Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, Richard Jebb (Translator), 1313-1365

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Oedipus

Oh horror of darkness that enfolds me, unspeakable visitant,

resistless, sped by a wind too favorable! Oh, me! and once again, Oh, me! How my soul is pierced by the stab of these goads and by the memory of sorrows!
1315

Chorus

No wonder that amidst these woes

you mourn and bear a double pain.
1320

1321

Oedipus

Ah, friend, you still are steadfast in your care for me, and still have patience to tend to the blind man! Ah, me!

Your presence is not hidden from me—no, blind though I am, nevertheless I know your voice full well.
1325

Chorus

Man of dread deeds, how could you quench your vision in this way? What divinity urged you on?

1329

Oedipus

It was Apollo, friends, Apollo who brought these troubles

to pass, these terrible, terrible troubles. But the hand that struck my eyes was none other than my own, wretched that I am!
1330

Why should I see, when sight showed me nothing sweet?
1335

Chorus

These things were just as you say.

Oedipus

What, my friends, can I behold anymore, what can I love, what greeting can touch my ear with joy? Hurry, friends,

lead me from the land, lead me from here, the utterly lost,
1340

the thrice-accursed, the mortal most hateful to the gods!
1345

Chorus

Wretched alike for your fortune and for your understanding of it, would that I had never known you!

1349

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)) — 1313 focus

ἰὼ σκότου

νέφος ἐμὸν ἀπότροπον, ἐπιπλόμενον ἄφατον,

ἀδάματόν τε καὶ δυσούριστον *ὄν.
1315

οἴμοι,

οἴμοι μάλ᾽ αὖθις· οἷον εἰσέδυ μ' ἅμα

κέντρων τε τῶνδ᾽ οἴστρημα καὶ μνήμη κακῶν.

Χορός

καὶ θαῦμά γ᾽ οὐδὲν ἐν τοσοῖσδε πήμασιν

διπλᾶ σε πενθεῖν καὶ διπλᾶ φέρειν κακά.
1320

Οἰδίπους
α

ἰὼ φίλος,

σὺ μὲν ἐμὸς ἐπίπολος ἔτι μόνιμος· ἔτι γὰρ

ὑπομένεις με τὸν τυφλὸν κηδεύων.

φεῦ φεῦ.

οὐ γάρ με λήθεις, ἀλλὰ γιγνώσκω σαφῶς,
1325

καίπερ σκοτεινός, τήν γε σὴν αὐδὴν ὅμως.

Χορός

ὦ δεινὰ δράσας, πῶς ἔτλης τοιαῦτα σὰς

ὄψεις μαρᾶναι; τίς σ᾽ ἐπῆρε δαιμόνων;

Οἰδίπους

Ἀπόλλων τάδ᾽ ἦν, Ἀπόλλων, φίλοι,

ὁ κακὰ κακῶς τελῶν ἐμοὶ τάδ᾽ ἐμὰ παθέα.
1330

ἔπαισε δ᾽ αὐτόχειρ νιν οὔτις, ἀλλ᾽ ἐγὼ τλάμων.

τί γὰρ ἔδει μ᾽ ὁρᾶν,

5

ὅτῳ γ᾽ ὁρῶντι μηδὲν ἦν ἰδεῖν γλυκύ;
1335

Χορός

ἦν ταῦθ᾽ ὅπωσπερ καὶ σὺ φῄς.

Οἰδίπους

τί δῆτ᾽ ἐμοὶ βλεπτόν, ἢ

στερκτόν, ἢ προσήγορον

ἔτ᾽ ἔστ᾽ ἀκούειν ἡδονᾷ, φίλοι;

ἀπάγετ᾽ ἐκτόπιον ὅτι τάχιστά με,
1340

ἀπάγετ᾽, ὦ φίλοι, τὸν *ὄλεθρον μέγαν,

τὸν καταρατότατον, ἔτι δὲ καὶ θεοῖς
1345

ἐχθρότατον βροτῶν.

Χορός

δείλαιε τοῦ νοῦ τῆς τε συμφορᾶς ἴσον,

ὥς σ᾽ ἠθέλησα μήδ᾽ ἀναγνῶναί ποτε.

Οἰδίπους
β

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)) — 1313-1366 focus

Οἰδίπους

ἰὼ σκότου

νέφος ἐμὸν ἀπότροπον, ἐπιπλόμενον ἄφατον,

ἀδάματόν τε καὶ δυσούριστον ὄν.
1315

οἴμοι,

οἴμοι μάλʼ αὖθις· οἷον εἰσέδυ μʼ ἅμα

κέντρων τε τῶνδʼ οἴστρημα καὶ μνήμη κακῶν.

