Sophocles Electra 1097-1231

ed. Francis Storr

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Electra. Sophocles. ed. Francis Storr. London. 1913.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Ἠλέκτρα (Greek) (Sophocles, Volume 2. Storr, Francis, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann Ltd.; The Macmillan Company, 1913.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1098 focus
ὀρθῶς θ᾽ ὁδοιποροῦμεν ἔνθα χρήζομεν ;
ὦ φιλτάτου μνημεῖον ἀνθρώπων ἐμοὶ
ψυχῆς Ὀρέστου λοιπόν, ὥς σ᾽ om. MSS. add Brunck. ἀπ᾿ ἐλπίδων
οὐχ ὧνπερ ἐξέπεμπον εἰσέπεμπον LL2. ἐξέπεμπον CA. εἰσεδεξάμην.
νῦν μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ὄντα βαστάζω χεροῖν·
δόμων δέ σ᾽, ὦ παῖ, λαμπρὸν ἐξέπεμψ᾽ ἐγώ.
1130
ὡς ὤφελον ὤφελες L Vat. a MCV30. ὤφελον C A FVV MM² Vat. c pr. V³ pr. L². γρ. ὤφελες Γ. ὄφελον Pal. πάροιθεν ἐκλιπεῖν βίον,
πρὶν ἐς ξένην σε γαῖαν ἐκπέμψαι ἐκπέμψαι C6 or 7. χεροῖν
κλέψασα κλεψασα" C7. ταῖνδε κἀνασώσασθαι κἀνασώσασθαι C'. φόνου·
ὅπως θανὼν ἔκεισο τῇ τόθ᾽ ἡμέρᾳ,
τύμβου πατρῴου κοινὸν εἰληχὼς μέρος.
1135
νῦν δ᾽ ἐκτὸς οἴκων κἀπὶ κἀπὸ L. κἀπὶ C6. γῆς ἄλλης φυγὰς
κακῶς κακῶ L. κακῶς C2. ἀπώλου, σῆς κασιγνήτης δίχα·
κοὔτ᾽ ἐν φίλαισι χερσὶν ἡ τάλαιν ἐγὼ
λουτροῖς σ᾽ om. L add L². ἐκόσμησ᾽ οὔτε παμφλέκτου πυρὸς πρ. σ L. πυρὸσ C2 or 3.
ἀνειλόμην, ὡς εἰκός, ἄθλιον βάρος.
1140
ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ξέναισι ξένηισι LPL2, ξέναισι A. χερσὶ κηδευθεὶς τάλας
οἴμοι μοι οἴ μοι μοί L..
1160
ὦ δέμας οἰκτρόν.
φεῦ φεῦ.
ὦ δεινοτάτας,
οἴμοι μοι,
πεμφθεὶς κελεύθους κελεύθου LA. κελεύθους C., φίλταθ', ὥς μ᾿ ἀπώλεσας·
1165
ἀπώλεσας δῆτ᾽, ὦ κασίγνητον κάρα.
τοιγὰρ σὺ δέξαι μ᾽ ἐς τὸ σὸν τόδε στέγος,
τὴν μηδὲν εἰς τὸ μηδέν, ὡς σὺν σοὶ κάτω
ναίω τὸ λοιπόν, καὶ γὰρ ἡνίκ᾽ ἦσθ᾽ ἄνω,
ξὺν σοὶ μετεῖχον κατείχον L. μετεῖχον C6. τῶν ἴσων· καὶ νῦν ποθῶ
1170
τοῦ σοῦ θανοῦσα μἀπολείπεσθαι μὴ ἀπολείπεσθαι L. μὴ ᾿πολείπεσθαι A Vat. ac. μὴ ἐξαπολείπεσθαι L2 Pal. μὴ ἐκλείπεσθαι Γ. τάφου.
τοὺς γὰρ θανόντας οὐχ ὁρῶ λυπουμένους.
θνητοῦ πέφυκας πατρός, Ηλέκτρα, φρόνει·
θνητὸς δ᾽ Ορέστης· ὥστε μὴ λίαν στένε.
πᾶσιν γὰρ ἡμῖν τοῦτ᾽ ὀφείλεται παθεῖν.
1175
μόνος βροτῶν νυν νῦν ἴσθ᾽ ἐποικτείρας ποτέ.
1200
Translations (5)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1098 focus
Say, dames and damsels, have we heard aright,
And speed we to the goal of our desire?
O monument of him whom o’er all else
I loved! sole relic of Orestes’ life,
How cold in this thy welcome is the hope
Wherein I decked thee as I sent thee forth!
Then bright was thy departure, whom I now
Bear lightly, a mere nothing, in my hands.
Would I had gone from life, ere I dispatched
Thee from my arms that saved thee to a land
Of strangers, stealing thee from death! For then
Thou hadst been quiet on that far off day,
And had thy portion in our father’s tomb
Now thou hast perished in the stranger land
Far from thy sister, lorn and comfortless
1130
And I, O wretchedness! neither have bathed
1130
And laid thee forth, nor from the blazing fire
1130
Collected the sad burden, as was meet
But thou, when foreign hands have tended thee
Com’st a small handful in a narrow shell
Woe for the constant care I spent on thee
Of old all vainly, with sweet toil! For never
Wast thou thy mother’s darling, nay, but mine,
And I of all the household most thy nurse,
While ‘sister, sister,’ was thy voice to me
But now all this is vanished in one day,
Dying in thy death. Thou hast carried all away
As with a whirlwind, and art gone. No more
My father lives, thyself art lost in death,
1135
I am dead, who lived in thee. Our enemies
1135
Laugh loudly, and she maddens in her joy,
1135
Our mother most unmotherly, of whom
Thy secret missives ofttimes told me, thou
Wouldst be the punisher. But that fair hope
The hapless Genius of thy lot and mine
Hath reft away, and gives thee thus to me,—
For thy loved form thy dust and fruitless shade
O bitterness! O piteous sight! Woe! woe!
Oh! sent on thy dire journey, dearest one,
How thou hast ruined me! Thou hast indeed,
Dear brother! Then receive me to thyself,
Hide me in this thy covering, there to dwell,
Me who am nothing, with thy nothingness,
For ever! Yea, when thou wert here above,
1140
I ever shared with thee in all, and now
1140
I would not have thee shut me from thy tomb.
1140
Oh! let me die and follow thee! the dead,
My mind assures me now, have no more pain.
Electra, think! Thou hadst a mortal sire,
And mortal was thy brother. Grieve not far.
Know now, none ever pitied me but you.
1200
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1098 focus
Ihr Frauen, sagt uns, haben wir auch recht gehört,
Sind wir auf rechtem Wege hier nach unserm Ziel?
Denkmal des liebsten Menschen, das mir übrig blieb
1100
Von seinem Leben, wie so ganz mit anderen
Hoffnungen, als ich dich entließ, empfang' ich dich!
Nun Staub geworden trag' ich dich in meiner Hand,
Und sandte dich so blühend, Kind, von Haus himveg!
hätte diesem Leben mich ein Gott entrückt,
1105
Bevor mit diesen Händen ich dich raubte, dich
Hinsandt' in fremde Fernen und dem Mord entriß!
Dann lagst du jenes Tages todt als Leiche da,
Am Grab des Vaters hättest du dein Theil mit ihm.
Nun starbst du, fern von Hause, fern in fremdes Land
1110
Gebannt, in Elend, und der Schwesterlieb' entrückt,
Und nicht in treuen Händen hab' ich Arme dich
Geschmückt, gebadet, und aus flammenvoller Glut
