Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, Richard Jebb (Translator), 542

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Chorus

Cursed man! What of this? Did you commit the murder—

Oedipus

What now? What would you learn?

Chorus

—Of your father?

Oedipus

Oh! oh! a second stab—wound on wound!

Chorus

You killed—
545

Oedipus

I killed—yet I have a plea—

Chorus

What can you plead?

Oedipus

—A plea of justice.

Chorus

What?

Oedipus

I will tell you: I killed in ignorance and perished utterly. Pure before the law, without knowledge of my act, I have come to this!

Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles. Richard Jebb (Translator). Cambridge. 1889.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Oedipus at Colonus (English) (Sophocles the plays and fragments, Part 2: The Oedipus at Colonus. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse, Sir, translator. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1889. (Modernized by Perseus.))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 542 focus

δύστανε, τί γάρ; ἔθου φόνον

Οἰδίπους

τί τοῦτο; τί δʼ ἐθέλεις μαθεῖν;

Χορός

πατρός;

Οἰδίπους

παπαῖ, δευτέραν ἔπαισας, ἐπὶ νόσῳ νόσον.

Χορός

ἔκανες
545

Οἰδίπους

ἔκανον. ἔχει δέ μοι

[103 b.

Χορός

τί τοῦτο;

Οἰδίπους

πρὸς δίκας τι.

Χορός

τί γάρ;

Οἰδίπους

ἐγὼ φράσω.

καὶ γὰρ ἁλοὺς ἐφόνευσα καὶ ὤλεσα·

νόμῳ δὲ καθαρός, ἄϊδρις ἐς τόδʼ ἦλθον.

Χορός

Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 542 focus

Χορός

δύστανε, τί γάρ; ἔθου φόνον

Οἰδίπους

τί τοῦτο; τί δʼ ἐθέλεις μαθεῖν;

Χορός

πατρός;

Οἰδίπους

παπαῖ. δευτέραν ἔπαισας, ἐπὶ νόσῳ νόσον,

Χορός

ἔκανες
545

Οἰδίπους

ἔκανον. ἔχει δέ μοι

Χορός

τί τοῦτο;

Οἰδίπους

πρὸς δίκας τι.

Χορός

τί γάρ;

Οἰδίπους

ἐγὼ φράσω.

καὶ γὰρ ἄν, οὓς ἐφόνευσʼ, ἔμʼ ἀπώλεσαν·

νόμῳ δὲ καθαρός, ἄϊδρις εἰς τόδʼ ἦλθον.

Translations (4)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 542 focus

But how?

OED

The guerdon fell.

Would I had earned it not from those I served too well.

CH

But, hapless, didst thou slay—

OED

What seek ye more to know?

CH

Thy father?
545

OED

O dismay! Ye wound me, blow on blow.

CH

Thy hand destroyed him.

OED

Yes. Yet lacks there not herein

A plea for my redress.

CH

How canst thou clear that sin?

OED

I’ll tell thee. For the deed, ’twas proved mine,—Oh ’tis true!

Yet by Heaven’s law I am freed:—I wist not whom I slew.

CH

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 542 focus

Unseliger, und du gabst den Tod
540

Oedipus.

Was meinst du da? Was willst du mehr?

Dem Vater?

Weh, weh! Du schlägst zur ersten Wunde die andre mir!

Der Chor.

Du warst sein Mörder?

Oedipus.

Ich war's; indeß -

Nun?

Nicht mit Unrecht, mein' ich.

Der Chor.

Wie?

Oedipus.

So höre denn:

Wider Gewalt ankämpfend, erschlug ich ihn,¹
545

That's unbewußt und nach der Sazung schuldlos.²

Der Chor.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 542 focus

And art thou not a murderer too ?

Thou sayst ?

Chorus
(Edi. What's that

Thy father

Chorus
(Edi. Thou add'st grief to grief.

Didst thou not murder him ?
545

Chorus
(Edi. I did ; but hear

Hear what ?

Chorus
(Edi. The cause.

What cause ?

I murdered others too, yet by the laws

I stand absolved ; 'twas done in ignorance.

Chorus
(Edi. I'll tell thee. Know then,

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 542 focus

How not thy deeds?

Oedipus

I from the liberal state

Received a gift, (O that I never had!)

And thence sprung all the woes that rend my heart...

Chorus

Unhappy man! And art thou stain'd with blood?

Oedipus

Why this? what wou'dst thou?

Chorus

With a father's blood?
545

Oedipus

Oh! thou hast pierced me with another grief.

