41.
mvp-comment-33-1
'Incensed with wrath because of the arms of Achilles.' A word on this subject is enough for Odysseus, to whom the arms had been adjudged. He understands at once that harm had been intended to himself and the generals.
42.
mvp-comment-34-1
'But why, then, this raid upon the flock? The construction of
ὅπλων, as genitive of the reason after
βαρυνθείς, is assisted by the substantive
χόλῳ preceding.
44.
mvp-comment-35-1
'And was this blow, then, really aimed against the Argives?'
45.
mvp-comment-36-1
κἂν ἐξεπράξατ'] 'He would actually have accomplished his design.' The middle voice is preferable as the harder reading, and signifies that the plan and execution would have been alike Ajax' own.
46.
mvp-comment-37-1
'What bold attempt inspired by recklessness do your words imply (
ταῖσδε)?'
47.
mvp-comment-38-1
δόλιος] i.e.
ἐπὶ δόλῳ, 'With crafty intent.' E. on L. §23. p. 39.
48.
mvp-comment-39-1
παρέστη] Sc.
ἡμῖν.
49.
mvp-comment-40-1
καὶ δή] ‘ Actually.’
50.
mvp-comment-41-1
Join
ἐπέσχε φόνου.
μαιμῶσαν is more expressive than the v. τ.
διψῶσαν, which is probably meant to be construed with
φόνου. For
πῶς, 'How came it that-?' cp. O. T. 1177,
πῶς δῆτ᾿ ἀφῆκας;
51.
mvp-comment-42-1
ἀπείργω] The vivid present (see v. rr.) is preferable to the aorist, as the less obvious reading. Join
ἀπείργω with
χαρᾶς, which is added in further explanation.
δυσφόρους γνώμας] ‘Overpowering fancies.'
δύσφορος has been supposed to be here equivalent το
παράφορος, 'false,' or 'misleading;' but this, (though a possible association of the word) is unnecessary. The natural meaning of 'grievous,' 'intolerable,' is slightly modified by the association of 'hard to resist,' or 'bear up against.' Ajax could not withstand the fatal illusion.
52.
mvp-comment-43-1
τῆς ἀνηκέστου χαρᾶς] ‘From his fatal pleasure.' The harm once done would have been irrevocable. For
χαpâς,
cp. infr. 114,
ἐπειδὴ τέρψις ἥδε σοι τὸ δρᾶν.
53-54.
mvp-comment-44-1
πρός τε ποίμνας.. φρουρήματα] 'I turned him off upon the flocks, and the mixed charge of the herdsmen that was not yet divided from the spoil,' i. e. simply the sheep and oxen. Schndw. distinguishes between the sheep, which he assumes to have been kept in common to be slaughtered as food, and the oxen, which were gradually distributed as booty. That no such exact definition is intended here is proved by
supr. 25-7,
λείας ἁπάσας .. αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις. The words
λείας ἄδαστα are added, to show that the act of Ajax would provoke the whole army to be enraged against him with one consent.
Cp. infr. 145-6, 408-9.
55.
mvp-comment-45-1
ἔκειρε is imperfect. The syllable
κειρ is echoed in
πολύκερων. The cognate accusative and hypallage together cannot be literally rendered in English. 'He made bloody havoc with the horned multitude, felling them on all sides of him.'
57.
mvp-comment-46-1
ἔχων] ‘Having them in his power.'
μέν (l. 56) with
δέ in l. 59, contrasts the belief of Ajax with the reality described in 59, 60. Or, possibly (2)
μέν points forward to a
dé which is lost in l. 58, 1.ε.
ἐστὶ μὲν .. ἐστὶ δὲ ..
Cp. Ant. 165-7,
τοῦτο μὲν .. τοῦτ᾽ αὖθις.
58.
mvp-comment-47-1
i.e.
ἔσθ' ὅτε ἐδόκει κτείνειν ἄλλους τῶν στρατηλατῶν, ἄλλοτε ἄλλον, ('somebody else, now one and now another,')
ἐμπίτνων, sc.
τῇ ἀγέλῃ.
59-60.
mvp-comment-48-1
(1) And as the man ranged to and fro, I urged him with maddening frenzy, and drave him into the evil net;' or (2), construing
μανιάσιν νόσοις with
φοιτώντα, ‘As he bounded to and fro in frenzy, I urged and drave him,' etc. In the latter case the expression is proleptic. The Scholion
οι ἕρκη, εἰς ἐρινῦν κακήν, perhaps conceals a v. r.
eἰς ἄρκυν κακήν. But
cp. Od. 21. 238, 384,
ἀνδρῶν ἡμετέροισιν ἐν ἕρκεσι.
61.
mvp-comment-49-1
'And then, when he had remission of this toil.'
πόνου, the more general word, is better than
φόνου, which is tautological.
πόνου in connection with the preceding words, implies that the vain task was imposed on Ajax by the will of Athena.
63.
mvp-comment-50-1
ποίμνας τε πάσας] When the chief of the flock were bound and dragged away, the rest would follow.
Cp. infr. 296.
64.
mvp-comment-51-1
εὔκερων] This epithet applies to the sheep as well as to the kine.
65.
mvp-comment-52-1
συνδέτους is rather 'tied together' than bound hand and foot.'
66.
mvp-comment-53-1
(1) 'Come, I will show thee this affliction in full sight.'
περιφανή predicative. Or (2), taking the word attributively, 'this signal frenzy.'
Cp. infr. 81 and note,
infr. 229.
67.
mvp-comment-54-1
ὡς .. θροῇς]· That you may noise it abroad.'
Cp. infr. 149,
εἰς ὦτα φέρει πᾶσιν Ὀδυσσεύς.
68.
mvp-comment-55-1
συμφορὰν δέχου τὸν ἄνδρα] 'Look for his coming as a misfortune:' sc.
ὡς συμφοράν.
Cp. Ο. C. 142,
μή μ', ἱκετεύω, προσίδητ᾽ ἄνομον. And see E. on L. § 39. p. 73.
69-70.
mvp-comment-56-1
ὀμμάτων .. εἰσιδεῖν] I will divert the effluence of his eyes, and debar them from the sight of you.'
ἀποστρόφους is predicative: i.e.
ἀποστρέφουσα αὐτάς. On the ancient theory of vision and its effect on language, see E. on L. $ 54. p. 99.
μή is omitted after
εἴργω, as after
κωλύω: i.e.
τὸ μὴ εἰσιδεῖν νιν σὴν πρόσοψιν, ‘I will turn away the light of his eyes, so that your form shall be invisible to him.'
Cp. Phil. 1407,
εἴρξω πελάζειν.
71.
mvp-comment-57-1
Athena faces the tent and raises her voice.
72.
mvp-comment-58-1
ἀπευθύνοντα has been taken literally, 'to bind straight or fast.' But although the image of a constrained position is suggested by the word, it retains its more general meaning of 'reducing to order or subjection,' as in Eur. Bacch. 884-6,
ἀπευθύνει δὲ βροτῶν | τοὺς τ᾿ ἀγνωμοσύναν τιμῶντας καὶ μὴ τὰ θεῶν | αὔξοντας ξὺν μαινομένᾳ δόξα.
74.
mvp-comment-59-1
σφ', although omitted by L, is probably genuine.
75.
mvp-comment-60-1
μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρεῖς] ‘And not give way to cowardice.' See E. on L. § 30. p. 52 d.
ἀρεῖ, which Schndw. and Dindorf prefer, would mean, 'Do not bring upon yourself the imputation of cowardice,' a less appropriate expression.
76.
mvp-comment-61-1
ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων] 'Enough that he is there, but let him not come forth.' E. on L. § 36. p. 63 а.
77.
mvp-comment-62-1
'For fear of what? Is he now for the first time a man?' Athena ironically rallies Odysseus on his fear of seeing the madman. As Odysseus presently finds, Ajax in his madness is to be pitied, not to be feared. For the emphatic
ἀνήρ,
cp. Ο. C. 393,
ὅτ' οὐκέτ᾽ εἰμί, τηνικαῦτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ εἴμ᾿ ἀνήρ ; Others take the words to mean, 'Up to this time was he not a (mortal) man?' in which is implied the thought, 'Is he more than a man now?' In either case the general meaning is, 'You used not to be afraid of him; why should you be so now?'
79.
mvp-comment-63-1
γελᾶν] The epexegetic infinitive follows the adjective
ἥδιστος, and
εἰς ἐχθρούς is to be taken both with
γέλως and
γελάν. 'Is not laughter pleasantest at foes?'
81.
mvp-comment-64-1
περιφανώς may be taken either with (1)
μεμηνότα, or (2) with
ἰδεῖν. Other uses of
περιφανῶς are in favour of (1).
81.
mvp-comment-64-2
the former (1), but it makes better sense to join the adverb here with the whole expression; i.e. not. 'You shrink from seeing a man who is clearly insane,' but, 'You shrink from seeing plainly a man's madness.'
Cp. infr. 229,
περίφαντος. The same meaning may be obtained, however, by supposing the adverb in (1) to be used proleptically, (3) 'You shrink from seeing a man's madness clearly shown.'
84.
mvp-comment-65-1
ὀφθαλμοῖς γε]
γε adds emphasis; i.e. though his mind is alienated, he surely has not changed eyes.
85.
mvp-comment-66-1
καὶ δεδορκότα)
καὶ = καίπερ.