Dich arme Last erhoben, wie mir's wohl gebührt.
Beschickt in fremden Händen, Unglückseliger,
1115
Ein kleiner Umfang nahst du mir in kleinem Raum.
Ich Arme, weh mir! Also war die Pflege denn
Unnüz, verloren, die ich einst an dich so oft
Gewandt mit süßer Mühe! Denn nie warest du
So heiß von unsrer Mutter, als von mir, geliebt;
1120
Nicht unsre Hausgenossen, ich nur pflegte dich,
lud mich, die Schwester, sprachest du beständig an.
Nun ist an Einem Tage dies entschwunden, ist
Mit dir gestorben: Alles ja, dem Sturme gleich,
Mit dir entraffend, schiedest du. Der Vater starb,
1125
Ich bin gestorben und du selbst dahin und todt:
Die Feinde lachen, und es tobt in wilder Lust
Die schnöde Mutter, der du selbst ein Nächer einst
Erscheinen wolltest, wie du mir durch Boten oft
Geheim verkünden ließest. Nun hat alles dies
1130
Dein böser Dämon und der meine mir entrückt,
Der also dich mir sandte, statt der theuersten
Gestalt, ein nichtig Schattenbild und Asche nur.
Ach, weh, weh!
klägliches Bild!
1135
Weh, weh!
Auf Pfaden des Grau'ns
(Weh, weh mir!)
Gesendet, o mein Trauter, gabst du mir den Tod,
Sa, gabst den Tod mir, mein geliebtes Bruderhaupt!
1140
So nimm mich auf in dieses enge Haus zu dir,
Zum Staub die Staubgewordne, daß ich drunten dir
Fortan gesellt sei! Als du noch hier oben warst,
Da theilt' ich gleiches Loos mit dir; mun drängt es mich,
Im Tode nicht von deinem Grabe fern zu sein.
1145
Denn nur die Todten, seh' ich, rührt kein Kummer mehr.
Bedenk', Elektra: sterblich war, der dich gezeugt,
Orestes sterblich; jammre denn nicht allzusehr.
Allein auf Erden fühltest du Mitleid mit mir.
1175
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1098 focus
Say, virgins, if by right instruction led
This way, I tend to
Whom bound by Nature's ties it best befits.
Go then, and say from Phocis are arrived
Who beg admittance to the king.
Eleo. Alas !
And com'st thou then to prove the dreadful tale
Already told ?
[taking the Urn]. O ye dear remains
Of my Orestes, the most loved of men !
How do I see thee now ! How much unlike
What my fond hopes presaged, when List we parted l
I sent thee forth with all the bloom of youth
Fresh on thy cheek, and now, O dismal change !
I bear thee in these hands an empty shade.
Would I had died ere X had sent thee hence,
Ere I had saved tliee from the tyrant's hand !
Would thou liadst died thyself that dreadful day,
And joined thy murdered father in the tomb,
Rather than thus a wretched exile fallen,
1130
Far from thy sister, in a foreign land I
1130
I was not there with pious hands to wash
Thy breathless corpse, or from the greedy flame
To gather up thy ashes. What have all
My pleasing toils, my fruitless cares availed,
E'en from thy infant years, that as a mother
I watched thee still, and as a mother loved ?
I would not trust thee to a servant's hand.
But was myself the guardian of thy youth,
Thy dear companion. All is gone with thee !
Alas ! thy death, like the devouring storm,
Hath borne down all. Thy father is no more,
And thou art gone, and I am going too.
1135
Our foes rejoice. Our mother, mad with joy,
1135
Smiles at our miseries — that unnatural mother,
She whom thou oft hast promised to destroy.
But cruel fate hath blasted all my hopes,
And for my dear Orestes left me naught
But this poor shadow. Oh ! th' accursed place
Where I had sent thee ! Oh ! my hapless brother,
Oh ! take me to thee ! Let this urn enclose
My ashes too, and dust to dust be joined,
That we may dwell together once again :
In life united by one hapless fate,
I would not wish in death to be divided.
1140
The dead are free from sorrows.
1140
Do not indulge thy griefs ; but, oh ! remember,
1140
Sprung from a mortal like thyself, Orestes
Was mortal too — that we are mortal all.
[aside]. What shall I say? TI can refrain no
longer.
'Tis kindly done ; for none will pity me —
1200
None but thyself. Art thou indeed a stranger,
1200
Or doth some nearer tie unite our sorrows?
1200
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1098 focus
Say, female Argives, are we well inform'd,
Our steps unerring guided as we wish?
Thou sad memorial, now the sole remains
Of what was once Orestes, to my heart
Most dear, with other hopes I sent thee hence,
Not to receive thee thus; for in my hands
I bear thee, nothing now; a splendid Youth,
To glory born, I sent thee from this house.
1130
Oh hadst thou died, ere by these hands preserved,
And, snatch'd from slaughter, to a foreign land
I sent thee! Hadst thou died in that sad day,
Some little portion of thy father's tomb
Thou wou'dst have shared: but thou hast perish'd now
1135
Far from thy house, and from thy country far,
A wandering exile, from thy sister far.
Nor in the cleansing lavers did I bathe
With these fond hands thy corse, nor, as became
A sister, bear from the consuming flames
1140
The mournful burden. By a stranger's hands
Thou from a mortal father drew'st thy birth;
Thence be admonish'd: thy Orestes too
Was mortal; let that thought assuage thy grief.
Death is the debt of nature all must pay.
1175
Of all mankind
1200
Thou alone pityest me.
1200
Ye daughters of Mycenæ, my loved friends,
We see him; in thy fortune we are blest,
1230
And tears of joy steal trickling from our eyes.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1098-1230 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-623-1 τᾷ Ζηνὸς εὐσεβείᾳ 1 Διὸς 2 Ζηνὸς 3

