N. Wecklein Prometheus Bound 857.comm-857

F. D. Allen (Translator)

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Prometheus Bound. N. Wecklein. F. D. Allen (Translator). . .

Current edition Experimental

English commentary on Prometheus Bound (OCR draft) (English) (N. Wecklein, translated by F. D. Allen. Ginn & Company, 1893; compared with the 1891 printing. Printed commentary pages 31–144. Provisional alignment and unresolved OCR are visibly flagged.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (7)
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης First1KGreek (Aeschyli Tragoediae. Sidgwick, Arthur, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.) — 887-906 focus
Προμηθεὺς δεσμώτης Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 1. Smyth, Herbert Weir, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922.) — 887-906b focus
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης (OCR draft) Experimental (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης. Guilielmus Dindorfius, 1882.) — 846 focus
ἔστιν πόλις Κάνωβος ἐσχάτη χθονὸς,
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης (OCR draft) Experimental (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης. Gottfried Hermann, 1852.) — 846 focus
ἔστιν πόλις Κάνωβος ἐσχάτη χθονός,
Νείλου πρὸς αὐτῷ στόματι καὶ προςχώματι·
ἐνταῦθα δή σε Ζεὺς τίθησιν ἔμφρονα,
850
ἐπαφῶν ἀταρβεῖ χειρὶ καὶ θιγὼν μόνον.
ἐπώνυμον δὲ τῶν Διὸς γεννημάτων
τέξεις κελαινὸν Ἔπαφον, ὃς καρπώσεται
ὅσην πλατύρρους Νεῖλος ἀρδεύει χθόνα·
πέμπτη δ᾽ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ γέννα πεντηκοντάπαις
855
πάλιν πρὸς Ἄργος οὐχ ἑκοῦσ᾽ ἐλεύσεται
θηλύσπορος, φεύγουσα συγγενῆ γάμον
ἀνεψιῶν· οἱ δ᾽ ἐπτοημένοι φρένας,
κίρκοι πελειῶν οὐ μακρὰν λελειμμένοι,
ἥξουσι θηρεύσοντες οὐ θηρασίμους
860
γάμους, φθόνον δὲ σωμάτων ἕξει θεός·
Πελασγία δὲ δέξεται
θηλυκτόνῳ
Ἄρει δαμέντων νυκτιφρουρήτῳ θράσει·
γυνὴ γὰρ ἄνδρ᾽ ἕκαστον αἰῶνος στερεῖ,
865
δίθηκτον ἐν σφαγαῖσι βάψασα ξίφος·
τοιάδ᾽ ἐπ' ἐχθροὺς τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἔλθοι Κύπρις·
μίαν δὲ παίδων ἵμερος θέλξει τὸ μὴ
κτεῖναι σύνευνον, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπαμβλυνθήσεται
γνώμην· δυοῖν δὲ θάτερον βουλήσεται,
870
κλύειν ἄναλκις μᾶλλον ἢ μιαιφόνος.
αὕτη κατ' Ἄργος βασιλικὸν τέξει γένος.
μακροῦ λόγου δὲ ταῦτ᾽ ἐπεξελθεῖν τορῶς.
σπορᾶς γε μὴν ἐκ τῆσδε φύσεται θρασύς,
τόξοισι κλεινός, ὃς πόνων ἐκ τῶνδ᾽ ἐμὲ
875
λύσει. τοιόνδε χρησμὸν ἡ παλαιγενὴς
ΠΡΟΜΗθΕΥΣ ΔΕΣΜΩΤΗΣ (OCR draft) Experimental (ΠΡΟΜΗθΕΥΣ ΔΕΣΜΩΤΗΣ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 846 focus
Ἔστιν πόλις Κάνωβος ἐσχάτη χθονός,
Νείλου πρὸς αὐτῷ στόματι καὶ προσχώματι·
ἐνταῦθα δή σε Ζεὺς τίθησιν ἔμφρονα
ἐπαφῶν ἀταρβεῖ χειρὶ καὶ θιγὼν μόνον·
850
ἐπώνυμον δὲ τῶν Διὸς γεννημάτων
Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης (OCR draft) Experimental (Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης. N. Wecklein, 1885.) — 846 focus
ἔστιν πόλις Κάνωβος ἐσχάτη χθονός,
Νείλου πρὸς αὐτῷ στόματι καὶ προσχώματι·
ἐνταῦθα δή σε Ζεὺς τίθησιν ἔμφρονα
ἐπαφῶν ἀταρβεῖ χειρὶ καὶ θιγὼν μόνον.
875
ἐπώνυμον δὲ τῶν Διὸς γεννημάτων
τέξεις κελαινὸν Ἔπαφον, ὃς καρπώσεται
ὅσην πλατύρρους Νεῖλος ἀρδεύει χθόνα.
πέμπτη δ᾽ ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ γέννα πεντηκοντάπαις
Aeschyli Prometheus Vinctus (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschyli Prometheus Vinctus. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1914.) — 846 focus
ἔστιν πόλις Κάνωβος ἐσχάτη χθονός,
Νείλου πρὸς αὐτῶι στόματι καὶ προσχώματι·
ἐνταῦθα δή σε Ζεὺς τίθησιν ἔμφρονα
ἐπαφῶν ἀταρβεῖ χειρὶ καὶ θιγὼν μόνον.
850
ἐπώνυμον δὲ τῶν Διὸς γεννημάτων
