Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 720-1043

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)) — 720 focus
ὦ πλεῖστʼ ἐπαίνοις εὐλογούμενον πέδον,
720
νῦν σοὶ τὰ λαμπρὰ ταῦτα δὴ φαίνειν ἔπη.
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.
πότερα νομίζεις δυστυχεῖν ἔμʼ ἐς τὰ σὰ
800
[106 b.
ἢ σʼ εἰς τὰ σαυτοῦ μᾶλλον ἐν τῷ νῦν λόγῳ;
οὔκουν ποτʼ ἐκ τούτοιν γε μὴ σκήπτροιν ἔτι
ὁδοιπορήσεις· ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ νικᾶν θέλεις
πατρίδα τε τὴν σὴν καὶ φίλους, ὑφʼ ὧν ἐγὼ
850
ταχθεὶς τάδʼ ἔρδω, καὶ τύραννος ὢν ὅμως,
νίκα. χρόνῳ γάρ, οἶδʼ ἐγώ, γνώσει τάδε,
ὁθούνεκʼ αὐτὸς αὑτὸν οὔτε νῦν καλὰ
δρᾷς οὔτε πρόσθεν εἰργάσω βίᾳ φίλων,
ὀργῇ χάριν δούς, ἥ σʼ ἀεὶ λυμαίνεται.
855
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.
ἐγὼ οὔτʼ ἄνανδρον τήνδε τὴν πόλιν λέγων,
ὦ τέκνον Αἰγέως, οὔτʼ ἄβουλον, ὡς σὺ φῄς,
940
τοὔργον τόδʼ ἐξέπραξα, γιγνώσκων δʼ ὅτι
οὐδείς ποτʼ αὐτοὺς τῶν ἐμῶν ἂν ἐμπέσοι
ζῆλος ξυναίμων, ὥστʼ ἐμοῦ τρέφειν βίᾳ.
ᾔδη δʼ ὁθούνεκ ἄνδρα καὶ πατροκτόνον
κἄναγνον οὐ δεξοίατʼ, οὐδʼ ὅτῳ γάμοι
945
ξυνόντες εὑρέθησαν ἀνόσιοι τέκνων.
τοιοῦτον αὐτοῖς Ἄρεος εὔβουλον πάγον
ἐγὼ ξυνῄδη χθόνιον ὄνθʼ, ὃς οὐκ ἐᾷ
τοιούσδʼ ἀλήτας τῇδʼ ὁμοῦ ναίειν πόλει·
ᾧ πίστιν ἴσχων τήνδʼ ἐχειρούμην ἄγραν.
950
καὶ ταῦτʼ ἂν οὐκ ἔπρασσον, εἰ μή μοι πικρὰς
αὐτῷ τʼ ἀρὰς ἠρᾶτο καὶ τὠμῷ γένει·
ἀνθʼ ὧν πεπονθὼς ἠξίουν τάδʼ ἀντιδρᾶν.
θυμοῦ γὰρ οὐδὲν γῆράς ἐστιν ἄλλο πλὴν
θανεῖν· θανόντων δʼ οὐδὲν ἄλγος ἅπτεται.
955
πρὸς ταῦτα πράξεις οἷον ἂν θέλῃς· ἐπεὶ
ἐρημία με, κεἰ δίκαιʼ ὅμως λέγω,
σμικρὸν τίθησι· πρὸς δὲ τὰς πράξεις ὅμως,
καὶ τηλικόσδʼ ὤν, ἀντιδρᾶν πειράσομαι.
ὦ λῆμʼ ἀναιδές, τοῦ καθυβρίζειν δοκεῖς,
960
πότερον ἐμοῦ γέροντος, ἢ σαυτοῦ, τόδε ;
ὅστις φόνους μοι καὶ γάμους καὶ συμφορὰς
τοῦ σοῦ διῆκας στόματος, ἃς ἐγὼ τάλας
ἤνεγκον ἄκων· θεοῖς γὰρ ἦν οὕτω φίλον,
τάχʼ ἄν τι μηνίουσιν εἰς γένος πάλαι.
965
ἐπεὶ καθʼ αὑτόν γʼ οὐκ ἂν ἐξεύροις ἐμοὶ
ἁμαρτίας ὄνειδος οὐδὲν ἀνθʼ ὅτου
τάδʼ εἰς ἐμαυτὸν τοὺς ἐμούς θʼ ἡμάρτανον.
ἐπεὶ δίδαξον, εἴ τι θέσφατον πατρὶ
χρησμοῖσιν ἱκνεῖθʼ ὥστε πρὸς παίδων θανεῖν,
970
πῶς ἂν δικαίως τοῦτʼ ὀνειδίζοις ἐμοί,
ὃς οὔτε βλάστας πω γενεθλίους πατρός,
οὐ μητρὸς εἶχον, ἀλλʼ ἀγέννητος τότʼ ἦ;
εἰ δʼ αὖ φανεὶς δύστηνος, ὡς ἐγὼ ʼφάνην,
ἐς χεῖρας ἦλθον πατρὶ καὶ κατέκτανον,
975
μηδὲν ξυνιεὶς ὧν ἔδρων εἰς οὕς τʼ ἔδρων,
πῶς *δἂν τό γʼ ἆκον πρᾶγμʼ ἂν εἰκότως ψέγοις ;
μητρὸς δέ, τλῆμον, οὐκ ἐπαισχύνει γάμους
οὔσης ὁμαίμου σῆς μʼ ἀναγκάζων λέγειν
οἵους ἐρῶ τάχʼ· οὐ γὰρ οὖν σιγήσομαι,
980
σοῦ γʼ εἰς τόδʼ ἐξελθόντος ἀνόσιον στόμα.
ἔτικτε γάρ μʼ ἔτικτεν, ὤμοι μοι κακῶν,
οὐκ εἰδότʼ οὐκ εἰδυῖα, καὶ τεκοῦσά με
αὑτῆς ὄνειδος παῖδας ἐξέφυσέ μοι.
ἀλλʼ ἓν γὰρ οὖν ἔξοιδα, σὲ μὲν ἑκόντʼ ἐμὲ
985
κείνην τε ταῦτα δυσστομεῖν· ἐγὼ δέ νιν
ἄκων ἔγημα, φθέγγομαί τʼ ἄκων τάδε.
ἀλλʼ οὐ γὰρ οὔτʼ ἐν τοῖσδʼ ἀκούσομαι κακὸς
γάμοισιν οὔθʼ οὓς αἰὲν ἐμφορεῖς σύ μοι
φόνους πατρῴους ἐξονειδίζων πικρῶς.
990
ἓν γάρ μʼ ἄμειψαι μοῦνον ὧν σʼ ἀνιστορῶ.
εἴ τίς σε τὸν δίκαιον αὐτίκʼ ἐνθάδε
κτείνοι παραστάς, πότερα πυνθάνοιʼ ἂν εἰ
πατήρ σʼ ὁ καίνων, ἢ τίνοιʼ ἂν εὐθέως;
δοκῶ μέν, εἴπερ ζῆν φιλεῖς, τὸν αἴτιον
995
τίνοιʼ ἄν, οὐδὲ τοὔνδικον περιβλέποις.
τοιαῦτα μέντοι καὐτὸς εἰσέβην κακά,
θεῶν ἀγόντων· οἷς ἐγὼ οὐδὲ τὴν πατρὸς
ψυχὴν ἂν οἶμαι ζῶσαν ἀντειπεῖν ἐμοί,
σὺ δʼ, εἶ γὰρ οὐ δίκαιος, ἀλλʼ ἅπαν καλὸν
1000
λέγειν νομίζων, ῥητὸν ἄρρητόν τʼ ἔπος,
τοιαῦτʼ ὀνειδίζεις με τῶνδʼ ἐναντίον.
καί σοι τὸ Θησέως ὄνομα θωπεῦσαι καλόν,
καὶ τὰς Ἀθήνας, ὡς κατῴκηνται καλῶς·
κᾆθʼ ὧδʼ ἐπαινῶν πολλὰ τοῦδʼ ἐκλανθάνει,
1005
ὁθούνεκʼ εἴ τις γῆ θεοὺς ἐπίσταται
τιμαῖς σεβίζειν, ἥδε τοῦθʼ ὑπερφέρει,
ἀφʼ ἧς σὺ κλέψας τὸν ἱκέτην γέροντʼ ἐμὲ
αὐτόν τʼ ἐχειροῦ τὰς κόρας τʼ οἴχει λαβών.
ἀνθʼ ὧν ἐγὼ νῦν τάσδε τὰς θεὰς ἐμοὶ
1010
καλῶν ἱκνοῦμαι καὶ κατασκήπτω λιταῖς
ἐλθεῖν ἀρωγοὺς ξυμμάχους θʼ, ἵνʼ ἐκμάθῃς
οἵων ὑπʼ ἀνδρῶν ἥδε φρουρεῖται πόλις.
ὁ ξεῖνος, ὦναξ, χρηστός· αἱ δὲ συμφοραὶ
αὐτοῦ πανώλεις, ἄξιαι δʼ ἀμυναθεῖν.
1015
Translations (5)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 720 focus
O land exalted thus in blessing and praise,
720
Now is thy time to prove these brave words true.
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.
Thou unabashed in knavery, who canst frame
For every cause the semblance of a plea
Pranked up with righteous seeming, why again
Would’st thou contrive my ruin, and attempt
To catch me where I most were grieved being caught?
Beforetime, when my self-procurèd woes
Were plaguing me, and I would fain have rushed
To instant banishment, thou wouldst not then
Grant this indulgence to my keen desire.
But when I had fed my passion to the full,
And all my pleasure was to live at home,
Then ’twas thy cue to expel and banish me,
Nor was this name of kindred then so dear.
Now once again, when thou behold’st this city
And people joined in friendly bands with me,
Thou wouldst drag me from my promised resting-place,
Hiding hard policy with courtly show.
Strange kindness, to love men against their will!
Suppose, when thou wert eager in some suit,
No grace were granted thee, but all denied,
And when thy soul was sated, then the boon
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.
Which of us twain, believ’st thou, in this talk
800
Hath more profoundly sinned against thy peace?
Thou shalt not have these staves henceforth to prop
Thy roaming to and fro. Take thine own way!
Since thou hast chosen to thwart thy nearest kin,—
Beneath whose orders, though a royal man,
850
I act herein,—and thine own native land.
The time will surely come when thou shalt find
That in this deed and all that thou hast done
In opposition to their friendly will,
Thou hast counselled foolishly against thy peace,
Yielding to anger, thy perpetual bane.
855
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.
Great Aegeus’ son!
Not as misprising this thy city’s strength
In arms, or wisdom in debate, I dared
940
This capture, but in simple confidence
Thy citizens would not so envy me
My blood relations, as to harbour them
Against my will,—nor welcome to their hearths
A man incestuous and a parricide,
945
The proved defiler of his mother’s bed
Such was the mount of Ares that I knew,
Seat of high wisdom, planted in their soil,
That suffers no such lawless runaways
To haunt within the borders of your realm.
Relying on that I laid my hands upon
950
This quarry, nor had done so, were it not
That bitterly he cursed myself and mine.
That moved me to requital, since even Age
Still bears resentment, till the power of death
Frees men from anger, as from all annoy.
955
Being sovereign here thou wilt do thy pleasure. I,
Though I have justice on my side, am weak
Through being alone. Yet if you meddle with me,
Old as I am, you’ll find me dangerous.
O boldness void of shame! Whom dost thou think
960
Thy obloquy most harms, this agèd head
960
Or thine, who hast thus let pass thy lips the crimes
I have borne unwittingly. So Heaven was pleased
To wreak some old offence upon our race.
Since in myself you will find no stain of sin
For which such ruinous error ’gainst myself
965
And mine own house might be the recompense.
Tell me, I pray thee, if a word from Heaven
Came to my father through the oracle
That he should die by his son’s hand,—what right
Hast thou to fasten that reproach on me,
970
The child not yet begotten of my sire,
An unborn nothing, unconceived? Or if,
Born as I was to misery, I encountered
And killed my father in an angry fray,
Nought knowing of what I did or whom I slew,
975
What reason is’t to blame the unwitting deed?
And, oh, thou wretch! art not ashamed to force me
To speak that of my mother, thine own sister,
Which I will speak, for I will not keep silence,
Since thou hast been thus impious with thy tongue.
She was my mother, oh, the bitter word!
980
Though neither knew it, and having borne me, she
Became the mother of children to her son,
An infamous birth! Yet this I know, thy crime
Of speech against us both is voluntary.
But all involuntary was my deed
985
In marriage and is this mine utterance now.
No,—that shall not be called a bosom-sin,
Nor shall my name be sullied with the deed,
Thy tongue would brand on me, against my sire.
For answer me one question. If to-day,
990
Here, now, one struck at thee a murderous stroke,—
At thee, the righteous person,—wouldst thou ask
If such assailant were thy sire, or strike
Forthwith? Methinks, as one who cares to live,
You would strike before you questioned of the right,
995
Or reasoned of his kindred whom you slew.
Such was the net that snared me: such the woes
Heaven drew me to fulfil. My father’s spirit,
Came he to life, would not gainsay my word.
But thou, to whom, beneath the garb of right,
No matter is too dreadful or too deep
1000
For words, so rail’st on me, in such a presence.
Well thou dost flatter the great name of Theseus,
And Athens in her glory stablished here,
But midst thy fulsome praises thou forgettest
How of all lands that yield the immortal Gods
1005
Just homage of true piety, this land
Is foremost. Yet from hence thou would’st beguile
Me, the aged suppliant. Nay, from hence thou would’st drag
Myself with violence, and hast reft away
My children. Wherefore I conjure these powers,
1010
With solemn invocation and appeal,
To come and take my part, that thou may’st know
What men they are who guard this hallowed realm.
My lord, the stranger deserves well. His fate
Is grievous, but the more demands our aid.
1015
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 720 focus
O Flur, mit höchsten Ruhmes Preis verherrlichet,
Nun gilt es, mun bewähre dieser Rede Glanz!
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
Wie? Wähust du denn, du werdest minder als ich selbst
Verlieren, wenn du meinem Wort dich nicht bequemst?
So wirst du denn, auf diesen Doppelstab gestüzt,
845
Nie mehr dahinzieh'n! Aber weil du deinem Land
Und deinen Freunden trozen willst, die solches mir
Zu thun geboten, ob ich gleich der Herrscher bin:
So troze! Wohl erkennst du's einst in später Zeit,
Daß dir so wenig fromme, was du heute thust,
850
Als was du früher thatest troz der Freunde Rath,
Dem Zorn gehorchend, der dir stets Unheil erschafft.
(vertritt ihm den Weg) (will gehen.)
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, 6
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.
Nicht weil ich dachte, mänmerleer sei diese Stadt,
O Sohn des Aegeus, oder rathlos, wie du sagst,
Vollbracht' ich solches; glaubt' ich doch, daß nimmermehr
Um meine Blutsverwandten so der Eifer euch
Befallen werde, sie zu hegen mir zum Troz.
940
Ich wußte, niemals würdet ihr den Schandbaren,
Den Vatermörder pflegen, nie den Frevler, der
Die Gräuelehe mit der eignen Mutter schloß.
So wußt' ich auch, daß Ares' weises Volksgericht 7
In eurem Lande heimisch sei, das nicht vergönnt,
945
Daß solcher Flüchtling Wohnung nehm' in dieser Stadt.
Hierauf vertrauend, eignet' ich den Raub mir an 8
Und hätte das auch nie gethan, wenn dieser nicht
Mit bittern Flüchen mich verwünscht und mein Geschlecht.
Für solches Leid schien solche Nache mir gerecht.
950
Ein andres Alter kennt der Zorn ja keines als
Den Tod; die Todten rührt allein der Kummer nicht.
Und nun beginne, was dir auch gefallen mag;
Denn ich, verlassen, wie ich bin, erscheine schwach,
Wenn ich gerecht auch rede; doch auf Thaten, traun,
955
Versuch' ich, wenn auch hochbejahrt, Erwiderung.
Schamloser! Wen zu schmähen wähnt dein Uebermuth
Mit solchem Hohne, mich den Greisen oder dich,
Dich, der den Mord, den Ehebund, mein Mißgeschick
So frech mir vorrückt, das ich unfreiwillig nur
960
Ertrug, ich Armer? So gefiel's den Göttern ja,
Die längst vielleicht Groll hegten wider mein Geschlecht.
Bei mir ja selber fändest du doch nimmermehr
Den Flecken eines Frevels aus, mit dem ich so
An mir und meinem Stamme mich versündigte.
965
Denn sage, wenn ein Gottesspruch dem Vater einst
Erscholl, er werde fallen durch des Sohnes Hand,
Wie kannst du billig diese Schuld vorwerfen mir,
Der noch des Lebens Keime nicht vom Vater noch
Der Mutter hatte, nein, noch ungeboren war?
970
