Sophocles Electra 23

Thomas Francklin (Translator)

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What proofs thou giv'st me of tlie noblest
nature
And true benevolence, thou good old man !
Of servants sure the faithfullest and best
That ever bore the name : the generous steed,
Though worn with years, thus keeps his wonted courage.
And warns his master of approaching danger;
fjike him thou stir'st me up to noble deeds.
And follow'st me undaunted : but attend
25
To what I have resolved, and if I err,
25
^Let thy superior judgment set mfiriglit.
25
When to the Delphic oracle I flew,
25
Eager to know how on my father's foes
J best might satiate my revenge, the god
Enjoined me not by force or open arms
To rush upon them, but with guileful arts
And silent well-conducted fraud betraythem.
Such was his wdll. Thou, therefore, soon as time
Shall lend thee opportunity, unknown
And unsuspected (as thy absence hence
For so long space and hoary age shall make thee)
Must steal upon them, learn their secret counsels,
As soon thou mayst, and quick inform us of them ;
Say thou'rt of Phocis, from Phanoteus sent
By one who is their friend and firm ally ;
Sav, and confirm it with a solemn oath.
Orestes is no more — by a rude shock
Thrown from his chariot at the Pythian games.
Be this thy tale : meantime (for thus the god
His will divine expressed) my father's tomb
With due libations and devoted hair
Ourselves will crown ; and thence returning bring,
From the dark covert where thou knowst 'twas hid,
The brazen urn. Thei-e, we shall tell the tyrant —
Thrice welcome news ! — Orestes' ashes lie.
What should deter me from the pious fraud?
Since my feigned death but gains me real fame,
And I shall wake to better life : the deed
Which brings success and honour, must be good.
Oft times the wisest and the best of men
From death like this have rose with added greatness ;
E'en so thy friend to his deluded foes
Shall soon return unlooked-for, and before them
Shine like a star with more distinguished lustre.
O my loved country ! and its guardian gods,
35
Receive Ore.^tes, and with happy omen
35
Propitious smile ! And thou, paternal seat —
35
For lo ! by Heaven's command I come to purge thee
35

Electra. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.

