Sophocles, Antigone, ed. August Boeckh, 230

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Card By Card

← Previous Next →

KREON.

Erweck' es; aber rede nur nicht um Gewinn.

Antigone. Sophocles. ed. August Boeckh. Leipzig. 1884.

Current edition Experimental

German (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) (German) (German (A. Boeckh, 1884))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (12)

Greek (L. Benloew, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (L. Benloew, 1858)) — 230 focus

τοιαῦθ᾽ ἑλίσσων ¹ ἤνυτον σχολῇ βραδύς·

230

Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 230 focus

σοί· κεἰ τὸ μηδὲν ἐξερῶ, φράσω δ᾽ ὅμως.

230

Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 230 focus

χοὕτως ὁδὸς βραχεῖα γίγνεται μακρὰ·

230

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 230 focus

ἄλλου παρ᾿ ἀνδρός, πῶς σὺ δῆτ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγυνεῖ;

230

Greek (A. Colonna, 1978) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Colonna, 1978)) — 230 focus

ἄλλου παρ᾽ ἀνδρός, πῶς σὺ δῆτ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγυνῇ;»

230

Greek (A. Dain, 1955) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Dain, 1955)) — 230.mvp-line-230 focus

ἄλλου παρ’ ἀνδρός, πῶς σὺ δῆτ’ οὐκ ἀλγυνῇ;"

230

Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979)) — 230 focus

ἄλλου παρ᾽ ἀνδρός, πῶς σὺ δῆτ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγυνῆι;

230

Greek (G. Hermann, 1830) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (G. Hermann, 1830)) — 230 focus

ἄλλου παρ᾽ ἀνδρός; πῶς σὺ δῆτ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγυνεῖ;

230

Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906)) — 230 focus

ἄλλου παρ᾽ ἀνδρός, πῶς σὺ δῆτ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγυνεῖ;

230

Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924)) — 230.mvp-line-230 focus

ἄλλου παρ᾽ ἀνδρός, πῶς σὺ δῆτ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγυνῇ;

230

Antigone (OCR draft) Experimental (Antigone) — 230 focus

ἄλλου παρʼ ἀνδρός; πῶς σὺ δῆτʼ οὐκ ἀλγύνει;

230

Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949)) — 230 focus

ἄλλου παρ᾽ ἀνδρός, πῶς σὺ δῆτ᾽ οὐκ ἀλγυνῆι;

230

Translations (9)

Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921)) — 230 focus

CORO

Corriendo saca a la muchacha de la subterránea prisión, y prepara sepultura para el que yace insepulto.

Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 230 focus

Creon

Et ista probas, hisque obsequi me debere censes?

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 230 focus

CH

Go now to do it. Trust no second hand.

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 237 focus

Was ist's, warum befiel dich solche Bangigkeit?

Der Wächter.

Erst laß dir sagen, was mich selbst betrifft: die That

Verübt' ich nicht, noch sah ich, wer der Thäter war;

Und nur mit Unrecht widerführe mir ein Leid.
240

Kreon.

Du zielst behutsam und verschanzest dich geschickt

Ringsher; du bringst uns, seh' ich wohl, ein schweres Wort.

Der Wächter.

Das Arge freilich regt die Furcht gewaltig auf.

Kreon.

Nun, wirst du reden endlich und dann weiter geh'n?

Der Wächter.

Wohlan, so sag' ich's: Einer, der sofort verschwand,
245

Begrub den Todten eben, hat mit trocknem Staub

Bestreut den Leichnam, und geweiht, was üblich ist.

Kreon.

Was sagst du? Wer auf Erden hat sich deß erkühnt?

Der Wächter.

Ich weiß es nicht; denn weder eines Beiles Hieb

War dort, noch einer Hacke Wurf, der Boden dicht
250

Und fest und bruchlos, auch mit Wagenrädern nicht

Befahren; spurlos blieb es, wer der Thäter war.

Und wie es uns der erste Tageswächter zeigt,¹

Erschien es Allen unerklärlich wunderbar.

Die Leiche war verschwunden, nicht begraben zwar;
255

Dünn, wie den Fluch zu meiden, lag der Staub darauf.²

Von einem Raubthier oder Hund war keine Spur,

Die hergekommen und an ihr herumgezerrt.

Nun schollen böse Reden auf einander los,

Der Wächter zich den Wächter; wohl auch endet' es
260

Zulezt mit Schlägen; Keiner war zu wehren da.

Denn Einer wie der Andre war der Thäter hier,

Und Keiner überführbar; Jeder stritt es ab.

Mit Händen fassen wollten wir ein glühend Erz,³

Durch Feuer gehen, schwören bei den Göttern selbst,
265

Daß wir es nicht verübten noch im Bunde sei'n

Mit Einem, der's ersonnen oder ausgeführt.

Am Ende, da kein Forschen mehr uns weiter half,

Sprach Einer, der uns alle zwang, vor Furcht das Haupt

Zur Erd' hinabzusenken denn wir wußten nicht
270

Zu widersprechen, noch wiefern wir, thäten wir's,

Uns helfen könnten dieser rieth, man müsse dir

Die Sache hinterbringen, nicht verheimlichen.

Und seine Meinung siegte: mich Unseligen

Verdammt zu diesem schönen Glück des Looses Wurf.
275

Nun steh' ich hier, nicht willig vor Unwilligen:

Niemand ja liebt den Boten unwillkommner Mähr.

Der Chor.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 230 focus

Chorus

Immediately, O king ! for vengeance falls

With hasty footsteps on the guilty head.

Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889)) — 230 focus

CREONTE

¿No sabes tú que es á un Rey á quien se dirigen tus palabras?

German (F. Hölderlin, 1804) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (F. Hölderlin, 1804)) — 230 focus

CHOR

Thu nun diess, Komm. Komm nun nicht mehr auf anders.

English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904)) — 230 focus

Chorus

Yea, King, and with all speed; for swift harms from the gods cut short the folly of men.

English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904)) — 162-330 focus

Enter Creon, with two attendants.

Creon

My fellow citizens! First, the gods, after tossing the fate of our city on wild waves, have once more righted it. Second, I have ordered you through my messengers to come here

apart from all the rest, because I knew, first of all, how constant was your reverence for the power of the throne of Laius; how, again, you were reverent, when Oedipus was guiding our city; and lastly, how, when he was dead, you still maintained loyal thoughts towards his children.
165

Since, then, these latter have fallen in one day by a twofold doom—each striking, each struck, both with the stain of a brother’s murder—I now possess all the power and the throne according to my kinship with the dead.
170

Now, it is impossible to know fully any man’s character, will, or judgment, until he has been proved by the test of rule and law-giving. For if anyone who directs the entire city does not cling to the best and wisest plans,
175

but because of some fear keeps his lips locked, then, in my judgment, he is and has long been the most cowardly traitor. And if any man thinks a friend more important than his fatherland, that man, I say, is of no account. Zeus, god who sees all things always, be my witness—
180

I would not be silent if I saw ruin, instead of safety, marching upon the citizens. Nor would I ever make a man who is hostile to my country a friend to myself, because I know this, that our country is the ship that bears us safe, and that only when
185

we sail her on a straight course can we make true friends. Such are the rules by which I strengthen this city. Akin to these is the edict which I have now published to the citizenry concerning the sons of Oedipus: Eteocles, who fell fighting
190

in behalf of our city and who excelled all in battle, they shall entomb and heap up every sacred offering that descends to the noblest of the dead below. But as for his brother, Polyneices, I mean, who on his return from exile wanted to burn to the ground
195

the city of his fathers and his race’s gods, and wanted to feed on kindred blood and lead the remnant into slavery—it has been proclaimed to the city that no one shall give him funeral honors or lamentation,
200

but all must leave him unburied and a sight of shame, with his body there for birds and dogs to eat. This is my will, and never will I allow the traitor to stand in honor before the just. But whoever has good will to Thebes ,
205

he shall be honored by me in death as in life.
210

211

Chorus

That is your will, Creon, towards this city’s enemy and its friend. And the power is yours, I believe, to make use of every law whatsoever, both concerning the dead and all us who live.

Creon

See, then, that you be guardians of my commands.
215

Chorus

Lay the weight of this task on some younger man.

Creon

That is not what I meant—the guards for the corpse are already in place.

Chorus

Then what is this other command that you would give?

Creon

That you not give way to the breakers of my commands.

Chorus

There is no one so foolish as to crave death.
220

Creon

I assure you, that is the wage for disobedience. Yet by just the hope of it, money has many times corrupted men.

Enter Guard.

Guard

My king, I will not say that I arrive breathless because of speed, or from the action of a swift foot.

For often I brought myself to a stop because of my thoughts, and wheeled round in my path to return. My mind was telling me many things: Fool, why do you go to where your arrival will mean your punishment? Idiot, are you dallying again? If Creon learns it from another, must you not suffer for it?
225

So debating, I made my way unhurriedly, slow, and thus a short road was made long. At last, however, the view prevailed that I should come here—to you. Even if my report brings no good, still will I tell you,
230

since I come with a good grip on one hope, that I can suffer nothing except what is my fate.
235

237

Creon

And what is it that so disheartens you?

Guard

I want to tell you first about myself—I did not do the deed, nor did I see the doer,

so it would be wrong that I should come to any harm.
240

Creon

Like a bowman you aim well at your target from a distance, and all around you hedge yourself off well from the deed. It is clear that you have some unheard-of thing to tell.

Guard

That I do, for terrible news imposes great hesitation.

Creon

Then tell it, will you, and so unburdened go away?

Guard

Well, here it is. The corpse—some one has just given it burial and disappeared after sprinkling thirsty dust on the flesh and performing the other rites that piety demands.
245

Creon

What are you saying? What man dared do this?

Guard

I do not know. For there was no scar of a pickax to be seen there,

no earth thrown up by a mattock. The ground was hard and dry, unbroken, not rolled over by wheels. The doer was someone who left no trace. When the first day-watchman showed it to us, a discomforting amazement fell on us all.
250

The dead man was veiled from us—not shut within a tomb, but a light cover of dust was on him, as if put there by the hand of one who shunned a curse. And no sign was visible that any beast of prey or any dog had approached or torn him. Then evil words flew thick and loud among us,
255

guard accusing guard. It would even have come to blows in the end, nor was there anyone there to prevent it: every man was the culprit, and no one was plainly guilty, while all disclaimed knowledge of the act. We were ready to take red-hot iron in our hands,
260

to walk through fire and to swear oaths by the gods that we had neither done the deed, nor shared knowledge of the planning or the doing. At last, when our investigating got us nowhere, someone spoke up and made us all bend our faces
265

in fear towards the earth. For we did not know how we could argue with him, nor yet prosper, if we did what he said. His argument was that the deed must be reported to you and not hidden. This view prevailed, and so it was that
270

the lot doomed miserable me to win this prize. So here I stand, as unwelcome to you as I am unwilling, I well know. For no man delights in the bearer of bad news.
275

278

Chorus

My king, my thoughts have long been deliberating whether this deed is somehow the work of gods?

Creon

Quiet, before your words truly fill me with rage, so that you not be found at the same time foolish as well as old. You say what is intolerable when you claim that the gods have concern for that corpse. Was it in high esteem for his benefactions
280

that they sought to hide him, when he had come to burn their columned shrines, their sacred treasures and their land, and scatter its laws to the winds? Or do you see the gods honoring the wicked? It cannot be. No! From the very first
285

certain men of the city were chafing at this edict and muttering against me, tossing their heads in secret, and they did not keep their necks duly under the yoke in submission to me. By those men, I am certain, they were led astray and bribed to do this deed.
290

Nothing so evil as money ever grew to be current among men. This destroys cities, this drives men from their homes, this trains and warps honest minds to set themselves to works of shame,
295

this teaches people to practise villainies, and to know every act of unholiness. But all the men who did this job for hire have made sure that, sooner or later, they shall suffer the punishment. Now, as Zeus still has my reverence, know this well—
300

I tell you on my oath. If you do not find the very hand that made this burial, and reveal him before my eyes, mere death shall not suffice for you, not before, hung up alive, you have made this outrage plain,
305

so that hereafter you may thieve with better knowledge of where your money should be received from, and learn that it is best not to be fond of money-making from any and every source. For you will find that ill-gotten gains bring more men to ruin than to safety.
310

315

Guard

Will you allow me to speak? Or shall I just turn and go?
315

Creon

Do you not know even now how much your voice sickens me?

Guard

Is the pain in your ears, or in your soul?

Creon

And why would you define the seat of my pain?

Guard

He who did it hurts your heart, but I, your ears.

Creon

God! How plain it is that you are a born babbler.
320

Guard

Perhaps, but never the author of this action.

Creon

Yes, and what is more, you sold your life for silver.

Guard

Ah! It is truly sad when the judge judges wrong .

Creon

Expound on judgment as you will. But, if you fail to

show me the perpetrators of these crimes, you will avow that money basely earned wreaks sorrows. Exit Creon.
325

Guard

Well, may the man be found! That would be best. But, whether he be caught or not—for fortune must decide that—I assure you that you will not see me come here again.

Saved just now beyond hope and belief, I owe the gods great thanks. Exit the Guard.
330

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-52-1 κείσομαι ¹

mvp-comment-52-2 σοὶ δ’ ² σὺ δ’ ³ εἰ δοκεῖ ⁴

mvp-comment-52-3 τὰ τῶν θεῶν ἔντιμα ⁵

mvp-comment-52-4 ἀτιμάσασ’ ἔχε ⁶

mvp-comment-53-1 ἐγὼ ⁷ μέν ⁸ δέ ⁹

mvp-comment-53-2 ἄτιμα ποιοῦμαι ¹⁰

mvp-comment-53-3 τὸ δὲ | ...δρᾶν ¹¹

mvp-comment-54-1 τάδ’ ἂν προὔχοιο ¹²

mvp-comment-54-2 δὴ ¹³

mvp-comment-54-3 τάφον χώσουσ’ ¹⁴

mvp-comment-55-1 Join οἴμοι ταλαίνης ¹⁵

mvp-comment-55-2 μὴ ’μοῦ προτάρβει ¹⁶ τὸν σόν ¹⁷ μὴ ’μοῦ ¹⁸ προτάρβει ¹⁹

mvp-comment-55-3 ἐξόρθου ²⁰

mvp-comment-56-1 ἀλλ’ οὖν … γε ²¹ ἀλλά ²² οὖν ²³

mvp-comment-56-2 κρυφῆ δέ ²⁴

mvp-comment-56-3 σὺν δ’ ²⁵

mvp-comment-56-4 αὔτως ²⁶

mvp-comment-57-1 καταύδα ²⁷

mvp-comment-57-2 πολλόν ²⁸ πολλὸν ²⁹

mvp-comment-57-3 σιγῶσ’ ³⁰ ἐὰν … τάδε ³¹ πᾶσι ³²

mvp-comment-58-1 θερμὴν ἐπὶ ψυχροῖσι ³³ ἐπί ³⁴ θερμήν ³⁵

mvp-comment-59-1 ἁδεῖν ³⁶

mvp-comment-60-1 εἰ καὶ δυνήσει γ’ ³⁷ καὶ ³⁸ δυνήσει ³⁹ εἰ καί ⁴⁰

mvp-comment-61-1 Since οὐκοῦν ⁴¹ δὴ ⁴² ὅταν ⁴³

mvp-comment-61-2 πεπαύσομαι ⁴⁴

mvp-comment-62-1 ἀρχήν ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-63-1 ἐχθαρεῖ ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-63-2 ἐξ ἐμοῦ ⁴⁷

mvp-comment-64-1 ἐχθρὰ...τῷ θανόντι προσκείσει δίκῃ ⁴⁸ προσκείσει ⁴⁹ ἐχθρά ⁵⁰

mvp-comment-64-2 Lehrs proposed

Δίκῃ

, i.e. ‘you will fall under the chastisement of justice.’ Donaldson, following Emper, reads

ἐχθρᾷ... δίκῃ

, as iure inimicorum apud mortuum eris: i.e. on the part of the dead you will be deemed to have only the rights of a foe. This is impossible. The ordinary reading is sound.

mvp-comment-65-1 ἔα ⁵¹

mvp-comment-65-2 τὴν ἐξ ἐμοῦ δυσββουλίαν ⁵²

mvp-comment-65-3 τὸ δεινὸν τοῦτο ⁵³

mvp-comment-65-4 πείσομαι γὰρ οὐ ⁵⁵

mvp-comment-65-5 μὴ οὐ ⁵⁶

mvp-comment-66-1 τοῖς φίλοις δ’ ὀρθῶς φίλη ⁵⁷ ἴσθι ⁵⁸

mvp-comment-68-1 ἀελίου ⁵⁹

mvp-comment-68-2 τὸ κάλλιστον ...φάος ⁶⁰

mvp-comment-68-3 ἑπταπύλῳ ⁶¹

mvp-comment-68-4 τῶν προτέρων ⁶²

mvp-comment-69-1 ἐφάνθης ⁶³

mvp-comment-69-2 χρυσέας ⁶⁴

mvp-comment-69-3 βλέφαρον ⁶⁵

mvp-comment-69-4 Διρκαίων ⁶⁶

mvp-comment-70-1 τὸν λεύκασπιν...φῶτα ⁶⁷

mvp-comment-70-2 The words

τὸν λεύκασπιν Ἀργόθεν

answer metrically to 123

πευκάενθ’ Ἥφαιστον ἑλεῖν

. Instead of

Ἀργόθεν

(¯˘¯) we therefore require ¯˘˘¯. The short final of

λεύκασπιν

is legitimate, the metre being Glyconic (see Analysis Metr.). In the antistrophic verse, the H of

Ἥφαιστον

is ‘irrational,’ i.e. is a long syllable doing duty for a short: and Nauck is incorrect in saying that the metre ‘requires’ (though it admits) a choriambus beginning with a consonant. The simplest remedy is to read Ἀργόθεν ἐκ | βάντα φῶτα ⁶⁸ Ἰναχόθεν ⁶⁹

mvp-comment-71-1 πανσαγίᾳ ⁷⁰

mvp-comment-71-2 φυγάδα πρ. ⁷¹ κινήσασα ⁷²

mvp-comment-71-3 πρόδρομον ⁷³

mvp-comment-71-4 ὀξυτέρῳ...χαλινῷ ⁷⁴

mvp-comment-71-5 ὀξυτέρῳ ⁷⁵

mvp-comment-72-1 The MSS. have ὃν...Πολυνείκης ⁷⁶ ὃς ...Πολυνείκους ⁷⁷

mvp-comment-72-2 Πολυνείκους … νεικέων ⁷⁸

mvp-comment-72-3 ἀρθείς ⁷⁹

mvp-comment-72-4 νεικ. ἐξ ἀμφιλόγων ⁸⁰

mvp-comment-73-1 ὀξέα κλάζων ⁸¹

mvp-comment-73-2 αἰετὸς εἰς γᾶν ὣς ὑπερέπτα ⁸² ὥς ⁸³

mvp-comment-73-3 ὑπερέπτα ⁸⁴

mvp-comment-74-1 λευκῆς χιόνος πτ. ⁸⁵

mvp-comment-74-2 στεγανός ⁸⁶

mvp-comment-74-3 ὅπλων … κορύθεσσι ⁸⁷ ξύν ⁸⁸ μετά ⁸⁹ ξύν ⁹⁰

mvp-comment-75-1 In στὰς δ’ ὑπὲρ μελάθρων ⁹¹ πτάς ⁹²

mvp-comment-75-2 The words φονώσαισιν ἀμφιχανὼν... λόγχαις ⁹³

mvp-comment-75-3 φονώσαισιν ⁹⁴

mvp-comment-75-4 ἑπτάπυλον στόμα ⁹⁵

mvp-comment-76-1 ἔβα ⁹⁶

mvp-comment-76-2 πρίν ποθ’ ⁹⁷ αἱμάτων ⁹⁸

mvp-comment-76-3 γἑνυσιν ⁹⁹ πλησθῆναι ¹⁰⁰ τε ¹⁰¹ τε ¹⁰²

mvp-comment-76-4 στεφάνωμα ¹⁰³

mvp-comment-76-5 πευκάενθ’ Ἥφαιστον ¹⁰⁴

mvp-comment-77-1 τοῖος ¹⁰⁵

mvp-comment-77-2 ἐτάθη ¹⁰⁶

mvp-comment-77-3 πάταγος ¹⁰⁷

mvp-comment-77-4 ἀντιπάλῳ δυσχείρωμα δράκοντος ¹⁰⁸ ἀντιπάλῳ ... δράκοντι ¹⁰⁹ ἀντιπάλου … δράκοντος ¹¹⁰ ἀντιπάλῳ … δράκοντος ¹¹¹

mvp-comment-77-5 The interpretation of the passage turns primarily on two points.

mvp-comment-77-6 (1) The δράκων ¹¹²

mvp-comment-77-7 (2) The δυς ¹¹³ δυσχείρωμα ¹¹⁴

mvp-comment-77-8 Those who read ἀντιπάλῳ … δράκοντι ¹¹⁵ ὲτάθη ¹¹⁶

mvp-comment-77-9 Those who read ἀντιπάλου … δράκοντος ¹¹⁷

mvp-comment-78-1 μεγάλης ¹¹⁸

mvp-comment-78-2 ῥεύματι ¹¹⁹ ῥεύματι πολλῷ ¹²⁰

mvp-comment-79-1 χρυσοῦ καναχῆς ὑπεροπλίαις ¹²¹

mvp-comment-79-2

μέγας

. In post-Homeric poetry

ὑπέροπλος

is a freq. epith. of overweening strength (

ἠνορέη, βίη, ἥβη

, etc.).—Other readings are:—(1)

χρυσοῦ καναχῇ θ’ ὑπερόπτας

, ‘and haughty in the clang of gold.’ This involves an improbable change; the subst.

ὑπερόπτης

, too, is unsuitable here, and cannot be defended by Theocr. 22. 58

πρὸς πάντα παλίγκοτος ἠδ’ ὑπερόπτης

. Wecklein, reading

ὑπερόπτας

, keeps

καναχῆς

in the sense, hoffärtig auf: but a genit. after

ὑπερόπτης

could not denote that in which one takes pride. (2)

χρυσοῦ καναχῆς ὑπερόπτης

, or

‐όπτα

, i.e., ‘Zeus, a despiser of the clang of gold.’ (3)

χρυσοῦ καναχῆς ὑπέροπτα

, adv. neut. plur. (as O. T. 883 ), ‘advancing haughtily in a great stream of clanging gold.’ But the adv. comes weakly at the end, and

χρυσοῦ κ

. is harshly joined with

π. ῥεύματι

.—Aesch. , too, gives prominence to gold in picturing the Argive chiefs: Capaneus has golden letters on his shield ( Aesch. Th. 434 ), Polyneices has the image of a warrior in golden armour, with a golden legend (644, Aesch. Th. 660 ).

mvp-comment-79-3 καναχῆς ¹²²

mvp-comment-80-1 παλτῷ πυρί ¹²³

mvp-comment-80-2 βαλβίδων ἐπ’ ἄκρων ¹²⁴

mvp-comment-80-3 ὁρμῶντα ¹²⁵

mvp-comment-80-4 νίκην ¹²⁶ ἀλαλάξαι ¹²⁷

mvp-comment-81-1 ἀντιτύπᾳ ¹²⁸

mvp-comment-81-2 As regards the sense,

ἀντίτυπος

was regularly used of hard surfaces, which, as it were, repel that which strikes them (for the accent

ἀντίτυπος

, not

ἀντιτύπος

, though the sense is act., see on O. T. 460 ). Probl. 5. 40

οἱ...ἐν ἀντιτύποις περίπατοι

. Lucian Amor. 13

τὴν ἀντίτυπον οὕτω καὶ καρτερὰν τοῦ λίθου φύσιν

. So, fig., Plat. Crat. 420D

τὸ...ἀναγκαῖον καὶ ἀντίτυπον

, what is necessary, and what resists us.

mvp-comment-81-3 τανταλωθείς ¹²⁹

mvp-comment-82-1 πυρφόρος ¹³⁰

mvp-comment-82-2 βακχεύων ¹³¹

mvp-comment-82-3 ῥιπαῖς...ἀνέμων ¹³²

mvp-comment-83-1 εἶχε δ’ ἄλλᾳ τὰ μέν ¹³³ εἶχε δ’ ἄλλαι τὰ μὲν ἄλλαι τὰ δ’ ἐπ’ ἄλλοις ¹³⁴ τὰ μέν ¹³⁵ ἄλλα δέ ¹³⁶ τὰ μέν ¹³⁷ ἄλλᾳ ¹³⁸

mvp-comment-83-2 ἐπενώμα ¹³⁹ στυφελίζων ¹⁴⁰

mvp-comment-83-3 δεξιόσειρος ¹⁴¹

mvp-comment-83-4 The old v.l. δεξιόχειρος ¹⁴²

mvp-comment-84-1 ἑπτὰ λοχαγοί ¹⁴³

mvp-comment-84-2 ἴσοι πρὸς ἴσους ¹⁴⁴

mvp-comment-84-3 Ζηνὶ τροπαίῳ ¹⁴⁵

mvp-comment-84-4 πάγχαλκα τέλη ¹⁴⁶

mvp-comment-84-5 It was the ordinary practice to set up a

τρόπαιον

(old

αττ.τροπαῖον

) after a victory, on the spot where it had been won, or, in the case of a sea-fight, on the nearest land ( Thuc. 2.92 ). Such a trophy ordinarily consisted of shields, helmets, and weapons, conspicuously displayed on wooden supports, and dedicated, with an inscription, to a deity. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 1473 (of the Thebans after the victory)

οἱ μὲν Διὸς τροπαῖον ἵστασαν βρέτας

(i.e. a wooden image of

Ζεὺς Τροπαῖος

), |

οἱ δ’ ἀσπίδας συλῶντες Ἀργείων νεκρῶν | σκυλεύματ’ εἴσω τειχέων ἐπέμπομεν

. Part of the armour would be affixed to the walls of Theban temples (cp. Aesch. Ag. 577 , Th. 276 ).

mvp-comment-85-1 πλὴν τ. στυγεροῖν ¹⁴⁷ πατρός ¹⁴⁸

mvp-comment-85-2 καθ’ αὑτοῖν ¹⁴⁹

mvp-comment-85-3 δικρατεῖς λόγχας ¹⁵⁰

mvp-comment-85-4 στήσαντε ¹⁵¹

mvp-comment-86-1 ἀλλὰ γάρ ¹⁵² γάρ ¹⁵³ γάρ ¹⁵⁴

mvp-comment-86-2 μεγαλώνυμος ¹⁵⁵

mvp-comment-86-3 πολυαρμάτῳ ¹⁵⁶

mvp-comment-86-4 ἀντιχαρεῖσα ¹⁵⁷

mvp-comment-87-1 ἐκ...πολέμων τῶν νῦν ¹⁵⁸ ἐκ ¹⁵⁹ νῦν ¹⁶⁰

mvp-comment-87-2 θέσθαι ¹⁶¹ θέσθε ¹⁶² παννυχίοις ¹⁶³

mvp-comment-87-3 ὁ Θήβας ¹⁶⁴ ἐλελίχθων ¹⁶⁵

mvp-comment-87-4 Βάκχιος ¹⁶⁶

mvp-comment-87-5 ἄρχοι ¹⁶⁷

mvp-comment-88-1 ἀλλὰ … γάρ ¹⁶⁸ Κρέων ¹⁶⁹

mvp-comment-88-2 Μενοικέως ¹⁷⁰

mvp-comment-88-3 νεοχμὸς νεαραῖσι ¹⁷¹

mvp-comment-88-4 their equivalents. See Appendix I prefer the first of these views. An anapaest or spondee, meaning ‘ruler,’ has probably dropped out before νεοχμός ¹⁷² κρείων ¹⁷³ ἄρχων ¹⁷⁴ ταγός ¹⁷⁵

mvp-comment-88-5 θεῶν … συντυχίαις ¹⁷⁶ ἐπί ¹⁷⁷

mvp-comment-89-1 μῆτιν ἐρέσσων ¹⁷⁸

mvp-comment-89-2 σύγκλητον ¹⁷⁹

mvp-comment-89-3 προὔθετο ¹⁸⁰ λέσχην ¹⁸¹

mvp-comment-89-4 not the meeting, but the discussion which is to take place there: thus the poet's phrase, true to Attic usage, corresponds with

γνώμας προθεῖναι

rather than with

ἐκκλησίαν προθεῖναι

. Herod. uses

λέσχη

of a public discussion (9. 71): cp. O. C. 167 . The midd. προὔθετο ¹⁸²

mvp-comment-89-5 κοινῷ κ. πέμψας ¹⁸³

mvp-comment-91-1 There is a general dramatic analogy between this speech and that of Oedipus in O. T. 216 —275. In each case a Theban king addresses Theban elders, announcing a stern decree, adopted in reliance on his own wisdom, and promulgated with haughty consciousness of power; the elders receive the decree with a submissive deference under which we can perceive traces of misgiving; and as the drama proceeds, the elders become spectators of calamities occasioned by the decree, while its author turns to them for comfort.

mvp-comment-91-2 τὰ μὲν δὴ πόλεος . . ὑμᾶς δ’ ¹⁸⁴

mvp-comment-91-3 πόλεος ¹⁸⁵ πολλῷ σάλῳ σείσαντες ¹⁸⁶

mvp-comment-91-4 The image of the State as a ship dates in Greek literature from Alcaeus (whom Horace copied, Carm. 1. 14 ), fr. 18. The ship of Alcaeus is labouring in the trough of a wild sea,—water is coming in,—the sail is torn,—the anchor will not hold:

νᾶϊ φορήμεθα σὺν μελαίνᾳ | χείμωνι μοχθεῦντες μεγάλῳ μάλα, κ.τ.λ.

It is only through Heracleides Alleg. Homer. 5 that we know the meaning of Alcaeus to have been figurative and political. Aesch. often uses the image ( Aesch. Th. 2 , Aesch. Th. 62 , Aesch. Th. 208 etc.). Creon returns to it at 189. It is peculiarly well suited to his point,—the unity of the public interest.

mvp-comment-91-5 ὤρθωσαν ¹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-92-1 ἐκ πάντων ¹⁸⁸ δίχα ¹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-92-2 ἔστειλ’ ἱκέσθαι ¹⁹⁰ τοῦτο μέν ¹⁹¹

mvp-comment-92-3 σέβοντας ¹⁹²

mvp-comment-92-4 θρόνων . . κράτη ¹⁹³

mvp-comment-93-1 ἡνίκ’ Οἰδίπους ¹⁹⁴ κείνων ¹⁹⁵ κείνων παῖδας ¹⁹⁶ ἡνίκ’ . . ὤρθου πόλιν ¹⁹⁷ ἐπεὶ διώλετο ¹⁹⁸ τοῦτο μέν . . τοῦτ’ αὖθις ¹⁹⁹

mvp-comment-93-2 καί ²⁰⁰ καί ²⁰¹

mvp-comment-93-3 ἐμπέδοις φρονήμασιν ²⁰² ἐμπέδους ²⁰³ ἐμπέδοις ²⁰⁴

mvp-comment-94-1 ὅτε ²⁰⁵

mvp-comment-94-2 πρὸς διπλῆς μ. ²⁰⁶ διπλῆς . . μίαν ²⁰⁷

mvp-comment-94-3 παίσαντες . . πληγέντες ²⁰⁸

mvp-comment-94-4 αὐτόχειρι … μιάσματι ²⁰⁹

mvp-comment-95-1 ἐγὼ . . δή ²¹⁰

mvp-comment-95-2 κράτη ²¹¹

mvp-comment-95-3 γένους κατ’ ἀγχιστεῖα τῶν ὀλ. ²¹²

mvp-comment-96-1 ἀμήχανον δέ ²¹³ δέ ²¹⁴ δέ ²¹⁵

mvp-comment-96-2 Demosthenes, in his speech on the Embassy (343 B.C.), quotes this passage (vv. 175—190) as illustrating maxims

mvp-comment-96-3 which Aeschines had violated, though, accustomed as he had been to play tritagonists' parts, he ought to have known them by heart (or. 19 § 247).

mvp-comment-97-1 ψυχήν ²¹⁶ φρόνημα ²¹⁷ γνώμην ²¹⁸

mvp-comment-98-1 ἀρχαῖς ²¹⁹ νόμοισιν ²²⁰

mvp-comment-98-2 ἐντριβής ²²¹

mvp-comment-98-3 φανῇ ²²²

mvp-comment-99-1 ἐμοὶ γάρ ²²³ γάρ ²²⁴ πᾶσαν … πόλιν ²²⁵

mvp-comment-99-2 μὴ … ἅπτεται ²²⁶ ὅστις μὴ ἅπτεται ²²⁷

mvp-comment-99-3 ἐκ φ. του ²²⁸

mvp-comment-99-4 ἐγκλῄσας ἔχει ²²⁹

mvp-comment-99-5 νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι ²³⁰

mvp-comment-100-1 μείζον’ ²³¹ ἀντὶ τῆς...πάτρας ²³² ἤ ²³³ μεῖζον ²³⁴

mvp-comment-100-2 οὐδαμοῦ λέγω ²³⁵

mvp-comment-101-1 ἐγὼ γάρ ²³⁶ γάρ ²³⁷ τοῦτο γιγνώσκων ²³⁸ ἴστω ²³⁹

mvp-comment-102-1 οὔτ’ ἂν σιωπήσαιμι ²⁴⁰

mvp-comment-103-1 στείχουσαν ἀστοῖς ²⁴¹ ὁμοῦ ²⁴²

mvp-comment-103-2 ἀντὶ τῆς σωτηρίας ²⁴³ τῆς ²⁴⁴

mvp-comment-104-1 ἄνδρα δυσμενῆ χθονός ²⁴⁵

mvp-comment-104-2 ἐμαυτῷ ²⁴⁶ φίλον ²⁴⁷ θείμην ²⁴⁸

mvp-comment-105-1 ἡ σῴζουσα ²⁴⁹

mvp-comment-105-2 ταύτης ²⁵⁰ ὀρθῆς ²⁵¹

mvp-comment-105-3 τοὺς φίλους ποιούμεθα ²⁵²

mvp-comment-105-4

εὐτυχούσῃ πολλῷ μᾶλλον διασῴζεται

. ‘Pericles Thucydidis 11. 60 Sophoclem videtur respexisse, vel eum Sophocles,’ is Dobree's remark ( Adv. 2. 37 ); but there is no adequate ground for such a view. The verbal coincidence of

ὀρθῆς

with

ὀρθουμένην

may well have been accidental. What is really common to poet and historian is the general sentiment of Periclean Athens. For another example of this, cp. O. C. 116 n.

mvp-comment-106-1 νόμοισι ²⁵³

mvp-comment-106-2 αὔξω ²⁵⁴

mvp-comment-107-1 ἀδελφὰ τῶνδε ²⁵⁵

mvp-comment-107-2 τῶν ἀπ’ Οἰδίπου ²⁵⁶

mvp-comment-108-1 δορί ²⁵⁷ δόρει ²⁵⁸

mvp-comment-109-1 τὰ πάντ’ ἐφαγνίσαι ²⁵⁹ ἐπί ²⁶⁰ ἐφαγνίσαι ²⁶¹ ἀφαγνίσαι ²⁶² ἀπό ²⁶³

mvp-comment-110-1 τοῖς ἀρίστοις ²⁶⁴

mvp-comment-110-2 ἔρχεται κάτω ²⁶⁵

mvp-comment-111-1 L has Πολυνείκην ²⁶⁶

mvp-comment-111-2 λέγω ²⁶⁷

mvp-comment-112-1 γτ=ν πατρῴαν . . καὶ θεοὺς . . πρῆσαι ²⁶⁸

mvp-comment-112-2 θ. τοὺς ἐγγενεῖς ²⁶⁹

mvp-comment-112-3 κατελθών ²⁷⁰

mvp-comment-112-4 γ)θέλησε μέν … ἠθέλ. δέ ²⁷¹ ἠθέλησε μὲν ²⁷²

mvp-comment-112-5 πρῆσαι ²⁷³

mvp-comment-112-6 κατ’ ἄκρας ²⁷⁴

mvp-comment-112-7 αἵματος κ. πάσασθαι ²⁷⁵

mvp-comment-112-8 τοὺς δὲ … ἄγειν ²⁷⁶

mvp-comment-113-1 The traditional ἐκκεκηρῦχθαι τάφῳ ²⁷⁷ ἐκκεκήρυκται τάφῳ ²⁷⁸ ἐκκεκηρῦχθαι λέγω ²⁷⁹ τάφῳ ²⁸⁰ κτερίζειν ²⁸¹ τάφῳ ²⁸² κτερίζειν ²⁸³ μήτε ²⁸⁴ κωκῦσαι ²⁸⁵ τάφῳ ²⁸⁶ λέγω ²⁸⁷ τάφῳ ²⁸⁸ ἐκκεκ ²⁸⁹

mvp-comment-114-1 ἐᾶν δ ²⁹⁰ ἄθαπτον, αἰκισθέντ’ ἰδεῖν ²⁹¹ δέμας καὶ πρὸς οἰωνῶν καὶ πρὸς κυνῶν ἐδεστόν ²⁹² αἰκισθέντ ²⁹³ αἰκισθέντ ²⁹⁴ ἐδεστόν ²⁹⁵ αἰκισθέν τ’, δέμας ²⁹⁶

mvp-comment-114-2 δέμας ²⁹⁷

mvp-comment-114-3 ἰδεῖν ²⁹⁸

mvp-comment-115-1 φρόνημα ²⁹⁹

mvp-comment-115-2 ἔκ γ’ ἐμοῦ ³⁰⁰

mvp-comment-116-1 The MSS. have τιμὴν προέξουσ’ ..τῶν ἐνδ. ³⁰¹ τιμήν ³⁰² τιμῆ ³⁰³ προσέξους ³⁰⁴

mvp-comment-117-1 τιμήσεται ³⁰⁵

mvp-comment-118-1 I print Dindorf's κἀς ³⁰⁶ καὶ ³⁰⁷ σοὶ ταῦτ’ ἀρέσκει ³⁰⁸ Κρέον ³⁰⁹ ταὔτ ³¹⁰ ταῦτ’ ³¹¹

mvp-comment-119-1 In παντί πού γ’ ³¹² σοί γ’ … που ³¹³ ἔνεστι ³¹⁴ χὡπόσοι ζῶμεν ³¹⁵ πέρι ³¹⁶

mvp-comment-120-1 ὡς ἂν … ἦτε ³¹⁷ πῶς ἂν … εἶτε ³¹⁸

mvp-comment-120-2 σκοποί ³¹⁹

mvp-comment-120-3 νυν ³²⁰ νῦν ³²¹

mvp-comment-120-4 τῶν εἰρ ³²²

mvp-comment-121-1 πρόθες τοῦτο ³²³ βαστάζειν ³²⁴

mvp-comment-121-2 τοῦ νεκροῦ γ’ ³²⁵

mvp-comment-122-1 τί δῆτ’ ἂν … ἐπεντέλλοις ³²⁶

mvp-comment-122-2 The reading ἄλλῳ ³²⁷ τοῦτο ³²⁸

mvp-comment-122-3 ἐπιχωρεῖν ³²⁹

mvp-comment-122-4 ἀπιστοῦσιν ³³⁰

mvp-comment-122-5 τάδε, ³³¹

mvp-comment-123-1 ὃς ³³² ἐρᾷ ³³³

mvp-comment-123-2 καὶ μὴν ³³⁴ γε ³³⁵ μισθός ³³⁶

mvp-comment-123-3 requital of disobedience is that.’ For

καὶ μήν

so used, cp. O. T. 836 , 1004 f., El. 556 .

mvp-comment-123-4 τὸ κέρδος ³³⁷

mvp-comment-123-5 διώλεσεν ³³⁸

mvp-comment-124-1 ἐρῶ μὲν οὐχ ³³⁹

mvp-comment-124-2 ὅπως ³⁴⁰

mvp-comment-124-3 τάχους ὕπο ³⁴¹ τάχους ³⁴²

mvp-comment-125-1 ἐξάρας ³⁴³

mvp-comment-125-2 φροντίδων ³⁴⁴ ἐπιστάσεις ³⁴⁵

mvp-comment-125-3 ὁδοῖς ³⁴⁶

mvp-comment-125-4 κυκλῶν ³⁴⁷

mvp-comment-126-1 ψυχὴ γὰρ ηὔδα ³⁴⁸ πολλὰ ³⁴⁹ μυθουμένη ³⁵⁰

mvp-comment-127-1 τάλας … τλήμων ³⁵¹

mvp-comment-127-2 μένεις ³⁵² μενεῖς ³⁵³ αὖ ³⁵⁴

mvp-comment-127-3 πῶς … οὐκ ³⁵⁵

mvp-comment-127-4 ἀλγυνεῖ ³⁵⁶

mvp-comment-128-1 ἑλίσσων ³⁵⁷

mvp-comment-128-2 ἤνυτον ³⁵⁸

mvp-comment-128-3 σχολῇ βραδύς ³⁵⁹

mvp-comment-129-1 τέλος γε μέντοι ³⁶⁰

mvp-comment-129-2 ἐνίκησεν ³⁶¹

mvp-comment-129-3

ἐκλιπεῖν τὴν πόλιν

. That

μολεῖν

should not be regarded as the subject to

ἐνίκησε

, is shown by such an example as Her. 8.9

ἐνίκα τὴν ἡμέρην ἐκείνην αὐτοῦ μείναντάς τε καὶ αὐλισθέντας μετέπειτα νύκτα μέσην παρέντας πορεύεσθαι

, where the length of the interval excludes such a view. The personal constr. occurs below, 274; cp. Thuc. 2.12

ἦν...Περικλέους γνώμη...νενικηκυῖα

mvp-comment-130-1 σοί ³⁶² μολεῖν ³⁶³ σοί ³⁶⁴ φράσων ³⁶⁵ φράσω δ ³⁶⁶ κεἰ ³⁶⁷ κεἴ σοι ³⁶⁸ σοί. ³⁶⁹

mvp-comment-130-2 τὸ μηδέν ³⁷⁰

mvp-comment-131-1 τῆς ἐλπίδος ³⁷¹

mvp-comment-131-2 δεδραγμένος ³⁷² πεφραγμένος ³⁷³ πεπραγμένος ³⁷⁴

mvp-comment-131-3 τὸ μὴ παθεῖν ἄν ³⁷⁵

mvp-comment-131-4

πάθοιμι ἄν

, depending on

ἐλπίδος...δεδρ

. as=

ἐλπίζων

: for the art. with infin., cp. 78 n.

mvp-comment-131-5 τὸ μόρσιμον ³⁷⁶

mvp-comment-132-1 ἀνθ’ οὗ ³⁷⁷

mvp-comment-132-2 τὸ γὰρ | πρᾶγμ’ ³⁷⁸ γάρ ³⁷⁹

mvp-comment-133-1 εὖ γε στοχάζει ³⁸⁰ στοχάζει ³⁸¹ ἀποφράγνυσαι ³⁸² στοχάζομαι ³⁸³

mvp-comment-133-2 κἀποφράγνυσαι ³⁸⁴

mvp-comment-133-3 τὸ πρᾶγμα ³⁸⁵

mvp-comment-134-1 δηλοῖς δ’ ὥς τι ς. ³⁸⁶

mvp-comment-135-1 τὰ δεινά ³⁸⁷ γάρ ³⁸⁸

mvp-comment-135-2 ποτ ³⁸⁹

mvp-comment-135-3 ἀπαλλαχθείς ³⁹⁰

mvp-comment-136-1 καὶ δή ³⁹¹

mvp-comment-136-2 θάψας ³⁹² κἀπί ³⁹³

mvp-comment-136-3 διψίαν ³⁹⁴

mvp-comment-136-4 κἀφαγιστεύσας ³⁹⁵ ἃ χρή ³⁹⁶

mvp-comment-137-1 ἀνδρῶν ³⁹⁷

mvp-comment-137-2 οὔτε του γενῇδος … οὐ δικέλλης ³⁹⁸ οὔτε … οὐ ³⁹⁹ γενῄς ⁴⁰⁰ γενῄς ⁴⁰¹ δίκελλα ⁴⁰²

mvp-comment-137-3 δικ. ἐκβολή ⁴⁰³ ἐκβ. ⁴⁰⁴ στύφλος ⁴⁰⁵ χέρσος ⁴⁰⁶ ἀρρώξ ⁴⁰⁷

mvp-comment-137-4 ἐπημαξευμένη ⁴⁰⁸ ἐπ‐ ⁴⁰⁹ ἐφ‐ ⁴¹⁰

mvp-comment-137-5 ἀλλ’ ὁ ἐργάτης ἄσημός τις ἦν ⁴¹¹

mvp-comment-138-1 It is still the early morning of the day on which the drama opens. The Argives having fled in the night, Creon had published his edict shortly before dawn. Antigone had done her deed in the short interval between the publication of the edict and the beginning of the watch over the corpse. ὁ πρῶτος ἡμεροσκόπος ⁴¹² ἡμεροσκ. ⁴¹³

mvp-comment-138-2 δείκνυσι … παρῆν ⁴¹⁴

mvp-comment-138-3 δυσχερές ⁴¹⁵

mvp-comment-139-1 ὁ μὲν ⁴¹⁶

mvp-comment-139-2 τυμβήρης μὲν οὔ ⁴¹⁷ τυμβ. ⁴¹⁸ λεπτὴ δ’ … ἐπῆν ⁴¹⁹

mvp-comment-139-3 ἄγος φεύγοντος ὥς ⁴²⁰ ἄγος ⁴²¹

mvp-comment-140-1 θηρός ⁴²²

mvp-comment-140-2 του ⁴²³ θηρός ⁴²⁴

mvp-comment-140-3 οὐ σπάσαντος ⁴²⁵ οὐ ⁴²⁶ σπάσαντος ⁴²⁷ σπάσαντος οὐδ’ ἐλθόντος ⁴²⁸

mvp-comment-141-1 λόγοι δ’ … φύλακα ⁴²⁹ λόγοι κακοὶ ἐρρόθουν ⁴³⁰ ἐρρόθουν ⁴³¹

mvp-comment-141-2

γλώσσης ῥόθος

, of an unintelligible jargon.

mvp-comment-141-3 ἐλέγχων ⁴³²

mvp-comment-141-4 κἂν ἐγίγνετο ⁴³³

mvp-comment-141-5 τελευτῶς ⁴³⁴

mvp-comment-141-6 ὁ κωλύσων ⁴³⁵

mvp-comment-142-1 ἦν … οὑξειργ. ⁴³⁶

mvp-comment-142-2 ἐναργής ⁴³⁷

mvp-comment-142-3 ἀλλ’ ⁴³⁸

mvp-comment-142-4 ἕφευγε μὴ εἰδέναι ⁴³⁹

mvp-comment-142-5 μὴ ⁴⁴⁰ εἰδέναι ⁴⁴¹

mvp-comment-143-1 μύδρους ⁴⁴²

mvp-comment-143-2 a red-hot mass of metal, and that the custom was symbolical of an older use of the

μύδρος

in ordeals by fire. This would explain how the Alexandrian poets of the 3rd cent. B.C. (Lycophron, Callimachus) came to use the word

μύδρος

, in defiance of its etymology, as simply ‘a lump’ (or even ‘a stone’). They supposed that the

μύδροι

had been cold masses.

mvp-comment-144-1 πῦρ διέρπειν ⁴⁴³

mvp-comment-144-2 θεοὺς ὁρκ. ⁴⁴⁵

mvp-comment-144-3 τὸ μήτε δρ ⁴⁴⁶

mvp-comment-144-4 μήτ’ είργασμένῳ ⁴⁴⁷ μηδ ⁴⁴⁸

mvp-comment-145-1 πλέον ⁴⁴⁹

mvp-comment-145-2 λέγει ⁴⁵⁰

mvp-comment-145-3 τις εἷς ⁴⁵¹

mvp-comment-146-1 προὔτρεψεν ⁴⁵²

mvp-comment-146-2 οὐ γὰρ εἴχομεν ⁴⁵³

mvp-comment-146-3 As ἀντιφωνεῖν ⁴⁵⁴ δρῶντες ⁴⁵⁵ ὅπως δρῶντες ⁴⁵⁶ εἴχομεν ⁴⁵⁷

mvp-comment-147-1 σοί ⁴⁵⁸

mvp-comment-147-2 ταῦτ’ ἐνίκα ⁴⁵⁹

mvp-comment-147-3 πάλος ⁴⁶⁰ καθαιρεῖ ⁴⁶¹

mvp-comment-147-4 τἀγαθόν ⁴⁶² —ἄκων οὐχ ἑκοῦσιν ⁴⁶³

mvp-comment-148-1 ἐμοί ⁴⁶⁴ βουλεύει ⁴⁶⁵ μή ⁴⁶⁶

mvp-comment-148-2 τι ⁴⁶⁷

mvp-comment-148-3 θεήλατον, ⁴⁶⁸

mvp-comment-148-4 ἡ ξύννοια ⁴⁶⁹

mvp-comment-148-5 πάλαι ⁴⁷⁰

mvp-comment-149-1 πρὶν ὀργῆς καί με μεστῶσαι ⁴⁷¹ καί ⁴⁷² πρίν ⁴⁷³ μεστῶσαι ⁴⁷⁴ καί ⁴⁷⁵ με ⁴⁷⁶

mvp-comment-149-2 κἀμέ ⁴⁷⁷

mvp-comment-149-3 μεστῶσαι ⁴⁷⁸

mvp-comment-150-1 πότερον ⁴⁷⁹ ἔκρυπτον ⁴⁸⁰

mvp-comment-150-2 ἀμφικίονας ναούς ⁴⁸¹

mvp-comment-150-3 κἀναθήματα ⁴⁸²

mvp-comment-150-4 Her. 1.50 ; Thuc. 6.46 ; Isae. or. 7 § 41.) The wealth of Delphi in

