Fourth Stasimon
πότερα πρότερον ἐπιστένω,
πότερα μέλεα περαιτέρω,
δύσκριτʼ ἔμοιγε δυστάνῳ.
950 τάδε μὲν ἔχομεν ὁρᾶν δόμοις,
τάδε δὲ μένομεν ἐπʼ ἐλπίσιν·
κοινὰ δʼ ἔχειν τε καὶ μέλλειν.
εἴθʼ ἀνεμόεσσά τις
955 γένοιτʼ ἔπουρος ἑστιῶτις αὔρα,
ἥτις μʼ ἀποικίσειεν ἐκ τόπων, ὅπως
τὸν Δῖον ἄλκιμον γόνον
960 μὴ ταρβαλέα θάνοιμι
μοῦνον εἰσιδοῦσʼ ἄφαρ·
ἐπεὶ ἐν δυσαπαλλάκτοις ὀδύναις
χωρεῖν πρὸ δόμων λέγουσιν
ἄσπετόν τι θαῦμα.
965 ἀγχοῦ δʼ ἄρα κοὐ μακρὰν
προύκλαιον, ὀξύφωνος ὡς ἀηδών.
ξένων γὰρ ἐξόμιλος ἥδε τις βάσις.
πᾷ δʼ αὖ φορεῖ νιν; ὡς φίλου
προκηδομένα βαρεῖαν
ἄψοφον φέρει βάσιν.
970 αἰαῖ, ὅδʼ ἀναύδατος φέρεται.
970 τί χρὴ θανόντα νιν καθʼ
ὕπνον ὄντα κρῖναι;
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An open-access project
Jebb 1913
Loeb
Jebb, Cambridge, 1913 · 1913
The Editor

Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb (1841–1905) was one of the greatest Greek scholars in the English-speaking world. Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge and Member of Parliament for the University, Jebb produced monumental commentaries on Sophocles (7 volumes, 1883–1896) that remain indispensable. His editions combined minute textual criticism with a profound sensitivity to Greek poetry and dramatic art.

About This Edition

Jebb's editions of Sophocles, published by Cambridge University Press, set a new standard for Greek dramatic commentary. Each play received a critical text, prose translation, and detailed commentary that addressed textual, linguistic, dramatic, and archaeological questions. Jebb's texts are conservative, preferring the manuscript tradition where defensible, and his commentary remains the starting point for serious study of each play. While the OCT by Lloyd-Jones and Wilson (1990) now provides the standard critical text, Jebb's commentary is still regularly consulted.

Translator

F. Storr (Loeb Classical Library)

Text Basis

Text based on Jebb's Cambridge edition. Storr translated for the Loeb Classical Library.

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