Sophocles Antigone 883

ed. Francis Storr

Table of Contents

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Card By Line
← Previous Next →

Antigone. Sophocles. ed. Francis Storr. London. 1912.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Ἀντιγόνη (Greek) (Sophocles, Volume 1. Storr, Francis, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann Ltd.; The Macmillan Company, 1912.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (11)
Greek (L. Benloew, 1858) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (L. Benloew, 1858)) — 883 focus
ἆρ᾽ ἴστ᾽, ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν,
ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ᾽ ἂν, εἰ χρείη λέγειν;
οὐκ ἄξεθ᾽ ὡς τάχιστα, καὶ, κατηρεφεῖ
880
τύμβῳ περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ᾽ ἐγὼ,
ἄφετε, μόνην, ἔρημον, εἴτε χρὴ θανεῖν,
εἴτ᾽ ἐν τοιαύτῃ ζῶσα 1 τυμβεύσειν στέγῃ·
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁγνοὶ τοὐπὶ τήνδε τὴν κόρην·
μετοικίας δ᾽ οὖν τῆς ἄνω στερήσεται.
885
Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 883 focus
Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 883 focus
ἆρ᾽ ἴστ᾽, ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν,
ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ᾽ ἂν, εἰ χρείη λέγειν;
οὐκ ἄξεθ᾽ ὡς τάχιστα, καὶ κατηρεφεῖ
870
τύμβῳ περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ᾽ ἐγὼ,
ἄπιτε, μόνην, ἔρημον, εἴτε χρὴ θανεῖν,
εἴτ᾽ ἐν τοιαύτῃ ζῶσα τυμβεύσει στέγῃ·
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁγνοὶ τοὐπὶ τήνδε τὴν κόρην,
μετοικίας δ᾽ οὖν τῆς ἄνω στερήσεται.
875
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 883 focus
ἆρ᾽ ἴστ᾽, ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν,
ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ' ἄν, εἰ χρείη λέγειν;
οὐκ ἄξεθ᾽ ὡς τάχιστα, καὶ κατηρεφεῖ
885
τύμβῳ περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ᾽ ἐγώ,
ἄφετε μόνην ἔρημον, εἴτε χρὴ θανεῖν,
εἴτ᾿ ἐν τοιαύτῃ ζῶσα τυμβεύσει στέγῃ·
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁγνοὶ τοὐπὶ τήνδε τὴν κόρην·
μετοικίας δ᾽ οὖν τῆς ἄνω στερήσεται.
890
Greek (A. Colonna, 1978) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Colonna, 1978)) — 883 focus
ἆρ᾽ ἴστ᾽ ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν
ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ᾽ ἄν, εἰ χρείη λέγειν;
οὐκ ἄξεθ᾽ ὡς τάχιστα, καὶ κατηρεφεῖ
885
τύμβῳ περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ' ἐγώ,
ἄφετε μόνην ἔρημον, εἴτε χρῇ θανεῖν,
εἴτ᾽ ἐν τοιαύτῃ ζῶσα τυμβεύειν στέγῃ.
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁγνοὶ τοὐπὶ τήνδε τὴν κόρην·
μετοικίας δ᾽ οὖν τῆς ἄνω στερήσεται.
890
Greek (A. Dain, 1955) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. Dain, 1955)) — 883 focus
ἆρ’ ἴστ’ ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν
ὡς οὐδ’ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ’ ἄν, εἰ χρείη λέγειν;
οὐκ ἄξεθ’ ὡς τάχιστα, καὶ κατηρεφεῖ
885
τύμβῳ περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ’ ἐγώ,
ἄφετε μόνην ἔρημον, εἴτε χρῇ θανεῖν,
εἴτ’ ἐν τοιαύτῃ ζῶσα τυμβεύειν στέγῃ.
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁγνοὶ τοὐπὶ τήνδε τὴν κόρην·
μετοικίας δ’ οὖν τῆς ἄνω στερήσεται.
890
Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. D. Dawe, 1979)) — 883 focus
ἆρ᾽ ἴστ᾽ ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν
ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ᾽ ἄν, εἰ χρείη λέγειν;
οὐκ ἄξεθ᾽ ὡς τάχιστα; καὶ κατηρεφεῖ
885
τύμβωι περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ᾽ ἐγώ,
ἄφετε μόνην, ἔρημον, εἴτε χρῆι θανεῖν
εἴτ᾽ ἐν τοιαύτηι ζῶσα τυμβεύειν στέγηι·
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁγνοὶ τοὐπὶ τήνδε τὴν κόρην·
μετοικίας δ᾽ οὖν τῆς ἄνω στερήσεται.
890
Greek (G. Hermann, 1830) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (G. Hermann, 1830)) — 883 focus
ἆρ᾽ ἴστ᾽, ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν,
ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ᾽ ἄν, εἰ χρείη λέγειν;
875
οὐκ ἄξεθ᾽ ὡς τάχιστα; καὶ κατηρεφεῖ
τύμβῳ περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ᾽ ἐγώ,
ἄφετε μόνην ἔρημον, εἰ χρῄζει, θανεῖν,
εἴτ᾽ ἐν τοιαύτῃ ζῶσα τυμβεύειν στέγῃ.
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁγνοὶ τοὐπὶ τήνδε τὴν κόρην·
