Sophocles Antigone 791

Thomas Francklin (Translator)

View: By Turn
Fountains of tears will flow, when I behold

Antigone. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.

Current edition Experimental

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (12)
Greek (L. Benloew, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (L. Benloew, 1858)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους
φρένας παρασπᾷς ἐπὶ λώβᾳ·
σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν
790
σύναιμον 1 ἔχεις ταράξας·
νικᾷ δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων
ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου
νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων
πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς
795
θεσμῶν 2 . ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμ-
παίζει θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα.
Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους
φρένας παρασπᾷς ἐπὶ λώβᾳ·
765
σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας·
νικᾷ δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου
νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς
θεσμῶν· ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμπαίζει θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα.
Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους
φρένας παρασπᾷς ἐπὶ λώβᾳ·
σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν
ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας·
νικᾷ δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων
785
ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου
νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς
θεσμῶν· ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμπαίζει
θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα.
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους
φρένας παρασπᾷς ἐπὶ λώβᾳ·
σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν
ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας·
νικᾷ δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου
795
νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων †πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς
θεσμῶν· ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμπαίζει θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα.
800
58v
Greek (A. Colonna, 1978) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Colonna, 1978)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους
φρένας παρασπᾷς ἐπὶ λώβᾳ·
σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν
ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας·
νικᾷ δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων
795
ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου
νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων
πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς
θεσμῶν· ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμ-
παίζει θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα.
800
Greek (A. Dain, 1955) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Dain, 1955)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους
φρένας παρασπᾷς ἐπὶ λώ-
βᾳ· σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀν-
δρῶν ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας·
νικᾷ δ’ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων
795
ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου
νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων
πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς θεσ-
μῶν· ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμπαί-
ζει θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα.
800
Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους
φρένας παρασπᾶις ἐπὶ λώβαι
σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν
ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας·
νικᾶι δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων
795
ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου
νύμφας †τῶν μεγάλων πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς †
θεσμῶν· ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμπαί-
ει θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα.
800
Greek (G. Hermann, 1830) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (G. Hermann, 1830)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους
φρένας παρασπᾷς ἐπὶ λώβᾳ·
σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν
ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας·
νικᾷ δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων
790
ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου
νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς
θεσμῶν· ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμπαί-
ζει θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα.
Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους φρένας παρασπᾷς ἐπὶ λώβᾳ· 1
σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας· 2
νικᾷ δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου 3
795
νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς 4
θεσμῶν· ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμπαίζει θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα. 5
Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους
φρένας παρασπᾷς ἐπὶ λώβᾳ·
σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν
ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας·
νικᾷ δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων
795
ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου
νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς
θεσμῶν· ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμπαί-
ζει θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα.
800
Antigone (OCR draft) Experimental (Antigone) — 791 focus
Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949)) — 791 focus
σὺ καὶ δικαίων ἀδίκους
790
φρένας παρασπᾶις ἐπὶ λώ-
βαι· σὺ καὶ τόδε νεῖκος ἀν-
δρῶν ξύναιμον ἔχεις ταράξας·
νικᾶι δ᾽ ἐναργὴς βλεφάρων
795
ἵμερος εὐλέκτρου
νύμφας, τῶν μεγάλων πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς
θεσμῶν· ἄμαχος γὰρ ἐμπαί-
ζει θεὸς Ἀφροδίτα.
Translations (10)
German (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 791 focus
Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921)) — 791 focus
Tú de los hombres justos arrancas injustas determinaciones, para arruinarlos; y también tú has concitado la rencilla en esta familia. Triunfa el brillante atractivo de los ojos de la novia que ha de alegrar el lecho, y que atrae contra las más grandes instituciones; pues sin que se la pueda resistir, juega de nosotros la diosa Venus.
Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 791 focus
Tu vel iustorum mentes devias abripis ad noxam:
tu quoque inter consanguineos viros litem .hanc concitasti: praepollet autem palam erumpens oculorum desiderium pulcram appetentis virginem, quod. cum maximis inter initia rerum legibus pari praeditum est potestate : — insuperabilis enim illudit dea Venus.
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 791 focus
’Tis labour lost to worship powers unseen.
Love, never foiled in fight!
Warrior Love, that on Wealth workest havoc!
Love, who in ambush of young maid’s soft cheek
795
All night keep’st watch!—Thou roamest over seas.
In lonely forest homes thou harbourest.
800
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 791 focus
Du lockst auch unschuldigen Sinn
In böse Schuld, ihn zu verderben;
785
Du hast auch eben die Zwietracht
Des Vaters und Sohns entzündet.
Im Blick der holdseligen Braut
Leuchtet der Sehnsucht Macht
Siegreich, thronend im Rath hoher Geseze; 1
790
Denn nimmerbezwingbar übt ihr Spiel
Aphrodite's Gottheit.
(Antigone wird herbeigeführt.
Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889)) — 791 focus
Tú arrastras á los buenos al erimen y ála injusticia; tú eres quien acaba de suscitar esa reyerta entre el padre y el hijo. De todo triunfa el amor que inspiran los ojos de una hermosa. El amor preside con los dioses á las loyes de la naturaleza. ¡Cómo juega con nosotros la irresistible Afródita!...
German (F. Hölderlin, 1804) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (F. Hölderlin, 1804)) — 791 focus
Du machest scheu der Gerechten
820
Unrechtere Sinne, dass in die Schhmach weg
Sie flüchten, hältst dich hier auf, im Männerzank’, |
Im blutsverwandten, und wirfst es untereinander.
Und nie zu Schanden wird es,
Das Mächtigbittende,
825
Am Augenliede der hochzeitlichen
Jungfrau, im Anbeginne dem Werden grolser
Veıständigungen gesellet. Unkriegerisch spielt nemlich
Die göttliche Schönheit mit.
English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904)) — 791 focus
The just themselves have their minds warped by thee to wrong, for their ruin: ’tis thou that hast stirred up this prese if i ;~victorious is the lovekindling light from the eyes of the fair bride; it is a power enthroned in sway beside the eternal laws; for 800 there the goddess Aphrodite is working her unconquerable will.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 791 focus
The rural hut, the pastoral plain;
Thy pow'r th' immortal gods obey,
And mortal men confess thy sway
But all, who feel thy piercing darts,
English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904)) — 781-805 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-97-1 ψυχήν 1 φρόνημα 2 γνώμην 3

