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Responsive to my prayer, through saving-arts divine!
[Exeunt in procession.]
NOTES.
THE SUPPLIANTS.
7. For
γνωσθεῖσαι
I think should be read
ἐξωσθεῖσαι
, extruded.8.
αὐτογένητον φυξάνορα
is the old text. The sense seems to require an epithet meaning voluntary, in contrast to legal expulsion. Perhaps the word
αὐτάγρετος
(Ionic for
αὐθαίρετος
) has been dropped out, from its similarity to
αὐτογένητον
. Then we obtain, with perfect sense and emphasis—
ἀλλ' [αὐταγρέταις] αὐτογένητον φυξανορ[ίαις] γάμον Αἰγύπτου παίδων ἀσεβῆ τ᾽ ὀνοταζόμεναι.
In 27, 38, 40, it is difficult for me to believe that so careful a poet as Æschylus would write
δέξαιθ', σφετεριξάμενον, ἐπικεκλόμεναι
; which make the syntax as loose as that of Thucydides. I believe in
δέξαισθε
(in apposition to
πέμψατε
),
σφετεριξαμένους
(plural, as
ὄλοιντο
)
ἐπικεκλομένα
(in apposition to
ἐπιλεξαμένα
).45.
ἔφαψιν
has no satisfactory syntax; in 43 the old text was
ἀνθονόμου τᾶς
. Porson changed it to
ἀνθονομούσας
, which is not plausible to me.52. The old text,
τά τε νῦν
, should, I think, be
γενετᾶν
, which completes the splendid conjectural corrections of Hermann and others, who change
τεκμήρια τά τ' ἀνόμοι᾽ οἶδ'
to
τεκμήρι', ἃ γυιονόμοισιν
. This one example may justly incite us in nonsensical passages to conjecture boldly.62.
ἀπὸ χώρων ποταμῶν τ'
is certainly wrong. A very simple correction will be
ἀπὸ χόρτων ποταμῶν τ'
, from her feeding-places and streams, or even from her crofts and streams. In Pindar we find
χόρτος λέοντος
: in Eur. Iph. T. 134,
χόρτων εὐδένδρων
. (Hermann's
ἀπὸ χλωρῶν πετάλων ἐγρομένα
is audacity out of place.)70. If
δειμαίνουσα
be right, we have to join
εἴτις
with
γόεδνα
... in the sense of “I lament whether," which is certainly unnatural. Dindorf prints
δεῖμα μένουσα
, I suppose merely to show what the metre requires.78. For the old reading
βωμὸς Ἄρης φύγασιν
, which is certainly wrong, an obvious correction is
βωμὸς ἀρειφύγασιν
, which would be unexceptionable if we found it in the text. But other possibilities occur: thus the poet may have written
Ἀρησφύγετον
in imitation of the word
Κρησφύγετον
.80.
Εἰ θείη Διὸς εὖ παναληθῶς!
This is nonsense. To change
Διὸς
to
θεὸς
has no plausibility; all remains abrupt;
θεὸς
followed by
Διὸς
is scarcely possible. My present belief is that we get the poet's sense by
Ἰθείᾳ Διὸς ἐν παναληθεῖ
.... which means, “In the straight line of Jove, though drawn with perfect accuracy, the heart's desire of Jove is not easy to trace." Then the abruptness vanishes and the argument is solid. Moreover, in the next line
τοι
seems to introduce a general maxim. This suggests to me that
πάντα
, which is weak, ought to be
βροντά
.93.
τὰν ἄποινον
(the old text) is manifestly indefensible. Critics do not seem to have observed that in place of it we need the accusative after
ἐξέπραξεν
. Then we must put a full-stop after
ἐξοπλίζει
, and the sense needed will be given by
Πάντα νόον δαιμονίων | μνῆμον ἄνω φρόνημά πως | αὐτόθεν ἐξέπραξεν
...104. The little word
καὶ
offends me, and suggests that
καὶ διάνοιαν
should possibly be
παιδὸς ἄνοιαν
. Is the spondee in the third foot satisfactory?107. Remove the stop and join
ἐμπρεπῆ
with
με
.115, 116.
