Philoctetes
No ;
Thersites ; ever talking, never heard.
Philoctetes. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.
Philoctetes. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759))
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
mvp-comment-245-1 Θερσίτης 1
mvp-comment-246-1 ὃς οὐκ ἂν εἵλετ’ 2 ὅπου μηδεὶς ἐῴη 3
mvp-comment-246-2
Sophocles here reproduces the two salient traits of the Homeric Thersites: (1) he is irrepressible:
Il. 2. 212
mvp-comment-247-1 αὐτόν 5 αὐτός 6 νιν 7
mvp-comment-248-1 ἔμελλ’ 8
mvp-comment-248-2 ἐπεὶ οὐδέν 9
mvp-comment-248-3 περιστέλλουσιν 10
mvp-comment-249-1 τὰ πανοῦργα 11
mvp-comment-249-2 παλιντριβῆ 12
mvp-comment-249-3 ἀναστρέφοντες 13
mvp-comment-249-4 τὰ δὲ 14 τὰ χρήστ’ 15 ἀποστέλλους’ 16 προυσελοῦς’ 17
391-402;507-518. mvp-comment-280-1 The Chorus show their interest and support Neoptolemus by these strains, which are interwoven with the action, like those in O. T. 660 foll., 689 foll., О. С. 1447-1456, 1477-1485. They wish to assist their master by simulating hatred of the Atreidae and sympathy with Philoctetes. That both feelings are merely assumed, and that the Chorus really understand the situation, is obvious from the exaggerated strength of expression in 510, εἰ δὲ πικρούς, ἄναξ, ἔχθεις ᾿Ατρείδας. Their feigned excitement, to which the mixture of dochmiac and iambo-bacchic metre is well suited, was no doubt expressed with gestures accompanying the recitation, by the two half-choruses, of strophe and antistrophe severally.
438. mvp-comment-310-1 κατ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο] ‘In connection with this very point,' viz. Your observation that the bad survive.
439. mvp-comment-311-1 ἀναξίου .. φωτός] Sc. πέρι. For this genitive, see E. on L. § 8. p. 13, 3. ἀναξίου = οὐδενὸς ἀξίου.
440. mvp-comment-312-1 τί= πῶς : cp. Εl. 1424, πῶς κυρεῖτε, E. on L. § 22. p. 36.
441. mvp-comment-313-1 'Ay? Who may that be, if you can mean any one but Odysseus?' The syntax of the previous sentence is continued. E. on L. § 35. p. 60.
442. mvp-comment-314-1 οὐ τοῦτον εἶπον] In the spirit of ll. 64, 5, supr. Neoptolemus professes to be impatient of the very name of Odysseus. Cp. infr. 1400, 1.
442-444. mvp-comment-315-1 'I meant not him. But there was one Thersites, who would never be content with speaking once, where all cried, Silence.' This, like supr. 348, 9, is a strong instance of ironical indirectness of expression. For ὅπου μηδεὶς ἐψη, cp. esp. Plat. Symp. 175 Β, ἐπειδάν τις ὑμῖν μὴ ἐφεστήκῃ. Also Aj. 1184, κἂν μηδεὶς ἐᾷ, 'Though all say, You shall not.'
443. mvp-comment-316-1 ἂν εἴλετο is a singular instance of ἄν with the aor. ' of custom.' Cp. the curious use of the imperfect with ἄν, Ant. 260, κἂν ἐγίγνετο | πληγὴτελευτῶσ᾽, and note. Dobree conjectured ἀνείχετ'.