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901–1050

As the passage is antistrophic, and the corresponding l. 951 is free from suspicion, ἔπραξε in the MS. text of this line has probably taken the place of an equivalent word. See v. rr. Nothing better than ἔρξε has been suggested.

ἐν γὰρ. κατηγορεῖ] ‘For this sword which he has fixed in the ground, and over which he is fallen, witnesses against him.' Another would not so have slain him. οἱ is to be taken with πηκτόν and περιπετές, and suggests the object ( αὐτοῦ) of κατηγορεῖ. περιπετές is used passively. Essay on L. § 53. p. 99.

ὤμοι ἐμᾶς ἄτας] 'Woe for me, luckless one!' ἄτη is here a calamity involving blame, as appears from the words ὁ πάντα κωφός, ὁ πάντ᾽ ἄϊδρις in what follows. ἄφρακτος φίλων] 'Without friend to shield thee.' Essay on L. § 10. p. 16 f.

πάντα is here used adverbially with a merely intensive force, as πᾶν in compounds, Essay on L. § 55. p. 101, 6,

δυστράπελος] ‘Unmanageable.' Cp. supr. 609, δυσθεράπευτος: 594,5, μωρά μοι δοκεῖς φρονεῖν, | εἰ τοὐμὸν ἦθος ἄρτι παιδεύειν νοεῖς.

δυσώνυμος] ‘Of ill-omened name.' The Chorus were present when Ajax, supr. 430, 'played nicely with his name.'

Tecmessa has been gazing beneath the mantle, but, as some of the Chorus draw nearer, she covers the body out of sight. περιπτυχεῖ] ‘Covering.' Observe the repetition of the word used, supr. 899, in a different connection.

φάρει] Probably the mantle of Ajax; possibly some garment from Tecmessa's own person. See Aesch. Fr. 212. The companions of Achilles, in Il. 18. 352, cover the dead body of Patroclus: ἑανῷ λιτὶ κάλυψαν | ἐς πόδας ἐκ κεφαλῆς· καθύπερθε δὲ φάρεϊ λευκῷ.

οὐδεὶς . . ὅστις καὶ φίλος] 'No one who loved him.' καί marks the stress on φίλος. An enemy or indifferent person might bear to see him, but a friend could not. So Musgrave, 'Qui saltem amicus fuerit. Libentius quippe talia inimicus, quam amicus aspiceret.' Lobeck and the Scholiast give a different force to καί, as if it meant, 'not even a friend, far less a stranger.' But this is less in accordance with the use of καί in relative clauses. and also with the feeling of antiquity.

ἔκ τε φοινίας πληγῆς] Sc. φυσῶντα, the breath being supposed to issue with the blood from the wound. Cp. infr. 1411, 2. μελανθὲν αἷμα] Cp. infr. 1412, 3, μέλαν | μένος.

οἰκείας σφαγῆς] ‘His own self-inflicted death-wound. For this use of οἰκεῖος, cp. Εl. 215, οἰκείας εἰς ἄτας, supr. 260, οἰκεῖα πάθη.

τίς σε βαστάσει φίλων] The huge form of Ajax lying disordered would need a powerful hand to straighten it. Even Teucer needs help, infr. ll. 1409-11. Tecmessa shrinks from asking the Chorus to perform this duty, which, however willing, they would do awkwardly; and for such sacred service a nearer and more equal friend is required.

ὡς ἀκμαῖος, εἰ βαίη, μόλοι] 'How timely were his coming, if he came.' The optative without ἄν is doubted, but is less harsh coming immediately after another optative; and see Essay on L. § 36. p. 626 (1). Some have supposed a confusion of the expression of a wish with the potential optative. 'Might he but come! How timely!' But this is hardly in the Greek.

συγκαθαρμόσαι] This compound occurs only here.

Ajax is imagined to have brooded over his injuries for days before his final outbreak. Cp. supr. 194, 5, μακραίωνι .. σχολᾷ. The Chorus now think that the symptoms he then showed ought to have warned them of the possibility of what has followed.

'Thus with iron will to work out an evil doom of boundless woe.' ὧδ' is required for the metre, and adds point to στερεόφρων as a supplementary predicate with ἐξανύσειν. ἄρα, 'As the event has proved.' τοῖα introduces the ground of the preceding inference. Essay on L. § 22. p. 35, 3. μοι is dative of the person interested, 'In my hearing,' or 'To my concern.'

πάννυχα καὶ φαέθοντ᾽] ‘All night and in bright day.' φαέθοντα is picturesquely substituted for πανημέρια, and the adjectives are cognate or adverbial accusatives with ἀνεστέναζες, of which ἐχθοδοπά, although still cognate, is a more direct object.

ὠμόφρων] 'With savage thoughts,' a supplementary predicate. The metre is doubtful here, and some MSS. have ὠμόφρον', or ὠμόφρον (vocative sing.).

οὐλίῳ σὺν πάθει] ‘Under thy calamitous wrong,' i.e. his disappointment in the judgment of the arms, which has had such fatal consequences. For πάθος in this sense, cp. O. C. 1078, δεινὰ δ' εὑροῦσαν πρὸς αὐθαίμων πάθη: and see Phil. 337, 8, πότερον, ὦ τέκνον, τὸ σὸν | πάθημ᾽ ἐλέγχω: O.T. 553, 4, τὸ δὲ | πάθημ᾽ ὁποῖον φὴς παθεῖν, δίδασκέ με.

'Mighty to begin sorrows was the hour when the contest for the [gold-forged] arms was appointed for the hands of the brave.' μέγας ἦν ἄρχων is nearly equivalent to μεγάλως ἦρχεν.

A choriambus = χρυσοτύπων has been lost before ὅπλων.

After an interval of inarticulate sorrow, in which she only utters brief ejaculations, Tecmessa's feelings take a bitter turn. and her indignation finds vent first against the gods, 950-3, and then against the Atreidae, 961-73. Her pride in Ajax rises above all else.

'I know, a grief of ample size is piercing to thy soul,' γενναία is not 'genuine' or 'noble,' but 'of great size.' Cp. Shak. Ant. and Cleo. 4. 15. 4, 'Our size of sorrow.'

'I doubt thee not for wailing more than once,' i.e. I am sure that the feeling equals its expression.

ἀποβλαφθεῖσαν] ‘Violently bereft.' See L. and S. s. v. βλάπτω, I. 2.

φρονεῖν] 'To feel and know.' See O. C. 1741; E. on L. § 51. p. 95.

Tecmessa turns from the Chorus to her child.

Cp. supr. 497. But for the coming of Teucer and the interposition of Odysseus, Tecmessa's apprehensions would have been verified.

οἷοι.. σκοποί] 'What eyes are set over our life!' For σκοπός, of one who has a right to call others to account, cp. especially Od. 22. 395, 6, ἤ τε γυναικῶν | δμωάων σκοπός ἐσσι κατὰ μέγαρ᾽ ἡμετεράων. The Atreidae and their underlings are meant. Cp. supr. 512, ὑπ᾿ ὀρφανιστῶν μὴ φίλων.

ἐθρόησας ἄναυδον ἔργον ᾿Ατρειδᾶν] 'Thou givest utterance to the wordless deed of the Atreidae.' The phrase ἄναυδον ἔργον marks the tacit exercise of absolute power, 'the blow without the word.' For, as Menelaus says afterwards, l. 1160, he has no reason λόγοις κολάζειν, ᾧ βιάζεσθαι παρῇ. ἄναυδον is introduced partly for the sake of the verbal opposition to ἐθρόησας. Cp. Aesch. Eum. 935, σιγῶν.. ὅλεθρος.

τῷδ' ἄχει] 'In this cry of sorrow.' Cp. O. C. 1722, λήγετε τοῦδ' ἄχους: supr. 895, οἴκτῳ τῷδε.

'Beyond measure heavy is the burden of the grief they cause.' ἤνυσαν, sc. οἱ θεοί. Aor. of immediate past.

In identifying herself with Ajax, Tecmessa has learnt to speak scornfully of the gods. 'But the gods are to blame for it all.' His protection has indeed been more apparent in her life than theirs has been. Cp. supr. 490, and note.

κελαινώπαν θυμόν] ‘In his swart soul.' Accusative of the sphere of movement, lit. 'throughout.' The latter part of the compound is not dwelt upon, but suggests the θυμός as a localized entity, a sort of beast within the man, like Plato's lion (Rep. 9. 588). For κελαινός, of evil passions, cp. Aesch. Eum. 459, ἀλλά.. νιν κελαινόφρων ἐμὴ | μήτηρ κατέκτα. And for the personification of θυμός, Archil. Fr. 68, θυμέ, θύμ᾽ ἀμηχάνοισι κήδεσιν κυκώμενε. ἐφυβρίζειν is not used absolutely elsewhere. It seems here to mean 'to acquire fresh insolence.' Cp. ἐπερρῶσθαι.

πολύτλας ἀνήρ] 'The unflinching man.' The Homeric epithet is used with a different meaning: viz. 'He who sticks at nothing.' Cp. Phil. 633, 4, ἀλλ᾽ ἔστ᾽ ἐκείνῳ πάντα λεκτά, πάντα δὲ | τολμητά.

τοῖσδε μαινομένοις ἄχεσιν] 'Over this madness-caused woe.' Dative of the cause or occasion, as is shown by sc. τάδε τὰ ἄχεα, in the following clause. Cp. Εl. 1343, χαίρουσιν οὖν τούτοισιν ; ἢ τίνες λόγοι; For the condensed epithet (sc. τοῦ μαινομένου), see Essay on L. § 43. p. 81, § 35. р. 60.

κλύοντες] Viz. from Odysseus.

κεἰ .. μὴ ᾿πόθουν] ‘Though they missed him not.'-after he had withdrawn from fighting. Cp. Il. 1. 240, ἢ ποτ' ᾿Αχιλλῆος ποθὴ ἴξεται νίας ᾿Ἀχαιῶν: ib. 9. 9. 197, ή τι μάλα χρεώ.

ἐν χρείᾳ δορός] (1) 'In exigency of war,' rather than (2) 'In sore need of his spear.' For the latter, however, cp. supr. 180, ξυνοῦ δορός.

πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ] 'Till one have lost it,' or 'thrown it away.' For the transition from the indefinite plural to τις, cp. Trach. 11. 2, 3, οὐκ ἂν αἰῶν᾽ ἐκμάθοις βροτῶν πρὶν ἂν | θάνῃ τις. ἐκβαλεῖν is to lose by one's own fault. Cp. Ant. 648, 9, μή νυν .. τὰς φρένας .. ἐκβάλῃς. 'Agamemnon has thrown a pearl away | Richer than all his tribe.' (Shak. Oth. 5. 2).

Either (1) supposing an implied comparative, 'My sorrow in his death is greater than their joy: howbeit, he has pleased himself;' or (2) supposing δέ to be in apodosi, and τέθνηκεν to be virtually hypothetical, 'Be his death joy to them or grief to me, to him it brings content.' For (1), see Essay on L. § 39. p. 73 b; and for (2), cp. Ant. 1168, where see note. As there is nothing but the emphasis to suggest comparison, (2) is preferable.

περ adds emphasis with reference to the words of Ajax, supr. ll. 473-480, which Tecmessa now recalls. Cp. O. C. 1704. ἐξέπραξεν οἷον ἤθελεν.

'His death is no concern of theirs, but of the gods alone.' The gods have required this sacrifice, and the will of the Atreidae has had no part in it. For this vague 'dative of the person interested,' cp. El. 1152, τέθνηκ᾽ ἐγώ σοι: Phil. 1030, καὶ τέθνηχ᾽ ὑμῖν πάλαι. So, too, infr. 972, Αἴας γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐκέτ᾽ ἐστίν, κ.τ.λ.

ἐν κενοῖς] 'In a vain thing': i.e. where his insolence has no occasion, and no object, but is beating the air.

Cp. Od. 14. 137, 8, φίλοισι δὲ κήδε᾽ ὀπίσσω | πᾶσιν, ἐμοὶ δὲ μάλιστα, τετεύχαται: Trach. 41, 2, πλὴν ἐμοὶ πικρὰς | ὠδῖνας αὐτοῦ προσβαλὼν ἀποίχεται.

ἀνίας καὶ γόους] 'Distress and sorrow.' For the strength of meaning given to ἀνία here, cp. supr. 496 foll., infr. 1005.

'Uttering a loud strain that hath regard to this calamity:' i. e. The sudden cry of Teucer shows that his eye has been arrested by the dead body and the group surrounding it. (Schol. οὐχ ἡμαρτηκὸς τῆς συμφορᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐστοχασμένον). He, like Tecmessa, supr. 891, 2, is at first dimly seen in the shade. ἐπίσκοπον is used nearly as in Aesch. Eum. 903, ὁποῖα νίκης μὴ κακῆς ἐπίσκοπα.

ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμ᾿ ἐμοί] ‘Brother of my love.' ὄμμα, from meaning 'an object of sight,' comes to mean 'an object of regard'—'one with whom we see eye to eye,' and its addition here gives a tone of affectionateness to the expression. See Essay on L. § 54. P. 99 a; and cp. especially, Phil. 171, μηδὲ σύντροφον ὄμμ᾽ ἔχων.

'Hast thou then done as prevalent Rumour tells?' ἠμπόληκας, 'Hast managed thine affairs, hast done thy business?' See L. and S. s. v. ἐμπολάω, ΙΙ. 2. The phrase at first sight seems hardly tragic; and ἠμπόληκά σ' (Herm.), i. e. 'Have I sold thy life,' by my delay? is at least plausible. But again, ἐμπολᾶν in the former sense, as an expression of common life, may have lost all figurative associations. Cp. Aesch. Eum. 631, 2, ἠμποληκότα | τὰ πλεῖστ᾽ ἀμείνον'. And even retaining ἠμπόληκας in an absolute sense, as in the beginning of this note, the word implies blame in so far as Teucer refers not only to the death of Ajax, but to his loss of honour.

The partition of the senarius between two speakers, which does not occur at all in the Antigone, is in the Ajax confined to this passage and supr. 591-4, where see note.

ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος] «Ο all-too-swift catastrophe!' referring not to the rash deed of Ajax, but to the sudden consummation of destiny.

τί γάρ. ποῦ] Cp. supr. 101. The precatory μοι indicates Teucer's interest in the child.

οὐχ ὅσον τάχος, κ.τ.λ.] These words are spoken to Tecmessa, who, in obedience to them, makes her exit here, returning with Eurysaces, infr. 1168. They cannot be addressed to one of the Chorus, as the exit of a single choreutes is quite inadmissible; nor to one of Teucer's own attendants, to whom such an exhortation as σύγκαμνε would be superfluous. As addressed to Tecmessa, the words seem harsh and peremptory; but Teucer, who has been absent, does not know the depth of her feelings, and in his eyes she is merely Ajax' captive. Hence the words, ἴθ', ἐγκόνει, σύγκαμνε, are an example of what is called irony, i. e. they indicate the speaker's unconsciousness.

δήτα] Although not an enclitic, the particle coming at the beginning of the line is a strong instance of synaphea, and marks the haste with which Teucer utters his command. Cp. infr. 1089, 90, ὅπως | μή.

κενῆς] 'Widowed, unprotected,' - λέοντος εὐγενοῦς ἀπουσίᾳ. Not 'bereft of young,' as the prolepsis would have a frigid effect. Nor by enallage for κενόν, sc. μητρός, ‘Separated from the mother.' The point lies in the comparison not of Tecmessa to a lioness, but of Ajax to a lion.

τοῖς θανοῦσί τοι, κ.τ.λ.] Whence Eurysaces is in the greater danger.

Supr. 567. 'While still alive, Ajax enjoined that he (Eurysaces) should be thy care, and he is so.' The emphatic οὖν avoids the appearance of supposing that Teucer needed the injunction.

Having done what is immediately necessary, Teucer becomes absorbed in the contemplation of his dead brother.

This last heavy-hearted journey dates not from the warning of Calchas, supr. 750 foll., but from the rumour that quickly followed it. The exceptional rhythm of this line, without caesura, expresses the painfulness of the way.

The participles are to be taken closely with ἔβην; 'Following up and searching out thy doom, when I perceived that it was come':-viz. on hearing the rumour.

ὀξεῖα] 'Swift': i.e. not only suddenly arriving, but spreading instantaneously.

σου] Objective genitive = περί σου. Essay on L. § 9. p. 12. βάξις]· 'Talk, bruit, 'noise.' βάξις is generally something disagreeable. ὡς θεοῦ τινος] 'Seeming to come from some god.' Genitive of the agent (Essay on L. § 10. p. 14): sc. πέμψαντος, or the like. On the source of this rumour, see above, note on l. 826. The messenger returning to the camp after l. 814 would bring word that Ajax was dead.

The antecedent to ἁ and object of ὁρῶν, viz. 'thy death,' is to be gathered from the meaning of the two preceding lines. Cp. O. T. 6.

ἴθ᾽, ἐκκάλυψον] Cp. supr. 915, 16. If Tecmessa is gone, according to the note on supr. 985, these words are spoken either (1) to the coryphaeus, who on her departure might naturally take his station by the corpse; or (2) to an attendant of Teucer. Cp. El. 1468, χαλάτε πᾶν κάλυμμ᾽ ἀπ᾿ ὀφθαλμῶν, ὅπως | τὸ συγγενές τοι κἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ θρήνων τύχῃ.

'O sight intolerable! telling of a rash and cruel deed.' ὄμμα here is not merely the person of Ajax as an object of vision, but the whole harrowing spectacle, from which Teucer passes naturally in the next line to Ajax himself. For the genitive τόλμης, 'implying rashness,' cp. Thuc. 3. 45. § 7. πολλῆς εὐηθείας, ὅστις οἴεται. πικρᾶς] Not merely 'passionate,' but 'cruel,' because causing so much pain.

The participial phrase ὅσας .. κατασπείρας has the chief stress.

The omission of με in all the MSS. is a strong proof of the loss of the sense of quantity in Byzantine times. The line was scanned ἢ ποῦ τελᾶμῶν without suspicion. τ' ἴσως in the Laurentian reading (understood as 'equally') has come in from the next line, and there is no reason to doubt that θ' ἅμα is the genuine reading. Emphatic fulness in dwelling on such relationships is common in Greek, and is especially natural in Teucer.

The iteration of ἢ που ἴσως .. πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ; is expressive of Teucer's bitterness of soul.

'Who will not smile any the more sweetly, no, not even if good fortune come to him.' The idiomatic force of the comparative can hardly be rendered in translation. Lit. 'Even though fortunate, to smile none the more pleasantly (on that account)'. For πάρα, cp. supr. 904, αἰάζειν πάρα: infr. 982, πάρα στενάζειν.

There is a slight irony in ἥδιον. The Laurentian reading, μηδὲν ἵλεων γελᾶν, is not Greek, and ἥδιον, the reading of Par. A and several other MSS., is further supported by the unintelligible reading ἴδιον c. gl. οἰκεῖον in V', which is clearly a corruption of ἥδιον, and may have given rise to ἵλεων. See Phil. 1392, and v. rr. Others explain the words to mean, 'Whose custom it is not to smile pleasantly when fortunate.' But such a meaning of παρεῖναι is doubtful, and the comparative is then without point. The line, as above interpreted, may remind us of the story of Henry the First of England, who is said never to have smiled again after the death of his son, William the Aetheling. For the sorrow of Telamon, cp. Fr. 516 (from the 'Teucer'), ὡς ἄρ᾽, ὦ τέκνον, κενὴν | ἐτερπόμην σου τέρψιν εὐλογουμένου | ὡς ζῶντος· ἡ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐν σκότῳ λαθοῦσά με | ἕσαιν᾿ Ἐρινὺς ἡδοναῖς ἐψευσμένον.

τί κρύψει;] 'Over what will he draw the veil?' i. e. He will not soften the shame of my birth, though it reflects on himself.

By a slight prolepsis the evil that is supposed to be predicated is made part of the subject. 'What evil will he not speak of me,-of the base-born issue of his spear?' i. e. Will he not call me so? Cp. Il. 8. 283 (of Telamon), ὅ σ᾽ ἔτρεφε τυτθὸν ἐόντα | καί σε νόθον περ ἐόντα κομίσσατο.

ἀνὴρ. βαρύς] ‘A passionate man, whom old age makes dangerous.' Telamon had always been irascible (this helps to account for the impetuosity of his son), and a bad temper is not improved by age. We may infer, too, from Teucer's fear of Telamon, that Ajax was the favourite son.

πρὸς οὐδὲν θυμούμενος] Either (1) connecting εἰς ἔριν with with θυμούμενος, ‘Angered into strife at nothing;' or (2) joining οὐδὲν εἰς ἔριν, ‘Angered at what is no cause of quarrel.' For (2), cp. Eur. Phoen. 598, κατα σὺν πολλοῖσιν ἦλθες πρὶς τὸν οὐδὲν ἐς μαχήν, where οὐδέν taken alone does not answer sufficiently to δειλὸν καὶ φιλόψυχον in the preceding line: Plat. Phil. 17 C, εἰς ταῦτα οὐδενὸς ἄξιος ἔσει.

λόγοισιν φανείς] 'Proclaimed,' i. e. by Telamon, who would declare Teucer to be the son of a slave-woman, and therefore ineligible for the succession.

Although there is some confusion in the MSS. here, the reading of this line is tolerably certain.

He resumes what he had said in l. 1005, and thus returns from himself to Ajax, and to the duties of the present hour.

πῶς. κνώδοντος] 'How shall I disengage thee from this cruel, gleaming blade?' The first notion of κνώδων (cp. κνώδαξ) seems to be 'a projecting point' or 'tooth.' Here the point of the sword, projecting through the body of Ajax, is clearly meant, as this alone could be seen. The mantle ( supr. 899, 915) has been removed at l. 1003. αἰόλου may mean 'discoloured,' as in Phil. 1157, ἐμᾶς σαρκὸς αἰόλας, or 'bright in part,' the sheen of the newly whetted blade remaining where not obscured by the blood.

φονέως] Teucer, like Ajax, supr. 815, personifies the weapon, which, as the gift of Hector, is imagined to be instinct with enmity. His mind is in sympathy with his brother's, and he falls into a similar train of reasoning.

Cp. Trach. 1162, 3, ὅδ᾽ οὖν ὁ θὴρ Κενταύρος, ὡς τὸ θεῖον ἦν | πρύφαντον, οὕτω ζῶντά μ' ἔκτεινεν θανών. ἀποφθίσειν has been changed to ἀποφθιεῖν, as the Attic form. But it must remain uncertain how far this was required by the tragic dialect.

This variation from the story of the Iliad is followed by Quintus Smyrnaeus, and was probably that adopted by the author of the Ilias minor. See Introduction, and cp. Eur. Andr. 399, σφαγὰς . . Ἕκτορος τροχηλάτους. The exchange of presents occurs in Il. 7. 303-5, ὡς ἄρα φωνήσας δῶκε ξίφος ἀργυρόηλον, | σὺν κολεῷ τε φέρων καὶ ἐϋτμήτῳ τελαμῶνι· | Αἴας δὲ ζωστῆρα δίδου φοίνικι φαεινόν.

πρισθείς] « Gallingly tied;' i. e, not only bound fast, but cut by the strained cords as he hung. Cp. El. 862, τμητοῖς ὁλκοῖς ἐγκῦρσαι.

ἐκνάπτετ'] 'His flesh was frayed,' upon the stones as he was dragged along. Cp. especially, Plat. Rep. B. 10. p. 616 Α, εἶλκον .. ἐπ᾿ ἀσπαλάθων κνάπτοντες. βίον is added for the sake of definiteness, as ἀποψύξαι alone may mean 'to swoon.'

πρὸς τοῦδ᾽] Sc. τοῦ κνώδοντος, supr. 1025. The masculine gender is resumed, after τήνδε δωρεάν, as more appropriate to the personification of the sword. πεσήματι, like πηδήματι, supr. 833, refers to the act of falling on the sword.

κἀκεῖνον] Sc. τὸν ζωστῆρα.

μὲν οὖν evades a direct answer to the preceding question. Any one is free to deny that this is the work of the Erinys and of Hades. As for Teucer, he will always refer every event to a Divine Power. And to what Powers but these can the present events be referred?

ἐκεῖνα] Sc. ἃ φίλα αὐτῷ τυγχάνει ὄντα. For this vague pronoun, cp. Eur. Alc. 867, 8, ζηλῶ φθιμένους, κείνων ἔραμαι, | κεῖν᾽ ἐπιθυμῶ δώματα ναίειν.

The Chorus, knowing the imminent danger, are impatient of general reflections. And seeing Menelaus coming, they urge Teucer to break off.

κακοῖς] Dative of cause. Cp. supr. 955 and note.

ἃ δή] = οἷα δή. Cp. Plat. Phaedr. 244 D, ἀλλὰ μὴν νόσων γε.., ἃ δὴ παλαιῶν ἐκ μηνιμάτων ποθὲν ἔν τισι τῶν γενῶν.

στρατοῦ] It must be one of the host, for no one else would venture so near to the Achaean lines.

ᾧ] 'For whose behalf.' For this dative of direct reference (Essay on L. § 12. p. 18), cp. especially O. C. 1673, ᾧ τινι τὸν πολὺν | .. πόνον ἔμπεδον εἴχομεν.

Menelaus is a familiar figure in the Trojan camp.

σὲ φωνῶ, κ.τ.λ.] φωνῶ is here used with the construction of ἐννέπω, O. T. 350, ἐννέπω σὲ . . ἐμμένειν.

συγκομίζειν] Το 'bring home'; a metaphor from the harvest-field, the dead body being 'like a shock of corn.' Or, to speak more accurately, the same general meaning of the word applies to both cases, without our necessarily supposing any conscious metaphor. Cp. Eur. H. F. 1422, ἀλλ᾽ ἐσκόμιζε τέκνα δυσκόμιστα γῇ.

τοσόνδ' is said ironically. 'Why hast thou wasted so many words—few as they were?'

δοκοῦντα (neut. pl.) is governed by εἶπον, understood from ἀνήλωσας λόγον. The participle gives the reason, i.e. διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν. 'The cause is in my will.' For the ellipse of the antecedent to ὅς, cp. especially Trach. 1233, τίς γάρ ποθ', ἥ μοι, κ.τ.λ.

Ajax. Lewis Campbell. ed. Lewis Campbell. Oxford. 1879.

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Αἴας μαστιγοφόρος First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Aiax. Lobeck Christian, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1866.) — 937-1160 focus

ΤΕΚΜΗΣΣΑ

Οἶδ’ οὖν γελώντων κἀπιχαιρόντων κακοῖς

τοῖς τοῦδ’· ἴσως τοι, κεἰ βλέποντα μὴ ’πόθουν,

θανόντ’ ἂν οἰμώξειαν ὲν χρείᾳ δορός.

οἱ γὰρ κακοὶ γνώμαισι τἀγαθὸν χεροῖν
940

965 ἔχοντες οὐκ ἴσασι, πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ.

ἐμοὶ πικρὸς τέθνηκεν ἢ κείνοις γλυκὺς,

αὑτῷ δὲ τερπνός· ὧν γὰρ ἠράσθη τυχεῖν,

ὲκτήσαθ’ αὑτῷ, θάνατον, ὅνπερ ἤθελεν.

πῶς δῆτα τοῦδ’ ἐπεγγελῷεν ἂν κάτα;
945

970 θεοῖς τέθνηκεν οὕτος, οὐ κείνοισιν, οὔ.

πρὸς ταῦτ’ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἐν κενοῖς ὑβριζέτω.

Αἴας γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐκέτ’ ἐστίν· ἀλλ’ ἐμοὶ

λιπὼν ἀνίας καὶ γόους ὅιοίχεται.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Ἰώ μοί μοι.
950

ΧΟΡΟΣ

975 Σίγησον· αὐδὴν γὰρ δοκῶ Τεύκρου κλύειν

βοῶντος ἄτης τῆςδ’ ἐπίσκοπον μέλος.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Ὢ φίλτατ’ Αἴας, ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμ’ ἐμοὶ,

ἆρ’ ἠμπόληκας, ὥςπερ ἡ φάτις κρατεῖ;

ΧΟΡΟΣ

ὄλωλεν ἁνὴρ, Τεῦκρε, τοῦτ’ ὲπἐστασο.
955

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

980 ὤ μοι βαρείας ἆρα τῆς ἐμῆς τύχης.

