Sophocles, Electra, Richard Jebb (Translator), 415

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Electra

Tell me that, anyway; a small tale has often before now tripped men up, or set them upright.
415

Chrysothemis

It is said that she saw the father of you and of me restored to the sunlight and to her company once more. Then he took the scepter—

once his own, but now carried by Aegisthus—and planted it at the hearth. From it branched upward a flourishing limb, by which the whole land of the Mycenaeans was overshadowed. Such was the tale that I heard told by one who was present
420

when she revealed her dream to the Sun-god. More than this I do not know, except that she sent me by reason of this fear of hers. Now, I beg you by our ancestral gods, obey me, and do not fall in your senselessness!
425

If you reject me now, it is in misery that you will next seek me out.
430

Electra. Sophocles. Richard Jebb (Translator). Cambridge. 1894.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Electra (English) (Sophocles the plays and fragments, Part 6: The Electra. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse, Sir, translator. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1894. (Modernized by Perseus.))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 415 focus

λέγ᾿ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο, πολλά τοι σμικροὶ λόγοι
415

ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς.

ΧΡ.

λόγος τις αὐτήν ἐστιν εἰσιδεῖν πατρὸς

τοῦ σοῦ τε κἀμοῦ δευτέραν ὁμιλίαν

ἐλθόντος εἰς φῶς· εἶτα τόνδ᾽ ἐφέστιον

πῆξαι λαβόντα σκῆπτρον, οὑφόρει ποτὲ
420

αὐτός, τανῦν δ᾽ Αἴγισθος· ἔκ τε τοῦδ᾽ ἄνω

βλαστεῖν βρύοντα θαλλόν, ᾧ τῶι L (γρ. C6 mg.). τῷ I (mg. 4). τῶι L² pr. τῶ V pr. & V. V. A Vat. ac M². κατάσκιον

πᾶσαν γενέσθαι τὴν Μυκηναίων χθόνα.

τοιαῦτα τοῦ παρόντος, ἡνίχ᾽ ῾Ηλίῳ

δείκνυσι τοὔναρ, ἔκλυον ἐξηγουμένου.
425

πλείω δὲ τούτων οὐ κάτοιδα, πλὴν ὅτι

πέμπει μ' ἐκείνη με κείνη LAL2. τοῦδε τοῦ φόβου χάριν.

πρός νυν πρὸσ νῦν LA Pal. θεῶν σε λίσσομαι τῶν ἐγγενῶν

ἐμοὶ πιθέσθαι μηδ᾽ ἀβουλίᾳ πεσεῖν·

εἰ γάρ μ' ἀπώσει, σὺν κακῷ μέτει πάλιν.
430

ΗΛ.

Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 415 focus

Ἠλέκτρα

λέγʼ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο· πολλά τοι σμικροὶ λόγοι
415

ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς.

Χρυσόθεμις

λόγος τις αὐτήν ἐστιν εἰσιδεῖν πατρὸς

τοῦ σοῦ τε κἀμοῦ δευτέραν ὁμιλίαν

ἐλθόντος ἐς φῶς· εἶτα τόνδʼ ἐφέστιον

πῆξαι λαβόντα σκῆπτρον οὑφόρει ποτὲ
420

αὐτός, τανῦν δʼ Αἴγισθος· ἐκ δὲ τοῦδʼ ἄνω

βλαστεῖν βρύοντα θαλλόν, ᾧ κατάσκιον

πᾶσαν γενέσθαι τὴν Μυκηναίων χθόνα.

τοιαῦτά του παρόντος, ἡνίχʼ Ἡλίῳ

δείκνυσι τοὔναρ, ἔκλυον ἐξηγουμένου.
425

πλείω δὲ τούτων οὐ κάτοιδα, πλὴν ὅτι

πέμπει με κείνη τοῦδε τοῦ φόβου χάριν.

πρός νυν θεῶν σε λίσσομαι τῶν ἐγγενῶν

ἐμοὶ πιθέσθαι μηδʼ ἀβουλίᾳ πεσεῖν·

εἰ γάρ μʼ ἀπώσει, σὺν κακῷ μέτει πάλιν.
430

Translations (4)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 415 focus

Speak but that.
415

A little word hath ofttimes been the cause
415

Of ruin or salvation unto men.

