Sophocles, Trachiniae, ed. Francis Storr, 672

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Δηιάνειρα

τοιοῦτον ἐκβέβηκεν οἷον, ἢν φράσω,

γυναῖκες, ὑμᾶς θαῦμʼ ἀνέλπιστον μαθεῖν.

ᾧ γὰρ τὸν ἐνδυτῆρα πέπλον ἀρτίως

ἔχριον, ἀργὴς οἰὸς εὐέρου πόκος,
675

τοῦτʼ ἠφάνισται διάβορον πρὸς οὐδενὸς

τῶν ἔνδον, ἀλλʼ ἐδεστὸν ἐξ αὑτοῦ φθίνει,

καὶ ψῇ κατʼ ἄκρας σπιλάδος· ὡς δʼ εἰδῇς ἅπαν,

ᾗ τοῦτʼ ἐπράχθη, μείζονʼ ἐκτενῶ λόγον.

ἐγὼ γὰρ ὧν ὁ θήρ με Κένταυρος, πονῶν
680

πλευρὰν πικρᾷ γλωχῖνι, προυδιδάξατο

παρῆκα θεσμῶν οὐδέν, ἀλλʼ ἐσῳζόμην

χαλκῆς ὅπως δύσνιπτον ἐκ δέλτου γραφήν.

καί μοι τάδʼ ἦν πρόρρητα καὶ τοιαῦτʼ ἔδρων·

τὸ φάρμακον τοῦτʼ ἄπυρον ἀκτῖνός τʼ ἀεὶ
685

θερμῆς ἄθικτον ἐν μυχοῖς σῴζειν ἐμέ,

ἕως νιν ἀρτίχριστον ἁρμόσαιμί που.

κἄδρων τοιαῦτα. νῦν δʼ, ὅτʼ ἦν ἐργαστέον,

ἔχρισα μὲν κατʼ οἶκον ἐν δόμοις κρυφῇ

μαλλῷ, σπάσασα κτησίου βοτοῦ λάχνην,
690

κἄθηκα συμπτύξασʼ ἀλαμπὲς ἡλίου

κοίλῳ ζυγάστρῳ δῶρον, ὥσπερ εἴδετε.

εἴσω δʼ ἀποστείχουσα δέρκομαι φάτιν

ἄφραστον, ἀξύμβλητον ἀνθρώπῳ μαθεῖν.

τὸ γὰρ κάταγμα τυγχάνω ῥίψασά πως
695

τῆς οἰός, ᾧ προύχριον, ἐς μέσην φλόγα,

ἀκτῖνʼ ἐς ἡλιῶτιν· ὡς δʼ ἐθάλπετο,

ῥεῖ πᾶν ἄδηλον καὶ κατέψηκται χθονί,

μορφῇ μάλιστʼ εἰκαστὸν ὥστε πρίονος

ἐκβρώματʼ ἂν βλέψειας ἐν τομῇ ξύλου.
700

τοιόνδε κεῖται προπετές· ἐκ δὲ γῆς, ὅθεν

προύκειτʼ, ἀναζέουσι θρομβώδεις ἀφροί,

γλαυκῆς ὀπώρας ὥστε πίονος ποτοῦ

χυθέντος εἰς γῆν Βακχίας ἀπʼ ἀμπέλου.

Trachiniae. Sophocles. ed. Francis Storr. London. 1913.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Τραχίνιαι (Greek) (Sophocles, Volume 2. Storr, Francis, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann Ltd.; The Macmillan Company, 1913.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 672 focus

τοιοῦτον ἐκβέβηκεν, οἷον, ἢν ἂν φράσω,

γυναῖκες, ὑμῖν θαῦμ᾽ ἀνέλπιστον μαθεῖν λαβεῖν μαθεῖν.

ᾧ γὰρ τὸν ἐνδυτῆρα πέπλον ἀρτίως

ἔχριον, ἀργῆτ᾽ οἰὸς οιὸς εὐείρῳ πόκῳ πόην,
675

τοῦτ᾽ ἠφάνισται, διάβορον διάβορον πρὸς οὐδενὸς

τῶν ἔνδον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐδεστὸν ἐξ αὑτοῦ αὐτοῦ ἁυτοῦ φθίνει

καὶ ψῇ κατ᾿ ἄκρας σπιλάδος. ὡς δ᾽ εἰδῇς ἅπαν,

ἢ τοῦτ᾽ ἐπράχθη, μείζον' ἐκτενῶ λόγον.

