Sophocles Antigone 47

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Card By Card

← Previous Next →

Guard

I know not; no stroke of pickaxe was seen 250 there, no earth thrown up by mattock ; the ground was hard and dry, unbroken, without track of wheels; the doer was one who had left no trace. And when the first day-watchman showed it to us, sore wonder fell on all. The dead man was veiled from us; not shut within a tomb, but lightly strewn with dust, as by the hand of one who shunned a curse. And no sign met the eye as though any beast of prey or any dog had come nigh to him, or torn him. Then evil words flew fast and loud among us, guard 260 accusing guard ; and it would e’en have come to blows at last, nor was there any to hinder. Every man was tye od? the culprit, and no one was convicted, but all disclaimed knowledge of the deed. And we were ready to take red-hot iron in our hands ;—to walk through fire ;—to make oath by the gods that we had not done the deed, —that we were not privy to the planning or the doing, At last, when all our searching was fruitless, one spake, who made us all bend our faces on the earth in 270 fear; for we saw not how we could gainsay him, or escape mischance if we obeyed. His counsel was that this deed must be reported to thee, and not hidden. And this seemed best ; and the lot doomed my hapless self to win this prize. So here I stand,—as unwelcome as unwilling, well I wot; for no man delights in the bearer of bad news.

Antigone. Sophocles. Cambridge, UK. 1904.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by Tufts University.

Current edition Experimental

English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (12)

Greek (L. Benloew, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (L. Benloew, 1858)) — 47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Greek (A. Colonna, 1978) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Colonna, 1978)) — 47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Greek (A. Dain, 1955) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Dain, 1955)) — 47.mvp-line-47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979)) — 47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Greek (G. Hermann, 1830) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (G. Hermann, 1830)) — 47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906)) — 47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος ;

Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924)) — 47.mvp-line-47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Antigone (OCR draft) Experimental (Antigone) — 47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949)) — 47 focus

ὦ σχετλία, Κρέοντος ἀντειρηκότος;

Translations (10)

German (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 47 focus

WÄCHTER

So sag' ich dir's denn: eben hat den Todten wer

bestattet und sich dann entfernt, als trocknen Staub

er aufgestreut dem Körper nebst den andern Weihn.

Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921)) — 47 focus

El Centinela

No sé. Allí no se ven señales de golpes de azada, ni de que el suelo haya sido removido con la ligona. La tierra está dura y apretada, sin carriles de que haya pasado ningún carro. Quien lo haya hecho, no ha dejado huella. Cuando el primer vigia vigía de la ma- ñana nos ha dado la noticia, triste asombro se apoderó de todos. El cadáver no se veia veía; pero no estaba sepultado, sino cubierto de ligero polvo, como para evitar el sacrilegio. Ni señales de fiera ni de perro que viniese y lo hubiese destrozado se veian veían tampoco. Palabras maliciosas susurran entonces por los oidos oídos de todos; un centinela acusaba a otro, y aquello hubiera acabado en lucha, sin que hubiera nadie que lo impidiese. Cada uno creía que era el otro el que lo había hecho, y nadie confesaba, sino que todos negaban. Estábamos ya dispuestos a [la prueba de] tomar el hierro candente en las manos y pasar por el fuego y jurar por los dioses que ni lo habíamos hecho ni nos habiamos habíamos confabulado con quien lo hubiese proyectado ni con el que lo habia había hecho. Por fin, cuando nada nos quedaba ya por examinar, habló uno que a todos nos hizo inclinar la cara al suelo de miedo, porque no podiamos podíamos ni contradecirle ni proponerle cómo lo hariamos haríamos para salir bien. Fué Fue su proposición que se te debía comunicar el hecho y no ocultártelo; ella venció, y a mí, como más desgraciado, tocó la suerte para encargarme de esta hermosa comisión. Aqui Aquí me tienes contra mi voluntad y contra la tuya, lo sé; pues nadie estima al portador de malas noticias.

Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 47 focus

Custos

Nescio: ibi enim neque ligone quid erat caesum, neque bidente effossum, sed et dura terra, etinfracta, nec plaustri sulcata rotis, ita ut nullo signo facti auctor cognosci posset. Ubi vero nobis rem ostendit primus diurnus speculator, omnibus triste miraculum visum est: ille enim non conspiciebatur, nec tamen tumulo conditus erat, sed tenuis superiniectus erat pulvis, ut ab aliquo piaculum fugiente: signa vero neque ferae, neque canis cuiusquam adparebant, qui venisset et cadaver lacerasset. Tum acerba dicta inter nos vigiles iactari coeperunt, alio alium arguente; et res tandem ad verbera venisset: nemo enim erat qui rixam componeret; quippe unusquisque aliis videbatur facinoris auctor, nec tamen quisquam manifestus erat: sed omnes scire se negabant. Parati quoque eramus candens ferrum manibus: tollere, perque flammas transire, et deos adiurare, nos neque fecisse, neque cuiquam esse conscios qui facinus vel meditatus fuerit, vel patraverit. Denique quum scrutando nihil proficeremus, fari infit unus nostrum, cuius ad sermonem metu perculiad solum omnes capita demisimus: neque enim poteramus contradicere, neque aliud quid excogitare, quod facto nobis usus esset. Dixit autem ille, rem omnem ad te referendam, nec celandam esse. Atque haec vicit sententia, sortesque hoc commodi accipere me infelicem damnarunt. Adsum igitur invitus apud invitos, scio. Diligit enimi nemo malae rei nuntium.

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 47 focus

WATCH

I cannot tell. There was no mark to show—

No dint of spade, or mattock-loosened sod,—

Only the hard bare ground, untilled and trackless.
250

Whoe’er he was, the doer left no trace.

And, when the scout of our first daylight watch

Showed us the thing, we marvelled in dismay.

The Prince was out of sight; not in a grave,

But a thin dust was o’er him, as if thrown
255

By one who shunned the dead man’s curse. No sign

Appeared of any hound or beast o’ the field

Having come near, or pulled at the dead body.

Then rose high words among us sentinels

With bickering noise accusing each his mate,

And it seemed like to come to blows, with none
260

To hinder. For the hand that thus had wrought

Was any of ours, and none; the guilty man

Escaped all knowledge. And we were prepared

To lift hot iron with our bare palms; to walk

Through fire, and swear by all the Gods at once
265

That we were guiltless, ay, and ignorant

Of who had plotted or performed this thing.

When further search seemed bootless, at the last

One spake, whose words bowed all our heads to the earth

With fear. We knew not what to answer him,

Nor how to do it and prosper. He advised
270

So grave a matter must not be concealed,

But instantly reported to the King.

Well, this prevailed, and the lot fell on me,

Unlucky man! to be the ministrant

Of this fair service. So I am present here,
275

Against my will and yours, I am sure of that.

None love the bringer of unwelcome news.

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 39 focus

Was kann ich, wenn dies also steht, Unselige,¹

Hier, lösend oder bindend, uns zum Frommen thun?
40

Antigone.

Sieh, ob du helfen, ob die Mühe theilen wirst

Ismene.

Bei welchem Unterfangen? Wo geräthst du hin?

Antigone.

Ob du den Todten, mir gesellt, aufnehmen willst!

Ismene.

Ihn denn bestatten willst du, dem Verbot zum Troz?

Antigone.

Ja, meinen Bruder und den deinen, wenn auch du
45

Nicht willst; denn niemals soll man mich Verrathes zeih'n!²

Ismene.

Tollkühne, während Kreon's Wort es dir verwehrt?

Antigone.

Fern halten darf mich dieser nie von meiner Pflicht.

Ismene.

Weh mir! Bedenk', o Schwester, wie der Vater uns,

Mit Haß und Hohn belastet, ruhmlos unterging,
50

Nachdem er selbst um Gräuel, die er selbst enthüllt,

Der Augen Sterne sich zerriß mit eigner Hand;

Wie dann die Mutter, Mutter ihm und Weib zugleich,

Schmachvoll mit frevlem Strange sich das Leben nahm;

Zum dritten, wie die Brüder beid' an Einem Tag
55

Im Wechselmord sich ein gemeinsam Todesloos,

Die Armen, schufen, Einer durch des Andern Hand!

Wir sind allein jezt übrig; du bedenke denn,

Wie schmählich wir verdürben, wenn wir wider Necht

Der Herrscher Ausspruch und Gewalt mißachteten.
60

Wohl mußt du doch erwägen, daß wir Frauen sind,

Und nicht geschaffen, Männern kühn im Kampf zu steh'n,

Dann aber, daß wir, weil beherrscht von Stärkeren,

Hier folgen müssen und sogar in Härterem.

Drum will ich jene, die der Erde Schooß verbirgt,³
65

Anfleh'n um Nachsicht, weil Gewalt mich bindet hier,

Und ihm gehorchen, dem die Macht geworden ist;

Denn Unverstand ist's, über seine Kraft zu thun.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 47 focus

Creon

Be silent, ere my rage,
280

Thou rash old man, pronounce thee fool and dotard ;

Horrid suggestion ! Think'st thou, then, the gods \

Take care of men like these? Would they preserve

Or honour him who came to burn their altars,

Profane their rites, and trample on their laws ?
285

Will they reward the bad? it cannot be.

