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THE 
 
 CHOEPHORCE OF ^SCHYLUS 
 
 WITH NOTES, 
 
 CEITICAL AND EXPLANATOEY. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN CONINGTON, M.A. 
 
 PEOFESSOK OF LATIN, AND FELLOW OF CORPUS CHKISTI COLLEGE, 
 OXFORD. 
 
 OF THE 
 
 c 
 
 LONDON: 
 JOHN W. PARKER AND SON, WEST STRAND. 
 
 1857 
 
3 
 
 ^mui 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 SAVILT. ANP BDWARDS, PBINTEES, CHANDOS STBEET, 
 
 COVENT GiEDEN. 
 
M mkJ 
 
 TO 
 
 EGBERT SCOTT, D.D. 
 
 MASTER OF BA.LLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD, 
 
 ETC. ETC. ETC. 
 
 IN GRATITUDE FOR THOSE LABOURS, 
 
 WHICH HAVE MADE THE STUDY OF GREEK EASIER TO ENGLISHMEN, 
 
 AND IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF 
 
 PERSONAL KINDNESS. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ^HIS work, as some of its readers may perhaps remember, was 
 -■- announced for publication more than five years ago. At that 
 time I contemplated a series of notes like those which accompany 
 my translation of the Agamemnon, and these I had hoped might 
 be accomplished in a very few months. I was prevented, however, 
 from finishing them as soon as I had expected, and meantime my 
 conception of the sort of commentary that was required underwent a 
 gradual but complete transformation. Instead of simply giving 
 my opinion on the various difl&culties in the play which had 
 occurred to myself or to others, I now began to examine my author 
 line by line and word by word, in the hope of extracting the full 
 meaning, both of the whole and of its parts. I only trust that I 
 may have succeeded in transmitting to the reader some portion of 
 the insight which I have seemed to myself to derive from this kind of 
 study. The play itself is confessedly the most difficult of the tragedies 
 that have come down to us from Grecian antiquity, and much of 
 it still remains either obscure to me, or imperfectly cleared up ; 
 but I appear to feel firm ground under me in many places where I 
 used to move with uncertainty, and I cannot but hope that further 
 labour will considerably diminish the number of difficulties yet 
 unsolved. 
 
 The chief source from which to look for light is, I believe, the 
 poet himself, who, more perhaps than most writers, abounds in 
 parallelisms of thought and expression. Whether the object is to 
 explain a construction, to represent an image, or to apprehend an 
 idea, ^schylus will generally be found his o^vn best interpreter. 
 Accordingly, most of the illustrations in my notes have been drawn 
 from this or the other plays. Sophocles and Euripides, especially 
 where they write on the same subject, are valuable as affording a 
 basis for analogical reasoning, and will well repay a closer exami- 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 nation for that purpose than they have yet received : but, like all 
 great authors, each has his marked individuality of thought and 
 feeling — each conceives in his own way of the tradition presented 
 to him, and hardly any testimony from them can bear on the 
 meaning of iEschylus with half the force and directness which we 
 feel immediately when the poet is made to witness in his own 
 cause. As a general rule, too, I have sought to confine myself to 
 the task of bringing out the meaning of the play, rarely diverging 
 into discussions of points of grammar, explanations of passages in 
 other authors, or lexicographical accounts of single words. At the 
 same time I have been anxious to pass over no question which 
 might fairly seem to call for answer, even at the risk of occasionally 
 repeating what is already sufficiently known, or may be gathered 
 from obvious sources, though it is jDossible that in this respect, as 
 in others, I may have erred on the side of defect as well as on that 
 of excess. I have adopted from Klausen the practice of prefixing 
 to each speech, or series of speeches, a brief summary intended to 
 convey its purport as a whole, a practice which I should be glad 
 to see pursued more generally in editions of the classics, as I have 
 frequently observed that superficial students, especially of ancient 
 poetry, are apt to overlook their author's drift, from not being at 
 the pains to divest it of the external form in which it comes to 
 them, and ask themselves what it would be if written down briefly 
 in such language as they are themselves in the habit of employing. 
 Throughout the notes I have endeavoured to study compression, 
 indicating considerations which may be further developed, and 
 referring to passages which require to be examined, while I have 
 not been sorry at times to relieve the dryness of such comments 
 by remarks of a general nature, intended to call attention to what 
 may be termed the literary characteristics of the play. 
 
 There is one feature in my edition which I feel sure will give it 
 an interest in the eyes of scholars. The late John Wordsworth 
 is known to have been for many years contemplating an edition of 
 ^schylus, of which his well-known article on Scholefield's edition 
 in the Philological Museum was, as it were, a foretaste. Through 
 the unusual kindness of his brother, Canon Wordsworth, to whom 
 I was previously quite a stranger, I have been allowed to consult 
 his MS. materials, making such use of them as I might think best 
 for my own purposes. I have availed myself somewhat largely of 
 
PREFACE. Vii 
 
 the permission, so as to incorporate in my commentary many of 
 the results of his patient thought and accurate and extensive 
 reading. I only regret that the plan of my work has not admitted 
 of my giving to the world a still larger portion of this most 
 valuable collection, especially as the undigested state in which it 
 has been left renders it but too probable that it is only through 
 some such medium as the present that it is likely ever to see the 
 light. Had the author been spared to complete his work, it would 
 undoubtedly have been one of which English scholarship might 
 well have been proud. His researches into MSS., though superseded 
 by the recent works of Hermann and Franz, would have produced 
 an apparatus criticus superior to anything which existed at the 
 time of his death, while his minute knowledge of the phenomena 
 of the Greek, language, some notion of which may be derived from 
 his article already referred to, would have given him a claim to 
 rank with such scholars as Lobeck. We should not have had then 
 to point to Bishop Blomfield as the last of our great editors of 
 Greek tragedy. 
 
 In strictness of speech the present edition has no pretensions to 
 be considered a critical one. Franz and Hermann seem to have 
 done all, or nearly all, that can be done by re-collation of MSS., 
 and as I had nothing to add to their labours,* it seemed better to 
 refer readers to them than to attempt to make a digest of them for 
 my own pages. I have, however, thought it right to mention in 
 my notes all the instances in which my text has departed from the 
 reading of the MSS., with the name of the person by whom the 
 change has been introduced, so that a student disinclined to critical 
 minutiae should still be able to judge for himself of the extent to 
 which modern criticism has found it necessary to desert the oldest 
 external authorities. Here and there I may have passed over some 
 minute difference of orthography, though in general I have wished 
 to register even these. But I have not felt myself called upon to 
 note the discrepancies of the MSS. among themselves, or even to 
 specify eveiy one of the comparatively few and trifling instances in 
 
 * The librarian of the Escurial informs me that no MSS. exist there answer- 
 ing to the report inserted by Capt. Medwin in the preface to his translation of 
 the Prometheus. The story had not escaped the notice of John Wordsworth, 
 who speaks doubtfully of it, referring to an article in the British Critic, 
 No. 24, p. 379. 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 which the parent MS., the Medicean, is less correct than its Guelf- 
 erbytan copy. For the text which I have printed I am myself 
 responsible. It will be found to occupy an intermediate position 
 between those of Wellauer and Klausen, who admit scarcely any 
 innovation upon the MSS. and early editions (authorities whose 
 respective values they do not always sufficiently discriminate), and 
 those of the later German editors, though its leaning on the whole 
 is decidedly to the former extreme. In general I may say that 
 the result of my experience has been to make me think more 
 highly of the MSS., and less highly of editorial ingenuity. The 
 three most recent continental recensions of the text, those of 
 Franz, Dindorf, and Hermann, appear to me to be in far too many 
 instances only monuments of sagacity misemployed. The high 
 tone of the scholarship of the present day (which they have them- 
 selves, in different degi'ees, contributed to produce) has preserved 
 them from falling into the errors of Schiitz ; but their dealings 
 with the text have been as rash and unscrupulous as his, and are 
 likely, if I may trust my own judgment, to meet with as little 
 favour at the hands of succeeding scholars. Let me not be mis- 
 understood, as if I wished to deny the eminent services which 
 emendatory criticism has at different times rendered to the text of 
 ^schylus. The critical part of these notes, scanty as it is, will 
 show numerous instances in which errors have been purged away 
 by the care and acuteness of earlier scholars ; and to come to later 
 times, the restoration and distribution of the Ko/^^oe in this play, 
 a task of which the greater part was achieved by one of the first 
 efforts of Hermann's long life, affords, as I have there remarked, a 
 consolatory proof of the effect which may be produced by the 
 union of critical penetration, metrical knowledge, and poetical 
 feeling. But one who has made ^schylus, and this play in par- 
 ticular, his study for years, must be pardoned if he expresses the 
 feeling of disappointment with which he has watched the recent 
 course of ^schylean criticism, especially in those quarters from 
 which he had been led to expect most.* Even Mr. Paley's last 
 
 * Of Hermann's edition I have already ventured to express my opinion in 
 an article in the Edinburgh Review, July, 1854. The best continental edition 
 of the Clioephorce since Klausen's is Bamberger's (Gottingen, 1840), of which 
 the explanatory part is brief but able, and the critical ingenious, and at the 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 valuable edition, certainly the most satisfactory which has ever 
 appeared within the same moderate compass, has marred its varied 
 usefulness by occasionally admitting alterations, which even the 
 editor himself does not profess to think certainly true, seemingly 
 because it is considered necessary to furnish an intelligible text. 
 Surely where, as in the obscurity of the author and the deficiency 
 of documentary evidence may well be the case, an editor is unable 
 to satisfy himself of the true reading of a passage, his business is 
 to give the text as it stands, adding such opinions as may commend 
 themselves to him on the probabilities of the matter. The ques- 
 tion is not simply, as some appear to think, between two readings, 
 neither, doubtless, the product of the autlior, but one making sense 
 the other nonsense, but between a reading which, if not genuine, 
 is the wreck of the genuine one, and another, which is confessedly 
 only a make-shift till the genuine one be found. Unanimity in 
 constituting a classical text is a thing to be desired rather than to 
 be hoped for : but we may at least expect that editors should 
 reform according to their own solid convictions, not re-write in 
 
 same time devoid of extravagance, though not always convincing. The last 
 published, De Jongh's (Utrecht, 1856), seems to add but little to the know- 
 ledge of the play, while in the recension of the text it is apt to return to errors 
 long since corrected. This extreme, however, is better than that embraced by 
 another Dutch scholar, Karsten, whose recent edition of the Agamemnon 
 (Utrecht, 1855), has but few parallels for rashness of innovation, even where 
 the text has hitherto been least suspected. Schneidewin's promised edition of 
 ^schylus has unhappily been intercepted by his death. His Agamemnon, 
 which has appeared posthumously (Berlin, 1856), is evidently a work which 
 will require careful consideration from succeeding editors of the play, though 
 his reformations of the text, except, perhaps, in a single instance, scarcely 
 commend themselves as highly probable. Some of the points raised in the com- 
 mentary, e. g. on the scope of the second choral ode, had already been treated 
 by him more at length in certain ' Aeschyleische Briefe,' of which I had the 
 pleasure of receiving from him a copy, extracted from his Philologies, where 
 they had originally appeared. I must speak with general disappointment of 
 the various recent tracts on ^schylus by continental scholars, which have 
 fallen into my hands, with the exception of Todt's Commentatio de jEschylo 
 Vocabulorum Inventore (Halle, 1855), a work which I regret not to have seen 
 till after my own notes had been completed. Dindorf's PrcBfatio ad ^schyli 
 Tragoidiarum Editionem Lipsiensem 2W'<ia?/i (Leipsic, 1857), which I have seen 
 as these sheets are passing through the press, gives a fuller account of the 
 Medicean MS.; but the examples of critical restoration, in the case of the 
 Orestea at any rate, appear to be rather bold than successful. 
 
X ^ PREFACE. 
 
 obedience to baseless and arbitrary fancies, or to the mere authority 
 of a great name. 
 
 With regard to the metres, I have followed the arrangement of 
 Dindorf's second edition, especially as he still adheres to the old 
 numeration of lines, a point in which some unifoi*mity, whether 
 produced by double notation or otherwise, is surely becoming a 
 matter of paramount importance.* The present play is obviously 
 one in w^hich the metrical arrangement presents unusual, perhaps 
 unexampled difficulties : out of four choral odes two are for the 
 most part metrically in a state which continues to divide, if not to 
 confound the critics, and there is a shorter song which, though 
 apparently not monostrophic, refuses in its existing condition to 
 conform precisely to antistrophic rules. The result of metrical 
 criticism, as Mr. Paley remarks, tends seemingly to establish the 
 fact that the law of antistrophic correspondence in ^schylus is 
 inexorably strict, so that there would be some plausibility in the 
 conclusion that certain parts of the play have at one time or 
 another, probably at a period antecedent to any known MS., under- 
 gone something like systematic corruption — a process from which 
 it is hardly likely that modern learning and ingenuity, however 
 pre-eminent, will ever be able to recover them. 
 
 The appendices which I have thought it worth while to add 
 will explain themselves. That on the Scholia is merely a slight 
 offering to a w^ork for which, except in the way of more careful 
 examination of MSS., little has yet been done.t That on the 
 Xprja-iJLos given to Orestes has already appeared in nearly the same 
 form in the Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology, No. 5. 
 The view there propounded requires that the passage should be 
 considered as a whole, while its exposition would obviously exceed 
 the limits of a single note. 
 
 In dismissing this Avork I would desire to express a conviction 
 which has grown up during its progress, that much yet remains to 
 be done for the study of -^schylus. It is not for me to estimate 
 
 * The references to the dramatists in the commentary are all to Dindorf's 
 notation, with the exception of those to the tragic fragments, where I have 
 followed Nauck's recent elaborate collection. 
 
 t It is a satisfaction to see that so accurate a scholar as Maurice Haupt, at 
 the end of his preface prefixed to Hermann's jEschylus, promises an edition of 
 the Scholia, ' et aucta, et ut genera eorum postulant disposita.' 
 
PREFACE, XI 
 
 tlie measure of success which the method I have pursued has 
 enabled me to attain : but I cannot doubt that the same method 
 applied to the examination of the other plays would set many 
 hitherto disputed passages in their true light, and bring out many 
 points as yet unnoticed. Such points may be inconsiderable if 
 taken separately, but in combination they form a solid possession 
 of knowledge, and it is in their discovery that we seem to reach 
 that familiarity with the author, the attainment of which is almost 
 like the gaining of a new sense. It is surely possible that there 
 may be scholars here or abroad who, uniting the intuitive sagacity 
 and minute learning of the Porsonian school with the patient 
 thoughtfulness and comprehensive wisdom of Miiller and Klausen, 
 may be able to give us such an edition of ^schylus as would in 
 some sort be both critically and philosophically satisfactory, deve- 
 loping the significance of the poet's words and thoughts, and 
 regulating his text with a discernment which can reject the wrong 
 even when unable to discover the right. 
 
 My acknowledgments are due to Dr. Wordsworth, for the kind- 
 ness which I have before commemorated ; to Mr. Paley, with 
 whom, in an early stage of my labours, I enjoyed the pleasure 
 of a long ^schylean correspondence ;* to Dr. Peile, who per- 
 mitted me to use some notes containing his reconsidered opinion 
 on several passages in the play ; and to various friends, from whose 
 knowledge and judgment I have derived much profit in many 
 ways during the progress of this book. The published works 
 which I have used will appear from the commentary itself. In 
 general I have been scrupulous in naming the author of each view 
 or illustration, though in the case of parallel passages I have not 
 always thought it necessary to do so. 
 
 * To prevent misconception, I may mention that my notes on the first half 
 of the play were communicated to Mr. Paley while he was preparing his last 
 edition. Unfortunately they were in a very imperfect state, a considerable 
 portion of them existing only in a first draft, and this has led him to notice as 
 mine various opinions which I have long since discarded. 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 THE vengeance of Orestes is ton died upon more than once in the 
 Odyssey. At the very commencement of the action, in Book I. 
 (w. 30 foil,), Zeus is introduced as thinking of the ' noble' {afxv^iovos) 
 ^gisthus, recently slain by the 'far-famed' Orestes, when he 
 represents the event as an instance of the unreasonableness of men 
 in blaming the gods for evils which they bring on themselves, 
 -5]]gisthus having been distinctly warned by Hermes not to slay 
 Agamemnon or woo his wife, ' for there shall be vengeance from 
 Orestes the Atreid, when he shall have come to age and longs for 
 his own land.' In Book III. (vv. 304 foil.), Nestor informs 
 Telemachus that after the death of Agamemnon the people was 
 subdued under u^gisthus, who reigned for seven years over rich 
 My cense, but that in the eighth the godlike Orestes came back from 
 Athens, slew the slayer of his father, and gave to the Argives a 
 funeral feast, 'for his hated mother and the craven ^gisthus,' 
 during which Menelaus haj^pened to arrive from his ocean- wander- 
 ings. Telemachus had already asked (vv. 249 foil.) where Mene- 
 laus was, that ^gisthus had been left to work his will, and Nestor 
 had replied, that if Menelaus on his return had found ^gisthus 
 living in the palace, the murderer would not even have had earth 
 thrown on him when dead, but dogs and birds would have torn 
 him as he lay in the plain far from the city, nor would any Achiean 
 women have bewailed him — an apparent condemnation of Orestes' 
 conduct in giving the funeral feast, though nothing is expressly 
 said to show that the vengeance was in any way iucom23lete. In 
 Book IV. (w. 512 foil), Menelaus relates to Telemachus how 
 Proteus informed him of his brother's death, comforting him by 
 the assurance that if he returned home he would either find the 
 murderer alive or just slain by Orestes, so that he might be present 
 at the burial {a-v Se Kev rdcpov dvTi^oXrjo-ais — doubtless that of 
 ^^gisthus). 
 
 All that ^schylus has in common with Homer is the bare fact 
 of. the return of Orestes after years of absence, and the reveno-e 
 which he takes. The funeral feast and the arrival of Menelaus, 
 whatever place they may have had in the legend, have none in the 
 
XIV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 drama. The former would perhaps not be inconsistent with some of 
 the notices in the play (see on vv. 819 — 826), though it is not 
 involved in them, and the flight of Orestes would leave no time for 
 any solemnities in which he had to take part : the latter is im- 
 plicitly denied by the course of the Eumenides, as well as by that 
 of the CJioe2)horce. Even with regard to the absence of Orestes 
 there are points of difference. He is represented, as we have seen, 
 as coming from Athens. Under what circumstances he had been 
 removed thither Homer does not say. Agamemnon, in speaking 
 to Ulysses in the shades (Book XI. vv. 451 foil.), complains that 
 he was not allowed to see his son, and inquires whether he is in 
 Orchomenos, or Pylos, or Sparta, seeing that he i^ not yet dead. 
 Nor does there seem any great similarity between the views enter- 
 tained by the two poets on the condition of the dead Agamemnon. 
 The manner of his death is treated by Homer (Books XI. 411 foil.; 
 XXIV. 28 foil.) as a matter for grief even in the shades, as con- 
 trasted with the fate which he might have met in battle, and he 
 mentions it as an aggravation that his wife did not close his eyes 
 or his lips in death : but no hint is dropped that his loss of funeral 
 honours has aff"ected him, except as a mere indignity, and nothing 
 is said of his co-operation in the work of vengeance, which is 
 really the turning point of the ChoepJioroe. Nor, again, can we 
 tell whether Homer's version of the story included a featui-e which, 
 with the three tragedians, constitutes the essence of the catastrophe 
 
 the employment of fraud by Orestes. Such an exiDedient is 
 
 indeed peculiarly adapted to dramatic purposes, as supplying the 
 complication of plot, which was thought desirable even on the 
 ancient stage, and it might be suggested by the very existence of 
 the Chorus, one of whose functions is said to be ' tegere commissa :' 
 but the equitable retribution of fraud for fraud is likely enough 
 to have been an ingredient in the old legend, and the pointed 
 recurrence to it in ^schylus as a part of Apollo's injunctions 
 shows that, however introduced, it had entwined itself inextricably 
 with his conception of the tale. 
 
 The structure of the ChoephorcE, like that of all the plays of 
 j^schylus, is sufficiently simple. The first half of the action groups 
 itself round the tomb of Agamemnon. The tomb, according to 
 ^schylus's version of the story, has been long unhonoured j 
 Agamemnon, mangled even after his death, had been buried 
 without the usual lamentations, and we are apparently meant to 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 infer tliat no mark of respect had been offered to him since. On 
 this day two distinct attempts are made to propitiate him. Orestes 
 has returned from exile, in the hope of being permitted to win 
 back his inheritance, and his first care is to pay to his father those 
 observances which absence hindered him from paying at the 
 funeral. Meantime Electra approaches with a train of Hbation- 
 bearers, wTiolform the Chorus of the play, and, indeed, give it its 
 name. The same night which had conducted Orestes to Argos had 
 terrified Clytaemnestra with a portentous dream, which the inter- 
 preters had declared to be significant of the wrath of her dead 
 husband. Accordingly she had for the first time bethought 
 herself of paying him the usual marks of honour, which were to 
 be accompanied by a prayer for good to herself and evil to her 
 enemies. The Chorus are Trojan captives, whom she doubtless 
 supposes to be fit instruments of her bidding. Why Electra was 
 allowed to accompany them is not clear, as her hostility must have 
 been known, though in the little which we see of Clytsemnestra we 
 do not find her mentioning her daughter ; but we may suppose 
 that in the strange mixture of feelings which prompted the self- 
 contradictory act of honouring her victim in his bloody grave, she 
 may have thought the presence of one sincere mourner at any rate 
 would be acceptable. But the Chorus is thoroughly possessed 
 with the conviction that the work of expiation which they are 
 charged to perform is unnatural and futile, and they readily listen 
 to Electra's doubts, and encourage her to turn the weapon against 
 the inventor by offering the libations as from herself, with a prayer 
 conceived in a directly opposite sense to that which Clytsemnestra 
 had intended. This is the first stroke of that irony which, though 
 it may have been more congenial to Sophocles than to the other 
 two tragedians, is involved in most of those stories of crime and 
 retribution from which the Greek tragic stage was replenished. 
 The attempt was monstrous, and it has failed ; the libations have 
 been restored to their proper office, and Agamemnon's wrath, 
 instead of being propitiated, has been aggi-avated by his child's 
 prayer. At this very moment a new object appears ; the lock of 
 hair which Orestes had left on the tomb is discovered by Electra. 
 It does not require much reasoning to convince her or her friends 
 that it must have come from Orestes, though, unwilling to believe 
 the best, she thinks that he must have sent it. A further dis- 
 covery of footsteps which are apparently his only tends to perplex 
 
XVI INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and trouble her more. Orestes himself comes forward, and after 
 some little difficulty succeeds in convincing her that he is veritably 
 her brother. Thus deliverance appears to have arisen at last, but 
 there are doubts and dangers still. The plot may be discovered 
 through their own imprudence : Orestes may not have nerve for 
 the deed : the aid of the dead has yet to be effectually secured. 
 Orestes fortifies himself by recapitulating the terrible sentence 
 denounced by Apollo against those who neglect to avenge their 
 murdered kinsfolk, and reflects on the other motives which come 
 in to confirm his resolution. Then they all join in a long and 
 diversified lament, a hymn, as it is called, to the powers below. 
 Orestes desponds, Electra loses herself in vain wishes ; the Chorus 
 checks both, reminding them that the dirge is doing its work, and 
 that vengeance is drawing nearer every moment. They dwell on 
 the aggravations of the past, so as to extinguish the chidings of 
 compunction in the mind of Orestes, and exhort him to take the 
 future into his own hand. When the lament is over, and a final 
 effort has been made to sting Agamemnon into a sense of his 
 wrongs, Orestes for the first time enquires the history of the 
 libations, and learns the signs of vengeance given in the dream of 
 the preceding night. He formally accepts the office of avenger, 
 thus foreshown, and developes his plan of action, assigning to each 
 a part in the plot. All leave the stage but the Chorus, who sing of 
 the crimes of women as the worst form of created evil, branding 
 the crimes of wives against their husbands as the blackest of all, 
 and enforcing the law of retribution which sentences bloody and 
 godless deeds. Such is the first half of the action, and it is this 
 w^hich is most characteristically ^schylean. In order that the 
 catastrophe may be realized as he conceives of it, the poet has to 
 concentrate the reader's disposable attention on the supernatural 
 ao"encies at work. We are to think of this as the day of doom, 
 and to mark the footsteps of divine vengeance as she nears her 
 goal. That which Clytsemnestra, in insult or in fear, had denied 
 to Agamemnon for years is conceded at last, and being entrusted 
 to the hands of others, is turned to the very purpose which she 
 would most have deprecated, ^schylus has no reason to pro- 
 long Electra's suffering by deferring the meeting between the 
 sister and the avenging brother, nor has he occasion to labour in 
 making the way in which the recognition is brought about as 
 plausible as possible. He dilates on the admonition of Apollo 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xvii 
 
 with a breadth of terrific detail which seems for the time to over- 
 shadow the whole mind of the speaker, and dwarf every minor 
 motive of personal feeling or private interest. The lamentation, 
 in the poet's view, is not a suspension of the action, but a part of 
 the action itself* It is not merely an impassioned lyric, awakening 
 successively the various tones of human feeling, but, as we are 
 repeatedly reminded, an actual agent, conducting the inquisition 
 for blood, assembling the succours underground, and bringing on 
 the destined hour, which, long fixed, has been awaiting its summons. 
 In the remainder of the play ^schylus probably did not aim at 
 much novelty of treatment. The victory had been already won so 
 soon as the succour of the gods was secured, and what follows is 
 as it were, but the performance of the promise. Orestes introduces 
 himself, tells his tale, and is believed — the work, we are told, of 
 the crafty goddess of Persuasion and Hermes the Nocturnal. The 
 precaution which Clytsemnestra wished nevertheless to take is 
 baffled by the intervention of the Chorus, and ^gisthus is deluded 
 by a falsified message. He appears, and goes in to meet his fate, 
 the Chorus having in the meantime poured out fresh prayers, 
 which are renewed with agonizing earnestness as the critical 
 moment arrives. As ^gisthus is breathing his last, a servant 
 makes a last desperate attempt to warn Clytaemnestra ; but the 
 intimation comes only in time to prepare her to die, not to put her 
 on her guard. Unable to defend herself by force, as she had 
 hoped, she pleads for her life, in a scene which Miillert rightly 
 regards as poetically necessary, in order ' to insist upon the bounden 
 duty' of the act of vengeance, 'and on the other hand to expose the 
 atrocity of the act in itself, and to exhibit in the strongest liglit 
 that it is not from any passion of his own, but from the obligation 
 to avenge his father, and obey the behests of Apollo, that Orestes 
 slays his mother.' She is led in to death, and the Chorus sings an 
 ode reviewing the scenes of blood which they had lived to witness. 
 
 * ' The obvious external defect, that the action lingers too long at the same 
 point, without any sensible progress, appears, on reflection, a true internal per- 
 fection : it is the stillness of expectation before a deep storm or an earthquake. 
 It is true the prayers are repeated, but their very accumulation heightens the 
 impression of a great unheard-of purpose, for which human powers and motives 
 by themselves are insufficient.' Schlegel's Lectures on Dramatic Art. Lect. 9. 
 
 t Dissertations on the Eumenides, § 98, Eng. Trans. Ed. 2. 
 
 6 
 
XVIU INTRODUCTION. 
 
 enforcing the justice of this last deed of violence, and rejoicing in 
 the deliverance which has come to themselves and to the house of 
 their masters, now rising again under a brighter sky. The last 
 scene shows us Orestes victorious, pointing to the bodies of the 
 miu'derers united in death, and apj^ealing for his justification to 
 the very implement by the help of which his mother slew his 
 father : but the curse of matricide has already begun to fasten on 
 him ; his brain reels as he connects the murderess with the means 
 of murder and recurs from the past to the present, and after an 
 endeavour to battle with his madness, and employ the few remaining 
 moments of sanity in speaking on his own behalf, he surrenders 
 himself to the Furies, who drive him off the stage, while the 
 Chorus follow him with a word of mingled hope and despair. 
 
 The difference between ^schylus and Sophocles is forcibly ex- 
 hibited by the chief points which the Choephoroe and Electra have 
 in common. The very circumstance which gives the former play 
 its name re-appears in the latter. Clyteemnestra has seen a dream, 
 which, though characteristically made less shocking than that 
 adopted by ^schylus, has the same general purport, and in con- 
 sequence she dispatches propitiatory offerings to her husband's 
 grave. These, however, are entrusted, not to Electra, but to Chry- 
 sothemis, another of her daughters, who has shown herself more 
 yielding and subservient, a change which at first sight appears 
 to render the story more natural, but which, more attentively 
 considered, will perhaps show that Sophocles had not penetrated 
 ^schylus's design, as explained above, in making the murderess 
 send her gifts by the hand of the true chief mourner. It almost 
 follows from this that far le.ss stress is laid on the offerings them- 
 selves. Electra indeed, in her conversation with Chrysothemis, 
 shows herself fully sensible of the insult and mockery involved in 
 such an embassy from the slayer to the slain, and persuades her 
 sister to fling the libations away, and offer instead a small present 
 with a prayer, in both their names : but this is all ; we are not 
 present at the ceremony ; it is not mentioned afterwards as a thing 
 on which hope is grounded ; nay, when Chrysothemis returns, she 
 does not even inform us that it has taken place. In fact the titles 
 of the two plays, and the corresponding structure of each, show the 
 different conceptions entertained by the two poets. Sophocles, 
 who, it should be remembered, was writing not a part of a trilogy, 
 but an independent drama, makes Electra his central figure. She 
 
INTRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 does not indeed prologuize, Orestes and the TratSaymyo? being intro- 
 duced first on the stage, apparently that the audience, being 
 informed of the catastrophe from the first, may be able to feel the 
 irony of the situation as the poet feels it himself; but she enters 
 immediately after their departure, and retains possession of the 
 stage in every subsequent scene. From the moment of her father's 
 death she has been his chief champion; Orestes was sent into 
 safety by her, not, as ^schylus represents it, removed before 
 Agamemnon's arrival by Clytoemnestra herself ; and ever since she 
 has retained her spirit unbroken, sustaining the insidts of her 
 mother and ^gisthus, and endeavouring to stimulate her brother's 
 purpose. In the commatic scene with the Chorus, we see how she 
 can repel even well-meant consolation. In the dialogue with 
 Chrysothemis we find her contrasted with her more compliant 
 sister, and tried by the threat of a worse punishment than she has 
 yet had to bear : we next see how she can confront her mother ; 
 and then comes the climax of all, the extinction of the hopes of 
 years in the reported death of Orestes, prostrating her for the 
 moment, but soon leaving her free to plan a work of vengeance 
 which her own hand is to execute. In this part of the play 
 Sophocles has been. thought to have the advantage of ^schylus, 
 who does not expose his Eiectra to this last crowning agony ; but 
 the ground for preference vanishes as soon as we perceive the 
 fundamental difference between the two dramas. That which in 
 the tale of human suffering intensifies the anguish has no place in 
 the story of divine retribution. Whether the real interest of the 
 narrative is connected with its supernatural, or its natural aspect, 
 may of course be made a question. Sophocles, in deviating from 
 the ^schylean ideal, was undoubtedly entering on a road which 
 subsequent experience and the predilections of later artists have 
 pronounced to be the legitimate walk of the drama. Those who 
 think that Sophocles' view approaches more nearly to the ultimate 
 truth of art may still admit that the story in his hands has lost 
 some of the grandeur with which it had been invested by JEschylus. 
 Eiectra, sublime in her lamentation over her brother's urn, is less 
 than heroic when, in the earlier part of the play, she details the 
 domestic insults to which she has to submit, or engages in a rhe- 
 torical argument with her mother. Nor can it well be denied that 
 the insignificance into which she sinks on the appearance of Orestes, 
 who is employed through a great portion of the scene in moderating 
 
XX INTRODUCTION. 
 
 her transports and exhorting her to silence, is some impeachment 
 of the judgment which chose her to sustain the part of protago- 
 nistes.* 
 
 The Mectra of Euripides is an attempt to draw out the human 
 interest yet further, not so much by developing character as by 
 varying and amplifying the circumstances. Something is doubtless 
 to be attributed to the wayward spirit of opposition to ^schylus, 
 which here, as elsewhere, vents itself even on the stage, in Electra's 
 criticism of the evidence for her brother's return ; but much is 
 merely the natural result of the poet's theory of his art. He was 
 the tragedian of common life ; his gods and heroes are Athenians 
 of his own day, with divine or heroic names ; and he especially 
 delighted, as we know not only from his own works but from the 
 ridicule of Aristophanes, in exhibiting the contrast between the 
 tragic ' gold and pui'ple' and the rags and squalor of every-day 
 poverty. Accordingly he is not satisfied with making his Electra 
 the slighted and insulted inhabitant of a palace which is not hers, 
 but he removes her from home, and places her in the cottage of a la- 
 bouring man, who, though really respecting the sorrow of his master's 
 daughter, allows himself to be called her husband. Realizing in 
 action the servitude which in ^schylus appears to be no more 
 than a metaphorical expression, she enters with a pitcher of water 
 on her head, and is actually mistaken by her brother at first sight 
 for one of the serving-maids. The same endeavour after homely 
 reality is seen in the speech where she describes her wrongs, telling 
 how she must make her own clothes if she would not go without, 
 and how ^gisthus in his drunken fits leaps on her father's tomb. 
 The revenge is concerted, not in the palace or at the tomb, but in 
 the cottage, over a frugal meal ; and it is in the cottage that 
 Clytsemnestra herself is despatched, having been warned, as she 
 enters, by her daughter, with pretended deference, not to let the 
 smoky crib sully her robes. The descent is indeed rapid from the 
 Choephoroe to an Electra like this ; yet we can hardly refuse to 
 
 * ' To shape and mould particular characters into freer individuality, and to 
 descend into lower depths of the human heart, were reserved for Sophocles, 
 who, for this very reason, very often found himself obliged to detach, so to say, 
 the centre of poetic interest from the centre of action, as, for instance, in this 
 story, where, instead of Orestes, with his unreserved devotion to his call as 
 Avenger, he was obliged to make the more remote Electra his pi-otagonistes.' — 
 Miiller. Dissertations on the Eumenides, § 99. 
 
INTRODUCTIOX. XXI 
 
 recognize in Euripides a disposition to complete the change which 
 Sophocles had begun, though we may feel that all the dignity 
 and glory of tragedy have vanished under the process. 
 
 It is justly observed by Miiller* that 'as ^schylus generally 
 makes the fable subordinate to the idea, so again the d elineation 
 of character rank s with him below the dp.vplnpjpprit o£^ ie fable. 
 andr-so-4tri§ay7'occupies only the third place. The characters.' he 
 goes on to say, speaking particularly of the Eumenides, but referring 
 also to the j^receding plays, ' are in themselves very well sustained, 
 in pe rfect keepin J^=:febtu:^jghout, and marked, moreover, by moi^ 
 than o ne fine touch of in dividuality ; sTill they are no more^t han 
 --^ccfm^t^]iQ,--^wrh77^ ^ — ^rf'ar ^ily- mg rrrP^TtliPm to be.' 
 
 Af?5epting this as a true criticism, and admif^ng that the subtle" 
 study of character belongs rather to a later stage of dramatic 
 literature, we may remark nevertheless that Orestes, the chief 
 figure of the story, is more powerfully conceived by -^schylus than 
 by either of his two successors. The comparison which has fre- 
 quently been made between Orestes and Hamlet, is grounded 
 perhaps rather on the similarity of the two legends than on any 
 resemblance between Shakspere's Prince of Denmark and the 
 hero of the three tragedians ; but it may be safely said that the 
 Orestes of -^schylus is the only presentation of the character 
 which would naturally be thought of in such a connexion. To 
 institute a formal parallel between the two creations, between the 
 simplicity of the one and the infinite complexity of the other, 
 would of course be out of the question. The distance between the 
 revenge of Orestes and the revenge of Hamlet is little less than 
 the distance between the recovery of an inheritance, and the 
 setting right of a time that is out of joint. But the conflict of 
 human feelings, ignored wholly by Sophocles, and sketched by 
 Euripides with the feeble hand of an imitator, is substantially the 
 same in both ; and though the supernatural warning has not the 
 same function in -^schylus as in Shakspere, they may be com- 
 pared in respect of their relative moment in bringing about the 
 catastrophe. The same sense of the gravity of the deed to be done 
 appears in the results which its accomplishment is made to entail 
 upon its actor, Orestes is not allowed by -^schylus, as he is I5y 
 Sophocles, to quit the stage as the successful vindicator of right, 
 
 * §99- 
 
XXll INTRODUCTIOX. 
 
 but is driven off by bis mother's Furies.* And so Sbakspere 
 suffers Hamlet to take vengeance on the murderer of bis father 
 only after the king's treachery has done its work, and the avenger 
 himself has not half an hour of life, ^schylus too, if I have 
 interpreted him rightly in the last scene of this play, stands alone 
 among the tragedians in his delineation of the gradual access of 
 madness, succeeding immediately upon the bloody act, and an- 
 ticipating the visible manifestation of the avenging goddesses. 
 The remaining characters in the Choepliorce may be dispatched 
 more briefly. Electra, in the scene with the Chorus at the tomb, 
 shows that penetrating sense of the awfulness of her mission which 
 it was the object of ^schylus to enforce throughout, and her 
 speech when she first begins to entertain the thought of her 
 brother's arrival as a thing possible is full of human feeling ; but 
 on the actual apj^earance of Orestes she sinks into her natural place 
 as a secondary character, and after the first half of the play her 
 function ceases. Clytsemnestra is the Clytsemnestra of the Aga- 
 memnon, and must be read in the light of that wonderful con- 
 ception. The prominence given to her is not great, but she 
 sustains her character throughout — in her stately welcome of the 
 strangers, her grief, not wholly feigned, for the new victim of the 
 ' insatiate archer,' her calling for the axe when she finds herself 
 betrayed, and her final pleading for her life; and we feel that 
 -(^schylus has done wisely in sparing us a scene between her and 
 Electra, such as, in Sophocles, only derogates from her dignity, and 
 in Euripides almost makes us doubt whether there may not be 
 something to be said in her favour.t Of JEgisthus too little is seen 
 to justify criticism; we cannot tell how far his professed sorrow 
 
 * Here, as in the previous vacillation of Oreste,?, Euripides agrees with 
 J^lschylus rather than with Sophocles ; but though the revulsion of feeling is 
 naturally drawn, it is rather spoiled by the introduction of the Dioscuri, the 
 clearness of whose prophecy contrasts unfavourably with the cloud in which the 
 Choephoros ends. Yet, as Euripides was not writing a trilogy, he could hardly 
 have avoided indicating the final consummation with more or less distinctness. 
 
 + The same might perhaps be said of the scene between Clytsemnestra and 
 the Chorus at the end of the Agamemnon; but there is this grave diffei'ence, 
 that in Euripides she is just on the point of suffering retribution, while in 
 jEschylus she is victorious, and has years of triumph before her, so that if any 
 sympathy with her is excited, it is not brought into collision with the course 
 of events. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XXUI 
 
 for the new family calamity is more than a servile copy of Clytsem- 
 nestra's feeling, and perhaps all that can be said is that we are 
 intended to note the contemptuous reflection, so unseemly in his 
 mouth, on women as the weaker sex, and the self-confidence with 
 which he declares that, if a trick is intended, he is the person to 
 find it out. The rambling speech of the nurse, like that of the 
 watchman in the Agamemnon, shows that ^schylus paid some 
 attention to the sketching of characters from humbler life ; but a 
 certain pomp of language clings to him even where the matter to 
 be spoken of is meanest, and though the experience of the modern 
 drama has taught us that the high and the low may be exhibited 
 in juxtaposition on the stage, as in nature, without producing a sense 
 of incongruity, the violence of the contrast strikes us at once as 
 irreconcilable with the fitness of ancient art, and we pronounce the 
 attempt a failure. With regard to the Chorus, we need only 
 remark the discrimination which -^schylus has shown in making 
 them Trojan captives. Sophocles and Euripides, writing single 
 dramas, doubtless found it more natural to enlist on the side of the 
 brother and sister the sympathies of the maidens of the country 
 than those of foreign bondwomen; but the Chorus of the Choephorce 
 form a link with the preceding play, companions, so we may con- 
 sider them, of Cassandra, and though without her power of pro- 
 phetic insight, looking, like her, not only to the death of Aga- 
 memnon, but to the overthrow of Troy, yet feeling like her, by 
 bitter exi)erience, that the enemies of their rightful masters are 
 theirs also. 
 
 It does not appear possible to arrive at a definite conclusion in 
 detail about the scenic arrangements of the play, disputed as they 
 have been between Hermann and Miiller and his school. I have 
 adverted to one or two of the controverted points in the course of 
 the notes, where I have attempted to give such stage directions as 
 appear probable, reconciling as far as I could the requirements of 
 the theatre with those of the story. On the one hand it seems 
 possible that the ancient authorities (who are not always consis- 
 tent with each other), from their habit of enumerating ratliei 
 than generalizing, may have induced us to overrate the slender- 
 ness of theatrical resources, as if the scenery was always substan- 
 tially the same, whatever the play might be ; on the other hand it 
 is certain, from the whole structure of their drama, as well as from 
 external testimony, that the Greeks paid far less attention to scenic 
 
Xxiv INTRODUCTION. 
 
 illusion than modern taste would exact, tlie spectators being con- 
 tent, as it were, to ' make believe' what the poet wished them to 
 do. I have also hazarded a conjecture on the apportionment of 
 the various parts among the three actors, which perhaps may- 
 approximate to the truth, though I do not pretend that the diffi- 
 culty is entirely removed. On the question of the number of the 
 Chorus I have no suggestion to offer. The materials for its solu- 
 tion to be found in the play itself are perhaps more scanty than 
 those afforded by the other dramas of the trilogy : at any rate 
 they seem to have been less frequently appealed to by the sup- 
 porters of the rival hypotheses. How far such internal proofs can 
 be obtained, at least in the present state of our knowledge, seems 
 very doubtful. It is not even clear to what extent we ought to 
 look for symmetry in the ordinary dialogue of tragedy, as, though 
 in some parts there are evident traces of it, others, where we 
 should expect to see it no less, appear to have nothing of the kind. 
 
 No play of ^schylus is so deficient in MS. authority as the 
 Choej^horce. Nominally we possess three MSS. containing it, and 
 the collation of a fourth — the Medicean, written in the tenth or 
 eleventh century, the Guelferbytan (Wolfenbiittel) in the fifteenth, 
 another of the same date, once in the Monastery of St. Mark, at 
 Florence, now in the Laurentian library, and the collation of one 
 which Robortello used for his edition of JEschylus, published in 
 1552. Keally the whole weight appears to rest on the first of the 
 four, the Medicean. The two other extant MSS. are ascertained 
 to have been transcribed from it, and it is supposed to have been 
 itself the one which Robortello collated. It has been collated at 
 least four times in whole or in part (independently of Robortello's 
 labours), the two last collations, which ap^Darently leave little to 
 be desired, being included respectively in Frauz and Hermann's 
 editions. It is owing to the loss of six successive leaves in this 
 copy that the Prologos of the Choepliorce appears in its present 
 mutilated state. 
 
 Xor](f)6poi, the Greek title of the play, has been variously Latinized 
 by the editors as Choephorce, Choephori, and Choephorce. The choice 
 seems to lie between the two latter, as the Romans appear to have 
 rendered the nominative plural ol by i or or, even when the noun 
 was a feminine one. So in Cic. Verr. Act. 2, Bk. 4, c. 3, all, or 
 nearly all the MSS. give Canephorce, and in c. 8, Caneplwros in the 
 accusative. 
 
?rT¥ , 
 
 J 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 OPE2TH2. 
 
 'TT^PMH -^Oovie Trarpw^ eTroTrrevcou Kodrtj, 
 -*-^ <T(jorhp yevov fAoi ^viufjLa-)(^69 r alrovjuLevM' 
 jJkco yap eg yijv r^vSe Kal Karep^o/uLai, 
 
 1 — 2 1 . Orestes and Pylades at the 
 tomb. They had probably entered 
 by the passage on the left of the 
 spectators, which appears to have been 
 the ordinary approach for strangers. 
 See Hermann, Vol. 2, pp, 649, 650, 
 This speech forms the Prologos (Ari- 
 stotle, Poet. 12), or, as it is sometimes 
 called, the first act of the play,. Orestes. 
 ' Hermes, god of the dead and patron of 
 our house, assist me, I am returned 
 from exile, and am prajdng at my 
 father's tomb, paying it that honour 
 which I was not here to jDay at the 
 funeral. What is this ? A mourning 
 train of women, seemingly bringing 
 libations to the tomb, with my sister 
 Electra at their head. Let us stand 
 apart and see what they are about, ' 
 
 I — 9. These lines do not appear in 
 the MSS., owing to a deficiency of 
 six pages in the Med, MS,, beginning 
 after Agam. 1159, V^^'^^IJ'O.v rpocpals. 
 vv. I — 5 were recovered by Can- 
 ter from Aristoph. Frogs, 1126, foil,, 
 where Euripides is supposed to discuss 
 them, vv. 6, 7, by Stanley from the 
 
 Schol. on Pind. Pyth. 4, 145, w. 8, 
 9, recently by Dindorf from the Schol. 
 on Eur. Ale. 768 (Cod. Vat. 909). 
 Something is obviously wanted to con- 
 nect w, 5, 6: the remaining lines 
 cohere sufl&ciently well with each other, 
 and with the rest of the speech, 
 though it is of course impossible to 
 decide whether anything has been lost 
 there or not, A line of ^schylus has 
 been preserved by the Schol, on Eur. 
 Or. 25, which may possibly belong to 
 this speech, aix-qxavov revxvp'-'^ xal 
 5vaeK\vTov, where Nauck, with great 
 probability, conj, rex^'VP'-^ {rvKrifia 
 Meineke) and dvaeKdvrov. Its refer- 
 ence to the garment in which Aga- 
 memnon was slain is asserted in the 
 citation, audit is not easy to see in what 
 other part of yEsch, it is likely to have' 
 occurred, unless we suppose the story of 
 the trilogy to have been taken up again 
 in the Proteus. Its structure, indeed, 
 would admit of its being inserted in 
 more than one passage of the Orestea, 
 but it cannot be said that it would 
 improve any. It is conceivable, too, 
 B 2 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 TVfjL^ov ^' eiT oy(0(i) rwSe KtjpvcTO-co irarpl 
 k\v€iv, oLKOvcrai. ^ * 
 
 VP TF ^ ■Tp Tfp 
 
 that the gloss in Hesych. d<r/cei5ots* 
 ypCKoh, dirapaaK€vois. AiVxi^^os 'A7a- 
 fiifivovL may refer to this part of the 
 Choepli., as the word is one used by 
 Soph, in the opening scene of his 
 Electra (v. 36), and the confusion of 
 the Ag. with the Choeph. occurs again 
 in Hesych, s. v. 701/105. But Bergk's 
 conjecture, referring it to the Mem- 
 Tiow (see Nauck, fr. 123), is sufficiently 
 probable. 
 
 I. 'EpfXTJ. Wordsworth suggests, 
 very probably, that Orestes is address- 
 ing a statue of Hermes which stood 
 with others, such as those mentioned 
 Ag. 50S, foil., in the front of Agamem- 
 non's palace, within sight of the tomb 
 — in support of which he refers to 
 Soph. El. 1374, irarpQa TrpoaKvaavd' 
 edr] QeQv, oaonrep xpowvXa valovcnvTabe, 
 Eur. Hipp, roo, Schneider on Theh. 
 27, 490, noticing also the similar ad- 
 dress of Strepsiades (Aristoph. Clouds, 
 1478, foil.) dXX', cD 0tX' 'E/)/x?7, /j.7]Sa/j.Qs 
 dvfiaive /J.01. . . . Kai fxoi. yeuov ^vfj.^ov\os. 
 See note on v. 583, below. This 
 being premised, it is natural to inter- 
 pret irarpipa Kparr) of the palace, or 
 royal domain of Agamemnon, which 
 Hermes surveys, and which Orestes 
 wishes to regain (comp. v. 480), an 
 interpretation confirmed by the pa- 
 rallel words in Electra's prayer, v. 127, 
 Trarpwoiv bwfiOLTOiv einaKOTrovs, though 
 opposed to that of the majority of 
 editors, and of Wordsworth himself, 
 who, following Bacchus in Aristoph. 
 I. c, suppose Hermes to be invoked 
 as exercising his father's function as 
 Xd^vios, and perhaps as aojrrjp (comp. 
 Eum. 89, foil., where the adjuration is 
 somewhat similar). From the Schol. 
 on Aristoph. it appears that Aristar- 
 
 chus understood Trarpy' of Agamem- 
 non, though the same authority adds 
 that he followed the Aristophanic 
 Euripides further in supposing Kparr} 
 to refer to his overthrow by ^gisthus. 
 Wordsworth notices x^o'^'f as an ex- 
 ample of a tribrach contained by a 
 single word, comparing ^evia, Ag. 
 1596. 
 
 3 — 5. The Aristophanic Euripides 
 criticizes tjkoo Kal Karepxap-ai as tauto- 
 logical, and is answered that Karepxo- 
 fxaL implies more than t/kw, signifying 
 return from exile. So KaTeifit {Ag. 
 1283), Kardyo} {Eur. Med. roil, and 
 Porson's note), to which Wordsworth 
 adds, KaTairXelv, Hdt. i, 165, Kara- 
 hex^adai, Plato Rep. 8, p. 561 b., 
 KaroLKL^eiv, Eum. 756. The reply 
 is so obvious, that it is difficult to 
 see the joke of Euripides' objection, 
 unless the point lies in exhibiting him 
 as a mere caviller. He makes the 
 same remark on kXv€iv, dKovaai, but it 
 is put off with a jest. Whether ^sch. 
 really intended any difference between 
 the words is hard to say. It has been 
 argued from Prom. 448, k\6ovt€s ovk 
 i]Kovov, that k\6€lv means to hear, 
 aKovetv to hearken: but in Ag. 1244, 
 5, where both words are used, k\ij€iv 
 appears to be, if any thing, the 
 stronger of the two. At any rate, 
 Eur. himself delights in this and similar 
 tautologies. Wordsworth refers to 
 Phcen. gig, ovk ^kXvov, ovk iJKovaa, 
 ib. 1335; Eacch. 554, 573; Hij^p. 
 546, 1068; Androm. 95; Ale. 108; 
 Orest. 940, and to Seidler, Be Vers. 
 T>ocJim. p. 352. In rySe, v. 4, as 
 Wordsworth remarks, Orestes turns 
 to the tomb, having previously looked 
 towards the palace and the statue of 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 Tov Sevrepov Se TovSe irevQtjTrjpLov 
 
 l|P 9J& ' ^ TF *t^ ^ 
 
 01) yap irapbiv wjuw^a o-ov, irarep, jmopov, 
 ovS'' e^ereiva X^^P ^'^' iiccpopa veKpov. 
 
 ^iv 7(r yjc 7J7 tJt •!> 
 
 Ti XP^^^ Xevcra-oo ; t/? ttoO' ^'^' onir/yvptg 
 crrelx^f^ ywaiKwu (papecriv jULeXayx^l^oig 
 irpeTTOvara ; 'ttolol ^v/UL(popa TrpocreiKaaro) ; 
 
 10 
 
 Hermes, The exact position of the 
 tomb is a matter of dispute, Her- 
 mann placing it in the proscenium, 
 Miiller and his school supposing that 
 it forms the thymele of the orchestra. 
 Krjpvcra-is} explains further the puqDose 
 for which Orestes invokes Hermes, 
 wlio is himself a herald, and the god 
 of heralds (Ag. 515), and so makes 
 the voice of the living enter into the 
 ears of the dead. See v. t2^ note. 
 
 6. The sentence is incomplete: 
 Orestes, however, seems to say that 
 he is bringing two locks of hair, one 
 an offering to Iiiachus, the other to 
 his father. The Greeks, as we learn 
 from Eustath. II. 2, p. 165, Pollux, 
 2. 3, Hesiod Theog. 347, used to offer 
 their hair to Apollo Kovporpbcpos, and 
 the rivers, as an acknowledgment of 
 nurture received from them {dpeirTr]- 
 ptov.) So Achilles, in the well-known 
 passage of Homer {II. 23. 140, foil.), 
 preserves his hair for the Sperchius, 
 but transfers the offering to Patroclus. 
 The belief that rivers were the fos- 
 terers of youth is of course accounted 
 for sufficiently by their invigorating 
 properties. QpeirTTjpLov here is a 
 subst., and so has nothing to do with 
 tlie common expression rpecpeiv KOfMrju, 
 alere, or pascere crinem. This class 
 of substantives, denoting the price 
 paid for a thing, is almost exclusively 
 
 used in the plural, as Wordsworth 
 observes ; comp. however \ijTpov. 
 
 8, 9. IlapCju cpfxco^a is Dindorf's 
 correction of Trapt^^w^a, the reading of 
 the Schol. Vat. ' I was not on the sjiot 
 to bewail thy death.' Comp. v. 1014, 
 vvv airoLfjub^o} irapthv. The words oi)S' 
 i^ereiva xetp' occur Eur. Ale. 768,' 
 and so give the Schol. occasion to 
 quote the present passage. The cus- 
 tom is mentioned again Eur. Supp. 
 772, where Musgrave refers to Phi- 
 lostratus' Heroica on the Locrian 
 Ajax, Travras de, ws ivl dvdpl dya6(^, 
 Xe?/5as apacrdaL. 
 
 10. Electra and the Chorus are 
 seen approaching in the direction of 
 the tomb. (Whether they enter toge- 
 ther through the central or royal door, 
 epKeia 6vpa, or separately, is a ques- 
 tion. Electra, by herself, not being 
 the TrpiOTayuvia-TTjs, would naturally 
 enter through one of the side doors — 
 probably that called yvvuLKeiovs irvXas, 
 V. 878, where see note. When seen 
 by Orestes they appear to be together, 
 as he would hardly have been curious 
 about the proceedings of the Chorus 
 as distinguished from those of Electra, 
 though Herm, argues from Electra's 
 language, v. 85, that she has arrived 
 at the tomb before them.) 
 
 12. nrpeirovaa. Ag. 30, 321, 1311; 
 Buttmann's Lcxil. v. deoTpdiros. 
 
XOH^OPOL 
 
 TTorepa oo/ULOKri irrjiaa •wpoa-Kvpei veov \ 
 
 rj TTttTjOi TCOfJLM TaoS^ €7r€lKa<Tag TU^ft) 
 
 XO(^S (pepovcrag veprepoig fxeiXiyiuLaTa ; 
 ovSev TTOT aWo' Ka\ yap ^HXeKrpav Soku> 
 (TTelyeLv aSeXcptjv rhv ejurjv irevOei \vypu> 
 irpeirovcrav. w Ziev, Sog lue TLcaa-Oai [xopov 
 irarpog, yevov ce ^^vjufia'^og OeXcov i/moi. 
 TlvXdSt], G-raOwjixev ckitoScov, cog av cacpcog 
 julolOo) yvpaiKwv ijrig rjSe irpoa-Tpoirr]. 
 
 XOPOS. 
 
 laXrog e/c Sojucov ejBav 
 
 ^(^oag TrpoTTO/ULTrbg 6^v')(€ipi cvv ktvttm. 
 
 J5 
 
 20 
 
 (7T/ 
 
 13. TTTJfMa, MSS. TTTUfia, Turnebus' 
 correction of the Aldine Troytia. 
 
 14. Tvyxdvoj with the part, has the 
 force of 'to be right in doing a thing/ 
 as in w. 317, 418. The so called 
 deliberative conjunctive is apparently 
 a relic of the Homeric use of the conj. 
 as equivalent to the fut. indie. {Od. 5. 
 465, (pfioL eyib, rl Trddo: ; tL vv fiot 
 fiT^KKXTa yevTirat ;) so that we may be 
 prepared to find that in the tragedians, 
 though seemingly confined to the ist 
 person, or its equivalent (Wordsworth 
 in Phil. 3Ius., vol. L, p. 238), it is 
 sometimes used as here, v. 171, Euvi. 
 678, where the question raised is not 
 one within the power of the speaker, 
 and where consequently there can be 
 no deliberation, as if it were an ordi- 
 nary future, or an opt. with dv. TdcrS' 
 iireLKaaoj tu^w (pepovaas is constructed 
 like ravT dXrjdT] Kal ^Xeirovra do^daoj, 
 V. 844, iireiKd^o} (for which see on 
 V. 976) having virtually the force of 
 vofil^u}, and similar verbs. The parallel 
 between the conj. and the indie, fut. 
 is well drawn out by Donaldson, Neio 
 Cratylus, bk. 4. oh. 3. 
 
 15. fji€L\iyfxacnv, MSS., /xeiXiyfiara, 
 Casaubon. Independently of the 
 question about the use of the dative 
 to express design or tendency, which 
 is rather Latin than Greek, rather 
 Thucydidean than ^schylean, it is 
 more probable that peprepocs should 
 = v€Kpols, as in v. 405, Pers. 619, and 
 fieiXiyfiaTa stand in opposition to 
 Xods ixods T doivovs, vrj<pdXia /xeiXiy- 
 /xara, Eum. 107, xoas ^epova', direp 
 veKpoiat fxeLXLKTTjpia, Pers. 609), than 
 that peprepoLS /xeLXiy/xaaip should be 
 constructed together in the sense of 
 inferice. It is easy to suppose that 
 an injury to a MS. happened to obli- 
 terate the last letters of the line, and 
 that a subsequent transcriber mistook 
 peprepois for an adj., with which a 
 subst. was wanted to agree. 
 
 1 8 . The sight of Electra, as Klau- 
 sen remarks, makes Orestes think of 
 revenge. 
 
 20. CKTrodup or e/c TrodQp, MSS., 
 €Kiro8up, Stanl. 
 
 2 1 , TrpocTTpoTrr) is rightly explained 
 by Wordsworth, and Liddell and 
 Scott, a band of suppliants, like <pvyi^, 
 
XOH<I>OPOI. 
 
 J/ 
 
 prt'L^ (poivloig ajuLvyfJLoig 
 ovu^os aXoKi veoTOfJLW* 
 Sl* alwvog S' ivyjULola-i ^oa-Kerai Keap, 
 \ivo(p06poL o vcpaa-jmcLTOOv 
 
 25 
 
 Supp. 329, 359, Thuc. viii. 64, Sou- 
 Xeia, Thuc. V. -23. Orestes and Py- 
 lades retire, doubtless in the direction 
 by which they entered. 
 
 •22 — 83, Chorus. ' I come with liba- 
 tions for the tomb, my cheeks bloody, 
 my garments torn, my breast beaten 
 {Str. I.) There has been an alarm in 
 the palace from a dream, which the 
 soothsayers interpret of the displeasure 
 of the dead {Ant. i.) Hereupon the 
 impious queen sends me with a pro- 
 pitiatory offering, as though anything 
 could atone for a life once spilt. Alas 
 for the house ! Gloom and destruction 
 hover over it, now that its master is 
 no more {Str. 2.) Natural loyalty is 
 gone, and is succeeded by a crouching 
 fear of prosperous tyranny. The 
 usurpers enjoy the present: the desti- 
 nies of the rightful heirs ai-e in the 
 future: the dead have only the past 
 {Ant. 2.) The taint of blood will not 
 wear out : the guilty is plagued for his 
 deeds {Str. 3.) As lost chastity can- 
 not be repaired, murder cannot be 
 cleansed {Ant. 3.) But I am a slave, 
 bound to obey the commands laid on 
 me, and can only weep in secret 
 {Epode.y This forms the Parodos, or 
 song sung by the Chorus on entering. 
 (See Miiller, Diss., § 16.) 
 
 22. ^^v, MSS., ^^v^, Rob. 
 
 23. The construction of xocts with 
 irpSirofiTTos is defended by Soph. (Ed. 
 C 1019, 65ou KaTcipxecv TTJs €Ke?, iro[x- 
 irbv de /xe Xwpeij/, where TOfxirdv appa- 
 rently refers to Creon, not to Theseus, 
 who puts himself under Creon' s gui- 
 dance. Hickie {Classical Museum, 
 vol. 6, p. 249), refers to Lexicon 
 
 Sangerm. (Bachmann's Anecdota, i, 
 346), irofxirbv crvvo^oLirbpov koI irpo- 
 TT^IxTTOvra. Other instances of verbal 
 substantives or adjectives constructed 
 with an ace. are found in Prom. 
 904, diropa Tr6pi/Jbos, Pers. 981, fivpia 
 TrefiiraaTdv, Ag. 1625, rov^ i]KovTas 
 oiKovpSs. cvvK^irTi^, or dv KUTTTC^}, 
 MSS. <xi)V KT^TTCp, Amald. d^vxeipt 
 KTVTTCj} clearly means the sharp sound 
 of the hands, not the sound of sharp 
 hands, so that this has been called a 
 case where one part of the compound 
 adj. refers to the subst., while the other 
 part stands for another subst. in the 
 genitive (Jelf, Gr. Gr., § 435, a. obs.) ; 
 perhaps, however, it is rather to be 
 classed with those compounds where 
 the first part alone is really significant, 
 the second being merely an orna- 
 mental addition of more or less ap- 
 propriateness, like piov6\p'n(f)ov ^t'^oy, 
 Find. Nem. 10. 11, and othei-s col- 
 lected by Paley, Append. B to the 
 and ed. of his Suppllces. So, perhajiJS, 
 dpicTToxei-p dywu, Soph. Aj. 935. 
 
 24. (poivL(raa/xvyfj-o2s, Med. cpoLvloLt 
 afxvyfioLs, Stanl. If the metre re- 
 quires pure iambics, as Hermann as- 
 serts, it would be better to read 
 irp^Trei Trapfjai (poLviaLs d/xvyp-bs than, 
 as he proposes, (pobios 5Lcoy/j.6s ; but 
 the reading in the text is superior to 
 either in sense and construction, &\okl 
 forming a natural epexegesis to dp.vy- 
 
 P-OLS. 
 
 26. dLOLypio?cn, MSS. 5' lvyp.o?ai, 
 Canter. 
 
 27. \ivo(p66poL \aKi8es = XaxtScs 
 \lv(x}i> (pdapivTCJV, like p.rirpoKT6iov 
 piiaafJLa, Euni. 281, dvdpo^dopov at'^a- 
 
a 
 
 XOH$OPOI. 
 
 XaKLoeg e(j)\aSov vir aXyecriVf 
 irpoa-TepvoL arroXjULol 
 ireifKodv ayeKao'TOL^ 
 ^viiKpopaig 7r€7r\r]y]UL€vcov. 
 Topog yap opOoOpi^ (pofiog, 
 
 OOjULWV OVeipOjULaVTKf, 6^ VTTVOV KOTOV 
 
 irvecov, aoypovvKTOv afx^oa^a 
 fJLvyoOev eXaKe irep). (bo^cp, 
 yuvaiKeloicTLv ev Scojuiacriv ^apvg ttItvmv. 
 
 30 
 
 35 
 
 Tos, Soph. Ant. 1022. \aKi8es are 
 not the rendings, but the rents or 
 tatters, as in Pers. 835, Xa/ciSes — 
 CTfifioppayovaL itoiklKojv iaOrj/xdrcov, 
 irpoaTepvGL (TToXfiol iriirXiav ireirXriyixi- 
 VU3V being in apposition. Comp. a simi- 
 larly expressed case of epexegesis, 
 ■^9- 995 J cnrXdyxi'a' 5' ovri /xard^ei, 
 irpbs iv8l.KOLs fppealv reXeacpopoLS divats 
 KVKXoTup.evov Keap. (Hermann's con- 
 struction, after the SchoL, aToXfiol 
 XaKides i(pXa8op, * the robes burst into 
 tatters/ is harsh in the last degree, 
 and not supported by Pers. 835, 
 where Trdvra is obviously adverbial ; 
 it is, however, necessary if Xivo(pd6pot 
 be understood actively, as XaKldes, in 
 the sense of rendings, cannot be in 
 apposition to aroX/uioi.) ^v/xcpopais is 
 the dative of circumstance or con- 
 dition, more ordinarily introduced by 
 eTTi. So OavdroLaifV. 53, ri^xais, v. 82. 
 
 28. dXyeai, MSS. dXyeaiu, Etijm. 
 M., p. 403, Porson. 
 
 29. irpoaTeXvoi, MSS. TrpodTeppoi, 
 Turn. 
 
 32. Topos yap (polios dpdodpi^, 
 MSS. Topos yap opdodpL^ (po^os, 
 Heath (06/3os from Tumebus), rightly, 
 as appears from the context, the 
 explanation of the SchoL, 6 aa^r]s 
 4>o^os 5i' oveipcjv fiavTevdfievos, and 
 the parallel passage, v. 929. 9j Kdpra 
 fcdvTis ov^ ovetpdrcov (pd^os. Probably 
 
 the order became accidentally confused, 
 and the corruption was then in- 
 troduced to help the metre, ^o^os 
 irepl ^6^(p fKaKev, a harsh and at 
 first sight improbable expression, the 
 feeling being first personified and 
 then made to produce itself as its 
 own efiect, is well supported by 
 Wordsworth from Eur. Ale. 50, 
 where Qdvaros is said ddvarov e/x^aXetu, 
 Iph. Aul. 775, "Aprjs .... KVKXwaas 
 dpei, and even Milton {Hymn on 
 Nativity, v. 51), 'meek- eyed Peace 
 . . . strikes a universal peace through 
 sea and land.' See also v. 65 below, 
 note. 
 
 35. fivxodev has a double reference: 
 to the female apartments, as in v. 447, 
 Ag. 96, Soph. Ant. 1293, which is 
 further explained hyyvvaiKeioLGLvev hds- 
 fiaaip, and to the adj-tum from which 
 the oracular voice proceeded. The 
 intention of the whole passage i s merely 
 to express by a personification the 
 shrieks of Clytemnestra, v. 535 : but 
 as her alarm was prophetic of her fate, 
 the imagery throughout is oracular. 
 The correction ^XaKe for eXa^e is 
 found in the Med. itself, irepl 06/3(^ 
 ^a/ce, as dfM<pt rdp^et eirdifxco^ev in 
 the parallel passage, v. 547. Comp. 
 Pers. 696. 
 
 36. yvvaLKiotcnv,'MSS. yvvaiKeloLaiv, 
 Vett. tltvCjv, MSS. ttLtvuv, Blomf. 
 
XOH<I>OPOI, 
 
 9 
 
 KOLTai T€ TWl/O oveipaTWV 
 
 QeoOev eXaKov vireyyvoi 
 
 luL€iuL(j)6a-6ai Tovg yag 
 
 vepOev TrepiOvjUicog 40 
 
 TO?? KTaVOVG-L T €yKOT€lP, 
 
 ToidvSe yapLv ayapiv airoTpoirov KaKcov, (TTp. /3\ 
 
 ICO yaia juaia, juLcojULeva jii laWei 45 
 
 ^vcrOeog yvvd. (po(3oviuLaL S^ eirog toS' eK^aXelv, 
 
 TL yap Xvrpov irearovTog al^arog Treoo) ; 
 
 I to irdvoi^vg kcTTLa, 
 
 1(0 KaTacKacpal Sojulcov. ^O 
 
 dvrfKiOLi (BpoTocTTvyeig 
 
 SvocpoL KaXvTTTOVCriV SojULOVg 
 
 37. Kpirai, the interpreters, as 
 distinguished from the fxdvTis or re- 
 pacTKOTTos, who makes the response 
 or communicates the portent. Comp. 
 vv. 542, 551. Elsewhere, as in Theb. 
 24, &c., the /xdvTLS performs both 
 functions. Kpirai tupB', MSS. Kpi- 
 rai re rQud\ Porson. 
 
 38. vireyyvoi appears from Hdt. 
 5.71, Eur. Hec. 1029, to be said of 
 the giver rather than of the receiver 
 of a pledge. ' They spoke on oath. ' 
 Oebdev, then, will go with 'iXaKOv, like 
 fivxodev ^XaKe just above. 'iXaxov, 
 MSS. '^XaKOv, Turn. 
 
 44. xdptj/ axapiv, Prom. 545, Ag. 
 1545. dirorpoTTOV has the second 
 syll. lengthened in Eur. Phoen. 586. 
 Elmsley's dxdpirov would make the 
 metre correspond more exactly to v. 
 54 ; but it is plain from Eum. 144, 
 150, 169, 174, that such precision was 
 
 , not required in the case of iambic 
 
 Itrimeters. 
 
 I 45. fiaXa. TrpocrcpiJiPrjaii wpbsTrpea^vriu 
 yLfx-qriK-q, dvrl rod S) rpo<pe, Hesych. 
 Ipomp. v. 66. VTo x^oi'6s rpocpov. 
 the word occurs as a synonyme for 
 
 p.rjTrip, Eur. Alc. 393, so that it is 
 difficult to see why Hei-mann should 
 call it 'ineptum.' p-wpiev dp.iXXei, 
 Med. piwpieva pi idX.Xei, Stanl. 
 
 46. It is better to refer eVos rod' 
 to the preceding sentence, particularly 
 the words dirbrpoTrov KaKLov, than to 
 the prayer which is to accompany the 
 libations. Electra's speech, v. 85, 
 foil., seems to show that they were 
 not charged with the delivery of the 
 prayer, being merely there to assist 
 her in carrying the libations, as the 
 name XoTjcpopoi imports, though she 
 embraces the occasion to take them 
 into counsel. 
 
 47. Xvypbv MSS., Xirpov Canter, 
 an obvious and necessary correction, 
 restoring one of Ji^schylus's favourite 
 sentiments, theimpossibiUty of atoning 
 for blood spilt. Comp. vv. 72, 520, 
 Ag. 1018, Emi. 647, Supp> 443. 
 Klausen cites an imitation from 
 Soph. El. 447, apa p.y] boKeh Avrripi' 
 avrfj ravra rod (jibvov (j)^peLv ; Ovk 
 'iariu. 
 
 52. /caXi/TTTOutrt MSS., KoXvirrovaiv 
 Blomf. See v. 64. 
 
 
10 
 
 XOH^OPOL 
 
 oecnroTav Oavaroia-i. fai^T. j3\ 
 
 cri^ag S' afxa^ov, aSdjUiaTOVf airoXejULov to irplv^ 54 
 
 OL WTwv (ppevog re Sa/uLiag irepalvov, 
 
 vvv a<pL(TTaTai. cpo^eirai oe Ti?. to <^' euTV^eiv, 
 
 Too^ €v iSpoToig Oeog re Kal Oeov TrXiov. 60 
 
 poira S^ eiTLcrKoireL AiKag 
 
 Ta)(€ia Tovg fxev ev (pder 
 
 53. SeaTorQu, MSS. SeaTrordv, 
 Paley, as in v. 82. davdroKn. MSS. 
 davdroLcnv, Herm. 
 
 54. aMixavTov, MSS. ddd/xarov, 
 Herm. 
 
 55. 5i' CoTuv is to be explained by- 
 such phrases as aKoijeiv, K\^eiu tlvos, 
 the ear being regarded as the recipient 
 of command, ^tup and (ppevds asso- 
 ciated as in V. 451, Theb. 25, comp. 
 by Blomf. ^peves re Med. Guelf. 
 (ppevos re Vett. 
 
 5 7. (po^draL 5e rts. dvrl rod eKaaros 
 (po^eTrai, SchoL, who wrongly adds 
 (pdiy^aaOai. The connexion is, ' the 
 sense of majesty is departed ; yet men 
 tremble, for prosperity is ever wor- 
 shipped.' So the herald in A(/. 549 
 asks Kul TTws dirovTiav Kotpdvwp 'irpeis 
 Tipds; as though it were strange that 
 those who owed duty to a constituted 
 authority should have any one to fear 
 in its absence. Fear is, with^sch., 
 the binding principle of society {Eiim. 
 517, 698), and it generally departs 
 utterly with the overthrow of lawful 
 government {Pers. 584, foil, which is an 
 Oriental and exaggerated counterpart 
 of vv. 54, 5 of the present passage); 
 here, however, where royalty has been 
 succeeded by tyranny, fear remains, 
 though loyalty is no more. With the 
 expression comp. Fum, 506, rXd/xup 
 de rts (xdrav iraprjyopei. 
 
 60. So Soph., El. 150, makes 
 divinity synonymous with happiness. 
 
 debv, ' I worship thee, because thou 
 art happy in thy lot of weeping.' The 
 chorus in Eur. EL 994, addresses 
 Cl_yt£emnestra xatpe, (je^l^w <x* laa. 
 Koi fiaKupas UXouTov iJ.€yd\7}s r 
 evdaifiopias. 
 
 61. SkaVjMSS. 5t'/cas Turn. Schol, 
 i] TTjs dlKTjs poTT-q. The general sense 
 is, ' These are in the light, as the scale 
 of justice inclines : the fates of others 
 are " toiling in the gloom" of twilight : 
 others are in night helpless and hope- 
 less,' — the three parties being (as 
 Bamberger and Hermann have seen) 
 ^gisthus and Clytsemnestra, who are 
 having their day ; Orestes and Electra, 
 whose day is yet to come ; and Aga- 
 memnon, whose day is past. (The 
 common interpretation, which sup- 
 poses ^sch. to be speaking of the 
 different times of life at which ven- 
 geance overtakes men, is much less 
 definite and appropriate.) "With 
 poTTo, eiTLcrKoiret comp. Supp.^ 402, 
 dfj.(poT€povs 'Op.alp.oiv rdd' iiriaKoirei 
 7i€vs eTepoppeTrrjs. poird 5iKas €Tri(TKOireL 
 is equivalent to Ukt] perrovaa eincrKoirei, 
 poTTTj being the inclination of the 
 balance which brings different fortune 
 to different persons. It is the balance of 
 justice, not merely of fortune, though 
 the moment is that of the triumph of 
 evil, for justice carries things on to ; 
 the end, wdv eirl repp-a vup^d, Ag. 782. 
 
 62. TOis, MSS. Tovs, Turn. What 
 the Schol. read is not quite clear, a. 
 while one gloss gives tov% p.kv iiria-Kc 
 
XOH^OPOI, 
 
 11 
 
 Ta ^' €U ixeTaiyjiLM ctkotov 
 
 jUievei ')(j)ovL^ovO' aa-vya.' 
 
 Toug S^ oiKpavTog €-)(€i vv^, 
 
 01 aijuLaT eKTroOevO' viro -^Oovog rood) 
 
 ou 
 
 65 
 
 CTp. 7', 
 
 Trei Tttx^ws, another says rots /mh 
 olvtI tov Toiis iM€v. The accus. is sup 
 ported by the general use of einaKoireiu. 
 and by Sitpp. 402, though there Her 
 mann reads d/mcpoT^poLS after Schvitz 
 raxela, because they are enjoying their 
 happiness at once, while the pros 
 perity of the rightful heirs is yet to 
 come. As a period of enjoyment the 
 present time is short ; as a period of 
 waiting it is long. 
 
 6^. ra Se is used rather than ol 5e', 
 as Orestes and Electra cannot them- 
 selves be said to be in the twilight, 
 though their destinies may. iu fxe- 
 ratX/W'tV o-KOTOv is a condensed expres- 
 sion for ev fxeraix/J-l'V o'kotov koI cpdovs, 
 like ey /xecru} drjirovdev d-^p eaTL 7-^5, 
 Aristoph. Birds, 187, 'the air is mid- 
 way between earth {and heaven). ' For 
 other instances see Shilleto on Dem. 
 Fals. Leg., p. 100. 
 
 64. The MSS. read fiivei. xpovl^ovr 
 evxv or dxv jSpveL. Paley has restored 
 sense and metre by reading /x^vei xpovi- 
 tovd' davxd, the slightest possible 
 change, being merely that of C for G . 
 The only doubt seems to be whether 
 PpveL has crept in as an explanation of 
 IxeveL or vice versa, ^pvei is acknowledged 
 by one of theglosses of theSchol. ^pvei' 
 dvdei, and would be the more forcible 
 word of the two, expressing the 
 quickening of events in the womb of 
 the future {^/x^puov). The word was 
 evidently found here by the copyist 
 who interpolated v. 65 after v. 69 ; 
 but this would merely prove that the 
 corruption is of comparatively old 
 standing. 
 
 65. dKpavTot has its ordinary sense 
 
 of 'ineffectual,' as in v. 882, Ag. 248, 
 making night contrast as strongly as 
 possible with the daylight of power 
 and enjoyment, and with the twilight 
 which contains the hope of day. Aga- 
 memnon is one of the p€k6o}u d/xevrjua 
 Kdprjva, consigned to a state of 
 blank and utter obstruction, of du- 
 ration without progress, where work 
 is for ever undone, and questions 
 for ever unsolved. Comp. Job 10. 
 22, 'A land of darkness, as dark- 
 ness itself, and of the shadow of 
 death, without any order, and where 
 the light is as darkness.' Schiitz 
 aptly refers to the Latin nox intern- 
 2)esta, as explained by Servius, 'in- 
 actuosa.' (His suggestioi^ aKparos 
 vv^, as opposed to jxeTaLXP-l'^ crKdrov, 
 which Din dorf adopts, is infinitely less 
 poetical.) 
 
 66. The common notion that blood 
 spilt cries out for vengeance is varied 
 by the addition of the epithet Tp6(pov, 
 which implies, as Klausen remarks, 
 that the earth resents the shedding of 
 blood as an outrage to herself in her 
 maternal character, as the parent of the 
 slain and the fosterer of life generally. 
 The mythological connexion between 
 Demeter and Erinnys is drawn out by 
 MliUer, Diss., §§ 80-88. Comp. also 
 Numbers 35. 33, 34. Perhaps there 
 may be something of the same con- 
 trast between death and life intended 
 in Horn. II. 3. 243, tovs 5' ^87; Karix^v 
 ^vaiioos ala, to which Mr. lluskin 
 has just been calling attention {Modern 
 Painters, vol. 3, p. 167), as an in- 
 stance where 'the high poetical truth' 
 is ' carried to the extreme/ by the 
 
12 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 rlrag (povog Treinjyev, ov SiappvSav. 
 SiaXyrjg ara SLa(p€p€i 
 Tov a'lTLov TravapKerag: vocov /Spveiv. 
 OLyovTL o oure vvjucpiKcJov eSooXicov 
 
 avT. 
 
 y. 71 
 
 assertion of the 'pure fact,' without 
 regard to the circumstances in which 
 it is mentioned, though it should be 
 remembered that the use of perpetual 
 epithets is a common characteristic of 
 early epic or ballad poetry, the epithet 
 becoming in fact as much an inva- 
 riable mark of the thing as the 
 noun. 
 
 67. (povos combines the notions of 
 bloodshed and murder, the stream of 
 blood itself being regarded as avenging. 
 With 06j'os weTTjyev Klausen well 
 comp. Tkeb. 'j^6, kuI x^^via kovls irl-r) 
 fj-eXafiTrayes aljxa (polvLOv. yrewriyev ap- 
 parently expresses the curdling or con- 
 gelation which takes place after death. 
 SoperhapSj7rdxj/a Kovpo^6p(^,Ag. 15 12. 
 In the present passage the blood that 
 remains on the ground appears to be 
 distinguished from that which soaks 
 through, as if he had said, ' the earth 
 has drunk so much that she will 
 receive no more, so it lies in a 
 clotted mass {irekavos al/xaroacpayris, 
 Fers. 816) on her surface.' Comp. 
 Eur. El. 318, atfjia S' ernraTpos Kara 
 areyas ^leXav aearjirev. diappi'dap, 
 which is an adverb like eXiydrju, 
 Prom. 882, crvpdrju, Pers. 54, depdrjv 
 ■^9- 235, not, as some have supposed, 
 an inf., or the neuter of a verbal 
 adj., will then imply flowing through 
 rather than flowing away. 8iappu8du 
 MSS. dLappvddv Blomf., diappvdav, 
 Herm. 
 
 68. dLarpepec dcaaTrapdaaei, Schol., 
 which is also a gloss in Med. dtacpepei 
 TOV aLTLov is equivalent to dtacpepei rd 
 fieXrj TOV ahlov. Comp. Eur. Bacch. 
 759' ^^^O'l' 5e dapLdXas diecpopovv cnra- 
 
 pdyp,aaLV, Virg. ^n. viii. 642, ' Met- 
 tum . . . quadrigae Distulerant. ' This 
 interpretation seems to agree better 
 with diaXyris and voaov ^pveiv, than 
 Heath's «(//^a<, Klausen' s administrat, 
 Paley's inslgnem reddit, or Hermann's 
 differt auctori pcenam. 
 
 69. 7rauapK€Tas is apparently to be 
 constructed with vocrov as an adj. of 
 three terminations, like eixpiXrjTav 
 Tkeb. 108, irepLKXixTTa Pers. 596, a 
 licence which ^sch. may have taken 
 here for the sake of euphony. Butler 
 (curae secund^e ap. Peile) comp. Suidas, 
 iravapKeor tov fieydXov Kal dvpaTov, a 
 reference belonging to Callim. fr. 48, 
 iravapKeo% rjeXtoto. That wavdpKeTos, 
 though found nowhere else, might exist 
 with a similar signification, is plain 
 from the analogy of dp/ceros, which oc- 
 curs in a quotation in Athenseus, p. 113 
 b., in the sense of sufficient. We may 
 then render it ' never failing, ' after the 
 Schol., TTJs etj irdvTa tov -Xfibvov 
 dpKovarjs avT(3, and comp. Soph. Ant. 
 611 foil., TO T iireLTa Kal r6 pi^XXov 
 Kal TO irplv eirapKecrei v6p.os 08', ov8ev 
 epwei dvaTWV ^lOTii} irdpt^iroXis ^ktos 
 uTas. With voaov ^pieiv (the gen. 
 as in Soph. (Ed. C. 16), comp. Eur. 
 fr. inc. 107 T, dXXoop laTpbs avTos eX- 
 KecTLv ^pvoov. After this line the 
 MSS. repeat v. 65, tovs 8' uKpavTos 
 e'xet vv^, obviously the insertion of a 
 transcriber whose eye wandered back 
 to (Spijei, the old reading in v. 62. 
 
 71. wairep ry iin^dvTi vvpLtpiKijs 
 kXlvtis ovk ^(XTiv taacs irpbs dvairap- 
 devevcnv TrjS KoprjS, ovtcjs ov8^ t(^ (povel 
 TcdpeaTL TTopos irpos aKecnv tov (p6vov. 
 Schol. oi/rt MSS., oure Bothe. ovt€ — re 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 13 
 
 aK099 'TTopoL re iravreg e/c /Xia? o^ov 
 
 /SacuovTcg top ^^epoiJ-varj 
 
 (povov KaOaipovTeg "^lovarav arrjv. 
 
 express a comparison, like oi/re — oijre, 
 vv. 258, 260, re — re, Tkeb. 584, 5, 
 neque — nee, Hor. 3 OcZ. 5. 27 foil. 
 vvfxcpiKa €dd>XLa = vvfji,(pu}v, as ttcoXi/co, 
 iduiXia, Theh. 445, = irapdevuv. To 
 break into the bridal chamber is of 
 course equivalent to deflowering the 
 bride. Comp. Hor. 3 Od. 16. i, 
 ' Inclusam Danaen turris aenea E,o- 
 bustffique fores . . . munierant satis 
 Nocturnis ab adulteris.' With the 
 position of otyovTL at the beginning 
 of the sentence, 'to denote that it 
 holds good with regard to the person 
 or thing' (Jelf, § 600. 3), comp. 
 V. 471, Sdifiacriv ^fifiOTOv tQv5' a/cos. 
 With a/cos vvfLcpLKuiu idcoXiuv, a remedy 
 of, or in the matter of, the chamber, 
 comp. Eum. 645, ireSas ju-eu hf Xvaeiev, 
 
 'icTTL TOud' dKOS, ib. 649, TOVTCOV iTTip- 
 
 Scts. Strictly of course ovre should 
 have preceded otyovTi, as the force of 
 the latter does not extend to TropoL re 
 iravres, but ^sch. wished to put the 
 emphatic word first. (dLyovri,, Stephens' 
 correction, received by Blomfield, Bam- 
 berger, Hermann, &c., though very 
 plausible, is perhaps less forcible than 
 the common reading, and less adapted 
 to the structure of the sentence. The 
 metrical argument has been answered 
 on V. 44. oLyeLV does not always 
 mean to open from within, as Words- 
 worth objects, though when used of a 
 door it will generally have that sense, 
 as doors in Greece were opened from 
 within ; comp. otvov, iridov o'CyeLU, 
 Hom, Od. 3. 392, Hes. Worls, 817, 
 where, as here, it may be translated 
 to break open.) 
 
 72. TvbpoL, not expedients, but 
 rivers, as the context shows. Comp. 
 
 Earn. 451, d(f>L€pd}fJL€9a . . . pvrois 
 TTopoLs. €K fiids 65ou IS wcll illustrated 
 by Bamberger, who refers to the 
 words of a Scholiast prefixed to The- 
 ocritus for the fact that Orestes was 
 ordered by the Delphic oracle to wash 
 in seven streams flowing from the same 
 source ; ^pT^c/Aos i^eireaev, iv iTTTa 
 iroTa/moLS iK puds Trrjyijs peovaiv aTo- 
 Xoijcraadai. odov would seem to im- 
 ply that the streams are here con- 
 ceived of not only as rising from a 
 common source, but as flowing to- 
 gether, i^ obov being like j3e^T]Kei> . . . 
 e| aKLPrjTOv -rrodos, Soph. Track. 875. 
 ' Though all the streams on earth were 
 to flow together, it would be in 
 vain.' 
 
 73, 4. xot'pO|Wi;(rT7 MSS., x^P^/^^^^V 
 Person, ^aivoures cannot be recon- 
 ciled with the metre, and the com- 
 bination of the two participles §aivov- 
 res . . . Kadalpovres is rather awkward, 
 though not unexampled in ^sch. 
 Perhaps KaOaipovres should be substi- 
 tuted for j3aivovT€s, which may very 
 well have been a gloss, and a lacuna 
 of four syllables indicated in v. 74 
 after (f>6uov. lovcrav axTjf is a palpable 
 corruption, the latter word obviously 
 from pLaTTjv, as Scaliger long since 
 pointed out, the former perhaps from 
 Xvaeiav av. Comp. Xvrpov aip-aros 
 above, v. 48, Xvcraad' al/j.a v. 804 ; 
 (poi/cp (p6vov Xvovras, Soph. (Ed. R. 
 too; Eur. Or. 510, 598. (Other 
 conjectures are 'iXovaav, Scaliger, 
 piovcTLv, Heath, Wvcrav, Musgrave and 
 0. Midler, KXvaaiev or KXvffei.au du, 
 Bamberger and Franz ; KadapaioLs touv 
 6.V, Hermann. The metre seems to 
 require a diiambus.) 
 
14 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 eiuLo) ^' avajKav yap ajuiCpiTrToXiv 
 Oeol irpocrrjveyKav, €k yap oikwv 
 Trarpuxov SovXiov /ul' ecrayov ala-av, 
 diKaia Kal jULi] SiKaia, 
 TrpeTTOVT ap^^ah ^lov, 
 
 €7ro)S. 75 
 
 75 — 8i. The general meaning of 
 this passage might have been ex- 
 pressed simply thus, e/xot 5e avd-yKrj 
 ^(jTiv aiveaai k. t. X. aTV'yos KpaTovarj. 
 -^sch. has complicated it by changing 
 dvdyKT) icTTL into avdyKav Oeol irpocr- 
 TjveyKav^ which prevents us from 
 seeing at once the natural connexion 
 of KpaTovarj with efioi, and by adding 
 the epithet d/x(pL7rTo\iv, which almost 
 necessitates the parenthetical expla- 
 nation CK yap OLKCov k. t. \. This 
 view will enable us to unravel all 
 the difficulties of a much disputed 
 sentence, without any change, ex- 
 cept perhaps that of dpxo-h for 
 dpxo-s, V. 79, which has been re- 
 ceived by nearly every editor since 
 Kobortello. 
 
 75. 5e — ydp are to be taken closely 
 together as nearly =dXXa — ydp (and 
 so Wordsworth), as in Hdt. ix. 109 ; 
 Thuc. i. 115 ; Plato ^^^oL p. 38. b, in 
 the latter of which passages, as here, 
 the clause which ydp has to explain is 
 suppressed. (Soph. Aj. 678 is doubt- 
 ful, though so understood by Ellendt, 
 Wunder, and Dindorf.) avdyKav 
 dfKpiTTToXiv, ' constraint which involves 
 my whole country,' and so the con- 
 straint of captivity, is to be illustrated 
 from Ag. 357 — 361, 7]t' iirl Tpoias 
 TTvpyoLS ^/3aXes .... fj-eya dovXeias 
 ydyyajxov, aTrjs TravaXihrov. So 5e- 
 cnroavvoiaLv dvdyKaLS, Pers. 587. "With 
 dpLcpi-KToKLS Blomf. comp. Theh. •290, 
 rbv dfJicpLTeixv Xedov. (Hermann's 
 * duplicis sedis necessitatem' is less na- 
 tural. Butler's conjecture, dfj-cpiiroXov, 
 after Schiitz, ingenious, but unneces- 
 
 sary, and would introduce a tautology 
 with 5oij\iov ataav.) 
 
 77. I have ventured to insert /x* 
 after do6\iov, partly for the sake of the 
 metre {dovXlav, Blomf. ), partly because 
 the pronoun seems desirable, if not 
 necessary, to avoid ambiguity. The 
 construction is the Homeric one of 
 eladyeLV with two accusatives, iadyov 
 /xe {oi deol) SovXiov alcrav, as e/c ydp 
 OLKWv shows — ' they led me out of 
 my father's house into captivity.' 
 
 78. The use of fx-q is sufficiently ac- 
 counted for by alveaai, but it might 
 perhaps be explained by resolving the 
 words into etVe diKata ci're /xri, on a 
 comparison of such expressions as 
 do^rjs d€Lvu)v irepl Kal fxifj, Plato, Eep. 
 4. p. 430 b. ^vxv^ crKowQv (piXoaocpov 
 Kal fi-q, ib. 6. p. 486 b. 
 
 79. dpxds, MSS. ; dpxch, Sophi- 
 anus ap. Rob. The Schol. read 
 dpxds, which he explains in one place 
 dirapxds (read with Abresch, dtr* 
 ^PXV^)} ii^ another, e^ore tovtov iwa- 
 vrjpT]jjiaL Tov fSiov. dpxds might be 
 constructed with irpeirovT ' as in Suj^p. 
 458, as emended by Marckscheffel, 
 rdx' S,!/ (MSS. Tvxdv) yvvatKQv ravra 
 (TviitrpeTrri ireXoi, Soph. Aj. 534, 7rp^- 
 TTOv ye rdv 9jv dai/xovos tov/xov rode, 
 while dpxv might stand in the singular 
 for ol iv reXei : dp^als, however, is 
 more probable. For this use of irp^- 
 TTovra = doKovvra, Blomf. well comp. 
 Eur. Bus. (fr. 315), dovXcp ydp ovx 
 OLOV re toXtjOt] Xeyeiv, Et decnroTaiaL 
 fXT] irpeirovTa TvyxdvoL, which may 
 perhaps be an actual imitation of the 
 present passage, as -i3Esch. himself 
 
XOH<I)OPOI, 
 
 15 
 
 /3/a (pepofxepMv, alvecrai, iriKpov (ppevwv 
 (jTvyog KpaTOVQ-rj, SaKpvci) S' vd) eijuLarcov 
 fxaTaioia-L ^ecrirorav 
 Tv-)^ai?, Kpvcpaioi? irevOecTLv irayyovfjievi-i. 
 
 HAEKTPA. 
 
 ^fjLwai yvvaiKeg, ScojULarcoi' evO/]iuLoP€g, 
 iirel irapecrre rtjcroe irpoa-rpoTrrjg ijULol 
 
 80 
 
 85 
 
 has probably imitated Solon (ap. Dio- 
 genian. 2. 28, quoted by Schneidewin), 
 apX^v a-Kove Kal dtKuiios /cdStVws. Ag. 
 124, iro/miroijs t dpxds. 
 
 80. jSi'a 4>€po[xh(i}v seems best taken 
 impersonally, * since things go by 
 violence.' Comp. Supp. 123, TreXo- 
 jxevwv KaXQs. to, irpdyfxara KaKU)S 
 (p^perai, Xen. Hell. iii. 4. 35. Not 
 unlike is Virg, Ed. ix. 5, ' Nunc victi, 
 tristes, quoniam fors omnia versat, 
 Hos illi, quod nee vertat bene, mitti- 
 mus hsedos.' iriKpCJv, MSS., inKpbv 
 Vett., after the Schol. 
 
