How can I praise the divine when by praising I discover that the gods are evil?
ποῦ δ᾽ αἰνεῖν, ὅταν
τὰ θεῖ᾽ ἐπαινῶν τοὺς θεοὺς εὕρω κακούς;
Sophocles, Philoctetes 451-2
ΕΥΔΟΞΑ ΑΓΝΩΣΤΑ ΚΑΤΑΓΕΛΑΣΤΑ
ΕΥΔΟΞΑ ΑΓΝΩΣΤΑ ΚΑΤΑΓΕΛΑΣΤΑ
Don’t have an edition handy. What’s the deal with the reading of ἐπαινῶν rather than ἐπαθρῶν in 452?
Not quite sure. This is the Les Belles Lettres text by Dain and Mazon; Perseus and Jebb agree. I do not have a critical edition, but the Loeb online says that ἐπαθρῶν is an emendation by Postgate. I think it is a particularly feeble one…