Let’s take a look at the Latin of Publilius Syrus, a well-known maker of ‘sententiae’ (sentences) which, apparently, was appreciated in Rome; let us see why:
Numquam perīculum sine perīculo vincēmus.
We will never conquer danger without danger.
Nunca conquistaremos el peligro sin peligro.
Μὴποτε νικάσω τὸν φόβον ἅνευ φόβου.
Notice two things:
1. Publilius cleverly makes use of a definite concept (danger) while comparing it to an indefinite one (dangers – in general) to complement it. In English, we could say: ‘We will never conquer [the] dangers (we face) without [a] danger (of failure).’ The Spanish represents this well because it uses an article to speak of the definite danger we have in mind, while not one at all for the danger we do not know is associated with making our decision. The Ancient Greek does the same thing as the Spanish and adds an article to the accusative form of the noun and not at all for the genitive.
2. ‘Conquer’ in Ancient Greek (and modern, I believe) is ‘Nike’ as in the shoes, the brand taking advantage of the goddess Victory icon.
Thinking Like the Ancients 