Sophocles Ajax 348-428

Richard Jebb (Translator)

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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.) — 425-591 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)) — 348 focus
στρ. α. ἰὼ
ἀντ. α. ἰὼ
355
γένος ναΐας ἀρωγὸν τέχνας,
*ὃς ἅλιον ἁλίαν ἐπέβας ἑλίσσων πλάταν,
σέ τοι σέ τοι μόνον δέδορκα ποιμένων ἐπαρκέσοντ᾽·
στρ. β. ὁρᾶς τὸν θρασύν, τὸν εὐκάρδιον,
τὸν ἐν δαΐοις ἄτρεστον μάχαις,
365
ἐν ἀφόβοις με θηρσὶ δεινὸν χέρας;
ὤμοι ωἴμοι οἴμοι γέλωτος, οἷον ὑβρίσθην ἄρα.
τί δῆτ᾽ ἂν ἀλγοίης ἐπ᾿ ἐξειργασμένοις ;
οὐ γὰρ γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ταῦθ᾽ ὅπως οὐχ ὧδ᾽ ἔχειν.
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.
ὅταν κατεύχῃ ταῦθ᾽, ὁμοῦ κἀμοὶ θανεῖν
εὔχου· τί γὰρ δεῖ δη δεῖ ζῆν με σοῦ τεθνηκότος ;
στρ.γ. ἰὼ
σκότος, ἐμὸν φάος,
ἔρεβος ὦ φαεννότατον φαεννοτον φαεννότατον, ὡς ἐμοί,
395
* ἕλεσθ' ἔλεσθέ μ' ἔλεσθέ μ' ἕλεσθέ μ' ἕλεσθέ μ' οἰκήτορα ἔλεσθ' οὔτε γὰρ οἰκήτορα,
ἕλεσθέ μ· οὔτε γὰρ θεῶν γένος
οὔθ᾽ ἁμερίων ἔτ᾽ ἄξιος
βλέπειν τιν' εἰς ὄνασιν ὄνησιν ἀνθρώπων.
ὦ δυστάλαινα, τοιάδ᾽ ἄνδρα χρήσιμον
410
φωνεῖν, ἃ πρόσθεν οὗτος οὐκ ἔτλη οὔκετ᾽ ἔτλη ποτ᾽ ἄν.
ἀντ.γ'. ἰὼ om. ὦ ἰώ
πόροι ἁλίρροθοι
πάραλά τ' ἄντρα ἄνδρα ἄντρα καὶ νέμος ἐπάκτιον,
πολὺν πολύν με δαρόν τε δὴ
415
κατείχετ' ἀμφὶ Τροίαν χρόνον·
ἀλλ᾽ οὐκέτι μ' οὐκ ἔτ᾽ οὐκ ἔτι οὐκέτι, οὐκέτ᾽ ἀμπνοὰς
ἔχοντα· τοῦτό τις φρονῶν ἴστω.
ὦ ἰὼ Σκαμάνδριοι
γείτονες ῥοαί,
420
εὔφρονες ᾿Αργείοις,
οὐκέτ᾽ ἄνδρα μὴ
τόνδ᾽ ἴδητ᾽, ἔπος
ἐξερέω μέγ', οἷον οὔ τινα
Τροία †στρατοῦ δέρχθη χθονὸς μολόντ᾽ †ἀπὸ
425
῾Ελλανίδος· τανῦν δ᾽ ἄτιμος
ὧδε πρόκειμαι πρόκειται πρόκειμαι.
οὔτοι σ᾽ ἀπείργειν, οὔθ᾽ ὅπως ἐῶ λέγειν
ἔχω, κακοῖς τοιοῖσδε συμπεπτωκότα.
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)) — 356 focus
Come from the chase, but leave me to my doom?
(). Too true thy witness: for the fact cries out
Wild thoughts were here and Reason’s lamp extinct.
Strong helpers of sea-speed, whose nimble hand
Plied hither the salt oar with circling stroke,
No shepherd there was found
To give the avenging wound.
Come, lay me with the flock!
Speak no rash word! nor curing ill with ill
Augment the plague of this calamity.
Mark ye the brave and bold,
Whom none could turn of old,
When once he set his face to the fierce fight?
Now beasts that thought no harm
Have felt this puissant arm.
O laughter of my foes! O mockery of my might!
Aias, my lord! I entreat thee, speak not so!
Why vex thy heart with what is over and done?
Do what we may, this ne’er will alter now.
Child of Laërtes old,
Thou that dost still behold
And still contrive all shapes of monstrous ill,
Winding in foulest ways
Through the army’s sinful maze,—
Now even for pleasure thou may’st laugh thy fill.
Laughter and tears are in the gift of God.
Even yet—
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!
Pray thus, and pray that I too be no more!
If thou wert gone, what were my life to me?
Darkness! my only light!
O nether gloom, to me
Brighter than morning to the wakeful eye!
Take me to dwell with thee.
Take me! What help? Zeus’ daughter with fell might
Torments me sore. I may not look on high,
Nor to the tribe of momentary men.—
Oh, whither, then,
Should it avail to fly?
Ah! whither should I go and stay?
All here is ruin. This mad prey
Shames me for evermore:
Vengeance is at the door;
Yea, all the Achaean host, with armèd hand,
Is ready at command
To slay me o’er and o’er.
Woe ’s me! to hear from one so good and true
410
Words he had scorned to utter in past days.