ΧΟΡΟΣ

Ὡς ὧδ’ ἐχόντων —

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

ὦ τάλας ἐγὼ, τάλας.

ΧΟΡΟΣ

Πάρα στενάζειν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος !

ΧΟΡΟΣ

Ἄγαν γε, Τεῦκρε.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

φεῦ τάλας! τί γὰρ τέκνον

τὸ τοῦδε, ποῦ μοι γῆς κυρεῖ τῆς Τρῳάδος;
960

ΧΟΡΟΣ

985 Μόνος παρὰ σκηναῖσιν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

οὐχ ὅσον τάχος

δῆτ’ αὐτὸν ἄξεις δεῦρο, μήτις ὡς κενῆς

σκύμνον λεαίνης δυςμενῶν ἀναρπάσῃ;

ἴθ’, ἐγκόνει, ξύγκαμνε· τοῖς θανοῦσί τοι

φιλοῦσι πάντες κειμένοις ὲπεγγελἧν.
965

ΧΟΡΟΣ

990 Καὶ μὴν ἔτι ζῶν, Τεῦκρε, τοῦδέ σοι μέλειν

ὲφιεθ’ ‘ἀνὴρ κεῖνος, ὥςπερ οὖν μέλει.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

ὦ τῶν ἁπάντων δὴ θεαμάτων ἐμοὶ

ἄλγιστον, ὧν προςεῖδον ὀφθαλμοῖς ὲγώ·

ὁδός θ’ ὁδῶν πασῶν ἀνιάσασα δὴ
970

995 μάλιστα τοὐμὸν σπλάγχνον, ἢν δὴ νῦν ἔβην,

ὦ φίλτατ’ Αἴας, τὸν σὸν ὡς ἐπῃσθόμην

μόρον, διώκων κᾀξιχνοσκοπούμενος.

ὀξεῖα γάρ σου βάξις, ὡς θεοῦ τινος,

διῆλθ’ Ἀχαιοὺς πάντας, ὡς οἴχει θανὼν,
975

1000 ‘ἀγὼ κλύων δείλαιος, ὲκποδὼν μὲν ὢν,

ὑπεστέναζον, νῦν δ’ ὁρῶν, ἀπόλλυμαι.

οἴ μοι.

ἴθ’, ἐκκάλυψον, ὡς ἴδω τὸ πᾶν κακόν.

ὦ δυςθέατον ὄμμα καὶ τόλμης πικρὰς,
980

1005 ὅσας ἀνίας μοι κατασπείρας φθίνεις.

ποῖ γὰρ μολεῖν μοι δυνατὸν, ἐς ποίους βροτοὺς,

τοῖς σοῖς ἀρήξαντ’ ὲν πόνοισι μηδαμοῦ;

ἦ πού με Τελαμὼν, σὸς πατὴρ ἐμός θ’ ἄμα,

δἐξαιτ’ ἂν εὐπρόςωπος, ἵλεως τ’ ἴσως,
985

1010 χωροῦντ’ ἄνευ σοῦ; πῶς γὰρ οὔχ; ὅτῳ πάρα

μηδ’ εὐτυχοῦντι μηδὲν ἥδιον γελᾷν.

οὗτος τί κρύψει; ποῖον οὐκ ὲρεῖ κακόν;

τὸν ἐκ δορὸς γεγῶτα πολεμίου νόθον,

τὸν δειλίᾳ προδόντα καὶ κακανδρίᾳ
990

1015 σὲ, φίλτατ’ Αἴας, ἢ δόλοισιν, ὡς τὰ σὰ

κράτη θανόντος καὶ δόμους νέμοιμι σοὺς.

τοιαῦτ’ ἀνὴρ δύςοργος, ὲν γήρᾳ βαρὺς,

ἔρει πρὸς οὐδὲν εἰς ἔριν θυμούμενος.

τέλος δ’ ἀπωστὸς γῆς ἀποῤῥιφθήσομαι,
995

1020 δοῦλος λόγοισιν ἀντ’ ἐλευθέρου φανεὶς.

τοιαῦτα μὲν κατ’ οἶκον· ὲν Τροίᾳ δ’ ἐμοὶ

πολλοὶ μὲν ἐχθροὶ, παῦρα δ’ ὠφελήσιμα.

καὶ ταῦτα πάντα σοῦ θανόντος εὑρόμην.

οἴ μοι, τί δράσω; πῶς σ’ ἀποσπάσω πικροῦ
1000

1025 τοῦδ’ αἰόλου κνώδοντος; ὦ τάλας, ὑφ’ οὖ

φονέως ἄρ’ ἐξέπνευσας· εἶδες, ὡς χρόνῳ

ἔμελλέ σ’ Ἕκτωρ, καὶ θανὼν, ἀποφθίσειν;

σκέψασθε, πρὸς θεῶν, τὴν τύχην δυοῖν βροτοῖν.

Ἕκτωρ μὲν, ᾧ δὴ τοῦδ’ ἐδωρήθη πάρα,
1005

1030 ζωστῆρι πρισθεὶς ἱππικῶν ἐξ ἀντύγων

ὲγνάπτετ’ αἰὲν, ἔς τ’ ἀπέψυξεν βίον.

οὗτος δ’ ἐκείνου τήνδε δωρεὰν ἔχων

πρὸς τοῦδ’ ὄλωλε θανασίμῳ πεσήματι.

ἆρ’ οὐκ Ἐριννὺς τοῦτ’ ἐχάλκευσε ξίφος,
1010

1035 κἀκεῖνον Ἀιδὴς, δημιουργὸς ἄγριος,

ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν καὶ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ πάντ’ ἀεὶ

φάσκοιμ’ ἂν ἀνθρώποισι μηχανὴν θεούς·

ὅτῳ δὲ μὴ τάδ’ ἐστὶν ὲν γνώμῃ φίλα,

κεῖνος τὰ κείνου στεργέτω, κἀγὼ τάδε.
1015

ΧΟΡΟΣ

1040 μὴ τεῖνε μακρὰν, ἀλλ’ ὅπως κρύψεις τάφῳ

φράζου τὸν ἄνδρα, χὤ τι μυθήσει τάχα.

βλέπω γὰρ ἐχθρὸν φῶτα, καὶ τάχ’ ἂν κακοῖς

γελῶν ἂ δὴ κακοῦργος ὲξίκοιτ’ ἀνήρ.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Τίς δ’ ἔστιν, ὅντιν’ ἄνδρα προςλεύσσεις στρατοῦ;
1020

ΧΟΡΟΣ

1045 Μενέλαος, ᾦ δὴ τόνδε πλοῦν ἐστείλαμεν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Ορῶ· μαθεῖν γὰρ, ἐγγὺς ὢν, οὐ δυςπετής.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ· τόνδε τὸν νεκρὸν χεροῖν

μὴ ξυγκομίζειν, ἀλλ’ ἐᾷν, ὅπως ἔχει.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Τινος χάριν τοσόνδ’ ἀνάλωσας λόγον;
1025

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

1050 Δοκοῦντ’ ἐμοὶ, δοκοῦντα δ’, ὅς κραίνει στρατου.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Οὔκουν ἂν εἴποις, ἥντιν’ αἰτίαν προθείς;

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Ὁθούνεκ’ αὐτὸν ἐλπίσαντες οἴκοθεν

ἄξειν Ἀχαιοῖς ξύμμαχόν τε καὶ φίλον,

ἐξεύρομεν ζητοῦντες ἐχθίω Φρυγῶν.
1030

1055 ὅστις στρατῷ ξύμπαντι βουλεύσας φόνον,

νύκτωρ ἐπεστράτευσεν, ὡς ἕλοι δορί.

κεἰ μὴ θεῶν τις τήνδε πεῖραν ἔσβεσεν,

ἡμεῖς μὲν ἂν τήνδ’, ἢν ὁδ’ εἴληχεν, τύχην,

θανόντες ἂν προὐκείμεθ’ αἰσχίστῳ μόρῳ·
1035

1060 οὗτος δ’ ἂν ἔζη· νῦν ὅ’ ἐνήλλαξεν θεὸς,

τὴν τοῦδ’ ὕβριν πρὸς μῆλα καὶ ποίμνας πεσεῖν.

ὧν οὕνεκ’ αὐτὸν οὔ τις ἔστ’ ἀνὴρ σθένων

τοσοῦτον, ὥστε σῶμα τυμβεῦσαι τάφῳ,

ἀλλ’ ἀμφὶ χλωρὰν ψάμαθον ἐκβεβλημένος
1040

1065 ὄρνισι φορβὴ παραλίοις γενήσεται.

πρὸς ταῦτα μηδὲν δεινὸν ὲξάρῃς μένος.

εἰ γὰρ βλέποντος μὴ ’δυνήθημεν κρατεῖν,

πάντως θανόντος γ’ ἄρξομεν, κἂν μὴ θέλῃς,

χερσὶν παρευθύνοντες, οὐ γὰρ ἔσθ’ ὅπου
1045

1070 λόγων ἀκοῦσαι ζῶν ποτ’ ἠθέλησ’ ἐμῶν.

καίτοι κακοῦ πρὸς ἀνδρὸς, ἄνδρα δημότην

μηδὲν δικαιοῦν τῶν ἐφεστώτων κλύειν.

οὐ γάρ ποτ’ οὔτ’ ἂν ὲν πόλει νόμοι καλῶς

φέροιντ’ ἂν ἔνθα μὴ καθεστήκῃ δέος·
1050

1075 οὔτ’ ἂν στρατός γε σωφρόνως ἄρχοιτ’ ἔτι,

μηδέν φόβου πρόβλημα μηδ’ αἰδοῦς ἔχων.

ἀλλ’ ἄνδρα χρὴ, κἂν σῶμα γεννήσῃ μέγα,

δοκεῖν πεσεῖν ἂν, κἂν ἀπὸ σμικροῦ κακοῦ.

δέος γὰρ ᾦ πρόςεστιν αἰσχύνη θ’ ὁμοῦ,
1055

1080 σωτηρίαν ἔχοντα τόνδ’ ἐπίστασο.

ὅπου δ’ ὑβρίζειν, δρᾷν θ’ ἁ βούλεται, πάρα,

ταύτην νόμιζε τὴν πόλιν χρόνῳ ποτὲ

ἐξ οὐρίων δραμοῦσαν εἰς βυθὸν πεσεῖν.

ἀλλ’ ἑστάτω μοι καὶ δέος τι καίριον,
1060

1085 καὶ μὴ δοκῶμεν, δρῶντες ἂν ἡδώμεθα

οὐκ ἀντιτίσειν αὖθις, ‘ἂν λυπώμεθα.

ἕρπει παραλλὰξ ταῦτα· πρόσθεν οὗτος ἦν

αἴθων ὑβριστής· νὺν δ’ ἐγὼ μἐγ αὖ φρονῶ,

καὶ σοὶ προφωνῶ τόνδε μὴ θάπτειν, ὅπως
1065

1090 μὴ τόνδε θάπτων αὐτὸς εἰς ταφὰς πέσῃς.

ΧΟΡΟΣ

Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς,

εἶτ’ αὐτὸς ὲν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

οὐκ ἄν ποτ’, ἄνδρες, ἄνδρα θαυμάσαιμ’ ἔτι,

ὅς μηδὲν ὢν γοναῖσιν εἶθ’ ἁμαρτάνει,
1070

1095 ὅθ’ οἱ δοκοῦντες εὐγενεῖς πεφυκέναι,

τοιαῦθ’ ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἐν λόγοις ἔπη.

ἄγ’ εἴπ’ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς αὖθις, ἦ σὺ φῄς ἄγειν

τὸν ἄνδρ’ Ἀχαιοῖς δεῦρο σύμμαχον λαβών;

οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐξέπλευσεν, ὡς αὑτοῦ κρατῶν;
1075

1100 ποῦ σὺ στρατηγεῖς τοῦδε; ποῦ δὲ σοὶ λεῶν

ἔξεστ’ ἀνάσσειν, ὧν ὅδ’ ἡγεῖτ’ οἴκοθεν;

Σπάρτης ἀνάσσων ἦλθες, οὐχ ἡμῶν κρατῶν.

οὐδ’ ἔσθ’ ὅπου σοὶ τόνδε κοσμῆσαι πλέον

ἀρχῆς ἔκειτο θεσμὸς, ἢ καὶ τῷδε σέ.
1080

1105 ὕπαρχος ἄλλων δεῦρ’ ἔπλευσας, οὐχ ὅλων

στρατηγὸς, ὥςτ’ Αἴαντος ἡγεῖσθαί ποτε.

ἀλλ’ ὧνπερ ἄρχεις ἄρχε, καὶ τὰ σἐμν’ ἔπη

κόλαζ’ ἐκείνους· τόνδε δ’ εἴτε μὴ σὺ φῄς,

εἴθ’ ἅτερος στρατηγὸς εἰς ταφὰς ἐγὼ
1085

1110 θήσω δικαίως, οὐ τὸ σὸν δείσας στόμα.

οὐ γάρ τι τῆς σῆς οὕνεκ’ ἐστρατεύσατο

γυναικὸς, ὥςπερ οἱ πόνου πολλοῦ πλέῳ·

ἀλλ’ οὕνεχ’ ὅρκων, οἶσιν ἦν ἐνώμοτος,

σοῦ δ’ οὐδέν· οὐ γὰρ ἠξίου τοὺς μηδένας.
1090

1115 πρὸς ταῦτα πλείοις δεῦρο κήρυκας λαβὼν

καὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν ἧκε· τοῦ δὲ σοῦ ψόφου

οὐκ ἂν στραφείην, ἔς τ’ ἂν ᾖς, οἷός περ εἶ,

ΧΟΡΟΣ

Οὐδ’ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ὲν κακοῖς φιλῶ.

τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικ’ ᾖ, δάκνει.
1095

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

1120 ὁ τοξότης ἔοικεν οὐ σμικρὸν φρονεῖν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Οὐ γὰρ βάναυσον τὴν τέγνην ἐκτησάμην.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Μέγ’ ἄν τι κομπάσειας, ἀσπίδ’ εἰ λάβοις.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Κἂν ψιλὸς ἀρκέσαιμι σοί γ’ ὡπλισμένῳ.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Η γλῶσσά σου τὸν θυμὸν ὡς δεινὸν τρέφει.
1100

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

1125 Ξὺν τῷ δικαίῳ γὰρ μέγ’ ἔξεστιν φρονεῖν.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Δίκαια γὰρ τόνδ’ εὐτυχεῖν, κτείναντά με;

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Κτείναντα; δεινόν γ’ εἶπας, εἰ καὶ ζῆς θανών.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Θεὸς γὰρ ἐκσώζει με, τῷδε δ’ οἴχομαι.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

μὴ νυν ἀτίμα θεοὺς, θεοῖς σεσωσμένος.
1105

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

1130 ἑγὼ γὰρ ἂν ψέξαιμι δαιμόνων νόμους;

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

εἰ τοὺς θανόντας οὐκ ἐᾷς θάπτειν παρών.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Τούς γ’ αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ πολεμίους· οὐ γὰρ καλόν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

ᾖ σοὶ γὰρ Αἴας πολέμιος προὔστη ποτέ;

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Μισοῦντ’ ἐμίσει· καὶ σὺ τοῦτ’ ἠπίστασο.
1110

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Κλέπτης γὰρ αὐτοῦ ψηφοποιὸς εὑρέθης. UBS

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

ἐν τοῖς δικασταῖς, κοὐκ ἐμοὶ, τόδ’ ἐσφάλη.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Πόλλ’ ἂν κακῶς λάθρα σὺ κλέψειας κακά.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Τοῦτ’ εἰς ἀνίαν τοὖπος ἔρχεται τινί.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Οὐ μᾶλλον, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἢ λυπήσομεν.
1115

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

1140 ἕv σοι φράσω· τόνδ’ ἐστὶν οὐχὶ θαπτέον.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Σὺ δ’ ἀντακούσει τοῦτον, ὡς τεθάψεται.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Ἤδη ποτ’ εἶδον ἄνδρ ἐγὼ γλώσσῃ θρασὺν,

ναύτας ἐφορμήσαντα χειμῶνος τὸ πλεῖν,

ᾦ φθέγμ’ ἂν οὐκ ἂν εὗρες, ὴνίκ’ ἐκ κακῷ
1120

1145 χειμῶνος εἴχετ’, ἀλλ’ ὑφ’ εἵματος κρυφεὶς,

πατεῖν παρεῖχε τῷ θέλοντι ναυτίλων.

οὕτω δὲ καὶ σὲ καὶ τὸ σὸν λάβρον στόμα,

σμικροῦ νέφους τάχ’ ἄν τις ἐκπνεύοας μέγας

χειμὼν κατασβέσειε τὴν πολλὴν βοήν.
1125

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

1150 ἐγὼ δέ γ’ ἄνδρ’ ὄπωπα μωρίας πλέων,

ὅς ὲν κακοῖς ὕβριζε τοῖσι τῶν πέλας.

κἆτ’ αὐτὸν εἰσιδών τις ἐμφερὴς ἐμοὶ,

ὀργήν θ’ ὁμοῖος, εἶπε τοιοῦτον λόγον·

Ἄνθρωπε, μὴ δρᾶ τοὺς τεθνηκότας κακῶς·
1130

1155 εἰ γὰρ ποιήσεις, ἴσθι πημανούμενος.

τοιαῦτ’ ἄνολβον ἄνδρ’ ἐνουθέτει παρών.

ὁρῶ δέ τοί νιν, κἄστιν, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ,

οὐδείς ποτ’ ἄλλος ἢ σύ· μῶν ᾐνιξάμην;

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Ἄπειμι· καὶ γὰρ αἰσχρὸν, εἰ πύθοιτό τις,
1135

1160 λόγοις κολάζειν, ᾧ βιάζεσθαι πάρα.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Ἄφερπέ νυν · κἀμοὶ γὰρ αἴσχιστον κλύειν

ἀνδρὸς ματαίου, φλαῦρ’ ἔπη μυθουμένου.

ΧΟΡΟΣ

ἔσται μεγάλης ἔριδός τις ἀγών.

ἀλλ’, ὡς δύνασαι, Τεῦκρε, ταχύνας
1140

1165 σπεῦσον κοίλην κάπετόν τιν’ ἰδεῖν

τῷδ’, ἔνθα βροτοῖς τὸν ἀείμνηστον

τάφον εὐρώεντα καθέξει.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Καὶ μὴν ἐς αὐτὸν καιρὸν οἵδε πλησίον

πάρεισιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε παῖς τε καὶ γυνὴ,
1145

1170 τάφον περιστελοῦντε δυστήνου νεκροῦ,

ὦ παῖ, πρόςελθε δεῦρο καὶ σταθεὶς Πέλας

ἱκέτης ἔφαψαι πατρὸς ὅς σ’ ἐγείνατο.

θάκει δὲ προςτρόπαιος ὲν χεροῖν ἔχων

κόμας ἐμὰς καὶ τἧςὅε καὶ σαυτοῦ τρίτου,
1150

1175 ἱκτήριον θησαυρόν· εἰ δέ τις στρατοῦ

βίᾳ σ’ ἀποσπάσειε τοῦδε τοῦ νεκροῦ.

κακὸς κακῶς ἄθαπτος ἐκπέσοι χθονὸς

γένους ἅπαντος ῥίζαν ἐξημημένος,

αὕτως ὅπωςπερ τόνδ’ ἐγὼ τέμνω πλόκον.
1155

1180 ἔχ’ αὐτὸν, ὦ παῖ, καὶ φίλασσε, μηδέ σε

κινησάτω τις, ἀλλὰ προςπεσὼν ἔχου.

ὑμεῖς τε μὴ γυναῖκες ἀντ’ ἀνδρῶν πέλας

παρἐστατ’, ἀλλ’ ἀρήγετ’, ἔς τ’ ἐγὼ μόλω

τάφου μεληθεὶς τῷδε, κἂν μηδεὶς ἐᾷ.
1160

Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 961-1184 focus

Τέκμησσα

οἳ δʼ οὖν γελώντων κἀπιχαιρόντων κακοῖς

τοῖς τοῦδʼ. ἴσως τοι, κεἰ βλέποντα μὴ ʼπόθουν,

θανόντʼ ἂν οἰμώξειαν ἐν χρείᾳ δορός.

οἱ γὰρ κακοὶ γνώμαισι τἀγαθὸν χεροῖν

¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹

ἔχοντες οὐκ ἴσασι, πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ.
965

ἐμοὶ πικρὸς τέθνηκεν ᾗ κείνοις γλυκύς,

αὑτῷ δὲ τερπνός. ὧν γὰρ ἠράσθη τυχεῖν

ἐκτήσαθʼ αὑτῷ, θάνατον ὅνπερ ἤθελεν.

τί δῆτα τοῦδʼ ἐπεγγελῷεν ἂν κάτα;

θεοῖς τέθνηκεν οὗτος, οὐ κείνοισιν, οὔ.
970

πρὸς ταῦτʼ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἐν κενοῖς ὑβριζέτω.

Αἴας γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐκέτʼ ἐστίν, ἀλλʼ ἐμοὶ

λιπὼν ἀνίας καὶ γόους διοίχεται.

Τεῦκρος

ἰώ μοί μοι.

Χορός

σίγησον· αὐδὴν γὰρ δοκῶ Τεύκρου κλύειν
975

βοῶντος ἄτης τῆσδʼ ἐπίσκοπον μέλος.

Τεῦκρος

ὦ φίλτατʼ Αἴας, ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμʼ ἐμοί,

ἆρʼ ἠμπόληκας ὥσπερ ἡ φάτις κρατεῖ;

Χορός

ὄλωλεν ἁνήρ, Τεῦκρε, τοῦτʼ ἐπίστασο.

Τεῦκρος

ὤμοι βαρείας ἆρα τῆς ἐμῆς τύχης.
980

Χορός

ὡς ὧδʼ ἐχόντων

Τεῦκρος

ὦ τάλας ἐγώ, τάλας.

Χορός

πάρα στενάζειν.

Τεῦκρος

ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος.

Χορός

ἄγαν γε, Τεῦκρε.

Τεῦκρος

φεῦ τάλας· τί γὰρ τέκνον

τὸ τοῦδε, ποῦ μοι γῆς κυρεῖ τῆς Τρῳάδος;

Χορός

μόνος παρὰ σκηναῖσιν.
985

Τεῦκρος

οὐχ ὅσον τάχος

δῆτʼ αὐτὸν ἄξεις δεῦρο, μή τις ὡς κενῆς

σκύμνον λεαίνης δυσμενῶν ἀναρπάσῃ;

ἴθʼ, ἐγκόνει, σύγκαμνε. τοῖς θανοῦσί τοι

φιλοῦσι πάντες κειμένοις ἐπεγγελᾶν.

Χορός

καὶ μὴν ἔτι ζῶν, Τεῦκρε, τοῦδέ σοι μέλειν
990

ἐφίεθʼ ἁνὴρ κεῖνος, ὥσπερ οὖν μέλει.

¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹²⁰

Τεῦκρος

ὦ τῶν ἁπάντων δὴ θεαμάτων ἐμοὶ

ἄλγιστον ὧν προσεῖδον ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐγώ,

ὁδός θʼ ὁδῶν πασῶν ἀνιάσασα δὴ

μάλιστα τοὐμὸν σπλάγχνον, ἣν δὴ νῦν ἔβην,
995

ὦ φίλτατʼ Αἴας, τὸν σὸν ὡς ἐπῃσθόμην

μόρον διώκων κἀξιχνοσκοπούμενος.

ὀξεῖα γάρ σου βάξις ὡς θεοῦ τινος

διῆλθʼ Ἀχαιοὺς πάντας ὡς οἴχῃ θανών.

ἁγὼ κλύων δύστηνος ἐκποδὼν μὲν ὢν
1000

ὑπεστέναζον, νῦν δʼ ὁρῶν ἀπόλλυμαι.

οἴμοι.

ἴθʼ, ἐκκάλυψον, ὡς ἴδω τὸ πᾶν κακόν.

δυσθέατον ὄμμα καὶ τόλμης πικρᾶς,

ὅσας ἀνίας μοι κατασπείρας φθίνεις.
1005

ποῖ γὰρ μολεῖν μοι δυνατόν, ἐς ποίους βροτούς,

τοῖς σοῖς ἀρήξαντʼ ἐν πόνοισι μηδαμοῦ;

ἦ πού με Τελαμών, σὸς πατὴρ ἐμός θʼ ἅμα,

δέξαιτʼ ἂν εὐπρόσωπος ἵλεώς τʼ ἴσως

χωροῦντʼ ἄνευ σοῦ. πῶς γὰρ οὔχ; ὅτῳ πάρα
1010

μηδʼ εὐτυχοῦντι μηδὲν ἥδιον γελᾶν.

οὗτος τί κρύψει; ποῖον οὐκ ἐρεῖ κακόν,

τὸν ἐκ δορὸς γεγῶτα πολεμίου νόθον,

τὸν δειλίᾳ προδόντα καὶ κακανδρίᾳ

σέ, φίλτατʼ Αἴας, ἢ δόλοισιν, ὡς τὰ σὰ
1015

κράτη θανόντος καὶ δόμους νέμοιμι σούς.

τοιαῦτʼ ἀνὴρ δύσοργος, ἐν γήρᾳ βαρύς

ἐρεῖ, πρὸς οὐδὲν εἰς ἔριν θυμούμενος.

²¹²²²³²⁴²⁵²⁶²⁷²⁸²⁹³⁰³¹³²³³³⁴

τέλος δʼ ἀπωστὸς γῆς ἀπορριφθήσομαι,

δοῦλος λόγοισιν ἀντʼ ἐλευθέρου φανείς.
1020

τοιαῦτα μὲν κατʼ οἶκον· ἐν Τροίᾳ δέ μοι

πολλοὶ μὲν ἐχθροί, παῦρα δʼ ὠφελήσιμα.

καὶ ταῦτα πάντα σοῦ θανόντος ηὑρόμην.

οἴμοι, τί δράσω; πῶς σʼ ἀποσπάσω πικροῦ

τοῦδʼ αἰόλου κνώδοντος, ὦ τάλας, ὑφʼ οὗ
1025

φονέως ἄρʼ ἐξέπνευσας; εἶδες ὡς χρόνῳ

ἔμελλέ σʼ Ἕκτωρ καὶ θανὼν ἀποφθίσαι;

σκέψασθε, πρὸς θεῶν, τὴν τύχην δυοῖν βροτοῖν.

Ἕκτωρ μέν, ᾧ δὴ τοῦδʼ ἐδωρήθη πάρα

ζωστῆρι πρισθεὶς ἱππικῶν ἐξ ἀντύγων
1030

ἐκνάπτετʼ αἰέν, ἔστʼ ἀπέψυξεν βίον·

οὗτος δʼ ἐκείνου τήνδε δωρειὰν ἔχων

πρὸς τοῦδʼ ὄλωλε θανασίμῳ πεσήματι.

ἆρʼ οὐκ Ἐρινὺς τοῦτʼ ἐχάλκευσε ξίφος

κἀκεῖνον Ἅιδης, δημιουργὸς ἄγριος;
1035

ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν καὶ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ πάντʼ ἀεὶ

φάσκοιμʼ ἂν ἀνθρώποισι μηχανᾶν θεούς·

ὅτῳ δὲ μὴ τάδʼ ἐστὶν ἐν γνώμῃ φίλα,

κεῖνός τʼ ἐκεῖνα στεργέτω κἀγὼ τάδε.

Χορός

μὴ τεῖνε μακράν, ἀλλʼ ὅπως κρύψεις τάφῳ
1040

φράζου τὸν ἄνδρα, χὥ τι μυθήσῃ τάχα.

βλέπω γὰρ ἐχθρὸν φῶτα, καὶ τάχʼ ἂν κακοῖς

³⁵³⁶³⁷³⁸³⁹⁴⁰⁴¹⁴²⁴³⁴⁴⁴⁵⁴⁶⁴⁷⁴⁸⁴⁹⁵⁰⁵¹⁵²

γελῶν ἃ δὴ κακοῦργος ἐξίκοιτʼ ἀνήρ.

Τεῦκρος

τίς δʼ ἐστὶν ὅντινʼ ἄνδρα προσλεύσσεις στρατοῦ;

Χορός

Μενέλαος, ᾧ δὴ τόνδε πλοῦν ἐστείλαμεν.
1045

Τεῦκρος

ὁρῶ· μαθεῖν γὰρ ἐγγὺς ὢν οὐ δυσπετής.

