A New Beginning

Tomorrow, I start my seminary career. A new step in my life. It feels really weird to think that I am attending seminary. I am taking:

Biblical Interpretation

Old Testament Theology

Greek Exegesis Practicum

Patristics and Medieval Theology

Spiritual Formations

This should be a good semester. It also means that my translation of Dionysius Thrax might be spaced out a little more. I will try my best to keep it pretty regular. On the plus side, I get to buy 14 books. I always like buying books.

Concerning Rhapsody

Translation:

Rhapsody is a part of a poem encompassing some subject. And the rhapsody has been said as if it is some staff-song (rhabdody), because men who went around with the bay-wood staff sang the poems of Homer.

[Greek Text]

Commentary:

• That section was difficult, especially the last sentence. This section is about the rhapsody which is a section of a poem about a particular subject. Think of the different segments of the Iliad and the Odyssey that are often viewed on their own.
  
• The second sentence, I believe, is either an explanation of what Dionysius thinks to be the etymology of rhapsody or an explanation of rhabdody, which maybe a common misspelling of rhapsody.
  
  • The "because" clause gave me the hardest trouble. Here is the original Greek: ἀπὸ τοῦ δαφνίνῃ ῥάβδῳ περιερχομένους ᾄδειν τὰ Ὁμήρου ποιήματα. First, I had no idea what the object of the preposition was. Then, I also was struggling to find how the infinitive fit into the sentence. I knew that τὰ Ὁμήρου ποιήματα was the object of ᾄδειν and that περιερχομένους was the subject. What I did not know was the infinitive can be used with any prepositions (a little searching through Smyth helped there). Because of my NT background, I thought that infinitives went only with ἐν, μετά, διά, εἰς, πρός, πρό, and that was about it (those were the ones mentioned in Mounce). It is always good to learn one's ignorance. I also decided to translate the απὸ causally though this may be just as much of a source idea. My first translation until I smoothed it out was "because of the singing of ones going around of the poems of Homer with the bay-wood staff." That is a more literal translation that leaves singing as the object of the preposition.
    

Are there any other ideas about what is going on here or how this should be translated?

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Concerning the Period

Translation:

There are three punctuation points: full, middle, and comma. And the full point is the sign of the completed thought. And the middle point is the sign used because of a breath. And the comma is a sign of a not as yet completed but still lacking thought.

In what does the period differ from the comma? In time. For, on the one hand, in relation to the period the interval is great, but in relation to the comma the interval is altogether small.

[Greek Text]

Commentary:

• Grammatically and conceptually, this was a fairly straightforward section. It concerns the punctuation points that you often see in Greek texts (well, at least three of the punctuation points). I don't know what the points looked like at the times (anyone have information on this?), but here is how they correspond to our current usage:
  
  • The full point is the normal period, and like our period, it shows the end of a completed thought.
    
  • The middle point is the raised period (a semi-semi-colon?). I have wondered what the purpose of the sign was because at sometimes a period seems the best way to "translate" it and at other times a comma seems best. Apparently, it is a place for the reader to take a breath.
    
  • The comma is the usual comma, and it represents a partial thought.
    
• This next section I am a little unsure about. I believe when Dionysius refers to the period here (στιγμὴ), he means the full point (τελεία). He is making a distinction between the period and the comma, yet above he includes the comma in the list of the three punctuation points (στιγμαί). I also think that the middle point is not included in this discussion because it does not seem as though Dionysius attaches any grammatical significance to it. The full point and the comma both deal with thoughts, but the middle point signifies a breath. Or perhaps I am wrong. As I think about it, Dionysius has already told us what the distinction between the full point and the comma is: completeness of thought. We are left, however, wondering what the difference between the middle point and the comma is. Neither signifies a complete thought, so both in some way show sections of a thought. So how do we tell the difference between the two? Dionysius answers this question with time. The pause is greater with the middle point while the comma's pause is very short. The problem with my first idea is that I had no idea how to explain the time answer.
  

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Concerning Pitch

Translation:

Pitch is the resonance of a musical sound. The resonance of height is shown by the acute accent. The resonance of leveling is shown by the grave accent. The resonance of a change in direction is shown by the circumflex accent.

[Greek Text]

Commentary:

• Dionysius (I am constantly wanting to type Dionysios) describes pitch as basically how the musical sound (or voice) sounds.
  
