134-200.
mvp-comment-100-1
The first part of the parodos consists of six anapaestic systems (ll. 134-171), during the recitation of which the Chorus pace to and fro in the orchestra, before the tent of Ajax. This long-continued movement, which betokens the restless anxiety of the mariners for their prince, also strikes a note in harmony with the feelings of the spectator, to whom the horror that is going on within has already been revealed. He knows that their dreadful apprehensions are only too true. It is followed by a strophe, antistrophe, and epode (ll. 172-200), which mark the climax of their agitation before the entrance of Tecmessa.
155.
mvp-comment-114-1
ἁμάρτοι] For the omission of
τις, which is supplied in the next sentence, see Essay on L. § 39. P. 72, 3. This is the harder and more dignified reading.
157.
mvp-comment-115-1
ἔρπει implies a stealthy advance, differing from
στείχει, which would signify open menace.
Cp. Pind. Nem. 8. 36,
ἅπτεται δ᾽ ἐσλῶν ἀεί, χειρόνεσσι δ᾽ οὐκ ἐρίζει: Pyth. 11. 45, 6.
ἴσχει γὰρ ὄλβος οὐ μείονα φθύνον· | ὁ δὲ χαμηλὰ πνέων ἄφαντον βρέμει.
158-159.
mvp-comment-116-1
Some have here supposed a metaphor from building, large and small stones together making the strongest wall. This is fanciful, and not contained in the words; but in any case
πύργου ῥῦμα is a 'tower of defence' (Essay on L. § 10. p. 17, 6), and not 'means of defending a tower,' because
ῥύεσθαι can hardly mean 'to man,' although in Aesch. S. c. T. 823, it is used of the Divine protection of Thebes. For the whole phrase,
cp. Od. 11. 556 (said with reference to Ajax):
τοῖος γάρ σφιν πύργος ἀπώλεο: Alc. fr. 23,
ἄνδρες πόληος πύργος ἀρεύϊοι : Aesch. Pers. 347.
160-161.
mvp-comment-117-1
ἄριστ᾽ ἂν. ὀρθοῖθ᾽'Will best be made secure.'
Cp. Thuc. 6. 18, § 4,
ὁμοῦ δὲ τό τε φαῦλον καὶ τὸ μέσον καὶ τὸ πάνυ ἀκριβὲς ἂν ξυγκραθὲν μάλιστ᾽ ἂν ἰσχύειν.
βαιός] Lit. 'few,' hence 'feeble.'
161.
mvp-comment-118-1
ὑπό marks that the lesser are to serve the greater:
μετά, that the great require the cooperation of the less.
162-163.
mvp-comment-119-1
'But foolish men cannot be instructed in these truths.'
τούτων γνώμας = ' right judgments about these things.'
164.
mvp-comment-120-1
τοιούτων, sc.
οὕτως ἀνοήτων. 'So foolish are they that clamour against thee,' that there is no hope of bringing them to a better mind.
165.
mvp-comment-121-1
πρὸς ταῦτ᾽ ἀπαλέξασθαι] Sc.
ταῦτα. 'This being so, we have no strength to avert this.'
167.
mvp-comment-122-1
'But then the truth is that when they have escaped from thine eye.'
γάρ covers the whole sentence, and the emphasis is on the latter part, viz.
μέγαν, κ.τ.λ. The Chorus mean to say: 'Though we are weak, yet Ajax is strong, and the clamour will subside when he appears.'
169.
mvp-comment-123-1
The correction of Dawes, which restores the metre by the insertion of
δέ, is probably right. For the meaning,
cp. Alc. fr. 27.
ἔπταζον ὥστ᾽ ὄρνιθες ὦκυν | αἴετον ἐξαπίνας φάνεντα, which also helps to support the punctuation in l. 170.
170.
mvp-comment-124-1
τάχ᾿ ἄν] 'Soon would they.'
171.
mvp-comment-125-1
σιγῇ .. ἄφωνοι] Essay on L. §40. p. 75. 'Their noise would be hushed, and they would cower without a word.'
172-200.
mvp-comment-126-1
Beginning from a dactylic movement, the ode (expressing the combination of deep sadness with eager hope) continues with trochaic, iambic, and dactylic rhythms, as follows:- ... The slow movement with frequent long syllables increases towards the close.
172.
mvp-comment-127-1
ἡ ῥα .. Ἄρτεμις] Can it be, as I suspect (
pa), that Artemis?'
Ταυροπόλα Διὸς Ἄρτεμις] 'Bull-riding Artemis, daughter of Zeus,' conveys the image of the goddess riding on a bull, as she sometimes appears on coins. In this character (probably derived from the East) Artemis was worshipped in different places with orgiastic rites. Euripides, I. T. 1449 foll., associates this name of Artemis with the supposed derivation of her worship under this attribute from the Tauric Chersonese. She is here alluded to (1) as the subduer of cattle, (2) as the inspirer of frenzy.
173.
mvp-comment-128-1
ὦ μεγάλα φάτις] ‘Terrible thought!' The simple word
μεγάλα has here the special connotation of 'tremendous' or 'overwhelming;' just as the general word
κακούς,
supr. 133, is opposed to the special word
σώφρονας. The Chorus cannot speak of Ajax' supposed error without interposing this expression of horror.
175.
mvp-comment-129-1
πανδάμους]
Cp. supr. ll. 53, 4, and note.
ἀγελαίας] (1) Grazing oxen are so called in contradistinction to the labouring ox that is fed at a stall. Or, possibly, (2) the word simply denotes the whole herd of oxen belonging to the host, - the
πάνδημος ἀγέλη.
176.
mvp-comment-130-1
ἡ που] 'Surely, it must have been.'
Cp. Trach. 846, 7, where
ἢ που is reiterated.
τινος νίκας ἀκάρπωτον χάριν] 'Because of a gift of victory that brought her no return.'
χάριν = διὰ χάριν. This unusual construction is softened by a reminiscence of the more ordinary (adverbial) use of
χάριν = 'because of.' For this confusion, see Essay on L. § 36. p. 67; and
cp. Eur. I. T. 566,
κακῆς γυναικός χάριν ἄχαριν ἀπώλετο.
177.
mvp-comment-131-1
ἤ ῥα .. εἴτε] 'Either, as I suspect,.. or whether it were.'
Cp. Eur. Alc. 114, 5,
ἢ Λυκίας | εἴτ᾽ ἐπὶ τὰς ᾿Αμμωνίδας ἕδρας.
177-178.
mvp-comment-132-1
'Disappointed of glorious spoils, or (provoked) because the fall of the stag was followed by no gift.' The MS. reading
ψευσθεῖσα δώροις, ‘deceived in the matter of gifts,' is hardly Greek. For the dative,
ἀδώροις.. ἐλαφηβολίαις, see Essay on L. § 14. p. 21, and for the order of the words, ibid. § 41. p. 77.
179.
mvp-comment-133-1
- By reading
τιν' for
ἤ τιν' a possible construction is obtained, although the text remains doubtful. 'Or can it be that Enyalius of the brazen corslet,' etc. The conjj.
ἥντιν', δή τιν', εἴ τιν', are not satisfactory:
σοί τιν' (Reiske) is better (sc.
μομφὰν ἔχων). The repetition of the
η sound in this passage (ll. 176 9,
ἢ που, ἤ ῥα, ἤ, ἦ) may have had some poetical or musical effect of which we cannot judge.
180.
mvp-comment-134-1
μομφὰν . . δορός] ‘Having fault to find with thee on account of his spear associated with thine,' i.e. by reason of some help which he had given thee in battle. Perhaps there is a reminiscence, although the sense is different, of the Epic
ξυνὸς Ἐνυάλιος. which Eur. has otherwise applied in Phoen. 1572,
κοινὸν ἐνυάλιον . . μαρναμένους.
ἐννυχίοις μαχαναῖς] ‘By contriving against thee in the night.'
181.
mvp-comment-135-1
ἐτίσατο λώβαν] Either (1) 'Punished the wrong done to him,'-
τίσασθαι λώβην in ΙΙ. 19. 208, Od. 20. 169, Hes. Theog. 165, is 'to revenge oneself for an outrage:'-or (2) 'Did thee vengeful despite,'
λώβαν cogn. acc.
Cp. infr. 217,
νύκτερος ἀπελωβήθη: 304,
ὕβριν ἐκτίσαιτ᾽: Il. 13. 622, 3.
183.
mvp-comment-136-1
φρενόθεν] Of thine own heart;' i.e. the cause must have been from without, not from within. Ajax could not be himself (
φρενήρης) and do this thing. The gods must have destroyed his senses (
φρένας ὤλεσαν).
183-185.
mvp-comment-137-1
ἐπ᾿ ἀριστερά .. ἔβας τόσσον] 'Canst thou have gone so far wrong?"
Cp. the metaph. uses of
σκαιός, and Plat. Soph. 264 E, where
πορεύεσθαι κατὰ τοὐπὶ δεξιὰ ἀεὶ μέρος is 'to make the right selection in each case.'
185.
mvp-comment-138-1
ἐν ποίμναις πίτνων] ‘As to assault the flocks.' The participle is slightly proleptic (as with
πειράσθαι).
Cp. Ant. 752,
ἢ κἀπαπειλῶν ὧδ᾽ ἐπεξέρχει θρασύς.
186.
mvp-comment-139-1
ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος] 'An affliction from the gods, indeed, may have come.' For this use of
av with the optative,
cp. Aesch. Pers. 706,
ἀνθρώπεια δ' ἄν τοι πήματ᾿ ἂν τύχοι βροτοῖς: Ag. 1507,
πατρόθεν δὲ συλλήπτωρ γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ἀλάστωρ. These words develop the suggestion conveyed in
φρενόθεν γε, το which they are attached with
γάρ. Ajax cannot have done this; at least not of his own impulse. It may be, indeed, that a divine visitation is upon him. This possibility is a further reason for rejecting the notion that Ajax is really guilty.
ὀλλά] (1) 'It may have come, but Zeus grant that the report may be untrue!' Zeus and Phoebus, as the deities of divination, are implored to grant that the truth may be less terrible than it is according to the report set in motion by the Argives. Or (2) 'It may have come, but even then let not the evil be increased with false rumours spread by Argives.'
188-189.
mvp-comment-140-1
'And if, suborning tales of their own making, the mighty kings win currency for them by false means.'
190.
mvp-comment-141-1
ἢ τᾶς ἀσώτου Σισ. γενεᾶς] The force of the article is continued. Essay on L. § 21. p. 336. The standing reproach against Odysseus, that he was the son of Sisyphus, although not acknowledged as true by Sophocles (see l. 1), is represented as being used against him by his enemies.
Cp. especially, Phil. 417,
οὑμπολητὸς Σισύφου Λαερτίῳ: Fr. 143,
ὡς ὁ Σίσυφος πολὺς | ἔνδηλος ἐν σοί. For
Σισυφιδᾶν γενεᾶς, where only one generation is in question,
cp. Ant. 981, 2,
σπέρμα Ερεχθειδᾶν, of Cleopatra the granddaughter of Erechtheus.
191.
mvp-comment-142-1
μὴ μή μ', ἄναξ] For the 'Attic' accusative in general construction with what follows, as after verbs of doing good or evil, see E. on L. § 16. р. 23. 'Do not to my hurt incur reproach.'
ἐφάλοις κλισίαις ὄμμ' ἔχων] (1) 'Keeping thine eye hidden within the hut by the sea.' The Epic word
κλισίαις is used in the Lyric measures. We had
σκηναῖς in the dialogue,
supr. l. 3. The dative is one of place, as if with
ev. For
ὄμμα,
cp. supr. 167.
ἔχων · = κατέχων, 'withholding from sight.' Or (2) 'Keeping thine eye fixed upon the tents.'
194.
mvp-comment-143-1
ἀλλ᾽ ἄνα ἐξ εδράνων] ‘But up from where thou sittest still.' The hiatus is excused by Hermann on the ground that
ava is an interjectional abbreviation.
ὅπου.. σχολᾷ] (1) 'Wheresoever thou art thus fixed in a dangerous lethargy of quarrelsome repose.' The Chorus are uncertain of Ajax' whereabouts, as Odysseus was,
supr. 33.
μακραίωνι implies that some time had passed since the judgment of the arms and Ajax' sullen withdrawal from the fight:
cp. infr. 929 foll.
ἀγωνίῳ is a difficult word. The inactivity of Ajax was his manner of contending with the chiefs: if the rumour was true, it was an inactivity in which he had been fatally active; and however his leisure was employed, it was becoming full of danger to him. The force of
ἀγών, in the sense of a dangerous contest, is therefore suited to the place, and the expression is an oxymoron, 'a perilous quarrelsome rest' (for which, cp. Shak. Ant and Cleo. 1. 3, 'Tis sweating labour To bear such idleness so near the heart.") (2) Others suppose the words merely to mean 'rest from combat,' i.e. from the general combat with the Trojans.
196.
mvp-comment-144-1
ἄταν οὐρανίαν φλέγων] 'Letting mischief blaze up to the sky.'
Cp. Eur. Phoen. 240, 1,
αΐμα δάϊον φλέγει. The image of a fire is continued in the following lines.
197-200.
mvp-comment-145-1
The arrangement of these lines is difficult. The elision of the last syllable of
ὁρμᾶται and the hiatus after
ἀτάρβητα and
βαρυάλγητα are doubtful points. It can hardly be questioned that the
a of
εὐανέμοις (for
εὐηνέμοις) is long.
καχαζόντων is rightly restored for
καγχαζόντων. Brambach, (Sophokl. Gesänge) suggesting
εὐανέμοις, gives the following scheme... But the difficulties are not thus removed. Perhaps we may venture...
197.
mvp-comment-146-1
ὧδ'] 'Thus,' as in
supr. 141-53.
198.
mvp-comment-147-1
εὐανέμοις] 'With favouring breezes.' As applied to a harbour,
εὐήνεμος is 'sheltered from rough winds;' but the image here is rather that of a forest glade, where, when a little fire is kindled, the wind that is not strong enough to extinguish it only fans it to strength.
Cp. I1. 20. 490, 1,
ὡς δ᾽ ἀναμαιμάει βαθέ᾽ ἄγκεα θεσπιδαὲς πῦρ | οὔρεος ἀζαλέοιο, βαθεῖα δὲ καίεται ὕλη.
200.
mvp-comment-148-1
ἐμοὶ .. ἕστακεν] 'I have a grief that will not be removed.'
201.
mvp-comment-149-1
The exposition of the situation in the
Ajax, like the
ἀναγνώρισις in the
Oed. Tyr., is effected through the meeting of those who on either side know only half the truth. Tecmessa, whose affection for Ajax exceeds that of his own people, comes forth to meet the chorus of mariners before the hut. They learn from her the truth of the calamity. She learns from them the extent of it. Schol.
διδάσκει τὸν χόρον ὅτι Αἴας ἐστὶν ὁ σφάξας τὰ ποίμνια. πυνθάνεται δὲ παρὰ τοῦ χοροῦ ὅτι Ἑλληνικὰ ἦν τὰ σφαγέντα, ἑκάτερος οὖν παρ' ἑκατέρου τὸ ἀγνοούμενον μανθάνει.
202.
mvp-comment-150-1
γενεάς, κ.τ.λ.] 'Of race derived from the Earth-born Erechtheidae.' The Salaminians are, by an anachronism which is repeated
infr. 861, counted as originally one with the Athenian people.
203.
mvp-comment-151-1
ἔχομεν στοναχάς] ‘It is ours to groan.' She claims the sympathy of the chorus, of which they assure her,
infr. 210.
204.
mvp-comment-152-1
τηλόθεν] Sc.
ὄντος or
σκοπουμένου.
Cp. O. T. 1259,
οἱ παρῆμεν ἐγγύθεν. The word is not to be immediately joined with
κηδόμενοι. Salamis, which she has never seen, seems far away to Tecmessa, whose hopes are notwithstanding centred there.
205.
mvp-comment-153-1
ὁ δεινὸς μέγας ὠμοκρατής] · Our dread hero, rugged in might.' Various compounds of
ὠμός are used to indicate the fierce impetuosity of Ajax, that cannot be reduced to rule:
infr. 885,
τὸν ὠμόθυμον : 931,
ὠμόφρων : 548,
ἀλλ᾿ αὐτίκ᾿ ὠμοῖς αὐτὸν ἐν νόμοις πατρὸς | δεῖ πωλοδάμνειν κάξομοιοῦσθαι φύσιν. See also
infr. 613,
θουρίῳ | κρατοῦντ᾽ ἐν᾿ Αρει. Others would render
ὠμοκρατής, 'mighty-shouldered,' comparing the description of Ajax in Il. 3. 227 as
ἔξοχος ᾿Αργείων κεφαλὴν ἠδ᾽ εὐρέας ὤμους !
206.
mvp-comment-154-1
θολερῷ.. χειμῶνι] 'Through a turbid storm.' The darkened mind of Ajax is compared either to the troubling of waters by a flood, or to atmospheric disturbance, as we speak of 'dirty weather.'
Cp. Ant. 420, 1,
ἐν δ᾽ ἐμεστώθη μέγας | αἰθήρ, μύσαντες δ᾽ εἴχομεν θείαν νόσον, and, for the metaphorical use of
θολερός, Aesch. Prom. 885, 6,
θολεροὶ δὲ λόγοι παίουσ' εἰκη | στυγνῆς πρὸς κύμασιν ἄτης.
207.
mvp-comment-155-1
κεῖται] • Is overthrown.'
Cp. Plat. Rep. 5. p. 451 Α,
κείσομαι, περὶ ἃ ἥκιστα δεῖ σφάλλεσθαι.
νοσήσας] ‘Having fallen into madness.' The aorist expresses the suddenness of the stroke.
208.
mvp-comment-156-1
'What heavy change from the condition of the day hath last night experienced?' This is Triclinius' explanation of
τῆς ἁμερίας, sc.
καταστάσεως. As in the case of other feminine words used substantively, we need not be precise in supplying the ellipse. Lobeck prefers
ὥρας. Ajax' condition on the previous day was lamentable enough: what new trouble has arisen during the night?
210.
mvp-comment-157-1
Τελεύταντος] The first syllable is to be scanned as long :
cp. Ἱππομέδων, Παρθένοπαῖος in Iambic verse. Others read
Φρυγίοιο for
Φρυγίου, which is questionable both as to the form of the genitive and the division of the line.
211.
mvp-comment-158-1
λέχος δουριάλωτον] ' In a spear-won marriage.'
λέχος cogn. acc.
212.
mvp-comment-159-1
στέρξας ἀνέχει] 'Having fixed his affection on thee, remains constant to thee.' The mariners accept Tecmessa as their master's choice, although they could have wished a nobler bride for him. For
ἀνέχει, see E. on L. § 52. p. 97, and
cp. Eur. Hec. 123,
Βάκχης ἀνέχων λέκτρ᾽ ᾿Αγαμέμνων: Alc. 304,
τούτους ἀνάσχου δεσπότας ἐμῶν δόμων, where the middle voice has a similar force. For cognate uses of
ἀνέχω,
cp. Fr. 146, Pind. P. 2. 163.
213.
mvp-comment-160-1
'So that you know, and can tell us what we want to know.'
ὑπό in comp. seems here to have the force of 'supplying an answer, or supplying the word that is wanting.'
Cp. ὑποκρίνομαι.
215.
mvp-comment-161-1
πάθος, as the appropriate word, is preferable to
βάρος, which may have slipped in in from
supr. 209.
217.
mvp-comment-162-1
νύκτερος] 'In the night.' Essay on L. § 23. p. 36.
218.
mvp-comment-163-1
τοιαῦτ᾽ ἂν ἴδοις] For
τοιοῦτος adducing proof, see Essay on L. § 22. p. 35 a.
220.
mvp-comment-164-1
χρηστήρια] Either (1) simply 'victims,' or (2) with superstitious reference to the
δαίμων of madness. 'Offerings demanded by his rage.'
221-232.
mvp-comment-165-1
The metrical scheme (Logaoedic, with frequent syncope) is the following...
