Chorus
961cont2
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
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.) — 172-201 focus
ΧΟΡΟΣ
1
ᾖ ῥά σε Ταυροπόλα Διὸς Ἄρτεμις,
ὦ μεγάλα φάτις, ὦ
μᾶτερ αἰσχύνας ἐμᾶς,
ὥρμασε πανδάμους ἐπὶ βοῦς ἀγελαίας,
175
ἦ πού τινος νίκας ἀκάρπωτον χάριν,
ἤ ῥα κλυτῶν ἐνάρων
ψευσθεῖσ’, ἀδώροις εἴτ’ ὲλαφηβολἐαις.
ἢ χαλκοθώραξ ἥντιν’ Ἐννυάλιος
μομφὰν ἔχων
180
ξυνοῦ δορὸς, ἐννυχίοις μαχαναῖς
ἐτίσατο λώβαν.
ΧΟΡΟΣ
1
Οὐ, τοτε γὰρ φρενόθεν γ’ ἐπ’ ἀριστερὰ,
παῖ Τελαμῶνος, ἔβας
τόσσον ὲν ποίμναις πίτνων·
185
ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος· ἀλλ’ ἀπερύκοι
καὶ Ζεὺς κακὰν καὶ Φοῖβος Ἀργείων φάτιν ·
εἰ δ’ ὑποβαλλόμενοι
κλέπτουσι μύθους οἱ μεγάλοι βασιλῆς
ἢ τᾶς ἀσώτου Σισυφιδᾶν γενεᾶς,
190
μὴ, μή μ’, ἄναξ,
ἔθ’ ὦδ’ ἐφάλοις κλισίαις ὄμμ’ ἔχων
κακὰν φάτιν ἄρῃ.
ΧΟΡΟΣ
1
Ἀλλ’ ἄνα ἐς ἐδράνων, ὅπου μακραίωνι
στηρίζει ποτὲ τᾷδ’ ἀγωνίῳ σχολᾷ
195
ἄταν οὐρανίαν φλέγων
ἐχθρῶν δ’ ὕβρις ὧδ’ ἀτάρβηθ’
ὁρμᾶται ὲν εὐανέμοις βάσσαις,
πάντων καγχαζόντων
γλώσσαις βαρυάλγητα·
200
200
ἐμοὶ δ’ ἄχος ἕστακεν.
Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 172-200 focus
Χορός
1
ἦ ῥά σε Ταυροπόλα Διὸς Ἄρτεμις,
ὦ μεγάλα φάτις, ὦ
μᾶτερ αἰσχύνας ἐμᾶς, ὥρ-
μασε πανδάμους ἐπὶ βοῦς ἀγελαίας,
175
ἦ πού τινος νίκας ἀκάρπωτον χάριν,
ἤ ῥα κλυτῶν ἐνάρων
ψευσθεῖσʼ, ἀδώροις εἴτʼ ἐλαφαβολίαις;
ἢ χαλκοθώραξ εἴ τινʼ Ἐνυάλιος
μομφὰν ἔχων ξυνοῦ δορὸς ἐννυχίοις
180
μαχαναῖς ἐτείσατο λώβαν;
Χορός
1
οὔποτε γὰρ φρενόθεν γʼ ἐπʼ ἀριστερά,
παῖ Τελαμῶνος, ἔβας
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
τόσσον ἐν ποίμναις πίτνων· ἥ-
κοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος· ἀλλʼ ἀπερύκοι
185
καὶ Ζεὺς κακὰν καὶ Φοῖβος Ἀργείων φάτιν.
εἰ δʼ ὑποβαλλόμενοι
κλέπτουσι μύθους οἱ μεγάλοι βασιλῆς,
ἢ τᾶς ἀσώτου Σισυφιδᾶν γενεᾶς,
μὴ μηκέτʼ, ὦναξ, ὧδʼ ἐφάλοις κλισίαις
190
ὄμμʼ ἔχων κακὰν φάτιν ἄρῃ.
