(cc) Pre-eminence in a class may be expressed by prefixing ἐν τοῖς to the superlative without a change of gender, or by adding els with some word indicating the subject; thus Thucyd. 1. 6: èv τοῖς πρῶτοι ̓Αθηναῖοι τὸν σίδηρον κατέθεντο, “the Athenians first among these (men) laid down iron weapons.” Id. III. 81: ἔδοξε μᾶλλον (ὠμὴ εἶναι ἡ στάσις) διότι ἐν τοῖς πρώτη ἐγένετο, “the sedition seemed to be more savage, because it happened the first among these (things)." The same rule applies to the superlative adverb μάλιστα, as Thucyd. VIII. 90 : ̓Αρίσταρχος, ἀνὴρ ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα καὶ ἐκ πλείστου ἐναντίος τῷ δήμῳ, “ Aristarchus, a man among them in the highest degree and for the longest time opposed to democracy.” Asch. Pers. 325: Κιλίκων ἔπαρχος εἷς ἀνὴρ πλεῖστον πόνον ἐχθροῖς παρασχών, “ the governor of the Cilicians for one man (among all men) having caused most trouble to the enemy." Thucyd. III. 39: ἀποφαίνω Μυτιληναίους μάλιστα δὴ μίαν πόλιν ἠδικηκότας ὑμᾶς, “I prove that the Mytilenæans for one state (among all states) have most wronged you.' 66 (dd) With the negative où the superlative adjective or adverb assumes emphatically the opposite value; thus οὐχ ἥκιστα means “ especially,” οὐκ ἀδυνατώτατος means " most opulent or powerful.” Hence we have οὐχ ἥκιστα as a substitute for μέγιστα in co-ordinate sentences, as Thucyd. 1. 68: προσήκει ἡμᾶς οὐχ ἥκιστα εἰπεῖν ὅσῳ καὶ μέγιστα ἐγκλήματα ἔχομεν. or (ee) The superlative may be used with relatives or relative particles to express the highest degree possible, so that we may supply δυνατός ἐστι οι δύναται γενέσθαι. Thus Plat. Symp. p. 220 Β : πάγου οἵου δεινοτάτου, " in the sharpest possible frost (οἷος δύναται γενέσθαι δεινότατος). Similarly ὡς τάχιστα, “ as quickly as possible ” (Xen. Cyr. I. 6, § 26) ; ὅπως ἄριστα, “ in the best way possible” (Æsch. Agam. 611); ᾗ ἄριστον (Xen. Cyr. II. 4, § 32); ὅσον τάχιστα (Soph. Εl. 1457); ὅτι πλεῖστον χρόνον (Xen. Cyr. VI. 1, § 43) ; ὅποι προσωτάτω (Eurip. Androm. 924); οὕτως ὅπως ἥδιστα (Soph. Trach. 330); ὡς ἂν μάλιστα (Thucyd. VI. 57); ὅτι ἐπ' ἐλάχιστον (Id. III. 46); ὡς ἐν ἐχυρωτάτῳ (Xen. Cyr. I. 6, § 26). But the verb denoting possibility is often found, so that the sentence is complete; thus Thucyd. VII. 21: vaûs as δύναται πλείστας. Xen. Mem. III. 8, § 4: ὡς ἔνι ἀνομοιοτάτη. Id. Anab. I. 3, § 15: ἡ δυνατόν μάλιστα. Id. Mem. IV. 5, § 2: ὡς οἷόν τέ γε μάλιστα. CHAPTER II. ON THE CATEGORICAL PROPOSITION, AND ON THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PREDICATES. § I. General Principles. 417 IN the categorical proposition there are, as has been already mentioned (above, 400, (y)), three kinds of predicates: (A) Primary, when there is nothing between the subject and predicate, except the copula, either expressed or implied. (B) Secondary, when the predicate is connected with the subject through a verb which already contains a primary predicate. (C) Tertiary, when in the second case there is also a πρóλmis or anticipation of a distinct predication of something additional. Accordingly, (A) Primary predicates are the following: (a) Attributive nouns, whether substantives or adjectives. (b) Participles and other verbals. (c) Verbs of the indicative mood. (B) Secondary predicates are the following: (a) Adverbs. (b) Cases of nouns and participles (1) without or (2) with prepositions. (C) Tertiary predicates are oblique cases of substantives, adjectives, and participles. § II. A. Primary Predicates. (a) Nouns. 