• This next section is very difficult for me. I am still not certain as to how it should be translated. It was not so much the grammar that caused problems as figuring out what the words meant. Here is the section in Greek: ἡ κατὰ ἀνάτασιν ἐν τῇ ὀξείᾳ, ἡ κατὰ ὁμαλισμὸν ἐν τῇ βαρείᾳ, ἡ κατά περίκλασιν ἐν τῇ περισπωμένῃ. This section is made up of three smaller sections each with three parts: (1) ἡ (2) κατὰ followed by a noun (3) ἐν τῇ followed by an adjective
  
  • The first issue is to what does ἡ refer. The feminine gender points to either ἀπήχησις (resonance, sounding) or φωνῆς (sound, voice). The more natural choice seems to be ἀπήχησις due to its significance to the previous sentence.
    
  • The next two parts gave me the most fun. There are six words which can be divided into two groups: the nouns following κατὰ and the adjectives following ἐν. These can be divided into three sections: those referring to the acute accent, those referring to the grave accent, and those referring to the circumflex accent.
    
    • When I looked up the nouns, the most relevant meaning I found was when following κατὰ they mean "of the acute accent" (ἀνάτασις), "of the grave accent" (or "without a rise in tone" ὁμαλισμός), and "of the circumflex accent" (περίκλασις). On their own, however, they mean "height," "leveling," and "change in direction," respectively (there are of course other meanings, but these seem to be the next most relevant).
      
    • The adjectives I had seen before and knew that they refer to the accents as well (though I did learn that this happens when they are in the feminine gender): ὀξεία – acute, βαρεία – grave, and περισπωμένη – circumflex. Their basic meanings are "high," "low (or unaccented)," and "being wheeled about."
      
  • The question arose in my mind: which of these words refer explicitly to the accent and which refer to their basic meaning? It seemed to me that both the noun and the adjective could not explicitly mean the accent. Woodenly, that might look something like: the resonance of the acute accent is by (in, with?) the acute accent. That doesn't really explain anything which seems to be Dionysius' purpose, so I figure that one set refers to the accent and the other set explains the accent. I eventually decided on the way translated above because the adjective group is the group I have seen before in reference to accents. I realize that isn't the strongest reason, but I couldn't see a better way with the resources I have.
    
  • Whichever group names the accents, they both offer insight into how the accents sound. The acute accent has a high sound. The grave accent seems to be a level sound. Ὁμαλισμός refers to a leveling, like that which one might do to the ground, and βαρύς can either refer to a low sound or a unaccented sound. The circumflex accent has a sound that changes (wheels about, twists).
    

Any comments or advice as to how this passage should be translated would be appreciated. Do you think I am correct or should I have translated it another way?

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Concerning Reading

Translation:

Reading is a faultless utterance of poems and prose works.

One must read according to delivery, variation in pitch, and distinction. From the delivery we see virtue, and from variation in pitch skill, and from distinction the particular mind in order that we might read the tragedy heroically, and the comedy lively, and the elegies clearly, and the epic vigorously, and the lyric poem elegantly, and the lamentations subdued and mournfully. For the things which are not produced according to the observance to these rules of reading both despise the virtues of poets and render the habits of those who read absurd.

[Greek Text]

Commentary:

• First, notice what reading is. It is the faultless utterance. Reading involves speaking aloud. Greek works, in particular, are meant to be read aloud, not, as most of us are used to, read quietly in our heads (I suspect most modern English works are meant to be read silently. I wonder how this has affected writing style. I also wonder whether reading aloud or silently is better for learning and understanding what is being read).
  
• If we should read aloud, then we should read correctly, that is, the way the work was meant to be read in order that we may feel the full effect of what the author intended. Dionysius gives us three main points on which to focus: delivery (ὑπόκρισις), variation in pitch (προσῳδία), and distinction (διαστολή).
  
  • Delivery belongs to the art of orators and actors. This is one place, as Anonymous commented on the previous section, it would be handy to have a Classical scholar or at least someone who has read something like Aristotle's Rhetoric that might better inform us on what delivery entails. We do see, however, that based upon the delivery we can observe virtue or excellence (I really cannot decide whether it refers to the reader or the text. The following ἵνα clause makes me want to say the text, but the next item in the list "from variation in pitch skill" seems to point to the reader while I am uncertain of the final item of the list (though I might be leaning towards text. See below)).
    