mvp-comment-98-1 ἀρχαῖς 4 νόμοισιν 5

mvp-comment-98-2 ἐντριβής 6

mvp-comment-98-3 φανῇ 7

mvp-comment-99-1 ἐμοὶ γάρ 8 γάρ 9 πᾶσαν … πόλιν 10

mvp-comment-99-2 μὴ … ἅπτεται 11 ὅστις μὴ ἅπτεται 12

mvp-comment-99-3 ἐκ φ. του 13

mvp-comment-99-4 ἐγκλῄσας ἔχει 14

mvp-comment-99-5 νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι 15

mvp-comment-100-1 μείζον’ 16 ἀντὶ τῆς...πάτρας 17 ἤ 18 μεῖζον 19

mvp-comment-100-2 οὐδαμοῦ λέγω 20

mvp-comment-101-1 ἐγὼ γάρ 21 γάρ 22 τοῦτο γιγνώσκων 23 ἴστω 24

mvp-comment-102-1 οὔτ’ ἂν σιωπήσαιμι 25

mvp-comment-103-1 στείχουσαν ἀστοῖς 26 ὁμοῦ 27

mvp-comment-103-2 ἀντὶ τῆς σωτηρίας 28 τῆς 29

mvp-comment-104-1 ἄνδρα δυσμενῆ χθονός 30

mvp-comment-104-2 ἐμαυτῷ 31 φίλον 32 θείμην 33

mvp-comment-105-1 ἡ σῴζουσα 34

mvp-comment-105-2 ταύτης 35 ὀρθῆς 36

mvp-comment-105-3 τοὺς φίλους ποιούμεθα 37

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 38

mvp-comment-106-2 αὔξω 39

mvp-comment-107-1 ἀδελφὰ τῶνδε 40

mvp-comment-107-2 τῶν ἀπ’ Οἰδίπου 41

mvp-comment-108-1 δορί 42 δόρει 43

mvp-comment-109-1 τὰ πάντ’ ἐφαγνίσαι 44 ἐπί 45 ἐφαγνίσαι 46 ἀφαγνίσαι 47 ἀπό 48

mvp-comment-110-1 τοῖς ἀρίστοις 49

mvp-comment-110-2 ἔρχεται κάτω 50

mvp-comment-111-1 L has Πολυνείκην 51

mvp-comment-111-2 λέγω 52

mvp-comment-112-1 γτ=ν πατρῴαν . . καὶ θεοὺς . . πρῆσαι 53

mvp-comment-112-2 θ. τοὺς ἐγγενεῖς 54

mvp-comment-112-3 κατελθών 55

mvp-comment-112-4 γ)θέλησε μέν … ἠθέλ. δέ 56 ἠθέλησε μὲν 57

mvp-comment-112-5 πρῆσαι 58

mvp-comment-112-6 κατ’ ἄκρας 59

mvp-comment-112-7 αἵματος κ. πάσασθαι 60

mvp-comment-112-8 τοὺς δὲ … ἄγειν 61

mvp-comment-113-1 The traditional ἐκκεκηρῦχθαι τάφῳ 62 ἐκκεκήρυκται τάφῳ 63 ἐκκεκηρῦχθαι λέγω 64 τάφῳ 65 κτερίζειν 66 τάφῳ 67 κτερίζειν 68 μήτε 69 κωκῦσαι 70 τάφῳ 71 λέγω 72 τάφῳ 73 ἐκκεκ 74

mvp-comment-114-1 ἐᾶν δ 75 ἄθαπτον, αἰκισθέντ’ ἰδεῖν 76 δέμας καὶ πρὸς οἰωνῶν καὶ πρὸς κυνῶν ἐδεστόν 77 αἰκισθέντ 78 αἰκισθέντ 79 ἐδεστόν 80 αἰκισθέν τ’, δέμας 81

mvp-comment-114-2 δέμας 82

mvp-comment-114-3 ἰδεῖν 83

mvp-comment-115-1 φρόνημα 84

mvp-comment-115-2 ἔκ γ’ ἐμοῦ 85

mvp-comment-116-1 The MSS. have τιμὴν προέξουσ’ ..τῶν ἐνδ. 86 τιμήν 87 τιμῆ 88 προσέξους 89

mvp-comment-117-1 τιμήσεται 90

mvp-comment-118-1 I print Dindorf's κἀς 91 καὶ 92 σοὶ ταῦτ’ ἀρέσκει 93 Κρέον 94 ταὔτ 95 ταῦτ’ 96

mvp-comment-119-1 In παντί πού γ’ 97 σοί γ’ … που 98 ἔνεστι 99 χὡπόσοι ζῶμεν 100 πέρι 101

mvp-comment-120-1 ὡς ἂν … ἦτε 102 πῶς ἂν … εἶτε 103

mvp-comment-120-2 σκοποί 104

mvp-comment-120-3 νυν 105 νῦν 106

mvp-comment-120-4 τῶν εἰρ 107

mvp-comment-121-1 πρόθες τοῦτο 108 βαστάζειν 109

mvp-comment-121-2 τοῦ νεκροῦ γ’ 110

mvp-comment-122-1 τί δῆτ’ ἂν … ἐπεντέλλοις 111

mvp-comment-122-2 The reading ἄλλῳ 112 τοῦτο 113

mvp-comment-122-3 ἐπιχωρεῖν 114

mvp-comment-122-4 ἀπιστοῦσιν 115

mvp-comment-122-5 τάδε, 116

mvp-comment-123-1 ὃς 117 ἐρᾷ 118

mvp-comment-123-2 καὶ μὴν 119 γε 120 μισθός 121

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 122

mvp-comment-123-5 διώλεσεν 123

mvp-comment-124-1 ἐρῶ μὲν οὐχ 124

mvp-comment-124-2 ὅπως 125

mvp-comment-124-3 τάχους ὕπο 126 τάχους 127

mvp-comment-125-1 ἐξάρας 128

mvp-comment-125-2 φροντίδων 129 ἐπιστάσεις 130

mvp-comment-125-3 ὁδοῖς 131

mvp-comment-125-4 κυκλῶν 132

mvp-comment-126-1 ψυχὴ γὰρ ηὔδα 133 πολλὰ 134 μυθουμένη 135

mvp-comment-127-1 τάλας … τλήμων 136

mvp-comment-127-2 μένεις 137 μενεῖς 138 αὖ 139

mvp-comment-127-3 πῶς … οὐκ 140

mvp-comment-127-4 ἀλγυνεῖ 141

mvp-comment-128-1 ἑλίσσων 142

mvp-comment-128-2 ἤνυτον 143

mvp-comment-128-3 σχολῇ βραδύς 144

mvp-comment-129-1 τέλος γε μέντοι 145

mvp-comment-129-2 ἐνίκησεν 146

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 147 μολεῖν 148 σοί 149 φράσων 150 φράσω δ 151 κεἰ 152 κεἴ σοι 153 σοί. 154

mvp-comment-130-2 τὸ μηδέν 155

mvp-comment-131-1 τῆς ἐλπίδος 156

mvp-comment-131-2 δεδραγμένος 157 πεφραγμένος 158 πεπραγμένος 159

mvp-comment-131-3 τὸ μὴ παθεῖν ἄν 160

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 161

mvp-comment-132-1 ἀνθ’ οὗ 162

mvp-comment-132-2 τὸ γὰρ | πρᾶγμ’ 163 γάρ 164

mvp-comment-133-1 εὖ γε στοχάζει 165 στοχάζει 166 ἀποφράγνυσαι 167 στοχάζομαι 168

mvp-comment-133-2 κἀποφράγνυσαι 169

mvp-comment-133-3 τὸ πρᾶγμα 170

mvp-comment-134-1 δηλοῖς δ’ ὥς τι ς. 171

mvp-comment-135-1 τὰ δεινά 172 γάρ 173

mvp-comment-135-2 ποτ 174

mvp-comment-135-3 ἀπαλλαχθείς 175

mvp-comment-136-1 καὶ δή 176

mvp-comment-136-2 θάψας 177 κἀπί 178

mvp-comment-136-3 διψίαν 179

mvp-comment-136-4 κἀφαγιστεύσας 180 ἃ χρή 181

mvp-comment-137-1 ἀνδρῶν 182

mvp-comment-137-2 οὔτε του γενῇδος … οὐ δικέλλης 183 οὔτε … οὐ 184 γενῄς 185 γενῄς 186 δίκελλα 187

mvp-comment-137-3 δικ. ἐκβολή 188 ἐκβ. 189 στύφλος 190 χέρσος 191 ἀρρώξ 192

mvp-comment-137-4 ἐπημαξευμένη 193 ἐπ‐ 194 ἐφ‐ 195

mvp-comment-137-5 ἀλλ’ ὁ ἐργάτης ἄσημός τις ἦν 196

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 197 ἡμεροσκ. 198

mvp-comment-138-2 δείκνυσι … παρῆν 199

mvp-comment-138-3 δυσχερές 200

mvp-comment-139-1 ὁ μὲν 201

mvp-comment-139-2 τυμβήρης μὲν οὔ 202 τυμβ. 203 λεπτὴ δ’ … ἐπῆν 204

mvp-comment-139-3 ἄγος φεύγοντος ὥς 205 ἄγος 206

mvp-comment-140-1 θηρός 207

mvp-comment-140-2 του 208 θηρός 209

mvp-comment-140-3 οὐ σπάσαντος 210 οὐ 211 σπάσαντος 212 σπάσαντος οὐδ’ ἐλθόντος 213

mvp-comment-141-1 λόγοι δ’ … φύλακα 214 λόγοι κακοὶ ἐρρόθουν 215 ἐρρόθουν 216

mvp-comment-141-2

γλώσσης ῥόθος
, of an unintelligible jargon.

