Sophocles Ajax 2

Thomas Francklin (Translator)

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Ulysses
1cont2
Minerva, dearest of th' immortal powers,
not, that well-known
Doth like the Tyrrhene trump awake my soul,
Right hast thou s£iid, I come to search my foe,
15
A deed of horror hath he done this night,
15
If it be he, for yet we are to know
The certain proof, and therefoi'e came I here
A willing messenger : the cattle all,
Our flocks and herds, are with their shepherds slain.
One of our spies, who saw him on the plain,
His sword still reeking with fresh blood, confirmed it
Instant 1 fled to search him, and sometimes
I trace his footsteps, which again I lose
I know not how ; in happy hour thou com'st
To aid me, Goddess ; thy pi'otecting hand
20
Hath ruled me ever, and to thee I trust
20
My future fate.
'Min. I know it well, Ulysses,
And therefore come to guard and to assist thee
Propitious to thy purpose.

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)) — 2 focus
πεῖράν τιν' ἐχθρῶν ἁρπάσαι θηρώμενον·
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)) — 2 focus
ODYSSEUS
Athena, ’tis thy voice! Dearest in heaven,
How well discerned and welcome to my soul
From that dim distance doth thine utterance fly
In tones as of Tyrrhenian trumpet clang!
15
Rightly hast thou divined mine errand here,
15
Beating this ground for Aias of the shield,
15
The lion-quarry whom I track to day.
For he hath wrought on us to night a deed
Past thought—if he be doer of this thing;
We drift in ignorant doubt, unsatisfied—
And I unbidden have bound me to this toil.
Brief time hath flown since suddenly we knew
That all our gathered spoil was reaved and slaughtered,
Flocks, herds, and herdmen, by some human hand,
All tongues, then, lay this deed at Aias’ door.
And one, a scout who had marked him, all alone,
With new-fleshed weapon bounding o’er the plain,
20
Gave me to know it, when immediately
20
I darted on the trail, and here in part
I find some trace to guide me, but in part
I halt, amazed, and know not where to look.
Thou com’st full timely. For my venturous course,
Past or to come, is governed by thy will.
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)) — 2 focus
Ulysses
Ye accents of Minerva, of the gods
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-1-1 Prologue. Athena confirms the surmise of Odysseus as to the guilt of Ajax; shows her favourite his afflicted foe; and points the moral.

mvp-comment-1-2 ἀεὶ μέν 1 καὶ νῦν 2

mvp-comment-1-3 Λαρτίου 3

mvp-comment-2-1 πεῖράν τιν’ ἐχθρῶν ἁρπάσαι 4 ἐχθρῶν 5 ἁρπάσαι 6 θηρώ‐ 7 μενον 8

mvp-comment-2-2 Athena's words are illustrated by the action of Odysseus against Palamedes (Xen. Mem. 4. 2. 33),—by his capture of Helenus ( Ph. 606),—his designs on Philoctetes,—his theft of the Palladium ( Ov. Met. 13. 99 ),—and his nocturnal expedition with Diomedes ( Il. 10).

mvp-comment-3-1 σκηναῖς … ναυτικαῖς 9

mvp-comment-3-2 The Homeric

κλισία
was a wooden hut ( Il. 24. 448 ff.). By
σκηνή
, an Athenian in the poet's day would usually understand a tent of skins, such as was commonly used by soldiers (Xen. An. 1. 5. 10).

mvp-comment-4-1 τάξιν ἐσχάτην 10

mvp-comment-5-1 κυνηγετοῦντα 11

mvp-comment-5-2 μετρούμενον 12

mvp-comment-6-1 νεοχάρακτα 13

mvp-comment-7-1 εἴτ’ ἔνδον εἴτ’ οὐκ ἔνδον 14

mvp-comment-7-2 ἐκφέρει 15

mvp-comment-8-1 κυνὸς Λακαίνης 16

mvp-comment-8-2 The use of the feminine gender by Sophocles here may be illustrated by Aristotle's remark,—

αἱ Λάκαιναι κύνες αἱ θήλειαι εὐφυέστεραι τῶν ἀρρένων εἰσίν
,— i.e., ‘of a finer intelligence’ ( ib. p. 608 a 27).—Cp. Shakesp. Midsummer-Night's Dream 4. 1. 124 , where Theseus says,
My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind | ... A cry more tuneable | Was never holla'd to, nor cheer'd with horn, | In Crete, in Sparta, nor in Thessaly.