Current edition Experimental

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 23 focus
ὦ φίλτατ᾿ ἀνδρῶν προσπόλων, ὥς μοι σαφῆ
σημεῖα φαίνεις ἐσθλὸς εἰς ἡμᾶς γεγώς.
ὥσπερ γὰρ ἵππος εὐγενής, κἂν ᾖ γέρων,
25
ἐν τοῖσι δεινοῖς θυμὸν οὐκ ἀπώλεσεν,
ἀλλ᾽ ὀρθὸν οὖς ἵστησιν, ὡσαύτως ὡσταύτως L. ὡσαύτως C6. δὲ σὺ
ἡμᾶς τ᾽ τ' from y? L. δ΄ Γ. ὀτρύνεις καὐτὸς ἐν πρώτοις ἕπει.
τοιγὰρ τὰ μὲν δόξαντα δηλώσω, σὺ δὲ
ὀξεῖαν ἀκοὴν τοῖς ἐμοῖς λόγοις διδούς,
εἰ μή τι καιροῦ τυγχάνω, μεθάρμοσον.
ἐγὼ γὰρ ἡνίχ᾽ ἱκόμην τὸ Πυθικὸν
μαντεῖον, ὡς μάθοιμ' ὅτῳ τρόπῳ πατρὶ πατρὸς
δίκας ἀροίμην τῶν φονευσάντων πάρα,
35
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1-120 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 23 focus
Kind faithful friend, how well thou mak’st appear
Thy constancy in service to our house!
As some good steed, aged, but nobly bred,
Slacks not his spirit in the day of war,
But points his ears to the fray, even so dost thou
Press on and urge thy master in the van.
Hear, then, our purpose, and if aught thy mind,
Keenly attent, discerns of weak or crude
In this I now set forth, admonish me.
I, when I visited the Pythian shrine
25
Oracular, that I might learn whereby
25
To punish home the murderers of my sire,
25
Had word from Phoebus which you straight shall hear:
25
‘No shielded host, but thine own craft, O King!
The righteous death-blow to thine arm shall bring.’
Then, since the will of Heaven is so revealed,
Go thou within, when Opportunity
Shall marshal thee the way, and gathering all
Their business, bring us certain cognizance.
Age and long absence are a safe disguise;
They never will suspect thee who thou art.
And let thy tale be that another land,
Phocis, hath sent thee forth, and Phanoteus,
Than whom they have no mightier help in war.
Then, prefaced with an oath, declare thy news,
Orestes’ death by dire mischance, down-rolled
From wheel-borne chariot in the Pythian course.
So let the fable be devised; while we,
As Phoebus ordered, with luxuriant locks
Shorn from our brows, and fair libations, crown
My father’s sepulchre, and thence return
Bearing aloft the shapely vase of bronze
That’s hidden hard by in brushwood, as thou knowest,
And bring them welcome tidings, that my form
Is fallen ere now to ashes in the fire.
How should this pain me, in pretence being dead,
Really to save myself and win renown?
No saying bodes men ill, that brings them gain.
Oft have I known the wise, dying in word,
Return with glorious salutation home.
So lightened by this rumour shall mine eye
Blaze yet like bale-star on mine enemies.
O native earth! and Gods that hold the land,
Accept me here, and prosper this my way!
Thou, too, paternal hearth! To thee I come,
Justly to cleanse thee by behest from heaven.
Send me not bootless, Gods, but let me found
A wealthy line of fair posterity!
35
I have spoken. To thy charge! and with good heed
35
Perform it. We go forth. The Occasion calls,
35
Great taskmaster of enterprise to men.
35
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 23 focus
bester Diener, liebster Mann, wie legst du mir
Der Treue Zeichen gegen uns so deutlich dar!
Denn wie das Noß aus edler Art, obschon betagt,
25
In keiner Schreckniß und Gefahr den Muth verliert,
Nein, stolz das Ohr aufrichtet: also du, der uns
Zum Kampfe treibt und selbst der Ersten Einer folgt.
Drum will ich offenbaren, was ich ausgedacht;
Doch du vergönne meinem Wort ein scharfes Ohr,
30
Und traf ich nicht das Rechte, gib mir andern Rath.
Nachdem ich angekommen war bei'm pythischen
Orakel, dort zu fragen, wie des Vaters Tod
Ich rächen mög' an jenen, die ihn mordeten,
Gebot mir Phöbos also, wie du gleich vernimmst:
35
Den Streich gerechter Rache mit geheimer List
Allein zu führen, nicht bewehrt mit Schild und Heer.
Nun, da mir solcher Gottesspruch verkündet ward,
Tritt du, sobald die Stunde dich gelegen führt,
Zu diesem Haus ein, auszuspäh'n, was hier geschieht,
40
Auf daß du klar uns meldest, was du wohl erforscht.
Unkenntlich schuf dich Alter und die lange Zeit,
Und vor Verdacht bewahrt dich dieser Blumenschmuck. 1
Doch also sprich zu jenen, daß ein Fremdling du,
Ein Phoker seiest, abgesandt von Phanoteus; 2
45
Denn dieser Mann ist ihres Hauses bester Freund.
Mit Eid betheuernd, melde dann, Orestes sei
Dahingeschieden durch ein unerbittlich Loos,
Bei Kämpfen Pytho's aus dem raschhinrollenden 3
Rennwagen stürzend. Also sei der Rede Sinn.
50
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 23 focus
Loved Pylades, demands your firm resolves :
This hour determine; for the early songs
Of birds call forth the sun's resplendent beams,
And the stars vanish from the dusky night.
Now, ere the foot of man from forth the gates
Shall tread the streets, consult: for from this hour
Th' important time to instant action calls.
O thou most loved of servants, strong the proofs
Thou givest me of thy goodness and firm faith:
For as the generous steed e'en in old age
Of his high courage in the fierce alarm
Abates not, but with pride sustains the charge,
So dost thou urge me forward, and advance
25
E'en in the front of danger: for this cause
25
I will unfold my counsels to my words
25
Give thou attentive heed, and where I judge
25
​Amiss,, thy riper prudence be my guide.
25
When to the fate-foretelling shrine I came
Of Pytho, and inquired by what best way
I on his impious murderers might avenge
My father's blood, this answer Phœbus gave,
" In arms advance not, nor with martial force,
"But steal upon them, and with fraudful hand
"Let thy just fury strike th' avenging blow.""
These mandates known, as time and chance present
A fair occasion, enter thou this house,
And learn what passes there; me much imports
Clear information; thee they will not know
Absent so long, and chang'd by hoary age;
Nor thus attired suspicion wilt thou wake.
Thou art a stranger, so address thy tale,
Of Phocis, sent by Phanoteus, now join'd
In close alliance with them; say, and add
The sanction of an oath, that by the force
Of ruthless fate Orestes is no more,
Hurl'd from his chariot in the Pythian games.
This be the purport of thy tale. Mean time,
Obedient to the god, my father's tomb
We with libations and these sever'd locks.
Will honour. Thence returning, in our hands
The brazen sculptured urn, now, as thou know'st,
Hid in the tangled thicket, we will bring;
That we may thus deceive them with a tale
To them most grateful, that my wretched corse
Already on the funeral pile is burnt,
And my cold ashes in this urn enclosed.
Why should this grieve me, that in words I die,
When I in deed am saved, and by them raised
To glory? Nor ill-omen'd shall I deem
A word which gives the promise of success.
Oft e'en the wise have I observed, by fame:
Reported dead, return, and rise again...!!
To higher honour. Such shall be my boast,
I from this rumour shall be found alive,
And, like a star, to my astonish'd foes
Yet shine. But, O my country, and ye gods
The guardians of my country, to your care
Receive me, and protect me in these ways!
And thou, my father's house! for I am come
With vengeance, at the impulse of the gods,
To purge thy stain away: send me not hence
Dishonour'd, but to wealth, to greatness raised,
Give me thy ancient glories to restore !
35
Of this enough. Be it thy care, old man,
35
The part assign'd thee to discharge. We two
35
Must leave thee now; th' occasion so requires,
35
Whose sovereign power o'er ev'ry work presides.
35
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1-120 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-16-1 ὦ φίλτατ’ ἀνδρῶν 1

