Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus 331

Lewis Campbell (Translator)

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CHORUS
CHORUS . 1086
If I wield a prophet’s might,
Or have sense to search aright,
Cithaeron, when all night the moon rides high,
Loud thy praise shall be confessed,
How upon thy rugged breast,
Thou, mighty mother, nursed’st tenderly
Great Oedipus, and gav’st his being room
1090
Within thy spacious home.
1090
Yea, we will dance and sing
1095
Thy glory for thy kindness to our king.
Phoebus, unto thee we cry,
Be this pleasing in thine eye!
1098
Who, dear sovereign, gave thee birth,
Of the long lived nymphs of earth?
Say, was she clasped by mountain roving Pan?
1100
Or beguiled she one sweet hour
With Apollo in her bower,
Who loves to trace the field untrod by man?
Or was the ruler of Cyllene’s height
The author of thy light?
Or did the Bacchic god,
1105
Who makes the top of Helicon to nod,
Take thee for a foundling care
From his playmates that are there?

Oedipus Tyrannus. Sophocles. Lewis Campbell (Translator). London, New York and Toronto. 1906.

Current edition Experimental

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 331 focus
ἡμᾶς προδοῦναι καὶ καταφθεῖραι πόλιν;
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 216-462 focus
Translations (3)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 330 focus
Was sagst du? Willst du, was du weißt, nicht sagen, denkst
Uns hinzugeben und die Stadt dem Fluch zu weih'n?
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 331 focus
Herdsman
That he should kill his parents: this was said.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 216-460 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-667-1 μάντις 1

mvp-comment-668-1 κατὰ 2

mvp-comment-669-1 οὐ 3

mvp-comment-669-2 ἀπείρων 4

mvp-comment-670-1 τὰν αὔριον πανσέληνον 5 αὖρι 6 ἦρι 7

mvp-comment-670-2 πανσέληνον 8

mvp-comment-671-1 πατριώταν 9 Οἰδίπουν 10 Οἰδίπου 11 αὔξειν 12 Οἰδίπουν 13 πρὸς 14 μὴ οὐ 15 αὔξειν 16 αὔξειν 17 φέροντα 18

mvp-comment-672-1 τροφὸν 19 ματέρ’ 20

mvp-comment-673-1 χορεύεσθαι 21

mvp-comment-674-1 ἐπὶ ἦρα φέροντα 22 ἦρα 23

mvp-comment-674-2 τοῖς ἐμοῖς τυρ. 24

mvp-comment-675-1 ἰήϊε 25

mvp-comment-676-1 σοὶ δὲ 26

mvp-comment-676-2 ἀρέστ’ 27

mvp-comment-677-1 ἔτικτε 28

mvp-comment-678-1 τᾶν μακραιώνων 29

mvp-comment-679-1 In Πανὸς ὀρεσσιβάτα προσπελασθεῖσ’ 30 λέκτροις πελασθεῖσ’ 31 πατρὸς πελασθεῖσ’ 32

mvp-comment-680-1 If in 1090 we keep οὐκ ἔσει τὰν αὔριον 33 ἢ σέ γ’ εὐνάτειρά τις 34 σέ γε 35

mvp-comment-681-1 πλάκες ἀγρόνομοι 36

mvp-comment-682-1 ὁ Κυλλάνας ἀνάσσων 37

mvp-comment-683-1 ὁ Βακχεῖος θεὸς 38

mvp-comment-684-1 εὕρημα 39

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

1087. mvp-comment-621-1 οὐ τὸν Ὄλυμπον Ant. 758.

1087. mvp-comment-621-2 ἀπείρων Hesychius, ἀπείρονας· ἀπειράτους. Σοφοκλῆς Θυέστῃ.

1090. mvp-comment-622-1 τὰν αὔριον πανσέληνον In the coming moonlit hour. Cp. Ant. 153, θεῶν δὲ ναοὺς χοροῖς παννυχίοις πάντας ἐπέλθωμεν. (1) The comparison of Arist. Η. Α. 10. 38, νύκτας τὰς πανσελήνους, shows that πανσέληνος is not always to be construed strictly of the full moon. A moonlight night is all that need be meant. And αύριον may be transferred from next sunrise to next moon-rise. Or (2) the expression may be understood to mean, 'In to-morrow's moonlight festival.' If this interpretation is adopted, we must suppose the full moon to occur the day following. But no hint of this is given in the context.

1090. mvp-comment-622-2 ἀπείρων .. μὴ οὐ σε γε .. αὔξειν Thou shalt not be without experience of our celebrating thee, as of the same clime with Oedipus, and as having been to him a nurse and mother.'

