450.
mvp-comment-242-1
τοῦδε Sc. ἐμοῦ.
451.
mvp-comment-243-1
οὔτε σφιν It has been thought that either οὗ τι in 450 must be changed to οὔτε, or οὔτε here to οὐδέ. If so, the latter is preferable, for οὔ τι is expressive.
453.
mvp-comment-244-1
συννοών *τε *τἀξ ἐμοῦ
And comparing with them in thought those ancient oracles, which I bring from my own store, the same which Phoebus once accomplished upon me. Cp. supr. 93
453.
mvp-comment-244-2
τὰ ἐξ ἐμοῦ,
Which come from my side; i. e. in making the comparison. Cp. Τr. 631, τὸν πόθον τὸν ἐξ ἐμοῦ. The correction, although questioned by Dindorf, who supposes some deeper corruption of the text, is probable enough.
457-460.
mvp-comment-245-1
ἐὰν γὰρ . . ἀρεῖσθε Cp. 72, ὡς ἄν, προσαρκῶν μικρά, κερδάνῃ μέγα: 647-648, ΘΗ. μέγ᾽ ἂν λέγοις δώρημα τῆς συνουσίας. ΟΙ. εἰ σοί γ᾽ ἅπερ φὴς ἐμμενεῖ τελοῦντί μοι: 815, τίς δ'᾽ ἄν με τῶνδε συμμάχων ἕλοι βίᾳ; 1206, ΟΙ. μόνον, ξέν', εἴπερ κεῖνος ὧδ᾽ ἐλεύσεται, μηδεὶς κρατείτω τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς ποτέ: 1489, 90, ΟΙ. ἀνθ᾽ ὧν ἔπασχον εὖ, τελεσφόρον χάριν δοῦναί σφιν, ἥνπερ τυγχάνων ὑπεσχόμην. The extension of present aid is everywhere put forward as a condition of the permanent blessing. The task of defence which he here entreats them to undertake, is fulfilled by them in resisting Creon.
457.
mvp-comment-246-1
μου is genitive of the object, for which see Essay on Language § 9. p. 12.
458.
mvp-comment-247-1
πρὸς * ταῖσδε ταῖς σεμναῖσι δημούχοις θεαîs]
In addition to these dread goddesses that protect your deme. This seems the most probable as it is the simplest emendation of this line. Others are πρὸς ταῖσι τρισσεμναῖσι, ὁμοῦ | προστάτισι ταῖς, ξὺν προστάταις. πρός harmonizes well with the emphatic ὑμεῖς. σύν has probably been inserted as a gloss L² has ταῖς σεπταῖσι.
459.
mvp-comment-248-1
ἀλκὴν ποιεῖσθαι 'Το undertake defence,' like τὰς μήχας ποιούμενος, Εl. 302: ἐποιοῦντο βουλήν, Hdt. 6. 101.
459.
mvp-comment-248-2
τῇδε μὲν πόλει This reading is preferred (1) for the antithesis; (2) because tῇ may be accounted for as a corruption of yῇ explaining πόλει.
460.
mvp-comment-249-1
τοῖς δ᾽ ἐμοῖς ἐχθροῖς Oedipus reverts to his own personal objects, as in 308-309 (εὐτυχὴς ἵκοιτο τῇ θ᾽ αὑτοῦ πόλει ἐμοί τε). although, as in that passage, the chief stress is laid on what is mentioned first. At the same time he leaves it to be implied that his enemies are the enemies of Athens. Cp. infra 646, ἐν ᾧ κρατήσω τῶν ἔμ᾽ ἐκβεβληκότων. The corruption in Lis due to itacism. 461 ff. The coming of Theseus is still delayed, and the scruples of the chorus cannot be set at rest without some formal expiation on the part of Oedipus. The presence of Ismene enables this to be made without Oedipus or Antigone leaving the stage. She goes to perform this service, and the chorus continue harping on the interminable theme (adding the confessional to the sacrifice), when Theseus at last enters bringing with him a very different spirit. His coming clears the air at once.
463.
mvp-comment-250-1
ἐπεμβάλλεις
You add, to give further weight, as if throwing into the scale. Cp. supra 293, λόγοισι γὰρ οὐκ ὠνόμασται βραχέσι.
And since you add in what you have now said that you are yourself the saviour of this land. λόγῳ is partly instrumental dative, partly governed by ev in ἐπεμβάλλεις.
464.
mvp-comment-251-1
παραινέσαι.. τὰ σύμφορα Το give you advice that will assist you.'
465.
mvp-comment-252-1
προξένει 'Give me friendly instructions. On the uses of this word, see Essay on Language p. 97. It is here specially applicable to the position of Oedipus as a stranger, and of the chorus who are advising him in a matter where they are most of all at home.
466.
mvp-comment-253-1
θοῦ νυν καθαρμὸν τῶνδε δαιμόνων)
Institute a propitiation of these deities. Lit. A purification in relation to them. For the genitive, see Essay on Language $9. p. 12; and for θέσθαι in this sense, O. T. 134, τήνδ ἔθεσθ᾽ ἐπιστροφήν. vuv seems preferable to vûv after the imperative.
467.
mvp-comment-254-1
καὶ κατέστειψας πέδον ὧν (or αὐτῶν) may be supplied from ἐφ᾽ ἅs. The reading is doubtful. κατέστεψας is unmeaning; but κατάστεψον πέδον,
Adorn the ground with garlands, receives some support from the description that follows. For κατέστειψας, which gives the most natural meaning and best rhythm, cp. supra 56, ὃν δ' ἐπιστείβεις τόπον. And for the thought, cp. supr. 84, 5 and note.
470.
mvp-comment-255-1
ἐνεγκοῦ
Have brought. ferendam cura.
470.
mvp-comment-255-2
δι᾽ ὁσίων χειρῶν θιγών The minute directions belong to the ceremonial of the place possibly still in use in the time of Sophocles. ὁσίαι χεῖρες here as in Aesch. Cho. 378, are hands pure from guilt. So Horace, Od. 3. 23. 17,
Immunis aram si tetigit manus, Non sumtuosa blandior hostia Mollivit aversos Penates Farre pio et saliente mica, in lines which also recall the spirit of infra 498-499, ἀρκεῖν γὰρ οἶμαι κἀντὶ μυρίων μίαν | ψυχὴν τάδ' ἐκτίνουσαν, ὴν εὔνους παρῇ. The precept to wash the hands (Schndw.) is probably included, but with a ceremonial significance. Cp. Αj. 655, λύμαθ᾽ ἁγνίσας ἐμά.
472.
mvp-comment-256-1
τέχνη Abstract for concrete. See Essay on Language p. 94; and cp. Phil. 35, 36, φλαυρουργοῦ τινὸς τεχνήματ᾿ ἀι δρός. For the (Epic) form of the sentence, cp. Τr. 752, ἀκτή τις ἐστιν. ἔιθα, κ.τ.λ.
473.
mvp-comment-257-1
κρᾶτα is probably plural here, as in Pind. Fr. 3 (Eustath. 1715. 63), τρία κρᾶτα. Cp. the Homeric κράατα.
473.
mvp-comment-257-2
ἀμφιστόμους
Projecting on either side, rather than On either side the brim. See L. and S. s. ν. στόμα IΙI. The latter part of the compound is unemphatic.
475.
mvp-comment-258-1
οἰός * γε νεαρᾶς *εὐπόκῳ μαλλῷ λαβών] The insertion of γε (Heath) is the most probable of the various corrections (νεώρου, νεώρους, νεώρας, νεώρει, ν ογνῆς, νεαλοῦς, γε νεαρᾶς) of the first part of this line. γε refers to κρόκαισιν, which it confirms and amplifies. Yes, with a fillet of wool from a young ewelamb.' νεοτόκῳ,
lately born, would express the feeling of ceremonial superstition with more exactness than veo- πόκῳ, which is made up by combining the MS. readings, and may mean either
newly-clipped (an etymological use, for which cp. Essay on Language pp. 99, 100) or consisting of young wool.' But there is no motive for a twofold resolution (2) in this line, and εὐπόκῳ gives a simple and natural sense. Cp. Τr. 675, ἀργῆτ᾽ οἰὺς εὐείρῳ πύκῳ. Supposing ve to have crept in from the previous word, the variation of reading may be easily accounted for.
477.
mvp-comment-259-1
χοὰς χέασθαι.. Hom. Od. 10. 518, χοὴν χεῖσθαι. Cp. Crat. Com. 2. p. 151, ἄγε δὴ πρὸς ἕω πρῶτον ἁπάντων ἵστω καὶ λάμβανε χερσὶν | σχῖνον μεγάλην: Sen. Oed. 338,
Altum taurus attollens caput primos ad ortus positus expavit diem. The place of offering was probably on the eastward side of the hill. See Introd. p. 273.
478.
mvp-comment-260-1
ἦ.. χέω Cp. supr. 195, ἢ ᾿σθῶ;
479.
mvp-comment-261-1
πηγάς El. 894-895, νεορρύτους | πηγὰς γάλακτος.
479.
mvp-comment-261-2
τὸν τελευταῖον δ' ὅλον i. e. τὸν τελευταῖον κρωσσὸν χέοις ἂν ὅλον.
480.
mvp-comment-262-1
With what am I to fill this that I may make the libation?" πλήσας is suggested by ὅλον. θῶ would properly govern χοήν (cp. 466), for which κρωσσών is substituted. Three vessels are to be used for the threefold libation (Ant. 431, χοαῖσι τρισπώνδοισι τὸν νέκυν στέφει); two partly filled with pure water, the third, filled to the brim with water and honey.
481.
mvp-comment-263-1
The asyndeton as elsewhere in enumeration. Cp. supr. 17. Instead of a third element, which the hearer might have expected, the prohibition of wine is interposed.
481.
mvp-comment-263-2
μελίσσης For the metonymy, see Essay on Language p. 81. Schol. ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ ποιοῦν.
481.
mvp-comment-263-3
τος τὸ ποιούμενον. καὶ ἐν Ἐρασταῖς: Γλώσσης μελίσσης τῷ κατερρυηκότι.
481.
mvp-comment-263-4
μηδέ
But not. Cp. 405, note.
482.
mvp-comment-264-1
The earth covered with dark leaves;' whether referring to the dark greensward (a slight variation of γαῖα μέλαινα), or to the deep shades of Colonus. Cp. supr. 157 ff.
483.
mvp-comment-265-1
ἐξ ἀμφοῖν χεροῖν Οn both sides.' For αὐτῇ = εἰς αὐτήν, see Essay on Language § 11. p. 18. Philochorus quoted by Schol. on l. 100: οὐ μόνον θυσίας νηφαλίους, ἀλλὰ καὶ ξύλα τινά.
484.
mvp-comment-266-1
τάσδ᾽ ἐπεύχεσθαι λιτάς Το add this prayer.' Cp. O. T. 1275 and note.
485.
mvp-comment-267-1
μέγιστα γάρ The prayer appears to Oedipus more important than the external rites, which, however, he is ready to fulfil. τούτων is neuter.
487.
mvp-comment-268-1
σωτήριον The passive use of adjectives in -τήριος is rare, and it has been attempted to give σωτήριον here an active meaning, inasmuch as Oedipus proclaims himself the saviour of Athens. But the chorus have very imperfectly realised this conception, and the expression of it would have seemed to them little in accordance with the humility of a prayer. The terms of petition are general, like the description of the previous ceremony. That they would receive their suppliant and afford him safety. See Essay on Language p. 99.
488.
mvp-comment-269-1
αἰτοῦ σύ γ', αὐτός γε adds a slight emphasis to the reply.
489.
mvp-comment-270-1
μηκύνων βοήν
Speaking aloud. Cp. the Homeric μακρὸν ἀϋτεῖν, and the like. According to Polemo, quoted by the Scholiast on this line, the sacred rites of the Eumenides were entrusted to the family of the Ἡσυχίδαι.
491.
mvp-comment-271-1
θαρσῶν ἂν παρασταίην
I will defend you without fear. Said in reply to ll. 458-459. For the fears of the chorus, cp infr. 1483-1485.
494.
mvp-comment-272-1
χώ τι δεῖ πρόστασσε
And appoint us what we must do. For the order of words, see Essay on Language $ 41. P. 77.
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.
504.
mvp-comment-278-1
χρῆ ᾿σται is equivalent to a future of χρή.
Where I am to find. This form, which occurs also in a fragment of the Triptolemus quoted by the Scholiast on this passage, Fr. 539, is variously explained as a contraction for χρεία ἔσται or for χρὴ ἔσται or χρῆ ἔσται, the form χρή or χρῆ being differently regarded as a primitive indeclinable noun, whence also χρῆν and χρῆναι, or as a contraction of χρεία. Linwood conjectures ἵνα χρῆ ᾿σταί μ' ἐφευρεῖν ταῦτα. But Ismene's perplexity is more simply expressed in the text.
504.
mvp-comment-278-2
κείται.
505.
mvp-comment-279-1
τοὐκεῖθεν ἄλσους Sc. ὁ τόπος
506.
mvp-comment-280-1
ἔποικος
A resident, who had charge of the sacred utensils, etc.
509.
mvp-comment-281-1
οὐδ᾽ εἰ πονῇ τις On the meaning of the subjunctive with εἰ, see Essay on Language § 27. p. 44. For the reading of Par. A, cp. O. T. 317, and v. rr. Ismene having gone to perform the sacred rites, there is a further pause before the arrival of Theseus. 510, foll. The pause is filled by a short lyrical interchange between the several members of the chorus and Oedipus, who is thus brought to make confession while Ismene performs her offering. But his confession is a defence. The chorus, although importunate, are gentler than in the former scene. The opening line is scanned as choriambic, although it may perhaps be questioned whether the Ionic metre, which occurs above in 11. 212 ff., is not more suitable here and in 517. The other metres in the Ist strophe and antistrophe are logaoedic, with one iambic colon (518 = 532); those of the 2nd strophe and antistrophe are mostly iambic. The scheme is the following :clcclcla=alalcc-a (?) 기기 9-
509.
mvp-comment-281-2
The distribution of the parts amongst the members of the chorus is very uncertain. Most probably the coryphaeus speaks throughout the Ist strophe, and then the others interpose in turn.
510.
mvp-comment-282-1
δεινὸν μὲν τὸ πάλαι κείμενον ἤδη κακόν, ὦ ξεῖν, ἐπεγείρειν Cp. the proverb, μὴ κινεῖν κακὸν εὐ κείμενον (Plat. Phil. p. 40), and Plat. Legg. 2. 657 E (of the poet's power of recalling the feelings of youth), τοῖς δυναμένοις ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν νεύτητα μνήμῃ ἐπεγείρειν.
514.
mvp-comment-283-1
The hapless misery which you encountered. arising ing without remedy.' For the genitive (= περὶ τᾶς, κ.τ.λ.), see Essay on Language § 9. p. 13, and cp. El. 317, τοῦ κασιγνήτου τί φής;
514.
mvp-comment-283-2
ξυνέστας] Cp Hdt. 7. 170, λιμῷ συνεστεῶτας : 8.74, τοιούτῳ πόνῳ συνέστασαν.
515.
mvp-comment-284-1
πρὸς ξενίας An extension of the common idiom, πρὸς θεῶν, etc. Essay on Language § 19. p. 29, and cp. Aj. 492-493, πρός τ' ἐφεστίου Δίος | εὐνῆς τε τῆς σῆς, ἡ συνηλλάχθης ἐμοί.
516.
mvp-comment-285-1
τᾶς σᾶς *ἃ πέπονθ᾽ ἀναιδή This conjectural reading. as well as the other which has been proposed, τᾶς σᾶς, πέπον, ἔργ᾿ ἀναιδῆ, has been suggested partly by the metrical difficulty, and party by the fact that the Scholiast appears to have taken ἀναιδή (ἔργα) to be governed by ἀνοίξῃς. Schol. μὴ πρὸς τῆς σῆς ξενίας ἀναπτύξῃς μου τὰ ἀναιδῆ ἔργα. Against πέπον it may be argued (1) that the word occurs nowhere in tragedy, (2) that where it occurs in Homer it is accompanied either by a noun in the vocative, or by the interjection 4, (3) that it is improbable that the first person (represented in the Scholion by μου) should be omitted. The word πέπονθα is in accordance with the spirit of other passages of the play (268, 537), and should be retained. ἃ πέπονθα is substituted for ἔργα, to which ἀναιδῆ is added as an emphatic epithet,
My unwitting deeds of shame. Hence ἔργα was naturally inserted as a gloss. Besides the metrical objection to the MS. reading. ἀνοίξῃς requires an object, and the asyndeton takes from the smoothness of the passage without increasing its force.
517.
mvp-comment-286-1
τό τοι πολὺ.. ἀκοῦσαι
I would hear once for all aright what is matter of loud and still undying rumour.
517.
mvp-comment-286-2
πολύ, i. e. σφόδρα λεγόμενον: cp. 305.
517.
mvp-comment-286-3
πολὺ γάρ, ὦ γέρον, τὸ σὸν ὄνομα, κ.τ.λ.
517.
mvp-comment-286-4
μηδαμὰ λήγον Cp. the similar expression, of a report still rife, in O. T. 731, ηὐδᾶτο γὰρ ταῦτ᾽ οὐδέ πω λήξαντ᾿ ἔχει. On the double accusative arising from the cognate use, see Essay on Language p. 25. For ξέν᾽ perhaps ξεῖν᾽, cp. infr. 530.
519.
mvp-comment-287-1
στέρξον
Be content, i. e. μὴ ἀγανακτοῦ ἐρόμενος ταῦτα. It is doubtful whether this line should be altered by adding δ' or γ', reading παῖδες with the MSS. in l. 532, or we should read as in the text. Cp. infr. 1692 and note. For _ _ u u _ _ in a similar passage, see El. 828, 830, 841, 843.
521.
mvp-comment-288-1
ἤνεγκον κακότατα
I was the victim of wretchedness. For the use of φέρω, cp. Ο. Τ. 1320, διπλά σε πενθεῖν καὶ διπλᾶ φέρειν κακά.
521.
mvp-comment-288-2
ἤνεγκον *ἑκὼν μέν] If this reading is adopted, it must be acknowledged that we have here a trace of the philosophical ἀπορία (already suggested by the Epic oxymoron ἑκὼν ἀέκοντί γε θυμῷ) which is treated at length in Plato (Legg. 860, 867 A) and Aristotle (Eth. N. 3. 1), viz. whether a man acts voluntarily when he is ignorant of the circumstances. See Introd. p. 270. Oedipus must be supposed to mean that in killing Laius and in marrying Jocasta he had acted with a right good will (ср. О. Т. 422-423, τὸν ὑμέναιον ὃν δόμοις | ἄνορμον εἰσέπλευσας, εὐπλοίας τυχών), but that as he acted in ignorance, the actions were not his deliberate choice.
521.
mvp-comment-288-3
ἄκων is certainly wrong and is due to some reminiscence of l. 694. Cp. Eur. Ι. Τ. 512, τρόπον γε δή τινα οὐχ ἑκὼν ἑκών. The expression is more forcible if, by a slight change. for θεὸς ἴστω, θεὸς ἴστωρ is read, as in the text.
523.
mvp-comment-289-1
τούτων δ᾽ αὐθαίρετον οὐδέν For the transposition of the dactyl. in the glyconic line, see Christ's Metrik, § 119. P. 94. To avoid it here, ἐθελητόν, ἀκάθαρτον (G. Wolff), have been conjectured.
524.
mvp-comment-290-1
ἀλλ᾽ ἐς τί
But with regard to what? Sc. ἤνεγκες κακότατα. The curiosity of the chorus becomes impatient and peremptory.
525.
mvp-comment-291-1
κακᾷ μ᾿ εὐνᾷ
By an evil nuptial the city all unknowing bound me in a fatal wedlock. μέν has probably ἐν arisen from a gloss ἐν (κακᾷ μ' εὐνᾷ). Others read κακᾷ μ᾿ ἐν εὐνᾷ and alter l. 513. The correction ἴδριν is unnecessary. Oedipus has already proclaimed his own unconsciousness, and there is a certain point in adding that the citizens were equally unconscious of the nature of their gift. Cp. infr. 983, οὐκ εἰδότ᾽ οὐκ εἰδυῖα.
526.
mvp-comment-292-1
γάμων ἐνέδησεν ἄτᾳ is Homeric. Il.2. 111, Ζεύς με μέγα Κρονίδης ἄτῃ ἐνέδησε βαρείῃ.
527.
mvp-comment-293-1
Didst thou, as I hear it told. consummate a dishonoured nuptial with thine own mother?' ματρόθεν, i. e. πρὸς ματρός,
in that relationship! !' The force of the middle voice in ἐπλήσω is
ethical (Essay on Language § 31. p. 52):
Didst thou to thy confusion, etc. For πίμπλημι here, cp. Aesch. Pers. 132, λέκτρα δ᾽ ἀνδρῶν πόθῳ πίμπλαται δακρύμασιν.
532.
mvp-comment-294-1
My children and my curses.' Because sprung from an incestuous marriage. There is no allusion to the sons.
533.
mvp-comment-295-1
ματρὸς κοινᾶς
Of a mother who was also mine. It has been urged in defence of the MS. arrangement of the persons, that the responsive ἰὼ δῆτα is more suitable to the chorus. But in the present instance it belongs to the chorus to utter expressions of horror, and to Oedipus to confirm them. Cp. supr. 532, ὦ Ζεῦ.
534.
mvp-comment-296-1
This line has been variously altered, but even if the true reading is lost. the general meaning is probably retained. The mistake about the persons has very naturally arisen from the suddenness with which Oedipus takes up the word. This helps to indicate the excitement of the situation.
535.
mvp-comment-297-1
κοιναί γε γε assents to what the chorus were about to say, which Oedipus emphasises by the words κοιναί γε πατρός. On κοιναί, see Essay on Language p. 95.
Own sisters of their own sire.
536.
mvp-comment-298-1
ἰὼ δῆτα Cp. Εl. 842, ΗΛ.
536.
mvp-comment-298-2
φεῦ. ΧΟ. φεῦ δῆτ᾽· ὀλοὰ γάρ: Eur. Troad. 1230, ΕΚ. οἴμοι. ΧΟ. οἴμοι δῆτα σῶν ἀλάστων κακῶν.
536.
mvp-comment-298-3
μυρίων γ᾽ ἐπιστροφαὶ κακῶν
Everrenewed onset of unnumbered woes. The image is that of an enemy who harasses an army by returning repeatedly to the attack with fresh forces. Cp. infr. 1045, δαΐων ἀνδρῶν .. ἐπιστροφαί, Αr. Eq 244, ἐπαναστρέφου. For the nominative after the interjection, cp. Tr. 1046-1047, ὦ .. μοχθήσας ἐγώ.
537.
mvp-comment-299-1
I have suffered woes that will not be forgotten.' ἄλαστα is first governed by ἔπαθον, then ἔχειν is added pleonastically, and ἄλαστα is resumed. Sc. ἔπαθον ἄλαστα, ὥστε ἄλαστα ἔχειν τὰ παθήματα.
539-541.
mvp-comment-300-1
I received a gift, which would that I, the much-enduring one, had never so benefited the state as to receive from her the privilege of choosing.' i. e. Would that I had not benefited the state so as to be honoured with the choice gift of Jocasta. In this rendering. which takes the words in a natural order, it is assumed that μή, with the past tenses of the indicative in a relative clause, may express the wish to reverse a fact in past time. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 363-366, μηδ' ὑπὸ κ.τ.λ. .. τέθαψαι. The analogy of the uses of the historical tenses with εἰ, ἄν, ἵνα, ὡς, ὅπως, to express an impossible supposition, inference, motive, or result, is all that can be urged in favour of this, except the comparison of a passage which has generally been thought corrupt, infr. 1713, ἰώ, μὴ γᾶς ἐπὶ ξένας θανεῖν ἔχρηζες. It may be further suggested, that in both these instances the unusual construction is assisted by an echo (or harmonic) of ὤφελον in ἐπωφέλησα, and of ἐχρῆν in ἔχρηζες. If this hypothesis is rejected, we must fall back on Hermann's interpretation of the words:
Accepi, inquit Oedipus, donum, uxorem dicens, quod ego ut nunquam a civitate debuerim accipere, ei profui, i. e. quod ut mihi non unquam daret civitas, merui. quum eam a Sphinge liberavi. ταλακάρδιος is a poetical expansion of τάλας: cp. πυκνόπτερος, μελάμφυλλος, etc.
544.
mvp-comment-301-1
παπαῖ Properly an exclamation of pain; here transferred to mental suffering, in accordance with the metaphor in έπαισας. The punctuation of the line is uncertain, i. e. it is uncertain whether δευτέραν is an epithet of νόσον, οι πληγήν is to be supplied with δεντέραν, and ἐπὶ νόσῳ νόσον is in apposition to the sentence. For ἐπὶ νόσῳ νόσον, cp. Hom. Il. 14.130, μή που τις ἐφ᾽ ἕλκεῖ ἕλκος ἄρηται.
545-546.
mvp-comment-302-1
ἔχει.. πρὸς δίκας τι i. e. τὸ ἐμὸν ἔχει τι πρὸς δίκας.
My case has some defence, something to be urged on the ground of justice. Cp. Ant. 598, οὐδ᾽ ἔχει λύσιν. Eur. Suppl. 64, ἔχομεν δ᾽ ἔνδικα.
546.
mvp-comment-303-1
τί γάρ reiterates the expostulation of the chorus. τί γάρ has a different shade of meaning in each of the three lines, 538, 542.546: (1)
Why, what then? (2)
But what of this? γάρ implying
that excuse will not stand. (3) Why, what is that?' 547. The MS. reading ἄλλους is condemned both by sense and metre, but the correction is uncertain. ἁλούς, adopted in the text. may be explained in two ways, (1) ἁλοὺς ἐφόνευσα = ἑάλων φονεύσας, manifesto occidi, I murdered, and was convicted of the murder:' ἁλούς proleptic. Essay on Language § 38. p. 70. Cp. Ο. Τ. 1213. ἐφεῦρέ σ᾽ ἄκονθ᾽ ὁ πάνθ᾽ ὁρῶν χρόνος. (2)
Being overtaken (by destiny) I did commit the murder. The former meaning gives rather a better force to καί, and is on the whole preferable, although the construction of the participle is more natural in the latter interpretation. Porson conjectured ἄνους, (3)
being infatuated. but this implies a degree of self-accusation, from which Oedipus in the Oed. Col. is wholly free.
546.
mvp-comment-303-2
καὶ ὤλεσα The pleonastic expression has the solemnity of a legal indictment. Oedipus, while pleading innocence of intention, will not soften the actual crime.
548.
mvp-comment-304-1
νόμῳ δὲ καθαρός The construction of these words is absorbed in the remaining clause. The word καθαρός was specially applicable to one who had been acquitted of the crime of homicide. Cp. Plato, Rep. 5. 451 Β, ἀλλὰ μέντοι, εἶπον, καθαρός γε καὶ ἐκεῖ ὁ ἀφεθείς, ὡς ὁ νόμος λέγει: Legg. 9. 865 Β, ἰατρῶν δὲ περὶ πάντων, ἂν ὁ θεραπευόμενος ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν ἀκόντων τελευτᾷ, καθαρὸς ἔστω κατὰ νόμον. ὡς ὁ νόμος λέγει and κατὰ νόμον in these passages answer to νόμῳ here. Essay on Language § 14. p. 20.
550.
mvp-comment-305-1
κατ᾿ ὀμφὴν σὴν *ἀποσταλείς
Brought by thy voice, i. e. by the message sent at the request of Oedipus (1.70). The word ὀμφή has sacred associations, and is used in this play, supr. 102, of Apollo; infr. 1351, of Oedipus again: not elsewhere by Sophocles.
550.
mvp-comment-305-2
ἀποσταλείς, the reading of Turnebus, is nearer to the indications of our present MSS. than any other correction, and gives a better sense than ὃς ἐστάλη οι ἐφ᾽ ἁστάλη.
See where our lord Theseus, Aegeus son, hath set forth at thy word, and is now come.' 551. The words from ἔν τε to διαφθοράς are introduced by an afterthought, and modify the rest of the sentence. Cp. Phil. 1411, foll., αὐδὴν τὴν Ἡρακλέους ἀκοῇ τε κλύειν λεύσσειν τ᾽ ὄψιν. See Essay on Language p. 65 f. VOL. I. Z
553.
mvp-comment-306-1
ὁδοῖς ἐν ταῖσδε
In thy present coming. Cp. Εl. 68, δέξασθέ μ᾽ εὐτυχοῦντα ταῖσδε ταῖς ὁδοῖς.
555.
mvp-comment-307-1
σκευή
Thine apparel: which, though travel-stained, is that of a noble Theban.
556.
mvp-comment-308-1
ὃς εἰ A pronominal expression to avoid the repetition of the name. Ср. О. Т. 1036, ὥστ᾽ ὠνομάσθης ἐκ τύχης ταύτης ὃς εἶ.
556.
mvp-comment-308-2
καί σ᾽ οἰκτίσας, κ.τ.λ. With a native generosity which Oedipus fully acknowledges (infr. 570), Theseus is ready to protect Oedipus, although not ignorant of the nature of his misfortunes (supr. 305 ff., 551 ff.). But he imagines himself to be conferring a favour, and knows not that the blind wayfarer has more to give than to receive. Once more, therefore, we have a fine contrast between the real and the apparent situation.
557.
mvp-comment-309-1
θέλω *' περέσθαι This correction of the Laurentian reading (=τὶ) is more probable than the reading of B, in which o' is awkwardly repeated. For the aphaeresis, cp. Phil. 592, λέγω. 'πὶ τοῦτον, κ.τ.λ.
560.
mvp-comment-310-1
δεινήν, κ.τ.λ. Either (r1) 'For that were a hard task indeed from which, on your mentioning it, I should recoil.' Or (2)
For that would be a terrible fortune, of which the mention would make me shrink from giving relief. The latter rendering gives a more natural meaning to πρᾶξις (cp. Hdt. 3. 65, ἀπέκλαιε πᾶσαν τὴν ἑωυτοῦ πρήξιν), and is more in accordance with what follows (ὑπεκτραποίμην, κ.τ.λ.). And the usual question addressed to suppliants is,
What is your misfortune? rather than, What would you have us do?' For the sentiment, cp. Eur. Suppl. 339. 40, (Θησ.) ὡς τοῖς ἐμοῖσιν οὐχὶ πρόσφορον τρόποις | φεύγειν τὰ δεινά. For the emphatic use of the adj., see Essay on Language p. 80.
562.
mvp-comment-311-1
ὡς οἶδά γ᾽ αὐτός
Yes, for I know, that I myself was brought up a stranger, as thou art now. Theseus was reared by his grandfather Pittheus at Troezen.
563.
mvp-comment-312-1
χώς τις πλεῖστ᾽ ἀνήρ i. e. καὶ ὥς τις ἀνὴρ πλεῖστα (sc. ἤθλησεν). Ι have laboured, as any one hath laboured most:' i. e. as much as any one (ut qui plurima). The more usual expression would be ὅσα τις πλεῖστα.
564.
mvp-comment-313-1
ἤθλησα κινδυνεύματα Cognate accusative.
564.
mvp-comment-313-2
ἐν τὠμῷ κάρᾳ
In my own person : i. e. they were dangers to my own life which I met by my own exertions, referring to the adventure with Sciron, etc. For ev, cp. the expression, ἐν τῷ Καρὶ ὑμῖν ὁ κίνδυνοos, Plat. Lach. 187 B.
565.
mvp-comment-314-1
ὥσπερ σὺ νῦν For the nominative, cp. Aj. 525, ἔχειν σ᾽ ἂν οἶκτον ὡς κἀγώ: Il. 6.477, γενέσθαι | παῖδ᾽ ἐμόν, ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ.
568.
mvp-comment-315-1
σοῦ Essay on Language p. 13, 4 a.
569-570.
mvp-comment-316-1
Theseus, your nobleness in brief speech hath spared me the necessity of saying much.' Either (1) βραχέα is the subject of δεῖσθαι, or (2) the object of φράσαι, the subject of δεῖσθαι being τὸ πρᾶγμα. The object of παρῆκεν is absorbed in the following clause. Cp. Eur. Fr. 310, πάρες .. ὑπερβῶαι . . νάπη. For δέομαι passive, cp. Hdt. 4. 11, ὡς ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι πρήγμα εἴη, μηδὲ πρὸς πολλοὺς δεόμενον κινδυνεύειν. Essay on Language § 31. p. 54. δεῖται in Plat. Meno, 79 C, although impersonal (sc. τὸ πρᾶγμα ἢ ὁ λόγος), is middle voice and not passive as here.
572.
mvp-comment-317-1
καὶ γῆς ὁποίας ἦλθον This was implied in σκευή,
l. 555
.
574.
mvp-comment-318-1
χώ λόγος διέρχεται ‘And our conference draws to an end." This is the reading of the best MSS. διοίχεται, which is much commoner in this sense (cp. e. g. Eur. Suppl. 530), is given as a various reading in Par. A, and appears in the text of two other MSS. διέρχε ται is best supported by comparing Dem. 541. 22, πάντα δ᾽ ἤδη διεξεληλύθει, and Plat. Rep. 6. 484 Α, διὰ μακροῦ τινος διεξελθόντος λόγου.
