Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 47

Lewis Campbell (Translator)

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OED
Not one of happiest fate,
Or enviable, O guardians of this land!
145
’Tis manifest; else had I not come hither
Led by another’s eyes, not moored my bark
On such a slender stay.

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)) — 47 focus
ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ μέντοι τοὐξανιστάναι πόλεως
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1-116 focus
Translations (4)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 33 focus
Ich höre, Freund, von dieser, die für mich zugleich
Und sich umherschaut, daß du ganz gelegen kommst,
Bericht von dem zu geben, was uns dunkel blieb
35
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 47 focus
Oedipus
Lead me, my daughter, to some hallowed spot
For mutual converse fit, nor let us strive
With dire necessity.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 47 focus
Chorus
149
Alas, those sightless eyes denote thy fate
Unhappy, and thy aspect gives me proof
150
That thou art old. Yet charge not on our heads,
For we are innocent, the curse that hangs
O'er thee; for thou hast pass'd the bounds prescribed;
These thou hast pass'd: but set not thy rash foot
On the fresh verdure of that awful grove,
Where the full goblet with the fluent stream
Tempers the honied draught: forbear, restrain
160
Thy steps, ill-fated stranger; thence withdraw.
Wide is the space between us; dost thou hear,
Unhappy wanderer? Wou'dst thou hold discourse
165
With us, from that forbidden place remove
Come to us; converse here is free to all,
Here freely speak; till then refrain thy tongue.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1-115 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-120-1 οὐ πάνυ μοίρας πρώτης 1

mvp-comment-120-2 πρώτης 2

mvp-comment-120-3 οὐ πάνυ 3

mvp-comment-121-1 ἔφοροι 4

mvp-comment-122-1 δηλῶ δ’ 5

mvp-comment-122-2 ἀλλοτρίοις ὄμμ 6

mvp-comment-123-1 Oedipus is indeed old and worn (110) : but μέγας contrasts the man of mature age with the girl, his defenceless guide (752) . Cp. Od. 2.313 (Telemachus)

ἐγὼ δ’ ἔτι νήπιος ἦα·
νῦν δ’, ὅτε δὴ μέγας εἰμί
( full-grown ).

mvp-comment-123-2 σμικροῖς 7

mvp-comment-123-3 ὥρμουν 8

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

144. mvp-comment-90-1 Not altogether one of highest fortune, that ye should congratulate him thereon. The genitive is in the first instance attributive, One of high fortune, but is to be resumed with εὐδαιμονίσαι, which governs the genitive, as in Plat. Crit. 43 Β, πολλάκις σε εὐδαιμόνισα τοῦ τρόπου. εὐδαιμονίσαι is 140 145 146. δηλῶ δ'] 148. ὥρμουν LA. ὥρμων C³ and epexegetic infinitive. See Essay on Language § 33. p. 57. Another interpretation deserves notice. Not one to congratulate ( = olov εὐδαιμονίσαι) on his first destiny;' i.e. The destiny which has been his from birth: ἣν οἱ ἐπεκλώσαντο θεοί, ὅτε μιν τέκε μητήρ. But to this may be objected, (1) that the infinitive can hardly stand except as epexegetic; (2) the emphatic position of πρώτης; (3) the gentle irony of the former meaning, which is better adapted to the situation. The same objections apply to the conjecture πρωτῆς, i. q. πεπρωμένης (Vauvillers, Schndw., Nauck.), which is a word only found in grammarians, and gives a poor sense.

145. mvp-comment-91-1 ἔφοροι χώρας Guardians of this land. Oedipus infers their office from the words of the Ξένος, l. 78 , and of his daughter, l. 112 , σῆς ἕδρας ἐπίσκοποι. Cp. Aesch. Pers. 25, στρατιᾶς πολλῆς ἔφοροι.

146. mvp-comment-92-1 δηλῶ δ' And the manner of my coming proves this. Cp. δείκνυμι δ', 1145: Ant. 471, δηλοῖ τὸ γέννημ᾽ ὠμὸν ἐξ ὠμοῦ πατρός: Αj. 355, δηλοῖ δὲ τοὔργον, ὡς ἀφροντίστως ἔχει.

146. mvp-comment-92-2 ὧδε Thus. Ant. 990, αὕτη κέλευθος.

148. mvp-comment-93-1 κἀπὶ σμικροῖς μέγας ὥρμουν Nor, being a prince, as I am, should I have taken up my rest here to crave a small boon. Schol. καὶ ἐπὶ εὐτελέσιν αἰτήμασιν οὐκ ἂν σφόδρα ἱκέτευον, εἰ μὴ ἤμην δυστυχής. Cp. supr. 5. It may be objected to this rendering that it is dramatically inappropriate to make Oedipus assume as manifest (δηλῶ δ', l. 146 ) what the chorus could not know. But it may be rejoined that he is meditating on his own condition and speaking oracularly, as in supr. 45. The other interpretation (also given in the Scholia), or being tall, have leaned on one so slight, is less natural, and (unless σμικpās is read) attributes a doubtful use both to the dative and to the plural.