Und wenn ich dann, zum Leide, wie ich war, gezeugt,
Im Kampf mit meinem Vater rang und ihn erschlug,
Nicht wissend, weder was ich that, noch gegen wen:
Wie schältst du füglich, was ich unfreiwillig that?
Auch von der Mutter Ehe zwiitgst du Frecher mich
975
Zu reden, du, ihr Bruder, und erröthest nicht!
Gleich sprech' ich hievon; kann ich doch nicht schweigen mehr,
Nun selbst bis dahin schweifte dein ruchloser Mund.
Ja, mich gebar, gebar sie, mich Unseligen,
Unwissend mich Unwissenden, und die mich gebar,
980
Hat, sich zur Schande, Kinder mir, dem Sohn, gezeugt.
Doch Eines weiß ich sicher, daß du mich und sie
Mit Willen also schmähtest: ich vermählte mich
Ihr nicht mit Willen, rede hier gezwungen nur.
Nein, meinen Namen schändet nicht der Ehebund,
985
Auch nicht der Mord des Vaters, den du jederzeit
Mir frech mit bitterm Hohne vorzurücken liebst.
Denn auf die Eine Frage nur antworte mir:
Kommt Einer, dich, Gerechter, auf der Stelle hier
Zu tödten, wirst du fragen, ob's dein Vater sei,
990
Der deinen Tod will, oder ihn zur Strafe zieh'n?
Ich denke, wenn dein Leben dir lieb ist, du strafst
Den Mörder, ohne nach dem Recht dich umzuseh'n.
In solches Unheil aber stürzt auch ich hinein
Durch Götterleitung, und der Geist des Vaters selbst,
995
Zum Lichte kehrend, glaub' ich, widerspräch' es nicht.
Doch du der Ungerechte, du, dem Jegliches
Schön dünkt zu reden, was geziemt und nicht geziemt -
Sprichst solchen Vorwurf ohne Scheu vor diesen aus.
Den Ruhm des Theseus schmeichelnd hochzupreisen, dünkt
1000
Dir schön, zu rühmen, wie geordnet blüht Athen:
Doch spendend solches reiche Lob, vergaßest du,
Daß jedes Volk der Erde, das in frommer Scheu
Die Götter ehrt, von diesem übertroffen wird,
Aus dem du mich, den greisen Schüzling, rauben willst,
1005
Mich frech bewältigst und die Töchter schon entführt.
Drum ruf' ich jezt zu dieses Haines Göttinmen
In tiefer Demuth und bestürme sie mit Fleh'n,
Verbündet hälfreich mir zu nah'n, auf daß du lerust,
Von was für Männern diese Stadt behütet wird.
1010
Der Greis, o Herr, denkt edel; doch sein Leben ist
Voll Ungemach und deiner Hülfe wahrlich werth.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 720 focus
OEdipus, Chorcs.
event
Alarms thee?
Creon, with a numerous band
Of followers, comes this way.
If ever, help me.
725
Most honoured citizens,
I see you look with eyes of fear upon me,
Without a cause ; for know, I came not here
730
Intending aught of violence or ill
Against a city so renowned in Greece
As yours hath ever been ; I only came,
Commissioned by the State of Thebes, to fetch
This old man back, if by persuasion mild
735
I could induce him to return \ not sent
By one alone, but the united voice
Of a whole people, who assigned the task
To me because, by blood united to him,
I felt for his misfortunes as my own.
740
Come therefore, Qlldipus, attend me home ;
Thebes calls thee back, thy kingdom now demands thee —
By me she calls thee ; listen to thy friend,
For surely Creon were the worst of men.
745
If he could look on woes like thine unmoved
When I behold thee, in a foreign land
A wretched wanderer, forced to beg thy bread
From place to place, with this unhappy maid,
Whom little did I think to see exposed
750
To misery and shame, of nuptial rites
Hopeless, and thus bereft of every aid, —
Oh ! 'tis reproach and infamy to us
And to our race ; but 'tis already known,
And cannot be concealed. O CEdipus !
755
I here beseech thee, by our country's gods,
Return to Thebes ; bid thou a kind farewell —
For she deserves it — to this noble city,
But still remember thy own dearer country.
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 !
I'm not to be persuaded. Let me live
800
In quiet here, for, wretched as I am,
'Twill be some comfort to be far from thee.
Cbeon. Thinkst thou I heed thy words ? Who'll
805
suffer most
For this perverseness — thou, or I ?
Or with my friends.
Crbon. Poor wretch ! no time can cure
810
Thy follies ; thy old age is grown delirious.
O wretched CEdipus !
\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.
Theseus, it was not that I thought this city
Without or guards to save, or laws to rule,
940
Which brought me here, nor unadvised I came ;
But that I hoped you never would receive
My kindred here against my will, nor e'er
Embrace a vile incestuous parricide,
Or cherish and protect him in a land
Whose court, renowned for justice, suffers not
Such poor abandoned exiles to reside
Within its borders ; therefore did 1 this,
Which yet I had not done but for the curses
950
Which he hath poured on me and all my race ;
Ileven,afe inspired me ; anger, well thou knowst,
Can never be extinguished but by death.
Which closeth every wound. At present, Theseus,
955
It must be as thou wilt ; my want of power,
How just soe'er my cause, demands submission ;
Yet, old and weak, I shall not tamely yield.
Audacious man ! thinkst thou the vil«3 reproach
960
Thou utter'st falls on me, or on thyself?
Thou who upbraidst me thus for all my woes.
Murder and incest, which against my will
I had committed, so it pleased the gods,
965
But 1 am guiltless ; canst thou name a fault
Deserving this ? For, tell me, Avas it mine,
Wlien to my father Phujbus did declare
That he should one day perish by the hand
970
Of his own child? Was CEdipus to blame.
Who had no being then ? If, born at length
To wretchedness, he met his sire unknown,
And slew him, that involuntary deed
Canst thou condemn ? And for my fatal marriage,
Dost thou not blush to name it ? Was not she
Thy sister, she who bore me, ignorant
And guiltless woman, afterwards my wife,
And mother to my children? What she did,
fShe did unknowing ; not like thee, who thus
Dost purposely upbraid us both. Heaven knows
985
Unwillingly I w^edded her, and now
Unwillingly repeat the dreadful tale ;
But, nor for that, nor for my murdered father,
Have I deserved thy bitter taunts ; for tell me.
990
Thy life attacked, wouldst thou have stayed to ask
Th' assassin if he were t\\j father ? No ;
Self-love would urge thee to revenge the insult.
Thus was I drove to ill by th' angry gods ;
995
This, should my father's soul revisit earth.
Himself would own, and pity CEdipus.
Thy bold and impious tongue still utters all ;
Just or unjust, thou pourst thy foul reproach
On me, pretending to revere the name
Of Theseus and his countiy. But remember,
The city, whom thou hast praised, is famed
For piety and reverence to the gods ;
Yet wouldst thou drive a needy suppliant thence,
And lead him captive. Thou hast stolen my daughter ;
But I implore the dreadful goddesses
1010
To grant me aid, that thou mayst feel the power
Which thou contemn'st, and know the force of Athens.
[to Theseus]. O king ! this stranger merits thy
regard ;
His woes are great, his cause should be defended.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 720 focus
For Morian Jove with guardian care
720
Delights to see it flourish fair;
720
And Pallas, fav'ring, from the skies
720
Rolls the blue lustre of her eyes.
720
My voice yet once more let me raise,
720
Yet other glories to relate :
720
A potent God for these we praise,
720
His presents to this favour'd state;
The Steed obedient to the rein,
And safe to plough the subject main.
Our highest vaunt is this, thy grace,
Saturnian Neptune, we behold
The ruling Curb emboss'd with gold
Control the Courser's managed pace.
Though loud, O king, thy billows roar,
Our strong hands grasp the well-form'd oar;
And, while the Nereids round it play,
Light cuts our bounding bark its way.
O happy land, for many glories famed.
Behoves thee now assert this splendid praise,
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.
Mine dost thou ween a greater share of grief
800
From thy refusal, than what thou must feel?
Stranger, thou movest not hence.
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.
Have I here done this deed; but knowing this,
No friendly zeal e'er moved you to sustain
940
Those of my blood, by force, against my will.
I knew your state would not receive a man
Unholy, with his father's blood distain'd;
His nuptial bed polluted with the guilt
Of incest. Well I knew your awful Court
945
High on the mount of Mars, for wisdom famed,
Coeval with your land, would ne'er allow
Such outcasts in their city to reside.
On this confiding I presumed to seize
The wretch; nor had I done it, but he pour'd
950
Such dreadful execrations forth on me
And on my race, that for the wrongs received
I deem'd this meet requital; for the force
Of rage is not abated but by death;
The dead feel no resentment. For these things
955
Act as thy will inclines thee; thus alone,
Just though my cause, my pow'r is small: yet know
Such as you see me now, whate'er your deeds,
Like deeds will I endeavour to repay.
Unblushing insolence! falls this reproach
960
On my hoar head, or on thine own? while thus
960
Thy tongue descants on murders, nuptial rites,
And miseries which, unhappy, I sustain'd
Of guilt not conscious; so it pleased the gods,
Of old perchance enraged at some offence
Of those from whom I sprung; for fault in me,
965
To warrant this reproach thou canst not find
Against myself committed, or my house.
For tell me, to my father if the voice
Of oracles declared that he should fall
Slain by his sons, me justly for the deed
Dost thou revile? I had not being then.
970
If by ill fate (and that ill fate was mine)
I in fierce conflict 'gainst my father stood,
And slew him, nothing knowing whom my hand
Opposed, canst thou revile me for a deed
Unknowingly committed? But, thou wretch,
Dost thou not blush that of my mother's bed
975
Thou hast constrain'd me to make mention, since
She was thy sister? I will speak of it
Briefly (for what would silence now avail?)
Since thy unhallow'd tongue hath touch'd that point.
She brought me forth, ah me! she brought me forth,
980
O my unhappy fate! then bore me sons,
980
Her foul reproach, unconscious I of guilt,
Of guilt unconscious she. But this I know,
Me thou hast willingly reviled, and her;
Unwillingly I wedded her, and now
Unwillingly speak this. Yet shall my name
985
Fear from these nuptials no reviling tongue,
Nor from my father's death, the constant theme
Of thy malignant censure: for with truth
Answer me this, should one with boisterous force
Instant attack thy life, no wrong by thee
First offer'd, wou'dst thou nice inquiry make
990
Whether thy father made the rude assault;
Or wou'dst thou in a moment strive t' avenge
The wrong? I think, if that thou lovest thy life,
Thou wou'dst avenge thee of the ruffian strait,
Nor with slow caution ponder what is right.
On ills like these with erring steps I ran,
995
Led by the gods? nor would my father's shade,
Could it return to life, I think, reply
Opposing my just plea. But thou, whose soul
No justice rules, prompted by impious pride
To utter all, though honour bids thy tongue
1000
Be silent, in this presence hast presumed:
1000
To charge me thus with base and slanderous blame.
Yet canst thou stoop with adulation bland
To fawn on Theseus, and th' Athenian state
As train'd to righteous laws; but 'midst thy praise
Of this forgetful, that if ever land
1005
Knew with due honours to revere the gods,
Athens in this hath high pre-eminence..
Yet in this state thy thievish hand hath seized,
Its hoary supplicant, and borne away
My virgin daughters. Touch'd with wrongs like these
Bending before these awful pow'rs I breathe
1010
My ardent supplications, and invoke
Their succour, their protection, that thy pride
May learn what men are guardians of this state.
This stranger hath much merit; and his woes,
In total ruin which have crush'd him down...
Deserve, O king, protection at thy hand.
1015
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 720-1042 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-543-1 σὸν … δὴ 1

mvp-comment-543-2 φαίνειν τὰ λαμπρὰ ἔπη 2

mvp-comment-544-1 The

ἀντιλαβή
(division of the verse between two persons) marks excitement: cp. 652, 1099, 1169.

