Jussive future ?
Posted: May 29th, 2020, 10:08 am
Hi ya,
Reading :
“Μέμνησο, ὅτι οὐχ ὁ λοιδορῶν ἢ ὁ τύπτων ὑβρίζει, ἀλλὰ τὸ δόγμα τὸ περὶ τούτων ὡς ὑβριζόντων. ὅταν οὖν ἐρεθίσῃ σέ τις, ἴσθι, ὅτι ἡ σή σε ὑπόληψις ἠρέθικε. τοιγαροῦν ἐν πρώτοις πειρῶ ὑπὸ τῆς φαντασίας μὴ συναρπασθῆναι· ἂν γὰρ ἅπαξ χρόνου καὶ διατριβῆς τύχῃς, ῥᾷον κρατήσεις σεαυτοῦ.”
(Enchiridion 20:1 Works of Epictetus)
https://accordance.bible/link/read/EPICT-T#Enchir._20:1
πειρῶ is a first future, but translations (all 4 I am I using) handle it as one would a 2nd imperative - "try" rather than "I will try".
Smyth speaks of a jussive future noting in particular the second person and giving no first person examples. CGCG notes this usage only mentioning the second person. In English we often enough would say something like, if such and such happens the first thing I would do etc. etc., less often will do. And I can see the same here in that one might well take a jussive sense from "therefore, in the first place, I will try ....." as a kind of teach by example where the real intent is "therefore, in the first place, try ...". And this seems well supported by the context and the following verbs switching to second person.
Any comments or thoughts on this usage of the first future, in particular any similar examples, would be interesting to me.
Thx
D
Reading :
“Μέμνησο, ὅτι οὐχ ὁ λοιδορῶν ἢ ὁ τύπτων ὑβρίζει, ἀλλὰ τὸ δόγμα τὸ περὶ τούτων ὡς ὑβριζόντων. ὅταν οὖν ἐρεθίσῃ σέ τις, ἴσθι, ὅτι ἡ σή σε ὑπόληψις ἠρέθικε. τοιγαροῦν ἐν πρώτοις πειρῶ ὑπὸ τῆς φαντασίας μὴ συναρπασθῆναι· ἂν γὰρ ἅπαξ χρόνου καὶ διατριβῆς τύχῃς, ῥᾷον κρατήσεις σεαυτοῦ.”
(Enchiridion 20:1 Works of Epictetus)
https://accordance.bible/link/read/EPICT-T#Enchir._20:1
πειρῶ is a first future, but translations (all 4 I am I using) handle it as one would a 2nd imperative - "try" rather than "I will try".
Smyth speaks of a jussive future noting in particular the second person and giving no first person examples. CGCG notes this usage only mentioning the second person. In English we often enough would say something like, if such and such happens the first thing I would do etc. etc., less often will do. And I can see the same here in that one might well take a jussive sense from "therefore, in the first place, I will try ....." as a kind of teach by example where the real intent is "therefore, in the first place, try ...". And this seems well supported by the context and the following verbs switching to second person.
Any comments or thoughts on this usage of the first future, in particular any similar examples, would be interesting to me.
Thx
D