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.
1478.
mvp-comment-787-1
ἰδού Cp. Αj. 870, ἰδού, δοῦπον αὖ κλύω τινά.
1478.
mvp-comment-787-2
ἀμφίσταται
Envelopes me. Cp. Hom. Od. 17. 261, περὶ δέ σφεας ἤλυθ᾽ ἰωὴ | φόρμιγγος: 19.444, περὶ δὲ κτύπος ἦλθε ποδοῖῖν: 1. 352, ἥτις ἀκουόντεσσι νεωτάτη ἀμφιπέληται: Phil. 1263, τίς αὖ παρ᾿ ἄντροις θόρυβος ἵσταται βοῆς; Eur. Her. 73, τίς ἡ βοὴ βωμοῦ πέλας ἕστηκεν ;
1479.
mvp-comment-788-1
διαπρύσιος ότοβος
The deafening, booming sound. Sophocles and Euripides revived this adjective, of which (except in Hymn to Aphrodite, 1. 19) only the neuter in an adverbial sense is found in Homer.
1480.
mvp-comment-789-1
ἵλεως Sc. γενοῦ. Cр. О. Т. 696. In favour of the form ἵλεως it may be observed (1) that the quantity of ἵλᾶος is improbable: (2) that Ionic forms are elsewhere retained in dochmiacs. Cp. supr. 884, λέως.
1481.
mvp-comment-790-1
ἀφεγγές
Gloomy, i. e.
Of dark significance. The epithet is perhaps suggested by the lowering sky. (Schneidewin.) Cp. Shakespeare, Macbeth, 2. 4, Thou seest the heavens, as troubled with man's act, | Threaten his bloody stage: by the clock 'tis day. | And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp: Is it night's predominance, or the day's shame, | That darkness doth the face of earth entomb, | When living light should kiss it?' 1482. (1) Reading ἐναισίου (see v. rr.), sc. ἀνδρός, translate:
May I meet with a righteous man, and not from having seen an accursed man, partake in some way of his unenvied recompence. The construction of συντύχοιμι with the genitive follows the analogy of ἀντάω, οι ἐπαυρεῖν. (2) Reading ἐναισίῳ:
May I share the fortune of the righteous. For ἄλαστος,
abominable, cp. II. 22.261. The Scholiast on l. 1447 understands this also (as well as supr. 1447 ff.) of Polynices. But although suggested by recent impressions this reflection of the chorus is probably quite general. Such a reference to Oedipus at this point is certainly out of the question.
1488.
mvp-comment-791-1
And what is it that you would have thus steadfastly rooted in your mind? Lit.
What is the steadfast purpose, etc.; but πιστόν is proleptic. Antigone repeats her father's thought in κατορθοῦντος φρένα, in order to elicit from him the cause of his agitation; and asks him for what special reason he wishes to have his mind clear when Theseus comes.
1489-1490.
mvp-comment-792-1
In return for their kindness (I desire) to pay them in full the promise which I made at the time of my obtaining my petition.' Cp. Plato, Legg. 11. 730 Α, οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἀτιμώρητος πάθοι ὁ τυχών: Hdt. 1. 213, δεηθεὶς .. ἔτυχε, ib. 5. 23, from which it appears that τυγχάνειν was used in reference to a suppliant, of obtaining a request. Cp. also Pind. Pyth. 3. 103.4. χρὴ πρὸς μακάρων | τυγχάνοντ᾽ εὖ πασχέμεν. τυγχάνων. here is = ὅτε ἐτύγχανον ὧν ἐβουλόμην, or ὧν ἔπασχον εὖ. The older explanation (as old as Eustathius) that τυγχάνων ὑπεσχόμην = ἔτυχον ὑποσχόμενος, besides making an imperfect tense equivalent to an aorist, makes τυγχάνων an unmeaning addition to the line. The correspondence in tense of ἔπασχον εὖ and τυγχάνων is a reason in favour of the explanation given above.
1490.
mvp-comment-793-1
δοῦναι Sc θέλω. σφιν has been explained asol. But this is wholly without authority, and the common meaning need create no difficulty, when l. 1488 is given to Antigone. The case of supr. 547 is different, because the participle there is emphatic. For the communication of the secret to Theseus was the bestowal of a boon on the whole people. Cp. infr. 1496.
1490.
mvp-comment-793-2
προβᾶθι was approved by Elmsley and Hermann, and secures correspondence with the strophe. θαυμαστῶς ὁ χόρος βοᾷ· ἐπείγει γὰρ τὸ πρᾶγμα. Schol. Observe the recurrence of ἄκραν in 1464, 1491, and of τυγχάνειν in 1491, 1493. Hol my son, come on thy way (from Athens), or if thou now art consecrating to Poseidon, God of Sea, the altar with its hollow surface that crowns the height,' or (2) ('that crowns the hill above the hollow place,')
come hither!
Chorus sic loquitur, ut qui domi esse Theseum putat: sed deinde ei in mentem venit, a sacris faciendis avocatum fuisse, ut ipse v. 1158 (1159) dixerat, et nunc fortasse in iis peragendis esse occupatum. Herm. Ср. О. Т. 517, 1104.
τυγχάνεις is suited to express the uncertainty where Theseus is.
1490.
mvp-comment-793-3
ἄκραν indicates the position of the altar of Poseidon on the top of Colonus.
1490.
mvp-comment-793-4
ἐπιγύαλον is either (1) a descriptive epithet, referring to the concave surface of the altar, or (2) means
above the hollow place, referring to some peculiarity of the ground, which is no longer visible. The agency of the Earthshaker may have been recognised in some rift of the rock of Colonus, near which his altar was placed. The read. ing Ποσειδαωνίῳ may have arisen from being written over the a of the Doric form.
1495.
mvp-comment-794-1
ἁγίζων does not necessarily imply that the altar was being used for the first time. It was in a manner consecrated afresh for every sacrifice.
1496-1499.
mvp-comment-795-1
σε.. παρασχεῖν For the accusatives πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον after the notion of benefiting, see Essay on Language § 16. p. 23. They are however first governed of ἐπαξιοῖ.
The stranger honours thee, and thy city, and thy friends, claiming to render you a just meed for good received. πόλισμα καὶ φίλους, i. e. Athens and the Coloniatae. See Introd. The lacuna (= τοίγαρ or αὐτός) was filled up by Tricilinius with σπεῦσον. Elmsley, reading ᾄσσ', notes the absence of three syllables.
Verbum σπεῦσον deest in antiquis libris, additum in Triclinianis. Id cur recentiores critici vel damnaverint, quum non ineptum sit, nec sciamus non esse e codicibus sumptum, vel posthabuerint deterioribus conjecturis, non assequor. Herm.
1500.
mvp-comment-796-1
κοινός ὑμῶν τὲ καὶ Οἰδίποδος, Schol. Cp. the reading of L. supr. 843. The phrase in 1499 might be with more probability assigned to Oedipus, or he may be supposed to join in it. But his voice in 1457 and the other senarii VOL. I. Ee might well be heard as far as the top of Colonus.
1501.
mvp-comment-797-1
αὐτῶν Theseus does not confuse the chorus and Oedipus in one address. He turns first to the chorus, and in proceeding to speak of Oedipus he uses a modification of the common idiom αὐτός τε καί: cp. supra 559.
1501.
mvp-comment-797-2
ἐμφανής is used analytically= ἐν δὲ φαινομένη,
Distinguishable amongst the other voices.
1502.
mvp-comment-798-1
μή τις Διὸς κεραυνός
Is it that a bolt from Zeus is fallen, or that some hail-shower has come dashing down? For one may imagine anything to have happened in such a storm as this. The construction is πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον, τίς ἠχεῖται κτύπος; being equivalent to τίς αἰτία ἐστὶ τοῦ ἠχεῖσθαι τοιοῦτον κτύπον; Cp. El. 122, τίν᾿ ἀεὶ .. οἰμωγάν; Essay on Language § 42. p. 81. For the nominative, cp. Od. 5. 476-477, θάμνους | ἐξ ὁμύθεν πεφυῶτας· ὁ μὲν φυλίης, ὁ δ᾽ ἐλαίης. θεός is here used in the vague sense in which the Athenians referred the changes of the weather to a divine agency. Cp. Xen. Cyn. 8. 1, ὅταν νίφῃ ὁ θεός.
1506.
mvp-comment-799-1
τῆσδε τῆς ὁδοῦ Lit. In re- gard of thy coming hither;' i. e. Has brought thee hither for a happy end. Cp. Τr. 26, τέλος δ᾽ ἔθηκε Ζεὺς ἀγώνιος καλῶς. The unaugmented form in the middle of the verse is doubtful. Some have read τῆσδ᾽ ἔθηκε, others ἧκε τῆσδε, for which cp. II. 1. 479, τοῖσιν δ᾽ ἴκμενον οὗρον ἴει ἑκάεργος Ἀπόλλων. For the habit of the MSS. in frequently omitting the augment, cp. supr. 438.
1507.
mvp-comment-800-1
τί δ᾽ ἐστίν νέορτον αὐ;
And what is the new emergency? Theseus anticipates some fresh incident, like the arrival of Creon or of Polynices.
1508.
mvp-comment-801-1
ῥοπὴ βίου μοι i. e. τὸ τὸν βίον μοι ῥέπειν. The dative depends on the verbal notion in ῥοπή.
It is my life that is verging to the grave. In O. T. 961, which has been compared with this line, ῥοπή has an active meaning.
1509.
mvp-comment-802-1
μὴ ψεύσας θανεῖν i. e. τελέσαι πρὶν θανεῖν. For this inversion, see Essay on Language § 42. p. 80, and cp. Thuc. 1.20, δράσαντές τι καὶ κινδυνεῖσαι.
