ΧΟ. α'. τίς ὅδε, τίς, πόθεν ὅδ ̓ ὁ κέλαδος ἀνά μ' ἐκάλεσεν Εὐίου ; ΔΙ. ἰὼ ἐὼν πάλιν αὐλῶ, ὁ Σεμέλας, ὁ Διὸς παῖς. ΧΟ. β'. ἰπ ἰὼ δέσποτα, δέσποτα, μόλε νυν ἡμέτερον ἐς θίασον, ὦ Βρόμιε, Βρόμιε, πέδον χθονὸς ἔνωσι πότνια. τάχα τὰ Πενθέως μέλαθρα διατινάξεται πεσήμασιν. ΧΟ. γ'. ὁ Διόνυσος ἀνὰ μέλαθρα· σέβετέ νιν. ΧΟ. δ. σέβομεν ὤ. εἴδετε λάϊνα κίοσιν ἔμβολα 585. πέδον, Ρ. C., quod iure vindicat Herm. 589. σέβετέ νιν, Dionyso tribuit C. 580 585 590 590. Hunc versum et sequentes ad finem cantici Hemichorio tribuit Ald. Nullas personarum notas habet P. Kirchoffio videntur haec omnia a singulis chori personis cantari, quas tamen notare nihil attineat. Hunc sequitur Paleius, personas d notans. Sed optime constituit Hermannus quem secutus sum. 591. κίοσιν, om. Ρ. donian territory, both rivers uniting at the mouth. Skylax represents the two rivers as falling into the sea by different mouths, the town Alorus being situated between them. 573. πατέρα, the Apidanus. See Hek. 451. 576. Dionysus is heard from within, calling on the Bacchae to witness the power of the god manifested against the unbelieving Pentheus. Hermann is apparently right in putting the chorus into the mouth of more than one speaker. For instances of a god speaking, but remaining unseen, cf. Iph. Taur. 1447. In Soph. Ai. 15, ἄποπτος = distant, not invisible. 585. πέδον χθονὸς ἔνοσι πότνια. ἔνοσις, as Herm. says, governs πέδον. So μάντις governs τάδε in Herakl. 65. In Soph. Trach. 554, λυτήριον governs λύπημα, and in Oed. Kol. 1019, πομπόν governs με. Cf. Aesch. Cho. 21, χοὰς προπομπός, where it would be quite as easy to read yoar as it is to read πέδου here, and Aesch. Suppl. 588, τὸ πᾶν μῆχαρ οὔριος Ζεὺς = ὁ πᾶσαν μηχανὴν οὐρίζων, where we might read οὐρεῖ. But Paley, in these places, retains the MSS. reading, in deference to a principle which he impugns here -that it is bad criticism to retain a usage when no easy way of avoiding it appears, and to correct whenever a remedy is easy. ῥηξίχθων is an epithet of Dion. in Orph. Hymns. Cf. also Ion 572 τοῦτο κἄμ' ἔχει πόθος, Herakl. 739 τοῦτο γὰρ φόβος. 591. ἔμβολα. The architraves, or lintels on the tops of the pillars. ΔΙ. διάδρομα τάδε ; Βρόμιος ὃς ἀλαλάξεται στέγας ἔσω. ἅπτε κεραύνιον αἴθοπα λαμπάδα· σύμφλεγε σύμφλεγε δώματα Πενθέως. ΧΟ. ε'. ὦ ἄ ΔΙ. ΧΟ. ΔΙ. πῦρ οὐ λεύσσεις οὐδ ̓ αὐγάζεις Σεμέλας ἱερὸν ἀμφὶ τάφον, ἅν δίκετε πεδάσε τρομερὰ σώματα, ὁ γὰρ ἄναξ ἄνω κάτω τιθεὶς ἔπεισι μέλαθρα τάδε Διὸς γόνος. βάρβαροι γυναῖκες, οὕτως ἐκπεπληγμέναι φόβῳ 595 600 πρὸς πέδῳ πεπτώκατ' ; ᾔσθησθ', ὡς ἔοικε, Βακχίου 605 ὡς ἐσεῖδον ἀσμένη σε, μονάδ ̓ ἔχουσ ̓ ἐρημίαν. εἰς ἀθυμίαν ἀφίκεσθ', ἡνίκ ̓ εἰσεπεμπόμην, 596. αὐγάζει, P. C. αὐγάζεις, Nauckius. Vid. ad v. 1060. 