The Light of a Lamp and the Endurance of Virtue

Notes

1. §12.15.1μέχρι σβεσθῇ — The conjunction μέχρι (until) is followed by the subjunctive σβεσθῇ (third-person singular aorist passive of σβέννυμι) without ἄν. While Classical Greek typically requires ἄν in such temporal clauses, in Koine and Late Greek, the subjunctive without ἄν (or the future indicative) is common to express a limit in the future.
2. §12.15.1προαποσβήσεται — The future middle third-person singular of the verb προαποσβέννυμι (to be extinguished beforehand). Although the subject consists of multiple nouns (truth, justice, temperance), the verb is singular, either because these virtues are treated as a single conceptual unity or because the verb agrees with them individually. The prefix προ- (beforehand) emphasizes the absurdity of one's inner virtues fading away 'before' life itself ends or before a physical lamp goes out.