William Watson Goodwin, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses of the Greek Verb

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[*] 455. When a supposed future case is stated less distinctly and vividly than the subjunctive would state it (as if I should go in English), the protasis takes the optative with εἰ. The apodosis takes the optative with ἄν to denote what would be the result if the condition of the protasis should be fulfilled. E.g. Εἰ ἔλθοι, πάντ᾽ ἂν ἴδοι, if he should go, he would see all. Εἴ σ᾽ οὕτως ἐθέλοι φιλέειν κήδοιτό τε θυμῷ, τῷ κέν τις κείνων γε καὶ ἐκλελάθοιτο γάμοιο, if she should be willing thus to love you, etc., then some of them would cease even to think of marriage. Od. iii. 223. Ἦ κεν γηθήσαι Πρίαμος Πριάμοιό τε παῖδες, ἄλλοι τε Τρῶες μέγα κεν κεχαροίατο θυμῷ, εἰ σφῶιν τάδε πάντα πυθοίατο μαρναμένοιιν. Il. i. 255. Ἀλλ᾽ εἴ μοί τι πίθοιο, τό κεν πολὺ κέρδιον εἴη. Il. vii. 28. “Εἴης φορητὸς οὐκ ἂν, εἰ πράσσοις καλῶς,” “you would not be bearable if you should ever be in prosperity.” AESCH. Prom. 979 . Οἶκος δ᾽ αὐτὸς, εἰ φθογγὴν λάβοι, σαφέστατ᾽ ἂν λέξειεν. Id. Ag. 37. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν Μήδοκός με ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπαινοίη, εἰ ἐξελαύνοιμι τοὺς εὐεργέτας. XEN. An. vii. 7, 11. Οὐδ᾽ εἰ πάντες ἔλθοιεν Πέρσαι, πλήθει γε οὐχ ὑπερβαλοίμεθ᾽ ἂν τοὺς πολεμίους. Id. Cyr. ii. 1, Id. Cyr. 8. Οὐ πολλὴ ἂν ἀλογία εἴη, εἰ φοβοῖτο τὸν θάνατον ὁ τοιοῦτος; PLAT. Phaed. 68B. Εἰ δέ τις τοὺς κρατοῦντας τοῦ πλήθους ἐπ᾽ ἀρετὴν προτρέψειεν, ἀμφοτέρους ἂν ὀνήσειε. ISOC. ii. 8. Εἴ τις τῶν σοι συνόντων ἐπαρθείη ποιεῖν ἃ σὺ τυγχάνεις εὐλογῶν, πῶς οὐκ ἂν ἀθλιώτατος εἴη; Id. xi. 47. Πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἂ:ν οἰκτρότατα πάντων ἐγὼ πεπονθὼς εἴην, εἰ ἐμὲ ψηφίσαιντο εἶναι ξένον; how then should I not have suffered (lit. be hereafter in the condition of having suffered) the most pitiable of all things, if they should vote me a foreigner? DEM. lvii. 44. (See 103 for other examples of the perfect optative.)