[B-Greek] imperatives, optatives, etc.
Chet A. Creider
creider at uwo.ca
Wed Nov 16 07:28:15 EST 2005
This note is inspired in part by Carl's posting ("Periphrastic imperatives")
in which he wrote, "...the third-person imperative, the subjunctive, the optative,
auxiliaries with infinitives or infinitives by themselves all seem to be used
with a considerable variety and range of rhetorical force," and Iver's suggestion
that there is a difference in core meaning between second- and third-person
imperatives. The following fragment of a poem by Simonides of Ceos (556BC-468)
seems to provide very clear evidence in support of Iver's suggestion. (Perhaps
I should note that although little of Simonides' work has survived, there is
enough for us to know that he was a very fine poet, writing with great
subtlety and economy of expression.)
The setting is this: Danae and her infant son Perseus have been put to sea
in an ark by her father Acrisius in response to a prophecy that he would be
killed by his grandson. My translation deliberately follows the Greek as
closely as possible.
18: "KELOMAI D' hEUDE BREFOS,
19: hEUDETW DE PONTOS,
20: hEUDETW D' AMETRON KAKON,
21: METOBOULIA DE TIS FANEIH,
22: ZEU PATER, EK SEO;
23: hOTTI DE QARSELEON EPOS EUCOMAI,
24: H NOSFI DIKAS
25: SUGGNWQI MOI."
18: "I bid (you), sleep, newborn child,
19: and let the sea sleep,
20: and let (our/this) immeasurable evil sleep,
21: and would that some change appear,
22: Zeus father, from you;
23: and whatever presumptuous word I pray
24: or far from justice (word)
25: forgive me."
Comments:
18 is a second-person imperative, addressed to the infant
19 and 20 are third person imperatives, addressed to the sea and to the
evil. 19 can be contrasted with Mark 4:39 where Jesus addresses the
sea with two second-person imperatives (ZIWPA, PEFIMWSO). Danae is
clearly feeling very vulnerable -- alone with her infant in the sea in
an ark which despite its name was probably more like a floating coffin
than the ark Noah built, and unlike Jesus, is not in a position to
impose her will directly on the sea.
21 has a third singular aorist passive optative (of wish).
25 is a second person imperative, addressed directly to Zeus, but asking for
his pardon.
It seems that the poet has made a contrast between the use of the second person
and third person imperatives. He could have used a second person imperative, as
Jesus did, in addressing the sea, but didn't, presumably to reflect the powerless
of Danae in the face of this nameless force.
Chet Creider
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