ἂν μὲν γὰρ κόσμιοι καὶ ϵὔκολοι ὦσι, καὶ τὸ γῆρας μϵτρίως ἐστὶν ἐπίπονον· (329.d)
| ἄν: if by chance, if.γάρ: for.γῆρας, -αος, τό: old age.ἐιμί: to be.ἐπίπονος, -ον: painful, toilsome, laborious. | ϵὔκολος, - ον: easily satisfied, contented, good-natured.καί: and; even.κόσμιος, -α, -ον and -ος, -ον: orderly, well-behaved.μὲν … (δέ): on the one hand … (on the other hand).μϵτρίως: moderately, within due limits, in due measure. |
ἂν … ὦσι, … ἐστὶν: A present, general conditional statement; the protasis is formed by the conjunction ἄν with the subjunctive and the apodosisby the present indicative (S. 2337). General conditions refer indefinitely to any act or series of acts that are supposed to occur or to have occurred at any time; and without any implication as to fulfillment. The if clause has the force of “if ever” (whenever), while the conclusion expresses a repeated or habitual action or a general truth (S. 2335).
ἂν … ὦσι: The protasis of the conditional statement (S. 2282).
ἂν: (= ἐάν = ϵἰ ἄν) ἄν is commoner in Plato than ἐάν; the conjunction introduces the protasis (S. 2283). Conditional clauses requiring the subjunctive must have ἄν, which is more closely attached to the conditional word than it is to the subjunctive (S. 1768).
μὲν … (δέ): The postpositive particle draws a contrast with the following sentence (S. 2904).
γὰρ: Postpositive particle; causal γάρ, as a conjunction, serves to introduce a cause of, or a reason for, an action before mentioned; to justify a preceding utterance; to confirm the truth of a previous statement (S. 2810).
κόσμιοι καὶ ϵὔκολοι: Two plural, masculine, nominative predicate adjectives modifying οἱ ἄνδρϵς, the supplied subject of ὦσι, after ὦσι (S. 910). καὶ: The conjunction connects the two adjectives (S. 2868).
ὦσι: Third person, plural, present, subjunctive of ἐιμί (S. 768). Main verb of the protasis (S. 2173). The subject οἱ ἄνδρϵς (“men”) is not expressed but implied in the verb (S. 931).
καὶ … ἐπίπονον: The apodosis of the conditional statement (S. 2280).
καὶ: Adverbial use of the particle meaning “even” (S. 2881).
τὸ γῆρας: Nominative subject of ἐστὶν (S. 927, 938).
μϵτρίως: Adverb (S. 343, 1094).
ἐστὶν: Third person, singular, present, indicative of ϵἰμί (S. 768). Main verb of the apodosis (S. 2173). The dissyllabic enclitic verb retains its accent after the paroxytone μϵτρίως (S. 183.d). The moveable -ν is added to ἐστί when the next word begins with a vowel (S. 134).
ἐπίπονον: Singular, neuter, nominative predicate adjectives modifying τὸ γῆρας after ἐστὶν (S. 910).
ϵἰ δὲ μή, καὶ γῆρας, ὦ Σώκρατϵς, καὶ νϵότης χαλϵπὴ τῷ τοιούτῳ ξυμβαίνϵι. (329.d)
| γῆρας, -αος, τό: old age.(μὲν) … δέ: (on the one hand) … on the other hand.ϵἰ: if.καὶ … καί: both … and, not only … but also.μή: not.νϵότης, -ητος, ἡ: youth. | ξυμβαίνω: to turn out.Σωκράτης, -ους, ὁ: Socrates.τοιοῦτος, ὁ, -αύτη, ἡ, -οῦτο, τό: such a man, woman, orthing.χαλϵπός, -ή, -όν: hard to bear, painful, grievous.ὦ: O. |
ϵἰ δὲ μή … ξυμβαίνϵι: A simple, present conditional statement; the protasis is formed by the conjunction ϵἰ with the indicative (here omitted) and the apodosis by the present indicative (S. 2298). Notice that the form of the conditional statement has changed from the first half of Cephalus’ thought above. Above, he was expressing an indefinite truth about human behavior (“if ever … then”) while here he is stating a fact about human behavior (“if … then”) (S. 2298, 2335).
ϵἰ δὲ μή: The protasis of the conditional statement (S. 2282). Brachylogy of ϵἰ δὲ μὴ κόσμιος καὶ ϵὔκολός ἐστιν which balances the previous protasis (substituting singular for plural); the entire thought need not be translated, simply the supplied words (S. 3018.b). The phrase ϵἰ δὲ μή, in alternatives, introduces a supposition opposed to something just said and means “but if not, otherwise” (S. 2346.d). ϵἰ: The conjunction introduces the protasis (S. 2283). δὲ: The postpositive particle draws a contrast with μέν in the previous sentence (S. 2904). μή: The negative in a protasis is μή, not οὐ (S. 2286, 2702.2). An acute, when not immediately followed by another word, does not change to a grave (S. 154).
καὶ … ξυμβαίνϵι: The apodosis of the conditional statement (S. 2280).
καὶ … καὶ: The repeated conjunction, connecting the two nominatives γῆρας … νϵότης, means “both … and” or even the stronger contrast of “not only … but also” (S. 2877).
γῆρας: First nominative subject of ξυμβαίνϵι (S. 927, 938). The noun lacks an article (S. 1126).
ὦ Σώκρατϵς: Vocative; the vocative forms an incomplete sentence (S. 1283). ὦ: The exclamation is used with the vocative (S. 1284). Σώκρατϵς: The noun Σωκράτης uses the pure stem in the vocative (S. 248). The vocative is normally found in the interior of a sentence (S. 1285).
νϵότης: Second nominative subject of ξυμβαίνϵι (S. 927, 938). The noun lacks an article (S. 1126).
χαλϵπὴ (ϵἶναι): The predicate nominative adjective modifies and agrees with the nearer noun νϵότης, but should also be construed with γῆρας (S. 910, 1053, 1975). ϵἶναι: Supply ϵἶναι as the object (complimentary) infinitive after ξυμβαίνϵι (S. 1989).
τῷ τοιούτῳ: Singular, masculine, dative demonstrative pronoun used substantively with the article; the antecedent is the subject of the supplied verb of the protasis ἐστιν (S. 1238). Dative with the adjective χαλϵπὴ (S. 1499).
ξυμβαίνϵι: Third person, singular, present, active, indicative of ξυμβαίνω (S. 383). Main verb of the apodosis (S. 2173). With two subjects, the verb may agree with the nearest or most important and be placed after both subjects (S. 966, 966.c).
I.2.C: Socrates questions Cephalus on the advantages of wealth for the elderly. Cephalus maintains that it is easier to live a just life with wealth and to have a free conscience by not having to neglect sacrifices to the gods or doing wrong to humans. (329.d-331.b)
IV. Καὶ ἐγὼ ἀγασθϵὶς αὐτοῦ ϵἰπόντος ταῦτα, βουλόμϵνος ἔτι λέγϵιν αὐτὸν ἐκίνουν καὶ ϵἶπον ῏Ω Κέφαλϵ, οἶμαί σου τοὺς πολλούς, ὅταν ταῦτα λέγῃς, οὐκ ἀποδέχϵσθαι, ἀλλ´ ἡγϵῖσθαί σϵ ῥᾳδίως τὸ γῆρας φέρϵιν οὐ διὰ