Home >  Constructions > optative in indirect speech

Filter by level:
ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ τῶν θεῶν καλῶς εἶχεν, ἤρχετο πάλιν ὧδε. “ἐτύγχανον λέγων ὅτι πολλαὶ καὶ καλαὶ ἐλπίδες ἡμῖν εἶεν σωτηρίας.
When the religious rites had been completed, he began again as follows. I was just saying that we have many good hopes of being saved.
Xenophon Anabasis 3.2.10 (62)
καὶ ὃς τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ὤκνει τε καὶ οὐ πάνυ ἤθελεν ἀποκρίνασθαι· ἔπειτα μέντοι εἶπεν ὅτι οἷ δοκοῖ σωφροσύνη εἶναι τὸ κοσμίως πάντα πράττειν καὶ ἡσυχῇ, ἔν τε ταῖς ὁδοῖς βαδίζειν καὶ διαλέγεσθαι, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ὡσαύτως ποιεῖν. καί μοι δοκεῖ, ἔφη, συλλήβδην ἡσυχιότης τις εἶναι ὃ ἐρωτᾷς
And he at first was hesitant and didn't want to answer. But then he said that he thought that moderation was doing everything quietly and in an orderly fashion.
Plato Charmides 159b (87)
ἔνθα δὴ προσέρχεται Ξενοφῶντι τῶν πελταστῶν ἀνὴρ Ἀθήνησι φάσκων δεδουλευκέναι, λέγων ὅτι γιγνώσκοι τὴν φωνὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Then one of the peltasts came up to Xenophon claiming to be a slave and saying that he knew the language of the enemy.
Xenophon Anabasis 4.8 (240)

Download these examples as a pdf


Notes explaining this construction: