Or full of turmoil: and when one night binds us,
We needs must bear, and think of it as right.
518
Among mankind we all are born alike
Of father and of mother. None excels
Another in his nature, but the fate
Of evil chance holds some of us, and some
Good fortune favours, and necessity
Holds some in bondage.
520
Praise no man much until thou see his death.
535
Within the tablets of thy mind write this
That I have said to thee.
563
Well, well, what greater joy could’st thou receive
Than touching land, and then, beneath a roof,
With slumbering mind to hear the pelting storm?
572
We should not speak of one that prospers well
As happy, till his life have run its course,
And reached its goal. An evil spirit’s gift
In shortest time has oft laid low the state
Of one full rich in great prosperity,
When the change comes, and so the Gods appoint.
582
No one who sins against his will is base.
Tell not to many what Fate sends on thee:
’Tis comelier far in silence to lament.
588
I mourn for those my locks as young mare doth,
Who, caught by shepherds, in the stable stands,
And with rough hands has all her chestnut mane
Cropped off, and then is led in meadow fair,
Which clear streams water, and when thus she sees
Her likeness, with her hair thus foully cropped,
Ah, one hard-hearted wall might pity her,
Crouching in shame, as maddened with disgrace,
Mourning and weeping o’er the mane that’s gone.
606
Ne’er can a state be well and safely ruled,
In which all justice and all purity
Are trampled under foot, and brawling knave
With cruel goad drives the poor state to death.
607
Not mortal men alone does Love assail,
No, nor yet women, but it leaves its stamp
Upon the souls of Gods, and passes on
To mighty ocean. Zeus omnipotent
Is powerless to avert it, and submits
And yields full willingly.
608
No greater evil can a man endure
Than a bad wife, nor find a greater good
Than one both good and wise; and each man speaks
As judging by the experience of his life.
609
Forgive me, and be silent, patiently;
For that which to us women bringeth shame
One ought in women’s presence to conceal.
610
Would’st thou count up the roll of happy men,
Thou shalt not find one mortal truly blest.
611
Ah, women! no one can escape disgrace
On whom Zeus sendeth ills in armed array;
And heaven-sent plagues we still must bear perforce.
612
Sons are the anchors of a mother’s life.
622
Thou art but young; and thou hast much to learn,
And many things to hear and understand:
Seek still to add fresh knowledge profitable.
626
Death comes, the last great healer of all ills.
649
Ah, boy! ’tis just the noble and the good
That Ares loves to slay. The bold in tongue,
Shunning all pain, are out of danger’s reach;
For Ares careth not for coward souls.
657
Time, stripping off the veil, brings all to light.
658
Time, even Time, in all the vast expanse
Of this our human life,
Finds plenteous wisdom for the souls that seek.
659
But when the Gods would hide the things of heaven,
Thou can’st not learn, although thou travel far.
660
One wise man is no match for many fools.
661
A good man still will succour the distressed.
662
True wisdom ranks among the Gods most high.
663
They that fare ill become not only deaf,
But, even though they gaze, they see not clear
What lies before them.
Sore evil still, and all unmanageable,
Is want of knowledge. Folly proves itself
Of wickedness true sister.
664
We cannot speak good words of deeds not good.
665
We should not joy in pleasures that bring shame.
666
Fortune ne’er helps the man whose courage fails.
667
Shame brings but little help in evil things;
Your silence is the talker’s best ally.
What means this praise? The man who yields to wine
Is void of understanding, slave to wrath,
And wont, though babbling many words and vain,
To hear full loth what eagerly he spoke.
669
When one is found as taken in the act
Of fraud and wrong, whate’er his skill of speech,
The only course for him is silence then;
Yet that is hard to bear for one who feels
Conscious of innocence.
670
In vows, forsooth, a woman shuns the pangs
And pains of childbirth; but the evil o’er,
Once more she comes within the self-same net,
O’ercome by that strong passion of her soul.
671
No oath weighs aught on one of scoundrel soul.
672
When trouble ceases e’en our troubles please.
674
Where fathers are by children overcome,
That is no city of the wise and good,
’Tis best, where’er we are, to follow still
The customs of the country.
675
He to whom men pay honour’s noble meed
Has need of noble deeds innumerable,
And out of easy conflict there can come
But little glory.
676
Counsels are mightier things than strength of hands.
677
My body is enslaved, my mind is free.
678
Not Kyprian only, children, is she called,
Who rules o’er Kypros, but bears many names.
Hades is she, and Might imperishable,
And raving Madness, and untamed Desire,
And bitter Lamentation. All is hers,
Or earnest, or in calm, or passionate;
For still where’er is life she winds within
The inmost heart. Where finds this Goddess not
Her easy prey? She masters all the tribe
Of fish that swim the waters, she prevails
O’er all four-footed beasts that walk the earth.