221.
mvp-comment-166-1
ἀνδρὸς αἴθονος] ‘Concerning the fiery man.' Essay on L. § 9. p. 12, 2. If
τοι is retained in
infr. 245, we may read here
οἵαν ἐδήλωσας *κατ᾿ ἀνδρὸς αἴθονος. The short syllable in
αἴθονος is sufficiently supported by
αΐθονα occurring in Hesychius in the right alphabetical order (immediately after
αἶθον). Although
αἴθοπος (see v. rr.) may be defended, on the ground that the second part of a compound has sometimes little significance (see esp.
infr. 954,
κελαινώπαν θυμών), yet
αἴθων, which directly expresses character, is more appropriate here, and has the preponderance of MS. authority in its favour.
222.
mvp-comment-167-1
ἄτλατον οὐδὲ φευκτάν] ‘That can neither be avoided nor endured.'
225.
mvp-comment-168-1
μεγάλων] 'Terrible.' The mariners, in their feebleness (
supr. 165 foll.), are afraid of the opinion of the host. These words are added as a comment on
οὐδὲ φευκτάν. The consequences of the fact cannot be eluded, since it is known to the host, and magnified by rumour.
226.
mvp-comment-169-1
ὁ μέγας μῦθος] ‘The formidable power of rumour.'
Supr. 172,
ὦ μεγάλα φάτις. μῦθος is the rumour about this particular thing, with a suggestion of rumour in general.
ἀέξει] Not 'exaggerates,' for the evil could not be exaggerated, but, 'which the mighty power of rumour spreads abroad.'
229.
mvp-comment-170-1
περίφαντος.. θανεῖται] 'He will be discovered and will die.'
περίφαντος is explained by the words that follow,
παραπλήκτῳ χερί, κ.τ.λ. The nature of the crime defies concealment.
231.
mvp-comment-171-1
κελαινοῖς ξίφεσιν] · With darkened brand.' The plural, as in Ant. 820,
ξιφέων ἐπίχειρα, denotes the action of the sword rather than the sword itself. The epithet
κελαινοῖς, as in Trach. 856,
κελαινὰ λόγχα, suggests the colour of a sword or spear that has been much used in battle.
βοτήρας]
Supr. 27,
αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις. This fact is known to the mariners from the report of the army, not from Tecmessa.
ἱππονώμας] Either (1) because captive horses, like those of Rhesus, were included in the spoil (this might add force to
ἱππομανῆ, supr. 143), or rather (2) because the herdsmen were mounted, as might well happen where the herd was so extensive.
235.
mvp-comment-172-1
ὧν τὴν μέν] Sc.
ποίμναν. 'Whereof one part.' The plural
ὧν is equivalent to a collective
ἧς, referring to
ποίμναν supr. The force of
ἔσω ('in the tent') is continued to the subsequent clauses. For
τὴν μέν followed by
τὰ δέ, see Essay on L. § 20. p. 31.
236.
mvp-comment-173-1
πλευροκοπών δίχ᾽ ἀνερρήγνυ] 'He smote beneath the ribs and ripped asunder.' The two white-footed rams are probably Agamemnon and Odysseus. Menelaus may have been imagined to be slain in combat, while the king of men was brought away in triumph to be the object of more condign vengeance. Ll. 105 foll. leave no room to doubt that the second ram is intended by Ajax for Odysseus.
237.
mvp-comment-174-1
ἀνελών] · Having lifted,' i.e. by the forefeet.
238-239.
mvp-comment-175-1
'He sheared off and threw away (first) the tongue-tip and (then) the head.' E. on L. § 41. p. 78 β, b. The tongue, which had pronounced the judgment, the head, which was the seat of sovereignty, are the first to suffer. For
ῥιπτεῖ,
cp. Hdt. 4. 61,
ὁ θύσας, τῶν κρεῶν καὶ τῶν σπλάγχνων ἀπαρξάμενος, ῥίπτει ἐς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν.
240.
mvp-comment-176-1
‘Bound up to a pillar erect.'
ἄνω marks that the bonds were fastened from above, so as almost to suspend the creature from the ground.
241.
mvp-comment-177-1
'With a great harness-thong.'
ῥυτήρ is (1) a trace, (2) a rein, (3) any strap used in harnessing.
242.
mvp-comment-178-1
'He smites him with resounding double lash ;' i.e. He holds the thong by the middle, and plies it, thus doubled, with a whizzing noise.
243.
mvp-comment-179-1
ἃ δαίμων, κ.τ.λ.] i.e. The words gave evidence of superhuman passion.
Ср. О. Т. 1258, 9,
δαιμόνων δείκνυσί τις, οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀνδρῶν.
244.
mvp-comment-180-1
'Reviling him with evil language.'
Cp. Ant. 759,
ἐπὶ ψόγοισι δεννάσεις ἐμέ.
245.
mvp-comment-181-1
κάρα is the emendation of Triclinius for
κρᾶτα, which is in most MSS., generally with
τοι preceding: according to Hermann this was due to a mistaken metrical emendation. Reading
κάρα and retaining
τοι, we might read in
supr. 221,
οἴαν ἐδήλωσας *κατ᾿ ἀνδρὸς αἴθονος. τιν'] ἱ.ε.
ἡμᾶς. Essay on L. § 22. p. 36.
κάρα καλύμμασι κρυψάμενον] 'Veiling one's head,' either (1) in token of confusion and shame as well as sorrow.
Cp. Od. 8.92; Plat. Phaedr. 243 В. Or (2) by way of disguise.
ποδοῖν κλοπὰν ἀρέσθαι] i. e.
φυγὴν ἀρέσθαι, 'to steal away on foot.'
Cp. Eur. Or. 1499,
ἐκκλέπτειν πόδα: Rhes. 54,
αἴρεσθαι φυγήν.
247.
mvp-comment-182-1
θοὸν εἰρεσίας ζυγὸν ἑζόμενον] 'Pressing the swift rowing-bench.'
Cp. Aesch. Ag. 982,
θάρσος . . ἵζει φρενὸς φίλον θρόνον. And for the hypallage (
=θοᾶς εἰρεσίας ζυγόν), see Essay on L. § 42. p. 80.
250.
mvp-comment-183-1
ποντοπόρῳ ναὶ μεθεῖναι] 'Let the sea-faring ship go on her way.' No definite ellipse (as of
πλοῦν or
πείσματα) is to be supplied with
μεθεῖναι.
250.
mvp-comment-183-2
ματα) need be supposed. The verb 'to let go' is first used absolutely, and then again acquires a remote object, which is put in the dative. The ship is 'a thing of life.'
251.
mvp-comment-184-1
ἐρέσσουσιν] 'Launch.' Ant. 158,
μῆτιν ἐρέσσω. For the unconscious tautology,
εἰρεσίας .. ἐρέσσουσιν, see Essay on L. § 44. pp. 83, 4. The mariners think of the Atreidae as chasing them astern. The words
καθ' ἡμῶν mark that their lot is bound up with that of Ajax, a thought which is developed in the succeeding lines. The accusative
Ἄρη is in two constructions, first after
πεφόβημαι, and then with
ξυναλγεῖν, which is added in epexegesis. For
Apns of destructive violence, cp. esp. Aesch. Prom. 861, 2,
θηλυκτόνῳ | Ἄρει δαμέντων.
255.
mvp-comment-185-1
τὸν αἰσ᾿ ἄπλατος ίσχει] 'Possessed by an all-endangering doom.' The chorus long to stand by Ajax, but are deterred by his madness.
Cp. Trach. 785,
κοὐδεὶς ἐτόλμα τἀνδρὸς ἀντίον μολεῖν : ib. 797,
ὦ παῖ, πρόσελθε, μὴ φύγῃς τοὐμὸν κακόν, | μηδ' εἴ σε χρὴ θανόντι συνθανεῖν ἐμοί: ib. 1030,
ἀποτίβατος ἀγρία νόσος.
257.
mvp-comment-186-1
οὐκέτι] Sc.
ἴσχει νιν ἡ μανία. 'He may be approached with safety now.'
λαμπρᾶς, κ.τ.λ.] 'For he, like a Southern storm, after a sharp outburst, ceases to rage, and the lightning plays no more.'
ἄτερ, κ.τ.λ. is to be taken proleptically =
ὥστε ἄτερ στεροπῆς εἶναι. E. on L. § 38. p. 70. Otherwise the words might mean, 'He desists without lightning:' i.e. his violence comes to an end without doing irreparable harm.
Cp. Eur. Med. 93, 4,
οὐδὲ παύσεται | χόλου, σάφ' οἶδα, πρὶν κατασκῆψαί τινα: Shak. King John, 4. 2, 'So foul a sky clears not without a storm.' But although Tecmessa is for the moment relieved, her apprehensions are not sufficiently calmed to make this natural.
259.
mvp-comment-187-1
Φρόνιμος] Sc.
ὤν. Essay on L. § 39. Ρ. 72.
φρόνιμον (sc.
ὄντα) is a v. r. or MS. conjecture.
260.
mvp-comment-188-1
οἰκεῖα πάθη] Troubles all one's own.' i.e. both as home-felt and self-wrought.
Cp. El. 215,
οἰκείας εἰς ἄτας.
261.
mvp-comment-189-1
παραπράξαντος] «Having assisted.'
Cp. παραδράω (
οἷά τε τοῖς ἀγαθοῖσι παραδρώωσι χέρηες, Od. 15, 324).
262.
mvp-comment-190-1
μεγάλας ὀδύνας ὑποτείνει] 'Causes intense grief within.'
ὑποτείνει, 1.2.
ὑπέχει ἐντεταμένως. Cp. Pind. O1. 2. 100,
βαθεῖαν ὑπέχων μέριμναν ἀγροτέραν.
263.
mvp-comment-191-1
'But if he hath ceased' (from his madness), 'he must be surely happy.' Others take
εὐτυχεῖν impersonally, as in Oed. Tyr 88,
πάντ᾽ ἂν εὐτυχεῖν, –‘All must be well.'
264.
mvp-comment-192-1
'For trouble counts for less when it is gone.' The gen. is first absolute, and then in regimen with
λόγος.
Cp. infr. 1161, 2,
κἀμοὶ γὰρ αἴσχιστον κλύειν | ἀνδρὸς ματαίου φλαῦρ᾽ ἔπη μυθουμένου.
265.
mvp-comment-193-1
αἵρεσιν] Sc.
τούτων, viz. ll. 266, 7, which
πότερα anticipates.
266.
mvp-comment-194-1
ἔχειν]
Supr. 203.
267.
mvp-comment-195-1
κοινὸς ἐν κοινοῖσι] Essay on L. § 44. p. 83. Or to be with others and mingle your sorrow with theirs.'
ξυνών marks that while Ajax was delirious, he stood apart from the grief which others felt for him.
269.
mvp-comment-196-1
'Our case, then, since the madness left us, is grown more desperate.' Tecmessa identifies her lot with that of Ajax. Compare
infr. 791,
μῶν ὀλώλαμεν; A few lines below (273-6) she speaks of herself in the plural as contrasted with him.
272.
mvp-comment-197-1
οἶσιν. . κακοῖς] i. e.
κακοῖς ἐν οἶσιν εἴχετο. Cp. infr. 1144, 5,
ἡνίκ᾽ ἐν κακῷ | χειμῶνος εἴχετ'.
275.
mvp-comment-198-1
πᾶς ἐλήλαται] 'Is vexed to the uttermost.'
πᾶς is adverbial. See Essay on L. § 23. p. 38, and
cp. infr. 519,
ἐν σοὶ πᾶσ᾽ ἔγωγε σώζομαι. The perfect, as in
πεφόβημαι, supr. 139, expresses a completed state.
277.
mvp-comment-199-1
ἆρ'..;] Essay on L. § 29. p. 50. 'What is this but to have the sorrow doubled that before was single?' Cp. Constance in King John, 3. 4. 'I am not mad; - I would to heaven I were! For then 'tis like I should forget myself: O, if I could, what grief should I forget!'
278-279.
mvp-comment-200-1
μὴ ἐκ θεοῦ | πληγή τις ἥκει] 'That a calamity is really come from Heaven.' The chorus before admitted as a possibility (
supr. 186,
ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος) what now appears to be too certain. Hence the indicative is more forcible here, although the subjunctive (
ἥκῃ) is more regular and may be the true reading.
282-283.
mvp-comment-201-1
'In what wise lighted on you the commencement of the trouble? Tell us, who grieve with you at the misfortune, what it is.'
τύχας, continuing the notion of
κακοῦ, is governed either (1) both of
δήλωσον and of
ξυναλγοῦσιν, or (2) of
ξυναλγοῦσιν only.
284.
mvp-comment-202-1
ὡς κοινωνὸς ὤν] 'As you are no less interested.'
285.
mvp-comment-203-1
ἄκρας νυκτός] 'At dead of night.' That this, and not 'on the verge of night,' is the meaning here, appears from the context. The flames lighted at evening were burnt out, so that all was dark.
ἄκρᾳ σὺν ἑσπέρᾳ in Pind. Pyth. 11. 16, is explained by Dissen 'ad seram vesperam.'
286.
mvp-comment-204-1
Cp. Od. 18. 307,
αὐτίκα λαμπτῆρας τρεῖς ἵστασαν ἐν μεγάροισιν, | ὄφρα φαείνοιεν, περὶ δὲ ξύλα κάγκανα θῆκαν καὶ δᾷδας μετέμισγον: ib. 19. 64,
φύως ἔμεν ἠδὲ θέρεσθαι.
287.
mvp-comment-205-1
κενάς] «Objectless;' i.e. without apparent cause. Tecmessa knows little of what Ajax does abroad. But she knows that there is something strange in his going forth at night without a summons.
289.
mvp-comment-206-1
ἄκλητος is expanded with
οὔτε-οὔτε, 'neither-nor.'
291.
mvp-comment-207-1
ἀλλά] i. e. 'Instead of there being an alarm of any kind.'
292.
mvp-comment-208-1
βαί, ἀεὶ δ᾽ ὑμνούμενα] 'Few words, but to a well-known tune.' Eur. Phoen. 438,
πάλαι μὲν οὖν ὑμνηθέν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως ἐρῶ: Plat. Rep. 8. 549 D,
ὅσα φιλοῦσιν αἱ γυναῖκες περὶ τῶν τοιούτων ὑμνεῖν.
293.
mvp-comment-209-1
Cp. Fr. 61,
ἄλλως τε καὶ κόρῃ τε κἀργείᾳ γένος, | αἷς κόσμος ἡ σιγή τε καὶ τὰ παῦρ᾽ ἔπη.
294.
mvp-comment-210-1
μαθοῦσ᾽] 'When I perceived,' viz. that he was not to be reasoned with. The unusual division of the line marks the reluctant desistence of Tecmessa.
Cp. O. T. 1513, ib. 110, and notes.
295.
mvp-comment-211-1
πάθας] 'Misfortunes.' The word is used with a vague sense of the horror of a scene, in which Ajax was no less unfortunate than his victims.
297.
mvp-comment-212-1
εὔκερών τ᾿ ἄγραν] The horns of the sheep are the most conspicuous object as they are seen in front and from above. The objection 'that the bulls were also horned' is absurdly logical. There is no sufficient reason for preferring the conj.
εὔερον. The word describes all the cattle, small and great, excepting the bulls, which have been mentioned separately.
298.
mvp-comment-213-1
τοὺς μέν] The bulls.
299.
mvp-comment-214-1
ἐρράχιζε] 'Clove in twain.'
299-300.
mvp-comment-215-1
τοὺς δὲ δεσμίους | ᾐκίζεθ᾽] 'Others, as his prisoners, he tormented at his pleasure.'
ὥστε φῶτας] 'As if human creatures.'
ἐν ποίμναις πίτνων] 'Making onsets on the cattle.'
Cp. supr. 185.
301.
mvp-comment-216-1
ὑπάξας διὰ θυρῶν] 'Issuing suddenly through the doorway.'
ὑπό = 'from beneath the tent.'
σκιᾷ τινί «In converse with some shadow.' The dative as with
διαλέγεσθαι. Tecmessa, not seeing or hearing Athena, supposes Ajax to be addressing some 'bodiless creation' of his brain.
Cp. Shak. Hamlet, 3, 4, 'How is't with you, That you do bend your eye on vacancy, And with the incorporal air do hold discourse?'
302.
mvp-comment-217-1
ἀνέσπα] «Heaved forth.'
Cp. Plat. Theaet. 180 Α,
ὥσπερ ἐκ φαρέτρας ῥηματίσκια αἰνιγματώδη ἀνασπῶντες ἀποτοξεύουσιν : Αr. Ran. 903,
ῥήματα γομφοπαγή. πινακηδὸν ἀποσπῶν.
303.
mvp-comment-218-1
συντιθείς] Sc.
τοῖς λόγοις. Εp.
προστίθημι.
304.
mvp-comment-219-1
ὅσην. . ἰών] 'What insults he had gone and wreaked upon them.' This clause depends at once on
λόγους and on
γέλων. The participle adds liveliness,-'how he had gone and paid them.'
305.
mvp-comment-220-1
ἐπάξας] L. has
ἀπάξας both here and
supr. 301. Supposing this were right, the same word would be used in two different senses, 'rushing off' and 'rushing back;' but the two words,
ὑπάξας, ἐπάξας, seem more appropriate.
306.
mvp-comment-221-1
μόλις πως] ‘By slow stages.' The phrase recalls the anxiety with which Tecmessa had watched the gradual awakening.
Cp. Thuc. 8. 86, § 2,
ἔπειτα μέντοι μόλις ἡσυχάσαντες ἤκουσαν.
307.
mvp-comment-222-1
'As he cast his eye along the room, and saw that it was full of ruin.'
ἄτη is calamity caused by infatuation.
Cp. infr. 351 foll.
308-309.
mvp-comment-223-1
ἐν δ᾽ ἐρειπίοις . . ἀρνείου φόνου] 'Amidst the carnage of the flock he sate, a ruin amongst ruins.' The tautology,
ἐν ἐρειπίοις ἐρειφθείς, is here expressive. The 2nd genitive,
ἀρνείου φόνου (see Essay on L. § 23. p. 37 a), is added to give greater distinctness to
ἐρειπίοις νεκρῶν as a single notion.
310.
mvp-comment-224-1
'With clenched nails grasping his hair with his hand.'
ὄνυξι adds force to
ἀπρίξ.
311.
mvp-comment-225-1
The order (Essay on L. § 41. p. 76) shows that
πλεῖστον is an afterthought. 'For some while, indeed for most of the time.'
312.
mvp-comment-226-1
τὰ δείν᾽ . . ἔπη] 'Those dreadful words,' which I remember so vividly.
Cp. Ant. 408,
τὰ δείν᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ἐπηπειλημένοι. Not merely, 'Words that are dreadful.'
313.
mvp-comment-227-1
φανοίην] Fut. opt. Ajax' words were
εἰ μὴ φανεῖς.
314.
mvp-comment-228-1
ἐν τῷ πράγματος]
Cp. Trach. 375,
ποῦ ποτ᾽ εἰμὶ πράγματος;
315.
mvp-comment-229-1
δείσασα,] 'Being overcome with fear.' As the deprecating
φίλοι shows, Tecmessa is excusing herself to the chorus for having told Ajax, under the influence of his threats, that which only plunged him into fresh sorrow. For the participle thus used without an express object,
cp. Ant. 1005,
δείσας δ' εὐθὺς ἐμπύρων ἐγευόμην. Hermann punctuates as in the text. Others join
δείσασα τοὐξειργασμένον, which is less simple.
316.
mvp-comment-230-1
ὅσονπερ ἐξηπιστάμην] For this limitation,
cp. supr. 295,
καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖ μὲν οὐκ ἔχω λέξαι πάθας.
319-320.
mvp-comment-231-1
(1) 'He used to teach us that such complainings indicated a degraded and leaden soul.' The infinitive is added epexegetically to complete the abrupt expression
ἐξηγεῖτο τοὺς τοιούσδε γόους πρὸς βαρυψύχου ἀνδρός. For
ἔχειν, sc.
