Athanasius Incarnation
§ 51.4 Πάλαι μὲν γὰρ εἰδωλολατροῦντες, Ἕλληνες καὶ βάρβαροι κατ' ἀλλήλων ἐπολέμουν, καὶ ὠμοὶ πρὸς τοὺς συγγενεῖς ἐτύγχανον. Οὐκ ἦν γάρ τινα τὸ σύνολον οὔτε τὴν γῆν οὔτε τὴν θάλασσαν διαβῆναι χωρὶς τοῦ τὴν χεῖρα ξίφεσιν ὁπλίσαι, ἕνεκα τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀκαταλλάκτου μάχης.
§ 51.4 For formerly, while in idolatry, Greeks and Barbarians used to war against each other, and were actually cruel to their own kin. For it was impossible for any one to cross sea or land at all, without arming the hand with swords, because of their implacable fighting among themselves. A. Robertson 1891
χωρὶς an adverb which also functions as a preposition with genitive.
The question is: What are we looking at here, where χωρὶς is joined to τοῦ + infinitive? I thought perhaps this was
not an idiom but I found several examples in Plato.
9. PLATO Phil. Philebus {0059.010} Stephanus page 63 section b line 4
εἴτε ἄλλῳ ὁτῳοῦν ὀνόματι, μῶν οὐκ ἂν δέξαισθε οἰκεῖν μετὰ
φρονήσεως πάσης ἢ χωρὶς τοῦ φρονεῖν;” οἶμαι μὲν πρὸς
ταῦτα τόδ’ αὐτὰς ἀναγκαιότατον εἶναι λέγειν.
10. PLATO Phil. Symposium {0059.011} Stephanus page 173 section c line 4
καὶ ἄλλως, ὅταν μέν τινας περὶ φιλοσοφίας λόγους ἢ αὐτὸς
ποιῶμαι ἢ ἄλλων ἀκούω, χωρὶς τοῦ οἴεσθαι ὠφελεῖσθαι
ὑπερφυῶς ὡς χαίρω· ὅταν δὲ ἄλλους τινάς, ἄλλως τε καὶ (5)
11. PLATO Phil. Symposium {0059.011} Stephanus page 184 section b line 4
καταφρονήσῃ· οὐδὲν γὰρ δοκεῖ τούτων οὔτε βέβαιον οὔτε
μόνιμον εἶναι, χωρὶς τοῦ μηδὲ πεφυκέναι ἀπ’ αὐτῶν γεν-
ναίαν φιλίαν. μία δὴ λείπεται τῷ ἡμετέρῳ νόμῳ ὁδός, εἰ
12. PLATO Phil. Leges {0059.034} Stephanus page 696 section c line 5
ΜΕ. Οὐδαμῶς.
ΑΘ. Ἀλλὰ μὴν τό γε δίκαιον οὐ φύεται χωρὶς τοῦ (5)
σωφρονεῖν.
C. Stirling Bartholomew