mvp-comment-545-1 ἡμῖν 3

mvp-comment-546-1 φαίνοιτ’ ἄν 4

mvp-comment-546-2 τέρμα τῆς σωτηρίας 5

mvp-comment-547-1 παρέσται 6

mvp-comment-547-2 ἐγώ 7

mvp-comment-548-1 ὀμμάτων 8

mvp-comment-548-2 εἰληφότας 9

mvp-comment-548-3 νεώρη 10

mvp-comment-549-1 ὃν 11

mvp-comment-550-1 ὡς 12

mvp-comment-550-2 δρᾶν τι 13

mvp-comment-551-1 εἴ τιν’ 14

mvp-comment-552-1 τηλικόσδ’ 15

mvp-comment-553-1 οὐκ ἐξ ἑνὸς στείλαντος 16

mvp-comment-553-2 ἀστῶν 17

mvp-comment-554-1 ἧκέ μοι γένει 18

mvp-comment-554-2 γένει 19

mvp-comment-555-1 εἰς πλεῖστον πόλεως 20

mvp-comment-555-2 εἰς 21

mvp-comment-556-1 ἀλλ’ 22

mvp-comment-557-1 δικαίως 23

mvp-comment-557-2 ἐκ δὲ τῶν 24

mvp-comment-558-1 ὅσῳπερ 25

mvp-comment-558-2 πλειστον … κάκιστος 26

mvp-comment-559-1 ξένον 27

mvp-comment-559-2 ἐπὶ μιᾶς πρ 28

mvp-comment-560-1 τὴν 29

mvp-comment-560-2 τάλας 30

mvp-comment-561-1 οὐκ ἔδοξα πεσεῖν ἄν 31

mvp-comment-561-2 ἐς τοσοῦτον αἰκίας 32

mvp-comment-561-3 ὅσον 33

mvp-comment-561-4 ἥδε δύσμορος 34

mvp-comment-562-1 τὸ σὸν κάρα 35

mvp-comment-563-1 πτωχῷ 36

mvp-comment-563-2 τηλικοῦτος 37

mvp-comment-564-1 τοὐπιόντος 38

mvp-comment-565-1 ἆῤ 39

mvp-comment-565-2 ὦ τάλας 40

mvp-comment-566-1

"I have uttered a cruel reproach against my kindred and myself. But indeed the reproach is one that cannot be hid, so long as thou and thy daughter are seen wandering thus. Hide it, then, thou (no one else can)—by coming home."
Unless we correct νυν to νιν (=
τὰ ἐμφανῆ
), it is better to place a point, and not merely a comma, at κρύπτειν :
" But (I have some excuse) for ,"
etc.,—the elliptical use of ἀλλ’ οὐ γάρ , as at 988, El. 595 , Tr. 552 . So the schol.:
ὥστε συγγνώμης εἰμὶ ἄξιος λέγων· οὐ γὰρ δύναμαι κρύπτειν
. With only a comma at
κρύπτειν, ἀλλά
would belong to κρύψον :
"But,— since it is impossible, etc.—hide thou,"
—when the position of νυν is awkward.—So in O. T. 1424 Creon urges the Theban elders to take Oed. into the house, forbidding them
τοιόνδ’ ἄγος | ἀκάλυπτον οὕτω δεικνύναι
.

mvp-comment-567-1 πρὸς θεῶν πατρῴων 41

mvp-comment-568-1 θελήσας 43

mvp-comment-568-2 ἄστυ 44

mvp-comment-569-1 εἰπών 45

mvp-comment-569-2 ἡ δ’ οἴκοι 46

mvp-comment-570-1 παντὸς 47

mvp-comment-570-2 ἂν φέρων 48

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 49

mvp-comment-571-3 δεύτερον … ἑλεῖν 50

mvp-comment-571-4 ἐν οἷς 51

mvp-comment-571-5 μάλιστ’ ἂν ἀλγοίην 52

mvp-comment-572-1 πρόσθεν τε 53

mvp-comment-572-2 οἰκείοις 54

mvp-comment-573-1 νοσοῦνθ’ 55

mvp-comment-574-1 οὐκ ἤθελες θέλοντι 56

mvp-comment-574-2 προσθέσθαι 57

mvp-comment-575-1 ἦ 58

mvp-comment-575-2 μεστὸς 59

mvp-comment-576-1 ἐξεώθεις κἀξέβ 61

mvp-comment-577-1 τοῦτ’ 62

mvp-comment-578-1 πόλιν 63 γένος 64

mvp-comment-579-1 μετασπᾶν 65

mvp-comment-579-2 σκληρὰ μαλθακῶς λέγων 66

mvp-comment-580-1 αὕτη 68

mvp-comment-580-2 τίς τέρψις 69

mvp-comment-580-3 φιλεῖν 70

mvp-comment-580-4 τοσαύτη 71

mvp-comment-581-1 ὥσπερ 72

mvp-comment-581-2 τις 73

mvp-comment-581-3 τυχεῖν 74

mvp-comment-582-1 ὧν χρῄζοις 75

mvp-comment-583-1 ἡ χάρις 76

mvp-comment-584-1 ἆῤ 77

mvp-comment-585-1 καὶ σὺ 78

mvp-comment-586-1 λόγῳ … τοῖσι δ’ ἔργοισιν 79

mvp-comment-587-1 καὶ τοῖσδ’ 80

mvp-comment-588-1 πάραυλον 81

mvp-comment-589-1 κακῶν ἄνατος 82

mvp-comment-589-2 τῆσδ’ 83

mvp-comment-589-3 ἀπαλλαχθῇ 84

mvp-comment-590-1 ταῦτα … τάδ’ 85

mvp-comment-590-2 χώρας 86

mvp-comment-591-1 τοσοῦτον, ἐνθανεῖν μόνον 87

mvp-comment-591-2 ἐνθανεῖν 89

mvp-comment-592-1 σαφεστέρων 90

mvp-comment-592-2 κλύω 91

mvp-comment-593-1 τὸ σὸν … στόμα 92

mvp-comment-593-2 ὑπόβλητον 93

mvp-comment-594-1 πολλὴν ἔχον στόμωσιν 94

mvp-comment-595-1 κακά 95 σωτήρια 96

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 97

mvp-comment-598-1 Which of us do you consider the greater sufferer by your present attitude? Me, because I am not to bring you back? Or yourself, when you reject your friends and country?

mvp-comment-598-2 δυστυχεῖν 98

mvp-comment-598-3 ἐς τὰ σά 99

mvp-comment-598-4 ἐν τῷ νῦν λόγῳ 100

mvp-comment-599-1 Creon had said, in effect,

" Your happiness is as much my object as our own."
" My happiness,"
Oed. rejoins,
"will be best secured if your application is rejected by the people of Colonus, as by myself."

mvp-comment-600-1 φύσας 101

mvp-comment-601-1 λῦμα 102

mvp-comment-601-2 τρέφει 103

mvp-comment-602-1 Cp. O. T. 545

λέγειν σὺ δεινός
(Oed. to Creon).

mvp-comment-603-1 ἐξ ἅπαντος 104

mvp-comment-603-2 εὖ λέγει 105

mvp-comment-604-1 τὸ καίρια 106

mvp-comment-605-1 ὡς δὴ 107

mvp-comment-606-1 ὅτῳ 108

mvp-comment-607-1 πρὸ τῶνδε 109

mvp-comment-608-1 ἐφορμῶν 110

mvp-comment-608-2 For με followed by ἐμέ , cp. El. 1359

ἀλλά με | λόγοις ἀπώλλυς, ἔργ’ ἔχων ἥδιστ’ ἐμοί
, where
ἐμοί
is not more emphatic than
με
. So in Tr. 1171
κἀδόκουν πράξειν καλῶς· | τὸ δ’ ἦν ἄρ’ οὐδὲν ἄλλο πλὴν θανεῖν ἐμέ
, where there is no contrast between
ἐμέ
and some one else: Ant. 292
ὡς στέργειν ἐμέ
 : Ph. 299
τὸ μὴ νοσεῖν ἐμέ
, where the stress is on the verb, not on the pronoun. And so here, too, it may be doubted whether ἐμέ conveys such an emphasis as would be given by an italicised
" my ,"
— implying a reproof of meddlesomeness. The stress is rather on χρὴ ναίειν : Apollo has brought him to this rest (89).

mvp-comment-609-1 This passage, which has been variously altered, appears to me to be sound as it stands in the MSS. Oedipus has undertaken to speak for the men of Attica (

ἐρῶ γὰρ καὶ πρὸ τῶνδε
). Creon refuses to identify him with them, bitterly reminding the Theban that his real ties are elsewhere.
"I call them—not thee— to witness my protest"
: i.e.
"I have a just claim on thee, which thou repellest:— I appeal to a judgment more impartial than thine own."
The words mark the point at which he drops persuasion. He now turns to menace.
"But, for the tone of thy reply to kinsmen"
(meaning, to himself, cp. on 148
σμικροῖς
),
"if I catch thee"
—an aposiopesis. (Cp. Il. 1.580
εἴπερ γάρ κ’ ἐθέλῃσιν Ὀλύμπιος ἀστεροπητὴς
ἐξ ἑδέων στυφελίξαι· ὁ γὰρ πολὺ φέρτερός ἐστιν
 : Verg. Aen. 1. 135
Quos ego …
)

mvp-comment-609-2 μαρτύρομαι 111

mvp-comment-610-1 ἀνταμείβει 112

mvp-comment-610-2 πρὸς 113

mvp-comment-610-3 οἷα 114

mvp-comment-611-1 τῶνδε συμμ 115

mvp-comment-612-1 ἦ μὴν 116

mvp-comment-612-2 κἄνευ τοῦδε 117

mvp-comment-612-3 λυπηθεὶς ἔσει 118

mvp-comment-613-1 ποίῳ σὺν ἔργῳ 119

mvp-comment-613-2 σὺν 120

mvp-comment-613-3 ἀπειλήσας ἔχεις 121

mvp-comment-614-1 τὴν μὲν 122

mvp-comment-615-1 τάδε 123

mvp-comment-616-1 The τήνδε γ’ of the MSS. could be retained only if μου were changed to καὶ and given to Creon.

mvp-comment-616-2 οὐ μακρ. χρόνου 124

mvp-comment-617-1 τὸν ἀσεβῆ 125

mvp-comment-618-1 θᾶσσον 126

mvp-comment-618-2 εἴργασαι 127

mvp-comment-619-1 ὑμῖν 128

mvp-comment-619-2 ἂν εἴη 129

mvp-comment-620-1 ποῖ φύγω 130

mvp-comment-620-2 θεῶν … ἢ βροτῶν; 131

mvp-comment-621-1 οὐχ ἅψομαι 132

mvp-comment-621-2 τῆς ἐμῆς 133

mvp-comment-622-1 τοὺς ἐμοὺς 134

mvp-comment-623-1 — 886 The phrase

τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἄγω
indicates the moment at which Creon lays his hand on Antigone. It is followed by 11 verses, 833—843, in which the dochmiacs of the Chorus, blended with iambic trimeters, mark excitement. Antistrophic to these are the 11 verses, 876—886, which in like manner follow the moment at which Creon lays his hand on Oedipus. As a lyric interposition in dialogue, the passage has a kommatic character, though it does not constitute a
κομμός
proper in the same sense as 510—548, 1447—1499, or 1670— 1750.

mvp-comment-624-1 ἀφήσεις 135

mvp-comment-625-1 εἰς βάσανον εἶ χερῶν 136

mvp-comment-625-2 εἶ 137

mvp-comment-626-1 εἴργου 138

mvp-comment-626-2 μωμένου 139

mvp-comment-627-1 πόλει 140

mvp-comment-628-1 οὐκ ἠγόρευον 141

mvp-comment-629-1 μὴ )πίτασσ’ ἃ μὴ κρατεῖς 142

mvp-comment-630-1 At Creon's words, when he laid his hand on Antigone (832), one of his guards stepped up, and placed himself at her side.

mvp-comment-630-2 χαλᾶν λέγω σοι 143

mvp-comment-631-1 πρόβαθ’ … βᾶτε 144

mvp-comment-631-2 ὧδε 145

mvp-comment-631-3 ἔντοποι 146

mvp-comment-632-1 πόλις … σθένει 147

mvp-comment-632-2 σθένει 148

mvp-comment-633-1 μοι 149

mvp-comment-634-1 ὦ τάλας 150

mvp-comment-635-1 ἐκ τούτοιν … σκήπτροιν 151

mvp-comment-635-2 ἐκ 152

mvp-comment-635-3 σκήπτροιν 153

mvp-comment-636-1 οδοιπορήσῃς 154

mvp-comment-636-2 νικᾶν 155

mvp-comment-637-1 τύραννος 156

mvp-comment-638-1 γνώσει τάδε 157

mvp-comment-638-2 αὑτὸν 158

mvp-comment-639-1 For δρᾷς followed by εἰργάσω , instead of

ἔδρασας
, cp. O. T. 54
ὡς εἴπερ ἄρξεις … ὥσπερ κρατεῖς
(n.).

mvp-comment-639-2 βίᾳ φίλων 159

mvp-comment-640-1 ὀργῇ χάριν δούς 160

mvp-comment-641-1 The guards, carrying off Antigone, have already left the scene (847); cp. 875

μοῦνος
. Creon is now about to follow them, when the Chorus again approach him, and protest that he shall not leave Colonus unless the two maidens are restored.

mvp-comment-642-1 τῶνδε 161

mvp-comment-643-1 ῥύσιον 162

mvp-comment-643-2 πόλει 163

mvp-comment-643-3 πόλει 166

mvp-comment-643-4 θήσεις πόλει 167

mvp-comment-643-5 ἐφάψομαι 168

mvp-comment-644-1 After δεινὸν λέγοις (L), or λέγεις , a syllable has to be supplied conjecturally. Triclinius added ὡς ("be sure that," 45 ) before τοῦτο : but this mars the rhythm: and the simple fut. (as in 860 ) is more forcible. The optat. λέγοις of L, which is not likely to be a mere error for λέγεις , strongly favours Hermann's simple remedy, δεινὸν λέγοις ἄν , "'twere a dread deed that thou threatenest" (if only thou couldst do it): cp. on 647

μέγ’ ἂν λέγοις δώρημα
. Next to this, I should prefer Wecklein's
δεινὸς λόγοις εἶ
.

mvp-comment-644-2 πεπράξεται 169

mvp-comment-645-1 ἢν μή γ’ 170

mvp-comment-645-2 ἀπειργάθῃ 171

mvp-comment-646-1 φθέγμ’ 172

mvp-comment-647-1 αὐδῶ σιωπᾶν 173

mvp-comment-647-2 ἄφωνον … ἀρᾶς 174

mvp-comment-647-3 τῆς 175

mvp-comment-648-1 See Appendix on this passage.

mvp-comment-648-2 ὅς 176

mvp-comment-648-3 ψιλὸν ὄμμ’ 177

mvp-comment-648-4 ψιλὸν 178

mvp-comment-648-5 ἀποσπάσας 179

mvp-comment-649-1 ἐξοίχει 180

mvp-comment-650-1 σέ τ’ αὐτὸν 181

mvp-comment-651-1 Ἥλιος 182

mvp-comment-651-2 βίον 183

mvp-comment-651-3 κἀμὲ 184

mvp-comment-652-1 ὁρᾶτε 185

mvp-comment-653-1 ἔργοις 186

mvp-comment-653-2 ῥήμασιν 187

mvp-comment-654-1 μοῦνος 188

mvp-comment-654-2 βραδύς 189

mvp-comment-655-1 ἰὼ τάλας 190

mvp-comment-656-1 τάνδε ( πόλιν ) οὐκέτι πόλιν νεμῶ 191

mvp-comment-657-1 τοῖς … δικαίοις 192

mvp-comment-657-2 βραχὺς 193

mvp-comment-658-1 τά 194

mvp-comment-659-1 Ζεύς γ’ ἂν … σὺ δ’ οὔ 195

mvp-comment-660-1 ὕβρις 196

mvp-comment-660-2 ἀνεκτέα 197

mvp-comment-661-1 πρόμοι 198

mvp-comment-662-1 πέραν περῶσ’ οἵδε δή 199

mvp-comment-662-2 δή 200

mvp-comment-663-1 βωμὸν 201

mvp-comment-663-2 ἔσχετ’ 202

mvp-comment-664-1 θᾶσσον ἢ καθ’ ἡδονὴν 203

mvp-comment-665-1 ἔγνων 204

mvp-comment-666-1 τὰ ποῖα ταῦτα 205

mvp-comment-667-1 οἴχεται 206

mvp-comment-667-2 τὴν μόνην 207

mvp-comment-668-1 περ 208

mvp-comment-669-1 οὔκουν τις … ἀναγκάσει 209

mvp-comment-669-2 τούσδε βωμοὺς 210

mvp-comment-670-1 Join σπεύδειν ἀπὸ θυμάτων, ἄνιππον, ἱππότην τε ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος 211

mvp-comment-670-2 ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος 212

mvp-comment-670-3 δίστομοι … ὁδοί 213

mvp-comment-670-4 μάλιστα 214 ἔνθα 215

mvp-comment-671-1 ἴθ’ 216

mvp-comment-672-1 δῑ ὀργῆς ἧκον 217

mvp-comment-673-1 μεθῆκ’ 218

mvp-comment-674-1 οὕσπερ … τοὺς νόμους 219

mvp-comment-675-1 τούτοισι 220

mvp-comment-675-2 ἁρμοσθήσεται 221

mvp-comment-676-1 ἐναργεῖς 222

mvp-comment-676-2 ἄγων 223

mvp-comment-677-1 κατάξια δρᾶν 224

mvp-comment-678-1 ὧν 225

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’ 226

mvp-comment-680-2 ἀφεὶς 227

mvp-comment-681-1 τὰ … κύρια 228

mvp-comment-681-2 ἐπεισπεσὼν 229

mvp-comment-682-1 ἄγεις 230

mvp-comment-682-2 παρίστασαι 231

mvp-comment-683-1 κένανδρον … ἢ δούλην τινὰ 232

mvp-comment-684-1 τῷ μηδενί 233

mvp-comment-685-1 Θῆβαι 234

mvp-comment-685-2 ἐπαίδευσαν 235

mvp-comment-686-1 πυθοίατο 236

mvp-comment-687-1 συλῶντα 237

mvp-comment-687-2 φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια 238

mvp-comment-688-1 ἐπεμβαίνων 239

mvp-comment-689-1 εἶχον 240

mvp-comment-690-1 ἄνευ γε τοῦ κραίνοντος 241

mvp-comment-690-2 χθονὸς 242

mvp-comment-690-3 ὅστις ἦν 243

mvp-comment-691-1 οὔθ’ εἷλκον οὔτ’ ἂν ἦγον 244

mvp-comment-692-1 ξένον 245

mvp-comment-693-1 ἀξίαν οὐκ οὖσαν 246

mvp-comment-694-1 τὴν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ 247

mvp-comment-694-2 ὁ πληθύων χρόνος 248

mvp-comment-694-3 τοῦ νοῦ 249

mvp-comment-695-1 τινα 250

mvp-comment-696-1 The essence of the notion conveyed by μέτοικος 251

mvp-comment-697-1 βίᾳ τε κοὐχ ἑκ 252

mvp-comment-697-2 κοὐχ ἑκών 253

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 254

mvp-comment-699-1 ὁρᾷς ἵν’ ἥκεις 255

mvp-comment-699-2 ἀφ’ ὧν 256

mvp-comment-700-1 ἐγὼ οὔτ’ 257

mvp-comment-700-2 L's λέγω , of which

λέγων
was a correction, came in by mistake from 936. Schneidewin's νέμων has been generally received, and is clearly right: cp. on 879
. While ἄνανδρον answers to
κένανδρον ἢ δούλην
in 917, ἄβουλον (940), which implies the lack of a guiding mind, answers to
κἄμ’ ἴσον τῷ μηδενί
in 918.—Creon's speech is as clever as it is impudent. He has only anticipated what the Athenians themselves would have wished. Indeed, he has acted in reliance on the Areiopagus (950). If his method has been rough, he was provoked by the violence of Oedipus.

mvp-comment-701-1 αὐτοὺς 258

mvp-comment-701-2 ἐμπέσοι 259

mvp-comment-702-1 ξυναίμων 260

mvp-comment-703-1 κἄναγνον 261 ἄναγνον 262

mvp-comment-703-2 δεξοίατ’ 263

mvp-comment-704-1 ηὑρέθησαν 264

mvp-comment-704-2 τέκνων 265

mvp-comment-704-3 ξυνόντες 266

mvp-comment-704-4 Wecklein takes

τέκνων
as "relative" gen. with
ἀνόσιοι
, in the sense of
παιδουργίας, σπορᾶς
: "a marriage unholy in respect of its offspring." This seems forced. Musgrave's
τοκέων
would be more specious if the gen. of a noun in
‐εύς
anywhere else suffered synizesis in this place of the verse. (In 1361
φονέως
is in the 4th place.) Soph. has
γονέων
El. 146 , 241 , and
τοκέων
ib. 187 , Eur. the latter H. F. 915 , Or. 815 , and in these 5 places (all lyric) the words are scanned as trisyllables: a fact which, so far as it goes, is against
τοκέων
here. Neither
τέκνοις
nor
τέκνῳ
is a probable remedy; nor is
φίλων
. In my belief
τέκνων
is sound.

mvp-comment-705-1 τοιοῦτον 267

mvp-comment-705-2 εὔβουλον 268

mvp-comment-706-1 χθόνιον 269

mvp-comment-707-1 θυμοῦ 270

mvp-comment-707-2 θανόντων 271

mvp-comment-708-1 κεἰ 272

mvp-comment-708-2 σμικρὸν 273

mvp-comment-708-3 πρὸς … τὰς πράξεις 274

mvp-comment-709-1 τοῦ 275

mvp-comment-710-1 μοι 276

mvp-comment-710-2 διῆκας 277

mvp-comment-711-1 ἄκων 278

mvp-comment-711-2 θεοῖς 279

mvp-comment-712-1 ἄν 280

mvp-comment-713-1 ἐπεὶ καθ’ αὑτόν γ’ 281

mvp-comment-713-2 Others take

ἀνθ’ ὅτου
as=
"in that,"
" because ,"
and understand:—
"For you cannot charge any guilt on me personally (
καθ’ αὑτόν"
), in that I sinned against myself and my kindred.
But (1) καθ’ αὑτόν could not naturally express this contrast between the badness of the acts and the innocence of the agent. It contrasts the man with the
γένος
. (2) ἀνθ’ ὅτου regularly (if not always)=
"in return for which,"
"wherefore"
: e.g. El. 585
δίδαξον ἀνθ’ ὅτου τανῦν
αἴσχιστα πάντων ἔργα δρῶσα τυγχάνεις
: Eur. Alc. 246
οὐδὲν θεοὺς δράσαντας ἀνθ’ ὅτου θανεῖ
: I. T. 926
ἡ δ’ αἰτία τίς ἀνθ’ ὅτου κτείνει πόσιν;
So Hec. 1131 , 1136.

mvp-comment-714-1 ἐπεὶ δίδαξον 282

mvp-comment-714-2 εἴ τι θέσφατον 283

mvp-comment-715-1 The simple inf. θανεῖν could have depended on

θέσφατον
, but ὥστε is added, as below 1350 ; Plat. Prot. 338C
ἀδύνατον ἡμῖν ὥστε Πρωταγόρου τοῦδε σοφώτερόν τινα ἑλέσθαι
 : Eur. Hipp. 1327
Κύπρις γὰρ ἤθελ’ ὥστε γίγνεσθαι τάδε
: Thuc. 1.119
δεηθέντες ὥστε ψηφίσασθαι
 : 8. 45
πεῖσαι ὥστε συγχωρῆσαι.

mvp-comment-715-2 παίδων 284

mvp-comment-716-1 οὔτε...οὐ 285

mvp-comment-716-2 βλάστας 286

mvp-comment-717-1 φανεὶς δύστηνος 287

mvp-comment-717-2 ἐγὼ )φάνην 288

mvp-comment-718-1 ἐς χεῖρας 289

mvp-comment-719-1 μηδὲν 290

mvp-comment-720-1 The MSS. have πῶς γ’ ἄν , but γ’ should probably be omitted. In L, at least, there is a perceptible tendency to insert

γ’, τ’
, etc., superfluously (cp. cr. n. on 260); and here the first γ’ would weaken the second, while πῶς needs no strengthening. In O. T. 1030 , where L and most MSS. have
γ’...γε
, we should read
δ’...γε
. There is, however, no objection to a doubled
γε
where each of two words in the same sentence is to be emphasised ( Her. 1.187 ).

mvp-comment-720-2 ἆκον 291

mvp-comment-721-1 L's τλήμων might be either ( a ) predicate with the verb, or ( b ) nom. for voc., as 185

ὦ τλάμων
, where see n. But ( a ) would be rather weak; and a direct address, rather than a half-comment (as in 185), is fitting here. τλῆμον , then, seems most probable.

mvp-comment-722-1 οὖν 292

mvp-comment-723-1 εἰς τόδ’ ἐξελθ. ἀνόσιον στόμα 293

mvp-comment-723-2 ἀνόσιον στόμα 294

mvp-comment-724-1 — 984 He has just said,

"why force me to speak of Iocasta's marriage, when it was such as I will tell? "
(980). In these three vv. he tells of what sort it was,—viz., incestuous, but unconsciously so;—a double reason why Creon should have spared the taunt.

mvp-comment-724-2 ἔτικτεν 295

mvp-comment-724-3 αὑτῆς ὄνειδος 296

mvp-comment-725-1 δυσστομεῖν 297

mvp-comment-726-1 ἄκων 298

mvp-comment-727-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ γὰρ 299

mvp-comment-727-2 The MS.

