827-862.
mvp-comment-578-1
Odysseus (
supr. 77, 115), whose words appear in some way to have reached the Chorus (
supr. 136 foll.), spoke only of the necessity of obtaining the bow. For this the Chorus now see the opportunity, and cannot understand the inaction of Neoptolemus, who is better informed (839-42,
cp. infr. 1329-43), and is moreover chained to the spot by remorseful sympathy with Philoctetes. This passage, which does the work of a stasimon in separating two episodia, is in so far of the nature of a commos that it contains a lyrical interchange between the Chorus and one of the persons on the stage. The text is imperfect in several places, and Bergk conjectures that four lines of Neoptolemus', answering to 839-42, have dropped out between 854, 5. It seems most probable that ll. 827-32 were sung by one half-chorus, and ll. 843-48 by the other, in subdued tones; that 833-8, 849-54 were recited severally by two of the chief choreutae, and that 855-64 were recited by the coryphaeus, or, possibly, sung by the whole Chorus. The metres of this irregular strain are dactylic, anapaestic, trochaic, iambic, and choriambic. The following is an approximate scheme of them :-
στρ. and ἀντ.
Logaoedic 1 _UU_UU_UU_U_
(?)
Anapaestic { __ | __
Choriambic _UU_ __
Logaoedic 5 __UU_U_
Iambic U_U_ __
Iambic U_U_U_
Trochaic
Iambic U_ U_U_ __
Iambic 10 U_ U_U_ __
Iambic U_U_U_U_
Paracelèusmatic, { _ UU _ UU _
with logaoedic close (?)
The strophe is followed by four dactylic hexameters, the antistrophe by an epode, of which this is the scheme:-
Logaoedic {: __
Dactylic {: _UU_UU__ | _UU_UU_ _ (?)
Iambo-trochaic 5 _U_U_U_ _ (?)
Dactylic _UU_UU_UU_UU_
Iambic U_U_U_
For νύχιος, l. 858,
cp. Eur. Hel. 1479, Suppl. 280.
827-829.
mvp-comment-579-1
It is seldom that we can at all realise the euphonic effects of Greek lyric verse. But the effect of the vowelly assonance of εὐαὴς .. εὐαίων, accompanied by low breathings of the flute, may be partly imagined.
827.
mvp-comment-580-1
῞Υπν'.. Ὑπνε]
Cp. supr. 663 foll. ὃς .. ὅς, κ.τ.λ., and note.
ὀδύνας] ‘Pain.'
ἀλγέων] 'Grief.' Herm. (1841) preferred ἄλγεος for the metre.
Cp. Il.14.164, ὕπνον ἀπήμονά τε λιαρόν τε: Od. 13. 92, δὴ τότε γ᾽ ἀτρέμας εὔδε, λελασμένος, ὅσσ᾽ ἐπεπόνθει.
828-829.
mvp-comment-581-1
The metre of these lines is different from that of 844, 5, which should correspond to them in the antistrophe. But the effect of the two spondaic (anapaestic) lines (
cp. 837, 853) resembles El. 88, 9, 105, 6, 153, 173, 213-6, 233-6, and the antistrophe is possibly corrupt. See note on
infr. 844. Others read εὐǎές, in which the vocative would resemble ἁλίπλαγκτε in Aj. 695. But the a is probably long.
εὐαής] The first strain of the Chorus, ll. 827-32, is intended at once to lull Philoctetes to sleep, and darkly to express their own wishes. Thus
εὐαής is at once 'With kindly breath' (
cp. supr. 18, 19, ἐν θέρει δ᾽ ὕπνον | δι᾽ ἀμφιτρῆτος αὐλίου πέμπει πνοή), and 'As with favouring gale' (to further our design).
829.
mvp-comment-582-1
εὐαίων] 'Bringing happiness.' For the repetition, which depends on the Triclinian MSS.,
cp. Eur. Or. 174, πότνια, πότνια νύξ. Sleep is invoked, as the Lord of happiest life.
Cp. Fr. 372, ὡς τοῖς κακῶς πράσσουσιν ἡδὺ καὶ βραχὺν | χρόνον λαθέσθαι τῶν παρεστώτων κακῶν: Plat. Apol. 39 D. Others explain
εὐαίων, 'Lasting,' 'Not soon over.'
830.
mvp-comment-583-1
ὄμμασι δ᾽ ἀντίσχοις τάνδ᾽ αἴγλαν .. τανῦν] 'And hold before his eyes this brightness that is now spread over them.' There is difficulty in the interpretation of
αἴγλαν. Hermann was at one time satisfied with explaining it by a simple oxymoron, 'This light' = the light the eyes now have, i.e. darkness. Lobeck, Hermann in 1841, and, I believe, Prof. E. L. Lushington, would take
αἴγλαν literally of the light of day, and explain
ὄμμασι as a dativus commodi.
