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κεἰ θέμις ἐστίν, νυνί γʼ ἤδη, κεἰ μὴ θέμις ἐστί, χεσείω.
The sentence presents a crux regarding the manuscript reading of the first word. While some editions (e.g., Dobree) have conjectured κεἰ (a variant of καί with elision) to mean 'and if', the manuscript tradition is divided, with some witnesses reading κἄν (if even) or simply καί. The ambiguity is critical: if κεἰ is read as 'and if', the speaker is adding a hypothetical condition to a previous argument; if it is a corruption of κἄν, it introduces a concessive clause ('even if') which drastically alters the rhetorical force of the threat that follows. The form κεἰ is also notable for its dialectal coloring (Aeolic or Doric influence in the contraction of εἰ + καί) which Aristophanes employs to mark the character's rustic or archaic tone, though the syntactic function depends entirely on the accepted reading.
Clouds. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.