ἀκούσομαι κακὸς
=
"will be pronounced evil"
(in the report of fairminded men): cp. Ph. 1074
ἀκούσομαι μὲν ὡς ἔφυν οἴκτου πλέως | πρὸς τοῦδ
:
"I shall be reproached, as full of pity, by yon man"
: ib. 607
ὁ πάντ’ ἀκούων αἰσχρὰ καὶ λωβήτ’ ἔπη
. But the conjecture ἁλώσομαι has certainly more force and point: cp. O. T. 576
οὐ γὰρ δὴ φονεὺς ἁλώσομαι
 : Ant. 46
οὐ γὰρ δὴ προδοῦσ’ ἁλώσομαι
 .

mvp-comment-728-1 ἐμφορεῖς 300

mvp-comment-728-2 φόνους 301

mvp-comment-729-1 ἄμειψαι 302

mvp-comment-730-1 εἴ τις … κτείνοι 303

mvp-comment-730-2 αὐτίκα 304

mvp-comment-730-3 τὸν δίκ 305

mvp-comment-731-1 δοκῶ μέν 306

mvp-comment-732-1 περιβλέποις 307

mvp-comment-733-1 εἰσέβην 308

mvp-comment-733-2 After ἀντειπεῖν and like words the person gainsaid is denoted by the dat.; the argument , by

περί τινος
or
πρός τι
. Here we begin with a neut. dat.

mvp-comment-733-3 οἶς 309

mvp-comment-733-4 ἐμοί 310

mvp-comment-733-5 ἂν 311 ἀντειπεῖν 312

mvp-comment-733-6 ἐγὼ οὐδὲ 313

mvp-comment-734-1 πατρὸς ψυχὴν … ζῶσαν 314

mvp-comment-734-2 ψυχή 315

mvp-comment-735-1 ἅπαν 316

mvp-comment-735-2 καλὸν 317

mvp-comment-735-3 ῥητὸν ἄρρ 318

mvp-comment-736-1 τὸ Θ. ὄνομα θωπ 319

mvp-comment-736-2 θωπεῦσαι 320

mvp-comment-736-3 καλόν 321

mvp-comment-737-1 ὡς κατῴκηνται καλῶς 322

mvp-comment-738-1 κᾆθ’ 323

mvp-comment-738-2 πολλὰ 324

mvp-comment-739-1 εἴ τις γῆ θεοὺς 325

mvp-comment-740-1 τῷδ’ 326

mvp-comment-741-1 κλέψας 327

mvp-comment-742-1 ἐχειροῦ 328

mvp-comment-742-2 οἴχει 329

mvp-comment-743-1 κατασκήπτω λιταῖς 330

mvp-comment-744-1 ξεῖνος 331

mvp-comment-744-2 αἱ δὲ ς. 332

mvp-comment-744-3 ἄξιαι δ’ ἀμ. 333

mvp-comment-745-1 ἄξιαι … ἀμυναθεῖν 334

mvp-comment-746-1 The contrast with παθόντες 335

mvp-comment-746-2 ἐξηρπασμένοι 336

mvp-comment-747-1 ἕσταμεν 337

mvp-comment-748-1 ἀμ. φωτὶ 338

mvp-comment-748-2 ἀμαυρῷ 339

mvp-comment-749-1 τῆς ἐκεῖ 340

mvp-comment-749-2

πομπὸν δ’κ.τ.λ.
Three views of this clause require notice. I place first the view which seems to me right. 1. The construction is:— ( προστάσσω σὲ μὲν ) κατάρχειν ὁδοῦ τῆς ἐκεῖ, ἐμὲ δὲ πομπὸν χωρεῖν :
"my pleasure is,—that you should show the way thither ( i.e. , to where the maidens are), and that I should go as your escort."
The governing verb which is supplied,
προστάσσω
, contains the general notion
δοκεῖ μοι
,
"it seems good to me,"
"it is my pleasure."
For
ἐμέ
with inf. where
ἐγώ
is subj., cp. Od. 8.221
τῶν δ’ ἄλλων ἐμέ φημι πολὺ προφερέστερον εἶναι
. Schaefer well cites Il. 3.88
ἄλλους μὲν κέλεται …
τεύχεα κάλ’ ἀποθέσθαι, …
αὐτὸν δ’ ἐν μέσσῳ καὶ ἀρηΐφιλον Μενέλαον
… μάχεσθαι
, where
αὐτόν
, referring to the subject of
κέλεται
, is parallel with ἐμέ here:
"Paris urges that the others should lay their arms aside, but that he and Menelaus should fight."
The word πομπόν (used in 723 of Creon's own followers) has here a touch of grim irony: cp. Il. 13.416
ἐπεί ῥά οἱ ὤπασα πομπόν
 ,
"given him a companion,"
— i.e. , sent his slayer to the shades along with him.
πομπόν
could not well mean,
"as an escort for the maidens on their return."
On this view δ’ ἐμέ is better than δέ με .

mvp-comment-749-3 2. Reading μοι :—

"that you should go as my guide"
: cp. Od. 4.826
τοίη γάρ οἱ πομπὸς ἅμ’ ἔρχετα
(Athena conducting Telemachus). The following clause
ἵν’...ἐκδείξῃς ἐμοί
makes this somewhat weak.

mvp-comment-749-4 3. Governing με by πομπόν :

"that you should guide me on the way."
Cp. Ant. 786
καί σ’ οὔτ’ ἀθανάτων φύξιμος οὐδείς
, where
σε
is governed by the adj. This was the view of Erfurdt and Reisig: it was also held by Shilleto. But the supposed construction, always rare, is extremely harsh here, where πομπόν would naturally be taken as agreeing with με .

mvp-comment-750-1 ἡμῖν 341

mvp-comment-751-1 ἐγκρατεῖς 342

mvp-comment-751-2 φεύγουσιν 343

mvp-comment-752-1 ἄλλοι 344

mvp-comment-752-2 οὓς χώρας τῆσδε φυγόντες οὐ μή ποτε ἐπεύξωνται θεοῖς 345

mvp-comment-752-3 ἐπεύξωνται 346

mvp-comment-753-1 ἀλλ’ 347

mvp-comment-753-2 ἔχων ἔχει 348

mvp-comment-754-1 θηρῶνθ’ 349

mvp-comment-754-2 ἡ τύχη 350

mvp-comment-754-3 τὰ … δόλῳ κτήματα 351

mvp-comment-754-4 τῷ μὴ δικαίῳ 352

mvp-comment-755-1 κοὐκ ἄλλον ἕξεις εἰς τόδ’ 353

mvp-comment-755-2 ὡς ἔξοιδα 354

mvp-comment-755-3 οὐ ψιλὸν 355

mvp-comment-755-4 ἄσκευον 356

mvp-comment-756-1 ἐς τοσήνδ’ ὕβριν … τόλμης 357

mvp-comment-757-1 ἀλλ’ ἔσθ’ ὅτῳ 358

mvp-comment-757-2 πιστὸς 359

mvp-comment-758-1 τι τούτων 360

mvp-comment-758-2 τὰ νῦν 361

mvp-comment-759-1 ἐνθάδ’ ὢν 362

mvp-comment-759-2 μεμπτὸν ἐμοί 363

mvp-comment-760-1 χωρῶν ἀπείλει νῦν 364

mvp-comment-761-1 πιστωθεὶς 365

mvp-comment-762-1 ὄναιο 366 χάριν 367

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

723. mvp-comment-400-1 ἡμῖν ἡμῖν, the dative of remote reference, has greater liveliness than ἡμῶν, which has been conjectured here. Here is Creon coming to trouble us.

725. mvp-comment-401-1 τέρμα τῆς σωτηρίας The end of safety; i. e. The safety that is the end of my desire.

726. mvp-comment-402-1 θάρσει, παρέσται Fear not: you shall have your wish. The same words occur above (305) in a different connection. Elms. prefers κυρῶ to ἐγώ. 728-1043. Creon advances with his two attendants, and deprecating suspicion, attempts to persuade Oedipus to come home to Thebes, for his own and daughters' sake, according to the unanimous wish of the people. Oedipus, who is informed by Ismene, and by the oracles he had formerly received, of the real intention of the Thebans, indignantly resents the cruel meaning of the fair-sounding offer; taunts Creon with hypocrisy, in first banishing him against his will, and now trying to draw him unwillingly from Athens: and utters a curse on Creon and on his sons. altercation continues till Creon throws off the mask of gentleness, avows that he has seized Ismene, and threatens to carry off Antigone. The chorus (834 ff.) expostulate, and call for aid. He per- The

727. mvp-comment-403-1 γεγήρακεν L. sists, and sends her away by his servants, adding reproaches against Oedipus, and, on the chorus further expostulating, threatens to lay hands on Oedipus, who thus provoked, utters a special curse on Creon. A scuffle ensues between the two old men: Creon taking hold of Oedipus to drag him away. The chorus (877 ff.) again cry aloud for help, and Theseus, who has been sacrificing at a neighbouring altar, enters in haste. On learning what is the matter, he orders the people from the sacrifices to pursue the fugitives, and threatens Creon with arrest if the maidens are not produced immediately. He is sure that Thebes will not resent this. She cannot countenance such violence. Creon then speaks for himself. He could not have supposed that Athens would have cared to protect his kindred, or would have received an incestuous person and a parricide under the shadow of the hill of Ares. Hefurther excuses his assault by the curses of Oedipus. He is in Theseus' hands, but will resist harsh treatment. The mention of hisunwitting crimes calls forth a fresh outburst of passion from Oedipus. Theseus breaks off further conference by peremptorily commanding Creon to show him where the maidens are. Oedipus is left alone with the chorus. Cp. O. T. 512-862.

729. mvp-comment-404-1 ὁρῶ . . ἐπεισόδου I see that a sudden fear has overcast your eyes at my coming in. ὀμμάτων is a genitive of place, or of the part affected. For εἰληφότας, cp. Αj. 345, τάχ᾽ ἄν τιν αἰδῶ κἀπ᾿ ἐμοὶ βλέψας λάβοι: Eur. Suppl. 1050. ὀργὴν λάβοις ἂν τῶν ἐμῶν βουλευμάτων | κλύων: Plat. Soph. 243 C, ταὐτὸν τοῦτο πάθος εἰληφότες ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ. And for the whole expression, Aesch. Eum. 407, θαῦμα δ᾽ ὄμμασιν πάρα: Eur. I. A. 1128, Ar. Vesp. 447-

731. mvp-comment-405-1 μήτ᾿ ἀφῆτ᾽ ἔπος κακόν As often happens, the sentence passes out of the relative construction. Cp. supr. 467.

732. mvp-comment-406-1 Creon endeavours to allay the alarm occasioned by his coming, and to win confidence by dwelling (1) on his own age and apparent feebleness, (2) on the age and condition of Oedipus, which needed protection at home, (3) on his intention to use persuasion only. (4) on the public authority and responsibility of his mission, (5) on his personal and private motives for undertaking it.

734. mvp-comment-407-1 εἴ τιν᾿ Ἑλλάδος For the attraction, cp. Aj 488. εἴπερ τινὸς σθένοντος ἐν πλούτῳ Φρυγῶν. Ε. on L. § 35. p. 60.

735. mvp-comment-408-1 ἄνδρα τόνδε τηλικόνδ᾽ ἀπεστάλην The text, while giving a more natural order of the words than the VOL. I. Aa ï conjecture τηλικόσδ' ἀπεστάλην, is also capable of a suitable meaning. Creon, wishing to show the reasonableness of his coming, points to the extreme age and feebleness of Oedipus as a ground for inducing him to return under the protection of Thebes. There is a peculiar emphasis on the words τηλικόνδε and πείσων, i. e. To induce this poor old man by persuasion only to return home.' For the combination of the demonstrative with the pronominal adj., cp. Phil. 128, τοῦτον τὸν αὐτὸν ἄνδρα: ib. 572 πρὸς ποῖον ἂν τόνδ'..;

738. mvp-comment-409-1 οὔνεχ᾽ ἡκέ μοι γένει Since kindred makes it incumbent on me. For ἧκε, the simple for the compound verb, see Essay on Language p. 101-104, and cp. Phil. 141, σὲ δ', ὦ τέκνον, τόδ᾽ ἐλήλυθεν πᾶν κράτος ὠγύγιον. And for a similar use of προσήκει, cp. Hdt. 8. 100, οὐδὲν πρὸς Πέρσας τοῦτο προσήκει τὸ πάθος.

739. mvp-comment-410-1 εἰς πλεῖστον πόλεως Above all that are in the city.

742. mvp-comment-411-1 δικαίως Rightfully. Cp. Aj. 1108-1110, τόνδε δ'.. εἰς ταφᾶς ἐγὼ θήσω δικαίως.

742. mvp-comment-411-2 ἐκ δὲ τῶν] Essay on Language § 21. p. 30.

743. mvp-comment-412-1 πλεῖστον .. κάκιστος Cp. Phil. 631, τῆς πλεῖστον ἐχθίστης ἐμοὶ | κλύοιμ' ἐχίδνης.

745. mvp-comment-413-1 ὄντα μὲν. ἀλήτην A stranger, and not only so, but ever wandering.

746. mvp-comment-414-1 ἐπὶ προσπόλου μιᾶς With the support of one attendant. ἐπί, as it were leaning on. The expression is analogous to ὁρμεῖν ἐπ᾿ ἀγκύρας, Hdt. 7.188.

749. mvp-comment-415-1 ὅσον i. e. εἰς ὅσον, one preposition, as frequently happens, sufficing both for antecedent and relative.

751. mvp-comment-416-1 τηλικοῦτος At her age, i. e. just approaching womanhood. Cp. supr. 345-346, ἐξ ὅτου νέας | τροφῆς ἔληξε καὶ κατίσχυσεν δέμας. For the termination, cp. El. 614. 753 ff. Alas, I have uttered a sad reproach upon thee and me and our whole race. And yet, what is openly displayed cannot be concealed: wherefore do you, Oedipus. be induced by me to return voluntarily to thy city and palace and to hide thy disgrace there. For ἆρα, see Essay on Language § 29. p. 50. Creon professes to be horror-struck at his own words (ἆρ᾽ ἄθλιον τοὔνειδος, κ.τ.λ.): but excuses himself by the publicity which Oedipus gives to their common calamity in wandering from home. It rests with him to bury the reproach within the palace walls, where his daughter at least will find protection, and his kindred will not have the shame of seeing him an outcast. Cp. O. Τ. 1425, foll. τὴν γοῦν .. φλόγα | αἰδεῖσθ᾽ ἄνακτος Ἡλίου, τοιόνδ᾽ ἄγος | ἀκάλυπτον οὕτω δεικνύναι, κ.τ.λ.: Εl. 624-625, σύ τοι λέγεις νιν, οὐκ ἐγώ. σὺ γὰρ ποιεῖς | τοὔργον· τὰ δ᾽ ἔργα τοὺς λόγους εὑρίσκεται.

757. mvp-comment-417-1 θελήσας Consenting. Cp. Ο. Τ. 649, πιθοῦ θελήσας, κ.τ.λ.

758. mvp-comment-418-1 τήνδε τὴν πόλιν φίλως εἰπών First giving words of friendship to this city: for she deserves them well.' giving

759. mvp-comment-419-1 ἡ δ᾽ οἴκοι Sc. πόλις, cp. supr. 433, τὴν .. αὐτίχ᾽ ἡμέραν. ‘But the city you have left behind, which so long nourished you, has by right a stronger claim to be reverenced by you.'

760. mvp-comment-420-1 δίκῃ Essay on Language § 14. p. 20.

760. mvp-comment-420-2 σέβοιτο For the passive, which occurs here only, see Essay on Language § 31. p. 54.

760. mvp-comment-420-3 πάλαι i. e. in his prosperity, which is now regarded as long past.

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.

800-801. mvp-comment-441-1 Do you think that the course of our present talk is disastrous for me in my relation to your affairs? (referring to 787 ff., 795-796). Are not your words much more disastrous to yourself? Schol. ἀντὶ τοῦ, ἐν τῷ μὴ πείθεσθαί σε μᾶλλον σὺ δυστυχεῖς ἤπερ ἐγώ. i. e. You accuse me of ignorance of your and your sons' destiny (1.787, 8): but you show much greater ignorance of your own best interests by refusing to come.

802. mvp-comment-442-1 μήτ᾿ ἐμέ.. μήτε τούσδε The emphasis is on τούσδε : μήτ᾿ ἐμέ is taken for granted, and only introduced for the sake of the antithesis It would delight me, if you fail in persuading these men here as you will fail to persuade me.

805. mvp-comment-443-1 λῦμα τῷ γήρα For the dative, see Essay on Language § 13. c, p. 19.

807. mvp-comment-444-1 ἐξ ἅπαντος In every cause. Cp. supr. 761-762.

810. mvp-comment-445-1 οὐ δῆθ᾿ ὅτῳ γε νοῦς ἴσος καὶ σοὶ πάρα (1) My words are certainly not seasonable in the judgment of one who has so little sense as you have; i. e. A wise speech sleeps in a foolish ear. Schol. τοῖς κατὰ σὲ οὐ δοκῶ καίρια λέγειν. For the dative, see Essay on Language § 13. p. 20, e. Or (2), I do not speak seasonably, in speaking to one so devoid of understanding. Cp Cp. Aesch. Prom. 983, σὲ γὰρ προσηύδων οὐκ ἄν, ὄνθ᾽ ὑπηρέτην. For ἴσος καί, cр. О. Т. 1187.

812. mvp-comment-446-1 φύλασσ᾽ ἐφορμῶν ἔνθα χρὴ ναίειν ἐμέ Two explanations of this are possible, (1) Keep watching (lit. blockading) me and prescribing my abode;' the notion of dictation being implied in φύλασσ᾽ ἐφορμῶν: (2) Keep watching me and blockading my destined dwelling place. For (1) cp. El. 16, τί χρὴ δρᾶν ἐν τάχει βουλευτέον; supr. 654, μὴ δίδασχ' ἃ χρή με δρᾶν. But (2) is more pointed, and on the whole more probab'e.

813. mvp-comment-447-1 μαρτύρομαι τούσδ', οὐ σέ Το them I appeal and not to you! And for the terms of your answer to your friends, if I once take you --. The intended threat ('you shall answer at Thebes') is broken off by Oedipus' retorting, But who can take me,' etc. Creon angrily repels the claim of Oedipus to speak for the Attic elders (ἐρῶ πρὸ τῶνδε), whom he calls to witness Oedipus' treatment of him. The latter words refer (1) to the lines in which Oedipus curses his sons (ἔστιν δὲ παισὶν μόνον), which Creon treats as the answer to the message which he had brought from the Καδμείων λέως: cp. infr. 850, φίλους ὑφ᾽ ὧν ἐγὼ | ταχθεὶς τάδ' ἔρδω. The structure closely resembles Hom. Il. 1. 338, τὰ δ᾽ αὐτὼ μάρτυροι ἔστων, | πρός τε θεῶν μακάρων, πρός τε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων, | καὶ πρὸς τοῦ βασιλῆος ἀπηνέος· εἴποτε δ' αΰτε | χρειὼ ἐμεῖο γένηται ἀεικέα λοιγὸν ἀμῦναι | τοῖς ἄλλοις, where the final threat is in like manner suppressed. In the present passage, however, dé is strictly adversative, distinguishing Creon's personal injury from the supposed offence against Eteocles and the Thebans: unless (2) φίλους refers to Creon himself, as professing friendly intentions and as next of kin. But cp. supr. 788-790.

816. mvp-comment-448-1 κἄνευ τῶνδε Without this, i. e. without my taking you. The ambiguity of τῶνδε would probably not be felt by a Greek, and is not a sufficient reason for altering the reading to τοῦδε, 817. Creon's tone implied that something had been done. Seeing that the chorus as well as Oedipus are impracticable, he breaks into open hostility, and avows the capture of Ismene, who had been seized and carried off before she could return from making her offering.

820. mvp-comment-449-1 οἰμώζειν τάδε (1) ‘Το exclaim at this;' τάδε, the capture of the maidens; or (2), τάδε, cogn. acc., thus to exclaim. Probably the first.

821. mvp-comment-450-1 τήνδε τ᾽ And this one ere long. The correction of γ᾽ to τ᾽ or δ᾽ seems to be necessary.

821. mvp-comment-450-2 οὐ μακροῦ χρόνου Sc. ἕξω.

823. mvp-comment-451-1 τὸν ἀσεβή Cp. 922, συλῶντα τὰ τῶν θεῶν βίᾳ | ἄγοντα φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια. He appeals to the known piety of the chorus.

825. mvp-comment-452-1 οὔθ᾽ ἃ πρόσθεν εἴργασαι In seizing Ismene.

826. mvp-comment-453-1 ὑμῖν, κ.τ.λ. Said to Creon's attendants; supr. 723.

826. mvp-comment-453-2 ἂν εἴη For a similar use of av with the optative, cp. Τr. 728, σιγᾶν ἂν ἁρμόζοι σε τὸν πλείω λόγον, Εl. 1372.

827. mvp-comment-454-1 εἰ.. πορεύσεται For the v. r. cp. πημαίνεις below, in v. rr. on l. 837.

830. mvp-comment-455-1 Creon, as next of kin, is guardian of the children of the outlawed Oedipus. Cp. O. T. 1448, καὶ γὰρ ὀρθῶς τῶν γε σῶν τελεῖς ὕπερ: Aesch. Suppl. 387-389, εἴ τοι κρατοῦσι παῖδες Αἰγύπτου σέθεν | νόμῳ πόλεως, φάσκοντες ἐγγύτατα γένους | εἶναι, τίς ἂν τοῖσδ᾽ ἀντιωθῆναι θέλοι;

832. mvp-comment-456-1 τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἄγω For the plural and masc., see Essay on Language § 20. pp. 30, 31. 835-836. The excitement, indicated by the broken lines, culminates in the dochmiac rhythm, to which the diiambus, ἰὼ πόλις, is introductory. 876-885, following the second attempt of Creon, are antistrophic to 833-843, agreeing very closely (except εἴργου – – in 836 = δοκῶ u - 879) even to the division of the words. This lyrical repetition, with the balanced rhythm of the intervening dialogue (containing one short outburst of Creon, 841-855, and one of Oedipus, 864-870), may be compared with O. T. 649-659, 678-688.

832. mvp-comment-456-2 εἴργου • Keep off!' 837. The Scholiast, who, according to the reading of L, rightly explains πόλει by ταῖς Θήβαις, evidently assigned this speech to Creon.

838. mvp-comment-457-1 Creon, while defying the chorus, refrains at present from taking part in the actual violence, which he leaves to his attendants. It is to one of these that the words of the chorus are addressed.

838. mvp-comment-457-2 οὐκ ἠγόρευον ταῦτ᾽ ἐγώ! Oedipus rather alludes to his prophecy in 605 ff., that war would come between Athens and Thebes, than to his warning in 653, which is already fulfilled. Creon's present threat (πόλει μαχεῖ γάρ) comes near to Oedipus' prediction.

840. mvp-comment-458-1 The chorus and Creon are giving opposite commands to the attendant.

840. mvp-comment-458-2 χαλᾶν Το leave hold.' 841. The change to ἔντοποι (cp. Phil. 211), is necessitated by the dochmiac metre.

842. mvp-comment-459-1 πόλις ἐναίρεται My city suffers violence. The chorus in their indignation, as Theseus afterwards in his scorn (903, ξένῳ .. τῷδε χειρωθεὶς βίᾳ) represent the attempt of Creon as an assault on the liberties of their city.

842. mvp-comment-459-2 σθένει By main force. Cp. infra 1089, σθένει ᾿πινικείῳ τὸν εὔαγρον τελειῶσαι λόχον. The expression here is more nearly equivalent to κατὰ κράτος than to Bíᾳ. Cp. Eur. Bacch. 953, οὐ σθένει νικητέον | γυναῖκας. The adverbial dative following the parenthesis is rather weak. Qy. πόλις ἐμὰ στένει? Cp. Aesch. S. c. T. 247, στένει πόλισμα.

844. mvp-comment-460-1 ὦ ξένοι ξένοι The last appeal of Antigone to the chorus is so worded as to recall her former supplication, ὦ ξένοι αἰδόφρονες, l. 237 .

848. mvp-comment-461-1 ἐκ τούτοιν .. σκήπτροιν With these to lean upon.' ἐκ = by means of, with the help of. Cp. Phil. 91, οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἑνὸς ποδὸς | ἡμᾶς τοσούσδε πρὸς βίαν χειρώσεται.

851. mvp-comment-462-1 καὶ τύραννος ὢν ὅμως Although I am a prince. For τύραννos = one of royal blood, cp. Eur. Med. 957, τῇ τυράννῳ νύμφῃ. Creon is moreover regent of Thebes; O. Τ. 1418.

852. mvp-comment-463-1 τάδε = τὸ παρὸν πρᾶγμα.

856. mvp-comment-464-1 ἐπίσχες αὐτοῦ, ξεῖνε Creon, after launching the above speech at Oedipus, turns to follow Antigone and the attendants who are dragging her off. The chorus interfere to prevent him.

857. mvp-comment-465-1 τῶνδε The maidens, of whom Ismene, though in the background, is not far off.

858-859. mvp-comment-466-1 αὑτόν These lines may be differently explained according as πόλει is taken to refer to Thebes or to Athens. Either reference is possibl possible, but πόλει in Creon's previous speech, supr. 837, is clearly Thebes. ῥύσιον is that which is held by one party, and claimed or seized by another, who is said ῥυσίων ἐφάπτεσθαι (Aesch. Suppl. 412, καὶ μήτε δῆρις ῥυσίων ἐφάψεται, ib. 314, Ἔπαφος ἀληθῶς ῥυσίων ἐπώνυμος). (1) Then assuredly you will quickly pay moreover a heavier forfeit to my state, for I will seize not the maidens only. For this meaning of τίθημι see L. and S. s. v. A. II, 8. Or (2), 'Then assuredly you will cause your city to have a still greater prey to redeem. For πόλει in (2), cp. Eur. Suppl. 120, ἦλθον ἐξαιτῶν πόλιν, (Adrastus speaks of Thebes, which is not his city).