  • Variation in pitch concerns the pronunciation of what we see today as accents. The pitch accent of earlier Greek was probably starting to die out when Dionysius Thrax wrote in the 2^nd century A.D. Basically, I see Dionysius as arguing for a reconstructed pronunciation, a utilization of the pitch accent when reading ancient works because we can see the reader's skill based upon his use of variation in pitch (I myself do not use a pitch accent. I have been trying to learn Randall Buth's Reconstructed Koine, but I find it really hard not to slip back to Modern Greek pronunciation which I have used for at least a year or two now and I really like).
    
  • I am not sure what to make of "distinction." Could it be enunciation? That is my best guess, but I really don't have assurance of it. What Dionysius tells us we can see from distinction does not give me any clues either. He says we can see τὸν περιεχόμενον νοῦν, which I translated "the particular mind" (or maybe "the contained mind," "the surrounded mind," "the particular thought"? This last one might have some virtue) but I am not certain what he means by it. Perhaps, it means the particular characteristics of the author or the interpretation of the reader (If we went with "the particular thought," maybe distinction refers to vocal pauses indicating punctuation and the particular thought refers to phrases and clauses. That is appealing. What do you think?)
    
• This ἵνα clause is a wonderful passage. It makes me want to go try to read the Iliad, plays, and other poetry. He gives a list of the different genres of Greek literature with an adverb describing the way these genres ought to be read.
  
  • The word "lively" (βιωτικῶς) has the idea of pertaining to common life
    
  • The word "clearly" (λιγυρῶς) seems to have some sad connotations, something clear, sweet, and sad. While I cannot think of any in particular, I have head songs that I would describe that way.
    
• The final sentence says that if one does not read according to the aforementioned guidelines, one ruins the skill and artwork of the author as well as makes those guidelines laughable.
  
  • The first section of the sentence offered some difficulty: τὰ γὰρ μὴ παρὰ τὴν τούτων γινόμενα παρατήρησιν. The phrases are intertwined in a way that I did not expect to see. Normally (at least in what I have read of the NT so far, which of course is different), I would have expected the παρατήρησιν to fall before the γινόμενα in a nested structure (which seems to be fairly common in Greek) especially with how the sentence begins, but Dionysius threw a curveball at me and placed the παρατήρησιν outside the τὰ…γινόμενα structure. I wonder if and how this changes the emphasis.
    

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Concerning Grammar

Translation:

Grammar is the craft of the general things said in both poets and prose writers. Its divisions are six.

First, a practiced reading according to pronunciation with pitch.

Second, an interpretation according to the inherent poetical customs.

Third, an easy explanation of both the obscure words and inquiries.

Fourth, a discovery of etymology.

Fifth, a consideration of analogies.

Sixth, a judgment of the poetical forms, and this part is the best of all in the art.

[Greek Text]

Commentary:

• It is always great when the first sentence gives you a lot of trouble. Here is the first sentence in the original Greek:
  

  γραμματική ἐστιν ἐμπειρία τῶν παρὰ ποιηταῖς τε καὶ συγγραφεῦσιν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ λεγομένων.
  

  • LSJ gives as a gloss for ἐμπειρία experience, practice, or craft. The examples provided for "craft" connect ἐμπειρία with τέχνη (Arts and Crafts, anyone?), so it seemed fitting. I am, however, unsure if any of the idea of experience or practice colors the use of ἐμπειρία here or not.
    
  • Παρὰ + Dat. also offers some difficulty since my background so far is mainly NT Greek where παρὰ + Dat. will usually be "beside" or "in the presence of." Those ideas did not seem to fit here so I looked in LSJ and Smyth (P.S. I don't own either one of those, sadly; I am just using electric versions). LSJ had παρὰ used in quotations of authors, and Smyth gave possession as a meaning of παρὰ + Dat. While nothing is being explicitly quoted, Dionysius is referring to what the authors have written, so I have translated it as above. Possession is still a valid possibility, and it is not really excluded in my translation, but I think "of" sounds a little awkward there and may not be entirely clear.
    
  • I had no idea what to make of ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ. My first literal attempt gave me "as to the many" (though, it probably should have been "much"), but I was very unsure what to make of it. I guessed that it might mean the things that the poets and prose writers wrote to the people. When I searched, however, I found that ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ is an idiomatic phrase for which LSJ gives the gloss "for the most part."…..*crickets chirp*…..That was as helpful as trying to light a candle with a lightning bug. What was helpful, though, was the example given: "μὴ καθ' ἓν ἕκαστον, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ π[ολύ] Isoc.4.154." "Not according to each one, but in general," or something along those lines. This phrase is modifying λεγομένων so "things said in general" which I smoothed to "general things said." (Actually as I sit here and think about it, "for the most part" and "in general" are connected, but when I use "for the most part" it is normally showing some doubt or lack of completeness, so that threw me off.)
    
