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The Complete Plays of Sophocles

Page 18

by Sophocles


  —in my misery—of finding food?

  You timid doves,

  once so fearful,

  fly freely in the whistling winds 1240

  I can’t stop you now!

  LEADER

  Your lot is hard, but you

  you brought this damnation

  down yourself on yourself,

  unfortunate man. Know this.

  Nothing outside you,

  no overwhelming power

  did—but you alone.

  You had the chance

  to choose a better way 1250

  and chose a worse one.

  PHILOKTETES

  I’m miserable rotten miserable then—

  abused in my misery

  I have to live with this, with no human being

  other! Ever! How will I

  get food? when I can’t,

  with my strong hands, let

  the feathered arrows fly.

  Sly words of a swindling soul

  unsuspected 1260

  wormed into me.

  May I see the one behind this scheme

  suffer like me, and as long!

  LEADER

  It was the gods doomed

  this on you, not me. I had

  no hand in tricking you.

  Aim your hate your curses

  elsewhere. What I don’t want

  is you refusing my friendship.

  PHILOKTETES

  Aie me . . . 1270

  somewhere, sitting on the shore

  of the gray sea

  he mocks me—showing off the weapon I lived by,

  that none other ever handled.

  Beloved bow

  torn from hands that cared for you

  if you have feelings feel for this

  friend to Herakles.

  He’ll never use you again.

  You’re in the grasp of a new master, 1280

  a crafty one: you will see

  countless shameful deceptions rising in the face

  of him, my enemy,

  by whom a thousand awful things

  O Zeus

  were done to me.

  LEADER

  You’re right to say what’s right.

  But once you’ve said it,

  stop. Don’t go on and on

  needling and bitter. 1290

  Odysseus was doing a job

  the whole army wanted done,

  doing what was best for all

  them, in the long run.

  PHILOKTETES

  All you wingèd ones I’ve hunted,

  all you tribes of glare-eyed beasts

  feeding in the hills up here,

  don’t flee your nests or dens! Nor me!

  I no longer hold the powerful bow

  protecting me. 1300

  Go where you want. I’m no threat now.

  Get your own back, blood for blood,

  glut yourselves much as you want

  on my rotting flesh.

  I’ll die soon.

  How will I find means to live?

  Who lives on air without

  all that life-giving earth gives?

  PHILOKTETES heads back toward his cave.

  LEADER

  By the gods, if you respect anything

  respect a stranger who entreats you. 1310

  Meet him halfway! It’s up to you

  to help yourself out of this fate.

  It’s pitiful the way this sickening

  doom keeps eating away at you.

  All the time in the world cannot

  teach your body to live with this.

  PHILOKTETES

  AGAIN

  you bring old agony up!

  You, the kindest of all

  who’ve come ashore here. 1320

  Why have you killed me like this?

  What have you done to me?

  CHORUS

  (individual)

  What do you mean?

  PHILOKTETES

  You planned to take me

  back to Troy, which I hate.

  CHORUS

  (individual)

  We think it’s for the best.

  PHILOKTETES

  Then leave me. Now!

  LEADER

  Fine by us. More than glad to oblige.

  (to the CHORUS)

  Come on, let’s take up

  our stations on the ship. 1330

  The CHORUS starts to leave.

  PHILOKTETES

  Please! As Zeus hears curses . . . Don’t go.

  LEADER

  Get hold of yourself.

  PHILOKTETES

  Strangers! Wait! By the gods, I beg you!

  LEADER

  What is it?

  PHILOKTETES

  Doom! it’s the doom got me.

  Foot, damned foot, where ahead

  can I go with you!?

  Strangers! Come back!

  Again the CHORUS has moved to leave.

  LEADER

  To do what now any different

  from what you wanted before? 1340

  PHILOKTETES

  No sense getting angry at a man

  so wild with pain he talks crazy.

  CHORUS

  (individual)

  Unhappy man. Like we said, come with us.

  PHILOKTETES

  No! Never! Believe it. Not though

  the lord of lightning bolts thunder

  burn me up in his fire. Let Troy

  die, die every man under its walls

  who had the heart to cast out

  this poor cripple of a foot.

  But, strangers, one thing I pray you . . . 1350

  CHORUS

  (individual)

  What thing?

  PHILOKTETES

  A sword.

  You have one at hand? Or ax?

  Any weapon. Give it me.

  CHORUS

  (individual)

  To do what?

  PHILOKTETES

  Hack this body limb from flesh

  and off my head. Death is

  death all I can think now.

  CHORUS

  (individual)

  Why?

