3:3 εἰ δὲ τῶν ἵππων τοὺς χαλινοὺς The connective δέ introduces a development in James’ rationale for his preceding remark about the controlling influence the tongue exerts over the entire body. This new point is introduced by a conditional frame marked by εἰ (if) and concerns the controlling influence of a bit in the mouth of a horse. Since neither horses nor their bits have been discussed, the entire noun phrase τῶν ἵππων τοὺς χαλινούς (the horses’ bits) is fronted to activate it as the topic. This