ἀναθήματα

is already proverbial in Il. 9.404 ; at Thebes the

Ἰσμήνιον

( O. T. 21 ) also seems to have been rich in them. After

ἀνάθημα

the gen. denotes either

ὁ ἀναθείς

(as more oft.), or, as here, the divine owner.

mvp-comment-150-5 γῆν ἐκείνων ⁴⁸³ πυρώσων ⁴⁸⁴

mvp-comment-150-6 νόμους διασκεδῶν ⁴⁸⁵

mvp-comment-150-7 διασκεδῶν ⁴⁸⁶

mvp-comment-151-1 τοὺς κακοὺς τιμῶντας … θεούς; ⁴⁸⁷

mvp-comment-152-1 ταῦτα ⁴⁸⁸ μόλις φέροντες ⁴⁸⁹ καὶ πάλαι ⁴⁹⁰

mvp-comment-152-2 πόλεως ἄνδρες ⁴⁹¹

mvp-comment-152-3 ἐρρόθουν ⁴⁹²

mvp-comment-152-4 ἐμοί ⁴⁹³

mvp-comment-152-5 κάρα σείοντες ⁴⁹⁴

mvp-comment-152-6 ὑπὸ ζυγῷ ⁴⁹⁵

mvp-comment-152-7 λόφον ⁴⁹⁶

mvp-comment-152-8 δικαίως ⁴⁹⁷

mvp-comment-152-9 equal poise’ ( New Crat. 371).—

ὡς = ὥστε

( O. T. 84 ): στέργειν ⁴⁹⁸

mvp-comment-153-1 τῶνδε ⁴⁹⁹ ἐκ ⁵⁰⁰

mvp-comment-153-2 τούτους, ⁵⁰¹

mvp-comment-153-3 εἰργάσθαι ⁵⁰² ἐξεπίσταμαι ⁵⁰³ παρηγμένους ⁵⁰⁴

mvp-comment-154-1 νόμισμ’ ⁵⁰⁵

mvp-comment-154-2 ἔβλαστε ⁵⁰⁶

mvp-comment-154-3 πορθεῖ ⁵⁰⁷

mvp-comment-154-4 τόδ’ ⁵⁰⁸ ἄνδρας ⁵⁰⁹

mvp-comment-155-1 τόδ’ ἐκδ. καὶ παραλλάσσει ⁵¹⁰ ἵστασθαι ⁵¹¹ καὶ παραλλάσσει ⁵¹²

mvp-comment-155-2 ἵστασθαι πρός τι ⁵¹³

mvp-comment-156-1 πανουργίας … ἔχειν ⁵¹⁴

mvp-comment-156-2 εἰδέναι ⁵¹⁵ παντὸς ἔργου δυσσέβ. ⁵¹⁶ παντὸς ἔργ ⁵¹⁷ πανουργίας ⁵¹⁸

mvp-comment-157-1 ἤνυσαν ⁵¹⁹

mvp-comment-157-2 χρόνῳ ποτέ ⁵²⁰ δοῦναι δίκην ⁵²¹

mvp-comment-157-3 ἐξέπραξαν ὡς ⁵²²

mvp-comment-158-1 Ζεύς ⁵²³

mvp-comment-158-2 ὅρκιος ⁵²⁴

mvp-comment-158-3 τὸν αὐτόχειρα ⁵²⁵ τάφου = ταφῆς ⁵²⁶

mvp-comment-159-1 μοῦνος ⁵²⁷ πρὶν ἂν . . δηλώσητε ⁵²⁸ κρεμαστοί ⁵²⁹ ζῶντες κρεμαστοί ⁵³⁰

mvp-comment-159-2 δηλώσηθ’ ⁵³¹

mvp-comment-159-3 ὕβριν ⁵³²

mvp-comment-160-1 ἵν’ … ἁρπάζητε ⁵³³

mvp-comment-160-2 τὸ κέρδος ⁵³⁴ ἔνθεν οἰστέον ⁵³⁵

mvp-comment-160-3 μάθηθ’ ⁵³⁶

mvp-comment-160-4 ἐξ ἅπαντος ⁵³⁷ τὸ κερδαίνειν ⁵³⁸

mvp-comment-160-5

πιεῖν

. In O. C. 807

ἑξ ἅπαντος εὖ λέγει

=speaks well on any theme (starting from anything).

mvp-comment-161-1 τι ⁵³⁹

mvp-comment-161-2 δέ ⁵⁴⁰ δώσεις ⁵⁴¹

mvp-comment-161-3 οὕτως ⁵⁴²

mvp-comment-161-4 ἴω ⁵⁴³

mvp-comment-161-5 καὶ νῦν ὡς ⁵⁴⁴ ἀνιαρῶς ⁵⁴⁵ ι— ⁵⁴⁶

mvp-comment-162-1 ἐν ⁵⁴⁷ ὠσίν ⁵⁴⁸

mvp-comment-162-2 ἐπί ⁵⁴⁹

mvp-comment-163-1 τί δὲ ⁵⁵⁰ τί δαὶ ⁵⁵¹

mvp-comment-163-2 ῥυθμίζεις ⁵⁵² ὅπου ⁵⁵³ ὅπου ⁵⁵⁴

mvp-comment-164-1 τὰς φρένας...τὰ δ’ ὦτ’ ⁵⁵⁵ σε ⁵⁵⁶

mvp-comment-164-2 οἴμ’ ὡς ⁵⁵⁷

mvp-comment-164-3 λάλημα ⁵⁵⁸ ἄλημα ⁵⁵⁹ ἄλημα ⁵⁶⁰

mvp-comment-164-4 δῆλον, ⁵⁶¹

mvp-comment-165-1 ‘At any rate (

οὖν

—babbler or not) I certainly have not done this deed.’ εἰμί ⁵⁶² οὔκουν … γε ⁵⁶³

mvp-comment-166-1 ‘Yes, (you have done it,) and that, too, at the cost of betraying,’ etc. The particle γε ⁵⁶⁴ καὶ ταῦτα ⁵⁶⁵ προδούς ⁵⁶⁶

mvp-comment-167-1 ἦ δεινόν ⁵⁶⁷ καὶ ⁵⁶⁸ γε ⁵⁶⁹

mvp-comment-168-1 κόμψευε . . τὴν δόξαν ⁵⁷⁰

mvp-comment-168-2 τὴν δόξαν ⁵⁷¹

mvp-comment-168-3

κληδόν’

(the

κληδών

of which you speak), not merely, ‘the word

δόξα

.’ If the v. l.

τὸ δόξαν

(see cr. n.) was intended to mean the latter, it should have been

τὸ δόξα.

mvp-comment-168-4 νυν ⁵⁷² νῦν ⁵⁷³ ταῦτα … τοὺς δρῶντας = τοὺς ταῦτα δρῶντας ⁵⁷⁴

mvp-comment-169-1 δειλά ⁵⁷⁵

mvp-comment-169-2 δεινά ⁵⁷⁶ ν ⁵⁷⁷

mvp-comment-170-1 ἀλλ’ ⁵⁷⁸ εὑρεθείη ⁵⁷⁹ καὶ ⁵⁸⁰

mvp-comment-171-1 καὶ ⁵⁸¹ γάρ ⁵⁸²

mvp-comment-171-2 γνώμης ⁵⁸³

mvp-comment-173-1 πολλὰ … κοὐδέν ⁵⁸⁴

mvp-comment-173-2 καί ⁵⁸⁵

mvp-comment-173-3 τὰ δεινά ⁵⁸⁶

mvp-comment-174-1 τοῦτο ⁵⁸⁷ πέραν ⁵⁸⁸ πέρα ⁵⁸⁹

mvp-comment-175-1 χειμερίῳ νότῳ ⁵⁹⁰

mvp-comment-176-1 περιβρ … ὑπ’ οἴδμασιν ⁵⁹¹

mvp-comment-177-1 ὑπερτάταν ⁵⁹²

mvp-comment-178-1 ἀκαμάταν ⁵⁹³

mvp-comment-178-2 ἀποτρύεται ⁵⁹⁴

mvp-comment-179-1 ἰλλομένων ἀρότρων, ⁵⁹⁵ ἀρότων ⁵⁹⁶

mvp-comment-179-2 ἔτος εἰς ἔτος ⁵⁹⁷ εἰς ⁵⁹⁸

mvp-comment-180-1 ἱππείῳ γένει ⁵⁹⁹

mvp-comment-180-2 πολεύων ⁶⁰⁰ τοῦτο ⁶⁰¹

mvp-comment-181-1 Man's conquests over the animal world are here taken in two groups. First, those of which the primary aim is to kill or to capture. Here the means is netting (

ἀμφιβαλὼν σπείραισι δικτυοκλώστοις

), in its threefold sporting use, as applied to fowling (

ὀρνίθων

), hunting (

θηρῶν

), and fishing (

πόντου φύσιν

). Secondly, those conquests which aim at reducing wild animals to man's service. These are effected by

μηχαναί

(349),— arts of taming and training. And their result is aptly expressed by the word

mvp-comment-181-2

κρατεῖ

: here, man is not merely the slayer or captor; he becomes the master of docile toilers. The horse and the bull are types.

mvp-comment-181-3 Thus, in this ode, the scale of achievement ever ascends: man (1) conquers inanimate nature: (2) makes animals his captives: (3) trains them to be his servants: (4) develops his own social and intellectual life.

mvp-comment-181-4 κουφονόων ⁶⁰²

mvp-comment-181-5 ἀμφιβαλὼν ⁶⁰³

mvp-comment-182-1 πόντου … εἰναλίαν φύσιν ⁶⁰⁴

mvp-comment-183-1 περιφραδής ⁶⁰⁵

mvp-comment-184-1 μηχαναῖς ⁶⁰⁶ ἀγραύλου ⁶⁰⁷ ὀρεσσιβάτα ⁶⁰⁸

mvp-comment-185-1 λασιαύχενά θ’ ⁶⁰⁹

mvp-comment-186-1 ὀχμάζεται ⁶¹⁰ ἀμφὶ λόφον ζυγῶν ⁶¹¹

mvp-comment-186-2 Rhod. 1. 743

κυρίως ἐστὶν ὀχμάσαι τὸ ἵππον ὑπὸ χαλινὸν ἀγαγεῖν ἢ ὑπὸ ζυγόν

. The midd. voice does not occur elsewhere; but this cannot be regarded as an objection, when we remember how many rare middle forms occur in the dramatists. Thus

προσορωμένα

in O. C. 244 is a solitary example of that verb in the midd., and if the license could be taken with so common a word, much more might it be allowed with a comparatively rare one. Blaydes writes

ὀχμάζει ὑπ’ ἀμφίλοφον ζυγόν

: but the Ms.

ἕξεται

indicates that the verb, whatever it was, was of the midd. form.

ὀχμάζεται

was published by G. Schöne in 1833, and by Franz in 1846: they appear to have made the conjecture independently. Donaldson (1848) printed

ὁχμάζεται ἀμφὶ λόφον ζυγῶν

, and seems to ascribe

ζυγῶν

to Franz and Schöne; though Franz, at least, proposed

ἀμφὶ λόφον ζυγῷ. ζυγῶν

has been revived (seemingly without knowledge of a predecessor) by H. Schütz (1886). Sophocles would write

ΑΜΦΙΛΟΦΟΝΖΥΓΟΝ

, and thus

ζυγῶν

changes no letter. Aesch. used the fut.

ζυγώσω

(fr. 110), and Soph. has the verbal

ζυγωτῶν

( El. 702 ). To

ἀμφιλόφῳ ζυγῷ

it may be objected that, being clear, it was not likely to become -

ον ‐όν

: but, when

ἀμφίλοφον

had once been written,

ζυγῶν

(or

ζυγῷ

) would easily become

ζυγόν

. As to the schol. on

ἀμφίλοφον,—ἀντὶ τοῦ, περιβαλὼν αὐτῷ ζυγὸν περὶ τὸν λόφον, ὑπάγει

,—it cannot fairly be urged for

ζυγῶν

(or for any partic.), since it may be merely a paraphrase of

ἀμφίλοφον

.—Schütz's ἐφέζεται ⁶¹²

mvp-comment-187-1 φθέγμα ⁶¹³

mvp-comment-187-2 beginnings of speech...Speech is the development, through imitation, of a capacity of man—the capacity of making a noise.’ This is quite compatible with

ἐδιδάξατο.

mvp-comment-187-3 ἀνεμόεν φρόνημα ⁶¹⁴

mvp-comment-188-1 ἀστυνόμους ὀργάς ⁶¹⁵

mvp-comment-189-1 ἐδιδάξατο ⁶¹⁶

mvp-comment-190-1 πάγων ⁶¹⁷

mvp-comment-190-2 ἐναίθρεια ⁶¹⁸

mvp-comment-190-3 βέλη ⁶²⁰

mvp-comment-191-1 παντοπόρος ⁶²¹

mvp-comment-191-2

οὐδὲν … τὸ μέλλον = οὐδὲν ὃ μέλλει

(

ἔσεσθαι

), nothing that is to be (cp. the absolute

τὸ μέλλον, τὰ μέλλοντα

). So Plat. Lach. 197 A

ἔγωγε ἀνδρεῖα καλῶ οὔτε θηρία οὔτε ἄλλο οὐδὲν τὸ τὰ δεινὰ ὑπὸ ἀγνοίας μὴ φοβούμενον = οὐδὲν ὃ μὴ φοβεῖται

. This negative form is as correct as (though actually rarer than) the positive

πᾶν τὸ καλῶς ἔχον

( Plat. Rep. 381A ) for

πᾶν ὃ καλῶς ἔχει

. Donaldson took

τὸ μέλλον

adverbially: ‘in regard to the future, he comes to nothing without resources.’ Cp. 728 ,

μηδὲν τὸ μὴ δίκαιον

, where

μηδέν

is subst., not adv.

mvp-comment-192-1 μόνον ⁶²² μόνου ⁶²³ φεῦξιν — ἐπάξεται ⁶²⁴

mvp-comment-193-1 ἀμηχάνων ⁶²⁵

mvp-comment-193-2 φυγάς ⁶²⁶

mvp-comment-193-3 ξυμπέφρασται ⁶²⁷

mvp-comment-194-1 The ode closes with a more direct reference to the incident which suggested its theme. The daring ingenuity shown by the unknown breaker of Creon's edict is an instance of the subtlety which leads to ruin. The implied contrast with Creon—

ὑψίπολις

by his care for the laws—is effective in view of the destined

περιπέτεια

mvp-comment-194-2 σοφόν τι … ἔχων ⁶²⁸

mvp-comment-194-3 τὸ μηχανόεν τ ⁶²⁹

mvp-comment-195-1 τοτὲ μὲν … ἄλλοτ’ ⁶³⁰

mvp-comment-195-2 ἐπ’ ⁶³¹

mvp-comment-196-1 γεραίρων ⁶³²

mvp-comment-196-2 5. 67

ἐτίμων τὸν Ἄδρηστον καὶ δὴ πρὸς τὰ πάθεα αὐτοῦ τραγικοῖσι χοροῖσι ἐγέραιρον

. Ar. Th. 960

γένος Ὀλυμπίων θεῶν | μέλπε καὶ γέραιρε φωνῇ

mvp-comment-197-1 θεῶν τ’ ἔνορκον δίκαν ⁶³³

mvp-comment-198-1 ὑψίπολις ⁶³⁴

mvp-comment-198-2 ἄπολις ⁶³⁵

mvp-comment-198-3 τὸ μὴ καλόν ⁶³⁶ τόλμας χάριν ⁶³⁷

mvp-comment-199-1 παρέστιος ⁶³⁸

mvp-comment-199-2 ἴσον φρονῶν ⁶³⁹

mvp-comment-200-1 ἔρδει ⁶⁴⁰ ἔρδοι ⁶⁴¹

mvp-comment-202-1 The choral ode has closed with an allusion to the unknown man ( ὅς ⁶⁴² ἀμφινοῶ ⁶⁴³ ἐς ⁶⁴⁴

mvp-comment-202-2 δαιμόνιον τέρας ⁶⁴⁵

mvp-comment-203-1 πῶς εἰδὼς ⁶⁴⁶

mvp-comment-203-2 ἀντιλογήσω ⁶⁴⁷

mvp-comment-204-1 ὦ δύστηνος ⁶⁴⁸

mvp-comment-204-2 δ. πατρός ⁶⁴⁹

mvp-comment-204-3 Οἰδιπόδα— ⁶⁵⁰

mvp-comment-205-1 τί ποτ’ ⁶⁵¹

mvp-comment-205-2 οὐ δή που ⁶⁵²

mvp-comment-205-3 ἀπιστοῦσαν ⁶⁵³

mvp-comment-205-4 ἄγουσι ⁶⁵⁴

mvp-comment-205-5 colloquialism, it would be nearly as bad as, ‘Have they taken you up?’

mvp-comment-205-6 καὶ ⁶⁵⁵ ἀπιστοῦσαν ⁶⁵⁶ καθελόντες ⁶⁵⁷

mvp-comment-206-1 Second

ἐπεισόδιον

. Antigone, brought before Creon, avows and justifies her deed. Creon declares that she shall die. Ismene, when led in (531), associates herself with the act, but is not permitted by her sister to claim any part in it. Creon orders that both sisters shall be kept prisoners.

mvp-comment-206-2 ἐκείνη ⁶⁵⁸

mvp-comment-206-3 τοὔργον ἡ ’ξειργ ⁶⁵⁹

mvp-comment-207-1 ἐς δέον ⁶⁶⁰

mvp-comment-208-1 ξύμμετρος ⁶⁶¹

mvp-comment-209-1 ἀπώμοτον ⁶⁶²

mvp-comment-210-1 ψεύδει ⁶⁶³

mvp-comment-210-2 ἡ ’πίνοια ⁶⁶⁴

mvp-comment-211-1 ἐξηύχουν ἄν ⁶⁶⁵ σχολῇ ἥξειν ποτὲ δεῦρο ⁶⁶⁶

mvp-comment-211-2 σχολῇ ⁶⁶⁷

mvp-comment-212-1 ταῖς σαῖς ἀπειλαῖς ⁶⁶⁸

mvp-comment-212-2 ἐχειμάσθην ⁶⁶⁹

mvp-comment-213-1 ἡ...ἐκτὸς ⁶⁷⁰ ἐκτός ⁶⁷¹

mvp-comment-214-1 οὐδὲν ἔοικε μῆκος ⁶⁷² α+λλῃ ἡδονῇ ⁶⁷³ οὐδέν ⁶⁷⁴ μῆκος ⁶⁷⁵ ἔοικε ⁶⁷⁶

mvp-comment-215-1 δῑ ὅρκων … ἀπώμοτος ⁶⁷⁷

mvp-comment-216-1 καθῃρέθη ⁶⁷⁸

mvp-comment-216-2 τάφον κοσμοῦσα ⁶⁷⁹

mvp-comment-216-3 ἐπάλλετο ⁶⁸⁰ ἕρμαιον ⁶⁸¹

mvp-comment-217-1 κρῖνε ⁶⁸²

mvp-comment-217-2 δίκαιός εἰμι ⁶⁸³

mvp-comment-217-3 ἀπηλλάχθαι ⁶⁸⁴

mvp-comment-218-1 Observe the order of the words as marking his amazement. For the double interrog. cp. Il. 21.150

τίς πόθεν ει<*>=ς ἀνδρῶν

; Ph. 243

τίνι | στόλῳ προσέσχες τήνδε γῆν, πόθεν πλέων;

mvp-comment-218-2 πάντ’ ἐπίστασαι ⁶⁸⁵

mvp-comment-219-1 ἦ καὶ ⁶⁸⁶

mvp-comment-219-2 ὀρθῶς ⁶⁸⁷

mvp-comment-219-3 mean to say? (Not, merely, ‘truly,’ i.e. in accordance with the fact: cp. 99 n.)

mvp-comment-220-1 τὸν νεκρόν ⁶⁸⁸

mvp-comment-221-1 ἆρ’ ἔνδηλα ⁶⁸⁹

mvp-comment-222-1 ὁρᾶται...ᾑρέθη ⁶⁹⁰

mvp-comment-222-2 ἐπίληπτος ⁶⁹¹

mvp-comment-223-1 ἥκομεν ⁶⁹³

mvp-comment-224-1 τὰ δείν’ ἐκεῖν’ ⁶⁹⁴

mvp-comment-224-2 τὸν | νέκυν ⁶⁹⁵

mvp-comment-225-1 καθήμεθ’ ⁶⁹⁶

mvp-comment-225-2 ἄκρων ἐκ πάγων ⁶⁹⁷

mvp-comment-225-3

ἐξ Οὐλύμποιο ἀπὸ ῥίου

. Here,

ἀπὸ ῥίου

goes with

εἰσεῖδε

: but

ἐξ Οὐλύμποιο

, however much

εἰσεῖδε

may have influenced it, at least cannot be disjoined from

στᾶσ’

. (2) Eur. Phoen. 1009

ἀλλ’ εἶμι καὶ στὰς ἐξ ἐπάλξεων ἄκρων | σφάξας ἐμαυτὸν σηκὸν εἰς μελαμβαθῆ | δράκοντος, ἔνθ’ ὁ μάντις ἐξηγήσατο, | ἐλευθερώσω γαῖαν

. It is impossible to sever

στάς

from

ἐξ ἐπ.

, even if we partly explain

ἐξ

σφάξας

. (3) ib. 1224

Ἐτεοκλέης δ’ ὑπῆρξ’ ἀπ’ ὀρθίου σταθεὶς | πύργου κελεύσας σῖγα κηρῦξαι στρατῷ

. The position of

σταθείς

forbids us to sever it from

ἀπ’ ὀρθ. π.

, even though

ὑπῆρξε

κελεύσας

is used to explain

ἀπό

. (4) Eur. Tro. 522

ἀνὰ δ’ ἐβόασεν λεὼς | Τρῳάδος ἀπὸ πέτρας σταθείς

. A similar case. In all these passages, a picture is presented, and we have to glance from a remoter to a nearer object. The mental eye is required to measure the space between Hera on the peak of Olympus, and Poseidon on the plain of Troy; between Megareus on the walls of Thebes, and the cavern into which his corpse is to fall. And, in each case,

ἐκ

ἀπό

denotes the quarter in which the remoter object is to be looked for. This, which might be called the ‘surveying’ use, is distinct from that in which the prep. has a pregnant force, as being directly suggestive of motion (

οἱ ἐκ Σικελίας ἥξουσι

); but it springs from the same mental tendency,—viz., to take a rapid glance over the dividing interval. Cp.

ἵστασθαι πρός τινος

(‘on his side’). So here: in the foreground of the picture is the corpse, which they have just laid bare. Now look to the hillocks behind it; in that quarter you will see the guards at their post.—I have not cited Od. 21.419

τόν ῥ’ ἐπὶ πήχει ἑλὼν ἕλκεν νευρὴν γλυφίδας τε | αὐτόθεν ἐκ δίφροιο καθήμενος

, because there

ἐκ δίφροιο

goes with

ἕλκεν

, not with

καθήμενος

(he drew the bow, just from the chair, where he sat).

mvp-comment-225-4 ὑπήνεμοι ⁶⁹⁸

mvp-comment-226-1 βάλῃ ⁶⁹⁹

mvp-comment-227-1 ἐγερτί ⁷⁰⁰

mvp-comment-227-2 κινῶν ⁷⁰¹

mvp-comment-227-3 ἐπιρρόθοις κακοῖσιν ⁷⁰²

mvp-comment-227-4 the adj. expressing the loud, continuous noise of tongues. The

ἐπι

- does not mean ‘bandied to and fro’: see Tr. 263

πολλὰ μὲν λόγοις | ἐπερρόθησε

. In fr. 521

ἐπίρροθα δώματα

=‘open to reproach.’ Elsewhere (as with Aesch.)

ἐπίρροθος

= ‘helper’ (

ἐπιρροθέω

, to come with shouts to the rescue). Cp.

ἐρρόθουν

259 n., Aesch. 290.

mvp-comment-228-1 ἀκηδήσοι ⁷⁰³ ἀφειδήσοι ⁷⁰⁴

mvp-comment-229-1 The incident of the storm was a dramatic necessity, to account for Antigone reaching the corpse unobserved. A powerful picture is compressed into seven lines. (Cp. O. C. 1315 ff. for a like instance of self-restraint in description.)

mvp-comment-230-1 κατέστη ⁷⁰⁵

mvp-comment-230-2 χθονὸς ⁷⁰⁶

mvp-comment-231-1 τυφώς ⁷⁰⁷ σκηπτός ⁷⁰⁸

mvp-comment-231-2 οὐράνιον ἄχος ⁷⁰⁹

mvp-comment-232-1 πίμπλησι ⁷¹⁰ αἰκίζων ⁷¹¹

mvp-comment-232-2 ἐν δ’ ἐμεστ ⁷¹²

mvp-comment-233-1 μύσαντες ⁷¹³

mvp-comment-233-2 νόσον ⁷¹⁴

mvp-comment-233-3 ἐν χρ. μακρ ⁷¹⁵

mvp-comment-234-1 πικρᾶς ⁷¹⁶

mvp-comment-235-1 εὐνῆς...λέχος ⁷¹⁷

mvp-comment-236-1 οὕτω δέ ⁷¹⁸

mvp-comment-236-2 ψιλόν ⁷¹⁹

mvp-comment-237-1 γόοισιν ἐξῴμωξεν ⁷²⁰

mvp-comment-237-2 ἐκ δ’ … ἠρᾶτο ⁷²¹

mvp-comment-237-3 διψίαν ⁷²²

mvp-comment-238-1 φέρει κόνιν ⁷²³

mvp-comment-239-1 The πρόχους ⁷²⁴

mvp-comment-239-2 εὐκρότητος ⁷²⁵

mvp-comment-239-3 ἄρδην ⁷²⁶

mvp-comment-240-1 χοαῖσι ⁷²⁷

mvp-comment-240-2 τρισπόνδ. ⁷²⁸ στέφει ⁷²⁹

mvp-comment-241-1 ἱέμεσθα ⁷³⁰

mvp-comment-241-2 σὺν δὲ … θηρώμεθ’ ⁷³¹

mvp-comment-242-1 ἠλέγχομεν ⁷³²

mvp-comment-242-2 ἄπαρνος … οὐδενός ⁷³³

mvp-comment-242-3 καθίστατο ⁷³⁴

mvp-comment-243-1 ἅμ’ ⁷³⁵

mvp-comment-244-1 φίλους ⁷³⁶

mvp-comment-245-1 πάντα ταῦθ’ ⁷³⁷ λαβεῖν ⁷³⁸

mvp-comment-246-1 σὲ δή, ⁷³⁹

mvp-comment-247-1 φὴς δεδρακέναι, ἢ καταρνεῖ μὴ δεδρ ⁷⁴⁰ καταρνεῖ ⁷⁴¹

mvp-comment-248-1 καὶ......κοὐκ ⁷⁴²

mvp-comment-248-2 τὸ μή ⁷⁴³

mvp-comment-249-1 σὺ μέν ⁷⁴⁴ κομίζοις ἂν ς ⁷⁴⁵

mvp-comment-249-2 ἔξω ⁷⁴⁶ β. αἰτίας ⁷⁴⁷ ἐλεύθερον ⁷⁴⁸

mvp-comment-250-1 μῆκος ⁷⁴⁹

mvp-comment-251-1 ᾔδησθα ⁷⁵⁰ ᾔδης τὰ ⁷⁵¹ σθα ⁷⁵²

mvp-comment-251-2 κηρυχθέντα ⁷⁵³

mvp-comment-252-1 ᾔδη ⁷⁵⁴

mvp-comment-252-2 τί δ’ οὐκ ἔμελλον ⁷⁵⁵

mvp-comment-252-3 ἐμφανῆ ⁷⁵⁶ ἐκφανῆ ⁷⁵⁷

mvp-comment-253-1 καὶ δῆτ’ ⁷⁵⁸

mvp-comment-254-1 Ζεύς ⁷⁵⁹

mvp-comment-255-1 τῶν κάτω θεῶν ⁷⁶⁰ ξύνοικος ⁷⁶¹ τοιούσδ’ … ὥρισεν ⁷⁶² οἳ τούσδ’ … ὥρισαν ⁷⁶³ τάδε ⁷⁶⁴

mvp-comment-256-1 ἄγραπτα … νόμιμα ⁷⁶⁵

mvp-comment-256-2 quotes vv. 456 f.) Cp. O.T. 865 ff.

νόμοι... | ὑψίποδες, οὐρανίαν | δἰ αἰθέρα τεκνωθέντες

, with notes there. Thuc. 2.37 (

νόμοι

)

ὅσοι ἄγραφοι ὄντες αἰσχύνην ὁμολογουμένην φέρουσι

. When ‘the unwritten laws’ are thus called

νόμοι

, the latter word is used figuratively. νόμιμα ⁷⁶⁶

mvp-comment-256-3 ἀσφαλῆ ⁷⁶⁷

mvp-comment-256-4 θνητὸν ὄντ’ ⁷⁶⁸

mvp-comment-256-5 ὑπερδραμεῖν ⁷⁶⁹

mvp-comment-257-1 νῦν γε κἀχθές ⁷⁷⁰

mvp-comment-257-2 ζῇ ⁷⁷¹

mvp-comment-257-3 ’φάνη ⁷⁷²

mvp-comment-258-1 τούτων ⁷⁷³ τὴν δίκην ⁷⁷⁴ τούτων ⁷⁷⁵

mvp-comment-258-2 shows that, like

ταῦτα

just before, it refers to the

νόμιμα

: we cannot, therefore, render, ‘the penalty of such an act’ ( sc.

τοῦ ὑπερδραμεῖν

mvp-comment-258-3 ἐν θεοῖσι ⁷⁷⁶

mvp-comment-259-1 δώσειν ⁷⁷⁷

mvp-comment-259-2 θανουμένη γάρ ⁷⁷⁸

mvp-comment-259-3 τί δ’ οὔ ⁷⁷⁹

mvp-comment-260-1 κεἰ μὴ σὺ προὐκήρυξας ⁷⁸⁰

mvp-comment-260-2 τοῦ χρόνου ⁷⁸¹

mvp-comment-260-3 αὔτ’ ⁷⁸²

mvp-comment-261-1 φέρει ⁷⁸³

mvp-comment-262-1 Kvičala and Wecklein reject these four verses, despairing of the difficulties found in vv. 466, 467, which have been variously amended; see Appendix. The alleged difficulties are, (1)

παρ’ οὐδὲν ἄλγος

: (2) the mention of the mother only: (3) the position of

θανόντ’

, which might suggest the sense, ‘slain by my mother’: (4)

ηἰσχόμην

(as L has it). Before dealing with these points, I would call attention to a trait which the impugners of these verses have overlooked, and which speaks strongly for the genuineness of the passage as a whole, corrupt though it be in certain words. That trait is the clause τοῖσδε δ’ οὐκ ἀλγύνομαι ⁷⁸⁴

mvp-comment-263-1 ἄλγος ⁷⁸⁵ παρ’ οὐδέν ⁷⁸⁶

mvp-comment-263-2 adv.: ‘is a pain in no appreciable degree,’ is a pain not worth a thought: as he might have said,

οὐδαμοῦ ἄλγος ἐστί

. The normal use of

παρ’ οὐδέν

, ‘of no account,’ is either ( a) with the verb

εἶναι

, as O. T. 982

ταῦθ’ ὅτῳ | παρ’ οὐδέν ἐστι

, or ( b) with a verb meaning ‘to esteem,’ as above, v. 34,

τὸ πρᾶγμ’ ἄγειν | οὐχ ὡς παρ’ οὐδέν

. The only peculiarity here is that, instead of a word in the general sense, ‘ is esteemed’ (

ἄγεται

), we have a virtual equivalent, tinged with the special thought of the moment, viz., ‘ is a pain.’ Exactly so in El. 1327 we have

πότερα παρ’ οὐδὲν τοῦ βίου κήδεσθ’ ἔτι

, instead of

πότερα παρ’ οὐδὲν τὸν βίον ἄγετε

. Thus the suspicions as to the genuineness of

παρ’ οὐδὲν ἄλγος

are illusory.

mvp-comment-263-3 ἀλλ’ ἄν ⁷⁸⁷

mvp-comment-264-1 ἄθαπτον ἠνσχόμην νέκυν ⁷⁸⁸ ηἰσχόμην ⁷⁸⁹ ἠνσχόμην ⁷⁹⁰

mvp-comment-264-2 In my first edition I placed in the text the emendation of Semitelos (1887) ᾔσχυναν κύνες ⁷⁹¹

mvp-comment-264-3 Other emendations will be found in the Appendix. Most of them assume that we must have

ἠνεσχόμην

(or

ἀνεσχόμην

), and therefore alter the words

θανόντ’ ἄθαπτον

and

νέκυν

in various ways, —usu. omitting

νέκυν

. The verses produced by these processes are wretched, while, from a palaeographical point of view, they are pure conjectures, which do not attempt to account for the tradition in L.—Two points remain. (1) τὸν ἐξ ἐμῆς | μητρός ⁷⁹²

mvp-comment-264-4 or

μιᾶς

(Meineke). (2) τὸν ἐξ ἐμ. | μητρος θανόντ’ ⁷⁹³

mvp-comment-265-1 σχεδόν τι ⁷⁹⁴

mvp-comment-265-2 μώρῳ μωρίαν ⁷⁹⁵

mvp-comment-265-3 ὀφλισκάνω ⁷⁹⁶

mvp-comment-266-1 These two verses give a moment of stillness before the storm breaks forth. So at O. T. 404 four verses of the chorus divide the angry speech of Oedipus from the retort of Teiresias.

mvp-comment-266-2 τὸ γέννημα τῆς παιδός ⁷⁹⁷ δηλοῖ ⁷⁹⁸ ὠμόν ⁷⁹⁹ ἐξ ὠμοῦ πατρός ⁸⁰⁰ γέννημα ⁸⁰¹

mvp-comment-267-1 εἴκειν … κακοῖς ⁸⁰²

mvp-comment-268-1 ἀλλ’ ἴσθι τοι ⁸⁰³

mvp-comment-268-2 πίπτειν ⁸⁰⁴

mvp-comment-269-1 ὀπτὸν … περισκελῆ ⁸⁰⁵

mvp-comment-269-2 περισκελής ⁸⁰⁶

mvp-comment-269-3 ἐκ πυρός ⁸⁰⁷

mvp-comment-270-1 θραυσθέντα καὶ ῥαγέντα ⁸⁰⁸

mvp-comment-271-1 χαλινῷ δ’ ⁸⁰⁹ σμικρῷ ⁸¹⁰

mvp-comment-271-2 καταρτυθέντας ⁸¹¹

mvp-comment-272-1 Suspicion has fallen on ἐκπέλει ⁸¹²

mvp-comment-272-2 ὅστις ⁸¹³

mvp-comment-272-3 τῶν πέλας ⁸¹⁴

mvp-comment-273-1 αὕτη δ’ ⁸¹⁵ ὑβρίζειν μὲν … ὕβρις δ’ ⁸¹⁶ ἐξηπίστατο ⁸¹⁷ τότ’ ⁸¹⁸

mvp-comment-273-2 τούτοις ⁸¹⁹

mvp-comment-273-3 δεδρακυῖαν γελᾶν ⁸²⁰

mvp-comment-274-1 νῦν ⁸²¹

mvp-comment-274-2 εἰ ταῦτα … κράτη ⁸²² κράτη ⁸²³ κείσεται ⁸²⁴ πείσεται ⁸²⁵ ἀνατί ⁸²⁶ ταῦτα ⁸²⁷

mvp-comment-275-1 ἀδελφῆς ⁸²⁸

mvp-comment-275-2 εἴθ’ ὁμαιμονεστέρα ⁸²⁹

mvp-comment-275-3 Hyperbole is congenial to Creon's excitement; cp. 1040 . But the addition,

τοῦ παντὸς Ζ. ἑρκείου

, ill suits this, while, on the other hand, it agrees well with the nom.

ὁμαιμονεστέρα

. On the whole, then, I incline to prefer the nom.; but the point is a nice one, and the gen. is quite tenable.

mvp-comment-275-4 κυρεῖ ⁸³⁰

mvp-comment-276-1 τοῦ παντὸς Ζηνὸς ἑρκείου ⁸³¹

mvp-comment-277-1 ἀλύξετον ⁸³² μόρου ⁸³³

mvp-comment-278-1 καὶ γὰρ οὖν ⁸³⁴

mvp-comment-278-2 ἐπαιτιῶμαι κείνην ⁸³⁵ βουλεῦσαι ἴσον τοῦδε τάφου ⁸³⁶ ἴσον ⁸³⁷

mvp-comment-278-3 βουλεῦσαι ⁸³⁸

mvp-comment-279-1 καί νιν καλεῖτ’ ⁸³⁹

mvp-comment-280-1 λυσσῶσαν … οὐδ’ ἐπ ⁸⁴⁰

mvp-comment-280-2 ἐπήβολον ⁸⁴¹

mvp-comment-281-1 ὁ θυμὸς τῶν … τεχνωμένων ⁸⁴² φιλεῖ κλοπεὺς ᾑρῆσθαι ⁸⁴³ πρόσθεν ⁸⁴⁴ κλοπεύς ⁸⁴⁵ ᾑρῆσθαι κλοπεύς ⁸⁴⁶

mvp-comment-281-2 τεχνωμένων ⁸⁴⁷

mvp-comment-282-1 γε μέντοι ⁸⁴⁸

mvp-comment-282-2 Ismene's guilty terror is contrasted with Antigone's impudent hardihood,—as Creon deems it. μισῶ … ὅταν ⁸⁴⁹

mvp-comment-282-3 ἔπειτα ⁸⁵⁰

mvp-comment-282-4 καλλύνειν ⁸⁵¹

mvp-comment-283-1 θέλεις τι μεῖζον ⁸⁵²

mvp-comment-283-2 ἑλών ⁸⁵³

mvp-comment-283-3 ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδέν ⁸⁵⁴

mvp-comment-283-4 ἅπαντ’ ἔχω ⁸⁵⁵

mvp-comment-284-1 ἀρεστὸν οὐδέν ⁸⁵⁶

mvp-comment-284-2 μηδ’ ἀρεσθείη ⁸⁵⁷ ἀρεσθείην ⁸⁵⁸ ἀρέστ’ εἴη ⁸⁵⁹

mvp-comment-285-1 τἀμά ⁸⁶⁰

mvp-comment-285-2 ἔφυ ⁸⁶¹

mvp-comment-286-1 καίτοι ⁸⁶² κλέος … εὐκλεέστερον ⁸⁶³

mvp-comment-287-1 ἐν τάφῳ τιθεῖσα ⁸⁶⁴ τούτοις πᾶσι λέγοιτο ἄν ⁸⁶⁵ τοῦτο ἁνδάνειν ⁸⁶⁶ ἐγκλῄοι ⁸⁶⁷

mvp-comment-288-1 ἀλλ’ ἡ τυραννίς ⁸⁶⁸

mvp-comment-289-1 μούνη ⁸⁶⁹

mvp-comment-289-2 τοῦτο … ὁρᾷς ⁸⁷⁰

mvp-comment-289-3 ὑπίλλουσιν ⁸⁷¹

mvp-comment-290-1 σὺ δ’ οὐκ ἐπαιδεῖ ⁸⁷³

mvp-comment-291-1 ὅμαιμος ⁸⁷⁴

mvp-comment-291-2 ἐκ μιᾶς τε ⁸⁷⁵ τε ⁸⁷⁶

mvp-comment-292-1 πῶς δῆτ’ ⁸⁷⁷

mvp-comment-292-2 ἐκείνῳ ⁸⁷⁸

mvp-comment-292-3 χάριν ⁸⁷⁹ τιμᾷς ⁸⁸⁰ ὁ κατθανὼν νέκυς ⁸⁸¹

mvp-comment-293-1 εἴ τοι ⁸⁸² σφε ⁸⁸³

mvp-comment-293-2 ἐξ ἴσου ⁸⁸⁴

mvp-comment-294-1 οὐ γάρ τι δοῦλος ⁸⁸⁵

mvp-comment-294-2 cannot complain, for Polyneices was not his slave—his natural inferior—but his brother, and had the same claim on me that he had. Creon insists on the difference between the loyal man and the disloyal. Antigone dwells on the fact that both men had the same claim on her natural piety, and (519) on her sense of religious duty.

mvp-comment-295-1 πορθῶν δέ ⁸⁸⁶

mvp-comment-295-2 ὁ δ’ ⁸⁸⁷ ὕπερ ⁸⁸⁸

mvp-comment-296-1 τούτους ⁸⁸⁹ ἴσους ⁸⁹⁰ ἴσους ⁸⁹¹ ὅμως ⁸⁹² ἴσους ⁸⁹³ τούτους ⁸⁹⁴ ἴσους ⁸⁹⁵

mvp-comment-297-1 The MS. λαχεῖν ἴσος ⁸⁹⁶ ἴσους ⁸⁹⁷

mvp-comment-298-1 κάτωθεν ⁸⁹⁸ κάτω ’στὶν ⁸⁹⁹

mvp-comment-298-2 εὐαγῆ ⁹⁰⁰

mvp-comment-299-1 οὔτοι συνέχθειν ⁹⁰¹

mvp-comment-300-1 νυ^ν ⁹⁰²

mvp-comment-301-1 καὶ μὴν ⁹⁰³

mvp-comment-301-2 εἰβομένη ⁹⁰⁴ κάτω ⁹⁰⁵

mvp-comment-301-3 with

εἴβειν

, for Homer never says

κατὰ δάκρυα λείβειν

. Nothing is more natural than that

εἰβομένη

should have become

λειβομένη

in the MSS., the latter word being much the commoner.

mvp-comment-301-4 κάτω ⁹⁰⁶

mvp-comment-302-1 νεφέλη δ’ ὀφρύων ὕπερ ⁹⁰⁷

mvp-comment-302-2 αἱματόεν ⁹⁰⁸

mvp-comment-302-3 ῥέθος ⁹⁰⁹

mvp-comment-302-4 αἰσχύνει ⁹¹⁰

mvp-comment-303-1 σὺ δ’ ⁹¹¹ ὑφειμένη ⁹¹²

mvp-comment-303-2 ἔχιδνα ⁹¹³

mvp-comment-303-3

ἡ ἔχιδνα ἐν τῇ συνουσίᾳ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποκόπτει. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὰ τέκνα, ὥσπερ τὸν θάνατον τοῦ πατρὸς μετερχόμενα, τὴν γαστέρα τῆς μητρὸς διαρρήγνυσιν

. (Cp. Shaksp. Per. 1. 1. 64

I am no viper, yet I feed On mother's flesh.

