864.
mvp-comment-508-1
εὔσεπτον ἁγνείαν
A reverential purity. For the exact meaning of the verbal adj. here, see Essay on Language § 53, p. 98.
864.
mvp-comment-508-2
λόγων ἔργων τε Genitive of respect.
865.
mvp-comment-509-1
ὧν There is a slight inexactness of language in the article (τὰν), which marks the antecedent, being placed (by a sort of hypallage) with the governing noun ἁγνείαν, instead of with the genitive λόγων. This is hardly felt, because the ideas of the
purity and the
acts and words are coextensive.
865.
mvp-comment-509-2
πρόκεινται
Have been set forth or ordained; the usual word for the promulgation of a law, e.g. Ant. 36, φόνος πρόκειται δημόλευστος. Here almost = εἰσίν.
866.
mvp-comment-510-1
ὑψίποδες
Moving on high. Cp. the imagery in Plato, Phaedr. P. 247 ff. esp. the words in p. 254 B, ἐν ἁγνῷ βάθρῳ βεβῶσαν.
866-867.
mvp-comment-511-1
'Created in, and pervading, the highest heaven, i. e. (1) They are from above: (2) They are all-embracing. Cp. Emped. Fr. 437-439 (403-405 Karsten.), οὐ πέλεται τοῖς μὲν θεμιτὸν τόδε, τοῖς δ᾽ ἀθέμιστον· | ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πάντων νόμιμον διά τ᾿ εὐρυμέδοντος | αἰθέρος ἠνεκέως τέταται, διά τ᾿ ἀπλέτου αὐγῆς. 11. 15. 171, αἰθρηγενέος Βορέαο. The accusative with διά (cp. Aesch. Suppl. 15) is probably used because the idea is not that of passing through, but of pervading or permeating. Their mother-element is also the sphere of their life. Ether is the region, Olympus the cause of their birth; and in contrasting these, Sophocles follows Homer in making αἰθήρ feminine. Olympus, the seat of the Gods, is in Sophocles a sort of unseen Heaven; and has almost lost the association of place. Aj. 1389, Ant. 609, O. С. 1655, Fr. 490.
868.
mvp-comment-512-1
'Nor was man's mortal nature operative in their birth.'
870.
mvp-comment-513-1
οὐδὲ μὰν is similarly used to introduce a new thought after a previous negative in Pind. Pyth. 4. 87, οὔτι που οὗτος Ἀπόλλων, οὐδὲ μὰν χαλκάρματός ἐστι πόσις Ἀφροδίτας. The subjunctive κατακοιμάσῃ in L, the absence of the Doricism in μήν (but cp. θνητή supr.), and the correspondence of μήποτε in 880, are certainly in favour of μήποτε which Elmsley introduced, and which is found in Par. E., though with κατακοιμάσει following. But οὐ μή is too vehement for the passage, and is almost without MS. authority. Others read λάθᾳ, which involves an undesirable change of subject.
871.
mvp-comment-514-1
μέγας .. γηράσκει
There is in them a mighty Deity, that grows not old. As a Divine Power was recognized in the plague (πυρφόρος θεός,
l. 27
), so in the unwritten laws there is a Divine Nature, which is similarly personified. For the expression, cp. Plat. Phaed. 77 E, ἀλλ᾽ ἴσως ἔνι τις καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν παῖς, ὅστις τὰ τοιαῦτα φοβείται: Plat. Rep. 2. 382 D, ποιητὴς ἄρα ψευδὴς ἐν θεῷ οὐκ ἔνι.
873.
mvp-comment-515-1
Lawlessness begets the tyrant. Cp. the τυραννικοῦ ἀνδρὸς γένεσις in Plat. Rep. 9. 571, ff.; Legg. 4, 716 AΒ. ὕβρις is the spirit of lawlessness of which Heraclitus said, ὕβριν χρὴ σβεννύειν μᾶλλον ἢ πυρκαϊήν: and the direct opposite of νόμος. Cp. Pind. O1. 13. 10, ὕβριν κόρου ματέρα.
Sunt qui interpretentur; Propter malos civium mores amittitur libertas. Alii: Per scelera ad tyrannidem occupandam viam sibi faciunt homines. Elms. Both meanings are probably included in the more general notion that tyranny is the consummation of lawless violence in a state. Cp.
873.
mvp-comment-515-2
ἀδικίαν εὐδαίμονα, Eur. Phoen. 552.
874.
mvp-comment-516-1
εἰ πολλῶν ὑπερπλησθῇ For εἰ with the subjunctive in generalised contingent suppositions, see Essay on Language § 27. P. 44.
874.
mvp-comment-516-2
μάταν Το no good end.' Cp. О. С. 1565-1566, πολλῶν γὰρ καὶ μάταν πημάτων ἱκνουμένων. This notion is expanded in the following words, ἃ surfeited with many things, which are neither seasonable nor expedient.'
876-877.
mvp-comment-517-1
If there is no flaw in these verses, they may be rendered:
Having mounted the topmost height she rushes on a rugged doom, wherein she finds no safe footing. The word ἀπότομος is applied metaphorically to the Spirit of Necessity in the sense of
stern,
inexorable, in Eur. Alc. 982, οὐδέ τις ἀποτόμου λήματός ἐστιν αἰδώς. Here Pride is imagined falling from her pinnacle on rugged broken ground, where she is left helpless to 'stumble on dark mountains. Cp. Ant. 853-855, προβᾶσ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἔσχατον θράσους, ὑψηλὸν ἐς Δίκας βάθρον προσέπεσες, ὦ τέκνον, πολύ, and Aesch. Eum. 387, where the ways of the Erinyes are described as δυσοδοπαίπαλα | δερκομένοισι καὶ δυσομμάτοις ὁμῶς. In order to restore the correspondence of 877 with the strophe (867), we must suppose the loss of one long or two short syllables. The rhythm is iambic. Cp. στρ. α΄, 1. 3, στρ. β', 11. 6 and 8. The simplest hypothesis, as nothing is wanting to complete the sense, is that ὥρουσεν was compounded with et or els.
879-880.
mvp-comment-518-1
It is needless to suppose any particular reference or allusion in these words; which simply denote the striving of patriotic zeal as distinguished from the struggles of lawless ambition. 'May God never end the contention that is for the city's good.' Cp. Pind. Nem. 5. 46-47, χαίρω δ᾽ ὅτι ἐσλοῖσι μάρναται πέρι πᾶσα πόλις: Hes. Op. et D. 24, ἀγαθὴ δ᾽ ἔρις ἥδε βροτοῖσιν: Aesch. Eum. 975, νικᾷ δ᾽ ἀγαθῶν ἔρις ἡμετέρα.
880.
mvp-comment-519-1
θεόν Here generalized more completely than elsewhere in Sophocles. Cp. however infr. 734, Phil. 843, τάδε μὲν θεὸς ὄψεται.
883.
mvp-comment-520-1
But whoso walks disdainfully in act or word.' ὑπέροπτα is neuter plural adverbial. The connection is:
I will not cease to have God for my protector. The chorus take up the thought suggested by Teiresias 410-411, οὐ γάρ τι σοὶ ζῶ δοῦλος ἀλλὰ Λοξίᾳ, ὥστ᾽ οὐ Κρέοντος προστάτου γεγράψομαι. For χερσί =
by deeds of violence, cp. Ε1. 1195, πότερα χερσὶν ἢ λύμῃ βίου ;
885.
mvp-comment-521-1
οὐδέ In the vivid language of the chorus, the hypothetical passes into the demonstrative. What they at first supposed only, is now present to their imagination. Hence οὐδé, not μηδέ.
887.
mvp-comment-522-1
ἕλοιτο
Take him for her own. Cp. Αj. 397, ἕλεσθέ μ' οἰκήτορα.
888.
mvp-comment-523-1
δυσπότμου χάριν χλιδᾶς
For his ill-starred pride. Cp. the use of χλιδάω. For the ethical association attached to δύσποτμος. cp. Aj. 1156, τοιαῦτ᾽ ἄνολβον ἄνδρ᾽ ἐνουθέτει παρών.
889-891.
mvp-comment-524-1
The clause εἰ μὴ ματάζων resumes the protasis with increased definiteness, dwelling on the two charges of unrighteousness and impiety, and describing the latter under the two forms of unholiness and sacrilege. If he will not be content with righteous gains, and refrain from unholy deeds, or will persist in laying wanton hands on things sacred.' Cp. Ο. C. 39, ἄθικτος οὐδ᾽ οἰκητός, ἕξεται is stronger than ἅψεται, implying obstinate determination. Cp. O. C. 424, ἧς νῦν ἔχονται, ἄθικτος is repeated in a different sense, infr. 898. See Essay on Language § 44. p. 84.
890.
mvp-comment-525-1
τῶν ἀσέπτων
From impious deeds, the opposite of εὔσεπτον above in l. 864. Cp. Eur. Iph. A. 1092.
893-894.
mvp-comment-526-1
τίς ἔτι ποτ᾿ ἐν τοῖσδ᾽ ἀνὴρ θυμῷ βέλη ἔρξεται ψυχᾶς ἀμύνειν The passage is printed as it is written in L. If we are contented with adopting θυμοῦ, the meaning will be,
Who in such courses can go on to avert the darts of wrath and ward them from his soul? i. e. What tyrant can avoid becoming an object of anger? Or, according to some interpreters,
Who, where such things are done, can avoid being angry? But neither meaning is satisfactory, and the epexegesis, 4. a., is tame and awkward. ἔρξεται may have crept in from above. Either here or in infra l. 906 there must be some corruption of the text, as the words θυμοῦ βέλη have nothing corresponding to them in the antistrophe, unless the interlinear gloss παλαιά is supposed to be a corruption of παλαίφατα, or some such word. Hermann, in suggesting to omit ἔρξεται and read θεῶν for θυμῶι (i. e. θῶμ for θιμῶι), supposing the line φθίνοντα γὰρ Λαΐου to be complete, gave an impossible emphasis to ἀνήρ.
Who in such a course is man enough to ward from his soul the darts of Heaven? Two modifications of this have been suggested, (1) reading ἀμύνοι for ἀμύνειν (cp. Ant. 635, τίς.. κατάσχοι);
Who, in following such a course, can continue to ward off the arrows of the Gods? (2) Supposing the metre to be as in the text, with Λαΐου παλαίφατα in the antistrophe, τίς ἔτι ποτ᾽ ἐν τοῖσδ᾽ ἀνὴρ θυμῷ βάλοι θεῶν βέληψυχᾶς ἀμύνειν; Who then can imagine how to ward from his soul the weapons of the Gods?' The former (1) is preferable.
895-896.
mvp-comment-527-1
For if honour attend such actions, what need have I to lead the sacred dance? If
the righteous are as the wicked, then, as the Athenians judged in the time of the plague, it is ἐν ὁμοίῳ καὶ σέβειν καὶ μή (Thuc. 2. 53). This thought changes the mood of the chorus, who for the moment catch the infection of doubt (as previously they doubted Teiresias), here as elsewhere reflecting opposite and conflicting tendencies. They soon, however, renew the strain of piety (899, cp. 480), and appeal to the supreme power of Zeus. The allusion to their religious function in the worship of Dionysus is in keeping with the lyric character of the ode. Cp. infr. 1092, καὶ χορεύεσθαι πρὸς ἡμῶν.
900.
mvp-comment-528-1
τὰν Ὀλυμπίαν The oracle of Zeus at Olympia is mentioned by Pindar, Olymp. 8. 2, ἵνα μάντιες ἄνδρες ἐμπύροις τεκμαιρόμενοι παραπειρῶνται Διὸς ἀργικεραύνου.
902.
mvp-comment-529-1
If these things shall not coincide manifestly in the face of all mankind.'
These things, i. e. the prediction and the event. Cp. Tr. 1174, ταῦτ᾽ οὖν ἐπειδὴ λαμπρὰ συμβαίνει.
902.
mvp-comment-529-2
ἁρμόσει Used absolutely. Cp. Plat. Soph. 262 C, τότε δὲ ἥρμοσέ τε, κ.τ.λ.
902.
mvp-comment-529-3
πᾶσιν.. βροτοῖς Dative of remote reference after ἁρμόσει, depending partly also on χειρόδεικτα.
903.
mvp-comment-530-1
εἴπερ ὄρθ᾽ ἀκούεις i. e.
If thou art rightly named the all-ruling one.
904.
mvp-comment-531-1
πάντ᾽ ἀνάσσων πάντα is adverbial. All-ruling, i. e. exercising all command.
904.
mvp-comment-531-2
μὴ λάθοι The vague or impersonal subject of λάθοι (cp. supr. 341) is supplemented by the four concluding lines.
906.
mvp-comment-532-1
See on 893.