Cp. Pind. Ol. 7. 55,
αἱ δὲ φρενῶν ταραχαὶ παρέπλαγξαν καὶ σοφόν.
86.
mvp-comment-67-1
μένταν] • Well, after all.'
μέντοι admits and enforces the correcting statement, which it sets over against that which is corrected, viz. l. 84. For
γένοιτ' ἂν.. πᾶν,
cp. Hdt. 4. 195,
εἴη δ᾽ ἂν πᾶν.
88.
mvp-comment-68-1
μένοιμ' ἄν] I shall have to stay.
ἐκτός] 'Out of the way,' as in
ἐκτὸς κλαυμάτων, πημάτων ('out of harm's way'). See L. and S. s. v.
90.
mvp-comment-69-1
Athena affects to rally Ajax for disregarding her help on this occasion, as he had before scornfully rejected it.
Cp. infr. 774, 5. This helps to bring out his unconsciousness of her displeasure.
τῆς συμμάχου]
Cp. l. 60.
91.
mvp-comment-70-1
Ajax enters with the scourge in his hand. It is from this scene that the play takes its name of
Alaς μαστιγοφόρος. ll. 91-3 may be contrasted with 176 foll. Ajax is not by nature impious, although in the pride of his youth he may have been guilty of impiety; but he speaks to the goddess with the blunt familiarity of a comrade in arms.
καί in l. 92 has an encouraging, almost patronizing, sound.
93.
mvp-comment-71-1
στέψω] 'I will grace' or 'honour' thee.
94.
mvp-comment-72-1
ἐκεῖνο] 'That other thing.' For a similar emphatic use of the pronoun (with comic exaggeration),
cp. Aristoph. Nub. 655-7,
οὐ γάρ, ᾠζυρέ, τούτων ἐπιθυμῶ μανθάνειν οὐδέν. ΣΩ. τί δαί; | ΣΤ. ἐκεῖν ἐκεῖνο, τὸν ἀδικώτερον λόγον.
96.
mvp-comment-73-1
κόμπος πάρεστι] 'I am free to boast' (of that).
97.
mvp-comment-74-1
πρὸς ᾿Ατρείδαισιν ἤχμασας χέρα] 'Did you make an armed attack upon the Atreidae?' The construction with
πρός is continued from l. 95.
χέρα, ας
supr. 40, is cogn. accus. in the sense of 'a violent act.'
Cp. Trach. 355. Musgr. conj.
ήμαξας.
Cp. infr. 453. The use of
χέρα here as cogn. accus. without an epithet is somewhat singular.
98.
mvp-comment-75-1
οἵδ'] He believes them to be lying dead within the tent.
Cp. infr. 237 ff.
101.
mvp-comment-76-1
εἰεν, τί γὰρ δή] «Enough. For I would know.' She professes to turn her thoughts from the Atreidae to Odysseus, who is more interesting as the especial enemy of Ajax.
102.
mvp-comment-77-1
ποῦ σοι τύχης ἕστηκεν ;] · What have you done with him? Where stands he now?'
σοι implies that Odysseus is in Ajax' power.
103.
mvp-comment-78-1
τοὐπίτριπτον κίναδος] «The accursed fox.' The verbal, by a sort of prolepsis, expresses what ought to be.
Cp. the Homeric
οὐλόμενος. -The fox is at once noxious and cunning.
104.
mvp-comment-79-1
The stop after
ἔγωγ' makes the expression more pointed, and agrees better with the use of
λέγω than if
ἔγωγ᾽ Οδυσσέα, κ.τ.λ. were read.
ἐνστάτην] 'Opponent.'
Cp. Thuc. 8. 69,
ἤν τις ἐνιστῆται τοῖς ποιουμένοις.
105.
mvp-comment-80-1
ἥδιστος] 'Most welcome.'
Cp. Εl. 929,
ἡδύς, οὐδὲ μητρὶ δυσχερής.
106.
mvp-comment-81-1
θακεῖ] The ram taken for Odysseus had already been made to sit upwards against the pillar (
infr. 240,
cp. 108).
107.
mvp-comment-82-1
κερδάνῃς] This is said in bitter irony. Ajax is not gaining but losing all.
108.
mvp-comment-83-1
κίον᾿ ἑρκείου στέγης] ‘The roof-supporting pillar of my house.'
110.
mvp-comment-84-1
It has been thought necessary to alter this line because of the pleonasm of
θάνῃ, which, however, is natural enough after the interruption.
Cp. Trach. 1130-3,
τέθνηκεν . . πρὶν ὡς χρῆν σφ᾽ ἐξ ἐμῆς θανεῖν χερός: Phil. 1329-1334,
παῦλαν .. μήποτ᾿ ἂν τυχεῖν | νόσου βαρείας.. | πρὶν ἂν | τῶν παρ᾿ ἡμῖν ἐντυχὼν ᾿Ασκληπιδῶν | νόσου μαλαχθῇς τῆσδε. The principal notion is expressed by the participle. 'He shall not die till he is whipped to death.'
πρῶτον resumes
πρὶν ἄν, l. 108.
φοινιχθείς] «Crimsoned.' The word conveys the murderous energy of Ajax' mood.
111.
mvp-comment-85-1
Athena affects pity for Odysseus in order to rouse Ajax more, and so to make the situation more striking to Odysseus.
112.
mvp-comment-86-1
'In all else, Athena, I would have thee to enjoy thy will.' For the construction,
cp. Aesch. Cho. 1038-9.
114.
mvp-comment-87-1
σὺ δ᾽ οὖν] 'Well, and you for your part.'
τέρψις ἥδε.. τὸ δρᾶν] i. e.
τέρψις τὸ δρᾶν ὧδε. Essay on L. § 35. p. 60.
116.
mvp-comment-88-1
τοῦτό σοι δ' ἐφίεμαι] These words have been unnecessarily altered by some editors because of the postponement of
δέ. For the omission of the vocative, giving a tone of peremptoriness and familiarity,
cp. O. Τ. 637,
οὐκ εἰ σύ τ' οἴκους, κ.τ.λ. The proximity of
ἐφίεμαι in 112 suggests the repetition of the word in a slightly different sense.
117.
mvp-comment-89-1
Ajax retires into the hut.
119-120.
mvp-comment-90-1
τίς ἄν σοι.. εὑρέθη] 'Whom could you have found, if you had sought for such a one formerly?' The aorist with
av here denotes possibility in past time, as in Trach. 707, 8,
πόθεν γὰρ ἂν .. | ἐμοὶ παρέσχ᾽ εὔνοιαν?
προνούστερος] The Ajax of Sophocles is clear-sighted as well as prompt in action. This touch prepares us for his profound feeling of the situation, when he awakes from his madness.
Cp. Il. 7. 197, where Ajax says,
Οὐ γάρ τις με βίῃ γε ἑκὼν ἀέκοντα δίηται, | οὐδὲ μὲν ἰδρείῃ, κ.τ.λ.
121.
mvp-comment-91-1
For this division of the senarius,
cp. El. 1302.
122.
mvp-comment-92-1
ἔμπης (or
ἔμπας) is to be joined in sense with
ἐποικτείρω. It is strange that Hermann should have joined it to
δύστηνον. Like
ὅμως,
εὐθύς, and other words, which strictly belong to the apodosis,
ἔμπας verbally adheres to the protasis.
Cp. infr. 563.
123.
mvp-comment-93-1
'Because he is fast yoked with an evil doom.' The calamity from which he cannot disengage himself is imagined as a yokefellow of Ajax that is too strong for him.
128.
mvp-comment-94-1
αὐτός] Odysseus is warned not to do as Ajax had done.
Cp. infr. 773. Hence the emphatic pronoun.
129.
mvp-comment-95-1
μηδ' ὄγκον ἄρῃ μηδέν'] 'Nor take on thee a lofty mien.' The middle voice (see above, l. 75) is here more appropriate.
Cp. the expression
ὄγκον περιθείναί τινι, Plut. Pericl. 4.
130.
mvp-comment-96-1
χειρί] 'In might.'
μακροῦ πλούτου βάθει] The v. r.
βάρει may be supported from Eur. El. 1287,
δότω πλούτου βάρος, but is less likely with
βρίθεις preceding than
βάθει, for which,
cp. βαθύπλουτος.
μακρός in poetry is often equivalent to
μέγας. L. and S. s. v. 1. 4. Some new verb, such as
πληθύεις, is to be supplied with
βάθει.
131.
mvp-comment-97-1
ἡμέρα] 'Time in its course,' i. e.
ἡ ἀεὶ οὖσα ἡμέρα. For this generalized use,
cp. especially
infr. 624,
παλαίᾳ ἕντροφος ἁμέρα: Ο. C. 1138,
ἐς τόδ' ἡμέρας. For the sentiment,
cp. Ant. 1158-60,
τύχη γὰρ ὀρθοῖ καὶ τύχη καταρρέπει | τὸν εὐτυχοῦντα τὸν τε δυστυχοῦντ᾽ ἀεί· | καὶ μάντις οὐδεὶς τῶν καθεστώτων βροτοῖς. But the point here lies in the combination of the two
γνῶμαι. The two considerations are urged side by side, that Fortune is unstable, and that God cares for the righteous. Therefore, do not trust to fortune, but be righteous.
131-132.
mvp-comment-98-1
'Time makes all human things to set and rise again, but the gods love the righteous, while they abhor the wicked."
