Grammar And Philosophy In Late Antiquity: A Study of Priscian's Sources

Description

This book examines the various philosophical influences contained in the ancient description of the noun. According to the traditional view, grammar adopted its philosophical categories in the second century B.C. and continued to make use of precisely the same concepts for over six hundred years, that is, until the time of Priscian (ca. 500). The standard view is questioned in this study, which investigates in detail the philosophy contained in Priscian’sInstitutiones grammaticae. This investigation reveals a distinctly Platonic element in Priscian’s grammar, which has not been recognised in linguistic historiography. Thus, grammar manifestly interacted with philosophy in Late Antiquity. This discovery led to the reconsideration of the origin of all the philosophical categories of the noun. Since the authenticity of theTechne, which was attributed to Dionysius Thrax, is now regarded as uncertain, it is possible to speculate that the semantic categories are derived from Late Antiquity. GRAMMAR AND PHILOSOPHY IN LATE ANTIQUITY: A STUDY OF PRISCIAN'S SOURCES Editorial page Title page Copyright page Table of contents PREFACE 1. INTRODUCTION Pre-Apollonian Grammar Apollonius Dyscolus Post-Apollonian, Platonist Influence Traditional Model Standard Philosophical Apparatus Working Hypothesis 2. PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITION Plato and the Old Academy The Sophist Aristotle's Categories Peri Hermeneias Ambiguity Stoic Logic Components of σημαíνοντα ("that which signifies") and σημαινόμενα ("that which is signified") Parts of Speech Stoic Categories Corporeality Amphibolia Concluding Remarks 3. THE ALEXANDRIAN GRAMMARIANS Aristophanes Aristarchus Dionysius Thrax Concluding Remarks 4. HELLENISTIC SYNCRETISM Categories Parts of Speech Other Middle Platonic Themes Neoplatonism 5. LATIN GRAMMARIANS Definition of the Noun Qualitas in Latin Grammar Proper and Common Nouns Subdivisions of Proper Nouns Adjectives Epitheton in Rhetoric and Stylistics Technical Grammar Third Part of Grammar Techne and the Scholiasts Homonyms and Synonyms Philosophical Commentary in Late Antiquity Rhetoric Third Part of Grammar Relational Nouns Specific and Generic Nouns A Note on Apollonius Dyscolus 6. PRISCIAN Apollonius Dyscolus: Orderliness of Language Principal Parts of Speech Non-Apollonian Philosophy in Priscian Definition of the Noun Substance versus Quality Corporeality Body versus Substance Authenticity of Priscian' s Examples Proper Nouns, Common Nouns and Adjectives Apollonius Dyscolus Dionysius Thrax and the Scholiasts The Pronoun Substance The Pronoun and the Person of the Verb Indefinite Pronouns or Nouns? Interrogative Nouns and Adverbs Quale, Quantum, Quot, etc: Accidents or Properties Why are there no Interrogative Verbs? Priscian proceeds to argue that nouns can replace adverbs More about Question-formation An Excursus into the Method of Definitions Construction of Pronouns Concluding Remarks 7. THE STATUS OF THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH 8. AUGUSTINE Ars breviata De doctrina Christiana De magistro De dialectica De ordine Conclusions GENERAL CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES INDEX AUCTORUM INDEX RERUM