δόλιον ἀγύρτην, ὅστις ἐν τοῖς κέρδεσιν
Oedipus Tyrannus. Sophocles. ed. Lewis Campbell. Oxford. 1879.
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Current edition Experimental
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Greek) (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879))
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
Editions (1)
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 463-511 focus
Χορός
τίς ὅντινʼ ἁ θεσπιέπεια Δελφὶς εἶπε πέτρα
ἄρρητʼ ἀρρήτων τελέσαντα φοινίαισι χερσίν;
465
ὥρα νιν ἀελλάδων
ἵππων σθεναρώτερον
φυγᾷ πόδα νωμᾶν.
ἔνοπλος γὰρ ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἐπενθρῴσκει
πυρὶ καὶ στεροπαῖς ὁ Διὸς γενέτας,
470
δειναὶ δʼ ἅμʼ ἕπονται
κῆρες ἀναπλάκητοι
τίς ὅντινʼ ἁ θεσπιέπεια Δελφὶς εἶπε πέτρα
ἄρρητʼ ἀρρήτων τελέσαντα φοινίαισι χερσίν;
465
ὥρα νιν ἀελλάδων
ἵππων σθεναρώτερον
φυγᾷ πόδα νωμᾶν.
ἔνοπλος γὰρ ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἐπενθρῴσκει
πυρὶ καὶ στεροπαῖς ὁ Διὸς γενέτας,
470
δειναὶ δʼ ἅμʼ ἕπονται
κῆρες ἀναπλάκητοι
Χορός
ἔλαμψε γὰρ τοῦ νιφόεντος ἀρτίως φανεῖσα
φάμα Παρνασοῦ τὸν ἄδηλον ἄνδρα πάντʼ ἰχνεύειν.
φοιτᾷ γὰρ ὑπʼ ἀγρίαν
475
ὕλαν ἀνά τʼ ἄντρα καὶ
πέτρας ἰσόταυρος
μέλεος μελέῳ ποδὶ χηρεύων,
τὰ μεσόμφαλα γᾶς ἀπονοσφίζων
480
μαντεῖα· τὰ δʼ ἀεὶ
ζῶντα περιποτᾶται.
ἔλαμψε γὰρ τοῦ νιφόεντος ἀρτίως φανεῖσα
φάμα Παρνασοῦ τὸν ἄδηλον ἄνδρα πάντʼ ἰχνεύειν.
φοιτᾷ γὰρ ὑπʼ ἀγρίαν
475
ὕλαν ἀνά τʼ ἄντρα καὶ
πέτρας ἰσόταυρος
μέλεος μελέῳ ποδὶ χηρεύων,
τὰ μεσόμφαλα γᾶς ἀπονοσφίζων
480
μαντεῖα· τὰ δʼ ἀεὶ
ζῶντα περιποτᾶται.
Χορός
δεινὰ μὲν οὖν, δεινὰ ταράσσει σοφὸς οἰωνοθέτας
οὔτε δοκοῦντʼ οὔτʼ ἀποφάσκονθʼ· ὅ τι λέξω δʼ ἀπορῶ.
485
πέτομαι δʼ ἐλπίσιν οὔτʼ, ἐνθάδʼ ὁρῶν οὔτʼ ὀπίσω.
τί γὰρ ἢ Λαβδακίδαις
ἢ τῷ Πολύβου νεῖκος ἔκειτʼ, οὔτε πάροιθέν ποτʼ ἔγωγʼ
490
ἔμαθον, πρὸς ὅτου δὴ βασανίζων βασάνῳ
ἐπὶ τὰν ἐπίδαμον φάτιν εἶμʼ Οἰδιπόδα Λαβδακίδαις
ἐπίκουρος ἀδήλων θανάτων.
495
δεινὰ μὲν οὖν, δεινὰ ταράσσει σοφὸς οἰωνοθέτας
οὔτε δοκοῦντʼ οὔτʼ ἀποφάσκονθʼ· ὅ τι λέξω δʼ ἀπορῶ.
485
πέτομαι δʼ ἐλπίσιν οὔτʼ, ἐνθάδʼ ὁρῶν οὔτʼ ὀπίσω.
τί γὰρ ἢ Λαβδακίδαις
ἢ τῷ Πολύβου νεῖκος ἔκειτʼ, οὔτε πάροιθέν ποτʼ ἔγωγʼ
490
ἔμαθον, πρὸς ὅτου δὴ βασανίζων βασάνῳ
ἐπὶ τὰν ἐπίδαμον φάτιν εἶμʼ Οἰδιπόδα Λαβδακίδαις
ἐπίκουρος ἀδήλων θανάτων.
495
Χορός
ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν οὖν Ζεὺς ὅ τʼ Ἀπόλλων ξυνετοὶ καὶ τὰ βροτῶν
εἰδότες· ἀνδρῶν δʼ ὅτι μάντις πλέον ἢ ʼγὼ φέρεται,
500
κρίσις οὔκ ἔστιν ἀλαθής· σοφίᾳ δʼ ἂν σοφίαν
παραμείψειεν ἀνήρ.