132-133.
mvp-comment-99-1
σώφρονας .. κακούς] For the inexact antithesis of the general to the specific word, see Essay on L. § 51. p.97.
134-200.
mvp-comment-100-1
The first part of the parodos consists of six anapaestic systems (ll. 134-171), during the recitation of which the Chorus pace to and fro in the orchestra, before the tent of Ajax. This long-continued movement, which betokens the restless anxiety of the mariners for their prince, also strikes a note in harmony with the feelings of the spectator, to whom the horror that is going on within has already been revealed. He knows that their dreadful apprehensions are only too true. It is followed by a strophe, antistrophe, and epode (ll. 172-200), which mark the climax of their agitation before the entrance of Tecmessa.
134.
mvp-comment-101-1
Τελαμώνιε]
Cp. Pind. Pyth. 2. 35,
ὦ Δεινομένειε παῖ.
135.
mvp-comment-102-1
ἔχων] ‘Lord of-.'
Cp. Pind. Nem. 4. 78,
Αἴας Σαλαμῖν ἔχει πατρώαν.
ἀγχιάλου] 'Seaward.' The ancient town of Salamis was on the side of the island towards the open sea, Strabo, 9, p. 393.
Cp. Pind. Ol. 10. 99,
εἰναλία τ' Έλευσις : Aesch. Pers. 887.
136.
mvp-comment-103-1
σὲ μέν] The Attic' accusative after the intransitive verb (Essay on L. §§ 16. p. 23) here assists the antithesis το
σὲ δ᾽ ὅταν... ἐπιβῇ, κ.τ.λ.
137-138.
mvp-comment-104-1
'But when a stroke from Zeus, or angry clamour from the Danaï assails thee with evil-boding words.'
139-140.
mvp-comment-105-1
'I shrink and quiver with fear like the eye of any fluttering dove.'
ὄkvos is the fear that paralyses action. The eye, as the part which expresses fear, is put for the whole.
Cp. the expression of Keble, 'Tenderer than a dove's soft eye.'
Cp. also the uses of
χείρ, πούς, κάρα, βία, σθένος, στόμα, in denoting persons.
πτηνῆς suggests something that is easily fluttered. Pierson's conj.
φήνης ὡς ὄμμα πελειάς, ' As the dove fears the sight (?) of the falcon,' is unnecessary and tasteless. The image of the falcon would be a bad preparation for that of the small birds, 141
φθιμένης]
Cp. Od. 11. 330,
πρὶν γάρ κεν καὶ νὺξ φθῖτ᾽ ἄμβροτος. The genitive is in a somewhat loose connection with what follows; either (1) with
ὀλέσαι, 'that in the night that is just gone thou didst destroy;' or (2) with
θόρυβοι, ' in respect of the now-past night.'
142.
mvp-comment-106-1
'A terrible rumour afflicts us.'
143.
mvp-comment-107-1
ἐπὶ δυσκλείᾳ] ‘Threatening dishonour.'
ἐπί from meaning purpose, as in
ἐπὶ διαφθορῇ (Hdt. 4. 164),
ἐπὶ θανάτῳ (Hdt. 9. 37), comes to express tendency.
ἱππομανή] 'Where the steeds run wild,' or 'gallop at will.' Lit. 'raving with horses.' Essay on L. § 55. p. 102. The cattle were temporarily kept in the meadow where the horses of the chieftains used to be turned out to graze. The word suggests their movements, 'Fetching mad bounds, bellowing, and neighing loud,' when freed from harness and the stall.
144.
mvp-comment-108-1
λειμῶν᾽ ἐπιβάντ'] The accusative implies not merely that the meadow was entered, but that it was swiftly reached.
145-146.
mvp-comment-109-1
λείαν, ἥπερ δορίληπτος ἔτ᾿ ἦν λοιπή] «The cattle that still remained of those taken in war;' i. e.
ἐκ τῆς δοριλήπτου λείας. Cp. supr. 53, 4,
σύμμικτά τε | λείας ἄδαστα βουκόλων φρουρήματα.
147.
mvp-comment-110-1
κτείνοντ'] We pass from the momentary conception of the act (
ὀλέσαι) to the continuous description of it: hence the present participle.
Cp. supr. ll. 55 foll. Here, as elsewhere, the choric part contains a reminiscence of the dialogue.
148.
mvp-comment-111-1
These words obviously refer to the report brought by Odysseus after receiving full information from Athena.
Cp. supr. 67. But, if so, some time must be supposed to have elapsed after his exit before the entrance of the chorus.
150.
mvp-comment-112-1
καὶ σφόδρα πείθει] ‘And wins much credence.'
vûv is to be joined with
εὔπειστα. 'Things of which it is now easy to persuade men:' now, since Ajax' defeat in the contest for the arms, which is known to have enraged him.
Cp. infr. 929-36 and note.
152-153.
mvp-comment-113-1
'And each who hears rejoices, more than him who spake, to insult over thy woes.' The participle is added to complete the sense of
χαίρων.
ἄχεσιν is dative of the cause or occasion.
Cp. infr. 955.
155.
mvp-comment-114-1
ἁμάρτοι] For the omission of
τις, which is supplied in the next sentence, see Essay on L. § 39. P. 72, 3. This is the harder and more dignified reading.
157.
mvp-comment-115-1
ἔρπει implies a stealthy advance, differing from
στείχει, which would signify open menace.
Cp. Pind. Nem. 8. 36,
ἅπτεται δ᾽ ἐσλῶν ἀεί, χειρόνεσσι δ᾽ οὐκ ἐρίζει: Pyth. 11. 45, 6.
ἴσχει γὰρ ὄλβος οὐ μείονα φθύνον· | ὁ δὲ χαμηλὰ πνέων ἄφαντον βρέμει.
158-159.
mvp-comment-116-1
Some have here supposed a metaphor from building, large and small stones together making the strongest wall. This is fanciful, and not contained in the words; but in any case
πύργου ῥῦμα is a 'tower of defence' (Essay on L. § 10. p. 17, 6), and not 'means of defending a tower,' because
ῥύεσθαι can hardly mean 'to man,' although in Aesch. S. c. T. 823, it is used of the Divine protection of Thebes. For the whole phrase,
cp. Od. 11. 556 (said with reference to Ajax):
τοῖος γάρ σφιν πύργος ἀπώλεο: Alc. fr. 23,
ἄνδρες πόληος πύργος ἀρεύϊοι : Aesch. Pers. 347.
160-161.
mvp-comment-117-1
ἄριστ᾽ ἂν. ὀρθοῖθ᾽'Will best be made secure.'
Cp. Thuc. 6. 18, § 4,
ὁμοῦ δὲ τό τε φαῦλον καὶ τὸ μέσον καὶ τὸ πάνυ ἀκριβὲς ἂν ξυγκραθὲν μάλιστ᾽ ἂν ἰσχύειν.
βαιός] Lit. 'few,' hence 'feeble.'
161.
mvp-comment-118-1
ὑπό marks that the lesser are to serve the greater:
μετά, that the great require the cooperation of the less.
162-163.
mvp-comment-119-1
'But foolish men cannot be instructed in these truths.'
τούτων γνώμας = ' right judgments about these things.'
164.
mvp-comment-120-1
τοιούτων, sc.
οὕτως ἀνοήτων. 'So foolish are they that clamour against thee,' that there is no hope of bringing them to a better mind.
165.
mvp-comment-121-1
πρὸς ταῦτ᾽ ἀπαλέξασθαι] Sc.
ταῦτα. 'This being so, we have no strength to avert this.'
167.
mvp-comment-122-1
'But then the truth is that when they have escaped from thine eye.'
γάρ covers the whole sentence, and the emphasis is on the latter part, viz.
μέγαν, κ.τ.λ. The Chorus mean to say: 'Though we are weak, yet Ajax is strong, and the clamour will subside when he appears.'
169.
mvp-comment-123-1
The correction of Dawes, which restores the metre by the insertion of
δέ, is probably right. For the meaning,
cp. Alc. fr. 27.
ἔπταζον ὥστ᾽ ὄρνιθες ὦκυν | αἴετον ἐξαπίνας φάνεντα, which also helps to support the punctuation in l. 170.
170.
mvp-comment-124-1
τάχ᾿ ἄν] 'Soon would they.'
171.
mvp-comment-125-1
σιγῇ .. ἄφωνοι] Essay on L. §40. p. 75. 'Their noise would be hushed, and they would cower without a word.'
172-200.
mvp-comment-126-1
Beginning from a dactylic movement, the ode (expressing the combination of deep sadness with eager hope) continues with trochaic, iambic, and dactylic rhythms, as follows:- ... The slow movement with frequent long syllables increases towards the close.
172.
mvp-comment-127-1
ἡ ῥα .. Ἄρτεμις] Can it be, as I suspect (
pa), that Artemis?'
Ταυροπόλα Διὸς Ἄρτεμις] 'Bull-riding Artemis, daughter of Zeus,' conveys the image of the goddess riding on a bull, as she sometimes appears on coins. In this character (probably derived from the East) Artemis was worshipped in different places with orgiastic rites. Euripides, I. T. 1449 foll., associates this name of Artemis with the supposed derivation of her worship under this attribute from the Tauric Chersonese. She is here alluded to (1) as the subduer of cattle, (2) as the inspirer of frenzy.