577-578.
mvp-comment-319-1
τὰ δὲ .. καλή
But the gain to be obtained from it is better than beauty. Cp. Eur. Fr. 552, νοῦν χρὴ θεᾶσθαι, *νοῦν· τί τῆς εὐμορφίας | ὄφελος, ὅταν μὴ τὰς φρένας καλὰς ἔχῃ; 580-581. For the datives, see Essay on Language § 11. p. 18.
577-578.
mvp-comment-319-2
ἡ σὴ προσφορά 'The advantage which you bring.
583-584.
mvp-comment-320-1
τὰ δ᾽ ἐν μέσῳ, κ.τ.λ. The construction is defined (with ποιεῖ) as the sentence proceeds. For the irregular accusative, see Essay on Language § 15. p. 22.
585.
mvp-comment-321-1
ἐνταῦθα γάρ μοι κεῖνα συγκομίζεται
For in this favour those other offices are comprised; i. e. To assure him burial by the hand of Theseus was to assure him protection from the attempt of Creon.
586.
mvp-comment-322-1
(1)
You have indeed summed up your request in one short word. Or (2) This favour which you ask consists in a little thing:'
in re levi positam gratiam. Ellendt. For (1) cp. Εl. 673, ἐν βραχεῖ ξυνθεὶς λέγω.
587.
mvp-comment-323-1
Yet be advised; this is no trifling matter.' ἁγὼν ὅδε, the struggle or endeavour or peril implied in granting the request.
588.
mvp-comment-324-1
πότερα τὰ τῶν σῶν ἐκγόνων, ἢ μοῦ λέγεις;] In saying this, are you speaking of what relates to your sons, or of something that relates to me?' Theseus is bewildered by the words of Oedipus. Hearing of a contest in connection with the death of Oedipus, he naturally thinks of the impending conflict at Thebes, of which he cannot but have heard something. But, as he afterwards says more explicitly, he does not Z2 see how he is to be involved in this. Cp. Phil. 1384, λέγεις δ' Ἀτρείδαις ὄφελος, ἢ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοὶ τόδε;
589.
mvp-comment-325-1
ἀναγκάζουσι If this is the right reading, which, from the frequent confusion of and o, is not quite certain (cp. 603), the present is used with future meaning, as in Aesch. Prom. 513, ὧδε δεσμὰ φυγγάνω: ib. 525, δεσμοὺς ἀεικεῖς καὶ δύας ἐκφυγγάνω. Cp. Phil. 1379, κἀποσώζοντας νόσου. The subject of κομίζειν (sc. τινά, cp. infr. 933) is to be gathered from the context. They will enforce my being taken thither;' i. e. They will force the consent of Theseus and the Athenians to this.
Universe eos intelligit, qui tradendi Oedipi potestatem habeant. Herm. Another rendering has been proposed - They will use compulsion against me to carry me back thither.' But such a use of ἀναγκάζω with the infinitive is inadmissible.
590.
mvp-comment-326-1
εἰ θέλοντ᾿ ἄν γ᾽, οὐδὲ σοὶ φεύγειν καλόν] The reading of this line is very doubtful, but that of L is as probable as any other. There would seem to be an ellipse of some such words as βούλοιντο κομίζειν or the like. But if they chose to fetch you in case of your being willing to go, then on your part it would not be becoming to remain in banishment.' Cp. Od. 15. 280, οὐ μὲν δή σ' ἐθέλοντά γ᾽ ἀπώσω νηὸς έΐσης. Hes. Op. D. 355. For the ellipse with el, see Essay on Language § 28. p. 47; and cp. Αj. 886, εἴ ποθι πλαζόμενον λεύσσων: Pind. Ol. 2. 56, εἰ δέ νιν ἔχων τις ? And, for av with the present participle, infra 761, κἀπὸ παντὸς ἂν φέρων, κ.τ.λ. Reisig's emendation θέλοντάς γ',
But (consider) whether it be not unbecoming in you to be exiled from them desiring to have you back again, although not convincing, deserves consideration.
591.
mvp-comment-327-1
ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽, ὅτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἤθελον, παρίεσαν This line, at first sight, rather favours the emendation θέλοντάς γ' in 590. But αὐτός =
of my own accord, may distinguish between mere willingness and the spontaneous wish, and the same word has not necessarily the same reference even in two consecutive lines. Cp. supr. 71, μόλοι and note.
592.
mvp-comment-328-1
But then, foolish man, anger in calamity is hurtful.'
593.
mvp-comment-329-1
ὅταν μάθῃς μου • When you have learnt the nature of the case from me.'
594.
mvp-comment-330-1
ἄνευ γνώμης
Without consideration.
596.
mvp-comment-331-1
γένους
Of your birth, rather than
Of your race.
598.
mvp-comment-332-1
τί.. νοσεῖς;
What is this greater than human misery at which you hint?
598.
mvp-comment-332-2
μεῖζον ἢ κατ᾿ ἄνθρωπον, because greater than the extreme calamities which had previously befallen him.
602.
mvp-comment-333-1
Why then should they have you brought, if you are still to live apart from them? For the middle voice of πεμψαίατο, cp. Ο. Τ. 434, σχολῇ σ᾽ ἂν οἴκους τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἐστειλάμην.
603.
mvp-comment-334-1
There is the same variance here as in 589. The future is unobjectionable.
605.
mvp-comment-335-1
In that it is fated for them to be defeated,' either (1) ' in this land' or (2)
by this land. For (1) cp. infr. 1546, μοῖρ᾽ ἀνδρὶ τῷδε τῇδε κρυφθῆναι χθονί, 621-622, ἵν᾽ οὗμος .. νέκυς .. αὐτῶν θερμὸν αἷμα πίεται, 644-646, ὁ χῶρός ἐσθ᾽ ὅδε.. ἐν ᾧ κρατήσω τῶν ἔμ᾽ ἐκβεβληκότων: 786, τῶνδ᾽ ἀπαλλαχθῇ χθονός. In favour of (2) (which the Schol. gives) it may be urged that it makes the rejoinder of Theseus appear more natural.
606.
mvp-comment-336-1
τἀμὰ κἀκείνων For the omission of the article with the second word, cp. Εl. 991, καὶ τῷ λέγοντι καὶ κλύοντι σύμμαχος. Essay on Language § 21, p. 33.
609.
mvp-comment-337-1
συγχεῖ
Obliterates, and so
destroys. Cp. Hdt. 4. 127, συγχέειν τοὺς πατρωΐους τάφους: 7. 115, τὴν ὁδὸν .. οὐ συγχέουσι : Eur. Ι. Α. 37, καὶ ταὐτὰ πάλιν γράμματα συγχεῖς: Plat. Theaet. 194 E, ἀσαφῆ δὲ (ἴσχουσι) καὶ οἱ τὰ ὑγρὰ (ἔχοντες μνημεῖα) ὑπὸ γὰρ τοῦ συγχεῖσθαι ταχὺ γίγνεται ἀμυδρά. Essay on Language p. 105.
609.
mvp-comment-337-2
παγκρατής i. e. πάντα κρατῶν.
Allmastering. Cp. ὁ παγκρατὴς ὕπνος, Αj. 675.
610.
mvp-comment-338-1
φθίνει.. φθίνει Ε. on L. § 44. p.83. 612,13. καὶ πνεῦμα ταὐτὸν .. πόλει] 'And the same spirit does not last between friend and friend, nor between city and city. By a metaphor derived from the most ancient, and not altogether lost in modern times, the feeling of love or hatred is regarded as a breathing or exhalation. Cp. Aesch. Agam. 1206, ἀλλ᾽ ἦν παλαιστὴς κάρτ᾿ ἐμοὶ πνέων χάριν: Aesch. Cho. 34, κότον πνέων: ib. 952, ὀλέθριον πνέουσ᾽ ἐν ἐχθροῖς κότον: Aesch. Suppl. 30, δέξαιθ'.. αἰδοίῳ πνεύματι χώρας: Plut. Dion. p. 197, τὸ τῶν δημαγωγῶν πνεῦμα. Hence a change of feeling is further compared to a change of wind, as in Aesch. Ag. 219, φρενὸς πνέων δυσσεβῆ τροπαίαν. For the thought, cp. Aj. 679 ff. ὅ τ᾽ ἐχθρὸς ἡμῖν ἐς τοσόνδ' ἐχθαρτέος κ.τ.λ.
613.
mvp-comment-339-1
βέβηκεν Almost = ἔστιν, -see Essay on Language p. 97,-but (in relation to πνεῦμα) retaining the notion of fixity or continued movement. For the perfect of βαίνω, expressing a settled state or condition, cp. esp. infra 1684, νῷν δ᾽ ὀλεθρία νὺξ ἐπ᾿ ὄμμασιν βέβακε.
615.
mvp-comment-340-1
καὖθις φίλα It often happens in Greek that both sides of a complex statement are put forward when only one is relevant. Cp. Aj. 679 ff. quoted above, Trach. 134-135, τῷ δ᾽ ἐπέρχεται | χαίρειν τε καὶ στέρεσθαι. But the poet may have chosen to indicate the possibility of future reconcilement between Athens and Thebes.
616.
mvp-comment-341-1
εἰ Emphatic, =κεί. Cp. Ant. 551, εἰ γέλωτ᾽ ἐν σοὶ γελῶ. Essay on Language § 28. p. 47.
616-617.
mvp-comment-342-1
εὐημερεί καλῶς *τό Elmsley mentions that some MSS. give τέ acgive cented, which may be a remaining trace of the original reading τό or τά, εὐημερεῖ καλῶς τε, i. e. quasi eὖ καλῶς τε ἡμερεῖ, is indefensible, and the objection to the tautology καλῶς εὐημερεῖ is unfounded. See Essay on Language § 40. p. 75.
And though on the part of Thebes towards you all be now serene as heart can wish. εὐημερεῖ continues the metaphor in πνεῦμα. τὸ πρὸς σε is epexegetic of the impersonal subject of εὐημερεῖ. All looks fair and well in relation to you:' or (bringing out the image a little more),
There is no cloud in the heavens between Thebes and you. For the construction, cp. supra, πρὸς πόλιν πόλει, and Hdt. 3. 49. εἰ μέν νυν Περιάνδρου τελευτήσαντος τοῖσι Κορινθίοισι φίλα ἦν πρὸς Κερκυραίους.
617-618.
mvp-comment-343-1
μυρίας .. ἰών
There are countless nights and days which time begets in his onward course. For the form of sentence. cp. El. 1364-1366, τοὺς γὰρ ἐν μέσῳ λόγους, πολλαὶ κυκλοῦνται νύκτες ἡμέραι τ᾽ ἴσαι, αἱ ταῦτά σοι δείξουσιν, Ηλέκτρα, σαφή-a passage which also illustrates the present tense, as used of something future but certain.
619-620.
mvp-comment-344-1
ἐν αἷς .. δεξιώματα
In which they will sunder with the sword on slight pretext your now well-plighted fellowship. The letter corresponding to a in L is rather an unfinished ∞ ( x ) than an a.
620.
mvp-comment-345-1
ἐκ σμικροῦ λόγου
Out of a small occasion. Cp. Εl. 415-416, πολλά τοι σμικροὶ λόγοι | ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς.
621.
mvp-comment-346-1
ἵν'
On the very spot where. 623. Cp. Aj. 783, εἰ Κάλχας σοφός.
624.
mvp-comment-347-1
τἀκίνητα For κινεῖν of breaking silence, cp. Ant. 1060, τἀκίνητα διὰ φρενῶν: Ο. Τ. 354, οὕτως ἀναιδῶς ἐξεκίνησας τόδε | τὸ ῥῆμα; 625-626. τὸ σὸν μόνον | πιστὸν φυλάσσων] Either, (1) ‘Only keeping care- fully thine own good faith, or (with πιστόν as supplementary predicate), (2)
Only keeping thine own part faithful. The position of πιστόν favours (2).
630.
mvp-comment-348-1
ἐφαίνετο is subjective middle.
630.
mvp-comment-348-2
ἡ δορύξενος ἑστία The hearth of warlike friendship, the article introducing a general notion, as in Tr. 398, τὸ πιστὸν τῆς ἀληθείας. See Essay on Language § 21. p. 34. The abstract is express-
Declared on his own part, or
Declared through the concrete; i. e. ἑστία is ed himself ready to perform (ἐφαίνετο τελῶν). Essay on Language § 31. p. 53, d. Cp. Ο. Τ. 148, ὧν ὅδ᾽ ἐξαγγέλλεται: Aj. 1376-1377, τἀπὸ τοῦδ᾽ ἀγγέλλομαι.. εἶναι φίλος.
632-633.
mvp-comment-349-1
ὅτου.. ἑστία
Whose friendly alliance, first of all, has been ever known amongst us as a common possession; the family of Cadmus being πρόξενοι of Athens and not merely ξένοι of Theseus;
publicum hospitium dicit, ut opponatur ἰδιοξένῳ.
Linw. Or (2), reading ὅτῳ with Suidas, Who, first of all, has a home and place of defence always open to him in our land;' κοινή, in right of a mutual bond. Semper apud se paratum esse Oedipo hospitium pro mutua quadam vel inter ipsos vel inter majores eorum necessitudine.' Herm. Euripides represents Polynices as having been the ξένος of Theseus: Eur. Suppl. 930. For the alliance supposed to exist between Athens and Thebes, cp. supr. 606, 616, 618, infr. 758, 929. used for ξενία, like δόρυ for. πόλεμος. For the expression of a similar feeling, cp. Plat. Legg. 1. 642 Β, τυγχάνει ἡμῶν ἡ ἑστία τῆς πόλεως οὖσα ὑμῶν πρόξενος.
633.
mvp-comment-350-1
αἰέν On all occasions,' i. e. independently of his other claims on us.
634-635.
mvp-comment-351-1
ἔπειτα.. τίνει The sentence returns from the relative to an independent construction. Essay on Language p. 64. Theseus with
noble brevity, (supr. 569), gives two or more reasons in one. Oedipus is (1) an ally, (2) a suppliant claiming Divine protection, (3) he promises to secure victory for Athens.
637.
mvp-comment-352-1
ἔμπαλιν
On the contrary. The conjectural emendation ἔμπολιν (Musgr.) is unnecessary, and if it were accepted the opposition of clauses would not be sufficiently marked by δé. The word ἔμπολις occurs only once, infra 1156. ('Non opus ἔμπαλιν : fortius ἔμπολιν.' Herm.)
638.
mvp-comment-353-1
εἰ δ΄.. μίμνειν δέ =
But with regard to the particular spot, referring to the comprehensive word χώρᾳ preceding.
640.
mvp-comment-354-1
τούτων, κ.τ.λ. A general apodosis relating to both the preceding clauses is substituted for the apodosis of the latter clause.
640.
mvp-comment-354-2
τούτων . . κρίναντι χρῆσθαι χρῆσθαι, sc. τῷ ἑτέρῳ. To make choice between these alternatives and use the one so chosen.' Cp. Ο. Τ. 640, δρᾶσαι.. δυοῖν ἀποκρίνας κακοῖν.
641.
mvp-comment-355-1
τῇδε Sc. ᾗ ἂν σὺ κρίνῃς. Cp. Εl. 1301-1302, ὧδ᾽ ὅπως καὶ σοὶ φίλον | καὶ τοὐμὸν ἔσται τῇδ᾽.
641.
mvp-comment-355-2
ξυνοίσομαι
I will concur. 647. μέγ᾽ ἂν λέγοις .. συνουσίας] You seem to intimate a great boon which your abode with us will confer.' ἂν λέγοις = ἔοικας λέγειν, cp. El. 1372, οὐκ ἂν μακρῶν ἔθ᾽ ἡμὲν οὐδὲν ἂν λόγων | Πυλάδη, τόδ' εἴη τοὔργον. τῆς συνουσίας, genitive of relation (Essay on Language § 9. p. 13),
A great gift in respect of your dwelling with us.
648.
mvp-comment-356-1
If you abide by your words and make them good to me. τελοῦντι, with σοί, proleptic. Cp. O. Τ. 863, εἴ μοι ξυνείη φέροντι | μοῖρα τὰν εὔσεπτον ἁγνείαν λόγων, κ.τ.λ. Some take 76- λοῦντι as agreeing with μοι (cp. 630). But Oedipus has only to remain where he is. The fulfilment of his promise does not take place till after his death. There is no meaning in a condition which is so far in the future.
650.
mvp-comment-357-1
Cp. the line attributed to Aeschylus, Fr. 385, οὐκ ἀνδρὸς ὅρκοι πίστις, ἀλλ᾿ ὅρκων ἀνήρ.
651.
mvp-comment-358-1
You would gain nought more by that than by my simple word.' 652. Herm. reads άνδρες. But cp. 656, where if the sense was not unfinished the article would be equally required.
654.
mvp-comment-359-1
ὅρα με λείπων
Beware, in leaving me. ἃ.. δρᾶν] Nauck conj. ἃ χρή μ᾿ ὁρᾶν. But such a transition from the idiomatic imperative ὅρα to this rare use of the inf. ὁρᾶν, 'to provide for (Phil. 504, τὰ δείν᾽ ὁρᾶν), is very unlikely. For the use of a general word like δρᾶν in such a connexion, cp. Αj. 1373, σοὶ δὲ δρᾶν ἔξεσθ᾽ ἃ χρῆς. 658, foll. And many threats and many vain words have ere now been uttered in anger:' (Lit. 'Many threats have uttered many vain words:')
but when the mind has power of herself again, nothing remains of all that was so threatened. For ἀπειλαὶ κατηπείλησαν, cp. infr. 794, τὸ σὸν.. στόμα πολλὴν ἔχον στόμωσιν : 779, ὅτ᾽ οὐδὲν ἡ χάρις χάριν φέροι : Plato, Theaet. 153 D, ἕως ἂν ἡ περιφορὰ ἢ κινουμένη, in all of which instances a process is personified and grammatically regarded as the agent. Also infr. 794, for a similar echo of sound. See Essay on Language § 44. p. 83. The conjecture πολλοὶ δὲ πολλοῖς πολλά gives a misplaced emphasis. Qy. πολλοὶ δ᾽ ἀπειλαῖς, κ.τ.λ.?
660.
mvp-comment-360-1
αὑτοῦ
In its own possession. For the genitive as predicate, see Essay on Language § 9. p. 12. A similar emphatic use of αὑτοῦ occurs in Tr. 144, τοιοῖσδε. - χώροισιν αὑτοῦ. 661 ff. And with regard to the Thebans, though they have had the audacity to boast great things about carrying you away, they will find, I am well assured, that the way hither would be over a long and dangerous sea.' δείν] δεῖν' L.
660.
mvp-comment-360-2
αὑτοῦ αὐτοῦ LA.
660.
mvp-comment-360-3
κείνοις is in a twofold construction with ἐπερρώσθη and φανήσεται. ἐπερρώσθη is impersonal, (sc. τὸ λῆμα, ἡ ῥωμή), so that κείνοις ἐπερρώσθη λέγειν is equal το ἐπερρώσθησαν ὥστε λέγειν.
662.
mvp-comment-361-1
τῆς σῆς ἀγωγῆς is a genitive of respect.
664.
mvp-comment-362-1
ἄνευ, having the force of a preposition, adheres closely to the word which follows it, and the spondee in the 5th foot is thus justified. See on 115 supr. ἐν γὰρ τῷ μαθεῖν.
666-667.
mvp-comment-363-1
I am sure that, even in my absence (ὅμως.. ἐμοῦ μὴ παρόντος), my name will guard thee from ill.' There is a pause in the action of the play. Oedipus has now received from Theseus himself the final assurance of rest and protection. The scruples of the chorus have been pacified by the words of the king as well as by Ismene's performance of the sacred rites, and the anxiety of Oedipus has been calmed. Creon is on his way from Thebes, but his approach, though apprehended by Oedipus, is not yet present to the mind of the chorus. It is in this moment of tranquil security that the chorus give their welcome to the stranger, and sing the praises of Colonus and Athens.
668.
mvp-comment-364-1
Couldst thou find a fairer dwelling-place than this bright land? Here the nightingale keeps haunt, and sings in deep impenetrable coverts of green dells, where no sun, nor wind, but only the joyous presence of Dionysus comes. Here daily blooms the saffron and Demeter's flower, nor do the waters of Cephisus fail, nor Aphrodite shun the spot.
668.
mvp-comment-364-2
And there is a better plant than grows in Asian or Dorian soil, that flourishes of itself in this our land, the nurse of childhood, the terror of our foes, the grey-leaved olive, which Zeus and Athena ever protect from harm. Nor has Poseidon left us without his gifts. Our mother-state is famed for horsemanship and famed by sea. Here first the son of Cronos tamed the steed, here swiftly glides the oarèd bark, keeping pace with the multitude of sea-nymphs.
668.
mvp-comment-364-3
The metres of this ode are composed with especial care.
668.
mvp-comment-364-4
The ruling logaoedic rhythm of the 1st strophe is represented by the following line
which, out of 13 lines, holds the Ist, 5th, 7th (and central), 11th, and 13th places. 2 and 12, the second and secondlast lines, also correspond
668.
mvp-comment-364-5
u _ u u _ u _ u _ u
668.
mvp-comment-364-6
In 3, 4, 8, the logaoedic is shortened to the ordinary glyconic metre
668.
mvp-comment-364-7
u _ u u _ u _ _
668.
mvp-comment-364-8
and in 6, to the Pherecratean
668.
mvp-comment-364-9
_ _ u u _ _
668.
mvp-comment-364-10
In 9, the rhythm changes to a purely dactylic movement
668.
mvp-comment-364-11
_ u u _ u u _ u u _ u u
668.
mvp-comment-364-12
which is followed, in 10, by an Iambic dimeter catalectic
668.
mvp-comment-364-13
u _ u _ u _ _
668.
mvp-comment-364-14
which smooths the way for the recurrence to the prevailing rhythm. Cp. supr. 229-236, infr. 1675-1676.
668.
mvp-comment-364-15
The chief movement in the 2nd strophe is choriambic (II. 1, 2, 6, 8,
) varied with iambic and trochaic, which in 3, 5, 7, are combined in the
antispastic or syncopated movement
668.
mvp-comment-364-16
u _ u _ | _ u _ u _ x
668.
mvp-comment-364-17
while 4 is trochaic dim. hyper-catalectic
668.
mvp-comment-364-18
_ u _ u _ u _ u _
668.
mvp-comment-364-19
The composition ends with a glyconic and Pherecratean, 9 and 10, recalling the rhythm of the former strophe.
The rhythm of the 1st strophe is expressive of repose and gladness, that of the 2nd, of triumph (cp. Ant. 139, 153), ending in repose.
668-669.
mvp-comment-365-1
Thou art come, stranger, to the homes of this land famed for steeds, the best homes on earth.
668-669.
mvp-comment-365-2
εὐίππου Cp. supra 59, τόνδ' ἱππότην Κολωνόν, and note. The epithet is intended to apply first and specially to Colonus, and then generally to Athens. εὐίππου τᾶσδε χώρας is attributive to τὰ κράτιστα γᾶς ἔπαυλα. Cp. supra 45, ἕδρας γῆς τῆσδ᾽.
668-669.
mvp-comment-365-3
γᾶς is partitive genitive with κράτιστα. Cf. infra 739, εἰς πλεῖστον πόλεως.
668-669.
mvp-comment-365-4
ἔπαυλα Here generally
dwellings,
homes, with some association from the care of horses, which was an occupation of the Coloniatae. Cf. Aesch. Pers. 870, Θρηκίων ἐπαύλων.
670.
mvp-comment-366-1
τὸν ἀργῆτα Κολωνόν An accusative added epexegetically in the same construction with ἔπαυλα. ἀργῆτα (cp.
670.
mvp-comment-366-2
ἀργήεις, ἀργινόεις),
gleaming, either from the colour of the rock, or rather from the marble structures, such as the altar of Poseidon, which made it conspicuous in the sunlight from a distance.
670-671.
mvp-comment-367-1
ἔνθ᾽ ἁ The addition of the breathing which restores the metre, also, by introducing the article, rather improves the sense. Cp. El. 147, ἀλλ᾿ ἐμέ γ᾿ ὁ στονόεσσ᾽ ἄραρεν φρένας: infra 693, ἁ χρυσάνιος Ἀφροδίτα: 716, ὁ δ᾽ εὐήρετμος. The synaphea is not a strong objection where the metre is continuous, as here, and is at any rate more probable than that a glyconic verse should begin with a dactyl, and θεαῖν, at the end of l. 683, be taken for a monosyllable.
672.
mvp-comment-368-1
θαμίζουσα Il. 18.386, πάρος γε μὲν οὔτι θαμίζεις.
673.
mvp-comment-369-1
χλωραῖς ὑπὸ βάσσαις
In coverts of green glades.ὑπό, with dative=
down in. Cp. Ant. 336-337, περιβρυχίοισιν περῶν ὑπ᾿ οἴδμασιν : Ovid, Fast. 4. 427,
Valle sub umbrosa locus est.
674. τὸν οἰνῶπ᾽ ἀνέχουσα κισσόν]
Remaining constant to the empurpled (wine-coloured) ivy. For this meaning of ἀνέχω, cp. Aj. 211, λέχος δουριάλωτον | στέρξας ἀνέχει: Eur. Hec. 123, ἀνέχων λέκτρ᾽ Ἀγαμέμνων: Pind. Nem. 7.89, εἰ δ᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ θεὸς ἀνέχοι; and especially Aristides,
l. 19
, καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὅσοι θεοφιλεῖς, οὐκ Ἄτη πατεῖ τὰς κεφαλάς, Ἀθηνᾶ δὲ ἀνέχει καὶ ἐμβατεύει. The conjecture νέμουσα (Dind.) is certainly not less questionable than the text. νέμειν γῆν may be said, but hardly νέμειν κισσόν, φυλλάδα. (Cp., however, Ar. Av. 239, ἐπὶ κισσοῦ κλάδεσι νομὸν ἔχει). οἰνῶπα refers to the rich colour of the ivy, as if flushed with wine.
675.
mvp-comment-370-1
ἄβατον θεοῦ φυλλάδα μυριόκαρΔιόνυσος] ἀμφιπόλων πον The inviolable leafy grove, with countless berries, sacred to the God:' referring chiefly to the laurel and olive bushes, for the epithet ἀνήλιον can hardly apply to the vine: cp. supra 17, δάφνης, ἐλαίας, ἀμπέλου. For μυριόκαρπον, cp. O. T. 83. And for θεοῦ φυλλάδα, cp. Trach. 754, βωμοὺς ὁρίζει τεμενίαν τε φυλλάδα.
675.
mvp-comment-370-2
θεοῦ Probably Dionysus, to whom such thickets are sacred, as δενδρίτης θεός. Pind. Fr. 130, δενδρέων δὲ νομὸν Διόνυσος πολυγαθὴς αὐξάνοι. The mention of him is suggested by the ivy, and he is presently spoken of by name as haunting the spot. Cp. the similar introduction of Poseidon in 709, foll., and of Nessus in Tr. 556-558.
676.
mvp-comment-371-1
ἀνήλιον. - χειμώνων Cp. Od. 5. 478 sqq., τοὺς (θάμνους sc.) μὲν ἄρ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἀνέμων διάη μένος ὑγρὸν ἀέντων, | οὔτε ποτ' ἠέλιος φαέθων ἀκτῖσιν ἔβαλλεν, | οὔτ᾽ ὄμβρος περάασκε διαμπερές, ib. 19, 440, ff. For the genitive, see Essay on Language § 10. p. 16.
680.
mvp-comment-372-1
θείαις.. τιθήναις The Nymphs of Nysa, who, according to a legend, were the nurses of the infant Bacchus, Il. 6.132, Διωνύσοιο τιθῆναι. Το the conjecture θεαῖς, which has been suggested for the metre, may be objected, (1) that the fem of θεόs is not elsewhere found as a monosyllable (unless in 683); (2) that the Nymphs are not properly spoken of as θεαί.
680.
mvp-comment-372-2
ἀμφιπολῶν
Careering round. A picturesque inversion, representing the confusion of the Bacchanalian rout, in which it is uncertain who leads and who follows. But qy. ἀμφίπολος, used passively, as in Pind. Ol. 1. 96, τύμβον ἀμφίπολον ἔχων ? 681-693. The antistrophe passes from the wooded hollow to the open height, on which the crocus and narcissus blow: and then to the meadow that is watered by the stream.
681.
mvp-comment-373-1
οὐρανίας ὑπ᾿ ἄχνας ‘By the dew of heaven from above.
682.
mvp-comment-374-1
καλλίβοτρυς With fair clusters,' i. e. with several heads upon a stem.
683.
mvp-comment-375-1
μεγάλαιν θεαΐν The great Goddesses, Demeter and Persephone. See the Hymn to Demeter, 11. 6-18, where Persephone, after gathering crocus and other flowers, is tempted by a narcissus with a hundred heads, which Earth purposely causes to grow, so as to fix the attention of the maiden until Pluto comes. Ancient commentators observed that the chaplet worn in honour of Demeter and Persephone was not one of flowers, but of myrtle, or of ears of grain, and they proposed either to read μεγαλᾶν θεᾶν, referring to the Eumenides, whom Euphorion had described ας ναρκίσσῳ ἐπιστεψέες πλοκαμίδας, or to emphasize ἀρχαῖον, with reference to the former time before Persephone was carried away. But see note on 685.
685.
mvp-comment-376-1
χρυσαυγής Cp. Tennyson, Oenone,
And at their feet the crocus brake like fire.
The Schol. observes that Sophocles in the Niobe makes the 685
687.
mvp-comment-377-1
Κηφισού κηφισσοῦ Β Vat.
687.
mvp-comment-377-2
ἐπινίσσεται ἐπινίσεται L. ἐπινείσεται AR. crocus an emblem of Demeter. οὐδ᾽ ἄϋπνοι κρῆναι μινύθουσιν Κηφισοῦ νομάδες ῥεέθρων] Either (1)
Nor fail the ever-wakeful springs that feed Cephisus stream,' referring to the abundant fountain-heads on the slopes of Parnes: or (2) Nor do the ever-wakeful rills decrease, dispensers of Cephisus' flood,' referring to the system of irrigation (διανομή) that goes on to this day. Although this allusion to an artificial process may seem unpoetical to the modern reader, the latter interpretation agrees better with πεδίων ἐπινίσσεται, besides giving a more definite meaning to νομάδες, and one immediately connected with Colonus. For a similar allusion in lyric poetry, cp. Pind. Ol. 5. 12, καὶ σεμνοὺς ὀχετούς, Ιππαρις οἶσιν ἄρδει στράτον. For the meaning of νομάδες, cp. Plat. Legg. 11. 931 C, δίκαιοι νομεῖς .. ἀγαθῶν, where νομεύς is similarly used.
688.
mvp-comment-378-1
ἀλλ᾽ αἰὲν .. χθονός
But ever, each new day, with quickening power, he (Cephisus) pours his clear waters over the bosom of the plain. ἐπ᾽ ἤματι] Not=ἦμαρ ἐπ᾽ ἤματι ('day after day'), but
on each day, like кат' ἦμαρ. Cp. Heracl. Fr., ἥλιος νέος ἐφ᾿ ἡμερῇ. The hiatus between this and the following line indicates a pause before the change of rhythm.
689.
mvp-comment-379-1
ὠκυτόκος Schol. ὠκύτοκα ποιῶν τὰ πεδία καὶ ἔγκαρπα. Ellendt rightly observes that this explanation may stand although πεδίων is to be joined (in the first instance) with ἐπινίσσεται.
690.
mvp-comment-380-1
For the general use of ὄμβρος for the element of water, cp. O. T. 1428, μήτ᾿ ὄμβρος ἱρός. Ε. on L. p. 98.
691.
mvp-comment-381-1
στερνούχου Cp. Hes. Th. 117, γαῖ᾽ εὐρύστερνος. Schol. ἴσον τῷ γονίμου. Meineke conj. σπερμούχου.
691.
mvp-comment-381-2
οὐδὲ Μουσᾶν, κ.τ.λ. Cp. the praise of Athens in Eur. Med. 830 ff. There was a temple of the Muses, near that of Athena, in the Academy. Paus. 1.30, 2.
692.
mvp-comment-382-1
viv The region,' i. e. Colonus and the neighbourhood.
692.
mvp-comment-382-2
οὐδ᾽ *ἄρ᾽ | ὁ χρυσάνιος Ἀφροδίτα There is some defect in the MS. text, as the hiatus οὐδὲ | å is not admissible between the two logaoedic lines. οὐδέ γ' | ἁ (Brunck), οὐδὲ | μάν (Herm.), have been conjectured. οὐδ᾽ ἄρ᾽ | ἁ may be suggested: ἄpa, i. e, as the beauty of the region testifies.
693.
mvp-comment-383-1
χρυσάνιος Ἀφροδίτα Cp. χρυσόνωτον ἡνίαν, Αj. 847.
694.
mvp-comment-384-1
ἔστιν δ᾽ οἷον . . βλαστόν In expatiating on the glories of their home, the religious mind of the Coloniatae dwells chiefly on the rival gifts of Poseidon, their patron deity, and of Athena, the special patroness of horsemen (infr. 1070), and of the Morian olives (706), as well as of Athens and of the tree in the Acropolis. The chorus are thinking chiefly of their own neighbourhood. Only in ll. 711, 716-9, do they speak of what relates to Athens apart from Colonus. The olive-plant immediately referred to is that in the Academy, mentioned by Pausanias as Division of 698.
