Sophocles Ajax 15

Thomas Francklin (Translator)

Table of Contents

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Card
← Previous Next →
Minerva
I purposely deceived
His sight, and saved him from the guilty joy,
Turning his rage against the mingled flocks,
Your gathered spoil ; on these with violence
He rushed, and slaughtered many ; now he thought
That he had slain th' Atridse, now believed
Some other chiefs had perished by his hand,
I saw his madness and still urged him on,
That he might fall into the snare I laid :
Tired with his slaughter now he binds in chains
The living victim, drives the captive herd
Home to his tent, nor doubts but they are men :
There beats with many a stripe the helpless foe,
But I will show thee this most glaring frenzy,
55
That to the Grecians what thy eyes behold
55
Thou mayst report ; be confident, nor fear
55
His utmost malice ; I shall turn his sight
Askant from thee. Ajax, what ho ! come forth.
Thou who dost bind in chains thy captive foes !

Ajax. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.

Current edition Experimental

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (4)
Αἴας μαστιγοφόρος First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Aiax. Lobeck Christian, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1866.) — 1-171 focus
Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 1-171 focus
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 15 focus
ὡς εὐμαθές σου, κἂν ἄпоптос ἧς ὅμως,
15
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1-171 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 15 focus
ATH
He stood in darkness at the generals’ gates.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1 focus
Zu jeder Stunde treff' ich dich, Laertes' Sohn, 1
1
Wie du, den Feind zu greifen, seine Fährt' erspürst;
Auch nun gewahr' ich, wie du hier am Schiffsgezelt 2
Des Ajas, der des Lagers lezte Reihe hält,
Schon lange schleichst und lauerst und von seinem Tritt
5
Die frischgeprägten Spuren prüfst, um auszuspäh'n,
Ob innen er, ob außen: glücklich führt dich auch
Dein Schritt an's Ziel, scharfwitternd, gleich dem Sparterhund. 3
Denn eben ist er innen, und von Schweiße triest
Das Haupt des Mannes und die mordbewehrte Hand.
10
Und nöthig hast du weiter nicht, am Thore hier
Hineinzulauschen; aber sprich, warum du so
Voll Eifer spähtest, gerne geb' ich dir Bescheid.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 15 focus
Minerva
To the two imperial tents.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1-170 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-45-1 ἐγώ 1

mvp-comment-45-2 δυσφόρους 2

mvp-comment-46-1 γνώμας 3 λήμας 4

mvp-comment-46-2 Join τῆς ἀνηκέστου χαρᾶς 5 γνώμας 6

mvp-comment-46-3 Others take the gen. as depending on ἀπείργω 7 βαλοῦσα 8

mvp-comment-47-1 πρός τε ποίμνας 9

mvp-comment-47-2 σύμμικτά τε … φρουρήματα 10 λείας 11 βουκόλων 12

mvp-comment-48-1 ἄδαστα 13 ἄδαστα 14

mvp-comment-49-1 ἔκειρε … φόνον 15

mvp-comment-49-2 πολύκερων φόνον 16

mvp-comment-50-1 ῥαχίζων 17

mvp-comment-50-2 κἀδόκει μὲν 18

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

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.'