173.
mvp-comment-128-1
ὦ μεγάλα φάτις] ‘Terrible thought!' The simple word
μεγάλα has here the special connotation of 'tremendous' or 'overwhelming;' just as the general word
κακούς,
supr. 133, is opposed to the special word
σώφρονας. The Chorus cannot speak of Ajax' supposed error without interposing this expression of horror.
175.
mvp-comment-129-1
πανδάμους]
Cp. supr. ll. 53, 4, and note.
ἀγελαίας] (1) Grazing oxen are so called in contradistinction to the labouring ox that is fed at a stall. Or, possibly, (2) the word simply denotes the whole herd of oxen belonging to the host, - the
πάνδημος ἀγέλη.
176.
mvp-comment-130-1
ἡ που] 'Surely, it must have been.'
Cp. Trach. 846, 7, where
ἢ που is reiterated.
τινος νίκας ἀκάρπωτον χάριν] 'Because of a gift of victory that brought her no return.'
χάριν = διὰ χάριν. This unusual construction is softened by a reminiscence of the more ordinary (adverbial) use of
χάριν = 'because of.' For this confusion, see Essay on L. § 36. p. 67; and
cp. Eur. I. T. 566,
κακῆς γυναικός χάριν ἄχαριν ἀπώλετο.
177.
mvp-comment-131-1
ἤ ῥα .. εἴτε] 'Either, as I suspect,.. or whether it were.'
Cp. Eur. Alc. 114, 5,
ἢ Λυκίας | εἴτ᾽ ἐπὶ τὰς ᾿Αμμωνίδας ἕδρας.
177-178.
mvp-comment-132-1
'Disappointed of glorious spoils, or (provoked) because the fall of the stag was followed by no gift.' The MS. reading
ψευσθεῖσα δώροις, ‘deceived in the matter of gifts,' is hardly Greek. For the dative,
ἀδώροις.. ἐλαφηβολίαις, see Essay on L. § 14. p. 21, and for the order of the words, ibid. § 41. p. 77.
179.
mvp-comment-133-1
- By reading
τιν' for
ἤ τιν' a possible construction is obtained, although the text remains doubtful. 'Or can it be that Enyalius of the brazen corslet,' etc. The conjj.
ἥντιν', δή τιν', εἴ τιν', are not satisfactory:
σοί τιν' (Reiske) is better (sc.
μομφὰν ἔχων). The repetition of the
η sound in this passage (ll. 176 9,
ἢ που, ἤ ῥα, ἤ, ἦ) may have had some poetical or musical effect of which we cannot judge.
180.
mvp-comment-134-1
μομφὰν . . δορός] ‘Having fault to find with thee on account of his spear associated with thine,' i.e. by reason of some help which he had given thee in battle. Perhaps there is a reminiscence, although the sense is different, of the Epic
ξυνὸς Ἐνυάλιος. which Eur. has otherwise applied in Phoen. 1572,
κοινὸν ἐνυάλιον . . μαρναμένους.
ἐννυχίοις μαχαναῖς] ‘By contriving against thee in the night.'
181.
mvp-comment-135-1
ἐτίσατο λώβαν] Either (1) 'Punished the wrong done to him,'-
τίσασθαι λώβην in ΙΙ. 19. 208, Od. 20. 169, Hes. Theog. 165, is 'to revenge oneself for an outrage:'-or (2) 'Did thee vengeful despite,'
λώβαν cogn. acc.
Cp. infr. 217,
νύκτερος ἀπελωβήθη: 304,
ὕβριν ἐκτίσαιτ᾽: Il. 13. 622, 3.
183.
mvp-comment-136-1
φρενόθεν] Of thine own heart;' i.e. the cause must have been from without, not from within. Ajax could not be himself (
φρενήρης) and do this thing. The gods must have destroyed his senses (
φρένας ὤλεσαν).
183-185.
mvp-comment-137-1
ἐπ᾿ ἀριστερά .. ἔβας τόσσον] 'Canst thou have gone so far wrong?"
Cp. the metaph. uses of
σκαιός, and Plat. Soph. 264 E, where
πορεύεσθαι κατὰ τοὐπὶ δεξιὰ ἀεὶ μέρος is 'to make the right selection in each case.'
185.
mvp-comment-138-1
ἐν ποίμναις πίτνων] ‘As to assault the flocks.' The participle is slightly proleptic (as with
πειράσθαι).
Cp. Ant. 752,
ἢ κἀπαπειλῶν ὧδ᾽ ἐπεξέρχει θρασύς.
186.
mvp-comment-139-1
ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος] 'An affliction from the gods, indeed, may have come.' For this use of
av with the optative,
cp. Aesch. Pers. 706,
ἀνθρώπεια δ' ἄν τοι πήματ᾿ ἂν τύχοι βροτοῖς: Ag. 1507,
πατρόθεν δὲ συλλήπτωρ γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ἀλάστωρ. These words develop the suggestion conveyed in
φρενόθεν γε, το which they are attached with
γάρ. Ajax cannot have done this; at least not of his own impulse. It may be, indeed, that a divine visitation is upon him. This possibility is a further reason for rejecting the notion that Ajax is really guilty.
ὀλλά] (1) 'It may have come, but Zeus grant that the report may be untrue!' Zeus and Phoebus, as the deities of divination, are implored to grant that the truth may be less terrible than it is according to the report set in motion by the Argives. Or (2) 'It may have come, but even then let not the evil be increased with false rumours spread by Argives.'
188-189.
mvp-comment-140-1
'And if, suborning tales of their own making, the mighty kings win currency for them by false means.'
190.
mvp-comment-141-1
ἢ τᾶς ἀσώτου Σισ. γενεᾶς] The force of the article is continued. Essay on L. § 21. p. 336. The standing reproach against Odysseus, that he was the son of Sisyphus, although not acknowledged as true by Sophocles (see l. 1), is represented as being used against him by his enemies.
Cp. especially, Phil. 417,
οὑμπολητὸς Σισύφου Λαερτίῳ: Fr. 143,
ὡς ὁ Σίσυφος πολὺς | ἔνδηλος ἐν σοί. For
Σισυφιδᾶν γενεᾶς, where only one generation is in question,
cp. Ant. 981, 2,
σπέρμα Ερεχθειδᾶν, of Cleopatra the granddaughter of Erechtheus.
191.
mvp-comment-142-1
μὴ μή μ', ἄναξ] For the 'Attic' accusative in general construction with what follows, as after verbs of doing good or evil, see E. on L. § 16. р. 23. 'Do not to my hurt incur reproach.'
ἐφάλοις κλισίαις ὄμμ' ἔχων] (1) 'Keeping thine eye hidden within the hut by the sea.' The Epic word
κλισίαις is used in the Lyric measures. We had
σκηναῖς in the dialogue,
supr. l. 3. The dative is one of place, as if with
ev. For
ὄμμα,
cp. supr. 167.
ἔχων · = κατέχων, 'withholding from sight.' Or (2) 'Keeping thine eye fixed upon the tents.'
194.
mvp-comment-143-1
ἀλλ᾽ ἄνα ἐξ εδράνων] ‘But up from where thou sittest still.' The hiatus is excused by Hermann on the ground that
ava is an interjectional abbreviation.
ὅπου.. σχολᾷ] (1) 'Wheresoever thou art thus fixed in a dangerous lethargy of quarrelsome repose.' The Chorus are uncertain of Ajax' whereabouts, as Odysseus was,
supr. 33.
μακραίωνι implies that some time had passed since the judgment of the arms and Ajax' sullen withdrawal from the fight:
cp. infr. 929 foll.
ἀγωνίῳ is a difficult word. The inactivity of Ajax was his manner of contending with the chiefs: if the rumour was true, it was an inactivity in which he had been fatally active; and however his leisure was employed, it was becoming full of danger to him. The force of
ἀγών, in the sense of a dangerous contest, is therefore suited to the place, and the expression is an oxymoron, 'a perilous quarrelsome rest' (for which, cp. Shak. Ant and Cleo. 1. 3, 'Tis sweating labour To bear such idleness so near the heart.") (2) Others suppose the words merely to mean 'rest from combat,' i.e. from the general combat with the Trojans.
196.
mvp-comment-144-1
ἄταν οὐρανίαν φλέγων] 'Letting mischief blaze up to the sky.'
Cp. Eur. Phoen. 240, 1,
αΐμα δάϊον φλέγει. The image of a fire is continued in the following lines.
197-200.
mvp-comment-145-1
The arrangement of these lines is difficult. The elision of the last syllable of
ὁρμᾶται and the hiatus after
ἀτάρβητα and
βαρυάλγητα are doubtful points. It can hardly be questioned that the
a of
εὐανέμοις (for
εὐηνέμοις) is long.
καχαζόντων is rightly restored for
καγχαζόντων. Brambach, (Sophokl. Gesänge) suggesting
εὐανέμοις, gives the following scheme... But the difficulties are not thus removed. Perhaps we may venture...
197.
mvp-comment-146-1
ὧδ'] 'Thus,' as in
supr. 141-53.
198.
mvp-comment-147-1
εὐανέμοις] 'With favouring breezes.' As applied to a harbour,
εὐήνεμος is 'sheltered from rough winds;' but the image here is rather that of a forest glade, where, when a little fire is kindled, the wind that is not strong enough to extinguish it only fans it to strength.
Cp. I1. 20. 490, 1,
ὡς δ᾽ ἀναμαιμάει βαθέ᾽ ἄγκεα θεσπιδαὲς πῦρ | οὔρεος ἀζαλέοιο, βαθεῖα δὲ καίεται ὕλη.