880
μετοικίας δ᾽ οὖν τῆς ἄνω στερήσεται.
Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (R. C. Jebb, 1906)) — 883 focus
ἆρ᾽ ἴστ᾽, ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν
ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ' ἄν, εἰ χρείη λέγειν;
οὐκ ἄξεθ᾽ ὡς τάχιστα; καὶ κατηρεφεῖ
885
τύμβῳ περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ᾽ ἐγώ,
ἄφετε μόνην ἔρημον, εἴτε χρῇ θανεῖν
εἴτ᾽ ἐν τοιαύτῃ ζῶσα τυμβεύειν στέγῃ·
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁγνοὶ τοὐπὶ τήνδε τὴν κόρην·
μετοικίας δ᾽ οὖν τῆς ἄνω στερήσεται.
890
Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (A. C. Pearson, 1924)) — 883 focus
ἆρ᾽ ἴστ᾽ ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν
ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ᾽ ἄν, εἰ χρείη, λέγων;
οὐκ ἄξεθ᾽ ὡς τάχιστα, καὶ κατηρεφεῖ
885
τύμβῳ περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ᾽ ἐγώ,
ἄφετε μόνην ἐρῆμον, εἴτε χρῇ θανεῖν
εἴτ᾽ ἐν τοιαύτῃ ζῶσα τυμβεύειν στέγῃ·
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁγνοὶ τοὐπὶ τήνδε τὴν κόρην·
μετοικίας δ᾽ οὖν τῆς ἄνω στερήσεται.
890
Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (K. Reinhardt, 1949)) — 883 focus
ἆρ' ἴστ᾽, ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν
ὡς οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ᾽ ἄν, εἰ χρείη λέγειν;
οὐκ ἄξεθ᾽ ὡς τάχιστα; καὶ κατηρεφεῖ
885
τύμβωι περιπτύξαντες, ὡς εἴρηκ᾽ ἐγώ,
ἄφετε μόνην ἔρημον, εἴτε χρῆι θανεῖν
εἴτ᾽ ἐν τοιαύτηι ζῶσα τυμβεύειν στέγηι.
ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁγνοὶ τοὐπὶ τήνδε τὴν κόρην·
μετοικίας δ᾽ οὖν τῆς ἄνω στερήσεται.
890
Translations (11)
German (A. Boeckh, 1884) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (A. Boeckh, 1884)) — 883 focus
Wifst ihr, dafs keiner vor dem Tod mit Klaggesang
und Jammern enden würde, frommten diese noch?
Fort, schnell mit ihr von hinnen; und schloſst ihr sie dann
ins Grab, das dicht bedeckte, wie ich es gebot,
850
so lafst allein sie, einsam, ob sie sterben nun,
ob lebend wohnen mög' in solchem Grabeshaus:
denn wir sind rein, was diese Jungfrau hier betrifft:
nur mitzuwohnen oben bleibt ihr nicht erlaubt.
Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (J. A. Bolufer, 1921)) — 883 focus
¿Acaso no sabéis que de cantos y lloros antes de morir no hay ninguno que desistiera si le hubieran de ser útiles? Que os la llevéis en seguida; y una vez la encerréis en aquella abovedada tumba, como os he mandado, dejadla sola y abandonada, ya desee morir, ya desposarse viviendo en tal morada; que yo quedo exento del delito de sacrilegio por lo que se refiere a esta muchacha; porque sólo se la privará de habitar entre los vivos.
Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806) (OCR draft) Experimental (Latin (F. H. Bothe, 1806)) — 883 focus
Scitisne, querelae et luctus si morituris prodessent, neminem fore, qui iis desinat?
Quin abducitis hanc quam citissime, et postquam eam, ut iussi , incluseritis solam desertamque in obtecto sepulcro, abibitis: sive ibi moritura sit, sive sub hoc tecto sepulta aevum ducat. Nos enim immunes sumus piaculi, puellae huius caussa ; sed nullum ei cum superis erit consortium.
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 883 focus
If criminals were suffered to complain
In dirges before death, they ne’er would end.
Away with her at once, and closing her,
885
As I commanded, in the vaulty tomb,
Leave her all desolate, whether to die,
Or to live on in that sepulchral cell.
We are guiltless in the matter of this maid;
Only she shall not share the light of day.
890
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 883 focus
Sagt, würde Iemand vor dem Tod mit Weheruf
Und Jammern enden, hülfe noch die Klage hier?
Auf, eilt mit ihr von hinnen, und verschloßt ihr sie
In's düstre Grabgewölbe, wie mein Wort gebot,
875
So laßt sie einsam und allein, sie sterbe nun,
Sie wohne lebend dort versenkt im engen Haus;
An dieser Jungfrau haben wir ja keine Schuld;
Nur mitzuwohnen hier im Licht ist ihr versagt.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 883 focus
Know ye not, slaves like her, to death
devoted,
Would never cease their wailings ? Wherefore is it
885
You thus delay to execute my orders ?
Let her be carried instant to the cave.