τοὺς τοιούσδε γόους, cp. Il. 18. 495,
αὐλοὶ φόρμιγγές τε βοὴν ἔχον. (2) But an inf. after
ἐξηγεῖτο is rather required:
cp. Aesch. Eum. 595,
ὁ μάντις ἐξηγεῖτό σοι μητροκτονεῖν. Can
ἔχειν with the adverbial phrase
πρὸς... ἀνδρός be used intransitively (= 'proceed from') (
εἶναι appears as a gloss), or should
ἄγειν be read, 'He taught us to esteem'?
Cp. Ant. 34,
καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμ᾽ ἄγειν | οὐχ ὡς παρ᾿ οὐδέν. For
βαρυψύχου it is possible that
βραχυψύχου ought to be read.
321.
mvp-comment-232-1
ἀλλ᾽ ἀψόφητος, κ.τ.λ.]
ἀλλά opposes what follows to the general sense of what precedes.
ἀψόφητος ὀξέων κωκυμάτων] ‘Uttering no sound of shrill lamentation.'
322.
mvp-comment-233-1
'He breathed deep groans like a lowing bull.'
ὑπὸ in comp. implies 'not loud, but deep.'
323.
mvp-comment-234-1
νῦν δ'] At first he uttered shrill lamentings, unlike the deep mutterings which before expressed his discontent. 'But now' he is silent.
κείμενος] 'Prostrate.'
Cp. supr. 207,
infr. 427.
325.
mvp-comment-235-1
ἥσυχος] « Without sound or motion.' The quietness of Ajax' present mood is ominous. This description prepares the spectator for what he is to see
infr. 346.
327.
mvp-comment-236-1
τοιαῦτα] Sc.
ὥς τι δρασείων κακόν. Tecmessa already apprehends the danger of suicide.
329.
mvp-comment-237-1
εἰσελθόντες] When Ajax is discovered by the
ἐκκύκλημα, infr. 346, this is equivalent to the scene being changed to within the hut.
330.
mvp-comment-238-1
οἱ τοιοίδε] · Men in such mood;' i. e. gloomily bent on self-destruction.
λόγοις] This word, to be joined with
φίλων, is restored from the quotation of Stobaeus. The reading of the MSS. is hardly possible.
λόγοις may have been lost from its similarity to
λέγεις in the termination of the next line, and
φίλοι may have been added to supply the gap.
331.
mvp-comment-239-1
On the order, see Essay on L. § 41. p. 77.
332.
mvp-comment-240-1
'That our hero is frenzied with his trouble.' The mariners apprehend that the madness of Ajax is in some way connected with his disappointment.
Cp. infr. 925-32.
ἡμῖν is dative of the person interested. See Essay on L. § 13. p. 19 f, and
cp. supr. 216,
ἡμὶν ὁ κλεινὸς | Αἴας ἀπελωβήθη:
infr. 733,
ἀλλ᾽ ἡμὶν Αἴας ποῦ ᾿στιν, ὡς φράσω τάδε ; κακοῖς]
Supr. 275,
infr. 532.
333.
mvp-comment-241-1
The voice of Ajax is heard from within.
334.
mvp-comment-242-1
μᾶλλον] Sc.
δεινά σοι λέξω, or
γνώσεσθε ταῦτα.
335.
mvp-comment-243-1
οἵαν] She judges from the intonation of the cry, which the chorus,
infr. 337, do not know whether to interpret as importing madness or grief.
337.
mvp-comment-244-1
ἢ τοῖς . . παρών] 'Or to grieve at witnessing the effects of past madness which remain with him.'
Cp. supr. 307. The addition of
παρών suggests that Ajax, seeing the carnage in the tent, is the eye-witness of his own madness.
339.
mvp-comment-245-1
Ajax calls upon Teucer.
παῖ is frequently addressed by an elder person to a younger, even by the Corinthian messenger to Oedipus, O. Τ. 1008, and by Electra (under excitement) to the supposed Phocian stranger, El. 1220. The picture in the Iliad, 8. 271, of Teucer retiring behind the shield of Ajax,
παῖς ὡς ὑπὸ μητέρα, suggests that Teucer was the younger brother. And it is natural to suppose Ajax to have been born before Telamon's expedition in which he won Hesione, the mother of Teucer.-According to Pindar in the fifth (or sixth) Isthmian ode, Ajax was given to Telamon in answer to the prayer of Heracles before the expedition. But in such details the legends are not constant. See O. C. 375, and note. Lycophr. 445 and schol. -The need of Teucer's presence is Ajax' first thought on coming to himself. Tecmessa at first thinks of the child, until, in l. 342, Ajax calls Teucer by name. He does not ask to see the child till l.530, after his attention has been vividly drawn that way by Tecmessa.
341.
mvp-comment-246-1
τάλαιν᾽ ἐγώ] Tecmessa is distracted between the fear of crossing Ajax and the fear of harm to the child. The division of the line helps to mark this distraction of the wife and mother.
343.
mvp-comment-247-1
λεηλατήσει] Teucer is gone foraging into the Mysian highlands,
infr. 720. Compare Thuc. 1. 11,
φαίνεται .. πρὸς γεωργίαν τῆς · Χερσονήσου τραπόμενοι καὶ λῃστείαν τῆς τροφῆς ἀπορίᾳ. ἐγὼ δ'] · While that I.'
345.
mvp-comment-248-1
κἀπ᾿ ἐμοὶ βλέψας] ‘Even at me, on seeing me.' The abrupt expression,
αἰδῶ λαβεῖν ἐπί τινι, is supplemented by the addition of the participle, i.e.
εἰς ἐμὲ βλέψας. αἰδώς is the feeling which prompts
σωφροσύνη.
346.
mvp-comment-249-1
ἐκκύκλημα. Ajax is disclosed with signs of slaughter about him. He is sitting upright. The slaughtered sheep are the evidence of his situation (
τὰ τοῦδε πράγη): his wild, dishevelled appearance betrays the condition of his mind (
αὐτὸς ὡς ἔχων κυρεῖ).
348.
mvp-comment-250-1
The lyrical numbers of this commos are chiefly dochmiac, mixed with iambic and trochaic rhythms, which increase in the third strophe and antistrophe. The scheme is the following...
348.
mvp-comment-250-2
The arrangement of the latter part of γ' is rendered doubtful by the manifest corruption of ll. 406, 7. Perhaps-
εἰ τἀμὰ μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, πάλαι· μώραις δ᾽ ἄγραισι ταῖσδ᾽ ὁμοῦ προσκείμεθα. And in the antistrophe, 424, 5,
τύδ᾽ ἐξερῶ μέγ᾽ οἷον οὔτινα Τροία στρατοῦ δέρχθη χθονὸς μολόντ' ἀπό. Or, reading
τάδε for
τά, and omitting
τοῖσδ᾽ ὁμοῦ, στρατοῦ, and
ἀπό, -
εἰ τάδε μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, πάλαι· μώραις δ᾽ ἄγραις προσκείμεθα, | πᾶς.
348.
mvp-comment-250-3
and-
ἐξερέω μέγ', οἷον οὔτινα Τροία χθονὸς δέρχθη μολόνθ' | Ἑλ.. See note on 405 foll.
348.
mvp-comment-250-4
Ajax at once perceives the mariners. 'The great rage, you see, is killed in him,' but the ground-swell of his passion is still heard.
349.
mvp-comment-251-1
μόνοι ἐμῶν φίλων] Sc.
παρόντες, or some such word, which is expanded in what follows.
350.
mvp-comment-252-1
ὀρθῷ νόμῳ] Sc.
τῷ τῆς φιλίας.
351.
mvp-comment-253-1
ἴδεσθέ μ᾽ οἷον, κ.τ.λ.]
με is to be taken (1) after
ἴδεσθε, and (2) after
ἀμφίδρομον κυκλεῖται, the latter being a picturesque expansion of
ἀμφικυκλεῖται. φοινίας ὑπὸ ζάλης] 'Lashed by a cruel storm.'
ζάλη is a squall accompanied with rain or hail. The surge surrounding Ajax is the heap of mangled victims, together with the horror which they symbolize. For the boldness of this image,
cp. El. 733,
κλύδων᾿ ἔφιππον ἐν μέσῳ κυκώμενον.
354-355.
mvp-comment-254-1
'Alas! It is clear thou art too true a witness.' The chorus do not immediately respond to Ajax: but, being horror-struck at what they see, express their reflections on the situation to Tecmessa. The description she has given is only too true. The meaning of
μαρτυρεῖν and the coldness of l. 355, as addressed to Ajax, prove this to be the right way of understanding the words.
355.
mvp-comment-255-1
ὡς ἀφροντίστως ἔχει] (1) ‘How far he is from sane,' sc.
ὁ Alas, replying to
supr. 347. Or possibly (2), sc.
τοὔργον, 'How little of sane thought is present in it.' 'Indeed, the fact declares that thought has had no part in what is done.' For the transference of a personal attribute from the agent to the act,
cp. O. C. 240, 977,
τό γ' ἆκον πρᾶγμα: Aesch. Ag. 1377,
ἀγὼν . . οὐκ ἀφροντίστως. · Notandus euphemismus pro
μανικῶς, Herm.
Cp. Shak. King Lear, 4. 6. 81, 'The safer sense will ne'er accommodate | His master thus.'
356.
mvp-comment-256-1
γένος .. τέχνας] Ο brother-band of helpers, who help by shipcraft.'
ναΐας . τέχνας is a descriptive genitive explaining
ἀρωγόν.
357.
mvp-comment-257-1
'Who didst go on board the ship and ply' (
ἑλίσσων proleptic) 'the oar of the sea,' viz. in coming to Troy. A change in the MS. reading is necessary. Some prefer to read
ὃς ἁλίαν .. ἔβας, 'Who camest plying,' etc.
ναῦν, suggested by
πλάταν, is to be supplied with
ἐπέβας.
360.
mvp-comment-258-1
(1) Ajax, although recovering his sanity, is still haunted by the impressions of the night, and the sight of the mariners reminds him of the shepherds, who had failed to defend the flock (
supr. 27,232). Begging for death from them, he bids them do what the shepherds could not. (Shak. Ant. and Cleo. 4. 14, 'Shall I do that which all the Parthian darts | Though enemy, lost aim, and could not?') 'In thee I behold the only shepherd to support the flock; come, lay me dead beside them!' This explanation has the advantage of supposing only one ellipse with both verbs, viz.
τῇ ποίμνῃ. In this case
μόνον ποιμένων is to be explained as an idiomatic expression, in which, as in
μόνος τῶν ἄλλων, the privative word has a negative force: i.e. 'You, and not the shepherds, shall avenge the sheep.'
Cp. Ant. 773,
ἔρημος.. στίβος. (The sense might be made clearer by reading
ποιμνίοις for
ποιμένων.) Others (2) suppose 'shepherds' to be put figuratively for 'comforters,' or (3) take
ποιμένων as gen. obj. = 'to defend thy lord.' Others conjecture
πημονὰν ἐπαρκέσοντ᾽, πημονῶν ἔτ᾿ ἄρκος ὄντ᾽.
363.
mvp-comment-259-1
'Do not (1) aggravate the blow of disaster;' or (2) 'Make the sorrow worse than the calamity.' For the whole sentence,
cp. Thuc. 5. 65,
κακὸν κακῷ ἱᾶσθαι: O. C. 438.
366.
mvp-comment-260-1
'Redoubtable in valour amongst harmless beasts.' For
ev,
cp. infr. 1315,
μᾶλλον ἢ ἐν ἐμοὶ θρασύς. The phrase
ἀφόβοις θηρσί is clearly an oxymoron, but has been diversely explained either as (1) 'harmless' (
τοῖς μὴ φόβον ἐμο ποιοῦσι, Schol.), or (2) 'game that flies not' ('
quibus sanus quisque parcit, non solum quia nihil periculi nobis creant sed etiam quia fidei nostrae confidunt,' Lobeck.) The former is more in point. Ajax had been valiant 'where no fear was.' His prey was even less glorious than the boar or lion, which, though not human, are still formidable.
367.
mvp-comment-261-1
οἷον] Sc.
γέλωτα. 'What insulting mockery has been heaped on me!'
369.
mvp-comment-262-1
The sight of Tecmessa, whom he must abandon, provokes Ajax to new rage. He first breaks forth on her impatiently, and then laments aloud. In what follows he is regardless both of her and the chorus.
373.
mvp-comment-263-1
ὃς χερὶ μέν] For the position of
μέν, which belongs properly to the verb, see Essay on L. § 41. pp. 78,9. The instrumental dative is used, with a fore-feeling of the latter part of the sentence, for
ἐκ χερός. Mr. Jebb understands Ajax to mean that 'he had let off the Greeks in respect of personal chastisement, and merely damaged them in property.' But this softens the antithesis too much. The difficulty may be avoided by reading (with Schndw.)
ὃς χεροῖν, and
προγύνων πάτερ in the antistrophe, l. 387.
375.
mvp-comment-264-1
The epithets here are echoes of the epic style, but possibly with some variation of meaning. 'Goodly,' which is the meaning of
κλυτός in such expressions as
κλυτὰ μῆλα (Od. 9. 308), is not sufficiently pointed here, and the Scholiast may be right in saying
κλυτὰ λέγει τὰ αἰπόλια διὰ τὰς ἐν αὐτοῖς ταραχὰς καὶ φωνάς. 'The horned kine and bleating herds of goats.'
376.
mvp-comment-265-1
'I rained forth dark-flowing blood.'
ἐρεμνόν is another Homeric epithet, not merely signifying 'dark' (and so recalling
μέλαν αἷμα), but ' darkling,' with reference to the gloom of night and other circumstances of horror which surrounded the act.
377.
mvp-comment-266-1
ὅπως οὐχ ὧδ᾽ ἔχειν]
ὅπως is here simply an indefinite
ὡs, and is construed with the infinitive as
ὡς might have been.
379.
mvp-comment-267-1
The former outburst was towards the Atreidae. He now breaks forth against Odysseus.
379.
mvp-comment-267-2
πάνθ᾽ ὁρῶν]
Cp. supr. 29, Phil. 1013, 4,
ἀλλ᾿ ἡ κακὴ σὴδιὰ μυχῶν βλέπουσ᾽' ἀεὶ | ψυχή, κ.τ.λ.
381.
mvp-comment-268-1
κακοπινέστατον.. ἄλημα στρατοῦ] 'Abominable misleader of the host.' So the Scholiast seems to understand the words,
κακοπινέστατον, 'defiled,' i. e. by continual base practices. Musgrave suggested an allusion to the act of disguising himself as a wandering beggar mentioned in Od. 4. 242 foll., but preferred to derive
ἄλημα (=
παιπάλη) from
ἀλέω. The earlier explanation is here preferable to both these, and in
infr. 390,
ἄλημα may quite well mean, 'cause of error' (
τῶν Ἑλλήνων, gl. Pal.).
Cp. the causative use of
ἄλη in Aesch. Ag. 195,
δύσορμοι | βροτῶν ἄλαι. The error of which Ajax most complains is the misjudgment about the arms of Achilles.
382.
mvp-comment-269-1
ἄγεις] 'Dost prolong.'
383.
mvp-comment-270-1
ξὺν τῷ θεῷ] The article is not added to
θεός elsewhere in Sophocles without special reason, and the conjecture of Schndw.
ξύν τοι θεῷ supplies a article of connexion. But the asyndeton is rather impressive, and
τῷ θεῷ may be explained 'the god who gives the laughter or the tears.' 'Laughter and sorrow are in the hands of God;' i. e. 'we must be patient and the position may be reversed.' The chorus reflect that the Divine power which now favours Odysseus and oppresses Ajax may hereafter work the opposite effect.
Cp. Trach. 131 foll.
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ πῆμα καὶ χαρὰ | πᾶσι κυκλοῦσιν, οἷον | ἄρκτου στροφάδες κέλευθοι.
384.
mvp-comment-271-1
The syllable which has been probably lost from this line has been variously restored,
μέν, νῦν, μήν, etc., the Triclinian reading is harmless, and is followed in the text, in the absence of better MS. authority. Ajax prays to see his enemy, that, even ruined as he is, he may avenge himself.
Cp. infr. 388-91, Trach. 1107 foll.
ἀλλ᾽ εὖ γέ τοι τύδ᾽ ἴστε, κἂν τὸ μηδὲν ὦ, | κἂν μηδὲν ἔρπω, τὴν γε δράσασαν τάδε | χειρώσομαι κἀκ τῶνδε προσμόλοι μόνον, κ.τ.λ. This is more probable than an aposiopesis of
ὀδυρόμενον.
384.
mvp-comment-271-2
or the like, though this may be suggested by comparing Phil. 1113 foll.
ἰδοίμαν δε νιν, | τὸν τάδε μησάμενον, τὸν ἴσον χρόνον | ἐμὰς λαχόντ᾽ ἀνίας.
387.
mvp-comment-272-1
προγόνων προπάτωρ] Zeus was only the great-grandsire of Ajax, but the feeling of Sophocles and his age required that the Divine source should seem more remote. For similar vagueness in speaking of the past,
cp. Ant. 981, 2, where
σπέρμα. ἀρχαιογόνων | ἄντασ᾿ Ερεχθειδᾶν is said of the grand-daughter of Erechtheus. Also
supr. 190.
390.
mvp-comment-273-1
ὀλέσσας] The
σ is doubled Epicè.
Cp. Aesch. Pers. 864,
ὅσσας δ' είλε πόλεις.
391.
mvp-comment-274-1
τέλος θάνοιμι καὐτός] Ajax desires death, but death would be sweeter if he could first be avenged on his enemies. The feeling here is slightly different from Aesch. Choeph. 438,
ἔπειτ' ἐγὼ νοσφίσας ὀλοίμαν, where the participle has an exclusive emphasis ('if I could only take their lives'), and there is no real desire of death.
394.
mvp-comment-275-1
Ajax, who had once prayed for light, now prays for darkness as his only light.
396.
mvp-comment-276-1
φαεννότατον, ὡς ἐμοί] Most brilliant, in my sight.'
Cp. Ant. 1161,
Κρέων γὰρ ἦν ζηλωτός, ὡς ἐμοί, ποτέ.
397.
mvp-comment-277-1
ἕλεσθ᾽ ἔλεσθέ μ'] In the spirit of polytheism the two names
σκότος and
έρεβος are imagined to denote two beings. Hence the plural. For the middle voice,
cp. Ο. Τ. 887,
κακά νιν ἔλοιτο μοίρα.
399.
mvp-comment-278-1
i. e.
οὐκέτι γὰρ ἄξιός εἰμι βλέπειν οὔτε εἰς θεῶν γένος οὔτε εἰς ὄνασιν τινα ἁμερίων ἀνθρώπων. For the omission of the preposition in the former clause,
cp. Ant. 789, 90,
καί σ' οὔτ᾽ ἀθανάτων φύξιμος οὐδείς, | οὔθ᾽ ἁμερίων ἐπ᾿ ἀνθρώπων : and for
βλέπειν εἰς,
cp. Ant. 922, 3,
τί χρή με τὴν δύστηνον εἰς θεοὺς ἔτι | βλέπειν; Others (see v. rr.) join
τινὰ ἀνθρώπων, making
εἰς ὅνασιν adverbial, and understand
βλέπειν with the accusative to be equivalent to
βλέπειν εἰς.
403.
mvp-comment-279-1
†ὀλέθριον αἰκίζει] The MS. reading is unmetrical, unless on the somewhat forced supposition that
εὔφρονες in the antistrophe may be scanned
ἐύφρονες. Wunder conjectured
οὔλιον, which restores the metre. But
ούλιος is everywhere active, and we can hardly venture to introduce it passively here. All that can be said is that
ὀλέθριον has probably taken the place of some equivalent word (such as
πάμμορον), unless we may be satisfied with
ὀλέθρι', the adverbial plural. Hermann's attempt to scan the two lines thus,
ἀλκίμα θεὸς ὁ λέθριον αἰκίζει, -υ-νου-ου- is unusually violent.
404.
mvp-comment-280-1
ποῖ . μενῶ] 'Whither shall I go and find rest?' The subjunctive in
φύγῃ is excused by the implication of the first person in the third.
