Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 897

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)) — 897 focus
οὔκουν τις ὡς τάχιστα προσπόλων μολὼν
πρὸς τούσδε βωμοὺς πάντʼ ἀναγκάσει λεὼν
ἄνιππον ἱππότην τε θυμάτων ἄπο
σπεύδειν ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος, ἔνθα δίστομοι
900
μάλιστα συμβάλλουσιν ἐμπόρων ὁδοί,
ὡς μὴ παρέλθωσʼ αἱ κόραι, γέλως δʼ ἐγὼ
ξένῳ γένωμαι τῷδε, χειρωθεὶς βίᾳ.
ἴθʼ, ὡς ἄνωγα, σὺν τάχει. τοῦτον δʼ ἐγώ,
εἰ μὲν διʼ ὀργῆς ἧκον, ἧς ὅδʼ ἄξιος,
905
ἄτρωτον οὐ μεθῆκʼ ἂν ἐξ ἐμῆς χερός·
νῦν δʼ * οὕσπερ αὐτὸς τοὺς νόμους εἰσῆλθʼ ἔχων,
τούτοισι κοὐκ ἄλλοισιν ἁρμοσθήσεται.
οὐ γάρ ποτʼ ἔξει τῆσδε τῆς χώρας, πρὶν ἂν
κείνας ἐναργεῖς δεῦρό μοι στήσῃς ἄγων·
910
ἐπεὶ δέδρακας οὔτʼ ἐμοῦ καταξίως
οὔθʼ ὧν πέφυκας αὐτὸς οὔτε σῆς χθονός,
ὅστις δίκαιʼ ἀσκοῦσαν εἰσελθὼν πόλιν
κἄνευ νόμου κραίνουσαν οὐδέν, εἶτʼ ἀφεὶς
τὰ τῆσδε τῆς γῆς κύριʼ, ὧδʼ ἐπεισπεσὼν
915
ἄγεις θʼ ἃ χρῄζεις καὶ παρίστασαι βίᾳ·
καί μοι πόλιν κένανδρον ἢ δούλην τινὰ
ἔδοξας εἶναι, κἄμʼ ἴσον τῷ μηδενί.
καίτοι σε Θῆβαί γʼ οὐκ ἐπαίδευσαν κακόν·
οὐ γὰρ φιλοῦσιν ἄνδρας ἐκδίκους τρέφειν,
920
οὐδʼ ἄν σʼ ἐπαινέσειαν, εἰ πυθοίατο
συλῶντα τἀμὰ καὶ τὰ τῶν θεῶν, βίᾳ
ἄγοντα φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια.
οὔκουν ἐγωγʼ ἂν σῆς ἐπεμβαίνων χθονός,
οὐδʼ εἰ τὰ πάντων εἶχον ἐνδικώτατα,
925
ἄνευ γε τοῦ κραίνοντος, ὅστις ἦν, χθονὸς
οὔθʼ εἶλκον οὔτʼ ἂν ἦγον, ἀλλʼ ἠπιστάμην
ξένον παρʼ ἀστοῖς ὡς διαιτᾶσθαι χρεών.
σὺ δʼ ἀξίαν οὐκ οὖσαν αἰσχύνεις πόλιν
τὴν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ, καί σʼ ὁ πληθύων χρόνος
930
γέρονθʼ ὁμοῦ τίθησι καὶ τοῦ νοῦ κενόν.
εἶπον μὲν οὖν καὶ πρόσθεν, ἐννέπω δὲ νῦν,
τὰς παῖδας ὡς τάχιστα δεῦρʼ ἄγειν τινά,
εἰ μὴ μέτοικος τῆσδε τῆς χώρας θέλεις
εἶναι βίᾳ τε κοὐχ ἑκών· καὶ ταῦτά σοι
935
τῷ νῷ θʼ ὁμοίως κἀπὸ τῆς γλώσσης λέγω.
Translations (5)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 897 focus
Then one of you run to the altar-foot
Hard by, and haste the people from the rite,
Horsemen and footmen at the height of speed
To race unto the parting of the roads
Where travellers from both gorges wont to meet.
900
Lest there the maidens pass beyond our reach
And I be worsted by this stranger’s might
And let him laugh at me. Be swift! Away!
—For him, were I as wroth as he deserves,
He should not go unpunished from my hand.
905
But now he shall be ruled by the same law
He thought to enforce. Thou goest not from this ground
Till thou hast set these maids in presence here;
Since by thine act thou hast disgraced both me
And thine own lineage and thy native land,
910
Who with unlicensed inroad hast assailed
An ancient city, that hath still observed
Justice and equity, and apart from law
Ratifies nothing; and, being here, hast cast
Authority to the winds, and made thine own
915
Whate’er thou wouldst, bearing it off perforce,—
Deeming of me forsooth as nothing worth,
And of my city as one enslaved to foes
Or void of manhood. Not of Thebe’s will
Come such wild courses. It is not her way
920
To foster men in sin, nor would she praise
Thy doing, if she knew that thou hast robbed
Me and the gods, dragging poor suppliant wights
From their last refuge at thy will—I would not,
Had I perchance set foot within thy land,
925
Even were my cause most righteous, have presumed,
Without consent of him who bore chief sway,
To seize on any man, but would have known
How men should act who tread on foreign soil.
Thou bring’st disgrace on thine own mother state
930
All undeservedly, and the lapse of years
Hath left thee aged, but not wise—Again
I bid those maids now to be brought with speed,
Unless thou would’st be made a sojourner
In Athens by compulsion. This I speak
935
Not with my lips alone, but from my will.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 897 focus
Auf denn, so schnell als möglich geh' ein Diener mir
Zurück zum Altar, alles Volk zu nöthigen,
895
Mit lassem Zügel hoch zu Pferd und ohne Roß
Vom Opfer hin zu eilen, wo die Mündungen
Der beiden Wege sich in Eins zusammenzieh'n,
Daß uns die Jungfrau'n nicht entgeh'n und ich ein Spott
Des fremden Mannes werde, weich' ich der Gewalt.
900
Auf, thut in Eile mein Gebot! Und diesen hier,
(ein Diener geht.)
Gehorcht' ich meinem Zorne, wie er's wohl verdient,
Nicht unverwundet ließ ich ihn aus meiner Hand.
Doch welcher Sazung folgend er hieher gelangt, 1
Nach der, und keiner andern, fall' auch ihm der Spruch!
905
Du sollst aus diesem Lande nicht abzieh'n, bevor
Du mir die Jungfrau'n sichtbar hier vor Augen stellst;
Denn würdig hast du weder dein gehandelt noch
Der Ahnen, deren Sohn du bist, noch deines Volks,
Der du, die Stadt heimsuchend, die dem Rechte dient
910
Und Alles ordnet nach Gesez, in rohem Muth
Einbrachst, verhöhnend, was im Land hier heilig gilt,
Und raubst gewaltsam und entführst, was dir beliebt.
Du wähntest, knechtisch oder leer an Männern sei
Die Stadt des Theseus und ich selbst machtlos und Nichts.