τέξεις κελαινὸν Ἔπαφον, ὃς καρπώσεται
ὅσην πλατύρρους Νεῖλος ἀρδεύει χθόνα·
πέμπτη δ᾽ ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ γέννα πεντηκοντάπαις
πάλιν πρὸς Ἄργος οὐχ ἑκοῦσ᾽ ἐλεύσεται
855
θηλύσπορος, φεύγουσα συγγενῆ γάμον
ἀνεψιῶν· οἳ δ᾽ ἐπτοημένοι φρένας
κίρκοι πελειῶν οὐ μακρὰν λελειμμένοι
ἥξουσι θηρεύοντες οὐ θηρασίμους
γάμους, φθόνον δὲ σωμάτων ἕξει θεός·
860
Πελασγία δὲ δέξεται θηλυκτόνωι
Translations (8)
Prometheus Bound Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 1. Smyth, Herbert Weir, translator. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922. (Modernized by Perseus.)) — 887-905 focus
Prometheus Bound. (OCR draft) Experimental (Prometheus Bound.. Theodore Alois Buckley, 1849.) — 846 focus
There is on the land's utmost verge a city Canopus, hard by the Nile's very mouth and alluvial dyke; on this spot Jupiter at length makes thee sane by merely soothing and touching thee with his unalarming hand. And named after the progeniture of Jupiter
thou shalt give birth to swarthy Epaphus, who shall reap the harvest of all the land which the wide-streaming Nile waters. But fifth in descent from him a generation of fifty virgins shall again come to Argos, not of their own accord, fleeing from incestuous wedlock with their cousins; and these with fluttering hearts, like falcons left not far behind by doves, shall come pursuing marriage such as should not be pursued, but heaven shall be jealous over their persons
; and Pelasgia shall receive them after being crushed by a deed of night-fenced daring, wrought by woman's hand; for each bride shall bereave her respective husband of life, having dyed in their throats
a sword of twin sharp edge. Would that in guise like this Venus might visit my foes! But tenderness shall soften one
of the maidens, so that she shall not slay the partner of her couch. but shall be blunt in her resolve; and of the two alternatives she shall choose the former, to be called a coward rather than a murderess. She in Argos shall give birth to a race of kings. There needs a long discourse to detail these things distinctly ;but from this seed be sure shall spring a dauntless warrior renowned in archery, who shall set me free from these toils. Such predictions did my aged mother the Titaness Themis rehearse to me; but how and when-to tell this requires a long detail, and thou in knowing it all wouldst be in nought a gainer.
PROMÉTHÉE ENCHAINÉ (OCR draft) Experimental (PROMÉTHÉE ENCHAINÉ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 846 focus
Il est une ville, Canope, à l'extrémité du pays, à la bouche même et sur un atterrissement du Nil 1 . C'est là que Zeus te rendra la raison en t'imposant sa main calmante, d'un
simple contact. Et, pour rappeler comment Zeus l'a mis au monde 2 , celui que tu enfanteras sera le noir
Prometheus Chained (OCR draft) Experimental (Prometheus Chained. Robert Potter, 1779.) — 846 focus
On the land's extreme verge a city ſtands,
Canobus, proudly' elevate, nigh where the Nile
Rolls to the ſea his rich ſtream: there ſhall Jove
870
Heal thy diſtraction, and with gentle hand
Sooth thee to peace.
Of his high race a ſon,
The duſky Epaphus, ſhall riſe, and rule
The wide extended land o'er which the Nile
875
Pours his broad waves.
In the fifth line from him
Fifty fair ſiſters ſhall return to Argos
Unwillingly, to fly the kindred beds
Of fifty brothers; these with eager ſpeed,
880
Swift as the faulcon's ſlight when he purſues
The dove at hand, ſhall follow, nor obtain
The nuptials, which th' indignant gods deny.
These ſhall Pelaſgia ſee by female hands
Welt'ring in gore, the night's convenient gloom
885