And leave her there alone, to live, or die ;
Her blood rests not on us ; but she no longer
Shall breathe on earth, [#xit CRrEox,
890
Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889) (OCR draft) Experimental (Spanish (A. G. Garbin, 1889)) — 883 focus
No conoceis que si estos llantos y lamentaciones sirvieran á los condenados á muerte, ¿no habría uno que les pusiera término?—Ea, pues, lleyárosla sin dilación; y, encerrada en su tumba subterránea, muera, si gusta, y si no, que viva cuanto quiera dentro del sepulcro.—Nosotros quedamos exentos del delito de sacrilegio por lo que respecta á cesa joven; y ella cesará por su parte de tener comunicación con este mundo.
German (F. Hölderlin, 1804) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (F. Hölderlin, 1804)) — 883 focus
English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb1, 1904)) — 883 focus
Know ye not that songs and wailings before death would never cease, if it profited to utter them? Away with her—away! And when ye have enclosed her, according to my word, in her vaulted grave, leave her alone, forlorn—whether she wishes to die, or to live a buried life in such a home. Our hands are clean as 890 touching this maiden. But this is certain—she shall be deprived of her sojourn in the light.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 883 focus
From human footsteps far removed, alive
Touch'd with religious awe: but the high pow'r ....
Of those invested with the sovereign rule ז'ניי
May never be transgress'd. Indignant pride,
Fix'd to its purpose, hath thy ruin wrought......
No pitying tear, no friend, no nuptial rites
Are mine, as thus unhappy I am led
This destined way. No more shall I behold
The sacred orb of yon bright-beaming sun;
895
Yet not one friend laments or weeps my fate.
895
If mournful cries and wailings before death
Avail'd, there is not one, be well assured, LOI
That e'er would cease them. Instant take her hence,
Enclose her in the rock's sepulchral cave,
As I commanded, leave her there alone,...
Either to die, or there to live entomb'd.
We from her death receive no stain: but she
900
No more shall with the living converse hold.T
900
O thou dark tomb, thou rugged bridal bed, D
Deep mansion, which shalt ever close me round,
To thee I go; I go to join my friends,
A numerous train, whom sunk among the dead
Hath Proserpine received. I go the last coli
And most unhappy, ere th' allotted space...!
Of life I reach. Yet glowing at my heart.....
905
I feed this hope, that to my father dear,
905
And dear to thee, my mother, dear to thee, ol
My brother, I shall go; since with these 'hands
Your bodies I with cleansing lavers wash'd,
Added each ritual ornament, and pour'd
Libations at your tombs. And now thy corse,
Loved Polynices, in the earth I laid,
And for the pious deed have this reward;
910
Yet those of better judgment will approve i
910
My care, which paid these honours to the dead.
Where I a mother now, were I a wife,
Mouldering in death if child or husband lay,
I would not, if the state opposed the deed,
In such a task engage. Ask you what rules
Direct my conduct? If an husband dies,
Another might be wedded; to a child,
915
One lost, another father might give birth:
915
But when both parents in the earth are laid
Entomb'd, a brother can no more be born.
Me, by these thoughts impell'd with hallow'd rites
To honour thee, my brother, Creon deem'd
Deep-stain'd with guilt, and daring heinous deeds;
He seized me, with rude hands he leads me now
Of nuptial rites, of hymeneal song,
920
Of bridal bed deprived, and the sweet joys
920
A mother in her children's nurture knows;
But thus oppress'd with wretchedness, by friends
Abandon'd, to the caves of death I go
Alive. What rites, what honours of the gods
Have I transgress'd? But why, unhappy me,
Why to the gods look more? What heav'nly pow'r
Shall I invoke, since for my pious deeds
925
I bear the vengeance to the impious due?
925
If this the justice of the gods demands,
And I offend, these sufferings I forgive :
If these offend, no greater ill be theirs
Than they to me unjustly have assign'd.
English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb2, 1904)) — 883 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-525-1 ἆρ’ ἴστε 1 λέγειν 2 ἀοιδὰς καὶ γόους 3 ἴστε 4

