Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus 408

Richard Jebb (Translator)

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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)) — 408 focus
εἰ καὶ τυραννεῖς, ἐξισωτέον τὸ γοῦν
ἴσ᾽ ἀντιλέξαι· τοῦδε γὰρ κἀγὼ κρατῶ.
οὐ γάρ τι σοὶ ζῶ δοῦλος, ἀλλὰ Λοξίᾳ·
410
ὥστ᾽ οὐ Κρέοντος προστάτου γεγράψομαι.
λέγω δ᾽, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τυφλόν μ' ὠνείδισας·
σὺ καὶ δέδορκας κοὐ βλέπεις ἵνʼ εἶ κακοῦ,
οὐδ᾽ ἔνθα ναίεις, οὐδ᾽ ὅτων οἰκεῖς μέτα.
ἆρ' οἶσθ᾽ ἀφ᾽ ὧν εἶ; καὶ λέληθας ἐχθρὸς ὢν
415
τοῖς σοῖσιν αὐτοῦ νέρθε κἀπὶ γῆς ἄνω,
καί σ᾽ ἀμφιπλὴξ μητρός τε καὶ τοῦ σοῦ πατρὸς
ἐλᾷ ποτ᾿ ἐκ γῆς τῆσδε δεινόπους ἀρά,
βλέποντα νῦν μὲν ὄρθ᾽, ἔπειτα δὲ σκότον.
βοῆς δὲ τῆς σῆς ποῖος οὐκ ἔσται λιμήν,
420
ποῖος Κιθαιρὼν οὐχὶ σύμφωνος τάχα,
ὅταν καταίσθῃ τὸν ὑμέναιον, ὃν δόμοις
ἄνορμον εἰσέπλευσας, εὐπλοίας τυχών;
ἄλλων δὲ πλῆθος οὐκ ἐπαισθάνει κακῶν,
ἅ σ᾽ ἐξισώσει σοί τε καὶ τοῖς σοῖς τέκνοις.
425
πρὸς ταῦτα καὶ Κρέοντα καὶ τοὐμὸν στόμα
προπηλάκιζε. σοῦ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν βροτῶν
κάκιον ὅστις ἐκτριβήσεταί ποτε.
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 408 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 408 focus
Though thou art king and lord, I claim no less
Lordly prerogative to answer thee.
Speech is my realm; Apollo rules my life,
Not thou. Nor need I Creon to protect me.
410
Now, then: my blindness moves thy scorn:—thou hast
Thy sight, and seest not where thou art sunk in evil,
What halls thou dost inhabit, or with whom:
Know’st not from whence thou art—nay, to thy kin,
Buried in death and here above the ground,
415
Unwittingly art a most grievous foe.
415
And when thy father’s and thy mother’s curse
With fearful tread shall drive thee from the land,
On both sides lashing thee,—thine eye so clear
Beholding darkness in that day,—oh, then,
What region will not shudder at thy cry?
420
What echo in all Cithaeron will be mute,
When thou perceiv’st, what bride-song in thy hall
Wafted thy gallant bark with nattering gale
To anchor,—where? And other store of ill
Thou seest not, that shall show thee as thou art,
Merged with thy children in one horror of birth.
425
Then rail at noble Creon, and contemn
My sacred utterance! No life on earth
More vilely shall be rooted out, than thine.
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.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 408 focus
I did not come to thee
Unsent for.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 408 focus
To answer thee; this pow'r is mine; to these
I am no vassal; Phœbus is my lord :
Nor will I be enroll'd amongst those who wait
On Creon for support. I tell thee then,
410
Me since with taunts thou hast reviled as blind,
Thou hast indeed thine eyes, yet canst not see
What ills inclose thee round, nor where thou hast
Thy habitation, nor with whom thou livest.
Know'st thou who gave thee birth? Thou art a foe,
And know'st it not, to those allied to thee
415
Most closely, whom the realms beneath contain,
And who behold the light of heav'n. The curse
Of father and of mother on each side
With dreadful steps pursues thee, and ere long
Will chase thee from this land, now blest with sight,
Then blind. How will Cithæron, how each strand
420
Ere long re-echo to thy mournful cries,
When thou shalt know that, driv'n by swelling gales,
The port of marriage thou hast gain'd, thy bark
Where anchor cannot hold! The numerous train
Of other ills thou seest not which will rank
In the same line thee and thy sons alike.
425
Go to; with foul revilings Creon taunt,
And my true voice; yet thing more vile than thou
Is not 'mong mortals that shall e'er be crush'd.

