317.
mvp-comment-230-1
ἔοικα] It would seem that I.' Cp. Aesch. Prom. 1007, λέγων ἔοικα πολλὰ καὶ μάτην ἐρεῖν.
317.
mvp-comment-230-2
ἔοικα] It would seem that I.' Cp. Aesch. Prom. 1007, λέγων ἔοικα πολλὰ καὶ μάτην ἐρεῖν.
317-318.
mvp-comment-231-1
The Chorus express pity for Philoctetes, but tacitly remind themselves that their pity will not be shown in action.
317-318.
mvp-comment-231-2
The Chorus express pity for Philoctetes, but tacitly remind themselves that their pity will not be shown in action.
319.
mvp-comment-232-1
Neoptolemus. But I do more than pity him, for I am a witness on his side.' καί with the whole sentence. For ἐν, ὢν has been conjectured. But ἐν may well express that Neoptolemus enters into the cause of Philoctetes, and is not merely an auditor of his case. Myself a witness in this plea, I know it to be well-founded.'
319.
mvp-comment-232-2
Neoptolemus. But I do more than pity him, for I am a witness on his side.' καί with the whole sentence. For ἐν, ὢν has been conjectured. But ἐν may well express that Neoptolemus enters into the cause of Philoctetes, and is not merely an auditor of his case. Myself a witness in this plea, I know it to be well-founded.'
320.
mvp-comment-233-1
συντυχών] συντυχεῖν is generally construed with a dative, and the preposition has therefore here a separate meaning. Having in like manner found. So the Scholiast and Nauck.
320.
mvp-comment-233-2
συντυχών] συντυχεῖν is generally construed with a dative, and the preposition has therefore here a separate meaning. Having in like manner found. So the Scholiast and Nauck.
324.
mvp-comment-234-1
May it be mine one day to satiate my wrathful soul with violent action!' There can be little doubt that the correction is right. For a similar confusion in all the MSS., cp. O. Т. 376.
324.
mvp-comment-234-2
May it be mine one day to satiate my wrathful soul with violent action!' There can be little doubt that the correction is right. For a similar confusion in all the MSS., cp. O. Т. 376.
327.
mvp-comment-235-1
εὖ γ᾽, ὦ τέκνον] 'Well said, my son!' Philoctetes' delight in Neoptolemus is further heightened by this supposed discovery of a common resentment. τίνος . . ἐλήλυθας] ‘For what cause do you thus bring against them the accusation of your violent anger?' τίνος, genitive of the reason (Essay on L. § 10. p. 15). Cp. Ο. Τ. 698, ὅτου μῆνιν τοσήνδε πράγματος στήσας ἔχεις. γάρ asks for explanation. ἐλήλυθας is redundant (Essay on L. § 40. p. 75). τὸν μέγαν χόλον] The mighty anger which you now evince.' For the slight inexactness in ἐγκαλεῖν χόλον, cp. О. Т. 702, λέγ', εἰ σαφῶς τὸ νεῖκος ἐγκαλῶν ἐρεῖς.
327.
mvp-comment-235-2
εὖ γ᾽, ὦ τέκνον] 'Well said, my son!' Philoctetes' delight in Neoptolemus is further heightened by this supposed discovery of a common resentment. τίνος . . ἐλήλυθας] ‘For what cause do you thus bring against them the accusation of your violent anger?' τίνος, genitive of the reason (Essay on L. § 10. p. 15). Cp. Ο. Τ. 698, ὅτου μῆνιν τοσήνδε πράγματος στήσας ἔχεις. γάρ asks for explanation. ἐλήλυθας is redundant (Essay on L. § 40. p. 75). τὸν μέγαν χόλον] The mighty anger which you now evince.' For the slight inexactness in ἐγκαλεῖν χόλον, cp. О. Т. 702, λέγ', εἰ σαφῶς τὸ νεῖκος ἐγκαλῶν ἐρεῖς.
329.
mvp-comment-236-1
μόλις δ᾽ ἐρῶ] 'Though I shall find it hard to speak of it, i.e. To command myself sufficiently to do so. Schol. ὑπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς. Cp. Ο. C. 326, λύπῃ . . μόλις βλέπω.
329.
mvp-comment-236-2
μόλις δ᾽ ἐρῶ] 'Though I shall find it hard to speak of it, i.e. To command myself sufficiently to do so. Schol. ὑπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς. Cp. Ο. C. 326, λύπῃ . . μόλις βλέπω.
331.
mvp-comment-237-1
ἐπεὶ γάρ] These words introduce the occasion of his coming, in explanation of μολών. ἔσχε.. θανεῖν] 'The fate of death overtook Achilles.' θανεῖν, epexegetic inf. For ἔσχε, cp. Eur. Hec. 5, ἐπεὶ Φρυγῶν πόλιν | κίνδυνος ἔσχε δορὶ πεσεῖν Ἑλληνικῷ.
331.
mvp-comment-237-2
ἐπεὶ γάρ] These words introduce the occasion of his coming, in explanation of μολών. ἔσχε.. θανεῖν] 'The fate of death overtook Achilles.' θανεῖν, epexegetic inf. For ἔσχε, cp. Eur. Hec. 5, ἐπεὶ Φρυγῶν πόλιν | κίνδυνος ἔσχε δορὶ πεσεῖν Ἑλληνικῷ.
332-339.
mvp-comment-238-1
This brief digression and the longer one below (410-460), have the effect (a) of showing the generous nature of Philoctetes, who, beneath his apparently obdurate resentment, really retains an unabated interest in the affairs of the army, and (b) of giving opportunity for the growth of friendly feeling between him and Neoptolemus. The news of Achilles' death so affects him as to make him for a moment forget his own suffering (339-40).
332-339.
mvp-comment-238-2
This brief digression and the longer one below (410-460), have the effect (a) of showing the generous nature of Philoctetes, who, beneath his apparently obdurate resentment, really retains an unabated interest in the affairs of the army, and (b) of giving opportunity for the growth of friendly feeling between him and Neoptolemus. The news of Achilles' death so affects him as to make him for a moment forget his own suffering (339-40).
334.
mvp-comment-239-1
ἀνδρός is genitive of cause, for which ὕπο afterwards supplies a more distinct construction.
334.
mvp-comment-239-2
ἀνδρός is genitive of cause, for which ὕπο afterwards supplies a more distinct construction.
335.
mvp-comment-240-1
τοξευτὸς .. δαμείς] Subdued, so they tell the tale, with an arrow from the bow of Phoebus.' τοξευτός is a subsidiary predicate to δαμείς, for which word in this connection, cp. Il. 19. 417, θεῷ τε καὶ ἀνέρι ἶφι δαμῆναι. ἐκ rather than ὑπό, because the arrow came from the hand of Apollo. Cp. Il. 21. 277, 8, ἥ μ᾿ ἔφατο Τρώων ὑπὸ τείχεϊ θωρηκτάων | λαιψηροῖς ὀλέεσθαι᾿ Απόλλωνος βελέεσσιν. Or, if the arrow were that of Paris, ἐκ denotes the remote agent, and Neoptolemus must be supposed to avoid mentioning the slight man' who had been the immediate author of Achilles' death.
335.
mvp-comment-240-2
τοξευτὸς .. δαμείς] Subdued, so they tell the tale, with an arrow from the bow of Phoebus.' τοξευτός is a subsidiary predicate to δαμείς, for which word in this connection, cp. Il. 19. 417, θεῷ τε καὶ ἀνέρι ἶφι δαμῆναι. ἐκ rather than ὑπό, because the arrow came from the hand of Apollo. Cp. Il. 21. 277, 8, ἥ μ᾿ ἔφατο Τρώων ὑπὸ τείχεϊ θωρηκτάων | λαιψηροῖς ὀλέεσθαι᾿ Απόλλωνος βελέεσσιν. Or, if the arrow were that of Paris, ἐκ denotes the remote agent, and Neoptolemus must be supposed to avoid mentioning the slight man' who had been the immediate author of Achilles' death.
336.
mvp-comment-241-1
Cp. Il. 21. 280, τῷ κ᾿ ἀγαθὸς μὲν ἔπεφν᾽, ἀγαθὸν δέ κεν ἐξενάριξεν.
336.
mvp-comment-241-2
Cp. Il. 21. 280, τῷ κ᾿ ἀγαθὸς μὲν ἔπεφν᾽, ἀγαθὸν δέ κεν ἐξενάριξεν.
337-338.
mvp-comment-242-1
The delicate courtesy of these lines is no less obvious than their self-forgetfulness.
337-338.
mvp-comment-242-2
The delicate courtesy of these lines is no less obvious than their self-forgetfulness.
342.
mvp-comment-243-1
ὅτῳ σ᾽ ἐνύβρισαν] ὅτῳ (governed by ἐν in ἐνύβρισαν) is best taken separate from τὸ σὸν πρᾶγμα. ‘Tell me your own affair; what was the point in which they insulted you?'
342.
mvp-comment-243-2
ὅτῳ σ᾽ ἐνύβρισαν] ὅτῳ (governed by ἐν in ἐνύβρισαν) is best taken separate from τὸ σὸν πρᾶγμα. ‘Tell me your own affair; what was the point in which they insulted you?'
343.
mvp-comment-244-1
ἦλθον.. μέτα = μετῆλθον. ποικιλοστόλῳ] = σὺν ποικιλίαις ἐσταλμένῃ, 'Decked out with ornament,' as being sent on an honorific mission. Others, With variegated prow' (στόλος); but in this less poetical sense it would be better to read ποικιλοστόμῳ. See v. rr.
343.
mvp-comment-244-2
ἦλθον.. μέτα = μετῆλθον. ποικιλοστόλῳ] = σὺν ποικιλίαις ἐσταλμένῃ, 'Decked out with ornament,' as being sent on an honorific mission. Others, With variegated prow' (στόλος); but in this less poetical sense it would be better to read ποικιλοστόμῳ. See v. rr.
344.
mvp-comment-245-1
δῖος] The constant Homeric title, which Neoptolemus uses out of habit. χώ τροφεύς] Phoenix.
344.
mvp-comment-245-2
δῖος] The constant Homeric title, which Neoptolemus uses out of habit. χώ τροφεύς] Phoenix.
345.
mvp-comment-246-1
μάτην] 'Groundlessly.'
345.
mvp-comment-246-2
μάτην] 'Groundlessly.'
346.
mvp-comment-247-1
ὡς . . γίγνοιτ'] 'That it came to be a thing irreconcileable with destiny.' Cp. Ant. 260, κἂν ἐγίγνετο, and note.
346.
mvp-comment-247-2
ὡς . . γίγνοιτ'] 'That it came to be a thing irreconcileable with destiny.' Cp. Ant. 260, κἂν ἐγίγνετο, and note.
348-349.
mvp-comment-248-1
οὐ πολὺν .. ταχύ] · They did not long restrain me, but that I set forth with speed.' On the indirectness of this way of saying, 'Their words were like a goad inciting me,' see Essay on L. § 42, a. p. 79. For μή we should rather expect μὴ οὐ. But though the addition of οὐ is permissible in such cases, there is no absolute rule. And ὦ ξένε, by suggesting 'You may imagine,' gives an hypothetical turn to the expression.
348-349.
mvp-comment-248-2
οὐ πολὺν .. ταχύ] · They did not long restrain me, but that I set forth with speed.' On the indirectness of this way of saying, 'Their words were like a goad inciting me,' see Essay on L. § 42, a. p. 79. For μή we should rather expect μὴ οὐ. But though the addition of οὐ is permissible in such cases, there is no absolute rule. And ὦ ξένε, by suggesting 'You may imagine,' gives an hypothetical turn to the expression.
351.
mvp-comment-249-1
οὐ γὰρ εἰδόμην] 'For I had not seen my father.' Schol. ζῶντα. It is objected to this that when Achilles went to Troy from Scyros, Neoptolemus must have been old enough to remember him. But this is one of those improbabilities which are external to the action and were it otherwise, there is no proof that Sophocles in the Philoctetes follows the version of the story which made Scyros Achilles' starting-point for Troy. Nor would there be anything unnatural in Neoptolemus saying, 'I had not seen him,' without adding, for so long.' Cp. Aj. 570, εἰσαεί, and note; Eur. Troad. 377, οὐ παῖδας εἶδον, sc. πάλιν. Seyffert reads, οὐδ᾽ ἄρ᾽ εἰδόμην, and Prof. Jebb has suggested εἰ γὰρ εἰδόμην. But (a), as Mr. Blaydes remarks, it is natural to infer from 359 that Neoptolemus did see the body of Achilles: and (b) does not such an ejaculation unduly interrupt the flow of the narrative? Neoptolemus is not speaking from real feeling, and there is no occasion for him to 'daub it so far, nor for the poet to invent the circumstance of his failing to see the body. The language resembles that of Od. 4. 200, 1, οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγε | ἤντησ᾽ οὐδὲ ἴδον, said by Peisistratus of his eldest brother Antilochus. But Peisistratus (Od. 3. 401) would be a mere infant at the time of the departure for Troy.
351.
mvp-comment-249-2
οὐ γὰρ εἰδόμην] 'For I had not seen my father.' Schol. ζῶντα. It is objected to this that when Achilles went to Troy from Scyros, Neoptolemus must have been old enough to remember him. But this is one of those improbabilities which are external to the action and were it otherwise, there is no proof that Sophocles in the Philoctetes follows the version of the story which made Scyros Achilles' starting-point for Troy. Nor would there be anything unnatural in Neoptolemus saying, 'I had not seen him,' without adding, for so long.' Cp. Aj. 570, εἰσαεί, and note; Eur. Troad. 377, οὐ παῖδας εἶδον, sc. πάλιν. Seyffert reads, οὐδ᾽ ἄρ᾽ εἰδόμην, and Prof. Jebb has suggested εἰ γὰρ εἰδόμην. But (a), as Mr. Blaydes remarks, it is natural to infer from 359 that Neoptolemus did see the body of Achilles: and (b) does not such an ejaculation unduly interrupt the flow of the narrative? Neoptolemus is not speaking from real feeling, and there is no occasion for him to 'daub it so far, nor for the poet to invent the circumstance of his failing to see the body. The language resembles that of Od. 4. 200, 1, οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγε | ἤντησ᾽ οὐδὲ ἴδον, said by Peisistratus of his eldest brother Antilochus. But Peisistratus (Od. 3. 401) would be a mere infant at the time of the departure for Troy.
352-353.
mvp-comment-250-1
However, besides this, the proposal had a fair colour given to it in their declaration that, if I came (ἰών), Ι should take the citadel that commanded Troy.' For ὁ λόγος, cp. supr. 345-7. προσῆν] Cp. supr. 129, ὡς ἂν ἀγνοία προσῇ.
352-353.
mvp-comment-250-2
However, besides this, the proposal had a fair colour given to it in their declaration that, if I came (ἰών), Ι should take the citadel that commanded Troy.' For ὁ λόγος, cp. supr. 345-7. προσῆν] Cp. supr. 129, ὡς ἂν ἀγνοία προσῇ.
353.
mvp-comment-251-1
For εἰ.. αἱρήσοιμι, see Essay on L. § 28. p. 46.
353.
mvp-comment-251-2
For εἰ.. αἱρήσοιμι, see Essay on L. § 28. p. 46.
355.
mvp-comment-252-1
πικρὸν Σίγειον] 'Cruel Sigeum,' i. e. where I was destined to find so much vexation: the mourning for his father, who was buried there, being embittered by the refusal of the arms. Cp. Rhes. 734, ὦ στυγνοτάτην Τροίαν ἐσιδών. To this, however, some editors prefer the conjecture of Burges, 'π' ἄκρον Σίγειον ! οὐρίῳ πλάτῃ] · With favourable voyage.' This is objected to, apparently because oars would not be used under a fair wind. But πλάτη often occurs in Tragedy in the general sense of making way at sea. Cp. Eur. Hel. 192, Ι. Τ. 242. And as the vessel drew near shore the sail would of course be lowered, and the oars brought into play.
355.
mvp-comment-252-2
πικρὸν Σίγειον] 'Cruel Sigeum,' i. e. where I was destined to find so much vexation: the mourning for his father, who was buried there, being embittered by the refusal of the arms. Cp. Rhes. 734, ὦ στυγνοτάτην Τροίαν ἐσιδών. To this, however, some editors prefer the conjecture of Burges, 'π' ἄκρον Σίγειον ! οὐρίῳ πλάτῃ] · With favourable voyage.' This is objected to, apparently because oars would not be used under a fair wind. But πλάτη often occurs in Tragedy in the general sense of making way at sea. Cp. Eur. Hel. 192, Ι. Τ. 242. And as the vessel drew near shore the sail would of course be lowered, and the oars brought into play.
356-357.
mvp-comment-253-1
κατηγόμην, | καὶ καὶ . . εὐθὺς .. ἐκβάντα] The narrative is condensed.
356-357.
mvp-comment-253-2
κατηγόμην, | καὶ καὶ . . εὐθὺς .. ἐκβάντα] The narrative is condensed.
