Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 1284

Thomas Francklin (Translator)

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'Tis well advised, and I will tell thee all.
Oh ! may that deity propitious smile
1285
Whose altar late I left, whence Theseus raised
This w^retched suppliant, and in converse free
Mixed gracious with me ! May I hope from you
The like benevolence ? And now, my father,
I'll tell thee wherefore Polynices came.
1290
Thou seest me banished from my native land —
Unjustly banished, for no other crime
But that I strove to keep the throne of Thebes,
By birthright mine, from him who drove me thence.
The young Eteocles : not his the claim
1295
By justice, nor to me his fame in arms
Superior ; but by soft persuasive arts
He won the rebel city to his love.
Thy curse, my father, was the cause of all —
I know it was ; for so the priests declared
1300
In oracles divine. To Argos then
I came, and, to Adrastus' daughter joined
In marriage, gained the Argive chiefs, renowned
For martial deeds ; seven valiant leaders march
To Thebes, resolved to conquer or to die.
1305
Therefore to thee, my father, came I here,
To beg thy aid for me and these my friends,
Companions of the war, who threaten Thebes
With their united powers, in order thus :
The wise and brave Amphiaraus, or skilled
1310
To cast the spear, or with prophetic tongue
Disclose the will of Heaven ; with CEneus' son
-^tolian Tydeus, and Eteocles,
At Argos born ; to these Hippomedon,
1315
Sent by Talaus, his renowned sire ;
Bold Capaneus, who threatens soon to raze
The walls of mighty Thebes ; to close the train,
Parthenopsean Areas comes, the son
Of Atalantis, from her virgin name
1320
So called. With these thy hapless son (the child
Of dire misfortune rather) leads his force
From Argos to rebellious Thebes. For these,
And for their children, for the lives of all,
Suppliant to thee we come — in humble prayer
1325
To deprecate thy wrath against a wretch
Who, injured much, but seeks the vengeance due
To a base brother, whose oppressive hand
Hath drove me from my country and my throne.
If there be truth in what the gods declare,
1330
On him shall victory smile for whom thy vows
Shall rise propitious ; therefore, by our gods
And native fountains, oh ! remit thy anger,
And smile upon me, on a banished man,
A beggar like thyself, who lives, like thee,
1335
By others' bounty — in one common fate
We are united, whilst the tyrant sits
In ease at home, and laughs our woes to :
Yet if thou wouldst but listen to my vows,
Soon might I cast him forth, restore thee soon
1340
To thy dear native hind, and seat myself
In my own kingdom. Thy assent, my father,
Is all I ask ; but, oh ! without thy aid
I have no hope of safety or revenge.

Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.

Current edition Experimental

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1284 focus
ἀλλʼ ἐξερῶ· καλῶς γὰρ ἐξηγεῖ σύ μοι·
πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὸν τὸν θεὸν ποιούμενος
1285
ἀρωγόν, ἔνθεν μʼ ὧδʼ ἀνέστησεν μολεῖν
ὁ τῆσδε τῆς γῆς κοίρανος, διδοὺς ἐμοὶ
λέξαι τʼ ἀκοῦσαί τʼ ἀσφαλεῖ σὺν ἐξόδῳ.
καὶ ταῦτʼ ἀφʼ ὑμῶν, ὦ ξένοι, βουλήσομαι
καὶ ταῖνδʼ ἀδελφαῖν καὶ πατρὸς κυρεῖν ἐμοί.
1290
ἃ δʼ ἦλθον ἤδη σοι θέλω λέξαι, πάτερ.
γῆς ἐκ πατρῴας ἐξελήλαμαι φυγάς,
τοῖς σοῖς πανάρχοις οὕνεκʼ ἐνθακεῖν θρόνοις
γονῇ πεφυκὼς ἠξίουν γεραιτέρᾳ.
ἀνθʼ ὧν μʼ Ἐτεοκλῆς, ὢν φύσει νεώτερος,
1295
γῆς ἐξέωσεν, οὔτε νικήσας λόγῳ
οὔτʼ εἰς ἔλεγχον χειρὸς οὔτʼ ἔργου μολών,
πόλιν δὲ πείσας. ὧν ἐγὼ μάλιστα μὲν
τὴν σὴν Ἐρινὺν αἰτίαν εἶναι λέγω·
ἔπειτα κἀπὸ μάντεων ταύτῃ κλύω.
1300
ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἦλθον Ἄργος ἐς τὸ Δωρικόν,
λαβὼν Ἄδραστον πενθερὸν ξυνωμότας
ἔστησʼ ἐμαυτῷ γῆς ὅσοιπερ Ἀπίας
πρῶτοι καλοῦνται καὶ τετίμηνται δόρει,
ὅπως τὸν ἑπτάλογχον ἐς Θήβας στόλον
1305
ξὺν τοῖσδʼ ἀγείρας ἢ θάνοιμι πανδίκως,
ἢ τοὺς τάδʼ ἐκπράξαντας ἐκβάλοιμι γῆς.
εἶεν· τί δῆτα νῦν ἀφιγμένος κυρῶ;
σοὶ προστροπαίους, ὦ πάτερ, λιτὰς ἔχων,
αὐτός *τʼ ἐμαυτοῦ ξυμμάχων τε τῶν ἐμῶν,
1310
οἳ νῦν σὺν ἑπτὰ τάξεσιν σὺν ἑπτά τε
λόγχαις τὸ Θήβης πεδίον ἀμφεστᾶσι πᾶν·
οἷος δορυσσοῦς Ἀμφιάρεως, τὰ πρῶτα μὲν
δόρει κρατύνων, πρῶτα δʼ οἰωνῶν ὁδοῖς·
ὁ δεύτερος δʼ Αἰτωλὸς Οἰνέως τόκος
1315
Τυδεύς· τρίτος δʼ Ἐτέοκλος, Ἀργεῖος γεγώς·
τέταρτον Ἱππομέδοντʼ ἀπέστειλεν πατὴρ
Ταλαός· ὁ πέμπτος δʼ εὔχεται κατασκαφῇ
Καπανεὺς τὸ Θήβης ἄστυ δῃώσειν πυρί·
ἕκτος δὲ Παρθενοπαῖος Ἀρκὰς ὄρνυται,
1320
ἐπώνυμος τῆς πρόσθεν ἀδμήτης χρόνῳ
μητρὸς λοχευθείς, πιστὸς Ἀταλάντης γόνος·
ἐγὼ δέ, σός, κεἰ μὴ σός, ἀλλὰ τοῦ κακοῦ
πότμου φυτευθείς, σός γέ τοι καλούμενος,
ἄγω τὸν Ἄργους ἄφοβον ἐς Θήβας στρατόν.
1325
οἵ σʼ ἀντὶ παίδων τῶνδε καὶ ψυχῆς, πάτερ,
ἱκετεύομεν ξύμπαντες ἐξαιτούμενοι
μῆνιν βαρεῖαν εἰκαθεῖν ὁρμωμένῳ
τῷδʼ ἀνδρὶ τοὐμοῦ πρὸς κασιγνήτου τίσιν,
ὅς μʼ ἐξέωσε κἀπεσύλησεν πάτρας.
1330
εἰ γάρ τι πιστόν ἐστιν ἐκ χρηστηρίων,
οἷς ἂν σὺ προσθῇ, τοῖσδʼ ἔφασκʼ εἶναι κράτος.
πρός νύν σε κρηνῶν καὶ θεῶν ὁμογνίων
αἰτῶ πιθέσθαι καὶ παρεικαθεῖν, ἐπεὶ
πτωχοὶ μὲν ἡμεῖς καὶ ξένοι, ξένος δὲ σύ·
1335
ἄλλους δὲ θωπεύοντες οἰκοῦμεν σύ τε
κἀγώ, τὸν αὐτὸν δαίμονʼ ἐξειληφότες.
ὁ δʼ ἐν δόμοις τύραννος, ὦ τάλας ἐγώ,
κοινῇ καθʼ ἡμῶν ἐγγελῶν ἁβρύνεται·
ὅν, εἰ σὺ τἠμῇ ξυμπαραστήσει φρενί,
1340
βραχεῖ σὺν ὄγκῳ καὶ χρόνῳ διασκεδῶ.
ὥστʼ ἐν δόμοισι τοῖσι σοῖς στήσω σʼ ἄγων,
στήσω δʼ ἐμαυτόν, κεῖνον ἐκβαλὼν βίᾳ.
καὶ ταῦτα σοῦ μὲν ξυνθέλοντος ἔστι μοι
κομπεῖν, ἄνευ σοῦ δʼ οὐδὲ σωθῆναι σθένω.
1345
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1249-1446 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1284 focus
I will tell my need:—
First claiming for protector the dread God
From whose high altar he who rules this land
1285
Hath brought me under safe-guard of his power,
Scatheless to speak and hear and go my way.
His word, I am well assured, will be made good,
Strangers, by you, and by my sisters twain,
And by our sire.—Now let me name mine errand.
1290
I am banished, father, from our native land,
Because, being elder-born, I claimed to sit
Upon thy sovereign throne. For this offence
Eteocles, thy younger son, exíled me,
Not having won the advantage in debate
1295
Or trial of manhood, but through guileful art
Gaining the people’s will. Whereof I deem
Thy Fury the chief author; and thereto
Prophetic voices also testify.
For when I had come to Dorian Argolis,
I raised, through marriage with Adrastus’ child,
1300
An army bound in friendly league with me,
Led by the men who in the Apian land
Hold first pre-eminence and honour in war,
With whose aid levying all that mighty host
Of seven battalions, I have deeply sworn
1305
Either to die, or drive from Theban ground
Those who such wrongs have wrought. So far, so well.
But why come hither? Father, to crave thine aid
With earnest supplication for myself
And for my firm allies, who at this hour,
Seven leaders of seven bands embattled there,
1310
Encompass Thebè’s plain. Amphiaráus,
Foremost in augury, foremost in war,
First wields his warlike spear. Next, Oeneus’ son,
Aetolian Tydeus; then Etéoclus
Of Argive lineage; fourth, Hippomedon,
1315
Sent by his father Tálaüs, and the fifth
Is Capancus, who brags he will destroy
Thebè with desolating fire. The sixth,
Parthonopaeus, from the Arcadian glen
Comes bravely down, swift Atalanta’s child,
1320
Named from his mother’s lingering maidenhood
Ere she conceived him. And the seventh am I,
Thy son, or if not thine, but the dire birth
Of evil Destiny, yet named thy son,
Who lead this dauntless host from Argolis
Against the Theban land. Now one and all
1325
We pray thee on our knees, conjuring thee
As thou dost love these maids and thine own life,
My father, to forgive me, ere I go
To be revenged upon my brother there
Who drave me forth and robbed me of my throne.
1330
If aught in prophecy deserves belief,
’Tis certain, whom thou favourest, those shall win.
Now by the wells whereof our fathers drank
And by the Gods they worshipped, hear our prayer,
Grant this petition: since alike in woe,
Alike in poverty and banishment,
1335
Partakers of one destiny, thou and I
Cringe to the stranger for a dwelling place.
Whilst he at home, the tyrant, woe is me,
Laughs at us both in soft luxurious pride.
Whose might, so thou wilt favour my design,
1340
I will lightly scatter in one little hour;
And plant thee in thy Theban palace home
Near to myself, hurling the usurper forth.
All this with thy consent I shall achieve,
But without thee, I forfeit life and all.
1345
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1284 focus
So red' ich; denn ersprießlich sind' ich deinen Rath.
1275
Und erst erfleh' ich jenen Gott als Helfer mir,
Von dessen Altarschwelle mir des Landes Fürst
Entbot hieher zu kommen, und ein frei Gespräch
Und ungefährdet abzuzieh'n verstattete.
Und dieses, wünsch' ich, werde mir, o Fremdlinge,
1280
Von euch, vom Vater und den Schwestern hier gewährt.
Doch jezt, o Vater, sag' ich dir, weßhalb ich kam.
Ein Flüchtling irr' ich, aus der Väter Reich verbannt,
Weil mich verlangte, deinen allgebietenden
Thron einzunehmen; bin ich doch der ältre Sohn.
1285
Dafür verstieß mich aus dem Land Eteokles,
Der jüng're, siegend weder durch des Wortes Macht,
Noch durch des Armes Proben und der That Beweis;
Das Volk gewann er, Vater! Und ich sage dir:
Dein Nachegeist vor Allem trägt hieran die Schuld;
1290
Und eben dieses lehrte mich der Seher Wort.
Denn als ich Argos heimgesucht im Dorerland,
Und mir Adrastos Schwäher ward, verband ich mir
Mit hohem Eidschwur Alle, die in Apia 1
Die Besten heißen und im Kampf gepriesen sind,
1295
Daß ich, die siebenfache Schaar vor Kadmos' Burg
Mit ihnen sammelnd, fall' in ehrenvollem Kampf,
Wo nicht, vom Land austreibe, die mir das gethan.
Wohlan! Zu welchem Ende nun erschein' ich hier?
Dich, Vater, geht mein heißes demuthvolles Fleh'n
1300
Für mich zugleich und meine Streitgenossen an,
Die nun zu sieben mit dem siebenfachen Heer
Der Theber Stadt umlagern und die Gauen rings.
Da streitet Amphiaraos, im Gewühl der Schlacht
Und auf der Vögel Bahnen weit der erste Mann;
1305
Zum zweiten Deneus' Sprößling aus Aetolia,
Tydeus; sodann Eteokles, der aus Argos stammt;
Als vierten sandte Talaos Hippomedon,
Den Sohn; der fünfte, Kapaneus, schwört hoch, mit Glut
Die Theberstadt zu tilgen aus der Städte Zahl;
1310
Der sechste Parthenopäos aus Arkadia,
Sich also nennend nach der lang jungfräulichen
Mutter Atalanta, deren ächter Sohn er ist.
Und ich, der dein', und wenn der deine nicht, ein Kind
Des bösen Schicksals, aber doch dein Sohn genannt,
1315
Führ' Argos' unerschrocknes Heer vor Thebe's Stadt.
Bei deinem Leben, Vater, bei den Töchtern hier,
Beschwören wir dich alle denn und fleh'n dich an:
Laß ab vom schweren Zorne, nicht mehr grolle mir,
Der wider seinen Bruder sich zur Nach' erhob,
1320
Den Räuber, der mich aus dem Vaterreiche stieß.
Denn lügen Göttersprüche nicht, so wird der Sieg
Dem werden, heißt es, welchem du dich zugesellst.
Drum bei den Quellen, bei den Göttern unsres Stamms,
Gib nach, o Vater, fleh' ich, folge meinem Wort;
1325
Wir sind ja Bettler, Fremde hier, fremd auch du selbst,
Und Fremden schmeichelnd leben wir, ich so wie du,
Nachdem das gleiche Mißgeschick uns heimgesucht.
Und er, daheim der Herrscher, (ich Unseliger!)
Verlacht in stolzer Ueppigkeit uns beide hier;
1330
Doch ihn, wofern du meinem Sinn dich beigesellst,
Werd' ich zerstäuben mühelos in kurzer Frist:
Ich führe dich in deiner Ahnen Haus zurück
Und mich, vertrieb ich mit Gewalt den Frevler dort.
Und also darf ich prahlen, bist du meines Sinns;
1335
Doch ohne dich ist keine Rettung mir gegönnt.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1284 focus
Then I will speak, for well hast thou advised,
Imploring first this god, that he would deign
To be my guardian, at whose altar placed
1285
The sovereign of this country raising me
Gave me to come, to hold free converse here,
And back in safety to return. And this
Of you, O strangers, of my sisters this,
This of my father wish I to obtain.
1290
To thee, my father, I would now unfold
Why I am here. From my paternal realms
I am driv'n forth an exile, on thy throne 1.
Because I aim'd in regal state to sit,
My birth-right; but Eteocles, to years
By nature less indebted, thrust me out,
1295
Not in just right triumphant, nor his claim
Brought to the proof of arms, or noble deeds,
But winning with insidious arts the state.
Of this I know, and from the Seers have heard,
That the chief cause was thy infuriate curse.
In Doric Argos I sought refuge; there
1300
The daughter of Adrastus made my bride,
Associates in my cause I raised the Chiefs,
Lords of the Apian land, and honour'd high
For martial deeds; that I 'gainst Thebes might lead
Seven bands commanded by seven valiant Chiefs,
1305
And bravely die, or from my country chase......
Those who have wrong'd me. But of this enough.
What sanction, hither coming, claim I then?
To thee, my father, supplicating pray'rs,
For me, and my compeers in arms, I bring,
Who with seven bands beneath seven spears arranged,
1310
Are now encamp'd o'er all the plain of Thebes.
In martial prowess first, and first in skill.
To mark the flight of birds, Amphiaraus;
Ætolian Tydeus marches next, the son
Of Œneus; and next him of Argive race
1315
Eteoclus; there tow'rs Hippomedon
1315
Sent by his father Taläus; in arms
Advances Capaneus with menace high
Instant to rend the rampires to the ground.
Parthenopæus, an Arcadian, fierce
Advances, from his mother's virgin state
1320
His name deriving, the undoubted son
Of Atalanta. I these chiefs among,,
Thy son, or if not thine, at least the son
Of unpropitious Fortune, yet call'd thine,..
Lead against Thebes th' intrepid Argive troops.
By these thy daughters, by thy life, we all
1325
Suppliant entreat thee, O my father, yield,
Remit thy anger, raging 'gainst this wretch
Now roused in arms t' avenge the wrongs sustain'd
From a base brother, who hath driv'n me out,..
And robb'd me of my kingdom. But the fates,
1330
If there be faith in oracles, declare
1330
That where thou art, there Victory attends.
Now by our country's fountains, by her gods,
Let, I implore thee, my entreaties touch
Thy heart; be thou appeased; for I, like thee,
Am poor, and wander in a foreign land;
1335
One fate to us assign'd, to thee and me,
Submissive to another's will we live.
He lives in royal state, unhappy me!
And 'midst luxurious pleasures laughs alike
At thee and me. But if thy fav'ring mind
Accord with mine, him with no mighty toil,
1340
No arduous effort, will I put to flight,
And lead thee back, replace thee in thy house,
Replace myself, and drive him out by force.
This boast, if thou assent, I will achieve;
But without thee my efforts have no pow'r.
1345
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1249-1445 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-233-1 τί δ’ ἔστι; 1

mvp-comment-234-1 Αἰτναίας … πώλου 2

mvp-comment-234-2 Αἰτναίας 3

mvp-comment-235-1 κρατὶ 4

mvp-comment-235-2 Θεσσαλὶς κυνῆ 5

mvp-comment-236-1 πρόσωπα 6

mvp-comment-237-1 Elms. cp. Eur. I. T. 577

ἆρ’ εἰσίν; ἆρ’ οὐκ εἰσί; τίς φράσειεν ἄν;

mvp-comment-237-2 πλανᾷ 7

mvp-comment-238-1 Arist. Metaphys. 3. 6

ἀδύνατον ἅμα καταφάναι καὶ ἀποφάναι ἀληθῶς.

mvp-comment-238-2 τί φῶ 9

mvp-comment-239-1 φαιδρὰ 10

mvp-comment-239-2 σαίνει με 11

mvp-comment-240-1 The δῆλον of the MSS. can mean only "manifest to me" (a very weak sense): for it could not bear the emphatic sense, "in living presence" (as opp. to "in my fancy"). Nor, again, can it well be taken as a parenthetic adv., "'tis clear" (like Ai. 906

αὐτὸς πρὸς αὑτοῦ· δῆλον·
). The conjecture ἀδελφὸν (cp. Ant. 1
ὦ κοινὸν αὐτάδελφον Ἰσμήνης κάρα
) may be right.

mvp-comment-241-1 Ismene has come from Thebes, where she has hitherto continued to live, in order to bring her father important tidings. The Thebans will shortly make an attempt to fix his home, not within, but near their borders. A war has already broken out between his sons.

mvp-comment-241-2 There is no contrast in this play, as in the early part of the Antigone , between the spirit of the sisters. But the contrast between their circumstances indirectly exalts Antigone. She is wandering barefooted, enduring heat and cold ( 349 f. ), — Creon is struck by the suffering shown in her aspect ( 748 ), — while Ismene has at least the ordinary comforts of life.

mvp-comment-241-3 ὦ δισσὰ πατρὸς καὶ κασιγν 14

mvp-comment-242-1 δεύτερον 15

mvp-comment-242-2 λύπῃ 16

mvp-comment-243-1 ὁρᾶν 17

mvp-comment-244-1 In the MSS. the verse ἦ τῆσδε κἀμοῦ ; etc. stands immediately after the verse πρόσψαυσον, ὦ παῖ , etc. Musgrave has been followed by nearly all subsequent editors, in separating these two verses by the insertion between them of the verse ὦ σπέρμ’ ὅμαιμον etc. This transposition is plainly necessary: else Ismene will say that she touches not only her father and sister, but herself. Campbell defends

θιγγάνω … δυσμόρου … ἐμοῦ τρίτης
as meaning, "I too am linked in this unhappy circle": adding that
"the construction of a reply, in this sort of dialogue, is not to be pressed too closely."
The source of the confusion in the MSS. was obviously that the gen. ἦ τῆσδε κἀμοῦ etc. could depend, in grammar , either on θιγγάνω or on τροφαί , though the sense leaves no choice. Nauck further places v. 327 (
ὦ τέκνον, ἥκεις
) after v. 329 (
πρόσψαυσον
). Wecklein places v. 328 (
τέκνον, πέφηνας
) after v. 329 . Neither of these changes is hurtful; but neither appears necessary.

mvp-comment-245-1 ὦ δυσάθλιαι τροφαί 18

mvp-comment-245-2 ὅμαιμον 19

mvp-comment-246-1 σῇ 20

mvp-comment-247-1 πότερα 21

mvp-comment-247-2 πόθοισι 22

mvp-comment-247-3 λόγων αὐτάγγ 23

mvp-comment-248-1 ξὺν ᾧπερ … μόνῳ 24

mvp-comment-249-1 πονεῖν 25

mvp-comment-249-2 ποῦ 26

mvp-comment-250-1 οὗπέρ εἰσι 27

mvp-comment-250-2 τανῦν 28

mvp-comment-251-1 Αἰγύπτῳ 29

mvp-comment-252-1 φύσιν 30

mvp-comment-252-2 τροφάς 31

mvp-comment-253-1 ἱστουργοῦντες 32

mvp-comment-254-1 τἄξω βίου τροφεῖα 34

mvp-comment-255-1 σφῷν δ’ 35

mvp-comment-256-1 Not noticing Ismene's hint (336) , Oedipus imagines his sons in repose at Thebes. He is soon to learn that one of them, an exile, is levying war against the other (374) .

mvp-comment-256-2 οἰκουροῦσιν 36

mvp-comment-256-3 ὥστε 37

mvp-comment-256-4 παρθένοι 38

mvp-comment-257-1 τἀμὰ δυστήνου 39

mvp-comment-258-1 νέας τροφῆς ἔληξε 41

mvp-comment-258-2 κατίσχυσεν 43

mvp-comment-259-1 γερονταγωγεῖ 44

mvp-comment-260-1 νηλίπους 46

mvp-comment-261-1 ἡγεῖται 47

mvp-comment-261-2 τὰ τῆς 48

mvp-comment-262-1 εἰ … ἔχοι 49

mvp-comment-262-2 τροφὴν 50

mvp-comment-263-1 μαντεῖα πάντα 51

mvp-comment-264-1 τοῦδε σώματος 52

mvp-comment-264-2 φύλαξ δέ μοι 53

mvp-comment-264-3 μοι 54

mvp-comment-265-1 στόλος 55

mvp-comment-266-1 μὴ οὐχὶ … φέρουσα 56

mvp-comment-267-1 From Thebes to Athens is a short day's journey; but Ismene has sought her father far and wide. This could not well have been if, as Campbell supposes (on 355 ), the oracles which she herself had formerly brought to him had directed his course towards Attica.

mvp-comment-268-1 ζητοῦσα τὴν σὴν τροφήν 57

mvp-comment-269-1 ἀμφὶ … παίδοιν 58

mvp-comment-270-1 Eteocles and Polyneices were young boys at the fall of Oedipus (see on 1

), and their uncle Creon (brother of Iocasta) became regent ( O. T. 1418 ). As the two brothers grew up, they agreed, at first, in wishing to resign the throne, of which they were joint heirs, to Creon, lest Thebes should be tainted by their own rule; but afterwards they fell to striving with each other for the sole power.

mvp-comment-270-2 ἔρως 59

mvp-comment-270-3 Κρέοντί τε 60

mvp-comment-270-4 Paley's

Κρέοντι δὴ
is, however, highly probable. It would mean, "to Creon in the next resort." So δὴ is used of succession in Ant. 173 , where Creon says
ἐγὼ κράτη δὴ πάντα καὶ θρόνους ἔχω
, I next (the sons of Oed. being dead); and Aesch. Eum. 3
ἣ δὴ τὸ μητρὸς δευτέρα τόδ’ ἕζετο | μαντεῖον
.

mvp-comment-271-1 ἐᾶσθαι 61

mvp-comment-271-2 πόλιν 62

mvp-comment-272-1 λόγῳ 63

mvp-comment-272-2 τὴν πάλαι … φθοράν 64

mvp-comment-273-1 κἀλιτηρίου 66

mvp-comment-274-1 The dat. after εἰσῆλθε is strictly a dat. of the person interested, but was perh. influenced by the analogy of the dat. in

παρέστη μοι
, "it occurred to me," and the like; cp. Tr. 298
ἐμοὶ γὰρ οἶκτος... εἰσέβη
 : Her. 1.86
) λέγεται ( τῷ Κροίσῳ … ἐσελθεῖν...τὸ τοῦ Σόλωνος
: but 6. 125
τὸν Κροῖσον γέλως ἐσῆλθε
: and so Eur. Med. 931
εἰσῆλθέ μ’ οἶκτος
 .

mvp-comment-274-2 τρὶς ἀθλίοιν 67

mvp-comment-275-1 If νεάζων 68

mvp-comment-276-1 τὸν πρόσθε 69

mvp-comment-277-1 ἀποστερίσκει 70

mvp-comment-278-1 πληθύων 71

mvp-comment-279-1 Ἄργος 72

mvp-comment-280-1 κῆδος 75

mvp-comment-280-2 καινόν 76

mvp-comment-281-1 ὡς 77

mvp-comment-281-2 ὡς … Ἄργος … καθέξον ἢ … βιβῶν 78

mvp-comment-282-1 τιμῇ 79

mvp-comment-282-2 καθέξον 80

mvp-comment-282-3 πρὸς οὐρ. βιβῶν 81

mvp-comment-283-1 ἀριθμός 82

mvp-comment-284-1 If the MS. ὅποι (Vat. ὅπη ) is right, the phrase is harsh beyond example. ποῖ, ὅποι , instead of ποῦ, ὅπου , are often boldly used, when the verb implies either ( a ) motion , as 227

καταθήσεις
, 476
τελευτῆσαι
 , Eur. Bacch. 184
καθιστάναι
, etc.; or ( b ) patience up to a point, as Aristoph. Lys. 526
ποῖ γὰρ καὶ χρῆν ἀναμεῖναι;
But it is hard to see how ὅποι κατοικτιοῦσιν could mean " how far they will prolong (thy woes) before they pity them." To supply προελθόντας or προαγαγόντες is to cut the knot. If the phrase meant anything, it ought rather to mean, " up to what point they will pity them." As in 335
ποῖ
is a MS. error for ποῦ , so here ὅποι for ὅπου (Wecklein prefers ὅπῃ , "in what way"). Note that, in this context, πόνους = the woes of Oed. generally (mental and physical), not merely his toils in wandering: this is against the emend. κατοικιοῦσιν .

mvp-comment-285-1 ὡς … ἕξειν 83

mvp-comment-285-2 ὡς … θεοὺς ἕξειν 84

mvp-comment-286-1 Since ἔγωγε is virtually one word, this v. cannot be regarded as an instance of γε used twice in the same sentence. Such repetition is allowable when more than one word is to be emphasised, as Eur. Phoen. 554

ἐπεὶ τά γ’ ἀρκοῦνθ’ ἱκανὰ τοῖς γε σώφροσιν
, but no certain example happens to occur in Soph.: see on O. T. 1030 .

mvp-comment-287-1 The purport of this new oracle seems to have been: — "The welfare of Thebes depends on Oed., alive or dead." Ismene paraphrases it: — "It shows that you will be in request with the Thebans some day (

ποτέ
, i.e. some day soon , 397 ), — not merely after your death, but while you live." She knows that Creon is coming in the hope of carrying Oed. back — not to Thebes, but to some place just beyond the Theban border, where his person, and afterwards his grave, should be under Theban control. Cp. on 1331
.

mvp-comment-288-1 εὐσοίας 85

mvp-comment-289-1 A and other MSS. have

τοιοῦδ’ ὑπ’
, which gives a clear constr. It seems arbitrary to assume that in L's reading
τίς δ’ ἂν τοιοῦδ’ ἀνδρὸς εὖ πράξειεν ἄν
the syllable lost was rather τι after τίς δ’ ἂν , the gen. being one of source. Herm. supports the latter view by O. T. 1006
σοῦ πρὸς δόμους ἐλθόντος εὖ πράξαιμί τι
, but there the gen. is absolute. Wecklein gives
τίς δ’ ἀντὶ τοιοῦδ’ ἀνδρὸς εὖ πράξειεν ἄν;
comparing
ἀνθ’ οὗ, ἀντὶ τοῦ
; but in such phrases
ἀντί
=
"in recompense for,"
not
"through the agency of."

mvp-comment-290-1 ἐν σοὶ 87

mvp-comment-290-2 γίγνεσθαι 88

mvp-comment-290-3 φασί 89

mvp-comment-290-4 κράτη 90

mvp-comment-291-1 ἀνήρ 91

mvp-comment-292-1 ὤλλυσαν 92

mvp-comment-293-1 see on 1

.

mvp-comment-293-2 δ\ς πέσῃ 93

mvp-comment-294-1 καὶ μὴν 94

mvp-comment-294-2 γε 95

mvp-comment-295-1 βαιοῦ … χρόνου 96

mvp-comment-295-2 κοὐχὶ μ. 97

mvp-comment-296-1 στήσωσι 98

mvp-comment-297-1 ὅρων 99

mvp-comment-298-1 The tenor of this fine passage should be observed.

mvp-comment-298-2 Oedipus took

ἐν σοί
(392) to mean that the welfare of Thebes depended on his presence there. He is thinking of a restoration to his Theban home (395) . He asks, therefore, —"Of what use can I be to them if I am left at their doors, and not received within their land?" "They will suffer," she replies, "if your tomb is neglected." Oedipus does not see the force of this answer: he still infers (from θανόντα in 390 ) that, whatever may be his doom in life, he is at least to be buried at Thebes. "Why, of course they will," he replies (403) . " So " — pursues the daughter (404) — "they mean to keep you within their grasp." A new suspicion flashes on him. "They will bury me at Thebes?" "It cannot be." That is enough. He will never give himself into their hands. — Remark that he was supposing Apollo's former decree (91) to have been cancelled by this later one (389) . He now sees that the new oracle does not cancel the former, but merely confirms it in one aspect, viz. in the promise of
ἄτην τοῖς πέμψασιν
(93) .

mvp-comment-298-3 θύρασι 100

mvp-comment-298-4 κειμένου 101

mvp-comment-299-1 κείνοις 102 βαρύς 103

mvp-comment-299-2 δυστυχῶν 104

mvp-comment-300-1 Cp. O. T. 398

γνώμῃ κυρήσας οὐδ’ ἀπ’ οἰωνῶν μαθών
. It needed no oracle to tell one that they would incur divine anger for neglecting the first duties of piety towards their late king.

mvp-comment-301-1 σε προσθέσθαι 105

mvp-comment-301-2 ἂν … κρατοῖς 106

mvp-comment-302-1 καὶ 107

mvp-comment-303-1 τοὔμφυλον αἷμα 108

mvp-comment-304-1 συναλλαγῆς 109

mvp-comment-305-1 σοῖς … τάφοις 110

mvp-comment-306-1 θεωρῶν 111

mvp-comment-306-2 ἑστίας 112

mvp-comment-307-1 ἐφ’ ἡμῖν 113

mvp-comment-308-1 οἱ μολόντες 114

mvp-comment-309-1 παίδων τις 115

mvp-comment-310-1 καὶ εἶτα 116

mvp-comment-310-2 τῶνδ’ 117

mvp-comment-310-3 πάρος … προὔθεντο 118

mvp-comment-311-1 τοὐμοῦ πόθου 119

mvp-comment-312-1 φέρω δ’ ὅμως 120

mvp-comment-313-1 ἀλλ’ 121

mvp-comment-313-2 σφιν 122

mvp-comment-313-3 τὴν πεπρωμένην 123

mvp-comment-314-1 ἐν δ’ 124

mvp-comment-314-2 ἐν ἐμοί 125

mvp-comment-315-1 κἀπαναίρονται 126

mvp-comment-315-2 ἐπαναιροῦνται δόρυ 127

mvp-comment-316-1 ὡς 128

mvp-comment-317-1 οἵ γε 129

mvp-comment-318-1 ἀτίμως 130

mvp-comment-319-1 οὐκ ἔσχον 131

mvp-comment-319-2 ἤμυναν 132

mvp-comment-319-3 ἀνάστατος 133

mvp-comment-320-1 αὐτοῖν 134

mvp-comment-320-2 ἐξεκηρύχθην 135

mvp-comment-321-1 εἴποις ἂν 136

mvp-comment-321-2 θέλοντι 137

mvp-comment-321-3 τότε 138

mvp-comment-322-1 The ι in L's κατηίνυσεν speaks for κατῄνεσεν ,— clearly much fitter here than κατήνυσεν . Cp. 1633

καταίνεσον
, 1637
κατῄνεσεν
. The contrast is between exile imposed as a doom or granted as a boon,—not merely between a wish fulfilled or unfulfilled.

mvp-comment-323-1 ἡμέραν 139

mvp-comment-323-2 τὴν αὐτίχ’ 140

mvp-comment-324-1 λευσθῆναι πέτροις 141

mvp-comment-325-1 ἔρωτ’ ἐς τόνδ’ 143

mvp-comment-326-1 πέπων 144

mvp-comment-327-1 ἐκδραμόντα 146

mvp-comment-328-1 The gen. might be taken with μείζω , "a chastiser greater than the sins," i.e. "severer than they merited" (

ἢ κατὰ τὰ ἡμαρτ
.); but it is simpler to take it with κολαστήν , "too great a chastiser of the sins." As
μέγας θυμός
is "violent anger," so
θυμός
which is over-violent can be called
μείζων κολαστής
. The rhythm of the verse will not permit us to disjoin
μείζω
(as by a comma) from
κολαστήν
.

mvp-comment-329-1 τὸ τηνίκ’ ἤδη 147

mvp-comment-329-2 τοῦτο μέν 149

mvp-comment-330-1 χρόνιον 150

mvp-comment-330-2 ἐπωφελεῖν 151

mvp-comment-331-1 οἱ τοῦ πατρὸς τῷ πατρί 152

mvp-comment-331-2 τὸ δρᾶν 153

mvp-comment-332-1 ἔπους σμικροῦ χάριν 154

mvp-comment-333-1 σφιν 155

mvp-comment-334-1 τοῖνδε 156

mvp-comment-335-1 τροφάς 157

mvp-comment-336-1 γῆς ἄδειαν 158

mvp-comment-336-2 Nauck's

στέγης τ’ ἄδειαν
seems too suggestive of a fixed home to suit
τὸν πλανήτην
(3): Wecklein's
κοίτης τ’ ἄδειαν
makes a detail too prominent in this general acknowledgment. With regard to
βλάβης τ’
or
κἄτης ἄδειαν
(Blaydes), remark that
ἄδεια
never occurs with a gen. of that against which one is safe. The καὶ before
γῆς
seems genuine: were it absent, the
καὶ
before
τροφὰς
must answer to that before
γένους
. And, for a rhetorical passage, γῆς is in some degree confirmed by the assonance with
γένους
.

mvp-comment-336-3 γένους 159

mvp-comment-337-1 The constr. is, εἱλέσθην θρόνους, καὶ κραίνειν σκῆπτρα , etc.

mvp-comment-337-2 κραίνειν 160

mvp-comment-337-3 σκῆπτρα 161

mvp-comment-338-1 As most editors since Elmsley have allowed, the MS. οὔ τι ... οὔτε cannot be right. And οὔ τι ... οὐδέ is clearly more forcible than οὔτε ... οὔτε .

mvp-comment-338-2 λάχωσι 162

mvp-comment-338-3 τοῦδε 163

mvp-comment-338-4 συμμάχου 164

mvp-comment-339-1 The oracle newly brought by Ismene is distinguished from the oracle given to Oedipus himself at Delphi in former years (see on 87

). He calls the former her oracle, because she brings it. Both oracles alike concern him. We must not, then, change τἀξ to τἀπ’ (
"concerning me"
).

mvp-comment-339-2 τὰ ἐξ ἐμοῦ παλαίφατα 165

mvp-comment-339-3 ἐξ 166

mvp-comment-340-1 ἤνυσεν 167

mvp-comment-341-1 ὁμοῦ | προστάτισι 168

mvp-comment-341-2 In the reading

θέλητέ μου
πρὸς ταῖσι ταῖς
, note these points: (1)
ἀλκήν μου ποιεῖσθαι
would not mean, "defend me," but rather "defend against me" (cp. on 1524
): we must at least have μοι . (2) πρός yields no tolerable sense.
ὑμεῖς, πρὸς ταῖς θεαῖς
, "ye, in addition to the goddesses," ranks the Coloniates with, or above, their deities. The gloss
σύν
, written in L over
πρός
(whence it came into other MSS.), was a palliative. Nor could
πρός
mean here, "close to their shrine."

mvp-comment-341-3 For Dindorf's

ὁμοῦ
προστάτισι
it may be urged:—(1)
ταῖσι ταῖς
is in all MSS., which would be strange if
ταῖσδε ταῖς
were genuine; while
πρὸς ταῖσι ταῖς
is simply explained by
προστά
(
τ
)
ισι ταῖς
. (2) A change of
προστάτισι
into
πρὸς ταῖσι
might have produced the change of
‐θ’ ὁμοῦ
into
‐τέ μου
. (3) After
ἐμοῦ
in 455 it is easy to dispense with the pronoun.—Cp. O. T. 882
θεὸν οὐ λήξω ποτὲ προστάταν ἴσχων
: Tr. 209
Ἀπόλλωνα προστάταν
 : Porphyry Antr. Nymph. 12
νύμφαις ὑδάτων προστάτισιν
 .

mvp-comment-342-1 δημούχοις 169

mvp-comment-343-1 ἀλκὴν ποεῖσθαι 170

mvp-comment-344-1 ἀρεῖσθε 171

mvp-comment-344-2 The ἐμῆς in L (where

τῆσδ’
perh. preceded
τοῖσδ’
) gives some colour to the conjecture
τῆς
(or
τοῖς
)
δὲ γῆς
: yet τοῖς δ’ ἐμοῖς seems right. Oedipus is following the train of thought in which benefits to Attica are bound up with retribution for his own wrongs ( 92 ); and he thus gives the Chorus another pledge that their interest is one with his. With
ἐμοῖς, τῇδε μὲν
is best in 459 : with
γῆς, τῇδε τῇ
would have been fitter.

mvp-comment-345-1 ἐπάξιος 172

mvp-comment-345-2 κατοικτίσαι 173

mvp-comment-346-1 αὐτός τε παῖδές θ’ 174

mvp-comment-347-1 ἐπεμβάλλεις 175

mvp-comment-347-2 τῷδε λόγῳ 176

mvp-comment-348-1 Editors usu. give either

ὡς νῦν , θοῦ νῦν
(with L), or
ὥς νυν ...θοῦ νυν
(as Elms.). But νυν seems best in 465 , νῦν in 466 .

mvp-comment-348-2 προξένει 177

mvp-comment-348-3 ὡς … τελοῦντι 178

mvp-comment-349-1 καθαρμὸν τῶνδε δαιμόνων 179

mvp-comment-350-1 The libation is due (1) as a greeting to the

θεοὶ ἐγχώριοι
of Attica, (2) as an atonement for trespass on the grove. The words
καὶ κατέστειψας πέδον
form an independent sentence, and not a second relative clause (as if
ὧν
were supplied from
ἐφ’ ἅς
): see on 424
.

mvp-comment-350-2 κατέστειψας 180

mvp-comment-351-1 ἀειρύτου 181

mvp-comment-352-1 δῑ ὁσίων χειρῶν 182

mvp-comment-353-1 τοῦτο 183

mvp-comment-353-2 ἀκήρατον 184

mvp-comment-354-1 κρατῆρές εἰσιν 185

mvp-comment-354-2 εὔχειρος 187

mvp-comment-354-3 τέχνη 188

mvp-comment-355-1 The crater had various forms, some of them local (thus Her. 4.61 speaks of a

Λέσβιος κρητήρ
, and 4. 152 of an
Ἀργολικός
): but the general type was that of a large bowl, supported by a foot with a broad base, and having a handle at each side (cp. Guhl and Koner, p. 150).

mvp-comment-355-2 κρᾶτ’ 189

mvp-comment-355-3 λαβὰς ἀμφιστόμους 190

mvp-comment-356-1 θαλλοῖσιν 191

mvp-comment-357-1 The MS. νεαρᾶς seems the right word: with Bellermann, I insert σὺ , though Wecklein's τε is also possible. For the iterated

νεο‐
cp. Ant. 157
νεοχμὸς νεαραῖσι θεῶν
ἐπὶ συντυχίαις
. The objection to γε is that it supposes κρόκαισιν to be the genus of which μαλλῷ is a species. μαλλός , however, means, not a woollen texture, but a fleece of wool, flocks of which were to be made into a festoon ( στέφος ) for the brim of the κρατήρ , like that which the suppliant put on his ἱκετηρία ( O. T. 3 ). νεώρους is tempting, but elsewhere means "recent," "fresh" ( 730 , El. 901 ), not "young." The drawback to Dindorf's νεαλοῦς is the sense. νεαλής in class. Attic meant not young , but fresh as opp. to exhausted : Xen. Cyr. 8.6.17
παραλαμβάνειν τοὺς ἀπειρηκότας ἵππους καὶ ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἄλλους πέμπειν νεαλεῖς
 . Plat. Polit. 265B
νεαλέστεροι ὄντες
(we shall travel better) while we are fresh. Aristoph. fr. 330
ἕως νεαλής ἐστιν αὐτὴν τὴν ἀκμήν
is an isolated line, but the word seems to have the same sense there. Nicander Alexipharmaca 358 ( circ. 150 B.C. ) is the first writer quoted for νεαλής as = "young."

mvp-comment-357-2 λαβών 192

mvp-comment-358-1 τὸ δ’ ἔνθεν 193

mvp-comment-358-2 ποῖ τελ. 194

mvp-comment-359-1 χοὰς χέασθαι 195

mvp-comment-359-2 πρὸς πρώτην ἕω 196

mvp-comment-359-3 The schol. here says that persons performing expiatory rites (

ἐκθύσεις
) or purifications (
καθαρμοί
) faced the East (as the region of light and purity), quoting El. 424 f., where Electra
ἡλίῳ | δείκνυσι τοὔναρ
, and Cratinus
ἐν Χείρωνι
(the title of the comedy was
Χείρωνες
, Bothe, Frag. Com. p. 47):
ἄγε δὴ πρὸς ἕω πρῶτον ἁπάντων ἵστω καὶ λάμβανε χερσὶ | σχῖνον μεγάλην
,—the squill being used in purifications.

mvp-comment-359-4 Statues of gods were oft. set to face the East ( Paus. 5.23.1 , etc.): also, victims about to be sacrificed ( Sen. Oed. 338 ). Cp. the precept of Zoroaster

"to face some luminous object while worshipping god"
(Max Müller, Chips 1. 175). Conversely, in pronouncing solemn curses the priests faced the West ,—waving red banners: [Lys.] In Andoc. § 51
στάντες κατηράσαντο πρὸς ἑσπέραν καὶ φοινικίδας ἀνέσεισαν
.

mvp-comment-360-1 κρωσσοῖς 197

mvp-comment-360-2 οἷς 198

mvp-comment-360-3 χέω 199

mvp-comment-361-1 πηγάς 200

mvp-comment-361-2 τρισσάς 201

mvp-comment-361-3 τὸν τελευτ 202

mvp-comment-362-1 θῶ 203

mvp-comment-363-1 μελίσσης 204

mvp-comment-363-2 προσφέρειν 205

mvp-comment-364-1 μελάμφυλλος 206

mvp-comment-365-1 αὐτῇ 207

mvp-comment-365-2 ἐξ ἀμφοῖν χεροῖν 208

mvp-comment-366-1 ἐπεύχεσθαι 209

mvp-comment-367-1 τούτων 210

mvp-comment-367-2 μέγιστα 211

mvp-comment-368-1 Εὐμενίδας 212

mvp-comment-368-2 ἐξ 213

mvp-comment-369-1 τὸν ἱκέτην 214

mvp-comment-369-2 σωτήριον 215

mvp-comment-370-1 σύ τ’ 216

mvp-comment-371-1 ἄπυστα 217

mvp-comment-371-2 μηκύνων 219

mvp-comment-372-1 ἀφέρπειν 220

mvp-comment-372-2 ἄστροφος 221

mvp-comment-373-1 παρασταίην 222

mvp-comment-374-1 προσχώρων 223

mvp-comment-375-1 ὁδωτά 224

mvp-comment-375-2 λείπομαι 225

mvp-comment-375-3 ἐν 226

mvp-comment-376-1 δύνασθαι 227

mvp-comment-377-1 ἀρκεῖν … παρῇ 228

mvp-comment-378-1 ἀλλ’ ἐν τάχει τι 229

mvp-comment-379-1 δίχα 230

mvp-comment-380-1 τελοῦσα 231

mvp-comment-380-2 τὸν τόπον 232

mvp-comment-381-1 χρῆσται 233

mvp-comment-381-2 τοῦτο 234

mvp-comment-382-1 ἄλσους 235

mvp-comment-383-1 ἔποικος 236

mvp-comment-384-1 Ἀντιγόνη, σὺ δ’ 237

mvp-comment-385-1 οὐδ’ 238

mvp-comment-387-1 κείμενον … ἐπεγείρειν 239

mvp-comment-388-1 Mekler's ὥρα με (for ἔραμαι ) would give a closer correspondence between strophe and antistrophe: see on 523

.

mvp-comment-389-1 τί τοῦτο 240

mvp-comment-390-1 τᾶς 241

mvp-comment-390-2 ἀπόρου φανείσας 242

mvp-comment-391-1 ᾇ ξυνέστας 243

mvp-comment-392-1 τᾶς σᾶς ἃ πέπονθ’ 244

mvp-comment-392-2 ἔργ’ 245

mvp-comment-393-1 τὸ πολὺ καὶ μηδαμὰ λῆγον ἄκουσμα χρῄξω ἀκοῦσαι ὀρθόν 246

mvp-comment-393-2 πολὺ 247

mvp-comment-393-3 μηδαμὰ 248

mvp-comment-393-4 λῆγον 249

mvp-comment-393-5 ἄκουσμα 250

mvp-comment-394-1 στέρξον 251

mvp-comment-395-1 κἀγὼ 252

mvp-comment-396-1 I read

ἤνεγκ’ οὖν κακότατ’,... ἤνεγκ’ ἀέκων . ἤνεγκον
was, indeed, the ordinary form of the aor. in the older Attic, as inscriptions show, in which
ἤνεγκα
occurs first about 360 B.C. (Meisterhans, p. 88); but
ἤνεγκα
is proved by metre in El. 13 and Eur. Ion 38 .
οὖν
is suitable, when he is reluctantly proceeding to unfold his story in answer to their pressing demand.

mvp-comment-396-2 ἤνεγκ’ 253

mvp-comment-396-3 κακότατ’ 254

mvp-comment-396-4 In the MS. reading,

ἤνεγκον—ἤνεγκον ἄκων μέν, ἄκων
is wrong, since metre requires u- (cp. 510). With Bothe's ἑκὼν the sense would be:—
"I have endured misery through acts which were my own, indeed: but not one of them was done knowingly."
The objections to this are insuperable. (1)

mvp-comment-396-5 θεὸς ἴστω 255

mvp-comment-396-6 It would be a subtlety foreign to Sophocles to make Oedipus say that he had acted

ἑκὼν
when he did not act
φρονῶν
(271),
εἰδώς
(273),
ξυνιείς
(976). Il. 4.43
καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ σοὶ δῶκα ἑκὼν ἀέκοντί γε θυμῷ
is irrelevant:— Zeus there says to Hera
"I have given thee this (thy pleasure touching Troy) of my free will "
(since neither god nor man could compel Zeus),
"yet against mine own wish. "

mvp-comment-397-1 αὐθαίρετον 256

mvp-comment-398-1 κακᾷ εὐνᾷ 257

mvp-comment-399-1 ἦ ματρόθεν … ἐπλήσω 258

mvp-comment-399-2 ματρόθεν 259

mvp-comment-400-1 ἀκούειν 260

mvp-comment-401-1 The constr. is

αὗται δὲ ἐξ ἐμοῦ δύο μὲν παῖδε, δύο δ’ ἄτα … ἀπέβλαστον
etc.

mvp-comment-401-2 ἐξ ἐμοῦ 261

mvp-comment-401-3 αὗται … παῖδε 262

mvp-comment-402-1 Poetical Greek idiom would join κοινᾶς with ὠδῖνος rather than with ματρός . Cp. Aesch. Eum. 325

ματρῷον ἅγνισμα κύριον φόνου
: Ant. 793
νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν ξύναιμον.

mvp-comment-402-2 κοινᾶς 263

mvp-comment-403-1 σαί τ’ εἴσ’ ἄῤ 264

mvp-comment-403-2 κοιναί 265

mvp-comment-403-3 πατρὸς 266

mvp-comment-404-1 ἰώ — ἰὼ δῆτα 267

mvp-comment-404-2 γε 268

mvp-comment-404-3 ἐπιστροφαί 269

mvp-comment-405-1 ἄλαστ’ ἔχειν 270

mvp-comment-406-1 οὐκ ἔρεξα 271

mvp-comment-406-2 τί γάρ 272

mvp-comment-407-1 δῶρον 273

mvp-comment-407-2 The MS. ἐπωφέλησα ,

"I benefited,"
or
"succoured"
(cp. 441), cannot be right. The sense required is
μήποτε ὤφελον ἐξελέσθαι
,
"would that I had never won!"
cp. Ph. 969
μήποτ’ ὤφελον λιπεῖν | τὴν Σκῦρον
: Od. 11.548
ὡς δὴ μὴ ὄφελον νικᾶν
: where
μή
, though thus placed, belongs to the infinitives. See Appendix for the attempted explanations of
ἐπωφέλησα
, and for some proposed emendations.

mvp-comment-407-3 I would read the partic. ἐπωφελήσας (which the iambic metre allows), and take ἐξελέσθαι as the absol. infin. expressing a wish:—