)

mvp-comment-304-1 λήθουσά μ’ ἐξέπινες ⁹¹⁴

mvp-comment-305-1 ἄτα κἀπαναστάσεις ⁹¹⁵

mvp-comment-305-2 ἐπαναστάσεις ⁹¹⁶ θρόνων ⁹¹⁷

mvp-comment-306-1 τὸ μὴ ⁹¹⁸

mvp-comment-307-1 ὁμορροθεῖ ⁹¹⁹

mvp-comment-308-1 τῆς αἰτίας ⁹²⁰ ξυμμετίσχω ⁹²¹ φέρω ⁹²²

mvp-comment-309-1 ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐάσει σ’ ⁹²³

mvp-comment-309-2 ’κοινωσάμην ⁹²⁴

mvp-comment-310-1 ξύμπλουν ⁹²⁵

mvp-comment-311-1 Cp. Ph. 1293

ὡς θεοὶ ξυνίστορες.

mvp-comment-311-2 λόγοις ⁹²⁶

mvp-comment-312-1 μή μ’ ἀτιμάσῃς ⁹²⁷ τὸ μὴ οὐ ⁹²⁸ ἁγνίσαι τὸν θ ⁹²⁹

mvp-comment-313-1 μή μοι ⁹³⁰ κοινά ⁹³¹

mvp-comment-313-2 μηδ’ ἃ μὴ ’θιγες ⁹³² ἅ ⁹³³ ἅ ⁹³⁴

mvp-comment-314-1 ποιοῦ σεαυτῆς ⁹³⁵

mvp-comment-314-2 ἀρκέσω ⁹³⁷

mvp-comment-315-1 σοῦ λελειμμένῃ ⁹³⁸

mvp-comment-315-2 φίλος ⁹³⁹

mvp-comment-316-1 κηδεμών ⁹⁴⁰

mvp-comment-317-1 ἀλγοῦσα μὲν δῆτ’ ⁹⁴¹ δῆτα ⁹⁴²

mvp-comment-317-2 ἐν σοί ⁹⁴³

mvp-comment-317-3 Heath's εἰ γελῶ γ’ ⁹⁴⁴

mvp-comment-318-1 ἀλλὰ νῦν ⁹⁴⁵

mvp-comment-319-1 κἀμπλάκω ⁹⁴⁶

mvp-comment-319-2 fate? i.e. to be dissociated from it: delib. aor. subj., which can be used, not only in asking what one is to do, but also in expressions of despair as to what one must suffer ( Tr. 973

τί πάθω

;). For

ἀμπλακεῖν

cp. 910 , 1234.

mvp-comment-320-1 εἵλου ⁹⁴⁷

mvp-comment-320-2 ζῆν ⁹⁴⁸

mvp-comment-321-1 ἐπ’ ἀρρήτοις … τοῖς ἐμ. λ. ⁹⁴⁹

mvp-comment-322-1 σὺ μὲν τοῖς ⁹⁵⁰

mvp-comment-323-1 καὶ μήν ⁹⁵¹

mvp-comment-324-1 θάρσει ⁹⁵²

mvp-comment-324-2 ἡ ἐμὴ ψυχή ⁹⁵³

mvp-comment-324-3 πάλαι ⁹⁵⁴

mvp-comment-324-4 ὥστε τοῖς θ. ὠφελεῖν ⁹⁵⁵

mvp-comment-325-1 L gives τὼ παῖδε φημὶ ⁹⁵⁶

mvp-comment-325-2 τὼ παῖδε … τὴν μὲν … τὴν δέ ⁹⁵⁷

mvp-comment-325-3 ἀρτίως ⁹⁵⁸

mvp-comment-326-1 The apology is for her sister as well as for herself: even such prudence ( cp. 68

νοῦν

) as may have been inborn forsakes the unfortunate under the stress of their misfortunes.

mvp-comment-326-2 βλάστῃ ⁹⁵⁹

mvp-comment-326-3 τοῖς κ. πράσσουσιν ⁹⁶⁰

mvp-comment-326-4 ἐξίσταται ⁹⁶¹

mvp-comment-327-1 σοὶ γοῦν ⁹⁶²

mvp-comment-327-2 κακοῖς ⁹⁶³

mvp-comment-328-1 τῆσδ’ ἄτερ ⁹⁶⁴ μόνῃ ⁹⁶⁵

mvp-comment-328-2 βιώσιμον ⁹⁶⁶ τί ⁹⁶⁷

mvp-comment-329-1 ἀλλὰ … μέντοι ⁹⁶⁸

mvp-comment-329-2 ἥδε μὴ λέγε ⁹⁶⁹

mvp-comment-330-1 νυμφεῖα ⁹⁷⁰

mvp-comment-331-1 ἀρώσιμοι ⁹⁷¹

mvp-comment-332-1 οὐχ ὥς γ’ ⁹⁷² ἡρμοσμένα ἦν ⁹⁷³

mvp-comment-333-1 υἱέσι ⁹⁷⁴ υἱάσιν ⁹⁷⁵

mvp-comment-333-2

υἷα, υἷε, υἷες, υἷας

: cp. Monro Hom. Gr. § 107.—The dat. of interest goes with κακὰς γυναῖκας ⁹⁷⁶ στυγῶ ⁹⁷⁷

mvp-comment-334-1 It is not of much moment that L, like the later MSS., gives this verse to Ismene. Errors as to the persons occur not seldom in L (see, e.g., cr. n. to O. C. 837 , and cp. ib. 1737 ); and here a mistake would have been peculiarly easy, as the dialogue from v. 561 onwards has been between Creon and Ismene. To me it seems certain that the verse is Antigone's, and that one of the finest touches in the play is effaced by giving it to Ismene. The taunt,

κακὰς γυναῖκας υἱέσι

, moves Antigone to break the silence which she has kept since v. 560: in all this scene she has not spoken to Creon, nor does she now address him: she is thinking of Haemon,—of the dishonour to him implied in the charge of having made such a choice, —

ὡς αἰεὶ τὸν ὁμοῖον ἄγει θεὸς ὡς τὸν ὁμοῖον

. How little does his father know the heart which was in sympathy with her own. This solitary reference to her love heightens in a wonderful degree our sense of her unselfish devotion to a sacred duty. If Ismene speaks this verse, then

τὸ σὸν λέχος

in 573 must be, ‘the marriage of which you talk’ (like El. 1110

οὐκ οἶδα τὴν σὴν κλῄδον

'), which certainly is not its natural sense.

mvp-comment-334-2 Αἷμον ⁹⁷⁸

mvp-comment-335-1 ἄγαν γε λυπεῖς ⁹⁷⁹

mvp-comment-336-1 The MSS. give this verse to Ismene; but Boeckh is clearly right in giving it to the Chorus. Ismene asked this question in 568, and Creon answered: she rejoined to this answer (570), and Creon replied still more bitterly. She could not now ask her former question over again. But there is no unfitness in the question being repeated by a new intercessor, since to ask it thus is a form of mild remonstrance.

mvp-comment-337-1 ἐμοί ⁹⁸⁰ ἔφυ ⁹⁸¹

mvp-comment-338-1 This verse clearly belongs to the Chorus, to whom L assigns it. The first words of the next verse show this. Hermann objected that in similar situations the Chorus usually has two verses. It is true that this is usually the case. But O. T. 1312 is enough to show that there was no rigid rule; why, indeed, should there be? And, here, surely,

πλέον ἥμισυ παντός.

mvp-comment-338-2 δεδογμένα ⁹⁸²

mvp-comment-339-1 καὶ σοί γε κἀμοί ⁹⁸³

mvp-comment-339-2 μὴ τριβάς ⁹⁸⁴

mvp-comment-339-3 νιν ⁹⁸⁵

mvp-comment-340-1 ἐκ δὲ τοῦδε ⁹⁸⁶ γυναικας ⁹⁸⁷ ἀνειμένας ⁹⁸⁸

mvp-comment-341-1 χοἱ θρασεῖς ⁹⁸⁹ πέλας ⁹⁹⁰ εἰσορῶσι ⁹⁹¹

mvp-comment-343-1 κακῶν ἄγευστος ⁹⁹²

mvp-comment-344-1 σεισθῇ θεόθεν ⁹⁹³

mvp-comment-344-2 ἄτας οὐδὲν ἐλλείπει ⁹⁹⁴ ἐλλείπει ⁹⁹⁵

mvp-comment-344-3 γενεᾶς ἐπὶ πλῆθος ⁹⁹⁶ γενεᾶς ⁹⁹⁷

mvp-comment-345-1 ὅμοιον ⁹⁹⁸

mvp-comment-345-2 ποντίαις ⁹⁹⁹ πνοαῖς ¹⁰⁰⁰ ὅταν οἶδμα ¹⁰⁰¹ ποντίαις δυσπν. Θρ. πνοαῖς ¹⁰⁰² ἐπιδράμῃ ἔρεβος ὕφαλον ¹⁰⁰³ Θρῄσσαισιν ¹⁰⁰⁴

mvp-comment-346-1 κελαινὰν θῖνα ¹⁰⁰⁵

mvp-comment-346-2 δυσάνεμοι ¹⁰⁰⁶ δυσάνεμον ¹⁰⁰⁷

mvp-comment-346-3 στόνῳ βρ.· ¹⁰⁰⁸

mvp-comment-346-4 ἀντιπλῆγες ¹⁰⁰⁹ ἀκταί ¹⁰¹⁰

mvp-comment-347-1 ἀρχαῖα ¹⁰¹¹

mvp-comment-347-2 ὁρῶμαι ¹⁰¹² οἴκων ¹⁰¹³ φθι^τῶν ¹⁰¹⁴

mvp-comment-348-1 ἀπαλλάσσει ¹⁰¹⁵

mvp-comment-348-2 γενεὰν γένος ¹⁰¹⁶ ἔχει ¹⁰¹⁷

mvp-comment-348-3 λύσιν ¹⁰¹⁸

mvp-comment-349-1 νῦν γὰρ ἐσχάτας ¹⁰¹⁹ ὃ τέτατο ¹⁰²⁰ ἐτέτατο ¹⁰²¹ κατ’ αὖ ¹⁰²² ὑπέρ ¹⁰²³ ὅπερ ¹⁰²⁴ ὃ τέτατο ¹⁰²⁵ νιν ¹⁰²⁶ φάος ¹⁰²⁷ ἐσχάτη ῥίζα ¹⁰²⁸ φάος ¹⁰²⁹ νιν ¹⁰³⁰ φάος ¹⁰³¹ θάλος ¹⁰³² τέτατο ¹⁰³³ ῥίζας ¹⁰³⁴

mvp-comment-350-1 κατ’ αὖ … ἀμᾷ, ¹⁰³⁵ κοπίς ¹⁰³⁶ κόνις ¹⁰³⁷ κόνις ¹⁰³⁸

mvp-comment-350-2 (1) If κόνις ¹⁰³⁹ καταμᾷ ¹⁰⁴⁰

mvp-comment-350-3 (2) If we read κοπίς ¹⁰⁴¹

mvp-comment-350-4 It has further been urged against

κοπίς

that the word is too homely. This may be so; but we lack proof.

κοπίς

seems to have been a large curved knife, known to the Greeks chiefly as ( a) a butcher's or cook's implement, ( b) an oriental military weapon. It does not follow, however, that the effect here would be like that of ‘chopper,’ or of ‘scimitar,’ in English. The dignity of a word may be protected by its simplicity; and

κοπίς

is merely ‘that which cuts.’ Pindar was not afraid of homeliness when he described a chorus-master as a

κρατήρ

, or an inspiring thought as an

ἀκόνα

(cp. O. C. 1052 n.). Nicander could say, of the scorpion,

τοίη οἱ κέντροιο κοπίς

( Ther. 780 ). If

κοπίς

be right, the change to

κόνις

may have been caused, not by a misreading of letters, but by mere inadvertence,—the copyist having the word

κόνις

in his thoughts at the moment: it has already occurred frequently ( 247 , 256 , 409 , 429 ).—See Appendix.

mvp-comment-351-1 λόγου … ἄνοια ¹⁰⁴² φρενῶν ἐρινύς ¹⁰⁴³

mvp-comment-352-1 τεάν ¹⁰⁴⁴

mvp-comment-352-2 δύνα^σιν ¹⁰⁴⁵

mvp-comment-352-3 κατάσχοι ¹⁰⁴⁶

mvp-comment-353-1 The MS. παντογήρως ¹⁰⁴⁷ παντοθήρας ¹⁰⁴⁸ παντόθηρος ¹⁰⁴⁹ πάντ’ ἀγρεύων ¹⁰⁵⁰

mvp-comment-354-1 The MS. οὔτ’ ἀκάματοι θεῶν ¹⁰⁵¹

mvp-comment-354-2

οὐδὲν ἕρπει

. Far the best emendation is οὔτε θεῶν ἄκματοι ¹⁰⁵² θεῶν ¹⁰⁵³ θεῶν μῆνες ¹⁰⁵⁴ θεῶν ¹⁰⁵⁵ οὔτε ¹⁰⁵⁶

mvp-comment-354-3 ἄκματοι ¹⁰⁵⁷

mvp-comment-355-1 I doubt whether the dat. χρόνῳ ¹⁰⁵⁸

mvp-comment-355-2 μαρμαρόεσσαν ¹⁰⁵⁹

mvp-comment-356-1 τό τ’ ἔπειτα ¹⁰⁶⁰ τὸ μέλλον ¹⁰⁶¹

mvp-comment-356-2 καὶ τὸ πρίν ¹⁰⁶⁵ ἐπαρκέσει ¹⁰⁶⁶

mvp-comment-357-1 πάμπολύ γ’ ¹⁰⁶⁷

mvp-comment-357-2 ἕρπει ¹⁰⁶⁸ ἕρπειν ¹⁰⁶⁹ ἕρπει ¹⁰⁷⁰

mvp-comment-357-3 πάμπολις ¹⁰⁷¹

mvp-comment-358-1 ἁ γὰρ δή ¹⁰⁷² γάρ ¹⁰⁷³ πολύπλαγκτος ¹⁰⁷⁴

mvp-comment-358-2 oft tossed up and down, ploughing a sea of vain deceits.’—

πολύπλαγκτος

might also be act., ‘causing men to err greatly’; but this is less fitting here.

mvp-comment-359-1 πολλοῖς μὲν ὄνασις ¹⁰⁷⁵

mvp-comment-360-1 ἀπάτα … ἐρώτων ¹⁰⁷⁶

mvp-comment-360-2 κουφονόων ¹⁰⁷⁷

mvp-comment-361-1 The

ἀπάτη

, or final frustration of his desires, ἕρπει ¹⁰⁷⁸ οὐδὲν εἰδότι ¹⁰⁷⁹

mvp-comment-362-1 πρὶν … προσαύσῃ ¹⁰⁸⁰

mvp-comment-362-2 προσαύσῃ ¹⁰⁸¹

mvp-comment-362-3 πόδα ¹⁰⁸² προσαύσῃ ¹⁰⁸³

mvp-comment-363-1 σοφίᾳ ¹⁰⁸⁴

mvp-comment-363-2 ἔκ του ¹⁰⁸⁵

mvp-comment-363-3 πεφάνται ¹⁰⁸⁶

mvp-comment-364-1 τὸ κακὸν δοκεῖν ποτ’ ¹⁰⁸⁷ ποτέ ¹⁰⁸⁸

mvp-comment-364-2 1676 Among them he a spirit of phrenzy sent, Who hurt their minds. Cp.

βλαψίφρων, φρενοβλαβής

. Il. 19.137

ἀλλ’ ἐπεὶ ἀασάμην, καί μευ φρένας ἐξέλετο Ζεύς

. Theognis 403

σπεύδει ἀνήρ, κέρδος διζήμενος, ὅν τινα δαίμων | πρόφρων εἰς μεγάλην ἀμπλακίην παράγει, | καί οἱ ἔθηκη δοκεῖν, ἃ μὲν ᾖ κακά, ταῦτ’ ἀγάθ’ εἶναι, | εὐμαρέως, ἃ δ’ ἂν ᾖ χρήσιμα, ταῦτα κακά

. Lycurgus in Leocr. § 92

οἱ γὰρ θεοὶ οὐδὲν πρότερον ποιοῦσιν ἢ τῶν πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν διάνοιαν παράγουσι· καί μοι δοκοῦσι τῶν ἀρχαίων τινὲς ποιητῶν ὥσπερ χρησμοὺς γράψαντες τοῖς ἐπιγιγνομένοις ταῦτα τὰ ἰαμβεῖα καταλιπεῖν· ὅταν γὰρ ὀργὴ δαιμόνων βλάπτῃ τινά, | τοῦτ’ αὐτὸ πρῶτον, ἐξαφαιρεῖται φρενῶν | τὸν νοῦν τὸν ἐσθλόν, εἰς δὲ τὴν χείρω τρέπει | γνώμην, ἵν’ εἰδῇ μηδἐν ὧν ἁμαρτάνει

. The schol. on our verse quotes an unknown poet's lines,

ὅταν δ’ ὁ δαίμων ἀνδρὶ πορσύνῃ κακά, | τὸν νοῦν ἔβλαψε πρῶτον, ᾧ βουλευεται

. (‘Quem Iuppiter vult perdere, dementat prius.’ See n. in Appendix.)— The epic ἔμμεν ¹⁰⁸⁹

mvp-comment-365-1 ὀλίγιστον ¹⁰⁹⁰ ὀλιγοστόν ¹⁰⁹¹ πράσσει … ἐκτὸς ἄτας ¹⁰⁹² ἄτας ¹⁰⁹³

mvp-comment-366-1 μήν ¹⁰⁹⁴

mvp-comment-366-2 νέατον ¹⁰⁹⁵

mvp-comment-366-3 to a person,

νέατος

could not be said of a sole survivor unless he was also the latest-born.

γέννημ’

: cp. 471 n.

mvp-comment-366-4 ἀχνύμενος ¹⁰⁹⁶ μόρον ¹⁰⁹⁷

mvp-comment-367-1 In the MS. reading (see cr. n.)

νύμφης

is a gloss on τάλιδος ¹⁰⁹⁸ τῆς μελλογάμου ¹⁰⁹⁹ τῆς μελλογάμου ¹¹⁰⁰ τάλιδος ¹¹⁰¹

mvp-comment-368-1 ἀπάτας ¹¹⁰² λεχέων ¹¹⁰³

mvp-comment-370-1 μάντεων ὑπέρτερον ¹¹⁰⁴

mvp-comment-371-1 τελείαν ¹¹⁰⁵

mvp-comment-371-2 ψῆφο<*> ¹¹⁰⁶

mvp-comment-371-3 ἆρα μή ¹¹⁰⁷

mvp-comment-371-4 τῆς μελλονύμφου ¹¹⁰⁸

mvp-comment-371-5 λυσσαίνων ¹¹⁰⁹ σοὶ μέν ¹¹¹⁰ θυμαίνων ¹¹¹¹

mvp-comment-372-1 σοὶ μέν ¹¹¹²

mvp-comment-372-2 πανταχῇ δρῶντες ¹¹¹³

mvp-comment-373-1 σός ¹¹¹⁴

mvp-comment-373-2 γνώμας ἔχων χρηστάς ¹¹¹⁵ ἀπορθοῖς ¹¹¹⁶ μοι ¹¹¹⁷

mvp-comment-374-1 ἀξιώσεται ¹¹¹⁹ ἀξ. μείζων φέρεσθαι ¹¹²⁰ ἀξίως ἔσται ¹¹²¹

mvp-comment-374-2 σοῦ καλῶς ἡγουμ. ¹¹²² μείζων ¹¹²³

mvp-comment-375-1 γάρ ¹¹²⁴

mvp-comment-375-2 διὰ στέρνων ἔχειν ¹¹²⁵ διά ¹¹²⁶ ἔχειν ¹¹²⁷ οὕτω ¹¹²⁸ ἔχειν ¹¹²⁹

mvp-comment-376-1 (One ought to think thus),—that is, ὄπισθεν ἑστάναι πατρ. γνώμης ¹¹³⁰ πάντα ¹¹³¹ ἑστάναι ¹¹³²

mvp-comment-377-1 ὡς ¹¹³³

mvp-comment-377-2 ἀνταμύνωνται ¹¹³⁴ κακοῖς ¹¹³⁵

mvp-comment-378-1 ἄλλο ¹¹³⁶ φῦσαι ¹¹³⁷ πλήν ¹¹³⁸ ἄλλο ¹¹³⁹ εἴποις ¹¹⁴⁰

mvp-comment-378-2 πόνους ¹¹⁴¹

mvp-comment-378-3 γέλων ¹¹⁴²

mvp-comment-379-1 τὰς φρένας γ’ ¹¹⁴³ γε ¹¹⁴⁴ φρένας σύ γ’ ἡδονῇ ¹¹⁴⁵

mvp-comment-379-2 φρένας … ἐκβάλῃς ¹¹⁴⁶

mvp-comment-379-3 ὑφ’ ἡδονῆς ¹¹⁴⁷

mvp-comment-380-1 ψυχρόν ¹¹⁴⁸

mvp-comment-380-2 παραγκάλισμα ¹¹⁴⁹

mvp-comment-381-1 δόμοις ¹¹⁵⁰

mvp-comment-381-2 ἕλκος ¹¹⁵¹

mvp-comment-381-3 φίλος ¹¹⁵²

mvp-comment-382-1 πτύσας ¹¹⁵³

mvp-comment-382-2 ὠσεί τε δυσμενῆ ¹¹⁵⁴ τε ¹¹⁵⁵

mvp-comment-383-1 νυμφεύειν ¹¹⁵⁶

mvp-comment-384-1 ἀπιστήσασαν ¹¹⁵⁷ ψευδῆ ¹¹⁵⁸

mvp-comment-385-1 κτενῶ ¹¹⁵⁹

mvp-comment-385-2 πρὸς ταῦτ ¹¹⁶⁰

mvp-comment-385-3 ἐφυμνείτω ¹¹⁶¹

mvp-comment-385-4 Δία ξύναιμον ¹¹⁶²

mvp-comment-386-1 τά γ’ ἐγγ. φύσει ¹¹⁶³

mvp-comment-386-2 ἄκοσμα ¹¹⁶⁴

mvp-comment-386-3 θρέψω ¹¹⁶⁵

mvp-comment-386-4 κάρτα τοὺς ἔξω γ. ¹¹⁶⁶

mvp-comment-387-1 Seidler transposes vv. 663—667, placing them after 671. The object is to bring vv. 668—671 into immediate connection with 662. In this there is one slight grammatical gain; since, as the vv. stand in the MSS.,

τοῦτον ...τὸν ἄνδρα

(668) means, ‘the man who acts thus’ (viz., as described in vv. 666 f.). But the order given in the MSS. is right. The transposition obliterates one of the finest touches in the speech. Creon demands that the obedience of the citizens to the ruler shall be absolute (666 f.). And then he supplements this demand with a remark on the dignity of such obedience. The man who so obeys gives the best proof that he could also rule (668 ff.). Seidler destroys the point of vv. 668 ff. by placing them after 662.

mvp-comment-387-2 The connection of thought in the whole passage—which is slightly obscured by compression—may be most clearly shown by taking the verses in small consecutive groups. (1) 659 f. If I tolerate disloyalty

mvp-comment-387-3 in my own relatives, I shall encourage it in other citizens. (2) 661 f. For (

γάρ

) only a man who is firm (

χρηστός

) where his own relatives are concerned will be found to uphold justice in the State (i.e. will have the authority necessary for doing so). (3) 663 f. Now, I recognise disloyalty in any one who breaks the law and defies the government, as Antigone has done. (4) 666 f. Instead of so doing, the citizen is bound to obey the government in everything. (5) 668—671. There is nothing slavish in that; on the contrary, it shows that the citizen is not only a good subject, but would, if required, be a good ruler;—as he would also be a good soldier.—Then comes the general censure on unruliness (672—676). And then the conclusion:—I must vindicate my authority, and punish Antigone (677 —680).

mvp-comment-388-1 ὑπερβάς ¹¹⁶⁷

mvp-comment-388-2 τοὐπιτάσσειν ¹¹⁶⁸

mvp-comment-388-3 νοεῖ ¹¹⁶⁹

mvp-comment-389-1 στήσειε ¹¹⁷⁰

mvp-comment-389-2 καὶ τἀναντία ¹¹⁷¹

mvp-comment-390-1 τοῦτον … τὸν ἄνδρα ¹¹⁷²

mvp-comment-390-2 καλῶς...εὖ ¹¹⁷³

mvp-comment-390-3 ἄν ¹¹⁷⁴ ἄρχειν ¹¹⁷⁵ θέλειν ¹¹⁷⁶

mvp-comment-391-1 δορὸς … χειμῶνι ¹¹⁷⁷

mvp-comment-391-2 προστεταγμένον ¹¹⁷⁸

mvp-comment-391-3 παραστάτην ¹¹⁷⁹

mvp-comment-392-1 πόλεις ὄλλυσιν, ἥδ’ ¹¹⁸⁰ πόλεις τ’ … ἥδ’ ¹¹⁸¹

mvp-comment-393-1 συμμάχου ¹¹⁸² συμμάχηι ¹¹⁸³ σὺν μάχῃ ¹¹⁸⁴

mvp-comment-393-2 τροπὰς καταρρήγνυσι ¹¹⁸⁵

mvp-comment-393-3 τῶν δ’ ὀρθουμένων ¹¹⁸⁶ τὰ πολλὰ σώματα ¹¹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-393-4 ἡ πειθαρχία ¹¹⁸⁸

mvp-comment-394-1 ἀμυντέ’ ¹¹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-394-2 τοῖς κοσμουμένοις ¹¹⁹⁰ τοῖς κ. ¹¹⁹²

mvp-comment-395-1 κοὔτοι … ἡσσητέα ¹¹⁹³

mvp-comment-396-1 δεῖ ¹¹⁹⁴ ἐκπεσεῖν ¹¹⁹⁵

mvp-comment-396-2 thrust out: oft. of dethronement (

ἐκπ. τυραννίδος, ἀρχῆς, κράτους

, Aesch. ), or of exile (

χθονός

, O. C. 766 ).

mvp-comment-396-3 κοὐκ ἂν...καλοίμεθ’ ἄν ¹¹⁹⁶

mvp-comment-397-1 μέν ¹¹⁹⁷

mvp-comment-397-2 τῷ χρόνῳ ¹¹⁹⁸

mvp-comment-397-3 κεκλέμμεθα ¹¹⁹⁹

mvp-comment-398-1 δοκεῖς λέγειν φρονούντως περὶ ¹²⁰⁰

mvp-comment-399-1 θεοί ¹²⁰¹

mvp-comment-399-2 κτημάτων ¹²⁰²

mvp-comment-400-1 ἐγὼ δ’ ὅπως ¹²⁰³

mvp-comment-400-2 μὴ ¹²⁰⁴ ὅπως ¹²⁰⁵ μή ¹²⁰⁶ ὀρθῶς ¹²⁰⁷

mvp-comment-400-3 μήτ’ ἐπισταίμην ¹²⁰⁸

mvp-comment-401-1 καλῶς ἔχον ¹²⁰⁹ γένοιτο ἂν καὶ ἑτέρῳ ¹²¹⁰

mvp-comment-402-1 σοῦ δ’ οὖν ¹²¹¹ σοῦ ¹²¹² σοί ¹²¹³ σὺ δ’ οὐ πέφυκας ¹²¹⁴ τις ¹²¹⁵ μῆνίν τιν’ ἢ κότον τιν ¹²¹⁶

mvp-comment-403-1 τὸ γὰρ σόν ¹²¹⁷ ὄμμα ¹²¹⁸

mvp-comment-403-2 δημότῃ ¹²¹⁹

mvp-comment-404-1 λόγοις τοιούτοις ¹²²⁰ λόγοις τοιούτοις ¹²²¹

mvp-comment-404-2 οἷς ¹²²² τέρψει ¹²²³ κλύων ¹²²⁴ μή ¹²²⁵ τέρψῃ ¹²²⁶

mvp-comment-405-1 ὑπὸ σκότον ¹²²⁷ ἀκούειν ¹²²⁸ ὀδύρεται ¹²²⁹

mvp-comment-406-1 κάκιστ’ … εὐκλεεστάτων ¹²³⁰

mvp-comment-406-2 ἀπ’ ἔργων ¹²³¹

mvp-comment-407-1 ἥτις ¹²³² μήθ’ … μήθ’ ¹²³³ εἴασε ¹²³⁴ ὀλέσθαι ¹²³⁵

mvp-comment-407-2 αὐτάδελφον ¹²³⁶

mvp-comment-407-3 ἐνφοναῖς ¹²³⁷

mvp-comment-408-1 χρυσῆς ¹²³⁸

mvp-comment-408-2 λαχεῖν ¹²³⁹ ἀξία ¹²⁴⁰

mvp-comment-409-1 ἐπέρχεται ¹²⁴¹

mvp-comment-410-1 θάλλοντος ¹²⁴²

mvp-comment-410-2 μεῖζον εὐκλείας ¹²⁴³

mvp-comment-410-3 πρὸς παίδων ¹²⁴⁴ εὐκλεία ¹²⁴⁵

mvp-comment-411-1 νυν ¹²⁴⁶

mvp-comment-411-2 φόρει ¹²⁴⁷

mvp-comment-411-3 ἦθος ¹²⁴⁸ ὡς φὴς σύ ¹²⁴⁹

mvp-comment-411-4 κοὐδέν ¹²⁵⁰

mvp-comment-411-5 τοῦτο ¹²⁵¹

mvp-comment-412-1 μόνος ¹²⁵² φρονεῖν ¹²⁵³ ψυχήν ¹²⁵⁴

mvp-comment-412-2

αὐτὸς μοῦνος ποικίλα δήνε’

(devices)

ἔχειν, | κεῖνός γ’ ἄφρων ἐστί, νόου βεβλαμμένος ἐσθλοῦ, | ἴσως γὰρ πάντες ποικίλ’ ἐπιστάμεθα

. Isocr. or. 3 § 43 joins Theognis, Hesiod and Phocylides as

ἀρίστους...συμβούλους τῷ βίῳ τῷ τῶν ἀνθρώπων

. They were read in schools.

mvp-comment-413-1 οὗτοι ¹²⁵⁵

mvp-comment-413-2 διαπτυχθέντες ¹²⁵⁶

mvp-comment-413-3 κενοί ¹²⁵⁷

mvp-comment-414-1 ἄνδρα ¹²⁵⁸ μανθάνειν ¹²⁵⁹ τό ¹²⁶⁰

mvp-comment-414-2 κεἰ … ᾖ ¹²⁶¹

mvp-comment-414-3 τείνειν ¹²⁶²

mvp-comment-414-4 παρὰ ῥείθρ. ¹²⁶³

mvp-comment-414-5 χειμάρροις ¹²⁶⁴

mvp-comment-415-1 ὑπείκει ¹²⁶⁵

mvp-comment-415-2 αὐτόπρεμνα ¹²⁶⁶

mvp-comment-416-1 αὔτως ¹²⁶⁷

mvp-comment-416-2 ναός ¹²⁶⁸

mvp-comment-416-3 ἐγκρατῆ ¹²⁶⁹

mvp-comment-416-4 πόδα ¹²⁷⁰

mvp-comment-417-1 μηδέν ¹²⁷¹

mvp-comment-417-2 κάτω στρέψας ¹²⁷² τὸ πλοῖον ¹²⁷³ τὸ λοιπόν ¹²⁷⁴

mvp-comment-417-3 σέλμασιν ¹²⁷⁵ ὑπτίοις ¹²⁷⁶

mvp-comment-418-1 εἶκε θυμοῦ ¹²⁷⁷

mvp-comment-418-2 καὶ μετάστασιν δίδου ¹²⁷⁸

mvp-comment-418-3 δίδου ¹²⁷⁹ εἶκε ¹²⁸⁰ καί ¹²⁸¹ καί ¹²⁸²

mvp-comment-419-1 εἴ τις γνώμη πρόσεστι καὶ ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ ν. ¹²⁸³ καί ¹²⁸⁴

mvp-comment-419-2 πρεσβεύειν ¹²⁸⁵

mvp-comment-420-1 φῦναι ¹²⁸⁶

mvp-comment-420-2 πάντ’ ¹²⁸⁷

mvp-comment-421-1 εἰ δ’ οὖν ¹²⁸⁸ φιλεῖ γάρ ¹²⁸⁹

mvp-comment-421-2 τοῦτο … ταύτῃ ¹²⁹⁰ ταύτῃ ¹²⁹¹

mvp-comment-421-3 ῥέπειν ¹²⁹²

mvp-comment-422-1 καὶ τὸ τῶν εὖ λεγόντων μανθάνειν καλόν ¹²⁹³

mvp-comment-423-1 σέ τ’ ¹²⁹⁴ διπλᾶι ¹²⁹⁵ διπλᾶ ¹²⁹⁶ διπλῇ ¹²⁹⁷ διπλᾶ ¹²⁹⁸

mvp-comment-423-2 On the other hand, διπλῇ ¹²⁹⁹

mvp-comment-424-1 καὶ ¹³⁰⁰ διδαξ. ¹³⁰¹

mvp-comment-424-2 δή ¹³⁰²

mvp-comment-424-3 τὴν φύσιν ¹³⁰³

mvp-comment-425-1 μηδέν ¹³⁰⁴ τὸ μὴ δίκ. ¹³⁰⁵

mvp-comment-425-2 τὸν χρόνον ¹³⁰⁶ τἄργα ¹³⁰⁷

mvp-comment-426-1 ἔργον ¹³⁰⁸

mvp-comment-426-2 τοὺς ἀκοσμοῦντας ¹³⁰⁹

mvp-comment-426-3 σέβειν ¹³¹⁰

mvp-comment-427-1 οὐδ’ ¹³¹¹

mvp-comment-428-1 τοιᾷδε … νοσῳ ¹³¹²

mvp-comment-428-2 ἐπείληπται ¹³¹³

mvp-comment-429-1 Θήβης ¹³¹⁴ ὁμόπτολις ¹³¹⁵

mvp-comment-430-1 ἡμῖν ¹³¹⁶ ἐμέ ¹³¹⁷

mvp-comment-431-1 ὡς ἄγαν νέος ¹³¹⁸

mvp-comment-432-1 Dobree's με ¹³¹⁹ γε ¹³²⁰ χρή ¹³²¹ ἄλλῳ ἢ ’μοί ¹³²² ἐμοί ¹³²³ χρή γε ¹³²⁴

mvp-comment-433-1 πόλις γὰρ οὐκ ἔσθ’ ¹³²⁵

mvp-comment-433-2

τυραννίς

ἔσχατον πόλεως νόσημα

, Rep. 544 C. de Rep. 3. 31

ubi tyrannus est, ibi...dicendum est nullam esse rempublicam.

mvp-comment-434-1 νομίζεται ¹³²⁶

mvp-comment-435-1 καλῶς ἐρήμης γ’ ¹³²⁷

mvp-comment-436-1 Though at least one late MS. (Paris E) has

συμμαχεῖν

, it is needless to assume here the same mixed constr. as Tr. 1238

ἁνὴρ δ’ ὅδ’, ὡς ἔοικεν, οὐ νεμεῖν ἐμοὶ | φθίνοντι μοῖραν

mvp-comment-437-1 οὖν ¹³²⁸ προκήδομαι ¹³²⁹

mvp-comment-438-1 ὦ παγκάκιστε ¹³³⁰

mvp-comment-438-2 διὰ δίκης ἰὼν πατρί ¹³³¹

mvp-comment-439-1 ἀρχάς ¹³³²

mvp-comment-440-1 οὐ γὰρ σέβεις ¹³³³

mvp-comment-440-2 τιμάς ¹³³⁴

mvp-comment-441-1 ὦ μιαρόν ¹³³⁵ γυναικὸς ὕστερον ¹³³⁶

mvp-comment-442-1 ‘I may be inferior to a woman, but at least you will never find me yielding to base temptations.’ It would have been

αἰσχρόν

if he had allowed fear or self-interest to deter him from pleading this cause. ( Cp. 509 .) Cp. Tr. 489

ἔρωτος...ἥσσων

: fr. 844

ἥσσων...ὀργῆς.

mvp-comment-442-2 οὔ τἄν ¹³³⁷

mvp-comment-442-3 γε ¹³³⁸

mvp-comment-443-1 γοῦν ¹³³⁹

mvp-comment-444-1 καὶ σοῦ γε ¹³⁴⁰

mvp-comment-445-1 Objections have been made to the traditional order of these verses, chiefly in two respects. (1) 755

εἰ μὴ πατὴρ ἦσθ’

is—it is argued—the strongest thing said by Haemon, and ought therefore to come immediately before Creon's final outburst,

ἄληθες

; (758). How could it be followed by merely so mild a phrase as

μὴ κώτιλλέ με

?—We may reply:— Haemon says that, if Creon were not his father, he would have thought him mad. It is to this that

μὴ κώτιλλέ με

refers, meaning, ‘Do not seek to deceive me by an affectation of filial deference.’ (2) 757

βούλει λέγειν τι

is too mild a remark—it is said—to form the climax of provocation to Creon's anger. We may reply:—It is in substance, if not in form, such a climax, —for a father who holds that unquestioning obedience (640) is a son's first duty. It asserts Haemon's right to maintain his own views against his father's,—

διὰ δίκης ἰέναι

, as Creon put it (742). The traditional order seems, therefore, to be right.

mvp-comment-445-2 Three modes of transposition have been proposed. (1) Enger puts 756 and 757 after 749. Then

κώτιλλε

(756) refers to Haemon's plea that he has his father's cause, and that of religion, at heart. We lose nothing by such a transposition; but neither do we gain.

mvp-comment-445-3 (2) Donner (in his transl., ed. 1863) simply transposed verses 755 and 757, leaving the rest as they stand. For this it may fairly be said that 757 comes very fitly after 754. On the other hand it seems to me that 756 does not aptly follow 757.

mvp-comment-445-4 (3) Pallis arranges thus:—749, 756, 755, 754, 757, 750—753. Thus

κενὰς γνώμας

(753) becomes the last sting.— The fact is that, in a stormy altercation, we do not look for a closely logical texture and a delicately graduated crescendo. The MS. order is (to my mind) the best; but other arrangements are possible, and would be nearly as good.

mvp-comment-445-5 Creon, instead of replying to v. 749, abruptly repeats his resolve.

οὐκ ἔστιν ὡς ταύτην ἔτι ζῶσαν γαμεῖς

(fut.)

ποτέ

, it cannot be that you shall ever wed her while she yet lives; i.e. she is to die at once, and can become your bride, if ever, only

ἐν Ἅιδου

(654). Cp. 1240 .— ὡς ¹³⁴¹ ποτέ ¹³⁴² ταύτην ¹³⁴³

mvp-comment-446-1 ἥδ’ ¹³⁴⁴ ὀλεῖ τινά ¹³⁴⁵

mvp-comment-447-1 ἦ ἐπεξέρχει και ἐπαπειλῶν ὧδε θρασύς; ¹³⁴⁶ καί ¹³⁴⁷

mvp-comment-448-1 κλαίων ¹³⁴⁸

mvp-comment-448-2 φρενώσεις ¹³⁴⁹

mvp-comment-449-1 οὐκ εὖ φρονεῖν ¹³⁵⁰

mvp-comment-450-1 δούλευμα ¹³⁵¹

mvp-comment-450-2 μὴ κωτιλλέ με ¹³⁵²

mvp-comment-450-3 Cp. Theognis 363

εὖ κώτιλλε τὸν ἐχθρόν

(cajole)'

ὅταν δ’ ὑποχείριος ἔλθῃ, | τῖσαί νιν, πρόφασιν μηδεμίαν θέμενος

: id. 851

Ζεὺς ἄνδρ’ ἐξολέσειεν Ὀλύμπιος, ὃς τὸν ἑταῖρον | μαλθακὰ κωτίλλων ἐξαπατᾶν ἐθέλει

mvp-comment-451-1 λέγειν … κλύειν; ¹³⁵³ λέγειν τι ¹³⁵⁴

mvp-comment-452-1 ἄληθες; ¹³⁵⁵

mvp-comment-452-2 οὐ τόνδ’ Ὄλ. ¹³⁵⁶

mvp-comment-452-3 ἴσθ’ ὅτι ¹³⁵⁷

mvp-comment-453-1 χαίρων ¹³⁵⁸

mvp-comment-453-2 ἐπὶ ψόγοισι δεννάσεις ¹³⁵⁹ ἐπί ¹³⁶⁰ ἔτι ¹³⁶¹

mvp-comment-454-1 ἄγετε ¹³⁶² ἄγ’ ἄγε ¹³⁶³ ἄγαγε ¹³⁶⁴

mvp-comment-454-2 τὸ μῖσος ¹³⁶⁵

mvp-comment-454-3 κατ’ ὄμματ’ ¹³⁶⁶

mvp-comment-454-4 παρόντι … πλησία ¹³⁶⁷

mvp-comment-455-1 ἔμοιγε ¹³⁶⁸ οὔτε ¹³⁶⁹ τε ¹³⁷⁰

mvp-comment-455-2 οὐδαμά ¹³⁷¹

mvp-comment-455-3 ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ¹³⁷²

mvp-comment-456-1 ὡς ¹³⁷³

mvp-comment-456-2 τοῖς θέλουσι ¹³⁷⁴

mvp-comment-457-1 ἐξ ὀργῆς ταχύς ¹³⁷⁵

mvp-comment-457-2 βαρύς ¹³⁷⁶

mvp-comment-458-1 μεῖζον ἢ κατ’ ἄνδρα ¹³⁷⁷

mvp-comment-458-2 ἰών ¹³⁷⁸

mvp-comment-458-3

αἱρήσοιμ’ ἰών

: Ai. 304

ὅσην κατ’ αὐτῶν ὕβριν ἐκτίσαιτ’ ἰών

. So here it scornfully suggests some daring enterprise.

mvp-comment-459-1 For δ’ οὖν ¹³⁷⁹

mvp-comment-459-2 τὼ … τώδε ¹³⁸⁰

mvp-comment-459-3 καί ¹³⁸¹ κατακτ. νοεῖς ¹³⁸² κατακτ ¹³⁸³

mvp-comment-460-1 θιγοῦσαν ¹³⁸⁴

mvp-comment-460-2 γὰρ οὖν ¹³⁸⁵

mvp-comment-461-1 καί ¹³⁸⁶ βουλεύει ¹³⁸⁷

mvp-comment-461-2 σφε ¹³⁸⁸

mvp-comment-462-1 ἔνθα ¹³⁸⁹

mvp-comment-463-1 πετρώδει … ἐν κατώρυχι ¹³⁹⁰

mvp-comment-464-1 ὡς ἄγος μόνον ¹³⁹¹ ὡς ¹³⁹² ὅσον ¹³⁹³

mvp-comment-464-2 ἄγος ¹³⁹⁴

mvp-comment-464-3 Creon's edict had announced that the transgressor would be publicly stoned to death (36). It is to this that the anxious question of the Chorus alludes (772). Creon had already said that Antigone's doom was to be

κάκιστος

(489). But now, at least, he feels that he cannot inflict such a death on the maiden, his kinswoman. She shall die, not by stoning, but by starvation. The choice is not prompted by cruelty, but simply by the desire to avoid physical violence.

mvp-comment-464-4 The danger of a

μίασμα

—to be avoided by a dole of food—has no relation to the special circumstances,—Antigone's royal birth, and the nature of her offence. In the ancient belief, that danger existed whenever a person was put to death by starvation. Two notions were probably blended; ( a) that, if a little food was given, the death was nature's work, not man's; ( b) that the

νέρτεροι

claimed an indemnity for the usual

ἐναγίσματα

. So the Greeks put Philoctetes ashore on desolate Lemnos, —

ῥάκη προθέντες βαιὰ καί τι καὶ βορᾶς | ἐπωφέλημα σμικρόν

( Ph. 274 ). So, too, when a Vestal was to be buried alive, the small vault in the Campus Sceleratus was furnished with a couch, a burning lamp, and a small table, on which the dole was placed,—bread, olives, milk, and a jug of water ( Plut. Num. 10 ).

mvp-comment-465-1 πᾶσ’ ¹³⁹⁵

mvp-comment-466-1 ὃν μόνον σέβει ¹³⁹⁶

mvp-comment-466-2

ἐγγενεῖς

(199). By honouring him, and Hades (519), she has dishonoured those other gods.

mvp-comment-467-1 τὸ μὴ θανεῖν ¹³⁹⁷ τεύξεται ¹³⁹⁸

mvp-comment-468-1 ἀλλὰ τηνικαῦτα ¹³⁹⁹ τἀν ¹⁴⁰⁰

mvp-comment-470-1 ἀνίκατε μάχαν ¹⁴⁰¹

mvp-comment-471-1 ἐν κτήμασι πίπτεις, ¹⁴⁰²

mvp-comment-472-1 ἐν μαλακαῖς παρειαῖς ¹⁴⁰³

mvp-comment-472-2 ἐννυχεύεις ¹⁴⁰⁴

mvp-comment-473-1 ὑπερπόντιος ¹⁴⁰⁵

mvp-comment-473-2 ἔν τ’ ἀγρ. αὐλαῖς ¹⁴⁰⁶

mvp-comment-474-1 οὔτ’ ἀθανάτων ¹⁴⁰⁷

mvp-comment-474-2 σὲ … φύξιμός ἐστι ¹⁴⁰⁸

mvp-comment-475-1 σέ γ’ ¹⁴⁰⁹

mvp-comment-475-2 ὁ δ’ ἔχων ¹⁴¹⁰

mvp-comment-476-1 ἀδίκους ¹⁴¹¹ παρασπᾷς ¹⁴¹²

mvp-comment-477-1 ξύναιμον ¹⁴¹³

mvp-comment-477-2 ἔχεις ¹⁴¹⁴

mvp-comment-477-3 ταράξας ¹⁴¹⁵

mvp-comment-478-1 ἐναργής ¹⁴¹⁶

mvp-comment-478-2 βλεφάρωνἵμερος ¹⁴¹⁷ εὐλέκτρου νύμφας ¹⁴¹⁸

mvp-comment-478-3 εὐλέκτρου ¹⁴¹⁹

mvp-comment-479-1 πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς ¹⁴²⁰ πάρεδρος ¹⁴²¹ ἐν ἀρχαῖς ¹⁴²²

mvp-comment-479-2 The words answer metrically to

φύξιμος οὐδείς

(788). The first two syllables of

πάρεδρος

therefore represent a resolved long syllable. Pindar affords some instances of such resolution (see Appendix), and there is a probable example below (970

ἀγχίπολις Ἄρης

, where see n.). But it is rare, and certainly unpleasing. As

mvp-comment-479-3 a whole, too, the phrase

πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς

is suspicious. A yet stronger objection is the strangeness of describing the power which is in conflict with the

θεσμοί

as their assessor, or peer, in sway; an expression which would seem appropriate only if that power was working in harmony with them; as when Eur. ( Eur. Med. 843 ) speaks of

σοφίᾳ παρέδρους...ἔρωτας, | παντοίας ἀρετᾶς ξυνεργούς

,—‘the loves that sit with wisdom, co-workers of all excellence,’—those aspirations of the soul which assist intellectual effort.

mvp-comment-479-4 The best line of emendation yet suggested is that of Semitelos, who writes ὥστε πέρα δρᾶν ¹⁴²³

mvp-comment-480-1 ἐμπαίζει ¹⁴²⁴ νικᾷ ¹⁴²⁵

mvp-comment-481-1 καὐτὸς θεσμῶν ἔξω ¹⁴²⁶

mvp-comment-481-2 φέρομαι ¹⁴²⁷

mvp-comment-481-3 ἴσχειν δ’ ¹⁴²⁸

mvp-comment-482-1 πηγάς ¹⁴²⁹

mvp-comment-483-1 παγκοίτην ¹⁴³⁰

mvp-comment-483-2 of Antigone are brought into finer relief by the different tone of the choral anapaests. Cp. 822 , and see Appendix on 110.—Cp. O. C. 1578 (Death)

τὸν αἰένυπνον

. The word θάλαμον ¹⁴³¹

mvp-comment-483-3 ἀνύτουσαν ¹⁴³²

mvp-comment-485-1 νεάταν … νέατον δέ ¹⁴³³

mvp-comment-485-2 νέατον ¹⁴³⁴

mvp-comment-485-3 κοὔποτ’ αὖθις ¹⁴³⁵

mvp-comment-486-1 παγκοίτας ¹⁴³⁶ πάγκοινος ¹⁴³⁷

mvp-comment-487-1 ἄγει … ἀκτάν ¹⁴³⁸

mvp-comment-488-1 οὔθ’ ὑμεναίων … οὔτ’ ἐπινύμφειος … ὕμνος ¹⁴³⁹

mvp-comment-488-2 οὔτε … ἔγκληρον, … οὔτε … ὕμνησεν ¹⁴⁴¹

mvp-comment-488-3 ἐπινύμφειος ¹⁴⁴² ἐπινυμφίδιος ¹⁴⁴³ ἐπὶ νυμφείοις ¹⁴⁴⁴ ἐπινυμφίδιος ¹⁴⁴⁵

mvp-comment-489-1 Ἀχέροντι νυμφεύσω ¹⁴⁴⁶

mvp-comment-490-1 ξιφέων ¹⁴⁴⁷ ἐπίχειρα ¹⁴⁴⁸

mvp-comment-491-1 αὐτόνομος ¹⁴⁴⁹

mvp-comment-491-2 δή ¹⁴⁵⁰ μόνη ¹⁴⁵¹ Ἀΐδην ¹⁴⁵² Ἅιδην ¹⁴⁵³

mvp-comment-492-1 ἤκουσα δή ¹⁴⁵⁴

mvp-comment-492-2 λυγροτάταν ¹⁴⁵⁵

mvp-comment-492-3 ξέναν ¹⁴⁵⁶

mvp-comment-493-1 Ταντάλου ¹⁴⁵⁷

mvp-comment-493-2 Σιπύλῳ ¹⁴⁵⁸

mvp-comment-494-1 ἀτενής ¹⁴⁵⁹

mvp-comment-494-2 πετραία βλάστα δάμασεν ¹⁴⁶⁰ αι^ ¹⁴⁶¹

mvp-comment-495-1 καί νιν ὄμρροι ¹⁴⁶² τέγγει δ’ ¹⁴⁶³ ὄμβρῳ ¹⁴⁶⁴ τακομέναν ¹⁴⁶⁵ τέγγει … δειράδας ¹⁴⁶⁶ ὄμβροι ¹⁴⁶⁷ ὄμβρῳ ¹⁴⁶⁸

mvp-comment-495-2 χιών ¹⁴⁶⁹

mvp-comment-495-3 οὐδαμά ¹⁴⁷⁰

mvp-comment-496-1 τέγγει δ’ ὑπ’ ὀφρύσι … δειράδας ¹⁴⁷¹

mvp-comment-496-2 The Niobe of Sipylus has usually been identified with a colossal rock-image on the N. side of the range. It is rudely carved in relief, within a rectangular niche on the face of a limestone cliff, and represents a woman seated on a throne. (See Stark, Niobe, pl. 1, Leips. 1863: cp. Baumeister, Denkm. p. 1029). Prof. W. M. Ramsay, however, holds that this image is the ‘very ancient’

ἄγαλμα

of Cybele mentioned by Paus. 3.22.4 . In two respects it differs from the ancient accounts of the Niobe (quoted below): ( a) it does not ‘weep,’—for the rainwater drops from the front of the niche, clear of the figure; and ( b) the likeness to a human form grows, instead of vanishing, as one approaches. ( Journ. Hellen. Studies III. 61 ff., 1882.) This has been confirmed by another traveller, Herr Schweisthal (as reported in the Berl. Phil. Wochenschr., May 28, 1887, p. 704). He finds the true Niobe at no great distance from the Cybele, but nearer Magnesia, and in the vicinity of a stream (the Jarikkaia) which Humann, in his ‘Excursion into Sipylus’ (1881), had already identified with the Achelous of Il. 24.616 . It is a natural phenomenon,—the semblance—as seen from a distance—of a draped woman, seated high on the rocks; she looks towards the right, and lifts her right arm, as if in lament.

mvp-comment-496-3 The best ancient description is by a poet whose native place was in that neighbourhood,—Quintus Smyrnaeus (1. 293— 306):—‘Her streaming tears still fall from the heights of the rugged cliff; and in sympathy with her the sounding waters of the Hermus make lament, and the lofty peaks of Sipylus, over which the mist that shepherds dread floats evermore. A great marvel is she to passers by, because she is like a sorrowful woman, who mourns some cruel grief, and weeps without stint. Such verily seems the figure, when thou gazest at it from afar; but when thou drawest near, lo, 'tis but a sheer rock, a cliff of Sipylus’ (

φαίνεται αἰπήεσσα πέτρη, Σιπύλοιό τ’ ἀπορρώξ

mvp-comment-496-4 Nonnus was thinking of the effect from the road, when he wrote (2. 160),

ἕσσομαι ὡς Νιόβη καὶ ἐγὼ λίθος, ὄφρα καὶ αὐτὴν | λαϊνέην στενάχουσαν ἐποικτείρωσιν ὁδῖται

. Pausanias, too, says that, at a certain distance from the cliff,

δεδακρυμένην δόξεις ὁρᾶν καὶ κατηφῆ γυναῖκα

, but that the illusion vanishes on a nearer approach (1. 21 § 3).

