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Agamemnon
AGAMEMNON, TEUCER, &c.
Thee to burst forth in rude contemptuous speech
Against us, by our vengeance not chastised,
Thee doth this daring insolence become,
Sprung from a slave the captive of the spear?..
Had she, who gave thee birth, been high in rank,
How proudly wou'dst thou vaunt, and rear thy crest,
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Since, nothing as thou art, for one who now
Is nothing, thou hast dared to scorn our rule,
Asserting that we came not o'er the host
Or fleet of Greece commanders, nor o'er thee;
And Ajax, such thy descant, plough'd the sea
Lord of himself. How shameful from a slave
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To hear such arrogance? And what was he,
For whom these haughty clamours thou hast raised?
Whither did he advance, where fix his foot,
Where mine I fix'd not? In the Grecian camp
Was no man brave but he? Unpleasant fruit
The contest for the hero's arms proposed
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Affords us, if by Teucer in each place
Proclaim'd unjust; and canker'd envy still
Basely repines to yield the honours due
To higher merit, where the general voice
Adjudged them; and with rude licentious tongue
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You load me with reproaches, or with guile,
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Your vain ambition frustrate, stab at me.
Were moods like these indulged, no law could stand
On a firm basis, if the right adjudged
We should reject, and in the highest rank
Place those to whom the lowest is assign'd.
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But these things must be check'd. The high-built frame,
The massy-structured limb, the hardy nerve
Yield not protection: but the prudent mind
The conquest every where obtains. The ox,
Though vast his bulk, is taught the path prescribed
By a small whip: this discipline, I see,
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Will soon reach thee, some prudence if thy mind
Acquire not, for a man that is no more,
But now a shade, thus daring to insult,
And pour the torrent of opprobious speech.
Wilt thou ne'er feel the curb of modesty ?
Ne'er know the baseness of thy birth, and bring
1260
Some one of generous blood to speak for thee?
No meaning to my ears thy words convey;
I understand not thy barbaric speech.
Thee to burst forth in rude contemptuous speech
Against us, by our vengeance not chastised,
Thee doth this daring insolence become,
Sprung from a slave the captive of the spear?..
Had she, who gave thee birth, been high in rank,
How proudly wou'dst thou vaunt, and rear thy crest,
1230
Since, nothing as thou art, for one who now
Is nothing, thou hast dared to scorn our rule,
Asserting that we came not o'er the host
Or fleet of Greece commanders, nor o'er thee;
And Ajax, such thy descant, plough'd the sea
Lord of himself. How shameful from a slave
1235
To hear such arrogance? And what was he,
For whom these haughty clamours thou hast raised?
Whither did he advance, where fix his foot,
Where mine I fix'd not? In the Grecian camp
Was no man brave but he? Unpleasant fruit
The contest for the hero's arms proposed
1240
Affords us, if by Teucer in each place
Proclaim'd unjust; and canker'd envy still
Basely repines to yield the honours due
To higher merit, where the general voice
Adjudged them; and with rude licentious tongue
1245
You load me with reproaches, or with guile,
1245
Your vain ambition frustrate, stab at me.
Were moods like these indulged, no law could stand
On a firm basis, if the right adjudged
We should reject, and in the highest rank
Place those to whom the lowest is assign'd.
1250
But these things must be check'd. The high-built frame,
The massy-structured limb, the hardy nerve
Yield not protection: but the prudent mind
The conquest every where obtains. The ox,
Though vast his bulk, is taught the path prescribed
By a small whip: this discipline, I see,
1255
Will soon reach thee, some prudence if thy mind
Acquire not, for a man that is no more,
But now a shade, thus daring to insult,
And pour the torrent of opprobious speech.
Wilt thou ne'er feel the curb of modesty ?
Ne'er know the baseness of thy birth, and bring
1260
Some one of generous blood to speak for thee?
No meaning to my ears thy words convey;
I understand not thy barbaric speech.
Ajax. Sophocles. Robert Potter (Translator). London. 1820.