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Theophrastus · Fragments §186.1

Cold Water as the Cause of Silent Frogs in Seriphos

Passage 192 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Theophrastus rejects the myth, frees the Seriphians from their boastfulness, and explains that the coldness of the water is the reason why the aforementioned frogs of Seriphos do not croak.

§186.1Fr. 186 Λέγει δὲ Θ. ἐκβὰλῶν τὸν μῦθον καὶ Σεριφίους τῆς ἀλαζονείας παραλύων τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος ψυχρότητα αἰτίαν εἶναι τῆς ἀφωνίας τῶν προειρημένων (ranarum in Seripho).
And Theophrastus, rejecting the myth and freeing the Seriphians from their boastfulness, says that the coldness of the water is the cause of the muteness of the aforementioned (frogs in Seriphos).

Notes

  1. §186.1ἐκβὰλῶν — The words ἐκβὰλῶν (likely a misspelling of the aorist participle ἐκβαλών) and παραλύων (present participle) are both nominative participles modifying Θ. (Theophrastus), the subject of the main verb λέγει.
  2. §186.1παραλύων — The verb παραλύω takes the person being freed in the accusative (Σεριφίους) and the thing they are freed from in the genitive (τῆς ἀλαζονείας, 'boastfulness' or 'exaggeration').
  3. §186.1τὴν τοῦ ὕδατος ψυχρότητα αἰτίαν εἶναι — An accusative-and-infinitive construction (A.c.I.) introduced by the main verb λέγει. τὴν... ψυχρότητα is the subject accusative of the infinitive εἶναι, and αἰτίαν is its predicate accusative.

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §186.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:186.1

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