mvp-comment-141-3 ἐλέγχων 217

mvp-comment-141-4 κἂν ἐγίγνετο 218

mvp-comment-141-5 τελευτῶς 219

mvp-comment-141-6 ὁ κωλύσων 220

mvp-comment-142-1 ἦν … οὑξειργ. 221

mvp-comment-142-2 ἐναργής 222

mvp-comment-142-3 ἀλλ’ 223

mvp-comment-142-4 ἕφευγε μὴ εἰδέναι 224

mvp-comment-142-5 μὴ 225 εἰδέναι 226

mvp-comment-143-1 μύδρους 227

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 228

mvp-comment-144-2 θεοὺς ὁρκ. 230

mvp-comment-144-3 τὸ μήτε δρ 231

mvp-comment-144-4 μήτ’ είργασμένῳ 232 μηδ 233

mvp-comment-145-1 πλέον 234

mvp-comment-145-2 λέγει 235

mvp-comment-145-3 τις εἷς 236

mvp-comment-146-1 προὔτρεψεν 237

mvp-comment-146-2 οὐ γὰρ εἴχομεν 238

mvp-comment-146-3 As ἀντιφωνεῖν 239 δρῶντες 240 ὅπως δρῶντες 241 εἴχομεν 242

mvp-comment-147-1 σοί 243

mvp-comment-147-2 ταῦτ’ ἐνίκα 244

mvp-comment-147-3 πάλος 245 καθαιρεῖ 246

mvp-comment-147-4 τἀγαθόν 247 —ἄκων οὐχ ἑκοῦσιν 248

mvp-comment-148-1 ἐμοί 249 βουλεύει 250 μή 251

mvp-comment-148-2 τι 252

mvp-comment-148-3 θεήλατον, 253

mvp-comment-148-4 ἡ ξύννοια 254

mvp-comment-148-5 πάλαι 255

mvp-comment-149-1 πρὶν ὀργῆς καί με μεστῶσαι 256 καί 257 πρίν 258 μεστῶσαι 259 καί 260 με 261

mvp-comment-149-2 κἀμέ 262

mvp-comment-149-3 μεστῶσαι 263

mvp-comment-150-1 πότερον 264 ἔκρυπτον 265

mvp-comment-150-2 ἀμφικίονας ναούς 266

mvp-comment-150-3 κἀναθήματα 267

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 268 πυρώσων 269

mvp-comment-150-6 νόμους διασκεδῶν 270

mvp-comment-150-7 διασκεδῶν 271

mvp-comment-151-1 τοὺς κακοὺς τιμῶντας … θεούς; 272

mvp-comment-152-1 ταῦτα 273 μόλις φέροντες 274 καὶ πάλαι 275

mvp-comment-152-2 πόλεως ἄνδρες 276

mvp-comment-152-3 ἐρρόθουν 277

mvp-comment-152-4 ἐμοί 278

mvp-comment-152-5 κάρα σείοντες 279

mvp-comment-152-6 ὑπὸ ζυγῷ 280

mvp-comment-152-7 λόφον 281

mvp-comment-152-8 δικαίως 282

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

ὡς = ὥστε
( O. T. 84 ): στέργειν 283

mvp-comment-153-1 τῶνδε 284 ἐκ 285

mvp-comment-153-2 τούτους, 286

mvp-comment-153-3 εἰργάσθαι 287 ἐξεπίσταμαι 288 παρηγμένους 289

mvp-comment-154-1 νόμισμ’ 290

mvp-comment-154-2 ἔβλαστε 291

mvp-comment-154-3 πορθεῖ 292

mvp-comment-154-4 τόδ’ 293 ἄνδρας 294

mvp-comment-155-1 τόδ’ ἐκδ. καὶ παραλλάσσει 295 ἵστασθαι 296 καὶ παραλλάσσει 297

mvp-comment-155-2 ἵστασθαι πρός τι 298

mvp-comment-156-1 πανουργίας … ἔχειν 299

mvp-comment-156-2 εἰδέναι 300 παντὸς ἔργου δυσσέβ. 301 παντὸς ἔργ 302 πανουργίας 303

mvp-comment-157-1 ἤνυσαν 304

mvp-comment-157-2 χρόνῳ ποτέ 305 δοῦναι δίκην 306

mvp-comment-157-3 ἐξέπραξαν ὡς 307

mvp-comment-158-1 Ζεύς 308

mvp-comment-158-2 ὅρκιος 309

mvp-comment-158-3 τὸν αὐτόχειρα 310 τάφου = ταφῆς 311

mvp-comment-159-1 μοῦνος 312 πρὶν ἂν . . δηλώσητε 313 κρεμαστοί 314 ζῶντες κρεμαστοί 315

mvp-comment-159-2 δηλώσηθ’ 316

mvp-comment-159-3 ὕβριν 317

mvp-comment-160-1 ἵν’ … ἁρπάζητε 318

mvp-comment-160-2 τὸ κέρδος 319 ἔνθεν οἰστέον 320

mvp-comment-160-3 μάθηθ’ 321

mvp-comment-160-4 ἐξ ἅπαντος 322 τὸ κερδαίνειν 323

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 324

mvp-comment-161-2 δέ 325 δώσεις 326

mvp-comment-161-3 οὕτως 327

mvp-comment-161-4 ἴω 328

mvp-comment-161-5 καὶ νῦν ὡς 329 ἀνιαρῶς 330 ι— 331

mvp-comment-162-1 ἐν 332 ὠσίν 333

mvp-comment-162-2 ἐπί 334

mvp-comment-163-1 τί δὲ 335 τί δαὶ 336

mvp-comment-163-2 ῥυθμίζεις 337 ὅπου 338 ὅπου 339

mvp-comment-164-1 τὰς φρένας...τὰ δ’ ὦτ’ 340 σε 341

mvp-comment-164-2 οἴμ’ ὡς 342

mvp-comment-164-3 λάλημα 343 ἄλημα 344 ἄλημα 345

mvp-comment-164-4 δῆλον, 346

mvp-comment-165-1 ‘At any rate (

οὖν
—babbler or not) I certainly have not done this deed.’ εἰμί 347 οὔκουν … γε 348

mvp-comment-166-1 ‘Yes, (you have done it,) and that, too, at the cost of betraying,’ etc. The particle γε 349 καὶ ταῦτα 350 προδούς 351

mvp-comment-167-1 ἦ δεινόν 352 καὶ 353 γε 354

mvp-comment-168-1 κόμψευε . . τὴν δόξαν 355

mvp-comment-168-2 τὴν δόξαν 356

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 357 νῦν 358 ταῦτα … τοὺς δρῶντας = τοὺς ταῦτα δρῶντας 359

mvp-comment-169-1 δειλά 360

mvp-comment-169-2 δεινά 361 ν 362

mvp-comment-170-1 ἀλλ’ 363 εὑρεθείη 364 καὶ 365

mvp-comment-171-1 καὶ 366 γάρ 367

mvp-comment-171-2 γνώμης 368

mvp-comment-173-1 πολλὰ … κοὐδέν 369

mvp-comment-173-2 καί 370

mvp-comment-173-3 τὰ δεινά 371

mvp-comment-174-1 τοῦτο 372 πέραν 373 πέρα 374

mvp-comment-175-1 χειμερίῳ νότῳ 375

mvp-comment-176-1 περιβρ … ὑπ’ οἴδμασιν 376

mvp-comment-177-1 ὑπερτάταν 377

mvp-comment-178-1 ἀκαμάταν 378

mvp-comment-178-2 ἀποτρύεται 379

mvp-comment-179-1 ἰλλομένων ἀρότρων, 380 ἀρότων 381

mvp-comment-179-2 ἔτος εἰς ἔτος 382 εἰς 383

mvp-comment-180-1 ἱππείῳ γένει 384

mvp-comment-180-2 πολεύων 385 τοῦτο 386

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 387

mvp-comment-181-5 ἀμφιβαλὼν 388

mvp-comment-182-1 πόντου … εἰναλίαν φύσιν 389

mvp-comment-183-1 περιφραδής 390

mvp-comment-184-1 μηχαναῖς 391 ἀγραύλου 392 ὀρεσσιβάτα 393

mvp-comment-185-1 λασιαύχενά θ’ 394

mvp-comment-186-1 ὀχμάζεται 395 ἀμφὶ λόφον ζυγῶν 396

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 397

mvp-comment-187-1 φθέγμα 398

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 399

mvp-comment-188-1 ἀστυνόμους ὀργάς 400

mvp-comment-189-1 ἐδιδάξατο 401

mvp-comment-190-1 πάγων 402

mvp-comment-190-2 ἐναίθρεια 403

mvp-comment-190-3 βέλη 405

mvp-comment-191-1 παντοπόρος 406

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 407 μόνου 408 φεῦξιν — ἐπάξεται 409

