Sophocles Ajax 784

Richard Jebb (Translator)

Table of Contents

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Scene
← Previous Next →

Ajax. Sophocles. Richard Jebb (Translator). Cambridge. 1893.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Ajax (English) (Sophocles the plays and fragments, Part 7: The Ajax. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse, Sir, translator. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1891. (Modernized by Perseus.))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (4)
Αἴας μαστιγοφόρος First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Aiax. Lobeck Christian, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1866.) — 705-864 focus
Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 719-878 focus
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 784 focus
ὦ δαΐα Τέκμησσα, δύσμορον γένος,
ὅρα ὅραι ὅρα μολοῦσα τόνδ᾽ τον. τόνδ' ὁποῖ᾽ ἔπη θροεῖ.
785
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 784 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 815 focus
Fall frustrate, and the steely-tempered will.
815
Ay, and even mine, that stood so diamond-keen
Like iron lately dipped, droops now dis-edged
And weakened by this woman, whom to leave
A widow with her orphan to my foes,
Dulls me with pity. I will go to the baths
And meadows near the cliff, and purging there
My dark pollution, I will screen my soul
820
From reach of Pallas’ grievous wrath. I will find
Same place untrodden, and digging of the soil
Where none shall see, will bury this my sword,
Weapon of hate! for Death and Night to hold
Evermore underground. For, since my hand
Had this from Hector mine arch-enemy,
No kindness have I known from Argive men.
So true that saying of the bygone world,
‘A foe’s gift is no gift, and brings no good.’
845
Well, we will learn of Time. Henceforth I’ll bow
To heavenly ordinance and give homage due
To Atreus’ sons. Who rules, must be obeyed.
Since nought so fierce and terrible but yields
Place to Authority. Wild Winter’s snows
Make way for bounteous Summer’s flowery tread,
850
And Night’s sad orb retires for lightsome Day
850
With his white steeds to illumine the glad sky.
The furious storm-blast leaves the groaning sea
Gently to rest. Yea, the all-subduer Sleep
Frees whom he binds, nor holds enchained for aye.
And shall not men be taught the temperate will?
Yea, for I now know surely that my foe
855
Must be so hated, as being like enough
To prove a friend hereafter, and my friend
So far shall have mine aid, as one whose love
Will not continue ever. Men have found
But treacherous harbour in companionship.
Our ending, then, is peaceful. Thou, my girl,
Go in and pray the Gods my heart’s desire
860
Be all fulfilled. My comrades, join her here,
Honouring my wishes; and if Teucer come,
Bid him toward us be mindful, kind toward you.
I must go—whither I must go. Do ye
But keep my word, and ye may learn, though now
Be my dark hour, that all with me is well.
865
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 784 focus
Tekmessa, Kind des Schmerzens, Unglückselige,
O komm und sich den Boten, was uns dieser sagt!
750
Das schneidet tief in's Leben, daß die Freude flieht.
Tekmessa. Die Vorigen.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 784 focus
He will soon be here :
He fears this fatal day.
785
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 784 focus
O thou poor sufferer, wretched in thy fate,
Come forth, Tecmessa, hear these words of woe;
For this cuts deep, and ruins all thy joy.
785

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-459-1 δαΐα 1

mvp-comment-459-2 γένος 2

mvp-comment-459-3 θροεῖ 3

mvp-comment-460-1 ξυρεῖ … ἐν χρῷ 4 ἐν χρῷ 5 χρῷ 6

mvp-comment-460-2 μὴ χαίρειν τινά 7

mvp-comment-460-3 787 f. Tecmessa, who, at the desire of Ajax (684), had withdrawn into the tent (692), now re-enters, with Eurysaces ( cp. 809 ).

mvp-comment-460-4 ἀτρύτων 8

mvp-comment-461-1 πρᾶξιν 9 βάξιν 10 φέρων … πρᾶξιν 11

mvp-comment-462-1 ἄνθρωπε 12 ὀλώλαμεν 13

mvp-comment-463-1 Αἴαντος 14 πέρι 15

mvp-comment-464-1 καὶ μὴν 16 γ’ 17 θυραῖος 18

mvp-comment-464-2 ὠδίνειν τί φής 19

mvp-comment-465-1 εἴργειν 20

mvp-comment-465-2 ἐξεφίεται 21

mvp-comment-465-3 σκηνῆς ὕπαυλον 22

mvp-comment-466-1 κἀπὶ τῷ 23

mvp-comment-467-1 τήνδε δ’ ἔξοδον … φέρειν 24

mvp-comment-467-2 Nor can we render: ‘He (Teucer) forebodes that this going-forth, which he announces, will be fatal to Ajax.’

