Antigone. Antonio G. Garbin. Madrid. 1889.
Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889) (OCR draft) (Spanish) (Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889))
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
mvp-comment-76-1 ἔβα 1
mvp-comment-76-2 πρίν ποθ’ 2 αἱμάτων 3
mvp-comment-76-3 γἑνυσιν 4 πλησθῆναι 5 τε 6 τε 7
mvp-comment-76-4 στεφάνωμα 8
mvp-comment-76-5 πευκάενθ’ Ἥφαιστον 9
mvp-comment-77-1 τοῖος 10
mvp-comment-77-2 ἐτάθη 11
mvp-comment-77-3 πάταγος 12
mvp-comment-77-4 ἀντιπάλῳ δυσχείρωμα δράκοντος 13 ἀντιπάλῳ ... δράκοντι 14 ἀντιπάλου … δράκοντος 15 ἀντιπάλῳ … δράκοντος 16
mvp-comment-77-5 The interpretation of the passage turns primarily on two points.
mvp-comment-77-6 (1) The δράκων 17
mvp-comment-77-7 (2) The δυς 18 δυσχείρωμα 19
mvp-comment-77-8 Those who read ἀντιπάλῳ … δράκοντι 20 ὲτάθη 21
mvp-comment-77-9 Those who read ἀντιπάλου … δράκοντος 22
mvp-comment-78-1 μεγάλης 23
mvp-comment-78-2 ῥεύματι 24 ῥεύματι πολλῷ 25
mvp-comment-79-1 χρυσοῦ καναχῆς ὑπεροπλίαις 26
mvp-comment-79-2
μέγας. In post-Homeric poetry
ὑπέροπλος is a freq. epith. of overweening strength (
ἠνορέη, βίη, ἥβη, etc.).—Other readings are:—(1)
χρυσοῦ καναχῇ θ’ ὑπερόπτας, ‘and haughty in the clang of gold.’ This involves an improbable change; the subst.
ὑπερόπτης, too, is unsuitable here, and cannot be defended by
Theocr. 22. 58
πρὸς πάντα παλίγκοτος ἠδ’ ὑπερόπτης. Wecklein, reading
ὑπερόπτας, keeps
καναχῆς in the sense,
hoffärtig
auf: but a genit. after
ὑπερόπτης could not denote that
in which one takes pride. (2)
χρυσοῦ καναχῆς ὑπερόπτης, or
‐όπτα, i.e., ‘Zeus, a despiser of the clang of gold.’ (3)
χρυσοῦ καναχῆς ὑπέροπτα, adv. neut. plur. (as
O. T. 883
), ‘advancing haughtily in a great stream of clanging gold.’ But the adv. comes weakly at the end, and
χρυσοῦ κ. is harshly joined with
π. ῥεύματι.—Aesch. , too, gives prominence to
gold in picturing the Argive chiefs: Capaneus has golden letters on his shield (
Aesch.
Th. 434
), Polyneices has the image of a warrior in golden armour, with a golden legend (644,
Aesch. Th. 660
).
mvp-comment-79-3 καναχῆς 27
mvp-comment-80-1 παλτῷ πυρί 28
mvp-comment-80-2 βαλβίδων ἐπ’ ἄκρων 29
mvp-comment-80-3 ὁρμῶντα 30
mvp-comment-80-4 νίκην 31 ἀλαλάξαι 32
mvp-comment-81-1 ἀντιτύπᾳ 33
mvp-comment-81-2
As regards the sense,
ἀντίτυπος was regularly used of hard surfaces, which, as it were,
repel that which strikes them (for the accent
ἀντίτυπος, not
ἀντιτύπος, though the sense is act., see on
O. T. 460
).
Probl. 5. 40
οἱ...ἐν ἀντιτύποις περίπατοι. Lucian
Amor. 13
τὴν ἀντίτυπον οὕτω καὶ καρτερὰν τοῦ λίθου φύσιν. So, fig.,
Plat.
Crat. 420D
τὸ...ἀναγκαῖον καὶ ἀντίτυπον, what is necessary, and what
resists us.
mvp-comment-81-3 τανταλωθείς 34
mvp-comment-82-1 πυρφόρος 35
mvp-comment-82-2 βακχεύων 36
mvp-comment-82-3 ῥιπαῖς...ἀνέμων 37
mvp-comment-83-1 εἶχε δ’ ἄλλᾳ τὰ μέν 38 εἶχε δ’ ἄλλαι τὰ μὲν ἄλλαι τὰ δ’ ἐπ’ ἄλλοις 39 τὰ μέν 40 ἄλλα δέ 41 τὰ μέν 42 ἄλλᾳ 43
mvp-comment-83-2 ἐπενώμα 44 στυφελίζων 45
mvp-comment-83-3 δεξιόσειρος 46
mvp-comment-83-4 The old v.l. δεξιόχειρος 47
mvp-comment-84-1 ἑπτὰ λοχαγοί 48
mvp-comment-84-2 ἴσοι πρὸς ἴσους 49
mvp-comment-84-3 Ζηνὶ τροπαίῳ 50
mvp-comment-84-4 πάγχαλκα τέλη 51
mvp-comment-84-5
It was the ordinary practice to set up a
τρόπαιον (old
αττ.τροπαῖον) after a victory, on the spot where it had been won, or, in the case of a sea-fight, on the nearest land (
Thuc. 2.92
). Such a trophy ordinarily consisted of shields, helmets, and weapons, conspicuously displayed on wooden supports, and dedicated, with an inscription, to a deity. Cp.
Eur.
Phoen. 1473
(of the Thebans after the victory)
οἱ μὲν Διὸς τροπαῖον ἵστασαν βρέτας (i.e. a wooden image of
Ζεὺς Τροπαῖος), |
οἱ δ’ ἀσπίδας συλῶντες Ἀργείων νεκρῶν | σκυλεύματ’ εἴσω τειχέων ἐπέμπομεν. Part of the armour would be affixed to the walls of Theban temples (cp.
Aesch.
Ag. 577
,
Th. 276
).
mvp-comment-85-1 πλὴν τ. στυγεροῖν 52 πατρός 53
mvp-comment-85-2 καθ’ αὑτοῖν 54
mvp-comment-85-3 δικρατεῖς λόγχας 55
mvp-comment-85-4 στήσαντε 56
mvp-comment-86-1 ἀλλὰ γάρ 57 γάρ 58 γάρ 59
mvp-comment-86-2 μεγαλώνυμος 60
mvp-comment-86-3 πολυαρμάτῳ 61
mvp-comment-86-4 ἀντιχαρεῖσα 62
mvp-comment-87-1 ἐκ...πολέμων τῶν νῦν 63 ἐκ 64 νῦν 65
mvp-comment-87-2 θέσθαι 66 θέσθε 67 παννυχίοις 68
mvp-comment-87-3 ὁ Θήβας 69 ἐλελίχθων 70
mvp-comment-87-4 Βάκχιος 71
mvp-comment-87-5 ἄρχοι 72
mvp-comment-88-1 ἀλλὰ … γάρ 73 Κρέων 74
mvp-comment-88-2 Μενοικέως 75
mvp-comment-88-3 νεοχμὸς νεαραῖσι 76
mvp-comment-88-4 their equivalents. See Appendix I prefer the first of these views. An anapaest or spondee, meaning ‘ruler,’ has probably dropped out before νεοχμός 77 κρείων 78 ἄρχων 79 ταγός 80
mvp-comment-88-5 θεῶν … συντυχίαις 81 ἐπί 82
mvp-comment-89-1 μῆτιν ἐρέσσων 83
mvp-comment-89-2 σύγκλητον 84
mvp-comment-89-3 προὔθετο 85 λέσχην 86
mvp-comment-89-4
not the meeting, but the discussion which is to take place there: thus the poet's phrase, true to Attic usage, corresponds with
γνώμας προθεῖναι rather than with
ἐκκλησίαν προθεῖναι. Herod. uses
λέσχη of a public discussion (9. 71): cp.
