Sophocles, Ajax, Robert Potter (Translator), 1091

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Do not, O king of Sparta, from thy lips

Whilst wisdom speaks its dictates, wrong the dead.

Teucer

No more, my friends, if one of low-born race

Acts basely, shall I marvel, since the great,

Who glory in their high-traced ancestry,
1095

Thus merit censure for dishonest speech.

Didst thou not tune thy proem with these words,

(Speak them again) that thou didst bring this man

To Troy, received as an ally to Greece ?

Did he not plough the deep, and join the war
1100

Lord of himself? Where then thy pow'r o'er him?

What right hast thou as sovereign to command

The warlike troops he led, and was their Chief?

Thou camest the king of Sparta, not our lord.

The law of martial rule gave no command
1105

To thee o'er him, more than to him o'er thee.

Subjection to superior pow'r is here

Thy duty, not to lead th' associate force

Of Greece, that thou o'er Ajax shou'dst bear sway.

Rule thy own vassals, and with high-swoln vaunts
1110

Keep them in awe. Forbid it thou, or he

The other chieftain, him with hallow'd rites

I will entomb, nor fear thy empty threats.

Not for thy wife did Ajax join the war,

His was no mercenary spear; his oath
1115

He held in reverence high, not thee, nor deign'd

To grace the worthless. Take then my resolve,

Ajax. Sophocles. Robert Potter (Translator). London. 1820.

Current edition Experimental

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Robert Potter, 1788))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (4)

Αἴας μαστιγοφόρος First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Aiax. Lobeck Christian, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1866.) — 1161-1196 focus

str. 1

ΧΟΡΟΣ

1185 Τις ἄρα νέατος; ἐς πότε λήξει

πολυπλάγκτων ἐτέων ἀριθμὸς,

τὰν ἄπαυστον αἰὲν ἐμοὶ

δορυσσόντων μόχθων

ἄταν ἐπάγων
1165

1190 ἀνὰ τὰν εὐρώδη Τροίαν.

δύστανον ὄνειδος

ant. 1

ὄφελε πρότερον αἰθέρα δῦναι

μέγαν ἢ τὸν πολύκοινον Ἅιδαν

κεῖνος ἀνὴρ, ὃς στυγερῶν

1170

1195 ἔδειξ’ ὅπλων Ἕλλα-

σιν κοινὸν Ἄρη.

ὦ πόνοι πρόγονοι πόνων.

κεῖνος γὰρ ἔπερσεν ἀνθρώπους.

str. 2

ΧΟΡΟΣ

2

ἐκεῖνος οὐ στεφάνων,
1175

1200 οὔτε βαθειᾶν κυλίκων

νεῖμεν ἐμοὶ τέρψιν ὁμιλεῖν,

οὔτε γλυκὺν αὐλῶν ὄτοβον,

δύςμορος, οὔτ’ ἐννυχίαν

τέρψιν ἰαύειν· ἐρώτων δ’
1180

1205 ἐρώτων ἀπέπαυσεν, ὤ μοι!

κεῖμαι δ’ ἀμέριμνος οὕτως,

ἀεὶ πυκιναῖς δρόσοις

τεγγόμενος κόμας,

λυγρᾶς μνήματα Τροίας. 1210
1185

ant. 2

ΧΟΡΟΣ

2

Καὶ πρὶν μὲν ἐννυχίου

δείματος ἦν μοι προβολὰ

καὶ βελέων θούριος Αἴας·

νῦν δ’ οὗτος ἀνεῖται στυγερῷ

δαίμονι· τίς μοι, τίς ἔτ’ οὖν 1215
1190

τέρψις ὲπέσται,- γενοίμαν,

ἵν’ ὑλᾶεν ἔπεστι πόντου

πρόβλημ’ ἁλίκλυστον, ἄκραν

1220 ὑπὸ πλάκα Σουνίου,

τὰς ἱερὰς ὅπως
1195

προςείποιμ’ ἂν Ἀθανᾶς.

Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 1185-1222 focus

str. 1

Χορός

τίς ἄρα νέατος ἐς πότε λή-
1185

ξει πολυπλάγκτων ἐτέων ἀριθμός,

τὰν ἄπαυστον αἰὲν ἐμοὶ δορυσσοή-

των μόχθων ἄταν ἐπάγων

τάνδʼ ἀνʼ εὐρυεδῆ Τροίαν,
1190

δύστανον ὄνειδος Ἑλλάνων;

ὄφελε πρότερον αἰθέρα δῦ-

¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸

ant. 1

Χορός

ναι μέγαν ἢ τὸν πολύκοινον Ἅιδαν

κεῖνος ἁνήρ, ὃς στυγερῶν ἔδειξεν ὅ-
1195

πλων Ἕλλασιν κοινὸν Ἄρη.

ὦ πόνοι πρόγονοι πόνων.

κεῖνος γὰρ ἔπερσεν ἀνθρώπους.

ἐκεῖνος οὔτε στεφάνων

οὔτε βαθειᾶν κυλίκων
1200

str. 2

Χορός

2

νεῖμεν ἐμοὶ τέρψιν ὁμιλεῖν,

οὔτε γλυκὺν αὐλῶν ὄτοβον

δύσμορος οὔτʼ ἐννυχίαν

τέρψιν ἰαύειν·

ἐρώτων δʼ
1205

ἐρώτων ἀπέπαυσεν, ὤ-

⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²¹³¹⁴¹⁵

μοι. κεῖμαι δʼ ἀμέριμνος οὕ-

τως, ἀεὶ πυκιναῖς δρόσοις

τεγγόμενος κόμας, λυγρᾶς

μνήματα Τροίας.
1210

ant. 2

Χορός

καὶ πρὶν μὲν αἰὲν νυχίου

δείματος ἦν μοι προβολὰ

καὶ βελέων θούριος Αἴας·

νῦν δʼ οὗτος ἀνεῖται στυγερῷ

δαίμονι. τίς μοι, τίς ἔτʼ οὖν
1215

τέρψις ἐπέσται;

γενοίμαν

ἴνʼ ὑλᾶεν ἔπεστι πόν-

του πρόβλημʼ ἁλίκλυστον, ἄ-

κραν ὑπὸ πλάκα Σουνίου,
1220

τὰς ἱερὰς ὅπως προσεί-

ποιμεν Ἀθάνας.

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1091 focus

Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς

εἶτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

οὐκ ἄν ποτ᾽, ἄνδρες, ἄνδρα θαυμάσαιμ᾽ ἔτι,

ὃς μηδὲν ὢν γοναῖσιν εἶθ᾽ ἁμαρτάνει,

ὅθ᾽ οἱ δοκοῦντες εὐγενεῖς πεφυκέναι
1095

τοιαῦθ᾽ ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἐν λόγοις ἔπη.

ἄγ᾽, εἰπ᾿ εἰπὶ εἴπ' εἶπ' ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς αὖθις, ἡ σὺ φὴς ἄγειν

τὸν ἄνδρ᾽ ᾿Αχαιοῖς δεῦρο σύμμαχον λαβών;

οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐξέπλευσεν ὡς αὑτοῦ ἁυτοῦ αὐτὸς κρατῶν κρατών κρατῶν;

ποῦ σὺ στρατηγεῖς τοῦδε; ποῦ δέ σοι λεῶν λαῶν
1100

ἔξεστ᾽ ἀνάσσειν, ὧν᾿ ὅδ᾽ ἡγεῖτ᾽ ὅδ᾽ ἡγεῖσθ᾽ ὅδ᾽ ἡγεῖτ᾽ ὃν ἤγαγ' οἴκοθεν οἴ .. κοθεν;

Σπάρτης ἀνάσσων ἦλθες, οὐχ ἡμῶν κρατῶν.

οὐδ᾽ ἔσθ᾽ ὅπου σοὶ σοι σοι τόνδε κοσμῆσαι πλέον

ἀρχῆς ἔκειτο θεσμὸς ἢ καὶ τῷδε σέ ἢ καὶ τῶιδε σέ εἰ καὶ τοῦδέ σοι.