  • So my understanding of the first sentence is that Dionysius views grammar as the examination of the whole of what both poets and prose writers have written. I think this is shown in his six divisions of grammar. Grammar does not deal with just poetry or just prose nor is it just form or just content. The six divisions remind me a lot of modern exegesis (with the exception of the first one and maybe replacing poetical customs and forms with grammatical structures or discourse analysis).
    
• The first division concerns reading, which is also the next section. I will wait until then to say much, but I do think that practiced reading would help exegesis by offering a better picture of the whole instead of the exegete focusing on each word exclusively.
  
• The second division is the interpretation of the poetical customs within the text. Sadly, I can't say all that this entails as I am not an expert on Greek poetry, but things like elision, meter, and other ways that poetry may get in the way of understanding. It could also be that Dionysius wants those doing grammar to point out various poetical conventions whether or not they hinder understanding.
  
• The third division focuses on explaining difficulties in the text (see above J). Ironically, this sentence offered some difficulties. The sentence is: τρίτον γλωσσῶν τε καὶ ἱστοριῶν πρόχειρος ἀπόδοσις. The challenge for me lies in γλωσσῶν τε καὶ ἱστοριῶν. My first instinct for γλωσσῶν was "languages," but a little research led to "obscure words" which seemed a likely possibility (I suppose "dialects" is still a good possibility and may be best keeping the context of poetry and drama in mind). Ἱστοριῶν can be taken two ways: inquiries or knowledge gained by inquiries. The context led me to choose the former. Since γλωσσῶν is dealing with difficulties that arise while reading a text, ἱστοριῶν would also deal with similar difficulties, but here the idea is of inquiries made of the text or about the text instead of difficult words (or dialectical differences).
  
• The fourth division is that of etymology, the study of words and their roots. Dionysius is advocating that a part of grammar is discovering how the words are formed.
  
• The fifth division I do not fully understand: the consideration of analogies. Perhaps he refers to comparing the words and structures in one work to another to shed light on the word or construction. I wonder if we will ever see these divisions put into practice throughout his work.
  
• The sixth division concerns the judgment of poetical forms. The last phrase of this sentence gave me trouble. In Greek, the sentence is: ἕκτον κρίσις ποιημάτων, ὃ δὲ κάλλιστόν ἐστι πάντων τῶν ἐν τῇ τέχνῃ. I am not sure what to make of the relative phrase and how it fits. One possibility is that it is this division of grammar that is the best in the art, so I have decided to translate it as thus.
  

This turned out to be a lot longer than I expected. I appreciate any critiques, comments, suggestions. I think I am going to start a post which will contain the whole translated work which will edited based on suggestions or what I learn as I move further in (also minus the comments so it could be read more continuously).

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Introduction to Dionysius Thrax

As a way to practice translating Greek as well as to read something that I have wanted to read, I am going to translate through the Art of Grammar by Dionysius Thrax (Τεχνη Γραμματικη Διονυσιου του θρᾳκος). Dionysius, a Thracian (from the area of Thrace northeast of Greece), lived during the 2^nd century B.C. (or B.C.E if you prefer) who, according to the Souda, a 10^th century A.D. (or C.E. if you prefer, though I am not entirely sure the A.D. is in the right spot) encyclopedia, worked in Alexandria. He wrote the Art of Grammar when the vernacular Koine Greek was becoming more divergent from the classical Attic Greek of literature in order that people might better understand the older writings.

I will translate each section of the work and post it hopefully regularly. I might also comment on the text, noting constructions, words, as well as my own thoughts.

There is a Greek text at Bibliotheca Augustana as well as at Wikisource. Feel free to compare and critique my translations.

Here is the Table of Contents:

1. Concerning Grammar
   
2. Concerning Reading
   
3. Concerning Pitch
   
4. Concerning the Period
   
5. Concerning Rhapsody
   
6. Concerning the Letter
   
7. Concerning the Syllable
   
8. Concerning the Long Syllable
   
9. Concerning the Short Syllable
   
10. Concerning the Common Syllable
    
11. Concerning the Word
    
12. Concerning the Noun
    
13. Concerning the Verb
    
14. Concerning the Conjugation
    
15. Concerning the Participle
    
16. Concerning the Article
    
17. Concerning the Pronoun
    
18. Concerning the Preposition
    
19. Concerning the Adverb
    
20. Concerning the Conjunction