Abstract: The significance of fr. 134 DK (highlighting the φρὴν ἱερὴ καὶ ἀθέσφατος and its phro... more Abstract: The significance of fr. 134 DK (highlighting the φρὴν ἱερὴ καὶ ἀθέσφατος and its phrontides, the authentic Apollo) and fr. 29 DK (the σφαῖρος, ultimate offspring of Aphrodite/φιλότης) can be discovered by retracing Empedocles' steps through a matrix of echoes from the epic heritage common to him and his culture, a matrix that includes the Homeric Hymn to Apollo and Hesiod's Theogony.
For the past two centuries and more, the final phase of exile for Empedocles' daimones has been g... more For the past two centuries and more, the final phase of exile for Empedocles' daimones has been generally interpreted with the assumption that the four types of humans in fr. 146 (seers, poets, doctors, "chiefs" [promoi]) are finally "purified" through conformance to Empedocles' recommended life style — that under the influence of Love, they typify a human ideal, a collective representation of the philosopher himself. That final incarnation, then, qualifies them to re-enter the company of the Blessed Ones. The authors of the present paper argue that this view distorts the evidence: with the exception of doctors, the human types in the final stage of exile are implicated to one degree or another in bloodshed, which violates Empedocles' fundamental precept. Special focus is on the promoi, the "battle chiefs" who are shown to be no more peaceful leaders than the lions of fr. 127 (the highest form of animal reincarnation for the daimones) are gentle vegetarian beasts; translations that attempt to neutralize or pacify these promoi ("statesmen," "princes," etc.) are shown to be misguided. The final stage of exile turns out to be predetermined not by progress toward Empedoclean virtue, but by the simple fullness of time — 30,000 seasons, no more, no less — decreed by the six main gods of Empedocles' cosmic system. Furthermore, in the current age of waxing Strife, the "top" of Empedocles' reincarnational ladder is marked, again, not by virtue, but simply by social prestige. Empedocles' Purifications, his recommendations for a blameless life, have nothing to do with shortening the time of exile (that is impossible), but only with making our lives, and the daimones' exile, more tolerable. And the daimones who finally re-enter the realm of the Blessed, prestigious though they may have become in this degenerate age ruled by Strife, need not be exemplars of Empedoclean virtue. An Appendix lists most authors who, over the past two centuries, have commented on fr. 146, or whose translations of fr. 146 have implied a specific interpretation.
Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 1965
The substance of this article was incorporated into Ch. 4 of my book "Early Virgil," which can be... more The substance of this article was incorporated into Ch. 4 of my book "Early Virgil," which can be viewed and/or downloaded in Books under my profile here.
The present article is meant to illustrate a method of analyzing an ambiguous citation with the h... more The present article is meant to illustrate a method of analyzing an ambiguous citation with the help not only of its context, but also of literary parallels presumably known to the cited author. In an earlier article in this journal («Along a mountain path with Empedocles (31 B 24 D.-K)», Elenchos XXXIII-1 [2012] 5-20), we concluded that Empedocles’ fr. 24 rules out the method, employed by other poets, of "attaching speech-summits to speech-summits" (κορυφὰς ἑτέρας ἑτέρηισι προσάπτων μύθων) — fitting climactic points one to another — and instead favors the method of following a single path of discourse to the argument’s end (τελέειν ἀτραπὸν μίαν). In a subsequent issue of Elenchos (XXXIII-2 [2012] 301-334) Denis O’Brien disputed our conclusions, suggesting instead that Empedocles was merely advising himself to make his way through the "speech-summits" without losing sight of the "single path" and its conclusion. The κορυφαί, then, would be not climaxes of disconnected discourses, but only topics — chapter heads — of a single discourse. The present article argues that this view not only underrates the ironic force of the plural koruphai applied to muthôn; it also disregards the real function of prosaptôn, which elsewhere signifies a joining through physical contact rather than the figurative ʺpassing byʺ that O’Brien suggests. Fr. 24 is not, as O’Brien supposes, Empedocles’ advice to himself; it is a critique aimed at rival poets who heap arguments one upon another in an absurd and ridiculous fashion, as if heaping Pelion upon Ossa. Cleombrotus’ citation of Empedocles, then, was an allusion not to the main points of his own discourse, but to the danger of being side-tracked into entirely new topics, a danger that Philip’s digression had just posed. Finally, we may have confirmation of this negative view of the "summits" in Aristophanes’ allusion to Empedocles’ "single path" at Clouds 76.
For those who have little or no Latin, and little or no formal background in grammar, but who see... more For those who have little or no Latin, and little or no formal background in grammar, but who seek an immediate experience with the greatest work produced by a Roman poet, in the original language.
This study, illustrating the use in both ancient and modern poetry of a pastoral landscape to sym... more This study, illustrating the use in both ancient and modern poetry of a pastoral landscape to symbolize the poet’s ‘place’ of inspiration and creation, marked a radical departure from traditional approaches to Virgilian pastoral. The publication of Virgil’s Bucolics is seen as a literary event in which the self-consciousness of the Theocritean tradition found its fullest measure. The Golden Age of the ‘messianic’ Eclogue IV, like the child who rules it, is interpreted as a monument to poetry rather than to politics. The influence of Catullus and of fellow poets (especially Pollio and Gallus) on Virgil’s early work is emphasized.
Cramer's Catena, a "chain" of comments on Galatians by fourth-century churchmen, is presented in ... more Cramer's Catena, a "chain" of comments on Galatians by fourth-century churchmen, is presented in colloquial translation; some of it appears here for the first time in English. Featured first and foremost is the commentary by "golden-mouthed" John Chrysostom, with supplemental remarks from three other learned but more or less controversial figures of the same era, Theodore of Mopsuestia, Severian, and Eusebius of Emesa. Paul's epistle is approached through the twelve "main topics" into which it was divided in ancient times (division by chapter and verse being a much later phenomenon). Explanatory comments by the translator (usually covering technical issues relating to the Greek text) are restricted to footnotes. A brief Introduction prepares readers for what they will encounter in the Catena itself.
Finally completed in 1948, this is the epic poem of enduring Romiosini (roughly translated as "G... more Finally completed in 1948, this is the epic poem of enduring Romiosini (roughly translated as "Greekness") in its struggle against fascist suppression during the period of Nazi occupation and the civil war that followed. Once set to music by none other than Mikis Theodorakis, it continues to inspire new generations yearning for a distinctively Hellenic form of democracy.
This is the Introduction to "the world's oldest joke book." The jokes themselves appear separate... more This is the Introduction to "the world's oldest joke book." The jokes themselves appear separately, below.
Text and my English translations of 10 classics by Markos Vamvakaris (1905-1972), master of "rebe... more Text and my English translations of 10 classics by Markos Vamvakaris (1905-1972), master of "rebetiko" and greatest composer of ballads in 20th-century Greece. All songs can be heard on YouTube, under their Greek titles.
Horace, Odes 1.11 Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi finem di dederint, Leuconoe... more Horace, Odes 1.11 Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios temptaris numeros. ut melius, quidquid erit, pati. seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam, quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare Tyrrhenum: sapias, vina liques et spatio brevi spem longam reseces. dum loquimur, fugerit invida aetas: carpe diem quam minimum credula postero. Υοu don't get to ask the stars what day's my last, or yours, Miss Bright Eyes; throw away that horoscope and let whatever's coming come.
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An Appendix lists most authors who, over the past two centuries, have commented on fr. 146, or whose translations of fr. 146 have implied a specific interpretation.
Books by William Berg
Drafts by William Berg