915
Doch nicht zum schlechten Manne zog dich Thebe groß;
Es liebte nie, rechtlose Männer aufzuzieh'n,
Und würde dich nicht loben, wenn es hörte, wie
Du mich beraubst und Götter, und Schuzflehende
Aus ihrer Freistatt mit Gewalt von dannen führst.
920
Ich würde niemals, wenn ich käm' in dein Gebiet,
Dem Landesherrn zum Troze, wer es immer sei,
Und hätt' ich auch das allerbeste Necht dazu,
Gewalt und Raub verüben; nein, ich wüßte wohl,
Wie gegen Bürger sich der Gast benehmen muß.
925
Du schändest, ohne daß sie solche Schmach verdient,
Die eigne Heimat, und der Jahre volles Maß
Stellt dich zugleich als Greisen und als Thoren dar.
Ich sagte vorhin, und ich sag' es wiederum:
Man führe mir die Mädchen unverweilt zurück,
930
Verlangst du nicht Insasse dieses Land's zu sein,
Gezwungen, nicht freiwillig! Und dies sag' ich dir
Mit freiem Munde, wie es mir vom Herzen kommt.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 897 focus
\to his Attendants], Quick, dispatch my servant^.
Fly to the altar, summon all my people,
Horsemen and foot ; give o'er the sacrifice,
And instant to the double gate repair,
Lest with the virgins the base ravishers
900
Escape unpunished, and my guest thus injui-ed
Laugh me to scorn for cowardice Away!
Were I to punish this oppressor here \tuming to Ceeox
As my resentment bids and he deserves.
He should this instant fall beneath my rage ;
905
But the same justice he to others deals.
Himself shall meet from us ; thou shalt not go
Till those whom thou didst basely ravish hence
Are brought before me. 'Twas unlike thyself,
Unworthy of thy country and thy race.
910
To enter thus a cultivated city.
Where law and justice reign, with violence
And rapine, snatching what thy fancy pleased.
Or didst thou think I ruled a desert land.
Or that my people were a race of slaves.
915
And Theseus but the shadow of a king ?
Thebes never taught thee such destnictive lessons,
For she abhors injustice : when she heai's
That Creon, thus despising sacred laws,
Hath ta'en with brutal violence my right,
920
And would have stolen a wretched suppliant from me,
She'll not approve thy conduct ; say I went
To Thebes, how just soever were the cause,
I should not seize on aught without the lea-ve
Of him who governed there ; but, as becomes
925
A stranger, bear myself unblamed by all.
Thou hast disgraced thy country and thy friends,
And weight of years hath ta'en thy senses from thee.
Again I say, restore the virgins to me.
Or stay with me thyself, for so thou shalt,
930
Howe'er unwilling \ what I've said, remember.
Is what I have resolved — therefore determine.
Chok. \to Creon]. Stranger, thy actions, noble as
thou art.
But ill become thy family and name.
935
Because unjust ; but thou beholdst thy fate.
[to Theseus]. O king ! this stranger merits thy
regard ;
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 897 focus
Of my attendants one with swiftest pace
Hence to the altar, bear this charge to all
Th' assembled people, from the sacred rites
Horsemen and troops of foot to wing their speed,
And seize the strait where the two roads unite,
900
Ere there the virgins pass. I should be held
In scorn if, when my faith is pledged, by force
I were defeated. Go as I command,
And use thy utmost speed. But for this man,.
Were I by anger prompted, as his deeds
905
Deserve, unwounded by my vengeful hand
I should not suffer him go hence. But now,
Since his own laws he brought, to those same laws
His treatment shall accord; for from this land
Thou never shalt depart, till thou hast brought
The virgins back, and placed them in my sight.l
910
For thou hast done what foul dishonour casts
On me, on thy high lineage, and thy land:
A country hast thou enter'd, which reveres
The voice of justice, and ne'er dares a deed
That violates the laws; her sacred rights
915
Hast thou o'erleap'd, and rushing in by force
Bearest hence thy spoil, deeming perchance my realm
Of force devoid, and sunk with servile fear,
And me some spiritless and abject wretch.
Thebes taught thee not this ruffian deed, nor loves
To cherish the unjust; nor would her voice
920
Hail thee with acclamations, if she knew
That thou hast plunder'd me, and seized by force
Unhappy men, the suppliants of the gods.
Thy country had I enter'd, were my claims
Most just, without the sovereign of the land,
925
Whoe'er he were, thence nothing had I drawn
Or forced away; well knowing how behoves
A stranger in a foreign land to frame
His fair demeanour: but thy deeds disgrace
Thy country, not deserving such reproach:
And time in its full course hath made thee old,
930
And void of wisdom. But I tell thee now,
What I before declared, without delay
Send, let the virgins safe be brought again,
Else in this land constrain'd shalt thou abide
Howe'er unwillingly. I tell thee this,
935
And my heart speaks accordant with my tongue.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 897 focus