405.
mvp-comment-281-1
The Scholion,
διὰ (τὴν κατὰ L) τὴν κρίσιν τῶν ὅπλων, is not inconsistent with the reading in the text, which admits of being construed thus, 'Seeing that things here are perishing together with these victims by my side.' But the language is at once obscure and feeble, and the metre does not agree with the antistrophe. There must be something wrong. The general meaning is, 'I am finally ruined, and at this moment am involved in ridicule and disgrace.' The simplest change is to read
τάδε μέν for
τὰ μὲν (Elmsl.), and
τίσις δ᾽ for
τοῖσδ' (Lobeck), i. e. (405-8)
εἰ τάδε μὲν φθίνει φίλοι, τίσις δ᾽ | ὁμοῦ πέλας: and (423-6)
ἐξερέω μέγ' οἷον οὔτινα Τροία στρατοῦ. But even so, there is too much of repetition for a lyric passage, and it is reasonable to suppose some deeper corruption. For example,
τοῖσδ᾽ ὁμοῦ may have grown out of
πέλας, and this may be a corruption of
πάλαι. Then supposing (with Schndw.) that
στρατοῦ and
ἀπό are excrescences in the antistrophe, we might read (405-8),
εἰ τάδε μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, πάλαι, | μώραις δ' ἄγραις προσκείμεθα, and (423-6),
εξερέω μέγ', οἷον οὔτινα | Τροία χθονὸς δέρχθη μολόνθ' | etc. See note on l. 348. But nothing can be asserted confidently about this passage. For
προσκείμεθα, cp. El. 1040,
ᾧ σὺ πρόσκεισαι κακῷ.
408.
mvp-comment-282-1
Cp. supr. 251.
δίπαλτος] «With spears in both hands' -
δύο δοῦρε παλλόμενοι. On this use of the adjective, see Essay on L. § 5.3. p. 98, also § 42. p. 80y; and
cp. esp. El. 1494,
κού πρόχειρος εἶ κτανεῖν: Aesch. Ag. 1652,
πρόκωπος.. θανεῖν. ἂν.. φονεύοι] The sentence, although introduced with
el, is continued independently of the hypothetical construction.
410.
mvp-comment-283-1
χρήσιμον] 'Serviceable,' here answers to the Epic
βοὴν ἀγαθός, ‘good at need.' The essential value of Ajax' services to the army is emphasized throughout.
Cp. esp.
supr. 119, 20.
413.
mvp-comment-284-1
πόροι ἁλίρροθοι] 'Paths of the surging sea,' i. e. either generally, or with reference to the narrow seas of the Aegean, called
πόντιαι αὐλῶνες in Trach. 100, which separated Ajax from his home; or, possibly, to the Hellespont, which had witnessed his exploits, and is called by Xerxes, in Hdt. 7.35,
ἁλμυρὸς ποταμός. Cp. infr. 884, Aesch. Pers. 367.
414.
mvp-comment-285-1
πάραλά τ᾽ ἄντρα, κ.τ.λ.] These were especially familiar to Ajax from his position at the end of the line towards Rhoeteum.
416.
mvp-comment-286-1
ἀμπνοὰς ἔχοντα] i. e. 'If you keep me here, it will not be in life.'
417.
mvp-comment-287-1
φρονῶν] ‘If he have sense to perceive.'
420.
mvp-comment-288-1
εὔφρονες ᾿Αργείοις] i.e. 'Kind to me no longer, but to my enemies.' In a different mood he afterwards (
infr. 863) bids farewell to the rivers of Troy as his nurses.
424.
mvp-comment-289-1
οἷον, κ.τ.λ.] In Homeric fashion Ajax boasts himself to be the bravest of the Greeks.
Cp. II. 18. 104, 5,
τοῖος ἐὼν οἷος οὔτις᾿ Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων | ἐν πολέμῳ. That he is the bravest next to Achilles is the Homeric tradition, and he is acknowledged to be so by his enemy Odysseus,
infr. 1341. The arrangement of this part of the antistrophe must be adapted to the change made in the strophe. See note on 405 foll. For
μέγα,
cp. Pind. Nem. 6. 45, 6,
ἔλπομαι μέγα εἰπὼν σκοποῦ ἄντα τυχεῖν.
425.
mvp-comment-290-1
The hiatus after
ἀπό at the end of the (lyric) iambic line is doubtful.
427.
mvp-comment-291-1
The reading
πρόκειται is not wholly impossible.
428.
mvp-comment-292-1
οὔθ᾽ ὅπως] Elmsley would read
οὐδ᾽, because there is no
te preceding. But this is too strict.
430.
mvp-comment-293-1
For a
ῥῆσις similarly following
μέλη ἀπὸ σκηνῆς,
cp. El. 254 foll.; Trach. 1046 foll.; O. T. 1369 foll.; O. C. 258 foll. Ajax, in his solitude (for he hardly feels the presence of Tecmessa) in passing to a more collected mood, first utters the note of sadness, and then is struck by the correspondence of the repeated syllable with his own name. Many poets have observed how the mind in moments of intense feeling becomes engaged with trifles:- 'Strange, that the mind, when fraught With a passion so intense One would think that it well Might drown all life in the eye That it should, by being so overwrought, Suddenly strike on a sharper sense For a shell, or a flower, little things, Which else would have been past by.' TENNYSON's Maud. The cry of woe,
alaî, sounds to Ajax like the reverberation of his name, and with the superstitious feeling which attached to words casually spoken, he dwells on the resemblance. 'Ay me! -Who ever could have thought that my name would thus be the appropriate expression for my woes?'
Cp. esp. Fr. 877,
ὀρθῶς δ' Ὀδυσσεύς εἰμ', ἐπώνυμος κακοῖς· | πολλοὶ γὰρ ὠδύσαντο δυσμενεῖς ἐμοί. And see Essay on L. § 44. p. 83, Lersch, Sprach-philosophie, vol. 3. pp. 3 foll.
ἐπώνυμον supplements the predication of
ξυνοίσειν, 'Agree in the way of naming.' (The conj.
ξυνάσειν, although ingenious, is quite unnecessary.)
432.
mvp-comment-294-1
δίς refers to the repetition of the syllable in
alaῖ.
433.
mvp-comment-295-1
τοιούτοις] Sc.
ὥστε πρέπον εἶναι πολλάκις αἰάζειν ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς.
434.
mvp-comment-296-1
ὅτου] For this pathetic use of
ὅστις,
cp. esp. Ο.Τ. 1184,
ὅστις πέφασμαι, κ.τ.λ. The clauses with
μέν and
dé do not quite correspond. In l. 437 the sentence passes out of the relative construction.
435.
mvp-comment-297-1
'Having won from all the host by his supreme valour the fairest prize.'
καλλιστεία can hardly be taken as equivalent to
ἀριστεῖα. It is probably used with an inaccurate sense of its derivation from
κάλλιστος: - i. e. 'the prize of beauty' is understood to mean, not the prize given to the most beautiful, but the most beautiful given as a prize. The accusative is cognate after
ἀριστεύσας, i.e.
ἀριστεύσας κάλλιστα ἀριστεία. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 214, 5,
πόλεος ἐκπροκριθεῖσ᾽ ἐμᾶς | καλλιστεύματα Λοξία.
437.
mvp-comment-298-1
The bisected line following the smooth preceding verses has a grating effect, which is here expressive.
438.
mvp-comment-299-1
For the genitive
Τροίας, see E. on L. § 10. p. 17, 6.
ἐπελθών] 'Coming in my turn.'
438.
mvp-comment-299-2
οὐκ ἐλάσσονι σθένει] In saying that he was not less in might or in achievements than Telamon, Ajax has the same feeling that is expressed by Sthenelus in the Iliad, 4. 405,
ἡμεῖς τοι πατέρων μέγ᾿ ἀμείνονες εὐχόμεθ᾽ εἶναι.
439.
mvp-comment-300-1
ἀρκέσας] «Having achieved.' In Thuc. 2. 47,
οὔτε γὰρ ἰατροὶ ἤρκουν θεραπεύοντες ἀγνοίᾳ,
ἀρκεῖν is used absolutely 'to avail.' Here in the same sense it takes a 'cognate' accusative of that in which effort is successful.
Cp. infr. 535,
τοῦτό γ᾽ ἀρκέσαι : Aesch. Pers. 278,
οὐδὲν γὰρ ἤρκει τόξα.
440.
mvp-comment-301-1
The dative is to be joined with
ἄτιμος, =
πρὸς ᾿Αργείων and
ἐν ᾿Αργείοις. The Argives are at once the agents and the witnesses of Ajax' dishonour. His mind reverts to the critical moment- the judgment of the arms.
442-443.
mvp-comment-302-1
'Were Achilles alive, and had he to decide the question of his arms and to adjudge the meed of valour to some one.'
444.
mvp-comment-303-1
αὔτ᾽]
αὐτά.
ἔμαρψεν] "Grasped.' The vivid word expresses Ajax' sense of his right to the arms, and of the violent usurpation of Odysseus.
ἄλλος ἀντ᾿ ἐμοῦ] · Another and not I.' Essay on L. § 40. p. 75, 5.
445.
mvp-comment-304-1
φωτί παντουργῷ φρένας] « Το an all-accomplished rogue.' Although
παντουργῷ is said contemptuously, it is not necessary to suppose that it has all the associations of
πανουργός. φρένας has probably an emphasis in opposition to
κράτη in l. 446. Ajax speaks with scorn of those varied mental resources of which he does not feel the need.
446.
mvp-comment-305-1
ἔπραξαν] «Made them over,' or, as we say in common parlance. 'jobbed them.'
πράσσειν often means to 'intrigue' in a bad sense.
Cp. esp. O. T. 124, 5,
εἴ τι μὴ ξὺν ἀργυρῷ ἐπράσσετ' ἐνθένδ', and note.
ἀπώσαντες] 'Setting aside my deeds of valour,' i. e. rejecting from consideration my valiant services.
447-448.
mvp-comment-306-1
διάστροφοι | γνώμης ἀπῇξαν] 'Started aside from my purpose.'
διάστροφοι is (1) supplem. predicate, or perhaps (2) =
διάστροφοι οὖσαι. Ср. supr. 258.
449.
mvp-comment-307-1
ἐψήφισαν] 'Determined by vote.' The judges would be said
ψηφίζεσθαι, 'to give their votes.' The generals, who conducted the voting, are said
ψηφίζειν, 'to manage by votes,' as Menelaus is accused of having done dishonestly,
infr. 1135. On rare uses of the active voice in Soph., see Essay on L. § 30. p. 516; § 53. p. 98.
450.
mvp-comment-308-1
Instead of
γλαυκώπις, the usual epithet for Athena, Ajax resentfully uses
γοργῶπις, with some recollection of the grim appearance of the goddess as she hounded him to the mad onset,
supr. 59, 60.
ἀδάματος is 'invincible,' not merely 'unwedded,' though the latter notion may be contained in the word.
451.
mvp-comment-309-1
ἐπευθύνοντ'] 'In act of stretching forth.' Ajax (
supr. 49) was at the tent-door of the Atreidae, and had little more to do than to stretch out his hand. The v. r.
ἐπεντύνοντα would mean 'arming,' but he was already armed.
ἐπεντείνοντα is better, but is probably a correction of
ἐπεντύνοντ',
453.
mvp-comment-310-1
τοιοίσδε is said with a rueful glance at the slaughtered animals, which in his delirium he had taken for his enemies.
455.
mvp-comment-311-1
ἐμοῦ μὲν οὐχ ἑκόντος] ‘Not with my will, indeed.' The will of Ajax is not crushed. He still protests against the Providence that has spared his foes, whom he regards as his inferiors, though they have triumphed.
457-458.
mvp-comment-312-1
ὅστις.. ἐχθαίρομαι] We are afterwards informed,
infr. 756, that the Divine anger against Ajax is not permanent. For
ὅστις, without distinct antecedent, see Essay on L. § 39. p. 72, 2.
459.
mvp-comment-313-1
πεδία τάδε] Above all, for last night's violence.
461.
mvp-comment-314-1
μόνους τ' ᾿Ατρείδας] 'And (leaving) the Atreidae to fight alone,' i. e. unsupported by Ajax, whose valour outweighs all others.
462.
mvp-comment-315-1
καί] 'Then,' 'in that case.'
καί here introduces an objection, as in
καὶ πῶς;
Cp. esp. Ant. 449,
καὶ δῆτ᾽ ἐτόλμας τούσδ᾽ ὑπερβαίνειν νόμους; ποῖον ὄμμα.. Τελαμώνι] • How shall I come before my father Telamon, and meet his eye?' As in O. Τ. 1371,
ὄμμασιν ποίοις, the adjective has an adverbial force.
464.
mvp-comment-316-1
γυμνὸν .. ἄτερ] For the pleonasm, see Essay on L. § 40. p. 75, 5.
465.
mvp-comment-317-1
'Which he won for a glorious garland of renown.'
ὧν is an appositional genitive. Essay on L. § 10. p. 17, 6.
466.
mvp-comment-318-1
ἀλλὰ δῆτ']
Cp. Phil. 1352,
ἀλλ᾽ εἰκάθω δῆτα;
467.
mvp-comment-319-1
μόνος μόνοις] 'In single opposition' =
οἰόθεν οἷος. The word is repeated for emphasis, without weighing the exact meaning. E. on L. § 44. p. 83 foll.
Cp. Shak. Cor. 1. 4. 'He is himself alone, | To answer all the city.'
469.
mvp-comment-320-1
Ajax, who has withdrawn from battle out of resentment against the Atreidae, cannot stultify himself in his last act of all.
471.
mvp-comment-321-1
τοιάδ᾽, ἀφ᾿ ἧς]
Cp. Phil. 17,
τοιάδ᾽, ἵν᾽ ἐν ψύχει, κ.τ.λ.
472.
mvp-comment-322-1
The use of
μή is occasioned by the notion of purpose which pervades the sentence.
φύσιν γ'] 'In my real nature,' though I am a craven in their estimation who have placed me beneath Odysseus. For similar emphatic use of
φύσιν,
cp. O. C. 270,
πῶς ἐγὼ κακὸς φύσιν;
473.
mvp-comment-323-1
He has sufficiently indicated his intention of suicide, and now gives his reason for it.
τοῦ μακροῦ.. βίου] The article is added as with words of number or quantity.
Cp. Ο. Τ. 518,
βίου τοῦ μακραίωνος, and for the sentiment, Fr. 867,
ὅστις γὰρ ἐν κακοῖσιν ἱμείρει βίου, ἢ δειλός ἐστιν ἡ δυσάλγητος φρένας : Plato, Phaedo 117 Α,
γέλωτα ὀφλήσειν παρ᾿ ἐμαυτῷ, γλιχόμενος τοῦ ζῆν καὶ φειδόμενος, οὐδενὸς ἔτι ἐνόντος.
474.
mvp-comment-324-1
'Who in a life of evils finds no release from them.'
κακοῖσιν is dative of circumstance. (E. on L. § 14. p. 20 a.)
Cp. Eur. Suppl. 1042,
τοῖς παρεστῶσιν κακοῖς. ἐξαλλάσσεται, sc.
τῶν κακῶν.
475-476.
mvp-comment-325-1
'For what pleasure is there in day following day? Can it add to or take away anything from death?' For the variation in
παρ᾽ ἦμαρ ἡμέρα,
cp. Ant. 596,
γενεὰν γένος : Eur. Hec. 410,
παρείαν .. παρηΐδι. The meaning is not here alternate days, but 'day after day,' i. e. the extension of time, 'To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow.'
Cp. Shak. J. C. 3. 1, 'That we shall die, we know: 'tis but the time And drawing days out, that men stand upon.'
τὸ κατθανεῖν is the fact, i.e. the certainty of death. The opposites
προσθεῖσα κάν-αθεῖσα are both mentioned, although the latter only is in point. For this,
cp. Ant. 39,
λύουσ᾽ ἂν ἡ 'φάπτουσα; and for the disjunctive
καί, Thuc. 5. 23,
ἣν δέ τι δοκῇ.. προσθεῖναι καὶ ἀφελεῖν. For the meaning,
cp. 'Come he slow or come he fast, It is but Death that comes at last.' Sir W. Sсотт, Lord of the Isles. Also El. 1485, 6,
τί γὰρ βροτῶν ἂν σὺν κακοῖς μεμιγμένων | θνήσκων ὁ μέλλων τοῦ χρόνου κέρδος φέροι; As in Pind. Οl. 7. 110,
ἂμ πάλον μέλλεν θέμεν, ἀνατιθέναι is here used in the sense of 'to retract,' in which
ἀνατίθεσθαι often occurs. The absence of personal reference accounts for the active voice being preferred to the middle, as in
supr. 449,
ἐψήφισαν:
infr. 1037,
μηχανᾶν. Essay on L. § 31. p. 51 6.
τί (or
τι) is to be resumed with the second clause, 'What pleasure can time give, by retracting what (or anything)?' Other explanations of these difficult lines are the following :-(1) 'What joy can one day bring more than another, since it can only (ye) bring a man near to death and then reprieve him from it?' (2) 'What joy is brought by day succeeding day, since all that it can do is to add something of death or to defer it?' (3) 'What joy is there in days which alternately bring near and defer the doom of death?'
477.
mvp-comment-326-1
οὐδενὸς λόγου] ‘At any valuation.'
478.
mvp-comment-327-1
κεναῖσιν] 'Vain, because rendered fruitless by the certainty of death.'
479.
mvp-comment-328-1
Cp. Il. 15. 511, where Ajax says,
βέλτερον ἢ ἀπολέσθαι ἕνα χρόνον ἠὲ βιῶναι.
481.
mvp-comment-329-1
ὑπόβλητον] 'False,' i.e. unreal and not your own.
Supr. 189,
εἰ δ᾽ ὑποβαλλόμενοι | κλέπτουσι μύθους, κ.τ.λ.
482.
mvp-comment-330-1
ἀλλὰ τῆς σαυτοῦ φρενός] 'But one proceeding from your inmost thought.'
484.
mvp-comment-331-1
γνώμης κρατήσαι] 'To overrule thy purpose.'
Cp. supr. 448,
γνώμης ἀπῇξαν τῆς ἐμῆς. In Phil. 972,
δούς is used absolutely with dat. of the person for 'yielding to advice.'
Cp. Trach. 1117,
δός μοι σεαυτόν.
485.
mvp-comment-332-1
This speech of Tecmessa's has a certain general resemblance to that of Andromache in Il. 6. 407 foll.
τῆς ἀναγκαίας τύχης] 'Helpless misfortune.'
ἀναγκαία τύχη is the crushing calamity that leaves its victim no chance of extricating himself. The phrase is touchingly expressive of Tecmessa's orphaned and captive state.
488.
mvp-comment-333-1
εἴπερ τινός] The hypothetical clause
εἴπερ τις is attracted, as a sort of pronoun, into the construction of the clause on which it depends. See E. on L. § 35. p. 60, and
cp. ἔνιοι. So in O. C. 734,
σθένουσαν.. εἴ τιν' Ἑλλάδος. For
σθένοντος ἐν πλούτῳ, cp. Pind. Isthm. 3. 2,
σθένει πλούτου; Eur. Εl. 939.
489.
mvp-comment-334-1
που] 'I suppose.'
490.
mvp-comment-335-1
μάλιστα] 'Above all.' The power of Ajax is more manifest to Tecmessa than that of the gods themselves, and she has learnt to adopt something of his bold way of speaking about them.
Cp. infr. 950-3. She knows, too, that it is dangerous in his presence to acknowledge the gods as supreme over him.
Cp. infr. 589, 90.
491.
mvp-comment-336-1
τὸ σὸν λέχος ξυνῆλθον] Sc.
σοί implied in
τὸ σόν. 'Since I came to wedlock with thee.'
εὐ φρονῶ τὰ σά] 'My thoughts are wholly for thy good.' As she is one with him, she feels that she has a right to speak of what concerns them both.
492-493.
mvp-comment-337-1
πρός τ᾽ ἐφεστίου Διὸς | εὐνῆς τε τῆς σῆς] « By Zeus who has watched over our hearth, and by my union with thee.' Tecmessa's claim rests (1) on her having been admitted by Ajax himself to share his home; (2) on the yet closer tie which binds them together.