"and would that I had never received that choice gift from the city, for having served her."
For this absol. infin., with the subject in the nominative, cp. Aesch. Cho. 363:
ΗΛ. μηδ’ ὑπὸ Τρωΐας
τείχεσι φθίμενος, πάτερ,
μετ’ ἄλλων δουρικμῆτι λαῷ
παρὰ Σκαμάνδρου πόρον τεθάφθαι,
πάρος δ’ οἱ κτανόντες νιν οὕτως δαμῆναι
. Orestes had uttered the wish that Agamemnon had fallen in war at Troy:
εἰ γὰρ ὑπ’ Ἰλίῳ | … κατηναρίσθης
(345 ff.) . Electra modifies it:
"I would not have had thee to perish e'en beneath Troy's walls, and to be buried by Scamander's stream; would rather that the murderers (Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra) had first been slain as they slew thee!"
Here the MSS. have
τέθαψαι
and
δαμῆναι
. On the latter the schol. has
λείπει τὸ ὄφελον
, and on the former
λείπει τὸ ὤφελες
, thus indicating the certain correction of H. L. Ahrens,
τεθάφθαι
. Cp. also Od. 24.376
αἲ γάρ, Ζεῦ τε πάτερ καὶ Ἀθηναίη καὶ Ἄπολλον,
οἷος Νήρικον εἷλον, …
τοῖος ἐών τοι χθιζὸς ἐν ἡμετέροισι δόμοισιν,
τεύχε’ ἔχων ὤμοισιν, ἐφεστάμεναι καὶ ἀμύνειν,
"Ah, would to father Zeus,...that, such as I was when I took Nericus,...in such might, and with armour on my shoulders, I had stood by thee , and had been aiding thee , yesterday in our house!"
A criticism by Wecklein is discussed in the Appendix.

mvp-comment-407-4 ἐξελέσθαι 274

mvp-comment-408-1 τί γάρ 275

mvp-comment-409-1 δευτέραν 276

mvp-comment-410-1 ἔχει δέ μοι … πρὸς δίκας τι 277

mvp-comment-410-2 τί γάρ 278

mvp-comment-411-1 The MSS. give

καὶ γὰρ ἄλλους ἐφόνευσα κ.τ.λ.
Hermann's ἁλοὺς (for
ἄλλους
) must mean either (1)
"caught,"
as in a net, by fate , or (2)
"caught"
by Laïus and his men, in the sense of,
"driven to fight for life."
Neither sense is tolerable. Campbell suggests,
"I murdered, and was convicted of the murder,"
saying that
ἁλοὺς ἐφόνευσα
=
ἑάλων φονεύσας
. This is as if one said in English,
"Having been hanged, he did the murder."
To ἀγνώς the short
α^
would be a grave objection: Soph. has the first
α
long thrice in
ἄγνοια
, twice in
ἀγνοεῖν
, once in
ἀγνώς
( O. T. 681 ), and short never: even in
αὐτόγνωτος
( Ant. 875 ) the
ο
is long. Porson's ἄνους could hardly mean,
"without understanding"
merely in the sense of
" unwittingly. "
The word means
"silly,"
"foolish"
( Ant. 281 ), and should here mean,
"in folly,"
which is not an apt sense.

mvp-comment-411-2 And all these corrections, confined to ἄλλους , leave a blot. After ἐφόνευσα, καὶ ὤλεσα is intolerably weak. Mekler's καὶ γὰρ ἄν, οὓς ἐφόνευς), ἔμ’ ἀπώλεσαν brings out the point on which Oed. insists, and to which the words

νόμῳ καθαρός
(548) refer,—viz. that, in slaying, he was defending his own life. Cp. 271. After he had returned the blow of Laïus, the attendants set on him (see on O. T. 804 —812). The change of
ἐφόνευσ’ ἔμ’ ἀπώλεσαν
into
ἐφόνευσα καὶ ἀπώλεσα
(or
κἀπώλεσα
) would have been easy if
ἐφόνευσά μ’ ἀπώλεσα
had once been written. In Ai. 794 L has
ὥστε κ’ ὠδίνειν
instead of
ὥστε μ’ ὠδίνειν
. Cp. Her. 1.11 (Gyges was forced)
ἢ τὸν δεσπότεα ἀπολλύναι ἢ αὐτὸν ὑπ’ ἄλλων ἀπόλλυσθαι
.

mvp-comment-412-1 νόμῳ … καθαρός 279

mvp-comment-412-2 ἐς τόδ’ ἦλθον 280

mvp-comment-414-1 ὀμφήν 281

mvp-comment-414-2 ἐφ’ ἁστάλη 282

mvp-comment-415-1 The

σκοπός
, who did not know the name of Oed., could describe the traces of wounds about the sightless eyes, and brought the mysterious message (72). Theseus then set out, surmising who it was. Meanwhile the name of Oed. had become known at Colonus (222), and wayfarers who met Theseus raised his surmise into certain knowledge. Cp. on 299
ff.

mvp-comment-415-2 ἔν τε 283

mvp-comment-416-1 ἔγνωκά ς’ 284

mvp-comment-416-2 ἔγνωκα 285

mvp-comment-417-1 ἀκούων 286

mvp-comment-417-2 For

ἀκούων
it may be pleaded that the sense is at least quite intelligible, and that ancient writers, even the most artistic, were less careful than moderns in avoiding such repetitions of single words. Cp. 631
ἐκβάλοι
, 636
ἐκβαλῶ
: 638, 640
ἡδύ
: 966, 969
ἐπεί
: 1000, 1003
καλόν
, 1004
καλῶς
: 1123, 1129: 1451, 1459: 1487 f.: O. T. 517
φέρον
, 519
φέροντι
, 520
φέρει
: ib. 1276, 1278
ὁμοῦ
: Ant. 73 , 76
κείσομαι
: Ai. 1201 , 1204 (
τέρψιν
).

mvp-comment-418-1 σκευή 287

mvp-comment-418-2 δύστηνον 288

mvp-comment-419-1 ὄνθ’ ὃς εἶ 289

mvp-comment-420-1 )περέσθαι 290

mvp-comment-421-1 ἐπέστης 291

mvp-comment-421-2 πόλεως … ἐμοῦ τ; 292

mvp-comment-422-1 ἂν … τύχοις … ἐξαφισταίμην 293

mvp-comment-422-2 πρᾶξιν 294

mvp-comment-423-1 ξένος 295

mvp-comment-424-1 καὶ ὡς ἤθλησα πλεῖστα εἷς ἀνήρ 296

mvp-comment-424-2 ἐπὶ ξένης 297

mvp-comment-425-1 κινδυνεύματ’ 298

mvp-comment-425-2 ἐν τὠμῷ κάρᾳ 299 κάρᾳ 300

mvp-comment-426-1 ξένον 301

mvp-comment-426-2 συνεκσῴζειν 302

mvp-comment-427-1 ἀνὴρ 303

mvp-comment-428-1 δοῦ 304

mvp-comment-429-1 τὸ σὸν γενναῖον 305

mvp-comment-430-1 παρῆκεν 306

mvp-comment-430-2 ὥστε ἐμοὶ δεῖσθαι 307

mvp-comment-430-3 δεῖσθαι 308

mvp-comment-430-4 For the dat. ἐμοί with

δεῖσθαι
(instead of
ἐμέ
as subj. to
φράσαι
) cp. Eur. Hipp. 940
θεοῖσι προσβαλεῖν χθονὶ | ἄλλην δεήσει γαῖαν
: and see on 721
. Wecklein takes
ἐμοί
with
παρῆκεν
, permisit mihi , but the interposed ὥστε forbids this. The conject. σοι (for
ἐμοί
),
"to say little to thee ,"
would be very weak.

mvp-comment-431-1 Theseus has named Oed. (557) and Laïus (553), but not Thebes. A knowledge of the stranger's country was implied by the rest. Cp. on 205

. γῆς could stand with
ἦλθον
(cp. O. T. 152
Πυθῶνος ἔβας
 , Ph. 630
νεὼς ἄγοντα
), but is more simply governed by
ἀπὸ
.

mvp-comment-432-1 χὡ λόγος διοίχεται 309

mvp-comment-432-2 διέρχεται 311

mvp-comment-433-1 τοῦτ’ αὐτὸ 312

mvp-comment-434-1 τὰ δὲ | κέρδη 313

mvp-comment-435-1 που 314

mvp-comment-436-1 ποίῳ 315

mvp-comment-436-2 προσφορὰ 316

mvp-comment-436-3 δηλώσεται 317

mvp-comment-437-1 i.e.

"You ask for the last offices which piety can render: you do not ask me for protection during your lifetime."
Through the oracle (389), of which Theseus knows nothing, a grave in Attica had become the supreme concern of Oedipus.

mvp-comment-437-2 τὰ δ’ ἐν μέσῳ 318

mvp-comment-437-3 δῑ οὐδενὸς ποεῖ 319

mvp-comment-438-1 ἐνταῦθα γάρ 320

mvp-comment-439-1 ἐν βραχεῖ 321

mvp-comment-440-1 γε μήν 322

mvp-comment-441-1 πότερα 323

mvp-comment-441-2 ἐγγενῶν 324

mvp-comment-441-3 κἀμοῦ 325

mvp-comment-442-1 Kayser's ἄναξ, χρῄζουσι (for ἀναγκάζουσι ) is exactly what the sense requires, and is fairly near to the MS. reading, while the latter is (I think) certainly corrupt. The verse must not be considered alone, but in close connection with 590, and with the whole context. It has been rendered:—(1)

"They are for compelling ( my protectors ) to convey me to Thebes."
But the ellipse of
τινά
before
κομίζειν
is intolerable. And the protectors could not be required to do more than surrender him. Therefore it is no cure to propose εἴ σ’ (for
κεῖσ’
)
ἀναγκάσουσί με
. To read
σε
for
με
merely shifts the first difficulty, and leaves the second. (2)
"They are for putting constraint on me, so as to carry (me) to Thebes."
Such an epexegesis by the act. infin. is impossible here. Who could write
ἀναγκάζει σε ἄγειν ἐκεῖσε
, meaning,
"he is forcing thee, so as to take (thee) thither"
? (3)
κομίζειν
has been taken as=
"to return,"
=
κομίζεσθαι
. This needs no comment. We want either: (1) instead of κομίζειν , a word=
" to return "
; but
κατελθεῖν
is very unlikely, and no other substitute is obvious: or (2) instead of ἀναγκάζουσι , a word =
"they wish , seek. "
That the fault lies in
ἀναγκάζουσι
is very strongly suggested by 590, where L has ἀλλ’ εἰ θέλοντ’ ἄν γ’ , evidently corrupted, by dittographia of
γ’
, from
ἀλλ’ εἰ θέλοντά γ’
, which L2 has. This gives a clear and fitting sense, if in 589 we read ἄναξ, χρῄζουσί με . All the trouble, for the MSS. and for the edd., has arisen from
ἀναγκάζουσι
. Hence (1) Goebel, ἀλλ’ οὐ θελόντων ,
"but if they do not wish thee"
(
φεύγειν
): (2) Reisig, ἀλλ’ εἰ θέλοντάς γ’ ,
"but what if it be not seemly for thee to shun them when willing (to receive thee)?"
Both these are forced. Campbell supplies
εἰ βούλοιντο κομίζειν
to explain
θέλοντα
, keeping L's
θέλοντ’ ἄν
: but
ἄν
can stand with a partic. only when the latter is equiv. to an apodosis, as it is in 761. So far as the tense of
ἀναγκάζουσι
is concerned, a change to the fut. is no gain: it is the pres. of tendency or intention. But the whole mention of compulsion or violence is premature in 589. Oed. leads very gently up to the disclosure of his sons' unnatural conduct (599).

mvp-comment-443-1 οὐδὲ σοὶ 326

mvp-comment-443-2 οὐδέ 327

mvp-comment-443-3 φεύγειν 328

mvp-comment-444-1 ἀλλ’ οὐδ’ 329

mvp-comment-444-2 παρίεσαν 330

mvp-comment-445-1 θυμὸς δ’ 331

mvp-comment-445-2 ξύμφορον 332

mvp-comment-446-1 μάθῃς μου 333

mvp-comment-447-1 ξυμφορὰν 334

mvp-comment-447-2 ἐρεῖς 335

mvp-comment-448-1 μεῖζον ἢ κατ’ ἄνθρ. 336

mvp-comment-448-2 νοσεῖς 337

mvp-comment-449-1 Instead of

οὐκ ἔστι μοι κατελθεῖν ποτε
, we have
ἔστι μοι κατελθεῖν μήποτε
, since
ἔστι μοι
=
"my doom is,"
ζημία κεῖταί μοι
.—Cp. on 407
.

mvp-comment-450-1 πεμψαίαθ’ 338

mvp-comment-450-2 ὥστ’ οἰκεῖν δίχα 339

mvp-comment-450-3 ὥστε 340

mvp-comment-451-1 ἐξαναγκάσει 341

mvp-comment-452-1 ὅτι 342

mvp-comment-452-2 τῇδε … χθονί 343

mvp-comment-453-1 τἀμὰ κἀκείνων 344

mvp-comment-454-1 γῆρας … κατθανεῖν 345

mvp-comment-455-1 συγχεῖ 346

mvp-comment-455-2 παγκρατὴς 347

mvp-comment-456-1 φθίνει μὲν … φθίνει δὲ 348

mvp-comment-456-2 γῆς 349

mvp-comment-457-1 βλαστάνει 350

mvp-comment-458-1 πνεῦμα 351

mvp-comment-459-1 βέβηκεν 354

mvp-comment-459-2 πόλει 355

mvp-comment-460-1 τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἤδη 356

mvp-comment-460-2 ἤδη 357

mvp-comment-460-3 καὖθις φίλα 358

mvp-comment-461-1 Θήβαις 359

mvp-comment-462-1 καλῶς 360

mvp-comment-462-2 τὰ 361

mvp-comment-462-3 τὸ πρὸς σέ 362

mvp-comment-462-4 ὁ μυρίος 363

mvp-comment-463-1 τεκνοῦται 364

mvp-comment-463-2 ἰών 365

mvp-comment-464-1 ἐν αἷς 366

mvp-comment-464-2 δεξιώματα 367

mvp-comment-465-1 δόρει διασκεδῶσιν 368

mvp-comment-465-2 δόρει 369

mvp-comment-466-1 ἵν’ 370

mvp-comment-466-2 εὕδων 371

mvp-comment-467-1 ψυχρὸς … θερμὸν 372

mvp-comment-468-1 σαφής 373

mvp-comment-469-1 τἀκίνητα 374

mvp-comment-470-1 ἔα με 375

mvp-comment-470-2 τὸ σὸν … πιστὸν φυλάσσων 376

mvp-comment-471-1 εἴπερ μὴ ψεύσουσι 377

mvp-comment-471-2 εἴπερ 378

mvp-comment-472-1 πάλαι 380

mvp-comment-473-1 ἐφαίνετο τελῶν 381

mvp-comment-474-1 δῆτ’ 382

mvp-comment-474-2 ἐκβάλοι 383

mvp-comment-475-1 ὅτῳ 384

mvp-comment-475-2 κοινή 385

mvp-comment-475-3 αἰέν 386

mvp-comment-475-4 δορύξενος 387

mvp-comment-475-5 Wecklein brackets the whole passage from 632

ὅτῳ
down to 637
τὴν τοῦδε
as
"a later addition,"
because (1) there could be no
ξενία
when Oedipus did not even know the name of Theseus (68), and (2)
σεβισθεὶς
in 636 is suspicious. On this, see ad loc. As to (1), the
ξενία
to which Theseus refers is not a personal friendship, but a hereditary alliance between the royal houses, as in Eur. Suppl. 930 Polyneices (whom he had not seen before) is his
ξένος
. Cp. on 619
. After Wecklein's excision, we have
τίς δῆτ’ ἂν ἀνδρὸς εὐμένειαν ἐκβάλοι
τοιοῦδε; χώρᾳ δ’ ἔμπαλιν κατοικιῶ
. This is incoherent.

mvp-comment-476-1 ἀφιγμένος 388

mvp-comment-476-2 δασμός 389

mvp-comment-477-1 The aor. σεβισθεὶς only here:

σεβίζειν
1007 ,
σεβίσασα
Ant. 943 ,
σεβίζομαι 390
Aesch. Suppl. 922 . In later Gk. the pass. aor. of σεβάζομαι was deponent, as Anth. P. 7. 122
αἴ, αἲ Πυθαγόρης τί τόσον κυάμους ἐσεβάσθη;
It appears rash to deny that ἐσεβίσθην could be so used. The deponent use of
ἐσέφθην
is attested only by Plat. Phaedr. 254 B
( σεφθεῖσα )
, and Hesych. 1. 1456
ἐσέφθην· ἐσεβάσθην, ἡσύχασα, ᾐσχύνθην. Σοφοκλῆς Δαιδάλῳ
(fr. 168 Nauck).

mvp-comment-477-2 ἐκβαλῶ 391

mvp-comment-478-1 ἔμπολιν 392

mvp-comment-478-2 ἔμπαλιν 393

mvp-comment-478-3 δέ 394

mvp-comment-479-1 σέ 395

mvp-comment-480-1 εἰ δὲ τόδε — στείχειν μετ’ ἐμοῦ, — ἡδύ ἐστι — δίδωμί σοι, τούτων κρίναντι ( ὁπότερον βούλει ), χρῆσθαι ( αὐτᾦ 396

mvp-comment-480-2 τούτων 397

mvp-comment-480-3 δίδωμι … χρῆσθαι 398

mvp-comment-480-4 With

εἴτ’ ἐμοῦ
, the constr. would be,
εἴτε μετ’ ἐμοῦ στείχειν
(
ἡδὺ αὐτῷ ἐστι, στείχειν πάρεστιν
), a word expressing consent being evolved from
τάξω
. But (1) this is harsher than O. T. 91
εἰ τῶνδε χρῄζεις πλησιαζόντων κλύειν
ἕτοιμος εἰπεῖν, εἴτε καὶ στείχειν ἔσω
 (
χρῄζεις
), where
ἕτοιμος
is more easily fitted to the second clause; though somewhat similar is Eur. Ion 1120
πεπυσμέναι γάρ, εἰ θανεῖν ἡμᾶς 399 χρεών,
ἥδιον ἂν θάνοιμεν, εἴθ’ ὁρᾶν φάος
 (
χρεών
), sc.
ἥδιον ἂν ὁρῷμεν
. And (2) in proposing the second alternative,—that Oed. should accompany him,—it is more suitable that he should address Oed. himself.

mvp-comment-480-5 τῇδε 400

mvp-comment-480-6 ξυνοίσομαι 401

mvp-comment-481-1 διδοίης … εὖ 402

mvp-comment-482-1 δόμους στείχειν 403

mvp-comment-483-1 εἰ … ἦν 404

mvp-comment-484-1 ἐν ᾧ τί πράξεις 405

mvp-comment-485-1 κρατήσω 406

mvp-comment-486-1 μέγ’ ἂν λέγοις δώρημα 407

mvp-comment-486-2 τῆς συνουσίας 408

mvp-comment-486-3 τῆς ς. 409

mvp-comment-487-1 εἰ σοί γ’ | ἅπερ φὴς ἐμμενεῖ 410

mvp-comment-488-1 τὸ τοῦδέ γ’ ἀνδρ 411

mvp-comment-489-1 ὡς κακὸν 412

mvp-comment-490-1 ἢ λόγῳ 413

mvp-comment-491-1 τοῦ μάλιστ’ ὄκνος σ’ ἔχει 415

mvp-comment-492-1 ὅρα με λείπων 416

mvp-comment-493-1 ὀκνοῦντ’ ἀνάγκη 417

mvp-comment-494-1 οὐκ οἶσθ’ 418

mvp-comment-494-2 μή 419

mvp-comment-495-1 — 660 Many emendations of 658 f. have been proposed, and Wecklein would reject the three verses altogether. To me they seem not only authentic but textually sound. They picture a tumult of passions in the soul, presently quelled by reason. The angry threats and the sobering reason are alike personified. The genuineness of the nominative πολλαὶ δ’ ἀπειλαὶ is confirmed by the imagery of the second clause, ἀλλ’ ὁ νοῦς ὅταν . For this animated personification of speech or passion, cp. Aesch. Cho. 845

ἢ πρὸς γυναικῶν δειματούμενοι λόγοι
πεδάρσιοι θρώσκουσι, θνῄσκοντες μάτην
: Eur. Hipp. 1416
οὐδὲ γῆς ὑπὸ ζόφῳ
θεᾶς ἄτιμοι Κύπριδος ἐκ προθυμίας
ὀργαὶ κατασκήψουσιν ἐς τὸ σὸν δέμας
. The cognate verb κατηπείλησαν (gnomic aorist), instead of the simple
ἔλεξαν
, gives an emphasis like that which the cogn. accus. would give in
πολλοὶ ἀπειλὰς κατηπείλησαν.

mvp-comment-495-2 θυμῷ 420

mvp-comment-496-1 αὑτοῦ 421

mvp-comment-496-2 φροῦδα 422

mvp-comment-497-1 κείνοις 423

mvp-comment-497-2 καὶ εἰ ἐπερρώσθη 424

mvp-comment-497-3 λέγειν 425

mvp-comment-497-4 We cannot read

κεῖνος
, since the pl. is needed. The best solution would be
κείνοις δέ, κεἴ τις
, from which
ἴσως κεἰ
might have come through a transposition. But the sarcastic

mvp-comment-497-5 ἴσως 426

mvp-comment-497-6 κεἰ 427

mvp-comment-498-1 τὸ δεῦρο 428

mvp-comment-499-1 θαρσεῖν μὲν οὖν 429

mvp-comment-499-2 κἄνευ τῆς ἐμῆς γνώμης 430

mvp-comment-499-3 ἐπαινῶ 431

mvp-comment-499-4 Φοῖβος 432

mvp-comment-500-1 ὅμως 433

mvp-comment-502-1 The first word εὐίππου strikes a note which connects Colonus ἵππιος with the fame of Attica. Take

γᾶς
with
κράτιστα
. You have come to earth's best abodes ( Colonus ), belonging to this
εὔιππος χώρα
( Attica ). The gen. εὐίπ. τ. χώρας is most simply taken as possessive, denoting the country to which the
ἔπαυλα
belong, though it might also be partitive. It precedes
ἔπαυλα
as the territorial gen. regularly precedes the local name, Her. 3.136
ἀπίκοντο τῆς Ἰταλίης ἐς Τάραντα
.

mvp-comment-503-1 γᾶς 434

mvp-comment-503-2 ἔπαυλα 435

mvp-comment-504-1 τὸν 436

mvp-comment-504-2 ἀργῆτα 437

mvp-comment-505-1 μινύρεται θαμίζουσα 438

mvp-comment-506-1 χλω. ὑπὸ βάσσαις 439

mvp-comment-507-1 The reading ἀνέχουσα is usually justified by Ai. 212

( σε ) στέρξας ἀνέχει
, "having conceived a love for thee, he upholds thee"; and Eur. Hec. 123
βάκχης ἀνέχων λέκτρ’ Ἀγαμέμνων
, "upholding," i.e. "refusing to forsake," "remaining constant to." But how could the bird be said to "uphold" the ivy in that sense? In Thuc. 2.18 and 7. 48
ἀνεῖχεν
is intrans., "he held back" cautiously. Of the two MS. readings, οἰνωπὰν ἔχουσα and οἰνῶπ’ ἀνέχουσα , the latter seems to have come from the former, not vice versa.
οἰνωπός
is a good Attic form (used four times by Eur.), and
οἰνωπὸν ἔχουσα
is nearer to the MSS. than Dindorf's
οἰνῶπα νέμουσα
. The latter word would mean,
"having for her domain."

mvp-comment-508-1 The ivy and the vine (17) being sacred to Dionysus ( θεοῦ ), the foliage of the place generally is called his.

θεοῦ
is certainly not the hero Colonus (65) . We might desire θεᾶν (the Eumenides), but the
φυλλάς
meant is not only that of the sacred grove; it includes the Academy.

mvp-comment-508-2 μυριόκαρπον 440

mvp-comment-509-1 ἀνήνεμον … χειμώνων 441

mvp-comment-510-1 βακχιώτας 442

mvp-comment-511-1 ἐμβατεύει 443

mvp-comment-511-2 ἀμφιπολῶν 444

mvp-comment-511-3 tiqh/nais 445

mvp-comment-512-1 θάλλει δ’ 447

mvp-comment-513-1 νάρκισσος 448

mvp-comment-513-2 μεγάλαιν θεαῖν 449

mvp-comment-514-1 ἀρχαῖον στεφάνωμ’ 450

mvp-comment-515-1 χρυσαυγὴς κρόκος 451

mvp-comment-516-1 κρῆναι 453

mvp-comment-516-2 μινύθουσιν 454

mvp-comment-517-1 Κηφισοῦ 455

mvp-comment-517-2 νομάδες 456

mvp-comment-518-1 ἐπ’ ἤματι 457

mvp-comment-519-1 ὠκυτόκος 460

mvp-comment-519-2 πεδίων ἐπινίσσεται 461

mvp-comment-520-1 ὄμβρῳ 462

mvp-comment-521-1 στ. χθονός 463

mvp-comment-521-2 στερνούχου 464

mvp-comment-521-3 Μουσᾶν 465

mvp-comment-522-1 νιν 466

mvp-comment-522-2 οὐδ’ ἁ 467

mvp-comment-522-3 Ἀφροδίτη 468

mvp-comment-522-4 χρυσάνιος 469

mvp-comment-523-1 Thus far the theme has been Colonus and the adjacent region. Now the praises take a larger range. Athena's gift of the olive, Poseidon's gift of the horse, are here celebrated as common to Attica (

τᾷδε χώρᾳ
, 700, cp. 668): though the latter had a special interest for Colonus Hippius, and the former for the Academy, where an olive was shown, said to have sprung up next after the primal olive in the
Πανδροσεῖον
of the Erechtheum ( Paus. 1.30.2 ).

mvp-comment-523-2 γᾶς Ἀσίας 470

mvp-comment-524-1 Δωρίδι 471

mvp-comment-524-2 νάσῳ 472

mvp-comment-524-3 Πέλοπος 473

mvp-comment-525-1 φύτευμ’ 475

mvp-comment-525-2 ἀχείρωτον 476

mvp-comment-526-1 φόβημα 477

mvp-comment-527-1 τᾷδε … χώρᾳ 478

mvp-comment-527-2 μέγιστα 479

mvp-comment-528-1 παιδοτρόφου 480

mvp-comment-529-1 τὸ μέν τις 481

mvp-comment-529-2 σημαίνων 482

mvp-comment-529-3 Now comes this question:—Was the antithesis here between youth and age , or between some other notions? Hartung writes

οὔτ’ ἦρος οὔτε γήρᾳ
, understanding,
"neither in spring nor in winter ,"
σημαίνων
,
"by his word of command"
: but such a fig. sense of
γήρᾳ
is inconceivable. Nauck's
οὔτ’ ἦρος οὔτ’ ἐν ὥρᾳ | χειμώνων
is too far from the MSS., and the plur. is strange. I incline to believe that the poet indeed meant
"neither young nor old,"
but without any personal reference, and merely in this general sense:—
"from generation to generation of men these sacred trees are safe."
The words
ὁ γὰρ αἰὲν ὁρῶν
suit this. The conjecture συνναίων has palaeographic probability (for a cursive text): for the phrase cp. Eur. fr. 370
μετὰ δ’ ἡσυχίας πολιῷ γήραϊ συνοικοίην
.

mvp-comment-530-1 κύκλος 483

mvp-comment-531-1 Μορίου Διός 484

mvp-comment-531-2 Μορίου 485

mvp-comment-532-1 γλαυκῶπις 486

mvp-comment-533-1 This antistrophe is devoted to Poseidon, as the strophe to Athena.

mvp-comment-533-2 ματρόπολει 487

mvp-comment-534-1 If vv. 696 f. are sound as they stand, the problem here is to supply uu , and Porson's χθονὸς seems best.

μεγάλου...μέγιστον, αὔχημα...αὔχημα
(713) must not be judged with modern fastidiousness: see on 554
.

mvp-comment-535-1 εὔιππον, εὔπωλον 488

mvp-comment-535-2 εὔιππον 489

mvp-comment-535-3 εὐθάλασσον 490

mvp-comment-535-4 εὔιππον, εὐθάλασσον 491

mvp-comment-536-1 σὺ γάρ 492

mvp-comment-537-1 εἷσας 493

mvp-comment-538-1 ἵπποισιν 494

mvp-comment-538-2 ἀκεστῆρα 495

mvp-comment-539-1 πρώταισι ταῖσδε … ἀγυιαῖς 496

mvp-comment-539-2 κτίσας 497

mvp-comment-540-1 Poseidon has taught men to row as well as to ride. He fits the oars to their hands. But, instead of

τὰν δὲ πλάταν χερσὶ παράψας
, the form is varied to a passive constr. If παραπτομένα is sound, this seems the best account of it,—
παρά
,
"at the side,"
suggesting the notion,
"as an aid."
(If from
παραπέτομαι
, it could be only aor., which the sense excludes.) Conjecture might proceed on either of two views:—( a ) that in the strophic v. 704 the correction αἰὲν is true, so that
παραπτομένα
is metrically sound: ( b ) that in 704 the MS. εἰσαιὲν is true, so that here we require u--uu- . On the latter view I would suggest that προσαρμοζομένα is suitable, and on this
παραπτομένα
may have been a gloss; cp. Eur. I. T. 1405 (
χέρας
)
κώπῃ προσαρμόσαντες
.

mvp-comment-540-2 εὐήρετμος 498

mvp-comment-540-3 ἔκπαγλα 499

mvp-comment-540-4 ἁλία 500

mvp-comment-541-1 τῶν ἑκατομπόδων Νηρῄδων 501

mvp-comment-543-1 σὸν … δὴ 502

mvp-comment-543-2 φαίνειν τὰ λαμπρὰ ἔπη 503

mvp-comment-544-1 The

ἀντιλαβή
(division of the verse between two persons) marks excitement: cp. 652, 1099, 1169.

mvp-comment-545-1 ἡμῖν 504

mvp-comment-546-1 φαίνοιτ’ ἄν 505

mvp-comment-546-2 τέρμα τῆς σωτηρίας 506

mvp-comment-547-1 παρέσται 507

mvp-comment-547-2 ἐγώ 508

mvp-comment-548-1 ὀμμάτων 509

mvp-comment-548-2 εἰληφότας 510

mvp-comment-548-3 νεώρη 511

mvp-comment-549-1 ὃν 512

mvp-comment-550-1 ὡς 513

mvp-comment-550-2 δρᾶν τι 514

mvp-comment-551-1 εἴ τιν’ 515

mvp-comment-552-1 τηλικόσδ’ 516

mvp-comment-553-1 οὐκ ἐξ ἑνὸς στείλαντος 517

mvp-comment-553-2 ἀστῶν 518

mvp-comment-554-1 ἧκέ μοι γένει 519

mvp-comment-554-2 γένει 520

mvp-comment-555-1 εἰς πλεῖστον πόλεως 521

mvp-comment-555-2 εἰς 522

mvp-comment-556-1 ἀλλ’ 523

mvp-comment-557-1 δικαίως 524

mvp-comment-557-2 ἐκ δὲ τῶν 525

mvp-comment-558-1 ὅσῳπερ 526

mvp-comment-558-2 πλειστον … κάκιστος 527

mvp-comment-559-1 ξένον 528

mvp-comment-559-2 ἐπὶ μιᾶς πρ 529

mvp-comment-560-1 τὴν 530

mvp-comment-560-2 τάλας 531

mvp-comment-561-1 οὐκ ἔδοξα πεσεῖν ἄν 532

mvp-comment-561-2 ἐς τοσοῦτον αἰκίας 533

mvp-comment-561-3 ὅσον 534

mvp-comment-561-4 ἥδε δύσμορος 535

mvp-comment-562-1 τὸ σὸν κάρα 536

mvp-comment-563-1 πτωχῷ 537

mvp-comment-563-2 τηλικοῦτος 538

mvp-comment-564-1 τοὐπιόντος 539

mvp-comment-565-1 ἆῤ 540

mvp-comment-565-2 ὦ τάλας 541

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, ἀλλά
would 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 542

mvp-comment-568-1 θελήσας 544

mvp-comment-568-2 ἄστυ 545

mvp-comment-569-1 εἰπών 546

mvp-comment-569-2 ἡ δ’ οἴκοι 547

mvp-comment-570-1 παντὸς 548

mvp-comment-570-2 ἂν φέρων 549

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 550

mvp-comment-571-3 δεύτερον … ἑλεῖν 551

mvp-comment-571-4 ἐν οἷς 552

mvp-comment-571-5 μάλιστ’ ἂν ἀλγοίην 553

mvp-comment-572-1 πρόσθεν τε 554

mvp-comment-572-2 οἰκείοις 555

mvp-comment-573-1 νοσοῦνθ’ 556

mvp-comment-574-1 οὐκ ἤθελες θέλοντι 557

mvp-comment-574-2 προσθέσθαι 558

mvp-comment-575-1 ἦ 559

mvp-comment-575-2 μεστὸς 560

mvp-comment-576-1 ἐξεώθεις κἀξέβ 562

mvp-comment-577-1 τοῦτ’ 563

mvp-comment-578-1 πόλιν 564 γένος 565

mvp-comment-579-1 μετασπᾶν 566

mvp-comment-579-2 σκληρὰ μαλθακῶς λέγων 567

mvp-comment-580-1 αὕτη 569

mvp-comment-580-2 τίς τέρψις 570

mvp-comment-580-3 φιλεῖν 571

mvp-comment-580-4 τοσαύτη 572

mvp-comment-581-1 ὥσπερ 573

mvp-comment-581-2 τις 574

mvp-comment-581-3 τυχεῖν 575

mvp-comment-582-1 ὧν χρῄζοις 576

mvp-comment-583-1 ἡ χάρις 577

mvp-comment-584-1 ἆῤ 578

mvp-comment-585-1 καὶ σὺ 579

mvp-comment-586-1 λόγῳ … τοῖσι δ’ ἔργοισιν 580

mvp-comment-587-1 καὶ τοῖσδ’ 581

mvp-comment-588-1 πάραυλον 582

mvp-comment-589-1 κακῶν ἄνατος 583

mvp-comment-589-2 τῆσδ’ 584

mvp-comment-589-3 ἀπαλλαχθῇ 585

mvp-comment-590-1 ταῦτα … τάδ’ 586

mvp-comment-590-2 χώρας 587

mvp-comment-591-1 τοσοῦτον, ἐνθανεῖν μόνον 588

mvp-comment-591-2 ἐνθανεῖν 590

mvp-comment-592-1 σαφεστέρων 591

mvp-comment-592-2 κλύω 592

mvp-comment-593-1 τὸ σὸν … στόμα 593

mvp-comment-593-2 ὑπόβλητον 594

mvp-comment-594-1 πολλὴν ἔχον στόμωσιν 595

mvp-comment-595-1 κακά 596 σωτήρια 597

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
οἶδ’ ἐγώ σε μήτινα
ἐνθένδ’ ἀπάξοντ’ ἄνδρα
appears to be a like case of strong assurance. Cp. O. T. 1455 . In 1121 there is another:
ἐπίσταμαι γὰρ τήνδε... τέρψιν παρ’ ἄλλου μηδενὸς πεφασμένην
. Here, however,
οἷδα μὴ πείθων
is 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 598

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 599

mvp-comment-598-3 ἐς τὰ σά 600

mvp-comment-598-4 ἐν τῷ νῦν λόγῳ 601

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 602

mvp-comment-601-1 λῦμα 603

mvp-comment-601-2 τρέφει 604

mvp-comment-602-1 Cp. O. T. 545

λέγειν σὺ δεινός
(Oed. to Creon).

mvp-comment-603-1 ἐξ ἅπαντος 605

mvp-comment-603-2 εὖ λέγει 606

mvp-comment-604-1 τὸ καίρια 607

mvp-comment-605-1 ὡς δὴ 608

mvp-comment-606-1 ὅτῳ 609

mvp-comment-607-1 πρὸ τῶνδε 610

mvp-comment-608-1 ἐφορμῶν 611

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).

mvp-comment-609-1 This passage, which has been variously altered, appears to me to be sound as it stands in the MSS. Oedipus has undertaken to speak for the men of Attica (

ἐρῶ γὰρ καὶ πρὸ τῶνδε
). Creon refuses to identify him with them, bitterly reminding the Theban that his real ties are elsewhere.
"I call them—not thee— to witness my protest"
: i.e.
"I have a just claim on thee, which thou repellest:— I appeal to a judgment more impartial than thine own."
The words mark the point at which he drops persuasion. He now turns to menace.
"But, for the tone of thy reply to kinsmen"
(meaning, to himself, cp. on 148
σμικροῖς
),
"if I catch thee"
—an aposiopesis. (Cp. Il. 1.580
εἴπερ γάρ κ’ ἐθέλῃσιν Ὀλύμπιος ἀστεροπητὴς
ἐξ ἑδέων στυφελίξαι· ὁ γὰρ πολὺ φέρτερός ἐστιν
 : Verg. Aen. 1. 135
Quos ego …
)

mvp-comment-609-2 μαρτύρομαι 612

mvp-comment-610-1 ἀνταμείβει 613

mvp-comment-610-2 πρὸς 614

mvp-comment-610-3 οἷα 615

mvp-comment-611-1 τῶνδε συμμ 616

mvp-comment-612-1 ἦ μὴν 617

mvp-comment-612-2 κἄνευ τοῦδε 618

mvp-comment-612-3 λυπηθεὶς ἔσει 619

mvp-comment-613-1 ποίῳ σὺν ἔργῳ 620

mvp-comment-613-2 σὺν 621

mvp-comment-613-3 ἀπειλήσας ἔχεις 622

mvp-comment-614-1 τὴν μὲν 623

mvp-comment-615-1 τάδε 624

mvp-comment-616-1 The τήνδε γ’ of the MSS. could be retained only if μου were changed to καὶ and given to Creon.

mvp-comment-616-2 οὐ μακρ. χρόνου 625

mvp-comment-617-1 τὸν ἀσεβῆ 626

mvp-comment-618-1 θᾶσσον 627

mvp-comment-618-2 εἴργασαι 628

mvp-comment-619-1 ὑμῖν 629

mvp-comment-619-2 ἂν εἴη 630

mvp-comment-620-1 ποῖ φύγω 631

mvp-comment-620-2 θεῶν … ἢ βροτῶν; 632

mvp-comment-621-1 οὐχ ἅψομαι 633

mvp-comment-621-2 τῆς ἐμῆς 634

mvp-comment-622-1 τοὺς ἐμοὺς 635

mvp-comment-623-1 — 886 The phrase

τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἄγω
indicates the moment at which Creon lays his hand on Antigone. It is followed by 11 verses, 833—843, in which the dochmiacs of the Chorus, blended with iambic trimeters, mark excitement. Antistrophic to these are the 11 verses, 876—886, which in like manner follow the moment at which Creon lays his hand on Oedipus. As a lyric interposition in dialogue, the passage has a kommatic character, though it does not constitute a
κομμός
proper in the same sense as 510—548, 1447—1499, or 1670— 1750.

mvp-comment-624-1 ἀφήσεις 636

mvp-comment-625-1 εἰς βάσανον εἶ χερῶν 637

mvp-comment-625-2 εἶ 638

mvp-comment-626-1 εἴργου 639

mvp-comment-626-2 μωμένου 640

mvp-comment-627-1 πόλει 641

mvp-comment-628-1 οὐκ ἠγόρευον 642

mvp-comment-629-1 μὴ )πίτασσ’ ἃ μὴ κρατεῖς 643

mvp-comment-630-1 At Creon's words, when he laid his hand on Antigone (832), one of his guards stepped up, and placed himself at her side.

mvp-comment-630-2 χαλᾶν λέγω σοι 644

mvp-comment-631-1 πρόβαθ’ … βᾶτε 645

mvp-comment-631-2 ὧδε 646

mvp-comment-631-3 ἔντοποι 647

mvp-comment-632-1 πόλις … σθένει 648

mvp-comment-632-2 σθένει 649

mvp-comment-633-1 μοι 650

mvp-comment-634-1 ὦ τάλας 651

mvp-comment-635-1 ἐκ τούτοιν … σκήπτροιν 652

mvp-comment-635-2 ἐκ 653

mvp-comment-635-3 σκήπτροιν 654

mvp-comment-636-1 οδοιπορήσῃς 655

mvp-comment-636-2 νικᾶν 656

mvp-comment-637-1 τύραννος 657

mvp-comment-638-1 γνώσει τάδε 658

mvp-comment-638-2 αὑτὸν 659

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 660

mvp-comment-640-1 ὀργῇ χάριν δούς 661

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 662

mvp-comment-643-1 ῥύσιον 663

mvp-comment-643-2 πόλει 664

mvp-comment-643-3 πόλει 667

mvp-comment-643-4 θήσεις πόλει 668

mvp-comment-643-5 ἐφάψομαι 669

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 670

mvp-comment-645-1 ἢν μή γ’ 671

mvp-comment-645-2 ἀπειργάθῃ 672

mvp-comment-646-1 φθέγμ’ 673

mvp-comment-647-1 αὐδῶ σιωπᾶν 674

mvp-comment-647-2 ἄφωνον … ἀρᾶς 675

mvp-comment-647-3 τῆς 676

mvp-comment-648-1 See Appendix on this passage.

mvp-comment-648-2 ὅς 677

mvp-comment-648-3 ψιλὸν ὄμμ’ 678

mvp-comment-648-4 ψιλὸν 679

mvp-comment-648-5 ἀποσπάσας 680

mvp-comment-649-1 ἐξοίχει 681

mvp-comment-650-1 σέ τ’ αὐτὸν 682

mvp-comment-651-1 Ἥλιος 683

mvp-comment-651-2 βίον 684

mvp-comment-651-3 κἀμὲ 685

mvp-comment-652-1 ὁρᾶτε 686

mvp-comment-653-1 ἔργοις 687

mvp-comment-653-2 ῥήμασιν 688

mvp-comment-654-1 μοῦνος 689

mvp-comment-654-2 βραδύς 690

mvp-comment-655-1 ἰὼ τάλας 691

mvp-comment-656-1 τάνδε ( πόλιν ) οὐκέτι πόλιν νεμῶ 692

mvp-comment-657-1 τοῖς … δικαίοις 693

mvp-comment-657-2 βραχὺς 694

mvp-comment-658-1 τά 695

mvp-comment-659-1 Ζεύς γ’ ἂν … σὺ δ’ οὔ 696

mvp-comment-660-1 ὕβρις 697

mvp-comment-660-2 ἀνεκτέα 698

mvp-comment-661-1 πρόμοι 699

mvp-comment-662-1 πέραν περῶσ’ οἵδε δή 700

mvp-comment-662-2 δή 701

mvp-comment-663-1 βωμὸν 702

mvp-comment-663-2 ἔσχετ’ 703

mvp-comment-664-1 θᾶσσον ἢ καθ’ ἡδονὴν 704

mvp-comment-665-1 ἔγνων 705

mvp-comment-666-1 τὰ ποῖα ταῦτα 706

mvp-comment-667-1 οἴχεται 707

mvp-comment-667-2 τὴν μόνην 708

mvp-comment-668-1 περ 709

mvp-comment-669-1 οὔκουν τις … ἀναγκάσει 710

mvp-comment-669-2 τούσδε βωμοὺς 711

mvp-comment-670-1 Join σπεύδειν ἀπὸ θυμάτων, ἄνιππον, ἱππότην τε ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος 712

mvp-comment-670-2 ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος 713

mvp-comment-670-3 δίστομοι … ὁδοί 714

mvp-comment-670-4 μάλιστα 715 ἔνθα 716

mvp-comment-671-1 ἴθ’ 717

mvp-comment-672-1 δῑ ὀργῆς ἧκον 718

mvp-comment-673-1 μεθῆκ’ 719

mvp-comment-674-1 οὕσπερ … τοὺς νόμους 720

mvp-comment-675-1 τούτοισι 721

mvp-comment-675-2 ἁρμοσθήσεται 722

mvp-comment-676-1 ἐναργεῖς 723

mvp-comment-676-2 ἄγων 724

mvp-comment-677-1 κατάξια δρᾶν 725

mvp-comment-678-1 ὧν 726

mvp-comment-679-1 Athens

"practises justice,"
i.e. respects the rights of other states; and
"determines (
κραίνουσαν"
) nothing without law,
i.e.admits no claim which the laws do not sanction. Oedipus had placed himself and his daughters under the protection of Attic law. Creon should have sought legal warrant for their removal. Instead of doing so, he has used violence.

mvp-comment-680-1 εἶτ’ 727

mvp-comment-680-2 ἀφεὶς 728

mvp-comment-681-1 τὰ … κύρια 729

mvp-comment-681-2 ἐπεισπεσὼν 730

mvp-comment-682-1 ἄγεις 731

mvp-comment-682-2 παρίστασαι 732

mvp-comment-683-1 κένανδρον … ἢ δούλην τινὰ 733

mvp-comment-684-1 τῷ μηδενί 734

mvp-comment-685-1 Θῆβαι 735

mvp-comment-685-2 ἐπαίδευσαν 736

mvp-comment-686-1 πυθοίατο 737

mvp-comment-687-1 συλῶντα 738

mvp-comment-687-2 φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια 739

mvp-comment-688-1 ἐπεμβαίνων 740

mvp-comment-689-1 εἶχον 741

mvp-comment-690-1 ἄνευ γε τοῦ κραίνοντος 742

mvp-comment-690-2 χθονὸς 743

mvp-comment-690-3 ὅστις ἦν 744

mvp-comment-691-1 οὔθ’ εἷλκον οὔτ’ ἂν ἦγον 745

mvp-comment-692-1 ξένον 746

mvp-comment-693-1 ἀξίαν οὐκ οὖσαν 747

mvp-comment-694-1 τὴν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ 748

mvp-comment-694-2 ὁ πληθύων χρόνος 749

mvp-comment-694-3 τοῦ νοῦ 750

mvp-comment-695-1 τινα 751

mvp-comment-696-1 The essence of the notion conveyed by μέτοικος 752

mvp-comment-697-1 βίᾳ τε κοὐχ ἑκ 753

mvp-comment-697-2 κοὐχ ἑκών 754

mvp-comment-698-1 The words τῷ νῷ have been suspected by recent criticism. They seem to me sound. The sense is,

"these things, which I say to you, are purposed by my mind as really as they are uttered by my tongue."
With τῷ νῷ a verb meaning
"I intend"
( e.g.
διανοοῦμαι
) should strictly have been used; but the verb appropriate to ἀπὸ γλώσσης is made to serve for both. For a similar zeugma cp. O. T. 116
οὐδ’ ἄγγελός τις οὐδὲ συμπράκτωρ ὁδοῦ | κατεῖδ’
, where the verb appropriate to
ἄγγελος
, viz.
ἦλθε
, has to be supplied from
κατεῖδ’
. To Meineke's τοῦ νοῦ (governed by
ἀπό
) it may be objected that
ἐκ
would be the right prep., as in
ἐκ θυμοῦ, ἐκ ψυχῆς.
ἀπὸ γλώσσης 755

mvp-comment-699-1 ὁρᾷς ἵν’ ἥκεις 756

mvp-comment-699-2 ἀφ’ ὧν 757

mvp-comment-700-1 ἐγὼ οὔτ’ 758

mvp-comment-700-2 L's λέγω , of which

λέγων
was a correction, came in by mistake from 936. Schneidewin's νέμων has been generally received, and is clearly right: cp. on 879
. While ἄνανδρον answers to
κένανδρον ἢ δούλην
in 917, ἄβουλον (940), which implies the lack of a guiding mind, answers to
κἄμ’ ἴσον τῷ μηδενί
in 918.—Creon's speech is as clever as it is impudent. He has only anticipated what the Athenians themselves would have wished. Indeed, he has acted in reliance on the Areiopagus (950). If his method has been rough, he was provoked by the violence of Oedipus.

mvp-comment-701-1 αὐτοὺς 759

mvp-comment-701-2 ἐμπέσοι 760

mvp-comment-702-1 ξυναίμων 761

mvp-comment-703-1 κἄναγνον 762 ἄναγνον 763

mvp-comment-703-2 δεξοίατ’ 764

mvp-comment-704-1 ηὑρέθησαν 765

mvp-comment-704-2 τέκνων 766

mvp-comment-704-3 ξυνόντες 767

mvp-comment-704-4 Wecklein takes

τέκνων
as "relative" gen. with
ἀνόσιοι
, in the sense of
παιδουργίας, σπορᾶς
: "a marriage unholy in respect of its offspring." This seems forced. Musgrave's
τοκέων
would be more specious if the gen. of a noun in
‐εύς
anywhere else suffered synizesis in this place of the verse. (In 1361
φονέως
is in the 4th place.) Soph. has
γονέων
El. 146 , 241 , and
τοκέων
ib. 187 , Eur. the latter H. F. 915 , Or. 815 , and in these 5 places (all lyric) the words are scanned as trisyllables: a fact which, so far as it goes, is against
τοκέων
here. Neither
τέκνοις
nor
τέκνῳ
is a probable remedy; nor is
φίλων
. In my belief
τέκνων
is sound.

mvp-comment-705-1 τοιοῦτον 768

mvp-comment-705-2 εὔβουλον 769

mvp-comment-706-1 χθόνιον 770

mvp-comment-707-1 θυμοῦ 771

mvp-comment-707-2 θανόντων 772

mvp-comment-708-1 κεἰ 773

mvp-comment-708-2 σμικρὸν 774

mvp-comment-708-3 πρὸς … τὰς πράξεις 775

mvp-comment-709-1 τοῦ 776

mvp-comment-710-1 μοι 777

mvp-comment-710-2 διῆκας 778

mvp-comment-711-1 ἄκων 779

mvp-comment-711-2 θεοῖς 780

mvp-comment-712-1 ἄν 781

mvp-comment-713-1 ἐπεὶ καθ’ αὑτόν γ’ 782

mvp-comment-713-2 Others take

ἀνθ’ ὅτου
as=
"in that,"
" because ,"
and understand:—
"For you cannot charge any guilt on me personally (
καθ’ αὑτόν"
), in that I sinned against myself and my kindred.
But (1) καθ’ αὑτόν could not naturally express this contrast between the badness of the acts and the innocence of the agent. It contrasts the man with the
γένος
. (2) ἀνθ’ ὅτου regularly (if not always)=
"in return for which,"
"wherefore"
: e.g. El. 585
δίδαξον ἀνθ’ ὅτου τανῦν
αἴσχιστα πάντων ἔργα δρῶσα τυγχάνεις
: Eur. Alc. 246
οὐδὲν θεοὺς δράσαντας ἀνθ’ ὅτου θανεῖ
: I. T. 926
ἡ δ’ αἰτία τίς ἀνθ’ ὅτου κτείνει πόσιν;
So Hec. 1131 , 1136.

mvp-comment-714-1 ἐπεὶ δίδαξον 783

mvp-comment-714-2 εἴ τι θέσφατον 784

mvp-comment-715-1 The simple inf. θανεῖν could have depended on

θέσφατον
, but ὥστε is added, as below 1350 ; Plat. Prot. 338C
ἀδύνατον ἡμῖν ὥστε Πρωταγόρου τοῦδε σοφώτερόν τινα ἑλέσθαι
 : Eur. Hipp. 1327
Κύπρις γὰρ ἤθελ’ ὥστε γίγνεσθαι τάδε
: Thuc. 1.119
δεηθέντες ὥστε ψηφίσασθαι
 : 8. 45
πεῖσαι ὥστε συγχωρῆσαι.

mvp-comment-715-2 παίδων 785

mvp-comment-716-1 οὔτε...οὐ 786

mvp-comment-716-2 βλάστας 787

mvp-comment-717-1 φανεὶς δύστηνος 788

mvp-comment-717-2 ἐγὼ )φάνην 789

mvp-comment-718-1 ἐς χεῖρας 790

mvp-comment-719-1 μηδὲν 791

mvp-comment-720-1 The MSS. have πῶς γ’ ἄν , but γ’ should probably be omitted. In L, at least, there is a perceptible tendency to insert

γ’, τ’
, etc., superfluously (cp. cr. n. on 260); and here the first γ’ would weaken the second, while πῶς needs no strengthening. In O. T. 1030 , where L and most MSS. have
γ’...γε
, we should read
δ’...γε
. There is, however, no objection to a doubled
γε
where each of two words in the same sentence is to be emphasised ( Her. 1.187 ).

mvp-comment-720-2 ἆκον 792

mvp-comment-721-1 L's τλήμων might be either ( a ) predicate with the verb, or ( b ) nom. for voc., as 185

ὦ τλάμων
, where see n. But ( a ) would be rather weak; and a direct address, rather than a half-comment (as in 185), is fitting here. τλῆμον , then, seems most probable.

mvp-comment-722-1 οὖν 793

mvp-comment-723-1 εἰς τόδ’ ἐξελθ. ἀνόσιον στόμα 794

mvp-comment-723-2 ἀνόσιον στόμα 795

mvp-comment-724-1 — 984 He has just said,

"why force me to speak of Iocasta's marriage, when it was such as I will tell? "
(980). In these three vv. he tells of what sort it was,—viz., incestuous, but unconsciously so;—a double reason why Creon should have spared the taunt.

mvp-comment-724-2 ἔτικτεν 796

mvp-comment-724-3 αὑτῆς ὄνειδος 797

mvp-comment-725-1 δυσστομεῖν 798

mvp-comment-726-1 ἄκων 799

mvp-comment-727-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ γὰρ 800

mvp-comment-727-2 The MS.

