Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus 1367-1530

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)) — 1367 focus
οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅπως σε φῶ βεβουλεῦσθαι καλῶς.
κρείσσων γὰρ ἦσθα μηκέτ' ὢν ἢ ζῶν τυφλός.
ἀλλ᾽ ὧν ἐπαιτεῖς ἐς δέον πάρεσθ᾽ ὅδε
Κρέων τὸ πράσσειν καὶ τὸ βουλεύειν, ἐπεὶ
χώρας λέλειπται μοῦνος ἀντὶ σοῦ φύλαξ.
καὶ σοί γ' ἐπισκήπτω τε καὶ προτρέψομαι,
τῆς μὲν κατ᾿ οἴκους αὐτὸς ὃν θέλεις τάφον
θοῦ· καὶ γὰρ ὀρθῶς τῶν γε σῶν τελεῖς ὕπερ·
ἐμοῦ δὲ μήποτ᾽ ἀξιωθήτω τόδε
πατρῷον ἄστυ ζῶντος οἰκητοῦ τυχεῖν,
1450
ἀλλ᾽ ἔα με ναίειν ὄρεσιν, ἔνθα κλήζεται
οὑμὸς Κιθαιρὼν οὗτος, ὃν μήτηρ τέ μοι
πατήρ τ᾽ ἐθέσθην ζῶντε κύριον τάφον,
ἵν᾽ ἐξ ἐκείνων, οἵ μ᾿ ἀπωλλύτην, θάνω.
καίτοι τοσοῦτόν γ' οἶδα, μήτε μ᾽ ἂν νόσον
1455
μήτ' ἄλλο πέρσαι μηδέν· οὐ γὰρ ἄν ποτε
θνήσκων ἐσώθην, μὴ ἐπί τῳ δεινῷ κακῷ.
ἀλλ᾽ ἡ μὲν ἡμῶν μοῖρ᾽, ὅποιπερ εἶσ᾽, ἴτω·
παίδων δὲ τῶν μὲν ἀρσένων μή μοι, Κρέον,
προσθῇ μέριμναν· ἄνδρες εἰσίν, ὥστε μὴ
1460
σπάνιν ποτὲ σχεῖν, ἔνθ᾽ ἂν ὦσι, τοῦ βίου·
ταῖν δ᾽ ἀθλίαιν οἰκτραῖν τε παρθένοιν ἐμαῖν,
αἷν οὔποθ᾽ ἡμὴ χωρὶς ἐστάθη βορᾶς
τράπεζ᾽ ἄνευ τοῦδ᾽ ἀνδρός, ἀλλ᾽ ὅσων ἐγὼ
ψαύοιμι, πάντων τῶνδ᾽ ἀεὶ μετειχέτην·
1465
αἷν μοι μέλεσθαι· καὶ μάλιστα μὲν χεροῖν
ψαῦσαί μ' ἔασον κἀποκλαύσασθαι κακά.
ἴθ᾽ ὦναξ,
ἴθ᾽ ὦ γονῇ γενναῖε, χερσί τἂν θιγὼν
δοκοῖμ᾽ ἔχειν σφάς, ὥσπερ ἡνίκ᾽ ἔβλεπον.
1470
τί φημί;
οὐ δὴ κλύω που πρὸς θεῶν τοῖν μοι φίλοιν
δακρυρροούντοιν, καί μ' ἐποικτείρας Κρέων
ἔπεμψέ μοι τὰ φίλτατ' ἐκγόνοιν ἐμοῖν;
λέγω τι;
1475
ἀλλ᾽ εὐτυχοἰης, καί σε τῆσδε τῆς ὁδοῦ
δαίμων ἄμεινον ἢ ἐμὲ φρουρήσας τύχοι.
ὦ τέκνα, ποῦ ποτ᾽ ἐστέ; δεῦρ᾽ ἴτ᾽, ἔλθετε
1480
ὡς τὰς ἀδελφὰς τάσδε τὰς ἐμὰς χέρας,
αἳ τοῦ φυτουργοῦ πατρὸς ὑμὶν ὧδ᾽ ὁρᾶν
τὰ πρόσθε λαμπρὰ προὐξένησαν ὄμματα·
ὃς ὑμίν, ὦ τέκν', οὔθ᾽ ὁρῶν οὔθ᾽ ἱστορῶν
πατὴρ ἐφάνθην ἔνθεν αὐτὸς ἠρόθην.
1485
καὶ σφὼ δακρύω· προσβλέπειν γὰρ οὐ σθένω·
νοούμενος τὰ λοιπὰ τοῦ πικροῦ βίου,
οἷον βιῶναι σφὼ πρὸς ἀνθρώπων χρεών.
ποίας γὰρ ἀστῶν ἥξετ᾽ εἰς ὁμιλίας,
ποίας δ᾽ ἑορτάς, ἔνθεν οὐ κεκλαυμέναι
1490
πρὸς οἶκον ἵξεσθ' ἀντὶ τῆς θεωρίας;
ἀλλ᾽ ἡνίκ᾽ ἂν δὴ πρὸς γάμων ἥκητ᾽ ἀκμάς,
τίς οὗτος ἔσται, τίς παραρρίψει, τέκνα,
τοιαῦτ᾽ ὀνείδη λαμβάνων, ἃ τοῖς ἐμοῖς
γονεῦσιν ἔσται σφῷν θ᾽ ὁμοῦ δηλήματα;
1495
τί γὰρ κακῶν ἄπεστι; τὸν πατέρα πατὴρ
ὑμῶν ἔπεφνε· τὴν τεκοῦσαν ἤροσεν,
ὅθεν περ αὐτὸς ἐσπάρη, κἀκ τῶν ἴσων
ἐκτήσαθ᾽ ὑμᾶς, ὧνπερ αὐτὸς ἐξέφυ.
τοιαῦτ᾽ ὀνειδιεῖσθε. κᾆτα τίς γαμεῖ;
1500
οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδείς, ὦ τέκν', ἀλλὰ δηλαδὴ
χέρσους φθαρῆναι κἀγάμους ὑμᾶς χρεών.
ὦ παῖ Μενοικέως, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ μόνος πατὴρ
ταύταιν λέλειψαι, νὼ γάρ, ὣ ᾿φυτεύσαμεν,
ὀλώλαμεν δύ᾽ ὄντε, μή σφε *περιίδῃς
1505
πτωχὰς ἀνάνδρους, ἐγγενεῖς, ἀλωμένας,
μηδ' ἐξισώσῃς τάσδε τοῖς ἐμοῖς κακοῖς.
ἀλλ᾽ οἴκτισόν σφας, ὧδε τηλικάσδ᾽ ὁρῶν
πάντων ἐρήμους, πλὴν ὅσον τὸ σὸν μέρος.
ξύννευσον, ὦ γενναῖε, σῇ ψαύσας χερί.
1510
σφῷν δ᾽, ὦ τέκν', εἰ μὲν εἰχέτην ἤδη φρένας,
πόλλ᾽ ἂν παρῄνουν· νῦν δὲ τοῦτ᾽ εὔχεσθέ μοι,
οὗ καιρὸς ἀεὶ ζῇν, * βίου δὲ λῴονος
ὑμᾶς κυρῆσαι τοῦ φυτεύσαντος πατρός.
πειστέον, κεἰ μηδὲν ἡδύ.
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1367-1530 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1367 focus
I know not how to call thee wise in this:
Thou wert better dead than to be blind and live.
With timely presence to fulfil thy need
With act and counsel, Creon comes, who now
Is regent o’er this people in thy room.
Not only so. But I will charge thee too,
With urgent exhortation, to perform
The funeral rite for her who lies within—
She is thy kinswoman—howe’er thou wilt.
But never let this city of my sires
Claim me for living habitant! There, there
1450
Leave me to range the mountain, where my nurse,
Cithaeron, echoeth with my name,—Cithaeron,
Which both my parents destined for my tomb.
So my true murderers will be my death.
Yet one thing I can tell. Mine end will come
1455
Not by disease nor ordinary chance
I had not lived when at the point to die,
But for some terrible doom. Then let my fate
Run out its full career. But for my children
Thou, Creon, shalt provide. As for my sons,
1460
I pray thee burden not thyself with them.
They ne’er will lack subsistence—they are men.
But my poor maidens, hapless and forlorn,
Who never had a meal apart from mine,
But ever shared my table, yea, for them
1465
Take heedful care, and grant me, though but once.
Yea, I beseech thee, with these hands to feel,
Thou noble heart! the forms I love so well,
And weep with them our common misery.
Oh, if my arms were round them, I might seem
1470
To have them as of old when I could see—
What! Am I fooled once more, or do I hear
My dear ones weeping! And hath Creon sent,
Pitying my sorrows, mine own children to me
Whom most I love? Can this be truth I utter?
1475
Fair be thy fortune, and, for this last deed,
Heaven guide thee on a better course than mine.
Where are ye, O my children? Come, draw near
To these my hands of brother blood with you,
1480
Hands that have made so piteous to your sight
The darkened gaze of his once brilliant eyes,
Who all in blindness, with no thought of ill,
Became your father at that fount of life,
Where he himself took being! Oh! for you
1485
I weep, not seeing you, when I but think
Of all the bitter passages of fate
That must attend you amongst men. For where
Can ye find fellowship, what civic throng
Shall ye resort unto, what festival,
From whence, instead of sight or sound enjoyed,
1490
Ye will not come in tears unto your home?
And when ye reach the marriageable bloom,
My daughters, who will be the man to cast
His lot with yours, receiving for his own
All those reproaches which have marred the name
1495
Of both my parents and your name no less?
What evil is not here? Your father slew
His father, and then eared the mother field
Where he himself was sown, and got you from
The source of his own birth. Such taunts will fly.
And who will marry you? No man, my daughters;
1500
But ye must wither childless and unwed.
Son of Menoeceus, who alone art left
As father to these maidens, for the pair
That gave them birth are utterly undone,
Suffer them not, being your kinswomen,
1505
To wander desolate and poor, nor make
1505
Their lot perforce the counterpart of mine.
But look on them with pity, left in youth
Forlorn of all protection save from thee.
Noble one, seal this promise with thy hand!
—For you, my children, were ye of an age
1510
To ponder speech, I would have counselled you
Full carefully. Now I would have you pray
To dwell where ’tis convenient, that your life
May find more blessing than your father knew.
I must yield, though sore against me.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1367 focus
Zu sagen, daß du wohl gethan, bedenk' ich mich;
Denn besser war dir's, nicht zu sein, als lebend blind.
1330
Gelegen deiner Bitte kommt schon Kreon hier,
Zu Rath und That gewärtig; denn er bleibt allein
Als Schuz des Landes übrig noch an deiner Statt.
1380
Gewiß, und dir empfehl' ich und beschwöre dich:
Die dort im Haus bestatte selbst, wie dir's gefällt;
Denn schicklich wirst du solches für die Deinen thun. 3
1410
Doch mich zu pflegen, weil ich leb', in ihrem Schooß,
Das werde nie von meiner Väter Stadt verlangt.
Nein, laß mich wohnen im Gebirg', auf jenen Höh'n,
Die mein Kithäron heißen, den mir Lebenden
Die Wahl der Eltern ausersah zum sichern Grab,
1415
Durch sie zu sterben, die mir Tod bereiteten!
Doch weiß ich so viel: keine Krankheit wird mich je,
Noch Andres tödten; nie ja, schon dem Tode nah,
Wär' ich gerettet, harrte mein nicht schweres Leid.
Doch unser Schicksal schreite fort, wohin es will!
1420
Um meine Kinder, um die Söhne brauchst du nicht
Zu sorgen, Kreon; Männer sind sie, welche nie
Die Noth des Lebens, wo sie sei'n, erreichen wird.
Doch meine Töchter, diese mitleidwürdigen,
Für welche niemals ohne mich der Speise Tisch
1425
Gesondert ward bereitet, Alles, was ich selbst
Berührte, dessen hatten sie beständig Theil
Sie nimm in Obhut: laß, o laß vor Allem sie
Mich noch umarmen und beweinen ihr Geschick!
geh, Fürst!
1430
Geh, Sohn der Edeln! Halt' ich sie im Arm, so sind
Sie mein, wie damals, dünkt mich, als ich sehend war.
(Kreon ab.)
Was sag' ich?
Ihr Götter! Hör' ich meine zwei Geliebten nicht
In Thränen schluchzen? Hat sich Kreon mein erbarmt,
1435
Und sendet mir die liebsten meiner Sprößlinge?
Ist's Wahrheit?
(kommt mit den Töchtern)
So lebe glücklich; möge dich für diesen Gang
1440
Ein Gott bewahren, treuer, als er mich bewahrt!
Wo, meine Kinder, seid ihr denn? Kommt doch daher,
kommt heran zu meinen Bruderhänden hier,
Den Händen, die's verbrachen, daß ihr also schaut
Des Vaters Augen, die vordem so hell geblickt,
1445
Des Vaters, der, nichts ahnend und unwissentlich,
Euch Vater ward vom Weibe, dem er selbst entsproß.
Und euch bewein' ich, (euch zu seh'n vermag ich nicht,)
Bedenk' ich, ach, des bittern Lebens Ueberrest,
Durch den ihr euch bei Menschen durchzukämpfen habt.
1450
In welche Kreise lassen euch die Bürger zu,
Zu welchen Festen, daß ihr nicht heimkehrt von dort
In Thränen schwimmend, statt vom Schau'n erfreut zu sein?
Und reiftet ihr zu süßem Eheglück heran,
Wer wäre der, o Kinder, wer erkühnte sich,
1455
Auf sich zu häufen solche Schmach, die stets ein Fluch
An meinen Eltern haftet und den eurigen?
Denn welcher Gräuel fehlte noch? Den Vater, ach!
Schlug euer Vater, traute sich der Mutter an,
Von der er selbst entsprossen, und erzielte dann
1460
Euch aus demselben Schooße, der ihn selbst empfing.
So wird man euch verhöhnen. Dann wer wirbt um euch?
Kein Freier zeigt sich, Kinder; ihr müßt unvermählt
Im öden Leben blütenlos zu Grunde geh'n.
O Sohn Menökeus', - du ja bleibst allein zurück,
1465
Ihr Vater; denn wir Eltern, die sie zeugten, sind
Dahin, wir beiden; - laß sie nicht, die deinem Stamm
So nah verwandt sind, irren arm und gattenlos,
Und meinem Elend mache nicht das ihre gleich!
Nein, hab' Erbarmen, wenn du sie, die Schwachen, siehst
1470
So bloß von Allem, außer was du ihnen gönnst!
Mit deinem Handschlag, edler Mann, gelobe mir's!
Euch gäb' ich manche Lehre noch, wenn's euer Sinn
Schon faßte, Kinder; jezt erfleh' ich das für euch:
Lebt immer, wo's euch frommen mag, und freundlicher
1475
Sei euch das Leben, als es eurem Vater war!
Ende! Wohin reißt der Schmerz dich? Auf, und geh' in's Haus hinein!
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1367 focus
Yet must I blame this cruel act, for sure
The loss of sight is worse than death itself.
I care not for thy counsel or thy praise ;
For with what eyes could I have e'er beheld
My honoured father in the shades below,
1370
Or my unhappy mother, both destroyed
me? This jmnisliinent is worse than death,
il so it should be. Sweet had been the sight
Of my dear children — them I could have wished
To gaze upon ; but I must never see
1375
C)r them, or this fail* city, or the palace
Where I was born. Deprived of every bliss
By my own lips, which doomed to banishment
Tlie murderer of Laius, and expelled
The impious wretch, by gods and men accursed :
1380
Could I behold them after this ? Oh no !
Would I could now with equal ease remove
My hearing too, be deaf as well as blind,
And from another entrance shut out woe !
To want our senses, in the hour of ill,
1385
Is comfort to the wretched. O Cithasron !
Why didst thou e'er receive me, or received.
Why not destroy, that men might never know
Who gave me birth ? O Polybus ! O Corinth !
And thou, long time beheved my father's palace,
1390
Oh! what a foul disgrace to human nature
Didst thou receive beneath a prince's form !
Impious myself, and from an impious race.
Wliere is my splendour now? O Daulian path !
The shady forest, and the nari'ow pass
"Wliere three ways meet, who drank a father's blood
1395
Shed by these hands, do you not still remember
The horrid deed, and what, when here I came.
Followed more dreadful ? Fatal nuptials, you
Produced me, you returned me to the womb
That bare me ; thence relations horrible
1400
Of fathers, sons, and brothers came ; of "svives.
Sisters, and mothei's, sad alliance ! all
That man holds impious and detestable.
But what in act is \^le the modest tongue
Should never name. Bury me, hide me, friends.
1405
From every eye; destroy me, cast me forth
To the wide .ocean — let me perish there :
Do anything to shake off hated life.
Seize me ; approach, my friends — you need not fear,
Polluted though I am, to touch me ; none
1410
Shall suffer for my crimes but I alone.
CiiOR. In most fit time, my lord, the noble Creon
This way advances ; he can best determine
A.nd best advise ; sole guardian now of Thebes,
To him thy power devolves.
1415
What shall I sayl
Can I apply to him for aid whom late
I deeply injured by unjust suspicion?
For such a wretch as me
Wouldst tliou again explore the will of Heaven 1
Thy hapless fate should teach us to believe,
And reverence the gods.
I l)Og thee, I conjure thee, let a tomb
Be raised, and all due honours paid to her
Who lies within : she was thy sister, Creon ;
It is a duty which thou ow'st : for me,
I cannot hope this city now will deign
To keep me here. O Creon ! let me go,
And seek the solitary mountain's top,
My own Cith?eron, by my parents doomed
Long since to be the grave of CEdipus ;
Where would I die, as they decreed I should.
Alas ! I cannot, must not perish yet,
Till I have suffered evils worse than death,
For I was only saved to be unhappy ;
But I must meet my fate, whate'er it be.
My sons are men, and wheresoever fortune
May place them, cannot want the means of life ;
They shall not burthen thee ; but, O my friend !
What will become of my unhappy daughters,
With tenderest love, beneath a father's hand,
Cherished so long ? Oh ! take them to thy care,
Thou best of men ! Oh ! might I but embrace them,
But shed a tear o'er their disastrous fate,
Might I be suffered but to touch them here,
I should rejoice, and think I saw them still.
But hark ! methinks e'en now I hear the voice
Of my dear daughters ; hath the gracious Creon,
In pity to my woes, already brought
My children to me 1 — is it so ?
It is :
1515
Thy wishes are prevented ; they are here.
1515
Daughters of (Edipus, (Edipus, Ceeon, Chorus.
1515
May Heaven reward thee for this goodness to
me,
And give thee much more bliss than I have known !
Now, my dear children, come towards me, come
Towards your father and your — brother ; see
These sightless eyes, pierced by my own mad hands ;
Behold that wretched father who begat you
Unknowingly on her who gave me birth ;
I cannot see you now — I can but weep
Your fate, to think what hours of wretchedness
You have to know hereafter. Whither now
Must my poor children lly? From every feast
Joyless with grief and shame, shall you return ;
And when the time shall come when riper years
Should give you to the nuptial bed, who then,
Careless of fame, will let his child partake
The infamy of my abhorred race.
Sprung from a wretch accursed, who killed his father,
And from the womb that bare him did beget
You my unhappy daughters ? Such reproach
Must still be yours, to virgin solitude
Devoted ever, and a barren bed.
Son of Menaeceus, thou alone art left
Their father now, for, oh ! Jocasta 's dead,
And T am — nothing. Do not then forsake
Thy kindred ; nor, deserted and forlorn.
Suffer them still in penury and woe
1520
To wander helpless, in their tender age :
1520
Kemember they have no support but thee.
1520
O generous prince ! have pity on them ; give me
1520
Thy friendly hand in promise of thy aid.
1520
To you, my daughters, had your early years
1520
Permitted, I had given my last advice :
Too young for counsel, all I ask of you
Is but to pray the gods that my sad life
May not be long ; but
'Ours, my children, crowned
vv iin many oays, ana happier far than mine.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1367 focus
Thy counsels cannot claim my praise as wise;
For better not to be, than to live blind.
Let me prevail; why should you fear? my ills
Of all mankind none but myself can bear.
For such a wretch wilt thou consult the god ?
I charge thee, I conjure thee, in a tomb,
Oh, be thou bless'd; and for this courtesy
A kinder guardian may'st thou find the god
Than I have found him!... O my children, where,
Where are you? Come to me, come to these hands,
A brother's hands, which thus your father's eyes,
Once lamps of light, have quench'd. Your father I
(Alas, my children! erring, nor by sight
Nor thought inform'd) by her that gave me birth
Yet I weep o'er you, for these eyes no more