mvp-comment-624-1 εἰσηκούσαμεν 4

mvp-comment-624-2 ὀρθῶς θ’ 5 δ’ 6 θ’ 7 τε 8 δέ 9

mvp-comment-624-3 ἔνθα 10

mvp-comment-625-1 Αἴγισθον 11 ᾤκηκεν 12

mvp-comment-626-1 ἀλλ’ 13

mvp-comment-626-2 χὡ φράσας 14

mvp-comment-626-3 ἀζήμιος 15

mvp-comment-627-1 τίς … φράσειεν ἄν 16

mvp-comment-627-2 ποθεινὴν 17

mvp-comment-627-3 κοινόπουν 18

mvp-comment-628-1 τὸν ἄγχιστον 19

mvp-comment-629-1 ἴθ’, ὦ γύναι 20

mvp-comment-630-1 οὐ δή ποθ’ 21

mvp-comment-631-1 τὴν σὴν κληδόν’ 22

mvp-comment-631-2 Στρόφιος 23

mvp-comment-632-1 φέροντες 24 κομίζομεν 25

mvp-comment-633-1 τοῦτ’ ἐκεῖν’ 26

mvp-comment-633-2 πρόχειρον 27

mvp-comment-633-3 ἄχθος 28

mvp-comment-634-1 κέκευθεν 29

mvp-comment-634-2 1122 Cp. Aesch. P. V. 637

ὡς τἀποκλαῦσαι κἀποδύρασθαι τύχας
.

