Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, Lewis Campbell (Translator), 410

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OED

That this last act hath not been for the best

Instruct me not, nor counsel me again.

How, if I kept my sight, could I have looked
1370

In Hades on my father’s countenance,

Or mine all hapless mother, when, toward both,

I have done deeds no death can e’er atone?

Ah! but my children were a sight of joy,—

Offspring of such a marriage! were they so?
1375

Never, to eyes of mine! nor town, nor tower,

Nor holy shrines o’ the gods, which I myself,

Dowered with the fairest life of Theban men,

Have forfeited, alas, by mine own law,

Declaring men should drive from every door
1380

One marked by Heaven as impious and impure,

Nay worse, of Laius born! And was I then,

By mine own edict branded thus, to look

On Theban faces with unaltered eye?

Nay verily, but had there been a way
1385

To stop the hearing fountain through the ear,

I had not faltered, but had closed and barred

Each gate of this poor body, deaf and blind!

So thought might sweetly dwell at rest from ill

Cithaeron! Why didst thou receive me? Why
1390

Not slay me then and there? So had I not

Told to the world the horror of my birth.

O foster home of Corinth and her king,

How bright the life ye cherished, filming o’er

What foulness far beneath! For I am vile,
1395

And vile were both my parents. So ’tis proved

O cross road in the covert of the glen,

O thicket in the gorge where three ways met,

Bedewed by these my hands with mine own blood

From whence I sprang—have ye forgotten me?
1400

Or doth some memory haunt you of the deeds

I did before you, and went on to do

Worse horrors here? O marriage twice accurst!

That gave me being, and then again sent forth

Fresh saplings springing from the selfsame seed,
1405

To amaze men’s eyes and minds with dire confusion

Of father, brother, son, bride, mother, wife,

Murder of parents, and all shames that are!

Silence alone befits such deeds. Then, pray you,

Hide me immediately away from men!
1410

Kill me outright, or fling me far to sea,

Where never ye may look upon me more.

Come, lend your hand unto my misery!

Comply, and fear not, for my load of woe

Is incommunicable to all but me.
1415

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)) — 410 focus

οὐ γάρ τι σοὶ ζῶ δοῦλος, ἀλλὰ Λοξίᾳ·

410

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

473

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.

483

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

496

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.

Translations (2)

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 408 focus

Wohl bist du Herrscher; doch besteh'n muß gleiches Recht

Zu gleicher Antwort; hiezu ward auch mir Gewalt.
410

Nicht dir ja, nur dem Phöbos bin ich unterthan,¹

Daß nicht als Beistand Kreon mich vertreten muß.²

Doch ich verkünde, weil du mich als Blinden höhnst:

Du siehst, und sehend siehst du nicht, wie tief du sankst,

Nicht wo du weilest, noch mit wem zusammenwohnst.
415

Von wem du stammest, weißt du das? Nichtwissend bist

Du Feind den Deinen, drunten und auf Erden hier.

Und doppelt treffend treibt dich einst aus diesem Land

Mit grausem Schritt des Vaters und der Mutter Fluch,

Und wie du jezt hell siehest, schaust du Dunkel dann.
420

Ia, welcher Hafen widerhallt nicht dein Geschrei,

Wo tönt Kithäron deinen Nuf nicht bald zurück,³

Erkennst du deinen Chebund als Leidensport,

In den du, glücklich segelnd, eingelaufen bist?

Noch andern Unheils Fülle wirst du nicht gewahr,
425

Das gleiche Schrecken dir erschafft und deinem Stamm.⁴

So schmähe denn auf Kreon, schilt mein Seherwort

In stolzem Hohne; Keiner lebt auf Erden ja,

Der grauenvoller untergeht als du dereinst.

Oedipus.

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

473

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

483

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

496

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

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-830-1 ἄριστ’ ¹ οὐχ ὦδε ² ἐστὶν ἄριστα εἰργασμένα ³

mvp-comment-831-1 βλέπων ⁴ εἰ ⁵ ποίοις ὄμμασιν ⁶

mvp-comment-832-1 εἰς Ἅιδου ⁷

mvp-comment-833-1 οἶν … δυοῖν ⁸

mvp-comment-834-1 κρείσσον’ ἀγχόνης ⁹ ἀγχόνης ¹⁰

mvp-comment-835-1 ἀλλ’ ¹¹

mvp-comment-835-2 τέκνων ὄψις … βλαστοῦσα ¹²

mvp-comment-835-3 ὅπως ἔβλαστε ¹³

mvp-comment-836-1 πύργος ¹⁴

mvp-comment-837-1 ἀγάλμαθ’ ἱερά ¹⁵

mvp-comment-837-2 τῶν ¹⁶

mvp-comment-838-1 κάλλιστ’ ἀνὴρ εἷς … τραφείς. εἷς ¹⁷ κάλλιστ’ ¹⁸

mvp-comment-838-2 ἔν γε ταῖς θήβαις ¹⁹ γε ²⁰

mvp-comment-839-1 ἀπεστέρησ’ ἐμαυτόν ²¹

mvp-comment-840-1 τὸν ἀσεβῆ ²² ὠθεῖν ²³ τὸν … φανέντα ²⁴ τὸν φανέντα ²⁵ ὠθεῖν ²⁶ καὶ γένους τοῦ Λαΐου ²⁷