mvp-comment-8-3 εὔρινος 17

mvp-comment-9-1 τυγχάνει 18

mvp-comment-10-1 στάζων ἱδρῶτι 19

mvp-comment-11-1 παπταίνειν 20 εἴσω 21

mvp-comment-12-1 ἔργον 22

mvp-comment-12-2 ἐννέπειν δ’ 23

mvp-comment-12-3 ὅτου χάριν 24

mvp-comment-13-1 σπουδὴν ἔθου τήνδ’ 25

mvp-comment-14-1 ὦ φθέγμ’ Ἀθάνας 26

mvp-comment-14-2 φιλτάτης ἐμοὶ θεῶν 27

mvp-comment-15-1 κἂν ἄποπτος ᾖς ὅμως 28

mvp-comment-15-2 When Ajax comes forth, he, indeed, appears to see her (v. 91,

ὦ χαῖρ’ Ἀθάνα, κ.τ.λ.
); while to Tecmessa she is invisible (301). But this, again, would not be inconsistent with Greek belief. In Il. 22. 277 Athena restores the spear to Achilles, yet is unseen by Hector. In Il. 1. 198 she appears to Achilles, but the others see her not.

mvp-comment-15-3 For

ἄποπτος
as=‘ out of sight,’ cp. El. 1488 (of Aegisthus)
πρόθες | ἄποπτον ἡμῶν
: Dionys. Hal. 2. 54
ἐν ἀπόπτῳ τίθενται τὸν χάρακα
(‘in a place out of sight’). It may be added that we might suppose Athena to be invisible to Odysseus now, without necessarily excluding the idea that she becomes visible to him at a later moment in the dialogue. Thus in Eur. Hipp. 1391 the presence of Artemis is known to Hippolytus only by a divine fragrance, though to the spectators she is doubtless visible; but a little later he beholds her (1440).—See Appendix.

mvp-comment-16-1 ξυναρπάζω φρενί 29

mvp-comment-17-1 κώδωνος … Τυρσηνικῆς 30

mvp-comment-17-2 As to the gender of

κώδων
, De Sens. 6 p. 446 b 22 has
τῆς κώδωνος
(bell). In Ar. Pax 1078 the words
χἡ κώδων ἀκαλανθίς
are said to mean a kind of hound. But
κώδων
(bell) is masc. with Thuc. , Strabo, Plutarch, Diodorus and Lucian.

mvp-comment-18-1 ἐπέγνως 31 εὖ 32

mvp-comment-19-1 βάσιν κυκλοῦντ’ 33

mvp-comment-19-2 τῷ σακεσφόρῳ 34

mvp-comment-20-1 ἄσκοπον 35

mvp-comment-20-2 ἔχει περάνας 36

mvp-comment-20-3 εἴργασται 37

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

1-3. mvp-comment-1-1

Athena's eye is ever on Odysseus, and she is now come from Olympus to succour him. Infra l. 36.
ἀεὶ μὲν ... καὶ νῦν] The structure is paratactic; i.e. 'As I have ever seen thee... so now I see thee...' Essay on Language, § 36. p. 68.

2. mvp-comment-2-1 (1) 'In quest to snatch some exploit on a foe,' i.e. seeking to effect some surprise against a foe. Or, (2) 'Seeking to foil (or detect) some enemy's attempt.' The latter (2) is simpler, and πεῖρα is used of the attempt of Ajax, infr. 290, 1057; but the former (1) is on the whole more probable. For Athena does not profess to know the circumstances until l. 36. She asks for information, and only assumes, what is evident, that Odysseus is engaged in some hostile adventure. This aspect of his character appears in the tenth Iliad. Cp. infr. 18, ἐπέγνως εὖ μ᾿ ἐπ᾿ ἀνδρὶ δυσμενεῖ | βάσιν κυκλοῦντ᾽. ἁρπάσαι is to seize, i. e. 'to effect suddenly.' θηρώμενον introduces the image of the huntsman continued in l. 5, and combined with that of the hound in ll. 7, 8. ἁρπάσαι θηρώμενον is substituted for πειρώμενον, so as to convey the notion of surprise. ἁρπάσαι is an epexegetic infinitive, after which the accusative πεῖραν is to be resumed. The meaning of ἁρπάσαι in (2) supr. viz. 'to arrest' is less natural than that given in (1).