Χορός

καὶ θαῦμά γʼ οὐδὲν ἐν τοσοῖσδε πήμασιν

διπλᾶ σε πενθεῖν καὶ διπλᾶ φορεῖν κακά.
1320

1321

Οἰδίπους

ἰὼ φίλος,

σὺ μὲν ἐμὸς ἐπίπολος ἔτι μόνιμος· ἔτι γὰρ

ὑπομένεις με τὸν τυφλὸν κηδεύων.

φεῦ φεῦ.

οὐ γάρ με λήθεις, ἀλλὰ γιγνώσκω σαφῶς,
1325

καίπερ σκοτεινός, τήν γε σὴν αὐδὴν ὅμως.

Χορός

ὦ δεινὰ δράσας, πῶς ἔτλης τοιαῦτα σὰς

ὄψεις μαρᾶναι; τίς σʼ ἐπῆρε δαιμόνων;

1329

Οἰδίπους

Ἀπόλλων τάδʼ ἦν, Ἀπόλλων, φίλοι,

ὁ κακὰ κακὰ τελῶν ἐμὰ τάδʼ ἐμὰ πάθεα.
1330

ἔπαισε δʼ αὐτόχειρ νιν οὔτις, ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ τλάμων.

τί γὰρ ἔδει μʼ ὁρᾶν,

ὅτῳ γʼ ὁρῶντι μηδὲν ἦν ἰδεῖν γλυκύ;
1335

Χορός

ἦν τᾷδʼ ὅπωσπερ καὶ σύ φῄς.

Οἰδίπους

τί δῆτʼ ἐμοὶ βλεπτὸν ἢ

στερκτὸν ἢ προσήγορον

ἔτʼ ἔστʼ ἀκούειν ἡδονᾷ φίλοι;

ἀπάγετʼ ἐκτόπιον ὅ τι τάχιστά με,
1340

ἀπάγετʼ, ὦ φίλοι, τὸν μέγʼ ὀλέθριον

τὸν καταρατότατον, ἔτι δὲ καὶ θεοῖς

ἐχθρότατον βροτῶν.
1345

Χορός

δείλαιε τοῦ νοῦ τῆς τε συμφορᾶς ἴσον,

ὡς σʼ ἠθέλησα μηδέ γʼ ἂν γνῶναί ποτε.

1349

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)) — 1313 focus

O dark cloud, descending

Unutterably on me! invincible,

Abhorred, borne onward by too sure a wind.

Woe, woe!
1315

Woe! Yet again I voice it, with such pangs

Both from these piercing wounds I am assailed

And from within through memory of my grief.

CH

Nay, ’tis no marvel if thy matchless woe

Redouble thine affliction and thy moan!
1320

OED

Ah! Friend, thou art still constant! Thou remainest

To tend me and to care for the blind man.

Alas!

I know thee well, nor fail I to perceive,

Dark though I be, thy kind familiar voice.

CH

How dreadful is thy deed! How couldst thou bear

Thus to put out thine eyes? What Power impelled thee?

OED

Apollo, dear my friends, Apollo brought to pass

In dreadful wise, this my calamitous woe.
1330

But I,—no being else,—I with this hand destroyed them.

For why should I have sight,

To whom nought now gave pleasure through the eye?
1335

CH

There speak’st thou truly.

OED

What could I see, whom hear

With gladness, whom delight in any more?

Lead me away out of the land with speed!

Be rid of the destroyer, the accursed,

Whom most of all the world the Gods abhor.

CH

O miserable in thy calamity

And not less miserable in thy despair,

Would thou wert still in ignorance of thy birth!

OED

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)) — 1313 focus

Ogräßliches

Oedipus.

Gewölk meiner Nacht, das einstürmt' auf mich,

Voll Grau'n, unbezwinglich, gränzenlos ewig! Weh mir!

Und weh mir nochmals! Wie durchbohren mich vereint
1290

Die Wuth der Schmerzen und des Gräu'ls Erinnerung!

Der Chor.

Kein Wunder wahrlich, daß in Martern solcher Art

Du doppelt wehklagst, doppelt trägst dein Ungemach!

theurer Freund,

Oedipus.

Allein treue Stüze mir! Pflegst du doch
1295

Allein noch mich Blinden, ja, du harrst aus bei mir! Weh!

Du bist mir nicht verborgen; denn obwohl in Nacht,

Erkenn' ich doch ganz deutlich deiner Stimme Ton.