mvp-comment-635-1 δότε 30 ἥτις ἐστί 31

mvp-comment-635-2 ἐπαιτεῖται 32

mvp-comment-635-3 πρὸς αἵματος 33

mvp-comment-635-4 φύσιν 34

mvp-comment-636-1 ψυχῆς Ὀρέστου λοιπόν 35

mvp-comment-636-2 ἀπ’ ἐλπίδων 36

mvp-comment-636-3 Then οὐχ ὧνπερ 37

mvp-comment-636-4 Other possibilities are the following. (1) Keeping both

οὐχ ὧνπερ
and
ἀπ’
, to take
ἀπ’ ἐλπίδων
as=‘ with hopes.’ The prep. would then be used as when it denotes a resource: 1378
ἀφ’ ὧν ἔχοιμι
: Thuc. 1. 91 § 7
ἀπὸ ἀντιπάλου παρασκευῆς
. (Observe that in Soph. Tr. 667
ἀπ’ ἐλπίδος καλῆς
is not really similar; it means, ‘as the outcome of a fair hope.’) The prevailing usage of
ἀπό
condemns this view.

mvp-comment-636-5 (2) Still keeping

οὐχ ὧνπερ
, to change
ἀπ’
, with Schaefer, to
ὑπ’
. Cp. Eur. Hec. 351
ἐθρέφθην ἐλπίδων καλῶν ὕπο
. This is possible; though
ὑπό
, when thus used, commonly denotes an external accompaniment ( Soph. Tr. 419 n.); as, indeed, even in Hec. l. c., the hopes are not merely Polyxena's own, but those of her friends. Further:
ὥς σ’ ἀπ’ ἐλπίδων— ἀπό
meaning ‘contrary to’—strikes the note of despair more forcibly.

mvp-comment-636-6 (3) Keeping

ἀπ’
as=‘contrary to,’ to alter
οὐχ ὧνπερ
either to οὐχ ὅνπερ 38 οὐχ ὥσπερ 39

mvp-comment-636-7 On the whole, I retain the traditional reading, though not without a suspicion that either

ἀπ’
or
ὧνπερ
is unsound.

mvp-comment-637-1 νῦν μὲν γὰρ 40

mvp-comment-637-2 οὐδὲν ὄντα 41

mvp-comment-637-3 βαστάζω 42

mvp-comment-637-4 λαμπρὸν 43

mvp-comment-638-1 ὡς ὤφελον 44

mvp-comment-638-2 The v.l. ὤφελες 45 κλέψασα 46

mvp-comment-638-3 τοῖνδε 47

mvp-comment-638-4 κἀνασώσασθαι 48

mvp-comment-638-5 φόνου 49

mvp-comment-639-1 ὅπως … ἔκεισο 50

mvp-comment-639-2 τύμβου πατρῴου 51

mvp-comment-640-1 φυγὰς 52

mvp-comment-641-1 ἐν 53

mvp-comment-641-2 φίλαισι 54

mvp-comment-642-1 λουτροῖς σ’ ἐκόσμης’ 55

mvp-comment-643-1 ἄθλιον βάρος 56

mvp-comment-644-1 ἐν ξέναισι χερσὶ κηδευθεὶς 57

mvp-comment-644-2 σμικρὸς … ὄγκος 58

mvp-comment-645-1 τῆς ἐμῆς … τρ. ἀνωφελήτου 59

mvp-comment-645-2 παρέσχον 60

mvp-comment-646-1 ἢ κἀμοῦ 61

mvp-comment-646-2 μητρὸς … φίλος 62

mvp-comment-646-3 The schol. on 1146 has,

τὸ δὲ φίλος ἀντὶ ὄφελος
. But P. N. Papageorgius corrects
ὄφελος
to
ὦ φίλος
( Scholia in Soph. Trag. Vetera, Leipsic, 1888). And this is confirmed by the first part of the same scholium:
οὐκ ἦσθα τῆς μητρὸς ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ ἐμοῦ
: i.e., the scholiast understood, ‘for thou didst not belong to thy mother more than to me,’ and took
φίλος
as=a vocative.

mvp-comment-647-1 οἱ κατ’ οἶκον 63 ἦσαν 64

mvp-comment-647-2 ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ τροφός 65

mvp-comment-648-1 ἀδελφὴ σοὶ 66

mvp-comment-648-2 προσηυδώμην 67

mvp-comment-649-1 ἐκλέλοιπε 68

mvp-comment-649-2 θανόντι 69

mvp-comment-649-3 συναρπάσας 70

mvp-comment-649-4 θύελλ’ 71

mvp-comment-650-1 τέθνηκ’ ἐγὼ σοί 72 σοί 73 τέθνηκ’ ἐγώ σοι 74

mvp-comment-650-2 Others explain: (1) ‘I am dead because of thee’; ‘thou hast been the death of me.’ The dat. is then like that in Ai. 1128

τῷδε δ’ οἴχομαι
(‘in his purpose, I am dead’). But this is less suitable to the context. (2) ‘I am dead to thee, as thou to me,’— i.e., we are now parted from each other by the barrier between earth and Hades.—The objection to τέθνηκ’ ἐγώ· σὺ 75

