An allusion to the proverb Ὄψε θεῶν ἀλέουσι μύλοι, ἀλέουσι δὲ λεπτά. See Erasmus, "Adagia," p. 1864.

Cf. Plato, "Republic," 472 A.

See Note, "On Abundance of Friends," § ii.

Reading εἰ γὰρ.

Or a world.