εἴκοσι
ὃν οὐ τύπτει λόγος οὐδὲ ῥάβδος → if words don't get through, neither a beating will | if the carrot doesn't work, the stick will not work either | whom words do not strike, neither does the rod
English (LSJ)
(for εἴκοσιν v. infr.), Att., Ion., also Arc., IG5(2).3.1 (Tegea), and Aeol., ib.12(2).6.21 (Lesbos):—indecl.,
A twenty, Il.2.510,748, etc.; in Hom. more freq. in Ep. form ἐείκοσι, before a vowel ἐείκοσιν, 1.309, 6.217, al.; Dor. ϝίκατι Leg.Gort.4.13, etc.; ϝείκατι Tab.Heracl.2.71; Lacon. βείκατι Hsch.; εἴκατι IG9(1).693.10 (Corc.), Theoc.4.10, 5.86. (Orig. ϝῑκατι and Εϝῑκοσι, whence ἐείκοσι in Hom.; ϝείκατι and εἴκατι are late spellings of (ϝ) ῑκατι; εἴκοσι is contr. from *εϝῑκοσι. Cf. Lat. vīginti, Skt. viṃśatis. εἴκοσιν is the only form used by Ar., whether before vowels or consonants (εἴκοσ' ἀπολογίζεται is dub. in Fr.465); also (before consonants) Herod.3.91, Phld.Piet.3, etc., but not common in Inscrr. or Pap., e.g. (before consonants) Schwyzer707 B2 (Ephesus, vi B. C.), IG2.804.155 (iv B.C.), (before a vowel) PGrenf.2.75.7 (iv A. D.); εἴκοσι ἔτη, εἴκοσι ἡμερῶν, IG12.94,49.)
German (Pape)
[Seite 727] οἱ, αἱ, τά, vor Vokalen εἴκοσιν, eigtl. Fείκοσι, viginti; ἐείκοσι, Il .16, 847, v. l. Her. 2, 121, dor. εἴκατι, Theocr. 5, 86; indecl., zwanzig, Il. 2, 510 u. Folgde.