mvp-comment-193-1 ἀμηχάνων 410

mvp-comment-193-2 φυγάς 411

mvp-comment-193-3 ξυμπέφρασται 412

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 413

mvp-comment-194-3 τὸ μηχανόεν τ 414

mvp-comment-195-1 τοτὲ μὲν … ἄλλοτ’ 415

mvp-comment-195-2 ἐπ’ 416

mvp-comment-196-1 γεραίρων 417

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 418

mvp-comment-198-1 ὑψίπολις 419

mvp-comment-198-2 ἄπολις 420

mvp-comment-198-3 τὸ μὴ καλόν 421 τόλμας χάριν 422

mvp-comment-199-1 παρέστιος 423

mvp-comment-199-2 ἴσον φρονῶν 424

mvp-comment-200-1 ἔρδει 425 ἔρδοι 426

mvp-comment-202-1 The choral ode has closed with an allusion to the unknown man ( ὅς 427 ἀμφινοῶ 428 ἐς 429

mvp-comment-202-2 δαιμόνιον τέρας 430

mvp-comment-203-1 πῶς εἰδὼς 431

mvp-comment-203-2 ἀντιλογήσω 432

mvp-comment-204-1 ὦ δύστηνος 433

mvp-comment-204-2 δ. πατρός 434

mvp-comment-204-3 Οἰδιπόδα— 435

mvp-comment-205-1 τί ποτ’ 436

mvp-comment-205-2 οὐ δή που 437

mvp-comment-205-3 ἀπιστοῦσαν 438

mvp-comment-205-4 ἄγουσι 439

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

mvp-comment-205-6 καὶ 440 ἀπιστοῦσαν 441 καθελόντες 442

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 443

mvp-comment-206-3 τοὔργον ἡ ’ξειργ 444

mvp-comment-207-1 ἐς δέον 445

mvp-comment-208-1 ξύμμετρος 446

mvp-comment-209-1 ἀπώμοτον 447

mvp-comment-210-1 ψεύδει 448

mvp-comment-210-2 ἡ ’πίνοια 449

mvp-comment-211-1 ἐξηύχουν ἄν 450 σχολῇ ἥξειν ποτὲ δεῦρο 451

mvp-comment-211-2 σχολῇ 452

mvp-comment-212-1 ταῖς σαῖς ἀπειλαῖς 453

mvp-comment-212-2 ἐχειμάσθην 454

mvp-comment-213-1 ἡ...ἐκτὸς 455 ἐκτός 456

mvp-comment-214-1 οὐδὲν ἔοικε μῆκος 457 α+λλῃ ἡδονῇ 458 οὐδέν 459 μῆκος 460 ἔοικε 461

mvp-comment-215-1 δῑ ὅρκων … ἀπώμοτος 462

mvp-comment-216-1 καθῃρέθη 463

mvp-comment-216-2 τάφον κοσμοῦσα 464

mvp-comment-216-3 ἐπάλλετο 465 ἕρμαιον 466

mvp-comment-217-1 κρῖνε 467

mvp-comment-217-2 δίκαιός εἰμι 468

mvp-comment-217-3 ἀπηλλάχθαι 469

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 470

mvp-comment-219-1 ἦ καὶ 471

mvp-comment-219-2 ὀρθῶς 472

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 473

mvp-comment-221-1 ἆρ’ ἔνδηλα 474

mvp-comment-222-1 ὁρᾶται...ᾑρέθη 475

mvp-comment-222-2 ἐπίληπτος 476

mvp-comment-223-1 ἥκομεν 478

mvp-comment-224-1 τὰ δείν’ ἐκεῖν’ 479

mvp-comment-224-2 τὸν | νέκυν 480

mvp-comment-225-1 καθήμεθ’ 481

mvp-comment-225-2 ἄκρων ἐκ πάγων 482

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
by
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
or
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
or
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 483

mvp-comment-226-1 βάλῃ 484

mvp-comment-227-1 ἐγερτί 485

mvp-comment-227-2 κινῶν 486

mvp-comment-227-3 ἐπιρρόθοις κακοῖσιν 487

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 488 ἀφειδήσοι 489

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 490

mvp-comment-230-2 χθονὸς 491

mvp-comment-231-1 τυφώς 492 σκηπτός 493

mvp-comment-231-2 οὐράνιον ἄχος 494

mvp-comment-232-1 πίμπλησι 495 αἰκίζων 496

mvp-comment-232-2 ἐν δ’ ἐμεστ 497

mvp-comment-233-1 μύσαντες 498

mvp-comment-233-2 νόσον 499

mvp-comment-233-3 ἐν χρ. μακρ 500

mvp-comment-234-1 πικρᾶς 501

mvp-comment-235-1 εὐνῆς...λέχος 502

mvp-comment-236-1 οὕτω δέ 503

mvp-comment-236-2 ψιλόν 504

mvp-comment-237-1 γόοισιν ἐξῴμωξεν 505

mvp-comment-237-2 ἐκ δ’ … ἠρᾶτο 506

mvp-comment-237-3 διψίαν 507

mvp-comment-238-1 φέρει κόνιν 508

mvp-comment-239-1 The πρόχους 509

mvp-comment-239-2 εὐκρότητος 510

mvp-comment-239-3 ἄρδην 511

mvp-comment-240-1 χοαῖσι 512

mvp-comment-240-2 τρισπόνδ. 513 στέφει 514

mvp-comment-241-1 ἱέμεσθα 515

mvp-comment-241-2 σὺν δὲ … θηρώμεθ’ 516

mvp-comment-242-1 ἠλέγχομεν 517

mvp-comment-242-2 ἄπαρνος … οὐδενός 518

mvp-comment-242-3 καθίστατο 519

mvp-comment-243-1 ἅμ’ 520

mvp-comment-244-1 φίλους 521

mvp-comment-245-1 πάντα ταῦθ’ 522 λαβεῖν 523

mvp-comment-246-1 σὲ δή, 524

mvp-comment-247-1 φὴς δεδρακέναι, ἢ καταρνεῖ μὴ δεδρ 525 καταρνεῖ 526

mvp-comment-248-1 καὶ......κοὐκ 527

mvp-comment-248-2 τὸ μή 528

mvp-comment-249-1 σὺ μέν 529 κομίζοις ἂν ς 530

mvp-comment-249-2 ἔξω 531 β. αἰτίας 532 ἐλεύθερον 533

mvp-comment-250-1 μῆκος 534

mvp-comment-251-1 ᾔδησθα 535 ᾔδης τὰ 536 σθα 537

mvp-comment-251-2 κηρυχθέντα 538

mvp-comment-252-1 ᾔδη 539

mvp-comment-252-2 τί δ’ οὐκ ἔμελλον 540

mvp-comment-252-3 ἐμφανῆ 541 ἐκφανῆ 542

mvp-comment-253-1 καὶ δῆτ’ 543

mvp-comment-254-1 Ζεύς 544

mvp-comment-255-1 τῶν κάτω θεῶν 545 ξύνοικος 546 τοιούσδ’ … ὥρισεν 547 οἳ τούσδ’ … ὥρισαν 548 τάδε 549