But well I know the murmuring citizens

Brooked not our mandate, shook their heads in

secret.
290

And, ill-affected to me, would not stoop

Their haughty crests, or bend beneath my yoke.

By hire corrupted, some of these have dared

The venturous deed. ( Gold is the worst of ills ^

That ever plagued mankind :^this wastes our cities,
295

Diives forth their natives to a foreign soil,

Taints the pure heart, and turns the virtuous mind

To basest deeds ) artificer of fraud

Supreme, and source of every wickedness. ^
300

The wretch corrupted for this hateful purpose

Must one day suffer ; foi-, observe me well.

As I revere that power by whom I swear,

Almighty Jove, if you conceal him from me.

If to my eyes you do not bring the traitor.

Know, death alone shall not suffice to glut

My vengeance ; Uving shall you hang in torments

Till you confess, till you have learned from me

There is a profit not to be desired.
310

And own dishonest gains have ruined more

Than they have saved.

O king ! may I depart,

Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889)) — 47 focus

CREONTE

¿Acabarás de hablar al fin, para que te retires cuanto antes de mi vista?

German (F. Hölderlin, 1804) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (F. Hölderlin, 1804)) — 47 focus

DER BOTE

Undenklich. Nirgend war von einem Karst

Ein Schlag; und nicht der Stofs von einerSchaufel,
260

Und dicht das Land; der Boden ungegraben ;

Von Rädern nicht befahren. Zeichenlos war

Der Meister, und wie das der erste Tagesblik

Anzeigte, kams unhold uns all’an, wie ein Wunder.

Nichts feierlichs. Es war kein Grabmal nicht.
265

Nur zarter Staub, wie wenn man das Verbot

Gescheut. Und auch des Wilds Fufstritte nirgend nicht,

Noch eines Hundes, der gekommen und zerrissen.

Und schlimme Worte fuhren durcheinander.

Ein Wächter klagt den andern an; und fast
270

Gekommen wärs zu Streichen. Niemand war,

Der abgewehrt. Denn jeder schien, als hätt’

Für es gethan, doch keiner offenbar,

Und jeder wulfst’ etwas für sich zu sagen.

Wir waren aber bereit, mit Händen glühend Eisen
275

Zu nehmen und durch Feuer zu gehn und bei den Göttern

Zu schwören, dass wir nichts gethan, und dass wir

Von dem nichts wufsten, welcher das Geschehne

Berathschlagt oder ausgeführt. Zulezt,

Als weiter nichts zu forschen war, spricht einer,
280

Der alle dahin brachte, dass das Haupt

Zu Boden ihnen sank, aus Furcht, denn nichts

Dagegen wulsten wir, noch auch, wie wir

Es schön vollbrächten, und es hiefs, man müsse

Die That anzeigen, dir es nicht verbergen.
285

Und dieses siegt’, und mich den Geisterlosen

Erliest das Loos, dass die Gewissenhaftigkeit

Ich hab’ und bin zugegen, wider Willen;

Ich weiss, ich bin es vor Unwilligen,

Denn niemand liebt den Boten schlimmer Worte.
290

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 47 focus

Chorus
471

This daring spirit from her daring sire

English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904)) — 1-98 focus

1

Antigone

Ismene, my sister, true child of my own mother, do you know any evil out of all the evils bequeathed by Oedipus that Zeus will not fulfil for the two of us in our lifetime? There is nothing—no pain, no ruin,
1

no shame, nor dishonor—that I have not seen in your sufferings and mine. And now what is this new edict that they say the general has just decreed to all the city? Do you know anything? Have you heard? Or does it escape you that
5

evils from our enemies are on the march against our friends?
10

Ismene

To me no word of our friends, Antigone, either bringing joy or bringing pain has come since we two were robbed of our two brothers who died in one day by a double blow.

And since the Argive army has fled during this night, I have learned nothing further, whether better fortune is mine, or further ruin.
15

Antigone

I knew it well, so I was trying to bring you outside the courtyard gates to this end, that you alone might hear.