Commentary

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

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

mvp-comment-669-2 τούσδε βωμοὺς 2

mvp-comment-670-1 Join σπεύδειν ἀπὸ θυμάτων, ἄνιππον, ἱππότην τε ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος 3

mvp-comment-670-2 ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος 4

mvp-comment-670-3 δίστομοι … ὁδοί 5

mvp-comment-670-4 μάλιστα 6 ἔνθα 7

mvp-comment-671-1 ἴθ’ 8

mvp-comment-672-1 δῑ ὀργῆς ἧκον 9

mvp-comment-673-1 μεθῆκ’ 10

mvp-comment-674-1 οὕσπερ … τοὺς νόμους 11

mvp-comment-675-1 τούτοισι 12

mvp-comment-675-2 ἁρμοσθήσεται 13

mvp-comment-676-1 ἐναργεῖς 14

mvp-comment-676-2 ἄγων 15

mvp-comment-677-1 κατάξια δρᾶν 16

mvp-comment-678-1 ὧν 17

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’ 18

mvp-comment-680-2 ἀφεὶς 19

mvp-comment-681-1 τὰ … κύρια 20

mvp-comment-681-2 ἐπεισπεσὼν 21

mvp-comment-682-1 ἄγεις 22

mvp-comment-682-2 παρίστασαι 23

mvp-comment-683-1 κένανδρον … ἢ δούλην τινὰ 24

mvp-comment-684-1 τῷ μηδενί 25

mvp-comment-685-1 Θῆβαι 26

mvp-comment-685-2 ἐπαίδευσαν 27

mvp-comment-686-1 πυθοίατο 28

mvp-comment-687-1 συλῶντα 29

mvp-comment-687-2 φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια 30

mvp-comment-688-1 ἐπεμβαίνων 31

mvp-comment-689-1 εἶχον 32

mvp-comment-690-1 ἄνευ γε τοῦ κραίνοντος 33

mvp-comment-690-2 χθονὸς 34

mvp-comment-690-3 ὅστις ἦν 35

mvp-comment-691-1 οὔθ’ εἷλκον οὔτ’ ἂν ἦγον 36

mvp-comment-692-1 ξένον 37

mvp-comment-693-1 ἀξίαν οὐκ οὖσαν 38

mvp-comment-694-1 τὴν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ 39

mvp-comment-694-2 ὁ πληθύων χρόνος 40

mvp-comment-694-3 τοῦ νοῦ 41

mvp-comment-695-1 τινα 42

mvp-comment-696-1 The essence of the notion conveyed by μέτοικος 43

mvp-comment-697-1 βίᾳ τε κοὐχ ἑκ 44

mvp-comment-697-2 κοὐχ ἑκών 45

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 46

mvp-comment-699-1 ὁρᾷς ἵν’ ἥκεις 47

mvp-comment-699-2 ἀφ’ ὧν 48

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

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.