ἃ, ‘as to which things,’ ‘wherefore’: Isocr. or. 8 § 122 “ἃ καὶ πάντων μάλιστ᾽ ἄν τις θαυμάσειεν ὅτι προχειρίζεσθε δημαγωγούς”. So the sing. “ὅ”, Thuc.2. 40“ὃ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀμαθία μὲν θράσος λογισμὸς δὲ ὄκνον φέρει”. Others suppose that “ἃ” is governed by ἴσχειν, and that τάδ̓ is pleonastic. But this view is not proved by the alleged examples. They are:—(1) Eur. Andr.1115“ὧν Κλυταιμνήστρας τόκος” | “εἷς ἦν, ἁπάντων τῶνδε μηχανορράφος”. Here, however, “ὧν” is masc., referring to the “λόχος” mentioned just before, and a comma should follow “ἦν”. (2) I. A. 155 “σφραγῖδα φύλας<*> <*>ν ἐπὶ δέλτῳ” | “τήνδε κομίζεις”. Here the v. l. “τῇδε” is clearly right. For λέγω as=‘command,’ with acc. and inf., cp. Ph.101 n. ἐλπίσιν ἴσχειν: “ἐν” would usu. be added to the dat.: cp. Ant.897“ἐν ἐλπίσιν τρέφω”. So Thuc.2. 8“ὀργῇ εἶχον...τοὺς Ἀθηναίους”, instead of the regular “ἐν ὀργῇ” (id. 2. 18 etc.). Cp. too Soph. O. C.1678, “ἐν” [MSS. “εἰ”] “πόθῳ λάβοις”, with Plut. Alc.18“ὀργῇ δ᾽ ἅμα καὶ φόβῳ τὸ γεγονὸς λαμβάνοντες.—τὰν ἄνασσαν”, wife of the son of Zeus, and so having the better reason to hope. — ἄβουλον, having no “πρόνοια” for them: cp. Soph. El.546“ἀβούλου...πατρός” (alluding to Agamemnon's sacrifice of his daughter). Racine has an unconscious echo of this verse, Athalie, acte 2, sc. 7, ‘Dieu laissat-il jamais ses enfants au besoin?’
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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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