Sophocles Ajax 961-1184

ed. Francis Storr

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Ajax. Sophocles. ed. Francis Storr. London. 1913.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Αἴας (Greek) (Sophocles, Volume 2. Storr, Francis, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann Ltd.; The Macmillan Company, 1913.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (3)
Αἴας μαστιγοφόρος First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Aiax. Lobeck Christian, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1866.) — 1161-1196 focus
Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 961-1184 focus
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 961 focus
οἱ δ᾽ οἶδ᾽ οἱ δ' οὖν γελώντων κἀπιχαιρόντων κακοῖς
τοῖς τοῦδ᾽ τοῦ σδ᾽. ἴσως τοι, κεἰ κ ειἰ βλέποντα μὴ ᾿πόθουν,
θανόντ᾽ ἂν οἰμώξειαν ἐν χρείᾳ δορός.
οἱ γὰρ κακοὶ γνώμαισι τἀγαθὸν χεροῖν
ἔχοντες οὐκ ἴσασι, πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ.
965
ἐμοὶ .˙. ἐμοὶ πικρὸς τέθνηκεν ἢ κείνοις γλυκύς,
αὐτῷ δὲ τερπνός. ὧν γὰρ ἠράσθη τυχεῖν
ἐκτήσαθ᾽ αὑτῷ αὐτῶι αὑτῶι, θάνατον ὅνπερ ἤθελεν.
τί πῶς τί δῆτα τοῦδ᾽ τοῦ· δ᾽ ἐπεγγελῷεν ἂν κάτα;
θεοῖς τέθνηκεν οὗτος, οὐ κείνοισιν, οὔ.
970
πρὸς ταῦτ᾽ πρὸ ταῦτ᾽ πρὸσ ταῦτ᾽ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἐν κενοῖς ὑβριζέτω.
Αἴας γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐκέτ᾽ ἐστίν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐμοὶ
λιπὼν ἀνίας καὶ γόους διοίχεται.
ὦ τῶν ἁπάντων δὴ θεαμάτων ἐμοὶ
ἄλγιστον ὧν προσεῖδον ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐγώ,
ὁδός θ᾽ ὁδόστ᾽ ὁδόσ θ᾽ ὁδῶν πασῶν ἁπασῶν ἁπασῶν πασῶν ἀνιάσασα δὴ δ εὴ
μάλιστα τοὐμὸν σπλάγχνον, ἣν δὴ νῦν ἔβην,
ὦ φίλτατ᾿ Αἴας, τὸν σὸν ὡς ἐπῃσθόμην
1000
μόρον διώκων κάξιχνοσκοπούμενος·
ὀξεῖα γάρ σου σοι σου βάξις ὡς θεοῦ θῦ θεοῦ θε τινος
μὴ τεῖνε μακράν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅπως κρύψεις κρύψηις κρύψεις τάφῳ
1040
φράζου τὸν ἄνδρα χώ τι μυθήσῃ τάχα.
βλέπω γὰρ ἐχθρὸν φῶτα, καὶ τάχ᾽ ἂν κακοῖς
γελῶν ἃ δὴ ἃ δὴν ἃ δὴ κακοῦργος ἐξίκοιτ᾽ ἀνήρ.
Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς
εἶτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.
ὁ τοξότης ἔοικεν οὐ σμικρὸν σμικρὰ μικρὸν φρονεῖν.
1120
ἐγὼ δέ γ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ὄπωπα μωρίας πλέων,
1150
ὃς οἷσ ὅσ ἐν κακοῖς ὕβριζε τοῖσι τῶν τὸν πέλας.
κατ᾿ αὐτὸν καὐτὸν εἶτ᾿ ἀυτὸν κατ᾿ αὐτὸν εἰσιδών τις ἐμφερὴς ἐμοὶ
ὀργήν τὸν τροπὸν θ᾽ ὅμοιος εἶπε τοιοῦτον λόγον,
ὤνθρωπε, μὴ δρᾶ δρᾶι τοὺς τεθνηκότας κακώς·
εἰ γὰρ ποιήσεις, ἴσθι πημανούμενος.
1155
τοιαῦτ᾽ ἄνολβον ἄνοιτον ἄνδρ᾽ ἐνουθέτει παρών.
ὁρῶ δέ τοί νιν, κἄστιν, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ,
οὐδείς ποτ᾽ ἄλλος ἄλλοσ (?) ἢ σύ. μῶν ἠνιξάμην;
ἔσται μεγάλης ἔριδός τις ἀγών.
ἀλλ' ὡς δύνασαι, Τεῦκρε, ταχύνας
καὶ μὴν ἐς αὐτὸν καιρὸν οἶδε πλησίοι
πάρεισιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε παῖς τε καὶ γυνή,
τάφον περιστελοῦντε δυστήνου νεκροῦ.
1170
ὦ παῖ, πρόσελθε δεῦρο, καὶ σταθεὶς πέλας
ἱκέτης ἔφαψαι πατρός, ὅς σ᾽ ἐγείνατο.
θάκει δὲ προστρόπαιος ἐν χεροῖν ἔχων
κόμας ἐμὰς καὶ τῆσδε καὶ σαυτοῦ τρίτου,
ἱκτήριον θησαυρόν. εἰ δέ εἰ. δὲ τις στρατοῦ
1175
βίᾳ βία σ᾽ ἀποσπάσειε τοῦδε τοῦ νεκροῦ,
κακὸς κακῶς ἄθαπτος ἐκπέσοι χθονός,
Translations (5)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 961 focus
Yet such the mischief Zeus’ resistless maid,
Pallas, hath planned to make Odysseus glad.
O’er that dark-featured soul
What waves of pride shall roll,
What floods of laughter flow,
Rudely to greet this madness-prompted woe,
Alas! from him who all things dares endure,
And from that lordly pair, who hear, and seat them sure!
Go bring him hither, lest some enemy’s hand
Snatch him, as from the lion’s widowed mate
The lion-whelp is taken. Spare not speed.
All soon combine in mockery o’er the dead.
Even such commands he left thee ere he died.
As thou fulfillest by this timely care.
995
O sorest spectacle mine eyes e’er saw!
Woe for my journey hither, of all ways
Most grievous to my heart, since I was ware,
Dear Aias, of thy doom, and sadly tracked
Thy footsteps. For there darted through the host,
As from some God, a swift report of thee
That thou wert lost in death. I, hapless, heard,
And mourned even then for that whose presence kills me.
Ay me! But come,
Unveil. Let me behold my misery.
O sight unbearable! Cruelly brave!
Dying, what store of griefs thou sow’st for me!
Where, amongst whom of mortals, can I go,
That stood not near thee in thy troublous hour?
Will Telamon, my sire and thine, receive me
With radiant countenance and favouring brow
Returning without thee? Most like! being one
Who smiles no more, yield Fortune what she may.
Will he hide aught or soften any word,
Rating the bastard of his spear-won thrall,
Whose cowardice and dastardy betrayed
Thy life, dear Aias,—or my murderous guile,
To rob thee of thy lordship and thy home?
Such greeting waits me from the man of wrath,
Whose testy age even without cause would storm.
Last, I shall leave my land a castaway,
Thrust forth an exile, and proclaimed a slave;
So should I fare at home. And here in Troy
My foes are many and my comforts few.
All these things are my portion through thy death.
Woe’s me, my heart! how shall I bear to draw thee,
O thou ill-starr’d! from this discoloured blade,
Thy self-shown slayer? Didst thou then perceive
Dead Hector was at length to be thine end?—
I pray you all, consider these two men.
Hector, whose gift from Aias was a girdle,
Tight-braced therewith to the car’s rim, was dragged
And scarified till he breathed forth his life.
And Aias with this present from his foe
Finds through such means his death-fall and his doom.
Say then what cruel workman forged the gifts,
But Fury this sharp sword, Hell that bright band?
In this, and all things human, I maintain,
Gods are the artificers. My thought is said.
And if there be who cares not for my thought,
Let him hold fast his faith and leave me mine.
Spare longer speech, and think how to secure
1040
Thy brother’s burial, and what plea will serve;
Since one comes here hath no good will to us
And like a villain haply comes in scorn.
Menelaüs, make not thy philosophy
A platform whence to insult the valiant dead.
Our bowman carries no small pride, I see.
1120
I too have seen a man whose windy pride
1150
Poured forth loud insults o’er a neighbour’s fall,
Till one whose cause and temper showed like mine
Spake to him in my hearing this plain word:
‘Man, do the dead no wrong; but, if thou dost,
1155
Be sure thou shalt have sorrow.’ Thus he warned
The infatuate one: ay, one whom I behold,
For all may read my riddle—thou art he.
Off with you, then! ’Twere triple shame in me
To list the vain talk of a blustering fool.
High the quarrel rears his head!
1170
Haste thee, Teucer, trebly haste,
Grave-room for the valiant dead
Furnish with what speed thou mayst,
Hollowed deep within the ground,
Where beneath his mouldering mound
1175
Aias aye shall be renowned.
Would ye might both have sense to curb your ire!
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 961 focus
Sie mögen lachen, mögen sich an seinem Leid
Erfreuen! Weckt' er lebend auch ihr Sehnen nicht,
Den Todten ruft wohl ihre Klag' in Kampfesnoth.
Nie mag ein Gut ja, welches er in Händen hält,
Der Thor erkennen, bis es ihm entwunden ist.
920
Mir ist sein Scheiden bitter, ihnen süße Lust,
Ihm selbst erfreulich; denn wonach er sich gesehnt,
Er hat's errungen, seiner Wünsche Ziel, den Tod.
Was also mag sich über ihn ihr Spott ergeh'n?
Den Göttern starb er, ihnen nimmer, nimmermehr! 1
925
Drum höhn' Odysseus immerhin mit eitlem Hohn!
Denn keinen Ajas gibt es mehr für sie; doch mir,
Mir ließ er scheidend Jammer nur und Gram zurück.
(hinter der Scene)
Oschwerer Anblick, mir der unglückseligste
Von allen, die mein Auge je zuvor gesehn!
O Weg, von allen Wegen mir am schmerzlichsten
Die Brust beklemmend, welchen ich jezt eben ging,
950
Geliebter Ajas, als ich dein Geschick erfuhr,
Und deine Spuren rasch verfolgt' und spähend fand!
Denn eine jähe Kunde, wie von einem Gott,
Durchscholl Achäa's weites Heer, du seist dahin.
Ich, das vernehmend, seufzte still, obwohl entfernt,
955
Ich Armer; nun erblick ich's und vergeh' in Gram.
Weh, weh!
O komm, enthüll' ihn, laß mich seh'n mein ganzes Leid!
(ein Diener enthüllt den Leichnam.)
Anblick des wilden Grausens, kühn verwegne That!
Welch bittern Kummer säst du mir durch deinen Tod!
960
Denn nun, wohin, zu welchen Menschen kann ich fliehn,
Nachdem ich dir im Leide niemals Hülfe bot?
Wird Telamon, dein Vater wie der meine, mich
Mit holdem Auge liebevoll empfangen, wenn
Ich ohne dich erscheine? Was? Er, dessen Blick
965
Sich auch im Glücke nie verklärt zur Heiterkeit?
Was wird er bergen, welchen Hohn verschweigt er mir?
Ich sei der Bastard, aus der Feindesbeut' erzielt,
Der dich dahingegeben, feig, aus zager Furcht,
Vielleicht aus Arglist, theurer Ajas, daß dereinst
970
Dein Haus, des Todten, deine Macht mein Erbe sei!
So schilt der Alte, mürrisch durch der Jahre Last,
Der leicht erzürnte, der um Nichts in Streit entbrennt.
Zulezt verstoßen, muß ich aus dem Lande fliehn, 2
Und Sklave heiß' ich, der ich sonst ein Freier hieß.
975
Dies wartet mein zu Hause; hier vor Troja sind
Mir Viele feindlich, Wenig, was mir Hülfe bringt.
Und dieses Alles wurde mir durch deinen Tod.
Weh, was beginn' ich? Wie entreiß' ich deiner Brust
Dies blanke, scharfe, bittre Schwert, den Mörder, der
980
Dir, ach! den Tod gegeben? Sieh, so mußte noch
Zulezt, im Tode, Hektor dein Verderber sein! 3
(der Leichnam ist indessen von dem Schwerte abgezogen, auf die Bühne gebracht und das Schwert neben ihn hingelegt worden.)
Erwägt, bei allen Göttern, beider Menschen Loos!
Mit jenem Gurte, welchen Ajas ihm geschenkt,
Ward Hektor einst am Wagenbuge festgeschnürt
985
Und fortgerissen, bis das Leben ihm entfloh:
Und Ajas, der von Hektor diese Gab' empfing,
Liegt nun von ihr in mörderischem Sturz entſeelt.
Hat nicht Erinnys dieses Schwert aus Erz geformt, 4