610 599. δώματα, P. C. Correctum ex schol. Phoen. 641, et Et. Mag. qui ambo dant δίκετε πεδόσε δίκετε. Sed sublestior est auctoritas Grammaticorum qui memoriter nonnunquam poetarum verba referunt. 601. ἄνω, Ρ. Ο. τἄνω, male Nauckius. τιθεὶς, C. τίθη, corr. in τίθει, P. 632. διὸς γόνος διόνυσος, Ο. διόνυσος, om. Ρ. quod manifeste glossema. 605. πεπτώκαθ' ἥσθησθ' aut ἤσθησθ', Ρ. πεπτώκαθ ̓ ἤσθησθ' (ἥσθησθ' ε corr.), C. πεπτώκαθ ̓ ἥσθηθ', Ald. Corr. Porsonus. 606. διατιναξάντος δῶμα πενθέως, ἀλλ' ἐξανίστατε, P. C. δ. τὰ Π. δώματ' ἀλλ' ἀνίστατε, Musgravius. Sed, hoc accepto, unde irrepsisse corruptelam statues? Canterus, Heathius, Reiskius, άμετρώτατα constituunt. Elmsleius scripturam quamvis mendosam servare mavult quam coniecturas incertas admittere. Huius tamen filum secutus correxi. Praeierat (quod nunc video) Schoenius. 607. σάρκας, Ρ. C., quod bene vindicat Herm. 604. Up to this the Chorus has been communing with the unseen god; he now appears to them, having again assumed the form of the bacchant who led them from Asia. 606. For the ellipse in τὸ Πενθέως cf. τὸ τῶν Σεμνῶν θεῶν, Ar. Thesm. 224. In the case of a rare ellipse like this a scholiast would inevitably insert δῶμα as an explanation. 607. σάρκας. ἐξαμείψασαι τρόμον forms a compound phrase = obfirmantes, as Herm. says. See note on v. 345, above. It seems to me next to impossible that any scholiast or copyist found σαρκὸς and wrote σάρκας. It is just possible, had there existed a variant τρόμου, that σάρκας might be a_correction; but of such a variant we have no evidence. ΧΟ. ΔΙ. ΧΟ. ΔΙ. 615 Πενθέως ὡς ἐς σκοτεινὰς ὁρκάνας πεσούμενος ; 620 625 καθ ̓ ὁ Βρόμιος, ὡς ἔμοιγε φαίνεται, δόξαν λέγω, ᾖσσε κἀκέντει φαεννὸν αἰθέρ ̓, ως σφάζων ἐμέ. πρὸς δὲ τοῖσδ ̓ αὐτῷ τάδ' ἄλλα Βάκχιος λυμαίνεται 618. ἡμᾶς, Ρ. C. ὑμᾶς vitiose, Ald. 622. θάσσων, Ρ. θάσσον, C. 625. Μισ ̓, Ρ. ἤϊσσ, Ald. Corr. Barnesius. 630. φῶς, P. C. φάσμα, Iacobsius. 630 631. κἀκέντα, Ρ. Emend. a corr. C. αιθέρ', om. P. C. Supplevit Canterus. 611. On this line, there is a gloss in C.: φυλακάς. ὁρκάνη κυρίως ἡ ἀγρευτικὴ λίνου [corrected to λίνος, nom. fem. by Matth.]