[*] 329.
1. (
Ὡς,
and
ὄφρα,
in Homer and
ὡς,
and
ὅκως,
in Herodotus.) In Homer
ὥς κε and
ὡς ἄν sometimes have the optative in
final clauses after both primary and secondary tenses.
Ὄφρα κε and
ὄφρ᾽ ἄν occur each once in
Homer with the optative after past tenses. Herodotus has
ὡς ἄν and
ὅκως ἄν with the optative
after past tenses, and
ὅκως
ἄν once after a present tense. This optative with
κέ or
ἄν after primary tenses is certainly
potential as well as final; and this analogy makes it difficult or
impossible to take it in any other sense after secondary tenses, though
here the potential force is less obvious.
（
a) After primary tenses six
cases occur in the Odyssey and one in Herodotus:—
-
“Ἀπερρίγασι νέεσθαι
ὥς κ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐεδνώσαιτο θύγατρα”
“they dread to go to him that he may
settle (if he will) the bridal gifts of his daughter,
lit. that he would settle, etc.”
Od. ii.
53
.
-
“Κνυζώσω δέ τοι
ὄσσε, ὡς ἂν ἀεικέλιος φανείης”
“I will dim your eyes, to the end that
you might appear unseemly.”
Od.
xiii. 401.
-
“Δύο δοῦρε
καλλιπέειν, ὡς ἂν ἐπιθύσαντες ἑλοίμεθα”
Od.
xvi. 297.
-
“Τῷ κε τάχα γνοίης
φιλότητά τε πολλά τε δῶρα ἐξ ἐμεῦ, ὡς ἄν τίς
σε συναντόμενος μακαρίζοι,”
“so that one would call you blessed.”
Od.
xvii. 164
(= xv. 537, Od. xix. 310).
-
“Ἡγείσθω ὀρχηθμοῖο,
ὥς κέν τις φαίη γάμον ἔμμεναι ἐκτὸς ἀκούων”
“let him lead off the dance, so that
any one who should hear without would say there was a
marriage.”
Od.
xxiii. 134.
-
“Ἴσχεσθε πτολέμου,
ὥς κεν ἀναίμωτί γε διακρινθεῖτε τάχιστα”
Od.
xxiv. 531.
-
“Κελεύει σε τὸ
παιδίον θεῖναι, ὅκως ἂν τάχιστα διαφθαρείη,”
“he bids you so expose the child that
he would be likely to perish most speedily.”
HDT. i.
110.
（
b) After past tenses the
following cases occur
1:—
Ὗε δ᾽ ἄρα Ζεὺς
συνεχὲς, ὄφρα κε θᾶσσον ἁλίπλοα τείχεα θείη.
Il. xii. 25.
Ἐώλπειν σε Φθίηνδε νέεσθαι,
ὡς ἄν μοι τὸν παῖδα Σκυρόθεν ἐξαγάγοις, i.e.
I hoped for your coming, that you might perchance
bring my son away from Scyros.
Il. xix. 330.
“
Καί μιν μακρότερον καὶ
πάσσονα θῆκεν ἰδέσθαι, ὥς κεν Φαιήκεσσι φίλος πάντεσσι
γένοιτο”
Od. viii.
20.
“
Τύμβον χεύαμεν, ὥς κει
τηλεφανὴς ἐκ ποντόφιν ἀνδράσιν εἴη”
Od. xxiv.
83.
“
Σὺ δέ με προΐεις, ὄφρ᾽
ἂν ἑλοίμην δῶρα ῾βεκκερ ἀνελοίμην）.”
Ib.
333.
Λέγεται διώρυχα
ὀρύσσειν, ὅκως ἂν τὸ στρατόπεδον ἱδρυμένον κατὰ νώτου
λάβοι, i.e.
he is said to have dug
(119）
a channel, in order that the river might flow
behind the army.
HDT. i. 75.
Ταῦτα δὲ περὶ
ἑωυτὸν ἐσέμνυε τῶνδε εἵνεκεν,
ὅκως ἂν μὴ ὁρέοντες οἱ ὁμήλικες λυπεοίατο καὶ
ἐπιβουλεύοιεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἑτεροῖός σφι δοκέοι εἶναι μὴ
ὁρῶσι,
in order that his companions
might not be offended by seeing him and plot against him,
but that he might appear to them to be of
another nature when they did not see him.
Id. i. 99.
Πορφύρεον εἷμα περιβαλόμενος,
ὡς ἂν πυνθανόμενοι πλεῖστοι συνέλθοιεν.
Id. i. 152.
Τὸ ὕδωρ τότε ἐπῆκαν, ὡς ἂν
χαραδρωθείη ὁ χῶρος,
they let in
the water,
in order that the country
might be gullied.
Id. vii. 176.
Περιέπεμπον ἔξωθεν Σκιάθου,
ὡς ἂν μὴ ὀφθείησαν περιπλέουσαι Εὔβοιαν.
Id. viii. 7.
Ἤλαυνον τοὺς ἵππους, ὡς ἂν
τὸν νεκρὸν ἀνελοίατο.
Id. ix. 22.
Μετακινέεσθαι ἐδόκεε τότε, ὡς
ἂν μὴ ἰδοίατο οἱ Πέρσαι ἐξορμεομένους.
Ib. 51.
2.
Ὡς ἄν with
the optative in Attic prose is found chiefly in Xenophon. It is never
strictly final; but
ὡς is
relative or interrogative, and the optative with
ἄν is potential. E.g.
Ἔδοξεν αὐτῷ τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, ὡς ὅτι
ἥκιστα ἂν ἐπιφθόνως σπανιός τε καὶ σεμνὸς φανείη,
he decided to do this in such a way that he
might appear, etc. (i.e.
in the way by
which.)
XEN. Cyr. vii. 5, 37. (Here the separation of
ἄν from
ὡς makes the potential
character plainer.)
Ὡς δ᾽ ἂν
καὶ οἱ πόδες εἶεν τῷ ἵππῳ κράτιστοι, εἰ μέν τις ἔχει
ῥᾴω ἄσκησιν, κ.τ.λ.,
“as to means by which the horse's feet could be
kept strongest.”
Hipp. i.
16.See other examples in Appendix IV. This is the same relative
use of
ὡς with the
potential optative which we find in
DEM. vi. 3,
ὡς μὲν ἂν εἴποιτε δικαίους λόγους ἄμεινον
Φιλίππου παρεσκεύασθε: ὡς δὲ κωλύσαιτ᾽ ἂν ἐκεῖνον
πράττειν ταῦτα, παντελῶς ἀργῶς ἔχετε,
as to means by which you could make just
speeches,
you are better equipped than
Philip; but as to steps by which you could prevent him from doing
what he does, you are wholly inactive. See also
DEM. vi. 37,
ὡς δ᾽ ἂν ἐξετασθείη
μάλιστ᾽ ἀκριβῶς, μὴ γένοιτο,
as
to any means by which the truth could be tested most
thoroughly,—
may this never
come!