694.
mvp-comment-384-2
ἐκχέων Α. having sprung up independently of the one in the Acropolis :-δεύτερον τοῦτο λεγόμενον φανῆναι, Paus. 1. 32. On the sacred feeling attaching to the Athenian olive, see also Hdt. 5. 82, 8. 55. The genitive, γᾶς Ἀσίας, is rather partitive than possessive, and to be taken closely with ἐπακούω.
A thing such as I cannot hear of anywhere in the Asian land, nor as having ever sprung, etc. The participle βλαστόν is introduced by an afterthought in the second clause. The Peloponnese is called a Dorian island by an anachronism similar to that by which the Athenian youth are called Theseidae in 1066. Asia and the Peloponnese are cited as the two rivals of Athenian greatness.
698.
mvp-comment-385-1
φύτευμα is the subject of ἔστιν, although not thought of at the beginning of the sentence.
698.
mvp-comment-385-2
ἀχείρωτον This reading is supported by the remark of Pollux, 2. 154, which probably refers to this passage, ἀχείρωτον δὲ Σοφοκλῆς εἶπε τὸ ἀχειρούργητον. The simpler interpretation, however, is more probable,
unravaged, anticipating the thought in 699 and 702-705.
698.
mvp-comment-385-3
αὐτόποιον
Self-created,
That springeth ever of itself; i.e. That needs not to be renewed by human agency.
700.
mvp-comment-386-1
τᾷδε .. χώρᾳ i. e. (1) Along the banks of the Cephisus: or (2) in Attica generally. Cp. Hdt. 5. 82, λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὡς ἐλαῖαι ἦσαν ἄλλοθι γῆς οὐδαμοῦ κατ᾿ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον, ἡ Ἀθήνῃσι.
701.
mvp-comment-387-1
παιδοτρόφου Simply
childnourishing. Cp. Hes. Op. 226, εἰρήνη δ᾽ ἀνὰ γῆν κουρότροφος. The interpretations which refer to the custom of suspending an olive-crown where a male child was born, or to the propagation of shoots and offsets from the parent stock, are more ingenious than true. For the synecdoche, φύλλον ἐλαίας, cp. Αj. 14, ὦ φθέγμ᾽ Ἀθάνας.
702.
mvp-comment-388-1
τὸ μέν τις οὔ, *νεαρὸς οὔτε γήρα This line seems to have been tampered with by some one who had an ear for the iambic rhythm. The simplest alteration is to omit te and place a comma after οὔ. Which no commander, young or old... For the order of τις οὔ, see Essay on Language § 41. p. 71, and for the omission of the first οὔτε, ib. § 39, p. 67, and Phil. 771, ἑκόντα μήτ᾽ ἄκοντα. For the variety of expression (veapὸς σημαίνων, γήρα σημαίνων), cp. Ant. 808, νέατον φέγγος λεύσσουσαν κούποτ' αὖθις: and for the dative γήρᾳ, which has given offence, Ο.Τ. 172, οὔτε τόκοισιν ἀνέχουσι γυναῖκες. μέν,
assuredly. Cp. El. 1240, τόδε μὲν οὔποτ᾽ ἀξιώσω τρέσαι, κ.τ.λ. Sophocles, in his description, blends the olive of the region, whether that in the temple of Athena Polias in the Acropolis, which Xerxes could not destroy (Hdt. 8.55), or the olives of the Academy which according to Androtion, quoted by the Schol., Archidamus spared, with the olive generally.
703.
mvp-comment-389-1
σημαίνω is used in the Homeric sense of
to command an army. II.16.172, πέντε δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἡγεμόνας ποιήσατο, τοῖς ἐπεποίθει | σημαίνειν. The allusion which has been found in this passage to the invasions of Xerxes and Archidamus, is not improbable.
703.
mvp-comment-389-2
Λακεδαιμόνιοι γὰρ ἐμβαλόντες ἐν τῇ Αττικῇ δέκα μυριάσι Πελοποννησίων καὶ Βοιωτῶν ἡγουμένου Ἀρχιδάμου τοῦ Ζευξιδάμου Λακεδαιμονίων βασιλέως, ἀπέσχοντο τῶν λεγομένων μορίων, Ἀθηνᾷ θύσαντες, (Ἀθηνῶν δείσαντες, Meineke conj.), ὡς Ανδροτίων φησί, Schol. See also the quotation from Istrus in Schol. on 701. The reading of L, εἰσαιὲν ὁρῶν, sustains the choriambic rhythm; and παραπτομένα in the antistrophe is justly suspected. See note on 717.
703.
mvp-comment-389-3
κύκλος Phil. 1338, ὦ τὰ πάντ᾿ ἰδόντες ἀμφ᾿ ἐμοῦ κύκλοι.
705.
mvp-comment-390-1
Μορίου Διός i. e. Zeus regarded as the protector of the μορίαι or sacred olives in the Academy. Cp. Ar. Nub. 1005. Apollodorus, quoted by the Schol., says, περὶ Ἀκαδήμειαν ἐστὶν ὅ τε τοῦ Καταιβάτου Διὸς βωμός, ὃν καὶ Μόριον καλοῦσι, τῶν ἐκεῖ μορίων παρὰ τὸ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερὸν ἱδρυμένων.
706.
mvp-comment-391-1
γλαυκώπις occurs here only in the extant plays of Sophocles. Probably
grey-eyed, cp. γλαυκᾶς supr. 701. Essay on Language § 44. p. 82. a
707.
mvp-comment-392-1
ἄλλον . . εὐθάλασσον
I have yet another mighty praise for this city that hath reared me, the gift of that great deity, to tell, her great pride, that she is renowned for the fairest steeds, the fairest colts, and for glorious sea. εἰπεῖν is added epexegetically in construction with ἔχω. The adjectives, εὔιππον, etc., agree with αὐτήν, which is to be supplied as the object of εἰπεῖν, if indeed some word equivalent to this has not been lost. Porson, to complete the metre, supplied χθονός before αύχημα. But perhaps the line may have stood, δῶρον τοῦ μεγάλου δαίμονος, εἰπεῖν γέ νιν, αὔχημα μέγιστον, κ.τ.λ. ματροπόλει = 'the state our mother.' Cp. 1480, γᾷ ματέρι. The word probably refers to Athens, as presiding over the smaller townships. But in ταίσδε .. ἀγνιαῖς, infr. 715, the neighbourhood of Colonus is meant.
712.
mvp-comment-393-1
For, son of Cronos, it was thou... γάρ is postponed after the vocative.
713.
mvp-comment-394-1
αὔχημ᾿ For the unconscious repetition of aὔχημα, see Essay on Language § 44. p. 84.
714.
mvp-comment-395-1
The dative ἵπποισι depends immediately on κτίσας, and is to be resumed with ἀκεστῆρα.
Having framed for horses the bit, which tames their rage. Cp. Pind. O1. 13. 85, φάρμακον πραῦ τείνων ἀμφὶ γένυι.
715.
mvp-comment-396-1
ταῖσδε κτίσας ἀγυιαῖς
Having instituted in these roads. κτίσας,
having invented and brought into use. ταῖσδε . . ἀγυιαîs]
In the roads about Colonus. The note of the Schol. here is curious: ὁ γὰρ Κολωνὸς ἱππεὺς ὠνομάσθη, παρ' ἃς ἐξεθέμην αἰτίας διὰ τὸν Ἄδραστον (κατ' Ἀνδροτίωνα, Rom. ed.). ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ σεμνότατον ἄγει τὸ πράγμα.
716-719.
mvp-comment-397-1
These lines expand the epithet εὐθάλασσον. 'And the well-plied oar, passing through the sea, flits wondrously by the hand of man, and darts onward, following in the track of innumerable Nereids. ἁλία may be taken either as an attribute of πλάτα, or with the participle.
716.
mvp-comment-398-1
εὐήρετμος Rather from εὖ ἐρέσσω than from εὖ ἐρετμόν. Join
ἔκπαγλα θρώσκει.
716.
mvp-comment-398-2
χερσὶ παραπτομένα has been taken to mean
fitted to the hand. But this is prosaic, and interferes with the figure by which the oar is put for the ship. As in O. T. 17, πτέσθαι may be a syncopated form of πέτεσθαι. But the metre is doubtful, cp. supr. 704.
716.
mvp-comment-398-3
ραϊσσομένα, περιπτυσσσομένα, παραιπεμ πομένα, have been conjectured.
716.
mvp-comment-398-4
πα-
718.
mvp-comment-399-1
ἑκατομπόδων As in ἑκατογκάρανος, ἑκατόγχειρος, ἕκατον is used vaguely to give the impression of multitude. The first part of the epithet is most important, as in πυκνόπτεροι, etc., the second part being chiefly pictorial. An allusion to the number 50 would be an awkward conceit; and the bare mention of an exact number, such as 100, would have no poetic force. 721 ff. Ismene is not yet returned. The dreaded Creon is seen advancing instead. The boast of a
strong dwellingplace, and of the
unconquered olivetree, will now be put to proof. νῦν σοὶ.. δὴ σοί, sc. πάρεστι, cp. Phil. 1165, ἀλλὰ γνῶθ᾽, εὖ γνῶθ᾽, ὅτι σοὶ | κῆρα τάνδ᾽ ἀποφεύγειν. The conjecture σόν in both places is unnecessary. δή emphasizes the whole sentence: cp. Ant. 726, οἱ τηλικοίδε καὶ διδαξόμεσθα δὴ | φρονεῖν, κ.τ.λ. The reading δεῖ may have arisen from the difficulty of σοί, and the unusual position of δή. φαίνειν] Causative, as in Phil. 297, ἔφην᾿ ἄφαντον φῶς.
Cause these words to shine, shine,' i. e. manifest their truth in action : = ἀποδιδόναι ἐναργῆ. Cp. Τr. 239, εὐκταῖα φαίνων: Pind. Nem. 10. 11, Ζεὺς .. τοῦτον κατέφανε λόγον: Hdt. 3. 36, εὔνοιαν φαίνων.
723.
mvp-comment-400-1
ἡμῖν ἡμῖν, the dative of remote reference, has greater liveliness than ἡμῶν, which has been conjectured here.
Here is Creon coming to trouble us.
725.
mvp-comment-401-1
τέρμα τῆς σωτηρίας
The end of safety; i. e. The safety that is the end of my desire.
726.
mvp-comment-402-1
θάρσει, παρέσται
Fear not: you shall have your wish. The same words occur above (305) in a different connection. Elms. prefers κυρῶ to ἐγώ. 728-1043. Creon advances with his two attendants, and deprecating suspicion, attempts to persuade Oedipus to come home to Thebes, for his own and daughters' sake, according to the unanimous wish of the people. Oedipus, who is informed by Ismene, and by the oracles he had formerly received, of the real intention of the Thebans, indignantly resents the cruel meaning of the fair-sounding offer; taunts Creon with hypocrisy, in first banishing him against his will, and now trying to draw him unwillingly from Athens: and utters a curse on Creon and on his sons. altercation continues till Creon throws off the mask of gentleness, avows that he has seized Ismene, and threatens to carry off Antigone. The chorus (834 ff.) expostulate, and call for aid. He per- The
727.
mvp-comment-403-1
γεγήρακεν L. sists, and sends her away by his servants, adding reproaches against Oedipus, and, on the chorus further expostulating, threatens to lay hands on Oedipus, who thus provoked, utters a special curse on Creon. A scuffle ensues between the two old men: Creon taking hold of Oedipus to drag him away. The chorus (877 ff.) again cry aloud for help, and Theseus, who has been sacrificing at a neighbouring altar, enters in haste. On learning what is the matter, he orders the people from the sacrifices to pursue the fugitives, and threatens Creon with arrest if the maidens are not produced immediately. He is sure that Thebes will not resent this. She cannot countenance such violence. Creon then speaks for himself. He could not have supposed that Athens would have cared to protect his kindred, or would have received an incestuous person and a parricide under the shadow of the hill of Ares. Hefurther excuses his assault by the curses of Oedipus. He is in Theseus' hands, but will resist harsh treatment. The mention of hisunwitting crimes calls forth a fresh outburst of passion from Oedipus. Theseus breaks off further conference by peremptorily commanding Creon to show him where the maidens are. Oedipus is left alone with the chorus. Cp. O. T. 512-862.
729.
mvp-comment-404-1
ὁρῶ . . ἐπεισόδου
I see that a sudden fear has overcast your eyes at my coming in. ὀμμάτων is a genitive of place, or of the part affected. For εἰληφότας, cp. Αj. 345, τάχ᾽ ἄν τιν αἰδῶ κἀπ᾿ ἐμοὶ βλέψας λάβοι: Eur. Suppl. 1050. ὀργὴν λάβοις ἂν τῶν ἐμῶν βουλευμάτων | κλύων: Plat. Soph. 243 C, ταὐτὸν τοῦτο πάθος εἰληφότες ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ. And for the whole expression, Aesch. Eum. 407, θαῦμα δ᾽ ὄμμασιν πάρα: Eur. I. A. 1128, Ar. Vesp. 447-
731.
mvp-comment-405-1
μήτ᾿ ἀφῆτ᾽ ἔπος κακόν As often happens, the sentence passes out of the relative construction. Cp. supr. 467.
732.
mvp-comment-406-1
Creon endeavours to allay the alarm occasioned by his coming, and to win confidence by dwelling (1) on his own age and apparent feebleness, (2) on the age and condition of Oedipus, which needed protection at home, (3) on his intention to use persuasion only. (4) on the public authority and responsibility of his mission, (5) on his personal and private motives for undertaking it.
734.
mvp-comment-407-1
εἴ τιν᾿ Ἑλλάδος For the attraction, cp. Aj 488. εἴπερ τινὸς σθένοντος ἐν πλούτῳ Φρυγῶν. Ε. on L. § 35. p. 60.
735.
mvp-comment-408-1
ἄνδρα τόνδε τηλικόνδ᾽ ἀπεστάλην The text, while giving a more natural order of the words than the VOL. I. Aa ï conjecture τηλικόσδ' ἀπεστάλην, is also capable of a suitable meaning. Creon, wishing to show the reasonableness of his coming, points to the extreme age and feebleness of Oedipus as a ground for inducing him to return under the protection of Thebes. There is a peculiar emphasis on the words τηλικόνδε and πείσων, i. e. To induce this poor old man by persuasion only to return home.' For the combination of the demonstrative with the pronominal adj., cp. Phil. 128, τοῦτον τὸν αὐτὸν ἄνδρα: ib. 572 πρὸς ποῖον ἂν τόνδ'..;
738.
mvp-comment-409-1
οὔνεχ᾽ ἡκέ μοι γένει
Since kindred makes it incumbent on me. For ἧκε, the simple for the compound verb, see Essay on Language p. 101-104, and cp. Phil. 141, σὲ δ', ὦ τέκνον, τόδ᾽ ἐλήλυθεν πᾶν κράτος ὠγύγιον. And for a similar use of προσήκει, cp. Hdt. 8. 100, οὐδὲν πρὸς Πέρσας τοῦτο προσήκει τὸ πάθος.
739.
mvp-comment-410-1
εἰς πλεῖστον πόλεως
Above all that are in the city.
742.
mvp-comment-411-1
δικαίως
Rightfully. Cp. Aj. 1108-1110, τόνδε δ'.. εἰς ταφᾶς ἐγὼ θήσω δικαίως.
742.
mvp-comment-411-2
ἐκ δὲ τῶν] Essay on Language § 21. p. 30.
743.
mvp-comment-412-1
πλεῖστον .. κάκιστος Cp. Phil. 631, τῆς πλεῖστον ἐχθίστης ἐμοὶ | κλύοιμ' ἐχίδνης.
745.
mvp-comment-413-1
ὄντα μὲν. ἀλήτην
A stranger, and not only so, but ever wandering.
746.
mvp-comment-414-1
ἐπὶ προσπόλου μιᾶς
With the support of one attendant. ἐπί, as it were
leaning on. The expression is analogous to ὁρμεῖν ἐπ᾿ ἀγκύρας, Hdt. 7.188.
749.
mvp-comment-415-1
ὅσον i. e. εἰς ὅσον, one preposition, as frequently happens, sufficing both for antecedent and relative.
751.
mvp-comment-416-1
τηλικοῦτος
At her age, i. e. just approaching womanhood. Cp. supr. 345-346, ἐξ ὅτου νέας | τροφῆς ἔληξε καὶ κατίσχυσεν δέμας. For the termination, cp. El. 614. 753 ff.
Alas, I have uttered a sad reproach upon thee and me and our whole race. And yet, what is openly displayed cannot be concealed: wherefore do you, Oedipus. be induced by me to return voluntarily to thy city and palace and to hide thy disgrace there. For ἆρα, see Essay on Language § 29. p. 50. Creon professes to be horror-struck at his own words (ἆρ᾽ ἄθλιον τοὔνειδος, κ.τ.λ.): but excuses himself by the publicity which Oedipus gives to their common calamity in wandering from home. It rests with him to bury the reproach within the palace walls, where his daughter at least will find protection, and his kindred will not have the shame of seeing him an outcast. Cp. O. Τ. 1425, foll. τὴν γοῦν .. φλόγα | αἰδεῖσθ᾽ ἄνακτος Ἡλίου, τοιόνδ᾽ ἄγος | ἀκάλυπτον οὕτω δεικνύναι, κ.τ.λ.: Εl. 624-625, σύ τοι λέγεις νιν, οὐκ ἐγώ. σὺ γὰρ ποιεῖς | τοὔργον· τὰ δ᾽ ἔργα τοὺς λόγους εὑρίσκεται.
757.
mvp-comment-417-1
θελήσας
Consenting. Cp. Ο. Τ. 649, πιθοῦ θελήσας, κ.τ.λ.
758.
mvp-comment-418-1
τήνδε τὴν πόλιν φίλως εἰπών First giving words of friendship to this city: for she deserves them well.' giving
759.
mvp-comment-419-1
ἡ δ᾽ οἴκοι Sc. πόλις, cp. supr. 433, τὴν .. αὐτίχ᾽ ἡμέραν. ‘But the city you have left behind, which so long nourished you, has by right a stronger claim to be reverenced by you.'
760.
mvp-comment-420-1
δίκῃ Essay on Language § 14. p. 20.
760.
mvp-comment-420-2
σέβοιτο For the passive, which occurs here only, see Essay on Language § 31. p. 54.
760.
mvp-comment-420-3
πάλαι i. e. in his prosperity, which is now regarded as long past.
761-762.
mvp-comment-421-1
κἀπὸ .. ποικίλον
Who out of every cause wouldst bring some subtle fabrication of a just plea.Cp. infr. 806-807, ἄνδρα δ᾽ οὐδέν᾽ οἶδ᾽ ἐγὼ | δίκαιον, ὅστις ἐξ ἅπαντος εὖ λέγει. The present participle, as in Phil. 1052, νικᾶν γε μέντοι πανταχοῦ χρήζων ἔφυν, is used to express a quality without reference to time (Essay on Language § 32. p. 55), and is combined with ἄν, so that ἂν φέρων = ὅστις ἂν φέροις.
763.
mvp-comment-422-1
ταῦτα is cognate or adverbial accusative. Herm. reads καί με. But for the slight emphasis on the pronoun, see Essay on Language § 41. p. 78 €.
764.
mvp-comment-423-1
In a matter, in which I should be most vexed if I were caught. ἐν οἷς = ἐν τούτοις ἐν οἷς. In that particular in which, i. e. in his relation to Thebes and to his sons, in which he was most bent on continuing the present estrangement.
765.
mvp-comment-424-1
This is brought in to explain δεύτερον in 763.
765.
mvp-comment-424-2
τοῖσιν οἰκείοις κακοῖς
When I was absorbed in my own personal sorrows. Ср. О. Т. 1414-1415, τἀμὰ γὰρ κακὰ | οὐδεὶς οἷός τε πλὴν ἐμοῦ φέρειν βροτῶν. Probably not
my self-inflicted evils, although this might be supported by comparing El. 215, οἰκείας εἰς ἄτας : Αj. 919. ἀπ᾿ οἰκείας σφαγῆς.
768.
mvp-comment-425-1
ἡνίκ᾽ ἤδη μεστὸς ἢ θυμούμενος Cp. Dem. de Falsa Legat. 1175-1174, ἐπειδὴ δὲ μεστὸς ἐγένετο ἀγανακτῶν.
769.
mvp-comment-426-1
The line καὶ μάνθανον τὸν θυμὸν ἐκδραμόντα μοι, repeated here from supr. 438. has been rejected by all recent editors. Cp. O. T. 1200. and v. rr.
770.
mvp-comment-427-1
τότ᾽ ἐξεώθεις κἀξέβαλλες
Then you began to thrust me forth and banish me.
771.
mvp-comment-428-1
τὸ συγγενές τοῦτ'
The tie of kindred of which you now speak; supr. 738 Cp. Aesch. Prom. 39, τὸ συγ γενές τοι δεινόν.
773.
mvp-comment-429-1
καὶ γένος τὸ πᾶν 'And the Aa2 whole people,' i.e not only the authorities of the city (Theseus), but the inhabitants with one consent. Cp. Aj. 861, κλειναί τ' Ἀθῆναι καὶ τὸ σύντροφον γένος. The words in both places are intended to move the Athenian audience.
774.
mvp-comment-430-1
You try to tear me away, with cruel speeches couched in flattering terms.
775.
mvp-comment-431-1
τίς αὕτη appears not only in B Vat., followed by Triclinius, but also in L². The parallel of Thuc. 3. 12, τίς οὖν αὕτη ἡ φιλία ἢ ἐλευθερία πιστή; the frequent use of ὥσπερ without a definite antecedent in introducing an illustration, the doubtful correlation of τοσαύτη ὥσπερ (cp., however, El. 532, οὐκ ἴσον καμὼν ἐμοὶ λύπης, ὅτ᾽ ἔσπειρ᾽, ὥσπερ ἡ τίκτουσ᾽ ἐγώ), and the fact that the reading τίς αὕτη is not confined to one family of MSS, lead to the conclusion that the reading of LAV³, τοσαύτη, like σημαίνει for σαίνει, supr. 320, is a clerical error. τέρψις, repeated by unconscious tautology from supr. 766, is here active.
776.
mvp-comment-432-1
σοί is accented because of the antithesis in 781, καὶ σὺ προσφέρεις ἐμοί. As in the speech beginning at l. 960, esp. in l. 992, Oedipus uses the
argumentum ad hominem in the debate with Creon.
And yet what kindness is there in befriending men against their will? Suppose, for instance, when you were eager to obtain some boon, one were to refuse and grant you nothing, and not choose to gratify you, but when your soul was already satisfied, were then to make the offer, when the kindness was no longer kind! Would not that be an empty satisfaction for you to obtain? Yet such is the favour you now offer me.
780.
mvp-comment-433-1
The stress is on ματαίου. Would not the pleasure so received by you be vain?'
785-786.
mvp-comment-434-1
πόλις δέ σοι... χθονός
And your city may come off unharmed from her encounter with the land of these men.For ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι,
to come out of a contest. cp Ar. Plut. 271-272, μῶν ἀξιοῖς φενακίσας ἡμᾶς ἀπαλλαγῆναι | ἀζήμιος: and for χθών personified, cp. infr. 912, Ant. 187. The natural pause after κακῶν ἄνατος prevents ambiguity in τῶνδε. Others read τῆσδ᾽ ἀπαλλαχθῇ χθονός, with the meaning,
may get out of this land, which is less forcible.
787.
mvp-comment-435-1
Join (1) ἐκεῖ χώρας.
My evil genius ever lurking in the region of that land. The genitive is not strictly partitive. For a similar instance where the genitive and locative adverb are co-extensive, cp. Phil. 899, ἀλλ᾽ ἐνθάδ᾽ ἤδη τοῦδε τοῦ πάθους κυρῶ. Οr (2), χώρας ἀλάστωρ οὑμός,
My vengeful spirit ravaging the land. But this twofold relation of ἀλάστωρ makes a harsh expression, and the pause before ἐκεῖ requires that the sense should run on to the word immediately following it. For the general meaning, cp. Aesch. Suppl. 413-415, μήτ᾿ ἐν θεῶν ἕδραισιν ὧδ' ἱδρυμένας | ἐκδόντες ὑμᾶς τὸν πανώλεθρον θεὸν | βαρὺν ξύνοικον θησόμεσθ' ἀλάστορα.
790.
mvp-comment-436-1
'They shall inherit their father's land, only by dying there.' The comparison of Aesch. S. c. Τ. 730, ὠμόφρων σίδαρος | χθόνα ναίειν διαπήλας ὁπόσαν καὶ φθιμένοισι | κατέχειν, τῶν μεγάλων πεδίων ἀμοίρους, is just, but the thought is not identical, for ἐνθανεῖν is in apposition to λαχεῖν τοσοῦτον, and not merely epexegetic of τοσοῦτον = ἐν ὅσῳ ἐνθανεῖν. The words therefore do not refer to the
six feet of earth, but to the fact that the only part of their inheritance the sons obtain is to die on Theban ground. Cp. Ant. 146-147. 794-795. But you are come hither with a feigned tongue full of sharpness.' For ὑπόβλητον, cp. Αj. 188, ὑποβαλλόμενοι κλέπτουσι μύθους. And for the play of words in στόμα .. στόμωσιν, see Essay on Language § 44. p. 82.
796.
mvp-comment-437-1
τὰ πλείονα The article defines the
more in contradistinction to the fewer.
797.
mvp-comment-438-1
ἀλλ᾽ οἶδα γάρ (as often with ἀλλὰ γάρ) gives the reason for breaking off and saying no more.
797.
mvp-comment-438-2
ταῦτα refers not to the whole tenor of the speech but to the γνώμη, ἐν δὲ τῷ λέγειν, κ.τ.λ.
But I know that to this warning you will not attendenough then, begone!
798.
mvp-comment-439-1
οὐ γὰρ ἂν κακῶς Said scornfully in answer to Creon's expressions of affected pity.
799.
mvp-comment-440-1
εἰ τερποίμεθα
If I have what I desire. The optative puts the case generally, because of the uncertainty of Oedipus' mode of life.
800-801.
mvp-comment-441-1
Do you think that the course of our present talk is disastrous for me in my relation to your affairs? (referring to 787 ff., 795-796).
Are not your words much more disastrous to yourself? Schol. ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἐν τῷ μὴ πείθεσθαί σε μᾶλλον σὺ δυστυχεῖς ἤπερ ἐγώ. i. e. You accuse me of ignorance of your and your sons' destiny (1.787, 8): but you show much greater ignorance of your own best interests by refusing to come.
802.
mvp-comment-442-1
μήτ᾿ ἐμέ.. μήτε τούσδε The emphasis is on τούσδε : μήτ᾿ ἐμέ is taken for granted, and only introduced for the sake of the antithesis
It would delight me, if you fail in persuading these men here as you will fail to persuade me.
805.
mvp-comment-443-1
λῦμα τῷ γήρα For the dative, see Essay on Language § 13. c, p. 19.
807.
mvp-comment-444-1
ἐξ ἅπαντος
In every cause. Cp. supr. 761-762.
810.
mvp-comment-445-1
οὐ δῆθ᾿ ὅτῳ γε νοῦς ἴσος καὶ σοὶ πάρα (1)
My words are certainly not seasonable in the judgment of one who has so little sense as you have; i. e.
A wise speech sleeps in a foolish ear. Schol. τοῖς κατὰ σὲ οὐ δοκῶ καίρια λέγειν. For the dative, see Essay on Language § 13. p. 20, e. Or (2),
I do not speak seasonably, in speaking to one so devoid of understanding. Cp Cp. Aesch. Prom. 983, σὲ γὰρ προσηύδων οὐκ ἄν, ὄνθ᾽ ὑπηρέτην. For ἴσος καί, cр. О. Т. 1187.
812.
mvp-comment-446-1
φύλασσ᾽ ἐφορμῶν ἔνθα χρὴ ναίειν ἐμέ Two explanations of this are possible, (1) Keep watching (lit. blockading) me and prescribing my abode;' the notion of dictation being implied in φύλασσ᾽ ἐφορμῶν: (2)
Keep watching me and blockading my destined dwelling place. For (1) cp. El. 16, τί χρὴ δρᾶν ἐν τάχει βουλευτέον; supr. 654, μὴ δίδασχ' ἃ χρή με δρᾶν. But (2) is more pointed, and on the whole more probab'e.
813.
mvp-comment-447-1
μαρτύρομαι τούσδ', οὐ σέ
Το them I appeal and not to you! And for the terms of your answer to your friends, if I once take you --. The intended threat ('you shall answer at Thebes') is broken off by Oedipus' retorting, But who can take me,' etc. Creon angrily repels the claim of Oedipus to speak for the Attic elders (ἐρῶ πρὸ τῶνδε), whom he calls to witness Oedipus' treatment of him. The latter words refer (1) to the lines in which Oedipus curses his sons (ἔστιν δὲ παισὶν μόνον), which Creon treats as the answer to the message which he had brought from the Καδμείων λέως: cp. infr. 850, φίλους ὑφ᾽ ὧν ἐγὼ | ταχθεὶς τάδ' ἔρδω. The structure closely resembles Hom. Il. 1. 338, τὰ δ᾽ αὐτὼ μάρτυροι ἔστων, | πρός τε θεῶν μακάρων, πρός τε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων, | καὶ πρὸς τοῦ βασιλῆος ἀπηνέος· εἴποτε δ' αΰτε | χρειὼ ἐμεῖο γένηται ἀεικέα λοιγὸν ἀμῦναι | τοῖς ἄλλοις, where the final threat is in like manner suppressed. In the present passage, however, dé is strictly adversative, distinguishing Creon's personal injury from the supposed offence against Eteocles and the Thebans: unless (2) φίλους refers to Creon himself, as professing friendly intentions and as next of kin. But cp. supr. 788-790.
816.
mvp-comment-448-1
κἄνευ τῶνδε
Without this, i. e. without my taking you. The ambiguity of τῶνδε would probably not be felt by a Greek, and is not a sufficient reason for altering the reading to τοῦδε, 817. Creon's tone implied that something had been done. Seeing that the chorus as well as Oedipus are impracticable, he breaks into open hostility, and avows the capture of Ismene, who had been seized and carried off before she could return from making her offering.
820.
mvp-comment-449-1
οἰμώζειν τάδε (1) ‘Το exclaim at this;' τάδε, the capture of the maidens; or (2), τάδε, cogn. acc.,
thus to exclaim. Probably the first.
821.
mvp-comment-450-1
τήνδε τ᾽
And this one ere long. The correction of γ᾽ to τ᾽ or δ᾽ seems to be necessary.
821.
mvp-comment-450-2
οὐ μακροῦ χρόνου Sc. ἕξω.
823.
mvp-comment-451-1
τὸν ἀσεβή Cp. 922, συλῶντα τὰ τῶν θεῶν βίᾳ | ἄγοντα φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια. He appeals to the known piety of the chorus.
825.
mvp-comment-452-1
οὔθ᾽ ἃ πρόσθεν εἴργασαι In seizing Ismene.
826.
mvp-comment-453-1
ὑμῖν, κ.τ.λ. Said to Creon's attendants; supr. 723.
826.
mvp-comment-453-2
ἂν εἴη For a similar use of av with the optative, cp. Τr. 728, σιγᾶν ἂν ἁρμόζοι σε τὸν πλείω λόγον, Εl. 1372.
827.
mvp-comment-454-1
εἰ.. πορεύσεται For the v. r. cp. πημαίνεις below, in v. rr. on l. 837.
830.
mvp-comment-455-1
Creon, as next of kin, is guardian of the children of the outlawed Oedipus. Cp. O. T. 1448, καὶ γὰρ ὀρθῶς τῶν γε σῶν τελεῖς ὕπερ: Aesch. Suppl. 387-389, εἴ τοι κρατοῦσι παῖδες Αἰγύπτου σέθεν | νόμῳ πόλεως, φάσκοντες ἐγγύτατα γένους | εἶναι, τίς ἂν τοῖσδ᾽ ἀντιωθῆναι θέλοι;
832.
mvp-comment-456-1
τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἄγω For the plural and masc., see Essay on Language § 20. pp. 30, 31. 835-836. The excitement, indicated by the broken lines, culminates in the dochmiac rhythm, to which the diiambus, ἰὼ πόλις, is introductory. 876-885, following the second attempt of Creon, are antistrophic to 833-843, agreeing very closely (except εἴργου – – in 836 = δοκῶ u - 879) even to the division of the words. This lyrical repetition, with the balanced rhythm of the intervening dialogue (containing one short outburst of Creon, 841-855, and one of Oedipus, 864-870), may be compared with O. T. 649-659, 678-688.
832.
mvp-comment-456-2
εἴργου • Keep off!' 837. The Scholiast, who, according to the reading of L, rightly explains πόλει by ταῖς Θήβαις, evidently assigned this speech to Creon.
838.
mvp-comment-457-1
Creon, while defying the chorus, refrains at present from taking part in the actual violence, which he leaves to his attendants. It is to one of these that the words of the chorus are addressed.
