Columbus Day project E.IA 1257-1258

[Stirling Bartholomew]

Ἀγαμέμνων

1255-1258
ἐγὼ τά τ᾽ οἰκτρὰ συνετός εἰμι καὶ τὰ μή,
φιλῶ τ᾽ ἐμαυτοῦ τέκνα: μαινοίμην γὰρ ἄν.
δεινῶς δ᾽ ἔχει μοι ταῦτα τολμῆσαι, γύναι,
δεινῶς δὲ καὶ μή: τοῦτο γὰρ πρᾶξαί με δεῖ.

Explain the syntax of the highlighted lines. Vocabulary should be familiar to readers of the New Testament.

[Robert Crowe]

δεινῶς δ᾽ ἔχει μοι…

The sense here is it is dreadful for me… because:

An adverb with ἔχειν is often used as a periphrasis for an adjective with εἶναι.

[Smyth 1438]

Columbus probably said something of similar meaning in Genoese Italian.

[Stirling Bartholomew]

Thank you Robert,

Apparently I was treading the wrong path.

δεινῶς δ᾽ ἔχει μοι ταῦτα τολμῆσαι, γύναι,
δεινῶς δὲ καὶ μή: τοῦτο γὰρ πρᾶξαί με δεῖ.

I looked at ἔχει μοι + τολμῆσαι and με δεῖ + πρᾶξαί and was trying to make it into an inverted parallel construction.

[Stirling Bartholomew]

δεινῶς δ' ἔχει μοι ταῦτα τολμῆσαι, γύναι,
δεινῶς δὲ καὶ μή· ταὐτὰ γὰρ πρᾶξαί με δεῖ.

δ' ... δὲ ... γὰρ mark the clause boundaries. Guy Cooper[1] notes the second δὲ introduces reduced (minimal) anaphora. In the third clause ταὐτὰ ... πρᾶξαί corresponds to ταῦτα τολμῆσαι. That leaves us with δεινῶς ... ἔχει μοι & με δεῖ. Both function as adverbials with an infinitive. The case of the pronouns μοι & με suggests they don't occupy the same functional slot. μοι is a member of the adverbial constituent δεινῶς .... ἔχει μοι. με is the subject to the infinitive πρᾶξαί.

[1] Greek syntax, v4, 2:69.17.C P2923.

[Robert Crowe]

δ‘ ... δέ for μέν ... δέ

In Anaphora, when δέ is in the second limb, μέν is usually in the first. But there are numerous exceptions to this in serious poetry. ... IA 17, 559, 1258.

[Denniston p163]