Chorus
I see th' ill-fated captive of his spear
Ajax. Sophocles. Robert Potter (Translator). London. 1820.
Ajax. Sophocles. Robert Potter (Translator). London. 1820.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Robert Potter, 1788))
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
894. mvp-comment-581-1 The word νύμφη is chosen, as less definite than δάμαρ or ἄκοιτις, to denote the position of Tecmessa.
895. mvp-comment-582-1 οἴκτῳ .. συγκεκραμένην] 'Steeped in the sorrow of that cry.' The look of Tecmessa convinces the Chorus that her whole being is fused in the sorrow which the cry conveyed. For the physical image, see Essay on L. § 56. p. 102: and cp. especially Ant. 1311, δειλαίᾳ . . συγκέκραμαι δύᾳ. τῷδε refers to ἰώ μοί μοι.
896. mvp-comment-583-1 οἴχωκ᾽, ὄλωλα] The perfect gives a more absolute sense of completeness than οἴχομαι would give. διαπεπόρθημαι] For this image, which sums up Tecmessa's experience of calamity, cp. Aesch. Cho. 691, κατ' ἄκρας εἶπας ὡς πορθούμεθα.