Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, Richard Jebb (Translator), 1349

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Oedipus

Perish the man, whoever he was, who freed me in the past years from the cruel shackle on my feet—a thankless deed! Had I died then,

I would not have been so sore a grief to my friends and to my own soul.
1355

Chorus

I too would have had it thus.

Oedipus

In this way I would not have come to shed my father’s blood, or been known among men as the husband of the woman from whom I was born.

Now I am forsaken by the gods, son of a defiled mother, successor to the bed of the man who gave me my own wretched being:
1360

if there is a woe surpassing all woes, it has become Oedipus’ lot.
1365

Oedipus Tyrannus. Sophocles. Richard Jebb (Translator). Cambridge. 1887.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Oedipus Tyrannus (English) (Sophocles the plays and fragments, Part 1: The Oedipus Tyrannus. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse, Sir, translator. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1887. (Modernized by Perseus.))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1349 focus

ὄλοιθ᾽ ὅστις ἦν ὃς ἀγρίας πέδας

νομάδος ἐπιποδίας ἔλυσ᾽ ἀπό τε φόνου
1350

ἔρρυτο κἀνέσωσε *μ', οὐδὲν εἰς χάριν πράσσων.

τότε γὰρ ἂν θανών,

οὐκ ἦν φίλοισιν οὐδ᾽ ἐμοὶ τοσόνδ᾽ ἄχος.
1355

Χορός

θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἂν ἦν.

Οἰδίπους

οὔκουν πατρός γ᾽ ἂν φονεὺς

ἦλθον, οὐδὲ νυμφίος

βροτοῖς ἐκλήθην ὧν ἔφυν ἄπο.

νῦν δ᾽ ἄθεος μέν εἰμ', ἀνοσίων δὲ παῖς,
1360

ὁμογενὴς δ᾽ ἀφ᾽ ὧν αὐτὸς ἔφυν τάλας.

εἰ δέ τι πρεσβύτερον ἔτι κακοῦ κακόν,
1365

τοῦτ᾽ ἔλαχ᾽ Οἰδίπους.

Χορός

Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1349 focus

Οἰδίπους

ὄλοιθʼ ὅστις ἦν, ὃς ἀγρίας πέδας

μονάδʼ ἐπιποδίας ἔλυσʼ μʼ ἀπό τε φόνου
1350

ἔρυτο κἀνέσωσεν, οὐδὲν εἰς χάριν πράσσων.

τότε γὰρ ἂν θανὼν

οὐκ ἦ φίλοισιν οὐδʼ ἐμοὶ τοσόνδʼ ἄχος.
1355

Χορός

θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτʼ ἂν ἦν.

Οἰδίπους

οὔκουν πατρός γʼ ἂν φονεὺς

ἦλθον οὐδὲ νυμφίος

βροτοῖς ἐκλήθην ὧν ἔφυν ἄπο.

νῦν δʼ ἄθεος μέν εἰμʼ, ἀνοσίων δὲ παῖς,
1360

ὁμολεχὴς δʼ ἀφʼ ὧν αὐτὸς ἔφυν τάλας.

εἰ δέ τι πρεσβύτερον ἔτι κακοῦ κακόν,
1365

τοῦτʼ ἔλαχʼ Οἰδίπους.

Translations (4)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1349 focus

My curse on him who from the cruel bond

That held my feet in that high pasture-land
1350

Freed me, and rescued me from murder there,

And saved my life! Vain kindness! Then to have died

Had spared this agony to me and mine.
1355

CH

Ay, would it had been so!

OED

Then had I ne’er

Been proved a parricide, ne’er borne the shame

Of marriage bonds incestuous! But now

I am God abandoned, Son of the unholy,
1360

Rival of him who gave me being. Ah woe!

What sorrow beyond sorrows hath chief place?
1365

That sorrow Oedipus must bear!

LEADER OF CH

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1349 focus

Fluch über Ihn, der von dem rauhen Band

In den Waldschluchten mir den Fuß löste, mich

Vom Tode rettend schirmte! Nimmer mir zu Dank that er's.

Fand ich da den Tod,

Mir und den Meinen lebt' ich nicht zu solcher Qual.
1320

Der Chor.

Mir selbst auch wäre dies erwünscht.

Oedipus.

Dann übt' ich nicht Vatermord,

Hieße dann den Menschen nicht

Des Weibes Gatte, deren Schooß mich trug.

