eipato^san

Greek Learning Greek
1

Hi.


From a book in Google Play,
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=BKACAAAAMAAJ&rdid=book-BKACAAAAMAAJ&rdot=1
p.36
the third sentence


ei de symboliko^s legetai tauta, to^n ekeinou dynameo^n onta symbola, te^n herme^neian to^n symbolo^n eipato^san

I’m unsure about the “eipato^san”.

The meaning could be “let them say”, guessing from the probable meaning of this sentence.
“eipon” has its imperative 3sg. “eipato^”.
But 3pl. would not be “eipato^san”, according to the table of conjugation for aor.2.
There is the form ending with “to^san” in perfect imperative 3pl..
But I don’t know the Perfect of this verb.

2

Smyth sec. 466, 3, discussing the personal endings of the imperative, notes an alternative 3rd plural active ending in -τωσαν – this would be an alternative to the earlier Attic ending -ντων, and would result in aorist 3rd plur imperative εἰπάτωσαν:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0007%3Asmythp%3D466%20a.%20D

εἶπον (or the alternative εἶπα) generally occurs only in the aorist. εἴρηκα is the perfect.

3

I don’t have access to Google Play from my country (which sucks :angry:),
but I do have the TLG and it is a line from Eusebius’s Praeparatio evangelica,
Book 5, chapter 10, section 7:

εἰ δὲ συμβολικῶς λέγεται ταῦτα, τῶν ἐκείνου δυνάμεων ὄντα σύμβολα,
τὴν ἑρμηνείαν τῶν συμβόλων εἰπάτωσαν.

The morphological parsing is not always accurate, but they take it as aor. imperative 3pl. (epic ionic).

4

Thanks for your help, Qimmik and Nate. :smiley: :smiley:

I’m wondering, how you’re keeping enough energy to do the researches for other people, other than doing your own studies.

5

It usually doesn’t take me long to find answers to questions here if I can’t answer immediately off the top of my head. Answering questions – and trying not to mislead with wrong answers – puts my knowledge of Greek and Latin to the test. Having hard copies of Smyth and Allen & Greenough, as well as LSJ, Lewis and Short and the Oxford Latin Dictionary, helps me to zero in on a particular question quickly. Then I can attach a link to the on-line sources of information. And usually I learn something in the process.

6

Thank you Qimmik. :slight_smile:

I have the hard copies of all those,
but looking into those small-lettered reference books, especially LSJ (tiny tiny lettters and no English translations for sample sentences), needs a sharp concentrantion,
which is somehow harmful to my health.
So I’m full with my own work and can’t afford looking into those books for other people’s sake.
So I’m amazed seeing people giving (often meticulous) answers here.