mvp-comment-525-2 οὐδ’ ἂν εἷς 5

mvp-comment-526-1 οὐκ ἄξεθ’ 6 τάχιστα.—κατηρεφεῖ 7

mvp-comment-527-1 περιπτύξαντες 8

mvp-comment-528-1 χρῇ 9 ζῶσα 10 χρῇ 11

mvp-comment-528-2

σιγῆν
; but the MSS. are supported by the testimony of Suidas and Hesychius to
χρῇς
as=
χρῄζεις
. In the other four places where these forms are usu. read, they are not indispensable,
χρή
being possible; but in two, at least, they are much better than
χρή
, viz. El. 606
κήρυσσέ μ’ εἰς ἅπαντας, εἴτε χρῇς κακήν, | εἴτε στόμαργον, κ.τ.λ.
: and Ai. 1373
σοὶ δὲ δρᾶν ἔξεσθ’ ἃ χρῇς
. In the other two,
χρή
might well stand: Eur. fr. 910
πρὸς ταῦθ’ ὅ τι χρῇ καὶ παλαμάσθω | καὶ πᾶν ἐπ’ ἐμοὶ τεκταινέσθω
: Cratinus
Νόμοι
fr. 2
νῦν γὰρ δή σοι πάρα μὲν θεσμοὶ | τῶν ἡμετέρων, πάρα δ’ ἄλλ’ ὅ τι χρῇς
. Except in Ach. 778 , the MSS. everywhere give
χρή
: and the variants in the next v. (see cr. n.) show that
χρῇ
was strange to the copyists, though known to the Scholiast.