Nicht Hades' grause Künstlerhand den Gurt gewebt?
990
Drum sag' ich, daß, wie dieses, so auch Alles sonst
Der Götter Rath stets wirke für die Sterblichen.
Wem aber dies in seinem Sinne nicht gefällt,
Der bleibe seinem Glauben treu, ich glaube dies.
Nicht säume länger; sinne, wie den Todten du
995
Im Grabe bergen, was du schnell erwiedern willst.
Denn einen Feind erblick' ich, und er kommt vielleicht,
Um unsrer Noth zu spotten, als ein arger Mann.
Menelaos, hast du weise Lehren aufgestellt,
Dann übe selbst an Todten keinen Uebermuth.
Der Bogenschüze, seh' ich, denkt nicht klein von sich.
1075
Ich aber sah jüngst einen Mann voll Albernheit,
1105
Der stolz in seines Nächsten Noth sich brüstete;
Und ihn gewahrt' ein Andrer, der mir ähnlich war
Und gleiches Sinnes, - dieser rief das Wort ihm zu:
Mensch, daß du keinen Frevel an den Todten übst!
Denn thust du dies, so wisse, daß Unheil dir droht.
1110
So trat er warnend an den armen Mann heran.
Und diesen seh' ich, und es ist, ich glaube so,
Kein Andrer als du selber. Sprach ich räthselhaft?
Von gewaltiger Zwietracht hebt sich ein Streit.
Auf, spute dich, Teukros, wie du vermagst,
Ein hohles Gewölb' ihm zu rüsten, worin
1120
Als ewiges Mal zum Gedächtniß der Welt
Das geräumige Grab ihn umschließe.
Tekmessa mit Eurysakes. Die Vorigen.
Und sich, zu rechter Stunde sind schon nahe dort
Des hingeschiednen Mannes Sohn und sein Gemahl,
Des Todten Grab, des jammervollen, einzuweihn.
1125
Komm her, o Knabe, näher tritt, als Flehender
Berühre deinen Vater, der dir Leben gab;
Siz' hier in seinem Schuze, nimm in deine Hand
Mein Haar und deiner Mutter Haar und deines auch, 8
Als Pfand der frommen Bitte! Wenn ein Mann des Heers
1130
Von diesem Todten mit Gewalt dich reißen will,
Er sterbe schlimm, der Schlimme, grablos, fern verbannt,
Mit allen Wurzeln seines Stamms hinweggemäht,
So, wie ich eben dieses Haar herunterschnitt!
Ihn, Söhnchen, fasse, halte fest, und Keiner soll
1135
Dich hier vertreiben, schmieg' an ihn dich knieend an.
Ihr aber, steht nicht, Weibern gleich, zur Seite dort;
Als Männer schirmt ihn, bis ich wiederkomm' und ihm
Ein Grab gerüstet, läßt es auch kein Mensch mir zu.
(Teukros geht ab. Tekmessa und Eurysakes sizen zu beiden Seiten der Leiche.) Tekmessa. Der Chor.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 961 focus
Let them rejoice, let them insult him now
With savage joy ; but when the dreadful day
Of battle comes, whom living they despised
When dead they shall lament. Fools never ^now^
The treasure's value till tjie k-easure 's lost^ '"^
965
Buf^far moi'e bitter was lug''(Ieath to me
Than sweet to them : to Ajax it was most welcome ;
Death was his only wish, and he obtained it.
Then wherefore should they triumph ? By the hand
Then let Ulysses smile : he is not theirs.
970
He lives not for the Grecians : he is gone,
And has bequeathed his sorrows all to me.
Lest he shall fall a victim to the foe,
Even as the hunters seize the lion's whelp
Left to its helpless dam? Quick ! fly ! assist me ;
For all are glad to triumph o'er the dead.
To thee, O Teucer ! he bequeathed the care
Of his loved child, and thou obeyst him well.
A sight so dreadful. Came I then for this
With luckless speed ? O melancholy journey !
To seek thee long in vain, and thus at last
To find thee dead before me, O my brother !
Quick through the Grecian host, as if some god
Had brought the tidings, spi-ead the dire report
Of thy untimely fate. Far from thee then
1 heard and wept, but now, alas ! I see
Unveil the body ; let me view it well.
And count my miseries. Horrid spectacle !
Oh ! rash advent' rous deed ! What weight of woe
Thy death has laid on me ! Alas ! to whom
Or whither shall I go ? Oh, wherefore, Teucer,
Wert thou not here to stop a brother's hand ?
What will our poor unhappy father say,
The wretched Telamon ? Will he receive me
With looks of love and pleasure, when 1 come
Even in the best of times he was not wont
To smile or joy in aught. What then will now
His anger vent ? Will he not speak of me
As of a faithless, base, unworthy son,
995
The spurious offspring of a captive mother,
995
Who hath betrayed and slain his best-loved Ajax
995
To gain his fair possessions after death ?
995
Thus will his wrath, sharpened by peevish a^e,
995
Upbraid me guiltless ; and to slavery doomed,
995
A wretched exile from his native land,
995
Shall Teucer wander forth. Such dreadful ills
995
Must I expect at home. At Troy my foes
995
Are numerous, and my friends, alas ! how few !
995
What shall I do 1 How can I save thee now
995
From this sad fate 1 Oh ! who could have foreseen
995
That Hector, long since dead, at last should prove
995
I do beseech you, mark the fate of both :
995
Dragged the brave Trojan o'er the blood}^ field
995
Till he expired ; and now, behold ! the sword,
995
The fatal steel, and Pluto made the belt.
995
Dreadful artificer ! JBiLt thiSj_an 995
.Thatjiappens to us, is the woi^ of^ Heaven. ^mmmm^
995
If there be those who doubt it, let them hold -ilS^^i^S"
995
Their diff'ring judgments — I shall keep my own.
995
Teucer, no more ; but rather now prepare
1040
Against thy foe, whom yonder I behold
This way advancing, with malignant smile
And looks of ill intent.
O Menelaus !
Do not with maxims grave and wisdom's rules
Mix foul reproach and slander on the dead.
a tongue like thine
1120
But ill becomes thy state : 'tis most unseemly.
Do thou remember too, I say he shall.
'Tis well ; I'll leave thee. 'Tis a folly thus
To talk with those whom we have power to punish.
The contest will grow warm. O Teucer ! haste,
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 961 focus
And let them mock, in his calamities
Let them exult: the time perchance may come,
Though whilst he lived they lightly prized his worth,
They may lament him dead with many a groan,
And want him in the dreadful shock of war.
The impotent of mind, whilst in their hands
965
They hold a treasure, know not how to prize
965
Its worth, till from them it be snatch'd away.
To me his death brings sorrow, joy to them;
To him it was most pleasing so to die,
It was the consummation of his wish.
Have they then cause to triumph in his death?
No: by the gods he died, and not by them.
970
Then let Ulysses swell with pride, none now
Opposing. Ajax lives for them no more,
But in his death to me leaves woes and groans.
And bring him hither, lest some daring hand
With hostile force should seize him, like the whelp
Of a lone lioness. Go, spare no toil :
All will insult the dead, when low they lie.
Teucer, to thee, while yet he lived, this charge,
To which affection prompts thee now, he gave.
995
Of all the sights, which e'er my eyes beheld,
Most mournful this; 'my feet ne'er trod a path
Which led to grief, that rends the heart, like this,
Through which, O dearest Ajax, of thy death
Soon as inform'd, I follow'd thee, and traced
Thy steps; for quick through all the Grecian camp
The rumour of thy dreadful fate was spread,
As of some god: I heard it with dismay,
And distant then groan'd deep; I see it now,
And sink oppress'd with misery. Go, remove
That robe, that all the ill these eyes may view.
Oh, what a sight of horror! What a deed
Of daring desperation! What a store
Of woes hast thou in death laid up for me!
For whither, to what people can I go,
In thy distress who gave thee not my aid?
Will Telamon, the father of us both,
With gentle looks and well-affection'd mind
Receive me, without thee? Will he do this,
Who never, e'en in prosperous fortune, wore
A pleasing smile? Much rather will he give
His rage full scope, and wound me with reproach,
That from a slave, the captive of his arms,
Base-born, through cowardice and abject fear,
Or with a villain's wiles, I have betray'd
And rich possessions. Thus, to anger prompt
By nature, and through age now more severe,
He to high passions will give way, and urge
A charge against me I have not deserved ::
Thus rated as a slave shall I be driven...
An outcast from my country. This my doom
At Salamis: but on the coast of Troy
I shall find many enemies, but few
To favour me, and all this through thy death.
But how, ah wretched me! how shall I draw
Thy body from this sharp deep-piercing sword?
It vibrates in the ground. Unhappy man,
By whom art thou thus slaughter'd! Did thy thought
Conceive that e'er the fatal time would come
When Hector, though long dead, should work thy death?
Mark, by the gods, the fate of both the Chiefs:
Bound by the radiant belt, which Ajax gave,
Was Hector by the rolling chariot dragg'd
The gift of Hector, falls and lies in blood.
Did not the Furies forge that slaughtering sword,
And hell's dread monarch, ruthless artist, frame
That belt? These things I deem, and all th' events
Befalling mortal man, are by the gods
Always assign'd... Is there whose mind dissents?
Let him enjoy his thoughts: but these are mine.
Of this no more; but be thy thoughts employ'd
1040
How to entomb this corse, and what reply
Thou soon wilt make: I see a foe, who comes
With rancorous malice to insult thy grief.
Do not, O king of Sparta, from thy lips
Whilst wisdom speaks its dictates, wrong the dead.
Bring all thy heralds, bring th' imperial Chief;
Not for thy clamours will I turn aside.
From my intent. I know thee what thou art.
1125
Such words, around us whilst afflictions press,
Have not my approbation: they are harsh,
And, though to reason highly just, wound deep.
This archer bears, it seems, a lofty mind.
Mine is no vulgar art.
Hear thou my answer, He shall be entomb'd.
To outrage soon will this contention rise.
But haste thee, Teucer, with the utmost speed
Mark some fit place, within whose hallow'd mould
1165
Thou may'st inter him, and a dreary tomb,
A monument to future ages, raise.
And in meet time his son and wife approach
To deck the tomb of the unhappy dead.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 961-1180 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-560-1 οἱ δ’ οὖν 1