mvp-comment-497-1 ὁμοιοτάταν ¹⁴⁷²

mvp-comment-498-1 ἀλλὰ … θανοῦσαν ¹⁴⁷³ καίτοι ¹⁴⁷⁴ ζῶσαν ¹⁴⁷⁵ θανοῦσαν ¹⁴⁷⁶ οἴμοι γελῶμαι ¹⁴⁷⁷

mvp-comment-498-2 θεός ¹⁴⁷⁸

mvp-comment-498-3 θεογεννής ¹⁴⁷⁹ θειογενής ¹⁴⁸⁰

mvp-comment-499-1 καίτοι ¹⁴⁸¹ φθιμένῃ ¹⁴⁸²

mvp-comment-499-2 κἀκοῦσαι ¹⁴⁸³ μέγ’ ἀκοῦσαι ¹⁴⁸⁴

mvp-comment-500-1 τοῖς ἰσοθέοις σύγκληρα ¹⁴⁸⁵ ἔγκληρα ¹⁴⁸⁶

mvp-comment-500-2 Hipp. 1011 : or (2) pass., included in one's

κλῆρος

, as H. F. 468

ἔγκληρα πεδία ...κεκτημένος

(‘by inheritance’). Here,

ἔγκληρα

was perh. partly due to a reminiscence of

ἔγκληρον

in 814.—The change of τοῖς ἰσοθέοις ¹⁴⁸⁷ τοῖσι θεοῖσιν ¹⁴⁸⁸ ι— ¹⁴⁸⁹ α— ¹⁴⁹⁰ τοῖς ἰσοθέοις ἔγκληρα ¹⁴⁹¹

mvp-comment-501-1 ζῶσαν … θανοῦσαν ¹⁴⁹²

mvp-comment-502-1 γελῶμαι ¹⁴⁹³

mvp-comment-503-1 πολυκτήμονες ¹⁴⁹⁴

mvp-comment-504-1 κρῆναι ¹⁴⁹⁵

mvp-comment-504-2 εὐαρμάτου ¹⁴⁹⁶

mvp-comment-504-3 ἄλσος ¹⁴⁹⁷

mvp-comment-504-4 ἔμπας ¹⁴⁹⁸

mvp-comment-505-1 ὔμμ’ ¹⁴⁹⁹

mvp-comment-505-2 ἐπικτῶμαι ¹⁵⁰⁰ ἐπί ¹⁵⁰¹

mvp-comment-506-1 οἵα ¹⁵⁰²

mvp-comment-506-2 φίλων ἄκλαυτος ¹⁵⁰³

mvp-comment-507-1 ἕργμα τυμβόχωστον ¹⁵⁰⁴ ἕρμα ¹⁵⁰⁵

mvp-comment-508-1 ποταινίου ¹⁵⁰⁶

mvp-comment-509-1 Though every treatment of this verse must remain subject to doubt, far the most probable (to my mind) is Seyffert's modification of Boeckh's βροτοῖς οὔτ’ ἐν νεκροῖς κυροῦσα ¹⁵⁰⁷ οὔτε ¹⁵⁰⁸ κυροῦσα ¹⁵⁰⁹ νεκροῖς ¹⁵¹⁰

mvp-comment-510-1 μέτοικος ¹⁵¹¹

mvp-comment-511-1 προβᾶσ’ … πολύ ¹⁵¹² προσέπεσες ¹⁵¹³

mvp-comment-511-2 πολύ ¹⁵¹⁴ ἐσχάτου ¹⁵¹⁵ προσέπεσες ¹⁵¹⁶

mvp-comment-512-1 πατρῷόν τινα … ἆθλον ¹⁵¹⁷ τινά ¹⁵¹⁸

mvp-comment-512-2 ἐκτίνεις ¹⁵¹⁹

mvp-comment-513-1 μερίμνας ¹⁵²⁰ οἶκτον ¹⁵²¹ πατρός ¹⁵²² πότμου ¹⁵²³ οἶκτον ¹⁵²⁴

mvp-comment-513-2 to taking

οἶκτον

as acc. in apposition with

ἔψαυσας...μερίμνας

is that this would imply

τό

(

σε

)

ψαῦσαι ἀλγ. ἐμοὶ μερίμνης οἶκτός ἐστιν

: as Eur. Or. 1105

Ἑλένην κτάνωμεν, Μενέλεῳ λύπην πικράν

, implies,

τὸ Ἑλένην κτανεῖν Μενέλεῳ λύπη πικρὰ ἔσται

: Aesch. Ag. 224

ἔτλα δ’ οὖν | θυτὴρ γενέσθαι θυγατρός, γυναικοποίνων πολέμων ἀρωγάν

, implies,

τὸ θυτῆρα γενέσθαι ἀρωγὴ ἦν

. Now, if we had, for instance,

ἀνεμνήσθην μερίμνης

, it is conceivable that

οἶκτον

, as acc. in appos., should mean

οἴκτου ἀφορμήν

ἔγερσιν

. But when, as here, the subject of

ἔψαυσας

is distinct from the person who makes the lament, it seems impossible that

οἶκτον

should have this pregnant sense.

mvp-comment-513-3 ἀλγ. μερίμνας ¹⁵²⁵ οἶτον ¹⁵²⁶

mvp-comment-513-4 τριπόλιστον ¹⁵²⁷

mvp-comment-513-5 κλεινοῖς Λαβδακίδαισιν ¹⁵²⁸ πότμου ¹⁵²⁹

mvp-comment-513-6 ἁμετέρου ¹⁵³⁰

mvp-comment-514-1 ματρῷαι λέκτρων ἆται ¹⁵³¹ πατρῷαι ¹⁵³²

mvp-comment-514-2

λέκτρον οὐκ ὀκνεῖν με δεῖ

; and ( b) with

πατρῷαι

the explanation by

ἐμῷ πατρί

, etc., would have been less needed.

mvp-comment-515-1 κοιμήματα . . αὐτογέννητα . . ματρός ¹⁵³³

mvp-comment-515-2 ἐμῷ πατρί ¹⁵³⁴

mvp-comment-515-3 δυσμόρου ¹⁵³⁵

mvp-comment-516-1 οἵων ¹⁵³⁶ ποτέ ¹⁵³⁷ οἵων ¹⁵³⁸ ποτέ ¹⁵³⁹ οὕς ¹⁵⁴⁰ οἵων ¹⁵⁴¹ ματρός.—ἀραῖος ¹⁵⁴²

mvp-comment-516-2 μέτοικος ¹⁵⁴³

mvp-comment-517-1 κασίγνητε ¹⁵⁴⁴

mvp-comment-518-1 θανὼν ἔτ’ οὖσαν ¹⁵⁴⁵

mvp-comment-518-2 κατήναρες ¹⁵⁴⁶

mvp-comment-519-1 σέβειν ¹⁵⁴⁷

mvp-comment-519-2 sense,

εὐσέβεια

’: i.e. though it is not complete

εὐσέβεια

—which the Chorus regard as including loyalty to the State's laws— yet, so far as it goes, it deserves praise of the same kind. Cp. 924

τὴν δυσσέβειαν εὐσεβοῦσ’ ἐκτησάμην

: by practising

εὐσέβεια

towards the dead, she had come to be thought, on the whole,

δυσσεβής

—as a law-breaker. The Chorus is here the apologist of Creon, and this concession is meant to emphasise the next sentence. Hence the purposed vagueness of σέβειν ¹⁵⁴⁸

mvp-comment-520-1 κράτος δὲ ¹⁵⁴⁹ ὅτῳ ¹⁵⁵⁰

mvp-comment-520-2 οὐδαμᾷ ¹⁵⁵¹ μέλει ¹⁵⁵²

mvp-comment-521-1 αὐτόγνωτος ¹⁵⁵³ αὐτὴ γιγνώσκουσα ¹⁵⁵⁴

mvp-comment-521-2 ὀργά ¹⁵⁵⁵

mvp-comment-522-1 ἑτοίμαν ¹⁵⁵⁶

mvp-comment-523-1 τόδε λ. ἱρὸν ὄμμα ¹⁵⁵⁷

mvp-comment-524-1 ἀδάκρυτον ¹⁵⁵⁸

mvp-comment-524-2 (and so it remains) unwept. Soph. has several instances of the predicative adj. thus added to a subst. which has the art. and possessive pron.; as O. T. 671

τὸ γὰρ σόν, οὐ τὸ τοῦδ’, ἐποικτίρω στόμα | ἐλεινόν

(n.): El. 1143

τῆς ἐμῆς πάλαι τροφῆς | ἀνωφελήτου

. Cp. 791 .

mvp-comment-525-1 ἆρ’ ἴστε ¹⁵⁵⁹ λέγειν ¹⁵⁶⁰ ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους ¹⁵⁶¹ ἴστε ¹⁵⁶²

mvp-comment-525-2 οὐδ’ ἂν εἷς ¹⁵⁶³

mvp-comment-526-1 οὐκ ἄξεθ’ ¹⁵⁶⁴ τάχιστα.—κατηρεφεῖ ¹⁵⁶⁵

mvp-comment-527-1 περιπτύξαντες ¹⁵⁶⁶

mvp-comment-528-1 χρῇ ¹⁵⁶⁷ ζῶσα ¹⁵⁶⁸ χρῇ ¹⁵⁶⁹

mvp-comment-528-2

σιγῆν

; but the MSS. are supported by the testimony of Suidas and Hesychius to

χρῇς

as=

χρῄζεις

. In the other four places where these forms are usu. read, they are not indispensable,

χρή

being possible; but in two, at least, they are much better than

χρή

, viz. El. 606

κήρυσσέ μ’ εἰς ἅπαντας, εἴτε χρῇς κακήν, | εἴτε στόμαργον, κ.τ.λ.

: and Ai. 1373

σοὶ δὲ δρᾶν ἔξεσθ’ ἃ χρῇς

. In the other two,

χρή

might well stand: Eur. fr. 910

πρὸς ταῦθ’ ὅ τι χρῇ καὶ παλαμάσθω | καὶ πᾶν ἐπ’ ἐμοὶ τεκταινέσθω

: Cratinus

Νόμοι

fr. 2

νῦν γὰρ δή σοι πάρα μὲν θεσμοὶ | τῶν ἡμετέρων, πάρα δ’ ἄλλ’ ὅ τι χρῇς

. Except in Ach. 778 , the MSS. everywhere give

χρή

: and the variants in the next v. (see cr. n.) show that

χρῇ

was strange to the copyists, though known to the Scholiast.

mvp-comment-529-1 ζῶσα τυμβεύειν ¹⁵⁷⁰ νυμφεύειν ¹⁵⁷¹

mvp-comment-529-2 στέγῃ ¹⁵⁷²

mvp-comment-530-1 ἁγνοί ¹⁵⁷³

mvp-comment-530-2 τοὐπὶ τήνδε ¹⁵⁷⁴

mvp-comment-531-1 μετοικίας ¹⁵⁷⁵

mvp-comment-531-2 δ’ οὖν ¹⁵⁷⁶

mvp-comment-531-3 στερήσεται ¹⁵⁷⁷

mvp-comment-532-1 ὦ τύμβος ¹⁵⁷⁸

mvp-comment-532-2 νυμφεῖον ¹⁵⁷⁹

mvp-comment-532-3 κατασκαφής ¹⁵⁸⁰

mvp-comment-533-1 ἀριθμὸν … πλεϊστον ¹⁵⁸¹

mvp-comment-533-2 ἐν νεκροῖς ¹⁵⁸² δέδεκται ¹⁵⁸³

mvp-comment-533-3

πύλαι

to Hades ( O. C. 1569 f.). So Oedipus is led by

Ἑρμῆς ὁ πομπὸς ἥ τε νερτέρα θεός

( ib. 1548 ). As

ἡ ἀφανὴς θεός

she is associated with Hades ( ib. 1556 ).

mvp-comment-533-4 Φερσέφασσα ¹⁵⁸⁴ Φ ¹⁵⁸⁵

mvp-comment-534-1 κάκιστα ¹⁵⁸⁶ δή ¹⁵⁸⁷

mvp-comment-534-2 μοῖραν … βίου ¹⁵⁸⁸ ἐξήκειν ¹⁵⁸⁹

mvp-comment-535-1 ἐν ἐλπίσιν τρέφω ¹⁵⁹⁰ φίλη μὲν … προσφιλὴς δέ ¹⁵⁹¹

mvp-comment-536-1 κασίγνητον κάρα ¹⁵⁹² νῦν δέ ¹⁵⁹³

mvp-comment-537-1 ὑμᾶς ¹⁵⁹⁴

mvp-comment-537-2 ἔλουσα κἀκόσμησα ¹⁵⁹⁵

mvp-comment-537-3 χοάς ¹⁵⁹⁶

mvp-comment-537-4 περιστέλλουσα ¹⁵⁹⁷

mvp-comment-537-5 δέμας ¹⁵⁹⁸

mvp-comment-538-1 Few problems of Greek Tragedy have been more discussed than the question whether these vv., or some of them, are spurious. Arist. ( Arist. Rhet. 3. 16 § 9) quotes vv. 911, 912 , and certainly had the whole passage in his text of The Soph. interpolation, then, if such it be, must have been made soon after the poet's death; and has been imputed to his son Iophon (

ὁ ψυχρός

), or some other sorry poet; or to the actors. I confess that, after long thought, I cannot bring myself to believe that Soph. wrote 905—912: with which 904 and 913—920 are in organic unity, and must now stand or fall. Some remarks will be found in the Appendix.

mvp-comment-538-2 The main points (to my mind) are briefly these. (1) The general validity of the divine law, as asserted in 450— 460, cannot be intelligibly reconciled with the limitation in vv. 905—907. (2) A still further limitation is involved in 911 f. She has buried her brother, not simply as such, but because, while he lived, he was an irreplaceable relative. Could she have hoped for the birth of another brother, she would not, then, have felt the duty to be so binding. (3) The composition of vv. 909—912 is unworthy of Sophocles.

mvp-comment-538-3 ’τίμησα ¹⁵⁹⁹ εὖ ¹⁶⁰⁰ τοῖς φρονοῦσιν ¹⁶⁰¹

mvp-comment-539-1 ἐτήκετο ¹⁶⁰²

mvp-comment-540-1 βίᾳ πολιτῶν ¹⁶⁰³

mvp-comment-541-1 πρὸς χάριν ¹⁶⁰⁴

mvp-comment-542-1 Cp. Her. 3.119 , which clearly supplied, not merely the thought, but the form, of these verses:—

ἀνὴρ μέν μοι ἂν ἄλλος γένοιτο, εἰ δαίμων ἐθέλοι, καὶ τέκνα ἄλλα, εἰ ταῦτα ἀποβάλοιμι· πατρὸς δὲ καὶ μητρὸς οὐκέτι μοι ζωόντων, ἀδελφεὸς ἂν ἄλλος οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ γένοιτο

(3.119.6) . Arist. Rhet. 3.16 § 9 (if you introduce a trait of character which will seem improbable, the reason ofit should be added):

ἂν δ’ ἄπιστον ᾖ, τότε τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπιλέγειν, ὥσπερ Σοφοκλῆς ποιεῖ παράδειγμα τὸ ἐκ τῆς Ἀντιγόνης, ὅτι μᾶλλον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἐκήδετο ἢ ἀνδρὸς ἢ τέκνων· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἂν γενέσθαι ἀπολόμενα

[this=vv. 909, 910]:

μητρὸς δ’ ἐν ᾅδου κ.τ.λ.

(he then quotes 911 f., with

βεβηκότων

,—a mere slip of memory: ).

mvp-comment-542-2 Three points in these vv. are strange. (1) The gen. abs. κατθανόντος ¹⁶⁰⁵ πόσις ¹⁶⁰⁶ ἀπ’ ἄλλου φωτός ¹⁶⁰⁷

mvp-comment-543-1 ἐκπροτιμήσασ’ ¹⁶⁰⁸

mvp-comment-544-1 διὰ χερῶν … λαβών ¹⁶⁰⁹

mvp-comment-545-1 ἀνυμέναιον ¹⁶¹⁰

mvp-comment-546-1 ἀλλ’ ¹⁶¹¹

mvp-comment-546-2 πρὸς φίλων ¹⁶¹² ἔρημος ¹⁶¹³

mvp-comment-547-1 δαιμόνων δίκην ¹⁶¹⁴

mvp-comment-548-1 If the gods allow her to suffer for obeying them, is it not vain for her to invoke them?

mvp-comment-548-2 βλέπειν ¹⁶¹⁵

mvp-comment-548-3 τίνα … ξυμμάχων ¹⁶¹⁶

mvp-comment-548-4 ἐπεί γε δή ¹⁶¹⁷

mvp-comment-548-5 τὴν δυσσέβειαν ¹⁶¹⁸

mvp-comment-549-1 The gods are allowing her to perish. But it does not follow that they approve of her doom: for they are sometimes slow in punishing wrong ( O. C. 1536 ). Hence the dilemma, introduced

mvp-comment-549-2 by ἀλλ’ οὖν ¹⁶¹⁹

mvp-comment-549-3 ἐν θεοῖς ¹⁶²⁰

mvp-comment-549-4 ξυγγνοῖμεν ¹⁶²¹

mvp-comment-549-5 ἡμαρτηκότες ¹⁶²² παθόντες ¹⁶²³

mvp-comment-550-1 οἵδε ¹⁶²⁴

mvp-comment-550-2 μὴ πλείω ¹⁶²⁵ μείω ¹⁶²⁶

mvp-comment-551-1 ἀνέμων‐ῥιπαὶ ψυχῆς ¹⁶²⁷

mvp-comment-552-1 τούτων ¹⁶²⁸

mvp-comment-552-2 κλαύμαθ’ ¹⁶²⁹

mvp-comment-552-3 ὕπερ ¹⁶³⁰

mvp-comment-553-1 This threat (to the guards) ‘has come very near to death,’ i.e., ‘portends imminent death for me.’ The phrase is not fig., ‘is bitter as death to hear’ (being a prelude to death).

mvp-comment-554-1 Said by Creon, clearly—not by the Chorus. ‘I can give thee no encouragement ( οὐδέν ¹⁶³¹

mvp-comment-554-2 the doom is not to be ratified on this wise’ (i.e., by death). μὴ οὐ ¹⁶³²

mvp-comment-554-3 κατακυροῦσθαι ¹⁶³³

mvp-comment-554-4 ταύτῃ ¹⁶³⁴ τάδε ¹⁶³⁵

mvp-comment-555-1 θεοὶ προγενεῖς ¹⁶³⁶

mvp-comment-556-1 δή ¹⁶³⁷

mvp-comment-556-2 κοὐκέτι μέλλω ¹⁶³⁸

mvp-comment-557-1 οἱ κοιρανίδαι ¹⁶³⁹

mvp-comment-558-1 βασιλειδᾶν ¹⁶⁴⁰ βασιλίδα ¹⁶⁴¹

mvp-comment-558-2 μούνην ¹⁶⁴²

mvp-comment-559-1 εὐσεβίαν ¹⁶⁴³ ια ¹⁶⁴⁴ εια ¹⁶⁴⁵

mvp-comment-559-2

εὐγενίας

. The motive was metrical convenience. Such forms are not Ionic, as Triclinius called them (cr. n.): thus Herod. used

ἀληθείη

, not

ἀληθίη

: though there are other cases in which Ionic substitutes

for

ει

(as

βαθέα, ἐπιτήδεος

, etc.).— σεβίσασα ¹⁶⁴⁶

mvp-comment-561-1 Acrisius, the father of Danaë, was king of Argos. The oracle at Delphi told him that he was to be slain by his daughter's son. He therefore immured the maiden in a chamber built for that purpose within the precincts of his house at Argos. Here Zeus visited her in the golden rain; she bore Perseus; and Acrisius sent mother and child adrift on the Aegean in a chest; but Zeus heard her prayer, and brought them safely to the island of Seriphus. Both Soph. and Eur. wrote a

Δανάη

: Soph. wrote also an

Ἀκρίσιος

mvp-comment-561-2 καὶ Δανάας δέμας ἔτλα ἀλλάξαι οὐράνιον φῶς ¹⁶⁴⁷ ἔτλα καί ¹⁶⁴⁸

mvp-comment-561-3 δέμας ¹⁶⁴⁹

mvp-comment-561-4 χαλκοδέτοις αὐλαῖς ¹⁶⁵⁰

mvp-comment-562-1 τυμβήρει ¹⁶⁵¹

mvp-comment-562-2 κατεζεύχθη ¹⁶⁵²

mvp-comment-563-1 τίμιος ¹⁶⁵³

mvp-comment-564-1 ταμιεύεσκε ¹⁶⁵⁴

mvp-comment-564-2 χρυσορύτους ¹⁶⁵⁵

mvp-comment-565-1 ἁ μοιριδία τις ¹⁶⁵⁶ τις ¹⁶⁵⁷

mvp-comment-566-1 οὔτ’ … ὄλβος ¹⁶⁵⁸

mvp-comment-566-2

θνατοῖσι δ’ οὐκ αὐθαίρετοι | οὔτ’ ὄλβος οὔτ’ ἄκαμπτος Ἄρης οὔτε παμφθέρσης στάσις, | ἀλλ’ ἐπιχρίμπτει νέφος ἄλλοτ’ ἐπ’ ἄλλαν | γαῖαν ἁ πάνδωρος αἶσα.

mvp-comment-566-3 πύργος ¹⁶⁵⁹

mvp-comment-566-4 οὔτ’ … οὔτ’ ¹⁶⁶⁰ οὐ … οὐχ ¹⁶⁶¹

mvp-comment-567-1 ζεύχθη ¹⁶⁶²

mvp-comment-567-2 ὀξύχολος ¹⁶⁶³

mvp-comment-567-3 The

Ἠδωνοί

, or

Ἠδῶνες

( Thuc. 2.99 ), occupied in historical times the part of Thrace E. of the Strymon and W. of the Nestus. In earlier times they had dwelt further west, but had been driven eastward by the Macedonian conquest of Mygdonia.

mvp-comment-567-4 Dionysus, when he came from Asia with his new rites, was opposed by Lycurgus in Thrace, as by Pentheus at Thebes. The

Λυκούργεια

of Aeschylus is known from the schol. on Ar. Th. 135. This trilogy consisted of

Ἠδωνοί, Βασσαρίδες, Νεανίσκοι

, with

Λυκοῦργος

as satyric drama. In Il. 6.130 ff. Dionysus, pursued by Lycurgus, dives beneath the sea; Thetis receives him; and Zeus blinds Lycurgus.

mvp-comment-568-1 κερτομίοις ὀργαῖς ¹⁶⁶⁴ ὀργαῖς ¹⁶⁶⁵ κερτομίοις ¹⁶⁶⁶

mvp-comment-569-1 ἐκ Διονύσου ¹⁶⁶⁷

mvp-comment-569-2 πετρώδει … δεσμῷ ¹⁶⁶⁸

mvp-comment-569-3 κατάφαρκτος ¹⁶⁶⁹

mvp-comment-570-1 οὕτω ¹⁶⁷⁰

mvp-comment-570-2 ἀνθηρόν ¹⁶⁷¹

mvp-comment-570-3 ἀποστάζει ¹⁶⁷²

mvp-comment-571-1 ἐπέγνω τὸν θεόν, μανίαις ψαύων ¹⁶⁷³

mvp-comment-571-2 μανίαις ¹⁶⁷⁴

mvp-comment-571-3 ψαύων ¹⁶⁷⁵

mvp-comment-571-4 ἐν ¹⁶⁷⁶

mvp-comment-571-5 γλώσσαις ¹⁶⁷⁷

mvp-comment-572-1 παύεσκε ¹⁶⁷⁸

mvp-comment-572-2 ἐνθέους γυναῖκας ¹⁶⁷⁹

mvp-comment-572-3 εὔιον … πῦρ ¹⁶⁸⁰

mvp-comment-573-1 Μούσας ¹⁶⁸¹

mvp-comment-573-2 save the nymph by changing her into a vine; and behind him stand his followers. At the extreme left are three Muses—Urania, with globe; Clio, with roll; Euterpè, prob. with flutes. (Zoega seems clearly right in thus explaining the three women: others have made them Moirae.)—The close relation of Dionysus with the Muses is marked by one of his Attic titles,

Μελπόμενος

( Paus. 1.2.5 ), as conversely Apollo had the title

Διονυσόδοτος

(id. 1. 31.4). Muses were sometimes said to have nursed him. (Cp. Welcker, Götterl. 2. 611.)

mvp-comment-573-3 The monuments relating to the myth of Lycurgus have been critically treated by Michaelis ( Annal. Inst. 1872, pp. 248— 270). The Italian vase-paintings follow a version different from that of Soph. , viz. that the frenzy of Lycurgus was wreaked on his own son and wife. A large Neapolitan vase gives two pictures: in one, we see his murderous rage; in the other, Dionysus sits on his throne in calm majesty, stroking his panther.

mvp-comment-574-1 Cleopatra is the third example. Her father was the wind-god, Boreas: her mother, the Athenian Oreithyia, whom he carried off to his wild home in Thrace. Cleopatra married Phineus, king of the Thracian Salmydessus, on the W. coast of the Euxine, not far from the entrance to the Bosporus. She bore him two sons. He afterwards put her away, and imprisoned her. Her imprisonment is not directly mentioned here: but cp. Diod. 4. 44 , who says of Heracles, when serving with the Argonauts,

τὴν Κλεοπάτραν ἐκ τῆς φυλακῆς προαγαγεῖν

. Phineus then married Eidothea, sister of Cadmus. Eidothea put out the eyes of Cleopatra's two sons, and caused them also to be imprisoned.

mvp-comment-574-2 It is the fate of Cleopatra herself which Soph. means to compare with Antigone's: this is plain from 986. The fate of the sons is made so prominent only because nothing else could give us so strong a sense of the savage hatred which pursued the mother.

mvp-comment-574-3 Soph. supposes the outline of the story to be familiar. Cleopatra has already been divorced and imprisoned. The poet chooses the moment at which Cleopatra's sons are being blinded by Eidothea, with the sharp shuttle in her blood-stained hands. Ares, the god of cruel bloodshed, beholds with joy a deed so worthy of his Thracian realm.

mvp-comment-574-4 The name of Cleopatra (like that of Capaneus, 133) is not mentioned. Two strophes are given to this theme, partly, perh., as having an Attic interest (982). Soph. wrote two plays called

Φινεύς

. We know only that Cleopatra's sons were there called

Ὄαρθος

Παρθένιος

H. Weil) and

Κράμβος

: and that the subsequent blindness of Phineus was represented as a punishment of his cruelty (schol. Apoll. Rhod. 2. 178). Eidothea was mentioned by Soph. in his

Τυμπανισταί

(schol. on 980),—a play which perh. concerned the Dionysiac worship, since the

τύμπανον

(kettle-drum) was used in his

ὄργια

as well as in those of Cybelè. Another version called her Idaea, daughter of Dardanus.

mvp-comment-574-5 παρὰ δὲ Κυανεᾶν πελάγει δ. ἁλός ¹⁶⁸² πετρῶν ¹⁶⁸³

mvp-comment-574-6 of

πελαγέων

into

σπιλάδων

is also erroneous.

mvp-comment-574-7 L's accent, πελάγεων ¹⁶⁸⁴ πελάγει ¹⁶⁸⁵ παρά ¹⁶⁸⁶ πελάγει ¹⁶⁸⁷ Κυανεᾶν ¹⁶⁸⁸

mvp-comment-575-1 ἀκταὶ Βοσπόριαι ¹⁶⁸⁹ Θρῃκῶν ¹⁶⁹⁰ ἄξενος ¹⁶⁹¹ κλῄζεται ¹⁶⁹² ἠδ’ ¹⁶⁹³

mvp-comment-576-1 ἀγχίπολις Ἄρης ¹⁶⁹⁴ ἀγχίπτολις ¹⁶⁹⁵ Ἄρης ¹⁶⁹⁶ ἀρχαιογόνων ¹⁶⁹⁷

mvp-comment-577-1 Φινεΐδαις ¹⁶⁹⁸

mvp-comment-577-2 ἀρατόν ¹⁶⁹⁹

mvp-comment-577-3 ἕλκος τυφλωθέν ¹⁷⁰⁰

mvp-comment-577-4 ἐξ ¹⁷⁰¹

mvp-comment-578-1 ἀλαὸν … κύκλοις ¹⁷⁰²

mvp-comment-578-2 ἀλαστόροισιν ¹⁷⁰³

mvp-comment-579-1 ἀραχθέντων ¹⁷⁰⁴

mvp-comment-579-2 ὑπό ¹⁷⁰⁵

mvp-comment-580-1 κερκίδων ¹⁷⁰⁶

mvp-comment-580-2 at the loom, will I send the shuttle flying across the warp’).—Cp. Eur. Hec. 1170 , where the women blind Polymestor with their brooches (

πόρπαι = περόναι

); and O. T. 1269 n.

mvp-comment-581-1 κατά ¹⁷⁰⁷

mvp-comment-581-2 μέλεοι μελέαν ¹⁷⁰⁸

mvp-comment-582-1 ματρὸς ἔχοντες ἀν. γονάν ¹⁷⁰⁹ γονάν ¹⁷¹⁰ ματρός ¹⁷¹¹ ἀνύμφ. ¹⁷¹² ματρός ¹⁷¹³ πάθαν ¹⁷¹⁴ ματρὸς … γονάν ¹⁷¹⁵

mvp-comment-583-1 σπέρμα ¹⁷¹⁶

mvp-comment-583-2 ἀρχαιογ. ¹⁷¹⁷

mvp-comment-583-3 ἄντασ’ Ἐρ. ¹⁷¹⁸

mvp-comment-584-1 τηλεπόροις ¹⁷¹⁹

mvp-comment-585-1 ἅμιππος ¹⁷²⁰

mvp-comment-585-2 ὀρθόποδος ¹⁷²¹

mvp-comment-586-1 κἀπ’ ἐκείνᾳ … ἔσχον ¹⁷²² μακραίωνες ¹⁷²³

mvp-comment-588-1 ἄνακτες ¹⁷²⁴

mvp-comment-589-1 αὕτη κ. ¹⁷²⁵ πέλει ¹⁷²⁶

mvp-comment-590-1 τί δ’ ἔστιν ¹⁷²⁷

mvp-comment-591-1 οὔκουν … γε ¹⁷²⁸

mvp-comment-591-2 δῑ ὀρθῆς ¹⁷²⁹

mvp-comment-591-3 ἐναυκλήρεις ¹⁷³⁰

mvp-comment-592-1 πεπονθὼς ὀνήσιμα, ἔχω μαρτυρεῖν ¹⁷³¹

mvp-comment-593-1 φρόνει βεβώς ¹⁷³²

mvp-comment-593-2 τύχης ¹⁷³³

mvp-comment-594-1 ὡς ¹⁷³⁴

mvp-comment-595-1 θᾶκον ¹⁷³⁵

mvp-comment-595-2 λιμήν ¹⁷³⁶

mvp-comment-596-1 κακῷ ¹⁷³⁷

mvp-comment-596-2 οἴστρῳ ¹⁷³⁸

mvp-comment-596-3 κλάζοντας ¹⁷³⁹

mvp-comment-596-4 βεβαρβαρωμένῳ ¹⁷⁴⁰

mvp-comment-597-1 ἐν χηλαῖσιν ¹⁷⁴¹ φοναῖς ¹⁷⁴²

mvp-comment-598-1 The feuds and friendships of birds (

ἔχθραι τε καὶ στέργηθρα

Aesch. PV 492 ) were among the signs noted by augurs. In this case there was a vague omen of bloodshed (

φοναῖς

), but no clear sign. The seer now sought further light by another mode of divination.

mvp-comment-598-2 ἐμπύρων ¹⁷⁴³

mvp-comment-598-3 ἐγευόμην ¹⁷⁴⁴

mvp-comment-599-1 παμφλέκτοισι ¹⁷⁴⁵ θυμάτων ¹⁷⁴⁶

mvp-comment-600-1 Ἥφαιστος ¹⁷⁴⁷

mvp-comment-600-2 a bad sign, if the fire was smothered in smoke, or played feebly around the flesh without consuming it. See Eur. Phoen. 1255

μάντεις δὲ μῆλ’ ἔσφαζον, ἐμπύρους τ’ ἀκμὰς | ῥήξεις τ’ ἐνώμων, ὑγρότητ’ ἐναντίαν, | ἄκραν τε λαμπάδ’, ἣ δυοῖν ὅρους ἔχει, | vίκης τε σῆμα καὶ τὸ τῶν ἡσσωμένων

: the seers ‘were watching for points of flame, or for breaks in it,—such flickering as portends evil’; i.e., they were watching to see whether it would blaze up or die down. The

ἄκρα λαμπάς

is prob. the highest point of the fire, which, if towards the right side, meant victory; if towards the left, defeat. So Statius, Theb. 10. 599 , where Teiresias offers

ἔμπυρα

, and his daughter reports the signs to him (as the

παῖς

does here):

Sanguineos flammarum apices

ἐμπύρους ἀκμάς

)

geminumque per aras | Ignem, et clara tamen mediae fastigia lucis

ἄκραν λαμπάδα

) |

Orta docet: tunc in speciem serpentis inanem | Ancipiti gyro volvi

(‘as if creeping on its way without an aim, the fire played timidly around the offering’). In Seneca Oed. 307 Teiresias asks,

Quid flamma? Larga iamne comprendit dapes? | Utrumne clarus ignis et nitidus stetit, | Rectusque purum verticem caelo tulit, | An latera circum serpit incertus viae, | Et fluctuante turbidus fumo labat?

mvp-comment-601-1 The fat wrapped about the thigh-bones ought to have caught fire, when the flesh on the bones would have been burned, and the bones themselves calcined. But here there was no flame; the kindled fuel lay in smouldering embers (

σποδός

). The heat caused a fatty moisture to exude from the covering of the thigh-bones. Trickling forth on the embers, this moisture emitted smoke, and sputtered as it threw particles of the fat upwards. The gall-bladder, too, which lay on the top of the thighbones, instead of catching fire, was gradually inflated by the heat, till it burst, scattering the gall into the air. And now the melting of the fat which covered the thigh-bones had gone so far that it was no longer a covering, but merely a liquid that was streaming off them, while they themselves were left naked and intact. So utterly had the gods refused the offering.

mvp-comment-601-2 μυδῶσα ¹⁷⁴⁸

mvp-comment-601-3 κηκὶς μηρίων ¹⁷⁴⁹

mvp-comment-601-4 ἐτήκετο ¹⁷⁵⁰ ἐπὶ σποδῷ ¹⁷⁵¹

mvp-comment-601-5 ἀνέπτυε ¹⁷⁵²

mvp-comment-602-1 χολαί ¹⁷⁵³

mvp-comment-602-2 καταρρυεῖς ¹⁷⁵⁴

mvp-comment-603-1 μηροί … μηρίων ¹⁷⁵⁵

mvp-comment-603-2 καλυπτῆς ¹⁷⁵⁶

mvp-comment-603-3 πιμελῆς ¹⁷⁵⁷ ἐξέκειντο ¹⁷⁵⁸

mvp-comment-604-1 τοιαῦτα ¹⁷⁵⁹

mvp-comment-604-2 ὀργίων μαντεύματα ¹⁷⁶⁰ φθίνοντα ¹⁷⁶¹

mvp-comment-604-3 ἀσήμων ¹⁷⁶²

mvp-comment-605-1 ἡγεμών ¹⁷⁶³

mvp-comment-606-1 ἐκ ¹⁷⁶⁴

mvp-comment-606-2 φρενός ¹⁷⁶⁵

mvp-comment-606-3 νοσεῖ ¹⁷⁶⁶

mvp-comment-607-1 βωμοί ¹⁷⁶⁷

mvp-comment-607-2 ἐσχάραι ¹⁷⁶⁸

mvp-comment-607-3 παντελεῖς ¹⁷⁶⁹

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

75. mvp-comment-49-1 τῶν ἐνθάδε See Essay on Language § 10. p.15. The form of expression resembles Hdt. 3. 124, βούλεσθαι οὖν παρθενεύεσθαι πλείω χρόνον ἢ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐστερῆσθαι. For the thought, cp. Plat. Legg. 9.881 Α, θάνατος μὲν οὐκ ἔστιν ἔσχατον, οἱ δὲ ἐν ῞Αιδου . πόνοι .. εἰσὶ μᾶλλον ἐν ἐσχάτοις : Sim. Am. 3, πολλὸς γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐστι τεθνάναι χρόνος, κ.τ.λ.

76. mvp-comment-50-1 σοὶ δ᾽ εἰ δοκεῖ The emphasis really rests on the subject (σύ), but is transferred to the dative, as in Phil. 1395, ὡς ῥᾷστ᾽ ἐμοὶ μὲν τῶν λόγων λῆξαι, σὲ δὲ | κ.τ.λ. Essay on Language § 41. pp. 78-79. The change to σύ (see v. rr.) is slight, but rather weakens the expression.

77. mvp-comment-51-1 τὰ τῶν θεῶν ἔντιμα What is held honourable amongst the Gods. Cp. θεῶν νόμιμα, infr. 454-455: 1.ε. τὰ τῶν θεῶν ὄντα καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν θεῶν ἀγόμενα ἐν τιμῇ. Hh ἀτιμάσασ᾽ ἔχε] Persist in slighting. 78. ἐγὼ ποιοῦμαι I do not mean to show disrespect. She shrinks from saying distinctly τὰ τῶν θεῶν.

79. mvp-comment-52-1 ἔφυν By nature and position.

82. mvp-comment-53-1 ταλαίνης after οἴμοι: σου after ὑπερδέδοικα. But this distinction is hardly felt in the Greek.

83. mvp-comment-54-1 ἐξόρθου Continue to direct safely, as if steering a vessel.

85. mvp-comment-55-1 σὺν δ' See Essay on Language § 18. p. 26.

86. mvp-comment-56-1 The Epic πολλόν is curious, but need not be changed. Cp. Tr. 1196, πολλὸν δ᾽ ἄρσεν᾽ ἐκτεμόνθ᾽ ὁμοῦ | ἄγριον ἔλαιον. Other Epic forms in this play are ὡσεί τε, infr. 653; ὑπαί, infr. 1035: εἰν ῞Αιδου δόμοις, 1241. A lukewarm spirit is above all hateful to Antigone. If Ismene disapproves her act, let her denounce it. ἐὰν μή, κ.τ.λ., further explains σιγῶσ'. Cp. Ο. Τ. 57, ἔρημος ἀνδρῶν μὴ ξυνοικούντων ἔσω.

88. mvp-comment-57-1 θερμὴν .. ἔχεις Your courage is hot upon a cold enterprize.

88. mvp-comment-57-2 ψυχροῖσι] Chilling, i.e. Causing a cold thrill of horror. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 691-693, οὐδ᾽ ὧδε δυσθέατα καὶ δυσοιστὰ ... ψύχειν ψυχὰν ἐμάν. Also with an association from the meaning fruitless; cp. Hdt. 9. 49, ἐπαρθεὶς ψυχρῇ νίκῃ.

91. mvp-comment-58-1 Cp. 1. 926, παθόντες ἂν ξυγγνοῖμεν ἡμαρτηκότες.

94. mvp-comment-59-1 ἐχθρὰ .. δίκῃ And our dead brother will justly hold you as an enemy: ἐχθράν σε προσθήσεται: ср. Eur. Τr. 185, τῷ πρόσκειμαι δούλα; Who has me for his slave.

95. mvp-comment-60-1 τὴν ἐξ ἐμοῦ That proceeds from me; i. e. For which I alone am responsible. See Essay on Language § 19. p. 28.¹

96. mvp-comment-61-1 πείσομαι γὰρ οὐ The reading οὐ, for which some critics would substitute οὖν, is confirmed (1) by the tendency to a vehement accumulation of negatives in the speeches of Antigone in this scene: (2) by the similar emphatic inversions noticed in the Essay on Language § 41. p. 78.

99. mvp-comment-62-1 τοῖς φίλοις δ᾽ ὀρθῶς φίλη But unfailing in kindness to thy friends; i. e. A faithful sister to thine own brother. Cp. Eur. Or. 424, ἀληθὴς δ᾽ ἐς φίλους ἔφυν φίλος. Antigone goes to perform the sepulture, and Ismene returns into the palace. The stage is left vacant. As in the Ajax, there is a distinct break after the prologue, which has laid the ground of the action so far as Antigone is concerned. The first episodion, ll. 163 ff., is in one sense a fresh beginning, as setting forth the motives of Creon, and still only preparing for the collision. The parados, ll. 100 ff., introduces us to the public feeling of Thebes, and to the wider sphere of which the action forms the central point. 100 ff. Instead of a long series of anapaests, followed by lyrical strophes and antistrophes, as in the Ajax (with which cp. Aesch. Agamemnon), we have here two strophes and antistrophes alternating with anapaestic systems of about seven lines each: making a form of parodos intermediate between that of the Ajax and that of the O. T., in which there are no anapaests. The α' (100-109=117-133). chorus on its first appearance chants ll. 100-109, then advances while the coryphaeus recites 110-116, then the antistrophe is chanted, then another advance is made during the recitative of 11. 127-133, then strophe B' is chanted, the chorus by this time standing near the stage; then they make a final advance, and, during the second antistrophe, are standing full in front of the stage. Lastly, as Creon is seen approaching, the coryphaeus chants ll. 155-162, which thus form at once the conclusion of the parodos and the introit or prelude of the first episodium.

99. mvp-comment-62-2 The total effect is that of a stately and solemn triumph, in which the bright influence of the glyconic opening is tempered with slow movements (---), as in ll. 106, 122, 137, 151, and interrupted rhythms, as in ll. 103, 120, 138, 152; the notes of triumph and solemnity being combined in the choriambi, which bring the lyrical part to a close. Thus we have- β΄ (134-140=148-154). CI IICCーしー CLトくトCCI 51--10CICIC ト 1001010110010||| ――トしてトー luclcclcULCII) C- 「SƆIDII7 5トレトしし LCCLLCCLLCCLLCCLI トリトー The culmination of feeling is marked by the dactylic opening of β'. The rhythms of a' 3. 4, 6, and β' 3, 4, show the correlation of the two movements. The adaptation of sound to sense is specially obvious in the resolved trochees of a' 7, while the concluding lines, a' 8, β' 7, serve to harmonize the logaoedic with the anapaestic measures. Cp. O. C. 135-137, 167-169.

99. mvp-comment-62-3 'Never did morning rise so fair as this which thou didst bring at length to waiting Thebè, O eye of golden day! For thy first beams, shooting over Dircè's rills, stirred into quicker flight the Argive warrior, who for Polynices' quarrel swooped upon our land on snow-white wing, with many a shield and many a plumèd helm.

99. mvp-comment-62-4 Threatening our halls in towering pride he stood, and gaped with bristling spears around our gates, thirsting for our blood: but he is gone, or ever his desire was slaked, or ever the fire-god caught our coronal of towers. Such fight displayed the serpent writhing in his gripe, not easily subdued. Such din of war assailed him as he turned to flee. For Zeus abhors the boaster and contemns the clank of gold. And when he saw them moving in a full proud stream, he smote with lightning from on high the daring climber who had gained the pinnacle and was eagerly preparing to shout victory. And swung to earth he fell with a rebound, the firebearer, who with mad rush was breathing his blast of enmity against the wall. And various was the fortune of the day. But terrible was the War-god as he plunged amidst our enemies, a mighty helper for us.

99. mvp-comment-62-5 'For at all our gates their captains, seven against seven, left their panoplies as trophies to our cause. All, save the horrid pair, who fell together with the guilt of mutual fratricide.

99. mvp-comment-62-6 But forget we the griefs of war. For victory came with smiles of joy to greet our smiling town. So visit we the temples of the gods with dances all night long: and let Theban Bacchus be the master of our revelry.

103. mvp-comment-63-1 χρυσέας χρυσέας, as in O. T. 158-187.

106. mvp-comment-64-1 The rivulet of Dircè was to the west of Thebes. The sun had risen just as the retreat of the Argives became a rout, and the army returning from pursuit would see the morning light reflected in the stream, which they would cross on their way back to the city. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 730. The ode is not chanted at sunrise, but celebrates the glorious morning which had seen the discomfiture of the enemy. The chorus of elders imagine themselves in the position of the victorious army.

106. mvp-comment-64-2 λεύκασπιν Cp. Aesch. S. c. Т. 96, λευκοπρεπή λέων: Eur. Phoen. 1099, λεύκασπιν εἰσορῶμεν Ἀργείων στράτον.

106. mvp-comment-64-3 Αργόθεν The correspondence of a dactyl in the antistrophe to the trochee Αργό- in this line justly leads to suspicion of the text, and Hermann conjectured Ἀργόθεν ἐκ. Qy. Ἀργόλεων ? or Ἀργογενή ?

108. mvp-comment-65-1 φυγάδα πρόδρομον (1) Running before us in flight. Said from the point of view of the pursuing host. Or (2), In the van of the flying host. The Schol. on Phoen. 409 says, φασὶ .. τὸν Ἀδραστον .. μόνον φυγάδα σωθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἰδίου ἵππου Ἀρείονος. Cp. Paus. 8.25. § 5.

109. mvp-comment-66-1 χαλινῷ Either (1) literally Riding with hastier rein, or (2) metaphorically, With thy hastening bridle in his lips. The first (1) is best. If (2) were adopted, the reading ὀξυτόρῳ, galling (see v. rr.), might be preferred.

110. mvp-comment-67-1 *ὃς .. *Πολυνείκους The emendation of Scaliger improves the sense as well as the grammar. The imagery throughout represents not Polynices, but his Argive ally. The subject of the single fight between the two brothers is passed lightly over, as unsuited to a triumphal hymn.

111. mvp-comment-68-1 ἀρθεὶς.. ἐξ ἀμφιλόγων Carried forth in consequence of the doubtful quarrel (the quarrel and debate) of Polynices. ἀρθείς is said with allusion to αἴρειν στόλον, but also suggests the image of the bird mounting in air. Cp. Il. 13. 63, of the hawk, ἀπ' αἰγίλιπος πέτρης περιμήκεος ἀρθείς, Eur. Phoen. 636-637. For the play on the name of Polynices, see Essay on Language § 44. p. 82.

113. mvp-comment-69-1 The omission of ὡs in this line, which Herm. suggested, is hardly necessary, although it does not impair the sense. The correspondence of strophe and antistrophe does not extend strictly to the anapaests, although the anapaestic systems in this passage are nearly of the same length.

114. mvp-comment-70-1 λευκῆς χιόνος πτέρυγι See Essay on Language § 9. p. 11, and cp. l. 106.

114. mvp-comment-70-2 στεγανός Covered all over; i. e. There were no gaps in their array.

115-116. mvp-comment-71-1 πολλῶν μεθ᾽ ὅπλων | ξύν θ᾽ ἱπποκόμοις κορύθεσσι Accompanied with many a shield and armed with many a helm.

117. mvp-comment-72-1 στάς Staying his flight, like the bird of prey preparing to stoop. At this point the image, which has hitherto grown in distinctness, becomes less definite, the figure of an eagle passing into that of a flying dragon, with spears for teeth. Cp. Shak. K. John, 2. 1, O, now doth Death Line his dead chaps with steel, etc. Also the image in Milton's Samson Agonistes, 11. 1692-1696.

117. mvp-comment-72-2 φονώσαισιν Boeckh's emendation at once cures the metre and supplies a poetical touch which corresponds to the explanation of the Scholiast, ταῖς τῶν φονῶν ἐρώσαις λόγχαις. It is confirmed by the reading of L² pr. See v. rr.

118. mvp-comment-73-1 ἀμφιχανὼν.. στόμα Yawning round our seven-mouthed gates.

120. mvp-comment-74-1 ἔβα He went his way. For the use of the aorist of βαίνω in this sense, cp. Od. 22. 249, καὶ δή οἱ Μέντωρ μὲν ἔβη, κενὰ εὔγματα εἰπών: Τr. 115, βάντ᾽ ἐπιόντα τ', Some gone, others coming on.

121. mvp-comment-75-1 γένυσιν With his jaws. Instrumental dative.

121. mvp-comment-75-2 πλησθῆναί τε καὶ ἑλεῖν For the change of subject in these lines, cp. Aj. 458, ἐχθαίρομαι, μισεῖ δέ, κ.τ.λ. And for στεφάνωμα πύργων, cp. Pind. Ol. 8. 32, Ἰλίῳ μέλλοντες ἐπὶ στέφανον τεύξαι : Hom. h. Dem. 151, .. κρήδεμνα πόληος | εἰρύαται ...

124. mvp-comment-76-1 τοῖος .. δράκοντι (1) Such din of war was spread about his rear by the reluctant snake, no easy matter to subdue. So the Scholiast, who wrote τὸ δὲ ἀντιπάλῳ δράκοντι ἀντὶ τοῦ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀντιπάλου δράκοντος, ὡς Ἀχιλῆϊ δαμασθείς (Il. 22. 55). Or (2) δυσχείρωμα may be taken to mean the act rather than the object of victory (cp. O. Τ. 560, θανασίμῳ χειρώματι), and the sense may be, Such din of war encompassed him, issuing in a hard-won victory for the serpent matching his foe. In this case it will make little difference to read the genitive. Or, (3) if the genitive is read (Wecklein), the words may be taken in yet another way: Such din of war harassed him from behind, the hard-to-be-subdued might of the serpent, who was a match for his foe. The genitive is given as an alternative reading by the 1st hand of L, and is supported by V (Ven. 468). But the dative is alone recognised by the Scholiast.