418 When a noun is predicated directly, the copula is either a verb expressing existence, subsistence, &c., such as eiμí, yiyvoμai, ἔφυν, κυρῶ, πέλω, ὑπάρχω, μένω, διαμένω; or a verb expressing appellation, designation, nomination, appointment, &c., such as xaλοῦμαι, ἀκούω, κλύω, ὀνομάζομαι, προσαγορεύομαι, ποιοῦμαι, καθίσταμαι, ἀποδείκνυμαι, εὑρίσκομαι, νομίζομαι, πέμπομαι, αἱροῦμαι, χειροτονοῦμαι, λαγχάνω. Verbs of the former class are usually added in the infinitive to verbs of appearing, seeming, &c., such as φαίνομαι, δοκῶ, ἔοικα, which may also serve as copula without any such addition. 66 (α) ὁ Θεός ἐστιν ἀγαθός, “ God is good.” (6) ὁ ἐρῶν ἐραστὴς καλεῖται, “ he who loves is called a lover.” (α) Αράσπας ἐπέμφθη κατάσκοπος, “ Araspas was sent as a (ε) Αλκιβιάδης ᾑρέθη στρατηγός, " Alcibiades was chosen general." (f) οὔτ ̓ ἔλαχε τειχοποιός, οὔτ ̓ ἐχειροτονήθη, “ he was not chosen to build the walls by lot or show of hands." 66 (9) οἱ νόμοι διαμένουσιν ἀκίνητοι, “ the laws remain unchanged." (h) χαλεπὸν δοκεῖ τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον, “ this work seems difficult.” (;) τὸ δέ τοι κῆρ φαίνεται εἶναι, " but this appears to thee to be death." 66 (k) εὐδαίμων φαίνεται ὁ ἀνήρ, “ the man appears happy.” Regularly, these primary predicates agree with their subjects in gender and number; and all verbs, whether they merely serve as copula or contain in themselves the primary predicate, agree with the subject of the sentence in number and person. But the following irregularities are not of unfrequent occurrence: (a) The primary predicate does not agree with the subject in gender and number. (aa) The predicate may stand in the neuter singular without regard to the gender and number of the subject, if we wish to indicate that the subject belongs to a particular class of things; as oŮK ἀγαθὸν πολυκοιρανίη (Ιl. II. 204), “ a multitude of rulers is not a good thing"-does not belong to the class of good things; ai μeraBoλai λvπnрóv (Eurip. Herc. F. 1263), "changes are a troublesome thing." (bb) The predicate takes its gender from the meaning and not from the grammatical form of the subject; as τὸ μειράκιον ἐγένετο καλός, "the boy grew up handsome;" and this applies also to epithets (above, 414) and secondary predicates, as piλe Téкvov (Od. XV. 509); ὦ φίλη ψυχή, οἴχει δὴ ἀπολιπὼν ἡμᾶς (Xen. Cyr. VII. 3, § 8). (B) The verb does not agree with the subject in number. w (aa) When the subject is a neuter plural the verb is generally singular, as rà a Tpéxe. The reason for this has been already τὰ τρέχει. given (381, (d)); and the same rule occasionally applies to the dual, as Il. xxIII. 477: Séρкeтaι čσσe. But the plural may follow a neuter plural nominative (1) if it indicates a plural personality, as Plat. Lach. p. 180 E: тà μeipákia éπaivoûσw; (2) if the objects referred to are necessarily distributed and numerous, as Xen. Anab. 1. 7, § 17: φανερὰ ἦσαν καὶ ἵππων καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἴχνη πολλά; (3) if the objects are separated by locality or otherwise, as Xen. Cyr. II. 2, § 17: ταῦτα μὲν δὴ τοιαῦτα ἐλέγοντο, because the sayings of diverse parties are alluded to. In general this use of the plural verb with the neuter plural is more common in Xenophon, and in the Ionic and Doric poets, than in the majority of the prose writers. (bb) With eσT and some other verbs the singular verb is used with the plural subject, even when the latter is masculine or feminine; as Plat. Euthyd. 