οὔκ, ἀλλὰ “κ.τ.λ.” The tone of this idiomatic phrase would be nearly rendered (here, at least) by ‘nay, but.’ The οὐκ refers to “ἀεὶ καλὸς πλοῦς κ.τ.λ.”: ‘This is not a case of flight from imminent peril; but (on the contrary) our pursuers also are being delayed.’ Cp. Plat. Euthyd. 277A “ἆρα σὺ οὐ μανθάνεις; ...οὔκ, ἀλλ̓, ἦ δ᾽ ὅς, μανθάνω”.—I do not think, then, that any alteration is necessary. Of the conjectures (see cr. n.) Doederlein's οἶδ̓: is perhaps the best. O. Heine's ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ...; is also possible.
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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