SOPHOCLES—IN HIS OWN WORDS
Quotes from Ajax
Selected passages from Ian Johnston's Ajax Translation
The following passages are drawn from Ian Johnston's translation of Antigone, published by Richer Resources Publications. Book and line numbers are provided for each selection.
"The sweetest laughter comes from mocking enemies."
—Athena, Ajax, lines 101–102
"I pity his misfortune under that yoke
of catastrophic madness. It makes me think
not just of his fate but my own as well.
I see that in our lives we are no more
than phantoms, insubstantial shadows."
—Odysseus, Ajax, lines 159–163
"A single day
pulls down any human's scale of fortune
or raises it once more."
—Athena, Ajax, lines 168–170
"The gods love
men who possess good sense and self-control
and despise the ones who are unjust."
—Athena, Ajax, lines 170–172
"Throw a spear
at some great soul, and you will never miss."
—Chorus, Ajax, lines 194–196
"Envy creeps up
against the man of wealth and power."
—Chorus, Ajax, lines 197–198
"The best for small men is to ally themselves
with greatness, and for the powerful
to be supported by the lesser men."
—Chorus, Ajax, lines 199–203
"Words from friends
can cure a man like him."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 395–397
"To look at self-inflicted suffering
when no one else played any part in it
brings on great anguish."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 306–309
"It is dishonourable for any man
to crave a lengthy life, once he discovers
the troubles he is in will never change.
A man of noble birth
lives on with honour, or he dies in glory."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 560–569
"Kindness always engenders gratitude.
A man who gives up his good memories
will no longer be a noble, worthy man."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 620–623
"The long succession of the countless years
reveals what's hidden, then hides it once again,
and there is nothing we should not anticipate."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 764–767
"Things of the greatest power and awe
give way to privileged authorities.
Snow-footed Winter yields to fruitful Summer,
and Night's dark vault withdraws the moment Day
fires up the sky."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 791–797
"All-powerful Sleep
lets go the one he holds tied up in chains;
his grasp does not go on forever."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 798–800
"We should hate our enemies as much
as suits a man who will become a friend.
And when I help a friend, then I will give
only what is due a man who'll not remain
a friend forever."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 802–808
"For common mortals
see that the shelter comradeship affords
is treacherous."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 807–809
"Those living things
which become too large and thus unwieldy
fall into harsh disasters from the gods."
—Calchas (reported by the Messenger), Ajax, lines 901–904
"The gods
have plotted these events—
they always do
in everything that mortal men go through."
—Teucer, Ajax, lines 1231–1234
"Within the city
the laws could never foster benefits
if there was no established place for fear."
—Menelaus, Ajax, lines 1280–1282
"A man
who has in him a sense of fear and shame
is quite secure."
—Menelaus, Ajax, lines 1287–1289
"It is not right
to harm a good man when he dies,
even though he may be someone you hate."
—Odysseus, Ajax, lines 1635–1637
"His excellence moves me to do it,
far more than his hostility to me."
—Odysseus, Ajax, lines 1656–1658
"Among human beings
most are changeable,
sometimes friendly,
then sometimes bitter."
—Odysseus, Ajax, lines 1661–1665
"I myself will someday
reach the state he's in."
—Odysseus, Ajax, lines 1671–1672
"I know of many things
which mortal men can see and learn.
But until he meets it,
no one sees what is to come
or his own fate."
—Chorus, Ajax, lines 1738–1740
"But nothing can prevent
a sickness which the gods implant."
—Chorus, Ajax, lines 230–232
"For when disaster has already passed
it doesn’t have as much significance."
—Chorus Leader, Ajax, lines 309–311
"But now there is a pause in his disease,
he can recuperate and understand
the full extremity of bitter grief."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 324–327
"Once he saw
his room filled up with that deluded slaughter,
he struck his head and howled. Then he collapsed,
a ruined man among so many ruins."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 370–374
"He’s always claimed that wailing cries like that
were only fit for gloomy men and cowards."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 384–386
"Do you see how this bold and valiant heart,
this warrior so fearless in those wars
against his enemies, has turned his hands,
these awesome hands, against tame animals?"
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 433–436
"Why lament those deeds which have been done
and cannot be recalled? Such final acts
will never be anything but what they are."
—Chorus Leader, Ajax, lines 446–448
"Divine will
determines if each man laughs and cries."
—Chorus Leader, Ajax, lines 453–455
"If my past fame has been cut down,
along with these dead beasts beside me,
then, my friends, if I now seek
a madman’s triumphs, all the army,
with repeated blows from their own swords
will cut me down as well."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 475–481
"But now I lie among this heap, dishonoured."
—Ajax, Ajax, line 498
"Had Achilles lived and been about to judge
the man who should receive his weapons,
the prize for being the finest man in war,
no soldier would have put his hand on them
before I did."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 517–521
"What do I do, when I am obviously
hated by the gods, when the Greek army
despises me, and everyone in Troy
and on the plain holds me an enemy?"
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 539–542
"I must seek out some act which will reveal
to my old father how, at least by nature,
his own son has not become a coward."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 557–559
"What joy is there for him when every day
just follows on another, pulling him away
or pushing him toward death?"
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 562–565
"I would not pay
for any sort of mortal man who’s warmed
by futile hopes."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 565–567
"For human beings
the worst of evils is what they endure
when they’re compelled to."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 575–577
"Respect your father,
whom you will leave a miserable old man.
Respect your mother, too, who shares his years."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 600–602
"Have pity for your son. For if you die,
consider how, whenever that day comes,
both he and I will face desolation."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 604–607
"What country could I have except with you?
What wealth? My safety, all security,
that rests with you."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 617–619
"Now I envy you, and with good reason—
for you have no idea of any troubles.
The sweetest life comes when one senses nothing—
to lack all feeling is a painless evil—
until you learn what joy and sorrow mean."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 661–665
"Once you reach that stage, you must reveal
the kind of man you are, your ancestry,
to those who were your father’s enemies."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 666–668
"A skilful healer
does not howl incantations when a wound
is crying for the knife."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 697–699
"The power of time extinguishes all things,
so I can’t say that anything
lies beyond all expectation."
—Chorus, Ajax, lines 850–852
"Those living things
which become too large and thus unwieldy
fall into harsh disasters from the gods."
—Calchas, reported by the Messenger, Ajax, lines 901–903
"Father, with god’s help even a worthless man
can be victorious. But I believe
I’ll win glory on my own without them."
—Ajax, reported by the Messenger, Ajax, lines 912–915
"Because he does not think as humans should."
—Messenger, Ajax, line 925
"For me to weep
is useless. It’s time to start the final act."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 1019–1020
"O Death, Death, come now and watch in person.
Yet I’ll be seeing you on the other side,
and there we can converse."
—Ajax, Ajax, lines 1021–1023
"Even your enemies
must find you worthy of a funeral song."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 1098–1099
"Men with brutal minds
have no idea what fine things they possess
until they throw them out."
—Tecmessa, Ajax, lines 1141–1143
"For it’s a fact all men
love to laugh in triumph above the dead,
when they’re stretched out before them."
—Teucer, Ajax, lines 1169–1171
"How many sorrows
you have sown for me by this destruction!"
—Teucer, Ajax, lines 1189–1191
"When a common man
thinks it’s appropriate to disobey
those in command, he truly demonstrates
his worthless character."
—Menelaus, Ajax, lines 1275–1278
"Where there’s room for hostile arrogance
and men do what they want, consider how
a state like that, though it has raced ahead
with favouring winds, will, in the course of time,
sink in the ocean depths eventually."
—Menelaus, Ajax, lines 1289–1294
"Let’s not believe
we can just do whatever we desire
and not pay the painful consequence."
—Menelaus, Ajax, lines 1296–1298
"When things go badly, I don’t like to hear
a tone like that. Even when it’s justified,
harsh language stings."
—Chorus Leader, Ajax, lines 1341–1343
"When a man is right,
he’s entitled to make impressive claims."
—Teucer, Ajax, lines 1352–1354
"Don’t harm the dead. If you do,
you can be sure you’ll find yourself in trouble."
—Teucer, Ajax, lines 1393–1394
"How quickly among mortal men
grateful thoughts about the dead are gone
and turn into betrayal."
—Teucer, Ajax, lines 1526–1528
"It’s not the big, broad-shouldered warriors
who make the most reliable allies—
it’s men who think—they win out every time."
—Agamemnon, Ajax, lines 1505–1508
"You should not let
that spirit of violence at any time
seize control of you, not to the extent
that you then trample justice underfoot."
—Odysseus, Ajax, lines 1621–1625
"Do not take pleasure in advantages
which are dishonourable."
—Odysseus, Ajax, lines 1644–1646
"I wouldn’t recommend
we choose someone inflexible."
—Odysseus, Ajax, lines 1665–1667
"Every Greek will think we’re being just."
—Odysseus, Ajax, line 1669
"I am willing
to join with him in burying the dead,
working with you and omitting nothing
human beings may need to honour and respect
their finest warriors."
—Odysseus, Ajax, lines 1689–1694
"There was no one to match his excellence.
No nobler man has received such honour."
—Teucer, Ajax, lines 1736–1737
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