Sophocles Ajax 1

Thomas Francklin (Translator)

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Son of Laertes, thy unwearied spirit
1
Is ever watchful to surprise the foe ;
1
I have observed thee wandering midst the tents
At th' utmost verge, and meas'ring o'er his steps
But late impressed ; like Sparta's hounds of scent
Sagacious dost thou trace him, nor in vain ;
5
For know, the man thou seekst is not far from thee :
Yonder he lies, with reeking brow and hands
Deep-stained with gore ; cease then thy search, and tell

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)) — 1 focus
ἀεὶ μέν, ὦ παῖ Λαρτίου Λαρτίου λᾶρτίου, δέδορκά σε
1
πεῖράν τιν' ἐχθρῶν ἁρπάσαι θηρώμενον·
καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ σκηναῖς σε ναυτικαῖς ὁρῶ
Αἴαντος, ἔνθα τάξιν ἐσχάτην ἔχει,
πάλαι κυνηγετοῦντα καὶ μετρούμενον
5
ἴχνη τὰ κείνου τὰ ᾿κείνου τἀκείνου νεοχάραχθ᾽ νεοχάρακτ᾽ νεοχάρακθ', ὅπως ἴδῃς
εἴτ᾿ ἔνδον εἴτ᾿ οὐκ ἔνδον. εὖ δέ σ᾽ ἐκφέρει
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)) — 1 focus
Oft have I seen thee, Laërtiades,
1
Intent on some surprisal of thy foes;
1
As now I find thee by the seaward camp,
Where Aias holds the last place in your line,
Lingering in quest, and scanning the fresh print
Of his late footsteps, to be certified
If he keep house or no. Right well thy sense
Hath led thee forth, like some keen hound of Sparta!
The man is even but now come home, his head
5
And slaughterous hands reeking with ardent toil.
5
Thou, then, no longer strain thy gaze within
Yon gateway, but declare what eager chase
Thou followest, that a god may give thee light.
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)) — 1 focus
Son of Laertes, oft have I observed
1
Thy watchful promptness 'gainst the foe to seize
1
Each fit occasion; and I see thee now
Ranging long time around the naval tent
Marking the fresh impression of his steps,
That thou may'st know if in the tent he rests.
Well hast thou traced him, like the Spartan hound
Of scent sagacious: in the tent he rests,
Sweat from his temples streaming, and his hands
5
With slaughter stain'd; to cast thy searching eye
5
Within these gates is needless; but declare
The cause productive of this anxious toil,
That by my knowledge thou may'st be inform'd.
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

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.