493.
mvp-comment-338-1
'And by thy marriage bed wherein thou wast joined with me.' For
τῆς σῆς,
cp. Il. 18. 433; Od. 4. 333.
ξυναλλάξασθαι is here 'to enter upon a new relation with.'
Cp. especially Eur. Ι. Α. 1157,
οὗ σοι καταλλαχθεῖσα, κ.τ.λ.
494.
mvp-comment-339-1
μή μ᾿ ἀξιώσῃς] 'Have more regard for me than to let me.'
βάξιν] For
βάζειν, of ill-natured talk,
cp. Hes. Op. 184,
τοὺς δ᾽ ἄρα μέμψονται χαλεποῖς βάζοντες ἔπεσσι: (Eur.) Rhes. 718,
ἑστίαν ᾿Ατρειδᾶν κακῶς | ἔβαζε.
495.
mvp-comment-340-1
χειρίαν ἐφεὶς τινί] 'Letting me fall under the hand of some one.'
Cp. infr. 1297,
ἐφῆκεν ἐλλοῖς ἰχθύσιν διαφθοράν.
496.
mvp-comment-341-1
εἰ γὰρ θάνῃς σύ]
Cp. Ο. C. 1443,
εἴ σου στερηθῶ. Some editors have unnecessarily changed
ei to
ᾖ. For
ταύτῃ, in l. 497, without pronominal correlative,
cp. Trach. 719, 20,
κεῖνος εἰ σφαλήσεται, | ταύτῃ σὺν ὁρμῇ κἀμὲ συνθανεῖν ἅμα. The slight inexactness is here supplemented by the addition of
τῇ τότε. ἀφῆς] Sc.
ἡμᾶς.
499.
mvp-comment-342-1
δουλίαν .. τροφήν] 'The life of slaves.' For the condition of the captive widow,
cp. Od. 8. 526 foll.
ἡ μὲν τὸν θνήσκοντα καὶ ἀσπαίροντ᾽ ἐσιδοῦσα, | ἀμφ᾿ αὐτῷ χυμένη λίγα κωκύει· οἱ δὲ τ' ὄπισθεν | κόπτοντες δούρεσσι μετάφρενον ἠδὲ καὶ ὤμους, | εἴρερον εἰσανάγουσι πόνον τ' ἐχέμεν καὶ ὀϊζύν· | τῆς δ᾽ ἐλεεινοτάτῳ ἄχεῖ φθινύθουσι παρειαί, and for that of the orphan, Il. 22. 490,
ἦμαρ δ᾽ ὀρφανικὸν παναφήλικα, κ.τ.λ.
500.
mvp-comment-343-1
πρόσφθεγμα here is what is spoken not
to, but
at or
about a person.
501.
mvp-comment-344-1
λόγοις ἰάπτων] 'Hitting with sharp words.' The construction follows the analogy of
βάλλειν τινὰ λίθῳ.
502.
mvp-comment-345-1
μέγιστον ἴσχυσε] 'Surpassed all men in might.' So the force of the aorist may be expressed.
503.
mvp-comment-346-1
οἷας λατρείας] 'What a life of servitude.' The plural indicates the various menial actions included in
λατρείας. ἀνθ᾽ ὅσου ζήλου] 'Instead of being so envied as she was.'
ζῆλος in the sense of an envied condition occurs several times in Demosthenes. See L. and S. s. v.
504.
mvp-comment-347-1
κἀμὲ μὲν δαίμων ἐλᾷ] ‘And I indeed shall go whither destiny shall drive me.' Tecmessa means to say that her lot, however terrible, matters little, but that the honour of Ajax and his race is in question.
508.
mvp-comment-348-1
κληρούχον] 'Inheritress,' i. e. possessor. The specific word is used with a generic meaning. Essay on L. §52. p. 97.
510.
mvp-comment-349-1
εἰ] 'To think how.' Essay on L. § 28. p. 46.
510-511.
mvp-comment-350-1
νέας.. μόνος] ‘With his young life uncared for, bereaved of you, either (1) 'he will live his life' (see L. and S. s. v.
διαφέρω), or (2) ‘he will be torn in pieces' (=
διαφορηθήσεται). Against (1), which is the Scholiast's and Musgrave's interpretation, it may be urged that
ὑπ᾿ ὀρφανιστῶν = ' at the mercy of guardians,' is rather abrupt after
διοίσεται in this sense, and that the only authority for this use of the middle voice of
διαφέρω is Hippocrates, Art. 823: against (2), which is substantially Hermann's, it can only be said that strictly passive uses of
οἴσομαι are rare. Hesychius and the ancient scholiast support (1). For (2)
cp. Dem. contr. Steph. p. 1120, 64,
ἐπειδὴ δ᾽ ἀπώλετ᾽ ἐκεῖνος, οὐχ ἥκιστα ὑπὸ τούτου καὶ τῶν τοιούτων διαφορηθείς. For
νέα τροφή,
cp. Ο. C. 345, 6,
ἐξ ὅτου νέας | τροφῆς ἔληξε καὶ κατίσχυσεν δέμας.
512.
mvp-comment-351-1
ὑπ᾿ ὀρφανιστῶν μὴ φίλων] Tecmessa bitterly remarks that the only guardians of Eurysaces' orphanhood will not be true guardians, but enemies.
ὅσον κακόν, κ.τ.λ.] These words resume the suppressed antecedent of the hypothetical clause,
εἰ νέας, κ.τ.λ.
516.
mvp-comment-352-1
'And another doom,' etc.; i.e. they were not slain in the destruction of the city.
Cp. II. 6. 428. The correction from
καὶ μητέρ᾽ ἀλλ᾽ ἡ το
καὶ μητέρ᾽ ἄλλη, is not without MS. authority, and is every way necessary; above all as Sophocles thus avoids making Ajax the slayer of Tecmessa's parents. But Hermann's suggestion that a line may have dropped out between 515 and 516, deserves consideration. As he points out,
dé rather than
καί would seem to be the natural conjunction as the sentence stands.
517.
mvp-comment-353-1
θανασίμους is proleptic: 'Laid them low in death and made them inhabitants of the unseen world.'
518-519.
mvp-comment-354-1
τίς . . πλοῦτος] « What home or what wealth could be mine instead of you?'
518.
mvp-comment-355-1
can e'er be mine to compensate for thee? What fortune?'
519.
mvp-comment-356-1
ἐν σοὶ πᾶσ᾽ ἔγωγε σώζομαι] 'My hopes all rest on thee.' For this use of
wâs, see Essay on L. § 23. p. 38; and
cp. supr. 275.
520.
mvp-comment-357-1
Tecmessa, from l. 505 onwards, has tried to put herself out of sight, and to move Ajax by appealing to other interests. But in concluding she returns to the direct personal appeal with which she began. And when this fails to rouse him, she even ventures a word of affectionate reproach.
525-526.
mvp-comment-358-1
For
av repeated, see Essay on L. § 27. p. 46 e.
527-528.
mvp-comment-359-1
The alliteration with T helps to express harshness here. Ajax will not own to feeling pity for Tecmessa, but catches at the word
αἰνοίης.
528.
mvp-comment-360-1
ἐὰν.. τολμᾷ] Ajax is not thinking of the fears which Tecmessa presently expresses. He simply means, 'I am ready enough to praise her if instead of weak complaints she will bring herself to do what I command.'
531.
mvp-comment-361-1
'Oh, it was in my terror-I conveyed him out of the way.' Tecmessa is divided between obedience and fear, and interposes an excuse. The particles,
καὶ μὴν.. γε, call attention to something which tends to limit or delay compliance. 'Why, so I can, Sir, but-' (Othello, 3. 4).
Cp. Ο. Τ. 749,
καὶ μὴν ὀκνῶ μέν:
infr. 539.
532.
mvp-comment-362-1
By using the general word
κακοῖσιν, Ajax avoids specifying the evil, which is too manifest.
τί μοι λέγεις;] 'What mean you, pray?'
Cp. O. T. 954,
τί μοι λέγει;
μοι here expresses impatience.
533.
mvp-comment-363-1
Tecmessa cannot withhold the truth from Ajax.
Cp. supr. 315.
534.
mvp-comment-364-1
'That truly would have been in character with my destiny.' The descriptive genitive (=
πρὸς δαίμονος τουμοῦ) takes the place of the more usual dative after the participle.
Cp. Plat. Polit. 271 Ε,
τῆς τοιαύτης .. κατακοσμήσεως ἑπόμενα.
535.
mvp-comment-365-1
'Well, my watchfulness did that service at any rate.' Join
τοῦτο with
ἀρκέσαι, ἱ.ε.
τὸ μὴ θανεῖν σφε.
536.
mvp-comment-366-1
ἐπῄνεσ'] For this use of the aorist, see Essay on L. § 32, 6. p. 55. Ajax still speaks as a master to a slave, but he feels to the full extent the service rendered in saving the life of his son.
537.
mvp-comment-367-1
Tecmessa remains irresolute, till, in 540, Ajax' anger begins to rise.
540.
mvp-comment-368-1
παρουσίαν ἔχειν = παρεῖναι. So in Ant. 237,
ἔχεις ἀθυμίαν = ἀθυμεῖς, and
supr. 139,
ὅκνον ἔχω = ὀκνῶ.
541.
mvp-comment-369-1
προσπόλων] For this partitive genitive, see Essay on L. § 10. p. 15.
542.
mvp-comment-370-1
ὅσπερ κυρεῖς] These words indicate that the child cannot yet go alone.
543.
mvp-comment-371-1
ἕρποντι] Sc.
τῷ προσπόλῳ, i.e. 'Does he come when you speak?' Essay on L. § 42. p. 80 β.
ἢ λελειμμένῳ λόγων] 'Or do your words not reach to him?'
545.
mvp-comment-372-1
αἶρε δεῦρο] «Lift him hither.' Said to the attendant who brings in the child, and is to hand him to Ajax over the carcases of the sheep, etc.
ταρβήσει γὰρ οὔ] Essay on L. § 41. p. 78 γ.
546.
mvp-comment-373-1
For the late position of
που, see Essay on L. § 26. p. 44. It is occasioned by the energy with which the emphatic words
ταρβήσει.. οὗ are brought into prominence. Dindorf would read
τοῦτόν γε, supposing the whole line to be an interpolation. But this is gratuitous, and the excision of the line leaves a sensible gap in the sense.
547.
mvp-comment-374-1
δικαίως] 'Truly;' i. e. 'in a manner rightly answering to the description.'
Cp. Ο. Τ. 853,
φανεί δικαίως ὀρθών: Trach. 1158,
φανεῖς ὁποῖος ὢν ἀνὴρ ἐμὸς καλεῖ. In this speech, as well as
supr. 487 foll., there is a resemblance to the sixth Iliad (see esp. ll. 476-481).
548.
mvp-comment-375-1
ἀλλά opposes what follows (though not in strict logic) to the preceding negative.
ὠμοῖς .. ἐν νόμοις πατρὸς .. πωλοδαμνεῖν] Το train him, like a young colt, in his father's rugged ways.' For
ὠμοῖς, cp. supr. 205,
ὠμοκρατής, and note. And for
νόμοις, Ant. 191,
τοιοῖσδ᾽ ἐγὼ νόμοισι τήνδ' αὔξω πόλιν. Essay on L. § 47. p. 88.
549.
mvp-comment-376-1
κἀξομοιοῦσθαι φύσιν] ‘And that he should have his nature framed by mine.' For the change of subject, see Essay on L. § 36. p. 65 d.
552.
mvp-comment-377-1
καὶ νῦν] · Even now, before your lot in life has been determined for good or evil.'
553.
mvp-comment-378-1
'That you have no perception of this misery.'
554.
mvp-comment-379-1
This line, although quite possibly Sophoclean, has the appearance of a marginal quotation rather than of an integral portion of the text of this passage. It is probably from some lost play, and should be placed amongst the fragments of Greek tragic poetry.
556-557.
mvp-comment-380-1
δεῖ σ᾽ ὅπως .. δείξεις] «You must find some way of showing.' The same construction recurs in Phil. 55,
τὴν Φιλοκτήτου σε δεῖ | ψυχὴν ὅπως λόγοισιν ἐκκλέψεις λέγων.
557.
mvp-comment-381-1
ἐν ἐχθροῖς] For the use of
ἐν,
cp supr. 366, and note.
558.
mvp-comment-382-1
κούφοις πνεύμασιν βόσκου] 'Be nourished by gentle breezes,' like a sapling in a sheltered spot. Plants were supposed to feed upon the air. Dio Chrys. Orat. 12, 30 (quoted by Lobeck),
τρεφόμενοι τῇ διηνεκεῖ τοῦ πνεύματος ἐπιρροῇ, ἀέρα ὑγρὸν ἕλκοντες, ὥστε νήπιοι παῖδες. Cp. Trach. 144 foll.
τὸ γὰρ νέαζον ἐν τοιοῖσδε βόσκεται | χώροισιν, κ.τ.λ.
559.
mvp-comment-383-1
χαρμονήν is accus. in apposition. Essay on L. § 17. p. 25 d.
562.
mvp-comment-384-1
τοῖον, κ.τ.λ.] Essay on L. § 22. p. 36. 3. The absence of the demonstrative ending (
τοιόνδε or
τοιοῦτον) may arise from the fact that Teucer is absent, and that Ajax is speaking of the future.
562.
mvp-comment-384-2
ἀμφί σοι] Τo protect thee.'
ἀμφί as in
ἀμφιβαίνειν, etc.
563.
mvp-comment-385-1
τροφῆς ἄοκνον] 'Unfaltering in care for thee.'
τροφῆς is gen. of respect. Essay on L. § 9. p. 13, 3.
ἔμπα κεἰ]
ἔμπα does not occur elsewhere in Attic Greek.
Cp. Pind. N. 4. 58,
ἔμπα, καί περ ἔχει, κ.τ.λ.
564.
mvp-comment-386-1
τηλωπός] 'Far away.' The latter part of the compound is subordinated.
οἰχνεῖ] 'He is wandering.'
οἰχνέω, as a derivative of
οἴχομαι, seems to have a frequentative force.
θήραν ἔχων] · Engaged in pursuit.' A periphrasis like
ἔχομεν στοναχάς, supr. 203.
565.
mvp-comment-387-1
Confident in the return of Teucer, Ajax bids his comrades give this charge to him. They recall the fact afterwards, l. 990. He also urges them to do their part, l. 566.
566.
mvp-comment-388-1
κοινήν] i.e. 'As well as to him.'
569.
mvp-comment-389-1
Ἐριβοíą λέγω] Sc
ὅπως δείξει. This has been unnecessarily altered to
Ἐριβοίαν λέγω. Ajax dwells affectionately on his mother's name. Eurysaces is to honour her, and not Hesione.
Cp. Pind. Isthm. 5 (6). 65,
παῖδα θρασὺν ἐξ Εριβοίας.
571.
mvp-comment-390-1
μέχρις οὐ, or
μέχρι οὗ, occurs in Hdt. 1. 180; 2. 19, where the phrase has the force of a single word. This may suggest a possible excuse for the appearance of a divided anapaest, which has caused the rejection of the line in some edd. It may possibly have been interpolated or quoted (
cp. supr. 554) to supplement the vague use of
εἰσαεί. But the words are impressive, and the alleged flaw may be remedied by reading
ἕως or
ἔστ᾽ ἄν for
μέχρις οὗ.
572.
mvp-comment-391-1
ἀγωνάρχαι] 'Presidents of contest,' such as the Atreidae had been.
573.
mvp-comment-392-1
θήσουσ'] Sc.
ὡς ἆθλα. The future follows
ὅπως, supr. 567.
ὁ λυμεὼν ἐμός] On this position of the possessive pronoun, see Essay on L. § 23. p. 37.
574.
mvp-comment-393-1
αὐτό] The pronoun anticipates
σάκος, which, as the most important piece of armour, is contained in
τεύχη. For similar uses of
αὐτός,
cp. Plat. Soph. 256 D,
ὁμολογήσαντες αὐτὰ εἶναι πέντε: 263 Ε,
καὶ μὴν ἐν λόγοις αὐτὸ ἴσμεν ὅν. ἐπώνυμον] · Whence thou art named.'
575-576.
mvp-comment-394-1
The epithet shows that the
πόρπαξ was not of metal, but of embroidered leather.
Cp. Eur. Tro. 1196,
ὡς ἡδὺς ἐν πόρπακι σὸς κεῖται τύπος.
577.
mvp-comment-395-1
κοινά may be either (1) adverbial. as in Ant. 546,
μή μοι θάνῃς σὺ κοινά, or (2) predicative, agreeing with
τεύχη, probably the latter (2).
579.
mvp-comment-396-1
ἐπισκήνους] 'Before the tent,' =
ἐπὶ σκηναῖς, supr. 3, and so 'in public.'
580.
mvp-comment-397-1
φιλοίκτιστον] i.e.
φιλοῦν τὸ οἰκτίζεσθαι, in the sense of inviting commiseration. 'A woman is a very tearful creature.'
581.
mvp-comment-398-1
'To whine faint charms over a wound that cries out for the knife.' The desiderative, =
τομὴν αἰτοῦντι, here implies the passive meaning of the verbal noun. For the use of charms in assisting surgery,
cp. Od. 19. 456-8,
ὠτειλὴν δ' Ὀδυσῆος ἀμύμονος, ἀντιθέσιο, | δῆσαν ἐπισταμένως· ἐπαοιδῇ δ᾽ αἷμα κελαινὸν | ἔσχεθον· αἶψα δ' ἵκοντο φίλου πρὸς δώματα πατρός.
583.
mvp-comment-399-1
τήνδε τὴν προθυμίαν] ‘This earnest haste,' viz. the impatience of Ajax to be alone.
Cp. supr. πύκαζε θάσσον.
586.
mvp-comment-400-1
μὴ κρίνε] 'Interrogate not.' Sc.
με.
Cp. Ant. 399 and note.
σωφρονεῖν καλόν) 'Discretion is the better part.' One of the gruff maxims (
βαῖ, ἀεὶ δ᾽ ὑμνούμενα, supr. 292) with which Ajax checks the importunity of Tecmessa's affection.
Cp. Il. 6. 490,
ἀλλ᾽ εἰς οἶκον ἰοῦσα τὰ σ᾽ αὐτῆς ἔργα κόμιζε.
587.
mvp-comment-401-1
καί σε] The conjunction here has a strong pleading force. 'Nay, I entreat thee,' etc. For a somewhat similar transition with
καί,
cp. supr. 11,
καί σ᾽ οὐδὲν εἴσω τῆσδε, κ.τ.λ.
588.
mvp-comment-402-1
προδοὺς .. γένῃ] 'Be guilty of forsaking us.' Phil. 773,
μὴ σαυτόν θ' ἅμα | κἄμ', ὄντα σαυτοῦ πρόστροπον, κτείνας γένῃ.
589.
mvp-comment-403-1
ἄγαν γε λυπεῖς] 'You vex me exceedingly.' These words in Ajax, as in Creon, Ant. 573, show that his feelings are touched more deeply than he chooses to avow.
ἐγὼ θεοῖς .. ἔτι] 'I am no longer bound to serve the gods in aught.' If the gods have cast Ajax off, then he 'owes them no subscription.' The position of the words
ἐγὼ θεοῖς οὐδέν is very emphatic. Essay on L. § 41. p. 78.
ἀρκεῖν, in the sense of
praestare, governs an accusative here, as
supr. 439,535.
593.
mvp-comment-404-1
ξυνέρξετε] 'Shut us in.' This is said to the attendants (
supr. 544). They close the doors on Ajax, who is drawn in by the reversed
ἐκκύκλημα. Tecmessa and Eurysaces, perhaps, remain upon the stage.
595.
mvp-comment-405-1
ἄρτι] 'At this moment, of all others. Now all of a sudden.'
596.
mvp-comment-406-1
While Ajax within the tent is silently whetting his sword (
infr. 820), the chorus express their longing for Salamis, his home and theirs, and their sorrow for the condition of their lord. 'What grief the news will cause to Telamon and Eriboea!' In this ode, the first stasimon, iambic, glyconic, and trochaic rhythms are combined...
