901–1050
νεώρη . . τετμημένον] Α fresh curl newly shorn.' The participle is added in further definition of νεώρη.
ἐμπαίει.. τεκμήριον] 'A familiar sight' or 'image struck upon my soul, (and told me) that I saw in this a certain token of Orestes, dearest of mankind.' ὄμμα (see Essay on L. § 54. p. 99) is here the active impression of the object of vision. ὁρᾶν depends on the general notion, 'I felt,' implied in the preceding words.
βαστάσασα] 'When I held it.' Cp.
infr. 1129. δυσφημῶ μὲν οὔ] ‘I uttered no ill-omened cry.' Reverence dictated silence in the immediate neighbourhood of that ancient tomb.
πίμπλημ᾽.. ὄμμα] ‘My eye was filled.' Essay on L. $ 30. p. 52 d.
τόδ᾽ ἀγλάϊσμα] ίσμα] Cp. Aesch. Cho. 193, 4, εἶναι τόδ᾽ ἀγλάϊσμα μοι τοῦ φιλτάτου | βροτῶν Ὀρέστον. The genitive is one of possession, as in this passage of the Choephori, but is also resumed with μολεῖν as a genitive of derivation. μή, not oὐ, because that which is denied is not the fact merely, but the possibility of the fact.
τόδε] This act of offering hair, which belongs only to the nearest relatives of the dead.
μηδὲ πρὸς θεούς] Religious duties formed an occasional exception to the seclusion of women in Attica. See Bernhardy, Grundriss, Part i. p. 55.
ἐλάνθανεν] Sc. ἡ μήτηρ. There is a slight change of construction. The omission of ar is rightly defended by Wecklein : 'ελάνθανεν statt ἐλάνθανεν ἄν bezeichnet die unausbleibliche Folge.'
ἔστ᾽ Ὀρέστου ταῦτα τἀπιτίμια] 'It is Orestes who has paid these dues. ἐπιτίμια occurs nowhere else with this exact meaning, and Dindorf, following
Wunder, reads τἀπιτύμβια. But such a substantive use of ἐπιτύμβιος is not found elsewhere, and ἐπιτίμια will bear the meaning required.
This is the only place in which θαρσύνειν is intransitive. See E. on L. §53. p. 98, 9. The use of the active verb is more energetic. Cp. παθε.
τοῖς αὐτοῖσί τοι, κ.τ.λ.] Cp. esp. Trach. 132-5, μένει γάρ, κ.τ.λ.
στυγνός here is rather gloomy' than 'hateful.' Cр. О. Т. 673.
ὑπάρξει κῦρος.. καλῶν] Either (1) Will be the consummation of much good,' or (2) Will lead the way to,' etc. i. e. ὑπάρξει καλῶν, ὥστε κῦρος ἔχειν τὰ καλά. For the accusative after ὑπάρχω, see L. and S. s. v. A 4. For (1) cp. Eur. Hec. 1229, θησαυρὸς ἄν σοι παῖς ὑπῆρχ᾽ οὔτος μέγας.
Wecklein punctuates differently, φεῦ τῆς ἀνοίας, ὥς σ᾽ ἐποικτείρω πάλαι.
'You know not where you are, nor what you say.' The metaphorical ὅποι γῆς is explained by the more literal ὅποι γνώμης.
Cp.
supr. 878.
τοῦ . . παρόντος] The individualizing article, by adding a touch of ἐνάργεια, helps to mark the certainty of Electra's belief. Cp.
supr. 424.
μητρί is added with the second clause to mark the unnaturalness of Clytemnestra. A welcome messenger, not displeasing to the mother there.'
γάρ = ' then,' asks for explanation. The death of Orestes is certain. The offerings came then from another. Who can this be? Cp. Phil. 327, 8, εὐ γ', ὦ τέκνον, τίνος γὰρ ὧδε τὸν μέγαν | χόλον κατ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐγκαλῶν ἐλήλυθas;
πρὸς τάφον] The accusative, because of the notion of 'bringing' implied in κτερίσματα.
ὦ δυστυχής] Sc. ἐγώ.
τοιούσδ'] 'Such,' ie. So full of joy.
οὕτως.. ταῦτ᾽] Electra says this with the quietness of despair.
Electra ironically waives rejoinder to the frigid question which is ⚫ strangely distasteful to her, and makes it felt that she has something of real practical importance in her mind. γε implies, Be that as it may, it was not my meaning.' Some read ἐς τόδ' with M.
τλῆναι.. δρῶσαν] The participle, as with πειρᾶσθαι.
ὅρα.. ὁρῶ.] Consider -.' 'I see that clearly.' Cp. Phil. 589, ὅρα τί ποιεῖς, παῖ. ΝΕ. σκοπῶ κἀγὼ πάλαι : and for the γνώμη, Fr. 364, οὗτοι ποθ' ἅψει τῶν ἄκρων ἄνευ πόνου.
The hopelessness of the present situation, which Ismene in the Antigone (Ant. 49 foll.) dwells upon as a ground of inaction, is urged by Electra as a reason for doing what ought to be done. Cp. the words of Henry V in Shakspeare, 4. 1. 1, 'Gloucester, 'tis true that we are in great danger:-The greater therefore should our courage be.'
