[B-Greek] CH Dodd quoting the Corpus Hermeticum

Yancy Smith yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Fri Aug 3 17:08:18 EDT 2007


I sent this off list to Stephen, but thought it might help on getting a bit more context for the passage. The passage is from hOROI ASKLHPIOU PROS AMMWNA BASILE/A 1.1 A.-J. Festugière and A.D. Nock, Corpus Hermeticum, vol. 2. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1946 (repr. 1973): 

I don't have Dodd at the moment to check, but this is probably used to illuminate John 5:37-40, I guess?
 
MEGAN SOI TON LOGON, W BASILEU, DIEPEMYAMHN PANTWN TWN ALLWN hWSPER KORUFHN KAI hUPOMNHMA, OU KATA THN TWN POLLWN DOXAN SUGKEIMENON, ECONTA DE POLLHN EKEINOIS ANTIDEIXIN: FANHSETAI GAR SOI KAI TOIS EMOIS ENIOIS LOGOIS ANTIFWNOS. hERMHS MEN GAR hO DIDASKALOS (5) MOU, POLLAKIS MOI DIALEGOMENOS KAI IDIAi KAI TOU TAT ENIOTE PARONTOS, ELEGEN hOTI DOXEI TOIS ENTUGCANOUSI MOU 
TOIS BIBLIOIS hAPLOUSTATH EINAI hH SUNTAXIS KAI SAFHS, EK DE TWN ENANTIWN ASAFHS OUSA KAI KEKRUMMENON TON NOUN TWN LOGWN ECOUSA, KAI ETI ASAFESTATH, TWN hELLHNWN (10) hUSTERON BOULHQENTWN THN hHMETERAN DIALEKTON EIS THN IDIAN MEQERMHNEUSAI, OPER ESTAI TWN GEGRAMMENWN MEGISTH  DIASTROFH TE KAI ASAFEIA. 

Μέγαν σοι τὸν λόγον, ὦ βασιλεῦ, διεπεμψάμην 2 πάντων τῶν ἄλλων ὥσπερ κορυφὴν καὶ ὑπόμνημα, οὐ 3 κατὰ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν δόξαν συγκείμενον, ἔχοντα δὲ πολλὴν 4 ἐκείνοις ἀντίδειξιν· φανήσεται γάρ σοι καὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖς 5 ἐνίοις λόγοις ἀντίφωνος. Ἑρμῆς μὲν γὰρ ὁ διδάσκαλός 6 μου, πολλάκις μοι διαλεγόμενος καὶ ἰδίᾳ καὶ τοῦ Τὰτ 7 ἐνίοτε παρόντος, ἔλεγεν ὅτι δόξει τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσί μου 8 τοῖς βιβλίοις ἁπλουστάτη εἶναι ἡ σύνταξις καὶ σαφής, ἐκ  9 δὲ τῶν ἐναντίων ἀσαφὴς οὖσα καὶ κεκρυμμένον τὸν νοῦν 10
 τῶν λόγων ἔχουσα, καὶ ἔτι ἀσαφεστάτη, τῶν Ἑλλήνων 11 ὕστερον βουληθέντων τὴν ἡμετέραν διάλεκτον εἰς τὴν 12 ἰδίαν μεθερμηνεῦσαι, ὅπερ ἔσται τῶν γεγραμμένων μεγίστη 13 διαστροφή τε καὶ ἀσάφεια.  
  
O king, great is the message I published, it is like the crowning memorial of all the others, it is not, however, in agreement with the opinion of most people, and encounters great opposition among them. Indeed by some of my own words it will appear contradictory to you. For Hermes is my teacher. He often converses with me both alone and sometimes with [his son] Tat present, he said that the meaning [of the message] will be to those who find me in the books very simple  and straight forward, but from the contradictory things [they find] it will be unclear, indeed with the mind hidden from the words, and still most obscure, when the Greeks desire later to interpret our discussion for private use, it will become of things written the greatest distortion and obscurity.


Yancy Smith
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
5636 Wedgworth Rd.
Fort Worth, TX 76133
817-361-7565








On Aug 2, 2007, at 10:29 PM, Stephen Baldwin wrote:


Brethren:
continuing (from Schurer) my penchant for reading authors who make claims on 
my modicum of greek knowledge, I was wondering whether someone might be kind 
enough to clarify my elementary understanding.
Dodd ("...Fourth Gospel" p13) quotes the CH thus:
Asklepios to King Ammon: FANHSETAI GAR SOI KAI TOIS EMOIS ENIOIS LOGOIS 
ANTIFWNOS


I originally looked at this and thought that Asklepios said "For it will be 
visible (clear?) to you [that] also some of my words are contradictory" but 
ANTIFWNOS is not modifying "some of my words" since it does not agree in 
case and number.


I now think he is saying "...He (Hermes, the main author of the CH) will be 
seen contradictory to you as well as some of my own words" (apologies for 
the clumsy translation but I think you get the gist...).
That is, ANTIFWNOS is qualifying the implied 3S in FANHSETAI -- correct?
Thus it is that both Hermes and Asklepios have contradictions in their 
writings ("words" or whatever)...?


All corrections welcomed.


Steve


Stephen Baldwin
stbaldwi at hotmail.com


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Yancy and Lanette Smith
5636 Wedgworth Rd.
Fort Worth, TX 76133
817-361-7565  (home)


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