358.
mvp-comment-254-1
'Achilles, who no longer lived, alive again.' Cp. the Trag. fr. quoted by Plutarch, Alc. 203 D, οὐ παῖς ᾿Αχιλλέως ἀλλ᾽ ἐκεῖνος αὐτὸς εἶ.
359.
mvp-comment-255-1
ἔκειτ'] 'Lay low.' The most natural way of understanding this is to suppose that Neoptolemus saw his father laid out and buried, without being burned. Cp. Aj. sub fin. (from 1402). It might also mean that Achilles was already buried when Neoptolemus arrived. But, as Hermann observes, there is nothing to indicate that the hope expressed in supr. 351 was thus disappointed. The fiction of Neoptolemus is rather that after the funeral the question of the arms was quickly disposed of whilst he was absorbed in his grief.
360.
mvp-comment-256-1
οὐ μακρῷ χρόνῳ] • Before long.' These words are connected with what follows, and imply that the mourning did not long detain him from the object of his ambition.
361.
mvp-comment-257-1
πρὸς φίλους, ὡς εἰκὸς ἦν] i. e. πρὸς ᾿Ατρ. ὡς πρὸς φίλους, ὥσπερ εἰκὸς ἦν αὐτοὺς εἶναι φίλους. For the omission of ὡς with ὡς following, see Essay on L. § 39. p. 73, 5, a. 'Assuming their friendship, as I had reason to do.'
362.
mvp-comment-258-1
ὅσ᾽ ἦν] Sc. τοῦ πατρός.
363.
mvp-comment-259-1
οἴμοι expresses not only personal disappointment (infr. 368, καταλγήσας), but also grieved astonishment that men could be so hardened.
364-365.
mvp-comment-260-1
τἄλλα .. πατρῷ᾽ ἑλέσθαι] Cp. Αj. 572, μήθ᾽ ὁ λυμεὼν ἐμός. In ordinary Greek the article would be repeated with πατρῷα, which, however, is here resumed in close connection with ἑλέσθαι. 'To take in right of your father the other things:' i. e. To take the other things which are yours in right of your father.
365.
mvp-comment-261-1
κείνων] "Those well-known arms,' viz. τῶν Ἡφαιστοτεύκτων.
367-368.
mvp-comment-262-1
Then tears burst from me, and I straightway rose in grievous wrath, and broke forth on them indignantly, and said.' καταλγήσας, sc. κατ᾿ αὐτῶν.
369.
mvp-comment-263-1
ὦ σχέτλι', ἢ τολμήσατ᾽] The voc. sing. σχέτλιε is addressed to Agamemnon, or whichever was the spokesman of the Atreidae. It is unnecessary to suppose a crasis of σχέτλιοι ἦ. For ἀντ' ἐμοῦ, cp. Αj. 444, οὐκ ἄν τις αὔτ᾽ ἔμαρψεν ἄλλος ἀντ᾿ ἐμοῦ.
370.
mvp-comment-264-1
τὰ τεύχη τἀμά] The repeated article here emphasizes both words. 'Those arms, my arms, without consulting me!' πρὶν μαθεῖν ἐμοῦ] 'Before understanding from me,' sc. my will concerning them.
371.
mvp-comment-265-1
ὁ δ᾽ εἰπ᾿ Ὀδυσσεύς] The order of words is in the Epic manner (see Essay on L. § 21. p. 33, 5), the noun being placed in apposition to the article as a demonstrative pronoun. 'Then spake that other, Odysseus, for he was at hand.' ὢν κύρει] The omission of the augment, Epicè, in narrative ῥήσεις is proved by the crucial instance τινὸς | θώϋξεν in O. C. 1623, 4. It was therefore unnecessary to resort to conjectural emendation here. (ἦν κυρῶν, Brunck.)
372.
mvp-comment-266-1
ναί, παῖ] 'Yea, child!' Odysseus is supposed to treat the youth with insolent condescension.
373.
mvp-comment-267-1
This achievement of Odysseus is alluded to in Od. 5. 309, ἤματι τῷ ὅτε μοι πλεῖστοι χαλκήρεα δοῦρα | Τρώες ἐπέρριψαν περὶ Πηλείωνι θανόντι. It was doubtless fully narrated in the Ilias Minor, from which Ovid probably derived it, Met. 13. 284, (quoted by Gedike): 'His humeris, his, inquam, humeris ego corpus Achillis | Et simul arma tuli, quae nunc quoque ferre laboro.' παρών hints the reproach which comes out afterwards, l. 379.
374.
mvp-comment-268-1
ἤρασσον] 'I laid it on ;' ἀράσσω is here used absolutely. Cp. Ar. Nub. 1373, ἐξαράττω. And for the meaning, 'To assail with violent words,' cp. also Aj. 725, (αὐτὸν . . ὀνείδεσιν) ἤρασσον ἔνθεν κἄνθεν.
375.
mvp-comment-269-1
οὐδὲν ἐνδεὲς ποιούμενος, εἰ] The clause with εἰ (for which see Essay on L. § 28, 1. p. 46), depends on the notion of the middle voice in ποιούμενος. Not caring to make any omission' (sparing no abuse) 'when I thought how my arms were to be taken from me by Odysseus.' Cp. Od. 21. 170, (νεμεσσῶμαι δέ τ᾽ ἀκούων) εἰ δὴ τοῦτό γε τόξον ἀριστῆας κεκαδήσει | θυμοῦ καὶ ψυχῆς. ποιούμενος is subj. middle, - for my part.'
376.
mvp-comment-270-1
κεῖνος] i. e. ὁ κακὸς κἀκ κακῶν Ὀδυσσεύς, infr. 384.
377.
mvp-comment-271-1
ἐνθάδ᾽ ἥκων] 'At this pass,' i. e. when he found himself resisted by a boy.
378.
mvp-comment-272-1
δηχθεὶς πρὸς ἁξήκουσεν] ‘Stung at what he heard.' πρός with accusative, as in πρὸς ταῦτα. πρὸς ἀξ. should be joined in the first instance with δηχθείς, and resumed with ἠμείψατο.
379.
mvp-comment-273-1
ἵν᾿ οὐ σ᾽ ἔδει] Sc. ἀπεῖναι. 'Where you ought to have been present.' The reproach is not that Neoptolemus was at Scyros, but that he was not in the battle field at Troy at the time when his father fell. Schol., οὐ παρῆς, ἔνθα ἔδει σε παρεῖναι. Infr. 429.
380.
mvp-comment-274-1
The language is not perfectly exact; ταῦτα is primarily the object of ἔχων, but is to be resumed with λέγεις in a different sense. For such ellipse, see E. on L. § 39. p. 73, and cp. supr. 361, and note.
384.
mvp-comment-275-1
κἀκ κακῶν] Alluding to the supposed Sisyphian parentage, which threw suspicion on the nobility of δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς. To this extent Neoptolemus follows the suggestion of Odysseus, supr. 64, 5.
385.
mvp-comment-276-1
ὡς = τοσοῦτον ὅσον, cp. Aj. 679, 80, Ant. 775.
386-387.
mvp-comment-277-1
'For a city or army depends wholly upon those who govern.' ἔστι with the genitive here means, 'Is determined by,' i. e. Takes its character from.' πᾶσα = σύμπασα, Wholly, rather than 'Every city.'
388.
mvp-comment-278-1
διδασκάλων.. κακοί] Have teachers from whose instruction their badness flows.' This remark is not immediately relevant to Odysseus, but rather to the vote of the army by which the arms were awarded to him, and which is supposed to have been instigated by the Atreidae. Schndw. conjectured δ. τρόποισι.
390.
mvp-comment-279-1
ἐμοί θ᾽ ὁμοίως... φίλος] The sentence in being expanded is changed from an assertion to a wish; i.e. ἐμοί τέ ἐστι φίλος καὶ ὁμοίως εἴη καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς φίλος. Cp. Ant. 686, οὔτ᾽ ἂν δυναίμην, μήτ' ἐπισταίμην λέγειν.
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.
391.
mvp-comment-281-1
The Great Mother, who is here invoked, is said to have been worshipped at Lemnos as well as in Phrygia Steph. Byz. s. ν. Λήμνος, quoted by Gedike). And there is besides a special appropriateness in the invocation of this primal power of nature upon a desert shore, where no temples were to be seen. Bernhardy's remark, that the invocation of Rhea confirms the late date of the Philoctetes, is hardly warranted.