1510.
mvp-comment-803-1
ἐν .. κεῖσαι
On what sign of thine approaching end dost thou rely?
1510.
mvp-comment-803-2
κείμαι, from meaning to
lie, obtains the more general notion of
resting, which is here used metaphorically with the preposition ev. Cp. the use of ἔγκειμαι in Dem. 294. 23. πολὺς τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν ἔγκειται.
He lays great stress on what has happened.
1511.
mvp-comment-804-1
αὐτοὶ . . κήρυκες • The Gods announce it to me, and they are their own heralds.' 1512. ψεύδοντες προκειμένων]
Failing me in none of the appointed signs. Cp. supra 94, 5, σημεῖα δ᾽ ἤξειν τῶνδέ μοι παρηγγύα, | ἢ σεισμόν, ἢ βροντὴν τιν', ἢ Διὸς σέλας. The omission of the article is poetical. Essay on Language § 21. p. 32. 1. 12.
1514.
mvp-comment-805-1
αἱ πολλὰ βρονταί Sc. δηλοῦσιν τάδε. Here, as in 1502, the nominative is brought in without any exact connection with what precedes, as though the words
What signs of this appear? had preceded. There is no reasonable doubt that πολλά is the true reading.
The frequent thunderings. For other instances of adverbs attached to substantives, see Essay on Language § 24. p. 41. βρονταὶ διατελεῖς are to be joined in one expression,
Prolonged thunderings.
1515.
mvp-comment-806-1
* στράψαντα ἀνικήτου]
Flashing from the invincible hand. The form στράπτω occurs in Apollon. Rhod. For a similar corruption, cp. O. T. 375, and v. rr.
1516.
mvp-comment-807-1
Theseus has perceived the impression which the prophecies of Oedipus have made, and that none of his words are allowed to fall to the ground.
1519.
mvp-comment-808-1
κείσεται
Shall remain in store.
1524-1525.
mvp-comment-809-1
That this may afford thee a continual defence that is preferable to a host of armed men and the alliance of neighbouring powers.' 1525. Of the two explanations of γειτόνων given by the Scholiast, εἰ μὲν βαρυτόνως, (1) γειτόνων, τῶν Θηβαίων· εἰ δὲ περισπωμένως, (2) ἀντὶ τοῦ γειτνιῶν, ὁ τάφος, the latter is preferable, and agrees with the point of view maintained throughout the play, in which Colonus is regarded, not as a part of Athens, but as a neighbouring dependency. γειτόνων ας obj. gen. is too far from ἀλκήν. But (3) with δορός it gives a proper sense, suggesting the natural feeling of the insecurity of an alliance with neighbours. And although the hero Oedipus might be said γειτνιᾶν τοῖς 'Αθηναίοις, the word is not used with equal propriety of his grave.
1526.
mvp-comment-810-1
ἐξάγιστα
Sacred; i.e. set apart from men.
1526.
mvp-comment-810-2
μηδὲ .. λόγῳ
And may not be profaned by speech. μή is partly generic or hypothetical, and partly prohibitive. Essay on Language p. 48. Ι. Ε. μ. κ. λ. =
And is of a nature not to be spoken of. Cp. infra 1641, μηδ' ἃ μὴ θέμις | λεύσσειν δικαιοῦν. For κινεῖν, cp. supra 624, τἀκίνητ᾽ ἔπη: Ο. Τ. 354.
1526.
mvp-comment-810-3
ἀφικνῇ ARV3.
1527.
mvp-comment-811-1
μόνος is probably to be construed with μαθήσει as well as with μόλῃς.
1528.
mvp-comment-812-1
ὡς.. ἄν
Since I would not declare them. See Essay on Language § 27. p. 43.
1530.
mvp-comment-813-1
σώζε
Keep safe; i. e. At once remember and avoid divulging. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 522-525, ἄλλου λόγου μέμνησθε· τόνδε δ᾽ οὐδαμῶς | καιρὸς γεγωνεῖν, ἀλλὰ συγκαλυπτέος | ὅσον μάλιστα· τόνδε γὰρ σώζων ἐγὼ | δεσμοὺς ἀεικεῖς καὶ δύας ἐκφυγγάνω. The
1531.
mvp-comment-814-1
ἀφικνῇ Elmsley observes that the imperf. makes better sense than the aor., besides being essential to the metre.
When you are on the point of coming.
When you are coming to the end of life. The words probably refer to some custom unknown to us. ceremonies at the grave of Oedipus may have been performed by the Archon Basileus, to whom, as Plato says, certain solemn traditional rites were entrusted: Polit. 290 E, τῷ γὰρ λαχόντι βασιλεῖ φασὶ τῖδε τὰ σεμνύτατα καὶ μάλιστα πάτρια τῶν ἀρχαίαν θυσιῶν ἀποδεδόσθαι. Cp Lys. adv. Andoc. p. 103. Plutarch, Mor. p. 578 B, says that the tomb of Dirce was only known to the chief magistrate for the time being at Thebes.
1532.
mvp-comment-815-1
ὁ δ᾽ ἀεί The distributive ἀεί generalizes the subject of the verb so as to make the expression applicable to the whole line of succession. For a similar transition, cp. Thuc. 2. 36, ἄρξομαι· ἀπὸ τῶν προγόνων .. τὴν γὰρ χώραν ἀεὶ οἱ αὐτοὶ οἰκοῦντες ἐλευθέραν δι᾽ ἀρετὴν παρέδοσαν.
1534.
mvp-comment-816-1
ἀπ᾿ ἀνδρῶν instead of ὑπ᾿ ἀνδρῶν, because of the privative notion in ἀδῇον, as if it were τηρήσεις ἀπό. This city of thine shall be free from the ravages of the children of the dragon's teeth.' Cp. Pind. Fr. H. 1, ἡ Κάδμον ἢ Σπαρτῶν ἱερὸν γένος ἀνδρῶν : Isthm. 6 (7). 10.
1534.
mvp-comment-816-2
αἱ δὲ μυρίαι πόλεις i. e. But any one of the numberless states that are.' There is here a trace of that conception of the number and variety of civil communities which played such an important part in Greek political speculation. Cp. Plat. Polit. 302 A: Eur. Hec. 306, ἐν τῷδε γὰρ κάμνουσιν αἱ πολλαὶ πόλεις.
1535.
mvp-comment-817-1
τις is a vague subject, with allusion to Theseus and Athens. Cp. Thuc. 2.2, εἰ μή τις προκαταλήψεται: ἱ. ε. εἰ μὴ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι καταλήψονται. The allusion to Athens accounts for εὐ οἰκῇ, which is properly applicable to a city. an A καθύβρισαν] καθυβρίζω is generally found in construction with accusative or genitive. Hence it has probably here an implied object which is most easily supplied from τις. city, no matter where, may lightly insult even one who dwells circumspectly.' Oedipus again touches lightly on the apparent improbability of Thebes becoming 1535 1540 1540. hostile (supr. 606, foll.), while Athens was governed prudently. ῥᾳδίως = ἐκ σμικροῦ λόγου: i.e. Be as politic as you will, you cannot avoid wars with your neighbours. Scholiast, κἂν δικαίως τις πολιτεύηται, πολλαὶ πόλεις ἀδίκως ἐπέρχονται. In the more recent explanations (e.g. Hermann's 'pleraeque civitates, etiam si quis eas bene regat, proclives sunt ad temeritatem') καθύβρισαν is made equivalent to ἐξύβρισαν. For ὕβριs of a city, cp. Thuc. 3. 39, εἴωθε δὲ τῶν πόλεων αἷς ἂν μάλιστα καὶ δι᾽ ἐλαχίστου ἀπροσδόκητος εὐπραξία ἔλθῃ, ἐς ὕβριν τρέπειν.
1536-1537.
mvp-comment-818-1
θεοὶ γὰρ .. τραπῇ
For the Gods mark well, although they visit late, when men abandon reverence and become infatuated. This also has reference to Thebes. The impious quarrel of the brothers will bring a late retribution when Thebes shall invade Attica to her own defeat. For τὰ θεῖα, cp. Ο. Τ. 910, ἔρρει δὲ τὰ θεῖα.
1538-1539.
mvp-comment-819-1
Oedipus, after thus alluding to the impiety of his sons, delicately hints to Theseus, in a single line, that such a warning is an additional reason for keeping his sacred promise inviolate. He then in the following line apologises for having said even so much as this.
1540.
mvp-comment-820-1
χώρον Essay on Language p. 22.
1540.
mvp-comment-820-2
τοὐκ θεοῦ παρόν ‘What God now sends; i. e. The disturbance of the elements and the inward intimation or δαιμόνιον σημεῖον, as Socrates would have said, under the influence of which Oedipus is speaking. See note on l. 97.
1541.
mvp-comment-821-1
μηδ' *ἐπιστρεφώμεθα
And not turn backward. Reisig's conjecture, μηδ' ἔτ᾽ ἐντρεπώμεθα,
and let us no longer delay, rests on the explanation of the Scholiast (comparing έντροπαλιζόμενος), which is not satisfactory. The ordinary meaning οἱ ἐντρέπεσθαι,
To regard with respect or awe, is also inadmissible. For Oedipus is demanding attention to the sacred goal, which he himself is thinking of with reverence, though not with fear. If ἐντρέπεσθαι can mean to turn aside from a greater object out of regard for lesser ones (the thunder, etc.), the reading may be defended, (1) in this sense, or again, (2) with a reciprocal meaning,
Let us not be paying regard to one another, but follow the leading of the god. Cp. Polybius, 31. 12. 6 (quoted by L. and S.), ἐνετράποντο ἐν ἑαυτοῖς. If not, it will be better to read μηδ' ἐπιστρεφώμεθα,
and let us not look back, for which, cp. Hdt. 3. 156, ἐπιστρεφόμενος, ὡς δὴ ἀληθέως αὐτόμολος. This is adopted in the text. For another conj. μηδ' ἔτ' ἐκτρεπώμεθα, cp. Ar. Plut. 837, οἱ δ᾽ ἐξετρέποντο κοὐκ ἐδόκουν ὁρᾶν μ᾽ ἔτι.
