hide' (in my body) 'after planting' (in the earth).
γαίας, 'Somewhere in earth,' a partitive genitive of place, to be resumed with
ἕνθα. Essay on L. § 10. p. 15. A construction is easily obtained by supplying
που, the antecedent of
ἔνθα. ἔχθιστον is ambiguous between 'most hostile,'
cp. infr. 817 foll., and 'most hateful.'
These words are purposely ominous of Ajax' real intention. The imperative continues the prohibitive notion of
μή in the preceding line.
Cp. El. 436 foll.
κρύψον νιν, ἔνθα μή ποτ᾽ εἰς εὐνὴν .. | .. πρόσεισι .. ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν θάνῃ | κειμήλι᾿ αὐτῇ . . σωζέσθω.
The vivid
χειρί brings before us the scene of the exchange described by Teucer
infr. 1029 foll.
Cp. Eur. Med. 618,
κακοῦ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς δῶρ᾽ ὄνησιν οὐκ ἔχει.
τοιγάρ] «Therefore,' since I am thus out of favour and pursued by divine displeasure,
supr. 656, 663.
Ajax understands in his own mind, 'I will not submit to them except in death.'
Cp. Ant. 926,
παθόντες ἂν ξυγγνοῖμεν ἡμαρτηκότες.
τί μή;]
Cp. Aesch. Ag. 672,
λέγουσιν ἡμᾶς ὡς ὀλωλότας· τί μή; The v. r.
τιμῆ (V Pal., i.e.
τιμῇ), suggested by
τιμαῖς in
infr. 670, is a curious instance of the uncertainty that crept in when the quantities of syllables were forgotten.
τὰ δεινὰ καὶ τὰ καρτερώτατα] 'Things dread and masterful,' such as Winter, Night, and Tempest:
τὰ δεινά as in Ant. 334,
πολλὰ τὰ δεινά. For the thought,
cp. esp. Heraclitus, Fragm. 29 (ed. Bywater),
ἥλιος οὐχ ὑπερβήσεται μέτρα· εἰ δὲ μή, ἐρινύες μιν δίκης ἐπίκουροι ἐξευρήσουσι: Plat. Rep. 6. 500 C,
εἰς τεταγμένα ἄττα καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἀεὶ ἔχοντα ὁρῶντας καὶ θεωμένους οὔτ᾽ ἀδικοῦντα οὔτ᾽ ἀδικούμενα ὑπ᾿ ἀλλήλων, κόσμῳ δὲ πάντα καὶ κατὰ λόγον ἔχοντα, ταῦτα μιμεῖσθαι. As Schndw. observes, these common-places from Ajax' lips have a peculiarly ironical significance.
τιμαῖς] «Το authority:' literally, 'to official rank.' For
τιμή of an official appointment,
cp. Hdt. 7. 36,
οἶσι προσεκέετο αὕτη ἡ ἄχαρις τιμή: Ar. Pol. 3. 10, 4,
τιμὰς λέγομεν τὰς ἀρχάς. For
τοῦτο μέν with only
δé to follow,
cp. Ο. C. 440,
τοῦτο μὲν.. οἱ δ᾽ ἐπωφελεῖν, κ.τ.λ. νιφοστιβεῖς | χειμῶνες] «The wintry months whose track is marked with snow.' This (=
νιφόεντας ἔχων τοὺς στίβους) agrees better with the meaning of other compounds such as
χθονοστιβής (O.T. 301), and with the personification in
ἐκχωροῦσιν, than · 'piled with snows' (L. and S.)-'Winter withdraws his snowy footsteps.'
νυκτὸς αἰανὴς κύκλος] 'The weary round of Night,' which like other periods of time, is imagined as a moving sphere.
Cp. ἐνιαυτοῦ κύκλον, Eur. Or. 1645.
αἰανής] Here, as in l. 8,
εὔρινος, it is doubted whether the adj. is in the nominative or genitive,
αἰανής or
αἰανῆς. Both forms (
αἰανής, -és and
aἰανός, -ή, -όν), occur in tragedy, and the balance of the sentence is rather in favour of the nominative. See Essay on L. § 42. p. 80.