ἐγὼ γὰρ ὧν ὁ θήρ με Κένταυρος, πονῶν
680

πλευρὰν πικρᾷ γλωχίνι, προὐδιδάξατο,

παρῆκα θεσμῶν οὐδέν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐσωζόμην,

χαλκῆς ὅπως δύσνιπτον ἐκ δέλτου γραφήν.

καί μοι τάδ᾽ ἦν πρόρρητα, καὶ τοιαῦτ᾽ ἔδρων·

τὸ φάρμακον τοῦτ᾽ ἄπυρον ἀκτῖνός τ᾽ om. τ' ἀεὶ
685

θερμῆς θέρμησ ἄθικτον ἐν μυχοῖς σώζειν ἐμέ,

ἕως ἂν ἀρτίχριστον ἁρμόσαιμί που.

κἄδρων τοιαῦτα. νῦν δ᾽, ὅτ᾽ ἦν ἐργαστέον,

ἔχρισα μὲν κατ᾿ οἶκον ἐν δόμοις κρυφῇ

μαλλῷ, σπάσασα κτησίου βοτοῦ λάχνην,
690

κ ἄθηκα κάθηκα κἄθηκα συμπτύξασ᾽ ἀλαμπὲς ἡλίου

κοίλῳ ζυγάστρῳ δῶρον, ὥσπερ εἴδετε εἴδεται εἴδετε.

εἴσω δ᾽ ἀποστείχουσα δέρκομαι φάτιν

ἄφραστον, ἀξύμβλητον ἀνθρώπῳ μαθεῖν.

τὸ γὰρ κάταγμα τυγχάνω ῥίψασά πως
695

τῆς οἰός, ᾧ προὔχριον προὔχρειον προὔχριον, ἐς μέσην φλόγα,

ἀκτῖν ἐς ἡλιῶτιν· ὡς δ᾽ ἐθάλπετο,

ῥεῖ πᾶν ἄδηλον καὶ κατέψηκται κατέψικται κατέψηκται χθονί,

μορφῇ μάλιστ' εἰκαστὸν ὥστε πρίονος

ἐκβρώματ᾽ ἂν βλέψειας ἐκβλέψειασ ἂν βλέψειας ἐν τομῇ ξύλου.
700

τοιόνδε κεῖται προπετές. ἐκ δὲ γῆς, ὅθεν

προὔκειτ᾽, ἀναζέουσι θρομβώδεις ἀφροί,

γλαυκῆς ὀπώρας ὥστε πίονος ποτοῦ

χυθέντος εἰς γῆν Βακχίας βακχείας ἀπ᾿ ἀμπέλου.

Translations (5)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 672 focus

A thing is come to pass, which should I tell,

Will strike you with strange wonder when you learn.

For, O my friends, the stuff wherewith I dressed

That robe, a flock of soft and milkwhite wool,

Is shrivelled out of sight, not gnawn by tooth

Of any creature here, but, self-consumed,

Frittered and wasting on the courtyard-stones.

To let you know the circumstance at full,

I will speak on. Of all the Centaur-Thing,

When labouring in his side with the fell point

O’ the shaft, enjoined me, I had nothing lost,

But his vaticination in my heart

Remained indelible, as though engraved

With pen of iron upon brass. ’Twas thus:—

I was to keep this unguent closely hid

In dark recesses, where no heat of fire

Or warming ray might reach it, till with fresh

Anointing I addressed it to an end.

So I had done. And now this was to do,

Within my chamber covertly I spread

The ointment with piece of wool, a tuft

Pulled from a home-bred sheep; and, as ye saw,

I folded up my gift and packed it close
675

In hollow casket from the glaring sun.
675

But, entering in, a fact encounters me
675

Past human wit to fathom with surmise.
675

For, as it happened, I had tossed aside
675

The bit of wool I worked with, carelessly,
675

Into the open daylight, ’mid the blaze
675

Of Helios’ beam. And, as it kindled warm,

It fell away to nothing, crumbled small,

Like dust in severing wood by sawyers strewn.

So, on the point of vanishing, it lay.

But, from the place where it had lain, brake forth

A frothy scum in clots of seething foam,

Like the rich draught in purple vintage poured

From Bacchus’ vine upon the thirsty ground.

And I, unhappy, know not toward what thought

To turn me, but I see mine act is dire.

For wherefore should the Centaur, for what end,

Show kindness to the cause for whom he died?