. Photius and Hes. explain by εἱρκτὴ, περιέχων τοῖχος. The explanation of the schol. is probably the true one, and Photius and Hesych. have taken a metaphorical for a literal use of the word. The schol. on Aesch. Theb. 336 gives the same explanation as the schol. here. 612. See note on v. 1313, below. D 617. ἐβόσκετο, Cf. Phoen. 396, and Aesch. Αg. 1646, οἶδ ̓ ἐγὼ φεύγοντας ἄνδρας ἐλπίδας σιτουμένους. 620. θυμὸν ἐκπνέων. Ct. Rhes. 786 αἱ δ ̓ ἔρεγκον ἐξ ἀντηρίων θυμὸν πνέουσαι, Phoen. 454 σχάσου θυμοῦ πνοάς. See also below, v. 640, and Nonn. Dion. xliv. 23, ἠεριοις θεράποντες ἐριδμαίνοντες ἀήταις. 623. ὁ Βάκχος. Bacchus. So also in 629 and 632. See note on v. 1, and on v. 491 above. δώματ' ἔρρηξεν χαμάζει συντεθράνωται δ ̓ ἅπαν πικροτάτους ἰδόντι δεσμοὺς τοὺς ἐκούς κόπου δ' υπο 634 διαμεθεὶς ξίφος παρεῖται. πρὸς θεὸν γὰρ ἂν ἀνὴρ ἐς προνώπι ̓ αὐτίχ ̓ ἥξει. τί ποτ ̓ ἄρ ̓ ἐκ τούτων ἐρεῖ ; ῥᾳδίως γὰρ αὐτὸν οἴσω, κἂν πνέων ἔλθῃ μέγα πρὸς σοφοῦ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς ἀσκεῖν σώφρον εὐοργησίαν. ΠΕ. πέπονθα δεινά διαπέφευγέ μ' ὁ ξένος, ὃς ἄρτι δεσμοῖς ἦν κατηναγκασμένος. ὅδ ̓ ἐστὶν ἁνήρ· τί τάδε; πῶς προνώπιος φαίνει πρὸς οἴκοις τοῖς ἐμοῖς, ἔξω βεβώς; ΔΙ. στῆσον πόδ', ὀργῇ δ' ὑπόθες ἥσυχον πόδα. 635. παρεῖται, om. C. 640 645 636. ἐτόλμησ' (ἐτόλμ ̓, Ald., ἐτόλμησεν, a man. sec. C.) ἥσυχος δ ̓ ἐκ βάκχας ἄγων, Ρ. Ο. Ald. ἥσυχος δ' ἐκβὰς ἐγὼ, coniecit Bothius, nec tamen in textum recepit. ἥσ. δὲ βασιλικῶν, Elms. ἥσ. δ' ἐκ Βακχάδων, Herm. ἥσ. βάκχας δ' ἄγων, Matthiaeus; postea, quum animadvertisset e carcere in montem rediisse Bacchas (ut narratur v. 445), ἥσ. βάκχας δ' ἐγώ. Nihil statuere ausim. Sed fort. latet corruptela in ἥσυχος (cuius indicium prodere videtur Aldus in verbo ἐτόλμ'), et legendum ἐς μάχην ἐλθεῖν ἐτόλμησ'· εὖχος ἐς Βάκχας δ' ἄγων, κ. τ. λ., hoc sensu : ego autem res praeclare gestas ad Bacchas adferens, vobis adsum tecta Penthei disiecta nil moratus. Verborum εὖχος ἐς βάκχας perinde habenda est ratio quasi non tria fuerint sed unum verbum; cave igitur particulae dè in quarto loco refrageris; cf. Soph. Ai. 169. ΕΤΟΛΜΗΣΕYXOC, littera una omissa, est ἐτόλμ ἥσυχος (quam lect. habet Aldus); dein a correctoris manu exire potuit ἐτόλμησε ἥσυχος (vocem ἥσυχος scripserat librarius supra, v. 622). Fort. hic librarii Pal. et Flor. legerunt εἰς βάκχας, (ut Ald. in versu praecedente εἰς μάχην, scripserunt autem ἐκ. Saepe errant librarii pro K scribentes IC et pro his illud, litterarum nimirum ductu simillimo illusi (vid. ad v. 1157). 