Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 369

Robert Potter (Translator)

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Polynices
POLYNICES, CŒDIPUS, ANTIGONE, ISMENE,
Alas, my sisters, 'midst these various ills
My own misfortunes shall I first bewail,
Or those which on my father's hoary head

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)) — 369 focus
λόγῳ σκοποῦσι τὴν πάλαι γένους φθοράν,
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)) — 369 focus
THE
Lead us the way they are gone. I too must be
Thine escort, that if hereabout thou hast
Our maidens, thou mayest show them to my sight.
1020
But if men flee and bear them, we may spare
Superfluous labour. Others hotly urge
That business, whom those robbers shall not boast
Before their Gods to have ’scaped out of this land.
Come, be our guide! Thou hast and hast not. Fortune
1025
Hath seized thee seizing on thy prey. So quickly
Passes the gain that’s got by wrongful guile.
Nay, thou shalt have no helper. Well I wot
Thou flew’st not to this pitch of truculent pride
Alone, or unsupported by intrigue;
1030
But thy bold act hath some confederate here.
This I must look into, nor let great Athens
Prove herself weaker than one single man.
Hast caught my drift? Or is my voice as vain
Now, as you thought it when you planned this thing?
1035
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 385 focus
Du hattest Hoffnung also, daß die Götter mein
380
Gedenken werden, daß mir Rettung einst erscheint?
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 369 focus
Chorus
Is he then dead ?
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-889-1 δράσω 1

mvp-comment-890-1 ἐνθάδ’ ἐκβεβλημένον 2

mvp-comment-891-1 σὺν 3

mvp-comment-891-2 τῆς 4

mvp-comment-891-3 γέρων … πίνος 5

mvp-comment-891-4 συγκατῴκηκεν 6

mvp-comment-892-1 πλευρὰν μαραίνων 7

mvp-comment-892-2 κρατὶ ὀμματοστερεῖ 8

mvp-comment-892-3 ἀκτένιστος 9

mvp-comment-892-4 ᾄσσεται 10

mvp-comment-893-1 ἀδελφὰ … τούτοισιν 11

mvp-comment-893-2 φορεῖ 12

mvp-comment-894-1

"And I testify that I have come to be, have proved myself, most vile in regard to thy maintenance"
:

mvp-comment-894-2 ἥκειν 13

mvp-comment-894-3 τροφ. ταῖς σαῖσιν 14

mvp-comment-894-4 μὴ )ξ ἄλλων 15

mvp-comment-895-1 ἀλλὰ … γὰρ 16

mvp-comment-895-2 Ζηνὶ σύνθακος θρόνων 17

mvp-comment-895-3 Αἰδὼς 18

mvp-comment-895-4 ἐπ’ ἔργοις πᾶσι 19

mvp-comment-895-5 καὶ πρὸς σοί 20

mvp-comment-896-1 τῶν γὰρ ἡμαρτημένων 21

mvp-comment-896-2 προσφορὰ 22

mvp-comment-897-1 τί σιγᾷς 23

mvp-comment-898-1 μή μ’ ἀποστραφῇς 24

mvp-comment-898-2 ἀτιμάσας 25

mvp-comment-899-1 ὦ σπέρματ’ 26

mvp-comment-899-2 ἐμαὶ δ’ 27

mvp-comment-900-1 ἀλλ’ ὑμεῖς γε 28

mvp-comment-901-1 δυσπρόσοιστον 29

mvp-comment-901-2 στόμα 30

mvp-comment-902-1 ὡς μή μ’ ἄτιμον … οὕτως ἀφῇ με 31

mvp-comment-902-2 Elmsley's conjecture

οὕτως ἀφιῇ
, which Hartung adopts, is unmetrical.
ἵημι
has ι^ always in pres. subj. and opt.: Il. 13.234
μεθίῃσι μάχεσθαι
 : Hom. Hymn. 4.152
προίῃ βέλεα στονόεντα
: Theogn. 94
γλῶσσαν ἱῇσι κακήν
: Od. 2.185
ὧδ’ ἀνιείης
. In Aristoph. Lys. 157
τί δ); ἢν ἀφίωσιν ἄνδρες ἡμᾶς, ὦ μέλε
(so the MSS.), Kuster brought in a gratuitous error by writing
ἀφίωσ’
, which Dindorf has adopted. (As Chandler says,
ἀφίωσι
is a false accent for
ἀφιῶσι
. Accent. , 2nd ed. § 794, cp. § 820.) In the pres. indic., imper., inf., and part., ι— is normal, but Homeric verse usually has ι^ in thesis (as when
ἵενται
ends a line); and the part.
ἱείς
(
ι—
in Aristoph. Eq. 522 ) occurs with
ι^
in Trag. ( Aesch. Th. 493 , etc.). Cp. El. 131 n.