124. mvp-comment-76-2 The δράκων is certainly the emblem of Thebes, and the eagle and snake are in conflict, as in Il. 12. 201, foll., where also the serpent struggles and escapes : ὁ δ᾽ οὔπω λήθετο χάρμης, | κόψε γὰρ αὐτὸν ἔχοντα κατὰ στήθος παρὰ δειρὴν | ἰδνωθεὶς ὀπίσω· ὁ δ᾽ ἀπὸ ἕθεν ἧκε χαμάζε, κ.τ.λ. Hor. Carm. 4. 4, 11, Nunc in reluctantes dracones | Egit amor dapis atque pugnae.

129. mvp-comment-77-1 πολλῷ ῥεύματι προσνισσομένους Coming on in full proud stream. Like a great river filling its banks.

130. mvp-comment-78-1 χρυσοῦ καναχῆς ὑπερόπτης] Despiser of the clank of gold. Cp. Aesch. Agam. 776, τὰ χρυσόπαστα δ᾽ ἐσθλὰ σὺν πίνῳ χερῶν | παλιντρόποις ὄμμασιν | λιπούσ', ὅσια προσέβα: S. c. T. 481-485. The Scholiast, who wrote καὶ τὴν τοῦ χρυσοῦ φαντασίαν ὑπερβεβηκότας τῇ ἰδίᾳ ὑπεροψίᾳ, seems to have read ὑπερόπτας, which appears in the margin of some copies. The ὑπεροψία of his interpretation may have given rise to ὑπεροπτίας, as in conjunction with this it has suggested ὑπεροπλίαις, (Vauvillers, who compares II. 1. 205). Musgr. and Böckh are contented with ὑπεροπτείας, abstr. noun of ὑπερόπτης, gen. with ῥεύματι, In floods of supercilious pride.

131. mvp-comment-79-1 παλτῷ ῥιπτεῖ πυρί (1) Hurls down with brandished thunderbolt. Or possibly (2) ῥιπτεῖ is a more emphatic substitute for βάλλει = Smites from afar. The word παλτῷ suggests the zig-zag flicker of the lightning.

131. mvp-comment-79-2 βαλβίδων .. ἀλαλάζαι As, having reached the topmost goal, he was eager to raise the cry of victory. βαλβίδες are the end of the race-course, metaphorically applied here to the top of the wall to which Capaneus had climbed, and so receiving the epithet ἄκρων.

131. mvp-comment-79-3 βαλβίδων may be also taken as abl. gen, with ῥιπτεῖ, and only resumed with ἄκρων. But this is questionable.

133. mvp-comment-80-1 The subject of ὁρμῶντα (Capaneus) is anticipated from the following lines, viz. ὅς, κ.τ.λ.

134. mvp-comment-81-1 ἀντιτύπᾳ This conj. of Porson has been generally received. He fell upon the earth, that smote him again; i.e. He fell with a shock. The Scholia explain ἀντίτυπα, which is against metre.

134. mvp-comment-81-2 τανταλωθείς Swung. As if the scale that had been the lightest had suddenly become the heaviest. Cp. Hom. Il. 22. 212, ῥέπε δ᾽ Ἕκτορος αἴσιμον ἦμαρ, | ᾤχετο δ᾽ εἰς Ἀἰδαο.

135. mvp-comment-82-1 πυρφόρος With the fire in his hand, with which he had threatened the town. O. C. 1318: Aesch. S. c. T. 422, ff.

135. mvp-comment-82-2 ὁρμᾷ Observe the tautology after ὁρμῶντ', supra.

136-137. mvp-comment-83-1 Had breathed against us in frenzy with blasts of malignant winds. Cp. infra 929-930: O. C. 612 and note: Aesch. S. c. T. 115, πνοαῖς Ἄρεος.

138. mvp-comment-84-1 εἶχε δ᾽ ἄλλᾳ τὰ μέν· κτ.λ.] This was in one direction: whilst on other men terrible fortune was dispensed by mighty Ares rushing on them like a steed harnessed upon our right hand. For the use of ἔχω with the locative adv., see L. and S. s. v. ἔχω, Β. 11. Ι. The reading in the text is suggested by that of V (Ven. 468), a MS. of the 13th century, which, together with many obvious corruptions, has preserved some good readings. See on O. T. 1526. This MS. reading is curiously near the conj. of Musgrave, εἶχε δ᾽ ἄλλᾳ τὰ δείν᾽. The epithet, as read in the text, may be suggested by a forefeeling of what is coming. Even the end of Capaneus is less awful than that of Eteocles and Polynices (144 ff.). Hermann's reading, εἶχε δ᾽ ἄλλᾳ μὲν ἄλ | λᾳ· τὰ δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἄλλοις, makes good enough sense; Plat. Rep. 2. 369 Β, οὕτω δὴ ἄρα παραλαμβάνων ἄλλος ἄλλον ἐπ᾿ ἄλλου, τὸν δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἄλλου χρείᾳ : but the synaphea between the cretics and the choriambi is questionable. And the same objection applies to Wecklein's εἶχε δ' ἄλλᾳ τὰ τοῦδ᾽· | ἄλλα δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἄλλοις.

140. mvp-comment-85-1 δεξιόσειρος The War-god taking part with Thebes and bounding hither and thither over the plain is compared to the σειραῖος ἵππος, whose free action was so important at critical moments in the chariot-race. Cp. El. 721-722, δεξιὸν δ᾽ ἀνεὶς | σειραῖον ἵππον εἶργε τὸν προσκείμενον: Aesch. Agam. 841-842, μόνος δ' Οδυσσεύς, ὅσπερ οὐχ ἑκὼν ἔπλει | ζευχθείς ἕτοιμος ἦν ἐμοὶ σειραφόρος. The reading δεξιόχειρος is probably erroneous. It is acknowledged as a variant by the Scholiast.

141. mvp-comment-86-1 Capaneus, who is one of the seven adversaries, is already disposed of. But the general description in 141-143, is only preparatory to the chief statement, 144-147, from which, however, the chorus pass quickly, as they approach it with aversion. What is of the best omen must be kept to the front. For ἴσοι πρὸς ἴσους, cp. Hdt. 9. 49, ἴσοι πρὸς ἴσους ἄριθμον μαχεσόμεθα.

142-143. mvp-comment-87-1 'Left the tribute of their brazen panoplies to Zeus, who turns the battle.'

144-147. mvp-comment-88-1 Neither could despoil the other, since both were slain. And the citizens could not dedicate to Zeus arms polluted with kindred blood.

145. mvp-comment-89-1 αὑτοῖν i. e. ἀλλήλοιν: ἑαυτούς, ἀλλήλους. Hesych.

146. mvp-comment-90-1 δικρατεῖς λόγχας στήσαντε Having pointed their two spears, of which either was victorious. The spears are not hurled, as commonly in the Iliad, but held firmly as the combatants rush at each other. Cp. Hom. Il. 4. 307 (quoted by Donaldson), ὃς δέ κ᾿ ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ ὧν ὀχέων ἕτερ᾽ ἅρμαθ' ἵκηται | ἔγχει ὀρεξάσθω, ἐπεὶ ἢ πολὺ φέρτερον οὕτως.

147. mvp-comment-91-1 'Both have their portion in mutual death: i.e. Each strove for sole inheritance, but they share equally-in a death;' which each has given and each has received. See on l. 57. The spirit of the words is the same as those of Aesch. S. c. T. 726 ff.: O. C. 790.

149. mvp-comment-92-1 ἀντιχαρεῖσα Exchanging looks of joy. Cp. χαίρειν γέλωτι, Χen. Cyr. 8.1.33.

149. mvp-comment-92-2 Θήβη, as in Pindar, is the personification of Θήβαι, for which it is used consistently throughout this play. Cp. Od. 7. 80, εὐρυάγυιαν Ἀθήνην.

150. mvp-comment-93-1 ἐκ μὲν δὴ πολέμων .. λησμοσύvav Turning from the present wars, appoint ye forgetfulness of them. For the pleonastic use of ἐκ, see Essay on Language § 19. p. 27. The reading θέσθαι, which has good MS. authority and preserves the metrical correspondence with l. 137, is retained by some editors as an infinitive for imperative. Cp. infr. 1142, μολεῖν. For the expression, cp. Eur. Phoen. 1584,5, ὡς ὥρα τάφου | μνήμην τίθεσθαι.

153. mvp-comment-94-1 παννυχίοις Cp. Ο. Τ. 1090: Aesch. Ag. 23, 24. καὶ χορῶν κατάστασιν | πολλῶν ἐν Ἄργει τῆσδε συμφορᾶς χάριν.

153. mvp-comment-94-2 ὁ Θήβας δ'. . ἄρχοι And let Bacchus, Thebe's God. who shakes the earth (with revelry), lead on the dance. Schol. ὁ Θήβας Βακχεῖος, ὁ Θηβαγενὴς Διόνυσος, ὁ τῆς Θήβης πολίτης, ὁ ἐλελίχθων, ἄρχοι τῆς χορείας. See Essay on Language § 9. p. 11.

156. mvp-comment-95-1 The metre requires either the addition of one (or three) anapaests or the omission of νεοχμός. Dindorf's supposition that νεοχμός νεαραῖσι has grown in some way out of νεοχμοῖσι is in itself probable enough, but the omission of some word like *ἄρχων after βασιλεύς is equally so. The spectator is thus reminded that Creon is young in power.

157-158. mvp-comment-96-1 νεαραῖσι .. συντυχίαις In consequence of the recent god-sent fortune. These words are to be joined with the whole sentence, though chiefly with ἐρέσσων. Creon's accession, his coming, and the counsel which he brings, all follow closely on the events of the war. The question is, what is that counsel?

159. mvp-comment-97-1 τίνα δή This is preferable to τινὰ δή, which Aldus printed from Ven. 467 (V3).

159. mvp-comment-97-2 On ἐρέσσων = Moving, Advancing. see Essay on Language p. 87, and cp. Aj. 251, τοίας ἐρέσσουσιν ἀπειλάς.

160-161. mvp-comment-98-1 ὅτι. προὔθετο That he hath appointed. ὅτι gives the reason of the question.

160. mvp-comment-99-1 σύγκλητον Specially convened. The word is used, after the analogy of the σύγκλητος ἐκκλησία at Athens, for an assembly specially summoned by the στρατηγός. λέσχη is less formal than βουλή. Cp. Ο. C. 166.

161. mvp-comment-100-1 προὔθετο The middle voice implies that Creon had summoned the elders of his own motion. So καλέσσατο of Achilles in Il. 1. 54.

162. mvp-comment-101-1 κοινῷ κηρύγματι πέμψας Having cited us by a message sent to us all.

162. mvp-comment-101-2 κοινῷ = Inclusive. πέμψας] i. e. στείλας πομποῖσιν, as Creon expresses himself in ll. 164-165. 162-210. Creon's first error is not mere self-will, but an excessive zeal for the honour of the state, to which all private feelings must give way (183-184, 187-190). His spirit of self-assertion is however already felt, esp. in ll. 173, 191, 207-10. And the unconsciousness of one young in power is shown in the self-inculpating words in ll. 175-177. He characteristically dwells on the virtue of loyalty (165-169, 209-210) and the crime of rebellion (199-202): and his passionate nature is betrayed by the exaggerated expression in l. 208. Cp. O. T. 216 ff. and note. The frequent occurrence of the Ist personal pronoun is a significant feature of both these speeches.

162. mvp-comment-101-3 τὰ μὲν δὴ πόλεος As for the state. This form of expression suits the introduction of a subject before the form of sentence is determined. πόλιν, rather than τὰ πόλεος, is the object of σείσαντες and ὤρθωσαν.

162. mvp-comment-101-4 ἀσφαλῶς Unharmed, = ἄνεν τοῦ σφαλῆναι,

163. mvp-comment-102-1 ὥρθωσαν Have righted the vessel of the state.

165-166. mvp-comment-103-1 τὰ Λαΐου. κράτη Knowing that you ever duly reverenced the enthroned authority of Laius. Λαΐου is governed by θρόνων κράτη taken as one word, θρόνων being added to supplement κράτη. σέβοντας and μένοντας, infr. 166, 169, are imperfects = ὅτι ἐσέβετε .. ἐμένετε,

167. mvp-comment-104-1 ὤρθου Kept on a safe course: i. e. Governed prosperously. The word recalls the happiness of the first period of Oedipus' rule. Cp. Plat. Men. P. 99 C, ᾗ οἱ πολιτικοὶ ἄνδρες χρώμενοι τὰς πόλεις ὀρθοῦσιν : Phaedr. 244 B. 168-169. ἀμφὶ .. φρονήμασιν]. Ye still remained loyal to their issue with unshaken minds. ἀμφί, Surrounding, as ready to defend. The apodosis is made to suit the latter protasis, ἐπεὶ διώλετο, and that of the former protasis, ἡνίκ' . . πόλιν (viz. ἐκείνῳ ὁμοίως πειθομένους οι the like), is thus absorbed.

167. mvp-comment-104-2 κείνων . . παῖδας i. e. Sons of Oedipus and grandsons of Laius.

172. mvp-comment-105-1 αὐτόχειρι Fratricidal. See Essay on Language p. 91.

174. mvp-comment-106-1 γένους κατ᾿ ἀγχιστεῖα By privilege of being nearest in kindred (ὡς ἀγχιστεύων) to the dead. Cp. πρωτεία, etc.

175. mvp-comment-107-1 παντὸς ἀνδρός Of any man, and therefore of me.

176. mvp-comment-108-1 ψυχήν. . φρόνημα.. γνώμην As observed in the Essay on Language pp. 91-3, the opposition between these words is chiefly formal. So far as there is any difference between them, ψυχήν is mind, or nature, φρόνημα, spirit, or way of thinking, (cp. infr. 207), and γνώμην, judgment or meaning.

176-177. mvp-comment-109-1 πρὶν ἂν ἀρχαῖς.. φανῇ “Until he be seen in his true colours through being tried in office and administration.' According to the saying of Bias, ἀρχὴ τὸν ἄνδρα δείξει (Arist. Eth. Nic. 5. 1. 16). There is an allusion to the detection of spurious coin through wear. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 390-392, κακοῦ δὲ χαλκοῦ τρόπον | τρίβῳτε καὶ προσβολαῖς | μελαμπαγὴς πέλει | δικαιωθείς (where Herm. says, 'Vereor autem ne non de lapide Lydio loquatur poeta, sed aes adulterinum dicat, quod usu tritum amisso falso splendore cognoscitur'): Hdt. 7. 10, ὥσπερ τὸν χρυσὸν τὸν ἀκήρατον, αὐτὸν μὲν ἐπ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ οὐ διαγινώσκομεν, ἐπεὰν δὲ

178. mvp-comment-110-1 ἐμοὶ γάρ The connection is not strictly logical. γάρ explains not the difficulty of discerning the difference between rulers, but the essential point on which the difference turns. In setting forth this, Creon also declares the spirit of his own policy. He is feeling his way with the elders, of whose submission he is not perfectly sure, and beats about the bush before coming to the point with them. Hence he repeats the same thought in different words.

178-183. mvp-comment-111-1 The sentiment of these lines is closely parallel to Plat. Legg. 9. 856 B, ὃς ἂν ἄγων εἰς ἀρχὴν ἄνθρωπον δουλῶται μὲν τοὺς νόμους, ἑταιρείας δὲ τὴν πόλιν ὑπήκοον ποιῇ, καὶ βιαίως δὲ πᾶν τοῦτο πράττων καὶ στάσιν ἐγείρων παρανομῇ· τοῦτον δὴ διανοεῖσθαι δεῖ πάντων πολεμιώτατον ὅλῃ τῇ πόλει, τὸν δὲ κοινωνοῦντα μὲν τῶν τοιούτων μηδενί, τῶν μεγίστων δὲ μετέχοντα ἀρχῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει, λεληθότα τε ταῦτα αὐτὸν ἢ μὴ λεληθότα, δειλίᾳ δ᾽ ὑπὲρ πατρίδος αὑτοῦ μὴ τιμωρούμενον, δεῖ δεύτερον ἡγεῖσθαι τὸν τοιοῦτον πολίτην κακῇ.

180. mvp-comment-112-1 ἐγκλείσας Locked up. Cp. Shakespeare, Richard II, 1. 3,

Within my mouth you have engaoled my tongue, | Doubly portcullised with my teeth and lips.

Infr. 505, εἰ μὴ γλῶσσαν ἐγκλείσαι φόβος.

182. mvp-comment-113-1 μείζον᾽.. ἀντί Essay on Language § 19. p. 27. Cp. Od. 7. 216, στυγερῇ ἐπὶ γαστέρι κύντερον.

183. mvp-comment-114-1 οὐδαμοῦ λέγω Plat. Gorg. 456 C, οὐδαμοῦ ἂν φανῆναι, supr. 32. 184 ff. Having shown what makes the good and bad ruler, Creon declares his own intentions, first generally, and then (192 ff.) with reference to Eteocles and Polynices. γάρ implies that his opinion will be proved by his acts. In both statements (178-183, 184-190) the stress is laid on the duty of renouncing friendship with the public enemy (182-183, 187-188), which is the ground of the present edict, Polynices being presumably Creon's private friend: supr. 174.

186. mvp-comment-115-1 στείχουσαν ἀστοῖς Menacing my people. Cp. supr. l. 10: Aesch. Prom. 1089-1090, τοιάδ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοὶ ῥιπὴ Διόθεν, | τεύχουσα φόβον, στείχει φανερῶς. For the dative, Essay on Language § 12. p. 18.

187. mvp-comment-116-1 δυσμενή χθονός Who is my country's foe. The genitive avoids the awkwardness of two datives, χθονί and ἐμαυτῷ, coming close together.

189-190. mvp-comment-117-1 She it is who preserves us, and we make friends only while she carries us in the course of public safety; i. e. The friendship that is made against the interest of the state is hollow and insecure. Cp. Thuc. 2. 60: (Pericles loq.) ἐγὼ γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι πόλιν πλείω ξύμπασαν ὀρθουμένην ὠφελεῖν τοὺς ἰδιώτας, ἢ καθ᾿ ἕκαστον τῶν πολιτῶν εὐπραγοῦσαν, ἀθρόαν δὲ σφαλλομένην, κ.τ.λ.: Zaleuc. ap. Stob. (Mullach, p. 543), πόλις γὰρ εὖ ἀγομένη μεγίστη ὄρθωσίς ἐστι, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ πάντα ἔνι, καὶ τούτου σωζομένου πάντα σώζεται καὶ τούτου φθειρομένου πάντα διαφθείρεται: Shakespeare. King John, 3. 1, Pand.

All form is formless, order orderless, | Save what is opposite to England's love.

On the change of pronouns (ἥδε.. ταύτης), see Essay on Language § 22. p. 32. The article in τοὺς φίλους points the reference to ll. 182-183.

191. mvp-comment-118-1 τοιοίσδε νόμοισι By such principles as these. Cp. infr. 908, τίνος νόμου δὴ ταῦτα πρὸς χάριν λέγω;

192. mvp-comment-119-1 ἀδελφὰ τῶνδε i. e. In full accord with them. Cp. Plat. Rep. 4. 421 C, ἆρ᾽ οὖν .. καὶ τὸ τούτου ἀδελφὸν δύξω σοι μετρίως λέγειν; Lys. 2. 64, ἀδελφὰ τὰ βουλεύματα τοῖς ἔργοις : Ο. C. 1262, ἀδελφὰ . . τούτοισιν.

193. mvp-comment-120-1 τῶν ἀπ᾿ Οιδίπου For the pleo- 190 195 200 nastic use of the preposition, see above 150, 182, and notes.

195. mvp-comment-121-1 πάντ᾿ ἀριστεύσας δορί After proving himself in all ways the bravest in the war. For the aor., cp. Hdt. 9. 74, alib.

196. mvp-comment-122-1 τὰ πάντ᾽ ἐφαγνίσαι ‘Το add all sacred offerings.'

199. mvp-comment-123-1 θεοὺς τοὺς ἐγγενεῖς The gods of his race; i. e. Those honoured by the Cadmeans. The gods of the race also include the ancestors of the race. Infr. 938, θεοὶ προγενεῖς.

201. mvp-comment-124-1 πρῆσαι κατάκρας The city (γῆν = πόλιν) is thought of as the main object of the verb.

201. mvp-comment-124-2 ἠθέλησε δ' The correspondence of clauses (with μέν and δέ) is not perfect, the antithesis being due to afterthought.

201. mvp-comment-124-3 αἵματος .. πάσασθαι ‘Το repast him with blood of his own kin.' The expression suits the Epic colouring of the whole speech.

202. mvp-comment-125-1 τοὺς δέ The rest; i. e. Those not slain, as implied in the opposition το αἵματος κοινοῦ πάσασθαι. 203.

202. mvp-comment-125-2 ἐκκεκήρυκται Musgrave's correction has been generally adopted, lopted, and is probably right. The impersonal verb gives absoluteness to the expression. Wolff construes the inf. with λέγω in 198 (deleting the comma after τοῦδε), and Wecklein reads λέγω for τάφῳ. The slight corruption is probably due to a reminiscence of supr. 27.

205. mvp-comment-126-1 δέμας is accusative of limitation, and ἄθαπτον and ἐδεστόν are masculine. To leave him unburied, to have his flesh consumed by birds and dogs.

206. mvp-comment-127-1 αἰκισθέντ᾿ ἰδεῖν A spectacle of indignity. Lit. Outraged to behold. The infinitive is added after the participle, which is masculine.

207. mvp-comment-128-1 Cp. 176, ψυχήν τε καὶ φρόνημα καὶ γνώμην.

209-210. mvp-comment-129-1 θανών | καὶ ζῶν In death as well as in life. The first word is the more emphatic. Essay on Language p. 78.

211-212. mvp-comment-130-1 For the construction of the accusatives τὸν .. δύσνουν. . τὸν εὐμενῆ, after σοὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἀρέσκει as = οὕτω τάσσεις, or the like, cр. О. С. 1120, τέκν᾽ εἰ φανέντ᾽ ἄελπτα μηκύνω λόγον, and see Essay on Language § 16. p. 22. No emendation is necessary.

213. mvp-comment-131-1 παντί πού γ᾽ ἔνεστί σοι γε has been thought a useless insertion, and Dindorf reads πάντι που πάρεστί σοι. But δέ γε is not unsuitable to the connection, introducing the second premiss of an implied argument. The words of the chorus express the barest acquiescence in the will of the ruler. Cp. infr. 509, σοὶ δ᾽ ὑπίλλουσι στόμα. They hide their disapproval, and that is all. Cp. Richard III, 4. 2, 21, Buck. Your grace may do your pleasure.

215. mvp-comment-132-1 ὡς ἂν.. εἰρημένων Sc. οὕτω πράσσετε. The subjunctive with ὡς ἄν follows the implied imperative. Act, then, so as to see my words obeyed. Cp. Ο. Τ. 325, ὡς οὖν μηδ᾽ ἐγὼ ταὐτὸν πάθω : Plat. Phaedo 59 Ε, παραγγέλλουσιν, ὅπως ἂν τῇδε τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τελευτήσῃ. The ellipse is idiomatic. It is not to be supposed either that Creon hesitates, or that the elders interrupt him.

218. mvp-comment-133-1 τί.. ἔτι 'What means then this charge further given by you to another?' τοῦτο, cogn. acc. = σκοποὶ εἶναι τῶν εἰρημένων : τί, suppl. predic. = With what meaning?' To what effect? ἄλλῳ = to another than the appointed guards. ἄλλο gives a poorer sense, What then is this other thing which you enjoin besides?

220. mvp-comment-134-1 ὃς .. ἐρᾷ As to be in love with death. For the irregular correlative (οὕτω .. ὅς), see Essay on Language § 22. p. 36. There is a confusion of οὐκ ἔστιν ὃς ἐρᾷ and οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτω μῶρος ὥστε ἐρᾶν.

222. mvp-comment-135-1 The emphatic position of ἄνδρας at the beginning of the line shows that the word is intended to mark Creon's unconsciousness of the real source of danger. So infr. 1. 248. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1110: O. T. 928, al. So ὑπ᾿ ἐλπίδων shows how incapable he is of divining the motive of Antigone.

223-330. mvp-comment-136-1 The half-comic or rustic character of the watchman in this play is an extension of the common character of the messenger, whose natural rudeness of speech and thought brings into greater prominence the horror or pathos of the events he describes. The grotesqueness disappears when he speaks of the action of Antigone in 407-440. The employment of this artifice by Sophocles arises from the same motive to which Shakespeare gave a far wider range in such creations as the gravediggers in Hamlet, and the rural fellow in Antony and Cleopatra. The Messenger in the Trachiniae, the Corinthian in the Oedipus Tyrannus, Menelaus in the Ajax, the pretended Shipmaster in the Philoctetes, afford the same sort of contrast to the more tragic personages: and the superstition of the Coloniatae may be compared with the cowardice of the Phrygian slave in the Orestes of Euripides.

223-330. mvp-comment-136-2 The vulgarity of the common-place Athenian of the fifth century в.с. takes the form of misplaced subtlety of wit. Cp. Shak. Hamlet, 5. 1 ,

We must speak by the card, or equivocation will undo us. The age is grown so picked, that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier, he galls his kibe.

223-224. mvp-comment-137-1 I am out of breath, but not with speed. It is not that I ran nimbly hither. Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 14. § 10, quotes 223 thus, Ἄναξ, ἐρῶ μὲν οὐχ ὅπως σπουδῆς ὕπο.., adding, as if from the reply of Creon, τί φροιμιάζῃ; But it is as unsafe to follow his authority in this line, as it would be to substitute τί φροιμιάζῃ for εὖ γε στοχάζει in l. 241. It is evident that he is quoting from memory: and, although it is curious that the Scholiast uses the same word in his explanation, οὐ τοῦτο λέγω, ὅτι μετὰ σπουδῆς ἀσθμαίνων πρὸς σὲ πορεύομαι, yet this does not amount to a proof that this is the right reading. σπουδῆς may be the word which would be more naturally used in prose, but it is less pointed than τάχους in this connection. κοῦφον ἐξάρας πόδα is added in explanation of τάχους ὕπο. ἐξάρας, having set forth from the point of departure, like αἴρειν στόλον.

225. mvp-comment-138-1 For I had many stoppages by reason of thoughts, i. e. My thoughts cried halt to me (ἐπέστησάν με) again and again. Cp. Αj. 869, κοὐδεὶς ἐφίσταταί με συμμαθεῖν τόπος. The genitive φροντίδων is part causal, My thoughts checked me,' and part final, I stopped to think.

226. mvp-comment-139-1 ὁδοῖς As I came. Essay on Language § 14. p. 20. Ср. О. С. 553, ὁδοῖς ἐν ταῖσδ᾽ ἀκούων. Hearing of you on your coming hither.

227. mvp-comment-140-1 This mockery of dialectic is curiously significant of the earlier stage of rhetoric.

229. mvp-comment-141-1 κεἰ has the authority of the oldest MS. The reading of Par. A, καὶ .. ἀνδρός, has a certain liveliness, but is perhaps too abrupt.

231. mvp-comment-142-1 τοιαῦθ᾽ ἑλίσσων Turning round and round such thoughts as these. Cp. Plat. Phil. 19 (of the boyish dialectician), πάντα κινεῖ λόγον ἄσμενος, τότε μὲν ἐπὶ θάτερα κυκλῶν καὶ συμφορῶν εἰς ἕν, τότε δὲ πάλιν ἀνειλίττων καὶ διαμερίζων.

231. mvp-comment-142-2 σπουδῇ βραδύς The reading of L, σχολῇ βραδύς, Slowly because I stopped, is not pointed enough, and it seems probable that an oxymoron is intended in this as in the following line. The correction adopted by the Scholiast, σχολῇ ταχύς, secures this in rather an awkward way. That of Seyffert, which is here adopted (for the collocation of words, cp. the proverb σπεῦδε βραδέως), appears far more probable.

234. mvp-comment-143-1 This line was well explained by Dindorf in 1860: Dicturus erat σοὶ φράσοντα, sed propter verba interposita, κεί τὸ μηδὲν ἐξερῶ, mutata orationis forma infert φράσω δ ὅμως cum δε particula, ut Oed. T. 302, πόλιν μέν, εἰ καὶ μὴ βλέπεις, φρονεῖς δ' ὅμως | οἷᾳ νόσῳ σύνεστιν.' Essay on Language § 35. p. 59.

234. mvp-comment-143-2 τὸ μηδέν ῾Α vain report,' because the doer of the deed was still unknown.

235. mvp-comment-144-1 τῆς has the emphatic force of an antecedent: This hope, that ... δεδραγμένος] This reading is implied in the second scholium on the passage, ἀντειλημμένος τῆς ἐλπίδος ἐλήλυθα, and appears in the text of E and V³. (whence Aldus had it), and as a marginal reading of Aug. b. and of V¹. Clinging fast by the hope, is a natural and forcible expression, well suited to the style of the Φύλαξ : whereas ἐλπίδος πεφραγμένος or πεφαργμένοs, whether in the sense of Shut out from hope,' or Fortified by the hope, is not really admissible.

236. mvp-comment-145-1 That I cannot suffer anything but what is fated for me. Cp. Aesch. S. c. Τ. 263, πείσομαι τὸ μόρσιμον.

238. mvp-comment-146-1 τὸ γάρ For the light ending, cp infr. 327, 409, Ο. Τ. 553-554. τὸ δὲ | πάθημ᾽ ὁποῖον φῇς παθεῖν δίδασκέ με, ib. 995-996, 1056-1057.

239. mvp-comment-147-1 ὅστις ἦν ὁ δρῶν i. e. τὸν δρῶντα, ὅστις ἦν, The unknown doer of the deed.

241-242. mvp-comment-148-1 (1) You aim carefully, and fence the business off from yourself all round. Some editors read τί φροιμιάζει; from Ar. Rhet. 3. 14, § 10, quoted above. But though the Scholiast of the Rhetoric says τὸ δὲ τί φροιμιάζῃ τοῦ Κρέοντός ἐστι λέγοντος, it is much more probable that the words are a separate quotation from Eur. I. T. 1162. See Cope's edition of Ar. Rhet. vol. 3. p. 175. Others explain the text (2), You lay the ground carefully and hedge your approaches closely round, as if in preparing a stance to watch for game. According to Pollux, 5, 36, στοχασμός, στοχάς, and στόχος, were terms used in describing the setting of a hunting-net: καλεῖται δ᾽ αὐτῶν (τῶν ἀρκύων) ἡ στάσις, στοιχισμός, στοίχος, στόχος, στοχὰς καὶ στοχασμός· στοχὰς δὲ καλεῖται καὶ χειροποιητά τινα οἰκοδομήματα ἐκ λίθων, ἢ ὕλης ὑπὲρ τὴν γῆν ἀναστήματα, κατὰ χρείαν τῆς τῶν δικτύων ἐξ ἴσου στάσεως, εἴ τι κοῖλον εἴη περὶ τὸ ἀρκύστατον.

243. mvp-comment-149-1 τὰ δεινὰ .. πολύν The reply, as often elsewhere, refers to the first part of the previous speech. Cp. O. Т. 361. The frigid tautology belongs to the character of the Φύλαξ.

244. mvp-comment-150-1 εἰτ᾿ ἀπαλλαχθεὶς ἄπει And be off with you. The Scholiast acutely remarks that these impatient words are intended to hold out the hope of impunity, which is withdrawn again in the angry threats of ll. 305, foll.

246. mvp-comment-151-1 Some one has buried the corpse and has disappeared, after not only sprinkling dry dust upon the flesh, but adding all due rites. This last refers to the libation. Cp. supr. 196-197: infr. 430-431. The surprise was increased by observing the completeness of the act. There is a stress on the participles. Essay on Language p. 75 β, 94, 4.

248. mvp-comment-152-1 τίς ἀνδρῶν Cp. supra 222, and note.

249. mvp-comment-153-1 οὔτε .. ἐκβολή No dint of pick-axe, nor earth turned up with hoe.'

250. mvp-comment-154-1 στύφλος .. καὶ χέρσος Hard and bare. χέρσος γῆ is untilled land, and so here, Undisturbed by implements of husbandry. Cp. infr. 773, 1197.

251. mvp-comment-155-1 ἀρρώξ .. τροχοῖσιν Unbroken, and with no mark of wheels. ἐπημαξευμένη τροχοῖσιν] Lit. Carted over with wheels.' Essay on Language p. 88, note.

252. mvp-comment-156-1 ἀλλ'.. ἦν But whoever did it was one who left no trace.

253. mvp-comment-157-1 ὁ πρῶτος .. ἡμεροσκόπος Our first look-out-man for the day. ἡμεροσκόπος in Xen. Hell. 1. 1. 2, is a watchman who stands at his post at daybreak. Cp. ἡμεροφύλαξ, ib. 7. 2. 6, 7. Antigone's act preceded the setting of this watch.

254. mvp-comment-158-1 θαῦμα δυσχερές Α sight of wonder and dismay.

255. mvp-comment-159-1 τυμβήρης.. κόνις Not covered with a mound, but sprinkled with dust as by one avoiding pollution. Hor. Od. 1. 28,

Debita jura vicesque superbae | Te maneant ipsum: precibus ibus non linquar inultis | Teque piacula nulla resolvent. | Quamquam festinas, non est mora longa, licebit | Injecto ter pulvere curras.

For the gen., cp. Tr. 768.

255. mvp-comment-159-2 τυμβήρης For this use of the adjective, see Essay on Language § 23. p. 38.

258. mvp-comment-160-1 οὐ σπάσαντος Cp. Aesch. Prom. 451, οὔτε.. δόμους.. οὐ ξυλουργίαν.

259. mvp-comment-161-1 ἐν ἀλλήλοισιν Sc. τοῖς φύλαξιν. Words of abuse were loudly bandied to and fro. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 200, στάσις δ᾽ ἐν ἀλλήλοισιν ὠροθύνετο, sc.

259. mvp-comment-161-2 τοῖς δαίμοσιν.

260. mvp-comment-162-1 φύλαξ ἐλέγχων φύλακα On the nominative out of construction in the clause in apposition, see Essay on Language § 33. p. 57. § 15. p. 21.

260. mvp-comment-162-2 κἂν ἐγίγνετο And it was threatening to come to blows at last. The combination of the imperfect with av here is peculiar, having a force intermediate between ἐγίγνετο and ἐγένετο ἄv; i. e. it was coming to this, that we should have come to blows.

262-263. mvp-comment-163-1 The subtlety of the Φύλαξ deserts him in attempting to express his meaning. The perpetrator was every one and no one of us all every one in vague suspicion, and no one evidently: he escaped being known.' τις gives the indefiniteness required by the sense, = πως.

263. mvp-comment-164-1 ἀλλ᾽ ἔφευγε *μὴ εἰδέναι (1) But he (the perpetrator) always escaped, so that we could not know him. Böckh and Donaldson read as in the text, interpreting (2) Every man' (πᾶς implied in οὐδείς, the affirmative elicited from the negative) defended himself by pleading ignorance of the matter. For φεύγειν, * to urge a defensive plea,' cp. Aesch. Suppl. 390, and for the plea, μὴ εἰδέναι, Plat. Legg. 11. 936 E. But the plea of ignorance, although suitable in l. 266, is too special for this place, wherethe non-appearance of the criminal alone is in question. The meaning given above (1) is the same as that required by Hermann (see below), but is more simply expressed by the epexegesis, and the imperfect tense expresses the frustration of continued search. This interpretation involves a rare use of φεύγω, which is, however, analogous to a meaning of ἐκφεύγω that is not uncommon. Cp. Ο. Τ. 111, ἐκφεύγει δὲ τἀμελούμενον : Plat. Phil. 17, τὰ δὲ μέσα αὐτοὺς ἐκφεύγει. Other emendations are ἔφυγε τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι (Porson), explained by Erfurdt to mean amoliens a se accusationem scire sese negaverat ; ἔφυγε τῷ μὴ εἰδέναι (Herm. 1839), effugit, eo quod nesciebamus; ἔφευγε πᾶς τὸ μή, every man pled Not guilty. (Dind.). 264-265. There are few traces of anything corresponding to the trial by ordeal in ancient times. Brunck quotes Virg. Aen. 11. 787,

Et medium freti pietate per ignem | Cultores multa premimus vestigia prima.

It seems to have existed in different places as a popular belief, but nowhere to have received positive legal sanction. For a trace of trial by combat' (in Scythia), see Hdt. 4. 180. Cp. also Ar. Lys. 133.

269. mvp-comment-165-1

His verbis et sequentibus significatur terror quem Creontis auctoritas custodibus incutit.

(Dind.).

269. mvp-comment-165-2 λέγει, κ.τ.λ. The sense is interrupted by the relative clause, but resumed in the words ἦν δ᾽ ὁ μῦθος in l. 272. For τις εἷς, cp. Thuc. 6. 61, καί τινα μίαν νύκτα, κ.τ.λ. The emphatic use of little words shows the common mind; cp. infr. 404, ὃν σὺ τὸν νέκυν, κ.τ.λ. Wolff and Weckl. join els with what follows: but the antithesis of eἷς πάντας is too pointless here. Cp. Plat. Rep. 6. 496 D, εἰς πᾶσιν ἀγρίοις ἀντέχειν.

274-275. mvp-comment-166-1 κἀμὲ.. λαβεῖν And the lot devotes me, wretched man, to be the recipient of this piece of luck. καθαιρεῖ is used much as in ἡ καθαιροῦσα ψῆφος, not by an extension of the technical sense, but with the same general mean- ing of Fastening upon, Bringing down, Overtaking and subduing.

279. mvp-comment-167-1 *1 This is Nauck's emendation for ἡ. It involves a very slight change, and is extremely probable. Reflection suggests the fear that' (not 'the question whether') this may be some visitation from the gods. The conscience of the elders, which was stifled at first, begins to awaken in the presence of the mysterious fact. For the pause after the 2nd iambus, here and supr. 269, cp. Aj. 340, 342, 719, 791, 803, 988, 1050, 1077, 1140, 1332.

280. mvp-comment-168-1 Cease, ere you have quite filled me with wrath. καί, which is combined with πρίν, according to the common idiom (πρὶν καὶ..), is slightly displaced so as to emphasize the phrase ἐμὲ μεστῶσαι. The language is made clearer by the emendation καί με, but the emphatic ἐμέ is more suitable in the mouth of Creon. Cp. Phil. 1042.

281. mvp-comment-169-1 ἄνους τε καὶ γέρων Cp. О. С. 930-931, καί σ᾽ ὁ πληθύων χρόνος | γέρονθ' ὁμοῦ τίθησι καὶ τοῦ νοῦ κενόν. See Essay on Language § 41. p. 78. 285-286. Who came to burn their pillared shrines and offerings, and to break in pieces their land and laws. It seems more likely that the ἀναθήματα are joined in one expression with ναούς than with γῆν and νόμους, which are in a different category.

289-290. mvp-comment-170-1 ἀλλὰ ταῦτα.. ἐμοί But this explains the murmurs I have long been hearing from men in the city against me;' i. e. Those murmurs have become explicit in this act. Οη ταῦτα, see Essay on Language § 17. p. 25; and for the dative ἐμοί, at me, ib. § 12. p. 18. μόλις φέροντες, which some have connected with ταῦτα (ταῦτα μόλις φέροντες, 'Bearing my edict ill'), seems to be used absolutely, sc. τὸ ἐμὸν ζυγόν, with an allusion to the metaphor in what follows. Cp. Thuc. 5. 80, θυμῷ ἔφερον, sc. τὸν πόλεμον ἢ τὰ πράγματα.

291. mvp-comment-171-1 'Covertly shaking the head,' like an animal preparing to throw off the yoke.

292. mvp-comment-172-1 δικαίως Rightly; i. e. As I had a right to expect that they should.

292. mvp-comment-172-2 ὡς στέργειν ἐμέ So as to accept my sway. To this it has been objected that στέργω implies affectionate allegiance. But this notion, although inherent in the etymology of the word, is dropped in use. Cp. Phil. 538, ἐγὼ δ' ἀνάγκῃ προὔμαθον στέργειν κακά : Aesch. Prom. 11, τὴν Δίος τυραννίδα | στέργειν. What hope was there that Prometheus would be made loyal by loyal torments? The other interpretation, So that I should be content (cp. Phil. 458, τούτους ἐγὼ τοὺς ἄνδρας οὐ στέρξω ποτέ), would give but feeble expression to the self-will of Creon. The substitution for these words of εὐλόφως φέρειν from the citation of Eustathius, with the further change of νῶτον for λόφον, is rightly rejected by Dind., who points out that Eustathius, probably quoting from memory, has confused this passage with one of Lycophron.

293. mvp-comment-173-1 ἐκ τῶνδε By these malcontents. Supr. 290.

293. mvp-comment-173-2 τούτους (1) These guards. Infr. ll. 304 ff., supr. 260 ff.: or (2) simply τοὺς εἰργασμένους. The whole of this picture of discontent is the creation of Creon's anger from the hesitation of the chorus when told to see to the execution of the decree. Supr. 215 ff.

294. mvp-comment-174-1 There is a stress on μισθοῖσιν, preparing for what follows.

296. mvp-comment-175-1 νόμισμα, usually = Current coin, is here used in the more general sense which includes this. No such pestilent usance as money is, ever sprang up amongst mankind.

298. mvp-comment-176-1 The object of ἐκδιδάσκει, SC.

298. mvp-comment-176-2 χρηστοὺς αἰσχρά, is absorbed in the expansion of the sentence.

299. mvp-comment-177-1 πρὸς .. ἵστασθαι Το address themselves to shameful enterprizes.' Cp. Thuc. 6. 34. § 7, τῶν δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ αἱ γνῶμαι ἵστανται.

300. mvp-comment-178-1 πανουργίας The plural of the abstract noun gives the concrete notion.

300. mvp-comment-178-2 πανουργίας ἔχειν, like θήραν ἔχειν, Αj. 564: ὕβριν ἔχειν, Od. 1. 368, etc.

301. mvp-comment-179-1 παντὸς ἔργου δυσσέβειαν The impiety of every deed; i. e. Every kind of impiety in action. Cp. O.T. 864-865, εὔσεπτον ἁγνείαν λόγων | ἔργων τε πάντων.

303. mvp-comment-180-1 He implies, This cannot be their first act of disloyalty.' The unity of time is not to be pressed in the Antigone: see below, 11. 1064 ff. Else this suspicion of inveterate disaffection, against one who has reigned only for a few hours, would be too extravagant. The elders were selected for their loyalty. supr. 165 ff.

308-311. mvp-comment-181-1 οὐχ ὑμὶν ῞Αιδης.. ἁρπάζητε] Death shall not alone suffice for you, but first you shall be hung up alive to show the heinousness of this offence, that for the future, in your wrongful gettings, you may know better where to look for gain. See Essay on Language § 37. p. 64. There is a confusion of two constructions: (1) οὐχ ὑμὶν ῞Αιδης ἀρκέσει, τo which μοῦνος is added for emphasis, i. e. οὐ θανεῖσθε μόνον: and (2) οὐ θανεῖσθε πρίν, κ.τ.λ. Cp. 1064 ff., and see Aj. 106 ff., θανεῖν γὰρ αὐτὸν οὐτί πω θέλω, κ.τ.λ. The Φύλαξ is to take this message to his fellows.

313-314. mvp-comment-182-1 The sentence is redundant, either the article or ἢ σεσωσμένους being unnecessary. Weckl. reads σεσωμένους. For the article, cp. Eur. Phoen. 606, τοῦ μέρους ἔχων τὸ πλεῖον,

315. mvp-comment-183-1 εἰπεῖν τι δέ (v. rr.) is unmeaning. τι as in θέλεις τι μεῖζον, infr. 497.

316. mvp-comment-184-1 καὶ νῦν with λέγεις.

317. mvp-comment-185-1 δάκνει; (1) Act. impersonal. Is the smart in your ears or in your mind? Cp Hdt. 7. 16. Or (2) 2nd pers. pass. Are you stung? (2) agrees better with τὴν ἐμὴν λ. in the following line.

318. mvp-comment-186-1 τί δαί; though not found elsewhere in Sophocles or Aeschylus, may be admitted on the authority uthority of of the MS, where it is so obviously in keeping. Cp. ὦ τἂν in Ο. Τ. 1145, Phil. 1387.

318. mvp-comment-186-2 ῥυθμίζεις .. ὅπου; Do you scan the whereabouts of my annoyance?

320. mvp-comment-187-1 λάλημα The reading is doubtful between ἄλημα, A clever rogue, and λάλημα, Α prating fellow. ἄλημα is better known, and was read by the Scholiast, but λάλημα is sufficiently supported by Eur. Andromache 937, τούσδε Σειρήνων λόγους, | σοφῶν, πανούργων, ποικίλων λαλημάτων. And this word τίνεσθαι. fits more closely to the context of the present passage. 'Fie, tis too clear you are a born chatterbox. Then it is clear that I never did this deed. 323. What a pity that one who is opinionated should have a false opinion. For the subjunctive δοκῇ, cp. О. Т. 316, 317.

324. mvp-comment-188-1 κόμψευε . . δόξαν 'Ay do, refine now on the word "opinion."" This does not seem to be one of the cases where viv with the imperative mood should be changed to vuv, as there is a sufficient reason for the emphatic particle.

325. mvp-comment-189-1 ἐξερεῖτε You shall tell the world. Cp. Pind. Pyth. 2. 22, Ιξίονα φαντὶ ταῦτα βροτοῖς λέγειν ἐν πτερόεντι τροχῷ .. τὸν εὐεργέταν ἀγαναῖς ἀμοιβαῖς 332 ff. The chorus, in their first stasimon, express, in a veiled manner, their emotions at what has occurred. Not being able to say what they really think, that Creon's rash edict has already recoiled on his own family, they descant on the wonderful range of human enterprize, adding that where boldness and resource are combined with justice, they confer glory, but only bring ruin where they are subservient to wrong. The elders do not decide who in the present instance is the transgressor. The ode consists of two strophes and antistrophes, in which glyconic rhythms are mixed with lyrical dactyls, iambi, and trochees, in different proportions, the scheme being as follows:- ICC CC CI CICIC α'. } Iamb. Dact. Troch. Glycon. The two long syllables at the beginning of l. 8 of a form the transition from the dactyls to the trochees. There is a sensible change to a lighter and less simple movement at the beginning of β'. The resolved trochees in B' 5 mark a climax of feeling.

332-383. mvp-comment-190-1 Most wonderful of wondrous things is man, Who traverses the surging brine, And wearies mighty earth with yearly furrow. His craft ensnares the finny produce of the seas And taketh captive beast and bird. He compasseth a way to master the monster of the wilds, And brings under his yoke the horse with flowing mane And the never-wearied mountain bull. Selftaught in speech and thought and civil ways, And in providing shelter from the cold and rain, There is no end to his devices. Nothing but death ever finds him unprepared. Even diseases, not to be avoided, are escaped by him. Inventive beyond hope, he moveth now to evil, and again to good. When weaving with his wit the law of justice and piety He is exalted in the city, but outcast when he harbours wickedness for deeds of crime. May I never live with such an one, and may he never share my counsels. 332. Aesch. Cho. 585, πολλὰ μὲν γὰ τρέφει δεινὰ δειμάτων ἄχη,.. ἀλλ᾽ ὑπέρτολμον ἀνδρὸς φρόνημα τίς λέγοι; Troch. Iamb. Troch.

332-383. mvp-comment-190-2 δεινά = ' wonderful,' or mighty, is in transition from the earlier sense of fearful to the later sense of clever. Cp.

332-383. mvp-comment-190-3 ὀλοόφρων.

334. mvp-comment-191-1 τοῦτο This creature, man. The neuter continues the abstract notion from οὐδὲν .. δεινότερον, and is thus more impressive than the masculine would have been.

334. mvp-comment-191-2 πέραν Το the other side of.' Quite over. For the alliteration, which assists the emphasis, cp. El. 210.

335. mvp-comment-192-1 χειμερίῳ νότῳ Impelled by the stormy south-wind. Dative of cause. Essay on Language § 14. p. 21. 335-336. Traversing half-buried in the seething surge. For ὑπό with the dative in this sense, cp. О. С. 673, χλωραῖς ὑπὸ βάσσαις. Essay on Language § 19. p. 27.

336. mvp-comment-193-1 περιβρύχιος is probably active = Surging round, and contains an allusion to βρύχω, for which, cp. Aesch. Prom. 1082, βρυχία δ᾽ ἠχὼ παραμυκᾶται βροντής.

338. mvp-comment-194-1 ὑπερτάταν Supreme, as eldest and mother ofall. Solon, Fr. 36. 3, μεγίστη δαιμόνων Ὀλυμπίων | Γῆ. Cр. О. Т. 660, where the primacy for the occasion is similarly given to the sun. Schneidewin remarks that the assonance ἄφθιτον, ἀκαμάταν ἀποτρύεται, .. ἀρότρων helps to express the persistent industry of man. This ode is full of assonance and alliteration, and of correspondences such as ἀνεμόεν, μαχανόεν-παντόπορος, ἄπορος -ὑψίπολις, ἄπολις.