ἀκούσομαι κακὸς
=
"will be pronounced evil"
(in the report of fairminded men): cp. Ph. 1074
ἀκούσομαι μὲν ὡς ἔφυν οἴκτου πλέως | πρὸς τοῦδ
:
"I shall be reproached, as full of pity, by yon man"
: ib. 607
ὁ πάντ’ ἀκούων αἰσχρὰ καὶ λωβήτ’ ἔπη
. But the conjecture ἁλώσομαι has certainly more force and point: cp. O. T. 576
οὐ γὰρ δὴ φονεὺς ἁλώσομαι
 : Ant. 46
οὐ γὰρ δὴ προδοῦσ’ ἁλώσομαι
 .

mvp-comment-728-1 ἐμφορεῖς 801

mvp-comment-728-2 φόνους 802

mvp-comment-729-1 ἄμειψαι 803

mvp-comment-730-1 εἴ τις … κτείνοι 804

mvp-comment-730-2 αὐτίκα 805

mvp-comment-730-3 τὸν δίκ 806

mvp-comment-731-1 δοκῶ μέν 807

mvp-comment-732-1 περιβλέποις 808

mvp-comment-733-1 εἰσέβην 809

mvp-comment-733-2 After ἀντειπεῖν and like words the person gainsaid is denoted by the dat.; the argument , by

περί τινος
or
πρός τι
. Here we begin with a neut. dat.

mvp-comment-733-3 οἶς 810

mvp-comment-733-4 ἐμοί 811

mvp-comment-733-5 ἂν 812 ἀντειπεῖν 813

mvp-comment-733-6 ἐγὼ οὐδὲ 814

mvp-comment-734-1 πατρὸς ψυχὴν … ζῶσαν 815

mvp-comment-734-2 ψυχή 816

mvp-comment-735-1 ἅπαν 817

mvp-comment-735-2 καλὸν 818

mvp-comment-735-3 ῥητὸν ἄρρ 819

mvp-comment-736-1 τὸ Θ. ὄνομα θωπ 820

mvp-comment-736-2 θωπεῦσαι 821

mvp-comment-736-3 καλόν 822

mvp-comment-737-1 ὡς κατῴκηνται καλῶς 823

mvp-comment-738-1 κᾆθ’ 824

mvp-comment-738-2 πολλὰ 825

mvp-comment-739-1 εἴ τις γῆ θεοὺς 826

mvp-comment-740-1 τῷδ’ 827

mvp-comment-741-1 κλέψας 828

mvp-comment-742-1 ἐχειροῦ 829

mvp-comment-742-2 οἴχει 830

mvp-comment-743-1 κατασκήπτω λιταῖς 831

mvp-comment-744-1 ξεῖνος 832

mvp-comment-744-2 αἱ δὲ ς. 833

mvp-comment-744-3 ἄξιαι δ’ ἀμ. 834

mvp-comment-745-1 ἄξιαι … ἀμυναθεῖν 835

mvp-comment-746-1 The contrast with παθόντες 836

mvp-comment-746-2 ἐξηρπασμένοι 837

mvp-comment-747-1 ἕσταμεν 838

mvp-comment-748-1 ἀμ. φωτὶ 839

mvp-comment-748-2 ἀμαυρῷ 840

mvp-comment-749-1 τῆς ἐκεῖ 841

mvp-comment-749-2

πομπὸν δ’κ.τ.λ.
Three views of this clause require notice. I place first the view which seems to me right. 1. The construction is:— ( προστάσσω σὲ μὲν ) κατάρχειν ὁδοῦ τῆς ἐκεῖ, ἐμὲ δὲ πομπὸν χωρεῖν :
"my pleasure is,—that you should show the way thither ( i.e. , to where the maidens are), and that I should go as your escort."
The governing verb which is supplied,
προστάσσω
, contains the general notion
δοκεῖ μοι
,
"it seems good to me,"
"it is my pleasure."
For
ἐμέ
with inf. where
ἐγώ
is subj., cp. Od. 8.221
τῶν δ’ ἄλλων ἐμέ φημι πολὺ προφερέστερον εἶναι
. Schaefer well cites Il. 3.88
ἄλλους μὲν κέλεται …
τεύχεα κάλ’ ἀποθέσθαι, …
αὐτὸν δ’ ἐν μέσσῳ καὶ ἀρηΐφιλον Μενέλαον
… μάχεσθαι
, where
αὐτόν
, referring to the subject of
κέλεται
, is parallel with ἐμέ here:
"Paris urges that the others should lay their arms aside, but that he and Menelaus should fight."
The word πομπόν (used in 723 of Creon's own followers) has here a touch of grim irony: cp. Il. 13.416
ἐπεί ῥά οἱ ὤπασα πομπόν
 ,
"given him a companion,"
— i.e. , sent his slayer to the shades along with him.
πομπόν
could not well mean,
"as an escort for the maidens on their return."
On this view δ’ ἐμέ is better than δέ με .

mvp-comment-749-3 2. Reading μοι :—

"that you should go as my guide"
: cp. Od. 4.826
τοίη γάρ οἱ πομπὸς ἅμ’ ἔρχετα
(Athena conducting Telemachus). The following clause
ἵν’...ἐκδείξῃς ἐμοί
makes this somewhat weak.

mvp-comment-749-4 3. Governing με by πομπόν :

"that you should guide me on the way."
Cp. Ant. 786
καί σ’ οὔτ’ ἀθανάτων φύξιμος οὐδείς
, where
σε
is governed by the adj. This was the view of Erfurdt and Reisig: it was also held by Shilleto. But the supposed construction, always rare, is extremely harsh here, where πομπόν would naturally be taken as agreeing with με .

mvp-comment-750-1 ἡμῖν 842

mvp-comment-751-1 ἐγκρατεῖς 843

mvp-comment-751-2 φεύγουσιν 844

mvp-comment-752-1 ἄλλοι 845

mvp-comment-752-2 οὓς χώρας τῆσδε φυγόντες οὐ μή ποτε ἐπεύξωνται θεοῖς 846

mvp-comment-752-3 ἐπεύξωνται 847

mvp-comment-753-1 ἀλλ’ 848

mvp-comment-753-2 ἔχων ἔχει 849

mvp-comment-754-1 θηρῶνθ’ 850

mvp-comment-754-2 ἡ τύχη 851

mvp-comment-754-3 τὰ … δόλῳ κτήματα 852

mvp-comment-754-4 τῷ μὴ δικαίῳ 853

mvp-comment-755-1 κοὐκ ἄλλον ἕξεις εἰς τόδ’ 854

mvp-comment-755-2 ὡς ἔξοιδα 855

mvp-comment-755-3 οὐ ψιλὸν 856

mvp-comment-755-4 ἄσκευον 857

mvp-comment-756-1 ἐς τοσήνδ’ ὕβριν … τόλμης 858

mvp-comment-757-1 ἀλλ’ ἔσθ’ ὅτῳ 859

mvp-comment-757-2 πιστὸς 860

mvp-comment-758-1 τι τούτων 861

mvp-comment-758-2 τὰ νῦν 862

mvp-comment-759-1 ἐνθάδ’ ὢν 863

mvp-comment-759-2 μεμπτὸν ἐμοί 864

mvp-comment-760-1 χωρῶν ἀπείλει νῦν 865

mvp-comment-761-1 πιστωθεὶς 866

mvp-comment-762-1 ὄναιο 867 χάριν 868

mvp-comment-764-1 εἴην ὅθι 869

mvp-comment-765-1 ἐπιστροφαὶ 872

mvp-comment-766-1 χαλκοβόαν 873

mvp-comment-766-2 μείξουσιν 874

mvp-comment-766-3 ἢ πρὸς Πυθίαις ἢ λαμπάσιν ἀκταῖς 875

mvp-comment-766-4 (1) Πύθιαι ἀκταί , the Pythian shores; the shore of the bay of Eleusis just beyond the pass of Daphnè on the N.W., near the salt-springs called

Ῥείτοι
( Thuc. 2.19 ). The distance from Colonus is about six miles.
Πύθιαι
alludes to the
Πύθιον
, an Ionic temple of Apollo (some fragments from which are among the Elgin marbles in the British Museum), situated on the site of the present monastery of Daphnè, in the narrowest and highest part of the pass. (Cp. Leake, Demes pp. 144 f.: Paus. 1.37.6 .) Others take the
Πύθιαι ἀκταί
to mean Oenoe, where also there was a temple of Apollo. But ( a ) Oenoe was about 12 miles N.W. of Eleusis, near the pass of Dryoscephalae over Cithaeron.
ἀκταί
could not be said of such an inland place, and the distance imagined is too great. ( b ) The order of mention indicates the
Πύθιαι ἀκταί
as nearer than Eleusis to Colonus.

mvp-comment-766-5 (2) λαμπάδες ἀκταί ,

" the torch-lit shores "
(cp. Harpocr. 184, quoted on 56,
ἑορτὰς λαμπάδας
): the coast of the same bay of Eleusis at a point about 5 miles W.N.W. of the former point,—viz. at Eleusis itself. The yearly celebration of the great Eleusinia began on or about the 16th of Boedromion (September). On the 20th of that month an image of Iacchus was borne in a torch-light procession along the
ἱερὰ ὁδός
from Athens to Eleusis. This procession is indicated by the
χορὸς μυστῶν
in Aristoph. Ran. 316 ff.: see ib. 340
ἔγειρε φλογέας λαμπάδας, ἐν χερσὶ γὰρ ἥκεις τινάσσων,
Ἴακχ’, ὦ Ἴακχε,
νυκτέρου τελετῆς φωσφόρος ἀστήρ
. The search of Demeter for Persephone was also represented at Eleusis in a
παννυχίς
of torch-bearing mystae. Cp. Aesch. fr. 376 (speaking of Eleusis)
λαμπραῖσιν ἀστραπαῖσι λαμπάδων σθένει
. Ar. Th. 1151
ὄργια σεμνὰ θεαῖν, ἵνα λαμπάσι φαίνετον ἄμβροτον ὄψιν
 .

mvp-comment-767-1 πότνιαι 876

mvp-comment-767-2 τιθηνοῦνται 877

mvp-comment-767-3 τέλη 878

mvp-comment-768-1 θνατοῖσιν 879

mvp-comment-768-2 ὧν καὶ χρυσέα 880

mvp-comment-768-3 κλὴ|ς Εὐμολπιδᾶν 881

mvp-comment-769-1 κλὴ|ς 882

mvp-comment-769-2 χρυσέα 883

mvp-comment-770-1 προσπόλων Εὐμολπιδᾶν 884

mvp-comment-771-1 I incline to believe that the MS. words ἔνθ’ οἶμαι τὸν ἐγρεμάχαν are sound, and that the variant

ὀρειβάταν
may have arisen by corruption from ἐγρεμάχαν . See Appendix on this passage. The fact that the antistrophic passage is certainly unsound in the MSS. has increased the doubt: see on 1069
.

mvp-comment-771-2 ἐγρεμάχαν 885

mvp-comment-772-1 Θησέα 886

mvp-comment-772-2 αὐτάρκει βοᾷ 887

mvp-comment-772-3 Many critics, however, now regard καὶ as spurious: for Θησέα καὶ Dindorf proposes Αἰγεΐδαν : for Θησέα καὶ τὰς Wecklein Θησέα παῖδας . The sense would then be:—

"Theseus will soon bring the sisters into ( i.e. , will soon raise around them) a battle-cry of confident prowess,"
—by attacking their captors. This is possibly right: but a change of καὶ τὰς into παῖδας is hardly likely. In Ph. 79
παῖ
, which Erfurdt changed to
καί
, is clearly sound.

mvp-comment-772-4 διστόλους 888

mvp-comment-772-5 αὐτάρκει 889

mvp-comment-772-6 τούσδ’ ἀνὰ χ. 890

mvp-comment-772-7 The poet has left the details of the rescue indistinct. Creon's guards first carried off the girls (844), and Theseus sent mounted Athenians in pursuit (897). Afterwards, Theseus commands Creon to lead him to where the girls are; if they are

"in these regions"
(1020
ἐν τόποισι τοῖσδ’
), Theseus himself will recover them: if, however, the guards are already flying with them, then Theseus has nothing to do; the mounted Athenians, who have already started, will pursue (1020 ff.). But from the words of Theseus in 1148 it is plain that they have been rescued by his personal prowess, of which he forbears to boast (
κομπεῖν
, 1149): and the same inference must be drawn from Antigone's words (1117). How are these facts to be reconciled? We can only suppose that the mounted Athenians, who started first, halted to watch the
δίστομοι ὁδοί
(900), while Creon's guards also halted somewhere in concealment, to await their master. Theseus, with Creon, was thus enabled to overtake his Athenians before the struggle. The fact is that Sophocles did not care to think out these points, about which an Athenian audience in the theatre would not trouble themselves. Cp. on O. T. 758 .

mvp-comment-773-1 Hartung's εἰς νομόν for the MS. ἐκ νομοῦ is certain. With the latter, we could only render:

"they will approach (the region) to the west of the snowy rock, out of (leaving) the pastures of the Oeatid territory."
The rare acc. with
πελάζω
could be supported by Eur. Andr. 1167
δῶμα πελάζει
: but the ellipse of
χῶρον
with
τὸν ἐφέσπερον
is surely impossible.

mvp-comment-773-2 νομοῦ 891

mvp-comment-773-3 πελῶς’ 892

mvp-comment-773-4 The place meant is not certain. See note and map in Appendix. But the scholium here deserves at least thus much weight: it is our one ancient warrant for a definite view. Like the other old scholia in L, it probably dates (in substance) from the later Alexandrian age, which possessed many Attic writings, now lost, on the topography of Attica. The scholiast takes the νιφὰς πέτρα to be a rock or crag of Mount Aegaleos;— the same which was called

λεία πέτρα
,
"the smooth rock,"
by Istros, a writer on Attica, c. 240 B.C., whom he quotes. The schol. then explains Οἰάτιδος by the fact that Aegaleos
ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων ἐστὶ τοῦ δήμου τούτου
,
"skirts that deme,"
—namely, of
Οἴη
. It cannot reasonably be doubted that this statement about
Οἴη
, if it did not rest on the scholiast's own knowledge, was derived from Istros, or from some other old writer on Attic topography.

mvp-comment-773-5 The meaning will then be:—

"Or perhaps the captors did not take the road through the pass of Daphnè, which goes by the sea-coast to Eleusis. Perhaps they went round the N. end of Aegaleos, and will soon be emerging on the Thriasian plain, to the west of Aegaleos, near the deme of Oea."
This is also Leake's view ( Demi of Attica p. 154). The route supposed would be in the general line of that taken by Archidamus and the Peloponnesians in 431 B.C., when they moved from Oenoe E.S.E. to Acharnae,
ἐν δεξιᾷ ἔχοντες τὸ Αἰγάλεων ὄρος
,— i.e. keeping it to the S.,—
διὰ Κρωπιᾶς
, a deme in the valley between the N. end of Aegaleos and the S.W. end of Parnes. Hartung, referring to the
λεία πέτρα
of Istros, conjectures λι^τάδος , as=
"smooth,"
for νιφάδος : but though late poets could use
λι^τός
for
λι—τός
, the
ι^
is most improbable for Soph.

mvp-comment-774-1 ῥιμφαρμάτοις … ἁμίλλαις 893

mvp-comment-775-1 ἁλώσεται 894

mvp-comment-775-2 προσχώρων 895

mvp-comment-775-3 Θησειδᾶν 896

mvp-comment-775-4 ἀκμά 897

mvp-comment-776-1 We require u - instead of the MS. κατ’ . Bothe gets this by supposing non-elision of

κατὰ
before
ἀμπυκτήρια
. This, though rare, is possible: cp. Ai. 425
χθονὸς μολόντ’ ἀπὸ | Ἑλλανίδος
 : Tr. 510
Βακχίας ἄπο | ἦλθε
. But I cannot believe κατὰ | ἀμπυκτήρια to be Greek, as meaning either (1)
"according to the full speed given by the headgear,"
i.e. by shaking the reins,—Paley: or (2)
"in the direction of the bridles,"
— i.e.
"every horseman gives his steed its head,"
Campbell. Instead of κατ’ , Hermann gives χαλῶσ’ : Schneidewin proposed καθεῖσ’ (cp. Eur. Bacch. 695
καθεῖσαν εἰς ὤμους κόμας
). This, if it had become
κατεῖσ’
, might easily have shrunk to the MS. κατ’ , through the rest of the word being taken for
εἰς
.

mvp-comment-777-1 ἀμπυκτήρια φάλαρα πώλων 898

mvp-comment-778-1 ἄμβασις 899

mvp-comment-778-2 οἳ 900

mvp-comment-778-3 τὰν ἱππίαν 901

mvp-comment-779-1 γαιάοχον 902

mvp-comment-779-2 Ῥέας 903

mvp-comment-779-3 Rhea, in the Greek theogony, is daughter of Uranos and Gaia, wife of Cronus, and "mother of the gods." The cult was that of the "Phrygian Mother" Cybele in a special phase, and came very early to Greece from Lydia: in Attica it was intimately connected with the Eleusinian cult of Demeter (cp. Hom. Hymn. 5.442 , Eur. Helen 1301 ff. ). The

Μητρῷον
at Athens, the temple of Rhea Cybele, contained a celebrated statue of the goddess, by Pheidias or his pupil Agoracritus.

mvp-comment-780-1 ἔρδους’ 904

mvp-comment-780-2 μέλλουσιν 905

mvp-comment-781-1 γνώμα μοι 906 προμνᾶταί τι 907

mvp-comment-782-1 ἀντάσειν 908

mvp-comment-782-2 ἀντάω 909

mvp-comment-782-3 To ἀνδώσειν the objections are: (1) it could not possibly mean

ἀποσώσειν
,
"give back. "
In Pind. fr. 133. 3, the sole passage quoted for this sense,
ἀνδιδοι ψυχὰν πάλιν
is not
"gives back ,"
but
"sends up ,"
to the sunlight,—like
γῆ ἀναδίδωσι καρπόν
. We must not be confused by our
"give up. "
(2) To supply
"Creon"
or
"the enemy"
as subject is extremely awkward. (3) The sing. τὰν...τλᾶσαν , etc., which this requires, cannot well be defended on the ground that Antigone is chiefly thought of.

mvp-comment-782-4 With ἐνδώσειν we have to render:—

"that the sufferings of those who have endured dread things, and found dread sufferings at the hands of kinsmen, will remit ,"
—become milder. Hippocrates ( Progn. 43) uses the intrans.
ἐνδιδόναι
of a malady which remits its force. But is
πάθη … ἐνδώσειν
tolerable here, where the question is not of the sisters' sufferings being mitigated , but of their triumphant deliverance from the hands of the enemy? If, again,
ἐνδώσειν
=
"give up,"
it incurs the 2nd and 3rd objections to
ἀνδώσειν
.

mvp-comment-783-1 κατ’ ἆμαρ 910

mvp-comment-784-1 ἀελλαία 911

mvp-comment-784-2 ταχύρρωστος 912

mvp-comment-785-1 Hermann's ἄνωθ’ 913

mvp-comment-785-2 θεωρήσασα 914

mvp-comment-785-3 θεωρήσουσα 915

mvp-comment-785-4 αἰωρεῖν 916

mvp-comment-786-1 In the MS. order of the words,

ἰὼ Ζεῦ, πάνταρχε θεῶν
(monosyll.)=1074
ἔρδουσ’ ἢ μέλλουσιν; ὡς
, and
παντόπτα, πόροις
=1075
προμνᾶταί τί μοι
. This requires the final α of the voc. παντόπτα to be long, which is impossible, though some edd. tacitly assume it. Meineke's remedy,
παντόπτ’ ὦ
, is not probable: and
παντόπτας
(nom. for voc.) could not stand here. The simple transposition which I have made in the text removes the difficulty. In 1088 the MSS. have
ἐπινικείῳ σθένει
: yet it is certain that the order of the words should be the reverse.

mvp-comment-787-1 δαμούχοις 917

mvp-comment-788-1 σθένει 918

mvp-comment-788-2 ἐπινικείῳ 919

mvp-comment-788-3 τὸν εὔαγρον τελειῶσαι λόχον 920

mvp-comment-788-4 τὸν εὔαγρον 921

mvp-comment-788-5 λόχον 922

mvp-comment-789-1 σεμνά τε παῖς 923

mvp-comment-790-1 τὸν ἀγρευτὰν 924

mvp-comment-791-1 ὀπαδὸν … ἐλάφων 925

mvp-comment-791-2 πυκνοστίκτων 926

mvp-comment-792-1 στέργω 927

mvp-comment-792-2 διπλᾶς ἀρωγὰς 928

mvp-comment-794-1 τῷ σκοπῷ μὲν 929

mvp-comment-794-2 μέν 930

mvp-comment-795-1 προσπολουμένας 931

mvp-comment-796-1 τίς ἂν … δοίη 932

mvp-comment-796-2 δοίη 933

mvp-comment-797-1 φιλτάτων τ’ 934

mvp-comment-798-1 μηδαμά 935

mvp-comment-798-2

τὸ μηδαμὰ ἐλπισθὲν ἥξειν
, the generic
μή
, one which was never expected, etc.,— and which, therefore, is the more welcome. Cp. O. T. 397
ὁ μηδὲν εἰδώς
, n. —
βαστάσαι δηλοῖ παρὰ τοῖς Ἀττικοῖς τὸ ψηλαφῆσαι
(Suidas s.v. ): Eur. Alc. 917
φιλίας ἀλόχου χέρα βαστάζων
 .

mvp-comment-799-1 ἃ τεύξει 936

mvp-comment-799-2 σὺν πόθῳ … ἡ χάρις 937

mvp-comment-800-1 ἔρνη 938

mvp-comment-800-2 τῷ τεκόντι 939

mvp-comment-800-3 πᾶν 940

mvp-comment-801-1 σκῆπτρα 941

mvp-comment-801-2 φωτός 942

mvp-comment-802-1 θανὼν 943

mvp-comment-803-1 ἐρείσατε … πλευρὸν ἀμφιδέξιον 944

mvp-comment-804-1 ἐμφύντε 945

mvp-comment-804-2 With

κἀναπαύσατον
(note that L has κἀναπαύσετον ) the words are usu. taken to mean, "and give me relief from this hapless wandering, desolate before," — i.e. since Antigone was carried off (844) .

mvp-comment-804-3 πλάνου 946

mvp-comment-805-1 ταῖς τηλικαῖσδε 947

mvp-comment-806-1 ὅδ’ … τοῦδε 948

mvp-comment-807-1 Hermann's change of the MS. τοὐμὸν into τοῦτ’ ἐμοί τ’ has been accepted by many edd. But the sense is most unsatisfactory. If τοὔργον means the deed of rescue, as is most natural, the meaning will be:

"this deed will be a short story both for thee and for me"
: i.e.
" I shall not have to relate it, and you will be so much interested in listening to Theseus that you will not find it tedious."
But is this tolerable,—to say nothing of the somewhat ungracious suggestion that the account of their deliverer's exploit would otherwise be fatiguing? The alternative version would be worse still:
"this task (viz. that of reciting, or of hearing) will be short both for thee and me."
I cannot but think, then, that this popular correction, though palaeographically easy, is untenable.

mvp-comment-807-2 I have little doubt that Wex is right, or nearly so, in his οὗ κἄστι τοὔργον . The

λόγος
should be his to whom belongs the
ἔργον
. This supposes an accidental loss of οὗ , after which κἄστι grew into καὶ σοί τε . The words
τοὐμὸν ὦδ’ ἔσται βραχὺ
then mean, "my part will thus be brief" (as you desire it to be, 1115 ) — consisting simply in referring Oed. to Theseus.

mvp-comment-808-1 Take πρὸς τὸ λιπαρὲς with μηκύνῳ λόγον :

"do not wonder if with eager insistence I prolong my words to my children, now that they have appeared unexpectedly"
:

mvp-comment-808-2 πρὸς τὸ λ. 949

mvp-comment-809-1 τέκνα 950

mvp-comment-809-2 ἄελπτα 951

mvp-comment-810-1 τὴν ἐς τάσδε 952

mvp-comment-811-1 μηδενὸς 953

mvp-comment-812-1 ὡς 954

mvp-comment-813-1 αὐτῷ τε 955

mvp-comment-813-2 τό γ’ εὐσεβές 956

mvp-comment-813-3 μόνοις 957

mvp-comment-814-1 τοὐπιεικὲς 958

mvp-comment-815-1 εἰδὼς δ’ ἀμύνω 959

mvp-comment-815-2 τάδε 961

mvp-comment-816-1 ψαύσω 962

mvp-comment-816-2 εἰ θέμις 963

mvp-comment-817-1 πῶς σ’ 964

mvp-comment-817-2 τίς οὐκ 965

mvp-comment-817-3 κηλὶς κακῶν 966

mvp-comment-817-4 ξύνοικος 967

mvp-comment-817-5 οὐκ ἔγωγέ σε 968

mvp-comment-817-6 οὐδ’ οὖν 969

mvp-comment-817-7 Oedipus is indeed

ἱερός
(287), as the suppliant of the Eumenides, and
εὐσεβής
( ib. ), as obeying the word of Apollo; but at this moment he feels that, in the eye of religious law, he is still formally what Creon has just called him—
πατροκτόνος
and
ἄναγνος
(944). Contrast the more passionate strain of his words in O. T. 1413 , when he urges the Thebans to cast him forth—
ἴτ’, ἀξιώσατ’ ἀνδρὸς ἀθλίου θιγεῖν
. To touch him—he there says—can defile no one, because his unique doom places him apart.

mvp-comment-818-1 βροτῶν 970

mvp-comment-819-1 αὐτόθεν 971

mvp-comment-820-1 ἐς τόδ’ ἡμέρας 972

mvp-comment-821-1 οὔτ’ εἴ τι κ.τ.λ. 973

mvp-comment-821-2 θαυμάσας ἔχω 974

mvp-comment-822-1 οὔτ’ 975

mvp-comment-823-1 γὰρ 976

mvp-comment-824-1 δείκνυμι δ’ 977

mvp-comment-824-2 The usu. constr. is

ψεύδειν τινά τινος
, while
ψεύδειν τινά τι
is comparatively rare: and so here οὐδέν seems to be adv., while ὧν (=
τούτων ἅ
) is gen. after ἐψευσάμην . So I should take Plat. Legg. 921A
τὴν τιμὴν τῶν ἔργων ὀφειλέτω ὧν ἂν τὸν ἐκδόντα ψεύσηται
,
"of which he has disappointed the contractor,"
—though an attraction of acc. into gen. is equally possible.

mvp-comment-824-3 ὤμοσα 978

mvp-comment-825-1 For the gen. with ἀκραιφνεῖς cp. 1519: Eur. Hipp. 949

κακῶν ἀκήρατος
.

mvp-comment-826-1 ᾑρέθη 979

mvp-comment-827-1 λόγος 980

mvp-comment-827-2 λόγος 981

mvp-comment-827-3 ἐμπέπτωκεν 982

mvp-comment-827-4 συμβαλοῦ γνώμην 983

mvp-comment-828-1 εἰπεῖν θαυμάσαι 986

mvp-comment-829-1 ἄνθρωπον 987

mvp-comment-830-1 τί δ’ ἔστι 988

mvp-comment-830-2 δίδασκέ με ὡς μὴ εἰδότ’ 989

mvp-comment-830-3 ὡς οὐ 990

mvp-comment-830-4 ὡς 991

mvp-comment-831-1 ἡμῖν 992

mvp-comment-831-2 ἔμπολιν 993

mvp-comment-831-3 προσπεσόντα πως 994

mvp-comment-831-4 πως 995

mvp-comment-832-1 βωμῷ 996

mvp-comment-832-2 ἔκυρον 997

mvp-comment-832-3 ἡνίχ’ ὡρμώμην 998

mvp-comment-833-1 τῷ θακήματι 999

mvp-comment-833-2 προς‐ 1000

mvp-comment-834-1 σοῦ 1001

mvp-comment-835-1 οὐκ ὄγκου πλέων 1002

mvp-comment-836-1 Heath's insertion of τ’ after ἀπελθεῖν is necessary, unless we adopt Nauck's ἐλθεῖν θέλοντ’ , i.e.

"they say that, wishing to confer with you, he asks that he may retire safely from his journey hither"
(his journey to Attica from Argos): but this throws too much stress on the return. Vauvilliers seems clearly right in restoring μόνον from the MS. μολόντ’ . The latter would go with ἐλθεῖν :
"they say that he asks that, having approached, he may confer with you"
: but this is weak; and it would be even worse to take μολόντ’ as=
"after his arrival"
(at Colonus). μόνον fits the tone of the context. The suitor prefers his request in as modest a strain as possible.

mvp-comment-837-1 κατ’ Ἄργος 1003

mvp-comment-837-2 τοῦτο 1004

mvp-comment-838-1 σχὲς οὗπερ εἶ 1005

mvp-comment-838-2 τίδ’ ἔστι σοι 1006

mvp-comment-839-1 πράγματος ποίου 1007

mvp-comment-840-1 ἀκούων τῶνδ’ 1008

mvp-comment-840-2 ὅς 1009

mvp-comment-840-3 προστάτης 1010

mvp-comment-841-1 ὅν γ’ ἐγὼ ψέξαιμι 1012

mvp-comment-842-1 στυγνός 1013

mvp-comment-842-2 λόγων 1014

mvp-comment-842-3 ἄλγιστα ἀνδρῶν 1015

mvp-comment-843-1 ἃ μὴ 1016

mvp-comment-844-1 The emphasis is on κλύειν , not on τοῦδ’ :

"why is it painful to thee to give this man a hearing? "
Theseus has no need to ask,
"why is it painful to thee to hear this man? "
—for he knows already how Oed. has been treated by his sons (599). The sense is thus the same as if we kept the MS. τοῦτ’ :
"why is this thing painful to thee,—namely, to hear?"
(Cp. Ph. 1121
καὶ γὰρ ἐμοὶ τοῦτο μέλει, μὴ φιλότητ’ ἀπώσῃ
: and O. T. 1058 .) But, when the question has already been put in an abstract form (
οὐκ ἀκούειν ἔστι
etc.), it would be tame to reiterate it in the same form. By τοῦδε it is adapted to the particular case. Cp. 1117
τοῦδε χρὴ κλύειν
.

mvp-comment-845-1 φθέγμα τοῦθ’ 1017

mvp-comment-845-2 ἥκει 1018

mvp-comment-846-1 μή μ’ ἀνάγκῃ προσβάλῃς 1019

mvp-comment-846-2 εἰκαθεῖν 1020

mvp-comment-847-1 τὸ θάκημ’ 1021

mvp-comment-847-2 ἐξαναγκάζει 1022

mvp-comment-847-3 πρόνοια … τοῦ θεοῦ 1023

mvp-comment-847-4 φυλακτέα 1024

mvp-comment-848-1 πιθοῦ μοι 1025

mvp-comment-848-2 κεἰ 1026

mvp-comment-848-3 vέα 1027

mvp-comment-849-1 τὸν ἄνδρα τόνδε 1028

mvp-comment-850-1 ὕπεικε 1029

mvp-comment-851-1 παρασπάσει 1030

mvp-comment-851-2 ἃ μή 1031

mvp-comment-851-3 λέξεται 1032

mvp-comment-852-1 κακῶς 1033

mvp-comment-853-1 Meineke rejects the three verses, 1189—1191, because (1)

ἔφυσας αὐτόν
is too abrupt: (2) it is too much to tell Oed. that he must bear anything from his son: (3) the phrase
τὰ τῶν κακίστων
etc. is indefensible. As to (1), few readers can fail to perceive that the
"abruptness"
is both forcible and pathetic at the moment when she turns from colder and more external arguments to the plea of natural affection. As to (2), it is enough to observe that Antigone means,
"The relationship between parent and child is indelibly sacred. No wickedness on your son's part can alter the fact that he is your son."
As to (3), see next n.

mvp-comment-854-1 δυσσεβέστατ’, ὦ 1034

mvp-comment-855-1 θέμις σέ γ’ εἶναι 1035

mvp-comment-856-1 ἀλλ’ αὐτόν· εἰσὶ 1036

mvp-comment-857-1 ἐξεπᾴδονται φύσιν 1037

mvp-comment-858-1 ἐκεῖνα 1038

mvp-comment-858-2 πατρῷα καὶ μ. 1039

mvp-comment-858-3 μητρῷα 1040

mvp-comment-859-1 τελευτὴν 1041

mvp-comment-860-1 τἀνθυμήματα 1042

mvp-comment-861-1 ἀδέρκτων 1043

mvp-comment-861-2 τητώμενος 1044

mvp-comment-862-1 Notice the dat. προσχρῄζουσιν (with

καλόν
), followed by the acc. αὐτόν with πάσχειν , and παθόντα with ἐπίστασθαι . A literal version shows the reason:—
"It is not fitting for the askers of just things to sue long, nor that a man should himself be well-treated, and then not know how to requite it."
Importunityis here viewed as touching the dignity of the suppliants; ingratitude , in its moral aspect.—

mvp-comment-862-2 οὐδ’ 1045

mvp-comment-862-3 οὐκ ἐπίστασθαι 1046

mvp-comment-862-4 τίνειν 1047

mvp-comment-862-5 The structure of οὐδ’ αὐτὸν … τίνειν 1048

mvp-comment-863-1 The stress is on

βαρεῖαν
:
"Grievous (for me) is the gratification (to yourselves) in regard to which ye prevail over me by your words; however ( δ’ οὖν ) it shall be as ye wish."

mvp-comment-863-2 ἡδονὴν 1049

mvp-comment-863-3 δ’ οὖν 1050

mvp-comment-864-1 ἐλεύσεται 1051

mvp-comment-865-1 κρατείτω τῆς ἐ. ψυχῆς 1052

mvp-comment-865-2 τῆς ἐμ. ψ. 1053

mvp-comment-866-1 κλύειν 1054

mvp-comment-866-2 τὰ τοιαῦτ’ 1055

mvp-comment-867-1 If δ’ is omitted (with Wecklein) after κομπεῖν , we must either make κομπεῖν οὐχὶ βούλομαι a parenthesis (as he does), or else point thus:

κλύειν·
ὦ πρέσβυ,
etc. The abruptness would add a certain spirit to the words. But the δ’ after κομπεῖν may well be genuine, if we conceive him as checking the impulse to remind Oed. of the prowess already shown: — "however, I do not wish to boast."
σὺ δὲ
σῶς ἴσθι
could not mean, "know that you are safe": ὤν is indispensable: and the choice lies between (1)
σὺ δ’ ὢν
σῶς ἴσθ’
, and (2)
σὺ σῶς
ὢν ἴσθ’
. For (2) it may be said that the MS. σῶν is more easily explained by it, and that δὲ might have been added to complete v. 1209: for (1), that it is nearer to the actual text (in which σῶν may have sprung from ὤν superscript), and that σῶς is more effective if it begins the verse in which σώζῃ follows.

mvp-comment-869-1 ὅστις τοῦ πλέονος μ. χρῄζει 1056 ζώειν 1057 παρεὶς 1058 τοῦ μετρίου 1059

mvp-comment-869-2 χρῄζ 1060

mvp-comment-869-3 παρείς 1061

mvp-comment-869-4 μετρίου 1062

mvp-comment-869-5 Hartung explains his

τὰν μετρίου παρεὶς | ζωάν
as
"neglecting the life of moderate span"
( sc.
μέρους
). Though the phrase
τὸ μέτριον παρείς
(
"in neglect of due limit"
) occurs in Plat. Legg. 691C (quoted by Wunder), it seems very doubtful whether παρεὶς is sound here. The conjecture πέρα (Schneidewin) is possible, but derives no real support from the fact that
παρὰ τὸ καίριον καὶ τὸ μέτριον
occurs in the schol.'s loose paraphrase. Verrall ingeniously proposes παρὲκ , which, however, does not occur in Tragedy. Possibly
τοῦ μετρίου προθεὶς
,
"in preference to the moderate portion."

mvp-comment-869-6 σκαιοσύναν 1063

mvp-comment-869-7 φυλάσσων 1064

mvp-comment-869-8 ἐν ἐμοὶ 1065

mvp-comment-870-1 αἱ μακραὶ | ἁμέραι 1066

mvp-comment-870-2 πολλὰ μὲν δὴ κατέθεντο 1067

mvp-comment-870-3 λύπας 1068

mvp-comment-870-4 λύπας ἐγγυτέρω 1069

mvp-comment-870-5 The middle

κατατίθεσθαι
is continually used in Attic of
" storing up ,"
— either literally, as
καρπούς, θησαυρούς, σῖτον
,—or figuratively, as
χάριν, κλέος, φιλίαν, ἔχθραν
. Therefore I would not render κατέθεντο simply,
" set down ,"
as if the meaning were that many things, once
"near to joy,"
are moved by the years, and set down nearer to grief; though this view is tenable. (Cp. Aristoph. Ran. 165
Δ. τὰ στρώματ’ αὖθις λάμβανε.
Ξ. πρὶν καὶ καταθέσθαι;
) — Not , "oft (
πολλὰ
) lay up griefs (
λύπας
acc. pl.) nearer (us)."

mvp-comment-870-6 οὐκ ἂν ἴδοις ὅπου 1070

mvp-comment-871-1 τοῦ δέοντος 1071

mvp-comment-871-2 πέσῃ 1072

mvp-comment-871-3 The vulgate τοῦ θέλοντος would be gen. of

τὸ θέλον
(see on 267
):
"when a man has lapsed into excess of wish,"
i.e. of wish for prolonged life; not, of self-indulgence; for the whole gist of the passage is that joy is left behind by simply living on: the satiety of jaded appetite (which can befall the young) is not in point here. Assuredly τοῦ θέλοντος in this context is not Greek. Blaydes, reading τοῦ σθένοντος , explains,
"when a man has outlived his strength"
: but could
πέσῃ ἐς πλέον τοῦ σθ
. mean, "live to a point of time beyond τὸ σθ. "?

mvp-comment-871-4 ὁ δ’ ἐπίκουρος ἰσοτέλεστος 1073

mvp-comment-871-5 ἰσοτέλεστος 1074

mvp-comment-872-1 ἀνυμέναιος 1075

mvp-comment-872-2 ἀναπέφηνε 1076

mvp-comment-873-1 μὴ φῦναι τὸν ἅπ. νικᾷ λόγον 1078

mvp-comment-873-2 ὁ ἅπας λόγος 1079

mvp-comment-873-3 The form hints that Soph. was thinking of the verses of Theognis (425 ff.) which the schol. quotes, without naming that poet, as familiar (

τὸ λεγόμενον
):—
πάντων μὲν μὴ φῦναι ἐπιχθονίοισιν ἄριστον,
μηδ’ ἐσιδεῖν αὐγὰς ὀξέος ἠελίου,
φύντα δ’ ὅπως ὤκιστα πύλας Ἀΐδαο περῆσαι
καὶ κεῖσθαι πολλὴν γῆν ἐπιεσσάμενον
. Diog. Laert. 10. 1. 126 quotes Epicurus as censuring these lines, and remarking that a man who really thought so ought to quit life,—
ἐν ἑτοίμῳ γὰρ αὐτῷ τοῦτ’ ἔστιν
. Cic. Tusc. 1. 48. 115
Non nasci homini longe optimum esse, proximum autem quam primum mori
: where he translates the lines of Eur. (fr. 452)
ἐχρῆν γὰρ ἡμᾶς σύλλογον ποιουμένους
τὸν φύντα θρηνεῖν εἰς ὅσ’ ἔρχεται κακά·
τὸν δ’ αὖ θανόντα καὶ πόνων πεπαυμένον
χαίροντας εὐφημοῦντας ἐκπέμπειν δόμων
. Alexis (Midd. Com., 350 B.C. )
Μανδραγοριζομένη
1. 14
οὐκοῦν τὸ πολλοῖς τῶν σοφῶν εἰρημένον,
τὸ μὴ γενέσθαι μὲν κράτιστόν ἐστ’ ἀεί,
ἐπὰν γένηται δ’, ὡς τάχιστ’ ἔχειν τέλος
.

mvp-comment-873-4 ἐπεὶ φανῇ 1080

mvp-comment-874-1 The MS.

βῆναι κεῖθεν ὅθεν περ ἥκει
is usu. defended as an instance of
"attraction"
; but it is harsher than any example that can be produced. Thus in Plat. Crito 45B
πολλαχοῦ μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἄλλοσε ὅποι ἂν ἀφίκῃ ἀγαπήσουσί σε
, where
ἄλλοσε
stands for
ἄλλοθι
by attraction to
ὅποι
, it is not preceded by a verb answering to βῆναι here. Who could say,
ἀπελθὼν ἄλλοσε
(for
ἄλλοθεν
)
ὅποι ἂν ἀφίκῃ
, if he meant,
"having departed from another place, whithersoever you may have come"
? So, here, βῆναι κεῖθεν ὅθεν περ ἥκει surely could not mean,
"to go to that place whence he has come."
βῆναιand ἥκει being thus sharply opposed, each verb requires its proper adverb. I should prefer to read κεῖσ’ ὁπόθεν , as Blaydes proposed. Cp. Tennyson,
"The Coming of Arthur,"
(of man's destiny,)
"From the great deep to the great deep he goes."

mvp-comment-874-2 πολὺ δεύτερον 1081

mvp-comment-874-3 πολὺ 1082

mvp-comment-875-1 ὡς εὖτ’ ἂν … καμάτων ἔνι 1083

mvp-comment-875-2 παρῇ 1085

mvp-comment-876-1 τίς πλαγὰ 1086

mvp-comment-877-1 φθόνος 1087

mvp-comment-878-1 κατάμεμπτον 1088

mvp-comment-878-2 ἐπιλέλογχε 1089

mvp-comment-878-3 ἀκρατές 1090

mvp-comment-879-1 κακὰ κακῶν 1091

mvp-comment-879-2 ξυνοικεῖ 1092

mvp-comment-880-1 βόρειος ἀκτὰ 1093

mvp-comment-881-1 κατ’ ἄκρας 1094

mvp-comment-881-2 κυματοα—γεῖς 1096

mvp-comment-882-1 Compare this poet. indication of the four points of the compass with the prose phraseology in Xen. Anab. 3.5.15,

πρὸς ἕω, πρὸς ἑσπέραν, πρὸς μεσημβρίαν, πρὸς ἄρκτον.

mvp-comment-882-2 ἀνὰ μέσσαν ἀκτῖν’ 1097

mvp-comment-883-1 *(πιπᾶν 1098

mvp-comment-883-2 ἐννυχιᾶν 1099

mvp-comment-883-3 Others, not taking ῥιπᾶν as a name, render: (1)

"From the nocturnal blasts,"
— but this would not sufficiently indicate the north. (2)
"From the vibrating starrays of night,"
like El. 105
παμφεγγεῖς ἄστρων | ῥιπάς
. But there would be no point in saying that troubles come on Oedipus from the West , the East , the South , and— the stars. There is, indeed, a secondary contrast between the brightness of the South and the gloom of the North; but the primary contrast is between the regions.

mvp-comment-885-1 καὶ μὴν 1100

mvp-comment-885-2 ἡμῖν 1101

mvp-comment-886-1 ἀνδρῶν γε μοῦνος 1102

mvp-comment-887-1 ἀστακτὶ 1103

mvp-comment-887-2 ἀστακτὶ 1104

mvp-comment-887-3 ὧδε 1105

mvp-comment-888-1 κατείχομεν γνώμῃ 1106

mvp-comment-889-1 δράσω 1107

mvp-comment-890-1 ἐνθάδ’ ἐκβεβλημένον 1108

mvp-comment-891-1 σὺν 1109

mvp-comment-891-2 τῆς 1110

mvp-comment-891-3 γέρων … πίνος 1111

mvp-comment-891-4 συγκατῴκηκεν 1112

mvp-comment-892-1 πλευρὰν μαραίνων 1113

mvp-comment-892-2 κρατὶ ὀμματοστερεῖ 1114

mvp-comment-892-3 ἀκτένιστος 1115

mvp-comment-892-4 ᾄσσεται 1116

mvp-comment-893-1 ἀδελφὰ … τούτοισιν 1117

mvp-comment-893-2 φορεῖ 1118

mvp-comment-894-1

"And I testify that I have come to be, have proved myself, most vile in regard to thy maintenance"
:

mvp-comment-894-2 ἥκειν 1119

mvp-comment-894-3 τροφ. ταῖς σαῖσιν 1120

mvp-comment-894-4 μὴ )ξ ἄλλων 1121

mvp-comment-895-1 ἀλλὰ … γὰρ 1122

mvp-comment-895-2 Ζηνὶ σύνθακος θρόνων 1123

mvp-comment-895-3 Αἰδὼς 1124

mvp-comment-895-4 ἐπ’ ἔργοις πᾶσι 1125

mvp-comment-895-5 καὶ πρὸς σοί 1126

mvp-comment-896-1 τῶν γὰρ ἡμαρτημένων 1127

mvp-comment-896-2 προσφορὰ 1128

mvp-comment-897-1 τί σιγᾷς 1129

mvp-comment-898-1 μή μ’ ἀποστραφῇς 1130

mvp-comment-898-2 ἀτιμάσας 1131

mvp-comment-899-1 ὦ σπέρματ’ 1132

mvp-comment-899-2 ἐμαὶ δ’ 1133

mvp-comment-900-1 ἀλλ’ ὑμεῖς γε 1134

mvp-comment-901-1 δυσπρόσοιστον 1135

mvp-comment-901-2 στόμα 1136

mvp-comment-902-1 ὡς μή μ’ ἄτιμον … οὕτως ἀφῇ με 1137

mvp-comment-902-2 Elmsley's conjecture

οὕτως ἀφιῇ
, which Hartung adopts, is unmetrical.
ἵημι
has ι^ always in pres. subj. and opt.: Il. 13.234
μεθίῃσι μάχεσθαι
 : Hom. Hymn. 4.152
προίῃ βέλεα στονόεντα
: Theogn. 94
γλῶσσαν ἱῇσι κακήν
: Od. 2.185
ὧδ’ ἀνιείης
. In Aristoph. Lys. 157
τί δ); ἢν ἀφίωσιν ἄνδρες ἡμᾶς, ὦ μέλε
(so the MSS.), Kuster brought in a gratuitous error by writing
ἀφίωσ’
, which Dindorf has adopted. (As Chandler says,
ἀφίωσι
is a false accent for
ἀφιῶσι
. Accent. , 2nd ed. § 794, cp. § 820.) In the pres. indic., imper., inf., and part., ι— is normal, but Homeric verse usually has ι^ in thesis (as when
ἵενται
ends a line); and the part.
ἱείς
(
ι—
in Aristoph. Eq. 522 ) occurs with
ι^
in Trag. ( Aesch. Th. 493 , etc.). Cp. El. 131 n.

mvp-comment-902-3 ἀφῆται 1138

mvp-comment-902-4 τοῦ θεοῦ γε 1139

mvp-comment-902-5 προστάτην 1140

mvp-comment-902-6 οὕτως 1141

mvp-comment-903-1 χρείᾳ 1142

mvp-comment-904-1 τὰ πολλὰ ῥήματα 1143

mvp-comment-904-2 ἢ τέρψαντά τι 1144

mvp-comment-905-1 ἀφωνήτοις 1145

mvp-comment-906-1 ἐξηγεῖ 1146

mvp-comment-907-1 ποιούμενος ᾀρωγόν 1147

mvp-comment-907-2 ὧδε 1148

mvp-comment-907-3 ἀνέστησεν 1149

mvp-comment-908-1 λέξαι τ’ ἀκοῦσαί τ’ 1150

mvp-comment-908-2 ἐξόδῳ 1151

mvp-comment-909-1 βουλήσομαι 1152

mvp-comment-910-1 θέλω δὲ λέξαι 1153

mvp-comment-911-1 πανάρχοις 1154

mvp-comment-911-2 γεραίτερος 1155

mvp-comment-911-3 In Attic prose the comparative of

γεραιός
always implies the contrast between youth and a more advanced period of life ( Thuc. 6.18
ἅμα νέοι γεραιτέροις βουλεύοντες
). The use in the text, to denote merely priority of birth (Attic
πρεσβύτερος
), is Ionic, as Her. 6.52
ἀμφότερα τὰ παιδία ἡγήσασθαι βασιλέας, τιμᾶν δὲ μᾶλλον τὸν γεραίτερον
: and poetical, as Theocr. 15. 139
ὁ γεραίτατος εἴκατι παίδων
 .

mvp-comment-912-1 ἀνθ’ ὧν 1156

mvp-comment-913-1 λόγῳ 1157

mvp-comment-913-2 εἰς ἔλεγχον 1158

mvp-comment-913-3 χειρὸς οὐδ’ ἔργου 1159

mvp-comment-914-1 μάλιστα μὲν 1160

mvp-comment-914-2 τὴν σὴν Ἐρινὺν 1161

mvp-comment-914-3 μάντεων 1162

mvp-comment-915-1 The γὰρ seems meant to introduce a further account of what the

μάντεις
at Argos had said; but no such explanation is given. γὰρ cannot be explained, at this point in the story, as the mere preface to narrative ( O. T. 277 ); that should have stood in 1292. Yet I would not write δ’ ἄρ’ . The hearers are left to understand that he found the seers among his new allies.

mvp-comment-915-2 τὸ Δωρικόν 1163

mvp-comment-916-1 γῆς Ἀπίας 1164

mvp-comment-917-1 τετίμηνται 1165

mvp-comment-917-2 δορί 1166

mvp-comment-918-1 τὸν ἑπτάλογχον … στόλον 1167

mvp-comment-919-1 πανδίκως 1168

mvp-comment-919-2 τοὺς τάδ’ ἐκπρ 1169

mvp-comment-920-1 εἶεν 1170

mvp-comment-921-1 αὐτός τ’ 1171

mvp-comment-922-1 τάξεσιν … λόγχαις 1172

mvp-comment-923-1 δορυσσοῦς 1173

mvp-comment-923-2 δορυσσόος 1174

mvp-comment-923-3 Ἀμφιάρεως 1175

mvp-comment-923-4 τὰ πρῶτα μὲν … πρῶτα δέ 1177

mvp-comment-923-5 οἰωνῶν ὁδοῖς 1178

mvp-comment-924-1 The thirteen lines (1313— 1325) which contain the list of chiefs illustrate the poet's tact. There is no pomp of description, no superfluous detail; but the three most interesting points are lightly touched,—the character of Amphiaraus, the character of Capaneus, and the parentage of Parthenopaeus. The dramatic purpose is to dignify the strife, and to heighten the terror of the father's curse, which falls not only on the guilty son, but on his allies (cp. 1400).

mvp-comment-924-2 The list agrees in names, though not in order, with Aesch. Th. 377—652 , where each name is associated with one of the seven gates of Thebes, as probably in the epic Thebaid. (Cp. Ant. 141 ff., where the seven champions appear as having been slain and spoiled ,—the special doom of Amphiaraus being ignored.) Eur. Phoen. 1104 —1188 also has this list, except that Eteoclus is omitted, and Adrastus (the one survivor) substituted. In his Supplices Eteoclus and Adrastus are both included, while either Hippomedon or Amphiaraus seems to be omitted.

mvp-comment-925-1 Τυδεύς 1179

mvp-comment-925-2 Ἐτέοκλος 1180

mvp-comment-925-3 Ἱππομέδοντ’ 1181

mvp-comment-926-1 κατασκαφῇ … δῃώσειν πυρί 1182 πυρί 1183 κατασκαφῇ 1184

mvp-comment-926-2 Καπανεὺς 1185

mvp-comment-927-1 Παρθενοπαῖος 1186

mvp-comment-927-2 ἐπώνυμος τῆς πρόσθεν ἀδμήτης 1187 χρόνῳ μητρὸς λοχευθείς 1188

mvp-comment-927-3 χρόνῳ 1189

mvp-comment-928-1 ἐγὼ δὲ σός 1190

mvp-comment-928-2 πότμου 1191

mvp-comment-929-1 ἀντὶ παίδων ... ἱκετεύομεν 1192

mvp-comment-930-1 μῆνιν ...εἰκαθεῖν 1193

mvp-comment-930-2 τοὐμοῦ 1194

mvp-comment-931-1 Since πάτρας must clearly go with both verbs, it would seem that, aided by ἐξέωσε , the poet has used ἀπεσύλησεν with the constr. of

ἀπεστέρησεν
. Elsewhere we find only
ἀποσυλᾶν τί τινος
, to strip a thing from a man (cp. 922), or
ἀποσυλᾶν τινά τι
, to strip a man of a thing. We cannot here take πάτρας as gen. of the person robbed, (
"snatched me from my country,"
) since ἐξέωσε implies that the expeller is within the country. Nor could we well read πάτραν (
"took my country from me"
).

mvp-comment-932-1 χρηστηρίων 1195

mvp-comment-932-2 προσθῇ 1196

mvp-comment-932-3 ἔφασκ’ 1198

mvp-comment-933-1 κρηνῶν 1199

mvp-comment-934-1 πιθέσθαι 1200

mvp-comment-934-2 The v.l. πτωχὸς for ξένος doubtless arose from a feeling that the word repeated should be that which immediately preceded μέν (cp. on 5

): but
πτωχοὶ καὶ ξένοι
forms one notion, in which
ξένοι
is the more important element.

mvp-comment-935-1 θωπεύοντες 1201

mvp-comment-936-1 δαίμον’ 1202

mvp-comment-936-2 ἐξειληχότες 1203

mvp-comment-936-3 ἐξειληφότες 1204

mvp-comment-937-1 τάλας 1205

mvp-comment-937-2 ἁβρύνετι 1206

mvp-comment-938-1 φρενί 1207

mvp-comment-939-1 ὄγκῳ 1208

mvp-comment-939-2 σὺν 1209

mvp-comment-939-3 διασκεδῶ 1210

mvp-comment-939-4 στήσω … στήσω δ’ 1211

mvp-comment-939-5 ἄγων 1212

mvp-comment-940-1 οὐδὲ σωθῆναι 1213

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

312-314. mvp-comment-174-1 Αἰτναίας .. Θεσσαλίς The epithets (see Scholia) are picturesque, and also call attention to the condition of Ismene, who having still a home at Thebes is well clothed and mounted, whereas Antigone is barefoot and sunburnt, infr. 348-349. The particular meaning of Αίτναία πῶλος and Θεσσαλὶς κυνῆ is of course uncertain, except that the one implies a horse of a fine breed and the other denotes a comfortable and shady riding-hat.