Ismene

Hear what? It is clear that you are brooding on some dark news.
20

Antigone

Why not? Has not Creon destined our brothers, the one to honored burial, the other to unburied shame? Eteocles, they say, with due observance of right and custom, he has laid in the earth

for his honor among the dead below. As for the poor corpse of Polyneices, however, they say that an edict has been published to the townsmen that no one shall bury him or mourn him, but instead leave him unwept, unentombed, for the birds a pleasing store
25

as they look to satisfy their hunger. Such, it is said, is the edict that the good Creon has laid down for you and for me—yes, for me—and it is said that he is coming here to proclaim it for the certain knowledge of those who do not already know. They say that he does not conduct this business lightly,
30

but whoever performs any of these rites, for him the fate appointed is death by public stoning among the entire city. This is how things stand for you, and so you will soon show your nature, whether you are noble-minded, or the corrupt daughter of a noble line.
35

39

Ismene

Poor sister, if things have come to this, what would I

profit by loosening or tightening this knot?
40

Antigone

Consider whether you will share the toil and the task.

Ismene

What are you hazarding? What do you intend?

Antigone

Will you join your hand to mine in order to lift his corpse?

Ismene

You plan to bury him—when it is forbidden to the city?

Antigone

Yes, he is my brother, and yours too, even if you wish it otherwise. I will never be convicted of betraying him.
45

Ismene

Hard girl! Even when Creon has forbidden it?

Antigone

No, he has no right to keep me from my own.

Ismene

Ah, no! Think, sister, how our father

perished in hatred and infamy, when, because of the crimes that he himself detected, he smashed both his eyes with self-blinding hand; then his mother-wife, two names in one, with a twisted noose destroyed her life;
50

lastly, our two brothers in a single day, both unhappy murderers of their own flesh and blood, worked with mutual hands their common doom. And now we, in turn—we two who have been left all alone—consider how much more miserably we will be destroyed, if in defiance of the law
55

we transgress against an autocrat’s decree or his powers. No, we must remember, first, that ours is a woman’s nature, and accordingly not suited to battles against men; and next, that we are ruled by the more powerful, so that we must obey in these things and in things even more stinging.
60

I, therefore, will ask those below for pardon, since I am forced to this, and will obey those who have come to authority. It is foolish to do what is fruitless.
65

69

Antigone

I would not encourage you—no, nor, even if you were willing later,

would I welcome you as my partner in this action. No, be the sort that pleases you. I will bury him—it would honor me to die while doing that. I shall rest with him, loved one with loved one, a pious criminal. For the time is greater
70

that I must serve the dead than the living, since in that world I will rest forever. But if you so choose, continue to dishonor what the gods in honor have established.
75

Ismene

I do them no dishonor. But to act in violation of the citizens’ will—of that I am by nature incapable.

Antigone

You can make that your pretext! Regardless, I will go now to heap a tomb over the brother I love.
80

Ismene

Oh no, unhappy sister! I fear for you!

Antigone

Do not tremble for me. Straighten out your own destiny.

Ismene

Then at least disclose the deed to no one before you do it.

Conceal it, instead, in secrecy—and so, too, will I.
85

Antigone

Go on! Denounce it! You will be far more hated for your silence, if you fail to proclaim these things to everyone.

Ismene

You have a hot heart for chilling deeds.

Antigone

I know that I please those whom I am most bound to please.

Ismene

Yes, if you will also have the power. But you crave the impossible.
90

Antigone

Why then, when my strength fails, I will have finished.

Ismene

An impossible hunt should not be tried in the first place.

Antigone

If you mean that, you will have my hatred, and you will be subject to punishment as the enemy of the dead.

But leave me and the foolish plan I have authored to suffer this terrible thing, for I will not suffer anything so terrible that my death will lack honor.
95

Ismene

Go, then, if you so decide. And of this be sure: though your path is foolish, to your loved ones your love is straight and true. Exit Antigone on the spectators’ left. Ismene exits into the palace.

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-83-1 εἶχε δ’ ἄλλᾳ τὰ μέν ¹ εἶχε δ’ ἄλλαι τὰ μὲν ἄλλαι τὰ δ’ ἐπ’ ἄλλοις ² τὰ μέν ³ ἄλλα δέ ⁴ τὰ μέν ⁵ ἄλλᾳ ⁶

