Sophocles Ajax 241

Lewis Campbell (Translator)

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OD
May I then speak true counsel to my friend,
And pull with thee in policy as of yore?

Ajax. Sophocles. Lewis Campbell (Translator). London, New York and Toronto. 1906.

Current edition Experimental

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (4)
Αἴας μαστιγοφόρος First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Aiax. Lobeck Christian, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1866.) — 258-342 focus
Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 263-347 focus
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 241 focus
μέγαν ἱπποδέτην ἱππολέτην ἱπποδέτην ῥυτῆρα λαβὼν
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 263-347 focus
Translations (4)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 245 focus
Nun ist es Zeit, unser Haupt in bergende Hüllen versteckt, 1
Verstohlen fortzuflüchten,
Oder gewandt zu den Rudern, in Eile des meer-
wandelnden Schiffs Bande zu lösen.
240
Mit solchen Drohworten bestürmt uns das Atridenpaar hier,
Die Trozvollen: mir bangt, ach, vom erhobnen Steine
Erreicht, muß ich verderben, wie er, den grauses Leiden fesselt.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 241 focus
Agamemnon
Such men are most unstable in their ways.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 241 focus
Agamemnon
AGAMEMNON, TEUCER, &c.
Thee to burst forth in rude contemptuous speech
Against us, by our vengeance not chastised,
Thee doth this daring insolence become,
Sprung from a slave the captive of the spear?..
Had she, who gave thee birth, been high in rank,
How proudly wou'dst thou vaunt, and rear thy crest,
1230
Since, nothing as thou art, for one who now
Is nothing, thou hast dared to scorn our rule,
Asserting that we came not o'er the host
Or fleet of Greece commanders, nor o'er thee;
And Ajax, such thy descant, plough'd the sea
Lord of himself. How shameful from a slave
1235
To hear such arrogance? And what was he,
For whom these haughty clamours thou hast raised?
Whither did he advance, where fix his foot,
Where mine I fix'd not? In the Grecian camp
Was no man brave but he? Unpleasant fruit
The contest for the hero's arms proposed
1240
Affords us, if by Teucer in each place
Proclaim'd unjust; and canker'd envy still
Basely repines to yield the honours due
To higher merit, where the general voice
Adjudged them; and with rude licentious tongue
1245
You load me with reproaches, or with guile,
1245
Your vain ambition frustrate, stab at me.
Were moods like these indulged, no law could stand
On a firm basis, if the right adjudged
We should reject, and in the highest rank
Place those to whom the lowest is assign'd.
1250
But these things must be check'd. The high-built frame,
The massy-structured limb, the hardy nerve
Yield not protection: but the prudent mind
The conquest every where obtains. The ox,
Though vast his bulk, is taught the path prescribed
By a small whip: this discipline, I see,
1255
Will soon reach thee, some prudence if thy mind
Acquire not, for a man that is no more,
But now a shade, thus daring to insult,
And pour the torrent of opprobious speech.
Wilt thou ne'er feel the curb of modesty ?
Ne'er know the baseness of thy birth, and bring
1260
Some one of generous blood to speak for thee?
No meaning to my ears thy words convey;
I understand not thy barbaric speech.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 263-346 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-785-1 ξυνηρετεῖν 1 ξυνηρετμεῖν 2 ξυνηρετεῖν 3

mvp-comment-785-2 For the metaphor, cp. Ant. 541

ξύμπλουν
(n.). In Aesch. Ag. 842 the king says of Odysseus,
ζευχθεὶς ἕτοιμος ἦν ἐμοὶ σειραφόρος
.

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

1328. mvp-comment-850-1 φίλῳ may be taken in three ways, (1) agreeing with the subject of εἰπόντι, 'May a friend say the truth without offence?' or (2) agreeing with the remote object of εἰπόντι, 'May one speak the truth to a friend without offence?' or (3) agreeing with σοί in l. 1329, 'May one speak the truth and still work with you as my friend?' The choice lies between (1) and (2): and the comparison of l. 1331, φίλον σ᾽ ἐγώ, κ.τ.λ., inclines the balance in favour of (1).

1329. mvp-comment-851-1 Although ξυνηρεμεῖν, the reading of L pr. is not a vox nihili, —see L. and S., ξυνηρετεῖν, following the analogy of ὑπηρετεῖν, is much more probable, and the letter erased above the μ in L (see v. rr.) was probably T, so that ξυνηρετμεῖν has arisen from a confusion of the two readings. It has been tolerated even by some modern editors, though less supported by analogy than either ξυνηρετεῖν or ξυνηρεμεῖν.