1542-1543.
mvp-comment-822-1
For a new thing is coming to pass, and I am now your guide, who have been mine.'
1544.
mvp-comment-823-1
καὶ μὴ ψαύετ'
Nay, touch me not. καί adversative. The daughters cling to their father. Cp. supr. 1437.
1548.
mvp-comment-824-1
ἥ τε νερτέρα θεός Persephone, whose name is omitted here and infra 1.1556. See Introd. pp. 281-282.
1549.
mvp-comment-825-1
ὦ φῶς ἀφεγγές Ο light unseen, once I saw thee, and now for the last time my body feels thee.' The Greek love of sunlight is touchingly manifested in this valediction of the blind Oedipus to the light of day. In his first passionate despair he had prayed never more to see the light, on which, in his softened mood, he now
casts one lingering look behind. O. T. 1183, ὦ φῶς, τελευταῖόν σε προσβλέψαιμι vûv. The edd. before Brunck read ποῦ, which is interpreted as expressing a feeling of exultation, that he who was blind now had the true sight. Formerly where wast thou?' (i.e. I had thee not):
but now at the last I feel thee. πρόσθε πού ποτ᾽ ἦσθ᾽ ἐμόν] Erewhile methinks thou wast indeed mine.' In saying this he throws a momentary glance on the splendour of his former fortunes. Cp. О. Т. 1282-1283.
1551.
mvp-comment-826-1
τὸν τελευταῖον βίον
To end my life, and hide it in the dwelling of the unseen.' Musgrave's conjecture, ἤδη γὰρ ἕρπω τὴν τελευταίαν, βίον | κρύψων παρ' Ἅιδην, is ingenious, but unnecessary. For, as Elmsley says,
Recte se habet haud dubie vulgata, licet loquendi genus novum videatur. Death is frequently spoken of in Sophocles rather as the entrance to a new state of existence than as an abrupt termination of the present one. Cp. Eur. Ion 1067, εἰς ἄλλας βιότου μορφὰς κάτεισι: Bacch. 1337, μακάρων δ᾽ ἐς αἷαν σὸν καθιδρύσει βίον. The words express rather the passing of Oedipus, than his death. Cp. βίου καταστροφή, 103.. ῥοπή, 1508. The last scene of his life (supra 583, τὰ λοίσθι᾽. . τοῦ βίου) may be described as hidden with the God of death. The verbal contradiction is analogous to that in another expression which has given trouble to interpreters, Phil. 1443, 4, ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια συνθνήσκει βροτοῖς | κἂν ζῶσι κἂν θάνωσιν οὐκ ἀπόλλυται: i.e. Follows them into the grave.
1553.
mvp-comment-827-1
πρόσπολοί τε σοί
And thy followers..:' the same who are called Θησείδαι, supra 1066 (cp. 1103), and some of whom are surrounding Theseus at this moment. The Ἄγγελος in the next scene is one of them.
1554.
mvp-comment-828-1
κἀπ᾿ εὐπραξίᾳ i. e.
And take occasion from your good fortune to remember me. Elmsley's conjecture, μεμνῇσθε (optative), though not necessary, has the merit of harmonizing with γένοισθε and εὐτυχεῖς. Cp. Od. 13.44-6, ὑμεῖς δ᾽ αὖθι μένοντες .. μή τι κακὸν μεταδήμιον εἴη. The apparent anti climax,
Beloved of heaven,
Fortunate, may be defended by comparing Hdt. 1. 32, where Solon prefers εὐτυχία to all else. 1556, foll. In a single strophe and antistrophe, the chorus address a solemn invocation to the powers of the lower world, Hades, Persephone, the Erinyes, the dog Cerberus, and Death, that Oedipus may have quiet consummation,' and pass without molestation to the Stygian home.
1554.
mvp-comment-828-2
ἐπὶ βαρυαχεῖ ἐπιβαμήποτ᾽ ἐπίπονα μήτ᾽ ἐπὶ βαρυάχει Α. Reminiscences of the dochmiac movements of the last commation are mingled with iambic, trochaic, and glyconic measures. On this combination, see Christ, Metrik, § 477- The antistrophe is distinguished by the frequency of spondaic endings. This apparent irregularity may be removed by conjectural emendation, but it may possibly have been due to a purposed, retardation of the rhythm. For ср. supr. 412. For dochmiacs mixed with cretics and iambics in a similar place, cp. El. 1385 ff. and, for a recurrence of the paeonic rhythm, infr. 1682, 1709. ト いいいい |---|トー CICLトートー
1560.
mvp-comment-829-1
λίσσομαι This has been changed το λίσσωμαι for the sake of the metre. Such a use of the subjunctive in the 1st pers. sing. can scarcely be paralleled from Attic Greek. But besides securing the correspondence of metre, it agrees with the context, and is not contrary to analogy.
1561-1564.
mvp-comment-830-1
*ἐπιπόνῳ.. δόμον
That by no painful, by no greatly to be lamented doom, the stranger may reach the all-hiding nether region, and the Stygian home. 1561. The omission of the first μήτε, which Seidler proposed, restores the metre without disturbing the sense. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 532, Πάρις γάρ, οὔτε συντελὴς πόλις, ἐξεύχεται τὸ δρᾶμα τοῦ πάθους πλέον.
1561-1564.
mvp-comment-830-2
βαρυαχεῖ is treated by the Scholiast (see also v. rr.) as the Doric form of βαρυηχεῖ, a word which occurs several times, whereas there is only one doubtful instance, Aesch. Eum. 145, πάθος δυσαχές, of a compound derivative of ἄχος. The chorus, who have been frightened by the thunder, may be supposed to pray that the end of Oedipus may be neither painful nor alarming. In the report of the messenger they are reassured on this very point. Infra 1658, οὐ γάρ τις αὐτὸν οὔτε πυρφόρος θεοῦ | κεραυνὸς ἐξέπραξεν, οὔτε ποντία | θύελλα κινηθεῖσα τῷ τότ᾽ ἐν χρόνῳ. For a similar feeling about εὐθανασία, cp. Plat. Phaedo, 117 Ε, καὶ γὰρ ἀκήκοα, ὅτι ἐν εὐφημίᾳ χρὴ τελευτᾶν. (2) But the metre is in favour of βαρυἄχεῖ, which, to avoid tautology, must be explained to mean
causing severe sorrow. By no painful, by no lamentable doom.' Cp. infr. 1663, 4, οὐ στενακτὸς οὐδὲ . . ἀλγεινός. For the redundant ἐπί, see Essay on Language § 19. p. 27.
1562.
mvp-comment-831-1
A correction which presupposes corruption both in strophe and antistrophe must necessarily bedoubtful.
1562.
mvp-comment-831-2
ἄρα,
in accordance with his presentiment. Cp. 1585. For the metre, cp. El. 1384=1391. Others (with Musgr.) read ξένον ἐξανύσαι, and λόγος αἰὲν ἔχει, 1565 1568 1564-1566. Division of lines, νεκύων
1564.
mvp-comment-832-1
νεκρῶν νεκύων LA. Tricl. corr.
1564.
mvp-comment-832-2
ἀνικάτου ἀνικήτου Α. in the antistrophe.
1565-1567.
mvp-comment-833-1
For even although many sorrows have been coming on thee without bringing any good, it may be that a just Deity will again exalt thee.' For καί with a participle in the genitive absolute, having the force of καίπερ, cp. Εl. 657, τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα πάντα καὶ σιωπώσης ἐμοῦ | ἐπαξιῶ σε δαίμον᾽ ὄντ᾿ ἐξειδέναι. ἱκνουμένων is in the imperfect tense, and the force of av extends to both parts of the sentence, as if it were πολλὰ μὲν ἂν πήματα μάταν ἱκνοῖτο, ὅμως δὲ κἂν αὔξοι σε δαίμων δίκαιος ὤν. The chorus now express their belief in the possibility of what Ismene had said, supra 394, νῦν γὰρ θεοί σ᾽ ὀρθοῦσι, πρόσθε δ' ἄλλυσαν. It is doubtful whether μάταν means (1) 'causelessly, as some have explained it, or (2)
without result, i. e. bringing no good after them. The latter is more probable; i.e. Though no such result has been produced as yet. σε has been unnecessarily changed to σφε. The apostrophe gives liveliness to what would otherwise be a frigid sentiment. The change from the 3rd person to the 2nd is not more violent than the change a few lines below from the 2nd to the 3rd, 1568, ὦ.. σῶμα θηρός,... 1574, ὅν, κ.τ.λ. Cp. also Ο. ΤT. 1202, ff.
1568.
mvp-comment-834-1
ὦ χθόνιαι θεαί These words, elsewhere applied to Demeter and Proserpine, seem here to be addressed to the Erinyes, to whom, as daughters of Earth and Darkness, they are properly applicable.
Invocat Furias et Cerberum, hunc, ut ne teneat animam mortui in limine Ditis; illas, ut propitiae sint, nec puniant quae ille sine mala mente commisit.