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-285-1 εἰ καὶ 1 εἰ καὶ 2

mvp-comment-285-2 ἐξισωτέον 3

mvp-comment-286-1 Λοξίᾳ 4

mvp-comment-286-2 ὥστ’ οὐ κρέοντος 5

mvp-comment-286-3 γεγράψομαι 6 Κρέοντος 7

mvp-comment-287-1 λέγω δ’ 8

mvp-comment-287-2 τυφλόν μ’ ὠνείδισας 9

mvp-comment-288-1 σὺ καὶ δέδορκας 10

mvp-comment-289-1 ἔνθα ναίεις 11

mvp-comment-290-1 ἆρ’ οἶσθα 12 καὶ 13

mvp-comment-291-1 ἀμφιπλὴξ 14 μητρός, πατρός 15

mvp-comment-292-1 δεινόπους 16

mvp-comment-293-1 Βλέποντα 17 βλέπειν σκότον 18

mvp-comment-294-1 βοῆς δὲ 19 λιμήν 20

mvp-comment-295-1 ποῖος Κιθαιρὼν 21

mvp-comment-295-2 τὸν ὑμέναιον ὃν εἰσέπλευσας 22 δόμοις 23

mvp-comment-295-3 εὐπλοίας τυχών 24

mvp-comment-296-1 ἄλλων δὲ 25 ἄλλων πλῆθος κακῶν 26

mvp-comment-297-1 ἅ σ’ ἐξισώσει 27 ἅ σ’ 28

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

408-409. mvp-comment-247-1 ἐξισωτέον .. ἀντιλέξαι One point of equality must be maintained,the right of making full reply. ἴσα is added pleonastically. See Essay on Language § 40. 5. p. 76. τὸ .. ἀντιλέξαι is (1) accusative in regimen, or (2) epexegetic infinitive after ἐξισωτέον. For this impersonal passive, see Essay on Language § 31. 3. c. p. 54, and cp. infr. 628, ἀρκτέον.

409-411. mvp-comment-248-1 τοῦδε .. γεγράψομαι I too am lord of my speech, for my life is bound to Loxias and not to you. And being his servant, I shall not be enrolled under the protection of Creon. In respect of speech the prophet has authority, as the king has in matters of state. Cp. Ant. 993-994. The metic had need of a προστάτης, not the free citizen, still less one who is the retainer of a god.

412. mvp-comment-249-1 λέγω δ' And I reply. Continuing the sense from ἀντιλέξαι.

412. mvp-comment-249-2 τυφλόν, sc. ὡς ὄντα. See Essay on Language § 39, I. c. p. 72.

413. mvp-comment-250-1 A more pointed way of saying, σὺ καὶ δεδορκὼς οὐ βλέπεις ἵν᾽ εἰ κακοῦ. Cp. 419. See Essay on Language § 36, В. 8. p. 68.

414. mvp-comment-251-1 ἔνθα ναίεις i. e. In your own country and in your father's house.

415. mvp-comment-252-1 ἆρ᾽ οἶσθ᾽ ἀφ᾽ ὧν εἰ This question first re-awakens in Oedipus the old desire to know his birth. Cp. 437, 451.

415. mvp-comment-252-2 καί Moreover.

417. mvp-comment-253-1 ἀμφιπλήξ On both sides lashing thee. The twofold curse reminds the poet of the favourite image of the διπλῆ μάστιξ.

417. mvp-comment-253-2 τοῦ σοῦ Ε. on L. p. 33. 6. b, infr. 459.

418. mvp-comment-254-1 As the sentence proceeds. the image of the curse becomes more distinct and personal. Cp. El. 491, χαλκόπους Ἐρινύς.

419. mvp-comment-255-1 Thy now clear sight thenceforth seeing darkness only. Essay on Language p. 70.

420-421. mvp-comment-256-1 ποῖος οὐκ ἔσται λιμήν i. e. τίς τόπος οὐκ ἔσται λιμήν; ποῖος Κιθαιρών, i.e. πῶς οὐχὶ Κιθαιρών, κ.τ.λ. The second ποῖος is used by a sort of attraction or echo from the previous clause, and may be explained by the adverbial use of the pronoun noticed in Essay on Language pp. 59, 83. This is better than to suppose Κιθαιρών to be put by synecdoche for any mountain. Cp. Phil. 451, ποῦ χρὴ τίθεσθαι ταῦτα .. ποῦ δ' αἰνεῖν; where similarly the meaning of ποῦ varies in the two members of the sentence.

422. mvp-comment-257-1 The favorite image of a haven, already present to the mind in another connection (420), is applied to the marriage of Oedipus with the queen. Cp. infr. 1208 foll. The marriage and the marriage-song are identified. as elsewhere. When thou hast learnt the nature of that marriage, into which in yonder halls thou wast carried with full sail, to find no shelter there. δόμοις is added to indicate the meaning of the image that follows. Cp. Tr. 538. (Others take öv as cogn. accus., not = λιμένα but πλοῦν, and δόμοις as = εἰς δόμους. For this cp. Eur. H. F. 242.) 425. 'Which will show you in your true relation to yourself and to your children: i. e. Which will show you what you are, and that you are the brother of your children.