3.350 reading Greeks, cont. (53)

Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@VM.EPAS.UTORONTO.CA)
Sun, 13 Aug 89 22:50:00 EDT


Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 350. Sunday, 13 Aug 1989.


(1) Date: 11 Aug 89 21:55:34 EST (24 lines)
From: James O'Donnell <JODONNEL@PENNSAS>
Subject: reading greeks

(2) Date: 12 Aug 89 11:33:08 EST (9 lines)
From: James O'Donnell <JODONNEL@PENNSAS>
Subject: reading Greeks

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 11 Aug 89 21:55:34 EST
From: James O'Donnell <JODONNEL@PENNSAS>
Subject: reading greeks

From: jodonnel @ pennsas

Just signed on to HUMANIST yesterday and find a discussion today, citing
anterior discussion, that seems on internal evidence to deal with the ancient
question whether the Greeks read silently or not....

The decisive article, if not already cited, is
Bernard Knox in GREEK, ROMAN, AND BYZANTINE STUDIES for about 1968,
demonstrating that the ability to read silently was present very early,
scouting the much earlier article of J. Balogh, `Voces paginarum' (vintage
1926), claiming that St. Ambrose is the first silent reader ever as noted at
Augustine Confessions 6.3.3 (and claiming that Augustine was a quick study,
picking up the trick by Confessions 8.12.29). Joseph Mazzeo's long-venerated
article on St. Aug. and the Rhetoric of Silence (Jour of History of Ideas c.
1960, reprinted in a volume of his collected essays) has some later
references; perfectly clear that moving your lips and at least murmuring the
words was an important part of the game until at least late middle ages, and
of course well into modern times reading aloud was prescribed as healthful
exercise. Underlying questions very Torontonian, long batted about by McLuhan,
Havelock, and Stock. Is any of this non-redundant?
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------12----
Date: 12 Aug 89 11:33:08 EST
From: James O'Donnell <JODONNEL@PENNSAS>
Subject: reading Greeks

If not too late, add refs.:

``For the middle ages, see I. Illich, ABC: THE ALPHABETIZATION OF THE POPULAR
MIND (esp. for bibliography) and P. Saenger with a long article in VIATOR for
1982. But for Greeks specifically, Knox still the standard.''