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-829-1 κρείσσων … ἦσθα μηκέτ’ ὤν 1

mvp-comment-830-1 ἄριστ’ 2 οὐχ ὦδε 3 ἐστὶν ἄριστα εἰργασμένα 4

mvp-comment-831-1 βλέπων 5 εἰ 6 ποίοις ὄμμασιν 7

mvp-comment-832-1 εἰς Ἅιδου 8

mvp-comment-833-1 οἶν … δυοῖν 9

mvp-comment-834-1 κρείσσον’ ἀγχόνης 10 ἀγχόνης 11

mvp-comment-835-1 ἀλλ’ 12

mvp-comment-835-2 τέκνων ὄψις … βλαστοῦσα 13

mvp-comment-835-3 ὅπως ἔβλαστε 14

mvp-comment-836-1 πύργος 15

mvp-comment-837-1 ἀγάλμαθ’ ἱερά 16

mvp-comment-837-2 τῶν 17

mvp-comment-838-1 κάλλιστ’ ἀνὴρ εἷς … τραφείς. εἷς 18 κάλλιστ’ 19

mvp-comment-838-2 ἔν γε ταῖς θήβαις 20 γε 21

mvp-comment-839-1 ἀπεστέρησ’ ἐμαυτόν 22

mvp-comment-840-1 τὸν ἀσεβῆ 23 ὠθεῖν 24 τὸν … φανέντα 25 τὸν φανέντα 26 ὠθεῖν 27 καὶ γένους τοῦ Λαΐου 28

mvp-comment-841-1 κηλῖδα 29 μηνύσας 30

mvp-comment-842-1 ὀρθοῖς 31

mvp-comment-843-1 τῆς ἀκουούσης … πηγῆς 32 δῑ ὤτων 33

mvp-comment-844-1 ἐσχόμην 34

mvp-comment-845-1 τὸ μή 35

mvp-comment-846-1 ἵν ἦ 36 ἦ 37 μηδέν 38 ἵνα 39

mvp-comment-847-1 ἔξω τῶν κακῶν 40

mvp-comment-848-1 The imperf. ἐδέχου 41

mvp-comment-849-1 ὡς ἔδειξα 42

mvp-comment-850-1 τὰ πάτρια λόγῳ 43 παλαιά 44

mvp-comment-851-1 κάλλος κακῶν ὕπουλον 45 κακῶν 46

mvp-comment-851-2 κάλλος 47

mvp-comment-851-3 ὕπουλον 48

mvp-comment-852-1 κἀκ κακῶν 49

mvp-comment-853-1 His memory recalls the scene as if he were again approaching it on his way from Delphi. First, he descries three roads converging in a deep glen or ravine ( τρεῖς κέλευθοι—κεκρυμμένη νάπη 50 δρυμός 51 στενωπός 52 ἐν τριπλαῖς ὁδοῖς 53

mvp-comment-854-1 τοὐμὸν αἷμα 54 πατρός 55

mvp-comment-855-1 For τι 56 οἶα, ὁποῖα 57 οἶα, ὁποῖα 58

mvp-comment-856-1 ἀνεῖτε ταὐτοῦ σπέρμα 59 ταὐτὸν 60 σπέρμα 61

mvp-comment-857-1 The marriage of Iocasta with Oedipus constituted ( ἀπεδείξατε 62 αἶμ’ ἐμφύλιον 63 νύμφας 64 γυναῖκας 65 μητέρας 66 ὁπόσα αἴσχιστα ἔργα γίγνεταἰ. αἶμ’ ἐμφύλιον 67 πατέρας ἀδελφοὺς παῖδας 68

mvp-comment-858-1 ἔξω μέ που | καλύψατ’ 69 καλύψατ’ 70 ἐκρίψατ’ 71

mvp-comment-859-1 θαλάσσιον 72 ἔνθα μή 73

mvp-comment-860-1 No one can share the burden of his ills. Other men need not fear to be polluted by contact with him, as with one guilty of blood. His unwitting crimes and his awful sufferings—alike the work of Apollo—place him apart. In illustration of the fear which he seeks to allay, compare the plea of Orestes that, since he has been duly purified from bloodshed, contact with him has ceased to be dangerous ( Aesch. Eum. 285

