previous next

206.Perfect.) The perfect infinitive, which represents also the pluperfect (123), when used with ἄν, may be equivalent either to the pluperfect indicative with ἄν or to the perfect optative with ἄν. E.g. Εἰ μὴ τὰς ἀρετὰς ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐκείνας οἱ Μαραθῶνι καὶ Σαλαμῖνι παρέσχοντο, . . . πάντα ταῦθ᾽ ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων ἂν ἑαλωκέναι (sc. φήσειεν ἄν τις), if those at Marathon and Salamis had not exhibited those deeds of valour in their behalf, any one would say that all these would have been captured by the barbarians. DEM. xix. 312. (Here ἑαλωκέναι ἄν represents ἑαλώκεσαν ἄν.) “Ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἂν ἡγοῦμαι αὐτοὺς δίκην ἀξίαν δεδωκέναι, εἰ ἀκροασάμενοι αὐτῶν καταψηφίσαισθε,” “but I do not believe they would (then) have suffered sufficient punishment, if you after hearing them should condemn them.” LYS. xxvii. 9. (Here the protasis in the optative shows that δεδωκέναι ἄν represents δεδωκότες ἂν εἶεν (103); but if the protasis were εἰ κατεψηφίσασθε, if you had condemned them, δεδωκέναι ἄν would represent ἐδεδώκεσαν ἄν, they would have suffered.) See also, in xxvii. 8, οὐκ ἂν ἀπολωλέναι, ἀλλὰ δίκην δεδωκέναι, representing perfect optatives with ἄν. Ἀνδραποδώδεις ἂν δικαίως κεκλῆσθαι (ἡγεῖτο). XEN. Mem. i. 1, 16. (Here κεκλῆσθαι ἄν represents κεκλημένοι ἂν εἶεν.)

These constructions are of course rare, as are the forms of the finite moods here represented.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: