Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus 1526

mvp-comment-937-1 οὖ τίς οὐ ζήλῳ … ταῖς τύχαις ἐπέβλ., ¹ τίς ² ἐπέβλεπεν ³ ἐπιβλέπων ⁴ καί ⁵ ταῖς ⁶

1526. mvp-comment-847-1 The unintelligible reading of this line, which appears in most MSS, †ὅστις οὐ ζήλῳ πολιτῶν καὶ τύχαις ἐπιβλέπων†, has been changed to ov τις οὐ ζηλῶν πολιτῶν καὶ τύχαις ἐπιβλέπων = Whom which of the citizens did not envy, and gaze on his fortunes?' and to ὃν τις οὐ ζήλῳ πολιτῶν τῆς τύχης ἐπέβλεπεν; Another solution of the difficulty is to suppose that a line following this one has been lost. Who did not' (after the manner of tyrants) [maintain his power] 'by envy of the citizens and by keeping an eye upon their fortunes; i. e. Oedipus was a wise and popular ruler, not like Thrasybulus or Periander, who cut off the tallest heads of grain. Cp Pind. Pyth. 3. 71, πραὺς ἀστοῖς, οὐ φθονέων ἀγαθοῖς. But the transition from the dative to the participle is harsh; and ζῆλοs is not φθόνος. The reading of VM, ἐν for οὐ, and the gloss ἐπαιρόμενοs in ME, suggest a different line of conjecture, viz. that some other verb is concealed in ἐπιβλέπων. ἐπιφλέγων would harmonize well with κλύδωνα in the following line, both together suggesting an image of brightness quenched. Cp. Aesch. S. c. Τ. 772, τίν᾿ ἀνδρῶν γὰρ τοσόνδ᾽ ἐθαύμασαν θεοὶ καὶ ξυνέστιοι πόλεος, κ τ.λ.: Ib. 758, κακῶν δ᾽ ὥσπερ θάλασσα κῦμ᾿ ἄγει: Pind. P. 11. 45, δύξ᾽ ἐπιφλέγει. The Naples MS. No. 291 (II. F. 34), (quoted by Elmsley as Farn.'), has τ/ἐπιβλέπων. There still remains the awkwardness of ὅστις with the participle. The emendation above attempted removes this: but is no doubt only one of several possible expedients. IP may have been lost after ἀνήρ (ΗΡΠΡ); and the remaining letters of πρῶτος, ΟΤΟΣ, might then be changed to ὅστις; cp. supr. 478 (ὁτ.-ώστ.), Ο. C. 775 (τισ τοσ). For ζῆλος πολιτῶν as equivalent τo εὐδαιμονία, cp. esp. Aj. 503, οίας λατρείας ἀνθ᾽ ὅσου ζήλου τρέφει: Thuc. 2. 64, ὅστις δ᾽ ἐπὶ μεγίστοις τὸ ἐπίφθονον λαμβάνει, ὀρθῶς βουλεύεται: Pind. 1. 85, κρέσσων γὰρ οἰκτιρμοῦ φθόνος.