Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 1670-1750

mvp-comment-1127-1 αἰαῖ, φεῦ ¹

mvp-comment-1127-2 ἔστιν ἔστι νῷν δή ²

mvp-comment-1127-3 οὐ τὸ μέν, ἄλλο δὲ μή ³

mvp-comment-1128-1 ἔμφυτον ⁴

mvp-comment-1128-2 ἄλαστον ⁵

mvp-comment-1128-3 αἷμα ⁶

mvp-comment-1129-1 ᾧτινι ⁷

mvp-comment-1129-2 τὸν πολὺν ⁸

mvp-comment-1130-1 ἐν πυμάτῳ ⁹

mvp-comment-1130-2 ἀλόγιστα ¹⁰

mvp-comment-1130-3 παροίσομεν ¹¹

mvp-comment-1131-1 ἰδόντε καὶ παθούσα ¹²

mvp-comment-1132-1 The Chorus ask,

She replies, ἔστιν μὲν εἰκάσαι , ( ). Cp. Eur. fr. 18 . So 1656

μόρῳ δ’ ὁποίῳ κεῖνος ὤλετ’ οὐδ’ ἂν εἷς | θνητῶν φράσειε

. Better thus than, —The MS. οὐκ ἔστιν μὲν = (Not, as Bellermann: schol. .)

mvp-comment-1132-2 οὐκ ¹³

mvp-comment-1133-1 ὡς μάλιστ’ ἂν ἐν πόθῳ λάβοις ¹⁴

mvp-comment-1134-1 τί γάρ, ὅτῳ ¹⁵

mvp-comment-1134-2 μήτ’ Ἄρης μήτε πόντος ¹⁶

mvp-comment-1134-3 I think that I can suggest the true solution. The schol.'s

was a paraphrase of πόνος , a corruption of πόντος which actually appears in the Vatican MS. here.

mvp-comment-1135-1 ἄσκοποι … πλάκες ¹⁷

mvp-comment-1135-2 φερόμενον ¹⁸

mvp-comment-1136-1 ὀλεθρία νὺξ ¹⁹

mvp-comment-1137-1 ἀπίαν γᾶν ²⁰

mvp-comment-1137-2 ἀλώμεναι ²¹

mvp-comment-1137-3 δύσοιστον ²²

mvp-comment-1138-1 κατὰ … ἕλοι ²³

mvp-comment-1138-2 φόνιος ²⁴

mvp-comment-1138-3 In this and some following passages the correspondence of strophe and antistrophe has been disturbed by interpolations, and also omissions, in the MSS. A

of this kind was peculiarly liable to corruption by the actors, and that has doubtless been one of the causes at work. (Cp. on 1737

.) At some points it is now impossible to restore the text with certainty; but the whole extent of the mischief is small. In dealing with such points we can only use caution, and clearly recognise the doubtful nature of the ground.—On this passage, see note in Appendix.

mvp-comment-1139-1 The words πατρὶ ξυνθανεῖν γεραιῷ ²⁵

mvp-comment-1140-1 γ’ ὁ μέλλων ²⁶

mvp-comment-1141-1 The MSS. give τὸ φέρον ἐκ θεοῦ καλῶς φέρειν χρή . There has certainly been an interpolation, equivalent to uu- . (1) Some reject the words φέρειν χρή . Then τὸ φέρον ἐκ θεοῦ καλῶς must be taken with φλέγεσθον :

(pass.): or, if with Herm. the verb is made midd., (cp. the act. in Ai. 196

ἄταν οὐρανίαν φλέγων

). So, if the MS. μηδ’ ἄγαν is kept, μηδ’ = (Herm., ). But μηδὲν ἄγαν or μηδ’ ἔτ’ ἄγαν (see cr. n.) gives in this case a clearer sense. (2) Wecklein, with whom I agree, rejects καλῶς and χρή , keeping φέρειν . Then τὸ φέρον ἐκ θεοῦ φέρειν = the inf. standing for imperat., a use fitting in such a precept ( O. T. 1529 ). The origin of the interpolated words is thus clear: χρή explained the use of the inf., while καλῶς was meant to fix the sense of φέρειν , lest τὸ φέρον should obscure it.

