Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus 171

Thomas Francklin (Translator)

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Shepherd
Know then, if report say true,
The Isthmian people will choose CEdipus
Their sovereiirn.
No;
Joe.
SnEP.
995
Joe.
995
SllEP. If
995
Is not Polybus their king ?
995
Poly bus is dead.
995
What sayst thou ? Dead 1
I speak falsely, may death seize on me !
one of her Atpendants]. Why fliest thou not
to tell thy master ? Hence !
What aie you now, you oracles divine ?
Where is your truth? The fearful (Edipus
From Corinth Hed, lest he should slay the king,
This Polybus, who perished, not by him,
But by the hand of Heaven.
My dear Jocasta,
Why hast thou called me hither ?
Joe. Hear this man,
And when thou hearst him, mark what faith is due
To your revered oracles.
And what doth he report ?
Joe. He comes from Corinth,
And says thy father Polybus is dead.
speak !

Oedipus Tyrannus. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.

Current edition Experimental

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 171 focus
ᾧ τις ἀλέξεται. οὔτε γὰρ ἔκγονα
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 151-215 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 171 focus
OED
In asking that, you labour for my death
Or banishment. Of this be well assured.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 169 focus
Weh, wehe! Leiden ohne Zahl
Quälen mich; erkrankt ist alles Volk, und nirgendwo
Waffnet sich Hülfe,
Mich zu beschirmen! Die Früchte des heiligen
170
Erdreiches gedeihen nicht,
Und es erliegen
Die Frauen all
In den Weh'n qualvoller Geburten.
Und Schwärm' an Schwärmen,
175
Gleich flüchtigen Vögeln, erblickst du
Schneller, als reißende Glut, sich entschwingen zu
Dem Strand des Abendgottes. 1
Zweite Gegenstrophe.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 171 focus
Oedipus
O wretched me! Unweeting on myself
What dreadful curses have I here denounced!
745
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 151-215 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-618-1 τὸ πατρῷον αἷμα ἑλεῖν 1

mvp-comment-619-1 The simplest view of ἡ Κόρινθος ἐξ ἐμοῦ ἀπῳκεῖτο is, as Whitelaw says, that it means literally, “Corinth was lived-away-from by me,” —being the passive of ἐγὼ ἀπῴκουν τῆς Κορίνθου. It is thus merely one of those instances in which a passive verb takes as subject that which would stand in gen. or dat. as object to the active verb: cp. the passive καταγελῶμαι, καταφρονοῦμαι, καταψηφίζομαι, ἐπιβουλεύομαι, etc. [I formerly took it to be passive of ἐγὼ ἀπῴκουν τὴν Κόρινθον, “I inhabited C. only at a distance,” —a paradoxical phrase like ἐν σκότῳ ὁρᾶν (1273).] ἀποικεῖν 2

mvp-comment-620-1 εὐτυχῶς 3

mvp-comment-620-2 τῶν τεκόντων 4

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

997. mvp-comment-573-1 ἡ Κόρινθος ἐξ ἐμοῦ. . ἀπῳκεῖτο (1) Corinth as a dwelling-place has long been set far away from me.' For this inversion (instead of my dwelling-place has been removed from Corinth'), cp. supr. 762 and note. Essay on Language § 42. p. 80; or (2) Corinth has been avoided (livedaway from) by me' = ἀπῴκουν Κορίνθου. For the preference for the passive form in either case, see Essay on Language pp. 53, 54. The effect here is to bring into greater prominence Oedipus' love for Corinth.

997. mvp-comment-573-2 ἐξ ἐμοῦ Either away from me,' or by my act. The v. τ. ἀπώκιστ᾽ (ἀπῴκιστο) is plausible (cp. Plat. Polit. 284 Ε, ὁπόσα εἰς τὸ μέσον ἀπῳκίσθη τῶν ἐσχάτων), but the perfect and not the pluperfect is the tense required.

999. mvp-comment-574-1 The natural simplicity of these words, said in the presence of Jocasta, contrasts terribly to the spectator with the unconsciousness of them. See 1371, foll., ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὄμμασιν ποίοις βλέπων, κ.τ.λ. And cp. Aesch. Cho. 690-691, τὸν τεκόντα δ᾽ εἰκὸς εἰδέναι, said by Orestes before Clytemnestra.