mvp-comment-560-2 κεἰ … μὴ 2

mvp-comment-560-3 )πόθουν 3

mvp-comment-560-4 ἐν χρείᾳ δορός 4

mvp-comment-561-1 κακοὶ γνώμαισι 5

mvp-comment-561-2 τἀγαθὸν χεροῖν 6 τἀγάθ’ ἐν χεροῖν 7

mvp-comment-561-3 πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ 8

mvp-comment-561-4 For the sentiment, cp. Mimnermus fr. 1 (in Nauck's Frag. Trag. 2nd ed., p. 829)

δεινοὶ γὰρ ἀνδρὶ πάντες ἐσμὲν εὐκλεεῖ | ζῶντι φθονῆσαι, κατθανόντα δ’ αἰνέσαι
. Plaut. Capt. 1. 2. 39
Tum denique homines nostra intelligimus bona, | Quom quae in potestate habuimus ea amisimus.
 C. 3. 24. 31
Virtutem incolumem odimus, | Sublatam ex oculis quaerimus invidi.

mvp-comment-562-1 Various theories of interpolation have been held with regard to this passage: see Appendix. Most of them are founded on the assumption that Tecmessa's former speech of ten lines (915—924) must be balanced by a speech of the same length here, and that therefore three of the thirteen verses (961— 973) must be struck out. (Nauck, who rejects 918 f., strikes out five verses here, 966—970.)

mvp-comment-562-2 As several objections arise from the alleged incoherence of the speech, it is well to observe the train of thought in 961—973.

mvp-comment-562-3 ‘Let them mock, if they will, at the fate of Ajax; they will perhaps find out, in time of need, what they have lost; foolish men never know their own good fortune till they have thrown it away (961—965). No, his death is no gain for them—though it is anguish for me: for him, it is the release which he desired (966—968). Why should they mock at him, then? They cannot even claim that his death was their work; it is the affair of the gods (969 f.). So Odysseus may exult, if he pleases, but it is an empty triumph. He and his friends have merely suffered a loss; Ajax is gone, —and has left nothing behind him but the sorrow which is mine’ (971—973).

mvp-comment-562-4 ἐμοὶ πικρὸς 9 ἢ 10 ᾗ, εἰ, ὡς, καὶ 11 γλυκύς 12

mvp-comment-562-5 θάνατον 13 ὧν 14

mvp-comment-563-1 ἐπεγγελῷεν 15 κάτα 16 ἐγγελῷεν 17 τοῦδ’ 18

mvp-comment-564-1 θεοῖς 19

mvp-comment-565-1 πρὸς ταῦτ’ 20

mvp-comment-565-2 ἐν κενοῖς 21

mvp-comment-565-3 972 f. There is no stress on αὐτοῖς 22

mvp-comment-566-1 ἄτης … ἐπίσκοπον 23

mvp-comment-566-2 μέλος 24

mvp-comment-567-1 ξύναιμον ὄμμ’ 25

mvp-comment-568-1 ἠμπόληκας 26 ἠμπόληκά ς’ 27

mvp-comment-569-1 ὤμοι 28

mvp-comment-570-1 ὡς ὧδ’ ἐχόντων 29

mvp-comment-571-1 περισπερχὲς 30

mvp-comment-572-1 τί γὰρ 31 ποῦ … κυρεῖ 32

mvp-comment-572-2 μοι 33

mvp-comment-573-1 μόνος 34

mvp-comment-573-2 δῆτ’ αὐτὸν ἄξεις 35

mvp-comment-573-3 κενῆς 36 κενῆς 37

mvp-comment-574-1 ἐγκόνει 38 σύγκαμνε 39

mvp-comment-574-2 κειμένοις 40 θανοῦσι 41 θανοῦσι 42

mvp-comment-575-1 καὶ μὴν 43

mvp-comment-575-2 τοῦδε 44 μέλειν 45

mvp-comment-575-3 ὥσπερ οὖν 46

mvp-comment-576-1 ἁπάντων δὴ 47

mvp-comment-576-2 θεαμάτων … προσεῖδον ὀφθαλμοῖς 48

mvp-comment-577-1 ὁδός θ’ ὁδῶν πασῶν 49 ὁδῶν θ’ ἁπασῶν ὁδὸς ἀνιάσασα δή 50 πασῶν 51

mvp-comment-577-2 ἀνιάσασα δή 52

mvp-comment-577-3

ἣν δὴ· δὴ
emphasises the pron., as in 1029, 1043, 1045, and often.

mvp-comment-578-1 ὡς ἐπῃσθόμην 53

mvp-comment-578-2 διώκων 54

mvp-comment-578-3 κἀξιχνοσκοπούμενος 55

mvp-comment-579-1 βάξις 56

mvp-comment-579-2 σου 57 θεοῦ 58

mvp-comment-579-3 διῆλθ’ Ἀχαιοὺς 59

mvp-comment-579-4 In sending this

φήμη
to Teucer, Zeus illustrates his attribute of
Πανομφαῖος
( Il. 8. 250 ).

mvp-comment-580-1 δύστηνος 60 δείλαιος 61 ἐκποδὼν μὲν ὢν 62 νῦν δ’ ὁρῶν 63

mvp-comment-580-2 ὑπεστέναζον 64

mvp-comment-581-1 ἴθ’, ἐκκάλυψον 65

mvp-comment-582-1 ὄμμα 66 τόλμης πικρᾶς 67

mvp-comment-582-2 Eustathius (p. 409, 46), whom some critics follow, takes the gen. as depending on ὦ 68 καὶ 69

mvp-comment-582-3 1006 f. For the dat. μοι 70

mvp-comment-582-4 1008 The ironical ἦ που 71 ἴσως 72 ἴσως 73 ἰδὼν 74 ἐμός θ’ ἅμα 75

mvp-comment-583-1 πῶς γὰρ οὔχ 76

mvp-comment-583-2 ὅτῳ πάρα 77 γελᾶν 78

mvp-comment-583-3 The v.l. ἵλεων 79 ἥδιον 80

mvp-comment-584-1 τί κρύψει 81

mvp-comment-584-2 ποῖον οὐκ ἐρεῖ κακὸν 82 ἐκ δορὸς γεγῶτα πολεμίου 83

mvp-comment-585-1 κακανδρίᾳ 84 σέ, φίλτατ’ Αἴας 85

mvp-comment-585-2 τὰ σὰ … θανόντος 86

mvp-comment-585-3 κράτη 87 δόμους 88

mvp-comment-586-1 δύσοργος 89 ἐν γήρᾳ βαρύς 90

mvp-comment-586-2 πρὸς οὐδὲν 91

mvp-comment-586-3 εἰς ἔριν θυμούμενος 92

mvp-comment-586-4 1019 Join ἀπωστὸς 93 γῆς 94

mvp-comment-586-5 ἀπορριφθήσομαι 95

mvp-comment-586-6 In the Teucer of Pacuvius, fr. 19 (ed. Ribbeck), Telamon says to Teucer, Te repudio nec recipio: naturam abdico: facesse , i. Pacuvius probably used the lost

Τεῦκρος
of Sophocles, which dealt with the hero's expulsion from Salamis by Telamon. The reference to the subject here may be compared with that in the O. C.(1410) to the theme of the Antigone, and with the allusion in the Philoctetes (1437) to the theme of the poet's lost play, ‘Philoctetes at Troy.’

mvp-comment-587-1 δοῦλος λόγοισιν … φανείς 96 λόγοισιν 97 ἀντ’ ἐλευθέρου 98

mvp-comment-588-1 παῦρα 99

mvp-comment-589-1 ηὑρόμην 100

mvp-comment-590-1 τοῦδ’ αἰόλου κνώδοντος 101

mvp-comment-590-2 Lycophron borrows the word

κνώδων
from this passage, in alluding to the suicide of Ajax (464):
δυσμενεστάτου ξένων | ἔτυψε δώρῳ σπλάγχνον, ἀρνεύσας λυγρὸν | πήδημα πρὸς κνώδοντος αὐτουργοὺς σφαγάς
.—For the ἄρα 102 φονέως 103

mvp-comment-590-3 εἶδες 104

mvp-comment-591-1 καὶ θανὼν ἀποφθίσειν 105

mvp-comment-591-2 1028—

mvp-comment-592-1 σκέψασθε … κἀγὼ τάδε 106

mvp-comment-593-1 ᾧ δὴ τοῦδ’ ἐδωρήθη πάρα 107 ᾧ δὴ 108

mvp-comment-594-1 πρισθεὶς … ἐξ ἀντύγων 109

mvp-comment-594-2 Thus

πρισθείς
is forcibly used here to describe the fatal grip of the girdle, from which Hector could not escape. I do not think that the word was meant also to suggest that the girdle cut into his flesh.—Paley is surely mistaken in explaining
ζωστῆρι πρισθείς
as ‘ lacerated by means of the girdle’:
πρισθείς
could not bear that sense, which is expressed in the next verse by
ἐκνάπτετ’
.

mvp-comment-594-3 ἀντύγων 110 ἱππικῶν 111

mvp-comment-595-1 ἐκνάπτετ’ 112

mvp-comment-595-2 ἔστ’ ἀπέψυξεν βίον 113

mvp-comment-595-3 As a matter of verbal criticism, it might be observed that

αἰέν
and
ἔστ’
confirm each other. But the defence of the text rests on broader ground. Evidently we must either reject the whole passage 1028 —1039, as Morstadt and Nauck do, or else leave this verse unaltered. For the parallel between the sword and the girdle, as fatal to their respective recipients, would fail altogether, if the girdle had not been an agent of death to Hector, but merely of insult to his corpse. It is not known whence Sophocles derived this version, which so strangely mars the very climax of the Iliad; possibly from one of the two Cyclic epics, the Aethiopis of Arctînus or the Little Iliad of Lesches, which related the
ὅπλων κρίσις
(see Introd. §§ 2, 3). One thing, at least, seems hardly doubtful. The original motive of this version must have been the same which prompts its use by Sophocles here, —viz., to point the fatal character of Hector's gift to Ajax by connecting a like result with the gift of Ajax to Hector. Two epigrams, attributed to Leontius Scholasticus ( circ. 550 A.D. ), turn on the same legend ( Anthol. 7. 151, 152): see Appendix.

mvp-comment-596-1 δωρεὰν ἔχων 114

mvp-comment-597-1 πρὸς τοῦδ’ 115 τοῦ κνώδοντος 116

mvp-comment-598-1 Ἐρινὺς … ἐχάλκευσε 117

mvp-comment-598-2

κἀκεῖνον, τὸν ζωστῆρα
. From
ἐχάλκευσε
a verb of more general sense, such as
εἰργάσατο
, is to be supplied: cp. Her. 4. 106
ἐσθῆτα δὲ φορέουσι τῇ Σκυθικῇ ὁμοίην, γλῶσσαν δὲ ἰδίην
: see also n. on El. 435
πνοαῖσιν ἢ..κόνει | κρύψον νιν
. —Some critics think that
ἐχάλκευσε
might be said of the
ζωστήρ
no less than of the
ξίφος
, because a girdle was often adorned with metal-work (see, e.g., Il. 11. 236 ). This seems a little forced.

mvp-comment-598-3 δημιουργὸς 118

mvp-comment-599-1 ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν 119 μηχανᾶν 120

mvp-comment-600-1 ἐν γνώμῃ φίλα 121

mvp-comment-600-2 κεῖνός τ’ ἐκεῖνα 122

mvp-comment-601-1 μὴ τεῖνε μακράν 123

mvp-comment-602-1 κακοῖς γελῶν 124

mvp-comment-602-2 ἃ δὴ 125

mvp-comment-603-1 τίς δ’ ἐστὶν ὅντιν’ ἄνδρα 126

mvp-comment-604-1 ᾧ δὴ 127

mvp-comment-604-2 πλοῦν ἐστείλαμεν 128

mvp-comment-605-1 μαθεῖν οὐ δυσπετής 129

mvp-comment-606-1 οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ 130

mvp-comment-606-2 νεκρὸν … συγκομίζειν 131

mvp-comment-607-1 ἀνήλωσας 132

mvp-comment-607-2 The slow movement of the verse (with only quasi-caesura after the 3rd foot) is intended to mark haughty surprise. Cp. Ant. 44