Der Chor.

Ha, Frevler! Wie vermochtest du's, der Augen Licht

Also zu schänden? Welcher Gott trieb dich dazu?
1300

Oedipus.

Es war Phöbos, Freunde, ja, Phöbos war's,

Der dies Arge mir, dies Gräßliche verhängt!

Doch traf sie keines Andern Hand, ich Armer selbst traf sie.

Wozu sollt' ich seh'n,

Dem, wenn er sah, nichts Süßes mehr zu schauen war?
1305

Der Chor.

Wohl war es also, wie du sagst.

Oedipus.

Was kann ich schau'n, Freunde, was

Lieben, wessen Rede kann

Zu hören fortan eine Lust mir sein?

Führt mich von hinnen doch, ohne zu säumen, fort,
1310

Führt mich, o Freunde, fort, mich, den verderblichsten,

Mich, den verfluchten Mann, den vor den Sterblichen

Allen der Himmel haßt!

Der Chor.

Du durch Bewußtsein und Geschick Unseliger,

Wie muß ich wünschen, daß ich niemals dich gekannt!
1315

Oedipus.

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)) — 1313 focus

Open the doors, he cries, and let all Thebes

Behold his parents' murderer, adding words

Not to be uttered ; banished now, he says,

He must be, nor, devoted as he is

By his own curse, remain in this sad place.
1315

He wants a kind conductor and a friend

To help him now, for 'tis too much to bear. -

But you will see him soon, for lo ! the doors

Are opened, and you will behold a sight

That would to pity move his deadliest foe.

Chorus
Scene II. (Edipus, Messenger, Chorus.

Oh ! horrid sight ! more dreadful spectacle

Than e'er these eyes beheld ! what madness urged thee

To this sad deed ? What power malignant heaped

On thy poor head such complicated woe ?

Unhappy man, alas ! I would have held

Some converse with thee, but thy looks afiiight me j

I cannot bear to speak to thee.
1320

Where am I ? and whence comes the voice 1 heai* ?
1320

Where art thou, fortup.e ?
1320

Chok. Changed to misery,
1320

Dreadful to hear, and dreadful to behold.
1320

Oedipus
(Edi. O me !

O cruel darkness ! endless, hopeless night,

Shame, terrors, and unutterable woe !

Mere painful is the memory of my crimes

Than all the wounds my wild distraction made.

Chorus

Thus doubly cursed, O prince ! I wonder not

At thy affliction.

Oedipus

Aii; thou here, my friend?

I know thy voice ; thou wouldst not leave the wretched ;

Thou art my faithful, kind assistant still.

Chorus

How couldst thou thus deprive thyself of sight?

What madness drove thee to the desperate deed ?

What god inspired?

Oedipus

Apollo was the cause ;

He was, my friends, the cause of all my woes ;

But for these eyes — myself did quench their light —

I want not them ; what use were they to me,

But to discover scenes of endless woe ;

Chorus

'Tis but too true.

Oedipus

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)) — 1313 focus

Woe, woe, woe, woe! O miserable me!

Wretch that I am, ah, whither am I borne?

Whose ears do now my cries of anguish reach?

To what are thy decrees, O fortune, changed

Chorus

To horrors, which nor eye nor ear can bear.

Oedipus

Ah me, this cloud of darkness thick'ning round,

Hateful, beyond expression, beyond cure,

And beyond hope! Ah me, how keen the sting

Of frenzy, and the memory of my ills!

Chorus

No marvel if in sufferings great as thine

Redoubled ills bring on redoubled woes.

Oedipus

Thou art a friend, yet stedfast, faithful yet;

Thy care, thy kind attention yet remains
1330

E'en to the blind. I know thee, though mine eyes

Are dark, distinctly know thee, and thy voice.

Chorus

Dreadful thy deeds: how hast thou dared thine eyes

To mangle thus? What god enforced this rage?

Oedipus

This was the work of Phœbus: O my friends,

Phœbus accomplish'd all my ills, my woes.

With his own hands no man e'er rent his eyes,

But I unhappy. Why should I have sight,

Since, had I eyes, nought pleasant could I see ?

Chorus

Mournful these truths, and just are thy complaints.

