Sophocles Ajax 379

Thomas Francklin (Translator)

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How will that subtle instrument of ill,

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.) — 343-424 focus
Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 348-429 focus
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 379 focus
ἀντ. β'. ἰὼ πάνθ' ὁρῶν, ἁπάντων τ᾿ ἀεὶ πάντων ἀεὶ ἁπάντων τ᾽ ἀεὶ
κακῶν ὄργανον, τέκνον Λαρτίου λαερτίου,
κακοπινέστατόν κοκοπινέστατον κακοπινέστατόν κακοπινέστατοντ᾽ 7' om. τ' ἄλημα στρατοῦ,
380
ἢ που πολὺν γέλωθ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ἡδονῆς ἄγεις.
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 348-429 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 379 focus
Laughter and tears are in the gift of God.
Nay, vaunt not. Look where thou art fallen.
Source where my life-blood springs,
O Zeus, might I but slay
That crafty plague, with those twin-sceptred kings,
Then breathe my life away!
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 379 focus
Du stets aller Frevel Werkzeug, o Sohn
Laertens, mit dem allezeit wachen Blick,
Garstiger Lotterbub' und Ausbund im Heer,
Wohl hebst du lautes Lachen an aus Herzenslust!
365
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 379 focus
Thou ever lurking spy, thou ready tool
Always of every ill, of all the host
The basest, foulest, most insidious wretch,
Son of Laertes, how wilt thou rejoice,
380
And laugh, and revel at my miseries !
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 348-428 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-237-1 πάνθ’ ὁρῶν 1

mvp-comment-237-2 ἁπάντων τ’ 2 τ’ 3 δ’ 4 δ’ 5

mvp-comment-237-3 κακῶν ὄργανον 6

mvp-comment-238-1 ἄλημα 7

mvp-comment-239-1 ἦ που 8

mvp-comment-239-2 ἄγεις 9

mvp-comment-240-1 ξὺν τῷ θεῷ 10

mvp-comment-240-2 ἵδοιμι 11

mvp-comment-241-1 μηδὲν· μέγ’ εἴπῃς 12

mvp-comment-242-1 προπάτωρ 13 πάτερ 14 χεροῖν 15

mvp-comment-242-2 πῶς ἂν … θάνοιμι 16

mvp-comment-243-1 δισσάρχας 17

mvp-comment-243-2 ὀλέσσας 18

mvp-comment-243-3 βασιλῆς 19

mvp-comment-243-4 θάνοιμι καὐτός 20

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

377. mvp-comment-266-1 ὅπως οὐχ ὧδ᾽ ἔχειν] ὅπως is here simply an indefinite ὡs, and is construed with the infinitive as ὡς might have been.

379. mvp-comment-267-1 The former outburst was towards the Atreidae. He now breaks forth against Odysseus.

379. mvp-comment-267-2 πάνθ᾽ ὁρῶν] Cp. supr. 29, Phil. 1013, 4, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ κακὴ σὴδιὰ μυχῶν βλέπουσ᾽' ἀεὶ | ψυχή, κ.τ.λ.

381. mvp-comment-268-1 κακοπινέστατον.. ἄλημα στρατοῦ] 'Abominable misleader of the host.' So the Scholiast seems to understand the words, κακοπινέστατον, 'defiled,' i. e. by continual base practices. Musgrave suggested an allusion to the act of disguising himself as a wandering beggar mentioned in Od. 4. 242 foll., but preferred to derive ἄλημα (= παιπάλη) from ἀλέω. The earlier explanation is here preferable to both these, and in infr. 390, ἄλημα may quite well mean, 'cause of error' ( τῶν Ἑλλήνων, gl. Pal.). Cp. the causative use of ἄλη in Aesch. Ag. 195, δύσορμοι | βροτῶν ἄλαι. The error of which Ajax most complains is the misjudgment about the arms of Achilles.

382. mvp-comment-269-1 ἄγεις] 'Dost prolong.'

383. mvp-comment-270-1 ξὺν τῷ θεῷ] The article is not added to θεός elsewhere in Sophocles without special reason, and the conjecture of Schndw. ξύν τοι θεῷ supplies a article of connexion. But the asyndeton is rather impressive, and τῷ θεῷ may be explained 'the god who gives the laughter or the tears.' 'Laughter and sorrow are in the hands of God;' i. e. 'we must be patient and the position may be reversed.' The chorus reflect that the Divine power which now favours Odysseus and oppresses Ajax may hereafter work the opposite effect. Cp. Trach. 131 foll. ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ πῆμα καὶ χαρὰ | πᾶσι κυκλοῦσιν, οἷον | ἄρκτου στροφάδες κέλευθοι.

384. mvp-comment-271-1 The syllable which has been probably lost from this line has been variously restored, μέν, νῦν, μήν, etc., the Triclinian reading is harmless, and is followed in the text, in the absence of better MS. authority. Ajax prays to see his enemy, that, even ruined as he is, he may avenge himself. Cp. infr. 388-91, Trach. 1107 foll. ἀλλ᾽ εὖ γέ τοι τύδ᾽ ἴστε, κἂν τὸ μηδὲν ὦ, | κἂν μηδὲν ἔρπω, τὴν γε δράσασαν τάδε | χειρώσομαι κἀκ τῶνδε προσμόλοι μόνον, κ.τ.λ. This is more probable than an aposiopesis of ὀδυρόμενον.

384. mvp-comment-271-2 or the like, though this may be suggested by comparing Phil. 1113 foll. ἰδοίμαν δε νιν, | τὸν τάδε μησάμενον, τὸν ἴσον χρόνον | ἐμὰς λαχόντ᾽ ἀνίας.

387. mvp-comment-272-1 προγόνων προπάτωρ] Zeus was only the great-grandsire of Ajax, but the feeling of Sophocles and his age required that the Divine source should seem more remote. For similar vagueness in speaking of the past, cp. Ant. 981, 2, where σπέρμα. ἀρχαιογόνων | ἄντασ᾿ Ερεχθειδᾶν is said of the grand-daughter of Erechtheus. Also supr. 190.

390. mvp-comment-273-1 ὀλέσσας] The σ is doubled Epicè. Cp. Aesch. Pers. 864, ὅσσας δ' είλε πόλεις.

391. mvp-comment-274-1 τέλος θάνοιμι καὐτός] Ajax desires death, but death would be sweeter if he could first be avenged on his enemies. The feeling here is slightly different from Aesch. Choeph. 438, ἔπειτ' ἐγὼ νοσφίσας ὀλοίμαν, where the participle has an exclusive emphasis ('if I could only take their lives'), and there is no real desire of death.