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Afewminuteslate Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Is this an error?
Now, if there's judgment in the young, like me,
Then I would say it's best by far if a man 780
Is completely filled with knowledge by his nature.
For if I, a younger man, may offer my thought, it were far best, I ween, that men should be all-wise by nature.
The first version I deem to be incorrect. "...by his nature" does not make sense. On the other hand, the second version makes perfect sense and "by nature" is a widely used idiom. Am I wrong?
Then I would say it's best by far if a man 780
Is completely filled with knowledge by his nature.
For if I, a younger man, may offer my thought, it were far best, I ween, that men should be all-wise by nature.
The first version I deem to be incorrect. "...by his nature" does not make sense. On the other hand, the second version makes perfect sense and "by nature" is a widely used idiom. Am I wrong?
Top answer
Both versions sound very old. When were they written? We cannot critique earlier grammars by modern standards.
- Both versions sound very old.
- When were they written?
- We cannot critique earlier grammars by modern standards.
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4 Answers
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Both versions sound very old. When were they written? We cannot critique earlier grammars by modern standards.
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I don't know. They are extracts from Antigone.
Someone argued that "by his nature" was a personification. I still don't think it makes any sense though.
Obviously, nature can't fill one with knowledge. It's like saying his hair filled him with knowledge.
Someone argued that "by his nature" was a personification. I still don't think it makes any sense though.
Obviously, nature can't fill one with knowledge. It's like saying his hair filled him with knowledge.
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It is a translation from the Greek of Sophocles' verse play of 400 BC. Do not expect modern grammatical limitations.
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