πῶς δῆτ᾽: why, then, dost thou render (to Polyneices) a tribute impious in the sight of Eteocles?—i.e., which places the latter on the same level with the former. ἐκείνῳ, ethic dat., ‘in his judgment’: cp. 904, O. C. 1446 “ἀνάξιαι... πᾶσιν”, and ib. 810 n., O. T. 40. We cannot well render, ‘impious towards him,’ which would be “πρὸς” or “εἰς ἐκεῖνον”: nor can the dat. be one of ‘interest,’ as though “δυσσεβῆ” were equivalent to “βλαβεράν”. The next verse agrees well with “ἐκεῖνῳ” being ethic dat.: ‘he will not so testify,’ =‘he will not say that he thinks my act impious.’ χάριν is usu. explained as acc. of the inner object, like “τιμᾷς τιμήν”. But it would evidently be awkward to have an objective acc. added, as “τιμῶ χάριν αὐτόν”. Rather τιμᾷς is here slightly deflected from the sense, ‘to honour by observance,’ ‘to observe duly,’ as Eur. Tro. 1210 “οὓς Φρύγες νόμους ι τιμῶσιν”, Ion 1045“τὴν εὐσέβειαν...τιμᾶν”, and means, ‘to render duly,’ as religious observance requires. So I should take it also in the parallel phrase, Eur. Or. 828 “πατρῴαν ι τιμῶν χάριν”, duly rendering grace to thy sire.— ὁ κατθανὼν νέκυς: cp. 26.
This text is part of:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part III: The Antigone. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1900.
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