ἀλλʼ οὔποτʼ ἔγωγʼ ἄν, πρὶν ἴδοιμʼ ὀρθὸν ἔπος, μεμφομένων ἂν καταφαίην.
505
φανερὰ γὰρ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ, πτερόεσσʼ ἦλθε κόρα
ποτέ, καὶ σοφὸς ὤφθη βασάνῳ θʼ ἁδύπολις τῷ ἀπʼ ἐμᾶς
510
φρενὸς οὔποτʼ ὀφλήσει κακίαν.
ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν οὖν Ζεὺς ὅ τʼ Ἀπόλλων ξυνετοὶ καὶ τὰ βροτῶν
εἰδότες· ἀνδρῶν δʼ ὅτι μάντις πλέον ἢ ʼγὼ φέρεται,
500
κρίσις οὔκ ἔστιν ἀλαθής· σοφίᾳ δʼ ἂν σοφίαν
παραμείψειεν ἀνήρ.
ἀλλʼ οὔποτʼ ἔγωγʼ ἄν, πρὶν ἴδοιμʼ ὀρθὸν ἔπος, μεμφομένων ἂν καταφαίην.
505
φανερὰ γὰρ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ, πτερόεσσʼ ἦλθε κόρα
ποτέ, καὶ σοφὸς ὤφθη βασάνῳ θʼ ἁδύπολις τῷ ἀπʼ ἐμᾶς
510
φρενὸς οὔποτʼ ὀφλήσει κακίαν.
Translations (3)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 388 focus
MESS
Enter Messenger .
1223
O ye who in this land have ever held
Chief honour, what an object of dire woe
Awaits your eyes, your ears! What piercing grief
Your hearts must suffer, if as kinsmen should
1225
Ye still regard the house of Laius!
Not Phasis, nor the Danube’s rolling flood,
Can ever wash away the stain and purge
This mansion of the horror that it hides.
—And more it soon shall give to light, not now
Unconsciously enacted. Of all ill,
1230
Self-chosen sorrows are the worst to bear.
O ye who in this land have ever held
Chief honour, what an object of dire woe
Awaits your eyes, your ears! What piercing grief
Your hearts must suffer, if as kinsmen should
1225
Ye still regard the house of Laius!
Not Phasis, nor the Danube’s rolling flood,
Can ever wash away the stain and purge
This mansion of the horror that it hides.
—And more it soon shall give to light, not now
Unconsciously enacted. Of all ill,
1230
Self-chosen sorrows are the worst to bear.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 380 focus
Reichthümer, Herrschaft, und o Kunst, der keine Kunst
Im neiderfüllten Leben sich zur Seite stellt,
Welch schnöde Mißgunst heget ihr in eurem Schooß,
Wenn um des Thrones willen, den mir diese Stadt
Unaufgefordert übergab als freien Lohn,
385
Mir Kreon, jener treue Freund aus alter Zeit,
Nachschleicht im Rücken und mich auszutreiben strebt,
Anstellend diesen Zaubermann, den Ränkeschmid,
Den listenreichen Gaukler, der in Wucher nur
Scharfsichtig und in seiner Kunst ein Blinder ist!
390
Denn sage, wo bewährst du deine Seherkraft?
Als hier die Hündin ihre Räthsel sang, warum
1
Sprachst du für unsre Bürger kein erlösend Wort?
Doch war es nicht des nächsten besten Mannes Werk,
Den Spruch zu deuten, nein, bedurfte Seherkunst;
395
Die lerntest du von deinen Vogelzeichen nicht,
Noch offenbarte dir's ein Gott: ich, Dedipus,
Erschien, ein Ziel ihr sezend, ich Unkundiger,
Durch Geist es treffend, nicht belehrt vom Vogelflug.
Und den versuchst du fortzutreiben, weil du dann
400
Kreon's erhabnem Throne nah zu stehen hoffst.
Ihr werdet weinend, hoff' ich, du wie dein Genoß,
Den Bann vollstrecken: säh' ich nicht in dir den Greis,
Du würd'st in Leid erkennen, was du mir ersannst.
Reichthümer, Herrschaft, und o Kunst, der keine Kunst
Im neiderfüllten Leben sich zur Seite stellt,
Welch schnöde Mißgunst heget ihr in eurem Schooß,
Wenn um des Thrones willen, den mir diese Stadt
Unaufgefordert übergab als freien Lohn,
385
Mir Kreon, jener treue Freund aus alter Zeit,
Nachschleicht im Rücken und mich auszutreiben strebt,
Anstellend diesen Zaubermann, den Ränkeschmid,
Den listenreichen Gaukler, der in Wucher nur
Scharfsichtig und in seiner Kunst ein Blinder ist!
390
Denn sage, wo bewährst du deine Seherkraft?
Als hier die Hündin ihre Räthsel sang, warum
1
Sprachst du für unsre Bürger kein erlösend Wort?
Doch war es nicht des nächsten besten Mannes Werk,
Den Spruch zu deuten, nein, bedurfte Seherkunst;
395
Die lerntest du von deinen Vogelzeichen nicht,
Noch offenbarte dir's ein Gott: ich, Dedipus,
Erschien, ein Ziel ihr sezend, ich Unkundiger,
Durch Geist es treffend, nicht belehrt vom Vogelflug.
