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94-140

Parodos. (1) 1st strophe, 94—102, = 1st antistr., 103—111. (2) 2nd str., 112—121,=2nd antistr., 122— 131. (3) Epode, 132—140. For the metres see Metrical Analysis.

The Chorus now enters. The free-born maidens of Trachis who compose it are the friends and confidantes of Deianeira, who to them is

ἄνασσα

(137), but not

δέσποινα

(49).

They have not heard the news that Heracles is, or will soon be, in Euboea (74 f.). O that the Sun-god would tell them where he is, on sea or land! Meanwhile Deianeira must not lose heart. Joy follows grief; and Zeus is mindful of his children.

αἰόλα , ‘gleaming’ with stars: cp. 11 : Eur. fr. 596

περὶ δ’ ὀρφναία

νὺξ αἰολόχρως, ἄκριτός τ’ ἄστρων

ὄχλος.— ἐναριζομένα

might be merely ‘slain,’ but seems here to have its proper sense, ‘slain and despoiled.’ One point which favours this view has not been noticed. The inverted order of the words (‘chiasmus’) has its usual effect for the ear,—viz., to indi cate that φλογιζόμενον balances ἐναριζομένα , as κατευνάζει balances τίκτει . And this is so, if

ἐναριζο<*>ένα

implies, not only ‘slain,’ but ‘despoiled,’—thus serving, with

αἰόλα

, to suggest that bright panoply which Night is still wearing when the Dawn comes to vanquish her,—ere the Sun-god has yet issued from her womb. Cp. Aesch. Ag.279

τῆς νῦν τεκούσης φῶς τόδ’ εὐφρόνης

The text has been much suspected (see cr. n.), but without reason. The imagery, indeed, does not form a consistent whole: Night is slain, and then overcomes. But this is merely one of many instances in which the poet's language wavers between the figurative and the literal.

κατευνάζει τε φλογιζόμενον . The passage is marred by placing the comma, as some do, after

τε

, and taking the partic. with

αἰτῶ

. Cp. Byron, Corsair, canto III.: ‘Slow sinks, more lovely ere his race be run, | Along Morea's hills the setting sun; | Not, as in northern climes, obscurely bright, | But one unclouded blaze of living light.’

τοῦτο is in appos. with τον Ἀλκμήνας πόθι … ναίει . The objection to taking καρῦξαι as governing a double acc. (like

λέγειν τινά τι

) is, here, that the emphasis on τοῦτο would then be unsuitable; since, under the circumstances, the knowledge which they desire about Heracles can be only,

πόθι ναίει

πόθι μοι πόθι παῖς . In the MS. reading,

πόθι μοι πόθι μοι παῖς

, either the second

μοι

, or

παῖς

, must be omitted: the antistrophic words are

βλεφάρων πόθον, ἀλλ’

(107). The strong reason for retaining πα<*>ς is that, as the constr. would have been so clear without it, it is very unlikely to have been inserted; while the repetition of μοι would have been a most easy error. For τὸν Ἀλκμ. , followed by παῖς in the relat. clause, Schneidewin cp. Eur. H. F.840

γνῷ μὲν τὸν Ἥρας οἷός ἐστ’ αὐτῷ χόλος

, and id. fr. 1039. 3

ὁρᾷς τὸν εὐτράπεζον ὡς ἡδὺς βίος

Porson is cited by Wunder and other editors as the authority for omitting

παῖς

. But Porson (on Hec.1030 ) said only that it is possible to omit

παῖς

,—adding that it is better to retain it (omitting the second

μοι

):—‘potes ejicere

παῖς

et legere

πόθι μοι πόθι μοι

. Sed alterum melius.’

ὦ … φλεγέθων : for this direct invocation (continued in 102), following

Ἅλιον αἰτῶ

, cp. O. T.164

προφάνητέ μοι

(after

Ἄρτεμιν

and

Φοῖβον

στεροπᾷ , usu. ‘lightning,’ here, ‘flashing light’; so the word is used of flashing armour ( Il.11. 83 , etc.).

ἢ ποντίας … κλιθείς . The general sense is simply, ‘where is he on sea or land?’ ποντίας , rather than ποντίους (see cr. n.), is probably right. According to Athenaeus (p. 189 D),

αὐλών

is masc. in Attic prose, but fem. in poetry: he quotes Soph. (fr. 503)

ἐπακτίας αὐλῶνας

, and Carcînus (fr. 1)

βαθεῖαν εἰς αὐλῶνα

. Although, then,

πόντιος

could be used as an adj. of two terminations, Soph. may have preferred the distinctively fem. form here. In Aesch. P. V. 731 , however, the word is masc.,

αὐλῶν’ ἐκπερᾶν Μαιωτικόν

(of the Cimmerian Bosporus).

The constr. is, πόθι (= που ) ναίει ἢ ποντίας αὐλῶνας ἢ δισς. ἀπείροις κλιθείς ; lit., ‘where he is situated, either on the sea-straits, or in a resting-place on one of the two continents.’ ναίει thus governs an acc. in the first clause, while in the second it stands intransitively with a partic. For a similar difference in form between the clauses after ἢ

ἤ , cp. Thuc.4. 5

ἐν ὀλιγωρίᾳ ἐποιοῦντο

(

τοὺς Ἀθηναίους

ὡς...ἢ οὐχ ὑπομενοῦντας σφᾶς, ἢ ῥᾳδίως ληψόμενοι βίᾳ

: where the acc.