mvp-comment-256-1 ἄγραπτα … νόμιμα 550

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 551

mvp-comment-256-3 ἀσφαλῆ 552

mvp-comment-256-4 θνητὸν ὄντ’ 553

mvp-comment-256-5 ὑπερδραμεῖν 554

mvp-comment-257-1 νῦν γε κἀχθές 555

mvp-comment-257-2 ζῇ 556

mvp-comment-257-3 ’φάνη 557

mvp-comment-258-1 τούτων 558 τὴν δίκην 559 τούτων 560

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 561

mvp-comment-259-1 δώσειν 562

mvp-comment-259-2 θανουμένη γάρ 563

mvp-comment-259-3 τί δ’ οὔ 564

mvp-comment-260-1 κεἰ μὴ σὺ προὐκήρυξας 565

mvp-comment-260-2 τοῦ χρόνου 566

mvp-comment-260-3 αὔτ’ 567

mvp-comment-261-1 φέρει 568

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 569

mvp-comment-263-1 ἄλγος 570 παρ’ οὐδέν 571

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 572

mvp-comment-264-1 ἄθαπτον ἠνσχόμην νέκυν 573 ηἰσχόμην 574 ἠνσχόμην 575

mvp-comment-264-2 In my first edition I placed in the text the emendation of Semitelos (1887) ᾔσχυναν κύνες 576

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 577

mvp-comment-264-4 or

μιᾶς
(Meineke). (2) τὸν ἐξ ἐμ. | μητρος θανόντ’ 578

mvp-comment-265-1 σχεδόν τι 579

mvp-comment-265-2 μώρῳ μωρίαν 580

mvp-comment-265-3 ὀφλισκάνω 581

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 582 δηλοῖ 583 ὠμόν 584 ἐξ ὠμοῦ πατρός 585 γέννημα 586

mvp-comment-267-1 εἴκειν … κακοῖς 587

mvp-comment-268-1 ἀλλ’ ἴσθι τοι 588

mvp-comment-268-2 πίπτειν 589

mvp-comment-269-1 ὀπτὸν … περισκελῆ 590

mvp-comment-269-2 περισκελής 591

mvp-comment-269-3 ἐκ πυρός 592

mvp-comment-270-1 θραυσθέντα καὶ ῥαγέντα 593

mvp-comment-271-1 χαλινῷ δ’ 594 σμικρῷ 595

mvp-comment-271-2 καταρτυθέντας 596

mvp-comment-272-1 Suspicion has fallen on ἐκπέλει 597

mvp-comment-272-2 ὅστις 598

mvp-comment-272-3 τῶν πέλας 599

mvp-comment-273-1 αὕτη δ’ 600 ὑβρίζειν μὲν … ὕβρις δ’ 601 ἐξηπίστατο 602 τότ’ 603

mvp-comment-273-2 τούτοις 604

mvp-comment-273-3 δεδρακυῖαν γελᾶν 605

mvp-comment-274-1 νῦν 606

mvp-comment-274-2 εἰ ταῦτα … κράτη 607 κράτη 608 κείσεται 609 πείσεται 610 ἀνατί 611 ταῦτα 612

mvp-comment-275-1 ἀδελφῆς 613

mvp-comment-275-2 εἴθ’ ὁμαιμονεστέρα 614

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 615

mvp-comment-276-1 τοῦ παντὸς Ζηνὸς ἑρκείου 616

mvp-comment-277-1 ἀλύξετον 617 μόρου 618

mvp-comment-278-1 καὶ γὰρ οὖν 619

mvp-comment-278-2 ἐπαιτιῶμαι κείνην 620 βουλεῦσαι ἴσον τοῦδε τάφου 621 ἴσον 622

mvp-comment-278-3 βουλεῦσαι 623

mvp-comment-279-1 καί νιν καλεῖτ’ 624

mvp-comment-280-1 λυσσῶσαν … οὐδ’ ἐπ 625

mvp-comment-280-2 ἐπήβολον 626

mvp-comment-281-1 ὁ θυμὸς τῶν … τεχνωμένων 627 φιλεῖ κλοπεὺς ᾑρῆσθαι 628 πρόσθεν 629 κλοπεύς 630 ᾑρῆσθαι κλοπεύς 631

mvp-comment-281-2 τεχνωμένων 632

mvp-comment-282-1 γε μέντοι 633

mvp-comment-282-2 Ismene's guilty terror is contrasted with Antigone's impudent hardihood,—as Creon deems it. μισῶ … ὅταν 634

mvp-comment-282-3 ἔπειτα 635

mvp-comment-282-4 καλλύνειν 636

mvp-comment-283-1 θέλεις τι μεῖζον 637

mvp-comment-283-2 ἑλών 638

mvp-comment-283-3 ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδέν 639

mvp-comment-283-4 ἅπαντ’ ἔχω 640

mvp-comment-284-1 ἀρεστὸν οὐδέν 641

mvp-comment-284-2 μηδ’ ἀρεσθείη 642 ἀρεσθείην 643 ἀρέστ’ εἴη 644

mvp-comment-285-1 τἀμά 645

mvp-comment-285-2 ἔφυ 646

mvp-comment-286-1 καίτοι 647 κλέος … εὐκλεέστερον 648

mvp-comment-287-1 ἐν τάφῳ τιθεῖσα 649 τούτοις πᾶσι λέγοιτο ἄν 650 τοῦτο ἁνδάνειν 651 ἐγκλῄοι 652

mvp-comment-288-1 ἀλλ’ ἡ τυραννίς 653

mvp-comment-289-1 μούνη 654

mvp-comment-289-2 τοῦτο … ὁρᾷς 655

mvp-comment-289-3 ὑπίλλουσιν 656

mvp-comment-290-1 σὺ δ’ οὐκ ἐπαιδεῖ 658

mvp-comment-291-1 ὅμαιμος 659

mvp-comment-291-2 ἐκ μιᾶς τε 660 τε 661

mvp-comment-292-1 πῶς δῆτ’ 662

mvp-comment-292-2 ἐκείνῳ 663

mvp-comment-292-3 χάριν 664 τιμᾷς 665 ὁ κατθανὼν νέκυς 666

mvp-comment-293-1 εἴ τοι 667 σφε 668

mvp-comment-293-2 ἐξ ἴσου 669

mvp-comment-294-1 οὐ γάρ τι δοῦλος 670

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 671

mvp-comment-295-2 ὁ δ’ 672 ὕπερ 673

mvp-comment-296-1 τούτους 674 ἴσους 675 ἴσους 676 ὅμως 677 ἴσους 678 τούτους 679 ἴσους 680

mvp-comment-297-1 The MS. λαχεῖν ἴσος 681 ἴσους 682

mvp-comment-298-1 κάτωθεν 683 κάτω ’στὶν 684

mvp-comment-298-2 εὐαγῆ 685

mvp-comment-299-1 οὔτοι συνέχθειν 686

mvp-comment-300-1 νυ^ν 687

mvp-comment-301-1 καὶ μὴν 688

mvp-comment-301-2 εἰβομένη 689 κάτω 690

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 691

mvp-comment-302-1 νεφέλη δ’ ὀφρύων ὕπερ 692

mvp-comment-302-2 αἱματόεν 693

mvp-comment-302-3 ῥέθος 694

mvp-comment-302-4 αἰσχύνει 695

mvp-comment-303-1 σὺ δ’ 696 ὑφειμένη 697

mvp-comment-303-2 ἔχιδνα 698

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 699

mvp-comment-305-1 ἄτα κἀπαναστάσεις 700

mvp-comment-305-2 ἐπαναστάσεις 701 θρόνων 702

mvp-comment-306-1 τὸ μὴ 703

mvp-comment-307-1 ὁμορροθεῖ 704

mvp-comment-308-1 τῆς αἰτίας 705 ξυμμετίσχω 706 φέρω 707

mvp-comment-309-1 ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐάσει σ’ 708

mvp-comment-309-2 ’κοινωσάμην 709

mvp-comment-310-1 ξύμπλουν 710

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

ὡς θεοὶ ξυνίστορες.