Oedipus

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-805-1 ἀπότροπον ¹

mvp-comment-805-2 ἐπιπλόμενον ²

mvp-comment-806-1 δυσούριστον ³ δυσούριστον ὄν ⁴ δυσούριστ’ ἰόν ⁵ δυσοιώνιστον ⁶ δυσεξούριστον ⁷

mvp-comment-807-1 κέντρων ⁸

mvp-comment-808-1 ἐν τοσοῖσδε πήμασιν ⁹

mvp-comment-809-1 πενθεῖν … καὶ φέρειν ¹⁰ διπλᾶ πενθεῖν ¹¹ φέρειν ¹²

mvp-comment-810-1 μόνιμος ¹³

mvp-comment-811-1 A distinct echo of Hom. Il. 24.563

καὶ δὲ σὲ γιγνώσκω, Πρίαμε, φρεσίν, οὐδέ με λήθεις.

Besides λήθω, λήσω, λέληθα, Soph. has ἔληθον ( Soph. El. 1359 ). Cp. Soph. OC 891 , where Oed. recognises the voice of Theseus.

mvp-comment-812-1 σκοτεινός ¹⁴

mvp-comment-813-1 Ἀπόλλων ¹⁵ τελῶν ¹⁶ ἔπαισε ¹⁷

mvp-comment-814-1 ὁ κακὰ κακὰ ¹⁸ κακὰ ¹⁹ ἐμὰ ²⁰ τάδε, κακὰ, ἐμὰ ²¹

mvp-comment-815-1 νιν ²² ἀλλ’ ²³

mvp-comment-816-1 The simple mode of expression would have been: τί ἐμοὶ ἡδέως βλεπτόν, ἢ στερκτόν, ἢ ἀκουστὸν ἔτ’ ἐστίν; what henceforth can be pleasurably seen, or loved, or heard by me? But instead of the third clause, we have ἢ προσήγορον | ἔτ’ ἔστ’ ἀκούειν ἡδονᾷ, “or what greeting is it longer possible for me to hear with pleasure? ” προσήγορον ²⁴

mvp-comment-817-1 ἐκτόπιον ²⁵

mvp-comment-818-1 τὸν μέγ’ ὀλέθριον ²⁶ ὀλέθριον ²⁷ ὄλεθρον μέγαν ²⁸

mvp-comment-819-1 He is to be pitied alike for the intrinsic misery of his fate, and for his full apprehension (συνέσεως, schol.) of it. A clouded mind would suffer less.

mvp-comment-820-1 ἂν ²⁹ ἠθέλησα· γε ³⁰ μηδέ ³¹ ὥς σ’ ἠθέλησα μηδ’ ἀναγνῶναί ποτε ³² μηδέ ³³ ἀναγνῶναι ³⁴ ἂν γνῶναι ³⁵ ὡς ἠθέλησα μηδέ σ’ ἂν γνῶναι ³⁶ ὥς σ’ ἠθέλησα μηδέ γ’ ἂν γνῶναι ³⁷ ὥς σ’ ³⁸ γ’ ³⁹ γνῶναι ⁴⁰ σ’ ⁴¹ ἂν ⁴²

mvp-comment-821-1 The νομάδος ⁴³ νομάδ’ ⁴⁴ νομὰς ⁴⁵ μονάδ’ ⁴⁶ ἔλυσ’ ⁴⁷ ὃς ἀγρίας πέδας ⁴⁸ ἀγρίας ⁴⁹ πέδας ⁵⁰ ἔλαβε ⁵¹ ἀπό ⁵² πέδας ⁵³ πέδας ἔλυσ’ ⁵⁴ ἀπ’ ⁵⁵ ἔλυσ’ ⁵⁶

mvp-comment-822-1 ἔρρυτο ⁵⁷

mvp-comment-822-2 εἰς χάριν ⁵⁸

mvp-comment-823-1 θέλοντι ⁵⁹

mvp-comment-824-1 φονεὺς ἦλθον ⁶⁰

mvp-comment-825-1 ( τούτων) ἀφ’ ὧν ⁶¹

mvp-comment-826-1 ἄθεος ⁶² ἄθλιος ⁶³ νῦν ⁶⁴ ἀπάγετ’ ⁶⁵ ἀνοσίων ⁶⁶

mvp-comment-827-1 ὁμογενὴς δ’ ἀφ’ ὧν ἔφυν ⁶⁷ ὁμογενὴς ⁶⁸

mvp-comment-828-1 πρεσβύτερον ⁶⁹

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

1313-1318. mvp-comment-742-1 O cloud of darkness cov. ering me, horrible, unutterably lowering on my head, unconquerable, and wafted to me by an evil fate.' For δυσούριστον, cp. 423, ἄνορμον εἰσέπλευσας εὐπλοίας τυχών, For ἐμόν, expressing a feeling of personal appropriation, cp. Αj. 395, σκότος, ἐμὸν φάος : О. С. 1549, ὦ φῶς ἀφεγγές, πρόσθε πού ποτ' ἦσθ' ἐμόν.

1318. mvp-comment-743-1 κέντρων.. τῶνδε The points of the clasps, which he still felt as if piercing his eye-balls, or rather the wounds inflicted by them. How the pang of these sharp wounds enters into me together with the remembrance of my calamity!' The word κέντρον is again used of a stabbing pain in Tr. 840, κέντρ᾽ ἐπιζέσαντα.

1319-1320. mvp-comment-744-1 The coldness of this and similar expressions of the chorus, who are stunned by the sight, acts as a foil to the passion of Oedipus.

1322. mvp-comment-745-1 The line is cited by Eustathius in this form. ἐμοῖς ἐπὶ πόνοις, quoted as a v. r. in L. mg., has arisen from the misreading of ἐπίπολος by some early scribe. Cp. the v. r. τήνδε θεσπίζει γραφήν for τὴνδ᾽ ἔθεσθ᾽ ἐπιστροφήν, supr. 134. με is governed, (1) by ὑπομένεις, You endure me, do not avoid me; (2) by κηδεύων.

1325. mvp-comment-746-1 Cp. Il. 24.563, καὶ δὲ σὲ γιγνώσκω, Πρίαμε, φρεσίν, οὐδέ με λήθεις, κ.τ.λ.

1329. mvp-comment-747-1 Supr. 96-8.

1330. mvp-comment-748-1 *κακῶς. . *ἐμοί The correction has the effect of making a lyric iambic trimeter of this and of infr. 1350, which has not been successfully emended as a dochmiac line. The repetition of the same word (κακὰ κακά, ἐμὰ ἐμά) is feeble in a speech of Oedipus, although admissible in the chorus, supr. 1217. For similar iambic lines, cp. Eur. Bacch. 992, 1012: Phoen. 647, 666.

1331. mvp-comment-749-1 οὔτις, ἀλλ᾽ Cp. Il. 21.275, ἄλλος δ' οὔτις μοι τόσον αἴτιος Οὐρανιώνων, ἀλλὰ φίλη μήτηρ.

1334. mvp-comment-750-1 ὁρᾶν ἰδεῖν • Wherefore should I have sight, who could never again see aught that was pleasant to see?' For ὁρῶντι, cp. infr. 1371. R2

1337-1339. mvp-comment-751-1 What then can I look upon, what can I love, what can I hear any more addressing me with pleasure. O my friends? For the difference of Trin. and Trin. see the account of the MSS.

1337-1339. mvp-comment-751-2 ἡδονᾷ, dat. of manner. Essay on Language p. 20.

1341. mvp-comment-752-1 *ὄλεθρον Sc. ὄντα.

1345. mvp-comment-753-1 ἔτι Not only now accursed, but hated from the beginning.

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).

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Oedipus Oh horror of darkness that enfolds me, unspeakable visitant, resistless, sped by a wind too favorable! Oh, me! and once again, Oh, me! How my soul is pierced by the stab of these goads and by the memory of sorrows! 1315

Chorus No wonder that amidst these woes you mourn and bear a double pain. 1320

Oedipus Ah, friend, you still are steadfast in your care for me, and still have patience to tend to the blind man! Ah, me! Your presence is not hidden from me—no, blind though I am, nevertheless I know your voice full well. 1325

Chorus Man of dread deeds, how could you quench your vision in this way? What divinity urged you on?

Oedipus It was Apollo, friends, Apollo who brought these troubles to pass, these terrible, terrible troubles. But the hand that struck my eyes was none other than my own, wretched that I am! 1330 Why should I see, when sight showed me nothing sweet? 1335

Chorus These things were just as you say.

Oedipus What, my friends, can I behold anymore, what can I love, what greeting can touch my ear with joy? Hurry, friends, lead me from the land, lead me from here, the utterly lost, 1340 the thrice-accursed, the mortal most hateful to the gods! 1345

Chorus Wretched alike for your fortune and for your understanding of it, would that I had never known you!

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 καὶ θαῦμά γ᾽ οὐδὲν ἐν τοσοῖσδε πήμασιν διπλᾶ σε πενθεῖν καὶ διπλᾶ φέρειν κακά. 1320

Οἰδίπους α

Χορός ὦ δεινὰ δράσας, πῶς ἔτλης τοιαῦτα σὰς ὄψεις μαρᾶναι; τίς σ᾽ ἐπῆρε δαιμόνων;

Οἰδίπους

Χορός ἦν ταῦθ᾽ ὅπωσπερ καὶ σὺ φῄς.

