Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759))
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
mvp-comment-544-1
The
ἀντιλαβή (division of the verse between two persons) marks excitement: cp. 652, 1099, 1169.
mvp-comment-545-1 ἡμῖν 1
mvp-comment-546-1 φαίνοιτ’ ἄν 2
mvp-comment-546-2 τέρμα τῆς σωτηρίας 3
mvp-comment-547-1 παρέσται 4
mvp-comment-547-2 ἐγώ 5
mvp-comment-548-1 ὀμμάτων 6
mvp-comment-548-2 εἰληφότας 7
mvp-comment-548-3 νεώρη 8
mvp-comment-549-1 ὃν 9
mvp-comment-550-1 ὡς 10
mvp-comment-550-2 δρᾶν τι 11
mvp-comment-551-1 εἴ τιν’ 12
mvp-comment-552-1 τηλικόσδ’ 13
mvp-comment-553-1 οὐκ ἐξ ἑνὸς στείλαντος 14
mvp-comment-553-2 ἀστῶν 15
mvp-comment-554-1 ἧκέ μοι γένει 16
mvp-comment-554-2 γένει 17
mvp-comment-555-1 εἰς πλεῖστον πόλεως 18
mvp-comment-555-2 εἰς 19
mvp-comment-556-1 ἀλλ’ 20
mvp-comment-557-1 δικαίως 21
mvp-comment-557-2 ἐκ δὲ τῶν 22
mvp-comment-558-1 ὅσῳπερ 23
mvp-comment-558-2 πλειστον … κάκιστος 24
mvp-comment-559-1 ξένον 25
mvp-comment-559-2 ἐπὶ μιᾶς πρ 26
mvp-comment-560-1 τὴν 27
mvp-comment-560-2 τάλας 28
mvp-comment-561-1 οὐκ ἔδοξα πεσεῖν ἄν 29
mvp-comment-561-2 ἐς τοσοῦτον αἰκίας 30
mvp-comment-561-3 ὅσον 31
mvp-comment-561-4 ἥδε δύσμορος 32
mvp-comment-562-1 τὸ σὸν κάρα 33
mvp-comment-563-1 πτωχῷ 34
mvp-comment-563-2 τηλικοῦτος 35
mvp-comment-564-1 τοὐπιόντος 36
mvp-comment-565-1 ἆῤ 37
mvp-comment-565-2 ὦ τάλας 38
mvp-comment-566-1
"I have uttered a cruel reproach against my kindred and myself. But indeed the reproach is one that cannot be hid, so long as thou and thy daughter are seen wandering thus. Hide it, then,
thou (no one else can)—by coming home."Unless we correct
νυν to
νιν (=
τὰ ἐμφανῆ ), it is better to place a point, and not merely a comma, at
κρύπτειν :
"
But (I have some excuse)
for ,"etc.,—the elliptical use of
ἀλλ’ οὐ γάρ , as at 988,
El. 595
,
Tr. 552
. So the schol.:
ὥστε συγγνώμης εἰμὶ ἄξιος λέγων· οὐ γὰρ δύναμαι κρύπτειν . With only a comma at
κρύπτειν,
ἀλλάwould belong to
κρύψον :
"But,—
since it is impossible, etc.—hide thou,"—when the position of
νυν is awkward.—So in
O. T. 1424
Creon urges the Theban elders to take Oed. into the house, forbidding them
τοιόνδ’ ἄγος | ἀκάλυπτον οὕτω δεικνύναι .
mvp-comment-567-1 πρὸς θεῶν πατρῴων 39
mvp-comment-568-1 θελήσας 41
mvp-comment-568-2 ἄστυ 42
mvp-comment-569-1 εἰπών 43
mvp-comment-569-2 ἡ δ’ οἴκοι 44
mvp-comment-570-1 παντὸς 45
mvp-comment-570-2 ἂν φέρων 46
mvp-comment-571-1
In L's
πείρᾶι (sic) we trace the wish of Didymus (schol.) to read
πείρᾳ ,
i.e.
"by a stratagem." It would then be necessary to take
κἀμὲ as=
"
even me"(who have had such experiences).
mvp-comment-571-2 πειρᾷ 47
mvp-comment-571-3 δεύτερον … ἑλεῖν 48
mvp-comment-571-4 ἐν οἷς 49
mvp-comment-571-5 μάλιστ’ ἂν ἀλγοίην 50
mvp-comment-572-1 πρόσθεν τε 51
mvp-comment-572-2 οἰκείοις 52
mvp-comment-573-1 νοσοῦνθ’ 53
mvp-comment-574-1 οὐκ ἤθελες θέλοντι 54
mvp-comment-574-2 προσθέσθαι 55
mvp-comment-575-1 ἦ 56
mvp-comment-575-2 μεστὸς 57
mvp-comment-576-1 ἐξεώθεις κἀξέβ 59
mvp-comment-577-1 τοῦτ’ 60
mvp-comment-578-1 πόλιν 61 γένος 62
mvp-comment-579-1 μετασπᾶν 63
mvp-comment-579-2 σκληρὰ μαλθακῶς λέγων 64
mvp-comment-580-1 αὕτη 66
mvp-comment-580-2 τίς τέρψις 67
mvp-comment-580-3 φιλεῖν 68
mvp-comment-580-4 τοσαύτη 69
mvp-comment-581-1 ὥσπερ 70
mvp-comment-581-2 τις 71
mvp-comment-581-3 τυχεῖν 72
mvp-comment-582-1 ὧν χρῄζοις 73
mvp-comment-583-1 ἡ χάρις 74
mvp-comment-584-1 ἆῤ 75
mvp-comment-585-1 καὶ σὺ 76
mvp-comment-586-1 λόγῳ … τοῖσι δ’ ἔργοισιν 77
mvp-comment-587-1 καὶ τοῖσδ’ 78
mvp-comment-588-1 πάραυλον 79
mvp-comment-589-1 κακῶν ἄνατος 80
mvp-comment-589-2 τῆσδ’ 81
mvp-comment-589-3 ἀπαλλαχθῇ 82
mvp-comment-590-1 ταῦτα … τάδ’ 83
mvp-comment-590-2 χώρας 84
mvp-comment-591-1 τοσοῦτον, ἐνθανεῖν μόνον 85
mvp-comment-591-2 ἐνθανεῖν 87
mvp-comment-592-1 σαφεστέρων 88
mvp-comment-592-2 κλύω 89
mvp-comment-593-1 τὸ σὸν … στόμα 90
mvp-comment-593-2 ὑπόβλητον 91
mvp-comment-594-1 πολλὴν ἔχον στόμωσιν 92
mvp-comment-595-1 κακά 93 σωτήρια 94
mvp-comment-596-1
If
οἶδα is right (as it seems to be),
μή can hardly be explained otherwise than by emphasis,
i.e. by the
strong assurance which the speaker expresses. But what form should the partic. have? (1) With the MS.