CHR

’Tis said she saw our father’s spirit come

Once more to visit the abodes of light;

Then take and firmly plant upon the hearth

The sceptre which he bore of old, and now

Aegisthus bears: and out of this upsprang

A burgeoned shoot, that shadowed all the ground
420

Of loved Mycenae. So I heard the tale
420

Told by a maid who listened when the Queen

Made known her vision to the God of Day.

But more than this I know not, save that I

Am sent by her through terror of the dream.

And I beseech thee by the Gods we serve

To take my counsel and not rashly fall.

If thou repel me now, the time may come

When suffering shall have brought thee to my side.
425

EL

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 415 focus

So sage dies. Wohl haben wenig Worte ja

Schon oft erhoben und gestürzt die Sterblichen.

Chrysothemis.

Es geht die Sage, daß sie deinen Vater und

Den meinen, welcher wiederum an's Licht gekehrt,
410

Sich zugesellt sah. Der ergriff den Herrscherstab,

Den er geführt einst, aber jezt Aegisthos führt,

Und pflanzt' in unsern Herd ihn ein; alsbald entsproß

Dem Stab ein üppig blüh'nder Zweig, der über ganz

Mykene seinen Schatten weit verbreitete.
415

So hört' ich Einen melden, der zugegen war,

Als sie der Sonne diesen Traum verkündete.¹

Doch mehr wie dieses weiß ich nicht, nur daß sie mich

Hierher gesendet, aufgeschreckt von dieser Angst.

Bei unsers Hauses Göttern fleh' ich nun dich an:
420

Mir folge Schwester, falle nicht durch Unbedacht;

Mich jezt verschmähend, suchst du mich im Leid dereinst.

Elektra.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 415 focus

The dream : and I will tell thee all.

Chrysothemis

I know but little of it.
415

Elec Tell me that :
415

Oftimes to words, how few soe'er they be.

Is given the power to save or to destroy.

Chrysothemis

Once more to light returned (so fame reports)

Before her our loved father did appear.

The royal sceptre wielded in his hand

Which now -^gisthus bears, whence seemed to spring

A green and leafy branch, whose wide extent
420

O'er all Mycenae spread its verdant shade :

This did I learn, and this alone, from one

Who listened long: attentive while she told

ELFXTRA,

Her vision to tlie sun ; hence all her fears,

And hence my destined journey, i
425

Electra

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 415 focus

But nothing, my loved sister, of these gifts
415

Affix thou to the tomb; it is not meet,
415

It is not holy, that such offerings, sent
415

By this malignant woman, should be placed;
415

Or such libations to our father's shade

Be pour'd: no: give them to the winds, or dig

Deep in the covering earth, and hide them there;

Chrysothemis

That nothing of them where our father rests

May ever come, but lie a precious store

For her when dead, and in the realms below..

For were not she, of all her sex, most lost lo

To shame, this hateful globlet to the manort I

Her own hands murder'd never had she crownd.

For canst thou think the dead within his tomb,

His indignation soften'd, will, receiver

These offerings from the hand by which he died

Dishonour'd, mangled with relentless hate,(

Amidst th' ablutions all the stains of bloodT
420

Wiped on his head And canst thou think these things
420

Will make atonement for the murderous deed?
420

It may not be; then think of them no more.

But cut thou off thy fair and crisped, curls,

And from my wretched head (small gift indeed,

But all I have to give) these squalid locks;

Lo With them present my zone, not richly wrought

With bright embroidery: bow before the tomb,

And pour thy prayers that from beneath the earth

Propitious he would come, against our foes

A strong protector; that with potent hand

His son, Orestes, may return, and live,

And trample those, that hate him, in the dust :

Then will we crown his tomb with richer gifts

Than now we can present. These things I think,

Yes, I will think he makes these things his care,
425

And therefore with these dreams appals her soul.
425

Do thou, my sister, in this hope perform
425

Theseus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-254-1 σμικροὶ λόγοι ¹

mvp-comment-255-1 πατρὸς … δευτέραν ὁμιλίαν ²

mvp-comment-255-2 ἐφέστιον πῆξαι ³

mvp-comment-255-3 This sceptre is described in the Iliad (2. 101 f.) as the work of Hephaestus, who gave it Zeus; Hermes transmitted it to Pelops, from whom it passed to Atreus and Agamemnon. The Homeric sceptre is often called