ἀντέχειν then means 'To hold away, Fend off.' 'And defend his eyes from this brightness that is now spread forth.' But the explanatory clause (
ἃ τέταται τανῦν), according to this interpretation, appears weak and motiveless. Welcker's suggestion that
αἴγλη here means a head-band (
αἴγλη, χλιδών, Fr. 524), satisfies some interpreters. A modification of Hermann's first interpretation seems to afford a possible meaning. The Chorus, gazing on Philoctetes' closed eyelids, see an expression of peaceful repose in his countenance that was previously absent. They pray that this boon of sleep may be continued. 'Light' is a familiar image of relief and safety. But in speaking of repose as light, the Chorus think again of their design, and add, 'This light which his eyes now have on them,' and not the light of waking. Or
τάνδ' αἴγλαν may mean more simply, 'This soothing light:' the relief which slumber brings to Philoctetes being associated with the cheerful sunshine. (Burges conj.
ἀμπίσχοις; Auratus conj.
ἀχλύν.)
τέταται, sc.
τοῖς ὄμμασι. For a somewhat similar expression,
cp. Aj. 706, ἔλυσεν αἰνὸν ἄχος ἀπ᾿ ὀμμάτων ῎Αρης.
832.
mvp-comment-584-1
ἴθι, ἴθι] The hiatus here is one of those irregularities which suggest the doubt spoken of in the Introduction, p. 364. It may be accounted for by the ictus, U_U_ __,
Cp. 859.
Cp. with this invocation to Sleep (in its second intention), Shak. Cymb. 2, 2, 'O Sleep, thou ape of death, lie dull upon her! And be her sense but as a monument, | Thus in a chapel lying.'
833.
mvp-comment-585-1
For the frequent form of expression,
cp. especially Eur. Alc. 864, ποῖ βῶ; πᾶ στῶ; τί λέγω; τί δὲ μή;
834.
mvp-comment-586-1
πῶς δέ μοι. . φροντίδος] Sc. ἔσται. ' And how are matters from this point to proceed with me in respect of thought?' i.e. What course is my design to take?
Cp. infr. 895.
835.
mvp-comment-587-1
ὁρᾷς ἤδη] 'You see (how things are) now;' viz. that Philoctetes is fast asleep. For the short abrupt sentences,
ср. О. С. 117-22, ib. 162-5.
836.
mvp-comment-588-1
πρὸς τί . . πράσσειν] ‘For what are we waiting, to do it?' i.e. What practical advantage is to be gained by our delay?
πράσσειν is epexegetic of
πρὸς τί.
μενοῦμεν is the MS. reading, but the short vowel gives a more probable rhythm.
837.
mvp-comment-589-1
καιρός, κ.τ.λ.] 'Opportunity, which holds the clue of everything, by following closely, wins much advantage.' The Chorus hint the unwisdom of adhering to one fixed plan, when a good opportunity occurs of suddenly executing another. A conjectural reading is
ῥώμαν. But
γνώμαν is confirmed by the echo of the phrase in the antistrophe. Cavallin, comparing
πολλά in 305 supr., explains
πολύ as = πολλάκις.
γνώμαν ἴσχων nearly = γνῶμα παρέχων.
Cp. Εl. 75, καιρὸς γάρ, ὅσπερ ἄνδρασιν | μέγιστος ἔργου παντός ἐστ᾽ ἐπιστάτης: Pind. Pyth. 9. 78, ὁ δὲ καιρὸς ὁμοίως | παντὸς ἔχει κορυφάν. Others join
πάντων κράτος = 'Opportunity, combined with judgment, carries a decided superiority in all cases.' A word is lost of the quantity of αἴσιον (C.) or ἄνδρασιν (Hermann).
839-842.
mvp-comment-590-1
Hexameters occur similarly in the commos of Trachiniae, ll. 1017-23, where solemn reflections are intermingled with the more excited lyric strains.
Cp. also ib. 1009-13, 1031-1040.
839.
mvp-comment-591-1
θήραν | τήνδ'] 'This capture,' accomplished
supr. 779.
841.
mvp-comment-592-1
τοῦδε γὰρ ὁ στέφανος]
Cp. infr. 1344-7, Ἑλλήνων ἕνα | κριθέντ᾽ ἄριστον.. κλέος ὑπέρτατον λαβεῖν. ‘The prize was to be his.' Others (Paley) render, 'In him was the prize.'
εἶπε] Sc. δεῖν.