596.
mvp-comment-406-2
ὦ κλεινά] By an anachronism like that noticed in O. C. 58,
ἔρεισμ' ᾿Αθηνῶν, the glory of Salamis is anticipated.
Cp. also
infr. 861, and note. In Hdt. 7. 143, Themistocles argues from the words
ὦ θείη Σάλαμις, in the Pythian response, that the Athenians were to be victorious there.
596-597.
mvp-comment-407-1
σὺ . . ναίεις] «Thou, I know, remainest.'
που] The indefinite word is pathetically used of what they imagine but may not see.
ἁλίπλακτος] There is little doubt of the propriety of this reading.
Cp. Aesch. Pers. 307,
θαλασσόπληκτον νῆσον Αίαντος. Yet
ἁλίπλαγκτος might possibly mean 'wandered round by the billow.'
599.
mvp-comment-408-1
The inhabitants of Salamis, which lay off Piraeus and in the 'cheer and comfort' of Athenian eyes, might well feel as if they were observed of all observers, and would have a still deeper feeling of pride and patriotism when, from 480 B.C. onwards, their native place became the eye of the world.
περίφαντος may then be taken to imply the renown as well as the conspicuous position of the island.
600.
mvp-comment-409-1
παλαιὸς ἀφ᾽ οὐ χρόνος] « Since many a long day.' This phrase takes the place of an adverb with
εὐνῶμαι, or whatever is the principal verb.
601.
mvp-comment-410-1
†Ἰδαίᾳ μίμνων λειμώνια †ποίᾳ] The manifest corruption in these words seems to be incurable. Neither Hermann's
Ἰδαῖα μίμνω λειμώνι᾽ ἄποινα ('Ι wait for my reward in Trojan meadows'), nor Bergk's
Ἰδῷδι μίμνω χειμῶνι πόᾳ τε ('I abide winter and summer in the Trojan land'), can be admitted as probable. Mr. Paley, adopting
λειμώνι᾽ ἔπαυλα from Seyffert, changes
εὐνύμαι to
ἐνναίων. Without dogmatizing on a point of great uncertainty, I would propose
Ἰδαῖα μίμνων λειμώνι᾿ *ὕπαιθρα, *μηνῶν (Herm.)
ἀνάριθμος αἰὲν *εὐνῶμαι (Bergk), 'Abiding out-door hardships in moist Trojan fields, I make my bed there, months without number.'
ποίᾳ may be due to the association of
λειμώνια, and a further association may have converted
μηνῶν into
μήλων. The metre a' 4. 5 is then the same as in ß' 1, 2. A similar feeling is more fully expressed
infr. 1185-1210.
Cp. especially ll. 1206-10,
κεῖμαι δ' ἀμέριμνος οὕτως, | ἀεὶ πυκιναῖς δρόσοις | τεγγόμενος κόμας, | λυγρᾶς μνήματα Τροίας. In both places the chorus complain at once of irksome exposure and of a life of inaction.
Cp. also Aesch. Agamemnon, ll. 558 foll.,
τὰ δ' αὐτε χέρσῳ καὶ προσῆν πλέον στύγος εὐναὶ γὰρ ἦσαν δαΐων πρὸς τείχεσιν. | ἐξ οὐρανοῦ δὲ κἀπὸ γῆς λειμώνιαι | δρόσοι κατεψέκαζον, ἔμπεδον σίνος | ἐσθημάτων, τιθέντες ἔνθηρον τρίχα. The Trojan meadows are contrasted with the rocky ground of Salamis.
Cp. also Fr. 477, where Menelaus says contemptuously to Agamemnon, who proposes to remain at Troy,
σὺ δ᾽ αὖθι μίμνων που κατ᾿ Ἰδαίαν χθόνα | ποίμνας Ὀλύμπου συναγαγὼν θυηπόλει.
604.
mvp-comment-411-1
†μηλῶν. Τεὐνόμᾳ] 'I make my bed months without number.' For
μηνῶν ἀνήριθμος, cp. El. 232,
ἀνάριθμος ὧδε θρήνων. Hdt. 9. 3,
ἡ δὲ βασιλέος αἵρεσις ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίην. ἐπιστρατηΐην δεκάμηνος ἐγένετο. The Schol. explains
εὐνόμᾳ by
εὐκινήτῳ ('fleeting time'), and the Triclinian MSS. have
εὐνώμᾳ. For
εὐνᾶσθαι, of keeping watch,
cp. O. C. 1568 foll.,
ἀνικάτου | θηρός, ὃν ἐν πύλαισι | φασὶ πολυξέστοις | εὐνᾶσθαι.
605.
mvp-comment-412-1
*πόνῳ for
χρόνῳ (Martin) is a probable conjecture, as
χρόνῳ is weak after
παλαιὸς ἀφ᾽ οὗ χρόνος, and
xp may have come from the
τρ of
τρυχόμενος.
606.
mvp-comment-413-1
κακὰν ἐλπίδ᾽ ἔχων]
ἐλπίς is not here used in the indifferent sense of an expectation; but the phrase is an oxymoron; 'a hope that is a kind of despair.'
607-608.
mvp-comment-414-1
'Some day yet to win my way to Hades, the abhorred and dark.'
ἀΐδηλον] · Unillumined' rather than 'destroying.' Essay on L. §§ 53. pp. 98.9.
609-611.
mvp-comment-415-1
'And I have Ajax on my hands, defying treatment, fixed in the tent, where Heaven-sent madness dwells with him.'
610.
mvp-comment-416-1
ἔφεδρος] 'Fixed at my side.' Ajax had remained sitting throughout the previous scene. He had rejected the solicitations of his friends, and apparently returned to his sullen inaction within the tent. Instead of being their hope and pride, he was now an irremovable burden.
Cp. supr. 194 foll.,
ἀλλ᾽ ἄνα ἐξ ἑδράνων, κ.τ.λ. The interpretation of the ancient Scholiast, 'Ready to assail me when other evils are subdued' (an application of the technical use of
ἔφεδρος with reference to contests), is untenable.
μανίᾳ includes the evidence of Ajax's madness, which is still within the tent.
Supr. 337, 8.
613.
mvp-comment-417-1
φρενός οἰοβώτας] 'Feeding his will apart;' i. e. either (1) referring to the wilful solitary raid described by Tecmessa,
supr. 285 foll.: or (2), as Prof. Jebb explains it, 'One who broods sullenly apart, as did Ajax before the outbreak of his frenzy.' Not 'feeding on his own thoughts' (L. and S.), but 'pasturing his heart on lonely paths.'
615.
mvp-comment-418-1
(1) 'He has proved a mighty sorrow to his friends.'
Cp. Trach. 1075,
θήλυς εὕρημαι τάλας: Aesch. Pers. 743,
νῦν κακῶν ἔοικε πηγὴ πᾶσιν εὑρῆσθαι φίλοις. But
πένθος is not elsewhere used of a person, and it is possible that
εὕρηται may have a middle signification: (2) 'He has procured a mighty sorrow for his friends.' See Veitch, Gr. Irr. V. s. v.
εὑρίσκω.
617.
mvp-comment-419-1
μεγίστας ἀρετᾶς] 'Evincing' (or 'proceeding from') 'supreme valour.'
620-621.
mvp-comment-420-1
'Are fallen to the ground, coldly neglected by the cold, infatuate kings.'
παρά is used as in
παρὰ δικάσταις, etc.; L. and S. s. v.
παρά, Β. ΙΙ. 3. For
πίπτειν, “To come to nought,'
cp. Hdt. 7. 18,
οἷα ἄνθρωπος ἰδὼν ἤδη πολλά τε καὶ μεγάλα πεσόντα πρήγματα ὑπὸ ἡσσόνων.
621.
mvp-comment-421-1
For the reproachful tone in
μελέοις,
cp. infr. 1156,
ἄνολβον: Hdt. 7. 140,
ὦ μέλεοι, τί καθῆσθε, κ.τ.λ.
622-623.
mvp-comment-422-1
παλαιᾷ .. γήρᾳ] 'His mother sunk in years and overtaken by hoary eld.' The opposition with
μέν and
δέ is merely rhetorical. Not
ἔντροφος, but some simpler word, such as
οὖσα, is to be supplied with
γήρᾳ, which is dative of circumstance. Essay on L. § 11. p. 18 c.
λευκὰ δὲ γήρᾳ is a plausible but needless correction.
625-626.
mvp-comment-423-1
νοσοῦντα | φρενομόρως] «Fatally afflicted in his mind.' Although the madness of Ajax is relieved, its ZZZZconsequences remain, and he is to be slain not by his madness, but for it.
625-626.
mvp-comment-423-2
effects are permanent, and his despair is no less a mental affliction than his madness was.
626.
mvp-comment-424-1
αἴλινον αἴλινον] This word is governed by a verb, for which
ἥσει is substituted as the sentence proceeds.
627.
mvp-comment-425-1
οὐδέ] 'But not.' The 'instant burst of clamour' Eriboea would make is contrasted with the sustained melodious wailing of the nightingale, to which such continuous mourning as that of Electra is fitly compared,-El. 107.
628.
mvp-comment-426-1
ὄρνιθος ἀηδοῦς]
Cp. Ant. 423, 4,
πικρᾶς | ὄρνιθος ὀξὺν φθόγγον.
631-634.
mvp-comment-427-1
χερόπληκτοι .. δοῦποι] 'Noise of smiting hands.'
πλήσσειν δοῦπον, «Το make a noise in smiting' would be a legitimate cognate accusative. Hence the passive form. Essay on L. § 53. p. 98.
633.
mvp-comment-428-1
ἐν.. πεσοῦνται] i. e.
ἐμπεσοῦνται.
634.
mvp-comment-429-1
πολιᾶς *ἄμυγμα χαίτας] Sc.
ἐγγενήσεται, or some general notion resumed from the preceding verb.
635.
mvp-comment-430-1
For
῞Αιδα κεύθων, cp. Il. 23. 244,
εἰσόκεν αὐτὸς ἐγὼν ῎Αϊδι κεύθωμαι. Elmsley needlessly corrected
γὰρ Ἅιδᾳ to
παρ' Ἅιδα. ὁ νοσῶν μάταν] (1) - 'One hopelessly afflicted.'
μάταν (as in O. C. 1567,
πολλῶν γὰρ ἂν καὶ μάταν | πημάτων ἱκνουμένων, | πάλιν σε δαίμων δίκαιος αὔξοι) means 'with no good end.' Others take
μάταν here to mean, (2) ‘idly,' i. e. 'with idle or vain imaginations;' comparing Ar. Pax 95,
τί πέτει; τί μάτην οὐχ ὑγιαίνεις; Either is possible.
637-638.
mvp-comment-431-1
ὃς .. ᾿Αχαιών] 'Who, by the family from which he came, was, and proved to be, the noblest of the toilworn Achaeans.'
ἐκ is at once 'because of' and 'in accordance with.'
ἥκων is used in a double sense: 'Come forth from his father's home,' and 'Come forth,' i. e. 'proved, as bravest.' Ср. О. Т. 1519,
ἔχθιστος ἥκω.
ἄριστος was found by Triclinius in an 'old' MS., but may be merely due, as Blaydes remarks, to the words of the Scholiast,
ἄριστα ἥκων· λείπει γὰρ τὸ ἄριστος. Another possible reading is
ἄριστα. πολυπόνων]
Infr. 1186 foll.
639-640.
mvp-comment-432-1
'No longer remains in his habitual frame of mind, but abides outside of it,' i.e. he is no longer in his mind, but out of his mind. For this somewhat strained oxymoron,
cp. Eur. Hipp. 102,
πρόσωθεν αὐτὴν ἁγνὸς ὡν ἀσπάζομαι: Aesch. Pers. 756,
ἔνδον αἰχμάζειν : also Ant. 773,
ἔρημος ἔνθ᾽ ἂν ῇ βροτῶν στίβος, where the privative
ἔρημος is equivalent to a negative.
641.
mvp-comment-433-1
As his mother will utter the shrill cry of maternal agony, so his father will mourn over the dishonour of the race.
644-645.
mvp-comment-434-1
'A calamity such as no life of any son of Aeacus hath ever known, but only he.' Bergk's conj.,
δίων Αἰακιδᾶν, has been widely received. But
αἰών involves only an ordinary use of abstract for concrete, and agrees better with the figurative word
ἔθρεψεν.
646.
mvp-comment-435-1
If the conjecture advanced on l. 593
supr. is correct. Tecmessa and the child Eurysaces have remained on the stage in silence during the first stasimon. Ajax now unexpectedly comes forth, sword in hand, and addresses the chorus. That he dissembles with them, so far as to lead them to believe that he has abandoned his purpose of suicide, is obvious, because necessary to the situation, and is further evident on comparing 667 foll. with 835 foll., where his inmost feeling is expressed. But, just as the speech of Deianira which deceives Lichas, Trach. 436-69, contains a real indication of her character, so the studiously ambiguous words of Ajax here are the expression of an actual change of mood, -a new phase in the progress of mental recovery. The act which he contemplates is the same which he has intended from the moment of his first awakening, but he regards it in a different temper. Calm resolution has taken the place of rage, and proud submission to the inevitable that of rebellious fury. (
Cp. supr. 389.) And like Antigone, when the struggle is past, he feels the pain of parting from what has brightened life for him; he knows what is implied in leaving Tecmessa and the child. With exquisite truth as well as subtlety, Sophocles has made Ajax express his feeling and intention in words which essentially convey his true meaning, but successfully veil it from those who, if they had divined it, would have interfered. (
Supr. 329, 483). They, on the other hand, are only too readily deceived, -Tecmessa through the difficulty of believing that Ajax is hiding truth from her, and both she and the chorus through their wishes being stronger than their fears. To dissemble under any circumstances has been thought inconsistent with the native dignity of Ajax. But if this be so, it only renders the tragic contrast between his nature and his circumstances more complete. Concealment is no doubt foreign to the original bent of such a proud heroic soul. But Destiny has brought him to a point where it is inevitable, and the more so because of his first undisguised utterance,
supr. 470, foll. Let a man's native character be what it will, the passion of suicide brings with it the means for its own realization. The time that Ajax has spent within the tent appears 'like an age' to him, and he begins by reflecting generally, in a meditative tone, on the changes that are wrought by Time. He wonders at his own calmness, and professes to wonder at his change of mind.
647.
mvp-comment-436-1
φύει ἄδηλα] 'Rears out of darkness.'
Cp. Hes. Op. 6,
καὶ ἄδηλον ἀέξει. The present is used of a continual process, as in Il. 6. 147, 8,
φύλλα τὰ μέν τ' ἄνεμος χαμάδις χέει, ἄλλα δε θ' ὕλη | τηλεθύωσα φύει. E. on L. § 32. p. 54.
ἄδηλα (sc.
ὄντα) may be regarded as =
ἐξ ἀδήλων (E. on L. § 38. p. 71), but also expresses the obscurity of the first beginnings and early preparations of all things.
Cp. Shak. 2 Hen. IV. 3. 1, 'Things | As yet not come to life, which in their seeds | And weak beginnings lie intreasured, Such things become the hatch and brood of time.' As in
supr. 476,
προσθεῖσα κἀναθεῖσα, the latter part of the antithesis is most dwelt upon, viz.
καὶ φανέντα κρύπτεται, ‘And buries them in himself, after they are come into being,' although the suppression of the old purpose is virtually the revelation of the new. For
φανέντα, cf. Ο. C. 974,
φανεὶς δύστηνος, ὡς ἐγὼ 'φάνην. On the meaning of the middle voice, see Essay on L. § 31. p. 53 (where
ἑαυτήν should be
ἑαυτόν-not Earth but Time), and
cp. Aesch. Cho. 127,
καὶ γαῖαν αὐτήν, ἢ τὰ πάντα τίκτεται ('brings forth of herself').
648.
mvp-comment-437-1
ἄελπτον] An allusion to Archil. Fr. 76,
χρημάτων ἄελπτον οὐδέν ἐστιν οὐδ᾽ ἀπώμοτον. Cp. Ant. 388,
ἄναξ, βροτοῖσιν οὐδὲν ἐστ᾽ ἀπώμοτον. ἁλίσκεται] 'Is overcome.'
Cp. the use of
αἱρέω in Ant. 606,
τὰν οὔθ᾽ ὕπνος αἱρεῖ ποθ' ὁ παντογήρως.
649.
mvp-comment-438-1
'Even (
καί) the awe-inspiring oath and steeled resolve.' Neither men's resolutions, nor the sanctions by which they try to strengthen them, are permanent.
Cp. Thuc. 3. 83,
οὐ γὰρ ἦν ὁ διαλύσων οὔτε λόγος ἐχυρὸς οὔτε ὅρκος φοβερός. καί has been changed to
χαί, perhaps rightly, but see Essay on L. § 21. p. 33 b.
650-651.
mvp-comment-439-1
'Since even I, who then (
supr. 470 foll.) showed such awful resolve, hard as iron hardened in the surge-even I have lost my manhood's edge, being softened by this woman.' The clause with
ws relates to what precedes, as in Phil. 202 foll.
προὐφάνη κτύπος, φωτὸς σύντροφος ὡς τειρομένου *του.
τὰ δεινά is cogn. accus.;
cp. Ant. 408,
πρὸς σοῦ τὰ δείν᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ἐπηπειλημένοι. Ιη
βαφή there is perhaps a reminiscence of
supr. 351, 2,
οἷον ἄρτι κῦμα φοινίας ὑπὸ ζάλης ἀμφίδρομον κυκλεῖται. βαφῇ, an instrumental dative, depends on the idea of hardening contained in
ἐκαρτέρουν. For similar datives with active verbs,
cp. Ant. 335,
χειμερίῳ νότῳ χωρεῖ, ibid. 589,
Θρῄσσαισιν .. ἐπιδράμῃ πνοαῖς. The abruptness of this construction goes for nothing when weighed against the absurdity of joining
βαφῇ σιδηρὸς ὡς ἐθηλύνθην στόμα, 'My edge is abated, as that of iron is by the surge': although much ingenuity has been spent in defending this way of taking the words.
στόμα, as Ajax intends his speech to be apprehended, can only mean 'edge,' i.e. 'resolution,' although by a mental reservation he may understand himself to mean 'my speech (only) is softened.'
652-653.
mvp-comment-440-1
'I am wrung with pity at the thought of leaving her,' i.e. as he wishes to be understood, 'I cannot leave her for pity,' as he understands himself, 'I feel pity in leaving her.'
654-655.
mvp-comment-441-1
πρὸς λειμώνας] ‘Τo the bathing-place in the meadow by the cliff,' i. e. where the level ground narrows towards the promontory of Rhoeteum. It is probably meant that Ajax really bathes in fresh water before his last solemn act.
Cp. Eur. Alc. 159,
ὕδασι ποταμίοις. . ἐλούσατ᾽.
655-656.
mvp-comment-442-1
ἁγνίσας.. ἐξαλεύσωμαι] Το the chorus and Tecmessa
ἁγνίσας means 'by purging away,' viz in the fresh running water; to Ajax himself, 'after washing off.'
Cp. Shak. Macbeth, 2.2. 67, 'A little water clears us of this deed.'
657.
mvp-comment-443-1
'And having gone to a place where I may find a place untrodden.'
χώρον is first acc. of place after
μολών, and secondly
ἀστιβῆ χῶρον is accusative with
κίχω. Essay on L. § 36. pp. 66, 7.
658.
mvp-comment-444-1
τόδ' ἔγχος τούμόν] ‘This my sword.'
Cp. infr. 815-22, 834,899.909. 1025, 1034. Does Ajax destroy himself with the sword with which he slew the cattle? There would be a certain plausibility in his professing an intention of burying the offending weapon (
ἔχθιστον βελῶν) out of sight. But this is nowhere distinctly indicated, and the elaborate reasons connected with Hector tend rather to show that the blade had not previously been used. It is the possession and not the employment of it that is dwelt upon as of evil omen.
658-659.
mvp-comment-445-1
κρύψω.. ὀρύξας] There is again an intentional ambiguity between 'I will bury out of sight' and 'I will hide' (in my body) 'after planting' (in the earth).
