Monographs

Herbert Weir Smyth [n.d.], A Greek Grammar for Colleges; Machine readable text [info] [word count] [Smyth].

2477

Optative.—a. With ἄν (potential): ἔστι μείζω τἀ_κείνων ἔργα ἢ ὡς τῷ λόγῳ τις ἂν εἴποι their deeds are too great for any one to tell in words D. 6.11, ὥσπερ αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἂν ἀξιώσαιτε κακῶς ἀκούειν ὑπὸ τῶν ὑ_μετέρων παίδων, οὕτω μηδὲ τούτῳ ἐπίτρεπε περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς βλασφημεῖν just as you yourselves would not think it right to be ill spoken of by your children, even so do not permit him either to utter slanders about his father D. 40.45.

b. With ἄν, as in less vivid future conditions: ὅσῳ δὲ πρεσβύτερος γίγνοιτο, μᾶλλον ἀεὶ ἀσπάζοιτο ἂν (χρήματα) the older he grows, the more he would always respect wealth P. R. 549b.

c. The optative without ἄν in indirect discourse may represent ἄν with the subjunctive of direct discourse; as νομίζων, ὅσῳ μὲν θᾶττον ἔλθοι, τοσούτῳ ἀπαρασκευαστοτέρῳ βασιλεῖ μαχεῖσθαι, ὅσῳ δὲ σχολαιότερον, τοσούτῳ πλέον συναγείρεσθαι βασιλεῖ στράτευμα in the belief that, the more quickly he advanced, the more unprepared for battle would the king be, while the slower he advanced, the greater would be the army that was collecting for the king X. A. 1.5.9 (direct = ὅσῳ ἂν θᾶττον ἔλθω . . . μαχοῦμαι, ὅσῳ ἂν σχολ. ἔλθω τοσούτῳ πλέον συναγείρεται).

d. Without ἄν, of past time, as in general conditions. Thus, ξυνετίθεσαν ὡς ἕκαστόν τι ξυμβαίνοι they put the stones together as each happened to fit T. 4.4.— Also after a present tense: εἰκῆ κράτιστον ζῆν, ὅπως δύναιτό τις 'tis best to live at hazard, as one may S. O. T. 979 (cp. ^cross2573).

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Herbert Weir Smyth [n.d.], A Greek Grammar for Colleges; Machine readable text [info] [word count] [Smyth].