Χορός δείλαιε τοῦ νοῦ τῆς τε συμφορᾶς ἴσον, ὥς σ᾽ ἠθέλησα μήδ᾽ ἀναγνῶναί ποτε.

Οἰδίπους β

Χορός θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἂν ἦν.

Χορός

Χορός καὶ θαῦμά γʼ οὐδὲν ἐν τοσοῖσδε πήμασιν διπλᾶ σε πενθεῖν καὶ διπλᾶ φορεῖν κακά. 1320

Χορός ὦ δεινὰ δράσας, πῶς ἔτλης τοιαῦτα σὰς ὄψεις μαρᾶναι; τίς σʼ ἐπῆρε δαιμόνων;

Χορός ἦν τᾷδʼ ὅπωσπερ καὶ σύ φῄς.

Χορός δείλαιε τοῦ νοῦ τῆς τε συμφορᾶς ἴσον, ὡς σʼ ἠθέλησα μηδέ γʼ ἂν γνῶναί ποτε.

Χορός θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτʼ ἂν ἦν.

O dark cloud, descending Unutterably on me! invincible, Abhorred, borne onward by too sure a wind. Woe, woe! 1315 Woe! Yet again I voice it, with such pangs Both from these piercing wounds I am assailed And from within through memory of my grief.

CH Nay, ’tis no marvel if thy matchless woe Redouble thine affliction and thy moan! 1320

OED

Ah! Friend, thou art still constant! Thou remainest To tend me and to care for the blind man. Alas! I know thee well, nor fail I to perceive, Dark though I be, thy kind familiar voice.

CH How dreadful is thy deed! How couldst thou bear Thus to put out thine eyes? What Power impelled thee?

OED

Apollo, dear my friends, Apollo brought to pass In dreadful wise, this my calamitous woe. 1330 But I,—no being else,—I with this hand destroyed them. For why should I have sight, To whom nought now gave pleasure through the eye? 1335

CH There speak’st thou truly.

OED What could I see, whom hear With gladness, whom delight in any more? Lead me away out of the land with speed! Be rid of the destroyer, the accursed, Whom most of all the world the Gods abhor.

CH O miserable in thy calamity And not less miserable in thy despair, Would thou wert still in ignorance of thy birth!

OED

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

Ogräßliches

Oedipus. Gewölk meiner Nacht, das einstürmt' auf mich, Voll Grau'n, unbezwinglich, gränzenlos ewig! Weh mir! Und weh mir nochmals! Wie durchbohren mich vereint 1290 Die Wuth der Schmerzen und des Gräu'ls Erinnerung!

Der Chor. Kein Wunder wahrlich, daß in Martern solcher Art Du doppelt wehklagst, doppelt trägst dein Ungemach!

theurer Freund,

Oedipus. Allein treue Stüze mir! Pflegst du doch 1295 Allein noch mich Blinden, ja, du harrst aus bei mir! Weh! Du bist mir nicht verborgen; denn obwohl in Nacht, Erkenn' ich doch ganz deutlich deiner Stimme Ton.

Der Chor. Ha, Frevler! Wie vermochtest du's, der Augen Licht Also zu schänden? Welcher Gott trieb dich dazu? 1300

Oedipus.

Es war Phöbos, Freunde, ja, Phöbos war's, Der dies Arge mir, dies Gräßliche verhängt! Doch traf sie keines Andern Hand, ich Armer selbst traf sie. Wozu sollt' ich seh'n, Dem, wenn er sah, nichts Süßes mehr zu schauen war? 1305

Der Chor. Wohl war es also, wie du sagst.

Oedipus. Was kann ich schau'n, Freunde, was Lieben, wessen Rede kann Zu hören fortan eine Lust mir sein? Führt mich von hinnen doch, ohne zu säumen, fort, 1310 Führt mich, o Freunde, fort, mich, den verderblichsten, Mich, den verfluchten Mann, den vor den Sterblichen Allen der Himmel haßt!

Der Chor. Du durch Bewußtsein und Geschick Unseliger, Wie muß ich wünschen, daß ich niemals dich gekannt! 1315

Oedipus.

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.

Oedipus (Edi. O me !

O cruel darkness ! endless, hopeless night, Shame, terrors, and unutterable woe ! Mere painful is the memory of my crimes Than all the wounds my wild distraction made.

Chorus Thus doubly cursed, O prince ! I wonder not At thy affliction.

Oedipus

Aii; thou here, my friend? I know thy voice ; thou wouldst not leave the wretched ; Thou art my faithful, kind assistant still.

