Οστις

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Constantinus Philo
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Οστις

Post by Constantinus Philo »

Can οστις be used for a definite antecedent?
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polemistes
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Re: Οστις

Post by polemistes »

I'm not so well versed in what a definite antecedent means, but I think this is definite enough, isn't it?
Plato Apology 23b3 wrote:Οὗτος ὑμῶν, ὦ ἄνθρωποι, σοφώτατός ἐστιν, ὅστις ὥσπερ Σωκράτης ἔγνωκεν ὅτι οὐδενὸς ἄξιός ἐστι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ πρὸς σοφίαν.

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Constantinus Philo
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Re: Οστις

Post by Constantinus Philo »

no, this is indefinite: anyone who...
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jeidsath
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Re: Οστις

Post by jeidsath »

LSJ on ὅστις
II. referring to a definite object, prop. only when a
general notion is implied, Πολυκράτεα . . , δι’
ὅντινα κακῶς ἤκουσε, not the man through whom, but
one through whom . . , Hdt.3.120; τελευταῖόν σε
προσβλέψαιμι νῦν, ὅστις πέφασμαι φύς τ’ ἀφ’ ὧν οὐ
χρῆν may I see thee now for the last time, I who am
one born from sinful parentage, S.OT1184, cf.
A.Pr.38, Ag.1065; but in quite definite sense,
βωμόν, ὅστις νῦν ἔξω τῆς πόλεώς ἐστι Th.6.3: sts.
even with οὗτος or ὅδε as antec., Hdt.1.167, 2.99,
6.47, E.Hipp.943, Theoc.8.87.
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Constantinus Philo
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Re: Οστις

Post by Constantinus Philo »

you see, even Smyth has shortages, coz he does not mention this
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jeidsath
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Re: Οστις

Post by jeidsath »

Well, it's a rare sort of usage. Personally, I didn't even bother to look for it in Smyth, and went straight to the LSJ. Here is Marchant's note on Thucydides 6.3:
ὅστις—a strange use of ὅστις, the ordinary rules for which as a relative are as follows:—1. Referring to an indefinite antecedent: (a)=such that, as in οὐδεὶς οὕτως ἠλίθιος ὅστις οὔχι κἂν πρῶτος εἰσενέγκαι. (Thus ὅστις often replaces ὤστε after οὕτως.) (b)=whoever, as in ὅστις ἂν ᾖ. 2. Referring to a definite antecedent: (a)=quippe qui. (b)=of the kind that, any that. It has been supposed that Thuc. took at least this note from Antiochus of Syracuse, because Dion. Hal. I. 12 quotes from him the expression τὴν γῆν ταύτην ἥτις νῦν Ἰταλία καλεῖται, and the inference is that Antiochus used ὅστις for ὅς. On the other hand, Dion. Hal. is scarcely to be trusted in a minute linguistic point, and it is strange that Thuc., even though he may have used Antiochus, should follow him in such a use of ὅστις. Stein on Herod. IV. 8 collects exx. of ὅστις for ὅς after οὗτος in Herod. We may compare with this the use of σφῶν in Thuc. for ἑαυτῶν or σφῶν αὐτῶν, and of ὅδε, τοιόσδε, τοσόσδε referring to what precedes (cf. c. 2 end). All these uses are characteristic of Ionic rather than of Attic.
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Re: Οστις

Post by mwh »

οστις is perfectly appropriate here, as ος would not be. I wouldn't call it rare. It’s not fully indefinite (not οστις αν), and not fully definite either. It would be ος if the reference were expressly to Soc and not just to someone ὥσπερ him!

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