ἐς δέον: cp. O. T. 1416 “ἐς δέον πάρεσθ᾽ ὅδε ι Κρέων”: so ib. 78 “εἰς καλόν”: Ai. 1168 “ἐς αὐτὸν καιρόν”. L has “εἰς μέσον”, i.e. ‘he comes forth in public’ (so that you, and all, can speak with him). The phrase occurs elsewhere in Soph., but never with ref. to entrance on the stage: Soph. Ph. 609“ἔδειξ᾽ Ἀχαιοῖς ἐς μέσον” (showed him publicly); Ai. 1285 “τὸν κλῆρον ἐς μέσον καθείς” (i.e. among the others): Tr. 514 “ἴσαν ἐς μέσον” (into the arena). Here, “ἐς δέον” is not only far the better phrase, but is confirmed by Creon's question in the next v., “ποίᾳ ξύμμετρος... τύχῃ”; A, and almost all the later MSS., have “εἰς δέον”, which may, doubtless, have been a conjecture suggested by O. T. 1416, —as is held by those who believe all our MSS. to have come from L; but it looks more like a true reading which L has somehow missed. Cp. on 831.
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