1090. mvp-comment-622-3 πατριώταν A native of the same region,' countryman.

1092. mvp-comment-623-1 ματέρα As a mountain is called μήτηρ μήλων, θηρῶν, etc., e. g. Il. 8. 47, Ἴδην.. μητέρα θηρῶν, Γάργαρον, τροφόν coming between makes tolerable the transition from masc. to fem. αὔξειν, sc. ἐμὲ or ἡμᾶς, borrowed from the context.

1095. mvp-comment-624-1 καὶ χορεύεσθαι πρὸς ἡμῶν Or of being the theme of our choral song. For the change of voice and subject, see Essay on Language p. 65, d.

1095. mvp-comment-624-2 ἐπίηρα φέροντα Giving pleasure: Epicè. II. 1. 578, πατρὶ φίλῳ ἐπὶ ἦρα φέρειν Διΐ. Od. 19. 343, οὐδέ τί μοι ποδάνιπτρα ποδῶν ἐπιήρανα θυμῷ | γίγνεται.

1097. mvp-comment-625-1 In hoping for a happy solution, the chorus still look up to Phoebus, whom they had at first invoked (154), and on the interpretation of whose still doubtful oracles the issue depends. This is the only shadow of apprehension which remains. O Phoebus, to whom we cry, may this event prove well-pleasing to thee. ἰήϊε] Cp. supr. 154, and note.

1098. mvp-comment-626-1 τέκνον So Theseus is addressed by the chorus in O. C. 1491, ἰὼ παῖ.

1098. mvp-comment-626-2 ἔτικτε Cp. supr. 870.

1098. mvp-comment-626-3 τῶν μακραιώνων The context shows that the nymphs are meant. Cp. Hom. h. Ven. 258, Hes. ap. Plutarch. 415 c. fr. 50 Gaisf., Ap. Rh. 2. 509. 1100 ff. The MS. reading was thus explained by Hermann, Constructio verborum haec est: τίς σ᾽ ἔτικτε τῶν μακραιώνων ἄρα θυγάτηρ, προσπελασθεῖσα Πανὸς ἢ Λοξίου; [ Was it some young daughter of the long-lived Nymphs, having been brought near to the mountain Pan or to Loxias, who bore thee?"] Sed quum in illis, ἢ Λοξίου, adderet poeta augendi causa σε γε, istoque demum loco poneret illud nomen θυγάτηρ, adjecit etiam pronomen e: cliticum τις, sine quo θυγάτηρ tam remotum a genitivo suo obscurum fuisset. Apa etiam alibi longius ab initio remotum invenitur, ut in Ajace v. 925, ἔμελλες, τάλας, ἔμελλες χρόνῳ στερεόφρων ἄρ᾽ ὧδ᾽, κ.τ.λ. (Cp. Phil. 996). But this reasoning is upset by the double objection to the position and quantity of θυγάτηρ, and by the difficulty of obtaining a satisfactory arrangement of the lines with θυγάτηρ. Lachm. conj. πατρὸς πελασθεῖσ', in which the appellation of Pan is unusual and inappropriate. Arndt's very ingenious conjecture is adopted in the text.

1098. mvp-comment-626-4 υν πρέσβει C. πρέσβυν 1103. i.e. He is one of the νόμιοι θεοί, or pastoral gods.

1104. mvp-comment-627-1 Schol. ὁ Ἑρμῆς· νόμιος γάρ. For εἴτε = or, without εἴτε preceding, see on supr. 517, О. С. 1492.

1105. mvp-comment-628-1 ναίων ἐπ᾿ ἄκρων ὀρέων Anacreon ap. Dion. Chrys. i. 94, ὧναξ, ᾧ δαμάλης ἔρως, | καὶ νυμφαὶ κυανώπιδες | πορφυρέη τ' Ἀφροδίτη | συμπαίζουσιν, ἐπιστρέφεαι δ᾽ | ὑψηλῶν κορυφὰς ὀρέων.

1105. mvp-comment-628-2 εὕρημα δέξατ For the expression, see above l. 1026, and cp. Plat. Theaet. 150 D, οὐδέ τί μοι ἔστιν εὕρημα τοιοῦτον γεγονός, τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς ἔκγονον.

1109. mvp-comment-629-1 Ἑλικωνίδων The word was written so at first in Par. A. αἷς πλεῖστα συμπαίζει. Cp. Hom. h. Ven. 263.