[B-Greek] Jussive Dative?

Elizabeth Kline kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Thu Mar 20 02:38:48 EDT 2008


On Mar 19, 2008, at 5:28 PM, George F Somsel wrote:

>  1. Walter Leaf, Commentary on the Iliad (1900) book 9, commline 620
>       Observe the four consecutive datives: instrumental, jussive,  
> modal, and ‘commodi. (9.26)


Assuming this link works you can view the page here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=BKQNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA319&lpg=PA319&dq=% 
22observe+the+four+consecutive+datives% 
22&source=web&ots=bi3SKoHXHZ&sig=OMYX8J-N2v7iDkqVJNFDMm1Hbeg&hl=en

I think this is yet another example where Homer is much easier to  
understand than the commentator. The text under discussion is

620 Ἦ καὶ Πατρόκλῳ ὅ γ’ ἐπ’ ὀφρύσι  
νεῦσε σιωπῇ
621 {•} Φοίνικι στορέσαι πυκινὸν  
λέχος, ὄφρα τάχιστα

620 H KAI PATROKLWi hO G' EP' OFRUSI NEUSE SIWPHi
621 FOINIKI STORESAI PUKINON LECOS, OFRA TACISTA

Leaf's order  "instrumental, jussive, modal, and 'commodi'" follows  
the order of his translation *not* the Greek text: "he nodded (with)  
his head to P. in silence ... for Phoinix." Therefore according to  
Leaf we have:

OFRUSI instrumental
PATROKLWi jussive
SIWPHi modal
FOINIKI 'commodi'

It would seem to me that PATROKLWi is a dative complement of the verb  
EPINEUSE. Does the nod of the head function like a command? It  
probably isn't worth the trouble to figure out what Walter Leaf had  
in mind. I have this sort of problem frequently with Richard Jebb's  
notes on Sophocles.


Elizabeth Kline







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