δράσω· τὸ γὰρ δίκαιον οὐκ ἔχει λόγον
Electra. Sophocles. ed. Lewis Campbell. Oxford. 1879.
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Current edition Experimental
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Greek) (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879))
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
Editions (1)
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 472-515 focus
Χορός
εἰ μὴ ʼγὼ παράφρων μάντις ἔφυν καὶ γνώμας
λειπομένα σοφᾶς,
εἶσιν ἁ πρόμαντις
Δίκα δίκαια φερομένα χεροῖν κράτη·
475
μέτεισιν, ὦ τέκνον, οὐ μακροῦ χρόνου.
ὕπεστί μοι θάρσος,
ἁδυπνόων κλύουσαν
480
ἀρτίως ὀνειράτων.
οὐ γάρ ποτʼ ἀμναστεῖ γʼ ὁ φύσας σʼ Ἑλλάνων ἄναξ,
οὐδʼ ἁ παλαιὰ χαλκόπλακτος ἀμφάκης γένυς,
485
ἅ νιν κατέπεφνεν αἰσχίσταις ἐν αἰκίαις.
εἰ μὴ ʼγὼ παράφρων μάντις ἔφυν καὶ γνώμας
λειπομένα σοφᾶς,
εἶσιν ἁ πρόμαντις
Δίκα δίκαια φερομένα χεροῖν κράτη·
475
μέτεισιν, ὦ τέκνον, οὐ μακροῦ χρόνου.
ὕπεστί μοι θάρσος,
ἁδυπνόων κλύουσαν
480
ἀρτίως ὀνειράτων.
οὐ γάρ ποτʼ ἀμναστεῖ γʼ ὁ φύσας σʼ Ἑλλάνων ἄναξ,
οὐδʼ ἁ παλαιὰ χαλκόπλακτος ἀμφάκης γένυς,
485
ἅ νιν κατέπεφνεν αἰσχίσταις ἐν αἰκίαις.
Χορός
ἥξει καὶ πολύπους καὶ πολύχειρ ἁ δεινοῖς
κρυπτομένα λόχοις
490
χαλκόπους Ἐρινύς.
ἄλεκτρʼ ἄνυμφα γὰρ ἐπέβα μιαιφόνων
γάμων ἁμιλλήμαθʼ οἷσιν οὐ θέμις.
πρὸ τῶνδέ τοί μʼ ἔχει
495
μή ποτε μή ποθʼ ἡμῖν
ἀψεγὲς πελᾶν τέρας
τοῖς δρῶσι καὶ συνδρῶσιν. ἤ τοι μαντεῖαι βροτῶν
500
οὐκ εἰσὶν ἐν δεινοῖς ὀνείροις οὐδʼ ἐν θεσφάτοις,
εἰ μὴ τόδε φάσμα νυκτὸς εὖ κατασχήσει.
ἥξει καὶ πολύπους καὶ πολύχειρ ἁ δεινοῖς
κρυπτομένα λόχοις
490
χαλκόπους Ἐρινύς.
ἄλεκτρʼ ἄνυμφα γὰρ ἐπέβα μιαιφόνων
γάμων ἁμιλλήμαθʼ οἷσιν οὐ θέμις.
πρὸ τῶνδέ τοί μʼ ἔχει
495
μή ποτε μή ποθʼ ἡμῖν
ἀψεγὲς πελᾶν τέρας
τοῖς δρῶσι καὶ συνδρῶσιν. ἤ τοι μαντεῖαι βροτῶν
500
οὐκ εἰσὶν ἐν δεινοῖς ὀνείροις οὐδʼ ἐν θεσφάτοις,
εἰ μὴ τόδε φάσμα νυκτὸς εὖ κατασχήσει.
Χορός
ὦ Πέλοπος ἁ πρόσθεν
πολύπονος ἱππεία,
505
ὡς ἔμολες αἰανὴς
τᾷδε γᾷ.
εὖτε γὰρ ὁ ποντισθεὶς
Μυρτίλος ἐκοιμάθη,
παγχρύσων δίφρων
510
δυστάνοις αἰκίαις
πρόρριζος ἐκριφθείς,
οὔ τί πω
ἔλειπεν ἐκ τοῦδʼ οἴκου
πολύπονος αἰκία.