βίῳ | θάλλοντ᾽ * ἔτ'] The correction (see v. rr.) is necessary. as βίῳ for ἐν βίῳ ὄντα would be too harsh an ellipse.
εἰς σὲ δὴ βλέπω] Electra knows this to be a forlorn hope, -
infr. 1017, 8, but to speak confidently is her only chance of success.
ξὺν τῇδ᾽ ἀδελφῇ] She adds her own claim of sisterhood to the guilt of Aegisthus, as a reason why Chrysothemis should help her.
The motive of this line, which has been suspected by some critics, is sufficiently explained by comparing
supr. 126, ὁ τάδε πορών, and note. The name which the chorus there suppressed, out of habitual fear, Electra now fearlessly pronounces. She need use no concealment with Chrysothemis, for whether with or without her help, she means to act so as to anticipate prevention.
ποῖ μενεῖς ῥαθυμος] Το what point will you remain inert?' i.e. How far must things go before you are roused to action? See Essay on L. § 24. p. 41, and cp. esp. O. С. 383, 4, τοὺς δὲ σοὺς ὅποι θεοὶ | πόνους κατοικτιοῦσιν, οὐκ ἔχω μαθεῖν.
ἔτ᾿ ὀρθήν] 'That is not already thrown down.'
The accusative is probably occasioned by στένειν, i.e. στένειν κτῆσιν, ἐστερημένῃ αὐτῆς, -οι αὐτήν, -though the simple verb is not elsewhere found with the accusative.
τῶνδε] λέκτρων ὑμεναίων τε.
εὐσέβειαν] Cp.
supr. 345, 6, and note, Ant. 924. κάτω] Sc. ὄντος, absorbed in θανόντος.
καλεῖ] Future middle for passive.
λόγων γε μὴν . . οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅσην] 'Do you not see how great, at all events, will be the glory of renown?' etc. γε μήν emphasizes what is certain as distinguished from the hope last spoken of, in which there was necessarily some uncertainty.
Will not point to us with such words of praise?' δεξιοῦσθαι is to extend the right hand towards a person in token of greeting or admiration. Cp. esp. Hom. H. 5. 15, 16, ἦγον ἐς ἀθανάτους, οἱ δ᾽ ἠσπάζοντο ἰδόντες, | χερσί τ' ἐδεξιόωντο.
On the use of the masculine here, see Essay on L. § 20. p. 30, 2. It is dropped
infr. 985, where Electra is speaking more familiarly and in her own person.
εὐ βεβηκόσιν] 'When in high prosperity. The phrase literally means, Standing firmly." Cp. esp. Archil. Fr. 58, πολλάκις της ἀνατρέπουσι ανατο καὶ μάλ᾽ εὖ βεβηκότας | ὑπτίους κλίνουσι.
προὐστήτην φόνου] 'Stood forth (1) to slay,' or (2) as avengers of blood.' The genitive is difficult, and is hardly explained by comparing Aj. 803, Eur. Andr. 221. Either (1) it expresses purpose, as in Thuc. 1. 36, καλῶς παράπλου κεῖται, and similar expressions, or (2) the phrase is equivalent to προστάται φόνου ἐγένοντο, 'Became ministers of the blood-feud.'
συμπόνει πατρί] 'Labour in thy father's cause,-vindicate thy brother's name. As observed above in note on l. 811, the ideas of vengeance and of succour are inseparable. So συγκάμνειν is used of honouring the dead in Aj. 988.
The wild and desperate hope on which this rests, and which has been suggested by the previous lines, is that, when Aegisthus is slain, the people will immediately rise in favor of the surviving representatives of the Atreidae.
On the non-repetition of the article here see Essay on L. § 21. p. 33, b.
εἰ φρενῶν.. μὴ κακῶν] If her thoughts had not been perverted.' μή belongs to the whole sentence, but its position emphasizes both the negation and the epithet κακῶν.
As elsewhere, when αὐτός τε καί is introduced after the beginning of a sentence, the second clause has an independent construction. Plat. Rep. 4. Ρ. 427 C, αὐτός τε καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν παρακάλει.
εὐτυχής is equally probable.
κἀπὶ μηδὲν ἔρχεται] Cp. Fr. 786. 1.8, πάλιν διαρρεῖ κἀπὶ μηδὲν ἔρχεται. The use of μή rather than oὐ is to be explained by the abstract expression, - 'nothingness' rather than 'nothing.'
λύει .. ἡμᾶς οὐδέν] It brings us no release.' λύειν is not here = λυσιτελεῖν, as it is sometimes in Euripides. See O. T. 316, 7, and note.
It is conceivable, as some editors have suggested, that these two lines may have come in from elsewhere. Cp. Aj. 554 and note. If they are part of the text, the connection is somewhat as follows: We should gain nothing by doing what, although applauded for the moment, would bring us to an ignominious death. Not death merely, but the lingering misery that might precede it, is what we should have most to dread.' We may suppose that the imagination of Chrysothemis has been impressed by the threat of immurement, which she reported
supr. 379-82.
