311.
mvp-comment-225-1
σῶσαι] Cp. infr. 488, 496.
311.
mvp-comment-225-2
σῶσαι] Cp. infr. 488, 496.
312.
mvp-comment-226-1
ἔτος .. δέκατον] These words are to be joined with ἀπόλλυμαι and resumed with βόσκων.
312.
mvp-comment-226-2
ἔτος .. δέκατον] These words are to be joined with ἀπόλλυμαι and resumed with βόσκων.
313.
mvp-comment-227-1
βόσκων] 'Supporting.' Philoctetes only lived to suffer. Cp. infr. 795, 1167. ἀδηφάγον] Cp. infr. 756-8.
313.
mvp-comment-227-2
βόσκων] 'Supporting.' Philoctetes only lived to suffer. Cp. infr. 795, 1167. ἀδηφάγον] Cp. infr. 756-8.
314.
mvp-comment-228-1
ἤ τ᾿ Οδυσσέως βία] ‘And great Odysseus.' Cp. infr. 321, 344. The Epic phrase is used with a touch of sarcastic irony, but probably (unlike Virgil's 'violentia Turni') without direct reference to the violence of the act.
314.
mvp-comment-228-2
ἤ τ᾿ Οδυσσέως βία] ‘And great Odysseus.' Cp. infr. 321, 344. The Epic phrase is used with a touch of sarcastic irony, but probably (unlike Virgil's 'violentia Turni') without direct reference to the violence of the act.
315.
mvp-comment-229-1
Whom may the Olympian gods some day cause to suffer in their own persons (αὐτοῖς) full requital for my wrong!' So Brunck, Linwood, Paley, rightly. For the emphatic αὐτοῖς here opposed to ἐμοῦ, cp. supr. 275. In order to avoid this Porson conjectured οἱ Ὀλύμπιοι θεοί.
315.
mvp-comment-229-2
Whom may the Olympian gods some day cause to suffer in their own persons (αὐτοῖς) full requital for my wrong!' So Brunck, Linwood, Paley, rightly. For the emphatic αὐτοῖς here opposed to ἐμοῦ, cp. supr. 275. In order to avoid this Porson conjectured οἱ Ὀλύμπιοι θεοί.
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.'
