Socrates’ Opinion on the Art of Evenus from an Oblique Optative in Plato’s Apology 20b8-c1

Abstract

At the beginning of Plato’s Apology Socrates says: καὶ ἐγὼ τὸν Εὔηνον ἐμακάρισα εἰ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἔχοι ταύτην τὴν τέχνην καὶ οὕτως ἐμμελῶς διδάσκει (20b8-c1). In this text we find the syntactic phenomenon known as “oblique optative”, but coordinated with another verb in indicative mood. The only coincidence regarding this use of the optative is that the main verb has to be a past tense. But there is little coincidence around the semantic reasons for this use of the optative. In the present paper we will try to show the specific semantics of the oblique optative and its importance for the interpretation of the text.