mvp-comment-1141-2 τὸ φέρον ἐκ θεοῦ ²⁷

mvp-comment-1141-3 τὸ φέρον ²⁸

mvp-comment-1142-1 The MS. μηδ’ ἄγαν οὕτω answers to λήγετε τοῦδ’ in 1722 . The question is, Are we (1) to compress the former, or (2) to expand the latter? Dindorf and others prefer (1), and so eject οὕτω , reading μηδ’ ἔτ’ (or μηδὲν ) ἄγαν ,=

. This view agrees with the metre, and is adopted by Heinrich Schmidt (see Metr. Analysis). If, on the other hand, οὕτω is kept here, then Hermann's λήγετ’ <ἤδη> τοῦδ’ is the simplest supplement in 1722. For Wecklein's conjecture λήγετ’ <αἰνοῦ> τοῦδ’ ( Ars Soph. emendandi p. 81), it may be said that might have dropped out before : cp. Ai. 706

αἰνὸν ἄχος

.

mvp-comment-1143-1 οὔτοι κατάμεμπτ’ ἔβητον ²⁹

mvp-comment-1143-2 κατάμεμπτα ³⁰

mvp-comment-1143-3 βαίνειν ³¹

mvp-comment-1143-4 But the scholium in L is:—

: [Elmsley ] (Theseus). . Does the lemma point to another reading? I do not think so. Papageorgius points out ( Krit. und palaeogr. Beiträge z. d. alt. Sophoklesscholien , p. 59) that was probably a mere slip, by the scholiast who copied the old scholia into L, for ( ), while was a like error for . On the strength of this schol., however, (1) Nauck conjectured οὔτοι κατάμεμπτος αἶσα : (2) Hartung, οὔτοι κατάμεμπτ’ ἔβη γάρ : (3) M. Schmidt, οὔτοι κατάμεμπτ’ ἀπέσβη , which Wecklein adopts, citing Bekk. Anecd. 422 . But the word would ill suit the swift passing of Oed.: it rather suggests a gradual extinction of life: cp. Eur. Med. 1218

³² χρόνῳ δ’ ἀπέσβη καὶ μεθῆχ’ ὁ δύσμορος | ψυχήν

.

mvp-comment-1144-1 < τοι> ³³

mvp-comment-1144-2 ἄρ’ ἦν ³⁴

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 ³⁵

mvp-comment-1146-1 ὦ φίλος ³⁶

mvp-comment-1146-2 Join τὸν ἀεὶ κατὰ γᾶς σκότον ³⁷

mvp-comment-1146-3 εἱμένος ³⁸

mvp-comment-1147-1 οὐδέ γ’ ἔνερθ’ ³⁹

mvp-comment-1147-2 οὐδὲ γέρων ⁴⁰

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 ⁴¹

mvp-comment-1149-2 πένθος … ἄκλαυτον ⁴²

mvp-comment-1150-1 In τόδ’ ἐμὸν ὄμμα δακρῦον ἀναστένει ⁴³

mvp-comment-1151-1 τὸ σὸν ἄχος ⁴⁴

mvp-comment-1151-2 ἀφανίσαι ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-1151-3 τόσον ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-1152-1 ὤμοι ⁴⁷

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 ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-1155-1 λήγετε ⁴⁹

mvp-comment-1155-2 κακῶν δυσάλωτος ⁵⁰

mvp-comment-1156-1 πάλιν … συθῶμεν ⁵¹

mvp-comment-1157-1 The MS. text of this verse does not answer metrically to 1739. Bergk and Gleditsch alter both verses (see cr. n.). Hermann, whose remedy is simplest, leaves this v. intact, and in 1739 reads ΧΟ. καὶ πάρος ἀπέφυγε ΑΝ. τί ; See n. there.