(Herm.) That Prosperine has been already invoked, is not, however, a conclusive reason against her being here again addressed with Demeter. Cp. O. T. 190, foll., 206, foll., where Artemis is twice invoked.
1568-1569.
mvp-comment-835-1
σῶμα.. θηρός
And thou huge unconquered beast.
1569.
mvp-comment-836-1
ὃν .. Ἀΐδᾳ
Of whom they say that thou hast thy lair in the I olished gateway, and whom rumour ever declares to be snarling from thy den, a guardian invincible of Hades hall.'
1570.
mvp-comment-837-1
πολυξέστοις The conjecture πολυξένοις is more convenient for the metre, and gives an apt enough sense. On the other hand, πολυξέστοις, ' Burnished, is a picturesque epithet for a gateway: and the tendency to spondaic endings in this antistrophe has been already noticed.
1573.
mvp-comment-838-1
λόγος * ἐσαιὲν ἀνέχει
Report constantly avers of thee. As the metre is doubtful (the corresponding verse in the strophe being corrupt), it appears unsafe to follow Tricilinius in altering ἀνέχει which looks idiomatic, to ἔχει: for which, however, cp. supra 674, and note, Hdt. 7. 26, τὸν ὑπὸ Φρυγῶν λόγος ἔχει ὑπὸ Ἀπόλλωνος ἀνακρεμασθῆναι. For the similar use of a compound of ἔχω, cp. Pind. Pyth. 1.96, ἐχθρὰ Φάλαριν κατέχει φάτις. And for ἀνέχω, cp. Pind. Nem. 7.89, εἰ δ᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ θεὸς ἀνέχοι. The correspondence of metre is kept by reading εὖ κατανύσαι in the strophe.
1574.
mvp-comment-839-1
ὦ Γᾶς παῖ καὶ Ταρτάρου These words are addressed not to Cerberus, but in all probability to Death, who is invoked as a person more than once in Sophocles (Phil. 797, Aj. 854), cp. infr. 1578 and note. In what sense could Cerberus be called the child of Earth? In Hes. Theog. 211, foll., Death is the Child of Night, without a father, and Cerberus, ib. 310, is the son of Echidna and Typhon. But in these genealogies the poets used considerable freedom. And in the same spirit in which Sophocles calls the Erinyes daughters of Earth and Darkness, Death may be apostrophized as the son of Earth, who receives the bodies of the Dead, and Tartarus, which (cp. supra 1389), like
Olympus, has less of a special and local meaning in Sophocles than in Homer. The name of Death is omitted, like that of Persephone, the Erinyes, and Cerberus, while the kingly title 'Αϊδωνεύς is given to Hades. Cp. supra 1548, and note.
1575.
mvp-comment-840-1
ἐν καθαρῷ βῆναι (1) • To move in a clear space,' i. e. to leave the way clear: μὴ ἐμποδὼν βῆναι. A marked instance of oxymoron: cp. ἐκτὸς ὁμιλεῖ, Aj. 640, and see Essay on Language § 37. p. 70. Or (2) taking βῆναι in the sense of
departing as in Ant. 120, ἔβα, κ.τ.λ., and ἐν καθαρῷ as proleptic,
To go away and leave the coast clear =ἐκποδὼν βῆναι.
1578.
mvp-comment-841-1
τὸν αἰένυπνον The reading of the Scholiast and Suidas, and of the earliest corrector of L, has sufficient authority, especially when recommended by the metre. αἰὲν ἄυπνον would certainly be applicable to Cerberus and might be suggested by the words ἀδάματον φύλακα παρ' Ἀΐδα. But the address to Death, as the God of the Eternal Sleep, is a more fitting termination of this ode.
1579.
mvp-comment-842-1
One of the companions of Theseus (πρόσπολοι, supra 1553) returning before the rest, reports all that will ever be known, except to Theseus and his successors, of the departure of Oedipus.
1579.
mvp-comment-842-2
πολίται
Fellow-citizens. By the ξυνοικισμός under Theseus the Coloniatae were already citizens of Athens.
1579.
mvp-comment-842-3
ξυντομωτάτως .. ὀλωλότα I might best succeed in brevity by saying Oedipus is gone.' The adverb contains the predicate. Essay on Language § 24. p. 40. The participial construction with λέξας is noticeable; cp. O. T. 465 and note.
1581.
mvp-comment-843-1
ἃ δ᾽ ἦν τὰ πραχθέντ' supposes a simple clause, such as οὐ βραχέως φράσαι πάρεστιν, which, by the introduction of the antithesis between μύθος and ἔργον, is expanded into what follows.
1582.
mvp-comment-844-1
οὔτε τάργ᾽ ὅσ᾽ ἦν ἐκεῖ Sc.
1582.
mvp-comment-844-2
βραχέα ἦν. ἐκεῖ is added to supplement both clauses.
1584.
mvp-comment-845-1
τὸν ἀεί The most probable interpretation of these words is that which separates them from βίοτον and supplies χρόνον. The expression is equivalent to ἐς τὸν ἀεὶ χρόνον. Cp. supra 1400, οἷον ἆρ᾽ ὁδοῦ τέλος, κ.τ.λ., where τέλος has the force of ἐς τέλος. For the omission of χρόνον, see Essay on Language § 39. p. 74, and cp. infra 1701, El. 1075, Tr. 80, which are best explained by supposing a similar ellipse, which, if in accordance with a vernacular conversational idiom, would not occasion ambiguity, notwithstanding the nearness of βίοτον here and σκότον infr. 1701.
1584.
mvp-comment-845-2
The other interpretations:
His life, such as it ever was (Herm.),
His long-continued life,
His lingering age (Schol. Eustath.), are inadmissible.
1585.
mvp-comment-846-1
ἆρα = ἢ ἄρα,
Was it then? i. e. Was it as he led us to expect?
1586.
mvp-comment-847-1
τοῦτ᾽, the reading of Par. A, is preferred to ταῦτ', the reading of L, because the pronoun appears from its position to be the subject of ἐστίν ..
1586.
mvp-comment-847-2
πρέπον, and not merely the object of ἀποθαυμάσαι.
1586.
mvp-comment-847-3
κἀποθαυμάσαι καί, belonging to the whole clause, emphasizes the manner of the death of Oedipus as distinguished from the fact, which has been already told, and the previous circumstances, which are known to all.
Ay, this it is which may well move your wonder.
1587.
mvp-comment-848-1
παρών
Having witnessed it. Essay on Language § 32. p. 55.
1588.
mvp-comment-849-1
ὑφηγητῆρος Sc. ὄντος, Essay on Language § 9. p. 14.
1589.
mvp-comment-850-1
ἐξηγούμενος
Leading the way. Cp. supra 1520, χώρον.. έξηγησομαι.
1590.
mvp-comment-851-1
τὸν καταρράκτην ὀδόν
The precipitous threshold, rooted in earth with foundations of brass. The ὀδός (supra 57) is probably the entrance to a cleft in the native rock, and is called καταρράκτης because supposed to lead directly down to Tartarus. The χαλκά βάθρα are probably not a literal staircase, but, like the epithet χαλκόπους, supr. 57, recal the σιδηρεῖαί τε πύλαι καὶ χαλκέος οὐδός of Homer's description. See Introduction. For this meaning of βάθρα in the plural, cp. Eur. Tro. 47, ὦ .. πόλις.. ἦσθ᾽ ἂν ἐν βάθροις ἔτι, and for γῆθεν ἐρριζωμένον, cp. Od. 13. 163. of the ship changed by Poseidon to an islet, λᾶαν ἔθηκε καὶ ἐρρίζωσεν ἔνερθεν.
1592.
mvp-comment-852-1
*πολυσχίστων This conjecture of Heath's has been universally accepted. Cp. Plato. Phaed. 168 A. The word was no doubt descriptive of the paths actually converging towards the χαλκοῦς ὀδός, and the language indicates the precision with which the blind Oedipus followed the guidance of the God.
1593.
mvp-comment-853-1
κρατῆροs Elmsley is probably right in saying,
Crater, de quo nunc agitur, lapideus fuisse videtur, ἀνδρὸς εὔχειρος τέχνη, ut illi, quorum mentio fit v. 472. It may have been fabled that this bowl received the blood of the sacrifice which confirmed the league of Theseus and Pirithous, and some record of their agreement may have been engraven on it. Cp. Eur. Suppl. 1202, ἔγγραψον ὅρκους τρίποδος ἐν κοίλῳ κύτει.
Where the compact of Theseus and Pirithous is registered, never to be annulled. The bowl was probably at the entrance to one of the cavities in the rock.
1595.
mvp-comment-854-1
6. Midway between this and the fragment of rock from Thoricus, and the hollow pear-tree and the sarcophagus of stone.' The traditional text may mean,
Right opposite to this and the Thorician rock, away from the hollow pear-tree and stone tomb. But Brunck's easy correction makes a better context. The object is to define accurately the exact position of Oedipus when last seen, corresponding probably to the place where rites were since performed in his honour. Cp. supr. 1532 and note, and 477.
1600-1601.
mvp-comment-855-1
There does not appear to be sufficient reason for construing these words with Hermann, 'The hill which commands a view of the temple of Demeter Chloe. Although the temple near the Acropolis, mentioned by Pausanias and the Scholiast, cannot be meant, there may well have been other places in the neighbourhood sacred to the same Goddess. Transl. The eminence, full in view, of Demeter, who makes the tender blade to grow. The knoll, a quarter of a mile to the east of Colonus, has some remains of buildings, and is plentifully supplied with water at the present day. See Introd. p. 283.
1601.
mvp-comment-856-1
τάσδ᾽ ἐπιστολάς Abstract for concrete, Brought these commands,' i.e. The things thus commanded.
1602.
mvp-comment-857-1
ταχεῖ .. σὺν χρόνῳ
With time that quickly passed, i. e. With despatch. Cp. supr. 7 and note.
1603.
mvp-comment-858-1
ᾗ νομίζεται (1)
As is customary, sc. in immediate prospect of death. Cp. Eur. Alc. 158. ἐπεὶ γὰρ ᾔσθεθ᾽ ἡμέραν τὴν κυρίαν | ἥκουσαν, ὕδασι ποταμίοις λευκὸν χρόα | ἐλούσατ᾽, ἐκ δ᾽ ἑλοῦσα κεδρίνων δόμων | ἐσθῆτα κόσμον τ᾽ εὐπρεπῶς ἠσκήσατο. Or (2)
Such raiment as is customary, viz. at the shrine of the Eumenides. The ἔποικος would supply what was necessary: supra 506.
1604.
mvp-comment-859-1
'And when all was doing to his heart's content, and no part of his desire was now neglected.' δρῶντος is a singular instance of the abstract use of the active participle, noticed in the Essay on Language $ 30. p. 51. Cp. supra 1220, τοῦ θέλοντος, etc. This is the only satisfactory explanation of the passage. As often happens, the second line, κοὐκ ἦν, κ.τ.λ., states negatively what is affirmed in the first.
1605.
mvp-comment-860-1
For
ἀργόν, cp. Ο. Τ. 287 and n.
1606.
mvp-comment-861-1
Ζεὺς χθόνιος The rumbling noise beneath the earth accompanying an earthquake is attributed to Hades, as the thunder to Zeus. For this name of Hades, cp. Hom. Il. 9. 457, Ζεύς τε καταχθόνιος καὶ ἐπαινὴ Περσεφόνεια : Hes. Op. 465: Aesch. Suppl. 157. And for χθόνιος βροντή, Aesch. Prom. 993, 4, Eur. Hipp. 1201, Phoen. 1181-1182, ἐκτύπησε δὲ | χθών, ὥστε δεῖσαι πάντας.
1607.
mvp-comment-862-1
ῥίγησαν Homeric word: Il. 12.208, Τρώες δ᾽ ἐρρίγησαν, ὅπως ἴδον αἰόλον ὄφιν.
1608.
mvp-comment-863-1
οὐδ᾽ ἀνίεσαν
And ceased not from. Cp. 1. 1610. Mr. Palmer takes the words differently. In his note on l. 1636, he says,
It was unbecoming in a man of any nobleness of spirit to give way to loud lamentation; therefore it is said even of the daughters, οὐδ᾽ ἀνίεσαν, κ.τ.λ. But the moment for silence and reserve is not yet come, and the natural feelings are for the time unchecked (cp. 1620, foll.). Compare Hom. Od. 16. 213, foll. "Ως ἄρα φωνήσας κατ᾿ ἄρ᾽ ἔζετο, Τηλέμαχος δὲ | ἀμφιχυθεὶς πατέρ᾽ ἐσθλὸν ὀδύρετο, δάκρυα λείβων. | ἀμφοτέροισι δὲ τοῖσιν ὑφ᾽ ἵμερος ὥρτο γόοιο. | κλαῖον δὲ λιγέως, ἀδινώτερον ἤ τ' οἰωνοί, | φῆναι ἡ αἰγυπιοὶ γαμψώνυχες, οἷσί τε τέκνα | ἀγροταὶ ἐξείλοντο πάρος πετεηνὰ γενέσθαι. | ὡς ἄρα τοίγ᾽ ἐλεεινὸν ὑπ᾿ ὀφρύσι δάκρυον εἶβον. It is to be remembered, too, that this scene is only reported, not represented on the stage. That οὐδ' ἀνίεσαν has probably a different meaning in O. T. 1277, is no objection to the above rendering.
1609.
mvp-comment-864-1
παμμήκεις
Long and loud. μακρός has continually the meaning of
loud, in connection with sounds. But here there is probably also the further association, Prolonged.'
1610.
mvp-comment-865-1
ὡς ἀκούει .. ἐξαίφνης When all at once he hears....' φθόγγον . . πικρόν] • The piteous sound.' Ant. 423-424, κἀνακωκύει πικρᾶς | ὄρνιθος ὀξὺν φθόγγον.
1611.
mvp-comment-866-1
πτύξας ἐπ᾿ αὐταῖς χεῖρας
Folding his arms about them. For χεῖρες in this sense, cp. El. 1226.
1613.
mvp-comment-867-1
All that was mine is at an end,' and therefore also my dependence on your filial care.
1614.
mvp-comment-868-1
τὴν δυσπόνητον τροφήν] The sad laborious nursing ye have spent on me.' τροφή is here used actively, as in Εl. 1143, οἴμοι τάλαινα τῆς ἐμῆς πάλαι τροφῆς | ἀνωφελήτου, τὴν ἐγὼ θάμ᾿ ἀμφὶ σοὶ | πόνῳ γλυκεῖ παρέσχον.
1615.
mvp-comment-869-1
σκληρὰν μέν σκληράν is added in apposition, and is then opposed with μέν to what follows.
It has been troublesome, that I know well, my daughters: but then the one word "love" has power to cancel all this trouble. And love ye have had from none in greater measure than from me, of whom bereft ye will pass what now remains to you of life.
1620-1621.
mvp-comment-870-1
τοιαῦτ᾽ .. ἔκλαιον i. e. τοιαῦτα .. κλαίοντες ἔλεγον.
1622.
mvp-comment-871-1
ὠρώρει βοή Homeric expression. Il. 18. 498, ἔνθα δὲ νεῖκος | ὠρώρει.
1624.
mvp-comment-872-1
θώϋξεν
Urged him with shouting. The omission of the augment in this case with a consonant preceding makes it probable that in the other cases in this speech, e. g. 1606, κτύπησε, 1607, ῥίγησαν, 1608, κλαῖον, the augment is dropped Epicè and not elided after the preceding vowel. The MSS. omit the augments very frequently. Cp. supr. 438 and v. rr. For the construction, cp. supra 1598, ἀΰσας παῖδας.
1624-1625.
mvp-comment-873-1
ὥστε .. τρίχας
So that the hair of all stood up in the alarm of sudden fear. ἐξαίφνης belongs both to the participle and the verb, and the dative φόβῳ is in construction with both. Cp. Tr. 175-176, ἐκπηδᾷν ἐμὲ φόβῳ ταρβοῦσαν.
1625.
mvp-comment-874-1
στῆσαι.. τρίχας is said, as in φῦσαι ὀδύντας and the like language, at- tributing to the subject, as the ἀρχή of his actions, even mechanical and unconscious processes. Cp. supr. 149, and note. Essay on Language § 30. p. 52.
1626.
mvp-comment-875-1
πολλὰ πολλαχή Shak. Ham. 1.5, Hic et ubique? then we
ll shift our ground. 1627, foll. Cp. Eur. Alc. 253, Χάρων μ᾽ ἤδη καλεῖ· τί μέλλεις; ἐπείγου· σὺ κατείργεις τάδε. τοῖα σπερχόμενος ταχύνει : Ar. Lys. 606, ὁ Χάρων σε καλεῖ, σὺ δὲ κωλύεις ἀνάγεσθαι. In the present case not Charon but Hermes, cp. supr. 1548, or the δαίμων of Oedipus, is probably meant. The absence of any name, as in several of the concludiug passages of this play, adds to the solemnity of the effect.
1628.
mvp-comment-876-1
πάλαι.. βραδύνεται • You are already much to blame for our delay.' 1632. δός μοι χερὸς σῆς πίστιν ἀρχαίαν τέκνοις]
I pray thee give to my children thy right hand, that time-honoured pledge. Various meanings have been given to ἀρχαίαν.
Πίστιν ἀρχαίαν dicit, quae firma maneat, olim antiqua futura. Sic Aeschylus, Agam. 578, θεοῖς λάφυρα ταῦτα τοῖς καθ' Ἑλλάδα δόμοις ἐπασσάλευσαν ἀρχαῖον γάνος.
(Herm.)
Πίστιν ἀρχαίαν] Antiquam, spectatam.
(Dind.) 'ἀρχαίαν, die alte, bisher bewiesene (nach 632 f.). (Schneidewin) It is simpler and better to explain the epithet as a general one; i. e. The right hand, which from time immemorial has been a solemn pledge amongst mankind. Cp. Eur. Med. 21, 2. ἀνακαλεῖ δὲ δεξιᾶς | πίστιν μεγίστην: Plat. Legg. 7,793 B. See also Tr. 1181-1182.
1633.
mvp-comment-877-1
ὑμεῖς τε, παῖδες, τῷδε
Haec verba διὰ μέσου esse ostendunt imperativi δóς et καταίνεσον, quae ad eandem personam spectant. (Herm.) Cp. Thuc. 5.17, ὤμοσαν, ἐκεῖνοί τε πρὸς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους, τάδε.
1634-1635.
mvp-comment-878-1
τελεῖν.. ἀεί ‘But that in all that it lies in you to do, you will act with kindly care for their best good." Cp. infr. 1773.
1636.
mvp-comment-879-1
οὐκ οἴκτου μέτα
Without giving way to grief; i. e. With no weak expression of feeling, which would have been of evil omen for Athens. Aesch. S. c. Τ. 51, οἶκτος δ᾽ οὔτις ἦν διὰ στόμα· σιδηρόφρων γὰρ θυμὸς ἀνδρείᾳ φλέγων ἔπνει, λεόντων ὡς Ἄρη δεδορκότων. Οἱ the conjectures (which are quite unnecessary) ὄγκου (Musgr.) is preferable to ὄκνου.