339. mvp-comment-195-1 ἀποτρύεται Wears out for his use (mid.) the still-unwearied Earth. The present implies that the process is never-ending. Even in the common operations of husbandry the old religion finds a ground for awe. The dactyls suit the thought of the continuous round of human labour, as those of the antistrophe express the movement of the steed. The two long syllables, ἱππει-, οὐρει-, at once check the flow of rhythm (as with a renewed feeling of wonder), and by their weight give impetus to the concluding trochees. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 1039-1040, 1063.4.

340. mvp-comment-196-1 ἰλλομένων ἀρότρων As the ploughs keep turning year after year. The force of ἴλλω is limited motion. Thus the shuttle might be said ἴλλεσθαι, because when it reaches either end of the loom it is driven back again. Precisely in the same way the ploughs are said ἴλλεσθαι, “To keep moving to and fro within certain bounds.' ἔτος εἰς ἔτος] i. e. δι' ἔτους εἰς ἔτος, "Through one year into the next,' the first ἔτος being the accusative of duration.

340. mvp-comment-196-2 ἱππείῳ γένει πολεύων Breaking the glebe by the strength of mules. πολεύειν = πολεῖν in Hes. Op. 460, ἔαρι πολεῖν· θέρεος δὲ νεωμένη οὔ σ᾽ ἀπατή- The masc. is more probable than the neuter, both because τοῦτο is re- σει. mote, and because ἀνήρ follows in the antistrophe.

340. mvp-comment-196-3 ἱππείῳ γένει i. e. Prole equarum. Schol. ταῖς ἡμιόνοις.

αἱ γάρ τε βοῶν προφερέστεραί εἰσιν ἐλκέμεναι νείοιο βαθείης πηκτὸν ἄροτρον.

Hom. Il. 10.352. Donaldson also compares Simon. Fr. 13 (Bergk.), χαίρετ' ἀελλοπόδων θύγατρες ἵππων.

343. mvp-comment-197-1 *κουφονόων Light-thoughted. This is Brunck's certain emendation, anticipated by the corrector of R. (Cp. v. rr. on l. 617.) Donaldson well says that as wings express the light-mindedness of light-mindedness is here made an epithet of the winged birds. But the word may further suggest the unsuspicious nature ('Despising the earth where cares abound') which makes them an easy prey. Cp. Plat. Tim. 91 D, τὸ δὲ τῶν ὀρνέων φῦλον . . ἐκ τῶν ἀκάκων ἀνδρῶν, κούφων δέ, κ.τ.λ.

345. mvp-comment-198-1 πόντου τ᾽ εἰναλίαν φύσιν The brood of ocean teeming in the seas. For φύσιν, see Essay on Language § 51. p. 96.

346. mvp-comment-199-1 σπείραισι δικτυοκλώστοις With meshy toils,' is to be joined with ἀμφιβαλὼν ἄγει. Nets (δίκτυα) were used in hunting and fowling, as well as in fishing. For ἄγειν in the sense of making captive, cp. Il. 9. 594, τέκνα δέ τ᾽ ἄλλοι ἄγουσι βαθυζώνους τε γυναῖκας.

346. mvp-comment-199-2 ἄγει suits well with the image of a captive enemy, which is kept up in the words φύλον and ἔθνη.

348. mvp-comment-200-1 περιφραδής By his excellent wit. The 1st strophe exhibits the boldness, the Ist antistrophe the cunning, of primitive man. The 2nd strophe and antistrophe describe the higher functions of civilized life. 349 ff. He not only subdues the animals, but makes them his servants.' In correcting this line, the dactylic metre is to be retained, which is hardly done in the conjj. ἀμφιλόφῳ ζυγῷ or ἀμφὶ λόφον ζυγοῖ. The words ἀμφίλοφον ζυγόν are sound both in meaning and rhythm. Brunck's conj. ὑπάξεται, supplying the preposition required by the Scholia, would be unexceptionable, if such a potential use of the future in an affirmative sentence could be defended. Blaydes' ὑπήγαγεν would be convincing if closer to the MSS. In favour of ἐπάξεται it may be urged that the repetition of the same word is in the manner of the ode, and that the figurative expression, he shall bring to his aid,' agrees with ἄγει, supr. 343. But besides the questionable future, the construction of the 2nd accus., sc. ἐπ᾿ ἀμφ. ζυγόν, is in this case dubious. ὑφέλκεται. . ζυγόν, compels to serve him in the yoke, may be suggested, although the verb ὑφέλκειν is not used elsewhere precisely in the sense required. Else qy. ἐφέλκεται?

352. mvp-comment-201-1 ἀκμῆτα is preferable to ἀδμῆτα, as the rarer word and as introducing a new and apposite idea. 353 ff. There is a natural progress in the thought. First, navigation and agriculture were mentioned as the arts of subduing the crude forces of nature; then the capture and domestication of animals. Now we come to the humanities and arts of life (the domestication of man himself), and lastly, in ἀντ. β', to moral or political good and evil.

354. mvp-comment-202-1 ἀνεμόεν φρόνημα Windswift thought; i. e. Thought which is viewless, free and nimble as the wind. Sophocles knew that the soul had been identified with the air. Cp. Plat. Phaedo, 96 Β, πότερον τὸ αἷμά ἐστιν ᾧ φρονοῦμεν, ἢ ὁ ἀήρ. ἢ τὸ πῦρ, κ.τ.λ. Schneidewin well compares Hom. Il. 15. 80, foll., ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἂν ἀΐξῃ νόος ἀνέρος, ὅς τ᾽ ἐπὶ πολλὴν | γαῖαν ἐληλουθὼς φρεσὶ πευκαλίμῃσι νοήσῃ | · ἔνθ εἴην ἢ ἔνθα, μενοινήπολλὰ | ὡς κραιπνῶς μεμανία διέπτατο πότνια Ἥρη. Wieseler's conj.

354. mvp-comment-202-2 κατ᾿ ἀν. φρ., adopted by Wolff, is surely unnecessary. Why should not man teach himself to think as well as to count? (See Plat. Rep. 7, p. 522.)

355-356. mvp-comment-203-1 ἀστυνόμους | ὀργάς is well explained by Seyffert, Urbium incolendarum studia. The disposition to inhabit cities. This seems more probable than The tempers of civic life. ἀστυνόμος ὀργή is the social impulse which draws men together to become inhabitants of the same town. comparison of Ar. Pol. 6. 8. 4, (ἑτέρα δ᾽ ἐπιμέλεια ταύτης ἐχομένη καὶ σύνεγγυς ἡ τῶν περὶ τὸ ἄστυ δημοσίων καὶ ἰδίων, ὅπως εὐκοσμία ῃ, καὶ τῶν πιπτόντων οἰκοδομημάτων καὶ ὁδῶν σωτηρία καὶ διόρθωσις, καὶ τῶν ὁρίων τῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ὅπως ἀνεγκλήτως ἔχωσι, καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ἄλλα τῆς ἐπιμελείας ὁμοιότροπα, καλοῦσι δ' ἀστυνομίαν οἱ πλεῖστοι τὴν τοιαύτην ἀρχήν), suggests the conjecture ἀστυνόμους ἀρχάς (already made by Valckenaer), Administrative rule. V reads ὁρμάς, ср. О. Т. 337. Qy. ἀρετάς? Ср. 366. 355, foll. And to avoid the cleareyed influence of comfortless frosts, and the pelting of the pitiless rain.' διαίθρεια, sc. βέλη.

356. mvp-comment-204-1 ἐδιδάξατο He taught himself. For the directly reflexive middle, see Essay on Language § 31. p. 52. The origin of the arts was a favourite problem of the Sophists. Cp. Plato, Prot. 320 D, foll. It is here assumed that they were selftaught without Prometheus or other superhuman aid.

357. mvp-comment-205-1 Musgr. would read either διαίθρεια, or αἴθρεια with φρουρῶν for παρειρῶν in l. 367. G. Wolff reads αἴθρεια and πληρῶν. But the repetition of in ll. 3, 4, and 6 suits the composition of the strophe better than the introduction of the bacchius and cretic in l. 3. διαίθρεια, serene, while keeping up the alliteration, suits the context better than ὑπαίθρεια or ἐναίθρεια, in the open air. Join *διαίθρεια βέλη as well as δύσομβρα βέλη.

360. mvp-comment-206-1 παντοπόρος· ἄπορος This punctuation is justified by the corresponding line of the antistrophe, which cannot be pointed otherwise. παντοπόρος, sc. ὤν, is added, like περιφραδής ἀνήρ, supr. 347, to express the admiration excited by the preceding statements.

360-361. mvp-comment-207-1 οὐδὲν . . τὸ μέλλον] Cp. l. 728, μηδὲν τὸ μὴ δίκαιον. Essay on Language § 22. p. 36.

362. mvp-comment-208-1 οὐκ ἐπάξεται He shall not win. For a similar metaphorical use of ἐπάγεσθαι, where, however, the reading has also been questioned, cp. Thuc. 3.10, τὴν τῶν ξυμμάχων δούλωσιν ἐπαγομένους.

364. mvp-comment-209-1 νόσων δ᾽ ἀμηχάνων φυγὰς | ξυμπέφρασται He hath gathered to him by his thought a remedy for many an unavoidable disease. ξυμ- marks that the healing art is a collective monument of human skill. πέφρασται recalls the notion of περιφραδής, supr. 347. For the oxymoron, cp. supr. 340, ἀκαμάταν ἀποτρύεται.

365-366. mvp-comment-210-1 His power of artful contrivance is a miracle of unimaginable skill, wherewith he followeth one while an evil purpose, at other times a good one.' τέχνας is added as genitive of respect to complete the notion of τὸ μηχανόεν. ὑπὲρ ἐλπίδα, beyond what could have been hoped for, or expected before the event. τι marks the indefiniteness of σοφόν as the predicate. It is in agreement with σοφόν, but has the effect of a particle or adverb (πως).

366. mvp-comment-211-1 κακόν, . . ἐπ᾿ ἐσθλόν Cp. О. Т. 761, ἀγρούς σφε πέμψαι κἀπὶ ποιμνίων νομάς.

367. mvp-comment-212-1 νόμους παρείρων χθονός When he knits therewith, sc. τῷ μηχανόεντι τῆς τέχνης καὶ σοφῷ, the laws of his land and the oath-observing righteousness of heaven. It is objected to παρείρων that it elsewhere means Inserting incidentally, or by the way, and that such a meaning is unsuitable here. But, as Seyffert has already shown, the word (which is a rare one) may quite well mean Weaving in,' like gold-leaf, for instance, into a chaplet of flowers. Cp. Plat. Legg. 605 D, καὶ τὸν τοῦ Κύρου δασμὸν ὃν ὑπέσχετο Πέρσαις εἰς τὸν νόμον ἐνέδει. Conjectural emendations are γεραίρων, περαίνων, γὰρ αἴρων, τ᾿ ἀείρων, πληρῶν (see v. rr., and note on 357).

370. mvp-comment-213-1 ὑψίπολις For this compound, cp. ἡδύπολις, ὀρθόπολις, μεγιστόπολις, δικαιόπολις. The construction is elliptical, sc. ὑψίπολις ὧν or ἐστί.

370. mvp-comment-213-2 ἄπολις . . χάριν] He is outcast from the state, who harbours evil for the indulgence of crime. Cp. supr. l. 30, πρὸς χάριν βορâs: Plat. Phaedr. 241, χάριν πλησμονῆς. This is better than joining τόλμας χάριν with ἄπολις = He is an outcast for his boldness.

375. mvp-comment-214-1 ἴσον φρονῶν i. e. Of the same party in the state. For the expression, cp. Il. 15.50, ἶσον ἐμοὶ φρονέουσα.

376-378. mvp-comment-215-1 ἐς δαιμόνιον τέρας .. Ἀντιγόνην] I stand in doubt at this strange marvel, how to gainsay what I know, and say that this is not the maid Antigone. The resumption is suitable to the chorus' perturbed state of feeling. Seyffert's ἐς δαιμόνιον τέρας ἀμφινοῶν τότε, referring to the previous scene (1. 278), is without the directness and simplicity of these short anapaestic passages, in which the chorus announce the entrance of a new person on the stage. Cp. 526 ff., 626 ff.

378. mvp-comment-216-1 οὐκ εἶναι, not μὴ εἶναι, because the entrance of Antigone is a patent fact.

382. mvp-comment-217-1 *ἀπάγουσι Sc. εἰς κρίσιν.

385. mvp-comment-218-1 εἵλομεν The v. r. εἴδομεν is supported by infr. 404, 406, 423, and εἴλομεν, the reading of L, etc., may have been occasioned by καθελόντες in the nearer context. But see v. rr. on 655.

386. mvp-comment-219-1 ἐς δέον Cp. Ο. Τ. 1416, εἰς δέον πάρεστι. εἰς μέσον, which Seyffert has restored from L, although having the authority of the chief MS, is more like a MS. conjecture than eἰς δέον. The same may be said of ἐξέβην, as compared with προὔβην. Seyffert reads ξύμμετρ᾽ ἐξέβην τύχῃ.

388. mvp-comment-220-1 οὐδέν ἐστ᾿ ἀπώμοτον This γνώμη first occurs in the fragment of Archilochus about the eclipse (76 Bergk), χρημάτων ἄελπτον οὐδέν ἐστιν οὐδ᾽ ἀπώμοτον. Cp. Pind. Ol. 13. 83, παρ' ὅρκον καὶ παρ' ἐλπίδα κούφαν.

389. mvp-comment-221-1 ψεύδει .. γνώμην 'For second thoughts bely one's resolutions.' ου 390. ἄv belongs grammatically to the verb ἐξηύχουν, but in meaning rather modifies the infinitive.

391. mvp-comment-222-1 ταῖς .. τότε When my soul was shaken with the tempest of your former threatenings.᾿ ἀπειλαῖς is dative of the occasion or accompaniment, assisted by attraction. Essay on Language § 11. p. 18, с. Ср. 1. 691.

392. mvp-comment-223-1 ἐκτὸς καὶ παρ᾿ ἐλπίδας i. e.

392. mvp-comment-223-2 ἐκτὸς ἐλπίδος (supr. 1. 330) καὶ παρ᾿ ἐλπίδας.

393. mvp-comment-224-1 ἔοικεν.. μήκος οὐδέν Sc. οὐδὲν ἔοικε μήκος, i. e. εἰς τὸ μέγεθος, as the Scholiast says.

395. mvp-comment-225-1 καθευρέθη is not to be rejected because of the rarity of the compound. See Essay on Language p. 90. But the conjecture of Nauck, καθῃρέθη, is favoured by καθελόντες in l. 383.

398. mvp-comment-226-1 ὡς θέλεις In arresting Antigone the watchman has done not his own will but Creon's. Infr. 438. 399,

400. mvp-comment-227-1 ἐγὼ δ'. κακῶν But I have a full right to be "away and clear" from this bad business.

401. mvp-comment-228-1 This maiden! where, and how, did you arrest her?' The emphatic order of words expresses the profound astonishment of Creon. Essay on Language § 41. p. 77.

403. mvp-comment-229-1 λέγεις ὀρθῶς Do you say it with a clear mind? i. e. Have you your wits when you say this? CСр. О. Т. 528, ἐξ ὀμμάτων δ᾽ ὀρθῶν τε καὶ ὀρθῆς φρενός | κατηγορεῖτο τοὐπίκλημα τοῦτό μου;

404. mvp-comment-230-1 ὃν σὺ τόν The collocation of antecedent and relative is peculiar, and perhaps characteristic of the rustic emphasis of the Φύλαξ. See notes on supr. 238, 269, and cp. infr. 409.

406. mvp-comment-231-1 And how was she discovered, caught, and taken ?"

407. mvp-comment-232-1 τοιοῦτον (1) As you say: she was seen (1. 423), surprised (1.432), and caught (1.433). Or (2) As follows,' = τοιόνδε.

409-410. mvp-comment-233-1 τὸν | νέκυν Α remarkable instance of synapheia. Cp. 1. 238. Essay on Language § 21. p. 33. Supr. 238.

410. mvp-comment-234-1 μυδῶν Dank: referring rather to the state of the corpse (cp. 412) than to the remains of the libation, which would be soon dried by the sun.

410. mvp-comment-234-2 εὐ Carefully. For the order, see Essay on Language p. 78, and cp. О. Т. 308, μαθόντες εὖ.

411. mvp-comment-235-1 We sat just below the top of the rising ground, in the lee of the wind, so escaping the incidence of the odour from the dead. Supposing the corpse to be exposed on a slope of the high ground, surrounded by hillocks, they would select a point of observation on the lee-side of one of these hillocks, and to the windward of the corpse, which they would have full in view.

411. mvp-comment-235-2 ἐκ = On this side of and looking from. Essay on Language § 19. p. 27. Infr. 1110, εἰς ἐπόψιον τόπον : 1197, πεδίον ἐπ᾿ ἄκρον. πικρᾶς] ι in erasure of v? by recent hand Vat.

412. mvp-comment-236-1 This line is not necessarily connected with the preceding: i.e. They may be supposed to select a spot, (1) out of the wind, (2) out of the way of the smell. But the explanation above given (411 note) is more probable. In either case the point is that in attending to their watch they were mightily careful of their own comfort.

412. mvp-comment-236-2 βάλῃ Changed by Stephanusto βάλοι, because of the past time and the optative following. But the subj. is more vivid.

413-414. mvp-comment-237-1 Rousing each his fellow with noisy altercation, reviling him who should take this labour easily. εἴ τις, κ.τ.λ. depends on the verbal notion implied in κακοῖσιν = κακῶς λέγοντες.

413-414. mvp-comment-237-2 ἀφειδεῖν, ‘Το be unsparing, and so To be negligent, To treat lightly, To act without circumspection. For an approach to this meaning, cp. Thuc. 4.26 § 7. Bonitz conj. ἀκηδήσοι.

415-417. mvp-comment-238-1 This lasted till the sun had reached his station in mid-sky with unclouded splendour, and the heat was glowing.' Cp. the Homeric ὄφρα μὲν ἠέλιος μέσον οὐρανὸν ἀμφιβεβήκει.

417. mvp-comment-239-1 When suddenly from the earth the Storm-god raised a squall, that saddened all the sky, and filled the plain, tearing the tresses of the orchard groves, and the wide heaven was choked withal.' The chief discomfort of such a visitation would be the cloud of dust, forcing men to close their eyes, and wrapping even near objects from sight. The watchman is explaining why they lost sight of the corpse. The poet also provides a motive for the act by which Antigone is betrayed. She fears that the corpse, lying in an exposed situation, may have been disturbed by the violence of the wind.

418. mvp-comment-240-1 οὐράνιον ἄχος may mean either (1) A trouble from the sky, or (2) A trouble reaching to the sky. The latter is best, as the word χθονός indicates that the whirlwind seemed to rise out of the ground.

420. mvp-comment-241-1 ἐν δ' See Essay on Language p. 26. § 18, a.

421. mvp-comment-242-1 μύσαντες .. νόσον Closing lips and eyes, we endured the Divine visitation.

422. mvp-comment-243-1 ἐν χρόνῳ μακρῷ After lasting a long while: giving time for Antigone to come out of her concealment, with the libation ready. 423, foll. κἀνακωκύει] ‘And raises a shrill wailing cry, like the voice of the despairing bird. For the descriptive genitive, see Essay on Language § 9. p. 12.

422. mvp-comment-243-2 πικρᾶς Embittered, 'Full of bitterness: the quality of the object is transferred to the subject: i.e. πικρᾶς, ἅτε πασχούσης πικρά. Also the bitterness of anger is joined to that of grief. Cp. the Latin dolor. For the genitive, cp. Trach. 768, ὥστε τέκτονοs. And for the omission of ὡs, which is supplied in the following clause, cp. supr. 114, λευκῆς χιόνος πτέρυγι στεγανός. G. Wolff reads ὅ. δ. φθόγγον ὥς, ὅταν κ. But this yields a less probable rhythm.

424-425. mvp-comment-244-1 As when it sees robbed of its young ones the desolated couch of its nest. For the pleonasm, see Essay on Language § 40. p. 75.

426. mvp-comment-245-1 οὕτω δέ The apodosis is resumed, as so often happens after a comparison. Essay on Language p. 75. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 252.

427. mvp-comment-246-1 γόοισιν Essay on Language p. 75.

427. mvp-comment-246-2 ἐκ δ᾽.. ἠρᾶτο Essay on Language § 18. p. 27.

430. mvp-comment-247-1 ἄρδην.. στέφει Slightly condensed from ἄρδην ἔχουσα στέφει. στέφει, She decorates, Honours. Metaphorical, as in Od. 8. 170, ἀλλὰ θεὸς μορφὴν ἔπεσι στέφει. Cp. καταστέφειν in Eur. Phoen. 1632, and Sophron ap. Athen. 479 B. She leaves out no jot of the ceremony: ὡς οὐδὲν ὑφιεμένη τῷ κρηύγματι.

431. mvp-comment-248-1 Od. 11. 26, ἀμφ᾿ αὐτῷ δὲ χοὰς χέομεν πᾶσιν νεκύεσσι, | πρῶτα μελικρήτῳ, μετέπειτα δὲ ἡδέϊ οἴνῳ, | τὸ τρίτον αὐθ᾽ ὕδατι.

432. mvp-comment-249-1 σὺν δέ νιν | θηρώμεθ' For this tmesis, see Essay on Language § 18. p. 26. συν as in συλλαμβάνω.

435. mvp-comment-250-1 Cp. Hdt. 3. 66, ἔξαρνος ἦν μὴ μὲν ἀποκτεῖναι Σμέρδιν: 3. 99, ἄπαρνός ἐστι μὴ μὲν νοσέειν.

436. mvp-comment-251-1 ἀλλ᾽.. ἅμα ἀλλά is to be explained as pointing the antithesis after the negative. Her attitude was not that of denial, but one to me at least pleasant and painful as well. The adverb modifies a word which is to be supplied from καθίστατο. ἡδέως ἐμοί, i. e. ὥστε ἐμὲ ἥδεσθαι, Essay on Language § 24. p. 40. There is a certain point in this which is lost in the emendation of Dindorf, ἅμ᾽ ἡδέως, in which, however, the repetition of ἅμα may be defended from Plat. Gorg. 497 Α, ἅμα διψῶν τε ἕκαστος ἡμῶν πέπαυται καὶ ἅμα ἡδόμενος διὰ τοῦ πίνειν. Schneidewin quotes also Gorg. 496 C, ὧν ἅμα τε ἀπαλλάττεται ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἅμα ἔχει, which is not really parallel.

439-440. mvp-comment-252-1 ἀλλὰ .. σωτηρίας (1) But all these things are to me by nature less important to obtain than my own safety. λαβεῖν epexegetic, like ἔχειν in Ο. Τ. 592, τυραννὶς ἡδίων ἔχειν. Cp. inf. 638, μείζων φέρεσθαι: Εl. 1015-1016, προνοίας οὐδὲν ἀνθρώποις ἔφυ | κέρδος λαβεῖν ἄμειvov. Or, possibly, (2) It is in my nature to take less account of all this than of my own safety. For the meaning thus given to ἐμοὶ πέφυκ cp. Εl. 860, πᾶσι θνατοῖς ἔφυ μύρος. And for λαβεῖν = To weigh or estimate, cp. Thuc. 2. 42, § 5, τὴν δὲ τῶν ἐναντίων τιμωρίαν ποθεινοτέραν αὐτῶν λαβόντες.

441. mvp-comment-253-1 For σὲ δή, sc. λέγω, cp. Aesch. Prom. 944, σὲ τὸν σοφιστήν, κ.τ.λ.: Soph. El. 1445, σε τοι, σὲ κρίνω, κ.τ.λ.: Eur. Hel. 546. And for ἐς πέδον κάρα νεύειν, cp. supr. 269.

441. mvp-comment-253-2 Creon misinterprets the action of Antigone. She fixes her eyes upon the ground, not from fear or shame, but because she is out of sympathy with all present, and her thoughts are in the other world. The hidden fire flashes out in ll. 450, foll., which are certainly not spoken with averted eyes. Cp. Ο. Τ. 1121.

442. mvp-comment-254-1 καταρνεῖ The unusual compound, introduced, perhaps, partly for the sake of metre, has also a special sense of blame. Cp. καταμελέω, καταξιόω, καταπειλέω, καταπροδίδωμι, καταργυρόω, κατασπείρω, κατασχολάζω.

445. mvp-comment-255-1 Free and exempt from grievous imputation.

446. mvp-comment-256-1 μήκος Adverbial, cp. O. С. 92, κέρδη μὲν οἰκήσαντα τοῖς δεδεγμένοις.

446. mvp-comment-256-2 'Tell us, no long tale, but briefly, knew you of the edict that forbade this deed? I knew; 'twas plain enough. How could I fail to know? And were you, then, so hardy as to transgress our law? That edict came not to me from the mouth of Zeus, nor from the Right, whose throne is with the Gods below. They also have appointed unto men a law. Methought your edict could not so prevail, as that a mortal should overleap the silent irrefragable ordinances of heaven. Their life is not of to-day or yesterday. They are eternal. None knoweth of a time when they began. I feared not so the mind of any man, as to incur before the Gods the penalty of that law. I knew, forsooth, without your edict, that I was to die. And if I am to die before the time, I count it gain. For he must surely gain by death who lives, as I do, midst abounding woes. And so for me to meet this doom is a grief I reck not of. If I had borne to leave unburied the corpse, fallen in carnage, of my mother's son, that had been a grief to me, but this is no grief. And if I seem to you to be now doing foolishly, it comes to this;-I am condemned of folly by a fool.'

447. mvp-comment-257-1 τὰ κηρυχθέντα The proclamation made. Cobet's conjecture ᾔδησθα κηρυχθέντα (Νov. Lect. 1858. p. 215), while restoring the recognised Attic form, is unobjectionable in point of syntax. But the use of the article in pointing to his own decree is characteristic of Creon, and if ἠείδης is retained in the Iliad, 22. 280, why not ᾔδης in Tragedy?

449. mvp-comment-258-1 καὶ δῆτα And then. Cp. Plat. Theaet. 142 C, καὶ δῆτα προπέμψας αὐτόν, ἀπιὼν πάλιν, κ.τ.λ.

449. mvp-comment-258-2 τούσδε . . νόμους These laws, i. e. The laws whose majesty is vested in me. For this use of the demonstrative, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 34.

450. mvp-comment-259-1 I obeyed no decree of yesterday, but the eternal law. That cannot be annulled by any enactment of a mere man. It may be that I shall die for what I have done. But it needed not your proclamation to tell me that I must die. And to die before the term appointed me is to lose so much of sorrow.

451. mvp-comment-260-1 For the mythological fancy, cp. О. С. 1381-1382, εἴπερ ἐστὶν ἡ παλαίφατος | Δίκη ξύνεδρος Ζηνὸς ἀρχαίοις νόμοις.

452. mvp-comment-261-1 This line is rightly explained by the Scholiast and Donaldson, Ἡ δίκη, φησί, καὶ ὁ Ζεὺς ὥρισαν ὥστε θάπτεσθαι τοὺς νεκρούς.. θέλει δὲ εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως δίκαιον ἤγημαι θάπτειν τὸν ἀδελφόν. (Schol.) She replies, that she did not consider his proclamations as emanating from Zeus, the supreme God, or from that justice which regulated the rights of the dead, who, she says, have established these laws, namely, the laws of sepulture, which do not need any enactment, but have their ὅροι set up in the human heart. (Donaldson.) The iteration of τούσδε, in contrasting the law which she obeyed with the edict of Creon, is dramatically appropriate, and there is no difficulty in the vague use of the demonstrative. See Essay on Language § 22. p. 34. Cp. Od. 10. 326, τάδε φάρμακα.

454. mvp-comment-262-1 ἄγραπτα κἀσφαλῆ Unwritten and sure. Ср. О. Т. 865 ff., and note. ἀσφαλῆ is not only Never failing to apply, but also Never failing to vindicate their authority. Cp. II. 456 ff.

455. mvp-comment-263-1 θνητὸν ὄντα Sc. σέ, understood from τὰ σὰ κηρύγματα. That a mortal man should run beyond the silent irrefragable ordinances of the Gods. Cp. Eur. Ion 973, καὶ πῶς τὰ κρείσσω θνητός οὖσ᾽ ὑπερδράμω; Ο.Τ. 476-482

456. mvp-comment-264-1 νῦν .. κἀχθές To-day or yes- terday. The particle γε, ay, serves to connect the sentences, and τε is unnecessary, as appears from the similar expression, χθὲς καὶ πρώην, in Plat. Legg. 3. 677 D.

456. mvp-comment-264-2 ἀεί ποτε means Everlastingly, without any clear distinction of past or future. πότε gives the effect of indefiniteness or infinity.

457. mvp-comment-265-1 ζῇ Are in force. Cр. О. Т. 481, ἀεὶ ζῶντα περιποτᾶται.

457. mvp-comment-265-2 ἐξ ὅτου 'φάνη Since when they came into being. Cp. Tr. 1, λόγος ..

457. mvp-comment-265-3 ἀρχαῖος φανείς.

458-459. mvp-comment-266-1 τούτων.. τὴν δίκην The penalty to be exacted in vindication of these. The Gods might be said δίκην ἐπιτιθέναι τῶν παραβαθέντων νόμων, although the word in the genitive after δίκη more frequently signifies the offence for which punishment is awarded. Cp. infr. 1074, τούτων σε λωβητῆρες ὑστεροφθόροι, κ.τ.λ.

458-459. mvp-comment-266-2 ἀνδρός Of a mere man. Cp. O. C. 567, ἔξοιδ᾽ ἀνὴρ ὤν. 461 ff. Shak. Julius Caesar, 3. 1, 'Bru. That we shall die, we know; 'tis but the time | And drawing days out, that men stand upon. | Cass. Why, he that cuts off twenty years of life | Cuts off so many years of fearing death. | Bru. Grant that, and then is death a benefit: | So are we Caesar's friends, that have abridged His time of fearing death.'

458-459. mvp-comment-266-3 τοῦ χρόνου, sc. ἐν ᾧ μ᾿ ἐχρῆν θανεῖν.

462. mvp-comment-267-1 κέρδος αὔτ᾽ ἐγὼ λέγω αὔτ᾽, i. e. αὐτό, although not necessary to the construction, as appears from Plat. Apol. 40 Ε., κέρδος ἔγωγε λέγω, is better here than αὖτe, which weakens κέρδος.

463. mvp-comment-268-1 ὡς ἐγώ Supr. ll. 4-6.

466. mvp-comment-269-1 παρ᾿ οὐδὲν ἄλγος Is a grief of no account. Cp. supr. 35.

466. mvp-comment-269-2 ἐμῆς Meineke conj. ἐκ μιᾶs, Seyffert ὁμῆς, unnecessarily. The emphatic use of ἐμós is frequent in Sophocles.

467. mvp-comment-270-1 ἄθαπτον *ἠνσχόμην ἠνσχόμην (1) may be defended by the analogy of the syncopated ἀνσχήσεσθαι, ἄνσχεο, in Epic Greek. Otherwise (2) νέκυν may be cancelled as a gloss, and ἄθαπτον *ὄντ᾿ ἠνεσχόμην read, according to the conj. of Prof. E. L. Lushington. Or (3) ἐσχόμην may be read in the sense of ἠνεσχόμην. Ε. on L. § 55, 4. p. 101. But this is doubtful.

470. mvp-comment-271-1 μώρῳ i.e. One whose judgment is self-condemned, because opposed to the eternal laws. The word is not prompted by mere petulance, but is uttered with profound conviction.

471. mvp-comment-272-1 'The maiden's lineage declares itself in the fierce vein that comes to her from her fierce sire.' Phil. 1045-1046.

472. mvp-comment-273-1 ἐπίσταται Sc. ἡ παῖς.

473. mvp-comment-274-1 σκληρά Unbending, and so Stubborn, Obstinate.

473. mvp-comment-274-2 The self-will of Creon appears with increasing distinctness. (1) He asserts his confidence in the use of power to suppress insubordination. (2) He speaks of his ward, whom he does not care to name, as in the place of a slave (479): (3) he implies that to cede an inch of authority is to give the sovereignty to another (485). (4) He throws the tie of kindred to the winds. The first words of his speech are ominous of his own doom. See Introduction.

475. mvp-comment-275-1 ὀπτὸν .. περισκελή Baked to exceeding hardness. Cp. Aj. 649, καὶ περισκελεῖς φρένες.

476. mvp-comment-276-1 θραυσθέντα καὶ ῥαγέντα Broken and shattered. The strongest word is put first in the Greek. Essay on Language § 41. p.77.

477. mvp-comment-277-1 σμικρῷ has a strong emphasis. Ibid.

478. mvp-comment-278-1 ἐκπέλει Hesych. ἐκπέλει, ἔξεστι. Hdt. uses ἐκγίνεσθαι in a similar sense. See Essay on Language § 55. p. 101.

479. mvp-comment-279-1 δοῦλος Creon shows his coarsely tyrannical spirit by boasting of his absolute power over his orphan relative.

481. mvp-comment-280-1 Cp. Hdt. 3. 83, νόμους οὐκ ὑπερβαίνουσα τοὺς Περσέων.

484. mvp-comment-281-1 Cp. Eur. I. Α. 952 ff., ἢ Σίπυλος ἔσται πόλις, ὅρισμα βαρβάρων, κ.τ.λ.

485. mvp-comment-282-1 If this authority is to be allowed to rest with her unchallenged. By an exaggeration of feeling like that in l. 208, he thinks that to pardon disobedience is to yield authority to the offender. For κείσεται, cp. El. 361, σοὶ δὲ πλουσία | τράπεζα κείσθω: ἀνάκειμαι in Hdt. 1.97, γνοὺς ὁ Δηϊόκης ἐς ἑωυτὸν πᾶν ἀνακείμενον.

485. mvp-comment-282-2 κράτη, as in l. 173, ἐγὼ κράτη δὴ πάντα καὶ θρόνους ἔχω.

486. mvp-comment-283-1 ὁμαιμονεστέρα is the more rational and stronger reading: although in weighing a hyperbolical expression of this kind, that is perhaps hardly a sufficient argument, and may be urged on the other side as accounting for the alteration of the MS.

487. mvp-comment-284-1 τοῦ παντὸς.. Ζηνὸς ἐρκείου i.e. Our whole family, the presiding numen being put for the thing held sacred.

489. mvp-comment-285-1 μόρου For the genitive with ἀλύξετον, cp. Phil. 1044, τῆς νόσου πεφευγέναι.

489. mvp-comment-285-2 ἴσον is probably to be construed both with ἐπαιτιῶμαι and βουλεύσαι (‘I accuse equally of plotting equally'), and τοῦδε τάφου is partly gen. after ἐπαιτιῶμαι, partly after ἴσον.

491. mvp-comment-286-1 ἀρτίως Viz. after l. 331, when Ismene knew that the deed was done, and, alone of those in the palace, knew also by whom.

493-494. mvp-comment-287-1 And it commonly happens that the spirit of those who are plotting some utter wickedness in secret is convicted of its occulted guilt before the act.

493. mvp-comment-288-1 ᾑρῆσθαι κλοπεύς Το be arrested in some stealthy enterprise. The perfect tense marks that the detection is completed before the purpose is carried into effect. Cp. πεπραγμένα .. ἡμαρτημένα, in O. T. 621.

495. mvp-comment-289-1 Yet I hate it equally when one who is caught in actual mischief tries to make a virtue of the offence.

495. mvp-comment-289-2 ἐν κακοῖσι = In trouble, i. e. In crime, and not merely, like Ismene, in the consciousness of crime. Cp. Fr. 843, αἰδὼς γὰρ ἐν κακοῖσιν οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖ.

496. mvp-comment-290-1 καλλύνειν Creon affects to regard Antigone's appeal to the higher law as a piece of hypocrisy. Cp. Fr. 845

496. mvp-comment-290-2 κλέπτων δ᾽ ὅταν τις ἐμφανῶς ἐφευρεθῇ, | σιγᾶν ἀνάγκη, κἂν καλὸν φέρῃ στόμα.

497. mvp-comment-291-1 Cp. Eur. Phoen. 1211.

500. mvp-comment-292-1 μηδ' ἀρεσθείη Sc. μηδὲν τῶν σῶν λόγων.

501. mvp-comment-293-1 ἔφυ Are by nature, and so cannot fail to be.

505. mvp-comment-294-1 λέγοιτ' ἄν For the passive, see Essay on Language § 31. P. 54 *ἐγκλείσαι] Cp. supr. 1. 180. Dindorf's correction (with εί for ῄ) is retained in preference to ἐγκλείοι. The future optative is clearly wrong.

506-507. mvp-comment-295-1 These two lines have been considered spurious. But their scornful tone may be compared with supr. 469-470.

509. mvp-comment-296-1 ὑπίλλουσι ἴλλειν (cp. supr. 340) is To move within bounds, or To limit motion. So here, 'They move their lips under your restraint; i. e. They curb their speech under your will.

510. mvp-comment-297-1 τῶνδε .. φρονεῖς; If you hold a course divergent from theirs. Cp. supr. 375, μήτ᾽ ἴσον φρονῶν.

512. mvp-comment-298-1 καταντίον In opposition to him.

514. mvp-comment-299-1 Why then do you honour a service which involves impiety to him? Honour, i. e. By zealously performing it.

515. mvp-comment-300-1 ὁ κατθανών νέκυς Eteocles.

516. mvp-comment-301-1 i. e. If you honour the impious one equally with him.

517. mvp-comment-302-1 For the omission of the participle, see Essay on Language § 23. p. 38.

519. mvp-comment-303-1 τοὺς νόμους τούτους Cp. supr. 452.

519. mvp-comment-303-2 ἴσους, the reading of the corrector of L, rather injures the line by dividing the emphasis, which rests entirely on ὅμως. Essay on Language § 41. p. 76 (4).

520. mvp-comment-304-1 ἴσος Of equal right. ἴσos has the construction of ἄξιος or δίκαιος. Essay on Language § 36. p. 64.

521. mvp-comment-305-1 Who can tell if this be not esteemed pious in the under-world? τάδε, this, which you count impious, the burial of Polynices. Schol., τίς οἶδεν εἰ καθ' Ἅιδου ἀλλήλοις διαλλάσσοντες ἡγοῦνται εὐσεβῆ τάδε. τίς οἶδεν εἰ, like Haud scio an in Latin, suggests an affirmative as possible, as in the lines τίς οἶδεν εἰ τὸ ζῆν μὲν ἐστι κατθανεῖν | τὸ κατθανεῖν δὲ ζῆν; κάτωθεν, see v. rr., is possibly right.

522-523. mvp-comment-306-1 Creon means that Eteocles must still hate Polynices after death. To which Antigone rejoins, in the line which expresses what is deepest in her, If it be so, his hatred is no rule for me. Creon sees that further argument is useless, and breaks off impatiently with an abrupt sentence of death.

524-525. mvp-comment-307-1 Go, then, to your grave, and there, if you must love them, love the dead below! κείνους, sc. τοὺς κάτω, with particular reference to Polynices.

526-530. mvp-comment-308-1 Here comes Ismene forth, shedding sisterly tears; from clouds above her brow, that moisten her fair cheek, doing disgrace unto her flushed countenance. Cp. Sh Shakespeare, Midsummer Night's Dream, 1. 1, Lys. Why is your cheek so pale? | How chance the roses there do fade so fast? | Herm. Belike, for want of rain, which I could well | Beteem them from the tempest of mine eyes. Ant. and Cleo. 3. 2. 52. Il. 17. 591, ἄχεος νεφέλη: Eur. Hipp. 173, ὀφρύων νέφος: Aesch. Prom. 144-145, ὀμίχλα .. πλήρης δακρύων.

527. mvp-comment-309-1 δάκρυ᾽ εἰβομένη is the Triclinian reading for δάκρυα λειβόμενα. δάκρυ λειβομένη has been conjectured. But the construction, with φιλάδελφα adverbial, is less simple and therefore less pathetic. δάκρυα εἰβομένη is read in M³.

529. mvp-comment-310-1 ῥέθος Eur. Η. F. 1204, πάρες ἀπ᾿ ὀμμάτων | πέπλον . . ῥέθος ἀελίῳ δεῖξον.

531. mvp-comment-311-1 ὡς ἔχιδν᾽ ὑφειμένη Having slid in secretly like a snake; i.e. Like a serpent lurking. For the feeling associated with ὑφίημι, cp. Ο. Τ. 387, ὑφεὶς μάγον τοιόνδε μηχανορράφον.

532. mvp-comment-312-1 ἐξέπινες Cp. Tr. 1055-1056, ῥοφεῖ ξυνοικοῦν· ἐκ δὲ χλωρὸν αἷμά μου | πέπωκεν ἤδη.

533. mvp-comment-313-1 ἄτα κἀπαναστάσεις Abstract for concrete. See Essay on Language p. 94.

533. mvp-comment-313-2 θρόνων, obj. gen. Ib. § 9. p. 12.

536. mvp-comment-314-1 εἴπερ ἥδ᾽ ὁμορροθεῖ The Scholiast has noticed the apparent absurdity of Ismene's adding this condition to her avowal; and Schneidewin alters the line το δέδρακα τοὔργον, εἴπερ ἥδ᾽· ὁμορροθῶ. But the inconsistency is touchingly significant of the irresolute character of Ismene, and of the ascendancy of Antigone's stern nature over hers.

537. mvp-comment-315-1 τῆς αἰτίας is directly governed by ξυμμετίσχω, the notion of participation being silently continued in καὶ φέρω. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 331, πάντων μετασχὼν καὶ τετολμηκὼς ἐμοί.

539. mvp-comment-316-1 οὔτ᾽ ἐγὼ 'κοινωσάμην Supr. 69.

541. mvp-comment-317-1 ξύμπλουν Essay on Language p. 94.

542. mvp-comment-318-1 Antigone's offering to the dead was made in solitude, and without the presence of the sun.

545. mvp-comment-319-1 ἁγνίσαι τιμῆσαι Schol. Ismene means, Though I shrank from the deed, let me share the glory of it by accepting the consequences.

546. mvp-comment-320-1 ἅ = ταῦτα ὧν. Essay on Language § 35. P. 59. μή, ibid. § 29. p. 48.

548. mvp-comment-321-1 τίς βίος i. e. πῶς ὁ βίος; See Essay on Language § 22. p. 36.

549. mvp-comment-322-1 'Ask Creon. He has your care and duty;' i.e. Creon is more to you than your brother is.

551. mvp-comment-323-1 εἰ γέλωτ᾽ ἔν σοι γελῶ Schneidewin's explanation of this line, It is painful to me to be mocking you, my sister, is out of harmony with the tone of Antigone, although it is true that in this line her bitterness is somewhat softened. Either δή, κεἰ must be read, or εἰ explained as = κεἰ. I have grief enough, I assure you, though I laugh a bitter laugh at thee. Cp. 728, εἰ δ' ἐγὼ νέος = Though I am young: Eur. Or. 484, εἰ δὲ δυστυχεῖ, τιμητέος. See Essay on Language § 28. p. 47.

552. mvp-comment-324-1 ἀλλὰ νῦν Essay on Language § 26. p. 43. Par. E suggests ἐπωφελοῖμ᾽.

554. mvp-comment-325-1 κἀμπλάκω i. e. ἢ σώσω ἐμαυτὴν καὶ ἀμπλάκω.

556. mvp-comment-326-1 ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ . . λόγοις But not without my saying what I said, was this choice made. Ismene would clear herself from the imputation of merely shrinking from the attempt through cowardice, or without laying before her sister the grounds of her own conduct, as she had done supr. 49 ff. She also wishes to remind Antigone of ll. 78, 99, which acquit her of indifference towards the dead. But Antigone only recalls the argument against opposing those in power. Wolff compares Eur. Ion 228, ἐπὶ δ' ἀσφάκτοις μήλοις μὴ πάριτε.

557. mvp-comment-327-1 Your counsel seemed wise to these' (Creon, etc., τοῖς ἐνθάδε), but mine to those (Polynices and the powers below, τοῖς ἐκεῖ). The form of the sentence is accommodated to the latter part of it. If the first part were fully expressed it would be ἐδόκεις ἄν. G. Wolff and Wecklein prefer the reading σὺ μὲν σοί. But the opposition of τοῖς μὲν, τοῖς δέ, is more pointed.

558. mvp-comment-328-1 (1) Ismene reiterates, still feebly, what she had asserted in 536-537. Or (2) 'We are both in equal error,'-you against the state, and I against the dead. The first (1) is best. In either case, Antigone rejoins, You need not trouble yourself to make confessions. You are safe.

559-560. mvp-comment-329-1 ἡ δ᾽ ἐμὴ.. ὠφελεῖν My soul has long been with the dead, to do them service. In these words Antigone may be supposed to say, either (1) From the moment when my resolution was taken, my life has been with the dead, devoted in sacrifice to their aid; cp. supr. 72 and note: or (2) I have long been dead to all the joys of life, and am therefore a fit sacrifice to the service of the dead. So Wecklein. Cp. Shak. Merch. of V. 4. 1, I am a tainted wether of the flock, etc. But the former meaning (1) is alone consistent with the betrothal of Antigone to Haemon.

562. mvp-comment-330-1 τὴν δ᾽.. ἔφυ We learn from this line, and from supr. 499-501, that there had never been much sympathy between Antigone and Creon.

563-564. mvp-comment-331-1 The unfortunate never retain even the reason that was born with them, but lose it in distraction. Ismene intends her excuse to cover Antigone.

564. mvp-comment-332-1 Creon echoes κακῶς πράσσουσιν. You lost your wits when you chose to share the guilt of the wicked. Cp. 536 ff., 558.

566. mvp-comment-333-1 Why, what life that deserves the name could be mine in loneliness apart from her?

567. mvp-comment-334-1 Say not "this maiden." She is no longer here. The word ἥδε remains in the nominative. This often happens when a word is quoted with the article; which, however, is elsewhere omitted in similar cases, as for instance when the word so quoted is the predicate of a sentence. Cp. Plato, Theaet. 164 Β, τὸ δέ γε οὐχ ὁρᾷ οὐκ ἐπίσταταί ἐστιν, εἴπερ καὶ τὸ ὁρᾷ ἐπίσταται, where ἐπίσταται is equally out of construction with ἥδε in this line.

568. mvp-comment-335-1 νυμφεῖα Essay on Language p. 94.

569. mvp-comment-336-1 Ср. О. Т. 1211, 1497-1498, foll.

570. mvp-comment-337-1 Not as their hearts were plighted. Literally, Not in such a way as harmony had been prepared between him and her. Cp. Pind. Pyth. 9.13, ξυνὸν ἁρμόζοισα θεῷ τε γάμον κούρᾳ θ' Ὑψέος εὐρυβία.

571. mvp-comment-338-1 The plural generalizes the expression.

571. mvp-comment-338-2 υἱέσι Dative of the person interested.

572. mvp-comment-339-1 *AN. The MSS. have ΙΣ. But Böckh has given strong reasons for following Aldus in assigning the line to Antigone. The last speech of Creon might well move her to break silence, which she does naturally by resenting the words not for herself, but for Haemon. There is also greater bitterness in this line than in any speech of Ismene. Then, granting that τὸ σὸν λέχος, addressed to Ismene, might mean The marriage you prate of, the words express a much deeper feeling as addressed to Antigone. Outwardly a mere expression of impatience, they convey the only touch of natural feeling which Creon betrays. 574 and 576 are then most naturally given to the chorus. The act of Creon in sacrificing his son's happiness is more solemnly marked when his words are addressed to the coryphaeus. While adhering to this view I am bound to add that some of the best critics prefer the other arrangement of the persons.

577. mvp-comment-340-1 καὶ σοί γε κάμοί Sc. δεδογ μένα: i. e. σὺ μὲν οὕτω δοκεῖς, ἐμοὶ δὲ δέδοκται. We are agreed so far.

577. mvp-comment-340-2 τριβάς Sc. ποιείσθε. Essay on Language §39. p. 74.

578. mvp-comment-341-1 'Henceforth these must be really women, and not left at large;' i. e. They must be treated as women. Cp. l. 484. This reading, although defaced in L, may well be defended against such would-be improvements as εὖ δὲ τάσδε χρὴ | γυναῖκας εἶλαι (Dind.), and εὖ δετὰς δὲ χρὴ | γυναῖκας εἶναι (Seyffert), which are to be condemned, amongst other reasons, for destroying the singleness of the emphasis. Creon, as usual, covers his self-will under the appearance of principle. Cp. Plat. Legg. 1.637, ταχὺ γάρ σου λάβοιτ᾽ ἄν τις τῶν παρ' ἡμῶν ἀμυνόμενος, δεικνὺς τὴν τῶν γυναικῶν παρ' ὑμῖν ἄνεσιν : Ar. Pol. 2. 6. The words indicate that Antigone's going beyond the gate, supr. 18, 19, was an exceptional freedom, consequent on the war. Thus Sophocles is contented with a hint, where Euripides thinks an explanation necessary: Phoen. 89-91.

