ἀγχοῦ δ᾽ ἄρα “κ.τ.λ.” At this moment the bearers of the litter,—first descried by the servants of the house (960),—become visible to the Trachinian Maidens; who say, in effect, ‘It seems that the woe presaged by our voice is (even) closer at hand than we knew.’ ἀγχοῦ κοὐ μακρἀν προὔκλαιον is a short way of saying, ‘the subject of our boding lament is near and not distant.’ We might supply “οὖσα” with the verb: but it seems better to supply “ὄν” with the adverbs. Similar, though less bold, is Ph.26“τοὔργον οὐ μακρὰν λέγεις”, ‘the task of which thou speakest is not distant.’ ὀξύφωνος ὡς ἀηδών refers to “προὔκλαιον” only: i.e. the point of comparison is merely the clear, sad note. Cp. 105 n.: Theocr. 12. 6 “ἀηδὼν” | ...“λιγύφωνος”. Here “ὀξύφωνος” well suits the context, since “ὀξύς” and its compounds so often refer to tones of grief: Ant.424“ὄρνιθος ὀξὺν φθόγγον”: ib. 1316 “ὀξυκώκυτον”: El.244“ὀξυτόνων γόων”.—It would be forced to explain the simile by ἀγχοῦ (because the nightingale often sings close to dwellings), or by μακρὰν (because its note is far-reaching).
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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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