ὑπομενοῦντας

(governing

σφᾶς

) is better taken as depending on the verb than as absol. For

ναίειν

as=merely ‘to be in a place,’ cp. Soph. O. C.117 ,

ποῦ ναίει

, said, as here, of a wanderer.

δισς. ἀπείροις κλιθείς , lit., ‘resting upon’ them, as on a support; i.e., having found an abode on land, instead of roaming over sea. The phrase was suggested by the epic use of

κέκλιμαι

, as said ( a) of land which slopes down to the water's edge,—thus, as it were, ‘resting on’ the water; Od.13. 234

ἀκτὴ

κεῖθ’ ἁλὶ κεκλιμένη

: ( b) of a person who dwells on the edge of water; Il.5. 709

λίμνῃ κεκλιμένος Κηφισίδι

(where see Leaf): ib. 15. 740

π)όντῳ κεκλιμένοι

(the Greeks ‘leaning on’ the sea): ib. 16. 67

ῥηγμῖνι θαλάσσης | κεκλίαται

. So in Pind. O. 1. 92 the buried Pelops is described as

Ἀλφεοῦ πόρῳ κλιθείς

, ‘resting by’ (lit. ‘upon’) ‘the stream of the Alpheus.’ Here, however, Soph. has modified the usage,—the dat. denoting land, not water; and the sense is not, dwelling ‘on the shore of’ either continent, but simply, anywhere within their limits.

This use of δισσαῖσιν is possible only because πόθι precedes. We could not say ( e.g.),

δισσαῖς ἠπείροις οἰκεῖ

, meaning ‘he dwells in one of the two continents.’ But it is correct to say,

ποῦ δισσαῖς ἠπείροις οἰκεῖ

; meaning, ‘where in (either of) the two continents is his home?’

‘The two continents’ (Europe and Asia, Africa being included in the latter) mean, ‘the habitable world.’ Isocr. or. 4 § 179

τῆς γὰρ γῆς ἁπάσης τῆς ὑπὸ τῷ κόσμῳ κειμένης δίχα τετμημένης, καὶ τῆς μὲν Ἀσίας τῆς δ’ Εὐρώπης καλουμένης

. Varro De Ling. Lat. 4

Ut omnis natura in caelum et terram divisa est, sic caelum in regiones, terra in Asiam et Europam.

(Sallust, however, remarks that the division into three continents had been more usual: Jug. 17. )

ποντίας αὐλῶνας is merely a general expression for the sea. The phrase was suggested by the Aegaean, with its

interfusa nitentes | … aequora Cycladas

(Hor. C. 1. 14. 19) . Paley understands:—‘Is he near home, in the Euripus (

αὐλῶνας

), or midway between both continents, i.e., in the Hellespont?’ Mr Whitelaw, too, thinks that the Hellespont is meant, and that

δισς. ἀπείροις

=‘on a slope looking towards both continents,’—the sea being regarded as an eminence.

κρατιστεύων κατ’ ὄμμα : cp. Il.3. 277

Ἠέλιός θ’, ὃς πάντ’ ἐφορᾷς καὶ πάντ’ ἐπακούεις

. For κατά , cp. 379 ; O.T. 1087

κατὰ γνώμαν ἴδρις

, n.

ποθουμένᾳ =

ποθούσῃ

, a midd. found only here, yet not suspicious, since the context excludes the pass. sense. The ‘longing mind’ is clearly Deianeira's;

ποθουμένᾳ

could not well denote the ‘anxious’ or ‘tender’ feeling of the Chorus. As πυνθάνομαι is devoid of emphasis,—like a parenthetic ‘so I hear,’—the order of the words is not too bold.

τὰν ἀμφινεικῆ : cp. 527 : Aesch. Ag.686

τὰν δορίγαμβρον ἀμφινεικῆ θ’ Ἑλέναν

. Not, ‘with two suitors’ (Paley).— ἀεί belonged, in the poet's thought, to τρύχεσθαι , but is cut off from it by the adversative form in which the sentence is worked out (

οὔποτ’ εὐνάζειν..., ἀλλ’

, instead of

οὔποτ’ εὐνάζουσαν

). It could not well be taken with

ποθουμένᾳ

: still less with

πυνθάνομαι

ὄρνιν . The nightingale may be meant ( cp. 963 , El.148

ἃ Ἴτυν αἰὲν Ἴτυν ὀλοφύρεται

); but it is also possible that the image is general, as in Ant.423 ff.

ἀδακρύτων proleptic: cp. Ant.1200

ὀργὰς εὐμενεῖς κατασχεθεῖν

, and ib. 791 n.

βλεφάρων πόθον : cp. fr. 729

ὀμμάτειος πόθος

108 It is simplest to construe εὔμναστον δεῖμα ὁδοῦ ἀνδρὸς , though the adj. might go with

ἀνδρός

, and

δεῖμα

with

ὁδοῦ

only. Casaubon's emendation τρέφουσαν ( cp. 28 ) has been generally received. But the MS. φέρουσαν must not be lightly rejected. If right, it means ‘bearing’ as a burden; cp. O.T. 93

τῶνδε γὰρ πλέον φέρω

τὸ πένθος

. The word is, however, much more suitable to

πένθος

than to

δεῖμα

. And we cannot compare passages in which

φέρειν

is said of the temper or mood which a person ‘carries’ within him, as Eur. Hipp.118

σπλάγχνον ἔντονον φέρων

(cp. Soph. Ant.705 n., and ib. 1090). A scribe might easily have written

φέρουσαν

for

τρέφουσαν

by a mere slip,— as the true

ἔβαλ’

became

ἔλαβ’

in Soph. Ph.680 , or as in Soph. Ant.180 the true

φόβου

seems to have been made in L from

σοφου

: cp. also the variant

μένειν

for

νέμοι

below, in 163. On the whole, I believe that τρέφουσαν is right.