ὅσοις προσῆλθον ἀβλαβεῖ ξυνουσίᾀ.
—Contrast Soph. OC 1132 ff. , where Oed. will not allow his benefactor Theseus to touch him. There, he feels that he is still formally ἄναγνος, and that gratitude forbids him to impart a possible taint. Here, he thinks only of his unique doom and his incommunicable anguish.

mvp-comment-861-1 ὧν ἐπαιτεῖς ἐς δέον 74 ὧν 75

mvp-comment-861-2 τὸ πράσσειν καὶ τὸ βουλεύειν 76

mvp-comment-862-1 μοῦνος 77

mvp-comment-863-1 τίς μοι φανεῖται πίστις ἔνδικος; 78

mvp-comment-864-1 πάντ’ 79

mvp-comment-865-1 Cp. the words of Tennyson's Arthur to Guinevere: “Yet think not that I come to urge thy crimes. ”

mvp-comment-866-1 Nauck gives these verses to Oedipus, making them follow 1415. He regards τοιόνδ’ ἄγος 80

mvp-comment-867-1 βόσκουσαν 81

mvp-comment-868-1 δεικνύναι 82 αἰδεῖσθε 83

mvp-comment-868-2 τὸ 84 μήτε 85 γῆ—ὄμβρος—φῶς 86 προσδέξεται 87 ὄμβρος 88

mvp-comment-869-1 The original sense of ἱερός 89

mvp-comment-870-1 The objection to taking μάλιστα 90 τοῖς ἐν γένει 91 τἀγγενῆ 92 εὐσεβῶς ἔχει 93

mvp-comment-871-1 ἐλπίδος μ’ ἀπέσπασας 94

mvp-comment-872-1 ἄριστος ἐλθὼν πρὸς … ἐμέ 95

mvp-comment-873-1 πρὸς σοῦ 96

mvp-comment-874-1 χρείας 97

mvp-comment-875-1 μηδενὸς προσήγορος 98

mvp-comment-876-1 For the double ἄν 99 τοῦτ’ 100

mvp-comment-877-1 φάτις 101 πᾶσ’ 102

mvp-comment-878-1 ἀπολλύναι 103

mvp-comment-879-1 ἵνα … χρείας 104

mvp-comment-880-1 οὕτως 105 ἀθλίου 106

mvp-comment-881-1 The καὶ 107 σύ 108 πίστιν φέροις 109

mvp-comment-882-1 καὶ σοί γ’ 110 προστρέψομαι 111 προτρέψομαι 112

mvp-comment-883-1 τῆς … κατ’ οἴκους 113

mvp-comment-884-1 τελεῖς 114

mvp-comment-885-1 ἀξιωθήτω 115

mvp-comment-886-1 ἔα 116

mvp-comment-886-2 ὄρεσιν 117

mvp-comment-887-1 The words ἐξ ἐκείνων 118 ζῶντε 119 ζῶντι 120 ζῶντι 121 τάφον 122

mvp-comment-887-2 κύριον 123

mvp-comment-888-1 ἀπωλλύτην 124

mvp-comment-889-1 οἶδα μὴ ἂν πέρσαι 125 μὴ 126 μὴ 127 οὐ 128

mvp-comment-890-1 with μή 129 σωθείς 130

mvp-comment-891-1 προσθῇ μέριμναν, 131

mvp-comment-891-2 ἄνδρες 132

mvp-comment-892-1 τοῖν δ’ ἀθλίαιν 133 οἷν 134

mvp-comment-893-1 οἷν 135 ἡ ἐμὴ βορᾶς τράπεζα 136 οὔποτε χωρὶς ἐστάθη 137 ἄνευ τοῦδ’ ἀνδρός 138 ἄνευ 139 ἄλλη 140 ἡμή 141 βορᾶς 142

mvp-comment-893-2 ἐστάθη 143

mvp-comment-893-3 ἄνευ τοῦδ’ ἀνδρός 144 χωρίς 145 ἄνευ 146

mvp-comment-894-1 μέλεσθαι 147 μάλιστα μέν 148

mvp-comment-895-1 ἴθ’ ὦναξ 149

mvp-comment-896-1 γονῇ γενναῖε, 150 γενναῖε 151

mvp-comment-897-1 δοκοῖμ’ 152 ἔχειν σφας 153

mvp-comment-898-1 τί φημί; 154

mvp-comment-899-1 τοῖν … φίλοιν | δακρυρροούντοιν 155

mvp-comment-900-1 τὰ φίλτατ’ ἐκγ. ἐμοῖν 156

mvp-comment-901-1 λέγω τι; 157

mvp-comment-902-1 γνοὺς … πάλαι 158

mvp-comment-903-1 Soph. may have been thinking of Aesch. Lib. 1063

ἀλλ’ εὐτυχοίης, καί σ’ ἐποπτεύων πρόφρων | θεὸς φυλάττοι καιρίοσι συμφοραῖς.
τῆσδε τῆς ὁδοῦ 159

mvp-comment-904-1 ἢ μὲ 160 φρουρήσας 161 καί σε 162 εὐτυχοίης 163

mvp-comment-905-1 ὡς τὰς … χέρας 164 ὡς 165 εἰς 166 ἐς 167

mvp-comment-906-1 Construe: αἳ προὐξένησαν ὑμὶν 168 τὰ πρόσθε λαμπρὰ τοῦ φυτ. πατρὸς ὄμματα ὧδε ὁρᾶν 169 ὦδ’ ὁρᾶν 170 προυσέλησαν 171

mvp-comment-907-1 οὔθ’ ὁρῶν οὔθ’ ἱστορῶν 172

mvp-comment-908-1 ἠρόθην 173

mvp-comment-909-1 ὁμιλίας … ἑορτάς 174 ὁμιλίας 175 ἑορτάς 176

mvp-comment-910-1 κεκλαυμέναι 177

mvp-comment-911-1 ἀντὶ τῆς θεωρίας 178

mvp-comment-912-1 τίς οὗτος ἔσται, τίς 179

mvp-comment-913-1 λαμβάνων 180

mvp-comment-914-1 γοναῖσιν 181 γονεῦσιν 182 δηλήματα 183 γαμβροῖσιν 184

mvp-comment-915-1 πατέρα 185

mvp-comment-916-1 τῶν ἴσων 186

mvp-comment-917-1 ὀνειδιεῖσθε 187

mvp-comment-918-1 δηλαδή 188

mvp-comment-919-1 ἀλλ’ 189

mvp-comment-920-1 δύ’ ὄντε 190

mvp-comment-921-1 ἐγγενεῖς 191

mvp-comment-922-1 ἐξισώσῃς τάσδε, 192

mvp-comment-923-1 τηλικάσδ’ 193

mvp-comment-924-1 πλὴν ὅσον τὸ σὸν μέρος 194

mvp-comment-925-1 εἰχέτην 195 εἰχέτην 196

mvp-comment-926-1 Oedipus now turns from Creon to the children. The few words which he addresses to them are spoken rather to the older hearers and to himself. τοῦτ’ εὔχεσθέ μοι 197 ὑμᾶς 198 ζην 199

mvp-comment-927-1 I prefer οὗ καιρὸς ἐᾷ ζῆν, τοῦ βίου κ.τ.λ. to οὗ καιρὸς ἀεὶ ζῆν, βίου 200 τοῦ 201 βίου 202 οὗ καιρός 203 εαι 204 αει 205

mvp-comment-928-1 ἐξήκεις 206

mvp-comment-929-1 καιρῷ 207

mvp-comment-930-1 The words οἶσθ’ ἐφ’ οἶς οὖν 208 λέξεις 209

mvp-comment-931-1 ὅπως πέμψεις 210

mvp-comment-932-1 ἀλλὰ θεοῖς γ’ 211 θεοῖς 212

mvp-comment-932-2 ἤκω 213 τοιγαροῦν τεύξει τάχα 214

mvp-comment-933-1 ἃ μὴ φρονῶ 215

mvp-comment-934-1 ἕλῃ μου 216

mvp-comment-935-1 See critical note. These verses are spoken by the Chorus, as Creon turns with Oedipus to enter the house. The calm close which the tragedy requires would be wanting if they were spoken by the chief sufferer himself. Of extant Greek tragedies, the Prometheus and the Agamemnon are the only ones which end with words spoken by one of the actors; and in each case this is justified by the scheme of the trilogy to which the play belonged.

