Section 15 has Lysias defending his client (or himself) against the character assassination of the plaintiff. The reading is straightforward, but let's take it slow and steady while we get back up to speed.
.Lysias 24.15 wrote:λέγει δ᾽ ὡς ὑβριστής εἰμι καὶ βίαιος καὶ λίαν ἀσελγῶς διακείμενος, ὥσπερ εἰ φοβερῶς ὀνομάσειε, μέλλων ἀληθῆ λέγειν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ, ἐὰν πάνυ πραόνως μηδὲ ψεύδηται,¹ ταῦτα ποιήσων. ἐγὼ δ᾽ ὑμᾶς, ὦ βουλή, σαφῶς οἶμαι δεῖν διαγιγνώσκειν οἷς τ᾽ ἐγχωρεῖ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑβρισταῖς εἶναι καὶ οἷς οὐ προσήκει.
1 μηδὲ ψεύδηται del. Kayser.
Hints for §15: (Here are a few things that you might not be familiar with.)
- διακείμενος - Being of a certain disposition. This is the meaning "V. metaph., of continuing conditions" of κεῖμαι with the addition of the preposition. When thinking about how words derive from each other it is not enough to consider how one word in the dictionary relates to another. The particular meaning or sense relates to another particular meaning or sense of the word with a preposition prefixed. The difference between being described as ἀσελγῶς διακείμενος or simply as ἀσελγής (the word ἀσέλγεια is common enough in the New Testament), would mean that his whole disposition is towards wantonness, not just the occasional excess.
- ὀνομάσειε - third singular aorist optative active of ὀνομάζειν "IV. utter names or words"
- πραόνως - temperately [described by LSJ as being derived from πραόνους (a ghost word)].
- ψεύδηται - subjunctive not nominative.
- διαγιγνώσκειν - the extra gamma is typical of the LXX and earlier. As we see in Acts 23:15 ὡς μέλλοντας διαγινώσκειν ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ· "as though you were going to judge his case more exactly" that it is a legal word, which is suitable for this situation [also note that the object is in the accusative].
- οἷς ... καὶ οἷς ... - These two are dative to go with ἐγχωρεῖ and προσήκει. The verb διαγιγνώσκειν takes an accusative. For that reason οἷς stands for "αὐτοὺς οἷς" which is common enough.
- ἐγχωρεῖ - impers. there is time, it is possible or allowable c. dat. pers. et inf..
- προσήκει - impersonal, it belongs to, concerns.