ἐνθυμίοις εὐναῖς ἀνανδρώτοισι τρύχεσθαι , lit., is afflicted by that desolateness of her bed which is always in her thoughts,=

ἐνθυμουμένην εὐνὰς ἀνανδρώτους τρύχεσθαι

. This may be freely rendered, ‘pines on her anxious, widowed couch.’ But the dat. is really causal, not locative; and the schol.'s explanation of

ἐνθυμίοις

μεριμνητικαῖς

(‘full of care’) assumes a sense which seems neither necessary nor tenable. Everywhere else

ἐνθύμιος

means ‘dwelling in the mind,’ and is said of that which lies heavy on the soul, as a cause of misgiving or anxiety. So O.T. 739

τί δ’ ἐστί σοι τοῦτ’, Οἰδίπους, ἐνθύμιον ;— ἐλπίζουσαν

, of evil foreboding, as

ἐλπίζει

in Ai.799.

δύστανον , Deianeira.

πολλὰ γὰρ … ἴδοι . For

κύματα ἢ νότου ἢ βορέα

(waves belonging to, i.e. raised by, them), cp. Il.2. 396

τὸν δ’

( sc.

σκόπελον

)

οὔ ποτε κύματα λείπει

παντοίων ἀνέμων, ὅτ’ ἂν ἔνθ’ ἢ ἔνθα γένωνται

. Note the last clause as parallel with the mention of two opposite winds here,—showing that Sophocles had that passage in mind.— κύματ’ ἂν … ἴδοι is clearly right: εὐρέϊ πόντῳ is a locative dat. of a common kind, like El.174

μέγας οὐρανῷ

Ζεύς

Three other views claim notice. (1) <*>ν , not ἂν , should be inserted after

κύματ’

, and ἴδοι taken as a potential opt., ‘might see.’ But in Attic poetry the opt. is so used only where there is some stress on the notion of the possible or conceivable; as in Ant.605

τίς...κατάσχοι

; (n.): see O. C., Append. on 170, p. 275 (2d ed.). (2) ἐν is to be inserted, but ἴδοι changed to ἴδῃ , an epic subjunct. of comparison, as in Il.2. 474 f.

ὥστε...διακρίνωσιν

. But there is no Attic example of this; for in Eur. Hec.1026 the

ἐκπέσῃ

of the MSS. should be

ἐκπεσεῖ

. (3) The objection to Zippmann's compromise—

κύματ’ ἐν...βάντ’ ἐπιόντ’ ἂν

—is the harsh asyndeton, which is foreign to the poet's manner.

βάντ’ ἐπιόντα τ’ , lit., ‘having passed by, and coming on.’ The spectator sees wave after wave go by.—Others understand, ‘driven back, and then coming on again’ (Blaydes, ‘ebbing and flowing’). This gives a forced sense to βάντ’ .

οὕτω δὲ : cp. El.25 ff.

ὥσπερ γὰρ ἵππος...ὡσαύτως δὲ σύ.— τὸν Καδμογενῆ

(cp. O. T.1 , n.), not merely because he was born at Thebes (

Θηβαγενής

, Hes. Th.530 ); but because, though Alcmena and Amphitryon were Argive Perseidae, the youthful Heracles had been adopted into the ‘Cadmean’ nobility of Thebes. This was symbolised by the tripod dedicated on the boy's behalf in the Ismenion, after he had served as

δαφναφόρος

of the Ismenian Apollo. ( Paus.9. 10. 4. )

Construe:

βιότου πολύπονον (

πέλαγος

). ὥσπερ πέλαγος Κρήσιον , (

τὸ μὲν

) στρέφει τὸ δ’ αὔξει τὸν Καδμογενῆ . With Κρήσιον cp. C. 1. 26. 1 ff. The image is that of a strong swimmer buffeting a rough sea. One wave twists him aside ( στρέφει ) from his course: the next sweeps him onward, lifting him on its crest. It is characteristic of Sophocles that, in the second clause, he has preferred αὔξει to

αἴρει

, through thinking of that which the uplifting wave figures,— viz., the honour won by the hero. For the omission of

τὸ μέν

(implied by τὸ δ’ ) before

στρέφει

, cp. Il.22 157

τῇ ῥα παραδραμέτην, φεύγων, ὁ δ’ ὄπισθε διώκων

. Remark that βιότου πολύπονον could not stand for

τὸ βιότου πολύπονον

: and the

τὸ δ’

before

αὔξει

in 1.0 way alters this fact. It is therefore necessary, as it is easy, to supply

πέλαγος

from what follows.

Among those who receive στρέφει (due to Reiske) are Dindorf, Nauck, Wecklein, Hartung. The last-named, however, takes it as = ‘overturns,’ referring it to the swimmer being plunged down into the trough of the sea. For this sense of

στρέφειν

, see on O. C.1453 f. But here the idea of ‘turning aside or back’ better suits the image of reverses alternating with triumphs.

στρέφειν

was said of the wrestler who ‘twists back’ his foe (Pollux 3. 155: cp.

ἀποστρέψας

in Ar. Eq.264 ).

As to the MS. τρέφει , we may observe:—(1) Eur. Hipp.367

ὦ πόνοι τρέφοντες βροτούς

may fairly be quoted to show that the sense here might be, ‘troubles make up the life of Heracles.’ (2) But the context seems to show that, instead of this, we require a word ( a) which shall convey the idea of vexing, and ( b) which can be opposed to

αὔξει

. For other views of the passage, see Appendix.