1640.
mvp-comment-880-1
Cp. the action of Socrates in Plat. Phaedo, 116 Β, τὰς μὲν γυναῖκας καὶ τοὺς παῖδας ἀπιέναι ἐκέλευσεν, αὐτὸς δὲ ἦκε παρ᾿ ἡμᾶς.
1640.
mvp-comment-880-2
With noble fortitude. Cp Eur. Med. 393, τόλμης δ' εἶμι πρὸς τὸ κάρτερον. Similar adverbial expressions occur in later poets; e g. Theocr. Idyll. 1. 41, κάμνοντι τὸ κάρτερον ἀνδρὶ ἔοικας: 3. 18, ὦ τὸ καλὸν ποθορῶσα.
1642.
mvp-comment-881-1
μηδὲ φωνούντων κλύειν Sc. ἃ μὴ θέμις ἐστὶ κλύειν. For μή, see Essay on Language § 29. p. 48, and cp. Ant. 546, μηδ' ἃ μὴ θιγες, κ.τ.λ.
1643.
mvp-comment-882-1
ὁ κύριος κύριος here. as in l. 288 supra, has the general sense of
sovereign, and also a particular reference to the case in point = Whose right herein is perfect.'
1644.
mvp-comment-883-1
μανθάνων
Being cognisant of.
1646.
mvp-comment-884-1
ἀστακτί i. e. ἀστακτὶ λείβοντες δάκρυα For this condensation, see Essay on Language § 43. p. 82.
1648.
mvp-comment-885-1
στραφέντες i. e. 'Returning towards the spot.'
1648.
mvp-comment-885-2
ἐξαπείδομεν "We saw, as from afar off.' Schol. ἴδιον αὐτοῦ τὸ πολλαῖς κεχρῆσθαι προθέσεσι· παραφυλακτέον δὲ πῶς καὶ τὰ ἄρρητα ὑπ᾿ ὄψιν ἤγαγεν ὁ ἄγγελος ἐκ τῶν σχημάτων μηνύων.
1649.
mvp-comment-886-1
τὸν ἄνδρα, κ.τ.λ. The anacoluthon helps to mark the suddenness of the disappearance. The messenger begins as if he were speaking of Oedipus, he then corrects himself to say that Oedipus was no more seen, but Theseus only, who was holding his hand before his eyes. For a similar turn of sentence, cp Hom. Od. 5. 265, fol., ἐν δὲ οἱ ἀσκὸν ἔθηκε θεὰ μέλανος οἴνοιο | τὸν ἕτερον, ἕτερον δ᾽ ὕδατος μέγαν.
1653.
mvp-comment-887-1
ἔπειτα.. βαιόν
A little afterwards, like βαιὸν. ἔνερθεν, Phil. 20. 1654-1655. Shak. Ham. 1. 5, O all ye host of heaven! O earth! what else? And shall I couple hell?'
1655.
mvp-comment-888-1
τὸν θεῶν Ὄλυμπον Cp. О. Т. 867, and note.
1659.
mvp-comment-889-1
So the prayer of the chorus is fulfilled: supra 1561.
1659.
mvp-comment-889-2
ἐξέπραξεν Eur. Hec. 515, πῶς καί νιν ἐξεπράξατ'; 1661-1662.
But either a guardian from the gods, or the lower part of earth that holds the dead, opening kindly for him, where there is no more pain.
1659.
mvp-comment-889-3
ἀλύπητον has been generally taken causatively to mean Without giving him pain; but even if this meaning were admissible, which is doubtful, there would be an awkwardness in having two secondary predicates, εὔνουν and ἀλύπητον. The position of the word indicates that it is to be taken as attributive. ἀλάμπετον,
unillumined, the marginal reading of L, may possibly be right. Elmsley, who was doubtful on this point, gives the above meaning, Free from pain,' to ἀλύπητον, ὅπου μὴ λυπεῖταί Cp. supra 955, θανόντων δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἄλγος ἅπτεται.
1662-1663.
mvp-comment-890-1
στενακτός and ἀλγεινός have been explained to mean
Groaning and
Suffering pain. But the more usual meaning gives a better and more consistent sense.
An object of mourning.
Giving pain to others. Cp. O.Τ. 1237, 8, τῶν δὲ πραχθέντων τὰ μὲν | ἄλγιστ᾽ ἄπεστιν.
His departure was not accompanied with mourning, nor with sickness, so as to be a spectacle of pain, but it was a spectacle of admiration, unsurpassed. Cp. Plato, Phaedo, 59 Α, οὐδὲν πάνυ μοι ἐλεεινὸν εἰσῄει, ὡς εἰκὸς ἂν δόξειεν εἶναι παρόντι πένθει ..
1662-1663.
mvp-comment-890-2
ἀλλ᾽ ἀτέχνως ἄτοπόν τί μοι πάθος παμῆν.
1666.
mvp-comment-891-1
οὐκ ἂν παρείμην
I do not care to gain the assent of those who think me unwise in this; i. e. I am contented to hold my own opinion. Cp. Aj. 1038-1039, ὅτῳ δὲ μὴ τάδ᾽ ἐστὶν ἐν γνώμῃ φίλα, | κεῖνος τ᾽ ἐκεῖνα στεργέτω, κἀγὼ τάδε. And for παρίεμαι, with accusative, meaning To obtain the consent of,' cp. Plat. Legg. 742 Β, παρέμενος τοὺς ἄρχοντας : 951 Α, τοὺς νομοφυλάκας παρέμενος.
1667.
mvp-comment-892-1
χοί προπέμψαντες φίλων; Sc. αὐτόν. The plural might refer to Theseus alone (supra 1087, and note), but probably includes his attendants, with the exception of the Ἄγγελος.
1667.
mvp-comment-892-2
1670, foll. The metres of the following lament are rendered difficult by the corruptions, which in this, as in other Greek plays. are more frequent toward the end, whether from the weariness of the scribe, the rubbing of the outside leaf, or, in a case like the present, from one or both of these causes combined with the obscurity of style and metre. 1670 This commos, like that in supr. 117-253, consists of two principal parts, of which the latter is wilder and more broken. In the former of these dactylic measures resembling supr. 229 ff. are combined with trochaic. iambic, and cretic rhythms; the latter is trochaic and iambic. α'. (1) 1670 6=1696-1703. 10 5 5 D T しかし ✓ トー IC ں α'. (2) 1677-1678 = 1704,5. α'. (3) 1679-1691 = 1706-1719. C トー α΄. (4) ἐπῷδος. (x). (y). cctca CCCIしトー D10100110101010 5ーー JCCICCICトー トーートCla トリートー おいしーしー D 1CCICI 2. 3, Ionic 1, [5], 6, 7, trochaic.
1667.
mvp-comment-892-3
ἀνακλώμενα. 4, 5, 8, logaoedic. 1, 2, 3, 5, trochaic. 4, 6, logaoedic. : β΄. 1724-1736-1737-1750. 5 10 103 CCCICICI しかしICICI しかし 1010 기 1670, foll. Ah me! it is ours, unhappy! on all accounts to mourn our father's fatal blood running in our veins. For him we had erewhile that long incessant toil, and at the last we have to tell of things beyond the reach of thought, which we have seen and suffered.' For οὐ τὸ μέν, ἄλλο δὲ μή, cp. Eur. Phoen. 1641, ΑΝ. οὐ γὰρ τὸ μέν σοι βαρὺ κακῶν, τὸ δ᾽ οὐ βαρύ, | ἀλλ᾽ εἰς ἅπαντα δυστυχὴς ἔφυς, πάτερ.
1672.
mvp-comment-893-1
αἷμα is here primarily
Bloodrelationship, with perhaps a secondary association (pointed by the word ἄλαστον) from the other meaning of Blood-guiltiness.' Cp. O. Τ. 1400, αἱ τοὐμὸν αἷμα τῶν ἐμῶν χειρῶν ἄπο | ἐπίετε πατρός.
1673.
mvp-comment-894-1
The form ᾧτινι (= ὅτῳ) is rare, and Badham has conjectured ὥτινε. But the dative properly expresses the connection between the two parts of the sentence. Essay on Language § 12. p. 18. And Elmsley has quoted Eur. Hipp. 903, τὸ μέντοι πρᾶγμ᾽, ἐφ᾽ ᾧτινι στένεις | οὐκ οἶδα: Arist. Pax 1278, σὺ γὰρ εἰπέ μοι VOL. I. οἷστισι χαίρεις.
1675.
mvp-comment-895-1
For παροίσομεν, cp. Hdt. 9. 26, καινὰ καὶ παλαιὰ παραφέροντες ἔργα,
1676.
mvp-comment-896-1
παθούσα Το avoid the discrepancy of terminations several critics read παθόντε. But there does not seem to be sufficient ground for deserting the MSS. Hermann rightly says, 'Nesciebat Brunckius harum formarum usum ad sonorum suavitatem attemperari, quum putavit Sophoclem scripsisse ἰδόντε καὶ πάθοντε.
