Sophocles Philoctetes 150

Richard Jebb (Translator)

Table of Contents

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Scene
← Previous Next →

Philoctetes. Sophocles. Richard Jebb (Translator). Cambridge. 1898.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Philoctetes (English) (Sophocles the plays and fragments, Part 4: The Philoctetes. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse, Sir, translator. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1898. (Modernized by Perseus.))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 150 focus
Μέλον πάλαι μέλημά μοι λέγεις, ἄναξ,* Μέλον πάλαι μέλημά μοι λέγεις ἄναξ τὸ σὸν
150
φρουρεῖν φρορεῖν φρουρεῖν ὄμμ᾽ ἐπὶ σῷ μάλιστα καιρῷ·
νῦν δέ μοι
λέγ᾽ αὐλὰς αὐλᾶσ αὐλὰς ποίας ἔνεδρος ναίει
καὶ χῶρον τίν' ἔχει. τὸ γάρ μοι
μαθεῖν οὐκ ἀποκαίριον,
155
μὴ προσπεσών με λάθῃ μὴ με λάθῃ προσπεσών ποθέν,
τίς τόπος, ἢ τίς ἕδρα, τίν' ἔχει στίβον,
ἔναυλον, ἢ θυραῖον.
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 150 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 150 focus
Wieldeth a Heaven-sent power.
This unto thee, dear son,
Fraught with ancestral might,
This to thy life hath come.
Wherefore I bid thee declare,
What must I do for thy need?
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 150 focus
Du mahnst, o Herr, an Sorgen, die mich längst erfüllt,
Waches Auges zu sein für deinen Vortheil.
150
Aber sage mir nun, welches Haus er einsam bewohnt,
Welcher Ort ihn verbirgt.
Denn wohl thut es noth, daß ich erkundige,
(Sonst fällt er unvermerkt mich an,)
Wo er verweilt und verkehrt und sich lagerte,
155
Ob innen oder draußen.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 150 focus
O king ! we ever meant to fix our eyes
150
On thee, and wait attentive to thy will ;
But, tell us, in what part is he concealed?
'Tis fit we know the place, lest unobserved
He rush upon us. Which way doth it lie?
155
Seest thou his footsteps leading from the cave,
Or hither bent ?
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 150 focus
Receives the sacred sceptre; all this pow'r
To thee, my son, is from a noble line
Of ancestors derived. Inform me then
What service from my hand is now required.

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-97-1 μέλον … μέλημα 1 ὄμμα 2 φρουρεῖν 3

mvp-comment-97-2 ἐπὶ σῷ καιρῷ 4

mvp-comment-98-1 αὐλὰς ποίας 5

mvp-comment-98-2 ἔνεδρος 6 ναίει 7

mvp-comment-98-3 χῶρον τίν’ ἔχει 8

mvp-comment-98-4 τὸ γὰρ οὐκ ἀποκ. μοί 9 μαθεῖν 10 προσπεσών 11

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

135-218. mvp-comment-91-1 We have here a commatic parados (cp. El., O. C.), in which Neoptolemus responds in anapaests to lyric measures chanted apparently by single members of the Chorus, as they take their places in the orchestra. Their entrance must be subsequent to l. 134, for the conversation in ll. 50 foll. would lose its effect if Odysseus and Philoctetes were not alone. The anapaests of Neoptolemus and l. 161, chanted by the coryphaeus, accompany movements of the Chorus, who at l. 169 have already taken up their position. The metres of the lyric part are as follows:- α΄. Glyc. β'. Glyc. γ. Glyc. It is evident that the lyric strains were accompanied with gesticulation, especially in στρ. and ἀντ. γ'. The fact that the Chorus at entering have some knowledge of that which has just been made known upon the stage, is not a sufficient reason for supposing them to have been present during any part of the previous scene. Similarly, in the O. T. the Chorus have been gathered by the news of the arrival of Creon from Delphi, which happens in the midst of the prologos, l. 87; and in the Ajax, the mariners speak of the slanders of Ulysses, which could only be disseminated after his exit. It is best, therefore, to suppose, as above, that the Chorus enter as usual after the prologos, and that the first strophe is begun as soon as they are well within hearing of the stage. The whole passage is meant to interest the spectator in Philoctetes, and to prepare for the effect to be produced by his entrance, infr. 219. Cp. Aj. 201-332.

150. mvp-comment-104-1 The MS. reading here has two syllables too many. Hermann dropped μέλον and retained τὸ σόν, connecting πάλαι with the verbal notion in μέλημα. But it is more probable that τὸ σόν is a mistaken gloss on ὄμμα. μοι] om.

151. mvp-comment-105-1 φρουρεῖν . . καιρῷ] 'That I should fix a watchful glance on what is most opportune for thee.' For the use of the adverb in σῷ μ. καιρῷ τῷ μάλιστα ἐν καιρῷ ὄντι σοί, see Essay on L. § 24. p. 41. And for φρουρεῖν ὄμμα, cp. Τr. 914, κἀγὼ λαθραῖον ὄμμ᾽ ἐπεσκιασμένη | φρούρουν (where ὄμμα has the verbal meaning and in part at least depends on φρούρουν).

153. mvp-comment-106-1 αὐλὰς .. ἔχει] What home does he inhabit, and where is the place of his abode?' The Chorus, through the coryphaeus, ask two questions in one. Neoptolemus replies to either separately.