313. mvp-comment-175-1 βεβῶσαν Essay on Language p. 97.

313. mvp-comment-175-2 κρατὶ δ᾽ ἡλιοστερής The implied use of στέρομαι = to avert, keep away, may be paralleled from Aesch. Supp. 1063, Ζεὺς ἄναξ ἀποστεροίη γάμον δυσάνορα δάϊον. Essay on Language p. 98. Hence the substitution of ἡλιοσκεπής, or ἡλιοστεγής, which, equally with this, would be ἅπαξ λεγόμενα, is unnecessary. The use of the word is more natural if κρατί is dative of reference, than when κρατί is taken separately as a locative dative, though both constructions may be thought of; i.e. And on her head to screen it from the sun. Cp.

her sun-expelling mask.
Shak. G. of V. 4, 2.

315. mvp-comment-176-1 τί φῶ; The uncertainty of Antigone continues until Ismene is dismounted and advances towards them. The single iambus is very unusual.

316. mvp-comment-177-1 ἢ γνώμη πλανᾷ Or does my judgment deceive me?

318. mvp-comment-178-1 τάλαινα Unhappy that I am. Said in the distraction of her doubt.

319-320. mvp-comment-179-1 φαιδρὰ ἀπ᾿ ὀμμάτων | σαίνει με She greets me with bright looks from her eyes. σαίνω is first to wag the tail (said of a dog or other quadruped). then to make signs of recognition or of pleased attention, and lastly is transferred to the impression produced on the person to whom this action is directed. Cp. Ant. 1214, παιδός με σαίνει φθόγγος: Aesch. Cho. 194, σαίνομαι δ' ὑπ᾿ ἐλπίδος.

320-321. mvp-comment-180-1 σημαίνει κάρα And in doing so convinces me that this is certainly no other than Ismene's self.

320-321. mvp-comment-180-2 δῆλον after σημαίνει has been thought pleonastic, but the pleonasm is expressive.

323. mvp-comment-181-1 μαθεῖν To learn the fact, that this is Ismene.

324-325. mvp-comment-182-1 O father and sister, names that I love to use. The name is often interchanged with the thing or person named. Cp. Phil. 234, Φ. ὦ φίλτατον φώνημα. Eur. Suppl. 801-802.

325-326. mvp-comment-183-1 How hardly I have found you, and now again (δεύτερον) how hardly I can see you for sorrow; i. e. And now that I have found you, my sorrow almost prevents me from seeing you. For λύπη, which is dat. of cause, see Essay on Language § 14. p. 21.

327. mvp-comment-184-1 ὁρᾶν Essay on Language § 33. P. 57.

328-331. mvp-comment-185-1 Editors since Musgrave, who followed the Scholiast's hint, μὴ ἄρα πρὸς τὸ δυσαθλία; have transposed these lines, placing 328 between 330 and 331, on the ground that Ismene cannot be supposed to touch herself. Not much is gained by this: for Ismene is rather struck by the contrast of her father's and her sister's mode of life to her own at Thebes than by the misery she shares with them. And the construction of a reply, in this sort of dialogue, is not to be pressed too closely. Cp. amongst other passages, El. 1036, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν ἐπίστω γ' οἱ μ᾿ ἀτιμίας ἄγεις. | ΧΡ. ἀτιμίας μὲν οὔ.

328-331. mvp-comment-185-2 προμηθίας δὲ σοῦ, where προμηθίας has really no construction. Perhaps all that is meant is, I too am linked in this unhappy circle. For δυσάθλιαι, which has been questioned, cp. δυστάλαινα, δυσπόνητος, δυσθρήνητος.

331. mvp-comment-186-1 δυσμόρου δ' And you must include me, unhappy. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 341, τρίτη δ᾽ ἐγὼ δύστηνος ὡς ἀπόλλυμαι. There is no reason for changing δέ το τε.

333. mvp-comment-187-1 λόγοις The meaning of the dative is varied from the cause to the concomitant. By reason of longings? Yes, and also with intelligence, which I myself would bring. The reading λόγων is probably an early conjecture. The repetition of the same construction in a slightly different sense is frequent in the language of this period.

334. mvp-comment-188-1 ξύν, κ.τ.λ. is said by attraction for ξὺν τούτῳ, ὅνπερ εἶχον πιστὸν μόνον.

335. mvp-comment-189-1 πονεῖν i. e. εἰς τὸ πονεῖν. And what is become of the young men your brothers in the matter of this service? Cp infr. 342, οὓς μὲν εἰκὸς ἦν πονεῖν τάδε. A similar construction occurs in Eur. Οr. 1473, ποῦ δῆτ᾽ ἀμύνειν οἱ κατὰ στέγας Φρύγες; cp. Il. 13.312, ἀμύνειν εἰσὶ καὶ ἄλλοι. ποῖ is more expressive than ποῦ (which there is no reason to suppose the Scholiast to have read in the text).

335. mvp-comment-189-2 ποῖ, SC. οἶχονται. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 405, ποῖ ποὶ δὴ νερτέρων τυραννίδες; For the implied negative in epexegesis expressing defect, i. e. πονεῖν = τὸ μὴ πονεῖν, see Essay on Language § 36. p. 63. The other explanation of the Scholiast, ποῦ τοῦ πονεῖν εἰσι, is not so good.

336. mvp-comment-190-1 They are, where they are. For similar expressions, implying something too bad to name, see О. Т. 1376, βλαστοῦσ᾽ ὅπως ἔβλαστε, and note.

336. mvp-comment-190-2 δεινὰ δ᾽ ἐν κείνοις τὰ νῦν Things are terrible with them now.' The Scholiast in saying vῦν δὲ τὰ ἐν ἐκείνοις δεῖνά ἐστιν implies this reading. Others read δεινὰ τὰν κείνοις τανῦν.

338. mvp-comment-191-1 φύσιν .. τροφάς In character and mode of life.

338. mvp-comment-191-2 Hdt. 2. 35, Αἰγύπτιοι.. τὰ πολλὰ πάντα ἔμπαλιν τοῖσι ἀλλοῖσι ἀνθρώποισι ἐστήσαντο ἤθεα καὶ νόμους.

338. mvp-comment-191-3 ἐν τοῖσι αἱ μὲν γυναῖκες ἀγοράζουσι καὶ καπηλεύουσι· οἱ δὴ ἄνδρες, κατ' οἴκους ἐόντες, ὑφαίνουσι.

341. mvp-comment-192-1 τάξω βίου τροφεῖα The outdoor means of supporting life. Cp.

341. mvp-comment-192-2 πυρεῖα, means of obtaining fire. There is a slight redundancy in βίου τροφεία. Cp. 343, κατ' οἶκον οἰκουροῦσιν, and see Essay on Language § 40. p. 75.

342. mvp-comment-193-1 σφῶν δ᾽ And in your case. Dat. of relation: i. e. You find it so. Some editors, taking σφῷν as gen., suppose the dual to be used of the two pairs of children.

344. mvp-comment-194-1 κακά For the accusative. see Essay on Language § 16. p. 23, and cp. O. T. 264, τάδ᾽ ὡσπερεὶ τοὐμοῦ πατρὸς | ὑπερμαχοῦμαι. δυστήνου (sc. ἐμοῦ) agrees κατὰ σύνεσιν with ἐμά, but is also resumed with ὑπερπονεῖτον.

345. mvp-comment-195-1 Antigone had followed her father as soon as she had the strength.

351. mvp-comment-196-1 ἡγεῖται The sentence returns to the indicative from the participial construction. Essay on Language p. 64. 1, b.

351. mvp-comment-196-2 τὰ τῆς οἴκοι διαίτης (1) The comforts of the life at home, or (2) What subsistence she herself may find; cp. Τr. 730, ᾧ μηδέν ἐστ᾽ οἴκοι βαρύ.

355. mvp-comment-197-1 ἃ τοῦδ᾽ ἐχρήσθη σώματος] 'Which were given respecting me. Essay on Language § 9. p. 13. The context shows that the oracle here referred to was one obtained by the Thebans respecting Oedipus after they had sent him forth. The plot of the O. C. does not permit us to suppose that Creon had waited for the response, according to O. T. 1438-1439, before hastening the king's exile. This oracle directed the course of Oedipus towards Athens.

356. mvp-comment-198-1 γῆς ὅτ᾽ ἐξηλαυνόμην The order of events is inverted in the narration. Essay on Language p. 78.

358. mvp-comment-199-1 τίς σ᾽ ἐξῆρεν οἴκοθεν στόλος A figurative inversion of the common expression, αἴρειν στόλον, What errand sped thee from home?

360. mvp-comment-200-1 μὴ οὐχί, κ.τ.λ. Added in explanation of κενή. οὐχί is added because of the previous oὔ. Essay on Language p. 49.

362. mvp-comment-201-1 Seeking how thou wast maintained or where.' ποῦ κατοικοίης defines the notion of τροφήν.

363. mvp-comment-202-1 παρεῖσ᾽ ἐάσω Cp. Ο. Τ. 283, μὴ παρῇς τὸ μὴ οὐ φράσαι.

365. mvp-comment-203-1 ἀμφὶ .. παίδοιν Dative. ‘Encompassing your wretched sons.'

367-369. mvp-comment-204-1 This passage has been generally regarded as corrupt, and ἦν ἔρις has been changed to ἦν ἔρως, ἦν ὅρος, ἤρεσεν. Some edd., including Meineke, who reads κραίνεσθαι, explain, They contended with Creon, urging that the throne should be left vacant. And the authors of the punctuation in AV³ and of the gloss ὁ τε πλεονάζει, must have so taken the words. But, as this gloss indicates, the expression Κρέοντί τε for πρὸς Κρέοντα is not quite natural or harmonious here. And the antithesis of ἔρις κακή in what follows, assisted by the parallelism of construction, ἐᾶσθαι.. λαβέσθαι. isstrongly in favour of the MS. reading. ἔρις may be supported by supposing the brothers to have jointly resisted a party amongst the citizens who desired that one of them should take his father's throne. Cp. Thuc. 6. 35, τοῖς δέ (sc. ἔρις ἦν). Beforetime their contention was that they should relinquish -to Creon their rights in the throne, and that the city should not suffer pollution; professing in their argument to have regard to the ancient ruin of their race, etc. ἐᾶσθαι is middle voice. Cp. λαβέσθαι infr. For λόγῳ, cp. infr. 1296, οὔτε νικήσας λόγῳ. And for τε.. μηδὲ Eur. Iph. Τ. 697, ὄνομά τ᾽ ἐμοῦ γένοιτ' ἂν οὐδ᾽ ἄπαις δόμος | πατρῷος οὑμὸς ἐξαλειφθείη ποτ᾿ ἄv. Essay on Language p. 65.

371. mvp-comment-205-1 *ἀλειτηροῦ Although ἀλιτήριος has the first short, ἀλειτηρός may be defended by comparing ἀλείτης, ἄλοιτος. Eustathius mentions ἀλιτηρός as a word used by Sophocles. If any change is needed, ἀλειτηροῦ, which is partly supported by the reading ἀλητηροῦ, is the most probable. The heaven-sent infatuation, which leads to their destruction, is assisted by their own evil mind.

374. mvp-comment-206-1 χὼ μὲν νεάζων And the younger spirit.' The participle implies youthful qualities (impetuosity, ambition etc.), as well as the fact of being the younger. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 713, μῶν νεάζων οὐχ ὁρᾷς ἃ χρή σ᾽ ὁρᾶν, addressed to Eteocles.

376. mvp-comment-207-1 Pherecydes and Hellanicus differed about this. See Schol. Eur. Phoen. 71.

377. mvp-comment-208-1 ὁ πληθύων Lit. the more numerous, i. e. having the majority of voices. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 860.

378. mvp-comment-209-1 τὸ κοῖλον Ἄργος The hollow vale of Argos. Cp. infr. 1301, Ἄργος ἐς τὸ Δωρικόν.

381. mvp-comment-210-1 ὡς αὐτίκ᾿Ἄργος κ.τ.λ. For the construction, see Essay on Language § 21. p. 44, and cp. O. T. 101, ὡς τόδ' αἷμα χειμάζον πόλιν. It has been suggested to read αὐτός for Ἄργος, (with καθέξων in 381), but the words express the motive held out to the Argive followers of Polynices, to whom he would naturally represent the struggle as one between their city and Thebes. Cp. infr. 1325, ἄγω τὸν Ἄργους ἄφοβον εἰς Θήβας στρατόν.

381. mvp-comment-210-2 τὸ Καδμεῖον πέδον Καδμεῖον here, as in Ο. Τ. 29, δῶμα Καδμεῖον, is the more poetical reading.

381. mvp-comment-210-3 τιμῇ καθέξον Το obtain with honour.' For τιμῇ = ἐντίμως, see Essay on Language § 14. p. 20.

381. mvp-comment-210-4 ἢ πρὸς οὐρανὸν βιβῶν Or to raise it to heaven. According to the frequent vaunt of the Homeric heroes, ἠε τῳ εὖχος ὀρέξομεν, ἠε τις ἡμῖν. ΙΙ. 12. 328, 13. 487. Cp. Aesch. S. c. T. 46. ἢ πόλει κατασκαφὰς θέντες λαπάξειν ἄστυ Καδμείων βίᾳ | ἢ γῆν θανόντες τήνδε φυράσειν φύνῳ. Should the expedition fail, the splendour of the Argive host would be the measure of the glory of the Cadmeans.

382. mvp-comment-211-1 ἀριθμὸς.. λόγων A mere heaping together of words. Cp. Eur. Eu Tro. 476, οὐκ ἀριθμὸν ἄλλως, ἀλλ᾽ ὑπερτάτους Φρυγῶν.

383. mvp-comment-212-1 ὅποι At what point? i.e. how long they must first continue. A pregnant expression, like ἡ μάχη ἐτελεύτα ἕως ὀψέ, Thuc. 3. 108. Cp. El. 958, ποῖ γὰρ μενεῖς ῥάθυμος;

385. mvp-comment-213-1 ἤδη γὰρ ἔσχες ἐλπίδ' What? had you begun to entertain a hope?' ὡς ἐμοῦ θεοὺς | ὥραν τιν᾿ ἕξειν] A confusion of the two constructions, ὡς ἕξοιεν θεοί and ἕξειν θεούς. Cp. Aesch. Eum. 799, αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ μαρτυρῶν | ὡς ταῦτ᾽ Ὀρέστην δρῶντα μὴ βλαβὰς ἔχειν. See Essay on Language § 36. p. 67.

387. mvp-comment-214-1 τοῖς νῦν.. μαντεύμασιν By reason of what is now feretold.

390. mvp-comment-215-1 εὐσοίας χάριν For their own preservation. εὐσοίας is mentioned in the Scholia as the better reading.

391. mvp-comment-216-1 τοιοῦδ᾽ ὑπ᾿ ἀνδρός Who can derive prosperity from such as I am? Herm. reads τίς ἄν *τι τοιοῦδ᾽ ἀνδρός..;

392. mvp-comment-217-1 φασί They say. The subject is to be inferred from l. 413, viz. ἄνδρες θεωροὶ Δελφικῆς ἀφ᾽ ἑστίας. For similar vagueness of subject in reference to a reported prophecy, cp. О. Т. 110.

395. mvp-comment-218-1 φλαύρον A poor business. There is not much good in raising up in age one who fell in youth. On the omission of ἄv, see Essay on Language § 27. P. 45.

401. mvp-comment-219-1 θύραισι κειμένου Laid at their doors. The word κειμένου, though perhaps chosen with a view to what follows, as expressing Oedipus' presentiment of his end, has more immediate reference to the inactivity of age. A young warrior received within their gates might be of some avail, but what profit was there in an old man lying idle beyond their confines? Cp. the Homeric λυγρῷ ἐπὶ γήραος οὐδῷ, and Shakespeare's unregarded age in corners thrown. Y 2

402. mvp-comment-220-1 The difficulty of interpreting this line has arisen from not observing that the dative is governed of δυστυχῶν (= δυστυχῶς γιγνόμενος) as well as of βαρύς. Cp. supr. 308. Your burial, happening in a way unfortunate for them, is a danger to them.' According to this rendering, the point of the reply is obvious enough. It needs no divine intimation to teach us this.'

405. mvp-comment-221-1 μηδ᾽ ἵν᾽ ἂν σαυτοῦ κρατῆς But not in any place where you will be your own master. The subjunctive, as usual, after a relative adverb with av. Some editors have changed κρατῆς το κρατοῖς. But although this is favoured by the explanation of the Scholiast, ὅπου κρατοῖς ἂν σαυτοῦ, and by the comparison of l. 190, the change is unnecessary. For the adversative μηδέ, cp. El. 132, οὐδ᾽ ἐθέλω προλιπεῖν τύδε.

406. mvp-comment-222-1 κατασκιῶσι Will they overshadow me? Cp. infra 1707 τύμβον.. εὐσκιαστον: The Two Noble Kinsmen, 1, 1, Human grace Affords them dust and shadow.

407. mvp-comment-223-1 ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐᾷ.. σ᾽ Sc κατασκιασθῆναι Θηβαίᾳ κύνει.

407. mvp-comment-223-2 τοῦμφυλον αἷμα The guilt of parricide. Cp. Ant. 703, νεῖκος.. ξύναιμον : О. Т. 1406. Cp. Plat. Legg. 9. 871 D. (of the punishment of homicide), ὁ δὲ ὀφλὼν θανάτῳ ζημιούσθω καὶ μὴ ἐν τῇ τοῦ παθόντος χώρᾳ θαπτέσθω, where it is added that the intention to kill is to be punished in the same way, except in the matter of burial.

410. mvp-comment-224-1 ποίας φανείσης συναλλαγῆς On what conjuncture having arisen?' 414. ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν With regard to me.' Cp. Ο. Τ. 829, ἐπ᾿ ἀνδρὶ τῷδ᾽ ἂν ὀρθοίη λόγον.

415. mvp-comment-225-1 οἱ μολόντες Those who returned, viz. the θεωροί.

416. mvp-comment-226-1 For the indefinite Tus in a question, cp. supra 66, ἄρχει τις αὐτῶν; The use of τις = πότερος, where only two are spoken of, is remarkable.

419-420. mvp-comment-227-1 It may seem unreasonable in Oedipus to expect his sons to disregard the interest and the law of Thebes. But he is absorbed in his own destiny, and is full of indignation at the thought of being taken to the borders of his country without being restored to it. This he thinks that his sons ought to have interfered to prevent. He regards the oracle as expressing the intention of Phoebus to glorify him at the expense of his countrymen if they persist in rejecting him. See Introduction, p. 281, note 2.

420. mvp-comment-228-1 φέρω δ᾽ ὅμως But still, such are the news I bring. Cp. Aesch. Pers. 248, φέρει σαφές τι πρᾶγος κλύειν : Ag. 639, ὅταν . . πήματ᾿ ἄγγελος.. φέρῃ. 421 ff. The correspondence of clauses is not perfect, a new train of thought being introduced with δέ in 422. The broken thread is resumed in 425-426. Oedipus is saying, Let their quarrel go on to the end, and may the end be the worst for both. His passion interrupts him with the further thought, Let me only have the ending of it, and then-. For the expression, cp. Pind. Nem. 10. 29, 30, πᾶν δὲ τέλος ἐν τὶν ἔργων.

424. mvp-comment-229-1 ἔχονται The present here rather marks the beginning than the continuance of the action. Take hold of,' i.e. obstinately engagein, rather than cling to, persevere in. Cp. ἔργου ἔχεσθαι.

424. mvp-comment-229-2 κἀπαναιροῦνται δόρυ. And are taking up the spear for battle.' As ἐπαναιρεῖσθαι φιλίαν, πόλεμον, are quite good expressions, there seems no reason to suspect this more literal use. And δόρυ, as elsewhere, almost = πόλεμον. ἐπαναίρονται is less suitable, for the sons of Oedipus, though preparing for the contest, are not actually engaged.

425. mvp-comment-230-1 ὡς οὔτ᾽ ἂν κ.τ.λ. This clause adds an explanation of ἐν ἐμοὶ τέλος γένοιτο, defining the manner of the end which Oedipus desired, and which he would bring about if the matter rested with him. May it be mine to determine the end-which I will determine in such a way that neither he who now holds the sceptre and the throne should remain,' etc ὡς (with the optative and av) is not here exactly equal to ἵνα with subjunctive or optative, which would mean ' (May it be mine to end it) that so neither he that holds the sceptre might remain,' etc. A slightly different way of taking the words is, May it be mine, etc:-so (since then) neither would he.etc.

426. mvp-comment-231-1 πάλιν Nor should he that is gone forth ever come back again.' The reading of Par. A, though only slightly supported by MS. authority, is possible. Cp. infr. 1372, and note. 'Nor should he that is gone forth ever be restored to his own city. But that in the text is simpler and more natur l. Cp infr. 601, ἔστιν δέ μοι | πάλιν κατελθεῖν μήποθ᾽, ὡς πατροκτόνῳ.

428. mvp-comment-232-1 So dishonoured by being thrust forth from my native land. For the expression of the predicate by an adverb, see Essay on Language § 24. p. 40; and cp. Plat. Rep 3.406 C, ὁ ἡμεῖς γελοίως οὐκ αἰσθανόμεθα.

429. mvp-comment-233-1 οὐκ ἔσχον Stayed me not, nor shielded me, but suffered me to be made a homeless outcast and proclaimed a banished man. For the dative αὐτοῖν, see Essay on Language § 13. p. 19. f.

432. mvp-comment-234-1 κατήνυσεν Fulfilled for me this boon, which I then desired. κατήνεσεν, assented to, accorded, the reading of B, is less forcible in the connection. The question is not one of promise but of performance. For the desire of Oedipus, see O. T. 1410 sqq., 1449 sqq.

436. mvp-comment-235-1 ἔρωτος τοῦδε In respect of this desire I found no helper. For the genitive, see Essay on Language § 9. p. 13. The genitive after ὠφελεῖσθαι, e. g. τοῦδε τοῦ νόμου, Antiphon, 131. 27, which has been quoted as parallel is really different from this, being a genitive of participation.

437. mvp-comment-236-1 When my grief was now all mellowed.' Cp. ὀργὴ πέπειρα, Τr. 728, and the metaphorical sense of ὠμός.

438-439. mvp-comment-237-1 And I began to know that my rage had run to excess and been too severe in chastising my former errors.' It is more probable that τῶν.. ἡμαρτημένων is genitive in regimen with κολαστήν than genitive of comparison after μείζω, (Aesch. Cho. 519), because μείζω thus receives an exclusive emphasis. Forμείζων, used thus absolutely, cp. Plat. Soph. 231 Α, μὴ μεῖζον αὐτοῖς προσάπτωμεν γέρας, and Heindorf's note.

441. mvp-comment-238-1 χρόνιον I say, after a time; resuming χρόνῳ (437), which contains the point of the sentence. The time is not imagined as being really long, though it seemed so to Oedipus. For a similar use of χρόνιος, cp Eur. Cycl. 249, χρόνιος δ᾽ εἴμ᾿ ἀπ᾿ ἀνθρώπων βορᾶς: Οr. 740.

443. mvp-comment-239-1 ἔπους σμικροῦ χάριν For a little word; i, e. For want of a little word, which they might have spoken for Cp. Eur. Or. 84, νεκρὸς γὰρ οὗτος οὔνεκα σμικρᾶς πνοῆς. He is a corpse, were it not for a little breath. And for a similar thought, Thuc. 3. 53, ὁ μὴ ῥηθεὶς λόγος τοῖς ὧδ᾽ ἔχουσιν αἰτίαν ἂν παράσχοι ὡς εἰ ἐλέχθη σωτήριος ἂν ἦν.

444. mvp-comment-240-1 σφιν Cp. αὐτοῖν, supra 430. 446-447. I have subsistence and a land where I can dwell safely.

448-449. mvp-comment-241-1 εἰλέσθην . . χθονός (1) Chose the possession of a throne, and to sway the sceptre, and to be sovereign over the land. This arrangement of the words gives a better rhythm than if (2) θρόνους is made to depend, with σκήπτρα, or κραίνειν. (3) Another explanation makes θρόνους and σκῆπτρα to be taken with εἱλέσθην, and also, in a secondary construction, with κραίνειν as epexegetic infinitive. Cp. O. Τ. 237, κράτη τε καὶ θρόνους νέμω. For the accusative, cp. the use of the passive verb in Phil. 140, παρ' ὅτῳ Διός σκῆπτρον ἀνάσσεται.

450. mvp-comment-242-1 τοῦδε Sc. ἐμοῦ.

451. mvp-comment-243-1 οὔτε σφιν It has been thought that either οὗ τι in 450 must be changed to οὔτε, or οὔτε here to οὐδέ. If so, the latter is preferable, for οὔ τι is expressive.

453. mvp-comment-244-1 συννοών *τε *τἀξ ἐμοῦ And comparing with them in thought those ancient oracles, which I bring from my own store, the same which Phoebus once accomplished upon me. Cp. supr. 93

453. mvp-comment-244-2 τὰ ἐξ ἐμοῦ, Which come from my side; i. e. in making the comparison. Cp. Τr. 631, τὸν πόθον τὸν ἐξ ἐμοῦ. The correction, although questioned by Dindorf, who supposes some deeper corruption of the text, is probable enough.

457-460. mvp-comment-245-1 ἐὰν γὰρ . . ἀρεῖσθε Cp. 72, ὡς ἄν, προσαρκῶν μικρά, κερδάνῃ μέγα: 647-648, ΘΗ. μέγ᾽ ἂν λέγοις δώρημα τῆς συνουσίας. ΟΙ. εἰ σοί γ᾽ ἅπερ φὴς ἐμμενεῖ τελοῦντί μοι: 815, τίς δ'᾽ ἄν με τῶνδε συμμάχων ἕλοι βίᾳ; 1206, ΟΙ. μόνον, ξέν', εἴπερ κεῖνος ὧδ᾽ ἐλεύσεται, μηδεὶς κρατείτω τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς ποτέ: 1489, 90, ΟΙ. ἀνθ᾽ ὧν ἔπασχον εὖ, τελεσφόρον χάριν δοῦναί σφιν, ἥνπερ τυγχάνων ὑπεσχόμην. The extension of present aid is everywhere put forward as a condition of the permanent blessing. The task of defence which he here entreats them to undertake, is fulfilled by them in resisting Creon.

457. mvp-comment-246-1 μου is genitive of the object, for which see Essay on Language § 9. p. 12.

458. mvp-comment-247-1 πρὸς * ταῖσδε ταῖς σεμναῖσι δημούχοις θεαîs] In addition to these dread goddesses that protect your deme. This seems the most probable as it is the simplest emendation of this line. Others are πρὸς ταῖσι τρισσεμναῖσι, ὁμοῦ | προστάτισι ταῖς, ξὺν προστάταις. πρός harmonizes well with the emphatic ὑμεῖς. σύν has probably been inserted as a gloss L² has ταῖς σεπταῖσι.

459. mvp-comment-248-1 ἀλκὴν ποιεῖσθαι 'Το undertake defence,' like τὰς μήχας ποιούμενος, Εl. 302: ἐποιοῦντο βουλήν, Hdt. 6. 101.

459. mvp-comment-248-2 τῇδε μὲν πόλει This reading is preferred (1) for the antithesis; (2) because tῇ may be accounted for as a corruption of yῇ explaining πόλει.

460. mvp-comment-249-1 τοῖς δ᾽ ἐμοῖς ἐχθροῖς Oedipus reverts to his own personal objects, as in 308-309 (εὐτυχὴς ἵκοιτο τῇ θ᾽ αὑτοῦ πόλει ἐμοί τε). although, as in that passage, the chief stress is laid on what is mentioned first. At the same time he leaves it to be implied that his enemies are the enemies of Athens. Cp. infra 646, ἐν ᾧ κρατήσω τῶν ἔμ᾽ ἐκβεβληκότων. The corruption in Lis due to itacism. 461 ff. The coming of Theseus is still delayed, and the scruples of the chorus cannot be set at rest without some formal expiation on the part of Oedipus. The presence of Ismene enables this to be made without Oedipus or Antigone leaving the stage. She goes to perform this service, and the chorus continue harping on the interminable theme (adding the confessional to the sacrifice), when Theseus at last enters bringing with him a very different spirit. His coming clears the air at once.

463. mvp-comment-250-1 ἐπεμβάλλεις You add, to give further weight, as if throwing into the scale. Cp. supra 293, λόγοισι γὰρ οὐκ ὠνόμασται βραχέσι. And since you add in what you have now said that you are yourself the saviour of this land. λόγῳ is partly instrumental dative, partly governed by ev in ἐπεμβάλλεις.

464. mvp-comment-251-1 παραινέσαι.. τὰ σύμφορα Το give you advice that will assist you.'

465. mvp-comment-252-1 προξένει 'Give me friendly instructions. On the uses of this word, see Essay on Language p. 97. It is here specially applicable to the position of Oedipus as a stranger, and of the chorus who are advising him in a matter where they are most of all at home.

466. mvp-comment-253-1 θοῦ νυν καθαρμὸν τῶνδε δαιμόνων) Institute a propitiation of these deities. Lit. A purification in relation to them. For the genitive, see Essay on Language $9. p. 12; and for θέσθαι in this sense, O. T. 134, τήνδ ἔθεσθ᾽ ἐπιστροφήν. vuv seems preferable to vûv after the imperative.

467. mvp-comment-254-1 καὶ κατέστειψας πέδον ὧν (or αὐτῶν) may be supplied from ἐφ᾽ ἅs. The reading is doubtful. κατέστεψας is unmeaning; but κατάστεψον πέδον, Adorn the ground with garlands, receives some support from the description that follows. For κατέστειψας, which gives the most natural meaning and best rhythm, cp. supra 56, ὃν δ' ἐπιστείβεις τόπον. And for the thought, cp. supr. 84, 5 and note.

470. mvp-comment-255-1 ἐνεγκοῦ Have brought. ferendam cura.

470. mvp-comment-255-2 δι᾽ ὁσίων χειρῶν θιγών The minute directions belong to the ceremonial of the place possibly still in use in the time of Sophocles. ὁσίαι χεῖρες here as in Aesch. Cho. 378, are hands pure from guilt. So Horace, Od. 3. 23. 17, Immunis aram si tetigit manus, Non sumtuosa blandior hostia Mollivit aversos Penates Farre pio et saliente mica, in lines which also recall the spirit of infra 498-499, ἀρκεῖν γὰρ οἶμαι κἀντὶ μυρίων μίαν | ψυχὴν τάδ' ἐκτίνουσαν, ὴν εὔνους παρῇ. The precept to wash the hands (Schndw.) is probably included, but with a ceremonial significance. Cp. Αj. 655, λύμαθ᾽ ἁγνίσας ἐμά.

472. mvp-comment-256-1 τέχνη Abstract for concrete. See Essay on Language p. 94; and cp. Phil. 35, 36, φλαυρουργοῦ τινὸς τεχνήματ᾿ ἀι δρός. For the (Epic) form of the sentence, cp. Τr. 752, ἀκτή τις ἐστιν. ἔιθα, κ.τ.λ.

473. mvp-comment-257-1 κρᾶτα is probably plural here, as in Pind. Fr. 3 (Eustath. 1715. 63), τρία κρᾶτα. Cp. the Homeric κράατα.

473. mvp-comment-257-2 ἀμφιστόμους Projecting on either side, rather than On either side the brim. See L. and S. s. ν. στόμα IΙI. The latter part of the compound is unemphatic.

475. mvp-comment-258-1 οἰός * γε νεαρᾶς *εὐπόκῳ μαλλῷ λαβών] The insertion of γε (Heath) is the most probable of the various corrections (νεώρου, νεώρους, νεώρας, νεώρει, ν ογνῆς, νεαλοῦς, γε νεαρᾶς) of the first part of this line. γε refers to κρόκαισιν, which it confirms and amplifies. Yes, with a fillet of wool from a young ewelamb.' νεοτόκῳ, lately born, would express the feeling of ceremonial superstition with more exactness than veo- πόκῳ, which is made up by combining the MS. readings, and may mean either newly-clipped (an etymological use, for which cp. Essay on Language pp. 99, 100) or consisting of young wool.' But there is no motive for a twofold resolution (2) in this line, and εὐπόκῳ gives a simple and natural sense. Cp. Τr. 675, ἀργῆτ᾽ οἰὺς εὐείρῳ πύκῳ. Supposing ve to have crept in from the previous word, the variation of reading may be easily accounted for.

477. mvp-comment-259-1 χοὰς χέασθαι.. Hom. Od. 10. 518, χοὴν χεῖσθαι. Cp. Crat. Com. 2. p. 151, ἄγε δὴ πρὸς ἕω πρῶτον ἁπάντων ἵστω καὶ λάμβανε χερσὶν | σχῖνον μεγάλην: Sen. Oed. 338, Altum taurus attollens caput primos ad ortus positus expavit diem. The place of offering was probably on the eastward side of the hill. See Introd. p. 273.

478. mvp-comment-260-1 ἦ.. χέω Cp. supr. 195, ἢ ᾿σθῶ;

479. mvp-comment-261-1 πηγάς El. 894-895, νεορρύτους | πηγὰς γάλακτος.

479. mvp-comment-261-2 τὸν τελευταῖον δ' ὅλον i. e. τὸν τελευταῖον κρωσσὸν χέοις ἂν ὅλον.

480. mvp-comment-262-1 With what am I to fill this that I may make the libation?" πλήσας is suggested by ὅλον. θῶ would properly govern χοήν (cp. 466), for which κρωσσών is substituted. Three vessels are to be used for the threefold libation (Ant. 431, χοαῖσι τρισπώνδοισι τὸν νέκυν στέφει); two partly filled with pure water, the third, filled to the brim with water and honey.

481. mvp-comment-263-1 The asyndeton as elsewhere in enumeration. Cp. supr. 17. Instead of a third element, which the hearer might have expected, the prohibition of wine is interposed.

481. mvp-comment-263-2 μελίσσης For the metonymy, see Essay on Language p. 81. Schol. ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ ποιοῦν.

481. mvp-comment-263-3 τος τὸ ποιούμενον. καὶ ἐν Ἐρασταῖς: Γλώσσης μελίσσης τῷ κατερρυηκότι.

481. mvp-comment-263-4 μηδέ But not. Cp. 405, note.

482. mvp-comment-264-1 The earth covered with dark leaves;' whether referring to the dark greensward (a slight variation of γαῖα μέλαινα), or to the deep shades of Colonus. Cp. supr. 157 ff.

483. mvp-comment-265-1 ἐξ ἀμφοῖν χεροῖν Οn both sides.' For αὐτῇ = εἰς αὐτήν, see Essay on Language § 11. p. 18. Philochorus quoted by Schol. on l. 100: οὐ μόνον θυσίας νηφαλίους, ἀλλὰ καὶ ξύλα τινά.

484. mvp-comment-266-1 τάσδ᾽ ἐπεύχεσθαι λιτάς Το add this prayer.' Cp. O. T. 1275 and note.

485. mvp-comment-267-1 μέγιστα γάρ The prayer appears to Oedipus more important than the external rites, which, however, he is ready to fulfil. τούτων is neuter.

487. mvp-comment-268-1 σωτήριον The passive use of adjectives in -τήριος is rare, and it has been attempted to give σωτήριον here an active meaning, inasmuch as Oedipus proclaims himself the saviour of Athens. But the chorus have very imperfectly realised this conception, and the expression of it would have seemed to them little in accordance with the humility of a prayer. The terms of petition are general, like the description of the previous ceremony. That they would receive their suppliant and afford him safety. See Essay on Language p. 99.

488. mvp-comment-269-1 αἰτοῦ σύ γ', αὐτός γε adds a slight emphasis to the reply.

489. mvp-comment-270-1 μηκύνων βοήν Speaking aloud. Cp. the Homeric μακρὸν ἀϋτεῖν, and the like. According to Polemo, quoted by the Scholiast on this line, the sacred rites of the Eumenides were entrusted to the family of the Ἡσυχίδαι.

491. mvp-comment-271-1 θαρσῶν ἂν παρασταίην I will defend you without fear. Said in reply to ll. 458-459. For the fears of the chorus, cp infr. 1483-1485.

494. mvp-comment-272-1 χώ τι δεῖ πρόστασσε And appoint us what we must do. For the order of words, see Essay on Language $ 41. P. 77.

496. mvp-comment-273-1 τῷ μὴ δύνασθαι μήθ᾽ ὁρᾶν 'The want of strength as well as sight. Two objections have been made to this reading-that μήτε requires a preceding μήτε, and that δύνασθαι cannot be equivalent to ἰσχύειν. But the former objection appears arbitrary (cp. supra 451): and with regard to the latter, for δύνασθαι applied to bodily strength, cp. II. 20. 360, ὅσσον δύναμαι χερσίν τε ποσίν τε: Lys. 168. 26, τῷ σώματι δύνασθαι : Plat. Phaedr. 269 D, and the Homeric use of δύναμις. See also Essay on Language pp. 95, 96. Compare Shakspeare, As You Like It, 2. 7, Oppressed with two weak evils, age and hunger.'

498-499. mvp-comment-274-1 The value of a pure intention is similarly asserted in the two lines, preserved from the Aletes of Sophocles by Stobaeus, ψυχὴ γὰρ εὔνους καὶ φρονοῦσα τοῦνδικον | κρείσσων σοφιστοῦ παντός ἐστιν εὑρέτις. Fr. 98.

499. mvp-comment-275-1 τάδ᾽ ἐκτίνουσαν Paying these dues. The change from the MS. reading is very slight, being a correction of the simplest itacism (cp. Ant. 856, where L gives ἐκτείνεις for ἐκτίνεις) and ἐκτείνουσαν has never been successfully defended.

500. mvp-comment-276-1 τι is idiomatic. Cp. Tr. 305, εἴ τι δράσεις: Phil. 286, κἄδει τι . . διακονεῖσθαι.

500. mvp-comment-276-2 μόνον δέ . . λείπετ' But leave me not alone. This gives the reason for 497, where only one of the two sisters is told to go.

502. mvp-comment-277-1 ὑφηγητοῦ γ' άνευ Hermann preferred ὑφηγητῶν ἄνευ οἱ ὑφηγητοῦ δίχα.

504. mvp-comment-278-1 χρῆ ᾿σται is equivalent to a future of χρή. Where I am to find. This form, which occurs also in a fragment of the Triptolemus quoted by the Scholiast on this passage, Fr. 539, is variously explained as a contraction for χρεία ἔσται or for χρὴ ἔσται or χρῆ ἔσται, the form χρή or χρῆ being differently regarded as a primitive indeclinable noun, whence also χρῆν and χρῆναι, or as a contraction of χρεία. Linwood conjectures ἵνα χρῆ ᾿σταί μ' ἐφευρεῖν ταῦτα. But Ismene's perplexity is more simply expressed in the text.

504. mvp-comment-278-2 κείται.

505. mvp-comment-279-1 τοὐκεῖθεν ἄλσους Sc. ὁ τόπος

506. mvp-comment-280-1 ἔποικος A resident, who had charge of the sacred utensils, etc.

509. mvp-comment-281-1 οὐδ᾽ εἰ πονῇ τις On the meaning of the subjunctive with εἰ, see Essay on Language § 27. p. 44. For the reading of Par. A, cp. O. T. 317, and v. rr. Ismene having gone to perform the sacred rites, there is a further pause before the arrival of Theseus. 510, foll. The pause is filled by a short lyrical interchange between the several members of the chorus and Oedipus, who is thus brought to make confession while Ismene performs her offering. But his confession is a defence. The chorus, although importunate, are gentler than in the former scene. The opening line is scanned as choriambic, although it may perhaps be questioned whether the Ionic metre, which occurs above in 11. 212 ff., is not more suitable here and in 517. The other metres in the Ist strophe and antistrophe are logaoedic, with one iambic colon (518 = 532); those of the 2nd strophe and antistrophe are mostly iambic. The scheme is the following :clcclcla=alalcc-a (?) 기기 9-

509. mvp-comment-281-2 The distribution of the parts amongst the members of the chorus is very uncertain. Most probably the coryphaeus speaks throughout the Ist strophe, and then the others interpose in turn.

510. mvp-comment-282-1 δεινὸν μὲν τὸ πάλαι κείμενον ἤδη κακόν, ὦ ξεῖν, ἐπεγείρειν Cp. the proverb, μὴ κινεῖν κακὸν εὐ κείμενον (Plat. Phil. p. 40), and Plat. Legg. 2. 657 E (of the poet's power of recalling the feelings of youth), τοῖς δυναμένοις ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν νεύτητα μνήμῃ ἐπεγείρειν.

514. mvp-comment-283-1 The hapless misery which you encountered. arising ing without remedy.' For the genitive (= περὶ τᾶς, κ.τ.λ.), see Essay on Language § 9. p. 13, and cp. El. 317, τοῦ κασιγνήτου τί φής;

514. mvp-comment-283-2 ξυνέστας] Cp Hdt. 7. 170, λιμῷ συνεστεῶτας : 8.74, τοιούτῳ πόνῳ συνέστασαν.

515. mvp-comment-284-1 πρὸς ξενίας An extension of the common idiom, πρὸς θεῶν, etc. Essay on Language § 19. p. 29, and cp. Aj. 492-493, πρός τ' ἐφεστίου Δίος | εὐνῆς τε τῆς σῆς, ἡ συνηλλάχθης ἐμοί.

516. mvp-comment-285-1 τᾶς σᾶς *ἃ πέπονθ᾽ ἀναιδή This conjectural reading. as well as the other which has been proposed, τᾶς σᾶς, πέπον, ἔργ᾿ ἀναιδῆ, has been suggested partly by the metrical difficulty, and party by the fact that the Scholiast appears to have taken ἀναιδή (ἔργα) to be governed by ἀνοίξῃς. Schol. μὴ πρὸς τῆς σῆς ξενίας ἀναπτύξῃς μου τὰ ἀναιδῆ ἔργα. Against πέπον it may be argued (1) that the word occurs nowhere in tragedy, (2) that where it occurs in Homer it is accompanied either by a noun in the vocative, or by the interjection 4, (3) that it is improbable that the first person (represented in the Scholion by μου) should be omitted. The word πέπονθα is in accordance with the spirit of other passages of the play (268, 537), and should be retained. ἃ πέπονθα is substituted for ἔργα, to which ἀναιδῆ is added as an emphatic epithet, My unwitting deeds of shame. Hence ἔργα was naturally inserted as a gloss. Besides the metrical objection to the MS. reading. ἀνοίξῃς requires an object, and the asyndeton takes from the smoothness of the passage without increasing its force.

517. mvp-comment-286-1 τό τοι πολὺ.. ἀκοῦσαι I would hear once for all aright what is matter of loud and still undying rumour.

517. mvp-comment-286-2 πολύ, i. e. σφόδρα λεγόμενον: cp. 305.

517. mvp-comment-286-3 πολὺ γάρ, ὦ γέρον, τὸ σὸν ὄνομα, κ.τ.λ.

517. mvp-comment-286-4 μηδαμὰ λήγον Cp. the similar expression, of a report still rife, in O. T. 731, ηὐδᾶτο γὰρ ταῦτ᾽ οὐδέ πω λήξαντ᾿ ἔχει. On the double accusative arising from the cognate use, see Essay on Language p. 25. For ξέν᾽ perhaps ξεῖν᾽, cp. infr. 530.

519. mvp-comment-287-1 στέρξον Be content, i. e. μὴ ἀγανακτοῦ ἐρόμενος ταῦτα. It is doubtful whether this line should be altered by adding δ' or γ', reading παῖδες with the MSS. in l. 532, or we should read as in the text. Cp. infr. 1692 and note. For _ _ u u _ _ in a similar passage, see El. 828, 830, 841, 843.

521. mvp-comment-288-1 ἤνεγκον κακότατα I was the victim of wretchedness. For the use of φέρω, cp. Ο. Τ. 1320, διπλά σε πενθεῖν καὶ διπλᾶ φέρειν κακά.

521. mvp-comment-288-2 ἤνεγκον *ἑκὼν μέν] If this reading is adopted, it must be acknowledged that we have here a trace of the philosophical ἀπορία (already suggested by the Epic oxymoron ἑκὼν ἀέκοντί γε θυμῷ) which is treated at length in Plato (Legg. 860, 867 A) and Aristotle (Eth. N. 3. 1), viz. whether a man acts voluntarily when he is ignorant of the circumstances. See Introd. p. 270. Oedipus must be supposed to mean that in killing Laius and in marrying Jocasta he had acted with a right good will (ср. О. Т. 422-423, τὸν ὑμέναιον ὃν δόμοις | ἄνορμον εἰσέπλευσας, εὐπλοίας τυχών), but that as he acted in ignorance, the actions were not his deliberate choice.

521. mvp-comment-288-3 ἄκων is certainly wrong and is due to some reminiscence of l. 694. Cp. Eur. Ι. Τ. 512, τρόπον γε δή τινα οὐχ ἑκὼν ἑκών. The expression is more forcible if, by a slight change. for θεὸς ἴστω, θεὸς ἴστωρ is read, as in the text.

523. mvp-comment-289-1 τούτων δ᾽ αὐθαίρετον οὐδέν For the transposition of the dactyl. in the glyconic line, see Christ's Metrik, § 119. P. 94. To avoid it here, ἐθελητόν, ἀκάθαρτον (G. Wolff), have been conjectured.

524. mvp-comment-290-1 ἀλλ᾽ ἐς τί But with regard to what? Sc. ἤνεγκες κακότατα. The curiosity of the chorus becomes impatient and peremptory.

525. mvp-comment-291-1 κακᾷ μ᾿ εὐνᾷ By an evil nuptial the city all unknowing bound me in a fatal wedlock. μέν has probably ἐν arisen from a gloss ἐν (κακᾷ μ' εὐνᾷ). Others read κακᾷ μ᾿ ἐν εὐνᾷ and alter l. 513. The correction ἴδριν is unnecessary. Oedipus has already proclaimed his own unconsciousness, and there is a certain point in adding that the citizens were equally unconscious of the nature of their gift. Cp. infr. 983, οὐκ εἰδότ᾽ οὐκ εἰδυῖα.

526. mvp-comment-292-1 γάμων ἐνέδησεν ἄτᾳ is Homeric. Il.2. 111, Ζεύς με μέγα Κρονίδης ἄτῃ ἐνέδησε βαρείῃ.

527. mvp-comment-293-1 Didst thou, as I hear it told. consummate a dishonoured nuptial with thine own mother?' ματρόθεν, i. e. πρὸς ματρός, in that relationship! !' The force of the middle voice in ἐπλήσω is ethical (Essay on Language § 31. p. 52): Didst thou to thy confusion, etc. For πίμπλημι here, cp. Aesch. Pers. 132, λέκτρα δ᾽ ἀνδρῶν πόθῳ πίμπλαται δακρύμασιν.

532. mvp-comment-294-1 My children and my curses.' Because sprung from an incestuous marriage. There is no allusion to the sons.

533. mvp-comment-295-1 ματρὸς κοινᾶς Of a mother who was also mine. It has been urged in defence of the MS. arrangement of the persons, that the responsive ἰὼ δῆτα is more suitable to the chorus. But in the present instance it belongs to the chorus to utter expressions of horror, and to Oedipus to confirm them. Cp. supr. 532, ὦ Ζεῦ.

534. mvp-comment-296-1 This line has been variously altered, but even if the true reading is lost. the general meaning is probably retained. The mistake about the persons has very naturally arisen from the suddenness with which Oedipus takes up the word. This helps to indicate the excitement of the situation.

535. mvp-comment-297-1 κοιναί γε γε assents to what the chorus were about to say, which Oedipus emphasises by the words κοιναί γε πατρός. On κοιναί, see Essay on Language p. 95. Own sisters of their own sire.

536. mvp-comment-298-1 ἰὼ δῆτα Cp. Εl. 842, ΗΛ.

536. mvp-comment-298-2 φεῦ. ΧΟ. φεῦ δῆτ᾽· ὀλοὰ γάρ: Eur. Troad. 1230, ΕΚ. οἴμοι. ΧΟ. οἴμοι δῆτα σῶν ἀλάστων κακῶν.

536. mvp-comment-298-3 μυρίων γ᾽ ἐπιστροφαὶ κακῶν Everrenewed onset of unnumbered woes. The image is that of an enemy who harasses an army by returning repeatedly to the attack with fresh forces. Cp. infr. 1045, δαΐων ἀνδρῶν .. ἐπιστροφαί, Αr. Eq 244, ἐπαναστρέφου. For the nominative after the interjection, cp. Tr. 1046-1047, ὦ .. μοχθήσας ἐγώ.

537. mvp-comment-299-1 I have suffered woes that will not be forgotten.' ἄλαστα is first governed by ἔπαθον, then ἔχειν is added pleonastically, and ἄλαστα is resumed. Sc. ἔπαθον ἄλαστα, ὥστε ἄλαστα ἔχειν τὰ παθήματα.

539-541. mvp-comment-300-1 I received a gift, which would that I, the much-enduring one, had never so benefited the state as to receive from her the privilege of choosing.' i. e. Would that I had not benefited the state so as to be honoured with the choice gift of Jocasta. In this rendering. which takes the words in a natural order, it is assumed that μή, with the past tenses of the indicative in a relative clause, may express the wish to reverse a fact in past time. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 363-366, μηδ' ὑπὸ κ.τ.λ. .. τέθαψαι. The analogy of the uses of the historical tenses with εἰ, ἄν, ἵνα, ὡς, ὅπως, to express an impossible supposition, inference, motive, or result, is all that can be urged in favour of this, except the comparison of a passage which has generally been thought corrupt, infr. 1713, ἰώ, μὴ γᾶς ἐπὶ ξένας θανεῖν ἔχρηζες. It may be further suggested, that in both these instances the unusual construction is assisted by an echo (or harmonic) of ὤφελον in ἐπωφέλησα, and of ἐχρῆν in ἔχρηζες. If this hypothesis is rejected, we must fall back on Hermann's interpretation of the words: Accepi, inquit Oedipus, donum, uxorem dicens, quod ego ut nunquam a civitate debuerim accipere, ei profui, i. e. quod ut mihi non unquam daret civitas, merui. quum eam a Sphinge liberavi. ταλακάρδιος is a poetical expansion of τάλας: cp. πυκνόπτερος, μελάμφυλλος, etc.

544. mvp-comment-301-1 παπαῖ Properly an exclamation of pain; here transferred to mental suffering, in accordance with the metaphor in έπαισας. The punctuation of the line is uncertain, i. e. it is uncertain whether δευτέραν is an epithet of νόσον, οι πληγήν is to be supplied with δεντέραν, and ἐπὶ νόσῳ νόσον is in apposition to the sentence. For ἐπὶ νόσῳ νόσον, cp. Hom. Il. 14.130, μή που τις ἐφ᾽ ἕλκεῖ ἕλκος ἄρηται.

545-546. mvp-comment-302-1 ἔχει.. πρὸς δίκας τι i. e. τὸ ἐμὸν ἔχει τι πρὸς δίκας. My case has some defence, something to be urged on the ground of justice. Cp. Ant. 598, οὐδ᾽ ἔχει λύσιν. Eur. Suppl. 64, ἔχομεν δ᾽ ἔνδικα.

546. mvp-comment-303-1 τί γάρ reiterates the expostulation of the chorus. τί γάρ has a different shade of meaning in each of the three lines, 538, 542.546: (1) Why, what then? (2) But what of this? γάρ implying that excuse will not stand. (3) Why, what is that?' 547. The MS. reading ἄλλους is condemned both by sense and metre, but the correction is uncertain. ἁλούς, adopted in the text. may be explained in two ways, (1) ἁλοὺς ἐφόνευσα = ἑάλων φονεύσας, manifesto occidi, I murdered, and was convicted of the murder:' ἁλούς proleptic. Essay on Language § 38. p. 70. Cp. Ο. Τ. 1213. ἐφεῦρέ σ᾽ ἄκονθ᾽ ὁ πάνθ᾽ ὁρῶν χρόνος. (2) Being overtaken (by destiny) I did commit the murder. The former meaning gives rather a better force to καί, and is on the whole preferable, although the construction of the participle is more natural in the latter interpretation. Porson conjectured ἄνους, (3) being infatuated. but this implies a degree of self-accusation, from which Oedipus in the Oed. Col. is wholly free.

546. mvp-comment-303-2 καὶ ὤλεσα The pleonastic expression has the solemnity of a legal indictment. Oedipus, while pleading innocence of intention, will not soften the actual crime.

548. mvp-comment-304-1 νόμῳ δὲ καθαρός The construction of these words is absorbed in the remaining clause. The word καθαρός was specially applicable to one who had been acquitted of the crime of homicide. Cp. Plato, Rep. 5. 451 Β, ἀλλὰ μέντοι, εἶπον, καθαρός γε καὶ ἐκεῖ ὁ ἀφεθείς, ὡς ὁ νόμος λέγει: Legg. 9. 865 Β, ἰατρῶν δὲ περὶ πάντων, ἂν ὁ θεραπευόμενος ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν ἀκόντων τελευτᾷ, καθαρὸς ἔστω κατὰ νόμον. ὡς ὁ νόμος λέγει and κατὰ νόμον in these passages answer to νόμῳ here. Essay on Language § 14. p. 20.

550. mvp-comment-305-1 κατ᾿ ὀμφὴν σὴν *ἀποσταλείς Brought by thy voice, i. e. by the message sent at the request of Oedipus (1.70). The word ὀμφή has sacred associations, and is used in this play, supr. 102, of Apollo; infr. 1351, of Oedipus again: not elsewhere by Sophocles.

550. mvp-comment-305-2 ἀποσταλείς, the reading of Turnebus, is nearer to the indications of our present MSS. than any other correction, and gives a better sense than ὃς ἐστάλη οι ἐφ᾽ ἁστάλη. See where our lord Theseus, Aegeus son, hath set forth at thy word, and is now come.' 551. The words from ἔν τε to διαφθοράς are introduced by an afterthought, and modify the rest of the sentence. Cp. Phil. 1411, foll., αὐδὴν τὴν Ἡρακλέους ἀκοῇ τε κλύειν λεύσσειν τ᾽ ὄψιν. See Essay on Language p. 65 f. VOL. I. Z

553. mvp-comment-306-1 ὁδοῖς ἐν ταῖσδε In thy present coming. Cp. Εl. 68, δέξασθέ μ᾽ εὐτυχοῦντα ταῖσδε ταῖς ὁδοῖς.

555. mvp-comment-307-1 σκευή Thine apparel: which, though travel-stained, is that of a noble Theban.

556. mvp-comment-308-1 ὃς εἰ A pronominal expression to avoid the repetition of the name. Ср. О. Т. 1036, ὥστ᾽ ὠνομάσθης ἐκ τύχης ταύτης ὃς εἶ.

556. mvp-comment-308-2 καί σ᾽ οἰκτίσας, κ.τ.λ. With a native generosity which Oedipus fully acknowledges (infr. 570), Theseus is ready to protect Oedipus, although not ignorant of the nature of his misfortunes (supr. 305 ff., 551 ff.). But he imagines himself to be conferring a favour, and knows not that the blind wayfarer has more to give than to receive. Once more, therefore, we have a fine contrast between the real and the apparent situation.

557. mvp-comment-309-1 θέλω *' περέσθαι This correction of the Laurentian reading (=τὶ) is more probable than the reading of B, in which o' is awkwardly repeated. For the aphaeresis, cp. Phil. 592, λέγω. 'πὶ τοῦτον, κ.τ.λ.

560. mvp-comment-310-1 δεινήν, κ.τ.λ. Either (r1) 'For that were a hard task indeed from which, on your mentioning it, I should recoil.' Or (2) For that would be a terrible fortune, of which the mention would make me shrink from giving relief. The latter rendering gives a more natural meaning to πρᾶξις (cp. Hdt. 3. 65, ἀπέκλαιε πᾶσαν τὴν ἑωυτοῦ πρήξιν), and is more in accordance with what follows (ὑπεκτραποίμην, κ.τ.λ.). And the usual question addressed to suppliants is, What is your misfortune? rather than, What would you have us do?' For the sentiment, cp. Eur. Suppl. 339. 40, (Θησ.) ὡς τοῖς ἐμοῖσιν οὐχὶ πρόσφορον τρόποις | φεύγειν τὰ δεινά. For the emphatic use of the adj., see Essay on Language p. 80.

562. mvp-comment-311-1 ὡς οἶδά γ᾽ αὐτός Yes, for I know, that I myself was brought up a stranger, as thou art now. Theseus was reared by his grandfather Pittheus at Troezen.

563. mvp-comment-312-1 χώς τις πλεῖστ᾽ ἀνήρ i. e. καὶ ὥς τις ἀνὴρ πλεῖστα (sc. ἤθλησεν). Ι have laboured, as any one hath laboured most:' i. e. as much as any one (ut qui plurima). The more usual expression would be ὅσα τις πλεῖστα.

564. mvp-comment-313-1 ἤθλησα κινδυνεύματα Cognate accusative.

564. mvp-comment-313-2 ἐν τὠμῷ κάρᾳ In my own person : i. e. they were dangers to my own life which I met by my own exertions, referring to the adventure with Sciron, etc. For ev, cp. the expression, ἐν τῷ Καρὶ ὑμῖν ὁ κίνδυνοos, Plat. Lach. 187 B.

565. mvp-comment-314-1 ὥσπερ σὺ νῦν For the nominative, cp. Aj. 525, ἔχειν σ᾽ ἂν οἶκτον ὡς κἀγώ: Il. 6.477, γενέσθαι | παῖδ᾽ ἐμόν, ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ.

568. mvp-comment-315-1 σοῦ Essay on Language p. 13, 4 a.

569-570. mvp-comment-316-1 Theseus, your nobleness in brief speech hath spared me the necessity of saying much.' Either (1) βραχέα is the subject of δεῖσθαι, or (2) the object of φράσαι, the subject of δεῖσθαι being τὸ πρᾶγμα. The object of παρῆκεν is absorbed in the following clause. Cp. Eur. Fr. 310, πάρες .. ὑπερβῶαι . . νάπη. For δέομαι passive, cp. Hdt. 4. 11, ὡς ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι πρήγμα εἴη, μηδὲ πρὸς πολλοὺς δεόμενον κινδυνεύειν. Essay on Language § 31. p. 54. δεῖται in Plat. Meno, 79 C, although impersonal (sc. τὸ πρᾶγμα ἢ ὁ λόγος), is middle voice and not passive as here.

572. mvp-comment-317-1 καὶ γῆς ὁποίας ἦλθον This was implied in σκευή, l. 555 .

574. mvp-comment-318-1 χώ λόγος διέρχεται ‘And our conference draws to an end." This is the reading of the best MSS. διοίχεται, which is much commoner in this sense (cp. e. g. Eur. Suppl. 530), is given as a various reading in Par. A, and appears in the text of two other MSS. διέρχε ται is best supported by comparing Dem. 541. 22, πάντα δ᾽ ἤδη διεξεληλύθει, and Plat. Rep. 6. 484 Α, διὰ μακροῦ τινος διεξελθόντος λόγου.

577-578. mvp-comment-319-1 τὰ δὲ .. καλή But the gain to be obtained from it is better than beauty. Cp. Eur. Fr. 552, νοῦν χρὴ θεᾶσθαι, *νοῦν· τί τῆς εὐμορφίας | ὄφελος, ὅταν μὴ τὰς φρένας καλὰς ἔχῃ; 580-581. For the datives, see Essay on Language § 11. p. 18.

577-578. mvp-comment-319-2 ἡ σὴ προσφορά 'The advantage which you bring.

583-584. mvp-comment-320-1 τὰ δ᾽ ἐν μέσῳ, κ.τ.λ. The construction is defined (with ποιεῖ) as the sentence proceeds. For the irregular accusative, see Essay on Language § 15. p. 22.

585. mvp-comment-321-1 ἐνταῦθα γάρ μοι κεῖνα συγκομίζεται For in this favour those other offices are comprised; i. e. To assure him burial by the hand of Theseus was to assure him protection from the attempt of Creon.

586. mvp-comment-322-1 (1) You have indeed summed up your request in one short word. Or (2) This favour which you ask consists in a little thing:' in re levi positam gratiam. Ellendt. For (1) cp. Εl. 673, ἐν βραχεῖ ξυνθεὶς λέγω.

587. mvp-comment-323-1 Yet be advised; this is no trifling matter.' ἁγὼν ὅδε, the struggle or endeavour or peril implied in granting the request.

588. mvp-comment-324-1 πότερα τὰ τῶν σῶν ἐκγόνων, ἢ μοῦ λέγεις;] In saying this, are you speaking of what relates to your sons, or of something that relates to me?' Theseus is bewildered by the words of Oedipus. Hearing of a contest in connection with the death of Oedipus, he naturally thinks of the impending conflict at Thebes, of which he cannot but have heard something. But, as he afterwards says more explicitly, he does not Z2 see how he is to be involved in this. Cp. Phil. 1384, λέγεις δ' Ἀτρείδαις ὄφελος, ἢ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοὶ τόδε;

589. mvp-comment-325-1 ἀναγκάζουσι If this is the right reading, which, from the frequent confusion of and o, is not quite certain (cp. 603), the present is used with future meaning, as in Aesch. Prom. 513, ὧδε δεσμὰ φυγγάνω: ib. 525, δεσμοὺς ἀεικεῖς καὶ δύας ἐκφυγγάνω. Cp. Phil. 1379, κἀποσώζοντας νόσου. The subject of κομίζειν (sc. τινά, cp. infr. 933) is to be gathered from the context. They will enforce my being taken thither;' i. e. They will force the consent of Theseus and the Athenians to this. Universe eos intelligit, qui tradendi Oedipi potestatem habeant. Herm. Another rendering has been proposed - They will use compulsion against me to carry me back thither.' But such a use of ἀναγκάζω with the infinitive is inadmissible.

590. mvp-comment-326-1 εἰ θέλοντ᾿ ἄν γ᾽, οὐδὲ σοὶ φεύγειν καλόν] The reading of this line is very doubtful, but that of L is as probable as any other. There would seem to be an ellipse of some such words as βούλοιντο κομίζειν or the like. But if they chose to fetch you in case of your being willing to go, then on your part it would not be becoming to remain in banishment.' Cp. Od. 15. 280, οὐ μὲν δή σ' ἐθέλοντά γ᾽ ἀπώσω νηὸς έΐσης. Hes. Op. D. 355. For the ellipse with el, see Essay on Language § 28. p. 47; and cp. Αj. 886, εἴ ποθι πλαζόμενον λεύσσων: Pind. Ol. 2. 56, εἰ δέ νιν ἔχων τις ? And, for av with the present participle, infra 761, κἀπὸ παντὸς ἂν φέρων, κ.τ.λ. Reisig's emendation θέλοντάς γ', But (consider) whether it be not unbecoming in you to be exiled from them desiring to have you back again, although not convincing, deserves consideration.

591. mvp-comment-327-1 ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽, ὅτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἤθελον, παρίεσαν This line, at first sight, rather favours the emendation θέλοντάς γ' in 590. But αὐτός = of my own accord, may distinguish between mere willingness and the spontaneous wish, and the same word has not necessarily the same reference even in two consecutive lines. Cp. supr. 71, μόλοι and note.

592. mvp-comment-328-1 But then, foolish man, anger in calamity is hurtful.'

593. mvp-comment-329-1 ὅταν μάθῃς μου • When you have learnt the nature of the case from me.'

594. mvp-comment-330-1 ἄνευ γνώμης Without consideration.

596. mvp-comment-331-1 γένους Of your birth, rather than Of your race.

598. mvp-comment-332-1 τί.. νοσεῖς; What is this greater than human misery at which you hint?

598. mvp-comment-332-2 μεῖζον ἢ κατ᾿ ἄνθρωπον, because greater than the extreme calamities which had previously befallen him.

602. mvp-comment-333-1 Why then should they have you brought, if you are still to live apart from them? For the middle voice of πεμψαίατο, cp. Ο. Τ. 434, σχολῇ σ᾽ ἂν οἴκους τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἐστειλάμην.

603. mvp-comment-334-1 There is the same variance here as in 589. The future is unobjectionable.

605. mvp-comment-335-1 In that it is fated for them to be defeated,' either (1) ' in this land' or (2) by this land. For (1) cp. infr. 1546, μοῖρ᾽ ἀνδρὶ τῷδε τῇδε κρυφθῆναι χθονί, 621-622, ἵν᾽ οὗμος .. νέκυς .. αὐτῶν θερμὸν αἷμα πίεται, 644-646, ὁ χῶρός ἐσθ᾽ ὅδε.. ἐν ᾧ κρατήσω τῶν ἔμ᾽ ἐκβεβληκότων: 786, τῶνδ᾽ ἀπαλλαχθῇ χθονός. In favour of (2) (which the Schol. gives) it may be urged that it makes the rejoinder of Theseus appear more natural.

606. mvp-comment-336-1 τἀμὰ κἀκείνων For the omission of the article with the second word, cp. Εl. 991, καὶ τῷ λέγοντι καὶ κλύοντι σύμμαχος. Essay on Language § 21, p. 33.

609. mvp-comment-337-1 συγχεῖ Obliterates, and so destroys. Cp. Hdt. 4. 127, συγχέειν τοὺς πατρωΐους τάφους: 7. 115, τὴν ὁδὸν .. οὐ συγχέουσι : Eur. Ι. Α. 37, καὶ ταὐτὰ πάλιν γράμματα συγχεῖς: Plat. Theaet. 194 E, ἀσαφῆ δὲ (ἴσχουσι) καὶ οἱ τὰ ὑγρὰ (ἔχοντες μνημεῖα) ὑπὸ γὰρ τοῦ συγχεῖσθαι ταχὺ γίγνεται ἀμυδρά. Essay on Language p. 105.

609. mvp-comment-337-2 παγκρατής i. e. πάντα κρατῶν. Allmastering. Cp. ὁ παγκρατὴς ὕπνος, Αj. 675.

610. mvp-comment-338-1 φθίνει.. φθίνει Ε. on L. § 44. p.83. 612,13. καὶ πνεῦμα ταὐτὸν .. πόλει] 'And the same spirit does not last between friend and friend, nor between city and city. By a metaphor derived from the most ancient, and not altogether lost in modern times, the feeling of love or hatred is regarded as a breathing or exhalation. Cp. Aesch. Agam. 1206, ἀλλ᾽ ἦν παλαιστὴς κάρτ᾿ ἐμοὶ πνέων χάριν: Aesch. Cho. 34, κότον πνέων: ib. 952, ὀλέθριον πνέουσ᾽ ἐν ἐχθροῖς κότον: Aesch. Suppl. 30, δέξαιθ'.. αἰδοίῳ πνεύματι χώρας: Plut. Dion. p. 197, τὸ τῶν δημαγωγῶν πνεῦμα. Hence a change of feeling is further compared to a change of wind, as in Aesch. Ag. 219, φρενὸς πνέων δυσσεβῆ τροπαίαν. For the thought, cp. Aj. 679 ff. ὅ τ᾽ ἐχθρὸς ἡμῖν ἐς τοσόνδ' ἐχθαρτέος κ.τ.λ.

613. mvp-comment-339-1 βέβηκεν Almost = ἔστιν, -see Essay on Language p. 97,-but (in relation to πνεῦμα) retaining the notion of fixity or continued movement. For the perfect of βαίνω, expressing a settled state or condition, cp. esp. infra 1684, νῷν δ᾽ ὀλεθρία νὺξ ἐπ᾿ ὄμμασιν βέβακε.

615. mvp-comment-340-1 καὖθις φίλα It often happens in Greek that both sides of a complex statement are put forward when only one is relevant. Cp. Aj. 679 ff. quoted above, Trach. 134-135, τῷ δ᾽ ἐπέρχεται | χαίρειν τε καὶ στέρεσθαι. But the poet may have chosen to indicate the possibility of future reconcilement between Athens and Thebes.

616. mvp-comment-341-1 εἰ Emphatic, =κεί. Cp. Ant. 551, εἰ γέλωτ᾽ ἐν σοὶ γελῶ. Essay on Language § 28. p. 47.

616-617. mvp-comment-342-1 εὐημερεί καλῶς *τό Elmsley mentions that some MSS. give τέ acgive cented, which may be a remaining trace of the original reading τό or τά, εὐημερεῖ καλῶς τε, i. e. quasi eὖ καλῶς τε ἡμερεῖ, is indefensible, and the objection to the tautology καλῶς εὐημερεῖ is unfounded. See Essay on Language § 40. p. 75. And though on the part of Thebes towards you all be now serene as heart can wish. εὐημερεῖ continues the metaphor in πνεῦμα. τὸ πρὸς σε is epexegetic of the impersonal subject of εὐημερεῖ. All looks fair and well in relation to you:' or (bringing out the image a little more), There is no cloud in the heavens between Thebes and you. For the construction, cp. supra, πρὸς πόλιν πόλει, and Hdt. 3. 49. εἰ μέν νυν Περιάνδρου τελευτήσαντος τοῖσι Κορινθίοισι φίλα ἦν πρὸς Κερκυραίους.

617-618. mvp-comment-343-1 μυρίας .. ἰών There are countless nights and days which time begets in his onward course. For the form of sentence. cp. El. 1364-1366, τοὺς γὰρ ἐν μέσῳ λόγους, πολλαὶ κυκλοῦνται νύκτες ἡμέραι τ᾽ ἴσαι, αἱ ταῦτά σοι δείξουσιν, Ηλέκτρα, σαφή-a passage which also illustrates the present tense, as used of something future but certain.

619-620. mvp-comment-344-1 ἐν αἷς .. δεξιώματα In which they will sunder with the sword on slight pretext your now well-plighted fellowship. The letter corresponding to a in L is rather an unfinished ∞ ( x ) than an a.

620. mvp-comment-345-1 ἐκ σμικροῦ λόγου Out of a small occasion. Cp. Εl. 415-416, πολλά τοι σμικροὶ λόγοι | ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς.

621. mvp-comment-346-1 ἵν' On the very spot where. 623. Cp. Aj. 783, εἰ Κάλχας σοφός.

624. mvp-comment-347-1 τἀκίνητα For κινεῖν of breaking silence, cp. Ant. 1060, τἀκίνητα διὰ φρενῶν: Ο. Τ. 354, οὕτως ἀναιδῶς ἐξεκίνησας τόδε | τὸ ῥῆμα; 625-626. τὸ σὸν μόνον | πιστὸν φυλάσσων] Either, (1) ‘Only keeping care- fully thine own good faith, or (with πιστόν as supplementary predicate), (2) Only keeping thine own part faithful. The position of πιστόν favours (2).

630. mvp-comment-348-1 ἐφαίνετο is subjective middle.

630. mvp-comment-348-2 ἡ δορύξενος ἑστία The hearth of warlike friendship, the article introducing a general notion, as in Tr. 398, τὸ πιστὸν τῆς ἀληθείας. See Essay on Language § 21. p. 34. The abstract is express- Declared on his own part, or Declared through the concrete; i. e. ἑστία is ed himself ready to perform (ἐφαίνετο τελῶν). Essay on Language § 31. p. 53, d. Cp. Ο. Τ. 148, ὧν ὅδ᾽ ἐξαγγέλλεται: Aj. 1376-1377, τἀπὸ τοῦδ᾽ ἀγγέλλομαι.. εἶναι φίλος.

632-633. mvp-comment-349-1 ὅτου.. ἑστία Whose friendly alliance, first of all, has been ever known amongst us as a common possession; the family of Cadmus being πρόξενοι of Athens and not merely ξένοι of Theseus;

publicum hospitium dicit, ut opponatur ἰδιοξένῳ.
Linw. Or (2), reading ὅτῳ with Suidas, Who, first of all, has a home and place of defence always open to him in our land;' κοινή, in right of a mutual bond. Semper apud se paratum esse Oedipo hospitium pro mutua quadam vel inter ipsos vel inter majores eorum necessitudine.' Herm. Euripides represents Polynices as having been the ξένος of Theseus: Eur. Suppl. 930. For the alliance supposed to exist between Athens and Thebes, cp. supr. 606, 616, 618, infr. 758, 929. used for ξενία, like δόρυ for. πόλεμος. For the expression of a similar feeling, cp. Plat. Legg. 1. 642 Β, τυγχάνει ἡμῶν ἡ ἑστία τῆς πόλεως οὖσα ὑμῶν πρόξενος.

633. mvp-comment-350-1 αἰέν On all occasions,' i. e. independently of his other claims on us.

634-635. mvp-comment-351-1 ἔπειτα.. τίνει The sentence returns from the relative to an independent construction. Essay on Language p. 64. Theseus with noble brevity, (supr. 569), gives two or more reasons in one. Oedipus is (1) an ally, (2) a suppliant claiming Divine protection, (3) he promises to secure victory for Athens.

637. mvp-comment-352-1 ἔμπαλιν On the contrary. The conjectural emendation ἔμπολιν (Musgr.) is unnecessary, and if it were accepted the opposition of clauses would not be sufficiently marked by δé. The word ἔμπολις occurs only once, infra 1156. ('Non opus ἔμπαλιν : fortius ἔμπολιν.' Herm.)

638. mvp-comment-353-1 εἰ δ΄.. μίμνειν δέ = But with regard to the particular spot, referring to the comprehensive word χώρᾳ preceding.

640. mvp-comment-354-1 τούτων, κ.τ.λ. A general apodosis relating to both the preceding clauses is substituted for the apodosis of the latter clause.

640. mvp-comment-354-2 τούτων . . κρίναντι χρῆσθαι χρῆσθαι, sc. τῷ ἑτέρῳ. To make choice between these alternatives and use the one so chosen.' Cp. Ο. Τ. 640, δρᾶσαι.. δυοῖν ἀποκρίνας κακοῖν.

641. mvp-comment-355-1 τῇδε Sc. ᾗ ἂν σὺ κρίνῃς. Cp. Εl. 1301-1302, ὧδ᾽ ὅπως καὶ σοὶ φίλον | καὶ τοὐμὸν ἔσται τῇδ᾽.

641. mvp-comment-355-2 ξυνοίσομαι I will concur. 647. μέγ᾽ ἂν λέγοις .. συνουσίας] You seem to intimate a great boon which your abode with us will confer.' ἂν λέγοις = ἔοικας λέγειν, cp. El. 1372, οὐκ ἂν μακρῶν ἔθ᾽ ἡμὲν οὐδὲν ἂν λόγων | Πυλάδη, τόδ' εἴη τοὔργον. τῆς συνουσίας, genitive of relation (Essay on Language § 9. p. 13), A great gift in respect of your dwelling with us.

648. mvp-comment-356-1 If you abide by your words and make them good to me. τελοῦντι, with σοί, proleptic. Cp. O. Τ. 863, εἴ μοι ξυνείη φέροντι | μοῖρα τὰν εὔσεπτον ἁγνείαν λόγων, κ.τ.λ. Some take 76- λοῦντι as agreeing with μοι (cp. 630). But Oedipus has only to remain where he is. The fulfilment of his promise does not take place till after his death. There is no meaning in a condition which is so far in the future.

650. mvp-comment-357-1 Cp. the line attributed to Aeschylus, Fr. 385, οὐκ ἀνδρὸς ὅρκοι πίστις, ἀλλ᾿ ὅρκων ἀνήρ.

651. mvp-comment-358-1 You would gain nought more by that than by my simple word.' 652. Herm. reads άνδρες. But cp. 656, where if the sense was not unfinished the article would be equally required.

654. mvp-comment-359-1 ὅρα με λείπων Beware, in leaving me. ἃ.. δρᾶν] Nauck conj. ἃ χρή μ᾿ ὁρᾶν. But such a transition from the idiomatic imperative ὅρα to this rare use of the inf. ὁρᾶν, 'to provide for (Phil. 504, τὰ δείν᾽ ὁρᾶν), is very unlikely. For the use of a general word like δρᾶν in such a connexion, cp. Αj. 1373, σοὶ δὲ δρᾶν ἔξεσθ᾽ ἃ χρῆς. 658, foll. And many threats and many vain words have ere now been uttered in anger:' (Lit. 'Many threats have uttered many vain words:') but when the mind has power of herself again, nothing remains of all that was so threatened. For ἀπειλαὶ κατηπείλησαν, cp. infr. 794, τὸ σὸν.. στόμα πολλὴν ἔχον στόμωσιν : 779, ὅτ᾽ οὐδὲν ἡ χάρις χάριν φέροι : Plato, Theaet. 153 D, ἕως ἂν ἡ περιφορὰ ἢ κινουμένη, in all of which instances a process is personified and grammatically regarded as the agent. Also infr. 794, for a similar echo of sound. See Essay on Language § 44. p. 83. The conjecture πολλοὶ δὲ πολλοῖς πολλά gives a misplaced emphasis. Qy. πολλοὶ δ᾽ ἀπειλαῖς, κ.τ.λ.?

660. mvp-comment-360-1 αὑτοῦ In its own possession. For the genitive as predicate, see Essay on Language § 9. p. 12. A similar emphatic use of αὑτοῦ occurs in Tr. 144, τοιοῖσδε. - χώροισιν αὑτοῦ. 661 ff. And with regard to the Thebans, though they have had the audacity to boast great things about carrying you away, they will find, I am well assured, that the way hither would be over a long and dangerous sea.' δείν] δεῖν' L.

660. mvp-comment-360-2 αὑτοῦ αὐτοῦ LA.

660. mvp-comment-360-3 κείνοις is in a twofold construction with ἐπερρώσθη and φανήσεται. ἐπερρώσθη is impersonal, (sc. τὸ λῆμα, ἡ ῥωμή), so that κείνοις ἐπερρώσθη λέγειν is equal το ἐπερρώσθησαν ὥστε λέγειν.

662. mvp-comment-361-1 τῆς σῆς ἀγωγῆς is a genitive of respect.

664. mvp-comment-362-1 ἄνευ, having the force of a preposition, adheres closely to the word which follows it, and the spondee in the 5th foot is thus justified. See on 115 supr. ἐν γὰρ τῷ μαθεῖν.

666-667. mvp-comment-363-1 I am sure that, even in my absence (ὅμως.. ἐμοῦ μὴ παρόντος), my name will guard thee from ill.' There is a pause in the action of the play. Oedipus has now received from Theseus himself the final assurance of rest and protection. The scruples of the chorus have been pacified by the words of the king as well as by Ismene's performance of the sacred rites, and the anxiety of Oedipus has been calmed. Creon is on his way from Thebes, but his approach, though apprehended by Oedipus, is not yet present to the mind of the chorus. It is in this moment of tranquil security that the chorus give their welcome to the stranger, and sing the praises of Colonus and Athens.

668. mvp-comment-364-1 Couldst thou find a fairer dwelling-place than this bright land? Here the nightingale keeps haunt, and sings in deep impenetrable coverts of green dells, where no sun, nor wind, but only the joyous presence of Dionysus comes. Here daily blooms the saffron and Demeter's flower, nor do the waters of Cephisus fail, nor Aphrodite shun the spot.

668. mvp-comment-364-2 And there is a better plant than grows in Asian or Dorian soil, that flourishes of itself in this our land, the nurse of childhood, the terror of our foes, the grey-leaved olive, which Zeus and Athena ever protect from harm. Nor has Poseidon left us without his gifts. Our mother-state is famed for horsemanship and famed by sea. Here first the son of Cronos tamed the steed, here swiftly glides the oarèd bark, keeping pace with the multitude of sea-nymphs.

668. mvp-comment-364-3 The metres of this ode are composed with especial care.

668. mvp-comment-364-4 The ruling logaoedic rhythm of the 1st strophe is represented by the following line which, out of 13 lines, holds the Ist, 5th, 7th (and central), 11th, and 13th places. 2 and 12, the second and secondlast lines, also correspond

668. mvp-comment-364-5 u _ u u _ u _ u _ u

668. mvp-comment-364-6 In 3, 4, 8, the logaoedic is shortened to the ordinary glyconic metre

668. mvp-comment-364-7 u _ u u _ u _ _

668. mvp-comment-364-8 and in 6, to the Pherecratean

668. mvp-comment-364-9 _ _ u u _ _

668. mvp-comment-364-10 In 9, the rhythm changes to a purely dactylic movement

668. mvp-comment-364-11 _ u u _ u u _ u u _ u u

668. mvp-comment-364-12 which is followed, in 10, by an Iambic dimeter catalectic

668. mvp-comment-364-13 u _ u _ u _ _

668. mvp-comment-364-14 which smooths the way for the recurrence to the prevailing rhythm. Cp. supr. 229-236, infr. 1675-1676.

668. mvp-comment-364-15 The chief movement in the 2nd strophe is choriambic (II. 1, 2, 6, 8, ) varied with iambic and trochaic, which in 3, 5, 7, are combined in the antispastic or syncopated movement

668. mvp-comment-364-16 u _ u _ | _ u _ u _ x

668. mvp-comment-364-17 while 4 is trochaic dim. hyper-catalectic

668. mvp-comment-364-18 _ u _ u _ u _ u _

668. mvp-comment-364-19 The composition ends with a glyconic and Pherecratean, 9 and 10, recalling the rhythm of the former strophe. The rhythm of the 1st strophe is expressive of repose and gladness, that of the 2nd, of triumph (cp. Ant. 139, 153), ending in repose.

668-669. mvp-comment-365-1 Thou art come, stranger, to the homes of this land famed for steeds, the best homes on earth.

668-669. mvp-comment-365-2 εὐίππου Cp. supra 59, τόνδ' ἱππότην Κολωνόν, and note. The epithet is intended to apply first and specially to Colonus, and then generally to Athens. εὐίππου τᾶσδε χώρας is attributive to τὰ κράτιστα γᾶς ἔπαυλα. Cp. supra 45, ἕδρας γῆς τῆσδ᾽.

668-669. mvp-comment-365-3 γᾶς is partitive genitive with κράτιστα. Cf. infra 739, εἰς πλεῖστον πόλεως.

668-669. mvp-comment-365-4 ἔπαυλα Here generally dwellings, homes, with some association from the care of horses, which was an occupation of the Coloniatae. Cf. Aesch. Pers. 870, Θρηκίων ἐπαύλων.

670. mvp-comment-366-1 τὸν ἀργῆτα Κολωνόν An accusative added epexegetically in the same construction with ἔπαυλα. ἀργῆτα (cp.

670. mvp-comment-366-2 ἀργήεις, ἀργινόεις), gleaming, either from the colour of the rock, or rather from the marble structures, such as the altar of Poseidon, which made it conspicuous in the sunlight from a distance.

670-671. mvp-comment-367-1 ἔνθ᾽ ἁ The addition of the breathing which restores the metre, also, by introducing the article, rather improves the sense. Cp. El. 147, ἀλλ᾿ ἐμέ γ᾿ ὁ στονόεσσ᾽ ἄραρεν φρένας: infra 693, ἁ χρυσάνιος Ἀφροδίτα: 716, ὁ δ᾽ εὐήρετμος. The synaphea is not a strong objection where the metre is continuous, as here, and is at any rate more probable than that a glyconic verse should begin with a dactyl, and θεαῖν, at the end of l. 683, be taken for a monosyllable.

672. mvp-comment-368-1 θαμίζουσα Il. 18.386, πάρος γε μὲν οὔτι θαμίζεις.

673. mvp-comment-369-1 χλωραῖς ὑπὸ βάσσαις In coverts of green glades.ὑπό, with dative= down in. Cp. Ant. 336-337, περιβρυχίοισιν περῶν ὑπ᾿ οἴδμασιν : Ovid, Fast. 4. 427,

Valle sub umbrosa locus est.
674. τὸν οἰνῶπ᾽ ἀνέχουσα κισσόν] Remaining constant to the empurpled (wine-coloured) ivy. For this meaning of ἀνέχω, cp. Aj. 211, λέχος δουριάλωτον | στέρξας ἀνέχει: Eur. Hec. 123, ἀνέχων λέκτρ᾽ Ἀγαμέμνων: Pind. Nem. 7.89, εἰ δ᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ θεὸς ἀνέχοι; and especially Aristides, l. 19 , καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὅσοι θεοφιλεῖς, οὐκ Ἄτη πατεῖ τὰς κεφαλάς, Ἀθηνᾶ δὲ ἀνέχει καὶ ἐμβατεύει. The conjecture νέμουσα (Dind.) is certainly not less questionable than the text. νέμειν γῆν may be said, but hardly νέμειν κισσόν, φυλλάδα. (Cp., however, Ar. Av. 239, ἐπὶ κισσοῦ κλάδεσι νομὸν ἔχει). οἰνῶπα refers to the rich colour of the ivy, as if flushed with wine.

675. mvp-comment-370-1 ἄβατον θεοῦ φυλλάδα μυριόκαρΔιόνυσος] ἀμφιπόλων πον The inviolable leafy grove, with countless berries, sacred to the God:' referring chiefly to the laurel and olive bushes, for the epithet ἀνήλιον can hardly apply to the vine: cp. supra 17, δάφνης, ἐλαίας, ἀμπέλου. For μυριόκαρπον, cp. O. T. 83. And for θεοῦ φυλλάδα, cp. Trach. 754, βωμοὺς ὁρίζει τεμενίαν τε φυλλάδα.

675. mvp-comment-370-2 θεοῦ Probably Dionysus, to whom such thickets are sacred, as δενδρίτης θεός. Pind. Fr. 130, δενδρέων δὲ νομὸν Διόνυσος πολυγαθὴς αὐξάνοι. The mention of him is suggested by the ivy, and he is presently spoken of by name as haunting the spot. Cp. the similar introduction of Poseidon in 709, foll., and of Nessus in Tr. 556-558.

676. mvp-comment-371-1 ἀνήλιον. - χειμώνων Cp. Od. 5. 478 sqq., τοὺς (θάμνους sc.) μὲν ἄρ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἀνέμων διάη μένος ὑγρὸν ἀέντων, | οὔτε ποτ' ἠέλιος φαέθων ἀκτῖσιν ἔβαλλεν, | οὔτ᾽ ὄμβρος περάασκε διαμπερές, ib. 19, 440, ff. For the genitive, see Essay on Language § 10. p. 16.

680. mvp-comment-372-1 θείαις.. τιθήναις The Nymphs of Nysa, who, according to a legend, were the nurses of the infant Bacchus, Il. 6.132, Διωνύσοιο τιθῆναι. Το the conjecture θεαῖς, which has been suggested for the metre, may be objected, (1) that the fem of θεόs is not elsewhere found as a monosyllable (unless in 683); (2) that the Nymphs are not properly spoken of as θεαί.

680. mvp-comment-372-2 ἀμφιπολῶν Careering round. A picturesque inversion, representing the confusion of the Bacchanalian rout, in which it is uncertain who leads and who follows. But qy. ἀμφίπολος, used passively, as in Pind. Ol. 1. 96, τύμβον ἀμφίπολον ἔχων ? 681-693. The antistrophe passes from the wooded hollow to the open height, on which the crocus and narcissus blow: and then to the meadow that is watered by the stream.

681. mvp-comment-373-1 οὐρανίας ὑπ᾿ ἄχνας ‘By the dew of heaven from above.

682. mvp-comment-374-1 καλλίβοτρυς With fair clusters,' i. e. with several heads upon a stem.

683. mvp-comment-375-1 μεγάλαιν θεαΐν The great Goddesses, Demeter and Persephone. See the Hymn to Demeter, 11. 6-18, where Persephone, after gathering crocus and other flowers, is tempted by a narcissus with a hundred heads, which Earth purposely causes to grow, so as to fix the attention of the maiden until Pluto comes. Ancient commentators observed that the chaplet worn in honour of Demeter and Persephone was not one of flowers, but of myrtle, or of ears of grain, and they proposed either to read μεγαλᾶν θεᾶν, referring to the Eumenides, whom Euphorion had described ας ναρκίσσῳ ἐπιστεψέες πλοκαμίδας, or to emphasize ἀρχαῖον, with reference to the former time before Persephone was carried away. But see note on 685.

685. mvp-comment-376-1 χρυσαυγής Cp. Tennyson, Oenone,

And at their feet the crocus brake like fire.
The Schol. observes that Sophocles in the Niobe makes the 685

687. mvp-comment-377-1 Κηφισού κηφισσοῦ Β Vat.

687. mvp-comment-377-2 ἐπινίσσεται ἐπινίσεται L. ἐπινείσεται AR. crocus an emblem of Demeter. οὐδ᾽ ἄϋπνοι κρῆναι μινύθουσιν Κηφισοῦ νομάδες ῥεέθρων] Either (1) Nor fail the ever-wakeful springs that feed Cephisus stream,' referring to the abundant fountain-heads on the slopes of Parnes: or (2) Nor do the ever-wakeful rills decrease, dispensers of Cephisus' flood,' referring to the system of irrigation (διανομή) that goes on to this day. Although this allusion to an artificial process may seem unpoetical to the modern reader, the latter interpretation agrees better with πεδίων ἐπινίσσεται, besides giving a more definite meaning to νομάδες, and one immediately connected with Colonus. For a similar allusion in lyric poetry, cp. Pind. Ol. 5. 12, καὶ σεμνοὺς ὀχετούς, Ιππαρις οἶσιν ἄρδει στράτον. For the meaning of νομάδες, cp. Plat. Legg. 11. 931 C, δίκαιοι νομεῖς .. ἀγαθῶν, where νομεύς is similarly used.

688. mvp-comment-378-1 ἀλλ᾽ αἰὲν .. χθονός But ever, each new day, with quickening power, he (Cephisus) pours his clear waters over the bosom of the plain. ἐπ᾽ ἤματι] Not=ἦμαρ ἐπ᾽ ἤματι ('day after day'), but on each day, like кат' ἦμαρ. Cp. Heracl. Fr., ἥλιος νέος ἐφ᾿ ἡμερῇ. The hiatus between this and the following line indicates a pause before the change of rhythm.

689. mvp-comment-379-1 ὠκυτόκος Schol. ὠκύτοκα ποιῶν τὰ πεδία καὶ ἔγκαρπα. Ellendt rightly observes that this explanation may stand although πεδίων is to be joined (in the first instance) with ἐπινίσσεται.

690. mvp-comment-380-1 For the general use of ὄμβρος for the element of water, cp. O. T. 1428, μήτ᾿ ὄμβρος ἱρός. Ε. on L. p. 98.

691. mvp-comment-381-1 στερνούχου Cp. Hes. Th. 117, γαῖ᾽ εὐρύστερνος. Schol. ἴσον τῷ γονίμου. Meineke conj. σπερμούχου.

691. mvp-comment-381-2 οὐδὲ Μουσᾶν, κ.τ.λ. Cp. the praise of Athens in Eur. Med. 830 ff. There was a temple of the Muses, near that of Athena, in the Academy. Paus. 1.30, 2.

692. mvp-comment-382-1 viv The region,' i. e. Colonus and the neighbourhood.

692. mvp-comment-382-2 οὐδ᾽ *ἄρ᾽ | ὁ χρυσάνιος Ἀφροδίτα There is some defect in the MS. text, as the hiatus οὐδὲ | å is not admissible between the two logaoedic lines. οὐδέ γ' | ἁ (Brunck), οὐδὲ | μάν (Herm.), have been conjectured. οὐδ᾽ ἄρ᾽ | ἁ may be suggested: ἄpa, i. e, as the beauty of the region testifies.

693. mvp-comment-383-1 χρυσάνιος Ἀφροδίτα Cp. χρυσόνωτον ἡνίαν, Αj. 847.

694. mvp-comment-384-1 ἔστιν δ᾽ οἷον . . βλαστόν In expatiating on the glories of their home, the religious mind of the Coloniatae dwells chiefly on the rival gifts of Poseidon, their patron deity, and of Athena, the special patroness of horsemen (infr. 1070), and of the Morian olives (706), as well as of Athens and of the tree in the Acropolis. The chorus are thinking chiefly of their own neighbourhood. Only in ll. 711, 716-9, do they speak of what relates to Athens apart from Colonus. The olive-plant immediately referred to is that in the Academy, mentioned by Pausanias as Division of 698.

694. mvp-comment-384-2 ἐκχέων Α. having sprung up independently of the one in the Acropolis :-δεύτερον τοῦτο λεγόμενον φανῆναι, Paus. 1. 32. On the sacred feeling attaching to the Athenian olive, see also Hdt. 5. 82, 8. 55. The genitive, γᾶς Ἀσίας, is rather partitive than possessive, and to be taken closely with ἐπακούω. A thing such as I cannot hear of anywhere in the Asian land, nor as having ever sprung, etc. The participle βλαστόν is introduced by an afterthought in the second clause. The Peloponnese is called a Dorian island by an anachronism similar to that by which the Athenian youth are called Theseidae in 1066. Asia and the Peloponnese are cited as the two rivals of Athenian greatness.

698. mvp-comment-385-1 φύτευμα is the subject of ἔστιν, although not thought of at the beginning of the sentence.

698. mvp-comment-385-2 ἀχείρωτον This reading is supported by the remark of Pollux, 2. 154, which probably refers to this passage, ἀχείρωτον δὲ Σοφοκλῆς εἶπε τὸ ἀχειρούργητον. The simpler interpretation, however, is more probable, unravaged, anticipating the thought in 699 and 702-705.

698. mvp-comment-385-3 αὐτόποιον Self-created, That springeth ever of itself; i.e. That needs not to be renewed by human agency.

700. mvp-comment-386-1 τᾷδε .. χώρᾳ i. e. (1) Along the banks of the Cephisus: or (2) in Attica generally. Cp. Hdt. 5. 82, λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὡς ἐλαῖαι ἦσαν ἄλλοθι γῆς οὐδαμοῦ κατ᾿ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον, ἡ Ἀθήνῃσι.

701. mvp-comment-387-1 παιδοτρόφου Simply childnourishing. Cp. Hes. Op. 226, εἰρήνη δ᾽ ἀνὰ γῆν κουρότροφος. The interpretations which refer to the custom of suspending an olive-crown where a male child was born, or to the propagation of shoots and offsets from the parent stock, are more ingenious than true. For the synecdoche, φύλλον ἐλαίας, cp. Αj. 14, ὦ φθέγμ᾽ Ἀθάνας.

702. mvp-comment-388-1 τὸ μέν τις οὔ, *νεαρὸς οὔτε γήρα This line seems to have been tampered with by some one who had an ear for the iambic rhythm. The simplest alteration is to omit te and place a comma after οὔ. Which no commander, young or old... For the order of τις οὔ, see Essay on Language § 41. p. 71, and for the omission of the first οὔτε, ib. § 39, p. 67, and Phil. 771, ἑκόντα μήτ᾽ ἄκοντα. For the variety of expression (veapὸς σημαίνων, γήρα σημαίνων), cp. Ant. 808, νέατον φέγγος λεύσσουσαν κούποτ' αὖθις: and for the dative γήρᾳ, which has given offence, Ο.Τ. 172, οὔτε τόκοισιν ἀνέχουσι γυναῖκες. μέν, assuredly. Cp. El. 1240, τόδε μὲν οὔποτ᾽ ἀξιώσω τρέσαι, κ.τ.λ. Sophocles, in his description, blends the olive of the region, whether that in the temple of Athena Polias in the Acropolis, which Xerxes could not destroy (Hdt. 8.55), or the olives of the Academy which according to Androtion, quoted by the Schol., Archidamus spared, with the olive generally.

703. mvp-comment-389-1 σημαίνω is used in the Homeric sense of to command an army. II.16.172, πέντε δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἡγεμόνας ποιήσατο, τοῖς ἐπεποίθει | σημαίνειν. The allusion which has been found in this passage to the invasions of Xerxes and Archidamus, is not improbable.

703. mvp-comment-389-2 Λακεδαιμόνιοι γὰρ ἐμβαλόντες ἐν τῇ Αττικῇ δέκα μυριάσι Πελοποννησίων καὶ Βοιωτῶν ἡγουμένου Ἀρχιδάμου τοῦ Ζευξιδάμου Λακεδαιμονίων βασιλέως, ἀπέσχοντο τῶν λεγομένων μορίων, Ἀθηνᾷ θύσαντες, (Ἀθηνῶν δείσαντες, Meineke conj.), ὡς Ανδροτίων φησί, Schol. See also the quotation from Istrus in Schol. on 701. The reading of L, εἰσαιὲν ὁρῶν, sustains the choriambic rhythm; and παραπτομένα in the antistrophe is justly suspected. See note on 717.

703. mvp-comment-389-3 κύκλος Phil. 1338, ὦ τὰ πάντ᾿ ἰδόντες ἀμφ᾿ ἐμοῦ κύκλοι.

705. mvp-comment-390-1 Μορίου Διός i. e. Zeus regarded as the protector of the μορίαι or sacred olives in the Academy. Cp. Ar. Nub. 1005. Apollodorus, quoted by the Schol., says, περὶ Ἀκαδήμειαν ἐστὶν ὅ τε τοῦ Καταιβάτου Διὸς βωμός, ὃν καὶ Μόριον καλοῦσι, τῶν ἐκεῖ μορίων παρὰ τὸ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερὸν ἱδρυμένων.

706. mvp-comment-391-1 γλαυκώπις occurs here only in the extant plays of Sophocles. Probably grey-eyed, cp. γλαυκᾶς supr. 701. Essay on Language § 44. p. 82. a

707. mvp-comment-392-1 ἄλλον . . εὐθάλασσον I have yet another mighty praise for this city that hath reared me, the gift of that great deity, to tell, her great pride, that she is renowned for the fairest steeds, the fairest colts, and for glorious sea. εἰπεῖν is added epexegetically in construction with ἔχω. The adjectives, εὔιππον, etc., agree with αὐτήν, which is to be supplied as the object of εἰπεῖν, if indeed some word equivalent to this has not been lost. Porson, to complete the metre, supplied χθονός before αύχημα. But perhaps the line may have stood, δῶρον τοῦ μεγάλου δαίμονος, εἰπεῖν γέ νιν, αὔχημα μέγιστον, κ.τ.λ. ματροπόλει = 'the state our mother.' Cp. 1480, γᾷ ματέρι. The word probably refers to Athens, as presiding over the smaller townships. But in ταίσδε .. ἀγνιαῖς, infr. 715, the neighbourhood of Colonus is meant.

712. mvp-comment-393-1 For, son of Cronos, it was thou... γάρ is postponed after the vocative.

713. mvp-comment-394-1 αὔχημ᾿ For the unconscious repetition of aὔχημα, see Essay on Language § 44. p. 84.

714. mvp-comment-395-1 The dative ἵπποισι depends immediately on κτίσας, and is to be resumed with ἀκεστῆρα. Having framed for horses the bit, which tames their rage. Cp. Pind. O1. 13. 85, φάρμακον πραῦ τείνων ἀμφὶ γένυι.

715. mvp-comment-396-1 ταῖσδε κτίσας ἀγυιαῖς Having instituted in these roads. κτίσας, having invented and brought into use. ταῖσδε . . ἀγυιαîs] In the roads about Colonus. The note of the Schol. here is curious: ὁ γὰρ Κολωνὸς ἱππεὺς ὠνομάσθη, παρ' ἃς ἐξεθέμην αἰτίας διὰ τὸν Ἄδραστον (κατ' Ἀνδροτίωνα, Rom. ed.). ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ σεμνότατον ἄγει τὸ πράγμα.

716-719. mvp-comment-397-1 These lines expand the epithet εὐθάλασσον. 'And the well-plied oar, passing through the sea, flits wondrously by the hand of man, and darts onward, following in the track of innumerable Nereids. ἁλία may be taken either as an attribute of πλάτα, or with the participle.

716. mvp-comment-398-1 εὐήρετμος Rather from εὖ ἐρέσσω than from εὖ ἐρετμόν. Join ἔκπαγλα θρώσκει.

716. mvp-comment-398-2 χερσὶ παραπτομένα has been taken to mean fitted to the hand. But this is prosaic, and interferes with the figure by which the oar is put for the ship. As in O. T. 17, πτέσθαι may be a syncopated form of πέτεσθαι. But the metre is doubtful, cp. supr. 704.

716. mvp-comment-398-3 ραϊσσομένα, περιπτυσσσομένα, παραιπεμ πομένα, have been conjectured.

716. mvp-comment-398-4 πα-

718. mvp-comment-399-1 ἑκατομπόδων As in ἑκατογκάρανος, ἑκατόγχειρος, ἕκατον is used vaguely to give the impression of multitude. The first part of the epithet is most important, as in πυκνόπτεροι, etc., the second part being chiefly pictorial. An allusion to the number 50 would be an awkward conceit; and the bare mention of an exact number, such as 100, would have no poetic force. 721 ff. Ismene is not yet returned. The dreaded Creon is seen advancing instead. The boast of a strong dwellingplace, and of the unconquered olivetree, will now be put to proof. νῦν σοὶ.. δὴ σοί, sc. πάρεστι, cp. Phil. 1165, ἀλλὰ γνῶθ᾽, εὖ γνῶθ᾽, ὅτι σοὶ | κῆρα τάνδ᾽ ἀποφεύγειν. The conjecture σόν in both places is unnecessary. δή emphasizes the whole sentence: cp. Ant. 726, οἱ τηλικοίδε καὶ διδαξόμεσθα δὴ | φρονεῖν, κ.τ.λ. The reading δεῖ may have arisen from the difficulty of σοί, and the unusual position of δή. φαίνειν] Causative, as in Phil. 297, ἔφην᾿ ἄφαντον φῶς. Cause these words to shine, shine,' i. e. manifest their truth in action : = ἀποδιδόναι ἐναργῆ. Cp. Τr. 239, εὐκταῖα φαίνων: Pind. Nem. 10. 11, Ζεὺς .. τοῦτον κατέφανε λόγον: Hdt. 3. 36, εὔνοιαν φαίνων.

723. mvp-comment-400-1 ἡμῖν ἡμῖν, the dative of remote reference, has greater liveliness than ἡμῶν, which has been conjectured here. Here is Creon coming to trouble us.

725. mvp-comment-401-1 τέρμα τῆς σωτηρίας The end of safety; i. e. The safety that is the end of my desire.

726. mvp-comment-402-1 θάρσει, παρέσται Fear not: you shall have your wish. The same words occur above (305) in a different connection. Elms. prefers κυρῶ to ἐγώ. 728-1043. Creon advances with his two attendants, and deprecating suspicion, attempts to persuade Oedipus to come home to Thebes, for his own and daughters' sake, according to the unanimous wish of the people. Oedipus, who is informed by Ismene, and by the oracles he had formerly received, of the real intention of the Thebans, indignantly resents the cruel meaning of the fair-sounding offer; taunts Creon with hypocrisy, in first banishing him against his will, and now trying to draw him unwillingly from Athens: and utters a curse on Creon and on his sons. altercation continues till Creon throws off the mask of gentleness, avows that he has seized Ismene, and threatens to carry off Antigone. The chorus (834 ff.) expostulate, and call for aid. He per- The

727. mvp-comment-403-1 γεγήρακεν L. sists, and sends her away by his servants, adding reproaches against Oedipus, and, on the chorus further expostulating, threatens to lay hands on Oedipus, who thus provoked, utters a special curse on Creon. A scuffle ensues between the two old men: Creon taking hold of Oedipus to drag him away. The chorus (877 ff.) again cry aloud for help, and Theseus, who has been sacrificing at a neighbouring altar, enters in haste. On learning what is the matter, he orders the people from the sacrifices to pursue the fugitives, and threatens Creon with arrest if the maidens are not produced immediately. He is sure that Thebes will not resent this. She cannot countenance such violence. Creon then speaks for himself. He could not have supposed that Athens would have cared to protect his kindred, or would have received an incestuous person and a parricide under the shadow of the hill of Ares. Hefurther excuses his assault by the curses of Oedipus. He is in Theseus' hands, but will resist harsh treatment. The mention of hisunwitting crimes calls forth a fresh outburst of passion from Oedipus. Theseus breaks off further conference by peremptorily commanding Creon to show him where the maidens are. Oedipus is left alone with the chorus. Cp. O. T. 512-862.

729. mvp-comment-404-1 ὁρῶ . . ἐπεισόδου I see that a sudden fear has overcast your eyes at my coming in. ὀμμάτων is a genitive of place, or of the part affected. For εἰληφότας, cp. Αj. 345, τάχ᾽ ἄν τιν αἰδῶ κἀπ᾿ ἐμοὶ βλέψας λάβοι: Eur. Suppl. 1050. ὀργὴν λάβοις ἂν τῶν ἐμῶν βουλευμάτων | κλύων: Plat. Soph. 243 C, ταὐτὸν τοῦτο πάθος εἰληφότες ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ. And for the whole expression, Aesch. Eum. 407, θαῦμα δ᾽ ὄμμασιν πάρα: Eur. I. A. 1128, Ar. Vesp. 447-

731. mvp-comment-405-1 μήτ᾿ ἀφῆτ᾽ ἔπος κακόν As often happens, the sentence passes out of the relative construction. Cp. supr. 467.

732. mvp-comment-406-1 Creon endeavours to allay the alarm occasioned by his coming, and to win confidence by dwelling (1) on his own age and apparent feebleness, (2) on the age and condition of Oedipus, which needed protection at home, (3) on his intention to use persuasion only. (4) on the public authority and responsibility of his mission, (5) on his personal and private motives for undertaking it.

734. mvp-comment-407-1 εἴ τιν᾿ Ἑλλάδος For the attraction, cp. Aj 488. εἴπερ τινὸς σθένοντος ἐν πλούτῳ Φρυγῶν. Ε. on L. § 35. p. 60.

735. mvp-comment-408-1 ἄνδρα τόνδε τηλικόνδ᾽ ἀπεστάλην The text, while giving a more natural order of the words than the VOL. I. Aa ï conjecture τηλικόσδ' ἀπεστάλην, is also capable of a suitable meaning. Creon, wishing to show the reasonableness of his coming, points to the extreme age and feebleness of Oedipus as a ground for inducing him to return under the protection of Thebes. There is a peculiar emphasis on the words τηλικόνδε and πείσων, i. e. To induce this poor old man by persuasion only to return home.' For the combination of the demonstrative with the pronominal adj., cp. Phil. 128, τοῦτον τὸν αὐτὸν ἄνδρα: ib. 572 πρὸς ποῖον ἂν τόνδ'..;

738. mvp-comment-409-1 οὔνεχ᾽ ἡκέ μοι γένει Since kindred makes it incumbent on me. For ἧκε, the simple for the compound verb, see Essay on Language p. 101-104, and cp. Phil. 141, σὲ δ', ὦ τέκνον, τόδ᾽ ἐλήλυθεν πᾶν κράτος ὠγύγιον. And for a similar use of προσήκει, cp. Hdt. 8. 100, οὐδὲν πρὸς Πέρσας τοῦτο προσήκει τὸ πάθος.

739. mvp-comment-410-1 εἰς πλεῖστον πόλεως Above all that are in the city.

742. mvp-comment-411-1 δικαίως Rightfully. Cp. Aj. 1108-1110, τόνδε δ'.. εἰς ταφᾶς ἐγὼ θήσω δικαίως.

742. mvp-comment-411-2 ἐκ δὲ τῶν] Essay on Language § 21. p. 30.

743. mvp-comment-412-1 πλεῖστον .. κάκιστος Cp. Phil. 631, τῆς πλεῖστον ἐχθίστης ἐμοὶ | κλύοιμ' ἐχίδνης.

745. mvp-comment-413-1 ὄντα μὲν. ἀλήτην A stranger, and not only so, but ever wandering.

746. mvp-comment-414-1 ἐπὶ προσπόλου μιᾶς With the support of one attendant. ἐπί, as it were leaning on. The expression is analogous to ὁρμεῖν ἐπ᾿ ἀγκύρας, Hdt. 7.188.

749. mvp-comment-415-1 ὅσον i. e. εἰς ὅσον, one preposition, as frequently happens, sufficing both for antecedent and relative.

751. mvp-comment-416-1 τηλικοῦτος At her age, i. e. just approaching womanhood. Cp. supr. 345-346, ἐξ ὅτου νέας | τροφῆς ἔληξε καὶ κατίσχυσεν δέμας. For the termination, cp. El. 614. 753 ff. Alas, I have uttered a sad reproach upon thee and me and our whole race. And yet, what is openly displayed cannot be concealed: wherefore do you, Oedipus. be induced by me to return voluntarily to thy city and palace and to hide thy disgrace there. For ἆρα, see Essay on Language § 29. p. 50. Creon professes to be horror-struck at his own words (ἆρ᾽ ἄθλιον τοὔνειδος, κ.τ.λ.): but excuses himself by the publicity which Oedipus gives to their common calamity in wandering from home. It rests with him to bury the reproach within the palace walls, where his daughter at least will find protection, and his kindred will not have the shame of seeing him an outcast. Cp. O. Τ. 1425, foll. τὴν γοῦν .. φλόγα | αἰδεῖσθ᾽ ἄνακτος Ἡλίου, τοιόνδ᾽ ἄγος | ἀκάλυπτον οὕτω δεικνύναι, κ.τ.λ.: Εl. 624-625, σύ τοι λέγεις νιν, οὐκ ἐγώ. σὺ γὰρ ποιεῖς | τοὔργον· τὰ δ᾽ ἔργα τοὺς λόγους εὑρίσκεται.

757. mvp-comment-417-1 θελήσας Consenting. Cp. Ο. Τ. 649, πιθοῦ θελήσας, κ.τ.λ.

758. mvp-comment-418-1 τήνδε τὴν πόλιν φίλως εἰπών First giving words of friendship to this city: for she deserves them well.' giving

759. mvp-comment-419-1 ἡ δ᾽ οἴκοι Sc. πόλις, cp. supr. 433, τὴν .. αὐτίχ᾽ ἡμέραν. ‘But the city you have left behind, which so long nourished you, has by right a stronger claim to be reverenced by you.'

760. mvp-comment-420-1 δίκῃ Essay on Language § 14. p. 20.

760. mvp-comment-420-2 σέβοιτο For the passive, which occurs here only, see Essay on Language § 31. p. 54.

760. mvp-comment-420-3 πάλαι i. e. in his prosperity, which is now regarded as long past.

761-762. mvp-comment-421-1 κἀπὸ .. ποικίλον Who out of every cause wouldst bring some subtle fabrication of a just plea.Cp. infr. 806-807, ἄνδρα δ᾽ οὐδέν᾽ οἶδ᾽ ἐγὼ | δίκαιον, ὅστις ἐξ ἅπαντος εὖ λέγει. The present participle, as in Phil. 1052, νικᾶν γε μέντοι πανταχοῦ χρήζων ἔφυν, is used to express a quality without reference to time (Essay on Language § 32. p. 55), and is combined with ἄν, so that ἂν φέρων = ὅστις ἂν φέροις.

763. mvp-comment-422-1 ταῦτα is cognate or adverbial accusative. Herm. reads καί με. But for the slight emphasis on the pronoun, see Essay on Language § 41. p. 78 €.

764. mvp-comment-423-1 In a matter, in which I should be most vexed if I were caught. ἐν οἷς = ἐν τούτοις ἐν οἷς. In that particular in which, i. e. in his relation to Thebes and to his sons, in which he was most bent on continuing the present estrangement.

765. mvp-comment-424-1 This is brought in to explain δεύτερον in 763.

765. mvp-comment-424-2 τοῖσιν οἰκείοις κακοῖς When I was absorbed in my own personal sorrows. Ср. О. Т. 1414-1415, τἀμὰ γὰρ κακὰ | οὐδεὶς οἷός τε πλὴν ἐμοῦ φέρειν βροτῶν. Probably not my self-inflicted evils, although this might be supported by comparing El. 215, οἰκείας εἰς ἄτας : Αj. 919. ἀπ᾿ οἰκείας σφαγῆς.

768. mvp-comment-425-1 ἡνίκ᾽ ἤδη μεστὸς ἢ θυμούμενος Cp. Dem. de Falsa Legat. 1175-1174, ἐπειδὴ δὲ μεστὸς ἐγένετο ἀγανακτῶν.

769. mvp-comment-426-1 The line καὶ μάνθανον τὸν θυμὸν ἐκδραμόντα μοι, repeated here from supr. 438. has been rejected by all recent editors. Cp. O. T. 1200. and v. rr.

770. mvp-comment-427-1 τότ᾽ ἐξεώθεις κἀξέβαλλες Then you began to thrust me forth and banish me.

771. mvp-comment-428-1 τὸ συγγενές τοῦτ' The tie of kindred of which you now speak; supr. 738 Cp. Aesch. Prom. 39, τὸ συγ γενές τοι δεινόν.

773. mvp-comment-429-1 καὶ γένος τὸ πᾶν 'And the Aa2 whole people,' i.e not only the authorities of the city (Theseus), but the inhabitants with one consent. Cp. Aj. 861, κλειναί τ' Ἀθῆναι καὶ τὸ σύντροφον γένος. The words in both places are intended to move the Athenian audience.

774. mvp-comment-430-1 You try to tear me away, with cruel speeches couched in flattering terms.

775. mvp-comment-431-1 τίς αὕτη appears not only in B Vat., followed by Triclinius, but also in L². The parallel of Thuc. 3. 12, τίς οὖν αὕτη ἡ φιλία ἢ ἐλευθερία πιστή; the frequent use of ὥσπερ without a definite antecedent in introducing an illustration, the doubtful correlation of τοσαύτη ὥσπερ (cp., however, El. 532, οὐκ ἴσον καμὼν ἐμοὶ λύπης, ὅτ᾽ ἔσπειρ᾽, ὥσπερ ἡ τίκτουσ᾽ ἐγώ), and the fact that the reading τίς αὕτη is not confined to one family of MSS, lead to the conclusion that the reading of LAV³, τοσαύτη, like σημαίνει for σαίνει, supr. 320, is a clerical error. τέρψις, repeated by unconscious tautology from supr. 766, is here active.

776. mvp-comment-432-1 σοί is accented because of the antithesis in 781, καὶ σὺ προσφέρεις ἐμοί. As in the speech beginning at l. 960, esp. in l. 992, Oedipus uses the argumentum ad hominem in the debate with Creon. And yet what kindness is there in befriending men against their will? Suppose, for instance, when you were eager to obtain some boon, one were to refuse and grant you nothing, and not choose to gratify you, but when your soul was already satisfied, were then to make the offer, when the kindness was no longer kind! Would not that be an empty satisfaction for you to obtain? Yet such is the favour you now offer me.

780. mvp-comment-433-1 The stress is on ματαίου. Would not the pleasure so received by you be vain?'

785-786. mvp-comment-434-1 πόλις δέ σοι... χθονός And your city may come off unharmed from her encounter with the land of these men.For ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι, to come out of a contest. cp Ar. Plut. 271-272, μῶν ἀξιοῖς φενακίσας ἡμᾶς ἀπαλλαγῆναι | ἀζήμιος: and for χθών personified, cp. infr. 912, Ant. 187. The natural pause after κακῶν ἄνατος prevents ambiguity in τῶνδε. Others read τῆσδ᾽ ἀπαλλαχθῇ χθονός, with the meaning, may get out of this land, which is less forcible.

787. mvp-comment-435-1 Join (1) ἐκεῖ χώρας. My evil genius ever lurking in the region of that land. The genitive is not strictly partitive. For a similar instance where the genitive and locative adverb are co-extensive, cp. Phil. 899, ἀλλ᾽ ἐνθάδ᾽ ἤδη τοῦδε τοῦ πάθους κυρῶ. Οr (2), χώρας ἀλάστωρ οὑμός, My vengeful spirit ravaging the land. But this twofold relation of ἀλάστωρ makes a harsh expression, and the pause before ἐκεῖ requires that the sense should run on to the word immediately following it. For the general meaning, cp. Aesch. Suppl. 413-415, μήτ᾿ ἐν θεῶν ἕδραισιν ὧδ' ἱδρυμένας | ἐκδόντες ὑμᾶς τὸν πανώλεθρον θεὸν | βαρὺν ξύνοικον θησόμεσθ' ἀλάστορα.

790. mvp-comment-436-1 'They shall inherit their father's land, only by dying there.' The comparison of Aesch. S. c. Τ. 730, ὠμόφρων σίδαρος | χθόνα ναίειν διαπήλας ὁπόσαν καὶ φθιμένοισι | κατέχειν, τῶν μεγάλων πεδίων ἀμοίρους, is just, but the thought is not identical, for ἐνθανεῖν is in apposition to λαχεῖν τοσοῦτον, and not merely epexegetic of τοσοῦτον = ἐν ὅσῳ ἐνθανεῖν. The words therefore do not refer to the six feet of earth, but to the fact that the only part of their inheritance the sons obtain is to die on Theban ground. Cp. Ant. 146-147. 794-795. But you are come hither with a feigned tongue full of sharpness.' For ὑπόβλητον, cp. Αj. 188, ὑποβαλλόμενοι κλέπτουσι μύθους. And for the play of words in στόμα .. στόμωσιν, see Essay on Language § 44. p. 82.

796. mvp-comment-437-1 τὰ πλείονα The article defines the more in contradistinction to the fewer.

797. mvp-comment-438-1 ἀλλ᾽ οἶδα γάρ (as often with ἀλλὰ γάρ) gives the reason for breaking off and saying no more.

797. mvp-comment-438-2 ταῦτα refers not to the whole tenor of the speech but to the γνώμη, ἐν δὲ τῷ λέγειν, κ.τ.λ. But I know that to this warning you will not attendenough then, begone!

798. mvp-comment-439-1 οὐ γὰρ ἂν κακῶς Said scornfully in answer to Creon's expressions of affected pity.

799. mvp-comment-440-1 εἰ τερποίμεθα If I have what I desire. The optative puts the case generally, because of the uncertainty of Oedipus' mode of life.

800-801. mvp-comment-441-1 Do you think that the course of our present talk is disastrous for me in my relation to your affairs? (referring to 787 ff., 795-796). Are not your words much more disastrous to yourself? Schol. ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἐν τῷ μὴ πείθεσθαί σε μᾶλλον σὺ δυστυχεῖς ἤπερ ἐγώ. i. e. You accuse me of ignorance of your and your sons' destiny (1.787, 8): but you show much greater ignorance of your own best interests by refusing to come.

802. mvp-comment-442-1 μήτ᾿ ἐμέ.. μήτε τούσδε The emphasis is on τούσδε : μήτ᾿ ἐμέ is taken for granted, and only introduced for the sake of the antithesis It would delight me, if you fail in persuading these men here as you will fail to persuade me.

805. mvp-comment-443-1 λῦμα τῷ γήρα For the dative, see Essay on Language § 13. c, p. 19.

807. mvp-comment-444-1 ἐξ ἅπαντος In every cause. Cp. supr. 761-762.

810. mvp-comment-445-1 οὐ δῆθ᾿ ὅτῳ γε νοῦς ἴσος καὶ σοὶ πάρα (1) My words are certainly not seasonable in the judgment of one who has so little sense as you have; i. e. A wise speech sleeps in a foolish ear. Schol. τοῖς κατὰ σὲ οὐ δοκῶ καίρια λέγειν. For the dative, see Essay on Language § 13. p. 20, e. Or (2), I do not speak seasonably, in speaking to one so devoid of understanding. Cp Cp. Aesch. Prom. 983, σὲ γὰρ προσηύδων οὐκ ἄν, ὄνθ᾽ ὑπηρέτην. For ἴσος καί, cр. О. Т. 1187.

812. mvp-comment-446-1 φύλασσ᾽ ἐφορμῶν ἔνθα χρὴ ναίειν ἐμέ Two explanations of this are possible, (1) Keep watching (lit. blockading) me and prescribing my abode;' the notion of dictation being implied in φύλασσ᾽ ἐφορμῶν: (2) Keep watching me and blockading my destined dwelling place. For (1) cp. El. 16, τί χρὴ δρᾶν ἐν τάχει βουλευτέον; supr. 654, μὴ δίδασχ' ἃ χρή με δρᾶν. But (2) is more pointed, and on the whole more probab'e.

813. mvp-comment-447-1 μαρτύρομαι τούσδ', οὐ σέ Το them I appeal and not to you! And for the terms of your answer to your friends, if I once take you --. The intended threat ('you shall answer at Thebes') is broken off by Oedipus' retorting, But who can take me,' etc. Creon angrily repels the claim of Oedipus to speak for the Attic elders (ἐρῶ πρὸ τῶνδε), whom he calls to witness Oedipus' treatment of him. The latter words refer (1) to the lines in which Oedipus curses his sons (ἔστιν δὲ παισὶν μόνον), which Creon treats as the answer to the message which he had brought from the Καδμείων λέως: cp. infr. 850, φίλους ὑφ᾽ ὧν ἐγὼ | ταχθεὶς τάδ' ἔρδω. The structure closely resembles Hom. Il. 1. 338, τὰ δ᾽ αὐτὼ μάρτυροι ἔστων, | πρός τε θεῶν μακάρων, πρός τε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων, | καὶ πρὸς τοῦ βασιλῆος ἀπηνέος· εἴποτε δ' αΰτε | χρειὼ ἐμεῖο γένηται ἀεικέα λοιγὸν ἀμῦναι | τοῖς ἄλλοις, where the final threat is in like manner suppressed. In the present passage, however, dé is strictly adversative, distinguishing Creon's personal injury from the supposed offence against Eteocles and the Thebans: unless (2) φίλους refers to Creon himself, as professing friendly intentions and as next of kin. But cp. supr. 788-790.

816. mvp-comment-448-1 κἄνευ τῶνδε Without this, i. e. without my taking you. The ambiguity of τῶνδε would probably not be felt by a Greek, and is not a sufficient reason for altering the reading to τοῦδε, 817. Creon's tone implied that something had been done. Seeing that the chorus as well as Oedipus are impracticable, he breaks into open hostility, and avows the capture of Ismene, who had been seized and carried off before she could return from making her offering.

820. mvp-comment-449-1 οἰμώζειν τάδε (1) ‘Το exclaim at this;' τάδε, the capture of the maidens; or (2), τάδε, cogn. acc., thus to exclaim. Probably the first.

821. mvp-comment-450-1 τήνδε τ᾽ And this one ere long. The correction of γ᾽ to τ᾽ or δ᾽ seems to be necessary.

821. mvp-comment-450-2 οὐ μακροῦ χρόνου Sc. ἕξω.

823. mvp-comment-451-1 τὸν ἀσεβή Cp. 922, συλῶντα τὰ τῶν θεῶν βίᾳ | ἄγοντα φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια. He appeals to the known piety of the chorus.

825. mvp-comment-452-1 οὔθ᾽ ἃ πρόσθεν εἴργασαι In seizing Ismene.

826. mvp-comment-453-1 ὑμῖν, κ.τ.λ. Said to Creon's attendants; supr. 723.

826. mvp-comment-453-2 ἂν εἴη For a similar use of av with the optative, cp. Τr. 728, σιγᾶν ἂν ἁρμόζοι σε τὸν πλείω λόγον, Εl. 1372.

827. mvp-comment-454-1 εἰ.. πορεύσεται For the v. r. cp. πημαίνεις below, in v. rr. on l. 837.

830. mvp-comment-455-1 Creon, as next of kin, is guardian of the children of the outlawed Oedipus. Cp. O. T. 1448, καὶ γὰρ ὀρθῶς τῶν γε σῶν τελεῖς ὕπερ: Aesch. Suppl. 387-389, εἴ τοι κρατοῦσι παῖδες Αἰγύπτου σέθεν | νόμῳ πόλεως, φάσκοντες ἐγγύτατα γένους | εἶναι, τίς ἂν τοῖσδ᾽ ἀντιωθῆναι θέλοι;

832. mvp-comment-456-1 τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἄγω For the plural and masc., see Essay on Language § 20. pp. 30, 31. 835-836. The excitement, indicated by the broken lines, culminates in the dochmiac rhythm, to which the diiambus, ἰὼ πόλις, is introductory. 876-885, following the second attempt of Creon, are antistrophic to 833-843, agreeing very closely (except εἴργου – – in 836 = δοκῶ u - 879) even to the division of the words. This lyrical repetition, with the balanced rhythm of the intervening dialogue (containing one short outburst of Creon, 841-855, and one of Oedipus, 864-870), may be compared with O. T. 649-659, 678-688.

832. mvp-comment-456-2 εἴργου • Keep off!' 837. The Scholiast, who, according to the reading of L, rightly explains πόλει by ταῖς Θήβαις, evidently assigned this speech to Creon.

838. mvp-comment-457-1 Creon, while defying the chorus, refrains at present from taking part in the actual violence, which he leaves to his attendants. It is to one of these that the words of the chorus are addressed.

838. mvp-comment-457-2 οὐκ ἠγόρευον ταῦτ᾽ ἐγώ! Oedipus rather alludes to his prophecy in 605 ff., that war would come between Athens and Thebes, than to his warning in 653, which is already fulfilled. Creon's present threat (πόλει μαχεῖ γάρ) comes near to Oedipus' prediction.

840. mvp-comment-458-1 The chorus and Creon are giving opposite commands to the attendant.

840. mvp-comment-458-2 χαλᾶν Το leave hold.' 841. The change to ἔντοποι (cp. Phil. 211), is necessitated by the dochmiac metre.

842. mvp-comment-459-1 πόλις ἐναίρεται My city suffers violence. The chorus in their indignation, as Theseus afterwards in his scorn (903, ξένῳ .. τῷδε χειρωθεὶς βίᾳ) represent the attempt of Creon as an assault on the liberties of their city.

842. mvp-comment-459-2 σθένει By main force. Cp. infra 1089, σθένει ᾿πινικείῳ τὸν εὔαγρον τελειῶσαι λόχον. The expression here is more nearly equivalent to κατὰ κράτος than to Bíᾳ. Cp. Eur. Bacch. 953, οὐ σθένει νικητέον | γυναῖκας. The adverbial dative following the parenthesis is rather weak. Qy. πόλις ἐμὰ στένει? Cp. Aesch. S. c. T. 247, στένει πόλισμα.

844. mvp-comment-460-1 ὦ ξένοι ξένοι The last appeal of Antigone to the chorus is so worded as to recall her former supplication, ὦ ξένοι αἰδόφρονες, l. 237 .

848. mvp-comment-461-1 ἐκ τούτοιν .. σκήπτροιν With these to lean upon.' ἐκ = by means of, with the help of. Cp. Phil. 91, οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἑνὸς ποδὸς | ἡμᾶς τοσούσδε πρὸς βίαν χειρώσεται.

851. mvp-comment-462-1 καὶ τύραννος ὢν ὅμως Although I am a prince. For τύραννos = one of royal blood, cp. Eur. Med. 957, τῇ τυράννῳ νύμφῃ. Creon is moreover regent of Thebes; O. Τ. 1418.

852. mvp-comment-463-1 τάδε = τὸ παρὸν πρᾶγμα.

856. mvp-comment-464-1 ἐπίσχες αὐτοῦ, ξεῖνε Creon, after launching the above speech at Oedipus, turns to follow Antigone and the attendants who are dragging her off. The chorus interfere to prevent him.

857. mvp-comment-465-1 τῶνδε The maidens, of whom Ismene, though in the background, is not far off.

858-859. mvp-comment-466-1 αὑτόν These lines may be differently explained according as πόλει is taken to refer to Thebes or to Athens. Either reference is possibl possible, but πόλει in Creon's previous speech, supr. 837, is clearly Thebes. ῥύσιον is that which is held by one party, and claimed or seized by another, who is said ῥυσίων ἐφάπτεσθαι (Aesch. Suppl. 412, καὶ μήτε δῆρις ῥυσίων ἐφάψεται, ib. 314, Ἔπαφος ἀληθῶς ῥυσίων ἐπώνυμος). (1) Then assuredly you will quickly pay moreover a heavier forfeit to my state, for I will seize not the maidens only. For this meaning of τίθημι see L. and S. s. v. A. II, 8. Or (2), 'Then assuredly you will cause your city to have a still greater prey to redeem. For πόλει in (2), cp. Eur. Suppl. 120, ἦλθον ἐξαιτῶν πόλιν, (Adrastus speaks of Thebes, which is not his city).

861. mvp-comment-467-1 δεινὸν λέγεις That is indeed a threat! Cp. supra 661, κεἰ δείν᾽ ἐπερρώσθη λέγειν. Know that this shall certainly be done forthwith (νῦν). For the ellipse with ὡς, cp. Αj. 39, ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι. The reduplicated future has not here the force of a future-perfect, but is simply emphatic.

863. mvp-comment-468-1 ή σὺ γάρ How? do you mean to say that you...

864. mvp-comment-469-1 μὴ γάρ γάρ gives the reason of an implied negative, repelling Creon's injunction of silence. Nay, but I will not. For I would not have these goddesses close my lips to this one curse.' 865. ἔτι adds emphasis to τῆσδε τῆς ἀρᾶς: i. e. Though they enjoin silence from cursing, let them not enforce it here.

866. mvp-comment-470-1 ὅς μ' The omission of the antecedent rather adds to the passionate force of the expression. Cp. supra 263, κάμοιγε ποῦ ταῦτ᾽ ἐστίν, οἵτινες, κ.τ.λ., and see Essay on Language § 22. p. 35. and § 39, p. 72.

866-867. mvp-comment-471-1 ψιλὸν ὄμμ' βίᾳ Who hast added to the former loss of my eyes by violently tearing away the poor defenceless means of sight that were still left to me.The ψιλὸν ὄμμα are his daughters, Antigone (τῆς ὑπέρ τ᾿ ἐμοῦ αὐτῆς θ' ὁρώσης, supra 33. 4) and Ismene, who brought him intelligence of things in Thebes. For the expression, cp. Shak., King Lear, 4. 6, Lear. Read. Gloster. What, with the case of eyes?' βίᾳ is to be joined with the phrase ἀποσπάσας.

868. mvp-comment-472-1 σὲ καὐτόν, κ.τλ. Cp. Phil. 620, τὸ σπεύδειν δέ σοι | καὐτῷ παραινῶ κεἴ τινος κήδει πέρι. The change to σε τ' αὐτόν is unnecessary here. The case is different in 1417, where σε τ' αὐτόν is a tmesis for σαυτόν τε.

870. mvp-comment-473-1 οἷον κἀμέ ἐμέ is accusative by attraction το σέ.

874. mvp-comment-474-1 ἄξω βίᾳ Cf. infra 922, βίᾳ ἄγοντα φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια.

875. mvp-comment-475-1 Creon, provoked by the curse of Oedipus, is about to carry out his threat (860), although, since the attendants are gone with the maidens, he has no one to help him. As to the reading, γηρῶν . . βαρύς; either γηρῶν has originated in a gloss on χρόνῳ βραδύς, and βαρύς, as elsewhere, from a misreading of βραδύς, or there was an early various reading, γήρᾳ βαρύς, for which, cp. O. T. 17. On the order of the words, see Essay on Language § 41. p. 78 8.

879. mvp-comment-476-1 τάνδ'. πόλιν Then I will no longer account this a city. The Scholiast, who explains by νομιῶ, seems to have read the future, which is therefore substituted for νέμω. Cp. El. 150, σὲ δ᾽ ἔγωγε νέμω θεόν.

880. mvp-comment-477-1 τοῖς τοι δικαίοις (1) In a just cause. Essay on Language § 11. p. 18. Or perhaps (2) the dat. is instrumental;- With weapons of justice. χώ βραχὺς νικᾷ μέγαν] Even slight men overcome the mighty. 882. Ζεὺς *γ᾿ ἂν εἰδείη, σὺ δ᾽ οὔ] There is a lacuna of an iambic penthemimer, or, if the correction Ζεὺς ταῦτ᾽ ἂν εἰδείη is right, of an iambic metre. The sense required is, ΧΟ. τά γ'᾽ οὐ τελεῖ.

880. mvp-comment-477-2 Ζεύς μοι ξυνίστωρ. ΚΡ. Ζεύς γ᾽ ἂν εἰδείη, σὺ δ' οὔ.

884. mvp-comment-478-1 ἰὼ γᾶς πρόμοι This is the summons to which Theseus, the chief of the land,' responds.

885. mvp-comment-479-1 ἐπεὶ πέραν | περῶσ' *οἵδε δή Elmsley's emendation has been generally adopted, and has the advantage of closely resembling 843, προβάθ᾽ ὧδέ μοι. But the correction is uncertain. (1) Since they are passing all bounds.' Cp. supra 155. Hermann's rule, that πέραν can never be used metaphorically, appears arbitrary, and when they have just left the stage it is too soon to say, (2) They are passing the frontier.' But possibly the words may mean, (3) They are passing out of reach.' Cp. infr. 902, ὡς μὴ παρέλθωσ' αἱ κόραι, and the hyperbolical expression in 842, πόλις ἐναίρεται.

887. mvp-comment-480-1 Theseus, perhaps moved by the strange advent of Oedipus. is sacrificing at the neighbouring altar of Poseidon, the chief guardian deity of Colonus. This act, which is natural in itself, is convenient, as the Scholiast remarks, for assigning a sufficient reason why Theseus, whose presence will be again necessary, should, when off the stage, be still within call. The sacrifice also occasions a gathering of people, who are ready to start in pursuit of Creon and frustrate his attempt. The trochaics are expressive of the haste with which Theseus comes-θάσσον ἢ καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν ποδός (890). They are conventionally associated with the sudden arrival on the stage or departure from it of important persons. Cp. Aesch. Pers. 155 ff.

888. mvp-comment-481-1 ἔσχετε Stayed ye my hand. Cp. 429, οὐκ ἔσχον οὐδ᾽ ἤμυναν.

891. mvp-comment-482-1 Dear friend (I know thy voice addressing us).' Cp. O. T. 1322-1326, ἰώ, φίλος .. οὐ γάρ με λήθεις, ἀλλὰ γιγνώσκω σαφῶς | καίπερ σκοτεινός, τήν γε σὴν αὐδὴν ὅμως. .. 894-895. Has torn away from me the two children that were my all. οἴχεται ἀποσπάσας, cp. supra 866, El. 809, 10, ἀποσπάσας γὰρ τῆς ἐμῆς οἴχει φρενός, κ.τ.λ. The use of μόνην is pathetic. Cp. ψιλὸν ὄμμα, supra 866.

897. mvp-comment-483-1 The readiness of Theseus in comprehending the situation, and his promptitude, are traits which assist the action while they excite the admiration of the spectators. Cp. supra 569, 631.

898. mvp-comment-484-1 τούσδε βωμούς This neighbouring altar.

899. mvp-comment-485-1 ἄνιππον ἱππότην τε Cp. Ant. 1104, οἱ τ' ὄντες οἱ τ᾽ ἀπόντες. If, as suggested by the writer of the 1st ὑπόθεσις (see Introd. p. 259), Colonus was a place where horses stood for hire, the presence of horsemen at the sacrifice is easily accounted for.

900. mvp-comment-486-1 σπεύδειν ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος The testimony of the grammarians (Phryn. ap. Bekker. p. 24, ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος τρέχειν ἵππον : οἷον ἀπὸ χαλίνου ἢ ἄνευ χαλίνου : Pollux l. 214, καὶ ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος ἀνεῖναι τὸν ἵππον), and the passages in Diodorus Sic. (19. 26), and Dion. Hal. (11. 40), leave no doubt that ῥυτήρ in this expression is not a trace but a rein, and that the use of ἀπό is emphatic. τρέχειν ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος, of a horse, would then mean, to gallop away from (i. e. without check from, without the effect of) the rein,' and in σπεύδειν ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος the notion is transferred from the horse to the rider = to ride at full gallop. The phrase is immediately connected with ἱππότην, but the notion of full speed is extended to the whole sentence. It is singular that the ancient Scholiasts should have lost the key to this expression as they seem to have done. If ῥυτήρ were a trace' as elsewhere (Il. 16.475 etc.), the meaning would be ⚫ without putting to,' i. e. riding, not driving.

900-901. mvp-comment-487-1 ἔνθα .. ὁδοί ‘Το just where the two hollow ways of travellers meet.' μάλιστα belongs in meaning to the antecedent clause, like the superlative in ἐπεὶ τάχιστα. δίστομοι suggests the appearance of the roads in a hill-country, each opening out of a narrow gorge of its own. Cp. Hom. h. Dem. 177, κοίλην κατ' ἀμαξιτόν.

900-901. mvp-comment-487-2 συμβάλλουσιν As rivers are said συμβάλλειν ῥοάς, or as persons are said συμβλῆσθαι ἀλλήλοιν, Hom. Il. 14. 27, etc. For the absolute use (on which see Essay on Language § 53. p. 98, c), cp. Eur. Or. 335, δάκρυα δάκρυσι συμβάλλει: Plat. Pol. 273 Α. ὁ δὲ μεταστρεφόμενος καὶ ξυμβάλλων. The two roads appear from 1047 to be those from Daphne and Phyle.

902. mvp-comment-488-1 The reason for so much haste is to prevent uncertainty as to the route taken by the enemy.

902-903. mvp-comment-489-1 γέλως δ᾽ ἐγὼ .. βίᾳ ·And I be vanquished and become a laughingstock to this foreigner; i. e. to Creon. The dative, though governed chiefly by γέλως . γένωμαι, also depends slightly ση χειρωθεὶς βίᾳ: cp. Plut. Dion. p. 199. Theseus angrily speaks of the success of Creon's exploit as a conquest over himself (supra 842, note). Cp. Ant. 485, εἰ ταῦτ᾽ ἀνατεὶ τῇδε κείσεται κράτη: ib. 525, ἐμοῦ δὲ ζῶντος οὐκ ἄρξει γυνή. 905 ff. Cp. Eur Suppl. 581 ff. (the whole speech reads like an echo of this), οὔτοι μ' ἐπαίρεις ὥστε θυμῶσαι φρένας | τοῖς σοῖσι κόμποις· ἀλλ᾽ ἀποστέλλου χθονός, | λόγους ματαίους οὔσπερ ἠνέγκω λαβών.

907. mvp-comment-490-1 * οὔσπερ .. ἔχων The MS. reading ὥσπερ κ.τ.λ has been explained, As he himself came hither under the protection of the laws, so he shall be corrected by the laws, (and not by violence). This makes a strong antithesis to 11. 904-906. But αὐτός is without point, and the reference to the laws without further qualification is un-Greek. Cp. Eur. Heracl. 1010, τοῖσιν Ἑλλήνων νόμοις. Either the correction οὔσπερ must be adopted, as in the text, or there is a slight inexactness of correspondence between the clauses. ('Etenim non τούτοισιν referendum est ad ὥσπερ, sed intelligendum οὕτω,' Herm. 1841. Rectius Reisigius, τούτοισι κοὐκ ἄλλοισι idem esse quod τοῖς αὐτοῖσι, quod minus infrequens est cum ὥσπερ compositum. Ellendt.). In any case the meaning is: (instead of being roughly handled) he shall be reduced to order according to those very rules of conduct which he brought with him in coming hither. i. e. As he has taken by compulsion so by compulsion he shall be checked in return.' Cp. infr. 916, supr. 832. For the meaning ning of vouos, see Essay on Language p. 88. And for the combination of the article and relative pronoun, cp. Ant. 404, ὃν σὺ τὸν νέκρον | ἀπεῖπας : Aesch. S. c. Τ. 553, τῷδ', ὃν λέγεις τὸν Ἀρκάδα.

907. mvp-comment-490-2 τούς has the force of a possessive pronoun: those principles of his.'

908. mvp-comment-491-1 κοὐκ ἄλλοισιν And these alone. ἄλλοισιν follows the construction of τούτοισι, without νόμοις or any other substantive being consciously supplied.

910. mvp-comment-492-1 Until you bring those maidens hither and set them before my face.' ἐναργεῖς] · Without possibility of mis- take.' Tr. 223, τάδε σοι βλέπειν πάρεστ᾽ ἐναργῆ : Ε1. 878, ἐναργῶς, ὥσπερ εἰσορᾶς ἐμέ.

911. mvp-comment-493-1 ἐπεὶ δέδρακας οὔτ᾽ ἐμοῦ καταξίως Since what thou hast done is unworthy alike of me and thine own lineage, and thy land.' The conjecture οὔτε σοῦ takes away the point from αὐτός in l. 912. Cp. infra 914, 915, 926.

912. mvp-comment-494-1 οὔθ᾽ ὧν πέφυκας αὐτός The royal house of Thebes. Cp. O. T. 1235, θεῖον Ἰοκάστης κάρα.

912. mvp-comment-494-2 Γκουσαν 913 δίκαι᾿ ἀσκοῦσαν] Cp. Hdt. 1.96, 1.90, (of Deioces), δικαιοσύνην ἐπιθέμενος ἤσκεε,

914. mvp-comment-495-1 κραίνουσαν Used here in the Homeric sense of accomplishing, perfecting, and so = determining.

914. mvp-comment-495-2 15. ἀφεὶς .. κύρια Casting off the authorities of this land. Cp. infra 1537, τὰ θεῖ ἀφείς.

916. mvp-comment-496-1 ἄγεις παρίστασαι βίᾳ Carry off and forcibly make subject to you what you will. Cp. Hdt. 3. 45, εἴπερ αὐτοὶ ἱκανοὶ ἦσαν Πολυκράτεα παραστήσασθαι. ἄγειν as in λείαν ἄγειν-originally of cattle.

917. mvp-comment-497-1 κένανδρον Spiritless. Aesch. Pers. 118, 121, uses κένανδρος and γυναικοπληθής of the city whose fighting men are slain. Cp. infra 939, ἄνανδρον, in the reply of Creon.

920. mvp-comment-498-1 It is not her wont to rear unrighteous men.

922. mvp-comment-499-1 3. βίᾳ | ἄγοντα Added in explanation of the preceding clause.

923. mvp-comment-500-1 φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια Poor suppliant mortals. The periphrasis (for which see Essay on Language § 10. p. 17) adds pathetic emphasis to both parts of the expression.

924. mvp-comment-501-1 οὔκουν And I would not. οὖν marks the accordance of what Theseus lays down as the rule of his own conduct with the claim he makes on Thebes. Cp. γοῦν.

927. mvp-comment-502-1 οὔθ᾽ εἰλκον .. ἦγον Would neither have dragged away nor carried off. εἶλκον expresses a greater degree of violence.

929. mvp-comment-503-1 ἀξίαν οὐκ οὖσαν, sc. αἰσχύνεσθαι. For τὴν αὐτὸς αὐτοῦ, cp. infr. 1356.

930-931. mvp-comment-504-1 καί σ'.. κενόν And length of years gives folly to be the companion of thine age. Lit. In making thee old makes thee at the same time void of wisdom. Cp. Ant. 281, μὴ 'φευρεθῇς ἄνους τε καὶ γέρων ἅμα.

933. mvp-comment-505-1 τὰς παῖδας .. τινά That the maidens be brought hither. The impersonal form of expression is here more dignified than if σε were repeated.

934. mvp-comment-506-1 μέτοικος The Schol. observes that this word is used in the general sense of ἔνοικος, and not in its ordinary special meaning. See Essay on Language § 52. P. 97. § 54. p. 99.

936. mvp-comment-507-1 These words come from my mind as truly as from my tongue.'

937-938. mvp-comment-508-1 ὡς .. δίκαιος Since judging by the city from which you spring, you are shown to be just, and are then found to be doing evil. The chorus point the moral of Theseus' speech. Cp. supr. 919, καίτοι σε Θηβαί γ᾽ οὐκ ἐπαίδευσαν κακόν, 912 ff.

939. mvp-comment-509-1 ἄνανδρον Without manhood, referring to κένανδρον, supr. 927. Some have tried to preserve the reading of L (λέγω) by joining ἄβουλον (940) with ἔργον (941), but the epithet does not agree with the tenor of Theseus' speech. Cp. Eur. Suppl. 314-323.

940. mvp-comment-510-1 οὔτ᾽ ἄβουλον Nor without counsel; referring to 913-914, δίκαι' ἀσκοῦσαν εἰσελθὼν πόλιν, κἄνευ νόμου κραίνουσαν οὐδέν.

941. mvp-comment-511-1 γιγνώσκων δ' ὅτι But judging that.

942-943. mvp-comment-512-1 οὐδεὶς.. βίᾳ They would never be seized with an officious desire of maintaining my relations against my will. αὐτούς, sc. τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, implied in τήνδε τὴν πόλιν supr. For the accusative αὐτούς, see Essay on Language § 16. p. 23, and cp. Ο. Τ. 713, ὡς αὐτὸν ἥξοι μοῖρα πρὸς παιδὸς θανεῖν.

944. mvp-comment-513-1 ἤδη δ' And I was sure. Cp. the use of ἐπίσταμαι in Herodotus.

945. mvp-comment-514-1 κἄναγνον κἄνανδρον in L. is clearly a misreading from l. 939. Ср. Ο. Τ. 894, ἔρξεται.

945. mvp-comment-514-2 6. Nor one who was discovered to be living in incest with his own parent.' Lit. With whom were found unholy marriages of children with parents. τέκνων is not genitive of the object, but attributive genitive (Essay on Language § 9. p. 12), sufficiently defining the ἀνόσιοι γάμοι, although τέκνων πρὸς γονέας might be a more complete expression.

947. mvp-comment-515-1 Such a seat of good counsel did I know them to possess, the hill of Ares in this land. εὔβουλον opposed to ἄβουλον supra 940. For the argumentative use of τοιοῦτον, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 35.

950. mvp-comment-516-1 To it I trusted when I seized this prey.' Creon, as the next of kin, claims the right of dealing summarily with the homicide.

954. mvp-comment-517-1 The Schol. here quotes the proverb, ὁ θυμὸς ἔσχατον γηράσκει, as being referred to by Alcaeus. Cp. Thuc. 2.44.6, τὸ γὰρ φιλότιμον ἀγήρων μόνον. For anger yields not to age, until death comes. No pain indeed can touch the dead.' Aesch. Fr. 250, ἄλγος δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἅπτεται νεκροῦ. After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well; Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison, Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing, Can touch him further.' Shak. Macb. 3. 2.

957. mvp-comment-518-1 ἐρημία Cp. 875. This, as Theseus presently suspects (1029-1031), is a false pretence.

957. mvp-comment-518-2 κεί δίκαι᾿ ὅμως λέγω i. e. ὅμως κεὶ δίκαια λέγω.

958. mvp-comment-519-1 σμικρόν Cp. βραχύς, supra 880.

958. mvp-comment-519-2 πρὸς δὲ τὰς πράξεις But still I will endeavour to resist violence, if it is offered, old as I am. πράξεις here is not a mere repetition of the notion of the verb πράξεις supra 956, but is spoken with some emphasis, in allusion to Theseus' threats of compulsion, supr. 908, 935.