ΤΕΥΚΡΟΣ.

ὕπαρχος ἄλλων δεῦρ᾽ ἔπλευσας, οὐχ ὅλων
1105

στρατηγός, ὥστ᾽ Αἴαντος ἡγεῖσθαί ποτε.

ἀλλ᾽ ὧνπερ ἄρχεις ἄρχε, καὶ τὰ σέμν᾽ ἔπη

κόλαζ᾽ ἐκείνους· τόνδε δ᾽, εἴτε μὴ σὺ φὴς

εἴθ᾽ ἅτερος στρατηγός, εἰς ταφὰς ἐγὼ

θήσω δικαίως, οὐ τὸ σὸν δείσας στόμα.
1110

οὐ γάρ τι τῆς σῆς οἵνεκ᾽ ἐστρατεύσατο

γυναικός, ὥσπερ οἱ πόνου πολλοῦ πλέῳ,

ἀλλ᾽ οὕνεχ᾽ ὅρκων οἶσιν ἣν ἐπώμοτος ἐνώμοτος ἐπώνυμος,

σοῦ δ᾽ οὐδέν· οὐ γὰρ ἠξίου τοὺς μηδένας.

πρὸς ταῦτα πλείους δεῦρο κήρυκας λαβὼν
1115

καὶ τὸν στρατηγὸν ἡκε, τοῦ δὲ σοῦ ψόφου

οὐκ :: οὐκ ἂν στραφείην, ὡς ἂν ᾖς—οἷός περ εἶ.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

οὐδ᾽ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ἐν κακοῖς φιλῶ.

τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικ᾽ ᾖ, δάκνει.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ.

Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1185-1222 focus

Χορός

τίς ἄρα νέατος ἐς πότε λήξει πολυπλάγκτων ἐτέων ἀριθμός,
1185

τὰν ἄπαυστον αἰὲν ἐμοὶ δορυσσοήτων

μόχθων ἄταν ἐπάγων

ἄν τὰν εὐρώδεα Τρωΐαν,
1190

δύστανον ὄνειδος Ἑλλάνων;

1192

Χορός

ὄφελε πρότερον αἰθέρα δῦναι μέγαν ἢ τὸν πολύκοινον Ἅιδαν

κεῖνος ἁνήρ, ὃς στυγερῶν ἔδειξεν ὅπλων
1195

Ἕλλασιν κοινὸν Ἄρη.

ἰὼ πόνοι πρόγονοι πόνων·

κεῖνος γὰρ ἔπερσεν ἀνθρώπους.

1199

Χορός

ἐκεῖνος οὔτε στεφάνων

οὔτε βαθεῖαν κυλίκων
1200

νεῖμεν ἐμοὶ τέρψιν ὁμιλεῖν,

οὔτε γλυκὺν αὐλῶν ὄτοβον,

δύσμορος, οὔτʼ ἐννυχίαν

τέρψιν ἰαύειν.

ἐρώτων δʼ ἐρώτων ἀπέπαυσεν, ὤμοι.
1205

κεῖμαι δʼ, ἀμέριμνος οὕτως,

ἀεὶ πυκιναῖς δρόσοις

τεγγόμενος κόμας,

λυγρᾶς μνήματα Τροίας.
1210

1211

Χορός

καὶ πρὶν μὲν αἰὲν νυχίου

δείματος ἦν μοι προβολὰ

καὶ βελέων θούριος Αἴας·

νῦν δʼ οὗτος ἀνεῖται στυγερῷ

δαίμονι· τίς μοι, τίς ἔτʼ οὖν
1215

τέρψις ἐπέσται;

γενοίμαν ἵνʼ ὑλᾶεν ἔπεστι πόντου

πρόβλημʼ ἁλίκλυστον, ἄκραν

ὑπὸ πλάκα Σουνίου,
1220

τὰς ἱερὰς ὅπως

προσείποιμεν Ἀθάνας.

Translations (4)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1091 focus

Menelaüs, make not thy philosophy

A platform whence to insult the valiant dead.