Chorus

Didst thou not slay...

Oedipus

I did: yet I have what

To urge in my excuse.

Chorus

What canst thou plead?

Oedipus

That I will tell thee: ignorant whose blood

My hand then shed, I by the law am pure;

For I was led unknowing to the deed.

Chorus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-408-1 τί γάρ ¹

mvp-comment-409-1 δευτέραν ²

mvp-comment-410-1 ἔχει δέ μοι … πρὸς δίκας τι ³

mvp-comment-410-2 τί γάρ ⁴

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

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.

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Chorus Cursed man! What of this? Did you commit the murder—

Oedipus What now? What would you learn?

Chorus —Of your father?

Oedipus Oh! oh! a second stab—wound on wound!

Chorus You killed— 545

Oedipus I killed—yet I have a plea—

Chorus What can you plead?

Oedipus —A plea of justice.

Chorus What?

Oedipus I will tell you: I killed in ignorance and perished utterly. Pure before the law, without knowledge of my act, I have come to this!

Current edition Experimental

δύστανε, τί γάρ; ἔθου φόνον

Οἰδίπους τί τοῦτο; τί δʼ ἐθέλεις μαθεῖν;

Χορός πατρός;

Οἰδίπους παπαῖ, δευτέραν ἔπαισας, ἐπὶ νόσῳ νόσον.

Χορός ἔκανες 545

Οἰδίπους ἔκανον. ἔχει δέ μοι [103 b.

Χορός τί τοῦτο;

Οἰδίπους πρὸς δίκας τι.

Χορός τί γάρ;

Οἰδίπους ἐγὼ φράσω. καὶ γὰρ *ἁλοὺς ἐφόνευσα καὶ * ὤλεσα· νόμῳ δὲ καθαρός, ἄϊδρις ἐς τόδʼ ἦλθον.

Χορός

Χορός δύστανε, τί γάρ; ἔθου φόνον

Οἰδίπους τί τοῦτο; τί δʼ ἐθέλεις μαθεῖν;

Χορός πατρός;

Οἰδίπους παπαῖ. δευτέραν ἔπαισας, ἐπὶ νόσῳ νόσον,

Χορός ἔκανες 545

Οἰδίπους ἔκανον. ἔχει δέ μοι

Χορός τί τοῦτο;

Οἰδίπους πρὸς δίκας τι.

Χορός τί γάρ;

Οἰδίπους ἐγὼ φράσω. καὶ γὰρ ἄν, οὓς ἐφόνευσʼ, ἔμʼ ἀπώλεσαν· νόμῳ δὲ καθαρός, ἄϊδρις εἰς τόδʼ ἦλθον.

But how?

OED The guerdon fell. Would I had earned it not from those I served too well.

CH But, hapless, didst thou slay—

OED What seek ye more to know?

CH Thy father? 545

OED O dismay! Ye wound me, blow on blow.

CH Thy hand destroyed him.

OED Yes. Yet lacks there not herein A plea for my redress.

CH How canst thou clear that sin?

OED I’ll tell thee. For the deed, ’twas proved mine,—Oh ’tis true! Yet by Heaven’s law I am freed:—I wist not whom I slew.

CH

Unseliger, und du gabst den Tod 540

Oedipus. Was meinst du da? Was willst du mehr? Dem Vater? Weh, weh! Du schlägst zur ersten Wunde die andre mir!

Der Chor. Du warst sein Mörder?

Oedipus. Ich war's; indeß - Nun? Nicht mit Unrecht, mein' ich.

Der Chor. Wie?

Oedipus. So höre denn: Wider Gewalt ankämpfend, erschlug ich ihn, 1 545 That's unbewußt und nach der Sazung schuldlos. 2

Der Chor.

And art thou not a murderer too ? Thou sayst ?

Chorus (Edi. What's that Thy father

Chorus (Edi. Thou add'st grief to grief. Didst thou not murder him ? 545

Chorus (Edi. I did ; but hear Hear what ?

Chorus (Edi. The cause. What cause ? I murdered others too, yet by the laws I stand absolved ; 'twas done in ignorance.

Chorus (Edi. I'll tell thee. Know then,

How not thy deeds?

Oedipus I from the liberal state Received a gift, (O that I never had!) And thence sprung all the woes that rend my heart...

Chorus Unhappy man! And art thou stain'd with blood?

Oedipus Why this? what wou'dst thou?

Chorus With a father's blood? 545

Oedipus Oh! thou hast pierced me with another grief.