mvp-comment-1158-1 τὰν χθόνιον ἑστίαν ⁵²

mvp-comment-1159-1 θέμις … τάδ’ ⁵³

mvp-comment-1159-2 μῶν οὐχ ὁρᾷς ⁵⁴

mvp-comment-1159-3 μῶν οὐ ⁵⁵

mvp-comment-1159-4 ἐπέπληξας ⁵⁶

mvp-comment-1160-1 καὶ τόδ’ ⁵⁷

mvp-comment-1160-2 μάλ’ αὖθις ⁵⁸

mvp-comment-1160-3 ἔπιτνε ⁵⁹

mvp-comment-1160-4 δίχα τε παντός ⁶⁰

mvp-comment-1161-1 ἄγε με ⁶¹

mvp-comment-1162-1 The MS.

has been defended in two ways, neither of which is satisfactory: (1) by an ellipse of : (2) as= As in 383 (n.) we should read for , and in 335 (n.) for , so here I feel sure that ποῦ is right. It suits the sense better than the v.l. πῇ , besides being closer to the MSS. The v.l. ἄξω , (which would justify ποῖ ,) is plainly a mere corruption of .

mvp-comment-1162-2 αὖθις ⁶²

mvp-comment-1163-1 In these verses the utterances usually assigned to Antigone all turn on her anxiety as to a refuge, and her desire to return to Thebes. Such feelings, at this moment, are more in harmony with the character of Ismene (cp. 1735). Antigone is at present absorbed in the yearning to visit her father's tomb, or at least the spot where she last saw him alive (1724). When Theseus appears, it is this wish which she instantly presses on him. Only when it has been put aside does she think of a return to Thebes (1769).

mvp-comment-1163-2 Ought we, then, to read

for throughout vv. 1737—1750? This has been suggested by Bergk. I may observe that the Laur. MS. leaves the question open. At 1730 it has before . After that, there is no indication of any person, but only short lines (-), until at 1741 again stands before . The next words, etc., have before them: but after that no person is indicated till 1751, where (instead of ) is erroneously placed before .

mvp-comment-1163-3 I am disposed to think that Sophocles wrote the words for Ismene, but that the fourth-actor difficulty had led to a fluctuation of stage-practice, which helps to account for the ambiguity of the MS. tradition. See the note on the Dramatis Personae. If the part of Ismene, after v. 509, was ever taken by a

, there may then have been a wish to keep her part in this scene as small as possible. Similarly at 1689 ff. there is a doubt as to which sister ought to have the words .

mvp-comment-1164-1 φύγω ⁶³

mvp-comment-1165-1 The MS. ἀπεφεύγετον is most simply corrected to ἀπεφύγετον . But then we must either (1) add τί δή , and expand v. 1726 , as Bergk and Gleditsch do (cr. n. ad l. ): or (2), leaving v. 1726 intact, suppose that vv. 1739, 1740 are spoken by the Chorus without any interpellation by Antigone. This, however, is improbable, and also injurious to the point of v. 1740. Further, with

, v. 1740 has a construction which makes the order of the words harsh, viz.: —

mvp-comment-1165-2 τὸ μὴ τὰ σφῷν πίτνειν κακῶς ⁶⁴

mvp-comment-1166-1 φρονῶ ⁶⁵

mvp-comment-1167-1 ὅπως μολούμεθ’ ⁶⁶

mvp-comment-1168-1 μηδέ γε μάτευε ⁶⁷

mvp-comment-1169-1 μόγος ἔχει ⁶⁸

mvp-comment-1169-2 ἐπεῖχε ⁶⁹

mvp-comment-1170-1 τοτὲ μὲν … ὕπερθεν ⁷⁰

mvp-comment-1170-2 τοτὲ μὲν … τοτὲ δέ ⁷¹

mvp-comment-1170-3 ὕπερθεν ⁷²

mvp-comment-1171-1 πέλαγος ⁷³

mvp-comment-1172-1 φεῦ, φεῦ ⁷⁴

mvp-comment-1173-1 ἐλπίδων γὰρ ἐς τίν’ ⁷⁵

mvp-comment-1173-2 ἐλπίδων ⁷⁶

1672. mvp-comment-893-1 αἷμα is here primarily Bloodrelationship, with perhaps a secondary association (pointed by the word ἄλαστον) from the other meaning of Blood-guiltiness.' Cp. O. Τ. 1400, αἱ τοὐμὸν αἷμα τῶν ἐμῶν χειρῶν ἄπο | ἐπίετε πατρός.

1673. mvp-comment-894-1 The form ᾧτινι (= ὅτῳ) is rare, and Badham has conjectured ὥτινε. But the dative properly expresses the connection between the two parts of the sentence. Essay on Language § 12. p. 18. And Elmsley has quoted Eur. Hipp. 903, τὸ μέντοι πρᾶγμ᾽, ἐφ᾽ ᾧτινι στένεις | οὐκ οἶδα: Arist. Pax 1278, σὺ γὰρ εἰπέ μοι VOL. I. οἷστισι χαίρεις.

1675. mvp-comment-895-1 For παροίσομεν, cp. Hdt. 9. 26, καινὰ καὶ παλαιὰ παραφέροντες ἔργα,

1676. mvp-comment-896-1 παθούσα Το avoid the discrepancy of terminations several critics read παθόντε. But there does not seem to be sufficient ground for deserting the MSS. Hermann rightly says, 'Nesciebat Brunckius harum formarum usum ad sonorum suavitatem attemperari, quum putavit Sophoclem scripsisse ἰδόντε καὶ πάθοντε.

1677. mvp-comment-897-1 Although οὐκ ἔστιν (see v. rr.) may be explained with reference to the manner of the end, which was inconceivable, it is more natural that Antigone should say here, You may guess what has happened, i. e. the main fact that he is gone. By merely omitting οὐκ with Hermann, we obtain a line like Aj. 951 (which conveys a similar feeling), ἄγαν ὑπερβριθὲς ἄχθος ἤνυσαν, CICL|卜​(ICICI. L. 1704 in the antistrophe, as it appears in the Ff MSS. may be so scanned (see v. rr. on p. 436): but not without too great a stress upon the augment before πρ in ἔπραξεν. It is on the whole more likely that οὐκ in 1677 is a corruption of if, and that if has dropped out in 1704. Another conjecture, which secures a pure iambic line, is Χ. τί δ' ἔστιν; Α.

1677. mvp-comment-897-2 ἔστιν *εὖ μὲν εἰκάσαι, φίλοι. Cp. also O. T. 1308, foll. 1678 ff. 'Cho. He is gone? Ant. Even as heart could wish. What more could be desired for him, whom neither war nor the sea hath smitten, but viewless regions carried off and rapt in some mysterious doom? While on our helpless eyes a horror of night is fallen. For how shall we maintain our life in misery unendurable? Wandering in some far (or southern) land or (roaming) over ocean's billow?' ὡς .. λάβοις] i. e. ὡς μάλιστ᾽ ἂν λάβοις τὸ βῆναι, εἰ πόθῳ λάβοις. As you would above all choose the mode of your departure if you could choose by desire. For the use of λάβοις, cp. Αj. 265, πότερα δ' ἄν, εἰ νέμοι τις αἵρεσιν, λάβοις ; For πόθῳ, cp. supra 1106, σὺν πόθῳ γὰρ ἡ χάρις. Canter's conjecture ἐν πόθῳ is very plausible, but not necessary.

1680. mvp-comment-898-1 πόντος Cp. 1659, οὔτε ποντία θύελλα κινηθεῖσα τῷ τότ᾽ ἐν χρόνῳ. Allusions to the elements are characteristic of the language of this period. Essay on Language § 52. p. 98.

