From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Tue May 23 2000 - 19:59:03 EDT
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<div>At 6:23 PM +0000 5/23/00, B.J. Williamson wrote:</div>
<div>>This question is directed toward those who have<br>
>an interest in etymology...<br>
><br>
>I wonder if someone might shed some light on<br>
>the development of CARIS as it relates<br>
>to the objects or recipients.<br>
><br>
>I'm not exactly sure how to phrase my question,<br>
>but in my studies I have found that CARIS<br>
>refers to the disposition of the subject (the one<br>
>extending grace), rather than the condition<br>
>of the object (the one receiving grace).<br>
><br>
>Can anyone help me understand to what extent the use<br>
>of CARIS implies something about the<br>
>condition of the recipient? It almost seems universally<br>
>accepted that the recipients of CARIS are underserving<br>
>or unworthy of it.<br>
><br>
>I feel comfortable stating that originally CARIS<br>
>only described the disposition of the subject.<br>
>Somewhere in the development of this word, it seems<br>
>that the recipient's condition was added.<br>
><br>
>Dr. Wallace offered this comment regarding CARIS as it relates to
the<br>
>recipient's unworthy condition:<br>
><br>
>"Perhaps the cognate, charizomai, sheds some light here, for
it normally has<br>
>the force of 'forgive.'"<br>
><br>
>My search continues primarily because I do not yet see the<br>
>connection between "forgiveness" and
"undeserving." (For example,<br>
>as a parent, I forgive my children often, but by this act I
am</div>
<div>>not implying that they are unworthy of it.)</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>For what it's worth, I'm enclosing an extract of a response I
gave to a question on the phrase in the Didache and in Luke's
Beatitudes (6:32ff.): POIA hUMIN CARIS ESTIN? on August 25,
1999.</div>
<div>------------------------</div>
<div>CARIS, like Latin GRATIA, is hard to get a handle on (I think I
dealt with this some time ago, a year or longer) because it is
essentially a reciprocal notion. Perhaps the nearest thing to it in
English in its most basic sense is "gratification"; it is
an expression of good will that earns a responsive expression of good
will. The older Attic phrase for "express thanks" is CARIN
GNWNAI--'to acknowledge a favor.' In that sense you might take POIA
CARIS hUMIN? as equivalent to "what acknowledgement have
you?"--i.e. what have you done to earn God's favor and what
favor do you think you have with God as a consequence of what you've
done?</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Here's Louw & Nida on CARIS:</div>
<div>------------</div>
<div><font color="#007700">5.89 CARIS, ITOS f: a favorable attitude
toward someone or something - 'favor, good will.' ECONTES CARIN PROS
hOLON TON LAON 'having the good will of all the people' or 'all the
people were pleased with them' Ac 2:47; hEURES GAR CARIN PARA TWi
QEWi 'for you have found favor with God' or 'for God is pleased
with you' Lk 1:30.</font></div>
<div><font color="#007700">33.350 CARIS, ITOS f: : an expression of
thankfulness - 'thanks.' TWi DE QEWi CARIS TWi DIDONTI hHMIN TO
NIKOS 'thanks be to God who gives us the victory' 1 Cor
15:57.64</font></div>
<div>------------</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>I'd note particularly that usage in Acts 2:47 where ECONTES
CARIN PROS hOLON TON LAON is probably a bit more ambiguous than the
version offered; I'd make it "being in favor with all the
people"--it implies mutuality of good will, readiness on the
part of both sides to be kind to each other and to acknowledge the
good will of the other.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>So "credit" is not at all unreasonable: it is
"acknowledgement of a service rendered." To paraphrase
Rodney Dangerfield, I keep doing nice things for you, "but I
don't ever get any credit."</div>
<div>------------------------</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>At any rate I'd say the fundamental sense of CARIS is kindly
feeling and the expression of kindly feeling toward a person or
persons. But there are a lot of distinct idioms and it is really
worth studying an unabridged lexicon on them.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>-- <br>
<br>
Carl W. Conrad<br>
Department of Classics, Washington University<br>
Summer: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243<br>
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwconrad@ioa.com<br>
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/>
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