>Let me hasten to add that I don't mean to depreciate the value of the
>ancient grammarians, as Robertson apparently does in the case of D.T. (I
>couldn't find the reference in question by using the index, and would
>appreciate the information). Indeed, if that is what Robertson says, my
>first reaction would be one of incredulity and disappointment in him. I have
>the suspicion, perhaps unfounded, that Robertson spent a great deal more
>time reading secondary than he did primary literature in researching his
>monumental Grammar, and was not really in a good position to criticize the
>ancients. Here again, I would be indebted to anyone who could speak with
>some authority about Robertson's research methodology.
I haven't found the passage in Robertson's grammar where he makes the
relevant statement about the ancient grammarians, but I can say something
about his methodology. Robertson is more EXPLICIT about his methodology
than either BDF or Moulton-Howard-Turner. His introduction discusses his
approach, and he was quite clearly competent as a linguist in the early
part of the century.
While I have strong disagreements with some of Robertson's analyses, I
cannot question his competence as a reader of the primary literature. He
read a vast amount of it and apparently understood it quite well--even if
his discussions of the grammar are sometimes strained. He does spend a good
deal of space discussing the secondary literature, but I'm quite sure he
spent a great deal more time in his Greek New Testament and other ancient
Greek texts. His copious interaction with the secondary literature probably
reflects his desire to participate in the lively discussion of Greek
grammar which was in progress at the time he wrote the grammar. Without
such niceties as b-greek, much of the conversation had to take place in
print. Of course, a good editor should have trimmed a considerable amount
out of Robertson's discussion of the secondary literature, but if the
anecdotes I have heard are true, Broadman tried to do that but Robertson
asked for his manuscript back rather than permit any serious editing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Micheal W. Palmer mwpalmer@earthlink.net
Religion & Philosophy
Meredith College
Visit the Greek Language and Linguistics Gateway at
http://home.earthlink.net/~mwpalmer/
You can also access my online bibliography of Greek Linguistics at
http://home.earthlink.net/~mwpalmer/greek.linguistics.bibliography/bibliography.
html
-------------------------------------------------------------------------