ἦ γὰρ νοεῖς θάπτειν σφ’, ἀπόρρητον πόλει;

mvp-comment-608-1 δοκοῦντ’ ἐμοί 133

mvp-comment-608-2 δοκοῦντα δ’ 134 ὃς κραίνει στρατοῦ 135

mvp-comment-609-1 προθείς 136

mvp-comment-610-1 ἐλπίσαντες … ἄγειν 137

mvp-comment-611-1 ζητοῦντες 138

mvp-comment-611-2 Φρυγῶν 139 Τρώων 140

mvp-comment-612-1 στρατῷ ξύμπαντι 141

mvp-comment-613-1 δορί 142

mvp-comment-614-1 θεῶν τις 143

mvp-comment-614-2 ἔσβεσεν 144

mvp-comment-615-1 τήνδ’ … τύχην 145 θανόντες 146 ἣν ὅδ’ εἴληχεν τύχην 147 τήνδ’ 148 λαχόντες 149

mvp-comment-615-2 προὐκείμεθ’ 150

mvp-comment-615-3 αἰσχίστῳ 151 ἐχθίστῳ 152 ἀθλίῳ 153

mvp-comment-616-1 ἐνήλλαξεν 154

mvp-comment-616-2 μῆλα καὶ ποίμνας 155

mvp-comment-616-3 1062 f. The acc. αὐτὸν 156 σῶμα 157

mvp-comment-616-4 τυμβεῦσαι τάφῳ 158

mvp-comment-617-1 ἀμφὶ … ψάμαθον 159

mvp-comment-617-2 χλωρὰν 160

mvp-comment-617-3 λευρὰν 161

mvp-comment-618-1 ὄρνισι 162

mvp-comment-619-1 πρὸς ταῦτα 163

mvp-comment-619-2 ἐξάρῃς 164

mvp-comment-620-1 εἰ … μὴ )δυνήθημεν 165

mvp-comment-621-1 χερσὶν παρευθύνοντες 166 χερσὶν 167 ὅπου 168

mvp-comment-622-1 κακοῦ πρὸς ἀνδρὸς 169

mvp-comment-622-2 ἄνδρα 170 ὄντα 171

mvp-comment-623-1 καλῶς φέροιντ’ ἄν 172

mvp-comment-623-2 ἔνθα μὴ 173

mvp-comment-624-1 φόβου πρόβλημα 174

mvp-comment-624-2 αἰδοῦς 175

mvp-comment-625-1 κἂν σῶμα γεννήσῃ μέγα 176

mvp-comment-625-2 κἂν ἀπὸ σμ. κακοῦ 177 κἂν 178 ἀπὸ 179

mvp-comment-626-1 πρόσεστιν 180

mvp-comment-626-2 αἰσχύνη 181

mvp-comment-627-1 ὅπου … παρῇ 182

mvp-comment-627-2 βούλεται 183

mvp-comment-628-1 νόμιζε 184 χρόνῳ ποτὲ … πεσεῖν 185 ἐξ οὐρίων δραμοῦσαν 186 ποτ’ ἂν 187

mvp-comment-628-2 ἐξ οὐρίων 188

mvp-comment-629-1 ἑστάτω 189

mvp-comment-629-2 μοι 190

mvp-comment-629-3 καὶ δέος 191 καίριον 192

mvp-comment-630-1 ἃν ἡδώμεθα 193

mvp-comment-630-2 οὐκ ἀντιτείσειν 194 ἃν λυπώμεθα 195

mvp-comment-631-1 παραλλὰξ 196 αἴθων 197

mvp-comment-632-1 ὅπως | μὴ 198

mvp-comment-633-1 εἰς ταφὰς πέσῃς 199

mvp-comment-634-1 ὑποστήσας 200

mvp-comment-634-2 ἐν θανοῦσιν 201

mvp-comment-634-3 The dramatic function of a Chorus required that these Salaminian sailors, while loyal to Ajax, should recognise the sound elements in the speech which they have heard. Menelaüs has rightly condemned the

ὕβρις
which defies human laws. But his own
ὕβρις
menaces the laws of the gods.

mvp-comment-635-1 ἄνδρες 202

mvp-comment-636-1 μηδὲν ὢν γοναῖσιν 203

mvp-comment-637-1 τοιαῦθ’ ἁμαρτάνουσιν … ἔπη 204

mvp-comment-638-1 ἄγειν 205 λαβών 206

mvp-comment-639-1 αὐτὸς 207

mvp-comment-640-1 ποῦ 208

mvp-comment-640-2 λεῶν 209

mvp-comment-641-1 ἤγαγ’ 210 ἡγεῖτ’ 211 ὧν 212 ἦγεν 213 ἤγετ’ 214

mvp-comment-642-1 οὐδ’ ἔσθ’ ὅπου 215 τόνδε κοσμῆσαι 216

mvp-comment-642-2 ἀρχῆς … θεσμὸς 217 ἔκειτο 218

mvp-comment-642-3 ἢ καὶ τῷδε σέ 219

mvp-comment-643-1 ὅλων 220 σύμπαντες 221

mvp-comment-643-2 Apart from the difficulty as to

ὅλων
, there is absolutely no ground for rejecting verses 1105 f., as Schneidewin and other critics have done.

mvp-comment-644-1 ὧνπερ ἄρχεις αρχε 222

mvp-comment-644-2 τὰ σέμν’ ἔπη κόλαζ’ ἐκείνους 223

mvp-comment-644-3 εἴτε μὴ σὺ φής, εἴθ’ ἅτερος στρ 224

mvp-comment-644-4 εἰς ταφὰς θήσω 225

mvp-comment-644-5 στόμα 226

mvp-comment-645-1 οἱ πόνου πολλοῦ πλέῳ 227

mvp-comment-645-2 Assuredly

οἱ πόνου πολλοῦ πλέῳ
does not mean ‘busybodies,’
οἱ πολυπραγμονοῦντες
, as some have taken it,—supposing it to be said scornfully of
βασιλεῖς
tributary to Menelaüs and eager to display their zeal.

mvp-comment-646-1 ὅρκων 228

mvp-comment-647-1 σοῦ δ’ οὐδὲν 229

mvp-comment-647-2 τοὺς μηδένας 230

mvp-comment-648-1 κήρυκας 231

mvp-comment-649-1 ψόφου … στραφείην 232

mvp-comment-649-2 ἕως 233 ὡς 234 ὡς ἂν ᾖς 235

mvp-comment-650-1 οὐδ’ αὖ 236

mvp-comment-650-2 ἐν κακοῖς 237

mvp-comment-651-1 ὁ τοξότης 238

mvp-comment-652-1 βάναυσον 239

mvp-comment-653-1 ἀσπίδ’ 240

mvp-comment-654-1 ψιλὸς … ὡπλισμένῳ 241

mvp-comment-655-1 τρέφει 242

mvp-comment-656-1 ξὺν τῷ δικαίῳ 243

mvp-comment-657-1 δίκαια 244

mvp-comment-657-2 κτείναντα 245

mvp-comment-658-1 δεινόν γ’ εἶπας 246

mvp-comment-658-2 εἰ καὶ ζῇς 247

mvp-comment-659-1 τῷδε δ’ οἴχομαι 248

mvp-comment-660-1 ἀτίμα 249

mvp-comment-660-2 θεοὺς 250

mvp-comment-660-3 θεοῖς σεσωσμένος 251

mvp-comment-661-1 ἐγὼ γὰρ ἂν ψέξαιμι 252 δαιμόνων νόμους 253

mvp-comment-661-2 εἰ … οὐκ ἐᾷς 254

mvp-comment-661-3 παρών 255

mvp-comment-662-1 τούς γ’ αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ 256 αὐτοῦ 257 οὐ γὰρ καλόν 258

mvp-comment-663-1 σοὶ … προὔστη 259

mvp-comment-664-1 μισοῦντ’ ἐμίσει 260

mvp-comment-665-1 ψηφοποιὸς 261

mvp-comment-665-2 The gen. αὐτοῦ 262

mvp-comment-666-1 ἐν τοῖς δικασταῖς 263

mvp-comment-667-1 καλῶς 264 κακῶς 265

mvp-comment-667-2 κλέψειας κακά 266

mvp-comment-668-1 εἰς ἀνίαν … ἔρχεται 267 τινί 268 ἔρχεται τινί 269

mvp-comment-669-1 οὐ μᾶλλον 270

mvp-comment-670-1 τόνδ’ ἐστὶν οὐχὶ θαπτέον 271

mvp-comment-671-1 ἀλλ’ ἀντακούσει τοῦτον ὡς 272 τοῦθ’ ἕν 273

mvp-comment-671-2 τεθάψεται 274

mvp-comment-672-1 ναύτας ἐφορμήσαντα … τὸ | πλεῖν 275 vαύταις 276 ναύτας 277

mvp-comment-673-1 ᾧ φθέγμ’ ἂν οὐκ ἂν ηὗρες 278 ἄν 279 ᾧ 280

mvp-comment-673-2 ἐν κακῷ χειμῶνος 281

mvp-comment-673-3 εἴχετ’ 282

mvp-comment-673-4 ὑφ’ εἵματος 283

mvp-comment-673-5 κρυφείς 284

mvp-comment-674-1 πατεῖν παρεῖχε 285

mvp-comment-675-1 καὶ δὲ καὶ τὸ σὸν … στόμα 286

mvp-comment-675-2 λάβρον στόμα 287

mvp-comment-675-3 σμικροῦ νέφους … ἐκπνεύσας 288

mvp-comment-676-1 τὴν … βοήν 289

mvp-comment-677-1 ἐν κακοῖς ὕβριζε 290

mvp-comment-678-1 κᾆτ’ 291

mvp-comment-679-1 ὀργήν 292

mvp-comment-680-1 ποήσεις 293

mvp-comment-680-2 πημανούμενος 294

mvp-comment-681-1 ἄνολβον 295

mvp-comment-681-2 παρών 296

mvp-comment-682-1 μῶν ᾐνιξάμην 297

mvp-comment-683-1 πάρα 298

mvp-comment-683-2 1163 The anapaests serve not only to mark the exit of Menelaüs, but also to afford a pause before the entrance of Tecmessa at 1168. For their bearing on the date of the play, see Introd. § 21.— ἔριδός τις ἀγών 299

mvp-comment-684-1 κάπετον 300

mvp-comment-684-2 ἰδεῖν 301

mvp-comment-685-1 βροτοῖς τὸν ἀείμνηστον 302

mvp-comment-685-2 εὐρώεντα 303

mvp-comment-685-3 The legendary tomb of Ajax was shown on the coast of the Troad near Cape Rhoeteum; Strabo 13. p. 595

τῷ *(ποιτείῳ συνεχὴς ᾐὼν ἁλιτενής, ἐφ’ ᾗ μνῆμα καὶ ἱερὸν Αἴαντος καὶ ἀνδριάς
. Alexander the Great, on landing in the Troad, offered
ἐναγίσματα
at the tomb of Ajax as well as at that of Achilles ( Diod. 17. 17 ). There were legends of gigantic bones having been found in the tomb ( Paus. 1. 35. 5 ).