mvp-comment-651-1 μήτηρ ἀμήτωρ 76

mvp-comment-651-2 ἧς 77

mvp-comment-651-3 1160—

mvp-comment-652-1 οἴμοι μοί 78

mvp-comment-653-1 κελεύθους 79

mvp-comment-653-2 ἀπώλεσας 80

mvp-comment-653-3 δῆτ’ 81

mvp-comment-654-1 τοιγὰρ σὺ δέξαι μ’ 82

mvp-comment-654-2 τὴν μηδὲν 83

mvp-comment-654-3 τὸ μηδὲν 84

mvp-comment-655-1 μετεῖχον τῶν ἴσων 85

mvp-comment-655-2 μὴ ἀπολείπεσθαι 86

mvp-comment-656-1 τοὺς 87 θανόντας 88

mvp-comment-657-1 θνητοῦ 89 θνητὸς 90

mvp-comment-657-2 φρόνει 91

mvp-comment-658-1 πᾶσιν γὰρ ἡμῖν 92 τοῦτ’ 93

mvp-comment-659-1 φεῦ φεῦ, τί λέξω 94

mvp-comment-659-2 λόγων 95 ποῖ 96 ἀμηχανῶν 97

mvp-comment-660-1 It is well to observe the delicately gradual process which leads up to the recognition.

mvp-comment-660-2 (i) 1176—1187. She is surprised that her woes should affect the stranger, and he hints that they are his own. (ii) 1188 —1198. She is thus led to speak more in detail of her sorrows, and of her despair,—caused by her brother's death. (iii) 1199—1204. He once more expresses his pity,—and this time in words which cause her to ask whether he can be a kinsman. He does not give a direct answer, but inquires whether the Chorus are friendly, and is assured that they are so.

mvp-comment-660-3 The preparation is now complete: the actual disclosure follows. (i) 1205— 1210. He asks her to give him the urn which is in her hands: she entreats that she may be allowed to keep it, and to pay it the last honours. (ii) 1211—1217. He tells her that she ought not to mourn for her brother. ‘Why,’ she asks: ‘if these are his ashes?’ ‘They are not so,’ he replies,—taking the urn from her hands. (iii) 1218—1221. ‘Where, then,’ she asks, ‘is his grave?’ ‘The living have no grave.’ ‘He lives?’ ‘Yes,—as surely as I live.’

mvp-comment-660-4 ἔσχες ἄλγος 98

mvp-comment-661-1 κλεινὸν 99

mvp-comment-662-1 Bergk has an ingenious (though, I think, mistaken) theory concerning this passage. Seeing that v. 1180 resembles v. 1184, he suggests that 1180 was an inferior variant for 1184: and, on similar grounds, that 1183 was a feebler substitute for 1179. That is, there were two different texts of this passage. ( a) In one of them, the better, verses 1180 and 1183 were absent, and the rest stood in this order, 1178, 1181, 1182, 1179, 1184. ( b) In the other, verses 1179 and 1184 were absent, and the rest stood in this order, 1178, 1181, 1182, 1183, 1180. The present text arose from an attempt to harmonise the other two.

mvp-comment-662-2 We have only to read the dialogue with attention to perceive that this hypothesis of variants is arbitrary. Verse 1183 expresses sympathy in a more definite and emphatic manner than v. 1179: verse 1184 expresses surprise more directly and decidedly than v. 1180. There is a gradual accentuation of the stranger's interest and of Electra's perplexity. This development is the internal proof that our text has not arisen from a dittographia.

mvp-comment-662-3 καὶ μάλ’ 100

mvp-comment-663-1 ταλαίνης 101 συμφορᾶς 102

mvp-comment-664-1 οὐ 103

mvp-comment-665-1 ἀτίμως 104 κἀθέως 105

mvp-comment-666-1 ἢ )μὲ 106

mvp-comment-666-2 δυσφημεῖς 107 ἄλλην 108 ξένε 109

mvp-comment-667-1 ἀνύμφου 110

mvp-comment-667-2 τροφῆς 111

mvp-comment-668-1 τί δή ποτ’ 112 μοι 113 ἐπισκοπῶν 114 τί 115

mvp-comment-669-1 ἐν τῷ … τῶν εἰρημένων 116

mvp-comment-670-1 ὁρῶν σὲ 117 σὲ 118 σε 119 τῶν ἐμῶν 120 σέ 121

mvp-comment-670-2 ἐμπρέπουσαν 122

mvp-comment-671-1 πόθεν 123

mvp-comment-672-1 εἶτα 124

mvp-comment-672-2 δουλεύω 125

mvp-comment-673-1 ἀνάγκῃ … προτρέπει 126

mvp-comment-674-1 ἐξισοῖ 127

mvp-comment-675-1 χερσὶν 128 λύμη βίου 129

mvp-comment-676-1 οὑπαρήξων 130

mvp-comment-677-1 προὔθηκας 131

mvp-comment-678-1 ποτέ 132 ἐμέ 133 νύν μ’ 134

mvp-comment-679-1 τοῖσι σοῖς 135 τοῖς ἴσοις 136

mvp-comment-679-2 The word ξυγγενὴς 137 τοῖσι σοῖς 138 τοῖς ἴσοις 139

mvp-comment-680-1 τὸ τῶνδε 140

mvp-comment-681-1 νυν 141

mvp-comment-682-1 πιθοῦ 142 πείθου 143

mvp-comment-683-1 πρὸς γενείου 144

mvp-comment-683-2 The reading of the MSS., μ<*> )ξέλη 145 μ’ ἐξέλῃ 146

mvp-comment-683-3 ἐξέλῃ 147

mvp-comment-683-4 τὰ φίλτατα 148

mvp-comment-684-1 οὐ φήμ’ ἐάσειν 149

mvp-comment-684-2 The division of the trimeter (

ἀντιλαβή
) marks agitation, as again in 1220—1226, 1323, etc. Cp. also O. T. 627 , O. C. 722 , Ph. 54 , etc.