χρύσεον

( Il. 2. 268 , etc.), prob. as being ornamented with gold foil, or studded with gold nails ( Il. 1. 246

χρυσείοις ἥλοισι πεπαρμένον

). Among the objects found at Mycenae are some supposed remains of such sceptres (Schliem., Myc. 201, etc.).

mvp-comment-255-4 οὑφόρει ποτέ ⁴

mvp-comment-256-1 ἔκ τε ⁵ ἐκ δὲ ⁶

mvp-comment-256-2 βρύοντα ⁷

mvp-comment-256-3 ᾧ … γενέσθαι ⁸

mvp-comment-256-4 The vision resembles that of Astyages, who dreamed that a vine sprang from his daughter Mandanè, the wife of Cambyses,

τὴν δὲ ἄμπελον ἐπισχεῖν τὴν Ἀσίην πᾶσαν

. The

ὀνειροπόλοι

explained this to mean that her son (Cyrus) should reign in his grandfather's stead. ( Her. 1. 108. ) The spreading branches figure also in the dream of Xerxes (7. 19):

ἐδόκεε...ἐστεφανῶσθαι ἐλαίης θαλλῷ, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ἐλαίης τοὺς κλάδους γῆν πᾶσαν ἐπισχεῖν

mvp-comment-256-5 In choosing the sceptre of Agamemnon as the stock from which the wondrous growth is put forth, Sophocles may have had in mind the words of Achilles ( Il. 1. 234 ff.);

ναὶ μὰ τόδε σκῆπτρον· τὸ μὲν οὔποτε φύλλα καὶ ὄζους

φύσει, ἐπεὶ δὴ πρῶτα τομὴν ἐν ὄρεσσι λέλοιπεν

, |

οὐδ’ ἀναθηλήσει

mvp-comment-257-1 του παρόντος ⁹ τοῦ ¹⁰ παρόντος ¹¹ του ¹²

mvp-comment-257-2 Ἡλίῳ δείκνυσι τοὖναρ ¹³

mvp-comment-258-1 οὐ κάτοιδα, πλὴν ¹⁴

mvp-comment-258-2 πέμπει με κείνη ¹⁵

mvp-comment-259-1 These three verses, which the MSS. give to Electra, and which several recent critics reject (cr. n.), clearly belong to Chrysothemis, and are genuine. Electra's exclamation of joy (411) caused Chrysothemis to ask if her sister had any ground for hope (412). Electra replied that, when she had heard the dream, she would say. This showed her sister that Electra relied merely on the fact that Clytaemnestra had seen some fearful vision. Now, therefore, instead of asking for Electra's interpretation, she merely repeats her counsel (383 f.) before proceeding on her errand. The words

πρός νυν θεῶν κ.τ.λ.

(428 ff.) show the train of her thought. To Chrysothemis, the alarm of Clytaemnestra (427) is more important than the apparition of Agamemnon. The dream is only a new reason why Electra should be cautious,—not why she should hope.

mvp-comment-259-2 The current ascription of the verses to Electra was doubtless prompted by verse 413. It was supposed that the recital of Chrysothemis must be immediately followed by the comments of Electra. But, as Hermann observed, the phrase

ἀβουλίᾳ πεσεῖν

would alone suffice to show that the verses belong to Chrysothemis ( cp. 398 ). Nor could the warning,

σὺν κακῷ μέτει πάλιν

, be fitly uttered by Electra.

mvp-comment-259-3 τῶν ἐγγενῶν ¹⁶

mvp-comment-260-1 ἀβουλίᾳ ¹⁷

mvp-comment-260-2 σὺν κακῷ ¹⁸

mvp-comment-260-3 μέτει ¹⁹

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

415. mvp-comment-179-1 λέγ᾽ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο] 'Tell me but this;'-this little, if nothing more. Cp. Trach. 320, εἴπ', ὦ τάλαιν', ἀλλ᾽ ἡμὶν ἐκ σαυτῆς. πολλά τοι κ.τ.λ.] Cp. Aesch. Cho. 204, σμικροῦ γένοιτ' ἂν σπέρματος μέγας πυθμήν: Ο. Τ. 120, 1, ἓν γὰρ πόλλ᾽ ἂν ἐξεύροι μαθεῖν, | ἀρχὴν βραχεῖαν εἰ λάβοιμεν ἐλπίδος.

