Electra, Sophocles, creator; Sophocles with an English translation Vol 2; Storr, Francis, 1839-1919, editor, translator. London, New York: William Heinemann Ltd., The Macmillan Company, 1913.
Made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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σύγκαμνʼ ἀδελφῷ, παῦσον ἐκ κακῶν ἐμέ,
παῦσον δὲ σαυτήν, τοῦτο γιγνώσκουσʼ ὅτι
ζῆν αἰσχρὸν αἰσχρῶς τοῖς καλῶς πεφυκόσιν.
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Χορός
990
ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐστὶν ἡ προμηθία
καὶ τῷ λέγοντι καὶ κλύοντι σύμμαχος.
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Χρυσόθεμις
καὶ πρίν γε φωνεῖν, ὦ γυναῖκες, εἰ φρενῶν
ἐτύγχανʼ αὕτη μὴ κακῶν, ἐσῴζετʼ ἂν
τὴν εὐλάβειαν, ὥσπερ οὐχὶ σῴζεται.
995
ποῖ γάρ ποτʼ ἐμβλέψασα τοιοῦτον θράσος
αὐτή θʼ ὁπλίζει κἄμʼ ὑπηρετεῖν καλεῖς;
οὐκ εἰσορᾷς; γυνὴ μὲν οὐδʼ ἀνὴρ ἔφυς,
σθένεις δʼ ἔλασσον τῶν ἐναντίων χερί.
δαίμων δὲ τοῖς μὲν εὐτυχεῖ καθʼ ἡμέραν,
1000
ἡμῖν δʼ ἀπορρεῖ κἀπὶ μηδὲν ἔρχεται.
τίς οὖν τοιοῦτον ἄνδρα βουλεύων ἑλεῖν
ἄλυπος ἄτης ἐξαπαλλαχθήσεται;
ὅρα κακῶς πράσσοντε μὴ μείζω κακὰ
κτησώμεθʼ, εἴ τις τούσδʼ ἀκούσεται λόγους.
1005
λύει γὰρ ἡμῖν οὐδὲν οὐδʼ ἐπωφελεῖ
βάξιν καλὴν λαβόντε δυσκλεῶς θανεῖν.
οὐ γὰρ θανεῖν ἔχθιστον, ἀλλʼ ὅταν θανεῖν
χρῄζων τις εἶτα μηδὲ τοῦτʼ ἔχῃ λαβεῖν.
ἀλλʼ ἀντιάζω, πρὶν πανωλέθρους τὸ πᾶν
1010
ἡμᾶς τʼ ὀλέσθαι κἀξερημῶσαι γένος,
κατάσχες ὀργήν. καὶ τὰ μὲν λελεγμένα
ἄρρητʼ ἐγώ σοι κἀτελῆ φυλάξομαι,
αὐτὴ δὲ νοῦν σχὲς ἀλλὰ τῷ χρόνῳ ποτέ,
σθένουσα μηδὲν τοῖς κρατοῦσιν εἰκαθεῖν.
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Χορός
1015
πείθου· προνοίας οὐδὲν ἀνθρώποις ἔφυ
κέρδος λαβεῖν ἄμεινον οὐδὲ νοῦ σοφοῦ.
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