Hermann's change of the MS. τοὐμὸν into τοῦτ᾽ ἐμοί τ̓ has been accepted by many edd. But the sense is most unsatisfactory. If τοὔργον means the deed of rescue, as is most natural, the meaning will be: “"this deed will be a short story both for thee and for me"”: i.e. “"I shall not have to relate it, and you will be so much interested in listening to Theseus that you will not find it tedious."” But is this tolerable,—to say nothing of the somewhat ungracious suggestion that the account of their deliverer's exploit would otherwise be fatiguing? The alternative version would be worse still: “"this task (viz. that of reciting, or of hearing) will be short both for thee and me."” I cannot but think, then, that this popular correction, though palaeographically easy, is untenable. I have little doubt that Wex is right, or nearly so, in his οὗ κἄστι τοὔργον. The “λόγος” should be his to whom belongs the “ἔργον”. This supposes an accidental loss of οὗ, after which κἄστι grew into καὶ σοί τε. The words “τοὐμὸν ὦδ᾽ ἔσται βραχὺ” then mean, "my part will thus be brief" (as you desire it to be, 1115) — consisting simply in referring Oed. to Theseus.
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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