[lit-ideas] "Gignomai" and that silly scholastic practice
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2004 09:49:19 EDT
M. Chase answers R. Paul's question:
>I think you're referring to the first of three arguments for the
>immortality of the soul in the Phaedo, the one that takes place from
>70c-72e. The verb in question is *gignesthai*, and it does indeed recur
>constantly in this passage.
------
In a previous note, I mentioned that the entry in Liddell-Scott (Greek
Lexicon) for this is "gignomai", which is, of course, actually the _first_
person
singular: "I become, I come into being" -- hardly a thing you -- or even
Plato -- would say. This practice among classic scholars, of providing the
entries of Greek and Latin verbs in the first person indicative is rather
silly,
and wonder who originated it -- I suppose someone who didn't know the first
thing about either Greek or Latin (or both). The verbs should be given in the
infinitive, and without that indicative first person unsubstantiated bias.
This
would have stressed less the divergence of opinion here between M. Chase and
me.
Cheers,
JL
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