ἀλλά : ( though he is harassed), yet he is not suffered to perish ( cp. 88 ). Since the words τὸ δ’ αὔξει may be regarded as parenthetical, the idea of trouble remains the dominant one in the sentence before

ἀλλά

: hence the antithesis is logical.

ἀναμπλάκητον , ‘unerring,’ in the sense, ‘not stumbling or failing,’

ἄπταιστον

(schol.),

ἀσφαλῆ

. Cp. O. T.472

Κῆρες αναπλάκητοι

. As to the forms with and without

, see n. there.— ἐρύκει , a somewhat strange phrase (though

θάνατον ἐρύκειν τινός

would be natural), since it might suggest that he wished to reach Hades: cp. Il.18. 126

μηδέ μ’ ἔρυκε μάχης

ὧν , causal gen.: Il.1. 65

εὐχωλῆς ἐπιμέμφεται

: Thuc.8. 109

μέμψηται...τῶν ...γεγενημένων

. The pron. refers back to vv. 103—111, which spoke of Deianeira's laments. There is no real obscurity in this, since her grief is the main theme of the ode, and the second strophe (112— 121) referred to the fate of Heracles as the cause of that grief.

Hense (whom Nauck follows) thinks that this second antistrophe (122—131) requires to be transposed, so as to become the second strophe, immediately following v. 111. But this change is worse than unnecessary. It is liable to the fatal objection that vv. 132 ff. (

μένει γὰρ

etc.) are then severed from the thought which they develope (vv. 129—131

ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ πῆμα καὶ χαρὰ

etc.). They are brought into a context which does not suit them (vv. 119— 121

ἀλλά τις θεῶν

etc.).

αἰδοῖα , Musgrave's correction of ἁδεῖα , is certain. In L the

ἁ

ἁδεῖα

is at the end of a v., and the loss of

after it would have been peculiarly easy (see Autotype Facsimile, p. 66 A). The difficulty of ἁδεῖα is not the construction, which, if somewhat harsh, is quite possible: ‘I will counsel in a pleasant vein’ (the adj. used adverbially), ‘though the counsel is adverse.’ The objection is the sense. ‘In a pleasant vein’ must mean, ‘suggesting thoughts of comfort’: as in O. T.82

ἡδύς

, ‘pleasant,’ = ‘bringing good news.’ But, since ἀντία expresses remonstrance against her despair, there is then no proper antithesis with ἁδεῖα . Further, the word required by the context is clearly one which shall temper opposition with deference: as αἰδοῖα does.

οἴσω , proferam, ‘bring forward,’ ‘suggest’: cp. O. C. 166

λόγον εἴ τιν’ οἴσεις | πρὸς ἐμὰν λέσχαν

. Isocr. or. 7 § 6

τούτων ἐνεγκεῖν ἔχω παραδείγματα

. Not, ‘give an adverse judgment,’ like

ψῆφον φέρειν

γὰρ , prefacing the statement ( O. T.277 n.).

ἀποτρύειν , ‘fret away.’ The midd. occurs in Ant.339

γᾶν...ἀποτρύεται

. (Cp. Tac. Hist. 2. 76

si quid... ferociae habuit,...commissationibus deteritur.

)

ἐλπίδα τὰν ἀγαθὰν , that brighter forecast which the case permits: cp. Ai.606

κακὰν ἐλπίδ’ ἔχων

ἀνάλγητα , a lot with no pain in it; for the absol. neut. pl., cp. Od.8. 413

θεοὶ δέ τοι ὄλβια δοῖεν

. Elsewhere

ἀνάλγητος

=‘insensible to pain,’ or ‘un feeling.’

οὐδ’ ὁ πάντα κρ. κ.τ.λ.: ‘a painless lot not even Zeus hath appointed,’ i.e., ‘Zeus himself hath not appointed.’ It is the will of Zeus himself that mortals should have pain along with joy. For this use of

οὐδέ

, emphasising a person, cp. 280 : O. C.590 (n. on

οὐδὲ σοὶ

). In Il.5. 22

οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδέ κεν αὐτὸς ὑπέκφυγε

(as in Od.8. 32 , a like case), it is the second

οὐδέ

, belonging to

αὐτός

, that is parallel with οὐδ’ here.

ἐπέβαλε : since the reference is to an eternal law, it seems best to take the aor. as=a perfect, rather than as gnomic (‘usually imposes’). For the sense, cp. Eur. Med.1112

πῶς οὖν λύει

... |

τήνδ’ ἔτι λύπην

... |

θνητοῖσι θεοὺς ἐπιβάλλειν

; Il.6. 357

οἷσιν ἐπὶ Ζεὺς θῆκε κακὸν μόρον

ἐπὶ … κυκλοῦσιν =

ἐπικυκλοῦσι

, by tmesis: ‘come round in turn’ to all. Others prefer to join ἐπὶ πᾶσι , ‘over the heads of all,’ thinking that this suits the imagery (from stars) better; but the first view seems more in accord with idiom. There is no other sound instance of an intrans.

κυκλεῖν

in a writer of the 5th cent. B.C.; for in El.1365

κυκλοῦνται

is certainly right; it was so written by the first hand in L, and then altered by another to

κυκλοῦσι

. But Arist. uses

ἀνακυκλεῖν

intransitively: De Gen. et Corr. 2. 11 (p. 338 a 4)

ἀνάγκη

(

τὴν γένεσιν

)

ἀνακυκλεῖν καὶ ἀνακάμπτειν

: and so again in Meteor. 1. 3 (p. 339 b 28). In later Greek, too, this usage was current, as appears from Plut. Mor.160 F (

δελφῖνες...κυκλοῦντες

) There is no reason, then, for doubting that Soph. admitted the use here; cp. the intrans.

