Speech for the Speechless

Photius, s.v. aphasia

“Wordlessness (aphasia): voicelessness (aphônia)

᾿Αφασία· ἀφωνία.

Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, 1280-4

“Wretched brother, tell him what you need.
A multitude of words can be pleasurable,
Burdensome, or they can arouse pity somehow—
They give a kind of voice to the voiceless

έγ᾿, ὦ ταλαίπωρ᾿, αὐτὸς ὧν χρείᾳ πάρει.
τὰ πολλὰ γάρ τοι ῥήματ᾿ ἢ τέρψαντά τι,
ἢ δυσχεράναντ᾿, ἢ κατοικτίσαντά πως,
παρέσχε φωνὴν τοῖς ἀφωνήτοις τινά.

Related image

One thought on “Speech for the Speechless

Leave a Reply