mvp-comment-902-3 ἀφῆται 32

mvp-comment-902-4 τοῦ θεοῦ γε 33

mvp-comment-902-5 προστάτην 34

mvp-comment-902-6 οὕτως 35

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

1254. mvp-comment-667-1 Cp. the first words of Ismene, 11. 324-326.

1255. mvp-comment-668-1 τὰ τοῦδ᾽ ὁρῶν τά is in the same construction with κακά, governed by δακρύσω: but is also governed by ὁρῶν, which is added epexegetically. 1258, foll. In such raiment, whose hateful soilure hath grown old and settled on his aged frame, withering his side.' The conjectural emendation πίνος, which is due to Scaliger, agrees admirably with the context as well as with l. 1597, and the MS. reading is here indefensible.

1260. mvp-comment-669-1 The rhythm here curiously resembles that of supr. 314. 5.

1260. mvp-comment-669-2 κρατί is a locative dative, and ὀμματοστερής has a passive meaning.

1261. mvp-comment-670-1 ᾄσσεται The middle or passive form is used as in the Homeric expression ἀμφὶ δὲ χαῖται | ὤμοις ἀΐσσονται, ΙΙ. 6.510. 1263-1264. 'And of a piece with these miseries, as it would seem. is the provision for the poor belly's nourishment which he carries with him.' The word φορεῖ, taken in connection with the preceding context, shows that the remark of Polynices refers to the appearance of the scrip or wallet in which Oedipus, like the Telephus of Euripides, carried the scanted gifts which he received. (1. 3.)

1265-1266. mvp-comment-671-1 And I declare that thy neglected condition proves me basest of Ask not others about me. For the correction, cp. El. 1225, μηκέτ᾽ ἄλλοθεν πύθῃ. The confusion of µ and λλ would easily occur with μὴ ἐξ ἄλλων following. For the meaning of ἥκειν, see Essay on Language § 52. p. 97; and for the dative τροφαῖς, ib. § 14. p. 21 (2).

1267. mvp-comment-672-1 But seeing that even Zeus has Mercy at his side in all his counsels, let her have place also by thee, O my father.'

1269-1270. mvp-comment-673-1 For while it is possible to remedy the errors that have been committed, to add to them is now impossible; i.e. We can restore you to some comforts, but you cannot be made more miserable. For the expression, cp. Aesch. Eum. 645, πέδας μὲν ἂν λύσειεν, ἔστι τοῦδ᾽ ἄκος.

1269-1270. mvp-comment-673-2 μέν ἐστι .. οὐκ ἔστ' This accentuation was retained by Elmsley from previous editions. The stress in the first clause is on ἄκη, in the second on οὐκ ἔστι.

1271. mvp-comment-674-1 The interrupted verse marks the solemn pause in which Polynices waits for his father to break silence.

1274. mvp-comment-675-1 ἃ μηνίεις Ε. on L. § 17. p. 25.

1277. mvp-comment-676-1 To unlock our father's lips, that will not speak nor be spoken to.' δυσπρόσοιστον = χαλεπὸν προσφέρεσθαι.

1277. mvp-comment-676-2 ἀπροσήγορον has rather a reciprocal than either an active or a passive meaning. Cp. Phil. 1353, τῷ προσήγορος; Eur. Alc. 195, ὃν οὐ προσείπε καὶ προσερρήθη πάλιν. Cp. supr. 1141 and note. For κινεῖν = ‘Τo excite to speech,' cp. Plat. Rep. 329 D, βουλόμενος ἔτι λέγειν αὐτὸν ἐκίνουν.

1279. mvp-comment-677-1 οὕτως *ἀφῇ γε The second με was rightly rejected by Turnebus. The second γε, on the other hand, gives an intelligible emphasis to οὕτως, which is further explained by μηδέν.. ἔπος. 1280 ff. The wisdom of this counsel is in keeping with the tact, beyond her years, which Antigone herself elsewhere displays.