mvp-comment-684-3 τάλαιν’ ἐγὼ σέθεν 150

mvp-comment-685-1 εἰ στερήσομαι 151

mvp-comment-686-1 ὦ φίλτατον φῶς 152

mvp-comment-687-1 ὦ φθέγμ’ 153

mvp-comment-687-2 μηκέτ’ ἄλλοθεν πύθῃ 154

mvp-comment-688-1 ἔχω … ἔχοις ἀεί 155

mvp-comment-689-1 πολίτιδες 156

mvp-comment-690-1 μηχαναῖσι 157

mvp-comment-690-2 σεσωσμένον 158

mvp-comment-691-1 συμφοραῖσι 159

mvp-comment-691-2 γεγηθὸς … δάκρυον 160

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

1101. mvp-comment-530-1 ᾤκηκεν] Hath his abode.' The perfect tense ironically suggests the supposed permanence of Aegisthus' rule.

1104. mvp-comment-531-1 ποθεινήν] ‘Wishful, i. e. with desire to see them. It is a courteous phrase, for which cp. Shak. Mids. N. D. 1. 1, 'With duty and desire we follow you,'-but may have suggested to the spectators Orestes longing for his home and Electra's longing for him. For the active use of ποθεινός, cp. Eur. Phoen. 1737, ποθεινὰ δάκρυα.

1105. mvp-comment-532-1 τὸν ἄγχιστον] 'Nearest,' i.e. as daughter to the Queen. But the word is calculated to move Orestes, to whom Electra is indeed nearest. The masculine gives generality. Cp. supr. 1026, and note.

1110. mvp-comment-533-1 οὐκ οἶδα .. κληδόν] ‘I know not what report you speak of.' Orestes must seem ignorant of the coming of the Paedagogus, who professed to have been sent by Phanoteus, and had therefore nothing to do with Strophius, from whom Orestes is supposed to come. The evidence appears to flow through two channels, which are independent of each other.

1115. mvp-comment-534-1 Some editors punctuate after ἐκεῖνο, some do not punctuate at all between τοῦτ᾽ .. ἄχθος. The pause at σαφές seems on the whole most probable. Ah! here is that we heard of now made clear. I see the burden ready (as it would seem) to my hand.'

1116. mvp-comment-535-1 πρόχειρον may either mean (1) 'Before my hand,' i. e. ready to be taken up; or (2) Held in the hand' of another.'

1117. mvp-comment-536-1 τι .. τῶν Ὀρεστείων κακῶν] The litotes suggests not only his death, but the ruin of his house. Cp. ll. 1121, 2.

1123-1124. mvp-comment-537-1 οὐ γὰρ οὐσ'] The form of expression may be simply occasioned by antithesis. But friends of Strophius might have reason to suspect those about Aegisthus of being unfriendly to Orestes.

1125. mvp-comment-538-1 ἢ.. φύσιν] ‘Or of his natural kin.' For πρὸς αἵματος, cp. Aj. 1305, τοὺς πρὸς αἵματος, and for φύσιν, see Essay on L. § 17. p. 25. 4, and cp. supr. 325-

1126-1128. mvp-comment-539-1 O sole memorial and relic of the living Orestes, dearest of mankind to me, how far otherwise than I had hoped do I receive thee! with thoughts how different from those with which I sent thee forth!" By a confusion to which double negatives are liable (Essay on L. § 29. p. 49), the negative implied in ἀπό is first expanded in a negative sense, and then ἀπό is resumed with ὧνπερ in a different (positive) sense. For a negative similarly ignored in the relative clause, cp. Ant. 1064-7, κάτισθι, μὴ πολλοὺς .. τελῶν | ἐν οἷσι, κ.τ.λ. Wecklein in l. 1128 reads οὐχ ὅνπερ with an inferior MS. • How contrary to my hopes I receive- not him whom I sent forth.'

1130. mvp-comment-540-1 λαμπρόν] 'Bright,' i.e. full of promise. Cp. supr. 685, εἰσῆλθε λαμπρός. ἐγώ has a pathetic, not a logical emphasis, and reminds the spectator that Electra's action at the critical moment was the saving of her father's house. Cp. supr. 12.

1131. mvp-comment-541-1 The v. r. ὡς ὤφελες (suggested by 1134) is far inferior to ὡς ὤφελον. The struggle of the intervening years now seems worse than yain.

1139-1140. mvp-comment-542-1 οὔτε .. βάρος] ‘Nor took up, as I should have done, from the all-consuming fire, the miserable remains.' See E. on L. § 8. p. 11. For βάρος, cp. Aesch. Ag. 442, βαρὺ ψήγμα, παμφλέκτου suggests that the fire has done its utmost. Cp. Od. 11. 220, 1, ἀλλὰ τὰ μέν τε πυρὸς κρατερὸν μένος αἰθομένοιο | δαμνᾷ, ἐπεί κε πρῶτα λίπῃ λεύκ᾿ ὄστεα θυμός. See Essay on L. $ 53. p. 98.

