previous next

[187] ἐπεί. The actual apodosis to the protasis introduced by “ἐπεί” comes after the parenthesis, with the words οὔτ᾽ οὖν ἐσθῆτος. The sentence from Ζεύς to ἔμπης is a parenthetical reflection suggested by the condition of Odysseus. The sentence from ἐπεί to ἱκάνεις adds an additional clause to the protasis, and a fresh reason why Nausicaa is disposed to help him. He looks neither a villain nor a fool—only miserable—and misery as well as prosperity is dispensed to men by no rule but the will of the gods; besides, he is here on our shores (she thinks) as a suppliant. Therefore I will befriend him.

188-9. The point in these lines lies in the words ὅπως ἐθέλῃσιν, the arbitrary dispensation of good and evil. Compare “ἀτὰρ θεὸς ἄλλοτε ἄλλῳ

Ζεὺς ἀγαθόν τε κακόν τε διδοῖ Od.4. 237.See also Od.14. 444; Il.24. 529 foll.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide References (3 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (3):
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: