Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 761

ed. Francis Storr

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Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles. ed. Francis Storr. London. 1912.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ (Greek) (Sophocles, Volume 1. Storr, Francis, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann Ltd.; The Macmillan Company, 1912.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 761 focus
ΟΙ, ὦ πάντα τολμῶν κἀπὸ παντὸς ἂν φέρων
λόγου δικαίου μηχάνημα ποικίλον,
τί ταῦτα πειρᾷ κἀμὲ δεύτερον θέλεις
ἑλεῖν, ἐν οἷς μάλιστʼ ἂν ἀλγοίην ἁλούς;
πρόσθεν τε γάρ με τοῖσιν οἰκείοις κακοῖς
765
νοσοῦνθʼ, ὅτʼ ἦν μοι τέρψις ἐκπεσεῖν χθονός,
οὐκ ἤθελες θέλοντι προσθέσθαι χάριν,
ἀλλʼ ἡνίκʼ ἤδη μεστὸς ἦ θυμούμενος,
καὶ τοὐν δόμοισιν ἦν διαιτᾶσθαι γλυκύ,
τότʼ ἐξεώθεις κἀξέβαλλες, οὐδέ σοι
770
τὸ συγγενὲς τοῦτʼ οὐδαμῶς τότʼ ἦν φίλον·
νῦν τʼ αὖθις ἡνίκʼ εἰσορᾷς πόλιν τέ μοι
ξυνοῦσαν εὔνουν τήνδε καὶ γένος τὸ πᾶν,
πειρᾷ μετασπᾶν, σκληρὰ μαλθακῶς λέγων.΄
καίτοι τίς αὕτη τέρψις ἄκοντας φιλεῖν;
775
ὥσπερ τις εἰ σοὶ λιπαροῦντι μὲν τυχεῖν
μηδὲν διδοίη μηδʼ ἐπαρκέσαι θέλοι,
πλήρη δʼ ἔχοντι θυμὸν ὧν χρῄζοις, τότε
δωροῖθʼ, ὅτʼ οὐδὲν ἡ χάρις χάριν φέροι·
ἆρʼ ἂν ματαίου τῆσδʼ ἂν ἡδονῆς τύχοις;
780
τοιαῦτα μέντοι καὶ σὺ προσφέρεις ἐμοί,
λόγῳ μὲν ἐσθλά, τοῖσι δʼ ἔργοισιν κακά.
φράσω δὲ καὶ τοῖσδʼ, ὥς σε δηλώσω κακόν.
ἥκεις ἔμʼ ἄξων, οὐχ ἵνʼ ἐς δόμους ἄγῃς,
ἀλλʼ ὡς πάραυλον οἰκίσῃς, πόλις δέ σοι
785
κακῶν ἄνατος τῶνδʼ ἀπαλλαχθῇ χθονός.
οὐκ ἔστι σοι ταῦτʼ, ἀλλά σοι τάδʼ ἔστʼ, ἐκεῖ
χώρας ἀλάστωρ οὑμὸς ἐνναίων ἀεί·
ἔστιν δὲ παισὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖσι τῆς ἐμῆς
χθονὸς λαχεῖν τοσοῦτον, ἐνθανεῖν μόνον.
790
ἆρʼ οὐκ ἄμεινον ἢ σὺ τἀν Θήβαις φρονῶ;
πολλῷ γʼ, ὅσῳπερ ἐκ σαφεστέρων κλύω,
Φοίβου τε καὐτοῦ Ζηνός, ὃς κείνου πατήρ.
τὸ σὸν δʼ ἀφῖκται δεῦρʼ ὑπόβλητον στόμα,
πολλὴν ἔχον στόμωσιν· ἐν δὲ τῷ λέγειν
795
κάκʼ ἂν λάβοις τὰ πλείονʼ ἢ σωτήρια.
ἀλλʼ οἶδα γάρ σε ταῦτα μὴ πείθων, ἴθι·
ἡμᾶς δʼ ἔα ζῆν ἐνθάδʼ· οὐ γὰρ ἂν κακῶς
οὐδʼ ὧδʼ ἔχοντες ζῷμεν, εἰ τερποίμεθα.
Translations (5)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 761 focus
I before all,—since I were worst of men,
Were I not pained at thy misfortunes, sir,
—To see thee wandering in the stranger’s land
Aged and miserable, unhoused, unfed,
Singly attended by this girl, whose fall
To such a depth of undeservèd woe
I could not have imagined! Hapless maid!
Evermore caring for thy poor blind head,
Roving in beggary, so young, with no man
To marry her,—a mark for all mischance.
O misery, what deep reproach I have laid
On thee and me and our whole ill-starred race!
But who can hide evil that courts the day?
Thou, therefore, Oedipus, without constraint,
(By all the Gods of Cadmus’ race I pray thee)
Remove this horror from the sight of men
By coming to the ancestral city and home
Of thy great sires,—bidding a kind farewell
To worthiest Athens, as is meet. But Thebes,
Thy native land, yet more deserves thy love.
Were offered, when such grace were graceless now;
—Poor satisfaction then were thine, I ween!
Even such a gift thou profferest me to-day,
Kind in pretence, but really full of evil.
These men shall hear me tell thy wickedness.
Thou comest to take me, not unto my home,
But to dwell outlawed at your gate, that so
Your Thebè may come off untouched of harm
From her encounter with Athenian men.
Ye shall not have me thus. But you shall have
My vengeful spirit ever in your land
Abiding for destruction,—and my sons
Shall have this portion in their father’s ground,
To die thereon. Know I not things in Thebes
Better than thou? Yea, for ’tis mine to hear
785
Safer intelligencers,—Zeus himself,
And Phoebus, high interpreter of Heaven.
Thou bring’st a tongue suborned with false pretence,
790
Sharpened with insolence;—but in shrewd speech
Thou shalt find less of profit than of bane.
This thou wilt ne’er believe. Therefore begone!
795
Let me live here. For even such life as mine
Were not amiss, might I but have my will.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 761 focus
Du Frecher, dreist zu Allem, der aus jedem Ding
Den Schein gerechter Sache schlau zu spinnen weiß,
Weßhalb versuchst du solches, willst mich abermals
Im Nez verstricken, wo das Herbste meiner harrt?
760
Denn früher, als mich kränkte meines Hauses Noth,
Daß mir Verbanmmung aus dem Land für Wonne galt,
Ward meinem Wunsche solche Gunst mißgönnt von dir.
Doch als der Seele grimmer Schmerz gesättigt war,
Und mir, daheim zu leben, schien ein süßes Glück:
765
Da stießest, warfest du mich aus, da waren dir
Des Blutes edle Bande nur ein eitles Wort.
Nun willst du wieder, da du siehst, wie diese Stadt
Und alles Volk hier wohlgesinnt mir Hülfe leiht,
Das Rauhe sanft aussprechend, mich von hinnen zieh'n.
770
Doch welche Lust kann aufgedrung'ne Liebe sein?
Wie? Wenn ein Mann auf ungestümes Bitten dir
Wohlthaten oder Hülfe kalt verweigerte,
Und erst, nachdem dir, was du willst, in Fülle ward,
Willfahrte, wann ihm keinen Dank die Gunst gewinnt:
775
Sprich, wäre das nicht ein verächtlich leerer Dienst?
Nun, solche Gaben bietest du mir eben dar,
Die schön in Worten, in der That verwerflich sind.
Auch diesen sag' ich's, daß sie seh'n, wie schlecht du bist.
Du kommst mich fortzuführen, nicht zu meinem Haus;
780
Nein, außen soll ich wohnen, daß die Theberstadt
Frei sei der Uebel, die von diesem Land ihr droh'n.
Das wird dir nicht; das wird dir, daß mein Rachegeist,
Ein ewig Schreckbild, hausen wird in Kadmos' Reich;
Und meine Söhne können einst von meinem Land
785
Nicht mehr erlangen, als darin zu sterben nur.
Ist Thebe's Loos nicht besser mir, als dir, bekannt?
Um Vieles, weil ich sein Geschick von Weiseren,
Von Phöbos, ja, von dessen Vater Zeus vernahm.
Du aber kamst mit tückevollem Mund daher,
790
Mit vielgewandter Zunge; doch dein Neden wird
Mehr Schaden dir bereiten als ersprießlich sein.
Nun geh; ich weiß, dich wenden meine Worte nicht -
Uns aber laß hier leben; denn wir leben nicht
Elend in solcher Lage selbst, wenn's uns behagt.
795
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 761 focus
Beneath fair semblance mean but to betray,
Why wouldst thou tempt me thus? Why thus once more
K
fQO
Ensnare me in thy toils, and make me still
765
More wi-etched than I am ? Long time oppressed
By heaviest woes, I pined within my palace,
And longed for exile ; but you then refused
To let nie go, till, satiated with grief,
My soul at length was calm, and much I wished
770
To spend my few remaining years at home :
Then thou — for little did the kindred blood
Thou talkst of then avail — didst banish me ;
And now again thou com'st to make me wretched.
Because thou seest this kind benignant city
775
Embrace and cherish, thou wouldst drag me hence,
With sweetest words covering thy bitter mind,
Professing love to those who choose it not.
He who denies his charitable aid
780
To the poor beggar in his utmost need,
And if abundance comes, should offer that
Which is not wanted, little merits thanks.
Such is thy bounty now — in word alone,
And not in deed, the friend of Q^^dipus.
785
But I will tell them what thou art. Thou cam'st not
To take me hence, but leave me in the borders
Of Thebes, that so thy kingdom may escape
The impending ills which this avenging city
Shall pour upon it ; but 'twill come to pass
790
As I foretold : my evil genius still
Slmll haunt yon, and my sons no more of Thebes
Inherit than shall serve them for a grave.
Thy country's fate is better known to me
795
Than to thyself, for my instruction comes
From surer guides — from Phoebus and from Jove.
Thy artful speech shall little serve thy purpose,
'Twill only hurt thy cause : therefore begone !
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 761 focus
And prompt from all just words to draw a train
Of deep insidious ills, why this attempt?
Why seek again t' ensnare me, where I most,
Should grieve to be ensnared? In days long past
When with domestic miseries o'erwhelm'd
765
My sickening soul in exile would have joy'd,
765
Then to my wish this grace didst thou deny.
But when my soul was glutted with its grief,
And in my house it had been sweet to rest,
For ebbing then I found my former rage,
Then didst thou drive me forth an outcast thence,
770
Nor was this near affinity of blood
Dear to thee. Now again, when thou didst see
This state benevolent to me, and all
Its race, dost thou assay to drag me hence,
Filing thy tongue to smooth thy harsh attempts.
Why this delight to show thy courtesy
775
When most it is unwelcome? If to thee,
What thy wants crave requesting to obtain,
One should give nothing, nor e'en show a will
To grant thee a supply; but, when thy soul
Enjoys its wish e'en to the full, would give,
When the slow favour all its grace hath lost,
780
Wou'dst thou this worthless pleasure wish to gain?
Such is to me thy offer'd grace, in words
Pretending good, but hateful in effect.
Nay, I will tell it these, that I may show
Thy baseness: hence to draw me thou art come,
Not with leave granted to possess my house,
785
But to be stabled on your confines; thus
Your country should be guarded from the ills.
Fear'd from these realms. This never shall be thine;
But thine shall be those ills; for in that land
My vengeful spirit always shall reside.
Nor of my kingdom shall my sons share more,
790
Then to die in it. Seem I not to know
Better than thou the destined state of Thebes?
Much better, as by more unerring guides
Instructed, Phœbus and his father Jove.
Yet hither hast thou brought that treacherous front
795
Harden'd 'gainst shame: but that fine-filed tongue
795
Shall work thee woe, not safety; be assured
With me thou never shalt prevail : begone,
Let us live here; not ill we here should live...
E'en as we are, could we delight in life.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 761 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-570-1 παντὸς 1