TEU

I nevermore will marvel, sirs, when one

Of humblest parentage is prone to sin,

Since those reputed men of noble strain

Stoop to such phrase of prating frowardness.
1095

Come, tell it o’er again,—said you ye brought

My brother bound to aid you with his power?

Sailed he not forth of his own sovereign will?

Where is thy voucher of command o’er him?

Where of thy right o’er those that followed him?
1100

Sparta, not we, shall buckle to thy sway.

’Twas written nowhere in the bond of rule

That thou shouldst check him rather than he thee.

Thou sailedst under orders, not in charge

Of all, much less of Aias. Then pursue
1105

Thy limited direction, and chastise,

In haughty phrase, the men who fear thy nod.

But I will bury Aias, whether thou

Or the other general give consent or no.

’Tis not for me to tremble at your word.
1110

Not to reclaim thy wife, like those poor souls

Thou flll’st with labour, issued this man forth,

But caring for his oath, and not for thee,

Or any other nobody. Then come

With heralds all arow, and bring the man
1115

Called king of men with thee! For thy sole noise

I budge not, wert thou twenty times thy name.

CH

The sufferer should not bear a bitter tongue.

Hard words, how just soe’er, will leave their sting.

MEN

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1091 focus

Menelaos, hast du weise Lehren aufgestellt,

Dann übe selbst an Todten keinen Uebermuth.

Teukros.

Nie, Männer, wundr' ich über einen Mann mich mehr,

Der, niedrer Art entsprossen, sich durch Sünd' entweiht,

Wenn, die sich rühmen edler Art entstammt zu sein,
1050

So schwer in ihren Worten sich versündigen.

Wohlan, noch Einmal sag' es: hast du wirklich ihn

Dem Argosheer als Kampfgenossen zugeführt?

Sprich: zog er nicht freiwillig als sein eigner Herr?

Wo warest du sein Führer? Wo gebührte dir
1055

Des Volkes Herrschaft, welches ihm von Haus gefolgt?

Als Herrscher Sparta's kamst du, nicht als unser Fürst:

Dir wurde nirgend über ihn ein größ'res Recht

Der Oberherrschaft, als es ihm ward über dich.

Ja, pflichtig Andern zogst du her, nicht Oberherr
1060

Des Ganzen, daß dir Ajas unterworfen sei.

Beherrsche, deren Herr du bist, und strafe sie

Mit stolzen Worten: diesen Mann, wehrst du's mir auch,

Wehrt's auch der andre Führer, werd' ich nach Gebühr

Im Grabe bergen, ohne Scheu vor deinem Wort.
1065

Denn deiner Frau zuliebe zog er nicht zu Feld,

Gleich Abenteurern, die sich vielgeschäftig müh'n;

Ihn trieb der Eidschwur, welchem er verpflichtet war,¹

Du nicht; er ehrte nimmerdar den schwachen Mann.

Deshalb enteile, rufe mehr Herolde noch,
1070

Laß selbst den Feldherrn kommen; denn mich kümmert nicht

Dein eitler Lärm, so lang du bleibest, der du bist!

Der Chor.

Auch solche Sprache lieb' ich nicht im Ungemach;

Das harte Wort schmerzt immer, sei's auch ganz gerecht.

Menelaos.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1091 focus

O Menelaus !

Do not with maxims grave and wisdom's rules

Mix foul reproach and slander on the dead.

Teucer

It should not move our wonder, O my friend !

To see the vulgar err, of meaner souls

And birth obscure, when men so nobh' born
1095

Will talk thus basely. Tell me, Menelaus —

For 'twas thy first assertion — didst thou bring

Or came he hither by himself alone

Conducted? Whence is thy ccmimand o'er him.

O'er these his followers ? Who gave thee power ?
1100

Who gave thee rights Thou mayst be Sparta's kii)g, I

No more to thee than thou wert bound to Ajax :

Thyself no general, but to others here

Subjected ; therefore, lord it Avhere thou mayst —

Command thy slaves ; go, threaten and chastise them.