Chorus Didst thou not slay...

Oedipus I did: yet I have what To urge in my excuse.

Chorus What canst thou plead?

Oedipus That I will tell thee: ignorant whose blood My hand then shed, I by the law am pure; For I was led unknowing to the deed.

Chorus

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Chorus

Cursed man! What of this? Did you commit the murder—

Oedipus

What now? What would you learn?

Chorus

—Of your father?

Oedipus

Oh! oh! a second stab—wound on wound!

Chorus

You killed—
545

Oedipus

I killed—yet I have a plea—

Chorus

What can you plead?

Oedipus

—A plea of justice.

Chorus

What?

Oedipus

I will tell you: I killed in ignorance and perished utterly. Pure before the law, without knowledge of my act, I have come to this!

Οἰδίπους

τί τοῦτο; τί δʼ ἐθέλεις μαθεῖν;

Χορός

πατρός;

Οἰδίπους

παπαῖ, δευτέραν ἔπαισας, ἐπὶ νόσῳ νόσον.

Χορός

ἔκανες
545

Οἰδίπους

ἔκανον. ἔχει δέ μοι

[103 b.

Χορός

τί τοῦτο;

Οἰδίπους

πρὸς δίκας τι.

Χορός

τί γάρ;

Οἰδίπους

ἐγὼ φράσω.

καὶ γὰρ ἁλοὺς ἐφόνευσα καὶ ὤλεσα·

νόμῳ δὲ καθαρός, ἄϊδρις ἐς τόδʼ ἦλθον.

Χορός

δύστανε, τί γάρ; ἔθου φόνον

Οἰδίπους

τί τοῦτο; τί δʼ ἐθέλεις μαθεῖν;

Χορός

πατρός;

Οἰδίπους

παπαῖ. δευτέραν ἔπαισας, ἐπὶ νόσῳ νόσον,

Χορός

ἔκανες
545

Οἰδίπους

ἔκανον. ἔχει δέ μοι

Χορός

τί τοῦτο;

Οἰδίπους

πρὸς δίκας τι.

Χορός

τί γάρ;

Οἰδίπους

ἐγὼ φράσω.

καὶ γὰρ ἄν, οὓς ἐφόνευσʼ, ἔμʼ ἀπώλεσαν·

νόμῳ δὲ καθαρός, ἄϊδρις εἰς τόδʼ ἦλθον.

OED

The guerdon fell.

Would I had earned it not from those I served too well.

CH

But, hapless, didst thou slay—

OED

What seek ye more to know?

CH

Thy father?
545

OED

O dismay! Ye wound me, blow on blow.

CH

Thy hand destroyed him.

OED

Yes. Yet lacks there not herein

A plea for my redress.

CH

How canst thou clear that sin?

OED

I’ll tell thee. For the deed, ’twas proved mine,—Oh ’tis true!

Yet by Heaven’s law I am freed:—I wist not whom I slew.

Unseliger, und du gabst den Tod
540

Oedipus.

Was meinst du da? Was willst du mehr?

Dem Vater?

Weh, weh! Du schlägst zur ersten Wunde die andre mir!

Der Chor.

Du warst sein Mörder?

Oedipus.

Ich war's; indeß -

Nun?

Nicht mit Unrecht, mein' ich.

Der Chor.

Wie?

Oedipus.

So höre denn:

Wider Gewalt ankämpfend, erschlug ich ihn,¹
545

That's unbewußt und nach der Sazung schuldlos.²

And art thou not a murderer too ?

Thou sayst ?

Chorus
(Edi. What's that

Thy father

Chorus
(Edi. Thou add'st grief to grief.

Didst thou not murder him ?
545

Chorus
(Edi. I did ; but hear

Hear what ?

Chorus
(Edi. The cause.

What cause ?

I murdered others too, yet by the laws

I stand absolved ; 'twas done in ignorance.

Chorus
(Edi. I'll tell thee. Know then,

Oedipus

I from the liberal state

Received a gift, (O that I never had!)

And thence sprung all the woes that rend my heart...

Chorus

Unhappy man! And art thou stain'd with blood?

Oedipus

Why this? what wou'dst thou?

Chorus

With a father's blood?
545

Oedipus

Oh! thou hast pierced me with another grief.

Chorus

Didst thou not slay...

Oedipus

I did: yet I have what

To urge in my excuse.

Chorus

What canst thou plead?

Oedipus

That I will tell thee: ignorant whose blood

My hand then shed, I by the law am pure;

For I was led unknowing to the deed.