  PHILOKTETES

  So I can find my father. 1360

  CHORUS

  (individual)

  Where?

  PHILOKTETES

  In Hades.

  No longer here, in the light.

  O city of my fathers, if only

  I could see you—fool as I was,

  leaving your sacred streams

  to help the Greeks, my enemies.

  Only to come to . . . nothing

  PHILOKTETES drags his foot back into the cave.

  LEADER

  I’d be gone back to the ship by now

  if I hadn’t seen Odysseus, and the son of Achilles, 1370

  climbing this way.

  NEOPTOLEMOS appears, dogged by ODYSSEUS.

  ODYSSEUS

  At least, would you be so kind as to say why

  you’re headed back here in such a hurry!

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  To undo the wrong I did. Back here.

  ODYSSEUS

  What kind of talk is that? What ‘wrong’?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Obeying orders from you and the Greek army I . . .

  ODYSSEUS

  . . . did what? What that was beneath you?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  I set a man up. Tricked him, and betrayed him.

  ODYSSEUS

  What man? You’re not planning something rash, are you?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Rash? No. But to the son of Poias I’ll . . . 1380

  ODYSSEUS

  . . . what!? You’ll what?

  I feel strange uneasiness creeping up on me.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  I’ll . . . give him the bow back.

  ODYSSEUS

  By Zeus you can’t mean that! Not really give it back?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

&n
bsp; Really. I got it by fraud. I have no right to it.

  ODYSSEUS

  Gods above! You’re just giving me a hard time, right?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Only if truth gives you a hard time.

  ODYSSEUS

  What do you mean? Son of Achilles, what are you saying?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  How many times do I have to go over this? Two? Three?

  ODYSSEUS

  Better you hadn’t ‘gone over’ in the first place. 1390

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Well relax. Now you’ve heard it all.

  ODYSSEUS

  There’s someone will stop you from doing this.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Meaning what? Who’s to stop me?

  ODYSSEUS

  The whole Greek army. Me with them.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Smart as you are, your words aren’t.

  ODYSSEUS

  There’s nothing smart in what you say or do.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Being just beats being ‘smart.’

  ODYSSEUS

  How is it just to give up what you got

  thanks to my . . . strategic advice?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  I did something shameful. I have to undo it. 1400

  ODYSSEUS

  You’re not afraid what the Greeks will do

  to you, if you do that?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  With justice by my side, I’m not afraid.

  ODYSSEUS

  You will be.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  I won’t back off. Even for you.

  ODYSSEUS

  We won’t fight the Trojans then. But you.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  If it comes to that, so be it.

  ODYSSEUS

  (reaching)

  You see my right hand?

  By my sword hilt?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  (reaching)

  Watch my own, it’s 1410

  quick as yours.

  ODYSSEUS

  (withdrawing his hand)

  OK. I’m not bothering with you anymore.

  I’ll go tell the whole army about this.

  They’ll straighten you out.

  ODYSSEUS leaves. Downhill, he hides behind rocks.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  (partly to himself, as ODYSSEUS is hurrying off)

  Good thinking!

  If you stay this sensible you might even

  keep yourself out of trouble.

  NEOPTOLEMOS turns to face the mouth of the cave.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  But you, son of Poias, Philoktetes,

  come out from your rocky enclosure!

  PHILOKTETES

  (from within)

  What’s all the racket out there? Strangers, 1420

  why are you calling? What do you want from me?

  PHILOKTETES emerges, surprised. He had expected only sailors.

  O no. Not good. You here to announce

  new bad news, on top of my other miseries?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Don’t be afraid. Hear what I have to say.

  PHILOKTETES

  That scares me. Last time I believed

  your reassuring words, I got taken.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  But can’t I change my mind? Again?

  PHILOKTETES

  Just how you talked when you stole my bow.

  So trustworthy. Friendly. And treacherous.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Not now though. All I want to know is: 1430

  you aim to hold on here, or sail with us?

  PHILOKTETES

  Stop! Enough!

  Whatever you say, you’re wasting your breath.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Your mind’s made up?

  PHILOKTETES

  More than words can say. Yes.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  I wish I could have brought you round on this,

  but . . . if my words are getting nowhere, I quit.

  PHILOKTETES

  Right. You’re getting nowhere.

  I’ll never feel friendly toward you. Now, after

  stealing by deceit the bow that means my life, 1440

  you come to give advice? The shameless son

  of a noble father!? Die! the bunch of you,

  sons of Atreus, Odysseus son of Laertes,

  and you!

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Stop! Enough!

  No more curses. Here. Take them.

  NEOPTOLEMOS offers PHILOKTETES the bow and arrows.