200.
mvp-comment-148-1
ἐμοὶ .. ἕστακεν] 'I have a grief that will not be removed.'
201.
mvp-comment-149-1
The exposition of the situation in the
Ajax, like the
ἀναγνώρισις in the
Oed. Tyr., is effected through the meeting of those who on either side know only half the truth. Tecmessa, whose affection for Ajax exceeds that of his own people, comes forth to meet the chorus of mariners before the hut. They learn from her the truth of the calamity. She learns from them the extent of it. Schol.
διδάσκει τὸν χόρον ὅτι Αἴας ἐστὶν ὁ σφάξας τὰ ποίμνια. πυνθάνεται δὲ παρὰ τοῦ χοροῦ ὅτι Ἑλληνικὰ ἦν τὰ σφαγέντα, ἑκάτερος οὖν παρ' ἑκατέρου τὸ ἀγνοούμενον μανθάνει.
202.
mvp-comment-150-1
γενεάς, κ.τ.λ.] 'Of race derived from the Earth-born Erechtheidae.' The Salaminians are, by an anachronism which is repeated
infr. 861, counted as originally one with the Athenian people.
203.
mvp-comment-151-1
ἔχομεν στοναχάς] ‘It is ours to groan.' She claims the sympathy of the chorus, of which they assure her,
infr. 210.
204.
mvp-comment-152-1
τηλόθεν] Sc.
ὄντος or
σκοπουμένου.
Cp. O. T. 1259,
οἱ παρῆμεν ἐγγύθεν. The word is not to be immediately joined with
κηδόμενοι. Salamis, which she has never seen, seems far away to Tecmessa, whose hopes are notwithstanding centred there.
205.
mvp-comment-153-1
ὁ δεινὸς μέγας ὠμοκρατής] · Our dread hero, rugged in might.' Various compounds of
ὠμός are used to indicate the fierce impetuosity of Ajax, that cannot be reduced to rule:
infr. 885,
τὸν ὠμόθυμον : 931,
ὠμόφρων : 548,
ἀλλ᾿ αὐτίκ᾿ ὠμοῖς αὐτὸν ἐν νόμοις πατρὸς | δεῖ πωλοδάμνειν κάξομοιοῦσθαι φύσιν. See also
infr. 613,
θουρίῳ | κρατοῦντ᾽ ἐν᾿ Αρει. Others would render
ὠμοκρατής, 'mighty-shouldered,' comparing the description of Ajax in Il. 3. 227 as
ἔξοχος ᾿Αργείων κεφαλὴν ἠδ᾽ εὐρέας ὤμους !
206.
mvp-comment-154-1
θολερῷ.. χειμῶνι] 'Through a turbid storm.' The darkened mind of Ajax is compared either to the troubling of waters by a flood, or to atmospheric disturbance, as we speak of 'dirty weather.'
Cp. Ant. 420, 1,
ἐν δ᾽ ἐμεστώθη μέγας | αἰθήρ, μύσαντες δ᾽ εἴχομεν θείαν νόσον, and, for the metaphorical use of
θολερός, Aesch. Prom. 885, 6,
θολεροὶ δὲ λόγοι παίουσ' εἰκη | στυγνῆς πρὸς κύμασιν ἄτης.
207.
mvp-comment-155-1
κεῖται] • Is overthrown.'
Cp. Plat. Rep. 5. p. 451 Α,
κείσομαι, περὶ ἃ ἥκιστα δεῖ σφάλλεσθαι.
νοσήσας] ‘Having fallen into madness.' The aorist expresses the suddenness of the stroke.
208.
mvp-comment-156-1
'What heavy change from the condition of the day hath last night experienced?' This is Triclinius' explanation of
τῆς ἁμερίας, sc.
καταστάσεως. As in the case of other feminine words used substantively, we need not be precise in supplying the ellipse. Lobeck prefers
ὥρας. Ajax' condition on the previous day was lamentable enough: what new trouble has arisen during the night?
210.
mvp-comment-157-1
Τελεύταντος] The first syllable is to be scanned as long :
cp. Ἱππομέδων, Παρθένοπαῖος in Iambic verse. Others read
Φρυγίοιο for
Φρυγίου, which is questionable both as to the form of the genitive and the division of the line.
211.
mvp-comment-158-1
λέχος δουριάλωτον] ' In a spear-won marriage.'
λέχος cogn. acc.
212.
mvp-comment-159-1
στέρξας ἀνέχει] 'Having fixed his affection on thee, remains constant to thee.' The mariners accept Tecmessa as their master's choice, although they could have wished a nobler bride for him. For
ἀνέχει, see E. on L. § 52. p. 97, and
cp. Eur. Hec. 123,
Βάκχης ἀνέχων λέκτρ᾽ ᾿Αγαμέμνων: Alc. 304,
τούτους ἀνάσχου δεσπότας ἐμῶν δόμων, where the middle voice has a similar force. For cognate uses of
ἀνέχω,
cp. Fr. 146, Pind. P. 2. 163.
213.
mvp-comment-160-1
'So that you know, and can tell us what we want to know.'
ὑπό in comp. seems here to have the force of 'supplying an answer, or supplying the word that is wanting.'
Cp. ὑποκρίνομαι.
215.
mvp-comment-161-1
πάθος, as the appropriate word, is preferable to
βάρος, which may have slipped in in from
supr. 209.
217.
mvp-comment-162-1
νύκτερος] 'In the night.' Essay on L. § 23. p. 36.
218.
mvp-comment-163-1
τοιαῦτ᾽ ἂν ἴδοις] For
τοιοῦτος adducing proof, see Essay on L. § 22. p. 35 a.
220.
mvp-comment-164-1
χρηστήρια] Either (1) simply 'victims,' or (2) with superstitious reference to the
δαίμων of madness. 'Offerings demanded by his rage.'
221-232.
mvp-comment-165-1
The metrical scheme (Logaoedic, with frequent syncope) is the following...
221.
mvp-comment-166-1
ἀνδρὸς αἴθονος] ‘Concerning the fiery man.' Essay on L. § 9. p. 12, 2. If
τοι is retained in
infr. 245, we may read here
οἵαν ἐδήλωσας *κατ᾿ ἀνδρὸς αἴθονος. The short syllable in
αἴθονος is sufficiently supported by
αΐθονα occurring in Hesychius in the right alphabetical order (immediately after
αἶθον). Although
αἴθοπος (see v. rr.) may be defended, on the ground that the second part of a compound has sometimes little significance (see esp.
infr. 954,
κελαινώπαν θυμών), yet
αἴθων, which directly expresses character, is more appropriate here, and has the preponderance of MS. authority in its favour.
222.
mvp-comment-167-1
ἄτλατον οὐδὲ φευκτάν] ‘That can neither be avoided nor endured.'
225.
mvp-comment-168-1
μεγάλων] 'Terrible.' The mariners, in their feebleness (
supr. 165 foll.), are afraid of the opinion of the host. These words are added as a comment on
οὐδὲ φευκτάν. The consequences of the fact cannot be eluded, since it is known to the host, and magnified by rumour.
226.
mvp-comment-169-1
ὁ μέγας μῦθος] ‘The formidable power of rumour.'
Supr. 172,
ὦ μεγάλα φάτις. μῦθος is the rumour about this particular thing, with a suggestion of rumour in general.
ἀέξει] Not 'exaggerates,' for the evil could not be exaggerated, but, 'which the mighty power of rumour spreads abroad.'
229.
mvp-comment-170-1
περίφαντος.. θανεῖται] 'He will be discovered and will die.'
περίφαντος is explained by the words that follow,
παραπλήκτῳ χερί, κ.τ.λ. The nature of the crime defies concealment.
231.
mvp-comment-171-1
κελαινοῖς ξίφεσιν] · With darkened brand.' The plural, as in Ant. 820,
ξιφέων ἐπίχειρα, denotes the action of the sword rather than the sword itself. The epithet
κελαινοῖς, as in Trach. 856,
κελαινὰ λόγχα, suggests the colour of a sword or spear that has been much used in battle.
βοτήρας]
Supr. 27,
αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις. This fact is known to the mariners from the report of the army, not from Tecmessa.
ἱππονώμας] Either (1) because captive horses, like those of Rhesus, were included in the spoil (this might add force to
ἱππομανῆ, supr. 143), or rather (2) because the herdsmen were mounted, as might well happen where the herd was so extensive.
235.
mvp-comment-172-1
ὧν τὴν μέν] Sc.
ποίμναν. 'Whereof one part.' The plural
ὧν is equivalent to a collective
ἧς, referring to
ποίμναν supr. The force of
ἔσω ('in the tent') is continued to the subsequent clauses. For
τὴν μέν followed by
τὰ δέ, see Essay on L. § 20. p. 31.
236.
mvp-comment-173-1
πλευροκοπών δίχ᾽ ἀνερρήγνυ] 'He smote beneath the ribs and ripped asunder.' The two white-footed rams are probably Agamemnon and Odysseus. Menelaus may have been imagined to be slain in combat, while the king of men was brought away in triumph to be the object of more condign vengeance. Ll. 105 foll. leave no room to doubt that the second ram is intended by Ajax for Odysseus.
237.
mvp-comment-174-1
ἀνελών] · Having lifted,' i.e. by the forefeet.