mvp-comment-841-1 κηλῖδα ²⁸ μηνύσας ²⁹

mvp-comment-842-1 ὀρθοῖς ³⁰

mvp-comment-843-1 τῆς ἀκουούσης … πηγῆς ³¹ δῑ ὤτων ³²

mvp-comment-844-1 ἐσχόμην ³³

mvp-comment-845-1 τὸ μή ³⁴

mvp-comment-846-1 ἵν ἦ ³⁵ ἦ ³⁶ μηδέν ³⁷ ἵνα ³⁸

mvp-comment-847-1 ἔξω τῶν κακῶν ³⁹

mvp-comment-848-1 The imperf. ἐδέχου ⁴⁰

mvp-comment-849-1 ὡς ἔδειξα ⁴¹

mvp-comment-850-1 τὰ πάτρια λόγῳ ⁴² παλαιά ⁴³

mvp-comment-851-1 κάλλος κακῶν ὕπουλον ⁴⁴ κακῶν ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-851-2 κάλλος ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-851-3 ὕπουλον ⁴⁷

mvp-comment-852-1 κἀκ κακῶν ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-853-1 His memory recalls the scene as if he were again approaching it on his way from Delphi. First, he descries three roads converging in a deep glen or ravine ( τρεῖς κέλευθοι—κεκρυμμένη νάπη ⁴⁹ δρυμός ⁵⁰ στενωπός ⁵¹ ἐν τριπλαῖς ὁδοῖς ⁵²

mvp-comment-854-1 τοὐμὸν αἷμα ⁵³ πατρός ⁵⁴

mvp-comment-855-1 For τι ⁵⁵ οἶα, ὁποῖα ⁵⁶ οἶα, ὁποῖα ⁵⁷

mvp-comment-856-1 ἀνεῖτε ταὐτοῦ σπέρμα ⁵⁸ ταὐτὸν ⁵⁹ σπέρμα ⁶⁰

mvp-comment-857-1 The marriage of Iocasta with Oedipus constituted ( ἀπεδείξατε ⁶¹ αἶμ’ ἐμφύλιον ⁶² νύμφας ⁶³ γυναῖκας ⁶⁴ μητέρας ⁶⁵ ὁπόσα αἴσχιστα ἔργα γίγνεταἰ. αἶμ’ ἐμφύλιον ⁶⁶ πατέρας ἀδελφοὺς παῖδας ⁶⁷

mvp-comment-858-1 ἔξω μέ που | καλύψατ’ ⁶⁸ καλύψατ’ ⁶⁹ ἐκρίψατ’ ⁷⁰

mvp-comment-859-1 θαλάσσιον ⁷¹ ἔνθα μή ⁷²

mvp-comment-860-1 No one can share the burden of his ills. Other men need not fear to be polluted by contact with him, as with one guilty of blood. His unwitting crimes and his awful sufferings—alike the work of Apollo—place him apart. In illustration of the fear which he seeks to allay, compare the plea of Orestes that, since he has been duly purified from bloodshed, contact with him has ceased to be dangerous ( Aesch. Eum. 285

ὅσοις προσῆλθον ἀβλαβεῖ ξυνουσίᾀ.

—Contrast Soph. OC 1132 ff. , where Oed. will not allow his benefactor Theseus to touch him. There, he feels that he is still formally ἄναγνος, and that gratitude forbids him to impart a possible taint. Here, he thinks only of his unique doom and his incommunicable anguish.

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

1369. mvp-comment-761-1 ἄριστα answers to κρείσσων. That this action is not best as it is,' (ὡς τάδ᾽ οὐκ ἔστ᾽ ἄριστα ὧδε εἰργασμένα). Cp. Hdt. 1. 37, ἀμείνω ἐστὶ ταῦτα οὕτω ποιεύμενα.

1369-1415. mvp-comment-762-1 In this wonderful speech the passion of Oedipus is heard rising in varied tones from 1369 to 1390 (the steps are 1369-1374, 1375,6, 1377-1383, 1384-1390); culminating in the prolonged outburst 1391-1408, where the four stages of horror in his life are recounted, and gradually subsiding into a gentler pathos in 1409-1413, 1414-1415.

