ἐγὼ μὲν (cp. 453)...πορεύσαιμ᾽ ἂν is a respectful suggestion,—‘I, for my part, would convey him,’—i.e., ‘If I were you, I would do so.’ τὸ κείνων κακὸν, the evil done by them: cp. 422. μετατιθέμενος. This compound re<*>ly takes one acc. only, meaning to ‘transpose,’ ‘shift,’ a thing: and hence, either to ‘adopt’ or to ‘discard.’ Here the compound is used like the simple verb, and the force of the prep. is adverbial. “τιθέμενος τὸ κείνων κακὸν τῷδε κέρδος”= ‘counting their misdeeds as his gain’: cp. Od. 21. 333“τί δ᾽ ἐλέγχεα ταῦτα τίθεσθε”; If, after the word ‘counting,’ we inserted, ‘by transference,’ this would give the force of “μετά”. The “κακόν” is to be shifted from the reckoning against the Atreidae to the reckoning in favour of Philoctetes. Their demerit is another reason for benefiting him. ἐπιμέμονεν: the only instance of “μέμονα” in Soph. (Cp. Aesch. Theb. 686“μέμονας”: Eur. I.A. 1495 and I. T. 655 “μέμονε”.)
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.
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