Philoctetes

Sophocles

Sophocles the plays and fragments, Part 4: The Philoctetes. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse, Sir, translator. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1898.

  1. to fail when doing what is honorable than to be victorious in a dishonorable manner.
Odysseus
  1. Son of a father so noble, I, too, in my youth once had a slow tongue and an active hand. But now that I have come forth to the test, I see that the tongue, not action, is what masters everything among men.
Neoptolemus
  1. What, then, are your orders—apart from my lying?
Odysseus
  1. I command you to take Philoctetes by deceit.