ὅστις τοῦ πλέονος μ. χρῄζει, whoever desires the ampler portion, ζώειν (epexeg. inf.) that he should live (through it), παρεὶς, having neglected, i.e. not being content, τοῦ μετρίου (“χρῄζειν”), to desire a moderate portion: i.e., “"whoever desires the larger part (of the extreme period allotted to human life), and is not satisfied with moderate length of days."” χρῄζ. with gen., as Ai. 473 “τοῦ μακροῦ χρῄζειν βίου”, which also illustrates the art. with “πλέονος”: cp. O. T. 518 “οὔτοι βίου μοι τοῦ μακραίωνος πόθος”. For χρῄζ. τοῦ πλ. μ., ζώειν, instead of χρῄζ. ζώειν τὸ πλέον μέρος, cp. 1755: Plat. Crito 52B “οὐδ᾽ ἐπιθυμία σε ἄλλης πόλεως οὐδ᾽ ἄλλων νόμων ἔλαβεν εἰδέναι”. παρείς, if sound, must be construed in one of two ways: (1) as above, which is best: or (2) in Hermann's way, “παρεὶς τοῦ μετρίου” (“χρῄζων”) “ζώειν”, “"negligens vivere modicam partem expetens,"” scorning to live with desire of a modest span only. Others make it govern μετρίου, “"neglecting the moderate portion,"” and for the gen. Campbell quotes Plat. Phaedr. 235 E “παρέντα τοῦ ... ἐγκωμιάζειν”. Liddell and Scott give the same citation along with this passage, which they render, “"letting go one's hold of moderation,"” i.e. giving it up. But the active “παριέναι” never governs a gen. (in the nautical “παριέναι τοῦ ποδός”, “"to slack away the sheet,"” the gen. is partitive): and a reference to Plat. Phaedr. 235 E will show that “τοῦ” has nothing to do with the inf., but is masc. The passage runs:— “τίνα οἴει λέγοντα ὡς χρὴ μὴ ἐρῶντι μᾶλλον ἢ ἐρῶντι χαρίζεσθαι, παρέντα τοῦ μὲν τὸ φρόνιμον ἐγκωμιάζειν, τοῦ δὲ τὸ ἄφρον ψέγειν, ἀναγκαῖα γοῦν ὄντα, εἴτ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ ἄττα ἕξειν λέγειν”; i.e., “"if he omitted to praise the sense of the one (“τοῦ μέν"”, the non-lover), and to blame the folly of the other (“τοῦ δέ”, the lover).” Hartung explains his “τὰν μετρίου παρεὶς ι ζωάν” as “"neglecting the life of moderate span"” (sc. “μέρους”). Though the phrase “τὸ μέτριον παρείς” (“"in neglect of due limit"”) occurs in Plat. Legg. 691C (quoted by Wunder), it seems very doubtful whether παρεὶς is sound here. The conjecture πέρα (Schneidewin) is possible, but derives no real support from the fact that “παρὰ τὸ καίριον καὶ τὸ μέτριον” occurs in the schol.'s loose paraphrase. Verrall ingeniously proposes παρὲκ, which, however, does not occur in Tragedy. Possibly “τοῦ μετρίου προθεὶς”, “"in preference to the moderate portion."” σκαιοσύναν, perversity, folly: cp. Ant. 1028 “αὐθαδία τοι σκαιότητ᾽ ὀφλισκάνει.” φυλάσσων, cleaving to: Eur. Ion 735 “ἄξι᾽ ἀξίων γεννητόρων ι ἤθη φυλάσσεις”. Cp. 626, 1180. ἐν ἐμοὶ, me iudice, ἐν denoting the tribunal, as O. T. 677 (n.) “ἐν...τοῖσδ᾽ ἴσος”, "just in their sight": Plat. Legg. 916B “διαδικαζέσθω δὲ ἔν τισι τῶν ἰατρῶν”.
This text is part of:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part II: The Oedipus Coloneus. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1899.
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