861. mvp-comment-467-1 δεινὸν λέγεις That is indeed a threat! Cp. supra 661, κεἰ δείν᾽ ἐπερρώσθη λέγειν. Know that this shall certainly be done forthwith (νῦν). For the ellipse with ὡς, cp. Αj. 39, ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι. The reduplicated future has not here the force of a future-perfect, but is simply emphatic.

863. mvp-comment-468-1 ή σὺ γάρ How? do you mean to say that you...

864. mvp-comment-469-1 μὴ γάρ γάρ gives the reason of an implied negative, repelling Creon's injunction of silence. Nay, but I will not. For I would not have these goddesses close my lips to this one curse.' 865. ἔτι adds emphasis to τῆσδε τῆς ἀρᾶς: i. e. Though they enjoin silence from cursing, let them not enforce it here.

866. mvp-comment-470-1 ὅς μ' The omission of the antecedent rather adds to the passionate force of the expression. Cp. supra 263, κάμοιγε ποῦ ταῦτ᾽ ἐστίν, οἵτινες, κ.τ.λ., and see Essay on Language § 22. p. 35. and § 39, p. 72.

866-867. mvp-comment-471-1 ψιλὸν ὄμμ' βίᾳ Who hast added to the former loss of my eyes by violently tearing away the poor defenceless means of sight that were still left to me.The ψιλὸν ὄμμα are his daughters, Antigone (τῆς ὑπέρ τ᾿ ἐμοῦ αὐτῆς θ' ὁρώσης, supra 33. 4) and Ismene, who brought him intelligence of things in Thebes. For the expression, cp. Shak., King Lear, 4. 6, Lear. Read. Gloster. What, with the case of eyes?' βίᾳ is to be joined with the phrase ἀποσπάσας.

868. mvp-comment-472-1 σὲ καὐτόν, κ.τλ. Cp. Phil. 620, τὸ σπεύδειν δέ σοι | καὐτῷ παραινῶ κεἴ τινος κήδει πέρι. The change to σε τ' αὐτόν is unnecessary here. The case is different in 1417, where σε τ' αὐτόν is a tmesis for σαυτόν τε.

870. mvp-comment-473-1 οἷον κἀμέ ἐμέ is accusative by attraction το σέ.

874. mvp-comment-474-1 ἄξω βίᾳ Cf. infra 922, βίᾳ ἄγοντα φωτῶν ἀθλίων ἱκτήρια.

875. mvp-comment-475-1 Creon, provoked by the curse of Oedipus, is about to carry out his threat (860), although, since the attendants are gone with the maidens, he has no one to help him. As to the reading, γηρῶν . . βαρύς; either γηρῶν has originated in a gloss on χρόνῳ βραδύς, and βαρύς, as elsewhere, from a misreading of βραδύς, or there was an early various reading, γήρᾳ βαρύς, for which, cp. O. T. 17. On the order of the words, see Essay on Language § 41. p. 78 8.

879. mvp-comment-476-1 τάνδ'. πόλιν Then I will no longer account this a city. The Scholiast, who explains by νομιῶ, seems to have read the future, which is therefore substituted for νέμω. Cp. El. 150, σὲ δ᾽ ἔγωγε νέμω θεόν.

880. mvp-comment-477-1 τοῖς τοι δικαίοις (1) In a just cause. Essay on Language § 11. p. 18. Or perhaps (2) the dat. is instrumental;- With weapons of justice. χώ βραχὺς νικᾷ μέγαν] Even slight men overcome the mighty. 882. Ζεὺς *γ᾿ ἂν εἰδείη, σὺ δ᾽ οὔ] There is a lacuna of an iambic penthemimer, or, if the correction Ζεὺς ταῦτ᾽ ἂν εἰδείη is right, of an iambic metre. The sense required is, ΧΟ. τά γ'᾽ οὐ τελεῖ.

880. mvp-comment-477-2 Ζεύς μοι ξυνίστωρ. ΚΡ. Ζεύς γ᾽ ἂν εἰδείη, σὺ δ' οὔ.

884. mvp-comment-478-1 ἰὼ γᾶς πρόμοι This is the summons to which Theseus, the chief of the land,' responds.

885. mvp-comment-479-1 ἐπεὶ πέραν | περῶσ' *οἵδε δή Elmsley's emendation has been generally adopted, and has the advantage of closely resembling 843, προβάθ᾽ ὧδέ μοι. But the correction is uncertain. (1) Since they are passing all bounds.' Cp. supra 155. Hermann's rule, that πέραν can never be used metaphorically, appears arbitrary, and when they have just left the stage it is too soon to say, (2) They are passing the frontier.' But possibly the words may mean, (3) They are passing out of reach.' Cp. infr. 902, ὡς μὴ παρέλθωσ' αἱ κόραι, and the hyperbolical expression in 842, πόλις ἐναίρεται.

887. mvp-comment-480-1 Theseus, perhaps moved by the strange advent of Oedipus. is sacrificing at the neighbouring altar of Poseidon, the chief guardian deity of Colonus. This act, which is natural in itself, is convenient, as the Scholiast remarks, for assigning a sufficient reason why Theseus, whose presence will be again necessary, should, when off the stage, be still within call. The sacrifice also occasions a gathering of people, who are ready to start in pursuit of Creon and frustrate his attempt. The trochaics are expressive of the haste with which Theseus comes-θάσσον ἢ καθ᾽ ἡδονὴν ποδός (890). They are conventionally associated with the sudden arrival on the stage or departure from it of important persons. Cp. Aesch. Pers. 155 ff.

888. mvp-comment-481-1 ἔσχετε Stayed ye my hand. Cp. 429, οὐκ ἔσχον οὐδ᾽ ἤμυναν.

891. mvp-comment-482-1 Dear friend (I know thy voice addressing us).' Cp. O. T. 1322-1326, ἰώ, φίλος .. οὐ γάρ με λήθεις, ἀλλὰ γιγνώσκω σαφῶς | καίπερ σκοτεινός, τήν γε σὴν αὐδὴν ὅμως. .. 894-895. Has torn away from me the two children that were my all. οἴχεται ἀποσπάσας, cp. supra 866, El. 809, 10, ἀποσπάσας γὰρ τῆς ἐμῆς οἴχει φρενός, κ.τ.λ. The use of μόνην is pathetic. Cp. ψιλὸν ὄμμα, supra 866.

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.

939. mvp-comment-509-1 ἄνανδρον Without manhood, referring to κένανδρον, supr. 927. Some have tried to preserve the reading of L (λέγω) by joining ἄβουλον (940) with ἔργον (941), but the epithet does not agree with the tenor of Theseus' speech. Cp. Eur. Suppl. 314-323.

940. mvp-comment-510-1 οὔτ᾽ ἄβουλον Nor without counsel; referring to 913-914, δίκαι' ἀσκοῦσαν εἰσελθὼν πόλιν, κἄνευ νόμου κραίνουσαν οὐδέν.

941. mvp-comment-511-1 γιγνώσκων δ' ὅτι But judging that.

942-943. mvp-comment-512-1 οὐδεὶς.. βίᾳ They would never be seized with an officious desire of maintaining my relations against my will. αὐτούς, sc. τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, implied in τήνδε τὴν πόλιν supr. For the accusative αὐτούς, see Essay on Language § 16. p. 23, and cp. Ο. Τ. 713, ὡς αὐτὸν ἥξοι μοῖρα πρὸς παιδὸς θανεῖν.

944. mvp-comment-513-1 ἤδη δ' And I was sure. Cp. the use of ἐπίσταμαι in Herodotus.

945. mvp-comment-514-1 κἄναγνον κἄνανδρον in L. is clearly a misreading from l. 939. Ср. Ο. Τ. 894, ἔρξεται.

945. mvp-comment-514-2 6. Nor one who was discovered to be living in incest with his own parent.' Lit. With whom were found unholy marriages of children with parents. τέκνων is not genitive of the object, but attributive genitive (Essay on Language § 9. p. 12), sufficiently defining the ἀνόσιοι γάμοι, although τέκνων πρὸς γονέας might be a more complete expression.

947. mvp-comment-515-1 Such a seat of good counsel did I know them to possess, the hill of Ares in this land. εὔβουλον opposed to ἄβουλον supra 940. For the argumentative use of τοιοῦτον, see Essay on Language § 22. p. 35.

950. mvp-comment-516-1 To it I trusted when I seized this prey.' Creon, as the next of kin, claims the right of dealing summarily with the homicide.

954. mvp-comment-517-1 The Schol. here quotes the proverb, ὁ θυμὸς ἔσχατον γηράσκει, as being referred to by Alcaeus. Cp. Thuc. 2.44.6, τὸ γὰρ φιλότιμον ἀγήρων μόνον. For anger yields not to age, until death comes. No pain indeed can touch the dead.' Aesch. Fr. 250, ἄλγος δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἅπτεται νεκροῦ. After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well; Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison, Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing, Can touch him further.' Shak. Macb. 3. 2.

957. mvp-comment-518-1 ἐρημία Cp. 875. This, as Theseus presently suspects (1029-1031), is a false pretence.

957. mvp-comment-518-2 κεί δίκαι᾿ ὅμως λέγω i. e. ὅμως κεὶ δίκαια λέγω.

958. mvp-comment-519-1 σμικρόν Cp. βραχύς, supra 880.

958. mvp-comment-519-2 πρὸς δὲ τὰς πράξεις But still I will endeavour to resist violence, if it is offered, old as I am. πράξεις here is not a mere repetition of the notion of the verb πράξεις supra 956, but is spoken with some emphasis, in allusion to Theseus' threats of compulsion, supr. 908, 935.

960-961. mvp-comment-520-1 Oedipus means that Creon's language reflects disgrace upon himself as the brother of Jocasta, and as having made an outcast of his kinsman. Cp. supr. 770, 800, 1, πότερα νομίζεις .. ἐν τῷ νῦν λόγῳ; 753-754, ἆρ᾽ ἄθλιον τοὔνειδος.. ὠνείδισ᾽ εἰς σὲ κἀμέ; infr. 978 ff. And for λῆμα, Pind. Pyth. 3. 25, λῆμα Κορωνίδος.

962. mvp-comment-521-1 ὅστις φόνους μοι Who hast allowed to pass thy lips against me the mention of that murder and that disastrous marriage which I unfortunate endured unwittingly. The general word συμφοράς (here, as in O. T. 99, equivalent to ἄγος) sums up the preceding notions, and adds to them. Cp. O. Τ. 1407-1408, χὠπόσα | αἴσχιστ᾽ ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἔργα γίγνεται.

965. mvp-comment-522-1 Who would seem to have had some old cause of wrath against our race.' Cp. Plat. Phaedr. 244 D. πόνων τῶν μεγίστων, ἃ δὴ παλαιῶν ἐκ μηνιμάτων ποθὲν ἔν τισι τῶν γενῶν ἦν.

966. mvp-comment-523-1 The comparative innocence of VOL. I. Oedipus in his voluntary actions is a chief point in the tragic interest of the Oedipus Tyrannus, and is still more strongly asserted in this play.

966. mvp-comment-523-2 ἐμοί Sc. προσόν.

967. mvp-comment-524-1 ἀνθ᾿ ὅτου In retribution for which; involuntary crimes being regarded as a punishment for some previous crime.

970. mvp-comment-525-1 χρησμοῖσιν .. παίδων Poetical (generalizing) plural. Cp. O. Τ. 711-713.

970. mvp-comment-525-2 ὥστε 'That he should die by his son's hand;' i. e. an oracle, whose fulfilment lay in his being slain by his son. Cp. 1350, δικαιῶν ὥστ᾽ ἐμοῦ κλύειν λόyous, and see note on O. T. 713. 972-973. Who was not yet begotten or conceived, but at that time had not come into being.'

974-976. mvp-comment-526-1 And if, coming into the world as I came, marked by misfortune, I fought with and slew my father, all ignorant of what I was doing and to whom, how then can you in fairness blame me for what I did, seeing it was Bb unwitting?' ὡς ἐγὼ ᾿φάνην refers to the conditions of the oracle given to Laius. Cp. O. Τ. 1376, ὅπως ἔβλαστε.

977. mvp-comment-527-1 * δάν, ( = δὴ ἄν, cp. El. 314), is a correction of y' av, in which the reduplication of the particles makes γε doubtful. For a similar error in the MSS. cp. supr. 51, ἄτιμός γ᾽ ἔκ γ᾽ ἐμοῦ.

977. mvp-comment-527-2 ἶκον = ἀκούσιον. Essay on Language p. 94, cp. supra 239, ἔργων ἀκόντων.

980-981. mvp-comment-528-1 Being such as I will presently tell of: for no, I will not keep silence, when you have gone to such a height of impiety. οὖν represents Oedipus' speaking as the natural consequence of Creon's.

980-981. mvp-comment-528-2 εἰς τόδε.. ἀνόσιον στόμα (1) Το this height of impiety in speaking.' Cp. supra 132, τὸ τᾶς εὐφήμου στόμα φροντίδος ἱέντες. This is better than (2) taking ἀνόσιον στόμα separately, as an accusative of limitation. To such a height in thine impious speech.

982. mvp-comment-529-1 ἔτικτε.. οὐκ εἰδυῖα She was, she was my mother, though we knew it not; i. e. ἦν μητὴρ οὐκ εἰδότος οὐκ εἰδυῖα.

986. mvp-comment-530-1 Brunck's διστομεῖν was suggested not by levity, as Elmsley thought, but by the correction of Par. A.

987. mvp-comment-531-1 ἄκων is used in two senses: (1) unwittingly, δι' ἄγνοιαν, (2) against my will, βίᾳ.

