a strange nominative
Steven Craig Miller
scmiller at www.plantnet.com
Wed Jan 19 11:05:14 EST 2000
To: Rod Whitacre,
<< Does anyone have a suggestion for the use of KALOI in the following
clause: hINA EI MEN ULAXOIEN THN CARIN KAI MENOIEN KALOI "so that if they
kept the grace and remained good" This is from Athanasius, On the
Incarnation, 3.4. The reference is to Adam and Eve in the Garden. It seems
KALOI should be the subject here ("and goodness [?] remained"), but the
translations I've checked take it as above, so I think I'm missing
something obvious in the grammar. >>
This is tricky, but what I think you got here is a predicate adjective
modifying the implied subject of the verb. See Smyth-Messing [1956]
sections 1042 and 1043. Smyth-Messing quote the example: KATEBAINON
SKOTAIOI (from X.A. 4.1.10) meaning "they descended in the dark" and not
"the dark ones descended." (But perhaps there is a better example somewhere?)
-Steven Craig Miller
Alton, Illinois (USA)
scmiller at www.plantnet.com
Disclaimer: "I'm just a simple house-husband (with no post-grad degree),
what do I know?"
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