838.
mvp-comment-457-2
οὐκ ἠγόρευον ταῦτ᾽ ἐγώ! Oedipus rather alludes to his prophecy in 605 ff., that war would come between Athens and Thebes, than to his warning in 653, which is already fulfilled. Creon's present threat (πόλει μαχεῖ γάρ) comes near to Oedipus' prediction.
840.
mvp-comment-458-1
The chorus and Creon are giving opposite commands to the attendant.
840.
mvp-comment-458-2
χαλᾶν Το leave hold.' 841. The change to ἔντοποι (cp. Phil. 211), is necessitated by the dochmiac metre.
842.
mvp-comment-459-1
πόλις ἐναίρεται
My city suffers violence. The chorus in their indignation, as Theseus afterwards in his scorn (903, ξένῳ .. τῷδε χειρωθεὶς βίᾳ) represent the attempt of Creon as an assault on the liberties of their city.
842.
mvp-comment-459-2
σθένει
By main force. Cp. infra 1089, σθένει ᾿πινικείῳ τὸν εὔαγρον τελειῶσαι λόχον. The expression here is more nearly equivalent to κατὰ κράτος than to Bíᾳ. Cp. Eur. Bacch. 953, οὐ σθένει νικητέον | γυναῖκας. The adverbial dative following the parenthesis is rather weak. Qy. πόλις ἐμὰ στένει? Cp. Aesch. S. c. T. 247, στένει πόλισμα.
844.
mvp-comment-460-1
ὦ ξένοι ξένοι The last appeal of Antigone to the chorus is so worded as to recall her former supplication, ὦ ξένοι αἰδόφρονες,
l. 237
.
848.
mvp-comment-461-1
ἐκ τούτοιν .. σκήπτροιν
With these to lean upon.' ἐκ =
by means of,
with the help of. Cp. Phil. 91, οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἑνὸς ποδὸς | ἡμᾶς τοσούσδε πρὸς βίαν χειρώσεται.
851.
mvp-comment-462-1
καὶ τύραννος ὢν ὅμως
Although I am a prince. For τύραννos =
one of royal blood, cp. Eur. Med. 957, τῇ τυράννῳ νύμφῃ. Creon is moreover regent of Thebes; O. Τ. 1418.
852.
mvp-comment-463-1
τάδε = τὸ παρὸν πρᾶγμα.
856.
mvp-comment-464-1
ἐπίσχες αὐτοῦ, ξεῖνε Creon, after launching the above speech at Oedipus, turns to follow Antigone and the attendants who are dragging her off. The chorus interfere to prevent him.
857.
mvp-comment-465-1
τῶνδε The maidens, of whom Ismene, though in the background, is not far off.
858-859.
mvp-comment-466-1
αὑτόν These lines may be differently explained according as πόλει is taken to refer to Thebes or to Athens. Either reference is possibl possible, but πόλει in Creon's previous speech, supr. 837, is clearly Thebes. ῥύσιον is that which is held by one party, and claimed or seized by another, who is said ῥυσίων ἐφάπτεσθαι (Aesch. Suppl. 412, καὶ μήτε δῆρις ῥυσίων ἐφάψεται, ib. 314, Ἔπαφος ἀληθῶς ῥυσίων ἐπώνυμος). (1) Then assuredly you will quickly pay moreover a heavier forfeit to my state, for I will seize not the maidens only. For this meaning of τίθημι see L. and S. s. v. A. II, 8. Or (2), 'Then assuredly you will cause your city to have a still greater prey to redeem. For πόλει in (2), cp. Eur. Suppl. 120, ἦλθον ἐξαιτῶν πόλιν, (Adrastus speaks of Thebes, which is not his city).
861.
mvp-comment-467-1
δεινὸν λέγεις
That is indeed a threat! Cp. supra 661, κεἰ δείν᾽ ἐπερρώσθη λέγειν.
Know that this shall certainly be done forthwith (νῦν). For the ellipse with ὡς, cp. Αj. 39, ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι. The reduplicated future has not here the force of a future-perfect, but is simply emphatic.
863.
mvp-comment-468-1
ή σὺ γάρ
How? do you mean to say that you...
864.
mvp-comment-469-1
μὴ γάρ γάρ gives the reason of an implied negative, repelling Creon's injunction of silence. Nay, but I will not. For I would not have these goddesses close my lips to this one curse.' 865. ἔτι adds emphasis to τῆσδε τῆς ἀρᾶς: i. e. Though they enjoin silence from cursing, let them not enforce it here.
866.
mvp-comment-470-1
ὅς μ' The omission of the antecedent rather adds to the passionate force of the expression. Cp. supra 263, κάμοιγε ποῦ ταῦτ᾽ ἐστίν, οἵτινες, κ.τ.λ., and see Essay on Language § 22. p. 35. and § 39, p. 72.
866-867.
mvp-comment-471-1
ψιλὸν ὄμμ' βίᾳ
Who hast added to the former loss of my eyes by violently tearing away the poor defenceless means of sight that were still left to me.The ψιλὸν ὄμμα are his daughters, Antigone (τῆς ὑπέρ τ᾿ ἐμοῦ αὐτῆς θ' ὁρώσης, supra 33. 4) and Ismene, who brought him intelligence of things in Thebes. For the expression, cp. Shak., King Lear, 4. 6, Lear. Read. Gloster. What, with the case of eyes?' βίᾳ is to be joined with the phrase ἀποσπάσας.
868.
mvp-comment-472-1
σὲ καὐτόν, κ.τλ. Cp. Phil. 620, τὸ σπεύδειν δέ σοι | καὐτῷ παραινῶ κεἴ τινος κήδει πέρι. The change to σε τ' αὐτόν is unnecessary here. The case is different in 1417, where σε τ' αὐτόν is a tmesis for σαυτόν τε.
870.
mvp-comment-473-1
οἷον κἀμέ ἐμέ is accusative by attraction το σέ.
874.
mvp-comment-474-1
ἄξω βίᾳ Cf. infra 922, βίᾳ ἄγοντα φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια.
875.
mvp-comment-475-1
Creon, provoked by the curse of Oedipus, is about to carry out his threat (860), although, since the attendants are gone with the maidens, he has no one to help him. As to the reading, γηρῶν . . βαρύς; either γηρῶν has originated in a gloss on χρόνῳ βραδύς, and βαρύς, as elsewhere, from a misreading of βραδύς, or there was an early various reading, γήρᾳ βαρύς, for which, cp. O. T. 17. On the order of the words, see Essay on Language § 41. p. 78 8.
879.
mvp-comment-476-1
τάνδ'. πόλιν
Then I will no longer account this a city. The Scholiast, who explains by νομιῶ, seems to have read the future, which is therefore substituted for νέμω. Cp. El. 150, σὲ δ᾽ ἔγωγε νέμω θεόν.
880.
mvp-comment-477-1
τοῖς τοι δικαίοις (1)
In a just cause. Essay on Language § 11. p. 18. Or perhaps (2) the dat. is instrumental;-
With weapons of justice. χώ βραχὺς νικᾷ μέγαν]
Even slight men overcome the mighty. 882. Ζεὺς *γ᾿ ἂν εἰδείη, σὺ δ᾽ οὔ] There is a lacuna of an iambic penthemimer, or, if the correction Ζεὺς ταῦτ᾽ ἂν εἰδείη is right, of an iambic metre. The sense required is, ΧΟ. τά γ'᾽ οὐ τελεῖ.
880.
mvp-comment-477-2
Ζεύς μοι ξυνίστωρ. ΚΡ. Ζεύς γ᾽ ἂν εἰδείη, σὺ δ' οὔ.
884.
mvp-comment-478-1
ἰὼ γᾶς πρόμοι This is the summons to which Theseus, the chief of the land,' responds.
885.
mvp-comment-479-1
ἐπεὶ πέραν | περῶσ' *οἵδε δή Elmsley's emendation has been generally adopted, and has the advantage of closely resembling 843, προβάθ᾽ ὧδέ μοι. But the correction is uncertain. (1) Since they are passing all bounds.' Cp. supra 155. Hermann's rule, that πέραν can never be used metaphorically, appears arbitrary, and when they have just left the stage it is too soon to say, (2) They are passing the frontier.' But possibly the words may mean, (3) They are passing out of reach.' Cp. infr. 902, ὡς μὴ παρέλθωσ' αἱ κόραι, and the hyperbolical expression in 842, πόλις ἐναίρεται.
887.
mvp-comment-480-1
Theseus, perhaps moved by the strange advent of Oedipus. is sacrificing at the neighbouring altar of Poseidon, the chief guardian deity of Colonus. This act, which is natural in itself, is convenient, as the Scholiast remarks, for assigning a sufficient reason why Theseus, whose presence will be again necessary, should, when off the stage, be still within call. The sacrifice also occasions a gathering of people, who are ready to start in pursuit of Creon and frustrate his attempt. The trochaics are expressive of the haste with which Theseus comes-θάσσον ἢ καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν ποδός (890). They are conventionally associated with the sudden arrival on the stage or departure from it of important persons. Cp. Aesch. Pers. 155 ff.
888.
mvp-comment-481-1
ἔσχετε
Stayed ye my hand. Cp. 429, οὐκ ἔσχον οὐδ᾽ ἤμυναν.
891.
mvp-comment-482-1
Dear friend (I know thy voice addressing us).' Cp. O. T. 1322-1326, ἰώ, φίλος .. οὐ γάρ με λήθεις, ἀλλὰ γιγνώσκω σαφῶς | καίπερ σκοτεινός, τήν γε σὴν αὐδὴν ὅμως. .. 894-895.
Has torn away from me the two children that were my all. οἴχεται ἀποσπάσας, cp. supra 866, El. 809, 10, ἀποσπάσας γὰρ τῆς ἐμῆς οἴχει φρενός, κ.τ.λ. The use of μόνην is pathetic. Cp. ψιλὸν ὄμμα, supra 866.
897.
mvp-comment-483-1
The readiness of Theseus in comprehending the situation, and his promptitude, are traits which assist the action while they excite the admiration of the spectators. Cp. supra 569, 631.
898.
mvp-comment-484-1
τούσδε βωμούς
This neighbouring altar.
899.
mvp-comment-485-1
ἄνιππον ἱππότην τε Cp. Ant. 1104, οἱ τ' ὄντες οἱ τ᾽ ἀπόντες. If, as suggested by the writer of the 1st ὑπόθεσις (see Introd. p. 259), Colonus was a place where horses stood for hire, the presence of horsemen at the sacrifice is easily accounted for.
900.
mvp-comment-486-1
σπεύδειν ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος The testimony of the grammarians (Phryn. ap. Bekker. p. 24, ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος τρέχειν ἵππον : οἷον ἀπὸ χαλίνου ἢ ἄνευ χαλίνου : Pollux l. 214, καὶ ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος ἀνεῖναι τὸν ἵππον), and the passages in Diodorus Sic. (19. 26), and Dion. Hal. (11. 40), leave no doubt that ῥυτήρ in this expression is not a trace but a rein, and that the use of ἀπό is emphatic. τρέχειν ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος, of a horse, would then mean,
to gallop away from (i. e. without check from, without the effect of) the rein,' and in σπεύδειν ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος the notion is transferred from the horse to the rider =
to ride at full gallop. The phrase is immediately connected with ἱππότην, but the notion of
full speed is extended to the whole sentence. It is singular that the ancient Scholiasts should have lost the key to this expression as they seem to have done. If ῥυτήρ were a trace' as elsewhere (Il. 16.475 etc.), the meaning would be ⚫ without putting to,' i. e. riding, not driving.
900-901.
mvp-comment-487-1
ἔνθα .. ὁδοί ‘Το just where the two hollow ways of travellers meet.' μάλιστα belongs in meaning to the antecedent clause, like the superlative in ἐπεὶ τάχιστα. δίστομοι suggests the appearance of the roads in a hill-country, each opening out of a narrow gorge of its own. Cp. Hom. h. Dem. 177, κοίλην κατ' ἀμαξιτόν.
900-901.
mvp-comment-487-2
συμβάλλουσιν As rivers are said συμβάλλειν ῥοάς, or as persons are said συμβλῆσθαι ἀλλήλοιν, Hom. Il. 14. 27, etc. For the absolute use (on which see Essay on Language § 53. p. 98, c), cp. Eur. Or. 335, δάκρυα δάκρυσι συμβάλλει: Plat. Pol. 273 Α. ὁ δὲ μεταστρεφόμενος καὶ ξυμβάλλων. The
two roads appear from 1047 to be those from Daphne and Phyle.
902.
mvp-comment-488-1
The reason for so much haste is to prevent uncertainty as to the route taken by the enemy.
902-903.
mvp-comment-489-1
γέλως δ᾽ ἐγὼ .. βίᾳ ·And I be vanquished and become a laughingstock to this foreigner; i. e. to Creon. The dative, though governed chiefly by γέλως . γένωμαι, also depends slightly ση χειρωθεὶς βίᾳ: cp. Plut. Dion. p. 199. Theseus angrily speaks of the success of Creon's exploit as a conquest over himself (supra 842, note). Cp. Ant. 485, εἰ ταῦτ᾽ ἀνατεὶ τῇδε κείσεται κράτη: ib. 525, ἐμοῦ δὲ ζῶντος οὐκ ἄρξει γυνή. 905 ff. Cp. Eur Suppl. 581 ff. (the whole speech reads like an echo of this), οὔτοι μ' ἐπαίρεις ὥστε θυμῶσαι φρένας | τοῖς σοῖσι κόμποις· ἀλλ᾽ ἀποστέλλου χθονός, | λόγους ματαίους οὔσπερ ἠνέγκω λαβών.
907.
mvp-comment-490-1
* οὔσπερ .. ἔχων The MS. reading ὥσπερ κ.τ.λ has been explained,
As he himself came hither under the protection of the laws, so he shall be corrected by the laws, (and not by violence). This makes a strong antithesis to 11. 904-906. But αὐτός is without point, and the reference to the laws without further qualification is un-Greek. Cp. Eur. Heracl. 1010, τοῖσιν Ἑλλήνων νόμοις. Either the correction οὔσπερ must be adopted, as in the text, or there is a slight inexactness of correspondence between the clauses. ('Etenim non τούτοισιν referendum est ad ὥσπερ, sed intelligendum οὕτω,' Herm. 1841.
Rectius Reisigius, τούτοισι κοὐκ ἄλλοισι idem esse quod τοῖς αὐτοῖσι, quod minus infrequens est cum ὥσπερ compositum. Ellendt.). In any case the meaning is: (instead of being roughly handled)
he shall be reduced to order according to those very rules of conduct which he brought with him in coming hither. i. e. As he has taken by compulsion so by compulsion he shall be checked in return.' Cp. infr. 916, supr. 832. For the meaning ning of vouos, see Essay on Language p. 88. And for the combination of the article and relative pronoun, cp. Ant. 404, ὃν σὺ τὸν νέκρον | ἀπεῖπας : Aesch. S. c. Τ. 553, τῷδ', ὃν λέγεις τὸν Ἀρκάδα.
907.
mvp-comment-490-2
τούς has the force of a possessive pronoun: those principles of his.'
908.
mvp-comment-491-1
κοὐκ ἄλλοισιν
And these alone. ἄλλοισιν follows the construction of τούτοισι, without νόμοις or any other substantive being consciously supplied.
910.
mvp-comment-492-1
Until you bring those maidens hither and set them before my face.' ἐναργεῖς] · Without possibility of mis- take.' Tr. 223, τάδε σοι βλέπειν πάρεστ᾽ ἐναργῆ : Ε1. 878, ἐναργῶς, ὥσπερ εἰσορᾶς ἐμέ.
911.
mvp-comment-493-1
ἐπεὶ δέδρακας οὔτ᾽ ἐμοῦ καταξίως Since what thou hast done is unworthy alike of me and thine own lineage, and thy land.' The conjecture οὔτε σοῦ takes away the point from αὐτός in l. 912. Cp. infra 914, 915, 926.
912.
mvp-comment-494-1
οὔθ᾽ ὧν πέφυκας αὐτός The royal house of Thebes. Cp. O. T. 1235, θεῖον Ἰοκάστης κάρα.
912.
mvp-comment-494-2
Γκουσαν 913 δίκαι᾿ ἀσκοῦσαν] Cp. Hdt. 1.96, 1.90, (of Deioces), δικαιοσύνην ἐπιθέμενος ἤσκεε,
914.
mvp-comment-495-1
κραίνουσαν Used here in the Homeric sense of accomplishing, perfecting, and so =
determining.
914.
mvp-comment-495-2
15. ἀφεὶς .. κύρια
Casting off the authorities of this land. Cp. infra 1537, τὰ θεῖ ἀφείς.
916.
mvp-comment-496-1
ἄγεις παρίστασαι βίᾳ
Carry off and forcibly make subject to you what you will. Cp. Hdt. 3. 45, εἴπερ αὐτοὶ ἱκανοὶ ἦσαν Πολυκράτεα παραστήσασθαι. ἄγειν as in λείαν ἄγειν-originally of cattle.
917.
mvp-comment-497-1
κένανδρον
Spiritless. Aesch. Pers. 118, 121, uses κένανδρος and γυναικοπληθής of the city whose fighting men are slain. Cp. infra 939, ἄνανδρον, in the reply of Creon.
920.
mvp-comment-498-1
It is not her wont to rear unrighteous men.
922.
mvp-comment-499-1
3. βίᾳ | ἄγοντα Added in explanation of the preceding clause.
923.
mvp-comment-500-1
φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια
Poor suppliant mortals. The periphrasis (for which see Essay on Language § 10. p. 17) adds pathetic emphasis to both parts of the expression.
924.
mvp-comment-501-1
οὔκουν
And I would not. οὖν marks the accordance of what Theseus lays down as the rule of his own conduct with the claim he makes on Thebes. Cp. γοῦν.
927.
mvp-comment-502-1
οὔθ᾽ εἰλκον .. ἦγον
Would neither have dragged away nor carried off. εἶλκον expresses a greater degree of violence.
929.
mvp-comment-503-1
ἀξίαν οὐκ οὖσαν, sc. αἰσχύνεσθαι. For τὴν αὐτὸς αὐτοῦ, cp. infr. 1356.
930-931.
mvp-comment-504-1
καί σ'.. κενόν
And length of years gives folly to be the companion of thine age. Lit.
In making thee old makes thee at the same time void of wisdom. Cp. Ant. 281, μὴ 'φευρεθῇς ἄνους τε καὶ γέρων ἅμα.
933.
mvp-comment-505-1
τὰς παῖδας .. τινά
That the maidens be brought hither. The impersonal form of expression is here more dignified than if σε were repeated.
934.
mvp-comment-506-1
μέτοικος The Schol. observes that this word is used in the general sense of ἔνοικος, and not in its ordinary special meaning. See Essay on Language § 52. P. 97. § 54. p. 99.
936.
mvp-comment-507-1
These words come from my mind as truly as from my tongue.'
937-938.
mvp-comment-508-1
ὡς .. δίκαιος
Since judging by the city from which you spring, you are shown to be just, and are then found to be doing evil. The chorus point the moral of Theseus' speech. Cp. supr. 919, καίτοι σε Θηβαί γ᾽ οὐκ ἐπαίδευσαν κακόν, 912 ff.
939.
mvp-comment-509-1
ἄνανδρον
Without manhood, referring to κένανδρον, supr. 927. Some have tried to preserve the reading of L (λέγω) by joining ἄβουλον (940) with ἔργον (941), but the epithet does not agree with the tenor of Theseus' speech. Cp. Eur. Suppl. 314-323.
940.
mvp-comment-510-1
οὔτ᾽ ἄβουλον
Nor without counsel; referring to 913-914, δίκαι' ἀσκοῦσαν εἰσελθὼν πόλιν, κἄνευ νόμου κραίνουσαν οὐδέν.
941.
mvp-comment-511-1
γιγνώσκων δ' ὅτι
But judging that.
942-943.
mvp-comment-512-1
οὐδεὶς.. βίᾳ
They would never be seized with an officious desire of maintaining my relations against my will. αὐτούς, sc. τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, implied in τήνδε τὴν πόλιν supr. For the accusative αὐτούς, see Essay on Language § 16. p. 23, and cp. Ο. Τ. 713, ὡς αὐτὸν ἥξοι μοῖρα πρὸς παιδὸς θανεῖν.
944.
mvp-comment-513-1
ἤδη δ'
And I was sure. Cp. the use of ἐπίσταμαι in Herodotus.
945.
mvp-comment-514-1
κἄναγνον κἄνανδρον in L. is clearly a misreading from l. 939. Ср. Ο. Τ. 894, ἔρξεται.
945.
mvp-comment-514-2
6. Nor one who was discovered to be living in incest with his own parent.' Lit.
With whom were found unholy marriages of children with parents. τέκνων is not genitive of the object, but attributive genitive (Essay on Language § 9. p. 12), sufficiently defining the ἀνόσιοι γάμοι, although τέκνων πρὸς γονέας might be a more complete expression.
947.
mvp-comment-515-1
Such a seat of good counsel did I know them to possess, the hill of Ares in this land. εὔβουλον opposed to ἄβουλον supra 940. For the argumentative use of τοιοῦτον, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 35.
950.
mvp-comment-516-1
To it I trusted when I seized this prey.' Creon, as the next of kin, claims the right of dealing summarily with the homicide.
954.
mvp-comment-517-1
The Schol. here quotes the proverb, ὁ θυμὸς ἔσχατον γηράσκει, as being referred to by Alcaeus. Cp. Thuc. 2.44.6, τὸ γὰρ φιλότιμον ἀγήρων μόνον.
For anger yields not to age, until death comes. No pain indeed can touch the dead.' Aesch. Fr. 250, ἄλγος δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἅπτεται νεκροῦ. After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well; Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison, Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing, Can touch him further.' Shak. Macb. 3. 2.
957.
mvp-comment-518-1
ἐρημία Cp. 875. This, as Theseus presently suspects (1029-1031), is a false pretence.
957.
mvp-comment-518-2
κεί δίκαι᾿ ὅμως λέγω i. e. ὅμως κεὶ δίκαια λέγω.
958.
mvp-comment-519-1
σμικρόν Cp. βραχύς, supra 880.
958.
mvp-comment-519-2
πρὸς δὲ τὰς πράξεις
But still I will endeavour to resist violence, if it is offered, old as I am. πράξεις here is not a mere repetition of the notion of the verb πράξεις supra 956, but is spoken with some emphasis, in allusion to Theseus' threats of compulsion, supr. 908, 935.
960-961.
mvp-comment-520-1
Oedipus means that Creon's language reflects disgrace upon himself as the brother of Jocasta, and as having made an outcast of his kinsman. Cp. supr. 770, 800, 1, πότερα νομίζεις .. ἐν τῷ νῦν λόγῳ; 753-754, ἆρ᾽ ἄθλιον τοὔνειδος.. ὠνείδισ᾽ εἰς σὲ κἀμέ; infr. 978 ff. And for λῆμα, Pind. Pyth. 3. 25, λῆμα Κορωνίδος.
962.
mvp-comment-521-1
ὅστις φόνους μοι
Who hast allowed to pass thy lips against me the mention of that murder and that disastrous marriage which I unfortunate endured unwittingly. The general word συμφοράς (here, as in O. T. 99, equivalent to ἄγος) sums up the preceding notions, and adds to them. Cp. O. Τ. 1407-1408, χὠπόσα | αἴσχιστ᾽ ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἔργα γίγνεται.
965.
mvp-comment-522-1
Who would seem to have had some old cause of wrath against our race.' Cp. Plat. Phaedr. 244 D. πόνων τῶν μεγίστων, ἃ δὴ παλαιῶν ἐκ μηνιμάτων ποθὲν ἔν τισι τῶν γενῶν ἦν.
966.
mvp-comment-523-1
The comparative innocence of VOL. I. Oedipus in his voluntary actions is a chief point in the tragic interest of the Oedipus Tyrannus, and is still more strongly asserted in this play.
966.
mvp-comment-523-2
ἐμοί Sc. προσόν.
967.
mvp-comment-524-1
ἀνθ᾿ ὅτου
In retribution for which; involuntary crimes being regarded as a punishment for some previous crime.
970.
mvp-comment-525-1
χρησμοῖσιν .. παίδων Poetical (generalizing) plural. Cp. O. Τ. 711-713.
970.
mvp-comment-525-2
ὥστε 'That he should die by his son's hand;' i. e. an oracle, whose fulfilment lay in his being slain by his son. Cp. 1350, δικαιῶν ὥστ᾽ ἐμοῦ κλύειν λόyous, and see note on O. T. 713. 972-973. Who was not yet begotten or conceived, but at that time had not come into being.'
974-976.
mvp-comment-526-1
And if, coming into the world as I came, marked by misfortune, I fought with and slew my father, all ignorant of what I was doing and to whom, how then can you in fairness blame me for what I did, seeing it was Bb unwitting?' ὡς ἐγὼ ᾿φάνην refers to the conditions of the oracle given to Laius. Cp. O. Τ. 1376, ὅπως ἔβλαστε.
977.
mvp-comment-527-1
* δάν, ( = δὴ ἄν, cp. El. 314), is a correction of y' av, in which the reduplication of the particles makes γε doubtful. For a similar error in the MSS. cp. supr. 51, ἄτιμός γ᾽ ἔκ γ᾽ ἐμοῦ.
977.
mvp-comment-527-2
ἶκον = ἀκούσιον. Essay on Language p. 94, cp. supra 239, ἔργων ἀκόντων.
980-981.
mvp-comment-528-1
Being such as I will presently tell of: for no, I will not keep silence, when you have gone to such a height of impiety. οὖν represents Oedipus' speaking as the natural consequence of Creon's.
980-981.
mvp-comment-528-2
εἰς τόδε.. ἀνόσιον στόμα (1) Το this height of impiety in speaking.' Cp. supra 132, τὸ τᾶς εὐφήμου στόμα φροντίδος ἱέντες. This is better than (2) taking ἀνόσιον στόμα separately, as an accusative of limitation.
To such a height in thine impious speech.
982.
mvp-comment-529-1
ἔτικτε.. οὐκ εἰδυῖα
She was, she was my mother, though we knew it not; i. e. ἦν μητὴρ οὐκ εἰδότος οὐκ εἰδυῖα.
986.
mvp-comment-530-1
Brunck's διστομεῖν was suggested not by
levity, as Elmsley thought, but by the correction of Par. A.
987.
mvp-comment-531-1
ἄκων is used in two senses: (1) unwittingly, δι' ἄγνοιαν, (2) against my will, βίᾳ.
988.
mvp-comment-532-1
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γάρ
But (your charge is groundless), for, etc. So in Tr. 552, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γάρ, ὥσπερ εἶπον, ὀργαίνειν καλὸν | γυναῖκα νοῦν ἔχουσαν: Εl. 595.
988.
mvp-comment-532-2
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ οὐδὲ νουθετεῖν ἔξεστί σε. Essay on Language § 25. p. 43.
988.
mvp-comment-532-3
ἀκούσομαι
I shall be reputed.
993.
mvp-comment-533-1
κτείνοι
Were to attempt to kill.
994.
mvp-comment-534-1
ὁ καίνων
He who was trying to kill you. Cp. Hdt. 3. 99, οἱ μάλιστά οἱ ὁμιλέοντες κτείνουσι.. ὁ δὲ ἄπαρνός ἐστι, κ.τ.λ. Eur. Phoen. 1600, (ΟΙΔ.) ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἐγενόμην, εὐθὺς ὁ σπείρας πατὴρ | κτείνει με, κ.τ.λ. Essay on Language § 32. p. 55.
995-996.
mvp-comment-535-1
Methinks, as you love life, you would punish the aggressor, and not scrutinize too closely the justice of the case.
997.
mvp-comment-536-1
εἰσέβην
I came into. Cp. Aesch. Suppl. 470, ἄτης δ' ἄβυσσον πέλαγος οὐ μάλ' εὔπορον | τόδ' ἐσβέβηκα.
998.
mvp-comment-537-1
And I do not think that my father's spirit, were he alive, would gainsay my words.' The antecedent to ois is the argument from 989-996.
1000.
mvp-comment-538-1
εἰ γὰρ οὐ δίκαιος
You, however, for you only profess to be just, and think any word decorous, whether fit to be spoken or not, you pour these reproaches upon me in the presence of these men. Cp. supra 992, σὲ τὸν δίκαιον, and Creon's reasons 941-952.
1000.
mvp-comment-538-2
τοῦθ' τοῦδ᾽ LBVat.
1003-1004.
mvp-comment-539-1
And it suits your purpose well to flatter the name of Theseus, and Athens and her noble institutions. 1003. τὸ Θησέως ὄνομα θωπεῦσαι] Viz. in the courteous address, ὦ τέκνον Αἰγέως, supra 940.
1003-1004.
mvp-comment-539-2
καλόν So in Phil. 1155, νῦν καλὸν..
1003-1004.
mvp-comment-539-3
κορέσαι στόμα.
1004.
mvp-comment-540-1
καὶ τὰς Ἀθήνας, κ.τ.λ. Supra 733-734, 758-759, 943-953. κατώκηνται καλῶς] Cp. Plat. Legg. 683 Α, τὴν εἰς Λακεδαίμονα κατοίκισιν..
1004.
mvp-comment-540-2
ἣν ὑμεῖς ὀρθῶς ἔφατε κατοικεῖσθαι καὶ Κρήτην ὡς ἀδελφοῖς νόμοις. 1005. And then amidst all your praises (join ὧδε πολλά), you forget this praise.' 1007. The correction of Par. F (2886), ῶν θεοὺς, suggests *θεῶν.. τιμάς.
1004.
mvp-comment-540-3
τοῦθ'
This land is foremost in that virtue. For the genitive in the reading of L, cp. El. 1095-1097, ἃ δὲ μέγιστ᾽ ἔβλαστε νόμιμα | τῶνδε φερομέναν ἄριστα. But the reading of A is in this case clearer and more harmonious. Bb2
1008.
mvp-comment-541-1
τὸν ἱκέτην γέροντ᾽ ἐμέ Cp. O. T. 1153, Phil. 930.
1009.
mvp-comment-542-1
Wert seizing me. and hast carried away my children. For the imperfect, cp. supr. 950. ἐχειροῦ is read in Par. F.
1012.
mvp-comment-543-1
θ' is added from a corrector of Par. F.
1014-1015.
mvp-comment-544-1
δέ is in each case slightly adversative. The stranger, my lord, is honest: his calamities, indeed, are horrible, but they deserve our help.' The mind of the chorus is divided between horror and pity. Cp. O Τ. 1296, τοιοῦτον οἷον καὶ στυγοῦντ᾽ ἐποικτίσαι. The subdued tone of this speech, compared with 1044-1095, affords a good instance of the different functions of the chorus in the dialogue and in the lyric passages.
1016.
mvp-comment-545-1
οἱ ἐξηρπασμένοι Schol. oἱ θεράποντες Κρέοντος. This interpretation, (1) implies that ἐξηρπ. is perfect middle. See Veitch, Irr. Verbs, s. v. ἁρπάζω. The force of the middle voice would be,
Having effected their purpose of capture. (2)
The captured ones, i. e. they and their attendants,
are speeding away. The masculine form is used because the captors are included in the expression. See Essay on Language § 20. p. 30, and cp. supr. 902, ὡς μὴ παρέλθωσ᾽ αἱ κόραι: infr. 1057-1060, and notes. An early corrector of L, without erasing the termination οι, has changed it to ην, making the accusative to be governed by σπεύδουσιν as a causative verb. This is the reading also of Vat. and Par. B.
1018.
mvp-comment-546-1
τί δῆτ᾿ ἀμαυρῷ φωτὶ προστάσσεις ποιεῖν;] (1)
What then are your commands for one who is powerless to resist them? This meaning of ἀμαυρός is sufficiently supported by Eur. Andr. 204, αὐτή τ᾿ ἀμαυρὰ κοὺ τύραννος ἦν Φρυγῶν. For φώς used by the speaker of himself, cp. infr. 1109, ὦ σκῆπτρα φωτός. Creon continues his pretence of helplessness: supr. 956-958. The excessive meekness of this expression may be thought hardly consistent with ll. 958-959, 1037, and the words may be construed as an expression of contempt for Oedipus, (2) What then is your bidding on behalf of this wretched nobody?' But the first interpretation (1) is probably right.
1019.
mvp-comment-547-1
τῆς ἐκεῖ i. e. ἐκεῖσε. “To lead the way yonder.' Hdt. 7. 147, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκεῖ πλέομεν ἔνθαπερ καὶ οὗτοι.
1019.
mvp-comment-547-2
πομπὸν δ᾽ * ἐμὲ | χωρεῖν
That I, however, accompany you. The infinitive depends on the notion
My will is, implied in the preceding words. ἐμέ in this connection is more expressive than με, and the authority of the MSS. respecting such a difference is slight.
1021.
mvp-comment-548-1
τὰς παῖδας ἡμῶν The genitive ἡμῶν has something of a privative force.