1682. mvp-comment-899-1 *φερόμεναι Carrying him away, is adopted as the simplest alteration of the text which satisfies the metre, while giving a recognized form. The middle voice, for which see Essay on Language § 31, b. p. 53, is better than the passive φερόμενον.

1685. mvp-comment-900-1 ἀπίαν Either (1) Distant, the word being here used in a different sense from that in l. 1303, γῆς ὅσοιπερ Απίας | πρῶτοι καλοῦνται, although the quantity is the same, whereas it is short in Hom. Od. 7. 25, τηλόθεν ἐξ ἀπίης γαίης. Οι (2) τιν᾿ Ἀπίαν γᾶν may mean somewhere in the Peloponnese, Antigone thinking of Argos as a possible refuge.

1686. mvp-comment-901-1 κλυδώνα Accusative of the space travelled over. Essay on Language § 16, P. 23. 1687,8. βίου.. τροφάνisa periphrasis for βίον. Cp. 1736, αἰῶνα τλάμον᾿ ἕξω: Εl. 1183, φεῦ τῆς ἀνύμφου δυσμόρου τε σῆς τροφῆς. 1689 ff. Modern editors rightly give these, and also the corresponding verses, 1715 ff. to Ismene, with whose character they agree. Cp. Ant. 544-545, 548. A new movement commences, which serves as ἐπῳδός to the preceding. The same doubt occurs here as in supr. 182 ff., 197 ff., whether the two sets of lines, 1689-1695, 1715-1722, like those which precede and follow them, are to be regarded as strictly antistrophic. That the doubt occurs in two places so nearly similar, is of itself a ground for caution. And both rὸ φέρον ἐκ θεοῦ in 1693 and ἄγαν οὕτω in 1694 are idiomatic Greek.

1690. mvp-comment-902-1 πατρὶ ξυνθανεῖν γεραίῳ Το lie in death with my aged father.' Cp. Phil. 1443, ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια συνθνήσκει βροτοῖς. By changing ἕλοι τo ἕλοιτο (cp. О. Т. 887, Aj. 397), we obtain an Ionic rhythm, not unsuited to the person of Ismene.

1692. mvp-comment-903-1 Tricl. and several editors read διδύμα . . ἀρίστα. This is the slightest of at least six changes which have been made in 11. 1689-1695, 1715-1722, to secure a metrical correspondence which remains defective.

1693. mvp-comment-904-1 τὸ φέρον ἐκ θεοῦ καλῶς φέρειν χρή] You must bear with fortitude the lot whose direction is from heaven. φέρειν, as in the frequent φέρειν εἰς, expresses tendency or intention. φέρειν ἐκ occurs only here; but cp. Eur. Ι. Α. 69, ὅτου πνοαὶ φέροιεν Ἀφροδίτης φίλα: Hdt. 1. 159, φωνὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἀδύτου γενέσθαι φέρουσαν πρὸς τὸν Ἀριστόδικον. For the rare form of verse, troch. trim. brachycat., cp. Aesch. 977, 790, supr. 1240, and Eur. Hel. 243, H. F. 120, where the 1st arsis is resolved, as here.

1695. mvp-comment-905-1 οὗ τοι κατάμεμπτ᾽ ἔβητον You have no cause to complain of your lot. More literally, The point at which you have arrived is not to be found fault with. The chorus mean to say, You, and your father's memory, are safe in the hands of Theseus. Cp. infr. 1737-1740. For the transference of the verb of motion, more frequent, however, with the adjective than the adverb, see Essay on Language p. 97, and cp. El. 979, εὖ βεβηκόσιν.

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.

1727. mvp-comment-920-1 τὰν χθόνιον ἑστίαν The dark home.'