Μενέλαος

οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ τόνδε τὸν νεκρὸν χεροῖν

μὴ συγκομίζειν, ἀλλʼ ἐᾶν ὅπως ἔχει.

Τεῦκρος

τίνος χάριν τοσόνδʼ ἀνήλωσας λόγον;

Μενέλαος

δοκοῦντʼ ἐμοί, δοκοῦντα δʼ ὃς κραίνει στρατοῦ.
1050

Τεῦκρος

οὔκουν ἂν εἴποις ἥντινʼ αἰτίαν προθείς;

Μενέλαος

ὁθούνεκʼ αὐτὸν ἐλπίσαντες οἴκοθεν

ἄγειν Ἀχαιοῖς ξύμμαχόν τε καὶ φίλον,

ἐξηύρομεν ζητοῦντες ἐχθίω Φρυγῶν·

ὅστις στρατῷ ξύμπαντι βουλεύσας φόνον
1055

νύκτωρ ἐπεστράτευσεν, ὡς ἕλοι δορί·

κεἰ μὴ θεῶν τις τήνδε πεῖραν ἔσβεσεν,

ἡμεῖς μὲν ἂν τήνδʼ ἣν ὅδʼ εἴληχεν τύχην

θανόντες ἂν προυκείμεθʼ αἰσχίστῳ μόρῳ,

οὗτος δʼ ἂν ἔζη. νῦν δʼ ἐνήλλαξεν θεὸς
1060

τὴν τοῦδʼ ὕβριν πρὸς μῆλα καὶ ποίμνας πεσεῖν.

ὧν οὕνεκʼ αὐτὸν οὔτις ἔστʼ ἀνὴρ σθένων

τοσοῦτον ὥστε σῶμα τυμβεῦσαι τάφῳ,

ἀλλʼ ἀμφὶ χλωρὰν ψάμαθον ἐκβεβλημένος

ὄρνισι φορβὴ παραλίοις γενήσεται.
1065

πρὸς ταῦτα μηδὲν δεινὸν ἐξάρῃς μένος.

εἰ γὰρ βλέποντος μὴ ʼδυνήθημεν κρατεῖν,

πάντως θανόντος γʼ ἄρξομεν, κἂν μὴ θέλῃς,

⁵³⁵⁴⁵⁵⁵⁶⁵⁷⁵⁸⁵⁹⁶⁰⁶¹⁶²⁶³⁶⁴

χερσὶν παρευθύνοντες. οὐ γὰρ ἔσθʼ ὅπου

λόγων ἀκοῦσαι ζῶν ποτʼ ἠθέλησʼ ἐμῶν.
1070

καίτοι κακοῦ πρὸς ἀνδρὸς ἄνδρα δημότην

μηδὲν δικαιοῦν τῶν ἐφεστώτων κλύειν.

οὐ γάρ ποτʼ οὔτʼ ἂν ἐν πόλει νόμοι καλῶς

φέροιντʼ ἄν, ἔνθα μὴ καθεστήκῃ δέος,

οὔτʼ ἂν στρατός γε σωφρόνως ἄρχοιτʼ ἔτι,
1075

μηδὲν φόβου πρόβλημα μηδʼ αἰδοῦς ἔχων.

ἀλλʼ ἄνδρα χρή, κἂν σῶμα γεννήσῃ μέγα,

δοκεῖν πεσεῖν ἂν κἂν ἀπὸ σμικροῦ κακοῦ.

δέος γὰρ ᾧ πρόσεστιν αἰσχύνη θʼ ὁμοῦ,

σωτηρίαν ἔχοντα τόνδʼ ἐπίστασο·
1080

ὅπου δʼ ὑβρίζειν δρᾶν θʼ ἃ βούλεται παρῇ,

ταύτην νόμιζε τὴν πόλιν χρόνῳ ποτὲ

ἐξ οὐρίων δραμοῦσαν ἐς βυθὸν πεσεῖν.

ἀλλʼ ἑστάτω μοι καὶ δέος τι καίριον,

καὶ μὴ δοκῶμεν δρῶντες ἃν ἡδώμεθα
1085

οὐκ ἀντιτείσειν αὖθις ἃν λυπώμεθα.

ἕρπει παραλλὰξ ταῦτα. πρόσθεν οὗτος ἦν

αἴθων ὑβριστής, νῦν δʼ ἐγὼ μέγʼ αὖ φρονῶ.

καί σοι προφωνῶ τόνδε μὴ θάπτειν, ὅπως

μὴ τόνδε θάπτων αὐτὸς ἐς ταφὰς πέσῃς.
1090

Χορός

Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς

εἶτʼ αὐτὸς ἐν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

Τεῦκρος

οὐκ ἄν ποτʼ, ἄνδρες, ἄνδρα θαυμάσαιμʼ ἔτι,

ὃς μηδὲν ὢν γοναῖσιν εἶθʼ ἁμαρτάνει,

ὅθʼ οἱ δοκοῦντες εὐγενεῖς πεφυκέναι
1095
⁶⁵⁶⁶⁶⁷⁶⁸⁶⁹⁷⁰⁷¹⁷²⁷³⁷⁴⁷⁵⁷⁶⁷⁷

τοιαῦθʼ ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἐν λόγοις ἔπη.

ἄγʼ, εἴπʼ ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς αὖθις, ἦ σὺ φὴς ἄγειν

τόνδʼ ἄνδρʼ Ἀχαιοῖς δεῦρο σύμμαχον λαβών;

οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐξέπλευσεν ὡς αὑτοῦ κρατῶν;

ποῦ σὺ στρατηγεῖς τοῦδε; ποῦ δὲ σοὶ λεὼν
1100

ἔξεστʼ ἀνάσσειν ὧν ὅδʼ ἡγεῖτʼ οἴκοθεν;

Σπάρτης ἀνάσσων ἦλθες, οὐχ ἡμῶν κρατῶν·

οὐδʼ ἔσθʼ ὅπου σοὶ τόνδε κοσμῆσαι πλέον

ἀρχῆς ἔκειτο θεσμὸς ἢ καὶ τῷδε σέ.

ὕπαρχος ἄλλων δεῦρʼ ἔπλευσας, οὐχ ὅλων
1105

στρατηγός, ὥστʼ Αἴαντος ἡγεῖσθαί ποτε.

ἀλλʼ ὧνπερ ἄρχεις ἄρχε, καὶ τὰ σέμνʼ ἔπη

κόλαζʼ ἐκείνους· τόνδε δʼ, εἴτε μὴ σὺ φὴς

εἴθʼ ἅτερος στρατηγός, ἐς ταφὰς ἐγὼ

θήσω δικαίως, οὐ τὸ σὸν δείσας στόμα.
1110

οὐ γάρ τι τῆς σῆς οὕνεκʼ ἐστρατεύσατο

γυναικός, ὥσπερ οἱ πόνου πολλοῦ πλέῳ,

ἀλλʼ οὕνεχʼ ὅρκων οἷσιν ἦν ἐνώμοτος,

σοῦ δʼ οὐδέν· οὐ γὰρ ἠξίου τοὺς μηδένας.

πρὸς ταῦτα πλείους δεῦρο κήρυκας λαβὼν
1115

καὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν ἧκε· τοῦ δὲ σοῦ ψόφου

οὐκ ἂν στραφείην, ἕως ἂν ᾖς οἷός περ εἶ.

Χορός

οὐδʼ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ἐν κακοῖς φιλῶ·

τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικʼ ᾖ, δάκνει.

Μενέλαος

ὁ τοξότης ἔοικεν οὐ σμικρὸν φρονεῖν.
1120

Τεῦκρος

οὐ γὰρ βάναυσον τὴν τέχνην ἐκτησάμην.

Μενέλαος

μέγʼ ἄν τι κομπάσειας, ἀσπίδʼ εἰ λάβοις.

⁷⁸⁷⁹⁸⁰⁸¹⁸²⁸³⁸⁴⁸⁵⁸⁶⁸⁷⁸⁸

Τεῦκρος

κἂν ψιλὸς ἀρκέσαιμι σοί γʼ ὡπλισμένῳ.

Μενέλαος

ἡ γλῶσσά σου τὸν θυμὸν ὡς δεινὸν τρέφει.

Τεῦκρος

ξὺν τῷ δικαίῳ γὰρ μέγʼ ἔξεστιν φρονεῖν.
1125

Μενέλαος

δίκαια γὰρ τόνδʼ εὐτυχεῖν κτείναντά με;

Τεῦκρος

κτείναντα; δεινόν γʼ εἶπας, εἰ καὶ ζῇς θανών.

Μενέλαος

θεὸς γὰρ ἐκσῴζει με, τῷδε δʼ οἴχομαι.

Τεῦκρος

μή νυν ἀτίμα θεούς, θεοῖς σεσωμένος.

Μενέλαος

ἐγὼ γὰρ ἂν ψέξαιμι δαιμόνων νόμους;
1130

Τεῦκρος

εἰ τοὺς θανόντας οὐκ ἐᾷς θάπτειν παρών.

Μενέλαος

τούς γʼ αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ πολεμίους· οὐ γὰρ καλόν.

Τεῦκρος

ἦ σοὶ γὰρ Αἴας πολέμιος προύστη ποτέ;

Μενέλαος

μισοῦντʼ ἐμίσει· καὶ σὺ τοῦτʼ ἠπίστασο.

Τεῦκρος

κλέπτης γὰρ αὐτοῦ ψηφοποιὸς ηὑρέθης.
1135

Μενέλαος

ἐν τοῖς δικασταῖς, κοὐκ ἐμοί, τόδʼ ἐσφάλη.

Τεῦκρος

πόλλʼ ἂν κακῶς λάθρᾳ σὺ κλέψειας κακά.

Μενέλαος

τοῦτʼ εἰς ἀνίαν τοὔπος ἔρχεται τινί.

Τεῦκρος

οὐ μᾶλλον, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἢ λυπήσομεν.

Μενέλαος

ἕν σοι φράσω· τόνδʼ ἐστὶν οὐχὶ θαπτέον.
1140

Τεῦκρος

σὺ δʼ ἀντακούσῃ τοῦτον ὡς τεθάψεται.

Μενέλαος

ἤδη ποτʼ εἶδον ἄνδρʼ ἐγὼ γλώσσῃ θρασὺν

ναύτας ἐφορμήσαντα χειμῶνος τὸ πλεῖν,

ᾧ φθέγμʼ ἂν οὐκ ἂν ηὗρες, ἡνίκʼ ἐν κακῷ

χειμῶνος εἴχετʼ, ἀλλʼ ὑφʼ εἵματος κρυφεὶς
1145

πατεῖν παρεῖχε τῷ θέλοντι ναυτίλων.

οὕτω δὲ καὶ σὲ καὶ τὸ σὸν λάβρον στόμα

σμικροῦ νέφους τάχʼ ἄν τις ἐκπνεύσας μέγας

χειμὼν κατασβέσειε τὴν πολλὴν βοήν.

Τεῦκρος

ἐγὼ δέ γʼ ἄνδρʼ ὄπωπα μωρίας πλέων,
1150
⁸⁹⁹⁰⁹¹⁹²⁹³⁹⁴⁹⁵⁹⁶⁹⁷⁹⁸⁹⁹¹⁰⁰¹⁰¹¹⁰²¹⁰³¹⁰⁴

ὃς ἐν κακοῖς ὕβριζε τοῖσι τῶν πέλας.

κᾆτʼ αὐτὸν εἰσιδών τις ἐμφερὴς ἐμοὶ

ὀργήν θʼ ὁμοῖος εἶπε τοιοῦτον λόγον,

ὤνθρωπε, μὴ δρᾶ τοὺς τεθνηκότας κακῶς·

εἰ γὰρ ποήσεις, ἴσθι πημανούμενος.
1155

τοιαῦτʼ ἄνολβον ἄνδρʼ ἐνουθέτει παρών.

ὁρῶ δέ τοί νιν, κἄστιν, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ,

οὐδείς ποτʼ ἄλλος ἢ σύ. μῶν ᾐνιξάμην;

Μενέλαος

ἄπειμι· καὶ γὰρ αἰσχρόν, εἰ πύθοιτό τις

λόγοις κολάζειν ᾧ βιάζεσθαι πάρα.
1160

Τεῦκρος

ἄφερπέ νυν. κἀμοὶ γὰρ αἴσχιστον κλύειν

ἀνδρὸς ματαίου φλαῦρʼ ἔπη μυθουμένου.

Χορός

ἔσται μεγάλης ἔριδός τις ἀγών.

ἀλλʼ ὡς δύνασαι, Τεῦκρε, ταχύνας

σπεῦσον κοίλην κάπετόν τινʼ ἰδεῖν
1165

τῷδʼ, ἔνθα βροτοῖς τὸν ἀείμνηστον

τάφον εὐρώεντα καθέξει.

Τεῦκρος

καὶ μὴν ἐς αὐτὸν καιρὸν οἵδε πλησίοι

πάρεισιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε παῖς τε καὶ γυνή,

τάφον περιστελοῦντε δυστήνου νεκροῦ.
1170

ὦ παῖ, πρόσελθε δεῦρο, καὶ σταθεὶς πέλας

ἱκέτης ἔφαψαι πατρός, ὅς σʼ ἐγείνατο.

θάκει δὲ προστρόπαιος ἐν χεροῖν ἔχων

κόμας ἐμὰς καὶ τῆσδε καὶ σαυτοῦ τρίτου,

ἱκτήριον θησαυρόν. εἰ δέ τις στρατοῦ
1175

βίᾳ σʼ ἀποσπάσειε τοῦδε τοῦ νεκροῦ,

κακὸς κακῶς ἄθαπτος ἐκπέσοι χθονός,

γένους ἅπαντος ῥίζαν ἐξημημένος,

αὔτως ὅπωσπερ τόνδʼ ἐγὼ τέμνω πλόκον.

¹⁰⁵¹⁰⁶¹⁰⁷¹⁰⁸¹⁰⁹¹¹⁰¹¹¹¹¹²

ἔχʼ αὐτόν, παῖ, καὶ φύλασσε, μηδέ σε
1180

κινησάτω τις, ἀλλὰ προσπεσὼν ἔχου.

ὑμεῖς τε μὴ γυναῖκες ἀντʼ ἀνδρῶν πέλας

παρέστατʼ, ἀλλʼ ἀρήγετʼ, ἔστʼ ἐγὼ μόλω

τάφου μεληθεὶς τῷδε, κἂν μηδεὶς ἐᾷ.

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 915 focus

οὔτοι θεατός· ἀλλά νιν νι νιν περιπτυχεῖ
915

φάρει καλύψω τῷδε παμπήδην, ἐπεὶ

ΤΕΚΜΗΣΣΑ.

οὐδεὶς ἄν, ὅστις καὶ φίλος, τλαίη βλέπειν

φυσῶντ᾽ ἄνω πρὸς ῥίνας, ἔκ τε φοινίας

πληγῆς μελανθὲν αἷμ᾽ ἀπ᾿ οἰκείας σφαγῆς.

οἴμοι, τί δράσω; τίς σε βαστάσει φίλων;
920

ποῦ Τεύκρος; ὡς ἀκμαῖος, εἰ βαίη, μόλοι,

πεπτῶτ᾽ ἀδελφὸν τόνδε συγκαθαρμόσαι.

ὦ δύσμορ᾽ Αἴας, οἷος ὢν οἵως ἔχεις,

ὡς καὶ παρ' ἐχθροῖς ἄξιος θρήνων τυχεῖν.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.
ἀντ. α.

ἔμελλες, τάλας τάλας, ἰακῶς ἐάκεις ἄρ᾽ εὔδηλος ἧς, ἔμελλες χρόνῳ
925

στερεόφρων ἄρ᾽ ὧδ᾽ om. ἐξανύσειν κακὰν

μοῖραν ἀπειρεσίων πόνων. τοῖά μοι

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

πάννυχα καὶ φαέθοντ᾽ φαέθοντ᾿ φαέθον | τ' ἀνεστέναζες ἀνεστὶν.. εσ ἀνεστέναζες ἐστέναζεσ

ὠμόφρων ὠμόφρον ἐχθοδόπ᾽ ᾿Ατρείδαις

οὐλίῳ σὺν σὺμ σὺν πάθει.

μέγας ἄρ᾽ ἦν ἐκεῖνος ἄρχων χρόνος

πημάτων, ἦμος ἀριστόχειρ
935

ὅπλων ἔκειτ᾿ ἀγὼν πέρι.

ΤΕΚΜΗΣΣΑ.

ἰώ μοί μοι μοι μοι.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

χωρεῖ πρὸς ἡπαρ, οἶδα, γενναία δύη.

ΤΕΚΜΗΣΣΑ.

ἰώ μοί μοι μοι μοι.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

οὐδέν σ᾽ ἀπιστῶ καὶ δὶς οἰμῶξαι οἰμώξαι οἰμῶξαι, γύναι,
940

τοιοῦδ᾽ ἀποβλαφθεῖσαν ἀρτίως ἀρτίας ἀρτίως φίλου.

ΤΕΚΜΗΣΣΑ.

σοὶ μὲν δοκεῖν ταῦτ᾽ ἔστ᾽, ἐμοὶ δ᾽ ἄγαν φρονεῖν.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

ξυναυδῶ.

ΤΕΚΜΗΣΣΑ.

οἴμοι, τέκνον, πρὸς οἷα δουλείας ζυγὰ

χωροῦμεν, οἷοι νῶν ἐφεστᾶσι ἐφεστᾶσιν ἐφεστᾶσι σκοποί.
945

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

ὤμοι ὤιμοι ἰώμοι ὤμοι, ἀναλγήτων

δισσῶν ἐθρόησας ἄναυδον

ἔργον ᾿Ατρειδᾶν

τῷδ᾽ τοδ' τῶιδ' ἄχει.

ἀλλ᾽ ἀπείργοι θεός.
950

ΤΕΚΜΗΣΣΑ.

οὐκ ἂν τάδ᾽ ἔστη τῇδε, μὴ θεῶν μέτα.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

ἄγαν ἄγαν δ' ἄγανγ' ὑπερβριθὲς ἄχθος ἤνυσαν ήνυσαν ἦνυσαν.

ΤΕΚΜΗΣΣΑ.

τοιόνδε μέντοι Ζηνὸς ἡ δεινὴ θεὸς

Παλλὰς φυτεύει πῆμ᾽ Οδυσσέως χάριν.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

ἡ ῥα κελαινώπαν θυμὸν ἐφυβρίζει πολύτλας ὁ πολύτλας ἀνήρ,
955

γελᾷ δὲ τοῖσδε τοῖς τοῖσι μαινομένοις ἄχεσιν ἄχεσι ἄχεσιν

πολὺν γέλωτα, φεῦ φεῦ,

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

ξύν τε διπλοῖ βασιλῆς βασιλῆες

κλύοντες ᾿Ατρείδαι.
960

ΤΕΚΜΗΣΣΑ.

οἱ δ᾽ οἶδ᾽ οἱ δ' οὖν γελώντων κἀπιχαιρόντων κακοῖς

τοῖς τοῦδ᾽ τοῦ σδ᾽. ἴσως τοι, κεἰ κ ειἰ βλέποντα μὴ ᾿πόθουν,

θανόντ᾽ ἂν οἰμώξειαν ἐν χρείᾳ δορός.

οἱ γὰρ κακοὶ γνώμαισι τἀγαθὸν χεροῖν

ἔχοντες οὐκ ἴσασι, πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ.
965

ἐμοὶ .˙. ἐμοὶ πικρὸς τέθνηκεν ἢ κείνοις γλυκύς,

αὐτῷ δὲ τερπνός. ὧν γὰρ ἠράσθη τυχεῖν

ἐκτήσαθ᾽ αὑτῷ αὐτῶι αὑτῶι, θάνατον ὅνπερ ἤθελεν.

τί πῶς τί δῆτα τοῦδ᾽ τοῦ· δ᾽ ἐπεγγελῷεν ἂν κάτα;

θεοῖς τέθνηκεν οὗτος, οὐ κείνοισιν, οὔ.
970

πρὸς ταῦτ᾽ πρὸ ταῦτ᾽ πρὸσ ταῦτ᾽ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἐν κενοῖς ὑβριζέτω.

Αἴας γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐκέτ᾽ ἐστίν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐμοὶ

λιπὼν ἀνίας καὶ γόους διοίχεται.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

ἰώ μοί μοι.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

σίγησον. αὐδὴν γὰρ δοκῶ δοκῶι δοκῶ Τεύκρου κλύειν
975

βοῶντος ἄτης τῆσδ᾽ ἐπίσκοπον μέλος.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

ὦ φίλτατ᾿ Αἴας, ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμ᾽ ἐμοί,

ἆρ᾽ ἠμπόληκας ἠπόληκας ἠμπόληκας ὥσπερ ἡ φάτις κρατεῖ;

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

ὄλωλεν ἁνήρ ἀνὴρ, Τεῦκρε, τοῦτ᾽ ἐπίστασο.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

ὤμοι βαρείας ἆρα τῆς ἐμῆς τύχης.
980

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

ὡς ὧδ᾽ ἐχόντων—

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

ὦ τάλας ἐγώ, τάλας.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

πάρα στενάζειν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

ἄγαν γε, Τεῦκρε.
985

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

φεῦ τάλας. τί γὰρ τέκνον

τὸ τοῦδε τοῦτοδε τὸ τοῦδε, ποῦ μοι γῆς κυρεῖ τῆς Τρωάδος;

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

μόνος παρὰ σκηναῖσιν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

οὐχ ὅσον τάχος

δῆτ᾽ αὐτὸν ἄξεις δεῦρο, μή τις ὡς κενῆς
990

σκύμνον λεαίνης δυσμενῶν ἀναρπάσῃ;

ἴθ᾽, ἐγκόνει ἐνκόνει ἐγκόνει, σύγκαμνε. τοῖς θανοῦσί τοι

φιλοῦσι πάντες κειμένοις ἐπεγγελᾶν.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

καὶ μὴν ἔτι ζῶν, Τεῦκρε, τοῦδέ σοι μέλειν

ἐφίεθ᾽ ἀνὴρ κεῖνος ἀνὴρ κεῖνος ἀνὴρ ἐκεῖνος, ὥσπερ οὖν μέλει.
995

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

ὦ τῶν ἁπάντων δὴ θεαμάτων ἐμοὶ

ἄλγιστον ὧν προσεῖδον ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐγώ,

ὁδός θ᾽ ὁδόστ᾽ ὁδόσ θ᾽ ὁδῶν πασῶν ἁπασῶν ἁπασῶν πασῶν ἀνιάσασα δὴ δ εὴ

μάλιστα τοὐμὸν σπλάγχνον, ἣν δὴ νῦν ἔβην,

ὦ φίλτατ᾿ Αἴας, τὸν σὸν ὡς ἐπῃσθόμην
1000

μόρον διώκων κάξιχνοσκοπούμενος·

ὀξεῖα γάρ σου σοι σου βάξις ὡς θεοῦ θῦ θεοῦ θε τινος

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

διῆλθ᾽ ᾿Αχαιοὺς πάντας ὡς οἴχει θανών.

ἁγὼ κλύων δύστηνος ἐκποδὼν μὲν ὢν ἐκποδῶν μένων ἐκποδὼν μὲν ὢν

ὑπεστέναζον, νῦν δ᾽ ὁρῶν ἀπόλλυμαι.
1005

οἴμοι.

ἴθ᾽, ἐκκάλυψον, ὡς ἴδω τὸ πᾶν κακόν.

ὦ δυσθέατον ὄμμα καὶ τόλμης πικρᾶς,

ὅσας ἀνίας μοι κατασπείρας φθίνεις.

ποῖ γὰρ μολεῖν μοι δυνατόν, εἰς ποίους βροτούς,
1010

τοῖς σοῖς ἀρήξαντ᾽ ἐν πόνοισι μηδαμοῦ;

ἢ πού με om. Τελαμών, σὸς πατὴρ ἐμός θ᾽ ἅμα τ' ἴσως θ' ἅμα,

δέξαιτ᾽ ἂν εὐπρόσωπος ἵλεώς τ᾽ ἴσως

χωροῦντ᾽ ἄνευ σοῦ. πῶς γὰρ οὔχ; ὅτῳ πάρα

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

μηδ᾽ εὐτυχοῦντι εὐτυχοῦντ(οσ or α) εὐτυχοῦντι μηδὲν ἥδιον ἵλεων ἥδιον γελᾶν.
1015

οὗτος τί κρύψει; ποῖον οὐκ ἐρεῖ κακόν,

τὸν ἐκ δορὸς γεγῶτα πολεμίου νόθον,

τὸν δειλίᾳ προδόντα καὶ κακανδρίᾳ κακ᾿ ἀνδρίαι κακανδρίαι

σέ, φίλτατ' Αἴας, ἢ δόλοισιν, ὡς τὰ σὰ

κράτη θανόντος καὶ δόμους νέμοιμι σούς.
1020

τοιαῦτ᾽ ἀνὴρ δύσοργος, ἐν γήρᾳ βαρύς,

ἐρεῖ, πρὸς οὐδὲν εἰς ἔριν θυμούμενος.

τέλος δ᾽ ἀπωστὸς γῆς ἀπορριφθήσομαι ἀπορριφ(θ)ήσομαι ἀπορριφήσομαι,

δοῦλος λόγοισιν ἀντ' ἐλευθέρου φανείς.

τοιαῦτα μὲν κατ᾿ οἶκον· ἐν Τροίᾳ δέ μοι
1025

πολλοὶ μὲν ἐχθροί, παῦρα δ' παῦροι ὠφελήσιμα ὠφελήσιμοι ὀφελήσιμοι.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

καὶ ταῦτα πάντα σοῦ θανόντος εὑρόμην.

οἴμοι, τί δράσω; πῶς σ᾽ om. ἀποσπάσω πικροῦ

τοῦδ᾽ αἰόλου κνώδοντος, ὦ τάλας, ὑφ᾽ οὗ

φονέως ἄρ᾽ ἐξέπνευσας έξεπνευσας; εἶδες ὡς χρόνῳ
1030

ἔμελλέ σ' Ἕκτωρ καὶ θανὼν ἀποφθίσειν;

σκέψασθε, πρὸς θεῶν, τὴν τύχην δυοῖν βροτοῖν.

Ἕκτωρ μέν, ᾧ δὴ τοῦδ᾽ τοῦτ᾽ τοῦδ᾽ ἐδωρήθη πάρα,

ζωστῆρι πρισθεὶς ἱππικῶν ἐξ ἀντύγων

ἐκνάπτετ᾿ ἐγναπτετ᾿ αἰέν, ἔς τ᾿ ἀπέψυξεν βίον·
1035

οὗτος δ᾽ ἐκείνου τήνδε δωρεὰν ἔχων

πρὸς τοῦδ᾽ ὄλωλε θανασίμῳ πεσήματι.

ἆρ᾽ οὐκ ᾿Ερινὺς τοῦτ᾽ ἐχάλκευσε τοῦτ᾽ ἐχάλκουσεν τοῦτ᾽ ἐχάλκευσε ξίφος

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

κἀκεῖνον Ἅιδης, δημιουργὸς ἄγριος;

ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν καὶ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ πάντ᾽ ἀεὶ

φάσκοιμ᾽ ἂν ἀνθρώποισι μηχανᾶν θεούς·

ὅτῳ ὁύτω ὅτῳ δὲ μὴ τάδ᾽ ἐστὶν ἐν γνώμῃ φίλα,

κεῖνός τ'᾽ ἐκεῖνα τ᾽ ἐκείνου τὰ κείνου στεργέτω κἀγὼ τάδε.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

μὴ τεῖνε μακράν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅπως κρύψεις κρύψηις κρύψεις τάφῳ
1040

φράζου τὸν ἄνδρα χώ τι μυθήσῃ τάχα.

βλέπω γὰρ ἐχθρὸν φῶτα, καὶ τάχ᾽ ἂν κακοῖς

γελῶν ἃ δὴ ἃ δὴν ἃ δὴ κακοῦργος ἐξίκοιτ᾽ ἀνήρ.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

τίς δ'᾽ ἐστὶν ὅντιν' οὖντισ ὄντιν᾿ ἄνδρα προσλεύσσεις προσπλεύσει προσβλεύσει προσλεύσσει προσλεύσσεις προλεύσεις στρατοῦ;

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

Μενέλαος, ᾧ δὴ τόνδε πλοῦν ἐστείλαμεν ἐστειλάμην ἐστείλαμεν.
1045

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

ὁρῶ· μαθεῖν γὰρ ἐγγὺς ὧν οὐ δυσπετής.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ.

οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ τόνδε τὸν νεκρὸν χεροῖν

μὴ συγκομίζειν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐᾶν ὅπως ἔχει.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

τίνος χάριν τοσόνδ᾽ σόνδ' ἀνήλωσας λόγον;

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ.

δοκοῦντ᾽ ἐμοί, δοκοῦντα δ᾽ ὃς κραίνει στρατοῦ.
1050

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

οὔκουν ἂν εἴποις ἥντιν' αἰτίαν προθείς προσθείς;

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ.

ὁθούνεκ᾿ αὐτὸν ἐλπίσαντες οἴκοθεν

ἄγειν ἄγειν ἄξειν ἄξειν ᾿Αχαιοῖς ξύμμαχόν τε καὶ φίλον,

ἐξεύρομεν ζητοῦντες ἐχθίω Φρυγῶν·

ὅστις στρατῷ ξύμπαντι βουλεύσας φόνον
1055

νύκτωρ ἐπεστράτευσεν, ὡς ἕλοι δορί ὡσ ἐλοιδόρει ὡς ἕλοι δορί ὡς ἐλοι δόρει·

κεἰ μὴ θεῶν τις τήνδε πεῖραν ἔσβεσεν,

ἡμεῖς μὲν ἂν τήνδ', ἣν ὅδ᾽ εἴληχεν εἴληχε τύχην,

θανόντες ἂν om. add. προὐκείμεθ᾽ προὐκείμεθ' αἰσχίστῳ μόρῳ,

οὗτος δ᾽ ἂν ἔζη. νῦν δ᾽ ἐνήλλαξεν θεὸς
1060

τὴν τοῦδ᾽ ὕβριν πρὸς μῆλα καὶ ποίμνας πεσεῖν.

ὧν οἵνεκ᾿ αὐτὸν οὔτις ἔστ᾽ ἀνὴρ σθένων

τοσοῦτον τοιοῦτον ὥστε σῶμα τυμβεῦσαι τάφῳ·

ἀλλ᾽ ἀμφὶ χλωρὰν ψάμαθον ἐκβεβλημένος

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ.

ὄρνισι φορβὴ παραλίοις πα ρραλίοις παραλίοις γενήσεται.
1065

πρὸς ταῦτα μηδὲν δεινὸν ἐξάρῃς ἐξάιρηις ἐξάρης μένος.

εἰ γὰρ βλέποντος μὴ ᾿δυνήθημεν κρατεῖν,

πάντως θανόντος γ᾽ ἄρξομεν, κἂν μὴ θέλῃς,

χερσὶν παρευθύνοντες. οὐ γὰρ ἔσθ᾽ ὅπου

λόγων γ᾽ λόγωντ᾽ ἀκοῦσαι ζῶν ποτ' ἠθέλησ᾽ εἰθέληισ ἠθέλησ᾽ ἐμῶν.
1070

καίτοι κακοῦ πρὸς ἀνδρὸς ἄνδρα δημότην

μηδὲν δικαιοῦν τῶν ἐφεστώτων κλύειν.

οὐ γάρ ποτ' οὔτ᾽ ἂν ἐν πόλει νόμοι καλῶς

φέροιντ' ἄν, ἔνθα μὴ καθεστήκῃ καθεστήκηι καθεστήκοι καθεστήκει δέος,

οὔτ᾽ ἂν στρατός γε σωφρόνως ἄρχοιτ᾽ ἄχοιτ' ἄρχοιτ' ἔτι
1075

μηδὲν φόβου πρόβλημα μηδ' αἰδοῦς ἔχων.

ἀλλ᾽ ἄνδρα χρή, κἂν σῶμα γεννήσῃ μέγα,

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ.

δοκεῖν πεσεῖν ἂν κἂν ἀπὸ σμικροῦ κακοῦ.

δέος γὰρ ᾧ πρόσεστιν αἰσχύνη θ᾽ ὁμοῦ,

σωτηρίαν ἔχοντα τόνδ᾽ ἐπίστασο·
1080

ὅπου δ᾽ ὑβρίζειν δρᾶν θ᾽ ἃ βούλεται παρῇ παρῆι πάρα,

ταύτην νόμιζε τὴν πόλιν χρόνῳ ποτὲ

ἐξ οὐρίων δραμοῦσαν εἰς βυθὸν πεσεῖν.

ἀλλ᾽ ἑστάτω μοι καὶ δέος τι καίριον,

καὶ μὴ δοκῶμεν δρῶντες ἂν ἂν ἡδώμεθα
1085

οὐκ ἀντιτίσειν αὖθις ἂν ἂν λυπώμεθα.

ἕρπει παραλλὰξ ταῦτα. πρόσθεν οὗτος ἦν

αἴθων ὑβριστής, νῦν δ᾽ ἐγὼ μέγ᾽ αὖ φρονῶ.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ.

καί σοι προφωνῶ προσφωνῶ τόνδε μὴ θάπτειν, ὅπως

μὴ τόνδε θάπτων αὐτὸς εἰς ταφὰς ταφὰς (τρυφασ?) πέσῃς.
1090

ΧΟΡΟΣ.
¹

Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 961-1184 focus

Τέκμησσα

οἱ δʼ οὖν γελώντων κἀπιχαιρόντων κακοῖς

τοῖς τοῦδʼ· ἴσως τοι, κεἰ βλέποντα μὴ ʼπόθουν,

θανόντʼ ἂν οἰμώξειαν ἐν χρείᾳ δορός.

οἱ γὰρ κακοὶ γνώμαισι τἀγαθὸν χεροῖν

ἔχοντες οὐκ ἴσασι, πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ.
965

ἐμοὶ πικρὸς τέθνηκεν ἢ κείνοις γλυκύς,

αὑτῷ δὲ τερπνός· ὧν γὰρ ἠράσθη τυχεῖν

ἐκτήσαθʼ αὑτῷ, θάνατον ὅνπερ ἤθελεν.

τί δῆτα τοῦδʼ ἐπεγγελῷεν ἂν κάτα;

θεοῖς τέθνηκεν οὗτος, οὐ κείνοισιν, οὔ.
970

πρὸς ταῦτʼ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἐν κενοῖς ὑβριζέτω.

Αἴας γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐκέτʼ ἐστίν, ἀλλʼ ἐμοὶ

λιπὼν ἀνίας καὶ γόους διοίχεται.

Τεῦκρος

ἰώ μοί μοι.

Χορός

σίγησον· αὐδὴν γὰρ δοκῶ Τεύκρου κλύειν
975

βοῶντος ἄτης τῆσδʼ ἐπίσκοπον μέλος.

Τεῦκρος

ὦ φίλτατʼ Αἴας, ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμʼ ἐμοί,

ἆρʼ ἠμπόληκας, ὥσπερ ἡ φάτις κρατεῖ;

Χορός

ὄλωλεν ἁνήρ, Τεῦκρε, τοῦτʼ ἐπίστασο.

Τεῦκρος

ὤμοι βαρείας ἆρα τῆς ἐμῆς τύχης.
980

Χορός

ὡς ὧδʼ ἐχόντων

Τεῦκρος

ὦ τάλας ἐγώ, τάλας.

Χορός

πάρα στενάζειν.

Τεῦκρος

ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος.

Χορός

ἄγαν γε, Τεῦκρε.

Τεῦκρος

φεῦ τάλας· τί γὰρ τέκνον

τὸ τοῦδε, ποῦ μοι γῆς κυρεῖ τῆς Τρῳάδος;

Χορός

μόνος παρὰ σκηναῖσιν.
985

Τεῦκρος

οὐχ ὅσον τάχος

δῆτʼ αὐτὸν ἄξεις δεῦρο, μή τις ὡς κενῆς

σκύμνον λεαίνης δυσμενῶν ἀναρπάσῃ;

ἴθʼ, ἐγκόνει, σύγκαμνε· τοῖς θανοῦσί τοι

φιλοῦσι πάντες κειμένοις ἐπεγγελᾶν.

Χορός

καὶ μὴν ἔτι ζῶν, Τεῦκρε, τοῦδέ σοι μέλειν
990

ἐφίεθʼ ἁνὴρ κεῖνος, ὥσπερ οὖν μέλει.

992

Τεῦκρος

ὦ τῶν ἁπάντων δὴ θεαμάτων ἐμοὶ

ἄλγιστον ὧν προσεῖδον ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐγώ,

ὁδός θʼ ὁδῶν πασῶν ἀνιάσασα δὴ

μάλιστα τοὐμὸν σπλάγχνον, ἣν δὴ νῦν ἔβην.
995

ὦ φίλτατʼ Αἴας, τὸν σὸν ὡς ἐπῃσθόμην

μόρον διώκων κἀξιχνοσκοπούμενος.

ὀξεῖα γάρ σου βάξις ὡς θεοῦ τινος

διῆλθʼ Ἀχαιοὺς πάντας ὡς οἴχει θανών.

ἁγὼ κλύων δύστηνος ἐκποδὼν μὲν ὢν
1000

ὑπεστέναζον, νῦν δʼ ὁρῶν ἀπόλλυμαι.

οἴμοι.

ἴθʼ, ἐκκάλυψον, ὡς ἴδω τὸ πᾶν κακόν.

ὦ δυσθέατον ὄμμα καὶ τόλμης πικρᾶς,

ὅσας ἀνίας μοι κατασπείρας φθίνεις.
1005

ποῖ γὰρ μολεῖν μοι δυνατόν, εἰς ποίους βροτούς,

τοῖς σοῖς ἀρήξαντʼ ἐν πόνοισι μηδαμοῦ;

ἦ πού με Τελαμών, σὸς πατὴρ ἐμός θʼ ἅμα,

δέξαιτʼ ἂν εὐπρόσωπος ἵλεώς τʼ ἴσως

χωροῦντʼ ἄνευ σοῦ. πῶς γὰρ οὔχ; ὅτῳ πάρα
1010

μηδʼ εὐτυχοῦντι μηδὲν ἥδιον γελᾶν.

οὗτος τί κρύψει; ποῖον οὐχ ἐρεῖ κακὸν

τὸν ἐκ δορὸς γεγῶτα πολεμίου νόθον,

τὸν δειλίᾳ προδόντα καὶ κακανδρίᾳ

σέ, φίλτατʼ Αἴας, ἢ δόλοισιν, ὡς τὰ σὰ
1015

κράτη θανόντος καὶ δόμους νέμοιμι σούς.

τοιαῦτʼ ἀνὴρ δύσοργος, ἐν γήρᾳ βαρύς,

ἐρεῖ, πρὸς οὐδὲν εἰς ἔριν θυμούμενος.

τέλος δʼ ἀπωστὸς γῆς ἀπορριφθήσομαι,

δοῦλος λόγοισιν ἀντʼ ἐλευθέρου φανείς.
1020

τοιαῦτα μὲν κατʼ οἶκον· ἐν Τροίᾳ δέ μοι

πολλοὶ μὲν ἐχθροί, παῦρα δʼ ὠφελήσιμα.

καὶ ταῦτα πάντα σοῦ θανόντος ηὑρόμην.

οἴμοι, τί δράσω; πῶς σʼ ἀποσπάσω πικροῦ·

τοῦδʼ αἰόλου κνώδοντος, ὦ τάλας, ὑφʼ οὗ
1025

φονέως ἄρʼ ἐξέπνευσας; εἶδες ὡς χρόνῳ

ἔμελλέ σʼ Ἕκτωρ καὶ θανὼν ἀποφθίσειν;

σκέψασθε, πρὸς θεῶν, τὴν τύχην δυοῖν βροτοῖν.

Ἕκτωρ μέν, ᾧ δὴ τοῦδʼ ἐδωρήθη πάρα,

ζωστῆρι πρισθεὶς ἱππικῶν ἐξ ἀντύγων
1030

ἐκνάπτετʼ αἰέν, ἔστʼ ἀπέψυξεν βίον·

οὗτος δʼ ἐκείνου τήνδε δωρεὰν ἔχων

πρὸς τοῦδʼ ὄλωλε θανασίμῳ πεσήματι.

ἆρʼ οὐκ Ἐρινὺς τοῦτʼ ἐχάλκευσεν ξίφος

κἀκεῖνον Ἅιδης, δημιουργὸς ἄγριος;
1035

ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν καὶ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ πάντʼ ἀεὶ

φάσκοιμʼ ἂν ἀνθρώποισι μηχανᾶν θεούς·

ὅτῳ δὲ μὴ τάδʼ ἐστὶν ἐν γνώμῃ φίλα,

κεῖνός τʼ ἐκεῖνα στεργέτω κἀγὼ τάδε.

1040

Χορός

μὴ τεῖνε μακράν, ἀλλʼ ὅπως κρύψεις τάφῳ
1040

φράζου τὸν ἄνδρα χὤ τι μυθήσει τάχα.

βλέπω γὰρ ἐχθρὸν φῶτα, καὶ τάχʼ ἂν κακοῖς

γελῶν ἃ δὴ κακοῦργος ἐξίκοιτʼ ἀνήρ.

Τεῦκρος

τίς δʼ ἐστὶν ὅντινʼ ἄνδρα προσλεύσσεις στρατοῦ;

Χορός

Μενέλαος, ᾧ δὴ τόνδε πλοῦν ἐστείλαμεν.
1045

Τεῦκρος

ὁρῶ· μαθεῖν γὰρ ἐγγὺς ὢν οὐ δυσπετής.

Μενέλαος

οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ τόνδε τὸν νεκρὸν χεροῖν

μὴ συγκομίζειν, ἀλλʼ ἐᾶν ὅπως ἔχει.

Τεῦκρος

τίνος χάριν τοσόνδʼ ἀνήλωσας λόγον;

Μενέλαος

δοκοῦντʼ ἐμοί, δοκοῦντα δʼ ὃς κραίνει στρατοῦ.
1050

Τεῦκρος

οὔκουν ἂν εἴποις ἥντινʼ αἰτίαν προθείς;

Μενέλαος

ὁθούνεκʼ αὐτὸν ἐλπίσαντες οἴκοθεν

ἄγειν Ἀχαιοῖς ξύμμαχόν τε καὶ φίλον,

ἐξηύρομεν ζητοῦντες ἐχθίω Φρυγῶν·

ὅστις στρατῷ ξύμπαντι βουλεύσας φόνον
1055

νύκτωρ ἐπεστράτευσεν, ὡς ἕλοι δόρει·

κεἰ μὴ θεῶν τις τήνδε πεῖραν ἔσβεσεν,

ἡμεῖς μὲν ἂν τήνδʼ ἣν ὅδʼ εἴληχεν τύχην

θανόντες ἂν προυκείμεθʼ αἰσχίστῳ μόρῳ,

οὗτος δʼ ἂν ἔζη. νῦν δʼ ἐνήλλαξεν θεὸς
1060

τὴν τοῦδʼ ὕβριν πρὸς μῆλα καὶ ποίμνας πεσεῖν.

ὧν εἵνεκʼ αὐτὸν οὔτις ἔστʼ ἀνὴρ σθένων

τοσοῦτον ὥστε σῶμα τυμβεῦσαι τάφῳ,

ἀλλʼ ἀμφὶ χλωρὰν ψάμαθον ἐκβεβλημένος

ὄρνισι φορβὴ παραλίοις γενήσεται.
1065

πρὸς ταῦτα μηδὲν δεινὸν ἐξάρῃς μένος.

εἰ γὰρ βλέποντος μὴ ʼδυνήθημεν κρατεῖν,

πάντως θανόντος γʼ ἄρξομεν, κἂν μὴ θέλῃς,

χερσὶν παρευθύνοντες· οὐ γὰρ ἔσθʼ ὅπου

λόγων γʼ ἀκοῦσαι ζῶν ποτʼ ἠθέλησʼ ἐμῶν.
1070

καίτοι κακοῦ πρὸς ἀνδρὸς ὄντα δημότην

μηδὲν δικαιοῦν τῶν ἐφεστώτων κλύειν.

οὐ γάρ ποτʼ οὔτʼ ἂν ἐν πόλει νόμοι καλῶς

φέροιντʼ ἄν, ἔνθα μὴ καθεστήκῃ δέος,

οὔτʼ ἂν στρατός γε σωφρόνως ἄρχοιτʼ ἔτι,
1075

μηδὲν φόβου πρόβλημα μηδʼ αἰδοῦς ἔχων.

ἀλλʼ ἄνδρα χρή, κἂν σῶμα γεννήσῃ μέγα,

δοκεῖν πεσεῖν ἂν κἂν ἀπὸ σμικροῦ κακοῦ.

δέος γὰρ ᾧ πρόσεστιν αἰσχύνη θʼ ὁμοῦ,

σωτηρίαν ἔχοντα τόνδʼ ἐπίστασο·
1080

ὅπου δʼ ὑβρίζειν δρᾶν θʼ ἃ βούλεται παρῇ,

ταύτην νόμιζε τὴν πόλιν χρόνῳ ποτὲ

ἐξ οὐρίων δραμοῦσαν εἰς βυθὸν πεσεῖν.

ἀλλʼ ἑστάτω μοι καὶ δέος τι καίριον,

καὶ μὴ δοκῶμεν δρῶντες ἃν ἡδώμεθα
1085

οὐκ ἀντιτίσειν αὖθις ἂν λυπώμεθα.

ἕρπει παραλλὰξ ταῦτα. πρόσθεν οὗτος ἦν

αἴθων ὑβριστής, νῦν δʼ ἐγὼ μέγʼ αὖ φρονῶ.

καί σοι προφωνῶ τόνδε μὴ θάπτειν, ὅπως

μὴ τόνδε θάπτων αὐτὸς εἰς ταφὰς πέσῃς.
1090

1091

Χορός

Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς

εἶτʼ αὐτὸς ἐν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

Τεῦκρος

οὐκ ἄν ποτʼ, ἄνδρες, ἄνδρα θαυμάσαιμʼ ἔτι,

ὃς μηδὲν ὢν γοναῖσιν εἶθʼ ἁμαρτάνει,

ὅθʼ οἱ δοκοῦντες εὐγενεῖς πεφυκέναι
1095

τοιαῦθʼ ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἐν λόγοις ἔπη·

ἄγʼ εἴπʼ ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς αὖθις, ἦ σὺ φὴς ἄγειν

τόνδʼ ἄνδρʼ Ἀχαιοῖς δεῦρο σύμμαχον λαβών;

οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐξέπλευσεν ὡς αὑτοῦ κρατῶν;

ποῦ σὺ στρατηγεῖς τοῦδε; ποῦ δὲ σοὶ λεῶν
1100

ἔξεστʼ ἀνάσσειν ὧν ὅδʼ ἤγαγʼ οἴκοθεν;

Σπάρτης ἀνάσσων ἦλθες, οὐχ ἡμῶν κρατῶν·

οὐδʼ ἔσθʼ ὅπου σοὶ τόνδε κοσμῆσαι πλέον

ἀρχῆς ἔκειτο θεσμὸς ἢ καὶ τῷδε σέ.

ὕπαρχος ἄλλων δεῦρʼ ἔπλευσας, οὐχ ὅλων
1105

στρατηγός, ὥστʼ Αἴαντος ἡγεῖσθαί ποτε.

ἀλλʼ ὧνπερ ἄρχεις ἄρχε καὶ τὰ σέμνʼ ἔπη

κόλαζʼ ἐκείνους· τόνδε δʼ, εἴτε μὴ σὺ φὴς

εἴθʼ ἅτερος στρατηγός, εἰς ταφὰς ἐγὼ

θήσω δικαίως, οὐ τὸ σὸν δείσας στόμα.
1110

οὐ γάρ τι τῆς σῆς εἵνεκʼ ἐστρατεύσατο

γυναικός, ὥσπερ οἱ πόνου πολλοῦ πλέῳ,

ἀλλʼ εἵνεχʼ ὅρκων οἷσιν ἦν ἐνώμοτος,

σοῦ δʼ οὐδέν· οὐ γὰρ ἠξίου τοὺς μηδένας.

πρὸς ταῦτα πλείους δεῦρο κήρυκας λαβὼν
1115

καὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν ἧκε, τοῦ δὲ σοῦ ψόφου

οὐκ ἂν στραφείην, ἕως ἂν ᾖς οἷός περ εἶ.

Χορός

οὐδʼ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ἐν κακοῖς φιλῶ·

τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικʼ ᾖ, δάκνει.

1120

Μενέλαος

ὁ τοξότης ἔοικεν οὐ σμικρὸν φρονεῖν.
1120

Τεῦκρος

οὐ γὰρ βάναυσον τὴν τέχνην ἐκτησάμην.

Μενέλαος

μέγʼ ἄν τι κομπάσειας, ἀσπίδʼ εἰ λάβοις.

Τεῦκρος

κἂν ψιλὸς ἀρκέσαιμι σοί γʼ ὡπλισμένῳ.

Μενέλαος

ἡ γλῶσσά σου τὸν θυμὸν ὡς δεινὸν τρέφει.

Τεῦκρος

ξὺν τῷ δικαίῳ γὰρ μέγʼ ἔξεστιν φρονεῖν.
1125

Μενέλαος

δίκαια γὰρ τόνδʼ εὐτυχεῖν κτείναντά με;

Τεῦκρος

κτείναντα; δεινόν γʼ εἶπας, εἰ καὶ ζῇς θανών.

Μενέλαος

θεὸς γὰρ ἐκσῴζει με, τῷδε δʼ οἴχομαι.

Τεῦκρος

μή νυν ἀτίμα θεούς, θεοῖς σεσωσμένος.

Μενέλαος

ἐγὼ γὰρ ἂν ψέξαιμι δαιμόνων νόμους;
1130

Τεῦκρος

εἰ τοὺς θανόντας οὐκ ἐᾷς θάπτειν παρών.

Μενέλαος

τούς γʼ αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ πολεμίους. οὐ γὰρ καλόν.

Τεῦκρος

ἦ σοὶ γὰρ Αἴας πολέμιος προύστη ποτέ;

Μενέλαος

μισοῦντʼ ἐμίσει· καὶ σὺ τοῦτʼ ἠπίστασο.

Τεῦκρος

κλέπτης γὰρ αὐτοῦ ψηφοποιὸς ηὑρέθης.
1135

Μενέλαος

ἐν τοῖς δικασταῖς, κοὐκ ἐμοί, τόδʼ ἐσφάλη.

Τεῦκρος

πόλλʼ ἂν κακῶς λάθρᾳ σὺ κλέψειας κακά.

Μενέλαος

τοῦτʼ εἰς ἀνίαν τοὔπος ἔρχεταί τινι.

Τεῦκρος

οὐ μᾶλλον, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἢ λυπήσομεν.

Μενέλαος

ἕν σοι φράσω· τόνδʼ ἐστὶν οὐχὶ θαπτέον.
1140

Τεῦκρος

ἀλλʼ ἀντακούσει τοῦτον ὡς τεθάψεται.

Μενέλαος

ἤδη ποτʼ εἶδον ἄνδρʼ ἐγὼ γλώσσῃ θρασὺν

ναύτας ἐφορμήσαντα χειμῶνος τὸ πλεῖν,

ᾧ φθέγμʼ ἂν οὐκ ἂν ηὗρες, ἡνίκʼ ἐν κακῷ

χειμῶνος εἴχετʼ, ἀλλʼ ὑφʼ εἵματος κρυφεὶς
1145

πατεῖν παρεῖχε τῷ θέλοντι ναυτίλων.

οὕτω δὲ καὶ σὲ καὶ τὸ σὸν λάβρον στόμα

σμικροῦ νέφους τάχʼ ἄν τις ἐκπνεύσας μέγας

χειμὼν κατασβέσειε τὴν πολλὴν βοήν.

1150

Τεῦκρος

ἐγὼ δέ γʼ ἄνδρʼ ὄπωπα μωρίας πλέων,
1150

ὃς ἐν κακοῖς ὕβριζε τοῖσι τῶν πέλας.

κᾆτʼ αὐτὸν εἰσιδών τις ἐμφερὴς ἐμοὶ

ὀργήν θʼ ὅμοιος εἶπε τοιοῦτον λόγον·

ὤνθρωπε, μὴ δρᾶ τοὺς τεθνηκότας κακῶς·

εἰ γὰρ ποήσεις, ἴσθι πημανούμενος.
1155

τοιαῦτʼ ἄνολβον ἄνδρʼ ἐνουθέτει παρών.

ὁρῶ δέ τοί νιν, κἄστιν, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ,

οὐδείς ποτʼ ἄλλος ἢ σύ. μῶν ᾐνιξάμην;

Μενέλαος

ἄπειμι· καὶ γὰρ αἰσχρόν, εἰ πύθοιτό τις

λόγοις κολάζειν ᾧ βιάζεσθαι πάρα.
1160

Τεῦκρος

ἄφερπέ νυν· κἀμοὶ γὰρ αἴσχιστον κλύειν

ἀνδρὸς ματαίου φλαῦρʼ ἔπη μυθουμένου.

1163

Χορός

ἔσται μεγάλης ἔριδός τις ἀγών.

ἀλλʼ ὡς δύνασαι, Τεῦκρε, ταχύνας

σπεῦσον κοίλην κάπετόν τινʼ ἰδεῖν
1165

τῷδʼ, ἔνθα βροτοῖς τὸν ἀείμνηστον

τάφον εὐρώεντα καθέξει.

1168

Τεῦκρος

καὶ μὴν ἐς αὐτὸν καιρὸν οἵδε πλησίοι

πάρεισιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε παῖς τε καὶ γυνή,

τάφον περιστελοῦντε δυστήνου νεκροῦ.
1170

ὦ παῖ, πρόσελθε δεῦρο καὶ σταθεὶς πέλας

ἱκέτης ἔφαψαι πατρός, ὅς σʼ ἐγείνατο.

θάκει δὲ προστρόπαιος ἐν χεροῖν ἔχων

κόμας ἐμὰς καὶ τῆσδε καὶ σαυτοῦ τρίτου,

ἱκτήριον θησαυρόν. εἰ δέ τις στρατοῦ
1175

βίᾳ σʼ ἀποσπάσειε τοῦδε τοῦ νεκροῦ,

κακὸς κακῶς ἄθαπτος ἐκπέσοι χθονός,

γένους ἅπαντος ῥίζαν ἐξημημένος,

αὔτως ὅπωσπερ τόνδʼ ἐγὼ τέμνω πλόκον.

ἔχʼ αὐτόν, ὦ παῖ, καὶ φύλασσε, μηδέ σε
1180

κινησάτω τις, ἀλλὰ προσπεσὼν ἔχου.

ὑμεῖς τε μὴ γυναῖκες ἀντʼ ἀνδρῶν πέλας

παρέστατʼ, ἀλλʼ ἀρήγετʼ, ἔστʼ ἐγὼ μολὼν

τάφου μεληθῶ τῷδε, κἂν μηδεὶς ἐᾷ.

Translations (5)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 915 focus

See where our Aias lies, but newly slain,
915

Fallen on his sword concealed within the ground,
915

Woe for my hopes of home!
915

Aias, my lord, thou hast slain
915

Thy ship-companion on the salt sea foam.

Alas for us, and thee,

Child of calamity!

TEC

So lies our fortune. Well may’st thou complain.

CH. A

Whose hand employed he for the deed of blood?

TEC

His own, ’tis manifest. This planted steel,

Fixed by his hand, gives verdict from his breast.

Woe for my fault, my loss!

Thou hast fallen in blood alone,

And not a friend to cross

Or guard thee. I, deaf, senseless as a stone,

Left all undone. Oh, where, then, lies the stern

Aias, of saddest name, whose purpose none might turn?

TEC

No eye shall see him. I will veil him round

With this all covering mantle; since no heart

That loved him could endure to view him there,

With ghastly expiration spouting forth

From mouth and nostrils, and the deadly wound,

The gore of his self slaughter. Ah, my lord!

What shall I do? What friend will carry thee?

Oh, where is Teucer! Timely were his hand,

Might he come now to smooth his brother’s corse.

O thou most noble, here ignobly laid,

Even enemies methinks must mourn thy fate!

Ah! ’twas too clear thy firm knit thoughts would fashion,

Early or late, an end of boundless woe!