1371. mvp-comment-763-1 βλέπων If I had sight. 1372. The shade of the dead in Hades is imagined as having all the characteristics of the living form. Oedipus, selfblinded, will be blind in Hades, just as the ghost of Heracles in the venuta has the ghostly belt and bow.

1373. mvp-comment-764-1 οἷν In relation to whom, or, 'on whom. For this dative, see Essay on Language § 12. p. 18.

1374. mvp-comment-765-1 κρείσσον᾿ ἀγχόνης ‘Worse than death.' Which I would rather have died by strangling than do. Cp. Eurip. Alc. 229-230, ἄξια καὶ σφαγᾶς τάδε, καὶ πλέον ἢ βρύχῳ δέρην | οὐρανίῳ πελάσσαι.

1375. mvp-comment-766-1 But surely the sight of my children was a sight to be desired by me, having such an origin as they had? No, not for these eyes to see. For δῆτα here, cp. Phil. 1352, ἀλλ᾽ εἰκάθω δῆτ'; and for the hypallage or attraction in ὄψις..

1375. mvp-comment-766-2 βλαστούσα, see E on L. § 35. p. 60.

1376. mvp-comment-767-1 βλαστοῦσ᾽ ὅπως ἔβλαστε gives a reason by anticipation for οὐ δῆτα τοῖς γ᾽ ἐμοῖσιν ὀφθαλμοῖς ποτέ. Cp. Eur. Οr. 79. ἔπλευσ᾽ ὅπως ἔπλευσα. As com- 1378. ἄστυ, sc. ἦν προσλεύσσειν ἐμοί.

1380. mvp-comment-768-1 ἀνὴρ εἰς is often used with superlatives to signify, pared singly with any other.' (Tr. 460, πλείστας ἀνὴρ εἷς Ἡρακλῆς ἔγημε δή, Thuc. 3. 39. μάλιστα δὴ μίαν πόλιν.) So here ἀνὴρ εἷς is More than any other single man. This idiom affords a curious illustration of the tendency of the Greek language to limit an assertion in the act of emphasizing it.

1381. mvp-comment-769-1 Cp. supr. 350.

1382. mvp-comment-770-1 τὸν ἐκ θεῶν.. γένους τοῦ Λαΐου Whom the gods have shown to be an unholy person, and who is discovered to be of the race of Laius. The words καὶ γένους τοῦ Λαΐου are added as the climax of horror. This designation was not included in the oracular curse, but the mind of Oedipus naturally passes from the anticipation to the actual discovery-to which the oracle had pointed the way, and which was chiefly present to his mind. ،

1384. mvp-comment-771-1 τοιάνδ᾽.. ἐμήν ἐμήν is predicative. Having brought to light such a stain upon myself was I going to look these men in the face with unchanged eyes?' Cp. supr. 572, τὰς ἐμάς ... Λαΐου διαφθοράς. Ε. on L. § 23. p. 37, β. γ.

1385. mvp-comment-772-1 τούτους i. e. the citizens represented by the chorus. Oedipus is speaking to the coryphaeus. The expression ὀρθοῖς ὄμμασι, while alluding to the mangling of his eyes, also conveys the association of a frank and steady look. Cp. Eur. Ι. Α. 851, οὐ γὰρ ὀρθοῖς ὄμμασίν σ' ἔτ᾽ εἰσορῶ, | ψευδὴς γενομένη, κ.τ.λ.

1386. mvp-comment-773-1 But if there could also have been found a way of closing up the fountain of hearing in my ears.'

1387. mvp-comment-774-1 οὐκ ἂν ἐσχόμην I would not have refrained. Cp. Hdt. 6. 85, ἔσχοντο τῆς ἀγωγῆς. The MSS, with a few exceptions, have ἀνεσχόμην or ἠνεσχόμην, which gives an inferior sense, and the omission of av is improbable here. μή rather than μὴ οὐ is used, because of the hypothetical sentence. Essay on Language p. 49.

1389. mvp-comment-775-1 ἵν᾿ ἡ Cp. 1392. Essay on Language § 36. pp. 60, 61. τὸ γάρ, κ.τ.λ. (1) For it is sweet for the mind to dwell in her own place, shutting out the sight of evils. For φροντίς as the subject, cp. Eur. Med. 48, νέα γὰρ φροντὶς οὐκ ἀλγεῖν φιλεῖ. Or (2) 'Tis sweet to guide one's thought out of reach of evil.' Said in contradistinction to οἰκεῖν πόλιν. See v. rr.

