Lucian · The Solecist §8-9

Lykinos Setting More Traps of Solecisms

Passage 3 of 4 · Greek

Summary

Lykinos points out several more solecisms to Soloikistes, exposing his conversational partner's ignorance and failure to notice errors with sharp irony.

§8Λυκῖνος Ἐπανίωμεν δέ, εἰ δοκεῖ, ἐπὶ τὴν ἅμιλλαν τῶν προτέρων λόγων.

Lykinos Let us return, if you please, to the competition of our former arguments.

κἀγὼ μὲν καλῶ τοὺς βελτίστους εἶναι ὅλους, σὺ δὲ γνώρισον· οἶμαι γάρ σε κἂν νῦν δυνήσεσθαι τοσούτων γε ἐπακούσαντα τῶν ἑξῆς λεγομένων.

And I indeed summon all the best to be present, but you recognize them; for I think that you will be able to do so, even now, having listened to so many of the things said in succession.

Σολοικιστής Ἴσως μὲν οὐδὲ νῦν δυνήσομαί σου λέγοντος· ὅμως εἰπέ.

Soloikistes Perhaps indeed I shall not be able even now, while you are speaking; nevertheless, speak.

Λυκῖνος Καὶ πῶς φὴς οὐ δυνήσεσθαι;

Lykinos And how do you say you will not be able?

ἡ γὰρ θύρα σχεδὸν ἀνέῳγέ σοι τῆς γνωρίσεως αὐτῶν.

For the door of recognizing them has already almost opened (aneōge) for you.

Σολοικιστής Εἰπὲ τοίνυν.

Soloikistes Speak then.

Λυκῖνος Ἀλλὰ εἶπον.

Lykinos But I have spoken.

Σολοικιστής Οὐδέν γε, ὥστε ἐμὲ μαθεῖν.

Soloikistes Nothing at least that I could learn.

Λυκῖνος Οὐ γὰρ ἔμαθες τὸ ἀνέῳγεν;

Lykinos For did you not learn the "aneōgen"?

Σολοικιστής Οὐκ ἔμαθον.

Soloikistes I did not learn it.

Λυκῖνος Τί οὖν πεισόμεθα, εἰ μηδὲ νῦν ἀκολουθήσεις τοῖς λεγομένοις;

Lykinos What then will happen to us, if you will not follow what is said even now?

καίτοι πρός γε τὰ κατ’ ἀρχὰς ῥηθέντα ὑπὸ σοῦ ἐγὼ μὲν ᾤμην ἱππεῖς ἐς πεδίον καλεῖν.

And yet, in response to what was said by you at the beginning, I indeed thought I was calling cavalry to the plain.

σὺ δὲ τοὺς ἱππεῖς κατενόησας;

But did you perceive the cavalry?

ἀλλὰ ἔοικας οὐ φροντίζειν τῶν λόγων, μάλιστα οὓς νῦν κατὰ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς διήλθομεν.

Rather, you seem not to care for words, especially those which we just went through concerning ourselves (kata sphas autous).

Σολοικιστής Ἐγὼ μὲν φροντίζω, σὺ δὲ ἀδήλως αὐτοὺς διεξέρχῃ.

Soloikistes I indeed care, but you go through them unclearly.

§9Λυκῖνος Πάνυ γοῦν ἄδηλόν ἐστι τὸ κατὰ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐφ’ ἡμῶν λεγόμενον.

Lykinos Quite unclear indeed is the "kata sphas autous" said of us.

ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν δῆλον· σὲ δὲ οὐδεὶς ἂν θεῶν ἀγνοοῦντα παύσειε πλήν γε ὁ Ἀπόλλων.

But this indeed is clear; and none of the gods could make you cease from being ignorant except Apollo.

μαντεύεται γοῦν ἐκεῖνος πᾶσι τοῖς ἐρωτῶσι, σὺ δὲ οὐδὲ τὸν μαντευόμενον κατενόησας.

At any rate, he prophesies (manteuetai) to all who ask, but you did not even perceive the prophesying one.

Σολοικιστής Μὰ τοὺς θεούς, οὐ γὰρ ἔμαθον.

Soloikistes By the gods, for I did not learn it.

Λυκῖνος Εἰ ἄρα καθ’ εἷς λανθάνει σε περιιών;

Lykinos Is it then that they escape your notice, going around one by one (kath' heis)?

Σολοικιστής Ἐοίκασί γε.

Soloikistes They seem so indeed.

Λυκῖνος Ὁ δὲ καθ’ εἷς πῶς παρῆλθεν;

Lykinos And how did the "kath' heis" pass by?

Σολοικιστής Οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἔμαθον.

Soloikistes Neither did I learn this.

Λυκῖνος Οἶσθα δέ τινα μνηστευόμενον αὑτῷ γάμον;

Lykinos And do you know anyone wooing a marriage for himself (mnēsteuomenon hautō)?

Σολοικιστής Τί οὖν τοῦτο;

Soloikistes What then of this?

Λυκῖνος Ὅτι σολοικίζειν ἀνάγκη τὸν μνηστευόμενον αὑτῷ.

Lykinos Because it is necessary that the one wooing a marriage for himself (mnēsteuomenon hautō) commits a solecism.

Σολοικιστής Τί οὖν πρὸς τοὐμὸν πρᾶγμα, εἰ σολοικίζει τις μνηστευόμενος;

Soloikistes What then is that to my business, if someone committing a solecism is wooing?

