A friend of mine sent me some interesting things to read, one featuring a copy of an icon of St Sabbas – patron of this blog, as it happens (see my very first post) – complete with an improving text. Unfortunately, said text being in Greek, I can't quite puzzle it out. Here it is:
Ὁ άγαπῶν τόν Θεόν καταφρονείτω τῶν φθειρομένων καί προτιμάτω τήν γνῶσιν αὐτοῦ.
Google translates "His love God katafroneito protimato Of the wearing and the knowledge of him." Not much help!
ReplyDeleteThis is my guess:
ReplyDeleteLet he who loves God disregard those who are corrupt and prefer what he knows.
Yes, Barry, I tried that trick first of all, and got just such a nonsense answer. I suspect that the Google translating whatsit is designed for modern Greek.
ReplyDeleteHaving only a very little Greek, I looked up the verbs unknown to me and found:
ReplyDeletekataphroneô - to despise; to fix one’s thoughts at, to aim at; to presume, to think arrogantly
phtheiroiaô - to be lousy (lice infested!)
protimaô - to honour one above another, to prefer one to another
And the winner is...
ReplyDeleteI emailed Fr Hunwicke, who kindly tells me it renders as:
"Let the one who loves God despise the things that are passing away and give preferential honour to his knowledge."
Just looking at it quickly, "to the knowledge of him" would be a better translation.
ReplyDeleteThe best translation I've found is:
ReplyDeleteHe that loves God disdaineth things corruptible and prefereth the knowledge of Him.
Compare these Orthodox icons of St. Savvas (Sabbas) the Sanctified.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qpE5hNwi618/TPubSlpUvxI/AAAAAAAAL48/f5zANUEypCY/s1600/savvas%2Bmain.jpg
http://images.orthodoxws.com/archive/Icons/Saints/s%20-%20u/St%20Sabbas%20the%20Sanctified.jpg.
Eureka! Many thanks.
ReplyDelete