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[404] ξάφα, if taken with “εἰπεῖν”, must mean truly (“ψεύδἐ” being then “ψεύδεο”), but this is not the usual Homeric sense. The word is always used with verbs of knowing, except three times in Od. with “εἰπεῖν”, always in the sense ‘giving a clear, certain report about Odysseus.’ The two senses are, however, nearly allied (cf. Soph. El. 1223 “ἔκμαθ᾽ εἰ σαφῆ λέγω”, Soph. Trach. 387 “ὡς τάχ᾽ ἂν σαφῆ λέξειεν”, Eur. Med. 72 “μῦθος εἰ σαφὴς ὅδε”, etc.), and it is better to translate truly here than with Fäsi to do violence to the order by joining “μὴ ψευδέα εἰπεῖν, ἐπιστάμενος σάφα” (that they are so). This expression is another case, apparently, of Attic use.

The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices. Walter Leaf. London. Macmillan. 1900.

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hide References (3 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (3):
    • Euripides, Medea, 72
    • Sophocles, Electra, 1223
    • Sophocles, Trachiniae, 387
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