mvp-comment-83-2 ἐπενώμα ⁷ στυφελίζων ⁸

mvp-comment-83-3 δεξιόσειρος ⁹

mvp-comment-83-4 The old v.l. δεξιόχειρος ¹⁰

mvp-comment-84-1 ἑπτὰ λοχαγοί ¹¹

mvp-comment-84-2 ἴσοι πρὸς ἴσους ¹²

mvp-comment-84-3 Ζηνὶ τροπαίῳ ¹³

mvp-comment-84-4 πάγχαλκα τέλη ¹⁴

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 ¹⁵ πατρός ¹⁶

mvp-comment-85-2 καθ’ αὑτοῖν ¹⁷

mvp-comment-85-3 δικρατεῖς λόγχας ¹⁸

mvp-comment-85-4 στήσαντε ¹⁹

mvp-comment-86-1 ἀλλὰ γάρ ²⁰ γάρ ²¹ γάρ ²²

mvp-comment-86-2 μεγαλώνυμος ²³

mvp-comment-86-3 πολυαρμάτῳ ²⁴

mvp-comment-86-4 ἀντιχαρεῖσα ²⁵

mvp-comment-87-1 ἐκ...πολέμων τῶν νῦν ²⁶ ἐκ ²⁷ νῦν ²⁸

mvp-comment-87-2 θέσθαι ²⁹ θέσθε ³⁰ παννυχίοις ³¹

mvp-comment-87-3 ὁ Θήβας ³² ἐλελίχθων ³³

mvp-comment-87-4 Βάκχιος ³⁴

mvp-comment-87-5 ἄρχοι ³⁵

mvp-comment-88-1 ἀλλὰ … γάρ ³⁶ Κρέων ³⁷

mvp-comment-88-2 Μενοικέως ³⁸

mvp-comment-88-3 νεοχμὸς νεαραῖσι ³⁹

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 ⁴⁰ κρείων ⁴¹ ἄρχων ⁴² ταγός ⁴³

mvp-comment-88-5 θεῶν … συντυχίαις ⁴⁴ ἐπί ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-89-1 μῆτιν ἐρέσσων ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-89-2 σύγκλητον ⁴⁷

mvp-comment-89-3 προὔθετο ⁴⁸ λέσχην ⁴⁹

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 ⁵⁰

mvp-comment-89-5 κοινῷ κ. πέμψας ⁵¹

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’ ⁵²

mvp-comment-91-3 πόλεος ⁵³ πολλῷ σάλῳ σείσαντες ⁵⁴

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 ⁵⁵

mvp-comment-92-1 ἐκ πάντων ⁵⁶ δίχα ⁵⁷

mvp-comment-92-2 ἔστειλ’ ἱκέσθαι ⁵⁸ τοῦτο μέν ⁵⁹

mvp-comment-92-3 σέβοντας ⁶⁰

mvp-comment-92-4 θρόνων . . κράτη ⁶¹

mvp-comment-93-1 ἡνίκ’ Οἰδίπους ⁶² κείνων ⁶³ κείνων παῖδας ⁶⁴ ἡνίκ’ . . ὤρθου πόλιν ⁶⁵ ἐπεὶ διώλετο ⁶⁶ τοῦτο μέν . . τοῦτ’ αὖθις ⁶⁷