417. mvp-comment-180-1 λόγος τις.. ἐστιν] It is said,' viz. by the attendant who heard her tell her vision to the Sun, infr. 424, 5.

417-419. mvp-comment-181-1 πατρὸς ἐς φῶς] Our father again amongst us, revisiting the realm of light; i.e. τὸν πατέρα δεύτερον ὁμιλοῦντα (τοῖς ἐνθάδε), -abstract for concrete.

419. mvp-comment-182-1 εἶτα, κ.τ.λ.] These words depend immediately on λόγος τίς ἐστιν. Chrysothemis proceeds to narrate the vision as a matter of fact.

421. mvp-comment-183-1 τανῦν δ᾽ Αἴγισθος] Sc. φέρει.

424. mvp-comment-184-1 τοῦ παρόντος] 'The one who was present.' As a matter of course Clytemnestra was not wholly unattended in the day-time. Hence the article. Some editors have preferred the indefinite του; but the use of παρόντος = παραγενομένου is less natural in this case, and the double predicate παρόντος, ἐξηγουμένου, is awkward. A female attendant is meant, the masculine form being used, as in Trach. 151, etc. See Essay on L. § 20. p. 30. 2.

428. mvp-comment-185-1 πρὸς . . θεῶν τῶν ἐγγενῶν] · By the gods of our race,' i.e. the gods who are not only the protectors of our race, but also its progenitors, Inachus, etc. Chrysothemis in her solemn adjuration uses τὸν ἐπιχώριον ὅρκον τὸν μέγιστον (Thuc. 5. 18. § 9). Cp. Ant. 938, θεοὶ προγενεῖς, and note.

430. mvp-comment-186-1 σὺν κακῷ μέτει πάλιν] 'You will seek me another day, when the evil has overtaken you.'

Sophocles Electra 415

Richard Jebb (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Electra

Tell me that, anyway; a small tale has often before now tripped men up, or set them upright.
415

Current edition Experimental

λέγ᾿ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο, πολλά τοι σμικροὶ λόγοι
415

ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς.

ΗΛ.

Ἠλέκτρα

λέγʼ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο· πολλά τοι σμικροὶ λόγοι
415

ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς.

Speak but that.
415

A little word hath ofttimes been the cause
415

Of ruin or salvation unto men.

EL

So sage dies. Wohl haben wenig Worte ja

Schon oft erhoben und gestürzt die Sterblichen.

Elektra.

The dream : and I will tell thee all.

Chrysothemis

I know but little of it.
415

Elec Tell me that :
415

Oftimes to words, how few soe'er they be.

Is given the power to save or to destroy.

Electra

Theseus

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Electra Tell me that, anyway; a small tale has often before now tripped men up, or set them upright. 415

Current edition Experimental

λέγ᾿ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο, πολλά τοι σμικροὶ λόγοι 415 ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς.

ΗΛ.

Ἠλέκτρα λέγʼ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο· πολλά τοι σμικροὶ λόγοι 415 ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς.

Speak but that. 415 A little word hath ofttimes been the cause 415 Of ruin or salvation unto men.

EL

So sage dies. Wohl haben wenig Worte ja Schon oft erhoben und gestürzt die Sterblichen.

Elektra.

The dream : and I will tell thee all.

Chrysothemis I know but little of it. 415 Elec Tell me that : 415 Oftimes to words, how few soe'er they be. Is given the power to save or to destroy.

Electra

Theseus

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Electra

Tell me that, anyway; a small tale has often before now tripped men up, or set them upright.
415

λέγ᾿ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο, πολλά τοι σμικροὶ λόγοι
415

ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς.

Ἠλέκτρα

λέγʼ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο· πολλά τοι σμικροὶ λόγοι
415

ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς.

Speak but that.
415

A little word hath ofttimes been the cause
415

Of ruin or salvation unto men.

So sage dies. Wohl haben wenig Worte ja

Schon oft erhoben und gestürzt die Sterblichen.

Chrysothemis

I know but little of it.
415

Elec Tell me that :
415

Oftimes to words, how few soe'er they be.

Is given the power to save or to destroy.