πείθων , the sense is:
"However, I am assured that I am not persuading you of this,—go!" In
656
appears to be a like case of
strong assurance. Cp.
O. T. 1455
. In 1121 there is another:
οἶδ’ ἐγώ σε
μήτινα
ἐνθένδ’ ἀπάξοντ’ ἄνδρα
ἐπίσταμαι γὰρ τήνδε... τέρψιν παρ’ ἄλλου
μηδενὸς πεφασμένην. Here, however,
οἷδα
μὴ πείθωνis so far stranger, that the emphasis appears less appropriate in stating the speaker's consciousness
of what he himself is doing. (2) The
v.l.
πείθοντ’ , extant in at least one MS. (F), removes this objection.
"However, I am assured
that you are not persuading (either the Athenians or me, cp. 803)—go!" (3)
πείσων would be liable to the same remark as
πείθων . (4)
πείσοντ’ would complete the parallelism with 656, but is not
required by the
"strong assurance" view, which applies to past (1121) or present as well as to future.—Another view is that
μή gives a
quasi-imperative force:
"I know that you
shan't persuade."This might apply to 656. Here it is much more difficult, esp. if we do
not adopt
πείσοντ’ : in 1121 it fails.
mvp-comment-596-2
With
ἴσθι … με for
οἶδα...δε the imper. would explain
μή (cp. on
78
): and we may note that in
O. T. 376
the MSS. changed
σε...ἑμοῦ into
με...σοῦ . But the context confirms
οἶδα .
mvp-comment-596-3
In later Greek
μή with partic., in regard to
fact , was common, as Luc.
Dial. Mort. 16
πῶς οὖν ἀκριβὴς ὁ Αἰακὸς ὢν οὐ διέγνω δε μὴ ὄντα ἐκεῖνον ;
"failed to discern that you were not he," where
μὴ ὄντα , though it might be paraphrased by
εἰ μὴ ἦσθα , virtually=
ὅτι οὐκ ἦσθα . In Mod. Greek the partic. always takes
μή , not
δέν . This latter tendency may conceivably have affected our MSS.:
e.g.
τοιάδ’ οὐ πείθων may have once stood here.
mvp-comment-597-1 εἰ τερποίμεθα 95
mvp-comment-598-1 Which of us do you consider the greater sufferer by your present attitude? Me, because I am not to bring you back? Or yourself, when you reject your friends and country?
mvp-comment-598-2 δυστυχεῖν 96
mvp-comment-598-3 ἐς τὰ σά 97
mvp-comment-598-4 ἐν τῷ νῦν λόγῳ 98
mvp-comment-599-1
Creon had said, in effect,
"
Your happiness is as much my object as our own."
"
My happiness,"Oed. rejoins,
"will be best secured if your application is rejected by the people of Colonus, as by myself."
mvp-comment-600-1 φύσας 99
mvp-comment-601-1 λῦμα 100
mvp-comment-601-2 τρέφει 101
mvp-comment-602-1
Cp.
O. T. 545
λέγειν σὺ δεινός(Oed. to Creon).
mvp-comment-603-1 ἐξ ἅπαντος 102
mvp-comment-603-2 εὖ λέγει 103
mvp-comment-604-1 τὸ καίρια 104
mvp-comment-605-1 ὡς δὴ 105
mvp-comment-606-1 ὅτῳ 106
mvp-comment-607-1 πρὸ τῶνδε 107
mvp-comment-608-1 ἐφορμῶν 108
mvp-comment-608-2
For
με followed by
ἐμέ , cp.
El. 1359
ἀλλά με | λόγοις ἀπώλλυς, ἔργ’ ἔχων ἥδιστ’ ἐμοί, where
ἐμοί is not more emphatic than
με . So in
Tr. 1171
κἀδόκουν πράξειν καλῶς· | τὸ δ’ ἦν ἄρ’ οὐδὲν ἄλλο πλὴν θανεῖν ἐμέ, where there is no contrast between
ἐμέ and some one else:
Ant. 292
ὡς στέργειν ἐμέ :
Ph. 299
τὸ μὴ νοσεῖν ἐμέ, where the stress is on the verb, not on the pronoun. And so here, too, it may be doubted whether
ἐμέ conveys such an emphasis as would be given by an italicised
"
my ,"— implying a reproof of meddlesomeness. The stress is rather on
χρὴ ναίειν : Apollo has brought him to this rest (89).
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.