TRANSLATING SOPHOCLES (3)

1. Dealing with obscurity: when familiarity with the source language doesn't help.

W.B. Yeats Version

The third Yeats translation was entitled A Man Young and Old, and comes from Oedipus at Colonus, lines 1211-1227:

Endure what life God gives and ask no longer span;
Cease to remember the delights of youth, travel-wearied aged man;
Delight becomes death-longing if all longing else be vain.
Even from that delight memory treasures so,
Death, despair, division of families, all entanglements of mankind grow,
As that old wandering beggar and these God-hated children know.
In the long echoing street the laughing dancers throng,
The bride is carried to the bridegroom's chamber through torchlight and tumultuous song;
I celebrate the silent kiss that ends short life or long.
Never to have lived is best, ancient writers say;
Never to have drawn the breath of life, never to have looked into the eye of day;
The second best's a gay goodnight and quickly turn away. {1}

The original Greek is:

hostis tou pleonos merous chrêizei tou metriou pareis
zôein, skaiosunan phulassôn
en emoi katadêlos estai.
1215 epei polla men hai makrai hamerai katethento dê
lupas enguterô, ta terponta d' ouk an idois hopou,
hotan tis es pleon pesêi
1220 tou deontos: ho d' epikouros isotelestos,
Aïdos hote moir' anumenaios
aluros achoros anapephêne,
thanatos es teleutan.
mê phunai ton hapanta nikai logon: to d', epei phanêi,
bênai keithen hothen per hêkei,
polu deuteron, hôs tachista.

Textural Difficulties

We have generally assumed that a decent knowledge of the source language is required for translation, or at least some grammar plus a word-for-word lookup in the dictionary. Unexpectedly, neither is the case with this piece of Sophocles. If we do a word-for-word translation as before, adding Jebb's comments in brackets, we get:

hostis            tou   pleonos merous chrêizei tou   metriou             pareis
any_one_who that  more     share    want     that  within_measure let_drop_beside
(anyone who desires the amplier portion)             (not being content)

zôein, skaiosunan       phulassôn
-        lefthandedness keep_guard
         (folly)              (cleaving to)

en emoi                katadêlos  estai.
-   ego                  visible      will_be
(just in their sight)

epei         polla  men                   hai makrai hamerai    katethento dê
after_that many on_the_one_hand -    long    reclaimed  put            exactness 
                                                (the long days      )

lupas            enguterô,    ta   terponta  d' ouk an         idois hopou,
pain_of_body near           the delighting -  -     if_haply see   in_some_places
(somewhat near to grief)                         (knowing not where to find joy in my soul)

hotan      tis        es pleon   pesêi
whenever anyone  -   sailing fall_down
(when one has lapsed into excess of due limit)

tou   deontos:  ho d' epikouros isotelestos,
that is_binding -   -  assister    fulfilled_alike
(the succourer comes at the last to all alike)

Aïdos  hote   moir'    anumenaios
Hades which portion unwedded

aluros                achoros                 anapephêne,
without_the_lyre without_the_dance make_to_blaze_up
                                                    (hath suddenly appeared)

thanatos es teleutan.
death     -   completion

mê phunai   ton  hapanta    nikai    logon:             to    d', epei          phanêi,
not produce that the_whole prevail the_word         that -   after_that bring_to_light
(not to be born exceeds every possible estimate)              (when he has been born)

bênai keithen hothen        per hêkei,
walk  thence   from_whom all  have_come

polu   deuteron,         hôs tachista.
many second             -     swift
(second-best thing) {2}