e slaughter of a man, by which his blood
is shed_.

[152] Wellauer: _denuntians lucrum, quod prius erit morte
posteriore_: _i.e._ victoriam quam sequetur mors. And so
Griffiths and Paley.

[153] Shakespeare uses this name in the opening speech of
King Henry, in part I.:

No more the thirsty Erinnys of this soil
Shall daub her lips with her own children's blood.
OLD TRANSLATOR.

[154] See above, v. 383.

[155] Somewhat to the same effect is the dream of Atossa
in the Persae.

[156] I prefer Blomfield's transposition to Dindorf's
correction, [Greek: blapsiphronos], which, though
repudiated in the notes, is still adopted by Paley.

[157] A noble impersonation of the sword.

[158] Shakespeare, King John, Act 4, sc. 2:

That blood, which own'd the breadth of all this isle,
Three foot of it doth hold.

King Henry IV. part I. Act 5, sc. 5:

Fare thee well, great heart!
Ill-weav'd ambition, how much art thou shrunk!
When that this body did contain a spirit,
A kingdom for it was too small a bound;
But now, two paces of the vilest earth
Is room enough.

[159] Surely the full stop after [Greek: polin] in v. 749
should be removed, and a colon, or mark of hyperbaton
substituted. On looking at Paley's edition, I find myself
anticipated.

[160] This is Griffiths' version of this awkward passage.
I should prefer reading [Greek: alkan] with Paley, from
one MS. So also Burges.

[161] See my note on Soph. Philoct. 708, ed. Bohn.

[162] This seems the best way of rendering the bold
periphrase, [Greek: ho polybotos aion broton]. See
Griffiths.

[163] I follow Paley. Dindorf, in his notes, agrees in
reading [Greek: trophas], but the metre seems to require
[Greek: epikotos]. Griffiths defends the common reading,
but against the ancient authority of the schol. on OEd.
Col. 1375. See Blomfield.

[164] Blomfield with reason thinks that a verse has been
lost.

[165] The care which the Messenger takes to show the
bright side of the picture first, reminds us of
Northumberland's speech, Shakespeare, King Henry IV. part
II. Act 1, sc. 1:

This thou would'st say--Your son did thus and thus;
Your brother, thus; so fought the noble Douglas;
Stopping my greedy ear with their bold deeds;
But in the end, to stop mine ear indeed,
Thou hast a sigh to blow away this praise,