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Chorus
Long ago I would have left you to go to my ship, had I not seen [1220] Odysseus approaching, and the son of Achilles, too, coming here for us. Enter Neoptolemus and Odysseus.
Odysseus
Will you not tell me why you make this return journey with such eager speed? Neoptolemus
I come to undo the mistake that I made earlier. Odysseus
[1225] Your words alarm me—what mistake was that? Neoptolemus
The one I made when I obeyed you and all the army. Odysseus
What did you do that was unworthy of you? Neoptolemus
I captured a man by disgraceful deceits and treachery. Odysseus
What man? Oh! Can you be planning something rash? Neoptolemus
[1230] Rash, no. But to Poeas' son— Odysseus
What are you going to do? Suddenly a certain fear comes over me. Neoptolemus
—From whom I took this bow, back to him— Odysseus
Zeus! What will you say? Certainly you do not intend to give it back? Neoptolemus
Yes, I do, because disgracefully and unjustly I got hold of it. Odysseus
[1235] In the name of the gods, are you saying this to mock me? Neoptolemus
If it is mockery to speak the truth. Odysseus
What do you mean, Neoptolemus? What are you saying? Neoptolemus
Must I repeat the same words twice and three times? Odysseus
I would not have wished to hear them even once. Neoptolemus
[1240] Know for certain that I have nothing more to say. Odysseus
There is someone, I tell you, who will prevent your deed. Neoptolemus
What do you mean? Who will oppose me in this? Odysseus
The whole host of the Achaeans, and I for one. Neoptolemus
Wise though you were born, your threats are void of wisdom. Odysseus
[1245] And your words are not wise, nor is that which you want to do. Neoptolemus
And yet if they are just, they are better than wise. Odysseus
And how is it just for you to give up what was won by means of my plans? Neoptolemus
My error was to my dishonor, and now I must try to retrieve it. Odysseus
[1250] The army of the Achaeans causes you no fear, when you do this? Neoptolemus
With justice on my side, I do not tremble at the terrors you name. Odysseus
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*> Neoptolemus
No, not even at the threat of your hand do I yield obedience. Odysseus
Then our battles shall be not with the Trojans, but with you. Neoptolemus
So be it, if that is what the future holds. Odysseus
Do you see my right hand [1255] clasping my sword hilt? Neoptolemus
You will see me do the same, and not slowly.
Sophocles. The Philoctetes of Sophocles. Edited with introduction and notes by Sir Richard Jebb. Sir Richard Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1898.
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