Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 1696

mvp-comment-1144-1 < τοι> ¹

mvp-comment-1144-2 ἄρ’ ἦν ²

mvp-comment-1145-1 The MS. τὸ φίλον φίλον can only mean:

But the article is unendurable here, making her say, in effect, that her former duty was not the ideal of what is pleasant. It came in to patch the metre, when ἦν had dropped out. For instead of cp. 73: for the neut. pl. form, 1104.

mvp-comment-1145-2 τὸν ³

mvp-comment-1146-1 ὦ φίλος ⁴

mvp-comment-1146-2 Join τὸν ἀεὶ κατὰ γᾶς σκότον ⁵

mvp-comment-1146-3 εἱμένος ⁶

mvp-comment-1147-1 οὐδέ γ’ ἔνερθ’ ⁷

mvp-comment-1147-2 οὐδὲ γέρων ⁸

mvp-comment-1148-1 The first ἔπραξεν is itself an argument for the second. A simple repetition is more fitting than ἐξέπραξεν . Cp. on 1677

. Cp. Ai. 966

ἐμοὶ πικρὸς τέθνηκεν ἢ κείνοις γλυκύς,

αὑτῷ δὲ τερπνός· ὦν γὰρ ἠράσθη τυχεῖν

ἐκτήσαθ’ αὑτῷ, θάνατον ὅνπερ ἤθελεν

.

mvp-comment-1149-1 εὐσκίαστον ⁹

mvp-comment-1149-2 πένθος … ἄκλαυτον ¹⁰

mvp-comment-1150-1 In τόδ’ ἐμὸν ὄμμα δακρῦον ἀναστένει ¹¹

mvp-comment-1151-1 τὸ σὸν ἄχος ¹²

mvp-comment-1151-2 ἀφανίσαι ¹³

mvp-comment-1151-3 τόσον ¹⁴

mvp-comment-1152-1 ὤμοι ¹⁵

mvp-comment-1153-1 Cp. 1735

. Almost all critics are now agreed that the words ἔρημος ἄπορος were borrowed thence, to supply a gap here. But opinions differ as to whether we should here retain αὖθις , or ὧδ’ , or both. I retain both. See Metrical Analysis, and Appendix on 1690.

mvp-comment-1154-1 ἔλυσε τὸ τέλος … βίου ¹⁶

mvp-comment-1155-1 λήγετε ¹⁷

mvp-comment-1155-2 κακῶν δυσάλωτος ¹⁸

1697. mvp-comment-906-1 Ant. Then' (if to be thus is well) there is such a thing as longing for that which is not well;' i.e. Then it is possible to wish evil back again, for even what in itself was nowise loveable, was yet beloved, whilst I held him too in my arms.' For this use of ἦν in inference, see Essay on Language §. 32. p. 55, and cp. supra 117, τίς ἄρ᾽ ἦν; ποῦ ναίει;

1698. mvp-comment-907-1 τὸ φίλον That which is dear' (in the abstract). See Essay on Language § 21. p. 34, and Simon. fr. εἰ δὲ τοὶ δεινὸν τὸ γε δεινὸν ἦν.

1699. mvp-comment-908-1 Cp. infr. 1714, Il. 22.426, ὡς ὄφελεν θανέειν ἐν χερσὶν ἐμῇσιν. Ff2

1701. mvp-comment-909-1 τὸν ἀεί (sc. χρόνον). For evermore. This explanation, which is justified by the note on 1584, gives a better rhythm to this line.

1702. mvp-comment-910-1 οὐδὲ γέρων, κ.τ.λ. Even old as thou wert (or art) thou shalt never be forgotten by our love. Cp. supra 1600, πατρὶ συνθανεῖν γεραίῳ. It has been observed (on l. 1371 of the O. T.) that the soul in Hades was imagined as having all the characteristics of the person at the time of death and nothing can be more natural than that Antigone in the first moment of her sorrow should speak of her father as if he still needed tendance and care. This touch of nature extends to modern life and poetry. Shak. King John, 3.4,

His age did not lessen their affection in life, nor should it diminish their mourning for him in death. For the omission of the participle, see Essay on Language § 39. p. 72.

1704. mvp-comment-911-1 Elmsley's ἔπραξεν ; ΑΝ. *ἐξέπραξεν is preferable to ΧΟ. ἔπραξεν οὖν ; ΑΝ. ἔπραξεν (the emendation of Triclinius), (1) because preserving an exact correspondence to l. 1677 in the division of the line between the persons: (2) because introducing no unnecessary word: (3) the additional emphasis in the reply is in keeping with the mood of Antigone. Cp. Aj. 968, ὧν γὰρ ἠράσθη τυχεῖν | ἐκτήσαθ᾽ αὑτῷ, θάνατον ὅνπερ ἤθελεν.

1707. mvp-comment-912-1 εὐσκίαστον With kindly shadow. Cp. supra 406, and note.

1708. mvp-comment-913-1 Schneidewin compares the wish of Solon, Fr. 21, μηδέ μοι ἄκλαυστος θάνατος μόλοι, κ.τ.λ.

1709. mvp-comment-914-1 *ἀνὰ γάρ Hermann's conj. is adopted as the best hitherto.

1712. mvp-comment-915-1 ἀφανίσαι Το quench.

1713. mvp-comment-916-1 †ιώ· μὴ.. μοι The most probable explanation of these words is Hermann's, who, for the sake of metre, reads τῷ for ἰώ. (Quare) utinam ne in peregrina terra cupivisses mori, sed mortuus esses ita mihi desertus. Quoniam enim sentit tanto minus leniri dolorem suum posse, quod ne tumulus quidem patris sibi relictus sit, optat ut ille ne quaesivisset hanc apud exteros mortem, sed obiisset potius ita desertus ignotusque, ut ante cum ipsa per terras vagus errabat, quo saltem sepelire eum et justa facere in tumulo posset.' This interpretation supposes the use of μή with an historical tense of the indicative to express a strong negative wish, as has been already suggested in the note on supra 540-541. Ср. Aesch. Cho. 363 ff. This uncommon use would be here softened by exppses, suggesting ἐχρῆν σε, ας ἐπωφέλησα in 541 was suggestive of ὤφελες. On the other hand, the words in 1714, especially when compared with 1717, Plat. Phaedo, 58 C, ἀλλ' ἐρῆμος ἐτελεύτα φίλων, may very naturally mean, As it is, thou diedst unattended by me, while the positive expression of a wish by the past tense is more doubtful than the negative. And Mr. Palmer, reading lú μοι, γῆς ἐπὶ ξένας, κ.τ.λ., gives this turn to the sentence: Ah me! thou didst desire to die in a foreign land; yet thou hast thus died deserted by me. So also Schneidewin, omitting μή. But such a resumption of the beginning of the speech is too inartistic and abrupt for Sophocles. It is therefore better to follow Hermann and render, Would that thou hadst not cared to die in a strange land, but hadst died as thou wert, all alone upon my hands.'

1716-1719. mvp-comment-917-1 See v. rr. These three lines, which are defaced by the evident interpolation from 1735 infra (first struck out by Lachmann, cp. supr. 769 v. rr.), have been given by the editors to Ismene. The MSS. often mix the persons in this play.

1719. mvp-comment-918-1 For the metre of this and of 1736 in the epode of a commos, cp. Ant. 880, θέμις ὁρᾶν ταλαίνᾳ.

1720. mvp-comment-919-1 ἔλυσεν τὸ τέλος βίου is a condensed expression for κατέλυσε καὶ ἐτελεύτησε τὸν βίον. Cp. τὸν τελευταῖον βίον | κρύψων, supra 1551.