960-961. mvp-comment-520-1 Oedipus means that Creon's language reflects disgrace upon himself as the brother of Jocasta, and as having made an outcast of his kinsman. Cp. supr. 770, 800, 1, πότερα νομίζεις .. ἐν τῷ νῦν λόγῳ; 753-754, ἆρ᾽ ἄθλιον τοὔνειδος.. ὠνείδισ᾽ εἰς σὲ κἀμέ; infr. 978 ff. And for λῆμα, Pind. Pyth. 3. 25, λῆμα Κορωνίδος.

962. mvp-comment-521-1 ὅστις φόνους μοι Who hast allowed to pass thy lips against me the mention of that murder and that disastrous marriage which I unfortunate endured unwittingly. The general word συμφοράς (here, as in O. T. 99, equivalent to ἄγος) sums up the preceding notions, and adds to them. Cp. O. Τ. 1407-1408, χὠπόσα | αἴσχιστ᾽ ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἔργα γίγνεται.

965. mvp-comment-522-1 Who would seem to have had some old cause of wrath against our race.' Cp. Plat. Phaedr. 244 D. πόνων τῶν μεγίστων, ἃ δὴ παλαιῶν ἐκ μηνιμάτων ποθὲν ἔν τισι τῶν γενῶν ἦν.

966. mvp-comment-523-1 The comparative innocence of VOL. I. Oedipus in his voluntary actions is a chief point in the tragic interest of the Oedipus Tyrannus, and is still more strongly asserted in this play.

966. mvp-comment-523-2 ἐμοί Sc. προσόν.

967. mvp-comment-524-1 ἀνθ᾿ ὅτου In retribution for which; involuntary crimes being regarded as a punishment for some previous crime.

970. mvp-comment-525-1 χρησμοῖσιν .. παίδων Poetical (generalizing) plural. Cp. O. Τ. 711-713.

970. mvp-comment-525-2 ὥστε 'That he should die by his son's hand;' i. e. an oracle, whose fulfilment lay in his being slain by his son. Cp. 1350, δικαιῶν ὥστ᾽ ἐμοῦ κλύειν λόyous, and see note on O. T. 713. 972-973. Who was not yet begotten or conceived, but at that time had not come into being.'

974-976. mvp-comment-526-1 And if, coming into the world as I came, marked by misfortune, I fought with and slew my father, all ignorant of what I was doing and to whom, how then can you in fairness blame me for what I did, seeing it was Bb unwitting?' ὡς ἐγὼ ᾿φάνην refers to the conditions of the oracle given to Laius. Cp. O. Τ. 1376, ὅπως ἔβλαστε.

977. mvp-comment-527-1 * δάν, ( = δὴ ἄν, cp. El. 314), is a correction of y' av, in which the reduplication of the particles makes γε doubtful. For a similar error in the MSS. cp. supr. 51, ἄτιμός γ᾽ ἔκ γ᾽ ἐμοῦ.

977. mvp-comment-527-2 ἶκον = ἀκούσιον. Essay on Language p. 94, cp. supra 239, ἔργων ἀκόντων.

980-981. mvp-comment-528-1 Being such as I will presently tell of: for no, I will not keep silence, when you have gone to such a height of impiety. οὖν represents Oedipus' speaking as the natural consequence of Creon's.

980-981. mvp-comment-528-2 εἰς τόδε.. ἀνόσιον στόμα (1) Το this height of impiety in speaking.' Cp. supra 132, τὸ τᾶς εὐφήμου στόμα φροντίδος ἱέντες. This is better than (2) taking ἀνόσιον στόμα separately, as an accusative of limitation. To such a height in thine impious speech.

982. mvp-comment-529-1 ἔτικτε.. οὐκ εἰδυῖα She was, she was my mother, though we knew it not; i. e. ἦν μητὴρ οὐκ εἰδότος οὐκ εἰδυῖα.

986. mvp-comment-530-1 Brunck's διστομεῖν was suggested not by levity, as Elmsley thought, but by the correction of Par. A.

987. mvp-comment-531-1 ἄκων is used in two senses: (1) unwittingly, δι' ἄγνοιαν, (2) against my will, βίᾳ.

988. mvp-comment-532-1 ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γάρ But (your charge is groundless), for, etc. So in Tr. 552, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γάρ, ὥσπερ εἶπον, ὀργαίνειν καλὸν | γυναῖκα νοῦν ἔχουσαν: Εl. 595.

988. mvp-comment-532-2 ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ οὐδὲ νουθετεῖν ἔξεστί σε. Essay on Language § 25. p. 43.

988. mvp-comment-532-3 ἀκούσομαι I shall be reputed.

993. mvp-comment-533-1 κτείνοι Were to attempt to kill.

994. mvp-comment-534-1 ὁ καίνων He who was trying to kill you. Cp. Hdt. 3. 99, οἱ μάλιστά οἱ ὁμιλέοντες κτείνουσι.. ὁ δὲ ἄπαρνός ἐστι, κ.τ.λ. Eur. Phoen. 1600, (ΟΙΔ.) ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἐγενόμην, εὐθὺς ὁ σπείρας πατὴρ | κτείνει με, κ.τ.λ. Essay on Language § 32. p. 55.

995-996. mvp-comment-535-1 Methinks, as you love life, you would punish the aggressor, and not scrutinize too closely the justice of the case.

997. mvp-comment-536-1 εἰσέβην I came into. Cp. Aesch. Suppl. 470, ἄτης δ' ἄβυσσον πέλαγος οὐ μάλ' εὔπορον | τόδ' ἐσβέβηκα.

998. mvp-comment-537-1 And I do not think that my father's spirit, were he alive, would gainsay my words.' The antecedent to ois is the argument from 989-996.

1000. mvp-comment-538-1 εἰ γὰρ οὐ δίκαιος You, however, for you only profess to be just, and think any word decorous, whether fit to be spoken or not, you pour these reproaches upon me in the presence of these men. Cp. supra 992, σὲ τὸν δίκαιον, and Creon's reasons 941-952.

1000. mvp-comment-538-2 τοῦθ' τοῦδ᾽ LBVat.

1003-1004. mvp-comment-539-1 And it suits your purpose well to flatter the name of Theseus, and Athens and her noble institutions. 1003. τὸ Θησέως ὄνομα θωπεῦσαι] Viz. in the courteous address, ὦ τέκνον Αἰγέως, supra 940.

1003-1004. mvp-comment-539-2 καλόν So in Phil. 1155, νῦν καλὸν..

1003-1004. mvp-comment-539-3 κορέσαι στόμα.

1004. mvp-comment-540-1 καὶ τὰς Ἀθήνας, κ.τ.λ. Supra 733-734, 758-759, 943-953. κατώκηνται καλῶς] Cp. Plat. Legg. 683 Α, τὴν εἰς Λακεδαίμονα κατοίκισιν..

1004. mvp-comment-540-2 ἣν ὑμεῖς ὀρθῶς ἔφατε κατοικεῖσθαι καὶ Κρήτην ὡς ἀδελφοῖς νόμοις. 1005. And then amidst all your praises (join ὧδε πολλά), you forget this praise.' 1007. The correction of Par. F (2886), ῶν θεοὺς, suggests *θεῶν.. τιμάς.

1004. mvp-comment-540-3 τοῦθ' This land is foremost in that virtue. For the genitive in the reading of L, cp. El. 1095-1097, ἃ δὲ μέγιστ᾽ ἔβλαστε νόμιμα | τῶνδε φερομέναν ἄριστα. But the reading of A is in this case clearer and more harmonious. Bb2

1008. mvp-comment-541-1 τὸν ἱκέτην γέροντ᾽ ἐμέ Cp. O. T. 1153, Phil. 930.

1009. mvp-comment-542-1 Wert seizing me. and hast carried away my children. For the imperfect, cp. supr. 950. ἐχειροῦ is read in Par. F.

1012. mvp-comment-543-1 θ' is added from a corrector of Par. F.

1014-1015. mvp-comment-544-1 δέ is in each case slightly adversative. The stranger, my lord, is honest: his calamities, indeed, are horrible, but they deserve our help.' The mind of the chorus is divided between horror and pity. Cp. O Τ. 1296, τοιοῦτον οἷον καὶ στυγοῦντ᾽ ἐποικτίσαι. The subdued tone of this speech, compared with 1044-1095, affords a good instance of the different functions of the chorus in the dialogue and in the lyric passages.

1016. mvp-comment-545-1 οἱ ἐξηρπασμένοι Schol. oἱ θεράποντες Κρέοντος. This interpretation, (1) implies that ἐξηρπ. is perfect middle. See Veitch, Irr. Verbs, s. v. ἁρπάζω. The force of the middle voice would be, Having effected their purpose of capture. (2) The captured ones, i. e. they and their attendants, are speeding away. The masculine form is used because the captors are included in the expression. See Essay on Language § 20. p. 30, and cp. supr. 902, ὡς μὴ παρέλθωσ᾽ αἱ κόραι: infr. 1057-1060, and notes. An early corrector of L, without erasing the termination οι, has changed it to ην, making the accusative to be governed by σπεύδουσιν as a causative verb. This is the reading also of Vat. and Par. B.

1018. mvp-comment-546-1 τί δῆτ᾿ ἀμαυρῷ φωτὶ προστάσσεις ποιεῖν;] (1) What then are your commands for one who is powerless to resist them? This meaning of ἀμαυρός is sufficiently supported by Eur. Andr. 204, αὐτή τ᾿ ἀμαυρὰ κοὺ τύραννος ἦν Φρυγῶν. For φώς used by the speaker of himself, cp. infr. 1109, ὦ σκῆπτρα φωτός. Creon continues his pretence of helplessness: supr. 956-958. The excessive meekness of this expression may be thought hardly consistent with ll. 958-959, 1037, and the words may be construed as an expression of contempt for Oedipus, (2) What then is your bidding on behalf of this wretched nobody?' But the first interpretation (1) is probably right.

1019. mvp-comment-547-1 τῆς ἐκεῖ i. e. ἐκεῖσε. “To lead the way yonder.' Hdt. 7. 147, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκεῖ πλέομεν ἔνθαπερ καὶ οὗτοι.

1019. mvp-comment-547-2 πομπὸν δ᾽ * ἐμὲ | χωρεῖν That I, however, accompany you. The infinitive depends on the notion My will is, implied in the preceding words. ἐμέ in this connection is more expressive than με, and the authority of the MSS. respecting such a difference is slight.

1021. mvp-comment-548-1 τὰς παῖδας ἡμῶν The genitive ἡμῶν has something of a privative force. You have the maidens whom you have taken from us. Cp. supr. 821, τὴν παῖδ᾽ ἔχεις μου; Ο. Τ. 1522, μηδαμῶς ταύτας γ᾽ ἕλῃ μου. Theseus throughout represents himself as aggrieved by Creon's act. οἶμον is an ingenious but unnecessary conjecture. The word would be superfluous after ὁδοῦ, supr. 1019. 1022-1024. (1) But if men are fleeing with them in their power, we may spare our pains, for there are others urging that pursuit (supr. 897 ff.), whom to have escaped out of this land they shall never glory before the gods.' The reading of most MSS, ἐπεύχονται or ἐπεύχωνται, is not defensible. For the variation of x and §, cp. Ο. Τ. ξ έ 297, οὐξελέγχων. Par. B. has ἐπεύχωνται. For the mode of expression, cp. Plat. Soph. 235 C, οὔτε οὗτος οὔτε ἄλλο γένος οὐδὲν μή ποτε ἐκφυγὸν ἐπεύξηται τὴν μέθοδον : Legg. 10. 905 Α, οὔτε σὺ μήποτε οὔτε ἄλλος ἀτυχὴς γενόμενος ἐπεύξηται περιγενέσθαι θεῶν. Otherwise, (2) As having escaped from whom they shall never glory over the gods of this land. But although Theseus speaks hyperbolically of the success of Creon in capturing the maidens as a conquest over himself, he cannot speak of the Thebans as glorying over the defeat of Poseidon, Athena, the Eumenides, Dionysus (!), etc. who are not gods of Colonus and Athens only, but universally reverenced ἐπεύξωνται Βο. 1028, τόδ' in Hellas. And the order of the words, especially the position of φυγόντες, is adverse to this interpretation.

1024. mvp-comment-549-1 χώρας.. τήσδε (gen of motion) is added, because when they entered Boeotia they would be safe.

1024. mvp-comment-549-2 ἐπεύξωνται contains at once the notion of glorying and of thanksgiving. Cp. the exulting language of Ajax in his imagined victory to Athene, Aj. 92-96, ὡς εὐ παρέστης· καί σε παγχρύσοις ἐγὼ στέψω λαφύροις τῆσδε τῆς ἄγρας χάριν.. κόμπος πάρεστι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή. 6

1025. mvp-comment-550-1 ἀλλά In repeating a command or request, as often in Plato. Come, lead the way.'

1026-1077. mvp-comment-551-1 In catching, you are caught; and fortune has taken you as you were pursuing after your prey.' The substitution of δίκη for τύχη is unnecessary and wrong. Fortune is continually regarded as the instrument of the Divine will. Cp. Phil. 1317, τὰς μὲν ἐκ θεῶν | τύχας δοθείσας: Shak. Hamlet, Act 3, Sc. 4. 'Take thy fortune; Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger.'

1026. mvp-comment-552-1 δόλῳ | τῷ μὴ δικαίῳ The dative is governed by the verbal notion'in κτήματα. Essay on Language p. 94.

1028-1031. mvp-comment-553-1 κοὐκ ἄλλον. τάδε And you shall have no one to help you in this; for I well know that you were not unaided or unprepared, when you reached the height of insolence which is implied in this daring deed; but there were others to whom you trusted when you acted thus.

1028-1031. mvp-comment-553-2 εἰς τόδε ‘For this task, viz. that of leading to where the maidens are. Cp. supr. 507, χωροῖμ᾽ ἂν ἐς τόδ᾽;

1029. mvp-comment-554-1 ὕβριν. τόλμης For the gen., see Essay on Language § 10. p. 17. Cp. Creon's assertion, supra 957-958, ἐρημία με κεὶ δίκαι᾿ ὅμως λέγω | σμικρὸν τίθησι. Theseus will not allow Creon to take any one with him, either of his own attendants, who may be lurking near, or of the Athenians, whom he may have corrupted. ψιλόν refers rather to the former suspicion, ἄσκευον (i.e. ἄνευ παρασκευῆς) to the latter. Cp. Thuc. 2. 12, ξυμπέμπουσί τε τῷ Μελησίππῳ ἀγωγοὺς ὅπως μηδενὶ ξυγγένηται.

1031. mvp-comment-555-1 πιστός Relying in confidence on some one. For πιστός active, cp. Aesch. Prom. 917, τοῖς μεταρσίοις κτύποις πιστός: Thuc. 3. 40, ἐλπίδα λόγῳ πιστήν: Plat. Legg. 824, νυκτερεύτην δὲ ἄρκυσι καὶ πλεκταῖς πιστόν.

1032-1033. mvp-comment-556-1 Which things I must look into, and not allow this state to be overpowered by a single man.' Cp. supra 842, 879, 933, and the similar feeling in Ant. 663-664, ὅστις.. τοὐπιτάσσειν τοῖς κρατύνουσιν νοεῖ: 678, κούτοι γυναικὸς οὐδαμῶς ἡσσητέα. These lines may be taken to hint at a suspicion of treachery within the city, to which ἄσκευον may also point. Cр. О. Т. 124-125, πῶς οὖν ὁ ληστής, εἴ τι μὴ ξὺν ἀργύρῳ | ἐπράσσετ᾿ ἐνθένδ᾽, ἐς τόδ' ἂν τόλμης ἔβη; and note; also Ant. 689-694, and esp. Lys. c. Eratosth. p. 128, τοσοῦτον δ᾽ ὑμῶν καταπεπεφρόνηκεν ἢ ἑτέροις πεπίστευκεν, ὧν ἀμφοτέρων ἄξιον ἐπιμεληθῆναι, ἐνθυμουμένοις ὅτι οὔτ᾽ ἂν ἐκεῖνα δύναιντο ποιεῖν μὴ ἑτέρων συμπραττόντων οὔτ᾽ ἂν νῦν ἐπεχείρησαν ἐλθεῖν κ.τ.λ.

1034-1035. mvp-comment-557-1 ἢ μάτην.. χώτε ταῦτ᾽ ἐμηχανῶ] Or are the considerations that I am urging as unmeaning to you now as they were when you devised this plot? The sentence is concluded as if the preceding words had been ἢ τὰ ἐμοὶ λελεγμένα δοκεῖ μάτην λελέχθαι ὁμοίως νῦν.

1036. mvp-comment-558-1 Join μεμπτόν. ἐμοί, Essay on Language § 41. p. 77.

1036. mvp-comment-558-2 νυν

1037. mvp-comment-559-1 χἡμεῖς I, in my turn.

1038. mvp-comment-560-1 χωρῶν ἀπείλει νυν Well, threaten as you please, but go on. qualifies the whole sentence, of which the participle is the emphatic word, and is used, as often elsewhere, with the imperative, e.g. supra 21, κάθιζε νύν με. For the emphatic participle, cp. Phil. 590, Ε. σὲ θήσομαι τῶνδ᾽ αἴτιον. Ν. ποιοῦ λέγων, I will make you responsible for this. Do as you please in making me responsible, if you will only speak.

1039. mvp-comment-561-1 πιστωθείς Under my assurance. As the middle πιστοῦμαι means to give mutual pledges, πιστωθείς is here used passively = having received pledge, i. e. being assured. a

1044. mvp-comment-562-1 While Oedipus remains alone upon the rock, an object of profound pity, the chorus burst into an exulting strain, anticipating the victory of Theseus and the restoration of Antigone and Ismene. The fray will soon begin. Would I were there to see! Where will the foemen turn to bay? At the pass of Mount Aegaleon, or by the Eleusinian shore? There will Theseus rouse the combat, and the maidens shall be present at the achievement of their deliverance. Or descend they now from Phyle, westward of the rock, the chariots with the pursuing cavalry? The enemy shall be overpowered. Mighty are the men of Theseus: valiant are the horsemen of our deme. They all are wor- α. shippers of Athene Hippia and of Poseidon. Are they engaged? or is the action still to be? My prophetic spirit pleads for the restitution of the muchenduring, much-wronged, maiden. O had my vision wings, that, lifted on some airy cloud, I might look upon the victory which I foretell! 'Zeus, grant our people the attainment of the fair prize and Pallas, his dread child, and ye, Apollo and Artemis, who love the chase, come jointly to our country's aid.' The metre of this chorus, at first glyconic, passes more and more into slow trochaic and iambic movements, with frequent long syllables. The whole is marked by great solemnity, with an occasional note of triumph. ―下​CCICI IFCCICI ICCICI CICIト​CCIILCI ーーーー トレーートレー トリートー 10= 10- ?? トトートー ICCI- LLACI 1, 2, 3, Glyconic with monosyllabic base, 5, 12, Pherecratean, 14, Adoniad, 6, 11, logaoedic, 4, 7, iambic dimeter with long syllables in the alternate feet, 8, 9, 13, trochaic, with long syllables in the alternate feet. The interweaving of the logaoedic with the iambic and trochaic rhythms is marked by the interposition of the iambics in 4 between the glyconic and Pherecratean, and the trochees in 13 between the Pherecratean and Adoniad. The epitritic movement, - - - - - - -, prevails throughout. Line ro of the strophe, if the text is right, may be compared with Phil. 1082, 1103, 1123, 1146, 1147, where the same form ㄥ​ㄧ​ㄥ​に​ト​し​て​! is combined with glyconic and Pherecratean measures. In Phil. 1147 it answers to a glyconic - - トー in 1124. But this does not remove the difficulty of finding a probable emendation of 1069, which may secure a tolerable correspondence between strophe and antistrophe. See note on 1069. β΄. D レレトート​(I LLCI ートレビー alcllcC1I !!ト​C!!!いー Lullトーー LU ICICII LUIIト​CIK CLLCICIU

1044. mvp-comment-562-2 The slow (epitritic) movement with frequent long syllables is continued in the second strophe and antistrophe, and only in lines 5 and 8 is quickened by the introduction of the dactyl. The opening syllables of 1 and 2 may have been exceptionally prolonged. Line 3 is probably to be scanned as an iambic dimeter with syncope of 3rd and 4th thesis. Syncope of thesis occurs also in 11. 5 and 10. Cp. O. T. 190, 193, 200, Christ's Metrik. § 393.

1044. mvp-comment-562-3 Might I be where soon the foemen shall wheel round and begin the fray with clanging arms.' The imagination of the chorus is excited by what Theseus has said, supr. 1022, 1029 ff.

1044. mvp-comment-562-4 δαΐων ἀνδρῶν ἐπιστροφαί i. e. δάϊοι ἄνδρες ἐπιστρεφθέντες: cp. Eur. Alc. 606, ἀνδρῶν Φεραίων εὐμενὴς παρουσία.

1046. mvp-comment-563-1 Ἄρη | μίξουσιν Like μάχην συνάπτειν, with the additional notion of a confused hurtling contest. Il. 20. 374, τῶν δ᾽ ἄμυδις μίχθη μένος, ὧρτο δ' ἀτή. 1048-1049. ἢ πρὸς Πυθίαις.. ἀκταῖς] Either by the cliffs of Pythium or those torch-lit cliffs... i. e. the shores of the Thriasian plain. ἀκταί seems to be a general expression for the seaward cliffs, including those not actually touching the sea. But the word is chosen to suit the mention of Eleusis. The question is whether the engagement will be in the pass of Daphne, or at some further point on the Eleusinian way. Cp the skirmish at ῾Ρειτοί in Thuc. 2.19. The Pythian cliffs' are so named from the Pythium, a shrine of Apollo in the deme of Oenoe, probably at the place now called Daphne. According to some authorities the Pythium was on the Megarian frontier. But the place so designated could not be on the way to Thebes. Philochorus, quoted by the Scholiast, says, ἐν Οἰνόῃ.. ἐν τῷ Πυθίῳ. For the adjective λαμπάς, cp. infra 1060, πέτρας νιφάδος. The Schol. quotes a line of Aeschylus describing the Eleusinian procession, Fr. 376, λαμπραίσιν ἀστραπαῖσι λαμπάδων σθένει.

1050-1052. mvp-comment-564-1 οὗ πότνιαι.. προσπόλων Εύμολπιδᾶν] (1) Where dread mysteries are dispensed to mortals by reverend goddesses, whose golden (i. e. sacred, cp. O. T. 158, 187) key holds fast the tongue of their attendants of Eumolpus' race.' καί introduces a further description of the goddesses who preside at the mysteries. The initiation of the Eumolpidae is mentioned, as being more solemn than that of the Mystae, inasmuch as they have received their consecration immediately from Demeter and Persephone:-'quae silentio sacro continent suorum ora ministrorum.' Reisig. Hermann objects that the duty of silence was imposed on all initiated persons He refers ὧν τo θνατοῖσιν, and would render (2), On whose tongue hath passed the sacred key of the ministering Eumolpidae. And the Scholiast gives the same explanation: ὧν· τῶν τετελεσμένων. καί in this case may be supposed to emphasise the necessity of initiation as a condition of seeing the mysteries, or to distinguish the act of the priests from that of the deities. In favour of the first rendering (1), it may be urged that it makes καί more intelligible, gives more force to προσπόλων, and suits better with the position of the words χρυσέα κλής.

1050-1052. mvp-comment-564-2 τιθηνοῦνται τέλη θνατοῖσιν, · Minister sacred rites to men,' as a nurse ministers to an infant. τέλη is a sort of cognate accusative, i e. ποιοῦνται οἷα ἂν τιθῆναι.

1054-1057. mvp-comment-565-1 ἔνθ᾽ Bo Where (i. e. somewhere on the sacred way) methinks that Theseus and the two virgin sisters will soon mingle in the fray of battle which is to deliver them:'or, taking αὐτάρκει in a more general sense, in the valorous combat, the rescue that achieves its purpose.'

1054. mvp-comment-566-1 † ἐγρεμάχαν Hom. Hymn to Demeter, 424, Παλλάς τ᾽ ἐγρεμάχη καὶ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα. The various reading ὀρειβατάν or ὀρειοβατάν may have arisen from a confusion of the letters e, ο-μ, β-χ, τ. This would not be a greater perversion than τήνδε θεσπίζει γραφήν for τήνδ᾽ ἔθεσθ' ἐπιστροφήν, Ο. Τ. 134, or ἐμοῖς ἐπὶ πόνοις for ἐμὸς ἐπίπολος, ib. 1322. The line does not exactly correspond to that in the antistrophe; see note on infr. 1067-1070. νας.

1055. mvp-comment-567-1 Θησέα. So φονέα, Eur. Hec. 882.

1055. mvp-comment-567-2 διστόλους i. e. δύο δισσῶς ἐσταλμέ- The word recalls the two bands of Thebans who had carried off Ismene and Antigone and would now resist their rescue. But the second part of the compound is subordinate. Elmsley says,

διστόλους ἀδελφάς dixit pro δισσῶν ἀδελφῶν στόλον.
The maidens and their captors are spoken of in a single phrase, as in supr. 902, 1016.

1056. mvp-comment-568-1 1056. ἀδμῆτας, virgin, perhaps with the further association of unconquered; i. e. exempt from captivity, cp. infr 1147. The latter part of the sentence is adapted to the nearer subject (Essay on Language § 36. p. 65, 2). The first intention was to speak of Theseus and the captors of the maidens as joining battle; then the thought occurs, the maidens also will be in the midst of the fray. Hence ξυμμίξειν with μάχην, or an equivalent word in the accusative, is changed to ἐμμίξειν with the dative, and the word for battle is expanded into the phrase αὐτάρκης βοά, i. e. either ἑαυταῖς ἀρκοῦσα, defending them, or αὐτὴ ἀρκοῦσα, sufficient without more ado. See Essay on Language § 43. p. 81, § 56. p. 102, § 3. p. 7. The latter meaning is probably right. The word is of good omen, like ἐσθλῶν, εὔαγρον, infra. ἐμμίξειν (intrans. cp.

1056. mvp-comment-568-2 προσμίσγω, συμμίσγω, συμβάλλω) is rightly construed with the dative, and Boa is used in the sense of a sudden rally or skirmish, almost = βοήθεια. Cp. supra 887, τίς ποθ' ἡ βοή; where βoή is the summons to such a sudden fight: Aesch. Ag. 1349: Suppl. 730, εἰ βραδύνοιμεν βοῇ: Od. 22. 77, βοὴ δ᾽ ὤκιστα γένοιτο,

1058. mvp-comment-569-1 τούσδ᾽ ἀνὰ χώρους This resumption of ἔνθα, which in 1054 summed up 11. 1047-1053, prepares the way for the fresh alternative, ἤ που, κ.τ.λ.

1059. mvp-comment-570-1 Or perhaps the scene of the contest is more distant. Or haply, leaving the pastures of Oea' (a deme of the Oenean tribe) they draw near the region that lies westward of the snowy rock.' τόν] Sc. χῶρον,

1060. mvp-comment-571-1 πελῶσ' γρ. πελάζουσι C2. mg. ῥίμφαρμαρτοσ C². ῥίμφαρμάτας.. ἁμίλλας Β. AR. Θησειδᾶν] θησιδᾶν L.

1060. mvp-comment-571-2 ρια .. ἄμβασισ. 1070. τὸν L. τὰν CA.

1060. mvp-comment-571-3 νιφάδος i. e. Where the snow lies longest. Schol. λέγων τὴν οὕτω λεγομένην λείαν πέτραν. The place meant is probably the precipitous western end of Parnes, overhanging the pass of Phyle, and clearly visible from Athens.

1060. mvp-comment-571-4 πελῶσι They will be drawing near. For πελάζω with the accusative in this sense, cp. Phil. 1163, πέλασσον.. πελάταν: Eur. Andr. 1167, Δελφίδος ἐκ γῆς δῶμα πελάζει.

1062-1064. mvp-comment-572-1 πώλοισιν ἁμίλλαις With their horses, or in the nimbly-racing chariots in which they flee. πώλοισιν refers to the pursuers, ῥιμφαρμάτοις φεύγοντες ἁμίλλαις to the pursued, who are supposed to have provided chariots for the capture of the maidens.

1065-1066. mvp-comment-573-1 ἁλώσεται.. ἀκμά ‘He' (the enemy, just referred to in φεύγοντες) will be overpowered. Terrible is the valour of our neighbours: terrible also is the youthful might of Theseus men.' For the singular number of ἁλώσεται, cp. Ant. 106, τὸν.. φῶτα βάντα πανσαγίᾳ : and for its absolute use, cp. Aj. 648-649, ἀλλ᾽ ἁλίσκεται | χὼ δεινὸς ὅρκος, κ.τ.λ.

1065-1066. mvp-comment-573-2 προσχώρων, cp. supra 493.

1066. mvp-comment-574-1 Θησειδᾶν The patronymic is used by an anachronism for the youth of Athens, with an allusion to the leadership of Theseus. Cp. Hdt. 1. 125, βασιλέες οἱ Περσείδαι. Of those who were assembled at the sacrifice of Theseus, some would be attendants of Theseus, but others would be gathered from the vicinity of the altar.

1067-1070. mvp-comment-575-1 πᾶς γὰρ .. ἄμβασις Although the emendation of these lines is uncertain, their general meaning is clearly a reminiscence of the command of Theseus to the horsemen in 899, 900, σπεύδειν ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος, just as the description of the two passes is suggested by his words in 900-901, ἔνθα δίστομοι . . ὁδοί. Herm. (1841) conj. πᾶσα δ᾽ ὁρμᾶται χαλῶσ᾽ | ἀμπυκτήρια πωλικά : reading ὀρειβάταν in the strophe, and rejecting φάλαρα as a gloss. Bothe reads, κατά | ἀμπυκτήρια. Cp. Aj. 42,5, Tr. 510 (?). The rhythm lucul is not impossible (for the resolved trochee, cp. Phoen. 227, 237); but the change of rhythm from l. 10 of the strophe (1054) cannot be justified by such examples as Phil. 1124-1147. When all the difficulties are looked at together, it seems most probable that there is some corruption here or in l. 1054, if not in both. Qy. ἔνθ' οἴομαι ἐγρεκύδοιμον - (κατὰ) λάμπρ᾿ ἀμπυκτήρια πώλων, (-)? The words as they stand may be construed, The riders all are rushing on, in the direction of,' (κατά, cp. κατ' οὗρον, κατὰ πόδα) the bridles of the horses; i.e. Every horseman gives his steed its head.

1067-1070. mvp-comment-575-2 κατά may or may not be genuine, but Hermann's conjecture χαλῶσ᾽ ἀμπυκτήρια is somewhat prosaic.

1070. mvp-comment-576-1 ἄμβασις, abstract collective for ἀναβάται, ἱ. ε. ἱππόται. Cp. the common prose expression ἡ ἵππος. Essay on Language § 50. p. 94. For Ἀθήνη ἱππία and her temple in the Academy, see Paus. 1. 30.

1073. mvp-comment-577-1 Ῥέας One syllable, as in Il. 15.187, οὓς τέκετο 'Ρέα (where Poseidon speaks).

1074. mvp-comment-578-1 * ἔρδουσ᾽, ἢ μέλλουσιν; ὡς] Herm. corrected the antistrophe to ὦ Ζεῦ θεῶν πανταρχέτα. But the slow movement レレトート ​_ is characteristic. See note on the metre.

1074-1076. mvp-comment-579-1 ὡς προμνᾶταί τί μοι | γνώμα] How my thoughts are pleading!' προμνᾶσθαι is generally to plead for another: and the chorus (infr. 1096) say this in the interest of Oedipus. But προperhaps conveys the association of beforehand, anticipating the event. The thought of the chorus is like a messenger, who goes before to urge the claim of a sovereign. τὶ is cognate accusative. Cp. supr. 965, Tr. 67, μύθοις εἴ τι πιστεύειν χρεών.

1076. mvp-comment-580-1 τάχ᾿ ἀνδώσειν That they will quickly restore. Although Pind. Fr. Thr. 4, Φερσεφόνα .. ἐς τὸν ὕπερθεν ἅλιον . . ἀνδιδοῖ ψυχὰν πάλιν, is not a conclusive instance of this use of ἀναδίδωμι, the existence of such a meaning is not improbable (cp. ἀνακομίζειν, ἀνακτᾶσθαι, ἀναλαμβάνειν, and esp. ἀναπέμπειν in Pind. Ι. 6 (7), 10, Ἄδραστον ἐξ ἀλαλᾶς ἄμπεμψας ὀρφανὸν μυρίων ἑτάρων ἐς Ἄργος ἵππιον), and exactly suits this place. The subject, as in ἁλώσεται, supra 1065, is easily supplied. If ἐνδώσειν is read, the words must be construed in the same way: That they will soon surrender, etc. τάχ᾽ ἂν δώσειν is indefensible, and ἐνδώσειν τᾶν . . τλασᾶν . . εὑρουσᾶν . . πάθη. That Creon will yield from the maidens,' or That the sufferings of the enduring ones much wronged by their kindred will abate, is forced, and gives a poor sense.

1077. mvp-comment-581-1 τὰν .. τλᾶσαν i. e. Antigone, whom the chorus had actually seen carried off. She is the heroine of this play as well as of the Antigone.

1077. mvp-comment-581-2 δεινὰ τλᾶσαν, supra 345-351. Eur. I. A. 932, σὲ δ', ὦ σχέτλια παθοῦσα πρὸς τῶν φιλτάτων: ib. 942, ἡ δεινὰ τλᾶσα κοὐκ ἀνεκτὰ παρθένος. Linw. reads τὼ δεινὰ τλάσα, δεινὰ δ' εὑρούσα, suggested by Dindorf in 1842.

1077. mvp-comment-581-3 δεινὰ δ᾽.. πάθη Because Creon, who was her kinsman, had carried her off by the order of Eteocles.

1079. mvp-comment-582-1 τελεῖ Future.

1079. mvp-comment-582-2 τι Α thing;' ie. The thing we desire. Essay on Language § 22. p. 36.

1080. mvp-comment-583-1 (1) 'Í am a prophet on the side of the good contest.' i. e. My prophetic power takes part with the good cause. Cp. Ο. Τ. 879, τὸ καλῶς ἔχον πάλαισμα. Or (2) I prophesy a good issue of the contest. Cp. Εl. 1499, μάντις εἰμὶ τῶνδ᾽ ἄκρος. And for ἐσθλῶν, ib. 646, εἰ μὲν πέφηνεν ἐσθλά,

1082-1084. mvp-comment-584-1 (1) Would that as a stormswift dove of strong pinion I might from a lofty cloud light on this conflict, voyaging thither with mine eye. αἰθερίας νεφέλας is ablative genitive. From the cloud as from a watch. tower, οἷον ἀπὸ σκοπιᾶς.

1082-1084. mvp-comment-584-2 κύρσαιμι Lit. Might find;' i. e. Might descry. Or, (2) Might reach a lofty cloud and become spectator of this conflict,' etc.

1084. mvp-comment-585-1 θεωρήσασα τοὐμὸν ὄμμα Lit. Having gone as a spectator with mine eye. θεωρεῖν as in θεωρεῖν εἰς Ὀλύμπια and the like expressions. See esp. Plat. Legg. 12. 951. The construction of τοὐμὸν ὄμμα is difficult, but not more so than Tr. 914, κἀγὼ λαθραῖον ὄμμ᾽ ἐπεσκιασμένη φρούρουν, or Phil. 151, φρουρεῖν ὄμμ᾽ ἐπὶ σῷ μάλιστα καιρῷ. Such expressions as οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι ἐθεώρουν (i.e. sent θεωροὶ) ἐς τὰ Ἴσθμια are not sufficient to establish a transitive use of θεωρεῖν. In Plat. Legg. 12. 951 C, ἂν κακῶς αὐτὴν θεωρῶσιν, αὐτὴν (sc. τὴν θεωρίαν) is cognate accusative. The peculiar attraction, or metaphor, by which θεωρήσασα agrees in gender with πελειάς, is in keeping with the lyrical wildness of the whole ode. ὄμμα is probably an accusative of limitation, restricting the imaginary voyage of discovery to the sense of sight; i. e. If I were there but in vision. Cp. Tennyson's In Memoriam, 12, As a dove when up she springs... Like her I go, I cannot stay; | I leave this mortal ark behind, | A weight of nerves without a mind, | And leave the cliffs, and haste away, And reach the glow of southern skies, And see the sails at distance rise. | and back return | To where the body sits, and learn, | That I have been an hour away.

1087. mvp-comment-586-1 δαμούχοις Protectors of the people;' i. e. Theseus. Plural for singular. Cp. supra 884, ἰὼ γᾶς πρόμοι, and note: infra 1348, τῆσδε δημοῦχος χθονὸς .. Θησεύς.

1089. mvp-comment-587-1 σθένει . . λόχον Το make triumphant their ambush by successfully taking the fair prey.' ἐπινίκειος for ἐπινίκιος for the sake of the metre. The dative is to be taken closely, as instrumental, with τελειώσαι.

1089. mvp-comment-587-2 ἐπινικείῳ σθένει is a periphrasis for νίκῃ. τὸν εὔαγρον is slightly proleptic (Essay on Language § 38. p 70), and contains an allusion to Antigone as the fair occasion of the expedition. λόχος is properly an ambush, but is here generalised to mean a foray, or skirmishing expedition.

1092. mvp-comment-588-1 πυκνοστίκτων Many spotted. Cp. Phil. 183, στικτῶν ἢ λασίων μετὰ θηρῶν: Eur. Alc. 584, ποικιλόθριξ νεβρός.

1092. mvp-comment-588-2 ὀπαδόν Following in the chase; ' i. e. ὀπάζουσ ὀπάζουσαν αὐτούς. Cp. Il. 8.341, ὡς Ἕκτωρ ἄπαζε καρηκομοῶντας Ἀχαίους.

1094-1095. mvp-comment-589-1 For the change to the third person, cp. O. Τ. 159-163, Ἀθάνα ..

1094-1095. mvp-comment-589-2 Αρτεμιν καὶ Φοῖβον ἑκαβόλον ἰώ, τρισσοὶ ἀλεξίμοροι προφάνητέ μοι: and for στέργω, I long, Ο. Τ. 11, δείσαντες, ἢ στέρξαντες, Plat. Legg. 10. 907, τὰ δ' ἐναντία πως ἤθη στέρξαι. The intense lyrical condensation of this chorus assists the illusion by which the pursuit, and capture, and return, are crowded into a few minutes. Cp. Shakespeare, Henry V. Prologue to Act. 3, Thus with imagined wing our swift scene flies, In motion of no less celerity Than that of thought.

1096. mvp-comment-590-1 The coryphaeus announces in senarii a new incident following the choral ode in Soph. only here: in Aesch. S. c. T. 369 ff., Ag. 258 ff.

1096. mvp-comment-590-2 τῷ σκοπῷ Your watchman; referring to the image in 1074-1084. 1097-1098. τὰς κόρας . . προσπολουμέvas] For here I see the maidens, brought near once more hitherward by an attendant band. προσπολουμέναs is well explained by Herm. Hoc dicit chorus, 1105. Om. L. add. C². mg. se virgines cernere illaesas observanterque curatas ab iis, qui eas raptoribus ereptas huc adducunt. Cp. infr. 1103, φιλτάτων τ᾽ ὀπαόνων.

1100. mvp-comment-591-1 τίς ἂν θεῶν i. e. πῶς ἄν τις θεῶν; Cp. Αj. 879, τίς ἂν δῆτά μοι ..

1100. mvp-comment-591-2 ἀπύοι ; ἰδεῖν] The momentary tense is expressive. But once to see.

1105. mvp-comment-592-1 βαστάσαι ‘Το hold in my embrace.' Cp. Aesch. Prom. 1019, πετραία δ᾽ ἀγκάλη σε βαστάσει. This and other expressions, meaning to 'hold in the hand, come to be used more generally for to touch, handle, embrace. Cp. El. 1226 (Electra to Orestes), ἔχω σε χερσίν ; For the passive form of expression, i. e. τὸ μηδαμὰ ἐλπισθὲν ἤξειν for ὁ μηδαμὰ ἤλπισα ἥξειν, see Essay on La § 31. р. 54.

1106. mvp-comment-593-1 You ask what you shall obtain, for desire accompanies the gift.' Essay on Language § 42. p. 80. Cp. Eur. H. F. 1408-1409, Ηρ. ποθῶ, πατρός τε στέρνα προσθέσθαι θέλω. Αμ. ἴδου τάδ', ὦ παῖ τἀμὰ γὰρ σπεύδεις φίλα.

1108. mvp-comment-594-1 τῷ τεκόντι πᾶν φίλον To the parent nothing is not dear; i. e. Even the children of such a marriage. So Hermann following Reisig. But perhaps this is merely a γνώμη, like 508-509, τοῖς τεκοῦσι γὰρ | οὐδ᾽ εἰ πονῇ τις δεῖ πόνου μνήμην ἔχειν.

1110-1111. mvp-comment-595-1 οὐδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἂν.. εἴην Nor should I be all unhappy were I now to die. θανών, i. e. εἰ θάνοιμι.

1112. mvp-comment-596-1 ἐρείσατε, sc. μοι, suggested by τῷ φύσαντι following. The ἀμφιδέξιον is supplementary predicate, almost = ἀμφωτέροθι : (ὥστε μοι ἀμφιδέξιον γίγνεσθαι, Herm.). latter part of the compound is partly lost, but serves to suggest the notion of firmness in supporting.

1113. mvp-comment-597-1 The variety of reading is most easily accounted for by supposing an earlier reading ἐμφύντε (which Mudge conjectured). The singular ἐμφῦσα is inadmissible, and if ἐμφῦτε is read, the asyndeton, which is too abrupt for this place, has also the effect of separating the dative, τῷ φύσαντι, from ἐρείσατ', which seems to require a dative. Press your sides close to mine, supporting me on either hand, engrafted on your father. This seems better than Support both my sides, although ἐρείδω admits of TE either construction. For the παρονομασία, or verbal play, see Essay on Language § 44. P. 75- κἀναπαύσετον] And ye shall give me rest in my hapless wandering, which was lonely till ye appeared: i.e. And ye will relieve the loneliness of my unhappy wandering life. Cp. supra 500-502, μόνον δέ με | μὴ λείπετ· οὐ γὰρ ἂν σθένοι τοὐμὸν δέμας | ἔρημον ἕρπειν οὐδ᾽ ὑφηγητοῦ γ᾽ ἄνεν. The reading of Β Vat., κἀναπαύσατον, has been adopted by many editors.

1114. mvp-comment-598-1 τοῦδε δυστήνου πλάνου The effect of the pronoun is pathetic, and the repetition of the article in the other reading, τοῦ τε, has no sufficient reason. Oedipus is thinking generally of his condition, which, when his daughters were carried off, seemed as forlorn as it had been before Antigone came from Thebes to be his guide.

1115. mvp-comment-599-1 ὡς βράχιστα ‘As briefly as ye may. It may be doubted whether βράχιστα agrees with τὰ πρ. as supplementary predicate ('make the matter brief in telling it'), or is to be taken as a cognate or adverbial accusative after εἴπατε. The latter is more probable.

1118. mvp-comment-600-1 Cp. Phil. 1304, ἀλλ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἐμοὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἐστὶν οὔτε σοὶ καλόν. She means that while she will be spared the recital, the tale as told by Theseus will not be tedious to her father. Cp. infr. ll. 1143-1144.

1119-1120. mvp-comment-601-1 O sir, think it not strange that I prolong my speech unduly to my children, who have appeared beyond my hopes. Some join πρὸς τὸ λιπαρές with θαύμαζε (cp. Tr. 1211, εἰ φοβεῖ πρὸς τοῦτο: Thuc. 2. 22, πρὸς τὸ παρὸν χαλεπαίνοντας). But the expression, τὸ λιπαρές = τὸ ἐμὸν λιπαρὲς τοῦ λόγου, even with the epexegesis following, seems too abrupt for Sophocles. Badham's conjecture, πρὸς τόδ', εἰ πάρος | τέκν᾽ ἐκφανέντ᾽ ἄελπτα (cp. the reading of Par. A. and infra 1141), besides changing poetry to prose, leaves πάρος without a correlative.

1119-1120. mvp-comment-601-2 πρός expresses result, as in πρὸς ἡδονήν. Cp. esp. Thuc. 2. 53, ταχείας τὰς ἐπαυρέσεις καὶ πρὸς τὸ τερπνὸν ἠξίουν ποιεῖσθαι : Eur. Οr. 606, γυναῖκες ἐμποδὼν ταῖς ξυμφοραῖς | ἔφυσαν ἀνδρῶν πρὸς τὸ δυστυχέστερον.

1119-1120. mvp-comment-601-3 λιπαρές 'Persistent; here used with an association of blame.

1120. mvp-comment-602-1 For the construction of τέκνα (with μηκύνω λόγον), see Essay on Language § 16. p. 22, and cp. esp. O. T. 31, 32, σε ἑζόμεσθ' ἐφέστιοι. ..

1121. mvp-comment-603-1 γάρ explains μὴ θαύμαζε, Wonder not (as if I were ungrateful). I have a clear sense of my obligation to you.

1121. mvp-comment-603-2 την is Musgrave's conjecture for σήν, which Elmsley and others have defended. But σήν has probably been invented to supply the omission of ἢ παρὰ σοῦ after ἄλλου μηδενός, for which see Essay on Language § 39. p. 73, 6. Cp. infra 1250, ἀνδρῶν γε μοῦνος, and note. σήν, which must have a strong emphasis, would be awkwardly placed, and, as Hermann remarks, l. 1123 , would be superfluous. For τήνδε τὴν τέρψιν, cp. Ο. Τ. 1477, τὴν παροῦσαν τέρψιν ἤ σ' εἶχεν πάλαι.

1124. mvp-comment-604-1 ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω According to my wish. Cp. Hom. H. Cer. 137, δοῖεν κουριδίους ἄνδρας καὶ τέκνα τεκέσθαι, | ὡς ἐθέλουσι τοκῆες: Eur. Hel. 1405, θεοὶ σοὶ . . δοῖεν οἷ᾽ ἐγὼ θέλω.

1125. mvp-comment-605-1 αὐτῷ τε καὶ γῇ τῇδε Theseus' interests are throughout identified with those of Athens. Cp. supr. 308-309, εὐτυχὴς .. τῇ . . αὑτοῦ πόλει. . τίς γὰρ ἐσθλὸς οὐχ αὑτῷ φίλος; 1130 ff. The action which no doubt accompanied these lines would make them clearer to the spectator than they are to the reader. Oedipus reaches forth his hand towards Theseus, then draws it back, and on becoming aware that Theseus is bending towards him, repels him gently with a movement of his hand.

1131. mvp-comment-606-1 ψαύσω Sc. σου.

1131. mvp-comment-606-2 εἰ θέμις This expression occurs frequently in tragedy, ἢ θέμις rarely or never. Cp. esp. Phil. 661, εἴ μοι θέμις, θέλοιμ᾽ ἄν. It has been objected that καίτοι makes too strong an opposition, after such an expression of doubt. But the hesitation expressed in εἰ θέμις is only the courtesy of a stranger addressing a sovereign, whereas the following clause expresses the revulsion of feeling caused by the recollection of his misfortunes.

1132. mvp-comment-607-1 πῶς *σ᾽ ἂν .. ξύνοικος (1) Unhappy that I am, how should I desire thee to give thy hand to one, in whom what brand of evil is not found? Or, possibly. (2) reading πῶς δ᾽ ἄν, κ.τ.λ. as in the MSS, And how should I think of touching one who is a man, I, the ill-starred wretch, who bear in me the stain of every ill? Hermann's correction, τίς for τις, is borne out by ξύνοικος, which would be too emphatic if the meaning were a man, who has no stain upon him, as well as by the order of words in which the inversion τις οὐκ would have no point. Essay on Language § 41. p 78 yb: cp. supr. 702. Herm. also changed δ' τo σ', and in this he has been generally followed. But the words as they stand in the MSS. are not altogether impossible. The previous context, and the natural pause after ἀνδρός, may justify the reference of to the subject of θελήσαιμι. In this case ἀνδρός, although implying Theseus, is quite general: cp. О. Т. 1375-1379, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ τέκνων δῆτ᾿ ὄψις ἦν ἐφίμέρος · οὐ δῆτα οὐδ᾽ ἄστυ γ' οὐδὲ πύργος, οὐδὲ δαιμόνων ἀγάλμαθ᾽ ἱρά. δ', making a fresh beginning after τί φωνῶ, seems not unnatural, but is as likely to have been wrongly inserted as to be a corruption of σ'. Cp. supr. 52.

1134. mvp-comment-608-1 οὐκ ἔγωγέ σε Sc. θελήσω θιγεῖν μου, or some more general verb, expressing the whole action, e. g. ταῦτα ποιήσω.

1135. mvp-comment-609-1 No, nor shalt thou. ἐάσω] Sc. σὲ ψαῦσαι ἐμοῦ. For this ellipse, cp. El. 632, ἐῶ, κελεύω, θύε: supr. 407, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἐᾷ τοῦμφυλον αἷμά σ᾽, ὦ πάτερ. Essay on Language § 59. p. 73, 6. The word μόνοις in the following line implies the antithesis ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ σοί. The words in О. Т. 1414-1415, imply the same feeling, although in a different connexion : τἀμὰ γὰρ κακὰ | οὐδεὶς οἷός τε πλὴν ἐμοῦ φέρειν βροτῶν: cp ib. 1430-1431, τοῖς ἐν γένει γὰρ τἀγγενῆ μάλισθ' ὁρᾶν | μόνοις τ᾿ ἀκούειν εὐσεβῶς ἔχει κακά. In infr. 1632, where Oedipus bids Theseus to give the maidens the pledge of his right hand, he does not himself take the hand of Theseus. Cp. Hom. Od. 19. 346-348, where Ulysses refuses the services of the handmaids of Penelope, εἰ μή τις γρῆνς ἔστι παλαιή, κεδνὰ ἰδυῖα, | ἥτις δὴ τέτληκε τόσα φρεσὶν ὅσσα τ᾽ ἐγώ περ | τῇ δ᾽ οὐκ ἂν φθονέοιμι ποδῶν ἅψασθαι ἐμεῖο. The feeling of Fr. 814. ὃς μὴ πέπονθε τἀμά, μὴ βουλευέτω is slightly different, resembling that of Leonato in Shak., Much Ado, 5. 1, Nor let no comforter delight mine ear | But such an one whose wrongs do suit with mine.

1137. mvp-comment-610-1 σὺ δ᾽ αὐτόθεν μοι χαῖρε · But do thou receive my salutation from where thou standest,' without coming nearer.

1138. mvp-comment-611-1 ἐς τόδ᾽ ἡμέρας Hitherto : ἡμέρα used abstractedly for time, as in Aj. 131, 622. 1139 ff. This refers to 11. 1119 ff.

1139. mvp-comment-612-1 μήκος . . ἔθου Essay on Language § 40. p. 75. The slight formality of this expression and of θαυμάσας ἔχω belongs to the dignified courtesy of Theseus manner. It has not moved my wonder, that in the delight of having your children here you have been led to prolong your talk with them. For this use of τίθεσθαι, cp. Ο. Τ. 134, ἐπαξίως γὰρ Φοῖβος, ἀξίως δὲ σὺ | πρὸ τοῦ θανόντος τήνδ᾽ ἔθεσθ᾽ ἐπιστροφήν : Ant. 151, θέσθε λησμοσύναν.