Χορός
ἀλλʼ ἄνα ἐξ ἑδράνων
ὅπου μακραίωνι
στηρίζει ποτὲ τᾷδʼ ἀγωνίῳ σχολᾷ,
ἄταν οὐρανίαν φλέγων.
195
ἐχθρῶν δʼ ὕβρις ὧδʼ ἀτάρβητα
ὁρμᾶτʼ ἐν εὐανέμοις βάσσαις,
πάντων καχαζόντων
γλώσσαις βαρυάλγητα·
ἐμοὶ δʼ ἄχος ἕστακεν.
200
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 170 focus
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 172-200 focus
Χορός
ἦ ῥά σε Ταυροπόλα Διὸς Ἄρτεμις—
ὦ μεγάλα φάτις, ὦ
μᾶτερ αἰσχύνας ἐμᾶς—
ὥρμασε πανδάμους ἐπὶ βοῦς ἀγελαίας,
175
ἦ πού τινος νίκας ἀκάρπωτον χάριν,
ἤ ῥα κλυτῶν ἐνάρων
ψευσθεῖσʼ, ἀδώροις, εἴτʼ ἐλαφαβολίας;
ἢ χαλκοθώραξ μή τινʼ Ἐνυάλιος
μομφὰν ἔχων ξυνοῦ δορὸς ἐννυχίοις
180
μαχαναῖς ἐτίσατο λώβαν;
Χορός
οὔ ποτε γὰρ φρενόθεν γʼ ἐπʼ ἀριστερά,
παῖ Τελαμῶνος, ἔβας
τόσσον, ἐν ποίμναις πίτνων·
185
ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος· ἀλλʼ ἀπερύκοι
καὶ Ζεὺς κακὰν καὶ Φοῖβος Ἀργείων φάτιν.
εἰ δʼ ὑποβαλλόμενοι
κλέπτουσι μύθους οἱ μεγάλοι βασιλῆς
ἢ τᾶς ἀσώτου Σισυφιδᾶν γενεᾶς,
190
μὴ μή, ἄναξ, ἔθʼ ὧδʼ ἐφάλοις κλισίαις
ὄμμʼ ἔχων κακὰν φάτιν ἄρῃ.
Χορός
ἀλλʼ ἄνα ἐξ ἑδράνων, ὅπου μακραίωνι
στηρίζει ποτὲ τᾷδʼ ἀγωνίῳ σχολᾷ
ἄταν οὐρανίαν φλέγων.
195
ἐχθρῶν δʼ ὕβρις ὧδʼ ἀτάρβητα
ὁρμᾶται ἐν εὐανέμοις βάσσαις,
πάντων καγχαζόντων
γλώσσαις βαρυάλγητα·
ἐμοὶ δʼ ἄχος ἕστακεν.
200
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 170 focus
CH
Thou may’st prolong thy moan, and be believed,
Thou that hast lately lost so true a friend.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 172 focus
Trieb dich die Tochter des Zeus, die Vertilgerin,
Artemis, schweres Gerücht, Quelle bitt'rer Schande mir!
Auf unsres Volkes Gut, in die weidenden Rinder,
Wohl wegen eines ohne Dank erkämpften Siegs,
1
175
Sei es um Gaben getäuscht
Von stolzer Rüstung oder um Beuten der Sagd?
Wie? Oder zürnt dir Ares im ehernen Kleid,
Hat, weil mit Undank ihm du die Hülfe gelohnt,
Dich gestraft mit nächtlichem Blendwerk?
180
Gegenstrophe.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 170 focus
Tecmessa
Woe, ruin, desolation close me round.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 172-200 focus
Chorus
Was it Artemis ruler of bulls, Zeus’s daughter, that drove you, O powerful Rumor, O mother of my shame,
drove you against the herds of all our people? Was she exacting retribution, perhaps, for a victory that had paid her no tribute, whether it was because she had been cheated of the glory of captured arms, or because a stag had been slain without gifts for recompense? Or can the bronze-cuirassed Lord of War
175
have had some cause for anger arising out of an alliance of spears, and taken vengeance for the outrage by contrivance shrouded in night?