Such heaving groans, such bursts of heart-bruised passion,

Midnight and morn, bewrayed the fire below.

‘The Atridae might beware!’

A plenteous fount of pain was opened there,

What time the strife was set,

Wherein the noblest met,

Grappling the golden prize that kindled thy despair!

TEC

Woe, woe is me!

CH

Deep sorrow wrings thy soul, I know it well.

TEC

O woe, woe, woe!

CH

Thou may’st prolong thy moan, and be believed,

Thou that hast lately lost so true a friend.

TEC

Thou may’st imagine; ’tis for me to know.

CH

Ay, ay, ’tis true.

TEC

Alas, my child! what slavish tasks and hard

We are drifting to! What eyes control our will!

Ay me! Through thy complaint

I hear the wordless blow

Of two high-throned, who rule without restraint

Of Pity. Heaven forfend

What evil they intend!

TEC

The work of Heaven hath brought our life thus low.

CH

’Tis a sore burden to be laid on men.

TEC

Yet such the mischief Zeus’ resistless maid,

Pallas, hath planned to make Odysseus glad.

O’er that dark-featured soul

What waves of pride shall roll,

What floods of laughter flow,

Rudely to greet this madness-prompted woe,

Alas! from him who all things dares endure,

And from that lordly pair, who hear, and seat them sure!

TEC

Ay, let them laugh and revel o’er his fall!
975

Perchance, albeit in life they missed him not,
975

Dead, they will cry for him in straits of war.
975

For dullards know not goodness in their hand,
975

Nor prize the jewel till ’tis cast away.
975

To me more bitter than to them ’twas sweet,
975

His death to him was gladsome, for he found
975

The lot he longed for, his self-chosen doom.

What cause have they to laugh? Heaven, not their crew,

Hath glory by his death. Then let Odysseus

Insult with empty pride. To him and his

Aias is nothing; but to me, to me,

He leaves distress and sorrow in his room!

TEUCER

(). Alas, undone!

LEADER OF CH

Hush! that was Teucer’s cry. Methought I heard

His voice salute this object of dire woe.

TEU
Enter TEUCER .

Aias, dear brother, comfort of mine eye,
980

Hast thou then done even as the rumour holds?
980

CH

Be sure of that, Teucer. He lives no more.

TEU

Oh, then how heavy is the lot I bear!

CH

Yes, thou hast cause—

TEU

O rash assault of woe!—

CH

To mourn full loud.
985

TEU

Ay me! and where, oh where

On Trojan earth, tell me, is this man’s child?

CH

Beside the huts, untended.

TEU

(). Oh, with haste

Go bring him hither, lest some enemy’s hand

Snatch him, as from the lion’s widowed mate

The lion-whelp is taken. Spare not speed.

All soon combine in mockery o’er the dead.

CH

Even such commands he left thee ere he died.

As thou fulfillest by this timely care.
995

TEU

O sorest spectacle mine eyes e’er saw!

Woe for my journey hither, of all ways

Most grievous to my heart, since I was ware,

Dear Aias, of thy doom, and sadly tracked

Thy footsteps. For there darted through the host,

As from some God, a swift report of thee

That thou wert lost in death. I, hapless, heard,

And mourned even then for that whose presence kills me.

Ay me! But come,

Unveil. Let me behold my misery.

O sight unbearable! Cruelly brave!

Dying, what store of griefs thou sow’st for me!

Where, amongst whom of mortals, can I go,

That stood not near thee in thy troublous hour?

Will Telamon, my sire and thine, receive me

With radiant countenance and favouring brow

Returning without thee? Most like! being one

Who smiles no more, yield Fortune what she may.

Will he hide aught or soften any word,

Rating the bastard of his spear-won thrall,

Whose cowardice and dastardy betrayed

Thy life, dear Aias,—or my murderous guile,

To rob thee of thy lordship and thy home?

Such greeting waits me from the man of wrath,

Whose testy age even without cause would storm.

Last, I shall leave my land a castaway,

Thrust forth an exile, and proclaimed a slave;

So should I fare at home. And here in Troy

My foes are many and my comforts few.

All these things are my portion through thy death.

Woe’s me, my heart! how shall I bear to draw thee,

O thou ill-starr’d! from this discoloured blade,

Thy self-shown slayer? Didst thou then perceive

Dead Hector was at length to be thine end?—

I pray you all, consider these two men.

Hector, whose gift from Aias was a girdle,

Tight-braced therewith to the car’s rim, was dragged

And scarified till he breathed forth his life.

And Aias with this present from his foe

Finds through such means his death-fall and his doom.

Say then what cruel workman forged the gifts,

But Fury this sharp sword, Hell that bright band?

In this, and all things human, I maintain,

Gods are the artificers. My thought is said.

And if there be who cares not for my thought,

Let him hold fast his faith and leave me mine.

CH

Spare longer speech, and think how to secure
1040

Thy brother’s burial, and what plea will serve;

Since one comes here hath no good will to us

And like a villain haply comes in scorn.

TEU

What man of all the host hath caught thine eye?

CH

The cause for whom we sailed, the Spartan King.
1045

TEU

Yes; I discern him, now he moves more near.

MENELAUS
Enter MENELAUS .

Fellow, give o’er. Cease tending yon dead man!

Obey my voice, and leave him where he lies.

TEU

Thy potent cause for spending so much breath?

MEN

My will, and his whose word is sovereign here.

TEU

May we not know the reasons of your will?

MEN

Because he, whom we trusted to have brought

To lend us loyal help with heart and hand,

Proved in the trial a worse than Phrygian foe;

Who lay in wait for all the host by night,

And sallied forth in arms to shed our blood;

That, had not one in Heaven foiled this attempt,

Our lot had been to lie as he doth here

Dead and undone for ever, while he lived

And flourished. Heaven hath turned this turbulence

To fall instead upon the harmless flock.

Wherefore no strength of man shall once avail

To encase his body with a seemly tomb,

But outcast on the wide and watery sand,

He’ll feed the birds that batten on the shore.

Nor let thy towering spirit therefore rise

In threatening wrath. Wilt thou or not, our hand

Shall rule him dead, howe’er he braved us living,

And that by force; for never would he yield,

Even while he lived, to words from me. And yet

It shows base metal when the subject-wight
1090

Deigns not to hearken to the chief in power.
1090

Since without settled awe, neither in states
1090

Can laws have rightful sway, nor can a host
1090

Be governed with due wisdom, if no fear
1090

Or wholesome shame be there to shield its safety.
1090

And though a man wax great in thews and bulk,
1090

Let him be warned: a trifling harm may ruin him.
1090

Whoever knows respect and honour both
1090

Stands free from risk of dark vicissitude.
1090

But whereso pride and licence have their fling,
1090

Be sure that state will one day lose her course
1090

And founder in the abysm. Let fear have place
1090

Still where it ought, say I, nor let men think
1090

To do their pleasure and not bide the pain.
1090

That wheel comes surely round. Once Aias flamed
1090

With insolent fierceness. Now I mount in pride,
1090

And loudly bid thee bury him not, lest burying
1090

Thy brother thou be burrowing thine own grave.
1090

CH

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 915 focus

Kein Auge schau' ihn; nein, in dies umhüllende
875

Gewand verbergen will ich ihn, weil Keiner, auch

Der Freunde keiner, diesen Anblick trüge, wie

Zum Haupt empor aus dunkler Wunde, die er selbst

Sich mörderisch geschlagen, strömt das schwarze Blut.

Weh, was beginn' ich? Welcher Freund erhebt dich? Wo
880

Ist Teukros? Käm' er eben heim, er käme recht,

Daß er den todten Bruder mit bestattete.

Ach, armer Ajas, welch ein Held! Welch herbes Loos

Fiel dir, der lauten Klagen selbst des Feindes werth!

Gegenstrophe.

Der Chor.

Verhängt also war's, verhängt, Armer, dir,
885

Mann mit dem starren Sinn, endlich das grause Loos

Ewiger Müh'n zu vollenden, ach! Solches Leid

Hast du mit Seufzen mir stets geklagt,

Bei Tag und Nacht, in wildem Muth,

Grollend des Atreus Stamm, schweren Ingrimmes voll.
890

Ja, maßloses Unheil regt' auf mit Macht

Jener Tag, als die Gewaltigen

Den Streit erhoben um Achilleus' goldne Wehr.

weh, weh mir!

Zum Herzen tief, ich weiß es, dringt ein großer Schmerz.
895

weh, weh mir!

Mich wundert nicht dein wiederholter Weheruf,

Nachdem dir eben solcher Freund entrissen wird.

Tekmessa.

Du kannst den Schmerz begreifen; ich empfind' ihn schwer.

Wir glauben's.
900

Ach! Welchem Sklavenjoche gehen wir, o Kind,

Entgegen? Welche Späher sezt man uns zur Hut?

Der Chor.

Wehe! Der zwei Feldherrn

Unnennbaren Frevel berührst du,

Die gefühllos dies Leiden schaun!
905

Doch ein Gott wend' es ab!

Tekmessa.

Nicht also stünd' es, wollten's so die Götter nicht.

Der Chor.

Wohl überschwer häuften sie des Jammers Last.

Tekmessa.

Ja, solchen Fluch hat Pallas ausgesät, des Zeus

Graunvolle Tochter, um Odysseus' willen nur.
910

Der Chor.

Düsteren Ingrimms voll, Alles zu wagen kühn,

Verlacht dieser, ha!

Mit lautem Hohngelächter den wüthenden Schmerz

Des Mannes, und mit ihm, weh!

Freuen sich, hören sie das, die Söhne des Atreus.
915

Tekmessa.

Sie mögen lachen, mögen sich an seinem Leid

Erfreuen! Weckt' er lebend auch ihr Sehnen nicht,

Den Todten ruft wohl ihre Klag' in Kampfesnoth.

Nie mag ein Gut ja, welches er in Händen hält,

Der Thor erkennen, bis es ihm entwunden ist.
920

Mir ist sein Scheiden bitter, ihnen süße Lust,

Ihm selbst erfreulich; denn wonach er sich gesehnt,

Er hat's errungen, seiner Wünsche Ziel, den Tod.

Was also mag sich über ihn ihr Spott ergeh'n?

Den Göttern starb er, ihnen nimmer, nimmermehr!¹
925

Drum höhn' Odysseus immerhin mit eitlem Hohn!

Denn keinen Ajas gibt es mehr für sie; doch mir,

Mir ließ er scheidend Jammer nur und Gram zurück.

(hinter der Scene)

Teukros.

O weh, weh mir!

Der Chor.

Halt ein! Mir dünkt, ich hörte Teukros' Stimme da
930

Mit lauter Klage, wie sie stimmt zu diesem Leid.

Teutros. Die Vorigen.

Teukros.

Geliebter Ajas, Auge, mir so nah verwandt!

So hast du denn vollendet, wie die Sage herrscht?

Der Chor.

Er hat geendet, Teukros, zweifle nicht daran.

Teukros.

Dann wehe, weh mir Armen um mein schweres Loos!
935

Der Chor.

Bei solchen Schrecken -

Teukros.

Ach, ich Unglückseliger!

Der Chor.

Ziemt herbe Klage.

Teukros.

Weh, verhängnißschweres Leid!

Der Chor.

Zu schwer, o Teukros!

Teukros.

Wehe mir! Doch sagt mir an:

Sein Knabe, wo weilt dieser mir im Troerland?

Der Chor.

Verlassen bei den Zelten.
940
(zu Tekmessa)

Teukros.

Führ' ihn ungesäumt
940

Hieher, den Armen, daß der Feinde keiner ihn

Wegraube, wie der fernen Löwin junge Brut!

Auf, eile, sei nicht lässig! Der Gestorbenen

Nach ihrem Fall zu spotten, liebt ein Jeglicher.

(Tekmessa ab.) Teukros. Der Chor.

Der Chor.

Und lebend noch, o Teukros, hat der Mann für ihn
945

Zu sorgen dir empfohlen, wie du jezo thust.

(den verhüllten Leichnam erblickend)

Teukros.

Oschwerer Anblick, mir der unglückseligste

Von allen, die mein Auge je zuvor gesehn!

O Weg, von allen Wegen mir am schmerzlichsten

Die Brust beklemmend, welchen ich jezt eben ging,
950

Geliebter Ajas, als ich dein Geschick erfuhr,

Und deine Spuren rasch verfolgt' und spähend fand!

Denn eine jähe Kunde, wie von einem Gott,

Durchscholl Achäa's weites Heer, du seist dahin.

Ich, das vernehmend, seufzte still, obwohl entfernt,
955

Ich Armer; nun erblick ich's und vergeh' in Gram.

Weh, weh!

O komm, enthüll' ihn, laß mich seh'n mein ganzes Leid!

(ein Diener enthüllt den Leichnam.)

Anblick des wilden Grausens, kühn verwegne That!

Welch bittern Kummer säst du mir durch deinen Tod!
960

Denn nun, wohin, zu welchen Menschen kann ich fliehn,

Nachdem ich dir im Leide niemals Hülfe bot?

Wird Telamon, dein Vater wie der meine, mich

Mit holdem Auge liebevoll empfangen, wenn

Ich ohne dich erscheine? Was? Er, dessen Blick
965

Sich auch im Glücke nie verklärt zur Heiterkeit?

Was wird er bergen, welchen Hohn verschweigt er mir?

Ich sei der Bastard, aus der Feindesbeut' erzielt,

Der dich dahingegeben, feig, aus zager Furcht,

Vielleicht aus Arglist, theurer Ajas, daß dereinst
970

Dein Haus, des Todten, deine Macht mein Erbe sei!

So schilt der Alte, mürrisch durch der Jahre Last,

Der leicht erzürnte, der um Nichts in Streit entbrennt.

Zulezt verstoßen, muß ich aus dem Lande fliehn,²

Und Sklave heiß' ich, der ich sonst ein Freier hieß.
975

Dies wartet mein zu Hause; hier vor Troja sind

Mir Viele feindlich, Wenig, was mir Hülfe bringt.

Und dieses Alles wurde mir durch deinen Tod.

Weh, was beginn' ich? Wie entreiß' ich deiner Brust

Dies blanke, scharfe, bittre Schwert, den Mörder, der
980

Dir, ach! den Tod gegeben? Sieh, so mußte noch

Zulezt, im Tode, Hektor dein Verderber sein!³

(der Leichnam ist indessen von dem Schwerte abgezogen, auf die Bühne gebracht und das Schwert neben ihn hingelegt worden.)

Erwägt, bei allen Göttern, beider Menschen Loos!

Mit jenem Gurte, welchen Ajas ihm geschenkt,

Ward Hektor einst am Wagenbuge festgeschnürt
985

Und fortgerissen, bis das Leben ihm entfloh:

Und Ajas, der von Hektor diese Gab' empfing,

Liegt nun von ihr in mörderischem Sturz entſeelt.

Hat nicht Erinnys dieses Schwert aus Erz geformt,⁴

Nicht Hades' grause Künstlerhand den Gurt gewebt?
990

Drum sag' ich, daß, wie dieses, so auch Alles sonst

Der Götter Rath stets wirke für die Sterblichen.

Wem aber dies in seinem Sinne nicht gefällt,

Der bleibe seinem Glauben treu, ich glaube dies.

Der Chor.

Nicht säume länger; sinne, wie den Todten du
995

Im Grabe bergen, was du schnell erwiedern willst.

Denn einen Feind erblick' ich, und er kommt vielleicht,

Um unsrer Noth zu spotten, als ein arger Mann.

Teukros.

Wer ist der Mann vom Heere, den du kommen siehst?

Der Chor.

Menelaos, dem zuliebe wir hierhergeschifft.
1000

Teukros.

Ich seh's; er ist schon nahe, leicht erkennt man ihn.

Menelaos. Die Vorigen.

Menelaos.

Du, dir gebiet' ich, daß du nicht den Todten hier

Zur Gruft bestattest, liegen laß ihn, wie er liegt!

Teukros.

Was treibt dich, aufzuwenden solch vermess'nes Wort?

Menelaos.

Ich will es so, so will es, der dem Heer gebeut.
1005

Teukros.

So wirst du sagen, welcher Grund dich solches heißt!

Menelaos.

Weil wir, im Wahne, daß wir ihn den Danaern

Als Freund und Helfer zugeführt, ihn schlimmer noch,

Nach Schlimm'rem trachtend fanden, als die Phryger selbst,⁵

Ihn, der den Tod zudachte Hellas' ganzem Heer,
1010

Und Nachts mit mordbewehrtem Stahl uns überfiel.

Und hätt' ein Gott nicht solches Sturmes Glut gelöscht,

Traf uns dasselbe Mißgeschick, das ihn ereilt:

Schmachvollsten Todes lägen wir dahingestreckt,

Er aber lebte; jezo hat's ein Gott gewandt,
1015

Daß wider Schaf' und Kinder ging der Nasende.

Drum ist im Heere Keiner hier so groß an Macht,

Der seinen Leichnam ehrenvoll bestattete;

Nein, hingeworfen auf den gelben Ufersand,

Des Meeres Vögeln lieg' er da zu süßem Raub!
1020

Nicht grolle denn in ungestümem Zornesmuth!

Denn konnten wir ihn lebend auch nicht bändigen,

Des Todten sind wir sicher Herr, ja, dir zum Troz,

Wird unser Arm ihn zwingen; denn im Leben lieh

Er meinen Worten nimmerdar ein willig Ohr.
1025

Doch ist ein schlechter Bürger, wer als Bürger es

Verschmäht, zu hören auf das Wort der Herrschenden.

Denn weder mag im Staate je Gesez und Recht

In Kraft bestehen, wo die Furcht es nicht beschützt,

Noch wird ein Kriegsheer je gelenkt in weiser Zucht,
1030

Hält nicht der Schrecken und die Scheu das Böse fern.

Der Mann, und wär' er riesengroß, bedenke ſtets,

Den Fall bereiten könn' ihm auch ein kleines Weh.

Denn wessen Brust inwohnen Furcht und Scham zugleich,

Von diesem wisse, daß er wallt auf sichrer Bahn.
1035

Doch wo die Hoffart waltet und die böse Lust,

Die Stadt versinkt einst, ob ihr auch ein guter Wind

Die Segel schwellte, doch zulezt im Meeresgrund.

Nein, etwas Furcht auch hege man zu rechter Zeit:

Und wähne Niemand, thut er was ihm Freude bringt,
1040

Nicht auch zu büßen wieder, was ihm Schmerzen bringt.

So geh'n die Dinge wechselnd: erst war Ajas' Geist

Entflammt in Hoffart, nun bin ich voll hohen Muths.

Und dir bedeut' ich, daß du nicht den Mann begräbst;

Denn, ihn begrabend, gräbst du dir das eigne Grab.
1045

Der Chor.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 915 focus

His own

Doubtless it was ; the sword he fell upon.

Here, fixed in earth, declares it must be so.

Chorus

\approachm(j toivards the body].
925

Alone, without one pitying friend,

Cam'st thou to this dreadful end ;

as 1 not myself to blame,

Who neglectful never came ?

13 ring him, Tecmessa, to my eyes,

Tecmessa

He is not to be seen. This folded garment

Shall hide the horrid sight — a sight no friend

"Would wish to see : whilst from his nostrils streams

The black blood, more still issuing from the wound

Made by his own destructive hand. O me !

What must I do 1 What friend will raise him up 1

Oh ! where is Teucer ? He should have been here

To pay his last sad duty to a brother.

What once thou hast been, and what now thou art.

Thy very foes must sure lament thy fate.

Thy sad purpose was designed ;

Long since wert thou resolved to seek repose

From thy never-ceasing woes :

This from the daily sigh, the nightly tear,

This from thy sorrows did I fear ;

This from thy hate which nought could e'er assuage ;

And 'gainst th' Atridse all thy rage :

For never did thy soul contentment know,

But still with fiercest indignation glow.

Since gi'eat Achilles' arms were given to thy foo.

Tecmessa

O me !

Chorus

Alas ! I know the wound must pierce
940

Thy inmost soul.

Tecmessa

Unhappy, lost Tecmessa !

Chorus

Oh ! I believe thou art indeed unhappy,

Bereaved of such a friend.

Tecmessa

Thou but believ'st it ;

1 am too certain, for I feel it here.

Chorus

1 know thou dost.

Teo. What servitude, my child,

Must we endure ? Who will protect us now ?

Chorus

Doubtless thy fear of future pain

Fi'om the Atridte all are vain,

For never can they mean such ills to thee ;

Unfeeling they of human woe,

Nor love nor piety could know ;

May heaven avert the sad calamity !

Tecmessa

The gods ordained it, and it must be so.

Chorus

But he hath suffered more than he deserved.

Tecmessa

Jove's dreadful daughter Pallas so decreed
955

His fate, to gratify her loved Ulysses.

Chorus

Ulysses, ever pleased to see

His madness, now will smile at thee,

By him the curst Atrid?e led

Perhaps will triumph o'er the dead,
960

And in the cruel mirth with pleasure join.
960

Tecmessa

Let them rejoice, let them insult him now

With savage joy ; but when the dreadful day

Of battle comes, whom living they despised

When dead they shall lament. Fools never ^now^

The treasure's value till tjie k-easure 's lost^ '"^
965

Buf^far moi'e bitter was lug''(Ieath to me

Than sweet to them : to Ajax it was most welcome ;

Death was his only wish, and he obtained it.

Then wherefore should they triumph ? By the hand

Then let Ulysses smile : he is not theirs.
970

He lives not for the Grecians : he is gone,

And has bequeathed his sorrows all to me.

Teucer
Scene IV.

Tecmessa, Chorus.

Teucer

Alas ! alas !

Chorus

Hark ! 'tis the voice of Teucer
975

In mournful sighs lamenting our sad fate.
975

Dear as these eyes to me, hath fame said true,

And art thou iforie]

,y

Ohor. O Teiicer ! he is dead.

Teucer

Unhappy fate I
980

Chor 'Tis so indeed.
980

Teucer

Alas !

Wretch tlmt I am !

CuoK. Oh ! thou hast cause to weep.

Teucer

Dreadful calamity !

Chorus

It is indeed
985

Too much to bear.
985

Teucer

O wretched, wretched Teucer !

Where is the child 1 Is he at Troy ]

Chorus

Alone,

And in the tent.

Teucer

Will ye not bring him to me H^"^

Lest he shall fall a victim to the foe,

Even as the hunters seize the lion's whelp

Left to its helpless dam? Quick ! fly ! assist me ;

For all are glad to triumph o'er the dead.

Chorus

To thee, O Teucer ! he bequeathed the care

Of his loved child, and thou obeyst him well.

A sight so dreadful. Came I then for this

With luckless speed ? O melancholy journey !

To seek thee long in vain, and thus at last

To find thee dead before me, O my brother !

Quick through the Grecian host, as if some god

Had brought the tidings, spi-ead the dire report

Of thy untimely fate. Far from thee then

1 heard and wept, but now, alas ! I see

Unveil the body ; let me view it well.

And count my miseries. Horrid spectacle !

Oh ! rash advent' rous deed ! What weight of woe

Thy death has laid on me ! Alas ! to whom

Or whither shall I go ? Oh, wherefore, Teucer,

Wert thou not here to stop a brother's hand ?

What will our poor unhappy father say,

The wretched Telamon ? Will he receive me

With looks of love and pleasure, when 1 come

Even in the best of times he was not wont

To smile or joy in aught. What then will now

His anger vent ? Will he not speak of me

As of a faithless, base, unworthy son,
995

The spurious offspring of a captive mother,
995

Who hath betrayed and slain his best-loved Ajax
995

To gain his fair possessions after death ?
995

Thus will his wrath, sharpened by peevish a^e,
995

Upbraid me guiltless ; and to slavery doomed,
995

A wretched exile from his native land,
995

Shall Teucer wander forth. Such dreadful ills
995

Must I expect at home. At Troy my foes
995

Are numerous, and my friends, alas ! how few !
995

What shall I do 1 How can I save thee now
995

From this sad fate 1 Oh ! who could have foreseen
995

That Hector, long since dead, at last should prove
995

I do beseech you, mark the fate of both :
995

Dragged the brave Trojan o'er the blood}^ field
995

Till he expired ; and now, behold ! the sword,
995

The fatal steel, and Pluto made the belt.
995

Dreadful artificer ! JBiLt thiSj_an 995

.Thatjiappens to us, is the woi^ of^ Heaven. ^mmmm^
995

If there be those who doubt it, let them hold -ilS^^i^S"
995

Their diff'ring judgments — I shall keep my own.
995

Chorus

Teucer, no more ; but rather now prepare
1040

Against thy foe, whom yonder I behold

This way advancing, with malignant smile

And looks of ill intent.

Teucer

Who can it be ?

From the army, thinkst thou 1

Chorus

'Tis the man whose cause
1045

We came to fight, e'en Menelaus.
1045

Teucer

'Tis so.

As he approaches nigh, I know him well.

Menelaus
Scene V.

Teucer, Chorus.

Menelaus

Stop there ! To thee I speak. Let go the body.
1050

T will not hnvo it touched.
1050

Teucer

Why touch it not ?

Menelaus

Because it is my will^ and his who leads

The Grecian host.

Teucer

But wherefore is it so ?

Menelaus

Greece fondly hoped that she had brought a

friend

And firm ally, but by experience found

That Troy herself was not so much our foe

With deadliest rage to murder all our host,

And, but .some god did frustrate his intent,

The fate himself hath met had been our own.

Then had he triumphed ; but the gods ordained

It should not be, and 'gainst the flocks and herds

Turned all his fury ; wherefore know, there lives not

A man of courage or of power sufficient

He shall be cast, to be the food of birds

That wander there. Thou mayst resent it too,

B^it 'twill be vain. At least we will command

When dead, whom living we could ne'er subdue,

Nor ask thy leave. He never would submit,

But now he must. Yield therefore, or we force thee.

Tis the Plebeian's duty to obey

The voice of those who bear authority.

And he who doth not is the worst of men ;

For never can the state itself support

By wholesome laws, where there is no submission.
1090

An army's best defence is modest fear
1090

And reverence of its leaders ; without these
1090

It cannot conquer. It becomes a man
1090

How great soe'er his strength, still to remember
1090

A little, very little, may destroy him.
1090

He who is guarded by humility
1090

And conscious shame alone in safety lies ;
1090

But where licentious freedom and reproach
1090

Injurious reign, each as his will directs
1090

Still acting, know that city soon must fall
1090

From all its bliss, and sink in deepest woe.
1090

Eemember, then, respect is due to me.
1090

Let us not think when pleasure is enjoyed
1090

We must not suffer too and taste of pain ;
1090

For these to mortals still alternate rise.
1090

There lived not one so proud and arrogant
1090

It is my turn. Take heed, then. Touch him not,
1090

Lest, while thou striv'st to bury him, thyself
1090

Should drop into the tomb.
1090

Chorus

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 915 focus

Doubtless his own: fix'd in the ground the sword,

On which he fell, of this gives certain proof.

Chorus

Thy loss to me is ruin. Thou in blood
925

Hast fall'n alone, and nigh thee not a friend

To guard thee. I was witless, void of sense,

Thus to neglect thee. Where lies Ajax, where

Lies the indignant, stern, ill-fated Chief?

Tecmessa

It is a sight of horror: I will wrap

This robe around him, with its ample folds

Covering his corse: for none, that was his friend,

Can bear to see him from his nostrils breathe

The purple gore, and from the blackening wound

By his own hand inflicted. Wretched me,

What can I do? What friend will bear him hence?'

Where now is Teucer? Hither should he bend

His steps, how opportunely would he come

The corse of his fallen brother to compose!

Was thine! What art thou now? Such, that thy foes

Would pity thee, and o'er thee drop a tear.

Chorus

Fix'd was thy purpose, yes, ill-fated Chief,

Inflexibly thy heart was fix'd to seize

Fit time t' accomplish this disastrous end

Of thy unbounded griefs : such were thy groans

By night, by day; such thy relentless hate,

With passions breathing ruin, 'gainst the sons

Of Atreus. The deep cause of all thy ills

Rose from the contest for the glorious meed

To valour due, the arms Achilles wore.

Tecmessa

Ah wretched me!

Chorus

This strong affliction pierces to thy heart.

Tecmessa

Ah wretched, wretched me!

Chorus

I marvel not at thy repeated groans,

Lamenting the dear loss of such a friend.

Tecmessa

Thou canst but think so, while I feel it deep.