Fav'ring the daring deed; each female draws
The trenchant ſword, and in her husband's blood
Stains the broad blade. Thus fatal to my foes
Be love!
Yet one ſhall feel its ſofter flame
890
Melting her ſoul, and from the general carnage
Preſerve her husband, chuſing to be deem'd
Of baſe degenerate ſpirit, rather than ſtain
Her gentle hands with blood.
From her ſhall Argos
895
Receive a long imperial line of kings.
The full diſtinct relation wou'd be tedious.
From her ſhall riſe the hero, ſtrong to wing
The dreaded ſhaft; he from these tort'ring pains
Shall ſet me free: this my agehonour'd mother,
900
Titanian Themis, with oracular voice Foretold;
but when, or how, requires a length
Of narrative, which known wou'd nought avail thee.
Eschilo, Prometeo legato: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli (OCR draft) Experimental (Eschilo, Prometeo legato: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli. Ettore Romagnoli, 1922.) — 846 focus
Di quella terra all'ultimo confine,
alla foce del Nilo, ov'esso addensa
le sabbie, sorge la città di Cànobo.
Quivi col tocco e la carezza sola
della sua man, Giove ti rende il senno.
980
Ed a luce il negro Èpafo darai,
che nome avrà dal giovïale tocco.
E signore sarà di quanta terra
l'ampie fluenti irrigano del Nilo.
La quinta stirpe dopo lui, progenie
985
di ben cinquanta femmine, di nuovo
ad Argo tornerà, non di suo grado,
ma per fuggir le consanguinee nozze
dei lor cugini. Ardenti il sen d'amore,
come sparvieri che colombe incalzino,
990
d'empie nozze a far preda essi verranno.
Ma un Nume a lor contenderà che godano
le dolci membra. E la Pelasgia terra
li accoglierà, spenti da man donnesca,
da femminea notturna audace strage:
995
ché ogni donna il suo sposo ucciderà,
il doppio taglio della spada a lui
immergendo nel sangue. Oh!, tali nozze
tocchino ai miei nemici! - Una fanciulla
amore molcirà, ch'ella risparmi
1000
del suo letto il compagno. E il suo disegno
non compierà; ma sceglierà, fra due,
pria che omicida, esser chiamata imbelle.
Ad Argo essa darà regia una stirpe.
E lungo ora sarebbe esporre il tutto:
1005
pur, da questa semenza nascerà
ben audace un rampollo, illustre arciero,
che me dai miei tormenti affrancherà.
Tale oracolo a me l'antica madre
die', la titania Temi. Il dove, il come
1010
questo avverrà, lungo sarebbe a dirlo,
e niun vantaggio a te sarebbe apprenderlo.
Aeschylus, Prometheus vinctus: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Prometheus vinctus: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii. Ioannes Sanravius, 1555.) — 846 focus
Est autem urbs Canopus ultima terræ,
Nili apud ostia & aggerem:
Ibi te Iupiter reddit mentis compotem,
Contrectans intrepidâ manu, & tangens tantum,
Eiudem nominis Iouis filiorum
850
Paries nigrum Epaphum, qui fruetur
Terra, quam latè fluens Nilus irrigat,
Quintâ ab ipso generatione quinquaginta natorum
Rursus Argos non inuita veniet,
Fœminea, fugiens nuptias fraternâs
855
Nepotum:
hi verò mente capti
Circi columbarum non diu relicti,
Venient venantes non venatile
Matrimonium. Invidiam corporum habebit deus.
860
Pelasgia suscipiet eos, fœmineo
Interfectos Marti, nocturnâ audaciâ
Vxor maritum quemq; priuabit vitâ,
Ancipitem in iugulum immittens ensem.
Talis libido invadet inimicos meos,
865
Vnam puellarum mansuetudo demulcebit, ne
Occidat coniugem, sed ut misereatur.
English (E. D. A. Morshead, 1908) (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound — Morshead translation. Wikisource transcription; speech corresp and card milestones aligned to Smyth perseus-grc2.) — 846 focus
There lieth, at the verge of land and sea,
Where Nilus issues thro' the silted sand,
A town, Canopus called: and there at length
