ἀρχαιολογεῖν
From LSJ
πείθεται πᾶς ἥδιον ἢ βιάζεται (Dio Cassius, Historiae Romanae 8.36.3) → it's always more pleasant to be persuaded than to be forced
Greek > English (Woodhouse Verbs Reversed)
(see also ἀρχαιολογέω): speak truisms, talk of hackneyed things, talk platitudes, utter trite statements
Lexicon Thucydideum
antiqua et saepius repetita memorare, to recall ancient and oft-repeated matters, 7.69.2.