mvp-comment-570-2 ἂν φέρων 2

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 3

mvp-comment-571-3 δεύτερον … ἑλεῖν 4

mvp-comment-571-4 ἐν οἷς 5

mvp-comment-571-5 μάλιστ’ ἂν ἀλγοίην 6

mvp-comment-572-1 πρόσθεν τε 7

mvp-comment-572-2 οἰκείοις 8

mvp-comment-573-1 νοσοῦνθ’ 9

mvp-comment-574-1 οὐκ ἤθελες θέλοντι 10

mvp-comment-574-2 προσθέσθαι 11

mvp-comment-575-1 ἦ 12

mvp-comment-575-2 μεστὸς 13

mvp-comment-576-1 ἐξεώθεις κἀξέβ 15

mvp-comment-577-1 τοῦτ’ 16

mvp-comment-578-1 πόλιν 17 γένος 18

mvp-comment-579-1 μετασπᾶν 19

mvp-comment-579-2 σκληρὰ μαλθακῶς λέγων 20

mvp-comment-580-1 αὕτη 22

mvp-comment-580-2 τίς τέρψις 23

mvp-comment-580-3 φιλεῖν 24

mvp-comment-580-4 τοσαύτη 25

mvp-comment-581-1 ὥσπερ 26

mvp-comment-581-2 τις 27

mvp-comment-581-3 τυχεῖν 28

mvp-comment-582-1 ὧν χρῄζοις 29

mvp-comment-583-1 ἡ χάρις 30

mvp-comment-584-1 ἆῤ 31

mvp-comment-585-1 καὶ σὺ 32

mvp-comment-586-1 λόγῳ … τοῖσι δ’ ἔργοισιν 33

mvp-comment-587-1 καὶ τοῖσδ’ 34

mvp-comment-588-1 πάραυλον 35

mvp-comment-589-1 κακῶν ἄνατος 36

mvp-comment-589-2 τῆσδ’ 37

mvp-comment-589-3 ἀπαλλαχθῇ 38

mvp-comment-590-1 ταῦτα … τάδ’ 39

mvp-comment-590-2 χώρας 40

mvp-comment-591-1 τοσοῦτον, ἐνθανεῖν μόνον 41

mvp-comment-591-2 ἐνθανεῖν 43

mvp-comment-592-1 σαφεστέρων 44

mvp-comment-592-2 κλύω 45

mvp-comment-593-1 τὸ σὸν … στόμα 46

mvp-comment-593-2 ὑπόβλητον 47

mvp-comment-594-1 πολλὴν ἔχον στόμωσιν 48

mvp-comment-595-1 κακά 49 σωτήρια 50

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 51

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

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.