945
Shall Zeus renew the reason in thy brain
With the mere touch and contact of his hand
Fraught now with fear no more: and thou shalt bear
A child, dark Epaphus—his very name
Memorial of Zeus' touch that gave him life.
950
And his shall be the foison and the fruit
Of all the land enriched by spreading Nile.
Thence the fifth generation of his seed
Back unto Argos, yet unwillingly,
Shall flee for refuge—fifty maidens they,
955
Loathing a wedlock with their next in blood,
More kin than kind, from their sire's brother sprung.
And on their track, astir with wild desire,
Like falcons fierce closing on doves that flee,
Shall speed the suitors, craving to achieve
960
A prey forbidden, a reluctant bride.
Yet power divine shall foil them, and forbid
Possession of the maids, whom Argive land
Shall hold protected, when unsleeping hate,
Horror, and watchful ambush of the night,
965
Have laid the suitors dead, by female hands.
For every maid shall smite a man to death,
Dyeing a dagger's edges in his throat—
Such bed of love befal mine enemies!
Yet in one bride shall yearning conquer hate,
970
Bidding her spare the bridegroom at her side,
Blunting the keen edge of her set resolve.
Thus of two scorns the former shall she choose,
The name of coward, not of murderess.
In Argos shall she bear, in after time,
975
A royal offspring. Long it were to tell
In clear succession all that thence shall be.
Take this for sooth—in lineage from her
A hero shall arise, an archer great,
And he shall be my saviour from these woes.
980
Such knowledge of the future Themis gave,
The ancient Titaness, to me her son.
But how, and by what skill, 'twere long to say,
And no whit will the knowledge profit thee.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1854; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylos. Deutsch in den Versmaßen der Urschrift. Stuttgart: Hoffmann, 1854. Native Donner line citations, Smyth card correspondence, selected textual readings and metrical facsimiles. Remaining OCR differences and unattributed reading notes are documented in the linked review inventory.) — 846 focus
Die Stadt Kanobos hebt sich an des Landes Saum,
Dicht, wo der Neilos mündet, an der Ufer Damm.
Dort gibt dir Zeus des Geistes alte Kraft zurück,
845
Mit leiser Hand dich streichelnd und berührend nur.
Und du gebierst den dunkelbraunen Epaphos,
Von Zeus' Berührung so genannt. Ihm zinsen einst
Die Gauen, die des Neilos breiter Strom benekt.
Ein Stamm von diesem, der mit fünfzig Sprossen blüht,
850
Der fünfte, kehrt nach Argos einst ungern zurück,
Ein Haufe Jungfrau'n, der dem Chebund entflieht
Der Stammesvettern. Diese, blind in Liebeswahn,
Den Falken gleich dicht hinter Tauben hergestürmt,
Erjagen sich die Frauen, - unheilvolle Jagd!
855
Denn ihnen gönnen Götter nicht der Liebe Glück.
Pelasgererde birgt sie, wann der Frauen Arm
Und nächtlichlauernd kühner Zorn sie niederschlug:
Die Hand der Braut gibt jedem Bräutigam den Tod,
Und taucht ihr doppelschneidig Schwert in blut'gen Mord.
860
So möge sich Kythere meinen Feinden nah'n!
Nur Einer Jungfrau Busen rührt der Liebe Pfeil;
Ihr Herz in süßem Sehnen schreckt vom Gattenmord
Zurück, und wählt von Zweien dieses Eine sich:
Schwach will sie lieber heißen, als die Mörderin.
865
Aus ihrem Schooß wird Argos' Herrscherstamm erblüh'n.
Viel Worte braucht's, um dieses deutlich darzuthun:
Genug! Aus diesem Samen sproßt ein kühner Held,
Der bogenstolze, welcher mich von dieser Qual
Erlösen wird. So hat es meine Mutter mir
870
Enthüllt, die graue Themis vom Titanenstamm.
Doch wie und wo, zu sagen, dies braucht lange Zeit;
Und wenn es dir kundwürde, frommte dir's zu nichts.