  PHILOKTETES

  What are you saying! This another trick?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  No, I swear. By the awesome majesty

  of Zeus on high.

  PHILOKTETES

  Wonderful words! If true. 1450

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  The act speaks for itself. Hold out your right hand,

  take these. They’re yours.

  NEOPTOLEMOS hands weapons to PHILOKTETES.

  VOICE OF ODYSSEUS

  The gods be my witness . . .

  ODYSSEUS jumps out from behind rocks.

  I FORBID THIS! By authority

  of the sons of Atreus and the entire Greek army!

  PHILOKTETES

  My boy . . . whose voice . . . I hear Odysseus?

  ODYSSEUS

  Better believe it. Up close, too!

  Me, see? The Odysseus who will

  cart you off to the plains of Troy

  by force, no matter what 1460

  the son of Achilles wants.

  PHILOKTETES

  Not without paying for it . . .

  —he has fitted an arrow to the bowstring and is drawing the bow back—

  if this arrow flies true.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  (grabbing PHILOKTETES’ arm)

  By the gods, no! Don’t let it go!

  PHILOKTETES

  Let go let go my hand dear boy!

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  No. I will not.

  PHILOKTETES

  Why did you stop me

  killing my enemy he hates me with my bow?

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  This killing isn’t worthy of you. Nor of me.

  ODYSSEUS has run off.

  PHILOKTETES

  Well one thing’s sure. Greek army chiefs 1470

  who trumpet themselves with bold words

  are cowards at backing them up.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  So let that be. You have your bow now.

  No reason to be mad, or hold anything

  against me.

  PHILOKTETES

  No, son, there isn’t. You’ve shown

  the stock you come from. Not Sisyphos

  but Achilles, the noblest man who lived, and now

  no less so among the dead.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  I’m pleased, hearing you speak so well 1480

  of my father, and of me. But now listen.

  I have something to put to you.

  What fortunes

  the gods give us, we have to live with.

  But when, like you, we willfully persist

  in being victims, there’s no excuse for that.

  No pardoning, no pity.

  You’re stubborn, like an animal. You won’t

  take advice. Someone says something helpful

  you hate him. Like he’s an enemy. Even so 1490

  I’ll speak up. May Zeus, god of oaths, witness.

  Mark my words. Write them down in your heart.

  Your sickness and pain are a doom from a god.

  You came too close to the serpent you didn’t see

  guarding the open shrine of the god Chryse-.

  You’ll never find relief, not so long as this

  sun rises in the east and sinks in the west,

  till you come freely to the plains of Troy

  and meet with the sons of Asklepios

  who will cure you. With the bow then 1500

  and with
me, you will bring down Troy.

  PHILOKTETES doesn’t respond.

  How do I know this will happen? I’ll tell you.

  We took a Trojan prisoner: Helenos, a prophet

  as good as his word. He says straight out this

  must happen. What’s more, Troy must fall

  this summer. If I lie, he says, then kill me.

  Now you know.

  So come with us, freely. The bonus is,

  your glory will grow! You’ll stand out among

  the Greeks—find healing hands—and when 1510

  you’ve reduced Troy the source of so many

  tears to ruins, you’ll be famous.

  PHILOKTETES

  (quietly, as if speaking into a void)

  Hateful life! why do you hold me

  still above ground, in the daylight

  of here on earth?

  Why haven’t you let me go

  down into darkest Hades?

  What will I do? How can I not

  hear this man’s well-meant advice?

  Should I give in then? But how, 1520

  after that, show myself in public,

  shunned as I am? Who will speak to me?

  And O my eyes, you’ve seen all

  they’ve done to me, how could you

  bear to see me going along with

  the sons of Atreus who, here,

  have made me rot away?

  Or that damned son of Laertes?

  It’s not bitterness over the past

  that eats at me, but what I expect 1530

  these men will make me suffer

  in days to come. Men whose souls

  have conceived, once, an evil know

  ever after how to breed other evils.

  (to NEOPTOLEMOS)

  You too I wonder at, wondering . . .

  you yourself shouldn’t be going to Troy,

  you should keep me from going too!

  Those men humiliated you, stripped you

  of your father’s arms—now you want

  to join them? And make me join too? 1540

  No, my boy, no. Take me home, like

  you promised. And you, stay in Skyros.

  Let these evil men die their evil death.

  My father and I, both, will thank you

  twice over. By not helping these evil

  ones, you won’t seem to be one yourself.

  NEOPTOLEMOS

  Reasonable words. Even so I wish

  you’d trust the gods, trust my word,

 

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