ἐπινωμᾶν

and

προσενώμα

in Soph. Ph.168 Soph. Ph., 717. Nauck, holding with Herm. that κυκλοῦσιν must be transitive, adopts his χαρὰν for χαρὰ , and further changes οἷον to αἰὲν , thus destroying the beautiful simile, and reducing

ἄρκτου...κέλευθοι

to an equivalent for

περιτελλόμεναι ὧραι

ἄρκτου στροφάδες κέλευθοι . As the Great Bear moves ever round the pole, so joy and sorrow come round in unceasing rotation. The peculiar fitness of the comparison is in the fact that the Bear never disappears below the horizon: Il.18. 487

ἄρκτον τ’...ἥ τ’ αὐτοῦ στρέφεται

, ‘that revolves in its place,’—‘having no share in the baths of Ocean.’ Ov. Met. 13. 293

immunemque aequoris arcton.

Cf. Soph. fr. 399

ἄρκτου στροφάς τε καὶ κυνὸς ψυχρὰν δύσιν

οὔτ’ αἰόλα (94) νὺξ κ.τ.λ., the ‘paratactic’ form, instead of, ‘ as night does not abide, so neither does woe,’ etc.

κῆρες , here merely ‘calamities,’

συμφοραί

, a sense recognised by Hesych. s. v.

κῆρες

. The sing. oft. has this meaning ( cp. 454 ): but the plur. usu. denotes either ( a) ‘the Fates,’ as in O. T.472 , or at least ‘ death-dooms,’ as in Il.12. 326.

ἀλλ’ ἄφαρ βέβακε : the subject is each of the preceding nouns, the verb agreeing in number with the nearest ( O. C.8 n.): ‘but (each) is suddenly gone (from one), while joy, and the loss of it, come to another man in his turn.’

τῷδ’ is opposed to the

τῷ μὲν

implied in the preceding clause. It is true that the main point is the changing experience of the individual, rather than the transference of joy or woe to his neighbour. But these two notions are closely linked here by the image of joy and woe coming round, as the Bear revolves about the pole. Cp. Her.1. 207 (Croesus to Cyrus),

ἐκεῖνο πρῶτον μάθε, ὡς κύκλος τῶν ἀνθρωπηίων ἐστὶ πρηγμάτων, περιφερόμενος δὲ οὐκ ἐᾷ αἰεὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς εὐτυχέειν

.—For χαίρειν τε καὶ στέρεσθαι as nomin. (without art.) to ἐπέρχεται , cp. Aesch. Ag. 181

παρ’ ἄκοντας ἦλθε σωφρονεῖν

Other views are as follows. (1) The constr. is,

ἀλλὰ χαίρειν τε καὶ στέρεσθαι ἄφαρ βέβακε

(

τῷ μέν

τῷ δ’ ἐπέρχεται

. This is less simple. (2)

τῷ δ’

=simply ‘ and to him,’— i.e., to the person from whom woe or joy ‘has gone.’ But: ( a)

τῷ δ’

surely implies an antithesis. ( b) The clause

τῷ δ’ ἐπέρχεται κ.τ.λ.

would thus mean merely,—‘and then his experiences begin over again.’

ἃ , ‘as to which things,’ ‘wherefore’: Isocr. or. 8 § 122

ἃ καὶ πάντων μάλιστ’ ἄν τις θαυμάσειεν ὅτι προχειρίζεσθε δημαγωγούς

. So the sing.

ὅ

, Thuc.2. 40

ὃ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀμαθία μὲν θράσος λογισμὸς δὲ ὄκνον φέρει

Others suppose that

ἃ

is governed by ἴσχειν , and that τάδ’ is pleonastic. But this view is not proved by the alleged examples. They are:—(1) Eur. Andr.1115

ὧν Κλυταιμνήστρας τόκος

εἷς ἦν, ἁπάντων τῶνδε μηχανορράφος

. Here, however,

ὧν

is masc., referring to the

λόχος

mentioned just before, and a comma should follow

ἦν

. (2) I. A. 155

σφραγῖδα φύλας<*> <*>ν ἐπὶ δέλτῳ

τήνδε κομίζεις

. Here the v. l.

τῇδε

is clearly right.

For λέγω as=‘command,’ with acc. and inf., cp. Ph.101 n.

ἐλπίσιν ἴσχειν :

ἐν

would usu. be added to the dat.: cp. Ant.897

ἐν ἐλπίσιν τρέφω

. So Thuc.2. 8

ὀργῇ εἶχον...τοὺς Ἀθηναίους

, instead of the regular

ἐν ὀργῇ

(id. 2. 18 etc.). Cp. too Soph. O. C.1678 ,

ἐν

[MSS.

εἰ

]

πόθῳ λάβοις

, with Plut. Alc.18

ὀργῇ δ’ ἅμα καὶ φόβῳ τὸ γεγονὸς λαμβάνοντες.— τὰν ἄνασσαν

, wife of the son of Zeus, and so having the better reason to hope. — ἄβουλον , having no

πρόνοια

for them: cp. Soph. El. 546

ἀβούλου...πατρός

(alluding to Agamemnon's sacrifice of his daughter). Racine has an unconscious echo of this verse, Athalie, acte 2, sc. 7, ‘Dieu laissat-il jamais ses enfants au besoin?’