mvp-comment-529-1 ζῶσα τυμβεύειν 12 νυμφεύειν 13

mvp-comment-529-2 στέγῃ 14

mvp-comment-530-1 ἁγνοί 15

mvp-comment-530-2 τοὐπὶ τήνδε 16

mvp-comment-531-1 μετοικίας 17

mvp-comment-531-2 δ’ οὖν 18

mvp-comment-531-3 στερήσεται 19

mvp-comment-532-1 ὦ τύμβος 20

mvp-comment-532-2 νυμφεῖον 21

mvp-comment-532-3 κατασκαφής 22

mvp-comment-533-1 ἀριθμὸν … πλεϊστον 23

mvp-comment-533-2 ἐν νεκροῖς 24 δέδεκται 25

mvp-comment-533-3

πύλαι
to Hades ( O. C. 1569 f.). So Oedipus is led by
Ἑρμῆς ὁ πομπὸς ἥ τε νερτέρα θεός
( ib. 1548 ). As
ἡ ἀφανὴς θεός
she is associated with Hades ( ib. 1556 ).

mvp-comment-533-4 Φερσέφασσα 26 Φ 27

mvp-comment-534-1 κάκιστα 28 δή 29

mvp-comment-534-2 μοῖραν … βίου 30 ἐξήκειν 31

mvp-comment-535-1 ἐν ἐλπίσιν τρέφω 32 φίλη μὲν … προσφιλὴς δέ 33

mvp-comment-536-1 κασίγνητον κάρα 34 νῦν δέ 35

mvp-comment-537-1 ὑμᾶς 36

mvp-comment-537-2 ἔλουσα κἀκόσμησα 37

mvp-comment-537-3 χοάς 38

mvp-comment-537-4 περιστέλλουσα 39

mvp-comment-537-5 δέμας 40

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

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

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

mvp-comment-538-3 ’τίμησα 41 εὖ 42 τοῖς φρονοῦσιν 43

mvp-comment-539-1 ἐτήκετο 44

mvp-comment-540-1 βίᾳ πολιτῶν 45

mvp-comment-541-1 πρὸς χάριν 46

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

ἀνὴρ μέν μοι ἂν ἄλλος γένοιτο, εἰ δαίμων ἐθέλοι, καὶ τέκνα ἄλλα, εἰ ταῦτα ἀποβάλοιμι· πατρὸς δὲ καὶ μητρὸς οὐκέτι μοι ζωόντων, ἀδελφεὸς ἂν ἄλλος οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ γένοιτο
(3.119.6) . Arist. Rhet. 3.16 § 9 (if you introduce a trait of character which will seem improbable, the reason ofit should be added):
ἂν δ’ ἄπιστον ᾖ, τότε τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπιλέγειν, ὥσπερ Σοφοκλῆς ποιεῖ παράδειγμα τὸ ἐκ τῆς Ἀντιγόνης, ὅτι μᾶλλον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἐκήδετο ἢ ἀνδρὸς ἢ τέκνων· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἂν γενέσθαι ἀπολόμενα
[this=vv. 909, 910]:
μητρὸς δ’ ἐν ᾅδου κ.τ.λ.
(he then quotes 911 f., with
βεβηκότων
,—a mere slip of memory: see on 223
).