Her wing directs the course of wandering birds,
Mighty o’er beasts, and men, and Gods above.
What God in wrestling throws she not thrice o’er?
Yea, if ‘twere lawful to speak all the truth,
She sways the breast of Zeus. All weaponless,
Without or spear or sword, the Kyprian queen
Cuts short the schemes of mortals or of Gods.
679
What house hath ever gained prosperity,
How swoln soe’er with pride, without the grace
Of woman’s nobler nature.
680
But when bereavement falls upon her house,
A woman has the purpose of a man.
681
&n
bsp; No small disease is poverty for those
Who boast of wealth; than poverty no foe
Is found more hostile.
682
O race of mortal men oppressed with care!
What nothings are we, like to shadows vain,
Cumbering the ground, and wandering to and fro!
683
None but the Gods may live untouched by ill.
684
O God, we mortals find no way to flee
From evils deeply-rooted, sent from Heaven.
685
Would one might live, and give the present hour
Its fill of pleasure, while the future creeps
For ever unforeseen.
686
The skilful gamester still should make the best
Of any throw, and not bemoan his luck.
687
Tis hope that feeds the larger half of men.
688
Ne’er can the wise grow old, in whom there dwells
A soul sustained with light of Heaven’s own day:
Great gain to men is forethought such as theirs.
689
He who in midst of woes desireth life,
Is either coward or insensible.
690
A. — Now he is dead, I yearn to die with him.
B. — Why such hot haste? Thou needs must meet thy fate.
Truth evermore surpasseth words in might.
694
A woman’s oaths I write upon the waves.
701
To drink against one’s will
Is not less evil than unwilling thirst.
702
If thou should’st bring all wisdom of the wise
To one who thirsts, thou could’st not please him
Than giving him to drink.
703
Most basely wilt thou die by doom of Heaven,
Who, being as thou art, dost still drain off
Thy pottle-deep potations.
705
This wanton insolence
Is never brought to self-control in youth,
But still among the young bursts out, and then
Tames down and withers.
707
I know that God is ever such as this,
Darkly disclosing counsels to the wise;
But to the simple, speaking fewest words,
Plain teacher found.
709
Thou shalt find a God
Who knoweth not or charity or grace.
But loves strict justice, that and that alone.
711
Whoso will enter in a monarch’s house
Is but his bond-slave, though he come as free.
713
In many a turning of the wheel of God
My fate revolves and changes all its mood;
E’en as the moon’s face never keepeth still
For but two nights in one position fixed,
But from its hiding-place first comes as new,
With brightening face, and thenceforth waxeth full
And when it gains its noblest phase of all,
Wanes off again, and comes to nothingness.
714
Counsel of evil travelleth all too quick.
715
If any man beginneth all things well,
The chances are his ends agree thereto.
717
Words that are false bring forth no fruit at all.
718
Though one be poor, his fame may yet stand high.
Not one whit worse the poor whose heart is wise.
What profit is there from our many goods,
If care, with evil thoughts,
Is still the nurse of fair prosperity?
719
Thrice happy they, who, having seen these rites,
Then pass to Hades: there to these alone
Is granted life, all others evil find.
723
What may be taught I learn; what may be found
That I still seek for; what must come by prayer,
For that I asked the Gods.
724
Go forth, ye people strong of hand, to work,
Who with your balanced baskets of first-fruits
Worship the Working Goddess, child of Zeus,
Whose eyes are dread to look on.
725
And dost thou mourn the death of mortal man,
Not knowing if the future bringeth gain?
727
Thou waxest wanton, like a high-fed colt;
For maw and mouth are glutted with excess.
732
Searching out all things, thou in most men’s acts
Wilt find but baseness.
Unlooked-for things must once for all begin.
741
Those who lose such friends lose them to their joy,
And they who have them for deliverance pray.
749
This is the gift of God, and what the Gods
Shall give, we men, my child, should never shun.
762
An old man’s wrath is like ill-tempered scythe,
Sharp to begin, but quickly blunted off.
The dice of Zeus have ever lucky throws..
772
Be pitiful, O Sun,
Whom the wise name as father of the Gods,
Author of all things.
779
Since we have rightly made our prayer to God,
Let us now go, O boys, to where the wise
Impart their knowledge of the Muses’ arts.
Each day we need to take some forward step,
Till we gain power to study nobler things.
Evil a boy will learn without a guide,
With little labour, learning from himself;
But good, not even with his teacher near,
Dwells in his soul, but is full hardly gained:
Let us then, boys, be watchful, and work hard,
Lest we should seem with men untaught to rank
The children of a father far from home.
780
The gratitude of one whose memory fails
Is quickly gone.
