Re: Aorist Use of EIMI

Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Tue, 13 Aug 1996 22:52:24 -0400

At 6:33 PM -0400 8/13/96, wes.williams@twcable.com wrote:
>
> Can not the verb EIMI include an aorist aspect? Is it necessarily true
> that all uses of EIMI indicative are durative in nature where not used
> as a linking verb? If EIMI does include an aorist aspect, can someone
> please provide a reference or some examples?

While I ought not to make such a statement without having a reference work
to consult handy, I have always found the forms of GI(G)NOMAI used where an
aorist of EIMI is wanted. The fact that EIMI has only the present
(durative, continuous) aspect is precisely the reason why Parmenides was
able to use forms of the verb EIMI to "prove" that time and motion are
illusory.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/