O. C. 167
. The midd.
προὔθετο
87
mvp-comment-89-5 κοινῷ κ. πέμψας 88
mvp-comment-91-1 There is a general dramatic analogy between this speech and that of Oedipus in O. T. 216 —275. In each case a Theban king addresses Theban elders, announcing a stern decree, adopted in reliance on his own wisdom, and promulgated with haughty consciousness of power; the elders receive the decree with a submissive deference under which we can perceive traces of misgiving; and as the drama proceeds, the elders become spectators of calamities occasioned by the decree, while its author turns to them for comfort.
mvp-comment-91-2 τὰ μὲν δὴ πόλεος . . ὑμᾶς δ’ 89
mvp-comment-91-3 πόλεος 90 πολλῷ σάλῳ σείσαντες 91
mvp-comment-91-4
The image of the State as a ship dates in Greek literature from Alcaeus (whom Horace copied,
Carm. 1. 14
), fr. 18. The ship of Alcaeus is labouring in the trough of a wild sea,—water is coming in,—the sail is torn,—the anchor will not hold:
νᾶϊ φορήμεθα σὺν μελαίνᾳ | χείμωνι μοχθεῦντες μεγάλῳ μάλα, κ.τ.λ. It is only through Heracleides
Alleg. Homer. 5 that we know the meaning of Alcaeus to have been figurative and political. Aesch. often uses the image (
Aesch.
Th. 2
,
Aesch. Th. 62
,
Aesch. Th. 208
etc.). Creon returns to it at 189. It is peculiarly well suited to his point,—the unity of the public interest.
mvp-comment-91-5 ὤρθωσαν 92
mvp-comment-92-1 ἐκ πάντων 93 δίχα 94
mvp-comment-92-2 ἔστειλ’ ἱκέσθαι 95 τοῦτο μέν 96
mvp-comment-92-3 σέβοντας 97
mvp-comment-92-4 θρόνων . . κράτη 98
mvp-comment-93-1 ἡνίκ’ Οἰδίπους 99 κείνων 100 κείνων παῖδας 101 ἡνίκ’ . . ὤρθου πόλιν 102 ἐπεὶ διώλετο 103 τοῦτο μέν . . τοῦτ’ αὖθις 104
mvp-comment-93-2 καί 105 καί 106
mvp-comment-93-3 ἐμπέδοις φρονήμασιν 107 ἐμπέδους 108 ἐμπέδοις 109
mvp-comment-94-1 ὅτε 110
mvp-comment-94-2 πρὸς διπλῆς μ. 111 διπλῆς . . μίαν 112
mvp-comment-94-3 παίσαντες . . πληγέντες 113
mvp-comment-94-4 αὐτόχειρι … μιάσματι 114
mvp-comment-95-1 ἐγὼ . . δή 115
mvp-comment-95-2 κράτη 116
mvp-comment-95-3 γένους κατ’ ἀγχιστεῖα τῶν ὀλ. 117
mvp-comment-96-1 ἀμήχανον δέ 118 δέ 119 δέ 120
mvp-comment-96-2 Demosthenes, in his speech on the Embassy (343 B.C.), quotes this passage (vv. 175—190) as illustrating maxims
mvp-comment-96-3 which Aeschines had violated, though, accustomed as he had been to play tritagonists' parts, he ought to have known them by heart (or. 19 § 247).
mvp-comment-97-1 ψυχήν 121 φρόνημα 122 γνώμην 123
mvp-comment-98-1 ἀρχαῖς 124 νόμοισιν 125
mvp-comment-98-2 ἐντριβής 126
mvp-comment-98-3 φανῇ 127
mvp-comment-99-1 ἐμοὶ γάρ 128 γάρ 129 πᾶσαν … πόλιν 130
mvp-comment-99-2 μὴ … ἅπτεται 131 ὅστις μὴ ἅπτεται 132
mvp-comment-99-3 ἐκ φ. του 133
mvp-comment-99-4 ἐγκλῄσας ἔχει 134
mvp-comment-99-5 νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι 135
mvp-comment-100-1 μείζον’ 136 ἀντὶ τῆς...πάτρας 137 ἤ 138 μεῖζον 139
mvp-comment-100-2 οὐδαμοῦ λέγω 140
mvp-comment-101-1 ἐγὼ γάρ 141 γάρ 142 τοῦτο γιγνώσκων 143 ἴστω 144
mvp-comment-102-1 οὔτ’ ἂν σιωπήσαιμι 145
mvp-comment-103-1 στείχουσαν ἀστοῖς 146 ὁμοῦ 147
mvp-comment-103-2 ἀντὶ τῆς σωτηρίας 148 τῆς 149
mvp-comment-104-1 ἄνδρα δυσμενῆ χθονός 150
mvp-comment-104-2 ἐμαυτῷ 151 φίλον 152 θείμην 153
mvp-comment-105-1 ἡ σῴζουσα 154
mvp-comment-105-2 ταύτης 155 ὀρθῆς 156
mvp-comment-105-3 τοὺς φίλους ποιούμεθα 157
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 158
mvp-comment-106-2 αὔξω 159
mvp-comment-107-1 ἀδελφὰ τῶνδε 160
mvp-comment-107-2 τῶν ἀπ’ Οἰδίπου 161
mvp-comment-108-1 δορί 162 δόρει 163
mvp-comment-109-1 τὰ πάντ’ ἐφαγνίσαι 164 ἐπί 165 ἐφαγνίσαι 166 ἀφαγνίσαι 167 ἀπό 168
mvp-comment-110-1 τοῖς ἀρίστοις 169
mvp-comment-110-2 ἔρχεται κάτω 170
mvp-comment-111-1 L has Πολυνείκην 171
mvp-comment-111-2 λέγω 172
mvp-comment-112-1 γτ=ν πατρῴαν . . καὶ θεοὺς . . πρῆσαι 173
mvp-comment-112-2 θ. τοὺς ἐγγενεῖς 174
mvp-comment-112-3 κατελθών 175
mvp-comment-112-4 γ)θέλησε μέν … ἠθέλ. δέ 176 ἠθέλησε μὲν 177
mvp-comment-112-5 πρῆσαι 178
mvp-comment-112-6 κατ’ ἄκρας 179
mvp-comment-112-7 αἵματος κ. πάσασθαι 180
mvp-comment-112-8 τοὺς δὲ … ἄγειν 181
mvp-comment-113-1 The traditional ἐκκεκηρῦχθαι τάφῳ 182 ἐκκεκήρυκται τάφῳ 183 ἐκκεκηρῦχθαι λέγω 184 τάφῳ 185 κτερίζειν 186 τάφῳ 187 κτερίζειν 188 μήτε 189 κωκῦσαι 190 τάφῳ 191 λέγω 192 τάφῳ 193 ἐκκεκ 194
mvp-comment-114-1 ἐᾶν δ 195 ἄθαπτον, αἰκισθέντ’ ἰδεῖν 196 δέμας καὶ πρὸς οἰωνῶν καὶ πρὸς κυνῶν ἐδεστόν 197 αἰκισθέντ 198 αἰκισθέντ 199 ἐδεστόν 200 αἰκισθέν τ’, δέμας 201
mvp-comment-114-2 δέμας 202
mvp-comment-114-3 ἰδεῖν 203
mvp-comment-115-1 φρόνημα 204
mvp-comment-115-2 ἔκ γ’ ἐμοῦ 205
mvp-comment-116-1 The MSS. have τιμὴν προέξουσ’ ..τῶν ἐνδ. 206 τιμήν 207 τιμῆ 208 προσέξους 209
mvp-comment-117-1 τιμήσεται 210
mvp-comment-118-1 I print Dindorf's κἀς 211 καὶ 212 σοὶ ταῦτ’ ἀρέσκει 213 Κρέον 214 ταὔτ 215 ταῦτ’ 216
mvp-comment-119-1 In παντί πού γ’ 217 σοί γ’ … που 218 ἔνεστι 219 χὡπόσοι ζῶμεν 220 πέρι 221
mvp-comment-120-1 ὡς ἂν … ἦτε 222 πῶς ἂν … εἶτε 223
mvp-comment-120-2 σκοποί 224
mvp-comment-120-3 νυν 225 νῦν 226
mvp-comment-120-4 τῶν εἰρ 227
mvp-comment-121-1 πρόθες τοῦτο 228 βαστάζειν 229
mvp-comment-121-2 τοῦ νεκροῦ γ’ 230
mvp-comment-122-1 τί δῆτ’ ἂν … ἐπεντέλλοις 231
mvp-comment-122-2 The reading ἄλλῳ 232 τοῦτο 233
mvp-comment-122-3 ἐπιχωρεῖν 234
mvp-comment-122-4 ἀπιστοῦσιν 235
mvp-comment-122-5 τάδε, 236
mvp-comment-123-1 ὃς 237 ἐρᾷ 238
mvp-comment-123-2 καὶ μὴν 239 γε 240 μισθός 241
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 242
mvp-comment-123-5 διώλεσεν 243
mvp-comment-124-1 ἐρῶ μὲν οὐχ 244
mvp-comment-124-2 ὅπως 245
mvp-comment-124-3 τάχους ὕπο 246 τάχους 247
mvp-comment-125-1 ἐξάρας 248
mvp-comment-125-2 φροντίδων 249 ἐπιστάσεις 250
mvp-comment-125-3 ὁδοῖς 251
mvp-comment-125-4 κυκλῶν 252
mvp-comment-126-1 ψυχὴ γὰρ ηὔδα 253 πολλὰ 254 μυθουμένη 255
mvp-comment-127-1 τάλας … τλήμων 256
mvp-comment-127-2 μένεις 257 μενεῖς 258 αὖ 259
mvp-comment-127-3 πῶς … οὐκ 260
mvp-comment-127-4 ἀλγυνεῖ 261
mvp-comment-128-1 ἑλίσσων 262
mvp-comment-128-2 ἤνυτον 263
mvp-comment-128-3 σχολῇ βραδύς 264
mvp-comment-129-1 τέλος γε μέντοι 265
mvp-comment-129-2 ἐνίκησεν 266
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 267 μολεῖν 268 σοί 269 φράσων 270 φράσω δ 271 κεἰ 272 κεἴ σοι 273 σοί. 274
mvp-comment-130-2 τὸ μηδέν 275
mvp-comment-131-1 τῆς ἐλπίδος 276
mvp-comment-131-2 δεδραγμένος 277 πεφραγμένος 278 πεπραγμένος 279
mvp-comment-131-3 τὸ μὴ παθεῖν ἄν 280
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 281
mvp-comment-132-1 ἀνθ’ οὗ 282
mvp-comment-132-2 τὸ γὰρ | πρᾶγμ’ 283 γάρ 284
mvp-comment-133-1 εὖ γε στοχάζει 285 στοχάζει 286 ἀποφράγνυσαι 287 στοχάζομαι 288
mvp-comment-133-2 κἀποφράγνυσαι 289
mvp-comment-133-3 τὸ πρᾶγμα 290
mvp-comment-134-1 δηλοῖς δ’ ὥς τι ς. 291
mvp-comment-135-1 τὰ δεινά 292 γάρ 293
mvp-comment-135-2 ποτ 294
mvp-comment-135-3 ἀπαλλαχθείς 295
mvp-comment-136-1 καὶ δή 296
mvp-comment-136-2 θάψας 297 κἀπί 298
mvp-comment-136-3 διψίαν 299
mvp-comment-136-4 κἀφαγιστεύσας 300 ἃ χρή 301
mvp-comment-137-1 ἀνδρῶν 302
mvp-comment-137-2 οὔτε του γενῇδος … οὐ δικέλλης 303 οὔτε … οὐ 304 γενῄς 305 γενῄς 306 δίκελλα 307
mvp-comment-137-3 δικ. ἐκβολή 308 ἐκβ. 309 στύφλος 310 χέρσος 311 ἀρρώξ 312
mvp-comment-137-4 ἐπημαξευμένη 313 ἐπ‐ 314 ἐφ‐ 315
mvp-comment-137-5 ἀλλ’ ὁ ἐργάτης ἄσημός τις ἦν 316
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 317 ἡμεροσκ. 318
mvp-comment-138-2 δείκνυσι … παρῆν 319
mvp-comment-138-3 δυσχερές 320
mvp-comment-139-1 ὁ μὲν 321
mvp-comment-139-2 τυμβήρης μὲν οὔ 322 τυμβ. 323 λεπτὴ δ’ … ἐπῆν 324
mvp-comment-139-3 ἄγος φεύγοντος ὥς 325 ἄγος 326
mvp-comment-140-1 θηρός 327
mvp-comment-140-2 του 328 θηρός 329
mvp-comment-140-3 οὐ σπάσαντος 330 οὐ 331 σπάσαντος 332 σπάσαντος οὐδ’ ἐλθόντος 333
mvp-comment-141-1 λόγοι δ’ … φύλακα 334 λόγοι κακοὶ ἐρρόθουν 335 ἐρρόθουν 336
mvp-comment-141-2
γλώσσης ῥόθος, of an unintelligible jargon.
mvp-comment-141-3 ἐλέγχων 337
mvp-comment-141-4 κἂν ἐγίγνετο 338
mvp-comment-141-5 τελευτῶς 339
mvp-comment-141-6 ὁ κωλύσων 340
mvp-comment-142-1 ἦν … οὑξειργ. 341
mvp-comment-142-2 ἐναργής 342
mvp-comment-142-3 ἀλλ’ 343
mvp-comment-142-4 ἕφευγε μὴ εἰδέναι 344
mvp-comment-142-5 μὴ 345 εἰδέναι 346
mvp-comment-143-1 μύδρους 347
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 348
mvp-comment-144-2 θεοὺς ὁρκ. 350
mvp-comment-144-3 τὸ μήτε δρ 351
mvp-comment-144-4 μήτ’ είργασμένῳ 352 μηδ 353
mvp-comment-145-1 πλέον 354
mvp-comment-145-2 λέγει 355
mvp-comment-145-3 τις εἷς 356
118. mvp-comment-73-1 ἀμφιχανὼν.. στόμα Yawning round our seven-mouthed gates.
120. mvp-comment-74-1 ἔβα He went his way. For the use of the aorist of βαίνω in this sense, cp. Od. 22. 249, καὶ δή οἱ Μέντωρ μὲν ἔβη, κενὰ εὔγματα εἰπών: Τr. 115, βάντ᾽ ἐπιόντα τ', Some gone, others coming on.
121. mvp-comment-75-1 γένυσιν With his jaws. Instrumental dative.
121. mvp-comment-75-2 πλησθῆναί τε καὶ ἑλεῖν For the change of subject in these lines, cp. Aj. 458, ἐχθαίρομαι, μισεῖ δέ, κ.τ.λ. And for στεφάνωμα πύργων, cp. Pind. Ol. 8. 32, Ἰλίῳ μέλλοντες ἐπὶ στέφανον τεύξαι : Hom. h. Dem. 151, .. κρήδεμνα πόληος | εἰρύαται ...
