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Philoctetes
Alas! No doubt sitting on the white ocean shore [1125] he mocks me, brandishing the weapon that nourished my unhappy life, the weapon which no one else had carried! Cherished bow, ah, friend forced from my loving hands, [1130] if you have the power to feel, surely you see with pity that the comrade of Heracles will now no longer use you anymore! [1135] Now you are handled by another, a man of craftiness; you see the shameless deceptions and the face of that hated enemy by whom countless wrongs, springing from shameless designs, have been contrived against me. O Zeus!

Chorus
[1140] A man must always assert what is right. But, when he has done so, he must not let loose malignant, stinging taunts. The man was the sole representative of the whole army, and at their mandate [1145] he achieved a universal benefit for his friends.

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  • Commentary references to this page (1):
    • Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Trachiniae, 994
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