Sophocles Ajax 394

mvp-comment-244-1 σκότος ¹ ἔρεβος ²

mvp-comment-244-2 ὡς ἐμοί ³

mvp-comment-245-1 ἕλεσθ’ ἕλεσθέ μ’ ⁴

mvp-comment-246-1 γένος ⁵ ὄνασιν ⁶ εἰς ⁷

mvp-comment-246-2 ἄξιος ⁸

mvp-comment-246-3 βλέπειν ⁹

mvp-comment-247-1 ἁ Διὸς … θεὸς ¹⁰

mvp-comment-247-2 ὀλέθριον ¹¹ οὔλιον ¹²

mvp-comment-248-1 φύγῃ … μενῶ ¹³

mvp-comment-249-1 εἰ τὰ μὲν φθίνει ¹⁴

mvp-comment-249-2 (1) The antistrophic verses, 423—427 (

), appear sound. The changes which have been proposed in them have all been designed to suit some emendation in 405 ff., and would have no probability if verses 423 ff. were considered simply on their own merits.

mvp-comment-249-3 (2) There is only one real discrepancy of metre between the traditional text here and that of the antistrophe; viz., that τοῖσδ’ ¹⁵ τινα ¹⁶ ὁμοῦ πέλας ¹⁷

mvp-comment-249-4 (3) If, then, we assume that the antistrophe is sound, we may conclude that the fault in the strophe lies within the words

. A very slight change will restore the metre, viz. τοιοῖσδ’ ¹⁸ τοῖσδ’ ¹⁹ τοιοῖσδ’ ὁμοῦ βοτοῖς ²⁰

mvp-comment-249-5 (4) Whatever may have been the original form of the words

, it is at least highly probable that their general sense was, ‘If my old renown is perishing.’ This is suggested by the other passages where we find the same sequence of ideas,— i.e., the thought of his past glory closely followed by that of his present disgrace; see (1) 421—427: (2) 437—456: (3) 612—621.

mvp-comment-249-6 (5) Those who believe that the antistrophic verses 423—427 are corrupt have a freer hand for emendation here; and, as will be seen in the Appendix, some of the proposed restorations have been very bold. But such remedies pass into the region of pure guess-work.

mvp-comment-250-1 προσκείμεθα ²¹

mvp-comment-250-2 μώραις ²² μωραῖς ²³

mvp-comment-251-1 δίπαλτος ²⁴

mvp-comment-252-1 φωνεῖν ²⁵

mvp-comment-252-2 ἔτλη ²⁶

mvp-comment-253-1 πόροι ἁλίρροθοι ²⁷ πάραλα ἄντρα ²⁸

mvp-comment-254-1 νέμος ²⁹

mvp-comment-254-2 As I have noted in writing on the Troad elsewhere, ‘nearly all the plains and hills are more or less well-wooded. Besides the valonia oak, the elm, willow, cypress and tamarisk shrub abound. Lotus, galingale, and reeds are still plentiful, as in Homeric days, about the streams in the Trojan plain.’ ( Encyc. Brit., art. ‘Troad,’ vol. XXIII. p. 578.)

mvp-comment-255-1 πολὺν πολύν με ³⁰

mvp-comment-255-2 δὴ ³¹ δαρόν ³²

mvp-comment-256-1 ἀμπνοὰς ἔχοντα ³³

394. mvp-comment-275-1 Ajax, who had once prayed for light, now prays for darkness as his only light.

396. mvp-comment-276-1 φαεννότατον, ὡς ἐμοί] Most brilliant, in my sight.' Cp. Ant. 1161, Κρέων γὰρ ἦν ζηλωτός, ὡς ἐμοί, ποτέ.

397. mvp-comment-277-1 ἕλεσθ᾽ ἔλεσθέ μ'] In the spirit of polytheism the two names σκότος and έρεβος are imagined to denote two beings. Hence the plural. For the middle voice, cp. Ο. Τ. 887, κακά νιν ἔλοιτο μοίρα.

399. mvp-comment-278-1 i. e. οὐκέτι γὰρ ἄξιός εἰμι βλέπειν οὔτε εἰς θεῶν γένος οὔτε εἰς ὄνασιν τινα ἁμερίων ἀνθρώπων. For the omission of the preposition in the former clause, cp. Ant. 789, 90, καί σ' οὔτ᾽ ἀθανάτων φύξιμος οὐδείς, | οὔθ᾽ ἁμερίων ἐπ᾿ ἀνθρώπων : and for βλέπειν εἰς, cp. Ant. 922, 3, τί χρή με τὴν δύστηνον εἰς θεοὺς ἔτι | βλέπειν; Others (see v. rr.) join τινὰ ἀνθρώπων, making εἰς ὅνασιν adverbial, and understand βλέπειν with the accusative to be equivalent to βλέπειν εἰς.