πανωλέθρους τὸ πᾶν . . ὀλέσθαι] Perish utterly and irredeemably.' The repetition of τὸ πᾶν, already implied in πανωλέθρους, anticipates the notion which is more fully expressed by the antithesis in the succeeding verse, -'Ere we perish in an utter destruction, in which we should involve not ourselves only but our whole race'-(since Orestes is no more).
κἀξερημῶσαι γένος] Cp. Ant. 58, 9, νῦν αὖ μόνα δὴ νὰ λελειμμένα σκόπει | ὅσῳ κάκιστ᾽ ὀλούμεθ'. Iphianassa (
supr. 157) seems to be forgotten.
κατάσχες ὀργήν] Cp. Pind. Isthm. 3. 3, (εἴ τις) σθένει πλούτου κατέχει φρεσὶν αἰανῆ κόρον.
ἁπηγγελλόμην] The interpretation preserved by Hesychius, -ἐπηγγελλόμην· παρεκάλουν, ἐπέστελλον, – is hardly adequate. A better meaning is obtained if the word is allowed to retain its usual force, 'The offer which I made.' In proposing that they should together compass the death of Aegisthus, Electra thinks that she has given Chrysothemis a glorious opportunity.
κενόν] i.e. ἀργόν, 'Unperformed.'
πάντα γὰρ κατειργάσω] 'You had effected everything;' i.e. would have prevented the accomplishment of the murder. For the ellipse of av here, cp. esp. Thuc. 8. 86, ἐν ᾧ σαφέστατα Ἰωνίαν καὶ Ἑλλήσποντον εὐθὺς εἶχον οἱ πολέμιοι. It deserves to be considered, whether euphony may not have been sometimes consulted in the omission of av. Certainly πᾶν γὰρ ἄν has not a pleasant sound. Cp.
supr. 914: Ant. 604, 5, τίς ἀνδρῶν . . κατάσχοι; Aesch. Ag. 1163, νεογνὸς ἀνθρώπων μάθοι. For πάντα = 'Anything and everything,' cp. Trach. 17, πᾶν τοίνυν . κλύοι τις ἄν: Ο. C. 1503, 4, πάντα γὰρ . . εἰκάσαι πάρα.
'No, for in making the attempt one is likely to have ill success.' The masculine gender of the participle and the present tense of the infinitive give generality to the expression :-i.e. εἰκός ἐστι κακῶς πράσσειν τινά, εἰ ἐγχειροίη. καί marks correlation of act and consequence.
'I will listen with the same equanimity when you shall praise me;' i.e. 'As I am indifferent to your censure, so I will be to your commendation, when you have learned the truth.' The slight harshness of this, to which av in
infr. 1034 is opposed, shows the rising impatience of Chrysothemis. Cp.
supr. 430, inf. 1044. 1057. This interpretation is confirmed by l. 1030, μακρὸς χρόνος, ‘A long time, even all the future, is in store to determine that,' where καί is used as elsewhere in adding an equivalent or explanatory phrase. For the article with the epexegetic infinitive = ὥστε, κ.τ.λ., cp. Ο. Τ. 1417, and note.
σῇ] i.e. ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐμῇ. Cp. Ant. 549, Κρέοντ᾽ ἐρώτα· τοῦδε γὰρ σὺ κηδεμών.
Nay but I do not hate thee to that extent'-i. e. though I am vexed with you.
But at least you should understand into what dishonour you would bring me.' Electra's tone is softened for the moment by the affectionate tone of the previous line.
It is not dishonour I intend, but rather care for thee.' προμηθίας follows the case of ἀτιμίας, without having any definite construction with the preceding words. See Essay on L. $ 35. p. 60 с. The bisection of the line here and in 1038 helps to mark the earnestness of Chrysothemis, and has something of a lyric effect.
How strange and sad it is that she who speaks so fairly should thus err!' The phra phrase εὐ λέγουσαν refers not to any single speech of Chrysothemis, but to the general tone of complacent superiority with which she utters her sentences of prudential morality.
ᾧ σὺ πρόσκεισαι] Cp.
supr. 240, and note.
Electra is revolted by the suggestion of tempering justice with expediency. Cp.
supr. 397, οὐκ ἐμοὺς τρόπους λέγεις. For τούτοις.. νόμοις, cp. Ant. 191, τοιοῖσδ᾽ ἐγὼ νόμοισι τήνδ' αὔξω πόλιν.
Cp.
infr. 1057.
καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἀληθές] ‘And is this real?' i.e. an intention which you will execute. Cp. Phil. 921, καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ δρᾶν νοεῖς; οὐδὲ βουλεύσει πάλιν] 'And will you not alter your resolve?' Cp. Phil. 961, εἰ καὶ πάλιν | γνώμην μετοίσεις.
Nothing that I say seems to make any impression on your mind.' φρονεῖν is here to be receptive of wisdom.' The prudence of Chrysothemis is more calculating than the timidity of Ismene.
Electra. Lewis Campbell. ed. Lewis Campbell. Oxford. 1879.