302 C: čoтi yàp ẽμoiye kaì Bwμoí. Sympos. 188 Β: καὶ γὰρ πάχναι καὶ χάλαζαι καὶ ἐρυσίβαι γίγνεται. This idiom is called the schema Pindaricum, and Pindar uses a singular verb as a copula between a plural subject and a plural predicate, ΟΙ. Χ. 4: μελιγάρυες ὕμνοι ὑστέρων ἀρχαὶ λόγων τέλλεται. (cc) If the subject, though singular, is a collective noun, the verb is plural; this applies not only to nouns of multitude, as dîμos, πλῆθος, στρατόπεδον, &c., but also to words or expressions like ἕκαστος, τις, ἄλλος ἄλλον, εἴ τις, ὅστις, ὃς ἄν, &c. Thus Alciphron, Ep. III. 10 : ὁ δῆμος εἰς τὸ θέατρον προελθόντες ἐβόων. Plat. Resp. p. 550 E: ἄλλος ἄλλον ὁρῶν καὶ εἰς ζῆλον ἰὼν τὸ πλῆθος τοιοῦτον αὑτῶν ἀπειργάσαντο. (dd) The plural verb stands beside a singular vocative, if the act refers to the companions also of the person addressed, as Soph. Phil. 466: ἤδη, τέκνον, στέλλεσθε; (ee) When the plural of the first person is used royally and majestically, as it is called, for the singular, the proper number may be resumed even in the same sentence; as Eurip. Troad. 904: ws οὐ δικαίως, ἣν θάνω, θανούμεθα. (ff) The dual, which is only an exceptional plural, may have a plural predicate or verb; as Plat. Resp. p. 478 A: dvváμeis àμpóτεραί ἐστον, δόξα τε καὶ ἐπιστήμη. Soph. Antig. 55: ἀδελφὼ δύο κοινὸν μόρον κατειργάσαντο. And a feminine dual may agree with a masculine predicate or epithet; as Xen. Cyr. I. 2, § 11: μίαν ἄμφω τούτω τω ἡμέρα λογίζονται. (gg) If two or more subjects are referred to a common copula or predicate, the latter may either be plural or take its inflexion from the nearest or the predominant subject; but the adjectival predicate is in the neuter plural if the subjects denote inanimate things; as Xen. Anab. II. 4, § 15: ἔτυχον ἐν τῷ περιπάτῳ ὄντες Πρόξενος καὶ Ξενοφῶν. Thucyd. I. 29: ἐστρατήγει τῶν νεῶν ̓Αριστεὺς καὶ Καλλικράτης καὶ Τιμάνωρ. Xen. Anab. 1. 10, § 1: βασιλεὺς καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ εἰσπίπτει. Plat. Euthyd. p. 279 Β: εὐγένειαί τε καὶ δυνάμεις καὶ τιμαὶ δῆλά ἐστιν ἀγαθὰ ὄντα. (hh) The copulative verb may agree in number with either the subject or predicate, if the latter is a substantive or a substantival adjective; as Herod. II. 16: τὸ πάλαι αἱ Θῆβαι Αἴγυπτος ἐκαλέετο. Thucyd. IV. 26: αἴτιον ἦν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι προειπόντες. 419 As the predicate is necessarily a general term, it is properly distinguished from the subject by the omission of the article ; as ὁ Σωκράτης ἦν ἄνθρωπος. See, however, above, 394, (β). (α) When the predication is thus distinct, the copula is often omitted; as λευκὸς ὁ ἵππος, " the horse is white.” (6) The copula is very frequently omitted, when the following qualitative phrases form the predicate: φροῦδος, ἑτοῖμος, ῥᾴδιον, εἰκός, δῆλον, χαλεπόν, ἄξιος, δυνατός, οἷός τε, ἀδύνατος, θαυμαστόν, ἀμήχανον ὅσον, ἀνάγκη, χρεών, θέμις, ὥρα, καιρός, οὐ πολὺς χρόνος ἐξ οὗ, &c.; as φροῦδα τἀπειλήματα (Soph. d. Col. 660). They are often predicated in the neuter plural; as χαλεπά ἐστι περιγίγνεσθαι (Herod. IX. 2). (c) The omission of the copula is most usual in the third person, but there are examples of its absence with the other persons; thus we have with the emphatic pronoun (Asch. Eum. 547), φόνου δὲ τοῦδ ̓ ἐγὼ καθάρσιος, and Pind. Οl. IV. 24), οὗτος ἐγὼ ταχυτᾶτι, "such a one am I here before you for swiftness;" "Exλŋv èyw, “a Greek am I;” and the like. And ἐσμέν is understood with ἕτοιμοι |