[216] First
ἐπεισόδιον. Oedipus re-enters from the palace. He solemnly denounces a curse on the unknown murderer of Laius. The prophet Teiresias declares that the murderer is Oedipus.
αἰτεῖς
Oedipus had entered in time to hear the closing strains of that prayer for aid against the pestilence which the Chorus had been addressing to the gods.
ἃ δ’ αἰτεῖς
. The place of
λάβοις is against taking
ἀλκὴν κἀνακούφισιν κακῶν as in apposition with
ἂ: rather the construction changes, and
ἃ is left as an accus. of general reference.
τἄμ’
emphatic by place: “you pray (to the gods): hear
me and (with their help) you shall have your wish.”
κλύων
not strictly =
πειθαρχῶν, “obediently” (in which sense
κλύειν takes
gen.,
τῶν ἐν τέλει,
Soph. Aj. 1352
), but simply, “on hearing them”:
δέχεσθαι
, as
Soph. Phil. 1321
κοὔτε σύμβουλον δέχει.
τῇ νόσῳ ὑπηρετεῖν
, =
θεραπεύειν τὴν νόσον, to do that which the disease requires (for its cure), like
ὑπηρετοίην τῷ παρόντι δαίμονι
Soph. El. 1306
. In Eur. fr. 84, 7
οὐδ’ αὖ πένεσθαι κἀξυπηρετεῖν τύχαις | οἷοί τε, Nauck now gives with Athenaeus 413 C
καὶ ξυνηρετμεῖν. Acc. to the commoner use of the word, the phrase would mean
to humour the disease, i.e. obey morbid impulses: cp.
Lys. 12.23
τῇ ἑαυτοῦ παρανομίᾳ προθύμως ἐξυπηρετῶν,
eagerly
indulging the excess of his own lawlessness.
ἀλκὴν
as well as
ἀνακούφισιν
, with
κακῶν
:
Hes. WD 199
κακοῦ δ’ οὐκ ἔσσεται ἀλκή
:
Eur. Med. 1322
ἔρυμα πολεμίας χερός
: below 1200
θανάτων .. πύργος.
ἁγὼ ξένος μὲν
. Oedipus has just learned from Creon that Laius was believed to have been murdered by robbers on his way to Delphi, but that, owing to the troubles caused by the Sphinx, no effective search had been made at the time (114-131). He has at once resolved to take up the matter—both because Apollo enjoins it, and as a duty to the Theban throne (255). But the murder occurred before he had come to Thebes. He must therefore appeal for some clue — su/mbolon — to those who were at Thebes when the rumour was fresh.
ξένος
“a stranger” to the affair, is tinged with the notion, “unconnected with Thebes”: and this is brought out by
ἀστὸς in 222. For other explanations of the passage, see Appendix.
τοῦ πραχθέντος
the murder. Not, “what was
done at the time by way of search”: for (a)
τὸ πραχθέν, as opp. to
ὁ λόγος, must mean the
ἔργον to which the
λόγος is related: (b) Oed. has lately expressed his surprise that
nothing effective was done (128), and could not, therefore, refer with such emphasis to
τὸ πραχθέν in this sense.
οὐ γὰρ ἂν μακρὰν … ἴχνευον
In his
Syntax of the Moods and Tenses of the Greek Verb (1889), sect. 511, Prof. Goodwin deals with this passage. His view agrees with that given in my second ed., so far as concerns two points, viz.: (1) that the chief protasis is not contained in
μὴ οὐκ ἔχων: and (2) that
μὴ οὐκ ἔχων is still necessarily conditional. But his analysis of the whole is simpler; it is as follows. The chief protasis is contained in the word
αὐτός, “unaided,” which is equivalent to,
εἰ μόνος ἴχνευον,
if I were attempting to trace it alone. [;I had said that
αὐτός “implies the protasis”; but had taken the protasis itself to be,
εἰ μὴ ἐξεῖπον, supplied from
ἐξερῶ :
if I had not thus spoken, —appealing to you for help.]; Then,
μὴ οὐκ ἔχων is equivalent to
εἰ μὴ εἶχον. Now, the difficulty here seemed to be that
εἰ μὴ εἶχον would imply, “but I
have a clue”: whereas, in fact, he has none. [;I met this by suggesting that
μὴ οὐκ ἔχων expresses the fact (of his having no clue), not simply as a fact, but as a condition, —“
in a case where I had no clue”; being equivalent, not to
εἰ μὴ εἶχον, but rather to
ὅτε μὴ εἶχον.]; Goodwin's answer is that the conditional sentence, written in full, would stand thus, —(1) and (2) denoting respectively the
chief protasis, and the
subordinate protasis: (1)
εἰ μόνος ἴχνευον, οὐκ ἂν μακρὰν ἴχνευον, (2)
εἰ μὴ εἶχόν τι σύμβολον. Now (1) is an unreal supposition (he is
not tracking alone); and that makes the whole supposition unreal.
εἰ μὴ εἶχον is here a part of that unreal supposition; and therefore it can have that form, although, as a fact, he has no clue. (Suppose it to be said of a man too old for work: “If he were young, he would not be doing well, if he did not work”:
εἰ νέος ἦν, οὐκ ἂν εὖ ἐποίει, εἰ μὴ ἐπόνει. The chief protasis,
εἰ νέος ἦν, being unreal, makes all the rest unreal. The fact is,
οὐ πονεῖ: and
εἰ μὴ ἐπόνει does not imply,
πονεῖ. Compressed, this would be,
οὐκ ἂν εὖ ἐποίει νέος ὤν, μὴ οὐ πονῶν. )
αὐτός
, unaided: cp.
Hom. Il. 13.729
ἀλλ’ οὔπως ἅμα πάντα δυνήσεαι αὐτὸς ἑλέσθαι.
νῦν δ’
“but as it is”: i.e., “since it would be vain to attempt the search
alone— since I came to Thebes only after the event.”
ὕστερος
, sc.
τοῦ πραχθέντος: for the adj. instead of an adv., cp.
Soph. Aj. 217
νύκτερος … ἀπελωβήθη
:
Hom. Il. 1.424
χθιζὸς ἔβη
:
Xen. Anab. 1.4.12
τοῖς προτέροις προτέροις
1
μετὰ Κύρου ἀναβᾶσι.
εἰς ἀστοὺς τελῶ
,
inter cives censeor: a metaphor from being rated (for taxation) in a certain class:
Hdt. 6.108
εἰς Βοιωτοὺς τελέειν
:
Eur. Ba. 822
ἐς γυναῖκας ἐξ ἀνδρὸς τελῶ.
ἀστὸς εἰς ἀστοὺς
, like
Soph. Aj. 267
κοινὸς ἐν κοινοῖσι
:
Eur. Ba. 467
ξυμπεσὼν μόνος μόνοις
:
Soph. Phil. 135
ἐν ξένᾳ ξένον
:
Eur. Ba. 633
ἴσος ὢν ἴσοις ἀνήρ.
κεἰ μὲν φοβεῖται τοὐπίκλημ’ ὑπεξελεῖν
κ.τ.λ. is the reading of all the MSS.: for the
ὑπεξελθὼν of the first hand in one Milan MS. of the early 1t/h cent. (Ambros. L 39 sup., Campbell's M(2)) is a mere slip. I read
ὑπεξελεῖν | αὐτὸν καθ’ αὑτοῦ
, the change of
αὐτὸν and
αὐτὸς having necessarily followed that of
ὑπεξελεῖν into
ὑπεξελὼν due to an interpretation which took the latter with
φοβεῖται. Cp.
Thuc. 4.83
(Arrhibaeus, the enemy of Perdiccas, makes overtures to Brasidas, and the Chalcidians exhort Brasidas to listen):
ἐδίδασκον αὐτὸν μὴ ὑπεξελεῖν τῷ Περδίκκᾳ τὰ δεινά, “they impressed upon him that he must not
remove the dangers from the path of Perdiccas”— by repulsing the rival power of Arrhibaeus.
ὑπεξελεῖν τὰ δεινά= to take them
away (
ἐκ)
from under
(ὑπὄ the feet, —from the path immediately before him:
τῷ Περδίκκᾳ being a dat. commodi. Similarly
Hdt. 7.8
τούτων … ὑπεξαραιρημένων,
“when these have been taken out of the way.” So here:
κεἰ μὲν φοβεῖται,
and if he is afraid (as knowing
himself to be the culprit),
then I bid him (
κελεύω
continued from 226)
ὑπεξελεῖν τὸ ἐπίκλημα
to take the peril of the charge out of his path,
αὐτὸν καθ’ αὑτοῦ
(σημαίνοντἀ
by speaking against himself. If the culprit is denounced by another person, he will be liable to the extreme penalty. If he denounces himself, he will merely be banished. By denouncing himself, he forestalls the danger of being denounced by another. For other explanations, see Appendix.
ἀβλαβής
the reading of A and most MSS., “without damage,”
ἀζήμιος, is far more suitable than
ἀσφαλής to this context: and Soph. has the word as a cretic in
Soph. El. 650
ζῶσαν ἀβλαβεῖ βίῳ.
Although in L
ἀσφαλής appears as the older reading, so common a word was very likely to be intruded; while it would be difficult to explain how the comparatively rare
ἀβλαβής could have supplanted it. A metrical doubt may have first brought
ἀσφαλής in. Dindorf, reading
ἀσφαλής, recognises the superior fitness of
ἀβλαβής here, and thinks that it may be the true reading, even though its appearance in the margin of L was due to conjecture.
ἄλλον … ἐξ ἄλλης χθονὸς
“another [;i.e. other than one of yourselves, the Thebans]; from a strange land”: an alien, whether resident at Thebes, or not: cp. 451
οὗτός ἐστιν ἐνθάδε, | ξένος λόγῳ μέτοικος. The cases contemplated in the proclamation (223-235) are (1) a Theban denouncing another Theban, (2) a Theban denouncing himself, (3) a Theban denouncing an alien.
τὸ κέρδος
the (expected) gain,
τὰ μήνυτρα.
Soph. Trach. 191
ὅπως | πρὸς σοῦ τι κερδάναιμι καὶ κτῴμην χάριν.
προσκείσεται
will be stored up
besides (cp.
Eur. Alc. 1039
ἄλγος ἄλγει … προσκείμενον,
added).
χάρις κεῖται is perf. pass. of
χάριν τίθεμαι or
κατατίθεμαι (τινί or
παρὰ τινἴ, —a metaphor from deposits of money:
τὰ χρήματα … κείσθω παρ’ οἷς τισιν ἃν ὑμῖν δοκῇ
Plat. Letter 346c
.
φίλου, αὑτοῦ
with
ἀπώσει only (
Hom. Il. 15.503
ἀπώσασθαι κακὰ νηῶν
).
φίλου δείσας
as =
δείσας ὑπὲρ φίλου (like
κήδομαι, φροντίζειν) would be too harsh, and rhythm is against it.
τοὔπος … τόδε
, this command to give up the guilty.
ἀπαυδῶ
(
ἀπ‐, because the first clauses are negative), I command,(
μή)
τινα γῆς τῆσδε
that no one belonging to this land,
μήτ’ ἐσδέχεσθαι μήτε προσφωνεῖν
shall either entertain or accost,
τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον, ὅστις ἐστί
. For the gen.
γῆς
, cp.
Plat. Prot. 316b
Ἱπποκράτης ὅδε ἐστὶ μὲν τῶν ἐπιχωρίων, Ἀπολλοδώρου υἱός, οἰκίας μεγάλης καὶ εὐδαίμονος.
Since
μήτε … μήτε
in 238 connect
ἐσδέχεσθαι
and
προσφωνεῖν
, we require either (a) separate verbs for
εὐχαῖσι
and
θύμασιν
, or (b) as Elms. proposed,
μηδὲ instead of
μήτε before
θύμασιν
. Cp.
Soph. OC 1297
, where in a similar, though simpler, sentence I receive Hermann's
οὐδ’ for
οὔτ’. Here, however, I hesitate to alter, because the very fact that
μήτε has already been thrice used might so easily have prompted its use (instead of
μηδέ) before
θύμασιν. As the MS. text stands, we must suppose a
μήτε suppressed before
εὐχαῖσι
, the constr. being
μήτε κοινὸν ποιεῖσθαι
[;
μήτε];
ἐν … εὐχαῖσι μήτε θύμασιν
. Cp.
Aesch. Ag. 532
Πάρις γὰρ οὔτε συντελὴς πόλις
:
Aesch. Lib. 294
δέχεσθαι δ’ οὔτε συλλύειν τινά.
κοινὸν
here =
κοινωνόν, cp.
Soph. Aj. 267
ἦ κοινὸς ἐν κοινοῖσι λυπεῖσθαι ξυνών.
Plat. Laws 868e
(the slayer)
ξυνέστιος αὐτοῖς μηδέποτε γιγνέσθω μηδὲ κοινωνὸς ἱερῶν.
χέρνιβος
(partitive gen.) is more suitable than
χέρνιβας to the idea of exclusion from all fellowship in ordinary worship:
χέρνιβας νέμειν would rather suggest a special
κάθαρσις of the homicide. When sacrifice was offered by the members of a household(
κοινωνὸν εἷναι χερνίβων … κτησίου βωμοῦ πέλας
Aesch. Ag. 1037
) or of a clan(
χέρνιψ φρατέρων
Aesch. Eum. 656
), a brand taken from the altar was dipped in water, and with the water thus consecrated(
χέρνιψ) the company and the altar were sprinkled: then holy silence was enjoined(
εὐφημία ἔστω): and the rite began by the strewing of barley meal(
οὐλοχύται) on altar and victim. (
Athen. 409
:
Eur. Her. 922 ff.
) Acc. to
Dem. 20.158
a law of Draco prescribed
χέρνιβος [;so the best MSS.: v. l.
χερνίβων]; εἴργεσθαι τὸν ἀνδροφόνον, σπονδῶν, κρατήρων, ἱερῶν, ἀγορᾶς. This was a sentence of excommunication (1) from the life of the family and the clan, (2) from the worship common to all Hellenes, who, as opposed to
βάρβαροι, are (
Aristoph. Lys. 1129
)
οἳ μιᾶς ἐκ χέρνιβος | βωμοὺς περιρραίνοντες, ὥσπερ ξυγγενεῖς, | Ὀλυμπίασιν, ἐν Πύλαις, Πυθοῖ. The mere presence of the guilty could render sacrifice inauspicious:
Antiph. 5.82
ἱεροῖς παραστάντες πολλοὶ δὴ καταφανεῖς ἐγένοντο οὐχ ὅσιοι ὄντες καὶ διακωλύοντες τὰ ἱερὰ μὴ γίγνεσθαι
(
bene succedere)
τὰ νομιζόμενα.
