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-634-1 ὦ τάλας 1
mvp-comment-635-1 ἐκ τούτοιν … σκήπτροιν 2
mvp-comment-635-2 ἐκ 3
mvp-comment-635-3 σκήπτροιν 4
mvp-comment-636-1 οδοιπορήσῃς 5
mvp-comment-636-2 νικᾶν 6
mvp-comment-637-1 τύραννος 7
mvp-comment-638-1 γνώσει τάδε 8
mvp-comment-638-2 αὑτὸν 9
mvp-comment-639-1
For
δρᾷς followed by
εἰργάσω , instead of
ἔδρασας , cp.
O. T. 54
ὡς εἴπερ ἄρξεις … ὥσπερ κρατεῖς(n.).
mvp-comment-639-2 βίᾳ φίλων 10
mvp-comment-640-1 ὀργῇ χάριν δούς 11
mvp-comment-641-1
The guards, carrying off Antigone, have already left the scene (847); cp. 875
μοῦνος . Creon is now about to follow them, when the Chorus again approach him, and protest that he shall not leave Colonus unless the two maidens are restored.
mvp-comment-642-1 τῶνδε 12
mvp-comment-643-1 ῥύσιον 13
mvp-comment-643-2 πόλει 14
mvp-comment-643-3 πόλει 17
mvp-comment-643-4 θήσεις πόλει 18
mvp-comment-643-5 ἐφάψομαι 19
mvp-comment-644-1
After
δεινὸν λέγοις (L), or
λέγεις , a syllable has to be supplied conjecturally. Triclinius added
ὡς ("be sure that,"
45
) before
τοῦτο : but this mars the rhythm: and the
simple fut. (as in
860
) is more forcible. The optat.
λέγοις of L, which is not likely to be a mere error for
λέγεις , strongly favours Hermann's simple remedy,
δεινὸν λέγοις ἄν , "'twere a dread deed that thou threatenest" (if only thou couldst
do it): cp. on
647
μέγ’ ἂν λέγοις δώρημα . Next to this, I should prefer Wecklein's
δεινὸς λόγοις εἶ .
mvp-comment-644-2 πεπράξεται 20
mvp-comment-645-1 ἢν μή γ’ 21
mvp-comment-645-2 ἀπειργάθῃ 22
mvp-comment-646-1 φθέγμ’ 23
mvp-comment-647-1 αὐδῶ σιωπᾶν 24
mvp-comment-647-2 ἄφωνον … ἀρᾶς 25
mvp-comment-647-3 τῆς 26
mvp-comment-648-1 See Appendix on this passage.
mvp-comment-648-2 ὅς 27
mvp-comment-648-3 ψιλὸν ὄμμ’ 28
mvp-comment-648-4 ψιλὸν 29
mvp-comment-648-5 ἀποσπάσας 30
mvp-comment-649-1 ἐξοίχει 31
mvp-comment-650-1 σέ τ’ αὐτὸν 32
mvp-comment-651-1 Ἥλιος 33
mvp-comment-651-2 βίον 34
mvp-comment-651-3 κἀμὲ 35
mvp-comment-652-1 ὁρᾶτε 36
mvp-comment-653-1 ἔργοις 37
mvp-comment-653-2 ῥήμασιν 38
mvp-comment-654-1 μοῦνος 39
mvp-comment-654-2 βραδύς 40
mvp-comment-655-1 ἰὼ τάλας 41
mvp-comment-656-1 τάνδε ( πόλιν ) οὐκέτι πόλιν νεμῶ 42
mvp-comment-657-1 τοῖς … δικαίοις 43
mvp-comment-657-2 βραχὺς 44
mvp-comment-658-1 τά 45
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.