392.
mvp-comment-282-1
ἃ . . νέμεις) 'That givest the mighty river Pactolus to be rich in gold.' For νέμω, meaning, 'To dispense or give forth,' cp. O. C. 687, Κηφισοῦ νομάδες ῥεέθρων. εὔχρυσον is a supplementary predicate = ὥστε εὔχρυσον εἶναι οἱ ῥεῖν. μέγας is, 'Deserving awe and reverence.' Cp. Plato, Phaedo, 62 Β, ὁ . . ἐν ἀπορρήτοις λόγος . . μέγας τέ τίς μοι φαίνεται καὶ οὐ ῥάδιος διϊδεῖν. The Pactolus comes from the mountains of Phrygia, and its peculiar virtue is attributed to the bounty of the universal mother, whose home was there.
395.
mvp-comment-283-1
ἐπηυδώμαν
ἐπηυδώμαν The middle voice expresses, 'I invoked for my behoof.'
396.
mvp-comment-284-1
ὕβρις πᾶσα] 'The boundless insolence.' For πᾶς intensive, see E. on L. § 55. p. 101, 6. The bacchic rhythm shows that πᾶσα is not to be taken predicatively with ἐχώρει.
397.
mvp-comment-285-1
παρεδίδοσαν] 'They were wrongfully giving away from him.' Cp. supr. 64, παρέδοσαν, and note.
400.
mvp-comment-286-1
ἰὼ . . ἔφεδρε] This long parenthesis belongs to the wild nature of the strain, and would be assisted with significant gestures. λεόντων ἔφεδρε, 'Thou that sittest above the lions,' that draw thy car. Cp. the use of ἵπποι as equivalent to ἅρμα in Epic Greek.
401.
mvp-comment-287-1
τῷ Λαρτίου . . ὑπέρτατον] 'Investing the son of Laertes with supreme glory.' The accusative, σέβας ὑπέρτατον, is in apposition either (1) to τεύχεα, or (2) to the action of παρεδίδοσαν. The dative is not to be taken with παρεδίδοσαν, but with σέβας ὑπέρτατον, sc. γενέσθαι, i. e. ὥστε τὸν Λ. ὑπέρτατον σέβας ἔχειν, (Ant. 304.)
402ff.
mvp-comment-288-1
A point of rest has now been gained, and the action remains stationary for a little while. Neoptolemus has completely won the friendship of Philoctetes, and is confident of the attainment of his purpose. Cp. О. С. 631, 667.
402-403.
mvp-comment-289-1
ἔχοντες σύμβολον σαφές | λύπης . . πεπλεύκατε] 'The grief ye have brought with you in sailing forth is a token which clearly commends itself to me.' Cp. Aristid. vol. 1. p. 416, ἱκανόν ἐστι πρὸς αὐτήν, ὥσπερ ἄλλο τι σύμβολον, αὐτὸ τὸ σχῆμα τῆς ἀτυχίας, a passage which shows that πρὸς ἡμᾶς should be taken with ἔχοντες σύμβολον rather than with πεπλεύκατε. The participle has the chief emphasis: see Essay on L. § 41. p. 77. β.
405.
mvp-comment-290-1
καί μοι προσᾴδεθ'] 'And your words strike on a note that is in unison with my experience.' For a similar metaphor, cp O. T. 1112, 3, ἔν τε γὰρ μακρῷ γήρᾳ ξυνάδει τῷδε τἀνδρὶ σύμμετρος.
407.
mvp-comment-291-1
ἂν . . θιγόντα] I know that he would not refrain his tongue from any mischievous word or from any villany.' The effect of ἄν here is to mark that the supposed fact is in accordance with general probability.
408.
mvp-comment-292-1
ἀφ᾿ ἧς . . ποιεῖν] 'Whereof the issue in his hands was likely to be some great iniquity.' For the indirect form of expression, see E. on L. § 42. p. 79.
409.
mvp-comment-293-1
δίκαιον
δὲ βαιον
δίκαιον μηδέν] μή, because of the hypothetical nature of the sentence implied in ἂν θιγόντα. ἐς τέλος] 'In the end.' Cp. Eur. Ion 1615, χρόνια μὲν τὰ τῶν θεῶν πως, εἰς τέλος δ᾽ οὐκ ἀσθενῆ. μέλλοι] The optative because ἂν θιγόντα = ὅτι ἂν θίγοι.
410-411.
mvp-comment-294-1
ἀλλ᾽ εἰ . . ἠνείχετο] Sc. θαυμάζω. 'But' (it does seem marvellous) 'if the taller Ajax, being there, endured to see this done.' παρών] i. e. supposing him to be at Troy, and not absent on some expedition. ὁ μείζων] The son of Telamon is so distinguished from the Ὀϊλῆος ταχὺς Αἴας.
412.
mvp-comment-295-1
Editors have raised the question whether the award of the arms and the death of Ajax are supposed to precede or follow the arrival of Neoptolemus at Troy. But the Greek drama is not careful of such minute adjustments of time, especially in what the audience know to be a fictitious tale. The true story about Ajax in relation to the arms was not suited for Neoptolemus' purpose. The supposition which best suits the context is that, according to Neoptolemus, the award of the arms took place immediately after the funeral of Achilles, while he, the chief mourner, was still absorbed in his grief; and that the death of Ajax is not connected by him with the arms at all.
415.
mvp-comment-296-1
νόει κεῖνον ὡς μηκέτ' ὄντα ἐν φάει] μή, because of the subjective meaning of νόει.
417.
mvp-comment-297-1
'Nor the son whom Laertes bought of Sisyphus.' (The other reading, Λαερτίου, would mean, Laertes' son whom he bought from Sisyphus.' But the two genitives are here extremely improbable).
421-422.
mvp-comment-298-1
τί δ᾽ ὃς.. ἔστιν] ‘But what of him who was an old man, and a good man, and a friend of mine, Nestor the Pylian? Is he yet alive?' ὃς has been much questioned, but appears sound.
422-423.
mvp-comment-299-1
Here the question is raised, whether Philoctetes had been at all at Troy. But this point also is ἔξω τοῦ μυθεύματος, and is not necessarily determined by the poet. Philoctetes had been long enough with the host, at Tenedos or elsewhere, to know the characteristics of the chief men.
424.
mvp-comment-300-1
κεῖνός γε ‘Ay, he.' γε gives a modified assent to the meaning of the question.
425.
mvp-comment-301-1
The words ὅσπερ ἦν γόνος, '(The son whom he had') are slightly wanting in point, but they are commended by their simplicity, and no thoroughly satisfactory alternative has been proposed. The Scholiast mentions μόνος as having been read for γόνος. But although this reading, ὅσπερ ἦν μόνος, 'His only son,' affords a possible context (supposing the ellipse of υἱός), it involves (as the Scholiast felt) too great a departure from the common tradition, according to which Nestor had other sons remaining when Antilochus was no more. The conjectures most deserving mention are ὃς παρῆν γόνος, Herm. ('His son who was with him,') ὃς παρῆν μόνος, Musgr., and ὃς παρῆν πόνοις, Arndt., ('Who supported him in toils of war').
426.
mvp-comment-302-1
δύ᾽ αὕτως δείν᾽ ἔλεξας] (1) In those few words (αὕτως), you have told me a twofold calamity, (affecting those) of whom, etc.' Or, (2) 'In those few words you tell me sad news of two, of whose misfortune, etc.' (δεινά being cognate and almost adverbial, as if it were δεινῶς ἔχοντε). The alternative reading, δύ' αὖ τώδ' ἐξέδειξας (inferred by Porson from the Scholia, see v. rr.), although more plausible than some others recorded by the διορθωτής of L, is not really better. It is slightly improved upon by Prof. Jebb and Mr. Blaydes, who propose to read, δύ᾽ αὖ τώδ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἔλεξας: (the letters erased after δεὶν' in L. were said by Dübner to be ἄν).-It has been commonly assumed that Ajax and Antilochus are the persons meant. But line 415 is too remote to allow of this, whether αὕτως or αὖ τώδ' is the reading chosen. The meaning is that the death of Antilochus is a twofold calamity, destroying the life of one good man (Antilochus) and the happiness of another (Nestor). But οἵδε in l. 428 infr. includes not only Ajax and Antilochus, but also Achilles. The doubt remains, whether δεινά is not too strong a word for the connection. (Qu. δύ᾽ αὐτ᾿ ἀλγείν᾽ ἔλεξας?)
427.
mvp-comment-303-1
For ὀλωλότοιν, including Nestor's desolation, cp. Aj. 896, El. 674.
428.
mvp-comment-304-1
τί δῆτα δεῖ σκοπεῖν] i. e. ποῖ βλέπωμεν εἰς σωτηρίαν; Το what must we look, when Providence so manifestly fails us?' Cp. Ant. 922, 3, τί χρή με τὴν δύστηνον εἰς θεοὺς ἔτι | βλέπειν; Ο. Τ. 964, El. 924, 5, τἀκείνου δέ σοι | σωτήρι ἔρρει· μηδὲν εἰς κεῖνών γ᾽ ὅρα. Ὀδυσσεὺς δ᾽ ἔστιν αὖ] But Odysseus, on the contrary, is alive.'
429.
mvp-comment-305-1
κἀνταῦθ᾽] 'And in such a juncture of affairs.' The crisis implied in the narrative of Neoptolemus (viz. the exigency which led to his being brought from Scyros) required that the mischievous Odysseus should be replaced by better men. Philoctetes again involuntarily shows his interest in the success of the army. Hermann's way of joining the words, Ulysses is found to be alive, as in other emergencies, so again in this,' is not satisfactory. Nor is there any real ground for his objection to Buttmann's rendering of αὖ, - Av si, ut Buttmanno videtur, ex altera parte significaret, deberet statim post Ὀδυσσεύς positum esse. As if there were not also an antithesis between τεθνᾶσιν and ἔστιν! The notion of Odysseus always turning up at critical moments, as lively as ever, is pleasant enough, but αὖ should have something to refer to, and ἵνα must be correlative to ἐνταῦθα, and cannot mean 'whereas.'
430.
mvp-comment-306-1
αὐτόν = eum, not ipsum, though with a certain emphasis. αὐδᾶσθαι indicates the desire of Philoctetes to hear of Odysseus' death.
431-432.
mvp-comment-307-1
Neoptolemus says this to humour Philoctetes, and encourage him to hope that his wish may be some day realized. But to the audience the words also suggest an anticipation of the complications which follow.
433.
mvp-comment-308-1
γάρ is used with conversational freedom. ποῦ . . ἐνταῦθα] 'Where, then, in the circumstances which you describe?'
436.
mvp-comment-309-1
τοῦτ᾽] 'This truth: i. e. the general truth of which these facts are instances. πόλεμος, κ.τ.λ.] This, like the preceding τί δεῖ σκοπεῖν, is a bit of commonplace pessimism. Cp. Aesch. Fr. 94, ἀλλ᾿ ῎Αρης φιλεῖ | ἀεὶ τὰ λῷστα πάντα τἀνθρώπων στρατοῦ: Soph. fr. 652, ῎Αρης γὰρ οὐδὲν τῶν κακῶν *λωτίζεται. ἑκὼν αἱρεῖ = φιλεῖ αἱρεῖν.
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'.
445.
mvp-comment-317-1
αὐτόν] Burges conjectured αὐτός. ἔτ᾿ ὄντα νιν] The Scholiast, whose account agrees in the main with that of Quintus Smyrnaeus (1. 741, foll.), finds here another departure from the Epic tradition, according to which Thersites had been killed by Achilles with a blow of his fist.
446.
mvp-comment-318-1
'I was sure of it. For never evil perished yet.' The reading οὐδέπω κακόν may be defended by comparing supr. 83, εἰς ἀναιδές, and note. The correction οὐδέν πω (Herm.) has been generally adopted.
447.
mvp-comment-319-1
εὐ περιστέλλουσιν αὐτά] ‘Carefully defend them from harm.' αὐτά] Sc. τὰ κακά, which, like τὰ .. πανούργα καὶ παλιντριβῆ refers to persons. Cp. τὰ μέσα τῶν πολιτῶν and similar expressions.
448.
mvp-comment-320-1
καί πως] Cp. Eur. Med. 119. παλιντριβή] • Froward.' The notion in παλιντριβής is that of something which resists treatment: cp. ἀντίτυπος.
449.
mvp-comment-321-1
ἀναστρέφοντες ἐξ "Αιδου] “In turning back, i. e. when on their way thither. Like his father Sisyphus, who intrigued himself out of Hades (infr. 625), Odysseus bears a charmed life.
451.
mvp-comment-322-1
ποῦ χρὴ τίθεσθαι ταῦτα] · What is one to make of these things? What place assign to them in thought?' i. e. how bring them into harmony with our other thoughts? ποῦ δ᾽ αἰνεῖν] ποῦ is used for πῶς by attraction, or the tendency to repeat the same expression (οἷον ῥυμή τις τοῦ λόγου), for which, see E. on L. § 35. p 60. What place can we find for their approval? i. e. How can we acquiesce in them? Cp. Eur. Heracl. 369, ποῦ ταῦτα καλῶς ἂν εἴη;
452.
mvp-comment-323-1
Since, in seeking to approve the doings of the gods, I find that the gods are evil doers; i. e. In praising the gods I must call them wise and good, but this experience shows them to be either malignant or weak. The tense in ἐπαινῶν has an inceptive or conative force.
453-465.
mvp-comment-324-1
Neoptolemus, while still professing hatred of Troy, uses language that is calculated to excite to the utmost the desire of Philoctetes to be taken home. He addresses him with reference to his father and the sacred hill (infr. 729), where he saw the last of Heracles. He speaks of his own isle of Scyros by name, and affects to look forward to the happiness of an unambitious home. He points to the departure of his vessel as imminent.
454-455.
mvp-comment-325-1
τηλόθεν εἰσορῶν φυλάξομαι] Will avoid, beholding afar off.' For the indirect expression, see E. on L. § 42. p. 79, and cp. esp. Ο. Τ. 795. ἄστροις. . ἐκμετρούμενος χθόνα, and note: Eur. Hippol. 102, πρόσωθεν αὐτὴν ἁγνὸς ὢν ἀσπάζομαι.
457.
mvp-comment-326-1
χώ δεινὸς κρατεῖ] 'And power is in the hands of clever rogues.' For this dislike of δεινότης, cp. Thuc. 8. 68, ὑπόπτως τῷ πλήθει διὰ δόξαν δεινότητος διακείμενος: Isocr. Panathen. p. 242, C, ἐπαινεῖν μὲν . . τὴν . . ἀγαθῶν αἰτίαν γεγενημένην, δεινὴν δὲ νομίζειν τὴν αὑτῇ τὰ συμφέροντα διαπραττομένην. Many have preferred δειλός, which involves a very slight change.
460.
mvp-comment-327-1
ὥστε τέρπεσθαι δόμῳ] ‘And I shall have full contentment in my home.' Cp. Od. 13. 61, σὺ δὲ τέρπεο τῷδ᾽ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ, | παισί τε καὶ λαοῖσι καὶ ᾿Αλκινόῳ βασιλῆϊ.
461.
mvp-comment-328-1
He again reminds Philoctetes of his father, this time by name.
462.
mvp-comment-329-1
ὡς μέγιστα] The slight exaggeration shows Neoptolemus' feeling of the hollowness of this farewell.
463.
mvp-comment-330-1
ὡς αὐτὸς θέλεις] Cp. Od. 6. 180, σοὶ δὲ θεοὶ τόσα δοῖεν, ὅσα φρεσὶ σῇσι μενοινᾷς.
464-465.
mvp-comment-331-1
ὡς .. ὁρμώμεθα] 'That we may sail at whatever moment Heaven vouchsafes to yield us a fair voyage.' Cp. Od. 9. 138, 9, εἰσόκε ναυτέων | θυμὸς ἐποτρύνῃ καὶ ἐπιπνεύσωσιν ἀῆται. The wind is favourable for the voyage to Troy, but not for that to Scyros. Cp. infr. 639, 40, 855, 1450, 1.
466.
mvp-comment-332-1
καιρός] 'The moment calls upon us,' cp. infr. 1450; καιρός here probably refers to the time of day. Should the wind now shift, he might hope to reach Scyros before night-fall. It cannot mean, 'The chance of a favouring breeze invites us.' Cp. infr. 639, 40.
467.
mvp-comment-333-1
πλοῦν.. σκοπεῖν] ‘Τo watch the opportunity of sailing not from far off but close at hand.' Cp. Thuc. 4. 23, σκοποῦντες καιρόν, εἴ τις παραπέσοι, ὥστε τοὺς ἄνδρας σῶσαι: Eur. Hec. 901, μένειν ἀνάγκη πλοῦν ὁρῶντας ἡσύχους. We have here another instance of indirect expression. See Essay on L. § 42. p. 79. Οη ἐξ ἀπόπτου, see Aj. 15, and note.
468ff.
mvp-comment-334-1
The moment, for which the preceding scene has prepared the spectator, is now come. Philoctetes' agony of supplication is made more pathetic by our knowledge that he is 'working against his own desire,' and running thus eagerly 'to meet what he would most avoid.' πρός ... προσφιλές] Cp. О. С. 250, πρός σ' ὅ τι σοι φίλον ἐκ σέθεν ἄντομαι, and note: Od. 10. 66, πατρίδα σὴν καὶ δῶμα καὶ εἴ πού τοι φίλον ἐστίν.