ὠθεῖν δὲ
sc.
αὐδῶ, understood from the negative
ἀπαυδῶ: cp.
Hdt. 7.104
οὐκ ἐῶν φεύγειν … ἀλλὰ ἐπικρατέειν.
These six verses are placed by some editors between 272 and 273. See Appendix.
κατεύχομαι
Suidas
κατεύχεσθαι· τὸ καταρᾶσθαι. οὕτω Πλάτων. καὶ Σοφοκλῆς, κατεύχομαι δὲ τὸν δεδρακότα τάδε. Phot.
Lex. p. 148. 7
κατεύχεσθαι τῶν Ἀχαιῶν· ἀντὶ τοῦ κατὰ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν εὔχεσθαι. οὕτως Σοφοκλῆς. Here the ref. is to Plato
Plat. Rep. 393e
τὸν δὲ
(the Homeric Chryses, priest of Apollo)
… κατεύχεσθαι τῶν Ἀχαιῶν πρὸς θεόν. But Photius prefixes the words,
κατεύχεσθαι· τὸ καταρᾶσθαι. οὕτως Πλάτων. It is clear, then, that in Photius
οὕτως Σοφοκλῆς and
οὕτως Πλάτων have changed places. The “Soph. fr. 894,” quoted by Lidd. and Scott under
κατεύχομαι as= imprecari, thus vanishes (Nauck
Fragm. Trag. (2) p. 357). Cp.
Aesch. Seven 632
πόλει | οἵας ἀρᾶται καὶ κατεύχεται τύχας.
But where, as here
κατεύχομαι
is used without gen. (or dat.), it is rather
to pray solemnly: often, however, in a context which
implies imprecation: e.g.
Plat. Laws 935a
κατεύχεσθαι ἀλλήλοις ἐπαρωμένους
:
Plat. Rep. 394a
κατεύχετο τῖσαι τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς τὰ ἂ δάκρυα.
εἴτε τις
: whether the unknown man (
τις
) who has escaped discovery is
εἷς
, alone in the crime, or one of several.
τις
, because the person is indefinite: cp. 107.
νιν ἄμορον
Porson (
praef. Hec. p. ix.) defends the redundant
νιν
by
Soph. Trach. 287
αὐτὸν δ’ ἐκεῖνον, εὖτ’ ἂν ἁγνὰ θύματα | ῥέξῃ πατρῴῳ Ζηνὶ τῆς ἁλώσεως, | φρόνει νιν ὡς ἥξοντα.
The form
ἄμορος occurs in
Eur. Med. 1395
(where
ἄμοιρος is a v. l.);
ἄμμορος in
Eur. Hec. 421
,
Soph. Phil. 182
.
κακὸν κακῶς
:
Soph. Phil. 1369
ἔα κακῶς αὐτοὺς ἀπόλλυσθαι κακούς.
Aristoph. Pl. 65
ἀπό σ’ ὀλῶ κακὸν κακῶς.
ἐπεύχομαι
imprecate on
myself:
Plat. Criti. 120b
ταῦτα ἐπευξάμενος ἕκαστος αὐτῶν αὑτῷ καὶ τῷ ἀφ’ αὑτοῦ γένει.
οἴκοισιν … ξυνέστιος
: not tautological, since
ξυνέστιος is more than
ἔνοικος, implying admission to the family worship at the
ἑστία and to the
σπονδαί at meals.
Plat. Laws 868e
ἱερῶν μὴ κοινωνείτω μηδὲ … ξυνέστιος αὐτοῖς μηδέποτε γιγνέσθω μηδὲ κοινωνὸς ἱερῶν.
Plat. Euthyph. 4b
καὶ εἰ μὲν ἐν δίκῃ [;ἔκτεινεν];, ἐᾶν,
if he slew the man justly, forbear;
εἰ δὲ μή, ἐπεξιέναι (prosecute the slayer),
ἐάνπερ ὁ κτείνας συνέστιός σοι καὶ ὁμοτράπεζος ᾖ. ἴσον γὰρ τὸ μίασμα γίγνεται, ἐὰν ξυνῇς τῷ τοιούτῳ ξυνειδὼς καὶ μὴ ἀφοσιοῖς σεαυτόν τε καὶ ἐκεῖνον τῇ δίκῃ ἐπεξιών.
τοῖσδ’
the slayer or slayers (247): see on 246.
ἀκάρπως κἀθέως
Soph. El. 1181
ὦ σῶμ’ ἀτίμως κἀθέως ἐφθαρμένον
: below 661
ἄθεος, ἄφιλος, forsaken by gods and men.
εἰκὸς ἦν
The imperfect indic. of a verb denoting obligation(
ἔδει, χρῆν, προσῆκεν, εἰκὸς ἦν), when joined
without
ἄν to an infinitive, often implies a conditional sentence with imperfect indic. in protasis and apodosis: e.g.
οὐκ εἰκὸς ἦν ἐᾶν =
οὐκ ἂν εἰᾶτε (εἰ τὰ δέοντα ἐποιεῖτἐ, you would not (now) be neglecting it (if you did your duty):
Xen. Mem. 2.7.10
εἰ μὲν τοίνυν αἰσχρόν τι ἔμελλον ἐργάσεσθαι
[;if I were now intending—as I am not];,
θάνατον ἀντ’ αὐτοῦ προαιρετέον ἦν, =
προῃρούμην ἂν (εἰ τὰ δέοντα ἐποίουν).
Thuc. 6.78
καὶ μάλιστα εἰκὸς ἦν ὑμᾶς … προορᾶσθαι,
=
προεωρᾶτε ἂν εἰ τὰ εἰκότα ἐποιεῖτε. So
ἐβουλόμην, ἠξίουν, without
ἄν, of that which one wishes were true, but which is not so.
οὕτως
in this (careless) manner: cp.
Soph. OC 1278
ὡς μή μ’ ἄτιμον … | οὕτως ἀφῇ με
:
Soph. Ant. 315
,
Soph. Phil. 1067
.
βασιλέως τ’
τε is to be retained after
βασιλέως, because (1) there is a climax, which is destroyed if
βασιλέως stands merely in apposition with
ἀνδρὸς ἀρίστου: (2)
ἀνδρὸς ἀρίστου represents the claim of birth and personal merit, as
βασιλέως represents the special claim of a king on his people. Cp.
Soph. Phil. 1302
ἄνδρα πολέμιον | ἐχθρόν τε.
κυρῶ τ’ ἐγὼ
=
ἐγώ τε κυρῶ, answered by
κοινῶν τε, κ.τ.λ. For
τε so placed cp.
Soph. El. 249
ἔρροι τ’ ἂν αἰδὼς | ἁπάντων τ’ εὐσέβεια θνατῶν.
ὁμόσπορον
=
ὁμοίως σπειρομένην, i. e.
ἣν καὶ ἐκεῖνος ἔσπειρε: but in 460
πατρὸς | ὁμόσπορος =
ὀμοίως (τὴν αὐτὴν) σπείρων. ὁμογενής in 1361 is not similar.
κοινῶν παίδων κοινὰ ἦν ἂν ἐκπεφυκότα
common things
of ( =
ties consisting
in) kindred children would have been generated: =
κοινῶν παίδων κοινὴ φύσις ἐγένετο ἄν, a brood, common to Laius and Oedipus, of children akin to each other (as having the same mother, Iocasta) would have issued: “children born of one mother would have made ties between him and me.” For
ἄν doubled cp. 139, 339.
κοινῶν
=
ἀδελφῶν, ὁμαίμων(
Soph. Ant. 1
ὦ κοινὸν αὐτάδελφον Ἰσμήνης κάρα
). The language of this passage is carefully framed so as to bear a second meaning, of which the speaker is unconscious, but which the spectators can feel: Iocasta has actually borne children to her own son Oedipus: thus in
κοινῶν παίδων κοινὰ … ἐκπεφυκότα, the obvious sense of
κοινά, “
common to Laius and Oedipus,” has behind it a second sense, in which it hints at a brood who are
brothers and sisters of their own sire: see below 1403 f. This subtle emphasis—so ghastly,
ξυνετοῖσιν— of the iteration in
κοινῶν κοινά must not be obliterated by amending
κοίν’ ἄν into
κύματ’ (Nauck) or
σπέρματ’ (Blaydes). Similarly,
εἰ κείνῳ γένος | μὴ δυστύχησεν
, is susceptible of the sense—“if his son (Oed. himself) had not been ill-fated.”
κείνῳ γένος ἐδυστύχησε (his hope of issue was disappointed) is here a bold phrase for
κεῖνος ἐδυστύχησε τὰ περὶ γένος: for Oed. is not
now supposed to know the story of the exposed babe (see 717 f.). Cp.
Eur. Andr. 418
πᾶσι δ’ ἀνθρώποις ἄρ’ ἦν | ψυχὴ τέκν’· ὅστις δ’ αὔτ’ ἄπειρος ὢν ψέγει, | ἦσσον μὲν ἀλγεῖ, δυστυχῶν δ’ εὐδαιμονεῖ
:
Eur. Andr. 711
ἣ στεῖρος οὖσα μόσχος οὐκ ἀνέξεται | τίκτοντας ἄλλους, οὐκ ἔχουσ’ αὐτὴ τέκνα· | ἀλλ’ εἰ τὸ κείνης δυστυχεῖ παίδων πέρι, κ.τ.λ.
:
Eur. Supp. 66
εὐτεκνία
opp. to
δυστυχία.
νῦν δ’
“but as it is,” with aor. equivalent to a
perf., as
Soph. OC 84
, 371. Cp. below 948
καὶ νῦν ὅδε | πρὸς τῆς τύχης ὄλωλε. So with
historic pres.,
Lys. 12.36
εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐν τῷ δικαστηρίῳ ἐκρίνοντο, ῥᾳδίως ἂν ἐσώζοντο· … νῦν δ’ εἰς τὴν βουλὴν εἰσάγουσιν.
ἐνήλατο
i.e. he was cut off by a timeless fate, leaving no issue, cp. 1300:
Soph. Ant. 1345
ἐπὶ κρατί μοι | πότμος … εἰσήλατο
: so the Erinyes say,
μάλα γὰρ οὖν ἁλομένα | ἀνέκαθεν βαπυρεσῆ | καταφέπω ροδὸς ἀκμάν
Aesch. Eum. 369
,
Aesch. Ag. 1175
δαίμων ὑπερβαρὴς ἐμπίτνων
:
Aesch. Pers. 515
ὦ δυσπόνητε δαῖμον, ὡς ἄγαν βαρὺς | ποδοῖν ἐνήλλου παντὶ Περσικῷ γένει.
The classical constr. with
ἐνάλλομαι, as with
ἐνθρώσκω and
ἐμπηδάω, is usually the dat., though
εἰς with accus. occurs in later Greek; a point urged by Deventer in his objections to this verse, which is, however, clearly sound.
ἀνθ’ ὧν
properly
wherefore (
Soph. OC 1295
): here,
therefore. The protasis
ἐπεὶ κυρῶ (258) required an apodosis introduced by
ἀντὶ τούτων: but the parenthesis
νῦν δ’ ἐς τὸ κείνου κ.τ.λ. (263) has led to
ὦν
being irregularly substituted for
τοὐτων. Cp. 1466:
Antiphon 5.11
δέον σε διομόσασθαι κ.τ.λ. … ἃ σὺ παρελθών,
where the length of the protasis has similarly caused
ἅ to be substituted for
ταῦτα. Distinguish from this the use of
ἀνθ’ ὧν, by ordinary attraction, for
ἀντὶ τούτων ἅ or
ὅτι,=
because,
Soph. Ant. 1068
.
τάδ’
cogn. acc. to
ὑπερμαχοῦμαι
as
Soph. Aj. 1346
σὺ ταῦτ’ Ὀδυσσεῦ τοῦδ’ ὑπερμαχεῖς ἐμοί;
Cp.
Hom. Il. 5.185
οὐχ ὅ γ’ ἄνευθε θεοῦ τάδε μαίνεται.
Brunck, Nauck and Blaydes adopt Mudge's conj.
τοῦδ’. But the MSS. agree in the harder and more elegant reading.
ὑπερμαχοῦμαι
only here: in
Soph. Ant. 194
,
Soph. Aj. 1346
Soph. uses
ὑπερμαχεῖν. But we need not therefore, with Elms. and Blaydes, read
ὑπὲρ μαχοῦμαι. The derivative form
ὑπερμαχέω, to be a champion, implies
ὑπέρμαχος, as
συμμαχέω is from
σύμμαχος, προμαχέω from
πρόμαχος· ὑπερμάχομαι is a simple compound, like
συμμάχομαι (Plat., Xen.),
προμάχομαι (
Iliad, Dio. Sic., Plut.).
κἀπὶ πάντ’ ἀφίξομαι
with
ζητῶν
, will leave nothing untried in seeking: a poetical variation of
ἐπὶ πᾶν ἐλθεῖν (
Xen. Anab. 3.1.18
ἆρ’ οὐκ ἂν ἐπὶ πᾶν ἔλθοι … ὡς φόβον παράσχοι
), as in
Eur. Hipp. 284
εἰς πάντ’ ἀφῖγμαι,
“I have tried all means.” In prose
ἀφικνεῖσθαι εἴς τι usu. = to be
brought to a situation, as
Hdt. 8.110
ἐς πᾶσαν βάσανον ἀπικνεομένοισι,
though put to any torment;
Plat. Euthyd. 292e
εἰς πολλήν γε ἀπορίαν ἀφίκεσθε.
τῷ Λαβδακείῳ παιδὶ
a dat. following
ζητῶν κ.τ.λ. as =
τιμωρούμενος. For
Λαβδακείῳ—Πολυδώρου
τε cp.