238-239.
mvp-comment-175-1
'He sheared off and threw away (first) the tongue-tip and (then) the head.' E. on L. § 41. p. 78 β, b. The tongue, which had pronounced the judgment, the head, which was the seat of sovereignty, are the first to suffer. For
ῥιπτεῖ,
cp. Hdt. 4. 61,
ὁ θύσας, τῶν κρεῶν καὶ τῶν σπλάγχνων ἀπαρξάμενος, ῥίπτει ἐς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν.
240.
mvp-comment-176-1
‘Bound up to a pillar erect.'
ἄνω marks that the bonds were fastened from above, so as almost to suspend the creature from the ground.
241.
mvp-comment-177-1
'With a great harness-thong.'
ῥυτήρ is (1) a trace, (2) a rein, (3) any strap used in harnessing.
242.
mvp-comment-178-1
'He smites him with resounding double lash ;' i.e. He holds the thong by the middle, and plies it, thus doubled, with a whizzing noise.
243.
mvp-comment-179-1
ἃ δαίμων, κ.τ.λ.] i.e. The words gave evidence of superhuman passion.
Ср. О. Т. 1258, 9,
δαιμόνων δείκνυσί τις, οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀνδρῶν.
244.
mvp-comment-180-1
'Reviling him with evil language.'
Cp. Ant. 759,
ἐπὶ ψόγοισι δεννάσεις ἐμέ.
245.
mvp-comment-181-1
κάρα is the emendation of Triclinius for
κρᾶτα, which is in most MSS., generally with
τοι preceding: according to Hermann this was due to a mistaken metrical emendation. Reading
κάρα and retaining
τοι, we might read in
supr. 221,
οἴαν ἐδήλωσας *κατ᾿ ἀνδρὸς αἴθονος. τιν'] ἱ.ε.
ἡμᾶς. Essay on L. § 22. p. 36.
κάρα καλύμμασι κρυψάμενον] 'Veiling one's head,' either (1) in token of confusion and shame as well as sorrow.
Cp. Od. 8.92; Plat. Phaedr. 243 В. Or (2) by way of disguise.
ποδοῖν κλοπὰν ἀρέσθαι] i. e.
φυγὴν ἀρέσθαι, 'to steal away on foot.'
Cp. Eur. Or. 1499,
ἐκκλέπτειν πόδα: Rhes. 54,
αἴρεσθαι φυγήν.
247.
mvp-comment-182-1
θοὸν εἰρεσίας ζυγὸν ἑζόμενον] 'Pressing the swift rowing-bench.'
Cp. Aesch. Ag. 982,
θάρσος . . ἵζει φρενὸς φίλον θρόνον. And for the hypallage (
=θοᾶς εἰρεσίας ζυγόν), see Essay on L. § 42. p. 80.
250.
mvp-comment-183-1
ποντοπόρῳ ναὶ μεθεῖναι] 'Let the sea-faring ship go on her way.' No definite ellipse (as of
πλοῦν or
πείσματα) is to be supplied with
μεθεῖναι.
250.
mvp-comment-183-2
ματα) need be supposed. The verb 'to let go' is first used absolutely, and then again acquires a remote object, which is put in the dative. The ship is 'a thing of life.'
251.
mvp-comment-184-1
ἐρέσσουσιν] 'Launch.' Ant. 158,
μῆτιν ἐρέσσω. For the unconscious tautology,
εἰρεσίας .. ἐρέσσουσιν, see Essay on L. § 44. pp. 83, 4. The mariners think of the Atreidae as chasing them astern. The words
καθ' ἡμῶν mark that their lot is bound up with that of Ajax, a thought which is developed in the succeeding lines. The accusative
Ἄρη is in two constructions, first after
πεφόβημαι, and then with
ξυναλγεῖν, which is added in epexegesis. For
Apns of destructive violence, cp. esp. Aesch. Prom. 861, 2,
θηλυκτόνῳ | Ἄρει δαμέντων.
255.
mvp-comment-185-1
τὸν αἰσ᾿ ἄπλατος ίσχει] 'Possessed by an all-endangering doom.' The chorus long to stand by Ajax, but are deterred by his madness.
Cp. Trach. 785,
κοὐδεὶς ἐτόλμα τἀνδρὸς ἀντίον μολεῖν : ib. 797,
ὦ παῖ, πρόσελθε, μὴ φύγῃς τοὐμὸν κακόν, | μηδ' εἴ σε χρὴ θανόντι συνθανεῖν ἐμοί: ib. 1030,
ἀποτίβατος ἀγρία νόσος.
257.
mvp-comment-186-1
οὐκέτι] Sc.
ἴσχει νιν ἡ μανία. 'He may be approached with safety now.'
λαμπρᾶς, κ.τ.λ.] 'For he, like a Southern storm, after a sharp outburst, ceases to rage, and the lightning plays no more.'
ἄτερ, κ.τ.λ. is to be taken proleptically =
ὥστε ἄτερ στεροπῆς εἶναι. E. on L. § 38. p. 70. Otherwise the words might mean, 'He desists without lightning:' i.e. his violence comes to an end without doing irreparable harm.
Cp. Eur. Med. 93, 4,
οὐδὲ παύσεται | χόλου, σάφ' οἶδα, πρὶν κατασκῆψαί τινα: Shak. King John, 4. 2, 'So foul a sky clears not without a storm.' But although Tecmessa is for the moment relieved, her apprehensions are not sufficiently calmed to make this natural.
259.
mvp-comment-187-1
Φρόνιμος] Sc.
ὤν. Essay on L. § 39. Ρ. 72.
φρόνιμον (sc.
ὄντα) is a v. r. or MS. conjecture.
260.
mvp-comment-188-1
οἰκεῖα πάθη] Troubles all one's own.' i.e. both as home-felt and self-wrought.
Cp. El. 215,
οἰκείας εἰς ἄτας.
261.
mvp-comment-189-1
παραπράξαντος] «Having assisted.'
Cp. παραδράω (
οἷά τε τοῖς ἀγαθοῖσι παραδρώωσι χέρηες, Od. 15, 324).
262.
mvp-comment-190-1
μεγάλας ὀδύνας ὑποτείνει] 'Causes intense grief within.'
ὑποτείνει, 1.2.
ὑπέχει ἐντεταμένως. Cp. Pind. O1. 2. 100,
βαθεῖαν ὑπέχων μέριμναν ἀγροτέραν.
263.
mvp-comment-191-1
'But if he hath ceased' (from his madness), 'he must be surely happy.' Others take
εὐτυχεῖν impersonally, as in Oed. Tyr 88,
πάντ᾽ ἂν εὐτυχεῖν, –‘All must be well.'
264.
mvp-comment-192-1
'For trouble counts for less when it is gone.' The gen. is first absolute, and then in regimen with
λόγος.
Cp. infr. 1161, 2,
κἀμοὶ γὰρ αἴσχιστον κλύειν | ἀνδρὸς ματαίου φλαῦρ᾽ ἔπη μυθουμένου.
265.
mvp-comment-193-1
αἵρεσιν] Sc.
τούτων, viz. ll. 266, 7, which
πότερα anticipates.
266.
mvp-comment-194-1
ἔχειν]
Supr. 203.
267.
mvp-comment-195-1
κοινὸς ἐν κοινοῖσι] Essay on L. § 44. p. 83. Or to be with others and mingle your sorrow with theirs.'
ξυνών marks that while Ajax was delirious, he stood apart from the grief which others felt for him.
269.
mvp-comment-196-1
'Our case, then, since the madness left us, is grown more desperate.' Tecmessa identifies her lot with that of Ajax. Compare
infr. 791,
μῶν ὀλώλαμεν; A few lines below (273-6) she speaks of herself in the plural as contrasted with him.
272.
mvp-comment-197-1
οἶσιν. . κακοῖς] i. e.
κακοῖς ἐν οἶσιν εἴχετο. Cp. infr. 1144, 5,
ἡνίκ᾽ ἐν κακῷ | χειμῶνος εἴχετ'.
275.
mvp-comment-198-1
πᾶς ἐλήλαται] 'Is vexed to the uttermost.'
πᾶς is adverbial. See Essay on L. § 23. p. 38, and
cp. infr. 519,
ἐν σοὶ πᾶσ᾽ ἔγωγε σώζομαι. The perfect, as in
πεφόβημαι, supr. 139, expresses a completed state.
277.
mvp-comment-199-1
ἆρ'..;] Essay on L. § 29. p. 50. 'What is this but to have the sorrow doubled that before was single?' Cp. Constance in King John, 3. 4. 'I am not mad; - I would to heaven I were! For then 'tis like I should forget myself: O, if I could, what grief should I forget!'
278-279.
mvp-comment-200-1
μὴ ἐκ θεοῦ | πληγή τις ἥκει] 'That a calamity is really come from Heaven.' The chorus before admitted as a possibility (
supr. 186,
ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος) what now appears to be too certain. Hence the indicative is more forcible here, although the subjunctive (
ἥκῃ) is more regular and may be the true reading.
282-283.
mvp-comment-201-1
'In what wise lighted on you the commencement of the trouble? Tell us, who grieve with you at the misfortune, what it is.'
τύχας, continuing the notion of
κακοῦ, is governed either (1) both of
δήλωσον and of
ξυναλγοῦσιν, or (2) of
ξυναλγοῦσιν only.
284.
mvp-comment-202-1
ὡς κοινωνὸς ὤν] 'As you are no less interested.'
