§540τί δῆτα μέλλει μὴ οὐ παρουσίαν ἔχειν;
Why does he delay to show his presence here?
§541ὦ παῖ, πατὴρ καλεῖ σε.
My boy, your father calls you.
δεῦρο προσπόλων §542ἄγʼ αὐτὸν ὅσπερ χερσὶν εὐθύνων κυρεῖς.
Come, whoever of the servants happen to be guiding him by his hands, bring him here.
§543ἕρποντι φωνεῖς, ἢ λελειμμένῳ λόγου;
Are you speaking to him as he comes, or has he missed your word?
§544καὶ δὴ κομίζει προσπόλων ὅδʼ ἐγγύθεν.
Indeed, here is one of the servants bringing him from nearby.
§545αἶρʼ αὐτόν, αἶρε δεῦρο· ταρβήσει γὰρ οὔ, §546νεοσφαγῆ που τόνδε προσλεύσσων φόνον, §547εἴπερ δικαίως ἔστʼ ἐμὸς τὰ πατρόθεν.
Lift him up, lift him here; for he will not be afraid even of looking upon this newly shed blood, if indeed he is truly my son on his father's side.
But immediately in his father's fierce ways he must be broken in and made like him in nature.
O child, may you be more fortunate than your father, but in other things like him; and you would not be a coward.
Yet even now I can envy you in this indeed, because you perceive nothing of these evils.
For in having no feeling of mind is the sweetest life, until you learn to rejoice and to grieve.
But when you reach this, you must show among your enemies what kind of son from what kind of father you were reared.
Meanwhile, feed on light breezes, cherishing your young soul, a joy to this mother.
No one of the Achaeans, I know, shall outrage you with hateful insults, not even when you are apart from me.
§562τοῖον πυλωρὸν φύλακα Τεῦκρον ἀμφί σοι §563λείψω τροφῆς ἄοκνον ἔμπα κεἰ τανῦν §564τηλωπὸς οἰχνεῖ, δυσμενῶν θήραν ἔχων.
Such a tireless guardian, Teucer, I will leave around you for your nurture, even if for the present he goes far out of sight, hunting enemies.
§565ἀλλʼ, ἄνδρες ἀσπιστῆρες, ἐνάλιος λεώς, §566ὑμῖν τε κοινὴν τήνδʼ ἐπισκήπτω χάριν, §567κείνῳ τʼ ἐμὴν ἀγγείλατʼ ἐντολήν, ὅπως §568τὸν παῖδα τόνδε πρὸς δόμους ἐμοὺς ἄγων §569Τελαμῶνι δείξει μητρί τʼ, Ἐριβοίᾳ λέγω, §570ὥς σφιν γένηται γηροβοσκὸς εἰσαεί, §571ἔστʼ ἂν μυχοὺς κίχωσι τοῦ κάτω θεοῦ, §572καὶ τἀμὰ τεύχη μήτʼ ἀγωνάρχαι τινὲς §573θήσουσʼ Ἀχαιοῖς μήτε λυμεὼν ἐμός.
But, O shield-bearing warriors, seafaring people, upon you too I enjoin this common favor, and announce to him my command, that bringing this child to my home he may show him to Telamon and my mother, Eriboea I mean, so that he may become for them a nurturer of their old age forever, until they reach the chambers of the god below, and that no judges of the games shall set my armor for the Achaeans, nor shall he who ruined me.
§574ἀλλʼ αὐτό μοι σύ, παῖ, λαβὼν ἐπώνυμον, §575Εὐρύσακες, ἴσχε διὰ πολυρράφου στρέφων §576πόρπακος ἑπτάβοιον ἄρρηκτον σάκος· §577τὰ δʼ ἄλλα τεύχη κοίνʼ ἐμοὶ τεθάψεται.
But you yourself, child, taking that which you are named after, Eurysaces, hold by turning the many-stitched handle the unbreakable sevenfold ox-hide shield; but my other armor shall be buried with me.
But as quickly as possible, receive this child now, and shut the house, and do not weep with lamentations in front of the tent.
§580δάκρυε. κάρτα τοι φιλοίκτιστον γυνή.
Indeed, a woman is an exceedingly pitiful thing.
§581πύκαζε θᾶσσον.
Close it quickly.
οὐ πρὸς ἰατροῦ σοφοῦ §582θρηνεῖν ἐπῳδὰς πρὸς τομῶντι πήματι.
It is not for a wise physician to weep incantations over a pain that needs the knife.
§583δέδοικʼ ἀκούων τήνδε τὴν προθυμίαν.
I am afraid as I hear this eagerness.
§584οὐ γάρ μʼ ἀρέσκει γλῶσσά σου τεθηγμένη.