Chorus

My thoughts assent to thine.

Tecmessa

Alas my son,

What yokes of slavery go we now to bear

What eyes shall o'er us keep malignant watch!

Chorus

'Midst these thy sorrows the unfeeling hearts

Of the Atridæ, and their ruthless deeds

Thou wailest: but the gods avert such ills

Tecmessa

These things had not been thus, but by the gods.

Chorus

They sink thee with an heavy weight of woes.

Tecmessa

The dreadful goddess, Pallas, sprung from Jove,
955

To grace Ulysses, gave these evils birth.

Chorus

With insolence this deep-designing Chief

Swells his dark mind; and at these ills, which sprung

From frenzy, jeers with many a bitter mock;

With him, (O grief!) these tidings heard, will join
960

The sons of Atreus, our imperial Chiefs.
960

Tecmessa

And let them mock, in his calamities

Let them exult: the time perchance may come,

Though whilst he lived they lightly prized his worth,

They may lament him dead with many a groan,

And want him in the dreadful shock of war.

The impotent of mind, whilst in their hands
965

They hold a treasure, know not how to prize
965

Its worth, till from them it be snatch'd away.

To me his death brings sorrow, joy to them;

To him it was most pleasing so to die,

It was the consummation of his wish.

Have they then cause to triumph in his death?

No: by the gods he died, and not by them.
970

Then let Ulysses swell with pride, none now

Opposing. Ajax lives for them no more,

But in his death to me leaves woes and groans.

Teucer

Ah miserable me!

Chorus

Be silent; for methinks I hear the voice
975

Of Teucer, mournful for this ill its notes.....

Teucer
[not in sight. TEUCER, TECMESSA, CHORUS.

O Ajax, O my brother, to my soul

Most dear, hast thou, as loudly fame reports,

With all thy virtues purchased this reward!

Chorus

O Teucer, thou must know it; he is dead.

Teucer

Ah, what a weight of misery is mine!
980

Chorus

Afflictions great as these......

Teucer

Cho dd Oh wretched me!

Chorus

Give ample cause for grief.

Teucer

Disastrous fate!

Chorus

Teucer, we feel its weight.
985

Teucer

Ill-fated man!

Where, in the realms of Troy where is his son?

Chorus

Alone within the tent.

Teucer

Go then with speed,

And bring him hither, lest some daring hand

With hostile force should seize him, like the whelp

Of a lone lioness. Go, spare no toil :

All will insult the dead, when low they lie.

Chorus
TEUCER, CHORUS.

Teucer, to thee, while yet he lived, this charge,

To which affection prompts thee now, he gave.
995

Teucer

Of all the sights, which e'er my eyes beheld,

Most mournful this; 'my feet ne'er trod a path

Which led to grief, that rends the heart, like this,

Through which, O dearest Ajax, of thy death

Soon as inform'd, I follow'd thee, and traced

Thy steps; for quick through all the Grecian camp

The rumour of thy dreadful fate was spread,

As of some god: I heard it with dismay,

And distant then groan'd deep; I see it now,

And sink oppress'd with misery. Go, remove

That robe, that all the ill these eyes may view.

Oh, what a sight of horror! What a deed

Of daring desperation! What a store

Of woes hast thou in death laid up for me!

For whither, to what people can I go,

In thy distress who gave thee not my aid?

Will Telamon, the father of us both,

With gentle looks and well-affection'd mind

Receive me, without thee? Will he do this,

Who never, e'en in prosperous fortune, wore

A pleasing smile? Much rather will he give

His rage full scope, and wound me with reproach,

That from a slave, the captive of his arms,

Base-born, through cowardice and abject fear,

Or with a villain's wiles, I have betray'd

And rich possessions. Thus, to anger prompt

By nature, and through age now more severe,

He to high passions will give way, and urge

A charge against me I have not deserved ::

Thus rated as a slave shall I be driven...

An outcast from my country. This my doom

At Salamis: but on the coast of Troy

I shall find many enemies, but few

To favour me, and all this through thy death.

But how, ah wretched me! how shall I draw

Thy body from this sharp deep-piercing sword?

It vibrates in the ground. Unhappy man,

By whom art thou thus slaughter'd! Did thy thought

Conceive that e'er the fatal time would come

When Hector, though long dead, should work thy death?

Mark, by the gods, the fate of both the Chiefs:

Bound by the radiant belt, which Ajax gave,

Was Hector by the rolling chariot dragg'd

The gift of Hector, falls and lies in blood.

Did not the Furies forge that slaughtering sword,

And hell's dread monarch, ruthless artist, frame

That belt? These things I deem, and all th' events

Befalling mortal man, are by the gods

Always assign'd... Is there whose mind dissents?

Let him enjoy his thoughts: but these are mine.

Chorus

Of this no more; but be thy thoughts employ'd
1040

How to entomb this corse, and what reply

Thou soon wilt make: I see a foe, who comes

With rancorous malice to insult thy grief.

Teucer

Whom from the camp advancing dost thou see?

Chorus

The Spartan, in whose cause we sail'd to Troy.
1045

Teucer

I see him near, now easy to be known...

Menelaus
MENELAUS, TEUCER, CHORUS.

Forbear; to thee I speak; remove not hence

That body; let it, as it is, remain,

Teucer

In such a mandate why thus waste thy words?

Menelaus

I will it, and so wills th' imperial Chief.

Teucer

But say, what cause canst thou for this assign?

Is there not cause? From Salamis we hoped

That we should bring him an ally to Greece,

And faithful friend; but found him, put to proof,

More hostile than the Phrygians; for he plann'd

His bloody purpose to assault by night,

And spread destruction with his raging sword

Through all the army: and if this attempt

Some god had not defeated, we had found

The fate now fall'n on him; we had been slain,

In blood with horror roll'd, and he had lived.

He gave the Greek. The gen'rous Greek bestow'd

A radiant belt that rich with purple glow'd...

But now some god from us his hostile rage

Averted, or the flocks and herds to fall.,

For this just cause there is no man that breathes

So potent as to entomb this corse with rites

Of sepulture; but on the weed-clad sand

To all the birds that scream along the shorel

It shall be cast a prey. Nay, do not swell

With rude and boisterous arrogance: alive,

If he disdain'd our pow'r, we will at least

Command him dead, nor ask thy leave, but force

Shall ratify our will; for whilst he lived

My mandates never would his pride obey."

It is the mark of a malignant mind,

When one, not raised above the common rank,

Scorns to obey his rulers. In a state.

Never can laws be well enforced, where fear

Supports not their appointment; and an host

In arms o'erleaps the modest bounds of rule,

By fear and reverence to their Chiefs_unawed.

And it behoves a man, though large his limbs

And vast his strength, to think that he may fall

E'en by a petty ill. But know thou this,...!

Where modesty and fear unite, they bring

Protection; but licentious arrogance,

That gives full sail to its intemperate. will,"

Shall sink the state, though proudly for awhile

She rides before a fair and favouring gale.

Fear then should know its place: nor let us think

That as our wild wills urge us if we act,

We shall not suffer just returns of ill :

These have their course alternate. In times past

Hi insolence flamed high; I triumph now,

And charge thee not to inter him, lest perchance

Entombing him thou sink into the tomb.

Chorus

English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 961-1180 focus

Tecmessa

Then let them mock and rejoice at this man’s misery. Perhaps, even though they did not cherish him while he lived, they will lament his death, when they meet with the difficulties of war. Men of crooked judgment do not know what good

they have in their hands until they have thrown it away. His death is more bitter to me than it is sweet to the Greeks; but in any case to Ajax himself it is a joy, since he has accomplished all that he desired to get—his longed-for death. So why should they exult over him?
965

He died before the gods, not at all before them—no! And so let Odysseus toss his insults in empty glee. For them Ajax is no more; for me he is gone, abandoning me to anguish and mourning.
970

Teucer
Approaching.

Ah! Ah, no!

Chorus

Quiet—I think I hear the voice of Teucer striking a note that points to this disaster.
975

Enter Teucer.

Teucer

Beloved Ajax, brother whose face was so dear to me, have you truly fared as the mighty rumor says?

Chorus

He is dead, Teucer. Take it as fact.

Teucer

Then I am destroyed by my heavy fortune!
980

Chorus

When things stand as they do—

Teucer

Ah, misery, misery!

Chorus

—you have cause to mourn.

Teucer

O rash passion!

Chorus

Yes, Teucer, far too rash.

Teucer

Ah, misery—what about the man’s child? Where in all of Troy can I find him?

Chorus

He is alone near the tent.
985

Teucer
To Tecmessa.

Then bring him here right away, so that we may prevent some enemy from snatching him away, as a hunter snatches a cub from a lioness and leaves her barren! Go quickly; give me your help! It is the habit of men everywhere to laugh in triumph over the dead when they are mere corpses on the ground.

Exit Tecmessa.

Chorus

Yes, while still alive, Teucer, Ajax ordered you to care for the child, just as you are in fact doing.
990

992

Teucer

This sight is truly most painful to me of all that my eyes have seen.

And the journey truly loathsome to my heart above all other journeys is this one that I have just now made while pursuing and scouting out your footsteps, dearest Ajax, once I learned of your fate! For a swift rumor about you, as if sent from some god, passed throughout all the Greek army, telling that you were dead and gone.
995

I heard the rumor while still far away from you, and I groaned quietly in sadness. But now that I see its truth, my heart is utterly shattered! Oh, god!
Come, uncover him; let me see the worst. The corpse of Ajax is uncovered.
O face painful to look upon and full of cruel boldness,
1000

what a full crop of sorrows you have sown for me in your death! Where can I go? What people will receive me, when I have failed to help you in your troubles? No doubt Telamon, your father and mine, will likely greet me with a smile and kind words,
1005

when I return without you. Yes, of course he will—a man who, even when enjoying good fortune, tends not to smile more brightly than before! What will a man like him leave unsaid? What insult will he forego against the bastard offspring of his spear’s war-prize, against your cowardly, unmanly betrayer, dear Ajax,
1010

or better yet, your treacherous betrayer with designs to govern your domain and your house after your death? So will he insult me; he is a man quick to anger, severe in old age, and his rage seeks quarrels without cause. And in the end I shall be thrust out of our land, and cast off,
1015

branded by his taunts as a slave instead of a freeman. These are my prospects at home. At Troy , on the other hand, my enemies are many, while I have few things to help me. All this have I gained from your death! Ah, me, what shall I do? How shall I draw your poor corpse
1020

off the sharp tooth of this gleaming sword, the murderer who, it seems, made you breathe your last? Now do you see how in time Hector, though dead, was to destroy you?
By the gods, note the fortune of this mortal pair.
1025

First Hector with the very warrior’s belt given to him by Ajax was lashed to the chariot-rail and shredded without end, until his life fled with his breath. Now Ajax here had this gift from Hector, and by this he has perished in his deadly fall. Was it not the Fury who forged this blade,
1030

was not that belt the product of Hades, the grim artificer? I, for my part, would affirm that these happenings and all happenings ever are designed by the gods for men. But if there is anyone in whose judgment my words are unacceptable, let him cherish his own thoughts, as I do mine.
1035

1040

Chorus

Do not go on at length, but consider how you will bury him and what you will next say. For I see our enemy approaching, and chances are that he comes to mock at our sorrows, like one who would do us harm.
1040

Teucer

What man of the army do you see?

Chorus

Menelaus, the beneficiary of this expedition.
1045

Teucer

I see him; he is not hard to recognize when near.

Enter Menelaus.

Menelaus

You there, I tell you not to lift that corpse for burial, but leave it where it lies.

Teucer

Why do you waste your breath on this arrogant command?

Menelaus

It conveys my decree, and the decree of the army’s supreme ruler.
1050

Teucer

Would you mind, then, telling me what reason you pretend?

Menelaus

This—that when we had hoped we were bringing Ajax from home to be an ally and a friend for the Greeks, we found him on closer examination to be an enemy worse than the Phrygians,

since he plotted the murder of the entire army and marched by night against us in order to take us with his spear. And if some god had not smothered this attempt, we would have been allotted the fate which he now has, and we would be dead and lie prostrate by an ignoble doom,
1055

while he would be living. But now a god has turned his outrage aside, so that it fell on the sheep and cattle.
For this reason there is no man so powerful that he will be able to entomb the corpse of Ajax. Instead he shall be cast forth somewhere on the yellow sand
1060

to become forage for the birds of the seashore. So then do not inflame the terrible force of your spirit. If we were unable to master him while he lived, in any case in death, at least, we shall rule him despite your opposition and control him by force of our hands. For while he lived, there never was a time
1065

when he would obey my commands.
Now it is, in truth, the mark of a base nature when a commoner does not think it right to obey those who stand over him. Never can the laws maintain a prosperous course in a city where fear has no fixed place,
1070

nor can a camp be ruled any more with moderation, if it lacks the guarding force of fear and reverence. A man, though he grow his body great and mighty, must expect to fall, even from a light blow. Whoever knows fear and shame both,
1075

you can be certain that he has found his salvation; but where there is license to attack others and act at will, do not doubt that such a State, though she has run before a favoring wind, will eventually sink with time into the depths.
No, let me see fear, too, established, where fear is fitting;
1080

let us not think that we can act on our desires without paying the price in pain. These things come by turns. He was once the hot attacker, now it is my hour to glory. And so I warn you not to bury him,
1085

so that you can avoid falling into your own grave.
1090

1091

Chorus

Menelaus, after laying down wise precepts, do not then violate the dead.

Teucer

Never again, my fellow Salaminians, will I be amazed if some nobody by birth does wrong,

when those who are reputed to be born of noble blood employ such wrongful sentiments in their arguments.
Come, tell me from the first once more—do you really say that you brought Ajax here to the Greeks as an ally personally recruited by you? Did he not sail of his own accord? As his own master?
1095

On what grounds are you his commander? On what grounds have you a right to kingship over the men whom he brought from home? It was as Sparta ’s king that you came, not as master over us. Nowhere was it established among your lawful powers that you should order him any more than he you.
1100

You sailed here under the command of others, not as a supreme commander who might at any time exercise authority over Ajax.
No, rule the troops you rule, and use your reverend words to punish them! But this man, whether you or the other general forbid it, I will lay
1105

in the grave as justice demands, and I will not fear your tongue. It was not at all for your wife’s sake that Ajax made this expedition, as did those toil-worn drudges. No, it was for the sake of the oath by which he had sworn, and not at all for you, since it was not his habit to value nobodies.
1110

And so when you come here again, bring more heralds, and the leader of the expedition, too. Your bluster could not make me turn to notice you, so long as you are what you are.
1115

Chorus

Again, I say, in these troubles I cannot approve of such a tone. Harsh words sting, however just they are.

1120

Menelaus

The bowman seems to feel no little grandeur.
1120

Teucer

I do, since it is no lowly skill that I possess.

Menelaus

How you would boast, if you had a shield!

Teucer

Even without a shield I would be a match for you fully armed.

Menelaus

What a tongue you have! What dreadful anger it feeds!

Teucer

When right is with him, a man’s thoughts may be grand.
1125

Menelaus

What, is it right that the man who murdered me should prosper?

Teucer

Murdered you? It is truly a strange happening, if in fact you live after being killed.

Menelaus

A god rescued me. So far as that corpse is concerned, I am in Hades.

Teucer

Then since it was the gods who saved you, do not dishonor the gods.

Menelaus

What, would I find fault with divine law?
1130

Teucer

Yes, if by your presence here you prevent burial of the dead.

Menelaus

Prevent it I do, since he was at war with me and I with him. Burial in such a case would not be right.

Teucer

What do you mean? Did Ajax ever stand forth publicly to war with you?

Menelaus

He hated me as I hated him, and you knew it, too.

Teucer

Yes, he hated you because you had been caught fixing the votes in order to rob him.
1135

Menelaus

At the hands of the jurymen, not mine, he suffered that loss.

Teucer

You could make a thousand stealthy crimes look pretty.

Menelaus

That sentiment leads to pain for someone I know.

Teucer

The pain will be no greater, I think, than that which we will inflict.

Menelaus

I will tell you once and for all—there is to be no burial for him.
1140

Teucer

And hear my reply—he shall be buried immediately.

Menelaus

Once I saw a bold-tongued man who had urged sailors to set sail during wintertime. Yet in him you could have found no voice

when the worst of the storm was upon him. No, hidden beneath his cloak he allowed the crew to trample on him at will. And so it is with you and your raging speech—perhaps a great storm, even if its blast comes from a small cloud, will extinguish your shouting.
1145

1150

Teucer

Yes, and I have seen a man stuffed with foolishness who exulted in his neighbor’s misfortunes. It turned out that a man like me and of similar temperament stared at him and said, Man, do not wrong the dead; for, if you do, rest assured that you will come to harm. So he warned the misguided man before him. Take note—I see him now, and I think that he is no one but you. Have I spoken in riddles?
1150

Menelaus

I will go—it would be a disgrace to have it known

that I argue when I have the power to use force.
1160

Teucer

Leave then! The worst disgrace for me is that I should listen to a fool’s empty chatter.

Exit Menelaus.

1163

Chorus

A trial of this great discord will soon come about. But you, Teucer, with all the speed you can muster,

be quick to seek a hollow grave for Ajax, where he shall establish his dank tomb, a constant memorial for mortals.
1165

Enter Tecmessa and Eurysaces.

Teucer

And now just in time his son and his wife approach

to arrange the burial of the pitiable corpse. Come here, nephew. Take your place near him, and grasp in supplication your father, your begetter. Kneel and pray for help, with locks of hair in your hand from me, her, and thirdly you;
1170

they are the suppliant’s only resource. But if any soldier from the army should tear you by violence from this body, then for his wickedness may he be wickedly cast out of his country and get no burial, but be severed at the root with all his race, just as I shear this lock.
1175

Take it, Nephew, and keep it safe. Let no one move you, but kneel there and cling to the dead.
And you there, do not stand idly by like women, not men. Help defend us until I return, when I have seen to a grave for him, though all the world forbids it.
1180
Exit Teucer.

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-528-1 τίνος ποτ’ ἆρ’ ἔπραξε ¹ ἔπραξε ² ἔρξε ³

mvp-comment-529-1 αὐτὸς πρὸς αὑτοῦ ⁴

mvp-comment-529-2 ἐν γάρ οἱ χθονί ⁵ οἱ … πηκτὸν ⁶

mvp-comment-529-3 κατηγορεῖ ⁷

mvp-comment-529-4 περιπετὲς ⁸

mvp-comment-530-1 οἶος ⁹

mvp-comment-530-2 ἄφρακτος ¹⁰ φίλων ¹¹

mvp-comment-531-1 κωφός ¹²

mvp-comment-532-1 δυστράπελος ¹³

mvp-comment-532-2 δυσώνυμος ¹⁴

mvp-comment-533-1 περιπτυχεῖ φάρει ¹⁵

mvp-comment-533-2 παμπήδην ¹⁶

mvp-comment-534-1 ὅστις καὶ φίλος ¹⁷

mvp-comment-535-1 φυσῶντ’ ἄνω πρὸς ῥῖνας ¹⁸

mvp-comment-535-2 μελανθὲν ¹⁹ οἰκείας σφαγῆς ²⁰

mvp-comment-536-1 βαστάσει ²¹

mvp-comment-537-1 ἀκμαἶ ἂν … μόλοι ²² ἀκμαῖος … μόλοι ²³

mvp-comment-537-2 ἀκμαῖος, εἰ βαίη, μόλοι ²⁴

mvp-comment-538-1 συγκαθαρμόσαι ²⁵

mvp-comment-539-1 οἵως ἔχεις ²⁶

mvp-comment-540-1 ὡς … ἄξιος ²⁷ οἵως ἔχεις ²⁸

mvp-comment-540-2 παρ’ ἐχθροῖς ²⁹

mvp-comment-540-3 τυχεῖν ³⁰

mvp-comment-541-1 ἔμελλες ³¹

mvp-comment-542-1 στερεόφρων ³²

mvp-comment-542-2 ἄῤ ³³

mvp-comment-542-3 Erfurdt's insertion of ὧδ’ ³⁴ ἐξανύσειν ³⁵ οὐλίῳ ³⁶

mvp-comment-543-1 τοῖα ³⁷

mvp-comment-543-2 πάννυχα καὶ φαέθοντ’ ³⁸

mvp-comment-544-1 ὠμόφρων ³⁹

mvp-comment-544-2 ἐχθοδόπ’ ⁴⁰

mvp-comment-544-3 οὐλίῳ σὺν πάθει ⁴¹

mvp-comment-544-4 It is indeed possible to render οὐλίῳ σὺν πάθει ⁴²

mvp-comment-545-1 μέγας ⁴³ ἦν … ἄρχων ⁴⁴

mvp-comment-546-1 ἦμος ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-546-2 ἀριστόχειρ ἀγὼν ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-546-3 ὅπλων ⁴⁷ χρυσοδέτων ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-546-4

ἔκειτ’. κεῖμαι

is the classical pf. pass. of

τίθημι

(

τέθειμαι

being used in a middle sense). Cp. 572 f.

τεύχη

.. |

θήσουσ’ Ἀχαιοῖς

(n.).

mvp-comment-547-1 ἧπαρ ⁴⁹

mvp-comment-547-2 γενναία ⁵⁰

mvp-comment-548-1 καὶ δὶς ⁵¹ οἰμῶξαι ⁵²

mvp-comment-549-1 ἀποβλαφθεῖσαν … φίλου ⁵³

mvp-comment-549-2 ἀρτίως ⁵⁴ ἀρτίου ⁵⁵

mvp-comment-550-1 δοκεῖν ⁵⁶ φρονεῖν ⁵⁷

mvp-comment-551-1 δουλείας ζυγά ⁵⁸

mvp-comment-551-2 οἷοι ⁵⁹

mvp-comment-551-3 σκοποί ⁶⁰

mvp-comment-552-1 ὤμοι, ἀναλγήτων ⁶¹ τῷδ’ ἄχει ⁶² ἀναλγήτων ⁶³ ἄναυδ’ | ἔργ’ ⁶⁴

mvp-comment-552-2 ἄχει ⁶⁵

mvp-comment-553-1 οὐκ ἂν τάδ’ ἔστη ⁶⁶ ἀλλ’ ἀπείργοι θεός ⁶⁷

mvp-comment-553-2 τάδ’ … τῇδε ⁶⁸

mvp-comment-553-3 ἔστη ⁶⁹

mvp-comment-553-4 μὴ θεῶν μέτα ⁷⁰

mvp-comment-554-1 ἄγαν ὑπερβριθὲς ⁷¹ γὰρ ⁷² γ’ ⁷³ ἄγαν ⁷⁴ ἄχθος ⁷⁵

mvp-comment-555-1 μέντοι ⁷⁶

mvp-comment-555-2 Ζηνὸς ἡ δεινὴ θεὸς ⁷⁷

mvp-comment-556-1 ἦ ῥα ⁷⁸

mvp-comment-556-2 ἐφυβρίζει ⁷⁹ κελαινώπαν θυμὸν ⁸⁰

mvp-comment-556-3 The form

κελαινώπης

occurs only here, though Pind. P. 1. 7 has the fem.,

κελαινῶπιν..νεφέλαν

. In Pind. P. 4. 212 he uses

κελαινώψ

(

κελαινώπεσσι Κόλχοις

): and Blaydes here gives κελαινῶπ’ ἀν θυμὸν ⁸¹

mvp-comment-556-4 Schneidewin strangely understands, ‘Odysseus mocks at the frenzy-darkened soul of Ajax.’ Hartung writes κελαινῶπ’ ἔνθυμον ⁸²

mvp-comment-557-1 πολύτλας ⁸³

mvp-comment-558-1 γελᾷ δὲ ⁸⁴ γελᾷ τε ⁸⁵ γελᾷ ⁸⁶

mvp-comment-558-2 τοῖσδε … ἄχεσιν ⁸⁷

mvp-comment-558-3 μαινομένοις ⁸⁸

mvp-comment-559-1 ξύν τε ⁸⁹

mvp-comment-560-1 οἱ δ’ οὖν ⁹⁰

mvp-comment-560-2 κεἰ … μὴ ⁹¹

mvp-comment-560-3 )πόθουν ⁹²

mvp-comment-560-4 ἐν χρείᾳ δορός ⁹³

mvp-comment-561-1 κακοὶ γνώμαισι ⁹⁴

mvp-comment-561-2 τἀγαθὸν χεροῖν ⁹⁵ τἀγάθ’ ἐν χεροῖν ⁹⁶

mvp-comment-561-3 πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ ⁹⁷

mvp-comment-561-4 For the sentiment, cp. Mimnermus fr. 1 (in Nauck's Frag. Trag. 2nd ed., p. 829)

δεινοὶ γὰρ ἀνδρὶ πάντες ἐσμὲν εὐκλεεῖ | ζῶντι φθονῆσαι, κατθανόντα δ’ αἰνέσαι

. Plaut. Capt. 1. 2. 39

Tum denique homines nostra intelligimus bona, | Quom quae in potestate habuimus ea amisimus.

