Dear Stephen,
my suggestion wasn't intended to correct its predecessor, I was just
trying to think of alternatives. Aletheia is a good word for reality. It
denotes obvious truth, as opposed to hidden meanings.
Ergon means work, that much is true, but it is also colloquially used
for reality (see Plato's dialogues) in the sense of daily business. Ta
pragmata would apply here, too.
To on (both spelled with omikron) is a good word, either. However, it is
more philosophically coined. That applies to "to einai" and "to ontaws
on", too.
On the other hand, ta onta is more of the pre-Platonical speaking
custom, denoting divine spheres which cause what happens to man (cf.
Anaximander, Heraklit).
I consider this a useful opportunity for realizing (pun intended) that
"reality" = "realitas" actually is an adjective turned into a noun,
denoting the quality, or character, of being real, being a thing (realis
< res). Can you, can I, be in touch with reality? What would that mean
with regard to the sound of a lute? Is the quest for reality the reason
why old Greece was so much interested in the effects / affects of music?
Questions...
Best,
Mathias
"Stephen Arndt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> schrieb:
> Dear Mathias,
>
> Do you think that "to ergon" is really the best translation for "reality"?
> Is "Wirklichkeit" used in German to translate it? In my mind, "to ergon"
> (das Werk) is a human artifact and therefore a product of art ("he techne")
> and thus not a term for reality as a whole. My first inclination would be to
> translate "reality" with "to on" or "to einai," or perhaps with the Platonic
> "to ontos on." I think that it is interesting that "realitas" does not
> appear in my classical Latin dictionary and that St. Thomas does not seem to
> use it either, though, of course, he uses the noun "res," the adjective
> "realis," and the adverb "realiter." I am not sure that either the Greeks or
> the Latins had a word for the abstract term "reality" understood as the
> totality of what is. My suspicion is that it entered academic Latin during
> the Renaissance or later. In any event, perhaps "ta onta" or "ta pragmata"
> would give the sense of "reality" as the totality of what is. What do you
> think?
>
> Stephen
>
> P.S. O.k. this is really off topic but interesting to me. I apologize.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: ""Mathias Rösel"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Cc: "Lute List" <[email protected]>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 2:29 PM
> Subject: [LUTE] Re: No guts no glory
>
>
> >> >can all think up to say "Blissfully out of touch with
> >> >reality" in ancient Greek. I look forward to a
> >> >wonderfully fascinating discourse.
> >>
> >> Best I can do with an online dictionary and no knowledge of spoken Greek,
> >> ancient or modern.
> >>
> >> Eutuchps ek omilin aletheia
> >
> > Ancient: eudaimones tou ergou apechomenoi chairomen
> >
> > Mathias
> >
> >
> >
> > To get on or off this list see list information at
> > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
>
>
--
Viele Grüße
Mathias
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