Re: Gal 2:6 PROSWPON QEOS ANQRWPOU OU LAMBANEI: PROSWPOS and PERSONA?

Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
24 Sep 96 14:52:04 EDT

At 1:52 PM -0500 9/24/96, Jonathan Robie wrote:
>Carl,
>
>Thanks, this is really useful!
>
>Jonathan
>
>P.S. Being a curious little Greek as well as a hungry one, I'm wondering exactly
>how you *did* mean the "alles Meinen ist nur Frage" quote...

Okay, okay, okay. As I said, that really suits my vision of Socrates more than anyone else--not really you. To put it in Platonic language, whatever we think or suppose or opine--DOKSA (curious that it means "glory" in Jewish Greek, isn't it? when it means "opinion" or "appearance" in classical Attic)--is questionable and requires clarification before we can hold to it with any confidence: all DOKSA (I'd rather write DOXA) must be subjected to the elenchus, tested for validity, and until then held only tentatively, even if it is one's guiding conviction. I think of that sentiment therefore as appropriate to a Socrates who believes that there is a TRUTH but is fully aware that all that he has a grip on is pretty tenuous OPINION.

In sum, I was applying a neat little sing-song rhyme about questioning and opinionating that had a nice ring but not all that much applicability to the case in hand--a propos of your questions, that is. Okay?