ἡ βία. The definite article indicates that “βία” is a half-personified agency, as νικησάτω also implies: ‘violence’ is here the impulse which may tempt a strong man to abuse his strength. A parallel to this use of “ἡ βία” occurs in a fragment of the tragic poet Moschion (fr. 6. v. 15 in Nauck Trag. Frag. p. 814), where he is describing the primitive life of mankind;—“ἦν δ᾽ ὁ μὲν νόμος ι ταπεινός, ἡ βία δὲ σύνθρονος Διΐ.” πατεῖν: cp. Ant. 745“τιμάς γε τὰς θεῶν πατῶν”.
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