mvp-comment-936-1 Here, as elsewhere, the MSS. fluctuate between ᾔδει and ᾔδη. The Attic ᾔδη, as first pers. sing., is contracted from ᾔδεα: in the third, the classical form was not ᾔδη but ᾔδει, or, before a vowel, ᾔδειν (as it must be in Eur. Ion 1187 , Aristoph. Peace 1182 etc.). No 3rd sing. in εα, from which η could come, is said, or can be supposed, to have existed. Aristarchus, indeed, is quoted by the schol. on Hom. Il. 5.64 in favour of the η. But the Doric 3rd sing. ἀπολώλη in Tab. Heracl. 1.39 is the only such form which is beyond question. Curtius ( Curt. Verb 11.237 , Eng. tr. 431 ff.) therefore agrees with those textual critics who, like La Roche, Cobet, and Kontos (Λόγιος Ἑρμῆς p. 61) would always write the 3rd sing. ᾔδει (or ᾔδειν). ᾔδει αἰνίγματα 217

mvp-comment-937-1 οὖ τίς οὐ ζήλῳ … ταῖς τύχαις ἐπέβλ., 218 τίς 219 ἐπέβλεπεν 220 ἐπιβλέπων 221 καί 222 ταῖς 223

mvp-comment-938-1 The use of ἐπισκοποῦντα 224 ὀλβίζειν 225 μηδέν’ ὀλβίζειν 226

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

1368. mvp-comment-760-1 κρείσσων γὰρ ἦσθα Thou hadst better have been no more, than to live on in blindness. Cp. Aj. 635, κρείσσων γὰρ Αιδᾳ κεύθων ὁ νοσῶν μάταν. For the av omitted, see Essay on Language § 27. p. 45.

1369. mvp-comment-761-1 ἄριστα answers to κρείσσων. That this action is not best as it is,' (ὡς τάδ᾽ οὐκ ἔστ᾽ ἄριστα ὧδε εἰργασμένα). Cp. Hdt. 1. 37, ἀμείνω ἐστὶ ταῦτα οὕτω ποιεύμενα.

1369-1415. mvp-comment-762-1 In this wonderful speech the passion of Oedipus is heard rising in varied tones from 1369 to 1390 (the steps are 1369-1374, 1375,6, 1377-1383, 1384-1390); culminating in the prolonged outburst 1391-1408, where the four stages of horror in his life are recounted, and gradually subsiding into a gentler pathos in 1409-1413, 1414-1415.

1371. mvp-comment-763-1 βλέπων If I had sight. 1372. The shade of the dead in Hades is imagined as having all the characteristics of the living form. Oedipus, selfblinded, will be blind in Hades, just as the ghost of Heracles in the venuta has the ghostly belt and bow.

1373. mvp-comment-764-1 οἷν In relation to whom, or, 'on whom. For this dative, see Essay on Language § 12. p. 18.

1374. mvp-comment-765-1 κρείσσον᾿ ἀγχόνης ‘Worse than death.' Which I would rather have died by strangling than do. Cp. Eurip. Alc. 229-230, ἄξια καὶ σφαγᾶς τάδε, καὶ πλέον ἢ βρύχῳ δέρην | οὐρανίῳ πελάσσαι.

1375. mvp-comment-766-1 But surely the sight of my children was a sight to be desired by me, having such an origin as they had? No, not for these eyes to see. For δῆτα here, cp. Phil. 1352, ἀλλ᾽ εἰκάθω δῆτ'; and for the hypallage or attraction in ὄψις..

1375. mvp-comment-766-2 βλαστούσα, see E on L. § 35. p. 60.

1376. mvp-comment-767-1 βλαστοῦσ᾽ ὅπως ἔβλαστε gives a reason by anticipation for οὐ δῆτα τοῖς γ᾽ ἐμοῖσιν ὀφθαλμοῖς ποτέ. Cp. Eur. Οr. 79. ἔπλευσ᾽ ὅπως ἔπλευσα. As com- 1378. ἄστυ, sc. ἦν προσλεύσσειν ἐμοί.

1380. mvp-comment-768-1 ἀνὴρ εἰς is often used with superlatives to signify, pared singly with any other.' (Tr. 460, πλείστας ἀνὴρ εἷς Ἡρακλῆς ἔγημε δή, Thuc. 3. 39. μάλιστα δὴ μίαν πόλιν.) So here ἀνὴρ εἷς is More than any other single man. This idiom affords a curious illustration of the tendency of the Greek language to limit an assertion in the act of emphasizing it.

1381. mvp-comment-769-1 Cp. supr. 350.

1382. mvp-comment-770-1 τὸν ἐκ θεῶν.. γένους τοῦ Λαΐου Whom the gods have shown to be an unholy person, and who is discovered to be of the race of Laius. The words καὶ γένους τοῦ Λαΐου are added as the climax of horror. This designation was not included in the oracular curse, but the mind of Oedipus naturally passes from the anticipation to the actual discovery-to which the oracle had pointed the way, and which was chiefly present to his mind. ،

1384. mvp-comment-771-1 τοιάνδ᾽.. ἐμήν ἐμήν is predicative. Having brought to light such a stain upon myself was I going to look these men in the face with unchanged eyes?' Cp. supr. 572, τὰς ἐμάς ... Λαΐου διαφθοράς. Ε. on L. § 23. p. 37, β. γ.

1385. mvp-comment-772-1 τούτους i. e. the citizens represented by the chorus. Oedipus is speaking to the coryphaeus. The expression ὀρθοῖς ὄμμασι, while alluding to the mangling of his eyes, also conveys the association of a frank and steady look. Cp. Eur. Ι. Α. 851, οὐ γὰρ ὀρθοῖς ὄμμασίν σ' ἔτ᾽ εἰσορῶ, | ψευδὴς γενομένη, κ.τ.λ.

1386. mvp-comment-773-1 But if there could also have been found a way of closing up the fountain of hearing in my ears.'

1387. mvp-comment-774-1 οὐκ ἂν ἐσχόμην I would not have refrained. Cp. Hdt. 6. 85, ἔσχοντο τῆς ἀγωγῆς. The MSS, with a few exceptions, have ἀνεσχόμην or ἠνεσχόμην, which gives an inferior sense, and the omission of av is improbable here. μή rather than μὴ οὐ is used, because of the hypothetical sentence. Essay on Language p. 49.

1389. mvp-comment-775-1 ἵν᾿ ἡ Cp. 1392. Essay on Language § 36. pp. 60, 61. τὸ γάρ, κ.τ.λ. (1) For it is sweet for the mind to dwell in her own place, shutting out the sight of evils. For φροντίς as the subject, cp. Eur. Med. 48, νέα γὰρ φροντὶς οὐκ ἀλγεῖν φιλεῖ. Or (2) 'Tis sweet to guide one's thought out of reach of evil.' Said in contradistinction to οἰκεῖν πόλιν. See v. rr.

1391. mvp-comment-776-1 τί μ᾿ ἐδέχου Why did you not refuse to receive me? So the force of the imperfect may be expressed. For the appeal to nature, cp. (although the tone is somewhat different in each place) Phil. 936 foll., ὦ λιμένες, ὦ προβλήτες, κ.τ.λ.: Ant. 844-845, ἰὼ Διρκαῖαι κρῆναι Θήβας τ' | εὐαρμάτου ἄλσος.

1394. mvp-comment-777-1 τὰ πάτρια λόγῳ παλαιὰ δώ- μαθ'] 'Home long ago in name though not really my father's.'

