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[196] The words καὶ βασιλεῦσιν belong logically to the principal clause: the sense is that ‘the gods mar the form of much-wandering men, even of kings, whenever they ordain sorrow for them.’ The effect of the postponement of the words is that they come in as an afterthought: ‘whenever the gods decree, even to kings, the lot of sorrow.’

A different explanation was given by Ernesti: ‘sensus est; sed intellegi potest quam proclives dii sint ad homines miseriis mergendos, cum etiam regibus decernant atque immittant miseriam.’ If by ‘cum decernant’ he means ‘since they decree,’ these words cannot be accepted as the translation of “ὁππότε” with a subj.

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