Chorus How couldst thou thus deprive thyself of sight? What madness drove thee to the desperate deed ? What god inspired?

Oedipus Apollo was the cause ; He was, my friends, the cause of all my woes ; But for these eyes — myself did quench their light — I want not them ; what use were they to me, But to discover scenes of endless woe ;

Chorus 'Tis but too true.

Oedipus

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

Woe, woe, woe, woe! O miserable me! Wretch that I am, ah, whither am I borne? Whose ears do now my cries of anguish reach? To what are thy decrees, O fortune, changed

Chorus To horrors, which nor eye nor ear can bear.

Oedipus

Ah me, this cloud of darkness thick'ning round, Hateful, beyond expression, beyond cure, And beyond hope! Ah me, how keen the sting Of frenzy, and the memory of my ills!

Chorus No marvel if in sufferings great as thine Redoubled ills bring on redoubled woes.

Oedipus

Thou art a friend, yet stedfast, faithful yet; Thy care, thy kind attention yet remains 1330 E'en to the blind. I know thee, though mine eyes Are dark, distinctly know thee, and thy voice.

Chorus Dreadful thy deeds: how hast thou dared thine eyes To mangle thus? What god enforced this rage?

Oedipus This was the work of Phœbus: O my friends, Phœbus accomplish'd all my ills, my woes. With his own hands no man e'er rent his eyes, But I unhappy. Why should I have sight, Since, had I eyes, nought pleasant could I see ?

Chorus Mournful these truths, and just are thy complaints.

Oedipus

Oh horror of darkness that enfolds me, unspeakable visitant,

resistless, sped by a wind too favorable! Oh, me! and once again, Oh, me! How my soul is pierced by the stab of these goads and by the memory of sorrows!
1315

Chorus

No wonder that amidst these woes

you mourn and bear a double pain.
1320

Oedipus

Ah, friend, you still are steadfast in your care for me, and still have patience to tend to the blind man! Ah, me!

Your presence is not hidden from me—no, blind though I am, nevertheless I know your voice full well.
1325

Chorus

Man of dread deeds, how could you quench your vision in this way? What divinity urged you on?

Oedipus

It was Apollo, friends, Apollo who brought these troubles

to pass, these terrible, terrible troubles. But the hand that struck my eyes was none other than my own, wretched that I am!
1330

Why should I see, when sight showed me nothing sweet?
1335

Chorus

These things were just as you say.

Oedipus

What, my friends, can I behold anymore, what can I love, what greeting can touch my ear with joy? Hurry, friends,

lead me from the land, lead me from here, the utterly lost,
1340

the thrice-accursed, the mortal most hateful to the gods!
1345

Chorus

Wretched alike for your fortune and for your understanding of it, would that I had never known you!

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

καὶ θαῦμά γ᾽ οὐδὲν ἐν τοσοῖσδε πήμασιν

διπλᾶ σε πενθεῖν καὶ διπλᾶ φέρειν κακά.
1320

Οἰδίπους
α

Χορός

ὦ δεινὰ δράσας, πῶς ἔτλης τοιαῦτα σὰς

ὄψεις μαρᾶναι; τίς σ᾽ ἐπῆρε δαιμόνων;

Χορός

ἦν ταῦθ᾽ ὅπωσπερ καὶ σὺ φῄς.

Χορός

δείλαιε τοῦ νοῦ τῆς τε συμφορᾶς ἴσον,

ὥς σ᾽ ἠθέλησα μήδ᾽ ἀναγνῶναί ποτε.

Οἰδίπους
β

Χορός

θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἂν ἦν.

Χορός

καὶ θαῦμά γʼ οὐδὲν ἐν τοσοῖσδε πήμασιν

διπλᾶ σε πενθεῖν καὶ διπλᾶ φορεῖν κακά.
1320

Χορός

ὦ δεινὰ δράσας, πῶς ἔτλης τοιαῦτα σὰς

ὄψεις μαρᾶναι; τίς σʼ ἐπῆρε δαιμόνων;

Χορός

ἦν τᾷδʼ ὅπωσπερ καὶ σύ φῄς.

Χορός

δείλαιε τοῦ νοῦ τῆς τε συμφορᾶς ἴσον,

ὡς σʼ ἠθέλησα μηδέ γʼ ἂν γνῶναί ποτε.

Χορός

θέλοντι κἀμοὶ τοῦτʼ ἂν ἦν.

O dark cloud, descending

Unutterably on me! invincible,

Abhorred, borne onward by too sure a wind.