mvp-comment-311-2 λόγοις 711

mvp-comment-312-1 μή μ’ ἀτιμάσῃς 712 τὸ μὴ οὐ 713 ἁγνίσαι τὸν θ 714

mvp-comment-313-1 μή μοι 715 κοινά 716

mvp-comment-313-2 μηδ’ ἃ μὴ ’θιγες 717 ἅ 718 ἅ 719

mvp-comment-314-1 ποιοῦ σεαυτῆς 720

mvp-comment-314-2 ἀρκέσω 722

mvp-comment-315-1 σοῦ λελειμμένῃ 723

mvp-comment-315-2 φίλος 724

mvp-comment-316-1 κηδεμών 725

mvp-comment-317-1 ἀλγοῦσα μὲν δῆτ’ 726 δῆτα 727

mvp-comment-317-2 ἐν σοί 728

mvp-comment-317-3 Heath's εἰ γελῶ γ’ 729

mvp-comment-318-1 ἀλλὰ νῦν 730

mvp-comment-319-1 κἀμπλάκω 731

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 732

mvp-comment-320-2 ζῆν 733

mvp-comment-321-1 ἐπ’ ἀρρήτοις … τοῖς ἐμ. λ. 734

mvp-comment-322-1 σὺ μὲν τοῖς 735

mvp-comment-323-1 καὶ μήν 736

mvp-comment-324-1 θάρσει 737

mvp-comment-324-2 ἡ ἐμὴ ψυχή 738

mvp-comment-324-3 πάλαι 739

mvp-comment-324-4 ὥστε τοῖς θ. ὠφελεῖν 740

mvp-comment-325-1 L gives τὼ παῖδε φημὶ 741

mvp-comment-325-2 τὼ παῖδε … τὴν μὲν … τὴν δέ 742

mvp-comment-325-3 ἀρτίως 743

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 744

mvp-comment-326-3 τοῖς κ. πράσσουσιν 745

mvp-comment-326-4 ἐξίσταται 746

mvp-comment-327-1 σοὶ γοῦν 747

mvp-comment-327-2 κακοῖς 748

mvp-comment-328-1 τῆσδ’ ἄτερ 749 μόνῃ 750

mvp-comment-328-2 βιώσιμον 751 τί 752

mvp-comment-329-1 ἀλλὰ … μέντοι 753

mvp-comment-329-2 ἥδε μὴ λέγε 754

mvp-comment-330-1 νυμφεῖα 755

mvp-comment-331-1 ἀρώσιμοι 756

mvp-comment-332-1 οὐχ ὥς γ’ 757 ἡρμοσμένα ἦν 758

mvp-comment-333-1 υἱέσι 759 υἱάσιν 760

mvp-comment-333-2

υἷα, υἷε, υἷες, υἷας
: cp. Monro Hom. Gr. § 107.—The dat. of interest goes with κακὰς γυναῖκας 761 στυγῶ 762

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 763

mvp-comment-335-1 ἄγαν γε λυπεῖς 764

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 765 ἔφυ 766

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 767

mvp-comment-339-1 καὶ σοί γε κἀμοί 768

mvp-comment-339-2 μὴ τριβάς 769

mvp-comment-339-3 νιν 770

mvp-comment-340-1 ἐκ δὲ τοῦδε 771 γυναικας 772 ἀνειμένας 773

mvp-comment-341-1 χοἱ θρασεῖς 774 πέλας 775 εἰσορῶσι 776

mvp-comment-343-1 κακῶν ἄγευστος 777

mvp-comment-344-1 σεισθῇ θεόθεν 778

mvp-comment-344-2 ἄτας οὐδὲν ἐλλείπει 779 ἐλλείπει 780

mvp-comment-344-3 γενεᾶς ἐπὶ πλῆθος 781 γενεᾶς 782

mvp-comment-345-1 ὅμοιον 783

mvp-comment-345-2 ποντίαις 784 πνοαῖς 785 ὅταν οἶδμα 786 ποντίαις δυσπν. Θρ. πνοαῖς 787 ἐπιδράμῃ ἔρεβος ὕφαλον 788 Θρῄσσαισιν 789

mvp-comment-346-1 κελαινὰν θῖνα 790

mvp-comment-346-2 δυσάνεμοι 791 δυσάνεμον 792

mvp-comment-346-3 στόνῳ βρ.· 793

mvp-comment-346-4 ἀντιπλῆγες 794 ἀκταί 795

mvp-comment-347-1 ἀρχαῖα 796

mvp-comment-347-2 ὁρῶμαι 797 οἴκων 798 φθι^τῶν 799

mvp-comment-348-1 ἀπαλλάσσει 800

mvp-comment-348-2 γενεὰν γένος 801 ἔχει 802

mvp-comment-348-3 λύσιν 803

mvp-comment-349-1 νῦν γὰρ ἐσχάτας 804 ὃ τέτατο 805 ἐτέτατο 806 κατ’ αὖ 807 ὑπέρ 808 ὅπερ 809 ὃ τέτατο 810 νιν 811 φάος 812 ἐσχάτη ῥίζα 813 φάος 814 νιν 815 φάος 816 θάλος 817 τέτατο 818 ῥίζας 819

mvp-comment-350-1 κατ’ αὖ … ἀμᾷ, 820 κοπίς 821 κόνις 822 κόνις 823

mvp-comment-350-2 (1) If κόνις 824 καταμᾷ 825

mvp-comment-350-3 (2) If we read κοπίς 826

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 827 φρενῶν ἐρινύς 828

mvp-comment-352-1 τεάν 829

mvp-comment-352-2 δύνα^σιν 830

mvp-comment-352-3 κατάσχοι 831

mvp-comment-353-1 The MS. παντογήρως 832 παντοθήρας 833 παντόθηρος 834 πάντ’ ἀγρεύων 835

mvp-comment-354-1 The MS. οὔτ’ ἀκάματοι θεῶν 836

mvp-comment-354-2

οὐδὲν ἕρπει
. Far the best emendation is οὔτε θεῶν ἄκματοι 837 θεῶν 838 θεῶν μῆνες 839 θεῶν 840 οὔτε 841

mvp-comment-354-3 ἄκματοι 842

mvp-comment-355-1 I doubt whether the dat. χρόνῳ 843

mvp-comment-355-2 μαρμαρόεσσαν 844

mvp-comment-356-1 τό τ’ ἔπειτα 845 τὸ μέλλον 846

mvp-comment-356-2 καὶ τὸ πρίν 850 ἐπαρκέσει 851

mvp-comment-357-1 πάμπολύ γ’ 852

mvp-comment-357-2 ἕρπει 853 ἕρπειν 854 ἕρπει 855

mvp-comment-357-3 πάμπολις 856

mvp-comment-358-1 ἁ γὰρ δή 857 γάρ 858 πολύπλαγκτος 859

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 860

mvp-comment-360-1 ἀπάτα … ἐρώτων 861

mvp-comment-360-2 κουφονόων 862

mvp-comment-361-1 The

ἀπάτη
, or final frustration of his desires, ἕρπει 863 οὐδὲν εἰδότι 864

mvp-comment-362-1 πρὶν … προσαύσῃ 865

mvp-comment-362-2 προσαύσῃ 866

mvp-comment-362-3 πόδα 867 προσαύσῃ 868

mvp-comment-363-1 σοφίᾳ 869

mvp-comment-363-2 ἔκ του 870

mvp-comment-363-3 πεφάνται 871

mvp-comment-364-1 τὸ κακὸν δοκεῖν ποτ’ 872 ποτέ 873

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 874

mvp-comment-365-1 ὀλίγιστον 875 ὀλιγοστόν 876 πράσσει … ἐκτὸς ἄτας 877 ἄτας 878

mvp-comment-366-1 μήν 879

mvp-comment-366-2 νέατον 880

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 881 μόρον 882

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

νύμφης
is a gloss on τάλιδος 883 τῆς μελλογάμου 884 τῆς μελλογάμου 885 τάλιδος 886