mvp-comment-542-2 Three points in these vv. are strange. (1) The gen. abs. κατθανόντος 47 πόσις 48 ἀπ’ ἄλλου φωτός 49

mvp-comment-543-1 ἐκπροτιμήσασ’ 50

mvp-comment-544-1 διὰ χερῶν … λαβών 51

mvp-comment-545-1 ἀνυμέναιον 52

mvp-comment-546-1 ἀλλ’ 53

mvp-comment-546-2 πρὸς φίλων 54 ἔρημος 55

mvp-comment-547-1 δαιμόνων δίκην 56

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

mvp-comment-548-2 βλέπειν 57

mvp-comment-548-3 τίνα … ξυμμάχων 58

mvp-comment-548-4 ἐπεί γε δή 59

mvp-comment-548-5 τὴν δυσσέβειαν 60

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

mvp-comment-549-2 by ἀλλ’ οὖν 61

mvp-comment-549-3 ἐν θεοῖς 62

mvp-comment-549-4 ξυγγνοῖμεν 63

mvp-comment-549-5 ἡμαρτηκότες 64 παθόντες 65

mvp-comment-550-1 οἵδε 66

mvp-comment-550-2 μὴ πλείω 67 μείω 68

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

883. mvp-comment-501-1 ἀοιδὰς .. πρὸ τοῦ θανεῖν Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1444-1445, ἡ δέ τοι κύκνου δί· κην | τὸν ὕστατον μέλψασα θανάσιμον γόον | κεῖται φιλήτωρ τοῦδε.

884. mvp-comment-502-1 εἰ χρείη If it were allowed. Ср. О. Т. 1110, εἰ χρή τι κἀμὲ μὴ συναλλάξαντά πω, | πρέσβυ, σταθμᾶσθαι: Ο. C. 1711, πῶς με χρὴ τὸ σὸν τάλαιναν ἀφανίσαι τοσόνδ' ἄχος. This modified use of χρή = One is to, not One must,' is only possible in hypothetical or interrogative sentences.

887. mvp-comment-503-1 ἄφετε This is on the whole more probable than ἄπιτε. The change from the future with οὐκ to the imperative has probably occasioned the corruption of the text.

887. mvp-comment-503-2 χρή This the Scholiast explained by χρήσει, i. e. he read χρῇ. And this is necessary, if τυμβεύειν is read in 888. But τυμβεύσει, the reading of Triclinius, is supported by τυμβεύει in AV³. Whether she must die there, or shall live a buried life in that dark cell. For εἰ .. χρή, cp. Εl. 399, πεσούμεθ', εἰ χρή, πατρὶ τιμωρούμενοι. And for τυμβεύσει, see Essay on Language p. 64 b. The intransitive use of τυμβεύειν occurs nowhere else.

889. mvp-comment-504-1 Creon claims to be pure from the blood of Antigone, because he has altered the doom of stoning (1. 36) to that of immurement, and because of the modicum of food that is to be shut in with her, ὡς ἄγος (1. 775).

890. mvp-comment-505-1 'At all events she shall no longer share the right of dwelling with us in the light of day.'

891-892. mvp-comment-506-1 'O cavernous abode of long imprisonment, at once my bridal-chamber and my tomb.'

896. mvp-comment-507-1 πρὶν .. βίου 'Before my allotted portion of life is spent.' Cp. Il. 4. 170, μοῖραν ἀναπλήσῃς βιότοιο. For ἐξήκειν, cp. Τr. 147, ἀλλ᾽ ἡδοναῖς ἄμοχθον ἐξαίρει βίον | ἐς τοῦθ', ἕως ἄν, κ.τ.λ.

897. mvp-comment-508-1 κάρτ᾽ ἐν ἐλπίσιν τρέφω I do cherish it amongst my hopes.

