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[49] μεμνώμεθα This subjunctive occurs also in Hom. Od. 14.168πῖνε καὶ ἄλλα παρὲξ μεμνώμεθα,Plat. Stat. 285cφυλάττωμεν ... καὶ ... μεμνώμεθα,Plat. Phileb. 31aμεμνώμεθα δὴ καὶ ταῦτα περὶ ἀμφοῖν.” Eustathius (1303. 46, 1332. 18) cites the word here as μεμνῴμεθα (optative). We find, indeed, “μεμνῷοXen. Anab. 1.7.5 (v. l. μεμνῇο), “μεμνεῷτοHom. Il. 23.361, “μεμνῷτοXen. Cyrop. 1.6.3, but these are rare exceptions. On the other hand, “μεμνῄμηνHom. Il. 24.745, “μεμνῇτοAristoph. Pl. 991, Plat. Rep. 518a. If Soph. had meant the optative he would have written μεμνῄμεθα: cp. Soph. Phil. 119ἂν ... κεκλῇο.” See Curtius Greek Verb 2.226 (Eng. tr. p. 423). The personal appeal, too, here requires the subjunct., not optat.: cp. Soph. OC 174μὴ δῆτ᾽ ἀδικηθῶ,Soph. Trach. 802μηδ᾽ αὐτοῦ θάνω.

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