γαίας, 'Somewhere in earth,' a partitive genitive of place, to be resumed with
ἕνθα. Essay on L. § 10. p. 15. A construction is easily obtained by supplying
που, the antecedent of
ἔνθα. ἔχθιστον is ambiguous between 'most hostile,'
cp. infr. 817 foll., and 'most hateful.'
660.
mvp-comment-446-1
These words are purposely ominous of Ajax' real intention. The imperative continues the prohibitive notion of
μή in the preceding line.
Cp. El. 436 foll.
κρύψον νιν, ἔνθα μή ποτ᾽ εἰς εὐνὴν .. | .. πρόσεισι .. ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν θάνῃ | κειμήλι᾿ αὐτῇ . . σωζέσθω.
661.
mvp-comment-447-1
The vivid
χειρί brings before us the scene of the exchange described by Teucer
infr. 1029 foll.
665.
mvp-comment-448-1
Cp. Eur. Med. 618,
κακοῦ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς δῶρ᾽ ὄνησιν οὐκ ἔχει.
666.
mvp-comment-449-1
τοιγάρ] «Therefore,' since I am thus out of favour and pursued by divine displeasure,
supr. 656, 663.
667.
mvp-comment-450-1
Ajax understands in his own mind, 'I will not submit to them except in death.'
Cp. Ant. 926,
παθόντες ἂν ξυγγνοῖμεν ἡμαρτηκότες.
668.
mvp-comment-451-1
τί μή;]
Cp. Aesch. Ag. 672,
λέγουσιν ἡμᾶς ὡς ὀλωλότας· τί μή; The v. r.
τιμῆ (V Pal., i.e.
τιμῇ), suggested by
τιμαῖς in
infr. 670, is a curious instance of the uncertainty that crept in when the quantities of syllables were forgotten.
669.
mvp-comment-452-1
τὰ δεινὰ καὶ τὰ καρτερώτατα] 'Things dread and masterful,' such as Winter, Night, and Tempest:
τὰ δεινά as in Ant. 334,
πολλὰ τὰ δεινά. For the thought,
cp. esp. Heraclitus, Fragm. 29 (ed. Bywater),
ἥλιος οὐχ ὑπερβήσεται μέτρα· εἰ δὲ μή, ἐρινύες μιν δίκης ἐπίκουροι ἐξευρήσουσι: Plat. Rep. 6. 500 C,
εἰς τεταγμένα ἄττα καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἀεὶ ἔχοντα ὁρῶντας καὶ θεωμένους οὔτ᾽ ἀδικοῦντα οὔτ᾽ ἀδικούμενα ὑπ᾿ ἀλλήλων, κόσμῳ δὲ πάντα καὶ κατὰ λόγον ἔχοντα, ταῦτα μιμεῖσθαι. As Schndw. observes, these common-places from Ajax' lips have a peculiarly ironical significance.
670.
mvp-comment-453-1
τιμαῖς] «Το authority:' literally, 'to official rank.' For
τιμή of an official appointment,
cp. Hdt. 7. 36,
οἶσι προσεκέετο αὕτη ἡ ἄχαρις τιμή: Ar. Pol. 3. 10, 4,
τιμὰς λέγομεν τὰς ἀρχάς. For
τοῦτο μέν with only
δé to follow,
cp. Ο. C. 440,
τοῦτο μὲν.. οἱ δ᾽ ἐπωφελεῖν, κ.τ.λ. νιφοστιβεῖς | χειμῶνες] «The wintry months whose track is marked with snow.' This (=
νιφόεντας ἔχων τοὺς στίβους) agrees better with the meaning of other compounds such as
χθονοστιβής (O.T. 301), and with the personification in
ἐκχωροῦσιν, than · 'piled with snows' (L. and S.)-'Winter withdraws his snowy footsteps.'
672.
mvp-comment-454-1
νυκτὸς αἰανὴς κύκλος] 'The weary round of Night,' which like other periods of time, is imagined as a moving sphere.
Cp. ἐνιαυτοῦ κύκλον, Eur. Or. 1645.
αἰανής] Here, as in l. 8,
εὔρινος, it is doubted whether the adj. is in the nominative or genitive,
αἰανής or
αἰανῆς. Both forms (
αἰανής, -és and
aἰανός, -ή, -όν), occur in tragedy, and the balance of the sentence is rather in favour of the nominative. See Essay on L. § 42. p. 80.
αἰανής, if derived from
aleí, has also a false association from
aủaî. See Essay on L. § 54. p. 99.
673.
mvp-comment-455-1
'For Day with his white steeds (
λευκόπωλος ἡμέρα, Aesch. Pers. 386) to make his light arise.' (L. and S. s. v.
φλέγω, Α. ⅱ.)
674.
mvp-comment-456-1
ἐκοίμισε] 'Allows to rest.' Gnomic aorist. As, in
δειλίαν ἀρεῖς, supr. 75, a passive state is expressed actively (Essay on L. § 30. p. 52), so here a negative or privative act is conceived as positive.
Cp. λύει, infr. 676. This helps the vividness of the personification. As is observed by Schndw. and G. Wolff, contrary powers are naturally assigned to the same divine being. Thus Aeolus in Od. 10. 21 is
ταμίης ἀνέμων. ἠμὲν παυέμεναι ἠδ᾽ ὀρνύμεν ὅν κ᾽ ἐθέλῃσιν, and Horace says of the South wind, '
quo non arbiter Hadriae major, tollere seu ponere vult freta.' In Il. 8. 486. the light of the setting sun is described as
ἕλκον νύκτα μέλαιναν ἐπὶ ζείδωρον ἄρουραν.
675.
mvp-comment-457-1
ἐν δ'] 'And moreover.' Sleep is not originally thought of as amongst the 'dread and masterful powers,' but is now added to the list.
678.
mvp-comment-458-1
* ἐγῷδα] ‘I am sure of it'-(that I shall know how to act with moderation). The common reading,
ἐγὼ δ' ἐπίσταμαι γάρ-can only be justified by supposing
ἡμεῖς in 677 to mean mankind in general, in which case the opposition with
dé is possible, though not very clear. But with
μαθησόμεσθα preceding (l. 667),
ἡμεῖς (unless with further explanation, as in
supr. 125) must be equivalent to
ἐγώ. And the use of
δὲ .. γάρ without apodosis is not supported by Aesch. Cho. 66,
ἐμοὶ δ᾽ ἀναγκὰν γὰρ ἀμφίπτολιν, κ.τ.λ., which is the nearest parallel. (For a superfluous
ἐγώ with
δé in apodosi,
cp. Hdt. 4. 99,
ὃς δὲ.. μὴ παραπέπλωκε, ἐγὼ δὲ ἄλλως δηλώσω.) Porson's conjecture, which is here received, requires a very slight alteration,
ῶι for
ὡ.
ἐγῷδα is idiomatic, and the form of asseveration suits with the dissembling nature of the speech.
ἐπίσταμαι γὰρ ἀρτίως] ‘For I have lately learnt '-Ajax continues the vein of commonplace, with which his real feelings are interwoven. In his own heart he means that the judgment of the arms has taught him the hollowness of friendship. But by putting the other side of the antithesis foremost he veils this sentiment under the general maxim which counsels moderation in love and hatred-
ἀθάνατον ἔχθραν μὴ φύλασσε, θνητὸς ὤν.
680.
mvp-comment-459-1
In expressing his real feeling, Ajax passes out of the impersonal mode of speaking.
682.
mvp-comment-460-1
Ср. О. С. 612, 3,
καὶ πνεῦμα ταὐτόν, κ.τ.λ.
682.
mvp-comment-460-2
τοῖς πολλοῖσι γὰρ..] He recollects his cue, and again generalizes.
Cp. Aesch. Ag. 838-840,
εἰδὼς λέγοιμ' ἄν, εὐ γὰρ ἐξεπίσταμαι, | ὁμιλίας κάτοπτρον, εἴδωλον σκιᾶς, | δοκοῦντας εἶναι κάρτα πρευμενεῖς ἐμοί.
684.
mvp-comment-461-1
ἀμφὶ .. τούτοισιν] 'For what concerns this, viz. my relation to the Atreidae, 'all shall go well.' Tecmessa need not fear lest the pride of Ajax should lead him into farther trouble.
685-686.
mvp-comment-462-1
εἴσω . . κέαρ]
εἴσω ἐλθοῦσα εὔχου θεοῖς τελεῖσθαι διὰ τέλους (ἐκεῖνα) ὧν τὸ ἐμὸν κέαρ ἐpᾷ. Tecmessa will pray that Ajax may escape from the wrath of Athena. In doing so she will unconsciously pray for the consummation of his present desires in death. The solemn phrase
διὰ τέλους .. τελεῖσθαι is prompted by the latter feeling.
687-688.
mvp-comment-463-1
ταὐτὰ τῇδέ μοι τάδε | τιμᾶτε] 'Honour these my wishes equally with her.'
ταὐτά, an adverbial accusative, like
κοινά in Ant. 546,
μή μοι θάνῃς σὺ κοινά. The eightfold alliteration with
τ in these two lines gives the effect of suppressed earnestness.
689.
mvp-comment-464-1
In this veiled manner Ajax conveys his last request to Teucer.
Cp. supr. 567,
infr. 827, 8, 990, 1.
690.
mvp-comment-465-1
The intentional vagueness, by which Ajax conceals his purpose from Tecmessa and the chorus, has an impressive solemnity for the spectator.
691.
mvp-comment-466-1
τάχ᾽ ἂν.. ἴσως] ‘Ere long, methinks.'
692.
mvp-comment-467-1
σεσωσμένον] His hearers understand, 'Freed from further evil,' as having appeased the gods and submitted to the Atreidae: to himself he means, 'Having done with evils, because no trouble can affect the dead.' Exit Ajax towards the country. Tecmessa and the child withdraw into the hut. The proscenium is vacant.
693-718.
mvp-comment-468-1
The following ode is the clearest instance in Sophocles of the hyporchema, or song accompanied with dancing. In substance it may be compared with Trach. 205-224, Ο. Τ. 1086-1109, Ant. 1115-1154. The metrical scheme of στρ. and ἀντ. is as follows:...
693.
mvp-comment-469-1
'My heart is thrilled with a new hope, and mounts on wings of joy.' For the aorist (of the immediate past), see Essay on L. § 32. p. 55.
ἔρως is here used of a sudden and intense hope.
Cp. Ant. 617,
πολλοῖς δ᾽ ἀπάτα κουφονόων ἐρώτων (sc.
& .. ἐλπίς).
695.
mvp-comment-470-1
Pan is associated both with Marathon and Salamis, where Psyttaleia was his haunt according to Aeschylus: Pers. 448,
ἣν ὁ φιλόχορος | Πὰν ἐμβατεύει. ἁλίπλαγκτε] As in the invocation to Sleep in Phil. 828,
εὐαὲς . . ἔλθοις, the attribute which is part of the prayer is put in the vocative. 'Come, roving over the sea, leaving the snow-smitten ridges of Cyllene.' Cyllene is clearly visible from the Acropolis, and in spring and early summer (1874) is covered with snow. The side it presents to Athens is long and precipitous.
697.
mvp-comment-471-1
θεῶν χοροποί᾽ ἄναξ] (
θεων). 'Thou lord, who of the gods art he that frames the dance.' For this partitive genitive,
cp. O. C. 868, 9,
θεῶν | ὁ πάντα λεύσσων ἥλιος. ὅπως μοι .. ξυνὼν ἰάψεις] «Το fling into... I pray thee, along with me.'
μοι is dativus ethicus, but to be resumed with
ξυνών.
698.
mvp-comment-472-1
Νύσια Κνώσσια] Nysa, whether imagined as in Euboea or elsewhere, and Cnossus in Crete, were associated with the legend of Dionysus.
Cp. the Cnossian dancing ground of Ariadne in Il. 18. 591,
οἷον ποτ᾿ ἐνὶ Κνωσῷ εὐρείῃ | Δαίδαλος ἤσκησεν καλλιπλοκάμῳ ᾿Αριάδνῃ. 'Wilde Tänze fänden zu Ehren Dionys zu Nysa Statt, und an der Theodaisien Anfangs April zu Knossos auf Kreta' (G. Wolff).
αὐτοδαῆ] 'Spontaneous,' said with reference to Pan, 'which no man hath taught thee,'
cp. Aesch. Prom. 301,
αὐτόκτιτ᾽ ἄντρα, 'caves formed by thyself' (said to Oceanus).
700.
mvp-comment-473-1
ἰάπτειν = 'to set in sudden and swift motion.'
703.
mvp-comment-474-1
πελαγέων]
πελαγεῶν. For the Icarian sea,
cp. Hdt. 6. 95, 6.
704.
mvp-comment-475-1
εὔγνωστος] 'Easy to be known;' i. e.
ἐναργής, in his proper, unmistakable form: 'Nunquam humeris positurus arcum, | Qui rore puro Castaliae lavit | Crines solutos, qui Lyciae tenet | Dumeta natalemque silvam, | Delius et Patareus Apollo' (Hor. Carm. 3. 4. 60).
Cp. Trach. 207,
τὸν εὐφαρέτραν.
706.
mvp-comment-476-1
(1) The dangerous condition of Ajax was like a dark veil upon the eyes of the Salaminians, saddening for them even the light of day. ('A web is woven across the sky,' Tennyson, In Memoriam.)
Cp. especially
supr. 139, 140, 200. 'Now the cruel power has withdrawn the dreadful sorrow that oppressed our eyes.' Ares, as in O. T. 189, is the god of destruction, with an association from the violent rage in which Ajax' troubles began. Or (2) the Salaminians, like Tecmessa,
supr. 269, identify themselves with Ajax, from whose eyes (
supr. 51, 447) the distraction caused by his vehement rage is now removed. For the expression in either case,
cp. supr. 674 and note: Il. 13. 444,
ἔνθα δ᾽ ἔπειτ᾿ ἀφίει μένος όβριμος Άρης.
708.
mvp-comment-477-1
(1) 'Now, Zeus, thou shalt bring near bright genial day to our swift sea-going ships.' The meaning is half figurative, half literal. It is still morning (
καὶ ἀέξεται ἱερὸν ἦμαρ), and the Salaminians feel that the return of day-light is in keeping with the return of cheerfulness within them. For the figurative meaning,
cp. especially Aesch. Cho. 961, 972,
πάρα τὸ φῶς ἰδεῖν: Pers. 301. Otherwise, (2)
πελάσαι may be intransitive, 'Light shall come near the ships,' in which case
ὦ Zeῦ is an ejaculation. For this,
cp. Phil. 400,
ἰὼ μάκαιρα, κ.τ.λ.
711-712.
mvp-comment-478-1
The Chorus in their delight at the pious intentions expressed by Ajax,
supr. 655, 6, 666, 7, describe them in exaggerated language, and speak of them as already performed.
714.
mvp-comment-479-1
These words are an echo of Ajax' reflection,
supr. ll. 646, 7. The words
τε καὶ φλέγει, which are added in the MSS., are not improbable in themselves.
Cp. supr. 476 and note. But there is nothing to correspond to them in the strophe, and the metre as it stands in the text is more probable than it would be with the addition of
10-2. The interpolation may be accounted for by supposing a marginal quotation, as in 554
supr.
715.
mvp-comment-480-1
ἐξ ἀέλπτων] 'When we had despaired.'
Cp. supr. 648.
716.
mvp-comment-481-1
μετανεγνώσθη] 'Has been converted.' Ajax,
supr. 651, attributed the change in himself to the persuasion of Tecmessa.
717.
mvp-comment-482-1
θυμῶν] This reading, which occurs in some MSS., is nearer to
θυμόν, the reading of L, than the conj.
θυμοῦ T', which has been commonly adopted. For the poetical plural, 'outbursts of wrath,'
cp. Trach. 882,
τίνες νόσοι; and see Essay on L. § 20. p. 30. The plural of
θυμός occurs in Plat. Phil. 40 E: Legg. 11. 934 Α,
ὁ δὲ .. ἐν φόβοις δειλίας, ἡ τισιν ἐπιθυμίαις ἡ φθόνοις ἢ θυμοῖς δυσιάτοις γιγνόμενος. (
νεικέων.)
719.
mvp-comment-483-1
The proscenium has been vacant during the preceding ode. A single figure is now seen approaching from the opposite direction to that in which Ajax went forth. The man proves to be Teucer's forerunner. The effect of the following scene is twofold. On the one hand, the Chorus and Tecmessa are roused from their security, and go anxiously in search of Ajax. We are thus made aware that the crisis of the drama is approaching. But, on the other hand, the bearing of the prophet to Teucer, as reported by the messenger, and the tenor of his prophecy, assure the spectator that the anger of Athena against Ajax is not lasting, and hold forth a vague promise of final peace.
ἄνδρες φίλοι] The messenger, who is one of Teucer's men, thus assures the mariners of his continued friendship in their master's hour of need.
τὸ πρῶτον stands in apposition with the sentence,
Τεύκρος παρέστι, which, as Hermann says, must be held as equivalent to
Teῦκρον παρεῖναι. Ср. О. Т. 1234, 5,
ὁ μὲν τάχιστος τῶν λόγων εἰπεῖν τε καὶ | μαθεῖν, τέθνηκε θεῖον Ἰοκάστης κάρα. The abruptness of this gives some colour to Musgrave's conjecture,
ἄνδρες, φίλον τὸ πρῶτον ἀγγεῖλαι θέλω.
724-725.
mvp-comment-484-1
'For when they knew him from afar off as he approached, they surrounded him.'
Cp. infr. 1046,
μαθεῖν γὰρ ἐγγὺς ὧν οὐ δυσπετής.
726.
mvp-comment-485-1
κἀπιβουλευτοῦ στρατοῦ] 'And who was guilty of plotting against the army.'
στρατοῦ is genitive of the object.
727.
mvp-comment-486-1
ὡς connects
οὐκ ἀρκέσοι, κ.τ.λ. with
ἤρασσον, the clause
τὸν .. ἀποκαλοῦντες being parenthetical. They said,
ὦ τοῦ μανέντος .. ξύναιμε, οὐκ ἀρκέσεις, κ.τ.λ. The verb
ἀρκεῖν is used absolutely in the original sense of 'to ward off danger,' and this uncommon use is supplemented by the epexegetic clause.
730.
mvp-comment-487-1
διεπεραιώθη] Lit. 'were passed from either side,' ie. 'crossed blades.' Not merely 'were unsheathed.'
731.
mvp-comment-488-1
δραμοῦσα τοῦ προσωτάτω] 'When it had run to an extreme.' The partitive genitive is merely idiomatic, and does not limit the force of the expression. Essay on L. § 10. p. 16 (bis).
732.
mvp-comment-489-1
'Through elders interposing with their words.' For
ev instrumental, see Essay on L. § 19. p. 28, and
cp. Trach. 887,
στονόεντος ἐν τομᾷ σιδάρου.
733.
mvp-comment-490-1
'Where is our Ajax?'
ἡμίν is dative of the person interested. Ср.
supr. 332,
ἡμῖν τὸν ἄνδρα διαπεφοιβάσθαι κακοίς.
734.
mvp-comment-491-1
τοῖς κυρίοις] 'Το those principally concerned.'
Cp. Aesch. Cho. 688, 9,
εἰ δὲ τυγχάνω | τοῖς κυρίοισι καὶ προσήκουσιν λέγων, | οὐκ οἶδα.
735-736.
mvp-comment-492-1
νέας .. τρόποις] 'Having changed his purpose in unison with his change of mood.' The Chorus believe that Ajax, having learnt submission, is gone forth to purify himself in the fresh water at the corner of the bay.
Supr. 654 foll.
737.
mvp-comment-493-1
ἰοὺ ἰού] The messenger perceives that the fate of Ajax is sealed, and raises the same cry of horror that Oedipus utters (O. T. 1182) when he discovers the truth.
738.
mvp-comment-494-1
βραδείαν is predicative and adverbial,= 'too late.'
Cp. the use of
πικρός, e.g.
infr. 1239.
740.
mvp-comment-495-1
'And what is there lacking to the fulfilment of the present need?'
