Help with subject/object in Mastronarde exercise

[Xyloplax]

In chapter 22, Exercise II 3, this is the passage:

ἐπειδὴ τὸ ὑμέτερον πλῆθος ᾤετο οὐκέτι βούλεσθαι ἀκούειν τῶν ἄλλων ῥητόροων τοὺς λόγους, τότ´ ἤδη διά τε τὸν πρὸς ἐκείνους φθόνον καὶ διὰ τὸ τὴν δύναμιν ὑμῶν φοβεῖσθαι αὐτὸς ἔφη πάνυ φιλεῖν τὸν δῆμον

I got most of it correct, but two parts I got wrong and I am not sure I understand the correct answer. For ἐπειδὴ τὸ ὑμέτερον πλῆθος ᾤετο οὐκέτι βούλεσθαι ἀκούειν the Answer Key has "when he realized that your multitude no longer wanted to hear..." while I translated it as "when your multitude believed/supposed/realized that they no longer wanted to hear...". This one was me forgetting πλῆθος was neuter, so I didn't even get it wrong for a defensible reason, but since the nom and acc are both possible, is there a reason why it would be necessarily the accusative?

The second part is αὐτὸς ἔφη πάνυ φιλεῖν τὸν δῆμον. The answer key says "he said he himself mightily loved the common people". I read it as "he himself said he mightily loved the common people". αὐτὸς is in the nominative and placed before the verb of indirect discourse, so I thought that would be the subject of ἔφη, not the subject of φιλεῖν . If I understand correctly, the subject of the indirect statement (the part governed by the infinitive in this case) is usually in the accusative.

Any thoughts on where I'm going wrong? Thanks.

[Qimmik]

I don't think you're going wrong--I think that in both cases your interpretations are possible. But in the first clause, it seems unlikely that the multitude would realize it didn't want to hear etc. rather than an individual would realize that the multitude no longer wanted to hear, so a 3rd sing. subject (and, this being ancient Greece, a masculine 3rd pers. subject) should be understood. In general, I think Greek would more likely use a plural verb with τὸ . . . πλῆθος . See Smyth sec. 950:

950. With singular collective substantives (996) denoting persons and with like words implying a plural, the verb may stand in the plural.
Thus, ““τὸ στρατόπεδον ἐν αἰτίᾳ ἔχοντες τὸν Ἆγιν ἀνεχώρουν” the army returned holding Agis at fault” T. 5.60, ““τοιαῦτα ἀκούσασα ἡ πόλις Ἀγησίλαον εἵλοντο βασιλέα_” the city, after hearing such arguments, chose Agesilaus king” X. H. 3.3.4. So with βουλή senate, μέρος part, πλῆθος multitude, δῆμος people, ὄχλος throng.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/tex ... ction%3D67

In the second clause, αὐτὸς ἔφη could be similar to the response to questions about Pythagorean dogma, αὐτὸς ἔφα, "He himself [i.e., Pythagoras] said so." But αὐτὸς here, although the subject of the infinitive phrase, is nominative here because it refers to the subject of the main clause. Smyth, although somewhat confusing on this point, seems to think (as you do) that αὐτὸς should be accusative (and actually, that would be my instinct, too):

1974. A pronoun subject of the infinitive, if (wholly or partially) identical with the subject of the main verb, is generally expressed when emphatic, and stands in the accusative (cases of the nominative are rare and suspected); . . .

““οἶμαι ἐμὲ πλείω χρήματα εἰργάσθαι ἢ ἄλλους σύνδυο” I think I have made more money than any two others together” P. Hipp. M. 282e, ἡγησάμενος ἐμαυτὸν ἐπιεικέστερον εἶναι (emphatic for ἡγησάμενος ἐπιεικέστερος εἶναι) deeming myself to be too honest P. A. 36b, ““τοὺς δὲ Θηβαίους ἡγεῖτο . . . ἐάσειν ὅπως βούλεται πράττειν ἑαυτόν” he thought the Thebans would let him have his own way” D. 6.9, . . .

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/tex ... tion%3D125

So I don't think you should fault yourself for getting this wrong. A context would probably make these points clear, but of course, there is no context for isolated sentences like this in a textbook. Mastronarde is trying to give you sentences that you might find in one of the Attic orators, such as Demosthenes. In fact, this sentence may well have been taken from a real speech. But out of context it's harder to see what the sentence is driving at.

[Xyloplax]

Thank you, this helps get my thoughts in the right place.