Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus 897

Robert Potter (Translator)

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Guard his proud heart from guilty fear?
Such deeds if glory waits, in vain
900
I lead this choral train.
No more at Delphi's central cell,
At Abæ, or Olympia's hallow'd shrine
Attendant pay I rites divine,
Till the god deigns this darkness to dispel.
O Jove, if thee we rightly call
905
The sovereign lord, the king of all,
Let not concealment this in shades enfold
From thee, and thy immortal reign!
The oracles, to Laius giv'n of old,
They spurn with insolent disdain,
910

Oedipus Tyrannus. Sophocles. Robert Potter (Translator). London. 1820.

Current edition Experimental

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Robert Potter, 1788))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 897 focus
οὐκέτι τὸν ἄθικτον εἶμι γᾶς ἐπ᾿ ὀμφαλὸν σέβων,
οὐδ᾽ ἐς τὸν Ἀβαῖσι ναόν,
900
οὐδὲ τὰν Ὀλυμπίαν,
εἰ μὴ τάδε χειρόδεικτα
πᾶσιν ἁρμόσει βροτοῖς.
ἀλλ᾽, ὦ κρατύνων, εἴπερ ὄρθ᾽ ἀκούεις,
[43 a.
Ζεῦ, πάντ᾽ ἀνάσσων, μὴ λάθοι
905
σὲ τάν τε σὰν ἀθάνατον αἰὲν ἀρχάν.
φθίνοντα γὰρ Λαΐου [?]
θέσφατ᾽ ἐξαιροῦσιν ἤδη,
κοὐδαμοῦ τιμαῖς Ἀπόλλων ἐμφανής·
ἔρρει δὲ τὰ θεῖα.
910
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 911-1085 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 897 focus
Of Earth, I’ll seek, for light divine,
Nor visit Abae’s mystic fane
900
Nor travel o’er the well-trod plain
900
Where thousands throng to famed Olympia’s town,
Unless, with manifest accord,
The event fulfil the oracular word.
Zeus, Lord of all! if to eternity
Thou would’st confirm thy kingdom’s large renown,
905
Let not their vauntings high
905
Evade the sovereign look of the everlasting eye!
They make as though the ancient warning slept
By Laius erst with fear and trembling kept;
Apollo’s glory groweth pale,
And holiest rites are prone to faint and fail.
910
O grant us absolution and relief!
For seeing him, our pilot, so distraught,
Like mariners, we are all amazed with dread.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 897 focus
Nicht zur heil'gen Erdenmitte wall' ich mehr in frommem Sinn, 1
Auch nicht zu dem Tempel Abä's, noch zum Haus Olympia's, 2
875
Wenn nicht vor den Augen Aller, was ich sage, sich erfüllt.
Doch dir, o Starker, wenn wir recht dich nennen
Allherrscher Zeus, und deiner stets
Endlosen Almacht bleib' es nicht verborgen!
Der Götter uraltes Wort an Laïos gilt
880
Als verhallt, als eitler Tand nun;
Nirgend strahlt Apollons Ruhm im alten Glanz;
Das Göttliche schwindet.
Jokaste. Der Chor.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 884 focus
With patience his arrival, and despair not.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 911-1085 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-555-1 ἄθικτον 1

mvp-comment-555-2 ὀμφαλόν 2

mvp-comment-556-1 τὸν Ἀβαῖσι ναόν 3

mvp-comment-557-1 τὰν Ὀλυμπίαν 4

mvp-comment-558-1 εἰ μὴ τάδε ἁρμόσει 5 χειρόδεικτα πᾶσιν βροτοῖς 6 χειρόδ 7

mvp-comment-559-1 ἀκούεις 8

mvp-comment-560-1 The subject to λάθοι 9 τάδε 10

mvp-comment-561-1 After φθίνοντα γὰρ Λαΐου 11 παλαίφατα 12 φθίνοντα 13 Λαΐου 14

mvp-comment-562-1 ἐξαιροῦσιν 15 ἐξαιρουσιν 16 φθίνοντα 17

mvp-comment-563-1 τιμαῖς … ἐμφανής 18

mvp-comment-564-1 τὰ θεῖα 19

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

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.