 8i, fcparoucTT; by attraction to ep-oL 
 Comp. V. 1030 ; Soph. (Ed. C. 89. 
 In Q^d. R. 350 foil., we have a still 
 stronger instance, evviirw ce — yttrj 
 TrpoaavSdv — cos 6uti /xtdcTTopi., where, 
 as here, the object is to avoid a con- 
 fusion which would have been intro- 
 duced by the accusative. Person on 
 Eur. Med. 1218, thinks daKp^co cor- 
 rupt, and so Herm., who reads daKp^uv 
 v(peLp,dTwv — xax^'ovfievrj, but the verse 
 is evidently correct as it stands, 
 though not intended for an iambic 
 trimeter. With Sa/cpi^w S' v<p' eip^dTWV 
 Stanl. and Blomf. comp. Hom. Od. 
 4. 114; Eur. Sux>p. no; Or. 280; 
 Arist. Ran. 911, to which Words- 
 worth adds Isocrat. p. 362 b. e'7/ca- 
 \v\pdp.evos iKKae ; Plato, Phcedo. p. 1 1 7 
 c. So the story of Timanthes' picture 
 of Agamemnon. 
 
 82. The fortunes of Agamemnon, 
 Orestes, and Electra would naturally 
 be called /idratot, blind and aimless, 
 as opposed to those which are directed 
 aright by sovereign wisdom {dpOodv- 
 tul), without prejudice to ^schylus' 
 belief in an order of things for evil as 
 well as for good, such as we find 
 in Etim. 930. (The signification 
 wretched does not seem well supported: 
 in Soph. Track. 888, fxaraia, addressed 
 to the nurse, is perhaps an error for 
 p.a2a.) dea-TTorav, MSS., deairoTdv^ 
 Stanl. 
 
 83. iraxvovixevT] of the effect o 
 grief, like xj/vx^i-v, Prom. 693 ; /cpi^oy, 
 Eitm. 161 ; Theh. 834, Traxvovp,€vr]v, 
 MSS, ; iraxvovp.evrj, Turn. 
 
 84 — 105. Electra. 'As you are 
 here to cany these libations, advise 
 me how to offer them. Can I use the 
 set phrases, talking of ofFei-ings of 
 friendship, and asking for a recom- 
 pence, or shall I throw them down 
 without a word, like so much pollution, 
 and retire in humiliation ? Tell me, 
 for our cause is a common one, and 
 be not afraid to speak, for if we must 
 suffer we must, I as well as you.' 
 The chorus are evidently standing 
 with Electra at the tomb, so that if 
 the tomb is on the stage, as Herm. 
 thinks, they must have ascended 
 there, instead of taking their ordinary 
 place in the orchestra. 
 
16 
 
 XOH^OPOL 
 
 TTOjUL'Troif yevecrOe Tcovoe aviJ.^ov\oi wepr 
 rdcfya) Se yiovaa rdaSe Ki]Seiovg xoa^ 
 'TTCog euchpov e'lTrco, iroo^ Karev^ojuiai irarpl \ 
 iroTepa Xeyovcra irapa (pLXrj^ (plXw (pepeiv 
 yvvaiKO^ avSpc, rrjg e/ULtjg fxtjrpog irapa ; 
 
 90 
 
 84. 5/Jiual yvpacKes is a Homeric 
 pleonasm, Od. 7. T03. evdrj/iioves. 
 ed TLdeiaai to, Kara rbv oXkov, Scliol. 
 Comp. Ag. 1673, drjao/uLev Kparovvre 
 Tuivde dojfxaTcov koXQis, which, however, 
 is said of masters, not of servants. 
 evdrjfJLwv appears to have been an old 
 word, as evdrifxaavvr) occurs in Hesiod, 
 WorJcs, 469. 
 
 86. yeveadai, the first reading of 
 Med., corrected into yeueaOe, is not 
 improbable, and has been adopted by 
 Klausen; but the instances of cor- 
 ruption by itacism are so common 
 that we can scarcely hesitate to prefer 
 the more obvious reading. 
 
 87. Ti50y, MSS. {Ti/ii^cp being 
 added as a correction) rdcpcj} Stanley. 
 H. L. Ahrens' tL <pQi is highly ingeni- 
 ous (comp, V. 91), but would require 
 the omission of 6e, contrary to all ex- 
 ternal authority. 5e introduces the 
 question, as in Pers. 333, arap (ppdaov 
 fxoL — irbaov 5e ttXtJ^os ^v ; ib. 954, 
 olotoi ^6a /cat Trdir' eKirevdov, Tlov bk 
 (piXwp ctXXos 6xXos ; x^°v<''^ is a dis- 
 syllable, like €KTvi(x}p, Ag. 1493. 
 K-qdeiovs, 'funeral,' asin w. 226, 538. 
 The explanation of the Schol., cvy- 
 yevLKas, would be admissible in itself, 
 KTJdos not being restricted, as Valck. 
 on Eur. Phcen. 431, maintains, to 
 affinity (comp. Supp. 330) ; but the 
 epithet would not be very appropriate 
 here, as the offering was not one of 
 pious duty by Electra, but the result 
 of Clytaemnestra's terror, and its ap- 
 plication to xocts, 'kindred libations,' 
 would be harsh in point of language. 
 
 88. See on v. 14. Karev^ofiai was 
 
 changed by Turnebus into KaTei^ca/iiat, 
 but wrongly ; the fut. ind. is fre- 
 quently found in the same sentence 
 with the aor. conj., and the difference 
 of mood, as Klausen and Bamberger 
 remark, may be intended to express 
 a difference of sense, the question 
 in the first clause being how in 
 the world (ttcDs indefinite) Electra 
 can ask for a blessing at all, in 
 the second in what manner (ttcDs de- 
 finite) she shall pray. ttcDs is however 
 found in questions with the conj. 
 where the inquiry is, so to speak, bona 
 fide about the manner of doing a 
 thing, e. g. v. 171. Eur. M. 614, 
 such an inquiry being in fact more 
 properly deliberative than the other. 
 The difference is in fact not so much 
 in the meaning of ttcDj as in the spirit 
 in which the question is asked. The 
 questioner professes to wish for an 
 answer, even when he believes that 
 none can be given ; and so we some- 
 times find an answer given in the 
 terms of the question, when the ques- 
 tion has been put in incredulity, or as 
 an objection, as in vv. 532, 3 ; Ag. 
 549, 550 ; Eur. El. 969, 970. — evcppou', 
 either to Agamemnon, ' to make an 
 acceptable prayer,' or to ClytEem- 
 nestra, ' to say kind words' (ask for 
 blessings). The latter is rather con- 
 firmed by Eur. Ijih. Aid. 1188, dXV 
 e/xe diKaLov ayadbv eijxeadaL ri aoi ; 
 ''H t2/)' davvirovs tovs deoiis rjyoljxed' 
 av, Et ToZcLv avOevraicTLv ev (ppovi^ao/jieVf 
 where Musgrave conj. €ij<ppov' acro/Mev. 
 89 — 92 . Am I to act as my mother's 
 ambassador, and speak of these as the 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 17 
 
 Twvo^ ov TrapecTTi Oapcro^, ovS^ e-^w rl (bw, 
 yeovcra Tov^e TreXavov ei^ Tv/mlSa) iraTpog. 
 
 rj TOVTO (batTKO) TOVTTOg, O)? VOfJiO^ ^pOTOlS 
 
 ccTT, avTLOovvai TolcTL TrejuLTTOVo-iv TaSe 
 (TT€(prj, GO(TLv ye Twv KGKcov CTra^iai/', 
 rj crly arijULCDSf wcnrep ovv aircoXeTO 
 irarrip, TaS^ e/c^eoucra yaTroTOV yycriv, 
 (TTelyci), KaOapfiaO^ cos T19 6ACTe/>t\|/-a?, iraXiv, 
 
 95 
 
 gifts of a friend to a friend, ' the first 
 requisite in making a funeral offering. 
 Klausen refers to Soph. El. 432, where 
 the difficulty is unfolded, not, as here, 
 just touched sarcastically. Not un- 
 like are the king's words, Shaksp. 
 Hamlet, Act 3, Sc. 3 — ' But, 0, 
 what form of prayer can serve my 
 turn ? Forgive me my foul mur- 
 der?' 
 
 91. With TuvSe ddpcrot Linwood 
 comp. Tuvde rdX/xav, Prom. 16. 
 
 93. * Or is this the charge I am to 
 give him {(pdaKO} avridovvai, like X^yu) 
 tpavTJvai, V. 143), as the common peti- 
 tion runs, torecompensethosewhohave 
 sent him these offerings — a recompence 
 not for good but for evil deserts ? 
 Electra puts a second formula into 
 her own mouth to show its inappro- 
 priateness. docriu re MSS., Soctlu ye 
 Stanley, SSaiv re would make the 
 clause part of the suggested prayer, 
 not, as it evidently is, Electra's own 
 comment, like ttjs i/xrjs fjiTjrpbs irapd 
 (To understand the sentence with 
 Bamberger as a serious prayer for re- 
 taliation would be to force an impro- 
 bable sense on ws vo/zos jSporoIs, to in- 
 terfere with the evident parallelism 
 between vv. 89, 90, and vv. 93 — 95, 
 and to anticipate the counsel of the 
 Chorus, vv. 117, foil., which Electra 
 apparently accepts as a new thought). 
 ^da-KCo subj., like ffrdx^^, v. 98, as 
 
 Wordsworth remarks, observing that 
 <pd<rK€ip has no pres. ind. 
 
 94. On the position of ^<xti closing 
 a sentence at the beginning of a verse 
 see Elmsley on Soph. CEd. C. 1167, 
 where he retracts an opinion formerly 
 expressed against it on Eur. Heracl, 
 387. 
 
 95. Paley ingeniously understands 
 (rT4(f>tj of the libations, comparing 
 Soph. El. 440, TttcrSe dva/xevels x^ds 
 VK B.V irod\ 6y y ^kt€lv€, T(^d' eweaTe^eu : 
 but as garlands were part of the 
 usual offerings to the dead (comp. 
 Pers. 618 ; Soph. El. 895) there seems 
 no reason to reject the obvious render- 
 ing. — doaiv cognate ace. 
 
 96. *Am I to offer them without a 
 word, and thus repeat the insult of 
 his death, flinging them out like so 
 much pollution V Electra so words the 
 proposal as to assign a reason for re- 
 jecting it. 
 
 97. I have removed the comma 
 after eKxeovcra, to show that x'^o'''' is 
 not in apposition with rdde, but a 
 cognate ace, equivalent in the present 
 connexion to an adverb of the manner. 
 Comp. V. 578, dKparov alfia Trierai 
 TpiTrjv irbcnv { = TplTov). 
 
 98. TOVTO Trpbs Tb Trap' 'Adtjualois 
 'ido'i. OTL KaOalpovTes oUiav oaTpaKlvcp 
 dv/j.t.aT'rjpiu} pl\pavTes ev Tah Tpibdois t6 
 bcTTpaKov dfMeTaaTpeTTTel dvex^povv. 
 Schol. Trd\i.v is then to* be constructed 
 
 
 
18 
 
 XOH<J)OPOL 
 
 xo. 
 
 SiKOvcra T€v-)(^o?, aa-rpocpoio-tv o^^aa-iv; 
 TrJQ-^' €(TTe (BovXrj^, (h (plXai, fxerairiaif 
 KOivov jap eyOo^ ev Sofxoig vo^l^ofxev 
 fxri KevOcT evSov KapSia^ (po^u) tipo^, 
 TO /uLopG-LjULOV jup Tov T eXevOepou fxei/ei 
 Kal TOV irpog aXXt]^ Sea-iroTOv^evov X^P^^' 
 \€yoi9 dv, el tl twv^' ^xoi? virepTepov. 
 alSovfievri (To\ (3o)jUiOP w? tvjjlPov TraTpog 
 Xe^o), KeXeveig yctpi tov e/c (ppevo^ Xoyov. 
 
 100 
 
 105 
 
 with (rret'xw, not, as Turnebus and 
 Stanley, with St/coOo-a. Virgil, in re- 
 ferring to the custom {Eel. 8. 10 1), 
 has made a similar mistake, as Blom- 
 field remarks, supposing that the per- 
 son throws the ashes behind him with- 
 out looking back, whereas the passage 
 of Theocritus which he followed {Id. 
 ■24, 91, Bi.\}y 5^ veecrdat acrrpeTTos) 
 evidently means that the prohibition 
 to look back is to operate after the 
 S-shes are thrown out. Wordsworth 
 refers to Musgrave and Barnes on 
 Eur. Andr. 293, and to Ammon. Lex. 
 p. 79, KaOapcna fxh ra lepa Kal ra 
 dWa oh KadaipovTac KaOdp/mara 5e to. 
 fji€Ta TO Kadapdrjvat diroppLirTovixeva. 
 
 10 1. vofxlj^ojxev is equivalent to 
 XpujpieOa, as in vv. 697, 801, 1003. 
 
 102. fX7] Kevder, probably with re- 
 ference to V. 75, foil., as Klausen re- 
 marks. A comparison of v. 81 and v. 
 389 may perhaps show that the object 
 of Kevder' is ^x^os. 
 
 103. The consolation is the same as 
 that of the watchman in Soph. A^it. 
 235, TTJs e\7ri8os yap epxopiO-i. deSpay- 
 fjL^uos To /X7J Tradelv b.v 6XK0 irXrjv to 
 /xopaL/Jiou. 
 
 T05. Jacobs, followed by Blomfield 
 and approved by Hermann, changes 
 'ixoi'S into ex^cs, on a comparison of 
 V. 668, Aeyotr' hv ei' rt Se?: but 
 
 Wordsworth rightly remarks that the 
 optative is more appropriate here, as 
 in Ag. 1049, Tret^ot' hv, el TreWoC , ib, 
 1394, xatpotr' dv, ei xatpoir, as Electra 
 means to put the case doubtfully, 
 ' tell me if you shoxdd have anything 
 to say,' not * tell me if you have any- 
 thing, as you doubtless have.' 
 
 106 — 123. Clio. ' I will speak as in 
 the sight of heaven,' El. ' Do so.' 
 Cko. ' In pouring the libations, pray 
 for thy father's friends.' El. ' Whom 
 shall I name as such V Cho. ' Thy- 
 self and any foe of -^gisthus.' El. 
 'Myself and thee?' Cho. 'Judge 
 from what I have told thee.' El. 
 ' Any one else ?' Cho. ' Orestes.' 
 El. ' Well thought of.' Cho. 'Then, 
 for the murderers.' El. ' What am I 
 to pray?' Cho. 'The visitation of 
 some God or man.' El. 'To judge 
 or to punish them V Cho. ' Say at 
 once, to kill them.' El. 'Are such 
 prayers pious V Cho. ' Yes ; for they 
 ask for retribution.' 
 
 106. The Chorus mean that they 
 will speak with all the solemnity and 
 sincerity of persons taking an oath by 
 touching an altar. Wordsworth refers 
 to Person on Eur. Med. 21, and to 
 Ale. 1008. Comp. Juv. 14. 219, 
 ' Cereris tangens aramque pedemque.' 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 19 
 
 HA. 
 XO. 
 HA. 
 XO. 
 HA. 
 XO. 
 HA. 
 XO. 
 HA. 
 XO. 
 
 Xeyof? au, wcnrep rjSecro) rd(pov irarpo^, 
 (pOeyyov -^eovcra (refjiva toIctiv evchpo(Tiv. 
 
 TLVag Oe TOVTOVS T(t>J/ 
 
 (piX 
 
 wv 7rpo(Tevv(iir(jo\ 
 
 110 
 
 irpwTOV /uLeu avrrjv yJiO(jTL<i A'lyicrOov orTvyei. 
 ejuioi re Kal <jol rap eirev^oiJLaL rdSe. 
 avTi] (TV ravra fj-avOdvova ijSij (bpdarai. 
 TLv'' ovv er dWov T^jSe TrpocmOM a-rda-ei; 
 ju.ejtxvt]or^ 'OpecTTOV, K€L Ovpaiog ecrO^ ojulco^. 
 €u TOVTO KCKppevcocrag ov-^ ^JKicrrd /me. 
 
 TO?? aiTLOL<S VVV TOV (pOVOV JULe/ULVfJIULei/r] 
 
 TI5 
 
 108. Boissonade cites Soph. (Ed. T. 
 276, wawep /j! apalov Aa^Ses, wS', 
 ava'^, epCb. See also (Ed. C. 276, 284. 
 rjdeaco like ^Koipa, v. 423, referring 
 really to present time. 
 
 109. (pdeyyov (Te/uLpd appears = eP^at 
 {(T€fxvol \6yoL of the oracles, Hdt. '7. 
 6), as the authorities quoted do not 
 support the use of ae/xvci in the sense 
 of dyadd. 
 
 110. ' Whom of those near to him 
 am I to name as such (evcppoves) V 
 The word cpiXoL is not necessarily co- 
 extensive with evcppopes, being used 
 elsewhere (below, v. 234, Earn. 119) 
 of I'elations who are expressly stated 
 to be ' kin, not kind.' This general 
 sense is probably identical with the 
 Homeric use of <pi\a yovfara, &c., 
 which seems not unfrequently em- 
 ployed by ^sch., e.g. vv. 276, 410, 
 546 ; Ay. 983 ; Eiim. 608. 
 
 111. Whether avTou &c. can be 
 used of the first and second persons as 
 well as the third is a question not easy 
 to solve, though the weight of ancient 
 authority and modern opinion (see 
 Ellendt Lex. Soph. s. v.) seems de- 
 cidedly in the affirmative. Retaining 
 the MSS. avT-qv here, we can scarcely 
 avoid altering Kar avrou, v. 221, 
 into Kad' avTov, in spite of Peile's 
 
 I attempt to estabhsh a difference be- 
 tween the two cases, as marked by the 
 presence or absence of the personal pro- 
 noun. 
 
 112. r' ap MSS. Tap Dind. 
 
 113. crv (TKOTT-qaov TLs (TTvyet Ai'yt- 
 adov ovK e/xbu yap direiv. Schol. ravTa 
 and -f]^-!) will then go with (ppdaai, 
 fiavddvovaa meaning ' understanding 
 my drift.' The Chorus mean to say 
 that they had spoken plainly enough 
 to be understood, and that they will 
 not be more explicit. 
 
 114. The Chorus had already (v. 
 Ill) implied that others were to be 
 mentioned. In aTdais here, as in 
 vv. 459, 821, Eiim. 311, Aff. 311, 
 there seems, as Blomfield remarks, to 
 be an allusion to the stage position of 
 the Chorus, on which see IMuller, 
 -Diss. pp. 20, foil. 
 
 1 1 6. The construction may be eiJ 
 TOVTO (€<xtl), like rt tQv5' ev ; v. 338 : 
 but it seems better to make tovto the 
 object of ecpp^vuaas {(ppevovv Tivd tl like 
 bibdaKeLv TLvd Tt), and suppose a tra- 
 jection of Kai (see on v. 89 2), which 
 in sense belongs to tovto. 
 
 117. Bamberger rightly separates 
 p.ep.vqixivq (making mention of them) 
 from cpbvov, comparing fxefivrja 'Ope- 
 (TTOV, V. 115. 
 
 C 2 
 
20 
 
 XOH(|)OPOI. 
 
 HA. TL cj)(Jo', SioaarK aireipov €^}]yovfJL€prj. 
 XO. eXOeh TLV avTOL<s oalimov' rj (BpoTwv rivd 
 HA. TTorepa SiKacTtjv rj SiKtj(p6pov Xeyet^', 
 XO. airXcog TL (ppd^ova, ocmg dvTairoKTevel, 
 HA. Ka\ TavTOL ijlovut\v evcre/Brj Oecov Trdpa', 
 XO. TTW? S' ov Tov e-^Opov avTajuei^ea-Oai kukois; 
 HA. Ktjpv^ /uLeyia-re t(jov dvco re kol Karot), 
 
 T20 
 
 1 1 8. i^TjyovfiePT} here refers to the 
 Athenian office of i^rjyrjrai, expounders 
 of the sacred law, for an account of 
 which see Miiller, Diss. §§ 74 — 76. 
 Electra, as Klausen well remarks, is 
 unwilling to put upon her own autho- 
 rity a petition which may possibly be 
 impious, violating as it does a natural 
 duty, so she requests the Chorus to 
 act as €^7]yr)Tris, just as Orestes, v. 
 551, takes the Coryphaeus for his 
 repacTKowos. In the Eumenides (vv. 
 595, 609) Apollo acts as e^rjyrjTTjs, 
 justifying the matricide both before 
 and after its commission. There is 
 also an allusion to the use of i^rjye'iadat 
 in the sense of dictation (Lat. verbis 
 prceire), which occurs in Eur. Med. 
 745, &c., as the formula which follows 
 plainly shows. The two may very 
 well be combined, if we suppose one of 
 the duties of the e^TjyrjTai to have been 
 the dictation of the form to be ob- 
 served in religious ceremonies (see 
 Liddell and Scott suh voce), which in 
 sacred matters would naturally be of 
 equal importance with more general 
 explanation arid advice on the course 
 to be pursued : indeed, in the case of 
 a prayer the two could hardly be se- 
 parated. It is true that Electra does 
 not proceed to repeat verbally the 
 form given by the Chorus ; but neither 
 does ^geus (Eur. Med. I. c), as such 
 literal exactness would not suit the 
 poetical variety of the di'ama. 
 
 120. KplTTJJ^ ^ Tl/XU}p6v. Schol. 
 
 12 T. (pddi is to be supphed for 
 (ppd^ova', from 0w, v. 118. 
 
 122. Tavrd fiovcTTlv evce^TJ seems to 
 stand for evae^es iari, ravra — , like 
 diKaios el/Jit for hlKaibv iari fxe — , the 
 change of construction rendering it 
 possible to dispense with a verb like 
 alreXu, which in the impersonal sen- 
 tence would have had to be ex- 
 
 123. TTws 5' ovK ei)(T6/3ey iari top 
 exGpbv dvTafiei^eadat kukois ; If we 
 were to punctuate after ttQs 8'ov ; we 
 could hardly avoid inserting ye after 
 ex0p6p, as in £11711. 435. Klausen 
 comp. Theb. 1049. Tra^wi/ kukQs Ka- 
 KoldLv avT-niMei^ero. Wordsworth cites 
 Archilochus, Fragm. 75 ed. Liebel. 'iv 5' 
 eTri(XTafx.ai fxeya, Top /ca/ccSs ti dpQura 
 deipols dPTaixei^eadaL KaKols, and cites 
 Liebel, p. 76, in proof that ^sch. fre- 
 quently imitated Archilochus, 
 
 ^24 — 152. M. ' Assist me, Hermes, 
 as herald, by making proclamation to 
 the Gods below and the earth to hear 
 me while I pray. As I pour out the 
 libations, I invoke my father, bid- 
 ding him pity and restore myself 
 and Orestes, both defrauded of our 
 rights, the one a slave, the other an 
 exile. Grant that he may return, and 
 that I, when restored, may demean 
 myself better than my mother. For 
 our enemies, let vengeance come on 
 them, while we have victory and every 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 * 'E^/x^ ydovie, Ktjpv^ag cjuloI 
 Tovg y;]? euepOe SaijuLovag K\veiv e//"? 
 
 Kai yatav avTrjv, fj ra irdvra TiKrerai, 
 Opeyjyacrd r avOis rcovSe Kv/ua Xafx^dvei' 
 
 21 
 
 125 
 
 blessing. Thus I make my ofFering : 
 do you sing the dirge.' 
 
 J 24. This line formerly stood before 
 V. 165, till Hermann removed it. It 
 palpably completes the speech, which 
 now only requires a word such as 
 dpV^ou (suggested by Hermann and 
 Klausen) at the beginning of v. 125. 
 Hermes is invoked here, as in v. i, 
 but with a more definite reference to 
 his functions as ciaKropos or epLovvios, 
 which make him the channel of com- 
 munication between heaven, earth, 
 and the regions below (comp. Hor. 
 Od.i. 10. 19, ' Superis Deorum gratus 
 et imis') His duties as herald {Ag. 
 511, Supp. 221. 920) seem nearly 
 identical with those of a messenger, 
 like those of the heralds in the Aga- 
 memnon and the Supplices : here, 
 however, we are also reminded of the 
 office of a herald in the Athenian 
 assemblies, as in Eum. 566, foil. — /xe- 
 yia-TT}, MSS., fj^iyiare, Stanl. 
 
 125. KTjpv^as is apparently to be 
 connected with dai/movas, like Krjpvaae 
 6eovs, Eur. Hec. 148, to which Wel- 
 lauer refers, the sense in each case 
 being ' to make loud proclamation to 
 them that they may listen' {Eum. 570). 
 So KaXelu is used with an ace. followed 
 by an inf., e. g. Theh. 640. Soph. Aj. 
 831. 
 
 127. 5' ofJLfidTOJV, MSS., dcjfjLaTOjv, 
 Stanley, alp.dTwv, Hermann and 
 Ahrens. du/xaToov is proved to be right 
 by the faciHty of the con-uption, the fre- 
 quent use of the words Trarpya ddj/xara 
 in ^sch. e. g. Supp. 325, Theh. 648, 
 
 and the fact that restoration to her 
 father's possessions is the thought 
 chiefly present to Electra's mind 
 throughout the prayer, vv. 131, 135-7, 
 141, 2. iTTLCTKOTrovs IS to be con- 
 structed with 5ai/xouas, 'that they 
 may listen and look upon my father's 
 house' (compare Theb. 640, KoKei — 
 OeoiJi . . eTTOTTTTJpas . . yeveadai.), a re- 
 quest similar to that made by Electra 
 below, V. 406, Uecrd' 'Arpetddi' rd Xoiir' 
 dju.Tjxdi'cos ^x^^"^"- x^'^'- 5()}fxdT(x}i' drifxa. 
 The words dco/xdTCJv iiriaKOTrou occur 
 again, Eum. 740, where eTriaKoirov is 
 a substantive. But for these autho- 
 rities, and the parallel v. it, there 
 would be great plausibility in Paley's 
 suggestion to connect iirLo-KSTrovs as an 
 adj. with evxds, as in Eum. 903, (icpv- 
 fivrjffat) oTTOia vlktjs /xtj KaKTJs eiricrKOTra, 
 Soph. Aj. 976, ^oQ)VTOS dTr]s TTJcrd" 
 eiriaKOTTov fieXos. 
 
 128. Comp. Shakspere, Borneo 
 and Juliet, Act 2, Sc. 3. 'This earth, 
 that's nature's mother, is her tomb ; 
 What is her burying grave, that is her 
 womb. ' For the appeal for vengeance 
 to earth in her capacity as the mother 
 of all, see v. 66, note, and consult 
 Mliller, Diss., pp. 160, foil. Prome- 
 theus, calling on the gods to regard 
 his wrongs {Prom, go), exclaims irafj.- 
 fiTjrSp re 777. 
 
 1 29. rCovSe perhaps constructed with 
 \dix^avei. See Jelf, § 531, Obs. 6. 
 Ag. 275, ov do^av dv Xdj3oi.fj.i ^pi^ovaTjs 
 <j)p€vbs. 
 
 130. ^poTois indicates, generally, 
 what is expressed more particularly 
 
22 
 
 XOH(|>OPOI. 
 
 Kayu> "^eovara Tccroe yepvL^a<s (BpoTOi? 
 XeyoOf KaXoucra irarep eiroLKTeipovT efxe 
 ipiXov T ^Opecmjv, ttco? avd^oimev SofJLOL^*, 
 
 130 
 
 in the next verse, KoKova-a irarip . 
 The dead are spoken of as mortals, 
 (1) as opposed to the gods, v. 125, 
 just as the Chorus, Pers. 630, after 
 invoking x^^'^'^^'- ^ai/xoves, says of the 
 shade of Darius /xovos clv Opt]tQv ire- 
 pas e'LTTOL, (2) as partakers of the same 
 nature with the Hving, the word being 
 not unfrequently used in connexion 
 with the last offices of humanity, as 
 in Soph, Aj. 1166, ^p9a ^poroTs tov 
 aelixvyfCTTOv rd(f)Ov evpdseura Kade^et 
 (comp, ih. 1380), El. T066, cD x^oz't'a 
 ^poToTcTL (pdfMa. See also vv. 279, 483, 
 notes. This thought is brought out by 
 Klausen, who, however, understands 
 ^poTOLS here of the living, constructing 
 it with xe/3i^t/3as, ' libamentum homi- 
 nibus lustrale.' Wordsworth remarks 
 ' ^poTols interdum propemodum abun- 
 dat,' referring probably to such pas- 
 sages as those cited above from Soph., 
 and Aj. 1358. (This explanation of 
 course has nothing in common with 
 the exploded fancy that ^porbs or 
 dvqrbs can ever be simply equivalent 
 to veKpbs. If ^sch. had written ve- 
 KpoLs, which is given as a variety by 
 MSS. Med. and Guelf., or (pdiTois, 
 Hermann's conj., the passage would 
 only have been less poetical.) 
 
 131. eiroLKTeLpbv r MSS. eiroLKTel- 
 povT Hermann. The latter seems 
 better, as avoiding the abniptness of 
 an imperative followed by a question : 
 while the participle will express the 
 ground on which the request is made, 
 ' I say, addressing my father, as one 
 that has compassion on me and my 
 loved Orestes, How, &c.' 
 
 132. dvd'^oixev, ^aaikevaoiiev. Schol. 
 The dative is not found elsewhere in 
 
 ^sch., but frequently occurs in Ho- 
 mer, who also uses the future form. 
 Comp. Prom. 49. ttXtiv Oeo'caL Koipa- 
 velv, ih. 940. 5apbv yap ovk dp^et deals. 
 To take avd^o/met/ as the future of 
 dvdyoj, as Blomfield and Klausen pro- 
 pose, though agreeing well with d\w- 
 fxeda, V. 133, (pevywu, v. 137, would be 
 objectionable, partly on account of 
 the use of the plural, as if Electra and 
 her father were to combine, whereas 
 the prayer in v. 139 is simply that 
 Orestes may return, partly as vir- 
 tually obliging us to separate e/xe'from 
 (piKov T 'OpecfTTjv, which would be 
 required as the object of dvd^o/xev — 
 not to mention that we should rather 
 have expected KaTd^o/meu. Electra, 
 summing up her petition in three 
 words, naturally asks for restoration 
 itself, not for an event which would 
 only lead to it ; the plural, like dXci- 
 fji-eda, as naturally points to the two 
 persons in whose behalf the prayer is 
 made, herself, and her brother ; and 
 the word ireirpaixevoi, including both 
 servitude and exile, follows immedi- 
 ately to express the antithesis between 
 their present condition and that which 
 they hope to obtain. Comp. Soph. 
 El. 71. Kal fXTj fx aTi/xou r^crS' diroaTei- 
 \rjTe yijs, 'AW apx^TrXovrov Kal Kara- 
 (TTdTTiv bbfiwv. (Schneidewin's conj. 
 0WS r' dvaxpov ev db/xois, also made 
 by a writer in the Classical Mu- 
 seum, vol. I, p. 267, would accord ad- 
 mirably in structure with the old read- 
 ing of V. 13 1, eTTolKTeLpbv T, but its 
 sense, though not inappropriate in 
 itself, and agreeing well with vv. 863, 
 961, is not confirmed by the con- 
 text.) 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 23 
 
 ireirpajJievoi yap vvv ye Trcog aXcojuieOa 
 TT^o? Tt]9 TeKOvorrjSf avopa S' apTrjWd^aTO 
 AHyicrOov, ocnrep crod (povou /meraLTiog. 
 Kayct) jULev avrlSovXog' e/c Se -^^prjiudTcoi/ 
 (pevyiov 'OpecTT^g ea-TLV^ ol S' vTrepKOTTOog 
 €v TOiQ-i aroh irovoLcri ■^^lovctlv jmeya. 
 
 ^35 
 
 133. ir€Trpayfji€voi.MSS., Trevpafxcuot 
 Casaubon, which is required by dvT7)\- 
 Xd^aro. Comp, v. 915. Stxws eTrpd^Tji/, 
 &v iXevd^pov Trarpos. Uov drjd'' 
 t2/xos, oi'Tiv dvTehe^dixrjv ; — dXw/xeda is 
 of course said properly of Orestes alone, 
 Electra's fate being included as ana- 
 logous to his. Klausen well comp. 
 V. 254. &ix<po} (pvyrju 'ixovTe ttju avr-rji' 
 dofJLCJv. In Eur. El. 209 Electra na- 
 turally speaks of herself as doofidrioy 
 Trarpipiov (puyds, as she is there actually 
 removed from home and given in mar- 
 riage to a labourer. 
 
 134. Clytaemnestra is said to have 
 exchanged her own children for a new 
 husband in ^gisthus, either simply, 
 as having sought a fresh protector 
 (Ag. 1437), instead of those on whom 
 sTie might naturally have relied, or 
 because she wished to be the mother 
 of other children. The latter view is 
 supported by a parallel passage in 
 Soph. EL 587. rJTLS ^vvevSeis roj iraXa- 
 fivaiu:, fxed' ov Ilarepa top djxbv rrpdcrdev 
 e^a7ru)\e(ras, Kat TraldoTroieis, roi/s d^ 
 irpbcrdev evae^els Kd^ evae^^v ^Xa- 
 (XTOuras eK^aXova ^xets. 
 
 135. ocnrep, as Klausen says, aggra- 
 vates the notion of impiety, being 
 more emphatic than os. 
 
 136. dvTidovXos is one of those com- 
 pounds of dvTi where the preposition 
 exerts its force upon the other ingre- 
 dient, instead of combining with it to 
 affect any of the remaining words in 
 the sentence. Even in this class, 
 however, the effect is sufficiently 
 
 various : sometimes local opposition is 
 expressed, as in geographical names : 
 sometimes hostility, a sense much 
 commoner in later Greek and its deri- 
 vatives, than in classical writers : 
 sometimes substitution, as in avri- 
 (pepwos, Ag. 406, dvTTjvup, ih. 444: 
 sometimes equivalence, as in the pre- 
 sent word, and dvTliraL^, Eum. 38 : 
 sometimes identity, as in dpTCTrerpos = 
 irerpiuos, Soph. (Ed. C. 192, to which 
 we may perhaps add dvTiixoXiros — fioX- 
 iralos, Ag. 17, dvTi,Tr€vdris= tt^pOi/jlos, 
 Eum. 782. The same word is occa- 
 sionally found with more than one 
 shade of meaning : thus dvTidovXos 
 itself occurs in the sense of substitu- 
 tion in .^sch. Prom. Unhoicnd (fr. 
 188). 
 
 137. (pevyeiv, MSS., (pevyoou, Rob. 
 On the participle with the verb sub- 
 stantive, see Jelf, § 375, 4; Madvig, 
 § t8o, rem. 2, d. (pevyeip is itself 
 used for 'to live in exile:' see Lidd. 
 and Scott sub voce, kotttu) in vir^p' 
 KOTTos, as in irpoKOTTTw, seems best 
 explained by Blomf., as originally 
 denoting motion of some kind (comp. 
 antecello, excello, percello, connected 
 with celer). Even in irapaKoiros it 
 may be doubted whether the primary 
 intention of the verb, e. g., in Prom. 
 581, is not stepping aside, like the 
 metaphor from ploughing in delirare, 
 though it may afterwards have come 
 to be referred to the sense of coining, 
 as in TrapdKOfj.fia. 
 
 138. ef TOtcrt ao?s irovoLai, 'in the 
 
24 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 eXOeiv S' ^Opeo'Tijv Sevpo <tvv Tvyri tlvl 
 KaTevj^ofxal aoi, Kal av kXvOl fxov, irarep, 
 avTtj T* e/uLol Sog crwcppovecrTepav ttoXv 
 IxrjTpog yevecrOai yelpa r eucre^ea-repav. 
 Tjfxlv fJLev ev^ag Tacroe, Tolg o evavTLOi<s 
 Xeyot) (pavrjvai crov, Trareo, Ti^aopov, 
 
 140 
 
 labours of thy hands.' Comp. Pers. 
 751 J 5e'Sot/ca ixrj ttoXvs ttXovtou Trdvos 
 Ovfjibs di'dpwTTOi.s y€vr]Tai rod (p6d- 
 cavTO% dpirayri. So Agamemnon is 
 called 6 irovCjv, v. 919, the man going 
 out to labour for the support of his 
 family, who remain within {rpecpet 
 8^ 7* dvdpbs fioxGos rjfieuas ^cno, v. 
 921). In Soph. (Ed. C- 335, CEdipus 
 asks, oi 5' avdofxai/ixot ttov veaviai tto- 
 veiv; and immediately proceeds to 
 make the well-known comparison 
 with the mode of life in Egypt, where 
 the women go out and provide main- 
 tenance for the men (compare the 
 whole speech, 337 foil., and especially 
 the words Trovelv, v. 34'2, VTrepirovel- 
 TOP, V. 345, ^cox^oOcra, v. 351, wovovaa, 
 V. 364). The notion is doubtless de- 
 rived from the primitive simplicity of 
 early times, when the general, no less 
 than the peasant, was regarded as a 
 labourer working for his Hvelihood. 
 Thus Achilles, in Hom. II. i. 162, 
 y^pas . . . (^ ewL woWd fxoyriaa . . . 
 iycb d' oKlyov re (f)Lkov re "Epxa/j^ '^x^^ 
 errl vrjas, eirriv KeKa/xo} iroXefii^oov. In 
 Pei^s. 754, just after the passage 
 quoted above, Atossa goes on to say 
 to Darius, atj fxev jxiyav reKuois XIXoO- 
 Tov eKTT^crcj ^liv alxp-y. We may now 
 see more fully the force of the com- 
 parison of the family of Agamemnon 
 to young birds deprived of the parent 
 who fed them, below, v. 246, foil. The 
 present passage is imitated, though 
 not verbally, by Soph. M. 1290. — 
 /lera, MSS., ^t^Ta, Turn. 
 
 139. avv Tvxv 5e ry, T7ieh. 472. 
 
 1 40. Klausen seems right in con- 
 necting Kal aO kXv6i closely with 
 Kare^xo/xai, so as to make iXdeiv 
 ' Opearrju parallel to avrij t e/xoi. 
 
 141. -3isch., believing, as Klausen 
 reminds us, that crwcjipoavvT} is the gift 
 of Heaven {Ag. 180), goes further than 
 Soph., who simply makes Electra pray 
 {El. 457) that Orestes may conquer, 
 so that he and she may make more 
 liberal offerings to their father's tomb. 
 The combination of the words aucppo- 
 vearipav and evcrejSecTTepav seems to be 
 referred to by Soph. ib. 307, iv odv 
 TOLovTois oijTe <TW(ppov€Lv, 0tXa£, Oiir 
 €V(T€^€?v Trdpea-Tiv, though the thought 
 there is not the same as here. X^^P<^ 
 t' eixre^ecTTepav seems to include free- 
 dom from guilt as well as active piety, 
 — the 'immunis manus' as well as 
 the gift which it brings, — a com- 
 bination illustrated below on v. 
 
 377. 
 
 143. evxds is governed hj X^yu in 
 the- next clause, not, as Wordsworth 
 thinks, left without government, like 
 TovTuv fj.€P oi'Tws, Aff. 950. Comp. V. 
 555, TTjvbe fxeu (TTeixeiv ^aoj, AivQ d^ 
 KpiiTTTeiu rdade (TVpdijKas ifids. (paprjvat 
 (comp. eiroTTTevaaL Xeyio, v. 583, jxap- 
 Tvpeiv Xeyii), v. 1040, and see on v. 93) 
 is, of course, virtually an accusa- 
 tive. 
 
 144. Imitated by Soph. El. 1155, 
 (pTjfxas Xddpa trpovirejUTres ws <pavov- 
 ixevos Ti/xupos avrbs. 
 
XOH^OPOI. 25 
 
 Ka\ Tovg KTavovrag avriKarOaveiv oiKt]v. 145 
 
 TavT ev /micro) riOrjiuLL Trjg KaKyj<} apug, 
 
 Kcivoig Xeyovara rrju^e Trjv KaKrjv apav* 
 
 rjij.lv Se TTO/ULTTog 'tcrOi tcov ecrOXwv avco, 
 
 ^uv Oeoiari Koi yrj Ka\ oiKr] viKt](pop(i). 
 
 TOiaiaS^ eir evyah TacS'' eincTirevoit) ^oa?. I50 
 
 viJLag 06 KcoKVToig eiravBLYeiv vofxog, 
 
 iraiava tov Qavovrog e^avScofjievag. 
 
 145. 8lkt]i', a cognate ace, such as 
 is frequently found in similar con- 
 nexions. Eur. Here. F. 168, TLfxwpom 
 i/jLovs XPV^^ Xiireadai tQv dedpa/mevcov 
 dlKTju. ^sch. Prom. 563, rivos d/uLTrXa- 
 Kias TTOLvas oX^Kei; Supp. 625, Xe^wixev 
 eir' 'ApyeloLS Ei^xa? 0.70^0,5 dyaOQu 
 TTOLPds. Eur. Hel. 77, aTroXavaiv eiKOvs 
 
 146. ' This I interpose to bar their 
 prayer for evil, uttering against them 
 this my prayer for evil.' rijs /ca/cTys 
 dpas, as Franz appears to have seen, 
 is the prayer which Clytaemnestra 
 wished to have presented along with 
 the libation, and which she is made 
 to present herself by Sophocles {El. 
 634, foil.) — an evil one, as being the 
 prayer of a criminal for impunity, if 
 not for judgments on her own chil- 
 dren. See again on v. 309. — ev /xecrcf 
 here = efxirodixiy, as in Xen. Cyr. 5.2. 
 26. 
 
 148. Klausen comp. Pers. 220, 
 irpco/uLeurj 5' airov rdde . . . eadXd aot 
 Trep-ireLv reKuq} re 7-^5 'ivepdev es 0dos. 
 TciSe ecrdXd there possibly confirms the 
 MSS. reading tQv5' here {tQv, Ro- 
 bortello), ' the good that I have in my 
 mind,' i. e., which she had prayed for 
 above, v. 139, foil. 
 
 149. The reference is to the com- 
 mon expression avu d^Q. The prayer 
 is made throughout to Agamemnon, 
 the gods having been invoked to listen 
 
 to it, V. 126, rather as assessors than 
 as principals, and now being requested 
 to co-operate and be propitious while 
 he sends the blessings desired. 
 
 150. Here we may suppose 
 Electra to finish pouring out the 
 libations, having begun to do so, v. 
 130. The Chorus is conceived to 
 sing while the streams are being ab- 
 sorbed into the ground ; and at length 
 Electra, v. 164, announces that all is 
 swallowed up, and so that her father 
 has received it. The libations are 
 fully described, Pers. 61 1-6 18, as 
 consisting of milk, honey, water, 
 wine, and oil, beside garlands of 
 flowers. Comp. Soph. (Ed. C. 469, 
 foil. 
 
 T 5 1 . If the text is correct, we must 
 suppose eiravdl^eLv, with Peile, to refer 
 to x"as in the verse preceding, 'to 
 crown the libations with wailing,' — 
 the same thought which is expressed 
 without a metaphor, Pers. 619, dXX, 
 Co (piXot, xoalcri ralade vepr^pwu "T/xvovs 
 iTr€V(prip.€tTe. But it may be doubted 
 whether we ought not to read kukv- 
 Toi/s diravdlieiv, which would be pre- 
 cisely parallel to ybebva 5' dv6e/xi^ofj.at, 
 Supp. 72, er- having naturally arisen 
 from €TLaTrev5u}. Comp. yXQaaau 
 diravdicraL, Ag. 1662. (/cw/cyrous is 
 also conjectured by Paley, Supp. I. c. 
 ed. i.) 
 
 152. irai-dva tov davbvTQ% is a rhe- 
 
26 
 
 XOH'I'OPOI. 
 
 XO. 'lere SaKpv Kava-)(€^ oKoixevov ' 
 oXo/mevo) SecrTrora, 
 
 CTTi 
 
 torical expression, like irai.dva 'Ept- 
 pvuv, Ag. 645, Atdg. t 'Ex^pov iraiav' 
 eTLfi^Xireiv, Theh. 868, quoted by 
 Butler, ap. Peile. So the Schol., 6'rt 
 eV airodavbvTO^ iratava elire kukCos. 
 Kai EvpLTrid-r]^ {Ale. 424) Tlaidva ry 
 Karoidev dcnrovbo) de<^. 
 
 153 — 163. Cho. 'Shed the cere- 
 monial tear now that the libations are 
 poured out. Hear me, O king ! Would 
 that some champion might appear, 
 armed at all points!' It should be 
 remarked, as Klausen observes, that 
 this is the first time that funeral 
 honours have been paid to Aga- 
 memnon (see V, 5TI, andcomp. Soph. 
 El. 911), so that the force of the 
 appeal for vengeance is strengthened. 
 The ode that follows is apparently 
 antistrophic, as most of the editors 
 have perceived since Hermann, Ohs. 
 Crit. p. 67, since the division after 
 V. 158 into two parts so nearly cor- 
 responding to each other can hardly 
 be accidental ; none of the proposed 
 arrangements of it, however, can be 
 called satisfactory. Any arrangement 
 which can be proposed must go on 
 the supposition that in the case of 
 dochmiacs, as in that of anapaests, and 
 occasionally of iambics, -^sch. de- 
 parts from the rule of exact syllabic 
 con-espondence in strophe and anti- 
 strophe by which he seems generally 
 to have bound himself, a supposition 
 countenanced by parts of the chorus, 
 vv. 935-972, though the ground there 
 is too precarious to serve as a basis 
 for inference. Even then, however, 
 changes would be necessary which are 
 not required by other considerations, 
 so that it seems far best to print the 
 passage as it stands in the MSS., 
 except in the two instances 01705 and 
 
 ^Icprj, where it has been corrected from 
 the Schol. on independent grounds. 
 Dindorf is doubtless right in saying 
 'numerus regnat dochmiacus :' but 
 after all that has been done, much 
 uncertainty remains, as regards not 
 only the metre but the sense. 
 
 153. Kavaxes and its cognates are 
 specially used of the plashing of water, 
 Hes. Tkeog. 367, Eur. Ci/cl. 152, 
 Cratinus Pytina, fr. 7, Meineke 
 (comp. by Blomf. and Wordsworth), 
 so that we must hardly compare 
 Milton's ' melodious tear.' The epi- 
 thet here seems rather exaggerated, 
 unless we suppose it to have been 
 suggested by the previous plashing of 
 the x^^'- dcLKpv 6\6fievQv is like 
 ovXiov dprjvov, Find. Pyth: 12. 14, 
 which Wordsworth compares. This 
 use of oXofievos, also found in Soph. (?) 
 Epig., fr. 189, oKofxeve waiduu, Eur. 
 Hel. 232, oKofievov (TKacpos, Or. 1364, 
 6\6p.evov, lidpiv, Med. 1253, 6\o/xeuau 
 yvvaiKa, Ph. 1036, oKofievav 'Epivijv, 
 nearly equivalent to the Latin perrft'^its, 
 tends to show that the tragedians at 
 least understood the Homeric oiiXo- 
 fievos, which occurs Prom. 397, in a 
 passive sense. oXofievov 6\oix€v(^ is 
 one of those expressions of which 
 KaKov KaKuts is the type, affected by 
 the tragedians for the sake of sound 
 rather than of sense, it being sufficient 
 that the two words should have the 
 same general meaning. Agamemnon 
 is oXofxeuos according to one appli- 
 cation of the word, so the lamentation 
 over him must be oXop-evos too, accord- 
 ing to another. There may also be a 
 reference to the tear as spilt on the 
 ground and lost. 
 
 155. ^pv/xa rode KaKuv KedvQiv r' is 
 apparently to be taken, with Scheie- 
 
XOH^OPOI. / O. TH 
 
 Trpo^ epufJLa roSe kukccv kcSvwv t 
 CLTrorpoirov ayos aTrevyerov '""-i-i.i-L 
 
 KeyvfJLevwv "Xoav. KXve oe jnoi, kXv€ 
 aejBag w Sea-woT, €^ ajmavpag (ppevog* 
 
 OTOTOTOTOTOTOTOl, 100, Tl9 
 
 oopvcrOevtjg avtjp, avaXurtip oojulcov, 
 '^KvOiKo. T €v yepolv iraXlvTOv 
 
 •^7 
 
 155 
 
 avT. 
 160 
 
 field and Peile, of the tomb, which is 
 called a barrier against evil and good 
 alike ; as we should say, a dead wall 
 shutting out both, the sentiment being 
 that sorrow and joy alike end with the 
 grave. The form of the tomb might 
 doubtless suggest the notion of a 
 mound for defence. With 'Ure 5dKpv 
 irpbi ^pvfMa, so interpreted, comp. 
 Ag. 1548, eirirvfi^Lov aXvov iir' du8pl 
 ddui ^vv ZaKpvcnv iaTTTiav, Theb. 753, 
 irpbs d-yvav aireipas dpovpav. dwoTpo- 
 TTOu is in itself probable enough, the 
 tear being called diroTpoirov, the averter 
 of pollution arising from association 
 with the offerings of the guilty, as 
 the libation is called dirbrpoirov kukuiu, 
 V. 44. For the construction of diro- 
 TpoTTov with an ace, see note on 
 V. 23. ^X7os, MSS. dyos, Vett., 
 Schol. 
 
 15 7, For K\ie ixoL Wordsworth 
 refers to Hom. Od. 2. 263, kXv6L /jlol 
 (repeated 4, 762), Solon Carm., 5. 2, 
 k\vt€ pLot, ei'xop^ho}, Theogn. 13. 
 €vxofj.eyu) piOL KXvdt.. ^sch. Pers., 
 633, the natural parallel of the present 
 passage, where the Med. MS. gives 
 9] p ' di'et pi,oi ; The construction is pro- 
 bably to be explained like di^aro oi 
 (TKTjTrTpov ( see v. 762 below), the case 
 of general reference being used, as is 
 natural in an early writer, in place 
 of one denoting a more specific rela- 
 tion, though in a passage like the 
 present, where pioi has no participle 
 agreeing with it, it may merely mark 
 
 the personal character of the entreaty 
 (= ' I pray you'). Comp. Ag. 905, 
 where vvu 8^ pi-oi, ^tXov ndpa, "EK^aiv' 
 (as Scholefield reads) seems more 
 idiomatic than uvu S', e/iot ^iXov Kapa, 
 the old text. In any case o-ejSas is 
 better taken as a voc. than an ace. 
 ('audi reverentiam.' Herm.) 
 
 158. The sense of dp.avpds (ppevds is 
 fixed by the parallel passage, Ag.$^6, 
 as referring to the Chorus, not to Aga- 
 memnon. Whatever may be the 
 derivation of dpiavpbs and its cognates, 
 a comparison of the passages where 
 they occur (e. g. Hom. Od. 4. 824, 
 Hes. Worhs, 691, ^sch. Ag. 296, 
 465, Eum. 359, Pers. 223, Soph. (Ed. 
 C. 182, 1018, Eur. Here. F. 231. Aris- 
 toph. Birds, 685) shows that so far as 
 they imply the notion of darkness, it 
 is as a negative rather than as a posi- 
 tive quality — dimness rather than 
 blackness, so that we shall do right 
 here to accept the Scholiast's inter- 
 pretation, dp.avpd'i, TTJs dffdevovs, 
 instead of comparing with Words- 
 worth lu.eXayxi'Tcov (pprjv, Pers. 115, 
 KeXacvoxpoiS KUpSia, Sup}). 785. 
 
 159. lib TLs is like^eOrt's, Ag. 1449, 
 'Ah! who is there ?'='0 for some 
 one,' so that we need not read iVw 
 wnth Bothe and others, making ti$ in- 
 definite. 
 
 i6r. ^kvOlku t is the reading of 
 Med. from a correction, and of Robor- 
 tello, IiKvOtjs Tdr\ the common un- 
 metrical text, a mistake of Guelf. 
 
28 
 
 XOHc^OPOI. 
 
 cr-^eoia t avTOKCOira poo/ulcov ^L(p>j', 
 
 Even if ^Kijdrjs were the true reading, 
 there would be no reason for supposing 
 a personification of steel to be in- 
 tended, as in Theb. 714, in defiance of 
 the word dvrip, which fixes the sense 
 to a human warrior, and of the speci- 
 fication of the weapons to be used, 
 which would be quite fatal to the con- 
 gruity of the image. With S/cy^t/ca 
 /3e\7/ comp. Prom. 712, and the 
 Athenian custom of employing Scy- 
 thian slaves as a police of bowmen. 
 iraXivTova, the Homeric epithet of 
 To^a, means not ' drawn back' as an 
 arrow, or 'quivering,' but 'bent,' or 
 'bending back,' opposed to evdvTOva : 
 see Blomf. Gloss. : so that j3e\r} must 
 be taken in a wide sense, like rofa, 
 for bow and arrows both. Attius' 
 tela reciproca (quoted by Varro, L. L. 
 7. 80, M., who explains recijJ^-oca 
 * quom unde quid profectum, redit eo') 
 is probably only a translation of one or 
 other of these expressions. 
 
 162. ^pyov of battle, like our word 
 action, as in Eur. Iph. T. 11 90, Xen. 
 Cyr. 7, p. 104, quoted by Abresch 
 and Blomfield. Hence the antithesis 
 between ayCov \6yojv and ^pyov, and 
 similar expressions, frequently found 
 in the tragedians. Klausen refers to 
 Theb. 414, Ag. 1650. iraXivTova ^eXrj 
 WLirdWujvlikeiraXivTovaTo^aTipda-crup, 
 Soph. Tr. 511. "Ap7;s for a warrior or 
 destroyer, as in v. 938 below, Eum. 
 
 354- 
 
 163. avT6i<o}7ro5 has not yet been 
 satisfactorily explained, as neither of 
 the two interpretations suggested by 
 the analogy of other compounds with 
 avTos, ' self-hilted,' and ' hilt and all,' 
 is particularly appropriate here. The 
 point of difference between the arrow 
 
 or spear and the sword obviously is 
 that the one is dismissed from the 
 hand, the other retained in it; and 
 this the poet doubtless meant to 
 express by avroKuwos, the hilt being 
 the prominent notion, though it 
 is scarcely an explanation to say 
 with the lexicographers that the 
 word merely means * with a handle. 
 Perhaps we may give a force to avrds 
 by supposing its real reference to be 
 to vuifxGiv, ' wdelding himself the sword 
 by the hilt,' just as ixovo(TKT}irTpoL<nv iv 
 dpovois xp^os irdv iiriKpaipets, Supp. 
 374, can be resolved into fidvos iv 
 dpbvoLs a-KrjTTTpu} Trdv xpios eiriKpalveLS. 
 In any case crx^Sta avroKwira had better 
 be taken closely with vo}/xQv, express- 
 ing not so much the ordinary qualities 
 of the sword, as the manner of its use. 
 /3e'\77, MSS. ^i(f>T], Pauw, from the 
 words of the Schol., rd dtp' eavrCjv 
 '^xovra TT]u \a^r]v ^i<pr]. crxidia d^ e/c 
 Tov ax^56v (povevovra /cat ov troppcodev, 
 ibawep rd j3e\r}. The objection to ^eXij 
 is not so much the repetition of the 
 word as its inappropriateness in a con- 
 nexion like this, where the contrast 
 pointedly excludes it. 
 
 165-182. EL 'Now that the liba- 
 tion is over, I see something new.' 
 Cho. * What is it ? — how I trem- 
 ble ! * El. ^A lock of hair on the 
 tomb.' CJio. 'Whose?' El. 'One 
 may easily guess.' Cho. 'Tell me.' 
 El. 'There is no one here but me 
 who would think of thus honouring 
 my father.' Cho. ' No ; for his other 
 kinsmen are his enemies.' El. ' The 
 lock itself resembles' — Cho. 'Whose 
 hair?' El. 'My own.' CJio. 'Can 
 it then come from Orestes ?' El. 
 'The hair is most like his.' Cho. 
 
XOH<l>OPOI. 
 
 HA. e^ef iJiev rjStj yairoTovg ^oa9 irarrjo, 
 
 veov 06 jULvOou Tovoe KoivcjovrjcaTe. 
 XO. XeyoL's av. 6p')(€LTaL Se KapSia (po^o), 
 HA. opw To/maiov rovoe ^ocrrpvyov rddxi), 
 XO. Tivog TTOT avop6<Si 37 PadvYwvov Koprjg', 
 HA. ev^vjufioXov ToS^ ea-r). Travrl So^dcrai. 
 XO. TTco? ouv iraXaia irapa vecorepag juidOot)*, 
 
 HA. OVK eCTTLV OCTTLg irXtJV €/ULOV KCLpaiTO VIV. 
 
 29 
 
 165 
 
 170 
 
 ' But how can he have come with it ?' 
 El. 'He must have sent it.' Cho. 
 ' This is no better news, if it meana 
 that he is never to return.' 
 
 165. airoTov, MSS.; 'yairorovs, 
 Turn. 
 
 166. vio^ fivdos ode stands for fivdoi 
 Treplrovde veov, as in v. 100, r-^crS' ^are 
 ^ovXrjs, cD (piXai, /xeraiTLai, ■t]5e ^ovX'q 
 for ^ovXt] irepl roude. The full force 
 of the line is, 'Here is something 
 new, about which I want to speak 
 with you.' 
 
 167. dvopx^'^Tai, MSS., &v, opx^i-- 
 ^ai, Turn. 
 
 t6S. Imitated by Soph. El. 900 ; 
 Eur. El. 512. 
 
 170. Wordsworth compares Dem. 
 I 01. p. 13, TO p.ev odv eirtTifidv laojs 
 <p7](TaL Tts cLp pabiov Kal iravTos 
 dvai. 
 
 171. Wordsworth finds a difficulty 
 in TTws fiddo}, as not strictly agreeing 
 with the use of the delib. conj,, and 
 rather inclines to Stephens' punctua- 
 tion, TTws odv; questioning Elmsley's 
 doctrine on Eur. Med. 1242, accord- 
 ing to which fjidOu} could not stand 
 for (pipe p,ddw. See however, on v. 
 14. With TTcDs fiddw comp. Ag. 543, 
 TTWS Stj hihaxdels rovde de(nr6(ro} XSyov; 
 (wrongly broken up by some of the 
 later editors) where ttcDs goes with 
 SLOaxdeis. With the sentiment im- 
 plied comp. Su2ijp. 361, ai) d^ trap' 
 
 oxpLySvov fidOe yepa(ppovQu {yepapo<ppo- 
 vG3v% Ag. 584, del yap rj^tf roh ye- 
 povaiv ed [xadelu, where ed answers to 
 TTws here. 
 
 I7'2. Electra is evidently arguing 
 in this line, as the reply of the Chorus 
 shows, not from the presence of the 
 particular lock of hair, but from the 
 presence of a lock at all as a sign of 
 respect ; so that Keipeadai must be 
 explained, with Linwood, after the 
 analogy of KSirreadat, TiWeadai, tv- 
 TTTeffdai, as exactly equivalent to irev- 
 dijcrai rpixh »'"' being Agamemnon. 
 So, probably, Eur. El. 545, dXX ij rts 
 avTov rdcpop eiroiKTeipas ^euos 'EKecpaT\ 
 t) TTJade <tk6tos Xa^Cov x^ovos, where 
 there is nothing in the context to 
 suggest an accusative. Comp. also 
 the apparent imitation of Soph. El. 
 909, foil., ry yap TrpoarjKei vX-qv 7" 
 e/jLov Kal aov rode k. t. X., where Chryso- 
 themis is speaking similarly of the 
 general act of respect. Having esta- 
 blished her first position, Electra pro- 
 ceeds, in v. 174, to reason from the 
 particular lock, 68e (The common 
 interpretation, besides its disagree- 
 ment with V. 173, introduces an 
 absurdity, as Electra could never 
 mean to say, * There is no one but 
 myself who would cut off this lock,' 
 while Dobree's irXrjv evos would only 
 spoil the whole passage, precipitating 
 the conclusion to which the Chorus 
 
30 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 XO. €-)^6po\ yap oh TTpocTfjKe TreuOtjcrai Tpi')(L. 
 
 HA. Kai /uLi]P oS' ecrrl Kapr toeiv ofj-OTrrepo^. 
 
 XO. irolaig eQelpai^', tovto yap OeXoo fxaOelv. 
 
 HA. avTolcTLV ^juLiv KupTa TTpOQ-cpeptjg loeiv. 
 
 XO. fxcov ovv 'OpecTTOV Kpv^Sa Scopov ^ ToSe', 
 
 HA. ixoKlctt EKelvov Po(TTpvyoL<s irpoa-eioeraL. 
 
 XO. Ka\ ir(h<s €K€ivog Sevp' eroXfj-i^crev fioXeiu', 
 
 HA. eVe/xxJ/c ■)^aLTi]v Kovpifxyjv ^apiv Trarpo?. 
 
 XO. 011-^ rjCTCTOv evSoLKpvTa juLOL Xeyeig rdSe, 
 €1 TijaSe "vwpag jm/jTroTe yj/avcrei ttool. 
 
 175 
 
 i8o 
 
 is at last slowly led, v. 177). Keipero, 
 MSS., KeipaiTO, Turn. 
 
 174. Kal fXTjv here, as in v. 205, Ag. 
 1178, Prom. 1080, Thei. 245, 457, in- 
 troduces a new fact, in the same way 
 as it is used to announce the appear- 
 ance of a fresh person on the stage. 
 Elsewhere, as in Prom. 982, 985, it 
 starts an objection. The presence or 
 absence of ye appears to make no ma- 
 terial difference. — ofMOTrrepos, Pers. 
 559, Eur. El. 530. Blomf. comp. Supp. 
 328, TTovov 5' tSots av ovbaixov ravrou 
 irrepov. 
 
 176. avToicnv ijjuuv for rats rj/xdv 
 avrCov, like KOfxaL xa/jtrecrcrtv ofiolat, 
 II. 17. 51, referred to by Well. 
 Woi-dsworth comp. Hdt. i. 116, Kal 
 ot re xapa/cTTj/o tov irpoaihirov 7rpo<y- 
 (pepeadat iSoKee is kiavTov.— Kdpra dva- 
 ixadr]s t'Seij/, Eur. Med. 1196. 
 
 177. The construction of /iwj' with 
 a conj., which Dindorf thinks '.inex- 
 plicable,' is supported by Hermann 
 from Eur. Ijjh. Aul. 321, where, 
 however, the first person is used, so 
 that the case there is merely one of 
 the delib. conj. Possibly it is to be 
 explained on the analogy of fii^ with 
 a conj. in interrogations (Jelf, § 873. 
 3, 4), ' Is it likely then that this may 
 be?' Comp. Hdt. 5. 79 (quoted by 
 
 Blomf.), dXXa fiaXXou /xr] ov tovto y to 
 XpWT-qpLov. At the same time, the 
 reading of Med., •^ without the added 
 iota, rather favours Scholefield's ^jv. rj, 
 which Franke conjectures, only stood 
 for the first person in the older Attic. 
 See Hermann's Pref. to Soph. (Ed. T. 
 /jlQv odv, which has been questioned 
 on the ground that p.Qiv is itself a 
 compound of p-rj and otv, is found in 
 Eur. And. 81. 
 
 180. eirepi-^ev Kal ttjv, MSS.; ^Tre/xi/'e, 
 Turn. ; x^'-'^W) Vett. Kovpip.-qv is 
 connected by Stanley with xat'r???', 
 by Wellauer with xctptj'. The latter 
 may be more elegant, and more in 
 accordance with the usual cadence 
 of an iambic line, but it is less sim- 
 ple. (In Agathon. Thyest. fr. 3, kov- 
 pip.ov xctyoii' Tptxos, xd/ati/ is adverbial.) 
 iraTpos, for which Blomf., Dind., 
 Herm. substitute iraTpi from Turn., 
 is well defended by Peile's remark, 
 that we see in it the origin of the 
 adverbial use of xaptj/, which, as here, 
 is really a cognate ace, and by Ag. 
 1387, "AlSov .... evKTaiav x^pi-^- 
 
 181. 6)5 in evdoLKpvTa, for which 
 Emper, followed by Hermann, would 
 read au daKpvTa, means naturcdly or 
 rightfully, as in Ag. 552, eS Xe^eiev, 
 Supp. 528, eS <TTvy-r]<xas. 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 31 
 
 HA. KCLjULo) 7rpo(T€(TTr] Kapola? kXvocoviov 
 e^ S/uijULaTMV Se S[\p-ioL TriirrovorL fxoL 
 
 185 
 
 182. \pav(rei, the first reading of 
 Med., seems better than \pavari, as 
 the sense required is, ' if he is never 
 to touch,' ' si nunquam tacturus 
 est.' 
 
 183-2 1 1. HI. 'I too am all per- 
 turbed, and know not what to think. 
 The offering cannot have come from 
 any Argive — still less from my mo- 
 ther. Yet how to fix it on Orestes ? 
 Oh that it could speak and tell us ! 
 May the gods look on our troubles ! 
 — they can aid us even now. See, 
 here are footprints, just the size of 
 mine, — more and more anguish and 
 perplexity. ' 
 
 183. KapUas is perfectly expli- 
 cable as a second genitive con- 
 structed with K\vdd)VLOv, like euiz-^s — 
 %\t077s, Ag. 1447 ; but it seems rather 
 to be a genitive of place, like cppevos, 
 V. 389, 86/xwv, Ag. 431, and probably 
 ecTTLas, ib. T056. Comp. Ag. 976, 
 de?/xa irpoaTaTTjpiou Kapoias TepaaKovou 
 iroTaraL. In any case, Scaliger's 
 Kapdla, adopted by Herm., is quite 
 needless. 
 
 184. eiraWrjv MSS. eiralcrdT^v, Can- 
 ter. 
 
 1 85 . dlxpLOL, for which Schiitz would 
 read di\l/icju, Blomf. bixpia, is satis- 
 factorily defended, as a hypallage for 
 hL\pibiv, by the passage adduced by 
 Schwenk and Well., Eur. H. F. 
 447, ypaias oaaoju Trrjyds. Jelf, who 
 explains the latter (§ 440) as = yepatd 
 or yepxtLcis daKpva, does not apply his 
 principle of the compound notion to 
 the present case. The truth seems 
 to be, that the Greek and Latin 
 poets, as a matter of taste, were fond 
 of varying the direct construction of 
 
 the epithet and substantive by trans* 
 ferring the former to some other 
 noun, of which it might, though 
 less obviously, be regarded as an at- 
 tribute, the conditions of transfer- 
 ence being as various as the law of 
 association itself. Thus, when Ho- 
 race (i Od. 31. 9) says, ' Premant 
 Galena falce, quibus dedit Fortuna, 
 vitem,' he avoids the commonplace 
 expression, the Calenian vine, by 
 varying the image and attaching the 
 local character to the vine- dresser's 
 pruning-hook. Viewed on grounds 
 of art, the artifice is merely a verbal 
 one, the conception having, in the 
 case quoted, nothing really corre- 
 sponding to it, as the instrument 
 might not, like the vine, have any 
 distinctive peculiarity ; and even if 
 it had, the selection of so subordi- 
 nate an object as the medium for 
 conveying the general impression 
 proves that, with the classic writers 
 at least, painting by words did not 
 follow the same laws as painting by 
 colours. (Klausen and Peile suppose 
 dixj/ioi to apply strictly to crrayoues, in 
 the sense of thirst-exciting, tears being 
 accompanied with a sense of thirst, 
 and moreover causing thirst them- 
 selves by their saltness : but the first 
 reason is recondite, and the second 
 ludicrous. Hermann's ple^ice desi- 
 derio (thirsting for Orestes) is very 
 harsh. Wordsworth's ' draining the 
 eyes' is better ; but the epithet in 
 the present connexion seems rather 
 to point to drought than to exhaus- 
 tion, <jTay6ves being apparently the 
 first drops of a deluge, which after- 
 wards falls daraKTi.) 
 
32 
 
 XOH$OPOI. 
 
 crrayoveg a<ppaKTOL Sva-^^l/uiov TrXtjiuLjULvplSogf 
 TrXoKa/uov loovcrri Tovoe' irta^ y^P ^^'^'■(Tua 
 aarrcou riv aWov T^cr^e Sea-iro^eiv (po^rjg ; 
 aXX' ovSe juli^v vlv rj Kravovcr CKeiparo, 
 i/ULt] Se fJLi]Ti]p, ovSafJLwg iircovv/ULOV 
 (ppovrj/ixa Traicr] SvarOeov TreTrajULev^j. 
 iyco S' OTTO)? /uev avriKpvg raS' alvea-oo, 
 
 190 
 
 186. 6.4)paKToi, even if it had not 
 the exclusive support of the MSS., 
 would be a better, because a more 
 significant word than dcppaaroi, the 
 reading of Tumebus. Comp. Soph. 
 CEd. T. 1386, T^s aKovoiarjt injyrjs 
 ^payix6s. 
 
 187. i\Trl<yo}, not the fut., which 
 seems not to be found in classical 
 Greek, but the aor. subj. (Shil- 
 leto, Dem. F. L. p. 194). ekiri^eiv 
 in the sense of voixl^eLv, as in Theb. 
 76. 
 
 188. ^XXoi/like xet'/iaros aXKo MX^P> 
 Ag. 199, 'other than Orestes,' who 
 is thus virtually included in the body 
 from which it is meant to distinguish 
 him. The principle is the same as 
 that of the substitution of the super- 
 lative for the comparative. TTjade 
 tpo^rjs shows that Electra is thinking 
 not of the improbability that any 
 citizen would bj-ave the anger of 
 ^gisthus, as in Eur. El. 516, but of 
 the unlikelihood that any one not of 
 the family of Agamemnon could have 
 anything to do with the particular 
 lock. 
 
 189. See on v. 17-2. vlv at first 
 sight appears more naturally to refer 
 to ^6^r)s than to Agamemnon, who 
 has been nowhere named. He is, 
 however, sufficiently indicated by the 
 words i] KTavovcra (with which Well, 
 and Butl., while retaining the old 
 interpretation of eKeiparo, actually 
 
 seem to connect vlv) ; and the line, 
 so far from losing anything, really 
 gains in force and propriety by the 
 antithesis between his murderess and 
 his mourner. Comp. Ag. 1543, ^ <ri> 
 rod' ^p^aL rXricrei, Krelvaa' dvdpa rbv 
 avTTjs, airoKiaKvcaL] 
 
 190. 5^ introducing another predi- 
 cate, as in v. 841. The addition here 
 seems not intended to add anything 
 to the sentence, but to show the 
 bitterness of Electra's feelings. With 
 the sentiment comp. Soph. El. 597, 
 1 154, TI94. 
 
 192. rdh" aiveao}. XeiTrei, ovk ^xw. 
 Schol. a more successful attempt at 
 explanation than has been made by 
 the same authority in other places, 
 e. g. V. ^oo. dya\/j.a Tvp.^ov. Xeiirei t] 
 els. V. 623. ewel 8' iirepLvqaafiev. Xei- 
 ireL, fj-vqaop-ev (p.vr]aop,aL ed. Dind.) 
 'KXvTaLp.vrjCTTpas. v. 626. /xTjrtSas. 
 Xeirrei, elpydaaTO. These instances 
 may, however, show us the necessity 
 of Dindorf's caution, 'Hoc videtur 
 dicere voluisse, orationem illaeta- 
 bilem post verba ^poruv Opearov 
 abrumpi substitutis verbis Isetioribus 
 (xalvop^aL 5* vtr eXirihos : qua sola ra- 
 tione excusari potest ellix>sis ilia :' 
 while they suggest a suspicion that 
 his language after all may be too cha- 
 ritable towards the old interpreter, 
 who seems to have thought it allow- 
 able to complete any sentence under 
 any circumstances, by supposing any 
 
XOH(|>OPOI. 
 
 33 
 
 eivai ToS^ ayXaLO-jULo. iuloi tov (piXraTOv 
 
 PpoTwv 'Ope(TTOV' dalvoixai (^' vir'' cXttlSo^. 
 
 (bed, 
 
 e'/O' el^e <pcovr}v €u(ppov\ ayjeXov SiKtjv, 
 
 OTTCO? OLCppOVTlS OVda /JLV] \LVV(J(j6[J.r}V, 
 
 oXX €u 'cracp^vei touS' airoirrva-aL ttXokov, 
 
 195 
 
 words to be understood. — alveiv, as in 
 Ag. 98, 1482. 
 
 193. Comp. Soph. El. 903. fXT] TOV 
 rod' dyXdl'cr/xa tXtjv Kelvov fioKelv. 
 Eur. El. 325. irvpd bk ^e^cros d7Xat- 
 cixdriov. 
 
 195. ev(ppov expresses all that could 
 be expressed by ^/mcppov', Auratus' con- 
 jecture adopted by Herm., and some- 
 thing more. ' Sensus est, vellem 
 loqui posset, et me loquendo clelectare,' 
 Wordsworth. On the other hand, 
 0wj'77 ^fj.(ppo}v is rightly characterized 
 by Blomf. as 'dura locutio,' as the 
 latter part of the compound stands 
 out more distinctly than in evcppcou, 
 and the word itself, as used elsewhere 
 by ^sch, (v. 1026, Prom. 848), ex- 
 presses rather sanity than intelligence 
 (Wellauer's and Linwood's rendering 
 of €V(ppov, 'easy to understand,' seems 
 perfectly unauthorized). — dyyeXov 5t- 
 K-)]v. Klausen remarks, that the same 
 opposition between the report of a 
 messenger and mere vague conjecture 
 is found A[/. 496. 
 
 196. \7}vv(X<x6p.y]v, MSS., KLVvffffb- 
 /xrjv, Turn. Hesych. has Kr)vva<x6fJiT}i^. 
 etScjXov eyevd/xrjv, which agrees with 
 the Schol. here : ecpavra^bp.'qv. Krjvvyfia 
 yap rb e'ibuXov. Krjvvyfia is found in 
 Hesych. and Phot., by whom it is 
 similarly explained, and has been re- 
 stored by some editors to From. 158, 
 where the MSS. have Kivvyfi. This 
 uniformity of testimony tends to prove 
 the existence of a word Krjvva-cru}, 
 perhaps connected with Kifos, though 
 
 as Hesych. has two other words, Kiy- 
 Xvyfxa and K-qpvyixa, both of which he 
 interprets dxpe?ou, dadeves, nothing 
 can be pronounced with certainty. 
 But the sense is plainly not what is 
 required here, however it might suit 
 the passage in the Projuetheus, while 
 the existence of KLvv<xai>}, which Klau- 
 sen questions, is proved by Eustath. 
 on II. 4. p. 472. 43 (quoted by Blomf. 
 on Prom. I. c.) rod bk kivvoj avdis irapd- 
 yojyov TO Kivdcraio, though the follow- 
 ing words, e^ ov Trap" Aiax^Xa: aldepiou 
 KLvvy/xa, TO depiov etbuiXov, rather point 
 to the supposed K-qpvyfia. 
 
 rg7' <xa<pr]V7J, MSS., '(ra<priv€i, 
 Paley. The existence of the word 
 cafprjveo) = a-acprjui^u is established by 
 that of dLaaa(f)7]veio in Hippocr. p. 781, 
 vol. 3, ed. Klihn., while its rarity is 
 only an argument in its favour. The 
 nom. to 'a-a(pr]vet, as to elxe, v. 195, 
 will then be dyXd'C(xp.a, which in v. 
 199 is exchanged for irXbKos, probably 
 to facilitate the transition of thought 
 between the two different aspects in 
 which the hair is regarded. With 
 eS 'cracprjvei comp. ed (racpuJs, Pers. 
 784. In Soph. (Ed. T. 958, referred 
 to by Wordsworth, cra<pQs clearly goes 
 with dirayyeiXai, not with ei5 ia6\ 
 (Wellauer's ed <xd<p' 9jp ij, the best 
 of the other corrections, seems to fail 
 from the absence of authority for the 
 particular expression <7d<p' eTvai, which, 
 being extremely simple, we might 
 have expected to find in frequent use, 
 instead of having to defend it by ana- 
 
34 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 elirep y air e-^Opov Kparog rjv rerfxi-j^ievo^y 
 i] ^vyy€vi]<; wv ef^^ crvjULTrevOeiv c/xoi, 
 ayaXfj-a tv/ulIBov rovSe Kai Ti^r]v irarpog. 
 aW eiSorag /mev Tovg Oeof? KoXov^eOa, 
 OLOicriv €v yeifj-warL vavrlXcov CiKrjv 
 a-rpolBovjUieO'- el Se xph rv^^elv a-oorijpiag, 
 CTjUiiKpov yevoLT av arTrepniarog /xe-ya? irvQfxrjv. 
 KOL fxrjv a-TijBoL ye, Sevrepov reKp.t'jpioP, 
 
 200 
 
 205 
 
 logous constructions of adverb and 
 verb subst., such as ^v Trpeirovrus, 
 
 AfJ. 1 395-) 
 
 199. Harm, objects to elxe cvp-iriv- 
 detv, that it would signify not the 
 faculty of weeping, but scope for tears. 
 The truth is, that both are included 
 here, as ^vyyevris &v shows, the two 
 ideas being difficult to separate either 
 here or in other passages, e.g. Supp. 
 377, vfXLV 5' dprjyeiv ovk ^x^ /3Xd/37js 
 drep, where ^xo) as nearly as possible 
 = di'vap-aL. The consideration of the 
 question will be simplified by regard- 
 ing the inf. after ix<^ as a virtual 
 accusative. 
 
 ■200. dyaXfjLa and Tifirjv are cognate 
 accusatives after avjXTrevdelv, = irevdos 
 dya\iJ.aTwS€S Kal ti/xtitlkov. 
 
 20 r — 204. Hermann's proposal to 
 give these lines to the Chorus is plau- 
 sible ; but while in themselves they 
 would be equally appropriate to either 
 speaker, it cannot be said that the 
 Chorus wants them, whereas E!ec- 
 tra's speech would end rather lamely 
 if terminated at v. 200. As the speech 
 stands, she is about to conclude in 
 V. 204 with an appeal to heaven, when 
 she observes the footprints— a tho- 
 roughly natural transitinn, which 
 would be ill exchanged for a more re- 
 gular division with a pause interposed. 
 Another argument in favour of the 
 present arrangement is, that it pre- 
 
 serves a symmetry which appears to 
 have been intended at least in a por- 
 tion of the present scene, vv. 106 — 
 152 answering to vv. 165 — 211, so 
 that t8 lines of dialogue are followed 
 by 29 spoken continuously. 
 
 201. The position of eiddras shows 
 that it is meant to be emphatic : 
 and the emphasis will best be brought 
 out by constructing it with oloictiv, 
 K.T.X., instead of forcing on koXov- 
 fieda (with Peile) a forensic sense, 
 when the context points to that of 
 prayerful invocation. diKr], MSS., 
 diKrjv, Aid. Rob. 
 
 203. (TTpo^ovfied' like Trot/xeVos KaKoO 
 arpb^up, Ag. 657. The word aurrjpia 
 appears to have suggested the rather 
 harsh change of metaphor that follows, 
 being associated both with deliverance 
 from shipwreck {Ag. 664, 897 ; Sux)p. 
 765), and the preservation or perpetu- 
 ation of life by generation (vv. 236, 
 505 ; Eum. 661, 911.) 
 
 204. (TirepfxaTos with yhoir , as in 
 Soph. (Ed. T. 1082, T^s yap iri(pvKa. 
 fjLTjTpos. See Jelf, § 483. 
 
 205. We need not be much con- 
 cerned to vindicate ^sch. from the 
 ridicule of Euripides in the well known 
 passage of his Electra (vv. 532, foil.), 
 not only because such a weapon, so 
 used, recoils with fatal force upon the 
 inventor, but because the point in 
 which it is meant to touch -^sch. is 
 
XOH<I)OPOI. 
 
 35 
 
 TToSwv ofJLOioi T019 T e/uLoicTiv ejuichepeig. 
 
 Ka\ yap ou ecrrov rwoe 7repiypa(pa iroSoiv, 
 
 avTOU T CKeiPov Kal ^vveixiropov tivo^. 
 
 one which his admirers would most 
 readily give up, his attention to pro- 
 bability and the nicer proprieties of 
 the drama. The strength of the 
 Choeph. does not lie in the intricacy 
 of the plot, nor in the dexterous deve- 
 lopement of the catastrophe, but in 
 the power with which the more terri- 
 ble elements of the story are brought 
 out. Nevertheless, Blomf. has suc- 
 cessfully shown that ^sch.'s manage- 
 ment of the dpayvJjpLcns is by no means 
 entitled to unmixed contempt. Elec- 
 tra reasons not like a Bow-street offi- 
 cer, or an inductive philosopher, but, 
 as he justly remarks, like a drowning 
 person catching at a straw — an image 
 not \mlike that which she is actually 
 made to use in v. -202— and the poet 
 himself shows his consciousness of the 
 insufficiency of her arguments by the 
 language which he puts into the mouth 
 of Orestes below, vv. 225 foil. Butler 
 (curae secundse ap. Peile), with less 
 judgment, proceeds further to defend 
 the arguments themselves, joining 
 issue on the question of the compara- 
 tive size of male and female feet : but 
 though it may be true that the in- 
 ference might have been made with 
 more plausibility in ancient than in 
 modern times, the censure of Eurip. 
 at least shows what was the feeling of 
 his own day, wrong as we may think 
 him, critically as well as dramatically, 
 in appealing to it. It is one thing to 
 say that the thought may be excused, 
 as coming from a poet who.se excel- 
 lences are of a diffijrent kind, or even 
 partially justified, with reference to 
 the situation of the speaker, and an- 
 other to contend that it is abstractedly 
 
 defensible, or even the happiest which 
 could have been chosen to illustrate 
 a particular state of mind (The ques- 
 tions raised on the whole passage, vv. 
 205 — 211, by the older critics, some 
 proposing to omit the whole, or parts 
 of it, others to change the order of the 
 verses, may now be considered as 
 dropped by universal consent: though 
 Herm., with as little reason, supposes 
 a lacuna after v. 208, where see note). 
 Kal fiTjv note v. 174. 
 
 206. Tro5Qu 5' o/jLOioi, MSS., to5u)u 
 61XOLOL, Turn. 5' appears to have been 
 added by some copyist, who thought 
 the sense of the preceding line com- 
 plete in itself. If irobQiv were con- 
 structed with SjxoLOL in the sense of 
 'like my feet,' as Klausen supposes, 
 we should be at a loss to account for 
 the words tols t' eixotcnv e/j-cpepels : 
 while Peile's interpretation, * like his 
 feet,' though less objectionable in point 
 of language, presents the difficulty 
 of making Electra commit herself to 
 a direct assertion about a thing which, 
 so far from knowing, she imme- 
 diately proceeds to infer by a remote 
 analogy. 
 
 207, 8. Kal "yap, confirmatory. 
 'The correspondence is easily seen: 
 for there are two diffiarent sets of foot- 
 prints, his own, and those of some 
 fellow traveller:' i.e. the footprints 
 reduce themselves to two types, one 
 of them doubtless his, while the other 
 merely shows that some one has been 
 with him. The condensation of the 
 expression is as natural as the simpli- 
 city and precipitancy of the reasoning. 
 Tlie apparent objection is seized on 
 and converted into a corroborative 
 D 2 
 
36 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 OP. 
 
 iTTepvai TevovTOdv & viroypacpai /merpovjuLepai 
 eg TavTO crvix^aLVOvarL Tolg ejmoig cttlIBois. 
 TrapecrTi <5' wSh kul (ppevwv KaracpOopa. 
 ev-vov Ta Xoiira TOig Oeoig TeXecrcbopovg 
 ev-^ag iTrayyeXXovara Tvyyaveiv /caXco?. 
 
 210 
 
 argument, and a plausible statement 
 is submitted, accounting for the facts 
 in a very few words, almost every one 
 of which is an assumption. The defi- 
 niteness of avTov t' eKelvov, far more 
 emphatic than if Orestes had been ex- 
 pressly named, and the vagueness of 
 Kol ^uvefXTTopov TLvos alike denote in 
 different ways the strength of the con- 
 viction which Electra is anxious to 
 produce. Had she proceeded, as 
 Herm. thinks she ought to have done, 
 to enlarge on the characteristics of 
 the various footprints, remarking 
 that some are like, and others un- 
 like her own, the explicitness would 
 only have injured her case, and done 
 injustice to the vehemence of her 
 feelings. 
 
 ■208. The abrupt commencement of 
 the sentence, without a connecting 
 particle, is another stroke of nature. 
 Electra tries the experiment again, 
 and repeats the result with more exact- 
 ness. She does not say which of the 
 two sets of footprints she is speaking 
 of ; she has really been thinking only 
 of one, and she wishes us to forget 
 that there is any other. inepvaL are 
 the heels, revovres, the tendons stretch- 
 ing along the length of the foot, as the 
 Schol. explains {revcov seems to be 
 used of various parts of the body, the 
 precise reference being determined by 
 the context, though in Eur. Med., 
 1 166, it is doubtful), viroypacp-rj is 
 used here, not Tr€piypa(p7), not only as 
 including more points of resemblance. 
 
 but because only a part of the foot is 
 spoken of. 
 
 211. irdpeo-Ti S' w5ts like irdpeaTi 
 ddpaos, v. 91. So the use of Trdpecrri 
 or Trdpa with an inf. 
 
 212-7,24. Orestes and Pylades come 
 forward. Or. 'Pray that the gods 
 maybe as propitious to thee hereafter.' 
 El. ' What have I to thank them for 
 now ? ' Or. ' Thou seest what thou 
 hast long prayed to see.' El. 'Wliom 
 am I known to have prayed for ?' 
 Or. 'Orestes.' £1. 'And how has 
 my prayer been answered?' 0)\ 'I 
 am he.' £1. 'Thou art mocking me.' 
 Or. 'Then I am mocking myself.' 
 El. 'Thou art insulting my misfor- 
 tunes.' Or. ' Thy misfortunes are 
 mine.' El. 'Art thou then really 
 Orestes ?' 
 
 212-13. 'Pray that thou mayest 
 obtain blessings for the future, by the 
 ratification of the prayers which thou 
 preferrest.' In the first clause the 
 emphasis is on rd XotTrct, in the second 
 on Te\e<j(p6pov$. tol Xoiird is the ace. 
 after Ti'7xdj/eti', as is shown by tL Kvpu 
 in the next verse. Comp. vv. 711, 
 714, ^evQvs — Tvyxdveiv rd irp6a(popa 
 . . . KaKel KvpovvTUV dJifiacriu rd irpoa- 
 (j)opa. Te\ea(popovs evxds iirayyeWovaa 
 is to be constructed with rvyxdvecv, on 
 the well-known principle of the attrac- 
 tion of the subject of the infinitive to 
 the case of the subject of the principal 
 verb. Jelf, §672.2. eirayyeWetv ti 
 is to make a request or order known by 
 an ayyeXos, as in Thuc. 7. 1 7. So 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 37 
 
 HA. eTreJ tl vvv eKan oaifjLOVwv kvoco', 
 
 OP. eig oy^LV r]Kei^ wvTrep e^rjvyov irakaL. 215 
 
 HA. KOL TLva (jvpoicrOa fxoi KaXovjULevtj ^poTwv\ 
 
 OP. t/'voLO "'OpecTTrjv ToWa cr'' €K7ray\oujuiei^>]v. 
 
 HA. Kal TTjOO? t/ Srjra Tvy^dvo) Karevy/uiaTCiov', 
 
 OP. oS' eljULL' jULt] jULOLTeu ejULOv jmaWov (ptXov. 
 
 HA. aW f SoXov TLv\ w ^ev, aiuL(pL ixol TrXeKeig', 2 20 
 
 OP. avT09 fcaO' avTov rapa jULtj-^avoppacpw. 
 
 here it is used of offering up prayers, 
 which are transmitted to the gods 
 as if through a messenger. Comp. 
 the use of Krjpvixcro}, v. 124, and 
 note. In Eur. EL, 563, the TraiSa- 
 7W76S begins the dvayvdopiaLS by say- 
 ing a; TTori/i', eiixov, dvyarep'HXeKTpa, 
 deoLS. 
 
 214. Eiectra wishes to remind him 
 that he has giv^en no reason, and so 
 throws her question into the form of 
 a supplement to his address. * Be- 
 cause I have obtained what blessing 
 now ?' So Soph. EL, 390, oirus wadys 
 TL xPV/^<^'> Jelf, § 882. cKarc, as in v. 
 436, Eum. 759. 
 
 215. et's 6xpLV TjKeis eKeivwv uivirep els 
 oxpLv eXdeiv e^rjvxoviraKaL. i^evx^a-Oai 
 as in Eur. Med., 930, referred to by 
 Peile. i^rivKov, MSS. ^^V^X^^y Rob. 
 
 216. The full construction of cryi/et- 
 depai is with a dative and an accu- 
 sative, the one depending on a-vv, the 
 other on eldevai. In the present 
 instance it happens that the two cases 
 refer to the same person, and thus 
 either may be omitted indifferently, as 
 variety dictates. Still, whichever is 
 expressed, the other must be con- 
 sidered as implied. A similar variation 
 of construction occurs vv. i03r,2. This 
 line is one of the few in ^sch. be- 
 ginning with a dactyl which is not a 
 proper name in whole or in part. See 
 Paley on Ag. 7, where he too hastily 
 
 asserts that no unequivocal example of 
 the kind is to be found in ^sch. 
 There is no ground to suspect any cor- 
 ruption here, while it seems arbitrary 
 to regard "HXios, v. 987, as a proper 
 name, or deop-aves, Theb. 653, as a 
 trisyllable. 
 
 217. iKiray\ovp,€vr]s, MSS.: eKtra- 
 yXovp-evrju, Kob. e/CTrayXercr^at is gene- 
 rally used of astonishment; it seems, 
 however, properly to denote bewilder- 
 ment, or perplexity of any kind, being 
 identical with eKTrX-qaaeadai. Comp. 
 the use of our word 'amaze' in such ex- 
 pressions as ' to be sore amazed' 
 {€Kdap.(3el(T6ai, S. Mark, 14. 33), and 
 *to be afraid with any amazement' 
 {p-rj (j)o^ovp.evaL p.7]^ep.iav tttoijo-li', I S. 
 Pet. 3. 6). 
 
 218. irpbs tL appears to mean 'with 
 reference to what' or ' why,' as irpos 
 rdde or irpbs raOra mean ' wherefore.' 
 Wordsworth comp. Neophron fr. 2, 
 Kal irpbs Tl TavTa dvpop-ai ; Botha 
 Eur. HeL, 456, irpos tLv' olKTpbs el; 
 Here, accordingly, the sense seems to 
 be 'with reference to what can I be 
 said to have my prayers granted 1' 
 
 219. (piXou. V. no, note. 
 
 220. dXX' Tj. V. 774, note. 
 
 221. /car' avTOv, MSS. : Kad' avroO, 
 Bothe. See v. in, note. With 
 p.rixci.voppa(pQ Peile well comp. Ag. 
 1604, Tovoe Tov (pbvov pa<f>evs, ib. 1609, 
 irdaau ^vfdxf/as pLTjxavrjv dvcr^ovXLas, 
 
88 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 HA. aXX' ev KaKoicTi Toig e/ULoig ')€\av OeXeig. 
 
 OP. KOLV T0i9 ejULoi? ap\ e'lirep ev ye toictl croig. 
 
 HA. (0? bvT (JpecTTrjvJ Tao^ eyu) ere 7rpovvveiri*3\ 
 
 OP. avTov /uLev ovv opccxra SucrjuiaOei^ e/ue, 
 Kovpav o' ioov(Ta r^vSe KtjSeiov Tpi-)^og 
 aveTrTepwOt]^ KaooKei^ opav e^ae, 
 L-)QfO(JKoirov(ja t ev (ttl/Bokti Toh e/uLoh 
 aauTrj^ aoeXcpov ^u/x/jLerpov tco crw Koipa' 
 
 ^^- 3^3) Seifol TrXeKCLV roi fj.rjxai'ds 
 AlyvTTTioi. 
 
 222. vjSpl^eLv kv KaKo'iaiv, Ag. 1613. 
 
 223. eixoLffLV ap\ MSS. e/xois dp', 
 Turn. 
 
 224. The reading of this line is ex- 
 tremely doubtful, as, besides the 
 obvious metrical deficiency of the 
 vulgate, there is a question about its 
 language, and the remedy which na- 
 turally suggests itself for the latter 
 leaves the former untouched, those who 
 propose irpoaevviiru not being agreed 
 as to the reading of the preceding 
 words. Looking then merely to the 
 text, we shall find it simpler to retain 
 trpovvveirw ; nor does the word appear 
 impossible on other grounds, though 
 irpoaevviTTO} would undoubtedly be more 
 usual in such a connexion. Comp. 
 Soph. Tracli., 227, xat'peti' 5e tov 
 KTipuKa irpovvveiro}, with Eur. EL, 552, 
 o,aws 5^ x'^'-P^'-^ TOi)s ^euovs irpoaevviiru}. 
 The difference seems to be that in 
 irpoaevveireiv tlvo. tl the preposition 
 exerts its force on the accusative, 
 while in Trpovuveireiv tlvol ti the two 
 accusatives depend on the sim.ple eliretv 
 or eveireLV, irpo giving the sense of pro- 
 claiming aloud. Trpovvv€W€t.v rivl tl, 
 on the other hand, is used, as in Eum. 
 98, where the person is merely spoken 
 to, not, as here, also spoken of. If 
 irpouvveirw be retained, the fault seems 
 to lie in rdb\ which perhaps should 
 
 Tovb^ (marg, 
 Pauw 
 
 be 
 
 or dJi 
 raOr'. 
 
