Substantive adj. not agreeing with rel. pronoun, Phaedo 57a

[garfield2244]

Hello all,

As this is my first substantive (I'm sorry, I kill myself) post at TextKit, please discipline me accordingly. That being said...

Phado 57a: τί οὖν δή ἐστιν ἅττα εἶπεν ὁ ἀνὴρ πρὸ τοῦ θανάτου;

The way I'm translating it now I have τί as a substantive, so it should read something like: "What, then, is that which the man spoke before his death?" I'm bothered, however, that ἅττα, which I think is being used as a rel. pro. without the "whatever" sense, is plural. Is this a regular usage?

Thanks for your help,

-g

[pster]

Hello all,

As this is my first substantive (I'm sorry, I kill myself) post at TextKit, please discipline me accordingly. That being said...

Phado 57a: τί οὖν δή ἐστιν ἅττα εἶπεν ὁ ἀνὴρ πρὸ τοῦ θανάτου;

The way I'm translating it now I have τί as a substantive, so it should read something like: "What, then, is that which the man spoke before his death?" I'm bothered, however, that ἅττα, which I think is being used as a rel. pro. without the "whatever" sense, is plural. Is this a regular usage?

Thanks for your help,

-g

Neuter plural nouns take singular verbs. ἅττα is neuter plural. I studied Greek for a year and a half or more before I realized I had overlooked this quirk. Presumably the neuter plural was originally thought of as a general idea. I'd like it better if Plato did't use the singular τί , but it doesn't surprise me. If you dig around in Smyth, you might find something more detailed.