τοιαῦτα is qualified by πως: something in his utterances, which she cannot define, suggests this. Cp. Xen. Cyr. 3. 3. 7“ἔλεξεν ὧδέ πως εἰς τὸ μέσον.” καὶ λέγει κὠδύρεται. The word ἥσυχος in 325 does not imply silence; it contrasts the quietness of his present demeanour with his former frenzy, and with the first vehemence (317) of his grief. His occasional words, or laments (such as “ἰώ μοί μοι”, 333), are in a tone which foreshadows the worst. The verse is rejected by Nauck and others as though it were inconsistent with v. 325, and had been patched up from v. 383. There is no ground for this view. On the other hand, after “ἥσυχος” in 325, the fear expressed in 326 would be unintelligible, if no reason were subjoined. Bergk, who joins in condemning the verse, allows that Sophocles is usually careful of logical coherence in drama (‘pflegt .. sorgfältig zu motiviren’); but suggests that here the neglect of it might be ‘a mark of the archaic style’ (Jahr. f. Class. Phil. 97. 378).
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Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part VII: The Ajax. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1907.
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