Aither 2/2009:37-77 | DOI: 10.5507/aither.2009.011

Readings and Interpretations of Heraclitus Text: Fragments DK 22 B 1, 18, 26, 29, 33, 35, 41, 50, 80, 112

Helena Kurzová

The article deals with some of Heraclitus fragments having more interpretational possibilities. In several cases the reading of the manuscripts is preferred before the "emendations", so especially ὁτέῃ κυβερνῆσαι before ὁτέη ἐκυβέρνησε in B 41, εἰδέναι before εἶναι in B 50, ὲρεῖν before ἔριν, χρεώμενα before χρεών in B 80. It is shown that in all these cases the manuscript reading gives the sense more corresponding to Heraclitus intentions. In B 26 the proposed deletion of [ἀποθανὼν] disturbs the structure of the text which is organized in the oppositions dead - alive (sleaping - awake). Some variants are caused by the morphological homonymy or polyfunctionality. In the fr. B 29 the plural genitive θνητῶν is most probably to be identified as neuter, from the interpretations based on its understanding as masculine. the quite widespread interpretation as |'glory among mortals' is not supported by the linguistic data (gen. is not attested after κλέος), whereas the acceptable interpretation as 'glory of mortals' is rather neglected. In B 33 we read nom. sg. βουλή, not dat. sg. βουλῇ and ἑνός is taken for neuter and connected with ἓλ (τὸ) σοφόν (fr. B 32, B 41, B 50, B 108). In another group of fragments it is the syntactic ambiguity which motivates the interpretational variants. In. B 18 the syntactic boundary after ἔλπηται and the absolute value of the verb, without the object implied, are preferable features. In B 35 εὖ μάλα πολλῶν ἵστορας, not φιλοσόφους ἄνδρας are taken for the subject in the acc. c. inf. construction depended on χρή. In B 112 the bipartite structure of the sentence with the syntactic boundary after σοφίη is posed, which was thoroughly analysed by the late Jan Janda in 1963 before this art of reading becomes familiar.

Published: September 30, 2009  Show citation