Eur. Med. 404
τοῖς Σισυφείοις τοῖς τ’ Ἰάσονος γάμοις
: for the adj.,
Hom. Od. 3.190
Φιλοκτήτην Ποιάντιον [;
=
Ποίαντος]; ἀγλαὸν υἱόν:
Hdt. 7.105
τοῖς Μασκαμείοισι ἐκγόνοισι
:
Soph. Phil. 1131
:
Soph. Trach. 1219
. Herodotus (
Hdt. 5.59
) saw in the temple of the Ismenian Apollo at Thebes an inscription which he assigns to the age of Laius:
ταῦτα ἡλικίην ἂν εἴη κατὰ Λάϊον τὸν Λαβδάκου τοῦ Πολυδώρου τοῦ Κάδμου. Cadmus, in the myth, is the son of Agenor king of Phoenicia, whence Carthage is “Agenor's city” (
Verg. Aen. 1.338
): Polydorus, son of Cadmus and Harmonia, was king of Thebes. construe:
καὶ εὔχομαι τοῖς ταῦτα μὴ δρῶσιν
[;
for them,
Soph. Phil. 1019
καί σοι πολλάκις τόδ’ ηὐξαμην
];
θεοὺς ἀνιέναι αὐτοῖς μήτ’ ἄροτόν τινα γῆς, μήτ’ οὖν γυναικῶν παῖδας
. The acc.
θεοὺς
as subject to
ἀνιέναι
is better than a dat.
θεοῖς with
εὔχομαι
would be:
Xen. Anab. 6.1.26
εὔχομαι δοῦναί μοι τοὺς θεοὺς αἴτιόν τινος ὑμῖν ἀγαθοῦ γενέσθαι
:
Aristoph. Thes. 350
ταῖς δ’ ἄλλαισιν ὑμῖν τοὺς θεοὺς | εὔχεσθε πάσαις πολλὰ δοῦναι κἀγαθά.
μήτ’ οὖν
“
no, nor.”
Aesch. Ag. 474
μήτ’ εἴην πτολιπόρθης, | μήτ’ οὖν αὐτὸς ἁλούς, κ.τ.λ.
Soph. Phil. 345
εἴτ’ ἀληθὲς εἴτ’ ἄρ’ οὖν μάτην
: cp. above v. 90. But
οὖν with the
first clause, below, 1049:
Soph. El. 199
, 560: see on 25.
φθερεῖσθαι
a fut. found also in
Eur. Andr. 708
(
φθερεῖ 2 sing.):
Thuc. 7.48
φθερεῖσθαι
: Ionic
φθαρέομαι:
Hdt. 9.42
, 8. 108(
φθαρήσομαι in Hippocr., Arist., Plut.). The schol. says,
φθαρῆναι δεῖ γράφειν, οὐ φθερεῖσθαι, distinguishing
εὔχομαι with fut. infin., “I vow” (to do), from
εὔχομαι with pres. or aor. infin., “I pray.” But verbs of wishing or praying sometimes take a fut. infin. instead of pres. or aor.:
Thuc. 6.57
ἐβούλοντο … προτιμωρήσεσθαι
: 6. 6
ἐφιέμενοι μὲν … τῆς πάσης ἄρξειν: 1. 27
ἐδεήθησαν … ξυμπροπέμψειν: 7. 56
διενοοῦντο κλῄσειν. See Goodwin,
Moods and Tenses sect. 113 (new ed.).
τοῖς ἄλλοισι
The loyal, as opp. to
οἱ μὴ ταῦτα δρῶντες (269).
ἔστ’ ἀρέσκοντ’
cp. 126.
ἥ τε σύμμαχος Δίκη
, Justice who
ever helps the righteous cause; Blaydes needlessly writes
ἡ Δίκη τε σύμμαχος.
Soph. OC 1012
ἐλθεῖν ἀρωγοὺς συμμάχους τε (τὰς θεάς).
εὖ
cf.
Soph. Trach. 229
ἀλλ’ εὖ μὲν ἵγμεθ’, εὖ δὲ προσφωνούμεθα.
ὥσπερ μ’ ἀραῖον
κ.τ.λ. As you have brought me into your power under a curse [;if I speak not the truth];,
so (
ὧδε
, i.e.
ἔνορκος) I will speak.
Aeschin. 3.90
μίαν ἐλπίδα λοιπὴν κατεῖδε σωτηρίας, ἔνορκον λαβεῖν τὸν Ἀθηναίων δῆμον … βοηθήσειν,
to
bind them by an oath that they would help.
λαβεῖν here has nearly the same force as in
λαβεῖν αἰχμάλωτον etc.:
Lys. 4.5
ὑποχείριον λαβὼν τὸ σῶμα,
having got his person into my power.
ἀραῖον
=
τῇ ἀρᾷ ἔνοχον, cp.
ὅρκιος … λέγω
Soph. Ant. 305
. The paraphrase of Eustath. 1809. 14
ὥσπερ με εἶλες διὰ τῆς ἀρᾶς is substantially right. The use of
καταλαβεῖν is not really similar (
Hdt. 9.106
πίστι τε καταλαβόντες καὶ ὁρκίοισι,
Thuc. 4.85
ὅρκοις … καταλαβὼν τὰ τέλη
), since the
κατά in comp. gives the sense of
overtaking, and so of
binding. Nor can we compare
Soph. OC 284
ὥσπερ ἔλαβες τὸν ἱκέτην ἐχέγγυον,
where the sense is, “As thou hast
received the (self-surrendered) suppliant under thy pledge.”
γὰρ
after
ἔκτανον
merely prefaces the statement:
Plat. Prot. 320c
δοκεῖ τοίνυν … μῦθον ὑμῖν λέγειν. ἦν γάρ ποτε κ.τ.λ.
δεῖξαι
“point to.” Note the emphatic place of the word: the speaker knows not that he is face to face with the slayer.
τὸ ζήτημα
, acc. of general reference. The simpler form would have been,
ἦν τοῦ πέμψαντος τὸ ζήτημα καὶ λῦσαι: but, instead of a verb which could govern
ζήτημα,
τόδ’ εἰπεῖν
is substituted, because it conveniently introduces the clause
ὅστις εἴργασται
, explaining what the
ζήτημα itself was.
τὸ ζήτημα
is then left much as
ἃ αἰτεῖς is left in 216 when the insertion of
ἀλκὴν κ.τ.λ. has modified the construction.
ἃν μὴ θέλωσιν
κ.τ.λ. Cp.
Soph. Phil. 1368
κἄμ’ ἀναγκάζεις τόδε.
ἃν
as 580, 749:
Soph. OC 13
,
Soph. Ant. 1057
,
Soph. Phil. 1276
,
Soph. Aj. 1085
.
οὐδ’ ἂν εἷς
:
Soph. Ant. 884
οὐδ’ ἂν εἷς παύσαιτ’ ἄν
:
Soph. OC 1656
οὐδ’ ἂν εἷς | θνητῶν φράσειε.
In this emphatic form even a prep. could be inserted (
Xen. Hell. 5.4.1
οὐδ’ ὑφ’ ἑνός,
Xen. Cyrop. 4.1.14
μηδὲ πρὸς μίαν
), and in prose
οὐδὲ εἷς stood without elision: in
Aristoph. Frogs 927
etc., where the MSS. have
οὐδὲ ἕν (Dind. writes
οὐδὲν), οὐδ’ ἂν ἕν is a possible v. l.
ἐκ τῶνδε
=
μετὰ τάδε:
Dem. 18.313
λόγον ἐκ λόγου λέγων.
—For
δεύτερα
, second-
best, cp. the proverb
δεύτερος πλοῦς:
Plat. Laws 943c
τὴν τῶν ἀριστείων κρίσιν … καὶ τὴν τῶν δευτέρων καὶ τρίτων.
ἂν λέγοιμι
see on 95.
τὸ μὴ οὐ
not
τὸ μή, because the sentence is negative: below, 1232:
Soph. Ant. 544
μή μ’ ἀτιμάσῃς τὸ μὴ οὐ | θανεῖν.
But even in such a negative sentence the simple
τὸ μή occurs: below, 1388:
Soph. Ant. 443
.
ἄνακτ’
Hom. Od. 11.151
Τειρεσίαο ἄνακτος.
ταὐτὰ ὁρῶντα
not =
ταὐτὰ φρονοῦντα or
γιγνώσκοντα, “taking the same views,” but
seeing in the same manner, i.e. with equal clearness:
ὁρῶντα
absol., as
Soph. OC 74
ὅσ’ ἂν λέγοιμι, πάνθ’ ὁρῶντα λέξομαι
:
ταὐτὰ
adverbial =
κατὰ ταὐτά: the dat.
ἄνακτ’
as
Soph. OC 1358
ἐν πόνῳ | ταὐτῷ βεβηκὼς … ἐμοί.
Hdt. 4.119
τωὐτὸ ἂν ὑμῖν ἐπρήσσομεν.
οὐκ ἐν ἀργοῖς τοῦτο
κατέλιπον would have meant, “I did not leave this among things neglected.” Soph. fuses the negative form with the positive, and instead of
κατέλιπον writes
ἐπραξάμην
: “I saw to this (midd.) in such a manner that it also should not be among things neglected.”
πράσσεσθαι (midd.) elsewhere usu. = “to exact” (
Thuc. 4.65
etc.): here =
διαπράσσεσθαι, effect for oneself. Cp.
Soph. Aj. 45
ἐξεπράξατο
(effected his purpose). G. Wolff, sharing Kviecpala's objections to the phrase
ἐν ἀργοῖς πράσσεσθαι, places a point after
τοῦτ’ (“but neither is this among things neglected: —I did it”). The extreme harshness of the asyndeton condemns this; and the suggested
ἔπραξα μήν is no remedy. For
ἐν
cp.
οὐκ ἐν ἐλαφρῷ ἐποιεύμην (
Hdt. 1.118
),
ἐν εὐχερεῖ | ἔθου (ταῦτα)
Soph. Phil. 875
,
ταῦτ’ οὖν ἐν αἰσχρῷ θέμενος
Eur. Hec. 806
.
ἀργοῖς
, not things
undone, but things at which the work is sluggish or tardy;
Soph. OC 1605
κοὐκ ἦν ἔτ’ οὐδὲν ἀργὸν ὧν ἐφίετο
:
Eur. Phoen. 776
ἓν δ’ ἐστὶν ἡμῖν ἀργόν, εἴ τι θέσφατον | οἰωνόμαντις Τειρεσίας ἔχει φράσαι,
i.e. “in one thing our zeal has lagged, —the quest whether” etc.: Theognis however (583 Bergk 3rd ed.) has
τὰ μὲν προβέβηκεν ἀμήχανόν ἐστι γενέσθαι | ἀργά, =
ἀποίητα, infecta.
διπλοῦς | πομπούς
he had sent two successive messages—one messenger with each.
πομπός = one who is sent to escort(
πέμπειν) or fetch a person (
Soph. OC 70
). The words could mean (as Ellendt takes them) “two sets of messengers”: but the other view is simpler, and consists equally well with
οἵδε in 297.
μὴ παρὼν θαυμάζεται
=
θαυμάζω εἰ μὴ πάρεστι; but with
οὐ, =
θαυμάζω ὅτι οὐ πάρεστι: differing nearly as “I wonder
why”and “I wonder
that.”
Xen. Anab. 4.4.15
(he spoke of)
τὰ μὴ ὄντα ὡς οὐκ ὄντα: i.e.
εἴ τι μὴ ἦν, ἔλεγεν ὅτι οὐκ ἦν.
τά γ’ ἄλλα … ἔπη
the rumours which were current —
apart from the knowledge which the seer may have to give us. Not “
the other rumours.” Cp.
Plat. Phaedo 110e
καὶ λίθοις καὶ γῇ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ζῴοις τε καὶ φυτοῖς.
κωφὰ
: the rumour has died down; it no longer gives a clear sound. Cp. fr. 604
λήθην τε τὴν ἅπαντ’ ἀπεστερημένην, | κωφήν, ἄναυδον.
Soph. Aj. 911
ὁ πάντα κωφός, ὁ πάντ’ ἄϊδρις,
reft of all sense and wit.
τὰ ποῖα
cp. 120.
ὁδοιπόρων
the survivor had spoken of
λῃσταί, 122. The word now used comes nearer to the truth (cp. 801
ὁδοιπορῶν); but, as the next v. shows, Oed. does not regard this rumour as a different one from that which Creon had mentioned.
τὸν δ’ ἰδόντ’
the surviving eyewitness: cp. 119
ὦν εἶδε, πλὴν ἕν κ.τ.λ. Oed. has not yet learned that this witness could be produced: cp. vv. 754 ff.
ἰδόντα
is better than the conj.
δρῶντα (1) as expressing, not merely that the culprit is unknown, but that no eyewitness of the deed is now at hand: (2) because, with
ὁρᾷ, it has a certain ironical point, —expressing the king's incredulity as to anything being made of this clue. Cp. 105, 108.
The subject to
ἔχει
is the murderer, who is foremost in the thoughts of the Chorus, —not the eye-witness(
ὁ ἰδών, 293). The reversion from plural(
ὁδοιπόρων, 292) to singular is unconscious, just as in 124 we have
ὁ λῃστής, after
λῃστάς in 122.
δείματός γ’
δεῖμα, prop. “an object of fear,” is used by Herodotus and the poets as =
δέος :
Hdt. 6.74
Κλεομένεα … δεῖμα ἔλαβε Σπαρτιητέων
:
Aesch. Supp. 566
χλωρῷ δείματι θυμὸν | πάλλοντ’
:
Eur. Supp. 599
ὥς μοι ὑφ’ ἥπατι δεῖμα χλοερὸν ταράσσει
: id.
Soph. El. 767
ἐκ δείματος,
from fear. Cp. above, 153. The
γε gives emphasis: the
ἀραί of Oed. were enough to scare the boldest. Hartung conjectures
δειμάτων ἔχει μέρος. The plur.
δείματα means either (a) objects of fear, or (b) much more rarely,
fears, with reference to
some particular objects already specified: as in
Soph. El. 636
δειμάτων ἃ νῦν ἔχω,
“the terrors which I now suffer,” alluding to the
dreams. Here we seem to need the sing., “fear.”
τὰς σὰς … ἀράς
thy curses:
τοιάσδε
, being such as they are.
οὑξελέγξων
The present
οὑξελέγχων would mean, “there is one who convicts him”: i.e. the supposed criminal, whom threats scare not, is already detected; for the prophet has come. Cp.
Isoc. 8.139
ὥστ’ οὐκ ἀπορήσομεν μεθ’ ὧν κωλύσομεν τοὺς ἐξαμαρτάνοντας, ἀλλὰ πολλοὺς ἕξομεν τοὺς ἑτοίμως καὶ προθύμως συναγωνιζομένους ἡμῖν
: where, however, the present part.