mvp-comment-93-2 καί ⁶⁸ καί ⁶⁹

mvp-comment-93-3 ἐμπέδοις φρονήμασιν ⁷⁰ ἐμπέδους ⁷¹ ἐμπέδοις ⁷²

mvp-comment-94-1 ὅτε ⁷³

mvp-comment-94-2 πρὸς διπλῆς μ. ⁷⁴ διπλῆς . . μίαν ⁷⁵

mvp-comment-94-3 παίσαντες . . πληγέντες ⁷⁶

mvp-comment-94-4 αὐτόχειρι … μιάσματι ⁷⁷

mvp-comment-95-1 ἐγὼ . . δή ⁷⁸

mvp-comment-95-2 κράτη ⁷⁹

mvp-comment-95-3 γένους κατ’ ἀγχιστεῖα τῶν ὀλ. ⁸⁰

mvp-comment-96-1 ἀμήχανον δέ ⁸¹ δέ ⁸² δέ ⁸³

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 ⁸⁴ φρόνημα ⁸⁵ γνώμην ⁸⁶

mvp-comment-98-1 ἀρχαῖς ⁸⁷ νόμοισιν ⁸⁸

mvp-comment-98-2 ἐντριβής ⁸⁹

mvp-comment-98-3 φανῇ ⁹⁰

mvp-comment-99-1 ἐμοὶ γάρ ⁹¹ γάρ ⁹² πᾶσαν … πόλιν ⁹³

mvp-comment-99-2 μὴ … ἅπτεται ⁹⁴ ὅστις μὴ ἅπτεται ⁹⁵

mvp-comment-99-3 ἐκ φ. του ⁹⁶

mvp-comment-99-4 ἐγκλῄσας ἔχει ⁹⁷

mvp-comment-99-5 νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι ⁹⁸

mvp-comment-100-1 μείζον’ ⁹⁹ ἀντὶ τῆς...πάτρας ¹⁰⁰ ἤ ¹⁰¹ μεῖζον ¹⁰²

mvp-comment-100-2 οὐδαμοῦ λέγω ¹⁰³

mvp-comment-101-1 ἐγὼ γάρ ¹⁰⁴ γάρ ¹⁰⁵ τοῦτο γιγνώσκων ¹⁰⁶ ἴστω ¹⁰⁷

mvp-comment-102-1 οὔτ’ ἂν σιωπήσαιμι ¹⁰⁸

mvp-comment-103-1 στείχουσαν ἀστοῖς ¹⁰⁹ ὁμοῦ ¹¹⁰

mvp-comment-103-2 ἀντὶ τῆς σωτηρίας ¹¹¹ τῆς ¹¹²

mvp-comment-104-1 ἄνδρα δυσμενῆ χθονός ¹¹³

mvp-comment-104-2 ἐμαυτῷ ¹¹⁴ φίλον ¹¹⁵ θείμην ¹¹⁶

mvp-comment-105-1 ἡ σῴζουσα ¹¹⁷

mvp-comment-105-2 ταύτης ¹¹⁸ ὀρθῆς ¹¹⁹

mvp-comment-105-3 τοὺς φίλους ποιούμεθα ¹²⁰

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 ¹²¹

mvp-comment-106-2 αὔξω ¹²²

mvp-comment-107-1 ἀδελφὰ τῶνδε ¹²³

mvp-comment-107-2 τῶν ἀπ’ Οἰδίπου ¹²⁴

mvp-comment-108-1 δορί ¹²⁵ δόρει ¹²⁶

mvp-comment-109-1 τὰ πάντ’ ἐφαγνίσαι ¹²⁷ ἐπί ¹²⁸ ἐφαγνίσαι ¹²⁹ ἀφαγνίσαι ¹³⁰ ἀπό ¹³¹

mvp-comment-110-1 τοῖς ἀρίστοις ¹³²

mvp-comment-110-2 ἔρχεται κάτω ¹³³

mvp-comment-111-1 L has Πολυνείκην ¹³⁴

mvp-comment-111-2 λέγω ¹³⁵

mvp-comment-112-1 γτ=ν πατρῴαν . . καὶ θεοὺς . . πρῆσαι ¹³⁶

mvp-comment-112-2 θ. τοὺς ἐγγενεῖς ¹³⁷

mvp-comment-112-3 κατελθών ¹³⁸

mvp-comment-112-4 γ)θέλησε μέν … ἠθέλ. δέ ¹³⁹ ἠθέλησε μὲν ¹⁴⁰

mvp-comment-112-5 πρῆσαι ¹⁴¹

mvp-comment-112-6 κατ’ ἄκρας ¹⁴²

mvp-comment-112-7 αἵματος κ. πάσασθαι ¹⁴³

mvp-comment-112-8 τοὺς δὲ … ἄγειν ¹⁴⁴

mvp-comment-113-1 The traditional ἐκκεκηρῦχθαι τάφῳ ¹⁴⁵ ἐκκεκήρυκται τάφῳ ¹⁴⁶ ἐκκεκηρῦχθαι λέγω ¹⁴⁷ τάφῳ ¹⁴⁸ κτερίζειν ¹⁴⁹ τάφῳ ¹⁵⁰ κτερίζειν ¹⁵¹ μήτε ¹⁵² κωκῦσαι ¹⁵³ τάφῳ ¹⁵⁴ λέγω ¹⁵⁵ τάφῳ ¹⁵⁶ ἐκκεκ ¹⁵⁷

mvp-comment-114-1 ἐᾶν δ ¹⁵⁸ ἄθαπτον, αἰκισθέντ’ ἰδεῖν ¹⁵⁹ δέμας καὶ πρὸς οἰωνῶν καὶ πρὸς κυνῶν ἐδεστόν ¹⁶⁰ αἰκισθέντ ¹⁶¹ αἰκισθέντ ¹⁶² ἐδεστόν ¹⁶³ αἰκισθέν τ’, δέμας ¹⁶⁴

mvp-comment-114-2 δέμας ¹⁶⁵

mvp-comment-114-3 ἰδεῖν ¹⁶⁶

mvp-comment-115-1 φρόνημα ¹⁶⁷

mvp-comment-115-2 ἔκ γ’ ἐμοῦ ¹⁶⁸

mvp-comment-116-1 The MSS. have τιμὴν προέξουσ’ ..τῶν ἐνδ. ¹⁶⁹ τιμήν ¹⁷⁰ τιμῆ ¹⁷¹ προσέξους ¹⁷²

