καιρός, occasion, πάντων γνώμαν ἴσχων=“πάντα γιγνώσκων”, taking cognisance of all things,—discerning, in every case, whether the circumstances warrant prompt action. For “γνώμην ἔχειν” as = “γιγνώσκειν”, cp. El. 214“οὐ γνώμαν ἴσχεις, ἐξ οἵων, κ.τ.λ.” The general sense is the same as in El. 75 f., “νὼ δ᾽ ἔξιμεν: καιρὸς γάρ, ὅσπερ ἀνδράσιν” | “μέγιστος ἔργου παντός ἐστ᾽ ἐπιστάτης”. Though we need not write “Καιρός”, still “καιρός” is virtually personified both by “γνώμαν ἴσχων” and by “ἄρνυται”. Pausanias (5. 14. 7) saw two altars at the entrance to the Olympian stadium; one was to Hermes “Ἐναγώνιος”,—the other to “Καιρός”, who enabled athletes to seize the critical moment in a struggle. Cp. Anthol. 10. 52 “εὖ γε λέγων τὸν Καιρὸν ἔφης θεόν, εὖ γε Μένανδρε”.—Blaydes takes “καιρὸς γνώμαν ἴσχων” as=‘opportunity combined with judgment,’ and joins “πάντων” with “κράτος” (‘superiority in all cases’). The order of the words seems against this. < πολύ τι > πολὺ. No curtailment of v. 854 (“μάλα τοι ἄπορα πυκινοῖς ἐνιδεῖν πάθη”) is probable. The addition of “πολύ τι” makes v. 838 equal to v. 854: and the remedy, however uncertain, is at least not violent. See Appendix on vv. 852 ff. παρὰ πόδα, ‘then and there,’ extemplo,—by a prompt stroke of action. Cp. Plat. Soph. 242A “μή ποτε διὰ ταῦτά σοι μανικὸς εἶναι δόξω, παρὰ πόδα μεταβαλὼν ἐμαυτὸν ἄνω καὶ κάτω”.
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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