The Greek Texts
The Bay of Salamis. At the age of sixteen, Sophocles was chosen to lead the paean choral chant to celebrate the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC.
LIST OF GREEK TEXTS
In this section of the eBook, readers can view the original Greek texts of Sophocles’ works. You may wish to Bookmark this page for future reference.
CONTENTS
Αίας - AJAX
Αντιγόνη - ANTIGONE
Τραχινίαι - THE WOMEN OF TRACHIS
Οιδίπους Τύραννος - OEDIPUS THE KING
Φιλοκτήτης - PHILOCTETES
Ηλέκτρα - ELECTRA
Οιδίπους επί Κολωνώ - OEDIPUS AT COLONUS
FRAGMENTS
Αίας - AJAX
ΑΘΑΝΑ
Ἀεὶ μέν, ὦ παῖ Λαρτίου, δέδορκά σε
πεῖράν τιν’ ἐχθρῶν ἁρπάσαι θηρώμενον·
καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ σκηναῖς σε ναυτικαῖς ὁρῶ
Αἴαντος, ἔνθα τάξιν ἐσχάτην ἔχει,
5 πάλαι κυνηγετοῦντα καὶ μετρούμενον
ἴχνη τὰ κείνου νεοχάραχθ’, ὅπως ἴδῃς
εἴτ’ ἔνδον εἴτ’ οὐκ ἔνδον. Εὖ δέ σ’ ἐκφέρει
κυνὸς Λακαίνης ὥς τις εὔρινος βάσις·
ἔνδον γὰρ ἁνὴρ ἄρτι τυγχάνει, κάρα
10 στάζων ἱδρῶτι καὶ χέρας ξιφοκτόνους·
καί σ’ οὐδὲν εἴσω τῆσδε παπταίνειν πύλης
ἔτ’ ἔργον ἐστίν, ἐννέπειν δ’ ὅτου χάριν
σπουδὴν ἔθου τήνδ’, ὡς παρ’ εἰδυίας μάθῃς.
ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ
Ὦ φθέγμ’ Ἀθάνας, φιλτάτης ἐμοὶ θεῶν,
15 ὡς εὐμαθές σου, κἂν ἄποπτος ᾖς, ὅμως
φώνημ’ ἀκούω καὶ ξυναρπάζω φρενί,
χαλκοστόμου κώδωνος ὡς τυρσηνικῆς.
Καὶ νῦν ἐπέγνως εὖ μ’ ἐπ’ ἀνδρὶ δυσμενεῖ
βάσιν κυκλοῦντ’, Αἴαντι τῷ σακεσφόρῳ·
20 κεῖνον γάρ, οὐδέν’ ἄλλον, ἰχνεύω πάλαι.
Νυκτὸς γὰρ ἡμᾶς τῆσδε πρᾶγος ἄσκοπον
ἔχει περάνας, - εἴπερ εἴργασται τάδε·
ἴσμεν γὰρ οὐδὲν τρανές, ἀλλ’ ἀλώμεθα·
κἀγὼ ‘θελοντὴς τῷδ’ ὑπεζύγην πόνῳ.
25 Ἐφθαρμένας γὰρ ἀρτίως εὑρίσκομεν
λείας ἁπάσας καὶ κατηναρισμένας
ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις.
Τήνδ’ οὖν ἐκείνῳ πᾶς τις αἰτίαν νέμει.
Καί μοί τις ὀπτὴρ αὐτὸν εἰσιδὼν μόνον
30 πηδῶντα πεδία σὺν νεορράντῳ ξίφει
φράζει τε κἀδήλωσεν· εὐθέως δ’ ἐγὼ
κατ’ ἴχνος ᾄσσω, καὶ τὰ μὲν σημαίνομαι,
τὰ δ’ ἐκπέπληγμαι κοὐκ ἔχω μαθεῖν ὅτου.
Καιρὸν δ’ ἐφήκεις· πάντα γὰρ τά τ’ οὖν πάρος
35 τά τ’ εἰσέπειτα σῇ κυβερνῶμαι χερί.
ΑΘ. Ἔγνων, Ὀδυσσεῦ, καὶ πάλαι φύλαξ ἔβην
τῇ σῇ πρόθυμος εἰς ὁδὸν κυναγίᾳ.
ΟΔ. Ἦ καί, φίλη δέσποινα, πρὸς καιρὸν πονῶ;
ΑΘ. Ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι.
40 ΟΔ. Καὶ πρὸς τί δυσλόγιστον ὧδ’ ᾖξεν χέρα;
ΑΘ. Χόλῳ βαρυνθεὶς τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων.
ΟΔ. Τί δῆτα ποίμναις τήνδ’ ἐπεμπίπτει βάσιν;
ΑΘ. Δοκῶν ἐν ὑμῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ.