Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 185

Lewis Campbell (Translator)

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OED
I cannot go. Two losses hinder me,
495
Two evils, want of strength and want of sight.
Let one of you go and perform this service.
One soul, methinks, in paying such a debt
May quit a million, if the heart be pure.
Haste, then, to do it. Only leave me not
500
Untended. For I cannot move alone
Nor without some one to support me and guide.

Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles. Lewis Campbell (Translator). London, New York and Toronto. 1906.

Current edition Experimental

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 185 focus
ὦ *τλάμων, ὅ τι καὶ πόλις
185
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 117-253b focus
Translations (4)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 192 focus
Hier steh' und nicht von dem Felsumkreis
Ausschreitend bewege den Fuß mehr!
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 185 focus
Chorus
607cont2
O king ! already hath this man declared
The same goodwill to thee and to our country.
Thes. Can I reject benevolence and love
Like this, my friends? Oh no ! the common rites
Of hospitality, this altar here,
The witness of our mutual vows, forbid it ;
He comes a suppliant to the goddesses,
And pays no little tribute both to me
630
And to my kingdom ; he shall find a seat
630
Within my realms, for I revere his virtues.
630
If here it pleaseth him to stay, remember \to the Chorus
630
'Tis my command you guard this stranger well ;
630
If thou wouldsb rather go with me, thou mayst ;
630
I leave it to thy choice. \To CEdipus.
630
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 185 focus
Chorus
Are these then daughters, daughters these,
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 118-250 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-375-1 ὁδωτά 1

mvp-comment-375-2 λείπομαι 2

mvp-comment-375-3 ἐν 3

mvp-comment-376-1 δύνασθαι 4

mvp-comment-377-1 ἀρκεῖν … παρῇ 5

mvp-comment-378-1 ἀλλ’ ἐν τάχει τι 6

mvp-comment-379-1 δίχα 7

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

496. mvp-comment-273-1 τῷ μὴ δύνασθαι μήθ᾽ ὁρᾶν 'The want of strength as well as sight. Two objections have been made to this reading-that μήτε requires a preceding μήτε, and that δύνασθαι cannot be equivalent to ἰσχύειν. But the former objection appears arbitrary (cp. supra 451): and with regard to the latter, for δύνασθαι applied to bodily strength, cp. II. 20. 360, ὅσσον δύναμαι χερσίν τε ποσίν τε: Lys. 168. 26, τῷ σώματι δύνασθαι : Plat. Phaedr. 269 D, and the Homeric use of δύναμις. See also Essay on Language pp. 95, 96. Compare Shakspeare, As You Like It, 2. 7, Oppressed with two weak evils, age and hunger.'

498-499. mvp-comment-274-1 The value of a pure intention is similarly asserted in the two lines, preserved from the Aletes of Sophocles by Stobaeus, ψυχὴ γὰρ εὔνους καὶ φρονοῦσα τοῦνδικον | κρείσσων σοφιστοῦ παντός ἐστιν εὑρέτις. Fr. 98.

499. mvp-comment-275-1 τάδ᾽ ἐκτίνουσαν Paying these dues. The change from the MS. reading is very slight, being a correction of the simplest itacism (cp. Ant. 856, where L gives ἐκτείνεις for ἐκτίνεις) and ἐκτείνουσαν has never been successfully defended.

500. mvp-comment-276-1 τι is idiomatic. Cp. Tr. 305, εἴ τι δράσεις: Phil. 286, κἄδει τι . . διακονεῖσθαι.

500. mvp-comment-276-2 μόνον δέ . . λείπετ' But leave me not alone. This gives the reason for 497, where only one of the two sisters is told to go.

502. mvp-comment-277-1 ὑφηγητοῦ γ' άνευ Hermann preferred ὑφηγητῶν ἄνευ οἱ ὑφηγητοῦ δίχα.