180
Chorus
For never of your own heart alone, son of Telamon, would you have gone so far down the sinister path
as to fall upon the flocks. When the gods send madness, it cannot but reach its target, but may Zeus and Phoebus avert the evil rumor of the Greeks!
And if it is the great kings who slander you with their furtive stories,
185
or if it is he born of the abject line of Sisyphus, do not, my king, do not win me an evil name by keeping your face still hidden in the tent by the sea.
190
And if it is the great kings who slander you with their furtive stories,
Chorus
Come now, up from your seat, wherever you are settled in this long-lived pause from battle
and are making the flame of disaster blaze up to the sky! The violent insolence of your enemies rushes fearlessly about in the breezy glens, while the tongues of all the army cackle out a load of grief.
195
For me, sorrow stands firmly planted.
200
Commentary
Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))
mvp-comment-560-1 οἱ δ’ οὖν 1
mvp-comment-560-2 κεἰ … μὴ 2
mvp-comment-560-3 )πόθουν 3
mvp-comment-560-4 ἐν χρείᾳ δορός 4
mvp-comment-561-1 κακοὶ γνώμαισι 5
mvp-comment-561-2 τἀγαθὸν χεροῖν 6 τἀγάθ’ ἐν χεροῖν 7
mvp-comment-561-3 πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ 8
mvp-comment-561-4
For the sentiment, cp. Mimnermus fr. 1 (in Nauck's
Frag. Trag. 2nd ed., p. 829)
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 9 ἢ 10 ᾗ, εἰ, ὡς, καὶ 11 γλυκύς 12
mvp-comment-562-5 θάνατον 13 ὧν 14
mvp-comment-563-1 ἐπεγγελῷεν 15 κάτα 16 ἐγγελῷεν 17 τοῦδ’ 18
mvp-comment-564-1 θεοῖς 19
mvp-comment-565-1 πρὸς ταῦτ’ 20
mvp-comment-565-2 ἐν κενοῖς 21
mvp-comment-565-3 972 f. There is no stress on αὐτοῖς 22
mvp-comment-566-1 ἄτης … ἐπίσκοπον 23
mvp-comment-566-2 μέλος 24
mvp-comment-567-1 ξύναιμον ὄμμ’ 25
mvp-comment-568-1 ἠμπόληκας 26 ἠμπόληκά ς’ 27
mvp-comment-569-1 ὤμοι 28
mvp-comment-570-1 ὡς ὧδ’ ἐχόντων 29
mvp-comment-571-1 περισπερχὲς 30
mvp-comment-572-1 τί γὰρ 31 ποῦ … κυρεῖ 32
mvp-comment-572-2 μοι 33
mvp-comment-573-1 μόνος 34
mvp-comment-573-2 δῆτ’ αὐτὸν ἄξεις 35
mvp-comment-573-3 κενῆς 36 κενῆς 37
mvp-comment-574-1 ἐγκόνει 38 σύγκαμνε 39
mvp-comment-574-2 κειμένοις 40 θανοῦσι 41 θανοῦσι 42
mvp-comment-575-1 καὶ μὴν 43
mvp-comment-575-2 τοῦδε 44 μέλειν 45
mvp-comment-575-3 ὥσπερ οὖν 46
mvp-comment-576-1 ἁπάντων δὴ 47
mvp-comment-576-2 θεαμάτων … προσεῖδον ὀφθαλμοῖς 48
mvp-comment-577-1 ὁδός θ’ ὁδῶν πασῶν 49 ὁδῶν θ’ ἁπασῶν ὁδὸς ἀνιάσασα δή 50 πασῶν 51
mvp-comment-577-2 ἀνιάσασα δή 52
mvp-comment-577-3
Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus
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.