mvp-comment-368-1 ἀπάτας 887 λεχέων 888

mvp-comment-370-1 μάντεων ὑπέρτερον 889

mvp-comment-371-1 τελείαν 890

mvp-comment-371-2 ψῆφο<*> 891

mvp-comment-371-3 ἆρα μή 892

mvp-comment-371-4 τῆς μελλονύμφου 893

mvp-comment-371-5 λυσσαίνων 894 σοὶ μέν 895 θυμαίνων 896

mvp-comment-372-1 σοὶ μέν 897

mvp-comment-372-2 πανταχῇ δρῶντες 898

mvp-comment-373-1 σός 899

mvp-comment-373-2 γνώμας ἔχων χρηστάς 900 ἀπορθοῖς 901 μοι 902

mvp-comment-374-1 ἀξιώσεται 904 ἀξ. μείζων φέρεσθαι 905 ἀξίως ἔσται 906

mvp-comment-374-2 σοῦ καλῶς ἡγουμ. 907 μείζων 908

mvp-comment-375-1 γάρ 909

mvp-comment-375-2 διὰ στέρνων ἔχειν 910 διά 911 ἔχειν 912 οὕτω 913 ἔχειν 914

mvp-comment-376-1 (One ought to think thus),—that is, ὄπισθεν ἑστάναι πατρ. γνώμης 915 πάντα 916 ἑστάναι 917

mvp-comment-377-1 ὡς 918

mvp-comment-377-2 ἀνταμύνωνται 919 κακοῖς 920

mvp-comment-378-1 ἄλλο 921 φῦσαι 922 πλήν 923 ἄλλο 924 εἴποις 925

mvp-comment-378-2 πόνους 926

mvp-comment-378-3 γέλων 927

mvp-comment-379-1 τὰς φρένας γ’ 928 γε 929 φρένας σύ γ’ ἡδονῇ 930

mvp-comment-379-2 φρένας … ἐκβάλῃς 931

mvp-comment-379-3 ὑφ’ ἡδονῆς 932

mvp-comment-380-1 ψυχρόν 933

mvp-comment-380-2 παραγκάλισμα 934

mvp-comment-381-1 δόμοις 935

mvp-comment-381-2 ἕλκος 936

mvp-comment-381-3 φίλος 937

mvp-comment-382-1 πτύσας 938

mvp-comment-382-2 ὠσεί τε δυσμενῆ 939 τε 940

mvp-comment-383-1 νυμφεύειν 941

mvp-comment-384-1 ἀπιστήσασαν 942 ψευδῆ 943

mvp-comment-385-1 κτενῶ 944

mvp-comment-385-2 πρὸς ταῦτ 945

mvp-comment-385-3 ἐφυμνείτω 946

mvp-comment-385-4 Δία ξύναιμον 947

mvp-comment-386-1 τά γ’ ἐγγ. φύσει 948

mvp-comment-386-2 ἄκοσμα 949

mvp-comment-386-3 θρέψω 950

mvp-comment-386-4 κάρτα τοὺς ἔξω γ. 951

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 952

mvp-comment-388-2 τοὐπιτάσσειν 953

mvp-comment-388-3 νοεῖ 954

mvp-comment-389-1 στήσειε 955

mvp-comment-389-2 καὶ τἀναντία 956

mvp-comment-390-1 τοῦτον … τὸν ἄνδρα 957

mvp-comment-390-2 καλῶς...εὖ 958

mvp-comment-390-3 ἄν 959 ἄρχειν 960 θέλειν 961

mvp-comment-391-1 δορὸς … χειμῶνι 962

mvp-comment-391-2 προστεταγμένον 963

mvp-comment-391-3 παραστάτην 964

mvp-comment-392-1 πόλεις ὄλλυσιν, ἥδ’ 965 πόλεις τ’ … ἥδ’ 966

mvp-comment-393-1 συμμάχου 967 συμμάχηι 968 σὺν μάχῃ 969

mvp-comment-393-2 τροπὰς καταρρήγνυσι 970

mvp-comment-393-3 τῶν δ’ ὀρθουμένων 971 τὰ πολλὰ σώματα 972

mvp-comment-393-4 ἡ πειθαρχία 973

mvp-comment-394-1 ἀμυντέ’ 974

mvp-comment-394-2 τοῖς κοσμουμένοις 975 τοῖς κ. 977

mvp-comment-395-1 κοὔτοι … ἡσσητέα 978

mvp-comment-396-1 δεῖ 979 ἐκπεσεῖν 980

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 981

mvp-comment-397-1 μέν 982

mvp-comment-397-2 τῷ χρόνῳ 983

mvp-comment-397-3 κεκλέμμεθα 984

mvp-comment-398-1 δοκεῖς λέγειν φρονούντως περὶ 985

mvp-comment-399-1 θεοί 986

mvp-comment-399-2 κτημάτων 987

mvp-comment-400-1 ἐγὼ δ’ ὅπως 988

mvp-comment-400-2 μὴ 989 ὅπως 990 μή 991 ὀρθῶς 992

mvp-comment-400-3 μήτ’ ἐπισταίμην 993

mvp-comment-401-1 καλῶς ἔχον 994 γένοιτο ἂν καὶ ἑτέρῳ 995

mvp-comment-402-1 σοῦ δ’ οὖν 996 σοῦ 997 σοί 998 σὺ δ’ οὐ πέφυκας 999 τις 1000 μῆνίν τιν’ ἢ κότον τιν 1001

mvp-comment-403-1 τὸ γὰρ σόν 1002 ὄμμα 1003

mvp-comment-403-2 δημότῃ 1004

mvp-comment-404-1 λόγοις τοιούτοις 1005 λόγοις τοιούτοις 1006

mvp-comment-404-2 οἷς 1007 τέρψει 1008 κλύων 1009 μή 1010 τέρψῃ 1011

mvp-comment-405-1 ὑπὸ σκότον 1012 ἀκούειν 1013 ὀδύρεται 1014

mvp-comment-406-1 κάκιστ’ … εὐκλεεστάτων 1015

mvp-comment-406-2 ἀπ’ ἔργων 1016

mvp-comment-407-1 ἥτις 1017 μήθ’ … μήθ’ 1018 εἴασε 1019 ὀλέσθαι 1020

mvp-comment-407-2 αὐτάδελφον 1021

mvp-comment-407-3 ἐνφοναῖς 1022

mvp-comment-408-1 χρυσῆς 1023

mvp-comment-408-2 λαχεῖν 1024 ἀξία 1025

mvp-comment-409-1 ἐπέρχεται 1026

mvp-comment-410-1 θάλλοντος 1027

mvp-comment-410-2 μεῖζον εὐκλείας 1028

mvp-comment-410-3 πρὸς παίδων 1029 εὐκλεία 1030

mvp-comment-411-1 νυν 1031

mvp-comment-411-2 φόρει 1032

mvp-comment-411-3 ἦθος 1033 ὡς φὴς σύ 1034

mvp-comment-411-4 κοὐδέν 1035

mvp-comment-411-5 τοῦτο 1036

mvp-comment-412-1 μόνος 1037 φρονεῖν 1038 ψυχήν 1039

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 1040

mvp-comment-413-2 διαπτυχθέντες 1041

mvp-comment-413-3 κενοί 1042

mvp-comment-414-1 ἄνδρα 1043 μανθάνειν 1044 τό 1045

mvp-comment-414-2 κεἰ … ᾖ 1046

mvp-comment-414-3 τείνειν 1047

mvp-comment-414-4 παρὰ ῥείθρ. 1048

mvp-comment-414-5 χειμάρροις 1049

mvp-comment-415-1 ὑπείκει 1050

mvp-comment-415-2 αὐτόπρεμνα 1051

mvp-comment-416-1 αὔτως 1052

mvp-comment-416-2 ναός 1053

mvp-comment-416-3 ἐγκρατῆ 1054

mvp-comment-416-4 πόδα 1055

mvp-comment-417-1 μηδέν 1056

mvp-comment-417-2 κάτω στρέψας 1057 τὸ πλοῖον 1058 τὸ λοιπόν 1059

mvp-comment-417-3 σέλμασιν 1060 ὑπτίοις 1061

mvp-comment-418-1 εἶκε θυμοῦ 1062

mvp-comment-418-2 καὶ μετάστασιν δίδου 1063

mvp-comment-418-3 δίδου 1064 εἶκε 1065 καί 1066 καί 1067

mvp-comment-419-1 εἴ τις γνώμη πρόσεστι καὶ ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ ν. 1068 καί 1069

