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[107] ἐπαύρῃς (or “ἐπαύρῃ”, as nearly all the MSS. read) means ‘take,’ ‘incur.’ “ἐπαυρίσκω”, literally ‘to touch,’ ‘graze.’ acquires (especially in the mid., but sometimes also in the act.) the sense of deriving from contact, ‘gaining from.’ In this sense it is construed with a neut. adj. or pronoun in the accusative, expressing the good or harm taken or ‘gained’: e.g. Theogn. 111 “τὸ μέγιστον ἐπαυρίσκουσι”, Aesch. Prom.28τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐπηύρω τοῦ φιλανθρώπου τρόπου”, Andoc.20. 2ἀγαθὸν ἐμοῦ ἐπαυρέσθαι”. Of the two readings “ἐπαύρῃ” is not satisfactory as 2 sing. subj. mid., the proper Homeric form of which is “ἐπαύρηαι” ( Il.15. 17). Hence we should read “ἐπαύρῃς” (with Buttmann, &c.). Some take “ἐπαύρῃ” as 3 sing. act., and “κακόν” as nom. to it; as though the evil were a weapon that is to ‘touch’ the beggar. This however is a metaphor at variance with the usus loquendi, in which the good or evil is always treated as the thing gained by touch.

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hide References (3 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (3):
    • Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, 28
    • Andocides, On his Return, 2
    • Homer, Iliad, 15.17
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