 225-234. Or 
 
 Ask. and Martin), 
 gave Trjb' , Porson 
 
 Now when I stand 
 before thee thou doubtest, though the 
 colour of my hair and the measure of 
 my footprints seemed proof enough to 
 thee a moment since. See the place 
 from which the hair was cut, and 
 examine this robe, thine own embroi- 
 dery. Contain thyself, and remember 
 that our kinsmen are our bitterest 
 foes.' 
 
 225. hvajxadeiv, properly intransitive, 
 here takes an accusative, like bvaro- 
 fxeiu, dcre^eiv {Eum. 270), &c. fikv 
 vvv, Med. fikv odv, Guelf a. m. pr.. 
 Turn. (Schiitz's ixe vvv cannot stand 
 with e/ie : Franz accordingly writes 
 5uafji.a6Qs ^xets : Herm. dvcrp-adels. cii 
 5e Koi'pdi' ibovaa, both most gratui- 
 tously.) 
 
 226. KTjdeLov. V. 87, note. 
 
 229. ^vfi/xerpou T<^ ai^ Kcipa nsituvKWy 
 follows aavTTJs dSeX(pov, ' thy brother, 
 and consequently resembling thee in 
 his proportions,' expressing the prin- 
 ciple on which Electra had relied in 
 her conjecture, v. 205. Comp. Eur. 
 EL, 522, (pCKei yap, alfxaravTov oh dv 
 y irarpos, Td ttoXX' ofxoia au/xaros 
 irecpvKevaL. Orestes is pomting out 
 Electra's inconsistency in doubting 
 ocular demonstration after having just 
 accepted much more equivocal evidence. 
 
XOH<I)OPOI. 
 
 39 
 
 (TKey^ai TOfJirj TrpocrOeia-a ^ocrTpv^ov rpiy^o^' 
 loou o' udyacriuLa toOto, cryj^ epyov yepo^, 
 (TTrdOrjg re irXijyd'S, eig oe Orjpeiov ypach^p. 
 
 2.-^0 
 
 so he deals rather with her reasoning 
 than with the fact from which she 
 reasons. Thus we see that ^vfi/xerpois 
 T(S (Tc^ irodi, which Paley proposes from 
 Eur. EL, 533, would be no improve- 
 ment, (The various attempts that 
 have been made to change the order of 
 the verses are quite futile, ^vfj-fxerpov 
 T(^ (ry Kcipa could not be said of the 
 hair, ^vfifxerpos, as Klausen remarks, 
 denoting size, not colour, while t<^ crcp 
 Kapq. is not the same as rfj crrj ko/ultj. 
 Even in the position of v. •2-27 before 
 vv. 228, 9 there is a propriety, as the 
 moment of Electra's highest exaltation 
 was after the discovery of the lock, and 
 before she had observed the footsteps. 
 Peile rightly renders IxvoaKOTrovaa t' 
 ' as %oeU as when you were on the 
 quest in my footprints;' and Klausen 
 not inaptly refers to Ag. 239, foil., 
 X^ovaa i^aXh! eKaarov . . . Trpeirovad 
 6' ws ev ypacpals irpocrevv^ireLv diXova' .) 
 
 230. <XKe\l/aLTO fiT], MSS., CKe-ipai 
 TOfMrj, Turn. rof^Lrj, * the stump,' 
 Paley, who comp, II. i. 235 ; Theocr. 
 JO. 46; Plato, Syirip. p. 190, e. 
 (Wordsworth and KirchhofF conj. 
 K6p.rj, which might almost seem to 
 have been read by Eur. El. 520, 
 CKe-^ai be X'^'-tV Trpocmdeicra afj Kofx-Q. 
 Eur. however is speaking of Electra's 
 comparing the lock with her own ; 
 ^sch. of her verifying the lock as 
 having been actually cut off by the 
 speaker). 
 
 231. It matters little whether the 
 v(pa(r/xa here is a robe, as Eur. El. 
 543 took it to be, or a piece of em- 
 broidery, as the commentators assert, 
 in order to save the poet's credit, 
 -^sch. speaks, v. 9S0, of the robe in 
 
 which Agamemnon was slain as yet 
 in being ; and he may very well have 
 feigned that Orestes had preserved his 
 boy's clothing for the purpose of an 
 dvayvibpiais, as was sometimes done 
 in the case of oirdpyava. 
 
 232. els seems to be introduced to 
 avoid the repetition of idov, as in II. 
 3. 268, (bpvvTO 5' aiiTiK iireiTa &va^ 
 dv5pQ)v ' AyajUL^/xvcau, ' Ap 5' 'OSvcrevs, 
 Slv {dvd) virtually stands for CopvvTo, 
 and in II. 5. 480, ^u6' a\ox6v re (pi\r]i> 
 ^X'.TTOv. . . . Kd5 5e KT-qp-ara iroWd, 
 Kad (Kard) for '4\Lirov. See Jelf, 
 § 643, obs. I. So in Moile's State 
 Trials, 'Anne Ayliffe,' 'The pri- 
 mate rose, the hierarchy up.' The 
 only difference is that in Homer the 
 prepositions are used absolutely in 
 their original force of adverbs, while 
 in ^sch. eh takes its case after it. 
 Ibiadia eh vj3pLv, Supp. 103. There is 
 some plausibility however in Her- 
 mann's supposition that a line has 
 been omitted, as in that case Orestes 
 and Electra would speak eleven lines 
 each. drjplov MSS., drjplwv Turn., 
 drjpeiou Bamb., Dind., Herm., the 
 latter of whom seems right in saying 
 that d-qpLov, like iraibiov, is not ad- 
 mitted in tragedy. Comp. Ag. 1242, 
 1593, Salra iraLbeioiv KpeCiv. On the 
 subject of embroidery of this sort 
 Wordsworth refers to Thirlwall, Ilht. 
 Gr. I. 223 (ed. i), Ast on Theophr. 
 Char. p. 187, and index under .4 it^cea, 
 the commentators on Hdt. 1. 203, and 
 Wakefield on Lucr. 2. 35. Blomf. 
 shows from Pollux 7. 48 and 55 
 that a garment so embroidered was 
 called drjpaioy, and X'-^'^^ ^(jSUTds, or 
 
40 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 evSov yevov, X^P*? ^^ M^ ''KTrXayrjg (ppeva?' 
 Toi'? (piXraTovg yap olSa vwv ovra? iriKpov^. 
 HA. to (p'tXraTOV fJLe\r,ij.a SwjuLacriv irarpo^, 235 
 
 SaKpurog eXTrl? o-Trep/uLaro^ arooTrjpLOv, 
 aXKrj TreTTOiOce^ omjul avaKTrjcrei iraTpo<s. 
 (Jo TepTTVov o/uLima, Te<T(Tapa<s /ULOipag eyjav 
 ejULor TTpocravSav S' ecrr' avayKaiw? 'i-^ov 
 irarepa re, Ka\ to lULrjrpo? eg cri /moi peirei 24O 
 
 233. /J-riKirXayiT] MSS., fj.rjKTrXayrjs 
 Turn. Blomf. well comp. Hdt. i. 119, 
 Iduv di ovT€ €^€7r\dy7}, evrSs re euivrov 
 ylverai, which shows clearly the in- 
 tended antithesis. 
 
 234. Note on v. no. 
 
 235 — 245. El. ' Thou art he whom 
 we have looked for to preserve thy 
 father's house, and thy strength of 
 hand shall restore it to thee. Thou 
 art all that I have to love — father, 
 mother, sister, brother in one — and 
 having thee, may I have the gods on 
 my side.' 
 
 236. cwTTiplov, note on v. 203. 
 Tlie notion is that of saving the house 
 by perpetuating the line. eXirh airep- 
 /iiaros - (Xirepixa eXiTLcdev. 
 
 237. dX/ci TreTTOidihs, II. 5. 299, 
 comp. by B-omf. avaKT-qcr-y MSS., 
 dvaKTr](T€i, Porson. The sense is 
 ' thou shalt regain thy father's house 
 that has longed for thee ; it shall re- 
 ceive a preserver, and thou shalt have 
 thine own.' 
 
 238. Bfijiia, as in Soph. Aj. g'j'j, 
 1004, ^^- 90?,, in the sense of an ob- 
 ject. So 600aX/i6s, CEd. T. 987. 
 This very peculiar use may possibly 
 be susceptible of explanation by a re- 
 ference to the Greek theory of vision 
 (Donaldson, Neiv Crat. § 478, ed. 2), 
 according to which impressions, those 
 of love in particular, were held to be 
 transmitted from the eyes of the per- 
 
 son seen to those of the person see- 
 ing. Thus 6/u.jtia and 6(pda\fx6s may 
 mean that which transmits visible 
 images, that being one of the func- 
 tions of the eye, just as the more ordi- 
 naiy one of receiving impressions, in 
 short of being the organ of vision, 
 gives rise to another series of meta- 
 phors, such as oipdaXfibs o'Uiov, v. 
 934, 6[xfjia doficov, Pers. 169 (Valck- 
 enaer's ovofia, adopted by Dind. and 
 Herm., is less poetical. Electra would 
 more naturally dwell on the visible 
 presence of Orestes than on the name 
 of brother). — fjLo7pa in the sense of a 
 function or duty, as in Supp. 1042. 
 
 239. Schlitz's citation of II. 6. 429 
 is peculiarly appropriate, as the enu- 
 meration of the various relations, end- 
 ing with that naturally inherent in the 
 person addressed, shows that ^sch. 
 must have had the words of Homer 
 before his mind. In the same way 
 Sophocles, in a passage which has 
 escaped attention {El. 1149), makes 
 Electra, after telling her how she had 
 performed the duties of mother and 
 nurse to her brother, recur to her 
 actual relation to him, eyCo 6' abe\<f>'^ 
 aoL 7rpoa-7]v8<J:/JLT]v del. Wordsworth 
 comp, Antiphanes, Aphrod. fr. 2 
 (Meineke), ■^v irdaLv eXdelv kar' dvay- 
 Kaicvs ^xo''- Aristoph. Peace, 334, 
 dWd Kai Tapiarepov toi {xovct* dvay- 
 /catws ^xov. 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 41 
 
 crrepyrjOpov ^ Se TravSiKO)'^ e^QaipeTai ■ 
 
 KOL T^? TvQeL(Tri<i vrjXecog oixocriropov' 
 iria-ro's S'' aSeXcpog ^(tO\ e/uLol a-e^ag (pepcov 
 juLOvog' Kparo? re Ka\ AUr} ^uv tm Tplrio 
 irdvTwv jULeyicTTM Vjt]VL crvyyevoiTO /not. 
 OP. ZeO ZeVf Oecopog T(Joi/Se TrpayniaToyv yevov' 
 loov oe ykvvav evviv aeTov iraTpog, 
 OavovTog ev irXeKTaicri Kai o-ireipajUiaa-L 
 
 245 
 
 241. <TT€py7}dp6v= ^pcos, as in Prom. 
 492, Eum. 192. 
 
 243. rjaO' = ^(pus, thou wast from 
 the first, before these new relations 
 were superadded, as Klausen explains 
 it. e/j-oi ce/Sas (pepojv /iiovos, the only 
 one from whom I have had a kins- 
 man's regards. ae^as (p^peiv like 
 %d/)tj', kX^os (p^peiv TLvi. aefSas of duty 
 to parents, Eum. 545, Supp. 707. 
 Electra complains of her dishonoured 
 state, V. 446, art/xos, ovdev d^ia. 
 
 244. fidpos MSS., povov Turn., 
 needlessly. In Eur. El. 581 Orestes 
 sjjeaks of himself ^6p.p,ax6s yi aoi 
 p.6vos. Here the word p,6i'os suggests 
 the prayer that follows for divine aid. 
 Comp. vv. 866 — 868. rptros implies 
 the notion of (xojTrjp, as in vv. 578, 
 1073; Ag. 245, 1386; Eum. 'j^g ; 
 Supp. 27. On the doctrine, see 
 Mtiller, Diss. §§ 94, 5. For the 
 union of Kparo? with At/c?;, Klausen 
 comp. ^Ikt] viKTjcpopos, v. 149, and fr, 
 inc. 372. 
 
 246 — 263. Or. ' Look down on us, 
 O Zeus ; we are like young eaglets 
 that have lost their father, famishing 
 for lack of food. Like eagles too, we 
 .are thy ministers ; if thou let us 
 perish, thou wilt never again have 
 sumptuous offerings, such as our 
 fcither used to give thee. Lift us up, 
 and we shall rise at once from our low 
 estate.' 
 
 246. decjpos = iirdiTTTjs (comp. Prom. 
 118, 299, 302), so that we may comp. 
 Ag. 1579, Oeovs dvcodep yijs ivoTTTetjeiv 
 axv- (The MSS. irp-qyp.drwv for irpay- 
 p.dTiOP is conjectured, not improbably, 
 by Schneidewin and Herm. to point to 
 TrrjpLdruv.) 
 
 247. yevva PLP, MSS. ; yeppap eZviv, 
 Turn, yhpav evPLP like ttQXop edpLP, 
 V. 794. Agamemnon, as Klausen re- 
 marks, had been already symbolised 
 by an eagle, Ag. 109 foil. 
 
 248. With irXeKTOLai, comp. Thcb. 
 495, 6(peo3P TrXe KTdpaiat., with <nreipd- 
 p-aai, Soph. Rhiz. (fr. 490), TrXe/crats 
 ibp,u)P aTreipaLai dpaKOPTOjp. Clytaem- 
 nestra is elsewhere compared to a ser- 
 pent, vv. 994, 1047, Ag. 1233. The 
 combat between the eagle and the ser- 
 pent, so fruitful in its mythological 
 and historical applications, is found in 
 Jl. 12, 200 foil, Comp. also Soph. 
 Ant. no — 126, where there can bene 
 doubt that the same antithesis is in- 
 tended, though Schneidewin explains 
 dpdKWP of the Argives. Sympathy is 
 always excited against the serpent, 
 who appears as the insidious enemy of 
 birds {11. 2. 308 foil. ; Theb. 290, 
 503), and as such is rightfully exter- 
 minated by the king of birds. The 
 meaning here does not appear to be 
 that the eagle is strangled by the ser- 
 pent, but that he is entangled in its 
 coils and stung to death. JL 12. 205, 
 
42 
 
 XOH<|)OPOL 
 
 oeivtjg e-)^Ldi/t]g. Tovg d' aircopipavia/uievovg 
 
 vy](TTL<s irieXeL \ifx6g. ov yap cVreX^/? 250 
 
 Oripav iraTpwav Trpocrcbepeiv c-Ki^vrnxacnv, 
 
 ovTco 06 KcijULe T^vSe T, ^HXeKTpav XejM, 
 
 loeiu TrdpecTTL (roi, iraTpocTTeprj yovov, 
 
 ajuLCJXjo (pvyrjv cyovre Ttjv avTrjv Sojulwv. 
 
 Kai Tov 6uTrjpo9 Kai ere TijmwvTog ixeya 255 
 
 'irarpog veoa-crovg tovctS' airocpQelpa^ iroOev 
 
 e^ef? ofjLoia^ -^^eipog euOoivov yepa^', 
 
 ISvwOeis oTTLcrio. Wordsworth refers 
 to Wex on Soph. Antig. vol. i. 120, 
 7. 96; and to the Schol. on the pas- 
 sage in the Antig. ttoX^/jliov ^ui6v 
 ecTTiv 6 dpaKojv irpbs tov derou, ibs (prjai 
 "NiKavSpos (The)'. 448). 
 
 250. TTie^ei \l/x6s like irpo<nne^ei 
 XpVI^°'-T^f o-XV^l^c-) V. 300. evTeXrjs, sc. 
 yivva. Schol. ovk eari yevua ivTeX-qs, 
 ibcrre Tr]v irarpi^av drjpav irpoadyeiv ry 
 KaXi^. Otherwise euTeXels, Pauw's 
 conj., would be plausible. 
 
 251. dripa Trarpi^a, MSS. d-qpav 
 irarpi^av, Rob. Schol. evTeXri^ irpoa- 
 <j)epeLV, like Kvpios dpoeiv, Ag. 104. 
 With aKrjvri/xaaiu Wordsworth comp. 
 S. Matth. 13. 32, wore iXdelu rd 
 irereLvd tov ovpavov, Kai KaTaaK-qvovv 
 €v Tots KXddoLS avTov, lb. 8. 20, 
 
 ^Xoucrt . . . rd weTeivd Ka- 
 
 TaaKrjvdocreis. 
 
 252. ovTO) 5e, as Paley remarks, is 
 introduced as if the preceding lines 
 had reference to the eagles simply as 
 eagles, not as representing Orestes 
 and Electra, or, as Aristotle would 
 have phrased it, as if they were in- 
 tended not for a /j.eTa<popd but for an 
 eiKibu. The confusion of these two 
 modes of expressing similitude is both 
 natural and common. See among 
 other instances, SiLpp. 223, Soph. Aj. 
 168.-670; MSS., Xe7a; Aid. 
 
 253. irarpoaTepTJ passive, like /3to- 
 
 aTeprjs, Soph. (Ed. Col. 747, 6fx/xa- 
 TocFTep-qs, ib. 1260. dpyvpoarep-^s v. 
 1002 is active, and so ofi/xaTocrTepTjs, 
 Euvi. 940. 
 
 254. See vv. 133, 337. 
 
 255 — 263. Hermann plausibly as- 
 signs these verses to Electra, who 
 will thus have a speech of nine lines 
 answering to that of Orestes. See on 
 vv. 201 — 204, 232. There is nothing 
 in the context to guide us to a deci- 
 sion, as the words of the Chorus, vv. 
 264, would refer naturally enough to 
 Electra's previous speech. On the 
 other hand the division, like that pro- 
 posed on V. 201, would apparently 
 enfeeble the passage, terminating 
 Orestes' prayer rather suddenly, and 
 making Electra take up the strain 
 abruptly. The speeches that follow 
 too show no marks of symmetry. Kai 
 trbdev may seem more fitted for the 
 beginning than for the middle of a 
 speech: see, however, Ag. n75, 
 where ris is apparently interrogative. 
 
 255. dvTTjp is used adjectively like 
 aoiTrjp, Ag. 664, and consequently 
 coupled with the attribute ere tlixHv 
 li^yo., as if it had been tov Ovovtos. 
 
 256. peoacrovs. v. 501. Here it re- 
 minds us of the comparison, v. 247, 
 and prepares us for its repetition, v. 
 258. 
 
 25 7. o/JLoias — T0LavTr]S CTepa^. — x^'-P^^ 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 43 
 
 XO. 
 
 ovT^ aerov yeveOX^ a7ro<pOeipag iraXiv 
 
 'TrejULweiv e-)(^oi9 au o-jj/uar' evTriOtj ^poTOig, 
 
 OUT ap-^iKog (Toi Tra? o^' avav6e\<i irvQfxrjv 260 
 
 ficojuLoig aprj^ei /SovOvToig ev t^/ULacri. 
 
 k6iull^\ airo crfxiKpov S'' av apeiag jmeyav 
 
 oofJLOv, SoKovvTa Kapra vvv wcTTTcoKevai, 
 
 (JO Traz^e?, w crcoTijpeg ecTTLag Trarpog, 
 
 (TiyaO\ oTTCog jur] irevaeTal Tf?, o) rcKva, 265 
 
 7^pa? like du}p7]/j.a ttjs ifiijs Xfp^j, 
 Soph. Track. 603. See, however, note 
 on V. 129. 
 
 258. V. 71, note. irdXiv, 'hence- 
 forth,' as in £um. 720. 
 
 260. irvd/x-^u, as in v. 204, Supp. 
 J 04. Comp. Ag. 966, pii^rjs yap ovcrrjs 
 (pvWas LK€T es dofxovs. 
 
 261. It is not very easy to adjust 
 the various metaphors here. The 
 meaning however seems to be that the 
 family tree, if allowed to wither, will 
 no longer supply boughs for the altars 
 on days of sacrifice. Conip. Supp. 
 704. deoiis . . . rioieu iyx^ptovs Trarpy- 
 ats 5a(pur](p6pOLaLV ^ovduroLcn rifxah. 
 ap-qyeiv and ^/iap, taken together, are 
 probably meant to suggest the notion 
 of help in time of need, like the 
 Homeric use of fji.6pcrifji.ov, oXedpiou, 
 prjXees, opcpaviKdv, 8ov\iov Tjfiap. 
 ^ovduTov rifxap, however, has a distinct 
 meaning of its own, requiring no 
 rhetorical considerations to justify it. 
 Comp. Kpeovpybv ^fnap, Ag. 1592 ; 
 Vfj^epa Taupoo-cpdycp, Soph. Track. 609; 
 ^ovdvTov ijfx^pav, Eur. Ilel. 1474. 
 
 262. Blomf. quotes Hesych., KOfxi^e' 
 eTTLfieXeias d^iov, and refers to II. 6. 490^ 
 Od. 17. 112. With the antithesis, 
 afLLKpov and fi^yav, comp. v. 204, with 
 the general sense vv. 963, 4. fi^yav 
 aipeiv, as in v. 791. With dpeias 
 Paley comp. the use of ei^aipeLu, Soph. 
 Track. 147, of a plant growing. So 
 
 ^pvos depdeu, Ag. 1525. — Savapias, 
 MSS. ; S' du dpeias, Turn. 
 
 263. Kdpra, probably with TreTrrw- 
 K^uai. 
 
 264 — 268. Cko. 'Hush, children, 
 on whom the safety of the house de- 
 pends, lest some one overhear you, 
 and tell the rulers ; whom I hope 
 to see one day on their funeral 
 pile.' 
 
 264. tD Trat — T^Kvov occurs v. 896. 
 TraiSes with reference both to Trarpos 
 and to the age of the Chorus, v. 171. 
 (TOJTTipes V. 203, note. In Eiim. 754 
 Orestes calls Pallas Co adoaacra rovs 
 efxovs dofxovs, as having in him saved 
 the line of Agamemnon, The address 
 here appears to imply a warning, ' do 
 not peril the responsibility with which 
 you are charged. ' ecrrta as the centre 
 of the house, the seat of family life, 
 Ag. 427, 1435, CAo. 629. 
 
 265. oTTwy is followed both by a fut. 
 ind. and by a subj. (Jelf, ^§811, 812, 
 Madvig, § 123), sometimes, as here, 
 in the same sentence (Isocr. Areop. 
 12, quoted by Wellauer ; Plat. Gorg. 
 p. 480 ; Tim. p. 18), according as the 
 writer chooses to regard the event as 
 certainly future or as merely contin- 
 gent. Here, as Klausen remarks, the 
 distinction is natural enough — ' you 
 will certainly be overheard, and if so, 
 you may be reported.' 
 
44 
 
 XOll^OFOL 
 
 yXcocrartjg "^apiv Se irdvr^ oLTrayyelXt] TclSe 
 'Trpo<s T0V9 KparovvTag' ovg 'iSoijul^ eyco irore 
 OavopTag ev KrjKloi Tricrcrtjpei (pXoyog. 
 OP. ouToi TTpoSwceL Ao^Lov fjLeyaorQei/rjg 
 
 y^prjcTfxog, Kekevwv rovSe klvovvov irepav, 
 Ka^opOiaC(Jov TToXXa, Kai ovcr-veiiuLepovg 
 
 270 
 
 266. Abresch comp. Hes. Works, 
 709, /xTjde \pevbeadaL yXwcro-rjs xdpti'. 
 
 267. Comp. V. 385, note, where the 
 wish of the Chorus is precisely similar. 
 * Apud tragicos qui malum alieni im- 
 precantur saepe ejus avToirrai esse 
 optant; vide BerglerAristoph. ^c/iar?i. 
 1 1 70, 8v €t' €Tri8oLjjLL Tev6idos devofiet/ov. 
 Cf. Soph. Philoct. 1115 ; Lucian, 
 torn. 3, p. 305, 6v KCLKLCFTa €7ri5oi/xi 
 dTToXovfxevou.' Wordsworth. 
 
 268. ' Tnaa-ripei, nihil amplius quam 
 2n7iea.' Wordsworth, ktjkls iriaarjprjs 
 (pXoyos is the unctuous vapour of the 
 blazing pine, as fivdQcra KrjKis ixripiwv, 
 Soph. Ant. 1008, the unctuous vapour 
 of smouldering flesh. davovras ev 
 KriKlbt merely signifies lying dead in 
 the flame, not killed by the flame 
 (comp. v. 248), there being no refe- 
 rence here to the TricaoKibvTjTos fxbpos 
 of ^sch. Cress, (fr. 1x3) 
 
 269 — 305. Or. 'I cannot doubt 
 the word of Apollo, who solemnly en- 
 joined me to undertake the work, 
 threatening all the penalties that wait 
 on those who fail to avenge their mur- 
 dered kinsmen — leprosy produced by 
 the very offerings with which they 
 propitiate the shades — nightly panics 
 driving them from home — privation 
 of all intercourse with their fellow- 
 men — and lastly, miserable death. 
 Divhie commands, human feeling, 
 nay, the stress of want, all combine 
 to urge me to deliver our countrymen, 
 my father's brave comrades, from this 
 degrading yoke.' 
 
 269. ovTL, MSS., oijToi, Turn. oUtol 
 irpoduai)} is said by Apollo himself, 
 Eum. 64. No doubt had been ex- 
 pressed either by the Chorus or by 
 Electra ; but Orestes naturally adopts 
 the language of apology, reassuring 
 himself by repeating the oracle with 
 all its catalogue of penalties. When 
 the deed is done, though anxious to 
 justify himself before gods and men, 
 he, not less naturally, shrinks from 
 the recital (v. 1031) — 'that way mad- 
 ness lies.' fieyaadevTjs, an epithet of 
 Apollo, Eum. 61, is transferred to his 
 oracle. In Theb. 70, 977 it is simi- 
 larly applied to the Erinnys or curse 
 of (Edipus. The oracle is personified 
 as in Ag. 11 78. 
 
 2 70. With irepciv Wordsworth comp. 
 irddos dvcreKirepaTov, Eur. Hipp. 678 ; 
 Plutarch, tom. 2. p. 760, irvp Kal 
 ddXaaaav Kai irvods rds alOepos Hepdv 
 'eroipLOS. 
 
 271. Ka^oOpid^wv, MSS., Ka^op- 
 did^cov. Turn. Ka^opdid^oiiv iroWd 
 with reference to the manner of the 
 delivery of the oracle, Virgil's * Hor- 
 rendas canit ambages, antroque re- 
 mugit.' The antithesis intended to 
 be conveyed by dva-x^'-fJ-epovs and 
 depfibv appears to be ' striking a win- 
 try chill to my warm life-blood.' 
 Comp. Prom. 692, Trrj/xaTa, Xv/mara, 
 ZdjxaT dpi^dKei Kevrpcp \pvxei.v \pvxdv 
 €p,dv, Eum. 160, irdpeaTL /naariKTopos 
 datov dap.iov ^apv to irepi^apv Kpuos 
 iX^'-^i ^^^ ViotQ the employment of the 
 word dvTiKevTpa in Eum. 466, which 
 
XOH*OPOI. 
 
 45 
 
 arag v(p' tjirap Oepiuov e^avSco/mevog, 
 €1 jULr] jULeTeijULi toO iraTpog Tovg airlovg, 
 Tpoirov TOP avTOV avrairoKTelvai Xeywv, 
 a7ro-^pr]IJiaTOL<TL i^tjjULiaig Tavpoufxevov 
 avTov S' €(f)a(TKe rtj (plXyj "^^X^ raSe 
 TLcreiv [x e^ovTa iroXKa SvcrTepTrtj /ca/cct. 
 
 275 
 
 is obviously intended to be parallel to 
 the present passage, Paley refers to 
 Soph. Ant. 88, (Ed. C. 622, for simi- 
 lar antitheses, the nature of the oppo- 
 sition varying of course in each case 
 according to the context. 
 
 272. u0' 'fjirap depends not on 
 i^av8dofi€vos, but on some verbal or 
 participial notion implied in dras — 
 * plagues striking to my heart.' So in 
 Sujyp. 184, wpos ijfMds . . . dwTTJpes. 
 
 273. Tovs alriovs seems rightly ex- 
 plained by Abresch as a condensed 
 expression for roi)s alriovs rod (pbvov 
 (v. 117), like Tov aiTiOu, v. 68, and 
 perhaps v. 837. Used thus techni- 
 cally, it becomes virtually equivalent 
 to (poveh, and is constructed accord- 
 ingly with a genitive of the person. 
 (It may be worth while inquiring 
 however, whether the key to the ex- 
 pression is not be found in the position 
 of the words, the prefixed genitive 
 apparently standing in a somewhat 
 indefinite relation to the noun that fol- 
 lows it, as in the well known idiom, 
 rfis'IraXlas els'PrfyLov.) 
 
 274. rpbirov tov avrhv, Tlieh. 638. 
 Here it means by stratagem, as 
 Schiitz explains it, comparing Soph. 
 El. 35 foil., where the employment of 
 craft is especially enjoined by the 
 oracle. Peile comp, v. 556. avrairo- 
 KTelpaL \^y(x)v, as in vv. 93, 143, notes. 
 
 275. dTTOxpT^AtaTos differs from a.xp'fl- 
 jxaTos as privative from negative, and 
 so can only be interchanged with it 
 where the two notions are rhetorically 
 
 convertible, which is not the case here, 
 Consequently, if dTroxp^y/waroicrt is re- 
 tained here, it must be rendered, 'de- 
 priving me of wealth,' not 'penalties 
 not to be paid in money.' Apollo 
 bids Orestes indulge his natural thirst 
 for revenge on those who have robbed 
 him of his rights, threatening him 
 with worse evils if he tamely submits 
 to these. This will agree well with 
 Tavpovjxevov, which is more applicable 
 to Orestes' natural feelings of resent- 
 ment than to a factitious exasperation 
 against the usurpers, produced by 
 causes in which they are supposed to 
 have no share. For Orestes' personal 
 feelings, resentment for past wrong 
 and desire of restoration to his inheri- 
 tance, see vv. 250 foil., 301, 480, 913 
 foil. ; and comp, v. 135, e/c Se XPV/^^- 
 Twv (peiuywv 'Op^a-rrjs ecTi, with ^gis- 
 thus' words, Ag. 1638, e/c rcDv be roude 
 X/DT^/idrwi' 7r€ipd(T0/xai "Apx^if ttoXitQv. 
 With ^rj/jLiaLs ravpovfievov, comp, Suj^p. 
 563, fiaLuofxeua iropots drifMois odvi'ais 
 re K€UTpo8aXr]TOLS, with ravpov/xepov 
 dpTairoKTetpai, v. 549, eKdpaKOPTOJ- 
 dels S' iyih Kreipo} plp. 
 
 276. avrdp 'in person,' as in v. 
 225, The penalties to come, inflicted 
 by heaven, and touching the life, are 
 contrasted with the penalties past, 
 inflicted by the usurpers, and touching 
 the property. 0/Xos, v. no, note. 
 rj/vxv life, as in Ag. 965, T457, 1466. 
 \(/vxv TLcreLP like dapdrcp rlcras, Ag. 
 
 1529- 
 
 277. ix^^'^°-) taken closely with 
 
46 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 TOL juev yap e/c yrjg Svarcppovwv nxeiXlyiuaTa 
 (BpoToh TrKpavcTKoyv elire -j- ra^ Se voov vocrovg, 
 aapKcov eTrajufiarrjpag aypiai^ yvaOoi^ 
 Xei-^^rjvag i^ecrOovTag dpyaiav (pvcnv 
 \€VKag oe Koparag Trjo^ eiravTeXXeiv voacp' 
 aWag re (poovelv Trpoor^oXag Eipivvcov, 
 
 280 
 
 rlaeiv. iroWa SvarepTrrj KUKa, comp. 
 
 Ag. 1090, TToXXd , . , avTb(f)ova /ca/cct. 
 
 Elsewhere the adjectives are coupled 
 
 by Kai or re, e.g. Ag. 63, iroXka . . . 
 
 Kal yvio^apij. Theh. 338, TroXXd . . . 
 
 ^vaTVxn T^ vpaaaeL. 
 
 278. For the explanation of this 
 
 whole passage to v. 2q6, containing 
 
 the xpvc/^os, see Appendix 2. 
 
 280. It is not easy to say whether 
 
 dypiaLS yvaffoLs goes with iirap^aTTJpas 
 or with XcLxv^as (an attributive dative 
 equivalent to an epithet), or, lastly, 
 with i^eadovras, the two former being 
 rather recommended by the position of 
 the words, the latter by the ordinary 
 propriety of expression. Perhaps it 
 is best to print the two lines as Din- 
 dorf has done, without any comma, as 
 most probably representing the inten- 
 tion of vEsch., who, we must remem- 
 ber, wrote instinctively, not as a gram- 
 marian. The metaphor of a devouring 
 animal is a sufficiently natural one, 
 being applied, e. g., to the ulcer of 
 Philoctetes (fr. 249, (payebaLvav rj fiov 
 adpnas eadiei ttoSos) . Comp. also Supp. 
 620, ^b(TK-qixa TrrjfiovT]^, where the 
 image is that of an eating disease (so 
 Soph. Phil. 313, 1 167, ^6aK€LV v6(Tov), 
 which drains away nourishment from 
 the system, dypiais may refer, as 
 Blomf. thinks, to the ay pLoXeLxw or 
 dypLoipojpla, the worst sort of leprosy 
 (Hesych. s. v.). 
 
 281. XiX'Jji'cts MSS. Xeix^j'as Blomf. 
 Gloss., which seems to be the more 
 correct spelling. — apxaiav (pv<nv seems 
 
 to have been a technical medical term 
 for what we should call the normal 
 condition, ttjv vpb rod vocreiv Kardara- 
 (TLv, Hesych. Abresch remarks that 
 it is not uncommon in Hippocrates, 
 and occurs in Aristides, vol. i.p. 637. 
 Comp. Soph. Qi^d. Col. no, dbuiXov ou 
 yap dr] t65' dpxo.'i-ov Se/xas. 
 
 282. A description of the variety of 
 leprosy called XevK-rj, described by Cel- 
 sus 5. 28, who mentions as one of its 
 characteristics, * in ea albi pili sunt et 
 lanugini similes,' adding that it is 
 more inveterate than the other two 
 sorts, dX0os and p.^\as — 'quern occu- 
 pavit non facile dimittit.' See also 
 Leviticus 13. 3, &c. The interpreta- 
 tion given as an alternative by the 
 Schol., and adopted by Dobree, that 
 the leprosy would be incurable, lasting 
 into old age, is less natural, and de- 
 prives the description of one of its 
 most graphic touches. Kopaai are the 
 hairs on the temples, so that the refer- 
 ence is to leprosy in the forehead, as 
 in 2 Chronicles 26. 19, 20. — iiravTeXXei 
 Med. Guelf. ; iTravreXXeiv Rob., sup- 
 ported by Efym. M. p. 530, i ; Etym. 
 Gud. p. 338 ; Zonaras, p. 1236, who 
 quote the line. The omission of i> is 
 sufficiently accounted for by vSacp, but 
 it may prepare us for a similar error 
 in the next line. — dvreXXeiv of hair, 
 Theb. 535, referred to by Words- 
 worth. 
 
 283. (f>(i}veLv, used as in Soph. Aj. 
 73, 1047. See Appendix 2. It is not 
 clear whether irpoa^oX-r} here means an 
 
( ^ 
 
 XOH^OPOI. ( UNIVfek- 47 
 
 e/c T(£iv TrarpiiiMv aliuaTcov reXovjUieva?, 
 
 opwvTa \aiJL7rpov ev <jk6tw vcojulcJovt' 6(bpvv 285 
 
 TO yap G-Koreivov rcov evepripcov ^eXo^ 
 e/c 7rpo<TTp07rai(jov ev yevei ireirTWKOTCov 
 
 attack or attacking party, as in Theh. 
 28, which is the common view, or an 
 infliction (thing incident, or attached), 
 as in Eum. 600, which Mr. Shilleto 
 suggests. The latter is supported by 
 i^ntipho, p. r2 3. 23, and other pas- 
 sages referred to by Lidd. and Scott, 
 but the former agi'ees well with the 
 parallel passage, v. 402 foil., and with 
 the description of the Furies by them- 
 selves, Eum. '3, 68 foil. (comp. especially 
 e(p65oi9, ih. v. 376.) 'De eirnroiJt.Trals, 
 eTT 070^70 fs, i(p6dois Furiarum et male- 
 ficorum dsemonum, vide Bemsterhus. 
 Lucian p. 208, Ruhnk. Tim. p. 115.' 
 Wordsworth, Neither would seem to 
 suit very well with reXovfxeuas, which, 
 however, doubtless, as Peile remarks, 
 contains the notion of retribution, so 
 that it may perhaps be considered 
 parallel to yXu><x(ra reXeiadu}, v. 310. 
 
 285. v(i}/j.C}VT' ocppvv, like iroha vco/xdu, 
 Soph. (Ed. T. 468, fr. 856. II, I'iofxa 
 irrephv, comp. by Peile, who rightly 
 observes that nothing more than the 
 ordinary motion of the eyebrow in 
 seeing is intended. Wordsworth ob- 
 serves that one of the two participles 
 is meant to limit the other, as ifKaiirep 
 and ofius had been expressed, just as 
 we should say 'seeing clearly, while 
 moving the brow in darkness,' and 
 comp. Dem., p. 281. 20, Kal irepi rdv 
 dXXojv . . . dvTLXeyovTas iavTols Tovd' 
 ofJioyvcj/xovovvTas. Darkness is the 
 proper element of the Furies, Earn. 
 72> 387, 396, &c. (comp. ib. 104), as 
 they are the children of night, and so 
 the dead man who has them at his call 
 sees in darkness as plainly as in day- 
 light. Thus the three lines imply that 
 
 beside the vengeance which the Furies 
 and the dead man inflict as powers of the 
 earth, they will visit the offender with 
 all the terroj-s of darkness. The two 
 provinces seem to be in fact connected; 
 the regions below the earth suggesting 
 the notion of darkness, which, again, 
 is the natural medium of avenging 
 terror. So tQv ivepr^pup in the next 
 verse illustrates aKoreivov. 
 
 287. e/f TpocTTpoTraiojv with /Se'Xoj, 
 like vfj.uos e^ 'Epipvcju, Eum. 331, 
 
 fJLrjPLi /Jl.d(TT€ip' €K dcCoV, Svpp. 163. 
 
 TTpocTTpoiraLwv, suppliants, as in Ag. 
 1587, Eum. 234, the suppliant not 
 being here, as there, a murderer taking 
 sanctuary, but a murdered man asking 
 the Furies for vengeance, like Clytaem- 
 nestra, Eum. 94, foil, ev yiuei with 
 TrpoaTpoTraiojv, as if it had been e776j'(2»'. 
 So Soph. (Ed. T. 10 16, 1430, Eur. 
 Ale. 904, comp. by Stanley and 
 Abresch. Blomf. comp. ev at/xari Eum. 
 606, and Wordsworth Soph. Ant. 660, 
 where iyyevr] is opposed to l^w yhovs. 
 With the whole passage Klausen well 
 comp. Plato Laios, 9. p. 865, 6 davaro}- 
 deis dvfiovTai re Tcp Spdaavri veodvrjs ibv 
 Kal(p6^ov KaiSei/xaTos dfxa didrrjv ^laiov 
 irdd'r]v avTos TreirXrjpcjfi^vos, bpCiv re rbv 
 iavTOv (povea evToh Tjdeat rots ttjs iavToO 
 avvrjdeias dvaaTpecpop-evov deifxaivet kuI 
 rapaTTo/mevos avrbs rapdrTei Kara dvva- 
 fxiv wdcrav, wliile the word TrpoaTpbiraios 
 is illustrated by a reference to p. 866, 
 idv 5' 6 irpoarjKWv eyyvrara fiif 
 eTTf^tr/ Tc2 TaOrj/jLUTi, rb p-iaa-fxa us els 
 avrbv -rrepieXrjXvdbs tou iradbvros tt/joct- 
 TpewojuLevov ttjv Tddrjv, k. t. X., where 
 TTpoffTpeTTO/x^vov secms to mean not 
 turning or averting, as Lidd. and 
 
48 
 
 XOH<J)OPOI. 
 
 Koi Xvacra Ka\ /maTaiog €k vvktwv (po^og 
 
 Kivei, Tapdcra-ei Kai SicoKea-Oai iroXecog 
 
 ^aX/c/yXarct) TrXdcrTiyyi XvjULavOev oe/uLag' 
 Kal Toig TotovToig oure Kpar^jpog juepog 
 eivai /uL€Tacr)^eiVf ov (piXocTTrovoov \i/36g, 
 ^icixojv T* airelpyeLV ov^ opooimevrjv Trarpog 
 jiirji/iv, Se-^ea-Qai S^ ovre crvXXveLv tlvol' 
 
 290 
 
 Scott think, but making the irddrj a 
 subject of TrpoaTpoTTT). 
 
 288. Xvcraa as in the case of Orestes 
 himself, v. 1048, foil,, pLdraios eK vvktuv 
 (po^os as in that of Clytsemnestra, v. 
 32, foil., as Peile remarks. Here, as 
 elsewhere, it must be remembered that 
 the punishments of the man who does 
 not avenge his kinsman are the same 
 as those of the murderer. Comp. vv. 
 924, 5. K. opa, (pvXa^aL /uLTjTpos eyKOTOvs 
 Kvvas. 0. rds tov irarpos bk ttws (fivyw 
 Trapels rdSe ; — €K pvktQv = pvkt6s. Ja- 
 cobs on A nth. Pal. 3. p. 332 (referred 
 to by Blomf.) quotes Horn, Od. 12. 
 286; Theogn. 452 ; Eur. (?) Bhes. 13. 
 
 289. KLfel, rapdcraei, equivalent to 
 ^Xet 5vva/j.LV KLvr)TLK7]v Kal rapaKTiK-qv, 
 as 'iKTavov, Bum. 99 (if the text is 
 sound), for (povevs el/xi, and so (poueijeL 
 Eur. Iph. Aul. 947. diuKeadai with 
 gen., as in Horn. Od. 18. 8, Stci/cero 
 oh dofxoio, quoted by Herm. Klausen 
 quotes Eur. Med. 'j6, 7'^s ^Xa;' Ko- 
 pLvdias. 
 
 290. xaX/cT^Xdro;, referring to the 
 brazen points, Kcvrpa, at the end of the 
 lash. See Diet. Antiqq., v. Flagrum. 
 The arrow of v. 286 is here exchanged 
 for a scourge, both apparently referring 
 to the same thing, the nightly terror, 
 which at last drives the wretch from 
 his fellows. So in Eum. 155, foil., 
 the effect of a reproving vision is com- 
 pared to that of an executioner's 
 scourge. 
 
 291. The hand of man is to be heavy 
 on him as well as that of the gods. 
 The Furies drive him from home, and 
 no one takes pity on him. The con- 
 struction, as Well, has seen, is dvai. 
 { = €^€ivaL) ixeTaax^f-v fJ-^pos oiire Kpa- 
 TTjpos, ov Xi/36s. With p.eTa<Jx^^^ uepos 
 he comp. Ag. 507, fiedei^etv (piXTdrov 
 rdcpov fxepos. The whole passage is 
 parallel to Euni. 653, foil.. Soph. CEd. 
 T. 236, foil., the last perhaps imitated 
 from it. Kparcpos, MSS. KpaTrjpos, 
 Rob. 
 
 292. 0iXo(r7r6i'5oi'Xt/36s maybe comp. 
 with (pCKodvTWv dpyicjv, Theh. 180 : it 
 is not easy, however, to see the pro- 
 priety of the expression, unless cpCKo- 
 cTTovbovhe resolved into 0iXtas (TttovS^s, 
 like \Lvo(f)dbpQL, V. 27, note. Xt/36s of 
 a libation, as in fr. Epig. 54, quoted 
 by Klausen, rplTov Aids HuiTijpos 
 evKTalav XtjSa. ov follows oiire, as in 
 Soph. CEd. Col., 973, comp. by Well. 
 
 293. Kl. comp. fr. adesp. 412 
 (attributed to ^sch. by Theophilus ad 
 Autol. 2. 54. p. 256), diKTjv dpavdov 
 ovx 6p(3}fi€vrjp. For the active agency 
 of the dead rnan see the passage fronoi^^ 
 Plato, Laios. 9. p. 865, cited on v. 
 287. 
 
 294. 8^x^<T6ai oUre, MSS. S^x^adai 
 b' oiire, Herm., better than Miiller's 
 Sexcc^at rod re, which would introduce 
 a confused construction, oijre is to be 
 supplied before dix^cOat from the 
 second oiire, as in Ag. 532, Hdpis 
 
XOH^OPOI. 49 
 
 Trai/TWJ^ S' aTi/ULOv Ka(pi\ov Ovi^cTKeiv '^(^povw, 295 
 
 KaKwg TapiyevOevra 7raiUL<pOapTM /mopo). 
 
 TOioicrSe -^prja-jULoh apa y^prj ireiroiQevaL'^ 
 
 K61 njLf] ireiroiQa, Tovpyov ecT^ epyacTTeov. 
 
 TToWol yap eh cu ^vixitltvovctlv 'Ifjiepoi, 
 
 OeoO T ecperfxai, Kat Trarpog wevOog jmeya, 300 
 
 yap oiire avvTekris iroKis. avXKveLP 
 seems best explained by the Schol., 
 cvvoLKetv, as if it were a-vyKaToKveiu 
 as \v<TLs is used by Pind., 0. 11 (to), 
 47, SopTTov \ijcnv (referred to by Mliller), 
 for KardXvaLS. (Tlie interpretation of 
 Blomf., ' to help in expiation,' is not 
 so natural in a connexion like this, 
 and it may be doubted whether such 
 an act of piety would be included in 
 the geueral prohibition. That of 
 Bothe, 'to put to sea with,' adopted 
 by Herm., besides the want of au- 
 thority for the diomatic use of '\veLv 
 in that sense, is perhaps open to the 
 objection that it would interfere with 
 the general tone of the passage, by in- 
 troducing a caution where we should 
 expect a prohibition.) 
 
 295. TrdvTOjv answers to oi} riva in 
 the previous line, as in the parallel 
 passage, Soph. (Ed. T. 238-241, pt.rjT€ 
 irpoacpiavelv nva .... (hdeiv 5' d7r' 
 o'Uwv TTOLVTas. For irdvTWv Etljiov, 
 comp. V, 636, note. dcpiKou also is 
 constructed with irdvTOiv, as in Eur. 
 Eel. 526, d<piXos (p'CKojv. Elsewhere 
 in ^sch., as Wordsworth remarks, 
 ctTi/Aos takes a gen. of the thing (see 
 V. 408, Theh. 1024) in a quasi-political 
 sense, which it might well have here, 
 if the other explanation were not more 
 probable. 
 
 296. It is a question whether rapt- 
 Xfi^w here merely means to dry up as 
 salt fish is dried, or to embalm as a 
 mummy, the sense it bears in Hdt. 
 2. 66, &c. If the latter, xa/ccDj be- 
 
 comes emphatic ; that which kills him 
 embalms him ready for burial, but it 
 is a fatal embalming. Butler, to 
 whom this interpretation is due, comp. 
 Soph. Phin. fr. 641, veKpbs rdpixos 
 eiaopdv AlyvirTios. The same doubt 
 may be raised about the line of 
 Sophz-on quoted by the Schol. t6 
 yrjpas dfxpLL jxapalvov rapixevei. It 
 seems very disputable whether the 
 Homeric rapxvo} is the same word, as 
 in 11. 16. 456, 674, it seems from the 
 context to denote not anything done 
 with the body, but funeral obsequies 
 generally : embalming too does not 
 appear to have been known in the 
 heroic times. 
 
 297. dpa is probably interrogative, 
 according to the usage mentioned by 
 Jelf, § 873. 2, who rightly explains it 
 as a piece of Attic refinement, giving 
 an ironical appearance of doubt to a 
 question which is really meant to con- 
 tain a pointed and emphatic assertion, 
 and cites Xen. Oyr. 7. 5. 40, Eur. 
 Ale. 351. 
 
 298. ear' epyaareov, MSS. ; 'iar^ 
 omitted by Aid., whence Turn, and 
 others i^epyacrreov. 
 
 299. For els '^v, Blorafield refers 
 to Eur. P^CBW. 462; Iph. A. 1127; 
 Hel. 742 ; and the Latin in tiniiin, 
 Virgil, £J. 7' '2> &c. crvfMTrixTovdLv, 
 MSS. ; crvp-irlTvovaLv, Turn, after 
 Steph. 
 
 300. deov T i(f>€Tfiai is of course 
 equivalent to the xpV^f^^^- Orestes, 
 in fact, says that he has many mo- 
 
50 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 KOL Trpoa-irieCei yjprjfxarwv ax^n^'ta, 
 TO imr} TToXiTa^ eu/cXeecTaTOi'? (BpoTcoVf 
 TjOo/a? avacTTaTrjpag evoo^tf (ppevl, 
 Svoiv yuvaiKOiv mS' virtjKOOvg ireXeiv. 
 QrfKeia yap (pprjv el Se fxri, ray^ e'laerai. 
 XO. aXX', w jULeydXaL M.oipaif AloOcv 
 
 305 
 
 tives, and that if one fail (v, -298) the 
 others will remain in full force. 
 
 30 1 . Abresch reads irpbs irii^ei, and 
 so Dind. and Herm. Wordsworth, 
 however, cites the use of Trpoaheicdai. 
 and irpoayeveadai (Plato, Mep. 2. p. 
 375 e-)- ■XJirifJidTUJv axvv'iO; comp. vv. 
 
 i35j 275- 
 
 302. TO 117} is epexegetic of eh ev, 
 V. 299, as Bothe takes it, being in 
 fact an accusative, as in Ag. 15. 'All 
 these things spur me on to deliver my 
 country.' See vv. 397, 863, 1046. 
 
 303. With (ppevi comp. v. 1004, 
 Supp. 515 (if the reading is right), 
 775. The citizens are characterised 
 as Agamemnon himself is in Ag. 525, 
 783, 1227. 
 
 304. Wordsworth observes that dvolv 
 yvvaiKo7p is probably the gen., refer- 
 ring to Elmsley on Eur. Heracl. 287. 
 
 305. So ^gisthus is called \ewv 
 &va\Kis (comp. Hom. Od. 3. 310), 
 Ag. 1224. Tax' ^'O'eTctt is a phrase of 
 menace, like yvibaei rctxa Ag. 1649 '> 
 Eur. Supp. 580 ; Heracl. 65, 269 ; 
 Theocr. 26. 19, as Paley remarks. So 
 *sentiet,'in Latin, Ter. Eun. 1. i. 
 21, &c. : and our common expression, 
 * you shall see,' or * I will let you see.' 
 The first person is also used in similar 
 expressions, as in Eur. Heracl. 269, 
 ireipdifjievo^ St; tovto 7' avrlK etaofxai : 
 and so Iph. Aul. 970, rctx' efo-erat 
 ciSrjpos, where the speaker is talking 
 of his own sword, el 5e fxrj is not, as 
 Wordsworth suggests, the object of 
 etaeraif but the condition, * If he is a 
 
 man he shall soon see,' like iirel Sojcetr 
 Tct5' ipdeiP, Ag. 1649. 
 
 306 — 478. The name ko/x/xSs was 
 given by the old critics to all odes 
 divided between the acting persons 
 and the chorus, because in the earlier 
 form of tragedy lamentations for the 
 dead formed their principal subject 
 (Muller Diss. § 14). The following 
 scene and the closing one of the Per- 
 sians answer perhaps more nearly to 
 the original force of the name than 
 any in ,^sch. Hermann in his Obss. 
 Critt., p. 79, was the first to point out 
 the antistrophic and dramatic charac- 
 ter of the scene, which had been pre- 
 viously printed without any attention 
 to the metre, and consequently to the 
 divisions of the dialogue. Other im- 
 provements have since been introduced 
 by succeeding editors and critics, as 
 well as by Heim. himself. Altogether 
 the scene, as it now stands in the 
 modern editions, affords a most satis- 
 factory proof of the results of criticism, 
 having become one of the most read- 
 able parts of the play from one of the 
 least intelligible. It should be ob- 
 served that the anapaestic parts of the 
 scene, vv. 306—314, 340—344, 372— 
 379, 400 — 404, 476 — 478, are mono- 
 strophic. 
 
 306 — 314. Cho. 'Ye Destinies, de- 
 cree the triumph of the just cause! 
 Let bad words meet with bad words, as 
 is due ; let the death- stroke be repaid 
 by the death- stroke, as the old law of 
 retaliation has it.' 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 51 
 
 TrjSe reXevTau, 
 
 ^ TO OLKaiov /jLerapalvei. 
 
 yXwarcra TeXelcrOco' TovcbeiXojuievoi/ 
 
 310 
 
 306. dWct is a common form of in- 
 troducing a prayer. Comp. vv. 476, 
 540, 1063 ; Pers. 62S, 640 ; Soph. 
 (Ed. Col. 421 ; Eur. Med. 759, 1389 ; 
 and the use of at in Latin. With /xeyd- 
 \ai Mo'ipaL Kl. comp. Soph. Phil. 
 14.66, i]fj.€yd\rj MoTpa, and with Aiodeu, 
 Pers. loi (add Ag. 1026). 
 
 307. TcXevTciv, inf., used in wishes 
 and prayers, as in v. 365. Jeif, §671, 
 Madv. §§ 141. 2., 168. The various 
 uses are not very easy to explain, 
 unless we may assume a different 
 ellipse to meet the diflferent varieties. 
 Perhaps we may suppose the inf. to 
 be an ejaculation in each instance 
 — a subst., as it were, without govern- 
 ment, the case constructed with it 
 depending in some measure on the 
 person that is the object of the wish. 
 See, however, on v. 365. reXevrdu 
 seems to be transitive, though the ace. 
 is not expressed, as the Molpai are 
 regarded as persons. KL, however, 
 justly remarks that the power of des- 
 tiny is not sharply distinguished from 
 its decrees as realized in events. 
 Comp. Mliller, Diss. § 78, ' The 
 Erinnys atoned for and the Erinnys 
 that brings the mischief are un- 
 doubtedly one and the same in these 
 expressions, and both of them, by the 
 same verbal construction, are attri- 
 buted to the individuals offended and 
 incensed. . . . For us modern gram- 
 marians a chasm has disunited what 
 was originally one and inseparable ; 
 and the distinction between the my- 
 thico-poetical and the so-called rational 
 or philosophical view of the universe 
 — a difference which at first did not 
 
 exist at all, and when it had arisen 
 was little felt and heeded by the old 
 epic and lyric poets— demands of us 
 that we should mark it by a corre- 
 sponding use of small letters and 
 capitals.' 
 
 308. Paley well illustrates fiera- 
 iSabec by referring to Ag. 'j'j6, foil. 
 There is, however, still some difficulty 
 in understanding how justice is said 
 to leave the wrong side for the right, 
 unless we suppose that she abides 
 with the possessor till his title is ques- 
 tioned, when, if he is found to be in 
 the wrong, she leaves him. Comp. 
 V. 461, "Ap7]s "Apei ^vfx^dXoi, AUa 
 AiKg., where the notion seems to be 
 that of conflicting claims; also Ag. 
 812, 3. Perhaps we may say that 
 those of the ancients who, believing 
 in the moral government of the world, 
 saw that injustice was occasionally per- 
 mitted to triumph, could scarcely avoid 
 sometimes expressing themselves as 
 if it were possible that justice should 
 take the wrong side. 
 
 309. The expression here is parallel 
 to Ag. 1560, foil. The reference 
 seems, however, to be not to Cly- 
 tsemnestra's reproaches in that scene, 
 which can scarcely be singled out 
 as a special act of provocation, but 
 generally to her bitterness of language 
 (comp. Soph. El. 287, foil., 596), and 
 perhaps specially to the prayer which 
 the Chorus has been charged to put up 
 in her behalf against her enemies (see 
 on V, 146). This is to be repaid by 
 the language of the prayer for ven- 
 geance uttered or to be uttered. The 
 connexion between the curse and the 
 
 £ 2 
 
52 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 OP. 
 
 irpacTcrova-a AUtj jmey^ avrer 
 olvtI Se irXtjyyjg (povia? (poviai^ 
 7r\rjyi]v Tiveroo. Spdaravri iraOeiv, 
 TpLjepwv jULvOog raSe (pcovei. 
 CO irdrep, aivoTraTep, tl ctol 
 (pdjievo^ r] TL pe^ag 
 TV^oijUL av GKauev ovpLcra<s,evua (T 
 
 err p. a 
 
 €\ov(TLV evvai. 
 
 315 
 
 Erinnys should not be forgotten. In 
 Ag. 1409 Clytsemnestra is told that 
 she has incurred drj/modpdovs dpds. 
 
 311. dLKT] is the reading of Med., 
 the original word having been diKrja, 
 the last letter of which has been after- 
 wards struck out. This accounts for 
 5i/c7?s in Guelf. 
 
 312. Comp. Ag. 1430, r^fifia rifi- 
 fiari Tiffai, where the receipt of the 
 blow is similarly regarded as a pay- 
 ment. 
 
 313. dpdaavTi is apparently to be 
 constructed either with cpoiPei or with 
 Tradeiv, which is really an ace. after 
 <pojv€i. It seems impossible to under- 
 stand 6<pei\eTaL with Wordsworth, as 
 if this were merely, as Peile thinks, 
 an abbreviated version of the fxvdos, 
 as it stands in fr, 444, dpdaavri ydp 
 TOL Kal rradeiv ocpelKeTai. We have a 
 third version, Ag. 1541, not to men- 
 tion the allusion to it, Pers. 818, Ag. 
 1658. 
 
 314 rpcyepcov ytiC^os, like TraXalcparos 
 yepwv X670S, Ag. 750. With the in- 
 tensive prefix, comp. rptTraXros, Theb. 
 985. Td5€<pa}ve2, Ag. \^i4. 
 
 315 — 32'2. Or, 'Would that word 
 or deed of mine could help thee, 
 father ! Still, unavailing as a dirge 
 may be, the honour of the house de- 
 mands it.' 
 
 315. alpoiraTTip, as equiv. to alvh$ 
 iraTTjp, has been paralleled by Schixtz 
 to wpo^ovXoTrats, Ag. 386. The 
 
 comparison, however, is not quite 
 exact, as irpo^ovKoTrais may be con- 
 sidered as a compound not of an adj. 
 and subst., but of two substantives, 
 like iarpbixavTLs, Ag. 1623. A better 
 parallel perhaps would be TV(p\6irovs, 
 Eur. Phcen. 1549, which is there joined 
 with iroijs, as alvoiraT-qp here with 
 iraTTip. Compounds of atVos, similarly 
 resoluble, are found in the case of 
 proper names, such as alvbirapLs and 
 alvekev-q. (Wordsworth, in proposing 
 to read aludirarop as more consonant to 
 analogy, seems to have overlooked the 
 fact that alvoiraT-qp is not so much an 
 epithet, like fx.ovao/nrjTOip, aidripofirjTUp, 
 &c., as a noun. I have accordingly 
 placed a comma after irdrep.) 
 
 317. T^ixoLfi' is best connected {as 
 Woi-dsworth also suggests) with 0d- 
 fievos and pe^as, as in the parallel v. 
 418, Ti 5' hv <pdvT€S Tvxoi/iiev. See on 
 V. 14. ovplaas then will be equiv. to 
 Kai ovpiaai/xi, as opdibaavri, v, 584, to 
 Kal opdwaat. (For dv cKadev, Herm. 
 once on metrical grounds proposed 
 dyKadev, which he now rejects on ac- 
 count of the omission of dv (see on v. 
 594) ; a better reason for questioning 
 it is that its existence as a contraction 
 of dveKadev is apparently contrary to 
 analogy, and supposed to be a figment 
 of the grammarians. See on v. 335. 
 Well, reads dveKadev, which Kl. 
 adopts, remarking, ' Arsis dactyli 
 soluta nonfert vocem monosyllabam.' 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 53 
 
 CTKOTO) (puo(s icrojtxoipov l 320 
 
 yapiTE^ S' ojuoicog 
 
 K6K\}]PTai yoo^ evKXer]^ TrpoaOoSojULoig 'ArpeiSai^. 
 
 If eKudev is right, it can only refer to 
 the distance between the dead and the 
 living.) 
 
 319. 0dos is rightly constructed by 
 Blonif. with ovpi<xa$. Orestes asks by 
 what happy word or deed lie can turn 
 his fatlier's darkness to light. Peile 
 well couip. Pers. 300, cfiols ixh el-rras 
 diofiaaiv (pdos fxeya Kal XevKov ^fxap 
 vvKTos eK jj.eXa.'yxi-lJ-ov, where eliras (pdos 
 Kal 9}fxap is equivalent to (ftajxevos 
 Tvxoi/x' av oupiaas (pdos here, only 
 rather more boldly expressed. Comp. 
 also evd/uLepou TreXdcrai (pdos, Soph. Aj. 
 "jog. aKOTCj}, however, refers to the 
 physical darkness of the grave rather 
 than to the darkness of calamity, 
 though in these expressions it is not 
 always easy to distinguish metaphor 
 from reality (comp. Ag. 22), and we 
 must remember that an ancient poet 
 is not the same as a modern logical 
 thinker. (To take ^ctos in app. with 
 ewai is objectionable, as Agamemnon's 
 normal state is not the fxeTaixi^i-ou 
 CKOTov, which would be the natural 
 inference from such an interpretation, 
 but aKpavTos vv^, v. 65. The recently 
 revived punctuation of the Schol., 
 miaking ctkotcx} (pdos dvTLfxoLpop a sepa- 
 rate sentence, would destroy the con- 
 nexion of thought, marked by 6;Uotws. ) 
 icroTifxoipoi', MSS., avTip-oLpov Erfurdt 
 on Soph. El. 86. The confusion seems 
 to have arisen from a gloss or various 
 reading iabixotpov. The latter, which 
 is the reading of Turn., Vett., and 
 the earlier editors, is perhaps defensible 
 metrically, as we find iabveipov with 
 the first syll. long. Prom. 548, though 
 the general rule seems to be that this 
 licence is only granted even in the lyrical 
 
 parts of tragedy to prevent too great 
 a recurrence of short syllables, avri- 
 fxoLpov stands apparently for fxipos 
 (pdovs duTL (tk6tov. For the construc- 
 tion with a dat. comp. dvTliTakos. It 
 would be easy, however, to read, as 
 Pearson long ago suggested, (jkotov. 
 ofioiios, equally, all the same, in one 
 case as well as in the other — in a con- 
 nexion like this nearly equiv. to o/iwj. 
 So Emn. 358 (if the MSS. reading be 
 correct), Kpdrepov 'ovd' o/moius jxav- 
 povfxeu, ib. 525, Ti's . . . -^ TToXts ^porSs 
 6' bjxoluis er' dv (rejSoi. bUav ; Pers. 
 •214, aiodeis 5' ofxoius rrjcrde KoipaveZ 
 xQovbs. ' Be my words unavailing to 
 comfort thee or no, a splendid dirge is 
 still reputed an act of grace to the old 
 lords of the palace, the Atridae.' 
 Xdptres perhaps like clelicke, as Lidd. 
 and Scott explain '^voirrpa, irapdivwv 
 Xdpiras, Eur. Tro. 1109. The pi. 
 seems to occur nowhere else in the 
 existing text of ^sch. ; see, however, 
 on V.835. 
 
 321. K€KXr]i>Tat, Med. Rob.; k^. 
 KXrjTai, Guelf. For the agreement of 
 the copula with the predicate, see 
 Jelf, § 389, Madv. § 4. KeKKrjvraL, have 
 been called, or have the name of 
 being. Comp., with Peile, v. 1037, 
 Pers. 2, 242, Theb. 698, 929. tt^oct- 
 do8b/J.ois, To2s irpbTepov ecrxv^^'^'- 5bp.0Vf 
 Schol. Tlie poet seems to have chosen 
 a word which would not only express 
 antiquity, as if he had said tois TrdXai 
 'ATpeiSais, but contain a reference to 
 the palace, without binding himself to 
 its precise meaning as a compound. 
 See note on d^vxetp, v. 23, avTOKU-rros, 
 v. 163. oTTiadbdo/xos, its natural cor- 
 relative, means the back part of a 
 
54 
 
 XOH<^OPOL 
 
 XO. TCKVOVf (ppovtjjULa Tov 0av6vTO9 ov Sajma^ei (rrp. /3'. 
 
 TTvpog /uidXepa yvdOo^f 325 
 
 (paivei S"* vcTTepov 6pyu9' 
 
 OTOTv^eTai S^ 6 Svt](TKWv, avac^alverai ^' o /SXair tcov. 
 nrarepwv re Kal reKovroov yoog epSiK09 jULarevei 330 
 TO Trai' aiuL(pi\a(pr]g rapa-^^Oel^. 
 
 house or temple. The dative seems 
 to depend on x^'-P^'^^^ rather than on 
 KiK\r)VTai or (VKKe-q^. 
 
 323 — 331, Cho. 'Think not that 
 the dead cannot feel : they are ready 
 to revenge at the last, and the dirge 
 itself is the sure instrument in the 
 discovery of the guilty.' 
 
 323. T€Kvov. note on v. 264. (Ppo- 
 VTjixa, mood, v. 191, so that <ppopr]/j.a 
 ov dafid^ei is parallel to daavros iari 
 Bvjxbt V. 422. 
 
 325. T} /xa\ep&, MSS. ; fiaXepd, 
 Pors. for the metre, yvddos of fire. 
 Prom. 368. With the general ex- 
 pression, conip. Lucan, 5. 763., 'Nos- 
 tros non rumpit funus amores, Non 
 diri fax summa rogi.' 
 
 328. From the wording of this line, 
 it is evident that the two parts of it 
 are meant to stand to each other in a 
 particular relation, which the ensuing 
 sentence, Tarepuv k.t.X., determines 
 to be one of cause and effect. ' The 
 dead is being lamented : the murderer 
 is being dragged to light: for the slain 
 father's dirge follows on his track.' 
 The conception appears to be a purely 
 poetical one, and to have reference to 
 supernatural rather than to natural 
 agency in the work of detection, the 
 dead man being ready to assist in his 
 own cause when duly lamented and 
 invoked. 6 dvqaKixjv and 6 ^Xdirruu 
 are in the present, to show that there 
 is no special reference in either word, 
 as there is in rod davbvros just above. 
 The shortened 6 before ^XdirTuv is to 
 
 be noted as an exception to Dawes' 
 canon. It is rather curious that most 
 of the other exceptions to it should be 
 in cases where ^Xaardvo} or its cog- 
 nates are used {e.g. v. 589, Supp. 
 
 317). 
 
 330. iraT^pojv re Koi reKovTwv is 
 merely a pleonasm, as in Eur. Here. 
 F. 1 367, 6 (pvaas xw re/ctbv vp.d% irarrjp, 
 comp. by Schwenk. ^vdiKos may be 
 taken closely with fjt.aT€6ei, the dirge 
 being said to take part in the work of 
 justice, or it may mean right or due, 
 and so stand in a sort of contrast to 
 €vkX€7)s, v. 321, Orestes from his point 
 of view speaking of the dirge as a 
 maximum, the Chorus from theirs as 
 a minimum. Orestes is comforted by 
 being assured that the due perform- 
 ance of the usual dirge will of itself 
 lead to the desired vengeance. 
 fxarevei, active, but without an object, 
 like Kivel, rapdaaei, v. 289, and the 
 instances quoted there, ' has power of 
 full inquisition. ' 
 
 331. TO irdv, adverbial, as in Ag. 
 ^75> 993- So the Schol. TravTeXQs, 
 though he is wrong in connecting it 
 with Tapaxdeis rather than with 
 /xarevei. dp.(f)iXa<pT}<i, Ag. 1015, is ex- 
 plained either as active, 'all-embracing,' 
 or as passive, ' filling both hands.' 
 The general notion of extensiveness, 
 in which both interpretations coincide, 
 seems all that is necessarily implied, 
 either in the present connexion, or in 
 others where the word occurs {e.g. Hdt. 
 3. 114,, 4. 28, 172, where it is found 
 
XOH<I)OPOI. 
 
 55 
 
 avT. a 
 
 HA. k\vOl vvv, w Trdrep, ev /ULcpei 
 
 TroXvSaKpvTa irevQtj, 
 
 SiTraig Tol cr' eiriTvix^Lo^ Optjvo^ avacTTevd^ei. 335 
 
 Td(po9 S' //cera? SeScKTai 
 
 (pvydoag 0' o/ulolco^. 
 
 TL TwvS" eu, TL (5' aTCp KaKoov', ovK cLTpiaKTog ara; 
 XO. aXX' er' d^' e/c Tcovoe 6eo9 Yp(iC^v 34C> 
 
 as an epithet of elephants, trees and 
 thunder respectively) ; on the whole, 
 however, the passive sense, 'two- 
 handed,' appears the more natural, 
 especially with reference to its use in 
 Ag. I.e. Comp. the similar doubt 
 about the sense of fieaoXa^rjs, Eum. 
 158. Here it goes closely with 
 rapaxdeis, so as to be almost equiv. 
 to dficporipwdev, as Paley remarks, the 
 general sentiment concluding with a 
 special application to Orestes and 
 Electra. rapdcraeiu y6ov, like rapda- 
 ceiv vetKos, Ant. 794, nearly = /cti'etj'. 
 Paley comp. (j^ojvdv Tapaa-a^fxev, Pind. 
 P. II. 42. Comp. the h^i. excitare. 
 
 332 — 339. El. * Hear my wail too, 
 father. Thy two children are at thy 
 tomb invoking thee — exiles and sup- 
 pliants both. Can evil lot be worse?' 
 
 332. iv fiepei, in turn, referring to 
 the change of speaker, as in Eum. 
 193, 436. 
 
 334. TO?s iiriTVfji.^i5ioLS, MSS. ; roi 
 c €TriTvix(3i8ios, Schiitz; iirLTdfi^Los, 
 Herm., who would now read 84 <r' 65' 
 for Tois on account of the metre, roi 
 a is obviously right, rot seemingly 
 throwing a stress on hliraL^ — 'it is 
 by thy two children that this grave- 
 side dirge is raised to bewail thee.' 
 ^7riTi;//,jSt5tos might perhaps be defended 
 by the example of alcpvLdios, Prom. 
 680, which must be pronounced as 
 a trisyllable if the MSS. reading be 
 correct ; but it is more likely that the 
 longer form of the adj. was introduced 
 
 from V. 342. iTTLTijfjL^LOi atuos, Ag. 
 1547. The metrical discrepancy with 
 the strophe, if any, must be left un- 
 touched, as there is nothing in the 
 sense or language of either this line 
 or V. 3 1 7 to suggest the propriety of 
 any change. With the general sense 
 of this and the next verse, which form 
 the pith of Electra's complaint, comp. 
 vv. 131 foil, 407 foil., 501 foil. 
 
 336, 7. By U^Tas, Electra seems to 
 indicate herself, by <pvyd8as, Orestes, 
 the latter as in v. 138. 'The sup- 
 pliant and the exile have alike found 
 shelter at thy sepulchre.' For exiles 
 taking sanctuary at an altar, comp. 
 Supp. 83, &c. 
 
 338. Comp. Ag. 211, Eum. 154, 
 where, however, as in v. 847 below, tL 
 TU}v8e seems to refer to one of two cases, 
 which it can hardly do here. With 
 the metaphor contained in drpiaKTos, 
 comp. Ag. 171, Eum. 589. (Lobeck, 
 Aglaoph. p. 354, cited by Dind. in 
 loc. Ag. understands rpid^ei-v of the 
 ^0e5/}os, who comes in fresh as a third 
 man and conqueror : but this seems 
 much less likely. ) 
 
 2^0 — 344. Cho. ' These wails, how- 
 ever, may yet be changed to triumphal 
 songs.' 
 
 340. e/f Twi'Se, 'out of this' (perhaps 
 'these cries'), constructed with ddrj. 
 Its use in such passages as v. 1056 is 
 substantially the same, though the 
 two might be distinguished as material 
 and causal. XPV^^^) ^^ ^^^ pleasure, 
 
56 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 Self] KeXdSovg eiKpOoyyorepovg' 
 dvrl Se Op}]vwv €7riTv/uLl3iSLCt)v 
 iranjdv /meXdOpoig ev ^aa-iXeloig 
 peoKpara (plXov KojuLicreiev, 
 OP. €1 yap vir 'IX/co 
 
 TTjOO? TLVO<S AvKLCOVf TTOLTep, 
 
 SopLT/mrjTog KaTt]vapLcr6r]Sf 
 
 XiTTWv av euKXeiav ev SojuLOicri 
 
 T€KUCoi/ T ev KeXevOoL^ eTTKTTpeTrTOv aico 
 
 p. y 
 
 345 
 
 350 
 
 if he wills, or perhaps graciously, as 
 in Eur. Siq^p. 597, comp. by Kl. 7)v 
 /XT] TOP debv XPV^^^'^' ^XV- ^^^ on 
 V. 815. 
 
 341. AceXaSos ov iraLwvLOs, Pers. 605, 
 Avhere the epithet is perhaps intended 
 to correct the natural association of 
 cheerfulness connected with the noun. 
 e-/iv, MSS. ; deiv, Turn. 
 
 343, TraiiLu is explained by Suidas, 
 vfjivos evxapi-O'TrjpLos, and is supported 
 by the Homeric irai-qwu, though iraLav 
 is doubtless the more usual. With 
 the sense comp. Eur. El. 691, where 
 Electra tells Orestes that if he returns 
 successful, 6\o\v^eTaL irav 5Q/xa. fieXd- 
 6pois eu ^acriXeioLS to be constructed 
 with iratwv. 
 
 344. The primary notion intended 
 to be conveyed by veoKpara is merely 
 viov, the remainder of the compound 
 having reference to the phrase Kip- 
 vacOai <pL\lav (again alluded to in Ag. 
 798, vdape? ^l\6tt}ti), for which see 
 Porson, on Eur. Med. 138; Etym. 
 M. p. 537. 47, Kal veoKparas <rTroi>das 
 Al(Txv\os ra$ feucrTL eKX^Oeiaas. 
 KOfiigeL, MSS., Ko/xiaeiep, Porson. The 
 loss of the two last letters doubtless 
 occasioned the corruption. ko/j.l^€lv 
 of welcoming a stranger. Words- 
 worth comp. Eur. i/?)3f». 1066, 
 ^evovs Ko/xi^up. See also below, 
 V. 683. 
 
 345 — 353. Or. 'Hadst thou but 
 fallen in battle at Troy, my father, 
 thou wouldst have left an inheritance 
 of glory, and we might have rejoiced 
 in thy foreign tomb.' 
 
 345. The whole strophe (and indeed 
 the following speech of the Chorus) 
 forms a single sentence, el yap being 
 followed, v. 349, by an apodosis, which 
 in that and similar formulas for ex- 
 pressing a wish is generally left to be 
 supplied. The sentiment, as Blomf. 
 remarks, is from Horn. Od. i. 236, 
 foil. This strophe was first given to 
 Orestes by Herm. Obss. Critt. 
 
 346. The Lycians are specified as 
 being among the bravest allies of 
 Troy, possibly also because Pandarus 
 wounded Menelaus. 
 
 347. Te/xvetv of a spear-wound, as 
 in Horn. II. 13. 501, where comp. the 
 following lines. Kareuapiadris, MSS., 
 KaTrjvapicrdyjs, Herm., Porson. 
 
 348. Xlttup evKXeiau like KX-qdovas 
 
 XlTTWV, v. 1043. ^OpLOLO-LP, MSS., 56- 
 
 /xoLat,, Turn. 
 
 350. T€ KeXevdoLS, MSS., r' iv 
 KeX.evdoLS, Well., for the metre. If 
 this conjecture is correct, the sense 
 would seem to be, ' having made the 
 life of thy children a thing to be gazed 
 on in the public ways,' or as the 
 Schol. explains, eTnaTpeirrbv, ws roiis 
 viravTuvras eiridrpicpeadai, wpbs deav 
 
XOH'I'OPOI. 
 
 57 
 
 KTitrag iroXv-^oiUTov av elyeg 
 TCLCpov SiaTTOVTLOv yag 
 ScojuLacriv evcpoprjTOV, 
 XO. (piXog (plXoLCTL Toig €K€i KoXcog Oavovcrif avr. ^\ 354 
 Kara -^Qovog efXTrpiiroov 
 
 TjfiQiv. Comp. the Xdyuv eu/cXeta, 
 which Electra promises to her sister 
 and herself as avengers of their father, 
 Soph. Fl. 973 — 985. eirtarpeirTov, 
 Supp. 997. eTna-TpeirTou ev KeXevdoLS 
 will then be equiv. to daKTvXodeLKTou. 
 Otherwise we must read r' &v with 
 Bamb., connecting KeXevdois (ways of 
 life, as in Find. .V. 8. 60, Eur. Here. 
 F. 432, comp. by Butl. and Blomf.) 
 with TCKVwv, and both with eTriarpe- 
 TTTov, 'having made thy life a model for 
 thy children's ways/ an image which 
 seems scarcely so natural here, as 
 Orestes and Electra are apt to dwell 
 on the actual losses which they have 
 sustained from their father's death. 
 aiuiva, MSS., alQ, H. L, Ahrens, for 
 the metre's sake, referring to Bekker 
 Anecd. i. 363. 17. alQi tqv alQ)va /car' 
 
 CLTTOKOTTTJU AtCTXJyXoS ftTTe. 
 
 351. KTLffffas, MSS., KTiaas, Eob. 
 There is nothing to decide the point, 
 as the antistrophic word is lost ; 
 KTiaas, however, seems more likely, 
 and in v. 370 we have another in- 
 stance of an Ionic form introduced by 
 mistake. 7roXvx(^crTov, high- heaped, 
 not as the Schol., vwb woXXuiu /cexw- 
 a/xevou. Kl. well comp. Horn. Od. 24. 
 80, foil., dyU0' avTolai 5' 'iweira fiiyav 
 Kat d/uLV/xoua tujul^ov ^evafiev 'Apyeiu}}/ 
 iepbs crrpaTos alxMT<^^^ • • • "^s Kev 
 Tr]X€(paj^7]S €K irovTOipLv avbpdaLv eiTj. 
 Such barrows are still to be seen in 
 the Troad. 
 
 352. It is not clear whether yds 
 means the earth of whiclx the mound 
 would have been made, or merely the 
 land where it would have stood. The 
 
 epithet SiaTovriou makes rather for 
 the latter view, while such passages 
 as Theb. 950, yds ttXovtos, would sup- 
 port the former. The same doubt 
 may be raised on Ag. 453, drjKas 
 'IXtdSos yds. StttTroz/Tioi', apparently 
 because foreign burial was generally 
 considered an evil. See Soph. El. 
 1 1 36, foil, and perhaps CEd. C. 1713. 
 bLairovTLOvyds, Med. (F. ), biairovTiOv- 
 rds, Med. (H.), ScaTrouriovTas, Guelf., 
 Rob., dcawouTLov yds. Turn. 
 
 353. 8(I}fjLa(TLv evcpoprjTov is meant to 
 contrast with ToXuxoicrrov, ' huge as 
 the tomb might have been, the house 
 could well have borne its weight' — a 
 sufficiently forced antithesis, according 
 to modern notions, but exactly parallel 
 to that in Ag. 441, where the handful 
 of dust sent home in the urn is called 
 ^api) xf/7jyfj.a dvadaKpvTou. With 
 dwfiaaiv eiLxpoprjrov, comp. v. 841, 
 (pepeiv ddfiOLS TeuoLr' dv dx0os. 
 
 354 — 361. Cho. 'Aye, thou hadst 
 reigned below among thy gallant 
 friends, next in honour to the gods of 
 the shades, even as in life thou wast 
 a king of kings.' 
 
 354. Herm. first gave this speech 
 to the Chorus. It is apparently a 
 continuation of Orestes' speech, dilat- 
 ing on the regal honours which would 
 have attended Agamemnon even after 
 death — a natural topic for a band of 
 captives, though rather at variance 
 with the usual practice of the Chorus, 
 which mostly represses instead of en- 
 couraging the vain grief of the 
 mourners. 0iXos ^iXoicri, see on v. 
 359. Toils e/ce? /caXws dayovai. Those 
 
58 
 
 X0H<3E>0P0I. 
 
 cre/uLvoTLiuLog avaKTcop, 
 
 TrpoTToXo^ T€ TOdv nieylcTTaiv -^OovioDV €K€i Tvpavvwv 
 
 ^acriXevg yap^aS', o(pp^ eYrjs, jmopijuLov Xa-)(09 
 
 [iriirXavTwv 3^^ 
 
 who died with him would have formed 
 his retinue below. Kl. refers to Hom. 
 Od.ii. 387., 24. 2 1, where Agamemnon 
 appears surrounded by those who, ac- 
 cording to the Homeric story, were slain 
 with him by ^gisthus. Comp. ib. 
 24. 37, where the poet seems to speak 
 of the death of Greeks and Trojans 
 about the body of Achilles in battle as 
 part of his dying honours. 
 
 356. dvoLKTUjp and irpoiroXos are ap- 
 parently both to be taken with ifMirpe- 
 TTiop, marking the two functions in 
 which he was conspicuous. cre/j.i'OTifios 
 Eum. 833, 
 
 358. The meaning apparently ia 
 that Agamemnon has the honour of 
 being the chosen attendant of Pluto 
 and Proserpine, the powers of the 
 shades. irpoiroXos is strictly one who 
 goes before, as dix(pliro\os is one who 
 accompanies, e/ce?, a favourite euphe- 
 mism for the regions below. Blomf. 
 comp. Soph. Aj. 854, 1372, El. 358 
 (add Ant. 76), Eur. Med. 1069, Hec. 
 422, Plato, Phcedo, § 9, in several of 
 which passages it is opposed to 
 €vddd€. 
 
 360. It appears from Strabo, 15. 3 
 (3 p. 322), pointed out by Paley, that 
 the funeral inscription of Darius was 
 supposed to be <pi\os 9jv (f>i\oi<xi : that 
 of Cyrus, ivddd' iyCj Keip-at KOpos 
 ^aaikevs jSacrtX^ajj'. Recent discoveries 
 have shown the story to be untrue, 
 but we may safely assume it to have 
 been believed in Greece, and its coin- 
 cidence with the two parts of this 
 passage, here and v. 354 above, is too 
 remarkable to be dismissed as acci- 
 dental, in the case of a writer like 
 
 -^sch., who refers repeatedly to 
 Persian customs. (For the epitaph 
 on Darius, comp. Pers. 648, ^ <pi\os 
 dv-qp, (pikos 6x^05 • 0t\a yap niKevdev 
 ijdTj, 674, cD TToXvKXavTe (piXoKTi davwv. 
 Thus we must connect inTrXdPTwv 
 with ^aaCXeis, after Butler and others, 
 the general sense being * for thou 
 wast a king of kings.' This is not 
 precisely the Homeric conception of 
 Agamemnon's position (comp. how- 
 ever, II. 2. 183 — 197) ; but it is the 
 form which the conception took in 
 later writers {e.g. Sen. Ag. 39, *Rex 
 ille regum, ductor Agamemnon 
 ducum'), and ^sch. was sufficiently 
 likely to give it currency, if not to 
 originate it, as in his days the idea of 
 sovereignty had become more or less 
 associated with that of Oriental des- 
 potism, so that Agamemnon would 
 appear to him a sort of reduced type 
 of Xerxes (comp. Pers. 24, ^acCXris 
 jSacrtX^ws uttoxoi p-eydXov). See note 
 on V. 57, and comp. Ag. 256, 7, with 
 Pers. I — 7. The absence of the 
 article before imrXdvTuiv is a logical 
 rather than a grammatical defect, and 
 as such may well be excused in 
 poetry. (But for these considerations, 
 it would be more natural with Heath 
 to make ^aaiXevs — ^^-qs parenthetical, 
 and connect irnrXdvTiov with Tvpdvvwv^ 
 comparing with iJ.6pLp.ov Xdxos, so un- 
 derstood, the account which the Furies 
 give of their functions, Eum. 334 foil.) 
 pibpipLov {II. 20. 302, equiv. to p.bpaL- 
 p.ov) Xdxos TTLwXduTcjv K.T.X. is a de- 
 scriptive synonyme for kings— the 
 ^schylean version, as it were, of 
 dioTpecpees ^aaiXijes. ^s, MSS., 'Tjad', 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 69 
 
 -^epoLV ireia-L^poTov re fiaKTpov. 
 HA. yu>/^' viro TpcD'tag 
 
 /uer" aXXo) SovpiK/j.r]Ti Xaw 
 
 irapa ^Ka/JidvSpou iropov TeOacpOai, 
 
 365 
 
 Abresch, which has been restored as 
 the Attic form by various critics to 
 the few passages in tlie dramatists 
 where ijs was formerly read. Well, 
 collects other instances where 6 has 
 been omitted before O in MSS. or 
 early editions, Eiini. 376, 686, 798, 
 2'heb. 5, Pers. 322. The Med. origi- 
 nally had rju, which Rob. found in his 
 MS., and Kl. and Herm. adopt, the 
 latter reading ^^77. There seems no- 
 thing to warrant the change to the 
 third person, as though the speaker is 
 changed, the sentence is grammati- 
 cally part of that begun v. 345. 64>pa 
 i^T}^, MSS., 6(t>p ^^r)s, Pauw, inn- 
 TrXdvTiav, MSS., TrLirXavToiv,. Heath. 
 
 361. iria-ifM^poTou or TreicrLix^poTov, 
 MSS. ireLai^poTOv, Pauw. Xdxoy 
 ^OLKTpovTe may possibly be ahendiadys, 
 as Scholef. suggests : at any rate it 
 may be said that the harshness of 
 §6.KTpov irt.w\dvTU}v is mitigated by 
 Xdxos preceding. KLwellcomp. Soph. 
 Q^d. C. 449, dpovovs Kol crKrjiTTpa 
 Kpaiveiu. (To change the text is only 
 to obliterate a characteristic ex- 
 pression.) The sceptre or staff is the 
 symbol of royalty in Jbisch.asinHomer. 
 Kl. refers to £iim. 626, StocrSdrotj 
 CK-qiTTpoLCi TifxaXcpovfjLevoi', Pers. 764, 
 exoi'ra (jKTjTTTpov evdvvTrjpioyf the 
 former of which illustrates- pU>pLfiou 
 Xdxos, the latter Treia-i^poTov ^aKTpov. 
 ^oLKTpov, of a sceptre, Ay. 202. 
 
 362-371. El. 'No! I would not 
 have had my father buried in the 
 crowd at Troy. A death like his 
 ought rather to have happened to his 
 
 murderers, and that not under our 
 eyes, but far away.' 
 
 362. Tpojtas, the lengthened form, 
 occurs also m Pind. iV. 3. 60, quoted 
 byKl. 
 
 363. reix'^aai, MSS. Tet'xec", 
 Heath. 
 
 364. dWuiv, MSS. dWcp, Stan- 
 ley. dopi.Kp.nTi, MSS. dovpt.Kp.riTi, 
 Blomf. 
 
 365. T^da\f/aL, MSS. Teddcf^daL, 
 H. L. Ahrens,. confirmed by the Schol., 
 XetTret to &4>ei\es. See on v. 307. 
 The construction of the nom. with the 
 inf. in the sense of a wish, is not 
 common. Jelf, § 671, e, refers to 
 Hom. Od. 7. 311 foU., 24. 375 foil, 
 Eur. Hel. 262. There, however, the 
 speaker is wishing for something for 
 himself, which would account for the 
 nom. ; but it is not easy to do so here, 
 and in the next verse, where the noms. 
 are in the 2nd and 3rd persons re- 
 spectively. Still, whatever may be 
 the rationale of the construction, there 
 seems no doubt about the text, as it 
 stands with Ahrens' correction. 
 Hermann's insertion of ireirpuffo is 
 very improbable, as requiring a 
 further change here, and in the 
 strophe. The Schol. has perceived 
 the sense, and the psychological truth 
 of the speech : 71/i'at/ct/cws ovdk tovtc^ 
 dpecrKCTai., dWd Tip p.r}5^ tt]v a.pxv'' 
 durjpTJadai. Electra rejects the conso- 
 lation derivable from a glorious death, 
 like Cassandra, Ay. 1305, speaking 
 slightingly of the interment among 
 his friends, which Orestes and the 
 
60 
 
 XOHcE>OPOI. 
 
 Tra^o? 01 KTavovreg vlv ovtco da^rjvaL 
 ^ ~ Oavarrjcpopov ala-av 
 TTpoa-ot) TLva TTVvOavecrOai ■ 
 Tojvoe TTovoov aireipov. 
 XO. ravra julcv, d> iral, Kpetcra-ova "^pvcrov, 
 
 370 
 
 Chorus value, and wishes rather that 
 the murderers had been the sufferers. 
 
 367, ovTios, MSS. ovTCj, Porson. 
 There is the same ambiguity about 
 irdpos as about our word sooner, ex- 
 pressing either that the thing would 
 have been preferable, or that it should 
 have happened first. Electra thinks 
 less of addressing her father than of 
 framing her wish, and so passes in 
 speaking of him from the second to 
 the third person. 
 
 368. davaTr](p6pov alaav seems to be 
 constructed with haixrjvai as a cogn. 
 ace. rather than with irvvddvecrdai. It 
 is not, however, easy to decide, as a 
 word of the quantity of an iambus has 
 dropped out at the beginning of the 
 line, and its recovery might possibly 
 alter the sense and construction. 
 Perhaps, however, a clue to it is to 
 be found in a gloss attached to the 
 previous verse in the Med. MS. 
 Toh €Kelv(j}v, which seems to be an ex- 
 planation of some lost word, as there 
 is no dat. pi. to which it can refer. 
 (plXoLS, which would be constructed 
 with dafJLrjvaL, like ddfiT] "E/cropt 8icx3, 
 Hom. II. 20. 103, would suit the 
 general sense sufficiently well, de- 
 fining the meaning of ovtcj (compare 
 the prayer of Ajax, Soph. Aj. 841), at 
 the same time that the Schol. might 
 think himself bound to explain that 
 the friends spoken of were not 
 Electra's, but the murderers'. 
 
 369. irpbaaw, MSS. Trpoaoo, Herm. 
 Electra seems to wish that they had 
 received the news of their enemies' 
 
 death from a distance, partly because 
 distance had been already mentioned 
 by Orestes (v. 352, note) in his wish, 
 to which hers is parallel, partly in 
 order to contrast the effects of such an 
 event as strongly as possible with the 
 impression produced by her father's 
 murder, which happened almost before 
 her eyes. This wish the Chorus would 
 naturally rebuke as wild and visionary, 
 reminding her that if her enemies are 
 to fall, she must not be absent but 
 present, not passive but active. Ac- 
 cordingly their own prayer is that 
 when the deed is done they may be 
 there. irvvOdveadai constructed hke 
 fxaOelv, Pers. 247, Ag. 1155. 
 
 371-378. CAo. 'This is mere wishing 
 for impossible happiness, easy and 
 valueless. However, the prayer is 
 doing its work, they have unearthly 
 friends stirring, while their enemies 
 have none; it is the children's vic- 
 tory.' 
 
 371. Gold, as the most precious 
 metal (Pind. 0., i. i, referred to by 
 Kl.), was the symbol with the Greeks 
 for the highest happiness, as the 
 golden age shows. Stanley quotes 
 Aristot. Hymn, in Hermiavi., xp^crov 
 Tc Kpeaacj Kal yoveicv, and a similar 
 expression from CatulL, 107. 3, 
 ' carior auro.' 
 
 372. For the traditional felicity of 
 the Hyperboreans, Blomf refers to 
 Pind. P. 10. 47, and to Spanheim on 
 Calhra. H. Del. 281. The hiatus is 
 paralleled by Butler from Pers. 39, 
 52, 542. 
 
XOHc|>OPOI 
 
 61 
 
 ^eydXijg Se TV)(r]9 Kai virepfiopiov 
 luei^ova (pooveig' Svvacrai yap. 
 aWa oiTrXrj^ ya/O Tyjaroe fxapayvi]? 
 oovTTog iKvetTar roov /mev apooyoi 
 
 375 
 
 373. (poiveV 6 bvvacrai, or (fxijvei' 
 oSuudaai, MSS. ((xavels' ddvvdaac, 
 Turn. (f)U)veh' d6ua<raL, Herm. The 
 final c had been mistaken for O. ov 
 dvuacrat had been proposed long before 
 by Jacob ap. Stanley, dvfaaai. was 
 read by the Schol. whose gloss is 
 pq.dLov yap rb evx^crOai. Bamb. comp. 
 Horn. Od. 5.. 27, TrjXefxaxov de tri) 
 Tri[x\pov eTriaTa/x^vus, duvaaai ydp, 
 Virgil's ' namque potes.' Words- 
 worth, who perhaps hit on the con- 
 jecture independently, as Emper did, 
 refers to Mitscherlich on Hor. i Od. 
 28. 28. 
 
