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[425] καί seems to imply ‘whatever else one does,’ it is good to give the gods also their due. διδοῦναι, a form which astonished even Eust. (“τινὰ δὲ τῶν ἀντιγράφων ἐτόλμησαν γράψαι διδοῦναι”) and was attacked by Aph.(Did. on Od. 13.358, see Ludwich). The alternative seems to have been “διδῶναι” (Herod.), the MSS. giving only “διδόναι”. The form may be compared to “ζευγνῦμεν” 17.145: “τιθήμεναι” is different, as metrical necessity comes in. Schulze ascribes the lengthening to the license of the sixth arsis (Q. E. p. 451, see App. D, C 3). It is wiser to recognize the influence of the aor. forms “δοῦναι, θεῖναι”, etc., which seem to represent “δο-Ϝέναι”, etc. (H. G. § 85. 1). So “διδώσομεν” (Od. 13.358) must be due to the analogy of the pres.

The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices. Walter Leaf. London. Macmillan. 1900.

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