mvp-comment-686-1 καὶ μὴν 304

mvp-comment-686-2 ἐς αὐτὸν καιρὸν 305 πλησίον 306

mvp-comment-686-3 Tecmessa had left the scene after v. 989, in order to bring the child Eurysaces from the tent, where he had been left when she set forth in search of Ajax (810). The part of Tecmessa is now taken by a mute person, as the deuteragonist has presently to resume the part of Odysseus (1318).

mvp-comment-686-4 τάφον περιστελοῦντε 307 περιστελοῦντι 308

mvp-comment-687-1 ἱκέτης 309

mvp-comment-687-2 While the child knelt as a suppliant by the body, with his hand upon it, the corpse could not be forcibly removed without offence to Zeus

Ἱκέσιος
. Teucer is about to go and seek a place for the grave (1184), and he desires to secure that the body shall not be disturbed during his absence.

mvp-comment-687-3 ὅς σ’ ἐγείνατο 310

mvp-comment-688-1 θάκει δὲ προστρόπαιος 311

mvp-comment-688-2 κόμας 312

mvp-comment-688-3 τρίτου 313

mvp-comment-689-1 ἱκτήριον θησαυρόν 314

mvp-comment-690-1 κακὸς κακῶς 315

mvp-comment-690-2 ἄθαπτος ἐκπέσοι χθονός 316

mvp-comment-690-3 ἐκπέσοι 317

mvp-comment-691-1 γένους ἅπαντος 318

mvp-comment-691-2 ῥίζαν ἐξημημένος 319

mvp-comment-692-1 αὔτως 320

mvp-comment-692-2 ὅπωσπερ τόνδ’ ἐγὼ τέμνω πλόκον 321

mvp-comment-693-1 κινησάτω 322 προσπεσὼν 323 ἔχου 324

mvp-comment-694-1 ὑμεῖς τε 325 δὲ 326 τε 327

mvp-comment-694-2 ἀντ’ ἀνδρῶν 328

mvp-comment-695-1 ἔστ’ 329

mvp-comment-695-2 τάφου μεληθεὶς 330

mvp-comment-695-3 κἂν μηδεὶς ἐᾷ 331

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

962. mvp-comment-621-1 κεἰ .. μὴ ᾿πόθουν] ‘Though they missed him not.'-after he had withdrawn from fighting. Cp. Il. 1. 240, ἢ ποτ' ᾿Αχιλλῆος ποθὴ ἴξεται νίας ᾿Ἀχαιῶν: ib. 9. 9. 197, ή τι μάλα χρεώ.

963. mvp-comment-622-1 ἐν χρείᾳ δορός] (1) 'In exigency of war,' rather than (2) 'In sore need of his spear.' For the latter, however, cp. supr. 180, ξυνοῦ δορός.

965. mvp-comment-623-1 πρίν τις ἐκβάλῃ] 'Till one have lost it,' or 'thrown it away.' For the transition from the indefinite plural to τις, cp. Trach. 11. 2, 3, οὐκ ἂν αἰῶν᾽ ἐκμάθοις βροτῶν πρὶν ἂν | θάνῃ τις. ἐκβαλεῖν is to lose by one's own fault. Cp. Ant. 648, 9, μή νυν .. τὰς φρένας .. ἐκβάλῃς. 'Agamemnon has thrown a pearl away | Richer than all his tribe.' (Shak. Oth. 5. 2).

966-967. mvp-comment-624-1 Either (1) supposing an implied comparative, 'My sorrow in his death is greater than their joy: howbeit, he has pleased himself;' or (2) supposing δέ to be in apodosi, and τέθνηκεν to be virtually hypothetical, 'Be his death joy to them or grief to me, to him it brings content.' For (1), see Essay on L. § 39. p. 73 b; and for (2), cp. Ant. 1168, where see note. As there is nothing but the emphasis to suggest comparison, (2) is preferable.

968. mvp-comment-625-1 περ adds emphasis with reference to the words of Ajax, supr. ll. 473-480, which Tecmessa now recalls. Cp. O. C. 1704. ἐξέπραξεν οἷον ἤθελεν.

970. mvp-comment-626-1 'His death is no concern of theirs, but of the gods alone.' The gods have required this sacrifice, and the will of the Atreidae has had no part in it. For this vague 'dative of the person interested,' cp. El. 1152, τέθνηκ᾽ ἐγώ σοι: Phil. 1030, καὶ τέθνηχ᾽ ὑμῖν πάλαι. So, too, infr. 972, Αἴας γὰρ αὐτοῖς οὐκέτ᾽ ἐστίν, κ.τ.λ.

971. mvp-comment-627-1 ἐν κενοῖς] 'In a vain thing': i.e. where his insolence has no occasion, and no object, but is beating the air.

973. mvp-comment-628-1 Cp. Od. 14. 137, 8, φίλοισι δὲ κήδε᾽ ὀπίσσω | πᾶσιν, ἐμοὶ δὲ μάλιστα, τετεύχαται: Trach. 41, 2, πλὴν ἐμοὶ πικρὰς | ὠδῖνας αὐτοῦ προσβαλὼν ἀποίχεται.

973. mvp-comment-628-2 ἀνίας καὶ γόους] 'Distress and sorrow.' For the strength of meaning given to ἀνία here, cp. supr. 496 foll., infr. 1005.

976. mvp-comment-629-1 'Uttering a loud strain that hath regard to this calamity:' i. e. The sudden cry of Teucer shows that his eye has been arrested by the dead body and the group surrounding it. (Schol. οὐχ ἡμαρτηκὸς τῆς συμφορᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐστοχασμένον). He, like Tecmessa, supr. 891, 2, is at first dimly seen in the shade. ἐπίσκοπον is used nearly as in Aesch. Eum. 903, ὁποῖα νίκης μὴ κακῆς ἐπίσκοπα.

977. mvp-comment-630-1 ὦ ξύναιμον ὄμμ᾿ ἐμοί] ‘Brother of my love.' ὄμμα, from meaning 'an object of sight,' comes to mean 'an object of regard'—'one with whom we see eye to eye,' and its addition here gives a tone of affectionateness to the expression. See Essay on L. § 54. P. 99 a; and cp. especially, Phil. 171, μηδὲ σύντροφον ὄμμ᾽ ἔχων.

978. mvp-comment-631-1 'Hast thou then done as prevalent Rumour tells?' ἠμπόληκας, 'Hast managed thine affairs, hast done thy business?' See L. and S. s. v. ἐμπολάω, ΙΙ. 2. The phrase at first sight seems hardly tragic; and ἠμπόληκά σ' (Herm.), i. e. 'Have I sold thy life,' by my delay? is at least plausible. But again, ἐμπολᾶν in the former sense, as an expression of common life, may have lost all figurative associations. Cp. Aesch. Eum. 631, 2, ἠμποληκότα | τὰ πλεῖστ᾽ ἀμείνον'. And even retaining ἠμπόληκας in an absolute sense, as in the beginning of this note, the word implies blame in so far as Teucer refers not only to the death of Ajax, but to his loss of honour.

981-986. mvp-comment-632-1 The partition of the senarius between two speakers, which does not occur at all in the Antigone, is in the Ajax confined to this passage and supr. 591-4, where see note.

982. mvp-comment-633-1 ὦ περισπερχὲς πάθος] «Ο all-too-swift catastrophe!' referring not to the rash deed of Ajax, but to the sudden consummation of destiny.

983-984. mvp-comment-634-1 τί γάρ. ποῦ] Cp. supr. 101. The precatory μοι indicates Teucer's interest in the child.

985. mvp-comment-635-1 οὐχ ὅσον τάχος, κ.τ.λ.] These words are spoken to Tecmessa, who, in obedience to them, makes her exit here, returning with Eurysaces, infr. 1168. They cannot be addressed to one of the Chorus, as the exit of a single choreutes is quite inadmissible; nor to one of Teucer's own attendants, to whom such an exhortation as σύγκαμνε would be superfluous. As addressed to Tecmessa, the words seem harsh and peremptory; but Teucer, who has been absent, does not know the depth of her feelings, and in his eyes she is merely Ajax' captive. Hence the words, ἴθ', ἐγκόνει, σύγκαμνε, are an example of what is called irony, i. e. they indicate the speaker's unconsciousness.

985. mvp-comment-635-2 δήτα] Although not an enclitic, the particle coming at the beginning of the line is a strong instance of synaphea, and marks the haste with which Teucer utters his command. Cp. infr. 1089, 90, ὅπως | μή.

985. mvp-comment-635-3 κενῆς] 'Widowed, unprotected,' - λέοντος εὐγενοῦς ἀπουσίᾳ. Not 'bereft of young,' as the prolepsis would have a frigid effect. Nor by enallage for κενόν, sc. μητρός, ‘Separated from the mother.' The point lies in the comparison not of Tecmessa to a lioness, but of Ajax to a lion.

988-989. mvp-comment-636-1 τοῖς θανοῦσί τοι, κ.τ.λ.] Whence Eurysaces is in the greater danger.

990-991. mvp-comment-637-1 Supr. 567. 'While still alive, Ajax enjoined that he (Eurysaces) should be thy care, and he is so.' The emphatic οὖν avoids the appearance of supposing that Teucer needed the injunction.

992. mvp-comment-638-1 Having done what is immediately necessary, Teucer becomes absorbed in the contemplation of his dead brother.

994. mvp-comment-639-1 This last heavy-hearted journey dates not from the warning of Calchas, supr. 750 foll., but from the rumour that quickly followed it. The exceptional rhythm of this line, without caesura, expresses the painfulness of the way.

997. mvp-comment-640-1 The participles are to be taken closely with ἔβην; 'Following up and searching out thy doom, when I perceived that it was come':-viz. on hearing the rumour.

998. mvp-comment-641-1 ὀξεῖα] 'Swift': i.e. not only suddenly arriving, but spreading instantaneously.

998. mvp-comment-641-2 σου] Objective genitive = περί σου. Essay on L. § 9. p. 12. βάξις]· 'Talk, bruit, 'noise.' βάξις is generally something disagreeable. ὡς θεοῦ τινος] 'Seeming to come from some god.' Genitive of the agent (Essay on L. § 10. p. 14): sc. πέμψαντος, or the like. On the source of this rumour, see above, note on l. 826. The messenger returning to the camp after l. 814 would bring word that Ajax was dead.

1000. mvp-comment-642-1 The antecedent to ἁ and object of ὁρῶν, viz. 'thy death,' is to be gathered from the meaning of the two preceding lines. Cp. O. T. 6.

1003. mvp-comment-643-1 ἴθ᾽, ἐκκάλυψον] Cp. supr. 915, 16. If Tecmessa is gone, according to the note on supr. 985, these words are spoken either (1) to the coryphaeus, who on her departure might naturally take his station by the corpse; or (2) to an attendant of Teucer. Cp. El. 1468, χαλάτε πᾶν κάλυμμ᾽ ἀπ᾿ ὀφθαλμῶν, ὅπως | τὸ συγγενές τοι κἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ θρήνων τύχῃ.

1004. mvp-comment-644-1 'O sight intolerable! telling of a rash and cruel deed.' ὄμμα here is not merely the person of Ajax as an object of vision, but the whole harrowing spectacle, from which Teucer passes naturally in the next line to Ajax himself. For the genitive τόλμης, 'implying rashness,' cp. Thuc. 3. 45. § 7. πολλῆς εὐηθείας, ὅστις οἴεται. πικρᾶς] Not merely 'passionate,' but 'cruel,' because causing so much pain.

1005. mvp-comment-645-1 The participial phrase ὅσας .. κατασπείρας has the chief stress.