Grey firths of foaming brine, And ye, deep groves, that crown
The sea-caves and long cliffs upon the shore,
Too long did ye confine
My life about the walls of Troia’s town:
415
But no more now! a breathing man, no more!
The wise in heart may duly learn that lore.
Let Xanthus know,
Whose waters neighbouring flow,
And minister to Argive men:
420
One man he ne’er shall see again;
One, I will vaunt it forth!
Highest in warlike worth
Of all Greek forms that Troia’s towers have eyed:
Now, shorn of all that pride,
425
I lie thus low.
I know not how to let thee speak, nor how
To silence thee. Such evils close thee round.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 348 focus
Ihr Schiffsfreunde dort, die ihr mit rechtem Sinn
Allein Freunde mir, allein treu verbliebt,
seht, in welchen Wogen mich des blutigrothen Sturmes Wuth
Wirbelnd im Kreis umherjagt!
(leise zu Tekmessa)
Du Volk, das, erprobt in Seefahrerkunst,
Das Meerschiff bestieg, die Seeruder schwang,
Dich fand ich, ja, nur dich bereit, von mir zu wenden Schmach und Hohn:
345
Morde mich auch zu diesen!
Den Muthvollen sich, den Großherzigen,
Den Mann ohne Furcht in graunvoller Schlacht,
350
So kühn kämpft' er wider harmloses Vieh!
Weh mir des Hohnes! Welche Schmach bestrickte mich!
Wie magst du jammern über ein vollbrachtes Werk?
360
Gescheh'nes wird ja nimmer ungescheh'n gemacht.
Zweite Gegenstrophe.
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
Erflehst du dieses, flehe dann für mich zugleich
Um Tod: wozu denn leb' ich noch, wenn du mir starbst?
weh!
375
Vierte Strophe.
Dunkel, o du mein Licht! 2
Düstere Grabesnacht, leuchtende Sonne mir!
Onehmt, o nehmt mich als Bewohner auf,
Ia, nehmt mich auf! Ich bin nimmer hinfort würdig, zu schaun
Nach schwacher Menschen Hülfe, noch nach eurem Schuz, Götter!
380
Denn die Göttin, Zeus' 3
Grimme Tochter, lud
Tödtliche Qual auf mich.
Nun, wohin entflieh'n?
Wo wird Ruhe mir,
385
Wenn ich eitle Rach', o Freunde, nahm,
Und bei den Opfern blinder Wuth hier liege, wenn,
Zwiefach bewehrt, das Heer zu meinem
Morde die Hand hebt?
Jammer, daß ein edler Mann so reden mag!
390
Er hätte solcher Worte sich vormals geschämt!
Ihr, ach!
Vierte Gegenstrophe.
Die ihr zum Meere rauscht,
Ströme, du Hain, und ihr, Grotten am Meeresstrand!
So lange, lange Zeit fesselt ihr
395
Mich schon an Troja's Flur; aber hinfort fesselt ihr mich
Nicht athmend mehr im Lichte: hör' es, wem der Sinn hell ist!
Skamandros' Flut,
Nachbarlicher Strom,
Hold dem Achäervolk, 4
400
Nimmer siehst du mehr
Mich, (ein stolzes Wort
Sprech' ich aus!) den Mann, dem Keiner gleicht
Von Allen, welche Troja noch aus Argos' Land
Erscheinen sah: und nun so ruhmlos
405
Lieg' ich am Boden!
Nicht wehren kann ich deinem Wort, noch kann ich so
Dich reden lassen, da du ringst mit solcher Noth.
Ah, ah!
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 348 focus
\aside to Tecmessa]. What thou saidst, alas !
Was but too true ; he seems indeed distracted.
Or love or friendship ; therefore show it now,
And kill me.
Dost thou behold th\s once intrepid Ajax,
The brave, the mighty, long for strength renowned
365
And dauntless courage in the bloody iield ; j
Dost thou l)ehold him ? Oh ! what laughter now,
What vile reproach must he sustain !
My lord, my master, do not talk thus sadly.
370
Ajax \to Tecmessa]. Wilt thou not home ? Wilt not
be gone ?
But why sorrow thus
For what is past, and cannot be recalled ?
How will that subtle instrument of ill,
Laertes' prying son, insult me now,