515
ὦ Πέλοπος ἁ πρόσθεν
πολύπονος ἱππεία,
505
ὡς ἔμολες αἰανὴς
τᾷδε γᾷ.
εὖτε γὰρ ὁ ποντισθεὶς
Μυρτίλος ἐκοιμάθη,
παγχρύσων δίφρων
510
δυστάνοις αἰκίαις
πρόρριζος ἐκριφθείς,
οὔ τί πω
ἔλειπεν ἐκ τοῦδʼ οἴκου
πολύπονος αἰκία.
515
Translations (2)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 464 focus
Ein frommes Wort wohl, das die Jungfrau sprach, und du
Folgst ihrem Rath, o Liebe, wenn du weise bist.
Ein frommes Wort wohl, das die Jungfrau sprach, und du
Folgst ihrem Rath, o Liebe, wenn du weise bist.
Chrysothemis.
Ich will es thun. Das Rechte bietet keinen Grund
1
Für Zwei, zu streiten, sondern rasch an's Werk zu gehn.
Doch wenn ich, theure Frauen, dies versuchen soll,
460
Müßt ihr, um alle Götter, mir verschwiegen sein!
Denn hört davon die Mutter, dann wird sicher noch
Aus diesem Wagniß bittre Frucht für mich erblüh'n.
(Sie schneidet von ihren Haaren ab, empfängt Haar und Gürtel
der Elektra, und entfernt sich.)
Elektra. Der Chor.
Strophe.
Ich will es thun. Das Rechte bietet keinen Grund
1
Für Zwei, zu streiten, sondern rasch an's Werk zu gehn.
Doch wenn ich, theure Frauen, dies versuchen soll,
460
Müßt ihr, um alle Götter, mir verschwiegen sein!
Denn hört davon die Mutter, dann wird sicher noch
Aus diesem Wagniß bittre Frucht für mich erblüh'n.
Der Chor.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 472-515 focus
Chorus
If I am not a deranged prophet and one who lacks wise judgments,
Justice, the sender of the omen, will come, winning the just victory of her hands’ might. She will come in pursuit before long, my child. Courage is mine,
475
since I heard just now of this sweet-blowing dream. Never does the lord of the Hellenes, your producer forget,
480
nor does the axe of long ago forget, striking with bronze on its jaws, which in most shameless disgrace annihilated him.
485
If I am not a deranged prophet and one who lacks wise judgments,
Justice, the sender of the omen, will come, winning the just victory of her hands’ might. She will come in pursuit before long, my child. Courage is mine,
475
since I heard just now of this sweet-blowing dream. Never does the lord of the Hellenes, your producer forget,
480
nor does the axe of long ago forget, striking with bronze on its jaws, which in most shameless disgrace annihilated him.
485
Chorus
She, too, will come, she of many hands and many feet who lurks in her terrible ambush,
the bronze-shod Erinys. For an unwed, unbetrothed passion for a marriage polluted by murder seized the pair, though divine law forbade it to them.
490
Therefore I am confident that the portent—a wonder which I will never blame—will draw near to the criminals and conspirators. To be sure, mortal prophecy
495
from fearful dreams or divine signs exists no more, if this vision of the night does not find due fulfillment.
500
She, too, will come, she of many hands and many feet who lurks in her terrible ambush,
the bronze-shod Erinys. For an unwed, unbetrothed passion for a marriage polluted by murder seized the pair, though divine law forbade it to them.
490
Therefore I am confident that the portent—a wonder which I will never blame—will draw near to the criminals and conspirators. To be sure, mortal prophecy
495
from fearful dreams or divine signs exists no more, if this vision of the night does not find due fulfillment.
500
Chorus
O chariot-race of Pelops long ago, source of many a sorrow,
what disaster you have brought upon this land! For ever since Myrtilus sank to rest beneath the waves,
505
hurled to utter destruction from his golden chariot in disgraceful outrage, from that time to this, outrage and its many sorrows
510
were never yet gone from this house.
515
O chariot-race of Pelops long ago, source of many a sorrow,
what disaster you have brought upon this land! For ever since Myrtilus sank to rest beneath the waves,
505
hurled to utter destruction from his golden chariot in disgraceful outrage, from that time to this, outrage and its many sorrows
510
were never yet gone from this house.
