εἰ χρὴ μαθεῖν σε. Hyllus abhors her, as the murderess of his father; there is no touch of pity in his mood. His words mean that the recital will be painful to him, and also that he shrinks from speaking to her at such length. (Cp. 815 f.) According to Greek usage, it was not “ὅσιον” for the relatives of a slain person to hold any avoidable intercourse with the slayer. (Cp. Lys. or. 12 § 24: Isae. or. 9 § 20.) This feeling appears in 815 f.
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Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part V: The Trachiniae. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1902.
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