And smile at my misfortunes !
That must be
As seems most fitting to the gods ; from them
Or grief or joy must flow.
That I could see him ! wretched as I am !
Oh ! if thou prayst for death,
Pray too for mine ; for wherefoi-e should I live
When thou art gone 1
And hope ! oh wrap me in your friendly shade,
A TTillIng gucct ! I daro net look for IiqI~),
Or from the gods above, or men below ;
The powerful daughter of eternal Jove
To death devotes me. Whither can I fly,
Or where remain, my fame and glory lost
In this sad frenzy ? Left without a friend,
And the whole army bent on my destruction !
Alas ! how dreadful 'tis to hear such words,
I would not have thee thus lament thy woes,
And yet I know not how to chide thee for it.
So hard thy lot.
Would e'er so well have suited my condition !
Oh ! I have reason to lament indeed.
For sure there is not such a wretch as Ajax !
Long since at Troy my valiant father fought.
And to his native land, with glory crowned,
Bore back the meed of his distinguished virtues :
Nor less renowned for gallant deeds was once
His hapless son, though now he perish thus
Inglorious : yet Achilles, well I know,
Were he alive, and to bestow his arms
On him who best deserved the prize, to me.
And me alone, would 'judge, the greo.t reward :
But little deemed the Atridse worth like mine.
And therefore gave them to that vile impostor.
Author of every evil work, Ulysses.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 348 focus
My friends, who with me mount the stately bark,
Alone, of all my friends, to faith's firm law
Alone adhering, from the raging storm
Behold what bloody waves around me swell.
Who grasp the strong oar, and impel the bark
355
Light bounding o'er the billows, you alone
With kind regard are present to my aid;
Draw all your swords, and end this hated life.
Thou seest the bold, the brave, the mighty Chief,
Intrepid in the shock of hostile arms,
365
Now dreadful 'midst the herds secure of harm,
How to derision and reproach exposed!
Why for deeds past shou'dst thou afflict thy mind?
Immutably they must be what they are.
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 !
If such thy wish, wish too that I may die :
For what is life to me, if thou art dead?
O darkness, now my light! Ye dreary shades
Of Erebus, to me sole brightness now,
Receive, receive your habitant; receive
A wretch no longer worthy to behold
The race of gods, or mortal men! Me now
395
They nought avail: for me the potent queen,
395
Daughter of Jove, with vengeful hand afflicts
E'en to destruction. Whither can I fly?
Or where remain? My former fame, my friends,
Is lost; and these last deeds have sunk me down
With infamy amidst these foolish spoils;
And all the host takes arms against my life.
What grief is mine that so renown'd a Chief
410
Should speak a language till this hour unheard!
Ye streams that roll into the sea, ye caves
Deep in the rocks that wind along the shore,
Thou grove on Ida's brow, long time, long time
Have you round Troy detain'd me; but no more
Shall you detain me breathing vital air :
This let each man, that hath his reason, know.
And thou, Scamander, flowing near these tents,
420
Benignant to the Grecians, shalt no more
Behold this man (thus proudly I will speak)
Such as 'mongst all the host, that o'er her plains
March'd from the realms of Greece, Troy hath not seen:
425
Now, all his glory sunk, thus low he lies.
I have not pow'r, 'midst these afflicting ills,
Or to repress, or to allow thy words.