You have the maidens whom you have taken from us. Cp. supr. 821, τὴν παῖδ᾽ ἔχεις μου; Ο. Τ. 1522, μηδαμῶς ταύτας γ᾽ ἕλῃ μου. Theseus throughout represents himself as aggrieved by Creon's act. οἶμον is an ingenious but unnecessary conjecture. The word would be superfluous after ὁδοῦ, supr. 1019. 1022-1024. (1) But if men are fleeing with them in their power, we may spare our pains, for there are others urging that pursuit (supr. 897 ff.), whom to have escaped out of this land they shall never glory before the gods.' The reading of most MSS, ἐπεύχονται or ἐπεύχωνται, is not defensible. For the variation of x and §, cp. Ο. Τ. ξ έ 297, οὐξελέγχων. Par. B. has ἐπεύχωνται. For the mode of expression, cp. Plat. Soph. 235 C, οὔτε οὗτος οὔτε ἄλλο γένος οὐδὲν μή ποτε ἐκφυγὸν ἐπεύξηται τὴν μέθοδον : Legg. 10. 905 Α, οὔτε σὺ μήποτε οὔτε ἄλλος ἀτυχὴς γενόμενος ἐπεύξηται περιγενέσθαι θεῶν. Otherwise, (2)
As having escaped from whom they shall never glory over the gods of this land. But although Theseus speaks hyperbolically of the success of Creon in capturing the maidens as a conquest over himself, he cannot speak of the Thebans as glorying over the defeat of Poseidon, Athena, the Eumenides, Dionysus (!), etc. who are not gods of Colonus and Athens only, but universally reverenced ἐπεύξωνται Βο. 1028, τόδ' in Hellas. And the order of the words, especially the position of φυγόντες, is adverse to this interpretation.
1024.
mvp-comment-549-1
χώρας.. τήσδε (gen of motion) is added, because when they entered Boeotia they would be safe.
1024.
mvp-comment-549-2
ἐπεύξωνται contains at once the notion of glorying and of thanksgiving. Cp. the exulting language of Ajax in his imagined victory to Athene, Aj. 92-96, ὡς εὐ παρέστης· καί σε παγχρύσοις ἐγὼ στέψω λαφύροις τῆσδε τῆς ἄγρας χάριν.. κόμπος πάρεστι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή. 6
1025.
mvp-comment-550-1
ἀλλά In repeating a command or request, as often in Plato. Come, lead the way.'
1026-1077.
mvp-comment-551-1
In catching, you are caught; and fortune has taken you as you were pursuing after your prey.' The substitution of δίκη for τύχη is unnecessary and wrong. Fortune is continually regarded as the instrument of the Divine will. Cp. Phil. 1317, τὰς μὲν ἐκ θεῶν | τύχας δοθείσας: Shak. Hamlet, Act 3, Sc. 4. 'Take thy fortune; Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger.'
1026.
mvp-comment-552-1
δόλῳ | τῷ μὴ δικαίῳ The dative is governed by the verbal notion'in κτήματα. Essay on Language p. 94.
1028-1031.
mvp-comment-553-1
κοὐκ ἄλλον. τάδε
And you shall have no one to help you in this; for I well know that you were not unaided or unprepared, when you reached the height of insolence which is implied in this daring deed; but there were others to whom you trusted when you acted thus.
1028-1031.
mvp-comment-553-2
εἰς τόδε ‘For this task, viz. that of leading to where the maidens are. Cp. supr. 507, χωροῖμ᾽ ἂν ἐς τόδ᾽;
1029.
mvp-comment-554-1
ὕβριν. τόλμης For the gen., see Essay on Language § 10. p. 17. Cp. Creon's assertion, supra 957-958, ἐρημία με κεὶ δίκαι᾿ ὅμως λέγω | σμικρὸν τίθησι. Theseus will not allow Creon to take any one with him, either of his own attendants, who may be lurking near, or of the Athenians, whom he may have corrupted. ψιλόν refers rather to the former suspicion, ἄσκευον (i.e. ἄνευ παρασκευῆς) to the latter. Cp. Thuc. 2. 12, ξυμπέμπουσί τε τῷ Μελησίππῳ ἀγωγοὺς ὅπως μηδενὶ ξυγγένηται.
1031.
mvp-comment-555-1
πιστός
Relying in confidence on some one. For πιστός active, cp. Aesch. Prom. 917, τοῖς μεταρσίοις κτύποις πιστός: Thuc. 3. 40, ἐλπίδα λόγῳ πιστήν: Plat. Legg. 824, νυκτερεύτην δὲ ἄρκυσι καὶ πλεκταῖς πιστόν.
1032-1033.
mvp-comment-556-1
Which things I must look into, and not allow this state to be overpowered by a single man.' Cp. supra 842, 879, 933, and the similar feeling in Ant. 663-664, ὅστις.. τοὐπιτάσσειν τοῖς κρατύνουσιν νοεῖ: 678, κούτοι γυναικὸς οὐδαμῶς ἡσσητέα. These lines may be taken to hint at a suspicion of treachery within the city, to which ἄσκευον may also point. Cр. О. Т. 124-125, πῶς οὖν ὁ ληστής, εἴ τι μὴ ξὺν ἀργύρῳ | ἐπράσσετ᾿ ἐνθένδ᾽, ἐς τόδ' ἂν τόλμης ἔβη; and note; also Ant. 689-694, and esp. Lys. c. Eratosth. p. 128, τοσοῦτον δ᾽ ὑμῶν καταπεπεφρόνηκεν ἢ ἑτέροις πεπίστευκεν, ὧν ἀμφοτέρων ἄξιον ἐπιμεληθῆναι, ἐνθυμουμένοις ὅτι οὔτ᾽ ἂν ἐκεῖνα δύναιντο ποιεῖν μὴ ἑτέρων συμπραττόντων οὔτ᾽ ἂν νῦν ἐπεχείρησαν ἐλθεῖν κ.τ.λ.
1034-1035.
mvp-comment-557-1
ἢ μάτην.. χώτε ταῦτ᾽ ἐμηχανῶ]
Or are the considerations that I am urging as unmeaning to you now as they were when you devised this plot? The sentence is concluded as if the preceding words had been ἢ τὰ ἐμοὶ λελεγμένα δοκεῖ μάτην λελέχθαι ὁμοίως νῦν.
1036.
mvp-comment-558-1
Join μεμπτόν. ἐμοί, Essay on Language § 41. p. 77.
1036.
mvp-comment-558-2
νυν
1037.
mvp-comment-559-1
χἡμεῖς
I, in my turn.
1038.
mvp-comment-560-1
χωρῶν ἀπείλει νυν
Well, threaten as you please, but go on. qualifies the whole sentence, of which the participle is the emphatic word, and is used, as often elsewhere, with the imperative, e.g. supra 21, κάθιζε νύν με. For the emphatic participle, cp. Phil. 590, Ε. σὲ θήσομαι τῶνδ᾽ αἴτιον. Ν. ποιοῦ λέγων,
I will make you responsible for this.
Do as you please in making me responsible, if you will only speak.
1039.
mvp-comment-561-1
πιστωθείς
Under my assurance. As the middle πιστοῦμαι means to give mutual pledges, πιστωθείς is here used passively =
having received pledge, i. e. being assured. a
1044.
mvp-comment-562-1
While Oedipus remains alone upon the rock, an object of profound pity, the chorus burst into an exulting strain, anticipating the victory of Theseus and the restoration of Antigone and Ismene. The fray will soon begin. Would I were there to see! Where will the foemen turn to bay? At the pass of Mount Aegaleon, or by the Eleusinian shore? There will Theseus rouse the combat, and the maidens shall be present at the achievement of their deliverance. Or descend they now from Phyle, westward of the rock, the chariots with the pursuing cavalry? The enemy shall be overpowered. Mighty are the men of Theseus: valiant are the horsemen of our deme. They all are wor- α. shippers of Athene Hippia and of Poseidon. Are they engaged? or is the action still to be? My prophetic spirit pleads for the restitution of the muchenduring, much-wronged, maiden. O had my vision wings, that, lifted on some airy cloud, I might look upon the victory which I foretell! 'Zeus, grant our people the attainment of the fair prize and Pallas, his dread child, and ye, Apollo and Artemis, who love the chase, come jointly to our country's aid.' The metre of this chorus, at first glyconic, passes more and more into slow trochaic and iambic movements, with frequent long syllables. The whole is marked by great solemnity, with an occasional note of triumph. ―下CCICI IFCCICI ICCICI CICIトCCIILCI ーーーー トレーートレー トリートー 10= 10- ?? トトートー ICCI- LLACI 1, 2, 3, Glyconic with monosyllabic base, 5, 12, Pherecratean, 14, Adoniad, 6, 11, logaoedic, 4, 7, iambic dimeter with long syllables in the alternate feet, 8, 9, 13, trochaic, with long syllables in the alternate feet. The interweaving of the logaoedic with the iambic and trochaic rhythms is marked by the interposition of the iambics in 4 between the glyconic and Pherecratean, and the trochees in 13 between the Pherecratean and Adoniad. The
epitritic movement, - - - - - - -, prevails throughout. Line ro of the strophe, if the text is right, may be compared with Phil. 1082, 1103, 1123, 1146, 1147, where the same form ㄥㄧㄥにトして! is combined with glyconic and Pherecratean measures. In Phil. 1147 it answers to a glyconic - - トー in 1124. But this does not remove the difficulty of finding a probable emendation of 1069, which may secure a tolerable correspondence between strophe and antistrophe. See note on 1069. β΄. D レレトート(I LLCI ートレビー alcllcC1I !!トC!!!いー Lullトーー LU ICICII LUIIトCIK CLLCICIU
1044.
mvp-comment-562-2
The slow (epitritic) movement with frequent long syllables is continued in the second strophe and antistrophe, and only in lines 5 and 8 is quickened by the introduction of the dactyl. The opening syllables of 1 and 2 may have been exceptionally prolonged. Line 3 is probably to be scanned as an iambic dimeter with syncope of 3rd and 4th thesis. Syncope of thesis occurs also in 11. 5 and 10. Cp. O. T. 190, 193, 200, Christ's Metrik. § 393.
1044.
mvp-comment-562-3
Might I be where soon the foemen shall wheel round and begin the fray with clanging arms.' The imagination of the chorus is excited by what Theseus has said, supr. 1022, 1029 ff.
1044.
mvp-comment-562-4
δαΐων ἀνδρῶν ἐπιστροφαί i. e. δάϊοι ἄνδρες ἐπιστρεφθέντες: cp. Eur. Alc. 606, ἀνδρῶν Φεραίων εὐμενὴς παρουσία.
1046.
mvp-comment-563-1
Ἄρη | μίξουσιν Like μάχην συνάπτειν, with the additional notion of a confused hurtling contest. Il. 20. 374, τῶν δ᾽ ἄμυδις μίχθη μένος, ὧρτο δ' ἀτή. 1048-1049. ἢ πρὸς Πυθίαις.. ἀκταῖς] Either by the cliffs of Pythium or those torch-lit cliffs... i. e. the shores of the Thriasian plain. ἀκταί seems to be a general expression for the seaward cliffs, including those not actually touching the sea. But the word is chosen to suit the mention of Eleusis. The question is whether the engagement will be in the pass of Daphne, or at some further point on the Eleusinian way. Cp the skirmish at ῾Ρειτοί in Thuc. 2.19. The Pythian cliffs' are so named from the Pythium, a shrine of Apollo in the deme of Oenoe, probably at the place now called Daphne. According to some authorities the Pythium was on the Megarian frontier. But the place so designated could not be on the way to Thebes. Philochorus, quoted by the Scholiast, says, ἐν Οἰνόῃ.. ἐν τῷ Πυθίῳ. For the adjective λαμπάς, cp. infra 1060, πέτρας νιφάδος. The Schol. quotes a line of Aeschylus describing the Eleusinian procession, Fr. 376, λαμπραίσιν ἀστραπαῖσι λαμπάδων σθένει.
1050-1052.
mvp-comment-564-1
οὗ πότνιαι.. προσπόλων Εύμολπιδᾶν] (1) Where dread mysteries are dispensed to mortals by reverend goddesses, whose golden (i. e. sacred, cp. O. T. 158, 187) key holds fast the tongue of their attendants of Eumolpus' race.' καί introduces a further description of the goddesses who preside at the mysteries. The initiation of the Eumolpidae is mentioned, as being more solemn than that of the Mystae, inasmuch as they have received their consecration immediately from Demeter and Persephone:-'quae silentio sacro continent suorum ora ministrorum.' Reisig. Hermann objects that the duty of silence was imposed on all initiated persons He refers ὧν τo θνατοῖσιν, and would render (2),
On whose tongue hath passed the sacred key of the ministering Eumolpidae. And the Scholiast gives the same explanation: ὧν· τῶν τετελεσμένων. καί in this case may be supposed to emphasise the necessity of initiation as a condition of seeing the mysteries, or to distinguish the act of the priests from that of the deities. In favour of the first rendering (1), it may be urged that it makes καί more intelligible, gives more force to προσπόλων, and suits better with the position of the words χρυσέα κλής.
1050-1052.
mvp-comment-564-2
τιθηνοῦνται τέλη θνατοῖσιν, · Minister sacred rites to men,' as a nurse ministers to an infant. τέλη is a sort of cognate accusative, i e. ποιοῦνται οἷα ἂν τιθῆναι.
1054-1057.
mvp-comment-565-1
ἔνθ᾽ Bo Where (i. e. somewhere on the sacred way) methinks that Theseus and the two virgin sisters will soon mingle in the fray of battle which is to deliver them:'or, taking αὐτάρκει in a more general sense,
in the valorous combat, the rescue that achieves its purpose.'
1054.
mvp-comment-566-1
† ἐγρεμάχαν Hom. Hymn to Demeter, 424, Παλλάς τ᾽ ἐγρεμάχη καὶ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα. The various reading ὀρειβατάν or ὀρειοβατάν may have arisen from a confusion of the letters e, ο-μ, β-χ, τ. This would not be a greater perversion than τήνδε θεσπίζει γραφήν for τήνδ᾽ ἔθεσθ' ἐπιστροφήν, Ο. Τ. 134, or ἐμοῖς ἐπὶ πόνοις for ἐμὸς ἐπίπολος, ib. 1322. The line does not exactly correspond to that in the antistrophe; see note on infr. 1067-1070. νας.
1055.
mvp-comment-567-1
Θησέα. So φονέα, Eur. Hec. 882.
1055.
mvp-comment-567-2
διστόλους i. e. δύο δισσῶς ἐσταλμέ- The word recalls the two bands of Thebans who had carried off Ismene and Antigone and would now resist their rescue. But the second part of the compound is subordinate. Elmsley says,
διστόλους ἀδελφάς dixit pro δισσῶν ἀδελφῶν στόλον.
The maidens and their captors are spoken of in a single phrase, as in supr. 902, 1016.
1056.
mvp-comment-568-1
1056. ἀδμῆτας,
virgin, perhaps with the further association of
unconquered; i. e. exempt from captivity, cp. infr 1147. The latter part of the sentence is adapted to the nearer subject (Essay on Language § 36. p. 65, 2). The first intention was to speak of Theseus and the captors of the maidens as joining battle; then the thought occurs,
the maidens also will be in the midst of the fray. Hence ξυμμίξειν with μάχην, or an equivalent word in the accusative, is changed to ἐμμίξειν with the dative, and the word for battle is expanded into the phrase αὐτάρκης βοά, i. e. either ἑαυταῖς ἀρκοῦσα,
defending them, or αὐτὴ ἀρκοῦσα,
sufficient without more ado. See Essay on Language § 43. p. 81, § 56. p. 102, § 3. p. 7. The latter meaning is probably right. The word is of good omen, like ἐσθλῶν, εὔαγρον, infra. ἐμμίξειν (intrans. cp.
1056.
mvp-comment-568-2
προσμίσγω, συμμίσγω, συμβάλλω) is rightly construed with the dative, and Boa is used in the sense of a sudden rally or skirmish, almost = βοήθεια. Cp. supra 887, τίς ποθ' ἡ βοή; where βoή is the summons to such a sudden fight: Aesch. Ag. 1349: Suppl. 730, εἰ βραδύνοιμεν βοῇ: Od. 22. 77, βοὴ δ᾽ ὤκιστα γένοιτο,
1058.
mvp-comment-569-1
τούσδ᾽ ἀνὰ χώρους This resumption of ἔνθα, which in 1054 summed up 11. 1047-1053, prepares the way for the fresh alternative, ἤ που, κ.τ.λ.
1059.
mvp-comment-570-1
Or perhaps the scene of the contest is more distant. Or haply, leaving the pastures of Oea' (a deme of the Oenean tribe) they draw near the region that lies westward of the snowy rock.' τόν] Sc. χῶρον,
1060.
mvp-comment-571-1
πελῶσ' γρ. πελάζουσι C2. mg. ῥίμφαρμαρτοσ C². ῥίμφαρμάτας.. ἁμίλλας Β. AR. Θησειδᾶν] θησιδᾶν L.
1060.
mvp-comment-571-2
ρια .. ἄμβασισ. 1070. τὸν L. τὰν CA.
1060.
mvp-comment-571-3
νιφάδος i. e. Where the snow lies longest. Schol. λέγων τὴν οὕτω λεγομένην λείαν πέτραν. The place meant is probably the precipitous western end of Parnes, overhanging the pass of Phyle, and clearly visible from Athens.
1060.
mvp-comment-571-4
πελῶσι
They will be drawing near. For πελάζω with the accusative in this sense, cp. Phil. 1163, πέλασσον.. πελάταν: Eur. Andr. 1167, Δελφίδος ἐκ γῆς δῶμα πελάζει.
1062-1064.
mvp-comment-572-1
πώλοισιν ἁμίλλαις
With their horses, or in the nimbly-racing chariots in which they flee. πώλοισιν refers to the pursuers, ῥιμφαρμάτοις φεύγοντες ἁμίλλαις to the pursued, who are supposed to have provided chariots for the capture of the maidens.
1065-1066.
mvp-comment-573-1
ἁλώσεται.. ἀκμά ‘He' (the enemy, just referred to in φεύγοντες)
will be overpowered. Terrible is the valour of our neighbours: terrible also is the youthful might of Theseus men.' For the singular number of ἁλώσεται, cp. Ant. 106, τὸν.. φῶτα βάντα πανσαγίᾳ : and for its absolute use, cp. Aj. 648-649, ἀλλ᾽ ἁλίσκεται | χὼ δεινὸς ὅρκος, κ.τ.λ.
1065-1066.
mvp-comment-573-2
προσχώρων, cp. supra 493.
1066.
mvp-comment-574-1
Θησειδᾶν The patronymic is used by an anachronism for the youth of Athens, with an allusion to the leadership of Theseus. Cp. Hdt. 1. 125, βασιλέες οἱ Περσείδαι. Of those who were assembled at the sacrifice of Theseus, some would be attendants of Theseus, but others would be gathered from the vicinity of the altar.
1067-1070.
mvp-comment-575-1
πᾶς γὰρ .. ἄμβασις Although the emendation of these lines is uncertain, their general meaning is clearly a reminiscence of the command of Theseus to the horsemen in 899, 900, σπεύδειν ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος, just as the description of the two passes is suggested by his words in 900-901, ἔνθα δίστομοι . . ὁδοί. Herm. (1841) conj. πᾶσα δ᾽ ὁρμᾶται χαλῶσ᾽ | ἀμπυκτήρια πωλικά : reading ὀρειβάταν in the strophe, and rejecting φάλαρα as a gloss. Bothe reads, κατά | ἀμπυκτήρια. Cp. Aj. 42,5, Tr. 510 (?). The rhythm lucul is not impossible (for the resolved trochee, cp. Phoen. 227, 237); but the change of rhythm from l. 10 of the strophe (1054) cannot be justified by such examples as Phil. 1124-1147. When all the difficulties are looked at together, it seems most probable that there is some corruption here or in l. 1054, if not in both. Qy. ἔνθ' οἴομαι ἐγρεκύδοιμον - (κατὰ) λάμπρ᾿ ἀμπυκτήρια πώλων, (-)? The words as they stand may be construed, The riders all are rushing on, in the direction of,' (κατά, cp. κατ' οὗρον, κατὰ πόδα)
the bridles of the horses; i.e. Every horseman gives his steed its head.
1067-1070.
mvp-comment-575-2
κατά may or may not be genuine, but Hermann's conjecture χαλῶσ᾽ ἀμπυκτήρια is somewhat prosaic.
1070.
mvp-comment-576-1
ἄμβασις, abstract collective for ἀναβάται, ἱ. ε. ἱππόται. Cp. the common prose expression ἡ ἵππος. Essay on Language § 50. p. 94. For Ἀθήνη ἱππία and her temple in the Academy, see Paus. 1. 30.
1073.
mvp-comment-577-1
Ῥέας One syllable, as in Il. 15.187, οὓς τέκετο 'Ρέα (where Poseidon speaks).
1074.
mvp-comment-578-1
* ἔρδουσ᾽, ἢ μέλλουσιν; ὡς] Herm. corrected the antistrophe to ὦ Ζεῦ θεῶν πανταρχέτα. But the slow movement レレトート _ is characteristic. See note on the metre.
1074-1076.
mvp-comment-579-1
ὡς προμνᾶταί τί μοι | γνώμα] How my thoughts are pleading!' προμνᾶσθαι is generally to plead for another: and the chorus (infr. 1096) say this in the interest of Oedipus. But προperhaps conveys the association of
beforehand, anticipating the event. The thought of the chorus is like a messenger, who goes before to urge the claim of a sovereign. τὶ is cognate accusative. Cp. supr. 965, Tr. 67, μύθοις εἴ τι πιστεύειν χρεών.
1076.
mvp-comment-580-1
τάχ᾿ ἀνδώσειν
That they will quickly restore. Although Pind. Fr. Thr. 4, Φερσεφόνα .. ἐς τὸν ὕπερθεν ἅλιον . . ἀνδιδοῖ ψυχὰν πάλιν, is not a conclusive instance of this use of ἀναδίδωμι, the existence of such a meaning is not improbable (cp. ἀνακομίζειν, ἀνακτᾶσθαι, ἀναλαμβάνειν, and esp. ἀναπέμπειν in Pind. Ι. 6 (7), 10, Ἄδραστον ἐξ ἀλαλᾶς ἄμπεμψας ὀρφανὸν μυρίων ἑτάρων ἐς Ἄργος ἵππιον), and exactly suits this place. The subject, as in ἁλώσεται, supra 1065, is easily supplied. If ἐνδώσειν is read, the words must be construed in the same way:
That they will soon surrender, etc. τάχ᾽ ἂν δώσειν is indefensible, and ἐνδώσειν τᾶν . . τλασᾶν . . εὑρουσᾶν . . πάθη. That Creon will yield from the maidens,' or
That the sufferings of the enduring ones much wronged by their kindred will abate, is forced, and gives a poor sense.
1077.
mvp-comment-581-1
τὰν .. τλᾶσαν i. e. Antigone, whom the chorus had actually seen carried off. She is the heroine of this play as well as of the Antigone.
1077.
mvp-comment-581-2
δεινὰ τλᾶσαν, supra 345-351. Eur. I. A. 932, σὲ δ', ὦ σχέτλια παθοῦσα πρὸς τῶν φιλτάτων: ib. 942, ἡ δεινὰ τλᾶσα κοὐκ ἀνεκτὰ παρθένος. Linw. reads τὼ δεινὰ τλάσα, δεινὰ δ' εὑρούσα, suggested by Dindorf in 1842.
1077.
mvp-comment-581-3
δεινὰ δ᾽.. πάθη Because Creon, who was her kinsman, had carried her off by the order of Eteocles.
1079.
mvp-comment-582-1
τελεῖ Future.
1079.
mvp-comment-582-2
τι Α thing;' ie. The thing we desire. Essay on Language § 22. p. 36.
1080.
mvp-comment-583-1
(1) 'Í am a prophet on the side of the good contest.' i. e. My prophetic power takes part with the good cause. Cp. Ο. Τ. 879, τὸ καλῶς ἔχον πάλαισμα. Or (2)
I prophesy a good issue of the contest. Cp. Εl. 1499, μάντις εἰμὶ τῶνδ᾽ ἄκρος. And for ἐσθλῶν, ib. 646, εἰ μὲν πέφηνεν ἐσθλά,
1082-1084.
mvp-comment-584-1
(1)
Would that as a stormswift dove of strong pinion I might from a lofty cloud light on this conflict, voyaging thither with mine eye. αἰθερίας νεφέλας is ablative genitive.
From the cloud as from a watch. tower, οἷον ἀπὸ σκοπιᾶς.
1082-1084.
mvp-comment-584-2
κύρσαιμι Lit. Might find;' i. e. Might descry. Or, (2) Might reach a lofty cloud and become spectator of this conflict,' etc.
1084.
mvp-comment-585-1
θεωρήσασα τοὐμὸν ὄμμα Lit.
Having gone as a spectator with mine eye. θεωρεῖν as in θεωρεῖν εἰς Ὀλύμπια and the like expressions. See esp. Plat. Legg. 12. 951. The construction of τοὐμὸν ὄμμα is difficult, but not more so than Tr. 914, κἀγὼ λαθραῖον ὄμμ᾽ ἐπεσκιασμένη φρούρουν, or Phil. 151, φρουρεῖν ὄμμ᾽ ἐπὶ σῷ μάλιστα καιρῷ. Such expressions as οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐθεώρουν (i.e. sent θεωροὶ) ἐς τὰ Ἴσθμια are not sufficient to establish a transitive use of θεωρεῖν. In Plat. Legg. 12. 951 C, ἂν κακῶς αὐτὴν θεωρῶσιν, αὐτὴν (sc. τὴν θεωρίαν) is cognate accusative. The peculiar attraction, or metaphor, by which θεωρήσασα agrees in gender with πελειάς, is in keeping with the lyrical wildness of the whole ode. ὄμμα is probably an accusative of limitation, restricting the imaginary voyage of discovery to the sense of sight; i. e. If I were there but in vision. Cp. Tennyson's In Memoriam, 12,
As a dove when up she springs... Like her I go, I cannot stay; | I leave this mortal ark behind, | A weight of nerves without a mind, | And leave the cliffs, and haste away, And reach the glow of southern skies, And see the sails at distance rise. | and back return | To where the body sits, and learn, | That I have been an hour away.
1087.
mvp-comment-586-1
δαμούχοις Protectors of the people;' i. e. Theseus. Plural for singular. Cp. supra 884, ἰὼ γᾶς πρόμοι, and note: infra 1348, τῆσδε δημοῦχος χθονὸς .. Θησεύς.
1089.
mvp-comment-587-1
σθένει . . λόχον Το make triumphant their ambush by successfully taking the fair prey.' ἐπινίκειος for ἐπινίκιος for the sake of the metre. The dative is to be taken closely, as instrumental, with τελειώσαι.
1089.
mvp-comment-587-2
ἐπινικείῳ σθένει is a periphrasis for νίκῃ. τὸν εὔαγρον is slightly proleptic (Essay on Language § 38. p 70), and contains an allusion to Antigone as the fair occasion of the expedition. λόχος is properly an ambush, but is here generalised to mean a foray, or skirmishing expedition.
1092.
mvp-comment-588-1
πυκνοστίκτων
Many spotted. Cp. Phil. 183, στικτῶν ἢ λασίων μετὰ θηρῶν: Eur. Alc. 584, ποικιλόθριξ νεβρός.
1092.
mvp-comment-588-2
ὀπαδόν Following in the chase; ' i. e. ὀπάζουσ ὀπάζουσαν αὐτούς. Cp. Il. 8.341, ὡς Ἕκτωρ ἄπαζε καρηκομοῶντας Ἀχαίους.
1094-1095.
mvp-comment-589-1
For the change to the third person, cp. O. Τ. 159-163, Ἀθάνα ..
1094-1095.
mvp-comment-589-2
Αρτεμιν καὶ Φοῖβον ἑκαβόλον ἰώ, τρισσοὶ ἀλεξίμοροι προφάνητέ μοι: and for στέργω,
I long, Ο. Τ. 11, δείσαντες, ἢ στέρξαντες, Plat. Legg. 10. 907, τὰ δ' ἐναντία πως ἤθη στέρξαι. The intense lyrical condensation of this chorus assists the illusion by which the pursuit, and capture, and return, are crowded into a few minutes. Cp. Shakespeare, Henry V. Prologue to Act. 3,
Thus with imagined wing our swift scene flies, In motion of no less celerity Than that of thought.
1096.
mvp-comment-590-1
The coryphaeus announces in senarii a new incident following the choral ode in Soph. only here: in Aesch. S. c. T. 369 ff., Ag. 258 ff.
1096.
mvp-comment-590-2
τῷ σκοπῷ
Your watchman; referring to the image in 1074-1084. 1097-1098. τὰς κόρας . . προσπολουμέvas]
For here I see the maidens, brought near once more hitherward by an attendant band. προσπολουμέναs is well explained by Herm.
Hoc dicit chorus, 1105. Om. L. add. C². mg. se virgines cernere illaesas observanterque curatas ab iis, qui eas raptoribus ereptas huc adducunt. Cp. infr. 1103, φιλτάτων τ᾽ ὀπαόνων.
1100.
mvp-comment-591-1
τίς ἂν θεῶν i. e. πῶς ἄν τις θεῶν; Cp. Αj. 879, τίς ἂν δῆτά μοι ..
1100.
mvp-comment-591-2
ἀπύοι ; ἰδεῖν] The momentary tense is expressive.
But once to see.
1105.
mvp-comment-592-1
βαστάσαι ‘Το hold in my embrace.' Cp. Aesch. Prom. 1019, πετραία δ᾽ ἀγκάλη σε βαστάσει. This and other expressions, meaning to 'hold in the hand, come to be used more generally for
to touch, handle, embrace. Cp. El. 1226 (Electra to Orestes), ἔχω σε χερσίν ; For the passive form of expression, i. e. τὸ μηδαμὰ ἐλπισθὲν ἤξειν for ὁ μηδαμὰ ἤλπισα ἥξειν, see Essay on La § 31. р. 54.
1106.
mvp-comment-593-1
You ask what you shall obtain, for desire accompanies the gift.' Essay on Language § 42. p. 80. Cp. Eur. H. F. 1408-1409, Ηρ. ποθῶ, πατρός τε στέρνα προσθέσθαι θέλω. Αμ. ἴδου τάδ', ὦ παῖ τἀμὰ γὰρ σπεύδεις φίλα.
1108.
mvp-comment-594-1
τῷ τεκόντι πᾶν φίλον
To the parent nothing is not dear; i. e. Even the children of such a marriage. So Hermann following Reisig. But perhaps this is merely a γνώμη, like 508-509, τοῖς τεκοῦσι γὰρ | οὐδ᾽ εἰ πονῇ τις δεῖ πόνου μνήμην ἔχειν.
1110-1111.
mvp-comment-595-1
οὐδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἂν.. εἴην
Nor should I be all unhappy were I now to die. θανών, i. e. εἰ θάνοιμι.
1112.
mvp-comment-596-1
ἐρείσατε, sc. μοι, suggested by τῷ φύσαντι following. The ἀμφιδέξιον is supplementary predicate, almost = ἀμφωτέροθι : (ὥστε μοι ἀμφιδέξιον γίγνεσθαι, Herm.). latter part of the compound is partly lost, but serves to suggest the notion of firmness in supporting.
1113.
mvp-comment-597-1
The variety of reading is most easily accounted for by supposing an earlier reading ἐμφύντε (which Mudge conjectured). The singular ἐμφῦσα is inadmissible, and if ἐμφῦτε is read, the asyndeton, which is too abrupt for this place, has also the effect of separating the dative, τῷ φύσαντι, from ἐρείσατ', which seems to require a dative.
Press your sides close to mine, supporting me on either hand, engrafted on your father. This seems better than
Support both my sides, although ἐρείδω admits of TE either construction. For the παρονομασία, or verbal play, see Essay on Language § 44. P. 75- κἀναπαύσετον]
And ye shall give me rest in my hapless wandering, which was lonely till ye appeared: i.e. And ye will relieve the loneliness of my unhappy wandering life. Cp. supra 500-502, μόνον δέ με | μὴ λείπετ· οὐ γὰρ ἂν σθένοι τοὐμὸν δέμας | ἔρημον ἕρπειν οὐδ᾽ ὑφηγητοῦ γ᾽ ἄνεν. The reading of Β Vat., κἀναπαύσατον, has been adopted by many editors.
1114.
mvp-comment-598-1
τοῦδε δυστήνου πλάνου The effect of the pronoun is pathetic, and the repetition of the article in the other reading, τοῦ τε, has no sufficient reason. Oedipus is thinking generally of his condition, which, when his daughters were carried off, seemed as forlorn as it had been before Antigone came from Thebes to be his guide.
1115.
mvp-comment-599-1
ὡς βράχιστα ‘As briefly as ye may. It may be doubted whether βράχιστα agrees with τὰ πρ. as supplementary predicate ('make the matter brief in telling it'), or is to be taken as a cognate or adverbial accusative after εἴπατε. The latter is more probable.
1118.
mvp-comment-600-1
Cp. Phil. 1304, ἀλλ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἐμοὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἐστὶν οὔτε σοὶ καλόν. She means that while she will be spared the recital, the tale as told by Theseus will not be tedious to her father. Cp. infr. ll. 1143-1144.
1119-1120.
mvp-comment-601-1
O sir, think it not strange that I prolong my speech unduly to my children, who have appeared beyond my hopes. Some join πρὸς τὸ λιπαρές with θαύμαζε (cp. Tr. 1211, εἰ φοβεῖ πρὸς τοῦτο: Thuc. 2. 22, πρὸς τὸ παρὸν χαλεπαίνοντας). But the expression, τὸ λιπαρές = τὸ ἐμὸν λιπαρὲς τοῦ λόγου, even with the epexegesis following, seems too abrupt for Sophocles. Badham's conjecture, πρὸς τόδ', εἰ πάρος | τέκν᾽ ἐκφανέντ᾽ ἄελπτα (cp. the reading of Par. A. and infra 1141), besides changing poetry to prose, leaves πάρος without a correlative.