3. mvp-comment-3-1 σκηναῖς] The κλισίαι of the Homeric hero. Cp. infr. 192-3.

4. mvp-comment-4-1 ἔνθα. ἔχει] Il. 11. 7, 8; Eur. I. A. 292. This position of Ajax' tent enables him the more easily to steal forth unobserved at last, infr. 690 ff.

5. mvp-comment-5-1 κυνηγετοῦντα, which has no object, resumes θηρώμενον. μετρούμενον] 'Scanning attentively.' The middle voice marks the mental nature of the act; not measuring with a line, but scanning with the eye.

6. mvp-comment-6-1 νεοχάραχθ'] Ajax has but recently returned, dragging the cattle with him, infr. 296. Odysseus has tracked him so far, but the confused struggle at the tent-door has made it uncertain whether he is not gone forth again.

7-8. mvp-comment-7-1 εὖ δέ σ᾽ ἐκφέρει, κ.τ.λ.] Odysseus is like a huntsman who is led to the right point by the scent of a keen Spartan hound. The dog is introduced to complete the image. Cp. infr. 19, 32. Is εὔρινος (1) nom. or (2) gen.? εὔρις occurs in Aesch. Ag. 1093, and the authorities for εὔρινος are late. But the sentence is more balanced if the epithet is taken by hypallage with βάσις, and the abstract noun is somewhat abrupt by itself. Cp. the forms εὔτριχος, εὔθριξ· εὔζυγος, εὔζυξ.

10. mvp-comment-8-1 With χέρας supply not merely ἱδρῶτι, but some word such as φόνῳ or αἵματι, to be gathered from ξιφοκτόνους.

11. mvp-comment-9-1 εἴσω.. παπταίνειν] 'To strain thine eyes to look within.' παπταίνειν is to gaze anxiously or wistfully. οὐδὲν ἔργον with the inf. recurs infr. 852.

13. mvp-comment-10-1 σπουδὴν ἔθου τήνδ'] 'You are thus busily engaged.' Cp. O. T. 134, τήνδ᾽ ἔθεσθ᾽ ἐπιστροφήν.

14-15. mvp-comment-11-1 Odysseus has but a dim and distant vision of the goddess, though her voice is clearly heard by him. She is his special patron. Phil. 134, Νίκη τ' ᾿Αθάνα πολιάς, ἢ σώζει μ' ἀεί. He reflects how intimately familiar to him is the voice, which from such a distance thrills him as with a trumpet call.

15. mvp-comment-12-1 ὡς εὐμαθές σου, κ.τ.λ.] 'How clearly discernible is thy sound unto my ear.' Shak. Mids. N. D. 3. 2, 'Mine ear, I thank it, brought me to thy sound.' For the transition from the voice to the person, cp. O. C. 324, 5, ὦ δισσὰ πατρὸς καὶ κασιγνήτης ἐμοὶ | ἥδιστα προσφωνήμαθ', ὡς ὑμᾶς, κ.τ.λ.

16. mvp-comment-13-1 The present tense in ἀκούω.. ξυναρπάζω is general, not 'now,' but 'always,' hence the contingent supposition κἂν ..ᾖς, and the words καὶ νῦν in l. 18.

18. mvp-comment-14-1 ἐπέγνως εὖ μ'] 'You rightly apprehend that I-.' For ἐπέγνων in the sense of detecting or discovering, cp. Aesch. Ag. 1598 ἔργον οὐ καταίσιον: Thuc. 1. 132, § 5, ἵνα, ἦν ἐπιγνοὺς .. μεταγράψαι αἰτήσῃ, μὴ ἐπιγνῷ. ἐπί] 'With a design upon.' Cp. Eur. Hipp. 32, Ἱππολύτῳ δ᾽ ἔπι | .. ὠνόμαζεν ἱδρῦσθαι θεάν.

19. mvp-comment-15-1 βάσιν κυκλοῦντ'] 'Ranging to and fro,' like a questing hound. Cp. infr. 20, ἰχνεύω. In Ant. 226, κυκλῶν ἐμαυτόν is 'often turning round.'

21. mvp-comment-16-1 πρᾶγος ἄσκοπον] 'An amazing deed:' i.e. not only mysterious, but of inconceivable enormity. See E. on L. § 51. p. 96, and cp. El. 864, ἄσκοπος ὁ λώβα.