515
Commentary
Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))
mvp-comment-279-1 δράσω 1
mvp-comment-279-2 τὸ γὰρ δίκαιον 2
mvp-comment-279-3
(1)
τὸ δίκαιον is an acc. of general reference, and
οὐκ ἔχει λόγον is impersonal. ‘With regard to what is (clearly) right, it is unreasonable for two persons to dispute; rather both should hasten on the doing (of it).’ With
ἀλλ’ ἐπισπεύδειν we supply the notion
δεῖ from the negative
οὐκ ἔχει λόγον (as from
οὐκ ἔξεστι in
O. C. 1402
ff.; cp.
O. T. 817
ff.). For the form of the sentence, cp.
H. 7. 3. 7
τοὺς περὶ Ἀρχίαν...οὐ ψῆφον ἀνεμείνατε, ἀλλὰ ὁπότε πρῶτον ἐδυνάσθητε ἐτιμωρήσασθε. So here the acc.
τὸ δίκαιον, which represents the object of
δρᾶν, is separated from it by the parenthesis
οὐκ
ἔχει λόγον δυοῖν ἐρίζειν. (The first scholium gives substantially this view:
οὐκ ἔχει λόγον φιλονεικεῖν περὶ τοῦ δικαίου, ὥστε περὶ αὐτοῦ δύο ὄντας ἐρίζειν.)
mvp-comment-279-4
(2) Or
τὸ δίκαιον might be nom.: ‘that which is clearly right does not
afford any ground (
οὐκ ἔχει λόγον) for two persons to dispute,’ etc. So the second schol.:
ἢ τὸ οὐκ ἔχει λόγον ἀντὶ τοῦ οὐ παρέχει πρόφασιν. So far as the verb
ἔχει is concerned, this sense is quite admissible: cp.
Thuc. 2. 41
οὔτε τῷ πολεμίῳ ἐπελθόντι ἀγανάκτησιν ἔχει (
ἡ πόλις). The objection is that the phrases
ἔχειν λόγον, οὐκ ἔχειν λόγον, which are very common, regularly mean, ‘to be reasonable,’ ‘to be unreasonable.’ This is so both in the personal and in the impersonal constr.; as Plat.
Phaedop. 62 D
τὸ γὰρ μὴ ἀγανακτεῖν...οὐκ ἔχει λόγον:
Dem. or. 36 § 54
πῶς ἔχει λόγον σὲ...δίκην ἀξιοῦν λαμβάνειν; The supposed sense, ‘not to
afford a reason,’ is unexampled.
mvp-comment-279-5 δυοῖν 3
Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus
466-467. mvp-comment-206-1 τὸ γὰρ .. δρᾶν] ‘For when a thing is right, people should not quarrel over it, but hasten to do it.' Two points are doubtful in the construction of these words. a. Either (1) τὸ δίκαιον is subject of ἔχει, and ἐρίζειν is epexegetic infinitive, or (2) ἐρίζειν is the subject of ἔχει, and τὸ δίκαιον an accusative loosely governed by the words that follow it. b. τὸ δρᾶν is either (1) the direct object of ἐπισπεύδειν, or (2) epexegetic infinitive after ἐπισπεύδειν (i.e. ἐπισπεύδειν τὸ δίκαιον, ὥστε δρᾶν αὐτό). For the article in this case, cp. O. T. 1416, 7, ἐς δέον πάρεσθ᾽ ὅδε | Κρέων τὸ πράσσειν καὶ τὸ βουλεύειν : infr. 1030, μακρὸς τὸ κρῖναι ταῦτα χὼ λοιπὸς χρόνος. The addition of δυοῖν belongs to the same tendency to make numbers explicit, which appears in καὶ τὸ γενναῖον τρίτον (Ο. C. 8) and the like phrases. For the sense, cp. Fr. 76, τοῖς γὰρ δικαίοις ἀντέχειν οὐ ῥάδιον. In the second clause, ἀλλ' ἐπισπεύδειν, κ.τ.λ., a positive notion is understood from the negative. Essay on L. § 36. p. 64, β, 1 а.