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Plutarch's "De E Apud Delphos": Translation and Commentary

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University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2018-11-19 Plutarch's "De E apud Delphos": Translation and Commentary Alexander, Judith Anne Alexander, J. A. (2018). Plutarch's "De E apud Delphos": Translation and Commentary (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/34516 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/109187 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Plutarch’s De E apud Delphos: Translation and Commentary by Judith Anne Alexander A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN GREEK AND ROMAN STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA NOVEMBER 2018 © Judith Anne Alexander 2018 ii ABSTRACT Plutarch’s Parallel Lives are well known; less so the essays and dialogues grouped into his omnibus Moralia. One of these essays, De E apud Delphos (“De E”), contains a discussion of the meaning of a votive object, in the form of the letter E, first offered by the seven Sages to the Delphian god. This translation, with its commentary, pays attention to technical matters discussed in the dialogue (number theory, the altar at Delos, the pentad, syllogistic logic, Being and Becoming) that have sometimes been neglected in other translations. It also comments on themes encountered in the dialogue (divination, divine aid and prophecy, and nostalgia). Plutarch’s description of the world at Delphi rewards the reader with insights into an intellectual, scientific, religious, and social world that has long departed. iii PREFACE The translation into English of De E was suggested to me as a possible subject for a master’s dissertation by Professor James Hume. In one of his seminars, which I had the pleasure of attending, he raised several tantalizing puzzles in the dialogue, and suggested that I might pursue these while preparing a translation. At all times during the progress of this work, I have enjoyed the advantage of his indefatigable help and criticism, and his enormous store of classical and linguistic lore. Nevertheless, this translation is my own original, unpublished, and independent work. Judith Anne Alexander iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful for guidance and support I have received from the Department of Classics and Religion during my graduate and undergraduate studies, and during the writing of this thesis. Reyes Bertolin, James Hume, and Peter Toohey instilled in me respect and awe for the Greek language, although they cannot be held responsible for my inability to master it. Others outside the department have also contributed to making my sojourn productive and personally rewarding. Ms. Christine Stark and the staff at the Business Library (a short walk from our department) cheerfully provided comprehensive advice and answers to my requests and questions and helped me navigate both the interlibrary loan service and our off-campus book depository. Professor Ozouf Amedegnato, in the School of Languages, Linguistics, Literatures and Cultures, holds a freewheeling, bi-weekly seminar in linguistics, from which I have derived both pleasure and instruction. Jeremy Mortis advised me on the functioning of my computer and was steadfast in the face of even the most contrary events. Finally, I thank the department of Graduate Studies for the award of a Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship for the 2016 calendar year. That grant not only helped with the necessities of life but also gave me the means to indulge in buying a book or two on occasion (well, on several occasions) and to attend two conferences. v DEDICATION To John and to Lisa Friedland ΧΑΡΙΣΤΗΡΙΑ vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................ii PREFACE....................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................iv DEDICATION…...........................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS..............................................................................................vi LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................................viii EPIGRAPH......................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................2 NOTES ON THIS TRANSLATION..............................................................................10 SCHEMA: STRUCTURE OF THE DIALOGUE..........................................................15 TRANSLATION…….………….………………………………………………….......16 COMMENTARY……………………………………………….……………………...41 APPENDIX A: PLUTARCH AND HERACLITUS.......................................................81 APPENDIX B: FREE INDIRECT DISCOURSE….……….……................................ 99 APPENDIX C: THE TETRACTYS……………………………………………...……116 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………….......................................................130 vii LIST OF FIGURES All figures appear in Appendix C Figure 1. The Pythagorean tetractys.............................................................................118 Figure 2. The Platonic Lambda.....................................................................................121 Figure 3. The “filled in” Platonic Lambda....................................................................122 Figure 4. The tetractys of Franceso Giorgi....................................................................124 Figure 5. Nested Platonic Lambdas……………….......................................................124 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS DICTIONARIES AND GENERAL REFERENCE WORKS (LISTED BY ABBREVIATIONS) Bergk Theodor Bergk. Poetae Lyrici Graeci. Leipzig, 1882. Bywater Ingram Bywater. Reliquiae, recensuit. Appendicis loco additae sunt Diogenis Laertii vita Heracliti, particulae Hippocratei De Diaeta libri primi, epistolae Heracliteae. Oxford, 1877. Diels H. Diels. Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker. Berlin, 1906. Edmonds J. Maxwell Edmonds, Lyrae Graeca. London: W. Heinemann, 1922. GP J. D. Denniston, The Greek Particles. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1954. Helmbold-O’Neil W. C. Helmbold, and Edward N. O’Neil. Plutarch’s Quotations. London: Blackwell, 1959. Kaibel George Kaibel. Comicorum graecorum fragmenta. Berlin, 1899. Kern Otto Kern. Orphicorum Fragmenta. Berlin, 1922. KRS G. S. Kirk, J. E. Raven and M. Schofield. The Presocratic Philosophers. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. LSJ H. G. Liddell and R. Scott, rev. by H. S. Jones. A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1940. (Reprinted with a Supplement 1968). Nauck August Nauck. Tragicorum Graecorum Fragmenta, 2 ed. Leipzig: Teubner, 1889. O’Neil E. N. O’Neil. Plutarch, Moralia: Index. Vol. 16 (Loeb Classical Library 499) Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press, 2004. Stobaeus Ioannis Stobaeus Florilegium, (4 vols). Leipzig: Teubner, 1856. SEP The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. By Edward N. Zalta. World Wide Web URL: https://plato.stanford.edu/ SVF Hendrick von Arnim, Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta, (3 vols). Leipzig, 1903-5. Wehrli Fritz Wehrli. Die Schule des Aristoteles. Basel-Stuttgart: Schwabe, 1945. ix TITLES OF THE “MORALIA” CITED IN THE THESIS (LISTED BY ABBREVIATIONS) Adv. Col. = Adversus Colotem An rect. dict. = An recte dictum sit latenter esse vivendum An seni res. = An seni respublica gerenda sit Aqua. an ignis = Aquane an ignis sit utilior De an. procr. = De animae procreatione in Timaeo De def. = De defectu oraculorum De E = De E apud Delphos De exil. = De exilio De fac. = De facie quae in orbe lunae apparet De gen. Socr. = De genio Socratis De Is. = De Iside et Osiride De mus. = De musica De Pyth. = De Pythiae oraculis De ser. num. = De sera numinis vindicta De soll. anim. = De sollertia animalium De Stoic. = De Stoicorum repugnantiis Non poss. = Non posse suaviter vivi secundum Epicurum PG = Praecepta gerendae reipublicae PQ = Platonicae quaestiones QC = Quaestionum convivalium QG = Quaestiones Graecae QN = Quaestiones naturales Quo. Adul. = Quomodo adulescens poetas audire debeat Sept. sap. con. = Septem sapientium convivium The Lives cited are those of Solon, Marcellus, Pericles, and Theseus. 1 EPIGRAPH ἁρμονίη ἀφανὴς φανερῆς κρείττων — Heraclitus of Ephesus (fifth century BC.) Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on; Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd, Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone: “Ode on a Grecian Urn” — John Keats (1795-1821) 2 INTRODUCTION At the beginning of De E apud Delphos, Plutarch writes to his friend Sarapion suggesting that they begin an exchange of letters and essays between colleagues at the Temple of Delphi and those at the Academy in Athens.
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