Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 202

Robert Potter (Translator)

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Theseus
THESEUS, CEDIPUS, ANTIGONE, CHORUS.
Hearing reported oft in days long past
The bloody deed that quench'd thy orbs of sight,
I know thee, son of Laius: much more now,
By information on the way received,
I know thee well; those squalid weeds, that head...
So mark'd with misery show me who thou art.
555
Unhappy Œdipus, I pity thee,
And wish to ask with what request to me
And to my people hither thou art come,
Thou, and that hapless virgin on thy steps
Attending: make it known: be it a task
560
Of toil or danger, fear not a repulse;
For I have learn'd, I have been train'd to feel,
Like thee, a stranger's woes; with many toils
And many dangers in a foreign land
Have I conflicted; from no stranger then,
565
As thou art now disdainful will I turn,
Not yielding thee protection; for I know,
Being a man, not more than thine my pow'r
To rule th' events to-morrow may bring forth.
575

Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles. Robert Potter (Translator). London. 1820.

Current edition Experimental

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Robert Potter, 1788))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 202 focus
ὤμοι δύσφρονος ἄτας.
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 254-509 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 202 focus
OED
’Tis death to me to hear, but, these, mine only joys,
Friends, are my curse.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 207 focus
Heimatlos,
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 202 focus
Creon
Scene II. 720cont3
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.
761
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 !
800cont2
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.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 254-507 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-415-1 The

σκοπός
, who did not know the name of Oed., could describe the traces of wounds about the sightless eyes, and brought the mysterious message (72). Theseus then set out, surmising who it was. Meanwhile the name of Oed. had become known at Colonus (222), and wayfarers who met Theseus raised his surmise into certain knowledge. Cp. on 299
ff.

mvp-comment-415-2 ἔν τε 1

mvp-comment-416-1 ἔγνωκά ς’ 2

mvp-comment-416-2 ἔγνωκα 3

mvp-comment-417-1 ἀκούων 4

mvp-comment-417-2 For

ἀκούων
it may be pleaded that the sense is at least quite intelligible, and that ancient writers, even the most artistic, were less careful than moderns in avoiding such repetitions of single words. Cp. 631
ἐκβάλοι
, 636
ἐκβαλῶ
: 638, 640
ἡδύ
: 966, 969
ἐπεί
: 1000, 1003
καλόν
, 1004
καλῶς
: 1123, 1129: 1451, 1459: 1487 f.: O. T. 517
φέρον
, 519
φέροντι
, 520
φέρει
: ib. 1276, 1278
ὁμοῦ
: Ant. 73 , 76
κείσομαι
: Ai. 1201 , 1204 (
τέρψιν
).

mvp-comment-418-1 σκευή 5

mvp-comment-418-2 δύστηνον 6

mvp-comment-419-1 ὄνθ’ ὃς εἶ 7

mvp-comment-420-1 )περέσθαι 8

mvp-comment-421-1 ἐπέστης 9

mvp-comment-421-2 πόλεως … ἐμοῦ τ; 10

mvp-comment-422-1 ἂν … τύχοις … ἐξαφισταίμην 11

mvp-comment-422-2 πρᾶξιν 12

mvp-comment-423-1 ξένος 13

mvp-comment-424-1 καὶ ὡς ἤθλησα πλεῖστα εἷς ἀνήρ 14

mvp-comment-424-2 ἐπὶ ξένης 15

mvp-comment-425-1 κινδυνεύματ’ 16

mvp-comment-425-2 ἐν τὠμῷ κάρᾳ 17 κάρᾳ 18

mvp-comment-426-1 ξένον 19

mvp-comment-426-2 συνεκσῴζειν 20

mvp-comment-427-1 ἀνὴρ 21

mvp-comment-428-1 δοῦ 22

mvp-comment-429-1 τὸ σὸν γενναῖον 23

mvp-comment-430-1 παρῆκεν 24

mvp-comment-430-2 ὥστε ἐμοὶ δεῖσθαι 25

mvp-comment-430-3 δεῖσθαι 26

mvp-comment-430-4 For the dat. ἐμοί with

δεῖσθαι
(instead of
ἐμέ
as subj. to
φράσαι
) cp. Eur. Hipp. 940
θεοῖσι προσβαλεῖν χθονὶ | ἄλλην δεήσει γαῖαν
: and see on 721
. Wecklein takes
ἐμοί
with
παρῆκεν
, permisit mihi , but the interposed ὥστε forbids this. The conject. σοι (for
ἐμοί
),
"to say little to thee ,"
would be very weak.

mvp-comment-431-1 Theseus has named Oed. (557) and Laïus (553), but not Thebes. A knowledge of the stranger's country was implied by the rest. Cp. on 205

. γῆς could stand with
ἦλθον
(cp. O. T. 152
Πυθῶνος ἔβας
 , Ph. 630
νεὼς ἄγοντα
), but is more simply governed by
ἀπὸ
.

mvp-comment-432-1 χὡ λόγος διοίχεται 27

mvp-comment-432-2 διέρχεται 29

mvp-comment-433-1 τοῦτ’ αὐτὸ 30

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

553. mvp-comment-306-1 ὁδοῖς ἐν ταῖσδε In thy present coming. Cp. Εl. 68, δέξασθέ μ᾽ εὐτυχοῦντα ταῖσδε ταῖς ὁδοῖς.