1395. mvp-comment-778-1 ἆρα Essay on Language § 29. p. 50. Ye brought me up, how fair in aprough pearance, while corruption rankled within. Cp. Shakespeare, Hamlet, 3. 4,

It will but skin and film the ulcerous place, while rank corruption, mining all within, infects unseen.

1400. mvp-comment-779-1 That drank from these my hands the blood from which I sprang. τουμὸν αἷμα πατρός is not merely = τοὐμοῦ πατρὸς αἷμα, but marks that the blood which he shed was the same which ran in his veins - the blood of my father, which was my blood.

1401. mvp-comment-780-1 μέμνησθέ τι Herm. defended μέμνησθ' ὅτι, the reading of most MSS. Although this is singular, it is not certain that the exclamations οἷα.. ὁποῖα might not be used in a dependent clause. Do you remember that I did-what deeds! before you? The marginal reading ὅταν points to ὅτε; cp. supra 1134, κατοῖδεν ἦμος, κ.τ.λ. But of conjectural readings the most probable is μέμνησθέ τι (Elmsley), partly supported by Vat. c Trin. K. Do you at all remember? Cp. the v.r. on 1412. This is certainly idiomatic, and may be the genuine reading. For τι, cp. supra 1130, ἢ συνήλλαξάς τί πω; Phil. 1130, φρένας εἴ τινας ἔχεις : Ο C. 1281, ἢ τέρψαντά τι. ἢ δυσχεράναντ', and esp. Eur. Hec. 992, εἰ τῆς τεκούσης τῆσδε μέμνηταί τί μου. ἔτι is weak.

1402. mvp-comment-781-1 ὑμίν Dative of remote refer- ence='In which you were concerned.' See Essay on Language § 13. p. 19. With what deeds I affrighted you, and then came here to find what fortune!

1403. mvp-comment-782-1 For ἔπρασσον, which is less active than δράσας supr., cp. Aj. 1420 ὅ τι πράξει. ὦ γάμοι] This fresh outburst is occasioned by the mention of his Theban fortune. For the plurals in this and the following lines, expressing strong feeling, see Essay on Language § 20. p. 30.

1404-1405. mvp-comment-783-1 πάλιν | ἀνεῖτε ταὐτὸν σπέρμα Gave birth a second time to the same seed. Cp. Aesch. S c. T. 413, σπαρτῶν ἀπ᾿ ἀνδρῶν ῥίζωμ' ἀνεῖται : supra 270-271, μήτ᾽ ἄροτον αὐτοῖς *γῆς ἀνιέναι τινά, μήτ᾽ οὖν γυναικῶν παῖδας.

1406. mvp-comment-784-1 αἷμ᾿ ἐμφύλιον can only mean murder of kin. Cp. O. C. 407, τοὔμφυλον αἷμα. The marriage of Laius and Jocasta had led to the parricide, in accordance with the oracle.

1409. mvp-comment-785-1 Either (1) We may not speak of things it is not honourable to do, or (2) taking καλόν twice, It is not honourable to speak of things which it is not honourable to do.

1411. mvp-comment-786-1 θαλάσσιον i. e. εἰς θάλασσαν. Essay on Language § 23. p. 39. Cp. supra 196-197.

1413. mvp-comment-787-1 ἀξιώσατ᾿ ἀνδρὸς ἀθλίου θιγεῖν Cp. Τr. 797, πρόσελθε, μὴ φύγῃς τοὐμὸν κακόν.

1415. mvp-comment-788-1 Fear not; my woes are such as none but I can bear;' i. e. I bear an incommunicable sorrow, which you therefore need not fear to share by contact with me. It is too heavy, and also too peculiar, for others to partake. Cp. Phil. 536-537, οἶμαι γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ἂν ὄμμασιν μόνην θέαν | ἄλλον λαβόντα πλὴν ἐμοῦ τλῆναι τάδε: Shak. King John, 3. 1, 'My grief's so great | That no supporter but the huge firm earth | Can hold it up.'

1416. mvp-comment-789-1 ὧν ἐπαιτεῖς i. e. τούτων (genitive of respect) ἃ ἐπαιτεῖς.

1417. mvp-comment-790-1 τὸ πράσσειν For the article with the epexegetical infinitive, cp. El. 1030, μακρὸς τὸ κρίναι ταῦτα χώ λοιπὸς χρόνος. Essay on Language § 33. p. 58.

1420. mvp-comment-791-1 πίστις is here used in the later meaning of persuasive argument. Cp. Ar. Rhet. 1. 1-11. What assurance of mine will appear true?' Oedipus is humiliated and softened. Cp. Shak. Lear, 4. 3.

.. The poor distressed Lear, by no means.. | Will see his daugh ter.. A sovereign shame so elbows him,.. his own unkindness .. these things sting | His mind so venomously, that burning shame | Detains him from Cordelia.
1424. Creon, after briefly re-assuring Oedipus, turns abruptly to the attend. ants, whom he reproaches with not leading Oedipus within-doors. This is natural and characteristic, though it has given offence to several critics. Cp. Shak. Macbeth, 2. 3, And when we have our naked frailties hid, | That suffer in exposure, let us meet, | And question this most bloody piece of work, To know it further.

1425. mvp-comment-792-1 πάντα βόσκουσαν Cp. Plat. Rep. 6. 509 Β, τὸν ἥλιον τοῖς ὁρωμένοις οὐ μόνον, οἶμαι, τὴν τοῦ ὁρᾶσθαι δύναμιν παρέχειν φήσεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν γένεσιν καὶ αὔξην καὶ τροφήν : Aesch. Ag. 633, πλὴν τοῦ τρέφοντος ἡλίου χθονὸς φύσιν.

1427. mvp-comment-793-1 δεικνύναι Epexegetic inf. (= ὥστε μὴ δ.) governed by αἰδεῖσθε, which has a double construction. Essay on Language p. 63.

1427. mvp-comment-793-2 τὸ μήτε γῆ μή implies a reason, i. e. Seeing it is one which neither Earth, etc. Cp. the use of the indefinite ὅστις, supra 1184, ὅστις πέφασμαι, κ.τ.λ. Seeing that I am, etc.

1428. mvp-comment-794-1 μήτ᾿ ὄμβρος The showers (Heaven's χέρνιβες) which represent the sacred element of water. The sanctities of earth and sky are violated by the presence of Oedipus. Essay on Language p. 98. ἱρός marks the purity or sacredness of the element as it exists in nature. Cp. κνέφας ἱερόν, Il. 17.455.

1430. mvp-comment-795-1 μάλιστα is to be joined with εὐσεβῶς ἔχει, May with least impropriety.

1433. mvp-comment-796-1 ἄριστος ἐλθών Having shown thyself so noble to one so base as I am.' Cp. 1357, 1358, φονεὺς ἦλθον : and, for ἐλπίδος, κ.τ.λ. Αj. 1382, καί μ' ἔψευσας ἐλπίδος πολύ.

1435. mvp-comment-797-1 τοῦ .. χρείας What request?' rather than A request for what?

1437. mvp-comment-798-1 φανούμαι i. e. γενήσομαι. Cp. supra 790, προὐφάνη λέγων: Αj. 739, ἢ φάνην ἐγὼ βραδύς: Τr. 251, Ζεὺς ὅτου πράκτωρ φανῇ: infra 1485, πατὴρ ἐφάνθην. Where I am sure to be addressed by none.

1438. mvp-comment-799-1 i.e. ἔδρασ᾽ ἂν τοῦτο, εὖ ἴσθι, ἔδρασ᾽ ἄν. See Essay on Language § 41. p. 77.

1440. mvp-comment-800-1 But the declaration of his voice was wholly for destroying me.' For πᾶσα, which is adverbial, cp. El. 596, 597, ἢ πᾶσαν ἵης γλῶσσαν ὡς τὴν μητέρα κακοστομοῦμεν. ('Who dost talk of nothing else,' etc.)

1442. mvp-comment-801-1 ἵν᾿ ἕσταμεν Cp. Τr. 1145, φρονῶ δὴ ξυμφορᾶς ἵν᾽ ἔσταμεν.

1443. mvp-comment-802-1 ἐκμαθεῖν Το learn fully.' Cp. supr. 576, ἐκμάνθαν', and note.

1445. mvp-comment-803-1 ταν = τοι ἄν. expressive than ye.