 374. The Chorus reassure them- 
 selves by the thought, already ex- 
 pressed in a somewhat different form, 
 V. 324 foil., that the dirge has a 
 virtue of its own, and that being well 
 set on foot, it is already beginning to 
 have its effect in rousing the avengers 
 below. Comp. vv. 463 — 5. StTrX^s 
 then is parallel to d/x^LXacprjs rapa- 
 X^ei's, V. 331, the Chorus feeling that 
 two are likely to do the work more 
 zealously and present a more grievous 
 complaint (comp. v. 335) than one. 
 The prayer, having the nature of a 
 reproach, is compared to a scourge, 
 like Clytaemnestra's upbraidings of 
 the Furies in Eum. 135, 6, 155-161. 
 fxapdyfXTjs, Med. (H.) Guelf. fiapa- 
 yprjs, Med. (F.) Eob. Turn, read 
 fxapaivris, but the form ixdpayva is sup- 
 ported by Photius, by Plato Com. ap. 
 Poll. 9. 56, and hy Rhes. 817. For 
 the image of a double scourge comp. 
 A(). 642. (This interpretation, which 
 is due to Miiller, is far preferable to 
 the common one, sanctioned by the 
 
 Schol., which makes the 5i7rX^ [xd- 
 payva a double calamity, supposed to 
 be described in the following lines. 
 There would be no point, as Bamb. 
 remarks, in saying that the protectors 
 of the children are dead, as but for the 
 murder they would have required no 
 protection: nor again can it be na- 
 turally called a calamity that the 
 hands of the rulers are unholy : while 
 it is equally hard to see how the chil- 
 dren can be said in such a context to 
 bear the heavier part of the affliction. 
 In short, the explanation breaks down 
 in almost every part. Paley's inter- 
 pretation (on Sujyp. 827 ed. 2) of 5t7r\^ 
 fxdpayva of the KOfifios, the beating of 
 the breast with both hands, is in- 
 genious, but rather fanciful.) 
 
 375. iKveirai. Abreschcomp. v. 380, 
 and Theb. 563, iKuelTai \6yos did (ttt]- 
 deojp. In what follows, the sense seems 
 to be that while on the one side help is 
 stirring below, on the other there can 
 be no similar reinforcement, as the 
 hands of Clytsemnestra and ^gis- 
 thus are blood-stained, so that they 
 cannot deprecate vengeance, but 
 rather provoke it : and thus the vic- 
 tory remains with the children. The 
 language of this line is well illus- 
 trated by Orestes' speech, Eum. 598, 
 Treiroid', dpcoyds 8' e/c rdcpov Tre/xireL 
 TraTTjp, though the succour brought 
 there is on the day of trial, while here 
 it is for the encounter with the 
 usurpers, as in vv. 460, 477, 497 
 foil, (where the word iraiaiv is also 
 used), 725. Comp. also Soph. El. 
 453, 7T]0€V evixevri 'YLpuv dpwycv 
 avTov els ix^poi/s fxoXeTu. 
 
62 
 
 XOH^OPOL 
 
 Kara yrj^ ?^>;' tcov Se Kparovvrcav 
 veoe? ov-^ ocriai (TTvyepoov tovtoov 
 Traial Se /maWov yeyevr]Tai. 
 HA. TovTO Sia/JLireph ovg ^ikcO' airep re ^eXo?. (rrp. o. 380 
 Zeu Zey, KarcoOev afxiTGiJ.'Trwv 
 va-Tcpoiroivov arav 
 PpoTwv tKol/j-ovi KaL TravovpyM 
 yef/o/, TOK€V(TL S' o/xw? TeXelrai. 
 
 ^'j'j. With x^P^5 ovx oVtai corap, 
 Eum. 313 foil., where x"P^^ irpove- 
 fxeiv may perliaps be understood of 
 putting forward hands in prayer 
 (comp, Theb. 699-701, which would 
 be precisely parallel to such an inter- 
 pretation of the passage), and at any 
 rate the contrast between Kadapas 
 Xetpas TTpovefieLV and x^'-P^^ (povias 
 eTTiKpiiTTeiv is strong and marked. So 
 in Ag. 'J'!6, cvv irlvi^ x^P^^ ^^ c°^' 
 trasted with o<ria. arvyepQv roirwv 
 is added after the mention of the 
 rulers, apparently to relieve the 
 feeling of the Chorus, like the curse 
 similarly introduced, v. 267. 
 
 378. This line apparently sums up 
 the result of the contest, as augured 
 by the presumed disposition of the 
 powers below. iraial is emphatic, 
 as it is their taking up of their duty 
 as children which ensures them sup- 
 port, and consequently victory. 
 fxaXKov yeyivTjTai I would understand 
 of success, after the analogy of nrXeov 
 ^X^Lv or (pepeadat,, though I know of 
 no similar use of the word. Compare 
 the parallel pointed out on v. 384. 
 
 380-384. £1. 'That saying thrilled 
 through me. Avenging Zeus! it is 
 the parents' retribution.' 
 
 380. Electra, thus recalled from her 
 day-dreams, is penetrated with the 
 thought presented to her that all the 
 while the gods are working, and that 
 
 the crisis is approaching, ws, MSS. 
 oSs, Schiitz. tKero, MSS. ke0% 
 Pauw. With airep re. Wordsworth 
 well comp. Soph. Ant. 653. Trrva-as 
 uKxet T€ 5v<XfieP7j /xedes. CbcrTC might 
 have stood there, as are here, and the 
 substitution of wcret for ws in the one 
 case and of Hirep for & in the other 
 makes no difference in the propriety of 
 using re. The speech is given to 
 Electra by Rob., there being no pre- 
 fix in the MSS. 
 
 382. Comp. Ag. 58, vaTep6iroivov 
 UifiTreL irapa^daiv 'Epivvv. 'Sending 
 vengeance on the hand of the mur- 
 derer' is rather a strange expression, 
 though there may be a notion of the 
 hand as the recipient of a payment, 
 no less than as an agent in crime. 
 Rob. makes Electra's speech end at 
 /SAos, giving ZeO ZeO to Orestes. The 
 present arrangement was first sug- 
 gested by Stanley. 
 
 383. rX-rj/J-ovi., MSS. rXdfiovi, Dind. 
 Herra. For the use of the word comp. 
 
 V. 596- 
 
 384. There is apparently an aposio- 
 pesis, Electra stopping in what was 
 probably a prayer for vengeance to 
 contemplate the last words uttered by 
 the Chorus, and being thus led to view 
 the crisis in a new aspect. It can 
 scarcely be doubted that there is an 
 intentional correspondence between 
 the wording of the latter part of the 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 63 
 
 XO. ecpvfiv^cai yevoiro fxoi -TrevKaevr' oXoXvy/uiov avSpog 
 
 Oeivojuevov, yvvaiKog r' f^'^'P* ^'' 085 
 
 oXXv/xevag' tl yap KevOco (ppevog olov e/mTrag 
 
 present line, and that of v. 378, 'the 
 children have the advantage,' and 
 * the parents get their due.* 6/xQs was 
 long ago proposed by Stephens for 
 8fiu}s, and seems to have been read by 
 the Schol., whose words are tVa t6 
 6/xoiov Kal iaov t^j irarpi fiov <pv\axOri' 
 TOKevai then will be Clytaenmestra, 
 who is spoken of in the plural again, 
 V. 419. rekeiTai of vengeance, as in 
 vv. 284, 310. o/iws TeKelrai. will thus 
 be parallel to TlveLv 6/Jt.ov, Ag. 1325, 
 the adverb in each case having the 
 force of a cognate accusative. The 
 order is emphatic in itself, indepen- 
 dently of its exact correspondence to 
 that of V. 378. TOKevai was suggested 
 by iraLdl as its correlative (though 
 iraLai in the mind of the Chorus seemed 
 to denote the relation to the father 
 rather than to the mother), and it is 
 the prominent point on which Electra 
 fixes her regard. The speech of the 
 Chorus is present to her throughout : 
 it inspires the imprecation which she 
 is beginning to utter, and it suggests 
 the conclusion with which she in- 
 terrupts herself. This explanation 
 has at any rate the advantage of 
 giving a distinct significance to a form 
 of expression, the peculiarity of which 
 has led most of the commentators to 
 suspect some error. 
 
 385-394. Cho. 'May I raise the 
 sacrificial shout for both our tyrants ! 
 Why need I check the hatred which 
 struggles for expression V 
 
 385. TrevKdevr' (Herm. for the 
 MSS. irevKrjevT^) dXaXvy/ndv seems 
 rightly understood by Kl. as a pitchy 
 or pinewood shout, i. e., a shout over 
 the pinewood fire of the sacrifice. 
 
 The Chorus apparently conceives of 
 the usurpers as victims about to be 
 slain over the fire, the moment of 
 slaughter being the signal for the 
 shout. See Horn. Od. 3. 450, Ag. 
 iit8, Eur. Or. 1137, cited by Peile, 
 and comp. v. 268 above, where KTjKldi 
 Tnacrrjpei cpXcr/os illustrates irevKciei'T' 
 here, and suggests that^sch. may have 
 wished by a single epithet to recall 
 a picture which he had already given 
 more fully, the shout being represented 
 as rising through the pitchy vapour 
 of the flame. This, though harsh, 
 seems better than the old inter- 
 pretation bitter, or Paley's piercing, 
 which are inconsistent with the general 
 meaning of the word, and perhaps less 
 appropriate in themselves. The metre 
 presents an apparent difiiculty, as 
 compared with that of the antistrophe : 
 Seidler, however (Z>e Vers. Dochm. 
 p. 45), seems to think it admissible, 
 though Herm. and Dind. alter the 
 text. 
 
 387. Comp. Ag. 1318, 9, 6rau 
 yvvrj yvvaiKbs avr' ifiov Odvrj, 'Kvfjp re 
 dvaddfiapros clvt' dvdpbs Tearj. 
 
 389. delou, MSS. olou, Herm. olov ia 
 constructed adverbially with iroTaTaL, 
 which with the rest of the sentence 
 forms the object of KevOu. <ppev6s is the 
 local genitive, like/capSias, v. 183. ^piiras 
 apparently = 6'/xws, as luProm. 48, 187. 
 * Why should I hide, how, do what T 
 will, there keeps fluttering at my 
 breast,' &c. Keudcv is the conj. With 
 tI yap Kc^idoj comp. v. 102, note. 
 (H. L. Ahrens' ri yap Ketjdu (ppevds 
 I6v ; ^fxiras k. t. \ is very plausible, 
 and would in some respects suit the 
 passage better than Hermann's conj.. 
 
64 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 TTOrarai, irdpoiOev Se Trpwpag 39O 
 
 SpijULug at]Tai Kpaoia^ 
 OvfjLO^, eyKOTOv arvyo^ \ 
 OP. KaL ttot' av anKpiOaXrjg Zei/? iiri X^^poL ^aXoi, 
 
 cjjev (p€v, Kapava Sat^ag ; |_ai^T. S\ 395 
 
 iricTTa jevoLTo X^P^^' 
 
 Keidu} (ppevbs ibv answering to <ppevQiv 
 (TTvyoi Kparovcrri, v. 8i ; but the de- 
 parture from the MSS. is greater, 
 unless we suppose 96 to be simply 
 OC repeated (see Cobet. Varice Lee- 
 tiones, pp. 7 foil.), and the longer 
 sentence is perhaps more ^schylean.) 
 
 390. Kl. comp. Ag. 976, dei/aa 
 irpocFTar-qpLov Kapdias repacrKoivov ttoto,- 
 rat. TTOTciTaL here introduces the 
 metaphor of the wind. 
 
 391. Kapdias, MS8. /cpaStas, Blomf. 
 dpifJLVs qualifies drjrai. For the image 
 Kl. cites II. 21. 386, dixa 5i a<pLv ivl 
 (ppecri dvfihs dT]ro, which -^sch. may 
 have had in view, though in Horn, 
 the verb seems to be passive, the mind 
 being represented as blown hither 
 and thither. The transition to the 
 active sense is easy enough, as the 
 wind may be spoken of either as an 
 agent or as an effect. Comp, also Ag. 
 110, <ppevb$ TTvecov dvaae^i] rpoiraiav, 
 and such expressions as dvfiod irvoai, 
 Eur. Phcen. 454. Whether Kpadias 
 is local again, or connected with 
 dvfios, is not clear. Wordsworth refers 
 to Eur. Med. 587, Kapdias /xeyav xb\ov, 
 and to Soph. Ant. 1085, where it 
 seems very doubtful whether Kapdias 
 does not belong to ro^eu^ara. 
 
 392. o-TU7osmaybe a cogn. ace. after 
 &7]Tai, but it is simpler to take it in 
 app. with dvfibs. cHyos, of the 
 feeling, as in v. 81. 
 
 394-399. Or. ' When will the God 
 of the orphan succour us, destroying 
 the tyrants, and setting the city free ? 
 
 I ask for my right, and call on the 
 powers below to hear me.' 
 
 394. Herm. first gave this speech to 
 Orestes, ^at irbr du jSdXot, a wish 
 expressed in the form of a question, 
 like Ti's cLu fjibXoi, Ag. 1449. In this 
 sense the use of Kai (see on v. 528) is 
 very uncommon, but there can hardly 
 be a doubt of the meaning here, 
 though Bamb. understands the ques- 
 tion as an objection, 'how can the 
 giver of life be likely to inflict death? 
 It is from the powers of the grave we 
 must look for aid.' Perhaps Kal ttcDs, 
 Ag. 1 198, may also denote a wish, as 
 Herm. and Donaldson think, but there 
 is nothing there to render it necessary, 
 either in the context, where Tryjyfia 
 yevvaio:s iraykv may mean ' however 
 firm its fixture,' or in the language, 
 as dv frequently follows ttws or rl% 
 rather than the verb where there is no 
 wish, e. g., Pers. 788, SupiJ. 336, 389, 
 590. dfjL(pida\ris. iir dficpoTepots tocs 
 yovevai BdWwv ^ €<p' y dficpbrepoi. 
 ddWova-ip oL yopeis. Hesych. the 
 Latin patrimus et matrimus. Hence 
 Butler well explains it of Zeus, as 
 standing to Orestes and Electra in the 
 place of both their parents, eirt xctpa 
 jSdXot. Wordsworth comp. Callim. 
 Up. 1, 6, ^(Ti.v b irdvTwv 'ApTraKT7]p 
 'Atbrjs ovK IttI x^'-P'^ jSaXei. 
 
 396. <p€v in a wish, above v. 195, 
 Ag. 1449. Kapava, the heads of Cly- 
 tsemnestra and ^gisthus. Kl. comp. 
 Hom. II. II. 158, 500, and v. 1047 
 of this play, which is peculiarly pa- ' 
 
XOH#OPOI 
 
 65 
 
 KXure Se Ta ■^(Oovimv re Ti/mal. 
 
 XO. aWa voiuLog fj-ev (poviag crrayovag 
 ■^vimevag eg ireSov aXXo irpocraLTelv 
 alfxa. poa yap Xoiyog ^lEipivvv 
 irapa tcov irporepov (pOifxei/cov arrju 
 erepav eirayovcrav eir ary]. 
 
 HA. TTOi irol Si] vepTepwv TvpavvlSe<s\ 
 
 400 
 
 (7T/ 
 
 405 
 
 rallel, as the cutting off of the heads of 
 the tyrants is connected there as here 
 with the restoration of freedom. 
 /SdXot Sa/'|as = /3a\oi /cat ^at^OL. da't^as, 
 with a long antep., as in Horn, II, 11. 
 497 (quoted by Herm.). 
 
 397. ' May the country feel confi- 
 dence again, ' instead of that fear which 
 (v. 5 7) succeeded the natural awe in- 
 spired by rightful authority. ainaTLa, 
 the want of confidence between ruler 
 and ruled, is the vice of tyranny, 
 Prom. 224, 5. For Orestes' wish to 
 deliver his country, see v. 302. iridTa is 
 used for confidence, Horn. Od. 11.456, 
 which however is not, as Herm. thinks, 
 otherwise parallel to this passage. 
 
 398. The old interpretation of e^ 
 ddiKwv, ' from the unjust,' seems more 
 natural than Scholefield's, ' after in- 
 justice.' €K is frequently used where 
 we might have expected some other 
 preposition, as e^ ifxoO (hcpe^rj/xivos, 
 Prom. 221, €K dedv dodevra, Eum. 392. 
 
 399. Taxdovlwv TeTifiac, Med., the 
 last word corrected into Terifihai. Td 
 Xdoviujv re rifxal, H. L. Ahrens and 
 Franz. Bothe had already conjectured 
 TL TL/xai. Comp. Pers. 640, Td re Kal 
 dWoLxdoviiov dyefjLoves. TtfMai, of poten- 
 tates or officials {T[epaov6/j.ov rtfiTJs 
 fieydX-qs, Pers. 919) like rvpavviSes, v. 
 405j ^PX^^) ^9- 124, Milton's 'Thrones, 
 Dominations, Princedoms, Virtues, 
 I'owers.' 
 
 400—404. Ch. ' Blood will have 
 blood. Murder calls for a Fury, who 
 comes with other plagues from bygone 
 generations of crime.' 
 
 400. dW dvofjLos, MSS. dXXd v6- 
 /xos, Turn. v6/xos, vv. 93, 151. For 
 the sentiment comp. vv. 64, 5. 
 
 402. Xotybv 'Epivvs, MSS. XoLybs 
 'EpLvvv, Schiitz. Xoiyos, slaughter, as 
 in Supp. 680, dvdpoKfJirjS Xoiyos. vEsch. 
 as it were explains the supernatural 
 process. The murder calls for an 
 avenging Fury, and she, when she 
 comes, does not come alone. 
 
 403. irpoTipwu, MSS. Trporepop, 
 Person. Not only the present deed 
 of blood, but other crimes done by 
 ancestors in former generations are 
 had in remembrance, and produce a 
 new plague, drriv ir^pav eir' drr]. For 
 a similar notion of the revival by a 
 new crime of old offences, which might 
 else have been forgotten, comp. Ag. 
 345 foil., and for the belief that men 
 suffered for the crimes of former gene- 
 rations, comp. Ag. 1338, ^w?;i. 934. > 
 Agamemnon's own death is represented 
 as being theologically the mixed result, 
 of several causes, the old crimes of the* 
 house of Atreus combining with the 
 sacrifice of Iphigenia, and the slaughters ^ 
 in the Trojan war. 
 
 405 — 409. El. *^Vhere are the 
 powei-s below? Look, mighty Furies, 
 on the remnant of the Atridte forlorn 
 
66 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 'iSere TroXvKpareig ''Apal (pOeifAeucov, 
 'ISecrO^ ^A.Tp€iSav tol Xolir ajmrj'^avct)? 
 eyovra /cal ScojuLaroov 
 CLTijULa. Tra t/? rpairoir^ av, w Zev ; 
 XO. ireiraXraL S^ avre /jloi (plXov Keap TOvSe K\vov(Tav 
 
 Kai Tore fxeu 
 
 SvcreX 
 
 TTK}, 
 
 [ 
 
 OLKTOV, avT, e 
 
 410 
 
 and homeless ! Whither shall we 
 turn ?' 
 
 405. This speech was given by 
 Herm. to Electra, having been befoie 
 generally assigned to the Chorus. For 
 Trot TTOt Harm, would read tL irol for 
 the metre : Bamb., however, observes 
 that there are other instances where 
 the anacrusis of the antispast is 
 lengthened, and the reading of the 
 MSS. is preferable in point of sense. 
 TToi without a verb, as in v, 882, 
 
 406. kpal are the Furies, Eum. 
 417 (Miiller Diss., § 77), so that with 
 iro\vKpaT€?$ we may comp, Theb. 977, 
 fMiXaiv' ''Epivvs, ^ /iieyaadevris tls el, 
 with 'Apai (pOsLfievuv, ib. 832, tD fx^- 
 \aLva Kai reXeiayeveos Oldiirov t "Apa. 
 tpdeip-hoiv, the reading of the MSS. is 
 perhaps a vox nihili (though Atto- 
 tpdelcrdo} is read by Heyne, Hom. II. 8. 
 429), which has probably supplanted 
 the true word, answering to reKOfievuv, 
 V. 419. It seems useless to attempt 
 to restore it by conjecture, which be- 
 comes mere guesswork: H. L. 
 Ahrens' (pdLvo/xevojv perhaps has most 
 external probability, but the exist- 
 ence of a passive <p6ivo/xai is doubtful. 
 
 407. TO. XoLird rather than roi/s 
 \oiTOvs, from a sort of self-contempt, 
 *all that remains of the Atridse.' 
 
 409. With the language of Swyua- 
 TOiv aTLjxa comp. Theb. 1024, where, 
 as here, the sense is quasi- political, 
 referring to the position of an ariixos, 
 and so perhaps Soph. EL 12 14, ourws 
 &TLfxbs dp,i. Tov T€6vr]KbTo$ ; * Am I so 
 
 utterly without franchise in the dead V 
 With the sense comp. w. 127,132, &c. 
 7ra r/s TpdwoLT" &v seems said in impa- 
 tience and distrust of the gods below. 
 
 410 — 417. Ch. *My heart throbs 
 as I listen — at one time with fear, at 
 another with hope.' 
 
 410. The right assignment is again 
 due to Herm. Rob. had given this 
 antistrophe to Electra. TreTrdXarat, 
 MSS. Tr^TraXrai, Turn. a?rr€, re- 
 ferring to the sympathy which the 
 Chorus had expressed before, going 
 along with the performance of the 
 KOfifJios. See V. 374. <pl\ov, y. 110, 
 note. Blomf. comp. Supp. 785, 
 K€\aiv6xp(^s 5^ TrdWeTai /xov KapZia. 
 KXvovaav, the ace. where we should 
 have expected the dat., as in Pers. 
 913 (where ifioi need not be read, 
 being understood from e/xCop), Soph. 
 El. 479 (apparently imitated from this 
 passage). To explain the anomaly it 
 is only necessary to recollect that the 
 power of cases is not created by the 
 words which in common parlance are 
 said to govern them. KXiovaav is in 
 the ace, because it stands in the mind 
 of the writer for the object of the sen- 
 tence, though he has not completed 
 the grammatical construction. oTktov, 
 a piteous cry, Siipp. 51. 
 
 412. With the general language of 
 the rest of the speech Wordsworth 
 well comp. Ag. 100, 104, The verb 
 is omitted after dvaeXins, though there 
 is no personal pronoun, as in Eur. 
 Med. 612, Eel. 1523. 
 
XOH$OPOI, 
 
 67 
 
 (TTrXdy^va ce julov KeXaivovrai ttjOo? eVo? KXvovcra. 
 orav S' auT^ ex' aX/ca? eirapri 415 
 
 — ^, airea-Tacrev a)(^09 
 '^Trpog TO (paveiarOai jjlol KoXwg. 
 OP. Ti S' av (pdvTe<} TvyoLiJ.€v, rj raTrep dvr. g-'. 
 
 TraOojULev cf^ea irpog ye tcov reKOjUievMv ; 
 irdpea-TL cralveiv, to. S' ovtl OeXyerar 42 O 
 
 414. ffrXdyxva, of the larger organs 
 of the body, as explained by Paley on 
 Ag. 995, where it answers to K^ap. 
 The image of the darkening of the 
 heart, as the effect of fear, recurs 
 again, Supp. 785, quoted above, Pers. 
 115. In Homer it is the effect of rage, 
 II. 1. 103. IJ.0V, the MSS. reading, need 
 not be changed, as ^sch. seems to 
 have imitated the Homeric con- 
 struction of a part, in the dat. after a 
 pronoun in the gen. {Tl. 10. 188, 14. 
 141) for which see Jelf, §§ 710, obs., 
 712, obs. I. Trpbs 'i-JTos in answer to 
 the word, as in kiros Trpb<: 'iiros, Eum. 
 586. Wordsworth connects it with 
 Kkvovcra, but the instances of /SXeVeiv, 
 or bpav Trpos ti, to which he refers, do 
 not seem parallel. 
 
 415, e-KokKks dpapi, MSS. er* 
 dX/c^s, Blomf. {dXKcis, Franz). iirdpT}, 
 Paley, who supposes 6 F to have been 
 corrupted into GP. The restoration 
 confirms and is confirmed by Blom- 
 field's suggestion that the missing 
 trochee at the beginning of the next 
 line was originally eXTris, a word 
 exactly fitting the context (comp. Ag. 
 102, which is a repetition of v. 416 
 in other words), and well suited to 
 eiraipeLv. Possibly /i* may have dropped 
 out after iirdpri. 
 
 417. Trpbs rb <pave7<TdaL jxol koXus 
 gives no very clear sense, and does 
 not suit the metre. None of the cor- 
 rections that have been proposed are 
 
 satisfactory. Trpbs rb <pa/xiaai /caXcDs 
 {(pafxiaaa' €/u.ol koXws H. L. Ahrens) 
 might be suggested, as requiring us 
 to believe little more than that fxoi has 
 been interpolated ; but probably the 
 true reading has been hopelessly 
 obliterated, as the words as they stand 
 bear marks rather of tampering than 
 of ordinary corruption. 
 
 418 — 422. Or. 'What can we talk 
 of but our wrongs ? Our mother shall 
 find the nature she gave us as im- 
 placable as hers.' 
 
 418. irdPTes, MSS. (f>dpT€S, Bothe, 
 Bamb. ruxoi/xev dv, MSS. Tvxoifiev, 
 Herm. The language resembles v. 
 315. Herm. first assigned this to 
 Orestes, who is beginning to feel that 
 the execution of the vengeance de- 
 pends on himself, while he naturally 
 pleads his wrongs as a reason for ex- 
 pecting divine aid. Peile rightly re- 
 moves the interrogation after Tvxoifj.eu, 
 so as to connect rj with ri, which 
 stands for ri aXXo. ' What should we 
 be right in speaking of but,' &c. 
 
 419. axOea, MSS. &X^a, Blomf. 
 Lachm. The Schol. explains rd in the 
 next line by rd dxv- 
 
 420. irdpecTL, like licet in Latin, 
 seems here little more than a form of 
 introducing a hypothesis, * although 
 one were to flatter.' calveiv is here 
 to soften a harsh feeling by gentle 
 suggestions, as in Theh. 383, 704 it 
 means to soften a harsh fact by evasive 
 
68 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 \vKog yap ooctt^ w/uLocppcoi' 
 acravT09 eic jULarpog ea-ri OvjULog, 
 XO. €Koy^a KOiJ.iJ.ov" A pLOv €V re Kto-cr/a? 
 vojULoig IrfKefMia-rpla^, 
 OLTrpiKTOTrXijKTa 7roXv7r\avr}Ta o ^v iSeip 
 
 err. 
 
 ■p- r- 
 
 425 
 
 conduct. The object of aaiveiv is 
 dxea, as is clear from the following 
 •words, rd 5' of/rt d^Xyerai. Strictly 
 speaking it is not the wrong that is 
 soothed, but the sense of wrong : hence 
 in V. 422 ctxea is replaced by 6vfj.6s. 
 
 421. XiJkos u)/ji6(ppcov seems to be 
 equivalent to w/xtj Xvkov (ppr]v. 
 
 422. iK fiarpos iffTi is to be under- 
 stood nearly with Pauw, 'is derived 
 from our mother/ agreeably to the 
 common use of ^/c tivos etvaL for lineal 
 descent. The sense then is at once 
 appropriate and forcible. ' We cannot 
 forgive her, for we are her true chil- 
 dren, implacable as she is.' 
 
 423 — 428. Clio. * I am beating my- 
 self in eastern fashion, with blow upon 
 blow, till my head rings again. ' 
 
 423. "Apeiou, MSS. ""kpLov, Herm. 
 H. L. Ahrens, after the Schol. Tiepai.- 
 k6v. The Chorus is describing the 
 actual /co/i^ios which itis going through, 
 much as in vv. 22 foil. Comp. Sujij^. 
 69 foil., 120, I. ^Koxpa appears to 
 coine under Madvig, § 111, Rem. b. 
 ' The first person of the aorist is some- 
 times applied to the expression of one's 
 state of mind by words or gestures, 
 occurring at the moment of speaking 
 ... So iyeXaaa, rjvea-a, eir-qveaa, 
 ijadrjv, eSe^diiirjv, direTrTvaa, &c., in the 
 dramatic poets.' With the Arian 
 Kofxfxos and the Cissian dirge comp. 
 Pers. 936, KUKOfxiXerov lav Mapiavdv- 
 vov dpTjvTjTTJpos Tre/xxJ/u}, and with the 
 Cissians in particular ib. 120, /cat to 
 'Ktaaicju TroXia/J.' dvridovirov (^aerai. 
 dre, MSS. iv re, Herm. Kiaaiacs, 
 
 MSS. Kiaa-las, Eob. (This whole 
 passage was comp] etely misunderstood, 
 owing to the corruption in the next 
 line, for which Turn, introduced 
 vbfJLOLai TToXefiLarpias, altering ^Ko^pa 
 into ^KO\pe, a change which seemed to 
 agree with "Apeiov, so that the thing 
 described appeared to be Agamemnon's 
 murder. Herm. and H. L. Ahrens 
 discovered the truth independently of 
 each other, the latter rightly giving 
 the strophe to the Chorus. Peile and 
 Bamb. first saw that the time de- 
 scribed is not past, but present.) 
 
 424. voixoLaiXeixLO-Tplas, MSS. vofiots 
 l7]X€fiL<TTpias, Herm., H. L. Ahrens, 
 referring to Hesych. iriXep.L(jTpla%, 
 6pT]vr]Tpias, doubtless from this very 
 place. Comp. Supp. 115, i'tj Ir] lr]X4- 
 fMOLcriv ifXTrpeiTT} ^Qaa yooLS fie tl/jlu), 
 which seems to show that 77 should be 
 retained even in lyrics, iu vo/j-ois is 
 merely 'after the manner.' Words- 
 worth comp. Eur. Or. 1407, (ppvyloiat 
 v6/xois, ib. T500, TTpoaKwCi a' ava^, 
 vofMOiai ^aplBapoicTL Trpocnnrvfhv. 
 
 425. airpLyKTOL TrXTjKrd iroXvTrd- 
 Xay KTa, MSS. dTrpLKToirXrjKra, Seal. 
 TToXvTrXdvrjTa, Lachm. Comp. Pers. 
 1056. airpLyd' dirpiyda fidXa 76e5j'a, 
 from which Blomf. would read dirpLy- 
 bbirXrfKTa, but the other form is sup- 
 ported by dirpl^. dirpl^ means clench- 
 ingly, as in Soph. Aj. 310, Creus. 
 fr. 327, referred to by Kl. ; and so 
 airpLyda, Pers. I. c, so that dTpLKrb- 
 vX-rjKTa as an epithet of opey/xara 
 would naturally mean ' striking clench- 
 ingly, ' not ' striking ceaselessly.' With 
 
XOH^OPOL 
 
 69 
 
 HA. 
 
 eiraacrvTeporpiPrj ra ^epog opeyjULara 
 avooOev apcKaOev, ktuttw ^' eirippoOec 
 KporrjTov ajiiop Ka\ TravdOXiov Kapa. 
 
 103 10) 
 
 <TT. 
 
 iravToX^e fxarep, Sa'iaig ev eKCpopalg 
 
 av€v itoXltolv avaKT , 
 
 avev Se irevdrifJiaTtjov 
 
 erXag avoljuwKTOV avSpa 6d\^ai. 
 
 p. ri 
 
 430 
 
 Tro\v7r\dv7)Ta comp. Virg. A. 5. 435, 
 * en'atque aures et tempore circum 
 Crebra manus.' ^v seems to be ex- 
 plained by ^KoxJ/a, the time just past 
 'being chosen instead of the present, 
 not an unnatural thing in descriptive 
 narration. 
 
 426. eiraacrvTepoTpL^T]. Hesych. 
 €iraa<xiJT€poL' oXXol iir* ciWois. The 
 remainder of the compound is probably 
 to be explained from the sense which 
 appears in Trf>oaTpl(3eiu irXrjyds, as we 
 might say *one rub after another,' 
 dpiyfiara, stretching out the hands in 
 giving a blow, as in Ag. 11 11, which 
 will illustrate it whether we retain 
 dpeyofxeva, or read opiyfiara with 
 Herm. 
 
 427. avwdev and dviKadev are not 
 necessarily tautological, as the latter 
 appears to add the notion of distance 
 to that of height, ' longe a vertice. ' 
 i-rrtppode?, as in v. 468. Her head 
 sounds in accord to the noise of the 
 blows. The present here throws light 
 on the previous use of the past, as the 
 effect described would be perceptible 
 when the rest of the action was over. 
 
 4-28. Of this line the Schol. says 
 Kcafj.ojde'iTaL ws dtdvpajj.^u)5es. We 
 should rather object to its simplicity, 
 which makes it difficult to translate 
 into poetical English : but the fault 
 found may have been that the language 
 was above the homeliness of the sub- 
 
 ject, as in the nurse's speech below. 
 Butler more than once makes an apt 
 remark that expressions in the tra- 
 gedians can often be exactly rendered 
 by vulgarisms of our own. 
 
 429 — 433. El. ' Wretched mother ! 
 A wretched burial thou gavest our 
 father, with no retinue and no wailing.' 
 
 429. These lines belong to Electra, 
 to whom they are given in the old 
 editions. The description of the 
 Ko/x/xds seems to suggest the thought 
 of her father's actual funeral, which is 
 moreover mentioned to incense Orestes. 
 The omission of one of the interjections 
 lot) Id), as suggested by Well., would 
 bring the metre into accordance with 
 that of the antistrophe. It seems 
 almost impossible to decide whether 
 ddl'os here and in the next verse means 
 hostile or wretched. Hermann's doc- 
 trine on Soph. Aj. 784, that the former 
 sense is always marked by the reten- 
 tion of the Ionic form, applies only to 
 the iambic dialogue of tragedy. If we 
 adopt the former here, we may comp. 
 da'i'ais €v cKcpopats with Soph. El. 444, 
 ibaTe 8va-/x€vrjs, which may be an 
 imitation. 
 
 430. firiTep, MSS. /xarep, Schiitz. 
 
 431. So Clytaemnestra herself, Ag. 
 1553, Kal KaTadd\l/ofJL€v Ovx ^i^^ 
 KKavOfiQiv tQiv i^ o'lkojv. 
 
 433. irXvs, MSS. I'rXas, Dind. 
 434 — 438. Or. 'It is a sad tale: 
 
70 
 
 XOH$OPOI. 
 
 OP. TO TTOLV aTL/ULwg eXe^tt?, o'I/jloi* 
 Trarpog S'' aTL/ncoo'LV dpa tl<T€L 
 €KaTL fJLev Sai/movoov, 
 cKari S' afxav y^€pu)v\ 
 eweiT eyo) vocrcpLcag oXol/uLap. 
 
 XO. eiJLacTyaXiG'dri Se y o)? t6<7^ etorjgf 
 
 (TTp. 0'. 
 
 435 
 
 ai/T 
 
 . e'. 
 
 but the gods and I will pay her t that 
 done I would gladly die. ' 
 
 434. Rob. first gave the speech to 
 Orestes, drifxios ^\e|as follows the 
 analogy of wQs X^7eis, which is vir- 
 tually equivalent to ri Xeyeis, the 
 manner of the action being regarded, 
 as in certain cases it may be, as sub- 
 stantially the same with the object or 
 result. This seems especially the 
 case with verbs of speaking, hearing, 
 thinking, and the like, e. g., ttcDj fxddoj, 
 V. 171 (note), kKvovt dXridQs, Ag. 
 1244, and the common phrase ttcDs 
 SoKets. See note on v. 384, o^ws 
 TeXeirat. Another mode of explanation 
 might be suggested, that the adverb 
 qualifies, not the verb, but something 
 else in the sentence, expressed or un- 
 derstood ; but though there are some 
 instances in which this view may have 
 been present to the writer, who, it 
 must be remembered, wrote by instinct 
 rather than by rule, it does not seem 
 so generally applicable as that just 
 given. Perhaps to irdv may be ad- 
 verbial, as has been suggested to me 
 by Dr. Donaldson, who refers to Ag. 
 681, Eum. 891, for the use of es Tbirdv 
 in connexion with another adverb. 
 
 435. For the question with dpa, see 
 onv. 297. With aTifMuiatv TicreL corap. 
 dTificjaiv irpaa-ao/xeva, Ag. 700, riaas 
 d-rrep ^p^ev, ib. 1529. 
 
 436. €KaTi daifiovipv, v. 214. 
 
 438. pocrtpL^eiv here, as in v. 491, 
 Eum. Ill, and perhaps Theb. 982, is 
 used absolutely for tQ kill. The notion 
 
 may be the same as that of dvaipelv, 
 so that we need not explain it by sup- 
 plying ^tov. eXoi/xau, M-SS. oXoifxav, 
 Turn., as the Schol. read. Peile comp. 
 Ag. 1610, Blomf. Eur, EL 281, 663. 
 
 439 — 443. Cho, ' Aye, and he was 
 maimed too, and his burial was like 
 his death, that nothing might be 
 wanting to make the hoiTor complete 
 and insupportable. Thus it was.' 
 
 439. H. L. Ahrens rightly gives 
 these lines to the Chorus. They assist 
 Electra in spurring on Orestes. 
 e^iacrxaXt'cr^Tjj, MSS. e/xacrxaX^cr^T/, 
 Rob. , and so the Schol. The fullest 
 account of /iacrxaXtcr/xos seems to be 
 in Suidas, v. ifiacrxo-Xiad-r}, quoted by 
 Blomf. i&os ^v rots dpxo-i-oi.?, Sttotc 
 <f>ov€va€iav e| iTn^ovXijs TLvd, rb ^pyov 
 d(poaLovpJi'OLS, dKpcvTTjpid^eLv top ve- 
 Kpbv, Kai tCjv [xoplwv bpixadbv TroLrj<ravTas, 
 Kprj/Mvdvai Kara toO Tpax'rjXov, Kara 
 tQiv fxaaxo-XQu dieipovTas' d(p' ov di] Kol 
 fxaaxo-Xicr/xara irpodrjybpevffav avrd. 
 The Schol. on Soph. El. 445, where 
 the same word occurs, doubtless an 
 intentional imitation, gives as the 
 reason for the act, bid tovtcou ibairep 
 TT]v bvvaiJ.Lv eKelMOJv d<paLpov/ui.€voi, bid 
 rb 1X7} iradelv eh varepbv tl betvbv Trap' 
 eKeivwv. Stanley refers to the de- 
 scription of Deiphobus, Virg. A. 6. 
 494. The parts cut off were also 
 called dTrdpy/xaTa or €^dpyp,aTa, ApoU. 
 Rh. 4. 478. The Schol. here in- 
 geniously though erroneously sup- 
 poses the fiacxo-Xiffpibs to be alluded 
 to in w. 441, 2, the object of Clyt. 
 
XOH^OPOI. 71 
 
 cirpacrcre S' airep viv wSe Odwrei, 44^ 
 
 /uLopov KTicrai fjiwiieva 
 acpeprov alcovi crw. 
 KXveig Trarpwovg Suag arljULovg. 
 HA. Xeyeig irarpiaov fxopov eyio S'' airecTTaTOVv avr. T'. 444 
 
 being to prevent Or. from receiving 
 help from his father in the struggle. 
 This sense of the word /xacrxaX/i'w 
 seems to be conventional, as we have 
 /^a(rxa\4<rT^/), Prom, yr, for a girth 
 going under the armpits. 5^ twoto- 
 creLdrjs, MSS. 5^ y' (hs roa eldyjs, Kl. 
 on the whole the best of the various 
 similar corrections proposed, though 
 rda is hardly defended by Soph. Track. 
 53, where rdaop should probably be 
 TO (f6v. 'That thou mayest know 
 thus many things' — all the details, 
 ws hv eidys is a common phrase in 
 giving information, as in Eur. Or. 
 527, Phcen. loii, Aristoph. Pint. 112, 
 quoted by Blomf. on v. 1008 (102 1). 
 
 440. No parallel instance has been 
 quoted in illustration of this use of 
 irpdaao}, which is probably a rhetorical 
 one, the thought being the same as in 
 Ag. T406, ipyov diKaias T€Ktovos. 
 Hirep, MSS. 5.irep, Schiitz. With 
 the sense comp. vv. 429, 30. 
 
 441. KTetvaL, MSS. KTiaai, Stanley, 
 and so probably the Schol., who has 
 the words dvarvx^v p-eyLaTrju Kara- 
 aKeva^oucra ti^ try /3iV' Rob. has 
 delvoLi. KTi^eiu is a favourite yEschylean 
 word in this sense, which is nearly 
 equivalent to iroidv. Comp. vv. 351, 
 484, 1060, Eum. 17, 714, Supp. 140, 
 4.55> 635, Pers. 289. fiopov is Aga- 
 memnon's death, as in v. 444. With 
 the expression /xopov d(p€pTou so under- 
 stood, comp. V. 841, where the death 
 of Orestes (fidpos) is called dx^os 
 <f>€p€Lv dd/iiOLs. Ag. 1600 is onl}' a 
 verbal parallel, as fidpos there means 
 
 sors, not mors. The general sense is 
 that Clytsemnestra, so far from miti- 
 gating the cruelty of the blow, delibe- 
 rately chose to aggravate it by burying 
 her husband as ignominiously as she 
 had slain him. The Chorus and Electra 
 endeavour to prevent any accession of 
 natural feeling in the mind of Orestes 
 by representing all the exasperating 
 circumstances of his mother's crime : 
 and the insinuation here is, that it 
 was contrived in detail with the 
 intention of wounding him most 
 effectually. 
 
 442. d^epKTOv, MSS. d(pepToi',^oh. 
 
 443. k\v€is at the end of a speech, 
 implying that all is said. Prom. 683, 
 Ag. 348 (where the later editors rightly 
 restore it from one MS.). /c\i/et, MSS. 
 K\6eis, Turn. Trarpioiovs, MSS. ira- 
 Tpi^ovs, Person. dvaari/xovs, MSS. 
 5(/as dri/xovs, Stanley. 
 
 444 — 450. El. ' Meantime I was 
 kept away from the burial, and left to 
 weep in solitude. Think of this !' 
 
 444. This speech must belong to 
 Electra, to whom the old editions give 
 it, as the Chorus, having no impor- 
 tance beyond the present occasion, 
 could not with any propriety be made 
 to talk of the treatment to which they 
 were subjected at the time of Aga- 
 memnon's murder, much less to urge 
 it on Orestes as a special matter for 
 resentment, v. 450. X^yeis is an ex- 
 pression of assent addressed to the 
 Chorus. Comp. Soph. (ZW. T. 1475, 
 6. There is a similar transition in 
 Eum. 719, though X^yeis there is 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 XO. 
 
 ari/ULOgi ovoev a^ia, 
 
 /uLv^ov S^ a(p€pKT09 iroXva-lvov Kvvog Slkijv 
 eToifjLOTepa yeXcoro^ avecpepov Xi^tj, 
 yeov(Ta iroXvoaKpvv yoov KeKpyjULimevt], 
 ToiavT olkoxxjov €V (ppecrlv '-' — ypa(pov. 
 oi'' coTOOv Se (Tvv- dvT. r] , 
 
 450 
 
 meant not to ratify the words of the 
 last speaker, but rather to close the 
 discussion. irarpiJiiov, MSS. irarpi^op, 
 Porson. dweaTdTovp, from the murder 
 and interment. 
 
 446. ovdh d^cos is equivalent to 
 ovK d^LOS or dvd^ios. 
 
 447. We must either adopt Stan- 
 ley's fJ-vxv, with Herm. and Paley, 
 or, as Mr. Shilleto has suggested to 
 me, understand /xvxov, as the Schol. 
 seems to have done, in a local sense 
 as the place where Electra was shut 
 up, like KaT€K\rjcrav MaKedovias Hep- 
 diKKau, Thuc. 5. 83 ; epKeuv iyKCKXei- 
 fffievovs, Soph. Aj. 12 74, where see 
 Lobeck's note (compare for a similar 
 apparent ambiguity, Virg. £. 6. 35, 
 * discludere Nerea ponto. ') . Electra 
 was much more likely to be confined 
 to the /Jivxos, the female part of the 
 house, than excluded from it. At the 
 same time there is nothing else in the 
 Choeph. to show that in ^schylus' 
 view Electra was kept in close con- 
 finement, as she is in the Electra of 
 Sophocles, TToXvaivov is an epithet 
 of Kvvos, civos and its cognates being 
 especially used of mischievous animals, 
 ■^9- 734) Horn. II, 11. 481. Herm. 
 defends the form, which Pors. changed 
 into TToKvcFLvovs, by Hippocrates' use 
 of KaKOcnvdiTepos, KaKoa-LvuTara, kvvos 
 ZiK-qv, Ag. 3. Si/caj'MSS., St/cTji'Dind. 
 
 448. dvacpepeiv is used of heaving 
 the breath, Hdt. 3. 102, Hippocr. 
 wept Stair. 2. init. quoted by Paley. 
 Comp. the use of dvavuKaadat. abso- 
 
 lutely, Horn. II. 19. 314 ; Hdt. i. 
 86. So dvacpopb. aip-aTos, Athen. 12, 
 p. 439 (comp. by Paley). erot/xoTepa 
 y^\(t}Tos merely means that she found 
 tears come more readily to her eyes 
 than laughter. 
 
 449. xat'poucra, MSS. x^°^<^^> I^O' 
 bree, supported by an erasure in the 
 Med. , where the letters ai have been 
 added by a later hand. KeKpv/xfievrj 
 (Herm. for K€KpviJ.iJ,€va)\s illustrated by 
 d<p€pKTos : but it also implies that she 
 concealed her tears, like the Chorus, v. 
 81. Peile comp. Soph. El. 285, avrij 
 Trpos avT-qV ovbk yap icXaucrat irdpa 
 T6crov5' 6<Tov /xol dvjxbs 7]dovT]v (pepei. 
 
 450. Two syllables are lost : where, 
 it is impossible to say, though the 
 metre corresponded exactly to v. 428. 
 With the expression Kl. comp. Prom. 
 789 ; Supj). 991. (ppeaa-iv, MSS. 
 (ppeaLu, Rob. 
 
 451 — 455. Cho. 'Yes, let the tale 
 sink into thy mind. Thou knowest 
 the past : learn the future with all 
 speed : only be firm.' 
 
 451. Bamb. rightly gives these 
 lines to the Chorus. 6e with the 
 imper. indicates that the new speaker 
 is enforcing and adding to the in- 
 junctions of the old, as in vv. 490, 
 492. There is no occasion to alter 
 (xvvTeTpaive, as the compound verb 
 seems to be more in use than the 
 simple. The force of the preposition 
 may be to intimate that the efforts of 
 the hearer are to go along with those 
 of the speaker, or to express the no- 
 
XOH<I>OPOI. 
 
 73 
 
 Terpaive ixvQov ^<tj'^<w (ppeuo^v pacrei, 
 
 TO. jULev yap ovrcog €-)(€i, 
 
 TO. ^' avTO<s opya jmaOeiu. 
 
 irpeireL S' aKajULTTTM jiievei KaOriKeiv. 
 OP. (76 TOL \eyoi), ^uyyevoVf irarep, (piXoi?* 
 HA. eyco S'' eTTKpOeyyo/uiai /ce/cXaf/xeVa. 
 
 455 
 
 (TTp. I 
 
 tion of boring so as to meet some- 
 thing (Lidd. and Scott s. v., Kenrick 
 on Hdt. 2. it). This last seems to 
 be the sense in a passage sufficiently 
 parallel to this, Plut. 2. 502 d., els 
 TTju \pvxw V O'KOV crvvTeTprjTat. The 
 metaphor does not seem to be kept up 
 in Tjcrvxi^ (ppevCov ^dcret, which can 
 hardly be anything but the instrum. 
 dat. Wordsworth comp. Soph. fr. 
 inc. 773, St' wros ^px^rat rpvirco- 
 fxeuov. — The ace. /xvdov is to be re- 
 marked, as expressing neither the 
 tunnel nor the tunnelling process, 
 but the thing for or by which the 
 tunnel is made. This is piobably to 
 be explained on the analogy of Jigere 
 jaculum, and similar expressions. It 
 may, however, be worth considering 
 whether there is not such a thing in 
 Greek as the instrumental accusative, 
 a use connected with the cognate 
 ace, though not simply resoluble 
 into it. Other instances which would 
 justify, if they do not necessitate, 
 such a hypothesis, are Fuvi. 404, 
 poi^dovaa koXtvov alyidos, Prom. 902, 
 ^yows dcpvKTOv 6/JLfji.a irpoadpaKOL /xe, 
 Soph. (Ed. C. 1084, decoprjcracra tqv- 
 [xov 6/xfMa, Aj. 40, -^^ev x^P°- Comp. 
 too the similar use of ^aiveiv, irepdv 
 TToSa. — (ppovQiv, MSS. (fipevCoVf Rob., 
 as the Schol, read. 
 
 452 — 4. ' The past is as has been 
 said : the future do thou yearn to 
 know for thyself : only remember that 
 thou must needs come into the field 
 with force unbated.' to, p,ku yap 
 
 oiJrws ^x^' is a conventional form of 
 dismissing a subject as sufficiently 
 dwelt on. Comp. Ag. 615, 950. 
 opy^, MSS. 6pya, Scaliger. Words- 
 worth comp. a citation from a MS. 
 of Phrynichus in Ruhnken's Timceus, 
 p. 194. cLKovaaL opyQ' irduv iTraipofiac 
 TTpbs rb aKovcrai. Peile well comp. 
 Shaksp. Hamlet, Act i, Sc. 4, * O 
 answer me : Let me not burst in 
 ignorance 1' The general force of the 
 expression is like rax' elVerat, v. 305, 
 note, as it is the practical issue that 
 is pointed to in each case. Thu3 
 Tpeirei d' k, t. X. will be a caution to 
 enter the lists with unbated resolu- 
 tion. KadrjK€Lv like Kare^av, Soph. 
 Tr. 504, and the Latin descendere. 
 
 456 — 460. Or. ' Help us, father !' 
 £1. ' I add my tearful appeal.' Ch. 
 ' And we all join the cry : come up, 
 and help !' 
 
 456. The assignment of the parts 
 of the different speakers down to v. 
 465 is due to HeiTB., who had how- 
 ever been anticipated by Pearson in 
 the case of vv. 462 and 463-5. a4 
 TOL. See Jelf, § 736. 2. <pi\oiai, 
 MSS. (piXois, Pors. 
 
 457. KeKXavfieua (v. 731) is ex- 
 plained by W^ordsworth after Schafer 
 on Plut. vol. 4, p. 412, on the analogy 
 of dedaKpvfievos, which appears to 
 mean * bathed in tears' (comp. Horn. 
 Od. 20. 204, SeddKpvvrai di /xoi baae, 
 Plato Ion, p. 539 a. deddKpvvraL 
 Trapeiai, Eur. Ilel. 948, 8aKpv(rai. 
 ^Xecpapa). No such sense however 
 
^4 
 
 i 
 
 XO. 
 
 OP. 
 HA. 
 XO. 
 
 HA. 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 <jTa(TL<s 06 TrdyKOLi'os aS^ eTrippoGei, 
 
 UKOvcrov e<s (pdo^ imoXcov, ^vv oe yevov irpos e'^Opovg. zj-OO 
 "Apr]g"Apei ^vju^aXoi, AZ/ca Alkol. clvt. i. 
 
 Id) OeoL, KpalvcT euSiKCog ^ — 
 rpdjULog fM vipepirei KKvovcrav evyjULOLTCOV. 
 TO lULopa-ijULov i^evei TrdXai) eJ^O/UeVot? S"* dv eXOoi. 4^5 
 00 TToVo? eyyevrjg a-rp. ia\ 
 
 Kai TrapdjULova-og drag 
 CLi/uLaToecra-a irXayd. 
 lot) ovcTTOv dcpepra Ki^Sfj' 
 100 Sv(7KaTa7rauarT0v dXyog, 47 O 
 
 appears to be inherent in KXalw, and 
 as several of its tenses are middle, it 
 seems better to regard the use of the 
 pass, here as an ordinary deponent. 
 Compare tcXaofxevos, Tkeb. 920, Ag. 
 1096. 
 
 458. ffrdais V. 114, note. &d', 
 MSS. ; dd', Rob. 
 
 460. &Kovaou fjkoXibv is equivalent to 
 aKovaov /cat fxoXe. Comp. vv. 317, 
 
 461 — 465. Or. ' Let us fight it out 
 by might and right.' £1. ' Decide 
 justly, ye gods!' Ch. *I tremble at 
 your prayers, knowing that they must 
 succeed.' 
 
 461. ^vfi^dWei, MSS., ^vfjL^dXoi, 
 Pors. For the union of "Aprjs and 
 Alkt], K1. oomp. V. 244 (where see 
 note). 
 
 462. The missing dissyllable was 
 evidently an ace. after Kpaber', but it 
 is useless to attempt to supply it. 
 The most plausible guess is Hermann's 
 
 blKUS. 
 
 463. Comp. V. 410. The Chorus 
 shudders at the near approach of the 
 event, which is brought on by the 
 power of prayer. 
 
 465. fxei^ei seems to include the 
 
 notion of delay as well as that of per- 
 manence, from the opposition appa- 
 rently intended in the Words hv ^X6ol. 
 Oomp. Eum. 382, fji,^u€L yap, which 
 Wordsworth rightly explains /xSpai/j-ov 
 ecrrt, citing ^5^. 1563, Sujip. 455. av 
 ^Xdoi is nearly equiv. to iXevcrcTai, 
 like 6 TL Toi ■fi6p<n./x6v ecmv, to yefocr' 
 dv, Supp. 1047. 
 
 466—470. El. '0 evil inveterate, 
 intolerable, incurable!' 
 
 466. Scholefield -appears right in 
 appropriating this speech to Electra 
 and its fellow to Orestes. The thought 
 of the family curse makes her despair : 
 he replies that there is a family 
 remedy, the ancient remedy of blood 
 for blood, iw, MSS., o) Herui. iyye- 
 vr]%, inherent in the family, as Peile 
 rightly gives it, comparing Ag. 1566, 
 KeKoXXrjTai yevos Trpbs arq.. So the 
 dal/xu)v yevvris, ih. 1477. 
 
 467. wapdfjLOvaos may be understood 
 strictly of discordant sound, if we sup- 
 pose the irX-qy-q to be the stroke of a 
 scourge, as it probably is, on a com- 
 parison of such passages as Theh. 608, 
 Ag. 642. 
 
 470. A metaphor from a wound, 
 or running sore, as v. 471 shows. 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 75 
 
 OP. ^(jofxaa-iv ejuLjULOTOv 
 
 TcovS' aK09i ovS^ air aWoov 
 
 eKToOev, dkX dir avTwv 
 
 SicoKciv epiv aijuaTrjpdv. 
 
 Oecop Twv Kara yd^ 60 v/xpog* 
 XO. dWd KXvovre^f jmdKapeg -^OovLOt, 
 
 avT. la 
 
 475 
 
 Comp. Ag. 1479, irplv KaraXii^at. T6 
 
 471 — 475. Or. * Aye, but we have 
 a remedy of our own for that, in play- 
 ing out the game of bloodshedding. 
 So ends our song to the powers below.' 
 
 471. For the dative see on v. 7J. 
 The remedy is for the house, and it is 
 an heirloom, no less than the disease. 
 '4^i[xoTos is the adj. from ixbros, lint, 
 the preposition denoting that it is ap- 
 plied to the wound, so that it would 
 naturally require a subst., as Peile 
 remarks, comparing (Lkos ro/xa'iov, v. 
 539, dXe^rjfjLa ^p(Ii(jL[j.ov, x/oi(rT6»', 
 TTicrrbv, Prom. 479. 
 
 472. eKds, MSS., dt/cos, Schiitz. 
 With ovh' dir' dWoiv aXk" air' avrQv, 
 Wordsworth comp. ^sch. Myrm. fr. 
 135, Tah' ovx vir' aXKwv, dXka rots 
 avTwv TTepois ' kXKTKOjxecda. 
 
 474, al(t}/xavacpeLV, MSS., SidoKeLV 
 ^pLv, Herm. ipiv is established by the 
 Schol., fjv rjpure irpos top irarepa., and 
 Slu)K€lu seems required by the sense, 
 as Orestes must mean that the only 
 way to stanch the blood is to kill till 
 justice is satisfied. This doctrine, 
 that the bloodthirsty spirit of the house 
 of Atreus is to be laid by blood- 
 shedding, is held equally by both the 
 parties in the quarrel, and so,- as each 
 is alternately victor, he craves for a, 
 pause from the struggle, on the ground 
 that he has satisfied the requirements 
 of destiny. Comp. Clytfemnestra's 
 words, Afj. 1575, dX\7]\o(p6vovsMavias 
 fxeXdOpuv d(peXovar], with those of the 
 
 Chorus in this play, below, v. 805, 
 yipwv (f)6pos /Jt,riK€T' Ip ddptCLS t^kol. 
 ^piv will then be a sort of cogn. ace. 
 after tLWKeiv, like fieTrjXdop [ibpov, v. 
 988. (Klausen's 5t' ihixdv ^pip is nearer 
 to the MSS., and supported, as Bamb. 
 remarks, by Ag. 698, 5t' ^piv al/xaro- 
 ecffav, but it is difl&cult to see what 
 sense could be made out of Stct, unless 
 it could mean the channel through 
 which the cure is to come.) 
 
 475. OeCiv, MSS., deCJv tQv, Herm. 
 6'5*, 'This is,' or 'here ends,' as Peile 
 rightly gives it. Comp. v. 1065, oSe 
 Toi . . . x^'-l^^ • • • ^TeXia&rj. 
 
 476 — 478.- Ch. * Hear us, je dead, 
 ^nd send the children victorious aid.' 
 
 476. The Chorus end nearly as they 
 began, v. 306. Kl. remarks that 
 dXXd frequently introduces the con- 
 clusion of a hymn, as in Hymn. A}xjll. 
 Del. 165, Ap. Pyth. 367, Merc. 579, 
 Ven. 292, Cer. 490. It may be ques- 
 tioned whether ^ciKayoes xdbvioi. is said 
 of the gods of the dead, or of the dead 
 themselves. fxaKapes in ^sch. is fre- 
 quently used convertibly with deoi, 
 though it occurs nowhere of the gods 
 below : in other writers it is a frequent 
 synonyme of tlie dead, though not in 
 .zEsch., who, however, calls Darius 
 /jiaKapiTrjs, Pers. 633. ,x^<^'"0' of course 
 would apply to eitlrer. Perhaps 
 ^sch. meant to include both, as the 
 happiness of the dead would have 
 much in common with that of the 
 gods. So in Pers. I.e. l<xoZaip.uv fol- 
 lows fMaKapiras. 
 
76 
 
 XOH$OPOI. 
 
 Tfjcrde Karevyj]^ irefJLireT apwyrjv 
 
 iraKjiv Trpocbpovcog eiri viKr], 
 OP. Trarep, rpoTroLcriv ov TvpavviKoh Oavoov, 
 
 airovjULevo^ juloi Sog Kpdro^ toov a-oov So/moov, 
 HA. Kctyco, Trarep, roidvSe crov -^elav eyoo, 
 
 (pvyeiv jmeyau irpocrOeiarav AiylcrOo) w — . 
 OP. ovTO) yap av (tol Satre^ evvofxoL jBpoTwv 
 
 KTiXolaT' el <^e iJ.r], irap evSeiTrvoig ecrei 
 
 480 
 
 478. With iraLcrlv comp. v. 378, 
 note. eTTt vIktjv, MSS., ewl vlkt], Portus. 
 The former would probably be admis- 
 sible, but the latter is more usual, and 
 strongly supported by v. 868, Hum. 
 1009. 
 
 479 — 488. Or. ' Father, remember 
 thy unkingly death, and restore me 
 thy kingdom.' M. 'Grant that I 
 may destroy ^gisthus, and get off 
 safe.' Or. * Do this, and we will give 
 thee a funeral feast : if not, thou must 
 go unhonoured.' JSl. ' Thy tomb shall 
 have signal offerings at my marriage 
 from my portion of the inheritance.' 
 
 479. The first part of the scene 
 that follows, down to v. 509, is a sort 
 of extension of the Ko/uLfxos, though 
 with some difference in tone. Hitherto 
 the cooperation of Agamemnon has 
 been almost taken for granted, ven- 
 geance being looked upon as a duty 
 to him, enforced on his children by 
 threatened penalties : now the other 
 aspect of the undertaking is presented 
 more prominently, the restoration of 
 the children to their rights, which is 
 regarded of course as a favour to be 
 done to them, so that it becomes an 
 object to make sure of their father's 
 help. With rptiroLCTLv ov TvpavviKOis 
 davibv, comp. Ag. 1494, KOLTav rapd' 
 avekevdepov. 
 
 480. alrov/xevos, the MSS. reading, 
 is supported by Pind. Isthm. 7. 5, 
 
 Theocr. 14. 61, quoted by Bamb. and 
 Paley. Turnebus' alTov/mevcp, how- 
 ever, receives confirmation from v. 
 784, TrapatTov/Jieva fioi — 56s ri^xaj. 
 
 481. TOidSe MSS. TOtcti/SeTurnebus. 
 
 482. The omission of the conclud- 
 ing word by the MSS. throws some 
 uncertainty over the sense of the line. 
 The explanation of the Schol. how- 
 ever seems to represent the sense 
 fairly, waTe (pvyfiv rds eTrt/SouXas 
 Alyiadov TL}JL(x}pr](xafJ.evriv avrov, so that 
 the lost word was probably equivalent 
 to fjiopou, which was supplied by Tur- 
 nebus, and has since generally taken 
 possession of the text. 
 
 483. daires ^i>vop.oi ^porCiv, * the 
 customary feaets with which mortals 
 honour the dead' (see on v. 130), but 
 which Agamemnon had not yet re- 
 ceived. In Hom. Od. 3. 309 Orestes 
 gives a funeral feast to the Argives in 
 honour of Clytsemnestra and ^gisthus, 
 but nothing is said about Agamemnon, 
 so that we might almost infer that he 
 had received a similar honour from his 
 murderers. 
 
 484. KTi^oiar, like eKacjcroiaTo Pers. 
 360. The e^'SeiTTj'a, according to 
 Hesych. and Etym. M., was an Athe- 
 nian festival, otherwise called aiwpa, 
 in memory of Erigone, daughter of 
 ^gisthus and Clytsemnestra, who 
 came to Athens with Tyndareus, her 
 maternal grandfather, to accuse 
 
XOH^^OPOI. 
 
 UTIIJ.0<S e/ULTTVpOKTl KPl(T(t)TOl^ YUOVOg. 
 
 HA. tcdyo) xoa? croi t>/? e/x;]? TrayKXijpiag 
 o'lcrco irarpwodv eV Sojulwv yajULrjXlovg' 
 irdvTWv Se irpcoTOv TovSe Trpea/SGuarco rdcbov. 
 
 OP. CO TaV, civeg juoi irarep eiroirTevcraL /md-ytjv. 
 
 77 
 485 
 
 Orestes (comp. Eur. Orest), and on 
 his acquittal hanged herself. This 
 is doubtless referred to here, in spite 
 of the anachronism, so that Trap' 
 evdeiirvoL^ will mean 'at the public 
 festivals of the dead. ' ^crri MSS. ^aei 
 Porson. 
 
 485. iv TrvpoL(n, MSS. efiiripoLCfL 
 Auratus, Canter : a correction which 
 seems necessary, irvpd meaning watch- 
 fires. e[nrvpoL(TL is probably an epithet 
 of evheiirvoLS (unless the relation of 
 the two words is to be reversed), as 
 aTi/xos seems only to take a dative of 
 the person at whose hands dishonour 
 is received. For the nature of the 
 festivities, Blomf, comp. Lucian, Cont. 
 p. 5x9. ol d^ /cat TTVpav v-qaavTes irpb 
 rCivx^J^IJ'dT^Vf KO-l §6dpov Tiva opv^avres, 
 Kaiovai re ravrl rd TroXvTeXi] delirfa, 
 Kal eis Ta opvy/xara dlvov koX p-eXiKpa- 
 Tov, ws 'yovv elKcicrai, iyx^ovcrtv. 'EPM. 
 ovK olda, cD TTopdfMeu, ri ravra irpos 
 Tovs if aSov. TreTricrTeiJKaac 8' odv rds 
 i/zuXas a.vaire/xirop.evas Karwdeu denrve'iv 
 p.h olov T€ irepiTreTOfievas ttjv Kvlaav 
 Kal Thv Katrvov, Trlvecv Zk airb tov 
 ^odpov TO p,eKlKpaTov. Possibly kvl- 
 au}Tocs is to be taken with x^ovos, 
 KViadv xS^va following the analogy of 
 Kviaau dyvids, &c. 
 
 486. The xoat seem to have formed 
 a special part of the celebration of the 
 efjdeLTrva, one of Hesychius' definitions 
 being ai to?s veKpoh i7n(pep6fj.€vai 
 airovdai, ijyovv x°^^- — TrayKXrjpias. 
 Blomf. comp. Eur. Ion, 814, oaris 
 ce yrj/J-as, ^hos eireLcreXdCov ttSXiu, 
 Kal Sw/xa Kal arjv irapaXa^Cov wayKXr]- 
 
 piav, Pollux 10. 12, KaXXiov hk t7]v 
 epdofieueiav TrayKTTjaiau r) Trap-Trrjaiav 
 ovofxdaai, ws ev 'EKKXyjaiai'ovaaLS 
 ' ApiaTO^dvrjr TpayiKCJTepov ydp rj 
 TrayKXrjpia. Here and in the passage 
 from the Ion it seems to signify, not 
 that the whole property has been in- 
 herited, but that the property, what- 
 ever it may be, is regarded as a whole ; 
 in Eur. Sicp]^ 14, however, the fonner 
 sense seems to prevail, and so in the 
 use of 7rap.7r7]aia, Theh. 8 1 7. 
 
 487. With yafxrjXiovs, Kl. comp. 
 Soph. El. 961 foil, (just as TrayKXrj' 
 pias is illustrated by vXovtov Trarpujov 
 KTTJaip, V. 960), with the promise to 
 Agamemnon, ib. 457. 
 
 488, On a comparison of the diffi- 
 cult line, Eu7ti. i, which is parallel to 
 this, it may be doubted whether 
 irpGiTov here is an adjective, as is 
 most probable at first sight, or an ad- 
 verb, equivalent to Trpcorrju irpecr^eiav 
 TTpea^evau}. The sense seems to be 
 that she will honour her father's 
 grave before those of her other dead 
 friends, on occasions such as the 
 eiidenrva. 
 
 489—496. Or. ' Earth, let my 
 father rise and be my patron in the 
 struggle.' EL * Persephone, give 
 us victory.' Or. ' Eemember the 
 bath, father.' El. *Aye, and the 
 net.' Or. 'How they snared thee.' 
 El. ' How they covered thee up. 
 Or. ' Does not this sting thee ?' EL 
 ' Does it not make thee raise thy 
 head ?' 
 
 489. With cD Fa?', dwes, Kl. comp. 
 
78 
 
 XOH^OPOL 
 
 HA. w Hepo-ecpacra-ai Sog Se t €vixop(pov Kpcrog. 49O 
 
 OP. /j.€juivt]cro Xovrpcov oh ipocrcpLo-Orjg, irarep. 
 
 HA, fxefJLvricTo S' afx^L^Xria'Tpov o)? eKaivicrav. 
 
 OP. 7reSai9 S^ d-)(a\KevT0i9 eOripevQrjg^ irarep. 
 
 HA. alc'vpcog Te ^ovXevroioriv h KoXvixfj-aa-iv. 
 
 OP. ap e^eyelpei toigS'* ovelSea-iv, irdrep', 495 
 
 HA. dp' opOov aipeig (pLXrarov to (tov Kdpa\ 
 
 OP. t'lTOL SiKr]v 'laXXe a-vfjiixaypv (piXoig, 
 
 Pers. 629, 640. eTTOTTTeOa'at to regard 
 as a God, w. i, 583, 1063. 
 
 490. hi T seems defensible, 5^ ad- 
 dressing a new person, re having the 
 sense of also, a Homeric usage, sup- 
 ported by V. 864, where see the note. 
 €i}fjLop(pov KpoLTos is Well paralleled by 
 Erfurdt with Soph. (Ed. T. 189, 
 eviOTra Trifi^ov aXKav. Comp. also 
 V. 969 below, rvxo-i- evTrpoacoiroKoiTai. 
 (If any change be required, it is Her- 
 mann's 5e 7' : to question ei}fjLop(pov is 
 the mere license of conjecture.) 
 
 491. evo<X(f>i<x6r]s, v. 438. 
 
 492. c5i<r' or y cr' MSS. cl;: Bloraf. 
 Bamb., as Kaivi^eiv is more naturally 
 connected with an ace. of the thing 
 than of the person, its meaning being 
 to hansel or use for the first time. 
 Perhaps we ought further to change 
 eKaivia-av into e/catVicraj. The re- 
 ference probably is to Agamemnon's 
 having been presented with the fatal 
 garment as a new robe on his return, 
 precisely as Deianira, in Soph. Track. 
 613, explains the object of her gift by 
 saying that she has vowed to make 
 Hercules appear dvrijpa Kaipcf Kaivbv 
 ev irewXtofiaTi. Agamemnon then, 
 not Clytsemnestra or ^gisthus, would 
 be the KaivLi^uv, as in Ag. 1034 Cas- 
 sandra, who puts on the yoke, is said 
 KaivL^eiv ^vyov.— ap.cpip.'ncTpov, Ag. 
 1382. 
 
 493. ed-rjpeijdrji is an independent 
 
 assertion, not a verb dependent on 
 fii/xuTjcro. The comparison to hunting- 
 snares is drawn out, w. 998 foil. 
 
 494. Blomfield rightly connects 
 aiffxP^^ with ^ovXevTOiaiv. The gar- 
 ment is described in a different way, 
 seemingly to produce further exaspe- 
 ration, as in the passage below just 
 referred to. 
 
 495- ^^^y^!-PV> MSS. e^eyeipei, 
 Pors. oveideaaLV, MSS. dveidean^, 
 Kob. 
 
 496. There is a difficulty about the 
 position of (piKraTov, which cannot be 
 understood as a predicate, that place 
 being already occupied by opdov. Do- 
 naldson {New C. § 305, ed. 7,) proposes 
 (pihrdTois, comparing <pi\ois in the 
 next line. There are, however, other 
 passages where the adjective, though 
 in the position of a predicate, cannot 
 be taken predicatively (e. g. Soph. 
 Aj. 135, 1 167, Phil. 394), so that we 
 must suppose that metrical necessity 
 occasionally induced the Greek poets 
 to violate a rule which in general 
 they unquestionably observed. 
 
 497 — 499. Or. ' Either send justice 
 to help us, or rise thyself and wrestle 
 again, if thou wouldst recover the 
 day.' 
 
 497. These three lines were first 
 given to Orestes by Tyrwhitt and 
 Schiitz. 
 
XOH^OPOL 
 
 79 
 
 HA. 
 
 »? raq ojULolag avriSog Xa/5a9 Xcc/^ai/, 
 
 e'lTrep KpartjOelg y^ avTivLKricraL OeXei^. 
 
 Kal rrjaS' aKOvarov XoiarOiou (So^jg, iraTep, 500 
 
 looav v€0(T<Tovq rovaS^ ecptjimevov^ racpo), 
 
 OLKTeipe QyjXvv apcrevog 0' ojulov yopov 
 
 Kai jULt] '^aX€/\f/•^/9 (rirep/xa YVekoinSwv ToSe. 
 
 ovTCt) yap ov T€6vr]Ka<s ovSe irep Oavcov 
 
 Traioeg yap avopl KXi^Soveg crcori^piOL 505 
 
 OavovTL' (peXXol S'' w? ayovci Slktvov, 
 
 498. /SXa/3as, MSS. Xa/3as, Canter. 
 Musgrave. The words o/xoiat Xa^ai, 
 or i] avTT] \a^rf, appear from Plato 
 Phcedr. p. 236 b., Eejy. 8, p. 544 b., 
 and Suidas s. v. to have been a re- 
 gular phrase in wrestling, and v. 499 
 supports such a metaphor. The 
 meaning of the phrase however is not 
 quite clear : from the Scholiast on 
 the former passage it would seem to 
 have been used when wrestlers who 
 had fallen out of the ring were set up 
 in it again, while on the latter it is 
 explained to mean simply a second 
 bout, after both had been thrown so 
 that neither could be said to be upper- 
 most. Neither interpretation would 
 suit the passage in detail : but the 
 general sense is plain, ' stand up 
 again and have another struggle.' 
 Comp. V. 692, Ag. 1284. 
 
 500 — 509. El. ' Hear me yet once 
 more : pity thy two children, the sole 
 hope of the race, the sole means of 
 preserving thy memory. Listen, for 
 thine own sake no less than for 
 ours.' 
 
 500. The words "Kotadiov §orjs, as 
 well as the structure of the speech 
 itself, seem to show that it is to be 
 given entire to Electra, not divided, 
 as Bothe, Donaldson, and Herm. 
 think. Indeed, no equal division can 
 be made. Electra is throughout more 
 
 vehement and impulsive than her 
 brother, and in performing the last 
 part she naturally lingers longer 
 over it. 
 
 501. t'Swi/ more naturally goes with 
 OLKTeipe than with &kov(Xov, with which 
 the majority of the editors connect it. 
 Comp. Prom. 35-2, iduv c^'Kreipa, Sttpp. 
 486 (as corrected by Linwood and 
 Herm.) olKrlaas Ibuiv rdde. With veocr- 
 (xovs comp. vv. 247 foil. 
 
 502. dpaevos ydvov seems correct, 
 as explained by Kl. from the physio- 
 logical doctrine (Arist. Gener. Anhn. 
 4. i), which derived the sons from 
 the father and the daughters from the 
 mother. Thus an additional appeal 
 is made to Agamemnon on behalf of 
 Orestes. Perhaps apcreuos t6kw, Eur. 
 El. 652, is to be similarly explained. 
 bixov is explained by ecp-qixevovs, the 
 two being together engaged in prayer. 
 Comp. V. 335 foil. (Bamberger's 
 •yoov and H. L. Ahrens' irbvov are 
 scarcely so natural, and less forcible.) 
 
 505. K\r]d6ves aojrripLoi, because, 
 being spoken of themselves, they pre- 
 serve their father's name in the 
 mouths and memories of men. Herm. 
 rightly obsei-ves that KXtjdSves is more 
 poetical than K\r)56pos, which Schiitz 
 proposed. 
 
 506. dyeiv is here to draw up, as in 
 its sense of weighing it means to draw 
 
80 
 
 X0H4)0P0I. 
 
 Tov eK ^vOov KXcocTTrjpa (ru)^ovT€g Xivov. 
 
 CLKOV' virep cov roidS^ ecrr oSvp/u-ara, 
 . auTO? ^e (TwXei rovSe TLiJ.ri<Ta<s \6yov, 
 XO. KaL fxiiv a/uLeiuLipr] rovS* erelvarov \6yov, 
 
 rl/uL^j/uia rvixpov rn? avoi/j.coKTov Tv-)(t]9. 
 
 TO, ^' aXX'j eTreiSt] Spap KanopOcoa-ai (ppevi, 
 
 epSoig av i^Srj Saiimovog Treipoojj.evog^ 
 OP. ea-rar TrvOeo-QaL S' ovSev ecrr' e^co dpo^ov, 
 
 510 
 
 down, the common notion being that 
 of leading or drawing something 
 after it. 
 
 507. rbv €K ^vdov ad^oPTei is Tight]j 
 explained by Paley and Wordsworth 
 as a condensed expression or trajec- 
 tion, e/c ^vdov belonging, as the latter 
 remarks, syntactically to t6v, logically 
 to <xd)^ovT€s. Comp. V. 278, Soph. 
 El. 137, oijToi rbv y e^ 'A'tda . . . 
 irarep dpcrdaeis. "Kivov is the read- 
 ing of the Med. a manu prima, and 
 of Rob., and is preferable to \ivou, 
 which, being a neuter, could not go 
 well with KKwaTTjpa. \ivov KXcoaTrjpa 
 irepLcpepei \a^wv is quoted from Euri- 
 pides by Pollux, 7. 31. Clem. Strom. 
 2, p. 182 Sylb,, in a veiy inaccurate 
 citation of this passage, gives XtVc^. 
 
 509. (rd>^Vi MSS. (rc6^et, Pors. 
 The word is explained by awT-qpLoi. 
 and au^ovres preceding, which suffi- 
 ciently refute Hermann's or Tyrwhitt's 
 o-cD^e. ' Thou art preserving thyself, 
 by having respect to this our prayer.' 
 
 510 — 513. Cho. 'Your address, 
 though long, is a fair recompense to 
 the tomb for past neglect : but it is 
 time for Orestes to act.' 
 
 510. dixbix(j>rjT0vcerLvaTbv, MSS. 
 dfji€fX(pT} t6v8' ireivaTOv, Herm., who 
 first put this passage in its true light, 
 giving it to the Chorus, though he 
 has since injured it by needless altera- 
 tions. The emphatic words are 
 
 d/jL€fX(p7] and ereiVarov. Kal ix^v a sign 
 of interruption : see on v. 1 74. It 
 seems safer to retain ereivarov, like 
 ijXdeTov, Ag. 1207, confining ourselves 
 with Jelf, § 187, Obs. i, to the asser- 
 tion that in the Attic writers -rjv is 
 the more usual termination of the 
 second person dual, than to adopt 
 Blomfield's ereLvdrtiv. 
 
 511. 'A compensation to the tomb 
 for its unlamented condition in time 
 past.' Peile, rightly. The two geni- 
 tives belong to TifXTjfxa, though in 
 somewhat different relations, Comp. 
 Ag. 1447. dvoLfiwKTos, V. 433. 
 
 512. KaTopdovv difias occurs Eur. 
 Hipp. 1 445, a sense easily transferred 
 to the mind, like that of eiralpo) and 
 the Latin erigo. 
 
 513. 8ai/JLOvos Treipdijuevos, Ag. 1663, 
 daifiovos having the sense of tijxv^- 
 
 514 — 522. Or. 'First however tell 
 me what made her think of sending 
 libations — a mark of attention so late, 
 and so utterly incommensurate, as if 
 any payment could atone for blood 
 spilt.' 
 
 514. The object of the question, as 
 Bamb. remarks, is that Orestes may 
 reassure himself yet further. The 
 will of the Gods is now made unmis- 
 takeably evident to Jiim : as on the 
 one hand he had received his charge, 
 so on the other his victim had received 
 her summons, and that on the night 
 
XOH<^OPOI. 
 
 TToOev "X^oas eireimy^ev, ck tivo9 \6yov 
 /jLeOv(TT€pov TijULcocr' avrjKecTTov 7ra6o9 ', 
 OavovTt S\ ov (ppovouvTi, SeiXaia ')(GLpi<s 
 eTTe/JLireT' ovk e^oijui^ av eiKacrat ToSe' 
 TO, Swpa fjLeio) S' ecrrl Ttjg ajuLaprtag. 
 Ta iravTa yap ng eV^ea? ai/0^ al/uLaTog 
 
 81 
 
 5^5 
 
 520 
 
 just passed, ^^co dpS/xou is apparently 
 a metaphor from a chariot course, as 
 in V. 1022, From. 883, though the 
 course is there that of reason, here 
 that which Orestes has to go through 
 as an avenger (comp. v. 794). * It 
 will not divert me from my course to 
 ask the question' — the course which 
 they had just been urging him to 
 pursue. In Ag. 1264 the metaphor 
 seems to be from a hound at fault 
 (comp. ib. 1184), and such may pos- 
 sibly be the image hei-e, as in Soph. 
 JEl. 1387 Orestes and Pylades are 
 called fieTddpofMOL KaKuiv irauovpyij/id- 
 Tcov a(f)VKTOi. Kvves, though the other 
 view seems better. 
 
 515. TTodev, as in Ag. 547, Prom. 
 593, of the cause. €k tiuos Xoyov, 
 like Kal ris rjv \6yos, Soph. (Ed. 
 T. 684, X670J being equivalent to 
 atria. 
 
 516. jne^' varepov, MSS. fxedi- 
 CTepov, Vett. fxedvaTepou, too late, 
 as the evil was done, but perhaps 
 also with reference to the lateness of 
 the attempt to make an expiation. 
 Tt/iwcra Trddos seems to be a mixture 
 of the notions of attending to the suf- 
 fering (comp. aaivuv, OeXyeiv dxv, v. 
 420, and the uses of depaireieiv and 
 curare) and honouring the sufferer. 
 Blomf. comp. fr. Phil. 250, tQu 
 dP7}K^<XT0}p Ka/ccDf 'larpSs. 
 
 517. davovuTi, MSS. davSvTi, 
 Pauw. This line is added to con- 
 firm the preceding one, and bring out 
 the force of fiedvarepov and dvf)Ke<jTov, 
 
 Orestes speaking, as Peile remarks, 
 according to the popular notion of the 
 insensibiUty of the dead, not according 
 to that on which he is himself acting — 
 a sort of argumentum ad hominem to 
 Clytaemnestra. Kl. comp. Bum. 115, 
 (ppoPTjcraT, S) Kara x^oubs deal. deiXaia 
 conveys a taunt, like dvoX^ov dudp\ 
 Soph. Aj. T156. 
 
 518. rdde, Rob. and perhaps Med., 
 where has been changed into a, or 
 vice versa, rdde, Guelf., seemingly a 
 correction to agree with rd dQpa, 
 which the early editors connect with 
 this line. The sense seems to be * I 
 cannot make this out by guessing, ' as 
 in Theb. 356, riV' iK ruvd' eUdaat. 
 X670S Trapa ; Orestes' point is, that he 
 cannot understand his mother's con- 
 duct : the atonement comes too late, 
 and is quite incommensurable with the 
 injury, and therefore he asks the ques- 
 tion. 
 
 519. ni<x(a, MSS. fxelu), Turn. 
 With the position of Se Peile comp. 
 Pers. 749, dvrjrbs i2v deOiv 5k irduTCJV 
 ip€T oiK ev^ovXig. Kal Iloa-eidQvos 
 Kparrjaeiu. 
 
 520. Paley well comp. Theb. 681, 
 dvdpo?u 5' d/j.aLfj,oiv ddvaros cD5' aiirb- 
 KTovos, Ovk '4crTi yijpas rovde toO ixia- 
 afiarot. Each is a case of auacoluthon, 
 such as might easily be paralleled 
 from Thucyd ides. For the sentiment, 
 see on v. 47. ai/naTos ev6s, the blood 
 of one life, as in v. 932 ■TroXXwy 
 alfidTCJv are many murders. 
 
82 
 
 XOH<|)OPOL 
 
 evo^f (jLarriv 6 fjLO-^^Oog' cod' ey^ei Xoyog. 
 
 OeXovTi S\ e'lTrep otcrO\ €/jlo\ (ppaarov raoe. 
 XO. o7S\ ft) TeKvov, iraptj yap' €k t oveipaTwv 
 
 Ka\ vvKTiTrXdyKTCOv SeiimaTOOv TreiraKfJievt] 
 
 ')^oa<i e7re/x\Jre racr^e ^v(TBeo<s yvvrj. 
 OP. rj KaL ireirva-Oe rovvap, (oVr' opOm (ppaa-ai; 
 XO. T€Keiv SpoLKOvr'' eSo^ev, w? avTrj Xeyei. 
 OP. Kal iroi TeXevra Ka). Kapavovrai Xoyog', 
 
 525 
 
 521. cD5' ^x^i X670S, Theh. 225. 
 Comp. V. 314, Tptyipcov fxv9o$ rdde 
 
 522. OeKovTL seems equivalent to 
 XPV^ovTi, as in Supp. 144, deXovaa 5' 
 ad diXovaav ayvd fi eTrtSe'rw Aios /copa. 
 
 523 — 539. Cli. '1 can tell you: it 
 was an alarming dream that made her 
 send the offering.' Or. 'Did you 
 hear what it was ?' Ch. ' She thought 
 she had given birth to a serpent.' 
 Or. What then?' Ch. 'She lulled it 
 like a child.' Or. * What food did it 
 want V Ch. * She dreamt she gave 
 it the breast.' Or. ' Without being 
 hurt herself?' Ch. 'It drew blood 
 with the milk.' Or. ' She dreamt of 
 a man, and she dreamt true.' Ch. 
 '•Well, she started up with a ciy : 
 lights were kindled, and the end was 
 that she sent these libations in the 
 hope of remedying the evil.' 
 
 523. Trdpei, MSS., the last two 
 letters in Med. being written over an 
 erasure. Trap?}, Pors., the only form of 
 the first person, as Wordsworth re- 
 marks, which ^sch. admits. Trapes 
 is given as a various reading by Med. , 
 Guelf., and the Schol. 
 
 524. The alarm is said to be vvktI- 
 irXayKTos, as the disease in Ag. 1449 
 is called defxvioTrjprjs. In the same 
 way the epithet is applied to a bed, 
 Ag. 12, to hardship, ib. 330, and to a 
 child's cries,, Cko. 751. Treirakfiivq, 
 
 used for Tre(f)o^r)fxh'q, like irdWovT, 
 Supp. 567, for ecpo^ovvTo. Peile comp. 
 Soph. El. 410, e/c delfxaTOS Tov PVKTepov, 
 hoKeiv ijxoi, where, however, a diffe- 
 rent dream is given. 
 
 525. Tlie Chorus repeats its own 
 words frcm v. 46. 
 
 527. Kl. remarks that the earliest 
 authority for this version of the 
 dream is Stesichorus, quoted by Plu- 
 tarch, De Sera Num. Vind. c. 10, t. 
 2, p- 555 a. Ta 5^ dpdKUv idoKrjae /j.o\€LU 
 Kapa ^€^poT(i}/j.€uos cLKpov, 'E/c 8' dpa 
 Tov ^acriXei/s TlXeiadevidas ecpdvr}. 
 There is no occasion for Hermann's 
 cIis 6'. Throughout the arixofivdia 
 Orestes does not interrupt the Chorus, 
 which rather accommodates its answers 
 to the form of his questions. 
 
 528. It has not been noticed that 
 this line contains an exception to the 
 rule laid down by Person, Eur. Phcen. 
 1373, according to which Kal ttoT, 
 &c., state an objection (like Kal -rrCos, 
 V. 532), TTOi Kal, &c., ask for infor- 
 mation, the interrogative, as noticed 
 on V. 88, being in the one case in- 
 definite, in the other definite. That 
 the rule in general holds there 
 can be no doubt ; but as there are 
 some exceptions, e.g. koI tIs, Soph. 
 CEd. T. 684 (comp. v. 394, above), 
 where there is nothing in the shape 
 of an objection, it would not be worth 
 while to read iroi Kal here, though 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 83 
 
 XO. €v cTTrapydvoKTi iraiSo? opiJ-lcrai Sikvv. 
 
 OP. Ttvo? (Sopa^ -^pyjX^ovTa, veoyevefi ^a.Ko<s ; 
 
 XO. avrr] 7rpocrea")(e [xaXov ev Tudveipari. 
 
 OP. Kol TTcog arpooTOV ovOap ijv viro (jTuyog ; 
 
 XO. wcTT^ €V yaXaKTL Spo/j-Pov aljuLaTOf orirdG-ai. 
 
 OP. ouTOi juLaraiov avSpog oyp^ai/ov TreXei. 
 
 530 
 
 the transposition is supported by the 
 passage in the Phoenissce, where some 
 MSS. give Kal ttws, others ttws Kai. 
 TTOi reXei/rg, as in Pers. 787, tto? 
 KaTa(TTp€(p€is Aoycjp reXevT'^v ; ib. 735, 
 TTcDs re 5?; /cat tto? TeXevrdv, comp. by 
 Blomf. So TTOt drira Kpavei, woe 
 KaraXrj^ei, v. 1075, below. Kapavbw, v. 
 705, a poetical equivalent for /ce0aXai6a>, 
 as we talk of 'bringing to a head.' 
 X670S is seemingly to be explained 
 from X^7ei in the previous line of 
 Clytsemnestra's account. 
 
 5-29. 6/5/itcrat depends on TTOi reXei/ra 
 X670S, to which question it gives the 
 answer, 'What is the upshot of her 
 story f ' Why, that she lulled it as if it 
 had been a child.' bpixlaai is well ex- 
 plained by Abresch from Hesych., 
 opixLaov avdiravcrov, and from -^lian, 
 de Anim. 2. r, rd /xrjKiaTa ireXdyrj 
 Trepaiovixeva'i rap(j(^ tQu irTepwv oiire 
 bpixl^eadal ttov ovt€ dvaTraveadai. Kl. 
 remarks that the word suggests of 
 itself the question put in the next line, 
 as showing that the creature had 
 been restless, and required pacifying. 
 Thus Person's opfiTJaac is quite need- 
 less, and indeed inferior, inasmuch as 
 it would involve a change of subject 
 from Clytsemnestra to the serpent. 
 
 530. This verse, as Abresch was 
 the first to see, belongs to Orestes. 
 The MSS. make no distinction of 
 characters through the greater part of 
 the aTLxop-vdia ; Rob. attempted one, 
 and gave vv. 529-531 to the Chorus. 
 TLvbs, MSS. rivos, Abresch. Herm. 
 
 retains rlvo^, in spite of the objection 
 to its beginning a sentence, veopeves, 
 MSS. veoyeves, Turn. 
 
 531. p.a^6p is the MSS. reading, 
 which there seems no occasion to 
 alter into p^aarbv, though that is 
 doubtless the common form in the 
 tragedians. The Homeric form ^lay 
 very well have been used occasionally, 
 especially as Hdt. has both. ev t 
 opdpaTL, MSS. ev nhpeipari, Porson. 
 
 532. ovxapi-p, Med., ip being a 
 correction of ^p. oddap ^p, Pauw, 
 Valckenaer. cttv^ seems to be here a 
 synonym of arijyos (comp. Xii//, Xt/3os). 
 Schiitz's arvyovs, however, is very 
 plausible. 
 
 533. iixTT', as Peile has seen, is 
 correlative to ttcDs. Orestes asks in 
 the tone of an objector, ' How was 
 her nipple unwounded V to which the 
 Chorus answers, 'Why, in such a 
 way that drops of blood were drawTi 
 from it,' i.e., it was so unwounded as 
 to be wounded, an idiomatic way of 
 qualifying an assertion till it becomes 
 a negation. 
 
 534. dpdpds is to be explained after 
 Heath as opposed to drjpiov. So dpdpbs 
 (^(payelop, Ag. 1092, (XTeyaarpop dp- 
 8p6s, Cito. 984. The line in effect 
 contains two co-ordinate assertions, 
 ' it is a vision of a man, and no vain 
 one.' bipapop, which occurs nowhere 
 else, appears from the Schol. to have 
 been stigmatized by some gram- 
 marians. t6 X S^ 6'ti d-jrb rrjs 6^eios 
 irapTJ^e rb 6\papop. Blomf. defends it 
 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 XOH^OPOL 
 
 XO. rj ^' e^ virvov KeKpayev eirTor^fxevt], 
 
 iroWol S^ av^Oov, cKTVipXcoOevTeg ctkotco, 
 Xa/ULTTTrjpeg iv So/ULOicri Seo-Troli'tjg ^apiv 
 ire/ULTreL r' eireira rdoSe Kt]S€LOvg X^"^> 
 CLKog TOfxalov eKirla-acTa irrnj^aroov. 
 
 OP. aXX' euyoiJ.aL F? r^^e kul Trarpog racpo) 
 Touveipov eivai tout' efioL TeKecrc^opov. 
 KpLVO) Se TOi VLV (jO(tt€ (TvyKoWoog e-^eiv, 
 el yap rov avrov ^wpov ckXittoov efxoL 
 oiKpig fexao-a a-irdpyav^ ^riirXeiXero 
 
 535 
 
 540 
 
 by instancing rpoi^avov from rpdiyio 
 and Xeixpavov from XetTrw. 
 
 535. K€K\ayev, MSS., K^Kpayev, 
 Kob. Bamb. suggests K^KXrjyev, H, 
 L. Abrens, KeKkayyev. Kpd^o} bow- 
 ever appears a more natural word for 
 a sudden cry of terror tban KKd^oi, 
 wbicb wben used of a buman being 
 seems to imply a more measured and 
 premeditated utterance. Comp. Pers. 
 948, Ag. 48, 157, 172, 201, witb 
 Prom. 743. 
 
 536. dvrikdov, MSS., av^dov, 
 Valckenaer (on Hdt. 4. 145), sup- 
 ported by tbe Scbol., a.ve\aixipav, and 
 by Sopb. Aj. 285, rjvlx eairepoi Aa/i- 
 TTTTjpes ovKir' ■^dov, wbicb a MS. of 
 Suidas quotes witb ij\6ov. aKoru) can 
 bardly be taken except as the instrum. 
 dat. after eKTvcpXudeuTes, tbe notion 
 apparently being tbat light is extin- 
 guished by darkness getting tbe better 
 of it. 
 