582. mvp-comment-342-1 The fate of Antigone is sealed, and the chorus moralize over the power of fate and of Zeus, as shown in the continued calamities of the race of Labdacus, and the infatuation ('quem Deus vult perdere, prius dementat ') of Antigone. The spectator is left free to apply the same reflections to the case of Creon.

582. mvp-comment-342-2 'Calamity is like a storm that stirs the lowest depths and sounds afar. The race once touched is never free. Each generation as it rises is struck down.

582. mvp-comment-342-3 'The house of Labdacus has sorrow upon sorrow. Amidst the ruined grove one root was springing, only to be swept under by the cruel dues of Hades in a frenzy of infatuation.

582. mvp-comment-342-4 Who can restrain the power of Zeus? Unchecked by sleep or age he ever dwells in the light of Olympus. This was and shall be now and evermore, a truth that spareth not the lives of men, whom hope deceives, giving comfort indeed, but also inspiring passionate folly, till disappointment comes, before the man hath seen that he is treading on fire. Wise was he who said that evil seemeth good to one whom God is drawing to perdition. Few are the days of his exemption from that dark lot.

582. mvp-comment-342-5 The 1st strophe opens solemnly with three dactylo-epitritic or Doric lines, which are followed by iambic and trochaic rhythms. The 2nd strophe is logaoedic, with syncope of thesis in ll. 3, 5, 7, 11 a'. β'. ILCCICcl alcl- LullLCClcclcla 10101010 51-1 CLL下CICLI トCICICI CCICCICLI 1101007ID トトー CCCII 100II

582. mvp-comment-342-6 οἶσι .. αἰών Whose life is free from taste of misery. Blessed, because of the rarity of their lot, and because of the unsparing persistence of calamity when it comes to any. For κακῶν ἄγευστος, cp. Ο. Τ. 969, ἄψαυστος ἔγχους.

583. mvp-comment-343-1 θεόθεν The adverb of place supports the metaphor of a storm coming from a certain quarter. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 1089, ῥιπὴ Διόθεν.

583-584. mvp-comment-344-1 ἄτας | οὐδὲν ἐλλείπει Cp. l. 2, ff.

585. mvp-comment-345-1 ἔρπον The real subject of this is πᾶσα ἄτη (or τὸ πᾶν ἄτης) implied in the preceding words, the positive being educed from the negative. Calamity stints not, but goes on till it fulfils the number of the race.

586-589. mvp-comment-346-1 ὅμοιον.. πνοαῖς Like as when the billow courses over the darkening deep before fell Thracian blasts from the Euxine sea. Some interpreters make ἔρεβος subj, and οἶδμα obj. of ἐπιδράμῃ, when the darkening wave courses over the main. But οἶδμα elsewhere in Sophocles is not the expanse (aequor) but the swelling of the sea, and ἔρεβος ὕφαλον can hardly be anything else than the nether darkness of the deep. For the accumulation of adjectives, see Essay on Language § 23. p. 37. Seyffert reads ὡς προποντίδος. 589 ff. It rolls from depths below the black tempestuous drift. 591. And the cliffs, returning the shock, groaningly resound.'

586-589. mvp-comment-346-2 δυσάνεμον A sign of tempest, 'Associated with bad winds, because only seen when the wind has been blowing hard on shore. Ventorum vehementiorum comitem.' Musgr. 593, foll. From of old I see with pain' (ὁρῶμαι, ethical middle, Essay on Language § 31. p. 52) 'the calamities of the house of Labdacus accumulating on the calamities of those that are gone; nor does one generation free another, but some god casts them down; nor is there hope of redemption.'

586-589. mvp-comment-346-3 ἀρχαῖα has the stress as suppl. predicate. Essay on Language § 23. p. 38.

595. mvp-comment-347-1 The reading of this line has been much questioned, but the meaning is clear, although it is uncertain what word (whether φθιτῶν or some other) has been supplanted by the unmetrical φθιμένων: which may be due to a reminiscence of Aesch. Cho. 403. 4, παρὰ τῶν πρότερον φθιμένων ἄτην | ἑτέραν ἐπάγουσαν ἐπ᾿ ἄτῃ.

596. mvp-comment-348-1 γενεὰν γένος There is no distinction of meaning (such as One generation, .. 'The whole race'). Cp. O. C. 27, 28, ἐξοικήσιμος .. οἰκητός.

596. mvp-comment-348-2 ἐρείπει Sc. γενεὰν ἑκάστην. Cp. infra 601, κατ᾽ αὖ νιν, κ.τ.λ.

597. mvp-comment-349-1 οὐδ᾽ ἔχει Nor does the case admit of. Cp. Ο. C. 545, ἔχει δέ μοι ..

597. mvp-comment-349-2 πρὸς δίκας τι.

600. mvp-comment-350-1 ῥίζας Ἀντὶ τοῦ, ὅπερ ἔβλαστεν ἄνω τῆς ῥίζης, Schol. The root, for the plant.

600. mvp-comment-350-2 *ἐτέτατο The Scholiast notes the asyndeton (λείπει ἄρθρον τὸ ὅ): which is expressive and allows viv to be referred to ῥίζας, to which it naturally belongs. And in the reading ῥίζας δ τέτατο, the order of words is questionable. For ἐτέτατο φάος, cp. Phil. 831, αἴγλαν, ἃ τέταται τανῦν. The light is the grace and nobleness of Antigone, and her bright hopes. The conj. θάλος, for which, cp. Pind. Οl. 2. 45, Ἀδραστιδᾶν θάλος, is uncalled for.

601. mvp-comment-351-1 κατ' was rightly restored by Triclinius for κατ' (ⅰ.e. καὶ εἶτα), which had been introduced to avoid the asvndeton. (Schol. ἐάν στίξωμεν κᾷτ᾽ αὖ νιν, οὐδὲν λείπει τῷ λόγῳ.)

602-603. mvp-comment-352-1 ἀμᾷ θερίζει καὶ ἐκκόπτει. ἢ καλύπτει, Schol. The latter is right.

602-603. mvp-comment-352-2 Ας καταμᾶσθαι κόνιν is ‘Το cover oneself with dust,' so, by a poetical inversion, the dust may be said καταμᾶν, To cover, or Sweep out of sight. Essay on Language § 42. р. 80, β.

603. mvp-comment-353-1 λόγου τ᾽ ἄνοια καὶ φρενῶν Ἐριvús The reasoning of Antigone in 450 ff. seems wild to the chorus, and her conduct shows her to them as possessed with a fatal frenzy. It may be thought strange that κόνις should be retained against a reading which has been so generally ap- proved as κόπις, first suggested by Jortin. But see Essay on Language pp. 92, 93. The grotesque image of Death, or Hades, armed with a bloody chopper or cleaver, however agreeable to the manner of Euripides, or some other poets, has no parallel in the language of Sophocles. And the transition from this concrete imagery to the spirits of fury and madness is, to say the least, awkwardly abrupt. The words λόγου τ᾽ ἄνοια καὶ φρενῶν Ἐρινύς are most natural if they are added to expand an obscure allusion to the deed which had brought Antigone into danger. And the words φοινία θεῶν τῶν νερτέρων .. κόνις, The deadly dust sacred to the gods below, convey such an allusion not more obscurely than do the words in Tr. 836 ff., δεινοτάτῳ μὲν ὕδρας προστετακὼς φάσματι, κ.τ.λ., express the condition of Heracles in the poisoned robe. Triclinius was therefore not absurd in saying εἰκότως δὲ τὸ κόνις τέθειται. διότι γὰρ ἐκάλυψεν Ἀντιγόνη ἀδελφὸν Πολυνείκην κόνει, διὰ τοῦτο τεθνήξεσθαι ἔμελλε.

604. mvp-comment-354-1 This is suggested by the position of Antigone, whose offence brings swift retribution; but is felt by the spectator to be more applicable to that of Creon.

604-605. mvp-comment-355-1 τίς .. κατάσχοι Essay on Language §36. p. 62. Ср. O. T. 937, and esp. Pind. Οl. 11. 20, 1, ἐμφυὲς οὔτ᾽ αἴθων ἀλώπηξ | οὐδ᾽ ἐρίβρομοι λέοντες διαλλάξαιντο ἦθος.

606. mvp-comment-356-1 Not slumber that brings age to all things.' Cp. Hom. Il. 14. 242, where Sleep says, ἄλλον μέν κεν ἔγωγε θεῶν αἰειγενετάων | ῥεῖα κατευνήσαιμι, καὶ ἂν ποταμοῖο ῥέεθρα | Ὠκεανοῦ, ὅσπερ γένεσις πάντεσσι τέτυκται | Ζηνὸς δ' οὐκ ἂν ἔγωγε Κρονίονος ἆσσον ἱκοίμην, οὐδὲ κατευνήσαιμ᾽, ὅτε μὴ αὐτός γε κελεύοι. For αἱρεῖ, cp. Il. 24.5, οὐδέ μιν ὕπνος ἥρει πανδαμάτωρ: Od. 9. 372, κὰδ δέ μιν ὕπνος ἥρει πανδαμάτωρ. The conjecture of Bamberger, παντοθήρας, is plausible. But for the closeness of the association between Age and Sleep, cp. O. T. 870-871, οὐδὲ λάθα κατακοιμάσει .. οὐδὲ γηράσκει.

607-608. mvp-comment-357-1 The reading adopted involves the simplest change which avoids a breach of metrical rules. Others suppose, the loss of a syllable after θεῶν, reading ἄκοποι for ἀκάματοι, with ἕρπει in the fourth line of the antistrophe. For θεῶν added as a sort of epithet = Divine, cp. supra 454, 369: Ο. Τ. 647 : Αj. 711, θεῶν.. πάνθυτα θέσμια : Phil. 198: also Tr. 1191, Ζηνός. The indefiniteness of this use obviates the objection of Schneidewin, that the months of the Gods are opposed to Zeus, who is generally the orderer of time, as in Hom. Il. 2. 134, Διὸς μεγάλου ἐνιαυτοί. There is possibly, however, in θεῶν some allusion to the heavenly bodies, who, as Plato says, are the ὄργανα χρόνου.

608. mvp-comment-358-1 ἀγήρῳ δὲ χρόνῳ δυνάστας With power whose duration is untouched by age. For the personification of χρόνος, see Essay on Language pp. 81, 82. The reading ἀγήρως seems to be of some antiquity, and is embodied in one of the Scholia.

610. mvp-comment-359-1 αἴγλαν Cp. Hom. Il. 1. 532, ἀπ᾿ αἰγλήεντος Ὀλύμπου. The conception of Olympus is here more Homeric than elsewhere in Sophocles. See on O. T. 867, О. С. 1655.

611-612. mvp-comment-360-1 τό τ᾽ ἔπειτα καὶ τὸ μέλλον καὶ τὸ πρίν] Cp. Thuc. 2. 64, § 8.

613. mvp-comment-361-1 The reading οὐδὲν *ἕρπων is to some extent confirmed by the Scholium ση πάμπολις, ὁ κατὰ πᾶσαν πόλιν ἕρπων νόμος, and is the most probable of the emendations of this passage. It has been supposed that οὐδὲν ἔρπει, and also ἐκτὸς ἄτας, have crept in from below; but this stasimon is peculiarly full of verbal echoes. See Essay on Language § 44. p. 76. This principle' (the sovereignty of Zeus) will last the coming time, and the time to come, as well as the time past, never swerving, as it moves onwards, from calamity to the life of mortals in all their cities. Lit. Coming to the life of mortals (a law of every city) in no respect out of the way of calamity. οὐδέν, adverbial.

613. mvp-comment-361-2 βιότῳ, dat. of reference (Essay on Language § 12. p. 18). πάμπολις, universal, i.e. law not of any one state, but embracing all. For ἕρπων ἐκτὸς ἅτας θνατῶν βιότῳ, cp. infra l. 1318: ἐμᾶς.. ἐξ αἰτίας (= ἐκτὸς αἰτίας ἐμοί): Ο. C. 1575, ἐν καθαρῷ βῆναι .. τῷ ξένῳ: Essay on Language § 42. p. 79.

615. mvp-comment-362-1 πολύπλαγκτος There is no clear instance of an active use of πολύπλαγκτος, for in Hom. Il. 13. 308, έξ ἀνέμοιο πολυπλάγκτοιο ἰωῆς, The fartravelled wind, is a probable enough meaning. Cp. Shakespeare's Empty, vast, and wandering air. So here Widely roving' is better than Muchdeceiving.' Cp. infr. 785-786.

617. mvp-comment-363-1 ἀπάτα . . ἐρώτων ἐρώτων is not genitive of object, but of cause: not Disappointment of desire, but De ception through desire. To many, hope is but the deceitfulness of winged desire.

618. mvp-comment-364-1 εἰδότι δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἕρπει And it comes to him all at unaware, i. e. The event or calamity comes. For the vague subject, cp. supra 597, οὐδ᾽ ἔχει λύσιν, and note. This is better than Nothing befals him while he is aware. 619. Till his foot be scorched in the hot blaze.' For the insertion of τις in the second clause, cp. Aj. 964, τἀγαθὸν χεροῖν | ἔχοντες οὐκ ἴσασι πρίν τις ἐκ βάλῃ : Τr. 2, 3, ὡς οὐκ ἂν αἰῶν᾽ ἐκμάθοις βροτῶν, πρὶν ἂν θάνῃ τις. Seidler's conj. προσαύρῃ is less good than the reading of L.

620. mvp-comment-365-1 σοφίᾳ Dative of manner. Essay on Language § 14. p. 20, 2.

625. mvp-comment-366-1 πράσσει, SC. ὁ τοιοῦτος, supr. l. 619, τις, l. 623 , τῷδ'. Cp. Aesch. ap. Plat. Rep. 2, p. 380 Α, θεὸς μὲν αἰτίαν φύει βροτοῖς | ὅταν κακῶσαι δῶμα παμπήδην θέλει.

625. mvp-comment-366-2 ὀλιγοστόν ὀλίγιστον has been read, and is possibly the Ist hand of L; see v. rr. But ὀλιγοστός χρόνος may mean a time that is one of few, i. e. one that comes rarely or seldom. πολλοστός in Legg. 10. 896 B, is not small, but many times removed, and has the force of a superlative, as it has also in Phileb. 44 E, where it means minutest.

626-627. mvp-comment-367-1 See Essay on Language § 40. p. 75.

628. mvp-comment-368-1 νύμφης had probably been written over μελλογάμου or τάλιδος as a gloss. The words τῆς μελλογάμου νύμφης are omitted in VM¹. This whole expression may have been a gloss on τάλιδος, or on τῆς μελλονύμφου φου infr. 633.

629. mvp-comment-369-1 μόρον Ε. on L. § 16. p. 23.

630. mvp-comment-370-1 ἀπάτας (1) Gen. of cause; or (2) with ὑπερ. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 260.

631. mvp-comment-371-1 μαντέων ὑπέρτερον Better than a seer could tell us. Creon thus vents his impatience at the anticipation of the chorus, and also indicates his scorn of prophecy. Cp. infr. 1034 ff.

632. mvp-comment-372-1 τελείαν ψήφον The fixed, irreversible, decree. Creon means by his first words to exclude hope.

632. mvp-comment-372-2 ἆρα μή Can it be that.., expressing doubt mingled with surprise.

633. mvp-comment-373-1 τῆς μελλονύμφου Objective genitive. Essay on Language § 9. p. 12.

633. mvp-comment-373-2 λυσσαίνων · Madly raging; as if opposition to a father could only be accounted for by madness. The word is ἅπαξ λεγόμενον, and is for this reason preferable to the weaker θυμαίνων.

634. mvp-comment-374-1 σοὶ μέν i.e. Whatever we may be to others.

635-765. mvp-comment-375-1 Haemon professes obedience to his father, but with the implied condition that his father commands what is right. Not heeding this, Creon welcomes his general profession, and enlarges on the blessings that follow from obedience in public and private. He urges Haemon to renounce Antigone. Haemon replies by repeating the praise of her which he has heard in the city (Ar. Rhet. 3. 17, ἕτερον χρὴ λέγοντα ποιεῖν.. ὡς Σοφοκλῆς τὸν Αἴμονα ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἀντιγόνης πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ὡς λεγόντων ἑτέρων), and begs his father not to be deaf to all opinions but his own. Creon is impatient at this, and, after an altercation, in which both speakers become exasperated, Creon orders Antigone to be brought for immediate execution, and Haemon breaks away in sullen anger. This episode interposes a necessary pause between the condemnation of Antigone and its results, i. e, between the two chief crises of the action, and assists the main impression by bringing the light of natural affection and common opinion to bear on the situation.

635-636. mvp-comment-376-1 σύ μοι γνώμας ἔχων | χρηστὰς ἀπορθοῖς Sc. ἐμέ. You, having good advice for me, direct me. μοι is in construction with the nearer word.

637. mvp-comment-377-1 No marriage can, if I think rightly, be a more valued prize to me. ἀξίως ἔσται has been changed to ἀξιώσεται. But ἀξιοῦσθαι μείζων φέρεσθαι, To be deemed of more importance to obtain, is an awkward and unauthorized expression and, for the position and emphatic use of the adverb, which is the only difficulty, see Essay on Language § 24. pp. 37, 38, and cp. the adverbial use of ἄξιος in El. 1260 ff., τίς .. ἀξίαν μεταβάλοιτ᾽ ἂν .. σιγὰν λόγων ;

638. mvp-comment-378-1 For μείζων, = τιμιώτερος, cp. Ο. Τ. 776, ἀστῶν μέγιστος τῶν ἐκεῖ.

638. mvp-comment-378-2 φέρεσθαι is in the middle voice.

638. mvp-comment-378-3 σοῦ καλῶς ἡγουμένου Than you and your good guidance. The condition is assumed to be inseparable from the subject, as in Plat. Rep. 1. 335 A, τὸν μὲν φίλον ἀγαθὸν ὄντα εὖ ποιεῖν, τὸν δὲ ἐχθρὸν κακὸν ὄντα βλάπτειν.

639. mvp-comment-379-1 οὕτω .. διὰ στέρνων ἔχειν Το be thoroughly imbued with this.

640. mvp-comment-380-1 'In all things to follow your father's judgment.' The image is that of taking up a position behind a leader: i. e. Not to break rank, but to follow in good order. Cp. Plat. Protag. 315 B, (the disciples of Protagoras) εὖ πως καὶ ἐν κόσμῳ . . ἀεὶ εἰς τὸ ὄπισθεν καθίσταντο κάλλιστα.

643. mvp-comment-381-1 τὸν ἐχθρόν 'Their father's enemy.'

646. mvp-comment-382-1 τί .. ἄλλο is governed by the general verbal notion, without distinctly anticipating φῦσαι.

648. mvp-comment-383-1 τὰς φρένας γ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ἡδονῆς The reading of Vat. is retained, not as clearly right, but as more probable than later corrections. γε may be supposed to give a strong emphasis to φρένας. Do not lose your wits, whatever you do. And this is rather confirmed by the way in which Haemon echoes the word in l. 683.

650-651. mvp-comment-384-1 ψυχρὸν παραγκάλισμα . . ἐν δόμοις 'Small comfort comes of such a union, of having a bad wife to share one's couch at home.'

653. mvp-comment-385-1 πτύσας Rejecting with abhorrence. Here and in l. 1232, πτύειν seems to imply a gesture of dislike or loathing, directed towards a person or thing. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1192, ἐν μέρει δ' ἀπέπτυσαν | εὐνὰς ἀδελφοῦ.

653. mvp-comment-385-2 ὡσεί τε Αn Epic or Ionic form. See Introd. p. 456.

654. mvp-comment-386-1 The construction is rather μέθες τήνδε τινὶ νυμφεύειν, Leave her for some one to wed, than μέθες τήνδε νυμφεύειν τινί, Leave her to wed some one.

657. mvp-comment-387-1 ψευδή .. πόλει I certainly will not break my word to the state.

658. mvp-comment-388-1 ἀλλὰ κτενῶ The abruptness of the pause helps the incisiveness of Creon's language.

659-660. mvp-comment-389-1 εἰ γὰρ .. γένους For if I fail to bring up orderly those born akin to me, most surely I shall fail with those remote. Creon turns Antigone's nearness of kindred to him into a reason for severity. If he cannot control his kinswoman, how much less can he control the state! Authority begins at home.

659. mvp-comment-390-1 For ἐγγενή φύσει, see Essay on Language § 40. p. 69, and p. 82, B.

661. mvp-comment-391-1 τοῖς .. οἰκείοισιν Neuter. Creon characteristically relies on commonplace maxims.

663. mvp-comment-392-1 The transgressor who either violates the laws. The alternative is thought of after the sentence is begun. νόμους is in two constructions, (1) with ὑπερβάς, (2) with βιάζεται.

664. mvp-comment-393-1 τοὐπιτάσσειν Cp. supr. 485, and note.

664. mvp-comment-393-2 τοῖς κρατύνουσιν νοεῖ The reading of L here is rather more uncommon than the alternative reading, which may notwithstanding be right.

666. mvp-comment-394-1 For the optative, in a perfectly general supposition, see Essay on Language §36. p. 61.

666. mvp-comment-394-2 κλύειν Το obey.

667. mvp-comment-395-1 τἀναντία τὰ μεγαλὰ καὶ ἄδικα.

668-671. mvp-comment-396-1 And of this man (the man who obeys the ruler) I would have no fear but that he would rule nobly, and be a good and willing subject, and if posted near me in the storm of battle, would stand firmly as a staunch and trusty comrade. For the vague reference of the pronoun, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 34. And for δορός .. χειμῶνι, ib.

673. mvp-comment-397-1 αὕτη .. τίθησιν The anacoluthon (for which see Essay on Language p. 65) has been avoided in two ways, (1) by omission of τε, (2) by reading ἠδ' for ἥδ'. This Homericism is defended by comparing ὥσει τε in l. 653. There is slight MS. authority for both these changes (see v. rr.). But strong reasons are required for the introduction of a particle not used elsewhere by Sophocles, and after the regularly balanced τε.. ἠδέ, the asyndeton in the next line would be too abrupt. If any change were necessary, the omission of τ' would be preferable, but the lines are more expressive as they are.

674. mvp-comment-398-1 σὺν μάχῃ δορός Bothe conjectured συμμάχου δορός, The rout of the leagued war. But the reading of the MS. has a more vivid meaning. This, aiding the conflict of the spear, breaks down (the vanquished) into shapeless rout: i. e. Disorder helps with battle to make utter rout. For μάχῃ δορός, see Essay on Language p. 75, and for the accusative τροπάς, ib. § 17. p. 25, etc.

675. mvp-comment-399-1 τῶν δ᾽ ὀρθουμένων Of those who are not routed, but are successful. Opposed to οἱ ἡσσώμενοι implied in τροπάς. Cp. El. 742, ὠρθοῦθ' ὁ τλήμων ὀρθὸς ἐξ ὀρθῶν δίφρων.

677. mvp-comment-400-1 οὕτως.. κοσμουμένοις 'Thus one ought to support one's own decrees.' Thus, viz. as I am doing. For this use of the passive participle, see Essay on Language § 17. p. 25, с. Some would explain the words as masculine, One must defend the cause of the orderly subject. Cp. Thuc. 8. 24, ἐκοσμοῦντο ἐχυρώτερον. But such an immediate application of the γνώμη is less in character than the arbitrary assertion of authority. Cp. Hdt. 1. 100, τὰ δὲ δὴ ἄλλα ἐκεκοσμέατό οἱ.

681. mvp-comment-401-1 The form κεκλίμεθα (supposed from κλίνω) was supported by the authority of Thomas Magister.

683. mvp-comment-402-1 θεοὶ.. ὑπέρτατον Wisdom, whose value is above all possessions in the world, is the Gods gift.' Haemon begins by echoing his father's thought, supr. 648, that sound sense is to be prized most highly, but gently hints that Heaven only knows on which side the true wisdom lies. The reading χρημάτων requires ὑπέρτερον, as in L2.

686. mvp-comment-403-1 μήτ᾽ ἐπισταίμην λέγειν i. e. And may I never bring myself to say it. Cp. Trach. 543. 4, θυμοῦσθαι μὲν οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι | νοσοῦντι κείνῳ πολλά.

687. mvp-comment-404-1 χἀτέρῳ Schol. δυνατὸν δὲ καὶ ἑτέρως καλῶς μεταβουλεύσασθαι. Hence Erfurdt and others conjectured χἀτέρως, χατέρα, χἄτερον. Hermann, retaining χἀτέρῳ, interprets, Another also may have wisdom as well as you: i.e. καλῶς ἔχον, sc. τὸ τῶν φρενῶν. But the context rather suggests καλῶς ἔχον, sc. τὸ λέγειν σὲ μὴ ὀρθῶς λέγειν. 'That you are wrong in what you now say I have no power, and may I never have the skill, to affirm. But it may be that from another's mouth such an assertion were not ungracious.' καί in this case belongs to the whole sentence. See Essay on Language § 25. p. 43. 4.

688. mvp-comment-405-1 σοῦ δ᾽ οὖν πέφυκα is decidedly better than σὺ δ᾽ οὐ πέφυκας, which seems to have been suggested by τὸ γὰρ σὸν ὄμμα δεινόν, κ.τ.λ., in what follows. The true connection is, It is not for me to say that you are wrong, though another might do so. However, as your son, it naturally belongs to me to consider in your interest what men do, or say, or find fault with. For the common citizen does not speak his mind in your presence, but I may freely hear. Haemon winds about his father with all this circumstance before pleading for Antigone under shelter of the common opinion, which he professes to quote in the interest of Creon. The tact shown in this is noticed by Aristotle (Rhet. 3. 17) and by the Scholiast. The reading of A, V pr., V³, σοὶ δ' οὖν πέφυκα, deserves consideration.

690-691. mvp-comment-406-1 τὸ γὰρ .. κλύων For your eye overawes the subject in conversation which will displease you to hear. λόγοις τοιούτοις is dative of the occasion or reason, assisted by the attraction of οἷς. Essay on Language § 14. p. 20.

690-691. mvp-comment-406-2 τὸ γὰρ σόν The order puts an emphasis on σόν, as in O. Τ. 671, τὸ γὰρ σόν, οὐ τὸ τοῦδ᾽ ἐποικτείρω στόμα.

692. mvp-comment-407-1 ἐμοὶ δ᾽.. τάδε But I may hear all this under shadow (out of the light of your eye). The words ὑπὸ σκότου might equally have been connected with the following line. I hear in secret what is spoken in secret.

694. mvp-comment-408-1 ἀναξιωτάτη Sc. τοιαῦτα παθεῖν.

695. mvp-comment-409-1 ἀπ᾿ ἔργων See Essay on Language § 19. p. 28.

697. mvp-comment-410-1 πεπτῶτ᾽ ἄθαπτον i. e. πεπτώτα καὶ ἄθαπτον ὄντα.

697. mvp-comment-410-2 μήθ'.. μήθ' μή, not oὔ, because ἥτις, κ.τ.λ. = εἰ αὕτη, κ.τ.λ.

700. mvp-comment-411-1 ἐρεμνή Dark, i.e. Fraught with hidden danger. (Cp. ὑπὸ σκότου, supra). The word is used with something of the association of awe and dread attaching to night and darkness. Cp. Hom. Il. 1. 47. ὁ δ᾽ ἤτε νυκτὶ ἐοικώς.

701. mvp-comment-412-1 σοῦ πράσσοντος εὐτυχῶς Cp. supra 638, σοῦ καλῶς ἡγουμένου.

703. mvp-comment-413-1 πατρὸς θάλλοντος εὐκλείας The good renown of a prosperous sire. Haemon thus gently hints his fear of the effect of the sentence on Creon's reputation in the city.

704. mvp-comment-414-1 ἄγαλμα A cause of glorying or delight. Cp. infra 1115, Καδμείας νύμφας ἄγαλμα.

704. mvp-comment-414-2 ἢ τί πρὸς παίδων πατρί ; Or what greater ornament (than their own good fame) can children confer upon their father?

705-706. mvp-comment-415-1 Do not, I beseech you, wear one unchanging temper in your breast, and hold that nothing else is right but as you say. τοῦτο is added because of the imperfect correlation of the clauses. See Essay on Language p. 75.

707-709. mvp-comment-416-1 For ὅστις .. οὗτοι, ib. § 20. p. 31.

707-709. mvp-comment-416-2 For the formal distinction of φρονεῖν, γλῶσσαν, ψυχήν, cp. supra 176, ψυχήν τε καὶ φρόνημα καὶ γνώμην, and see Essay on Language pp. 92, 3.

710. mvp-comment-417-1 ἄνδρα Ε. on L. § 22. p. 37.

710. mvp-comment-417-2 κεἴ τις ᾖ Ε. on L. § 27. p. 44.

710. mvp-comment-417-3 τὸ μανθάνειν Essay on Language § 21. p. 34-38.

711. mvp-comment-418-1 καὶ τὸ μὴ τείνειν ἄγαν And not to hold too hard. This absolute use of τείνειν is generalized from the examples given below.

713-714. mvp-comment-419-1 Note the antithesis of κλῶνας .. αὐτόπρεμνα. The one save even their branches, the others are destroyed root and branch. For the image, cp. Webster's Appius and Virginia, p. 203. (iii. 3), The bending willow, yielding to each wind, | Shall keep his footing firm, when the proud oak, | Braving the storm, presuming on his root, | Shall have his body rent from head to foot.

715. mvp-comment-420-1 ναὸς .. ἐγκρατῆ πόδα The sheet which has power over the vessel. This is a more poetical and rhythmical expression than the other reading, ναὸς εἴ τις ἐγκρατής, πόδα | τείνας, ὑπείκει μηδέν.

716-717. mvp-comment-421-1 ὑπτίοις.. ναυτίλλεται Upsetting, makes the rest of his voyage with benches overturned. Join κάτω στρέψας. τὸ λοιπόν as in ll. 310, foll., where there is a similar contradictory expression. The omission of the accusative after στρέψας is natural in speaking of so familiar an occurrence as the over-setting of a boat. Essay on Language pp. 73, 98. τὸ πλοῖον, which Hermann reads for τὸ λοιπόν, is hardly a correct synonym for ναῦν or σκάφος.

718. mvp-comment-422-1 ἀλλ᾽.. δίδου Nay, yield. Be not wholly irremovable in anger. Lit. Afford also a removal from anger. This seems to be the best arrangement of this difficult line; i. e. εἰ θυμὸν ἔχεις, ἀλλὰ πεισθῆτι καὶ μεθίστασθαι τοῦ θυμοῦ. The asyndeton is expressive (Essay on Language § 34. P. 58). The reading of LA, ἀλλ᾽ εἶκε θυμῷ, is perhaps due to a false reminiscence of Il. 9.598, εἴξας ᾧ θυμῷ. Seyffert reads θυμῷ .. διδούς.

719-720. mvp-comment-423-1 γνώμη .. πρόσεστι For if any judgment proceed from me (ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ) though younger in years. Cp. Τr. 52, 3, εἰ δίκαιον τοὺς ἐλευθέρους φρενοῦν | γνώμαισι δούλοις; ib. 61, κἀξ ἀγεννήτων ἄρα | μύθοι καλῶς πίπτουσιν.

720-722. mvp-comment-424-1 The real stress is on the last line. The paratactic form of sentence is retained, the sense being, However excellent a thing perfect knowledge is, yet, since it is rare, it is well to take good advice.

720-722. mvp-comment-424-2 πρεσβεύειν] The active of this verb is rare in the metaphorical sense.

720-722. mvp-comment-424-3 πάντ᾽ ἐπιστήμης Of knowledge in all things. Essay on Language § 17. p. 24, b.

720-722. mvp-comment-424-4 εἰ δ᾽ οὖν Sc. μή, which is to be assumed from the next clause, where μή has a strong emphasis. For the sentiment, Hermann compares Hesiod, Op. 293, ἐσθλὸς δ᾽ αὖ κἀκεῖνος, ὃς εὖ εἰπόντι πίθηται.

725. mvp-comment-425-1 διπλᾶ is better than διπλῇ, because dwelling merely on the two speeches, and not on their divergence from each other.

726-727. mvp-comment-426-1 And at our age shall we forsooth be schooled by one so juvenile? For the inverted order, see Essay on Language § 26. p. 44: § 41. p. 77.

727. mvp-comment-427-1 For φύσιν, see Essay on Language p. 96.

728. mvp-comment-428-1 μηδὲν τὸ μὴ δίκαιον The combination of the indefinite μηδέν with the definite article is curious, and suggests the idea that μηδέν is adverbial.. But the Scholiast is probably right in explaining the words as equivalent to μηδὲν διδάσκου ὁ μὴ δίκαιόν ἐστί σοι μανθάνειν. Cp. supra 360, οὐδὲν .. τὸ μέλλον. Essay on Language § 22. p. 36. And for emphatic el, ib. § 28. p. 47, supr. 551.

729. mvp-comment-429-1 You ought not to regard differences of time, but rather to face the actual requirements of the case.' τἄργα are not the merits of Haemon, but the truth of his plea.

730. mvp-comment-430-1 What? Is it a "requirement" to fall down and worship rebels? Creon, as usual, represents mercy as submission. ἔργον ἐστί seems to have the same meaning as in σὸν ἔργον, and the like phrases; i.e. ἔργον almost = Duty.

731. mvp-comment-431-1 Nay, I would not bid thee reverence the wicked.

732. mvp-comment-432-1 'Why, is not she possessed by this disease?" viz. τῇ κακίᾳ.

733. mvp-comment-433-1 Not so declare her fellow-citizens in this town of Thebes.

736. mvp-comment-434-1 Is it right, I say, for another than me to rule this land? The reading of L and most MSS, ἄλλῳ.. μοί, (cp. Eur. Ion 1317) is supported by Thom. M. s. v. χρή, and is certainly the durior lectio. But he may have reasoned from a faulty text. See note on l. 681. γε is expressive. For M4 see list of MSS. in the Preface to this edition.

737. mvp-comment-435-1 Cp. Aesch. Suppl. 370, σύ τοι πόλις, σὺ τὸ δήμιον; Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, 1. 2,

When could they say, till now, that talked of Rome, | That her wide walls encompassed but one man? | Now is it Rome indeed, and room enough, | When there is in it but one only man.

The genitive ἀνδρὸς .. ἑνός is ambiguous between possessive genitive and genitive of content. A city belonging to one man, and A city composed of one man.

738. mvp-comment-436-1 Is not the city counted a possession of the ruler? Essay on Language § 9. p. 12, b.

739. mvp-comment-437-1 A splendid monarch would you make to rule a desert land.

742. mvp-comment-438-1 This line is sometimes printed with a note of interrogation, as if the words διὰ δίκης ἰὼν πατρί were epexegetic of σοῦ.. προκήδομαι. ('Villain, when you are wrangling with your father?') But the connection of the lines in this στιχομυθία is not very close, and the more obvious meaning (Villain, to wrangle with your father!') is more probable.

743-745. mvp-comment-439-1 οὐ γὰρ δίκαια .. οὐ γὰρ σέβεις] Here, as in 730, ἔργον γάρ ἐστι, there is the same tendency to play on the word (κομψεύειν) that was observed in the speeches of the Φύλαξ.

745. mvp-comment-440-1 οὐ.. σέβεις It is not reverence when you trample on the honours of the Gods. Essay on Language § 53. p. 98, с.

751. mvp-comment-441-1 τινά i. e. σέ. Essay on Language § 22. p. 34, 4. Interpreters have avoided taking these words in their obvious meaning as implying a threat, which Haemon all but carries into execution afterwards in ll. 1233-1234. It is true, however, that this intention is less distinctly present to his mind than the conviction that vengeance will come to Creon from the gods and from popular feeling.

752. mvp-comment-442-1 κἀπαπειλών For the participle, see Essay on Language § 36. p. 63, €, b.

753. mvp-comment-443-1 τίς Almost = πῶς. Cp. О. С. 775, τίς αὕτη τέρψις;

756. mvp-comment-444-1 'Woman's minion that you are, mince not your words with me.' The subdued tone of Haemon (εἰ μὴ πατὴρ ἦσθ', εἶπον ἄν) only adds fuel to the wrath of Creon.

756. mvp-comment-444-2 For the contempt expressed in δούλευμα and μῖσος (760), see Essay on Language pp. 84, 85.

758. mvp-comment-445-1 άληθες See on O. T. 350.

759. mvp-comment-446-1 ἐπὶ ψόγοισι δεννάσεις Reproach and revile me. For the prepositional phrase, cp. El. 108, ἐπὶ κωκυτῷ, and see Essay on Language § 18. p. 27.

765. mvp-comment-447-1 So that you may exhibit your madness to those of your friends who can brook it. θέλουσι, sc. σοὶ μαινομένῳ ξυνεῖναι. There is a strong emphasis on this participle.

767. mvp-comment-448-1 And at his age the spirit, when chafed, is dangerous. Cp. O. C. 751, τηλικοῦτος, οὐ γάμων | ἔμπειρος ..: and for voûs, see Essay on Language p. 93.

768. mvp-comment-449-1 Cp. O. T. 1075, where Oedipus, with similar unconsciousness, says of Jocasta, who has just rushed out, ὁποῖα χρήζει ῥηγνύτω.

770. mvp-comment-450-1 The order of words shows that the chief emphasis is on ἄμφω : Essay on Language § 41. p. 77. Hence καί is to be taken with the whole sentence: ib. § 25. P. 43, 4. Do you really intend to put them both to death?

773. mvp-comment-451-1 ἔρημος.. στίβος Where track of human footstep there is none. The privative ἔρημος is used for the negative by a redundancy like those adduced in Essay on Language § 40. p. 75; and ἔρημος = ἄστειπτος (Phil. 2), so that the expression = Where no track of mortals has been trodden.

775. mvp-comment-452-1 i. e. τοσοῦτον μόνον, ὅσον ἄγος εἶναι. Essay on Language § 39. p. 74. For ἄγος = expiation, see Hesych., ἄγος· ἅγνισμα θυσίας, Σοφοκλῆς Φαίδρα.

776. mvp-comment-453-1 i. e. Lest the whole city might suffer pollution.

780. mvp-comment-454-1 περισσός Bootless. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 383, μόχθον περισσόν. It is characteristic of the time (cp. Thucydides) that the political energy of Creon is combined with scepticism.

781-800. mvp-comment-455-1 Haemon's disobedience to his father, against his own interest, is due to the might of love.

781-800. mvp-comment-455-2 'Never-vanquished love, that layest riches waste, keeping nightly watch in the fair, soft, youthful cheek: love that roamest over seas and findest out the wildest nook! No god, nor any mortal man, escapes thy maddening power. By love the upright mind is drawn to wrong unto its hurt. By love this present strife is kindled between kinsmen. And clearly triumphant is the influence of desire that cometh from the looks of the fair bride - desire that divides empire with the majestic law: so resistlessly doth goddess Aphrodite mock mankind.

781-800. mvp-comment-455-3 This little ode consists of a strophe and antistrophe, of which the scansion is as follows:- CCLトしてし CICCICII CCCICII IICIICCIト(CLトー 5-0-0-ICCICI-

781-800. mvp-comment-455-4 A glyconic quatrain is followed by two choriambic lines, and the strophe ends with a return to the glyconic rhythm. L. 7 admits of being otherwise divided, viz.: CCLCー.

781. mvp-comment-456-1 ἀνίκατε μάχαν Cp. the similar personification of θυμός by Heraclitus, χαλεπὸν θυμῷ μάχεσθαι, ψυχῆς γὰρ ὠνέεται.

782. mvp-comment-457-1 ὃς ἐν κτήμασι πίπτεις (i. e.

782. mvp-comment-457-2 ἐμπίπτεις κτήμασι.) These words have been variously interpreted and emended. They probably mean, Who fallest upon wealth, i. e. art the destroyer of possessions, ruining worldly fortunes in various ways, as the love of Helen wasted Troy, etc. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 538, foll., Ἔρωτα δὲ τὸν τύραννον ἀνδρῶν |.. πέρθοντα καὶ διὰ πάσας | ἰόντα συμφορὰς | θνατοῖς, ὅταν ἔλθῃ. So, in this instance, Haemon is losing all for love. Others interpret, Desire who makest wealth thy object (Schol. rec.), Love, who by attacking enslavest, or Who makest victims of the wealthy.

783-784. mvp-comment-458-1 ὃς .. ἐννυχεύεις Cp. Milton, L'Allegro, 29, 30, 'Such as hang on Hebe's cheek, | And love to live in dimple sleek.' Love is still figured as an enemy, who keeps nightly watch where he is ready to spring forth armed on the unwary. Pind. Nem. 8. 2, ὥρα .. παρθενηΐοις .. ἐφίζοισι γλεφάροις.

785. mvp-comment-459-1 The poet is thinking of legendary examples, such as Paris, Leander, Anchises, etc.

786. mvp-comment-460-1 σε .. φύξιμος i.e. δύναταί σε φεύγειν. Cp. Hom. h. Ven. 34. 5, τῶν δ' ἄλλων οὐ πέρ τι πεφυγμένον ἔστ᾽ Ἀφροδίτην, | οὔτε θεῶν μακάρων, οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων. But see on 796 ff.

790. mvp-comment-461-1 ἁμερίων ἐπ᾿ ἀνθρώπων The insertion of the preposition, although omitted with θεῶν, is no objection to this reading. See Essay on Language § 19. p. 27: and for ἐπί, with the genitive, meaning In the case of, So far as extends to, cp. Plato, Rep. 3. 406 C, 8.. ἐπὶ .. τῶν δημιουργῶν αἰσθανόμεθα, alib. The force of the preposition and case here is nearer to the original locative sense, = Extending over, 'Quantum hominum genus propagatum extenditur. (Ellendt.)

790. mvp-comment-461-2 ὁ ἔχων Sc. τὸ νόσημα. Wecklein compares ἔχει, he is wounded, with reference to the arrow of love. But this is fanciful.

791-792. mvp-comment-462-1 ἀδίκους.. παρασπᾷς i. e. εἰς ἀδικίαν παρασπᾷς. Drawest awry to wrong. For this proleptic use of the adjective, see Essay on Language § 23. P. 39; § 38. p. 71.

792. mvp-comment-463-1 ἐπὶ λώβᾳ ‘Το their hurt or disgrace.'

794. mvp-comment-464-1 ξύναιμον is an emphatic epithet added by an afterthought (Essay on Language § 23. p. 38) and by hypallage made to agree with the principal word, although more properly belonging to ἀνδρῶν. (Ibid. § 42. p. 80).

795. mvp-comment-465-1 νικᾷ δ᾽ ἐναργής i. e. ἐναργής ἐστι νικῶσα.

795. mvp-comment-465-2 βλεφάρων ἵμερος The modern poet speaks of love as engendered in the eyes, with gazing fed: the ancients rather spoke of an influence passing from the eye of the beloved (τὸ ἐρωτικὸν ὄμμα, Plat. Phaedr. 253 E) to the soul of the lover. Desire was viewed as an emanation from the object. Hence Plato's account of ἵμερος, Phaedr. 251 Β, C, δεξάμενος γὰρ τοῦ κάλλους τὴν ἀπορροὴν διὰ τῶν ὀμμάτων, ἐθερμάνθη ἢ ἡ τοῦ πτεροῦ φύσις ἄρδεται .. ὅταν μὲν οὖν βλέπουσα πρὸς τὸ κάλλος, ἐκεῖθεν μέρη ἐπιόντα καὶ ῥέοντα, ἃ δὴ διὰ τοῦτο ἵμερος καλεῖται, δεχομένη ἄρδηταί τε καὶ θερμαίνηται, λωφᾷ τε τῆς ὀδύνης καὶ γέγηθεν. This ancient conception, which had a root in language as well as in philosophy, is reflected even in Milton, L'Allegro, 1. 121, With store of ladies, whose bright eyes | Rain influence, though in this case probably with a further allusion to astrology.

796-799. mvp-comment-466-1 τῶν .. θεσμῶν In the counsels of princes holding an equal place with the majesty of law. This seems the best way of taking these words, which have been variously interpreted; e.g. Equal to the laws in power. 'Assessor in the authority of the laws, etc. There is an allusion to Haemon, who, though a prince, has been led to disobey his father, and to disregard the edict of the king. Cp. Hdt. 4. 165, ἐν βουλῇ παρίζουσα. The resolution of the arsis in πάρεδρος is extremely unusual; see Christ's Metrik, § 178; and Arndt suggested ξύνθρονος ἀρχαῖς, 'Assessor with the rule of majesticlaw. But qy. πάρεδρος *ἀρχαῖς, with "πέφευγεν οὐδείς in 786 ff.? (IILUCCICII).

800. mvp-comment-467-1 Wecklein finds here an oxymoron, turning on the opposition of μάχη and παιδιά. She is resistless, though sport is her only weapon. But this is doubtful.

804. mvp-comment-468-1 παγκοίταν.. θάλαμον The chamber where all must lie. The implied contrast between the fate of Antigone and her intended bridal recurs repeatedly throughout the latter part of the play. Supr. 575, Ἅιδης ὁ παύσων τούσδε τοὺς γάμους γάμ ἔφυ: infr. 891, νυμφεῖον : 1205, νυμφεῖον" Αιδου κοίλον.

806-802. mvp-comment-469-1 Antigone bewails her untimely death, and the chorus attempt to console her by pointing to the singularity of her end. She quotes the example of Niobe, who was encrusted with rock. But Niobe, rejoin the chorus, was a Divine Being. Then the maiden bursts into a cry against such vain comfort, and appeals to the forms of nature around Thebes to bear witness to the strangeness of her fate. The tone of the chorus changes to admonition. Thou hast offended against the majesty of law. Some curse, inherited from thy sire, must have led thee on. At last they have touched her, but it is only to aggravate her sorrow. Dire indeed had been the curse upon her parents; and now she is going to be with them, having never tasted any joy. Her brother's seeming success in marriage had been death to him and to her. The chorus reiterate that piety towards her brother should have yielded to authority. Selfwill has been thy ruin. Antigone: 'Friendless, unmourned, uncomforted, I leave the holy light of day. I die unmarried, and no one weeps for me.'

806-802. mvp-comment-469-2 The metres in this commos, ll. 806-833, chiefly logaoedic. and for the most part glyconic, are as follows:- α΄. 806-816, 823-833. 805 luclu IIC1CCI II1CCIC ―トしかしCICLL Anapaests of cho. 817-822, 834-837- β'. Second strophe and antistrophe. 51IC (トートートートー ICCICII にかくCIトトに CICLC- トトロー CCLCICIC 15010し! 이기 5- ἐπ. } Iambic. ひトしレトCCICI- 51110CIRKIICCI CICCートリート ―トしーしトー

806-802. mvp-comment-469-3 The effect produced by the epitrite rhythm in a' 9. β΄ 8, ἐπ. 5, and of the spondees in ß' 6, is especially noticeable.

808. mvp-comment-470-1 νέατον is an adjective. See on Ο. Τ. 155.

810. mvp-comment-471-1 κοὔποτ᾽ αὖθις Sc. ὄψομαι φέγγος ἀελίου.

810. mvp-comment-471-2 παγκοίτας is here active='That seals up all in rest.' Essay on Language pp. 98, 101. The metre suggests πάγκοιτος, cp. infr. 828, the corresponding line of the antistrophe.

812-813. mvp-comment-472-1 Ἀχέροντος ἀκτάν Hom. Od. 10. 509, ἔνθ᾽ ἀκτή τε λάχεια: ib. 513, ἔνθα μὲν εἰς Ἀχέροντα πυριφλεγέθων τε ῥέουσι, κ.τ.λ.

815. mvp-comment-473-1 *ἐπινύμφειος, which Dindorf has restored for ἐπινυμφίδιος, is more probable than ἐπὶ νυμφείοις, although this appears to be supported by the note of the Scholiast, λείπει θύραις ἢ κοίταις.

816. mvp-comment-474-1 Ἀχέροντι As other maidens have been wedded to rivers upon the earth.

820. mvp-comment-475-1 ξιφέων ἐπίχειρα The wages of the sword; i.e. Death given by the sword.

821. mvp-comment-476-1 αὐτόνομος The Scholiast explains this, ἰδίοις αὐτῆς νόμοις χρησαμένη. This is not free from ambiguity; but the true meaning is rather By an ordinance peculiar to your case (ἰδίᾳ τινὶ σεαυτῆς νόμῳ), than In your independence of law, or As being a law to yourself. The chorus nowhere speak with admiration of the independent attitude of Antigone, although they secretly sympathize with her pious motive. The word is used with consciousness of the derivation. The νόμος which is peculiar to Antigone is the privilege of a living death.