φέρειν
could be said only of the messenger— not of the man who sends him. Paley's conjecture,
ἐλπίζω φέρειν
, meets the point as to
φέρειν
, but the change to the first person is too harsh. Bothe's ἐλπίζειν φέρει 25 ἐλπίζει κυρεῖν 26

mvp-comment-467-3 Could ὀλεθρίαν Αἴαντος 27 Αἴαντος εἰς ὄλεθρον 28

mvp-comment-468-1 τοῦ Θεστορείου μάντεως 29

mvp-comment-468-2 ὅτ’ αὐτῷ … φέρει 30 ὅτ’ 31 ὅτ’ 32 ὃς 33

mvp-comment-468-3 If φέρει 34 φέρει … θάνατον ἢ βίον 35

mvp-comment-468-4 It is possible that

ΦΕΡΕΙ
came, under the influence of
ΦΕΡΕΙΝ
in 799, from
ΘΡΟΕΙ
(the subject being Calchas): but we should not be warranted in altering the text. Wecklein and Blaydes, reading θροεῖ 36

mvp-comment-469-1 οἲ )γώ 37

mvp-comment-469-2 πρόστητ’ 38

mvp-comment-469-3 ἀναγκαίας τύχης 39

mvp-comment-470-1 οἱ μὲν 40 οἱ δὲ … οἱ δέ 41

mvp-comment-470-2 Τεῦκρον μολεῖν 42 σπεύσατε 43

mvp-comment-470-3 ἑσπέρους … ἀντηλίους 44

mvp-comment-470-4 ἀγκῶνας 45 ζητεῖτ’ 46 μολεῖν 47

mvp-comment-471-1 φωτὸς ἠπατημένη 48

mvp-comment-471-2 χάριτος 49 ἐκβεβλημένη 50

mvp-comment-472-1 τί δράσω, τέκνον 51

mvp-comment-472-2 ὅποιπερ ἂν σθένω 52

mvp-comment-473-1 ἐγκονῶμεν 53

mvp-comment-473-2 οὐχ ἕδρας ἀκμὴ 54

mvp-comment-473-3 As to the diction of the verse, three points claim notice. (1) The γε 55 ἄνδρα 56 σπεύδῃ 57 θέλοντας 58 θέλοντες 59

mvp-comment-474-1 ἕτοιμος 60 ἔργου 61 ποδῶν 62

mvp-comment-474-2 Tecmessa now leaves the scene by the entrance on the spectator's left, leading to the open country. The Messenger, with the servants of Ajax, goes out on the spectator's right, as being bound for the Greek camp.

mvp-comment-474-3 The Chorus leave the orchestra in two

ἡμιχόρια
, one by the
πάροδος
on the right, the other by that on the left. The withdrawal of the Chorus from the orchestra during the course of a play was called
μετάστασις
: their return,
ἐπιπάροδος
. The other extant examples are:—(1) Aesch. Eum.:
μετάστασις
at v. 231:
ἐπιπάροδος
at v. 299. (2) Eur. Alc.:
μ.
, Eur. Alc. 746 :
ἐ.
, Eur. Alc. 872. (3) Helen. :
μ.
, 385:
ἐ.
, 515. (4) Ar. Eccl.:
μ.
, Ar. Eccl. 310 :
ἐ.
, Ar. Eccl. 478.

mvp-comment-474-4 A change of scene is now supposed to take place, from the ground in front of the tent of Ajax to a lonely spot on the sea-shore, with trees or bushes (

νάπος
, 892). We do not know how this change was managed. (1) It may have been indicated merely by removing the hangings on the back-wall which represented the
σκηνή
of Ajax. This is MA. üller's view ( Gr. Bühnenalterthümer, p. 162). (2) Wecklein supposes that a back-wall, representing the
σκηνή
, was drawn back on right and left, disclosing the new scene.—We cannot assume the use of
περίακτοι
in the poet's time (cp. note at the beginning of the play). Had they been in use, the
περίακτος
on the spectator's left could have turned, so as to represent a new locality (
τόπος
). The right-hand
περίακτος
, indicating the region in which the whole action takes place (
χώρα
), would not have been changed.

mvp-comment-474-5 The only other Greek play in which a change of scene is certain is the Eumenides, where the action begins at the temple of the Delphian Apollo, and passes at v. 235 to that of Athena Polias at Athens. This may have been marked merely by substituting a statue of Athena for one of Apollo.

mvp-comment-474-6 815 Ajax is standing at the side of the scene on the spectator's right, near the underwood which screens him when he falls—so that his body is not at first visible to the Chorus when they return to the orchestra, but could be seen by Tecmessa, when she comes on the scene from the left. The point of the sword could probably be seen by the audience. Hesychius quotes Polemon, the sophist in Hadrian's age, as saying that the

συσπαστὸν
was used
ἐν Αἴαντος ὑποκρίσει
. It was a short stage-sword, of which the blade ran back; otherwise called
ἀνδρόμητον
(Hesych., which some refer to
ἀναδραμεῖν
), or
ἀνδρομηρόν
. Cp. Achilles Tatius 3. 20
ὁ σίδηρος εἴσω καταδύεται, τούτῳ δ’...ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις ἐχρῆτο πρὸς τὰς κιβδήλους σφαγάς
.

mvp-comment-474-7 The antithesis to ὁ μὲν σφαγεὺς 63 ἐκ δὲ τῶνδε 64

mvp-comment-474-8 σφαγεὺς 65

mvp-comment-474-9 τομώτατος 66

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

784. mvp-comment-527-1 'O cruelly vexed Tecmessa, born to woe!' The exact association conveyed in Sata is difficult to seize. Perhaps from meaning 'hostile,' it comes to mean 'treated as an enemy,' and so 'cruelly afflicted' by the gods.

785. mvp-comment-528-1 'Come and see what news this man is telling.' Cp. Phil. 504, χρὴ δ᾽ ἐμὲ | σκοπεῖν ὅπως σου μηδὲν ἐξαμαρτήσω.