Notes on the current edition

Prometheus Bound

1. Two-source OCR draft: unmatched words are bracketed; readings, punctuation, possible marginalia and note boundaries remain unverified. Agreement between OCR sources is not proof of correctness.
2. Reference placement provisional: local window supported by running Greek. Source note 857; verify numbering and scope.

Commentary

Critical apparatus to Prometheus Bound (OCR draft) (Latin and Greek critical apparatus to Gottfried Hermann's 1852 edition of Prometheus Bound.) focus

857. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-969

θηλύσπορος:
θηλύσπορος
Μ.
θηλύπορος
Lips.
θηλύσπορον
G. Ald.

English commentary on Prometheus Bound (OCR draft) (N. Wecklein, translated by F. D. Allen. Ginn & Company, 1893; compared with the 1891 printing. Printed commentary pages 31–144. Provisional alignment and unresolved OCR are visibly flagged.) focus

561-886. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-375

1
2
561-886. Third Episode. Io and Prometheus. The myth of Io is connected with that of Prometheus by the person of Heracles, the libera- tor of Prometheus, who is descended from paphus, the son of Zeus and Io (see on 774). The appearance of Io therefore prepares the way for the introduction of Heracles in the Προ- μηθεὺς λυόμενος. But the immediate significance of this scene consists in the present relation of Zeus and Io. Io appears as innocent and yet perse- cuted; her sufferings, superficially considered, put Zeus in the worst possible light. Accordingly the in- dignation of Prometheus rises more and more, till at last, carried away by passion, he vaunts his secret in such terms that the interposition of Zeus becomes inevitable. So the transition to the catastrophe is pre- pared. The geographical part of this episode, with its description of marvels, like the scene of Heracles in the Προμηθεὺς λυόμενος (see below, Frg. VII. and VIII.), doubtless had a peculiar charm for the Athenians of the period. On the origin of the myth of Io, see Introd. p. 9, footnote. Io appears as a horned maiden (588, 674; so indi- cated by her mask). In early Greek art, especially in vase-paintings, she has the figure of a cow outright. On the throne of the Amyclaean Apollo, a work of the sculptor Bathycles (about Ol. 60), Hera was represented as glaring at Io, 'who is already a cow' (Paus. iii. 18. 7). On an archaic black-figured vase of the Munich collection (No. 573; see Panofka, Argos Panoptes, plate 5), Argus is seen, seated on the ground, a fero- cious figure with long hair and beard, and a huge eye in his shaggy breast; he holds in his hand a long cord, attached to the horns of a cow. Near by stands Hermes, grasping the cord near the horns with his left hand, and about to draw his sword with his right. Argus's dog
stands at bay in front of his master. Through the influence of this trag- edy, Io came later to be depicted in art as a maiden with horns. So, for instance, on a red-figured vase of the Berlin Museum (Panofka, l.c., plate 3). The stinging gadfly' of the legend (cp. Suppl. 306 BΑ. τί οὖν ἔτευξεν ἄλλο δυσπότμῳ βοΐ; ΧΟ. βοη- λάτην μύωπα κινητήριον, Verg. Georg. iii. 147 cui nomen asilo Ro- manum est, oestrum Graii vertere vocantes), which is mentioned in Io's narrative, 675 be- low, had also to be omitted in the scenic representation. The difficulty was met by a figurative conception of οἶστρος; the maddening sting was interpreted as the reminiscence of the crafty eye of Argos (567). — On account of the unusual manner of Io's entrance and exit, the anapaests which commonly accompany the ar- rival and departure of a personage are here and at 877 given to the actor, not to the chorus. So above, at the entrance of the chorus (120 ff.).

857. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg003-wecklein-allen1893-com-eng1-548

3
4
857. κίρκοι: the simile is added without comparative conjunction, in poetic fashion. For the comparison cp. Suppl. 223 ἐν ἁγνῷ δ᾽ ἑσμὸς ὡς πελειάδων ἵζεσθε κίρκων τῶν ὁμοπτέρων φόβῳ, Ιl. xxii. 139 ἠύτε κίρκος ὄρεσφιν ἐλαφρότατος πετεεινῶν ῥηιδίως οἴμησε μετὰ τρήρωνα πέλειαν. sense: