Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 1447

Johann Jakob Christian Donner (Translator)

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Auf uns bricht von dem blinden Greis
Ein Unglück, ein neues, graunvoll herein,
Wenn sein Loos ihn jezt nicht ereilt.
1440
(ab.)
Denn was der Götter Schluß verhängt, erfolglos enden sah ich's nie.
Die Zeit, die Zeit führt es aus, welche für den einen Tag
Das Leid, morgen wieder Glück heißt erblüh'n.
(Laute Donnerschläge.)
Hoch in der Luft scholl's! Hilf, Zeus!

Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles. Johann Jakob Christian Donner (Translator). . .

Current edition Experimental

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) (German) (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1447 focus
νέα τάδε νεόθεν ἦλθέ μοι
*νέα βαρύποτμα κακὰ παρʼ ἀλαοῦ ξένου,
εἴ τι μοῖρα μὴ κιγχάνει.
1450
μάτην γὰρ οὐδὲν ἀξίωμα δαιμόνων ἔχω φράσαι.
ὁρᾷ ὁρᾷ ταῦτʼ ἀεὶ χρόνος, †ἐπεὶ μέν, ἕτερα,
τὰ δὲ παρʼ ἦμαρ αὖθις αὔξων ἄνω.
1455
ἔκτυπεν αἰθήρ, ὦ Ζεῦ.
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1447-1496 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1447 focus
New trouble, strange trouble, deep laden with doom,
From the sight-bereft stranger seems dimly to loom!
Or peers Fate through the gloom?
She will move toward her mark or through shining or shade;
1450
Since no purpose of Gods ever idly was made.
Time sees the fulfilment, who lifteth to-day
What was lowly, and trampleth the lofty to clay.
1455
Thunder! Heavens! what a sound!
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1447 focus
Fresli sorrows hath this hapless stranger
brought
On me and all ; but so hath Heaven decreed,
1450
Which nothing doth in vain ; whilst time beholds
And orders all, inflicting woe on woe.
But, hark ! the thunder roars : almighty Jove !
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1447 focus
These are new ills; these horrible events,
Late from this eyeless stranger learnt, are new,
If fate assigns no refuge; but my voice
Knows not to say what the gods decree
1450
Fails of its purpose. Time beholds these things,
Always beholds them; ills of old announced
He saw confirm'd, and hastens in his course
To see the measure of affliction full,
1455
Almighty Jove, what thunders rend the air
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1448-1495 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-998-1 The change of persons within the verse (

ἀντιλαβή
) marks excitement: cp. 652, 820, 1169.

mvp-comment-998-2 καὶ τίς 1

mvp-comment-998-3 προῦπτον 2

mvp-comment-999-1 μὴ σύ γ’ 3

mvp-comment-999-2 ἃ μὴ δεῖ 6

mvp-comment-1000-1 εἰ … στερηθῶ 7

mvp-comment-1000-2 ταῦτα δ’ 8

mvp-comment-1000-3 ταῦτα 9 φῦναι 10

mvp-comment-1000-4 ἐν τῷ δ. 11

mvp-comment-1000-5 φῦναι 12

mvp-comment-1000-6 The MS. σφῷν is better than σφὼ , to which some edd., following Elmsley, have needlessly changed it.

" For you two my prayer is—that ye ne'er meet with ills."
The contrast between his own case and theirs is thus more impressively marked than it would be by the acc. (
"my prayer is that you two ne'er meet with ills"
). For the dat. of the person in whose interest the prayer is made, cp. O. T. 269 , Ph. 1019 , Ai. 392 . For

mvp-comment-1000-7 ἀρῶμαι 13

mvp-comment-1001-1 πᾶσιν 14

mvp-comment-1003-1 νέα τάδε … κιγχάνει 15

mvp-comment-1003-2 (2) Others suppose that a low rumbling of thunder was heard immediately after the exit of Polyneices, and that ἔκτυπεν αἰθήρ in 1456 merely marks the first loud sound. νέα τάδε … κακὰ 16

mvp-comment-1003-3 εἴ τι μοῖρα μὴ κιγχάνει 17

mvp-comment-1003-4 νεόθεν 18 νέα 19

mvp-comment-1003-5 εἴ τι μοῖρα μὴ κιγχάνει 20

mvp-comment-1003-6 κιγχάνει 21

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

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. ،