Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 519

Lewis Campbell (Translator)

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THE
Dear children, ’twas your father’s spoken will
1760
That no man should approach his resting-place,
Nor human voice should ever violate
The mystery of the tomb wherein he lies.
He promised, if I truly kept this word,
My land would evermore be free from harm.
1765
The power which no man may transgress and live,
The oath of Zeus, bore witness to our troth.

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)) — 519 focus
ὤμοι.
στέρξον, ἱκετεύω.
φεῦ φεῦ.
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 510-548 focus
Translations (2)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 521 focus
Unheil schuf ich, o Freund, schus es, ein Unschuldiger; ja, zeuge die Gottheit,
520
Nichts übt' ich davon mit Willen!
Wie so das?
In schnödem Ehlager umfing die Stadt mich
Arglosen mit Gräuelbanden.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 510-546c focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-1178-1 ἀπεῖπεν 1

mvp-comment-1179-1 μήτ’ ἐπιφωνεῖν … θήκην 2

mvp-comment-1179-2 If μηδενὶ were substituted for μηδένα , this would give a much easier sense; but then Theseus must be the subject to both infinitives:—

"he forbade me to approach, ...or to tell."
According to Greek ideas, however, Theseus, at least, ought occasionally to visit the grave with
ἐναγίσματα
: and in fact the rendering of such honours is implied by the provision that the place of the grave should always be known to one person (1531). I therefore keep μηδένα .

mvp-comment-1179-3 θήκην ἱεράν 3

mvp-comment-1180-1 καλῶς 4

mvp-comment-1180-2 ἄλυπον 5

mvp-comment-1181-1 ταῦτ’ οὖν 6

mvp-comment-1181-2 δαίμων 7

mvp-comment-1182-1 πάντ’ ἀΐων 8

mvp-comment-1182-2 Διὸς Ὅρκος 9

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

1760. mvp-comment-936-1 ἀπεῖπεν ἐμοί i. e. not merely He forbade me to approach, but In what he said to me he forbade all approach.

1762. mvp-comment-937-1 μήτ᾽ ἐπιφωνεῖν.. ἔχει And that no mortal voice should violate the place of holy rest where he is laid. Cp. ἐπιφημίζω.-But qy. μηδενί?

1764. mvp-comment-938-1 καλῶς is to be joined with πράσσοντα, = performing this. Cp. Τr. 579, δόμοις γὰρ ἦν | κείνου θανόντος ἐγκεκλημένον καλῶς: Εl. 793, κἀπεκύρωσεν καλῶς : ib. 1305, οὐ γὰρ ἂν καλῶς | ὑπηρετοίην τῷ παρόντι δαίμονι: Fr. 736, ἐπεὶ πέπρακται πᾶν τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καλῶς, | χωρῶμεν ἤδη, κ.τ.λ.