συναγωνιζομένους is relative to the future
ἕξομεν. To this it may be objected: (1) the
present participle with
ἔστιν would not be suitable unless the conviction were in act of taking place: (2) the fut. partic. not only suits the context better—“one
to convict him” [;supposing he is here];—but also agrees with the regular idiom: e.g.
Soph. Phil. 1242
τίς ἕσται μ’ οὑπικωλύσων τάδε;
Soph. El. 1197
οὐδ’ οὑπαρήξων οὐδ’ ὁ κωλύσων πάρα;
(cp.
Soph. Ant. 261
:)
Aesch. PB 27
ὁ λωφήσων γὰρ οὐ πέφυκέ πω
:
Xen. Anab. 2.4.5
ὁ ἡγησόμενος οὐδεὶς ἔσται.
ᾧ
this pron. ends a v.
Soph. OC 14
,
Soph. Trach. 819
,
Soph. El. 873
.
ἐμπέφυκεν
a divine gift of prophecy:
Hdt. 9.94
(of the seer Evenius)
καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα αὐτίκα ἔμφυτον μαντικὴν εἶχε.
ἀνθρώπων μόνῳ
above all other men: cp.
Soph. OC 261
μόνας … | σώζειν οἵας τε κ.τ.λ.,
Athens, above all other cities, can save:
Isoc. 14.57
ὀφείλετε δὲ μόνοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων τοῦτον τὸν ἔρανον,
unice (though others owe it also).
ὦ πάντα νωμῶν
νωμάω (νεμ) means (1) to distribute, (2) to dispose, and so to wield, ply, (3) figuratively, to ponder,
animo versare:
ἐνὶ φρεσὶ κέρδε’ ἐνώμας
Hom. Od. 18.216
:
ἐν ὠσὶ νωμῶν καὶ φρεσὶν πυρὸς δίχα | χρηστηρίους ὄρνιθας ἀψευδεῖ τέχνῃ
Aesch. Seven 25
(of Teiresias): (4) then, absolutely, to
observe:
Hdt. 4.128
νωμῶντες … σῖτα ἀναιρεομένους,
observing the moment when they were cutting forage. Similarly here, —with the idea of mental grasp unaided by eyesight. Plato (
Plat. Crat. 411d
) fancifully connects
γνώμη with
νώμησις, —τὸ γὰρ νωμᾶν καὶ τὸ σκοπεῖν ταὐτόν.
διδακτά τε—ἄρρητά τε
cp. the colloquial
ῥητὸν ἄρρητόν τ’ ἔπος(
Soph. OC 1001
dicenda tacenda):
ἄρρητα =
ἀπόρρητα:
Hdt. 6.135
ἄρρητα ἱρὰ ἐκφήνασαν.
οὐράνιά τε καὶ χθονοστιβῆ
not in apposition with
ἄρρητα and
διδακτά respectively, but both referring to each, lore that may or that may not be told, whether of the sky or of the earth. Dindorf cp. Nicephorus Gregoras
Hist. Byz. 695d
ἄκτιστα γενέσθαι πάντα τά τ’ οὐράνια τά τε χθονοστιβῆ καὶ ὑδραῖα γένη: where, however,
χθονοστιβῆ has its literal sense, —“walking the earth”: here it is poet. for
ἐπίγεια, “the lowly things of earth.” Cp.
HH 29.2
ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων τ’ ἀνθρώπων.
μέν
is not balanced by
φρονεῖς δ’
(as if we had
οὐ βλέπεις μέν), but by the thought of the expected healer (310). The
δὲ
after
φρονεῖς
introduces the apodosis after a concessive protasis, as
Hdt. 8.22
εἰ δὲ ὑμῖν ἐστι τοῦτο μὴ δυνατὸν ποιῆσαι, ὑμέες δὲ
(
then)
ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἐκ τοῦ μέσου ἡμῖν ἕζεσθε.
Xen. Cyrop. 5.5.21
ἀλλ’ εἰ μηδὲ τοῦτο … βούλει ἀποκρίνασθαι, σὺ δὲ τοὐτεῦνθεν λέγε.
ἧς
sc.
νόσου.
προστάτην
νόσου, a protector from a plague: strictly, one who stands in front of,
shields, the city's distempered state. Cp.
Soph. Aj. 803
πρόστητ’ ἀναγκαίας τύχης,
shelter my hard fate. In
Eur. Andr. 220
χείρον’ ἀρσένων νόσον | ταύτην νοσοῦμεν, ἀλλὰ προὔστημεν καλῶς,
“we suffer this distemper more cruelly than men, but ever rule it well,” the idea is that of
administering (not protecting), as in
προΐστασθαι τῆς ἡλικίας, to regulate one's own early years,
Isoc. 15.290
. Cp. 882.
μοῦνον
this Ionic form (like
κοῦρος, δουρί, ξεῖνος, γούνατα) is used in dialogue by Soph.: Aesch. has not
μοῦνος, though in
Aesch. PB 804
τόν τε μουνῶπα στρατόν.
In
Eur. Rh. 31
μόναρχοι
is now restored for
μούναρχοι.
εἰ καὶ μὴ κλύεις
“if
indeed … ,”implying that he probably
has heard it.
Soph. Aj. 1127
δεινόν γ’ εἶπας, εἰ καὶ ζῇς θανών.
On
εἰ καί and
καὶ εἰ see Appendix. Others would render, “if you have not heard from the messengers
also,”supposing it to be a hyperbaton for
εἰ μὴ κλύεις καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων. This is impossible. Prof. Campbell compares
Thuc. 5.45
καὶ ἢν ἐς τὸν δῆμον ταῦτα λέγωσιν,
as if put for
ἢν καὶ ἐς τὸν δῆμον: but there the passage runs thus; (Spartan envoys had been pleading with effect before the Athenian
Βουλή·) —τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην ἐφόβουν μὴ καί, ἢν ἐς τὸν δῆμον ταὐτὰ λέγωσιν, ἐπαγάγωνται τὸ πλῆθος καὶ ἀπωσθῇ ἡ Ἀργείων συμμαχία: where the
καί before
ἤν goes with
ἐπαγάγωνται. Some adopt the conj.
εἴ τι μή, “unless
perchance”: for
τι so used, see below 969,
Soph. OC 1450
,
Soph. Trach. 586, 712
: but no change is required. —For the pres.
κλύεις, cp.
Soph. Phil. 261
.
μαθόντες εὖ
εὖ = “with care,” “aright”: cp.
Soph. Aj. 18
ἐπέγνως εὖ
:
Soph. Aj. 528
ἐὰν τὸ ταχθὲν εὖ τολμᾷ τελεῖν.
Meineke's conj.
ἢ, adopted by Nauck, is weak, and against the rhythm.
ἀπ’ οἰωνῶν φάτιν
for
ἀπό, see 43:
φάτιν
, 151.
ἄλλην ὁδόν
as divination by fire (see on 21), to which Teiresias resorts (
Soph. Ant. 1005
) when the voice of birds fails him.
ῥῦσαι σεαυτὸν
κ.τ.λ. ῥύεσθαί τι is
to draw a thing to oneself, and so
to protect it.
ῥῦσαι μίασμα
here = literally, “
take the defilement under thy care”; i.e. “make it thy care to remove the defilement.” Cp.
πρόστητ’ ἀναγκαίας τύχης (
Soph. Aj. 803
), shelter my hard fate, (instead of, “shelter me from it.”)
πᾶν μίασμα
the
whole defilement, as affecting not only human life but also the herds and flocks and the fruits of the earth: cp. 253.
τοῦ τεθνηκότος
gen. of the source from which the
μίασμα springs, —more pathetic than
τοῦ φόνου, as reminding the hearer that vengeance is due for innocent blood. Both
πᾶν
and the usual sense of
μίασμα
forbid us to understand, “avenge the uncleanness [;i.e. the unpunished murder]; of the dead man.” For
ῥῦσαι δὲ Blaydes conj.
λῦσον δὲ, comparing
Eur. Orest. 598
μίασμα λῦσαι.
But the triple
ῥῦσαι
is essential to the force.
ἐν σοὶ
=
penes te :
Soph. OC 248
ἐν ὑμῖν ὡς θεῷ | κείμεθα τλάμονες
:
Eur. Alc. 278
ἐν σοὶ δ’ ἐσμὲν καὶ ζῆν καὶ μή.
ἄνδρα
accus. before, not after,
ὠφελεῖν
, as in
Soph. Ant. 710
ἀλλ’ ἄνδρα, κεἴ τις ᾖ σοφός, τὸ μανθάνειν | πόλλ’ αἰσχρὸν οὐδέν.
In both places
ἄνδρα has a certain stress—“for mortal man.” But in
Soph. Aj. 1344
ἄνδρα δ’ οὐ δίκαιον, εἰ θάνοι, | βλάπτειν τὸν ἐσθλόν, ἄνδρα
is the object, agreeing with
τὸν ἐσθλόν.
ἀφ’ ὦν ἔχοι τε καὶ δύναιτο
, by means of all his
resources and
faculties. The optat. is thus used in universal statements, and therefore especially in
γνῶμαι: cp. 979:
Soph. Ant. 666
ἀλλ’ ὃν πόλις στήσειε, τοῦδε χρὴ κλύειν
:
Xen. Cyrop. 1.6.19
ἀλλὰ τοῦ μὲν αὐτὸν λέγειν, ἃ μὴ σαφῶς εἰδείη, φείδεσθαι δεῖ.
So here we supply
ἐστί (not
ἂν εἴη) with
κάλλιστος. The difference between
ἀφ’ ὧν ἂν ἔχῃ (“may have”), and
ἔχοι (“might have”), is that the latter form treats the “having” as an abstract hypothesis(
εἴ τι ἔχοι).
λύῃ
for subjunct. without
ἄν, cf.
Soph. OC 395
ὃς νέος πέσῃ
:
Soph. Aj. 1074
ἔνθα μὴ καθεστήκῃ δέος
:
Soph. Trach. 1008
ὅ τι καὶ μύσῃ.
The subjunct.,
ἔνθα μὴ λύῃ,= “in a case where it may not profit”: the indic.,
ἔνθα μὴ λύει, = “in a case where it does not profit.” The use of
μή, whether with subjunct. or with indic., generalises the statement. Cp.
Soph. OC 839
μὴ πίτασσ’ ἃ μὴ κρατεῖς
:
Soph. OC 1442
μὴ πεῖθ’ ἃ μὴ δεῖ.
But L has
λύηι, and some other MSS. have
λύη: and it is much more likely that this should have become
λύει than vice versa.
τέλη λύῃ
=
λυσιτελῇ, only here: cp.
Eur. Alc. 627
φημὶ τοιούτους γάμους | λύειν βροτοῖς.
ταῦτα γὰρ
(I have to bewail this now),
for, though I once knew it, I had forgotten it. Teiresias, twice summoned (288), had come reluctantly. Only now, in the presence of Oedipus, does he realise the full horror of the secret which he holds.
διώλεσ’
= let slip out of my memory; cp.
σῴζεσθαι to
remember,
Soph. El. 993, 1257
,
Soph. Trach. 682
:
Plat. Theaet. 153b
κτᾶταί τε μαθήματα καὶ σῴζεται
:
Plat. Rep. 455b
ἃ ἔμαθε, σῴζεται.
So
Teren. Phorm. 2.3.39
perii hercle: nomen perdidi, “have forgotten.” —Some explain, “
suppressed the thought.”
τί δ’ ἔστιν;
Soph. El. 920
φεῦ τῆς ἀνοίας … ΧΡΥΣ. τί δ’ ἔστιν;
and so often in Soph. (as 1144,
Soph. Trach. 339
,
Soph. El. 921
):
δέ marking that the attention is turned to a new point, as in
τί δ’;
quid vero? (941), or to a new person:
Isaeus 8.24
σὺ δὲ τίς εἶ;
διοίσω
bear to the end:
Eur. Hipp. 1143
δάκρυσι διοίσω | πότμον ἄποτμον,
live out joyless days:
Thuc. 1.11
εἰ ξυνεχῶς τὸν πόλεμον διέφερον. διαφέρειν
could not mean “to bear
apart”(from each other), though that is implied.
πίθῃ
, i.e. obey me by letting me go home.
οὔτ’ ἔννομ’
κ.τ.λ.· not in conformity with usage, which entitled the State to benefit by the wisdom of its
μάντις. The king's first remonstrances are gentle.
ἀποστερῶν
“withholding”:
Aristot. Rh. 2.6.3
ἀποστερῆσαι παρακαταθήκην,
depositum non reddere.
φάτιν
of a divine message, 151.
ὁρῶ γὰρ
κ.τ.λ.: (
I do
not speak), for I see that
neither dost
thou speak opportunely: (I am silent) therefore, lest I too should speak unseasonably.
πρὸς καιρόν
=
καιρίως, as
Soph. Phil. 1279
,
Soph. Trach. 59
.
ὡς οὖν
κ.τ.λ.: “(I do not speak), then, in order that
neither (
μηδέ
) may I share your mishap (of speaking amiss).” If he speaks not,
neither will he speak wrongly. Cp.
Thuc. 2.63
εἰκὸς … μὴ φεύγειν τοὺς πόνους, ἢ μηδὲ τὰς τιμὰς διώκειν.
I now prefer this view to taking
μηδ’ ἐγώ
as irregular for
μὴ καὶ ἐγώ (“lest I too … ”), —revolving
μηδέ into
μή
not,
δέ
on the other hand; though the place of
ἐγώ suggests this. Kviecpala's
μὴ λέγων
is ingenious and attractive; it may, indeed, be right; but seems hardly necessary.
μὴ πρὸς θεῶν
κ.τ.λ. The attribution of these two verses to the Chorus in some MSS. is probably due to the plur. in 327 having misled those who did not see that the king speaks for all Thebes.
φρονῶν γ’
if thou hast understanding (of this matter): cp. 569
ἐφ’ οἷς γὰρ μὴ φρονῶ σιγᾶν φιλῶ: not, “if thou art sane.” But in 328
οὐ φρονεῖτε= “are without understanding,” “are senseless.”
ἐγὼ δ’ οὐ μή ποτε ἐκφήνω τὰ ἐμὰ (ὡς ἂν μὴ εἴπω τὰ σἂ κακά
I will never reveal my (not to call them
thy) griefs.