 538. KTjSeious x^^^j "^' ^7- 
 
 539. Comp. Supp. 268, Toirwv aKf) 
 TO/xala Kal XvT-qpta. &kos rofiaiou is 
 interpreted by the Scbol. Oepdirevfxa 
 TfxrjTLKov. The modern commentators 
 mostly explain it like evrifxvwu aKos, 
 Ag. 16, Te/xveLv (pdpfxaKov, Hom. Hymn 
 Cer. 229, Plato Laxos, 836 b, 919 b, 
 of chopping up herbs for medicine. 
 
 Tbe former is supported by Ag. 849. 
 T€/x6vT€S . . . Trrjfi diroo-Tpe xpai voaov, 
 Sopb. Aj. 582, TOfiQvTi TTTi/xaTi. The 
 word then will be active here, not 
 passive, as in v. 168. 
 
 540-551. Or. ' May earth and the 
 tomb grant tbat tbe dream may come 
 true ! I read it exactly ; tbe serpent 
 was born, nursed, and suckled just as 
 I was ; she is to die a violent death, 
 and I am to kill her. I accept your 
 report of the dream. ' 
 
 540. Earth and the tomb are ad- 
 dressed, as Kl. remarks, as in v. 722, 
 because they are to send up Agamem- 
 non. Comp. Pei's. 628 foil. 
 
 542. For the distinction between 
 oveLpoKpiTTjs and repaaKOTOS, see on v. 
 37. For Kpiveiv in this sense witb an 
 ace, Peile comp. Pers. 520. cvyKoX- 
 Xws seems to express the exact agree- 
 ment between the dream and the in- 
 terpretation, as in Sxipp. 310, it 
 denotes tbe agreement between two 
 stories. <rv(XK6Wws, Med., dvaKdWus, 
 Guelf., (TvyKoXkcjs, Vett., and so tbe 
 Scbol., <Tvvrjfiixevw% ry ak-qdeiq.. 
 
 543. eKXeiTTOjv, MSS., ^kKlitJjv, 
 Blomf. , Herm. Tbe confusion between 
 the vowel and the diphthong occurs 
 again in the next verse. 
 
 544. The reading of this line has 
 
XOH<l)OPOI. 
 
 85 
 
 Ka\ fxaa-Tov ajj-CpeyaarK e/uLOv OpeirT>]pLov, 545 
 
 OpojUL/So) S^ ejULi^ev aljuLarog (plXov ydXa, 
 
 rj S' a/ULCpl TGLp^ei rwS'' eiripiJiw^ev irdSei, 
 
 Sei TOL PLV, cog eOpey^ev CKirayXov repag, 
 
 6av€LV ^lalcog' CKopaKovTCoOelg o' eyco 
 
 KTelvM VLV, o)? Touveipov evveirei roSe, 550 
 
 yet to be discovered. The Med. gives 
 oixpeKTeiracraaTrapyavrjTrXei^eTO : the 
 Guelf. has inserted before TrXei^ero 
 by a later hand. All that seems clear 
 is that ov(pL^ and airdpyav' formed 
 parts of the original text, eiraaa may 
 contain some word agreeing with 
 airdpyav', like iir' d/xd, which is 
 Klausen's suggestion, or it may be a 
 participle like eird^as or eTretcr/Sctj, 
 conjectured by Bamb. rjirXei^ero pro- 
 bably stands for some verb, the sense 
 of wliich is given in the Schol. of Med. 
 einueXeias tj^lovto (the words by which 
 Hesych. explains KOfxi^eLv). E. A, J. 
 Ahrens conjectures -r/TraXt^ero: riyXat- 
 ^€T0, TjXeyi^eTO, and 7]tXol^€TO (from 
 aTrXots, a notion which also occurred 
 to Pauw) might be suggested, though 
 there are objections to each. There 
 seems no reason to suppose that Turn, 
 and Vett. were right in reading airap- 
 yduoLS ojirXi^ero, so that the conjec- 
 tures which have been based on that 
 assumption fall to the ground. 
 
 545. With ifibi^ dpeTTTTjpcov, which 
 is to be explained by giving dpeirr-qpLOv 
 the force of a subst., like Meleager 
 Anth. 3. 6. 17, cited by Wordsworth, 
 vaaoi ifXT] dp^TTTeipa Tvpos, comp. 
 rots €/JLols iraXiyKOTOLS, Supp. ^'j6. 
 
 546. (piXoy ydXa, 'the milk of her 
 bosom,' or 'the milk of life.' See on 
 V, no. 
 
 547. dfKpiTap^i MSS., &fi(f)l Tappet, 
 Pors. Comp. V. 35. dficpl <t>()§Vt 
 Eur. Or. 825, 
 
 548. Kl. explains Sei toI vlv davelv 
 
 ^taicos, ws /3iotws Wpexpev, but perhaps 
 the stress is rather to be laid on 
 '^dpeipev — 'as she reared the monster 
 instead of disowning it, she must die 
 a violent death,' Clytaemnestra's co- 
 operation having, as it were, brought 
 her under the fate symbolized by the 
 dream. In any case the nourishing 
 of the serpent is meant to be indicated 
 as answering to the impending bloody 
 doom, which may be the reason why 
 €Ope\f/d/j,r]u in v. 928 is made the prin- 
 cipal verb. In Ag. 717 foil, the rear- 
 ing of the lion answers to the welcome 
 given to Helen. 
 
 549. iKdpaKOVTOjdeis, turned into a 
 serpent, i.e. playing the part of the 
 serpent. Peile well comp. arpanodiu, 
 Ag. r35, the bit turned into an army, 
 i.e. the bit which is an army, though 
 the identification is there a reverse 
 process, of the symbol with the thing 
 symbolized. Comp. also ravpovp.evov, 
 v. 275. 
 
 550. KTeivco is a kind of prophetical 
 present, like dypel, Ag. 126, diroav- 
 Xarai, Prom. 171 (add iKiriirTei, ib. 
 948), quoted by Well. Orestes speaks 
 not of what he shall do, but of what 
 he is doing by virtue of the symbolical 
 dream, as if he were already his 
 mother's murderer, as in Ag. I. c. 
 Troy is regarded as already captured 
 on the strength of the apparition of 
 the eagles and the hare, and the wrath 
 of Artemis blazes forth accordingly 
 against the Atridse. 
 
 551. Orestes gladly accepts the pre- 
 
86 
 
 XOH^OPOL 
 
 TepacTKoirov de rcovoe or* alpoufxai irepi, 
 XO. yevoiTO S' oi/Tft)?. raXXa S' e^rjyov (piXoig, 
 
 TOL'9 /JL€V TL TTOieiU, TOVg Sk jULtJ TL SpOLV XejOiV, 
 
 OP. air\ov<i 6 juLvOog' rrjv^e /mev (TTel'^eLV eo-cOf 
 alvu) Se KpviTTeLV rdcSe crvvO^Ka? ifxa^, 
 wg av S6\(p KTeii/avTcg avSpa rijuiiov 
 SoXo) re Kal 7\r](p6co(Tiv iv raurw ^po^w 
 
 555 
 
 tematural facts, as reported by the 
 Chorus (who is thus said to act as 
 repacKOTTos), finding the interpretation 
 which he can put on them as KpiTTjs to 
 be so favourable, alpovfiai seems to 
 mean ' I am willing to abide by you,' 
 just as it is used in the sense of 
 S^xo/xai, Theb. 264, Ag. 1653 (accord- 
 ing to Canter's correction), and v. 
 933 of this play, where see note. 
 
 552, 3. Cho. 'Be it so! now tell 
 each of us what to do or not to do.' 
 
 552. e^Tjyov, 'lay down the law,' as 
 Peile proposes to render it, hot with a 
 direct reference to the office of i^vjV' 
 rrjs (see on v. 118), but in the general 
 sense of instruction of which that 
 technical meaning is one application. 
 
 553. Toi/cr5' ev, MSS., Tot's p-iv, 
 Stanley. Wordsworth comp. Eur. 
 Iph. T. 721 {Med. 743), ri XP^^a 
 dpacreiv, i] t'l p.T] dpacreiv; \eye, which 
 seems to show that tI had better be 
 made inteiTogative here. Hermann's 
 transposition of this and the following 
 verse, both of which he gives to 
 Orestes, reading X^yio for Xeyuu, is 
 obviously unnecessary. 
 
 554-584. Or. 'I would have Electra 
 go in, to see that all is right there, 
 and the Chorus meanwhile keep 
 silence, that we may succeed in our 
 stratagem, which is a natural act of 
 retribution, and enjoined moreover 
 by Apollo. My plan is to go to the 
 outer gate with Pylades, pretending to 
 be strangers and speaking Phocian. 
 
 Suppose we are not let in at once, we 
 will wait till passers-by take notice of 
 the inhospitality. Then if I once get 
 in, I will kill him in a moment, and 
 so consummate the third great murder. 
 Remember your several parts : Hermes 
 here, my patron, will look to the rest,' 
 
 554. airXovs 6 fivdos rrjs aXyjdeLas 
 ^(pv, Eur. Phcen. 469. a-rixeiv, MSS., 
 (7T€'i.xeci>, Pors. (TTeixeiv depends on 
 ttiVcD, as Wordsworth also observes, 
 comp. Eum. 619, to p.eu SlKaiov tov6' 
 oaou adevei, piade^p, BoliX^ TrKpavcKOJ d' 
 {jpipb iiTLcrirecrdaL irarpos, where he re- 
 marks that such a transposition is 
 rare where sentences are connected by 
 tiev and 5e, though common with re 
 and Kai. See above v. 143. 
 
 555. Tatrde is rightly explained by 
 Turnebusof the Chorus, who thus have 
 the same direction given them which 
 is afterwards repeated in the resume, 
 v. 581, where their turn again comes 
 after Electra's. So too AVordsworth. 
 — crvudriKas, the complot with Pylades, 
 or the plot as a compact between 
 Orestes and the parties informed of it. 
 
 556. KTeLvdvTas, MSS., Kreivavres, 
 Rob. The dignity of Agamemnon is 
 dwelt on, as Kl. remarks , to enhance the 
 enonnity of the crime, as in v. 627, 
 Fiim. 625 foil. With the antithesis 
 between 56Xy and Tipaov, comp. Ag. 
 1494, &p.OL pLOi Koirav Tdu8' dveKevdepov 
 5oXty p.bpo} Sap-ei?. 
 
 557. The simplest form of the sen- 
 tence would have been, as Peile ob- 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 87 
 
 ava^ 'AttoXXcoi^, juavrig a\^euS>]<g to irpiv. 
 ^evo) yap clkco'?, iravreXi] crdyrji/ e)(ciov, 
 t]^(ji) ^uv avSpl T(fiS'' e(p' epK€Lovg irvXag 
 TLuXdSy], ^€V09 T6 Kai Sopv^evog Sojulcov. 
 djUL(po) Se (pcovrjv o'lcrojuLev IlapptjacTLSa, 
 
 560 
 
 serves, ws hv 66Xy Krebavres, SoXy Kal 
 6dvo3cnv: but vEsch. has amplified it 
 so as to include the expression Xa^elv 
 doXit) {Theb. 38), and produce an exact 
 opposition between KTeLv avres and 
 davovTEs. re Kai couples 56Ay with ev 
 TavTcp iSpoxv, Xy](p6Qi<jLV having been 
 put out of its natural place (see on v. 
 554), probably in order to give pro- 
 minence to hoKip, which has to balance 
 its counterpart in the line before. 
 
 558. See on v. 274. 
 
 559. So Apollo, Bum. 61 S, says, 
 fxavTis ibv ov xpeixrofiaL, speaking, as 
 here, of the truth, not of his predic- 
 tions, but of his precepts. Stanley 
 comp. Virg. A. 6. 343, ' fallax baud 
 ante repertus, Hoc uno responso 
 animum delusit Apollo,' where the re- 
 ference is to his predictions. 
 
 560. TravT^Krj (Tdyr}v ^x^^ appears 
 to refer to the complete disguise of a 
 traveller who has come all the way 
 from Phocis, v. 675. There is no re- 
 ference to weapons, except so far as 
 they may happen to be included among 
 travelling accoutrements. 
 
 56;. €(f)epKLOVS, MSS., 60' epKelovs, 
 Turn. 
 
 562. ' ^evos re Kal dopu^evos do/nwu, 
 a stranger at once and friend of the 
 family, as bringing a message, namely, 
 from Strophius (vv. 679 foil.), who 
 in Ag. 880 is called eiipLeurjs bopv^evos, 
 and his house, below v. 914, bbfioL 
 dopv^euoi. Comp. Soph. i;7. 44-6, 671,' 
 Peile. Pylades was the son of Stro- 
 phius, so we may wonder that he is 
 
 not brought forward to accredit the 
 story. ^schylus however naturally 
 wished to make Orestes the chief 
 speaker; and this being done, Pylades 
 could not be introduced in his proper 
 character, but had to appear merely 
 as a companion of Orestes, disguised 
 in the same way. The other tragedians 
 have followed ^schylus, and indeed 
 gone beyond him, making Pylades 
 actually a Koocjybv irpoauiirov. The 
 awkwardness is felt in v. 563, as 
 Pylades could have no occasion to 
 counterfeit a tongue that was natural 
 to him, unless we take d^0a; to mean 
 ' I as well as he,' which fxi/xov/x^voi 
 rather contradicts. For the function 
 of Pylades in the legend, see Miiller, 
 Diss. Earn. § 47. 
 
 563. oLcrofiev, the reading of all the 
 MSS., is condemned by Herm., who, 
 with most of the editors, adopts 
 Turnebus' rjcroixev. (pepeLU yXQcraav, 
 however, occurs below, v. 581, appa- 
 rently in the sense of xPV<^^°'-'-> ^^^ is 
 peculiarly applicable to the present 
 case, where the language is not native 
 but assumed, as Martin shows (ap. 
 Bamb.), comparing Hdt. 4, 106, voixa- 
 5es 5e eiaiv ecrdrJTa 5^ (popiovai rfj 
 ^KvdiKy o/moiTju, yXQaaav 5k Idirju. lu 
 Latin we might say ' prae nobis 
 feremus.' With regard to the sense, 
 the words can hardly mean anything 
 else than that Orestes was to speak a 
 peculiar dialect, not merely with a 
 peculiar intonation. Those who object 
 witli Peile that Orestes does not alter 
 
88 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 yXcocTcrrjg aiJTrjv ^(OKiSog lULifJiovfjLevw. 
 Koi St] Ovpcopwu ouTig OLV (paiSpa (ppevl 
 Se^aiT\ €7r€iSr] Sai/nova oofxog KUKOig' 
 [xevovfjiev ovTwg ioctt eireiKa'^eiv tlvo. 
 So/uLoig irapacTTeL'^ovTa kol rct^' evveweiVf 
 " TL Si] irvXaicTL Tov LKeTrjv aTrelpyerai 
 
 565 
 
 his dialect should recollect that 
 ^schylus does not make his Persians 
 speak Persian. Greek tragedy does 
 not discriminate its characters by dia- 
 lectic peculiarities, as Greek comedy 
 does : it scarcely even discriminates 
 the tone of their diction, especially 
 in ^schylus : all in fact, with slight 
 occasional exceptions, are made to 
 talk in the main like Attic poets, ex- 
 cept in the choral odes : nor is it really 
 a greater violation of di-amatic illusion 
 to bid the audience suppose that 
 Orestes talks like a Phocian, than to 
 tell them that the oIkctt^s in v. 875 
 talks like a servant. Uapv-qcraiha, the 
 form given in the MSS., is preferred 
 by Herm. Person gave Tiapurjcrl^a., 
 which is supported hy Earn. 11, where 
 the MSS. have HapvTjcroO. Blomf. 
 observes that the Attics distinguished 
 JIapvdaLos, the adj. of Parnassus, from 
 Uapvi^cnos, the adj. of Parnes, and 
 argues that the true form hei-e is 
 UapvaaiSa, which would agree with 
 Ilapvaaos, the spelling of Hesych., and 
 the Latin Parnasus, the orthography of 
 the oldest MSS. of Virgil, Propertius, 
 Ovid, &c. 
 
 565. Peile rightly observes that 
 that use of the opt., which does not 
 seem to occur elsewhere after Kai S17, 
 implies that the caseis likely to happen. 
 The expression may be regarded as a 
 condensed one for /cat Srj oi/'ris SeSe/crai 
 (01) yap de^air' dv, eirel k.t.\.)' /xeuov- 
 fiev. With 0at5pa <pp€vl U^aiT dv, 
 Kl. comp. Ag. 520, ^aidpoiat rotcrt'S' 
 
 566. \^^aLT, MSS. he^aiT, Turn, 
 /ca/cois qualifies daifiova, and indicates 
 the kind of possession, like daifj^ovQvres 
 ev dra, Theb. 1 00 1. The reference is 
 of course to the supernatural terror 
 caused by Clytsemnestra's dream. So 
 Cassandra exclaims, iov lov & /ca/cd, 
 Ag. 1204, when the spirit of prophecy 
 is on her. Kl. refers to Eur. Ale. 
 556 foil, as an illustration of the feel- 
 ing that grief suspends the duty of 
 hospitality. 
 
 567. ovTCJs seems to express the 
 attitude of supplication for admittance, 
 which would lead the passer by to 
 expostulate, on the assumption that 
 they were what they appeared to be. 
 
 568. Boissonade and Herm. read 
 do/jiovs, as in Soph. Ant. 1255 : ddfJLois 
 however seems so be used, as Peile 
 remarks, to indicate that the passer by 
 stops for a moment at the house, so 
 that it is not to be connected with 
 TrapaffTeixovra, but left by itself. 
 Peile appositely refers to Soph. (Ed. 
 T. 808, where 6xov is similarly sepa- 
 rated from TrapaareixovTa, a passage 
 which, singularly enough, Herm. was 
 the first to explain satisfactorily, re- 
 jecting the correction 6xov. irapa- 
 (TTixovra, MSS. TrapacTTeixovTa, Vett. 
 
 569. TrvXrjcn, MSS. ir^Xaca-i, 
 Blomf. The former may be a form 
 of a local dative, which however in 
 that case we should expect to have 
 found more frequently. It seems 
 better than to.regard the dat. as in- 
 strumental, with Blomf. and Words- 
 
XOH<l>OPOI. 
 
 AfyicrOo?, eiTrep oTSep evSrjuiog irapwvl'^ 
 €t S' ovv ajuLeiy^co (BaXov epKeUcv irvKoiv 
 KCLKelvov ev Opovoianv evpr}(j(jo iraTpog^ 
 rj Kal lUioXcov eirena juoi Kara (iTOiJia 
 epeif (Tad)^ 'ictOl, Kal Kar^ 6(pOa\iuLovg ^dXei, 
 
 89 
 
 570 
 
 worth, the latter of whom comp. 
 diriXXei rfj dupq!, Lysias, p. 359, ed. 
 Keiske, and Horace's ' exclusus fore.' 
 Paley comp. Aristoph. Eccl. 4-20, 
 aTTOKKeirj rfj dvpa, Wasps 775, dTro- 
 KXeiaet rfi klxXI^l. In either case the 
 expression is to be distinguished fz-om 
 irvXuu ciTreipyeiv, to drive from the 
 gate, with which Stanley confounded 
 it. aTreipyeTai, for which many editors 
 read direipyeTe, a variation in Guelf., 
 is well explained by Wordsworth, 
 * Why does ^gisthus cause the sup- 
 pliant to be driven away from him V 
 Kl. comp. Horn. Od. i. 189, v€/j.ea- 
 C7]dr] 5' ivi 6v/ji.(^ 'S<eLVQV 5^ra dvprjCLV 
 
 i<p€(XTd/J.€V. 
 
 570. It is worth remarking that 
 both Sophocles and Euripides actually 
 represent vEgisthus as from home at 
 the time of Orestes' arrival, ^schylus 
 evidently having no such meaning. 
 
 571. el d' ovu, A(j. 676, 1042. 
 dfj-ei^eLv, of passing the threshold, 
 like dfiei^eadaL, v. 965. Blomf. 
 comp. Fers. 69, Tropd/xov djj.elil/as, 
 Hdt. 5. 72, irpiv rj rds dvpas avTou 
 d/x€Lxj/aL. 'ipKLov, Med. epKetov, Guelf. 
 epKeiiov, Stanley. 
 
 572. Schiitz appositely refers to 
 Soph. £1. 267, oTo.i' 6pbvoi.s Myiadov 
 evdaKovvT" i'Sw Totcti/ TrarpipoLS. 
 
 573. ^Tretra is to be taken closely 
 with jxoXibu, the two cases supposed 
 being if Orestes should come upon 
 ^gisthus (v. 542), and if ^gisthus 
 should come on him. Taken with the 
 principal verb after the participle, as 
 in Theb. 267, Eim. 438, it would 
 
 have no force here. Kara crrofMa pro- 
 bably with ipei : see on next verse. 
 
 574. epd is doubtful, being gene- 
 rally used, as Herm. remarks, not of 
 talking, but of saying something, 
 where the thing said is expressed. 
 Hom. II. 9. 55, however has ov8^ 
 wdXiv ipeei, ' shall not gainsay or con- 
 tradict,' without an ace. or object, 
 clause ; and De Jongh cites Plato 
 Gorg. p. 495 a, e'iirep irapa rd doKOVvra 
 aavTip ipels, Menex. p. 234 b, ocTts 
 epfi eiri rots dirodavodcn. ^aXeiv, 
 MSS. ^aXei, Turn., a correction 
 which can hardly be questioned, 
 though the suspicion attaching to 
 epd will not allow us to speak with 
 certainty, /car' ocfidaXfious is parallel 
 to /card <TT6/j.a, as in Aristoph. Frogs, 
 626, Lva (Toi KaT ocpdaXfMovs Xeyri, comp. 
 by Wordsworth. Abresch. comp. 
 Hhes. 421, Xeyo} Kar opLfxa abv. Eur. 
 Or. 288, ei Kar'^ d/x/xara '^^(.(TTopovv 
 viv. jSaXet then will be intransitive, 
 as in -4^. 1173, the sense apparently 
 ' if he should suddenly present him- 
 self to my sight.' It must be con- 
 fessed, however, that if this interpre- 
 tation be right, we should rather have 
 expected /card (XTOfxa BaXei . . . Kal 
 KUT d(pdaX/xQijs ipel, as in Eur. Ino, 
 fr. 4 1 4, which I quote for the sake 
 of one or two emendations, roidvde XPV 
 yvvaiKL TTpoairoXou i^v (read ■Kpo(nroXelv 
 veq., TTpoaTToXelv from Musgrave), 
 "Hris TO p.ev diKaLOV ov ciyqaeTai, Td 
 6' aiaxpd /xicrei (read fiicrei, and comp. 
 ^sch. fr. 297. 9) Kal Kar' 6(p6aXp.oi;s 
 ipec (so Musgr. and others for e'xet)- 
 
90 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 irplv avTOP eiTreiv, TroSairo^ 6 ^evog ', veKpov 575 
 
 QijarWf TToScoKei irepi^oKlov -^aXKevjULaTi. 
 
 cjyopou ^' 'J^pivvis 011-^ virecTTravicriuevr} 
 
 CLKparov alfia Trierai Tpln^v Troanv. 
 
 vvv ovv (TV (xev (hvXacrcre Tav o'ikoj KoXcog, 
 
 OTTOjg dv apTLKoWa o-vfj-^aLvri ra^e' ^^O 
 
 vfMV eiraLvod yXoocrcrav eu(pi]iuiov (pepeiv, 
 
 ad(p' L<x6i, as the Scliol. remarks, in 
 sense belongs rather to the next line. 
 (dpeZ, the conjecture of Bamb. and 
 Herm., is not satisfactory, obliging 
 us as it does to take Kar' 6(pda\ixovs 
 differently from Kara aTo/xa, while 
 the circumstance which it introduces, 
 ^gisthus raising his eyes and drop- 
 ping them, as not daring to look 
 Orestes in the face, is one which 
 would scarcely find place in a brief 
 anticipatory sketch.) 
 
 575. TTodairbs 6 ^evos, v. 657. 
 
 576. veKpbv d-qcoo, like rvcfAbv edrjKC, 
 Hom. II. 6. 139. TToSw/cet* rep rax^t 
 ^i(f>€L, ws eirl ifMipuxov d^ elirev, Schol. 
 Stanley comp. Theb. 623, irobwKes 
 6/jifjLa. Trepi^oKwv seems best explained 
 with Dobree as a metaphor from a 
 net suddenly thrown round an animal. 
 Comp. Eur. Med. 1278, dpKvwv ^[(povs, 
 Here. F. 729, iv ^pbxoicnv dpKVWv 
 ^L(p7j<p6poi.cn. The explanation, ' I 
 will fling him round my sword, ' i. e. 
 ' I will bury my sword in him,' be- 
 longs, as Kl. justly contends, to a 
 death like that of Ajax (Soph. AJ. 
 899, 967), not to an ordinary death 
 by the sword. 
 
 577. virecntavLffixevoi with the gen., 
 as in Pers. 489, vTreairavLcrixivovs 
 ^opds. 
 
 578. TpLTTjv is properly explained 
 by Schiitz, on a comparison of vv. 
 1065 foil., of the joint death of ^gis- 
 thus and Clytsemnestra, considered as 
 the thii-d of a series of which the 
 
 murder of Thyestes' children and that 
 of Agamemnon are the first and 
 second. voaLv a cognate ace. ; see on 
 V. 97. Pauw and Blomf. rightly re- 
 mark the allusion to the third liba- 
 tion, which appears from Antiphanes 
 (Athen. 15, p. 692 e.) to have been 
 of unmixed wine. Soph., who re- 
 peatedly imitates the language of this 
 play in his Electra, uses aKparov 
 atfjLa, V. 785, without any second in- 
 tention. Orestes wishes, as Kl. re- 
 marks, to express his hope that this 
 third libation will be really one to 
 Zeus Soter, and put an end to the 
 revelry of blood, which began, as we 
 learn from Ag. 1188 foil., when 
 Atreus slew the children of his wife's 
 seducer. The Chorus, v. 1073, speaks 
 more doubtfully, (ro^T-qp, ^ fibpov e?7rw ; 
 and asks when the calamity will be 
 over, seeing that the Furies have 
 already begun to fasten on Orestes. 
 
 579. <rvv odv, Med. av odv, Guelf. 
 vvv odv, Blomf. 
 
 580. dpTiKoXKos, which occurs 
 again Theb. 373, expresses the exact 
 juncture at which an event happens : 
 apri however does not mean 'just 
 now' or * of late,' as in dpri^vyla, 
 dpTLTpe(prjs, &c., but merely denotes 
 precision, so that the notion of time 
 is derived from the whole of the com- 
 pound, not from the first part of it. 
 
 581. vntv eiraLvQ) (pepeiv, like 8pd- 
 aavTL vadetv (pojvet, v. 313, in each of 
 which cases we should rather have ex- 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 91 
 
 (Tiyav 6' OTTOV Set Kal Xeyeiu ra Kalpia, 
 TO, ^' aWa TOVTCp Seup^ eiroiTTev(TaL Xeyo), 
 ^i(pr](p6povg aycoi^ag opQoocravTL julol. 
 XO. TToWa iuL€u ya Tpecjyei Seiva Sei/uLarwv ayrj, 
 
 TTOvTial r' ayKoXai KvcooaXwv [crrp. a 
 
 585 
 
 pected the ace, as in Supp. 996. — 
 Wordsworth comp. yXQaaau evrvKOv 
 ipipeL, Siqip. 994. 
 
 582. "ZiyCov 6' OTTOV 5e? Kal Xeywv ra 
 Kaipia is quoted by Gell. N. A. 13, 
 18 from the Fireheariny Prometheus, 
 but that is no reason for suspecting, 
 with Dindorf, the genuineness of the 
 present Hne, which is perfectly in its 
 place. The Chorus obeys the latter 
 part of the injunction in its conversa^ 
 tions with the nurse and with ^gis- 
 thus, as Kl. observes. Another si- 
 milar line occurs, Theh. 619, 0tXet bk 
 ctyav 7) Xeyeiu rd Kaipia. 
 
 583. TovTU) is rightly interpreted by 
 Schneider on Theb. 27, 490 of Hermes, 
 whose statue, as we have seen on v. 
 I, probably stood in the vestibule. 
 Comp. v. 727 foil., where the expres- 
 sions are parallel. eiroiTTeveLv and 
 opdovv are peculiarly used in ^sch. of 
 divine agency, vv. i, 489, 1063, and 
 Eum. 897, Supp. 673. Hermes was 
 called euaydovios or ay dovios, fr. 374, 
 Pind. Pyth. 2. 10, Isthm. i. 60, 01. 6. 
 79, which Kl. cites on Ag. 513. erro- 
 TTTevaai. opducrauTt will then be equiva- 
 lent to eTTOTrreOcrat /cat opdCHaai. 
 
 584. Orestes and Pylades retire as 
 before : Electra enters the palace, 
 probably by the side door mentioned 
 V. 878. 
 
 585—652. CJio. ' Earth, sea, and 
 air have each ita terrible products 
 {Sir. i). But nothing can compare 
 with the raging power of love in man, 
 and still more in woman {Ant. i). 
 Witness Althaea burning the brand 
 
 with which her child's life was bound 
 up {Sir. 2). Witness Scylla, sacri- 
 ficing a friend for an enemy, and 
 cutting off her father's fatal lock as 
 he slept {Ant. 2). So too but now, 
 when a wife lifted her hand against 
 her husband, a woman against a great 
 warrior — when the house became mas- 
 terless, and fell under weak female 
 rule {Str. 3). The Lemnian tra- 
 gedy is the type of all tragedies : 
 horrors which the gods hate, and 
 which bring their perpetrators to a 
 dishonoured end. Which of my in- 
 stances is out of place ? {Ant. 3). The 
 sword of Justice strikes to the heart, 
 when right has been trampled on 
 {Str. 4). Justice sets up the anvil : 
 Fate forges the blade : blood begets 
 blood, and Erinnys finds the child a 
 home {Ant. 4).' 
 
 585. yap, MSS. 7a, Pors. Schiitz. 
 Heath had conjectured 7ata, Turn. 
 y' drjp, from the gloss of the Schol., 
 which really belongs to v. 589. 
 
 586. Kal deifxaroov, MSS. deLfxarcov, 
 Heath, dxv as in v. 635, Ag. iioi, 
 12 5 1, 1579, in all which passages it 
 has been needlessly proposed to alter 
 dxos into dyos. Comp. dXyos, Ag. 
 733, of a lion's whelp. With 5et- 
 p-droiv dxv comp. SecrirdTov arvyei, v. 
 770. 
 
 587. dyKoXai, at koi,X6t7]T€s, Schol. : 
 as we should say, the lap of the sea. 
 Stanley comp. fr. 450 (?), Kvp-druv iv 
 ay KdXais, Kl. Eur. Bel. 1062, 1436, 
 ireXayias is dyKaXas. The word may 
 be chosen to suggest the notion of a 
 
92 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 avralitiv ^poTolcL 
 
 TrXdOova-r ^XacTTOvcn kol ire^al'^iJiioL 
 
 Xa/uLTrdSeg ire^dopoi 59^ 
 
 irravd re koi TreSo/SdjuLova Kave/noevTMV 
 
 aiyiScov (ppdcrai kotov. 
 
 aXX' VTre pToX/uLOV avSpog (j)p6vt]iuia tU Xeyoi, avT. a. 595 
 
 mother or nurse, like Tp^(f)€L and 
 jSXacrroOcrt. 
 
 589. TT\ddov(TL should probably be 
 TrXrjdovaL, as Mr. Paley once suggested 
 to me, the Doric form seemingly not 
 being one of those admitted by the 
 practice of the tragedians. ^XaarovaL, 
 the MSS. reading, is supported by 
 ^Xaare?, Bion. Id. 6. I'j, ^Xdareov, 
 Apoll. Rhod. 4. 1425, and perhaps 
 p\a(TTov/x€vr], Soph. Thyest. fr. 235, 
 and is required by the context, the 
 subject of the strophe being the ter- 
 rible products of earth, sea, and air. 
 For the ace, see Excursus on vv, 
 278 — 296. The Schol. referred to on 
 V. 285 has TToXXd, ri/crei 6 dr;p e/c ttjs 
 TjXcaKTis olktIvos TTT-qva Kat epirera. 
 elal yap 6<p€t,s e| dipos TriirTovTes. 
 The various corrections that have 
 been proposed only injure the sense. 
 7r€0aLx/j>-ioi is rightly explained by the 
 Schol. al fxera^v yijs /cat ovpavov 
 Xa/xTrdSes. 
 
 590. Tedd/xapoi, MSS. TreddopoL, 
 Stanley. The Schol. in Med. has 
 oT/xai TT^dovpoi, 'iu' y rb o-qfiaiPo/Jievov 
 /xereojpoL, though another gloss gives 
 ai dKT?v€S rod i]\Lou ai Kadrip.epi.val, 
 apparently pointing to TreSd/xepot, 
 which is Wellauer's conjecture. 
 \ap.irdd€s, then, will be the heavenly 
 bodies, to which the power of pro- 
 duction is attributed. Comp, Soph. 
 Ajit. 878, Eur. Med. 352, where 
 XafxTrds is used of the sun. The 
 ^olic ired- for fxer- occurs in From. 
 271, irpbs TT^Tpais iredapcrioLS. 
 
 592. VTTivd, MSS. TTTavd, Herm. 
 With TTTavd re Kal Tredo^dfxova, comp. 
 Supp. 1000, Kal KvibdaXa wTepovvra 
 Kal TredoaTi^rj. Kavep-oevTo^v aiyidojv 
 KOTOV appears to depend on ^XacrTovcri, 
 storms being coupled with living 
 creatures as alike products of the air. 
 (ppdaai will then be the epexegetical 
 infin., 'for a man to tell of,' like 
 Atbs rrXaydv l;\;oi;criJ' eiirelv Ag. 367, 
 TerpojTai diKTijov irXeov Xeyeiv ib. 868, 
 though it must be owned that the 
 parallel would be more exact if (ppdaac 
 were the last word in the sentence. 
 This interpretation is not without 
 harshness, but it seems on the whole 
 less objectionable in point of language 
 than any other, at the same time that 
 it suits the various requirements of 
 the context. For dve/xoevriov we 
 should have expected dve/xoeaacov : 
 but it is apparently to be classed with 
 YeVi'ttJ' ^XajSevTa, Ag. 120, dpocroi . . . 
 TidevTes, ib. 562, and other instances 
 adduced by J elf, § 390. i. c. obs., 
 though no metrical necessity can be 
 pleaded here. Kl. rightly observes 
 that the alyis is identical with the 
 shield of Zeus, as is shown by II. 4. 
 167, Virg. A. 8. 354. This will 
 enable us to understand the appear- 
 ance of Athene in Eum. 404, irrepoiv 
 ixTep poL^douaa KbXirov alyidos, which 
 is tantamount to saying that she 
 came with a rushing wind on the 
 wings of the storm, though of course 
 the words are meant to be understood 
 literally. 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 93 
 
 Kai yvvaiKwv (ppecrh Tka/uLovoov 
 TravToXjuovg epcorag 
 
 ^ CLTaiari cruvvojULOvg ^porcoi^ ; 
 
 ^v^vyov^ S^ ojULavXiag 
 
 OtjXvKpartji CLTrepcoTog epwg irapaviKO, 6oo 
 
 KvcoSdXcov re Kai Pporwv. 
 
 'i<TTCt) S' o(TrL<s ov')^ vTroTTTepog (rrp. /3'. 
 
 <ppovTL(Tiv oae)? 
 
 rav a TraiSoXvjULag raXaiva Gea-Tiag juticraTO 605 
 
 595. \^yoL without av, like tLs . . . 
 Kardaxoc, Soph. Ant. 605, and per- 
 haps ttQs TLS . . . 4>pd^€i€v, Ag. 1376. 
 The question seems suggested by 
 (ppdaaL. 
 
 596. (ppealv rXafxovojv is equiv. to 
 raXacTKppoucjv, as Blonif. remarks. 
 (})pe<xalv, MSS. (ppecriv, Aid. tXtj/ulS- 
 viov, MSS. T\a/x6vo}v, Dind. 
 
 597. Kal TravTdXfiovs, MSS. iravroK- 
 fjLovs, Kl., so as to connect 'ipwras with 
 yvvaiKdv. Tlie lacuna before aTaicn he 
 fills up by repeating ^pwr as, a very plau- 
 sible suggestion, and confirmed by the 
 passage which he quotes, Soph. Aj. 
 12O4, epwTWJ/5', epihrwv aTreiravcrev, but 
 seemingly liable to exception as not 
 quite corresponding with irXddovcn, v. 
 589. With draLai (tvuvS/jlovs, comp. 
 Soph. Aj. 1-23, drrj avyKare^evKTai, 
 and contrast the description of love in 
 Eur. Med. 844, rg. aocpiq. TrapeSpovs . . 
 ^pwraj wavToias dperds ^vvepyovs. 
 
 599. ^v^vyovs 5' ofxavXias clearly 
 goes with what follows, as Heath was 
 the first to perceive. Taken with 
 what precedes, besides involving the 
 change of 5' into 6', it would create 
 an ambiguity with crvvvbixovs, and 
 form a very weak addition. The 
 sense seems to be, as Blomf. inter- 
 prets it, that the vehement passion of 
 the female breaks through the re- 
 straints of wedlock both in beasts and 
 
 men. The extension of the remark to 
 beasts, to which Bamb. demurs, is 
 supported by Archil, fr. 17, w 
 ZeO, irdrep ZeO, crop fM^v ovpavov Kpdros, 
 Si) 5' ^py' eV' dvdpLOTTOJv opds Aecopyd 
 Kadejuiara- aol d^ 6T]plu}u"Tl3pis re Kal 
 dlKT] fieXei. With TrapaviKci, where 
 irapd implies ' makes fatal conquest,' 
 Kl. comp. Soph. Ant. 791 (a passage 
 generally parallel), av Kal diKaiuv 
 ddiKovs (ppivas -jrapacnrds eirl Xw^g,. 
 With d-qXvKpar-qs, comp. Ag. 1470, 
 Kpdros r' lao^vxov e/c yvvaLKCov Kap- 
 dLodijKTov ifioi Kpar^veis. With kvu- 
 SaXwj/ re /cat Ppordv, comp. Supp. 999, 
 drjpes 5e KrjpaivovaL Kal ^poroi, in a 
 somewhat similar context. 
 
 602. i'crrw, 'let him be my witness,' 
 like iVrw Zevs. So Virg. G. 3. 474, 
 'Tumsciat, siquis . . . videat.' daeis' 
 /j.a6<Jjv, Hesych. Laroj 8aeis are to be 
 taken together, as the reflecting man 
 {offTLS ovx virbiTTepos (ppovriaLV, octtls ov 
 Kov(f)6uovs, com-p. dv€irTepu6-r]s, v. 228), 
 is bidden to testify on the strength of 
 the story that he is to hear. So 
 Stephens, orap dafj. {The sense is 
 unquestionable, according to the pre- 
 sent text : the metre, however, pre- 
 sents a difficulty, which, if insuperable, 
 seems best removed by Paley's rather 
 bold suggestion, rap daeis dp Tracd.) 
 
 605. 7raL5oXv/j.ds is Dindorfs cor- 
 rection of TratdoXv/xas. For the story of 
 
94 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 wvpSarj Tiva irpovoiav, KaTalOovcra Trazdo? Sa(poLVOv 
 SaXbv }]\ik\ 67r€f /uoXcov /narpoOeu KeXdSrjorev, 
 ^vfj-imeTpov Te Siai f^lov fxoipOKpavTOV e? d/JLap^ 
 aXXav Set riv' ev Xoyoig arvyelv dvr, ^' . 6i3 
 
 (boLvlav ^KvXkav, 
 
 ar^ eyQpwv virai (pwr^ OLTrwXea-ev (piXov H^prjTiKoig 615 
 -^vcreoS/uiijTOKTiv opjmois TriOj^craara Scopoicn M/i^w, 
 
 Meleager, see ApoUodonis, i. 8. 
 Ov. M. 8. 273. foil. 
 
 607.* With TTvpdaT] irpbvoLav, comp. 
 Pers. 113, XaoTTopoLS fxaxo-vais. riva 
 is probably to be referred to rdv, as if 
 ^sch. had said rivTiva, as Paley sug- 
 gests. 
 
 608. K aWovcra or KaWovca, MSS. 
 Karaidovaa, Canter. The original 
 corruption, as Peile remarks, may 
 have been from KATAIGOTCA into 
 KAIAieOTCA. Wordsworth in- 
 stances Soph. Phil. 680, where the 
 Harl. MS. has Ka/j-irvKa for Kar' 
 afxirvKa. haipoivbs seems only to be 
 used of colour. So Wordsworth, refer- 
 ring to Wustemann on Eur. Ale. 598. 
 Peile comp. Hesych. 5a(poLv6i>' fi^Xav, 
 heivbv, ttolklKov, epvdpbv, irvppbv. The 
 reference seems to be to the colour of 
 the brand when first taken from the 
 fire. 5aX6s is explained by Hesych., 
 ^6\ov KEKavp-ivov, TO e^rip-jxivov ^(iXov. 
 
 609. eirel, as in Ag. 40, d0' o5. 
 With p.6k^v [xaTpbdev, comp. Theb. 
 664, (pvyopra jxr^Tpbdev (tkotov. KeKd- 
 dT](T€, MSS. KeXddriaev, Herm. 
 
 611. ^ifipLerpov, as in Soph. (Ed. T. 
 1 1 13, ev re yap fiaKpd^ V-qpa ^vuqdeL 
 Tcpde rdp^pl a^jp-pLerpos. did, MSS. 
 
 f 
 dial, Cant. pLoipoKpaPToa-d', Med. 
 pt-OLpbKpavToed', Guelf. p.oipbKpavTov 
 5', Vett. S' was omitted by Cant., 
 Turn, having previously given p.0L- 
 pbKpaTQv is r]p.ap. Dind. gives 5.pi.ap, 
 
 613. dWh 5^, MSS. &\\av, 
 Pauw. Set, Turn. Hermann's dWav 
 S' ^aTLv seems scarcely so good. eV 
 \6yoLS seems to go with (TTvyelv, ' to 
 express hatred of her in speech,' like 
 ev \byoLS Trpea-jSeverai, Eum. 21. 
 
 615. vTrai is apparently to be taken 
 with dirdiKeaev, as KL, so that 
 Scylla's reproach will be that she 
 made use of enemies to take tlie life 
 of a friend. There is much, however, 
 to be said for Wellauer's interpre- 
 tation, *at the instigation of enemies,' 
 and much also for Porson's correction, 
 inrep. For the story of Scylla, see 
 Ov. M. 8. I -1 5 1, and the Ciris attri- 
 buted to Yirgil. 
 
 618. Perhaps we should write 
 Xpvcreodp.droL(nv, like epid/xaros, Ag. 
 1 46 1. The word itself is not free 
 from suspicion, as no authority is 
 quoted for the use of d4p.u or its 
 compounds in the sense of an artificer's 
 work, and Hemiann's xp^'^^ox/^woicnv 
 is sufficiently tempting. The metre 
 does not correspond precisely with v. 
 607, but it would be hazardous to 
 adopt Hermann's TvpdarjTiv — xP^<^o- 
 Kp.-qTOKTLv. Treidrjaaa-a, MSS. ttiB-^' 
 a-aa-a, Abresch., a word used by Horn. 
 II. 9. 119, Od. 21. 369, Hes. W. 
 and D. 359, Pind. Pyth. 4. 109. 
 (Heath's Treicdelaa, answering to 
 aWovaa, or, as Porson conjectured, 
 Kaiovaa, in the strophe, is far less 
 Hkely.) 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 
 95 
 
 Nrcor aOavarag Tpi)(^09 PocripLcracr^ airpolBovXwg 6 20 
 TTveovO' a KVv6(pp(jov virvw. Kiyyavei Se VLv'^piJ.ri^. 62 2 
 eireL o eirefJLvaa-afJLriv ajueiXi-^cov (tto. y . 
 
 TTOvccVf oLKaipco^ Sc SvffCpiXh ya/uLijXeuiUL'' aTrev-verov 
 
 So/LLoig 625 
 
 620. The lock is represented by 
 Ov. M. 8. 10, and the author of the 
 Ciris, V. i'22, as the guarantee, not of 
 Nisus' life, but of the stability of his 
 kingdom, voacplaaa': hence the name 
 Ciris. (XTrpo^ovXuis with irv^ovd', Peile 
 well remarking that it was the poet's 
 object to enlist his hearers' sympathies 
 on the side of the unconscious sleeper, 
 not on hers who thus unnaturally 
 ' murdered sleep. ' 
 
 622. A good commentary on kvv6- 
 (ppwv is found in Supp. 759, referred 
 to by Blomf. /xefxapycofxePOL Kvvodpa- 
 (XeU, 6eu)V ovdkv eiratovTe^. So avai.brji 
 expresses not only shamelessless, in 
 our restricted sense, but want of 
 feeling altogether, a/Scis being that 
 which shrinks from any wrong doing. 
 VLv is rightly explained by t^e Schol. 
 Tov '^t<Tov, [17] T7}v liKvWav, as yEsch. 
 is speaking of the crime, not of its 
 punishment. The old commentator 
 seems right, too, in interpreting 
 ''Etpfxris, 6 ddvaros, i.e. 'BpfMrj^ X^oj/tos, 
 though there may be also a reference 
 to his attribute of BoXlos. Kcyxdvet is 
 especially used of death, as Blomf. 
 shows. Comp. Hom. II. 17.672.22, 
 303, 436. So Kixdfo/xai, II. II. 441. 
 Soph. (Ed. C. 1450, d Ti fi,o?pa firj 
 Kiyxdi-vei. Simon. 91, /xolp' '^klx^v 
 davoLTov. Kixduet, MSS., a letter 
 having been erased in Med. before %. 
 Kiyxo-^^h Person, /xlv, MSS. nv, Blomf. 
 
 a 
 
 623. eTrefXP-qaafxev, MSS. e-rre^urj- 
 cdixTjv, Heath. Tliis passage is per- 
 haps not so desperate as has generally 
 
 been supposed. The general sense 
 apparently is 'Now that I have begun 
 to speak of the crimes of women 
 (comp. Juv. 3. II 4, 'et quoniam 
 ccepit Greecorum mentio '), I must 
 come to that of wife against husband.' 
 They proceed at once to touch on the 
 domestic story of the royal house, 
 which evidently forms the subject of 
 the strophe — the hateful man-iage of 
 the usurpers, the plot of Clytsem- 
 nestra against her lord, the unkindled 
 hearth, and the proverbially weak 
 rule of a woman. These, says the 
 Chorus, aKaipojs rico — words which 
 may be explained either as a direct 
 oxymoron, ' I pay them honour which 
 is no honour,' 01) a-^^cj or oi X^yu, as 
 ^sch. elsewhere expresses it {Ag. 
 1612, Eum. 866), or, 'I celebrate 
 wrongly,' i.e., celebrate as wrong (see 
 on v. 434, dTifj.ojs ^Xe^as). For 5^ in 
 the apod, after eTrei, which Buttmann 
 and Hartung are wrong in denying 
 to Attic writers, see Klotz. Devar. 1. 
 371, foil. For the verb which be- 
 longs to two clauses placed in the 
 second, comp. vv. 143, 554 (note). 
 Here the ambiguity which might 
 otherwise have been produced by the 
 unusual length of the first clause 
 seems to have been obviated by the 
 insertion of the adverb, which really 
 forms part of the verbal notion, on the 
 same principle as in v. 232 (where see 
 note) the preposition in the second 
 clause apparently does duty for the 
 verb. 
 
 625. Crimes are called -kovoi here, 
 
96 
 
 X0H4>0POI. 
 
 yvvaiKol3ov\ovg re /uLtjTiSa^ <ppevwv 
 
 ctt' dv^p\ Saoi<} -^eTriKOTM crefiag, 
 Tioo S"" dOepiJiavTOV ecniav oofj-wv, 
 yvvaiKelav droXjULOV ai-^fxav. ■., 
 
 630 
 
 as TrrjfiaTa, v. 634, &XV, v. 635. 
 yafj.rj\€v/xa must, in spite of the 
 iiarepov Trpbrepov, be the marriage of 
 Clytaemnestra and Agamemnon, which 
 is called SvacpiXis and dTrei^xfO'' 
 dofJLOLS (comp. Ag. 1192, atrexTvcrau 
 evvd^) from its results. So Svadd- 
 fxapros dvbpbs, Ag. 1319. 
 
 626. yvpaLKo^ovXovs like dvdpS- 
 j3ov\op, Ag. II. ^sch. perhaps had 
 his eye on Od. 11. 436, yvvaiKeiovs did 
 ^ovXds. A sharp contrast is intended 
 between ywaiKo^ovXovs and dvdpi, as 
 in Ag. 12 31, Eicni. 625, foil., where, 
 as here, Agamemnon's dignity is in- 
 sisted on. 
 
 627. dvdpl T€vx^o-4^op<i> like avdpa 
 Tevx'n'^Tr^v, Theb. 644. This line is 
 omitted in the MSS,, but added in the 
 margin of the Med. a m. pr. 
 
 628. S??tois, MSS. 54ots, Dind. 
 For erriKdrq} Paley adopts iireiKdrcos 
 from an anonymous critic, ap. Scholef., 
 who wished to read e7reiK-6TWS ^^av. 
 Paley also reads Xaots from a con- 
 jecture of my own ; but there does 
 not seem sufficient reason for chang- 
 ing Sgots, as there is some point in 
 saying that a man, whose majesty 
 was felt even by his fenemies, fell by 
 his wife. With iireiKdrcjs cre/3as we 
 might comp. Siqyj^. 'J'j6, ^vSlkop ae^as. 
 cr^jSas in app. with a noun in the dat. 
 is doubtful, though it seems to be in- 
 declinable in the sing. H. L. Ahrens, 
 however, reads aij3a. 
 
 629. tLwv, MSS. rfw, Stanley, 
 See on v. 623. ddepfiavrov ecrrlav is 
 parallel to irdvoi^v^ ecrrta, v. 49, de- 
 
 noting the state of the family hearth 
 under the usurpers, but whether 
 the meaning is that it was joyless and 
 inhospitable (comp. v. 565), that 
 sacrifices had ceased to be offered 
 (comp. the contrast in v. 863), or that 
 there was no rightful lord to kindle 
 the hearth (comp. Ag. 968-9), is not 
 easy to say. Clyt., in Ag. 1435, 
 speaks of ^gisthus as burning fire on 
 her hearth, which seems to imply that 
 he was to succeed to Agamemnon's 
 rights, and so is not easily recon- 
 cilable with the sense here, at the 
 same time that it illustrates the foiTQ 
 in which it is conveyed. The Chorus, 
 however, may purposely ignore him. 
 
 630. yvvaiKelav aixfJ-dv is a repe- 
 tition of yvvaiKos aixJJ-a, Ag. 483, 
 also spoken of Clyt. The aix/J-v is 
 the sign of power (Prom. 405), the 
 proper ensign of the male ruler (Pers. 
 755, where ttXovtov eKTrjau} ^iiv alxfJ-y 
 is contrasted with ^vSov alxjxd^eiv, 
 which is a sort of oxymoron, answering 
 nearly to the phrase here). droX/Mov 
 is explained by yvvaiKeiav. The lan- 
 guage in which Clyt. is spoken of in 
 this play, and in the Agamemnon, 
 oscillates between horror of her un- 
 womanly daring, and contempt for 
 her as a woman placed where a man 
 should be. The latter is the feeling 
 here, as in w. 302, foil. Comp. 
 Soph. El. 1240, foil., where El. ex^ 
 presses scorn for her mother's sex, 
 and Or. reminds her that Clyt. has 
 shown that women can do daring 
 deeds. 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 97 
 
 KQKcou Se irpe(T^6v€Tai to Atjuiviou avr. y 
 
 Xoycp' yoarai Se S^iroOev KaraTrTvanov. rKaarev Se Tig 
 
 TO Seivov au \t]jULvioicri TrrjjULacriv. 
 
 6eo(TTvyi^T(p S' aycL 635 
 
 PpoTwv aTifxcoOev o'i')(€Tai yevog. 
 
 ore^ei yap ourig to ovarcpiXeg Oeoig, 
 
 TL tcopS^ ovk epSiKcog dyelpco ; 
 
 631, KaKwv TrpBajSe^erai equiv. to 
 Trp^iT^LCTTdv iari KaKQp. So Trpecr/Sei/w 
 used intransitively takes a gen., Plato, 
 LawSy p. 722 e. For the Lemnian 
 tragedy, Kl, comp. Pind. Pyfh. 4. 
 ■252, Apollod. I. 9. 17. ^schylus's 
 lost play, Hypsipyle, was doubtless 
 on this subject. 
 
 632. TrpecrjSedeTaL \6y(p like iv 
 \6yoL9 irpea^everai, Eum. 21. Stj 
 irodei, MSS. driTrodev, Schiitz. after 
 Turnebus' d-ZiirovOev. The word ap- 
 pears only to occur elsewhere in the 
 phrase SiroOeu drjTodev ; it is, however, 
 acknowledged by Hesych., who ex- 
 plains it as Xi^LS (JwaiTTLKT}, ws Kal rb 
 drjirou. The sense would seem to be 
 'from some quarter or other,' and 
 hence from many quarters, like 
 (po^elrai tis, v. 59. Comp. the use 
 of drjTore, Ag. 577. (This seems 
 more probable th-in such conjectures 
 as Bamberger's yoarav 5^ br} TroOeT, or 
 Hermann's 7oaTat b^yd Trddos) yoarai, 
 then, will be passive, as in Homer, 
 not middle, as in other passages of 
 the tragedians. There is, however, 
 great plausibility in Blomfield's jSoarat, 
 in the sense of wepijSorjTov iari, which 
 would be more forcible and better 
 suited to the context. Comp. Supp. 
 583, ^vdeu irdaa ^oq, x^^v. rJKaaev — 
 irrifiaa-iv, in modern language, the 
 horror of the day, is always compared 
 to Lemnian crimes. av again, i.e., 
 wheu the crime occurs a second time. 
 
 Hdt. 6. 138 is exactly parallel, vevo- 
 fiLaraL dvd ttjU 'EWdSa rd axerXia 
 ^pya Trdvra ArjfMVLa KaXeeadai. showing 
 that there is no occasion to change ad 
 into dv with Herm., after Portus. 
 
 634. irrjfxacn, MSS. Trrjfxacny, Por- 
 son. 
 
 635- "^X" (see on v. 585) a dat. 
 like davdroLCTL, v. 53 (see on v. 27). 
 The sentence is commonly supposed 
 to have a general reference, as ^porQv 
 yivos could not be said of the Lem- 
 nians alone : but its special meaning 
 will be seen, if, with Heath, whose sug- 
 gestion has been unaccountably over- 
 looked, we join ^porQv drLpLwdev, which 
 will leave us free to understand yevos 
 with the Schol. to tQv A-qixvidbojv, 
 at the same time that it brings out 
 clearly the distinction (repeated in v. 
 637) between divine hatred and the 
 human infamy that follows it. Comp. 
 V. 295, where irduTcap dri/xov dvrjaKeiv 
 answers exactly to jSpordv dTip.w6kv 
 oixerat.. 
 
 638. There seems no authority for 
 taking dyeipw in the technical sense of 
 avudyci}, to conclude inferentially, like 
 coUiyo in Latin, even if such a sense 
 were poetical in itself, or easily recon- 
 cilable with tL tQp8'. The Chorus has 
 been gathering, as it were, a heap of 
 instances of crime, and asks at the end, 
 ' which of these am I adding to the 
 heap without reason?' ri tQvB' as in 
 V. 338. 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 XOH$OPOI. 
 
 TO S' o.y')(jL TTvevuXovwv ^L(pog 
 
 Siai^raiav o^vTrevKe? ovra 
 
 Sia\ AZ/ca?. TO lULt] OenAig yap ov 
 
 \a^ TreSov iraTOvixevov, 
 
 TO TTCLV Aiog crelSa? irapeKPavre^ ov OejuLLo-Twg. 
 
 AiKag ^' epelSerai TruOfMriv' 
 
 640 
 
 645 
 avT. S' 
 
 639. ^7X4 ir-vevfxbvijjv is constructed 
 grammatically with to, really with 
 ovra. See on v. 507. 'The sword of 
 Justice strikes to the vitals.' 07x1 
 TTvevfj-ovuv, which evidently is not to 
 be taken strictly, as if the lungs were 
 to be grazed, not touched, may per- 
 haps illustrate the use of d7XtaXos in 
 Pers. 889, Soph. Aj. 135, where it 
 can hardly mean more than * mari- 
 time.' TrKevjxbvwv MSS. Tvev/xoviov, 
 Bob., which Porson on Eur. Or. 271, 
 after Brunck, pronounces to belong to 
 early Attic, such as that of the tra- 
 gedians. 
 
 640. diavTaiav, probably TrXrjy^v, 
 understood as in -4 ^r. 1386. o^virevKes. 
 o^vTLKpov, Hesych., probably referring 
 to this very passage. See Buttm. 
 Lex, ix^'^'^VKTis. aovrai, MSS. ovra, 
 Herm., the s having been accidentally 
 repeated. It has been doubted whe- 
 ther ovra is present or future. Words- 
 worth decides for the former, observ- 
 ing that futures which have the ante- 
 penultimate long are not contracted, 
 * quod criticis adhuc ignotum esse 
 videtur.' The present too would 
 seem better suited to the sense, which 
 is evidently general. 
 
 641 — 4. 5iai At'/cas, v. 787. diai, 
 here denotes the agent, as Justice is 
 personified, ' in the hands of Justice.' 
 — The sense of to jxt] dejXLS is fixed by 
 ov de/xia-Tibs immediately following, as 
 well as by Sujij'i- 335, to mean crime. 
 Xa^ iredov TraTOv/xevov seems from the 
 whole context to refer to the neglect 
 
 of crime by the gods, not, as we should 
 have expected from such passages aa 
 ^ff- 37^5 383, EiMi. 540, the neglect 
 or defiance of the gods by criminals. 
 Perhaps there may be a sort of anti- 
 thesis between the two kinds of 
 neglect, * if the criminal makes light 
 of the gods, the gods do not make 
 light of him,' as possibly in Ag. 370 
 foil., and so the words which would 
 more properly express the one kind 
 would be intentionally transferred to 
 the other. t6 -jrciv, which here as 
 elsewhere (see on v. 331) is adverbial, 
 will be more forcible if taken with the 
 preceding than with the following 
 words, coming after a negative, as in 
 Ag. 993, ov TO irav 'ix^v e\7rL8os (piXov 
 dpdaos — 'not at all,' like ov Travrois, 
 ov Trdvv. ir^bov ■jraTovfieuov, changed 
 by Herm. into iridoi, is supported by 
 and supports Ag. 1357. iredov iraTelu 
 doubtless came to be regarded as a 
 single notion, as it were a compound 
 verb. iraTo^fiepou seems to be a par- 
 ticiple for a finite verb, as probably in 
 Eu7n,. 68, and perhaps in vv. 828 foil, 
 below, Ag. 289, Ewm. 385. irapeK- 
 §dvT€s, as Paley suggests, is a sort of 
 epexegesis of to fir) de/xLs, as deXovTes 
 in Prom. 201 of crrdcrts. On the whole 
 the passage, though harsh in some of 
 its expressions, does not appear cor- 
 rupt, ov 6€/xLa-TU)s, Person's correc- 
 tion for dde/j.iaT(i}s, the reading of 
 Guelf. and the early editions, is now 
 found to be confirmed by Med., 
 though the ov is there written so as to 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 m 
 
 OP. 
 
 7rpo')(aXK€veL S'' Alcra (paa-yavovpyog' 
 
 TeKvov eTTCKTcbepei joijuLa(T€ 
 
 SicjUidTWv iroKaiTepodv 
 
 TLvei /ULvcro? XP^^^ kXvtu /Sucrcrocppwv "'lEipiPug. 
 
 iral irai, Oupag ciKovcrov epKelag ktvitov. 
 
 650 
 
 resemble a. The accent was cor- 
 rected by Dind. 
 
 645, 6. The stem or foundation of 
 Justice (expressing its fixity) is used 
 as the block, aK/xoderov {Diet. A. 
 'incus'), on which the anvil is placed 
 for Fate to forge a sword, perhaps 
 the same which we have seen put into 
 the hands of Justice above, v. 639. In 
 ■^9- 1535 Molpa, apparently the same 
 as Aio-a, is represented sharpening 
 justice as a sword on a whetstone. 
 ■irpo(rxo-^K€6ei, MSS. irpoxo-'^Ke^ei, 
 Herm. The former would suit the 
 sense (comp. Pind. P. i. 167, d\l/€v5e? 
 ■irpbs S.KIX0V1 xd\K€V€ ykCocraav), but the 
 latter seems required by the metre, 
 though it is doubtful whether the pre- 
 position, as in wpoTviriv Ag. 133, 
 denotes time, or, like the Latin pro- 
 cuclere, extension. Like (paayavovpyds, 
 the word seems not to occur else- 
 where. 
 
 647 — 65 [. The passage as it stands 
 is of course corrupt, and it is not easy 
 to restore it with confidence, at least 
 beyond a certain point. That Si/jLacre 
 bcop^oLTiov conceals the words do/xoLs, 
 at/xctrwi', as the editors have seen, can 
 hardly be doubted, as the context re- 
 quires SofxoLs for €7reia<p€p€i, alp-aTuv 
 for iraKaiTepiov, and both words were 
 evidently read by the Schol., whose 
 explanation is eweiacpepeL de tois olkols 
 T^KVov ■jra\acu>p aip-drcju, 6 ecTL, riKTeL 
 (pQvos dXXov (p6uov. But more is re- 
 quired to complete the metre and 
 round off the sentence. Perhaps the 
 best suggestion is Hermann's do/xoiaLP, 
 
 iK 5' alixdriav, Mliller having proposed 
 e^ aifxdrcjv. TeKvov is the child of the 
 Erinnys, the new murder which is in- 
 troduced into the house. Comp. with 
 Kl. Ag. 1565, rts dv yovdv dpacou 
 €K^d\oL ddfioju (where 'Apct implied in 
 dpaiov is synonymous with ^'Epivvs), 
 V. 805 below, yepwv (povos ij.7jk€t' ev 
 56fioLs T€KOL. Possibly Bamb. may be 
 right in supposing an additional allu- 
 sion to Orestes entering the palace. 
 TLveL or cKriveL, as Paley remarks, is 
 said of the Erinnys, who from one 
 point of view is regarded as the payer, 
 not as the exactor of the debt, being 
 supposed to render the victim to jus- 
 tice. So exactly Ag. 1501 aXdarcap . . 
 rSvd' air eriaeu. reivei, MSS. rivet, 
 Turn., and so the Schol. diraiTe?, 
 XP^vip is perhaps to be connected 
 closely with KXvrd, as Donaldson con- 
 tends, comparing Pind. P. 11. 32, 
 XP^^V KXvrals iv 'Afj.6KXaLS, so as to 
 denote the long connexion of the 
 Erinnys with the house. But it 
 seems more natural to understand 
 XP^^V of the delayed vengeance, 
 (Comp. Ag. 462, 'Epcuves XP^'^V • • • 
 Tidda dixavpbv), and regard /c\i;rd, 
 which occurs nowhere else in ^sch., 
 as a sort of Homeric epithet of the 
 Erinnys as divine. With ^vaco- 
 (ppwv Paley well comp. jjLvrifjiuv, used 
 as an epithet of the Erinnyes, Eum. 
 382. 
 
 653-667. Orestes enters, andknocks 
 at the principal door. Or. ' Is any 
 one within to receive a guest V 
 Servant. ' Who is there?' Or. 'Take 
 
100 
 
 XOH^OPOL 
 
 rh ei^Sov, (i) Trai, iral^ juloX^ auOig, ev oo/uLoig ', 
 TpLTOV ToS^ eKTrepajULa ScoimaTdov AraXco, 
 eiirep (piXo^ev^ cg-tIv AlylcrOov dial. 
 
 0IKETH2. 
 
 eleVf oLKOvot)' Trooairog 6 ^eVo? ; ttoOcv', 
 
 '00 
 
 a message to the rulers of the house — 
 quickly too, as night is coming on — 
 and say that I would see one or other 
 of them, the master better than the 
 mistress.' 
 
 653. TTtti TTol was the common way 
 of calling the slave at the door. 
 Aristoph. Birds, 57, Acharn. 396, 
 Clouds, 132. The language here is a 
 mixture of the colloquial with the 
 tragic. 
 
 654. Herm. reads rts 'ivbov; See on 
 V. 5 30. It is surely as natural to ask 
 'Who is within?' as 'Is any one 
 within?' /AttX' adQis, v. 876. 
 
 655. We need not suppose, with 
 jelf, § 566. 3, that Or. calls out eKirepa, 
 CKirepa, eKirepa. The questions in the 
 two former lines are each equivalent 
 to Kokelv eKirepap-a : here he varies the 
 expression, rpirov rovro and similar 
 expressions are found elsewhere used 
 adverbially {e.g. Hdt. 5. 76, Teraprov 
 Sr] TovTO iirl ttju ' Attlkt]v aTrLKdp.evot), 
 as Wordsworth remarks, but we need 
 not therefore separate rpirov rod' liere 
 from eKirepafia. 
 
 656. The reading of this line is not 
 certain, as it is diflScult to see why 
 ^sch. should have written Stat with 
 no metrical necessity, and if an altera- 
 tion is to be made, the occurrence of 
 Alyiffdov ^ia, v. 893, makes it very 
 probable that ]8ta, in some shape or 
 other, should be read here. AiyiaOov 
 dial, however, makes perfectly good 
 sense, as if it were Ai-yiadou dioLKOiyros, 
 
 in the hands or under the rule of 
 ^gisthus (Peile well comp. v. 641, 
 5tat At/cas, Ag. 19, olkov . . . ovx, ws 
 ra Trpocrd'. apLara 8Lairovov/j.evov), and 
 so explained, is perhaps more forcible 
 than any of the conjectures proposed 
 (Bamb. andHei-m.'s jStai', constructed 
 with /caXw, which is perhaps the best, 
 seems open to the objection that 
 Orestes is calling in this instance, as 
 the previous verses show, for the slave, 
 not for his master). (piXo^ev' as an 
 epithet of bJojxara (which Porson altered 
 by reading (piKo^evr) 'crrti^-^ta, Elmsley 
 by (piXo^euos rts) is strongly confirmed 
 by dofj-ovs 5opv^€vovs, v. 914, do/xovs 
 exdpo^evovs, Eur. Ale. 574, a passage 
 generally rather parallel, and com- 
 pared by Wordsworth. Orestes, 
 finding his call not answered imme- 
 diately, makes the appeal which in v. 
 570 he had supposed to be made by a 
 passer-by. 
 
 657. AVhether the speaker answers 
 from within or opens the door is not 
 clear, etej'* aKoiiuj similarly begins a 
 line in Aristoph. Peace, 66^. It is 
 now generally allowed to stand, the 
 apparent metrical fault being excused 
 on the ground that ^sch. may have 
 wished not to alter the common col- 
 loquial formula. Perhaps there may 
 have been something in the pronun- 
 ciation which smoothed over the diffi- 
 culty, as would appear to be the case 
 in v. 1049 (note). With the rest of 
 the verse comp. v. 575. 
 
XOH<I>OPOI. 
 
 101 
 
 OP. ayyeWe toici kvolokti dcojUiaTcou, 
 
 xoo? oucTTrep tjko) kul cbepco Kaivovg Xoyovg' 
 
 Ta-^vve S\ cog Ka\ vvKTog apjUL^ eirelyerai 66o 
 
 orKOTeivov, wpa S'' ejuLiropovg /meOiei'aL 
 
 ayKupav eV oojULotcri irai^ooKOig t,^PU)V' 
 
 i^eXOeTO) Tig ocojULaTcoi' TeXecrcbopog 
 
 yvvrj t' airap^og avopa t evir peireaTepov 
 
 aiScag yap ev XeyQeicriv ovk eirapyefj-ovg 665 
 
 658. The subject of the ayy eXia is 
 given V. 663, rdxvve — ^eucav being 
 thrown in parenthetically, as Paley 
 was the first to point out. 
 
 660. Comp. Pers. 692, rdxvi^e 5', 
 ws a/JLefXTTTOs S) xp^^o^' '^^''- seems to 
 refer back to raxwe, * Make haste, as 
 the car of night is making haste too,' 
 With 'NvKTos dpfia Stanley comp. 
 Theocr. 2. \66, durvya Niv/cro?, Kl. 
 ^sch. IIcl. fr. 67, ixeKavLTTirov 
 
 Ny/CTOS. 
 
 661. (bpa, M8S., (hpa, Rob. 
 
 662. iravboKOLS with ^euwv. Words- 
 worth cump. Pollux 9. 15, jiep-r) 8e 
 7r6Xews Kal iravdoKelou /cat ^€vu!u Kal 
 cbs ev 'Ifct^oj So^okXtjs irauSoKOs ^evo- 
 CTaats. Kl. comp. Find. 0. 4 15, 
 ^evlai. wavdoKOL. Paley remarks that 
 do/xota-L TT. ^. stands for the ^evdiv, as 
 yvvaiKeioKxi ddj/xaaiv, v. 36, for the 
 yvvaLKOoflTLS. 
 
 663. Sw/xctrcji', more probably with 
 e^eXOeToj than with reXecrcpopos. reXe- 
 acpupos seems to be like reXetoi/, Ag. 
 972, an epithet of the ruler of the 
 house, who constitutes its perfection, 
 more properly applied to a man, but 
 here to a queen regnant. Conip. Jl. 2. 
 701, where dofxos rjpiLTeXrjs is said of 
 the house of Protesilaus after his death. 
 
 6 
 
 664. Ta-rrapxos, Med,, roirapxos G. 
 Aid., rdirapxos, Rob. tott apxos seems 
 scarcely a likely word, as tottos is not 
 
 strictly synonymous with 861x0s, and 
 Bamb.'s areyapxos (Hdt. i. 133) is too 
 far from the MSS. Thus it seems 
 better witli Kl. to read r' dTrapxoi 
 {Ag. 1227, Pers. 327, according to the 
 best MSS.), re being strongly sup- 
 ported by dvSpa t\ Orestes, as Kl. 
 remarks, seems to wish to see the 
 mistress as the chief person, and also 
 ^gistbus, as one to whom he can 
 speak more freely. Or Te-Te may be 
 virtually equivalent to fi-i], putting 
 the two cases, though not expressly 
 as alternatives. The change of con- 
 struction in the latter part of the line 
 may possibly be dramatic, as Orestes 
 seems in v. 663 to have forgotten 
 himself for the moment, showing more 
 knowledge than he elsewhere affects, 
 so that here he may be recovering 
 himself. 
 
 665. OVK, as the absence of an ad- 
 versative particle in the next line 
 shows, is clearly right, negativing not 
 eirapye/xovs but rid-qaLv, and express- 
 ing what goes on when the person 
 treating with a stranger is a man. 
 Xexdeta-LU is perhaps more doubtful, 
 as the SchoL, iu rah irpbs yvvalKas 6/xt- 
 Xiais, points rather to XeVxciiO'ii', Em- 
 per and Herra.'s conjecture, and the 
 use of the aorist participle, especially 
 without an article, in the sense of a 
 noun, is uncommon, eirapye/xovs Ag. 
 1 1 1 3. For the thought, comp. v. 736. 
 
102 
 
 XOH<l>OPOI. 
 
 \oyovg TtOijcriv elire Oapcr^crag avt]p 
 Trpos avopa Kaa-fjfjujvev e/mcpaveg TGKfxap, 
 
 KAYTAIMNHZTPA. 
 
 t^evoL, Xeyoir' av el ti Ser irapecTTL yap 
 oizola irep cojulokti toictS' eireiKOTaf 
 Kai Oepfxa Xovrpa Kal irovoov OeXKTrjpia 
 (TTpco/uLP^, oiKaioov t' ofji/uLaTwv irapova-la. 
 el o' aWo irpa^ai Sei ti ^ovXicorepoVf 
 avopcop too'' ecTTlp epyov, oh KoivcocTO/J^ev, 
 
 670 
 
 667. riKfxap is the proof of the 
 truth of a story, as in Ag. 270, 315 
 (comp. ih. 352). Orestes challenges 
 inquiry, as ^gisthus, vv. 851 foil., 
 declares his intention to institute it. 
 Comp. Soph. El. 774, ii/i, in the 
 last of which passages (compared by 
 Abresch) the words seem imitated from 
 this line. 
 
 668 — 673. CI. ' Say what you 
 want : if merely hospitality, it is at 
 your service : if business, I will in- 
 form the master.' Clytseranestra pro- 
 bably enters through the side-door 
 through which Electra retired. Both 
 were probably represented by the 
 same actor, the devrepaycovLaTifjs, who 
 may also have played the nurse, the 
 only other female character except 
 the Chorus. 
 
 668. irdpeaTc yap meets the suppo- 
 sition that what they want is enter- 
 tainment. Comp. V. 66 1. Clytaem- 
 nestra's speech here and elsewhere 
 answers to Orestes' : but we need 
 not suppose with Kl. that she over- 
 heard what he said, or even that the 
 message was exactly delivered to her. 
 
 669. Comp. perhaps Ag. 1046 
 oXairep vop^i^erai, if that is rightly un- 
 derstood by Herm. of the rule of the 
 house. 
 
 670. depp-a, \ovTpd is Homeric, II. 
 14. 6., 22. 444, Od. 4. 451 (comp. by 
 Bl. and Kb), the bath being the 
 natural refreshment after labour of 
 any kind, though the frequent use of 
 it{Od. 8. 247) was a luxury. deXKrripia 
 instead of deKnT-qpLa is due to Wake- 
 field. 
 
 671. diKaiojv, as De J. remarks, is 
 an appropriate word in the case of 
 hospitality, as in Pind. 0. 2. 11, 
 diKatov ^efov, ^ur. Ale. 1147. Comp. 
 the passages quoted by Lidd. and 
 Scott s. V. under the first head. 
 6p.p.6.Tuv is illustrated by Xen. An. 7. 
 746 (quoted by Paley), av 8e iSe^oj 
 ijdeciis Kui 6pp,aai kuI (f><j)vy Kal ^epLois, 
 and by Ov. M. 8. 677 (quoted by 
 Bothe), ' super omnia vultus Acces- 
 sere boni, nee iners pauperque volun- 
 tas.' So Ag. 520, (paibpolffL TOLfflb" 
 6p,p,aaL M^aade. Eur. Iph. A. 455, 
 TTUJs de^opai vlv ; iroiov op.p.a avp,- 
 jSdXw ; We may render then ' the 
 presence of courteous eyes.' irapovala 
 periphrastically, as in Eur. A Ic. 606 
 (quoted by Wordsworth), Soph. El. 
 1 104. 
 
 672. Schol. el d^ ov dia ^evlav 
 7]KeT€, dXXd 81,' dWo ti. — /SouXtos 
 means connected with ^ovXri, and so 
 is applied here to a matter for counsel, 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 lo: 
 
 OP. ^eVo? iJiev eifJLi AavXievg eV ^coKecov 
 
 (TT€L-)^ovTa S^ avTocpopTOv oiK€ia crayt] 
 eh "Apyo<s, wcTirep Sevp^ aTre^vyrjv Trooa?, 
 ayvco^ TTjOO? ayvcor^ elire crvimlBaXcov avrjp 
 €^i(TT0pi](Ta9 Kal aracptjVLcra^ ooov, 
 ^Tp6(pio<s 6 ^(jok€v<}' TrevOojULai yap ev Xoyo)' 
 eirelirep aXXco^, w ^eV, €i^ "Apyog KLCig, 
 Trpog Tovg TCKOvrag Traj/c^i/cw? ju.€iuLvt]ju.evo^ 
 
 <^75 
 
 680 
 
 in Supp. 599 to the counselling mind 
 of Zeus. 
 
 674 — 690. Or. 'I am a traveller 
 from Daulis in Phocis : on my way I 
 happened to meet with one Strophius, 
 who asked me, as I was going to 
 Argos, to tell Orestes' parents of his 
 death, and inquire whether they would 
 have his ashes buried at home or on 
 the spot.' 
 
 674. Orestes represents himself, as 
 Kl. observes, as travelling on the 
 road which led from Delphi and 
 Daulis to the Peloponnesus. ^wkU 
 fxev 71 yi] KXi^^erai., (txi-<^'^^ S' o56s 'Es 
 TavTo AeX(piop kcltto AavXias ayei, 
 Soph. (Ed. T. 733, of the spot where 
 Laius was killed. 
 
 675. OLKiaLS ayri, M.^^. oiKeia adyy, 
 Turn. avT6(popTOP and olKeiq. are 
 commonly explained as if the oppo- 
 sition were between carrying one's 
 own baggage ana having it carried by 
 others (Hesych. explains avrScpopTOi 
 by avTodiaKovoc) : they would seem, 
 however, to be contrasted rather with 
 carrying luggage for others, so as to 
 denote that Orestes was a traveller on 
 his own account, not a public traveller 
 who would be employed by others to 
 carry effects or messages. So Schol. 
 ewl idiq. irpayixaTeia. — In Eur. Or. 
 726, Orestes sees Pylades dpo/xcp (xrei- 
 Xovra ^cjKecjv cLtto. 
 
 676. ibaTrep deup' dwc^vyrii/ irodas is 
 
 rightly explained by Paley, * as I 
 have now carried out my purpose by 
 resting at Argos,' implying that Or. 
 had not deviated from his original 
 route in order to bring the message. 
 Here again the Schol. is correct, 
 though not generally followed by the 
 commentators (Abresch and De J. 
 are exceptions), ttjs odotTropias dire- 
 Xvaa iiri rif ^evLaOrjvat. Trap v/mv. 
 This explanation confirms that of the 
 previous verse, and is confirmed by it. 
 Or. compares his feet to horses, as 
 those of the messenger Theb. 371 
 are compared to chariot-wheels. 
 With this use of ibaTrep Paley comp. 
 V. 106, Hdt. 6. 41, Cbairep cop/j.7]6T} 
 €K Kapdirjs iroXios, ^irXee did tov 
 MeXavos koXttov. 
 
 678. 'After the common inquiries 
 had been exchanged' — ' having asked 
 my way and told me his,' as Kl. 
 rightly explains it. To take aacpTjviffas 
 686v, ' having told me my way,' would 
 not agree so well with the next verse, 
 as Peile remarks, nor with i^iaro- 
 p-fjaas bbov, even if it were not open 
 to Kl.'s objection that the way was 
 too well known to need pointing out. 
 
 679. ^Tp6(pLos 6 ^coKevs, At/. 881. 
 
 680. aXXws. 5t' dXXrjv XP^'-°^^) Schol. 
 Paley comp. Plut. Fort. Horn. 12, rwj/ 
 fSap^dpoju Tis aXXos tov tSttov irepuwVf 
 Wordsworth Xen. Cyr. 1.1. 11. 
 
 681. iravhlKi))s = -KdvTWS, blKt] being 
 
104 
 
 XOH<l>OPOI. 
 
 e^r' ou}/ KO/uiL^eiv doE^a viKrjcrei (piXcoVf 
 
 c'lT^ OVV /ULGTOlKOVf 6? TO TTUP CtCl C^ivOV, 
 
 OaiTTeiVf ecper/iiag TacrSe 7r6pOjUL€v<TOV ttoXiv. 685 
 
 pvv yap \€^)]T09 ^(^aXKeov irXevpcojULara 
 (TTrooov KeKCvOev avopog ev KCKXavjuievov. 
 TocravT^ ciKOVora^ eiirov. el oe Tvyyavu) 
 Toi? KvpLOKJi Kat irpo(Tr]Kov(jLv Xeywv 
 OVK oloa, Tov TeKOVTa eiKog eioevai. 60O 
 
 KA. ol ''yco, Kar^ uKpag etirag cog iropOovjuLeOa, 
 
 added because the claim was a matter 
 of obligation as between acquaintances. 
 So Or. declares be regards it, v. 704. 
 Peile comp. Supjy. 419, yevov iravdiKus 
 evae^rjs irpb^evos. 
 
 683. For this quasipolitical use of 
 VLKav of opinions, see Lidd. and 
 Scott s. V. 
 
 684. [xeTOLKov in relation to the land 
 where he was buried, not to those who 
 are supposed to give orders for the 
 burial, which seems to be the sense of 
 GdiTTeiv, 'to have him buried,' the sub- 
 ject of /co^aifeij/ and OdirreLV being appa- 
 rently (plXovs. KOfii^eLv is peculiarly used 
 of bringing or welcoming a stranger or 
 exile home (v. 344, and Lidd. and 
 Scott s. v.). Tliere seems no reason 
 to follow Schneider in writing dei^evov. 
 
 685. TTopdixeva-Qv, as in Eur. Iph. T. 
 735, opKOv Soroj jxoi rdcrSe TopO/xevaeiv 
 ypacpds Upos "Apyos. The word here 
 may perhaps be meant to suggest the 
 notion that Orestes is asked to do the 
 work of a professed 01776X05, for which 
 an apology is asked by implication 
 and felt to be due. 
 
 687. So Soph. El. 54 (quoted by 
 Stanley) calls the urn which is sup- 
 posed to contain the ashes of Orestes 
 rvTTwpLa x'^^'^'OTrXevpov. — Xe^rjs of an 
 urn, Ag. 443. 
 
 689. ' To the masters of the house 
 and his kinsfolk.' 
 
 690. Wordsworth remarks that ovk 
 otda el either negatives a thing or 
 leaves it doubtful, referring to Elms- 
 ley on Eur, Med. 911. rbu reKovra 
 is used generally, pointing to a ge- 
 neral proposition, ' a man's father 
 ought to hear news like this,' and 
 doubtless used by Orestes to make 
 himself appear as much of a stranger 
 as possible. So toi)s tckovtus, v. 681, 
 rots KvpLoiai k. t. X. v. C89, the latter 
 of which is said even in the presence 
 of Cly tsemnestra. 
 
 691 — 699. CI. ' Alas ! this news is 
 ruin. Cruel fate, that slays those near 
 to me one after the other ! Orestes 
 seemed to be beyond harm's reach, 
 and now our last hope is gone with 
 him.' 
 
 691. The MSS. do not say to whom 
 this speech is to be assigned. Rob. 
 gave it to an attendant, Turn, and 
 succeeding editors to Electra, to whom 
 it seems at first sight naturally to be- 
 long, being apparently contrasted with 
 Clyteemnestra's speech, vv. 707 — 718, 
 much as the language of the mother 
 and daughter is contrasted by Soph., 
 
 while the words of 
 
 look like a 
 
 taunting reference to those of y. 695. 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 105 
 
 CO dv(Tira\ai(TTe rcovoe doi/maTcov 'A^a, 
 w? TToW 67rco7r«9 KOLKiroooiv ev KeLfJieva, 
 To^oig irpocrcoOev evcTKOTroi^ "XeLpoufxevt], 
 (plXcou diroy^iXoi^ /me t^v iravaOXiav. 
 Kai vvv ^Op€(TTt]^— — ;}j/ 'yctn eviSovXwg e^ft)i/, 
 
 695 
 
 But Electra has left the stage to for- 
 ward the plot within, and her return 
 would scarcely be consistent with her 
 brother's injunctions vv. 554, 579, 
 not to mention the scenic objection 
 that the same actor would be required 
 to act Electra and Clytaemnestra. 
 Well., perhaps the first modern editor 
 who felt the difficulty, wished to as- 
 sign the lines to the Chorus, and so 
 Bamb. But it is far more probable, 
 as Portus saw and the latest editors 
 have seen, that Clytsemnestra herself 
 is the speaker, as the tone of the 
 speech is the same as that of her 
 words in the Agamemnon (vv. 1567 
 foil., 1654 foil.), and again in this 
 play (v. 891), as if she groaned under 
 the murderous tyranny of the family 
 destiny, even when herself executing 
 its will. The grief may be hypocii- 
 tical, though perhaps that word hardly 
 suits the complexity of Clytaemnestra's 
 character, but I do not see in the 
 speech that ill-disguised exultation 
 which Paley and others find in it. 
 The nurse indeed testifies, v. 736, to 
 the existence of the feeling : but 
 -^sch. need not have meant her 
 thoroughly to understand her mis- 
 tress, ol iyu}, MSS. o'i '7W, Canter. 
 eviraa-'', MSS. eliras, Bamb., Paley, 
 a correction which appears clearly 
 right, being confirmed by elirov v. 
 688, and paralleled by Pers. 300, 
 efioLS fieu eliras 8io/j.aaip (pdos f^eya, 
 though Herm., without assigning a 
 reason, pronounces it ' non apta 
 oratio.' * Your message is a message 
 
 of utter destruction to us.' The words 
 are arranged as if etTras ws were paren- 
 thetical, TTopdoiJiiieda being the really 
 emphatic verb : see on v. 102 1, Kar' 
 aKpas TTopdovfieda, as Peile has seen, 
 gives the physical image of the deso- 
 lation of the house, KaraaKa^al dofxcoy, 
 V. 50. 
 
 69 ■z. dvawdXaiaTe, the same image 
 as cLTpLaKTOS, v. 339. 'Apd^'Epci/vs, 
 Eum. 417. 
 
 693. eTrwTras used nearly like iiri- 
 (XKOTre'lv V. 6r, but in the special sense 
 of taking aim. KaKwobCov ed KeifMeua 
 can hardly be separated from iroXXd, 
 though by refusing to do so, we leave 
 rather an awkward asyndeton in v. 
 695. The sense is explained v. 696, 7. 
 eirojirals, MSS. eirwirds, Rob. 
 
 694. TTpoawdev, as Peile has seen, 
 corresponds to /cd/cTroSwv ed Keifieva. 
 
 695. Comp. Hdt. 3. 32, where 
 Canibyses' sister illustrates the deso- 
 lation of the family by a stripped 
 lettuce, saying to her brother ravT-qv 
 Kore aij T7]v dpiSaKU ifiLfxriffao, rbv 
 Kvpov oIkov dTo-^LKd.aas. Young is 
 not likely to have copied ^schylus ; 
 but there is something of the same 
 feeling in his well known lines, 
 ' Insatiate archer ! could not one 
 suffice ? Thy shaft flew thrice ; and 
 thrice my peace was slain.' 
 
 696. Kal vvv refers to iroWd v. 693, 
 as if it had been dXXa iroXXd. Comp. 
 its use after del /xev, Soph. Aj. i, 3. 
 'OpecrTTjs then is not to be connected 
 with ^v yap k. t. X., but made the 
 subject of the sentence which is re- 
 
lOG 
 
 XOH<^OPOL 
 
 €^0) KoiJilYoav oXeOpiov TrrjXov TroSa 
 
 pvv (^' rjirep ev oo/uLotari "j'^Sa/c^/a? Ka\yJ9 
 larpog iXirh ^]Vi irapovcrav ejypacpei. 
 
 sumed in v, 698 after the parenthesis 
 by vvv 5', precisely as Soph., El. 783 
 — 6, makes his Clytaemnestra end her 
 speech on the same occasion with a 
 sentence where vdv 5' is followed by a 
 parenthesis, and repeated when the 
 thread is taken up again. So the 
 nurse contrasts her other sufferings 
 with the death of Orestes, vv. 748, 9. 
 €u/36\ws, Porson's correction, adopted 
 by all but Kl., is very tempting : but 
 evjSovXios may perhaps be defended, 
 the ev^ovXLa shown in the removal of 
 Orestes {Ag. 880 foil.), and here attri- 
 buted to Orestes himself, as if he had 
 concurred in it, being that which 
 aggravated the grief of his death, as 
 the efforts of the family had been 
 counteracted by the curse. Kl, well 
 comp. Eur. Heracl. 109, Kokbv de 7' 
 ^'^cj irpayixdTOJv ^x^'-^ irbba, ^vjSovXias 
 Tvxbvra r^s d/mebovos, which looks 
 like an imitation of this passage. 
 
 697. The expression appears to be 
 proverbial, accoi'ding to the Schol., 
 Suidas {aipcLv e^oj irbba irrfKov), and 
 Zenob. Adag. 3. 62, and occurs fre- 
 quently in a less graphic form, as 
 in P)'om. 264, Eur. l. c. vop.iiiav, 
 MSS. Ko/iii^oov, Rob., and so Schol. 
 vo/xi^ojv TToda might be explained like 
 Xpcuyue^/os TTodl (comp. ^x^os po/iL^ofiev, 
 V, 101), on the analogy of vefxeiv, 
 vcofjLciu TToSa, in which sense it would 
 agree better than ko/xi^cjv with the 
 passages where ex^ii' 7r65a is used, as 
 Kl. remarks : the authority of the 
 Schol. however may outweigh that of 
 the MSS., and koijlI^(j3v is strongly 
 confirmed by Soph. Ant. 444 (quoted 
 by Wordsworth) (ti) [xev ko/xl^ols av 
 aeavTov y diX^cs ''E|w ^apeias alrias, 
 
 and by a'lpeiv in Suidas, dvex^LV in 
 Eur. Hipp. 1-293 (quoted by Peile). 
 
 698, 9. vvv d-qirep, MSS. vvv S 
 TJirep, 'I'urn. The difficulty of these 
 two lines is well known. I have little 
 doubt, however, that by the clause 
 Tjirtp — iXwh 9iv is meant the hope of 
 the palace which was to cure the 
 reveh-y of the Erinnys there, the 
 Kw/xos ^vyyovuv 'Epivvuv of Ag. 1188 
 foil., drunk on human blood, and re- 
 fusing to quit the place of entertain- 
 ment. Whether this could be appro- 
 priately called ^aKxeta. KaXrj, the epi- 
 thet being understood ironically, is, 
 perhaps a little doubtful ; so I have 
 not disturbed the MSS. ^a/cx'as, 
 thinking that it may have been an 
 adjective, the substantive of which 
 has been coiTupted. /Sa/cxtas aXris, 
 bacchanalian frenzy, would not be 
 unnatural ; d<xr}s perhaps better in 
 itself, but further removed from the 
 original. (Emper and Herm.'s ^dXrjs 
 would give a different image.) The 
 eXiris is probably to be identified with 
 Orestes (comp. vv. 236, 776) as if it 
 had been oawep, the attraction, which 
 is not in itself unconmion (Madv. § 
 98. b), being here partially accounted 
 for by the recommencement of the 
 sentence at vvv S', which seems to 
 make a new nom. natural, irapovcrav 
 iyypdipei. is then most likely to be un- 
 derstood according to Paley's former 
 interpretation, though discarded by 
 himself, ' the hope that was to re- 
 move the revelry from the house re- 
 gisters it as there still.' But a satis- 
 factory elucidation of the expression 
 has still to be found, eyypdcpei itself 
 suggests the notion of a metaphor, if 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 107 
 
 OP 
 
 
 c-yo) iJ.ev ovv ^evoLtjiv wo evoaiixocnv "JOO 
 
 KeSvoov GKaTL TrpayfxaTOOv av tjOeXov 
 yuoocTTog yevecrQai Ka\ ^evcoOtjvar tl yap 
 ^evov ^epoicTLV ecTLV ev/mevea-Tepov', 
 TTpog Sva-crelSeiag S' ^v e/aol toS' ev (ppecrlv, 
 TOLOvSe 7rpay/jLa fxr] Kapavwcrai (piXoi^f 7^5 
 
 KaraivecavTa Ka\ Kare^evcofjievov. 
 KA. ouTOL KVp}]G-eig fxeiov a^/co? G-eOev, 
 
 only our knowledge enabled us to de- 
 termine from what it is drawn. Those 
 who make 'O/aecrr?;? the subject and 
 eXTTiSa the object of iyypdcpei may 
 comp. Soph, EL 809, aTroaTrdaas yap 
 TTJs €/XT]S oi'xet (ppeubs M /jlol p-bvai 7ra- 
 prjaav eXTriduiv ert.. ev dofiots doubtless 
 goes grammatically with rjv (comp. 
 Ag. 1460, T]Tis Tjv TOT ev dofxoLs), but it 
 appears also to have some reference to 
 the revelry as taking place in the house. 
 
 700 — 706. Or. ' I would much 
 rather have deserved your hospitality 
 by good news ; but I had no choice, 
 from my duty both to my acquaint- 
 ance on the road and my entertainers 
 here.' 
 
 700. Orestes, like other messengers, 
 apologises for being the bearer of bad 
 news, evdaifxoaiv of worldly prospe- 
 rity, like evTvx^'iv, v. 59. It seems 
 to be thrown in here to intimate that 
 Or. is sensible of the advantage he is 
 gaining, and wishes in common grati- 
 tude that he could have done more to 
 earn it. 
 
 703. ^evov is the guest, ^evoiaiv the 
 hosts, whom the guest would naturally 
 wish to gratify if he could. So Peile 
 and others rightly explain it against 
 KL, who reverses the relation, and 
 supposes the meaning to be that a 
 guest has no greater object than to 
 earn his host's goodwill. 
 
 704. ^v, MSS. 6' ^v, Fauw. The 
 
 adversative particle seems necessary, 
 though it is not clear whether it had 
 better come third or fourth in the 
 sentence. Trpds dvaaejSeias on the side 
 of or akin to impiety, like irpos yvvaL- 
 k6s, Ag. 592, 1636. So TT/aos blK-qs 
 Soph. CEd. T. 1014. 
 