1119-1120.
mvp-comment-601-2
πρός expresses result, as in πρὸς ἡδονήν. Cp. esp. Thuc. 2. 53, ταχείας τὰς ἐπαυρέσεις καὶ πρὸς τὸ τερπνὸν ἠξίουν ποιεῖσθαι : Eur. Οr. 606, γυναῖκες ἐμποδὼν ταῖς ξυμφοραῖς | ἔφυσαν ἀνδρῶν πρὸς τὸ δυστυχέστερον.
1119-1120.
mvp-comment-601-3
λιπαρές 'Persistent; here used with an association of blame.
1120.
mvp-comment-602-1
For the construction of τέκνα (with μηκύνω λόγον), see Essay on Language § 16. p. 22, and cp. esp. O. T. 31, 32, σε ἑζόμεσθ' ἐφέστιοι. ..
1121.
mvp-comment-603-1
γάρ explains μὴ θαύμαζε,
Wonder not (as if I were ungrateful). I have a clear sense of my obligation to you.
1121.
mvp-comment-603-2
την is Musgrave's conjecture for σήν, which Elmsley and others have defended. But σήν has probably been invented to supply the omission of ἢ παρὰ σοῦ after ἄλλου μηδενός, for which see Essay on Language § 39. p. 73, 6. Cp. infra 1250, ἀνδρῶν γε μοῦνος, and note. σήν, which must have a strong emphasis, would be awkwardly placed, and, as Hermann remarks,
l. 1123
, would be superfluous. For τήνδε τὴν τέρψιν, cp. Ο. Τ. 1477, τὴν παροῦσαν τέρψιν ἤ σ' εἶχεν πάλαι.
1124.
mvp-comment-604-1
ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω
According to my wish. Cp. Hom. H. Cer. 137, δοῖεν κουριδίους ἄνδρας καὶ τέκνα τεκέσθαι, | ὡς ἐθέλουσι τοκῆες: Eur. Hel. 1405, θεοὶ σοὶ . . δοῖεν οἷ᾽ ἐγὼ θέλω.
1125.
mvp-comment-605-1
αὐτῷ τε καὶ γῇ τῇδε Theseus' interests are throughout identified with those of Athens. Cp. supr. 308-309, εὐτυχὴς .. τῇ . . αὑτοῦ πόλει. . τίς γὰρ ἐσθλὸς οὐχ αὑτῷ φίλος; 1130 ff. The action which no doubt accompanied these lines would make them clearer to the spectator than they are to the reader. Oedipus reaches forth his hand towards Theseus, then draws it back, and on becoming aware that Theseus is bending towards him, repels him gently with a movement of his hand.
1131.
mvp-comment-606-1
ψαύσω Sc. σου.
1131.
mvp-comment-606-2
εἰ θέμις This expression occurs frequently in tragedy, ἢ θέμις rarely or never. Cp. esp. Phil. 661, εἴ μοι θέμις, θέλοιμ᾽ ἄν. It has been objected that καίτοι makes too strong an opposition, after such an expression of doubt. But the hesitation expressed in εἰ θέμις is only the courtesy of a stranger addressing a sovereign, whereas the following clause expresses the revulsion of feeling caused by the recollection of his misfortunes.
1132.
mvp-comment-607-1
πῶς *σ᾽ ἂν .. ξύνοικος (1)
Unhappy that I am, how should I desire thee to give thy hand to one, in whom what brand of evil is not found? Or, possibly. (2) reading πῶς δ᾽ ἄν, κ.τ.λ. as in the MSS,
And how should I think of touching one who is a man, I, the ill-starred wretch, who bear in me the stain of every ill? Hermann's correction, τίς for τις, is borne out by ξύνοικος, which would be too emphatic if the meaning were
a man, who has no stain upon him, as well as by the order of words in which the inversion τις οὐκ would have no point. Essay on Language § 41. p 78 yb: cp. supr. 702. Herm. also changed δ' τo σ', and in this he has been generally followed. But the words as they stand in the MSS. are not altogether impossible. The previous context, and the natural pause after ἀνδρός, may justify the reference of to the subject of θελήσαιμι. In this case ἀνδρός, although implying Theseus, is quite general: cp. О. Т. 1375-1379, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ τέκνων δῆτ᾿ ὄψις ἦν ἐφίμέρος · οὐ δῆτα οὐδ᾽ ἄστυ γ' οὐδὲ πύργος, οὐδὲ δαιμόνων ἀγάλμαθ᾽ ἱρά. δ', making a fresh beginning after τί φωνῶ, seems not unnatural, but is as likely to have been wrongly inserted as to be a corruption of σ'. Cp. supr. 52.
1134.
mvp-comment-608-1
οὐκ ἔγωγέ σε Sc. θελήσω θιγεῖν μου, or some more general verb, expressing the whole action, e. g. ταῦτα ποιήσω.
1135.
mvp-comment-609-1
No, nor shalt thou. ἐάσω] Sc. σὲ ψαῦσαι ἐμοῦ. For this ellipse, cp. El. 632, ἐῶ, κελεύω, θύε: supr. 407, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἐᾷ τοῦμφυλον αἷμά σ᾽, ὦ πάτερ. Essay on Language § 59. p. 73, 6. The word μόνοις in the following line implies the antithesis ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ σοί. The words in О. Т. 1414-1415, imply the same feeling, although in a different connexion : τἀμὰ γὰρ κακὰ | οὐδεὶς οἷός τε πλὴν ἐμοῦ φέρειν βροτῶν: cp ib. 1430-1431, τοῖς ἐν γένει γὰρ τἀγγενῆ μάλισθ' ὁρᾶν | μόνοις τ᾿ ἀκούειν εὐσεβῶς ἔχει κακά. In infr. 1632, where Oedipus bids Theseus to give the maidens the pledge of his right hand, he does not himself take the hand of Theseus. Cp. Hom. Od. 19. 346-348, where Ulysses refuses the services of the handmaids of Penelope, εἰ μή τις γρῆνς ἔστι παλαιή, κεδνὰ ἰδυῖα, | ἥτις δὴ τέτληκε τόσα φρεσὶν ὅσσα τ᾽ ἐγώ περ | τῇ δ᾽ οὐκ ἂν φθονέοιμι ποδῶν ἅψασθαι ἐμεῖο. The feeling of Fr. 814. ὃς μὴ πέπονθε τἀμά, μὴ βουλευέτω is slightly different, resembling that of Leonato in Shak., Much Ado, 5. 1,
Nor let no comforter delight mine ear | But such an one whose wrongs do suit with mine.
1137.
mvp-comment-610-1
σὺ δ᾽ αὐτόθεν μοι χαῖρε · But do thou receive my salutation from where thou standest,' without coming nearer.
1138.
mvp-comment-611-1
ἐς τόδ᾽ ἡμέρας
Hitherto : ἡμέρα used abstractedly for time, as in Aj. 131, 622. 1139 ff. This refers to 11. 1119 ff.
1139.
mvp-comment-612-1
μήκος . . ἔθου Essay on Language § 40. p. 75. The slight formality of this expression and of θαυμάσας ἔχω belongs to the dignified courtesy of Theseus manner.
It has not moved my wonder, that in the delight of having your children here you have been led to prolong your talk with them. For this use of τίθεσθαι, cp. Ο. Τ. 134, ἐπαξίως γὰρ Φοῖβος, ἀξίως δὲ σὺ | πρὸ τοῦ θανόντος τήνδ᾽ ἔθεσθ᾽ ἐπιστροφήν : Ant. 151, θέσθε λησμοσύναν.
1141.
mvp-comment-613-1
Nor that in choosing to converse with them you thought not first of me.' The genitive to be supplied with τοὐμοῦ is not ἔπους, but something more general, e. g. μέρους. Elms. reads οὔτ᾽, perhaps rightly. τῶνδε is objective genitive, or rather expresses a reciprocal relation.
1142.
mvp-comment-614-1
γάρ, as in 1121, refers to the general meaning of the preceding sentence.
There is no need of an apology, for that gives me no offence.
1145.
mvp-comment-615-1
ὧν The genitive is gen. of respect after ἐψευσάμην, and also partitive after οὐδέν.
1145.
mvp-comment-615-2
ὤμοσ' Supr. 1039-1040.
1147.
mvp-comment-616-1
ἀκραιφνεῖς τῶν κατηπειλημένων Untouched by the harm that VOL. I. CC was threatened them.' 1140 1145 1148. This is not the place for an episode like the description of the Isthmian races in El. 680, foll., or the history of Oedipus in O. T. 777. foll. The end is near, and the interview with Polynices is yet to come. The necessary omission is accounted for by the tender age of Antigone (1116-1118), and the magnanimity of Theseus, who prefers doing to speaking of his deeds. Cp. El. 1364 ff., τοὺς γὰρ ἐν μέσῳ λόγους, κ.τ.λ., Shak. Coriolanus, 1. 9,
Pray now, no more: my mother, | Who has a charter to extol her blood, | When she does praise me, grieves me..... I have some wounds upon me, and they smart | To hear themselves remembered. an
1149.
mvp-comment-617-1
ἅ γ' εἴσει.. ξυνών
Since you will learn this without my telling you in conversation with your children here.Illud quaeri potest, verba τί δεῖ μάτην κομπεῖν utrum cum sequentibus construenda sint, quo facto quasi quaedam aposiopesis erit post ᾑρέθη, sint precedentibus jungenda, quo illa ἅ γ' εἴσει, explicationis causa adjecta esse censendum: an denique cum utrisque sint nexa: quod ego quidem nescio an praeferendum sit, quia saepe ita media inter duas protases est apodosis: de qua figura saepius alibi monitum.' Hermann. ye shows that the words are added in explanation. For αὐτός, cp. infra 1155, ὡς μὴ εἰδότ', αὐτόν, κ.τ.λ.
1150-1151.
mvp-comment-618-1
But impart to us your counsel on a matter that has just now fallen in my way as I was coming hither. The construction of the antecedent λόγος is left undetermined, and this imperfect or pendent construction is smoothed over by the attraction, for which see Essay on Language § 35. P. 59, and cp. Eur. Or. 591 ff. Ἀπόλλων ὃς στόμα νέμει σαφέστατον, τούτῳ ..
1150-1151.
mvp-comment-618-2
πιθόμενος τὴν τεκοῦσαν ἔκτανον.
1151.
mvp-comment-619-1
συμβαλοῦ γνώμην In Hdt. 8.61, πόλιν γὰρ τὸν Θεμιστοκλέα παρεχόμενον, οὕτω ἐκέλευε γνώμας συμβάλλεσθαι, and Plat. Polit. 298 C, γνώμην συμβαλέσθαι, the phrase means
to take part in conference. So Theseus may be supposed courteously to ask Oedipus for his opinion, although he might use authority. See below, 11. 1178, 1348. Otherwise (2), συμβαλοῦ γνώμην, sc. τῷ λόγῳ, may mean,' Bring your thought to bear on this matter, i. e. consider it. Cp. the Epic σὺ δ᾽ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλει σῇσιν. This is more consistent with the position of Oedipus, of which, however, Theseus is not yet thoroughly informed.
1152.
mvp-comment-620-1
It is a small thing to tell of, and yet singular.' 1153. The Scholiast, who interprets ἄνθρωπον δέ φησιν ὄντα οὐδὲν πρᾶγμα κακίζειν δεῖ, must have read as in the text. πρᾶγος is too general a word to stand alone, as it must if we read οὐδέν᾿ ἀνθρώπων. For ἄνθρωπον, cp. Ο. Τ. 977, τί δ᾽ ἂν φοβοῖτ᾽ ἄνθρωπος, ᾧ τὰ τῆς τύχης | κρατεῖ, πρόνοια δ᾽ ἐστὶν οὐδενὸς σαφής; Man, who is the creature of circumstance, may not neglect anything that occurs.
1156-1157.
mvp-comment-621-1
σοὶ μὲν ἔμπολιν οὐκ ὄντα, συγγενή δέ This must have been gathered from the terms of his supplication, or from his answer to those who questioned him.
1157.
mvp-comment-622-1
προσπεσόντα πως
Who had somehow suddenly come thither. Polynices had come when the altar was deserted for the pursuit, and while there was an ἡσυχίη τῶν ἀνθρώπων (Hdt. 1.45) about the sacrifices. Hence the indefinite adverb, marking that his coming was unobserved. Cp. Tr. 695, τὸ γὰρ κάταγμα τυγχάνω ῥίψασά πως. He was found there by the people returning thither, who brought word to Theseus when on his way to Colonus with the maidens (στείχοντι δεῦρο, 1151).
1158.
mvp-comment-623-1
The use of παρά with the relative assists the locative use of the dative in the antecedent; ie. παρὰ τῷ βωμῷ, παρ' α...
1159.
mvp-comment-624-1
ἔκυρον The form κύρω (cp. supr. 1082) is adopted by the Tragedians from Epic poetry.
1159.
mvp-comment-624-2
ἡνίχ᾽ ὡρμώμην ἐγώ 'When I set forth, i. e. When I left the altar on the occasion which led to the pursuit. (Supr. 888, 897, 1019.) Elmsley, Hermann, and Schneidw. refer ἡνίχ᾽ ὡρμώμην τo προσπεσόντα, and transl. 'dum aberam ego. But ἡνίκα is not equi- valent to ἐν ᾧ. And such a departure from the obvious meaning is not justified by a trifling inconsistency, which is after all a verbal one, for although Theseus did not go direct from the altar to the pursuit, yet the swift action of 886-1041 is part of a continuous movement which began when he was called away from the sacrifice. There is therefore no reason for detaching the clause from the nearer antecedent.
1159.
mvp-comment-624-3
ἐγώ belongs in meaning to ἔκυρον as well as to ὡρμώμην.
1160.
mvp-comment-625-1
τί προσχρήζοντα τῷ θακήματι;]
What does he want by sitting there? i. e. What is the meaning of his supplication? The dative is used πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον, as if προσχρήζοντα had been αἰτοῦντα.
1162.
mvp-comment-626-1
οὐκ ὄγκου πλέων
No great matter, i. e. Not likely to give trouble. Cp. infra 1341, βραχεῖ εὺν ὄγκῳ καὶ χρόνῳ.
1163.
mvp-comment-627-1
οὐ γὰρ .. λόγου ‘For the manner of his supplication imports no trifling matter.'
1164-1165.
mvp-comment-628-1
(1) His sole request. they say, is to be allowed to have conference with thee, and to be allowed to return, without receiving harm through his coming hither.' ὁδοῦ is a genitive of respect after the privative adverb. Cp. infra 1399, foll. Vauvillers' conjecture, μόνον, founded on Musgrave's μόνον τ', is justified both by the awkward pleonasm in ἐλθεῖν μολόντα,
to come and be admitted, and by the synaphea, which cannot be defended by such examples as O. Τ. 332-333, τί ταῦτ᾽ ἄλλως ἐλέγχεις; where the
running on is assisted by the pause immediately preceding. This is true even of Ar. Av. 1716-1717, θυμιαμάτων δ᾽ | αὖραι, κ.τ.λ., where the licence is caricatured. Schndw. joins μολύντ᾽ αἰτεῖν, “ He is come and asks, but the participle is then still more inopportune.
1166.
mvp-comment-629-1
τίς δῆτ᾽ ἂν εἴη
Who can it be? Until he hears of Argos, Oedipus is left to mere conjecture.
1167.
mvp-comment-630-1
ὑμίν τοῖς Λαβδακίδαις.
1167.
mvp-comment-630-2
ἐγγενής i. e. ἐν γένει ὤν. Cp. О. Т. 941.
1171.
mvp-comment-631-1
ἀκούων τῶνδ'
When I hear this, i.e. Your last speech, in which you mention Argos. For τῶνδε, where τούτων would be more exact, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 34, and cp. Phil. 628, οὔκουν τάδ', ὦ παῖ, δεινά; The reference to Ismene's information in 378, foll., which Reisig and Hermann supposed, would be too obscure.
1171.
mvp-comment-631-2
ὁ προστάτης
The suppliant. The word occurs in this sense only here and in 1278. But cp. El. 1378, λιπαρεῖ προὔστην χερί. CC2
1172.
mvp-comment-632-1
For the optative, see Essay on Language § 36. p. 62, and cp. Thuc. 3. 84.
1172.
mvp-comment-632-2
ἐστίν is equivalent to ἂν εἴη supra. Cp. Eur. Med. 599, μηδ' ὄλβος, ὅστις τὴν ἐμὴν κνίζοι φρένα.
1173-1174.
mvp-comment-633-1
My son, O king, hated by me to whom of all the world I should most detest to listen. For the inexact use of the genitive ἀνδρῶν after the superlative, see Essay on Language § 9. p. 14. and cp. supra 105, μόχθοις λατρείων τοῖς ὑπερτάτοις βροτῶν. 1177,8. The sound of that voice has come to be abhorrent to his father's ear, and, I beseech thee, do not compel me to yield in this.' φθέγμα, see Essay on Language $ 50. p. 94, and cp. El. 1225, ὦ φθέγμ᾽, ἀφίκου; And for the meaning of ἥκει, see Essay on Language p. 97.
1179-1180.
mvp-comment-634-1
But what if his suppliant posture necessarily compels you? Consider :-whether you do not owe a reverence to the God. εἰ is to be taken in the sense of
whether, or
what if. σκόπει is a double construction, with εἰ, κ.τ.λ., and μή, κ.τ.λ., the second clause being added in ex. planation of the first. The emphatic ἐξαναγκάζει refers to ἀνάγκῃ προσβάλῃς in 1178. Several editors have preferred μή μοι. But although it is suitable for Antigone in 1183 to speak of Theseus' religious scruples, it is more consistent with the tone of Theseus himself to give this friendly warning to Oedipus.
1179-1180.
mvp-comment-634-2
ἐξαναγκάζει i. e.
Is thoroughly sufficient to compel you, without any constraint from me.
1181.
mvp-comment-635-1
νέα Essay on Language §. 23. p. 38. For the meaning, cp. Aesch. Suppl. 361, σὺ δὲ παρ᾽ ὀψιγόνου μάθε γεραιόφρων.
1182.
mvp-comment-636-1
τὸν ἄνδρα.. τόνδε If these words referred to Polynices, as Hermann thought, Antigone would show less tact in addressing her father than in supplicating the Elders (supra 237). Theseus has indicated a strong wish, as Oedipus Oe perceives (1178, 1350), that Polynices should be allowed to come, and also has expressed a fear that to repulse him would be to dishonour the God. Antigone appeals to her father's respect and gratitude towards Theseus, and to his affection for his daughters, as the motives most likely to influence him.
1186.
mvp-comment-637-1
The antecedent to a is a second accusative after παρασπάσει, SC.
1186.
mvp-comment-637-2
ταῦτα τῶν λεγομένων.
Fear not. He will not wrest thy judgment to such words of his as are against thy purposes.
1186.
mvp-comment-637-3
συμφέροντα] Not =
profitable, but in the more literal sense of
agreeable to,
conspiring with. Essay on Language p. 96.
1187.
mvp-comment-638-1
τά τοι καλῶς, κ.τ.λ. καλῶς is the MS. reading, and κακῶς, the emendation of Hermann, is not specially in point. His explanation is unsatisfactory.
Antigona, ut confirmet, quod dixit, oratione audienda nihil damni accipi, rationem reddit hanc, quod male facta dicendo dissimulari nequeant, sed ipsa oratio proditrix esse mali consilii soleat.
The words have no direct application to Polynices, but are a rhetorical generality, like some others in this play. Cp. Thuc. 2. 40, οὐ τοὺς λόγους τοῖς ἔργοις βλάβην ἡγούμενοι, ἀλλὰ μὴ προδιδαχθῆναι μᾶλλον λόγῳ πρότερον ἢ ἐπὶ ἃ δεῖ ἔργῳ ἐλθεῖν. For ἔργον, signifying a project not yet put in action, cp. Τr. 1157, σὺ δ᾽ οὖν ἄκουε τούργον : Αj. 466, οὐκ ἔστι τοὔργον τλητόν.
1190.
mvp-comment-639-1
This seems to be the better of two ways of emending this line. Essay on Language § 41. p. 77. Others read κακίστων δυσσεβέστατ', ὦ πάτερ.
1191.
mvp-comment-640-1
θέμις is indeclinable here. See L. and S. s. v.
1192.
mvp-comment-641-1
ἀλλ᾿ αὐτόν- The conjecture of the Ist London edition, ἀλλ᾽ ἔασον, has been accepted with various modifications s by by subsequent sub critics. The text is eloquently defended by Mr. Palmer, who observes: 'I think it not quite impossible to understand the brief expression, backed up as it is by the argument which follows, as the language of earnest entreaty, and that the verb is to be supplied by the mind. Antigone had fully presented her request at the commencement of her speech, so that what she then said may be considered as referred to in this short broken sentence, ἀλλ᾿ αὐτόν.
Nay, but receive him graciously ... there are others who have had bad sons and fierce anger, and as they have been charmed into gentleness by the soothing persuasion of their friends, so be you. If ἀλλ' αὐτόν were uttered in a tone of earnest entreaty, and the speaker abruptly added what follows, I can conceive that it would be very intelligible, and if so, the touching effect of the entreaty would be heightened by the very fact that the sentence was unfinished. Antigone leaves her father to imagine all she meant to say, and supplies what is wanting in words by the earnestness of her manner and beseeching tone of voice.' There is force in these remarks, though the quotation of parallel examples would be more to the purpose. The MSS. are practically unanimous; but the aposiopesis is all but unique. Cp. however Aesch. Cho. 749 ff., where Schütz and other editors suppose a lacuna. And in this play there are several places where the original construction of a sentence is not carried out. Cp. esp. supr. 421 ff., 531 ff., infr. 1299 ff., 1370 ff., 1669. Comparisons between classical Greek and the New Testament are usually too remote to be of any use; but the language of affection has similarities in every age, and the ellipse in Philemon 12 is curiously parallel-σὺ δὲ αὐτόν (sc. προσλαβοῦ, which is added from the deferred apodosis in the Textus Receptus). The motive in both cases is the same, viz. a delicate tact, which shrinks from uttering the word of command or entreaty, and hastens to urge fresh topics of persuasion. The deferred apodosis is implied in line 1201, ἀλλ' ἡμῖν εἶκε. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 649 ff., where Dindorf supposes a lacuna, σε in Paris A (followed by R) is a gloss of some grammarian who understood the passage as it is explained in Canter's note:
Insigne est hoc ἀναπόδοτον, ac singulare. Vult enim hoc dicere, ἀλλ αὐτὸν εἴκειν, καὶ νουθετούμενον ἐξεπάδεσθαι, etc.' For an equally difficult anacoluthon, see Thuc. 5. 22. Qy.
1192.
mvp-comment-641-2
ἀλλ᾽ εἶξον (ΑΛΛΑΥΤΟΝ) ? 1193-
1194.
mvp-comment-642-1
ἀλλὰ φύσιν
But, on their receiving counsel, their nature is pacified by the counsels of friends, who charm away their passion.
1195.
mvp-comment-643-1
μὴ τὰ νῦν (Sc. πήματα ἃ πάσχεις), i. e. Turn from the indignity which now enrages you to those former calamities which you suffered. not by your own fault, but by the fault of your father and mother. The correction μοι for μή is unnecessary, and gives a weak meaning to τανῦν. The note of the Scholiast, τὰ περὶ τὴν πήρωσιν λέγοι ἄν· οὐ γὰρ τὰ ἐξ ἀρχῆς πραχθέντα ὀνειδίζει αὐτῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ἃ ἀπὸ τῆς ἄγαν ὀργῆς ἀπέβη. τούτου γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀποτρέπειν βούλεται, is right in spirit, for Antigone is not reproaching her father. But, in gently approaching the subject, she alludes only in the most general way to the miseries which came from the rash impetuosity of Laius, Jocasta, and Oedipus, and, to avoid reproaching him, refers them all to their source in the actions of his parents. Cp. supr. 268, 595 ff. And for the meaning of θυμός, Ant. 493-494. φιλεῖ δ᾽ ὁ θυμὸς πρόσθεν ᾑρῆσθαι κλοπεὺς | τῶν μηδὲν ὀρθῶς ἐν σκότῳ τεχνωμένων.
1199-1200.
mvp-comment-644-1
For you have reasons enough to move you, when you think of your own sightless eyes, to which light returns not.' οὐχὶ βαιά] Hesych. Σοφοκλῆς δὲ Οἰδίποδι ἐν Κολωνῷ· οὐ βαιά, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἄφθονα καὶ πολλά. 1201-1202. λιπαρεῖν γὰρ οὐ καλὸν | δίκαια προσχρήζουσιν] (1) ‘It is not well that those whose request is just should make long supplication; i.e. They should be at once gratified. This involves a change of subject (Essay on Language p. 65), and requires that the acc.
1199-1200.
mvp-comment-644-2
προσχρήζοντας should have been attracted into the dat. in construction with καλών (ib. § 35 pp. 59, 60). Both difficulties may be avoided by taking λιπαρεῖν in the general sense of ' obstinate continuance,' as in Hdt. 1. 94, etc., and προσχρήζουσιν as = πρὸς προσχρήζοντας, or as if λιπαρεῖν were λιπαρή φαίνεσθαι: (2)
It is not well to be obdurate to a just request. Cp. supr. 1119, τὸ λιπαρές. For this meaning, cp. Fr. 76, τοῖς γὰρ δικαίοις ἀντέχειν οὐ ῥάδιον. And for the dative, cp. O. T. 1373, οἷν ἐμοὶ δυοῖν, κ.τ.λ., and see Essay on Language § 12. p. 18. β 1. But the constant use of λιπαρεῖν in Attic, in the sense of ' to press with requests,' renders this interpretation improbable, and the former (1) is to be preferred. The use of οὐκ (rather than μή) in 1203 is accounted for by the attraction of the previous οὐ, and by reference to the actual circumstances. Essay on Language § 29. p. 49.
1204.
mvp-comment-645-1
βαρεῖαν ἡδονὴν νικᾶτέ με
You win me by your words to grant your request against my will. ἡδονή may either refer (1) to the pleasure which Oedipus gives to his daughters, cp. Αj. 114, ἐπειδὴ τέρψις ἥδε σοὶ τὸ δρᾶν: or (2) to the pleasure which he feels in hearing them; either being accompanied with pain to himself. For the accusative in (2) see Essay on Language § 17. p. 24, and cp. Tr. 960-961, χωρεῖν πρὸ δόμων λέγουσιν, ἄσπετόν τι θαῦμα. The oxymoron is more pointed in (2).
1206.
mvp-comment-646-1
εἴπερ is emphatic, expressing some impatience at his forced consent.
If he must come.
1207.
mvp-comment-647-1
Let me never be delivered into the power of any man; i.e.
By no means let me come into his power. For the periphrasis with ψυχή, cp. esp. Ant. 1069, Phil. 54, 5. And for μηδείς, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 36.
1210.
mvp-comment-648-1
σῶς ἴσθ᾽ Sc. ὤν, Essay on Language § 39. p. 72, 1, c.
Know thyself safe. The reading of L. may be due to a gloss to this effect, viz. σῶς/ὤν.
1211.
mvp-comment-649-1
How foolish to desire long life, which but increases sorrow; while joys depart before the joyless hour of death. Far best for a man is never to be born; but after birth to go with all speed whence he came is next best by far. For when once thoughtless youth is come, [who escapes from grief?] what grief is not there? Blood, faction, strife, war, envy, and, last of ills, hateful, cold, helpless, friendless age, wherein all the greatest evils make their dwelling. So I have found, and so too this unfortunate is buffeted with a sea of troubles, some fresh calamity ever breaking over him, some borne on the sunset breeze, some at the rising of the sun, some coming through the noontide blaze, and some from the winds of night.
1211.
mvp-comment-649-2
The iambic and trochaic metres which are here mingled with the glyconic and logaoedic, are lighter and more resolved than in the previous ode. Strophe and Antistrophe.
The equivalence of the long and short syllables in the 2nd foot of l. 9 is remarkable, and indicates a retardation of the rhythm. Epode. * See note on 1248. The third line, both of strophe and antistrophe, introduces the reasons of the two lines which form the prelude.
1211.
mvp-comment-649-3
The coming of Polynices again mars the peacefulness of the scene. The old age of Oedipus appears to have sorrow upon sorrow. The theme of the chorus is not, as some have thought, the unprofitableness of riches, but the misery of old age and the folly of desiring long life.
1211-1212.
mvp-comment-650-1
He whose desire of life keeps not the mean, but craves the larger share, will be convicted in my judgment of cherishing folly.' ζώειν must be closely connected with the genitives, and is rather to be explained as an accusative of respect than as epexegetic infinitive.
1211-1212.
mvp-comment-650-2
τοῦ μετρίου παρείς (1)
Neglecting the moderate portion, a poetical construction for παρεὶς τὸ μέτριον. Cp. Plat. Legg. 3, 691 C, ἐάν τις μείζονα διδῷ τοῖς ἐλάττοσι δύναμιν παρεὶς τὸ μέτριον. The same construction occurs in Plat. Phaedr. 235 Ε, παρέντα τοῦ . . ἐγκωμιάζειν. Οι (2), supposing an ellipse of the inf., παρέντα τοῦ μετρίου χρήζειν,
Omitting to desire the mean. Thuc 8.41, ἀφεὶς τὸ ἐς τὴν Χίον ἔπλει ἐς τὴν Καῦνον. The article, as elsewhere with words of number and measurement, opposing what is more to what is less. The expression d πλέον μέρος occurs in Cleobulus quoted by Suidas; ἀβουλία τὸ πλέον μέρος ἐν βροτοίσιν. Bergk, Poet. Lyr. Gr. Mel. xi.
1212.
mvp-comment-651-1
φυλάσσων An Homeric expression. Il. 16. 30, χόλος ὃν σὺ φυλάσσεις.
1212.
mvp-comment-651-2
ἐν ἐμοί i. e.
So far as the decision rests with me. Cp. O. T. 677, ἐν δὲ τοῖσδ᾽ ἴσος: supr. 422-423, ἐν δ᾽ ἐμοὶ τέλος | αὐτοῖν γένοιτο, κ.τ.λ.
1215-1216.
mvp-comment-652-1
ἐπεὶ ἐγγυτέρω These words have been explained in two ways: (1)
Since length of days brings many things (in life) nearer to grief. (Herm.) (2) Since length of days has in store much that is akin to sorrow.' (Elms.) A third way of taking κατέθεντο seems preferable. (3)
Since length of days contributes much that is akin to sorrow; i.e. κατέθεντο is a subjective middle, like παρέχομαι. Not =
Has laid up in store, which requires the perfect tense, but brings in,' sc. εἰς τὸν βίον. Cp Hesiod. Op. et D. 361. For the use of the adverb, cp. Ant. 933.4, θανάτου τοῦτ᾽ ἐγγυτάτω | τοῦπος ἀφῖκται, And see Essay on Language § 24. p. 40, 2.
1217.
mvp-comment-653-1
οὐκ ἂν ἴδοις ὅπου Cp. Aj. 103, ἢ τοὐπίτρικτον κίναδος ἐξήρου μ' ὅπου; and esp. Aesch. Eum. 301, τὸ χαίρειν μὴ μαθόνθ᾽ ὅπου φρενῶν.
1219-1220.
mvp-comment-654-1
ὅταν . . θέλοντος (1)
τὸ θέλον voluntatem significat... Genitivus vero non regitur a comparativo..sed ut τὸ πολὺ τοῦ θέλοντος, ita etiam τὸ πλέον dictum. Sensus est, si quis in id, quod in cupiendo nimium est, incidit: i. e. Si quis modum in cupiendo excedit.
(Herm.) See Essay on Language § 30. p. 51. But the absence of joys comes not from desiring too much, but from having too much of life. Hence (2) it is better to explain τὸ θέλον, sc. τοῦ βίου, as that portion (of life) which is accompanied with desire to live.
When one outlives the will to live. Musgr. conj.
1219-1220.
mvp-comment-654-2
σθένοντος. For εἰς.. πίπτειν in this connexion, cp. Eur. Ion, 700, πολιὸν ἐσπεσοῦσα γῆρας. It may be worth suggesting that, in Eur. L. Α. 657, τὸ θέλον should be read for τὸ θέλειν.
1220.
mvp-comment-655-1
*ὁ δ᾽ ἐπίκουρος The correction turns simply on the substitution of o for ou and vice versa. The old spelling of either reading would be οδεπικορος. When ὁ 8' had been changed to οὐδ' the other change was natural, as we see from the Schol. The order is ὁ δὲ θάνατός (ἐστιν) ἐπίκουρος ἰσοτέλεστος ἐς τελεύταν,
But death is an impartial ally to finish all at last. Cp. H. h. Merc. 97, ὀρφναίη δ᾽ ἐπίκουρος ἐπαύετο δαιμονίη νύξ. For the use of the article, see Essay on Language § 21. p. 33,5. A slighter change from the MS. reading, οὐδ᾽ ἐπίκουρος, which obtained in edd. before Brunck, may be explained to mean,
and they find no helper, when death, etc., etc., comes. But the clauses are not well balanced, the metre is improbable, and a change, such as το τ' αὖ κατάμεμπτον is required in 1235. The reading οὐδ᾽ ἔπι κόρος is ingeniously adapted to ὅταν . . θέλοντος, in the sense, When one has fallen into an excess of wishing,' viz.
and cannot have enough: but cannot be turned so as to give a satisfactory and consistent meaning to the whole sentence; besides which μηδέ and not οὐδέ would be required. And the reading of Hermann, adopted in the text, metrically corresponds to the antistrophe.