τὰ ἐμὰ κακά
,= those secrets touching Oedipus which lie heavy on the prophet's soul:
τὰ σὰ κακά
, those same secrets in their import for Oedipus. We might render
ὡς ἂν εἴπω μὴ τὰ σ’ either (i) as above, or (ii) “in order that I may not utter thy griefs.” But (i) is preferable for these reasons: —(1) The subjunct.
εἴπω with
μή was familiar in such phrases.
Plat. Rep. 487d
τοὺς μὲν πλείστους καὶ πάνυ ἀλλοκότους γιγνομένους, ἵνα μὴ παμπονήρως εἴπωμεν,
“becoming very strange persons, —not to use a more unqualified epithet”:
Plat. Rep. 507d
οὐδ’ ἄλλαις πολλαῖς, ἵνα μὴ εἴπω ὅτι οὐδεμιᾷ, τοιούτου προσδεῖ οὐδενός,
i.e. few, —not to say none:
Plat. Hippias Min. 372d
τοιοῦτός εἰμι οἷός πέρ εἰμι, ἵνα μηδὲν ἐμαυτὸν μεῖζον εἵπω,
—to say nothing more of myself. The substitution of
ὡς ἂν
for the commoner
ἵνα in no way alters the meaning. For
ὡς ἂν μή
, cp.
Aristoph. Birds 1508
τουτὶ … τὸ σκιάδειον ὑπέρεχε | ἄνωθεν, ὡς ἂν μή μ’ ἴδωσιν οἱ θεοί.
For
ὡς ἂν εἴπω μὴ
instead of
ὡς ἂν μὴ εἴπω, cp. 255,
Soph. Phil. 66
εἰ δ’ ἐργάσει | μὴ ταῦτα.
Soph. OC 1365
εἰ δ’ ἐξέφυσα τάσδε μὴ ’μαυτῷ τροφούς.
Hdt. 7.214
εἰδείη γὰρ ἂν καὶ ἐὼν μὴ Μηλιεὺς … τὴν ἀτραπόν.
(2) The emphatic position of
τἄμ’
suits this version. (3)
ἐκφήνω
is more forcible than
εἴπω
. If the meaning were, “I will not
reveal my griefs, in order that I may not
mention (
εἴπω) thy griefs,” the clauses would be ill-balanced. See Appendix, n. on vv. 328 f.
ξυνειδὼς
because
ἐκφήνω implied that he knew. Cp. 704
αὐτὸς ξυνειδώς, ἢ μαθὼν ἄλλου πάρα; i.e. of his own knowledge, or on hearsay? Not, “being an accomplice” (as
Soph. Ant. 266
ξυνειδέναι | τὸ πρᾶγμα βουλεύσαντι
): Oed. can still control his rising anger.
ἐγὼ οὔτ’
synizesis. The rugged verse is perh. designed to express agitation. Cp. 1002
ἐγὼ οὐχί:
Soph. OC 939
ἐγὼ οὔτ’ ἄνανδρον,
998
ἐγὼ οὐδέ, 1436
τελεῖτ’, ἐπεὶ οὔ μοι:
Soph. Ant. 458
ἐγὼ οὐκ ἔμελλον
:
Soph. Phil. 1390
ἐγὼ οὐκ Ἀτρείδας
.
ταῦτ’
, 29 n.
πέτρου | φύσιν
Eur. Med. 1279
ὦ τάλαιν’, ὡς ἄρ’ ἦσθα πέτρος ἢ σίδᾳρος.
For the periphrasis cp.
Plat. Phaedrus 251b
ἡ τοῦ πτεροῦ φύσις,
=
τὸ πτερόν, πεφυκὸς ὥσπερ πέφυκε, being constituted as it is:
Plat. Tim. 45b
τὴν τῶν βλεφάρων φύσιν
:
Plat. Tim. 74d
τὴν τῶν νεύρων φύσιν
:
Plat. Tim. 84c
ἡ τοῦ μυελοῦ φύσις
:
Plat. Laws 145d
τὴν ὕδατος φύσιν.
And so often in Arist., e.g.
ἡ τοῦ πνεύματος φύσις
Aristot. Meteor. 2.8
:
ἡ τῶν νεύρων φύσις
Aristot. Hist. An. 3.5
.
ποτέ
tandem aliquando:
Soph. Phil. 816
μέθες ποτέ
:
Soph. Phil. 1041
τίσασθ’ ἀλλὰ τῷ χρόνῳ ποτέ.
ἀτελεύτητος
not brought to an end:
Hom. Il. 4.175
ἀτελευτήτῳ ἐπὶ ἔργῳ.
Plut. Mor. 114f
τὸ γὰρ δὴ ἀτελεύτητον νομίζειν τὸ πένθος ἀνοίας ἐστὶν ἐσχάτης.
Here, a man “with whom one cannot make an end,” —who cannot be brought to the desired issue. In freely rendering, “Wilt thou never make an end?” we remember, of course, that the adj. could not literally mean “not finishing.” Possibly it is borrowed from the colloquial vocabulary of the day: the tone is like that of the Latin
odiosus.
ἐμέμψω
aor. referring to the moment just past: so oft.
ἐπῄνεσα, ξυνῆκα, ησθην· ἒπτηξα (
Soph. OC 1466
):
ἔφριξα(
Soph. Aj. 693
):
ἐδεξάμην (
Soph. El. 668
):
ἀπέπτυσα (
Eur. Hec. 1276
).
ὁμοῦ | ναίουσαν
, while (or though) it dwells close to thee, —possesses and sways thee. So
Soph. OC 1134
κηλὶς κακῶν ξύνοικος
:
Soph. El. 784
βλάβη | ξύνοικος
:
Soph. Aj. 639
συντρόφοις | ὀργαῖς.
But (as Eustathius saw, 755. 14) the words have a second meaning: “thou seest not that thine own
[;τὴν σήν, thy kinswoman, thy mother]; is dwelling with thee [;as thy wife];.” The ambiguity of
τὴν σὴν
, the choice of the phrase
ὁμοῦ ναίουσαν
, and the choice of
κατεῖδες
, leave no doubt of this. Cp. 261.
ἀλλ’ ἐμὲ ψέγεις
the thought of
ὀργὴν ἐμέμψω τὴν ἐμήν returns upon itself, as if from a sense that the contrast between
ἐμέμψω and
κατεῖδες would be imperfectly felt without such an iteration. This is peculiarly Sophoclean; cp. above 166(
ἔλθετε καὶ νῦν): Schneidewin cp. also
Soph. Aj. 1111
οὐ … τῆς σῆς οὕνεκ’ … | ἀλλ’ οὕνεχ’ ὅρκων … | σοῦ δ’ οὐδέν
: and similarly
Soph. Ant. 465 ff.
,
Soph. Trach. 431 ff.
,
Soph. El. 361 ff.
The emphasis on
τοιαῦτα
as well as on
οὐκ
warrants the repeated
ἂν
: cp. 139:
Soph. Ant. 69 ff.
:
Eur. Andr. 934
οὐκ ἂν ἔν γ’ ἐμοῖς δόμοις | βλέπουσ’ ἂν αὐγὰς τἄμ’ ἐκαρποῦτ’ ἂν λέχη.
ἃ … ἀτιμάζεις πόλιν
ἅ cogn. accus.:
Soph. Aj. 1107
τὰ σέμν’ ἔπη | κόλαζ’ ἐκείνους
:
Soph. Ant. 550
τί ταῦτ’ ἀνιᾶς μ’;
ἀτιμάζεις
, by rejecting the request that he would speak:
Soph. Ant. 544
.
ἥξει γὰρ αὐτά
The subject to
ἥξει
is designedly left indeterminate: “(the things of which I wot) will come of themselves.” The seer is communing with his own thought, which dwells darkly on the
κακά of v. 329.
αὐτά
=
αὐτόματα :
Hom. Il. 17.252
ἀργαλέον δέ μοί ἐστι διασκοπιᾶσθαι ἕκαστον … | ἀλλά τις αὐτὸς ἴτω.
Cp. the phrase
αὐτὸ δείξει,
res ipsa arguet, the result will show: Soph. fr. 355
ταχὺ δ’ αὐτὸ δείξει τοὔργον.
οὐκοῦν ἅ γ’ ἥξει
Elmsley, Nauck and Hartung read
οὐκ οὖν … ἐμοί; but the positive
χρὴ
is stronger without the query. “Then, seeing that they will
come, thou on thy part (
καὶ σὲ
) shouldest
tell them to me.” The stress of
καὶ
falls primarily on
σὲ
, but serves at the same time to contrast
λέγειν
with
ἥξει
. In
ἅ γ’ ἥξει
the causal force of the relative is brought out by
γε
:
quippe quae ventura sint.
οὐκ ἂν πέρα φράσαιμι
The courteous formula (95, 282), just because it is such, here expresses fixed resolve.
ἥτις ἀγριωτάτη
:
Hom. Il. 17.61
ὅτε τίς τε λέων … βοῦν ἁρπάσῃ ἥτις ἀρίστη
:
Plat. Apol. 23a
πολλαὶ ἀπέχθειαι … καὶ οἶαι χαλεπώταται
:
Dem. 2.18
εἰ μὲν γάρ τις ἀνήρ ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς οἷος ἔμπειρος πολέμου καὶ ἀγώνων
[;sc.
ἐστί];, τούτους, κ.τ.λ.
καὶ μὴν
with
γε
, “aye verily”: cp.
Soph. El. 554
, where
ἢν ἐφῇς μοι is answered (556) by
καὶ μὴν ἐφίημ’. (For a slightly different
καὶ μήν … γε, see
Soph. OC 396
.)
ὡς ὀργῆς ἔχω
=
ἔχων ὀργῆς ὡς ἔχω, being so wroth as I am.
Thuc. 1.22
ὡς ἑκατέρων τις εὐνοίας ἢ μνήμης ἔχοι
:
Eur. Hel. 313
πῶς δ’ εὐμενείας τοισίδ’ ἐν δόμοις ἔχεις;
παρήσω … οὐδὲν
(
τούτων)
ἅπερ ξυνίημ’
, I will leave unsaid nothing (of those things) which I comprehend, i.e. I will reveal my whole insight into the plot.
ξυνίημι
suits the intellectual pride of Oedipus: he does not say “think” or “suspect”: cp. 628. For
γὰρ
after
ἴσθι
cp. 277.
καὶ ξυμφυτεῦσαι … εἰργάσθαι θ’. καί … τε
could no more stand for ‘and’ … ‘both’ than
et … que could.
καί
here (adeo) implies, “no mere
sympathiser, but
actually the
plotter.”Cp.
Soph. OC 1394
καὶ
(
e'en)
πᾶσι Καδμείοισι τοῖς σαυτοῦ θ’ ἅμα.
ξυμφυτεῦσαι
:
Pind. I. 5.12
σύν τέ οἱ δαίμων φυτεύει δόξαν
:
Soph. Aj. 953
Παλλὰς φυτεύει πῆμα
:
Soph. El. 198
δεινὰν δεινῶς προφυτεύσαντες | μορφάν
(of crime). Hermann preferred
δ’ to
τ’ after
εἰργάσθαι, as meaning, “
but hast done it (only) by another's hands” (i.e. “
though thou hast not executed it thyself”): this, however, besides being forced, destroys the climax.
ὅσον
(
εἶχες εἰργάσθαι)
μὴ καίνων
, so far as you could be the author of the deed without slaying:
Thuc. 4.16
φυλάσσειν δὲ καὶ τὴν νῆσον Ἀθηναίους μηδὲν ἧσσον, ὄσα μὴ ἀποβαίνοντας
: 1. 111
τῆς γῆς ἐκράτουν ὄσα μὴ προϊόντες πολὺ ἐκ τῶν ὅπλων:
Soph. Trach. 1214
| ὅσον γ’ ἂν
(sc.
δρῴην τοῦτὀ αὐτὸς μὴ ποτιψαύων χεροῖν.
καὶ τοὔργον … τοῦτο
the
doing of this thing also,
αὐτὴν τὴν πρᾶξιν, as dist. from the plotting and the direction of the act.
ἄληθες;
κ.τ.λ. The same word marks the climax of Creon's anger in
Soph. Ant. 758
: cp.
Aristoph. Birds 393
ἐτεόν;
etc.
ἐννέπω σὲ … ἐμμένειν
, I command that thou abide: so
Soph. Phil. 101
λέγω σε … λαβεῖν.
ᾦπερ προεῖπας
(sc.
ἐμμένειν), by which thou didst proclaim that (all) should abide: this is better than taking
ᾦπερ
as by attraction for
ὅπερ, since
προεῖπον could take an acc. of
the thing proclaimed (e.g.
ξενίαν, πόλεμον, θάνατον), but not of the edict itself (as
κήρυγμα).
ὡς ὄντι … μιάστορι
an anacolouthon for
ὡς ὄντα … μιάστορα, as if
ἐννέπω σοί had preceded.
ἐμέ
just before made this necessary. In
Eur. Med. 57
most MSS. give
ὥσθ’ ἵμερός μ’ ὑπῆλθε γῇ τε κοὐρανῷ | λέξαι μολούσῃ δεῦρο δεσποίνης τύχας, where Porson, reading
μολοῦσαν, admits that the dat. stands in Philemon's parody (Athenaeus 288 D),
ὡς ἵμερός μ’ ὑπῆλθε γῇ τε κοὐρανῷ | λέξαι μολόντι τοὖψον ὡς ἐσκεύασα. Elms. cp.
Eur. IA 491
ἄλλως τέ μ’ ἔλεος τῆς ταλαιπώρου κόρης | εἰσῆλθε συγγένειαν ἐννοουμένῳ.
Conversely
Thuc. 6.85
sect. 2(
τοῖς ἐκεῖ ξυμμάχοις followed by
Χίους, etc., in appos.).
ἐξεκίνησας
ἐκκινεῖν is used of starting game,
Soph. El. 567
ἐξεκίνησεν ποδοῖν | … ἔλαφον
: of rousing one from rest,
Soph. Trach. 1242
, and fig. of exciting pain which had been lulled,
Soph. Trach. 979
. Here the notion is that of a startling utterance. Cp. the use of
κινεῖν in the sense of mooting subjects which should not have been touched:
Eur. El. 302
ἐπεὶ δὲ κινεῖς μῦθον,
i.e. since thou
hast broached this theme: cp.
Soph. OC 1526
ἃ δ’ ἐξάγιστα μηδὲ κινεῖται λόγῳ.