Λυκῖνος Ὅτι ἀγνοεῖ ὁ φάσκων εἰδέναι.

Lykinos Because he who claims to know is ignorant.

καὶ τὸ μὲν οὕτως ἔχει.

And this matter indeed is so.

εἰ δέ τις λέγοι σοι παρελθὼν ὡς ἀπολίποι τὴν γυναῖκα, ἆρ’ ἂν ἐπιτρέποις αὐτῷ;

But if someone, coming up to you, should say that he left his wife (as apolipoi tēn gynaika), would you permit him?

Σολοικιστής Τί γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἐπιτρέποιμι, εἰ φαίνοιτο ἀδικούμενος;

Soloikistes Why indeed should I not permit him, if he should appear to be wronged?

Λυκῖνος Εἰ δὲ σολοικίζων φαίνοιτο, ἐπιτρέποις ἂν αὐτῷ τοῦτο;

Lykinos But if he should appear to commit a solecism, would you permit him this?

Σολοικιστής Οὐκ ἔγωγε.

Soloikistes Not I indeed.

Λυκῖνος Ὀρθῶς γὰρ λέγεις· οὐ γὰρ ἐπιτρεπτέον σολοικίζοντι τῷ φίλῳ, ἀλλὰ διδακτέον ὅπως τοῦτο μὴ τείσεται.

Lykinos For you speak rightly; for we must not permit a friend who commits a solecism, but we must teach him so that he will not suffer (teisētai) this.

καὶ εἴ τίς γε νῦν ψοφοίη τὴν θύραν ἐσιὼν ἢ ἐξιὼν κόπτοι, τί φήσομέν σε πεπονθέναι;

And if someone just now, entering, should make the door creak (psophoiē) or, going out, should knock (koptoi), what shall we say you have experienced?

Σολοικιστής Ἐμὲ μὲν οὐδέν, ἐκεῖνον δὲ ἐπεσελθεῖν βούλεσθαι ἢ ἐξιέναι.

Soloikistes Me indeed nothing, but that he wishes to enter or go out.

Λυκῖνος Σὲ δὲ ἀγνοοῦντα τὸν κόπτοντα ἤ ψοφοῦντα οὐδὲν ὅλως πεπονθέναι δόξομεν ἀπαίδευτον ὄντα;

Lykinos But shall we not seem to have experienced something entirely uneducated, you being ignorant of the one knocking or making it creak?

Σολοικιστής Ὑβριστὴς εἶ.

Soloikistes You are insolent.

Λυκῖνος Τί λέγεις;

Lykinos What do you say?

ὑβριστὴς ἐγώ;

I insolent?

νῦν δὴ γενήσομαί σοι διαλεγόμενος.

Just now I shall become (nyn dē genēsomai) conversing with you.

ἔοικε δὲ σολοικίσαι τὸ νῦν δὴ γενήσομαι, σὺ δ’ οὐκ ἔγνως.

And the "just now I shall become" (nyn dē genēsomai) seems to commit a solecism, but you did not realize it.

Notes

p.407ἀνέῳγε — Perfect form of the verb ἀνοίγω. In Classical Attic prose, it functions transitively ('opened'), whereas the intransitive sense ('is open') should be expressed by the passive perfect ἀνέῳγμαι or pluperfect ἀνέῳκτο.
v.2.p.576κατὰ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς — Misuse of the third-person plural reflexive pronoun σφᾶς αὐτούς in place of the first-person plural ('concerning ourselves'), which should properly be καθ’ ἡμᾶς αὐτούς.
v.2.p.576μαντεύεται — The middle voice verb μαντεύομαι normally means 'to consult an oracle' (by a human), whereas for a god like Apollo who 'gives an oracle', the active voice χρᾷ or θεσπίζει should be used.
v.2.p.577καθ’ εἷς — A solecism where the nominative εἷς is placed after the preposition κατά instead of the accusative ἕνα. This reflects a vulgar grammatical breakdown common in the later Koine period.
v.2.p.578μνηστευόμενον αὑτῷ — The verb μνηστεύομαι ('to woo/betroth') already implies taking a wife for oneself; adding the reflexive dative pronoun αὑτῷ results in a redundant and comical solecism meaning 'wooing a marriage for himself with himself'.
p.408ἀπολίποι τὴν γυναῖκα — Confusion of legal terminology. A husband divorcing his wife is expressed by ἀποπέμπειν, while ἀπολείπειν is used only for a wife leaving her husband. It is a solecism to say ἀπολείπειν τὴν γυναῖκα with a male subject. The optative ἀπολίποι is the oblique optative in a ὡς clause indicating reported speech.
v.2.p.579ψοφοίη τὴν θύραν ἐσιὼν ἢ ἐξιὼν κόπτοι — A reversal of idiomatic expressions based on daily customs. In ancient Greece, one 'knocks' (κόπτειν) from the outside when entering a house, but 'makes a sound' (ψοφεῖν) from the inside when leaving to warn passersby that the door is opening. Lykinos points out the inversion of these terms.
v.2.p.579νῦν δὴ γενήσομαι — A temporal contradiction (solecism) caused by combining the adverbial phrase νῦν δή, which means 'just now' (referring to the immediate past), with the future-tense verb γενήσομαι.

Cite this passage

Lucian, The Solecist §8-9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg070.humanitext-grc2:8-9

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