From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Thu Apr 23 1998 - 11:53:56 EDT
At 10:33 AM -0500 4/23/98, D. Anthony Storm wrote:
>There would appear to be an articular infinitive in Phlp. 3.10:
>
>TOU GNWNAI AUTON KAI THN DUNAMIN.....
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>My question is... why is the article in the genitive? I cannot find any
>previous finite verb that requires the genitive. I checked in Smythe
>briefly, but I am still puzzled.
I think the genitive of the articular infinitive is dependent upon an
originally stated preposition hENEKA, "for the sake (of)" regularly used
with a genitive in much the same manner as Latin CAUSA or GRATIA in the
ablative is used in Latin with a gerund or gerundive in the genitive case.
At some point the hENEKA ceased to be written and the genitive articular
infinitive was generally understood as expressing purpose with no
significant difference (if any difference at all) from a hINA/hOPWS +
subjunctive clause: i.e.
TOU GNWNAI AUTON KAI THN DUNAMIN = hINA GNW AUTON KAI THN DUNAMIN
I'm not sure when this started, but it certainly became ever more common in
Hellenistic usage, and of course, one also finds hWSTE with an infinitive
used to express purpose, as it was rarely, if ever, used in classical Attic.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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