285.
mvp-comment-203-1
ἄκρας νυκτός] 'At dead of night.' That this, and not 'on the verge of night,' is the meaning here, appears from the context. The flames lighted at evening were burnt out, so that all was dark.
ἄκρᾳ σὺν ἑσπέρᾳ in Pind. Pyth. 11. 16, is explained by Dissen 'ad seram vesperam.'
286.
mvp-comment-204-1
Cp. Od. 18. 307,
αὐτίκα λαμπτῆρας τρεῖς ἵστασαν ἐν μεγάροισιν, | ὄφρα φαείνοιεν, περὶ δὲ ξύλα κάγκανα θῆκαν καὶ δᾷδας μετέμισγον: ib. 19. 64,
φύως ἔμεν ἠδὲ θέρεσθαι.
287.
mvp-comment-205-1
κενάς] «Objectless;' i.e. without apparent cause. Tecmessa knows little of what Ajax does abroad. But she knows that there is something strange in his going forth at night without a summons.
289.
mvp-comment-206-1
ἄκλητος is expanded with
οὔτε-οὔτε, 'neither-nor.'
291.
mvp-comment-207-1
ἀλλά] i. e. 'Instead of there being an alarm of any kind.'
292.
mvp-comment-208-1
βαί, ἀεὶ δ᾽ ὑμνούμενα] 'Few words, but to a well-known tune.' Eur. Phoen. 438,
πάλαι μὲν οὖν ὑμνηθέν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως ἐρῶ: Plat. Rep. 8. 549 D,
ὅσα φιλοῦσιν αἱ γυναῖκες περὶ τῶν τοιούτων ὑμνεῖν.
293.
mvp-comment-209-1
Cp. Fr. 61,
ἄλλως τε καὶ κόρῃ τε κἀργείᾳ γένος, | αἷς κόσμος ἡ σιγή τε καὶ τὰ παῦρ᾽ ἔπη.
294.
mvp-comment-210-1
μαθοῦσ᾽] 'When I perceived,' viz. that he was not to be reasoned with. The unusual division of the line marks the reluctant desistence of Tecmessa.
Cp. O. T. 1513, ib. 110, and notes.
295.
mvp-comment-211-1
πάθας] 'Misfortunes.' The word is used with a vague sense of the horror of a scene, in which Ajax was no less unfortunate than his victims.
297.
mvp-comment-212-1
εὔκερών τ᾿ ἄγραν] The horns of the sheep are the most conspicuous object as they are seen in front and from above. The objection 'that the bulls were also horned' is absurdly logical. There is no sufficient reason for preferring the conj.
εὔερον. The word describes all the cattle, small and great, excepting the bulls, which have been mentioned separately.
298.
mvp-comment-213-1
τοὺς μέν] The bulls.
299.
mvp-comment-214-1
ἐρράχιζε] 'Clove in twain.'
299-300.
mvp-comment-215-1
τοὺς δὲ δεσμίους | ᾐκίζεθ᾽] 'Others, as his prisoners, he tormented at his pleasure.'
ὥστε φῶτας] 'As if human creatures.'
ἐν ποίμναις πίτνων] 'Making onsets on the cattle.'
Cp. supr. 185.
301.
mvp-comment-216-1
ὑπάξας διὰ θυρῶν] 'Issuing suddenly through the doorway.'
ὑπό = 'from beneath the tent.'
σκιᾷ τινί «In converse with some shadow.' The dative as with
διαλέγεσθαι. Tecmessa, not seeing or hearing Athena, supposes Ajax to be addressing some 'bodiless creation' of his brain.
Cp. Shak. Hamlet, 3, 4, 'How is't with you, That you do bend your eye on vacancy, And with the incorporal air do hold discourse?'
302.
mvp-comment-217-1
ἀνέσπα] «Heaved forth.'
Cp. Plat. Theaet. 180 Α,
ὥσπερ ἐκ φαρέτρας ῥηματίσκια αἰνιγματώδη ἀνασπῶντες ἀποτοξεύουσιν : Αr. Ran. 903,
ῥήματα γομφοπαγή. πινακηδὸν ἀποσπῶν.
303.
mvp-comment-218-1
συντιθείς] Sc.
τοῖς λόγοις. Εp.
προστίθημι.
304.
mvp-comment-219-1
ὅσην. . ἰών] 'What insults he had gone and wreaked upon them.' This clause depends at once on
λόγους and on
γέλων. The participle adds liveliness,-'how he had gone and paid them.'
305.
mvp-comment-220-1
ἐπάξας] L. has
ἀπάξας both here and
supr. 301. Supposing this were right, the same word would be used in two different senses, 'rushing off' and 'rushing back;' but the two words,
ὑπάξας, ἐπάξας, seem more appropriate.
306.
mvp-comment-221-1
μόλις πως] ‘By slow stages.' The phrase recalls the anxiety with which Tecmessa had watched the gradual awakening.
Cp. Thuc. 8. 86, § 2,
ἔπειτα μέντοι μόλις ἡσυχάσαντες ἤκουσαν.
307.
mvp-comment-222-1
'As he cast his eye along the room, and saw that it was full of ruin.'
ἄτη is calamity caused by infatuation.
Cp. infr. 351 foll.
308-309.
mvp-comment-223-1
ἐν δ᾽ ἐρειπίοις . . ἀρνείου φόνου] 'Amidst the carnage of the flock he sate, a ruin amongst ruins.' The tautology,
ἐν ἐρειπίοις ἐρειφθείς, is here expressive. The 2nd genitive,
ἀρνείου φόνου (see Essay on L. § 23. p. 37 a), is added to give greater distinctness to
ἐρειπίοις νεκρῶν as a single notion.
310.
mvp-comment-224-1
'With clenched nails grasping his hair with his hand.'
ὄνυξι adds force to
ἀπρίξ.
311.
mvp-comment-225-1
The order (Essay on L. § 41. p. 76) shows that
πλεῖστον is an afterthought. 'For some while, indeed for most of the time.'
312.
mvp-comment-226-1
τὰ δείν᾽ . . ἔπη] 'Those dreadful words,' which I remember so vividly.
Cp. Ant. 408,
τὰ δείν᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ἐπηπειλημένοι. Not merely, 'Words that are dreadful.'
313.
mvp-comment-227-1
φανοίην] Fut. opt. Ajax' words were
εἰ μὴ φανεῖς.
314.
mvp-comment-228-1
ἐν τῷ πράγματος]
Cp. Trach. 375,
ποῦ ποτ᾽ εἰμὶ πράγματος;
315.
mvp-comment-229-1
δείσασα,] 'Being overcome with fear.' As the deprecating
φίλοι shows, Tecmessa is excusing herself to the chorus for having told Ajax, under the influence of his threats, that which only plunged him into fresh sorrow. For the participle thus used without an express object,
cp. Ant. 1005,
δείσας δ' εὐθὺς ἐμπύρων ἐγευόμην. Hermann punctuates as in the text. Others join
δείσασα τοὐξειργασμένον, which is less simple.
316.
mvp-comment-230-1
ὅσονπερ ἐξηπιστάμην] For this limitation,
cp. supr. 295,
καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖ μὲν οὐκ ἔχω λέξαι πάθας.
319-320.
mvp-comment-231-1
(1) 'He used to teach us that such complainings indicated a degraded and leaden soul.' The infinitive is added epexegetically to complete the abrupt expression
ἐξηγεῖτο τοὺς τοιούσδε γόους πρὸς βαρυψύχου ἀνδρός. For
ἔχειν, sc.
τοὺς τοιούσδε γόους, cp. Il. 18. 495,
αὐλοὶ φόρμιγγές τε βοὴν ἔχον. (2) But an inf. after
ἐξηγεῖτο is rather required:
cp. Aesch. Eum. 595,
ὁ μάντις ἐξηγεῖτό σοι μητροκτονεῖν. Can
ἔχειν with the adverbial phrase
πρὸς... ἀνδρός be used intransitively (= 'proceed from') (
εἶναι appears as a gloss), or should
ἄγειν be read, 'He taught us to esteem'?
Cp. Ant. 34,
καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ ἄγειν | οὐχ ὡς παρ᾿ οὐδέν. For
βαρυψύχου it is possible that
βραχυψύχου ought to be read.
321.
mvp-comment-232-1
ἀλλ᾽ ἀψόφητος, κ.τ.λ.]
ἀλλά opposes what follows to the general sense of what precedes.
ἀψόφητος ὀξέων κωκυμάτων] ‘Uttering no sound of shrill lamentation.'
322.
mvp-comment-233-1
'He breathed deep groans like a lowing bull.'
ὑπὸ in comp. implies 'not loud, but deep.'
323.
mvp-comment-234-1
νῦν δ'] At first he uttered shrill lamentings, unlike the deep mutterings which before expressed his discontent. 'But now' he is silent.
κείμενος] 'Prostrate.'
Cp. supr. 207,
infr. 427.
325.
mvp-comment-235-1
ἥσυχος] « Without sound or motion.' The quietness of Ajax' present mood is ominous. This description prepares the spectator for what he is to see
infr. 346.
327.
mvp-comment-236-1
τοιαῦτα] Sc.
ὥς τι δρασείων κακόν. Tecmessa already apprehends the danger of suicide.
329.
mvp-comment-237-1
εἰσελθόντες] When Ajax is discovered by the
ἐκκύκλημα, infr. 346, this is equivalent to the scene being changed to within the hut.
330.
mvp-comment-238-1
οἱ τοιοίδε] · Men in such mood;' i. e. gloomily bent on self-destruction.
