Xenophon, Oeconomicus, Chapter 3, Section 3 wrote:ἄλλο τι οὖν τούτων ἐστίν, ὦ Σώκρατες, αἴτιον ἢ ὅτι τοῖς μὲν ὅπου ἔτυχεν ἕκαστον καταβέβληται, τοῖς δὲ ἐν χώρᾳ ἕκαστα τεταγμένα κεῖται; ναὶ μὰ Δί᾽, ἔφη ὁ Σωκράτης: καὶ οὐδ᾽ ἐν χώρᾳ γ᾽ ἐν ᾗ ἔτυχεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔνθα προσήκει, ἕκαστα διατέτακται. λέγειν τί μοι δοκεῖς, ἔφη, καὶ τοῦτο, ὁ Κριτόβουλος, τῶν οἰκονομικῶν.
“What other reason is there for these things, Socrates, but that those who aren’t able to use their possessions have laid them down wherever it happened to be convenient for them [and then can’t find them when the need arises?] but those who have their possessions ready to use have placed each of them in a designated place [so that they might easily access them should the need arise?]?”
“Yes, you are absolutely correct,” Socrates said, “the reason for the difference is that for those who are prepared everything has been arranged in a specific place and not in the place that was convenient at the time.
“What you seem to me to be saying,” Kritoboulus said, “is that this is also one of the works of stewardship.
Previous Hints:
http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/forum/vie ... 896#p18607
Grammatical Hints:
τοῖς μὲν: This is a dative of respect and refers to those previously mentioned who do not have their possessions ready to use.
ἕκαστον: This is the subject of the verb of the verb “καταβέβληται”. Objects don’t place themselves so this is a passive.
ὅπου ἔτυχεν: I see here a contrast between “where it happens to be” and “τεταγμένα” used later “where it has been assigned”. Objects don’t roam around (typically) so what I envision by this phrase is that someone has misplaced an object or has been careless about where it has been placed. I am obviously straying into interpretation here.
τοῖς δὲ: This is a dative of respect and refers to those previously mentioned who have their possessions ready to use.
ἕκαστα...κεῖται: Plural neuter subject with a singular verb
ναὶ μὰ Δί᾽: A strong affirmative. I admit that I am unsure that my translation is the best way to bring it out and am even less certain that I have made clear the connection between what had been said and what Socrates is agreeing with.
ἕκαστα διατέτακται: Plural neuter subject with a singular verb. I think this is the main reason for the strong affirmative (the main reason for the latter groups success?).
λέγειν τί μοι δοκεῖς: “δοκεῖς” this verb may take a dative of person and a present infinitive and this is what we have here. This corresponds neatly to a familiar English phrase when rearranged to follow the constituent order above. “τί δοκεῖς μοι λέγειν” “what you seem to me to say”. One thing that may be helpful to remember is that forms of δοκεῖν often take an infinitive.
καὶ τοῦτο...τῶν οἰκονομικῶν: perhaps and this (arranging things thoughtfully)...[is] one of the things practiced in household management” I personally prefer something like “one of the tasks of a steward.”