Xen. Mem. 1.4.1 - participle used as exhortation?

Greek Learning Greek
1

In the below passage

εἰ δέ τινες Σωκράτην νομίζουσιν, ὡς ἔνιοι γράφουσί τε καὶ λέγουσι περὶ αὐτοῦ τεκμαιρόμενοι, προτρέψασθαι μὲν ἀνθρώπους ἐπ᾽ ἀρετὴν κράτιστον γεγονέναι, προαγαγεῖν δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν οὐχ ἱκανόν, σκεψάμενοι μὴ μόνον ἃ ἐκεῖνος κολαστηρίου ἕνεκα τοὺς πάντ᾽ οἰομένους εἰδέναι ἐρωτῶν ἤλεγχεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἃ λέγων συνημέρευε τοῖς συνδιατρίβουσι, δοκιμαζόντων εἰ ἱκανὸς ἦν βελτίους ποιεῖν τοὺς συνόντας.

σκεψάμενοι Is construed as an exhortation ‘let them consider’ in the Loeb translation and Josiah Renick Smith’s notes (found in Perseus) state: σκεψάμενοι, δοκιμαζόντων: “let them first examine, and then decide.” I presume the use of μὴ would also be consistent with this but I don’t think I’ve come across this construction before of using a participle to generate an exhortation. Is this unusual?

2

It’s not that the participle generates the exhortation. The participle is subordinate to the main verb that is to come, which in this case happens to be an imperative. Participles are dependent things. Looked at in this way, there’s nothing exceptional about the structure. The μή of course anticipates the imperative but has nothing to do with the participle, and the participle itself has nothing exhortative about it.

3

προτρέψασθαι μὲν ἀνθρώπους ἐπ᾽ ἀρετὴν κράτιστον γεγονέναι, προαγαγεῖν δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν οὐχ ἱκανόν

What a good summary of Kleitophon’s complaint. Even some verbal similarity. It really makes me wonder if Xenophon might have read it.

4

Thanks, yes makes sense. Cards on the table, I didn’t recognise δοκιμαζόντων as the imperative, thinking it was a participle. From there, the rabbit hole. Anyhow, onwards and upwards.