mvp-comment-117-1 τιμήσεται ¹⁷³

mvp-comment-118-1 I print Dindorf's κἀς ¹⁷⁴ καὶ ¹⁷⁵ σοὶ ταῦτ’ ἀρέσκει ¹⁷⁶ Κρέον ¹⁷⁷ ταὔτ ¹⁷⁸ ταῦτ’ ¹⁷⁹

mvp-comment-119-1 In παντί πού γ’ ¹⁸⁰ σοί γ’ … που ¹⁸¹ ἔνεστι ¹⁸² χὡπόσοι ζῶμεν ¹⁸³ πέρι ¹⁸⁴

mvp-comment-120-1 ὡς ἂν … ἦτε ¹⁸⁵ πῶς ἂν … εἶτε ¹⁸⁶

mvp-comment-120-2 σκοποί ¹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-120-3 νυν ¹⁸⁸ νῦν ¹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-120-4 τῶν εἰρ ¹⁹⁰

mvp-comment-121-1 πρόθες τοῦτο ¹⁹¹ βαστάζειν ¹⁹²

mvp-comment-121-2 τοῦ νεκροῦ γ’ ¹⁹³

mvp-comment-122-1 τί δῆτ’ ἂν … ἐπεντέλλοις ¹⁹⁴

mvp-comment-122-2 The reading ἄλλῳ ¹⁹⁵ τοῦτο ¹⁹⁶

mvp-comment-122-3 ἐπιχωρεῖν ¹⁹⁷

mvp-comment-122-4 ἀπιστοῦσιν ¹⁹⁸

mvp-comment-122-5 τάδε, ¹⁹⁹

mvp-comment-123-1 ὃς ²⁰⁰ ἐρᾷ ²⁰¹

mvp-comment-123-2 καὶ μὴν ²⁰² γε ²⁰³ μισθός ²⁰⁴

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 ²⁰⁵

mvp-comment-123-5 διώλεσεν ²⁰⁶

mvp-comment-124-1 ἐρῶ μὲν οὐχ ²⁰⁷

mvp-comment-124-2 ὅπως ²⁰⁸

mvp-comment-124-3 τάχους ὕπο ²⁰⁹ τάχους ²¹⁰

mvp-comment-125-1 ἐξάρας ²¹¹

mvp-comment-125-2 φροντίδων ²¹² ἐπιστάσεις ²¹³

mvp-comment-125-3 ὁδοῖς ²¹⁴

mvp-comment-125-4 κυκλῶν ²¹⁵

mvp-comment-126-1 ψυχὴ γὰρ ηὔδα ²¹⁶ πολλὰ ²¹⁷ μυθουμένη ²¹⁸

mvp-comment-127-1 τάλας … τλήμων ²¹⁹

mvp-comment-127-2 μένεις ²²⁰ μενεῖς ²²¹ αὖ ²²²

mvp-comment-127-3 πῶς … οὐκ ²²³

mvp-comment-127-4 ἀλγυνεῖ ²²⁴

mvp-comment-128-1 ἑλίσσων ²²⁵

mvp-comment-128-2 ἤνυτον ²²⁶

mvp-comment-128-3 σχολῇ βραδύς ²²⁷

mvp-comment-129-1 τέλος γε μέντοι ²²⁸

mvp-comment-129-2 ἐνίκησεν ²²⁹

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 ²³⁰ μολεῖν ²³¹ σοί ²³² φράσων ²³³ φράσω δ ²³⁴ κεἰ ²³⁵ κεἴ σοι ²³⁶ σοί. ²³⁷

mvp-comment-130-2 τὸ μηδέν ²³⁸

mvp-comment-131-1 τῆς ἐλπίδος ²³⁹

mvp-comment-131-2 δεδραγμένος ²⁴⁰ πεφραγμένος ²⁴¹ πεπραγμένος ²⁴²

mvp-comment-131-3 τὸ μὴ παθεῖν ἄν ²⁴³

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 ²⁴⁴

mvp-comment-132-1 ἀνθ’ οὗ ²⁴⁵

mvp-comment-132-2 τὸ γὰρ | πρᾶγμ’ ²⁴⁶ γάρ ²⁴⁷

mvp-comment-133-1 εὖ γε στοχάζει ²⁴⁸ στοχάζει ²⁴⁹ ἀποφράγνυσαι ²⁵⁰ στοχάζομαι ²⁵¹

