Over at Aliens In this World, SuburbanBanshee has a lovely post on classical Greek.
I found this part fascinating:
We also have the word “makrothymia,” which doesn’t mean “longsuffering” or “patience” the way we use it, even though that’s how it’s translated this week. “Thymia” is passion, temper, spiritedness, the way a bold warrior acts. It comes from “thymos,” which also means spiritedness, and usually a sort of righteous anger. “Makrothymia” is the quality of biding a long time before deploying the thymia and making havoc. “Slow to anger” is more to the point than “longsuffering.” In the Septuagint, Isaiah 57:15 has God promising to give makrothymia to the lowly of soul/mind (“oligopsychois”), where the Hebrew promises to “revive” the spirit of those with a humble spirit. So having makrothymia is a dynamic quality, promising action.
Go read the rest, please.
Good post, Foxfier. Thank you! My commentary is too long winded to post here:
https://www.facebook.com/paul.primavera/posts/4308385439175630
This is very cool. “Long suffering” implies a powerlessness but “slow to anger” implies a sense of control to act at the right time with passion for what is right when it counts. I wish we adopted the Greek word “Makrothymia” into our English vocabulary. One simple word with such loaded meaning.
From the link: There are some other Greek words for good and bad, but “agathos” comes up in today’s second reading at Mass in the OF, 1 Peter 3:18-22. We’re not actually asking God for a “clear” or “clean” conscience, but for a good, righteous conscience that bugs us and keeps us out of trouble.” It seems to me that a well formed conscience is the greatest gift parents can give a child.
Cam is rite. That’s the point of my post on FB & MeWe.
Banshee is great for this kind of stuff– you may like her translation work, too, it’s linked at her blog– and it just makes stuff so much richer.
Like finding out the word translated as “meek” isn’t milksop or dishrag, it’s the word you’d use to describe bridling a horse. So meek is controlled— which makes sense in the cultural environment Jesus was speaking in, here if you don’t respond, they assume you can’t.