1220.
mvp-comment-655-2
ἰσοτέλεστος seems to be a verbal with an active meaning. For instances of this. see Essay on Language p. 98. 1221-1222. Ἄϊδος ὅτε μοῖρα .. ἀναπέφηνε] 'When Hades hath his hour, attended not by marriage song, nor dance, nor lyre.' For ἀναφαίνεσθαι, of an unlooked for coming, cp. Aesch. Cho. 328, ἀναφαίνεται δ᾽ ὁ βλάπτων. Ἄΐδος μοῖρα, like θανάτου μοῖρα, Aesch. Pers. 917: Eur. Med. 987. "Αΐδος μοῖρα is either (1) the right of Hades in men, or (2) man's share of death, like μοῖρα βιότοιο. Death is imagined as lurking near until the appointed time.
1220.
mvp-comment-655-3
ἄλυρος ἄχορος Cp. Aesch. Suppl.681, ἄχορον ἀκίθαριν δακρυογόνον Ἄρη.
1225.
mvp-comment-656-1
τὸν ἅπαντα νικᾷ λόγον
Stands first on the whole calculation; i. e. Is best of all. The construction is analogous to νικᾶν ἀγῶνα, μάχην, etc. Cp. Fr. 737, τἀληθὲς ἀεὶ πλεῖστον ἰσχύει λόγου. A similar expression of the early Ionic pessimism occurs in Theognis, 425, πάντων μὲν μὴ φῦναι ἐπιχθονίοισιν ἄριστον | μηδ᾽ ἐσιδεῖν αὐγὰς ὀξέος ἠελίου· | φῦντα δ᾽ ὅπως ἄκιστα πύλας Αίδαο περῆσαι. Cp. Hdt. 7. 46, ὁ μὲν θάνατος, μοχθηρῆς ἐούσης τῆς ζύης, καταφυγὴ αἱρετωτάτη τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ γέγονε. The words βῆναι κεῖθεν ὅθεν περ ἥκει come near to the language of Job 10. 19,
I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
1225.
mvp-comment-656-2
ἐπεὶ φανῇ] · When one hath seen the light. For the subjunctive without av, see Essay on Language § 27. p. 44; and for a similar omission of ἄν τις, cp. Ant. 1025, ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἁμάρτῃ.
1226.
mvp-comment-657-1
βῆναι κεῖθεν ὅθεν περ ἥκει
To go from whence he came. A curious attraction of the antecedent for κεῖσε ὅθεν περ. Essay on Language § 35. p. 60.
1228.
mvp-comment-658-1
πολὺ δεύτερον
Is next best by far. The phrase is paradoxically adapted from πολὺ πρῶτον. Essay on Language § 37. p. 69.
1228.
mvp-comment-658-2
ὡς τάχιστα. These words assist the connection with what follows. As soon as possible; for, once let youth be there, etc.' See note on 1229.
1229.
mvp-comment-659-1
ὡς εὐτ᾿ ἂν τὸ νέον παρῇ ..
1229.
mvp-comment-659-2
φέρον Bonitz, deriving παρῇ from παρίημι, interprets,
Since when one has passed youth with its light unconsciousness. And this is favoured at first sight by the analogy of such passages as Tr. 144-151, Aj. 552-559. But 1. The plural ἀφροσύνας, and the meaning of φέρον, are both harsh according to this φέρο interpretation. Hence Nauck conj. ἀφροσύνας γέμον. 2.The comparison of Fr. 713, ὕβρις .. ἐν νέοις ἀνθεῖ, and of Il. 3.108, αἰεὶ δ' ὁπλοτέρων ἀνδρῶν φρένες ἠερέθονται, support the more obvious meaning,
When youth is present. 3. The connexion with ὡς τάχιστα, and the dark colouring of the whole ode, are in keeping with the most natural meaning of the words.
For when once youth is there with her thoughtless follies... Greek tragedy is continually reminding us that men are plunged by mere thoughtlessness into the deepest calamities. The interpretation of l. 1231 is doubtful. It is clear, however, that if the words φόνοι, στάσεις, etc., are in any construction, the Scholiast is right in explaining τίς οὐ καμάτων ἔνι to mean οὐδείς ἐστι κάματος, ὃς οὐκ ἔνεστιν. For the genitive, cp. Τr. 146, πνευμάτων οὐδὲν κλονεῖ. On the other hand the subject of τίς πλάγχθη πολύμοχθος ἔξω is generally supposed to be τίς ἀνήρ. (1)
What trouble-vexed mortal wanders out of the way (i. e, the broad way of trouble)?' i. e. Which of all the suffering race is exempt from suffering? The proleptic use of πολύμοχθος, although curious, is not by any means fatal to this interpretation (Essay on Language § 38. p. 70). But the inversion of the subject ('What man escapes? What trouble is not there?' when combined with the ellipse of ἀνήρ, is somewhat harsh. And πλάγχθη ἔξω is a strange expression for ἐξέφυγε. For πλάζεσθαι is generally,
To miss a desired end; or to be driven out of an intended course.
Who misses of being miserable? (τίς ἔξω τοῦ πολύμοχθος εἶναι ἐπλανήθη; 2nd Scholiast) is a paradoxical expression in which the paradoxical form has no force or meaning. And if the paradox had been intended it would have been more pointedly brought out. The interpretation of the 1st Scholiast is on the whole more probable: τοῦτο ἰδίως ἐξήνεγκεν, βούλεται δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτο σημαίνειν· τίς ἂν πλαγχθείη τῶν πολλῶν μόχθων; (2) Which of the many troubles will be turned aside?' i. e. anticipating the notion of καμάτων, τίς πολύμοχθος κάματος πλάγχθη ἔξω, τίς καμάτων οὐκ ἔνι;
What troublous woe misses the life? What woe is not found therein? The retention of the same subject, and the antithesis of ἔξω and ἔνι, are in favour of this. The personification (cp. supra 536, μυρίων ἐπιστροφαὶ κακῶν) is in harmony with the catalogue which fol- ἐπιλέλογχε] ἐπιλέlows, and with ἐπιλέλογχε in l. 1236. Aesch. Prom. 275-276, ταὐτά τοι πλανωμένη | πρὸς ἄλλοτ᾽ ἄλλον πημονὴ προσιζάνει. Ant. 613-614, νόμος ὅδ᾽ οὐδὲν ἕρπων | θνατῶν βιότῳ πάμπολις ἐκτὸς ἄτας. The ellipse (of τοῦ βίου) after ἔξω is not more difficult than the similar ellipse after ἔνι. The collocation of πολύμοχθος κάματος is like πολύπλανοι πλάναι in Aesch. Prom. 585, and even the construction, πολύμοχθος καμάτων, if that is necessary, would be Homeric, like ἆ δειλὲ ξείνων, Od. 14. 361.
1235-1236.
mvp-comment-660-1
ἐπιλέλογχε πύματον Has allotted to him the last place of all.' πύματονis supplementary predicate agreeing with γῆρας, in the same construction as the adjective in πρῶτος λαχεῖν. ἐπι =
Coming in after the rest. πύματος is an Epic word, stronger than ὕστατος.
1238.
mvp-comment-661-1
κακὰ κακών Essay on Language § 40. p. 75, 4. For the thought, cp. Fr. 864, πάντ᾿ ἐμπέφυκε τῷ μακρῷ γήρᾳ κακά, νοῦς φροῦδος, ἔργ᾽ ἀχρεῖα, φροντίδες κεναί. And contrast that which should accompany old age, As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, Macb. 5. 2. re-
1240.
mvp-comment-662-1
πάντοθεν As Hermann marks, this word is to be referred to Oedipus rather than to the promontory to which he is compared.
1241.
mvp-comment-663-1
κλονεῖται This, which is properly the apodosis, has been absorbed, as often happens in comparisons, into the relative clause, and the construction is therefore supplemented by the more explicit application of the simile in ὡς καὶ τόνδε, κ.τ.λ, Essay on Language § 35. p. 60.
1242-1244.
mvp-comment-664-1
ὡς καὶ τόνδε . . ξυνοῦσαι
So he too is buffeted by fearful woes, that break like billows over his head, and never cease from him.
1242-1244.
mvp-comment-664-2
κατάκρας] Cp. Hom. Od. 5.313, ὡς ἄρα μιν εἰπόντ᾽ ἔλασεν μέγα κῦμα κατ᾿ ἄκρης. 1244, foll. The concluding lines are an expansion partly of πάντοθεν, partly of dei, the notions of space and time being confused. Cp. Hdt. 3. 114, Ἀποκλινομένης δὲ μεσαμβρίης, κ.τ.λ. where locality is signified in words expressing the time of day. Some from the region of the sunset, some with the break of day, some through the meridian brightness, some coming with the blasts of night.' The last expression has been variously interpreted. The Scholiast speaks of the Rhipaean mountains, which, he adds, were towards the west, and quotes a line of Alcman, ῥιπὰς ὄρος ἀνθέον ὕλᾳ, νυκτὸς μελαίνας στέρνον. The north rather than the west is the region of midnight. But it is not likely that after speaking so simply of morning, noon, and evening, the poet would have perplexed his reference to night with an obscure allusion to a remote locality. (2) Some modern interpreters compare Ε1. 106, παμφεγγεῖς ἄστρων ῥιπάς, and would render,
From the twinkling fires of night, or, From the glimmerings of night.' Cp. τὰ νυκτερινὰ φέγγη in Plat. Rep. 6. 508 C. But this gives no distinct image, and the antithesis to ἀκτῖν' does not improve the sense. (3) Hermann with more probability says,
De ventis, quos noctu maxime auribus percipimus, intelligenda vox ῥιπᾶν. Cp. Apollonius Rhodius, Apollonius l. 1015, οὐ μὲν ἰούσης | νυκτὸς ἔτι ῥιπὴ μένεν ἔμπεδον ἀλλὰ θύελλαι | ἀντίαι ἁρπάγδην ὀπίσω φέρον: Ib. 4. 1682,.. ἡ δ᾽ ὑπὸ νυκτὶ | ῥιπῇσιν μὲν πρῶτα τινάσσεται, ὕστερον αῦτε, κ.τ.λ.
Perhaps with the image of the winds is associated some idea of ، impulse. The powers or influences of night.
1248.
mvp-comment-665-1
*ἐννυχιᾶν The slight change recommended by Lachmann seems necessary in order to secure a probable rhythm. The substitution of the single for the double vor is one of the most frequent errors in L. And the Schol. says λέγει δὲ αὐτὰ ἐννύχια, κ.τ.λ. Cp. ll. 4-5 of the epode. The line does not make a harmonious ending here, and vυχιᾶν is improbable.
1250.
mvp-comment-666-1
Here comes, as it would seem, the man from Argos, shedding copious tears:-and, father, it is indeed no other-. For ἡμῖν, cp. esp. supr. 81, and note. Here we have approaching to disturb us.' ἀνδρῶν γε μοῦνος] (1) Some appear to take this with λείβων δάκρυον,
Weeping, unlike other men. Praeter morem virorum.' (Hermann.) But, besides the poverty of such a sense, the weeping of men is not uncommon in Greek poetry, or even in Greek history. Others (Schndw.) take μοῦνος = μονωθείς,
Without companions, referring to the apprehension expressed in 1206-1207. This is rightly rejected by Dindorf. Antigone does not at once name Polynices, for fear of offending her father, but she cannot help ejaculating
It is indeed no other; i. e. than Polynices, whom you supposed him to be (1. 1171). Cp. supra 321, μόνης τόδ᾽ ἐστὶ δῆλον Ἰσμήνης κάρα (' Ismene and no other'), 319, οὔκ ἐστιν ἄλλη: Τr. 261, μόνον βροτῶν : 355, μόνος θεῶν : Εl. 531, μοῦνος Ἑλλήνων. The imperfect expression makes the question of Oedipus more natural, τίς ούτος;
Whom do you mean? 1252-1253. ὅνπερ καὶ πάλαι κατείχομεν γνώμῃ] Supra 1171.
1254.
mvp-comment-667-1
Cp. the first words of Ismene, 11. 324-326.
1255.
mvp-comment-668-1
τὰ τοῦδ᾽ ὁρῶν τά is in the same construction with κακά, governed by δακρύσω: but is also governed by ὁρῶν, which is added epexegetically. 1258, foll. In such raiment, whose hateful soilure hath grown old and settled on his aged frame, withering his side.' The conjectural emendation πίνος, which is due to Scaliger, agrees admirably with the context as well as with l. 1597, and the MS. reading is here indefensible.
1260.
mvp-comment-669-1
The rhythm here curiously resembles that of supr. 314. 5.
1260.
mvp-comment-669-2
κρατί is a locative dative, and ὀμματοστερής has a passive meaning.
1261.
mvp-comment-670-1
ᾄσσεται The middle or passive form is used as in the Homeric expression ἀμφὶ δὲ χαῖται | ὤμοις ἀΐσσονται, ΙΙ. 6.510. 1263-1264. 'And of a piece with these miseries, as it would seem. is the provision for the poor belly's nourishment which he carries with him.' The word φορεῖ, taken in connection with the preceding context, shows that the remark of Polynices refers to the appearance of the scrip or wallet in which Oedipus, like the Telephus of Euripides, carried the
scanted gifts which he received. (1. 3.)
1265-1266.
mvp-comment-671-1
And I declare that thy neglected condition proves me basest of Ask not others about me. For the correction, cp. El. 1225, μηκέτ᾽ ἄλλοθεν πύθῃ. The confusion of µ and λλ would easily occur with μὴ ἐξ ἄλλων following. For the meaning of ἥκειν, see Essay on Language § 52. p. 97; and for the dative τροφαῖς, ib. § 14. p. 21 (2).
1267.
mvp-comment-672-1
But seeing that even Zeus has Mercy at his side in all his counsels, let her have place also by thee, O my father.'
1269-1270.
mvp-comment-673-1
For while it is possible to remedy the errors that have been committed, to add to them is now impossible; i.e. We can restore you to some comforts, but you cannot be made more miserable. For the expression, cp. Aesch. Eum. 645, πέδας μὲν ἂν λύσειεν, ἔστι τοῦδ᾽ ἄκος.
1269-1270.
mvp-comment-673-2
μέν ἐστι .. οὐκ ἔστ' This accentuation was retained by Elmsley from previous editions. The stress in the first clause is on ἄκη, in the second on οὐκ ἔστι.
1271.
mvp-comment-674-1
The interrupted verse marks the solemn pause in which Polynices waits for his father to break silence.
1274.
mvp-comment-675-1
ἃ μηνίεις Ε. on L. § 17. p. 25.
1277.
mvp-comment-676-1
To unlock our father's lips, that will not speak nor be spoken to.' δυσπρόσοιστον = χαλεπὸν προσφέρεσθαι.
1277.
mvp-comment-676-2
ἀπροσήγορον has rather a reciprocal than either an active or a passive meaning. Cp. Phil. 1353, τῷ προσήγορος; Eur. Alc. 195, ὃν οὐ προσείπε καὶ προσερρήθη πάλιν. Cp. supr. 1141 and note. For κινεῖν = ‘Τo excite to speech,' cp. Plat. Rep. 329 D, βουλόμενος ἔτι λέγειν αὐτὸν ἐκίνουν.
1279.
mvp-comment-677-1
οὕτως *ἀφῇ γε The second με was rightly rejected by Turnebus. The second γε, on the other hand, gives an intelligible emphasis to οὕτως, which is further explained by μηδέν.. ἔπος. 1280 ff. The wisdom of this counsel is in keeping with the tact, beyond her years, which Antigone herself elsewhere displays.
1281-1282.
mvp-comment-678-1
'For speech, when lengthened out, may either by gratifying some fancy, by awakening some impatience or some pity. For the causative use of δυσχεραίνω and κατοικτίζω, which is assisted by the active τέρψαντα preceding, see Essay on Language § 53. p. 98, and cp. the passive κατῳκτίσθην in Eur. I. A. 686. The more usual meaning,
By expressing anger or pity, is unsuited to the circumstances (Polynices was not likely to move Oedipus by expressing anger or pity), and affords no suitable connection with the following line.
1286.
mvp-comment-679-1
ἔνθεν
From whose altar. ἀνέστησεν] On raising the suppliant, cp. supra 264. 276, and notes.
1290.
mvp-comment-680-1
κυρεῖν
To be made good. For this emphatic use of κυρέω, cp. Tr. 291, νῦν σοι τέρψις ἐμφανὴς κυρεῖ.
1291.
mvp-comment-681-1
ἅ Cp. supra 1274, and note.
1294.
mvp-comment-682-1
γονῇ ·· γεραιτέρᾳ
Of elder birth. See Essay on Language § 42. p. 80.
1295.
mvp-comment-683-1
φύσει By birth, answering to πεφυκώς, supra. Cp. Hdt. 7. 134, φύσει γεγονότες εὖ.
1297.
mvp-comment-684-1
χειρὸς οὔτ᾽ ἔργου i. e. οὔτε χειρὸς οὔτ᾽ ἔργου. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 532, Πάρις γὰρ οὔτε συντελὴς πόλις, κ.τ.λ. The first οὔτε may be suppressed because of οὔτε preceding. But Hermann's conj., οὐδ', is not improbable.
1300.
mvp-comment-685-1
The reading of Lis more distinct than that of Par. A, but there is still some degree of inexactness in the language. For μάλιστα μέν does not oppose Polynices' own opinion to the words of the prophets, but the anger of Oedipus to other causes of disaster at Thebes.
1301.
mvp-comment-686-1
The connection shows that the μάντεις are the soothsayers of his new army, who had obtained information of the oracle given to the θεωροί from Thebes: infr. 1331-1332, cp. supr. 387 ff.
1301.
mvp-comment-686-2
Ἄργος .. Δωρικόν) The plain of Argolis, as distinguished from the Pelasgic Argos in Thessaly. II. 2. 681. rex
1303.
mvp-comment-687-1
γῆς .. Ἀπίας
Apis ut Sicyonii teste Pausania 2, 5, 5, ferebant, fuerat Peloponnesi, a quo tota Peloponnesus nomen Apiae terrae accepit. Ex iis, quae de eo rege Aeschylus Suppl. 270 seqq. (260 foll.) refert, intelligitur illud τὸν ἤπιον significare, fabulamque illam ad vitae humanioris cultum in illis locis introductum spectare.
Hermann: whose inference is, however, scarcely justified by the words of Aeschylus.
1304.
mvp-comment-688-1
καὶ τετίμηνται δόρει
And are honoured most in war. The superlative notion is continued from πρῶτοι. Ср. О. Т. 1205 and note.
1305.
mvp-comment-689-1
τὸν ἑπτάλογχον.. στόλον The article is probably used by an anachronism: i. e.
The well-known expedition of the seven chieftains. Cp. supra 1066, and note. For the adj. cp. infr. 1311.
1305.
mvp-comment-689-2
ἐς Θήβας depends on the idea of motion implied in the sentence = στόλον στειλάμενος.
1306.
mvp-comment-690-1
πανδίκως
Might either die and make an end, as is fitting. The latter part of the compound is subordinate, but supplies a certain notion of fitness, i. e. πανδίκως = πάντως, ὡς δίκαιον. The same thought is present as in Aj. 479-480, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ καλῶς ζῆν, ἢ καλῶς τεθνηκέναι | τὸν εὐγενή χρή.
1310.
mvp-comment-691-1
ἐμαυτοῦ
On my own account. Essay on Language § 9. p. 12.
1311.
mvp-comment-692-1
σὺν ἑπτά τε λόγχαις Cp. Ant. 106, τὸν . . Ἀργόθεν φῶτα βάντα πανσαγία: 141-142. ταχθέντες ἴσοι πρὸς ἴσους ἔλιπον Ζηνὶ τροπαίῳ πάγχαλκα τέλη. (1) The uplifted spear of each leader is singled out for special mention as that to which all eyes would turn for the signal to march, etc. Cp. Trach. 856, κελαινὰ λόγχα προμάχου δορός, Aesch. Eum. 766, εὖ κεκασμένον δορύ. Although λόγχη, like ἀσπίς, is sometimes used collectively, ἑπτὰ ἀσπίδες could never mean
seven heavy-armed battalions. (2) If τάξις might have the special meaning of
a troop of cavalry, it might mig be proposed to read λόχοις for λόγχαις.
1313.
mvp-comment-693-1
Ἀμφιάρεως.
1314.
mvp-comment-694-1
πρώτα δ᾽ οἰωνῶν ὁδοῖς
And skilled before all men in the intricate meanings of the flight of birds.
1318-1319.
mvp-comment-695-1
κατασκαφῇ Dative of the manner: πυρί, dative of the instrument:
In utter demolition to burn with fire.
1320.
mvp-comment-696-1
ὄρνυται
Rushes on. The word indicates the fiery youth of Parthenopaeus.
1321.
mvp-comment-697-1
ἐπώνυμος.. λοχευθείς
Called so, because the late offspring of a mother, who beforetime was long a virgin. The genitive is governed partly by ἐπώνυμος and partly by λοχευθείς, which is added epexegetically. Cp. supra 1255, and note. Essay on Language § 43. p. 82.
1321.
mvp-comment-697-2
χρόνῳ refers to the long-continued maidenhood of Atalanta, and is in construction either (1) with πρόσθεν, or rather (2) with λοχευθείς.
1322.
mvp-comment-698-1
πιστός
Steadfast: δίκαιος κἀγαθὸς παραστάτης, Ant. 671. An ornamental epithet, suitably applied by Polynices to one of his faithful companions. Cp. infra 1395.
1323-1325.
mvp-comment-699-1
ἐγὼ δὲ.. ἄγω Polynices ends with the mention of himself, but, instead of continuing the enumeration, distinguishes himself from the rest as the leader of all.
1323-1325.
mvp-comment-699-2
σός Sc. γόνος.
1323-1325.
mvp-comment-699-3
τοῦ κακοῦ πότμου φυτευθείς Cp. Ο. Τ. 1080, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν παῖδα τῆς τύχης νέμων, κ.τ.λ.
1323-1325.
mvp-comment-699-4
Ἄργους is partly gen. of place = rdv ἐξ Ἄργους opposed to ἐς Θήβας, partly descriptive = 'Αργεῖον.
1326.
mvp-comment-700-1
To make his supplication more impressive Polynices represents the whole army, which he has described, as joining in it. Ср. О. Т. 326-327, ἐπεὶ | πάντες σε προσκυνοῦμεν οἵδ᾽ ἱκτήριοι.
1326.
mvp-comment-700-2
ἀντὶ.. ψυχῆς] 'By these thy children, and by thy life. This rare use of ἀντί is to be explained by the notion of equivalence.
At the price of your children; i. e. As you love them. Cp. El. 537, ἀλλ ἀντ᾿ ἀδελφοῦ. 'But for his brother's sake.'
1328.
mvp-comment-701-1
μήνιν εἰκαθεῖν Το yield your wrath.' The construction is singular, but εἰκαθεῖν = χαλᾶν. Essay on Language § 16. p. 23.
1330.
mvp-comment-702-1
πάτρας The accusative would be an equally regular construction, but the genitive is preferred because admitting of a construction with both verbs.
1331-1332.
mvp-comment-703-1
For, if any event is to be believed in as issuing from prophecy, the God declared the victory to be with those whom you support.' ἐκ χρηστηρίων, sc. ἀποβαίνον. προσθῇ, SC. ἀλκήν, or the like. Cp. Hdt. 2. 160, τῷ ἀστῷ ἀγωνιζομένῳ προσθήσονται.
1333.
mvp-comment-704-1
Now, by the wells and by the Gods of our race. Although ὁμογνίων adheres closely to θεῶν, the same idea is extended to κρηνῶν,
The wells of which our fathers drank. The v. r., πρὸς θεῶν, deserves attention.
1336.
mvp-comment-705-1
ἄλλους.. θωπεύοντες
Courting favours from others at Argos and at Athens. οἰκοῦμεν)
We obtain a dwellingplace.
1337.
mvp-comment-706-1
ἐξειληφότες
Having received. Cp. Plat. Soph. 227 B, where there is a similar doubt between εἰλήφασι and εἰλήχασι and the MSS. are strongly in favour of εἰλήφασι. For ἐξειληχότες, which is equally probable, cp. El. 760.
1340-1341.
mvp-comment-707-1
ὃν.. διασκεδῶ Whose forces I will scatter to the winds.' Eteocles stands for his power, as Polynices for his in Ant. 106, τὸν λεύκασπιν Αργόθεν φῶτα βάντα, κ.τ.λ.
1340.
mvp-comment-708-1
τήμῇ · · φρενί
If you will side with me. For this periphrasis, cp. Ant. 1015, τῆς σῆς ἐκ φρενός : ib. 1063, μὴ ᾿μπολήσων .. τὴν ἐμὴν φρένα: Τr. 538, ἐμπόλημα τῆς ἐμῆς φρενός.
1341.
mvp-comment-709-1
With little effort and in brief time.' ὄγκος, is originally bulk' or
mass. Hence it has the two secondary senses of (1)
importance, (2)
effort. Cp. Eur. Troad. 107-108, ὦ πολὺς ὄγκος ξυστελλομένων | προγόνων, ὡς οὐδὲν ἄρ᾽ ἦσθα. Virg. Aen. 1. 37,
Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem.
For διασκεδῶ, cp. supra 620, Ant. 287, γῆν ἐκείνων καὶ νόμους διασκεδῶν.
1348.
mvp-comment-710-1
The objections to δημοῦχοι, which has the authority of the first hand of L. (but cp. 1355), are well stated by Hermann:
Reisigius ingeniose conjecit, ἄνδρες τῆσδε δημοῦχοι χθονός. Non est tamen credibile, ita scripsisse poetam, tum quia tam verbosa compellatio minus convenit homini irato, tum quod nudum nomen Thesei hic, ubi regia auctoritate se permotum indicare vult Oedipus, non satis grave est. For δημοῦχος, as applied to Theseus, cp. supra 1087.
1350.
mvp-comment-711-1
For the amplification of the phrase with ὥστε, cp. Phil. 901, ἔπεισεν ὥστε μὴ μὲ ἄγειν ναύτην ἔτι; Eur. Hipp. 1327, ἤθελ᾽ ὥστε γίγνεσθαι τάδε.
1351.
mvp-comment-712-1
ὀμφῆς τῆς ἐμῆς
My voice. For the solemn association attaching to ὀμφή, cp. supra 550, κατ' ὀμφὴν σήν, and note.
1352.
mvp-comment-713-1
νῦν δ᾽ ἀξιωθεὶς εἶσι
But now this shall be vouchsafed him ere he go; yea, and he shall hear words that shall in nowise cheer his path of life: thine, O thou wretch,' etc.
1356.
mvp-comment-714-1
τὸν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ For αὑτοῦ = σεαυτοῦ, and for the order of words, cp. supr. 930.
1357.
mvp-comment-715-1
στολάς Supr. 1258.
1357.
mvp-comment-715-2
φορεῖν Governed by the notion of causation in ἔθηκας = ἐποίησας.
1359.
mvp-comment-716-1
κακών Added to supplement πόνῳ. Cp. supra 1029-1030, ὕβριν τόλμης. .. 1360-1361. This is no case for tears. By me these things must be borne, however I live, never forgetting that you are my murderer.' κλαυστά] Some editors read κλαυτά. Dd2 The MS. reading is defended by Hermann, who says,
Ego quidem suspicor in hoc nomine verbali idem accidisse, quod in γνωστός et γνωτός factum videri at Oed. R. 362 (361) adnotavi, ut hae formae subtili quodam significationis discrimine distinguerentur. Nam, nisi fallor, κλαυτός proprie est defletus, deinde autem ad exemplum aliorum verbalium lacrimabilis; κλαυστός autem lacrimandus, i. e. quem convenit defleri.
1361.
mvp-comment-717-1
ὥσπερ ἂν ζῶ
Whatever my life may be. Cp. Hom. Od. 17. 586, οὐκ ἄφρων ὁ ξεῖνος δίεται, ὅσπερ ἂν εἴη. Some take ὡs in this place for ἕως (see Essay on Language § 28. p. 47), but such a use of ὥσπερ is inadmissible. As above rendered, the words have an obvious reference to 1357-1359, and to supr. 1625, 6,
I ask not for your compassion; whether I live happily or miserably, I shall equally regard you as my murderer.
1361.
mvp-comment-717-2
μεμνημένος is nominative by attraction to the relative clause.
1363.
mvp-comment-718-1
ἐκ σέθεν
In consequence of your acts. Essay on Language § 19. p. 28. According to Sophocles in this play, Polynices was the elder brother. Supr. 1295.
1365.
mvp-comment-719-1
For the position of μή, see Essay on Language § 41. p. 78. 1370-1371. (1) (Reading οὗ τί πω)
Therefore the Avenging eyes are upon τροφαὶ ΑR. thee, not indeed as they will be by-andby, if once those battalions move towards the town of Thebes. The curse of Oedipus is absolute: but its immediate execution depends on the action of Polynices. Antigone may be supposed to have these words in her mind when she entreats her brother to turn his army back. Infr. 1416 ff. The apodosis to which μέν looks forward (εἰσόψεται δέ) is absorbed in the relative clause, ὡς αὐτίκα, SC. εἰσόψεται. (2) Retaining που from L, and supposing ὡs to be pleonastic as in various adverbial expressions (cp. esp. El. 1452, ὡς ἐτητύμως: Phil. 58, πλεῖς δ᾽ ὡς πρὸς οἶκον), a different turn may perhaps be given to the expression. Therefore the eye of Heaven regards thee, I do not say for immediate vengeance, since these battalions are on their march to Thebes.' In this case Oedipus contrasts the proud advance of Polynices at the head of the Argive host (cp. Ant. 119 ff.) with his impending ruin. For this momentary suspension of the curse, cp. Phil. 961, ὅλοιο μή πω, κ.τ.λ. The deferred apodosis is resumed by implication in 1372 ff. εἴπερ, with the indicative, suits better with (2):
if. as you tell me. This is a real example of tragic irony. In this case που is slightly better than πω, because assisting the ironical expression.
Not, I suppose, for instant retribution, since your great host is still upon its way. ὡς αὐτίκα, sc. εἰσορῶν, i. e. κολάζων. In support of the above suggestion (2), it may be urged that αὐτίκα rarely opposes future time to present, though it is occasionally so used by Plato (Gorg. 459 C, Rep. 495 С).
1371.
mvp-comment-720-1
οἵδε .. λόχοι Oedipus speaks as if he saw the army which Polynices has described. Cp. supr. 1326 ff.
1372-1373.
mvp-comment-721-1
οὐ γάρ, κ.τ.λ.
The town, I say, for there is one who shall never call Thebes his "city." In the edition of Turnebus, ἐρεῖ τις is changed to ἐρείψεις, on which Hermann justly remarks, Etiam si illa fortasse codicis alicuju alicujus scriptura est, non levis manet suspicio, ingenioso eam correctori potius quam ipsi poetae deberi, non quod ἐρείψεις gravius verbum sit quam expectes, aut quod κείνην addi non opus fuerit; in hujusmodi rebus enim non est argutandum: sed quod codicum et veterum editionum scriptura tantum abest ut sensu careat, ut propterea tantum, quia difficilior est, correctione opus habuisse videatur.' The interpretation of the passage turns on the associations surrounding the word πόλις. (Cp. supra 837, 858.) Oedipus, in speaking to Polynices of Thebes, avoids the word πόλις, and uses ἄστυ instead, because, as he says with a sort of angry logic,
Thebes shall never more be a city to Polynices, who shall be ἄπολις Θήβης as he is ἀπάτωρ ἐμοῦ (1383). It is to be remembered that the words πόλις and πατρίς were used by Greeks with the same affection. ate familiarity, and the same consciousness of the privileges attaching to them, as the words πατήρ, μήτηρ, ἀδελφός, and the like. This is not equally the case with ἄστυ, which is rather the place, while πόλις is the commonwealth,
furnished well with men. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 613, Π. ὦ πόλις. ΕΤ. μολὼν ἐς Ἄργος ἀνακάλει Λέρνης ὕδωρ. On the use of the indefinite for the second personal pronoun, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 36. It may be further observed, against the reading of Turnebus, that Oedipus, who is looking forward to the defeat of the Thebans at his grave, is not likely thus to emphasize the impregnable strength of their city.
1375.
mvp-comment-722-1
τοιάσδ᾽ ἀράς Viz. the curse of mutual slaughter. Sophocles here returns to the old legend, which he had altered so as to give a dramatic and ethical propriety to the curse of Oedipus. See Introd. p. 269. The curse thus solemnly recalled is the original curse of the old story, and not a mere accidental utterance like that in supra 421, foll.
1376.
mvp-comment-723-1
ἀνακαλοῦμαι
I invoke them anew in my behalf. So in Eur. Suppl. 626, κεκλημένους μὲν ἀνακαλούμεθ᾽ αὖ θεούς.