1143. mvp-comment-543-1 She now goes back in memory to the happier time before the death of Agamemnon.

1143-1144. mvp-comment-544-1 τῆς ἐμῆς ἀνωφελήτου] 'The care which of old I spent on thee-in vain!' τροφή is active here, as in Eur. Tro. 1187, αἵ τ᾿ ἐμαὶ τροφαί.

1145-1146. mvp-comment-545-1 οὔτε . . φίλος] ‘For never wast thou bound to thy mother by such close ties as thou wast to me.' φίλος implies reciprocal affection. Clytemnestra was already alienated from Agamemnon's offspring in those early days. καί marks the stress on ἐμοῦ. Cp. Ο.Τ. 94, ἢ καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς, κ.τ.λ.

1147. mvp-comment-546-1 And I was more thy nurse than the domestics were.' A natural picture of the fondness of an elder sister for a little brother.

1148. mvp-comment-547-1 (1) 'And thou didst ever call me "sister."" Or (2) And the sister of Orestes was the name by which I was ever called,' ie. I was the one sister who was specially connected with thee. At this word, as Wecklein observes, all doubt is removed from the mind of Orestes.

1152. mvp-comment-548-1 τέθνηκ᾽ ἐγώ σοι] 'I am dead because of thee,' or 'Thou hast been the death of me.' Cp. supr. 808, ὥς μ' ἀπώλεσας θανών: Eur. Androm. 334, τέθνηκα τῇ σῇ θυγατρὶ καί μ᾿ ἀπώλεσε. E. on L. § 13. p. 20.

1154-1156. mvp-comment-549-1 ἧς is governed first by φήμας, = περὶ ἧς, and is then placed in a more definite construction with τιμωρός. Essay on L. § 9. p. 13. 3.

1158. mvp-comment-550-1 προϋπεμψεν] The same word (l. 1155) is repeated in a different connection. See Essay on L. § 44. pp. 83, 84.

1159. mvp-comment-551-1 καὶ σκιὰν ἀνωφελῆ] 'And a vain shadow of thee;' i. e. the remembrance of him revived by the sight of the urn, an imagination which brought no help with it.

1160-1162. mvp-comment-552-1 For this short lyric (anapaestic) outburst, cp. especially Trach. 1085, 6, ὦναξ ᾿Αίδη, κ.τ.λ.

1161. mvp-comment-553-1 ὦ δέμας οἰκτρόν] ‘Poor form!' She sees in imagination the mangled body of Orestes: supr. 756.

1162-1163. mvp-comment-554-1 δεινοτάτας κελεύθους] Sent on a terrible journey;' i.e. dismissed from life by a calamitous death. Cp. Trach. 874, 5, βέβηκε Δῃάνειρα τὴν πανυστάτην | ὁδῶν ἁπασῶν ἐξ ἀκινήτου ποδός. Others explain this of the bringing of the ashes from Phocis to Argos.

1164. mvp-comment-555-1 Still gazing at the urn, she calls her brother by the most endearing name: Ant. 899, 915.

1169. mvp-comment-556-1 To die and share thy burial.'

1170. mvp-comment-557-1 She contrasts the tranquillity of the lifeless ashes before her with her own sorrow.

1171-1173. mvp-comment-558-1 Unable to give real consolation, the Chorus fall back on the common-place that loss is common to the race.' Ср. О. Т. 1319, 20, and note. For a speech of three lines in a similar position, cp. Aj. 784-6.

1174. mvp-comment-559-1 Orestes is overcome by compassion in witnessing Electra's grief for him, and, contrary to his first intention, now prepares to disclose himself to her.

1174-1175. mvp-comment-560-1 ποῖ .. ἔλθω] «Το what words must I have recourse, when I know not what to say?' Cp. Phil. 897-9, Ν. οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅποι χρὴ τάπορον τρέ τρέπειν ἔπος. Φ. ἀπορεῖς δὲ τοῦ σύ; μὴ λέγ', ὦ τέκνον, τάδε. Ν. ἀλλ᾽ ἐνθάδ᾽ ἤδη τοῦδε τοῦ πάθους κυρῶ.

1176. mvp-comment-561-1 Some omit the point after ἄλγος. Cp. supr. 316. In that case the pronoun í is again supposed to be equivalent to ὅ, τι.

1179-1187. mvp-comment-562-1 Before revealing himself, Orestes gazes fixedly at Electra, as if to realize by actual observation the depth of her misery, and in doing so utters brief ejaculations, to which she replies amazedly.

1181-1182. mvp-comment-563-1 O ruined form, disowned both of men and gods! ! El. Those inauspicious words of yours, O Stranger, can apply to none but me.'

1183. mvp-comment-564-1 'Alas, for thy forlorn and ill-starred life! For ἀνύμφου, cp. supr. 961, 2, πάρεστι δ᾽ ἀλγεῖν ἐς τοσόνδε τοῦ χρόνου | ἄλεκτρα γηράσκουσαν ἀνυμέναιά τε. And for τροφῆς = ' Condition,' cp. Ο. C. 362, ζητοῦσα τὴν σήν, ποῦ κατοικοίης, τροφήν.

