[B-Greek] Acts 20:35 a proverb follow up
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Fri Jan 16 11:49:28 EST 2004
At 7:20 AM -0800 1/16/04, waldo slusher wrote:
>This may be directed toward those who are acquainted
>with Classical Greek. (Carl C., others?)
>
>MAKARION ESTIN MALLON DIDONAI H LAMBANEIN
>
>It would appear that Plato used KTHMA instead of
>LAMBANW. I didn't see the citation from Thuc in BDAG.
>
>That said, can anyone confirm then that the ancient
>proverb used by Plato and Thuc, both I assume with
>KTHMA instead of LAMBANW, would understandably change
>from KTHMA (in Classical Greek) to LAMBANW in the
>Hellenistic Period... and of course, retain its
>original sense?
Plato, Rep VI (496c): Socrates speaks of those who have tasted "how sweet
and blessed is the possession (of philosophical wisdom)" (hWS hHDU KAI
MAKARION TO KTHMA); I don't think I'd call this a very close
parallel;rather it's like Jackie Gleason's expression, "How sweet it is!"
or "It's sheer bliss to experience such and such a feeling ...!" KTHMA
means "acquisition" or "thing acquired." Thucydides compare his historical
account of the Peloponnesian War to prize-essays to be read only once--he
is writing, he says, a KTHMA ES AEI: something to hold onto and re-read
forever--a pretty good definition of a "classic."
Thucydides, 2.97.4 speaks of a rule among the Odrysians that "one should
receive rather than give--and it's more shameful not to give when asked
than to ask and not get what one's asked for." (LAMBANEIN MALLON H DIDONAI
(KAI AISCION HN AITHQENTA MH DOUNAI H AITHSANTA MH TUCEIN...).
Perhaps more to the point is that the so-called MAKARISMOS is a traditional
Greek practice of characterizing experiences in order of preferability:
Sappho says, "Some say that the loveliest thing on earth is an army in
parade formation, others that it's a fleet of ships on the sea, but I say
it is one's beloved ..." Pindar says, "Water is first-rate, but gold is
something beyond comparison ..." There are plenty of similar constructions
ranking persons or things or experiences in an order of preferability, and
it seems to me that the expression in Acts 20:35 falls into that tradition.
--
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/
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