1008. mvp-comment-646-1 The omission of με in all the MSS. is a strong proof of the loss of the sense of quantity in Byzantine times. The line was scanned ἢ ποῦ τελᾶμῶν without suspicion. τ' ἴσως in the Laurentian reading (understood as 'equally') has come in from the next line, and there is no reason to doubt that θ' ἅμα is the genuine reading. Emphatic fulness in dwelling on such relationships is common in Greek, and is especially natural in Teucer.

1008-1010. mvp-comment-647-1 The iteration of ἢ που ἴσως .. πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ; is expressive of Teucer's bitterness of soul.

1010-1011. mvp-comment-648-1 'Who will not smile any the more sweetly, no, not even if good fortune come to him.' The idiomatic force of the comparative can hardly be rendered in translation. Lit. 'Even though fortunate, to smile none the more pleasantly (on that account)'. For πάρα, cp. supr. 904, αἰάζειν πάρα: infr. 982, πάρα στενάζειν.

1011. mvp-comment-649-1 There is a slight irony in ἥδιον. The Laurentian reading, μηδὲν ἵλεων γελᾶν, is not Greek, and ἥδιον, the reading of Par. A and several other MSS., is further supported by the unintelligible reading ἴδιον c. gl. οἰκεῖον in V', which is clearly a corruption of ἥδιον, and may have given rise to ἵλεων. See Phil. 1392, and v. rr. Others explain the words to mean, 'Whose custom it is not to smile pleasantly when fortunate.' But such a meaning of παρεῖναι is doubtful, and the comparative is then without point. The line, as above interpreted, may remind us of the story of Henry the First of England, who is said never to have smiled again after the death of his son, William the Aetheling. For the sorrow of Telamon, cp. Fr. 516 (from the 'Teucer'), ὡς ἄρ᾽, ὦ τέκνον, κενὴν | ἐτερπόμην σου τέρψιν εὐλογουμένου | ὡς ζῶντος· ἡ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐν σκότῳ λαθοῦσά με | ἕσαιν᾿ Ἐρινὺς ἡδοναῖς ἐψευσμένον.

1012. mvp-comment-650-1 τί κρύψει;] 'Over what will he draw the veil?' i. e. He will not soften the shame of my birth, though it reflects on himself.

1013. mvp-comment-651-1 By a slight prolepsis the evil that is supposed to be predicated is made part of the subject. 'What evil will he not speak of me,-of the base-born issue of his spear?' i. e. Will he not call me so? Cp. Il. 8. 283 (of Telamon), ὅ σ᾽ ἔτρεφε τυτθὸν ἐόντα | καί σε νόθον περ ἐόντα κομίσσατο.

1017. mvp-comment-652-1 ἀνὴρ. βαρύς] ‘A passionate man, whom old age makes dangerous.' Telamon had always been irascible (this helps to account for the impetuosity of his son), and a bad temper is not improved by age. We may infer, too, from Teucer's fear of Telamon, that Ajax was the favourite son.

1018. mvp-comment-653-1 πρὸς οὐδὲν θυμούμενος] Either (1) connecting εἰς ἔριν with with θυμούμενος, ‘Angered into strife at nothing;' or (2) joining οὐδὲν εἰς ἔριν, ‘Angered at what is no cause of quarrel.' For (2), cp. Eur. Phoen. 598, κατα σὺν πολλοῖσιν ἦλθες πρὶς τὸν οὐδὲν ἐς μαχήν, where οὐδέν taken alone does not answer sufficiently to δειλὸν καὶ φιλόψυχον in the preceding line: Plat. Phil. 17 C, εἰς ταῦτα οὐδενὸς ἄξιος ἔσει.

1020. mvp-comment-654-1 λόγοισιν φανείς] 'Proclaimed,' i. e. by Telamon, who would declare Teucer to be the son of a slave-woman, and therefore ineligible for the succession.

1022. mvp-comment-655-1 Although there is some confusion in the MSS. here, the reading of this line is tolerably certain.

1023. mvp-comment-656-1 He resumes what he had said in l. 1005, and thus returns from himself to Ajax, and to the duties of the present hour.

1024-1025. mvp-comment-657-1 πῶς. κνώδοντος] 'How shall I disengage thee from this cruel, gleaming blade?' The first notion of κνώδων (cp. κνώδαξ) seems to be 'a projecting point' or 'tooth.' Here the point of the sword, projecting through the body of Ajax, is clearly meant, as this alone could be seen. The mantle ( supr. 899, 915) has been removed at l. 1003. αἰόλου may mean 'discoloured,' as in Phil. 1157, ἐμᾶς σαρκὸς αἰόλας, or 'bright in part,' the sheen of the newly whetted blade remaining where not obscured by the blood.

1026. mvp-comment-658-1 φονέως] Teucer, like Ajax, supr. 815, personifies the weapon, which, as the gift of Hector, is imagined to be instinct with enmity. His mind is in sympathy with his brother's, and he falls into a similar train of reasoning.

1027. mvp-comment-659-1 Cp. Trach. 1162, 3, ὅδ᾽ οὖν ὁ θὴρ Κενταύρος, ὡς τὸ θεῖον ἦν | πρύφαντον, οὕτω ζῶντά μ' ἔκτεινεν θανών. ἀποφθίσειν has been changed to ἀποφθιεῖν, as the Attic form. But it must remain uncertain how far this was required by the tragic dialect.

1029-1031. mvp-comment-660-1 This variation from the story of the Iliad is followed by Quintus Smyrnaeus, and was probably that adopted by the author of the Ilias minor. See Introduction, and cp. Eur. Andr. 399, σφαγὰς . . Ἕκτορος τροχηλάτους. The exchange of presents occurs in Il. 7. 303-5, ὡς ἄρα φωνήσας δῶκε ξίφος ἀργυρόηλον, | σὺν κολεῷ τε φέρων καὶ ἐϋτμήτῳ τελαμῶνι· | Αἴας δὲ ζωστῆρα δίδου φοίνικι φαεινόν.

1029. mvp-comment-661-1 πρισθείς] « Gallingly tied;' i. e, not only bound fast, but cut by the strained cords as he hung. Cp. El. 862, τμητοῖς ὁλκοῖς ἐγκῦρσαι.

1031. mvp-comment-662-1 ἐκνάπτετ'] 'His flesh was frayed,' upon the stones as he was dragged along. Cp. especially, Plat. Rep. B. 10. p. 616 Α, εἶλκον .. ἐπ᾿ ἀσπαλάθων κνάπτοντες. βίον is added for the sake of definiteness, as ἀποψύξαι alone may mean 'to swoon.'

1033. mvp-comment-663-1 πρὸς τοῦδ᾽] Sc. τοῦ κνώδοντος, supr. 1025. The masculine gender is resumed, after τήνδε δωρεάν, as more appropriate to the personification of the sword. πεσήματι, like πηδήματι, supr. 833, refers to the act of falling on the sword.

1035. mvp-comment-664-1 κἀκεῖνον] Sc. τὸν ζωστῆρα.

1036. mvp-comment-665-1 μὲν οὖν evades a direct answer to the preceding question. Any one is free to deny that this is the work of the Erinys and of Hades. As for Teucer, he will always refer every event to a Divine Power. And to what Powers but these can the present events be referred?

1039. mvp-comment-666-1 ἐκεῖνα] Sc. ἃ φίλα αὐτῷ τυγχάνει ὄντα. For this vague pronoun, cp. Eur. Alc. 867, 8, ζηλῶ φθιμένους, κείνων ἔραμαι, | κεῖν᾽ ἐπιθυμῶ δώματα ναίειν.

1040-1041. mvp-comment-667-1 The Chorus, knowing the imminent danger, are impatient of general reflections. And seeing Menelaus coming, they urge Teucer to break off.

1042. mvp-comment-668-1 κακοῖς] Dative of cause. Cp. supr. 955 and note.

1043. mvp-comment-669-1 ἃ δή] = οἷα δή. Cp. Plat. Phaedr. 244 D, ἀλλὰ μὴν νόσων γε.., ἃ δὴ παλαιῶν ἐκ μηνιμάτων ποθὲν ἔν τισι τῶν γενῶν.

1044. mvp-comment-670-1 στρατοῦ] It must be one of the host, for no one else would venture so near to the Achaean lines.

1045. mvp-comment-671-1 ᾧ] 'For whose behalf.' For this dative of direct reference (Essay on L. § 12. p. 18), cp. especially O. C. 1673, ᾧ τινι τὸν πολὺν | .. πόνον ἔμπεδον εἴχομεν.

1046. mvp-comment-672-1 Menelaus is a familiar figure in the Trojan camp.

1047. mvp-comment-673-1 σὲ φωνῶ, κ.τ.λ.] φωνῶ is here used with the construction of ἐννέπω, O. T. 350, ἐννέπω σὲ . . ἐμμένειν.

1048. mvp-comment-674-1 συγκομίζειν] Το 'bring home'; a metaphor from the harvest-field, the dead body being 'like a shock of corn.' Or, to speak more accurately, the same general meaning of the word applies to both cases, without our necessarily supposing any conscious metaphor. Cp. Eur. H. F. 1422, ἀλλ᾽ ἐσκόμιζε τέκνα δυσκόμιστα γῇ.

1049. mvp-comment-675-1 τοσόνδ' is said ironically. 'Why hast thou wasted so many words—few as they were?'

1050. mvp-comment-676-1 δοκοῦντα (neut. pl.) is governed by εἶπον, understood from ἀνήλωσας λόγον. The participle gives the reason, i.e. διὰ τὸ δοκεῖν. 'The cause is in my will.' For the ellipse of the antecedent to ὅς, cp. especially Trach. 1233, τίς γάρ ποθ', ἥ μοι, κ.τ.λ.

1051. mvp-comment-677-1 προθείς] Sc. κελεύεις ταῦτα, again 'understood' from the preceding lines. Cp. especially O. T. 1154, 5, οὐχ ὡς τάχος τις τοῦδ᾽ ἀποστρέψει χέρας; ΘΕ. δύστηνος, ἀντὶ τοῦ; τί προσχρήζων μαθεῖν;

1054. mvp-comment-678-1 ζητοῦντες] i.e. ἐξετάζοντες, ‘In the trial.'

1057. mvp-comment-679-1 τήνδε πεῖραν ἔσβεσεν] For this metaphorical use of σβεννύω, cp. Heracl. fr. 103, ed Bywater, ὕβριν χρὴ σβεννύειν, μᾶλλον ἢ πυρκαϊήν.

1058. mvp-comment-680-1 τήνδ', ἣν .. τύχην] The governing word λαχόντες is absorbed, leaving τήνδε (τύχην) as an accusative in apposition with the sentence.

1059. mvp-comment-681-1 θανόντες ἂν προὐκείμεθα] 'We should have died and been cast forth.' In order to justify his own violence, Menelaus imagines Ajax (if successful) as usurping the command of the army, and forbidding the burial of the generals whom he had slain.

1061. mvp-comment-682-1 πεσεῖν] An epexegetic infinitive, completing the imperfect construction of πρὸς μῆλα, κ.τ.λ. By a slight inversion the insult ( ὕβριν), instead of the objects of the insult, is put into the accusative after ἐνήλλαξεν. The meaning is that some divine power (which the spectator knows to be Athena's) exchanged one victim of Ajax' fury for another.

1063. mvp-comment-683-1 σῶμα τυμβεῦσαι τάφῳ] Το 'give his corpse the honours of a tomb.' See Essay on L. § 17. p. 25 c; also ibid. § 16. p. 236. Menelaus dwells with mocking iteration upon the privilege which he denies.

1064. mvp-comment-684-1 ἀμφὶ.. ἐκβεβλημένος] 'Cast forth here or there on the humid sand.' The vague ἀμφί implies 'casually here or there, as carried by the waves.' Cp. Aesch. Pers. 576, 7, κναπτόμενοι δ᾽ ἁλὶ δεινὰ | σκύλλονται πρὸς ἀναύδων | παίδων τῆς ἀμιάντου.