472.
mvp-comment-335-1
ὅσοισί τ᾽ ἐξήκουσας] Viz. supr. 263-313; cp. infr. 591, ἅπερ κλύεις.
473.
mvp-comment-336-1
ἀλλ᾽ ἐν παρέργῳ θοῦ με] (1) 'But stow me away' (or 'dispose of me') * as a supernumerary. θοῦ, sc. ἐν τῇ νηΐ: cp. infr. 481, ἐμβαλοῦ μ᾿ ὅπῃ θέλεις (sc. τῆς νεώς). ἐν παρέργῳ, sc. τῶν φορουμένων: cp. Eur. El. 63, πάρεργ Ορέστην κἀμὲ ποιεῖται δόμων.
474.
mvp-comment-337-1
'Indeed, as I well know, much annoyance is involved in such a freight.' δυσχέρεια contains the chief predicate. For the genitive, see E. on L. § 9. p. 12, 1a. This line is strangely suspected by Nauck, It exactly expresses the humbleness of Philoctetes in his extreme need.
475-476.
mvp-comment-338-1
τοῖσι . . εὐκλεές] Surely the noble heart hates what is base, and appreciates the glory of kindness.' εὐκλεές, while opposed to ἐχθρόν, is partly suggested by αἰσχρόν, so that the whole argument, if drawn out at length, would be τὸ μὲν αἰσχρὸν ἐχθρόν, τὸ δὲ εὐκλεὲς φίλον, τὸ δέ γε χρηστὸν εὐκλεές. Philoctetes perceives that a noble youth like Neoptolemus must be ambitious of the purest renown.
477.
mvp-comment-339-1
οὐ καλόν] Full of disgrace.' Cp. Trach. 454, κὴρ πρόσεστιν οὐ καλή.
478.
mvp-comment-340-1
πλεῖστον εὐκλείας γέρας] 'An abundant meed of fair renown.' πλεῖστον rather than μέγιστον, which would agree better with γέρας, because πλεῖστον γέρας εὐκλείας = γέρας πλείστης εὐκλείας. See E. on L. § 42. γ. p. 80. Philoctetes thinks of the gratitude of Poeas and his Melian friends as enough to satisfy any man's ambition.
480.
mvp-comment-341-1
The expression is modified as the sentence proceeds: "Tis the labour of a day, nay, not of one whole day.'
481.
mvp-comment-342-1
τόλμησον] 'Take heart to do it.' Cp. Ο. C. 184, τόλμα, κ.τ.λ., and note.
478-481.
mvp-comment-343-1
ὅπῃ θέλεις] In what part (of the ship) you will.' ἄγων] 'If you will but take me.' Cp. infr. 590, ποιοῦ λέγων. And see E. on L. § 36. р. 63.
482.
mvp-comment-344-1
ὅποι, sc. βεβλημένος, or = ἐκεῖσε ὅπου. The construction is attracted to that of the preceding words. See Essay on L. § 35, a. p. 59.
483.
mvp-comment-345-1
ξυνόντας] Cp. infr. 520, τῆς νόσου ξυνουσίᾳ.
484.
mvp-comment-346-1
πρὸς αὐτοῦ Ζηνός] Wishing to add something to his previous adjuration, supr. 468, 9, he can only think of Ζεὺς ἱκέσιος himself, whom he now brings forward, ὡς ἐπὶ τούτοις τὸν κολοφῶνα.
485.
mvp-comment-347-1
γόνασι] (1) 'By falling on my knees,' (instrum. dat.). Or, (2) 'On my knees,' (locative). Cp. γονυπετής. Philoctetes kneels as far as his lameness will allow, and in the same act calls attention to the pitiable weakness which hinders even the posture of supplication.
487.
mvp-comment-348-1
χωρὶς ἀνθρώπων στίβου] 'Apart from track of men,' i. e. where no man comes. Cp. Ant. 773, ἔρημος ἔνθ᾽ ἂν ᾖ βροτῶν στίβος.
488-489.
mvp-comment-349-1
Philoctetes longs to be taken home (492), but, in order to obtain his petition, he limits it to what is easiest of performance. ἄγων is here unemphatic; not as supr. 481.
489.
mvp-comment-350-1
Χαλκώδοντος Εὐβοίας σταθμά] To the Euboean dwelling of Chalcodon, i. e. Chalcis. Chalcodon is the father of Elephenor, who led the Euboeans to Troy; Il. 2. 536-541, οἱ δ' Εὔβοιαν ἔχον ... | τῶν αὖθ᾽ ἡγεμόνευ Ελεφήνωρ όζος ῎Αρηος | Χαλκωδοντιάδης, μεγαθύμων ἀρχὸς ᾿Αβάντων. The thoughts of Philoctetes are with the older generation (Poeas, Peleus, Telamon, Lycomedes, Chalcodon), who had known Heracles, and were still vigorous when Philoctetes left home for Troy. According to a tradition, which is here ignored, Chalchodon had long since been slain by Amphitryon.
491.
mvp-comment-351-1
The correction of δειράδα καί (see v.rr.) is very uncertain. δεράς does not occur elsewhere. Other corrections are δειράδ᾽ ἤ (Porson), πρῶνα καί (Wunder), δειράδ' ἐπί (Hermann in one edition), δειράδ' ἀνά (Seyffert). Philoctetes imagines the features of his native land as they would successively disclose themselves in the homeward voyage in l. 488.
492.
mvp-comment-352-1
πατρὶ . . φίλῳ] 'That so thou mayest give me to my dear father's sight.' ὡς δείξῃς depends on ἔκσωσον in l. 488.
493.
mvp-comment-353-1
παλαί᾽ ἂν ἐξότου = παλαιὸς χρόνος ἂν εἴη ἐξ ὅτον, is to be joined as an adverbial expression with βεβήκῃ. Cp. Thuc. 1. 6, where οὐ πολὺς χρόνος ἐπειδὴ ἐπαύσαντο φοροῦντες = ἔναγχος ἐφόρουν καὶ οὐ πολὺς χρόνος γέγονεν ἐπειδὴ ἐπαύσαντο. Others read παλαιὸν ἐξ ὅτου. If this is adopted, the phrase is still to be joined to βεβήκη, and not το δέδοικα.
494.
mvp-comment-354-1
μὴ . · βεβήκη] 'Who, my fears tell me, may be long since gone.' Βεβήκοι might be defended as continuing the construction with ἄν; but this is improbable. μοι is ethical dative. πολλά, adv. τοῖς ἱγμένοις] 'By means of those who had come,' (supr. 301 fol.). Cp. Ant. 164, 5, πομποῖσιν . . ἔστειλα.
495.
mvp-comment-355-1
ἔστελλον] 'I urged him.' Cp. infr. 623. The imperfect tense represents an endeavour.
496.
mvp-comment-356-1
αὐτόστολον] 'With a ship and crew of his own providing.' Agreeing with αὐτόν. δόμοις] Wund. conjectured δόμους, perhaps rightly; but for the dative, see Essay on L. § 11. p. 18, 3.
497-499.
mvp-comment-357-1
τὰ τῶν διακόνων .. ποιούμενοι] Either (1) τὰ τῶν διακόνων simply = οἱ διάκονοι, with which ποιούμενοι agrees. Or (2) the mode of expression is altered from 'the service of my messengers failed me' (ἐξαπώλετο ἤ τι τοιοῦτον), to 'my messengers cared little for what concerned me, but pushed their homeward voyage, etc.'
498.
mvp-comment-358-1
ὡς εἰκός] Philoctetes attributes to such involuntary visitants the homesickness which he himself feels. τοὐμὸν . . ποιούμενοι] He says this as feeling bitterly his insignificance. Cp. supr. 254,5.
500.
mvp-comment-359-1
Seyffert rightly omits the comma after νῦν δ'. Cp. supr. 144, 5. εἰς σὲ .. ἥκω) · I am come to thee,' i e. My fate has brought me to you in the succession of those who come. For the transference of words of place to time, see E. on L. § 24. p. 41, 7. πομπόν τε καὐτὸν ἄγγελον] Who wilt be my guide at the same time that thou dost thyself report concerning me.' αὐτόν belongs to both nouns, i. e. not only to transmit news of me, but to announce me yourself in person; not only to announce me, but to take me home. Philoctetes still clings to the hope that Neoptolemus will bring him all the way to Trachis.
501.
mvp-comment-360-1
εἰσορῶν] 'Seeing,' in the example now present before you.
502-503.
mvp-comment-361-1
δεινά] Sc. ἐστί. How to mortals all things are beset with peril and hazard; there is a chance of good and a chance of the opposite.' Philoctetes has deeply learnt the lesson: 'It is the bright day that brings forth the adder, And that craves wary walking. Neoptolemus must show mercy, and thus avoid provoking the gods. For πάντα δεινά, Wakefield conjectured πάντ' ἄδηλα.
