^{page 436 note 1} Cf. also the potential indicative . Med. 1339—40.

^{page 436 note 2} A well-known feature of Epic Grammar is the omission of ἅν in indefinite clauses, temporal and relative e.g. with , etc., followed by a subjunctive : also in conditional clauses (). This usage has found its way into Attic drama and is even met with in Thucydides. Might not the poets have dealt similarly with the potential optative for metrical convenience or sententious brevity?

^{page 437 note 1} This can scarcely be regarded as a wish, seeing that the blood-sucking punishment was already declared to be the special prerogative of the Furies and a thing positively to be accomplished. People do not wish for what is already their own.