Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Trachiniae

σὺν χρόνῳ … βραδεῖ: O. C.1602“ταχεῖ...σὺν χρόνῳ” (n.).

πρὶν ἡμᾶς κἀννεώσασθαι λόγους. The compound verb is confirmed, as against the “καὶ νεώσασθαι” of the MSS. (cr. n.), by the schol.'s paraphrase, “ἀνακαινίσασθαι” [this schol. has no lemma]; and more esp. by Eustath., p. 811, 20 (on “νειοῖο βαθείης”, Il.10. 353), “νεᾶν, οὗ χρῆσις παρ᾽ Ἡσιόδῳ ἐν τῷ, θέρεος δὲ νεωμένη οὐκ ἀπατήσει” ( Op.462), “ἐξ οὗ καὶ παρὰ Σοφοκλεῖ ἀνανεώσασθαι λόγους, τὸ ἀνακινῆσαι”. On the other hand, the MS. “καί” is clearly sound: “πρὶν καί” here =‘before even’; see on Ant.280.For the apocopè of the prep. in “κἀννεώσασθαι”, see on 335 “ἀμμείνας᾿”. The synizesis of “εω”, assumed by those who write “κἀνανεώσασθαι”, would be very harsh. I doubt whether Eustathius was right in his theory —suggested by “νεᾶν”—that “ἀνανεοῦσθαι λόγους” was a metaphor from ploughing. Had it been so, it ought to have implied, ‘going again over old ground,’ like “ἀναπολεῖν ἔπη” ( Ph.1238 n.). Here the sense is simply, ‘to renew converse.’ Cp. Polyb. 5. 36 “ἀεὶ τὸν λόγον ἀνενεοῦτο”.