C. 3. 24. 31

Virtutem incolumem odimus, | Sublatam ex oculis quaerimus invidi.

mvp-comment-562-1 Various theories of interpolation have been held with regard to this passage: see Appendix. Most of them are founded on the assumption that Tecmessa's former speech of ten lines (915—924) must be balanced by a speech of the same length here, and that therefore three of the thirteen verses (961— 973) must be struck out. (Nauck, who rejects 918 f., strikes out five verses here, 966—970.)

mvp-comment-562-2 As several objections arise from the alleged incoherence of the speech, it is well to observe the train of thought in 961—973.

mvp-comment-562-3 ‘Let them mock, if they will, at the fate of Ajax; they will perhaps find out, in time of need, what they have lost; foolish men never know their own good fortune till they have thrown it away (961—965). No, his death is no gain for them—though it is anguish for me: for him, it is the release which he desired (966—968). Why should they mock at him, then? They cannot even claim that his death was their work; it is the affair of the gods (969 f.). So Odysseus may exult, if he pleases, but it is an empty triumph. He and his friends have merely suffered a loss; Ajax is gone, —and has left nothing behind him but the sorrow which is mine’ (971—973).

mvp-comment-562-4 ἐμοὶ πικρὸς ⁹⁸ ἢ ⁹⁹ ᾗ, εἰ, ὡς, καὶ ¹⁰⁰ γλυκύς ¹⁰¹

mvp-comment-562-5 θάνατον ¹⁰² ὧν ¹⁰³

mvp-comment-563-1 ἐπεγγελῷεν ¹⁰⁴ κάτα ¹⁰⁵ ἐγγελῷεν ¹⁰⁶ τοῦδ’ ¹⁰⁷

mvp-comment-564-1 θεοῖς ¹⁰⁸

mvp-comment-565-1 πρὸς ταῦτ’ ¹⁰⁹

mvp-comment-565-2 ἐν κενοῖς ¹¹⁰

mvp-comment-565-3 972 f. There is no stress on αὐτοῖς ¹¹¹

mvp-comment-566-1 ἄτης … ἐπίσκοπον ¹¹²

mvp-comment-566-2 μέλος ¹¹³

mvp-comment-567-1 ξύναιμον ὄμμ’ ¹¹⁴

mvp-comment-568-1 ἠμπόληκας ¹¹⁵ ἠμπόληκά ς’ ¹¹⁶

mvp-comment-569-1 ὤμοι ¹¹⁷

mvp-comment-570-1 ὡς ὧδ’ ἐχόντων ¹¹⁸

mvp-comment-571-1 περισπερχὲς ¹¹⁹

mvp-comment-572-1 τί γὰρ ¹²⁰ ποῦ … κυρεῖ ¹²¹

mvp-comment-572-2 μοι ¹²²

mvp-comment-573-1 μόνος ¹²³

mvp-comment-573-2 δῆτ’ αὐτὸν ἄξεις ¹²⁴

mvp-comment-573-3 κενῆς ¹²⁵ κενῆς ¹²⁶

mvp-comment-574-1 ἐγκόνει ¹²⁷ σύγκαμνε ¹²⁸

mvp-comment-574-2 κειμένοις ¹²⁹ θανοῦσι ¹³⁰ θανοῦσι ¹³¹

mvp-comment-575-1 καὶ μὴν ¹³²

mvp-comment-575-2 τοῦδε ¹³³ μέλειν ¹³⁴

mvp-comment-575-3 ὥσπερ οὖν ¹³⁵

mvp-comment-576-1 ἁπάντων δὴ ¹³⁶

mvp-comment-576-2 θεαμάτων … προσεῖδον ὀφθαλμοῖς ¹³⁷

mvp-comment-577-1 ὁδός θ’ ὁδῶν πασῶν ¹³⁸ ὁδῶν θ’ ἁπασῶν ὁδὸς ἀνιάσασα δή ¹³⁹ πασῶν ¹⁴⁰

mvp-comment-577-2 ἀνιάσασα δή ¹⁴¹

mvp-comment-577-3

ἣν δὴ· δὴ

emphasises the pron., as in 1029, 1043, 1045, and often.

mvp-comment-578-1 ὡς ἐπῃσθόμην ¹⁴²

mvp-comment-578-2 διώκων ¹⁴³

mvp-comment-578-3 κἀξιχνοσκοπούμενος ¹⁴⁴

mvp-comment-579-1 βάξις ¹⁴⁵

mvp-comment-579-2 σου ¹⁴⁶ θεοῦ ¹⁴⁷

mvp-comment-579-3 διῆλθ’ Ἀχαιοὺς ¹⁴⁸

mvp-comment-579-4 In sending this

φήμη

to Teucer, Zeus illustrates his attribute of

Πανομφαῖος

( Il. 8. 250 ).

mvp-comment-580-1 δύστηνος ¹⁴⁹ δείλαιος ¹⁵⁰ ἐκποδὼν μὲν ὢν ¹⁵¹ νῦν δ’ ὁρῶν ¹⁵²

mvp-comment-580-2 ὑπεστέναζον ¹⁵³

mvp-comment-581-1 ἴθ’, ἐκκάλυψον ¹⁵⁴

mvp-comment-582-1 ὄμμα ¹⁵⁵ τόλμης πικρᾶς ¹⁵⁶

mvp-comment-582-2 Eustathius (p. 409, 46), whom some critics follow, takes the gen. as depending on ὦ ¹⁵⁷ καὶ ¹⁵⁸

mvp-comment-582-3 1006 f. For the dat. μοι ¹⁵⁹

mvp-comment-582-4 1008 The ironical ἦ που ¹⁶⁰ ἴσως ¹⁶¹ ἴσως ¹⁶² ἰδὼν ¹⁶³ ἐμός θ’ ἅμα ¹⁶⁴

mvp-comment-583-1 πῶς γὰρ οὔχ ¹⁶⁵

mvp-comment-583-2 ὅτῳ πάρα ¹⁶⁶ γελᾶν ¹⁶⁷

mvp-comment-583-3 The v.l. ἵλεων ¹⁶⁸ ἥδιον ¹⁶⁹

mvp-comment-584-1 τί κρύψει ¹⁷⁰

mvp-comment-584-2 ποῖον οὐκ ἐρεῖ κακὸν ¹⁷¹ ἐκ δορὸς γεγῶτα πολεμίου ¹⁷²

mvp-comment-585-1 κακανδρίᾳ ¹⁷³ σέ, φίλτατ’ Αἴας ¹⁷⁴

mvp-comment-585-2 τὰ σὰ … θανόντος ¹⁷⁵

mvp-comment-585-3 κράτη ¹⁷⁶ δόμους ¹⁷⁷

mvp-comment-586-1 δύσοργος ¹⁷⁸ ἐν γήρᾳ βαρύς ¹⁷⁹

mvp-comment-586-2 πρὸς οὐδὲν ¹⁸⁰

mvp-comment-586-3 εἰς ἔριν θυμούμενος ¹⁸¹

mvp-comment-586-4 1019 Join ἀπωστὸς ¹⁸² γῆς ¹⁸³

mvp-comment-586-5 ἀπορριφθήσομαι ¹⁸⁴

mvp-comment-586-6 In the Teucer of Pacuvius, fr. 19 (ed. Ribbeck), Telamon says to Teucer, Te repudio nec recipio: naturam abdico: facesse , i. Pacuvius probably used the lost

Τεῦκρος

of Sophocles, which dealt with the hero's expulsion from Salamis by Telamon. The reference to the subject here may be compared with that in the O. C.(1410) to the theme of the Antigone, and with the allusion in the Philoctetes (1437) to the theme of the poet's lost play, ‘Philoctetes at Troy.’

mvp-comment-587-1 δοῦλος λόγοισιν … φανείς ¹⁸⁵ λόγοισιν ¹⁸⁶ ἀντ’ ἐλευθέρου ¹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-588-1 παῦρα ¹⁸⁸

mvp-comment-589-1 ηὑρόμην ¹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-590-1 τοῦδ’ αἰόλου κνώδοντος ¹⁹⁰

mvp-comment-590-2 Lycophron borrows the word

κνώδων

from this passage, in alluding to the suicide of Ajax (464):

δυσμενεστάτου ξένων | ἔτυψε δώρῳ σπλάγχνον, ἀρνεύσας λυγρὸν | πήδημα πρὸς κνώδοντος αὐτουργοὺς σφαγάς

.—For the ἄρα ¹⁹¹ φονέως ¹⁹²

mvp-comment-590-3 εἶδες ¹⁹³

mvp-comment-591-1 καὶ θανὼν ἀποφθίσειν ¹⁹⁴

mvp-comment-591-2 1028—

mvp-comment-592-1 σκέψασθε … κἀγὼ τάδε ¹⁹⁵

mvp-comment-593-1 ᾧ δὴ τοῦδ’ ἐδωρήθη πάρα ¹⁹⁶ ᾧ δὴ ¹⁹⁷

mvp-comment-594-1 πρισθεὶς … ἐξ ἀντύγων ¹⁹⁸

mvp-comment-594-2 Thus

πρισθείς

is forcibly used here to describe the fatal grip of the girdle, from which Hector could not escape. I do not think that the word was meant also to suggest that the girdle cut into his flesh.—Paley is surely mistaken in explaining

ζωστῆρι πρισθείς

as ‘ lacerated by means of the girdle’:

πρισθείς

could not bear that sense, which is expressed in the next verse by

ἐκνάπτετ’

mvp-comment-594-3 ἀντύγων ¹⁹⁹ ἱππικῶν ²⁰⁰

mvp-comment-595-1 ἐκνάπτετ’ ²⁰¹

mvp-comment-595-2 ἔστ’ ἀπέψυξεν βίον ²⁰²

mvp-comment-595-3 As a matter of verbal criticism, it might be observed that

αἰέν

and

ἔστ’

confirm each other. But the defence of the text rests on broader ground. Evidently we must either reject the whole passage 1028 —1039, as Morstadt and Nauck do, or else leave this verse unaltered. For the parallel between the sword and the girdle, as fatal to their respective recipients, would fail altogether, if the girdle had not been an agent of death to Hector, but merely of insult to his corpse. It is not known whence Sophocles derived this version, which so strangely mars the very climax of the Iliad; possibly from one of the two Cyclic epics, the Aethiopis of Arctînus or the Little Iliad of Lesches, which related the

ὅπλων κρίσις

(see Introd. §§ 2, 3). One thing, at least, seems hardly doubtful. The original motive of this version must have been the same which prompts its use by Sophocles here, —viz., to point the fatal character of Hector's gift to Ajax by connecting a like result with the gift of Ajax to Hector. Two epigrams, attributed to Leontius Scholasticus ( circ. 550 A.D. ), turn on the same legend ( Anthol. 7. 151, 152): see Appendix.

mvp-comment-596-1 δωρεὰν ἔχων ²⁰³

mvp-comment-597-1 πρὸς τοῦδ’ ²⁰⁴ τοῦ κνώδοντος ²⁰⁵

mvp-comment-598-1 Ἐρινὺς … ἐχάλκευσε ²⁰⁶

mvp-comment-598-2

κἀκεῖνον, τὸν ζωστῆρα

. From

ἐχάλκευσε

a verb of more general sense, such as

εἰργάσατο

, is to be supplied: cp. Her. 4. 106

ἐσθῆτα δὲ φορέουσι τῇ Σκυθικῇ ὁμοίην, γλῶσσαν δὲ ἰδίην

: see also n. on El. 435

πνοαῖσιν ἢ..κόνει | κρύψον νιν

. —Some critics think that

ἐχάλκευσε

might be said of the

ζωστήρ

no less than of the

ξίφος

, because a girdle was often adorned with metal-work (see, e.g., Il. 11. 236 ). This seems a little forced.

mvp-comment-598-3 δημιουργὸς ²⁰⁷

mvp-comment-599-1 ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ²⁰⁸ μηχανᾶν ²⁰⁹

mvp-comment-600-1 ἐν γνώμῃ φίλα ²¹⁰

mvp-comment-600-2 κεῖνός τ’ ἐκεῖνα ²¹¹

mvp-comment-601-1 μὴ τεῖνε μακράν ²¹²

mvp-comment-602-1 κακοῖς γελῶν ²¹³

mvp-comment-602-2 ἃ δὴ ²¹⁴

mvp-comment-603-1 τίς δ’ ἐστὶν ὅντιν’ ἄνδρα ²¹⁵

mvp-comment-604-1 ᾧ δὴ ²¹⁶

mvp-comment-604-2 πλοῦν ἐστείλαμεν ²¹⁷

mvp-comment-605-1 μαθεῖν οὐ δυσπετής ²¹⁸

mvp-comment-606-1 οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ ²¹⁹

mvp-comment-606-2 νεκρὸν … συγκομίζειν ²²⁰

mvp-comment-607-1 ἀνήλωσας ²²¹

mvp-comment-607-2 The slow movement of the verse (with only quasi-caesura after the 3rd foot) is intended to mark haughty surprise. Cp. Ant. 44

ἦ γὰρ νοεῖς θάπτειν σφ’, ἀπόρρητον πόλει;

mvp-comment-608-1 δοκοῦντ’ ἐμοί ²²²

mvp-comment-608-2 δοκοῦντα δ’ ²²³ ὃς κραίνει στρατοῦ ²²⁴

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

907-908. mvp-comment-587-1 ἐν γὰρ. κατηγορεῖ] ‘For this sword which he has fixed in the ground, and over which he is fallen, witnesses against him.' Another would not so have slain him. οἱ is to be taken with πηκτόν and περιπετές, and suggests the object ( αὐτοῦ) of κατηγορεῖ. περιπετές is used passively. Essay on L. § 53. p. 99.

910. mvp-comment-588-1 ὤμοι ἐμᾶς ἄτας] 'Woe for me, luckless one!' ἄτη is here a calamity involving blame, as appears from the words ὁ πάντα κωφός, ὁ πάντ᾽ ἄϊδρις in what follows. ἄφρακτος φίλων] 'Without friend to shield thee.' Essay on L. § 10. p. 16 f.

911. mvp-comment-589-1 πάντα is here used adverbially with a merely intensive force, as πᾶν in compounds, Essay on L. § 55. p. 101, 6,

913. mvp-comment-590-1 δυστράπελος] ‘Unmanageable.' Cp. supr. 609, δυσθεράπευτος: 594,5, μωρά μοι δοκεῖς φρονεῖν, | εἰ τοὐμὸν ἦθος ἄρτι παιδεύειν νοεῖς.

914. mvp-comment-591-1 δυσώνυμος] ‘Of ill-omened name.' The Chorus were present when Ajax, supr. 430, 'played nicely with his name.'

915. mvp-comment-592-1 Tecmessa has been gazing beneath the mantle, but, as some of the Chorus draw nearer, she covers the body out of sight. περιπτυχεῖ] ‘Covering.' Observe the repetition of the word used, supr. 899, in a different connection.

916. mvp-comment-593-1 φάρει] Probably the mantle of Ajax; possibly some garment from Tecmessa's own person. See Aesch. Fr. 212. The companions of Achilles, in Il. 18. 352, cover the dead body of Patroclus: ἑανῷ λιτὶ κάλυψαν | ἐς πόδας ἐκ κεφαλῆς· καθύπερθε δὲ φάρεϊ λευκῷ.

917. mvp-comment-594-1 οὐδεὶς . . ὅστις καὶ φίλος] 'No one who loved him.' καί marks the stress on φίλος. An enemy or indifferent person might bear to see him, but a friend could not. So Musgrave, 'Qui saltem amicus fuerit. Libentius quippe talia inimicus, quam amicus aspiceret.' Lobeck and the Scholiast give a different force to καί, as if it meant, 'not even a friend, far less a stranger.' But this is less in accordance with the use of καί in relative clauses. and also with the feeling of antiquity.

918-919. mvp-comment-595-1 ἔκ τε φοινίας πληγῆς] Sc. φυσῶντα, the breath being supposed to issue with the blood from the wound. Cp. infr. 1411, 2. μελανθὲν αἷμα] Cp. infr. 1412, 3, μέλαν | μένος.

919. mvp-comment-596-1 οἰκείας σφαγῆς] ‘His own self-inflicted death-wound. For this use of οἰκεῖος, cp. Εl. 215, οἰκείας εἰς ἄτας, supr. 260, οἰκεῖα πάθη.

920. mvp-comment-597-1 τίς σε βαστάσει φίλων] The huge form of Ajax lying disordered would need a powerful hand to straighten it. Even Teucer needs help, infr. ll. 1409-11. Tecmessa shrinks from asking the Chorus to perform this duty, which, however willing, they would do awkwardly; and for such sacred service a nearer and more equal friend is required.

921. mvp-comment-598-1 ὡς ἀκμαῖος, εἰ βαίη, μόλοι] 'How timely were his coming, if he came.' The optative without ἄν is doubted, but is less harsh coming immediately after another optative; and see Essay on L. § 36. p. 626 (1). Some have supposed a confusion of the expression of a wish with the potential optative. 'Might he but come! How timely!' But this is hardly in the Greek.

922. mvp-comment-599-1 συγκαθαρμόσαι] This compound occurs only here.

925-927. mvp-comment-600-1 Ajax is imagined to have brooded over his injuries for days before his final outbreak. Cp. supr. 194, 5, μακραίωνι .. σχολᾷ. The Chorus now think that the symptoms he then showed ought to have warned them of the possibility of what has followed.

926-927. mvp-comment-601-1 'Thus with iron will to work out an evil doom of boundless woe.' ὧδ' is required for the metre, and adds point to στερεόφρων as a supplementary predicate with ἐξανύσειν. ἄρα, 'As the event has proved.' τοῖα introduces the ground of the preceding inference. Essay on L. § 22. p. 35, 3. μοι is dative of the person interested, 'In my hearing,' or 'To my concern.'

930. mvp-comment-602-1 πάννυχα καὶ φαέθοντ᾽] ‘All night and in bright day.' φαέθοντα is picturesquely substituted for πανημέρια, and the adjectives are cognate or adverbial accusatives with ἀνεστέναζες, of which ἐχθοδοπά, although still cognate, is a more direct object.

931. mvp-comment-603-1 ὠμόφρων] 'With savage thoughts,' a supplementary predicate. The metre is doubtful here, and some MSS. have ὠμόφρον', or ὠμόφρον (vocative sing.).

932. mvp-comment-604-1 οὐλίῳ σὺν πάθει] ‘Under thy calamitous wrong,' i.e. his disappointment in the judgment of the arms, which has had such fatal consequences. For πάθος in this sense, cp. O. C. 1078, δεινὰ δ' εὑροῦσαν πρὸς αὐθαίμων πάθη: and see Phil. 337, 8, πότερον, ὦ τέκνον, τὸ σὸν | πάθημ᾽ ἐλέγχω: O.T. 553, 4, τὸ δὲ | πάθημ᾽ ὁποῖον φὴς παθεῖν, δίδασκέ με.

934-936. mvp-comment-605-1 'Mighty to begin sorrows was the hour when the contest for the [gold-forged] arms was appointed for the hands of the brave.' μέγας ἦν ἄρχων is nearly equivalent to μεγάλως ἦρχεν.

935. mvp-comment-606-1 A choriambus = χρυσοτύπων has been lost before ὅπλων.

937-943. mvp-comment-607-1 After an interval of inarticulate sorrow, in which she only utters brief ejaculations, Tecmessa's feelings take a bitter turn. and her indignation finds vent first against the gods, 950-3, and then against the Atreidae, 961-73. Her pride in Ajax rises above all else.

938. mvp-comment-608-1 'I know, a grief of ample size is piercing to thy soul,' γενναία is not 'genuine' or 'noble,' but 'of great size.' Cp. Shak. Ant. and Cleo. 4. 15. 4, 'Our size of sorrow.'

940. mvp-comment-609-1 'I doubt thee not for wailing more than once,' i.e. I am sure that the feeling equals its expression.

941. mvp-comment-610-1 ἀποβλαφθεῖσαν] ‘Violently bereft.' See L. and S. s. v. βλάπτω, I. 2.

942. mvp-comment-611-1 φρονεῖν] 'To feel and know.' See O. C. 1741; E. on L. § 51. p. 95.

944. mvp-comment-612-1 Tecmessa turns from the Chorus to her child.

945. mvp-comment-613-1 Cp. supr. 497. But for the coming of Teucer and the interposition of Odysseus, Tecmessa's apprehensions would have been verified.

945. mvp-comment-613-2 οἷοι.. σκοποί] 'What eyes are set over our life!' For σκοπός, of one who has a right to call others to account, cp. especially Od. 22. 395, 6, ἤ τε γυναικῶν | δμωάων σκοπός ἐσσι κατὰ μέγαρ᾽ ἡμετεράων. The Atreidae and their underlings are meant. Cp. supr. 512, ὑπ᾿ ὀρφανιστῶν μὴ φίλων.

947. mvp-comment-614-1 ἐθρόησας ἄναυδον ἔργον ᾿Ατρειδᾶν] 'Thou givest utterance to the wordless deed of the Atreidae.' The phrase ἄναυδον ἔργον marks the tacit exercise of absolute power, 'the blow without the word.' For, as Menelaus says afterwards, l. 1160, he has no reason λόγοις κολάζειν, ᾧ βιάζεσθαι παρῇ. ἄναυδον is introduced partly for the sake of the verbal opposition to ἐθρόησας. Cp. Aesch. Eum. 935, σιγῶν.. ὅλεθρος.

949. mvp-comment-615-1 τῷδ' ἄχει] 'In this cry of sorrow.' Cp. O. C. 1722, λήγετε τοῦδ' ἄχους: supr. 895, οἴκτῳ τῷδε.

951. mvp-comment-616-1 'Beyond measure heavy is the burden of the grief they cause.' ἤνυσαν, sc. οἱ θεοί. Aor. of immediate past.

952. mvp-comment-617-1 In identifying herself with Ajax, Tecmessa has learnt to speak scornfully of the gods. 'But the gods are to blame for it all.' His protection has indeed been more apparent in her life than theirs has been. Cp. supr. 490, and note.

954. mvp-comment-618-1 κελαινώπαν θυμόν] ‘In his swart soul.' Accusative of the sphere of movement, lit. 'throughout.' The latter part of the compound is not dwelt upon, but suggests the θυμός as a localized entity, a sort of beast within the man, like Plato's lion (Rep. 9. 588). For κελαινός, of evil passions, cp. Aesch. Eum. 459, ἀλλά.. νιν κελαινόφρων ἐμὴ | μήτηρ κατέκτα. And for the personification of θυμός, Archil. Fr. 68, θυμέ, θύμ᾽ ἀμηχάνοισι κήδεσιν κυκώμενε. ἐφυβρίζειν is not used absolutely elsewhere. It seems here to mean 'to acquire fresh insolence.' Cp. ἐπερρῶσθαι.

954. mvp-comment-618-2 πολύτλας ἀνήρ] 'The unflinching man.' The Homeric epithet is used with a different meaning: viz. 'He who sticks at nothing.' Cp. Phil. 633, 4, ἀλλ᾽ ἔστ᾽ ἐκείνῳ πάντα λεκτά, πάντα δὲ | τολμητά.

955. mvp-comment-619-1 τοῖσδε μαινομένοις ἄχεσιν] 'Over this madness-caused woe.' Dative of the cause or occasion, as is shown by sc. τάδε τὰ ἄχεα, in the following clause. Cp. Εl. 1343, χαίρουσιν οὖν τούτοισιν ; ἢ τίνες λόγοι; For the condensed epithet (sc. τοῦ μαινομένου), see Essay on L. § 43. p. 81, § 35. р. 60.

960. mvp-comment-620-1 κλύοντες] Viz. from Odysseus.

962. mvp-comment-621-1 κεἰ .. μὴ ᾿πόθουν] ‘Though they missed him not.'-after he had withdrawn from fighting. Cp. Il. 1. 240, ἢ ποτ' ᾿Αχιλλῆος ποθὴ ἴξεται νίας ᾿Ἀχαιῶν: ib. 9. 9. 197, ή τι μάλα χρεώ.

963. mvp-comment-622-1 ἐν χρείᾳ δορός] (1) 'In exigency of war,' rather than (2) 'In sore need of his spear.' For the latter, however, cp. supr. 180, ξυνοῦ δορός.

965. mvp-comment-623-1 πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ] 'Till one have lost it,' or 'thrown it away.' For the transition from the indefinite plural to τις, cp. Trach. 11. 2, 3, οὐκ ἂν αἰῶν᾽ ἐκμάθοις βροτῶν πρὶν ἂν | θάνῃ τις. ἐκβαλεῖν is to lose by one's own fault. Cp. Ant. 648, 9, μή νυν .. τὰς φρένας .. ἐκβάλῃς. 'Agamemnon has thrown a pearl away | Richer than all his tribe.' (Shak. Oth. 5. 2).

966-967. mvp-comment-624-1 Either (1) supposing an implied comparative, 'My sorrow in his death is greater than their joy: howbeit, he has pleased himself;' or (2) supposing δέ to be in apodosi, and τέθνηκεν to be virtually hypothetical, 'Be his death joy to them or grief to me, to him it brings content.' For (1), see Essay on L. § 39. p. 73 b; and for (2), cp. Ant. 1168, where see note. As there is nothing but the emphasis to suggest comparison, (2) is preferable.

968. mvp-comment-625-1 περ adds emphasis with reference to the words of Ajax, supr. ll. 473-480, which Tecmessa now recalls. Cp. O. C. 1704. ἐξέπραξεν οἷον ἤθελεν.

970. mvp-comment-626-1 'His death is no concern of theirs, but of the gods alone.' The gods have required this sacrifice, and the will of the Atreidae has had no part in it. For this vague 'dative of the person interested,' cp. El. 1152, τέθνηκ᾽ ἐγώ σοι: Phil. 1030, καὶ τέθνηχ᾽ ὑμῖν πάλαι. So, too, infr. 972, Αἴας γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐκέτ᾽ ἐστίν, κ.τ.λ.

971. mvp-comment-627-1 ἐν κενοῖς] 'In a vain thing': i.e. where his insolence has no occasion, and no object, but is beating the air.

973. mvp-comment-628-1 Cp. Od. 14. 137, 8, φίλοισι δὲ κήδε᾽ ὀπίσσω | πᾶσιν, ἐμοὶ δὲ μάλιστα, τετεύχαται: Trach. 41, 2, πλὴν ἐμοὶ πικρὰς | ὠδῖνας αὐτοῦ προσβαλὼν ἀποίχεται.

973. mvp-comment-628-2 ἀνίας καὶ γόους] 'Distress and sorrow.' For the strength of meaning given to ἀνία here, cp. supr. 496 foll., infr. 1005.

976. mvp-comment-629-1 'Uttering a loud strain that hath regard to this calamity:' i. e. The sudden cry of Teucer shows that his eye has been arrested by the dead body and the group surrounding it. (Schol. οὐχ ἡμαρτηκὸς τῆς συμφορᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐστοχασμένον). He, like Tecmessa, supr. 891, 2, is at first dimly seen in the shade. ἐπίσκοπον is used nearly as in Aesch. Eum. 903, ὁποῖα νίκης μὴ κακῆς ἐπίσκοπα.

977. mvp-comment-630-1 ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμ᾿ ἐμοί] ‘Brother of my love.' ὄμμα, from meaning 'an object of sight,' comes to mean 'an object of regard'—'one with whom we see eye to eye,' and its addition here gives a tone of affectionateness to the expression. See Essay on L. § 54. P. 99 a; and cp. especially, Phil. 171, μηδὲ σύντροφον ὄμμ᾽ ἔχων.

978. mvp-comment-631-1 'Hast thou then done as prevalent Rumour tells?' ἠμπόληκας, 'Hast managed thine affairs, hast done thy business?' See L. and S. s. v. ἐμπολάω, ΙΙ. 2. The phrase at first sight seems hardly tragic; and ἠμπόληκά σ' (Herm.), i. e. 'Have I sold thy life,' by my delay? is at least plausible. But again, ἐμπολᾶν in the former sense, as an expression of common life, may have lost all figurative associations. Cp. Aesch. Eum. 631, 2, ἠμποληκότα | τὰ πλεῖστ᾽ ἀμείνον'. And even retaining ἠμπόληκας in an absolute sense, as in the beginning of this note, the word implies blame in so far as Teucer refers not only to the death of Ajax, but to his loss of honour.

981-986. mvp-comment-632-1 The partition of the senarius between two speakers, which does not occur at all in the Antigone, is in the Ajax confined to this passage and supr. 591-4, where see note.

982. mvp-comment-633-1 ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος] «Ο all-too-swift catastrophe!' referring not to the rash deed of Ajax, but to the sudden consummation of destiny.

983-984. mvp-comment-634-1 τί γάρ. ποῦ] Cp. supr. 101. The precatory μοι indicates Teucer's interest in the child.

985. mvp-comment-635-1 οὐχ ὅσον τάχος, κ.τ.λ.] These words are spoken to Tecmessa, who, in obedience to them, makes her exit here, returning with Eurysaces, infr. 1168. They cannot be addressed to one of the Chorus, as the exit of a single choreutes is quite inadmissible; nor to one of Teucer's own attendants, to whom such an exhortation as σύγκαμνε would be superfluous. As addressed to Tecmessa, the words seem harsh and peremptory; but Teucer, who has been absent, does not know the depth of her feelings, and in his eyes she is merely Ajax' captive. Hence the words, ἴθ', ἐγκόνει, σύγκαμνε, are an example of what is called irony, i. e. they indicate the speaker's unconsciousness.

985. mvp-comment-635-2 δήτα] Although not an enclitic, the particle coming at the beginning of the line is a strong instance of synaphea, and marks the haste with which Teucer utters his command. Cp. infr. 1089, 90, ὅπως | μή.

985. mvp-comment-635-3 κενῆς] 'Widowed, unprotected,' - λέοντος εὐγενοῦς ἀπουσίᾳ. Not 'bereft of young,' as the prolepsis would have a frigid effect. Nor by enallage for κενόν, sc. μητρός, ‘Separated from the mother.' The point lies in the comparison not of Tecmessa to a lioness, but of Ajax to a lion.

988-989. mvp-comment-636-1 τοῖς θανοῦσί τοι, κ.τ.λ.] Whence Eurysaces is in the greater danger.

990-991. mvp-comment-637-1 Supr. 567. 'While still alive, Ajax enjoined that he (Eurysaces) should be thy care, and he is so.' The emphatic οὖν avoids the appearance of supposing that Teucer needed the injunction.

992. mvp-comment-638-1 Having done what is immediately necessary, Teucer becomes absorbed in the contemplation of his dead brother.

994. mvp-comment-639-1 This last heavy-hearted journey dates not from the warning of Calchas, supr. 750 foll., but from the rumour that quickly followed it. The exceptional rhythm of this line, without caesura, expresses the painfulness of the way.

997. mvp-comment-640-1 The participles are to be taken closely with ἔβην; 'Following up and searching out thy doom, when I perceived that it was come':-viz. on hearing the rumour.

998. mvp-comment-641-1 ὀξεῖα] 'Swift': i.e. not only suddenly arriving, but spreading instantaneously.

998. mvp-comment-641-2 σου] Objective genitive = περί σου. Essay on L. § 9. p. 12. βάξις]· 'Talk, bruit, 'noise.' βάξις is generally something disagreeable. ὡς θεοῦ τινος] 'Seeming to come from some god.' Genitive of the agent (Essay on L. § 10. p. 14): sc. πέμψαντος, or the like. On the source of this rumour, see above, note on l. 826. The messenger returning to the camp after l. 814 would bring word that Ajax was dead.

1000. mvp-comment-642-1 The antecedent to ἁ and object of ὁρῶν, viz. 'thy death,' is to be gathered from the meaning of the two preceding lines. Cp. O. T. 6.