Nun von den Göttern fern, und der Verruchten Sohn,
1325

Leb' ich und ihr gesellt, welcher ich selbst entsproß.

Kennte die Erde noch größere Schmach, denn die,

Traf sie den Oedipus!

Der Chor.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1349 focus

What pleasure now remains

For CEdipus? He cannot joy in aught

To sight or ear delightful. Curse on him,
1350

Whoe'er he was, that loosened my bound feet.
1350

And saved me, in Cithseron's vale, from death !

I owe him nothing : had I perished then,

Much happier had it been for you, my friends,

And for myself.
1355

Chorus

I too could wish thou hadst.

Oedipus

I should not then have murdered Laius ; then

I had not ta'en Jocasta to my bed ;

But now I am a guilty wretch, the son

Of a polluted mother, father now
1360

To my own brothers, all that 's horrible

To nature is the lot of CEdipus.

Chorus

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1349 focus

What now is left me to be seen, or loved,

Address'd, or heard with pleasure? O my friends,
1350

Drive hence, my friends, quick from your country drive

This pestilent destroyer, most accursed,

Of mortal men, most hateful to the gods.
1355

Chorus

Unhappy in thy ills, and in the sense

Oedipus

Hither I had not come this guilty wretch,

The murderer of my father, nor been call'd

Husband to those who gave me birth. But now,

Sprung from unhallow'd parents, giving sońs
1360

To those whose son I am, what woes are mine!

And if 'midst ills there be an heavier ill,

Chorus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-821-1 The νομάδος ¹ νομάδ’ ² νομὰς ³ μονάδ’ ⁴ ἔλυσ’ ⁵ ὃς ἀγρίας πέδας ⁶ ἀγρίας ⁷ πέδας ⁸ ἔλαβε ⁹ ἀπό ¹⁰ πέδας ¹¹ πέδας ἔλυσ’ ¹² ἀπ’ ¹³ ἔλυσ’ ¹⁴

mvp-comment-822-1 ἔρρυτο ¹⁵

mvp-comment-822-2 εἰς χάριν ¹⁶

mvp-comment-823-1 θέλοντι ¹⁷

mvp-comment-824-1 φονεὺς ἦλθον ¹⁸

mvp-comment-825-1 ( τούτων) ἀφ’ ὧν ¹⁹

mvp-comment-826-1 ἄθεος ²⁰ ἄθλιος ²¹ νῦν ²² ἀπάγετ’ ²³ ἀνοσίων ²⁴

mvp-comment-827-1 ὁμογενὴς δ’ ἀφ’ ὧν ἔφυν ²⁵ ὁμογενὴς ²⁶

mvp-comment-828-1 πρεσβύτερον ²⁷

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

1348. mvp-comment-754-1 ὥς σ' ἠθέλησα μήδ᾽ ἀναγνῶναί ποτε] (1) Unhappy for thy penetration no less than for thy calamity, how I could wish that I had never discovered who thou art. Cp. Hdt 2.91. where Perseus finds out who are his kindred, ἀναγνῶναι τοὺς συγγενέας. Or (2) as Solger trans. in 1824, Ich wünschte das du hättest nie dich selbst erkannt. How I would that thou hadst never made the discovery. Hesych. ἀναγνούσῃ, ἀναγνωρισάσῃ, ἀνάγνωσις, ἀναγνώρισις. The aorist without av follows the analogy of ὤφελον, ἐχρῆν, and the like. The dé in μηδέ opposes the discovery to what has followed it. Cp. 1229. Or (3) reading ὡς ἠθέλησα μηδέ σ' ἂν γνῶναί ποτε (Dindorf), or ὡς σ' ἠθέλησα μηδαμὰ γνῶναί ποτ᾿ ἄν (Dobr.) How I could wish never to have known thee. 1349. (1) Perish the man, no matter who, that loosed the cruel clog upon my feet, when I was sent astray. The plural of πέδη is more frequent than the singular, and the compound epithet ἐπιποδίας is more natural when in construction with a genitive: νομάδος, i. e.