899. mvp-comment-509-1 κασίγνητον κάρα This must be addressed to Polynices, who is most in the thoughts of the spectators, and is again invoked in the same words in 1.915: not to Eteocles, of whose burial Antigone only knew by hearsay, supr. 23 ff. The difficulty of reconciling this with the following lines has been adduced as one of several reasons for rejecting the passage from l. 900 to l. 928 in whole or in part. The lines 905-912 are apt to appear to modern readers, as they did to Goethe, a blemish in a place which might have been expected to be most carefully finished. The saying, which Herodotus, 3. 119, attributes almost in the same terms to the wife of Intaphernes, would seem from this to have had a wide currency in Ionia-for it is a precarious supposition that either author derived it from the other-and fell in with the natural tendency of Greek life to exalt the bond of brotherhood above all other ties of affection and kindred. The general feeling of the speech is well traced by Seyffert. Antigone, when brought face to face with death, in utter isolation from human sympathy, comes down from the lofty tone she had assumed in her first answer to Creon, and recognizes the simple fact that it was the strength of her affection which impelled her to defy the law. Her love for Poly- nices was wonderful, passing the love that could be felt for a husband or a child. She dilates on this and justifies it by a primitive sophism, which the passage of Herodotus cited above shows to be more in the spirit of the time of Sophocles or of the age preceding him than of any later period. If the Antigone is the earliest of the seven plays (see Introduction), we need not be surprised by an archaism of thought which is much less remarkable than several which occur in Aeschylus. In an early English ballad, called the Douglas Tragedy, a woman interceding for the life of her father, whom her lover would slay, gives the following reason :-'True lovers I can get many a one, | But a father I'll never get more.'

900-901. mvp-comment-510-1 In these lines she is thinking of her father and mother. The libation only had been given to Polynices, who is specially mentioned in the following line. Ll. 900, I could not have been written after O. C. 1756 ff.

903. mvp-comment-511-1 περιστέλλουσα Decking for burial,' and SO also protecting from insult. 904. And certainly those who consider rightly will say I did honour thee. For the dative, see Essay on Language § 13. p. 19. Others take e with ἐτίμησα, but for the stress, it was a real honour,'-cp. the emphatic use of ἄνηρ, Ο. C. 393, and of ὕβρις, ib. 882.

905. mvp-comment-512-1 Feeling the incongruity of saying, If I had lost a child, she says, If I had had children, leaving the further supposition to be implied. Mm2

906. mvp-comment-513-1 κατθανὼν ἐτήκετο Had been wasting in death. Cp. 1. 410, μυδῶν τε σῶμα γυμνώσαντες εὖ.

907. mvp-comment-514-1 βίᾳ πολιτών Cp. supr. 74, 5. Creon is the representative of the State, and the elders in supr. 872 ff. have confirmed his sentence. Antigone is throughout perfectly conscious of the nature of her action, and at this moment she sees more clearly than ever the audacity of it. But even after the impulse has subsided she goes resolutely, though sadly, to her fate.

908. mvp-comment-515-1 νόμου Principle. Cp. supr. ll. 191, 613.

909. mvp-comment-516-1 κατθανόντος Sc. τοῦ πόσεως.

910. mvp-comment-517-1 τοῦδε τοῦ παιδός.

912. mvp-comment-518-1 οὐκ ἔστ᾿ .. ποτέ Although not strictly logical, this is much more touching and expressive than οὐκ ἔσθ' ὅπως ἀδελφὸς ἂν βλάστοι ποτέ, which it has been proposed to substitute here.

916. mvp-comment-519-1 διὰ χερῶν .. λαβών διά lit. = Between. Cp. διαλαμβάνω in Hdt., e.g. 1. 114, ἐκέλευε αὐτὸν τοὺς ἄλλους παῖδας διαλαβεῖν: Plat. Rep. В. 10. p. 615 Ε, τοὺς μὲν διαλαβόντες ἦγον.