χρείας τῆσδ', 'the need implied in Teucer's sending you,
τήνδε τὴν ὁδόν, supr. 738.
743.
mvp-comment-496-1
τοι] 'We can tell you.'
τοι here expresses the consciousness of contributing pertinent information.
743-744.
mvp-comment-497-1
πρὸς τὸ κέρδιστον.. γνώμης] 'His thoughts having taken the happiest turn.' For the genitive,
cp. Trach. 705,
ποῖ γνώμης πέσω; Ant. 42,
ποῦ γνώμης ποτ' εἶ;
744.
mvp-comment-498-1
χόλου] 'In respect of' (lit. 'from') 'their wrath.'
746.
mvp-comment-499-1
The name of Calchas, and the thought of his foreknowledge, strike the hearers with an expectant awe.
748.
mvp-comment-500-1
καὶ παρὼν ἐτύγχανον] 'For I was there to hear and see.' An expansion of
παρών, the coordinate for the participial construction. See Essay on L. § 36. p. 68; also § 32. p. 55.
749.
mvp-comment-501-1
Calchas, who alone knows the future, is not carried away by the rage which possesses the host, but simply warns Teucer in a friendly tone that the wrath of the gods is against Ajax for this one day. This attitude of the prophet is emphasized by the pleonastic iteration,
ἐκ. κύκλου μεταστὰς οἷος .. δίχα, and by the periphrasis in l. 753.
συνέδρου . . κύκλου] 'The circle of the lords who sate in council,' with the
ἀγορά of the Achaeans gathered round.
751-752.
mvp-comment-502-1
Join
δεξιὰν θείς.
752.
mvp-comment-503-1
παντοίᾳ τέχνῃ] 'By all manner of means:' to be joined with
εἶρξαι.
753.
mvp-comment-504-1
κατ᾿ ἡμαρ.. τόδε] 'For the day whose light is with us now and here,' i. e. to-day.
754.
mvp-comment-505-1
ἀφέντα agrees with
Τεύκρον, the subject of
ἐᾶν.
756.
mvp-comment-506-1
τῇδε θήμέρᾳ is more probable, because simpler, than
τῇδ' ἔθ᾽ ἡμέρᾳ.
757.
mvp-comment-507-1
ὡς ἔφη λέγων] · As his words declared.' The messenger is careful to make it clear that the assertion is the prophet's, and not his own.
Cp. Creon in Ο. Τ. 110,
ἐν τῇδ᾽ ἔφασκε γῇ. For this periphrasis,
cp. Hdt. 1. 118,
τῷ τε γὰρ πεποιημένῳ, ἔφη λέγων, ἐς τὸν παῖδα τοῦτον ἔκαμνον μεγάλως, κ.τ.λ. Abicht observes that it is commonly used, as here, in passing to direct speech from indirect.
758.
mvp-comment-508-1
τὰ.. περισσὰ κἀνόνητα σώματα] 'Men grown too great to be of profit.'
Cp. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, 1. 2. 149, 50, 'Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed, | That he is grown so great?' Ib. I. 1. 77, 8, 'These growing feathers plucked from Caesar's wing, | Will make him fly an ordinary pitch.'
760.
mvp-comment-509-1
ὅστις] · 'When any one.' Essay on L. § 22. p. 35, 2.
760-761.
mvp-comment-510-1
ἀνθρώπου φύσιν | βλαστών] 'Being but of human mould.' An unusual cognate accusative, to be partly accounted for by the frequent use of
φύσιν as an accusative of respect. See Essay on L. § 17. p. 25; and
cp. especially Trach. 1062,
γυνὴ δέ, θήλυς οὖσα κοὐκ ἀνδρὸς φύσιν.
762.
mvp-comment-511-1
εὐθύς belongs in meaning to
εὑρέθη in the following line.
763.
mvp-comment-512-1
πατρός may be either (1) genitive of derivation, 'A foolish son of a wisely speaking father,' for which,
cp. Ant. 38,
ἐσθλῶν κακή: or (2) genitive absolute, 'Foolish, although his father advised him well.' The former (1) is nearer to the truth.
764.
mvp-comment-513-1
αὐτὸν ἐννέπει] 'Charged him.'
Cp. Ο. Τ. 350,
ἐννέπω σέ, κ.τ.λ.
765.
mvp-comment-514-1
μὲν .. δ΄] The 'paratactic' structure (Essay on L. § 36. p. 68) gives additional emphasis.
769.
mvp-comment-515-1
ἐπισπάσειν] 'That I shall cull perforce,' as if plucking a branch from a tree. (Aesch. Pers. 475.)
Cp. Shak. 1 Hen. IV. 1.3: 'Hot. By heaven, methinks it were an easy leap | To pluck bright honour from the pale-faced moon; | Or dive into the bottom of the deep, | Where fathom-line doth never touch the ground, | And pluck up drowned honour by the locks; | So he that doth redeem her thence might wear | Without corrival all her dignities.'
770.
mvp-comment-516-1
τοσόνδ' .. μύθον] 'So high the vaunt he uttered.'
Cp. supr. 386,
μηδὲν μέγ' εἴπῃς: 422, 3,
ἔπος | ἐξερέω μέγα.
771.
mvp-comment-517-1
δίας ᾿Αθάνας] 'Regarding glorious Athena.' An extreme instance of the genitive of respect. Essay on L. § 9. p. 13,
infr. 790, 792. The sentence is changed from
δίας Αθάνας ότρυνούσης, or
αὐδωμένης.
773.
mvp-comment-518-1
ηὐδᾶτ'] For
αὐδᾶν, ‘to command,'
cp. O. C. 864,
αὐδῶ σιωπᾶν, and for the middle v. (of unasked, spontaneous utterance), Phil. 130,
οὗ δῆτα, τέκνον, ποικίλως αὐδωμένου. δεινὸν ἄρρητόν τ' ἔπος] ' A fearfully impious word.'
775.
mvp-comment-519-1
καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς) 'In my part of the line;
κατά, as in Hdt. 2. 121. § 4,
ὡς δὲ κατὰ τοὺς φυλάσσοντας ἦν: Xen. Hell. 4. 2. 18,
οἱ μὲν ᾿Αθηναῖοι κατὰ Λακεδαιμονίους ἐγένοντο. Hermann renders, 'Per me, quantum in me est,' which is rather =
τὸ καθ' ἡμᾶς (
cp. Hdt. 7. 158).
οὔποτ' ἐκρήξει] 'Shall never burst forth,' like a river breaking its banks. 'Postquam..duo acies manum aliquandiu conseruerunt, si alterutra subito in fugam se converterit, eleganter pugna ipsa, tanquam obicibus antea coërcita, in eam partem
ἐκρήσσειν [
ἐκρῆξαι] dicatur.' Musgr.
Cp. the Homeric
πολέμοιο γέφυραι, in which the opposing armies are thought of as the sides of a torrent.
776.
mvp-comment-520-1
The correction suggested by Hermann,
τοι for
τοῖς, although not quite necessary (for
τοιοίσδε might =
τοιοίσδε πεφυκόσιν), is extremely probable.
776-777.
mvp-comment-521-1
ἀστεργῆ .. ὀργήν] • He hath won him the unenviable guerdon of the goddess' wrath.'
ἀστεργῆ is more forcible when taken thus passively than if supposed to mean 'unloving,' which would add nothing to the notion of
ὀργὴν. For
ἐκτήσατο, of something bad,
cp. especially Aesch. S. c. T. 1017 (of Polynices),
ἄγος δὲ καὶ θανὼν κεκτήσεται.
779.
mvp-comment-522-1
The genitive
αὐτοῦ shows that
σωτήριοι has nearly the force of a substantive.
780.
mvp-comment-523-1
On this form of the senarius, generally marking some
empressement, see above on l. 294.
ἐξ ἔδρας] 'From where I sate,' viz. amongst the Achaeans who were looking on at the council.
781.
mvp-comment-524-1
τάσδ' ἐπιστολάς] 'This charge,' viz. that implied in
supr. 753-5. Teucer remains to watch over his brother's interests in the assembly.
782.
mvp-comment-525-1
Τεύκρος]) The proper name is added after the article in further explanation.
φυλάσσειν] The epexegetic infinitive is occasioned by the addition of
Τεύκρος. εἰ δ᾽ ἀπεστερήμεθα] 'But if we are frustrated;' i. e. if the
δαίμων of Ajax has prevented us from carrying out our intention. For
ἀποστερεῖν of prevention,
cp. Aesch. Suppl. 1063,
Ζεὺς ἀποστεροίη γάμον. This meaning is more forcible, although less obvious, than that of Badham's ingenious conjecture,
εἰ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὑστερήκαμεν.
783.
mvp-comment-526-1
The idiomatic
ἁνὴρ κεῖνος avoids the association of the name
Alas with the ill-omened
οὐκ ἔστιν.
784.
mvp-comment-527-1
'O cruelly vexed Tecmessa, born to woe!' The exact association conveyed in
Sata is difficult to seize. Perhaps from meaning 'hostile,' it comes to mean 'treated as an enemy,' and so 'cruelly afflicted' by the gods.
785.
mvp-comment-528-1
'Come and see what news this man is telling.'
Cp. Phil. 504,
χρὴ δ᾽ ἐμὲ | σκοπεῖν ὅπως σου μηδὲν ἐξαμαρτήσω.
814.
mvp-comment-529-1
καὶ ποδῶν is added to define
ἔργου further. Exeunt Chorus severally by the two side doors.
Cp. supr. 805.
815-865.
mvp-comment-530-1
The scene is changed to a wooded place (
infr. 892) not far from the camp (
infr. 874-8), where Ajax is disclosed, somewhat retired, but so that both he and the projecting point of the sword which he has planted in the ground, are visible to the spectators.
815.
mvp-comment-531-1
ὁ.. σφαγεύς] Either (1) 'the slayer,' or (2) 'the sacrificer;' probably the former (1).
ἕστηκεν .. ἄν] 'Stands so as he may prove most keen:' whetted not only with the grind-stone, but with the hate of Hector who gave it, the enmity of the Trojan soil in which it is fixed, the determined will of Ajax and his care in executing that will. The sword thus ordered cannot fail of its effect.
816.
mvp-comment-532-1
εἴ τῳ.. σχολή] These words mark Ajax' feeling of the extreme deliberateness of his act. After long repression he is at leisure not only to make elaborate preparations, but also to reason over what he is about to do. For the language,
cp. Thuc. 2. 45,
εἰ δέ με δεῖ καὶ γυναικείας τι ἀρετῆς . μνησθῆναι, βραχεία παραινέσει ἅπαν σημανῶ. The clause is rather to be connected with what follows than with what precedes. (Others would supply
ἦν, and render 'If one had but time to make reflections'). The indefinite
Te has an ironical effect, and also somewhat of solemnity, like the impersonal expression in Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, 5. 1: 'O, that a man might know | The end of this day's business ere it come!'
817-818.
mvp-comment-533-1
ἀνδρὸς ὁρᾶν] 'Of Hector, who of men not Greek was by me most hated and abhorred.'
ἀνδρός adds a touch of distinction to the name which follows.
Cp El. 45,
παρ᾿ ἀνδρὸς Φανοτέως ἥκων. By the addition of
ξένων he reserves his chief hatred for the Argives.
820.
mvp-comment-534-1
The reading
σιδηροβρώτηῃ is not impossible.
Cp. Ο. Τ. 80, 1,
τύχῃ ·· σωτῆρι, and note. The iteration of
ἔπηξα after
πέπηγε, supr. 819, strengthens our impression of the firmness with which the sword was fastened in the earth.
821.
mvp-comment-535-1
εὖ περιστείλας) 'Carefully securing it.' He had trodden the earth about it, as if planting a young tree.
822.
mvp-comment-536-1
εὐνούστατον..θανεῖν] 'So as most kindly to provide for me a speedy death,'
εὐνούστατον is supplementary predicate with
ἔπηξα. Essay on L. § 23, P. 38, § 38, p. 71.
θανεῖν is epexegetic =
ὥστε θανείν. Ajax has but two desires, that his death may be (1) certain, (2) swift. His preparation of the sword secures both ends in one.
823.
mvp-comment-537-1
οὕτω μὲν εὐσκευοῦμεν] 'So well provided with an instrument am I.'
μέν is resumed from
supr. 815.
824.
mvp-comment-538-1
καὶ γὰρ εἰκός] These words are characteristic of the indomitable hero, who, in his supreme hour, addresses the sovereign of the gods as his kinsman. (
Cp. supr. 387,
προγόνων προπάτωρ.)
825.
mvp-comment-539-1
λαχεῖν, if the true reading, is epexegetic, the accusative
γέρας being governed, primarily, by
αἰτήσομαι. But
λαβεῖν may be right. See v. rr.
826.
mvp-comment-540-1
κακὴν φάτιν] A rumour of evil sound. In the 'clairvoyance' of this moment Ajax imagines the effect which the news of his death would have on Teucer, as also,
infr. 850, on his mother. It has been supposed that
infr. 998,
ὀξεῖα γὰρ .. θανών indicates the answer of Zeus to this prayer. But, although this is possible, such a rumour is sufficiently accounted for by what passes at
supr. 749 foll., especially the words in l. 783,
οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνηρ κεῖνος.
828.
mvp-comment-541-1
περί]
Cp. infr. 899,
φασγάνῳ περιπτυχής. νεορράντῳ] 'Then freshly streaming.' For this vivid touch,
cp. infr. 898,
ἀρτίως νεοσφαγής. He does not mention Tecmessa.
830.
mvp-comment-542-1
ῥιφθῶ .. ἕλωρ] 'I be cast forth, exposed to dogs and birds for a prey.'
833-834.
mvp-comment-543-1
'And that the leap wherewith I plunge this sword into my side may be swift and without a struggle.'
πηδήματι has been interpreted of the involuntary spring upwards at the moment of the sword piercing the heart; but it is rather, more simply, the act of falling on the sword. Ajax prays that this may be unattended with convulsions, and may lead directly to the consummation.
835.
mvp-comment-544-1
ἀεὶ . . παρθένους]
Cp. especially, Aesch. Eum. 69, 70,
παλαιαὶ παῖδες, αἷς οὐ μίγνυται | θεῶν τις, οὐδ᾽ ἄνθρωπος, οὐδὲ θήρ ποτε.
836.
mvp-comment-545-1
Ср. О. С. 42,
τὰς πάνθ᾽ ὁρώσας Εὐμενίδας, κ.τ.λ.
837.
mvp-comment-546-1
μαθεῖν] The inf. depends on the general notion in
καλῶ, the full expression,
καλῶ ἀρωγούς, being partly lost sight of.
839-842.
mvp-comment-547-1
See v. rr. The reasons for rejecting these four lines may be briefly given. The allusion to the death of Agamemnon, which is the chief point in them, interferes with the poetical simplicity of the passage, and is moreover not applicable to Menelaus. The emphatic use of
αὐτοσφαγής in two different senses in the same line is awkward, and like an imitation.
φίλιστος occurs nowhere else, and
τώς not elsewhere in Sophocles; and
ἐκγόνων seems to have arisen from a confusion of the death of Agamemnon with that of Clytemnestra, together with an attempt to include the fate of Odysseus.
1
839-842.
mvp-comment-547-2
839 ff.
καί σφας κακοὺς κάκιστα καὶ πανωλέθρους | ξυναρπάσειαν, ὥσπερ εἰσορῶσ' ἐμὲ | αὐτοσφαγῆι πίπτοντα, τὼς αὐτοσφαγεὶς | πρὸς τῶν φιλίστων ἐκγόνων ὀλοίατο LAL Pal. Vat. ac. (Variants:
αὐτοσφαγῆ Α.
αὐτοσφαγεῖσ CA.
ἐκγονων L.
καὐτοσφαγεῖς Pal.
τως αὐτοσφαγεῖς Vat. ac.
ὣς αὐτοσφαγεῖς V.
ἐκγόνων Vat. a.)
844.
mvp-comment-548-1
'Flesh yourselves unsparingly on all the populous host.'
μὴ φείδεσθε is introduced
dià mésou. The
πάνδημος στρατός of the Achaeans is contrasted with the Argive chiefs.
847.
mvp-comment-549-1
ἐπισχὼν .. ἡνίαν] ‘Checking thy rein.' Instead of saying
ἐπέχειν ἅρμα, or
ἵππους, the means, or more immediate object, is put into the accusative.
847.
mvp-comment-549-2
χρυσόνωτον] ‘Gilded,' viz, having the upper surface studded with gold.
848.
mvp-comment-550-1
ἄτας.. ἐμόν] 'My troubles and my fate.' This is not a mere pleonasm. The
ἅται may include his first provocation of Athena as well as his wild actions since; the word
μόρον is specially applicable to his death.
849.
mvp-comment-551-1
τῇ τε δυστήνῳ τροφῷ] Either (1) 'and the unhappy one who nursed my infancy;' or (2) 'and the unhappy one who tends on him.' According to (1) Ajax in thinking of his mother with special tenderness, speaks of her as the one who nursed him at her breast (
ἥ μ' ἔτεχ᾽, ἤ μ᾿ ἔθρεψε, Od. 2. 131.) According to (2) he is thinking of the dreary household at Salamis, where she who had been the wife of Telamon's youth was now the nurse of his declining years.
Cp. Od. 24. 211,
ἐν δὲ γυνὴ Σικελὴ γρηὺς πέλεν, ἤ ῥα γέροντα | ἐνδυκέως κομέεσκεν ἐπ᾿ ἀγροῦ, νόσφι πόληος.
851.
mvp-comment-552-1
Cp. Eur. Med. 1176,
εἶτ' ἀντίμολπον ἡκεν ὀλολυγῆς μέγαν | κωκυτόν.
852.
mvp-comment-553-1
'But I have nought to do with vain laments for this.'
οὐδὲν ἔργον, lit. 'It is no part of the business in hand.'
853.
mvp-comment-554-1
σὺν τάχει τινί] 'And that with speed.' The addition of the indefinite pronoun, as in
ἀνύσας τι ('with something of haste'), has an effect of peremptoriness.
856.
mvp-comment-555-1
τὸ νῦν] By hypallage for
τῆς νῦν, giving a lighter rhythm.
857.
mvp-comment-556-1
προσεννέπω is introduced by an expansion similar to that in Aesch. Prom. 91,
καὶ τὸν πανόπτην κύκλον ἡλίου καλῶ, and then becomes the governing word.
858.
mvp-comment-557-1
κοὔποτ᾽ αὖθις] Sc.
προσαυδήσω.
Cp. Ant. 808, 9,
νέατον δὲ φέγγος λεύσσουσαν ἀελίου | κοὔποτ᾽ αὖθις.
859.
mvp-comment-558-1
ὦ φέγγος] He passionately resumes his invocation (856-8), and as his heart goes forth with the universal sunlight, he again (as in 846) fixes his thoughts on home.
860.
mvp-comment-559-1
πατρῷον ἑστίας βάθρον] 'Hearth-stone of my sire.' See Essay on L. § 42. p. 80 γ.
861.
mvp-comment-560-1
κλειναί]
Cp. supr. 596, and note. The glory of Athens, like that of Salamis, is anticipated.
861.
mvp-comment-560-2
τὸ σύντροφον γένος] 'And ye, her race, among whom I was brought up.' These words, in which Ajax adopts the Athenians as brethren of the Aeacidae, are well calculated to move the Athenian audience.
862-864.
mvp-comment-561-1
After bidding farewell to Salamis and Athens, he is returning to his purpose, when his eye falls on the fresh waters in which he has lately bathed (
supr. 654); and they remind him of his Trojan environment of the last ten years. To this also he bids an affectionate farewell.
864.
mvp-comment-562-1
The repetition of his own name by Ajax here is significant. Still conscious of his greatness, he imagines all Nature as moved at his departure.
865-866.
mvp-comment-563-1
Ajax having fallen upon his sword at the back of the proscenium, and the orchestra as well as the stage being otherwise vacant, the Chorus re-enter by the two side doors, the first
ἡμιχορίον coming in on the spectator's left, as if from the east. Before the opening of the strophe,
infr. 879, they have taken up their position in the orchestra.
