νῦν δ᾽ αἶρε σαυτόν. The reflexive pron. is not necessarily emphatic when thus used with an active verb: cp. Aesch. P. V. 747“τί δῆτ᾽ ἐμοὶ ζῆν κέρδος, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐν τάχει” | “ἔρριψ᾽ ἐμαυτὴν τῆσδ᾽ ἀπὸ στύφλου πέτρας”...; At v. 879 Ph. asked N. to assist him; and now—after a kindly greeting—N. proceeds to do so. His hands are now stretched forth to Ph. , ready to raise him, and the words “νῦν δ᾽ αἶρε σαυτόν” prepare Ph. for the effort. εἰ δέ σοι μᾶλλον φίλον: i.e., he need not make even this effort, but can be lifted from the ground. τοῦ πόνου γὰρ: since Neoptolemus and Philoctetes are agreed upon the voyage, the sailors will not grudge the trouble of carrying their master's friend.
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.