In
Eur. Med. 1317
τί τάσδε κινεῖς κἀναμοχλεύεις πύλας;
Porson, with the author of the
Christus Patiens, reads
λόγους, thinking that
Aristoph. Cl. 1399
ὦ καινῶν ἐπῶν | κινητὰ καὶ μοχλευτά
alluded to that place. So
ἀκίνητα (ἔπἠ =
ἀπόρρητα
Soph. OC 624
,
Soph. Ant. 1060
ὄρσεις με τἀκίνητα διὰ φρενῶν φράσαι. | κίνει, κ.τ.λ.
καὶ ποῦ
κ.τ.λ. And on what ground dost thou think to escape (punishment for) this thing? For
ποῦ
cp. 390:
Soph. Aj. 1100
ποῦ σὺ στρατηγεῖς τοῦδε;
Distinguish
καί
(1)
prefixed to interrogative particles, when it expresses an objection:
Aesch. Ag. 280
καὶ τίς τόδ’ ἐξίκοιτ’ ἂν ἀγγέλων τάχος;
Dem. 19.257
(with Shilleto's note), and
καὶ πῶς; passim: (2)
suffixed, where, granting a fact, it asks for further information:
Aesch. Ag. 278
ποίου χρόνου δὲ καὶ πεπόρθηται πόλις;
(assuming it to be taken,
when was it taken?)
Eur. Alc. 834
ποῦ καί σφε θάπτει;
τοῦτο φεύγειν
here =
τούτου τὴν δίκην ἐκφεύγειν:
Eur. Med. 795
παίδων φόνον | φεύγουσα,
fleeing from (the penalties of) the murder:
Cic. Pro Cluent. 59.163
calumniam ( = crimen calumniae) non effugiet. But in
Lys. 12.34
τοῦτο … οὐ φεύγω
= “I do not avoid this point.”
ἰσχῦον
expresses the living strength of the divine instinct within him: cp.
ζῶντα 482.
τρέφω
see on
ἐμπέφυκεν 299.
τέχνης
slightly contemptuous; cp. 388, 562, 709.
προὐτρέψω
the midd., as 1446: but the act.,
Soph. Ant. 270
,
Soph. El. 1193
.
ἢ κπειρᾷ λέγων;
or (while you
do understand my meaning already) are you merely trying by your talk (
λέγων
) to provoke a still fuller statement of it?
Hdt. 3.135
δείσας μή εὑ ἐκπειρῷτο Δαρεῖος,
was making trial of him:
Aristoph. Kn. 1234
καί σου τοσοῦτο πρῶτον ἐκπειράσομαι,
“thus far make trial of thee” (test thee by one question). The notion of
ἐκ in the compound is that of drawing forth something from the person tested.
λέγων
here implies
idle talk, cp. 1151
λέγει γὰρ εἰδὼς οὐδέν:
Soph. Phil. 55
τὴν Φιλοκτήτου σε δεῖ | ψυχὴν ὅπως λόγοισιν ἐκκλέψεις λέγων
: where, as here, the partic. denotes the process. If we read
λέγειν, we must supply
ὥστε: “tempting me so that I should speak”: a weak sense.
λόγῳ could only mean, “by thy talk”: whereas it would naturally mean “in word” (only, and not
ἔργῳ). Musgrave conj.
λοχῶν (laying a snare for me); Arndt
μ’ ἑλεῖν; (to catch me): Madvig
ἐκ πείρας λέγεις; But, with
λέγων
, all is, I think, sound.
οὐχ ὥστε γ’
κ.τ.λ. οὐ (ξυνῆκἀ οὕτω γ’ ἀκριβῶς ὥστε εἰπεῖν: cp. 1131.
γνωστόν
: “known.” So the MSS.: but
γνωτὰ 58,
γνωτὸν 396. In fr. 262
ἐκ κάρτα βαιῶν γνωτὸς ἂν γένοιτ’ ἀνήρ, γνωτός= “well-known,”
γνώριμος: but Soph. used
γνωστός in the same sense in the
Hermione (Antiatticista 87.25). It has been held that, where a sigmatic form of the verbal (as
γνωστός) existed along with the non-sigmatic (as
γνωτός), Attic usage distinguished
γνωστός as = “what
can be known” from
γνωτός as = “what
is known.” But there is no ground for assuming that such a distinction was observed. See Appendix, n. on v. 361.
οὖ ζητεῖς
κ.τ.λ. φημί σε φονέα κυρεῖν (ὄντἀ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς οὖ (τὸν φονέἀ ζητεῖς.
ἀλλ’ οὔ τι χαίρων
cp.
Soph. Phil. 1299
(n.).
πημονὰς
: i.e. such charges are downright calamities, infamies. There is something of a colloquial tone in the phrase: cp.
Soph. Aj. 68
μηδὲ συμφορὰν δέχου | τὸν ἄνδρα
:
Soph. El. 301
ὁ πάντ’ ἄναλκις οὗτος, ἡ πᾶσα βλάβη.
Cp. 336
ἀτελεύτητος.
εἴπω
delib. subjunct.:
Eur. Ion 758
εἴπωμεν, ἢ σιγῶμεν, ἢ τί δράσομεν;
σὺν τοῖς φιλτάτοις
κ.τ.λ. =
σὺν τῇ φιλτάτῃ (Iocasta): since
ὁμιλοῦντ’ implies wedlock, and not merely the companionship denoted by
ξυνών in 457: for the allusive plural, cp.
Soph. Trach. 335
οὕστινας
(meaning Iole):
Soph. El. 652
φίλοισι
(Aegisthus).
ἵν’ εἶ κακοῦ
cp. 413, 1442.
Soph. Trach. 375
ποῦ ποτ’ εἰμὶ πράγματος;
ἦ καὶ
“dost thou
indeed?”
Aesch. Eum. 402
ἦ καὶ τοιαύτας τῷδ’ ἐπιρροιζεῖς φυγάς;
πλὴν σοί· σοὶ δὲ
κ.τ.λ. Note in these two vv. (1) the rhetorical iteration(
ἐπαναφορά) of the pers. pron., as in
Soph. OC 250
πρός σ’ ὅ τι σοι φίλον ἐκ σέθεν
:
Soph. OC 787
οὐκ ἔστι σοι ταῦτ’, ἀλλά σοι ταῦτ’ ἔστ’
:
Soph. Phil. 1054
πλὴν εἰς σέ· σοὶ δέ
:
Isoc. 15.41
κινδυνεύων τὰ μὲν ὑφ’ ὑμῶν τὰ δὲ μεθ’ ὑμῶν τὰ δὲ δῑ ὑμᾶς τὰ δ’ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν.
(2) the ninefold
τ (παρήχησις) in 371; cp. 425:
Soph. OC 1547
:
Soph. Aj. 528
ἐὰν τὸ ταχθὲν εὖ τολμᾷ τελεῖν.
Similarly
π,
Soph. El. 210
,
Soph. Aj. 1112
:
ς,
Eur. Med. 476
ἔσωσά σ’· ὡς ἴσασιν Ἑλλήνων ὄσοι, κ.τ.λ.·
Ennius Ann. 1.151
O Tite tute Tati tibi tanta tyranne tulisti:
Cic. Pro Cluent. 35.96
non fuit igitur illud iudicium iudicii simile, iudices.
ἄθλιος
of wretched
folly. Cp. the use of
ἄνολβος,
Soph. Aj. 1156
,
Soph. Ant. 1025
(joined with
ἄβουλος), μέλεος (
Soph. Aj. 621
),
κακοδαίμων, κ.τ.λ.
οὐδεὶς
(
ἔστιν )
ὃς οὐχὶ
=
πᾶς τις: [;Plat.];
Eur. Alc. 1
. 103 B
οὐδεὶς ὃς οὐχ ὑπερβληθεὶς … πέφευγε.
Soph. Aj. 725
ἤρασσον … οὔτις ἔσθ’ ὃς οὐ.
More properly
οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐ, declined (by attraction) in both parts, as
Plat. Phaedo 117d
οὐδένα ὅντινα οὐ κατέκλασε τῶν παρόντων.
μιᾶς τρέφει πρὸς νυκτός
thou art cherished by (thy life is passed in) one unbroken night: the pass. form of
μία νύξ σε τρέφει. Cp. fr. 524 (N.(2)),
τερπνῶς γὰρ ἀεὶ πάντας ἁνοία τρέφει, folly ever
gives a joyous
life: fr. 532. 4
βόσκει δὲ τοὺς μὲν μοῖρα δυσαμερίας, | τοὺς δ’ ὄλβος ἡμῶν:
Eur. Hipp. 367
ὦ πόνοι τρέφοντες βροτούς,
cares that
make up the life of men.
μιᾶς
might be simply
μόνης, but, in its emphatic place here, rather = “unbroken,” unvaried by day: cp.
Aristot. Rh. 3.9.1
(λέξιν) εἰρομένην καὶ τῷ συνδεσμῷ μίαν,
forming one continuous chain. The ingenious conj.
μαίας (nurse) seems to me far less forcible. (
οὐκ ἐγώ σε βλάψω),
οὐ γὰρ μοῖρα
σε πεσεῖν κ.τ.λ.
ἐκπρᾶξαι
“to accomplish” (not to “exact”);
τάδε
has a mysterious vagueness (cp. 341), but includes
τὸ πεσεῖν σε, as in 1158
τόδ’ refers to
ὀλέσθαι.
Κρέων δὲ
= “
Nay, Creon,” —introducing an objection, as
Soph. Trach. 729
τοιαῦτα δ’ ἂν λέξειεν κ.τ.λ.
:
Soph. OC 395
γέροντα δ’ ὀρθοῦν φλαῦρον
: and
Soph. OC 1443
.
τῷ πολυζήλῳ βίῳ
locative dative, defining the sphere of
ὑπερφέρουσα
, like
ἔτι μέγας οὐρανῷ | Ζεύς
Soph. El. 174
.
πολυζήλῳ
= full of emulation(
ζῆλος). Others understand, “in the
much admired life” (of princes). This is the sense of
πολύζηλον (πόσιν) in
Soph. Trach. 185
. But (1)
βίῳ seems to denote life generally, rather than a particular station: (2) the phrase, following
πλοῦτε καὶ τυραννί, would be a weak addition.
τέχνη τέχνης | ὑπερφέρουσα
refers to the view that the art of ruling is the highest of arts: cp.
Soph. Phil. 138
τέχνα γὰρ τέχνας ἑτέρας προὔχει | καὶ γνώμα, παρ’ ὅτῳ τὸ θεῖον | Διὸς σκῆπτρον ἀνάσσεται
: for skill and wit(
γνώμη), surpassing those of other men, belong to him by whom is swayed the godlike sceptre which Zeus gives.
Xen. Mem. 4.2.11
μεγίστης ἐφίεσαι τέχνης· ἔστι γὰρ τῶν βασιλέων αὕτη, καὶ καλεῖται βασιλική.
But there is also an allusion to the skill shown in solving the riddle, by which Oed. surpassed the
μαντικὴ τέχνη of Teiresias (cp. 357).
παρ’ ὑμῖν … φυλάσσεται
is guarded, stored, in your keeping: i.e. how much envy do ye tend to excite against those who receive your gifts.
φυλάσσεται
, stronger than
τρέφεται, represents envy as the
inseparable attendant on success: cp.
Soph. OC 1213
σκαιοσύναν φυλάσσων,
stubborn in folly:
Eur. Ion 735
ἄξῑ ἀξίων γεννητόρων | ἤθη φυλάσσεις.
δωρητόν, οὐκ αἰτητόν
feminine. The adjectives might be neuter: “a thing given, not asked.” But this use of the neuter adj., when the subject is regarded in its most general aspect, is far most common in
simple predications, as
Hom. Il. 2.204
οὐκ ἀγαθὸν πολυκοιρανίη
:
Eur. Hipp. 109
τερπνὸν ἐκ κυναγίας | τράπεζα πλήρης.
And
γνωτόν in 396—which must agree with
ἥν— favours the view that here also the adjectives are fem. Cp.
Hom. Il. 2.742
κλυτὸς Ἱπποδάμεια
:
Thuc. 2.41
γῆν ἐσβατόν
:
Thuc. 7.87
ὀσμαὶ οὐκ ἀνεκτοί
:
Plat. Rep. 573b
μανίας … ἐπακτοῦ
:
Plat. Eryx. 398d
ἀρετὴ διδακτός
:
Soph. OC 1460
πτερωτὸς βροντή
:
Soph. Trach. 446
εἰ … μεμπτός εἰμι
(Deianeira).
ταύτης
redundant, for emphasis:
Xen. Cyrop. 8.7.9
τὸ δὲ προβουλεύειν καὶ τὸ ἡγεῖσθαι, ἐφ’ ὅτι ἂν καιρὸς δοκῇ εἷναι, τοῦτο προστάττω.
ὑφεὶς
having secretly sent as his agent, “having suborned.”
Plat. Axioch. 368e
προέδρους ἐγκαθέτους ὑφέντες,
“having privily brought in suborned presidents.” The word
μάγος
expresses contempt for the rights of divination practised by Teiresias:
ἀγύρτης
taunts him as a mercenary impostor. So
Plut. Mor. 165f
joins
ἀγύρτας καὶ γόητας, Zosimus 1.11
μάγοις τε καὶ ἀγύρταις. The passage shows how Asiatic superstitions had already spread among the vulgar, and were scorned by the educated, in Greece. The Persian
μάγος (as conceived by the Greeks) was one who claimed to command the aid of beneficent deities(
δαίμονες ἀγαθοεργοἴ, while the
γόης was properly one who could call up the dead (Suid. 1. 490: cp.
Plut. De Defect. Orac. 10
). So
Eur. Orest. 1496
(Helen has been spirited away),
ἢ φαρμάκοισιν (by charms),
ἢ μάγων | τέχναισιν, ἢ θεῶν κλοπαῖς.
ἀγύρτην
(
ἀγείρω), a priest, esp. of Cybele(
μητραγύρτης, or, when she had the lunar attributes,
μηναγύρτης), who sought money from house to house(
ἐπὶ τὰς τῶν πλουσίων θύρας ἰόντες,
Plat. Rep. 364b
), or in public places, for predictions or expiatory rites: Maximus Tyrius 19. 3
τῶν ἐν τοῖς κύκλοις ἀγειρόντων … , οἳ δυοῖν ὀβολοῖν τῷ προστυχόντι ἀποθεσπίζουσιν.
ἐν τοῖς κέρδεσιν
in the case of gains: cp.
