Pronomen Abundans and Pronomen Coniunctum. A ... - DWC

PART I
ANCIENT GREEK AND KOINE
1. THE PRONOMEN ABUNDANS IN ANCIENT GREEK
The Ancient Greek texts left to us do not give us the impression that
th is idiom was very popular among the authors. In the texts from Homer
until the 4th century B.C. only ten instances have been found. And thus
in the grammar of Kühner-Gerth only a note, an "Anmerkung" is devoted
to the subject 1.
l.1. The examples in K ühner-Gerth
Hdt. IV 44,1 ... f3ovÄ6ftevoç 'Ivè'Jov n07:aftóv, 8ç 'X[!o'Xoè'JeO.ovç è'Jev'te[!oç 0 {j't 0 ç
n07:aftwv náv'twv na[!éxe7:at, 'tov'tov 'tov no'taftov eiè'Jévat 'tti èç ()á).,aaaav è'Xè'Jtè'Jo ï . .. 2 •
PI., Phaedo 99B 8 è'J1} ftOt g;a{vov'tat 1p'fJ).,ag;wvuç olnoÀÀoi wane[! èv a'Xóut,
àÀÀo't[!tcp ovóftan n[!oax[!wftevot, wç atnov a'lho n[!oaayo[!evetv.
Xen., R.L. 10,4 Tóè'Je yè W;jV 'tov Av'Xov[!yov nwç ov fteyá).,wç açwv àyaa()­
ijVat; 8ç ènetè'J~ 'Xadfta()ev, ön ol ft~ f3ovÄ6ftevot lntfteA.eïa()at 'tijç à[!e'tijç OVX
[MVO{ eiat 'tàç na't[!{è'Jaç av$etv, è'Xelvoç èv 'tti Iná[!7:Tl ~váy'Xaae . ..
Eur., Phoen. 1595 ff.
. . . wç ft' 19;vaaç ä.e).,wv
'Xai 7:).,1}ftov', ............•..
8v 'Xai n[!iv lç g;wç ft'fJ7:[!OÇ è'X yovijç ft0).,eïv,
ayovov 'Anó).,).,wv Aatep ft' è()éantaev
g;ovéa yevéa()at na7:[!óç ... 3 .
On the question why authors use a pronomen abundans Kühner-Gerth
express themselves with great caution. They merely say that it is do ne
for clearness' sake, i.e. when the relat. clause is interrupted by another
clause or when the relat. clause itself happens to be long. Moulton 4
1 Kühner-Gerth Il, p. 433-4, Anm. 2.
2 They comment upon this quotation as follows: "Hier deutet das Demonstrativ
auf einen zu ergänzenden Gedanken hin: welcher - und zwar ist dies der zweite
unter allen Flüssen - ", comparing it to Hdt. I 25 àVÉ{}rl'~E (je bupvywv T~V vovuov
IJetTrEeOç OVTOÇ Tijç ol"{1'}ç TatlT1'}ç ••• "e1'}Tijea, "er weihte - und er war der zweite
aus diesem Hause - einen Krater". See also Kühner-Gerth I, pp. 660-1.
3 In Kühner-Gerth I, p. 642 we find among some other quotations Eur., I.A.
155-6 ucpeayi(ja qnJÀaulf' ijv inl (jÉÀTlP / T~V(jE "op.tt;uç. In such a case the demonstr.
pronoun T~V(jE cannot be viewed as a pronomen abundans . Whether a pronomen
abundans is really superfluous or not has still to be decided, but in a case like this
T~V(jE certainly is not. It has its usual demonstrative force, denoting something or
somebody who is present or (in a play, for instanee) coming on to the stage.
Cf. Hom. A 612 (Kühner-Gerth, l.c.), where the demonstr. pronoun occurs in an interrogative
clause: NÉUTOe' EeEW, / övTtva TOVTOV liyE! . See also Eur., Andr. 649-50 ... lJIà
yvvai"a f3áef3aeov, / ijv xefiv u' iÀavvuv T~V(j' vnee NelÀov éoáç . .., and 709-10 ... "al
naiç liTEXVOÇ, ijv Ö y' i~ TJp.wv yEywÇ / iMf. IJl' ol"wv T~V(j' imunáuaç "óp.1'}ç. See also note 8.
4 Moulton, Proleg., p. 95.