πελομένων καλῶς | ἐπιδρομῶς ὅθι θάνατος ἀπῇ
. This is mere chaos. The general sense needed is, that “incestuous marriages involve the gods in guilt:"
ἐναγέα
must be the predicate. I propose to change
πελομένων
to
πέλοι ἂν οὐ
, which gives the sense excellently. On comparing the strophe, it seems likely that v. 116 contains epithets of
τέλεα
, as v. 105 of
μέλεα
. To read for v. 116
ἐπίδρομα, νόθα, θανατοσαπῆ
, would be very close to the letters; but I think
θανατοσαγῆ
, “laden with death,” more likely, and it is but
Γ
for
Π
.
Ἐπίδρομα
I render invasive.118, 119. Punctuate with comma after
πόνοι
, and with full-stop after
ἀπάξει
, and interpret, “The distresses are indefinable, into what the wave is to carry us;" that is, "It is doubtful, into what—"127. Join
δορὸς ἀχείματον
, escaping the storm of the spear. I do not think that
δόμος δορὸς
can mean a house of timber, as Scholefield seems to join it.203-206, of Scholefield, but 207-10 of the Oxford pocket edition, seem to be out of order. The two first lines should change places, and the fourth should be first.
244.
τηρὸν
is difficult to justify and difficult to condemn; but I think
ἱερόραβδον
to be a fair and satisfactory correction of
ἱεροῦ ῥάβδον
.309. It seems impossible that
ῥυσίων
can be correct. I suggest
ψαυσέων
, strokings, caresses, equivalent to
ἐπαφησέων
. The next line, which is lost, may have been
τίς οὖν ἐς Ἔπαφον
(or
τίς δῆτα κείνῳ
)
κλεινὸν ἀναφέρει γένος
.394.
μὴ τοῖον
, for unlucky, evil, is not plausible.
μὴ τερπνὸν
may suggest itself; but there are too many other possibilities.485. For the unmeaning
εὖ ῥέοντα
I suggest
ἐγκρέοντα
, equivalent to
ἐμβασιλεύοντα
.488.
πολισσούχων
all regard as wrongly repeated from the preceding line. One may suggest
πολυλλίστους
, or else
πολυξείνους ἕδρας
.492. The old
φόβον
seems to me quite right, and the change to
φόνον
quite wrong. "Beware, lest too much confidence produce alarm."510. Perhaps
οὔτι
should be
οὔ σε
, as the sense seems to require.521.
πιθοῦ τε καὶ γενέσθω
. Obviously to me
γενέσθω
has supplanted some epithet of
ἀνδρῶν
. The nearest word that I think of is
πανεχθῶν
. This is in itself irreprovable:
πιθοῦ τε, καὶ πανεχθῶν | ἄλευσον ἀνδρῶν ὕβριν
.528.
γενοῦ πολυμνήστωρ
cannot be right. Dindorf prints
πολυμνῆστορ
metri causâ, I suppose, rightly regarding
ὕβριν
as a pyrrhic in the strophe. Apparently for
πολυμνήστωρ
we need an accusative epithet of
αἶνον
, and for
γενοῦ
a genitive or dative, such as
γόνου
or
γονῇ
(not
γένους
, for that occurs twice besides in the sentence). I doubtfully propose
νέωσον εὔφρον' αἶνον | γόνου πολύμνηστον
. In the next line,
τοι
must be either interpreted
σοὶ
, I suppose, or changed into
σοί
.
ἔνοικοι
seems to be for the prosaic
ἔποικοι
, settlers.550.
εἰσικνουμένου
, after
ἰκνεῖται
, is hardly credible. Dindorf's
εἰσικνουμένη
does not remove this objection. Hermann's conjecture
ἐγκεχριμένη
seems to me quite justified.555. Surely
ὕδωρ τὸ Νείλου
ought to be
ὕδωρ τε Νείλου
. The poet says that the wind of the desert (
τυφῶ μένος
) and the water of Nile come upon the snow-fed fields of Egypt. Like Herodotus, he supposed that snow, melting in the highlands of Abyssinia, kept the Nile full through the summer.558.
