ὀφθαλμός
διὸ δὴ πᾶς ἀνὴρ σπουδαῖος τῶν ὄντων σπουδαίων πέρι πολλοῦ δεῖ μὴ γράψας ποτὲ ἐν ἀνθρώποις εἰς φθόνον καὶ ἀπορίαν καταβαλεῖ → And this is the reason why every serious man in dealing with really serious subjects carefully avoids writing, lest thereby he may possibly cast them as a prey to the envy and stupidity of the public | Therefore every man of worth, when dealing with matters of worth, will be far from exposing them to ill feeling and misunderstanding among men by committing them to writing
English (LSJ)
ὁ, (ὄπωπ-α, ὀφ-θῆναι,
A v. ὄψ B) eye, used by Hom. and Hes. mostly in pl.; ὀφθαλμοὶ δ' ὡς εἰ κέρα ἕστασαν . . ἀτρέμας ἐν βλεφάροισι Od.19.211: sg., παίειν τινὰ ἐς τὸν ὀ. Hdt.9.22: the pl. continued most common, but the dual also occurs, as in Ar.Nu.362: pl. is used in many phrases, ἐλθέμεν ἐς ὀφθαλμούς τινος before one's eyes, Il.24.204; οὐδ' Ἀχιλῆος ὀφθαλμοὺς εἴσειμι ib.463; ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἰδεῖν, ὁρᾶσθαι, etc., 10.275, Od.4.47, etc.; but ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ὁρᾶν, νοεῖν, to see before one's eyes, 8.459, Il.24.312; ἔχειν ἐν ὀ. to have before one's eyes, X.An.4.5.29; τὰ ἐν ὀ. what is before one's eyes, Pl.Tht.174c; τὸ ἐν τοῖς ὀ. δὴ γελοῖον what was ridiculous to the eye, Id.R.452d; ἐπίπροσθε τῶν ὀ. Id.Smp.213a; πρὸ τῶν ὀ. προφαίνεσθαι Aeschin.2.148; ἐπ' ὀφθαλμῶν Luc. Tox.20; γενέσθαι τινὶ ἐξ ὀφθαλμῶν to get out of any one's sight, Hdt.5.106; ἐξ ὀ. ἀποπέμψασθαι Id.1.120; ἐξ ὀ. ποιεῖν Alciphr. 3.20; κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς λέγειν τινί to tell one to one's face, opp. εἰς οὖς, Ar.Ra.626; τυράννου κατ' ὀ. κατηγορεῖν to accuse him to his face, X. Hier.1.14: sg. in the phrase πρὸς ὀφθαλμὸν ἐπιχεῖν, μίσγειν, by eye, PHolm.7.23, PLeid.X.62; eyes were painted on the bows of vessels, βλοσυροῖς κατὰ πρῷραν ὀφθαλμοῖς οἷον βλέπει Philostr.Im.1.19, cf. IG22.1607.24, Poll.1.86; whence the joke in Ar.Ach.97. 2 στέρησις ὀφθαλμῶν temporary loss of sight, Gal.17(1).400. II in sg., the eye of a master or ruler, πάντα ἰδὼν Διὸς ὀ. Hes.Op.267; Δίκης ὀ. ὃς τὰ πάνθ' ὁρᾷ Men.Mon.179; δεσπότου ὀ. X.Oec.12.20; ἀκοίμητος ὀ., of God, Secund.Sent.3; so a king is called ὀ. οἴκων A.Ch.934 (so ὄμμα Pers. 169); and in Persia ὀφθαλμὸς βασιλέως the king's eye was a confidential officer, through whom he beheld his kingdom and subjects, A.Pers.979(lyr.), Hdt.1.114, Ar.Ach.92, X.Cyr.8.2.10 sq., Arist.Pol. 1287b29, Ph.1.642; cf. οὖς. III the eye of heaven, ἑσπέρας ὀ., νυκτὸς ὀ., of the moon, Pi.O.3.20, A.Th.390; also οὐράνιος ὀ., of the sun, Secund.Sent.5. IV the dearest, best, as the eye is the most precious part of the body, hence of men, ὀ. Σικελίας, στρατιᾶς, Pi.O.2.10, 6.16; also, light, cheer, comfort, μέγας <γ'> ὀ. οἱ πατρὸς τάφοι S.OT 987, cf. E.Andr.406. V eye or bud of a plant or tree, Alcm.43, Ion Eleg.1.6, Hp.Nat.Puer.26, X.Oec. 19.10, Thphr.HP1.8.5, etc. VI a surgical bandage covering one or both eyes, Hp.Off.7, Heliod. ap. Orib. 48.29,30. VII Archit., in dual, the disks forming the centres of the volutes of an Ionic capital, IG12.374.291.