918. mvp-comment-520-1 παιδείου τροφῆς The rearing of children. This is censured by Dindorf as unmaidenly: but cp. El. 963-966, καὶ τῶνδε μέντοι μηκέτ᾽ ἐλπίσῃς ὅπως | τεύξει ποτ· οὐ γὰρ ὧδ᾽ ἄβουλός ἐστ᾿ ἀνὴρ | Αἴγισθος, ὥστε σόν ποτ᾿ ἡ κἀμὸν γένος | βλαστεῖν ἐᾶσαι, πημονὴν αὐτῷ σαφή : Eur. Ion 485 ff., ἐμοὶ μὲν πλούτου τε πάρος | βασιλικῶν τ' εἶεν θαλάμων | τροφαὶ κήδειοι κεδνῶν τέκνων, κ.τ.λ. For the active sense of τροφή in the passage last quoted and in the text, see Essay on Language $ 53. p. 98, and cp. El. 1143 ff., οἴμοι τάλαινα τῆς ἐμῆς πάλαι τροφῆς | ἀνωφελήτου, τὴν ἐγὼ θάμ᾽ ἀμφί σοι | πόνῳ γλυκεῖ πάρεσχον.

919. mvp-comment-521-1 ἔρημος πρὸς φίλων For the redundant preposition, see Essay on Language §19. p. 28.

920. mvp-comment-522-1 θανάτων, which occurs only in L and M³, is very unlikely to have been changed to θανόντων in the Byzantine period. The latter is therefore probably the authentic reading, and not merely due to conjecture.

921-922. mvp-comment-523-1 ποίαν..; τί χρή ..; The suddenness of these transitions is very expressive of the agitation of Antigone's mind. Her fate leads her even to doubt the providence of the gods, but not to admit that she has done wrong. She will make the admission when death has taught it her, but not before. If her judges are wrong they will suffer too.

922-923. mvp-comment-524-1 ἐς θεοὺς .. βλέπειν Cp. El. 925, μηδὲν ἐς κεῖνόν γ᾽ ὅρα.

923. mvp-comment-525-1 ξυμμάχων ; The partitive genitive expresses with greater emphasis what might have been expressed by the accusative.

923. mvp-comment-525-2 ἐπεί γε δή The momentary doubt about the vindication of right in the world heightens the tragic effect. Cp. Phil. 428, τί δῆτα δεῖ σκοπεῖν; ib. 451, 2, ποῦ χρὴ τίθεσθαι ταῦτα, ποῦ δ᾽ αἰνεῖν, ὅταν | τὰ θεῖ᾽ ἐπαινῶν, τοὺς θεοὺς εὕρω κακούς; Trach. 1266: Aj. 950 ff.

924. mvp-comment-526-1 τὴν δυσσέβειαν The vice of impiety is confused with the blame of impiety, just as ἀρετή sometimes means a reputation for virtue. Cp. Phil. 1443, ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια συνθνήσκει βροτοῖς. Εςsay on L. p. 95.

925. mvp-comment-527-1 If, after all, this course of theirs is approved in heaven, when I have suffered I suppose I shall acknowledge my fault. The emphatic position of παθόντες implies, After I have suffered, but not before.' K εγ

927. mvp-comment-528-1 μὴ πλείω κακὰ | πάθοιεν This has actually been interpreted as a prayer of Antigone for her enemies. Others explain it as a warning to them Let them see to it that they do not suffer more. The real meaning is, that she cannot imprecate heavier sufferings on them than they are inflicting on her. Let them suffer, I will not say more, but the same evils which they unrighteously inflict on me. For a curse, similarly half-checked in utterance, with μή. cp. Phil. 961, ὅλοιο μή πω, πρὶν μάθοιμ᾽ εἰ καὶ πάλιν | γνώμην μετοίσεις. To translate this Mayest thou not perish yet, would be a similar mistake to that which has caused the difficulty about the present passage. It is true, however, that Antigone's tone is rather that of one who judges, than of one who condescends to ban her enemies.

927. mvp-comment-528-2 οἴδε Sc. οἱ πολίται. See above, 1.907 and note.