Sophocles Philoctetes 1443

ed. Lewis Campbell

Ζεύς· ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια συνθνήσκει βροτοῖς,

Philoctetes. Sophocles. ed. Lewis Campbell. Oxford. 1879.

Current edition Experimental

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Greek) (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Translations (1)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1445 focus
Du, der willkommenen Ruf mir gesandt
Und endlich erscheint,
1405
Wie freudig gehorch' ich deinem Gebot!

Commentary

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

1443. mvp-comment-954-1 συνθνήσκει βροτοῖς] ‘Follows men in death.' Of the pious only can it be said that their works do follow them. A confused expression, arising from haste or inadvertence like many that might be quoted from Shakspeare. The whole of this speech of Heracles, as compared with the rest of Sophocles, is a careless piece of work. Did the poet leave the ῥῆσις ἀπὸ μηχανῆς to Iophon or to some pupil, being unheedful of the celestial machinery, like Shakspeare in Cymbeline? Or is this a case, like that of Iphigeneia in Aulide, where a later interpolation has taken the place of the original text? Nothing is to be gained here by conjectural emendation (see for example that of Hermann suggested by Ellendt, ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια συνθνήσκειν βρότοις, | κἂν ζῶσι, κἂν θάνωσιν, οὐκ ἐπίσταται: or that of Cavallin, ἡ γ. εὐσ. συμφέρει βροτοῖς, | καὶ ζῶσι καὶ θανοῦσιν, οὐδ᾽ ἀπόλλυται), nor by obelizing particular lines. In ll. 1452-1471, the master's hand is again apparent. For the sentiment, cp. Pind. Isthm. 4. 41, καὶ πάγ καρπον ἐπὶ χθόνα καὶ διὰ πόντου βέβακεν | ἐργμάτων ἀκτὶς καλῶν, ἄσβεστος αἰεί : Thuc. 2. 43.