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-221-1 This kommos serves, like the last (201—262), as a lyric expression of tragic pathos; after which the situation is further developed, as in the former case, by iambic dialogue. But in one respect this kommos differs from its predecessor. In order to bring the mind of Ajax into fuller relief, the lyrics are given to him alone, while the Chorus and Tecmessa speak only trimeters.

mvp-comment-221-2 The structure is as follows:—1st strophe 348—355=1st antistr. 356—363: 2nd str. 364—378=2nd ant. 379—393: 3rd str. 394—411=3rd ant. 412—429. For the metres see Metrical Analysis.

mvp-comment-221-3 ἰὼ φίλοι ναυβάται 1

mvp-comment-221-4 ἐμμένοντες 2

mvp-comment-221-5 ὀρθῷ νόμῳ 3

mvp-comment-222-1 ἴδεσθέ μ’ 4

mvp-comment-222-2 κῦμα 5 ζάλης 6 φοινίας 7

mvp-comment-222-3 ἀμφίδρομον 8 κυκλεῖται 9 κυκλοῦται 10

mvp-comment-223-1 οἴμ’ 11

mvp-comment-223-2 ἀφροντίστως ἔχει 12

mvp-comment-224-1 ναΐας ἀρωγὸν τέχνας 13

mvp-comment-225-1 ἅλιον ὃς ἐπέβας 14 ἁλίαν ὃς ἐπέβας 15 ὃς ἁλίαν ἔβας 16

mvp-comment-225-2 ὃς 17 γένος 18

mvp-comment-225-3 ἐπέβας 19

mvp-comment-225-4 ἐλίσσων 20

mvp-comment-226-1 πημονὰν ἐπαρκέσοντ’ 21 ἀπαρκέσοντ’ 22

mvp-comment-226-2 The traditional reading ποιμένων 23 πημονὰν 24

mvp-comment-227-1 ἀλλά 25 με 26

mvp-comment-227-2 συνδάϊξον 27

mvp-comment-228-1 εὔφημα φώνει 28 κακὸν κακῷ διδοὺς ἄκος 29 τὸ πῆμα τῆς ἄτης 30

mvp-comment-229-1 θρασύν 31 εὐκάρδιον 32 ἄτρεστον 33

mvp-comment-230-1 ἀφόβοις 34

mvp-comment-230-2 δεινὸν χέρας 35

mvp-comment-231-1 οἴμοι γέλωτος 36

mvp-comment-232-1 δέσποτ’ 37

mvp-comment-233-1 οὐκ ἐκτός; οὐκ ἄψορρον 38 οὐκ ἐκτὸς ἄψορρον ἐκνεμεῖ πόδα 39

mvp-comment-233-2 For ἐκτὸς 40

mvp-comment-233-3 ἄψορρον 41

mvp-comment-233-4 ἐκνεμεῖ 42 ἐκνεμεῖς 43

mvp-comment-234-1 ὦ πρὸς θεῶν 44

mvp-comment-235-1 ὢ δύσμορος 45

mvp-comment-235-2 ὃς 46

mvp-comment-235-3 χερὶ μὲν μεθῆκα 47 χερὶ 48

mvp-comment-235-4 τοὺς ἀλάστορας 49

mvp-comment-235-5 κλυτοῖς 50

mvp-comment-235-6 αἰπολίοις 51

mvp-comment-235-7 ἐρεμνὸν 52

mvp-comment-235-8 αἷμ’ ἔδευσα 53

mvp-comment-236-1 ἐπ’ ἐξειργασμένοις 54

mvp-comment-236-2 οὐ γὰρ γένοιτ’ ἂν 55 ὅπως 56

mvp-comment-236-3 For the sentiment, cp. Tr. 742

τὸ γὰρ | φανθὲν τίς ἂν δύναιτ’ ἂν ἀγένητον ποεῖν;
(n.).

mvp-comment-237-1 πάνθ’ ὁρῶν 57

mvp-comment-237-2 ἁπάντων τ’ 58 τ’ 59 δ’ 60 δ’ 61

mvp-comment-237-3 κακῶν ὄργανον 62

mvp-comment-238-1 ἄλημα 63

mvp-comment-239-1 ἦ που 64

mvp-comment-239-2 ἄγεις 65

mvp-comment-240-1 ξὺν τῷ θεῷ 66

mvp-comment-240-2 ἵδοιμι 67

mvp-comment-241-1 μηδὲν· μέγ’ εἴπῃς 68

mvp-comment-242-1 προπάτωρ 69 πάτερ 70 χεροῖν 71

mvp-comment-242-2 πῶς ἂν … θάνοιμι 72

mvp-comment-243-1 δισσάρχας 73

mvp-comment-243-2 ὀλέσσας 74

mvp-comment-243-3 βασιλῆς 75

mvp-comment-243-4 θάνοιμι καὐτός 76

mvp-comment-244-1 σκότος 77 ἔρεβος 78

mvp-comment-244-2 ὡς ἐμοί 79

mvp-comment-245-1 ἕλεσθ’ ἕλεσθέ μ’ 80

mvp-comment-246-1 γένος 81 ὄνασιν 82 εἰς 83

mvp-comment-246-2 ἄξιος 84

mvp-comment-246-3 βλέπειν 85

mvp-comment-247-1 ἁ Διὸς … θεὸς 86

mvp-comment-247-2 ὀλέθριον 87 οὔλιον 88

mvp-comment-248-1 φύγῃ … μενῶ 89

mvp-comment-249-1 εἰ τὰ μὲν φθίνει 90

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

ἐξερῶ...πρόκειμαι
), 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’ 91 τινα 92 ὁμοῦ πέλας 93

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

εἰ τὰ μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, τοῖσδ’ ὁμοῦ πέλας
. A very slight change will restore the metre, viz. τοιοῖσδ’ 94 τοῖσδ’ 95 τοιοῖσδ’ ὁμοῦ βοτοῖς 96

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

εἰ τὰ μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, τοῖσδ’ ὁμοῦ πέλας
, 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 97

mvp-comment-250-2 μώραις 98 μωραῖς 99

mvp-comment-251-1 δίπαλτος 100

mvp-comment-252-1 φωνεῖν 101

mvp-comment-252-2 ἔτλη 102

mvp-comment-253-1 πόροι ἁλίρροθοι 103 πάραλα ἄντρα 104

mvp-comment-254-1 νέμος 105

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 106

mvp-comment-255-2 δὴ 107 δαρόν 108

mvp-comment-256-1 ἀμπνοὰς ἔχοντα 109

mvp-comment-257-1 Σκαμάνδριοι … ῥοαί 110

mvp-comment-258-1 εὔφρονες Ἀργείοις 111

mvp-comment-259-1 οὐκέτ’ ἄνδρα μὴ τόνδ’ ἴδητ’ 112

mvp-comment-260-1 ἐξερῶ 113 ἐξερέω 114

mvp-comment-260-2 Join οὔτινα 115 στρατοῦ 116

mvp-comment-260-3 χθονὸς μολόντ’ ἀπὸ | Ἑλλανίδος 117

mvp-comment-260-4 This vaunt of Ajax (modified only by the half-apologetic

ἔπος ἐξερῶ μέγα
) is epic in tone; thus Achilles says of himself ( Il. 18. 105),
τοῖος ἐὼν οἷος οὔτις Αχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων
: Odysseus, ( Od. 9. 19,)
ὃς πᾶσι δόλοισιν
ἀνθρώποισι μέλω, καί μευ κλέος οὐρανὸν ἵκει
. Such a tone is better suited, indeed, to epos (in which speech is sometimes little more than audible thought) than to drama. But here, at least, as in the case of Heracles ( Tr. 1101 f.), it has the excuse of being prompted by the anguish of a sudden overthrow. (Cp. n. on O. T. 8 , where Oedipus speaks of himself as
ὁ πᾶσι κλεινός
.)

mvp-comment-261-1 πρόκειμαι 118 πρόκειται 119 ἄνδρα … τόνδε 120

mvp-comment-262-1 οὔτοι … οὐδ’ 121 οὐ … οὔτε 122

mvp-comment-262-2 ὅπως ἐῶ 123

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

348. mvp-comment-250-1 The lyrical numbers of this commos are chiefly dochmiac, mixed with iambic and trochaic rhythms, which increase in the third strophe and antistrophe. The scheme is the following...