1348. mvp-comment-754-2 ἐν χωρίῳ ἀγρονόμῳ ἀλωμένου, ἠγοῦν ἐκκειμένου. Cp. Tr. 271, ἵππους νομάδας ἐξιχνοσκοπῶν, Tracking out his mares that had strayed. (2) The Scholiast, who seems to have read ἔλαβ' or ἔλαβέ μ', explains: ἀπόλοιτό, φησιν, ὅστις ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγρίας πέδης τῆς διανεμομένης (gnawing asunder) τοὺς πόδας μου, ἔλαβεν καὶ διέσωσέν με. But such a meaning of νομás is inadmissible. 1354.5. (1) There is probably a change of subject, θανών being pendent nominative, For dying then, less grief had been my friends' and mine.' Others explain, (2) 'I had not been so great a sor- row to my friends and myself.' 615, φίλοις μέγα πένθος εὕρηται. for ἐμοί, supr. 379, αὐτὸς σύ σοί. Cp. Aj. And,

1358. mvp-comment-755-1 ἦλθον Cp. 1519, ἀλλὰ θεοῖς γ' ἔχθιστος ἥκω.

1359. mvp-comment-756-1 For the ellipse of the antecedent here and in 1361, cp. Ant. 1194-1195, τί γάρ σε μαλθάσσοιμ᾽ ἂν ὧν ἐσύστερον ψεύσται φανούμεθ᾽;

1361. mvp-comment-757-1 ὁμογενής In the active sense, like ὁμοσπόρος in 460 : i. e. γεννῶν ὁμοῦ.

1365. mvp-comment-758-1 πρεσβύτερον Cp. Aesch. Ch. 631, κακῶν δὲ πρεσβεύεται τὸ Λήμνιον λόγῳ.

1365. mvp-comment-758-2 ἔτι Εl. 558-559. τίς ἂν λόγος γένοιτ' ἂν αἰσχίων ἔτι; Hermann's correction is supported by the occurrence of the same word in the corresponding place of the strophe. (ἔτι lost because of dé τι; ἔφυν from 1361).

Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus 1349

Richard Jebb (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Oedipus

Perish the man, whoever he was, who freed me in the past years from the cruel shackle on my feet—a thankless deed! Had I died then,

I would not have been so sore a grief to my friends and to my own soul.
1355

Chorus

I too would have had it thus.

Current edition Experimental

Χορός

θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἂν ἦν.

Χορός

Χορός

θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτʼ ἂν ἦν.

My curse on him who from the cruel bond

That held my feet in that high pasture-land
1350

Freed me, and rescued me from murder there,

And saved my life! Vain kindness! Then to have died

Had spared this agony to me and mine.
1355

CH

Ay, would it had been so!

OED

Then had I ne’er

Been proved a parricide, ne’er borne the shame

Of marriage bonds incestuous! But now

I am God abandoned, Son of the unholy,
1360

Rival of him who gave me being. Ah woe!

What sorrow beyond sorrows hath chief place?
1365

That sorrow Oedipus must bear!

LEADER OF CH

Fluch über Ihn, der von dem rauhen Band

In den Waldschluchten mir den Fuß löste, mich

Vom Tode rettend schirmte! Nimmer mir zu Dank that er's.

Fand ich da den Tod,

Mir und den Meinen lebt' ich nicht zu solcher Qual.
1320

Der Chor.

Mir selbst auch wäre dies erwünscht.

Der Chor.

Chorus

I too could wish thou hadst.

Oedipus

I should not then have murdered Laius ; then

I had not ta'en Jocasta to my bed ;

But now I am a guilty wretch, the son

Of a polluted mother, father now
1360

To my own brothers, all that 's horrible

To nature is the lot of CEdipus.

Chorus

What now is left me to be seen, or loved,

Address'd, or heard with pleasure? O my friends,
1350

Drive hence, my friends, quick from your country drive

This pestilent destroyer, most accursed,

Of mortal men, most hateful to the gods.
1355

Chorus

Unhappy in thy ills, and in the sense

Oedipus

Hither I had not come this guilty wretch,

The murderer of my father, nor been call'd

Husband to those who gave me birth. But now,

Sprung from unhallow'd parents, giving sońs
1360

To those whose son I am, what woes are mine!

And if 'midst ills there be an heavier ill,

Chorus

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Oedipus Perish the man, whoever he was, who freed me in the past years from the cruel shackle on my feet—a thankless deed! Had I died then, I would not have been so sore a grief to my friends and to my own soul. 1355

Chorus I too would have had it thus.

Current edition Experimental

Χορός θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἂν ἦν.