Soph. Aj. 1315
ἐν ἐμοὶ θρασύς;
rather than, “on opportunities for gain”(=
ὅταν ᾖ κερδαίνειν) as Ellendt takes it. Cicero's
videbat in litteris (
Cic. Tusc. 5.38.112
, quoted by Schneid.) seems not strictly similar, meaning rather “in the region of letters” (like
in tenebris).
ἐπεὶ
= “for” (if this is
not true):
Soph. El. 351
οὐ ταῦτα … δειλίαν ἔχει | ἐπεὶ δίδαξον, κ.τ.λ.;
so
Soph. OC 969
.
ποῦ;
where? i.e. in what sense?
Eur. Ion 528
ποῦ δέ μοι πατὴρ σύ;
εἶ σαφής
=
πέφηνας ὤν: cp. 355.
κύων
esp. because the Sphinx was the watchful agent of Hera's wrath: cp. 36.
Aristoph. Frogs 1287
has a line from the
Σφίγξ of Aesch.,
Σφίγγα δυσαμεριᾶν [;vulg.
δυσαμεριαν]; πρύτανιν κύνα πέμπει, “the watcher who presides over evil days” (for Thebes).
ῥαψῳδὸς
chanting her riddle (in hexameter verse), as the public reciters chanted epic poems. The word is used with irony: the baneful lay of the Sphinx was not such as the servant of Apollo chants. Cp. 130.
τό γ’ αἴνιγμ’
is nominative: the riddle did not belong to (was not for) the first comer, that he should solve it.
Soph. OC 751
οὐ γάμων | ἔμπειρος, ἀλλὰ τοὐπιόντος ἁρπάσαι.
Thuc. 6.22
πολλὴ γὰρ οὖσα ἡ στρατιὰ οὐ πάσης ἔσται πόλεως ὑποδέξασθαι.
ὁ ἐπιών
, any one who comes up; cp.
Plat. Rep. 372d
ὡς νῦν ὁ τυχὼν καὶ οὐδὲν προσήκων ἔρχεται ἐπ’ αὐτό.
διειπεῖν
“to declare,” “to solve”: cp. 854.
διά implies the drawing of clear distinctions; cp.
Soph. OC 295
διειδέναι,
diiudicare, n.
ἣν οἴτ’ ἀπ’ οἰωνῶν ἔχων οὔτ’ ἐκ θεῶν του γνωτὸν
(
ἔχων)
προὐφάνης
: and thou wast not publicly seen to have this art, either from (
ἀπ’
) birds, or as known through the agency of (
ἐκ
) any god.
προὐφάνης
. when brought to a public test. For
ἀπό
cp. 43:
ἐκ
with
θεῶν του
, of the primary or remoter agent (
Xen. Hell. 3.1.6
ἐκ βασιλέως ἐδόθη
), meaning by a
φήμη (43) or other sign.
γνωτόν
: cp. on 384.
μολών
he was a mere stranger who chanced to arrive then.
ὁ μηδὲν εἰδὼς
=
ὅστις μηδὲν ᾔδη, “I,
a man who knew nothing,” the generic
μή, here with concessive force, —“though I knew nothing, I silenced her” (qui nihil
scirem, vici tamen). So in
Dem. 19.31
the generic
μή has a causal force:
ἡ βουλὴ δέ, ἡ μὴ κωλυθεῖσα ἀκοῦσαι τἀληθῆ παρ’ ἐμοῦ, οὔτ’ ἐπῄνεσε τούτους, κ.τ.λ. (“the senate,
a body which had not been prevented.” etc.). See Whitelaw in
Trans. Camb. Phil. Soc., 1886, p. 17. Cp. 638, 875, 1019.
πέλας
adv., so
Aesch. Seven 669
παραστατεῖν πέλας.
κλαίων
cp. 368, 1152:
Soph. Ant. 754
κλαίων φρενώσεις.
ὁ συνθεὶς
Creon, as whose agent (387) Teir. is regarded: so in
Thuc. 8.68
ὁ τὴν γνώμην εἰπών
is contrasted with
ὁ τὸ πρᾶγμα ξυνθείς.
ἀγηλατεῖν =
τὸ ἄγος ἐλαύνειν(see on 98), in this case
ἀνδρηλατεῖν (100), to expel the
μιάστωρ.
Hdt. 5.72
Κλεομένης … ἀγηλατέει ἑπτακόσια ἐπίστια
(households)
Ἀθηναίων. The smooth breathing is supported by Hesychius, by the grammarians in Bekker's
Anecd. 1.328.32, and by most MSS. of Soph.; while the aspirate is given by L here, by Eustathius (1704, 5), and by Suidas, who quotes this verse. Curtius distinguishes (1)
ἀγ‐, ἄγ‐ος, guilt, object of awe, whence
ἐναγής: Skt.
ag-as, vexation, offence:
Etym. sect. 116: (2) root
ἅγ, ἅζ‐ο‐μαι reverence,
ἅγ‐ιο‐ς holy,
ἁγ‐νό‐ς pure: Skt.
jage(jaegea_-mi), reverence, consecrate:
Etym. sect. 118. In
Aesch. Lib. 154
and
Soph. Ant. 775
he would with Herm. write
ἅγος as = “consecrated offering.” In both places, however,
ἄγος(=
piaculum) satisfies the sense (see n. on
Soph. Ant. 775
); and for
ἅγος there is no other evidence. But this, at least, seems clear: the compound synonym for
τὸ ἄγος ἐλαύνειν(
Thuc. 1.126
) should be written
ἀγηλατεῖν.
δόκεις
is the scornful phrase of an angry man; I know little concerning thee, but from thine aspect I should judge thee to be old: cp. 562 where Oed. asks,
τότ’ οὖν ὁ μάντις οὗτος ἦν ἐν τῇ τέχνῃ; Not (1) “seemed,” as opposed to really being; nor (2) “wast felt by me” to be old: a sense which the word surely could not yield.
παθὼν
by bodily pain, and not merely
μαθών, by reproof: cp. 641.
οἶά
περ φρονεῖς
: see on 624
οἶόν ἐστι τὸ φθονεῖν.
ὀργῇ
modal dat., cp.
Soph. OC 659
θυμῷ.
καὶ τὰ σ’
κ.τ.λ., the elision as in 329: see on 64.
τόδε
emphatically resumes
ὅπως
λύσομεν
,
this we must consider: cp. 385
ταύτης: so
Soph. Trach. 458
τὸ μὴ πυθέσθαι, τοῦτό μ’ ἀλγύνειεν ἄν
:
Soph. Phil. 913
.
εἰ καὶ
κ.τ.λ. For
εἰ καὶ
see on 305.
ἐξισωτέον
κ.τ.λ. =
δεῖ ἐξισοῦν τὸ γοῦν ἴσα ἀντιλέξαι, one must equalize the right at least of like reply; i.e. you must make me so far your equal as to grant me the right of replying at the same length. The phrase is a pleonastic fusion of (1)
ἐξισωτέον τὸ ἀντιλέξαι with (2)
συγχωρητέον τὸ ἴσα ἀντιλέξαι.
Λοξίᾳ
see note to 853.
ὥστ’ οὐ κρέοντος
κ.τ.λ. “You charge me with being the tool of Creon's treason. I have a right to plead my own cause when I am thus accused. I am not like a resident alien, who can plead before a civic tribunal only by the mouth of that patron under whom he has been registered.” Every
μέτοικος at Athens was required
ἐπιγράφεσθαι προστάτην, i.e. to have the name of a citizen, as patron, inscribed over his own. In default, he was liable to an
ἀπροστασίου γραφή.
Aristoph. Peace 684
αὑτῷ πονηρὸν προστάτην ἐπεγράψατο
:
Aristoph. Ach. 1095
ἐπεγράφου τὴν Γοργόνα,
you took the Gorgon for your patron:
Lys. 31.9
ἐν Ὠρωπῷ μετοίκιον κατατιθεὶς
(paying the alien's tax)
ἐπὶ προστάτου ᾤκει.
γεγράψομαι
will
stand enrolled: cp.
Aristoph. Kn. 1370
οὐδεὶς κατὰ σπουδὰς μετεγγραφήσεται, | ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ ἦν τὸ πρῶτον ἐγγεγράψεται
: Theocr. 18. 47
γράμματα δ’ ἐν φλοιῷ γεγράψεται,
remain written. —For the gen.
Κρέοντος
cp.
Aristoph. Kn. 714
τὸν δῆμον σεαυτοῦ νενόμικας.
λέγω δ’
a solemn exordium, bespeaking attention: cp. 449.
τυφλόν μ’ ὠνείδισας
As
ὠνείδισας could not stand for
ἀπεκάλεσας, “called me reproachfully,”
τυφλόν must stand for
ὡς τυφλὸν ὄντα. For the ellipse of
ὄντα, cp.
Soph. El. 899
ὡς δ’ ἐν γαλήνῃ πάντ’ ἐδερκόμην τόπον
: for that of
ὡς,
Soph. OC 142
μή μ’, ἱκετεύω, προσίδητ’ ἄνομον.
σὺ καὶ δέδορκας
“Thou
both has sight
and dost not see,” i.e. thou hast sight, and at the same time dost not see. The conject. of Reiske and Brunck,
σύ, καὶ δεδορκώς(
though having sight),
οὐ βλέπεις, spoils the direct contrast with
τυφλόν.
ἔνθα ναίεις
might mean, “in what a situation thou art”: but, as distinguished from the preceding and following clauses, is best taken literally: “where thou dwellest,”—viz., in thy murdered father's house.
ἆρ’ οἶσθα
κ.τ.λ. Thy parents are unknown to thee.
Yea. and (
καὶ
) thou knowest not how thou hast sinned against them, —the dead and the living.
ἀμφιπλὴξ
as in
Soph. Trach. 930
ἀμφιπλῆγι φασγάνῳ
= a sword which smites with both edges, so here
ἀμφιπλὴξ ἀρά is properly
a curse which smites on both sides, — on the mother's and on the father's part. The pursuing
Ἀρά must be conceived as bearing a whip with double lash(
διπλῆ μάστιξ,
Soph. Aj. 242
). Cp.
ἀμφίπυρος, carrying two torches (
Soph. Trach. 214
). The genitives
μητρός, πατρός
might be causal, with
ἀμφιπλήξ, “smiting twice—
for mother and for sire,” but are better taken with
ἀρά, which here =
Ἐρινύς: cp.
Aesch. Seven 70
Ἀρά τ’, Ἐρινὺς πατρὸς ἡ μεγασθενής.
δεινόπους
with dread, untiring chase: so the Fury, who chases guilt “as a hound tracks a wounded fawn” (
Aesch. Eum. 246
), is
χαλκόπους(
Soph. El. 491
),
τανύπους(
Soph. Aj. 837
),
καμψίπους (“fleet,”
Aesch. Seven 791
).
Βλέποντα
κ.τ.λ., i.e.
τότε σκότον βλέποντα, εἰ καὶ νῦν ὀρθὰ βλέπεις. The Greek love of direct anthithesis often coordinates clauses where we must subordinate one to the other: cp. below, 673:
Isoc. 6.54
πῶς οὐκ αἰσχρόν, … τὴν μὲν Εὐρώπην καὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν μεστὴν πεποιηκέναι τροπαίων, … ὑπὲρ δὲ τῆς πατρίδος … μηδὲ μίαν μάχην φαίνεσθαι μεμαχημένους;
βλέπειν σκότον
, like
ἐν σκότῳ … | ὀψοἰατο (1273),
Eur. Ba. 510
σκότιον εἰσορᾷ κνέφας.
βοῆς δὲ
κ.τ.λ. Of thy cry what haven shall there not be (i.e. to what place shall it not be borne), —what part of Cithaeron shall not be resonant with it(
σύμφωνος ἔσται sc.
αὐτῇ), re-echo it? If we took
σύμφωνος ἔσται (and not
ἔσται alone) with
λιμήν as well as with
Κιθαιρών, the figurative force of
λιμήν would be weakened. We must not understand: What haven of the sea or what mountain (as if Cithaeron stood for
ὄρος) shall not resound?
λιμήν
, poet. in the sense of
ὑποδοχή, for that in which anything is received:
Aesch. Pers. 250
ὦ Περσὶς αἶα καὶ μέγας πλούτου λιμήν
(imitated by
Eur. Orest. 1077
): the augural seat of Teiresias is
παντὸς οἰωνοῦ λιμήν,
Soph. Ant. 1000
: the place of the dead is
Ἅιδου λιμήν,
Soph. Ant. 1284
: cp. below, 1208.
ποῖος Κιθαιρὼν
vigorous for
ποῖον μέρος Κιθαιρῶνος.
τὸν ὑμέναιον ὃν εἰσέπλευσας
the marriage into which thou didst sail:
δόμοις
, in the house, local dat. (381): the marriage(
ὑμέναιος, here =
γάμος) was the haven into which he sailed, —a haven which seemed secure, but which, in reality, was for him a
ὅρμος ἄνορμος.
εὐπλοίας τυχών
because Oed.
seemed to have found
ὄλβος, and also because the gale of fortune had borne him
swiftly on: cp.
οὔθ’ ὁρῶν οὔθ’ ἱστορῶν, 1484. —The
ὑμέναιος was the song sung while the bride and bridegroom were escorted to their home,
Hom. Il. 18.492
νύμφας δ’ ἐκ θαλάμων δαΐδων ὑπὸ λαμπομενάων | ἠγίνεον ἀνὰ ἄστυ, πολὺς δ’ ὑμέναιος ὀρώρει,
as distinguished from the
ἐπιθαλάμιον afterwards sung before the bridal chamber:
Soph. Ant. 813
οὔθ’ ὑμεναίων | ἔγκληρον, οὔτ’ ἐπινύμφειός | πώ μέ τις ὕμνος ὕμνησεν.
ἄλλων δὲ
κ.τ.λ. Verses 422-425 correspond with the actual process of the drama. The words
καταίσθῃ τὸν ὑμέναιον refer to the first discovery made by Oed., —that his wife was the widow of one whom he had himself slain: cp. 821. The
ἄλλων πλῆθος κακῶν
denotes the further discovery that this wife was his mother, with all the horrors involved (1405).
ἅ σ’ ἐξισώσει
which shall make thee level with
thy (true) self, —by showing thee to be the son of Laius, not of Polybus; —and level with
thine own children, i.e. like them, the child of Iocasta, and thus at once
ἀδελφὸς καὶ πατήρ (458). For
ἅ σ’
Markland conject.
ὅσ’, which shall
be made equal for thee and for thy children: and so Porson interpreted, conjecturing
ἅσσ’ from Agathon fr. 5
ἀγένητα ποιεῖν ἅσσ’ ἂν ᾖ πεπραγμένα. Nauck ingeniously conj.
ἅ σ’ ἐξισώσει σῷ τοκεῖ καὶ σοῖς τέκνοις. But the vulgate is sound: for the
παρήχησις cp. 371.
τοὐμὸν στόμα
i.e., it is Apollo who speaks by my mouth, which is not, as thou deemest, the
ὑπόβλητον στόμα (
Soph. OC 794
) of Creon.
προπηλάκιζε
acc. to
Aristot. Top. 6.6
προπηλακισμός
was defined as
ὕβρις μετὰ χλευασίας, insult expressed by scoffing: so in
Aristot. Nic. Eth. 5.2.13
κακηγορία, προπηλακισμός
= libellous language,
gross abuse: and in
Aristoph. Thes. 386
προπηλακιζομένας
is explained by
πολλὰ καὶ παντοῖ’ ἀκουούσας κακά.
Dem. 21.72
has
ἀήθεις … τοῦ προπηλακίζεσθαι as = “unused to gross contumely” (generally, but with immediate ref. to a blow).
ἐκτριβήσεται
rooted out.
Eur. Hipp. 683
Ζεύς σε γεννήτωρ ἐμὸς | πρόρριζον ἐκτρίψειεν.
οὐκ εἰς ὄλεθρον;
cp. 1146:
Aristoph. Pl. 394
οὐκ ἐς κόρακας;
Soph. Trach. 1183
οὐ θᾶσσον οἴσεις;
Cratinus
Νόμοι fr. 6 (Meineke p. 27)
οὐκ ἀπερρήσεις σὺ θᾶττον;
Aesch. Seven 252
οὐκ ἐς φθόρον σιγῶσ’ ἀνασχήσει τάδε
;
πάλιν ἄψορρος
like
Soph. El. 53
ἄψορρον ἤξομεν πάλιν
: the gen.
οἴκων τῶνδ’
with
ἀποστραφείς
.
ἱκόμην … ἐκάλεις
cp. 125, 402.
σχολῇ σ’ ἄν
The simple
σχολῇ is stronger than
σχολῇ γε would be:
Soph. Ant. 390
σχολῇ ποθ’ ἥξειν
(where
σχολῇ γ’ ἄν is an inferior v. l.),
Plat. Soph. 233b
σχολῇ ποτ’ … ἤθελεν ἄν,
Plat. Prot. 330e
σχολῇ μέντ’ ἂν ἄλλο τι ὅσιον εἴη
and often
οἴκους
:
Soph. OC 643
δόμους στείχειν ἐμούς.
ἐστειλάμην
=
μετεστειλάμην, μετεπεμψάμην. Distinguish
στέλλεσθαι, to summon
to oneself, from
στέλλειν said (1) of the messenger, below 860
πέμψον τινὰ στελοῦντα: (2) of him who sends word by a messenger,
Soph. Phil. 60
οἵ σ’ ἐν λιταῖς στείλαντες ἐξ οἴκου μολεῖν
: having
urged thee with prayers to come:
Soph. Ant. 164
ὑμᾶς … πομποῖσιν … | ἔστειλ’ ἱκέσθαι,
sent you word to come.
τοιοίδ’
refers back to the taunt implied in
μῶρα φωνήσοντ’, and is then made explicit by
μῶροι … ἔμφρονες
: cp.
Soph. Phil. 1271
τοιοῦτος ἦσθα
(referring to what precedes—thou wast such
as thou now art)
τοῖς λόγοισι χὥτε μου | τὰ τόξ’ ἔκλεπτες, πιστός, ἀτηρὸς λάθρα. In fr. 700 (quoted by Nauck),
καὶ τὸν θεὸν τοιοῦτον ἐξεπίσταμαι, | σοφοῖς μὲν αἰνικτῆρα, … | σκαιοῖς δὲ φαῦλον, we have not the preceding words, but doubtless
τοιοῦτον referred to them.
ὡς μὲν σοὶ δοκεῖ. σοὶ
must be accented; else the contrast would be, not partly between
σοὶ
and
γονεῦσι
, but solely between
δοκεῖ
and some other verbal notion.
σοὶ
does not, however, cohere so closely with
δοκεῖ
as to form a virtual cretic. It is need. less, then, to read (as Elms. proposed)
ὡς μέν σοι or
ὡς σοὶ μὲν. Cp.
Soph. OC 1543
ὥσπερ σφὼ πατρί
:
Eur. Heraclid. 641
σωτὴρ νῷν βλάβης.
As neither
σφὼ nor
νῷν adheres to the following rather than to the preceding word, it seems unnecessary to read with Porson
ὡς πρὶν σφὼ or
νῷν σωτήρ. Here we have
ὡς μὲν σοὶ
instead of
ὡς σοὶ μὲν, because, besides the contrast of persons, there is also a contrast between semblance (
ὡς δοκεῖ
) and fact.
γονεῦσι
“ for” them, i.e. in their judgment:
Soph. Ant. 904
καίτοι σ’ ἐγὼ τίμησα, τοῖς φρονοῦσιν, εὖ.
Aristoph. Birds 445
πᾶσι νικᾶν τοῖς κριταῖς.
ἐκφύει
(
υ^). The pres. is not historic (for
ἐξέφυσε), but denotes a permanent character: “is my sire.”
Eur. Ion 1560
ἥδε τίκτει σ’,
is thy mother: so perh.
Eur. Heraclid. 208
πατὴρ δ’ ἐκ τῆσδε γεννᾶται σέθεν.
Xen. Cyrop. 8.2.27
ὁ δὲ μὴ νικῶν
(he who was not victorious)
τοῖς μὲν νικῶσιν ἐφθόνει: and so
φεύγειν =
φυγὰς εἶναι passim. Shilleto thus takes
οἱ ἐπαγόμενοι in
Thuc. 2.2
,
οἱ προδιδόντες
Thuc. 2.5
,
οἱ διαβάλλοντες
Thuc. 3.4
; which, however, I should rather take simply as imperfect participles, =
οἳ ἐπήγοντο, προὐδίδοσαν, διέβαλλον. He well compares
Verg. Aen. 9.266
quem dat Sidonia Dido (is the giver): in Persius 4.2
sorbitio tollit quem dira cicutae, I find rather a harsh historic pres.
οὔκουν κ.τ.λ.
Well (
οὖν— if I
do speak riddles), art not thou most skilled to read them?
τοιαῦτ’ ὀνείδιζέ (μοι
), make those things my reproach, in which [;
οἷς, dat. of circumstance]; thou wilt find me great: i.e. mock my skill in reading riddles if thou wilt; but thou wilt find (on looking deeper) that it has brought me true honour.
τοιαῦτα … οἷς
as
Soph. OC 1353
(n.),
Soph. Ant. 691
, etc.
αὕτη γε μέντοι
It was just (
γε
)that fortune, however (
μέντοι
),that ruined thee.
γε
emphasises the preceding word: so 778, 1292:
Soph. Phil. 93
πεμφθείς γε μέντοι
(since I have been
sent), 1052
νικᾶν γε μέντοι:
Soph. Ant. 233
τέλος γε μέντοι,
Soph. Ant. 495
μισῶ γε μέντοι.
τύχη
implies some abatement of the king's boast,
γνώμῃ κυρήσας, 398.
ἐξέσωσ’
1st pers., not 3rd.
κομιζέτω δῆθ’
δῆτα in assent, as
Aesch. Supp. 206
Ζεὺς δὲ γεννήτωρ ἴδοι. ΔΑΝ. ἴδοιτο δῆτα.
ἐμποδὼν
with
παρὼν
, —present where thy presence irks: cp. 128.
σύ γε
here gives a scornful force: the use of
σύ γε in 1101 (n.) is different. The reading
τά γ’ ἐμποδὼν (found in B) is explained by Brunck and Erfurdt (with Thomas Magister) “thou hinderest the business before us,” comparing
Eur. Phoen. 706
ἃ δ’ ἐμποδὼν μάλιστα
(“most urgent”)
ταῦθ’ ἥκω φράσων.
ἀλγύνοις
suits the continuing action better than
ἀλγύναις. The aor. occurs
Soph. Trach. 458
(
ἀλγύνειεν) and
Eur. IA 326
(
ἀλγῦναι): but
αις and
αι, as optative endings, are not elsewhere found in Soph.
πρόσωπον
“thy face,”—thy angry presence: the blind man speaks as though he saw the “vultus instantis tyranni.” Not, “thy
person” (i.e. thy royal quality):
πρόσωπον is not classical in this sense, for which cp. the Hellenistic
προσωποληπτεῖν,“ to be a respecter of persons,” and the spurious Phocylidea 10 (Bergk
Poet. Lyr. p. 361)
μὴ ῥίψῃς πενίην ἀδίκως· μὴ κρῖνε πρόσωπον.
οὐκ ἔσθ’ ὅπου
there is no case in which … : cp. 355, 390.
λέγω δέ σοι
cp. 412.
τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον … οὗτός ἐστιν
κ.τ.λ. The antecedent, attracted into the case of the relative, is often thus prefixed to the relative clause, to mark with greater emphasis the subject of a coming statement:
Soph. Trach. 283
τάσδε δ’ ἅσπερ εἰσορᾷς | … χωροῦσι
:
Hom. Il. 10.416
φυλακὰς δ’ ἃς εἴρεαι, ἥρως, | οὔτις κεκριμένη ῥύεται στρατόν
:
HH Dem. 66
κούρην τὴν ἔτεκον … | τῆς ἀδινὴν ὄπ’ ἄκουσα
:
Aristoph. Pl. 200
τὴν δύναμιν ἣν ὑμεῖς φατὲ | ἔχειν με, ταύτης δεσπότης γενήσομαι.
Plaut. Trinum. 985
Illum quem ementitu's, is ego sum ipse Charmides
.
ἀνακηρύσσων φόνον
proclaiming (a search into) the murder: cp.
Xen. Mem. 2.10.2
σῶστρα τούτου ἀνακηρύττων
:
Andoc. 1.40
ζητητάς τε ἤδη ᾑρημένους … καὶ μήνυτρα κεκηρυγμένα ἑκατὸν μνᾶς.
τὸν Λαΐειον
cp. 267.
ξένος μέτοικος
a foreign sojourner:
ξένος, because Oed. was reputed a Corinthian. In poetry
μέτοικος is simply
one who comes to dwell with others: it has not the full technical sense which belonged to it at Athens, a resident
alien: hence the addition of
ξένος was necessary. Cp.
Soph. OC 934
μέτοικος τῆσδε γῆς
:
Soph. Ant. 868
πρὸς οὓς
(to the dead)
ἅδ’ ἐγὼ μέτοικος ἔρχομαι.
εἶτα δὲ
opp. to
νῦν μέν, implied in
ἐνθάδε. —ἐγγενὴς
, “native,” as
γεννητός is opp. to
ποιητός (adoptivus).
τῇ ξυμφορᾷ
the (seemingly happy) event: cp.
Soph. El. 1230
κἀπὶ συμφοραῖσί μοι | γεγηθὸς ἕρπει δάκρυον.
ἐκ δεδορκότος
Xen. Cyrop. 3.1.17
ἐξ ἄφρονος σώφρων γεγένηται.
ξένην ἔπι
sc.
γῆν :
Soph. OC 184
ξεῖνος ἐπὶ ξένης
:
Soph. Phil. 135
ἐν ξένᾳ ξένον.
γαῖαν
with
προδεικνὺς
only:
pointing to, i.e. feeling,
ψηλαφῶν, the ground
before him: so of a boxer,
χερσὶ προδεικνύς, sparring,
Theocr. 22.102
. Cp. Lucian
Hercules 1
τὸ τόξον ἐντεταμένον ἡ ἀριστερὰ προδείκνυσι, i.e. holds in front of him: id.
Hermotimus 68
θαλλῷ προδειχθέντι ἀκολουθεῖν, ὥσπερ τὰ πρόβατα. Seneca
Oed. 656
repet incertus viae, | Baculo senili triste praetentans iter. The order of words is against taking
ξένην
with
γαῖαν
(when we should write
ἐπὶ), and supplying
τὴν ὁδόν with
προδεικνύς.
ξυνὼν
the idea of daily converse under the same roof heightens the horror. Cp.
Andoc. 1.49
οἷς … ἐχρῶ κα62 οἷς συνῆσθα,
your friends and associates.
ἀδελφὸς αὑτὸς
If
ἀδελφὸς
stood alone, then
αὐτὸς
would be right:
himself the brother of
his own children: but with
ἀδελφὸς καὶ πατὴρ
we should read
αὑτός
at once sire and brother of his own children. Cp.
Soph. Phil. 119
σοφός τ’ ἂν αὑτὸς κἀγαθὸς κεκλῇ’ ἅμα
:
Eur. Alc. 143
καὶ πῶς ἂν αὑτὸς κατθάνοι τε καὶ βλέποι;
ὁμόσπορος
here act., =
τὴν αὐτὴν σπείρων: but passive above, 260. Acc. to the general rule, verbal derivatives with a short penult. are paroxytone when active in meaning (see on
βουνόμοις, v. 26). But those compounded with a preposition (or with
α privative) are excepted: hence
διάβολος, not
διαβόλος. So
ὁμόσπορος here, no less than in 260. On the other hand
πρωτοσπόρος= “sowing first,”
πρωτόσπορος =
“φιπστ σοων.”
λάβῃς ἐψ.
without
με: cp.
Soph. Phil. 768
(
ἀλλ’ ἐᾶν etc.), 801(
ἔμπρησον ).
φάσκειν
inf. for imperat., “say,” i.e.” deem,” as in
Soph. Phil. 1411
,
Soph. El. 9
. Cp.
Hdt. 3.35
ἢν δὲ ἁμάρτω, φάναι Πέρσας τε λέγειν ἀληθέα καί με μὴ σωφρονέειν.
μαντικῇ
:
in respect to seer-craft: for dat., cp.
Eur. IA 338
τῷ δοκεῖν μὲν οὐχὶ χρῄζων, τῷ δὲ βούλεσθαι θέλων.
Commentary on Sophocles: Oedipus Tyrannus. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge, UK. 1885.
Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.
Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.