αἰανής, if derived from
aleí, has also a false association from
aủaî. See Essay on L. § 54. p. 99.
'For Day with his white steeds (
λευκόπωλος ἡμέρα, Aesch. Pers. 386) to make his light arise.' (L. and S. s. v.
φλέγω, Α. ⅱ.)
ἐκοίμισε] 'Allows to rest.' Gnomic aorist. As, in
δειλίαν ἀρεῖς, supr. 75, a passive state is expressed actively (Essay on L. § 30. p. 52), so here a negative or privative act is conceived as positive.
Cp. λύει, infr. 676. This helps the vividness of the personification. As is observed by Schndw. and G. Wolff, contrary powers are naturally assigned to the same divine being. Thus Aeolus in Od. 10. 21 is
ταμίης ἀνέμων. ἠμὲν παυέμεναι ἠδ᾽ ὀρνύμεν ὅν κ᾽ ἐθέλῃσιν, and Horace says of the South wind, '
quo non arbiter Hadriae major, tollere seu ponere vult freta.' In Il. 8. 486. the light of the setting sun is described as
ἕλκον νύκτα μέλαιναν ἐπὶ ζείδωρον ἄρουραν.
ἐν δ'] 'And moreover.' Sleep is not originally thought of as amongst the 'dread and masterful powers,' but is now added to the list.
* ἐγῷδα] ‘I am sure of it'-(that I shall know how to act with moderation). The common reading,
ἐγὼ δ' ἐπίσταμαι γάρ-can only be justified by supposing
ἡμεῖς in 677 to mean mankind in general, in which case the opposition with
dé is possible, though not very clear. But with
μαθησόμεσθα preceding (l. 667),
ἡμεῖς (unless with further explanation, as in
supr. 125) must be equivalent to
ἐγώ. And the use of
δὲ .. γάρ without apodosis is not supported by Aesch. Cho. 66,
ἐμοὶ δ᾽ ἀναγκὰν γὰρ ἀμφίπτολιν, κ.τ.λ., which is the nearest parallel. (For a superfluous
ἐγώ with
δé in apodosi,
cp. Hdt. 4. 99,
ὃς δὲ.. μὴ παραπέπλωκε, ἐγὼ δὲ ἄλλως δηλώσω.) Porson's conjecture, which is here received, requires a very slight alteration,
ῶι for
ὡ.
ἐγῷδα is idiomatic, and the form of asseveration suits with the dissembling nature of the speech.
ἐπίσταμαι γὰρ ἀρτίως] ‘For I have lately learnt '-Ajax continues the vein of commonplace, with which his real feelings are interwoven. In his own heart he means that the judgment of the arms has taught him the hollowness of friendship. But by putting the other side of the antithesis foremost he veils this sentiment under the general maxim which counsels moderation in love and hatred-
ἀθάνατον ἔχθραν μὴ φύλασσε, θνητὸς ὤν.
In expressing his real feeling, Ajax passes out of the impersonal mode of speaking.
Ср. О. С. 612, 3,
καὶ πνεῦμα ταὐτόν, κ.τ.λ.
τοῖς πολλοῖσι γὰρ..] He recollects his cue, and again generalizes.
Cp. Aesch. Ag. 838-840,
εἰδὼς λέγοιμ' ἄν, εὐ γὰρ ἐξεπίσταμαι, | ὁμιλίας κάτοπτρον, εἴδωλον σκιᾶς, | δοκοῦντας εἶναι κάρτα πρευμενεῖς ἐμοί.
ἀμφὶ .. τούτοισιν] 'For what concerns this, viz. my relation to the Atreidae, 'all shall go well.' Tecmessa need not fear lest the pride of Ajax should lead him into farther trouble.
εἴσω . . κέαρ]
εἴσω ἐλθοῦσα εὔχου θεοῖς τελεῖσθαι διὰ τέλους (ἐκεῖνα) ὧν τὸ ἐμὸν κέαρ ἐpᾷ. Tecmessa will pray that Ajax may escape from the wrath of Athena. In doing so she will unconsciously pray for the consummation of his present desires in death. The solemn phrase
διὰ τέλους .. τελεῖσθαι is prompted by the latter feeling.
ταὐτὰ τῇδέ μοι τάδε | τιμᾶτε] 'Honour these my wishes equally with her.'
ταὐτά, an adverbial accusative, like
κοινά in Ant. 546,
μή μοι θάνῃς σὺ κοινά. The eightfold alliteration with
τ in these two lines gives the effect of suppressed earnestness.
In this veiled manner Ajax conveys his last request to Teucer.
Cp. supr. 567,
infr. 827, 8, 990, 1.
The intentional vagueness, by which Ajax conceals his purpose from Tecmessa and the chorus, has an impressive solemnity for the spectator.
τάχ᾽ ἂν.. ἴσως] ‘Ere long, methinks.'
σεσωσμένον] His hearers understand, 'Freed from further evil,' as having appeased the gods and submitted to the Atreidae: to himself he means, 'Having done with evils, because no trouble can affect the dead.' Exit Ajax towards the country. Tecmessa and the child withdraw into the hut. The proscenium is vacant.
The following ode is the clearest instance in Sophocles of the hyporchema, or song accompanied with dancing. In substance it may be compared with Trach. 205-224, Ο. Τ. 1086-1109, Ant. 1115-1154. The metrical scheme of στρ. and ἀντ. is as follows:...
'My heart is thrilled with a new hope, and mounts on wings of joy.' For the aorist (of the immediate past), see Essay on L. § 32. p. 55.
ἔρως is here used of a sudden and intense hope.
Cp. Ant. 617,
πολλοῖς δ᾽ ἀπάτα κουφονόων ἐρώτων (sc.
& .. ἐλπίς).
Pan is associated both with Marathon and Salamis, where Psyttaleia was his haunt according to Aeschylus: Pers. 448,
ἣν ὁ φιλόχορος | Πὰν ἐμβατεύει. ἁλίπλαγκτε] As in the invocation to Sleep in Phil. 828,
εὐαὲς . . ἔλθοις, the attribute which is part of the prayer is put in the vocative. 'Come, roving over the sea, leaving the snow-smitten ridges of Cyllene.' Cyllene is clearly visible from the Acropolis, and in spring and early summer (1874) is covered with snow. The side it presents to Athens is long and precipitous.
θεῶν χοροποί᾽ ἄναξ] (
θεων). 'Thou lord, who of the gods art he that frames the dance.' For this partitive genitive,
cp. O. C. 868, 9,
θεῶν | ὁ πάντα λεύσσων ἥλιος. ὅπως μοι .. ξυνὼν ἰάψεις] «Το fling into... I pray thee, along with me.'
μοι is dativus ethicus, but to be resumed with
ξυνών.
Νύσια Κνώσσια] Nysa, whether imagined as in Euboea or elsewhere, and Cnossus in Crete, were associated with the legend of Dionysus.
Cp. the Cnossian dancing ground of Ariadne in Il. 18. 591,
οἷον ποτ᾿ ἐνὶ Κνωσῷ εὐρείῃ | Δαίδαλος ἤσκησεν καλλιπλοκάμῳ ᾿Αριάδνῃ. 'Wilde Tänze fänden zu Ehren Dionys zu Nysa Statt, und an der Theodaisien Anfangs April zu Knossos auf Kreta' (G. Wolff).
αὐτοδαῆ] 'Spontaneous,' said with reference to Pan, 'which no man hath taught thee,'
cp. Aesch. Prom. 301,
αὐτόκτιτ᾽ ἄντρα, 'caves formed by thyself' (said to Oceanus).
ἰάπτειν = 'to set in sudden and swift motion.'
πελαγέων]
πελαγεῶν. For the Icarian sea,
cp. Hdt. 6. 95, 6.
εὔγνωστος] 'Easy to be known;' i. e.
ἐναργής, in his proper, unmistakable form: 'Nunquam humeris positurus arcum, | Qui rore puro Castaliae lavit | Crines solutos, qui Lyciae tenet | Dumeta natalemque silvam, | Delius et Patareus Apollo' (Hor. Carm. 3. 4. 60).
