ἐκλιπόντι τοῦτ̓ = “ἐὰν ἐκλίπῃς τοῦτο”, if thou forsake, abandon, this deed (which is a duty laid on thee): cp. I. T. 750 “εἰ δ̓, ἐκλιπὼν τὸν ὅρκον, ἀδικοίης ἐμέ.” ὄνειδος is strengthened by οὐ καλόν, as in 842 by “αἰσχρόν”, in O. C. 753 by “ἄθλιον”, in O. T. 1035 by “δεινόν”. Ellendt, indeed, is with those who trace here an original ‘middle’ sense of “ὄνειδος” as=‘a thing said of one’ (good or evil). It would be equally reasonable to infer a neutral meaning for “κήρ” from Tr. 454“κὴρ πρόσεστιν οὐ καλή”.
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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