1391. mvp-comment-776-1 τί μ᾿ ἐδέχου Why did you not refuse to receive me? So the force of the imperfect may be expressed. For the appeal to nature, cp. (although the tone is somewhat different in each place) Phil. 936 foll., ὦ λιμένες, ὦ προβλήτες, κ.τ.λ.: Ant. 844-845, ἰὼ Διρκαῖαι κρῆναι Θήβας τ' | εὐαρμάτου ἄλσος.

1394. mvp-comment-777-1 τὰ πάτρια λόγῳ παλαιὰ δώ- μαθ'] 'Home long ago in name though not really my father's.'

1395. mvp-comment-778-1 ἆρα Essay on Language § 29. p. 50. Ye brought me up, how fair in aprough pearance, while corruption rankled within. Cp. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 3. 4,

It will but skin and film the ulcerous place, while rank corruption, mining all within, infects unseen.

1400. mvp-comment-779-1 That drank from these my hands the blood from which I sprang. τουμὸν αἷμα πατρός is not merely = τοὐμοῦ πατρὸς αἷμα, but marks that the blood which he shed was the same which ran in his veins - the blood of my father, which was my blood.

1401. mvp-comment-780-1 μέμνησθέ τι Herm. defended μέμνησθ' ὅτι, the reading of most MSS. Although this is singular, it is not certain that the exclamations οἷα.. ὁποῖα might not be used in a dependent clause. Do you remember that I did-what deeds! before you? The marginal reading ὅταν points to ὅτε; cp. supra 1134, κατοῖδεν ἦμος, κ.τ.λ. But of conjectural readings the most probable is μέμνησθέ τι (Elmsley), partly supported by Vat. c Trin. K. Do you at all remember? Cp. the v.r. on 1412. This is certainly idiomatic, and may be the genuine reading. For τι, cp. supra 1130, ἢ συνήλλαξάς τί πω; Phil. 1130, φρένας εἴ τινας ἔχεις : Ο C. 1281, ἢ τέρψαντά τι. ἢ δυσχεράναντ', and esp. Eur. Hec. 992, εἰ τῆς τεκούσης τῆσδε μέμνηταί τί μου. ἔτι is weak.

1402. mvp-comment-781-1 ὑμίν Dative of remote refer- ence='In which you were concerned.' See Essay on Language § 13. p. 19. With what deeds I affrighted you, and then came here to find what fortune!

1403. mvp-comment-782-1 For ἔπρασσον, which is less active than δράσας supr., cp. Aj. 1420 ὅ τι πράξει. ὦ γάμοι] This fresh outburst is occasioned by the mention of his Theban fortune. For the plurals in this and the following lines, expressing strong feeling, see Essay on Language § 20. p. 30.

1404-1405. mvp-comment-783-1 πάλιν | ἀνεῖτε ταὐτὸν σπέρμα Gave birth a second time to the same seed. Cp. Aesch. S c. T. 413, σπαρτῶν ἀπ᾿ ἀνδρῶν ῥίζωμ' ἀνεῖται : supra 270-271, μήτ᾽ ἄροτον αὐτοῖς *γῆς ἀνιέναι τινά, μήτ᾽ οὖν γυναικῶν παῖδας.

1406. mvp-comment-784-1 αἷμ᾿ ἐμφύλιον can only mean murder of kin. Cp. O. C. 407, τοὔμφυλον αἷμα. The marriage of Laius and Jocasta had led to the parricide, in accordance with the oracle.

1409. mvp-comment-785-1 Either (1) We may not speak of things it is not honourable to do, or (2) taking καλόν twice, It is not honourable to speak of things which it is not honourable to do.

1411. mvp-comment-786-1 θαλάσσιον i. e. εἰς θάλασσαν. Essay on Language § 23. p. 39. Cp. supra 196-197.

1413. mvp-comment-787-1 ἀξιώσατ᾿ ἀνδρὸς ἀθλίου θιγεῖν Cp. Τr. 797, πρόσελθε, μὴ φύγῃς τοὐμὸν κακόν.

1415. mvp-comment-788-1 Fear not; my woes are such as none but I can bear;' i. e. I bear an incommunicable sorrow, which you therefore need not fear to share by contact with me. It is too heavy, and also too peculiar, for others to partake. Cp. Phil. 536-537, οἶμαι γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ἂν ὄμμασιν μόνην θέαν | ἄλλον λαβόντα πλὴν ἐμοῦ τλῆναι τάδε: Shak. King John, 3. 1, 'My grief's so great | That no supporter but the huge firm earth | Can hold it up.'

Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus 410

Lewis Campbell (Translator)

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