1141. mvp-comment-613-1 Nor that in choosing to converse with them you thought not first of me.' The genitive to be supplied with τοὐμοῦ is not ἔπους, but something more general, e. g. μέρους. Elms. reads οὔτ᾽, perhaps rightly. τῶνδε is objective genitive, or rather expresses a reciprocal relation.

1142. mvp-comment-614-1 γάρ, as in 1121, refers to the general meaning of the preceding sentence. There is no need of an apology, for that gives me no offence.

1145. mvp-comment-615-1 ὧν The genitive is gen. of respect after ἐψευσάμην, and also partitive after οὐδέν.

1145. mvp-comment-615-2 ὤμοσ' Supr. 1039-1040.

1147. mvp-comment-616-1 ἀκραιφνεῖς τῶν κατηπειλημένων Untouched by the harm that VOL. I. CC was threatened them.' 1140 1145 1148. This is not the place for an episode like the description of the Isthmian races in El. 680, foll., or the history of Oedipus in O. T. 777. foll. The end is near, and the interview with Polynices is yet to come. The necessary omission is accounted for by the tender age of Antigone (1116-1118), and the magnanimity of Theseus, who prefers doing to speaking of his deeds. Cp. El. 1364 ff., τοὺς γὰρ ἐν μέσῳ λόγους, κ.τ.λ., Shak. Coriolanus, 1. 9, Pray now, no more: my mother, | Who has a charter to extol her blood, | When she does praise me, grieves me..... I have some wounds upon me, and they smart | To hear themselves remembered. an

1149. mvp-comment-617-1 ἅ γ' εἴσει.. ξυνών Since you will learn this without my telling you in conversation with your children here.Illud quaeri potest, verba τί δεῖ μάτην κομπεῖν utrum cum sequentibus construenda sint, quo facto quasi quaedam aposiopesis erit post ᾑρέθη, sint precedentibus jungenda, quo illa ἅ γ' εἴσει, explicationis causa adjecta esse censendum: an denique cum utrisque sint nexa: quod ego quidem nescio an praeferendum sit, quia saepe ita media inter duas protases est apodosis: de qua figura saepius alibi monitum.' Hermann. ye shows that the words are added in explanation. For αὐτός, cp. infra 1155, ὡς μὴ εἰδότ', αὐτόν, κ.τ.λ.

1150-1151. mvp-comment-618-1 But impart to us your counsel on a matter that has just now fallen in my way as I was coming hither. The construction of the antecedent λόγος is left undetermined, and this imperfect or pendent construction is smoothed over by the attraction, for which see Essay on Language § 35. P. 59, and cp. Eur. Or. 591 ff. Ἀπόλλων ὃς στόμα νέμει σαφέστατον, τούτῳ ..

1150-1151. mvp-comment-618-2 πιθόμενος τὴν τεκοῦσαν ἔκτανον.

1151. mvp-comment-619-1 συμβαλοῦ γνώμην In Hdt. 8.61, πόλιν γὰρ τὸν Θεμιστοκλέα παρεχόμενον, οὕτω ἐκέλευε γνώμας συμβάλλεσθαι, and Plat. Polit. 298 C, γνώμην συμβαλέσθαι, the phrase means to take part in conference. So Theseus may be supposed courteously to ask Oedipus for his opinion, although he might use authority. See below, 11. 1178, 1348. Otherwise (2), συμβαλοῦ γνώμην, sc. τῷ λόγῳ, may mean,' Bring your thought to bear on this matter, i. e. consider it. Cp. the Epic σὺ δ᾽ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλει σῇσιν. This is more consistent with the position of Oedipus, of which, however, Theseus is not yet thoroughly informed.

1152. mvp-comment-620-1 It is a small thing to tell of, and yet singular.' 1153. The Scholiast, who interprets ἄνθρωπον δέ φησιν ὄντα οὐδὲν πρᾶγμα κακίζειν δεῖ, must have read as in the text. πρᾶγος is too general a word to stand alone, as it must if we read οὐδέν᾿ ἀνθρώπων. For ἄνθρωπον, cp. Ο. Τ. 977, τί δ᾽ ἂν φοβοῖτ᾽ ἄνθρωπος, ᾧ τὰ τῆς τύχης | κρατεῖ, πρόνοια δ᾽ ἐστὶν οὐδενὸς σαφής; Man, who is the creature of circumstance, may not neglect anything that occurs.

1156-1157. mvp-comment-621-1 σοὶ μὲν ἔμπολιν οὐκ ὄντα, συγγενή δέ This must have been gathered from the terms of his supplication, or from his answer to those who questioned him.

1157. mvp-comment-622-1 προσπεσόντα πως Who had somehow suddenly come thither. Polynices had come when the altar was deserted for the pursuit, and while there was an ἡσυχίη τῶν ἀνθρώπων (Hdt. 1.45) about the sacrifices. Hence the indefinite adverb, marking that his coming was unobserved. Cp. Tr. 695, τὸ γὰρ κάταγμα τυγχάνω ῥίψασά πως. He was found there by the people returning thither, who brought word to Theseus when on his way to Colonus with the maidens (στείχοντι δεῦρο, 1151).

1158. mvp-comment-623-1 The use of παρά with the relative assists the locative use of the dative in the antecedent; ie. παρὰ τῷ βωμῷ, παρ' α...

1159. mvp-comment-624-1 ἔκυρον The form κύρω (cp. supr. 1082) is adopted by the Tragedians from Epic poetry.

1159. mvp-comment-624-2 ἡνίχ᾽ ὡρμώμην ἐγώ 'When I set forth, i. e. When I left the altar on the occasion which led to the pursuit. (Supr. 888, 897, 1019.) Elmsley, Hermann, and Schneidw. refer ἡνίχ᾽ ὡρμώμην τo προσπεσόντα, and transl. 'dum aberam ego. But ἡνίκα is not equi- valent to ἐν ᾧ. And such a departure from the obvious meaning is not justified by a trifling inconsistency, which is after all a verbal one, for although Theseus did not go direct from the altar to the pursuit, yet the swift action of 886-1041 is part of a continuous movement which began when he was called away from the sacrifice. There is therefore no reason for detaching the clause from the nearer antecedent.

1159. mvp-comment-624-3 ἐγώ belongs in meaning to ἔκυρον as well as to ὡρμώμην.

1160. mvp-comment-625-1 τί προσχρήζοντα τῷ θακήματι;] What does he want by sitting there? i. e. What is the meaning of his supplication? The dative is used πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον, as if προσχρήζοντα had been αἰτοῦντα.

1162. mvp-comment-626-1 οὐκ ὄγκου πλέων No great matter, i. e. Not likely to give trouble. Cp. infra 1341, βραχεῖ εὺν ὄγκῳ καὶ χρόνῳ.

1163. mvp-comment-627-1 οὐ γὰρ .. λόγου ‘For the manner of his supplication imports no trifling matter.'

1164-1165. mvp-comment-628-1 (1) His sole request. they say, is to be allowed to have conference with thee, and to be allowed to return, without receiving harm through his coming hither.' ὁδοῦ is a genitive of respect after the privative adverb. Cp. infra 1399, foll. Vauvillers' conjecture, μόνον, founded on Musgrave's μόνον τ', is justified both by the awkward pleonasm in ἐλθεῖν μολόντα, to come and be admitted, and by the synaphea, which cannot be defended by such examples as O. Τ. 332-333, τί ταῦτ᾽ ἄλλως ἐλέγχεις; where the running on is assisted by the pause immediately preceding. This is true even of Ar. Av. 1716-1717, θυμιαμάτων δ᾽ | αὖραι, κ.τ.λ., where the licence is caricatured. Schndw. joins μολύντ᾽ αἰτεῖν, “ He is come and asks, but the participle is then still more inopportune.

1166. mvp-comment-629-1 τίς δῆτ᾽ ἂν εἴη Who can it be? Until he hears of Argos, Oedipus is left to mere conjecture.

1167. mvp-comment-630-1 ὑμίν τοῖς Λαβδακίδαις.

1167. mvp-comment-630-2 ἐγγενής i. e. ἐν γένει ὤν. Cp. О. Т. 941.

1171. mvp-comment-631-1 ἀκούων τῶνδ' When I hear this, i.e. Your last speech, in which you mention Argos. For τῶνδε, where τούτων would be more exact, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 34, and cp. Phil. 628, οὔκουν τάδ', ὦ παῖ, δεινά; The reference to Ismene's information in 378, foll., which Reisig and Hermann supposed, would be too obscure.

1171. mvp-comment-631-2 ὁ προστάτης The suppliant. The word occurs in this sense only here and in 1278. But cp. El. 1378, λιπαρεῖ προὔστην χερί. CC2

1172. mvp-comment-632-1 For the optative, see Essay on Language § 36. p. 62, and cp. Thuc. 3. 84.

1172. mvp-comment-632-2 ἐστίν is equivalent to ἂν εἴη supra. Cp. Eur. Med. 599, μηδ' ὄλβος, ὅστις τὴν ἐμὴν κνίζοι φρένα.

1173-1174. mvp-comment-633-1 My son, O king, hated by me to whom of all the world I should most detest to listen. For the inexact use of the genitive ἀνδρῶν after the superlative, see Essay on Language § 9. p. 14. and cp. supra 105, μόχθοις λατρείων τοῖς ὑπερτάτοις βροτῶν. 1177,8. The sound of that voice has come to be abhorrent to his father's ear, and, I beseech thee, do not compel me to yield in this.' φθέγμα, see Essay on Language $ 50. p. 94, and cp. El. 1225, ὦ φθέγμ᾽, ἀφίκου; And for the meaning of ἥκει, see Essay on Language p. 97.

1179-1180. mvp-comment-634-1 But what if his suppliant posture necessarily compels you? Consider :-whether you do not owe a reverence to the God. εἰ is to be taken in the sense of whether, or what if. σκόπει is a double construction, with εἰ, κ.τ.λ., and μή, κ.τ.λ., the second clause being added in ex. planation of the first. The emphatic ἐξαναγκάζει refers to ἀνάγκῃ προσβάλῃς in 1178. Several editors have preferred μή μοι. But although it is suitable for Antigone in 1183 to speak of Theseus' religious scruples, it is more consistent with the tone of Theseus himself to give this friendly warning to Oedipus.

1179-1180. mvp-comment-634-2 ἐξαναγκάζει i. e. Is thoroughly sufficient to compel you, without any constraint from me.

1181. mvp-comment-635-1 νέα Essay on Language §. 23. p. 38. For the meaning, cp. Aesch. Suppl. 361, σὺ δὲ παρ᾽ ὀψιγόνου μάθε γεραιόφρων.

1182. mvp-comment-636-1 τὸν ἄνδρα.. τόνδε If these words referred to Polynices, as Hermann thought, Antigone would show less tact in addressing her father than in supplicating the Elders (supra 237). Theseus has indicated a strong wish, as Oedipus Oe perceives (1178, 1350), that Polynices should be allowed to come, and also has expressed a fear that to repulse him would be to dishonour the God. Antigone appeals to her father's respect and gratitude towards Theseus, and to his affection for his daughters, as the motives most likely to influence him.

1186. mvp-comment-637-1 The antecedent to a is a second accusative after παρασπάσει, SC.

1186. mvp-comment-637-2 ταῦτα τῶν λεγομένων. Fear not. He will not wrest thy judgment to such words of his as are against thy purposes.

1186. mvp-comment-637-3 συμφέροντα] Not = profitable, but in the more literal sense of agreeable to, conspiring with. Essay on Language p. 96.

1187. mvp-comment-638-1 τά τοι καλῶς, κ.τ.λ. καλῶς is the MS. reading, and κακῶς, the emendation of Hermann, is not specially in point. His explanation is unsatisfactory.

Antigona, ut confirmet, quod dixit, oratione audienda nihil damni accipi, rationem reddit hanc, quod male facta dicendo dissimulari nequeant, sed ipsa oratio proditrix esse mali consilii soleat.
The words have no direct application to Polynices, but are a rhetorical generality, like some others in this play. Cp. Thuc. 2. 40, οὐ τοὺς λόγους τοῖς ἔργοις βλάβην ἡγούμενοι, ἀλλὰ μὴ προδιδαχθῆναι μᾶλλον λόγῳ πρότερον ἢ ἐπὶ ἃ δεῖ ἔργῳ ἐλθεῖν. For ἔργον, signifying a project not yet put in action, cp. Τr. 1157, σὺ δ᾽ οὖν ἄκουε τούργον : Αj. 466, οὐκ ἔστι τοὔργον τλητόν.

1190. mvp-comment-639-1 This seems to be the better of two ways of emending this line. Essay on Language § 41. p. 77. Others read κακίστων δυσσεβέστατ', ὦ πάτερ.

1191. mvp-comment-640-1 θέμις is indeclinable here. See L. and S. s. v.

1192. mvp-comment-641-1 ἀλλ᾿ αὐτόν- The conjecture of the Ist London edition, ἀλλ᾽ ἔασον, has been accepted with various modifications s by by subsequent sub critics. The text is eloquently defended by Mr. Palmer, who observes: 'I think it not quite impossible to understand the brief expression, backed up as it is by the argument which follows, as the language of earnest entreaty, and that the verb is to be supplied by the mind. Antigone had fully presented her request at the commencement of her speech, so that what she then said may be considered as referred to in this short broken sentence, ἀλλ᾿ αὐτόν. Nay, but receive him graciously ... there are others who have had bad sons and fierce anger, and as they have been charmed into gentleness by the soothing persuasion of their friends, so be you. If ἀλλ' αὐτόν were uttered in a tone of earnest entreaty, and the speaker abruptly added what follows, I can conceive that it would be very intelligible, and if so, the touching effect of the entreaty would be heightened by the very fact that the sentence was unfinished. Antigone leaves her father to imagine all she meant to say, and supplies what is wanting in words by the earnestness of her manner and beseeching tone of voice.' There is force in these remarks, though the quotation of parallel examples would be more to the purpose. The MSS. are practically unanimous; but the aposiopesis is all but unique. Cp. however Aesch. Cho. 749 ff., where Schütz and other editors suppose a lacuna. And in this play there are several places where the original construction of a sentence is not carried out. Cp. esp. supr. 421 ff., 531 ff., infr. 1299 ff., 1370 ff., 1669. Comparisons between classical Greek and the New Testament are usually too remote to be of any use; but the language of affection has similarities in every age, and the ellipse in Philemon 12 is curiously parallel-σὺ δὲ αὐτόν (sc. προσλαβοῦ, which is added from the deferred apodosis in the Textus Receptus). The motive in both cases is the same, viz. a delicate tact, which shrinks from uttering the word of command or entreaty, and hastens to urge fresh topics of persuasion. The deferred apodosis is implied in line 1201, ἀλλ' ἡμῖν εἶκε. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 649 ff., where Dindorf supposes a lacuna, σε in Paris A (followed by R) is a gloss of some grammarian who understood the passage as it is explained in Canter's note: Insigne est hoc ἀναπόδοτον, ac singulare. Vult enim hoc dicere, ἀλλ αὐτὸν εἴκειν, καὶ νουθετούμενον ἐξεπάδεσθαι, etc.' For an equally difficult anacoluthon, see Thuc. 5. 22. Qy.

1192. mvp-comment-641-2 ἀλλ᾽ εἶξον (ΑΛΛΑΥΤΟΝ) ? 1193-

1194. mvp-comment-642-1 ἀλλὰ φύσιν But, on their receiving counsel, their nature is pacified by the counsels of friends, who charm away their passion.

1195. mvp-comment-643-1 μὴ τὰ νῦν (Sc. πήματα ἃ πάσχεις), i. e. Turn from the indignity which now enrages you to those former calamities which you suffered. not by your own fault, but by the fault of your father and mother. The correction μοι for μή is unnecessary, and gives a weak meaning to τανῦν. The note of the Scholiast, τὰ περὶ τὴν πήρωσιν λέγοι ἄν· οὐ γὰρ τὰ ἐξ ἀρχῆς πραχθέντα ὀνειδίζει αὐτῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ἃ ἀπὸ τῆς ἄγαν ὀργῆς ἀπέβη. τούτου γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀποτρέπειν βούλεται, is right in spirit, for Antigone is not reproaching her father. But, in gently approaching the subject, she alludes only in the most general way to the miseries which came from the rash impetuosity of Laius, Jocasta, and Oedipus, and, to avoid reproaching him, refers them all to their source in the actions of his parents. Cp. supr. 268, 595 ff. And for the meaning of θυμός, Ant. 493-494. φιλεῖ δ᾽ ὁ θυμὸς πρόσθεν ᾑρῆσθαι κλοπεὺς | τῶν μηδὲν ὀρθῶς ἐν σκότῳ τεχνωμένων.

1199-1200. mvp-comment-644-1 For you have reasons enough to move you, when you think of your own sightless eyes, to which light returns not.' οὐχὶ βαιά] Hesych. Σοφοκλῆς δὲ Οἰδίποδι ἐν Κολωνῷ· οὐ βαιά, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἄφθονα καὶ πολλά. 1201-1202. λιπαρεῖν γὰρ οὐ καλὸν | δίκαια προσχρήζουσιν] (1) ‘It is not well that those whose request is just should make long supplication; i.e. They should be at once gratified. This involves a change of subject (Essay on Language p. 65), and requires that the acc.

1199-1200. mvp-comment-644-2 προσχρήζοντας should have been attracted into the dat. in construction with καλών (ib. § 35 pp. 59, 60). Both difficulties may be avoided by taking λιπαρεῖν in the general sense of ' obstinate continuance,' as in Hdt. 1. 94, etc., and προσχρήζουσιν as = πρὸς προσχρήζοντας, or as if λιπαρεῖν were λιπαρή φαίνεσθαι: (2) It is not well to be obdurate to a just request. Cp. supr. 1119, τὸ λιπαρές. For this meaning, cp. Fr. 76, τοῖς γὰρ δικαίοις ἀντέχειν οὐ ῥάδιον. And for the dative, cp. O. T. 1373, οἷν ἐμοὶ δυοῖν, κ.τ.λ., and see Essay on Language § 12. p. 18. β 1. But the constant use of λιπαρεῖν in Attic, in the sense of ' to press with requests,' renders this interpretation improbable, and the former (1) is to be preferred. The use of οὐκ (rather than μή) in 1203 is accounted for by the attraction of the previous οὐ, and by reference to the actual circumstances. Essay on Language § 29. p. 49.

1204. mvp-comment-645-1 βαρεῖαν ἡδονὴν νικᾶτέ με You win me by your words to grant your request against my will. ἡδονή may either refer (1) to the pleasure which Oedipus gives to his daughters, cp. Αj. 114, ἐπειδὴ τέρψις ἥδε σοὶ τὸ δρᾶν: or (2) to the pleasure which he feels in hearing them; either being accompanied with pain to himself. For the accusative in (2) see Essay on Language § 17. p. 24, and cp. Tr. 960-961, χωρεῖν πρὸ δόμων λέγουσιν, ἄσπετόν τι θαῦμα. The oxymoron is more pointed in (2).

1206. mvp-comment-646-1 εἴπερ is emphatic, expressing some impatience at his forced consent. If he must come.

1207. mvp-comment-647-1 Let me never be delivered into the power of any man; i.e. By no means let me come into his power. For the periphrasis with ψυχή, cp. esp. Ant. 1069, Phil. 54, 5. And for μηδείς, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 36.

1210. mvp-comment-648-1 σῶς ἴσθ᾽ Sc. ὤν, Essay on Language § 39. p. 72, 1, c. Know thyself safe. The reading of L. may be due to a gloss to this effect, viz. σῶς/ὤν.

1211. mvp-comment-649-1 How foolish to desire long life, which but increases sorrow; while joys depart before the joyless hour of death. Far best for a man is never to be born; but after birth to go with all speed whence he came is next best by far. For when once thoughtless youth is come, [who escapes from grief?] what grief is not there? Blood, faction, strife, war, envy, and, last of ills, hateful, cold, helpless, friendless age, wherein all the greatest evils make their dwelling. So I have found, and so too this unfortunate is buffeted with a sea of troubles, some fresh calamity ever breaking over him, some borne on the sunset breeze, some at the rising of the sun, some coming through the noontide blaze, and some from the winds of night.

1211. mvp-comment-649-2 The iambic and trochaic metres which are here mingled with the glyconic and logaoedic, are lighter and more resolved than in the previous ode. Strophe and Antistrophe. The equivalence of the long and short syllables in the 2nd foot of l. 9 is remarkable, and indicates a retardation of the rhythm. Epode. * See note on 1248. The third line, both of strophe and antistrophe, introduces the reasons of the two lines which form the prelude.

1211. mvp-comment-649-3 The coming of Polynices again mars the peacefulness of the scene. The old age of Oedipus appears to have sorrow upon sorrow. The theme of the chorus is not, as some have thought, the unprofitableness of riches, but the misery of old age and the folly of desiring long life.

1211-1212. mvp-comment-650-1 He whose desire of life keeps not the mean, but craves the larger share, will be convicted in my judgment of cherishing folly.' ζώειν must be closely connected with the genitives, and is rather to be explained as an accusative of respect than as epexegetic infinitive.

1211-1212. mvp-comment-650-2 τοῦ μετρίου παρείς (1) Neglecting the moderate portion, a poetical construction for παρεὶς τὸ μέτριον. Cp. Plat. Legg. 3, 691 C, ἐάν τις μείζονα διδῷ τοῖς ἐλάττοσι δύναμιν παρεὶς τὸ μέτριον. The same construction occurs in Plat. Phaedr. 235 Ε, παρέντα τοῦ . . ἐγκωμιάζειν. Οι (2), supposing an ellipse of the inf., παρέντα τοῦ μετρίου χρήζειν, Omitting to desire the mean. Thuc 8.41, ἀφεὶς τὸ ἐς τὴν Χίον ἔπλει ἐς τὴν Καῦνον. The article, as elsewhere with words of number and measurement, opposing what is more to what is less. The expression d πλέον μέρος occurs in Cleobulus quoted by Suidas; ἀβουλία τὸ πλέον μέρος ἐν βροτοίσιν. Bergk, Poet. Lyr. Gr. Mel. xi.

1212. mvp-comment-651-1 φυλάσσων An Homeric expression. Il. 16. 30, χόλος ὃν σὺ φυλάσσεις.

1212. mvp-comment-651-2 ἐν ἐμοί i. e. So far as the decision rests with me. Cp. O. T. 677, ἐν δὲ τοῖσδ᾽ ἴσος: supr. 422-423, ἐν δ᾽ ἐμοὶ τέλος | αὐτοῖν γένοιτο, κ.τ.λ.

1215-1216. mvp-comment-652-1 ἐπεὶ ἐγγυτέρω These words have been explained in two ways: (1) Since length of days brings many things (in life) nearer to grief. (Herm.) (2) Since length of days has in store much that is akin to sorrow.' (Elms.) A third way of taking κατέθεντο seems preferable. (3) Since length of days contributes much that is akin to sorrow; i.e. κατέθεντο is a subjective middle, like παρέχομαι. Not = Has laid up in store, which requires the perfect tense, but brings in,' sc. εἰς τὸν βίον. Cp Hesiod. Op. et D. 361. For the use of the adverb, cp. Ant. 933.4, θανάτου τοῦτ᾽ ἐγγυτάτω | τοῦπος ἀφῖκται, And see Essay on Language § 24. p. 40, 2.

1217. mvp-comment-653-1 οὐκ ἂν ἴδοις ὅπου Cp. Aj. 103, ἢ τοὐπίτρικτον κίναδος ἐξήρου μ' ὅπου; and esp. Aesch. Eum. 301, τὸ χαίρειν μὴ μαθόνθ᾽ ὅπου φρενῶν.

1219-1220. mvp-comment-654-1 ὅταν . . θέλοντος (1)

τὸ θέλον voluntatem significat... Genitivus vero non regitur a comparativo..sed ut τὸ πολὺ τοῦ θέλοντος, ita etiam τὸ πλέον dictum. Sensus est, si quis in id, quod in cupiendo nimium est, incidit: i. e. Si quis modum in cupiendo excedit.
(Herm.) See Essay on Language § 30. p. 51. But the absence of joys comes not from desiring too much, but from having too much of life. Hence (2) it is better to explain τὸ θέλον, sc. τοῦ βίου, as that portion (of life) which is accompanied with desire to live. When one outlives the will to live. Musgr. conj.

1219-1220. mvp-comment-654-2 σθένοντος. For εἰς.. πίπτειν in this connexion, cp. Eur. Ion, 700, πολιὸν ἐσπεσοῦσα γῆρας. It may be worth suggesting that, in Eur. L. Α. 657, τὸ θέλον should be read for τὸ θέλειν.

1220. mvp-comment-655-1 *ὁ δ᾽ ἐπίκουρος The correction turns simply on the substitution of o for ou and vice versa. The old spelling of either reading would be οδεπικορος. When ὁ 8' had been changed to οὐδ' the other change was natural, as we see from the Schol. The order is ὁ δὲ θάνατός (ἐστιν) ἐπίκουρος ἰσοτέλεστος ἐς τελεύταν, But death is an impartial ally to finish all at last. Cp. H. h. Merc. 97, ὀρφναίη δ᾽ ἐπίκουρος ἐπαύετο δαιμονίη νύξ. For the use of the article, see Essay on Language § 21. p. 33,5. A slighter change from the MS. reading, οὐδ᾽ ἐπίκουρος, which obtained in edd. before Brunck, may be explained to mean, and they find no helper, when death, etc., etc., comes. But the clauses are not well balanced, the metre is improbable, and a change, such as το τ' αὖ κατάμεμπτον is required in 1235. The reading οὐδ᾽ ἔπι κόρος is ingeniously adapted to ὅταν . . θέλοντος, in the sense, When one has fallen into an excess of wishing,' viz. and cannot have enough: but cannot be turned so as to give a satisfactory and consistent meaning to the whole sentence; besides which μηδέ and not οὐδέ would be required. And the reading of Hermann, adopted in the text, metrically corresponds to the antistrophe.

1220. mvp-comment-655-2 ἰσοτέλεστος seems to be a verbal with an active meaning. For instances of this. see Essay on Language p. 98. 1221-1222. Ἄϊδος ὅτε μοῖρα .. ἀναπέφηνε] 'When Hades hath his hour, attended not by marriage song, nor dance, nor lyre.' For ἀναφαίνεσθαι, of an unlooked for coming, cp. Aesch. Cho. 328, ἀναφαίνεται δ᾽ ὁ βλάπτων. Ἄΐδος μοῖρα, like θανάτου μοῖρα, Aesch. Pers. 917: Eur. Med. 987. "Αΐδος μοῖρα is either (1) the right of Hades in men, or (2) man's share of death, like μοῖρα βιότοιο. Death is imagined as lurking near until the appointed time.

1220. mvp-comment-655-3 ἄλυρος ἄχορος Cp. Aesch. Suppl.681, ἄχορον ἀκίθαριν δακρυογόνον Ἄρη.

1225. mvp-comment-656-1 τὸν ἅπαντα νικᾷ λόγον Stands first on the whole calculation; i. e. Is best of all. The construction is analogous to νικᾶν ἀγῶνα, μάχην, etc. Cp. Fr. 737, τἀληθὲς ἀεὶ πλεῖστον ἰσχύει λόγου. A similar expression of the early Ionic pessimism occurs in Theognis, 425, πάντων μὲν μὴ φῦναι ἐπιχθονίοισιν ἄριστον | μηδ᾽ ἐσιδεῖν αὐγὰς ὀξέος ἠελίου· | φῦντα δ᾽ ὅπως ἄκιστα πύλας Αίδαο περῆσαι. Cp. Hdt. 7. 46, ὁ μὲν θάνατος, μοχθηρῆς ἐούσης τῆς ζύης, καταφυγὴ αἱρετωτάτη τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ γέγονε. The words βῆναι κεῖθεν ὅθεν περ ἥκει come near to the language of Job 10. 19, I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

1225. mvp-comment-656-2 ἐπεὶ φανῇ] · When one hath seen the light. For the subjunctive without av, see Essay on Language § 27. p. 44; and for a similar omission of ἄν τις, cp. Ant. 1025, ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἁμάρτῃ.

1226. mvp-comment-657-1 βῆναι κεῖθεν ὅθεν περ ἥκει To go from whence he came. A curious attraction of the antecedent for κεῖσε ὅθεν περ. Essay on Language § 35. p. 60.

1228. mvp-comment-658-1 πολὺ δεύτερον Is next best by far. The phrase is paradoxically adapted from πολὺ πρῶτον. Essay on Language § 37. p. 69.

1228. mvp-comment-658-2 ὡς τάχιστα. These words assist the connection with what follows. As soon as possible; for, once let youth be there, etc.' See note on 1229.

1229. mvp-comment-659-1 ὡς εὐτ᾿ ἂν τὸ νέον παρῇ ..

1229. mvp-comment-659-2 φέρον Bonitz, deriving παρῇ from παρίημι, interprets, Since when one has passed youth with its light unconsciousness. And this is favoured at first sight by the analogy of such passages as Tr. 144-151, Aj. 552-559. But 1. The plural ἀφροσύνας, and the meaning of φέρον, are both harsh according to this φέρο interpretation. Hence Nauck conj. ἀφροσύνας γέμον. 2.The comparison of Fr. 713, ὕβρις .. ἐν νέοις ἀνθεῖ, and of Il. 3.108, αἰεὶ δ' ὁπλοτέρων ἀνδρῶν φρένες ἠερέθονται, support the more obvious meaning, When youth is present. 3. The connexion with ὡς τάχιστα, and the dark colouring of the whole ode, are in keeping with the most natural meaning of the words. For when once youth is there with her thoughtless follies... Greek tragedy is continually reminding us that men are plunged by mere thoughtlessness into the deepest calamities. The interpretation of l. 1231 is doubtful. It is clear, however, that if the words φόνοι, στάσεις, etc., are in any construction, the Scholiast is right in explaining τίς οὐ καμάτων ἔνι to mean οὐδείς ἐστι κάματος, ὃς οὐκ ἔνεστιν. For the genitive, cp. Τr. 146, πνευμάτων οὐδὲν κλονεῖ. On the other hand the subject of τίς πλάγχθη πολύμοχθος ἔξω is generally supposed to be τίς ἀνήρ. (1) What trouble-vexed mortal wanders out of the way (i. e, the broad way of trouble)?' i. e. Which of all the suffering race is exempt from suffering? The proleptic use of πολύμοχθος, although curious, is not by any means fatal to this interpretation (Essay on Language § 38. p. 70). But the inversion of the subject ('What man escapes? What trouble is not there?' when combined with the ellipse of ἀνήρ, is somewhat harsh. And πλάγχθη ἔξω is a strange expression for ἐξέφυγε. For πλάζεσθαι is generally, To miss a desired end; or to be driven out of an intended course. Who misses of being miserable? (τίς ἔξω τοῦ πολύμοχθος εἶναι ἐπλανήθη; 2nd Scholiast) is a paradoxical expression in which the paradoxical form has no force or meaning. And if the paradox had been intended it would have been more pointedly brought out. The interpretation of the 1st Scholiast is on the whole more probable: τοῦτο ἰδίως ἐξήνεγκεν, βούλεται δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτο σημαίνειν· τίς ἂν πλαγχθείη τῶν πολλῶν μόχθων; (2) Which of the many troubles will be turned aside?' i. e. anticipating the notion of καμάτων, τίς πολύμοχθος κάματος πλάγχθη ἔξω, τίς καμάτων οὐκ ἔνι; What troublous woe misses the life? What woe is not found therein? The retention of the same subject, and the antithesis of ἔξω and ἔνι, are in favour of this. The personification (cp. supra 536, μυρίων ἐπιστροφαὶ κακῶν) is in harmony with the catalogue which fol- ἐπιλέλογχε] ἐπιλέlows, and with ἐπιλέλογχε in l. 1236. Aesch. Prom. 275-276, ταὐτά τοι πλανωμένη | πρὸς ἄλλοτ᾽ ἄλλον πημονὴ προσιζάνει. Ant. 613-614, νόμος ὅδ᾽ οὐδὲν ἕρπων | θνατῶν βιότῳ πάμπολις ἐκτὸς ἄτας. The ellipse (of τοῦ βίου) after ἔξω is not more difficult than the similar ellipse after ἔνι. The collocation of πολύμοχθος κάματος is like πολύπλανοι πλάναι in Aesch. Prom. 585, and even the construction, πολύμοχθος καμάτων, if that is necessary, would be Homeric, like ἆ δειλὲ ξείνων, Od. 14. 361.

1235-1236. mvp-comment-660-1 ἐπιλέλογχε πύματον Has allotted to him the last place of all.' πύματονis supplementary predicate agreeing with γῆρας, in the same construction as the adjective in πρῶτος λαχεῖν. ἐπι = Coming in after the rest. πύματος is an Epic word, stronger than ὕστατος.

1238. mvp-comment-661-1 κακὰ κακών Essay on Language § 40. p. 75, 4. For the thought, cp. Fr. 864, πάντ᾿ ἐμπέφυκε τῷ μακρῷ γήρᾳ κακά, νοῦς φροῦδος, ἔργ᾽ ἀχρεῖα, φροντίδες κεναί. And contrast that which should accompany old age, As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, Macb. 5. 2. re-

1240. mvp-comment-662-1 πάντοθεν As Hermann marks, this word is to be referred to Oedipus rather than to the promontory to which he is compared.

1241. mvp-comment-663-1 κλονεῖται This, which is properly the apodosis, has been absorbed, as often happens in comparisons, into the relative clause, and the construction is therefore supplemented by the more explicit application of the simile in ὡς καὶ τόνδε, κ.τ.λ, Essay on Language § 35. p. 60.

1242-1244. mvp-comment-664-1 ὡς καὶ τόνδε . . ξυνοῦσαι So he too is buffeted by fearful woes, that break like billows over his head, and never cease from him.

1242-1244. mvp-comment-664-2 κατάκρας] Cp. Hom. Od. 5.313, ὡς ἄρα μιν εἰπόντ᾽ ἔλασεν μέγα κῦμα κατ᾿ ἄκρης. 1244, foll. The concluding lines are an expansion partly of πάντοθεν, partly of dei, the notions of space and time being confused. Cp. Hdt. 3. 114, Ἀποκλινομένης δὲ μεσαμβρίης, κ.τ.λ. where locality is signified in words expressing the time of day. Some from the region of the sunset, some with the break of day, some through the meridian brightness, some coming with the blasts of night.' The last expression has been variously interpreted. The Scholiast speaks of the Rhipaean mountains, which, he adds, were towards the west, and quotes a line of Alcman, ῥιπὰς ὄρος ἀνθέον ὕλᾳ, νυκτὸς μελαίνας στέρνον. The north rather than the west is the region of midnight. But it is not likely that after speaking so simply of morning, noon, and evening, the poet would have perplexed his reference to night with an obscure allusion to a remote locality. (2) Some modern interpreters compare Ε1. 106, παμφεγγεῖς ἄστρων ῥιπάς, and would render, From the twinkling fires of night, or, From the glimmerings of night.' Cp. τὰ νυκτερινὰ φέγγη in Plat. Rep. 6. 508 C. But this gives no distinct image, and the antithesis to ἀκτῖν' does not improve the sense. (3) Hermann with more probability says, De ventis, quos noctu maxime auribus percipimus, intelligenda vox ῥιπᾶν. Cp. Apollonius Rhodius, Apollonius l. 1015, οὐ μὲν ἰούσης | νυκτὸς ἔτι ῥιπὴ μένεν ἔμπεδον ἀλλὰ θύελλαι | ἀντίαι ἁρπάγδην ὀπίσω φέρον: Ib. 4. 1682,.. ἡ δ᾽ ὑπὸ νυκτὶ | ῥιπῇσιν μὲν πρῶτα τινάσσεται, ὕστερον αῦτε, κ.τ.λ. Perhaps with the image of the winds is associated some idea of ، impulse. The powers or influences of night.

1248. mvp-comment-665-1 *ἐννυχιᾶν The slight change recommended by Lachmann seems necessary in order to secure a probable rhythm. The substitution of the single for the double vor is one of the most frequent errors in L. And the Schol. says λέγει δὲ αὐτὰ ἐννύχια, κ.τ.λ. Cp. ll. 4-5 of the epode. The line does not make a harmonious ending here, and vυχιᾶν is improbable.

1250. mvp-comment-666-1 Here comes, as it would seem, the man from Argos, shedding copious tears:-and, father, it is indeed no other-. For ἡμῖν, cp. esp. supr. 81, and note. Here we have approaching to disturb us.' ἀνδρῶν γε μοῦνος] (1) Some appear to take this with λείβων δάκρυον, Weeping, unlike other men. Praeter morem virorum.' (Hermann.) But, besides the poverty of such a sense, the weeping of men is not uncommon in Greek poetry, or even in Greek history. Others (Schndw.) take μοῦνος = μονωθείς, Without companions, referring to the apprehension expressed in 1206-1207. This is rightly rejected by Dindorf. Antigone does not at once name Polynices, for fear of offending her father, but she cannot help ejaculating It is indeed no other; i. e. than Polynices, whom you supposed him to be (1. 1171). Cp. supra 321, μόνης τόδ᾽ ἐστὶ δῆλον Ἰσμήνης κάρα (' Ismene and no other'), 319, οὔκ ἐστιν ἄλλη: Τr. 261, μόνον βροτῶν : 355, μόνος θεῶν : Εl. 531, μοῦνος Ἑλλήνων. The imperfect expression makes the question of Oedipus more natural, τίς ούτος; Whom do you mean? 1252-1253. ὅνπερ καὶ πάλαι κατείχομεν γνώμῃ] Supra 1171.

1254. mvp-comment-667-1 Cp. the first words of Ismene, 11. 324-326.

1255. mvp-comment-668-1 τὰ τοῦδ᾽ ὁρῶν τά is in the same construction with κακά, governed by δακρύσω: but is also governed by ὁρῶν, which is added epexegetically. 1258, foll. In such raiment, whose hateful soilure hath grown old and settled on his aged frame, withering his side.' The conjectural emendation πίνος, which is due to Scaliger, agrees admirably with the context as well as with l. 1597, and the MS. reading is here indefensible.

1260. mvp-comment-669-1 The rhythm here curiously resembles that of supr. 314. 5.

1260. mvp-comment-669-2 κρατί is a locative dative, and ὀμματοστερής has a passive meaning.

1261. mvp-comment-670-1 ᾄσσεται The middle or passive form is used as in the Homeric expression ἀμφὶ δὲ χαῖται | ὤμοις ἀΐσσονται, ΙΙ. 6.510. 1263-1264. 'And of a piece with these miseries, as it would seem. is the provision for the poor belly's nourishment which he carries with him.' The word φορεῖ, taken in connection with the preceding context, shows that the remark of Polynices refers to the appearance of the scrip or wallet in which Oedipus, like the Telephus of Euripides, carried the scanted gifts which he received. (1. 3.)

1265-1266. mvp-comment-671-1 And I declare that thy neglected condition proves me basest of Ask not others about me. For the correction, cp. El. 1225, μηκέτ᾽ ἄλλοθεν πύθῃ. The confusion of µ and λλ would easily occur with μὴ ἐξ ἄλλων following. For the meaning of ἥκειν, see Essay on Language § 52. p. 97; and for the dative τροφαῖς, ib. § 14. p. 21 (2).

1267. mvp-comment-672-1 But seeing that even Zeus has Mercy at his side in all his counsels, let her have place also by thee, O my father.'

1269-1270. mvp-comment-673-1 For while it is possible to remedy the errors that have been committed, to add to them is now impossible; i.e. We can restore you to some comforts, but you cannot be made more miserable. For the expression, cp. Aesch. Eum. 645, πέδας μὲν ἂν λύσειεν, ἔστι τοῦδ᾽ ἄκος.

1269-1270. mvp-comment-673-2 μέν ἐστι .. οὐκ ἔστ' This accentuation was retained by Elmsley from previous editions. The stress in the first clause is on ἄκη, in the second on οὐκ ἔστι.

1271. mvp-comment-674-1 The interrupted verse marks the solemn pause in which Polynices waits for his father to break silence.

1274. mvp-comment-675-1 ἃ μηνίεις Ε. on L. § 17. p. 25.

1277. mvp-comment-676-1 To unlock our father's lips, that will not speak nor be spoken to.' δυσπρόσοιστον = χαλεπὸν προσφέρεσθαι.

1277. mvp-comment-676-2 ἀπροσήγορον has rather a reciprocal than either an active or a passive meaning. Cp. Phil. 1353, τῷ προσήγορος; Eur. Alc. 195, ὃν οὐ προσείπε καὶ προσερρήθη πάλιν. Cp. supr. 1141 and note. For κινεῖν = ‘Τo excite to speech,' cp. Plat. Rep. 329 D, βουλόμενος ἔτι λέγειν αὐτὸν ἐκίνουν.

1279. mvp-comment-677-1 οὕτως *ἀφῇ γε The second με was rightly rejected by Turnebus. The second γε, on the other hand, gives an intelligible emphasis to οὕτως, which is further explained by μηδέν.. ἔπος. 1280 ff. The wisdom of this counsel is in keeping with the tact, beyond her years, which Antigone herself elsewhere displays.

1281-1282. mvp-comment-678-1 'For speech, when lengthened out, may either by gratifying some fancy, by awakening some impatience or some pity. For the causative use of δυσχεραίνω and κατοικτίζω, which is assisted by the active τέρψαντα preceding, see Essay on Language § 53. p. 98, and cp. the passive κατῳκτίσθην in Eur. I. A. 686. The more usual meaning, By expressing anger or pity, is unsuited to the circumstances (Polynices was not likely to move Oedipus by expressing anger or pity), and affords no suitable connection with the following line.

1286. mvp-comment-679-1 ἔνθεν From whose altar. ἀνέστησεν] On raising the suppliant, cp. supra 264. 276, and notes.

1290. mvp-comment-680-1 κυρεῖν To be made good. For this emphatic use of κυρέω, cp. Tr. 291, νῦν σοι τέρψις ἐμφανὴς κυρεῖ.

1291. mvp-comment-681-1 ἅ Cp. supra 1274, and note.

1294. mvp-comment-682-1 γονῇ ·· γεραιτέρᾳ Of elder birth. See Essay on Language § 42. p. 80.

1295. mvp-comment-683-1 φύσει By birth, answering to πεφυκώς, supra. Cp. Hdt. 7. 134, φύσει γεγονότες εὖ.

1297. mvp-comment-684-1 χειρὸς οὔτ᾽ ἔργου i. e. οὔτε χειρὸς οὔτ᾽ ἔργου. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 532, Πάρις γὰρ οὔτε συντελὴς πόλις, κ.τ.λ. The first οὔτε may be suppressed because of οὔτε preceding. But Hermann's conj., οὐδ', is not improbable.

1300. mvp-comment-685-1 The reading of Lis more distinct than that of Par. A, but there is still some degree of inexactness in the language. For μάλιστα μέν does not oppose Polynices' own opinion to the words of the prophets, but the anger of Oedipus to other causes of disaster at Thebes.

1301. mvp-comment-686-1 The connection shows that the μάντεις are the soothsayers of his new army, who had obtained information of the oracle given to the θεωροί from Thebes: infr. 1331-1332, cp. supr. 387 ff.

1301. mvp-comment-686-2 Ἄργος .. Δωρικόν) The plain of Argolis, as distinguished from the Pelasgic Argos in Thessaly. II. 2. 681. rex

1303. mvp-comment-687-1 γῆς .. Ἀπίας

Apis ut Sicyonii teste Pausania 2, 5, 5, ferebant, fuerat Peloponnesi, a quo tota Peloponnesus nomen Apiae terrae accepit. Ex iis, quae de eo rege Aeschylus Suppl. 270 seqq. (260 foll.) refert, intelligitur illud τὸν ἤπιον significare, fabulamque illam ad vitae humanioris cultum in illis locis introductum spectare.
Hermann: whose inference is, however, scarcely justified by the words of Aeschylus.

1304. mvp-comment-688-1 καὶ τετίμηνται δόρει And are honoured most in war. The superlative notion is continued from πρῶτοι. Ср. О. Т. 1205 and note.

1305. mvp-comment-689-1 τὸν ἑπτάλογχον.. στόλον The article is probably used by an anachronism: i. e. The well-known expedition of the seven chieftains. Cp. supra 1066, and note. For the adj. cp. infr. 1311.

1305. mvp-comment-689-2 ἐς Θήβας depends on the idea of motion implied in the sentence = στόλον στειλάμενος.

1306. mvp-comment-690-1 πανδίκως Might either die and make an end, as is fitting. The latter part of the compound is subordinate, but supplies a certain notion of fitness, i. e. πανδίκως = πάντως, ὡς δίκαιον. The same thought is present as in Aj. 479-480, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ καλῶς ζῆν, ἢ καλῶς τεθνηκέναι | τὸν εὐγενή χρή.

1310. mvp-comment-691-1 ἐμαυτοῦ On my own account. Essay on Language § 9. p. 12.

1311. mvp-comment-692-1 σὺν ἑπτά τε λόγχαις Cp. Ant. 106, τὸν . . Ἀργόθεν φῶτα βάντα πανσαγία: 141-142. ταχθέντες ἴσοι πρὸς ἴσους ἔλιπον Ζηνὶ τροπαίῳ πάγχαλκα τέλη. (1) The uplifted spear of each leader is singled out for special mention as that to which all eyes would turn for the signal to march, etc. Cp. Trach. 856, κελαινὰ λόγχα προμάχου δορός, Aesch. Eum. 766, εὖ κεκασμένον δορύ. Although λόγχη, like ἀσπίς, is sometimes used collectively, ἑπτὰ ἀσπίδες could never mean seven heavy-armed battalions. (2) If τάξις might have the special meaning of a troop of cavalry, it might mig be proposed to read λόχοις for λόγχαις.

1313. mvp-comment-693-1 Ἀμφιάρεως.

1314. mvp-comment-694-1 πρώτα δ᾽ οἰωνῶν ὁδοῖς And skilled before all men in the intricate meanings of the flight of birds.

1318-1319. mvp-comment-695-1 κατασκαφῇ Dative of the manner: πυρί, dative of the instrument: In utter demolition to burn with fire.

1320. mvp-comment-696-1 ὄρνυται Rushes on. The word indicates the fiery youth of Parthenopaeus.

1321. mvp-comment-697-1 ἐπώνυμος.. λοχευθείς Called so, because the late offspring of a mother, who beforetime was long a virgin. The genitive is governed partly by ἐπώνυμος and partly by λοχευθείς, which is added epexegetically. Cp. supra 1255, and note. Essay on Language § 43. p. 82.

1321. mvp-comment-697-2 χρόνῳ refers to the long-continued maidenhood of Atalanta, and is in construction either (1) with πρόσθεν, or rather (2) with λοχευθείς.

1322. mvp-comment-698-1 πιστός Steadfast: δίκαιος κἀγαθὸς παραστάτης, Ant. 671. An ornamental epithet, suitably applied by Polynices to one of his faithful companions. Cp. infra 1395.

1323-1325. mvp-comment-699-1 ἐγὼ δὲ.. ἄγω Polynices ends with the mention of himself, but, instead of continuing the enumeration, distinguishes himself from the rest as the leader of all.

1323-1325. mvp-comment-699-2 σός Sc. γόνος.

1323-1325. mvp-comment-699-3 τοῦ κακοῦ πότμου φυτευθείς Cp. Ο. Τ. 1080, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν παῖδα τῆς τύχης νέμων, κ.τ.λ.

1323-1325. mvp-comment-699-4 Ἄργους is partly gen. of place = rdv ἐξ Ἄργους opposed to ἐς Θήβας, partly descriptive = 'Αργεῖον.

1326. mvp-comment-700-1 To make his supplication more impressive Polynices represents the whole army, which he has described, as joining in it. Ср. О. Т. 326-327, ἐπεὶ | πάντες σε προσκυνοῦμεν οἵδ᾽ ἱκτήριοι.

1326. mvp-comment-700-2 ἀντὶ.. ψυχῆς] 'By these thy children, and by thy life. This rare use of ἀντί is to be explained by the notion of equivalence. At the price of your children; i. e. As you love them. Cp. El. 537, ἀλλ ἀντ᾿ ἀδελφοῦ. 'But for his brother's sake.'

1328. mvp-comment-701-1 μήνιν εἰκαθεῖν Το yield your wrath.' The construction is singular, but εἰκαθεῖν = χαλᾶν. Essay on Language § 16. p. 23.

1330. mvp-comment-702-1 πάτρας The accusative would be an equally regular construction, but the genitive is preferred because admitting of a construction with both verbs.

1331-1332. mvp-comment-703-1 For, if any event is to be believed in as issuing from prophecy, the God declared the victory to be with those whom you support.' ἐκ χρηστηρίων, sc. ἀποβαίνον. προσθῇ, SC. ἀλκήν, or the like. Cp. Hdt. 2. 160, τῷ ἀστῷ ἀγωνιζομένῳ προσθήσονται.

1333. mvp-comment-704-1 Now, by the wells and by the Gods of our race. Although ὁμογνίων adheres closely to θεῶν, the same idea is extended to κρηνῶν, The wells of which our fathers drank. The v. r., πρὸς θεῶν, deserves attention.

1336. mvp-comment-705-1 ἄλλους.. θωπεύοντες Courting favours from others at Argos and at Athens. οἰκοῦμεν) We obtain a dwellingplace.

1337. mvp-comment-706-1 ἐξειληφότες Having received. Cp. Plat. Soph. 227 B, where there is a similar doubt between εἰλήφασι and εἰλήχασι and the MSS. are strongly in favour of εἰλήφασι. For ἐξειληχότες, which is equally probable, cp. El. 760.

1340-1341. mvp-comment-707-1 ὃν.. διασκεδῶ Whose forces I will scatter to the winds.' Eteocles stands for his power, as Polynices for his in Ant. 106, τὸν λεύκασπιν Αργόθεν φῶτα βάντα, κ.τ.λ.

1340. mvp-comment-708-1 τήμῇ · · φρενί If you will side with me. For this periphrasis, cp. Ant. 1015, τῆς σῆς ἐκ φρενός : ib. 1063, μὴ ᾿μπολήσων .. τὴν ἐμὴν φρένα: Τr. 538, ἐμπόλημα τῆς ἐμῆς φρενός.

1341. mvp-comment-709-1 With little effort and in brief time.' ὄγκος, is originally bulk' or mass. Hence it has the two secondary senses of (1) importance, (2) effort. Cp. Eur. Troad. 107-108, ὦ πολὺς ὄγκος ξυστελλομένων | προγόνων, ὡς οὐδὲν ἄρ᾽ ἦσθα. Virg. Aen. 1. 37,

Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem.
For διασκεδῶ, cp. supra 620, Ant. 287, γῆν ἐκείνων καὶ νόμους διασκεδῶν.