ἔα με （ ἐν τούτοις ） ἃ （ λέγων ） ἠρξάμην, leave me (permit me to cease) at the point where I began (the prayer for an Attic home). Cp. Il. 9.97 “ἐν σοὶ μὲν λήξω, σέο δ᾽ ἄρξομαι”. Here we cannot well evolve “ἀφ̓” or “ἐξ ὧν” from ἐν οἷσιν: nor, again, would “ἐν οἷς ἠρξάμην” be idiomatic. τὸ σὸν … πιστὸν φυλάσσων, taking care that thy part is loyally done: cp. O. T. 320 “τὸ σόν τε σὺ ι κἀγὼ διοίσω τοὐμόν” (thy part): Ai. 1313 “ὅρα μὴ τοὐμὸν ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ σόν” (thine interest): ib. 99 “ὡς τὸ σὸν ξυνῆκ᾽ ἐγώ” (thy saying). Both idiom and rhythm are against joining “τὸ σὸν πιστόν” as “"thy good faith."”
This text is part of:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part II: The Oedipus Coloneus. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1899.
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