φορβῆς: cp. 43.—“ὀγμεύει, ὄγμος”, from rt. “ἀγ”. of “ἄγω” (cp. agmen), is prop. any line drawn out by movement; then, esp., a furrow in ploughing ( Il. 18. 546, Theocr. 10. 2); or the track (‘swathe’) made by reapers through corn. Here the image is from ploughing; the furrow which the ploughman leaves behind him is compared to the track left by the helpless foot which Philoctetes drags after him. Cp. 291 “εἰλυόμην, δύστηνον ἐξέλκων πόδα” (where see n.). The word “ὀγμεύει” also serves to suggest the laborious character of the progress. Cp. Lucan 9. 721 (of a serpent) contentus iter cauda sulcare. τῇδε seems a necessary correction of τόνδε, since “στίβον...τόνδε” would mean, ‘his path yonder’ (as though N. could point to it): not merely ‘his path in this neighbourhood’ (though invisible).
This text is part of:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part IV: The Philoctetes. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1932.
The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.
