τέλος δὲ ἐπεὶ ἑσπέρα ἐγίγνετο, ἐπανελθὼν ὁ ἱερεὺς ...

xxbullxdozerxx

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I feel pretty good about this one, tell me what you guys think.

Greek Homework

And finlaly when it became evening, the priest approached and said, "Come on, o boy. For it is all ready. Follow me." And leading the boy out of the temple toward the altar, he ordered him to make the customary libation. And taking the cup in his hands he made a libation and raising his hands to the heavens he said, "Asclepius, savior, most benevolent God, listen to me praying, who thinking pious thoughts and being pure with respect to my soul, I am present as your suppliant. Be propitious to me who is blind, if you deem it necessary, and heal my eyes.
 Then the priest leading the boy into the holy place ordered him to sleep lying on the ground. And Philip laid down, but for much time he was not able to sleep. For having been left behind in the sacred place he had many fears. For night came, and darkness everywhere and silence, except occasionally he heard the sacred snakes hissing gently.

It sounds a bit weird in some spots, but I think I got most of it there.
« Last Edit: 06 May, 2008, 19:33:42 by billberg23 »


billberg23

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Sorry, the link to your text doesn't work.  If it were a real Greek author (e.g., Herodotus), we could look it up, but what you've been showing us is modern, made-up Greek for instructional purposes, so we're not sure exactly what the author was up to.  Try giving us a straight URL for the link. 



xxbullxdozerxx

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It won't work? Well, here's the link.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/694/scan0003id7.png

I know, if I were asked to translate the Iliad, it wouldn't be a problem.. I practically know that thing (the english version, at least!) by heart. Instead they give us this crappy Athenaze book!


vmelas

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It won't work? Well, here's the link.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/694/scan0003id7.png

I know, if I were asked to translate the Iliad, it wouldn't be a problem.. I practically know that thing (the english version, at least!) by heart. Instead they give us this crappy Athenaze book!

Can you try perhaps to save the pic as a JPG? It might make the file size smaller and easier to display. Also, since you are using imageshack, how about using the "thumbnail for forums" link?

I tried the new link you provided us just now and it did not show up for me.



xxbullxdozerxx

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Smaller jpeg

I'm sorry, but I can't seem to find the thumbnail for forums link.. either I'm too tired or it's too hidden. I resized it and made it a jpeg, though.


billberg23

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O.K., got it now, bulldozer.  Your translation is pretty accurate.  The thing to watch in this passage, however, is the use of the participles.  That seems to be the main grammatical lesson here.

Here's the secret:  aorist participles (ἐπανελθὼν, ἀγαγὼν, λαβὼν, ἄρας) always denote action prior to the action of the main verb, while present participles (εὐχομένου, φρονῶν, ὢν) denote action simultaneous with the action of the main verb. 

A literal translation of the aorist participle using "having" will be a good first step toward accurate translation.  Examples:  "The priest, having come back, said ...";  "the priest, having led the boy out of the temple ..." etc.  The important thing is to express the idea that the action in the aorist participle came first.  You can do this in other, looser ways, e.g.: "The priest came back and said,"  "the priest led the boy out of the temple and ...", etc.

By contrast, the present participle translates literally with "while" or "as" to express action at the same time as the action of the main verb, e.g., "Hear me as I am praying," etc.
« Last Edit: 06 May, 2008, 19:27:01 by billberg23 »


xxbullxdozerxx

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Alright, I think I've got it.. "the priest, having come back, said..", "having led the boy out of the temple..", "listen to me as I pray", "then the priest, having led the boy into the holy place.."

I'm fairly certain I got 'em all. Thanks for your help on this one :)


 

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