And of thy brother, for I heed thee not.

He sailed not here to quarrel for the wife

Of Menelaus, like a hireling slave,

But to fulfil the strictly-binding oath
1110

Which he had sworn ; he did not come for thee,

For he despised so poor a cause ; he came

With all his heralds and a numerous train,

And brought his captains too. llemember, therefore,

Thy clamours ne'er shall turn me from my purpose
1115

Whilst thou art what thou art.

Menelaus

English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1185-1220 focus

Chorus

Which will be the last year? When will the sum of the years of our many wanderings stop bringing upon me the unending doom of toilful spear-battles
1185

throughout broad Troy , the cause of sorrow and of shame for Greece ?
1190

1192

Chorus

If only that man had first passed into the depths of the sky or into Hades, the common home of all,

before he taught the Greeks the shared plague of Ares’ detested arms! Ah, those toils of his invention, which produced so many more toils! Look how that man has ravaged humanity!
1195

1199

Chorus

No delight in garlands

or deep wine-cups did that man provide me, no sweet din of flutes, that miserable man, or pleasing rest in the night.
1200

And from love—god!—from love he has totally barred me. Here I lie uncared for, while heavy dews constantly wet my hair,
1205

damp reminders of joyless Troy .
1210

1211

Chorus

In the past bold Ajax was always my bulwark against night’s terrors and flying missiles. But now he has become an offering consecrated

to a malignant divinity. What joy, then, what delight awaits me anymore? O to be where the wooded wave-washed cape fences off the deep sea,
1215

to be beneath Sunium’s jutting plateau, so that we might salute sacred Athens !
1220

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-634-1 ὑποστήσας ¹

mvp-comment-634-2 ἐν θανοῦσιν ²

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 ³

mvp-comment-636-1 μηδὲν ὢν γοναῖσιν ⁴

mvp-comment-637-1 τοιαῦθ’ ἁμαρτάνουσιν … ἔπη ⁵

mvp-comment-638-1 ἄγειν ⁶ λαβών ⁷

mvp-comment-639-1 αὐτὸς ⁸

mvp-comment-640-1 ποῦ ⁹

mvp-comment-640-2 λεῶν ¹⁰

mvp-comment-641-1 ἤγαγ’ ¹¹ ἡγεῖτ’ ¹² ὧν ¹³ ἦγεν ¹⁴ ἤγετ’ ¹⁵

mvp-comment-642-1 οὐδ’ ἔσθ’ ὅπου ¹⁶ τόνδε κοσμῆσαι ¹⁷

mvp-comment-642-2 ἀρχῆς … θεσμὸς ¹⁸ ἔκειτο ¹⁹

mvp-comment-642-3 ἢ καὶ τῷδε σέ ²⁰

mvp-comment-643-1 ὅλων ²¹ σύμπαντες ²²

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 ²³

mvp-comment-644-2 τὰ σέμν’ ἔπη κόλαζ’ ἐκείνους ²⁴

mvp-comment-644-3 εἴτε μὴ σὺ φής, εἴθ’ ἅτερος στρ ²⁵

mvp-comment-644-4 εἰς ταφὰς θήσω ²⁶

mvp-comment-644-5 στόμα ²⁷

mvp-comment-645-1 οἱ πόνου πολλοῦ πλέῳ ²⁸

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 ²⁹

mvp-comment-647-1 σοῦ δ’ οὐδὲν ³⁰

mvp-comment-647-2 τοὺς μηδένας ³¹

mvp-comment-648-1 κήρυκας ³²

mvp-comment-649-1 ψόφου … στραφείην ³³

mvp-comment-649-2 ἕως ³⁴ ὡς ³⁵ ὡς ἂν ᾖς ³⁶

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

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.

Sophocles Ajax 1091

Robert Potter (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Do not, O king of Sparta, from thy lips

Whilst wisdom speaks its dictates, wrong the dead.

Current edition Experimental

Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς

εἶτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

οὐδ᾽ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ἐν κακοῖς φιλῶ.

τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικ᾽ ᾖ, δάκνει.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ.

Menelaüs, make not thy philosophy

A platform whence to insult the valiant dead.

CH

The sufferer should not bear a bitter tongue.

Hard words, how just soe’er, will leave their sting.

MEN

Menelaos, hast du weise Lehren aufgestellt,

Dann übe selbst an Todten keinen Uebermuth.

Der Chor.

Auch solche Sprache lieb' ich nicht im Ungemach;

Das harte Wort schmerzt immer, sei's auch ganz gerecht.

Menelaos.

O Menelaus !

Do not with maxims grave and wisdom's rules

Mix foul reproach and slander on the dead.

Menelaus

Chorus

Which will be the last year? When will the sum of the years of our many wanderings stop bringing upon me the unending doom of toilful spear-battles
1185

throughout broad Troy , the cause of sorrow and of shame for Greece ?
1190

Chorus

If only that man had first passed into the depths of the sky or into Hades, the common home of all,

before he taught the Greeks the shared plague of Ares’ detested arms! Ah, those toils of his invention, which produced so many more toils! Look how that man has ravaged humanity!
1195

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Do not, O king of Sparta, from thy lips Whilst wisdom speaks its dictates, wrong the dead.

Current edition Experimental

Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς εἶτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

ΧΟΡΟΣ. οὐδ᾽ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ἐν κακοῖς φιλῶ. τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικ᾽ ᾖ, δάκνει.

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ.

Menelaüs, make not thy philosophy A platform whence to insult the valiant dead.

CH The sufferer should not bear a bitter tongue. Hard words, how just soe’er, will leave their sting.

MEN

Menelaos, hast du weise Lehren aufgestellt, Dann übe selbst an Todten keinen Uebermuth.

Der Chor. Auch solche Sprache lieb' ich nicht im Ungemach; Das harte Wort schmerzt immer, sei's auch ganz gerecht.

Menelaos.

O Menelaus ! Do not with maxims grave and wisdom's rules Mix foul reproach and slander on the dead.

Menelaus

Chorus Which will be the last year? When will the sum of the years of our many wanderings stop bringing upon me the unending doom of toilful spear-battles 1185 throughout broad Troy , the cause of sorrow and of shame for Greece ? 1190

Chorus If only that man had first passed into the depths of the sky or into Hades, the common home of all, before he taught the Greeks the shared plague of Ares’ detested arms! Ah, those toils of his invention, which produced so many more toils! Look how that man has ravaged humanity! 1195

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Do not, O king of Sparta, from thy lips

Whilst wisdom speaks its dictates, wrong the dead.

Μενέλαε, μὴ γνώμας ὑποστήσας σοφὰς

εἶτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐν θανοῦσιν ὑβριστὴς γένῃ.

ΧΟΡΟΣ.

οὐδ᾽ αὖ τοιαύτην γλῶσσαν ἐν κακοῖς φιλῶ.

τὰ σκληρὰ γάρ τοι, κἂν ὑπέρδικ᾽ ᾖ, δάκνει.

Menelaüs, make not thy philosophy

A platform whence to insult the valiant dead.

CH

The sufferer should not bear a bitter tongue.

Hard words, how just soe’er, will leave their sting.

Menelaos, hast du weise Lehren aufgestellt,

Dann übe selbst an Todten keinen Uebermuth.

Der Chor.

Auch solche Sprache lieb' ich nicht im Ungemach;

Das harte Wort schmerzt immer, sei's auch ganz gerecht.

O Menelaus !

Do not with maxims grave and wisdom's rules

Mix foul reproach and slander on the dead.

Chorus

Which will be the last year? When will the sum of the years of our many wanderings stop bringing upon me the unending doom of toilful spear-battles
1185

throughout broad Troy , the cause of sorrow and of shame for Greece ?
1190

Chorus

If only that man had first passed into the depths of the sky or into Hades, the common home of all,

before he taught the Greeks the shared plague of Ares’ detested arms! Ah, those toils of his invention, which produced so many more toils! Look how that man has ravaged humanity!
1195