Woe, woe!
1315

Woe! Yet again I voice it, with such pangs

Both from these piercing wounds I am assailed

And from within through memory of my grief.

CH

Nay, ’tis no marvel if thy matchless woe

Redouble thine affliction and thy moan!
1320

Ah! Friend, thou art still constant! Thou remainest

To tend me and to care for the blind man.

Alas!

I know thee well, nor fail I to perceive,

Dark though I be, thy kind familiar voice.

CH

How dreadful is thy deed! How couldst thou bear

Thus to put out thine eyes? What Power impelled thee?

Apollo, dear my friends, Apollo brought to pass

In dreadful wise, this my calamitous woe.
1330

But I,—no being else,—I with this hand destroyed them.

For why should I have sight,

To whom nought now gave pleasure through the eye?
1335

CH

There speak’st thou truly.

OED

What could I see, whom hear

With gladness, whom delight in any more?

Lead me away out of the land with speed!

Be rid of the destroyer, the accursed,

Whom most of all the world the Gods abhor.

CH

O miserable in thy calamity

And not less miserable in thy despair,

Would thou wert still in ignorance of thy birth!

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!

Oedipus.

Gewölk meiner Nacht, das einstürmt' auf mich,

Voll Grau'n, unbezwinglich, gränzenlos ewig! Weh mir!

Und weh mir nochmals! Wie durchbohren mich vereint
1290

Die Wuth der Schmerzen und des Gräu'ls Erinnerung!

Der Chor.

Kein Wunder wahrlich, daß in Martern solcher Art

Du doppelt wehklagst, doppelt trägst dein Ungemach!

Oedipus.

Allein treue Stüze mir! Pflegst du doch
1295

Allein noch mich Blinden, ja, du harrst aus bei mir! Weh!

Du bist mir nicht verborgen; denn obwohl in Nacht,

Erkenn' ich doch ganz deutlich deiner Stimme Ton.

Der Chor.

Ha, Frevler! Wie vermochtest du's, der Augen Licht

Also zu schänden? Welcher Gott trieb dich dazu?
1300

Es war Phöbos, Freunde, ja, Phöbos war's,

Der dies Arge mir, dies Gräßliche verhängt!

Doch traf sie keines Andern Hand, ich Armer selbst traf sie.

Wozu sollt' ich seh'n,

Dem, wenn er sah, nichts Süßes mehr zu schauen war?
1305

Der Chor.

Wohl war es also, wie du sagst.

Der Chor.

Du durch Bewußtsein und Geschick Unseliger,

Wie muß ich wünschen, daß ich niemals dich gekannt!
1315

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
(Edi. O me !

O cruel darkness ! endless, hopeless night,

Shame, terrors, and unutterable woe !

Mere painful is the memory of my crimes

Than all the wounds my wild distraction made.

Chorus

Thus doubly cursed, O prince ! I wonder not

At thy affliction.

Aii; thou here, my friend?

I know thy voice ; thou wouldst not leave the wretched ;

Thou art my faithful, kind assistant still.

Chorus

How couldst thou thus deprive thyself of sight?

What madness drove thee to the desperate deed ?

What god inspired?

Oedipus

Apollo was the cause ;

He was, my friends, the cause of all my woes ;

But for these eyes — myself did quench their light —

I want not them ; what use were they to me,

But to discover scenes of endless woe ;

Chorus

'Tis but too true.

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.

Woe, woe, woe, woe! O miserable me!

Wretch that I am, ah, whither am I borne?

Whose ears do now my cries of anguish reach?

To what are thy decrees, O fortune, changed

Chorus

To horrors, which nor eye nor ear can bear.

Ah me, this cloud of darkness thick'ning round,

Hateful, beyond expression, beyond cure,

And beyond hope! Ah me, how keen the sting

Of frenzy, and the memory of my ills!

Chorus

No marvel if in sufferings great as thine

Redoubled ills bring on redoubled woes.

Thou art a friend, yet stedfast, faithful yet;

Thy care, thy kind attention yet remains
1330

E'en to the blind. I know thee, though mine eyes

Are dark, distinctly know thee, and thy voice.

Chorus

Dreadful thy deeds: how hast thou dared thine eyes

To mangle thus? What god enforced this rage?

Oedipus

This was the work of Phœbus: O my friends,

Phœbus accomplish'd all my ills, my woes.

With his own hands no man e'er rent his eyes,

But I unhappy. Why should I have sight,

Since, had I eyes, nought pleasant could I see ?

Chorus

Mournful these truths, and just are thy complaints.

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,