504.
mvp-comment-362-1
ὁρᾶν] Το be ware of. Schol. εὐλαβεῖσθαι. Cp. Aj. 1313, ὅρα μὴ τοὐμόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ σόν.
506.
mvp-comment-363-1
διαφθαρείς] Sc. ὁ βίος. Cp. Thuc. 8. 91, λήσειν διαφθαρέντας (sc. ἔφη Θηραμένης τοὺς τειχίζοντας τὴν Ἠετιώνειαν τοῖς ᾿Αθηναίοις).
507-518.
mvp-comment-364-1
In the strophe supr. 391-402, the one half-chorus echoed the falsehood of Neoptolemus. The other half-chorus now in similar measures professedly responds to the appeal of Philoctetes, and recommends him to the kindness of Neoptolemus. L. 510 is equivalent, although not identical in metre, with l. 395: Each consists of two dochmiacs.
508-509.
mvp-comment-365-1
πόνων ἆθλ'] Cp. Trach. 506, ἄεθλ᾽ ἀγώνων. ὅσσα] Porson's conjecture, οἷα, has been adopted by several editors. Other proposed corrections are ἄσσα and ἄθλους ἅ (Dobree). ὅσσα is at once, So many as,' and 'So great as.' τύχοι] λάχοι, which Nauck reads, would be in a more usual construction. But the change is unnecessary.
510.
mvp-comment-366-1
πικρούς] Cp. supr. 320-3, 363, 369, 396.
511.
mvp-comment-367-1
τὸ κείνων μετατιθέμενος] Converting their evil deed into a benefit for him.' According to the pretended situation, the same iniquity which cast Philoctetes forth has sent Neoptolemus from Troy, and Neoptolemus has now the opportunity of taking Philoctetes home. Thus evil may be made the occasion of good. The middle voice in μετατιθέμενος is subjective='On your own part.'
515.
mvp-comment-368-1
ἐπιμέμονεν] Sc. πορεύεσθαι. Cp. Εl. 1435, ᾗ νοεῖς ἔπειγέ νυν.
516.
mvp-comment-369-1
ἐπ᾿ εὐστόλου ταχείας νεώς] Οn your trim swift bark.' For the double epithet, see Essay on L. § 23. P. 37.
517.
mvp-comment-370-1
τὰν *θεῶν] ἐκ (see v.rr.) is required by the same metrical reason which led to Λαερτίου being changed το Λαρτίου in l. 401.
518.
mvp-comment-371-1
νέμεσιν] The possibility of some Divine retribution following refusal was gently hinted at the conclusion of Philoctetes' speech, ll 501-506.
519.
mvp-comment-372-1
Consider, lest you who now stand there so goodnaturedly, may show a different spirit from your present words when you are wearied through contact with the disease.' For the 'paratactic' structure, see Essay on L. § 36. p. 68. τις is added to a predicative word as in Ο. Τ. 618, 9, ὅταν ταχύς τις οὑπιβουλεύων λάθρα χωρῇ. The slight redundancy of the expression, for which, cp. Εl. 506, ὡς ἔμολες αἰανή, κ.τ.λ., has suggested an unnecessary doubt whether παρῆς may not be from παρίημι (‘You grant permission').
521.
mvp-comment-373-1
For αὑτὸς τοῖς λόγοις τούτοις, ср. О. Т. 557, καὶ νῦν ἔθ᾽ αὑτός εἰμι τῷ βουλεύματι, and note.
522-523.
mvp-comment-374-1
are spoken by the coryphaeus.
524-525.
mvp-comment-375-1
'It were shame if I were found more backward than you are to serve a stranger in his need.' ξένῳ either = τῷ ξένῳ, i. e. ‘Τo Philoctetes,' or, with a slight difference, (2) more generally, 'To a stranger-friend,' -as Philoctetes is. The dative depends on ἐνδεέστερον φανῆναι (= γενέσθαι) and is to be resumed with πονεῖν.
525.
mvp-comment-376-1
πρὸς τὸ καίριον is an adverbial expression, like πρὸς τὸ κάρτερον, πρὸς τὸ λιπαρές, etc., and the infinitive depends on ἐνδεέστερον.
527.
mvp-comment-377-1
οὐκ ἀπαρνηθήσεται] (1) He shall not be denied.' This suits the feeling of the passage better than (2) the impersonal sense (The favour shall not be denied'), which, however, is also possible.
529.
mvp-comment-378-1
The emphatic position of ἡμᾶς at the beginning of the line shows that Neoptolemus deliberately includes Philoctetes in his prayer. βουλοίμεσθα is optative because of the preceding optative (cp. 325, 961) and partakes of the indefiniteness of the wish. Neoptolemus feels that when they leave the shore the intention of his voyage will not be that which he now professes, and he trusts that by that time the wish of Philoctetes may be the same with his own.
533.
mvp-comment-379-1
*προσκύσαντε εἰσοίκησιν] Schndw. threw suspicion on these words because of the ἅπαξ λεγόμενον εἰσοίκησις, and various modes of alteration have been suggested. But it is idle to object to every ἅπαξ λεγόμενον. And these words give an excellent sense. If ἐξοικεῖν, a rare word, means ἔξω οἰκεῖν (Lys. 187. 29, Dem. 845. 19), why may not εἰσοικεῖν mean ἔσω οἰκεῖν? (It is so used in Anth. P. 7. 320, according to the MS. reading.) Cp. εἰσίδρυμαι, εἰσίζομαι, εἰσοικίζω. In that case ἡ εἰσοίκησις is ἡ ἔσω οἴκησις, and τὴν ἔσω.. εἰσοίκλησιν is merely a common instance of pleonasm, much as when we speak of the interior of a cave. If εἰς οἴκησιν is read, it becomes necessary to suppose a lacuna, for ἴωμεν here can only mean, 'Let us depart.' For the participial expression (προσκύσαντε = ' but first let us pay a farewell visit to'), ср. О. Т. 680, μαθοῦσά γ' ἥτις ἡ τύχη. Philoctetes'attachment to his bare and comfortless dwelling-place shows itself here, together with the longing expressed supr. 251 foll, that the extent of his misery and endurance might be known.
535.
mvp-comment-380-1
ἀφ᾽ ὧν] ἀπο- as in ἀποζῆν. διέζων] 'I kept life afoot.' δια- of a persevering effort, as in διαμάχεσθαι.
536.
mvp-comment-381-1
μόνην θέαν] 'Even the mere sight.' The adjective has the force of the adverb μόνον.
538.
mvp-comment-382-1
προὔμαθον] Either (1) ‘I long since learned,' or (2) 'I learnt by degrees,' i.e. conquering each evil as it met me. Cp. προδιδάσκειν.
539-541.
mvp-comment-383-1
These lines are spoken by the coryphaeus. The Σκοπός of supr. 125 is seen approaching, disguised as a ship-master, and accompanied by another of Neoptolemus's crew.
540.
mvp-comment-384-1
ἀλλόθρους is simply a stranger, 'Not one of ourselves.' The word ξένος (infr. 557) would not apply to the man until they knew whether he was of Scyros or not. He professes afterwards to come from Peparethus.
541.
mvp-comment-385-1
αὖθις] Blaydes conjectures αὐτίκ'. But αὖθις is 'afterwards,' as αὖτις in Il. 1. 140, ταῦτα μεταφρασόμεσθα καὶ αὖτις. After that, ye shall go in'
542.
mvp-comment-386-1
τόνδε τὸν ξυνέμπορον] 'This companion of my way,' viz. from the mooring place to before the cave.
544.
mvp-comment-387-1
ποῦ κυρῶν εἴης] • Where you were at this moment to be found.' A conversational pleonasm.
545.
mvp-comment-388-1
ἀντέκυρσα] Sc. σοί. ‘Our paths have crossed.' δοξάζων μὲν οὔ] 'Not that I had any thought of such a thing.' For the combination of aorist and imperfect (δοξάζων = ὅτε ἐδόξαζον), cp. Ο. Τ. 1457, θνήσκων ἐσώθην.
546.
mvp-comment-389-1
ὁρμισθείς] 'Brought to anchor.' He has been baffled by the headwind mentioned infr. 639.
547.
mvp-comment-390-1
ὡς ναύκληρος, οὐ πολλῷ στόλῳ] 'With the modest outfit of a merchant-man.' This accounts for his approach not having been descried. He is supposed to be a purveyor (infr. 583, 4) of provisions to the army, perhaps of wine from his own vine-clad (εὔβοτρυν) island. Cp. ΙΙ. 7. 467, νῆες δ᾽ ἐκ Λήμνοιο παρέστασαν οἶνον ἄγουσαι. Peparethus is midway between Scyros and the entrance to the Maliac gulf. The same wind that is pretended to have detained Neoptolemus would also delay the merchantman on his homeward voyage.