Χορός

Χορός θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτʼ ἂν ἦν.

My curse on him who from the cruel bond That held my feet in that high pasture-land 1350 Freed me, and rescued me from murder there, And saved my life! Vain kindness! Then to have died Had spared this agony to me and mine. 1355

CH Ay, would it had been so!

OED Then had I ne’er Been proved a parricide, ne’er borne the shame Of marriage bonds incestuous! But now I am God abandoned, Son of the unholy, 1360 Rival of him who gave me being. Ah woe! What sorrow beyond sorrows hath chief place? 1365 That sorrow Oedipus must bear!

LEADER OF CH

Fluch über Ihn, der von dem rauhen Band In den Waldschluchten mir den Fuß löste, mich Vom Tode rettend schirmte! Nimmer mir zu Dank that er's. Fand ich da den Tod, Mir und den Meinen lebt' ich nicht zu solcher Qual. 1320

Der Chor. Mir selbst auch wäre dies erwünscht.

Oedipus. Dann übt' ich nicht Vatermord, Hieße dann den Menschen nicht Des Weibes Gatte, deren Schooß mich trug. Nun von den Göttern fern, und der Verruchten Sohn, 1325 Leb' ich und ihr gesellt, welcher ich selbst entsproß. Kennte die Erde noch größere Schmach, denn die, Traf sie den Oedipus!

Der Chor.

Chorus I too could wish thou hadst.

Oedipus I should not then have murdered Laius ; then I had not ta'en Jocasta to my bed ; But now I am a guilty wretch, the son Of a polluted mother, father now 1360 To my own brothers, all that 's horrible To nature is the lot of CEdipus.

Chorus

What now is left me to be seen, or loved, Address'd, or heard with pleasure? O my friends, 1350 Drive hence, my friends, quick from your country drive This pestilent destroyer, most accursed, Of mortal men, most hateful to the gods. 1355

Chorus Unhappy in thy ills, and in the sense

Oedipus Hither I had not come this guilty wretch, The murderer of my father, nor been call'd Husband to those who gave me birth. But now, Sprung from unhallow'd parents, giving sońs 1360 To those whose son I am, what woes are mine! And if 'midst ills there be an heavier ill,

Chorus

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Oedipus

Perish the man, whoever he was, who freed me in the past years from the cruel shackle on my feet—a thankless deed! Had I died then,

I would not have been so sore a grief to my friends and to my own soul.
1355

Chorus

I too would have had it thus.

Χορός

θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἂν ἦν.

Χορός

θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτʼ ἂν ἦν.

My curse on him who from the cruel bond

That held my feet in that high pasture-land
1350

Freed me, and rescued me from murder there,

And saved my life! Vain kindness! Then to have died

Had spared this agony to me and mine.
1355

CH

Ay, would it had been so!

OED

Then had I ne’er

Been proved a parricide, ne’er borne the shame

Of marriage bonds incestuous! But now

I am God abandoned, Son of the unholy,
1360

Rival of him who gave me being. Ah woe!

What sorrow beyond sorrows hath chief place?
1365

That sorrow Oedipus must bear!

Fluch über Ihn, der von dem rauhen Band

In den Waldschluchten mir den Fuß löste, mich

Vom Tode rettend schirmte! Nimmer mir zu Dank that er's.

Fand ich da den Tod,

Mir und den Meinen lebt' ich nicht zu solcher Qual.
1320

Der Chor.

Mir selbst auch wäre dies erwünscht.

Chorus

I too could wish thou hadst.

Oedipus

I should not then have murdered Laius ; then

I had not ta'en Jocasta to my bed ;

But now I am a guilty wretch, the son

Of a polluted mother, father now
1360

To my own brothers, all that 's horrible

To nature is the lot of CEdipus.

What now is left me to be seen, or loved,

Address'd, or heard with pleasure? O my friends,
1350

Drive hence, my friends, quick from your country drive

This pestilent destroyer, most accursed,

Of mortal men, most hateful to the gods.
1355

Chorus

Unhappy in thy ills, and in the sense

Oedipus

Hither I had not come this guilty wretch,

The murderer of my father, nor been call'd

Husband to those who gave me birth. But now,

Sprung from unhallow'd parents, giving sońs
1360

To those whose son I am, what woes are mine!

And if 'midst ills there be an heavier ill,