Und den versuchst du fortzutreiben, weil du dann
400
Kreon's erhabnem Throne nah zu stehen hoffst.
Ihr werdet weinend, hoff' ich, du wie dein Genoß,
Den Bann vollstrecken: säh' ich nicht in dir den Greis,
Du würd'st in Leid erkennen, was du mir ersannst.
Der Chor.
Uns, wenn wir überlegen, dünkt des Greises Wort
405
Im Zorn gesprochen, so wie deines, Dedipus.
Nicht solches kann uns frommen, nein, uns ziemt zu späh'n,
Wie wir am besten Gnüge thun des Gottes Spruch.
Uns, wenn wir überlegen, dünkt des Greises Wort
405
Im Zorn gesprochen, so wie deines, Dedipus.
Nicht solches kann uns frommen, nein, uns ziemt zu späh'n,
Wie wir am besten Gnüge thun des Gottes Spruch.
Teiresias.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 463-510 focus
Chorus
Who is he of whom the divine voice from the Delphian rock has said
to have wrought with blood-red hands horrors that no tongue can tell? It is time that he ply in flight a foot stronger than the feet of storm-swift steeds.
465
The son of Zeus is springing upon him with fiery lightning, and with him come the dread unerring Fates.
470
Who is he of whom the divine voice from the Delphian rock has said
to have wrought with blood-red hands horrors that no tongue can tell? It is time that he ply in flight a foot stronger than the feet of storm-swift steeds.
465
The son of Zeus is springing upon him with fiery lightning, and with him come the dread unerring Fates.
470
Chorus
Recently the message has flashed forth from snowy
Parnassus
ordering all to search for the unknown man. He wanders under cover of the wild wood, among caves and rocks, fierce as a bull, wretched and forlorn on his joyless path, still seeking to separate himself from the doom revealed at the central shrine of the earth.
475
But that doom lives forever, forever flits around him.
480
Recently the message has flashed forth from snowy
Parnassus
ordering all to search for the unknown man. He wanders under cover of the wild wood, among caves and rocks, fierce as a bull, wretched and forlorn on his joyless path, still seeking to separate himself from the doom revealed at the central shrine of the earth.
475
But that doom lives forever, forever flits around him.
480
Chorus
The wise augur moves me, neither approving nor denying, with dread, with dread indeed.
I am at a loss what to say. I am flustered in my expectations, seeing neither the present nor the future clearly. Never in past days or in these have I heard how the house of Labdacus or the son of Polybus had any quarrel with one another that
485
I could bring as proof in assailing the public reputation of Oedipus, seeking to avenge the line of Labdacus
490
for the undiscovered murder.
495
The wise augur moves me, neither approving nor denying, with dread, with dread indeed.
I am at a loss what to say. I am flustered in my expectations, seeing neither the present nor the future clearly. Never in past days or in these have I heard how the house of Labdacus or the son of Polybus had any quarrel with one another that
485
I could bring as proof in assailing the public reputation of Oedipus, seeking to avenge the line of Labdacus
490
for the undiscovered murder.
495
Chorus
Zeus and Apollo indeed are keen of thought and know the affairs of the earth.
But there is no sure test of whether a mortal seer attains more knowledge than I do, though man may surpass man in wisdom. But until I see the word made good, I will never assent when men blame Oedipus. Before all eyes the winged maiden came against him once upon a time, and he was seen to be wise,
500
and bore the test in welcome service to the state. Never, therefore, will he be adjudged guilty of evil.
510
Zeus and Apollo indeed are keen of thought and know the affairs of the earth.
But there is no sure test of whether a mortal seer attains more knowledge than I do, though man may surpass man in wisdom. But until I see the word made good, I will never assent when men blame Oedipus. Before all eyes the winged maiden came against him once upon a time, and he was seen to be wise,
500
and bore the test in welcome service to the state. Never, therefore, will he be adjudged guilty of evil.
510
Commentary
Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))
Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus
380-403. mvp-comment-231-1 The general meaning of these lines is as follows. Yes, Creon has set him on, for envy, to hurl me from power. Creon, my right hand! O how the success of another awakes ambition and poisons hearts! And what an instrument! Thou crafty seer, whose eyes are only open for gain, am I not a truer prophet than thou ever wast? Did not the Sphinx fall before my simple skill, when thy magic and thy inspiration failed? And you think to stand at Creon's right hand, when you have ousted me? He and you alike will soon repent your hypocrisy. Nothing but your age protects you from immediate punishment.'
386-388. mvp-comment-236-1 Desires secretly to undermine and dethrone me, suborning this weaver of intrigues, this wizard, this crafty mendicant, who has an eye for his gains only, but has no eye for his art.' μάγον, as properly applicable to a barbarian soothsayer, and ἀγύρτην, to the lowest class of priests in Greece, are opprobrious words.
388-389. mvp-comment-238-1 Cp. Ant. 1055, τὸ μαντικὸν γὰρ πᾶν φιλάργυρον γένος.