348. mvp-comment-250-2 The arrangement of the latter part of γ' is rendered doubtful by the manifest corruption of ll. 406, 7. Perhaps- εἰ τἀμὰ μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, πάλαι· μώραις δ᾽ ἄγραισι ταῖσδ᾽ ὁμοῦ προσκείμεθα. And in the antistrophe, 424, 5, τύδ᾽ ἐξερῶ μέγ᾽ οἷον οὔτινα Τροία στρατοῦ δέρχθη χθονὸς μολόντ' ἀπό. Or, reading τάδε for τά, and omitting τοῖσδ᾽ ὁμοῦ, στρατοῦ, and ἀπό, - εἰ τάδε μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, πάλαι· μώραις δ᾽ ἄγραις προσκείμεθα, | πᾶς.

348. mvp-comment-250-3 and- ἐξερέω μέγ', οἷον οὔτινα Τροία χθονὸς δέρχθη μολόνθ' | Ἑλ.. See note on 405 foll.

348. mvp-comment-250-4 Ajax at once perceives the mariners. 'The great rage, you see, is killed in him,' but the ground-swell of his passion is still heard.

349. mvp-comment-251-1 μόνοι ἐμῶν φίλων] Sc. παρόντες, or some such word, which is expanded in what follows.

350. mvp-comment-252-1 ὀρθῷ νόμῳ] Sc. τῷ τῆς φιλίας.

351. mvp-comment-253-1 ἴδεσθέ μ᾽ οἷον, κ.τ.λ.] με is to be taken (1) after ἴδεσθε, and (2) after ἀμφίδρομον κυκλεῖται, the latter being a picturesque expansion of ἀμφικυκλεῖται. φοινίας ὑπὸ ζάλης] 'Lashed by a cruel storm.' ζάλη is a squall accompanied with rain or hail. The surge surrounding Ajax is the heap of mangled victims, together with the horror which they symbolize. For the boldness of this image, cp. El. 733, κλύδων᾿ ἔφιππον ἐν μέσῳ κυκώμενον.

354-355. mvp-comment-254-1 'Alas! It is clear thou art too true a witness.' The chorus do not immediately respond to Ajax: but, being horror-struck at what they see, express their reflections on the situation to Tecmessa. The description she has given is only too true. The meaning of μαρτυρεῖν and the coldness of l. 355, as addressed to Ajax, prove this to be the right way of understanding the words.

355. mvp-comment-255-1 ὡς ἀφροντίστως ἔχει] (1) ‘How far he is from sane,' sc. ὁ Alas, replying to supr. 347. Or possibly (2), sc. τοὔργον, 'How little of sane thought is present in it.' 'Indeed, the fact declares that thought has had no part in what is done.' For the transference of a personal attribute from the agent to the act, cp. O. C. 240, 977, τό γ' ἆκον πρᾶγμα: Aesch. Ag. 1377, ἀγὼν . . οὐκ ἀφροντίστως. · Notandus euphemismus pro μανικῶς, Herm. Cp. Shak. King Lear, 4. 6. 81, 'The safer sense will ne'er accommodate | His master thus.'

356. mvp-comment-256-1 γένος .. τέχνας] Ο brother-band of helpers, who help by shipcraft.' ναΐας . τέχνας is a descriptive genitive explaining ἀρωγόν.

357. mvp-comment-257-1 'Who didst go on board the ship and ply' ( ἑλίσσων proleptic) 'the oar of the sea,' viz. in coming to Troy. A change in the MS. reading is necessary. Some prefer to read ὃς ἁλίαν .. ἔβας, 'Who camest plying,' etc. ναῦν, suggested by πλάταν, is to be supplied with ἐπέβας.

360. mvp-comment-258-1 (1) Ajax, although recovering his sanity, is still haunted by the impressions of the night, and the sight of the mariners reminds him of the shepherds, who had failed to defend the flock ( supr. 27,232). Begging for death from them, he bids them do what the shepherds could not. (Shak. Ant. and Cleo. 4. 14, 'Shall I do that which all the Parthian darts | Though enemy, lost aim, and could not?') 'In thee I behold the only shepherd to support the flock; come, lay me dead beside them!' This explanation has the advantage of supposing only one ellipse with both verbs, viz. τῇ ποίμνῃ. In this case μόνον ποιμένων is to be explained as an idiomatic expression, in which, as in μόνος τῶν ἄλλων, the privative word has a negative force: i.e. 'You, and not the shepherds, shall avenge the sheep.' Cp. Ant. 773, ἔρημος.. στίβος. (The sense might be made clearer by reading ποιμνίοις for ποιμένων.) Others (2) suppose 'shepherds' to be put figuratively for 'comforters,' or (3) take ποιμένων as gen. obj. = 'to defend thy lord.' Others conjecture πημονὰν ἐπαρκέσοντ᾽, πημονῶν ἔτ᾿ ἄρκος ὄντ᾽.

363. mvp-comment-259-1 'Do not (1) aggravate the blow of disaster;' or (2) 'Make the sorrow worse than the calamity.' For the whole sentence, cp. Thuc. 5. 65, κακὸν κακῷ ἱᾶσθαι: O. C. 438.

366. mvp-comment-260-1 'Redoubtable in valour amongst harmless beasts.' For ev, cp. infr. 1315, μᾶλλον ἢ ἐν ἐμοὶ θρασύς. The phrase ἀφόβοις θηρσί is clearly an oxymoron, but has been diversely explained either as (1) 'harmless' ( τοῖς μὴ φόβον ἐμο ποιοῦσι, Schol.), or (2) 'game that flies not' (' quibus sanus quisque parcit, non solum quia nihil periculi nobis creant sed etiam quia fidei nostrae confidunt,' Lobeck.) The former is more in point. Ajax had been valiant 'where no fear was.' His prey was even less glorious than the boar or lion, which, though not human, are still formidable.

367. mvp-comment-261-1 οἷον] Sc. γέλωτα. 'What insulting mockery has been heaped on me!'

369. mvp-comment-262-1 The sight of Tecmessa, whom he must abandon, provokes Ajax to new rage. He first breaks forth on her impatiently, and then laments aloud. In what follows he is regardless both of her and the chorus.

373. mvp-comment-263-1 ὃς χερὶ μέν] For the position of μέν, which belongs properly to the verb, see Essay on L. § 41. pp. 78,9. The instrumental dative is used, with a fore-feeling of the latter part of the sentence, for ἐκ χερός. Mr. Jebb understands Ajax to mean that 'he had let off the Greeks in respect of personal chastisement, and merely damaged them in property.' But this softens the antithesis too much. The difficulty may be avoided by reading (with Schndw.) ὃς χεροῖν, and προγύνων πάτερ in the antistrophe, l. 387.

375. mvp-comment-264-1 The epithets here are echoes of the epic style, but possibly with some variation of meaning. 'Goodly,' which is the meaning of κλυτός in such expressions as κλυτὰ μῆλα (Od. 9. 308), is not sufficiently pointed here, and the Scholiast may be right in saying κλυτὰ λέγει τὰ αἰπόλια διὰ τὰς ἐν αὐτοῖς ταραχὰς καὶ φωνάς. 'The horned kine and bleating herds of goats.'

376. mvp-comment-265-1 'I rained forth dark-flowing blood.' ἐρεμνόν is another Homeric epithet, not merely signifying 'dark' (and so recalling μέλαν αἷμα), but ' darkling,' with reference to the gloom of night and other circumstances of horror which surrounded the act.

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.

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.'

420. mvp-comment-288-1 εὔφρονες ᾿Αργείοις] i.e. 'Kind to me no longer, but to my enemies.' In a different mood he afterwards ( infr. 863) bids farewell to the rivers of Troy as his nurses.

424. mvp-comment-289-1 οἷον, κ.τ.λ.] In Homeric fashion Ajax boasts himself to be the bravest of the Greeks. Cp. II. 18. 104, 5, τοῖος ἐὼν οἷος οὔτις᾿ Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων | ἐν πολέμῳ. That he is the bravest next to Achilles is the Homeric tradition, and he is acknowledged to be so by his enemy Odysseus, infr. 1341. The arrangement of this part of the antistrophe must be adapted to the change made in the strophe. See note on 405 foll. For μέγα, cp. Pind. Nem. 6. 45, 6, ἔλπομαι μέγα εἰπὼν σκοποῦ ἄντα τυχεῖν.

425. mvp-comment-290-1 The hiatus after ἀπό at the end of the (lyric) iambic line is doubtful.

427. mvp-comment-291-1 The reading πρόκειται is not wholly impossible.

428. mvp-comment-292-1 οὔθ᾽ ὅπως] Elmsley would read οὐδ᾽, because there is no te preceding. But this is too strict.