Cp. Trach. 207,
τὸν εὐφαρέτραν.
(1) The dangerous condition of Ajax was like a dark veil upon the eyes of the Salaminians, saddening for them even the light of day. ('A web is woven across the sky,' Tennyson, In Memoriam.)
Cp. especially
supr. 139, 140, 200. 'Now the cruel power has withdrawn the dreadful sorrow that oppressed our eyes.' Ares, as in O. T. 189, is the god of destruction, with an association from the violent rage in which Ajax' troubles began. Or (2) the Salaminians, like Tecmessa,
supr. 269, identify themselves with Ajax, from whose eyes (
supr. 51, 447) the distraction caused by his vehement rage is now removed. For the expression in either case,
cp. supr. 674 and note: Il. 13. 444,
ἔνθα δ᾽ ἔπειτ᾿ ἀφίει μένος όβριμος Άρης.
(1) 'Now, Zeus, thou shalt bring near bright genial day to our swift sea-going ships.' The meaning is half figurative, half literal. It is still morning (
καὶ ἀέξεται ἱερὸν ἦμαρ), and the Salaminians feel that the return of day-light is in keeping with the return of cheerfulness within them. For the figurative meaning,
cp. especially Aesch. Cho. 961, 972,
πάρα τὸ φῶς ἰδεῖν: Pers. 301. Otherwise, (2)
πελάσαι may be intransitive, 'Light shall come near the ships,' in which case
ὦ Zeῦ is an ejaculation. For this,
cp. Phil. 400,
ἰὼ μάκαιρα, κ.τ.λ.
The Chorus in their delight at the pious intentions expressed by Ajax,
supr. 655, 6, 666, 7, describe them in exaggerated language, and speak of them as already performed.
These words are an echo of Ajax' reflection,
supr. ll. 646, 7. The words
τε καὶ φλέγει, which are added in the MSS., are not improbable in themselves.
Cp. supr. 476 and note. But there is nothing to correspond to them in the strophe, and the metre as it stands in the text is more probable than it would be with the addition of
10-2. The interpolation may be accounted for by supposing a marginal quotation, as in 554
supr.
ἐξ ἀέλπτων] 'When we had despaired.'
Cp. supr. 648.
μετανεγνώσθη] 'Has been converted.' Ajax,
supr. 651, attributed the change in himself to the persuasion of Tecmessa.
θυμῶν] This reading, which occurs in some MSS., is nearer to
θυμόν, the reading of L, than the conj.
θυμοῦ T', which has been commonly adopted. For the poetical plural, 'outbursts of wrath,'
cp. Trach. 882,
τίνες νόσοι; and see Essay on L. § 20. p. 30. The plural of
θυμός occurs in Plat. Phil. 40 E: Legg. 11. 934 Α,
ὁ δὲ .. ἐν φόβοις δειλίας, ἡ τισιν ἐπιθυμίαις ἡ φθόνοις ἢ θυμοῖς δυσιάτοις γιγνόμενος. (
νεικέων.)
The proscenium has been vacant during the preceding ode. A single figure is now seen approaching from the opposite direction to that in which Ajax went forth. The man proves to be Teucer's forerunner. The effect of the following scene is twofold. On the one hand, the Chorus and Tecmessa are roused from their security, and go anxiously in search of Ajax. We are thus made aware that the crisis of the drama is approaching. But, on the other hand, the bearing of the prophet to Teucer, as reported by the messenger, and the tenor of his prophecy, assure the spectator that the anger of Athena against Ajax is not lasting, and hold forth a vague promise of final peace.
ἄνδρες φίλοι] The messenger, who is one of Teucer's men, thus assures the mariners of his continued friendship in their master's hour of need.