1445. mvp-comment-803-2 τοι is here more πίστιν φέροις] Cp. Εl. 735, τῷ τέλει πίστιν φέρων.

1446. mvp-comment-804-1 i. e. Not only do I believe, but I will urge your duties upon you.

1446. mvp-comment-804-2 προτρέψομαι suits the context better than προστρέψομαι. The earlier part of the speech has more the tone of command than of supplication, as of one who instructs his sorrows to be proud, or who, in the extreme of misfortune, is like a prophet new inspired. He claims the right which the curse has given him to go into solitude, and he resigns his right in Jocasta (τῶν γε σῶν), whom he will not even name (τῆς κατ' οἴκους).

1449. mvp-comment-805-1 'But never let this, my father's city, be allowed to have me as a living inhabitant.' For the passive, see Essay on Language § 31. p. 54.

1450. mvp-comment-806-1 ζῶντος i. e. You may slay me if you will (cp. ἀπολλύναι, 1441), but if I am to live you must send me into banishment.

1451. mvp-comment-807-1 ἀλλ᾽ ἔα με So Ant. 95.

1451. mvp-comment-807-2 ἔνθα κλήζεται Where is this Citheron, which rumour celebrates as mine.' Cp. Tr. 659, ἔνθα κλήζεται θυτήρ = Where rumour reports him sacrificing. Pind. Nem. 9. 41, ἔνθ᾽ Ἀρέας πόρον ἄνθρωποι καλέοισι. The use is similar to that of καλεῖσθαι, λέγεσθαι, with names of places, but there is here a special reference to the rumour prevalent at the moment. Cp. supr. 1086 ff.

1453. mvp-comment-808-1 ζῶντε . . τάφον ζῶντε is the reading of the MSS. Let me await my death in that place, which they in their life-time appointed for my destined tomb.' ζώντε is added to intimate that the intentions which they had in life will be fulfilled after their death; κύριον shows that their appointment was justified by the event and ratified by fate. The correction ζῶντι, which Brunck introduced from the conjecture of Toup, brings in the notion of a living grave where it is not required. Ant. 888, ζῶσα τυμβεύειν, is not parallel. ζῶντι would rather weaken the transition in what follows by anticipating ll. 1455-1456.

1454. mvp-comment-809-1 οἱ μ᾿ ἀπωλλύτην For the conative imperfect tense, ср. О. С. 274, ὑφ᾽ ὧν δ᾽ ἔπασχον, εἰδότων ἀπωλλύμην.

1455. mvp-comment-810-1 i. e. Let me die in the wilderness; and yet what will be my end? What will destroy me, when I was saved in such a death? I was predestined to live for evils.' The feeling here expressed is that referred to in O. C. 438-439, καμάνθανον τὸν θυμὸν ἐκδραμόντα μοι | μείζω κολαστὴν τῶν πρὶν ἡμαρτημένων.

1458. mvp-comment-811-1 ὅποιπερ (and not ὅπῃπερ) is right, because Oedipus is thinking of the end, which is still unknown to him.

1460. mvp-comment-812-1 προσθῇ Elms. conjectured προθῇ, comparing El. 1334, νῦν δ᾽ εὐλάβειαν τῶνδε προὐθέμην ἐγώ. But the meaning of προσθῇ suits the context well. Do not give thyself anxiety on their account.

1462. mvp-comment-813-1 ταῖν δ᾽.. ἐμαΐν The construction of these words, which is suggested by παίδων . . μέριμναν, is broken off by the parenthesis, and resumed in the relative clause αἷν μοι μέλεσθαι.

1463-1465. mvp-comment-814-1 Apart from whom my table was never spread, so that they should be without me.' ἄνευ τοῦδ᾽ ἀνδρός is an inverted epexegesis, as though the expression had run, Whose table was never spread apart from mine, or without me.' The point of view is changed, and Oedipus no longer speaks of himself as separated from his children, but of his children as separated from himself. The v. r. in Trin. may have been occasioned by the strangeness of this inversion. See Essay on Language § 42. p. 80.

1467. mvp-comment-815-1 To touch them, and to lament over our woes.'

1468. mvp-comment-816-1 ἴθ᾽ ὦναξ For the interruption of the metre in similar passages, marking a pause of uncertainty, ср. О. С. 315-318, 12713 Phil. 750; Tr. 865, 1081.

1469. mvp-comment-817-1 ὦ γονῇ γενναίε O right noble one!' The tautology is merely emphatic, as in Aristoph. Vesp. 466, ὦ πόνῳ πονηρέ: Plat. Soph. 231 Β, ἡ γένει γενναία σοφιστική. Ε. on L. § 40. p. 75.

1471. mvp-comment-818-1 τί φημί How? This refers not to the previous words, but to the thought that his children are approaching.

1472. mvp-comment-819-1 Can it be that I hear-?' τοῖν μοι φίλοιν] My dear ones. For the use of the masculine or common gender here, see Essay on Language § 20. P. 30.

1474. mvp-comment-820-1 τὰ φίλτατ᾽ ἐκγόνοιν ἐμοῖν My dearest children. See Essay on Language § 10. 6. p. 17.

1475. mvp-comment-821-1 λέγω τι Can I be right? 1477. i.e. Knowing the delight which you have always taken in your children, and thus foreseeing the delight which their coming gives you at this moment.'

1478. mvp-comment-822-1 τῆσδε τῆς ὁδοῦ In requital for thus bringing them. Genitive of the reason. See Essay on Language § 10. p. 15. For ὁδός, see Essay on Language p. 96; and cp. El 1314. μια σε τῆδ᾽ ὁδῷ θανόντα τε | καὶ ζῶντ᾽ ἐσεῖδον: Ο. C. 1506, τῆσδε τῆς ὁδοῦ,

1481. mvp-comment-823-1 Come to these hands of mine, that own one mother with you. Cp. Ο. C. 535, κοιναί γε πατρὸς ἀδελφεαί.

1482-1483. mvp-comment-824-1 .'Which have provided for you this sad spectacle of your father's once bright eyes.'

1482-1483. mvp-comment-824-2 On προξενέω, see Essay on Language p. 98, init.; and on the construction of ὧδ' ὁρᾶν (1. 1482), ibid. § 33. p. 57. The use of προὐξένησαν is occasioned by ὁρᾶν, which, though epexegetic, is first in the order of words, and suggests προξενεῖν θεωρίαν. ὧδε, sc ἔχοντα. See Essay on Language § 39. 1. p. 72.

1484. mvp-comment-825-1 οὔθ᾽ ὁρῶν οὔθ᾽ ἱστορῶν Blind and uninquiring, i. e. unconscious. Cp. supr. 413, κού βλέπεις ἵν᾽ εἶ κακοῦ: 530, ἃ γὰρ δρῶσ᾽ οἱ κρατοῦντες οὐχ ὁρῶ.

1485. mvp-comment-826-1 ἐφάνθην Became, with the additional meaning was discovered to be. 1486. i.e. My eyes, that see you not, shed tears for you.

1487. mvp-comment-827-1 νοούμενος Thinking sadly of.' The rare middle voice expresses deep personal feeling. Essay on Language § 31. p. 53.

1488. mvp-comment-828-1 βιῶναι . . πρὸς ἀνθρώπων For πρός, cp. Αj. 511, σοῦ διοίσεται μόνος | ὑπ᾿ ὀρφανιστῶν μὴ φίλων.

1490-1491. mvp-comment-829-1 Bathed in tears instead of enjoying the solemnity. θεωρίας combines the notion of assisting at contests or exhibitions of various kinds, with that of performing a religious function.

1490. mvp-comment-830-1 For the perfect tense of κεκλαυμέναι, cp. Il. 16.7, τίπτε δεδάκρυσαι, Πατρόκλεις : Aesch. Cho. 731, τρόφον δ' Ὀρέστου τήνδ᾽ ὁρῶ κεκλαυμένην.

1493. mvp-comment-831-1 Who will be the man? Who will run the risk of incurring such reproaches as will fall upon my parents, and will also be your bane?

1495. mvp-comment-832-1 γονεῦσιν, though including the misfortune of Laius, who brought calamity on himself and his race, refers more particularly to Jocasta. This dat. is to be joined with ἔσται, δηλήματα being added with σφών, which is an ethical dative.

1498. mvp-comment-833-1 ὅθεν . . ἐσπάρη For ὅθεν, cp. supr. 1485, ἔνθεν. ἐσπάρη = σπαρεὶς ἐγένετο, 1500. And who then will marry you?' 1505-1507. Do not suffer them, being your kinswomen, to wander poor and unhusbanded, nor make their woes to be like mine.' On ἐξισώσῃς, see Essay on Language p. 96; and for the order of words, ib. § 41. P. 77.

1506. mvp-comment-834-1 ἐγγενεῖς Sc. οὔσας. Essay on Language § 23. p. 38. The conjectural emendaions, ἐκγενεῖς, ἀστέγους, ἀξένους, etc., are unnecessary. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 761, 2 (Eteocles to Creon), μητρὸς δ' ἀδελφὸς εἶ· τί δεῖ μακρηγορεῖν; | τρέφ᾽ ἀξίως νιν σοῦ τε τὴν τ᾿ ἐμὴν χάριν.

1507. mvp-comment-835-1 i. e. Let not my fall be their ruin. Cp. supr. 425. Essay on Language p. 96.

1510. mvp-comment-836-1 ψαύσας Sc. αὐταῖν. Oedipus holds the children forward, that Creon may put his hand upon them in token of acknowledging his duty to them as a kinsman.

1512. mvp-comment-837-1 νῦν δὲ τοῦτ᾽ εὔχεσθέ μοι But now I would have you pray. The mistake of the Scholiast, who suggested that εὔχεσθε was passive ('be the object of this prayer of mine'), arose from not observing the idiomatic use of μοι: i. e. Instead of giving you advice which you cannot understand. I will put into your mouths this simple prayer. Ср. О. С. 1116, ταῖς τηλικαῖσδε σμικρὸς ἐξαρκεῖ λόγος.

1513. mvp-comment-838-1 οὗ καιρὸς ἀεὶ ζῇν, κ.τ.λ. Dindorf's correction of this line, by substituting lâ for deí, while retaining τοῦ, is objectionable on many grounds: (1) The crasis of da, the third singular indicative or subjunctive, is not sufficiently supported in a conjectural reading by the single instance in Homer, Il. 5. 256, τρεῖν μ᾽ οὐκ ἐᾷ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη: (2) καιρός (sc. ἐστιν) is a common idiom, and is good sense, while οὗ καιρὸς ἐᾷ is neither: (3) the insertion of the article is a more likely error than the corruption of a verb. Meineke's οὗ καιρὸς ή ζην is better. But the article τοῦ has no special force, and may have come either from a gloss or from immediately below; and the emphatic del suits well with the feeling of Oedipus, who is thinking of the unhappy circumstances of his own life. The pause at the middle of the line is not frequent. but there are several examples of such a division, after a strong monosyllable like ζῆν, in the present play. See esp. 11. 12, 110, 1066, 1155.

1514. mvp-comment-839-1 ὑμᾶς is added to strengthen the antithesis. The accusative, in the epexegesis, presents no difficulty. See .. Essay on Language § 16. 3. p. 24.

1515. mvp-comment-840-1 Thou hast gone far enough in weeping.' Creon here assumes the tone of one who is henceforth to be regent of the land. Supr. 1418. The humanity shown by him supr. 1476-1477, now gives way to reasons of state. Cp. Ant. 182-183. Schndw., in Die Sage von Ödipus,' 1852, suggested, without laying any stress on the conjecture,' that the Oedipus Rex may have originally ended with the voluntary departure of Oedipus, as in the play of Seneca, and that the exodos may have been subsequently altered by Sophocles in order to adapt it to the Oedipus Coloneus.

1516. mvp-comment-841-1 καιρῷ i. e. ἐν καιρῷ.

1518. mvp-comment-842-1 τοῦ θεοῦ .. δόσιν Supr. 1438.

1519. mvp-comment-843-1 ἥκω Cp. O. C. 12, and note.

1520. mvp-comment-844-1 γάρ = No, for, etc. Cр. О. С. 765-767, πρόσθεν τε γάρ με τοῖσιν οἰκείοις κακοῖς | νοσοῦνθ᾽, ὅτ᾽ ἦν μοι τέρψις ἐκπεσεῖν χθονός, | οὐκ ἤθελες θέλοντι προσθέσθαι χάριν. ἃ μὴ φρονῶ] What I do not clearly know.

1521. mvp-comment-845-1 ἐντεῦθεν From before the palace, since I may not go at once from the land.

1522. mvp-comment-846-1 μου is ablative genitive.

1526. mvp-comment-847-1 The unintelligible reading of this line, which appears in most MSS, †ὅστις οὐ ζήλῳ πολιτῶν καὶ τύχαις ἐπιβλέπων†, has been changed to ov τις οὐ ζηλῶν πολιτῶν καὶ τύχαις ἐπιβλέπων = Whom which of the citizens did not envy, and gaze on his fortunes?' and to ὃν τις οὐ ζήλῳ πολιτῶν τῆς τύχης ἐπέβλεπεν; Another solution of the difficulty is to suppose that a line following this one has been lost. Who did not' (after the manner of tyrants) [maintain his power] 'by envy of the citizens and by keeping an eye upon their fortunes; i. e. Oedipus was a wise and popular ruler, not like Thrasybulus or Periander, who cut off the tallest heads of grain. Cp Pind. Pyth. 3. 71, πραὺς ἀστοῖς, οὐ φθονέων ἀγαθοῖς. But the transition from the dative to the participle is harsh; and ζῆλοs is not φθόνος. The reading of VM, ἐν for οὐ, and the gloss ἐπαιρόμενοs in ME, suggest a different line of conjecture, viz. that some other verb is concealed in ἐπιβλέπων. ἐπιφλέγων would harmonize well with κλύδωνα in the following line, both together suggesting an image of brightness quenched. Cp. Aesch. S. c. Τ. 772, τίν᾿ ἀνδρῶν γὰρ τοσόνδ᾽ ἐθαύμασαν θεοὶ καὶ ξυνέστιοι πόλεος, κ τ.λ.: Ib. 758, κακῶν δ᾽ ὥσπερ θάλασσα κῦμ᾿ ἄγει: Pind. P. 11. 45, δύξ᾽ ἐπιφλέγει. The Naples MS. No. 291 (II. F. 34), (quoted by Elmsley as Farn.'), has τ/ἐπιβλέπων. There still remains the awkwardness of ὅστις with the participle. The emendation above attempted removes this: but is no doubt only one of several possible expedients. IP may have been lost after ἀνήρ (ΗΡΠΡ); and the remaining letters of πρῶτος, ΟΤΟΣ, might then be changed to ὅστις; cp. supr. 478 (ὁτ.-ώστ.), Ο. C. 775 (τισ τοσ). For ζῆλος πολιτῶν as equivalent τo εὐδαιμονία, cp. esp. Aj. 503, οίας λατρείας ἀνθ᾽ ὅσου ζήλου τρέφει: Thuc. 2. 64, ὅστις δ᾽ ἐπὶ μεγίστοις τὸ ἐπίφθονον λαμβάνει, ὀρθῶς βουλεύεται: Pind. 1. 85, κρέσσων γὰρ οἰκτιρμοῦ φθόνος.

1528. mvp-comment-848-1 The order is ὥστε (τινα), έπισκοποῦντα ἐκείνην τὴν τελευταίαν ἡμέραν ἰδεῖν, ὀλβίζειν μηδένα ὄντα θνητόν. So that one waits to see that final day, not calling any mortal happy, before he have completed the term of his life, without any sorrow. Cp Pind. Nem. ΙΙ. 10, τέλος δωδεκάμηνον περάσαι σὺν ἀτρώτῳ κραδίᾳ. The lighter trochaic rhythm, here (1515 foll.) preparing for and hastening the exit of the chief actor, affords relief to the mind of the spectator after the long strain of excited feeling. The comparative tameness of the concluding lines (wrongly assigned to Oed. by the Schol., who was thinking of the Phoenissae) is in accordance with this. The lines in the Phoenissae read like an imitation of this passage, which, although beneath the general style of Sophocles, is not inferior in merit to the concluding words of the chorus in the other plays.