1064. mvp-comment-684-2 χλωράν probably here refers not to colour but to moisture, i.e. that part of the sands which the sea has moistened. So in Trach. 849, χλωρὰν . . δακρύων ἄχναν, 'moist dew of tears.'

1066. mvp-comment-685-1 μηδὲν.. μένος] « 'By no means let thy spirit rise threateningly.' μηδέν is adverbial, and δεινόν predicative.

1069. mvp-comment-686-1 παρευθύνοντες] 'Keeping him in order.' Cp. supr. 72, ἀπευθύνοντα, and note. The composition with παρά suggests the image of a slave-driver walking beside a gang of slaves and keeping them in line.

1069-1070. mvp-comment-687-1 i.e. 'I knew him too well in life to suppose that he will listen to reason.' Such appears to be the force of the opposition between χερσίν and λόγων here. This, said of the dead man, of course conveys the acme of brutal scorn. Cp. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 3. 4, “Indeed, this counsellor | Is now most still, most secret, and most grave.” For ὅπου, transferred from place to occasion, cp. infr. 1100.

1071. mvp-comment-688-1 ἄνδρα is almost a pronoun (Essay on L. § 22. p. 37, 5), and hence the repetition is not felt. 'It is vile conduct, for one of the people to disobey.' The γνώμη is first stated as applicable to a city, and then in 1075 applied (with the emphatic γε) to the case of an army.

1073-1076. mvp-comment-689-1 'As in a city the laws cannot have due course if there be no established fear, so neither can a whole army be wisely disciplined without some safeguard of respect and awe.' For καλῶς φέροιντ᾽ ἄν, cp. Thuc. 5. 16, εὖ φερόμενος ἐν στρατηγίαις: ib. 2. 60, καλῶς φερόμενος .. τὸ καθ᾽ ἑαυτόν.

1075. mvp-comment-690-1 ἄρχοιτ' is a late correction in L² for ἄγοιτ'? ἔτι] 'Any longer;' i.e. 'When once respect is lost, good conduct is at an end.'

1077. mvp-comment-691-1 κἂν σῶμα γεννήσῃ μέγα] 'Though he be owner (lit. parent) of a mighty frame.' This is a bold extension of the idiom by which unconscious and mechanical actions are attributed to the subject, and one is said φῦσαι ὀδόντας, ‘To have grown teeth,' etc. See Essay on L. § 30. p. 52 d; and cp. especially O. C. 149, 50, ἀλαῶν ὀμμάτων .. φυτάλμιος, and note. Menelaus insinuates that the bulky frame of Ajax was his chief qualification.

1079. mvp-comment-692-1 Cp. Thuc. 2. 37. § 4, διὰ δέος .. οὐ παρανομοῦμεν: ib. 43. § 1, τολμῶντες καὶ γιγνώσκοντες τὰ δέοντα καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις αἰσχυνόμενοι.

1081-1082. mvp-comment-693-1 ὅπου. ταύτην] For this correlation, cp. supr. 496, 7, εἰ γὰρ θάνῃς ταύτῃ τῇ τόθ᾽ ἡμέρᾳ. ἃ βούλεται] Sc. τις.

1083. mvp-comment-694-1 ἐξ οὐρίων δραμοῦσαν] 'Must lose her fair course and founder in the deep.' The aorist denotes what is certain in the future, as in Aesch. Prom. 667, 8, πυρωπὸν ἐκ Διὸς μολεῖν | κεραυνόν. ἐξ οὐρίων (neut. pl.) = ἐκ τοῦ οὐρίου δρόμου, just as οὔρια θεῖν = ἐς οὔριον δρόμον θεῖν (L. and S. s. ν. οὔριος, Ι. 1). Cp. Aesch. Prom. 883, 4, ἔξω δὲ δρόμου φέρομαι | λύσσης πνεύματι μάργῳ: Pind. Pyth. 11. 60, ἤ μέ τις ἄνεμος ἔξω πλόου | ἔβαλεν, ὡς ὅτ᾽ ἄκατον εἰναλίαν. It is true that, as Lobeck remarks, ἐξ οὐρίων, sc. πνευμάτων, is used by late writers as equivalent to ἐξ οὐρίας, sc. πνοῆς, – 'With a fair wind.' But what meaning can be attached to this phrase here? 'Will run a straight course to the bottom'? or, 'Will have a fair voyage, and then sink'? The former is nonsensical, and in the latter the oxymoron has no such point as in O. Τ. 423, ἄνορμον εἰσέπλευσας, εὐπλοίας τυχών. Or, if it is proposed to render, 'After once having had prosperity, will run on and founder in the depths,' the introduction of the participle is inconsistent with this use of ἐξ, for which, however, cp. Thuc. 1. 120, ἐξ εἰρήνης πολεμεῖν.

1084. mvp-comment-695-1 Lobeck says on this verse, 'Perquam apte hoc Menelaus dicit ex Spartanorum institutis, qui Timoris aedem consecraverunt juxta triclinium Ephororum, τὴν πολιτείαν μάλιστα συνέχεσθαι φόβῳ νομίζοντες, Plutarch. V. Cleom. c. 9. 808 D.' The words of Pericles in Thuc. 2. 37 (quoted on l. 1079, supr.), would rather show that this part of Menelaus' speech reflects the feelings of the 'party of order' at Athens. The coryphaeus ( infr. 1091) approves of the general tenor of the speech. For ἑστάτω, of a fixed sentiment, cp. Thuc. 3. 9, τὸ .. καθεστός.

1085. mvp-comment-696-1 δρῶντες ἂν ἡδώμεθα] Sc. δρῶντες.

1086. mvp-comment-697-1 ἂν λυπώμεθα] Sc. ἀποτίνοντες. For the mood, which is here partly due to the parallelism of ἡδώμεθα, cp. O. C. 190 (according to one reading), ἵν᾽ ἂν εἴπωμεν. It may be explained as an instance of prolepsis, a consequence being treated as a condition. The first person is idiomatic, i.e. 'Let not men think.'

1087. mvp-comment-698-1 ταῦτα] τὸ ἥδεσθαι καὶ τὸ τίνειν, 'These things go by turns.' i. e. pleasure brings pain. In the following lines he returns from general reflections to the case in point.

1091. mvp-comment-699-1 γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφάς] 'After laying a ground-work of wise maxims.' Cp. Pind. Pyth. 4. 241-3, πραὺν δ' Ἰάσων | μαλθακᾷ φωνᾷ ποτιστάζων ὅαρον | βάλλετο κρηπίδα σοφῶν ἐπέων. This line has no caesura.

1092. mvp-comment-700-1 'Proceed thereupon to be guilty of insolence towards the dead.' For ἐν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστής, cp. infr. 1315, ἐν ἐμοὶ θρασύς.

1096. mvp-comment-701-1 τοιαῦθ᾽ ἁμαρτάνουσιν.. ἔπη] 'Are guilty of such sinful utterance.' ἔπη is a cognate accusative similar to infr. 1107, 8, τὰ σέμν᾽ ἔπη | κόλαζ᾽ ἐκείνους. ἐν λόγοις is pleonastic, and simply means, 'When they speak.'

1097. mvp-comment-702-1 σύ has a strong emphasis: 'Do you profess to have brought Ajax hither as an ally to the Achaeans?' The word ἄγειν in supr. 1053 was offensive to Teucer.

1100-1101. mvp-comment-703-1 ποῦ.. οἴκοθεν] 'Where is your right to command Ajax? or where is your authority to lord it over the troops he led from home?' The adverb of place is transferred to express a logical relation, 'Where do you command?' i. e. 'Show me the ground on which you do so.'

1101. mvp-comment-704-1 The apparent violation of the Porsonic pause in this line may be remedied by reading ἤγαγ᾽ οἴκοθεν with Pal. (see v. rr.) In that case ὧν is genitive by attraction, for τούτων, οὕς. But just as there are lines without caesura, so there are several instances of this exception to the rule of the cretic. And, as Elmsley suggested, the elision, by forbidding a pause, may have made the exception possible.

1102. mvp-comment-705-1 This line, like supr. 861, would find an echo in Athenian national sentiment.

1103. mvp-comment-706-1 οὐδ᾽ ἔσθ' ὅπου] 'Nor is there any ground on which.' Cp. supr. l. 1100 and note.

1104. mvp-comment-707-1 ἀρχῆς ἔκειτο θεσμός] 'Right of command existed.' The past tense refers to the lifetime of Ajax.

1105. mvp-comment-708-1 ἄλλων] i. e. of Agamemnon. ὅλων may be either masculine or neuter, (1) 'Of all the troops,' or (2) 'Of the whole expedition.' Parallels for both are quoted by Lobeck. The first seems the more probable. In this case the plural is equivalent to a collective word, τοῦ στρατοῦ ὅλου, and this may justify the use of ὅλων for πάντων.

1106. mvp-comment-709-1 ὥστ᾽ Αίαντος ἡγεῖσθαί ποτε] This petulant iteration, however natural, is somewhat beneath the level of tragic dignity which is maintained throughout the earlier part of the play. ποτέ, as in supr. 183, οὔ ποτε, gives absoluteness to the denial. 'That could never be!'

1107. mvp-comment-710-1 ὧνπερ ἄρχεις ἄρχε] ‘Exercise command on those over whom you have command.'

1108. mvp-comment-711-1 εἴτε μὴ σὺ φής] i. e. εἴτε σὺ μὴ φής.

1110. mvp-comment-712-1 δικαίως] 'Rightly,' i.e. 'Abating nothing of what is due to him.'

1112. mvp-comment-713-1 ὥσπερ οἱ πόνου πολλοῦ πλέῳ] 'Like those poor men who are consumed with toil;' i. e. the Argive soldiery, who are subject to the behests of the Atreidae. In pitying the men under their command, Teucer conveys his scorn both of the meanness and the tyrannical disposition of the two generals, and also his pride in the independence shown by Ajax and himself. Cp. Il. 9. 348, ἢ μὲν δὴ μάλα πολλὰ πονήσατο νόσφιν ἐμεῖο: supr. 637, πολυπόνων ᾿Αχαιῶν.

1113. mvp-comment-714-1 Ajax served, not because Helen was Menelaus' wife, but because of his oath to her father Tyndareus. Cp. Thuc. 1. 9, τοῖς Τυνδάρεω ὅρκοις κατειλημμένους.

1114. mvp-comment-715-1 σοῦ δ᾽ οὐδέν] This angry repetition (cp. supr. 1106) resumes more explicitly what was implied in σῆς, l. 1111. οὐ γὰρ .. τοὺς μηδένας] For ἀξιοῦν with the accusative only, cp. Eur. Heracl. 918 (lyr.), ὦ Ὑμέναιε, δισσοὺς | παῖδας Διὸς ἠξίωσας. τοὺς μηδένας] Not οὐδένας, because the expression is general, i.e. hypothetical, — εἰ μηδένες εἴησαν.

1115. mvp-comment-716-1 Menelaus came attended by a single herald.

1116. mvp-comment-717-1 τὸν στρατηγόν] 'The generalissimo.' In supr. 1109, to depreciate Agamemnon, Teucer put the two generals on a par: here, to depreciate Menelaus, he makes Agamemnon supreme. τοῦ.. σοῦ ψόφου] 'For any noise of thine.' Cp. Eur. Hipp. 1224-6, οὔτε ναυκλήρου χερὸς | οὔθ' ἱπποδέσμων .. | μεταστρέφουσαι.