λόγοις] This word, to be joined with
φίλων, is restored from the quotation of Stobaeus. The reading of the MSS. is hardly possible.
λόγοις may have been lost from its similarity to
λέγεις in the termination of the next line, and
φίλοι may have been added to supply the gap.
331.
mvp-comment-239-1
On the order, see Essay on L. § 41. p. 77.
332.
mvp-comment-240-1
'That our hero is frenzied with his trouble.' The mariners apprehend that the madness of Ajax is in some way connected with his disappointment.
Cp. infr. 925-32.
ἡμῖν is dative of the person interested. See Essay on L. § 13. p. 19 f, and
cp. supr. 216,
ἡμὶν ὁ κλεινὸς | Αἴας ἀπελωβήθη:
infr. 733,
ἀλλ᾽ ἡμὶν Αἴας ποῦ ᾿στιν, ὡς φράσω τάδε ; κακοῖς]
Supr. 275,
infr. 532.
333.
mvp-comment-241-1
The voice of Ajax is heard from within.
334.
mvp-comment-242-1
μᾶλλον] Sc.
δεινά σοι λέξω, or
γνώσεσθε ταῦτα.
335.
mvp-comment-243-1
οἵαν] She judges from the intonation of the cry, which the chorus,
infr. 337, do not know whether to interpret as importing madness or grief.
337.
mvp-comment-244-1
ἢ τοῖς . . παρών] 'Or to grieve at witnessing the effects of past madness which remain with him.'
Cp. supr. 307. The addition of
παρών suggests that Ajax, seeing the carnage in the tent, is the eye-witness of his own madness.
339.
mvp-comment-245-1
Ajax calls upon Teucer.
παῖ is frequently addressed by an elder person to a younger, even by the Corinthian messenger to Oedipus, O. Τ. 1008, and by Electra (under excitement) to the supposed Phocian stranger, El. 1220. The picture in the Iliad, 8. 271, of Teucer retiring behind the shield of Ajax,
παῖς ὡς ὑπὸ μητέρα, suggests that Teucer was the younger brother. And it is natural to suppose Ajax to have been born before Telamon's expedition in which he won Hesione, the mother of Teucer.-According to Pindar in the fifth (or sixth) Isthmian ode, Ajax was given to Telamon in answer to the prayer of Heracles before the expedition. But in such details the legends are not constant. See O. C. 375, and note. Lycophr. 445 and schol. -The need of Teucer's presence is Ajax' first thought on coming to himself. Tecmessa at first thinks of the child, until, in l. 342, Ajax calls Teucer by name. He does not ask to see the child till l.530, after his attention has been vividly drawn that way by Tecmessa.
341.
mvp-comment-246-1
τάλαιν᾽ ἐγώ] Tecmessa is distracted between the fear of crossing Ajax and the fear of harm to the child. The division of the line helps to mark this distraction of the wife and mother.
343.
mvp-comment-247-1
λεηλατήσει] Teucer is gone foraging into the Mysian highlands,
infr. 720. Compare Thuc. 1. 11,
φαίνεται .. πρὸς γεωργίαν τῆς · Χερσονήσου τραπόμενοι καὶ λῃστείαν τῆς τροφῆς ἀπορίᾳ. ἐγὼ δ'] · While that I.'
345.
mvp-comment-248-1
κἀπ᾿ ἐμοὶ βλέψας] ‘Even at me, on seeing me.' The abrupt expression,
αἰδῶ λαβεῖν ἐπί τινι, is supplemented by the addition of the participle, i.e.
εἰς ἐμὲ βλέψας. αἰδώς is the feeling which prompts
σωφροσύνη.
346.
mvp-comment-249-1
ἐκκύκλημα. Ajax is disclosed with signs of slaughter about him. He is sitting upright. The slaughtered sheep are the evidence of his situation (
τὰ τοῦδε πράγη): his wild, dishevelled appearance betrays the condition of his mind (
αὐτὸς ὡς ἔχων κυρεῖ).
348.
mvp-comment-250-1
The lyrical numbers of this commos are chiefly dochmiac, mixed with iambic and trochaic rhythms, which increase in the third strophe and antistrophe. The scheme is the following...
348.
mvp-comment-250-2
The arrangement of the latter part of γ' is rendered doubtful by the manifest corruption of ll. 406, 7. Perhaps-
εἰ τἀμὰ μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, πάλαι· μώραις δ᾽ ἄγραισι ταῖσδ᾽ ὁμοῦ προσκείμεθα. And in the antistrophe, 424, 5,
τύδ᾽ ἐξερῶ μέγ᾽ οἷον οὔτινα Τροία στρατοῦ δέρχθη χθονὸς μολόντ' ἀπό. Or, reading
τάδε for
τά, and omitting
τοῖσδ᾽ ὁμοῦ, στρατοῦ, and
ἀπό, -
εἰ τάδε μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, πάλαι· μώραις δ᾽ ἄγραις προσκείμεθα, | πᾶς.
348.
mvp-comment-250-3
and-
ἐξερέω μέγ', οἷον οὔτινα Τροία χθονὸς δέρχθη μολόνθ' | Ἑλ.. See note on 405 foll.
348.
mvp-comment-250-4
Ajax at once perceives the mariners. 'The great rage, you see, is killed in him,' but the ground-swell of his passion is still heard.
349.
mvp-comment-251-1
μόνοι ἐμῶν φίλων] Sc.
παρόντες, or some such word, which is expanded in what follows.
350.
mvp-comment-252-1
ὀρθῷ νόμῳ] Sc.
τῷ τῆς φιλίας.
351.
mvp-comment-253-1
ἴδεσθέ μ᾽ οἷον, κ.τ.λ.]
με is to be taken (1) after
ἴδεσθε, and (2) after
ἀμφίδρομον κυκλεῖται, the latter being a picturesque expansion of
ἀμφικυκλεῖται. φοινίας ὑπὸ ζάλης] 'Lashed by a cruel storm.'
ζάλη is a squall accompanied with rain or hail. The surge surrounding Ajax is the heap of mangled victims, together with the horror which they symbolize. For the boldness of this image,
cp. El. 733,
κλύδων᾿ ἔφιππον ἐν μέσῳ κυκώμενον.
354-355.
mvp-comment-254-1
'Alas! It is clear thou art too true a witness.' The chorus do not immediately respond to Ajax: but, being horror-struck at what they see, express their reflections on the situation to Tecmessa. The description she has given is only too true. The meaning of
μαρτυρεῖν and the coldness of l. 355, as addressed to Ajax, prove this to be the right way of understanding the words.
355.
mvp-comment-255-1
ὡς ἀφροντίστως ἔχει] (1) ‘How far he is from sane,' sc.
ὁ Alas, replying to
supr. 347. Or possibly (2), sc.
τοὔργον, 'How little of sane thought is present in it.' 'Indeed, the fact declares that thought has had no part in what is done.' For the transference of a personal attribute from the agent to the act,
cp. O. C. 240, 977,
τό γ' ἆκον πρᾶγμα: Aesch. Ag. 1377,
ἀγὼν . . οὐκ ἀφροντίστως. · Notandus euphemismus pro
μανικῶς, Herm.
Cp. Shak. King Lear, 4. 6. 81, 'The safer sense will ne'er accommodate | His master thus.'
356.
mvp-comment-256-1
γένος .. τέχνας] Ο brother-band of helpers, who help by shipcraft.'
ναΐας . τέχνας is a descriptive genitive explaining
ἀρωγόν.
357.
mvp-comment-257-1
'Who didst go on board the ship and ply' (
ἑλίσσων proleptic) 'the oar of the sea,' viz. in coming to Troy. A change in the MS. reading is necessary. Some prefer to read
ὃς ἁλίαν .. ἔβας, 'Who camest plying,' etc.
ναῦν, suggested by
πλάταν, is to be supplied with
ἐπέβας.
360.
mvp-comment-258-1
(1) Ajax, although recovering his sanity, is still haunted by the impressions of the night, and the sight of the mariners reminds him of the shepherds, who had failed to defend the flock (
supr. 27,232). Begging for death from them, he bids them do what the shepherds could not. (Shak. Ant. and Cleo. 4. 14, 'Shall I do that which all the Parthian darts | Though enemy, lost aim, and could not?') 'In thee I behold the only shepherd to support the flock; come, lay me dead beside them!' This explanation has the advantage of supposing only one ellipse with both verbs, viz.
τῇ ποίμνῃ. In this case
μόνον ποιμένων is to be explained as an idiomatic expression, in which, as in
μόνος τῶν ἄλλων, the privative word has a negative force: i.e. 'You, and not the shepherds, shall avenge the sheep.'
Cp. Ant. 773,
ἔρημος.. στίβος. (The sense might be made clearer by reading
ποιμνίοις for
ποιμένων.) Others (2) suppose 'shepherds' to be put figuratively for 'comforters,' or (3) take
ποιμένων as gen. obj. = 'to defend thy lord.' Others conjecture
πημονὰν ἐπαρκέσοντ᾽, πημονῶν ἔτ᾿ ἄρκος ὄντ᾽.
363.
mvp-comment-259-1
'Do not (1) aggravate the blow of disaster;' or (2) 'Make the sorrow worse than the calamity.' For the whole sentence,
cp. Thuc. 5. 65,
κακὸν κακῷ ἱᾶσθαι: O. C. 438.