1184. mvp-comment-565-1 Why, I pray thee, Stranger, dost thou thus look steadfastly and groan?' ἐπισκοπῶν] · With fixed look,'-as if studying something deeply.

1185. mvp-comment-566-1 How utterly ignorant was I of my own sorrow!'

1186. mvp-comment-567-1 ἐν τῷ .. τῶν εἰρημένων] · In what that has been said did you discern this?' τῶν εἰρημένων marks Electra's unconsciousness that it is the sight of herself and her condition, and not any word spoken, that has moved the 'stranger.'

1187. mvp-comment-568-1 In seeing the sight of thee clothed with many sorrows.' Perhaps a reminiscence of Aesch. Cho. 16-18, καὶ γὰρ Ἠλέκτραν δοκῶ | στείχειν ἀδελφὴν τὴν ἐμὴν πένθει λυγρῷ | πρέπουσαν. Cp. Eur. Suppl. 1056, πένθιμος πρέπεις ὁρᾶν.

1191. mvp-comment-569-1 πόθεν .. κακόν] Orestes, still maintaining his disguise, professes amazement at the sudden mention of a murder. In what quarter can have arisen the mischief you thus make known to me?' i. e. What crime is this, with the knowledge of which you seem so familiar? (Not, 'By whom perpetrated?' with which the answer of Electra does not correspond.)

1193. mvp-comment-570-1 Either (1) 'Who drives you into this bondage?' the dative being equivalent to εἰς with the acc.; cp. ἄχεϊ προτραπέσθαι. Or (2) 'Who thus compels you?'— ἀνάγκῃ, instr. dat. The former (1) is best. See Essay on L. § 11. p. 18, 3.

1194. mvp-comment-571-1 οὐδὲν ἐξισοῖ = οὐδὲν ποιεῖ ἴσον : οὐδέν, cogn. acc.

1195. mvp-comment-572-1 χερσίν, ἢ λύμῃ βίου] 'By violence, or oppression?'

1198. mvp-comment-573-1 ὃς ἦν] Cp. supr. 847. σποδόν] Sc. (1) τούτου, or (2) τοῦτον.

1200. mvp-comment-574-1 μόνος ποτέ] i.e. οὐδείς ποτε ἄλλος ἐπῴκτειρεν.

1201. mvp-comment-575-1 (1) 'I am the only one who brings with him a feeling of the same misfortunes.' τοῖς ἴσοις, like τῶν ἴσων, supr. 1168, implies rather 'identity' than 'equality.' Orestes does not mean that his personal sufferings have been like Electra's, but first that in the essential point, viz. that their father has been murdered and is unavenged, they share equally in the same sorrow, and also that her sorrows are felt by him as his own. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 222, 3, ΗΛ. ἀλλ᾽ ἐν κακοῖσι τοῖς ἐμοῖς γελᾶν θέλεις. ΟΡ. κἀν τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἄρ᾽, εἴπερ ἔν γε τοῖσι σοῖς ( ubi τοῖς ἴσοις M. pr.). This parallel favours the other reading here, (2) τοῖσι σοῖς, which, as Prof. Paley argues, gives a simpler meaning, and may also be thought more pathetic. But it is less in keeping with the subtle gradations of this recognition-scene.

1206. mvp-comment-576-1 μὴ.. τοῦτό μ' ἐργάσῃ] Orestes has reached forth his hand to take the urn from her.

1209. mvp-comment-577-1 Orestes again offers to take away the urn.

1210. mvp-comment-578-1 ὦ.. σέθεν] Cp. especially Trach. 972, ὤμοι ἐγὼ σοῦ μέλεος.

1211. mvp-comment-579-1 εὔφημα φώνει] 'Speak no such ill-omened words,'—as to mention a tomb in connection with the living: infr. 1219.

1213-1214. mvp-comment-580-1 The language by which Orestes tries to undeceive his sister is so worded as to seem cruel to her, as if she were unworthy to hold her brother's urn.

1215. mvp-comment-581-1 οὐδενός] The pronoun (masc.) has a strong pathetic emphasis. 'Dishonoured in no way!' See Essay on L. § 22. p. 36 fin.

1218. mvp-comment-582-1 At this point Electra is more than ever forlorn. But at the word ζῶντος in 1219 a ray of hope strikes her in spite of herself.

1220. mvp-comment-583-1 ὦ παῖ;] Electra's bewilderment, and the contrast of appearance and fact, are equally marked by her thus artlessly addressing the Stranger as if he were her younger brother. Cp. O. T. 1030; Aj. 339, and notes.

1223-1224. mvp-comment-584-1 There is a pause here, during which Electra examines the seal.

1225. mvp-comment-585-1 ὦ φθέγμ᾽] Essay on L. § 50. p. 94.

1226. mvp-comment-586-1 ὡς . . ἔχοις] ‘As I would that you may have me evermore.’

1231. mvp-comment-587-1 γεγηθὸς .. δάκρυον] Essay on L. § 42. p. 8ο γ.