25-03-2019, 09:09 PM
There is a tentative solution to ReneZ's objection that the book as translated does not begin with "Here begins..."
If vowels are wild, we can read the third person imperative ἔστω instead of indicative ἐστί, and translate "Let the mouth be a form only" instead of "Is the mouth a form only?"
Consider classical Greek εὐφημεῖτε/Latin favete linguis, both expressions used as preamble to a religious ritual. The words mean literally "use [only] words of good omen" and, by implication, "be silent" (because that is the only way to be sure of saying nothing ill-omened). "Let the mouth be a form only" can be read as another circuitous and formulaic way of saying "keep quiet because of what follows."
If vowels are wild, we can read the third person imperative ἔστω instead of indicative ἐστί, and translate "Let the mouth be a form only" instead of "Is the mouth a form only?"
Consider classical Greek εὐφημεῖτε/Latin favete linguis, both expressions used as preamble to a religious ritual. The words mean literally "use [only] words of good omen" and, by implication, "be silent" (because that is the only way to be sure of saying nothing ill-omened). "Let the mouth be a form only" can be read as another circuitous and formulaic way of saying "keep quiet because of what follows."
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