124. mvp-comment-76-1 τοῖος .. δράκοντι (1) Such din of war was spread about his rear by the reluctant snake, no easy matter to subdue. So the Scholiast, who wrote τὸ δὲ ἀντιπάλῳ δράκοντι ἀντὶ τοῦ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀντιπάλου δράκοντος, ὡς Ἀχιλῆϊ δαμασθείς (Il. 22. 55). Or (2) δυσχείρωμα may be taken to mean the act rather than the object of victory (cp. O. Τ. 560, θανασίμῳ χειρώματι), and the sense may be, Such din of war encompassed him, issuing in a hard-won victory for the serpent matching his foe. In this case it will make little difference to read the genitive. Or, (3) if the genitive is read (Wecklein), the words may be taken in yet another way: Such din of war harassed him from behind, the hard-to-be-subdued might of the serpent, who was a match for his foe. The genitive is given as an alternative reading by the 1st hand of L, and is supported by V (Ven. 468). But the dative is alone recognised by the Scholiast.
124. mvp-comment-76-2 The δράκων is certainly the emblem of Thebes, and the eagle and snake are in conflict, as in Il. 12. 201, foll., where also the serpent struggles and escapes : ὁ δ᾽ οὔπω λήθετο χάρμης, | κόψε γὰρ αὐτὸν ἔχοντα κατὰ στήθος παρὰ δειρὴν | ἰδνωθεὶς ὀπίσω· ὁ δ᾽ ἀπὸ ἕθεν ἧκε χαμάζε, κ.τ.λ. Hor. Carm. 4. 4, 11, Nunc in reluctantes dracones | Egit amor dapis atque pugnae.
129. mvp-comment-77-1 πολλῷ ῥεύματι προσνισσομένους Coming on in full proud stream. Like a great river filling its banks.
130. mvp-comment-78-1 χρυσοῦ καναχῆς ὑπερόπτης] Despiser of the clank of gold. Cp. Aesch. Agam. 776, τὰ χρυσόπαστα δ᾽ ἐσθλὰ σὺν πίνῳ χερῶν | παλιντρόποις ὄμμασιν | λιπούσ', ὅσια προσέβα: S. c. T. 481-485. The Scholiast, who wrote καὶ τὴν τοῦ χρυσοῦ φαντασίαν ὑπερβεβηκότας τῇ ἰδίᾳ ὑπεροψίᾳ, seems to have read ὑπερόπτας, which appears in the margin of some copies. The ὑπεροψία of his interpretation may have given rise to ὑπεροπτίας, as in conjunction with this it has suggested ὑπεροπλίαις, (Vauvillers, who compares II. 1. 205). Musgr. and Böckh are contented with ὑπεροπτείας, abstr. noun of ὑπερόπτης, gen. with ῥεύματι, In floods of supercilious pride.
131. mvp-comment-79-1 παλτῷ ῥιπτεῖ πυρί (1) Hurls down with brandished thunderbolt. Or possibly (2) ῥιπτεῖ is a more emphatic substitute for βάλλει = Smites from afar. The word παλτῷ suggests the zig-zag flicker of the lightning.
131. mvp-comment-79-2 βαλβίδων .. ἀλαλάζαι As, having reached the topmost goal, he was eager to raise the cry of victory. βαλβίδες are the end of the race-course, metaphorically applied here to the top of the wall to which Capaneus had climbed, and so receiving the epithet ἄκρων.
131. mvp-comment-79-3 βαλβίδων may be also taken as abl. gen, with ῥιπτεῖ, and only resumed with ἄκρων. But this is questionable.
133. mvp-comment-80-1 The subject of ὁρμῶντα (Capaneus) is anticipated from the following lines, viz. ὅς, κ.τ.λ.
134. mvp-comment-81-1 ἀντιτύπᾳ This conj. of Porson has been generally received. He fell upon the earth, that smote him again; i.e. He fell with a shock. The Scholia explain ἀντίτυπα, which is against metre.
134. mvp-comment-81-2 τανταλωθείς Swung. As if the scale that had been the lightest had suddenly become the heaviest. Cp. Hom. Il. 22. 212, ῥέπε δ᾽ Ἕκτορος αἴσιμον ἦμαρ, | ᾤχετο δ᾽ εἰς Ἀἰδαο.
135. mvp-comment-82-1 πυρφόρος With the fire in his hand, with which he had threatened the town. O. C. 1318: Aesch. S. c. T. 422, ff.
135. mvp-comment-82-2 ὁρμᾷ Observe the tautology after ὁρμῶντ', supra.
136-137. mvp-comment-83-1 Had breathed against us in frenzy with blasts of malignant winds. Cp. infra 929-930: O. C. 612 and note: Aesch. S. c. T. 115, πνοαῖς Ἄρεος.
138. mvp-comment-84-1 εἶχε δ᾽ ἄλλᾳ τὰ μέν· κτ.λ.] This was in one direction: whilst on other men terrible fortune was dispensed by mighty Ares rushing on them like a steed harnessed upon our right hand. For the use of ἔχω with the locative adv., see L. and S. s. v. ἔχω, Β. 11. Ι. The reading in the text is suggested by that of V (Ven. 468), a MS. of the 13th century, which, together with many obvious corruptions, has preserved some good readings. See on O. T. 1526. This MS. reading is curiously near the conj. of Musgrave, εἶχε δ᾽ ἄλλᾳ τὰ δείν᾽. The epithet, as read in the text, may be suggested by a forefeeling of what is coming. Even the end of Capaneus is less awful than that of Eteocles and Polynices (144 ff.). Hermann's reading, εἶχε δ᾽ ἄλλᾳ μὲν ἄλ | λᾳ· τὰ δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἄλλοις, makes good enough sense; Plat. Rep. 2. 369 Β, οὕτω δὴ ἄρα παραλαμβάνων ἄλλος ἄλλον ἐπ᾿ ἄλλου, τὸν δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἄλλου χρείᾳ : but the synaphea between the cretics and the choriambi is questionable. And the same objection applies to Wecklein's εἶχε δ' ἄλλᾳ τὰ τοῦδ᾽· | ἄλλα δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἄλλοις.
140. mvp-comment-85-1 δεξιόσειρος The War-god taking part with Thebes and bounding hither and thither over the plain is compared to the σειραῖος ἵππος, whose free action was so important at critical moments in the chariot-race. Cp. El. 721-722, δεξιὸν δ᾽ ἀνεὶς | σειραῖον ἵππον εἶργε τὸν προσκείμενον: Aesch. Agam. 841-842, μόνος δ' Οδυσσεύς, ὅσπερ οὐχ ἑκὼν ἔπλει | ζευχθείς ἕτοιμος ἦν ἐμοὶ σειραφόρος. The reading δεξιόχειρος is probably erroneous. It is acknowledged as a variant by the Scholiast.
141. mvp-comment-86-1 Capaneus, who is one of the seven adversaries, is already disposed of. But the general description in 141-143, is only preparatory to the chief statement, 144-147, from which, however, the chorus pass quickly, as they approach it with aversion. What is of the best omen must be kept to the front. For ἴσοι πρὸς ἴσους, cp. Hdt. 9. 49, ἴσοι πρὸς ἴσους ἄριθμον μαχεσόμεθα.
142-143. mvp-comment-87-1 'Left the tribute of their brazen panoplies to Zeus, who turns the battle.'
144-147. mvp-comment-88-1 Neither could despoil the other, since both were slain. And the citizens could not dedicate to Zeus arms polluted with kindred blood.
145. mvp-comment-89-1 αὑτοῖν i. e. ἀλλήλοιν: ἑαυτούς, ἀλλήλους. Hesych.
146. mvp-comment-90-1 δικρατεῖς λόγχας στήσαντε Having pointed their two spears, of which either was victorious. The spears are not hurled, as commonly in the Iliad, but held firmly as the combatants rush at each other. Cp. Hom. Il. 4. 307 (quoted by Donaldson), ὃς δέ κ᾿ ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ ὧν ὀχέων ἕτερ᾽ ἅρμαθ' ἵκηται | ἔγχει ὀρεξάσθω, ἐπεὶ ἢ πολὺ φέρτερον οὕτως.