 705. KapavuKTaiY. 528, 'to accom- 
 plish a matter like this,' 0t'Xotj in- 
 cluding both Strophius and Clytaem- 
 nestra, each of whom had placed him 
 under a separate obligation, which is 
 explained in the next line. 
 
 707 — 718. CI. 'You at least shall 
 lose nothing : but you would like to 
 retire and refresh yourselves : mean- 
 time I will inform the master, as I 
 have yet a friend left.' 
 
 707. Pauw's conj. d^iwv has been 
 supposed to have been the reading of 
 the Schol. from his explanation tQv 
 COL d^icxiv TifxQv : but the words were 
 doubtless intended not so much to ex- 
 plain d^icos as to show that it is not to 
 be connected closely with fxelov, but 
 constructed with Kvprfffeis as a genitive 
 would be. Wordsworth comp. Aristoph. 
 Thesni. 187, p-ovos yap dvXe^eLas d^iws 
 ep.01', Soph. (L'd. 0.911, tTrei bedpaKas 
 ovt' epLOV KaTa^iojs. Kvp-qaeis d^iws is 
 like KaXQs Kvpei, Theb. 23, ^Lov eS 
 Kvprj<xas, ih. 699, where ^iov is not the 
 obj. of KvpTjffas, but means ' in respect 
 of life.' It is singular that there is a 
 similar doubt in the parallel passage, 
 
108 
 
 XOHc|>OPOI. 
 
 oi)o ^ararov av yevoio dco/ULacriv (plXo?. 
 aWo^ o' ojULOLOog rjXQev av Tad ayyeXwv. 
 aXX' €(tO^ 6 Kaipog rumepevovTag ^evovg 
 /uLaKpa^ KeXevOou Tvyyaveiv ra irpoo-cpopa. 
 ay' avTOV €i^ avSpwvag ev^evovg Sojulcov, 
 OTTia-OoTrovg Se Tovaroe Kal ^vvejULTropov^' 
 KCLKel KvpovvTwv ScojuLacii/ TO. TrpoG-cpopa, 
 
 710 
 
 Soph. El. 800, ovT ifJLov Kara^ius 
 Upd^eias oiJre rod iropevaavros ^euov, 
 where another MS. reading is Kar' 
 a^iav, i. e. Kard^i' av. — [xelov, like 
 9jaaop, less on that account. 
 
 709. ojuolojs ijXdeu dv. el /cat fxrj av 
 ijyyeiXas, Schol, 
 
 7ro. Tfixepevovras with /xaKpds k€- 
 \evdov, like irp-qcraujixev 68o7o, II. 24, 
 264, and other instances of the geni- 
 tive after words implying motion 
 quoted by Jelf, § 522. 2. 
 
 712 — 3. So Admetus in Eur. Ale. 
 546 (quoted by Wordsworth) turns 
 from Hercules to an attendant, 7]yov 
 (XV, rQvde dco/xdrcov ecpeariovs fi!i€uu}vas 
 oL^as, royal personages being always 
 attended by slaves on the stage. 
 Orestes, being a traveller, has also 
 oirla-doiroL of his own, who in like 
 manner are mentioned here for the 
 first time. The form diria-doiros is 
 supported by deXAoTros, Troi^Xi'Tros, 
 Oldiiros, adduced by Blomf. de dis- 
 tinguishes between Orestes and his 
 attendants, nearly as if fxeu haft pre- 
 ceded, which seems to be the principle 
 of its use in repetitions, Jelf, § 767. 
 3. a. These attendants probably did 
 not accompany Orestes at his first 
 appearance, but were introduced to 
 assist his disguise, though it is not 
 easy to gather the stage arrangements 
 from the conduct of the action. At 
 any rate, the difficulty does not seem 
 sufficient to iustify a change of read- 
 
 ing, such as Pauw's oinadoTrovv hk 
 Tovde {Tov5e, Herm.) Kal ^vvep-iropov, re- 
 ferring to Pylades. Pylades, him- 
 self, we may remember, though men- 
 tioned incidentally in the play, is kept 
 by histrionic necessities in the back- 
 ground, to the sacrifice of aU true 
 dramatic probability, which would 
 have required that he should have 
 been recognised and acknowledged 
 on his first appearance with Orestes, 
 so that we need not scrutinige care- 
 fully the circumstance? of the intro- 
 duction of other persons whose impor- 
 tance to the action is far less even 
 than his. Hesych. explains oiri- 
 adowovs by VTroarpexpas, and so 
 Abresch, Peile, &c., interpret it here as 
 a nominative ; but it is hard to see why 
 the servant should take two journeys, 
 and not easy to believe that the word 
 in a context like this can mean any- 
 thing else than an attendant. 
 
 714. diii/xaaLv seems best constructed 
 with 7rp6(T(popa, so that the expression 
 is parallel to OTrotd irep 56/xoiaL rolad' 
 iireiKOTa, v. 669, though the relation 
 of 7rp6(T(popa thus becomes not quite 
 the same as in v. 711. dibfiaai, MSS. 
 ddbfjiaaLv, Vett. 
 
 715. eirevOvvw, MSS, virevdvi'q}, 
 Turn, confirmed by the Schol. ws 
 ddoaovTL 5iK7]v, and the gloss in G. 
 VTTodiKU}. vwevdvucp is constructed 
 with Trpdcraeiv^ but attracted to aiVw. 
 See on v. 81. 
 
X0H4>0P0I. 
 
 109 
 
 aivw oe TTpaarcreiv wg virevOvvw Taoe, 
 ^jULei^ oe ravra Toh KpaTovdi ooofxdroov 
 KoivMCTOiJLev re kov (TiravL^^ovre^ (jylXoov 
 ^ovXevcro/mecrOa Tfjcoe crvjULd>opug irepi. 
 XO. etev, (plXiai SjULw'iSeg olkwv, 
 TTore ^r] (TTOfxaTOiv 
 Sei^ofMev loryyv ctt'' 'Opea-rt]'^ 
 (JO TTOTVia Ji.U(jov Kai iroTVL aKTr] 
 "^(jojULaro^, rj vvv eirl uavdp-^cp 
 aco/mari Kelcrai tm /SaariXeLO), 
 pvv eiroLKOvcrov, vvv eirdpri^ov 
 vvv yap aK/jLo^ei Ila^w SoXlav 
 ^vyKara^rjvai, "^^Oovlov S' '^pjUfjv 
 
 715 
 
 720 
 
 725 
 
 716. Clyt. speaks generally, as Or, 
 had done vv. 65S, 689. 
 
 717. Kou (nraui^ovres (pLXwv can 
 hardly be without reference to v. 695, 
 so we must suppose that Clyt, is re- 
 assuring and correcting herself, 
 
 718. ^ovXevo/meOa, MSS, ^ovXev- 
 aofjLeaOa, Steph, The deliberation 
 which she contemplates seems to re- 
 late not to the truth of the story, 
 though ^gisthus afterwards, v. 85 [, 
 speaks of enquiring into that, but to 
 the steps to be taken about Orestes, 
 and perhaps, as Paley suggests, about 
 her own safety, which the publication 
 of the news might imperil. Clyt. re- 
 tires through the side-door, Orestes, as 
 the TrpuTayuvLaTrjs, probably through 
 the principal door, the guest-chambers 
 being supposed to be within, not, as 
 Herm, thinks, in a separate wing of 
 the building. 
 
 719 — 72Q. C7t. 'May we not raise 
 our voices for Orestes ? Help, Earth 
 and grave of the dead ! it is the hour 
 for the powers of guile.' 
 
 719. <pi\iai. d/Miotdes like (piXai 
 5/xwt5es, Supp. 977, though cpiXiui 
 
 means not dear to the speaker, but 
 friendly to the family, as they are 
 dficotSes oLKwv. Peile comp. Ag. 1491, 
 (ppevbs e/c (piXias tL ttot etTrw ; 
 
 720. 'Bow long is it to be before 
 we show what our voices can do V 
 Peile well comp. Ag. 104, Kvpios 
 €L/xi dpoetv . . . ^Ti yap deodev KaTairvelei. 
 ircLdu) ixoXirav oXkolv ^6fji<pvTos alwu. 
 
 722. V. 540, note, d/cTTj xcuywaroj, 
 because of the similarity of a high- 
 heaped mound to a shore, like UKTav 
 ^ibfxiou, Soph, (Ed. T. 184. Comp. the 
 connexion between oxQos and oxdv- 
 
 723, Ag, is spoken of as in Ag. 
 1227, Eurn. 637, &c, 
 
 725, iirdprj^ov, by sending up Aga- 
 memnon, vv, 460, 489. 
 
 726, boXLa, MSS, bdXlav, Pauw. 
 The former might conceivably stand, 
 Tleidil) being made the subject of 
 cLKfid^ei, but the impersonal is more 
 usual, and has to be assumed in any 
 case for the latter part of the sen- 
 tence. Persuasion is invoked to 
 work belief of Orestes' tale. 
 
 727, ^vy Kara^ijuai like ^vv d^ yeuoO 
 irpbs exOpovs, v. 460, KaralSrjpac like 
 
110 
 
 X0H<1>0P0I. 
 
 KOI Tov vv-^iov ToicrS^ ecpoSevarai 
 
 eoLKev avhp o ^evog revyeiv KaKov 
 Tpocbov S' 'Opea-Tov ri^vS' opw /ce/cXaf/xeV?;!/. 
 TTOi Srj Trareig, K/Xto'cra, Sooiulcitcov TrvXag', 
 Xvirrj S"* a/ULicrOo^ €(Ttl ctol ^vvefxiropo^. 
 
 730 
 
 Kad-qKeiv, V. 455. With the use of 5^, 
 •which is hke that in v. 713, conip. 
 Supp. 16, KeXaai 5'. 'Epfxija, MSS, 
 'BpiJiT]v, Turn. 
 
 7 2 8. If Kal TOV vvxi-ov is right, it is 
 to be compared with dvbpoX^Teipav /cai 
 rav pi\f/07r\op arav, Theb. 3H) aidoia 
 Kal yoedua /cat ra xpe'' ^^^j Supp. 194 
 (neither of them, perhaps, beyond ex- 
 ception), at the same time that the ar- 
 ticle might have a propriety as showing 
 that Hermes is invoked in reference to 
 a second and distant attribute, x^oviov 
 being his name as god of the dead, vi- 
 Xtov as god of fraud (Miiller, § 98). 
 e0o5eO(rai, if genuine, must doubtless 
 bear its ordinary intransitive sense, 
 but it is difficult to see its fitness here, 
 unless, with Lidd. and Scott, we gene- 
 ralise the notion of patrolling into 
 that of surveying. A comparison of 
 the parallel vv. 583-4 might suggest 
 €(pop€vaaL as the equivalent of eTro- 
 TTTevaai, though neither the aor. nor 
 the construction with the dat. seems 
 usual, icpedpeva-ai, too, would be an 
 easy corr-ection, whether taken of 
 Hermes lying in wait as the god of 
 stratagem, or acting as icpedpos, as he 
 might well be called, though, so far 
 as human warriors went, Or. had no 
 ecpedpos, v. 866. 
 
 729. ^KpodriX-qroKTiv, Ag. 1528. 
 
 730 — 733. * Here is a fruit of the 
 news — Orestes' nurse in tears. Whi- 
 ther away?' 
 
 730. Seeing the nui'se, the Chorus 
 changes its tone. Possibly, as Peile 
 
 thinks, there may be a half irony in 
 the present line ; at any rate, there is 
 an appearance of ignorance and almost 
 of unconcern. 'The stranger would 
 seem to be causing trouble.' re^x^LV 
 KaKov a,s in Eum. 125. (Herm.'s notion 
 that revx^i'V is an error for rvxeiv, and 
 that a line has dropped out, is quite 
 baseless.) dvi^p, MSS. avrjp, Porson. 
 
 731. KeKkavixevrjv, v. 457, note. 5^ 
 has the force of 'ya.p. 
 
 732. The old reading, derived from 
 Rob., was VeiXiaffa, which was sup- 
 posed to be a proper name. M. how- 
 ever, has K^Xiccra, which the latest 
 editors have rightly preferred, Herra. 
 referring to Hemsterhuis on Aristoph. 
 Plut. p. 8, to show that slaves were 
 commonly called by their gentile 
 names, e.g.QpaTTa. Pind. P. 11. 25 
 calls Orestes' nurse Arsinoe, as 
 Pherecydes, according to the Schol. 
 there and here, called her Laodamia. 
 The nurse seems to be coming from 
 the palace, not. as is generally sup- 
 posed, going to it. Clyta?mnestra has 
 gone in to speak to ^gisthus, and not 
 finding him, sends the nurse to fetch 
 him. When found, he goes in, v. 
 849. The Chorus then asks the nurse 
 whither she is crossing the threshold, 
 TTvXai being used here not of the 
 actual gates, but of the entrance. 
 The door is probably that of the deu- 
 TepayojviCTTTjs, who performs the nurse 
 as well as Clyt. and Eleotra. 
 
 733. dfiiffdos is probably to be un- 
 derstood passively, like djuiados doidd, 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 Ill 
 
 TPO<l>02. 
 
 AHyicrOov y] Kparovcra roig ^evoig KoXetv 
 
 OTTO)? Ta^f(7T' avcoyeVf co? o-acpecrrepov 735 
 
 avrjp air^ av6po<s Trjp veayyekTov (paTiv 
 
 iXOiov irvdriTai ri^vSe, Trpog fxev oiKera^ 
 
 OeTOCTKvOpcoTrwv evTog ojuLimaTcov yeXwv 
 
 KevOovcr^ 67r' epyoig oiaireir pay /nevoid KoXwg 
 
 K6ii/t]f Sojuiois Se TOicrSe irayKOLKOXf e^et j aq 
 
 (prilJ.ri<s v<p\ ?9 1^yyei\av ol ^evoi ropaxf. 
 
 Ag. 979, so that dfnados ^vui/xwopos 
 will be a companion who is not hired, 
 as persons might be, to carry baggage, 
 &c. (comp. V, 713), i.e., an unsought 
 companion. 
 
 734 — 765. Nurse. 'My mistress 
 sends me to fetch ^gisthus to the 
 strangers. She looks sad, but she is 
 really glad, and so will he be. Oh ! 
 this last blow is harder to bear than 
 any. Dear Orestes ! how I used to 
 nurse him, getting up at night whenever 
 he cried — and now to hear of his death! 
 "Well, I must go on my errand.' 
 
 734. TOIL'S |ej'oi/s, MSS. TOis ^ivois, 
 Pauw. The correction seems neces- 
 sary, as it is difficult to believe that 
 ^sch. would have used KoKelv roi/s 
 ^hovs for ' to call to the strangers ' 
 {ocroi KCKXriaTo ^ovX'tju, II. lo. 195, is 
 plainly different), or that avwye k.t.X. 
 means * bids me say that the strangers 
 are calling for ^gisthus ;' or, lastly, 
 as Herm. suggests, that Clytaemnestra 
 bids the strangers call ^gisthus, i.e., 
 through the nurse. We have had the 
 converse error in v. 62. 
 
 736. v. 666. 
 
 738. e^TO crKvBpc^irSv, MSS. Oero- 
 CKvdpwTrbv, Erfurdt ap. Herm., an 
 admirable emendation, as Herm. 
 rightly calls it, very similar to Person's 
 fX€T(j}Tro<xu<pp6v(t)v in Supp. 198. dero- 
 
 (TKvdpwTrQ}v seems slightly better 
 (after Vettori's <XKvdp(jjiru)p), as the 
 forced grimness belongs rather to the 
 eyes than to the laughter, unless we 
 connect deToaKvOpiowov closely with 
 Kevdovaa, as if the grimness were the 
 result of the concealment. dero- 
 (TKvdpojTros, then, will mean, in lexico- 
 graphical strictness of expression, 
 'adoptively sad- faced.' Others have 
 come near the truth, Emper con- 
 jecturing ide\o(TKvdpwTrQu, Well, derds. 
 With (TKvdpumOiv ofx/xdrwu, Abresch 
 well comp. Eur. Or. 1319, aKvdpojwoijs 
 6fxp.dT0}v ^|w Afopas, with yeXuiv Keijdova, 
 Od. 19, 2 1-2, doXip 6' oye dciKpva Kevde. 
 
 740. ^x^LP, MSS. ^x^L, Rob., and 
 so prob. the Schol. ^x^t is quite in 
 keeping with the eipofievq X^fts of the 
 nurse, and so more natural ; other- 
 wise ^x^LV might stand, as Peile and 
 Paley suggest, the words being equi- 
 valent to biaweirpa'yfj.evoLS ovtojs iccTTe 
 TrayKCLKOos ^^ei;/. 
 
 741. 07?yu.77s v(p\ ^s (Abresch) seem 
 better than the common reading 
 077^7/j ^0' ■fjs, as involving a less 
 licence, though it is not easy to decide 
 between the requirements of ordinary 
 usage and the exemptions which may 
 be permitted in a speech like this. 
 In any case, the words refer to ^x^i, 
 not to Kevdova'. The nurse has 
 
112 
 
 X0H<1>0P0L 
 
 ^ Srj kXvcov eKeivo9 €u(ppai'6i poov, 
 
 cut'' av 7rbOt]Tai /uluOov. (h raXaiv^ eyw 
 
 o)? jULot ra fxev TraXaia cruyKeKpajmeva 
 
 akyr} SvaroLo-ra roiaS' ev 'Arpecog So^oig 745 
 
 tv)(ovt' ejmrjv tfKyvvev ev cTTepvoig (ppeva' 
 
 aX\' ouTL TTO) roiovSe irrifx'' uvecr')(oiJ,r]v. 
 
 TO. ixev yap aWa rXrjinovccg ijvtXovv KaKa* 
 
 (piXou S' 'Opea-Ttjv, rrj^ e^^? "v|/i^X^9 TpiPrjv, 
 
 ov e^eQpey\ra jULrjrpoOev SeSeyfxepr], 750 
 
 Kal vvKTiTrXdyKTcov opOlwv KeXevf^arcov 
 
 struck into a new sentence, and goes 
 off upon it. 
 
 742. There seems no contrast, such 
 as Paley supposes, between the sup- 
 pressed exultation of Clyt. and the 
 open joy expected from ^gisthus. 
 The words here mean little more than 
 V. 765, though the expression is more 
 emphatic. Perhaps it may be worth 
 while, with Peile, to connect kX^wv 
 with €V(ppav€i, 'his hearing will make 
 him a merry heart,' so as to avoid the 
 tautology in the next line, though 
 such tautology would be characteristic 
 enough. eKelvov, MSS. iKe?vo$, Rob. 
 
 744. The ' old ti-oubles,' as the 
 Schol. explains, are the feast of 
 Thyestes, the sacrifice of Iphigenia, 
 and the murder of Agamemnon, the 
 former of which doubtless the nurse 
 could recollect no less than the latter. 
 It seems more natural to explain crvyKe- 
 Kpa/j.€va of the mixture of evils which 
 the house had had to bear, the metaphor, 
 as in Ag. i'26o, being from mixing a 
 mess or draught, than to connect it with 
 fjioi, on the analogy of Soph. Ant. 13 1 1, 
 (XvyKeKpa/xac dva, Aj. 895, olkti^ Ti^de 
 GvyKeKpaiiiv-qv, Aristoph. Plut. 853, 
 ovTOj TToXvcpopu} (TvyKeKpafiaL dai/xofi. 
 
 748. rXrjfxouojSy in a good sense, 
 like iadi T\r][x(av oda', Ag. 1302. 
 
 749. (piXov 5' 'OpicTTTjv. The accu- 
 sative is put first, as frequently, as the 
 object of the sentence, as though a 
 transitive verb were to follow ; but 
 the speaker wanders characteristically, 
 and does not recover herself, summing 
 up in a different manner what she had 
 meant to say here, v v. 76 1 foil. See on 
 V. 675, and corap. Soph. (Ed. T. 449, 
 Tbv dv8pa tovtov bv irdXai ^rjTeXs .... 
 ovros ecTTLv evddhe, where, as here, there 
 may be an attraction, like Virgil's 
 ' urbem quam statuo.' In the present 
 case the ace. is perhaps hazarded 
 more readily, as it is at once seen to 
 answer to ra fxh dXXa KaKa. No 
 other instance of TpL^-q in this sense 
 is quoted : but the transition from 
 the spending of time to the object on 
 which time is spent, as in the case of 
 irovos, &c., is sufficiently natural. 
 
 750. So the well-known line in 
 Aristoph. Ach. 478, a-KavdiKa /xol dos, 
 p.r)Tp6dev Sedeyfxevos. Here, however, 
 /xrjrpodev is 'from the mother's womb, 
 as in V. 609, the nurse being perhaps 
 also the midwife, as Abresch makes 
 probable, comparing Aristid. t. i, 
 p. 24, Hes. Theog. 479, where Sexeo-^at 
 is used of receiving a child as soon as 
 born. 
 
 751. KeXev/xdruu (the MSS. form. 
 
XOHcI)OPOI. 
 
 11 
 
 Kai TToWa Kai iuL0')(^6i]p^ avcocpeXjjr^ ejuLol 
 TKaarri' to lurj (ppovovv yap coa-Trepel j3oTOi' 
 Tpe(p€iv aiayKJ], xw? yap ou ; rpoTrct) (ppei'6^- 
 ov yap TL (poovei irai^ eV wp ei/ cnrapydvoLg, 
 »7 Xi/ULog )] Siy^t] Tf? t] \i\^ovpLa 
 
 i 03 
 
 read also by Med. in Pers. 397) seems 
 rightly taken by Stanley with iroWa 
 Kai fiox^VP^- Comp. Soph, Ant. 
 1-265, (bfjLOL i/jt.Qv duoXiSa j3ov\€v/ui.dT<jjp, 
 and other instances quoted by Jelf, 
 § 442 b. So perhaps Siq:)}). 296, 
 ravra TraWay/iaTcov, though the loss 
 of a syllable there renders the reading 
 doubtful. We need not then suspect 
 the text here of corruption, as the 
 words Kai noXXd k. t. X. may be con- 
 structed either as a nom., with an 
 ellipse of the verb substantive, or an 
 ace. intended to have been followed 
 by a verb. vvKTiTrXayKTa Kekevfiara 
 is like vvKTiTiXayKTos irbvos, Ag. 330, 
 the property of the patient being 
 transferred to the agent. 
 
 752. Comp. Soph. El. 1143, ol'yaot 
 rdXaiva TTiS €[xri% TrdXat rpocprjs'Apio- 
 (peXrjTOv, an imitation of this passage, 
 though Electra is the speaker, and 
 the details are not dwelt on in the 
 same manner. 
 
 753—4. Scholef. was the first to 
 explain rpoir^ (ppevos rightly, ' accord- 
 ing to its humour. ' Wordsworth comp. 
 Aristoph. Frogs 14 32, t]1/ d' eKxpecprj 
 Tis, Tols TpoTTots VTV7]peTeZu (of a lion's 
 whelp), and the word rpoirocj^opeLV. 
 For ixairepel ^otov he most appositely 
 refers to Soph. Hoip.. fr. 462, where the 
 shepherds say of their flocks to^utols 
 yap 6vTes deaTrdraL dovXevofxev, Kai 
 TLCv8' dvdyKT} Kai CLOoirihvTWv kX6€lv. 
 There is a verbal contradiction be- 
 tween t6 /iTj (ppovovv (with which 
 comp. Soph. Aj. 554) and (ppevos, but 
 it creates no real harshness. 
 
 756. Porson (or rather Stanley) 
 corrected el Xi/xds, an easy change, as 
 the words are frequently confounded, 
 the pronunciation having been, at 
 least at one time, the same (A. P. 
 Stanley on St. Paul, 2 Cor. 3. i, note), 
 besides their resemblance to tlie eye. 
 Whether ij can stand is doubtful : it 
 is not vindicated by such passages as 
 V. 890, Prom. 780, which are in- 
 stances of the indirect question, but 
 it may possibly be a case of a con- 
 ditional sentence expressed without a 
 conditional prefix (Jelf, § 860. 8, 
 Madvig, § 194. a. R. 3), though in 
 the other instances quoted the sen- 
 tence so expressed is placed before 
 that to which it forms a virtual 
 protasis. If the possibility of such a 
 mode of expression be conceded, it is 
 easy to see that its rude simplicity 
 may have recommended it to ^sch. 
 here, bearing as it does a strong 
 analogy to other constructions in the 
 speech (v. 740, &c.); and, accordingly, 
 I have ventured to leave it in the 
 text. 5i\prj, again, is a doubtful form 
 (see however Wordsworth, in Philolog. 
 Museum, vol. i., pp. 222 foil.), but it 
 has, at any rate, the analogy of ireivrj, 
 the secondary form of irelpa, and the 
 reading 5i\pr] rts (with which comp. 
 ^9- 55> ^ '^'■^ 'AiroXXojv, tis having 
 nearly the force of irov) seems more 
 yEschylean than any of the various 
 conjectures that have been pro- 
 posed. Comp. Soph. (Fd. C. 95, 
 t) ceiaixov, rj §povTi]v n.v\ ^ Aids 
 ffiXas. 
 
114 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 e^ef, vea Se vrjSvg avrapKrjq tckvcov. 
 
 TOVTCOV TTpO/ULaVTl^ ovcTa^ TToWa , o'lOjULaif 
 
 ^l/■€vaOela■a iraiSo^ (Tirapyavoiv (paiSpvvrpia, 
 
 Kvacbevg Tpo(pevg re ravrov el-^eTtiv Te\o<s. j6o 
 
 eyco SiTrXtig Se TaaSe yeip(jova^La<s 
 
 e-^ovcr^ ^OpecTTtjv e^eoe^diuLrjv iraTpL 
 
 TeOvrjKOTOS Se vvv raXaiva ireuOo/Jiat* 
 
 (TTei-voo S'' eir^ avSpa rcovSe \viJ.avrr}piov 
 
 o'lKcoVf OeXcov Se TcovSe Trevcrerai Xoycov. 7^5 
 
 Eum. 859 (comp. by Wordsworth), 
 vea (ppovTLS, Eui'. Med. 48. 
 
 758. OLO/xai is slightly ironical, as 
 we should say, 'I should just think 
 so,' the nurse intending to lay a stress 
 on her troubles. 
 
 759. In <pai8pvvTpLa, as in other 
 words of the same class, the final a is 
 short, the word being formed so that 
 the antepenult should be long. 
 Wordsworth, who has himself adverted 
 to the question in Ph. Mus. vol. i. p. 
 '221, refers to Valckenaer and Monk 
 on Eur. Hijij^. 585, and Elmsley on 
 Med. 156. 
 
 760. The nurse was apparently 
 going to complete the sentence with 
 some verb with which (paihpvvTpia 
 might have been closely constructed, 
 when it struck her as more forcible to 
 say that fuller and nurse held the 
 same office, in other wo)ds, that their 
 duties had to be combined. We 
 should have naturally expected YJ/a- 
 ^ei!s T€ Tpocpe^is re, as Tpo<p€vs is not a 
 mere adjunct, but a necessary part of 
 the subject, but the intonation, as 
 Herm. remarks (Opusc. 3, 253), may 
 have supplied the place of the particle, 
 and perhaps the absence of strict 
 logical connexion may have been in- 
 tended by ^sch. rpocpevs is of course 
 
 substituted for rpotpos to answer to 
 yva<(>€6s. CTpocpe^s, M, Tpo<p€iJS, Rob. 
 
 761. The expression in the pre- 
 ceding line had been general, so the 
 nurse here applies it to herself. 
 XeLpcova^La, Prom. 45. 
 
 762. There is no occasion to take 
 irarpi 'for the father,' with Paley. 
 The child is committed by the father 
 to the nurse, either actually or vir- 
 tually, so that the dat. is the Homeric 
 dative, after dex^adai, 11. 2. 186, &c. 
 (Porson on Eur. Hec. 539). M. gives 
 Trarpds as a second reading. e/c5exe- 
 adai, like excipere, implies that the 
 person who receives a thing stands 
 next in succession to the giver. 
 
 763. TedurjKdros ire66ofJiai, virtually 
 like Trevao/j-evos tro-Tpos 8t]u olxo/x^voto, 
 Od. I. 281. 
 
 764. Xvixavr-qpLov, Ag. 1438. The 
 word is prob. used generally, with no 
 particular reference either to ^gis- 
 thus' adultery, or his wasting the 
 substance of the house, v. 943, though 
 it might apply to either. 
 
 765. Blomfield's T6vbe — \6yov, 
 which is recommended on grounds of 
 euphony, is plausible, involving as it 
 does little or no change, but can 
 scarcely be called necessary, 
 
 766—773. Ch. 'How would she 
 have him come V N. ' What do you 
 
XOHcE>OPOI. 
 
 115 
 
 XO. TTw? ovv KeXevei viv imoXeiv earToXiJLevov ; 
 
 TP. 5 TTtoj ; Xey' avOi^, o)? juLaOco (TaCpecrTepov. 
 
 XO. r] ^vv Xo^i'raf?, e^re /cal juLovocrrilSi] ; 
 
 TP. ayeiv KeXevei Sopv<p6povs OTrdovag, 
 
 XO. /xi 1^1/1/ (TV TavT^ ayyeWe Sea-Trorov CTTvyei' 
 aXX' avTOU iXOeiv, cog aSeijmdvTCoi; K\vr], 
 avoo-^O^ oarov Tct^fo-ra yrjOovcrr] (bpevl. 
 
 770 
 
 mean V Ch. Why, attended or alone.' 
 N. 'With a guard.' Ch. 'Do not 
 give any such message : bid him come 
 alone to hear good news.' 
 
 767. ^ TTws, MSS. ^ TTcDy, Porson. 
 6'7rws, which Schiitz conj., is the usual 
 way of retorting a question with irQ>s, 
 at least in the comic writers and 
 Plato : but Well. comp. Eur. Ion. 
 958, n. Koi ttCjs €v dvTpci} TralSa cbv 
 XLTrdv ^tXtjs ; K. ttws 5' ; olKTpa ttoWo, 
 crdfiaTos e/c/3d\\oi;cr' fTTT/. 
 
 768. Paley rightly retains -^ |iV. 
 rj is not unusual in direct questions 
 (Jelf, § 875. a), and the alternative 
 etre is sufficiently supported by AVell. 
 from Eur. Ale. 114, though the sen- 
 tence there is not interrogative. 
 
 770. deatroTou crrvyeL is rightly ex- 
 plained by Stanley * domino detes- 
 tando,' as we should say, ' our abomi- 
 nation of a master.' Comp. Soph. 
 EL 1241, &x^°^ yvvaiKQv, which is 
 said of Clyt. in much the same tone. 
 Elsewhere arvyos is used with a gen. 
 of the person feeling the loathing, as 
 in V. 1028, deup arvyos. But it can 
 can have no such sense here, as 
 ^5]gisthus would never have been 
 described thus briefly as 'the hated 
 of our master' (Orestes or Aga- 
 memnon), and a double meaning is 
 not to be thought of. The only 
 tenable alternative would be to re- 
 gard fir] dyyeWe as a positive injunc- 
 tion, and connect Seairorov arvyei 
 
 with it, 'Forbear to give such a 
 message from hatred of our master,' 
 in other words, 'give no such message, 
 as you hate our master,' arvyei. being 
 constructed like 06/3c^, v. 102. 
 
 77 ^~ 2. ' Bid him come alone, that 
 he may hear without alarm.' It may 
 be questioned whether cus kXvti de- 
 pends on auujxdi or on iXdeiv, in 
 other words, whether it expresses the 
 secret intention of the messenger, or 
 forms part of the message ; but ws 
 irvdrjTaL, vv, 736, 7, looks rather like 
 the latter. Again, it is not clear 
 whether yTjdovarj (ppevi refers to 
 ^gisthus or to the nurse, as it might 
 apply well to either (not, as Herm. 
 contends, to neither) ; to ^gisthus, 
 who would thus be cold to come with 
 joy at his heart, as there was good 
 news waiting him ; to the nurse, who 
 would be told to exchange her tears 
 for joy, as a more fitting accompani- 
 ment to the amended message. The 
 former is slightly supported by Soph. 
 £1. 1431, €(p' i]fxiu oSros (^gisthus) 
 €K TrpoacTTiov Xwpel yeyrjdws : tlie latter 
 perhaps more strongly by the nurse's 
 question, v. 774, which seems to imply 
 that she had been bidden to rejoice, 
 though it may indicate no more' than 
 her surprise that she should have been 
 told even in speaking to ^gisthus to 
 talk of it as a joyful matter. A 
 further question about the reference of 
 ocrov Taxf-cTTa is of comparatively little 
 I 2 
 
116 
 
 XOH<J)OPOI. 
 
 €i> ayyeXcp yap Kvirrog opOovrai \0y09. 
 TP. aXX' 5 (ppoveig €u toi(tl vvi^ ijyyeXfxevoi*; ; 
 
 importance, and indeed depends on 
 the answer given to that just raised. 
 rax'-O'T dyadovcrri, MSS. Tax'-O'Ta 
 yadovarj, Turn. yr]6ovay, Pauw, 
 which is doubtless the Attic form, 
 though the present is unusual. 
 
 773. KpvTTTOs opdovcrrj (ppevi, MSS. 
 The line is quoted by Eustathius, on 
 II. 15. 207, and by a Schol. on the 
 same place, with the words Kpyirrbs 
 opdovrai \6yos, and attributed to 
 Euripides. Musgrave first saw that it 
 belonged to this place, and Porson 
 followed him. The transcriber was 
 obviously misled by the termination of 
 the previous line, as in Ag. 1216-7. 
 The Homeric Schol., however, seems 
 to have another reading, kvtttos, and 
 this Blomf. and Peile rightly prefer, 
 as palpably answering to opdovrai. 
 The latter well remarks that the lan- 
 guage is proverbial, ' In the hand of 
 the messenger a crooked story is made 
 straight,' i.e., it rests with the bearer 
 of a message to give it what turn he 
 pleases, and as well comp. Thuc. 7. 8, 
 rrjv avTOv yvihjx-qv pirjdeu ev ayyekt^ 
 acpavLadelaav, — as we might say, 'in 
 the messenger's mouth,' or 'in passing 
 through the messenger.' The line is 
 no part of the message to ^gisthus, 
 but is partly addi-essed to the nurse, 
 partly remarked by the Chorus to 
 itself, as a yvw/ar] apposite to the 
 occasion. 
 
 774 — 782. N. ' Do you call it good 
 news?' Ch. 'What if bad were to 
 turn to good V N. ' Why, our hope 
 is cut off.' Ch. 'Not just yet.' 
 N. ' What ? have you heard any 
 other news V Ch. * Go and do as we 
 bid you, and Heaven will provide.' 
 N. 'I will, and may Heaven order 
 things for the best.' 
 
 774. (ppovels eS is rightly inter- 
 preted by the Schol. xatpets. This 
 sense is required by the usage of 
 dW 9j, which perhaps has not been 
 sufl&ciently understood. It will be 
 found, I believe, almost always to be 
 employed in statements or hypotheses 
 to which the speaker wishes to repre- 
 sent himself as driven rather against 
 his will, as if they alone were pos- 
 sible. So V. 220, dXX' ^ 56\ov tip', 
 d) ^eV, dfji^i fioi TrXe/cets ; ' Surely you 
 must mean to trick me.' Ag. 276. 
 dXX' ^ <t' eiriaviv ns aTrrepos (pares ; 
 ' Well, then, surely you have been 
 fattening on some wingless tale' (what- 
 ever may be the meaning of the latter 
 words). Supp. 913, dW 9j yvvaiKuiv 
 els ttoKlv So/cets fjLoXelv ; ' Surely you 
 must suppose it is a city of women 
 that you are come to.' Comp. also 
 Soph. El. 879, dXX' ij fX€/xr]vas, (S 
 rdXaiva, Kairl roh 1.avrri% KaKO?(n 
 Kdirl rols i/xo'ii yeXds ; a consideration 
 of which will show the impossibility 
 of understanding (ppoveh eC here, ' are 
 you in your right mind V The only 
 class of possible exceptions to the 
 usage so explained, of which I am 
 aware, is that where the verb is the 
 deliberative conjunctive, Soph. CEd. 
 C. 26, Eur. El. 983, and there a 
 similar explanation would be admis- 
 sible, expressing the unwillingness of 
 the speaker to suppose that he is 
 meant to take the step in question. 
 There appears no occasion to distin- 
 guish, as Valckenaer and others have 
 done, between dXX' fj and dXX' 17, or, 
 again, to discriminate dXX' tj inter- 
 rogative from dXX' ij affirmative, as 
 all the instances quoted faU easily 
 under one class, that of dXX' ^ inter- 
 rogative, as explained above, though 
 
XOH(|>OPOI. 117 
 
 XO. aXX' €L TpOTraiav Zei/? kukcov 6i]<jeL irore ', 775 
 
 1 1 . Kat TTcog ', ^Opecrry]^ eXTrz? olyeTai Sojulcov. 
 XO. ovTTco' KaKog ye fxavrt^ uv yvolrj rdSe. 
 iP. Ti <pri<s ; e-^eiq tl twv XeXeyixevoov Sl-^a ; 
 XO. ayyeW^ lovo-a, irpaa-a-e rdxeo-raXyOteW. 
 
 imeXei Oeoicnv (xivirep av lu-eXi] irepi. 780 
 
 it is also possible that the interrogation 
 may be an abbreviated form of tI 
 &X\o dXX Tj, so that dW ij should be 
 written in all cases. From want of 
 attention to this uniformity of usage, 
 dX\' 7j or d\X ij has been introduced 
 where it would have no place, as in 
 the very next line, v. 775, by Stanley 
 and Well., in Su]:)^). 511, even by 
 Person and Herm. Whether ed 
 (ppovetv can be taken as actually 
 equiv. to ev(ppalv€adaL, in default of 
 other instances, as Paley thinks, is 
 doubtful : it would seem safer to 
 understand it in its ordinary sense, 
 ' You are well affected to the late 
 news,' think it friendly, or, as we 
 should say, think well of it. tolctl vvv 
 dyyeX/xaai refers, not like cl77eXXe, 
 dyyeXip, just above, to the nurse's 
 message, but to the tidings brought 
 by Orestes. 
 
 775. dXX' ei is 'but what if,' or 'but 
 suppose.' dXX' el hpaKovTijov ^vcrtppovwv 
 ex^l-ocrL ; Suj)}^. 511, 'but suppose 
 you were to give us up to far worse 
 than deadly serpents,' is the sus- 
 picious question of the Chorus, after 
 the king had promised in metaphorical 
 language not to give them up to 
 ravening birds of prey — as if they had 
 said, ' a metaphorical guarantee is 
 not a sufficient security against 
 enemies whose malignity no metaphor 
 can express.' Person's rpb-rraiov or 
 Tpoiraia is exceedingly probable, as 
 O'QdeLv T/JOTTttia occurs Theh.2'j'j, cTT'TjcraL 
 
 rpbiraLa twv KaKuju, Eur. Or. ^i^, and 
 Zeus would naturally be mentioned as 
 Tpo-rraios (Soph. Ant. 143, comp. by 
 Wordsworth) or PLKrjcpopos. But 
 rpoiraiau is supported by Eur. £1. 
 1 147, d/xoL^ai KaKuiW ixtTaTpoiroL 
 TTveGva-Lv avpUL do/mcof (quoted by 
 Blomf.), and Zeus 6i^(X€l may be com- 
 pared, as Peile remarks, with Ag. 
 970, OTau de Tevxv '^^^^ <*^* 6ix,<paKos 
 TTiKpds OTpov. Tpoiraia, too, a word 
 very rarely found, would seem to be 
 a favourite with ^sch., occurring 
 Ag. 219, Theb. 706. 
 
 776. Kal TTws, Ag. 550, 1310. 
 
 777. Conip. Soph, Bl. 1481, Kal 
 jxdvTLS (bv apiaTGS eacpdWov irdXaL : 
 
 778. tCov XeXey fie uojv, the messen- 
 ger's report. It signifies little whe- 
 ther 5txa be interpreted different 
 from, or simply apart from. Words- 
 worth remarks that e'xf'S signifies 
 'cognitum habes,' and comp. Soph. 
 Ant. 9, e'xets tl Kel<xrjKov(yas ; 
 
 'J'jg. TTpdaae TdireaTaXfj^eua, Eur. 
 Tr. 1 149. The injunctions here are 
 of course those of the Chorus. d77eX'' 
 or dyyeX, MSS. a77eXX', Piob. 
 
 780. Comp. Ag. 974, p-eXoi Be tol 
 crol Tibvirep dv /xiXXrjs TeXelv, where as 
 here the language is intentionally 
 enigmatical, though the tone of the 
 two passages is sufficiently different. 
 Wordsworth also comp. Soph. Ant. 
 1335, /xeXeL yap ruivd' oTOiai XPV 
 p.eXeiv. /xeXXeL-p-eXXri, MSS. p.eXei- 
 /xeXri, Aid. 
 
118 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 TP. aW etjuLi KOI (Toig ravra irelaoixai \6yoi^. 
 
 yevoiTo S* ft)? apicTTa avv Oewv Socrei. 
 XO. vvv TrapaiTovjUieva /not, iraTep Zei? Qeihv 'OXv/jltticou, 
 
 dog Tvyag Tv^eiv oojUiov Kvpioig 
 
 "^Ta G-(jo(ppo(Tuv eu jULaio,aevoig iSeiv, 
 
 
 781. With the construction ravra 
 rreicTO/Mai,, comp. Theb. 1065, tLs clu 
 olv TO. tt'lOolto; 
 
 782. (7VV dfCov hoaei is equivalent to 
 the common expression avu 6eo?s. 
 So deuiv didovToov, Theb. 'Jig, though 
 evil is there spoken of. 
 
 783 — 837. Ch. 'Grant me good 
 fortune, Zeus, for the rightful lords of 
 the palace. Place Orestes over his 
 enemies : he will repay thee well. 
 Remember whose son he is, and let 
 not the car of fate whirl him on wildly. 
 Ye Gods of the palace, stop the course 
 of slaughter, and let these horrors be 
 the last. Thou God of Delphi, let 
 joy succeed to sorrow, and Hermes 
 with thee, the speeder of action, the 
 revealer and concealer of secrets. 
 Then the house in gratitude will bring 
 out its wealth and raise the song. 
 Only let Orestes be bold, stifle the 
 pleadings of nature, revenge his 
 friends, dead and living, and slay the 
 slayers. ' 
 
 The critical state of this Chorus 
 is less satisfactory than that of any 
 other part of the play. In various 
 ■passages there are evident marks of 
 corruption, and that apparently not 
 always of a kind which ordinary 
 methods can be expected to remedy : 
 while bolder attempts, such as have 
 been made by several of the editors, 
 are of course infinitely hazardous, 
 and, indeed, are beyond a critic's 
 province. It would almost seem that 
 the text of the MSS. had at some 
 distant time been extensively tam- 
 
 pered with, so as entirely to obliterate 
 the original reading, as has been 
 perhaps the case in some of the choral 
 parts of Sophocles. The metrical dis- 
 position of the ode is scarcely less 
 diSicult, more than one scheme having 
 been proposed, while in any case the 
 succession of strophes and antistrophes 
 does not appear to be reducible to 
 that symmetrical proportion, whether 
 more or less complicated, which it is 
 the rule of other choruses to exhibit, 
 783 — 786, The latter part of this 
 opening sentence is evidently cor- 
 rupt, and no satisfactory restoration 
 has been suggested. Some guidance, 
 however, may be obtained by attention 
 to a fact which has not been hitherto 
 remarked, the evident correspon- 
 dence between the present passage 
 and the conclusion of the next chorus, 
 vv. 979 foil., which is also corrupt, 
 but has been partially restored, as we 
 shall there see : rvxai 5' evirpocriairo- 
 Kolrai TO xav ibeiv aKOvaaL dpeofJievoLS 
 fxeroiKois dofxcov ireaovvrai irdXiv. This 
 may help us to see that 5^ /xov Kvpiojs, 
 the MSS. reading here, should be 
 56/j.ov Kvpiois, a conjecture partially 
 due to H. L. Ahrens, who gives ifj^ov 
 KvploLS, which will thus answer to 
 fxeroiKOLS dofj-wv, as fxaiofievois I8e?v 
 will to ISeLv (XKOvaaL dpeojULeuois (how- 
 ever that is to be corrected), and 
 Tvxas Tvx^'^v to Tvxai. TrecrouvTac. But 
 the reading and interpretation of v. 
 786 must still remain uncertain, espe* 
 cially as those of the antistrophic v. 
 796, where the metre does not pre 
 
XOH<J>OPOL 
 
 119 
 
 OLa OLKag irav €7ro<s 
 
 eXaKov Zeu, crv Se vlv (pvXdcraroig. 
 
 Trpo Se S^ ^-^Opcov rov -j-ecra) /meXdOpcov, d Zicu, 
 Oeg, cTrei vlv [xeyav apa^f 
 
 / V 
 
 CO 
 
 cisely correspond, are no less so. 
 Possibly TO, au(ppocrvv may be a cor- 
 ruption of rXacricppoaiv or reXeaai- 
 (ppoaiv, but I have no definite con- 
 jecture to offer. e5 fiaiofievots I5e1u 
 seems likely to be genuine, eS iSelu 
 (as perhaps in v. 808) meaning * to 
 see good,' as eS /xadelv, Ag. 584, is 
 'to learn good.' So far then we 
 may render * grant that fair fortune 
 may befal the lords of the palace, 
 seeking as they are to see good.' rd 
 au}(ppou\ however, Herm.'s conjecture, 
 is not improbable, agi-eeing as it does 
 with the metre of v. 796, while it 
 yields a reasonable sense, * seeking as 
 they do to see moderation thrive,' 
 the language being parallel to Siipp. 
 77, €v TO diKatou l56vT€s, the sense to 
 Electra's prayer, v. 14O. But the 
 parallel of v. 971 is against it, as the 
 object of Idelv there seems to be the 
 change of fortune. 
 
 787, dLadLKoLaaL, MSS. dia diKas, 
 Pauw, supported by the Schol., which 
 has diKaicos. Another gloss is /card 
 b'lKav, 8 iaTi Kara to hlKaiov, from 
 which Herm. reads /cdS UKav, so as to 
 produce an exact syllabic correspon- 
 dence with V. 797. But Sict, as Paley 
 remarks, appears to be pronounced 
 monosyllabically elsewhere, e.g. Pcrs. 
 S^5> 637, where it answers to a single 
 long syllable. The Chorus apparently 
 means to assert its conviction of the 
 iustice of its prayer, and begs Zeus 
 to watch over its accomplishment, vlv 
 being ttcLv iwos, as in Siipp. 179, 
 (pvXd^at Tap.' ^tttj oeXrovjUievas. The 
 
 protestation is not unlike v. 638, tL 
 Tiovd' ovK ivdiKus dyelpo} ; 
 
 788. The reading is doubtless faulty 
 metrically, as the antistrophic v. 
 798, appears to be correct, but there 
 is no way of certainly emending it, 
 and nothing is gained by substituting 
 one of a number of equally plausible 
 alterations. 
 
 790. ^ ^ is omitted by Herm. If 
 retained, it will have to be added to 
 the antistrophic v., which is appa- 
 rently V. 827. Trpo 5e 5?? 'x^/jwj' is an 
 unusual crasis, so that Herm. may be 
 right in writing irpb be y ex^pGiv. 
 Tuiv 'icw, MSS. Tov ^(Tudev, Seidler. 
 t6v is doubtless right, as Orestes is 
 more likely to be spoken of as within 
 than his enemies, ^gisthus, the 
 object of his first attack, being away ; 
 'iawdev is only one of several ways of 
 supplying the metrical defect, though 
 it is not unlikely that it has been con- 
 founded with '^ao} below, v. 800. So 
 I retain cb Zed, though the metre re- 
 quires a monosyllable, des irpb exOp'^v 
 seems to be the same as irpodes ex^pCjv, 
 'prefer him to his enemies.' 
 
 79T, ^^yai' apas, comp. v. 262. It 
 is hard to say whether dpas is a nom, 
 abs., or agrees with the subject of 
 dixel\p€L, which may be either active, 
 ' he shall repay thee,* or middle, * thou 
 shalt be repaid.' The objection to 
 the latter is the use of deXiov, which 
 occurs several times in the sense of 
 gladly (v. 765), or as applied to the 
 Gods, propitious, so that in the 
 present connexion it would seum 
 
120 
 
 XOH^OPOL 
 
 SiSv/uLa Ka\ rpiTrXa 
 TraXljULTroipa OeXcov a/UL€L\^6i. 
 
 'lorQi (5' avSpo^ (plXov TTOdXov evvLV TvyevT'' ev ap- 
 fuaTL 794 
 
 'Tri-jiJ.a.TOOv, ^ev SpOjUiO) TrpocrriOelg 
 fjiirpov. ^TL<s av crw'^^ojuievov pvOjuLov 
 tout'' loeiv oaTreoov, 
 avojuievcov l3>]fj.aT(ji)v opeyfxa. 
 
 more appropriate to Orestes than to 
 Zeus. XPV^^^) however, in v. 340, 
 seems to mean *at his pleasure,' 'if 
 he will/ and so it might be rendered 
 here. But there is no reason why 
 Zens may not be represented as re- 
 ceiving his offerings with a good will ; 
 as, however the word is explained, 
 the notion of the passage will still be 
 that he is to be prevailed on to favour 
 Orestes by the promise of a heavy 
 reconipence. With this sense of 
 TTOLvri in iraKifnroLva, comp. Supp. 626, 
 dyadQvTToivds. /xti', MSS. I'ii', Seidler. 
 794 — 799. Here again there is obscu- 
 rity in the sense, and more or less cor- 
 ruption in the text. The words ladi. 
 — XTjuoLTioy appear right. (Herm.'s 
 substitution of dpfxacnv for apfx-aTL, 
 from the Schol., apjiiaaL, on metrical 
 grounds, seems needless, as vv. 800-1 
 show that the last syll. of a verse of 
 this kind may be common.) Orestes 
 is called Agamemnon's ttcDXos by a 
 common metaphor (comp. Theb. 455, 
 TTcaXiKQv e5u}\icjv), which is extended 
 here so as to represent him as yoked 
 in tive chariot of calamity, as his 
 father, Ar/. 218 (comp. by Stanley), 
 is said to put on the XeTradvov of ne- 
 cessity, icrdi. ^vyevT is an idiomatic 
 construction, and the words doubtless 
 mean that Zeus is to have regard to 
 his case, so that there need be no 
 
 harshness felt in the connexion with 
 7rpo(TTi6eis, which is as if it had been 
 ladi Kal irpoaTides. if hpbpLop is proved 
 to be wrong by the metre, and also 
 by the construction, which apparently 
 binds dpSjuiii} to irpoaTLdeis ; but it has 
 not been satisfactorily amended. 
 eOev [Sujyp. 67) dpofxip would be an 
 easy alteration, though the pronoun 
 would have no particular force. H. 
 L. Ahrens' dwhpopn^ is ingenious, 
 but hardly probable. The sense, 
 however, appears so far clear, that 
 Zeus is requested to set bounds to 
 the career in which Orestes is whirled 
 along. After jxirpov the text becomes 
 uncertain, though there are still 
 glimpses of the same meaning, aw'^6- 
 fxevov pvd/xov answering more or less 
 exactly to irpoaTtdeU fierpov, and 
 duo/uL€Pwv ^rj/j-aTiov Speyfxa, words which 
 evidently require no change, referring 
 to the course of the horse in the 
 chariot. Blomfield's alterations, 
 adopted by Paley, l8ol (from Portus) 
 5td tredop, yield a good sense at the 
 expense of a slight change, but do 
 not quite carry conviction, ddiredov 
 is doubtful in any case, as the first 
 syll. is short in Homer and else- 
 where (Porson on Eur. Or. 324), while 
 it is long in the only other passage where 
 it occurs in ^Esch. {Prom. 829, where 
 see Paley). 
 
XOH<l>OPOI. 
 
 121 
 
 OL t' Vea-wQe Sco/ulcltcov irXovToyadyj 
 
 KKvTe, (rv/u<ppov€^ Oeoi. 
 aycTCf Tijov iraKai TreTrpayjuei'Mv 
 XvcracrO^ aljuia irpocrcbaToig SiKaig. 
 yepcov (p6vo<s iulj]K€t'' ev So/moi^ tckoi. 
 TO Se KoXwg KTOLjuLepov, CO fjieya vaiwv 
 
 IJ.Vyj)V VOjULL- 
 
 800 
 
 805 
 
 800 — I. ^crojOe Soi/xdrcav is, of 
 course, wrong, but a doubt still re- 
 mains whether it should be ^o-w 
 dw/MCLTCJu (Herra.), or 'iawOev bojxwv 
 (Well.). Tn other respects the line 
 is clearly correct, the metre being the 
 same as in vv. 793, 794, so that we 
 must reject Herm.'s hi^ere, a word 
 not improbable in itself, and explain 
 pofjil^ere by ^x^os vo/xl^ofiev, v. lOr, 
 ^iov vopii^wv, V. T003, where, as here, 
 the verb is virtually equivalent to 
 X/OTjcr^ai. The fjLvxos is the receptacle 
 of the stores, Ag. 96. The wealth of 
 the house is vaunted by Clyt, ib. 961. 
 With irXovToyadT] Kl, comp. (piXo- 
 ya9ris, Theh. 918. 
 
 802. Kkvere, MSS. /fXure, Dind. 
 Paley seems right in saying that the 
 reference is to Gods like Zeiis "Ep/cetoj, 
 Kri7o-tos, &c. Apollo and Hermes, 
 whom Kl. supposes to be meant, had 
 probably statues in the vestibule. 
 See on V. i . 
 
 S03 — 4. The metre does not agree 
 with the antistrophe, but the lan- 
 guage and sense are quite unobjec- 
 tionable, ireirpayixevuv, which Canter 
 and some of the later editors would 
 omit, is strmgly supported by Ag. 
 1185, txvos KaKwv .... tQv vdXat ttc- 
 TTpajfievcov, comp. by Kl. treirpay- 
 fjLefwv then will be neuter, not, as 
 might otherwise have been maintained 
 from V. 440, masc. With \vaa<jd' alfj.a 
 7rpo<x<pdTOLS 5i/cats, comp. Soph. (JEd.T. 
 
 TOO, (povov (povco ttoXlv Auovra?. The 
 middle is used here, as the Gods are 
 to bring about the expiation by human 
 hands. Bamb. 's transposition, al/xa 
 XvcracrOe TrpoacpdroLs 5t/cats, would 
 make the metre of v. 804 more like 
 that of the previous lines, but cor- 
 rection would still be needed in the 
 antistrophe. 
 
 805. See v. 649, Ag. 750 foil., 
 where the words y^pwv <p6vos are 
 paralleled by y^pcov X6yos, the image 
 by the passage that succeeds. Paley 
 seems rightly to explain the force of 
 y^pciju here, * May the curse now be- 
 come exhausted as by old age.' 
 
 806 — 811. This passage seems 
 rightly regarded by the later editors 
 as a fxeaipdos ; the metre, however, is 
 not certain, and the language of the 
 latter part, though intelligible, hardly 
 looks as if written by ^sch, 
 
 806. It is difficult to decide be- 
 tween the MSS. Tode {to 8^) KaXQs 
 KTdfxevov, and Bamb.'s to de KaXQs 
 KTifxevov, which succeeding editors have 
 adopted. There is no doubt harsh- 
 ness in the expression ' when this has 
 been well killed,' for 'when this 
 slaughter has been brought to a good 
 end,' but the sense suits the previous 
 lines, and the grammar may be ex- 
 plained by a principle which seems 
 not to be unknown to the tragedians, 
 the conversion of a cognate ace. into 
 the subject of a passive verb. So 
 
122 
 
 XOH'I'OPOI. 
 
 orTojuiioVf €u 00^ avioelv oofxov avopo^i 
 
 Kal VLV eXevOepicog 
 
 XajULTTpcog iSeiv (piXiOLg 8 10 
 
 ojULjULaa-i Svo(p€pag KaXvirrpag. 
 
 ^vXka^oi ivSUoos 7ra?j 6 Ma/a? eTrKpopcoTarog 
 
 perhaps v. 843, (p6v^ SedrjyfjLhip, and 
 more certainly Soph. Ant. g-j^, TKkos 
 TV(p\o}deu, though there appears to be 
 some unascertained corruption in the 
 whole passage, KaXws Krifxevov, on 
 the other hand, answers to the 
 Homeric ed KTlfxevov, but there is per- 
 haps some impropriety in applying it 
 to CToiJiiov, the mouth of the cave, in 
 spite of the well known splendour of 
 the Delphic temple. fiiya vaioju 
 CTo/xiou is a description of Apollo, 
 like fiiyav 'ix^^ I^^X^^> '^- 953- 
 (TTo^toj' (Soph, Ant. 1217) is used of 
 the entrance of the Delphic cave by 
 Strabo, 9. p. 641. 
 
 808. eS prob. with aPiSeip. The 
 verb is apparently aTra^ XeySfievoVy 
 but it yields a sufficiently good sense, 
 as explained by the Schol. dva^Xexf/ai. 
 Perhaps the recurrence of idelv may 
 cast some further doubt on it, but if 
 the present line stood alone, it would 
 naturally be pronounced above sus- 
 picion. The prayer is that the house 
 may look up and see good fortune, 
 much as in v. 961 foil, dvdp6s is 
 probably rather significant, being 
 intended to suggest the contrast of 
 female rule, 
 
 809 — 811, It is the house which is 
 elsewhere represented as looking for- 
 ward to freedom, vv. 942, 962, and as 
 covered by a veil of darkness (v. 52, 
 dv6(poL KaXviTTovcnv do/xov^ : com p. Eum. 
 3S0, 5vo(pepdv TLv' dxXvv Kara ddofMaros), 
 so that, if the text is sound, viv probably 
 refers to dofiov, though the pronoun in 
 that case certainly seems as if it might 
 have been omitted. eXevOeplcos Idecu 
 
 might conceivably be explained like 
 ed IdeXu, but this would hardly be ne- 
 cessary, and would not agree with 
 Xa/xirpQs. But Bamb,'s iXevdepias is 
 a highly probable correction, and he 
 may be right in further substituting 
 Xafxirpbv for Xa/j.Trpu)S, 6pt.fxa 5iai for 
 S/j-fxaai. In that case 0tXiws might 
 be changed into (piXias. H. L. 
 Ahrens' Xap^irpov . , , 0dos for Xa/xirpQis 
 . , , (piXiois is not unlikely (comp, v. 
 863, irOp Kal (pQs ct' iXevdepLa 8aio)p). 
 duo(p€pds, MSS, Svo<p€pa.s, Herm,, 
 who inserts e/c before it ; but dpocpepds 
 KuXviTTpas may be called a local gen. 
 Whether the Schol. read 8po(p€pds is 
 not clear, as his explanation of the 
 words, Tov <tk6tovs, need only mean 
 that he understood 'the gloomy veil' in 
 question to be ' the gloomy veil of 
 darkness.' 
 
 812 — 3, ^vXXd^oL like crvXXrjirrujp, 
 Ag. 1508. If e7ri0o/>c6raTos is correct, 
 it must be pronounced, as Paley sug- 
 gests, as if TT had preceded 0, like 
 67r0ts, II. 12, 208, ^eircpvpLr), Od. 8. 
 119, ircTTcpaOa-KUV, II. to, 478, 502 
 (comp. (paioxiTuves, v. 1049), ^^^ 
 constructed either closely with ^vX- 
 Xd^oi, or possibly with irpd^Lv ovpLav, 
 as Kl, suggests, as its object (see on 
 V. 23). But Emper's ^Tret (popibraros 
 is very plausible, especially if combined 
 with H, L. Ahrens' ovpc€2 (or, as it 
 might be suggested, ovpielu or ovpiaai), 
 so as to give to irpd^Lv the govern- 
 ment it could hardly get from ^vXXajSnc 
 or diXcjv. (popos, as well as eiricpopos, 
 is used of an epithet of wind (Lat, 
 vent us f evens), so that either would 
 
XOHO^OPOI. 
 
 123 
 
 irpu^LV ovplav QeKwv. 
 TToXXct <^' aWa (pavei Xpi'-X>^^ 
 KpvTTT^' acTKOirov e7ro<s \iy(iiv 
 vvKTa irpo T ojULjULaToov cTKOTov (pepei, 
 KaO' rjixepav ^' ov^ev efxcpaveG-repog. 
 Kal TOT^ tjo)] irXovTOV 
 
 815 
 
 agree with ovplav, and with the 
 Schol. cjj iirl aveixov elirev. 
 
 815. Here again there are metrical 
 difficulties, which some have endea- 
 voured to remove by omitting the 
 pre-sent line, others by altering it, and 
 supposing a lacuna in the strophe. 
 The sense, however, is intelligible 
 and unobjectionable. ' Many other 
 things Hermes will reveal at his 
 pleasure ; but when he chooses to 
 speak mysteries, he is impenetrable 
 day and night alike,' i.e., Hermes, 
 though known as the revealer, is also 
 the concealer ; the former he may be 
 at other times, the latter he shall be 
 now, xnt^"} li^^ deXojv (from a 
 gloss on which word in the preceding 
 line it might possibly have come, if 
 there were any object in getting rid of 
 it), may mean either 'if he will,' or 
 'graciously' (see on v. 340), but the 
 senteqce, as just explained, almost re- 
 quires the former. Well, and Words- 
 worth understand it of giving an 
 oracular response, as in Eur. Jlel. 
 515, TJKovcra Tttj deaTTLCfdoO Kopds B. 
 XPV^ova' icpavT] (in which sense, an 
 extremely rare one, it seems to be 
 written without the t subscript) ; but 
 this, though otherwise plausible, 
 would oblige us to refer the sentence 
 to Apollo, contrary to the natural 
 tenour of the language, where there is 
 nothing to show that vv. 812-814 are 
 parenthetical. Hermes, who is the 
 revealer, 'Ep/JL-rjuevs, is also t!,e God of 
 craft and secresy. The Schol. gives 
 a philosophical explanation, which 
 
 may possibly have been present to 
 the mind of ^sch. dStdcr/coTros ecrrtv 6 
 \6yos, TOvrecTTiv 6 'Ep^f^s. He is the 
 God of speech, and therefore can be 
 plain or obscure at will. And so the 
 parallelism of v. 726 seems to show 
 that daKoirov ^ttos denotes, as Kl. and 
 Bamb. explain it, tales like those 
 with which Orestes has been deceiving 
 Clytfemnestra, Hermes being regarded 
 as their inspirer and speaker, and the 
 power that works belief in them. 
 acTKOTra is used with KpvirTa. t cttt], 
 Soph. Phil, nil, though there it 
 may have the force of dirpoaKOTra, 
 while here it seems to mean merely 
 'obscure,' like acTKOiroL TrXct/ces, Soph. 
 (Ed. C. 1682. vvKTa is not, like 
 (TKOTov, the obj. of 0epet, but adver- 
 bial, perhaps with reference to /card 
 in the next line. With Kad' rj/xepav, 
 which is less common than /xed' 
 ■rjfxipav, Paley comp. Eur. El. 603, 
 vvxi-os 7) Kad' Tjixepav. 
 
 819 — 826, As before, the metre of 
 this passage, which is now generally 
 supposed to correspond to v. 831- 
 837, is more embarrassed than the 
 sense, tot TJdr}, Blomf.'s correction 
 of Tore 5?7,is probably right. ttXovtou 
 has been variously altered into an 
 epithet of i'6/xoi' {ttoXlv, Blomf., kXvtov, 
 Bamb., 5nr\ovv, Emper, irXdvov, H. 
 L. Ahrens, while Enger proposes 
 Kol TOT , el Stj TTor' odv), but as 
 it stands it would agree well in 
 its ordinary sense with 8io/xdTiov 
 XvTTjpiov (the Chorus promising 
 that the wealth of the house shall 
 
124 
 
 XOH$OPOI. 
 
 ScojULOLTWi/ Xvrrjpiov, 
 
 OrjXvv ovpiocTTaTav 
 
 ofxov KpeKTOv yoarcov vojulop ixeQ^jaofxev 
 
 iroXei TCL^^ ev' 
 
 ejULov ejuLov KepSog ae^erai toSc 
 
 ara o' airoarTarel (plXoov. 
 
 (TV oe OapcTwVf orav i]K)j juLepog epycDv, 
 
 820 
 
 825 
 
 be lavished in offerings for its de- 
 liverance), if only a verb could be 
 found for it, so as to separate it from 
 BrfKvv ovpLoa-Tdrav, wliicli are clearly 
 epithets of vbfxov. ttXovtou might 
 conceivably be itself in apposition 
 with v6/jLov, expressing the abundance 
 of song {ttXovtov eifiaTOS, Ag. 1383, 
 7as ttXoCtos, Theb. 950), with which 
 the Chorus was to enrich the gods 
 (Ai'St/s (XTevayficiis Kul ydoLs irXovrl^eTai, 
 Soph. (Ed. T. 30); but in a context 
 like the present this would be far less 
 likely. ovpLocrTarav vojxov {comp. 
 avTLoaTarelv of the wind, Soph. Phil. 
 640) doubtless expresses the rush of 
 triumphant song borne upwards to 
 the Gods (not unlike Tennyson's 
 'full-sailed verse '), with probably an 
 additional notion of prosperous for- 
 tune. There is also doubtless a refe- 
 rence, as in the passages mentioned 
 on V. 114, to the stage position of the 
 Chorus. But for the metre, there 
 would be no sufficient reason to sus- 
 pect bfiov, as used of choral singing. 
 KpeKTov, too, seems right, occurring pos- 
 sibly in Soph. '05. Mat;', fr. 424, quoted 
 by Hesych. s. v. dpeKTos, for which it 
 is a various reading. It might apply 
 equally to the avXbs (KpcKeiv avXbv, 
 Aristoph. Birds, 683) and to the 
 Ktddpa, the former of which, accord- 
 ing to Miiller, Hum. §18, was chiefly 
 used in wild emotion, either of joy or 
 grief. yoarQv (MSS. yorjTwv), which 
 
 the Schol. took from yotjj, seems to 
 imply that this triumphal strain is to 
 be of the nature of a wail, either over 
 Agamemnon, in compensation for his 
 unlamented burial, oi-, more probably, 
 over ^gisthus and Clj'tsemnestra. 
 Comp. V. 385. So in Od. 3. 309, 
 Orestes gives a funeral feast to the 
 Argives in honour of the murderers. 
 fMedrjao/jiev seems the right word, ex- 
 pressing the full flow of long-checked 
 emotion. The words IloXet — tpiKwu 
 may very possibly, as Blomf. thinks, 
 be the words of the supposed song. 
 At any rate, they yield a sufficiently 
 good sense, the Chorus speaking of the 
 gain to the state, to themselves, and 
 to their friends, Orestes and Electra. 
 With TToXei rctS' e5, comp. Soph. Qi!d. 
 T. 879, TO KaXQs exov TroXec TrdXatcr/xa. 
 ae^erai is doubtless passive, ' my gain 
 is increased here,' or Mn this.' ' With 
 ara 8' diroaraTeL (plXwv, comp. Ag. 
 1 103, dX/ca 5' e/cds d-rrodTaTeL. 
 
 827 — 830. From this point to the 
 end of the Chorus, we have a series of 
 participles without any finite verb. 
 It is scarcely credible that jEsch. 
 could have so wi-itten, in spite of such 
 passages as those referred to on vv. 
 64 1 -644, even if the state of the metre 
 did not discredit the text as it stands. 
 But the words, as before, are intelli- 
 gible, and generally not suspicious in 
 themselves. fxepos epyuv, as we 
 should say, the post of action, is vir- 
 
XOH^OPOL 
 
 125 
 
 €7rav(Tag irarpog epjfpf Opoovcra 
 irpog ere, Tckvov, TLarpog avSdvy 
 Ka] irepalvcov eTriimojucpov arav^ 
 Tleporecog r' iv (ppecrlv 
 KapSlav cryeOwv, 
 Toig 0' VTTO ■^(Oovog (piXoig, 
 Toh T avooQev Trpoirpacrcrcov 
 yapLTog opyag \virpa<Si evSoOep 
 
 830 
 
 835 
 
 tually equivalent to Kacpbs ^pycjv 
 {^pyojv aKfMrj, Soph. EL ■22). Comp. 
 pe/haps, Soph. Tr. 149, "KajSyj . . . 
 (ppovTL^ujv fxepos, ' receive cares as her 
 portion.' irarpos ^pycf, ' thy fathers 
 business,' an expression not altogether 
 unlike rod Trarpos toiVs alriovs, v. 273, 
 may perhaps be doubtful on external 
 grounds, 'ipywv occurring so soon 
 before and irarpos so soon after, but 
 is by no means improbable intrinsi- 
 cally. It appears to depend on the 
 preposition in eiravaas, while dpoodaq. 
 depends on the verbal part of it. 
 reKvov is supposed to be said by Cly- 
 taemnestra — the one word which con- 
 stitutes the strength of her appeal. 
 It is actually repeated by her five 
 times in the scene between her and 
 Orestes, as Wordsworth remarks. 
 He also comp. Eur. El. 12 15, ^oav 5' 
 ^XaaKe rdude vpos yivvv ep-av Tideccra 
 Xe'ipo.s, TcKOs ep.ov, Xirabct). Tlarpos 
 av8dv, the name or word of Father, 
 which Orestes is to shout so as to 
 drown his mother's cries of Son. No 
 instance of this sense of av5rj is given, 
 but it may be inferred from the 
 analogy of avddco, which has the sense 
 of calling by name. eirLp.op.cpoi' 
 {iirL/iiop,(f}av, MSS.) drav is the cala- 
 mity of a new murder done by a son 
 on a mother, which, though in one 
 view praiseworthy, in another is full 
 of reproach. 
 
 831. Uepaew re MSS. Uepa^us 
 t", Schiitz. (ppeaaiu, MSS. (ppeaiv, 
 Aid. Perseus had a stout heart 
 when he killed the Gorgon, and so 
 Orestes is called upon to steel his, 
 after the example of one who, as 
 Wordsworth remarks, was his country- 
 man, Mycenae being called TrdXiap-a 
 Ilepaeus, Eur. Iph. A. 1475. There 
 seems no reference, as the Schol. 
 supposes, to Perseus averting his 
 eyes while striking the blow. We 
 may contrast Shaksp. Hamlet, Act 
 3, Sc. 2, 'O, heart, lose not thy 
 nature ; let not ever The soul of Nero 
 enter this firm bosom.' crxe^wi' is 
 now written for ax^Owv, the existence of 
 a verb ax^Bw having been exploded by 
 Elmsley on Eur. Med. 995, Herac. 272. 
 
 834 — 5. TTpoirpdaaujp is &7ra^ Xeyd- 
 fievov, but is not in itself suspicious, 
 as the force of the compound may be 
 that the action is done on behalf of 
 others. To construct it with xdpcTos, 
 according to a suggestion of Blomf. 's, 
 with the sense that Orestes is to 
 prefer anger to kindness, seems less 
 likely, xdptros dpyds {opyds, MSS.), 
 however, yields no very satisfactory 
 sense, and Schiitz's alteration, x<^pi-Td^ 
 dpyds, though intelligible, ' the good 
 offices of vengeance' (hardly, as Paley 
 thinks, ' the gratifying of the spirit of 
 revenge, ' as thefriends above and below 
 are evidently the per.^ons gratified), 
 
126 
 
 XOH$OPOI. 
 
 (poiviav arav TiOeig, 
 
 TOP aiTioP S^ e^airoWv^ jj-opov, 
 
 Ainseos. 
 
 ?/cft) fxev ovK aKXrjTog, aX\' VTrayyeXo^' 
 
 veav (pcLTiv Se TrevOo/ULai Xeyeiv Ttvag 
 
 ^ivovg fidXovTag ovSajuLw^ ecpljuepov, 
 
 fjLopov S^ 'O^eVrou. Kal toS' aV (pepeiv 0011x019 
 
 yevoiT^ av ayOo<s aljULaTocrTayeg (povw 
 
 T(p irpocrOev kXKalvovTi koi ^eSrjyfxevw. 
 
 840 
 
 seems hardly worth adoption where 
 there is so Uttle to guide us to the 
 real requirements of the text. So 
 Blomfield's \vypds for Xvirpas need 
 not be admitted until the metre is 
 better ascertained. 
 
 836. drav is supposed to be unme- 
 trical, but none of the words proposed 
 carry conviction. The sense appa- 
 rently is, 'planting within a bloody 
 calamity,' i.e., doing a deed of death 
 in the house, though in another view 
 the Chorus would rather hope that 
 the genius of bloodshed would be ex- 
 pelled from the house by this new 
 deed, as in vv. 803 foil. 
 
 837. If TOP aiTLov is right, it would 
 seem necessary to change ixbpov into 
 fibpov with Turn, and most editors. 
 Franz, however, very ingeniously 
 reads Thv ainbv (comp. v. 274, rpbirov 
 Tov avTbv avTairoKTeivai), though he 
 has to insert Up" in order to satisfy his 
 notions of the metre. 
 
 838 — 847. ^gisthus is probably 
 represented by the TrpwTaycovLaTrjs. 
 He enters the stage probably by the 
 passage to the right of the spectators, 
 as if coming from the city, which 
 would account, as Kl. remarks, for 
 the mention of his XoxtTai, v. 768. 
 ^gisihm. ' I have been summoned 
 
 by the news that Orestes is dead. If 
 true, it would be another drop in the 
 family cup of sorrow ; but is it more 
 than a woman's tale ? What do you 
 say?' 
 
 838. virdyyeXos seems not to be 
 found elsewhere : but it evidently 
 has the sense of vtt' dyy^Xuv kXtjOcIs, 
 Soph. Aj. 289, quoted by Abresch, 
 who also comp. Track. 391, e/xQv vir' 
 dyyiXcov . . . iropeveTai. 
 
 841 — 843. fxopov'Opeo-Tov, which is 
 really the subject, is here introduced 
 by 5^ as if it were an additional pre- 
 dicate. The principle seems the same 
 as that of the epexegetical use of re 
 in such passages as Ag. 15 2 5, ^/nov 
 ^pvos . . . TTjp iroXuKXavrdv t' 'Icpiye- 
 veiav, Supp. 60, ras Trjpetas . . . 
 dXoxov, KipKTjXdrov t dridopos. dfi- 
 0epeii', MSS. dv 4)€p€Lv. Tm-n. (pepeiv 
 seems clearly required by (Sx^os. 
 * This would be a burden for the 
 house to bear.' -^gisthus is not 
 thinking of the odium likely to accrue 
 to himself, but moralizing, in Clytsem- 
 nestra's tone, on the tragedies of the 
 family. The question between deifia- 
 Toarayes, the MSS. reading, and 
 Stanley's alfiaToarayh is more diffi- 
 cult. The former might stand if 
 &X^os alone were concerned, as the 
 
XOH<l>OPOI. 
 
 127 
 
 TTW? tout' aXrjOrj koi pXeirovTa dot^aar(t) ', 
 t] TTpo^ yvvaiKihv SeijULarovimcvoi \6yoi 
 'TreSdpcrioi OpwcTKOvcTLf Ovi^a-KovTe^ /uLarrjv ; 
 TL TcouS^ aV e'lTTOig wcrre StjXcJocrai (ppevt', 
 
 845 
 
 image of sweating terror under a 
 burden is far from unnatural : but 
 the words that follow, where the 
 notion of murder is not only intro- 
 duced but developed and dwelt on, 
 make the latter more likely, while the 
 vicinity of detfj-aToi/fxevoi. sufficiently 
 accounts for the corruption. There 
 is, however, a harshness in aifMaro- 
 arayes, which, in fact amounts to a 
 change of metaphor : -^sch. wishes 
 to specify in what the burden con- 
 sists, and chooses an epithet which, 
 as it were, compels him to follow a 
 different train of illustration, (povu) 
 cannot be taken with aifj-aToaTayis, 
 as it must agree with the words that 
 follow, which, though they might 
 refer to ^gisthus if Soyitots had not 
 preceded, cannot, without disturbing 
 the thought, be turned into a second 
 d;itive similarly constructed. Schiitz, 
 then, must be right in understanding 
 <pou(^, 'in addition to,' or 'coming 
 upon the murder, 'as in Supp. 443, 
 Kai xpiJ/WacrtJ' fiiv . . . yhotr cLu aWa, 
 well compared by Wordsworth, wlio 
 remarks that this use of the dative is 
 extremely rare except in repetitions 
 of the same word (such as Soph. (Ed. 
 T. 175, Eur. Phcen. 1496), which is in 
 fact virtually the case here, SeS?/- 
 y/xeuu} is taken actively by Schiitz 
 and Herm. : but see on v. 807. The 
 murder is said to be bitten, because 
 its effects are compared to those of a 
 bite where the wound festers. 
 
 844. Herm., followed by Peile and 
 Paley, points this line ttws ravr, 
 d\r]dTj k.t\., but this seems needless. 
 The sense is * How am I to think that 
 
 this is true?' (comp. v. 187, ttws yap 
 eX-rricru} 'ActtQu tip' dWov T7}<rd€ Se- 
 atro^eiv <p6^T]s ;) and ij follows in the 
 next line, because the two questions, 
 though not expressed in strictly 
 parallel language, really contain the 
 two alternatives of the truth or false- 
 hood of the story. pX^TTOvra, 'living,' 
 as dvri(TKovTes shows. The permanence 
 of truth is contrasted with the short life 
 of falsehood. See Ag. 479 foil., 620. 
 
 845 — 6. dcLfjiaro^ifievoc, like dedrj- 
 yfievii) just above, may be an instance 
 of the usage referred to on v. 807, 
 though it is possible that the story 
 itself may be said to be terrified, as a 
 strong way of expressing that it is the 
 product of terror. In any case, it seems 
 to be constructed with irpbs ywaiKuiv. 
 The sentimentandexpressionare paral- 
 lel to Ag. 486, raxvfiopov yvvaLKoyrjpv- 
 Tov 6\\vTaL kXcos, and the words rreddp- 
 aLOL dpwaKovaL seem to be suggested by 
 some such image as that of a blaze, like 
 that of the beacons, mounting up high, 
 but soon extinguished. The words 
 dpr](TKQVTes pdTT]v are appropriated by 
 Soph. El. 63, and applied in a totally 
 different sense to the subject of the 
 rumour itself, the pretended death of 
 Orestes. It is not likely that he 
 should have misunderstood them, as 
 he elsewhere (see on v. 578) borrows 
 the words of ^sch. without their 
 meaning : but neither is it surprising 
 that Portus should have conjectured 
 dv-qaKovTos here, though the contrast 
 of fiXeTTOPTa clearly shows him to have 
 been in error. 
 
 847. ' Which of these matters can 
 you make clear to me V is equivalent 
 
128 
 
 XOH(|)OPOL 
 
 XO. ^KOvcrajULev jxev, irvvQavov de twv ^epcov 
 e'lcrco TrapeXOwv. ovSev ayyeXcov crOevo^, 
 (jos •j'auTO? avTOV avSpa 'TrevOecrOai ire pi. 
 
 AI. iSetv eXey^ai r' av deXco tov ayyeXop,^ 
 eiT avTog ^v Qp^G-KOVTog eyyvOev irapoov, 
 efV e^ OLjULavpa^ kX^joovo^ Xeyei fxadoov, 
 ovTOi (ppeva KXey^eiav a)/XyaaTCe)/xeV>?j/. 
 
 850 
 
 to saying, ' Can you tell me anything 
 certain about the matter V 
 
 848—850. Cho. ' Your safer course 
 is to ask yourself on the spot. ' 
 
 850. The MSS. reading cannot 
 stand, as though avros might con- 
 ceivably be defended, irevdecrdai riva, 
 in the sense of questioning a person, 
 seems an unheard-of expression. 
 dv5pa, too, must refer not to the mes- 
 senger, but to the master of the 
 house, who is contrasted with the 
 dyyeXoi, not the messengers who 
 bring the news, but third parties, 
 such as the Chorus, through whom it 
 might be transmitted. There is a 
 bitter irony in this speech of the 
 Chorus, who have heard Orestes' re- 
 quest to be confronted with a man 
 accepted by Clyttemnestra, and also 
 ^gisthus' scornful allusion just made 
 to tales spread by women, and ac- 
 cordingly now bid him remember his 
 superiority and sift the matter for 
 himself, knowing well v/hat the con- 
 sequences will be. At the same time 
 we may recollect that ^gisthus has 
 just suffered unknowingly from his 
 neo-lect of the maxim, trusting to the 
 report of a messenger who has con- 
 trived to give the story a turn (v. 
 773), so that he falls as it were under 
 both edges of the proverb. avrbv 
 avToJp, however, which most of 
 the editors adopt, after Schxitz and 
 Porson, is no real improvement. 
 
 as TTcpl avTwv, ' about the facts them- 
 selves,' would be very weak, and 
 irdpa, Herm.'s correction, admitted 
 by Paley, apparently proceeds on the 
 erroneous notion that the dyyeXoL are 
 the ^euoi who have brought the news. 
 The simplest change would be to read 
 avToa, which would go naturally with 
 irevdecrdai. as a pregnant expression, 
 ' to go to the spot and enquire.' irepi, 
 then, would be taken, with Peile, 
 whose view of the sense is perhaps 
 more nearly right than that of any 
 other commentator, as an adverb, or a 
 preposition without a case, as it 
 clearly must be in Ag. 1359, tov 
 dpCovTos ea-TL Kal to ISovXevaac irepi. 
 ovdev — ws is rightly comp. by Blomf. 
 with ovdev olov eaT' aKovaai. tQv eiruiv, 
 Aristoph. Birds, 966, ovdev olov to 
 avTov epcoTcLv, Plato, Gorg. p. 447 c. 
 
 851 — 854. uEg. 'Yes, I will see 
 whether the messenger be an eye- 
 witness or no : I am not to be 
 cheated.' 
 
 854. (ppeva KKi-ipeLav is questionable 
 on two grounds — the lengthening of 
 a before kK, and the use of the opt. 
 without dv to express contingency. 
 The first is vindicated byScholef. from 
 Eur. Ale. 542, alaxpov irapd K\aiovai 
 doivaadai (piXois : the latter may per- 
 haps support itself by Ag. 552, to. 
 fiev ris eS Xe^eiev, ih. 1375, Trjfiovrjv 
 dpKva-TaTov (ppd^eiev, both of which, 
 however, have been emended with 
 
XOH^OPOL 
 
 129 
 
 XO. Zei* Zeu, t/ Xe-yo) ; iroBev ap^cofxai ; 
 tolS^ 67r€uvojULei/i] KCiTTiOea^ovcr^ 
 
 i^uj/ 'ycto jULeXXovcri [j.iavde'ia'aL 
 irelpaL Koiravuov avopoodiKTijov 
 
 o'lKcov oXeQpov oia Tvavrog, 
 
 855 
 
 860 
 
 great probability. Elmsley's correction 
 here, 0peV av KKeipei-ev, is likely enough, 
 removing both anomalies at the ex- 
 pense of no real change, though in 
 any case it would perhaps be better 
 with Paley to retain Kke-^eLav, whicJi 
 will throw the sentence into a more 
 general form. thfj^fxaTUfMiuriv, Supp. 
 467. Comp. Euiii. T04, (f)pr]v 6fjL/xa- 
 (TLv Xa/jLTrpvperai, With (ppeua /cXe- 
 ■J/€Lav, Wordsworth comp. Hes. Theog. 
 613, ws ovK 'iaTL Aios K\e\f/aL vbov. 
 — Exit ^gisthus (by the principal 
 door) . 
 
 855—868. Ch. 'How to pray with 
 most effect ? On this very moment 
 hangs the fortune of Agamemnon's 
 house. Orestes is one against two. 
 May he triumph !' 
 
 856. KCLTTLdod^ova-a, MSS. KaiTL- 
 dod^ova' Turn. Kd7nded^ova\ Schlitz, 
 Blomf., which is clearly right, what- 
 ever might be said for the old reading 
 in default of another. jxaprvpo- 
 p-evoiv Kal iwLdea^ovTCov /xt] KaTdyeiv, 
 Thuc. 8. 53. e-KLded'^eC deovs eiriKa- 
 \elTaL. Hesych. The word has been 
 also restored to Eur. Med. 1409, rd^e 
 Kal dprjvQ} KdTn.dod^(jtj MapTvpo/J-evos 
 daifjiovas. 
 
 858. The Chorus asks, as is usual, 
 what they are to say first, and what 
 last, Eur. £1. 907, riv' dpxw T^pCord 
 a' e^eiiroj KaKQv; Hoias reXevrds ; rtVa 
 /jLeaov rd^oj \6yov ; Comp. Eur. Iph. 
 
 A. 1124. So Milton, P. L. i. 376, 
 ' Say, Muse, their names then known, 
 who first, who last.' ttcDs taov elirova- ' 
 duvacofjiaL, then, will mean, ' in what 
 words am I to close, having said what 
 is right ?' (with icrov Paley comp. Ag. 
 786), TTws probably referring to 'iaov 
 elTTOva' no less than to dvvacojj.ai, which 
 seems to be also the case with i^tt^ 
 5' evvolas. The time is most critical, 
 and the Chorus is anxious to know 
 how best to employ it in prayer, thus 
 obeying Orestes' injunction, Xeyeiy to. 
 Kalpca, as they had before done in 
 speaking to the nurse and to ^gisthus 
 respectively. 
 
 860. Treipai at aK/mai tGiv ^L(pCiv, 
 irapd TO ireipeLv, Schol., seemingly 
 a7ra| \eybjj.evov. W^ordsworth re- 
 marks that irelpeiv is very rare in 
 Attic, But this assumption of a new 
 word is extremely hazardous, and 
 Pauw's rrelpai gives a very good 
 sense (fuauBelcraL, of course, being 
 really an epithet of Koirdviov), as the 
 case was emphatically one of trial. 
 Comp. v. 513, 'ipdoLS dv ij5r] dai/xopos 
 ireLpdj/xevos. KOirdvwv, jn the sense of 
 Koiridwv, seems also to be peculiar to 
 this passage. dpdpoddl'KTOs is found 
 also, ^sch. Myrm. fr. 128. 
 
 862. 5td iravTos, as we should say, 
 throughout, Prom. 283. Here, as in 
 Eur, Ale. 888, Jph. T. 11 17, it seems 
 to refer to time. With the whole '^ 
 K 
 
130 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 t] TTVp Kai (pcog ctt' eXevOepia 
 SalooVi o.p-)(ag re TroXKTorovojuLOVs 
 €^€i, Trarepcov fxeyav oX^ov. 
 TOiavSe TToXtjv /movog wv €(peSpo9 
 Si(T<T0i9 jULeWei Oeiog ^Opecrrjg 
 ay^eiv. eirj c ein VLKrj. 
 
 A I. ee, OTOTOTOi. 
 
 XO. ea ea imaXa' 
 
 TTCo? e^et ; TTwg KCKpavrat oojuLOig ; 
 airocTTaOooiuLev irpayixarog reXov/uLevov, 
 OTTO)? ooKcojULev Toopo avaLTiai KaKcov 
 etvar fJ-a-^^m yap Srj KeKvpcorai reXog. 
 
 OI. o'ljUiOL TravoifJLOi SecrTroTov reXovjuLcvov, 
 
 865 
 
 870 
 
 875 
 
 line, comp. v. 934, 6(p6a\fji.bu o^kwv 
 /JL7] Travuikedpov irecreiv. 
 
 863, irup Kal (pQs seem to refer to 
 the sacrificial festivities which would 
 take place in the event of Orestes' 
 victory (v. 819), and which had appa- 
 rently, according to ^sch., been 
 intermitted during the reign of the 
 usurpers. See, on v. 629. For eXev- 
 Oepia, see V. 1046. 
 
 S64. re is apparently used as else- 
 where {Ag. 99, and perhaps Supp. 
 481) to express the close connection 
 of the action of the verb with that de- 
 noted by the participle. 
 
 866. roiavde is explained by what 
 follows, fjiovos &v '4(pehpos, ' so critical 
 is the struggle, of one against two,' re- 
 ferring to the agony of anxiety which 
 the Chorus has just been exhibiting. 
 [jLovos ihv ^^edpos is rightly taken by 
 Scholefield, ' having no ^(pe8pos,' or, 
 as we should say, being his own 
 ^(peSpos. So Soph. Phil. 691, IV 
 avTos 9}u Trpocrovpos, ' where he was his 
 own neighbour/ or had no neighbour, 
 and perhaps Track. 1233 (comp. ib. 260), 
 ■^7 IXOL p.r]Tpi p.kv davetv fxovTj Meratrtos 
 
 *sole partner,' or having no partner. 
 Tliey were two, so that one could take 
 up the combat when the other fell, but 
 he was single handed. dia<To?s, from 
 its position, seems to be constructed 
 with ^(pedpos. 
 
 867. deiots, MSS. BeTos, Turn. 
 
 868. axpeiv has special reference to 
 TToKrjp, closing in wrestling (comp. v. 
 498), though we may compare the 
 vaguer metaphor of iJ'dxw ^vvaTrreiv. 
 eirl vLkti, see on v. 478. 
 
 869. ^gisthus is heard within. 
 870 — 874. Cho. ' "What has been 
 
 the issue ? Let us stand apart and 
 appear unconcerned, for the crisis has 
 come.' 
 
 87 T. dd/xoL^, for the house, the 
 future of which was at stake. 
 
 875 — 884. A servant comes out of 
 a side door. — ' Alas ! my master 
 u^gisthus is dead. Open the women's 
 door at once — as for help it is too late. 
 Ho there ! are all deaf within ? 
 Where is Clytsemnestra ? She is on 
 the brink of death. ' 
 
 875. TTCtV OlflOl, MSS. VaVOLfjLOt, 
 
 Porson. * Simile compositum non 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 131 
 
 OLIJ.OI /uiaX^ avOig ev TpiToig irpoarcpOeyjULacriv. 
 A^'lyicrOog ovkct^ €(ttlv. ctW avol^are 
 oTToog ra-^ia-ra, koi yvvaiKciov^ TrvXag 
 juiO')(\oh X^^^'''^' '^^^ /xaX* rj/ScovTO^ Se Sei, 
 ov-^ wg S' apri^aL SiaTreTrpayiULevu)' tl yap ; 
 
 880 
 
 memini vidisse,' Blomf, TeXov/xepov 
 may be liable to a slight suspicion as 
 having occurred so shortly before 
 (though such recurrences are not 
 infrequent in this play, e.g. ^x°^) 
 vv. 238, 9, ra ■irpb<j(f>opa, vv. 711, 
 714, ad\li>3 warpl, vv. 978, 981 
 (if the reading is right), fidpov, vv, 
 988, 9), but in itself it is perfectly de- 
 fensible, the use of the word in the 
 sense of putting to death being esta- 
 blished by Pind. 0. 6. 15, eVra 5' 
 ^Treira irvpav veKpGiv reKeadevruv, the 
 present by Kaivetv, v. 886. 
 
 877. avol^are, without an object, 
 as in Soph. Aj. 344, avrip (ppovelv ^olkcv 
 dXX avolyere. 
 
 878. 'yvvaLKelovs TTf^Xaj is explained 
 by Herm. of the gates of the palace, 
 the servant having just come from the 
 ^ei'wj'es. But there is an evident dis- 
 tinction between yvvonKeiovs and 
 epKeiovs Tr^Xas (vv. 561, 571), and as 
 the former is the door of the court- 
 yard, the latter must be the door of 
 the yvvaLK(jov?TLs, which Blomf. can 
 hardly be wrong in supposing to have 
 been the side door through which the 
 second actor entered, however diffi- 
 cult it may be to reconcile this position 
 with what we know of ordinary Greek 
 houses. This door, as usual, is 
 fastened from the inside, and the ser- 
 vant calls on those within to open it, 
 adding that a man of active power is 
 required, i.e., that it must be opened 
 ■without the loss of a moment. fjioxXoh 
 %a\are will then mean to open by 
 means of the bars, i.e., by withdraw- 
 
 ing the bars — a form of expression 
 not unlike those by which in Soph. 
 Aj. 674, and Virg. E. 2. 76, G. 4. 
 484, A. I. 66, 5. 763, the waves are 
 said to be lulled by the wind, i.e., 
 by the wind's abating. To under- 
 stand fiox\ois x«^S'''f) with Lidd. and 
 Scott, s. V, yUoxXos, of forcing open by 
 crowbars, as if the servant were 
 calling to the Chorus or some one else 
 outside the gate, would be somewhat 
 more suitable to fxaX' tj^uivtos, which 
 would rather prepare us to expect an 
 exertion of actual force, as in Od. ■23. 
 187, where the same words are used ; 
 but the more violent measure is hardly 
 likely to have been demanded be- 
 fore the less violent had been tried, 
 the words of v. 881 (which, however, 
 may apply merely to the exclamation 
 lov lov) imply that he has been speak- 
 ing to those within, and the word 
 fioxXos used in connection with a gate, 
 without further explanation, naturally 
 indicates the bar for fiistening, (X 
 very obscure passage, which might 
 advantageously be considered in con- 
 nection with this, is Eur. Iph. T. 99, 
 XaXKorevKTU KXrjdpa Xvcavres fioxXois.) 
 yvvaLKetos is here of two terminations, 
 like epK€Los, v. 561. We need not 
 raise the question of the combination 
 of Kal — 5^, as 5e is here the connect- 
 ing particle, and /cat closely connected 
 with jxdX' T]^u>vToi, like ovSe in the 
 passage from Homer. 
 