1003. mvp-comment-643-1 ἴθ᾽, ἐκκάλυψον] Cp. supr. 915, 16. If Tecmessa is gone, according to the note on supr. 985, these words are spoken either (1) to the coryphaeus, who on her departure might naturally take his station by the corpse; or (2) to an attendant of Teucer. Cp. El. 1468, χαλάτε πᾶν κάλυμμ᾽ ἀπ᾿ ὀφθαλμῶν, ὅπως | τὸ συγγενές τοι κἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ θρήνων τύχῃ.

1004. mvp-comment-644-1 'O sight intolerable! telling of a rash and cruel deed.' ὄμμα here is not merely the person of Ajax as an object of vision, but the whole harrowing spectacle, from which Teucer passes naturally in the next line to Ajax himself. For the genitive τόλμης, 'implying rashness,' cp. Thuc. 3. 45. § 7. πολλῆς εὐηθείας, ὅστις οἴεται. πικρᾶς] Not merely 'passionate,' but 'cruel,' because causing so much pain.

1005. mvp-comment-645-1 The participial phrase ὅσας .. κατασπείρας has the chief stress.

1008. mvp-comment-646-1 The omission of με in all the MSS. is a strong proof of the loss of the sense of quantity in Byzantine times. The line was scanned ἢ ποῦ τελᾶμῶν without suspicion. τ' ἴσως in the Laurentian reading (understood as 'equally') has come in from the next line, and there is no reason to doubt that θ' ἅμα is the genuine reading. Emphatic fulness in dwelling on such relationships is common in Greek, and is especially natural in Teucer.

1008-1010. mvp-comment-647-1 The iteration of ἢ που ἴσως .. πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ; is expressive of Teucer's bitterness of soul.

1010-1011. mvp-comment-648-1 'Who will not smile any the more sweetly, no, not even if good fortune come to him.' The idiomatic force of the comparative can hardly be rendered in translation. Lit. 'Even though fortunate, to smile none the more pleasantly (on that account)'. For πάρα, cp. supr. 904, αἰάζειν πάρα: infr. 982, πάρα στενάζειν.

1011. mvp-comment-649-1 There is a slight irony in ἥδιον. The Laurentian reading, μηδὲν ἵλεων γελᾶν, is not Greek, and ἥδιον, the reading of Par. A and several other MSS., is further supported by the unintelligible reading ἴδιον c. gl. οἰκεῖον in V', which is clearly a corruption of ἥδιον, and may have given rise to ἵλεων. See Phil. 1392, and v. rr. Others explain the words to mean, 'Whose custom it is not to smile pleasantly when fortunate.' But such a meaning of παρεῖναι is doubtful, and the comparative is then without point. The line, as above interpreted, may remind us of the story of Henry the First of England, who is said never to have smiled again after the death of his son, William the Aetheling. For the sorrow of Telamon, cp. Fr. 516 (from the 'Teucer'), ὡς ἄρ᾽, ὦ τέκνον, κενὴν | ἐτερπόμην σου τέρψιν εὐλογουμένου | ὡς ζῶντος· ἡ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐν σκότῳ λαθοῦσά με | ἕσαιν᾿ Ἐρινὺς ἡδοναῖς ἐψευσμένον.

1012. mvp-comment-650-1 τί κρύψει;] 'Over what will he draw the veil?' i. e. He will not soften the shame of my birth, though it reflects on himself.

1013. mvp-comment-651-1 By a slight prolepsis the evil that is supposed to be predicated is made part of the subject. 'What evil will he not speak of me,-of the base-born issue of his spear?' i. e. Will he not call me so? Cp. Il. 8. 283 (of Telamon), ὅ σ᾽ ἔτρεφε τυτθὸν ἐόντα | καί σε νόθον περ ἐόντα κομίσσατο.

1017. mvp-comment-652-1 ἀνὴρ. βαρύς] ‘A passionate man, whom old age makes dangerous.' Telamon had always been irascible (this helps to account for the impetuosity of his son), and a bad temper is not improved by age. We may infer, too, from Teucer's fear of Telamon, that Ajax was the favourite son.

1018. mvp-comment-653-1 πρὸς οὐδὲν θυμούμενος] Either (1) connecting εἰς ἔριν with with θυμούμενος, ‘Angered into strife at nothing;' or (2) joining οὐδὲν εἰς ἔριν, ‘Angered at what is no cause of quarrel.' For (2), cp. Eur. Phoen. 598, κατα σὺν πολλοῖσιν ἦλθες πρὶς τὸν οὐδὲν ἐς μαχήν, where οὐδέν taken alone does not answer sufficiently to δειλὸν καὶ φιλόψυχον in the preceding line: Plat. Phil. 17 C, εἰς ταῦτα οὐδενὸς ἄξιος ἔσει.

1020. mvp-comment-654-1 λόγοισιν φανείς] 'Proclaimed,' i. e. by Telamon, who would declare Teucer to be the son of a slave-woman, and therefore ineligible for the succession.

1022. mvp-comment-655-1 Although there is some confusion in the MSS. here, the reading of this line is tolerably certain.

1023. mvp-comment-656-1 He resumes what he had said in l. 1005, and thus returns from himself to Ajax, and to the duties of the present hour.

1024-1025. mvp-comment-657-1 πῶς. κνώδοντος] 'How shall I disengage thee from this cruel, gleaming blade?' The first notion of κνώδων (cp. κνώδαξ) seems to be 'a projecting point' or 'tooth.' Here the point of the sword, projecting through the body of Ajax, is clearly meant, as this alone could be seen. The mantle ( supr. 899, 915) has been removed at l. 1003. αἰόλου may mean 'discoloured,' as in Phil. 1157, ἐμᾶς σαρκὸς αἰόλας, or 'bright in part,' the sheen of the newly whetted blade remaining where not obscured by the blood.

1026. mvp-comment-658-1 φονέως] Teucer, like Ajax, supr. 815, personifies the weapon, which, as the gift of Hector, is imagined to be instinct with enmity. His mind is in sympathy with his brother's, and he falls into a similar train of reasoning.

1027. mvp-comment-659-1 Cp. Trach. 1162, 3, ὅδ᾽ οὖν ὁ θὴρ Κενταύρος, ὡς τὸ θεῖον ἦν | πρύφαντον, οὕτω ζῶντά μ' ἔκτεινεν θανών. ἀποφθίσειν has been changed to ἀποφθιεῖν, as the Attic form. But it must remain uncertain how far this was required by the tragic dialect.

1029-1031. mvp-comment-660-1 This variation from the story of the Iliad is followed by Quintus Smyrnaeus, and was probably that adopted by the author of the Ilias minor. See Introduction, and cp. Eur. Andr. 399, σφαγὰς . . Ἕκτορος τροχηλάτους. The exchange of presents occurs in Il. 7. 303-5, ὡς ἄρα φωνήσας δῶκε ξίφος ἀργυρόηλον, | σὺν κολεῷ τε φέρων καὶ ἐϋτμήτῳ τελαμῶνι· | Αἴας δὲ ζωστῆρα δίδου φοίνικι φαεινόν.

1029. mvp-comment-661-1 πρισθείς] « Gallingly tied;' i. e, not only bound fast, but cut by the strained cords as he hung. Cp. El. 862, τμητοῖς ὁλκοῖς ἐγκῦρσαι.

1031. mvp-comment-662-1 ἐκνάπτετ'] 'His flesh was frayed,' upon the stones as he was dragged along. Cp. especially, Plat. Rep. B. 10. p. 616 Α, εἶλκον .. ἐπ᾿ ἀσπαλάθων κνάπτοντες. βίον is added for the sake of definiteness, as ἀποψύξαι alone may mean 'to swoon.'

1033. mvp-comment-663-1 πρὸς τοῦδ᾽] Sc. τοῦ κνώδοντος, supr. 1025. The masculine gender is resumed, after τήνδε δωρεάν, as more appropriate to the personification of the sword. πεσήματι, like πηδήματι, supr. 833, refers to the act of falling on the sword.

1035. mvp-comment-664-1 κἀκεῖνον] Sc. τὸν ζωστῆρα.

1036. mvp-comment-665-1 μὲν οὖν evades a direct answer to the preceding question. Any one is free to deny that this is the work of the Erinys and of Hades. As for Teucer, he will always refer every event to a Divine Power. And to what Powers but these can the present events be referred?

1039. mvp-comment-666-1 ἐκεῖνα] Sc. ἃ φίλα αὐτῷ τυγχάνει ὄντα. For this vague pronoun, cp. Eur. Alc. 867, 8, ζηλῶ φθιμένους, κείνων ἔραμαι, | κεῖν᾽ ἐπιθυμῶ δώματα ναίειν.

1040-1041. mvp-comment-667-1 The Chorus, knowing the imminent danger, are impatient of general reflections. And seeing Menelaus coming, they urge Teucer to break off.

1042. mvp-comment-668-1 κακοῖς] Dative of cause. Cp. supr. 955 and note.

1043. mvp-comment-669-1 ἃ δή] = οἷα δή. Cp. Plat. Phaedr. 244 D, ἀλλὰ μὴν νόσων γε.., ἃ δὴ παλαιῶν ἐκ μηνιμάτων ποθὲν ἔν τισι τῶν γενῶν.

1044. mvp-comment-670-1 στρατοῦ] It must be one of the host, for no one else would venture so near to the Achaean lines.

1045. mvp-comment-671-1 ᾧ] 'For whose behalf.' For this dative of direct reference (Essay on L. § 12. p. 18), cp. especially O. C. 1673, ᾧ τινι τὸν πολὺν | .. πόνον ἔμπεδον εἴχομεν.

1046. mvp-comment-672-1 Menelaus is a familiar figure in the Trojan camp.

1047. mvp-comment-673-1 σὲ φωνῶ, κ.τ.λ.] φωνῶ is here used with the construction of ἐννέπω, O. T. 350, ἐννέπω σὲ . . ἐμμένειν.

1048. mvp-comment-674-1 συγκομίζειν] Το 'bring home'; a metaphor from the harvest-field, the dead body being 'like a shock of corn.' Or, to speak more accurately, the same general meaning of the word applies to both cases, without our necessarily supposing any conscious metaphor. Cp. Eur. H. F. 1422, ἀλλ᾽ ἐσκόμιζε τέκνα δυσκόμιστα γῇ.

1049. mvp-comment-675-1 τοσόνδ' is said ironically. 'Why hast thou wasted so many words—few as they were?'

1050. mvp-comment-676-1 δοκοῦντα (neut. pl.) is governed by εἶπον, understood from ἀνήλωσας λόγον. The participle gives the reason, i.e. διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν. 'The cause is in my will.' For the ellipse of the antecedent to ὅς, cp. especially Trach. 1233, τίς γάρ ποθ', ἥ μοι, κ.τ.λ.

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901–1050

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ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Ἰώ μοί μοι. 950

ΧΟΡΟΣ 975 Σίγησον· αὐδὴν γὰρ δοκῶ Τεύκρου κλύειν βοῶντος ἄτης τῆςδ’ ἐπίσκοπον μέλος.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Ὢ φίλτατ’ Αἴας, ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμ’ ἐμοὶ, ἆρ’ ἠμπόληκας, ὥςπερ ἡ φάτις κρατεῖ;

ΧΟΡΟΣ ὄλωλεν ἁνὴρ, Τεῦκρε, τοῦτ’ ὲπἐστασο. 955

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ 980 ὤ μοι βαρείας ἆρα τῆς ἐμῆς τύχης.

ΧΟΡΟΣ Ὡς ὧδ’ ἐχόντων —

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ ὦ τάλας ἐγὼ, τάλας.

ΧΟΡΟΣ Πάρα στενάζειν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος !

ΧΟΡΟΣ Ἄγαν γε, Τεῦκρε.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ φεῦ τάλας! τί γὰρ τέκνον τὸ τοῦδε, ποῦ μοι γῆς κυρεῖ τῆς Τρῳάδος; 960

ΧΟΡΟΣ 985 Μόνος παρὰ σκηναῖσιν.

ΧΟΡΟΣ 990 Καὶ μὴν ἔτι ζῶν, Τεῦκρε, τοῦδέ σοι μέλειν ὲφιεθ’ ‘ἀνὴρ κεῖνος, ὥςπερ οὖν μέλει.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Τίς δ’ ἔστιν, ὅντιν’ ἄνδρα προςλεύσσεις στρατοῦ; 1020

ΧΟΡΟΣ 1045 Μενέλαος, ᾦ δὴ τόνδε πλοῦν ἐστείλαμεν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Ορῶ· μαθεῖν γὰρ, ἐγγὺς ὢν, οὐ δυςπετής.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ Οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ· τόνδε τὸν νεκρὸν χεροῖν μὴ ξυγκομίζειν, ἀλλ’ ἐᾷν, ὅπως ἔχει.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Τινος χάριν τοσόνδ’ ἀνάλωσας λόγον; 1025

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ 1050 Δοκοῦντ’ ἐμοὶ, δοκοῦντα δ’, ὅς κραίνει στρατου.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Οὔκουν ἂν εἴποις, ἥντιν’ αἰτίαν προθείς;

ΧΟΡΟΣ Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς, εἶτ’ αὐτὸς ὲν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

ΧΟΡΟΣ Οὐδ’ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ὲν κακοῖς φιλῶ. τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικ’ ᾖ, δάκνει. 1095

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ 1120 ὁ τοξότης ἔοικεν οὐ σμικρὸν φρονεῖν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Οὐ γὰρ βάναυσον τὴν τέγνην ἐκτησάμην.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ Μέγ’ ἄν τι κομπάσειας, ἀσπίδ’ εἰ λάβοις.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Κἂν ψιλὸς ἀρκέσαιμι σοί γ’ ὡπλισμένῳ.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ Η γλῶσσά σου τὸν θυμὸν ὡς δεινὸν τρέφει. 1100

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ 1125 Ξὺν τῷ δικαίῳ γὰρ μέγ’ ἔξεστιν φρονεῖν.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ Δίκαια γὰρ τόνδ’ εὐτυχεῖν, κτείναντά με;

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Κτείναντα; δεινόν γ’ εἶπας, εἰ καὶ ζῆς θανών.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ Θεὸς γὰρ ἐκσώζει με, τῷδε δ’ οἴχομαι.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ μὴ νυν ἀτίμα θεοὺς, θεοῖς σεσωσμένος. 1105

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ 1130 ἑγὼ γὰρ ἂν ψέξαιμι δαιμόνων νόμους;

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ εἰ τοὺς θανόντας οὐκ ἐᾷς θάπτειν παρών.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ Τούς γ’ αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ πολεμίους· οὐ γὰρ καλόν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ ᾖ σοὶ γὰρ Αἴας πολέμιος προὔστη ποτέ;

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ Μισοῦντ’ ἐμίσει· καὶ σὺ τοῦτ’ ἠπίστασο. 1110

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Κλέπτης γὰρ αὐτοῦ ψηφοποιὸς εὑρέθης. UBS

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ ἐν τοῖς δικασταῖς, κοὐκ ἐμοὶ, τόδ’ ἐσφάλη.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Πόλλ’ ἂν κακῶς λάθρα σὺ κλέψειας κακά.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ Τοῦτ’ εἰς ἀνίαν τοὖπος ἔρχεται τινί.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Οὐ μᾶλλον, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἢ λυπήσομεν. 1115

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ 1140 ἕv σοι φράσω· τόνδ’ ἐστὶν οὐχὶ θαπτέον.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Σὺ δ’ ἀντακούσει τοῦτον, ὡς τεθάψεται.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ Ἄπειμι· καὶ γὰρ αἰσχρὸν, εἰ πύθοιτό τις, 1135 1160 λόγοις κολάζειν, ᾧ βιάζεσθαι πάρα.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ Ἄφερπέ νυν · κἀμοὶ γὰρ αἴσχιστον κλύειν ἀνδρὸς ματαίου, φλαῦρ’ ἔπη μυθουμένου.

Τεῦκρος ἰώ μοί μοι.

Χορός σίγησον· αὐδὴν γὰρ δοκῶ Τεύκρου κλύειν 975 βοῶντος ἄτης τῆσδʼ ἐπίσκοπον μέλος.

Τεῦκρος ὦ φίλτατʼ Αἴας, ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμʼ ἐμοί, ἆρʼ ἠμπόληκας ὥσπερ ἡ φάτις κρατεῖ;

Χορός ὄλωλεν ἁνήρ, Τεῦκρε, τοῦτʼ ἐπίστασο.

Τεῦκρος ὤμοι βαρείας ἆρα τῆς ἐμῆς τύχης. 980

Χορός ὡς ὧδʼ ἐχόντων

Τεῦκρος ὦ τάλας ἐγώ, τάλας.

Χορός πάρα στενάζειν.

Τεῦκρος ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος.

Χορός ἄγαν γε, Τεῦκρε.

Τεῦκρος φεῦ τάλας· τί γὰρ τέκνον τὸ τοῦδε, ποῦ μοι γῆς κυρεῖ τῆς Τρῳάδος;

Χορός μόνος παρὰ σκηναῖσιν. 985

Χορός καὶ μὴν ἔτι ζῶν, Τεῦκρε, τοῦδέ σοι μέλειν 990 ἐφίεθʼ ἁνὴρ κεῖνος, ὥσπερ οὖν μέλει. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Τεῦκρος τίς δʼ ἐστὶν ὅντινʼ ἄνδρα προσλεύσσεις στρατοῦ;

Χορός Μενέλαος, ᾧ δὴ τόνδε πλοῦν ἐστείλαμεν. 1045

Τεῦκρος ὁρῶ· μαθεῖν γὰρ ἐγγὺς ὢν οὐ δυσπετής.

Μενέλαος οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ τόνδε τὸν νεκρὸν χεροῖν μὴ συγκομίζειν, ἀλλʼ ἐᾶν ὅπως ἔχει.

Τεῦκρος τίνος χάριν τοσόνδʼ ἀνήλωσας λόγον;

Μενέλαος δοκοῦντʼ ἐμοί, δοκοῦντα δʼ ὃς κραίνει στρατοῦ. 1050

Τεῦκρος οὔκουν ἂν εἴποις ἥντινʼ αἰτίαν προθείς;

Χορός Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς εἶτʼ αὐτὸς ἐν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

Χορός οὐδʼ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ἐν κακοῖς φιλῶ· τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικʼ ᾖ, δάκνει.

Μενέλαος ὁ τοξότης ἔοικεν οὐ σμικρὸν φρονεῖν. 1120

Τεῦκρος οὐ γὰρ βάναυσον τὴν τέχνην ἐκτησάμην.

Μενέλαος μέγʼ ἄν τι κομπάσειας, ἀσπίδʼ εἰ λάβοις. 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88

Τεῦκρος κἂν ψιλὸς ἀρκέσαιμι σοί γʼ ὡπλισμένῳ.

Μενέλαος ἡ γλῶσσά σου τὸν θυμὸν ὡς δεινὸν τρέφει.

Τεῦκρος ξὺν τῷ δικαίῳ γὰρ μέγʼ ἔξεστιν φρονεῖν. 1125

Μενέλαος δίκαια γὰρ τόνδʼ εὐτυχεῖν κτείναντά με;

Τεῦκρος κτείναντα; δεινόν γʼ εἶπας, εἰ καὶ ζῇς θανών.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Ἰώ μοί μοι.
950

ΧΟΡΟΣ

975 Σίγησον· αὐδὴν γὰρ δοκῶ Τεύκρου κλύειν

βοῶντος ἄτης τῆςδ’ ἐπίσκοπον μέλος.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Ὢ φίλτατ’ Αἴας, ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμ’ ἐμοὶ,

ἆρ’ ἠμπόληκας, ὥςπερ ἡ φάτις κρατεῖ;

ΧΟΡΟΣ

ὄλωλεν ἁνὴρ, Τεῦκρε, τοῦτ’ ὲπἐστασο.
955

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

980 ὤ μοι βαρείας ἆρα τῆς ἐμῆς τύχης.

ΧΟΡΟΣ

Ὡς ὧδ’ ἐχόντων —

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

ὦ τάλας ἐγὼ, τάλας.

ΧΟΡΟΣ

Πάρα στενάζειν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος !

ΧΟΡΟΣ

Ἄγαν γε, Τεῦκρε.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

φεῦ τάλας! τί γὰρ τέκνον

τὸ τοῦδε, ποῦ μοι γῆς κυρεῖ τῆς Τρῳάδος;
960

ΧΟΡΟΣ

985 Μόνος παρὰ σκηναῖσιν.

ΧΟΡΟΣ

990 Καὶ μὴν ἔτι ζῶν, Τεῦκρε, τοῦδέ σοι μέλειν

ὲφιεθ’ ‘ἀνὴρ κεῖνος, ὥςπερ οὖν μέλει.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Τίς δ’ ἔστιν, ὅντιν’ ἄνδρα προςλεύσσεις στρατοῦ;
1020

ΧΟΡΟΣ

1045 Μενέλαος, ᾦ δὴ τόνδε πλοῦν ἐστείλαμεν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Ορῶ· μαθεῖν γὰρ, ἐγγὺς ὢν, οὐ δυςπετής.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ· τόνδε τὸν νεκρὸν χεροῖν

μὴ ξυγκομίζειν, ἀλλ’ ἐᾷν, ὅπως ἔχει.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Τινος χάριν τοσόνδ’ ἀνάλωσας λόγον;
1025

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

1050 Δοκοῦντ’ ἐμοὶ, δοκοῦντα δ’, ὅς κραίνει στρατου.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Οὔκουν ἂν εἴποις, ἥντιν’ αἰτίαν προθείς;

ΧΟΡΟΣ

Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς,

εἶτ’ αὐτὸς ὲν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

ΧΟΡΟΣ

Οὐδ’ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ὲν κακοῖς φιλῶ.

τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικ’ ᾖ, δάκνει.
1095

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

1120 ὁ τοξότης ἔοικεν οὐ σμικρὸν φρονεῖν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Οὐ γὰρ βάναυσον τὴν τέγνην ἐκτησάμην.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Μέγ’ ἄν τι κομπάσειας, ἀσπίδ’ εἰ λάβοις.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Κἂν ψιλὸς ἀρκέσαιμι σοί γ’ ὡπλισμένῳ.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Η γλῶσσά σου τὸν θυμὸν ὡς δεινὸν τρέφει.
1100

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

1125 Ξὺν τῷ δικαίῳ γὰρ μέγ’ ἔξεστιν φρονεῖν.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Δίκαια γὰρ τόνδ’ εὐτυχεῖν, κτείναντά με;

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Κτείναντα; δεινόν γ’ εἶπας, εἰ καὶ ζῆς θανών.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Θεὸς γὰρ ἐκσώζει με, τῷδε δ’ οἴχομαι.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

μὴ νυν ἀτίμα θεοὺς, θεοῖς σεσωσμένος.
1105

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

1130 ἑγὼ γὰρ ἂν ψέξαιμι δαιμόνων νόμους;

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

εἰ τοὺς θανόντας οὐκ ἐᾷς θάπτειν παρών.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Τούς γ’ αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ πολεμίους· οὐ γὰρ καλόν.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

ᾖ σοὶ γὰρ Αἴας πολέμιος προὔστη ποτέ;

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Μισοῦντ’ ἐμίσει· καὶ σὺ τοῦτ’ ἠπίστασο.
1110

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Κλέπτης γὰρ αὐτοῦ ψηφοποιὸς εὑρέθης. UBS

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

ἐν τοῖς δικασταῖς, κοὐκ ἐμοὶ, τόδ’ ἐσφάλη.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Πόλλ’ ἂν κακῶς λάθρα σὺ κλέψειας κακά.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Τοῦτ’ εἰς ἀνίαν τοὖπος ἔρχεται τινί.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Οὐ μᾶλλον, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἢ λυπήσομεν.
1115

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

1140 ἕv σοι φράσω· τόνδ’ ἐστὶν οὐχὶ θαπτέον.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Σὺ δ’ ἀντακούσει τοῦτον, ὡς τεθάψεται.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ

Ἄπειμι· καὶ γὰρ αἰσχρὸν, εἰ πύθοιτό τις,
1135

1160 λόγοις κολάζειν, ᾧ βιάζεσθαι πάρα.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ

Ἄφερπέ νυν · κἀμοὶ γὰρ αἴσχιστον κλύειν

ἀνδρὸς ματαίου, φλαῦρ’ ἔπη μυθουμένου.

Τεῦκρος

ἰώ μοί μοι.

Χορός

σίγησον· αὐδὴν γὰρ δοκῶ Τεύκρου κλύειν
975

βοῶντος ἄτης τῆσδʼ ἐπίσκοπον μέλος.

Τεῦκρος

ὦ φίλτατʼ Αἴας, ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμʼ ἐμοί,

ἆρʼ ἠμπόληκας ὥσπερ ἡ φάτις κρατεῖ;

Χορός

ὄλωλεν ἁνήρ, Τεῦκρε, τοῦτʼ ἐπίστασο.

Τεῦκρος

ὤμοι βαρείας ἆρα τῆς ἐμῆς τύχης.
980

Χορός

ὡς ὧδʼ ἐχόντων

Τεῦκρος

ὦ τάλας ἐγώ, τάλας.

Χορός

πάρα στενάζειν.

Τεῦκρος

ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος.

Χορός

ἄγαν γε, Τεῦκρε.

Τεῦκρος

φεῦ τάλας· τί γὰρ τέκνον

τὸ τοῦδε, ποῦ μοι γῆς κυρεῖ τῆς Τρῳάδος;

Χορός

μόνος παρὰ σκηναῖσιν.
985

Χορός

καὶ μὴν ἔτι ζῶν, Τεῦκρε, τοῦδέ σοι μέλειν
990

ἐφίεθʼ ἁνὴρ κεῖνος, ὥσπερ οὖν μέλει.

¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹²⁰

Τεῦκρος

τίς δʼ ἐστὶν ὅντινʼ ἄνδρα προσλεύσσεις στρατοῦ;

Χορός

Μενέλαος, ᾧ δὴ τόνδε πλοῦν ἐστείλαμεν.
1045

Τεῦκρος

ὁρῶ· μαθεῖν γὰρ ἐγγὺς ὢν οὐ δυσπετής.

Μενέλαος

οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ τόνδε τὸν νεκρὸν χεροῖν

μὴ συγκομίζειν, ἀλλʼ ἐᾶν ὅπως ἔχει.

Τεῦκρος

τίνος χάριν τοσόνδʼ ἀνήλωσας λόγον;

Μενέλαος

δοκοῦντʼ ἐμοί, δοκοῦντα δʼ ὃς κραίνει στρατοῦ.
1050

Τεῦκρος

οὔκουν ἂν εἴποις ἥντινʼ αἰτίαν προθείς;

Χορός

Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς

εἶτʼ αὐτὸς ἐν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

Χορός

οὐδʼ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ἐν κακοῖς φιλῶ·

τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικʼ ᾖ, δάκνει.

Μενέλαος

ὁ τοξότης ἔοικεν οὐ σμικρὸν φρονεῖν.
1120

Τεῦκρος

οὐ γὰρ βάναυσον τὴν τέχνην ἐκτησάμην.

Μενέλαος

μέγʼ ἄν τι κομπάσειας, ἀσπίδʼ εἰ λάβοις.

⁷⁸⁷⁹⁸⁰⁸¹⁸²⁸³⁸⁴⁸⁵⁸⁶⁸⁷⁸⁸

Τεῦκρος

κἂν ψιλὸς ἀρκέσαιμι σοί γʼ ὡπλισμένῳ.

Μενέλαος

ἡ γλῶσσά σου τὸν θυμὸν ὡς δεινὸν τρέφει.

Τεῦκρος

ξὺν τῷ δικαίῳ γὰρ μέγʼ ἔξεστιν φρονεῖν.
1125

Μενέλαος

δίκαια γὰρ τόνδʼ εὐτυχεῖν κτείναντά με;

Τεῦκρος

κτείναντα; δεινόν γʼ εἶπας, εἰ καὶ ζῇς θανών.

Μενέλαος

θεὸς γὰρ ἐκσῴζει με, τῷδε δʼ οἴχομαι.

Τεῦκρος

μή νυν ἀτίμα θεούς, θεοῖς σεσωμένος.

Μενέλαος

ἐγὼ γὰρ ἂν ψέξαιμι δαιμόνων νόμους;
1130

Τεῦκρος

εἰ τοὺς θανόντας οὐκ ἐᾷς θάπτειν παρών.