555. mvp-comment-307-1 σκευή Thine apparel: which, though travel-stained, is that of a noble Theban.

556. mvp-comment-308-1 ὃς εἰ A pronominal expression to avoid the repetition of the name. Ср. О. Т. 1036, ὥστ᾽ ὠνομάσθης ἐκ τύχης ταύτης ὃς εἶ.

556. mvp-comment-308-2 καί σ᾽ οἰκτίσας, κ.τ.λ. With a native generosity which Oedipus fully acknowledges (infr. 570), Theseus is ready to protect Oedipus, although not ignorant of the nature of his misfortunes (supr. 305 ff., 551 ff.). But he imagines himself to be conferring a favour, and knows not that the blind wayfarer has more to give than to receive. Once more, therefore, we have a fine contrast between the real and the apparent situation.

557. mvp-comment-309-1 θέλω *' περέσθαι This correction of the Laurentian reading (=τὶ) is more probable than the reading of B, in which o' is awkwardly repeated. For the aphaeresis, cp. Phil. 592, λέγω. 'πὶ τοῦτον, κ.τ.λ.

560. mvp-comment-310-1 δεινήν, κ.τ.λ. Either (r1) 'For that were a hard task indeed from which, on your mentioning it, I should recoil.' Or (2) For that would be a terrible fortune, of which the mention would make me shrink from giving relief. The latter rendering gives a more natural meaning to πρᾶξις (cp. Hdt. 3. 65, ἀπέκλαιε πᾶσαν τὴν ἑωυτοῦ πρήξιν), and is more in accordance with what follows (ὑπεκτραποίμην, κ.τ.λ.). And the usual question addressed to suppliants is, What is your misfortune? rather than, What would you have us do?' For the sentiment, cp. Eur. Suppl. 339. 40, (Θησ.) ὡς τοῖς ἐμοῖσιν οὐχὶ πρόσφορον τρόποις | φεύγειν τὰ δεινά. For the emphatic use of the adj., see Essay on Language p. 80.

562. mvp-comment-311-1 ὡς οἶδά γ᾽ αὐτός Yes, for I know, that I myself was brought up a stranger, as thou art now. Theseus was reared by his grandfather Pittheus at Troezen.

563. mvp-comment-312-1 χώς τις πλεῖστ᾽ ἀνήρ i. e. καὶ ὥς τις ἀνὴρ πλεῖστα (sc. ἤθλησεν). Ι have laboured, as any one hath laboured most:' i. e. as much as any one (ut qui plurima). The more usual expression would be ὅσα τις πλεῖστα.

564. mvp-comment-313-1 ἤθλησα κινδυνεύματα Cognate accusative.

564. mvp-comment-313-2 ἐν τὠμῷ κάρᾳ In my own person : i. e. they were dangers to my own life which I met by my own exertions, referring to the adventure with Sciron, etc. For ev, cp. the expression, ἐν τῷ Καρὶ ὑμῖν ὁ κίνδυνοos, Plat. Lach. 187 B.

565. mvp-comment-314-1 ὥσπερ σὺ νῦν For the nominative, cp. Aj. 525, ἔχειν σ᾽ ἂν οἶκτον ὡς κἀγώ: Il. 6.477, γενέσθαι | παῖδ᾽ ἐμόν, ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ.

568. mvp-comment-315-1 σοῦ Essay on Language p. 13, 4 a.

569-570. mvp-comment-316-1 Theseus, your nobleness in brief speech hath spared me the necessity of saying much.' Either (1) βραχέα is the subject of δεῖσθαι, or (2) the object of φράσαι, the subject of δεῖσθαι being τὸ πρᾶγμα. The object of παρῆκεν is absorbed in the following clause. Cp. Eur. Fr. 310, πάρες .. ὑπερβῶαι . . νάπη. For δέομαι passive, cp. Hdt. 4. 11, ὡς ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι πρήγμα εἴη, μηδὲ πρὸς πολλοὺς δεόμενον κινδυνεύειν. Essay on Language § 31. p. 54. δεῖται in Plat. Meno, 79 C, although impersonal (sc. τὸ πρᾶγμα ἢ ὁ λόγος), is middle voice and not passive as here.

572. mvp-comment-317-1 καὶ γῆς ὁποίας ἦλθον This was implied in σκευή, l. 555 .

574. mvp-comment-318-1 χώ λόγος διέρχεται ‘And our conference draws to an end." This is the reading of the best MSS. διοίχεται, which is much commoner in this sense (cp. e. g. Eur. Suppl. 530), is given as a various reading in Par. A, and appears in the text of two other MSS. διέρχε ται is best supported by comparing Dem. 541. 22, πάντα δ᾽ ἤδη διεξεληλύθει, and Plat. Rep. 6. 484 Α, διὰ μακροῦ τινος διεξελθόντος λόγου.