Commentary on Sophocles: Trachiniae. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. 1932.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Experimental

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

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 94 focus

ὃν αἰόλα νὺξ ἐναριζομένα

τίκτει κατευνάζει τε φλογιζόμενον,

῞Αλιον, ῞Αλιον αἰτῶ

τοῦτο καρῦξαι τούτωι καρύξαι τὸν ᾿Αλκμήνας πόθι μοι πόθι μοι παῖς

ναίει ποτ', ὦ λαμπρᾷ στεροπᾷ λαμπρὰ στεροπὰ λαμπρᾷ στεροπᾷ φλεγέθων,

ἢ ποντίας ποντίας ποντίους αὐλῶνας, ἢ δισσαῖσιν ἀπείροις ἀπείροισιν ἀπείροισι κλιθείς·

εἴπ᾽, ὦ κρατιστεύων κατ᾿ ὄμμα.
100

ποθουμένᾳ γὰρ φρενὶ πυνθάνομαι

τὰν τᾶν τὰν ἀμφινεικῆ Δηιάνειραν ἀεί,

οἷά τιν᾿ ἄθλιον ὄρνιν,

οὔποτ᾽ εὐνάζειν ἀδακρύτων βλεφάρων πόθον, ἀλλ᾽

105

εὔμναστον ἀνδρὸς δεῖμα φέρουσαν ὁδοῦ

ἐνθυμίοις εὐναῖς ἀνανδρώτοισι τρύχεσθαι, κακὰν κακὰν

δύστανον ἐλπίζουσαν αἶσαν.

πολλὰ γὰρ ὥστ᾽ ἀκάμαντος ἢ νότου ἢ βορέα βορέσ᾽ τις

κύματ᾿ ἐν om. εὐρέϊ πόντῳ βάντ᾽ ἐπιόντα τ᾽ ἴδοι,

οὕτω δὲ τὸν Καδμογενῆ τρέφει, τὸ δ᾽ αὔξει ἄξει αὔξει, βιότου

πολύπονον ὥσπερ ὥστε ὥσπερ πέλαγος Κρήσιον, ἀλλά τις θεῶν
115

αἰὲν ἀναμπλάκητον ἀμπλάκητον ῞Αιδα αΐδα σφε δόμων ἐρύκει.

ὧν ἐπιμεμφομένα σ᾽ ἐπιμεμφομένας ἐπιμεμφομένασγ' ἁδεῖα μέν, ἀντία δ᾽ οἴσω.

φαμὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἀποτρύειν ἐλπίδα τὰν ἀγαθὰν

χρῆναί σ᾽· ἀνάλγητα γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ὁ πάντα κραίνων βασιλεὺς κραίνων βασιλεὺς

ἐπέβαλε ἐπέβαλλε θνατοῖς θ(α)νᾶτοῖσ θνατοῖς Κρονίδας· ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ πῆμα καὶ χαρὰ πήματι καὶ χαρᾶι πῆμα καὶ χαρὰ

πᾶσι κυκλοῦσιν, οἷον ἄρκτου στροφάδες κέλευθοι.

125

μένει γὰρ οὔτ᾽ αἰόλα νὺξ βροτοῖσιν οὔτε κῆρες

οὔτε πλοῦτος, ἀλλ᾽ ἄφαρ

βέβακε βέβηκε βέβακε, τῷ δ᾽ ἐπέρχεται

χαίρειν τε καὶ στέρεσθαι.

ἃ καὶ σὲ τὰν ἄνασσαν ἐλπίσιν λέγω

130

τάδ᾽ αἰὲν ἴσχειν· ἐπεὶ τίς ὧδε

τέκνοισι Ζῆν ἄβουλον εἶδεν ;

ΔΗ.

Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 94-140 focus

Χορός

ὃν αἰόλα νὺξ ἐναριζομένα

τίκτει κατευνάζει τε, φλογιζόμενον
95

Ἅλιον Ἅλιον αἰτῶ

τοῦτο καρῦξαι, τὸν Ἀλκμήνας πόθι μοι πόθι παῖς

ναίει ποτʼ, ὦ λαμπρᾷ στεροπᾷ φλεγέθων,

ἢ ποντίας αὐλῶνος ἢ δισσαῖσιν ἀπείροις κλιθείς,
100

εἴπʼ, ὦ κρατιστεύων κατʼ ὄμμα.

103

Χορός

ποθουμένᾳ γὰρ φρενὶ πυνθάνομαι

τὰν ἀμφινεικῆ Δηιάνειραν ἀεί,

οἷά τινʼ ἄθλιον ὄρνιν,
105

οὔποτʼ εὐνάζειν ἀδακρύτων βλεφάρων πόθον, ἀλλʼ

εὔμναστον ἀνδρὸς δεῖμα τρέφουσαν ὁδοῦ

ἐνθυμίοις εὐναῖς ἀνανδρώτοισι τρύχεσθαι, κακὰν
110

δύστανον ἐλπίζουσαν αἶσαν.

112

Χορός

πολλὰ γὰρ ὥστʼ ἀκάμαντος ἢ νότου ἢ βορέα τις

κύματʼ ἂν εὐρέϊ πόντῳ βάντʼ ἐπιόντα τʼ ἴδοι,

οὕτῶ δὲ τὸν Καδμογενῆ στρέφει, τὸ δʼ αὔξει,

βιότου πολύπονον ὥσπερ πέλαγος
115

Κρήσιον. ἀλλά τις θεῶν αἰὲν ἀναμπλάκητον Ἅιδα
120

σφε δόμων ἐρύκει.