147. mvp-comment-91-1 'Both have their portion in mutual death: i.e. Each strove for sole inheritance, but they share equally-in a death;' which each has given and each has received. See on l. 57. The spirit of the words is the same as those of Aesch. S. c. T. 726 ff.: O. C. 790.
149. mvp-comment-92-1 ἀντιχαρεῖσα Exchanging looks of joy. Cp. χαίρειν γέλωτι, Χen. Cyr. 8.1.33.
149. mvp-comment-92-2 Θήβη, as in Pindar, is the personification of Θήβαι, for which it is used consistently throughout this play. Cp. Od. 7. 80, εὐρυάγυιαν Ἀθήνην.
150. mvp-comment-93-1 ἐκ μὲν δὴ πολέμων .. λησμοσύvav Turning from the present wars, appoint ye forgetfulness of them. For the pleonastic use of ἐκ, see Essay on Language § 19. p. 27. The reading θέσθαι, which has good MS. authority and preserves the metrical correspondence with l. 137, is retained by some editors as an infinitive for imperative. Cp. infr. 1142, μολεῖν. For the expression, cp. Eur. Phoen. 1584,5, ὡς ὥρα τάφου | μνήμην τίθεσθαι.
153. mvp-comment-94-1 παννυχίοις Cp. Ο. Τ. 1090: Aesch. Ag. 23, 24. καὶ χορῶν κατάστασιν | πολλῶν ἐν Ἄργει τῆσδε συμφορᾶς χάριν.
153. mvp-comment-94-2 ὁ Θήβας δ'. . ἄρχοι And let Bacchus, Thebe's God. who shakes the earth (with revelry), lead on the dance. Schol. ὁ Θήβας Βακχεῖος, ὁ Θηβαγενὴς Διόνυσος, ὁ τῆς Θήβης πολίτης, ὁ ἐλελίχθων, ἄρχοι τῆς χορείας. See Essay on Language § 9. p. 11.
156. mvp-comment-95-1 The metre requires either the addition of one (or three) anapaests or the omission of νεοχμός. Dindorf's supposition that νεοχμός νεαραῖσι has grown in some way out of νεοχμοῖσι is in itself probable enough, but the omission of some word like *ἄρχων after βασιλεύς is equally so. The spectator is thus reminded that Creon is young in power.
157-158. mvp-comment-96-1 νεαραῖσι .. συντυχίαις In consequence of the recent god-sent fortune. These words are to be joined with the whole sentence, though chiefly with ἐρέσσων. Creon's accession, his coming, and the counsel which he brings, all follow closely on the events of the war. The question is, what is that counsel?
159. mvp-comment-97-1 τίνα δή This is preferable to τινὰ δή, which Aldus printed from Ven. 467 (V3).
159. mvp-comment-97-2 On ἐρέσσων = Moving, Advancing. see Essay on Language p. 87, and cp. Aj. 251, τοίας ἐρέσσουσιν ἀπειλάς.
160-161. mvp-comment-98-1 ὅτι. προὔθετο That he hath appointed. ὅτι gives the reason of the question.
160. mvp-comment-99-1 σύγκλητον Specially convened. The word is used, after the analogy of the σύγκλητος ἐκκλησία at Athens, for an assembly specially summoned by the στρατηγός. λέσχη is less formal than βουλή. Cp. Ο. C. 166.
161. mvp-comment-100-1 προὔθετο The middle voice implies that Creon had summoned the elders of his own motion. So καλέσσατο of Achilles in Il. 1. 54.
162. mvp-comment-101-1 κοινῷ κηρύγματι πέμψας Having cited us by a message sent to us all.
162. mvp-comment-101-2 κοινῷ = Inclusive. πέμψας] i. e. στείλας πομποῖσιν, as Creon expresses himself in ll. 164-165. 162-210. Creon's first error is not mere self-will, but an excessive zeal for the honour of the state, to which all private feelings must give way (183-184, 187-190). His spirit of self-assertion is however already felt, esp. in ll. 173, 191, 207-10. And the unconsciousness of one young in power is shown in the self-inculpating words in ll. 175-177. He characteristically dwells on the virtue of loyalty (165-169, 209-210) and the crime of rebellion (199-202): and his passionate nature is betrayed by the exaggerated expression in l. 208. Cp. O. T. 216 ff. and note. The frequent occurrence of the Ist personal pronoun is a significant feature of both these speeches.
162. mvp-comment-101-3 τὰ μὲν δὴ πόλεος As for the state. This form of expression suits the introduction of a subject before the form of sentence is determined. πόλιν, rather than τὰ πόλεος, is the object of σείσαντες and ὤρθωσαν.
162. mvp-comment-101-4 ἀσφαλῶς Unharmed, = ἄνεν τοῦ σφαλῆναι,
163. mvp-comment-102-1 ὥρθωσαν Have righted the vessel of the state.
165-166. mvp-comment-103-1 τὰ Λαΐου. κράτη Knowing that you ever duly reverenced the enthroned authority of Laius. Λαΐου is governed by θρόνων κράτη taken as one word, θρόνων being added to supplement κράτη. σέβοντας and μένοντας, infr. 166, 169, are imperfects = ὅτι ἐσέβετε .. ἐμένετε,
167. mvp-comment-104-1 ὤρθου Kept on a safe course: i. e. Governed prosperously. The word recalls the happiness of the first period of Oedipus' rule. Cp. Plat. Men. P. 99 C, ᾗ οἱ πολιτικοὶ ἄνδρες χρώμενοι τὰς πόλεις ὀρθοῦσιν : Phaedr. 244 B. 168-169. ἀμφὶ .. φρονήμασιν]. Ye still remained loyal to their issue with unshaken minds. ἀμφί, Surrounding, as ready to defend. The apodosis is made to suit the latter protasis, ἐπεὶ διώλετο, and that of the former protasis, ἡνίκ' . . πόλιν (viz. ἐκείνῳ ὁμοίως πειθομένους οι the like), is thus absorbed.
167. mvp-comment-104-2 κείνων . . παῖδας i. e. Sons of Oedipus and grandsons of Laius.
172. mvp-comment-105-1 αὐτόχειρι Fratricidal. See Essay on Language p. 91.
174. mvp-comment-106-1 γένους κατ᾿ ἀγχιστεῖα By privilege of being nearest in kindred (ὡς ἀγχιστεύων) to the dead. Cp. πρωτεία, etc.
175. mvp-comment-107-1 παντὸς ἀνδρός Of any man, and therefore of me.
176. mvp-comment-108-1 ψυχήν. . φρόνημα.. γνώμην As observed in the Essay on Language pp. 91-3, the opposition between these words is chiefly formal. So far as there is any difference between them, ψυχήν is mind, or nature, φρόνημα, spirit, or way of thinking, (cp. infr. 207), and γνώμην, judgment or meaning.
176-177. mvp-comment-109-1 πρὶν ἂν ἀρχαῖς.. φανῇ “Until he be seen in his true colours through being tried in office and administration.' According to the saying of Bias, ἀρχὴ τὸν ἄνδρα δείξει (Arist. Eth. Nic. 5. 1. 16). There is an allusion to the detection of spurious coin through wear. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 390-392, κακοῦ δὲ χαλκοῦ τρόπον | τρίβῳτε καὶ προσβολαῖς | μελαμπαγὴς πέλει | δικαιωθείς (where Herm. says, 'Vereor autem ne non de lapide Lydio loquatur poeta, sed aes adulterinum dicat, quod usu tritum amisso falso splendore cognoscitur'): Hdt. 7. 10, ὥσπερ τὸν χρυσὸν τὸν ἀκήρατον, αὐτὸν μὲν ἐπ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ οὐ διαγινώσκομεν, ἐπεὰν δὲ
178. mvp-comment-110-1 ἐμοὶ γάρ The connection is not strictly logical. γάρ explains not the difficulty of discerning the difference between rulers, but the essential point on which the difference turns. In setting forth this, Creon also declares the spirit of his own policy. He is feeling his way with the elders, of whose submission he is not perfectly sure, and beats about the bush before coming to the point with them. Hence he repeats the same thought in different words.
178-183. mvp-comment-111-1 The sentiment of these lines is closely parallel to Plat. Legg. 9. 856 B, ὃς ἂν ἄγων εἰς ἀρχὴν ἄνθρωπον δουλῶται μὲν τοὺς νόμους, ἑταιρείας δὲ τὴν πόλιν ὑπήκοον ποιῇ, καὶ βιαίως δὲ πᾶν τοῦτο πράττων καὶ στάσιν ἐγείρων παρανομῇ· τοῦτον δὴ διανοεῖσθαι δεῖ πάντων πολεμιώτατον ὅλῃ τῇ πόλει, τὸν δὲ κοινωνοῦντα μὲν τῶν τοιούτων μηδενί, τῶν μεγίστων δὲ μετέχοντα ἀρχῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει, λεληθότα τε ταῦτα αὐτὸν ἢ μὴ λεληθότα, δειλίᾳ δ᾽ ὑπὲρ πατρίδος αὑτοῦ μὴ τιμωρούμενον, δεῖ δεύτερον ἡγεῖσθαι τὸν τοιοῦτον πολίτην κακῇ.
180.
mvp-comment-112-1
ἐγκλείσας Locked up. Cp. Shakespeare, Richard II, 1. 3,
Within my mouth you have engaoled my tongue, | Doubly portcullised with my teeth and lips. Infr. 505, εἰ μὴ γλῶσσαν ἐγκλείσαι φόβος.
182. mvp-comment-113-1 μείζον᾽.. ἀντί Essay on Language § 19. p. 27. Cp. Od. 7. 216, στυγερῇ ἐπὶ γαστέρι κύντερον.
183. mvp-comment-114-1 οὐδαμοῦ λέγω Plat. Gorg. 456 C, οὐδαμοῦ ἂν φανῆναι, supr. 32. 184 ff. Having shown what makes the good and bad ruler, Creon declares his own intentions, first generally, and then (192 ff.) with reference to Eteocles and Polynices. γάρ implies that his opinion will be proved by his acts. In both statements (178-183, 184-190) the stress is laid on the duty of renouncing friendship with the public enemy (182-183, 187-188), which is the ground of the present edict, Polynices being presumably Creon's private friend: supr. 174.
186. mvp-comment-115-1 στείχουσαν ἀστοῖς Menacing my people. Cp. supr. l. 10: Aesch. Prom. 1089-1090, τοιάδ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοὶ ῥιπὴ Διόθεν, | τεύχουσα φόβον, στείχει φανερῶς. For the dative, Essay on Language § 12. p. 18.
187. mvp-comment-116-1 δυσμενή χθονός Who is my country's foe. The genitive avoids the awkwardness of two datives, χθονί and ἐμαυτῷ, coming close together.
189-190.
mvp-comment-117-1
She it is who preserves us, and we make friends only while she carries us in the course of public safety; i. e. The friendship that is made against the interest of the state is hollow and insecure. Cp. Thuc. 2. 60: (Pericles loq.) ἐγὼ γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι πόλιν πλείω ξύμπασαν ὀρθουμένην ὠφελεῖν τοὺς ἰδιώτας, ἢ καθ᾿ ἕκαστον τῶν πολιτῶν εὐπραγοῦσαν, ἀθρόαν δὲ σφαλλομένην, κ.τ.λ.: Zaleuc. ap. Stob. (Mullach, p. 543), πόλις γὰρ εὖ ἀγομένη μεγίστη ὄρθωσίς ἐστι, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ πάντα ἔνι, καὶ τούτου σωζομένου πάντα σώζεται καὶ τούτου φθειρομένου πάντα διαφθείρεται: Shakespeare. King John, 3. 1, Pand.
All form is formless, order orderless, | Save what is opposite to England's love. On the change of pronouns (ἥδε.. ταύτης), see Essay on Language § 22. p. 32. The article in τοὺς φίλους points the reference to ll. 182-183.
191. mvp-comment-118-1 τοιοίσδε νόμοισι By such principles as these. Cp. infr. 908, τίνος νόμου δὴ ταῦτα πρὸς χάριν λέγω;
192. mvp-comment-119-1 ἀδελφὰ τῶνδε i. e. In full accord with them. Cp. Plat. Rep. 4. 421 C, ἆρ᾽ οὖν .. καὶ τὸ τούτου ἀδελφὸν δύξω σοι μετρίως λέγειν; Lys. 2. 64, ἀδελφὰ τὰ βουλεύματα τοῖς ἔργοις : Ο. C. 1262, ἀδελφὰ . . τούτοισιν.
193. mvp-comment-120-1 τῶν ἀπ᾿ Οιδίπου For the pleo- 190 195 200 nastic use of the preposition, see above 150, 182, and notes.
195. mvp-comment-121-1 πάντ᾿ ἀριστεύσας δορί After proving himself in all ways the bravest in the war. For the aor., cp. Hdt. 9. 74, alib.
196. mvp-comment-122-1 τὰ πάντ᾽ ἐφαγνίσαι ‘Το add all sacred offerings.'
199. mvp-comment-123-1 θεοὺς τοὺς ἐγγενεῖς The gods of his race; i. e. Those honoured by the Cadmeans. The gods of the race also include the ancestors of the race. Infr. 938, θεοὶ προγενεῖς.
201. mvp-comment-124-1 πρῆσαι κατάκρας The city (γῆν = πόλιν) is thought of as the main object of the verb.
201. mvp-comment-124-2 ἠθέλησε δ' The correspondence of clauses (with μέν and δέ) is not perfect, the antithesis being due to afterthought.
201. mvp-comment-124-3 αἵματος .. πάσασθαι ‘Το repast him with blood of his own kin.' The expression suits the Epic colouring of the whole speech.
202. mvp-comment-125-1 τοὺς δέ The rest; i. e. Those not slain, as implied in the opposition το αἵματος κοινοῦ πάσασθαι. 203.
202. mvp-comment-125-2 ἐκκεκήρυκται Musgrave's correction has been generally adopted, lopted, and is probably right. The impersonal verb gives absoluteness to the expression. Wolff construes the inf. with λέγω in 198 (deleting the comma after τοῦδε), and Wecklein reads λέγω for τάφῳ. The slight corruption is probably due to a reminiscence of supr. 27.
205. mvp-comment-126-1 δέμας is accusative of limitation, and ἄθαπτον and ἐδεστόν are masculine. To leave him unburied, to have his flesh consumed by birds and dogs.
206. mvp-comment-127-1 αἰκισθέντ᾿ ἰδεῖν A spectacle of indignity. Lit. Outraged to behold. The infinitive is added after the participle, which is masculine.
207. mvp-comment-128-1 Cp. 176, ψυχήν τε καὶ φρόνημα καὶ γνώμην.
209-210. mvp-comment-129-1 θανών | καὶ ζῶν In death as well as in life. The first word is the more emphatic. Essay on Language p. 78.
211-212. mvp-comment-130-1 For the construction of the accusatives τὸν .. δύσνουν. . τὸν εὐμενῆ, after σοὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἀρέσκει as = οὕτω τάσσεις, or the like, cр. О. С. 1120, τέκν᾽ εἰ φανέντ᾽ ἄελπτα μηκύνω λόγον, and see Essay on Language § 16. p. 22. No emendation is necessary.
213. mvp-comment-131-1 παντί πού γ᾽ ἔνεστί σοι γε has been thought a useless insertion, and Dindorf reads πάντι που πάρεστί σοι. But δέ γε is not unsuitable to the connection, introducing the second premiss of an implied argument. The words of the chorus express the barest acquiescence in the will of the ruler. Cp. infr. 509, σοὶ δ᾽ ὑπίλλουσι στόμα. They hide their disapproval, and that is all. Cp. Richard III, 4. 2, 21, Buck. Your grace may do your pleasure.
215. mvp-comment-132-1 ὡς ἂν.. εἰρημένων Sc. οὕτω πράσσετε. The subjunctive with ὡς ἄν follows the implied imperative. Act, then, so as to see my words obeyed. Cp. Ο. Τ. 325, ὡς οὖν μηδ᾽ ἐγὼ ταὐτὸν πάθω : Plat. Phaedo 59 Ε, παραγγέλλουσιν, ὅπως ἂν τῇδε τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τελευτήσῃ. The ellipse is idiomatic. It is not to be supposed either that Creon hesitates, or that the elders interrupt him.
218. mvp-comment-133-1 τί.. ἔτι 'What means then this charge further given by you to another?' τοῦτο, cogn. acc. = σκοποὶ εἶναι τῶν εἰρημένων : τί, suppl. predic. = With what meaning?' To what effect? ἄλλῳ = to another than the appointed guards. ἄλλο gives a poorer sense, What then is this other thing which you enjoin besides?
220. mvp-comment-134-1 ὃς .. ἐρᾷ As to be in love with death. For the irregular correlative (οὕτω .. ὅς), see Essay on Language § 22. p. 36. There is a confusion of οὐκ ἔστιν ὃς ἐρᾷ and οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτω μῶρος ὥστε ἐρᾶν.
222. mvp-comment-135-1 The emphatic position of ἄνδρας at the beginning of the line shows that the word is intended to mark Creon's unconsciousness of the real source of danger. So infr. 1. 248. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1110: O. T. 928, al. So ὑπ᾿ ἐλπίδων shows how incapable he is of divining the motive of Antigone.
223-330. mvp-comment-136-1 The half-comic or rustic character of the watchman in this play is an extension of the common character of the messenger, whose natural rudeness of speech and thought brings into greater prominence the horror or pathos of the events he describes. The grotesqueness disappears when he speaks of the action of Antigone in 407-440. The employment of this artifice by Sophocles arises from the same motive to which Shakespeare gave a far wider range in such creations as the gravediggers in Hamlet, and the rural fellow in Antony and Cleopatra. The Messenger in the Trachiniae, the Corinthian in the Oedipus Tyrannus, Menelaus in the Ajax, the pretended Shipmaster in the Philoctetes, afford the same sort of contrast to the more tragic personages: and the superstition of the Coloniatae may be compared with the cowardice of the Phrygian slave in the Orestes of Euripides.
223-330.
mvp-comment-136-2
The vulgarity of the common-place Athenian of the fifth century в.с. takes the form of misplaced subtlety of wit. Cp.
Shak. Hamlet, 5. 1
,
We must speak by the card, or equivocation will undo us. The age is grown so picked, that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier, he galls his kibe.
223-224. mvp-comment-137-1 I am out of breath, but not with speed. It is not that I ran nimbly hither. Aristotle, Rhet. 3. 14. § 10, quotes 223 thus, Ἄναξ, ἐρῶ μὲν οὐχ ὅπως σπουδῆς ὕπο.., adding, as if from the reply of Creon, τί φροιμιάζῃ; But it is as unsafe to follow his authority in this line, as it would be to substitute τί φροιμιάζῃ for εὖ γε στοχάζει in l. 241. It is evident that he is quoting from memory: and, although it is curious that the Scholiast uses the same word in his explanation, οὐ τοῦτο λέγω, ὅτι μετὰ σπουδῆς ἀσθμαίνων πρὸς σὲ πορεύομαι, yet this does not amount to a proof that this is the right reading. σπουδῆς may be the word which would be more naturally used in prose, but it is less pointed than τάχους in this connection. κοῦφον ἐξάρας πόδα is added in explanation of τάχους ὕπο. ἐξάρας, having set forth from the point of departure, like αἴρειν στόλον.
225. mvp-comment-138-1 For I had many stoppages by reason of thoughts, i. e. My thoughts cried halt to me (ἐπέστησάν με) again and again. Cp. Αj. 869, κοὐδεὶς ἐφίσταταί με συμμαθεῖν τόπος. The genitive φροντίδων is part causal, My thoughts checked me,' and part final, I stopped to think.
226. mvp-comment-139-1 ὁδοῖς As I came. Essay on Language § 14. p. 20. Ср. О. С. 553, ὁδοῖς ἐν ταῖσδ᾽ ἀκούων. Hearing of you on your coming hither.
227. mvp-comment-140-1 This mockery of dialectic is curiously significant of the earlier stage of rhetoric.
229. mvp-comment-141-1 κεἰ has the authority of the oldest MS. The reading of Par. A, καὶ .. ἀνδρός, has a certain liveliness, but is perhaps too abrupt.
231. mvp-comment-142-1 τοιαῦθ᾽ ἑλίσσων Turning round and round such thoughts as these. Cp. Plat. Phil. 19 (of the boyish dialectician), πάντα κινεῖ λόγον ἄσμενος, τότε μὲν ἐπὶ θάτερα κυκλῶν καὶ συμφορῶν εἰς ἕν, τότε δὲ πάλιν ἀνειλίττων καὶ διαμερίζων.
231. mvp-comment-142-2 σπουδῇ βραδύς The reading of L, σχολῇ βραδύς, Slowly because I stopped, is not pointed enough, and it seems probable that an oxymoron is intended in this as in the following line. The correction adopted by the Scholiast, σχολῇ ταχύς, secures this in rather an awkward way. That of Seyffert, which is here adopted (for the collocation of words, cp. the proverb σπεῦδε βραδέως), appears far more probable.
234. mvp-comment-143-1 This line was well explained by Dindorf in 1860: Dicturus erat σοὶ φράσοντα, sed propter verba interposita, κεί τὸ μηδὲν ἐξερῶ, mutata orationis forma infert φράσω δ ὅμως cum δε particula, ut Oed. T. 302, πόλιν μέν, εἰ καὶ μὴ βλέπεις, φρονεῖς δ' ὅμως | οἷᾳ νόσῳ σύνεστιν.' Essay on Language § 35. p. 59.
234. mvp-comment-143-2 τὸ μηδέν ῾Α vain report,' because the doer of the deed was still unknown.
235. mvp-comment-144-1 τῆς has the emphatic force of an antecedent: This hope, that ... δεδραγμένος] This reading is implied in the second scholium on the passage, ἀντειλημμένος τῆς ἐλπίδος ἐλήλυθα, and appears in the text of E and V³. (whence Aldus had it), and as a marginal reading of Aug. b. and of V¹. Clinging fast by the hope, is a natural and forcible expression, well suited to the style of the Φύλαξ : whereas ἐλπίδος πεφραγμένος or πεφαργμένοs, whether in the sense of Shut out from hope,' or Fortified by the hope, is not really admissible.
236. mvp-comment-145-1 That I cannot suffer anything but what is fated for me. Cp. Aesch. S. c. Τ. 263, πείσομαι τὸ μόρσιμον.
238. mvp-comment-146-1 τὸ γάρ For the light ending, cp infr. 327, 409, Ο. Τ. 553-554. τὸ δὲ | πάθημ᾽ ὁποῖον φῇς παθεῖν δίδασκέ με, ib. 995-996, 1056-1057.
239. mvp-comment-147-1 ὅστις ἦν ὁ δρῶν i. e. τὸν δρῶντα, ὅστις ἦν, The unknown doer of the deed.
241-242. mvp-comment-148-1 (1) You aim carefully, and fence the business off from yourself all round. Some editors read τί φροιμιάζει; from Ar. Rhet. 3. 14, § 10, quoted above. But though the Scholiast of the Rhetoric says τὸ δὲ τί φροιμιάζῃ τοῦ Κρέοντός ἐστι λέγοντος, it is much more probable that the words are a separate quotation from Eur. I. T. 1162. See Cope's edition of Ar. Rhet. vol. 3. p. 175. Others explain the text (2), You lay the ground carefully and hedge your approaches closely round, as if in preparing a stance to watch for game. According to Pollux, 5, 36, στοχασμός, στοχάς, and στόχος, were terms used in describing the setting of a hunting-net: καλεῖται δ᾽ αὐτῶν (τῶν ἀρκύων) ἡ στάσις, στοιχισμός, στοίχος, στόχος, στοχὰς καὶ στοχασμός· στοχὰς δὲ καλεῖται καὶ χειροποιητά τινα οἰκοδομήματα ἐκ λίθων, ἢ ὕλης ὑπὲρ τὴν γῆν ἀναστήματα, κατὰ χρείαν τῆς τῶν δικτύων ἐξ ἴσου στάσεως, εἴ τι κοῖλον εἴη περὶ τὸ ἀρκύστατον.
243. mvp-comment-149-1 τὰ δεινὰ .. πολύν The reply, as often elsewhere, refers to the first part of the previous speech. Cp. O. Т. 361. The frigid tautology belongs to the character of the Φύλαξ.
244. mvp-comment-150-1 εἰτ᾿ ἀπαλλαχθεὶς ἄπει And be off with you. The Scholiast acutely remarks that these impatient words are intended to hold out the hope of impunity, which is withdrawn again in the angry threats of ll. 305, foll.
246. mvp-comment-151-1 Some one has buried the corpse and has disappeared, after not only sprinkling dry dust upon the flesh, but adding all due rites. This last refers to the libation. Cp. supr. 196-197: infr. 430-431. The surprise was increased by observing the completeness of the act. There is a stress on the participles. Essay on Language p. 75 β, 94, 4.
248. mvp-comment-152-1 τίς ἀνδρῶν Cp. supra 222, and note.
249. mvp-comment-153-1 οὔτε .. ἐκβολή No dint of pick-axe, nor earth turned up with hoe.'
250. mvp-comment-154-1 στύφλος .. καὶ χέρσος Hard and bare. χέρσος γῆ is untilled land, and so here, Undisturbed by implements of husbandry. Cp. infr. 773, 1197.
251. mvp-comment-155-1 ἀρρώξ .. τροχοῖσιν Unbroken, and with no mark of wheels. ἐπημαξευμένη τροχοῖσιν] Lit. Carted over with wheels.' Essay on Language p. 88, note.
252. mvp-comment-156-1 ἀλλ'.. ἦν But whoever did it was one who left no trace.
253. mvp-comment-157-1 ὁ πρῶτος .. ἡμεροσκόπος Our first look-out-man for the day. ἡμεροσκόπος in Xen. Hell. 1. 1. 2, is a watchman who stands at his post at daybreak. Cp. ἡμεροφύλαξ, ib. 7. 2. 6, 7. Antigone's act preceded the setting of this watch.
254. mvp-comment-158-1 θαῦμα δυσχερές Α sight of wonder and dismay.
255.
mvp-comment-159-1
τυμβήρης.. κόνις
Not covered with a mound, but sprinkled with dust as by one avoiding pollution. Hor. Od. 1. 28,
Debita jura vicesque superbae | Te maneant ipsum: precibus ibus non linquar inultis | Teque piacula nulla resolvent. | Quamquam festinas, non est mora longa, licebit | Injecto ter pulvere curras. For the gen., cp. Tr. 768.
255. mvp-comment-159-2 τυμβήρης For this use of the adjective, see Essay on Language § 23. p. 38.
258. mvp-comment-160-1 οὐ σπάσαντος Cp. Aesch. Prom. 451, οὔτε.. δόμους.. οὐ ξυλουργίαν.
259. mvp-comment-161-1 ἐν ἀλλήλοισιν Sc. τοῖς φύλαξιν. Words of abuse were loudly bandied to and fro. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 200, στάσις δ᾽ ἐν ἀλλήλοισιν ὠροθύνετο, sc.
259. mvp-comment-161-2 τοῖς δαίμοσιν.
260. mvp-comment-162-1 φύλαξ ἐλέγχων φύλακα On the nominative out of construction in the clause in apposition, see Essay on Language § 33. p. 57. § 15. p. 21.
260. mvp-comment-162-2 κἂν ἐγίγνετο And it was threatening to come to blows at last. The combination of the imperfect with av here is peculiar, having a force intermediate between ἐγίγνετο and ἐγένετο ἄv; i. e. it was coming to this, that we should have come to blows.
262-263. mvp-comment-163-1 The subtlety of the Φύλαξ deserts him in attempting to express his meaning. The perpetrator was every one and no one of us all every one in vague suspicion, and no one evidently: he escaped being known.' τις gives the indefiniteness required by the sense, = πως.
263.
mvp-comment-164-1
ἀλλ᾽ ἔφευγε *μὴ εἰδέναι (1) But he (the perpetrator) always escaped, so that we could not know him. Böckh and Donaldson read as in the text, interpreting (2) Every man' (πᾶς implied in οὐδείς, the affirmative elicited from the negative)
defended himself by pleading ignorance of the matter. For φεύγειν, * to urge a defensive plea,' cp. Aesch. Suppl. 390, and for the plea, μὴ εἰδέναι, Plat. Legg. 11. 936 E. But the plea of ignorance, although suitable in l. 266, is too special for this place, wherethe non-appearance of the criminal alone is in question. The meaning given above (1) is the same as that required by Hermann (see below), but is more simply expressed by the epexegesis, and the imperfect tense expresses the frustration of continued search. This interpretation involves a rare use of φεύγω, which is, however, analogous to a meaning of ἐκφεύγω that is not uncommon. Cp. Ο. Τ. 111, ἐκφεύγει δὲ τἀμελούμενον : Plat. Phil. 17, τὰ δὲ μέσα αὐτοὺς ἐκφεύγει. Other emendations are ἔφυγε τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι (Porson), explained by Erfurdt to mean
amoliens a se accusationem scire sese negaverat ; ἔφυγε τῷ μὴ εἰδέναι (Herm. 1839),
effugit, eo quod nesciebamus; ἔφευγε πᾶς τὸ μή,
every man pled Not guilty. (Dind.). 264-265. There are few traces of anything corresponding to the trial by ordeal in ancient times. Brunck quotes Virg. Aen. 11. 787,
Et medium freti pietate per ignem | Cultores multa premimus vestigia prima. It seems to have existed in different places as a popular belief, but nowhere to have received positive legal sanction. For a trace of trial by combat' (in Scythia), see Hdt. 4. 180. Cp. also Ar. Lys. 133.
269.
mvp-comment-165-1
His verbis et sequentibus significatur terror quem Creontis auctoritas custodibus incutit. (Dind.).
269. mvp-comment-165-2 λέγει, κ.τ.λ. The sense is interrupted by the relative clause, but resumed in the words ἦν δ᾽ ὁ μῦθος in l. 272. For τις εἷς, cp. Thuc. 6. 61, καί τινα μίαν νύκτα, κ.τ.λ. The emphatic use of little words shows the common mind; cp. infr. 404, ὃν σὺ τὸν νέκυν, κ.τ.λ. Wolff and Weckl. join els with what follows: but the antithesis of eἷς πάντας is too pointless here. Cp. Plat. Rep. 6. 496 D, εἰς πᾶσιν ἀγρίοις ἀντέχειν.