641. ἀρκεῖ, Ρ. Emend. C. 647. πόδα, P. C., quod vindicavi in Comm. τρόμον, Musgr. βάσιν, Fix. 633. συντεθράνωται. θρᾶνοι are the beam-ends in building; hence, perhaps, we may get the idea of demolition, &c. συντεθράνωται· συμπέπ τωκε, collapsed, Hesych. L. and S. make θρανόω a collat. form of θραύω. 636. See Adn. Crit. The great objection to Bothe's conjecture which most subsequent Editors have adopted is that Dionysus had not been in the house of Pentheus at all, but in the ἱππικαὶ φάτναι, which must have been separate from the house, as the whole passage shows. 647. πόδα. To subject a quiet foot to anger would mean to allow a calm step to be influenced by anger, and thus to become hasty; this is the opposite to ΠΕ. πόθεν σὺ δεσμὰ διαφυγὼν ἔξω περᾷς; ΠΙ. κλύειν κελεύω πάντα πύργον ἐν κύκλῳ. κείνου δ ̓ ἀκοῦσας πρῶτα τοὺς λόγους μάθε, λευκῆς χιόνος ἀνεῖσαν εὐαγεῖς βολαί. ΠΕ. ἥκεις δὲ ποίαν προστιθεὶς σπουδὴν λόγου ; ΑΓ. βάκχας ποτνιάδας εἰσιδὼν, αἳ τῆσδε γῆς 652. Post v. 652 versum excidisse monuere Dobraeus et Hermannus. 653. κλύειν, Ρ. et pr. m. C. κλείειν, a man. sec. C. 650 655 660 655. εἰ, Ρ. C. Corr. Porsonus ex Pseudogreg. 1575 σοφός, σοφὸς σὺ, καὶ σοφῶς ἔτλης πότμον. 663. δ' ὁποίαν, Ρ. C. Corr. Schaeferus. ποια πρ. σπουδῇ λόγον, Kirch. what the poet means. In sense ὀργῇ = ὀργαίνοντί σοι, place under you angry a quiet foot, i. e. though you be angry, yet do not let that make your walk so hasty, and your gestures so violent. βάσιν instead of πόδα is unnecessary. Similar instances of repetition may be found in Hek. 526, foll., where χεροῖν, χεροῖν, χειρὶ occur in three consecutive lines; and in El. 411, where γαίας and yns occur in the same line. Cf. also below, 1060-62, and Aesch. Eum. 127. 649. Dionysus does not manifest himself to Pentheus, but ascribes his liberation to the god, still sustaining himself the character of the Bacchant. 650. τοὺς λόγους, your announcements. Cf. v. 775, below, and Her. Fur. 699, τὸν ἄκυμον θῆκεν βίοτον βροτοῖς, he has given to mortals their present quiet life. 652. τοῦτο sc. τὸ λυσαί σε, οι τὸ τὴν ἄμπελον φύειν. The missing verse, we may suppose, conveyed an intimation that Dionysus was now actually within the walls. καλόν is ironical, as in Med. 514, καλόν γ' ὄνειδος τῷ νεωστὶ νυμφίῳ, πτωχοὺς ἀλᾶσθαι παῖδας. 662. εὐαγεῖς. Where glistening fakes of snow never cease falling. We have εὐαγής, pure; εὐαγής, moving well, agile; εὐαγής, bright or conspicuous; εὐάγητος, bright, not fleeting, for the antepenult is long. 664. ποτνιάδας, a synon. for βάκχας, as Phot. and Hesych. tell us. For the pleonasm cf. below, v. 915, yvναικὸς μαινάδος βάκχης : also phrases |