1677.
mvp-comment-897-1
Although οὐκ ἔστιν (see v. rr.) may be explained with reference to the manner of the end, which was inconceivable, it is more natural that Antigone should say here,
You may guess what has happened, i. e. the main fact that he is gone. By merely omitting οὐκ with Hermann, we obtain a line like Aj. 951 (which conveys a similar feeling), ἄγαν ὑπερβριθὲς ἄχθος ἤνυσαν, CICL|卜(ICICI. L. 1704 in the antistrophe, as it appears in the Ff MSS. may be so scanned (see v. rr. on p. 436): but not without too great a stress upon the augment before πρ in ἔπραξεν. It is on the whole more likely that οὐκ in 1677 is a corruption of if, and that if has dropped out in 1704. Another conjecture, which secures a pure iambic line, is Χ. τί δ' ἔστιν; Α.
1677.
mvp-comment-897-2
ἔστιν *εὖ μὲν εἰκάσαι, φίλοι. Cp. also O. T. 1308, foll. 1678 ff. 'Cho. He is gone? Ant. Even as heart could wish. What more could be desired for him, whom neither war nor the sea hath smitten, but viewless regions carried off and rapt in some mysterious doom? While on our helpless eyes a horror of night is fallen. For how shall we maintain our life in misery unendurable? Wandering in some far (or southern) land or (roaming) over ocean's billow?' ὡς .. λάβοις] i. e. ὡς μάλιστ᾽ ἂν λάβοις τὸ βῆναι, εἰ πόθῳ λάβοις.
As you would above all choose the mode of your departure if you could choose by desire. For the use of λάβοις, cp. Αj. 265, πότερα δ' ἄν, εἰ νέμοι τις αἵρεσιν, λάβοις ; For πόθῳ, cp. supra 1106, σὺν πόθῳ γὰρ ἡ χάρις. Canter's conjecture ἐν πόθῳ is very plausible, but not necessary.
1680.
mvp-comment-898-1
πόντος Cp. 1659, οὔτε ποντία θύελλα κινηθεῖσα τῷ τότ᾽ ἐν χρόνῳ. Allusions to the elements are characteristic of the language of this period. Essay on Language § 52. p. 98.
1682.
mvp-comment-899-1
*φερόμεναι
Carrying him away, is adopted as the simplest alteration of the text which satisfies the metre, while giving a recognized form. The middle voice, for which see Essay on Language § 31, b. p. 53, is better than the passive φερόμενον.
1685.
mvp-comment-900-1
ἀπίαν Either (1)
Distant, the word being here used in a different sense from that in l. 1303, γῆς ὅσοιπερ Απίας | πρῶτοι καλοῦνται, although the quantity is the same, whereas it is short in Hom. Od. 7. 25, τηλόθεν ἐξ ἀπίης γαίης. Οι (2) τιν᾿ Ἀπίαν γᾶν may mean
somewhere in the Peloponnese, Antigone thinking of Argos as a possible refuge.
1686.
mvp-comment-901-1
κλυδώνα Accusative of the space travelled over. Essay on Language § 16, P. 23. 1687,8. βίου.. τροφάνisa periphrasis for βίον. Cp. 1736, αἰῶνα τλάμον᾿ ἕξω: Εl. 1183, φεῦ τῆς ἀνύμφου δυσμόρου τε σῆς τροφῆς. 1689 ff. Modern editors rightly give these, and also the corresponding verses, 1715 ff. to Ismene, with whose character they agree. Cp. Ant. 544-545, 548. A new movement commences, which serves as ἐπῳδός to the preceding. The same doubt occurs here as in supr. 182 ff., 197 ff., whether the two sets of lines, 1689-1695, 1715-1722, like those which precede and follow them, are to be regarded as strictly antistrophic. That the doubt occurs in two places so nearly similar, is of itself a ground for caution. And both rὸ φέρον ἐκ θεοῦ in 1693 and ἄγαν οὕτω in 1694 are idiomatic Greek.
1690.
mvp-comment-902-1
πατρὶ ξυνθανεῖν γεραίῳ
Το lie in death with my aged father.' Cp. Phil. 1443, ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια συνθνήσκει βροτοῖς. By changing ἕλοι τo ἕλοιτο (cp. О. Т. 887, Aj. 397), we obtain an Ionic rhythm, not unsuited to the person of Ismene.
1692.
mvp-comment-903-1
Tricl. and several editors read διδύμα . . ἀρίστα. This is the slightest of at least six changes which have been made in 11. 1689-1695, 1715-1722, to secure a metrical correspondence which remains defective.
1693.
mvp-comment-904-1
τὸ φέρον ἐκ θεοῦ καλῶς φέρειν χρή]
You must bear with fortitude the lot whose direction is from heaven. φέρειν, as in the frequent φέρειν εἰς, expresses tendency or intention. φέρειν ἐκ occurs only here; but cp. Eur. Ι. Α. 69, ὅτου πνοαὶ φέροιεν Ἀφροδίτης φίλα: Hdt. 1. 159, φωνὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἀδύτου γενέσθαι φέρουσαν πρὸς τὸν Ἀριστόδικον. For the rare form of verse, troch. trim. brachycat., cp. Aesch. 977, 790, supr. 1240, and Eur. Hel. 243, H. F. 120, where the 1st arsis is resolved, as here.
1695.
mvp-comment-905-1
οὗ τοι κατάμεμπτ᾽ ἔβητον
You have no cause to complain of your lot. More literally,
The point at which you have arrived is not to be found fault with. The chorus mean to say,
You, and your father's memory, are safe in the hands of Theseus. Cp. infr. 1737-1740. For the transference of the verb of motion, more frequent, however, with the adjective than the adverb, see Essay on Language p. 97, and cp. El. 979, εὖ βεβηκόσιν.
1697.
mvp-comment-906-1
Ant. Then' (if to be thus is well) there is such a thing as longing for that which is not well;' i.e. Then it is possible to wish evil back again, for even what in itself was nowise loveable, was yet beloved, whilst I held him too in my arms.' For this use of ἦν in inference, see Essay on Language §. 32. p. 55, and cp. supra 117, τίς ἄρ᾽ ἦν; ποῦ ναίει;
1698.
mvp-comment-907-1
τὸ φίλον That which is dear' (in the abstract). See Essay on Language § 21. p. 34, and Simon. fr. εἰ δὲ τοὶ δεινὸν τὸ γε δεινὸν ἦν.
1699.
mvp-comment-908-1
Cp. infr. 1714, Il. 22.426, ὡς ὄφελεν θανέειν ἐν χερσὶν ἐμῇσιν. Ff2
1701.
mvp-comment-909-1
τὸν ἀεί (sc. χρόνον).
For evermore. This explanation, which is justified by the note on 1584, gives a better rhythm to this line.
1702.
mvp-comment-910-1
οὐδὲ γέρων, κ.τ.λ.
Even old as thou wert (or art) thou shalt never be forgotten by our love. Cp. supra 1600, πατρὶ συνθανεῖν γεραίῳ. It has been observed (on l. 1371 of the O. T.) that the soul in Hades was imagined as having all the characteristics of the person at the time of death and nothing can be more natural than that Antigone in the first moment of her sorrow should speak of her father as if he still needed tendance and care. This touch of nature extends to modern life and poetry. Shak. King John, 3.4,
Const. But now shall canker sorrow eat my bud | And chase the native beauty from his cheek, | And he will look as hollow as a ghost, As dim and meagre as an ague's fit, | And so he'll die; and, rising so again | When I shall meet him in the court of heaven | I shall not know him: therefore never, never | Shall I behold my pretty Arthur more.
His age did not lessen their affection in life, nor should it diminish their mourning for him in death. For the omission of the participle, see Essay on Language § 39. p. 72.
1704.
mvp-comment-911-1
Elmsley's ἔπραξεν ; ΑΝ. *ἐξέπραξεν is preferable to ΧΟ. ἔπραξεν οὖν ; ΑΝ. ἔπραξεν (the emendation of Triclinius), (1) because preserving an exact correspondence to l. 1677 in the division of the line between the persons: (2) because introducing no unnecessary word: (3) the additional emphasis in the reply is in keeping with the mood of Antigone. Cp. Aj. 968, ὧν γὰρ ἠράσθη τυχεῖν | ἐκτήσαθ᾽ αὑτῷ, θάνατον ὅνπερ ἤθελεν.
1707.
mvp-comment-912-1
εὐσκίαστον
With kindly shadow. Cp. supra 406, and note.
1708.
mvp-comment-913-1
Schneidewin compares the wish of Solon, Fr. 21, μηδέ μοι ἄκλαυστος θάνατος μόλοι, κ.τ.λ.
1709.
mvp-comment-914-1
*ἀνὰ γάρ Hermann's conj. is adopted as the best hitherto.
1712.
mvp-comment-915-1
ἀφανίσαι
Το quench.
1713.
mvp-comment-916-1
†ιώ· μὴ.. μοι The most probable explanation of these words is Hermann's, who, for the sake of metre, reads τῷ for ἰώ. (Quare) utinam ne in peregrina terra cupivisses mori, sed mortuus esses ita mihi desertus. Quoniam enim sentit tanto minus leniri dolorem suum posse, quod ne tumulus quidem patris sibi relictus sit, optat ut ille ne quaesivisset hanc apud exteros mortem, sed obiisset potius ita desertus ignotusque, ut ante cum ipsa per terras vagus errabat, quo saltem sepelire eum et justa facere in tumulo posset.' This interpretation supposes the use of μή with an historical tense of the indicative to express a strong negative wish, as has been already suggested in the note on supra 540-541. Ср. Aesch. Cho. 363 ff. This uncommon use would be here softened by exppses, suggesting ἐχρῆν σε, ας ἐπωφέλησα in 541 was suggestive of ὤφελες. On the other hand, the words in 1714, especially when compared with 1717, Plat. Phaedo, 58 C, ἀλλ' ἐρῆμος ἐτελεύτα φίλων, may very naturally mean,
As it is, thou diedst unattended by me, while the positive expression of a wish by the past tense is more doubtful than the negative. And Mr. Palmer, reading lú μοι, γῆς ἐπὶ ξένας, κ.τ.λ., gives this turn to the sentence:
Ah me! thou didst desire to die in a foreign land; yet thou hast thus died deserted by me. So also Schneidewin, omitting μή. But such a resumption of the beginning of the speech is too inartistic and abrupt for Sophocles. It is therefore better to follow Hermann and render, Would that thou hadst not cared to die in a strange land, but hadst died as thou wert, all alone upon my hands.'
1716-1719.
mvp-comment-917-1
See v. rr. These three lines, which are defaced by the evident interpolation from 1735 infra (first struck out by Lachmann, cp. supr. 769 v. rr.), have been given by the editors to Ismene. The MSS. often mix the persons in this play.
1719.
mvp-comment-918-1
For the metre of this and of 1736 in the epode of a commos, cp. Ant. 880, θέμις ὁρᾶν ταλαίνᾳ.
1720.
mvp-comment-919-1
ἔλυσεν τὸ τέλος βίου is a condensed expression for κατέλυσε καὶ ἐτελεύτησε τὸν βίον. Cp. τὸν τελευταῖον βίον | κρύψων, supra 1551.
1727.
mvp-comment-920-1
τὰν χθόνιον ἑστίαν
The dark home.'
1729.
mvp-comment-921-1
μῶν οὐχ ὁρᾷς Sc. ἀθέμιτον εἶναι. There are two reasons. It is forbidden to know the place: and no man saw him die, or buried him (1732).
1730.
mvp-comment-922-1
τί τόδ' ἐπέπληξας means this rebuke?' What
1733.
mvp-comment-923-1
ἄγε με
Siquidem ἄγε με an ἀγέτω μέ τις legitur, nihil refert.
(Elmsley.) ἐπενάριξον] “Take me thither (who will), and then I care not if you kill me at his tomb.' Cp. Eur. Hec. 504.
1734.
mvp-comment-924-1
ποῖ Sc. ἐλθοῦσα. For the condensation, see Essay on Language § 43. p. 81.
1737.
mvp-comment-925-1
The interchange in strophe B' was between Antigone and Ismene: in the antistrophe it is between single members of the chorus and Antigone. The number of interlocutions assigned to the chorus, 15 counting from 1667, shows that here as in other κομμοί the choreutae took part successively in the dialogue, but in what order they did so can hardly be determined.
1739.
mvp-comment-926-1
The change from the imperfect to the aorist is necessary to the sense, which can only be that the solemn promise of Theseus guarantees them from all ill. And Hermann's conjecture, ΧΟ. καὶ πάρος ἀπέφυγε. ΑΝ. τί; ΧΟ. τὰ σφῶν τὸ μὴ πίτνειν κακῶς, gives a subject to πίτνειν, preserves the same distribution of the persons as in the strophe, and avoids the inverted order οἱ σφῶν τὸ μή, κ.τ.λ.
1741.
mvp-comment-927-1
I know that.
What then have you further in your thoughts? Why then do you trouble your thoughts farther?' On the prep. in comp., see Essay on Language § 18. pp. 26, 7. There is no need of any change; and the conjecture ὅπερ νοεῖς is based on a misconception of the meaning required. Hermann objects that there cannot be degrees of thinking; but this is hypercritical : cp. Plat. Theaet. 165 C, D. Qy. ὑπερπονεῖς ?
1744.
mvp-comment-928-1
See v. rr. The words καὶ πάρος ἐπεί might perhaps be explained to mean καὶ πάρος (ὴν χρόνος) ἐπεὶ (μόγος ἔσχε). But as a syllable is required, it is reasonable to suppose some corruption, and Wunder's conjecture adopted in the text is not improbable. Cp. El. 517.
Erewhile, too, ye were oppressed by weariness. See L. and S. 5. ν. ἐπέχω, VI. 2.
1745.
mvp-comment-929-1
It was then beyond my strength, but now it overwhelms me.' The language anticipates the metaphor of a
sea of troubles, which appears in the next line. For ὕπερθεν, cp. κατάκρας, supr. 1242.
1747.
mvp-comment-930-1
The words ναὶ . . φεῦ in the MSS. here, see v. rr., have nothing to correspond to them in the strophe. Dind. justly supposes them to have arisen from the corruption of AN. al ai into ΑΝ. ναὶ νvaí, and subsequent interpolations.
1748.
mvp-comment-931-1
ποῖ μόλωμεν Schndw. ingeniously conj. ποι μένωμεν (μενοῦμεν?), comparing El. 958, ποὶ γὰρ μενεῖς ῥάθυμος, εἰς τίν᾿ ἐλπίδων | βλέψασ᾽ ἔτ᾿ ὀρθὴν; But ποῖ μόλωμεν agrees better with the tone of 1749-1750, which is rather one of distraction than of impatience.
1749.
mvp-comment-932-1
ἐλπίδων.. *τίν' Cp. El. 958-959, quoted in the preceding note. 1751 ff. These three anapaestic lines make the transition from the commos to the exodos, which begins with the return of Theseus, and consists of four anapaestic systems, 1754-1758, 1759-1767, 1768-1775, and 1776-1778. The anapaests are of the freer kind; see esp. 1577-1578, 1760, 1771, 1776. Theseus and his Athenian attendants are now seen approaching, and their coming suggests to the chorus a new reason why the lament of the maidens should cease.
1751.
mvp-comment-933-1
The genitive θρήνων is the harder reading, and the absolute use of the imperative is more forcible. Cp. Phil. 1275, παθε, μὴ λέξῃς πέρα.
1751.
mvp-comment-933-2
ἐν οἷς γὰρ .. χρή] (1) • For it is wrong to make lamentation amongst those for whom the favour of the dead is laid up in store as a public benefit. That may well provoke their anger.' ἐν οἷς = ἐν τούτοις, οἷς; i. e. the blessing which Oedipus has left for the Athenians is not to be disturbed by violent mourning in their presence. For ξυνά, cp. Pind. Isthm. 8.46, φαντὶ γὰρ ξυν᾿ ἀλέγειν | καὶ γάμον Θέτιος ἄνακτε. Or (2), the meaning may be more general.
It is wrong and provocative of Wrath to continue mourning in a case where the favour of the powers beneath rests with the dead. For ξυνά, sc. τῷ θανόντι, cp. Αj. 577, τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα τεύχη κοίν᾿ ἐμοὶ τεθάψεται. And, for ἐν οἷς, Εl. 141-142, ἀεὶ στενάχουσα διόλλυσαι, | ἐν οἷς ἀνάλυσίς ἐστιν οὐδεμία κακῶν. For the sentiment, cp. supr. 1556 ff., 1663 ff. But the former explanation (1) is more pointed in connection with the approach of Theseus and his train. Cp. supr. 633.
1755.
mvp-comment-934-1
τίνος.. χρείας ἀνύσαι The gen, depends on the notion of supplication in προσπίτνομεν, and ἀνύσαι (sc. ὑμᾶς) is epexegetic inf. See Essay on Language § 36. p. 64; ib. p. 66.
1758.
mvp-comment-935-1
κεῖσε μολεῖν Dindorf, following Bothe, rejects these words. But the break made by the paroemiac has a good effect, giving room for the pause of astonishment caused by the decisive words of Theseus.
1760.
mvp-comment-936-1
ἀπεῖπεν ἐμοί i. e. not merely
He forbade me to approach, but In what he said to me he forbade all approach.
1762.
mvp-comment-937-1
μήτ᾽ ἐπιφωνεῖν.. ἔχει
And that no mortal voice should violate the place of holy rest where he is laid. Cp. ἐπιφημίζω.-But qy. μηδενί?
1764.
mvp-comment-938-1
καλῶς is to be joined with πράσσοντα, =
performing this. Cp. Τr. 579, δόμοις γὰρ ἦν | κείνου θανόντος ἐγκεκλημένον καλῶς: Εl. 793, κἀπεκύρωσεν καλῶς : ib. 1305, οὐ γὰρ ἂν καλῶς | ὑπηρετοίην τῷ παρόντι δαίμονι: Fr. 736, ἐπεὶ πέπρακται πᾶν τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καλῶς, | χωρῶμεν ἤδη, κ.τ.λ.
1768.
mvp-comment-939-1
For Ὅρκος here, cp. Hes. Op. D. 219.
1769.
mvp-comment-940-1
ταῦτ᾽ ἂν ἀπαρκοῖ Cp. О. Т. 1182 and note.
1772.
mvp-comment-941-1
τοῖσιν ὁμαίμοις Partly dative of direct reference after ἰόντα (Essay on Language § 12. p. 18), partly of remote reference after διακωλύσωμεν. ' In the hope of averting the bloody death which menaces our brothers: and,
In the hope of averting from our brothers the death which threatens them.
1773.
mvp-comment-942-1
ὅσα *γ΄ This is nearer to the MSS, and otherwise better than either ὁπόσ᾽ ἄν οἱ ὅσσ᾽ ἄν. 1773, foll. δράσω.. ἀποκάμνειν]
Not only will I do this; but in all that I can do that may give help to you or pleasure to him below who is just gone, I ought not to weary. The emendation of Hermann, who omits γάρ before ἀποκάμνειν, rests on the observation that an anapaestic speech immediately before the final words of the chorus naturally ends with a paroemiac. Phil. 1468, Aj. 1416, alib. It may be further remarked that the resumption (Essay on Language p. 64, 6) is more harmonious than the new sentence beginning in the last line, and the full pause after πρὸς χάριν is unrhythmical.