549-550.
mvp-comment-391-1
ὡς νεναυστοληκότες] 'When I had ascertained in the course of conversation that the mariners who had manned the vessel were one and all your men' (σοί, possessive pronoun). So Hermann, Opusc. 8. p. 190, rightly, although the reason which he gives ('Nam sic demum nauclerus tuto referre poterat, quae erat narraturus'), is not required. Dobree conjectured συννεναυστοληκότες (‘That they had all accompanied you in your voyage').
552.
mvp-comment-392-1
προστυχόντι τῶν ἴσων depends οη τὸν πλοῦν ποιεῖσθαι as an affirmative expression: i. e. ἔδοξέ μοι, φράσαντι καὶ τῶν ἴσων προστυχόντι, οὕτω τὸν πλοῦν ποιεῖσθαι. · When first I had received fair recompense.' For the naiveté of this parenthetical demand, as not unbefitting the relations of the sea-captain to Neoptolemus (who is no less careful to assure him of his gratitude, infr. 557, 8), ср. О. Τ. 1005, 6, καὶ μὴν μάλιστα τοῦτ᾽ ἀφικόμην ὅπως | σοῦ πρὸς δόμους ἐλθόντος εὖ πράξαιμί τι: Trach. 190, 1, ὅπως τοι πρῶτος ἀγγείλας τάδε πρὸς σοῦ τι κερδάναιμι.
553.
mvp-comment-393-1
οὐδὲν σύ που] The asyndeton marks the urgency of the intelligence.
554.
mvp-comment-394-1
ἀμφὶ σοῦ * νέα] This emendation of Auratus has been generally received. And although the MS. reading may be possibly defended by the comparison of such phrases as τίνος δὴ χάριν ἕνεκα, etc. (see especially Thuc. 8. 92, ὅσον καὶ ἀπὸ βοῆς ἕνεκα), the meaning as well as the grammar is distinctly improved by the change.
556.
mvp-comment-395-1
δρώμεν', οὐκέτ᾽ ἐξαργούμενα] Ιn act, no longer left undone.' Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1359, τοῦ δρῶντός ἐστι καὶ τὸ βουλεῦσαι πέρι.
559.
mvp-comment-396-1
φράσον . . ἔλεξας] Declare at full what you have now mentioned.'
560.
mvp-comment-397-1
ἀπ᾿ ᾿Αργείων] Sc. φαινόμενον. ἔχεις] Cp. Trach. 318, οὐδ᾽ ὄνομα πρὸς του τῶν ξυνεμπόρων ἔχεις; Ο. C. 1451, μάτην γὰρ οὐδὲν ἀξίωμα δαιμόνων ἔχω φράσαι.
562.
mvp-comment-398-1
οἱ.. Θησέως κόροι] Acamas and Demophon, said to have been first mentioned in the Ἰλίου πέρσις of Arctinus. These names help to commend the lie to the fancy of the Athenian audience.
563.
mvp-comment-399-1
λόγοις] By persuasion.' Cp. infr. 612, 623 foll., 629, 30.
563,565.
mvp-comment-400-1
These vague replies show that Neoptolemus has not yet seized his cue. Cp. 570, 1 foll.
566.
mvp-comment-401-1
οὕτω καθ' ὁρμήν] ‘Thus incontinently' (in the old sense); referring to supr. 555. 6.
567.
mvp-comment-402-1
ὡς ταῦτ᾽ ἐπίστω δρώμεν] i. e. ἐπίστασο, ὡς ταῦτα δρώμενα (sc. ἐστίν). For ἐπίστασο ταῦτα ὡς δρώμενα this would be too violent an inversion.
568.
mvp-comment-403-1
πρὸς τάδε] 'Hereupon,' i. e. 'When such was the counsel of the Argives.' αὐτάγγελος] ‘'Bringing the message in person;' i. e. αὐτὸς καὶ μὴ δι᾽ ἄλλων ἀγγέλων. Phoenix and the Theseidae were ἄγγελοι of the resolution of the chieftains to Neoptolemus.
569.
mvp-comment-404-1
ἢ.. νιν] Neoptolemus assumes a spirited tone, and suggests a mean motive in Odysseus, in order to gratify Philoctetes.
570.
mvp-comment-405-1
ἐπ᾿ ἄλλον ἄνδρα] ‘With designs upon another person.'
571.
mvp-comment-406-1
When I left the harbour, they were making ready.'
572.
mvp-comment-407-1
'Who could this be. with a view to whom Odysseus himself was setting forth?' i e. ποῖος ἂν εἴη πρὸς ὃν ἔπλει; So the unusual insertion of ἄν may be explained. See Essay on L. § 27. p. 45. And the meaning is so appropriate, that it seems better to retain the particle, although πρὸς ποῖον αὖ τόν δ' is a conjectural reading involving only a slight change.
575.
mvp-comment-408-1
'Sir, you have the privilege of seeing here the famous Philoctetes.' Thus Neoptolemus humours the feeling which Philoctetes had shown supra 261, 2, ὅδ᾽ εἴμ᾽ ἐγώ σοι κεῖνος, ὃν κλύεις ἴσως | τῶν Ἡρακλείων ὄντα δεσπότην ὅπλων.
576.
mvp-comment-409-1
τὰ πλείον'] For the article, cp. Trach. 731, and note.
577.
mvp-comment-410-1
ἔκπλει σεαυτὸν ξυλλαβών] 'Snatch yourself up and sail away.' Cp. Eur. H. F. 833 foll., ἄλλ' εἶ', ἄτεγκτον ξυλλαβοῦσα καρδίαν . . ἔλαυνε, κίνει, κ.τ.λ.: also Plat. Rep. 1. 336 В, συστρέψας ἑαυτὸν ἧκεν ἐφ' ἡμᾶς. The Ἔμπορος speaks low, as he had charged Neoptolemus to do. This awakens the lively suspicion of Philoctetes, who hears enough to understand that there is a danger of his being left behind. Mr. Paley conjectures, ἔκπλευσον αὐτὸν συλλαβών, comparing infr. 621. But there the case is altered by Neoptolemus having avowed his friendship for Philoctetes in ll. 585, 6.
578.
mvp-comment-411-1
κατὰ σκότον] 'In secret.' So infr. 581, εἰς φῶς, Openly."
579.
mvp-comment-412-1
διεμπολᾷ λόγοισι πρός σε] Is treating me dishonestly in his talk with thee.' Cp. Ant. 1036, ἐξημπόλημαι κἀκπεφόρτισμαι.
581.
mvp-comment-413-1
εἰς φῶς = 'Openly.' Cp. О. Т. 93, ἐς πάντας αύδα. τούσδε τε] The Chorus.
582-583.
mvp-comment-414-1
μή με.. ἃ μὴ δεῖ] 'Bring me not into discredit with the army, through my telling what I should keep close; i. e. Do not make me tell, and so make them angry with me. λέγοντα = διὰ τὸ λέγειν, cp. Thuc. 8.87, ἣν εἶπε πρόφασιν οὐ κομίσας (i. e. δι᾽ ὅ, τι οὐκ ἐκόμισεν).
583-584.
mvp-comment-415-1
'I. being poor, receive much kindness from them for service which I do.' For γε, which modifies the sentence, to which it gives a pleading tone, see Essay on L. § 26. p. 41. οἱ᾿ ἀνὴρ πένης] (1) As is natural in the case of one who is poor: rather than, (2) 'Such service as a poor man may do.' Cp. supr. 273, and note.
585ff.
mvp-comment-416-1
Neoptolemus professes to demand that, if there is danger, the Ἔμπορος should risk it for his and Philoctetes' sake. The Ἔμπορος in his reply insinuates that the danger, if he is made to speak, is common to them all three, and that Neoptolemus will be responsible for the consequences.
589.
mvp-comment-417-1
καί belongs in meaning to the whole sentence = καὶ δὴ σκοπῶ. ἐγώ] 'Of myself,' without this caution from you.
590.
mvp-comment-418-1
ποιοῦ λέγων] 'Make me so, if you will but speak. For this emphatic use of the participle, cp. especially O. C. 1038, χωρῶν ἀπείλει νυν, -also supr. 481, and note.
591.
mvp-comment-419-1
ἅπερ κλύεις] Supr. 570, 1.
592.
mvp-comment-420-1
ἥ τ᾿ Ὀδυσσέως βία] Cp. supr. 314, 321.
