Concerning Romans 1: 20 and NOUMENA KATHORATAI

jerker karlsson jerker_k at hotmail.com
Tue Nov 27 14:30:41 EST 2001


Hi!

I am near the completion of an essay on “Paul and natural theology”, but 
have recently stumbled over an interpretation of the NOOUMENA KATHORATAI in 
Romans 1: 20 which I cant make any sense of.

B. Gärtner wrights in “The Areopagus Speech and Natural Revelation” p. 136 
that the participle NOOUMENA should be interpreted as Participum Explicandi 
Causa Verbo Adiectum. (with a reference to  Przychocki G. “De gregorii 
Naziamzeni Epistulis”. Krakow, 1913, p. 278.). Gärtner later identifies this 
grammatical construction  with the one found in Blass-Debrunner “Grammatik” 
pp 187ff., but Blass-Debrunner talks of “das Ptz. zur Ergränzung von Verben 
des Wahrnehmens und Erkennens”. This later function of the participle I’m 
well aware  off and therefore I’m struck with wonder then Gärtner goes on to 
say that “the meaning of KATHORATAI is determined by the explicative 
participle NOOUMENA”. He brings this out in the translations which runs “For 
men see and understands...”, but the problem is that this translation has 
nothing to do with participles Ergränzung von Verben des Wahrnehmens und 
Erkennens. The participle in such constructions relates to the object clause 
  of the sentence and does not as in the translation by Gärtner modify the 
meaning of the main verb.

The problems that I would like to have some help to solve is A) Does anyone 
know under what  modern grammatical label the Latin phrase Participum 
Explicandi Causa Verbo Adiectum goes? B) Have I misunderstood the function 
of participles flanking a verb that denotes perception and/or feeling? C) 
(Under the condition that I make any sense) Does anyone make sense of what 
Gärtner is saying?


Regards

Jerker Karlsson
Lund, Sweden


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