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.'
380.
mvp-comment-232-1
τέχνη τέχνης ὑπερφέρουσα
Skill surpassing skill. Cp. Phil. 138-140, τέχνα γὰρ τέχνας ἑτέρας προὔχει καὶ γνώμα παρ' ὅτῳ τὸ θεῖον Διὸς σκῆπτρον ἀνάσσεται. Oedipus alludes to his success in solving the riddle, γνώμῃ κυρήσας, 398. τῷ πολυζήλῳ βίῳ is the dative of place transferred to circumstance. (1) In the muchenvied life,' i. e. In a brilliant state of life such as mine.' To this ὁ φθόνος in the lines following seems to correspond. Or perhaps (2) more generally,
In life which is full of contention. (3) Others make the genitive equivalent to a dative ='belonging to,' cp. Pind. N. 3. 10. ὁ φθόνος = sc. ὃν ἔχετε,
How great is the envy that is stored up with you. To be envied, according to Greek notions, was fortunate, but perilous. Cp. Thuc. 2. 64, ὅστις δ᾽ ἐπὶ μεγίστοις τὸ ἐπίφθονον λαμβάνει, ὀρθῶς βουλεύεται : Pind. P. 1. 85, κρείσσων γὰρ οἰκτιρμοῦ φθόνος.
382.
mvp-comment-233-1
φυλάσσεται
Is treasured up. An Homeric expression. (II. 16. 30, χόλος ὃν σὺ φυλάσσεις.) Cp. O. C. 1212, σκαιοσύναν φυλάσσων. For the passive, see Essay on Language § 31. p. 54.
383.
mvp-comment-234-1
γε implies This rule of mine, which surely might have been free from envy, since I never asked for it, but the city gave it me.'
385.
mvp-comment-235-1
ὁ πιστός Ironical. Cp. Tr. 540, Ἡρακλῆς | ὁ πιστός, κ.τ.λ.
385.
mvp-comment-235-2
οὐξ ἀρχῆς φίλος Cp. Aesch. Prom. 304-305, τὸν Διὸς φίλον, τὸν συγκαταστήσαντα τὴν τυραννίδα. ταύτης is ablative genitive after ἐκβαλεῖν, but the poet passes almost unconsciously from the one genitive to the other.
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.
387.
mvp-comment-237-1
ὑφείς
Suborning. Cp. ὑποβάλλω.
388-389.
mvp-comment-238-1
Cp. Ant. 1055, τὸ μαντικὸν γὰρ πᾶν φιλάργυρον γένος.
390.
mvp-comment-239-1
ποῦ = ' On what occasion? i. e.
When have you been a true prophet? Cp. supr. 355, infr. 720, ἐνταῦθα.
391.
mvp-comment-240-1
ῥαψῳδός =
Songstress. but also (with allusion to the supposed etymology from ῥάπτειν ᾠδήν)
weaver of intricate songs. Cp. μηχανορράφος. κύων =
Monster. Cp. Aesch. Fragm. 252, Σφίγγα δυσαμερίαν πρύτανιν κύνα.
394.
mvp-comment-241-1
διειπεῖν
To tell distinctly,
to explain. 395. (1)
And this you showed that you had not either from birds, nor yet had known from any of the gods. οὐ..
394.
mvp-comment-241-2
προὐφάνης ἔχων = προὐφάνης οὐκ ἔχων. The ignorance of the prophet on this occasion was a strange phenomenon, to which Oedipus calls attention. Or (2)
You were not found to have. 396. There is an intentional assonance here, but without any distinct playing upon the word. Cp. supr. 70, 1, infr. 603-604. See Essay on Language § 44. p. 83, and for μηδέν, ib. p. 48, 2, b. Cp. supr. 367.
394.
mvp-comment-241-3
ἔπαυσά νιν The personal pronoun viv refers to the Sphinx and not to her riddle. Hence ἔπαυσα is better than the conjectural ἔλυσα.
401.
mvp-comment-242-1
χώ συνθεὶς τάδε Thuc. 8. 68, ὁ .. τὸ πρᾶγμα ξυνθεὶς .. Ἀντιφῶν ἦν. 390 395 400 397. εἰδώς] γνώμῃ CA Pal.
402.
mvp-comment-243-1
ἁγηλατήσειν The future tense rather belongs to κλαίων;
You shall suffer for attempting to drive out pollution. Cp. Ant. 754, κλαίων φρενώσεις.
To your own hurt will you and the plotter of this, methinks, drive out pollution. Cp. Hom. Il. 16. 623, τῷ κε τάχα στυγερῶς πολέμου ἀπερωήσειας.
402.
mvp-comment-243-2
εἰ δέ, κ.τ.λ. Cp. Od. 23. 24, σὲ δὲ τοῦτό γε γῆρας ὀνήσει.
402.
mvp-comment-243-3
ἐδόκεις γέρων εἶναι]
But for the feeling that you are an old man, i. e. If I did not see, or if I did not remember, that you are an old man. δοκεῖν is not intended to throw doubt upon the fact, but simply to express the feeling of Oedipus. Essay on Language § 50. 6. b. p. 95. Ср. Τr. 57, τοῦ καλῶς πράσσειν δοκεῖν: Hdt. 4.114, εἰ βούλεσθε.. δοκέειν εἶναι δικαιότατοι. For the unconscious tautology in δοκῶν, δοκεῖς, ᾿δόκεις, see Essay on Language pp. 83, 84, and cp. infr. 519.
403.
mvp-comment-244-1
παθὼν ἔγνως ἄν Cp. Hes. Op. 218, παθὼν δὲ τε νήπιος ἔγνω.
You should have learnt from suffering what a spirit you are showing. Cp. Aesch. S. c. Τ. 550, τύχοιεν ὧν φρονοῦσιν. And, for οἷόσπερ in this connection, О. С. 896, οἱάπερ πέπονθ᾽ ἀκήκοας.