842.
mvp-comment-593-1
'To have an unaccomplished work to boast of, and that with the help of falsehood, is a reproach that carries deep disgrace.' To bring away the bow, as if performing a great feat, would only expose them to the reproach of not having brought Philoctetes. And this, when Neoptolemus had lied for the purpose.
843.
mvp-comment-594-1
τάδε.. θεὸς ὄψεται] The completion of the work achieved so far may be left to Divine providence, notwithstanding what is mysterious in the oracle.
Cp. Aj. 1165, κοίλην κάπετόν τιν᾿ ἰδεῖν, and note: O. C. 1454, ὁρᾷ, ὁρᾷ ταῦτ᾽ ἀεὶ χρόνος : Thuc. 5. 27, ὁρᾶν τοὺς ᾿Αργείους ὅπως σωθήσεται ἡ Πελοπόννησος.
844.
mvp-comment-595-1
ὧν .. αὖθις] The metre of the MS. reading
ὧν δ᾽ ἂν ἀμείβῃ μ᾽ αὖθις (U_U_U_U) does not correspond to the strophe, and is not very probable. Possibly
ἀμείβῃ was a gloss explaining
προσφωνῇ.. αὖθις, and we might read,
ὧν δ᾽ ἂν προσφωνῇ μ᾽ αὖθις.
Cp. ll. 1. 223, Πηλείδης δ᾽ ἐξαῦτις ἀταρτηροῖς ἐπέεσσιν | ᾿Ατρείδην προσέειπε, κ.τ.λ. Hermann's conjecture is provisionally adopted in the text.
847.
mvp-comment-596-1
ὡς .. λεύσσειν] 'Since ever in disease Sleep, which slumbers not, is quick to perceive.'
πάντων ἐν νόσῳ, sc. ὄντων. ' Of all men, when they are sick.' (Others join
πάντων εὐδρακής, ‘Having quick sight of all things.")
λεύσσειν is epexegetic of
εὐδρακής. Sleep is personified, and 'sight' used for perception in general.
Cp. Trach. 1019.
850.
mvp-comment-597-1
The text is defective, as the metre shows.
κεῖνο is opposed to
τάδε in 843, and means, therefore, not the abduction of Philoctetes, but the carrying away of the bow and arrows. The Chorus urge Neoptolemus not to be absorbed in gazing on Philoctetes, but to take a wider survey of the situation, that he may secure the object set before him by Odysseus. For
λάθρα, σκοπῶν λαθραίως might be substituted to complete the line, which answers to
supr. 834.
852.
mvp-comment-598-1
The reading
ὧν, which would answer to
μενοῦμεν in 836, gives no satisfactory meaning. For the comparison of
supr. 240, 1,
αὐδῶμαι.. παῖς Ἀχιλλέως ('I call Achilles father') does not justify
ὧν αὐδῶμαι = ' Whom I call master,' even if this were clearly in point. And if
ὃν is read, the metre is the same as that of ll. 6 and 9. In this case
αὐδῶμαι is active, as in Ο. Τ. 846. The question remains whether Philoctetes or Odysseus is the antecedent to
ὃν. It seems necessary that
τούτῳ in 853 should be the antecedent, and
τούτῳ is Philoctetes. The Chorus may be supposed to speak vaguely of him, in order to avoid the possibility of awakening his suspicions, should he overhear them. 'If this be your mind towards him you wot of;' i. e. 'If you allow yourself to be so affected with pity, as you manifestly are, towards Philoctetes.' The Chorus thus gently warn their master of what follows in the ensuing scene. Prof. Jebb conjectures
ὃν αἰδοῦμαι, 'Whose fear is before my eyes,' viz. Odysseus'. Others read
ταὐτὸν . . γνώμας.
854.
mvp-comment-599-1
ἐνιδεῖν = SC.
ἐστὶν or
ἔνεστιν, (1) 'The prudent may see therein inextricable harm.' Or, possibly, (2) 'One may see therein perplexing trouble for the wise' (i. e. for Odysseus).
855-862.
mvp-comment-600-1
It is probable that Neoptolemus answered here; and to this the words
βλέπ᾽ εἰ καίρια φθέγγει may be referred :- 'Whether you speak seasonably,' viz. in hinting that we must take him away. Else they must allude to
supr. 826, 6, which is far off.
οὖρος, κ.τ.λ.] This is to be taken literally, not figuratively with the Scholiast.
Cp. supr. 639, 40, and note. Schndw. quotes Theocr. 13. 52, κουφότερ', ὦ παῖδες, ποιεῖσθ᾽ ὅπλα· πλευστικὸς οὖρος.