τὸ πρῶτον stands in apposition with the sentence,
Τεύκρος παρέστι, which, as Hermann says, must be held as equivalent to
Teῦκρον παρεῖναι. Ср. О. Т. 1234, 5,
ὁ μὲν τάχιστος τῶν λόγων εἰπεῖν τε καὶ | μαθεῖν, τέθνηκε θεῖον Ἰοκάστης κάρα. The abruptness of this gives some colour to Musgrave's conjecture,
ἄνδρες, φίλον τὸ πρῶτον ἀγγεῖλαι θέλω.
'For when they knew him from afar off as he approached, they surrounded him.'
Cp. infr. 1046,
μαθεῖν γὰρ ἐγγὺς ὧν οὐ δυσπετής.
κἀπιβουλευτοῦ στρατοῦ] 'And who was guilty of plotting against the army.'
στρατοῦ is genitive of the object.
ὡς connects
οὐκ ἀρκέσοι, κ.τ.λ. with
ἤρασσον, the clause
τὸν .. ἀποκαλοῦντες being parenthetical. They said,
ὦ τοῦ μανέντος .. ξύναιμε, οὐκ ἀρκέσεις, κ.τ.λ. The verb
ἀρκεῖν is used absolutely in the original sense of 'to ward off danger,' and this uncommon use is supplemented by the epexegetic clause.
διεπεραιώθη] Lit. 'were passed from either side,' ie. 'crossed blades.' Not merely 'were unsheathed.'
δραμοῦσα τοῦ προσωτάτω] 'When it had run to an extreme.' The partitive genitive is merely idiomatic, and does not limit the force of the expression. Essay on L. § 10. p. 16 (bis).
'Through elders interposing with their words.' For
ev instrumental, see Essay on L. § 19. p. 28, and
cp. Trach. 887,
στονόεντος ἐν τομᾷ σιδάρου.
'Where is our Ajax?'
ἡμίν is dative of the person interested. Ср.
supr. 332,
ἡμῖν τὸν ἄνδρα διαπεφοιβάσθαι κακοίς.
τοῖς κυρίοις] 'Το those principally concerned.'
Cp. Aesch. Cho. 688, 9,
εἰ δὲ τυγχάνω | τοῖς κυρίοισι καὶ προσήκουσιν λέγων, | οὐκ οἶδα.
νέας .. τρόποις] 'Having changed his purpose in unison with his change of mood.' The Chorus believe that Ajax, having learnt submission, is gone forth to purify himself in the fresh water at the corner of the bay.
Supr. 654 foll.
ἰοὺ ἰού] The messenger perceives that the fate of Ajax is sealed, and raises the same cry of horror that Oedipus utters (O. T. 1182) when he discovers the truth.
βραδείαν is predicative and adverbial,= 'too late.'
Cp. the use of
πικρός, e.g.
infr. 1239.
'And what is there lacking to the fulfilment of the present need?'
χρείας τῆσδ', 'the need implied in Teucer's sending you,
τήνδε τὴν ὁδόν, supr. 738.
τοι] 'We can tell you.'
τοι here expresses the consciousness of contributing pertinent information.
πρὸς τὸ κέρδιστον.. γνώμης] 'His thoughts having taken the happiest turn.' For the genitive,
cp. Trach. 705,
ποῖ γνώμης πέσω; Ant. 42,
ποῦ γνώμης ποτ' εἶ;
χόλου] 'In respect of' (lit. 'from') 'their wrath.'
The name of Calchas, and the thought of his foreknowledge, strike the hearers with an expectant awe.
καὶ παρὼν ἐτύγχανον] 'For I was there to hear and see.' An expansion of
παρών, the coordinate for the participial construction. See Essay on L. § 36. p. 68; also § 32. p. 55.
Calchas, who alone knows the future, is not carried away by the rage which possesses the host, but simply warns Teucer in a friendly tone that the wrath of the gods is against Ajax for this one day. This attitude of the prophet is emphasized by the pleonastic iteration,
ἐκ. κύκλου μεταστὰς οἷος .. δίχα, and by the periphrasis in l. 753.
συνέδρου . . κύκλου] 'The circle of the lords who sate in council,' with the
ἀγορά of the Achaeans gathered round.
Ajax. Lewis Campbell. ed. Lewis Campbell. Oxford. 1879.