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.
144-146.
mvp-comment-100-1
νῦν.. θαρσών] Some editors insert a comma after μέν, but although νῦν is not to be separated from δέρκου, it belongs to both clauses. Cp. infr. 1020, 1, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ οὐδὲν θεοὶ νέμουσιν ἡδύ μοι, κ.τ.λ., where a comma after ἀλλ' would be obviously inconvenient. τόπον . . ὅντινα κεῖται] 'What place he makes his lair.' The relative follows the case of τόπον, which is accusative after προσιδεῖν. But the construction of ὅντινα κεῖται may also be explained as cognate, like αὐτάρκη θέσιν κειμένη in Thuc. 1. 37. ἐσχατιαῖς] Cp. Od. 9. 182, ἐπ᾿ ἐσχατιῇ σπέος εἴδομεν ἄγχι θαλάσσης. The dative of place is perhaps assisted by the neighbourhood of πρός in προσιδεῖν (Essay on L. § 54. p. 99. and also p. 62). For the plural, cp. τρόποις, supr. 128: infr. 153, αὐλάς: Pind. Isthm. 6. 12, ἐσχατιαῖς ἤδη πρὸς ὄλβου.
147.
mvp-comment-101-1
δεινός] Dread,' reflecting the impression produced on Neoptolemus by 75, 6, 105, and the timid expressions of the Chorus in 135 foll. Philoctetes is terrible because of his bow, and the fear of him is enhanced by the mystery of his solitude.
147-148.
mvp-comment-102-1
ὁδίτης] Cp. supr. 43, 4, infr. 162, 3. τῶνδ᾽ ἐκ μελάθρων] Who inhabits here.' Sc. ὁρμώμενος. The form of expression is suggested by the verbal notion in ὁδίτης. Some, including the διορθωτής of L, have wrongly connected τ. ἐ. μ. with προχωρῶν, Avoiding this habitation.' τῶν μελάθρων ἀποστάς, Schol. For μέλαθρον of the cave, cp infr. 1262, ἀμείψας τάσδε πετρήρεις στέγας. πρὸς ἐμὴν.. χεῖρα] ‘At my hand;' i. e. At the signals which I shall give, as to a hound in approaching game. Cp. infr. 865, and note; also Aesch. Suppl. 507, καὶ δή σφε λείπω χειρὶ καὶ λόγοις σέθεν (' At your signal and behest').
149.
mvp-comment-103-1
τὸ παρὸν θεραπεύειν] (1) Το meet each occasion duly.' Cp. Thuc. 3.56, τὸ δὲ ξυμφέρον μᾶλλον θεραπεύοντες: Εl. 1305, 6, οὐ γὰρ ἂν καλῶς | ὑπηρετοίην τῷ παρόντι δαίμονι. Or rather, (2) To do the service immediately required.'
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.
157.
mvp-comment-107-1
τίς τόπος, ἢ τίς ἕδρα] Sc. ἐστὴν αὐτῷ. στίβον] Cp. supr. 29.
159-161.
mvp-comment-108-1
These lines break the antistrophic effect. Cp O C. 197 foll., El. 1403-5, and notes.
159.
mvp-comment-109-1
οἶκον.. κοίτης] 'Thou seest the home with a door either way where he makes his bed upon the rock.' For the genitive, see Essay on L. § 10. p. 15.
160.
mvp-comment-110-1
The coryphaeus, with one or more of the other choreutae, has mounted to the stage during the recitation of 144-9. He advances further while his companion recites 150-8, and Neoptolemus points out the cave to him. He turns to Neoptolemus with this question and then rejoins his comrades. While Neoptolemus recites 162-68, the Chorus take up their regular position in the orchestra in front of the stage.
