From: Edgar M. Krentz (emkrentz@mcs.com)
Date: Thu Dec 14 1995 - 20:41:44 EST
>At 10:21 PM 12/13/95, James D. Ernest wrote:
>>On Wed, 13 Dec 1995, Edgar M. Krentz wrote:
>>
>>> referred to the "little flock." (2) I have admired the hWOLOGION in the
>> ^^^^^^^^^
>>> Roman agora in Athens as a major piece of Roman era architecture and
>>> technology. If Peter stood on this and was of an appropriate size, he was a
>>
>>Few indeed have seen this remarkable instrument, which was
>>apparently used for measuring eggs. Better Peter should have
>>egg on his feet than egg on his face.
>
>Perhaps James has caught the disease from that person named ARRIUS who,
>according to Catullus, called himself HARRIUS and was last heard of as
>writing back to Rome from the HIONIAN Sea. The WOLOGION suffered many
>indignities, to be sure, but to be aspirated for no good reason? Perhaps
>what Edgar had in mind originally was hWROLOGION? I think he should get a
>GNWMON, and I don't mean one of those little beardy men sitting on his
>shoulders.
>
>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/
There is one good, almost serious point that comes out of this nonsense.
Note the learned discussion of a scribal error and how people react.
*hWOLOGION is that scribal error. Now James Ernst took a philological
approach, seeking to interpret this linguistic neologism, but missed the
spiritus asper, as Carl in his learned response pointed out. But an egg
counter or evaluator might be the kind of egg grader my father might have
liked in the middle of the depresion. But the technology of the ancient
Greeks had been lost!
Carl, on the other hand, looked for the scribal error in the light of the
context. Seeing the term GNWMON he he suggested the emendation hWROLOGION,
a known-Greek term. He did not go on to bring in the archaeological
investigation of the structure next to the Roman Agora in Athens, which was
a water clock and had a sundial on its external face; hence the GNWMON. And
I want Carl to know that I do own a GNOMON, (1) in the form of Bengel's
commentary [of course in the original Latin], and (2) in the form of an
LSJ, a useful GNOMON in seeking to emend those strange neologisms that
arise from scribal errors. Carl, as a classicist, is also more open to the
use of emendation than are NT scholars, who are embarrassed at times by a
massive amount of textual evidence.
I suppose the proper name for this scribal error is _lapsus digiti_, not
_lapsus memoriae_, since the scribe was indeed thinking hWROLOGION as he
wrote.
It makes me think of the times I have used student errors on papers to
teach something of textual criticism.
And it shows that humor can be used to teach, provided it's not sarcasm, or
(best of all) provided it's at one's own expense. If Walt Whitman could
write "I celebrate myself," I can write "I laugh at myself" with you all.
Thanks for all who provided learned commentary, starting with Edward.
Edgar Krentz, New Testament
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
1100 East 55th Street
Chicago, IL 60615
Tel.: 312-256-0752; (H) 312-947-8105
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