θείας
is clearly wrong, yet it is hard to believe
θυιὰς
right. Some deeper change may lie hid something like -λητος ὁδοῦ πονήρας, I mean.572. I do not see how
βία
can be nominative to
ἀποστάζει
. Until the lost line is supplied, all conjecture is infirm.574. I protest against rendering
ἕρμα
, ballast, as an utter monstrosity, and suggest that it means gem, germ. Compare Iliad, iv. 117, and
ἕρματα
for gems,
ὅρμος
, a necklace.580. The logic of
τίς γὰρ
proves that the previous lines assert the progeny to have been Jupiter's; hence
Ζηνὸς
must be predicate, and
τὸ δὴ
cannot possibly be right. I propose to change it to
τόδε
.628.
ἀρότοις ἐν ἄλλοις
implies that ἄροτος in a literal sense has been named in the previous lines: I think, therefore, that
ἄχορον
has somehow come in place of the word
ἄροτος
. In the antistrophe, for
πράκτορά τε σκόπον
, which is certainly wrong, I would suggest
πράκτορ' αὐτόσκοπον
.672. Paley well changes
τὼς
to
γᾶς
.674. I like the Aldine reading
ἐπιβωμὰν
better than
ἐπὶ βωμῶν
or
βωμοῖς
. We probably all adopt
μοῦσαν θείατ'
, with Ahrens and Hermann, for
μοῦσαι θεαί τε
.678-680. The common text is certainly wrong; yet it may be corrected in more ways than one. For
τὸ πτόλιν κρατύναι
I wish
καὶ πόλιν κρατύνοι
, which explains syntax and sentiment, so as to open the poet's meaning, probably, thus:
φυλάσσοι τ' αἰσίμοισι τιμὰς | τὸ δήμιον, καὶ πόλιν κρατύνοι | προμαθίαις ξυνόμητις ἀρχά
. This is the poet's ideal of a well-tempered free state. "Let the folk reserve honours (public offices) for the virtuous, and let a magistracy of common counsel stablish the city by previous deliberations."
Προμάθιαι
is poetical for
προβουλεύματα
. For
αἰσίμοισι
the old text has
ἀτιμίας
, which is manifestly wrong.775.
ἀπρόσδεικτος
, a rock that "cannot be pointed at”! Rather, I think,
ἀπρόσμικτος
, inaccessible.786.
τίν' ἀμφ' αὐτᾶς ἔτι πόρον | τέμνω γάμου καὶ λυτήρια
. This chaos would be desperate, only that the metre of the strophe guides us. (Dindorf there changes
καρδίας
to
κάρτας
, quite causelessly.) I see nothing for it but audacious conjecture, thus:
ἐλθέτω μόρος πρὸ κοί | τας γαμηλίου, τυχὼν | τᾶνδ' ὑφᾶν, τελεσφόρον | δεμνίων γάμου καλύπτραν.
| Here
τᾶνδ' ὑφᾶν
is the
σάργαναι
of v. 768, and
καλύπτραν
is accusative in apposition to the sentence, as in Ag. 218, where we supply
λέγω
with
ἀρωγάν
.979.
κἄλωρα κωλύουσαν ὡς μένειν ἐρᾷ
, is confessedly nonsense. The first word is corrected to
κἄωρα
, rather (I think)
κἄνωρα
, since Herodotus has
ἄνωρος
and
ἀνωρία
.
῎Ανωρα
, as less usual than
ἄωρα
, might get corrupted. Further, I suggest,
κἄνωρα
[or
καὶ χλωρὰ
]
κωλύουσ' ἄνθος μένειν ἐρᾷ
: that is,
ἐρᾷ
(
φιλεῖ
)
κωλύουσα
, “she loves to hinder the unripe from awaiting their bloom (their prime).”983. For
μὴ πάθωμεν
I think we need
μὴ λαθώμεθ'
(“let us not forget”), unless a whole line is lost after
δορί
.F. W. N.
Supplices. Aeschylus. Anna Swanwick (Translator). London. 1886.
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