mvp-comment-419-2 πρεσβεύειν 1070

mvp-comment-420-1 φῦναι 1071

mvp-comment-420-2 πάντ’ 1072

mvp-comment-421-1 εἰ δ’ οὖν 1073 φιλεῖ γάρ 1074

mvp-comment-421-2 τοῦτο … ταύτῃ 1075 ταύτῃ 1076

mvp-comment-421-3 ῥέπειν 1077

mvp-comment-422-1 καὶ τὸ τῶν εὖ λεγόντων μανθάνειν καλόν 1078

mvp-comment-423-1 σέ τ’ 1079 διπλᾶι 1080 διπλᾶ 1081 διπλῇ 1082 διπλᾶ 1083

mvp-comment-423-2 On the other hand, διπλῇ 1084

mvp-comment-424-1 καὶ 1085 διδαξ. 1086

mvp-comment-424-2 δή 1087

mvp-comment-424-3 τὴν φύσιν 1088

mvp-comment-425-1 μηδέν 1089 τὸ μὴ δίκ. 1090

mvp-comment-425-2 τὸν χρόνον 1091 τἄργα 1092

mvp-comment-426-1 ἔργον 1093

mvp-comment-426-2 τοὺς ἀκοσμοῦντας 1094

mvp-comment-426-3 σέβειν 1095

mvp-comment-427-1 οὐδ’ 1096

mvp-comment-428-1 τοιᾷδε … νοσῳ 1097

mvp-comment-428-2 ἐπείληπται 1098

mvp-comment-429-1 Θήβης 1099 ὁμόπτολις 1100

mvp-comment-430-1 ἡμῖν 1101 ἐμέ 1102

mvp-comment-431-1 ὡς ἄγαν νέος 1103

mvp-comment-432-1 Dobree's με 1104 γε 1105 χρή 1106 ἄλλῳ ἢ ’μοί 1107 ἐμοί 1108 χρή γε 1109

mvp-comment-433-1 πόλις γὰρ οὐκ ἔσθ’ 1110

mvp-comment-433-2

τυραννίς
is
ἔσχατον πόλεως νόσημα
, Rep. 544 C. de Rep. 3. 31
ubi tyrannus est, ibi...dicendum est nullam esse rempublicam.

mvp-comment-434-1 νομίζεται 1111

mvp-comment-435-1 καλῶς ἐρήμης γ’ 1112

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 1113 προκήδομαι 1114

mvp-comment-438-1 ὦ παγκάκιστε 1115

mvp-comment-438-2 διὰ δίκης ἰὼν πατρί 1116

mvp-comment-439-1 ἀρχάς 1117

mvp-comment-440-1 οὐ γὰρ σέβεις 1118

mvp-comment-440-2 τιμάς 1119

mvp-comment-441-1 ὦ μιαρόν 1120 γυναικὸς ὕστερον 1121

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 1122

mvp-comment-442-3 γε 1123

mvp-comment-443-1 γοῦν 1124

mvp-comment-444-1 καὶ σοῦ γε 1125

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 1126 ποτέ 1127 ταύτην 1128

mvp-comment-446-1 ἥδ’ 1129 ὀλεῖ τινά 1130

mvp-comment-447-1 ἦ ἐπεξέρχει και ἐπαπειλῶν ὧδε θρασύς; 1131 καί 1132

mvp-comment-448-1 κλαίων 1133

mvp-comment-448-2 φρενώσεις 1134

mvp-comment-449-1 οὐκ εὖ φρονεῖν 1135

mvp-comment-450-1 δούλευμα 1136

mvp-comment-450-2 μὴ κωτιλλέ με 1137

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; 1138 λέγειν τι 1139

mvp-comment-452-1 ἄληθες; 1140

mvp-comment-452-2 οὐ τόνδ’ Ὄλ. 1141

mvp-comment-452-3 ἴσθ’ ὅτι 1142

mvp-comment-453-1 χαίρων 1143

mvp-comment-453-2 ἐπὶ ψόγοισι δεννάσεις 1144 ἐπί 1145 ἔτι 1146

mvp-comment-454-1 ἄγετε 1147 ἄγ’ ἄγε 1148 ἄγαγε 1149

mvp-comment-454-2 τὸ μῖσος 1150

mvp-comment-454-3 κατ’ ὄμματ’ 1151

mvp-comment-454-4 παρόντι … πλησία 1152

mvp-comment-455-1 ἔμοιγε 1153 οὔτε 1154 τε 1155

mvp-comment-455-2 οὐδαμά 1156

mvp-comment-455-3 ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς 1157

mvp-comment-456-1 ὡς 1158

mvp-comment-456-2 τοῖς θέλουσι 1159

mvp-comment-457-1 ἐξ ὀργῆς ταχύς 1160

mvp-comment-457-2 βαρύς 1161

mvp-comment-458-1 μεῖζον ἢ κατ’ ἄνδρα 1162

mvp-comment-458-2 ἰών 1163

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 1164

mvp-comment-459-2 τὼ … τώδε 1165

mvp-comment-459-3 καί 1166 κατακτ. νοεῖς 1167 κατακτ 1168

mvp-comment-460-1 θιγοῦσαν 1169

mvp-comment-460-2 γὰρ οὖν 1170

mvp-comment-461-1 καί 1171 βουλεύει 1172

mvp-comment-461-2 σφε 1173

mvp-comment-462-1 ἔνθα 1174

mvp-comment-463-1 πετρώδει … ἐν κατώρυχι 1175

mvp-comment-464-1 ὡς ἄγος μόνον 1176 ὡς 1177 ὅσον 1178

mvp-comment-464-2 ἄγος 1179

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’ 1180

mvp-comment-466-1 ὃν μόνον σέβει 1181

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 1182 τεύξεται 1183

mvp-comment-468-1 ἀλλὰ τηνικαῦτα 1184 τἀν 1185

mvp-comment-470-1 ἀνίκατε μάχαν 1186

mvp-comment-471-1 ἐν κτήμασι πίπτεις, 1187

mvp-comment-472-1 ἐν μαλακαῖς παρειαῖς 1188

mvp-comment-472-2 ἐννυχεύεις 1189

mvp-comment-473-1 ὑπερπόντιος 1190

mvp-comment-473-2 ἔν τ’ ἀγρ. αὐλαῖς 1191

mvp-comment-474-1 οὔτ’ ἀθανάτων 1192

mvp-comment-474-2 σὲ … φύξιμός ἐστι 1193

mvp-comment-475-1 σέ γ’ 1194

mvp-comment-475-2 ὁ δ’ ἔχων 1195

mvp-comment-476-1 ἀδίκους 1196 παρασπᾷς 1197

mvp-comment-477-1 ξύναιμον 1198

mvp-comment-477-2 ἔχεις 1199

mvp-comment-477-3 ταράξας 1200

mvp-comment-478-1 ἐναργής 1201

mvp-comment-478-2 βλεφάρωνἵμερος 1202 εὐλέκτρου νύμφας 1203

mvp-comment-478-3 εὐλέκτρου 1204

mvp-comment-479-1 πάρεδρος ἐν ἀρχαῖς 1205 πάρεδρος 1206 ἐν ἀρχαῖς 1207

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 1208

mvp-comment-480-1 ἐμπαίζει 1209 νικᾷ 1210

mvp-comment-481-1 καὐτὸς θεσμῶν ἔξω 1211

mvp-comment-481-2 φέρομαι 1212

mvp-comment-481-3 ἴσχειν δ’ 1213

mvp-comment-482-1 πηγάς 1214

mvp-comment-483-1 παγκοίτην 1215

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 1216

mvp-comment-483-3 ἀνύτουσαν 1217

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

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.