τοί : enclitic particle of
asseveration, certainly, you may be sure, I assure you, let me
tell you;
τοί has been called the
‘gnomic’ particle from the frequency of its
occurrence in the statement of general truths or maxims, κιχα?νει τοι βραδὺς ὠκύν, ‘the
race is not always to the swift,’ Od. 8.329, Od. 2.276, Il. 2.298, etc. Sometimes
it is impossible to decide whether this particle or the ethical dat.
(τοί = σοί) is meant, and probably the two were originally
identical.