403. mvp-comment-279-1 †ὀλέθριον αἰκίζει] The MS. reading is unmetrical, unless on the somewhat forced supposition that εὔφρονες in the antistrophe may be scanned ἐύφρονες. Wunder conjectured οὔλιον, which restores the metre. But ούλιος is everywhere active, and we can hardly venture to introduce it passively here. All that can be said is that ὀλέθριον has probably taken the place of some equivalent word (such as πάμμορον), unless we may be satisfied with ὀλέθρι', the adverbial plural. Hermann's attempt to scan the two lines thus, ἀλκίμα θεὸς ὁ λέθριον αἰκίζει, -υ-νου-ου- is unusually violent.

404. mvp-comment-280-1 ποῖ . μενῶ] 'Whither shall I go and find rest?' The subjunctive in φύγῃ is excused by the implication of the first person in the third.

405. mvp-comment-281-1 The Scholion, διὰ (τὴν κατὰ L) τὴν κρίσιν τῶν ὅπλων, is not inconsistent with the reading in the text, which admits of being construed thus, 'Seeing that things here are perishing together with these victims by my side.' But the language is at once obscure and feeble, and the metre does not agree with the antistrophe. There must be something wrong. The general meaning is, 'I am finally ruined, and at this moment am involved in ridicule and disgrace.' The simplest change is to read τάδε μέν for τὰ μὲν (Elmsl.), and τίσις δ᾽ for τοῖσδ' (Lobeck), i. e. (405-8) εἰ τάδε μὲν φθίνει φίλοι, τίσις δ᾽ | ὁμοῦ πέλας: and (423-6) ἐξερέω μέγ' οἷον οὔτινα Τροία στρατοῦ. But even so, there is too much of repetition for a lyric passage, and it is reasonable to suppose some deeper corruption. For example, τοῖσδ᾽ ὁμοῦ may have grown out of πέλας, and this may be a corruption of πάλαι. Then supposing (with Schndw.) that στρατοῦ and ἀπό are excrescences in the antistrophe, we might read (405-8), εἰ τάδε μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, πάλαι, | μώραις δ' ἄγραις προσκείμεθα, and (423-6), εξερέω μέγ', οἷον οὔτινα | Τροία χθονὸς δέρχθη μολόνθ' | etc. See note on l. 348. But nothing can be asserted confidently about this passage. For προσκείμεθα, cp. El. 1040, ᾧ σὺ πρόσκεισαι κακῷ.

408. mvp-comment-282-1 Cp. supr. 251. δίπαλτος] «With spears in both hands' - δύο δοῦρε παλλόμενοι. On this use of the adjective, see Essay on L. § 5.3. p. 98, also § 42. p. 80y; and cp. esp. El. 1494, κού πρόχειρος εἶ κτανεῖν: Aesch. Ag. 1652, πρόκωπος.. θανεῖν. ἂν.. φονεύοι] The sentence, although introduced with el, is continued independently of the hypothetical construction.

410. mvp-comment-283-1 χρήσιμον] 'Serviceable,' here answers to the Epic βοὴν ἀγαθός, ‘good at need.' The essential value of Ajax' services to the army is emphasized throughout. Cp. esp. supr. 119, 20.

413. mvp-comment-284-1 πόροι ἁλίρροθοι] 'Paths of the surging sea,' i. e. either generally, or with reference to the narrow seas of the Aegean, called πόντιαι αὐλῶνες in Trach. 100, which separated Ajax from his home; or, possibly, to the Hellespont, which had witnessed his exploits, and is called by Xerxes, in Hdt. 7.35, ἁλμυρὸς ποταμός. Cp. infr. 884, Aesch. Pers. 367.

414. mvp-comment-285-1 πάραλά τ᾽ ἄντρα, κ.τ.λ.] These were especially familiar to Ajax from his position at the end of the line towards Rhoeteum.

416. mvp-comment-286-1 ἀμπνοὰς ἔχοντα] i. e. 'If you keep me here, it will not be in life.'

417. mvp-comment-287-1 φρονῶν] ‘If he have sense to perceive.'