[B-Greek] accusative sing with plural adjective
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Wed Jul 16 19:29:30 EDT 2008
Yes, Smyth does include these under an "accusative of
respect" (§§1600-1605) and in §1603 notes that "For the accusative
of respect the instrumental dative (§1516) is also implied, and also
the prepositions εἰς [EIS], κατά [KATA], πρός [PROS], e.g.
διαφέρειν ἀρετῇ [DIAFEREIN ARETHi] or εἰς
ἀρετήν [EIS ARETHN]." Smyth's next sections (§§1606-1611)
encompasses various types of "Adverbial Accusative," including
accusatives used as adverbs, accusative expressions of manner,
expressions of measure and degree, of motive, and of time and
succession.
I vividly recall Joshua Whatmough working through comparative grammar
ages ago and coming to the accusative, making the pronouncement,
something to the effect: "The accusative is the case of the LIMIT,
indicating just how far an action or assertion is efficacious or
meaningful" -- as if the "Inbegriff" of the sense of the accusative
case should find expression in the phrase "so far as X."
I don't see how the usage of THN TECNHN with SKHNOPOIOI should be
disturbing. Smyth (§1602) notes: "Very rarely after substantives:
χεῖρας αἰχμητής [CEIRAS AICMHTHS] a warrior valiant
with (thy) arm π 242, νεανίαι τὰς ὄψεις [NEANIAI TAS
OYEIS] youths by their appearance L. 10, 29."
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
On Jul 16, 2008, at 6:12 PM, Elizabeth Kline wrote:
> Reading the latest book by Helma Dik, "Word Order in Greek Tragic
> Dialogue" Oxford 2007, p74, I ran into a passage in Aesch. Pers. 441-4
> which caused me to slow down and get out HSmyth and GCooper. Here is
> the passage with the translation used by H.Dik (Loeb Lib. ?).
>
> Aesch. Pers. 441-4
> Περσῶν ὅσοιπερ ἦσαν ἀκμαῖοι φύσιν,
> ψυχήν τ’ ἄριστοι κεὐγένειαν
> ἐκπρεπεῖς,
> αὐτῷ τ’ ἄνακτι πίστιν ἐν πρώτοις
> ἀεί,
> τεθνᾶσιν αἰσχρῶς δυσκλεεστάτῳ
> μόρῳ.
>
> PERSWN hOSOIPER HSAN AKMAIOI FUSIN,
> YUCHN T ARISTOI KEUGENEIAN EKPREPEIS,
> AUTWi T ANAKTI PISTIN EN PRWTOIS AEI,
> TEQNASIN AISCRWS DUSKLEESTATWi MORWi.
>
> What Persians who were in their life's prime,
> bravest in spirit, pre-eminent for noble birth,
> and ever among the foremost in loyalty
> unto the King himself--
> these have fallen ignobly by a most inglorious doom.
>
> Note the accusatives FUSIN, YUCHN, EUGENEIAN ... I believe this is a
> species of the accusative of respect, or something similar, common
> enough in classical greek. G.Cooper (1:44.1.7.A) had a comment on
> these lines in regard to number, using a singular with a plural but he
> didn't comment on the case. So I turned to Smyth and found something
> somewhat similar but not identical to this in section 1601.c
> Aesch.Pers. 27 DEINOI MACHN "terrible in battle.
>
> Then I turned to the NT grammars to see if this was a NT idiom. It is
> not. Apparently this function of the accusative has been taken over by
> the dative in Hellenistic Greek see Turner (Syntax p.220-21), BDF
> #159.3,#160, ATR p.486f.
>
> However, the text of Acts 18:3 shows a variant which is interesting:
>
> ACTS 18:3 NA27/UBS4
> καὶ διὰ τὸ ὁμότεχνον εἶναι ἔμενεν
> παρ᾿ αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἠργάζετο· ἦσαν
> γὰρ σκηνοποιοὶ τῇ τέχνῃ.
>
> KAI DIA TO hOMOTECNON EINAI EMENEN PAR AUTOIS,
> KAI HRGAZETO: HSAN GAR SKHNOPOIOI THi TECNHi.
>
> Robinson-Pierpont show a division in the Byzantine some read THi
> TECNHi and others THN TECNHN.
>
> ACTS 18:3 Robinson-Pierpont
> και δια το ομοτεχνον ειναι εμενεν παρ
> αυτοις και ειργαζετο ησαν γαρ
> σκηνοποιοι την τεχνην
>
> KAI DIA TO hOMOTECNON EINAI EMENEN PAR AUTOIS,
> KAI EIRGAZETO: HSAN GAR SKHNOPOIOI THN TECNHN.
>
> I am not sure what to make of this, SKHNOPOIOI is a noun not an
> adjective, so it isn't a perfect match with Aesch. Pers. 441-4.
>
> Elizabeth Kline
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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