 SSo. 8cair€Trpayfx^piov, MSS. Sia- 
 TreTTpayp.ei'Ci}, Turn., Schol. who inter- 
 prets T(f a<pa'y€VTt. 01% ws 5', which 
 K 2 
 
132 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 ^ y •) t 
 lOV lOU. 
 
 Kcodtoi^ auTO) Ka). KaOeuSovcriv iixaTrjv 
 OLKpavra (Ba^o). irol J^Xvrai/ULi'ijarTpa ', tl Spa ; 
 €0iK6 vvv avTri9 eiri^rivov TreXag 
 av^]V Trea-elcrOai Trpog SUr]}/ TreTrXtjy/uLevo?, 
 KA. r/ S' ecTTl -^priixa \ rlva jSorjv 'l(TTr]^ SojULoig ', 885 
 
 Porson changed into ovx wcr', seems 
 right, as it is equivalent, as Paley re- 
 marks, to ovx ^o-Te 5', and there is 
 some force in the added particle. 
 Wordsworth ingeniously conj. 01;% (is 
 5' dprj^ec, following an early sugges- 
 tion of Harm, oi'x obs 5' dprj^ai. ri 
 •yap ; like 'quid enim V is used where 
 a person prej^ares himself to argue a 
 case, as in Eur. Or. 482, t'l yap ; (piXov 
 fjLOL warpos icmv 'iyKovos. Hence it 
 seems to be used where the speaker is 
 ready to rebut an objection, though 
 no argument follows, as here and in 
 Ag. 1 1 39, ov^ev ttot' el fir] ^vvdavov- 
 fievrjv. tL yap ; 
 
 881. Finding no attention paid to 
 his demand by those within the gate, 
 he calls out louder, as if resolved to 
 make himself heard. No answer is 
 returned, and he exclaims that they 
 are deaf or asleep. Peile rightly 
 connects /idTrjv with Kadevdovaiv, 
 comparing Eum. 94, eildoir' av, (h-rj, 
 Kal KaOeudovaQv ri del ; So nearly 
 Wordsworth, ' ita obdormiverunt ut 
 nullus eorum usus sit,' comparing Eur. 
 Hipp. 916, w 7r6XX* d[xapTdvQVT€$ 
 dvdpwiroi. p.dTr]v. So also voa-u>v fidTT]v, 
 Soph. Aj. 635, TL [xdr-qv oix vyiaiveis, 
 Aristoph. Peace, 95. 
 
 882. dKpavra, Ag. 248, Pind. 0. 
 2. 87. TTOi, above, v. 405. 
 
 883. eirl ^vpov, MSS. (^vp6u, G.) 
 eTTL^rjuov, Abresch. If eTrt ^vpou be 
 right, we must suppose ^sch. to 
 have taken the proverbial expression 
 iirl ^vpov dKfXTJs 'iaTaaOai, j3aivei.u, &c., 
 
 spoken of persons walking on a 
 narrow edge, and combined with it 
 the notion of the edge on which Cly- 
 taemnestra's neck was to fall, as Soph. 
 Aj. 786, has ^vpel yap iu XPV tovto 
 fxr] x^^P^*-" "^i-vd. Even then, how- 
 ever, Tre'Xas would not be clear, being 
 explicable either of proximity in time, 
 of proximity to ^gisthus, or of proxi- 
 mity to the razor's edge. On the 
 other hand, Abresch's conjecture, on 
 which AVordsworth seems also to have 
 fallen, is easy and natural, and agrees 
 with Ag. 12'JJ, where Cassandra, who 
 is to die much as ClytEemnestra dies, 
 anticipates the block. 
 
 884. irpbs diKT], Med. Trpbs diKrjv, 
 Guelf., Rob. Henn. reads BLktjs, but 
 diKTjv is supported by wpos rjdovrjv, 
 TTpbs ^iav, irpbs dvdyKrju, &c. The 
 servant is evidently in the interest of 
 ^gisthus : but even he admits that 
 the act is just, as being one of retri- 
 bution. 
 
 885—892. Clyt. 'What is the 
 matter?' Serv. 'The dead are killing 
 the living.' Clyt. *Ah! I understand 
 the riddle : give me my axe and I 
 will try my chance yet : it is the next 
 step.' 
 
 885. Clytsemnestra opens the side- 
 door from within, and comes out. 
 ^07?;' laravaL occurs Eur. Ijih. T. 
 1307, Heracl. 656. Here, as Paley 
 remarks, as in Ag. 1349, /3o^ is a cry 
 for help. 
 
 886. This line and the next are 
 imitated by Soph. £1. i^'j'j. 
 
XOH^OPOL 
 
 133 
 
 OI. TOP Twi/ra Kalveiv roug reOptjKorag Xeyoj. 
 KA. ol ^yco. ^upjjKa Tovirog e^ alpiyjuLarcou. 
 
 S6\oi<? oXov/uLeO^ w(Tirep ovv eKreLvajmeu. 
 
 Solr] TL<; avSpoKjULyjra ireXeKW cog rd^^og* 
 
 eiScoiuev t] viKCOjuev, t] viKw/ueOa. 
 
 evTavQa yup ^h tovo cKpLKOfjLrjv KaKou. 
 
 890 
 
 yap aldddvei wdXai ZcDjras davovcnv 
 ovveK dvTavdds icra ; A. oi'/tot, ^vprJKa 
 roviros. \6ycj), the reading of Turn, 
 and Vett., is supported by the Schol., 
 and paralleled by Soph. EL 59, 63, 
 but Xe7aj is far preferable ; the other 
 reading, as Schiitz remarks, having 
 nothing enigmatical about it. Xc'7w 
 has perhaps somethhig of impatience 
 in it, as in Ag. 279. 
 
 887. otiyu}, MSS. o2 '70?, Canter, 
 here as in vv. 893, 928. In all three 
 passages it appears to be an expres- 
 sion called out by the shock of a new 
 thought of sorrow. e'f alvLyfidruip 
 seems to be by means of riddles, 
 those being the medium of compre- 
 hension. In Ag. 1 1 12 it has the same 
 meaning, though not the same diffi- 
 culty to an English reader, as we more 
 naturally speak of a riddle as the 
 source of perplexity than of under- 
 standing. 
 
 888. wcrirep olv, v. 96. For the 
 general sense of the line, comp. vv. 
 ^74. 556. 
 
 889. doirj rts seems equivalent to 
 56to} tls, as Xi^ot ris, Ag. 945 (comp. 
 by Peile,) evidently is to Xuerco tls. 
 There is great plausibility in the sug- 
 gestion of Abresch that Clyt. asks not 
 merely for an axe, but for the axe 
 with which she slew Agamemnon. 
 She feels herself (v. 891) once more 
 driven to appear in the character of a 
 murderess, and it would heighten the 
 effect to suppose that the very weapon 
 which she had used then, and then 
 
 only, is now to be taken up again. 
 So in Eur. £1. 279, Eh being asked 
 whether she would assist in killing 
 her mother, replies TavT(^ ye TreXe'/cei 
 ry iraTTjp dTrwXero, The preservation 
 of the weapon is as natural as that of 
 the robe, vv. 981 foil, below. If we 
 could be sure that ^sch., like Soph. 
 (El. 99) and Eur. {Eec. 1279, EL 
 160, 279, 1 160), represented the axe 
 as the weapon with which Agamem- 
 non was slain, the question might be 
 considered as decided. But he does 
 not say so positively, talking merely of 
 d/x<pLT6/j.ov jSeXe/uLvov {Ag. 1496). The 
 mention of yEgisthus' sword, v. lOil 
 below (comp. Ag. 1528), need only 
 show that ^gisthus took part in the 
 murder, as Eur. mentions ^l<pecnv 
 d/x(pLT6p,OLs {EL 164) and d^vOrjKTOj 
 /Se'Xet {ib. 1159) in connection with 
 the axe. Here, as elsewhere, the 
 difficulty is to know how far the 
 tragic poets followed a received tra- 
 dition, and how far they may have 
 simply copied from or even misunder- 
 stood one another. 
 
 890. For 7] see on v. 756. 
 
 89 1 . The best comment on this line 
 is Clyt?emnestra's speech, Ag. 1654 
 foil. She does not mean merely that 
 she is unfortunate enough to have her 
 life threatened, but that her cruel 
 destiny, which had already driven her 
 to bloodshed, now impels her to de- 
 fend herself by force, and so to at- 
 tack her son as she had attacked his 
 father. 
 
134 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 OP. ere Kal juarevo)' rcfSe S' apKOvPTcog eyei. 
 KA. oi yu). TeOvrjKa^, (piXTar' Alyla-Oov ^la, 
 OP. (piXeig Tov avSpa \ TOiyap ev ravrcp Td(p(p 
 
 Keicrei. Oavovra S^ ovri jiitj TrpoSwg ttotL 895 
 
 KA. eiriory^eg, cb irai, Tovoe o' aioecrai, tckvov, 
 
 juacTToVf Trpog w crv iroWa Srj PpiXcov ajULa 
 
 ovXoiTLv et^ijjULeX^ag evTpacbeg yaXa. 
 OP. TlvXdSr], Ti Spd<T(ji) ; fxrirep'' alSea-Oco KTavelv ; 
 
 HYAAAHS. 
 
 irov or] TO, Xoiird A^o^lov jULavrev juara 9^^ 
 
 892 — 905. Or, 'You I have to do 
 with now. I have done with him.' 
 Clyt. Alas ! so my loved ^gisthus is 
 dead.' Or. 'Die, then, with him 
 you love.' Clyt. 'Hold, my child ; 
 spare the breast which suckled you.' 
 Or. ' Pylades, ought I to spare V 
 Pylades. ' No, if you would not make 
 Apollo your enemy.' Or. 'Right: 
 come with me, and I will kill you on 
 the body of him whom you preferred 
 to my father. ' 
 
 892. Orestes comes out of the 
 epKeioi injXac. — ae Kal yttarei^w. It 
 seems doubtful whether these words 
 are to be rendered ' I am even 
 looking for you ' (* not only is your 
 coming not unseasonable, but,' &c.), 
 or explained by the trajection of Kai, 
 a principle which has been maintained 
 in other passages, such as From. 5r, 
 and which apparently is not wholly to 
 be rejected, though in most of the 
 instances adduced there is something 
 in the part of the sentence to which 
 Kai is removed to show that the tra- 
 jection is not purely arbitrary (e.g. 
 in Prom. I. c. ^yvcoKa rdlade K0v8eu 
 K.T.X. probably stands for ^ypcoKU 
 Tdde Kal rotcrSe k. t. X.). See, however, 
 Klotz. Devar. 2 pp. 639 foil. 
 
 893. (f>i\TaT Aiyiadov ^ia, because 
 the person spoken of is a man, like 
 0iXe TeKvov, Od. 7. 157, Ko\\LKO(pdye 
 BoLwridiop, Aristoph. Ach. 880. So 
 Porson on Eur. Hec. 297 remarks 
 that the idiomatic expression was ^irj 
 'HpaKXeirj oairep. The use of the 
 masculine form to include the feminine, 
 like 6\ou>Taio$ dSfirj, Od. 4. 442, 
 diropwrepos \ri\pLs, Thuc. 5. 110, 
 though very rare, should also be taken 
 into account. 
 
 895. Keiari, MSS. /ceiVet, Porson. 
 
 896. drjaerai, MSS. 5' a'ldeaat, 
 Sophianus ap. Rob. For the sense of 
 this and the following lines, Stanley 
 comp. II. 22. 80, where Hecuba bares 
 her breast and conjures Hector by it 
 not to risk his life. 
 
 897. ibyjvoruKv, MSS. (^ crv, Rob. 
 dfMa with part, as in Ag. 1626. 
 
 898. For evrpa^es the MSS. of 
 Tzetzes, Exegesis of II. p. 62. 13, 
 id. Cliil. 12. 808, gwe €vrp€<pe$, 
 which Herm. would restore both here 
 and in Theb. 309, where it is read by 
 Med. and others, tliough he admits 
 the uncertainty of the point. 
 
 900. Pylades, who is a koj^ov 
 irpbawirov in the Electras of Soph, 
 and Eur., is enabled to speak here by 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 135 
 
 7^1 7rvuo-)^py](TTa, Tricrra o evopKco/uLara , 
 awavTag e-)(Opovg tcov Oecou rjyov irKeov. 
 
 OP. Kplvco ere vlkclv, Kal irapaiveig julol kuXco^. 
 CTTov, irpog avTOV Tovoe ere crcbac^aL OeXco' 
 Kal Tcoj/ra yap vlv Kpelcra-ov' rjyrjcrot) 7rarp6<i' 
 TOVTO) Oavoucra ^vyKaOevS''' e-Trel (piXel'^ 
 Tov avopa tovtov, ov o e'^p^W (piXecu crTvyeig. 
 
 KA. eydo cr^ eOpey^a, vvv Se y^^pdvai OiXco, 
 
 905 
 
 the withdrawal of the servant after 
 his speech, vv. 875-884, the same per- 
 former in fact, as the Schol. remarks, 
 representing both. A difficulty stiU 
 remains about his entrance, as we 
 should have expected him as rpLraycj- 
 PLarrjs to appear by the side-gate, 
 while as Py lades he would naturally 
 come in, as he went out, with Orestes. 
 TTOu dai, the reading of Med., seems 
 rightly retained by KL, Herm., and 
 Paley, as there can be no reason for 
 excluding from ^sch. a form found 
 more than once in Eur. — rd XoiTrct, 
 because part had already been per- 
 formed by the death of yEgisthus. 
 With the form of expression Abresch 
 comp. Eur. Tro. 428, iroO 8' 'AttoWco- 
 vos X6701 ; Soph. (Ed. T. 916, w ^eujj/ 
 lxauT€v/jiaTa, 'Iv icrre ; ib. 953, crKorreL 
 Td aefjiu' 'iv rJKet rod deov juLavTev/xara. 
 901. 5' in a quasi copulative sense, 
 as in V. 713, where see note. Tlie 
 evopKuiixara, as the Schol. says, were 
 doubtless between Orestes and Py- 
 lades, who had bound themselves to 
 avenge Agamemnon's death, as Cly- 
 t^mnestra and ^gisthus had bound 
 themselves to do the murder together 
 and to share each other's fate, vv. 
 977 foil., which Kl. comp. The 
 breach of their oaths would of course 
 be visited by the gods who were in- 
 voked to sanction them, as the neglect 
 of the oracular injunctions would be 
 
 by Apollo ; and hence in the next line 
 Or. is told to esteem all mankhid 
 his enemies rather than the gods. 
 
 904. TTpbs avTov acpd^ai is prob. to 
 be explained ' to take you to him and 
 kill you there ;' but it might also be 
 accounted for by supposing that 
 (T(pd^ai itself is intended to convey 
 the notion of motion, to cut the throat 
 so that the blood should fall on ^gis- 
 thus' body. 
 
 905. Kp^aaov', MSS. Kpetaaou, 
 Turn. 
 
 906. Abresch comp. Eur. L'l. 1144, 
 vvficpevaeL be kclv Al5ou 06/xots Qlirep 
 ^vvrjvdes iv (pdei. 
 
 908 — 930. Clyt. 'I nursed you: 
 let me live to be old.' Or. 'What, 
 live with me, after murdering my 
 father?' Clyt. 'That was Fate's 
 doing.' Or. 'And so is this.' Clyt. 
 'Has a mother's curse no fears for 
 you?' Or. 'Not a mothers who 
 cast off her child.' Clyt. 'Cast off! 
 I sent you to friends.' Or. ' It was 
 selling a freeborn child into slavery.' 
 Clyt. ' Why, what price did I get for 
 you?' Or. 'That I should be 
 ashamed to remind you of.' Clyt. 
 ' Nay, name your father's faults too.' 
 Or. 'The wife may not blame the 
 husband.' Clyt. 'The husband's ab- 
 sence is the wife's trial.' Or. 'But 
 the husband's absence brings the wife 
 bread.' Clyt. ' So you will kill your 
 
13(3 
 
 XOHc^OPOI. 
 
 OP. 
 KA. 
 OP. 
 KA. 
 OP. 
 KA. 
 OP. 
 KA. 
 
 iraTpoKTOvovcra 
 
 yap ^i 
 
 vpoiKijcreig 6/ULoc 
 
 M 
 
 oipa TOVTCOVf CO TCKVov, irapaiTia. 
 
 910 
 
 Ka\ TOvSe Tolvvv Mor^o' eiropcrvvev jULOpov. 
 ovSev (Te^it^eL yeveOXiovg apdgf tIkvov ; 
 T€Kovcra yap /ul^ eppi\^ag e? to SucTTvy^eg. 
 ovTOL (T^ aireppLyY ^S" oojULOvg oopvt^evovg. 
 Of^ft)? 67rpaOr]v Sv eXevOepov TraTpog. 
 irov orjO' 6 TijULog ovtlv^ avreSe^djULtjv ; 
 
 9^5 
 
 mother.' Or. * It is you that will 
 kill yourself.' Cli/t. 'Beware of a 
 mother's Furies,' Or. ' If I spare you, 
 a father's will be on me.' Clyt. * I 
 am singing my own dirge in the ears 
 of my grave.' Or. 'My father's 
 doom fixes yours.' Clyt. 'Ah! I see: 
 this was the serpent in my dream.' 
 Or. 'Yes, the dream was too true. 
 An unnatural murder brings an un- 
 natural punishment.' 
 
 908. The sense is rightly explained 
 by Kl., ' As I nursed your childhood, 
 now I wish to be tended by you in 
 my old age.' She only asks to grow 
 old, life being her first wish ; but she 
 relies on the natural claim of a parent 
 on a child for maintenance. Or. 
 understands this, and asks whether 
 the murderess of his father can be fit 
 to live with him. Thus there is no 
 occasion to read avv 5e with Auratus, 
 if indeed it is not absolutely inap- 
 plicable, as no instance has been 
 quoted where avyyrjpdaKCt} is used of 
 a person growing aged in company 
 with another who cannot be said to be 
 growing aged himself, his time of life 
 not being the same. 
 
 909 TrarpoKTOPovaa is to be noted, 
 not meaning, as might be expected 
 from the word, 'having killed your 
 father,' but 'having killed mine.' 
 There is no difficulty about the tense, 
 as iraTpoKToveLv is to be a irarpoKTovos. 
 
 910. irapalrLos, ^sch. Danaides, 
 fr. 43. 7. Clyt. does not now venture 
 to throw the whole blame on Fate, 
 but merely alleges that it was acces- 
 sor>^ 
 
 912. yevedXiovs apds are the curses 
 of a mother, as atfia yeveOXiov, Eur. 
 Or. 89. For the identity of the 'Apd 
 with the 'EpLvvs see Miiller, § 77. 
 Paley appositely refers to Ag. -236, to 
 show that the imprecations of a dying 
 person had peculiar power, ae^i^y 
 MSS. ae^i^eL, Person. 
 
 914. ovK ecTTLV diropplxpai to dopv^e- 
 voLs eKdovvai irpbs dvaTpo(pr)v. Schol. 
 So Strophius, Ag. 880, is called 
 €VfxevT]s dopv^evos. 
 
 915. The meaning apparently is, 
 that Orestes' condition had been ana- 
 logous to that of one who is torn from 
 his home and sold as a slave, and 
 this though he was not, as Soph., 
 (Ed. T. 1062, expresses it, Tphrjs 
 fiTjTpbs rpidovXos, but the son of a free 
 man. So in the parallel passage, vv. 
 133 foil., Electra speaks of herself and 
 her brother as in a manner {ircos) sold 
 into slavery, the one as being treated 
 with indignity at home, the other as 
 being an outcast from his property. 
 Clyt. seemingly wishes to repel the 
 charge by pointing out that the me- 
 taphor halts, when she is met by an 
 unexpected retort. Sixws is difficult 
 to explain, as it could not well mean 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 137 
 
 OP. aia-^vi/ojULal crov tovt'' opeioicrai (Ta<i>w<i. 
 
 ivA. fjLaW^ e'ld)^ ojuLOicog Ka). iraTOO^ tov crov ixaTa^. 
 
 OP. fj}] 'Xe'y^e tov 'kovovvt ecrco KaOtjimevr]. 
 
 KA. aXyog yvvait^lv ajvopo? e'lpyecrOai, tckvov. Q)20 
 
 OP. Tpe(p€L oe y' avopo^ julo'^Oo'^ i][JLeva<s ecrw. 
 
 * away from my home, ' though dixa 
 might, while Schiitz's explanation of 
 the double sale, the removal of himself 
 from home, and the appropriation of 
 his father's property, is not very na- 
 tural, (The conjectures that have 
 been proposed, atVxyows (Heath), 
 dolKcos or otft:cDs (Bothe), would rather 
 enfeeble the passage.) 
 
 917. (TOV seems rightly defended by 
 Wordsworth, who comp. tovt6 fiov 
 diajSaWeL Dem. p. 234, rbv reLXi-criJiov 
 TovTov bv (TV fxov 8i€(Tvp€s, ^'6. p. 325, 
 and the similar uses of eiraLvdv, dya- 
 aduL, Oavj-id'^eLv. In some of these 
 instances, as here, it is not clear 
 whether the genitive belongs more to 
 the verb or to the accusative. In the 
 present case the position of the words 
 is rather in favour of the former, but 
 there seems no reason to doubt the 
 admissibility of the latter construction, 
 though it is questioned by Paley. 
 
 918. fiT] dW MSS. iidW Dind., 
 whom see on Aristoph. Frogs 103, 
 Birds 109. The phrase occurs re- 
 peatedly in Aristoph., generally in a 
 negative answer to a question, and 
 apparently answers to our ' nay, 
 but.' Photius p. 244, I, as amended 
 by Dobree, has fxdWa' dvrl tov ovk 
 dWd. Here Herm. omits fii^. sup- 
 posing it to have been introduced 
 from the opening of the next line ; 
 but this seems hardly ground enough. 
 udras, of criminal passion, like 
 fxdraLos, Suj^p. 229, 
 
 919. For the sense of ttoz/oujt' see 
 note on v. 138, where some of the 
 
 passages referred to will also illustrate 
 the correlative, ^crw Kadr^fievrf, the de- 
 scription of the woman. Hence the 
 sting of the reproach in Pers. 755, 
 TOV 8' dvavbplas VTro"l^v8ou aix/J-d^eiv 
 (see on v. 630), and again in Soph. 
 M. 1241, where Electra declares that 
 she is not afraid of irepKrabv a%^os hSov 
 yvvaiKQv dv dei, and is reminded that 
 so far from her mother's being a mere 
 useless load of stay-at-home woman- 
 kind, she has shown that even a 
 woman can fight, kup yvuai^iv ws 
 "AprjS 'ive(TTLV (comp. Msch. Siipp. 
 749, Ag. 78). With this line and v. 
 921 Peile and Wordsworth well comp. 
 Shakspere, Taming of the Shrew, Act 
 5. Sc. 2, — 'Thy husband Is thy lord, 
 thy life, thy keeper. Thy head, thy 
 sovereign ; one that cares for thee, 
 And for thy maintenance commits his 
 body To painful labour both by sea 
 and land, While thou liest warm at 
 home, secure and safe.' 
 
 920. Clyt. in effect replies that the 
 very thing which is supposed to place 
 her husband beyond criticism, his 
 going abi-oad to labour, constitutes her 
 justification as tearing him away from 
 her. Comp. her own words, Ag. 
 861, 2. 
 
 921. Orestes' words contain some- 
 thing of the rejiroach of Hes. Theog. 
 598 (quoted by Abresch), where 
 women are compared to drones, oi S' 
 ^vToade /xevovTes cTrrjpecpeas /card (tI/j.- 
 /3\oi/s 'AWdTpiov KdfiaTov cFcpeT^prjv 
 ei's yacTT^p' dfiCovTai. The plural Tjfxi- 
 pas may be used generally, or it may 
 
138 
 
 XOH<J>OPOI. 
 
 KA. KTCvetv €0iKag, w tgkvov, Trjv juL}]Tepa, 
 
 OP. (TV TOL (TeavTyjVi ovk e'^co, Acara/crem?. 
 
 KA. O|0a, (pvXa^aL jun^rpog eyKOTOvg Kvvag. 
 
 OP. Tag Tov warpog Se ttco? (pvyco, irapeig raSe ; 
 
 KA. eoiKa Opyivelv Xoocra irpog tvix^ov jULOLTtjv. 
 
 OP. Trarpog yap atcra TovSe o-ovpi'^ei jULopov. 
 
 925 
 
 denote the female part of the house- 
 hold, daughters and women-slaves, 
 over whom the wife presides, like An- 
 dromache, II. 6. 491, 498, and Cly- 
 tsemnestra herself, Eur. Iph. A. 731, 
 where Agamemnon bids her xwpei 
 7rpbs''Apyos vapdevovs re TrjfieXei (see 
 also V. 738). ye throws the emphasis 
 on rpecpei, de being adversative. Klotz 
 Devar. 2. p. 334. 
 
 922. While apparently resigning 
 herself to her fate, Clyt. expresses her- 
 self so as to remind Or. of the un- 
 natural act he is about to commit. 
 So KL, who comp. Eur. Or. 825, 
 BavcLTOv T dp.(f)l (pojSip Twdapls idxw^ 
 ToKaLva' TeKvov, ov roXp-as oaia 
 KTeivoov TCLV (jdv p.aT€pa. 
 
 923. Soph, apparently imitates the 
 form of expression, El. 624, av rot 
 XeyeLS vlv, ovk eyu}. 
 
 924. /fwes of Furies, v. 1054, The 
 comparison is drawn out, Euvi. 131, 2, 
 246, 7 — Hecate and the Furies were 
 represented with heads of dogs, and 
 had dogs to attend them, as Words- 
 worth remarks, referring to Theocr. 
 2. 12, 35. Eur. calls the Furies 
 KWiLircdes, Eur. Or. 254, El. 1249, 
 INIiiller, § 93, thinks that 'the long 
 pendant tongue of the Gorgoneum 
 was most likely the main type where- 
 by their resemblance to hounds was 
 expressed.' He also remarks, § 78, 
 that 'such expressions as the Erinnyes 
 of the mother (used also by Hom. II. 
 21.412, Od. II. 2 So) serve to show 
 how little the original use of the word 
 
 warrants the notion of a definite num- 
 ber of Erinnyes,' and observes that 
 * the number three can no more be es- 
 tablished on the authority of any poet 
 prior to Euripides, than the mention 
 of the well-known names, Alecto, 
 Tisiphone, and Megsera, can be found 
 in any writers prior to the Alexan- 
 drines. ' The Erinuys was in fact, as 
 we have seen, the 'Xpd, or the curse 
 endowed with personality. 
 
 925. For the sense comp. the whole 
 passage, vv. 278 foil., where, as there 
 remarked, the visitations in the case 
 of neglected vengeance are like those 
 in the case of actual murder, irapels, 
 as in V. 1032. 
 
 926. Two expressions are combined, 
 as Kl. rightly remarks, that of crying 
 to a tomb, i.e., to one who cannot or 
 will not hear, for which the Schol. 
 quotes a proverb, [ravTo] (a word 
 very plausibly inserted by Paley) irph^ 
 Tvp-^ov re KXaieiv koI irpcs dvbpa 
 vrjTTLOv, and that of singing one's own 
 dirge, which occurs also Aff. 1322, 
 a7ra| er' eiireiv pijacv rj dprjvov deXuj 
 'Ep.bu TOV avTTJs, Supp. 116, ^tDcra 
 
 76045 p.e TLp.U). 
 
 927. a' bpl^ei, MSS., aovpi^et, 
 Elmsley, who intended by it aoi opii^et. 
 Blomf. resolves it into aot ovpl^ei, 
 which would be supported by ovpiaas 
 (pdos, V. 319. But opitei seems 
 better, the sense apparently being that 
 the destiny of Agamemnon determines 
 that of Clytaemnestra, that as she 
 chose to involve her fate with his by 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 139 
 
 KA. 
 OP. 
 
 XO. 
 
 yoi. T€Kovcra Tovi 
 
 ovS'' o(piv €Ope\^ufX}]v. 
 rj Kapra jmavTig ov^ opeiparwu (p6Po<s. 
 
 cKave^ y' ov ov Xi^'^^» '^^^ '^^ A^^ XP^^^ '^^^ 
 (TTevoo fxev ovv Koi TcovSe crvixcpopav SiirXiji'. 
 eirel Se ttoWcov aijULarcov CTr^Kpicre 
 TXrjfJLwv 'OjOecTT?/?, TovO' ojuLcog alpov/LLcOa, 
 
 930 
 
 becoming his murderess, slie now is to 
 bear the appointed consequence. aoL 
 then is emphatic in opposition to 
 TTUTpos, SO that -^sch. could not have 
 written opt^et <Toi, though Eur. Lph. 
 A. 1-212, where no emphasis is in- 
 tended, has ioad"^ ofxaprelv /xol irerpas. 
 Ehnsley comp. aovTn.crdev, Aristoph. 
 T/iesm. 165. 
 
 928. Whether Clytsemnestra's ex- 
 clamation (see on v. 887) is called 
 forth by any action on the part of 
 Orestes, who immediately afterwards 
 brings the scene to a close, or by the 
 sudden thought of her dream, is not 
 clear. The emphasis of the line is 
 perhaps best brought out by Peile's 
 version, 'this is the serpent that I 
 bare and suckled.' 
 
 929. The MSS. give this line to 
 Or., the next to Clyt. Stanley, who 
 first restored the latter to its owner, 
 gave the former to Clyt. Kl., how- 
 ever, saw that both belonged to Or., 
 who finishes the aTixo/xvdia with a 
 couplet, as in Ewm. 607, Prom. 780, 
 2'hcb. 105 1, Sapp. 322. Spoken by 
 Orestes, the present line gains in- 
 finitely in force, as it must be a further 
 pang to Clyt. to find that he knows of 
 her terrible dream. With the ex- 
 pression comp. vv. 32, 3. 
 
 950. Kdpes, MSS. ^Kuves, Heath. 
 The correction seems necessary, as 
 here at least no case can be made out 
 for the omission of the augment, 7', 
 wliich Herm. omits, is not a mere 
 metrical prop, but serves to bring 
 
 out ^Kaves into prominence. — Exit 
 Orestes with Clytsemnestra by the 
 principal door. 
 
 931-934. Ch. ' While pitying the 
 dead, we give our voice for Orestes, 
 as the one hope of the house.' 
 
 931. The Chorus appears to be 
 sobered by the arrival of an event it 
 had previously desired, and now ex- 
 presses its sympathy with Orestes in 
 more qualified language, merely 
 hoping that in consideration of the 
 many bloody deeds which had des- 
 troyed the family he may be spared 
 from retributive destruction. 
 
 932. ttoWcDj' is emphatic, equally 
 with, if not more so than, iirrjKpiaeu. 
 The line of murders is a long one, and 
 Orestes has added the last link to it. 
 eTraKpi^o) apparently occurs nowhere 
 else, but e^aKpi'^oj and vire^aKpi^oj 
 occur as transitive verbs (Eur. Or. 
 275, Bacch. 677) with the general 
 sense of getting to the top, though 
 in diff'erent constructions. Here the 
 gen. may be accounted for by supposing 
 iiraKpl^etv, as used by ^sch., to be 
 parallel to icptKueTadac. So Orestes, 
 in Ag. 1283, is prophesied of ascoming 
 aras rdade dpL-yKwawv 0t\ots, where 
 the thought is the same, but not the 
 image. 
 
 933. TXrifxcou 'Op^cxTrjs, Soph. £1. 
 602, Eur. EL 850. aipovfMai, ' I 
 make my choice,' is used frequently 
 in ^sch. of choosing or closing 
 with a piece of fortune, nearly Hke 
 the Latin opto. See v. 551, and the 
 
140 
 
 XOH<J>OPOL 
 
 ocpOaXjuLov oiKOdv jULt] TTavcoXeOpov Trecreiv. 
 
 ejuioXe fjLev SUa UpiajuilSaig XP^^'^P^ ^api'SiKog 
 
 TToivd' 935 
 
 cjULoXe S' €9 SojULOV rov "'AyaiuLejuvovog 
 ciirXovg Xecov, SiirXovg "Aptjg. 
 
 passages there referred to. {ahoi- 
 fieOa, Musgrave's correction, preferred 
 by Harm, and Biomf., would only 
 make the expression less idiomatic.) 
 
 934. The lot which the Chorus 
 accepts is the rescue of the last hope 
 of the house from utter ruin. This 
 includes both an acquiescence in the 
 past, and a desire for the future, that 
 Orestes may neither be destroyed by 
 his mother's Furies, nor doomed to 
 death by the judges of blood. The 
 words 6(p6a\fibv olkcov, as Paley re- 
 marks, are parallel to Pers. 168, where 
 the language is evidently meant to be 
 oriental, but they have also a counter- 
 part in Pind. 0. 6. 16, Todeoj (XTpaTias 
 6<pda\/xbu ifids, ~Eu.r.A7Hl. 406, ets Trats 
 65'' ^v fxoL XoLTos, 6(p6a\fji6s ^lov. See 
 also on V. 2 38. Here the notion seems 
 to be that of a single eye, 'puerunicus, 
 ut Polyphemi lata acies,' the extinc- 
 tion of which would plunge the whole 
 body into darkness. 
 
 935 — 972. 'Agamemnon wrought 
 vengeance on the house of Priam : 
 murder entered his own house : but 
 Orestes recovers all. Shout for our 
 deliverance from the guilty spoilers ! 
 Vengeance comes on them in secret, 
 and Heaven's justice with her, her 
 halting steps sped by Loxias. It is 
 time to worship — the reign of tyranny 
 is over ; the house rises from its 
 downfall, its stains will soon be 
 cleansed, and fortune once more shall 
 smile upon our masters.' 
 
 In this Chorus both the thought 
 and the cast of the diction are suffi- 
 
 ciently -^schylean, nor do there 
 appear to be many corruptions of lan- 
 guage, but the metrical arrangement 
 presents much difficulty. Possibly, 
 as has been intimated on vv. 153 — 
 163, the rule of syllabic correspon- 
 dence may not be imperative in doch- 
 miacs ; but even with this allowance 
 no scheme can be proposed which 
 would agree precisely with the text 
 as it stands, and everything beyond 
 is mere conjecture, interfering as it 
 does with words otherwise above 
 suspicion. The only point that can 
 be regarded as absolutely clear, is that 
 vv. 935 — 941 answer tow. 946 — 952. 
 935 — 939. The most satisfactory 
 explanation of this passage seems to 
 be that given by Peile and Bamb., 
 who understand vv. 938, 9 of yEgis- 
 thus and Clytsemnestra. Like Cas- 
 sandra, Ag. 1286 foil., the Trojan 
 captives who form the Chorus natu- 
 rally dwell on the visitation that fell 
 on their city, and the death that 
 overtook the conqueror ; and this 
 forms an appropriate introduction to 
 their celebration of Orestes, who has 
 recovered the wealth which, aug- 
 mented by the spoils of Troy, passed 
 from the hands of Agamemnon into 
 those of his murderers. (Comp. Eur. 
 El. 313 foil., where it is made a 
 special charge against Clyt., that she 
 sits among Phrygian spoils, attended 
 by Asiatic slaves in the costume of 
 Ida, the captives of Agamemnon.) 
 This sense of 5nr\ovs Xeuv is con- 
 firmed by avficpopav dnrXrju imme- 
 
XOH^OPOL 
 
 141 
 
 eXa^e o eg to irav 6 7rvOo'\(^pi](TTag (bvyag 
 OeoOev ev (ppaoalcriv wojULrjjuievog, 
 €7roXo\vt^aT^ w oecriTOcrvviav oojulcou 
 ava(puyas kukwu Kal Kreavwv Tpi/3ag 
 
 940 
 
 dlately above, v. 931, ttjv BitXtju 
 rvpavpida below, v. 973. ^gisthus 
 is called a lion, though a dastard 
 one, i.e., a cowardly destroyer, Ag. 
 1224, Clyt. a lioness, ib. 1258. "Aprjs 
 is used of the usurpers, v. 461, while 
 in Eum. 355 "Aprjs ridaaos is domestic 
 murder. They are said to have 
 entered the house just as murder or 
 the Erinnys might be said to enter 
 the house, though elsewhere from a 
 different point of view they are de- 
 scribed in stricter language as oiKovpoi 
 of Agamemnon. From the apparent 
 imitation in Eur. Or. 1400, ^Xdov es 
 dofxovs . . . XeovTcs "EXXai/es 8vo dcdv- 
 /Aw, it is probable that Eur., like the 
 Schol. and most of the editors, under- 
 stood the words of Orestes and Py- 
 lades ; but there is no reason for re- 
 garding his authority as final on a 
 question like this, which is not one of 
 Greek usage or Greek feeling, any 
 more than Aristoph. would seem to 
 be on the opening lines of the play ; 
 and the view, though natural in Eur., 
 who makes Pylades an actual sharer 
 in the murder, would not be appro- 
 pi'iate to ^Esch., who has lately 
 dwelt on the position of Orestes as 
 single-handed, v. 866. The interpre- 
 tation of Kl., who supposes the double 
 slaughter of Agamemnon and Clyt. to 
 be meant, would suit the general 
 sense sufficiently well, but hardly 
 ;i,grees with the particular words, 
 which would more naturally denote 
 some combined or simultaneous acts 
 of violence. x/)6j'y is supposed by 
 Paley, who takes the view of the 
 ISohol., to contain the point of the 
 
 comparison, but it would probably 
 have been placed earlier in the sen- 
 tence, if not repeated, had it been 
 meant to be emphatic. 
 
 940. Aa/ce, MSS. ^Xaxe, Schiitz. 
 ^Xaxe 5' es rb Trap is a natural ex- 
 pression for Or. receiving the vay- 
 KKrjpla. So Astyanax is addressed 
 Eur. Tro. 1192 as iraTpi^uv ov \axdiv. 
 The words, too, agree with 6 irvdo- 
 XPVO'ras (pvyds, as Or. has been 
 already described as e/c Xf>VI^<^T(^^ 
 4>€vyoov, v. 135, and Apollo in urging 
 him to vengeance seems to have re- 
 minded him of his lost inheritance, 
 vv. 274, 5. Aa/3e, which was at one 
 time supposed to be the reading of 
 Med. from the similar manner in 
 which /3 and k are there written, 
 would be less appropriate. The 
 Schol. is generally believed to have 
 read ijXaae from his gloss ^Xaaev 5^ 
 els TO TeXos rod 8p6/xov, 6 ecTiv ijvv<Te 
 Tov dyQva, but it may be questioned 
 whether he had not fallen into the 
 same error as Stanley, who, in his 
 Curce SecundcB says, ' ^Aa/ce pro 
 iXrjXaKe,' 
 
 941. deoOev, prob. with (ppa8a7aLP, 
 being nearly equivalent to 6eQu, as 
 ■Karpbdev, Ag. 1508, to irarpos. cd, 
 seemingly with wpfxr]fj.iuos, ' sped on 
 his way auspiciously.' (ppadaicTLVj 
 Bum. 245, (ppadalaf jSovXais, Hesych. 
 eiicppadaTaiv, MSS. ei5 (ppa5a?aiv, 
 Seidler, Herm. 
 
 942. iiroXoXv^drci), MSS. iwoXo- 
 Xv^ctr' S), Seidler. dopLOJU is con- 
 structed with dpa<f>vyds as well as 
 kckQu, though in a diffei-ent sense. 
 
 943. TpijSds, MSS. Tyoi^as, Stanley. 
 
142 
 
 XOH^OPOL 
 
 VTTO Svoiu juLiaa-Topoiv Svcroliuiov Tv')(a<s. 945 
 
 e/uLoXe S' M fxeXei KpuTrraSlov /xa^a? oo\i6(ppcov iroiva, 
 
 "With the sense, comp. v, 137 above, 
 Soph. El. 1290, iraTp^iav KTrjacv 
 Atytados So/jluv 'AvrXeT, to, 5' e^x", 
 TO. dk diacTirelpei. fidrriv. 
 
 945. doiolv, Med. 5vo7v, Guelf. 
 fxtaaTopoiv of Clyt. and JEg. as mur- 
 derers, as Clyt. is ailed fiiafffia below, 
 V. 1028, Ag. 1645. As adulterers, 
 they are called aicx^vTripes or Karai- 
 cX^vTTJpes, V. 990, Ag. 1363. It is 
 doubted whether Svaoifios is from 
 oT/xos in the sense of a way, as the 
 Schol. takes it, or from oTjUos or o'i/jlt} 
 in the sense of a song, which Blomf. 
 prefers. It seems slightly more 
 Greek to put dva-oi/xov rvxas in appo- 
 sition to KaKwv Kal Tpi^cis, than to 
 construct it with viro. 
 
 946. There is considerable difficulty 
 in determining the sense of these 
 words. As the text stands, it is open 
 to connect <^ with HoLvd, the masc. 
 being used because Orestes is per- 
 sonified, to refer the clause <^ — f^dxas 
 to the crafty murderers on whom 
 crafty vengeance has come, and to 
 connect iroivd with /icixas, making 
 the whole (^ — iroivd the subject of 
 ^fMoXe, ' he whose care is the crafty 
 punishment of treacherous strife,' pro- 
 bably Hermes. The second, which 
 is the view of the Schol., on the whole 
 seems liable to the fewest objections. 
 With (^ fJLeXeL KpvTrradiov fidxn-s, then, 
 we may comp. Etim. 350 (referred to 
 on vv. 935-939), and (if we suppose 
 <^ to refer specifically to ^gisthus) 
 Soph. El. 302, 6 (7VV yvvuL^i rds //.ctxas 
 TToiovfiepos, and the Homeric epithet 
 of ^gisthus, avaXKLs. The general 
 sense of retaliating craft}' murder by 
 crafty murder needs no illustration. 
 
 (Neither Auratus' 9 nor H. L. 
 Ahrens' 'Eppids for iroivd are unlikely 
 in themselves, though the latter is of 
 course infinitely the bolder of the two : 
 but the MS. reading as just explained 
 seems sound.) 
 
 948. 5^ p^dxa, MSS. S' iv /J-dxg., 
 Pauw. There can scarcely be a doubt 
 of the truth of the correction, but 
 the sense of the line has yet to be 
 cleared up. No example of dijydveiv 
 Xfp^s has been quoted in any other 
 sense than that of touching the hand 
 in friendship or in supplication, 
 whereas the context seems to require 
 the mention of some act which might 
 take place in the heat of combat. 
 Wordsworth joins /idx? X^P°^) which 
 he regards as the opposite of p-dxri 
 dopos, but he does not explain how 
 ^diye is to be understood. The words 
 of the Schol. 17 de Alos dvydrrip 7} ALkt] 
 irdpecTLV {irapeaTr) ?) eV rrj Trpos 
 MyiaOov fidxv Kal €(pri\paTO tov ^i<povs, 
 might tempt us to conjecture that he 
 read hopos, though the necessity of 
 separating words so constantly found 
 together as p-dxi] dopos would be an 
 objection to the reading. iTriTv/j.os, 
 the MSS. reading, seems at least as 
 good as Scaliger's iTr]TVfj.u}s. Trais 
 errjTv/jLOS yey dis occurs Soph. Track. 
 1064, and there is force in saying that 
 the Justice which assisted in the 
 death of ^gisthus was the true child 
 of Zeus, as the expression implies 
 that the act of retribution was strictly 
 just. So in Tlieh. 670 Eteocles says 
 that if Justice were to ally herself 
 with a man like Polynices, she would 
 belie her name. Wordsworth comp. 
 Eii^m. 534, dvaae^ias fxh vjSpis re/cos 
 
XOH<l>OPOI. 
 
 143 
 
 Afo? Kopa A.iKav oe viv 
 
 'TrpocayopevojuLev ^poTol rf^oVre? KaXwg- 
 oXiOpiov TTveovar^ ev €-)^6poig kotov 
 Tavirep 6 A^oc^iag 6 TLapvacrio^, 
 fxeyav €)(^oov jULvyov -^Oovo^ "{"ex' o-^^Oei 
 i-a^ev aSoXct)? SoXia^ 
 PXairTOfxevav ')(^povi(T6ela-av eirol-^^erai, 
 Kparelral tto)? to Oelov irapa to (xtj 
 
 951 
 
 955 
 
 wj €T}jfjLU}$, Soph. Track. 827, ry 
 Albs avToiraidi. 
 
 950. 7] Aios irapdevos Alkt], Theb. 
 662. 
 
 951. Tvxovres KaXus, when we are 
 so fortunate as to hit the right name, 
 the names by which the gods chose to 
 be addressed being a matter of im- 
 portance and sometimes of difficulty 
 to discover. Kl, refers to Ag. i6r 
 foil. ri'7xdi'0/iev irpoaayopevovTes, 
 the more usual form of expression in 
 -^sch. (see vv. 318, 418, above, &c.), 
 would not mean quite the same thing, 
 containing a positive rather than a 
 hypothetical assertion. 
 
 952. TTveovcr' ev ex^pois kotov, like 
 ^epova' ev 7][uv virvov, Ag. 1450, a 
 verb implying motion, taking after it 
 a preposition expressing rest. 
 
 955 — 957. Tairep, MSS. Tavirep, 
 Herm. XP^^^'-^ deXaav, MSS. %/50J't- 
 aOelcrav, Herm. There are, of course, 
 other corruptions in the passage, but 
 no correction has been proposed 
 which can be called indisputable, and 
 tlie uncertainty of the metre forbids 
 much speculation. Paley's Ilap- 
 vacra-ias and eiropdid^oiv (used of 
 Loxias, like e^opdid^cov, v. 271) and 
 Klausen's dSoXots doXois are plausible. 
 Whether doXias is the reading of Med. 
 as well as Guelf., is doubtful ; Franz's 
 collation differing from the rest in 
 giving SoXiav, which may also have 
 
 been read by the Schol. SoXiav would 
 suit the sense, and might be adjusted 
 to the dochmiac measure by synizesis 
 (see on v. 334), though the limits 
 within which this expedient may be 
 applied are yet undetermined. The 
 general meaning of the passage seems 
 plain, Tdvirep referring to Justice, 
 whose halting steps Apollo is said to 
 hasten. eiroLxecOaL is used II. 5. 
 720, of Pallas when harnessing her 
 horses, ih. 16. 155 (both quoted by 
 Peile), of Achilles when arming the 
 Myrmidons, not to mention its use 
 with an ace. of a thing, such as ^pyov, 
 which may have been in the mind of 
 JE^iich.., who need not have looked on 
 AUri exclusively as a person. With 
 this latter shade of meaning, comp. 
 the expression blKrjv eire^eXdelv. 
 fSXaiTTOfjievav seems to be used rather 
 than ^XajSeicrav, because the sense re- 
 quired is not so much 'disabled' as 
 'halting,' though the present par- 
 ticiple, strictly speaking, would only 
 denote that the laming was still going 
 on. 
 
 958. The vulgate appears to make 
 neither sense nor metre, but no un- 
 doubted correction has been sug- 
 gested. To render it ' Divine Power 
 is under a law not to support the 
 guilty,' would seemingly necessitate 
 the omission of wapd. If, on the 
 other hand, we read irdpa, with AVell., 
 
144 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 vTTOvpyeiv KaKoi^, 
 
 a^LOv S' ovpavovyov ap-^av <rej3eiv, 
 
 irdpa TO (pcog iSelv. 
 
 imeya S' acjyrjpeO}] -^aXiov fo'iKoop, 
 
 ava ye fxav, Sojulol' iroXvv ayav "^povov 
 
 -^ajULaLTrereig eKeLcrO' aet. 
 
 TCL-^a Se TravreXrjg yjpovo^ aixel^erai 
 
 TTpoOvpa Sw/uLaTCOv, orav a(p* ea-rlas 
 
 960 
 
 96; 
 
 "Wordsworth, and Dyer {Tentamina 
 jEschylea, p. 14), KpareiTac would 
 require alterations, as the naked 
 statement that the deity is in some 
 way restrained would have no rele- 
 vancy to the context. If only the 
 sense were considered, Kparei re ... . 
 irdpa re would be an easy change, 
 though the qualifying ttws agrees 
 better with KpaTeLTai.. But no remedy 
 can be satisfactory which does not 
 deal with the metre, and this is not 
 to be attempted by unwarranted ad- 
 ditions and omissions. 
 
 960. Hermann's a^ta 5' and Wel- 
 lauer's a^i.ov are both probable, more 
 so perhaps than the hypothesis of a 
 synizesis, which the existing text re- 
 quires. 
 
 961. re 0WS, MSS. rh <pu)s, Turn., 
 as in V. 972, where the MSS. have 
 t6. 
 
 962. fxeyav, MSS. p-^ya, Porson, 
 which was the original reading of 
 Guelf., though that would seem to 
 have no independent authority. The 
 sense of the line is sufficiently good, 
 the Chorus asserting that it has been 
 freed from the great bit which the 
 house used to wear. Stanley's 
 d(f)'ripedr], though simpler, would not 
 be a necessary correction. But a 
 cretic is wanted in the place of olkujv 
 to complete the metre. olKerCov, the 
 conjecture of Franz and Herm., is 
 
 exceedingly plausible, agreeing well 
 with vv. 75 foil., and accounting for 
 d(prip^d7]v. Yet the thought it con- 
 tains, the removal of constraint from 
 the household slaves, is scarcely so 
 great as that conveyed by the MSS. 
 reading, the liberation of the house 
 itself. p.€ya \pd\i.ov like a-rdp-iov p-eya, 
 
 ^9' 133- 
 
 963. dvayepudv, MSS. dva ye p.dv, 
 Heath. The restoration is clearly 
 right, but the force of ye p.dv (objected 
 to by Herm., who reads dvaye) is not 
 obvious. Perhaps we may say that 
 there is something of impatience in it, 
 the Chorus, as it were, cutting short 
 its own reflections. * Arise, however, 
 ye halls.' 56/iOis, MSS. 56^oi, Herm. 
 Blomf. comp. li. 18. 179, dXK dva, 
 firjd' '4ri. Kelcro. 
 
 964. xayu.at7rere?(re Kelad' MSS. 
 Xap-anrereh ^Keiad', Well. 
 
 965. It is difficult to decide be- 
 tween the active and passive senses of 
 TravTeXrjs, but the former seems more 
 forcible, 'Time, that brings all to 
 pass, wiU do this,' the omnipotence 
 of time being frequently dwelt on in 
 different relations, e.g. Eum. 286, in 
 relation to this very matter of purifi- 
 cation. So ZeO irdrep TravreXes, 
 Theb. 117. 'Time will cross the 
 threshold ' merely means ' the house 
 will see a time.' 
 
 966. dp.(p', Med. d(p', Guelf. 
 
XOU^OFOh 
 
 145 
 
 lxv(T0<5 irav eXacrr} 
 KaOapjuoig jfaTrap eXar/jpiov. 
 Tvyat ^' €V7rpo(70)7roKoiTaL TO iruv 
 tSeii/ CLKOva-ai "fOpeojuevoig 
 /xeroiKoig Sojucjov irea-ovvrat iraXiv. 
 irapa to (pcog loeii/. 
 OP. 'io€crOe "X^oopa^ Ttjv onrXtjv Tvpavvl^a 
 
 970 
 
 967. The subject of iXdcrri appears 
 to be diL/xara, as time is to cross the 
 threshold only when the purification 
 has been accomplished. Elsewhere, 
 as in Eum. I. c. time is represented as 
 himself the purifier, but the present 
 image virtually comes to the same 
 thing. With eXdarj comp. Eum. 2S3, 
 [xlaafxa . . . Kadap/xo7s rjXddy] x'^'-P^' 
 KTovoLs. Possibly eXad'y may be the 
 reading here. 
 
 968. dirap eXarripiov, the unmetrical 
 and awkwardly expressed reading of 
 the MSS., has been changed by 
 Schiitz into draj' iXaTrjpiois, Kadap- 
 IxotffLv being substituted for KaOapfxols. 
 If this emendation is right, as it pi'O- 
 bably is, we must suppose that the 
 concluding letters of eXaTrjpiois had 
 become obliterated, and were wrongly 
 supplied, as must have been the case 
 in V. 15 (note). But the occurrence 
 of iXarrjpLos immediately after eXdcr^ 
 (paralleled however by epeTixo2(nv 
 ipeaabp-evoi, Ag. 52) may perhaps 
 tempt us to hazard a conjecture that 
 the reading may have been KaOap- 
 p.o2(TLV drdv dXiTrjpicou, the gen. de- 
 pending on fjivaos. Kadap/xoh /xardv 
 oXeLTTjpiojv or dXoLT-qplwv might also 
 be suggested, if it were certain that 
 either of those forms (on which see 
 Herm. on Soph. (Ed. C. 372) had 
 any existence. 
 
 969 — 971. rvxoL S* evTrpocrcoiruiKol- 
 rai, Med., rvx^- 5' einrpoauiroKolTq,, 
 
 Herm,, rvxai 5' einrpoaojiroKolTai, 
 Scholef,, juerotKodofxcou, Med., /zeroi- 
 Kois 86jj,u}u, Schiitz. The true reading 
 so fiir is established by the parallelism 
 of vv. 783 — 7S6, where see the note. 
 dpeofiePOLs is still uncorrected, though 
 fj.aiofi^yois there makes it probable 
 that Stanley was right in suggesting 
 6' UfiepoLS. But the sense is still 
 doubtful, as it is not certain whether 
 Idelv aKoua-ai is epexegetical or depen- 
 dent on the participle preceding it, 
 nor again whether to irdv is adverbial 
 or the object of the infinitives. The 
 credit of restoring the compound 
 evTrpoaioTTOKOLTrjs is of course due to 
 Herm. With the first part of it we 
 may comp. evp-opcpov Kpdros, v. 490. 
 'ilie latter part is a metaphor from 
 dice, KecaOac being the correlative of 
 iriiTTeLv, though no other instance is 
 quoted of this particular application 
 of either substantive or verb. For a 
 similar image, comp. Ag. 32. /ul€tol- 
 Kocs are Orestes and Electra, the new 
 inhabitants or settlers in the palace. 
 In a different sense in Soph. El. 189 
 Electra complains of herself, dW 
 direpei tis ^ttoikos dua^la otKOfo/xCj 
 daXdfxovs Trarpos. 
 
 973—1006. Or. 'See, here are the 
 usurpers and murderers united in 
 death as in life. See, too, here is the 
 robe by means of which they slew my 
 father. Spread it out to the Sun, 
 that he may see it also, and attest the 
 
146 
 
 XOH$OPOI. 
 
 iraTpoKTovovg re Sco/marcov TropO^ropag. 
 ore/uivo). jUiev ^](Tav ev Opovoig toO' rjiMevoi, 
 (blXoL re Kal vvv, w? eireiKacrai iraOi] 
 irapea-TLV, opKog r' efxjuipei TTKrrciofxao-L. 
 ^vvijo/uLocrav julcv Oavarov aOXiw Trarpl 
 Kal ^vvOaveicrOar Ka\ rao^ evopKcog e-^ei. 
 
 loecr 
 
 Oe S' 
 
 aure, tcouo ewrjKOOL KaKcov, 
 
 975 
 
 980 
 
 justice of my vengeance on my mother 
 (for I need not clear myself about 
 j3i]gisthus' death) : but she, the mur- 
 dei'ess of her husband, was ever mon- 
 ster more noxious ? Net or winding- 
 sheet, it is an implement for a robber. 
 Rather than wed such a partner, let 
 me die childless.' 
 
 973. Orestes is at first triumphant, 
 as he points to the bodies. Then, as 
 he turns to the robe in which his 
 father was slain, he begins to feel that 
 he must stand on his defence for what 
 he has done. The bodies are doubt- 
 less disclosed as that of Agamemnon 
 is in the preceding play, whether by 
 the eKKVK\r]/xa or by the opening of 
 the gates. (Paley urges that the 
 bodies need not have been shown, but 
 the exhibition adds much to the force 
 of the speech, as it must have done to 
 the scenic effect.) 
 
 974. iraTpoKTdvovs. See on v. 909. 
 dw/xdroiv TTopdrjTopas is doubtless 
 general, like Xv/xavrripLOv o'lkwv, v. 
 764, including both the murder and 
 the wasting of substance. 
 
 975. fiev is followed by re, as in 
 Theh. 924, 5 (comp. by Paley), a 
 transition, as Herm. there remarks, 
 from the disjunctive to the conjunctive 
 form of expression. With the line 
 generally, Paley comp. Hdt. 2. 173, <rk 
 yap XPW ^^ Opovcp ae/xvc^ aefMvbv 6o)K€- 
 Q-jTO. hC 7]fxepT]s Trpr]a(T€Lv to, 7rpriy/.iara. 
 
 976. irddr] after iireiKdcrai, express- 
 
 ing the object of the guess : see v. 14. 
 The words seem to mean, ' as one may 
 read their fate by conjecture,' i.e. 
 conjecture that their fate is that of 
 those who loved each other, not, as 
 Kl, explains, and Lidd. and Scott 
 appear to think, ' as one may compare 
 their fates.' In other words, eTret- 
 /cct^w has its ordinary sense of likening 
 a thing, or saying what it is like, 
 which is equivalent to guessing. 
 
 977. As men are said to abide by 
 an oath, i/ji/xeveiu opKip, the oath is 
 said here to abide by its pledges. 
 
 978. deXiws, MSS., ddXiq}, Portus. 
 The former might be defended (see on 
 V. 434), but not against the latter, 
 which V. 981 seems to make quite 
 certain. The occurrence of evopKCJS 
 in the same position in the next verse 
 sufficiently accounts for the error. 
 
 979, 'To die together,' i.e. in the 
 event of failure, as Kl. explains it. 
 This, Or. says, has come to pass. The 
 expression is rather awkward: ^vvu- 
 lioaav ddvaTov, however, sufficiently 
 implies that the death was to be in- 
 flicted jointly, while it was necessary 
 to express that the death which they 
 bound themselves to meet, if need 
 were, was a common one. rdb ' refers 
 to the whole subject of the ^wwixoaia, 
 Kal answering to fx^v, for which see 
 Jelf, § 766. 
 
 980, i-rrrjKoos here and in Ag. 1420 
 seems to have a semi-judicial sense. 
 
XOH<I>OPOI. 
 
 147 
 
 TO ixy^yavrifjiai SecrjULOi/ aOXiw irarpl, 
 
 'TreSag re -^eipoiv Ka\ ttoSolv ^vvoopiSa, 
 
 eKTelvar^ avTov kol kvkXm TrapacrraSov 
 
 (Triyaa-rpov avSpog Sel^aO', wg 'iSrj irartjp, 
 
 ov-^ ovjULog, aW 6 iravT^ eTroirrevoov rdSe 
 
 ''H\fo?, avayva /uLrjrpog epya rrjg ejurj^, 
 
 ft)? av Traprj ij.ol fxaprvg ev SiKt] Trore, 
 
 ft)? TovS'' iyo) /merijXOov evSiKwg juopov 
 
 Tov fxtjrpog' AiylcrOov yap ov yjreyoo /ixopop' 
 
 e-^ei yap ai(T)(yvTyjpog, cog i/ojulou, SiKtjp' 
 
 985 
 
 990 
 
 'taking cognizance of.' rcDfSe kukwv 
 then would mean the whole tragedy, 
 including both Agamemnon's death 
 and those of his murderers. 
 
 981. /xTjxctJ'Tj/xa, Ag. 1127, where it 
 probably denotes the same robe. 
 
 982. ireoas, v. 493. ^vvoopis is 
 generally used of the things which 
 constitute a couple, here of the thing 
 which couples, Paley refers to v. 
 1000, iroSicTT'Tjpas TreirXov^.. 
 
 983. avTou doubtless refers to 5e- 
 crfMov, though Auratus' avrd would be 
 an extremely easy change. eKTelvar is 
 probably addressed to his attendants, 
 as Herm. explains it, not to the 
 Chorus. 
 
 984. (TTeyaarpov, elsewhere, as in 
 fr, inc. 357, a covering, seems 
 here equivalent to areyavdv diKTvov, 
 Ag. 358, (TTeyaarpov avdpos, like dvopbs 
 a (pay eHoVfih. 1092, dv8p6s 0])^. to drjpos. 
 
 985. 'H^Xtos OS TOLVT icpopa /cat 
 TrdvT^ ewaKOvei, II. 3. 277. 
 
 986. &vayva ^pya is constructed 
 with I'Stj, not with eTroirTe^icav. The 
 Sun is to see Clytsemnestra's handi- 
 work, that he may be able to give 
 evidence in her case. 
 
 987. It is doubtful whether -^sch. 
 here follows the later belief, identify- 
 ing the Sun with Apollo, the god who 
 
 actually appears in the trial, Eum. 
 576. But whatever may be the un- 
 likelihood that ^sch. would thus 
 mention a god whom he does not 
 afterwards introduce, it is no less ob- 
 servable that Apollo's evidence there 
 is of a very different character from 
 that which the Sun is desired here 
 to give. iv diKri, Ag. 1615, * on 
 my trial,' which he anticipates as 
 likely to happen one day. 
 
 988. For ixerrikdov ixopov, see on v. 
 474- 
 
 989. \f/eyo}, the MSS. reading, 
 seems more forcible than Turnebus' 
 \eyo}, though the latter was appa- 
 rently read by the Schol. It is a little 
 surprising that Herm. , who in Soph . El. 
 1 42 3 follows Erfurdt in changing X^7eti' 
 into xpeyeiv, so as to produce a parallel 
 to this passage, should read Xe7w here. 
 In Siqyp. 484, ixrjb' diroppifpOfj \6yos 
 'Eixov, we should perhaps read -ipbyos, 
 which would agree well with (piXaiTios 
 in the next line. 
 
 990. cos vofMOv is not 'as is the law,' 
 but ' as if it were the sentence of law, ' 
 killing an adulterer not being regarded 
 as murder by Athenian law (Lysias 
 de ccedc Eratosth. 30, referred to by 
 Kl.), as it was only an anticipation of 
 the legal punishment. Thus we see 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 XOH<|)OPOL 
 
 ijrig S' eTr' avSp). tout' ejULrjcraTO arrvyog, 
 
 €^ OV T€KVO)V Vl^e-y^^' VTTO ^wvtjv /Sdpo^f 
 (piXov Teo)?, vvv ^' e-^OpoVf cog (paivei, kukov^ 
 Ti (TOL 6oK€i ; fJLupaiva y eiT e-^iov emu 
 crt]7r€Lv Oiyovcra /uloXXov ov SeSi^y/mevov 
 ToXimrjg cKari kclkSikov (ppovij/maTO's ; 
 TL VLV TTpocreLTro}, Kuv Tv-)(W fjLoX' ev(TTOiJ.odv ; 
 
 995 
 
 the force of the gen., the elliptical 
 use of which is common in comparisons, 
 &<nrep I'x^i^w, Ag. 1382, &(Tt' 'A/xd- 
 ^ovos, Eum. 628, (Tov ^d^is, ws deov 
 TLvos, Soph. Aj. 998, where, as here, 
 the two genitives stand in different 
 relations to the substantive, alax^- 
 vecv and its cognates are technically 
 used of seduction, Ag. 1363, 1626. 
 
 991. Comp. V. 626, fXTjTLdas . . . 
 iir dvdpi. 
 
 992. 'Of whom she conceived 
 children.' Comip. £um. 607, vCosyap 
 a'' i6p€\l/€v evrbs, & /xLaicpove, Zwj't/s ; 
 €K aov, MSS., a remnant, as Franz 
 remarks, of the writing of the poet's 
 time, when double letters were not in 
 use. e|ov, Rob. T^i'ex?;, Med. rjueyK'. 
 Turn. 
 
 993. TO ^dpos cpiXov Trpd)7]v, Schol. 
 (pabeL seems to be impersonal, as dr]\o7 
 is occasionally used, ' as things show.' 
 
 994. 5. -^V, MSS. eiV. Herm. 
 diyovcrau dXXov, MSS. dcyovcra fjidWov, 
 Blomf. Both corrections seem ne- 
 cessary, and with them the passage 
 becomes plain. Or. asks, was there 
 ever conger or viper more formed by 
 nature than his mother to poison by 
 the mere touch without biting ? ye is 
 unusual in questions, but there, as 
 elsewhere, it seems to bring out the 
 word to which it is attached into 
 greater prominence. The p-vpaiva, 
 lamprey, or as Peile thinks, conger, 
 is joined with the viper by Aristoph. 
 Frogs 473, 'ixf-^vd 6' eKaroyKccpaXos, 
 
 fj rd arrXdyxvo- <tov Aiaawapd^et, 
 TvevfiSvuv t' dvdd\peTaL Taprrjaia 
 fivpaiva. One account w^as that the 
 union of the fxvpaLva with the viper 
 produced a species of fiipaLva, the bite 
 of which was deadly (Athenjeus 7, 
 p. 312. c, referred to by Blomf.). 
 Wordsworth comp. Arist. irepl davfia- 
 aicov dKovafxdTwv, eh. 151, p. 845, 
 Bekk., ev Qea-adXia <f>a(Tl tov iepbv 
 Koko^ixevov '6(pLv irdvTas diroWijeLv oii 
 [xbvov edv 5dKr] dXXd /cat idv diyrj, sup- 
 posing ^sch. to have heard of this 
 snake, and to have thought of it here. 
 He quotes also Lucan, 9. 725. 'Ante 
 venena nocens. ... in vacua regnat 
 basiliscus arena.' Cassandra speaks 
 similarly of Clytsemnestra, Ag. 1233. 
 
 996. KavdiKOv, MSS. KadiKOv, 
 Turn. KaKdiKov, H. L. Ahrens, w'hich 
 is perhaps better, as slightly nearer. 
 The line, though referring in con- 
 struction to the fxijpaiva and ^^iSi^a, 
 really points to Clyt., expressing ' the 
 qualities in her which form the ground 
 of the comparison. 
 
 997. For Kciv Tvx^ Person read 
 KoX Ti^xw, understanding eiKXToixdv of 
 speaking aptly ; but the word is evi- 
 dently equivalent to €V(p7}fi€lv, as Kl. 
 interprets it. Or. wishes to find a 
 name for his mother, without saying 
 anything that ought not to be said. 
 VLV is Clyt., as is evident from w^hat 
 goes before. He proceeds to identify 
 her with the net, the instrument of 
 her crime, enlarging on its villanous 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 149 
 
 aypev/ma Otjpo'^, 'i veKpov irooevovrov 
 ^polrr]^ KaracTKrjvwiJ.a ; Slktvov /mev ovv, 
 apKvv ^' av e'lTTOig Kal 7roSiG-T)]pa<s ireTrXovg. 
 TOiovTOV av KTit]<jaiTO (piX^rrjg avrjp 
 
 1000 
 
 uses, as if he had nothing else in his 
 mind, till in v. 1005 he at last returns 
 to her. This identification is doubtless 
 a symptom of the frenzy which is be- 
 ginning to work on him, at the same 
 time that it has its own imaginative 
 truth. Precisely the same identifi- 
 cation is made by Cassandra, Ag. 1 1 14, 
 foil, e ^, TrairoLTrairai, ri rode (paiperat; 
 ^H blKTVov ri 7' Mdov; 'AW dpKvs 
 7/ ^6j/€vvos, 7] ^vpairia ^ovov. Thus it 
 would be worse than useless to follow 
 Meineke (anticipated by Scholef.) in 
 transposing this and the seven follow- 
 ing lines so as to insert them after v. 
 982, even if kclu t\jx<^ /xd\' evaro/MCop 
 were likely to have been said of the 
 net, which Or. might surely charac- 
 terize as he pleased without scruple. 
 
 998. veKpov and dpoiryjs are appa- 
 rently both constructed witli Kura- 
 aKrjvwfia, the latter probably forming 
 a sort of epithet to it, like evvrjs irapo- 
 rpdiprjpLa, Ag. 1447. ^sch. seems to 
 be speaking of the robe in which the 
 dead were wrapped, as we should say 
 the winding-sheet, which, as Kl. ob- 
 serves, was probably large enough to 
 be swathed round the feet. There is 
 a doubt about the meaning of bpo'iT-q, 
 which is explained by the Schol. to 
 mean a bier, a sense assigned to it 
 also by Eustathius, on Od. 12., p. 
 1726, who refers to its use in the 
 Agamemnon {v. 1540), giving a choice 
 of interpretations, irveXos rj Xdpva^ 
 rots TedveQiffLv, and by Etym. M., ap- 
 pealing not only to ^sch., but to 
 Parthenius. On the whole it seems 
 safest to take it here as a bath, relying 
 on its use, Ag. I. c, Eam. 633, pas- 
 
 sages which are in other respects 
 parallel to this, the former speaking 
 of Ag. as lying on the bath's lowly 
 couch, while the second contains the 
 word irape(TK7]vu}(rev. The meaning 
 here then will be a bath-robe used as 
 a garment to swathe the feet of the 
 dead. But further light is required 
 on the use of the word, and perhaps 
 on the customs usual both in burying 
 and bathing. 
 
 999. Med. gives a variant dpvTTjs 
 for bpolTTjs. Both forms are reco- 
 gnised by Eust. I. c, who derives the 
 word from bpvs by syncope from 
 dpvoLTT], a form actually given here by 
 Guelf, doubtless from a misunder- 
 standing of Med. Or. inclines rather 
 to call it a Blktvov, the name proposed 
 for it by Cassandra, Ag. 1 1 15. 
 
 1000. Kl. well remarks that 
 Orestes' perturbed spirit is shown by 
 the accumulation of comparisons, none 
 of which seem to satisfy him. tto- 
 dL(7T7]p, which seems not to occur else- 
 where, is evidently a subst. from 
 irodi^oj (like p.aaxo-^i-crTrjp from pcacrxo-- 
 Xi^io), here used adjectively, so that 
 its sense will be ' trammelling the feet, ' 
 as the word TreSat has already been 
 applied to the robe. 
 
 1001. TOIOVTO p.dVj'MSS. TOIOVTOV 
 
 av, Turn. <Pl\7]tt]s, the reading of 
 the MSS., is recognised by Eustath., 
 Suidas, and Hesych., and defended by 
 Wordsworth, who refers to Gaisford 
 and others on Hes. Works, 373, 
 Graevius on ib. 542, Ernesti on Hom. 
 Hymn to Hermes, 159. Hemsterhuis 
 on Poll. 9., p. 1120, quotes Sen. E}^. 
 5 1, ' Voluptates pr^ecipue exturba, et 
 
150 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 ^€V(t)v airaioXrjjuLa KapyvpocTeprj 
 Plov vo/uLi'^cov, TipSe T av SoXw/maTi 
 TToXXou? avaipwv TroXXa OepjULalvoi (ppevl. 
 ToidS' ejuiol ^uvoiKog ev SojuLoicri juLtj 
 yevoiT^' oXoifJLrjv irpocrQev e/c Oethv aTraig. 
 XO. aiat aiai jmeXecov epywv 
 
 1005 
 
 invisissimas habe, latronum more, quos 
 Philetas ^gyptii vocant : in hoc nos 
 araplectuntur, ut strangulent,' re- 
 ferring perhaps to a false etymology 
 from (piKetv. Such a reference to a 
 distinct class of robbers who used par- 
 ticular stratagems to ensnare their 
 victims, is just what is wanted here, 
 displaying the same sort of tendency 
 in the poet and his hero to expatiate 
 in far-fetched associations which has 
 been already shown in the mention of 
 the fjL^paLva. Scaliger's (pr]\r]Tr]s, how- 
 ever, if authorized by any MS., would 
 certainly be the easier reading. In 
 Soph. fr. 848, opKOS yap ovdeh dvdpi 
 (pLXrjTTi ^apvs, a MS. of Stobseus gives 
 <pT]\7)Trj from a correction. 
 
 1002. lefwv dTrai6\r]/xa would seem 
 at first sight to be said of the act, like 
 SoXci/xart below, and so Bamb. and 
 Herm. take it, making KapyvpoaTepi] 
 the beginning of a new clause, and 
 changing t' av hito rdv or y' av. But 
 dpyvpocTTeprj jSlov vo/xi'^cjv comes in 
 more naturally after (pCkrjTrjs, of which 
 it is a further description, and the use 
 of diraioK-qixa, a thing for a person, 
 besides being rather in keeping with 
 the identification of Clyt. and the in- 
 strument of death, is supported by fr. 
 119, oSoLTopuv dr]\7]fj.a, xw/Jtr-??? dpd- 
 Kojv, which, though from a satyric 
 drama, is sufficiently parallel in point 
 of expression. So /xiacr/j-a, v. 1028, 
 dX-qfia, Soph. Aj. 381, and many in- 
 stances in Aristoph., the usage being 
 
 partly poetical, partly colloquial. The 
 word itself occurs Aristoph. Clouds, 
 727, where it is joined with vovs diro- 
 aT€pr]TiK6s. dirac6\7) is used by ^sch. 
 Perrh. {fr. 180). Paley couples 
 dTraL6\7)/xa with ^iov as objects of 
 vofjii^wv, which seems scarcely so idio- 
 matic, dpyvpoareprj, see on v. 253. 
 
 1003. vofxi^Q}, MSS. POfiL^oiv, 
 Turn, j'o/itfwj', vv. loi, 801. Words- 
 worth comp, Eur. Alcmceon (fr. 88) 
 Tovs voixl^ovTas rex^ov. Herm. objects 
 to the use of ri^be, which he says 
 should be rotySe : but rySe is said with 
 reference not to the robe Or. holds in 
 his hand, but to that which he sup- 
 poses the 0tX?jT77sto own, — ' with this 
 his stratagem.' 
 
 1004. TToXXa depixalvoL (ppevl, lite- 
 rally 'he would heat much in his 
 mind,' doubtless means he would have 
 many hot thoughts or feelings, dep- 
 /xaivot. being used like dep/xos, Theh. 
 603, Bum. 560, with reference to the 
 hot blood of daring. The words here 
 are well chosen to express the feverish 
 heat and exhilaration of a triumphant 
 criminal — a state of mind, it may be 
 said, analogous to that which Or. him- 
 self feels as he is speaking, (ppevi, as 
 Wordsworth remarks, is frequently 
 used semipleonastically (see on v. 303), 
 while dep/xaivoL (ppeva, Lobeck's cor- 
 rection, would itself be unusual with- 
 out a dat. of the thing which causes 
 exultation. 
 
 1007 — 1009. Ch. ' Bloody was the 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 (TTvyepw Qavdrcd SieTrpd^Or]^, 
 
 151 
 
 €€, 
 
 Of Tri. 
 
 UNIVER 
 
 jULifjLvoPTi Se Kal TrdOog avOei. 
 
 OP. eopacrev t] ovk eSpacre ; imapTvpei Se 
 
 (papog t6S\ o)? e/3a\f/-€J/ AlylcrOov ^[(pog, 
 (povov Se KrjK^ ^vv XP^^V ^vjUL^dWeraL 
 TToXXa? (Sacpag (pOeipova-a rod iroiKiXiuLaTog. 
 
 crime, bloody is the punishment : and 
 there is evil yet in store.' 
 
 1007. at ai, MSS. alai aia?, 
 Bothe. 
 
 1008. The Chorus is addressing 
 Clyt., while mourning the fate of the 
 family. Wliether e ^ can form a line 
 by itself is doubtful. Wellauer's 
 alat alat is not improbable. See on 
 V. T019, 
 
 1009. ' -^o^ t^6 survivor (Orestes) 
 suffering is blossoming,' The Chorus, 
 as Butler remarks, doubtless sees that 
 the madness is beginning to work. 
 dvde2v is itself used of disease, 
 Soph. T7'. T089, ■fjvd-qKev, i^ibp/XTjKev 
 (comp. ib. 1000, fj-avias avdos, Ant. 
 960, ras fxavias deivbv aTrocrrdfei dv- 
 6r]p6u T€ fx^vos, the latter expression 
 apparently referring to the foam of 
 passionate frenzy) . 
 
 roio — 1017. Or. 'Was she guilty? 
 she must have been: here are the 
 stains of blood : and here am I to 
 speak of her crime, and to lament my 
 father and the whole house.' 
 
 loio. Or. seems to feel more and 
 more that he is already on his trial, 
 and pleads, as it were, formally against 
 the accuser within him, at the same 
 time that, as Heath has seen, his 
 mind is actually ' clouded with a 
 doubt,' as if he had yet to establish 
 that the crime of his mother and 
 -^gisthus had been committed at all. 
 His proofs are as insufficient as Electra's 
 
 own, vv, 205, foil., but he grasps at 
 them as satisfying for the moment 
 the cravings of his distempered reason. 
 OVK ^dpaaev, MSS. ovk ^8pacre, Turn. 
 Comp. Theh. 202. iJKovaas -^ ovk 
 ■fJKovaas ; — These lines were first given 
 to Or. by Stanley. 
 
 ion. (pdpos, of the robe, Euni. 
 634. t6§' may possibly be the ace. 
 after fxapTvpd, (is — ^i0os being epex- 
 egetical. So Ag. 494, foil, fidprvpel 
 Be pLoc KacTLs HtjXov ^vvovpos 8t.x//La 
 KovLs rdde, 'fis ovt dvavdos k. t. X. 
 The robe is naturally brought up to 
 speak to the circumstances of its de- 
 filement, as in Eum. 460, as emended 
 by Musgrave and Herm., Kar^Kxa 
 ttocklXols dypevpiacrLv Kpui/'aa', d \ov- 
 TpQiv i^epLapTvpei (pbvov. The sword is 
 said here to have dipped the garment 
 in blood, though elsewhere ^dirTeiv is 
 used, as in Prom. 863, of the dipping 
 of the sword itself, -^Ve may infer 
 from this line, as from Ag. 1644, that 
 ^gisthus, according to -^Esch,, took 
 part in Agamemnon's murder, though 
 from other passages it appears only to 
 have been a subordinate one, 
 
 10 1 2 . ^vpL^dWeTai is rightly under- 
 stood by Paley in its more ordinary 
 sense of contributing, rather than in 
 that of comparison or agreement with, 
 so that it has to be connected closely 
 with (pdeipovaa, which would otherwise 
 hang rather weakly. The point of the 
 words is that the destruction of the 
 
152 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 vvv avTOV aivco, vvi/ 
 
 TrarpoKTOVov 0' vcpacrfJia Trpocripcovwv roSe 
 aXyw /mev epya Ka\ irdOo^ yevo^ re ttglv, 
 
 XO. 0UT19 /mepoTTOW acTLvri ^lorov 
 
 1015 
 
 colours of the robe has been produced 
 not only by time but by the gush of 
 blood from a wound, the o^eia at/maros 
 acpayr] oiAg. 1389, the two cooperative 
 causes which have produced this effect, 
 blood and time, being, as is assumed, 
 though not expressed, consistent with 
 the charge against Clyt,, that she did 
 the murder, and that at a certain dis- 
 tance of time. The defectiveness of the 
 reasoning, as has been already inti- 
 mated, only heightens the dramatic 
 effect. With cpopov ktjkIs comp. Soph. 
 Phil. 696, ai/j.d8a KijKiOfxevav, ih. 783> 
 e/c ^vOov KtjkIov aifia, and see on v. 268. 
 1014. Donaldson (iV, C, p. 623, 
 ed. 2) seems right in understanding 
 avTov of (pbvos, which is apparently 
 the prominent thought in the speaker's 
 mind ; and this agrees with the parallel 
 V. 8, 01) yap irapojv ufxco^a aov, irarep, 
 jjLopou. alvG} then is to mention, as in 
 Ag. 98. The repetition of vvv, and 
 the use of irapwv (which seems to ex- 
 press time as well as place, as in Soph, 
 Aj. 338, Tois TTctXat 'NoaTjfiacn ^vvovcri 
 \vTret<jdaL irapthv) are doubtless in- 
 tended to enforce the thought that 
 this is his first opportunity of pouring 
 out his feelings about the murder on 
 the spot where it was committed. 
 Probably there is a designed reference 
 to ^vv xpo^V) ^ conscious transition 
 from the past, which seems to be 
 eluding his perception, to the present 
 moment, of which he can at any rate 
 assure himself. There would seem to 
 be something of a similar feeling in 
 the parallel scene of the AgaTmmnon, 
 
 where Clyt. is reviewing the deed just 
 done, epLol 5' ayCov o5' ovk d(f>p6vTi.aT0S 
 TTctXat Net'/cTjs iraXaids yXde, avv XP^^^ 
 ye fx-qv. "FiCrT7]Ka 5' ^vd' iiraior^ iir' 
 e^eipyaa/x^voLs (vv. 1377 foil.), though 
 the speaker there can entertain the 
 thought calmly without beingmastered 
 or even disturbed by it. Symmons 
 has brought it out in his rendering of 
 the last of the lines just quoted with a 
 prominence which, though ill repre- 
 senting the character of the original 
 before him, affords a powerful com- 
 mentai-y on the present passage. 
 'These hands have struck the blow! 
 'Tis like the deeds that have been 
 done of yore ! Past! And my feet 
 are now upon the spot.' (Those who 
 suppose alvQ) and dTroc/j-w^o} to be con- 
 trasted adduce no instances where 
 vvv-vvv is used like nunc-nunc in the 
 sense of 'at one time — at another.') 
 
 T015 — 1017. 'And as I address 
 this web that slew my father (in lan- 
 guage of abhorrence, vv. 997 foU., or 
 as affording evidence of their crime, 
 vv. 10 10 foil.), I grieve for doing and 
 suffering both, even for our whole 
 house, a conqueror whom none need 
 envy, with pollution for my prize.' 
 ^pya Koi irddos refers back to vv. 1007, 
 foil. Or. feels thatTra^eii/ tov ip^avra is 
 the moral of their entire family history. 
 
 1018 — 1020. Ch. 'No mortal can 
 pass through life without troubles: 
 they come, some now, some then.' 
 
 1018. Comp. for the sense Ag. 553, 
 for the language also ih. 1341. 
 
 1019. The MSS. reading is of 
 
XOH$OPOI. 
 
 153 
 
 Sia "{"Trdi^T ari/mog dfj.€L\^€Tai, 
 
 jULO-^^uo^ o o fxev avTiy^ , o o >y^ef. 
 OP. a\\oi<s ovelm] TavT^ ap^ oio oTn] reXei' 
 WG-7r€p ^w 'iTTTroig ^viocrTpoipov Spo/uov 
 e^coTepo) (pepovcri yap viKco/ULevov 
 
 1020 
 
 course shown to be wrong by the 
 metre. Sm iravrbs (Heath) .... 
 dfieifpei. (Blomf.), would be a satisfac- 
 tory restoration if drifios were beyond 
 suspicion ; but the sense ' unavenged' 
 {aTLfjidipyjTos, Schol.), rare in itself, is 
 not particularly appropriate here, 
 where the sentiment seems not to be 
 'crime will not go unpunished,' but 
 ' man is born to suffering.' 5ta iravr, 
 if genuine, is apparently to be taken 
 with ^ioTov, 5td being perhaps a 
 case of tmesis, as the Schol. regards 
 it (comp. Prom. -285, SoXtx?}j Tip/ma 
 KeXevdov Aia/jLeLxpcifxevos) . So far as 
 the sense goes, either dpLelxperaL or 
 dixelxpei might stand, es, which Med. 
 gives before fidx^os (es fiSxdou, 
 Guelf.), may be as Scholef. and 
 Kl. think a corruption of e L Pos- 
 sibly too djxelxperai may be merely a 
 corruption of d/xeiipeL at, and so am? 
 alai ought to be restored, as it has 
 been by Well, in the strophe. 
 
 1020. For the use of the singular 
 before 6 fxh— 6 de, Wordsworth comp. 
 Ag. 445, aTevovcTi 5* eS Xeyovres dvdpa 
 rbv fikv cl)s p-dxris idpis, top 5' iu (pouaTs 
 /caXws irecrouT'. avrUa, as we should 
 say, 'just now:' opp. toT/^et: seeLidd. 
 and Scott, ^^e, MSS. 7?^et, Turn. 
 
 102 1 — 1043. Or. 'No, it is not 
 over yet ; the madness is coming on 
 me ; but while I can, I would proclaim 
 my innocence, and appeal to Apollo 
 as the instigator of the deed. See 
 me now, I am equipped for a journey 
 to Delphi as a suppliant to get myself 
 
 purified — an exile, with the name of this 
 action clinging tome in death as in life.' 
 
 102 1. dXXos dv eldr] tovt', MSS. 
 I have ventured to insert an emenda- 
 tion proposed by myself in my edition 
 of the Agamemnon, v. 1530 (1560), 
 yielding, as it appears to do, a satis- 
 factory sense, expressed in language 
 such as iEsch. might have used, at 
 the expense of a slight change. Or. 
 will then say, ' It is on others then 
 that these reproaches will end (*. e. 
 they will reach others before they end), 
 and I know which way it will be ;' in 
 other words, they have a coui-se yet 
 to run, and I shall be the next sufferer. 
 0T8' oTTT] thus is virtually parenthetical, 
 apa going with reXe?, and express- 
 ing that * subjective consequence' 
 (Browne's AjJ}^. to Madvig, § 257 c), 
 which it so often denotes when joined 
 with the imperfect — 'it appears,' or 
 ' it turns out.' The madness, as we 
 have seen, has been at work some time, 
 but it is only now that Or. becomes 
 conscious of it. The sense of the line, 
 so altered, is not unlike Shaksp. Romeo 
 and Juliet, Act 3, Sc. i, 'This day's 
 black fate on more days doth depend ; 
 This but begins the woe, others must 
 end.' With the language, comp. v. 
 1075. dveihr) are the family crimes, 
 as in Ag. 1560. 
 
 1022, 3. '7apab initio longius re- 
 motum nullam hie ofFensionem habet, 
 quoniam statim post (pepovai, ex quo 
 sententiapendet,positum est.' Herm., 
 who on Ag. 1106 (1147) quotes Soph. 
 
154 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 (bpeveg SvaapKTor Trpog 6e Kapola (po^og 
 aoeiv eTOifJLO^ rj c viropyeicruai koto). 
 ecog S'' er' e/ncppcov eifxl, KtjpvcrcTco (plXoi^i 
 Kraveiv re (prjjULi fJLtjrep^ ovk avev SiKr]<}f 
 irarpoKTOVOV /uLiaarjULa Ka\ Oecou crTvyog, 
 Ka). (piXrpa ToXfxrjg rrjcrSe 7r\eL<TTr]pi^ofxaL 
 TOP TTvQoiJLavTLV Ao^/ai^, ^jprjcravT^ i/uLol 
 Trpd^avTi jxev ravr^ €kt6<s airlag Kaicrjg 
 elvai, irapevra S' ovk epco Tt]v 'Qjixlav 
 
 TO25 
 
 1030 
 
 Phil. 1450, Kaipos Kol ttXoOs "05' 
 eTreiyet, yap Kara Trpvfivrjp ; Antiphan. 
 ap. Porphyr. de Abst. p. 131, raZs 
 evTeXeiais ol Oeol xatpofcrt 70.^. ijvto- 
 <TTp64>ov need not be suspected, as 
 though in Soph. El. 731 the word 
 means a charioteer, there is no unusual 
 licence in making it an epithet of the 
 course, iv (p 7]VLoa-Tpo(povaiv. Here, as 
 in V. 252 (note), there is a mixture of 
 metaphor and simile, 
 
 T025. -^5', MSS. -^ 5', Abresch. 
 Fear sings (comp. Ag. 979) and the 
 heart dances, as in v. 166, opx^^TO-i- Se 
 KapUa 06/3cj, the compound verb de- 
 noting dancing to music, as in such 
 expressions as vir'axikov, virb aaXtnyyos. 
 Abresch' s KpoTi^ also is plausible, but 
 there seems no occasion to alter k6t(j}, 
 which will denote the influence under 
 which the heart is dancing, a savage 
 or furious dance, as would be natural 
 when madness overtakes a murderer. 
 k6tos is repeatedly attributed to the 
 Erinnyes themselves, who are called 
 eyKOTOL, vv. 924, 1054. 
 
 1026. He wishes to clear himself, 
 as if by the voice of a herald, to his 
 friends, meaning probably the Chorus, 
 though he might also refer to kinsmen 
 not present, such as Menelaus and 
 Tyndareus. di r\ MSS. S' ^r', Rob. 
 J028. Comp. Ag. 1645, where 
 
 Clyt. is called xwpas fxlaapLa /cat Oeuiv 
 e7xw/3iwv. 
 
 1029. ^iKrpa T6\/J.r]s rrjcrSe, as in 
 Pind. 0. 13. 95 (referred to by Lidd, 
 and Scott s.v.), a bit is called (f)i\Tpov 
 LTrrreLov. Comp. Eu7n. 427, ttoO yap 
 ToaovTO K^VTpov ws fiTjTpoKTovelp ; where 
 the metaphor is less bold. The sense 
 of ir\eL<XTT)pl^ojxaL, an ctTra^ \eybfievov, 
 which the Schol, explains /cafxcD/xai, 
 is to be inferred from the context. 
 TrXeLarripris occurs Eian. *]6%, as an 
 epithet of xpovos, and TrXeicrTrjpid^CiJ 
 or -d^ofjiaL is used of raising the price 
 of a thing. All that can be said ap- 
 parently is that it may mean irept 
 TrXetcrroO iroLovfiai, or something of 
 the kind. No one (except Pauw) 
 appears to have suspected a corrup- 
 tion, or it might be suggested that 
 ^sch. may conceivably have written 
 irXeiad' opl^o/xaL. 
 
 103 1, 2. We should rather have 
 expected irpd^avra — irapivri, but the 
 former was doubtless avoided in order 
 to escape the confusion with xp'^o-ai'T ', 
 and the love of varying the expression 
 would then be a reason for using an 
 ace. in the second clause, instead of 
 repeating the dat. For irpd^avTi, 
 Wordsworth comp. Soph. CEd. C. 89, 
 which may be an imitation of this, 
 as the subject is an oracular response 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 155 
 
 To^o) yap ovTig TDj/uLaTwu irpoci^eTai. 
 Kal vvv opare iut,\ cog Trapea-KevacrjULevog 
 ^vv TwSe OaWip Ka\ crecjyei Trpoari^oimaL 
 /uecroiuLCJyaXov 0' wpv/maf Ao^lov TreSov, 
 TTupog T€ (peyyog acbOLTOv KeKKrjfjLevov, 
 (pevycov toS^ aifxa kolvov ovS' ecpecrnov 
 aWrjv TpaTrecrOaL Ao^/a? iipieTO. 
 
 1035 
 
 of Apollo, irapivra would of course 
 have been followed by an infinitive, 
 but Or. suddenly breaks off with an 
 instinctive recoil from the subject 
 (see note on v. 269). For similar 
 varieties of expression, see Ag. 1055 
 (if dvpaiav t7]v8' is rightly taken as 
 the subject of Tpi^eiv), 1610, and 
 comp. notes on vv. 8r, 216. iKtbs 
 alrias, Prom. 330. elvai is probably 
 used because xpiycraj'T ' has the force of a 
 command rather than of a prediction. 
 
 1033. The meaning is not that the 
 evils denounced cannot be conjectured, 
 but that their height is such that the 
 flight of an arrow coilld not reach the 
 top, as Kl. maintains, after the Schol., 
 comparing Supp. 473, /xiacrfx' ^Xe^as 
 ovx vTrepTO^evaLjjiov, and the description 
 of Scylla and Charybdis, Od. 12. 84, 
 102. So Virg. G. 2. T23, * ubi aera 
 vincere summum Arboris baud ullse 
 jactu potuere sagittse.' The construc- 
 tion of TrpocrtKecr^ai with the gen. is sup- 
 ported by Paley from Aristoph.^?i?^/i^ 
 761, Trplu eKeivov TrpocnKeaOai aov, so 
 that there seems no sufficient reason for 
 suspecting the word on the ground of 
 its speedy recurrence. See on v. 875. 
 
 1034. It seems impossible to decide 
 whether opare is indicative or impera- 
 tive. The latter is perhaps more 
 usual in similarpassages, but the former 
 is strongly supported by Bum. 67, Kal 
 vvv aXovaas rdcrbe ras fidpyovs bpds. 
 
 1035. TT/joo-i'^o^at is used advisedly, 
 
 as Or. had adopted the accoutrement 
 of an Ikcttjs or irpoalKTwp, the olive 
 branch wreathed with wool. Bum. 
 43, ^xoit' eXaias vipLyivvrjTOV K\d8ov, 
 ArjveL fxeyicTTip crucppovojs iare/x/x^vov, 
 Blomf. comp. Hesych. daX\6s' /cXctSos 
 iXaias, Eur. Siq^p. 10, iKTTjpi 6aX\(^. 
 