That cannot be. But seeking to destroy

His slayer, he cajoled me. This I learn

Too late, by sad experience, for no good.

And, if I err not now, my hapless fate

Is all alone to be his murderess.

For, well I know, the shaft that made the wound

Gave pain to Cheiron, who was more than man;

And wheresoe’er it falls, it ravageth

All the wild creatures of the world. And now

This gory venom blackly spreading bane

From Nessus’ angry wound, must it not cause

The death of Heracles? I think it must.

Yet my resolve is firm, if aught harm him,

My death shall follow in the self-same hour.

She cannot bear to live in evil fame,

Who cares to have a nature pure from ill.

CH

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 672 focus

Ein Wunder ist geschehen, das, erzähl' ich es,

Wohl eurem Ohr unglaublich klingen wird, o Frau'n.

Des wolligen Lammes Silbervließ, mit dem ich erst

Das Kleid bestrichen, welches ihn umhüllen soll,

Das ist verschwunden, nicht verzehrt von irgendwas
665

Im Hause; durch sich selber aufgezehrt, entschwand's,

Und stob hinweg vom Steine. Daß du ganz erkennst,¹

Wie dieses zugegangen, hol' ich weiter aus.

Was jenes Ungeheuer, als der bittre Pfeil

Ihm schmerzlich wühlt' im Busen, mir bedeutete,
670

Der Worte keins vergaß ich, nein, bewahrte sie,

Wie Schrift auf eh'rner Tafel, die niemals erlischt.

Mir war geboten, (und ich that nach diesem Wort,)

Den Liebeszauber tief im Haus zu bergen, stets

Vom Feuer fern, vom heißen Lichtstrahl unberührt,
675

Bis daß ich eben salbend ihn verwendete.

Und also that ich. Aber als die Stunde kam,

Bestrich ich heimlich im Gemach daheim mit Flaum,

Den ich vom Lamm der eignen Wollenheerde nahm,

Und legte wohlgefaltet, fern vom Sonnenstrahl,
680

In's hohle Kästchen das Gewand, wie ihr's geseh'n.

Doch wiederkommend seh' ich, was die Sprache nicht

Zu schildern weiß, was keines Menschen Geist erklärt.

Ich warf des Lammes Flocke so von ungefähr,

Als ich das Kleid bestrichen, auf den Boden hin²
685

In Sonnenstrahlen. Als sie warm geworden hier,

Zerfloß sie ganz unkennbar und zerstob im Strahl,

Gestaltet so wie Spähne, die du wohl erblickst,

Nachdem der Säge scharfer Zahn das Holz durchfeilt.

So lag sie da zerfallen. Doch vom Boden, wo
690

Sie lag, da zischte Blasenschaum dicksprudelnd auf,

Wie wenn von Bacchos' Rebenstock der fette Trank³

Des blauen Herbstes auf den Grund geschüttet wird.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 672 focus

Oh ! 'twas wonderful !

For you shall hear it. Know then, the white wool

Wherein 1 wrapped th' anointed vest, untouched

By any hand, dropped self -consumed away,

And down the stone, e'en like a liquid, flowed

Dissolving — but 'tis fit I tell you all —

Whate'er the wounded centaur did enjoin me

Mindful to practise, sacred as the laws

On brazen tablets graved, I have performed :

Far from the fire, and from the sun's warm beams

He bade me keep the charm ; from every eye

In secret hid, till time should call on me

To anoint and use it. This was done : and now,

The fleece m secret plucked, the charm prepared,

Long from the sun within a chest concealed ;

At length I brought it forth, and sent the gift
675

To my Alcides, when behold a wonder,
675

Most strange for tongue to tell, or heart of man
675

E'en to conceive ! Perchance the wool I cast
675

Into the sunshine ; soon as it grew warm
675

It fell to dust, consuming all away

In most strange manner, then from th' earth uprose

In frothy bubbles, e'en as from the grape

In yellow autumn jBlows the purple wine.

I know not what to thinly ; but much I fear

I've done a horrid deed. For, why, my friends,

Why should the dying savage wish to serve

His murderer ? That could never be. Oh no !

He only meant by flattery to destroy

Me, his destroyer. Truth is come too late,

And I alone have slain my dear Alcides ;

I know that by his arrows Chiron fell,

I know whate'er they touched they still were fatal,

That very poison mingled with the blood

Of dying Nessus, will not that too kill

My Hercules? It must : but if he dies,

My resolution is to perish with him ;

Those, who their honour and their virtue prize,

Can never live with infamy and shame.

Chorus

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 672 focus

A thing, my friends, hath happen'd far beyond

All thought, and big with wonder. You shall hear.

The soft wool sever'd from the snow-white fleece,

With which I lately ting'd the robe, at once

Wasted and, touch'd by none within the house,

Shrunk self-corroded into dust, and lay

A loose heap on the surface of the stone.

That thou may'st know each circumstance, distinct

Shall my relation be, and giv'n at large.

Whate'er the dying Centaur, 'midst the pangs

Of the keen arrow in his side infix'd,

Gave me in charge, I treasured in my heart,

As characters indelibly engraved

On brazen tablets: his instructions these,

And I obey'd them; from the blazing hearth,

And by the warm beams of the sun untouch'd,

Close-cover'd still to keep this potent charm

Fresh, till occasion should require its use.

I did so: and when now my thought resolved

To put its virtue to the proof, retired

In secret, wool from my domestic stores

I for the purpose took, and tinged the vest;
675

Then folded it, and laid it, as you saw,
675

In a close chest by the sun's beams untouch'd.
675

Again returning I beheld a sight
675

No language can express, nor could the thought
675

Of man conceive; the wool, wherewith I tinged
675

The vest, I chanced to throw where the sun's rays

Beam'd in full force; as it grew warm, it shrunk

And wasted on the ground, like the light dust

Which falls beneath the saw, like this it lay:

But soon the swelling mass in froth arose,

Fermenting like the grape's rich juice, that drops

Pour'd in grey autumn on the earth. My mind Ho

Is troubled, and perplex'd with fears: I see

That I have done some dreadful deed; for whence

This kindness by the dying Centaur shown,

Or why to me, through whom the savage died?

It is not so; but, wishing to destroy

The author of his wound, he filed his tongue

To sooth my ear with glozing courtesy.

This I too late perceive, for now to know

Avails not: I alone, ah wretched me!

(If with false fears my soul is not deceived)

Have wrought his ruin: well I know the shaft

That gave the wound; e'en Chiron the divine

Fell by its fatal point; to every beast

Its touch is death; and the black poison, mix'd

With the vile Centaur's blood, shall now destroy

My lord too. Such my fears. But should he die,

Fix'd is the purpose of my soul, with him

I too will die: for who could bear to live

With infamy, that has a sense of shame,

And a base nature holds in high disdain?

Chorus

English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 672 focus

Deianeira

A thing has happened, my friends, such that, if I declare it, it will be a strange marvel for you to hear. The implement with which I was just now anointing the festal robe,

a white tuft of fleecy sheep’s wool, has disappeared, eaten away by no animal in the courtyard, but self-devoured and self-destroyed it crumbled down over a stone slab. But I must tell the story at greater length, so that you may know exactly how this thing was accomplished.

675

I neglected no part of the precepts which the savage Centaur gave me when he was hurting from the bitter barb in his side; they were in my memory, like the graven words which no hand may wash from a tablet of bronze. Now this was his order to me, and I obeyed it:
680

to keep this potion hidden in inmost recesses always away from fire and untouched by the sun’s warm ray, until I should apply it, newly spread, where I wished. So I had done. And just now, when the moment for action had come, I performed the anointing secretly in the rooms of the house
685

with a tuft of soft wool which I had plucked from a sheep of our home-flock; then I folded up my gift, and laid it, unvisited by sunlight, within its hollow chest, as you saw. But as I am going back into the house, I see a thing inexplicable by words and beyond the knowledge of the human mind to understand.
690

For somehow I happened to have thrown the ball of wool, with which I had been anointing the robe, into the full blaze of the sun’s rays. As it grew warm, it ran all into confusion, and quickly crumbled to powder on the ground, like nothing in appearance so much as
695

the morsels left by a saw’s teeth when wood is cut. It lies just so, fallen. And from the earth, where it lay exposed, clotted foam seethes up, like the rich juice of the blue fruit from the vine of Bacchus when it is poured on the ground.
700

Commentary

Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))

mvp-comment-346-1 οἷον, ἢν φράσω ¹

mvp-comment-346-2 (1) To retain ὑμῖν ² μαθεῖν ³

mvp-comment-346-3 (2) To read ὑμᾶς ⁴ ὑμῖν ⁵ φράσω ⁶

mvp-comment-346-4 Others, taking μαθεῖν ⁷ θαῦμ’ ἀνέλπιστον ⁸ ἂν φράσαι ⁹

mvp-comment-347-1 τὸν ἐνδυτῆρα πέπλον ¹⁰

mvp-comment-348-1 ἀργὴς … πόκος ¹¹ ἀργῆτ’ … πόκῳ ¹² ἀργῆτ’ ¹³ ἀργῆτα ¹⁴ τὸν ἐνδυτῆρα πέπλον ¹⁵

mvp-comment-348-2 Blaydes suggests

ἀργῆς οἰὸς εὐέρου πόκῳ

: but the usage of

ἀργός

precludes this. A change of ἀργὴς … πόκος ¹⁶ ἀργῆτ’ ¹⁷ πόκῳ ¹⁸ ᾧ ¹⁹ εὐέρου ²⁰

mvp-comment-349-1 πρὸς οὐδενὸς ²¹ τῶν ἔνδον ²² τῶν ἐκτός ²³ φθίνει ²⁴

mvp-comment-350-1 ψῇ ²⁵

mvp-comment-350-2 Such is the only sense which the words will bear. They are perhaps corrupt. Sophocles has the dat. plur.

σπιλάδεσσι

, in the ordinary sense, ‘sea-rocks,’ in fr. 341; but the sense of the sing. here is peculiar. And vv. 695—698 would naturally suggest that she had thrown the tuft at once on the ground, rather than on a stone from which it afterwards crumbled down.

mvp-comment-350-3 Possibly the true reading is κατ’ ἄκρας σπόδιον ²⁶ σπιλάδος ²⁷ σπ ²⁸

mvp-comment-351-1 ἐκτενῶ ²⁹

mvp-comment-352-1 γὰρ ³⁰

mvp-comment-352-2 ὧν ³¹ θεσμῶν ³²

mvp-comment-352-3 ὁ θὴρ Κένταυρος ³³

mvp-comment-352-4 πονῶν πλευρὰν ³⁴

mvp-comment-352-5 πικρᾷ ³⁵

mvp-comment-352-6 προὐδιδάξατο ³⁶

mvp-comment-353-1 θεσμῶν οὐδέν ³⁷ ἐσῳζόμην ³⁸

mvp-comment-354-1 χαλκῆς … δέλτου ³⁹ θεσμῶν ⁴⁰

mvp-comment-355-1 καίμοι ⁴¹ σῴζειν ⁴² προὐδιδάξατο ⁴³ κἄδρων τοιαῦτα ⁴⁴ τοιαῦτ’ ἔδρων ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-356-1 ἄπυρον ⁴⁶ ἄθικτον ⁴⁷

mvp-comment-357-1 ἕως νιν ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-357-2 που ⁴⁹

mvp-comment-358-1 ἔχρισα μὲν ⁵⁰ κἄθηκα ⁵¹ εἴσω δ’ ⁵² κατ’ οἶκον ⁵³ ἐν δόμοις ⁵⁴

mvp-comment-359-1 κτησίου ⁵⁵

mvp-comment-360-1 ἀλαμπὲς ἡλίου ⁵⁶

mvp-comment-361-1 ζυγάστρῳ ⁵⁷

mvp-comment-361-2 κοίλῳ ⁵⁸

mvp-comment-362-1 εἴσω δ’ ἀποστείχουσα ⁵⁹

mvp-comment-362-2 φάτιν ⁶⁰ ἄφραστον ⁶¹ ἀξύμβλητον ⁶² ἀνθρώπῳ μαθεῖν ⁶³ ἀξύμβλητον ⁶⁴

mvp-comment-363-1 κάταγμα ⁶⁵

mvp-comment-363-2 προὔχριον ⁶⁶ ἀκτῖν’ ἐς ἡλιῶτιν ⁶⁷

mvp-comment-363-3 Wunder rashly rejects the verse. Dobree's objection to it seems to have been the repeated ἐς ⁶⁸

mvp-comment-364-1 ῥεῖ ⁶⁹

mvp-comment-364-2 κατέψηκται ⁷⁰

mvp-comment-365-1 μορφῇ ⁷¹ μάλιστ’ εἰκαστὸν ⁷² ὥστε ⁷³

mvp-comment-365-2 πρίονος ἐκβρώματ’ ⁷⁴

mvp-comment-366-1 προπετές ⁷⁵ προὔκειτ’, ἀναζέουσι ⁷⁶ θρομβώδεις ἀφροί ⁷⁷

mvp-comment-367-1 πίονος ποτοῦ γλ. ὀπώρας ἀπὸ Β. ἀμπέλου ⁷⁸

mvp-comment-367-2 χυθέντος ⁷⁹ Β. ἀπ’ ἀμπέλου ⁸⁰

mvp-comment-367-3 For ὀπώρας ⁸¹ Βακχίας ⁸² πίονος ⁸³

Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus

672. mvp-comment-502-1 οἷον.. μαθεῖν] For the construction, cp. Aristoph. Plut. 349, ποῖός τις; -Οἷος -ἣν μὲν κατορθώσωμεν, εὖ πράττειν ἀεί.

673. mvp-comment-503-1 ὑμῖν] We must suppose an ellipse of ἂν γενέσθαι οἱ ἂν γένοιτο, to which μαθεῖν is epexegetic.

674. mvp-comment-504-1 ἐνδυτῆρα] Cp. Aesch. Eum. 1028, φοινικοβάπτοις ἐνδυτοῖς ἐσθήμασιν. Ενδυτός non simpliciter quod induitur significat, sed quod ornatus causa'-Hermann, who compares Eur. Iph. Aul. 1073, 4. ἐνδύτ᾽ ἐκ θεᾶς ματρὸς δωρήματα (the arms of Achilles), Troad. 258, ἐνδυτῶν στεφέων ἱεροὺς στολμούς. The word has acquired from early use a solemn association, in addition to the original simple meaning of 'put on.' Cp. the word 'vestment' in English.

675. mvp-comment-505-1 ἀργῆτ] i. e. ἀργῆτι. The elision of ι of the dative, although rare, certainly occurs in Epic Greek, and it is therefore not irrational to admit the licence here and in O. C. 1435, and also in Aesch. Pers. 855, ὑπαντιάζειν παίδ' ἐμῷ, which there is no ground for altering. ἀργῆτα, agreeing with πέπλον, could only mean, I made the garment bright with anointing,'-a poor and ridiculous sense. The synizesis supposed by Hermann (ἀργῆτι οἷos) is practically equivalent to the elision. εὐείρῳ] For the twofold epithet, see Essay on L. § 23. p. 37. The brightness and freshness of the piece of wool increased the marvel of its rapid disappearance.

676. mvp-comment-506-1 πρὸς οὐδενὸς τῶν ἔνδον] 'Not by anything in the house' (οὐδενός, neut.). The conjecture τῶν ἐκτός (Of things foreign to it') is quite unnecessary.

677. mvp-comment-507-1 φθίνει] For the return to the indicative, see Essay on L. § 36. p. 64.

678. mvp-comment-508-1 Several editors have objected to Ψῇ having an intransitive meaning = καταψήχεται, and have accordingly suspected the reading. But the intransitive use of the active verb (see Essay on L. § 53. p. 98 ), however singular, is more probable than any conjecture that has been made. The word, so understood, naturally prepares the way for the description in ll. 698-700. κατ᾿ ἄκρας σπιλάδος] «Upon the stones.' We are to imagine the courtyard, where Deianira had flung down the flock of wool, to have been paved with small round stones.

680-681. mvp-comment-509-1 πονῶν πλευρὰν πικρᾷ γλωχίνι] 'When suffering in his side from the cruel barb.' The alliteration is suggestive of struggle and difficulty. Although πικρὸς ὀϊστός (according to Buttmann) is The sharp arrow, the meaning is different in Sophocles, - viz. 'Bitter,' i. e. 'Painful.'

682. mvp-comment-510-1 θεσμών] The awe which attended his dying moments gave to the Centaur's precepts the force of a Divine ordinance. Hence they had remained fixed in Deianira's memory.

683. mvp-comment-511-1 i.e. ὅπως ἐν χαλκῇ δέλτῳ δύσνιπτον γραφήν.

684. mvp-comment-512-1 This verse has been condemned by critics since Wunder, -unnecessarily. Although it repeats and expands what is already said, this is expressive of the perturbation of Deianira's mind, and of her effort in collecting her thoughts. She returns upon her steps several times in telling her story. See ll. 678, 698; 675, 690, 695; 685, 691.

687. mvp-comment-513-1 ἕως .. που] Until, having laid it freshly on, I should apply it to some use.' The retention of av in oblique narrative, although singular, is not indefensible, and was defended by Hermann on l. 3. See also l. 164 and v. rr. Elmsley conjectured ἕως νιν.

689. mvp-comment-514-1 ἔχρισα] 'I applied the unguent.' The object (πέπλον) is easily supplied. Cp. inf. 696, ᾧ προὔχριον. μέν prepares for the contrast between the care taken with the robe and the neglect of the bit of wool. But Deianira's speech is not logically coherent, and d' in l. 693 does not answer to μέν here. κατ᾿ οἶκον ἐν δόμοις] ‘In a chamber of the house." Another instance of redundancy arising from the same cause- the intentness of Deianira's thought. She is showing how closely she had observed the precept ἐν μυχοῖς σώζειν ἕως . . ἀρμόσαιμί που.

690. mvp-comment-515-1 κτησίου βοτοῦ] Either (1) one of the home flock, as distinguished from those in distant pastures, or (2) simply a sheep from the flock.' λάχνῃ, Wool,' is a more general word than μαλλῷ, 'Sheep's-wool.'

692. mvp-comment-516-1 ζυγάστρῳ] The ἄγγος mentioned above. l.622. It was a box with strong fastenings. See L. and S. s. v.

693. mvp-comment-517-1 ἀποστείχουσα] ‘Returning,' from before the gate.

693-694. mvp-comment-518-1 φάτιν μαθεῖν] Α thing beyond the hearer's thought, beyond the guess of man to understand.' φάτιν .. ἄφραστον = οἷον θαῦμ᾽ ἀνέλπιστον μαθεῖν, supr. ll. 672, 3. ἄφραστος is that 'which from its strangeness escapes or baffles the mind,' as ἄσκοπος is, 'What from its vastness escapes or baffles the eye.' For the infin. cp. Aesch. Suppl. 94, κατιδεῖν ἄφραστοι.

695. mvp-comment-519-1 κάταγμα] 'The bit of wool that I had pulled.' κατάγειν is properly, To pull out before spinning, so as to be ready for the distaff. See Plat. Polit. 282 E. πως] Nescio quo modo; indicating the carelessness of the act.

696. mvp-comment-520-1 προὔχριον] Prepared (the robe) by anointing.' Supr. 675, 689.

697. mvp-comment-521-1 ἀκτῖν᾽ ἐς ἡλιῶτιν] 'Into the bright sunshine.' Added to explain φλόγα.

698. mvp-comment-522-1 ῥεῖ.. ἄδηλον] It melts all out of sight,' i. e. dissolves and disappears. καὶ κατέψηκται χθονί] And is crumbled on the ground; i.e. The shrunken morsels that remain appear like a crumbling substance.

699. mvp-comment-523-1 εἰκαστὸν ὥστε] The comparison begins afresh with ὥστε, as if εἰκαστόν had not preceded. See Essay on L. § 40. p. 75, 5. ὥστε.. ξύλου] 'As, where wood is severed, you may see the morsels bitten out by the saw; i.e. it had the appearance of sawdust,

701. mvp-comment-524-1 προπετές] This has been commonly explained, 'On the ground,' or 'Thrown away:' as if κεῖται προπετές were simply = προκεῖται. But the radical meaning of προπετής is rather, 'Ready to fall' than Having fallen.' See L. and S. s. v. And on comparing infr. l.976, Menand. Παρακ. 2, Eur. Alc. 909, Hec. 152, a more probable explanation seems to be, On the point of dissolution,' 'About to perish,' or 'disappear.' The wool has all but crumbled away when the froth exudes from the ground. ὅθεν] The adverb of place being added to particularize ἐκ γῆς, ὅθεν takes the case of its antecedent (= κεῖθεν οὗ), just as ὧν is often = τούτων ἅ.

702. mvp-comment-525-1 προὔκειτο] 'It lay exposed.' θρομβώδεις ἀφροί] Clots of foam.'

703. mvp-comment-526-1 γλαυκῆς .. ἀμπέλου] · As when in bloomy vintage-time the rich liquor pressed from Bacchus' vine is spilt upon the ground.' γλαυκῆς ὀπώρας is to be taken (1) with the whole sentence, as a genitive of time or circumstance, rather than (2) in regimen with ποτοῦ. On the other hand, Βακχίας ἀπ᾿ ἀμπέλου is to be joined with ποτοῦ rather than with χυθέντος. The venom frothed like the spilth of new-made wine.

Sophocles Trachiniae 672

ed. Francis Storr

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