823. mvp-comment-477-1 λυγροτάταν In sorriest plight. Supplementary predicate.

824-825. mvp-comment-478-1 τὰν Φρυγίαν ξέναν Ταντάλου] Our friend far off in Phrygia, Tantalus' daughter.' Sipylus was placed by some in Phrygia, by others in Lydia. (Strabo, 12. p. 571.) Donaldson well remarks that févar is applied to Niobe, because she married Amphion, king of Thebes.

828. mvp-comment-479-1 ὄμβρῳ τακομέναν The conjectural emendation ὄμβροι has been very generally received. But the Highlands of Phrygia are not subject to perpetual showers. It is more natural to think of a snow-capped peak ever running down with moisture from the melting snow. On the general sense thus given to ὄμβρος, see Essay on Language § 52. p. 98. And as she flows down with moisture, the snow leaves her not, but still she wets the ridges of her neck beneath her tearful brow. The position of T' need cause no difficulty. Essay on Language pp. 65,6. It has been observed that the words ὀφρύς and δειράς are equally applicable to a mountain and to a human being. The subj. of τέγγει is not χιών but ὁ Νιόβα.

834. mvp-comment-480-1 It is doubtful whether θειογενής οι θεογεννής (= θεογέννητος) should be read for the unmetrical θεογενής.

836. mvp-comment-481-1 Of the two readings, φθιμένα and φθιμένῳ, both of which are given by L, and were known to the Scholiast, the feminine is more likely to be due to a corrector.

837. mvp-comment-482-1 The words ζῶσαν καὶ ἔπειτα θανοῦσαν have little point, and being omitted by Aldus (as in A), have never been restored except by Seyffert, who reads μέγα κἀκοῦσαι in l. 836. Those who omit 837, invert the preceding lines for the sake of the paroemiac, and read καίτοι φθιμένῳ τοῖς ἰσοθέοις | ἔγκληρα λαχεῖν μέγ᾽ ἀκοῦσαι. For ἀκοῦσαι, to have said of one, cp. Phil. 1074, ἀκούσομαι μὲν ὡς ἔφυν οἴκτου πλέως.

840. mvp-comment-483-1 *οὐλομέναν The conjecture of Martin. οἰχομέναν (Wunder) also deserves to be considered.

842. mvp-comment-484-1 She first turns from the elders to the city at large; and then, remembering how little sympathy she has had from man, she appeals, like Philoctetes (936 ff.), in a fresh outburst, to the familiar presences' of nature.

843. mvp-comment-485-1 πολυκτήμονες Thebes was proverbially a wealthy city.

844. mvp-comment-486-1 ἰώ Here she breaks into a louder cry.

845. mvp-comment-487-1 ἄλσος The open ground about the city. Cp. Εl. 5, τῆς οἰστροπλῆγος ἄλσος Ἰνάχου κόρης.

847. mvp-comment-488-1 οἷα, like ὀμοιοτάταν in 832, and λυγροτάταν in 823, is supplementary predicate, and equivalent to an adverb.

851. mvp-comment-489-1 Hermann (ed. 1839) was contented to read οὔτε βροτοῖσιν οὔτ᾽ ἐν νεκροῖσιν, but remarked that the long anacrusis of the second part of the line, οὔτ᾽ ἐν νεκροῖσιν = γάμων κυρήσας is very rare. Qu βροτοῖς, οὔτε τις ἐν νεκροίσιν? But the original line is probably lost.

852. mvp-comment-490-1 Advancing to the utmost verge of daring thou didst fall violently, my daughter, against the lofty throne of Right. ἐκτίνεισ Α.

854. mvp-comment-491-1 βάθρον is here the pedestal on which the image of justice is imagined to rest. Cp. Plat. Phaedr. 254 B, ἰδόντος δὲ τοῦ ἡνιόχου ἡ μνήμη πρὸς τὴν τοῦ κάλλους φύσιν ἠνέχθη. καὶ πάλιν εἶδεν αὐτὴν μετὰ σωφροσύνης ἐν ἁγνῷ βάθρῳ βεβῶσαν, Ο. Τ. 865, νόμοι. . ὑψίποδες.

855. mvp-comment-492-1 πολύ is allowed to pass by Hermann without comment, but has been more recently called in question, partly on the metrical ground that the line should end with a long syllable.

855. mvp-comment-492-2 πολύς is certainly no improvement. On the attempt to give special force to such a general word, see Essay on Language § 51. p. 97.

856. mvp-comment-493-1 But thou art paying some debt of expiation inherited from thy sire.' άθλος is here a task or burden imposed by some higher power, like the labours of Heracles, and is perhaps associated by Sophocles with the derivative ἄθλιος. The combined metaphorical use of ἆθλος and ἐκτίνειν is not too great a stretch of language for Sophocles. Essay on Language p. 105.

857. mvp-comment-494-1 Thou hast touched my saddest thought, the thrice-told tale of my father's sorrow.' Boeckh has cleared up the difficulties of this passage (1) by showing that οἶκτον harmonizes better with the context than οἶτον or οἶκον, and also gives a construction to πότμου: (2) by tracing the derivation of τριπόλιστον from πολίζω = πολέω, which occurs in the compound avναπολίζω : (3) by rightly explaining the dative Λαβδακίδαισιν. See Essay on Language § 13. p. 19. He also points out that μερίμνας is genitive, because the singular is more forcible, and μέριμναν would have suited the metre equally well. The only remaining doubt is the construction of οἶκτον.

857. mvp-comment-494-2 ψαύειν may govern the accusative, as appears from 961. But the change from the genitive to the accusative is still to be accounted for. (1) The word ἔψαυσας was chosen with special reference to μερίμνας. ἔλεξας, or some other general word, would have been sufficient if this had not intervened. Hence the general meaning of the verb (= ἔλεξας) is alone continued. (2) The case is partly governed by the verbal notion in μερίμνας = 8 μεριμνῶ. (3) The tendency of a Greek sentence is to pass from a more special to a more general construction. Essay on Language pp. 64, 5, οἶκτον is to be resumed with πότμου, which is co-ordinate with πατρός. Thou hast harped on what my mind broods over with saddest care, the thrice renewed pity for my father, and for the general fortune of our race, the lot that fell upon the famed Labdacidae. Seyffert thinks that in τριπόλιστον Antigone is thinking of her own ever-deepening grief. But the Scholiast and Boeckh are probably right in explaining the word (like κλεινοῖς) with reference to the widely felt compassion for Oedipus. Cp. O. C. 517, τό τοι πολὺ καὶ μηδαμὰ λῆγον: ib. 597, πᾶς τοῦτό γ' Ἑλλήνων θροεῖ. For τριπόλιστον, cp. Phil. 1238, δὶς ταὐτὰ βούλει καὶ τρὶς ἀναπολεῖν μ' ἔπη.

861. mvp-comment-495-1 κλεινοῖς is said with bitterness, as in O. T. 1207, κλεινὸν Οἰδίπου κάρα. The dative is used in explanation of ἁμετέρου, Ist as clearer than the genitive with so many genitives preceding; 2nd with an ethical' force; the lot that fell on us. 863. O my mother, to whom marriage was calamity, O my hapless father, who in wedlock with a mother, held guilty intercourse with her from whom he came.' ματρῷαι λέκτρων ἆται] ‘My mother's calamity in marriage.' λέκτρων is descriptive or distinctive genitive (Essay on Language § 9. p. 12), and the possessive ματρῷαι is joined to λέκτρων ἆται taken as one word. In observing Antigone's tenderness for her mother we are reminded that the plot of the Oedipus Tyrannus was not yet conceived.

865. mvp-comment-496-1 ματρός is objective genitive, after κοιμήματα = ξυνουσίαι, and also descriptive, like γάμοι τέκνων, Ο. C. 945. For the condensed expression κοιμήματά τ᾿ αὐτογέννητ᾽ = τὸ κοιμηθῆναι σὺν ταύτῃ ἐξ ἧς αὐτὸς ἐγεννήθη, see Essay on Language § 43. p. 81, and for the force of αὐτός in composition, ibid. p. 101. The dative ἐμῷ πατρί (Ε. on L. § 13. p. 19, see on l. 861) is occasioned by the adjective; i. e. αὐτογέννητ᾽ ἦν αὐτῷ τὰ κοιμήματα. The nature of constructions in such condensed expressions can only be explained by expanding each phrase into a sentence. The meaning of the passive verbal termination in αὐτογέννητα is extremely indefinite. The other way of taking the words ('Connubium dicit Jocastae cum Oedipo quem ipsa pepererat,' Dind.), although giving a more obvious construction to the dative, has the fatal blemish of making a twofold apostrophe to Jocasta, whereas οἵων implies a reference to both parents, which is much more forcible.

865. mvp-comment-496-2 The Laur. reading δυσμόρῳ is preferable, because of the peculiar significance of κοιμήματα ματρός.

866. mvp-comment-497-1 οἴων is to be immediately referred to κοιμήματα, Such wedlock as gave me birth.

868. mvp-comment-498-1 μέτοικος may possibly have the association of an alien,' because she could not expect to meet with proper burial. But for the generalised meaning of μέτοικος, cp. supr. 852: О. С. 934: infr. 890, μετοικίας.

872-875. mvp-comment-499-1 There is some piety in pious action; but, as towards him who wieldeth it, authority must in no wise be transgressed. A self-determined impulse hath undone thee.' Cp. Phil. 138, τέχνα γὰρ τέχνας ἑτέρας προὔχει | καὶ γνώμα παρ' ὅτῳ τὸ θεῖον | Διὸς σκῆπτρον ἀνάσσεται, where there is a similar ellipse of the antecedent. The meaning is, He who has authority must not suffer authority to be thwarted. This may be made clearer by supplying ἐκείνῳ, as dative of the person interested, for the antecedent to ὅτῳ. He must not have it (i.e. suffer it to be) transgressed.

877. mvp-comment-500-1 Unhappy, I am led the way that is here prepared for me.' Creon has already entered before these words are said. Cp. infr. 933-934. Mm

883. mvp-comment-501-1 ἀοιδὰς .. πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1444-1445, ἡ δέ τοι κύκνου δί· κην | τὸν ὕστατον μέλψασα θανάσιμον γόον | κεῖται φιλήτωρ τοῦδε.

884. mvp-comment-502-1 εἰ χρείη If it were allowed. Ср. О. Т. 1110, εἰ χρή τι κἀμὲ μὴ συναλλάξαντά πω, | πρέσβυ, σταθμᾶσθαι: Ο. C. 1711, πῶς με χρὴ τὸ σὸν τάλαιναν ἀφανίσαι τοσόνδ' ἄχος. This modified use of χρή = One is to, not One must,' is only possible in hypothetical or interrogative sentences.

887. mvp-comment-503-1 ἄφετε This is on the whole more probable than ἄπιτε. The change from the future with οὐκ to the imperative has probably occasioned the corruption of the text.

887. mvp-comment-503-2 χρή This the Scholiast explained by χρήσει, i. e. he read χρῇ. And this is necessary, if τυμβεύειν is read in 888. But τυμβεύσει, the reading of Triclinius, is supported by τυμβεύει in AV³. Whether she must die there, or shall live a buried life in that dark cell. For εἰ .. χρή, cp. Εl. 399, πεσούμεθ', εἰ χρή, πατρὶ τιμωρούμενοι. And for τυμβεύσει, see Essay on Language p. 64 b. The intransitive use of τυμβεύειν occurs nowhere else.

889. mvp-comment-504-1 Creon claims to be pure from the blood of Antigone, because he has altered the doom of stoning (1. 36) to that of immurement, and because of the modicum of food that is to be shut in with her, ὡς ἄγος (1. 775).

890. mvp-comment-505-1 'At all events she shall no longer share the right of dwelling with us in the light of day.'

891-892. mvp-comment-506-1 'O cavernous abode of long imprisonment, at once my bridal-chamber and my tomb.'

896. mvp-comment-507-1 πρὶν .. βίου 'Before my allotted portion of life is spent.' Cp. Il. 4. 170, μοῖραν ἀναπλήσῃς βιότοιο. For ἐξήκειν, cp. Τr. 147, ἀλλ᾽ ἡδοναῖς ἄμοχθον ἐξαίρει βίον | ἐς τοῦθ', ἕως ἄν, κ.τ.λ.

897. mvp-comment-508-1 κάρτ᾽ ἐν ἐλπίσιν τρέφω I do cherish it amongst my hopes.

899. mvp-comment-509-1 κασίγνητον κάρα This must be addressed to Polynices, who is most in the thoughts of the spectators, and is again invoked in the same words in 1.915: not to Eteocles, of whose burial Antigone only knew by hearsay, supr. 23 ff. The difficulty of reconciling this with the following lines has been adduced as one of several reasons for rejecting the passage from l. 900 to l. 928 in whole or in part. The lines 905-912 are apt to appear to modern readers, as they did to Goethe, a blemish in a place which might have been expected to be most carefully finished. The saying, which Herodotus, 3. 119, attributes almost in the same terms to the wife of Intaphernes, would seem from this to have had a wide currency in Ionia-for it is a precarious supposition that either author derived it from the other-and fell in with the natural tendency of Greek life to exalt the bond of brotherhood above all other ties of affection and kindred. The general feeling of the speech is well traced by Seyffert. Antigone, when brought face to face with death, in utter isolation from human sympathy, comes down from the lofty tone she had assumed in her first answer to Creon, and recognizes the simple fact that it was the strength of her affection which impelled her to defy the law. Her love for Poly- nices was wonderful, passing the love that could be felt for a husband or a child. She dilates on this and justifies it by a primitive sophism, which the passage of Herodotus cited above shows to be more in the spirit of the time of Sophocles or of the age preceding him than of any later period. If the Antigone is the earliest of the seven plays (see Introduction), we need not be surprised by an archaism of thought which is much less remarkable than several which occur in Aeschylus. In an early English ballad, called the Douglas Tragedy, a woman interceding for the life of her father, whom her lover would slay, gives the following reason :-'True lovers I can get many a one, | But a father I'll never get more.'

900-901. mvp-comment-510-1 In these lines she is thinking of her father and mother. The libation only had been given to Polynices, who is specially mentioned in the following line. Ll. 900, I could not have been written after O. C. 1756 ff.

903. mvp-comment-511-1 περιστέλλουσα Decking for burial,' and SO also protecting from insult. 904. And certainly those who consider rightly will say I did honour thee. For the dative, see Essay on Language § 13. p. 19. Others take e with ἐτίμησα, but for the stress, it was a real honour,'-cp. the emphatic use of ἄνηρ, Ο. C. 393, and of ὕβρις, ib. 882.

905. mvp-comment-512-1 Feeling the incongruity of saying, If I had lost a child, she says, If I had had children, leaving the further supposition to be implied. Mm2

906. mvp-comment-513-1 κατθανὼν ἐτήκετο Had been wasting in death. Cp. 1. 410, μυδῶν τε σῶμα γυμνώσαντες εὖ.

907. mvp-comment-514-1 βίᾳ πολιτών Cp. supr. 74, 5. Creon is the representative of the State, and the elders in supr. 872 ff. have confirmed his sentence. Antigone is throughout perfectly conscious of the nature of her action, and at this moment she sees more clearly than ever the audacity of it. But even after the impulse has subsided she goes resolutely, though sadly, to her fate.

908. mvp-comment-515-1 νόμου Principle. Cp. supr. ll. 191, 613.

909. mvp-comment-516-1 κατθανόντος Sc. τοῦ πόσεως.

910. mvp-comment-517-1 τοῦδε τοῦ παιδός.

912. mvp-comment-518-1 οὐκ ἔστ᾿ .. ποτέ Although not strictly logical, this is much more touching and expressive than οὐκ ἔσθ' ὅπως ἀδελφὸς ἂν βλάστοι ποτέ, which it has been proposed to substitute here.

916. mvp-comment-519-1 διὰ χερῶν .. λαβών διά lit. = Between. Cp. διαλαμβάνω in Hdt., e.g. 1. 114, ἐκέλευε αὐτὸν τοὺς ἄλλους παῖδας διαλαβεῖν: Plat. Rep. В. 10. p. 615 Ε, τοὺς μὲν διαλαβόντες ἦγον.

918. mvp-comment-520-1 παιδείου τροφῆς The rearing of children. This is censured by Dindorf as unmaidenly: but cp. El. 963-966, καὶ τῶνδε μέντοι μηκέτ᾽ ἐλπίσῃς ὅπως | τεύξει ποτ· οὐ γὰρ ὧδ᾽ ἄβουλός ἐστ᾿ ἀνὴρ | Αἴγισθος, ὥστε σόν ποτ᾿ ἡ κἀμὸν γένος | βλαστεῖν ἐᾶσαι, πημονὴν αὐτῷ σαφή : Eur. Ion 485 ff., ἐμοὶ μὲν πλούτου τε πάρος | βασιλικῶν τ' εἶεν θαλάμων | τροφαὶ κήδειοι κεδνῶν τέκνων, κ.τ.λ. For the active sense of τροφή in the passage last quoted and in the text, see Essay on Language $ 53. p. 98, and cp. El. 1143 ff., οἴμοι τάλαινα τῆς ἐμῆς πάλαι τροφῆς | ἀνωφελήτου, τὴν ἐγὼ θάμ᾽ ἀμφί σοι | πόνῳ γλυκεῖ πάρεσχον.

919. mvp-comment-521-1 ἔρημος πρὸς φίλων For the redundant preposition, see Essay on Language §19. p. 28.

920. mvp-comment-522-1 θανάτων, which occurs only in L and M³, is very unlikely to have been changed to θανόντων in the Byzantine period. The latter is therefore probably the authentic reading, and not merely due to conjecture.

921-922. mvp-comment-523-1 ποίαν..; τί χρή ..; The suddenness of these transitions is very expressive of the agitation of Antigone's mind. Her fate leads her even to doubt the providence of the gods, but not to admit that she has done wrong. She will make the admission when death has taught it her, but not before. If her judges are wrong they will suffer too.

922-923. mvp-comment-524-1 ἐς θεοὺς .. βλέπειν Cp. El. 925, μηδὲν ἐς κεῖνόν γ᾽ ὅρα.

923. mvp-comment-525-1 ξυμμάχων ; The partitive genitive expresses with greater emphasis what might have been expressed by the accusative.

923. mvp-comment-525-2 ἐπεί γε δή The momentary doubt about the vindication of right in the world heightens the tragic effect. Cp. Phil. 428, τί δῆτα δεῖ σκοπεῖν; ib. 451, 2, ποῦ χρὴ τίθεσθαι ταῦτα, ποῦ δ᾽ αἰνεῖν, ὅταν | τὰ θεῖ᾽ ἐπαινῶν, τοὺς θεοὺς εὕρω κακούς; Trach. 1266: Aj. 950 ff.

924. mvp-comment-526-1 τὴν δυσσέβειαν The vice of impiety is confused with the blame of impiety, just as ἀρετή sometimes means a reputation for virtue. Cp. Phil. 1443, ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια συνθνήσκει βροτοῖς. Εςsay on L. p. 95.

925. mvp-comment-527-1 If, after all, this course of theirs is approved in heaven, when I have suffered I suppose I shall acknowledge my fault. The emphatic position of παθόντες implies, After I have suffered, but not before.' K εγ

927. mvp-comment-528-1 μὴ πλείω κακὰ | πάθοιεν This has actually been interpreted as a prayer of Antigone for her enemies. Others explain it as a warning to them Let them see to it that they do not suffer more. The real meaning is, that she cannot imprecate heavier sufferings on them than they are inflicting on her. Let them suffer, I will not say more, but the same evils which they unrighteously inflict on me. For a curse, similarly half-checked in utterance, with μή. cp. Phil. 961, ὅλοιο μή πω, πρὶν μάθοιμ᾽ εἰ καὶ πάλιν | γνώμην μετοίσεις. To translate this Mayest thou not perish yet, would be a similar mistake to that which has caused the difficulty about the present passage. It is true, however, that Antigone's tone is rather that of one who judges, than of one who condescends to ban her enemies.

927. mvp-comment-528-2 οἴδε Sc. οἱ πολίται. See above, 1.907 and note.

929-930. mvp-comment-529-1 For the addition of αὑταί, see Essay on Language § 40. p. 75, 2, and for ψυχῆς, which is added to soften the metaphor (since the chorus are less bold in an anapaestic than in a purely lyric passage, supr. 137), see ib. 5.

930. mvp-comment-530-1 τήνδε γ' γε gives a natural emphasis to τήνδε, and there is no ground for the conjecture τήνδ' ἐπέχουσιν.

931. mvp-comment-531-1 τούτων, which is genitive of the cause, is not likely to have been interpolated. It is more probable that the second τοι arose from διττογραφία.

933-934. mvp-comment-532-1 θανάτου ἀφίκται This word is nearest death of all that have come. Cp. Thuc. 3. 59, χαλεπώτατον τοῖς ὧδε ἔχουσι λόγου τελευτᾶν, διότι καὶ τοῦ βίου ὁ κίνδυνος ἐγγὺς μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ. The adverb of place is supplementary predicate; see Essay on Language § 24. p. 40. 935-936. μὴ οὐ follows the rule laid down in Essay on Language § 29. p. 49, 3 a. Böckh and Dindorf, taking a hint from the Scholia, give these lines to the chorus, on the ground that Creon has already withdrawn all hope. But the word κατακυροῦσθαι is characteristic of Creon, who may be thought not unlikely, even superfluously. to have made this final assertion of his will.

938. mvp-comment-533-1 θεοὶ προγενεῖς My divine ancestry, including Cadmus and Harmonia, and their parents. Cp. supr. 199, θεοὺς τοὺς ἐγγενεῖς, and note: Hdt. 2.143, Ἑκαταίῳ . . ἀναδήσαντι τὴν πατριὴν εἰς ἑκκαιδέκατον θεών.

940. mvp-comment-534-1 O royal line of Thebè!' This has usually been explained as an address to the chorus. But Antigone expects no more sympathy from them (least of all if ll. 935-936 are rightly given to the chorus). It is rather an apostrophe to the members of the princely family living and dead, including the θεοὶ προγενεῖς. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 800-802, οἱ τ' ἔσω δωμάτων πλουτογαθῆ μυχὸν νομίζετε | κλῦτε, σύμφρονες θεοί.

941. mvp-comment-535-1 *βασιλειδᾶν is Seyffert's ingenious emendation, based on Hesychius' βασιλείδης· ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως. Ismene is throughout only thought of as a foil for Antigone, and there is no more impropriety in Antigone speaking of herself as the last of her race than in the chorus (supr. 599 ff.) singing of the extinction of the light that was spreading over the last remaining shoot of the Labdacidae.

942. mvp-comment-536-1 πρὸς οἴων ἀνδρῶν As a princess, she speaks with scorn of Creon, who is not of royal birth. The words may also contain an allusion to the ἦθος of his (or the chorus'?) last speech.

944-987. mvp-comment-537-1 The chorus, in the manner of Pindar, moralise on the fate of Antigone through examples drawn from the circle of mythology and legend; and thus suggest the same cold comfort as in their mention of Niobe. The effect of this ode is to repress the excitement and solemnize the thoughts of the spectator. 'Danaë, though of royal lineage, and entrusted with the golden shower, was bound by all-constraining destiny in her brazen cell. 'Bound, too, in a prison of rock, was Lycurgus, who provoked the God. He knew his madness when it was too late. And on the Thracian promontory Phineus sons, blinded by their father's wife (Idothea), bewailed their rejected mother Cleopatra's hapless lot, who, descended from an ancient line, and endowed with swiftness by her divine sire, was notwithstanding overtaken by the long-lived fates.' Danae and Cleopatra were, like Antigone, of royal birth, and, like Antigone, were bound in a living tomb. So also was the son of Dryas, himself a king: and this, in his case, was the penalty of an impetuous and defiant spirit. Sophocles seems to have followed one version of the obscure and variable legend of Phineus, according to which Cleopatra did not die, but was rejected by Phineus for Idothea, and imprisoned in a cave, from which she was afterwards released by Heracles. The sons were blinded by their step-mother. The first strophe and antistrophe are choriambic with an iambic close; the second, logaoedic. The choriambi here were probably chanted slowly, so as to have a weighty, solemn effect. The scheme is as follows: a'. First strophe and antistrophe. IILUCI LUCILー LUCILIITUCICートに IICClluclトー IIICCILUCIトに ICICICI KLCICICI CトートUICIK β'. Second strophe and antistrophe. UCCTCCICCI IICCICCII!یں ILU TUCI くいくいトCICIK Cトートしーーー ―トビトCICIK CÚCCICICICC

944. mvp-comment-538-1 φῶς | ἀλλάξαι 'Το exchange the light' (for gloom), i. e. To lose the light. Cp. Phil. 1262, ἀμείψας ..

944. mvp-comment-538-2 στέγας.

945. mvp-comment-539-1 δέμας Form. This word reminds us of the beauty of Danaë, which increased the pathos of her fate.

945. mvp-comment-539-2 ἐν χαλκοδέτοις αὐλαῖς In a brassbound room. The compound of δέω merely suggests the general notion of confinement (Essay on Language § 55. 3, p. 101), and has nothing to do with the riveting of brazen plates to the walls.

949. mvp-comment-540-1 γενεᾷ τίμιος Because descended from Danaus the grandson of Poseidon.

951. mvp-comment-541-1 ὁ μοιριδία τις δύνασις The mysterious power of fate. For the combination of the article and indefinite pronoun, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 36.

952. mvp-comment-542-1 *ὄλβος is Erfurdt's ingenious and probable correction of ὄμβρος. He compares Bacchylides ap. Stob. Ecl. Phys. 1. 166, θνατοῖσι δ᾽ οὐκ αὐθαίρετοι | οὔτ᾽ ὄλβος οὔτ᾽ ἀκάματος Ἄρης οὔτε πάμφθερσις στάσις.

953. mvp-comment-543-1 Cp. Hor. Od. 2. 16, 21,

Scandit aeratas vitiosa naves | Cura.

ἁλίκτυποι is passive: Sea-beaten.

954. mvp-comment-544-1 κελαιναί The Epic νῆες μέλαιναι: i. e. Looking dark against the sea and sky.

955-957. mvp-comment-545-1 The punishment of Lycurgus was the subject of an Aeschylean trilogy. It was variously related. Sophocles chooses the version of the story that suits his purpose. For the earliest description of the crime, see Il. 6. 130-140.

955. mvp-comment-546-1 ζεύχθη resumes κατεζεύχθη, supr. 947.

955. mvp-comment-546-2 ὀξύχολος The very probable conjecture of Scaliger for ὀξυχόλως.

955. mvp-comment-546-3 παῖς ὁ Δρύαντος So Pind. O1. 8. 31, παῖς ὁ Λατούς.

956. mvp-comment-547-1 κερτομίοις όργαῖς Dative of the cause.

957. mvp-comment-548-1 ἐκ Διονύσου By the will of Dionysus. Cp. infr. 1219.

958-961. mvp-comment-549-1 So dire is the excess of rage that flows from madness. He learned at length that it was in madness that he provoked the God with biting speech.' The emphatic reivos applies the γνώμη to the case of Lycurgus. There is a stress on μανίαις.

959. mvp-comment-550-1 τᾶς μανίας Genitive of derivation, partly governed by ἀπό in comp.

959. mvp-comment-550-2 ἀποστάζει For the metaphorical use, cp. Aesch. Ag. 178, στάζει ἐν θ᾽ ὕπνῳ πρὸ καρδίας | μνησιπήμων πόνος. Others render, trickles away, i.e. comes to nought. But οὕτω is more naturally joined with the adjectives, whose position shows that they are emphatic, than with the verb.

960. mvp-comment-551-1 ἀνθηρόν 'Blooming, and so reaching its height: cp. Tr. 1089, ἤνθηκεν, ἐξώρμηκεν. A fury so over-powering, i.e. Leading inevitably to such calamitous issues.

960. mvp-comment-551-2 ἐπέγνω He recognised afterwards, i.e. when punished.

960. mvp-comment-551-3 μανίαις Dative of manner, expressing the predicate, quasi ἐν μανίαις. Essay on Language $ 14. pp. 20, 21. The v. r. μανίας (acc. plur.) is not so good.

961. mvp-comment-552-1 ψαύων In the rather unusual sense of Tempting, Provoking' (= έρε θίζων, cp. καθάπτεσθαι), and hence used, πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον, with the accusative. For the language of this passage, cp. Plat. Polit. 310 D, ἐξανθεῖν παντάπασι μανίαις: ib. 273 D, τελευτώντος δ᾽ ἐξανθεῖ τοῦ χρόνου : Legg. 6. 783 Α, διαπυρωτάτους . . μανίαις : ib. 9. 881 Β, μὴ μανίαις ἐχόμενος. And for the construction of κεῖνος.. θεόν, cp. Pind. Pyth. 8. 12, τὰν οὐδὲ Πορφυρίων μάθεν παρ' αἶσαν ἐξερεθίζων. For ἐν, of the instrument, see Essay on Language § 19. p. 27.

964. mvp-comment-553-1 The Bacchic fire,' i.e. The lighted torches of the Bacchanalian rout. Cp. O. T. 214: Eurip. Bacch. 146.

965. mvp-comment-554-1 Μούσας

Inter Bacchi comites a Diodoro 4. 4, recensentur Musae.

(Musgrave.) They are associated by Plato in the Laws, B. 2, p. 672 C. The Muses are here lovers of the flute, i.e. of the Phrygian orgiastic music.

966-968. mvp-comment-555-1 And hard by Cyanean rocks that divide the seas, are the cliffs of the Bosphorus and the Thracian promontory of Salmydessus, where,' etc. The genitive gives indefiniteness to the notion of place, and παρά implies neighbouring extent.

966. mvp-comment-556-1 πελαγέων, see v. rr., although metrically allowable (πελᾶγεων), is condemned by the vagueness of the meaning and the tautology in πελαγέων .. ἁλός. The ingenious conjecture of Wieseler is therefore adopted. It is confirmed by the gloss πετρῶν. The 1st syllable of Ἄρης is long in arsi supr. 139.

969. mvp-comment-557-1 The lost cretic has been differently supplied: ἄξevos Boeckh, ήτων Meineke. A verb is more wanted, e. g.

969. mvp-comment-557-2 ἵσταται, κλήζεται.

970. mvp-comment-558-1 ἀγχίπτολις Ἄρης This can only mean The War-god whose temple is near the city (of Salmydessus). Cp. Aesch. S. c. T. 501. The details of the legend as accepted by Sophocles are unknown to us, and hence we can hardly judge of the appropriateness of the epithet. The Thracian worship of Ares is well known.

971. mvp-comment-559-1 δισσοῖσι Φινεΐδαις Dative of direct reference depending on τυφλωθέν. Essay on Language § 12. p. 18.

972. mvp-comment-560-1 ἀρατόν Accursed; i.e. Bringing a curse on Phineus and Idothea.

972. mvp-comment-560-2 ἕλκος τυφλωθέν. The blinding wound inflicted.' The 'cognate verb᾽ τυφλωθέν is substituted for ποιηθέν or the like. Essay on Language § 17. p. 25, c.

973. mvp-comment-561-1 ἐξ ἀγρίας δάμαρτος For the preposition, see Essay on Language $ 19. p. 28, 2.

973. mvp-comment-561-2 δάμαρτος Idothea, who had been made the wife of Phineus through the repudiation of Cleopatra. 974- ἀλαὸν ἀλαστόροισιν ὀμμάτων κύκλοις] Sightless (i. e. producing blindness) on the vengeful orbits of their eyes. For the causative use of ἀλαόν, see Essay on Language §. 53. p. 98.

973. mvp-comment-561-3 ἀλαστόροισιν Bringing vengeance,' i. e. Pleading successfully though silently for retribution. The dative is partly dative of place and partly of direct reference. Causing blindness in or to the eyes.

975. mvp-comment-562-1 *ἀραχθέντων Lachmann's conjecture for ἀραχθὲν ἐγχέων. When they were smitten. Another is ἄτερθ' ἐγχέων.

976. mvp-comment-563-1 κερκίδων ἀκμαῖσιν A woman's weapon. The shuttle was sharpened at the point, so as to be inserted between the threads, in order to regulate the density of the web. This process was called κερκίζειν, and the art is named by Plato κερκιστική. Plat. Polit. 282 B, C: Sophist. 226 B: Crat. 388 A.

980. mvp-comment-564-1 κλαῖον ματρός, | ἔχοντες ἀνύμφευτον γονάν This punctuation is preferred to κλαῖον, ματρὸς ἔχοντες ἀνύμφευτον γονάν, simply because the fate of Cleopatra, and not that of the Phineidae, is the chief point of the illustration.

980. mvp-comment-564-2 ἔχοντες ἀνύμφευτον γονάν Having a birth not honoured by wedlock: because their mother's marriage was repudiated, and their legitimacy was therefore not acknowledged. Note the repetition of γονά γονάν in a different sense after yovás in 950.

981. mvp-comment-565-1 And she in lineage reached even unto the ancient race of the Erechtheidae.' Because her mother Orithyia, whom Boreas rapt from the Ilissus (Plat. Phaedr. 229 B), was a daughter of Erechtheus. Qy. ἀρχαιογενήτων?

983. mvp-comment-566-1 τηλεπόροις δ᾽ ἐν ἄντροις The exact meaning of the compound epithet is doubtful. Either (1) Far-piercing,' i. e. Extending far into the mountainside: or (2) Distant, the second part of the epithet being redundant, or merely repeating the notion of a hollow passage implied in ἄντροις, i.e. δι' ὧν τηλόσε πορευόμεθα.

985. mvp-comment-567-1 Βορεὰς ἅμιππος Cp. Ο. Τ. 466, and note. And for ἅμα, Hom. Il. 19.415. Keeping pace with the steed over the steep path of the hill. On the compounds of πούς, see Essay on Language $55. p. 101. ὀρθόπους is literally Raising the foot upright. The second part of the compound is subordinated, but in this connection must have reference to the foot of the climber, and not to the foot of the hill. The words ὀρθόποδος ὑπὲρ πάγου are in construction with the verbal notion in ἅμιππος, sc.

985. mvp-comment-567-2 ἅμα ταῖς ἵπποις τρέχειν δυναμένη.

986-987. mvp-comment-568-1 ἀλλὰ κἀπ᾿ ἐκείνᾳ .. ἔσχον But even on her the long-lived fates laid hold. Cp. Hom. Il. 21. 110, ἀλλ᾿ ἔπι τοι καὶ ἐμοὶ θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα κραταιή. ἐπέχειν is To extend to, and the tmesis gives the preposition a fresh construction with the dative. The Fates are ever-living, and therefore can afford to bide their time.

987. mvp-comment-569-1 ὦ παῖ Antigone is apostrophized after her departure, like Oedipus in Ο. C. 1567, πάλιν σε δαίμων δίκαιος αὔξοι. 988, foll. The coming of Teiresias is the beginning of the περιπέτεια, The change in the spirit of Creon's dream. The external marks of the prophet are noticed more prominently than in the Oedipus Tyrannus. Cp. especially 998-990, with O. T. 371, τυφλὸς τὰ τ᾽ ὦτα, κ.τ.λ., and 444, καὶ σύ, παῖ, κόμιζέ με: 992-995, with Ο. Τ. 436, γονεῦσι δ', οἵ σ᾽ ἔφυσαν, ἔμφρονες. The figure of the blind prophet is more ideal in the Oedipus Tyrannus, and the peculiarity of his position is brought out, in a higher mode of art, with one or two light touches. On the other hand, his sudden and unlooked-for coming suits exactly with the purpose of this drama and the person of Creon.

990. mvp-comment-570-1 αὕτη Essay on Language § 22, p. 35.

992. mvp-comment-571-1 The authority of the seer is here simply asserted and acknowledged. Cp. 1053. In the Oedipus Tyrannus he appears with still higher claims, as a prince, whose honours are guarded by his lord Apollo.

993-994. mvp-comment-572-1 οὔκουν .. ἀπεστάτουν .. ναυκληρεῖς] I have not aforetime departed. ..'You have guided, and still guide.' Cp. Tr. 600, 601. The conjecture ένανκλήρεις is no improvement. The present means, You have hitherto guided safely, and this is not inconsistent with what follows. Cp. Aesch. Agam. 1, αἰτῶ, I have been asking.

994. mvp-comment-573-1 δι᾽ ὀρθῆς Sc. κελεύθου. On a safe and successful course.

995. mvp-comment-574-1 I have experienced benefits, and can bear witness of them. Essay on Language §36. p. 66. There is perhaps an allusion here to the sacrifice of Megareus, which was prompted by the prophecy of Teiresias. But cp. 1058 and note.

996. mvp-comment-575-1 φρόνει, κ.τ.λ. (1) Beware once more, as thou standest now upon an edge of peril. The participle is not to be construed with the verb, but is in apposition to the subject. For φρονεῖν absolute, cp. O. T. 617, φρονεῖν γὰρ οἱ ταχεῖς οὐκ ἀσφαλεῖς : ib. 649, πιθοῦ θελήσας φρονήσας τ', ἄναξ, λίσσομαι. Otherwise (2) Know that now again thou standest,' etc. Cp. Trach. 289, φρόνει νιν ὡς ἥξοντα: Phil. 810, σαφῶς φρόνει. The expression ἐπὶ ξυροῦ is proverbial: cp. Il. 10. 173: Eur. H. F. 630.

997. mvp-comment-576-1 ὡς .. στόμα How I shudder at thy speech. ὡs as in l. 82, ὡς ὑπερδέδοικά σου. στόμα has the association of privileged, prophetic utterance, as in Ο. Τ. 426, τοὐμὸν στόμα.

999. mvp-comment-577-1 The οἰωνοσκοπεῖον of Teiresias was shown at Thebes in the time of Pausanias: Paus. 9. 16.

999. mvp-comment-577-2 παλαιόν i. e. consecrated by use from early times.

1000. mvp-comment-578-1 ἵν'.. λιμήν Where I had harbourage for every ominous bird. Essay on Language § 58. p. 105.

1002. mvp-comment-579-1 κλάζοντας Accusative πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον, as if ὄρνιθας ἄγνωτα φθεγγομένους had preceded.

1002. mvp-comment-579-2 βεβαρβαρωμένῳ Rendered unintelligible,' Confused. 1003. iv, of the instrument. Cp. supra. 1. 961. φοναῖς, In bloody fray. Dative of manner. Cp. supra, l. 960 .

1004. mvp-comment-580-1 πτερῶν.. ἦν For the whirring of their wings gave no uncertain sound: although their voices did. 1005 ἐγευόμην] By analogy for ἐπειρώμην, I made trial of the divination by burnt sacrifice,' similar to that used in the temple of Ismenus: O. Τ. 21.

1006. mvp-comment-581-1 βωμοῖσι παμφλέκτοισιν At the blazing altar. παν in composition is simply intensive, as in El. 1139: and the epithet is generally descriptive. See Essay on Language § 55. p. 101.

1006. mvp-comment-581-2 ἐκ δὲ θυμάτων 'But from the sacrifice the Fire-god refused to gleam; and on the ash a dank humour dripped from the thigh-bones, and fumed and sputtered, and the gall was sprinkled abroad in air, and the thighs wasted and lay bared of their enclosing fat.

1007. mvp-comment-582-1 For σποδός, cp Ο. Τ. 21: Hdt. 4.35, τῶν μηρίων καταγιζομένων ἐπὶ τῷ βωμῷ τὴν σποδόν.

1009. mvp-comment-583-1 μετάρσιοι is supplementary predicate. The preposition in ἐξέκειντο is emphatic. Cp. Od. 23. 179, ἔνθα οἱ ἐκθεῖσαι πυκινὸν λέχος: Thuc. 4. 129. § 3. ἔτυχον ἐξεστρατοπεδευμένοι ἔξω τῆς πόλεως.

1010. mvp-comment-584-1 καταρρυεῖς is explained to mean Flowing down with moisture,' but means rather Fallen away. Cp. Paus. 10. 2, 6 (L. and S s. ν. καταρρέω 1. 4), νεκροῦ κατερρυηκότος τὰς σάρκας.

1011. mvp-comment-585-1 The apparently active use of καλυπτῆς comes from καλύπτειν, in the sense of placing as a covering, i. e.

1011. mvp-comment-585-2 καλύπτειν πιμελὴν μηροῖς. For the meaning, cp. Aesch. Pr. 496, foll., κνισῇ τε κώλα συγκαλυπτά· καὶ μακρὰν | ὀσφὺν πυρώσας, δυστέκμαρτον ἐς τέχνην | ὥδωσα θνητούς· καὶ φλογωπὰ σήματα | ἐξωμμάτωσα, πρόσθεν ὄντ᾽ ἐπάργεμα.

1013. mvp-comment-586-1 Such failing tokens given by baffling auspices. Lit. Of victims giving no sign. Cp. Ps. 74. 9. We see not our signs; there is no more any prophet. φθίνοντα μαντεύματα are not Prophecies of decay,' but Rites of divination fading away, i. e. losing their virtue. Cp. Ο. Τ. 902, φθίνοντα.. Λαΐου | θέσφατα.

1015. mvp-comment-587-1 τῆς σῆς ἐκ φρενός From thy will. Cp. infr. 1063, ὡς μὴ ᾿μπολήσων ἴσθι τὴν ἐμὴν φρένα.

1016. mvp-comment-588-1 ἐσχάραι τε παντελεῖς And all the number of our sacred hearths. παντελεῖς is little more than πᾶσαι, but expresses that the word ἐσχάραι added to βωμοί comprises every consecrated spot in the whole city. Cp. El. 982, ἔν θ᾽ ἑορταῖς ἔν τε πανδήμῳ πόλει.

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

KREON. Erweck' es; aber rede nur nicht um Gewinn.

Current edition Experimental

CORO Corriendo saca a la muchacha de la subterránea prisión, y prepara sepultura para el que yace insepulto.

Creon Et ista probas, hisque obsequi me debere censes?

CH Go now to do it. Trust no second hand.

Was ist's, warum befiel dich solche Bangigkeit?

Der Wächter. Erst laß dir sagen, was mich selbst betrifft: die That Verübt' ich nicht, noch sah ich, wer der Thäter war; Und nur mit Unrecht widerführe mir ein Leid. 240

Kreon. Du zielst behutsam und verschanzest dich geschickt Ringsher; du bringst uns, seh' ich wohl, ein schweres Wort.

Der Wächter. Das Arge freilich regt die Furcht gewaltig auf.

Kreon. Nun, wirst du reden endlich und dann weiter geh'n?

Der Wächter. Wohlan, so sag' ich's: Einer, der sofort verschwand, 245 Begrub den Todten eben, hat mit trocknem Staub Bestreut den Leichnam, und geweiht, was üblich ist.

Kreon. Was sagst du? Wer auf Erden hat sich deß erkühnt?

Der Chor.

Chorus Immediately, O king ! for vengeance falls With hasty footsteps on the guilty head.

CREONTE ¿No sabes tú que es á un Rey á quien se dirigen tus palabras?

CHOR Thu nun diess, Komm. Komm nun nicht mehr auf anders.

Chorus Yea, King, and with all speed; for swift harms from the gods cut short the folly of men.

Chorus That is your will, Creon, towards this city’s enemy and its friend. And the power is yours, I believe, to make use of every law whatsoever, both concerning the dead and all us who live.

Creon See, then, that you be guardians of my commands. 215

Chorus Lay the weight of this task on some younger man.

Creon That is not what I meant—the guards for the corpse are already in place.

Chorus Then what is this other command that you would give?

Creon That you not give way to the breakers of my commands.

Chorus There is no one so foolish as to crave death. 220

Creon I assure you, that is the wage for disobedience. Yet by just the hope of it, money has many times corrupted men.

Creon And what is it that so disheartens you?

Guard I want to tell you first about myself—I did not do the deed, nor did I see the doer, so it would be wrong that I should come to any harm. 240

Creon Like a bowman you aim well at your target from a distance, and all around you hedge yourself off well from the deed. It is clear that you have some unheard-of thing to tell.

Guard That I do, for terrible news imposes great hesitation.

Creon Then tell it, will you, and so unburdened go away?

Guard Well, here it is. The corpse—some one has just given it burial and disappeared after sprinkling thirsty dust on the flesh and performing the other rites that piety demands. 245

Creon What are you saying? What man dared do this?

Chorus My king, my thoughts have long been deliberating whether this deed is somehow the work of gods?

Guard Will you allow me to speak? Or shall I just turn and go? 315

Creon Do you not know even now how much your voice sickens me?

Guard Is the pain in your ears, or in your soul?

Creon And why would you define the seat of my pain?

Guard He who did it hurts your heart, but I, your ears.

Creon God! How plain it is that you are a born babbler. 320

Guard Perhaps, but never the author of this action.

Creon Yes, and what is more, you sold your life for silver.

Guard Ah! It is truly sad when the judge judges wrong .

Creon Expound on judgment as you will. But, if you fail to show me the perpetrators of these crimes, you will avow that money basely earned wreaks sorrows. Exit Creon. 325

Guard Well, may the man be found! That would be best. But, whether he be caught or not—for fortune must decide that—I assure you that you will not see me come here again. Saved just now beyond hope and belief, I owe the gods great thanks. Exit the Guard. 330

Commentary

Stable identifiers

KREON.

Erweck' es; aber rede nur nicht um Gewinn.

CORO

Corriendo saca a la muchacha de la subterránea prisión, y prepara sepultura para el que yace insepulto.

Creon

Et ista probas, hisque obsequi me debere censes?

CH

Go now to do it. Trust no second hand.

Der Wächter.

Erst laß dir sagen, was mich selbst betrifft: die That

Verübt' ich nicht, noch sah ich, wer der Thäter war;

Und nur mit Unrecht widerführe mir ein Leid.
240

Kreon.

Du zielst behutsam und verschanzest dich geschickt

Ringsher; du bringst uns, seh' ich wohl, ein schweres Wort.

Der Wächter.

Das Arge freilich regt die Furcht gewaltig auf.

Kreon.

Nun, wirst du reden endlich und dann weiter geh'n?

Der Wächter.

Wohlan, so sag' ich's: Einer, der sofort verschwand,
245

Begrub den Todten eben, hat mit trocknem Staub

Bestreut den Leichnam, und geweiht, was üblich ist.

Kreon.

Was sagst du? Wer auf Erden hat sich deß erkühnt?

Chorus

Immediately, O king ! for vengeance falls

With hasty footsteps on the guilty head.

CREONTE

¿No sabes tú que es á un Rey á quien se dirigen tus palabras?

CHOR

Thu nun diess, Komm. Komm nun nicht mehr auf anders.

Chorus

Yea, King, and with all speed; for swift harms from the gods cut short the folly of men.

Chorus

That is your will, Creon, towards this city’s enemy and its friend. And the power is yours, I believe, to make use of every law whatsoever, both concerning the dead and all us who live.

Creon

See, then, that you be guardians of my commands.
215

Chorus

Lay the weight of this task on some younger man.

Creon

That is not what I meant—the guards for the corpse are already in place.

Chorus

Then what is this other command that you would give?

Creon

That you not give way to the breakers of my commands.

Chorus

There is no one so foolish as to crave death.
220

Creon

I assure you, that is the wage for disobedience. Yet by just the hope of it, money has many times corrupted men.

Creon

And what is it that so disheartens you?

Guard

I want to tell you first about myself—I did not do the deed, nor did I see the doer,

so it would be wrong that I should come to any harm.
240

Creon

Like a bowman you aim well at your target from a distance, and all around you hedge yourself off well from the deed. It is clear that you have some unheard-of thing to tell.

Guard

That I do, for terrible news imposes great hesitation.

Creon

Then tell it, will you, and so unburdened go away?

Guard

Well, here it is. The corpse—some one has just given it burial and disappeared after sprinkling thirsty dust on the flesh and performing the other rites that piety demands.
245

Creon

What are you saying? What man dared do this?

Chorus

My king, my thoughts have long been deliberating whether this deed is somehow the work of gods?

Guard

Will you allow me to speak? Or shall I just turn and go?
315

Creon

Do you not know even now how much your voice sickens me?

Guard

Is the pain in your ears, or in your soul?

Creon

And why would you define the seat of my pain?

Guard

He who did it hurts your heart, but I, your ears.

Creon

God! How plain it is that you are a born babbler.
320

Guard

Perhaps, but never the author of this action.

Creon

Yes, and what is more, you sold your life for silver.

Guard

Ah! It is truly sad when the judge judges wrong .

Creon

Expound on judgment as you will. But, if you fail to

show me the perpetrators of these crimes, you will avow that money basely earned wreaks sorrows. Exit Creon.
325

Guard

Well, may the man be found! That would be best. But, whether he be caught or not—for fortune must decide that—I assure you that you will not see me come here again.

Saved just now beyond hope and belief, I owe the gods great thanks. Exit the Guard.
330