906.
mvp-comment-532-2
φθίνοντα
Which are fading in the past; or
losing their authority; cp. Ant. 1013, φθίνοντ᾽ ἀσήμων ὀργίων μαντεύματα.
908.
mvp-comment-533-1
ἐξαιροῦσι
They put away from them, i. e. their fulfilment is no longer expected. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 991, ὡς εὖ πατρὸς ἐξεῖλον φόβον.
909-910.
mvp-comment-534-1
Everywhere Apollo's honour becomes dim, and things Divine go to destruction. For τιμαῖς, which is dat. of manner, see Essay on Language § 14. pp. 20, 21. ἐμφανὴς τιμαῖς = φανερῶς ἀγόμενος ἐν τιμῇ. 911, foll. A way has been prepared by which the truth shall be revealed when it seems furthest from the thoughts of the king and queen. The messenger who brings from Corinth the welcome news of the death of Polybus is the means of unlocking the secret which the herdsman who has been sent for would else have buried in silence. Each knows a part of the mystery, and their meeting brings the whole to light. Jocasta still keeps her confidence, but cannot be unaffected by the mood of Oedipus, who is shaken by every hint of fear. She is preparing to supplicate the gods, not for herself but for her husband and the state, when the news arrives, which seems at first to remove all cause of apprehension.
909-910.
mvp-comment-534-2
παρεστάθη
It came into my mind. Cp. Eur. (?) Rhes. 780, καί μοι καθ' ὕπνον δόξα τις παρίσταται.
912.
mvp-comment-535-1
ἱκέσθαι
To approach as a suppliant. Infr. 920. Cp. the similar proceeding of Clytemnestra in El. 634, immediately after the announcement of Orestes' death.
914.
mvp-comment-536-1
For Oedipus is over-excited and carried away by all sorts of anxieties.' For θυμός in the general sense of emotion, see Essay on Language p. 92, and for αἴρει meaning
allows to rise, ibid. §. 30. d, P. 52.
916.
mvp-comment-537-1
ἔννους
In possession of reason.
916.
mvp-comment-537-2
τὰ καινὰ τοῖς πάλαι i. e. He will not judge the oracle and the words of Teiresias by the failure of the former prophecy. Supr. 720 ff.
917.
mvp-comment-538-1
εἰ φόβους λέγῃ The correction ἦν (see v. r.) has evidently been added to suit the subjunctive, which of the two alternatives given by the first hand has the advantage of being the harder reading. The subjunctive is also more in accordance with the present time, while ei may be sufficiently defended by the generality of the supposition, which is emphatic. If only he tell of fears.' See Essay on Language § 27. p. 44.
918.
mvp-comment-539-1
ὅτ᾽ οὖν Cp. El. 1318-1319, ὅτ' οὖν τοιαύτην ἡμὶν ἐξήκεις ὁδόν, ἄρχ᾿ αὐτός, κ.τ.λ.
919.
mvp-comment-540-1
Cp. El. 635 ff., esp. 1. 655, and note on supr. 16. πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν γὰρ ἵδρυτο, Schol.
919.
mvp-comment-540-2
ἄγχιστος i. e. Not merely easiest of access, but having a prior claim, as next the hearth.
920.
mvp-comment-541-1
κατεύγμασιν
Emblems of supplication. The conjecture κατάργμασιν, though ingenious, is unnecessary. For an analogous abstract expression, cp. Αj. 1175, ἱκτήριον θησαυρόν.
921.
mvp-comment-542-1
λύσιν τιν'.. εὐαγῆ
Some pure release, i. e. Some end of our troubles which will leave us pure from crime. λύσιν εὐαγῆ = λύσιν εἰς εὐαγῆ βίον. For the meaning of λύσιν, cp. Tr. 1170-1171, μόχθων τῶν ἐφεστώτων ἐμοὶ | λύσιν τελεῖσθαι.
923.
mvp-comment-543-1
ὡς κυβερνήτην νεώς Sc. έκπεπληγμένον βλέποντες ἂν ὀκνοῖεν. For this brief way of indicating a simile, see Essay on Language § 39. P. 73, § 43. p. 82, and cp. supr. 602 and note.
928.
mvp-comment-544-1
γυνὴ δὲ μήτηρ ἥδε By choosing this honourable title the chorus unconsciously remind the spectators of the horror that is presently to be revealed.
