Humanitext Reader

Theophrastus · Fragments §75.1

Saying on Sharing Possessions and Friends

Passage 77 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Quotes the saying of Theophrastus that if friends' possessions are common, then friends themselves must be common to each other.

§75.1Fr. 75 Εὖ εἶπε Θ. ὡς, εἰ κοινὰ τὰ φίλων ἐστὶ, μάλιστα δεῖ κοινοὺς τῶν φίλων εἶναι τοὺς φίλους.
Fr. 75 Theophrastus said well that, if the possessions of friends are common, most of all the friends themselves must be common to their friends.

Notes

  1. §75.1τὰ φίλων — A variation of the famous proverb "κοινὰ τὰ τῶν φίλων" (friends' things are common), where the article before the genitive is omitted, meaning "the things/possessions of friends."
  2. §75.1κοινοὺς τῶν φίλων εἶναι τοὺς φίλους — An accusative and infinitive construction governed by the impersonal verb δεῖ. The accusative τοὺς φίλους (the friends) is the subject of the infinitive εἶναι, and the accusative adjective κοινούς (common) is the predicate. The genitive τῶν φίλων depends on κοινούς, meaning "common to friends."

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §75.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:75.1

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