mvp-comment-133-2 κἀποφράγνυσαι ²⁵²

mvp-comment-133-3 τὸ πρᾶγμα ²⁵³

mvp-comment-134-1 δηλοῖς δ’ ὥς τι ς. ²⁵⁴

mvp-comment-135-1 τὰ δεινά ²⁵⁵ γάρ ²⁵⁶

mvp-comment-135-2 ποτ ²⁵⁷

mvp-comment-135-3 ἀπαλλαχθείς ²⁵⁸

mvp-comment-136-1 καὶ δή ²⁵⁹

mvp-comment-136-2 θάψας ²⁶⁰ κἀπί ²⁶¹

mvp-comment-136-3 διψίαν ²⁶²

mvp-comment-136-4 κἀφαγιστεύσας ²⁶³ ἃ χρή ²⁶⁴

mvp-comment-137-1 ἀνδρῶν ²⁶⁵

mvp-comment-137-2 οὔτε του γενῇδος … οὐ δικέλλης ²⁶⁶ οὔτε … οὐ ²⁶⁷ γενῄς ²⁶⁸ γενῄς ²⁶⁹ δίκελλα ²⁷⁰

mvp-comment-137-3 δικ. ἐκβολή ²⁷¹ ἐκβ. ²⁷² στύφλος ²⁷³ χέρσος ²⁷⁴ ἀρρώξ ²⁷⁵

mvp-comment-137-4 ἐπημαξευμένη ²⁷⁶ ἐπ‐ ²⁷⁷ ἐφ‐ ²⁷⁸

mvp-comment-137-5 ἀλλ’ ὁ ἐργάτης ἄσημός τις ἦν ²⁷⁹

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 ²⁸⁰ ἡμεροσκ. ²⁸¹

mvp-comment-138-2 δείκνυσι … παρῆν ²⁸²

mvp-comment-138-3 δυσχερές ²⁸³

mvp-comment-139-1 ὁ μὲν ²⁸⁴

mvp-comment-139-2 τυμβήρης μὲν οὔ ²⁸⁵ τυμβ. ²⁸⁶ λεπτὴ δ’ … ἐπῆν ²⁸⁷

mvp-comment-139-3 ἄγος φεύγοντος ὥς ²⁸⁸ ἄγος ²⁸⁹

mvp-comment-140-1 θηρός ²⁹⁰

mvp-comment-140-2 του ²⁹¹ θηρός ²⁹²

mvp-comment-140-3 οὐ σπάσαντος ²⁹³ οὐ ²⁹⁴ σπάσαντος ²⁹⁵ σπάσαντος οὐδ’ ἐλθόντος ²⁹⁶

mvp-comment-141-1 λόγοι δ’ … φύλακα ²⁹⁷ λόγοι κακοὶ ἐρρόθουν ²⁹⁸ ἐρρόθουν ²⁹⁹

mvp-comment-141-2

γλώσσης ῥόθος

, of an unintelligible jargon.

mvp-comment-141-3 ἐλέγχων ³⁰⁰

mvp-comment-141-4 κἂν ἐγίγνετο ³⁰¹

mvp-comment-141-5 τελευτῶς ³⁰²

mvp-comment-141-6 ὁ κωλύσων ³⁰³

mvp-comment-142-1 ἦν … οὑξειργ. ³⁰⁴

mvp-comment-142-2 ἐναργής ³⁰⁵

mvp-comment-142-3 ἀλλ’ ³⁰⁶

mvp-comment-142-4 ἕφευγε μὴ εἰδέναι ³⁰⁷

mvp-comment-142-5 μὴ ³⁰⁸ εἰδέναι ³⁰⁹

mvp-comment-143-1 μύδρους ³¹⁰

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 ³¹¹

mvp-comment-144-2 θεοὺς ὁρκ. ³¹³

mvp-comment-144-3 τὸ μήτε δρ ³¹⁴

mvp-comment-144-4 μήτ’ είργασμένῳ ³¹⁵ μηδ ³¹⁶

mvp-comment-145-1 πλέον ³¹⁷

mvp-comment-145-2 λέγει ³¹⁸

mvp-comment-145-3 τις εἷς ³¹⁹

mvp-comment-146-1 προὔτρεψεν ³²⁰

mvp-comment-146-2 οὐ γὰρ εἴχομεν ³²¹

mvp-comment-146-3 As ἀντιφωνεῖν ³²² δρῶντες ³²³ ὅπως δρῶντες ³²⁴ εἴχομεν ³²⁵

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

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.