988. mvp-comment-532-1 ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γάρ But (your charge is groundless), for, etc. So in Tr. 552, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γάρ, ὥσπερ εἶπον, ὀργαίνειν καλὸν | γυναῖκα νοῦν ἔχουσαν: Εl. 595.

988. mvp-comment-532-2 ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ οὐδὲ νουθετεῖν ἔξεστί σε. Essay on Language § 25. p. 43.

988. mvp-comment-532-3 ἀκούσομαι I shall be reputed.

993. mvp-comment-533-1 κτείνοι Were to attempt to kill.

994. mvp-comment-534-1 ὁ καίνων He who was trying to kill you. Cp. Hdt. 3. 99, οἱ μάλιστά οἱ ὁμιλέοντες κτείνουσι.. ὁ δὲ ἄπαρνός ἐστι, κ.τ.λ. Eur. Phoen. 1600, (ΟΙΔ.) ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἐγενόμην, εὐθὺς ὁ σπείρας πατὴρ | κτείνει με, κ.τ.λ. Essay on Language § 32. p. 55.

995-996. mvp-comment-535-1 Methinks, as you love life, you would punish the aggressor, and not scrutinize too closely the justice of the case.

997. mvp-comment-536-1 εἰσέβην I came into. Cp. Aesch. Suppl. 470, ἄτης δ' ἄβυσσον πέλαγος οὐ μάλ' εὔπορον | τόδ' ἐσβέβηκα.

998. mvp-comment-537-1 And I do not think that my father's spirit, were he alive, would gainsay my words.' The antecedent to ois is the argument from 989-996.

1000. mvp-comment-538-1 εἰ γὰρ οὐ δίκαιος You, however, for you only profess to be just, and think any word decorous, whether fit to be spoken or not, you pour these reproaches upon me in the presence of these men. Cp. supra 992, σὲ τὸν δίκαιον, and Creon's reasons 941-952.

1000. mvp-comment-538-2 τοῦθ' τοῦδ᾽ LBVat.

1003-1004. mvp-comment-539-1 And it suits your purpose well to flatter the name of Theseus, and Athens and her noble institutions. 1003. τὸ Θησέως ὄνομα θωπεῦσαι] Viz. in the courteous address, ὦ τέκνον Αἰγέως, supra 940.

1003-1004. mvp-comment-539-2 καλόν So in Phil. 1155, νῦν καλὸν..

1003-1004. mvp-comment-539-3 κορέσαι στόμα.

1004. mvp-comment-540-1 καὶ τὰς Ἀθήνας, κ.τ.λ. Supra 733-734, 758-759, 943-953. κατώκηνται καλῶς] Cp. Plat. Legg. 683 Α, τὴν εἰς Λακεδαίμονα κατοίκισιν..

1004. mvp-comment-540-2 ἣν ὑμεῖς ὀρθῶς ἔφατε κατοικεῖσθαι καὶ Κρήτην ὡς ἀδελφοῖς νόμοις. 1005. And then amidst all your praises (join ὧδε πολλά), you forget this praise.' 1007. The correction of Par. F (2886), ῶν θεοὺς, suggests *θεῶν.. τιμάς.

1004. mvp-comment-540-3 τοῦθ' This land is foremost in that virtue. For the genitive in the reading of L, cp. El. 1095-1097, ἃ δὲ μέγιστ᾽ ἔβλαστε νόμιμα | τῶνδε φερομέναν ἄριστα. But the reading of A is in this case clearer and more harmonious. Bb2

1008. mvp-comment-541-1 τὸν ἱκέτην γέροντ᾽ ἐμέ Cp. O. T. 1153, Phil. 930.

1009. mvp-comment-542-1 Wert seizing me. and hast carried away my children. For the imperfect, cp. supr. 950. ἐχειροῦ is read in Par. F.

1012. mvp-comment-543-1 θ' is added from a corrector of Par. F.

1014-1015. mvp-comment-544-1 δέ is in each case slightly adversative. The stranger, my lord, is honest: his calamities, indeed, are horrible, but they deserve our help.' The mind of the chorus is divided between horror and pity. Cp. O Τ. 1296, τοιοῦτον οἷον καὶ στυγοῦντ᾽ ἐποικτίσαι. The subdued tone of this speech, compared with 1044-1095, affords a good instance of the different functions of the chorus in the dialogue and in the lyric passages.

1016. mvp-comment-545-1 οἱ ἐξηρπασμένοι Schol. oἱ θεράποντες Κρέοντος. This interpretation, (1) implies that ἐξηρπ. is perfect middle. See Veitch, Irr. Verbs, s. v. ἁρπάζω. The force of the middle voice would be, Having effected their purpose of capture. (2) The captured ones, i. e. they and their attendants, are speeding away. The masculine form is used because the captors are included in the expression. See Essay on Language § 20. p. 30, and cp. supr. 902, ὡς μὴ παρέλθωσ᾽ αἱ κόραι: infr. 1057-1060, and notes. An early corrector of L, without erasing the termination οι, has changed it to ην, making the accusative to be governed by σπεύδουσιν as a causative verb. This is the reading also of Vat. and Par. B.

1018. mvp-comment-546-1 τί δῆτ᾿ ἀμαυρῷ φωτὶ προστάσσεις ποιεῖν;] (1) What then are your commands for one who is powerless to resist them? This meaning of ἀμαυρός is sufficiently supported by Eur. Andr. 204, αὐτή τ᾿ ἀμαυρὰ κοὺ τύραννος ἦν Φρυγῶν. For φώς used by the speaker of himself, cp. infr. 1109, ὦ σκῆπτρα φωτός. Creon continues his pretence of helplessness: supr. 956-958. The excessive meekness of this expression may be thought hardly consistent with ll. 958-959, 1037, and the words may be construed as an expression of contempt for Oedipus, (2) What then is your bidding on behalf of this wretched nobody?' But the first interpretation (1) is probably right.

1019. mvp-comment-547-1 τῆς ἐκεῖ i. e. ἐκεῖσε. “To lead the way yonder.' Hdt. 7. 147, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκεῖ πλέομεν ἔνθαπερ καὶ οὗτοι.

1019. mvp-comment-547-2 πομπὸν δ᾽ * ἐμὲ | χωρεῖν That I, however, accompany you. The infinitive depends on the notion My will is, implied in the preceding words. ἐμέ in this connection is more expressive than με, and the authority of the MSS. respecting such a difference is slight.

1021. mvp-comment-548-1 τὰς παῖδας ἡμῶν The genitive ἡμῶν has something of a privative force. You have the maidens whom you have taken from us. Cp. supr. 821, τὴν παῖδ᾽ ἔχεις μου; Ο. Τ. 1522, μηδαμῶς ταύτας γ᾽ ἕλῃ μου. Theseus throughout represents himself as aggrieved by Creon's act. οἶμον is an ingenious but unnecessary conjecture. The word would be superfluous after ὁδοῦ, supr. 1019. 1022-1024. (1) But if men are fleeing with them in their power, we may spare our pains, for there are others urging that pursuit (supr. 897 ff.), whom to have escaped out of this land they shall never glory before the gods.' The reading of most MSS, ἐπεύχονται or ἐπεύχωνται, is not defensible. For the variation of x and §, cp. Ο. Τ. ξ έ 297, οὐξελέγχων. Par. B. has ἐπεύχωνται. For the mode of expression, cp. Plat. Soph. 235 C, οὔτε οὗτος οὔτε ἄλλο γένος οὐδὲν μή ποτε ἐκφυγὸν ἐπεύξηται τὴν μέθοδον : Legg. 10. 905 Α, οὔτε σὺ μήποτε οὔτε ἄλλος ἀτυχὴς γενόμενος ἐπεύξηται περιγενέσθαι θεῶν. Otherwise, (2) As having escaped from whom they shall never glory over the gods of this land. But although Theseus speaks hyperbolically of the success of Creon in capturing the maidens as a conquest over himself, he cannot speak of the Thebans as glorying over the defeat of Poseidon, Athena, the Eumenides, Dionysus (!), etc. who are not gods of Colonus and Athens only, but universally reverenced ἐπεύξωνται Βο. 1028, τόδ' in Hellas. And the order of the words, especially the position of φυγόντες, is adverse to this interpretation.

1024. mvp-comment-549-1 χώρας.. τήσδε (gen of motion) is added, because when they entered Boeotia they would be safe.

1024. mvp-comment-549-2 ἐπεύξωνται contains at once the notion of glorying and of thanksgiving. Cp. the exulting language of Ajax in his imagined victory to Athene, Aj. 92-96, ὡς εὐ παρέστης· καί σε παγχρύσοις ἐγὼ στέψω λαφύροις τῆσδε τῆς ἄγρας χάριν.. κόμπος πάρεστι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή. 6

1025. mvp-comment-550-1 ἀλλά In repeating a command or request, as often in Plato. Come, lead the way.'

1026-1077. mvp-comment-551-1 In catching, you are caught; and fortune has taken you as you were pursuing after your prey.' The substitution of δίκη for τύχη is unnecessary and wrong. Fortune is continually regarded as the instrument of the Divine will. Cp. Phil. 1317, τὰς μὲν ἐκ θεῶν | τύχας δοθείσας: Shak. Hamlet, Act 3, Sc. 4. 'Take thy fortune; Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger.'

1026. mvp-comment-552-1 δόλῳ | τῷ μὴ δικαίῳ The dative is governed by the verbal notion'in κτήματα. Essay on Language p. 94.

1028-1031. mvp-comment-553-1 κοὐκ ἄλλον. τάδε And you shall have no one to help you in this; for I well know that you were not unaided or unprepared, when you reached the height of insolence which is implied in this daring deed; but there were others to whom you trusted when you acted thus.

1028-1031. mvp-comment-553-2 εἰς τόδε ‘For this task, viz. that of leading to where the maidens are. Cp. supr. 507, χωροῖμ᾽ ἂν ἐς τόδ᾽;

1029. mvp-comment-554-1 ὕβριν. τόλμης For the gen., see Essay on Language § 10. p. 17. Cp. Creon's assertion, supra 957-958, ἐρημία με κεὶ δίκαι᾿ ὅμως λέγω | σμικρὸν τίθησι. Theseus will not allow Creon to take any one with him, either of his own attendants, who may be lurking near, or of the Athenians, whom he may have corrupted. ψιλόν refers rather to the former suspicion, ἄσκευον (i.e. ἄνευ παρασκευῆς) to the latter. Cp. Thuc. 2. 12, ξυμπέμπουσί τε τῷ Μελησίππῳ ἀγωγοὺς ὅπως μηδενὶ ξυγγένηται.

1031. mvp-comment-555-1 πιστός Relying in confidence on some one. For πιστός active, cp. Aesch. Prom. 917, τοῖς μεταρσίοις κτύποις πιστός: Thuc. 3. 40, ἐλπίδα λόγῳ πιστήν: Plat. Legg. 824, νυκτερεύτην δὲ ἄρκυσι καὶ πλεκταῖς πιστόν.

1032-1033. mvp-comment-556-1 Which things I must look into, and not allow this state to be overpowered by a single man.' Cp. supra 842, 879, 933, and the similar feeling in Ant. 663-664, ὅστις.. τοὐπιτάσσειν τοῖς κρατύνουσιν νοεῖ: 678, κούτοι γυναικὸς οὐδαμῶς ἡσσητέα. These lines may be taken to hint at a suspicion of treachery within the city, to which ἄσκευον may also point. Cр. О. Т. 124-125, πῶς οὖν ὁ ληστής, εἴ τι μὴ ξὺν ἀργύρῳ | ἐπράσσετ᾿ ἐνθένδ᾽, ἐς τόδ' ἂν τόλμης ἔβη; and note; also Ant. 689-694, and esp. Lys. c. Eratosth. p. 128, τοσοῦτον δ᾽ ὑμῶν καταπεπεφρόνηκεν ἢ ἑτέροις πεπίστευκεν, ὧν ἀμφοτέρων ἄξιον ἐπιμεληθῆναι, ἐνθυμουμένοις ὅτι οὔτ᾽ ἂν ἐκεῖνα δύναιντο ποιεῖν μὴ ἑτέρων συμπραττόντων οὔτ᾽ ἂν νῦν ἐπεχείρησαν ἐλθεῖν κ.τ.λ.

1034-1035. mvp-comment-557-1 ἢ μάτην.. χώτε ταῦτ᾽ ἐμηχανῶ] Or are the considerations that I am urging as unmeaning to you now as they were when you devised this plot? The sentence is concluded as if the preceding words had been ἢ τὰ ἐμοὶ λελεγμένα δοκεῖ μάτην λελέχθαι ὁμοίως νῦν.

1036. mvp-comment-558-1 Join μεμπτόν. ἐμοί, Essay on Language § 41. p. 77.

1036. mvp-comment-558-2 νυν

1037. mvp-comment-559-1 χἡμεῖς I, in my turn.

1038. mvp-comment-560-1 χωρῶν ἀπείλει νυν Well, threaten as you please, but go on. qualifies the whole sentence, of which the participle is the emphatic word, and is used, as often elsewhere, with the imperative, e.g. supra 21, κάθιζε νύν με. For the emphatic participle, cp. Phil. 590, Ε. σὲ θήσομαι τῶνδ᾽ αἴτιον. Ν. ποιοῦ λέγων, I will make you responsible for this. Do as you please in making me responsible, if you will only speak.

1039. mvp-comment-561-1 πιστωθείς Under my assurance. As the middle πιστοῦμαι means to give mutual pledges, πιστωθείς is here used passively = having received pledge, i. e. being assured. a