τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. The “ἀντιλαβή” marks a rising tone of excitement (cp. 54 n.). These words sum up N.'s resolve, and his mentor turns from expostulations to threats. ἀναλαβεῖν, ‘retrieve.’ So Eur. Ion 426“τὰς πρὶν ἀναλαβεῖν ἁμαρτίας”. This sense comes through that of ‘recovering’ (since the “ἁμαρτία” may be regarded as a loss of character),—not through the notion of ‘taking back’ a false move (for which the word was “ἀνατίθεσθαι”). Cp. Her. 5. 121“τοῦτο τὸ τρῶμα ἀνέλαβον”: id. 8. 109 “ἀναλαμβάνειν τὴν προτέρην κακότητα”.
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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