122

Χορός

ὧν ἐπιμεμφομένα σʼ αἰδοῖα μέν, ἀντία δʼ οἴσω.

φαμὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἀποτρύειν ἐλπίδα τὰν ἀγαθὰν
125

χρῆναί σʼ· ἀνάλγητα γὰρ οὐδʼ ὁ πάντα κραίνων βασιλεὺς ἐπέβαλε θνατοῖς Κρονίδας·

ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ πῆμα καὶ χαρὰ πᾶσι κυκλοῦσιν, οἷον

ἄρκτου στροφάδες κέλευθοι.
130

μένει γὰρ οὔτʼ αἰόλα

132

Χορός

νὺξ βροτοῖσιν οὔτε κῆρες

οὔτε πλοῦτος, ἀλλʼ ἄφαρ

βέβακε, τῷ δʼ ἐπέρχεται

χαίρειν τε καὶ στέρεσθαι.
135

ἃ καὶ σὲ τὰν ἄνασσαν ἐλπίσιν λέγω

τάδʼ αἰὲν ἴσχειν· ἐπεὶ τίς ὧδε

τέκνοισι Ζῆνʼ ἄβουλον εἶδεν;
140

Translations (5)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 94 focus

Hush! For I see approaching one in haste,

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 94 focus

Denn helle Nacht, wenn sie vom Aether entweicht,¹²

Gebiert und wiegt in Schlummer, dem flammenden Gott

Helios, Helios ruf' ich,³
95

Daß er uns verkünde, wo mir, wo mir verweile der Sohn

Alkmene's! Herrscher, leuchtend in strahlender Glut,

Ob auf des Meeres Wogen er, ob durch die zwei Festländer irrt,⁴

Sprich: Alles schaut dein göttlich Auge!

Erste Gegenstrophe.

Denn lange schon seh' ich in sehnendem Gram
100

Der Deianeira, die er im Kampf sich erstritt,

Gleich dem geängsteten Vogel,

Nimmer ruh'n des Auges Sehnsucht, welchem die Thräne versiegt.

Stets denkt sie angstvoll, ach! des entfernten Gemahls,

Und härmt sich, daß sie sonder ihn im öden Lager schmachten muß,
105

Ein jammervolles Loos erharrend.

Zweite Strophe.

Wie man in Weiten der See, wann

Boreas oder der Süd stürmt,

Wogen sich drängend an Wogen,

Kommend und gehend erblickt:
110

So treibt den Sohn Thebe's umher

Des Lebens vielfältige Noth,

Und wächst empor, kretischen Meers

Wallungen gleich; doch läßt ihn nie

Straucheln ein Gott und hält ihn stets
115

Ferne vom Haus des Todes.

Zweite Gegenstrophe.

Darum sez' ich ein freundlich

Tadelndes Wort dir entgegen,

Sage dir, besserer Tage

Hoffnungen darfst du mir nicht
120

Verschmäh'n. Das Glück ohne den Schmerz

Wandt' auch der allherrschende Sohn

Des Kronos nie Sterblichen zu.

Freuden und Leid, wie über uns

Ewig am Himmel Arktos kreist,⁵
125

Kreisen sie über Allen.

Schlußgesang.

Denn dauernd bleibt nicht der Nacht

Glanz auf Erden, nicht das Unglück,

Nicht der Reichthum; schnell entschwindet

Jenem Haus und zieht in dies
130

Genießen und Entbehren.

So mußt auch du dies allezeit, o Königin,

In Hoffnung festhalten: sahst du je, daß

Zeus also rathlos ließ die Seinen?

Deianeira.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 94 focus

Deianira, Attendant.

On thee we call, great god of day,

To whom the night, with all her staiTy train,

Yields her solitary reign,

To send us some propitious I'ay :

Say thou, whose all-beholding eye

Doth nature's every part descry.

What dangerous ocean, or what land unknown

From Deianira keeps Alcmena's valiant son.

For she nor joy nor comfort knows,

But weeps her absent lord, and vainly tries

To close her ever-streaming eyes.

Or soothe her sorrows to repose :

Like the sad bird of night, alone

She makes her solitary moan ;

Aiid still, as on her widowed bed reclined

She lies, unnumbered fears perplex her anxious mind.

E'en as the troubled billows roar,

When angry Boreas rules th' inclement skies.

And waves on waves tumultuous rise

To lash the Cretan shore :

Thus sorrows still on sorrows prest

Fill the great Alcides' breast ;
95

Unfading yet shall his fair virtues bloom,
95

And some protecting god preserve him from the tomb.
95

"Wherefore, to better thoughts inclined,
95

Let us with hope's fair prospect fill thy breast,
95

Calm thy anxious thoughts to rest,
95

And ease thy troubled mind :
95

No bliss on man, unmixed with woe.
95

Doth Jove, great lord of all, bestow ;
95

But good with ill, and pleasure still with pain,
95

Like heaven's revolving signs, alternate reign.
95

Epode.
95

Not always do the shades of night remain,
95

Nor ever with hard fate is man oppressed ;
95

The wealth that leaves us may return again,
95

Sorrow and joy successive fill the breast ;
95

Fearless then of every ill.
95

Let cheerful hope support thee still :
95

Remember, queen, there is a power above ;
95

And when did the great father, careful Jove,
95

Forget his children dear, and kind paternal love 1
95

TRACIIIMjE,
95

Deianira
Strophe i. Antistrophe i. Strophe 2. Antistrojjhe 2.