For your sharpened tongue does not please me.
§585ὦ δέσποτʼ Αἴας, τί ποτε δρασείεις φρενί;
O master Ajax, what in the world do you wish to do in your mind?
§586μὴ κρῖνε, μὴ ʼξέταζε· σωφρονεῖν καλόν.
Do not judge, do not question; it is good to be moderate.
§587οἴμʼ ὡς ἀθυμῶ·
Ah, how discouraged I am!
καί σε πρὸς τοῦ σοῦ τέκνου §588καὶ θεῶν ἱκνοῦμαι, μὴ προδοὺς ἡμᾶς γένῃ.
And I entreat you by your child and by the gods, do not become a betrayer of us.
§589ἄγαν γε λυπεῖς.
You vex me too much.
οὐ κάτοισθʼ ἐγὼ θεοῖς §590ὡς οὐδὲν ἀρκεῖν εἴμʼ ὀφειλέτης ἔτι;
Do you not know that I am no longer a debtor to the gods to be of any help?
§591εὔφημα φώνει.
Speak words of good omen.
§591bτοῖς ἀκούουσιν λέγε.
Speak to those who listen.
§592σὺ δʼ οὐχὶ πείσῃ;
And will you not obey?
§592bπόλλʼ ἄγαν ἤδη θροεῖς.
You have already said too much.
§593ταρβῶ γάρ, ὦναξ.
For I am afraid, O king.
§593bοὐ ξυνέρξεθʼ ὡς τάχος;
Will you not shut her in as quickly as possible?
§594πρὸς θεῶν, μαλάσσου.
By the gods, be softened.
You seem to me to think foolishly, if you intend only now to educate my character.
§596ὦ κλεινὰ Σαλαμίς, σὺ μέν §597που ναίεις ἁλίπλακτος εὐδαίμων, §598πᾶσιν περίφαντος αἰεί· §600ἐγὼ δʼ ὁ τλάμων παλαιὸς ἀφʼ οὗ χρόνος §601μίμνων ἀνʼ Ἴδαν λειμῶνι ποᾶντι μη- §602νῶν ἀνήριθμος αἰὲν εὐ- §605νῶμαι χρόνῳ τρυχόμενος, §606κακὰν ἐλπίδʼ ἔχων ἔτι μέ §607ποτʼ ἀνύσειν τὸν ἀπότροπον ἀΐδηλον Ἅιδαν.
O famous Salamis, you indeed, I suppose, dwell sea-washed and happy, conspicuous to all always; but I, wretched, for a long time remaining on Ida in its grassy meadow, innumerable of months, always worn out by time, lie down, having still a bad hope that one day I shall reach the terrible, invisible Hades.
§608καί μοι δυσθεράπευτος Αἴ- §610ας ξύνεστιν ἔφεδρος, ὤμοι μοι, §611θείᾳ μανίᾳ ξύναυλος· §612ὃν ἐξεπέμψω πρὶν δή ποτε θουρίῳ §614κρατοῦντʼ ἐν Ἄρει· νῦν δʼ αὖ φρενὸς οἰοβώ- §615τας φίλοις μέγα πένθος ηὕ- §616ρηται.
And for me, Ajax, hard to cure, abides with me as a companion, alas, dwelling with a god-sent madness; whom once you sent out, indeed, conquering in impetuous war; but now, feeding his mind in solitude, he is found a great grief to his friends.
And the former deeds of his hands of greatest valor have fallen unloved before the unloving, wretched Atreidae.
§621ἦ που παλαιᾷ μὲν σύντροφος ἁμέρᾳ, §625λευκῷ τε γήρᾳ μάτηρ νιν ὅταν νοσοῦν- §626τα φρενοβόρως ἀκούσῃ, §627αἴλινον αἴλινον §628οὐδʼ οἰκτρᾶς γόον ὄρνιθος ἀηδοῦς §630ἥσει δύσμορος, ἀλλʼ §631ὀξυτόνους μὲν ᾠδὰς §632θρηνήσει, χερόπλακτοι δʼ §633ἐν στέρνοισι πεσοῦνται §634δοῦποι καὶ πολιᾶς ἄμυγμα χαίτας.
Surely, his mother, reared in ancient days, and in white old age, when she hears of him suffering from a mind-devouring disease, will cry "ailinon, ailinon," and she will not utter the lament of the pitiful bird, the nightingale, wretched one, but she will lament in high-pitched songs, and blows struck by her hands will fall upon her breast, with dull sounds and tearing of her grey hair.
§635κρείσσων γὰρ Ἅιδᾳ κεύθων ὁ νοσῶν μάταν,
For better is he who is in vain sick hiding in Hades,