1117. mvp-comment-718-1 οὐκ ἂν στραφείην] 'I will not turn this way or that.' ὡς ἂν ἧς—οἷός περ εἰ] 'However you may be just what you are.' The sentence ends, parà prosdokían, after leading the hearer to expect some word like βασιλικός ('However kingly you may be'). Instead of that, Teucer substitutes οἷός περ εἶ, “A man like Menelaus, and nothing more.' Cp. Shak. Ham. 3. 2, 'We shall obey, were she ten times our mother.' For ὡς ἄν, see E. on L. § 28. p. 47, 4 a.

1118. mvp-comment-719-1 οὐδ᾽ αὖ] The Chorus contrast their present speech with supr. 1091, 2.

1119. mvp-comment-720-1 'For hard words irritate, however deserved they may be.'

1121. mvp-comment-721-1 Teucer's craft in archery was not that of an ordinary bowman. Cp. Phil. 1056, 7, ἐπεὶ πάρεστι μὲν | Τεύκρος παρ' ἡμῖν, τηνδ᾽ ἐπιστήμην ἔχων. The feeling which gave importance to the science of archery accorded with the original legend. Cp. Il. 13. 313, 4, Τεῦκρός θ᾽ ὡς ἄριστος᾿ Ἀχαιῶν | τοξοσύνῃ. Here, in speaking of what is ἔξω τοῦ μυθεύματος, contemporary feeling, which held archers cheap, is allowed to have its way.

1123. mvp-comment-722-1 σοί γ᾽ ὡπλισμένῳ] Sc. ὥστε ἀντίπαλος εἶναι.

1124. mvp-comment-723-1 'What courageous anger lives in thy tongue!' τὸν θυμόν, sc. τὸν ἐν τῇ γλώσσῃ ἐνόντα. Cp. Milton, Samson Agonistes, 1181, 'Tongue-doughty Giant.'

1126. mvp-comment-724-1 τόνδ᾽ εὐτυχεῖν κτείναντά με] 'That all should go smoothly with the man here who contrived my death.' The use of the aorist in this conative sense is a rhetorical exaggeration. The continuous tense is so used in O. C. 992, 3, εἴ τις σε τὸν δίκαιον αὐτίκ᾽ ἐνθάδε | κτείνοι παραστάς, κ.τ.λ., where see note.

1128. mvp-comment-725-1 τῷδε δ᾽ οἴχομαι] See above, l. 970, and note.

1130. mvp-comment-726-1 'Am I the man who would quarrel with divine law?'

1131. mvp-comment-727-1 'If you come and prevent the burial of the dead.' οὐκ is permissible, because οὐκ ἐᾷς is one word, and the supposition emphatically points to the fact, 'If, as you do.'

1132. mvp-comment-728-1 The use of αὑτοῦ for ἐμαυτοῦ here is justified by the generality of the expression, — 'In the case of one's enemy,' and prepares the way for the abstract statement, οὐ γὰρ καλόν.

1133. mvp-comment-729-1 Menelaus has sought to justify his action by applying to Ajax the word πολέμιος, which properly applies only to an enemy of the state. But he has not the courage to follow this up by showing that Ajax was a public enemy.

1135. mvp-comment-730-1 'Yes, because you were convicted of having cheated him by manufacturing votes.'

1136. mvp-comment-731-1 'He met with this reverse through the action of the court and not through mine.' τόδε, sc. τὸ σφάλμα. Cp. Pind. Nem. 8. 45, κρυφίαισι γὰρ ἐν ψάφοις Ὀδυσσῆ Δαναοὶ θεράπευσαν.

1137. mvp-comment-732-1 The gloss on καλῶς, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐμπείρως, both supports the reading of L pr., and accounts for the corruption by showing that καλῶς was felt to require explanation. The alliteration of κ, λ, is perhaps suggestive of wily subtlety. For καλῶς.. κακά, cp. O. T. 1396, κάλλος κακῶν ὕπουλον.

1138. mvp-comment-733-1 'That speech tends to some one's hurt.' For τινί, implying σοί, cp. especially Ant. 751, θανοῦσ᾽ ὀλεῖ τινά.

1139. mvp-comment-734-1 οὐ μᾶλλον (ἀνίαν ἕξομεν), ἢ λυπήσομεν (σε). ὡς ἔοικεν] The threat of Menelaus, l. 1138, shows that he is stung.

1141. mvp-comment-735-1 τεθάψεται] The future perfect has a peremptory effect.

1142-1158. mvp-comment-736-1 These two speeches are obviously antiphonal or antistrophic in a general sense, and yet the latter exceeds the former by a line. This may warn us against requiring exact antistrophic correspondence in other iambic passages, where the absence of it has occasioned doubt.

1143. mvp-comment-737-1 τὸ πλεῖν] For the article with the epexegetic infinitive, cp. O. T. 1416, 17, πάρεσθ᾽ ὅδε | Κρέων τὸ πράσσειν καὶ τὸ βουλεύειν.

1144. mvp-comment-738-1 For ἂν reduplicated, see Essay on L. § 27. p. 46 e. In the present instance it adds liveliness to φθέγμα, which is to be taken closely with, i.e. ᾧ φθέγμα γενόμενον ἂν οὐκ ἂν εὗρες. ἐνεῦρες has been conjectured, but this compound is not found elsewhere, and no change is needed.

1146. mvp-comment-739-1 παρέχειν is used absolutely with dative and infinitive, as frequently in Plato. The expression is proverbial: cp. Plato, Theaet. 191 Α, ἐὰν δὲ πάντῃ ἀπορήσωμεν, ταπεινωθέντες, οἶμαι, τῷ λόγῳ παρέξομεν ὡς ναυτιῶντες πατεῖν τε καὶ χρῆσθαι ὅ τι ἂν βούληται.

1147-1149. mvp-comment-740-1 The second accusative, τὴν πολλὴν βοήν, is added as a resumption of καὶ τὸ σὸν λάβρον στόμα, which is a sort of 'pendent' accusative.

1150. mvp-comment-741-1 Teucer, in replying to Menelaus, retains the form of allegory; but, instead of seeking for an illustration, puts the case as it stands, thus more openly expressing his scorn.

1156. mvp-comment-742-1 ἄνολβον] The same indissoluble association between unhappiness and wickedness appears in the use of δύστηνος, infr. 1290, and in μελέοις ᾿Ατρείδαις, supr. 621. Cf. also O. T. 888, δυσπότμου χάριν χλιδᾶς. For the addition of παρών, cp. supr. 1131.

1158. mvp-comment-743-1 μῶν ἠνιξάμην] ‘Is my riddle hard to read?' As was said in note on supr. 1150, Teucer does not care to disguise his contempt.

1160. mvp-comment-744-1 ᾧ.. παρῇ] The reading πάρα is unobjectionable, but is perhaps due to the supposition εἰ πύθοιτό τις, which refers to the particular case:—some early scholar having felt an incongruity in the fusion of general and particular, which is however quite in keeping with the language of the age of Pericles.

1163-1165. mvp-comment-745-1 The anapaests accompany the exit of Menelaus. The Chorus express their apprehension of what may follow this, viz. the coming of Agamemnon, who, both from his character and position, is more formidable. ἔριδος .. ἀγών] So in Trach. 20, ἀγῶνα μάχης.

1165. mvp-comment-746-1 κοίλην κάπετον] This phrase, belonging to the Epic commonplace, is repeated infr. 1403. τινά, i. e. πού, 'somewhere.' For this adverbial use of the indefinite pronoun, see Essay on L. § 22. p. 36, 4. ἰδεῖν] · 'To look out,' 'provide.' For this use of ὁρᾶν, cp. Od. 8. 443, αὐτὸς νῦν ἴδε πῶμα: Theocr. 15. 2, ὅρη δίφρον, Εὐνόα, αὐτῷ: Phil. 843, τάδε μὲν θεὸς ὄψεται. So, also in Elizabethan English, 'to look' sometimes means 'to look for,' e.g. Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor, 4. 2, 79, 'Mistress Page and I will look some linen for your head.'

1166. mvp-comment-747-1 βροτοῖς] 'In the eyes of men.' A dative of remote reference in loose construction with the words which follow, and also to be resumed with ἀείμνηστον. See Essay on L. § 13. p. 19. and cp. especially El. 1066, ὦ χθονία βροτοῖσι φάμα. For the position of the article, cp. Trach. 872, Ἡρακλεῖ τὸ πόμπιμον. τὸν ἀείμνηστον] 'Of unfading renown.' The expression (with the article) is proleptic, and reminds the spectator that the fame of Ajax is eternal.

1167. mvp-comment-748-1 εὐρώεντα] 'Mouldering,' or 'darksome,' an epithet recalling the natural horror of the grave. Whether to Sophocles, as to Oppian and Nonnus afterwards, the word conveyed the association of 'roomy,' 'wide-vaulted,' may be left an open question. See L. and S. s. ν. εὐρώεις.

1170. mvp-comment-749-1 περιστελοῦντε] Το 'care for.' The verb is used much as in Ant. 903, δέμας περιστέλλουσα.

1172. mvp-comment-750-1 The child clinging to his dead father would be as inviolable as a suppliant clinging to an altar. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 106, αἰδουμένη σοι βωμὸν ὡς τύμβον πατρός: ib. 336, 7, τάφος δ᾽ ἱκέτας δέδεκται | φυγάδας θ' ὁμοίως.

1173. mvp-comment-751-1 προστρόπαιος is a more solemn and formal word than ἱκέτης. The formality of the supplication would be marked by the locks of hair cut off in token of mourning for the dead, which Eurysaces is to hold in his hand.

1174. mvp-comment-752-1 Cp. El. 448-50, σὺ δὲ | τεμοῦσα κρατὸς βοστρύχων ἄκρας φόβας | κἀμοῦ ταλαίνης, κ.τ.λ. For τρίτου, cp. O. C. 8, and note.

1175. mvp-comment-753-1 ἱκτήριον θησαυρόν] ‘A suppliant store,' i. e. a sacred deposit having virtue for the purpose of supplication. στρατοῦ] Here and supr. 1044 the rest of the army seems to be opposed to the men of Salamis.

1177. mvp-comment-754-1 κακὸς κακῶς] The tautology belongs to the formal solemnity of the oath. Cp. O. T. 219, 20, and note.

1178. mvp-comment-755-1 γένους . . ἐξημημένος] 'Having cut off from him all issue.' Here, and in Ant. 600, ῥίζα seems to mean the germ of a branch rather than the root of a tree. Teucer's prayer is that his enemy may die childless, and that his body may lie unburied, as it were banished from the 'lap of earth.' Cp. Isaiah 14. 19, 'But thou art cast out of thy grave as an abominable branch: as a carcase trodden under foot.' Or it may also mean 'denied burial in his own land.'

1180. mvp-comment-756-1 αὐτόν] Sc. τὸν νέκρον.

1181. mvp-comment-757-1 ἔχου] Cp. Hdt. 4. 22, καὶ ὁ κύων ἔχεται.

1182-1183. mvp-comment-758-1 ὑμεῖς τε.. ἀρήγετ'] 'And do not ye stand by like women, but defend him like men.'

1183-1184. mvp-comment-759-1 ἔς τ᾽ ἐγὼ μόλω .. τῷδε] 'Until I return after caring for his burial.' The stress on the participle is no objection to this reading; and μολεῖν has often the sense of 'to return.' κἂν μηδεὶς ἐᾷ] 'Though all men forbid me.' For this expression, cp. Phil. 443, 4, ὅπου | μηδεὶς ἐῴη.

1183-1184. mvp-comment-759-2 The rhythm of the following stasimon is largely choriambic, and is expressive of restless impatience. The metrical scheme is the following...