Heath's insertion of τ̓ after ἀπελθεῖν is necessary, unless we adopt Nauck's ἐλθεῖν θέλοντ̓, i.e. “"they say that, wishing to confer with you, he asks that he may retire safely from his journey hither"” (his journey to Attica from Argos): but this throws too much stress on the return. Vauvilliers seems clearly right in restoring μόνον from the MS. μολόντ̓. The latter would go with ἐλθεῖν: “"they say that he asks that, having approached, he may confer with you"”: but this is weak; and it would be even worse to take μολόντ̓ as=“"after his arrival"” (at Colonus). μόνον fits the tone of the context. The suitor prefers his request in as modest a strain as possible.
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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