856.
mvp-comment-601-1
οὐκ ἔχων ἀρωγάν] ‘Helpless, in sleep, disease and solitude, and in the loss of his arms.' For
ἀνόμματος, 'Without use of eyes,'
cp. supr. 632, ἄπουν, 'Lame.'
859.
mvp-comment-602-1
νύχιος resumes
ἀνόμματος with greater intensity. 'Sightless, as if steeped in night.'
ἐκτέταται, ' Lies prostrate,' is stronger than
κεῖται.
ἀλεὴς ὕπνος ἐσθλός] ‘How kind is sleep, warm sleep!' A parenthesis like
supr. 400, 1. To suppose a commonplace γνώμη, 'A man sleeps soundly in the sun,' is hardly adequate in feeling. It is rather an exclamation of joy that their invocation (
supr. 827 foll.) has been heard by the God of Sleep. For
ἐσθλός, meaning propitious,
cp. Od. 24. 311, ἢ τέ οἱ ἐσθλοὶ ἔσαν ὄρνιθες ἰόντι: ib. 19. 547, οὐκ ὄναρ, ἀλλ᾽ ὕπαρ ἐσθλόν: Ελ. 1093, μοίρᾳ μὲν οὐκ ἐν ἐσθλᾷ βεβῶσαν. If
ἀλεής is suspected,
ἀδαής rather than
ἀδεής should be read, although the latter might be connected with l. 864. But it is rash to reject
ἀλεής, when
λιαρός is an Homeric epithet of
ὕπνος: ΙΙ. 14. 164, ὕπνον ἀπήμονά τε λιαρόν τε. The notion of 'Sleep in the sun' agrees with
αἴγλαν,
supr. 831.
860.
mvp-comment-603-1
οὔ τινος] An enumeration of this kind often ends with a general expression.
Cp. O. Τ. 1284, 5. They are perhaps thinking of the bow, which they dare not name.
861.
mvp-comment-604-1
'But sees no more than the dead.'
Cp. O. Τ. 972, κεῖται παρ' "Αιδῃ Πόλυβος, and see
Essay on L. § 54. P 99.
Dindorf reads
ἀλλ' ὡς τίς τ', 'formula epica.' But
cp. l. 859.
862.
mvp-comment-605-1
βλέπ᾽ εἰ] This is the easiest correction of a faulty text, and affords a possible meaning.
Cp. supr. note on 855 foll. But it is doubtful whether
βλέπε can mean 'See to it,' in classical Greek; and
βλέπει may be a gloss on
ὁρᾷ.
φθέγγει is also open to suspicion.
862.
mvp-comment-605-2
Blaydes conjectures
βλέπει· καίρια φώνει. But Neoptolemus is the first to perceive the signs of waking in Philoctetes. Others,
βλέπ᾽ εἰ καίρια φωνῶ.
863-864.
mvp-comment-606-1
τὸ δ᾽ ἁλώσιμον *ἀμᾷ.. κράτιστος] 'So far as our minds can grasp, young sir, the toil that frightens not is best.'
Cp. O. Τ. 1234, 5,
ὃ μὲν τάχιστος τῶν λόγων εἰπεῖν τε καὶ μαθεῖν, τέθνηκε θεῖον Ἰοκάστης κάρα : Plat. Rep. 7.517 B,
τὰ δ᾽ οὖν ἐμοὶ φαινόμενα οὕτω φαίνεται, ἐν τῷ γνωστῷ τελευταία ἡ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἰδέα καὶ μόγις ὁρᾶσθαι.
ἀμᾷ seems to be required by the indications of the metre (dactylic with anacrusis.)
πόνος ὁ μὴ φοβῶν] The Chorus are probably using the language of fishermen, meaning that if Philoctetes is once alarmed, the capture of the bow will be more difficult. See above, l. 839,
θήραν, and
cp. Plato, Lys. 206 B,
ποιός τις οὖν ἄν σοι δοκοί θηρευτὴς εἶναι, εἰ ἀνασοβοῖ θηρεύων καὶ δυσαλωτοτέραν τὴν ἄγραν ποιοῖ; Δῆλον ὅτι φαῦλος. For
πόνος in this connection,
cp. Pind. Pyth. 2. 79,
ἅτε γὰρ εἰνάλιον πόνον ἐχοίσας βαθὺ | σκευᾶς ἑτέρας, ἀβάπτιστός εἰμι, φελλὸς ὡς ὑπὲρ ἕρκος, ἅλμας : Theocr. 21. 14,
οὗτος τοῖς ἁλιεῦσιν ὁ πᾶς πόνος. The common interpretation, from the Scholiast downwards, has been, 'The labour that causes no fear,' i.e. that is not attended with danger.