 1036. TreSoj' here seems to be used 
 technically for the floor of the temple, 
 like $ot/3oi/ TreSov, Eur. Andr. 1085, 
 Iph. T. 972, IlaXXdSos Tre'Soi', Aristoph. 
 Plut.']']i. The word bears its general 
 sense of anything walked on, as con- 
 versely ^ddpov and oddas are used of 
 a country, e.g. Eur. Phcen. 982. 
 
 1037. The undying fire at Delphi 
 is mentioned by Callim. Apoll. 83, 
 Plut. Nura. 9, and On the wo7xl Et at 
 Delplii, p. 385 (quoted by Stanley), in 
 the latter of which passages it is said 
 to have been fed by none but fir- 
 wood. KeKXrjfxepov is nearly equivalent 
 to KXeLvov. So Pers. 2, rctSe . . tnara 
 KaXeiraL, ' These are the famed iriaToi. 
 
 1038. Blomf. comp. Eur. Supp. 
 148, alp-a crvyyev^s (pe&yojv, Hipp. 35, 
 /xlaa-fj.a 0ei'7a;j' ai'/xaros. KOivbv, 
 kindred, Soph. Ant. i. ecpicrriov, a 
 suppliant at the hearth, as in Bum. 
 577, 669, Siq)p. 365, 503. Turn.'s ^0' 
 eariav is plausible, but not necessary. 
 
 1039. It is doubtful whether dtXXTjj/ 
 is to be taken as merely adverbial, as in 
 Plato, Eathyd. p. 273 b, or as a cogn. 
 ace, implying rpo-m^v or TpocrTpOTrr]v, 
 like diavTaiau, v. 640. 
 
156 
 
 XOH<E>OPOL 
 
 ra d* ev XP^^V l^^'- '^^vra^ 'Apyelov^ Xeyct) 
 Kat fxaprvpeip [xoi j'/xei/eXea)? eiropa-vvQi] KUKa. 
 
 ^wv Ka\ TeOvi'iKing rdcrSe KXtjSova^ Xlttcov. 
 XO. a'XX' €v t' eirpa^a<s, jjljjt^ eTrt^euxOyj^ (TTOjULa 
 (pV^rj irovrjpa fxr]T eiriyXoicra-cc) KaKa, 
 
 1040 
 
 1045 
 
 1040, r. These lines are of course 
 unintelligible as they stand, and 
 critical ingenuity cannot be said as 
 yet to have restored them. The best 
 suggestion perhaps is Blomfield's, who 
 transposes them, reading fxev ws for 
 fiOL /xepeXecas ; but the lines, so cor- 
 rected, are not very forcible. ^e'Xe' 
 (hs, Herm.'s original conjecture, would 
 have been probable if it could have 
 stood metrically : but the same cannot 
 be said of (bs fxeXe", still less of y 
 /liXe'. 
 
 1042,3. The incomplete construc- 
 tion in this couplet would hardly be 
 suspicious in itself, but the corrupt 
 state of its predecessor makes it 
 credible that the whole passage may 
 have suffered in some way, by omission 
 or otherwise. Taking it as it stands, 
 we may either suppose an ellipse of 
 the verb substantive, or regard the 
 speech as abruptly broken off, as Medea 
 in Eur. (3Ied. v. 925) is prevented 
 by her tears from finishing the sen- 
 tence she has begun. dXrjrrji rrjade 
 yrjs dwd^evos is repeated from Ag. 
 1282, where it is said by Cassandra 
 of Orestes' first exile. The words 
 that follow are not to be separated 
 but taken together, ' in life and death 
 having left this name behind me/ i. e. 
 among my countrymen. Comp. Soph, 
 £1. 984, 5, where the language has 
 perhaps been imitated from this place, 
 Toiavrd toi yu irds tls i^epei jSporQu, 
 Zibaaiv davomaLV d' ^crre jxt] 'KXtwelu 
 KXeos. 
 
 1044 — 1047. Ch. 'Do not be boding 
 evil against thyself : thy deed has 
 delivered thy country from two 
 monsters.' 
 
 1044. e3 T€ irpd^as, MSS. eS t 
 'iirpa^as, Heath (who, however, sup- 
 poses r' to be rot). /iTjS', MSS. /XTjr', 
 Person. eTTL^evx^V, MSS. eiri.l'evxOys, 
 Heath, Such appears, on the whole, 
 to be the most satisfactory way of 
 reading the line, re seems to answer 
 to /xriT, ' as thou didst succeed, so 
 neither.' Comp, Supp. 219, dXX ei5 
 r' eyrejuLipev ed re Se^ctcr^aj x^ovi. The 
 sense then will be the same as in v. 
 1052, fjLr) ipo^ou, vlkQ)v TToXv. Whether 
 ixrjb' — ixrjb' could stand at all in the 
 present connexion is very doubtful : 
 see KlotZj Devar. 2, pp. 707, 8 ; Jelf, 
 § 776. 2. €Trt^€vxdfi would not be 
 wrong, but iirt^evxdv^ is more likely 
 (Peile comp. dire^vyiqv Trodas, v. 676), 
 especially with cr following imme- 
 diately. From Eiim. 405, quoted by 
 Peile, TTuXois dK/xaiois rbvh' iTn^ev^aa 
 oxov, it would seem that the mouth is 
 compared to a car, and the utterance 
 to the horse that hurries it on. 
 Comp. Prom. 883, e^w 5^ hpoixov 
 (pepofiai Xij(T(n)s Upevfiari ixdpyi^, 
 yXioaarjs dKpaT7]S. 
 
 1045. <prj/j.ac TTOvripai, MSS. (f^VfJ-XI 
 irovqpq,, Heath, rather an easier cor 
 rection than Auratus' (prjfxais irovrjpais 
 fjLTjd', MSS. I^vt', Person. iiri- 
 yXucrcru}, Prom. 928. Hesych. eiri 
 yXcoacru)' eironovl^ov 6id yXwTTTjs. 
 Alax- 'UpaKXeidais. 
 
XOH^OPOI. 
 
 157 
 
 eXevOepuxrag iracrav "'A.pyeiav ttoXip 
 
 cvoiv d 
 
 OP. 
 
 paKOVTOLv evTrercog rejuLwv Kapa. 
 
 S^coal yuvaiKcg, alSe TopyouMv ^lk^v 
 (^aio^LTOdveg Koi TreTrXeKTaptj/uei/ai 
 irvKVoh SpcLKOva-iv ovkct' av jueipaiju' eyw. 
 XO. TLve<5 G-e So^ai, (piXrar' avOpcoTrcou irarpl, 
 a-Tpo^ovcriv ; 'io")(€, fxr] (polSov, vlkwv iroXv, 
 
 1050 
 
 1046. Comp. vv. 302 foil., 863. 
 Apyeirju, MSS. "kpyelav, Porson. 
 
 1047. So the Erinnys is called 
 dpaKaiva, £um. 128, the sons of 
 ^gyptus, ^paKovTojv 5va-(pp6v(ay ex* 
 dioves, Sujyp- 511. Comp. also vv. 
 249, 994, of this play, rep-uiu Kapa 
 like Kapava 8at^a$, v. 396. evwerQs 
 seems thrown in by way of consolation, 
 reminding Or. that his victory has not 
 even the drawback of having been 
 hardly won. 
 
 1048 — 1050. Or. ' See, here are 
 fiends, with dark garments and snaky 
 hair. I must fly.' 
 
 1048. al'Se, ' Here they are,' as in 
 Sujij). 826. Sp-ojal yvvaTKes, which 
 Herm. finds frigid, is merely charac- 
 teristic of the formal simplicity of the 
 older tragedy. For the comparison 
 of the Furies to Gorgons, comp. Uum. 
 48, 9, and Miiller, § 93. 
 
 1049. (paLoxi-Twves is doubtless to 
 be justified by such examples as those 
 cited on vv. 812-13. Herm. quotes 
 Tzetzes, Schol. on Cliil. in Cramer's 
 Anecd. Ox. 3. pp. 358 foil., dxaptro- 
 y\(x}TTOS .... Kal ev rCjv baaioov 
 
 €KT€iu€L WS Trap' 'llTTCiJovaKTl ToSe "H;/ 
 
 avTov 6<pLS Td)PTLKP7]p,Lov daKOL, Kal Trap' 
 AtVxuXw ^aioxirwves Kal TreTrX^KTav-q- 
 fxeuai Aeipois dpaKOvaiv ouk ^t d.i^ 
 /j.eiuai,/j.' iyu}. Paley's note contains 
 a number of other instances to show 
 that " both the mutes and the aspi- 
 
 rated letters, as well as the sibilant, 
 have the power of reduplication ac- 
 cording to metrical convenience," 
 For the sense, comp. Etim. 375, 
 afxerepaLS e<p6dois /JieXaveifiocni/. 7r\e- 
 KTdpT) is used Theb. 495, of the coils of 
 a serpent ; here the verb seems rather 
 to refer to the curls of the head. 
 Pans. I, 28. 6 (quoted by Stanley), 
 says that yEsch, was the first who 
 represented the Furies with snaky 
 hair: TpQros 5e AiVxi/Xos dpaKOPxas 
 eTroLTjaev dfxov rats ev ry Ke<paXy dpL^lv 
 etvac Tots d^ dydXfiaaLv ovre tovtois 
 ^TreaTLv ovdev (po^epop, ovre oaa dWa 
 dvaKeiTac deCsp tGip inroyalojp. As 
 Miiller, I. c. remarks, this part of the 
 conception was borrowed fi-om the 
 Gorgons. 
 
 1050. dfifidpoLfj.' Med. ap fxeipalfj.', 
 Tzetzes as above. Turn, 
 
 105 1— 2. Ch. 'Mere fancies— thy 
 father loves thee, and thou hast no 
 ground for fear. 
 
 1051. (piXTar' dvOpdnrijjp Trarpi is 
 parallel to (piXraT' dyyiXwp ifxoi, Supp. 
 602, which is thus shown to be the 
 true readirig, rather than dyy^XXup, 
 a variant of equal MS, authority. 
 Or. is reminded of the love he has 
 earned from his fiither, probably to 
 show that he has nothing really to 
 fear from the powers below, 
 
 1052. arpo^ovaiv, Ag. 1216, of the 
 pangs of Cassandra. The MSS. 
 
158 
 
 XOH^OPOI. 
 
 OP. ovK €i(j). So^ai TcovSe irrj/uidTCov ejaor 
 
 cracbcog yap aiSe juajrpog eyKoroi Kvve<s, 
 XO. iroralvLov yap alimd croL X^polv err 1^55 
 
 e/c TcovSe tol Tapayfxog eg (ppevag iriTvei, 
 OP. dva^ "AttoWov, a'lSe 7r\r}0vov(Ti Stj, 
 
 KCL^ SjULjuidTWV crrdl^ovcriv al^a ova-cpiXeg. 
 XO. fela-a-^ 6 KaOapjuor Ao^iov Se irpoa-Oiycav 
 
 iXevOepov ae roovSe TrrifjLaTWv ktl(T€l, Io6o 
 
 reading is clearly right as against 
 Person's (pojSov vlkCj. The present 
 viKwu in the sense of 'being a con- 
 queror' is supported by Eur. El. 
 762, vlkCjpt' 'OpeaTTjU iracLV dyyeWoj 
 (piXoLS, Theocr. l. 113, rbv ^wrav viku 
 Ad(pvip, where Wuestemann refers to 
 Anthol. Palat. p. 786. With vlkC:v 
 TToXij, Peile comp. Thuc. 7. 34, o't 
 re yap K.oplvdt.oL rjyrja-avTO KpaTeiv, 
 el fxrj /cat ttoXv iKparovvro, o'i t *A6r]- 
 voLOL evojxi^ov rjaadadai., on ov Troki/ 
 
 eVLKWV. 
 
 1053, 4. Or. 'They are not fancies, 
 but my mothei-'s Furies,' 
 
 1053. 'There are not fancies of 
 these plagues/ i.e., these plagues are 
 not fancies. 
 
 1054. He repeats the words used 
 by his mother, v. 924, perhaps inten- 
 tionally, to show that her warning is 
 being fulfilled. 
 
 1055. 6. Ch. 'It is the fresh taint 
 of blood that bewilders thee.' 
 
 1055. ^TL need not be changed with 
 Stanley into 'iin, the sense being, 
 * the blood of thy hands is yet fresh.' 
 Contrast Eum. 280, ^pi^eL yap alfxa 
 Kal ixapalveraL xepos, where xe/)6s 
 seems to go with aljxa, as x^P^^^ here ; 
 and with the general sense comp. Ag. 
 1427, 8. 
 
 1056. iKTUpdeTOi, Aff.S'j'jr inTvel, 
 MSS. 
 
 1057, 8. Or. ' Apollo, their num- 
 bers swell, and their eyes drop blood. ' 
 
 1057. Or. is doubtless intended to 
 see as many Furies as afterwards 
 appear in the next play. Tr\r]dvovaai, 
 MSS. ir\T]6iJovcn, Turn. 
 
 1058. Nearly repeated Eum. 54, 
 e/c 5' dfjLfidTOjp Xet^ovcn Svcr^tXi] X//3a. 
 
 1059. ^°' ^^- 'Purification awaits 
 thee at Delphi.' 
 
 1059. The MSS. reading has not 
 yet been satisfactoi-ily emended, eiacj, 
 Turn.'s reading, could not stand, as 
 the Greek belief was that a murderer 
 had to flee from his home and seek 
 purification elsewhere {Miiller, §§ 46, 
 50), and it is utterly gratuitous to 
 suppose, with Kl., that the Chorus 
 counsel Or. to do a prohibited thing. 
 Erfurdt's eh aoi and Wieseler's oTad' 
 ov are both plausible, but neither 
 carries conviction. Possibly the word 
 wanted may be some verb, such as 
 Xovaei. irpocrOlywv, MSS. 
 
 1060. If the text is right, Trpoa-Oiyuv 
 in the preceding line would seem to 
 be a nom. abs. Kriaet as a middle 
 would not be without force, ' thou 
 shalt get thyself made free,' ere stand- 
 ing for aeavrov, as p.e, Siipp. 116, for 
 ep,avTr]v, but the form does not seem 
 to occur elsewhere. Eitschl conj. 
 KTiaeLS, which seems scarcely worth 
 while. For the touch of the sup- 
 
XOH^OPOL 
 
 159 
 
 OP. v/meig /mev ou^ opare Ta<j^\ eyoo S"* opoo' 
 
 eXavvoniai Se kovkct^ av /ueLvaiim^ iyw. 
 XO. aXX' evTV^oirj^f Kal (j' eTroTTTevcov 7rp6<pp( 
 
 Oeog (pvXaarcroL Kaipioia-L (ruiuL(popaig. 
 
 oSe TOL /meXdOpoig toi<s /SacnXeloLg 
 
 rpiTO? av yeifjiwv 
 
 TTuevcrag yovlag ireXea-Or]. 
 
 iraioopopoL jmev irpoorov VTrtjpt^av 
 
 1065 
 
 pliant, see Eum. 446. Tu)v8e Trr)fj.dTO}v 
 is a repetition of Or.'s words, v. 1052. 
 io6r, 2. Or. 'You cannot see 
 them, but I can, and I must fly.' 
 
 1 06 1. Whether the Furies are visi- 
 ble to the spectators, though not to 
 the Chorus, as Muller thinks, or 
 merely supposed to be visible to 
 Orestes, is a question which seems 
 hardly to admit of solution. Their 
 actual appearance in the next play 
 would be a reason for introducing 
 them here. 
 
 1062 — 76. Ch. 'Heaven go with 
 thee ! So ends the third storm that 
 has shaken the palace. First came 
 Thyestes' feast — then the king 
 slaughtered in the bath, and now the 
 third, Preserver or Destroyer? When 
 will these woes have an end ?' 
 
 1062. dytijU.etVaj/x', Med. av fxe'watfjL 
 Hob. Orestes leaves the stage, pro- 
 bably by the way by which he origi- 
 nally entered at the beginning of the 
 play. Whether Pylades has been 
 with him through this scene does not 
 appear. 
 
 1063. Abreachcomp. Soph. (Ed. T. 
 1478, aXX evTvxoiris, Kal ae rijcrde Trjs 
 odov Aaifxcov a/neLvou ij fjLe (ppovprjaas 
 Ti'xoi, which, as he remarks, is an 
 imitation of this passage. 
 
 1064. 6ios, used generally, as in 
 Ag. 273, 603, &c., and perhaps v. 
 
 340 above. KaipioLffL cvfxcpopah ex- 
 presses the way in which the divine 
 protection is to be exercised. Comp. 
 Eum. 897, T(3 yap ae^ouri avp.(popa<i 
 opducro/xev. 
 
 1065. 65e Tot, Jelf, § 736. 2. So 
 the family bloodshed is comp. in Ag. 
 1533 to a shower of blood overthrow- 
 ing the house. 
 
 1067. irveovaas, MSS. irveijaas, 
 Scaliger, Porson. yovlas is explained 
 by the Schol. dvefios orau e^ ev8Las 
 KLVT]6rj xaXeTTOJ' irvevixa : by Hesych. 
 yopias'evxeprj^. AiVxi^Aos Aya/jL^p-vovi, 
 evidently referring to this passage. 
 The word may possibly have been 
 used in some such sense as they 
 shadow forth ; yet it is difficult to 
 suppose that Blomf. can be wrong in 
 interpreting it a 'family wind,' pro- 
 bably a word coined for the occa- 
 sion, like Aristophanes' avKocpavrias 
 {Knights, 430) after the analogy of 
 KaiKLas, eTTjaias, 6pvi.dlas, &c. With 
 %ct/xwj' ereKiadri, comp. xet/ttw^a reXei;- 
 TTjffaL, Ag. 635. 
 
 1068. TraidSfjiopoi, MSS. Traido' 
 ^6poL, Aurat., Valckenaer. Comp. 
 irdxva KOvpo^Spip, Ag. 1512, and with 
 iracd. fxdxdoi, fiSx^ois dvdpOK/XTJcrt, 
 Eum. 248. It matters little whether 
 we write Traido^dpoi actively, or 
 iraLdS^opot passively, ' of children de- 
 voured ' (see on v. 27). With irpuTov 
 
160 
 
 XOH<l>OPOI. 
 
 iu.6-)(0oi ToKave^ re Oveo-rov 
 
 ^evTepov auSpog (Baa-iXeia TruOt]' 
 
 XovTpoSdiKTog S' coXer' ^Ayaioov 
 
 iroXifxapyo^ avtjp- 
 
 vvv ^' av TpiTog ijXOe iroOep a-cor^p, 
 
 1] fJLopov efTTO) ; 
 
 iroL Srjra Kpavei^ irol tcaraXrj^ei 
 
 jULeraKoijuLia-Oev /xeVo? arrjg ; 
 
 1070 
 
 1075 
 
 virrip^av, Wordsworth comp. Plat. 
 Menex. p. 237 b, ttjs evyeveias irpuTov 
 VTTjp^e. 
 
 T069. rdXavis re appears weak, the 
 conjunction bringing out the insuffi- 
 ciency of the epithet after Traiho^opoi. 
 The same kind of weakness appears 
 in the use of the same epithet, Ag. 
 1274, TTTWxos 'TctXati/a Xt/io^j'Tjs. But 
 there seems no reason to suspect the 
 words, as if re Qvicrov had been 
 added by some copyist to fill up the 
 line metrically. Copyists in general 
 show a tendency not to make paroe- 
 niiacs but to destroy them, as perhaps 
 in Pers. 545 (referred to by Paley), 
 and repeatedly in the Farn. MS. of 
 the Agamemnon. 
 
 1070. avZpos is emphatic, opp. to 
 7rat56/3o/)ot, as Peile remarks, comp. 
 Ag. 1504, T^Xeov veapoh ewidvaas. 
 There is also doubtless the notion of 
 dvTjp opp. to yvvrj, the crime of Clyt. 
 being that she, a woman and a wife, 
 raised her hand against a man and a 
 husband (see Ag. 1231, 1625 foil, 
 Cho. 991, '2). paffiXeia irddr} {^^aai- 
 Aews, as Paley remarks, comp. v. 724 
 above, vavdpxv (ro^P-ari rtp ^aaiXelo:) 
 contains a third element of crime, the 
 treason against a superior in rank and 
 honour, for which see on v. 556. 
 
 107 1. \ovTpo5dlKTOS, slain by the 
 
 bath, which is made the agent, as in 
 Ag. 1 129, the caldron where the water 
 was heated is called 8o\o(p6vos. The 
 mode of the murder is contrasted with 
 the dignity of the victim, £um. 625 
 foil. 
 
 1073. Tplroi aojTTjp, of course, is 
 properly a title of Zeus (see Miiller, 
 §§ 94 foil.), but ^sch. is fond of 
 transferring the appellation to any 
 person who, coming third in a list, 
 can conceivably be spoken of as a pre- 
 server. So in Ag. 1386, Clyt. gives 
 Ag. a third blow by way of offering 
 to Hades, the dead man's aiorrjp, and 
 in V. 578 of this play Erinnys is said 
 to have the third libation made to her 
 as awTTip. Here, accordingly. Or. is 
 aioTTjp, sent suddenly and as it were 
 mysteriously {irodev), like a God, to 
 deliver the house from the curse, 
 though the Chorus, by raising the 
 question, ■^ ixbpov eiirio ; doubts whether 
 the house can be regarded as yet de- 
 livered. See on v. 578. 
 
 1074. So Theb. 75 r, iyebaro p.kv 
 /xdpou avT(^, of Laius begetting 
 (Edipus. 
 
 1075. fieraKOLfxiadev with. KaraXri^ei, 
 fxerd simply expressing the change 
 from storm to calm involved in Kara- 
 Xt]^is. KaraX^^eL, Ag. 14 79. 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 ON THE SCHOLIA. 
 
 THOUGH the Scholia on the Choephoroe cannot be said to be of any great 
 value, it may be worth while to notice some passages in them apparently 
 requiring emendation or explanation, by way of a contribution to a work which, 
 as Mr. Paley rightly says, is still a desideratum — a satisfactory edition of the 
 whole. I follow Dindorfs publication of 185 1 (Oxford). The mark ] shows 
 that the lemma, or portion of the text, has been supplied by the editors ; the 
 colon that it is found in the Med., the MS. which Dindorf follows, excluding 
 grammarian and editorial interpolations. 
 
 13. TTTJixa] avTlrov irrjijia viov. Dind. thinks this shows the Schol. to have 
 had some other reading than irriiMa before him. Does it not rather show that 
 he meant viov to be connected with Trrj/xa, not taken adverbially with TpocrKvpei'i 
 
 51. avriXLoi] o()s ovd^ ijXios €tISol. 'Imo cLv e7r/5oi,' Dind. The writer of 
 the Scholia seems to have used the opt. without dv intentionally. So on 
 V. 505, K\f]d6ves crwTT^/oiot is explained by dta (pi^fji,7)s au^oLev are, on v. 633, iJKaaev 
 Tis by elKoviaeie xis. 
 
 69. diaXyris drr]] 17 SLaLUivl^ovcra drrj, tovt' eariv 6 <p6vos. Paley thinks the 
 Schol. may have found alav-qs for diaXyris. Is it not as likely that he wrote 
 diaycovl^ovcra, though that word appears to be used by classical writers only in 
 the middle ? d7cDj'a and alQva are confused Ag. 1148. It is conceivable also 
 that he may have merely intended to explain did, regarding that as the impor- 
 tant part of the coihpound, or that the gloss may really belong to iravapKeras. 
 
 83. Kpv(paioLS irevdeai,^ tout '4(ttl, p.y] iK(paivo6ari to /xuaos to KaTo, KXurat- 
 fxvrjcrTpa^. The gloss evidently belongs to vv. 80, i, wLKpbv ^pevQv arvyos 
 KpaTovay. 
 
 88. /carei/^w/iai] Xeiiret \6yov. This is intended for the former part of the 
 verse, irQs evcppov' ei'Trw ; 
 
 94. Tade] dvTL toO tcls xoctj, rightly referred by Bamb. to rctS', v. 97. 
 
 123. TTuis. iva. This gloss, found only in Med., must belong to v. 131, ttws 
 dvd^ojj.€v 86/jlols, where another gloss has irQs : dvTl tov 'otois. 
 
 183. Kapdias KXvdiovcov] Kivrjais ttjs x°^V^ '''V^ 'f'*'''' olvtov. Bamb. corr. 
 avTTiv. Perhaps aurcov, i.e., Clytsemnestra and ^gisthus. 
 
 2 75- fw'""] ^ ep.^ tr]p.iav fjt.€/x(p6fi€V05, i) MyiaOov t6v p.r} ^-qp-LwdevTa iroivijv 
 ixi T(^ (p6vi{} TOV TTUTpSs. Hc secnis, as Paley remarks, to have read Tavpo6- 
 fxevos. Thus he means to propound a choice of two interpretations, * angered 
 with me on account of his losses,' or * angered with the penalties not exacted,' 
 
 M 
 
l52 APPENDIX I. 
 
 i.e. with him from whom they have not been exacted. But there is much pro- 
 bability in Bamb.'s correction, fxe/jt,(p6/j.evov, the result of which would be that 
 in the view of the Schol. ravpovfihov might betaken either as the subject or the 
 object of avTairoKTelvai. (In Bamb.'s reprint of the Scholia, as in Butler's, fi'q 
 is omitted before ^Tj/xiwO^vTa. Dind. takes no notice of the variation.) 
 
 297. TOiotcrSe] Kara dir64>acnp dvayvoja-riov. This seems to show that he 
 rightly read the line as an interrogation, though he wrongly supposed it to be 
 equivalent to a negative proposition. 
 
 344. veoKpara '. KpaTT]pa veoKp-qrov r' daeirCkeL^oiiiva^. Read veoKpara : . 
 KpaTTjpa. " veoKp-^TOv t' eiaeviKeilSo/xevas." He first fills up the ellipse (so 
 another gloss, XetVet KpaTrjpa), then apparently quotes a parallel. 
 
 352. 7ro\vx(^crTov] ^tjXojtov Kal virb tuv itoXKCjv Kex^J^crp-ivov. Dind. has done 
 ill to prefer the reading of Med. to that of Rob., who omits ^rfKwTov Kai here, 
 and inserts ^rjXojTov before the gloss on eTncrTpeirrbv, v. 350, ws toi>j viravTuvras 
 eTTio-TpecpeadaL irpbs diav ruiCJv. 
 
 353, StttTToiTioy] ev Tols olKodofjLTifiaa-i t^s Tpolas. The words belong to iv 
 dofioicTL, V. 349, of which they are a mistaken explanation. 
 
 510. Kal ixT]v dfi6/x<pT]Tov] XetTret 7/ els. The gloss doubtless refers to the 
 beginning of the next line, TifjLrj/xa H/jl^ov. So on v. 200, ayakfia tv/x^ov, the 
 same formula of explanation is given. 
 
 512, 13. ra 5' aXXa] cD 'Opecrra. ^pdois] to. Kara tt]v acpayrji/ Alyiadov. 
 Reverse these glosses. 
 
 549. Set Toi VLV, cjj Wpe\pev : Sxnrep Si' aifxaros Wpe^e rbv dpaKovra, det avTrjv 
 6pe\j/aL ry t'Si'y ydXaKTt. 6 eari., 5t' a'i/xaros rrjv efxrju exLdvfxiav TrX-rjpuiaat. 
 Paley corrects 6v ^dec for Set, a change agreeing neither with the words 
 explained, nor with the latter part of the gloss. The Schol. seems to have 
 supposed the sense to end with the line, and accordingly to have supplied an 
 infinitive to Sel ex ingenio. 
 
 651. Xetirei tj eirl. A gloss written on the margin of hifiaae. This would 
 seem to show that the Schol. may have found a'ifxaaL, though another gloss on 
 V. 649 says, eTretcr^epci 5^ Toh olkois t^kvov TraXaidp al[xdTuv, eari, tIktcc 6 
 <p6vo$ dWov (pdvov. 
 
 693. KdKTTodwv] Kal TO. TToppwdev /caXcDs Keifieva tQv (plktav, 8 ecrri, ra iirl ^ivrjs 
 dyadd ivdiatTifjixaTa rod 'Opearov roh robots €V(Tt6x(^^ Kivovfiepij diroyvfivoU /xe^ 
 KLvovfJLevT] seems to be an error for x^'-P^^f^^^Vt though the writer is rather 
 explaining than repeating the words of ^schylus. 
 
 755. ov ydp Ti (poovei:] dXV dvayKTjv did baKpvoiv iir^cpepev. Does this mean 
 that the child expresses its wants by crying, or is it to be referred to the previous 
 verse, meaning that the word dvayKi^ was brought out with sobs, by way, 
 perhaps, of accounting for the break in the line ? The past eirecpepev would 
 agree better with the latter view. 
 
 797. pvd[xbv .... Zdirehov] dvrl rod evraKTOv Kal fir] rpax^av vopeiav. From 
 this gloss and that on v. 798 it would seem that the Schol. supposed ddiredov 
 to be an adjective. 
 
 801. vofxi^eTe] TjvLox^Te Kal dtoiKeiTe. •)7i'io%e?Te should probably be ^vot/feZre, 
 
 813. iirLcpopuTaTOs] ws ctI dvep.ov elirev, dvrl rod 6 XoyiKibraros. The last 
 word is explained by subsequent glosses, which speak of Hermes as requested 
 
APPENDIX I. 16^ 
 
 to act in the character of \6yos (see commentary on v. 815), so that the mean- 
 ing of the Schol. is virtually, * exercising his appropriate attribute fully.' 
 
 827. ad 5^ dapa-div] <ri) 8^ dappCjv i/xoi, t^kvov Opoovcrrj irpbs ae Trarpbs avSdu, 6 
 icTTLV (hs B.V el TTCLTrip <TV/x^ov\€6(T7i, Svau 7]K7] Kaip6s, ^py({} e-KL^oKov eiriKaXeadfievos 
 rb eiduiXov roO Trarpbs. Read Kaipbs ^pyiov, eTi^oKov. From the subsequent 
 glosses, 6 Kaipbs rod 'ipyov, Xeiirei. eTri^aXoO, rb 5i ewavcras Trarpbs '^pycji dvrl rod 
 eTTiKaXecrdfievos rb e'ldcjXou rod Trarpbs, it is clear that ^py(i) was meant to be joined 
 with eTravaas, eTri/SaXou being 'understood,' as elsewhere, without even a 
 supposed warrant from the text. It is clear, too, that the Schol. found the 
 passage as we have it, unless he read some other word for ^py({3 (such as et/ctD), 
 in which case his text must have been corrupted along with that of the MS. 
 
 843. eXKaivovrt /cat bebriy[xh^)i\ cos eVt fxaxaipas, ou TrapaKa\v(p6hri, aW 
 deifivrjarip' iu yap rols dp-qvoLS d/j-dcraovcnv avrOiv rd arrjdr]. The first three words, 
 perhaps, belong to the epithet alfxarocrrayes in the previous line. If not, it is 
 possible that two glosses may have been combined, the one founded on a mis- 
 interpretation of eXKalvovri and dedrjyfiivq}, as if the former were connected 
 with eX/cw, the latter with deiKvvfic, the latter supposing the metaphor to be 
 from the state of a mourner's breasts, bruised and torn. 
 
 926. TTpbs rv/JL^ov fidrrju] on /xeWu} reKevrdv. TrapoLfxiau elvai rovro (paai 
 Trpbs rip-^ov re KXaietv kol Trpbs &v8pa vrjTTLou. Paley's proposed insertion of 
 ravrb has been mentioned in the commentary. Possibly it may be contained 
 n the gloss itself, which might be read thus, 17 Trapoi/xia ehat ravrb (prjCL k.t.\. 
 
 A few other remarks on the Scholia will be found in the commentary. 
 
 If 2 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 On vv. -278 — 296. 
 
 Reprinted from the 'Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology,' 
 vol. -2. pp. 186 foil. 
 
 THE difficulties which this passage has hitherto presented to the critics can 
 scarcely be exaggerated,* The solution which I have to propose has the 
 merit, I think, of confronting them all, depending as it does, even in its details, 
 not mei'ely on isolated considerations, but on a view of the requirements of the 
 whole. 
 
 The source of all the perplexity and error has been the supposition that the 
 Xpv<^f^os, which is the subject of the speech, is in the main a prophecy to Orestes 
 about his own punishment, or at least about his and Electra's. That this is not 
 the case is evident from the tenor of the language throughout, which is studiously 
 general. The infinitives which run through the whole passage are not in the 
 future, as in v. 277, where Orestes is undoubtedly spoken of, riaeiv /xe, but in the 
 present (eTravreWeiv, v. 282, diuKeadai, v. 289, etvai, v. 292, where the negative 
 is o\}t€, not fiTjTe, drreipyeiu, v. 293, dex^crOai. and avXXtieiv, v. 294, OvqaKeiv, v, 
 •295) :+ and the same view is recommended or necessitated by ^porols, v. 2 79, which 
 at any rate suggests a general application, and rols tolovtols, v. 291, which speakg 
 for itself. The x/)??cr/x.6s then, like that referred to in Agam. 1568, is not a 
 prediction, but the announcement of a general law, operating in this case on all 
 who fail to avenge a father's murder. Keeping this before us, let us examine 
 the passage in detail. 
 
 The first sentence, vv. 278-282, is one which has been corrected in many 
 ways, some impossible, all more or less unsatisfactory. The words in v. 279, 
 rds 5e v^v, seem to speak of a contrast between the fate of Orestes and Electra, 
 
 * Dindorf, in the Preface to his third Leipsic edition (p. xlviii), declares the 
 whole passage, vv. 274-296, to be an intei-polation, 'calculated to deceive 
 those who are not accustomed to examine such passages in their verbal details 
 and in their whole connexion.' His sarcastic compliment to the writer, 'who 
 has done what Orestes himself {vv. 1029 foil.) asserts to be impossible/ has 
 been met by anticipation in my note on v. 269. 
 
 f xP'JJO'CfT' . . . elvai, w. 1030-1032, furnishes perhaps an apparent rather 
 than a real objection to this part of the argument : see note there. 
 
APPENDIX II. 165 
 
 arid that of some other persons designated as jSporol. But nothing can be made 
 of the opposition, as, if we understand by ^porol men in general, we fail to 
 obtain a significant parallel ; if the citizens of Argos, we convict ^schylus 
 of a misapplication of language, when he might quite as easily have said daroi. 
 Nor do we gain much by turning rds 8e into rdade, whether we suppose it to 
 be put for rctSe, by attraction, or render it ' these diseases which follow.' I 
 pass over the forced senses which have been given to 8v<x<pp6vojv fieiXiyixaTa, 
 alleviations of diseases, or of angry visitations,' ' calamities which would delight 
 an enemy, ' and the like. That there is corruption somewhere in the sentence 
 cannot be doubted, and the general view of the requirements of the whole 
 passage which I have just indicated enables us to fix on the place — the words 
 rds de vi^v. A further examination of the context will, I think, guide us, at 
 least proximately, to the word or words required in place of them. According 
 to the present reading, /xeiXiyfjiaTa and vocrovs are coupled rather awkwardly 
 with ewavTiWeLv, v. 282, as objects of TicpavcTKUv elire, ' he (or it) spoke of 
 diseases, and (he said) that white hairs spring up on this disease.' We should 
 certainly have expected to have an infinitive in the earlier part of the sentence 
 as well as in the later, even if the sentence ended, as it is commonly supposed 
 to do, with V. -282. Musgrave seems to have perceived this, and the alteration 
 which he proposed of TL(pau(TK€cv for incpaiaKuiv is ingenious and plausible, 
 though few would follow him in his grotesque substitution of yacrrepuv for 
 rdj 5e y(^u. We might complete his emendation by a suggestion of Bamberger's, 
 and read incpavaKeLv elirev dadevCov voaovs "ZapKuju iirafjL^aTTJpas, if it did not 
 seem better that €iraiLi.(BaTrjpas should not be forced into so close a connexion 
 with uocrovs, instead of standing, as it is generally understood, in apposition to 
 it, and simply qualifying Xeix^fcts- iri.<pavaKwv, too, is a word which we 
 should gladly retain in its application to Apollo's oracle, which accords best 
 with its Homeric use, and is strongly supported by Eum. 620, ^ov\ri 7ri(pav(TK0i 
 8' iifxiii' ewLaTreaOaL irarpos, where Apollo is the speaker. We have then to seek 
 an infinitive which may stand in the place of rds 5^ vipv. Putting palseo- 
 graphical considerations out of sight, I know of no word so likely as ^Xaardveiv^ 
 used, as it not unfrequently is (see Lobeck's Soph. Ajacc, pp. 90, 382, ed. 2, and 
 compare /SXaoToOcrt . . . irravd re koI Tre8o^dp.ova in v. 589 of this play) in a 
 sense which may be explained either as transitive, or, as I would rather regard 
 it, at least in earlier Greek, as inti'ansitive, with a cognate accusative. Let us 
 see then how the sentence will run ; — 
 
 rd fikv ydp e/c yrjs hvacfipbvwv fxeiXiyfiaTa 
 ^poToh 7ri.(pava-K0Ju ttire ^Xaardveiv vdaovs, 
 capKuiv eTrafMJ3aT7]pas dypiaLS yvddoLS 
 \eLxrivo.s i^^crdovTas dpxaiav (pvaiv, 
 XevKds d^ Kdpaas rjS' eTrauT^Weiv vbcn^. 
 
 rd fih then stands in a sort of double opposition to XevKas 5^ KSpaas, v. 282, 
 where the distinction merely amounts to discrimination, and to dWas re, v. 283, 
 where it is a real contrast, dvacppdvojv ixeCKiyp-aTa, in a connexion like this, can 
 only have one sense, the libations offered to appease the angry powers below- 
 The sense of fieiXiy/xaTa is proved by v. 15 above (note), that of dva<pp6vu}v 
 
1 66 APPENDIX II. 
 
 including both the dead and the Erinnyes (on the connexion of whom with the 
 earth see Miiller, §§ 80 foil.), by such passages as vv. 39 foil, above, and stUl 
 more by the contrasted use of evcppoves of the same powers when propitiated, 
 Pe7'S. 627, Eum. 992, 1030, where it is in fact synonymous with Ev/xiviSes. 
 The meaning then is that in the case of a person neglecting to avenge his 
 father's death, his very offerings of piety to those beneath, so far from being 
 accepted, only make diseases spring up from the earth on which they are 
 poured, e/c 777s belongs in construction to tcl fiecXiyfiaTa, in sense to ^XaaTdveiv 
 (see note on v. 507). ^porols then, as constructed with pXaaTaveiv, will have 
 the force illustrated in the note on v. 130, and originally apprehended by 
 Klausen, characterizing the living in their relation to the dead as partakers of 
 a common mortality. It is with great propriety that maladies so produced 
 from the earth are said to be Xeixn^es, which in ^schylus' view are diseases of 
 plants no less than of men (comp. Eum. 785, where the Xetx'^J' dcpvKXos, pro- 
 duced by the Erinnyes, is said to cast ^poTO(p66povs KrjXldas), so that iirafx^a- 
 rripas may possibly designate leprosy as mounting from the earth to the human 
 form, as the poison in Lucan's description of the African serpents (Phars, 
 9.830) runs along the soldier's lance, 'invaditque manum.' I will only add, 
 with regard to ^Xaa-Taveiv, that though to the eye it bears no very marked 
 resemblance to rds 6e v(fp, it might perhaps not unnaturally be confounded 
 with it by the ear, if we suppose transcribers to have occasionally written 
 from dictation, a source of confusion long since pointed out to me by a friend, 
 as explaining corruptions in other passages of the Greek dramatists. 
 
 So far the passage has been made to yield a clear and consistent sense. Let 
 us proceed to the next sentence, vv. 283-285. There we find the commentators 
 equally perplexed, hesitating between various supposed constructions, one of 
 which connects opQvra with (pcovei, 'it speaks of me as seeing,' another with 
 TeXoufievas, 'brought to pass on me as I see,' while a third makes it a neuter, 
 in a somewhat strange apposition with 7rpoaj36\ds, 'things which see.' The 
 only plausible suggestion is Hermann's, who places v. 285 after v. 288 ; but the 
 evident logical connexion between ip (Xkotui and to yap aKoreivop, pointed out by 
 Klausen, seems decisive in favour of the old order. Thus we are again led to 
 suppose a corruption, and again led to seek it in a lost infinitive. The use of 
 (pupel has already rather perplexed the editors, some of whom adopt Stanley's 
 i(f)u)V€L. We shall see the meaning of the adherence of the MSS. to the present, 
 at the same time that we clear up the sentence, if we read (pwvdv. These lines 
 then will be closely connected with the preceding, depending on incpavaKwv 
 eXire as their principal verb. The subject of (pwveip will be opQpra, its object 
 Trpocr^oXds. Translate, keeping the order of the Greek, ' and that other onsets' 
 (or, if we take irpoa-^oXas passively, ' visitations') * of the Erinnyes, brought to 
 pass by the slain father's blood, are summoned and harked on by him, as he 
 sees clearly while bending his brow in darkness.' The order of the words 
 enables us to see that the person designated by opCopra is the father, who has 
 been already mentioned by implication (as Klausen, though in other respects 
 wide of the mark, rightly perceives) in the word iraTpu^wp. The dead man calls 
 the Erinnyes, just as in v. 402, /So^ \oLybs''Eipi.pvp, or as inVirg. A. 6. 572, 
 'Tisiphone . . . vocat agmina saeva sororum.' He looks clearly through the 
 
APPENDIX II. 167 
 
 darkness, and calls the Erinnyes, the powers of darkness, by name, as a hunts- 
 man his pack, the very image expressed in other passages (vv. 924, 1054, comp. 
 Eum. 132, 246) where they are actually spoken of as Kvves. Then follows a 
 parenthesis, rightly pointed as such by Paley, from t6 yap, v. 286, to Tapdaaei, 
 V. 289, expressing the fact that the arrow of darkness and the frenzy of midnight 
 panic are weapons in the hands of the dead, an explanation, in short, of the 
 dWas TTpoa-^oXas, after which the infinitives are resumed with didoKeadai, the 
 undoubted reading of the MSS., and continue to the end of the xPV<^fJ-os, v. 
 296. Thus the whole passage, with the exception of the parenthesis, forms one 
 sentence, depending on incfiavaKtjJv elire, precisely the structure which we should 
 have been previously entitled to expect in the case of an oracular utterance. 
 
 The above view is, I believe, perfectly original in the main. The observation 
 that the language throughout is general had already been made by Dobree, and 
 afterwards by Wordsworth, to whom it seems to have occurred independently, 
 as it did to myself: but neither of them appears to have applied it to clearing up 
 any of the difficulties of the passage, the supposition of the former that a line had 
 been lost after v. 284, Toiavra ireix\peLV etire tov KaTo, x&ov6s, 'Opwvra k. t. A., 
 showing that he did not appreciate the value of his discovery, whether we sup- 
 pose him to have confounded wiii^peiv with iriixireLv, or to have imagined a 
 particular reference to Agamemnon and Orestes to be introduced in the middle 
 of the general denunciation. It may be some confirmation of the truth of my 
 view if I mention that it opened on me only very gradually, many months 
 having intervened between the first perception of the character of the xpV<^M^ 
 with its bearings, and the complete solution of all the perplexities in detail.* I 
 still desire some illustration of the supposed belief that libations poured on the 
 earth by unholy hands produced natural diseases ; but it is sufficiently intelligible 
 in itself, and appropriate to ^schylus. 
 
 * It is to an early and incomplete draught of this view that Mr. Paley refers 
 in his remarks on this passage in his English commentary. 
 
ADDENDA. 
 
 P. 68. Note on v. 4-22. 
 Comp. Pacuvius' Dulorestes fr. 18 (ed. Eibbeck), 'TJtinam nunc matrescam 
 ingenio, ut meum patrem ulcisci queam' (where the reading matrescam, altered 
 by Eibbeck into maturescam, is supported by Nonius, who quotes the line for 
 the purpose of exemplifying the word), a line doubtless spoken by Electra. 
 
 P. 94. Note on v. 608. 
 Possibly Sa^oLpSs may be intended to include the two notions, fiery red and 
 sanguinary, just as Cassandra in Ennius' Alexander, fr. 6 (Eibbeck), says of 
 the brand which symbolized Paris, ' Adest, adest fax obvoluta sanguine atque 
 incendio.' 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 P. 44, notes, column i, line 5, for alieni read alicui. 
 ,, ,, line i^, for KrjKos read ktjkIs. 
 
 P. 80, notes, column 1, line 5, for 187 read 188. 
 
 P. 97, notes, column i, line 3, for intransively read intransitively. 
 
 P. 99, notes, column 2, lines 27-8, dele the period after \engesince, and insert 
 a bracket before comp, Ag. 462. 
 
 P. 103, notes, column 2, line 33, for dWos read ^XXws. 
 
 A few misplaced accents will be foimd, but, I trust, chiefly in places where 
 the misprint is too obvious to mislead. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Abresch, coirection by, p. 132. 
 Accusative, cognate, pp. 17, 25, 75 ; 
 
 converted into subject of a passive 
 
 verb, pp. 121, 127. 
 Accusative, instead of some other case, 
 
 p. 66. 
 Accusative, instrumental, p. 73. 
 Accusative, put first in a sentence 
 
 without regular construction, p, 1 12. 
 Adjectives of thi-ee terminations, p. 12. 
 Adulterer, killing of, no murder by 
 
 Athenian law, p. 147. 
 Adverbs, peculiar uses of, p. 70. 
 ^gisthus, character of, pp. xxiii, 142. 
 ^gisthus took part in Agamemnon's 
 
 murder, p. 15 1. 
 jEschylus, Supplices, v. 484, emended 
 
 p. 147 ; V. 602, true reading of, p. 
 
 157 j V. 620, illustrated, p. 46. 
 ^schylus compared in his treatment 
 
 of his subject with Sophocles and 
 
 Euripides, pp. xvii — xxiii. 
 .^schylus sometimes imitated Archi- 
 
 lochus, p. 20. 
 Agamemnon, dignity of, enhancing 
 
 the crime of his murderers, pp. 86, 
 
 96, 160. 
 Agamemnon, position of in Homer, 
 
 p. 58. 
 Agamemnon symbolized by an eagle, 
 
 p. 41. 
 Agamemnon and Choephorce confused, 
 
 PP- 4, 159- 
 Ahrens (H. L.),. corrections by, pp. 
 
 57, 59, 63, 65, 67, 68, 1 18, 148. 
 Aldus, con-ections by, pp. 42, 117, 
 
 125. 
 
 Anacoluthon, p. 81. 
 
 AnapEBsts in the Ko/j.fx6s monostrophic, 
 
 p. 50. 
 Antispast, anacrusis of, lengthened, 
 
 p. 66. 
 Aorist participle, resoluble into a verb, 
 
 PP- 52, 65, 74, 91 ; without an 
 
 article as a noun, p. 10 1. 
 Aorist used of virtually present time, 
 
 pp. 19, 68. 
 Apollo, whether identified with the 
 
 sun, p. 147. 
 Aposiopesis, pp. 33, 62. 
 Aristarchus, how he understood v. i 
 
 of CJioeph., p. 4, 
 Aristophanes, his mention of ^schy- 
 
 lus, pp. 3, 4. 
 Article, position of, p. 78. 
 Article, with second of two epithets, 
 
 p. no. 
 Attraction of cases, pp. 15, 36. 
 Auratus, corrections by, pp. 77, 159. 
 Axe, whether the weapon by which 
 
 Agamemnon was killed, p. 133. 
 a, final, short in words like cpaidpvvTpia, 
 
 p. 114. 
 dyeiv, ' to di-aw up,' p. 79. 
 ayeipeiv, not * to infer,' p. 97. 
 ajKadev, for avUaOev, doubtful, p. 52. 
 ayKoXai of the sea, p. 91. 
 dyXh peculiar use of, p. 98. 
 ayihvLos of Hermes, p. 91. 
 6.T]fjiai, p. 64. 
 aiyis, the shield of Zeus, identical 
 
 with the storm, p. 92. 
 aivetv, 'to mention,' p. 152. 
 aivoTrar-qp, a substantive, p. 53. 
 alpov/j.ai = 5exop-a(; pp. 86, 139. 
 
170 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 aiaxvvetv and its cognates, of adul- 
 terers, pp, 142, 148. 
 
 alTovfjLeuos, passive, p. 76. 
 
 alxM, the proper ensign of the male 
 ruler, p, 96. 
 
 at'w for alQva, p. 57. 
 
 OLKixbOeTov, p. 99. 
 
 aXeLTTjpLOS, dXiTTjpLos, dXoiTrjpios, p. 
 
 145. 
 dXXct introducing a prayer, p. 51 ; in- 
 troducing the conclusion of a hymn, 
 
 P- 75- 
 
 dXV €1, p. 117. 
 
 dXX' ^, p. 116. 
 
 dXXyjv, referring to a substantive un- 
 derstood, p. 155. 
 
 d/xavpos and its cognates express dim- 
 ness rather than blackness, p. 27. 
 
 d/x(pLda\7]s, p. 64. 
 
 d;U0iXa0^s, active or passive ? p. 54. 
 
 dfKptwToXts, p. 14. 
 
 duayKaioos ^X'^^t P- 40- 
 
 dj'dtrcreii' and similar verbs with dative, 
 p. 22. 
 
 dva4)€peLv, of heaving the breath, p. 72. 
 
 dPTjp, opposed to 71^1^^, p. 160; to 
 dripiou, pp. 83, 147. 
 
 dvdelp, of disease, p. 151. 
 
 dviSeiv, p. 122, 
 
 dvol-yeiv, without an object, p. 131. 
 
 dvrl, compounds with, p. 23; con- 
 fused with lao-, p. 53. 
 
 dvTifjLOLpos, with dative, p. 53. 
 
 dTraLoKr]p.a, p. 150. 
 
 diravdi^eiu, and similar words, meta- 
 phorical use of, p. 25. 
 
 dire^vyrjp ir65as, p. 103. 
 
 dTOTpoTTos, with accusative, p. 103. 
 
 dTroxpyi/J-aTos and dxpy]IJ'O.T0$, p. 45. 
 
 dirpiKTOTrXTjKTa, p. 68. 
 
 diTTeiv, of closing in wrestling, p. 130. 
 
 Spa, interrogative, pp. 49, 70. 
 
 dpa, of subjective consequence, p. 153. 
 
 'Apai, of the Furies, pp. 66, 105. 
 
 "A/37JS, of a warrior or destroyer, pp. 
 28, 141. 
 
 dpKeros, p. 12. 
 
 apaepos yopos, p. 79. 
 
 dpri, compounds with, p. 90. 
 
 dpxcuos, 'normal,' p. 46. 
 
 d(XK€voLS, a word possibly occurring in 
 
 a lost part of the Choeph., p. 3. 
 drLfxos and dri/xwdeis, with genitive, 
 
 pp. 49. 97- 
 drip-os, quasi-political, pp. 49, 66 : 
 
 whether for dTip-iiipTjTos, p. 153. 
 drpiaKTOs, p. 55. 
 avdrj, 'name' or 'word,' p. 125. 
 avTOLcrip i]/xLP for rah r]iJ.up avrwp, p. 30. 
 avTOKcoiros, p. 28. 
 " avTOTTTai esse optant qui malvmi 
 
 alicui [misprinted alie'ni] imprecan- 
 
 tur," p. 44. 
 avToae TreidetTOai, p. 128. 
 avTov, &c., whether used of ist and 
 
 2nd persons, p. 19, 
 avTocpopros, p. 103. 
 dxos, wrongly changed into dyos, p. 9 1 . 
 
 B. 
 
 Bamberger, corrections by, pp. 39, 
 
 67, 105. 
 Barrows in the Troad, p. 57. 
 Bath made the agent in slaying Aga- 
 memnon, p. 160. 
 Baths, hot, p. 102. 
 Blomfield (Bp.), corrections by, pp. 
 
 8, 9, 46, 59, 64, 67, 88, 90, 95, 
 
 123, 129. 
 Blood spilt, impossibility of atoning 
 
 for, pp. 9, 13, 81. 
 Blood spilt, an outrage to the earth, 
 
 p. II. 
 Blood, curdling of, after death, p. 12. 
 Bloodshed the way to get rid of 
 
 bloodshed, p. 75. 
 Bothe, corrections by, pp. 37, 67, 
 
 Bow, shooting with, metaphors from, 
 
 p. 155- 
 Buttmann's Lexilogus, referred to, 
 
 P- 5. 
 B and K written similarly in Med. 
 
 MS., p. 141. 
 ^aXeip, intransitive, p. 89. 
 ^dirreip, of dipping in blood, p. 151. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 171 
 
 PiXrjf erroneously substituted for 
 
 /3\, vowel shortened before, p. 54. 
 ^XaTrri/xepos, 'halting,' p. 143. 
 §\a(TTdveLv, with accusative, pp. 92, 
 
 165. 
 /3o?7, * a cry for help,' p. 132. 
 j3ov\tos, p. 102. 
 ^poTol, not simply equivalent to 
 
 v€Kpoi, p. 22. 
 ^poTol, of the living in their relation 
 
 to the dead, and vice versd, pp. 22, 
 
 166. 
 §pv€Lv, p. ir. 
 
 Canter, corrections by, pp. 7, 9, 77, 
 
 94» 105, 133- 
 Casaubon, correction by, p. 6. 
 Causation attributed to the absence 
 
 of a thing, p. 131. 
 Character, delineation of, in ^^sch., 
 
 occupies the third place, p. xxi. 
 Chiasmus, p. 83. 
 Chill, the effect of grief, p. 15. 
 Chill, the effect of scourging, p. 44. 
 Choephorce, the Latinized title of the 
 
 play, p. XXV. 
 Choral odes, corruptions in, p. 118. 
 Chorus, whether entering with Elec- 
 
 tra, p. 5. 
 Chorus, not charged with Clytaam- 
 
 nestra's prayer, p. 9. 
 Chorus, age of the, pp. 29, 43. 
 Chorus, occupy the same position as 
 
 Cassandra in Agamemnon, pp. xxiii, 
 
 140. 
 Clytsemnestra, character of, pp. xxii, 
 
 105, 132. 
 Clytsemnestra, feeling of the Chorus 
 
 towards, p. 96. 
 Clytaimnestra, language of, after her 
 
 crime, parallel to that of Orestes, 
 
 p. 152. 
 Colloquial language mixed with tragic, 
 
 pp. 69, 100, 150. 
 Compound adjectives, pp. 7, 23, 28, 
 
 53. 
 
 Compound substantives, p. 52. 
 
 Conditional sentence without condi- 
 tional prefix, p. I T 3. 
 
 Confidence, want of, the vice of 
 tyranny, p. 65. 
 
 Conjunctive, see Subjunctive. 
 
 Crying to a tomb, a proverbial ex- 
 pression, p. 138. 
 
 Cyrus, inscription on tomb of, p. 58. 
 
 D. 
 
 Dactyl, commencing an iambic tri- 
 meter in ^schylus, p. 37. 
 
 Darius, inscription on tomb of, p. 58. 
 
 Darkness, the proper element of the 
 Furies, p. 47. 
 
 Dative, expressing design, doubtful in 
 ^sch., p. 6. 
 
 Dative, 'in addition to,' p. 127. 
 
 Dative, of circumstance or condition, 
 p. 8. 
 
 Dative, at the beginning of a sentence, 
 
 PP- 13, 75- 
 
 Delphi, undying fire at, p. 155. 
 
 Delphi and Daulis, road leading from, 
 p. 103. 
 
 Demeter and Erinnys, p. 11. 
 
 Dialectic peculiarities not preserved 
 in tragic dialogue, p. 88. 
 
 Dindorf (W.), corrections by, pp. 5, 
 i9» 39» 69, 93, 94» 12 r, 137. 
 
 Diseases compared to devouring ani- 
 mals, p. 46. 
 
 Divinity synonymous with happiness, 
 pp. 10, 75. 
 
 Dobree, restorations by, pp. 72, 167. 
 
 Dochmiacs, whether corresponding 
 syllabically in strophe and anti- 
 strophe, pp. 26, 140. 
 
 ' Doer must suffer,' pp. 52, 152. 
 
 Dogs, Furies represented in the form 
 of, p. 138, 166. 
 
 Donaldson's Neio Cratylus, referred 
 to, pp. 6, 40, 78, 99, 152. 
 
 Doors of the palace, pp. 5, 91, 102, 
 no, 13;. 
 
 dal for dri, p. 135. 
 
 daifiwv, in the sense of tvxV) V- ^O- 
 
172 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Sal'os, senses of, p. 69. 
 
 bajxrjvaL, with dative, p. 60. 
 
 hdire^ov, quantity of, p. 120. 
 
 d^-ydp = a.X\a-ydp, p. 14. 
 
 deye, p. 138. 
 
 Se, quasi- copulative, pp. 108, 135. 
 
 Se, in apodosis, after iirel, p. 95. 
 
 5e, introducing another predicate, pp. 
 
 32, 126; introducing a question, 
 
 p. 16. 
 5^ re, p. 78. 
 
 Sexecr^at, with dative, p. 114. 
 5td, with genitive, pp. 98, roo. 
 Stct, monosyllable, p. 119. 
 5td Travrbs, pp. 129, 153. 
 diacpepeLv and differre, p. 12. 
 6t/caios, of hospitality, p. 102. 
 diKiqv, cognate accusative, p. 25. 
 St'xws, p. 137. 
 U\pr], whether an admissible form, p. 
 
 113- 
 
 SLUKeadaL, and similar verbs, with 
 
 genitive, p. 48. 
 dpdaaPTi iradeLV, how constructed, p. 
 
 52- 
 dpoLTT] and dpurr], meaning of, p. 149. 
 bpofMos, p. 81. 
 Svvaa-ai yap, p. 61. 
 dvap-adeXv, with accusative, p. 38. 
 dvcroLiiios, whence derived, p. 142. 
 dvacppoves, of angry powers below, p. 
 
 165. 
 5i;(rxet/Ae/)0?, contrasted with deppLos, 
 
 p. 44. 
 
 E. 
 
 Eagle and Serpent, p. 41. 
 Ear, the recipient of command, p. 10. 
 Electra, character of, p. xxii. 
 Electra, why sent with the libations, 
 
 p. XV. 
 
 Elmsley, correction by, p. 139. 
 Embalming, apparently not known in 
 
 heroic times, p. 49. 
 Epexegesis, p. 8. 
 Erfurdt, correction by, p. iii. 
 Erinnyes, first represented by -i^sch. 
 
 with snaky hair, p. 157. 
 
 Erinnyes, no definite number of, p. 
 
 138. 
 Erinnys, revelry of, p. 106. 
 Euripides, Electra of, characterized, 
 
 pp. XX, xxi ; referred to, pp. 23, 
 
 Euripides' Ino emended, p. 89. 
 Euripides' ridicule of ^sch., p. 35. 
 Eustathius referred to, pp. 5, T16. 
 Exile attributed to Electra as well as 
 
 to Orestes, p. 23. 
 Exiles taking sanctuary at an altar, 
 
 P-55- 
 C and C confounded, p. 11. 
 et ydp, in a wish, with an apodosis, 
 
 p. 56. 
 ei TC e'xeis and el' rt ^xots, p. 18. 
 els eV, p. 49. 
 
 eladyeLv, with two accusatives, p. 14. 
 €K used where we might have expected 
 
 some other preposition, p. 61. 
 €K rQpde, pp. 55, 158. 
 eKKiJKXrjfia, p. 146. 
 €Kiray\e1adai, p. 37. 
 eXiriaw, not the classical future of 
 
 iXiri^o}, p. 32. 
 ^fi/xoTos, p. 75. 
 ifxos for f/xoO, p. 85. 
 iv, after a verb implying motion, p. 
 
 143. 
 iv yhei—iyyevifis, p. 47. 
 ip fxipei, p. 55. 
 €u pi.€(xcp = ifiiroddbv, p. 25. 
 e^ alviyp.dTO}v, p. 133. 
 i^dpyfiara or dirdpyiiara, p. 70- 
 i^evx^adaL, p. 37. 
 i^rjyrjTai, pp. 20, 86. 
 ewayyeWeLu, p. 36. 
 eiraLveiv tlvl Troteiv tl, p. 91. 
 ivaKpiteLv, p. 139. 
 eiraveiv, with two datives, p. 125. 
 iireLKd^eiv, force of, pp. 6, 146. 
 iTTTjKoos, semi-judicial, p. 146. 
 iirl v'lKrjV, or eirl vlKrj ? p. 76. 
 eTTt ^vpov, p. 132. 
 eiTL^evyvvcrdai, p. 156. 
 iiriOed^eLP and iwidod^eLv, p. 129. 
 eTriirofXTal, iirayuyai, ecpodoi, p. 47. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 173 
 
 eiriaKOTreLv, p. 10. 
 
 iiriaKOTTos, p. 21. 
 
 iTna-TpewTos, p. 57. 
 
 iiroix^adai, p. 143. 
 
 €iroTrT€}j€tv, of divine regard, pp. 78, 
 91. 
 
 ^pyou, opposed to \6yos, p. 28. 
 
 epelu, whether used of talking, p. 89. 
 
 ^pvfxa, of a tomb, p. 27. 
 
 ^(TTi, closing a sentence at the begin- 
 ning of a verse, p. 1 7. 
 
 ecrrt'a, the seat of family life, pp. 43, 
 96. 
 
 ed, in the sense of ' naturally' or 
 ' rightfully,' p. 31. 
 
 ev lde?v, p. 119. 
 
 evSecTTPa, or al(J)pa, p. *j6. 
 
 evfxopcpov KpaTos, p. 78. 
 
 evirpoacoTroKOLTTjs, p. 145. 
 
 €VTpa(pr]S, or evrpecfy-qs, p. 134. 
 
 €V(ppov€S, synonymous with EviJ,^vides, 
 p. 165. 
 
 ev(f)pwu, pp. 16, 19, 33. 
 
 ^(pedpos, p. 130. 
 
 ecpoSevaai, icpopevaai, i(f)edpeu(rai, p. no. 
 
 ^X^'-'^i ' cognitum habere,' p. T17. 
 
 ^Xw, with infinitive, p. 34. 
 
 F. 
 
 Face covered in weeping, p. 15. 
 
 Fear in ^sch. the binding principle 
 of society, p. 10. 
 
 Franz, corrections by, pp. 65, 126. 
 
 Funeral feasts, p. 76. 
 
 Funeral honours paid to Clytaemnestra 
 and ^gisthus, pp. xiii, 124. 
 
 Future indicative and aorist conjunc- 
 tive in questions, p. 16. 
 
 Future indicative and aorist conjunc- 
 tive after oVwy, p. 43. 
 
 Gender, masculine for feminine, pp. 
 
 92, 134- 
 Genitive, after neuter adjectives, p. 
 
 Genitive after verbs implying motion, 
 p. 108. 
 
 Genitive of place, pp. 31, 6^, 64. 
 
 Genitive after oveidi^ecu and similar 
 words, p. 137. 
 
 Genitive used elliptically in compari- 
 sons, p. 148. 
 
 Genitives, two, differently connected 
 with the same word, pp. 31, 80, 
 I4T, 149. 
 
 Gold symbolizing the highest happi- 
 ness, p. 60. 
 
 Gorgons, Furies compared to, p. 157. 
 
 r and I confused, p. i6r. 
 
 r and T confused, p. 65. 
 
 yap placed late in a sentence, p. 153. 
 
 ye in questions, p. 148. 
 
 ye firiv, p. 144. 
 
 yeveOXios, ' belonging to a mother,' p. 
 136. 
 
 yipiov, TpLyipwv, applied to things, pp. 
 52, 121. 
 
 yXwcrcrrjs xctpci', p. 44. 
 
 yoaadai, passive, p. 97. 
 
 7077s and yorjTrjS, p. 124. 
 
 yovLas xet/iwj', p. i ^g. 
 
 H. 
 
 ^ only stood for the first person in the 
 
 older Attic, p. 30. 
 7]/j.ap, Homeric use of, p. 43. 
 -r]u more usual termination of second 
 
 person dual in historic tenses, p. 80. 
 i]VL6crrpo(pos of a race-course, p. 154. 
 ^s and ^ada, p. 59. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hair offered to Apollo and to rivers, 
 
 P-5. 
 
 Hands stretched out at funerals, p. 5. 
 
 Hands, purity of, connected with ac- 
 ceptable prayer, pp. 24, 6r, 62. 
 
 Heath, corrections by, pp. 8, 59, 91, 
 95, I39> I44» 156. 
 
 Hermann, restorations by, pp. 10, 21, 
 22, 39' 50, 54, 56, 60, 61, 62, 63, 
 67, 68, 75, 80, 98, 99, 122, 141, 
 143, 144, 145, 148- 
 
 Hermes, attributes of, pp. 4, 5, 21, 
 91, 95, no, 123. 
 
174 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Hermes, statue of, probably stood in 
 
 the vestibule of the palace, pp. 4, 
 
 91, 121, 
 Herodotus refeired to, p. 105. 
 Hiatus in anaptests, p. 60. 
 Homer, referred to, pp. 40, 58. 
 Homer, his mention of the vengeance 
 
 of Orestes, pp. xiii., xiv. 
 Honours paid to royal personages in 
 
 the shades, p. 57. 
 Hospitality, duties of, suspended by 
 
 grief, p. 88. 
 Hypallage, doctrine of, p. 31. 
 Hyperboreans, traditional felicity of, 
 
 p. 60. 
 
 e. 
 
 diXojv, p. 119. 
 
 -dep, adverb in, with force of genitive, 
 
 p. 141. 
 deSs, used generally, p. 159. 
 depixbs and its cognates, p. 150. 
 
 6€TO(TKv9pO}Tr6s, p. III. 
 
 drjpalov, an embroidered garment, p. 
 
 39- 
 
 drjpLov not used in tragedy, p. 39. 
 
 diyydveiv x^po?, p. T4'2. 
 
 dpeTTTrjpiov, class of substantives to 
 
 which it belongs, p. 5. 
 dvTTip, used adjectively, p. 42. 
 
 Iambic trimeters in lyrical parts do 
 not always correspond exactly, p. 9. 
 
 Inclusive expressions used where ex- 
 clusion is really intended, p. 32. 
 
 In-door life of women, p. 137. 
 
 Infinitive used in wishes and prayers, 
 
 PP- 51, 59- 
 Infinitive, present, whether used in 
 
 predictions, pp. 155, 164. 
 Itacism, corruption by, pp. t6, 75. 
 Justice, how conceived of by the 
 
 ancients, p- 51. 
 -ias, adjectives in, used of winds, p. 
 
 159- 
 IMadat CIS, p. 39. 
 lr]\€/xiaTpi.a, or laKefxiarpLa, p. 68. 
 
 i(Tos in composition, quantity of, 
 P- 53- 
 
 I'CTTW, p. 93. 
 
 I'w Tis, in a wish, p. 28. 
 
 K. 
 
 Klausen, corrections by, pp. 71, 75, 
 
 93.^ 
 Kad' 7}p.ipav, less common than p.id* 
 
 Wepav, p. 123. 
 Kaddpfxara, p. 17. 
 KadrjKeLV, p. 73. 
 Kai, answering to /xev, p. 146. 
 Kai, trajection of, pp. 19, 134. 
 Kai ixrjv, p. 30. 
 Kol vvv, use of, p. 105. 
 Kai TTuis, Kai irodev, &c., pp. 42, 64, 82. 
 Kaivi^eLV, p. 78. 
 
 /ca/cd, of supernatural terror, p. 88. 
 Ka\eiadaL, uses of, pp. 53, 155. 
 Kavaxn^, of the plashing of liquid, 
 
 p. 26. 
 KOLT 6(p9a\/jiovs, p. 89. 
 Kara arbp-a, p. 89. 
 Keipeadai nva, like KbiTTecrOat., pp. 29, 
 
 32. 
 
 Ke'iadat, of dice, p. 145. 
 
 K€K\avfj.hos, whether to be explained 
 like SedaKpu/xeuos, p. 73. 
 
 KeXados, p. 56. 
 
 Kevrpov, p. 47. 
 
 K-q^eLos, p. 16. 
 
 KrjKis, pp. 44, 152. 
 
 Krjuvcrao} and Kivvaau, p. 33. 
 
 KTjpv^, function of Hermes, pp. 4, 21. 
 
 KTjpvaau}, with accusative, p. 21. 
 
 KlpvaadaL (piklav, p. 56. 
 
 kK, vowel lengthened before, p. 128. 
 
 KKveLv, aKoOcrai, whether tautological, 
 p. 4. 
 
 k\ij€iv, with dative, p. 27. 
 
 k\v€is, at the end of a speech, p. 71, 
 
 KViawToh x^o''o^> P- 77- 
 
 KOLvbs, 'kindred,' p. 155. 
 
 Kop-i^eLV, pp. 43, 56. 
 
 Ko/xpibs, p. 50 ; contributes to the ac- 
 tion of the play, p. xvii. 
 
 Kbwavov, in the sense of /coTrt's, p. 129. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 -^15 
 
 KOTTTOJ, denoting motion, p. 23. 
 KOTOS, of the Furies, and the effects 
 
 produced by them, p. 154. 
 KovpoTp6(pos, function of Apollo, p. 5. 
 Kpd^co and /cXct^w, p. 84. 
 Kpdros, united with AUrj, p. 41. 
 Kp^K€Lv, applied either to avKbs or 
 
 Kiddpa, p. 124. 
 KpiTTjs, distinguished fi'om /xdvTis or 
 
 TcpacrKdiros, pp. 9, 84. 
 KTi^ei.v, use of in ^sch, for iroieHv, p. 7 1 . 
 /ewe J, of the Furies, p. 138. 
 Kvpetv d^iws, p. 107. 
 
 L. 
 
 Lachmann, corrections by, pp. 67, 68, 
 Last letters of a line obliterated, p. 6. 
 Leprosy, different kinds of, p. 46. 
 Libations to the dead, of what kind, 
 
 P- 25. 
 Life supposed to be produced by the 
 
 heavenly bodies, p. 92. 
 Lions, Clytsemnestra and ^gisthus 
 
 compared to, p. 141. 
 Lycians among the bravest allies of 
 
 Troy, p. 56. 
 Xa/Sat, 6/J.oiai., p. 79. 
 Xafx^dveiv, with genitive, p. 21. 
 X^yeLv, eiireiv, (ppdaai, used epexegeti- 
 
 cally, p. 92. 
 X^yeis, expressing assent, p. 71. 
 \4yo}, and similar verbs, with infini- 
 tive in the sense of giving a charge, 
 
 pp. 17, C!o, 24. 
 Xe'7w and rpeyco confounded, p. 147. 
 Xeixrjv, a disease of plants as well as 
 
 of men, p, 166, 
 \v€LV, in the sense of KaraKveiv, p. 49. 
 
 M. 
 
 Madness shows itself similarly in 
 Orestes and Cassandra, p. T49. 
 
 Manuscripts of the Choeph., pp. vii, 
 xxiv. 
 
 Masculine adjective, Trpbs rb arjixaL- 
 v6fJt,evop, p. 1 34. 
 
 Metrical anomalies removed by pro- 
 nunciation, pp. 100, 122, 157. 
 
 Moral and physical, antithesis of, p. 
 
 57- 
 
 Miiller (C. 0.), his Dissertation on 
 the Eumenides referred to, pp. xvii, 
 XX, xxi, II, 20, 21, 41, 50, 51, 66^ 
 87. 136, 157, 158. 
 
 Murder begets murder, p. 99. 
 
 Murdered men assisting in the dis- 
 covery of their murderers, p. 54. 
 
 Murderer could not obtain purification 
 at home, p. 158. 
 
 fxa^bs and /xaaros, p. 83. 
 
 fiala, pp. 9, 15. 
 
 /xdKapes of the gods or of the dead ? 
 P- 75- 
 
 fjidX' rj^Giv, expressing activity, p. 131. 
 
 fidWd, fii] dWd, p. 137. 
 
 /xdWov yeyivrjTai, of success, p. 62. 
 
 /ia(rxaXt(r/^6s, p. 70. 
 
 ^dratoy, pp. 15, 137. 
 
 (xdr-qv, peculiar use of, p. 132, 
 
 I^^Xn X^P^^ and /J-dxr] 8op6s, p. 142. 
 
 fie for ifiavTrjv, p. 158. 
 
 fxeiXly/xara, pp. 6, 165. 
 
 p.4v — re, p. 146. 
 
 fxipos ^pyuv, p. 125. 
 
 fji-ia-os and similar word$, peculiar use 
 of, p. II. 
 
 fieaciidds, p. 121. 
 
 /M€Td, in composition, expressing 
 change, p. 160. 
 
 /xeracpopd and eiKuv confused, pp. 42, 
 
 154- 
 
 /xiroiKOi of Orestes and Electra as 
 restored, p. 145. 
 
 p.y]U—ti7]U, p. 156. 
 
 p.'qxdvTjiJLa of the robe in which Aga- 
 memnon was slain, p. 147. 
 
 fxiaiveiv and its cognates of murderers, 
 p. 142. 
 
 fioc in personal entreaty, p. 27. 
 
 fxo^pa of a function or duty, p. 40. 
 
 fji-6uos neutralizing the substantive to 
 which it is added, p. 130. 
 
 fjLdxXos, bolt or crowbar ? p. 131. 
 
 fjivpaiva, p. 148. 
 
 fivxbs, pp. 8, 72, 121. 
 
 fxCoi^, with subjunctive, p. 30. 
 
176 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 N. 
 
 Neque — Treelike oiire — oiSre, p. 13. 
 
 Net, sword compared to, p. 90. 
 
 Nominative absolute, p. 119. 
 
 Nurse, Orestes', names given to, p. 
 no. 
 
 Nurse, Orestes', dramatic representa- 
 tion of, p. xxiii. 
 
 veoKpds, p. 56. 
 
 vLKav, quasi-political use of, p. T04. 
 
 vlkCj, 'I have conquered,' or 'am a 
 conqueror,' p. 158, 
 
 vop-l^eLv = xPwG°^h PP- iS> I '2^ J 150- 
 
 voacpi^etv, ' to kill, ' p. 70. 
 
 vvfM(f)LKa eSwXta, p. 13. 
 
 pyp — yCj/, not used for ' at one time — 
 
 at another,' p. 152. 
 vcofJLciv, of ordinary motion, p. 47. 
 
 Oath taken by touching an altar, p. 
 
 19. 
 Oaths between Orestes and Pylades, 
 
 p. 135- 
 
 Old age and learning, p. 29. 
 
 Old Testament, parallels from to pas- 
 sages in ^sch., p. II. 
 
 Old offences revived by a new crime, 
 p. 65. 
 
 Opening lines of the Choeph.^ whence 
 supplied, p. 3. 
 
 Optative without Hv, pp. 93, 128, 
 161. 
 
 Optative, instead of imperative, p. 133. 
 
 Orestes, character of, p. xxi, — com- 
 pared with Hamlet, ih. 
 
 Orestes' robe preserved, p. 39. 
 
 Orestes, trial of, p. 147. 
 
 Orestes, madness of, its first signs, pp. 
 
 148,15--. 
 Oriental notions transferred by ^sch. 
 
 to heroic times, pp. 10, 58. 
 Out-door life of men, pp. 24, 137. 
 and C confused, p. 61. 
 and confused, p. 67,. 
 6 ixev — 6 Se, singular before, p. 153. 
 o5e, 'hei-e ends,' p. 75. 
 65e ixvdot for iivdos irepi rovde, p. 29. 
 
 otyeiv, not necessarily to open from 
 
 within, p. 13. 
 old' 6ir7), virtually parenthetical, p. 
 
 153- 
 olov, adverbial, p. 63. 
 oXbixevos, like perditus, p. 26. 
 6jj./jLa and ocpdakfios, of an object, p. 40., 
 ofMoiws nearly = o^wj, p. 53. 
 ojULus reXeirai, p. 63. 
 oj^eidtf, of the crimes of the house of 
 
 Atreus, p. 153. 
 o^vx^ip, force of the compound, p. 7. 
 OTTLcrOoTrovs, p. 108. 
 
 opdre, indicative or imperative, p. 155. 
 opfii^eiv, p. 83. 
 
 ovra, present, not future, p. 98. 
 otJTe, omitted before ovre, p. 48. 
 oijT€ — oijTe, ovTe — re, re — re, pp. 12, 
 
 13- 
 6<pda\fi6s, metaphorically, pp. 40, 140. 
 6\f/avov, p. 83. 
 -oio, verbs in, p. 85. 
 
 Paley (Mr.), corrections by, pp. 11, 
 
 33, 67, 105. 
 Parodos, p. 7. 
 Parcemiacs, more frequently destroyed 
 
 than introduced by copyists, p. 
 
 160, 
 Participle, article omitted before, p. 
 
 58. 
 Participle for finite verb, pp. 98, 124. 
 Participle in dative after pronoun in 
 
 genitive, p. 6^. 
 Participle limiting another participle, 
 
 p. 47. 
 Participle, present, used in general 
 
 designations, p. 54. 
 Participle with verb substantive, p. 
 
 n- 
 
 Patrimony, Orestes and Electra's de- 
 sire of restoration to, p. 45. 
 
 Pauw, corrections by, pp. 28, 59, 62, 
 81, 83, III, 116, 119, 142. 
 
 Penalties denounced on those who do 
 not avenge their kinsmen, pp. 44 
 foil. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 177 
 
 Perpetual epithets common in early 
 poetry, p. 11. 
 
 Perseus, the countryman of Orestes, 
 p. 125. 
 
 Persian affairs, allusions to, pp. 58, 68. 
 
 Personified things not sharply discri- 
 minated by the ancients from un- 
 personified, p. 51. 
 
 Pine-wood fires, pp. 44, 63. 
 
 Plato referred to, pp. 14, 15, 47, 48, 
 
 79, 155- 
 Pleonasm, p. 54. 
 Person, corrections by, pp. 8, 13, 40, 45, 
 
 56, 60, 65, 71, 72, 86, 91, 95, 115, 
 
 130, 134, 136, 145, 156, 157, 159- 
 Portus, restorations by, pp. 105, 146. 
 Prayer, compared to a scourge, p. 61. 
 Prayer, sent by Clytsemnestra with 
 
 the libations, pp. 25, 51. 
 Preposition used to save the repetition 
 
 of a verb, p. 39. 
 Preposition, without a case, p. 128. 
 Present tense, prophetical, p. 85. 
 Prologos, p. 3. 
 Pylades kept in the background, pp. 
 
 87, 140. 
 TrayK\7]pia, iray KT7]aia, Trafj-Trrjaia, p. 
 
 77- 
 irayKXTjpia, received by Orestes, p. 
 
 141- 
 
 ■n-aiav rod Oavovros, p. 25. 
 
 iraidLOv, not used in tragedy, p. 39. 
 
 TratSo/Sopot, or 7rat5o/36pot? p. 159. 
 
 ttoXlv, 'henceforth,' p. 43. 
 
 TToXipTova, opposed to evdvrova, p. 28. 
 
 TrdXkea6aL=(f)o^€2adai., p. 82. 
 
 iravdpKeTos, p. 12. 
 
 vavdoKOS, p. lOi. 
 
 TravoL/xoL, p. 130. 
 
 TraureXrjs, active or passive, p. 144. 
 
 TTctpeo-Ti, introducing a hypothesis, p. 
 
 67. 
 irafjij, only form of first person which 
 
 .-Esch. admits, p. 82. 
 Uapvaaos, Ilapvrjcrds, Uapurjcraos, p. 88. 
 irdpos, ambiguous, like 'sooner,' p. 60. 
 irapovaia, periphrastically, p. 102. 
 Trapuiv, of time as well as place, p. 152. 
 
 iraT7]p in 7raTpoKTOPe7p, not referring 
 to the subject of the verb, pp. 136, 
 146. 
 
 Tredov, of the floor of a building, p. 
 
 155- 
 
 iredov iraTeiv, p. 98. 
 
 rreipd, for the point of a weapon, doubt- 
 ful, p. 129. 
 
 irevdeadai TLva, whether used for 
 questioning a person, p. 128, 
 
 Trejjdeadai, with genitive of participle 
 of person or thing heard about, p. 
 114. 
 
 TrevKTjeiS, p. 63. 
 
 Tncf>a\j(TKeLv, of Apollo's oracle, p. 165. 
 
 TrXddeLV or irXrjdeLvl p. 92. 
 
 TrXeLffTrjpi^eadai, p. 154. 
 
 ttXovtos, 'abundance,' p. 124. 
 
 -Kvevixo^v, earlier Attic than irXevmov, 
 p. 98. 
 
 TTodiaTrjp, p. 149, 
 
 TTobT], ' recompense, ' 13. 120. 
 
 TToXiJS with another adjective without 
 Kai or re, p. 46. 
 
 iromc, of crimes, p. 97. 
 
 iroi^os, a man's labour for the support 
 of his family, pp. 24, 137. 
 
 TTopos, of a river, p. 13. 
 
 TTpeireLV, p. 5. 
 
 TTperroPTa, in the sense of doKovvra, p. 
 14. 
 
 TTpea^eveadai, with genitive, p. 97. 
 
 Trpoiro/uLiros, with accusative, p. 7, 
 
 irpowpdaaeLv, p. 125. 
 
 irpos SiKrjv, p. 132. 
 
 irpos dvacre^elas, p. 107. 
 
 irpbs Tt, 'why,' p. 37. 
 
 TrpocrjSoXrj, p. 47. 
 
 irpoaevveireLV and irpovvviTreLv, p. 38. 
 
 irpoffdodo/xos, p. 53. 
 
 Trpoa-iKecrdai, with genitive, p. 155. 
 
 irpocnrU^eLV, p. 50. 
 
 irpoa-TpeireadaL, p. 47. 
 
 Trpo<XTp6iraLOS, p. 47. 
 
 TrpoaTpoTTT], p. 6. 
 
 TTvXai yvvaiKeloi and e'p/cetot, p. 13:. 
 
 TTi'Xats direipyeadaL and similar ex- 
 pressions, p. 89. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 irvpd, watclifircp, p. 77- 
 TTcDXoj, p. 1 20. 
 
 irQs, definite and indefinite, p. 16. 
 TTujs, retorting a question, like Sttws, 
 p. 115. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Qualifying assertions into negations, 
 p. 83. 
 
 K. 
 
 Receipt of punishment regarded as a 
 
 payment, p. 52. 
 JReciproca tela, a translation of iraXlv- 
 
 Tova To^a, p. 28. 
 Rivers flowing from one spring used in 
 
 expiation of homicide, p. 13. 
 Robortello, corrections by, pp. 7, 23, 
 
 37» 42, 56, 7i» 86, loi, 106, 114, 
 
 117, 134, J54- 
 Royal personages attended by slaves 
 
 on the stage, p. 108. 
 Ruskin (Mr.) his Modern Painters 
 
 referred to, p. 11. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sacrifices seemingly intermitted du- 
 ring the reign of the usurpers, pp. 
 96, 130. 
 
 Scaliger, corrections by, pp. 6%, 73, 
 159. 
 
 Scholiast, on Choeph., pp. 8, 10, 11, 
 12, 14, 17, 19, 26, 27, 28, 32, 36, 
 42, 46, 49, 53, 54, 56, 59, 60, 61, 
 63, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 83, 
 84, 90, 91, 92, 95, 97, 99, lOI, 
 102, 103, 106, T07, 108, 112, n6, 
 119, 120, 122, 123, 124, 131, 135, 
 138, 141, 142, 143, 147, 153, 154, 
 161 — 163 ; on Euripides, p. 3 ; on 
 Homer, p. 116; on Pindar, p. 3; 
 on Plato, p. 79 ; on Theocritus, p. 
 
 13^ 
 Schlitz, corrections by, pp. 55, 62, 
 
 65, 69, 71, 75, 91, 97, 125, 129, 
 
 T4T. 
 Scylla, Ovid's story of, how differing 
 
 from jEschylus', p. 95. 
 
 Scythian bowmen, p. 28. 
 
 Seidler, corrections by, pp. 119, 141. 
 
 Servitude of Electra and Orestes, pp. 
 XX, 23, 136. 
 
 Shakspere, parallels quoted from, pp. 
 17, 21, 73, 125, 137, 153. 
 
 Shilleto (Rev. R.), suggestions by, 
 pp. 47, 72. 
 
 Singing one's own dirge, p. 138. 
 
 Slaves commonly called by their gen- 
 tile names,, p. no. 
 
 Sophianus, corrections by, pp. 14, 
 
 134- 
 Sophocles' Electra characterized, pp. 
 
 xviii — XX ; imitations of ^sch. 
 
 in, pp. 9, 24, 29, 30, 69, 106, 113, 
 
 127, 132, 138, 156. 
 Stage directions in Choeph., pp. xxiii, 
 
 xxiv, 3, 5, 7, 15, 91, 99, 102, 109, 
 
 no, 126, 129, 132, 134, 139, 146. 
 Stanley (A. P.), referred to, p. 113. 
 Stanley (T.), corrections by, pp. 6, 7, 
 
 16, 17, 21, 59, 71, 86, 89, 92, 96, 
 
 126, 141. 
 Stephens, correction by, p. 109. 
 Stesichorus' account of Clytsemnes- 
 
 tra's dream, p. 82. 
 Stratagem, Orestes commanded to 
 
 employ, pp. 45, 87. 
 Subjunctive, deliberative, pp. 6, 29. 
 Supernatural part of the action of the 
 
 Choeph. more important than the 
 
 natural, pp. xvi, xvii. 
 Symbolism, p. 85. 
 Symmetry in iambic dialogue, pp. 
 
 xxiv, 34, 42. 
 Synizesis, pp. 16, 55, 119, 143, 144. 
 cdyrj, not necessarily of weapons, p. 
 
 87. 
 (xalveLV, p. 67. 
 aa(pr)veu', p. 33. 
 ae for creavTov, p. 158. 
 ci Toi, p. 73. 
 
 ai^as (pepeip, of paying regard, p. 41. 
 cr^jSas, indeclinable in singular, p. 96. 
 aeixvd, not = ay add, p. 19. 
 civos and its cognates, used of mis- 
 chievous animals, p. 72. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 179 
 
 crovpi^ei, for (rot bpl^ei, p. 138. 
 GirXa'^xvO', of the larger organs of the 
 
 body, p. 67. 
 crayoves, opposed to daraKTi, p. 32. 
 arda-LS, referring to the position of the 
 
 Chorus, pp. 19, 124, 
 ar^yacTTpov, p. 147. 
 -aTeprjs, compounds in, p. 42. 
 <TTe(pT], of libations, p. 17. 
 (jTLxopivOla, finished with a couplet, 
 
 P- 139- 
 aTvyos, with genitive, p. 115. 
 (TTi;^ and arvyos, p. 83. 
 avyyqpdcTKeiv, p. 136. 
 avfijSdWea-daL, ' to contribute,' with a 
 
 participle, p. 151. 
 av/j,fjL€Tpos, denotes size, not colour, 
 
 P- 39- 
 
 crvveidevai., with dative and accusative, 
 
 P- 37- 
 crvvreTpalveiv, p. 73« 
 a-<pd^€LV TTpos Tiva, p, 135. 
 (Tx^^w, a vox nihili, p. 125. 
 aijjTrip, function of Zeus, pp. 4, 41, 
 
 90, 160. 
 acjTTjpia, of perpetuation of life, pp. 
 
 34. 40. 
 awcppoavvrj, the gift of heaven, p. 24. 
 
 Tautologies in ^sch., p. 4. 
 Tautologies in Euripides, p. 4. 
 Tomb of Agamemnon, where placed, 
 
 PP- 4» 5- 
 
 Trajection, pp. 80, 98, 166. 
 
 Transcription from dictation, errors 
 arising from, p. 166. 
 
 Tribrach contained by a single word, 
 p. 4. 
 
 Turnebus, coiTCctions by, pp. 8, 10, 
 24, 29, 30, 33, 35, 38, 39, 40, 4», 
 43, 44, 56, 57, 65, 70, 76, 81, 83, 
 87, 88, 103, 108, 130, 131, 135, 
 144, 148, 149, 153, 157, 158. 
 
 Tzetzes, referred to, p. 157, 
 
 TctXas, sometimes a weak epithet, p. 
 160. 
 
 rapdaaeiv y6ov, p. 55. 
 
 rapLx^veiu, p. 49. 
 
 rdx' eicrerai, and similar expressions, 
 
 p. 50. 
 re, epexegetical, p. 126 ; seemingly 
 
 for re- re, p. 114; with a verb after 
 
 a participle, p. 1 30. 
 re and ye, confused, p. 1 7. 
 T^K/xap, p. 102. 
 T^Xeios and reXecrcpopos, of the ruler of 
 
 a house, p. 101. 
 reXeladat, ' to be killed,' p. 131. 
 Te/nveLv, of a spear- wound, p. 56. 
 Tiviov, of various parts of the body, 
 
 p. 36. 
 Tt, in the sense of rt dXXo, p. 67. 
 riydp; p. 132. 
 rlTuude, pp. 55, 97, 127. 
 riveip, of rendering a victim to justice, 
 
 p. 99. 
 Tts, nearly equivalent to TToy, p. 113. 
 Tij, indefinite, beginning a line, pp. 
 
 83, 100. 
 TX-qixovws, in a good sense, p. 112. 
 TO 1X7) defxis, p. 98. 
 TO irdv, adverbial, pp. 54, 70, 98. 
 
 TO/JLOLOU OLKOS, p. 84. 
 
 roM, p. 39. 
 
 Toirapxos, an unlikely word, p. loi. 
 
 Tov iraTpos tovs ahiovs, p. 45. 
 
 Tpeipetv Koixriv, p. 5. 
 
 Tpid^eiv, p. 55. 
 
 TpLTov TovTo, usod advcrbially, p. 100. 
 
 Tpoiraia and TpoTacou, p. 117. 
 
 Tvyxdveiv, with accusative, p. 36. 
 
 TvyxdvcLV, with participle, pp. 6, 52 ; 
 
 not the same as tvx^v with verb, 
 
 P- 143- 
 
 vwdyyeXos, p. 126. 
 
 vireyyvos, the giver of a pledge, p. 9. 
 
 VTr€(XTravL(r/j.ivos, p. 90. 
 
 vTrrjKoos, with genitive, p. 50. 
 
 viroypacprj differs from irepLypacpr}, p. 
 
 vTopx^^c^Oo-i, ' to dance to music,' p. 
 154. 
 
i8o 
 
 IXDEX. 
 
 Valckenaer, corrections by, pp. 83, 
 
 84, 159- 
 Verb in second clause governing an 
 
 object in first, pp. 24, 86, 95. 
 Verb active, without an object, pp. 
 
 48, 54- 
 
 Verb substantive omitted where there 
 is no personal pronoun, p. 66. 
 
 Verbal adjectives constructed like 
 their verbs, pp. 7, 2 7. 
 
 Verbal adverbs, p. 12. 
 
 Vettori (Victorius), corrections by, 
 pp. 8, 27, 30, 81, 84, 108. 
 
 Virgil mistakes Theocritus, p. 18. 
 
 Vulgarisms, modern, sometimes an- 
 swer to expressions in Greek tra- 
 gedy, p. 69. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wellauer, corrections by, pp. 56, 69, 
 
 144. 
 Women compared to drones, p. 137. 
 Words lost from the text, pp. 60, 67, 
 
 76. 
 Words recurring after a short interval 
 
 not necessarily suspicious, pp. 131, 
 
 145, 155- 
 Wrestling, metaphors from, pp. 55, 
 79» 130. 
 
 <!•. 
 
 <pf vowel lengthened before, p. 122. 
 ^aiVei, impersonal, p. 148. 
 (f>dos, of a joyful event, p. 53. 
 (pda-Kciv has no present indicative, p. 
 
 17- 
 fp^peiv yXQacrav, p. 87. 
 
 (pev, in a wish, p. 64. 
 
 (pevyeiv, to live in exile, p. 23. 
 
 (pdei/xevos, probably a vox nihili, p. 66. 
 
 (piXrjTTjs, (pT]\rjTTj$, p. 149. 
 
 0iXos used of nearness as well as dear- 
 
 ness, pp. 19, 85. 
 (piXrpop, p. 154. 
 
 (po^os irepl (po^o) eXaKep, similar ex- 
 pressions to, p. 8. 
 (povos, combining the notions of blood- 
 shed and murder, p. 12. 
 (popos, eiricpopos, of a wind, p. 122. 
 (ppeui, semi-pleonastic, pp. 50, 150. 
 (ppevovv Tivd rt, p. 19. 
 (ppovetv ed, p. 116. 
 (pvyrj, a band of exiles, p. 6. 
 (puivetv TLva, to summon a person, pp. 
 46, 166. 
 
 X. 
 
 X, vowel lengthened before, p. 157. 
 Xct/sii', as an adverb, really a cognate 
 
 accusative, p. 31. 
 Xo-P<-Tes, plural, p. 53. 
 Xeipos yipas, p. 43. 
 Xoat, part of the evbeiTrva, p. 77. 
 Xpil^^v, how used, pp. 55, 123. 
 
 i/zuXT?, life, p. 45. 
 
 <ir. 
 
 fi. 
 
 ws av eldys, giving infoi*mation, p. 71. 
 
 Zeugma, p. 59. 
 
 ^y5iwr6s or ^ywros x^^^^t an em- 
 broidered garment, p. 39. 
 
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