1729. mvp-comment-921-1 μῶν οὐχ ὁρᾷς Sc. ἀθέμιτον εἶναι. There are two reasons. It is forbidden to know the place: and no man saw him die, or buried him (1732).

1730. mvp-comment-922-1 τί τόδ' ἐπέπληξας means this rebuke?' What

1733. mvp-comment-923-1 ἄγε με

(Elmsley.) ἐπενάριξον] “Take me thither (who will), and then I care not if you kill me at his tomb.' Cp. Eur. Hec. 504.

1734. mvp-comment-924-1 ποῖ Sc. ἐλθοῦσα. For the condensation, see Essay on Language § 43. p. 81.

1737. mvp-comment-925-1 The interchange in strophe B' was between Antigone and Ismene: in the antistrophe it is between single members of the chorus and Antigone. The number of interlocutions assigned to the chorus, 15 counting from 1667, shows that here as in other κομμοί the choreutae took part successively in the dialogue, but in what order they did so can hardly be determined.

1739. mvp-comment-926-1 The change from the imperfect to the aorist is necessary to the sense, which can only be that the solemn promise of Theseus guarantees them from all ill. And Hermann's conjecture, ΧΟ. καὶ πάρος ἀπέφυγε. ΑΝ. τί; ΧΟ. τὰ σφῶν τὸ μὴ πίτνειν κακῶς, gives a subject to πίτνειν, preserves the same distribution of the persons as in the strophe, and avoids the inverted order οἱ σφῶν τὸ μή, κ.τ.λ.

1741. mvp-comment-927-1 I know that. What then have you further in your thoughts? Why then do you trouble your thoughts farther?' On the prep. in comp., see Essay on Language § 18. pp. 26, 7. There is no need of any change; and the conjecture ὅπερ νοεῖς is based on a misconception of the meaning required. Hermann objects that there cannot be degrees of thinking; but this is hypercritical : cp. Plat. Theaet. 165 C, D. Qy. ὑπερπονεῖς ?

1744. mvp-comment-928-1 See v. rr. The words καὶ πάρος ἐπεί might perhaps be explained to mean καὶ πάρος (ὴν χρόνος) ἐπεὶ (μόγος ἔσχε). But as a syllable is required, it is reasonable to suppose some corruption, and Wunder's conjecture adopted in the text is not improbable. Cp. El. 517. Erewhile, too, ye were oppressed by weariness. See L. and S. 5. ν. ἐπέχω, VI. 2.

1745. mvp-comment-929-1 It was then beyond my strength, but now it overwhelms me.' The language anticipates the metaphor of a sea of troubles, which appears in the next line. For ὕπερθεν, cp. κατάκρας, supr. 1242.

1747. mvp-comment-930-1 The words ναὶ . . φεῦ in the MSS. here, see v. rr., have nothing to correspond to them in the strophe. Dind. justly supposes them to have arisen from the corruption of AN. al ai into ΑΝ. ναὶ νvaí, and subsequent interpolations.

1748. mvp-comment-931-1 ποῖ μόλωμεν Schndw. ingeniously conj. ποι μένωμεν (μενοῦμεν?), comparing El. 958, ποὶ γὰρ μενεῖς ῥάθυμος, εἰς τίν᾿ ἐλπίδων | βλέψασ᾽ ἔτ᾿ ὀρθὴν; But ποῖ μόλωμεν agrees better with the tone of 1749-1750, which is rather one of distraction than of impatience.

1749. mvp-comment-932-1 ἐλπίδων.. *τίν' Cp. El. 958-959, quoted in the preceding note. 1751 ff. These three anapaestic lines make the transition from the commos to the exodos, which begins with the return of Theseus, and consists of four anapaestic systems, 1754-1758, 1759-1767, 1768-1775, and 1776-1778. The anapaests are of the freer kind; see esp. 1577-1578, 1760, 1771, 1776. Theseus and his Athenian attendants are now seen approaching, and their coming suggests to the chorus a new reason why the lament of the maidens should cease.