Κλέπτης
thief
Translated by Catharine Roth28 Nov 2008Vetting: high5 revisions
Translation
[Meaning] he who takes away others' belongings, from the [verb] kle/ptw [meaning] I covet. Also [sc. attested is] kle/ptw ["I steal"], [meaning] I cheat. Homer [writes]: "do not cheat in your mind."1 But kle/pths [comes] from the [verb] kalu/ptein ["to hide"].2 He who has caused some harmful harm is also called kle/pths .
And elsewhere: "[he] stealing and obliterating the supposition ..."3
In ancient times theft was not a cause for reproach, unless the thief had been caught. Aristophanes in Wealth [Plutus] [writes]: "if he ought to escape notice, how is stealing not good behavior?"4 "He [is] not more a thief, but perhaps [more] fortunate. It is a parody from Euripides' Alcestis: "some other woman will get you, not more virtuous, but perhaps [more] fortunate."5
And elsewhere: "[he] stealing and obliterating the supposition ..."3
In ancient times theft was not a cause for reproach, unless the thief had been caught. Aristophanes in Wealth [Plutus] [writes]: "if he ought to escape notice, how is stealing not good behavior?"4 "He [is] not more a thief, but perhaps [more] fortunate. It is a parody from Euripides' Alcestis: "some other woman will get you, not more virtuous, but perhaps [more] fortunate."5
Greek original · Adler’s text
Κλέπτης· ὁ τὰ ἀλλότρια ἀφαιρούμενος, παρὰ τὸ κλέπτω, τὸ ἐπιθυμῶ. καὶ κλέπτω, τὸ παραλογίζομαι. Ὅμηρος· μὴ κλέπτε νόῳ. κλέπτης δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ καλύπτειν. λέγεται δὲ κλέπτης καὶ ὁ ἐπὶ βλάβῃ τινὶ βλάψας. καὶ αὖθις· κλέπτων ἄρα καὶ ἀφανίζων τὴν ὑπόνοιαν. ὅτι τὸ παλαιὸν οὐ διεβέβλητο ἡ κλοπή, εἰ μὴ φωραθεὶς ὁ κλέπτων ὑπῆρχεν. Ἀριστοφάνης Πλούτῳ· εἴγε λαθεῖν αὐτὸν δεῖ, πῶς οὐ κόσμιόν ἐστι τὸ κλέπτειν. κλέπτης μὲν οὐχὶ μᾶλλον, εὐτυχὴς δ' ἴσως. παρῴδηται παρὰ Ἀλκήστιδος Εὐριπίδου· σὲ δ' ἄλλη τις γυνὴ κεκτήσεται, σώφρων οὐχὶ μᾶλλον, εὐτυχὴς δ' ἴσως.
Betacode
*kle/pths: o( ta\ a)llo/tria a)fairou/menos, para\ to\ kle/ptw, to\ e)piqumw=. kai\ kle/ptw, to\ paralogi/zomai. *(/omhros: mh\ kle/pte no/w|. kle/pths de\ a)po\ tou= kalu/ptein. le/getai de\ kle/pths kai\ o( e)pi\ bla/bh| tini\ bla/yas. kai\ au)=qis: kle/ptwn a)/ra kai\ a)fani/zwn th\n u(po/noian. o(/ti to\ palaio\n ou) diebe/blhto h( kloph/, ei) mh\ fwraqei\s o( kle/ptwn u(ph=rxen. *)aristofa/nhs *plou/tw|: ei)/ge laqei=n au)to\n dei=, pw=s ou) ko/smio/n e)sti to\ kle/ptein. kle/pths me\n ou)xi\ ma=llon, eu)tuxh\s d' i)/sws. parw/|dhtai para\ *)alkh/stidos *eu)ripi/dou: se\ d' a)/llh tis gunh\ kekth/setai, sw/frwn ou)xi\ ma=llon, eu)tuxh\s d' i)/sws.
Notes (5)
- For
kle/pths andkle/ptw , see also kappa 1737, kappa 1739, kappa 1740 (and kappa 1248). - 1Homer, Iliad 1.132 (web address 1); cf. n.2. ↩
- 2Similarly elsewhere: Etymologicum Magnum 517.39, scholion on Sophocles, Electra 56, scholion on Homer, Iliad 1.132, Hesychius, Erotian 54.2. ↩
- 3Aelian fr. 281 Domingo-Forasté (283 Hercher). ↩
- 4cf. Aristophanes, Wealth [Plutus] 565-566 (web address 2), with scholion. ↩
- 5Aristophanes, Knights 1251-1252 (web address 3), with scholion; cf. omicron 983. The Alcestis passage is lines 181-2 of that play. ↩
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
- Web address 2 perseus.tufts.edu
- Web address 3 perseus.tufts.edu
Linked from5 entries
- κ1614Κιμβέρινον ἐνδύσομαιI will put on a Kimberine[This is] a kind of outer-garment, [named] after a place. Aristophanes [writes]: "I will put on a Kimberine".
- κ1737Κλέπτεινto steal[Used] with an accusative. [Meaning] surreptitiously removing other people's property, acting fraudulently.
- κ1739Κλεπτόμενοιbeing cheated[Meaning rhey] being deceived. "He kept sending [or: he tried to send] gifts to him, knowing that he was a thief and rather deficient in the faith entrusted [to him]."
- κ1740ΚλέπτονthievishlyIn the neuter. Aristophanes [writes]: "and so he glances thievishly; as if by keeping his teeth closed he thinks he will deceive me."
- κ1838Κλώψthief[klw/y means the same as] kle/pths. Xenophon [writes]: "they are foot-soldiers of the thieves harrassing us". And in the Epigrams: "strike [the] thieves with [your] bow, and save [your] friends."
Neighbouring entries
Revision history5 revisions · last 1 Mar 2013
- tweaking — David Whitehead
- updated reference in note 3 — Catharine Roth
- Revised — Catharine Roth
- upgraded links — Catharine Roth
- augmented n.5; more keywords; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — Catharine Roth