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 94 focus

STRO. 1. O thou, whom saphir-spangled Night

(That vanquish'd flies before thy golden ray)

Calls forth thy orient lustre to display,

And curtains close thy setting light,

To thee, O Sun, I call; declare,

Bright blazing through the lucid air,

Where dwells the hero through this length of time?

Where does Alcmena's son reside?

Rolls he on ocean's billowy tide?

Lies he reposed in some soft eastern clime,

Or where decline thy west'ring rays?

Oh say, for all thy piercing eye surveys !

ANTIS. 1. Desire, and doubt, and anxious fear

Incessant harrow Deianira's breast;

Like the poor bird that wails her widow'd nest,

As from her eye still streams the tear,

Mindful she mourns her lord, each thought

With terrors at his wand'rings fraught,

And at imagined dangers melts away:

As on her lonely couch she lies,

The sleepless night she wastes in sighs,

And sinks to sorrow and despair a prey;

Whilst to her fancy ills unknown

In all their hideous threat'ning shapes are shown.

As when with terror we behold

From South or North the wild winds sweep,

Waves after waves with fury roll'd

Swell the vex'd bosom of the deep;

Such is the Theban Hero's state,
95

Tost in the ceaseless storms of fate.
95

Toils rise on toils, an endless train,
95

As billows on the troubled main;
95

Yet to his virtues just some god
95

Saves him from Pluto's drear abode.
95

Let me then blame thy anxious fear;
95

Far other views if I display,
95

My words bring comfort to thy ear:
95

Thou shou'dst not throw sweet Hope away.
95

The sovereign ruler of our fate
95

Gives mortals no untroubled state;
95

But joy and grief are ever found
95

Revolving their alternate round,
95

As circling in the Arctic skies...
95

The constellations set and rise.
95

Nor Night in sable stole array'd
95

O'er mortals always spreads her solemn shade;
95

Nor always griefs remain,
95

Nor riches; their light wings at once they spread,
95

Away at once are fled;
95

The heart now welcomes joy's bright train,
95

Now sickens at th' approach of pain.
95

Then sink not, Queen, with griefs opprest,
95

But let hope brighten in thy breast;
95

Jove o'er his sons his care extends,
95

And all his glorious race defends.
95

Deianira
STRO. 2. ANTIS. 2. BPOD.

English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 94-140 focus

Enter the Chorus on the other side.

Chorus

You, to whom Night gives birth when she is vanquished and despoiled of her starry crown,

and whom, as you blaze, she lays to rest, I pray you, O Sun, Sun, tell me, where is Alcmena’s son, where dwells her child? O Shining god with your bright flash,
95

is he on the straits of the sea, or does he lean upon the twin continents? Speak, you who surpass all in sight!
100

103

Chorus

For with longing heart, as I hear, Deianeira, the battle-prize, now,

like some mournful bird, never rests her eyes’ longing that they might be without tears, but nourishing a well-remembered fear for her husband’s travels she is constantly afflicted
105

by her anxious, widowed marriage-bed and in her misery anticipates misfortune.
110

112

Chorus

For just as one may see billow after billow

advancing and passing over the wide deep before the tireless south-wind, or the north, so the great toil of his life, stormy as the Cretan sea, now whirls back the heir of Cadmus, now exalts him. But some god always
115

keeps him unerring from the house of Hades.
120

122

To Deianeira.

Chorus

With respect I reproach you for your weeping, but still I will speak in dissent.

You must not, I say, wear away fair hope. Remember that the all-accomplishing king, the son of Cronus, does not appoint a painless lot for mortals. Sorrow and joy revolve to all, as the stars of the Bear
125

move in their circling paths.
130

132

Chorus

Starry night does not remain constant with men, nor does tribulation, nor wealth; in a moment it is gone from us, and to another in his turn come both

gladness and bereavement. So I urge even you, our Queen, to keep these matters firmly in your outlook. You must, for who has
135

known Zeus to be so without care for his children?
140

Sir Richard C. Jebb Commentary on Sophocles: Trachiniae 2

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

94-140

Current edition Experimental

τάδ᾽ αἰὲν ἴσχειν· ἐπεὶ τίς ὧδε

τέκνοισι Ζῆν ἄβουλον εἶδεν ;

ΔΗ.

Hush! For I see approaching one in haste,

Deianeira.

Deianira
Strophe i. Antistrophe i. Strophe 2. Antistrojjhe 2.

Deianira
STRO. 2. ANTIS. 2. BPOD.

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

94-140

Current edition Experimental

τάδ᾽ αἰὲν ἴσχειν· ἐπεὶ τίς ὧδε τέκνοισι Ζῆν ἄβουλον εἶδεν ;

ΔΗ.

Hush! For I see approaching one in haste,

Denn dauernd bleibt nicht der Nacht Glanz auf Erden, nicht das Unglück, Nicht der Reichthum; schnell entschwindet Jenem Haus und zieht in dies 130 Genießen und Entbehren. So mußt auch du dies allezeit, o Königin, In Hoffnung festhalten: sahst du je, daß Zeus also rathlos ließ die Seinen?

Deianeira.

Deianira Strophe i. Antistrophe i. Strophe 2. Antistrojjhe 2.

Deianira STRO. 2. ANTIS. 2. BPOD.

Stable identifiers

τάδ᾽ αἰὲν ἴσχειν· ἐπεὶ τίς ὧδε

τέκνοισι Ζῆν ἄβουλον εἶδεν ;

Deianira
Strophe i. Antistrophe i. Strophe 2. Antistrojjhe 2.

Deianira
STRO. 2. ANTIS. 2. BPOD.