1377.
mvp-comment-724-1
ἵν᾿ ἀξιῶτον, κ.τ.λ. For similar language accompanying a threat, cp. Ant. 310, 311: Tr. 1110-1111.
1378.
mvp-comment-725-1
καὶ μὴ ἐξατιμάζητον, εἰ
And may not think it a light matter that ye have been such sons to your blind father.
1378.
mvp-comment-725-2
ἀτιμάζειν c. inf. in Eur. 608-609, is
to neglect a duty. Hence ἐξατιμάζειν here means
to persist in making light of a sin. For the compound, cp. ἐξουδενίζω. See Essay on Language p. 101. The clause εἰ.. ἔφυτον is the object of the verb. For the ethical force of ei='to think that,' see Essay on Language § 28. p. 46.
1378.
mvp-comment-725-3
τυφλοῦ πατρὸς τοιώδ᾽ ἔφυτον is condensed for τυφλοῦ πατρὸς φύντες ἐγένεσθον τοιώδε: i. e. When your father was blind, you proved so undutiful.
1379.
mvp-comment-726-1
Ultima hujus versus verba αἵδε γὰρ τάδ᾽ οὐκ ἔδρων, hac simplicitate sua admirabilem habent planeque divinam vim tum ad magnitudinem doloris propter impietatem filiorum, tum ad caritatem, quam filiae meruerunt, declarandam.' Herm.
1380-1381.
mvp-comment-727-1
Therefore they have power to frustrate thy supplication and thy claim upon the throne.'
They, viz. (1) my curses,' which are the main subject, the reflection αΐδε ἔδρων being inserted parenthetically. For this, cp. Phil. 351, οὐ γὰρ εἰδόμην: 668, καὶ δόντι δοῦναι: 1034, αὕτη γὰρ ἦν σοι πρόφασις ἐκβαλεῖν ἐμέ: supra 280, φυγὴν δε του μήπω γενέσθαι φωτὸς ἀνοσίου βροτῶν. Otherwise (2),
they, viz. the daughters, whose virtues justify the repulse of the son: sc. αὗται τοιαῦται γενόμεναι. But, although the verb is thus made to agree with the nearer subject, the words do not naturally bear this meaning. τὸ σὸν θάκημα has been interpreted to mean thine enthronement,' the whole line thus recalling the words of Polynices, supr. 1293, τοῖς σοῖς . . ἐνθακεῖν θρόνοις. But θάκημα has been used twice previously of the supplication of Polynices (11. 1160, 1179; cp. also 1163, 1166); and this meaning is here in point. Polynices has appealed not only to his right of primogeniture, but to the protection of Poseidon, from whose altar Theseus raised him with a solemn promise (supr. 1285-1290, 1293-1294). Оеdipus rejoins that both these claims are quashed by the righteousness of his paternal curse, which is justified by the filial ingratitude of both his sons, ap- 1380 1385 pearing still darker when contrasted with the piety of Antigone and Ismene.
1381-1382.
mvp-comment-728-1
If the righteousness of which old legends tell presides in the immemorial rule of Zeus. Demosth. Ρ. 772-725, τὴν ἀπαραίτητον καὶ σεμνὴν Δίκην, ἣν ὁ τὰς ἁγιωτάτας ἡμῖν τελετὰς καταδείξας Ὀρφεὺς παρὰ τὸν τοῦ Διὸς θρόνον φησὶ καθημένην πάντα τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐφορᾶν. The latter part of the compound παλαιφάτουis subordinate, so that it is little more than παλαιοῦ, but with an association from φάτις, φήμη, cp. Τr. 823; Hes. Op. 257. The
laws of Zeus are personified, like the νόμοι ἄγραφοι in O. T. 866. But the eternal laws are here imagined rather as ruling over events than as claiming the allegiance of the heart: in their retributive more than their directive aspect. Cp. Ant. 604, ff., τεάν, Ζεῦ, δύνασιν τίς ἀνδρῶν | ὑπερβασία κατάσχοι ; τὸ τ᾽ ἔπειτα καὶ τὸ μέλλον καὶ τὸ πρὶν ἐπαρκέσει | νόμος ὅδ'.
1383.
mvp-comment-729-1
ἀπόπτυστος.. ἐμοῦ
Disowned, ay, and abhorred by me. Essay on Language § 41. p. 78, B, b. ἐμοί, from ἐμοῦ following, is probably to be supplied with ἀπόπτυστος. For the genitive of respect after the privative, see Essay on Language § 10. p. 16.
1385.
mvp-comment-730-1
ἅς σοι καλοῦμαι
Which I invoke on thee. Cp. infr. 1389, 1391. The force of the middle voice here is to mark the intensely personal nature of the act:
which I invoke on them from my very soul. In supr. 1376 it is rather,
which being my own, I summon to my aid. σοι is dative of direct reference. Essay on Language § 12. p. 18.
1385.
mvp-comment-730-2
γῆς ἐμφυλίου
The land of thine own kin. The word marks the sacrilegious nature of Polynices' enterprise. Cp. αἷμ' ἐμφύλιον.
1387.
mvp-comment-731-1
τὸ κοῖλον Ἄργος
The vale of Argos, as in supra 378. Cp. 1301, and Homer's κοίλην Λακεδαίμονα.
1387-1388.
mvp-comment-732-1
συγγενεῖ χερὶ . . ἐξελήλασαι] i. e. With brother's hand to slay and to be slain.' συγγενεῖ χερί and ὑφ' οὗπερ ἐξελήλασαι belong equally to both the infinitives. The phrase ὑφ' οὗπερ ἐξελήλασαι is a formal amplification, giving greater solemnity. For the legend, see Pind. Isthm. 7. (6.) 10.
1389-1390.
mvp-comment-733-1
And I invoke the hated gloom of the abyss to carry thee away to his place. πατρῷον is obscure. Either (1), there is an allusion to the curse upon the Labdacidae,
I invoke on thee the horrid gloom of Erebus, thy sole inheritance from our sire: or (2) simply,
where my father is: or (3), πατρῷος is used as an epithet of Tartarus, to mark off a special function; cp. ZΖεὺς ξένιος, ἱκετήσιος, etc.
The gloom of the nethermost abyss, that avenges fathers.The dreadful hell that waits upon a father's curse.' Taken either way πατρῷον conveys more of horror than Nauck's κάτωθεν, or Meineke's στυγνοπρόσωπον. Τάρταρος, like Όλυμπος, is less definite in Sophocles than in earlier poetry. 1395
1389.
mvp-comment-734-1
τό τοῦ LA.
1389.
mvp-comment-734-2
τοὺσ-ουσ Β Vat.
1389.
mvp-comment-734-3
ἐμβεβληκότα ἐ(κ?)βεβληκότα LL². ἐμ1393. κἀξάγγελλ' κἐξάγγελ' Α.
1391.
mvp-comment-735-1
τάσδε δαίμονας Oedipus invokes the Eumenides against Polynices, as against Creon supr. 1010 ff., rather as his patron deities than in their primary character as Erinyes. See Introd. p. 281, and contrast Ajax' invocation of the same deities, Aj. 843.
1391.
mvp-comment-735-2
Ἄρη The God of strife and destruction, who in Sophocles is often regarded as an evil power. Cp. O. T. 190.
1392.
mvp-comment-736-1
For δεινόν, cp. supr. 336.
1397.
mvp-comment-737-1
οὔτε.. ξυνήδομαι For the indirect mode of expression, see Essay on Language § 42. p. 72, and cp. Eur. Med. 136, οὐδὲ συνήδομαι, ὦ γύναι, ἄλγεσι δώματος.
1397.
mvp-comment-737-2
ταῖς παρελθούσαις ὁδοῖς
By reason of your journies hitherto; with special reference to the journey to Argos: supr. 378. See Essay on Language § 14. p. 21, § 51. p. 96.
1399.
mvp-comment-738-1
κελεύθου
For my coming hither. For τῆς ἐμῆς only expressed in the second member of the clause, see Essay on Language § 21. p. 33. b.
1399.
mvp-comment-738-2
δυσπραξίας refers especially to the failure of his present mission, in which he is worse than ἄπρακτος.
1400.
mvp-comment-739-1
Cp. Pind. Isthm. 6. (7). 10, quoted on l. 1076. οἷον ἄρ᾽ ὁδοῦ τέλος | Ἄργους ἀφωρμήθημεν] The accusative τέλος may be accounted for in one of two ways: either (1) as the accusative of motion transferred to time, or (2) as an accusative in apposition with the action of the verb expressing the result of the action. The latter is probably right. We set forth from Argos, with what a consummation of our enterprise!' Essay on Language § 16. p. 22, § 17. p. 25.
1400.
mvp-comment-739-2
ὁδοῦ ie. The whole march from Argos to Thebes. Cp. infr. 1439-1440.
1402.
mvp-comment-740-1
The words τοιοῦτον, κ.τ.λ. are epexegetic of olov in l. 1400.
1403.
mvp-comment-741-1
οὐδ᾽ ἀποστρέψαι πάλιν Cp. infr. 1416. The sentence has passed out of the construction with olov. The object of ἀποστρέψαι is easily supplied. Cp. Hdt. 4. 43, ἀποστρέψας ὀπίσω, ἀπέπλεε.
1404.
mvp-comment-742-1
ἀλλ᾽ ὄντ᾿ ἄναυδον, κ.τ.λ. The positive notion is here elicited from the negative (see Essay on Language p. 64); i. e. these words depend on χρή implied in οὐκ ἔξεστι. Cp. esp. O. T. 816-818.
1405.
mvp-comment-743-1
ὦ τοῦδ᾽ ὅμαιμοι παῖδες
O my own sisters, daughters of this my father. Against explaining τοῦδε as = ἐμοῦ, it is enough to urge that there is no other instance in Sophocles in which this pronoun stands alone for the first person. In the only two places where it is so used substantively (Tr. 305, τῆσδε, 1012, τῷδε) it is immediately followed by a participle in agreement with it. In ὅμαιμοι there is no reference (as in ὦ σπέρμ᾽ ὅμαιμον, 331) to the incestuous birth, an allusion which, though in character with Oedipus, supr. 328, would not be in character with Polynices here. Cp. infr. 1772: Ant. 512-513.
1406.
mvp-comment-744-1
κλύετε †τοῦδ᾽ ἀρωμένου τοῦδε occurs three times in these three lines, and ταῦτα seems to be required to complete τὰ σκληρά. It may seem justifiable therefore to read ταῦτ᾽ for τοῦδ' in this line. But it may be observed that a certain amount of iteration of the dominant thought is natural to the broken language of such an entreaty. See esp. ll. 1407-1409. and cp. Phil. 473 ff. The thought of his father has a terrible fascination for Polynices at this moment.
1407.
mvp-comment-745-1
*ἐάν The a is long here and in Aristoph. Vesp. 228. It is strange that car should occur so seldom before a vowel.
1408.
mvp-comment-746-1
Cp. infr. 1769 ff.
1410.
mvp-comment-747-1
But yourselves lay me in the tomb, and afford me funeral rites.' ἐν κτερίσμασιν is placed in construction with θέσθε in a slightly different sense, = περιστείλατε κτερίσμασιν. See Essay on Language pp. 60, 65, 2. The middle voice in θέσθε is subjective, i. e. it emphasises the personal nature of the action: θέσθε, i. e. προθυμήθητε θεῖναι. Essay on Language § 31. P. 53.
1411.
mvp-comment-748-1
And the praise you now receive from him for your labours in his behalf shall have added unto it another praise moreover for the service done to me.' For the turn of expression, cp. O.T. 666-667, τάδ᾽ εἰ κακοῖς κακὰ ἡ γῆ) προσάψει τοῖς πάλαι τὰ πρὸς σφῷν. And for the use of φέρω, Αj. 293, γυναιξὶ κόσμον ἡ σιγὴ φέρει.
1412.
mvp-comment-749-1
τοῦδ᾽ ἀνδρός is, ist, genitive of origin, You receive from him:' but, 2nd, suggests the object of πονεῖτον, sc. τῷδε or ὑπὲρ τοῦδε. οἷς = τούτοις ἅ: By reason of your labours.'
1413.
mvp-comment-750-1
ἔτ᾿ ἄλλον οἴσει Cp. Tr. 618-619, ὅπως ἂν ἡ χάρις κείνου τε σοι | κἀμοῦ ξυνελθοῦσ᾽, ἐξ ἁπλῆς διπλῆ φανῇ.
1413.
mvp-comment-750-2
τῆς ἐμῆς ὑπουργίας ‘By reason of, etc. Essay on Language § 10. p. 15.
1414.
mvp-comment-751-1
The two trisyllabic feet coming together at the beginning of the line produce a singular effect, corresponding to the trembling eagerness of Antigone.
1415.
mvp-comment-752-1
Some MSS. have ὦ φιλτάτη μοι ποῖον, which Hermann admitted. But if Par. A. has preserved the true reading, μοι was not unlikely to be conjectured to supply the syllable which was lost in L. On the other hand, μοι expresses greater tenderness. But in a point of such uncertainty, even a slight MS. preponderance must be allowed to determine the text.
1416.
mvp-comment-753-1
γε, qualifying the whole sentence, marks the earnestness of the entreaty. Essay on Language § 26. р. 44. Meineke conj. σε. In this case στρέψαι is infin. active. As the text stands, it is either (1) infin. active (for imperative), or (2) imperative middle, i. e. στρέψον τὸ στράτευμά σου.
1418.
mvp-comment-754-1
For how, if I once falter, can I again lead the same army the same way?᾽
αὖθις,
another time,
πάλιν,
back to Thebes. Some would read ἄν for aὖ. This is unnecessary, see Essay on Language § 27. p. 45, (2), and gives av an awkward position, but makes no difference to the sense. Antigone meant
Give up the expedition. But this idea can find no entrance to Polynices' mind. He only thinks of the possibility of a temporary yielding, like that of a general who meets with some unfavourable omen. And against this he argues,
I cannot go back now, for if I did, my attempt falls through entirely. I could no longer command the army, which must sooner or later be led by me against Thebes.
1420.
mvp-comment-755-1
But why need you again suffer your wrath to rise? Antigone vainly tries to reason against the fixed idea in Polynices' mind, and assumes that his passion may cool, and not be kindled again. αὖθις echoes αὖθις in 1418.
1422.
mvp-comment-756-1
It is ignominious to be in exile, and that I, the elder-born, should be a laughing-stock to my brother, as I now am. Cp. supra 1339.
1424.
mvp-comment-757-1
Seest thou, then, how his prophecies advance unchecked to their certain end? Vides ergo ut hujus vaticinia ad eventum ruunt.' (Herm.) ἐκφέρεις, the conjecture of Tyrwhitt, certainly deserves notice, and is supported by Pind. Nem. 4. 60, 1, ἄλαλκε δὲ Χείρων, καὶ τὸ μόρσιμον Διόθεν πεπρωμένον ἔκφερεν. But the image of the prophecy moving on steadily to the event is more impressive. For the absolute use of ἐκφέρει, cp. Tr. 824, ὁπότε τελεόμηνος ἐκφέροι | δωδέκατος ἄροτος.
1425.
mvp-comment-758-1
ἐξ ἀμφοῖν
From your mutual hands. Cp. supr. 1387, and note.
1426.
mvp-comment-759-1
The existence of a verb χρήζω from χράω, suggested by the scholiast here, is questionable. See Eur. Hel. 516. At all events, the common meaning of χρήζει is suitable here. Antigone speaks of the curse of Oedipus as a prophecy: Polynices avoids her inference by arguing that it would be weak to yield to a mere outburst of wilfulness.
He speaks his wish; but it does not become me to give way. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 928, σὺ θὴν ἃ χρήζεις, ταῦτ᾽ ἐπιγλωσσᾷ Διός.
1427-1428.
mvp-comment-760-1
τίς .. τἀνδρός On the order of words, see Essay on Language § 41. p. 77.
1429.
mvp-comment-761-1
οὐδ᾽ ἀγγελούμεν (1)
But we will not tell. δé adversative, arguing against the suggestion of Antigone. Or, (2) οὐδὲ ἀγγελοῦμεν,
We will not even report bad news, i. e. and so they will not act upon them. For the thought in ἐπεὶ .. λέγειν, cp. the exhortation of Nicias to his men at Syracuse, Thuc. 7. 61.
1432.
mvp-comment-762-1
Polynices contrasts the bitter business before him with what he hopes will be the lot of Antigone and Ismene.
1433-1434.
mvp-comment-763-1
Rendered ill-starred and disastrous by this my father and his avenging spirit. For πρός, cp. Ant. 51, πρὸς αὐτοφώρων ἀμπλακημάτων. Polynices here, and supra 1299, speaks in the Homeric manner of his father's Erinyes, without any reference to the Erinyes at whose sacred place he is standing. Cp. supr. 1391 and note.
1435.
mvp-comment-764-1
σφῷν δ᾽ εὐοδοίη Ζεύς ‘But for you may Zeus prepare a prosperous way.' Cp. Hdt. 6. 73, ὡς τῷ Κλεομένεϊ εὐωδώθη τὸ ἐς τὸν Δημάρητον πρήγμα, which shows that εὐοδόω is properly followed by the dative of the person as well as the accusative of the thing. In the present case an accusative (e.g. τὸν βίον, τὰ πράγματα) is easily supplied. Hence the correction σφώ is unnecessary, and the conjecture εὖ διδοίη, besides being unnecessary, destroys a beautiful image, and the connection with 1432.
1436.
mvp-comment-765-1
θανόντ' To avoid the unusual elision of of the dative, this has been explained as an accusative, by a change of construction; cp. El. 479, ὕπεστί μοι θράσος ἁδυπνόων κλύουσαν ἀρτίως ὀνειράτων: Aesch. Pers. 913-914, λέλυται γὰρ ἐμοὶ γυίων ῥώμη | τήνδ᾽ ἡλικίαν ἐσιδόντ᾽ ἀστῶν: Choeph. 410, πέπαλται δ᾽ αὐτέ μοι φίλον κέαρ τόνδε κλύουσαν οἶκτον. But it should probably be admitted that here and in Trach. 677, ἀργῆτ' οἰὸς εὐείρῳ πόκῳ, there is an elision of the 1, as well as in Eur. Alc. 1118. Γοργόν᾽ ὡς καρατόμῳ, where however the conj. карато- μῶν in not improbable, and in any case the licence is taken with a proper name. After θανόντι some general word like ὑπουργεῖν is to be supplied from τάδ' εἰ τελεῖτε.
1436.
mvp-comment-765-2
ἐπεὶ οὔ μοι ζῶντί γ'] Not τάδε τελεῖν, but some more general notion of paying the tribute of affection, is to be supplied. The inexactness of this is similar to that noticed in 1410. Elmsley's conjecture, οὐ μὴ ζῶντά γ᾽ αὖθις ἕξετον is therefore unnecessary, as 1440. Cp. Pind. Nem. 9. 21, speaking of the same expedition, φαινομέναν δ' ἄρ᾽ ἐς ἄταν σπεῦδεν ὅμιλος ἱκέσθαι (because of the adverse omens at their setting forth): Aesch. Prom. 1073-1074, 5, μηδέποτ' εἴπηθ᾽ | ὡς Ζεὺς ὑμᾶς εἰς ἀπρόοπτον | πῆμ᾽ εἰσέβαλεν.
1443.
mvp-comment-766-1
εἴ σου στερηθῶ For the subjunctive with el, see Essay on L § 27. p. 44. Here the supposition is more definite than with ei and the optative, and more general than with ἐάν and the subjunctive, and the form of expression is therefore more suited to the expression of intense feeling.
1443.
mvp-comment-766-2
ταῦτα .. χἀτέρᾳ
But this is in the power of God, and may come to pass either in this way, or in some other.
It rests with the Divinity that shapes our ends.Cp. Shak. Hamlet, 5. 2, Not a whit, we defy augury: there's a special providence in the falling of a sparrow:' Hom. Il. 12. 235-243.
1444.
mvp-comment-767-1
For
φῦναι, cp. Αj. 646-647, ἅπανθ' ὁ .. χρόνος | φύει τ' ἄδηλα καὶ φανέντα κρύπτεται.
1444-1445.
mvp-comment-768-1
For you I pray to heaven that ye may never encounter woe.' The conjectures κακόν (Triclinius), and σφώ (Scaliger and Elmsley), are both unnecessary. Of the two, that of Triclinius is the more probable, = ' I pray that evil may never cross your path.' For κακόν, cp. Phil. 446.
1446.
mvp-comment-769-1
For all may see that ye deserve no ill.'
1447.
mvp-comment-770-1
Polynices departs, and the end is near. The chorus are reflecting on the new horror created by the curse of Oedipus, when a sound of thunder is heard, which awakens all their superstition, and is recognized by Oedipus as the promised summons. He calls for Theseus, and the chorus repeat his call. This part of the play consists of two strophes, divided by three sets of five iambic trimeters, each consisting of two couplets spoken by Oedipus, with a line between them. The prevailing metre is dochmiac, with iambic and trochaic movements interspersed. The dochmiacs, with frequent long syllables, increase in the second strophe. a'. First strophe and antistrophe. トリートトー CCICICICICICICI 15ートー つ 1 Iambic dimeter. 2 Diiambus and cretic, bis; but see note on 1454- β'. Second strophe and antistrophe. C- トートト ートートトー トトートトー 5a1clc!CIC!CICICI Cp. 1. 3 of strophe a'.
1447.
mvp-comment-770-2
νέα ... ἄνω These are the reflections of the chorus after hearing the woe pronounced on Polynices. The remarks of the Scholiast show a curious perception of ancient Greek feeling: εἰ καὶ ὅτι μάλιστα ξενικά ἐστι τὰ πρόσωπα, καὶ τὰ κατέχοντα τούτους κακά, ὅμως συναλγεῖ ὁ χόρος] καὶ εὐλαβεῖται μὴ ἐκ τῆς ὁμιλίας τῆς σὺν αὐτοῖς ἀπολαύσωσί τινος κακοῦ καὶ αὐτοί· ἐν τοιούτῳ οὖν ἤθει καὶ ὁ λόγος αὐτοῖς διάκειται· τοιαῦτα πάρεστιν ἡμῖν, φησίν, ἄτοπα παρὰ τοῦ ξένου ἀπολαῦσαι, ἐκτὸς εἰ μὴ μοῖρά τις καταλαμβάνει ἡμᾶς, καὶ κατὰ μοίραν ἀπολαύομεν, ὧν ἀπολαύσομεν.
1447.
mvp-comment-770-3
νέα New, i.e. In addition to the trouble he gave us before.
1447.
mvp-comment-770-4
νεόθεν
From a new source,
Springing from a new occasion, i. e. from his interview with Polynices.
1449.
mvp-comment-771-1
*νέα, added by Hermann, for the sake of the metre, also rather improves the sense. ،
1450.
mvp-comment-772-1
εἴ τι μοῖρα μὴ κιγχάνει Polynices (1426) referred the curse to his father's caprice: Antigone (1424, 1440) to some higher inspiration. The chorus waver between the two suggestions.
Coming from the blind stranger: if this be not haply the hand of fate. The Homeric expression κιχάνει or κιγχάνει, is here left without a distinct object. The Scholiast suggests ἡμᾶς: later critics αὐτόν: and some have rendered, Evil comes to me from the stranger, unless his fate overtake him now. Cp. II. 22. 436, νῦν αὖ θάνατος καὶ Μοῖρα κιχάνει. But the emphasis is on μοῖρα, and the verb is used absolutely. Lit. Unless it be Fate who in some respect attains her aim. τι as cognate accusative in part supplies the place of the regular object. This explanation harmonizes with the next line.
1451.
mvp-comment-773-1
For I cannot tell of any decree of Gods that hath been in vain.' For ἔχω φράσαι, cp. Aesch. Ag. 367, Διὸς πλαγὰν ἔχουσιν εἰπεῖν. And for the adverbas predicate, see Essay on Language p. 40. 1454-1455. Either (1) 'Time ever keeps (the execution of the Divine Will)
in view, one day making some things rise and grow, and other things again on the day following. For this interpretation, cp. Aj. 646, ἅπανθ᾽ ὁ.. χρόνος φύει τ᾿ ἄδηλα καὶ φανέντα κρύπτεται: Ib. 131-132, ὡς ἡμέρα κλίνει τε κἀνάγει πάλιν | ἅπαντα τἀνθρώπεια: Τr. 132 ff.: Hdt. 1. 5, τὰ γὰρ τὸ πάλαι μεγάλα ἦν, τὰ πολλὰ αὐτῶν σμικρὰ γέγονε· τὰ δὲ ἐπ᾿ ἐμεῦ ἦν μεγάλα, πρότερον ἦν σμικρά. τὴν ἀνθρωπηΐην ὧν ἐπιστάμενος εὐδαιμονίαν οὐδαμὰ ἐν τωὐτῷ μένουσαν, ἐπιμνήσομαι ἀμφοτέρων ὁμοίως. And for αὔξων ἄνω, infr. 1567, πάλιν σε δαίμων δίκαιος αὔξοι. In this interpretation ἐπεὶ μέν is supposed to be used after the analogy of ὅτε μέν. And this is hardly admissible, if the usage, ὅτε μὲν ὅτε δὲ.. is to be explained, as seems most probable, by the original identity of the relative with the demonstrative. Cp. ὃς μὲν .. ὃς δὲ .. (2) To meet the difficulty Canter conjectured ἐκεῖ, i. e.
In yonder case. Others have supposed that ἐπεί is the corruption of a verb or participle. The words τρέπων τὰ ἤδη αὐξηθέντα, in the confused note of the Scholiast, have suggested στρέφων (Schndw., who reads δέδοικα δ' in the antistrophe), i.e.
turning backward: (τρέπει is nearer to the MSS, but the indicative could not be followed by a participle with dé coming between). But although Eur. fr. 540 says φεῦ τὰ τῶν εὐδαιμονούντων ὡς τάχα στρέφει θεός, the word is less natural here. Another conj., which gives the same general meaning without altering the rhythm, is áveis, 'letting go'-the opposite of ἀνέχων οἱ ἐπέχων :-'dropping some things, and lifting others on high.' Cp. Aj. 1214, νῦν δ᾽ οὗτος ἀνεῖται : Pind. Pyth. 2. 89, (χρὴ δὲ πρὸς θεὸν οὐκ ἐρίζειν) ὃς ἀνέχει ποτὲ μὲν τὰ κείνων, τότ᾽ αὖθ᾽ ἑτέροις ἔδωκεν μέγα κύδος. 1455- έτερα CA.
1451.
mvp-comment-773-2
(τάδ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἤματ᾿ B Vat.) (3) The above conjectures suppose an alteration of the antistrophe. The conj. ἐριπὼν μὲν ἕτερα, suggested in our former edition, requires no further change, and, in common with that of Schndw., gives the rhythm (ト(レト υιυΐυιτών. Dind. conj.
1451.
mvp-comment-773-3
ἄγων. Qy. ἀπάγων ? (4) It has been suggested to give ἕτερα the meaning of
bad, ' sinister,' as in Pind. Pyth. 3. 34, 5, δαίμων δ᾽ ἕτερος | ἐς κακὸν τρέψας ἐδαμάσσατό νιν. But this does not help us to a clear context. (5) The MS. reading τὰ δὲ πήματ᾿ can be rendered metrical by the simple insertion of γε: τὰ δέ γε πήματ'. But πήματα αὔξειν ἄνω is not a natural expression, whether a succession of miseries is spoken of, as in Aesch. Cho. 1020, μόχθων δ᾽ ὁ μὲν αὐτίχ᾽, ὁ δ᾽ ἥξει, or αὔξειν πήματα is imagined to mean
to cure misfortune. Although the text is uncertain, the general meaning probably is, Time casts down some things, and others that yesterday were mean, to-day he glorifies. Cp. Aj. 131-132, ὡς ἡμέρα κλίνει τε κἀνάγει πάλιν | ἅπαντα τἀνθρώπεια.
1457.
mvp-comment-774-1
Some critics, including Elmsley, have imagined that the thunder is heard immediately on the departure of Oedipus. But a more natural connection is preserved if the chorus are supposed first to express the gloomy forebodings with which the curse of Oedipus has filled their minds, and then to be panic-stricken on hearing the thunder. If it had already thundered, this would in some way have been clearly announced. See Schol. on l. 1450, εἰ μὴ κατὰ μοῖραν ταῦτα πάσχω, εἴποιμι ἂν ἐκ τοῦ Πολυνείκους νέα μοι κακὰ ἐληλυθέναι. And on 1456, μεταξὺ οὖν τῶν τοῦ χόρου λόγων γίνεται τοῦτο.
1457.
mvp-comment-774-2
εἴ τις ἔντοπος
If there is any one at hand. Said with the uncertainty of a blind man. Cp. Phil. 212.
1458.
mvp-comment-775-1
δεῦρο .. πόροι
Bring hither. For this meaning of πορεῖν, in which there is a feeling of its etymological connection with πόρος, πορεύω, infr. 1476, cp. Hom. Il. 9. 513, πόρε .. ἕπεσθαι: 6. 228, κτείνειν ὅν γε θεύς γε πόρῃ ('May bring in my way'). See Essay on Language p. 99.
1459.
mvp-comment-776-1
τἀξίωμα.
The intention ; i.e. τί ἀξιοῖς γενέσθαι σοι τῇ κλήσει; Note the recurrence of the word after 1451.
1462.
mvp-comment-777-1
ἴδε μάλα
Lo! now again. μάλα emphasizing the repetition, as in μάλ᾽ αὖθις, cp. Aesch. Cho. 870, ἔα, ἔα μάλα: S. c. Τ. 915, δόμων μάλ᾽ ἀχὰν ἐς οὖς προπέμπει δαΐκτωρ γόος: Pers. 1045, οἱ μάλα καὶ τόδ᾽ ἀλγῶ: Hdt. 1. 181, καὶ ἕτερος μάλα ἐπὶ τούτου.
1462.
mvp-comment-777-2
μέγας . . διόβολος
There comes mightily crashing down the unutterable roar of the Zeus-hurled bolt. As in πτερωτὸς βροντή supra, the thunder has the attributes of the lightning.
1462.
mvp-comment-777-3
ἄφατος, of an overwhelming sensation, as in O. T. 1314, νέφος.. ἐπιπλόμενον ἄφατον.
1464.
mvp-comment-778-1
ἐς.. φόβαν (1)
And fear hath crept even to the very hair of my head. ἄκραν, adverbial. Or (2)
to the very tips of my hair; with a suggestion of the hair standing on end.
1466.
mvp-comment-779-1
ἔπτηξα θυμόν 'I am cowed at heart. On the aorist used when the speaker reflects on his own state, see Essay on Language § 32. p. 55, and cp. esp. Αj. 693. ἔφριξ᾽ ἔρωτι. The MS. reading οὐρανία, which is metrically indefensible, can be best accounted for as a mistaken gloss on οὐρανοῦ, which, however, is not really a descriptive genitive (like ἄστρων .. εὐφρόνη in El. 19), but =
from heaven,
from the region of the sky. Meineke conj. οὐρανόν, i. e.
Lights up the heaven.
1467.
mvp-comment-780-1
μάν gives to the question a wondering expression.
1469.
mvp-comment-781-1
τί.. τέλος 'What event will it bring forth?" Cp. φωνήν, ἀράς, χροιὰς ἀφιέναι.
1469.
mvp-comment-781-2
δέδια τόδ' The reading of l. 1454 being uncertain, it is better not to alter this the corresponding line, for the sake of the metre only, seeing that IC is not an impossible rhythm. Hence it is better to retain τόδ', which has a good meaning (τὸ τῆς βροντῆς χρήμα) and also gives a reason for the neuter gender of ἅλιον.
1469-1470.
mvp-comment-782-1
οὐ γὰρ.. ξυμφορᾶς
For it never goes forth resultless, never without grave issues. For the repetition of οὐκ, see Essay on Language § 29. p. 48. Heath conj. οὐδ᾽.
1471.
mvp-comment-783-1
ὦ μέγας αἰθήρ
Tremendous power of the sky. Cp. Aj. 173, ὦ μεγάλα φάτις, in a similar expression of awe and dread.
1472.
mvp-comment-784-1
θέσφατος Heaven-ordained;' i. e. Both decreed by the Gods and foretold by them. Cp. supr. 87-95, infr. 1511-1512. For ἐπί, see Essay on Language § 19. p. 27, and cp. ἐφήκω in Thuc. 8. 67, ἐπειδὴ ἡ ἡμέρα ἐφῆκε.
1473.
mvp-comment-785-1
κοὐκέτ᾽ ἔστ᾽ ἀποστροφή
And there is no avoiding it, now it is come.
1473.
mvp-comment-785-2
ἀποστροφή here and Eur. Fr. 447 is not a place of refuge, but has the primary verbal sense.
1474.
mvp-comment-786-1
There are two strong reasons for giving this and l. 1488 to Antigone: (1) The speeches of Oedipus are addressed to her and Ismene (1457, ὦ τέκνα, 1472, ὦ παῖδες, 1486, τέκνα, 1490, σφιν, 3rd person): (2) The antistrophic nature of the passage leads us to expect an entire correspondence with l. 1459. It may be added that the chorus are at present too much occupied with their own sensations to attend to Oedipus.
