# Ἀθήναζε, 4, α, 96-99 (οὐδ'ὀλίγον χρόνον τολμῶσιν)

**URL:** <https://www.textkit.com/t/4-96-99/31204>\
**Category:** Learning Greek\
**Created:** [June 25, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/4-96-99/31204 "2026-06-25T18:13:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![IoannesSanctaeMariae](https://www.textkit.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/a87d85/32.png) [@IoannesSanctaeMariae](https://www.textkit.com/u/IoannesSanctaeMariae)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/4-96-99/31204/1 "2026-06-25T18:13:37Z")

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Χαῖρετε, πάντες!

This passage has been difficult to me:

> Οὔτω χαλεπός ἐστιν ὁ ἀνήρ ὤστε πάντες οἱ δοῦλοι φόβον ἔχουσιν, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ δεσπότου ἀποχωρεῖν οὐδ’ὀλίγον χρόνον τολμῶσιν, ὄτε ἐν τοῖς ἀγροῖς πονοῦσιν.

The first clause seems clear to me: The master is so severe that all his slaves fear him. The second, though, not so: “and they dare for a great time (οὐδ’ὀλίγον χρόνον) to flee from him while they work in the fields” seems a very harsh sentence. Did I understood οὐδ’ὀλίγον χρόνον correctly? So far it has only appeared as a synonym to Latin _neque_, but here it does not seem join two sentences together (ἀποχωρεῖν is what they τολμῶσιν, it is all one sentence).

Ἔρρωσθε!  
Ἰωάννης Στέφανος.

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**Author:** ![bedwere](https://www.textkit.com/user_avatar/www.textkit.com/bedwere/32/35_2.png) [@bedwere](https://www.textkit.com/u/bedwere)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/4-96-99/31204/2 "2026-06-25T18:28:01Z")

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They dare **not even** for a short time to withdraw from the master

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**Author:** ![IoannesSanctaeMariae](https://www.textkit.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/i/a87d85/32.png) [@IoannesSanctaeMariae](https://www.textkit.com/u/IoannesSanctaeMariae)\
**Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://www.textkit.com/t/4-96-99/31204/3 "2026-06-25T22:33:35Z")

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Oh, so I understood it completely wrong. I did not know οὐδέ could also stand for _not even_. Now it does not seem clumsy at all.

Much thanks, Bedwere!