From: James Ernest (jernest@hendrickson.com)
Date: Tue Sep 05 2000 - 15:20:28 EDT
I'm not sure there's no racism in the text. A later text, but germaine to
the larger question, is this passage from Athanasius, The Life of Antony,
where the monk is tempted by a melas pais; Antony's retort accuses the boy,
melas ei ton noun. Here's the NPNF translation:
¦ 6. At last when the dragon could not even thus overthrow Antony, but
¦saw himself thrust out of his heart, gnashing his teeth as it is written,
¦and as it were beside himself, he appeared to Antony like a black boy,
¦taking a visible shape [17a] in accordance with the colour of his mind.
¦And cringing to him, as it were, he plied him with thoughts no longer,
¦for guileful as he was, he had been worsted, but at last spoke in human
¦voice and said, 'Many I deceived, many I cast down; but now attacking
¦thee and thy labours as I had many others, I proved weak.' When Antony
¦asked, Who art thou who speakest thus with me? he answered with a
¦lamentable voice, 'I am the friend of whoredom, and have taken upon me
¦incitements which lead to it against the young. I am called the spirit of
¦lust. How many have I deceived who wished to live soberly, how many are
¦the chaste whom by my incitements I have over-persuaded! I am he on
¦account of whom also the prophet reproves those who have fallen, saying
¦[17b], "Ye have been caused to err by the spirit of whoredom." For by me
¦they have been tripped up. I am he who have so often troubled thee and
¦have so often been overthrown by thee.' But Antony having given thanks to
¦the Lord, with good courage said to him, ' Thou art very despicable then,
¦for thou art black-hearted and weak as a child. Henceforth I shall have
¦no trouble from thee, "for the Lord is my helper, and I shall look
¦down on mine enemies."' Having heard this, the black one straightway
¦fled, shuddering at the words and dreading any longer even to come near
¦the man.
-----Original Message-----
From: Bart Ehrman [mailto:behrman@email.unc.edu]
Sent: Sunday, September 03, 2000 6:14 PM
To: Biblical Greek
Subject: [b-greek] racist overtones in Hermas
In that oh so long ninth Similitude, the Shepherd is explaining to
Hermas the significance of the twelve mountains that he saw. I'm trying
to figure out if it's possible to translate the passage about the first
mountain without giving it modern racist overtones (which would have been
foreign to the world of the text). The passage reads something like:
The believers from the first mountain, which was black, are like
this: they are apostates and blasphemers against the Lord and betrayers
of the slaves of God. There is no repentance for these, but
death. This is why they are black, because their race also is lawless.
The last bit is: KAI DIA TOUTO KAI MELANES EISI, KAI GAR TO GENOS AUTWN
ANOMON ESTIN.
I'm eager to give a translation that sticks to the text. Any
suggestions?
-- Bart D. Ehrman
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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