mvp-comment-16-2 σημεῖα φαίνεις 2 γεγώς 3

mvp-comment-17-1 ὥσπερ γὰρ ἵππος εὐγενὴς 4

mvp-comment-18-1 ἐν τοῖσι δεινοῖς 5

mvp-comment-18-2 ἀπώλεσεν 6 ἵστησιν 7

mvp-comment-18-3 ὡσαύτως δὲ 8

mvp-comment-19-1 ἐν πρώτοις ἕπει 9

mvp-comment-20-1 εἰ μή τι 10

mvp-comment-20-2 καιροῦ τυγχάνω 11

mvp-comment-20-3 μεθάρμοσον 12

mvp-comment-21-1 γὰρ 13

mvp-comment-21-2 ἱκόμην 14

mvp-comment-21-3 μάθοιμ’ 15

mvp-comment-21-4 ἀροίμην 16

mvp-comment-22-1 χρῇ 17 τοιαῦθ’ 18 ὧν 19

mvp-comment-22-2 ὁ Φοῖβος 20

mvp-comment-22-3 πεύσει 21

mvp-comment-22-4 This verse might seem the preface to some longer recital (cp. Ph. 1418 n.). But in fact it is merely an emphatic prelude to the oracle: τάχα 22

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

26-27. mvp-comment-18-1 ἀπώλεσεν.. ἵστησιν] The description passes from the gnomic aorist to the vivid present. For the verb, cp. Hdt. 4. 129, οἱ ἵπποι ἐν θαύματι ἔσκον, ὀρθὰ ἱστάντες τὰ ὦτα.

27. mvp-comment-19-1 δέ] In apodosi.

29. mvp-comment-20-1 τὰ . . δόξαντα] Sc. ἐμοί τε καὶ Πυλάδῃ τῷδε. Their plans are already formed.

31. mvp-comment-21-1 εἰ μή τι καιροῦ τυγχάνω] 'If anywhere I miss the mark,'-εἴ τι ἁμαρτάνω. Ε. on L. § 41. p. 78.

33. mvp-comment-22-1 πατρί is more expressive than πατρός. Cp. supr. 14.

34. mvp-comment-23-1 ἀροίμην is probably aorist (not future) optative, being indirect for (τίνι τρόπῳ) ἄρωμαι;

36. mvp-comment-24-1 Myself alone, unsupported by armed men.' Cp. Pind. Nem. 3. 59, δε καὶ Ἰωλκὸν εἶλε μόνος ἄνευ στρατιᾶς.