Irma Makaridze

The Logical Terminology of the Georgian Translations

of The Ladder of Divine Ascend by John Climacus

The Ladder of Divine Ascend by John Climacus is an interesting work in many ways. The Translation of the text into various languages as well as its equalization with The Ten Commandments by Moses highlights the great importance of the text for medieval culture. He was likened to Moses because, like the great prophet of old who brought down the tablets of the Law, he too brought down a gift to share with the people [Sineli, 1965: 13] - wrote Daniel of Raithu, the biographer of John Climacus. Two prosaic translations of the Ladder of Divine Ascend exist (done by Euthimius the Athonite and Petre Gelateli);  moreover based on the prosaic versions, poetical redactions were done by Ioane Petritsi and Anton I[1]; it should also be highlighted that the fragments of the different redaction of The Ladder  were found by Ketevan Bezarashvili in the works by Grigol Nazianeli. Thus, the present article explores several logical terms, which is inherent for the texts, translated (or created) in different periods and cultural environments, considering history and semantic of  each term.

One of the key things to bear in mind is that there existed a translation of The Ladder of Divine Ascend before Euthimius the Athonite; yet the translator outlines the necessity for a new translation in the will: “The first translation was incorrect, and that is why I poor Euthimius decided to translate..” [Sineli 1965:1]. After Euthimius the Ladder of Divine Ascend was translated by Petre Gelateli according to the new demands of the epoch, thus most accurate translation from the Greek original. Clarifying the meaning of terms was rather a crucial subject, because as D. Melikishvili notes the concepts were differently perceived in the Byzantine Christian World (and therefore in Georgia) and it sometimes caused not only severe discussions but also declaring someone as a heretic and banishing him from the church [Melikishvili 2011: 23]. Thus, an interesting picture will be created through observing the philosophical-theological terms of different translations done by various translators. The article also takes into account the original commentaries by Anton Catholicos, because the main part of the text is the reproduction of the translation done by Petre Gelateli and in most cases even borrows the terms from him. The same can be said about the poetical version done by Ioane Petritsi, which follows the translation of Euthimius the Athonite; however as the original supplements and the terminology used in Ioane Petritsi’s version was specially researched by Iv. Lolashvili [Lolashvili 1968: 139-165] the article therefore will avoid addressing this issue.  

Due to the fact, that the text is rich with logical terminology, several terms will be highlighted. The main terms of Logic are “dasabuteba”(to Justify) and “Syllogism”. Ephrem Mtsire and Arsen Iqaltoeli use the word  “gamochineba”  instead of the above mentioned terms, which had a dual meaning: common – to show, and special, terminological – to justify. The Greek word “apodeixis” was used as a synonym as well [Melikishvili 2011: 96].

The terms “syllogism”, “gamochineba”, “apodeixis” can be found in the Anton’s redaction of The Ladder of Divine Ascend with its traditional meaning discussion, justification:

„ვინათგან სიტყèა პსიხისა გონიერის

გამოხატèა არს განჰსჯა გამოჩინება,

რამეთუ  ამას საქმობს გულის-ჴმის-ყოფა

პირველით ნივთთა სრულად სავსედ განმყოფი,

მეორით მსაზღèრი და სხჳთ მესილოგიზმე“ [A-711,  11:8].

The term “gamochineba” (to justify) is in syntactic couple with “discussion”, in the connection with above mentioned terms is used also the word “gulis-khmis-kofa” (cognition). Niko Chubinashvili in his dictionary explained the philosophical concept of this term as following the power of understanding things [Chubinashvili: 1961] – Cognition, whose one of the main components is analyzing. As it is known, it allows one to separate different parts from the whole event and discuss them. That’s the main function of the term “gulis-khma-kofa” (cognition). “gulis-khma-kofa” in the special philosophical dictionary is defined as understanding, cognition as well [Ancient Georgian. 2010:105-107]. As the outlined stanza is original that is why we are going to use the non-original part from Anton's redaction where this term is used:

უცხოება არს ჩèჱულება უკადრი,

გულის-ჴმის-ყოფა არა განცხადებული [A-711,  3:2] - Anton Catholicos

უცხოებაჲ არს უკადნიეროჲ ჩუეულებაჲ, უცნაური სიბრძნე, განუცხადებელი გულისჴმისყოფაჲ[2] [A-39, 19r] - Petre Gelateli

უცხოებაჲ ესე არს განშორებაჲ კადნიერებისაგან, სიბრძნე უცნაური [Sineli 1965: 43] - Euthimius the Athonite

Finally, the relevant place from the English translation of the text – “prudence not recognized” [Climacus, 1959: 3,1]. The cited contexts show that Anton Catholicos uses the translation  of Petre Gelateli, who according to Medieval philosophical traditions translates the Greek σύνεσις  (understanding) as “guliskhmakofa”. The same occurs in the other parts of the translation done by Petre Gelateli:  τοῦ ἀσυνέτου θυμοῦ [P.G. 841A] - უგულისჴმოჲსა გულისწყრომისაგან [A-39: 80v]. In Euthimius the Athonite’s version, several Greek lexical terms are translated likewise, For example: „Ἐπιτήρει“-ს [P.G. 949B] “gulisxmahyofd” (understand)[Climacus 1965:303], but Petre Gelateli translates it as “zeddaschuretd” (Observe) [116v], which is more accurate translation. Another example is διακρίσεως ὑπόθεσις [P.G. 980D]. In Euthimius the Athonite version - ძალი არს გულისჴმის–ყოფისაჲ (the power of understanding)[Climacus1965:335] Petre Gelateli - განმსჯელობითისა მიზეზი [A-39:128r] (The foundation of discernment). Therefore, the redaction of Euthimius the Athonite the term “gulisxmayofa” (understanding, cognition) is adjusted to many Greek lexical units, whereas Petre Gelateli uses it to translate only the Greek σύνεσις. Thus, we can explain the above cited original stanza from Anton’s redaction as following: the word is the expression (In this context – shape-giving - I.M.) of thinking, reasoning of the intelligent soul, which is remarkable for the cognitive process, which divides events, then defines and justifies at the end. Anton I continues the stanza:

ამათი ჴმევა წესიერ დროებითად

არს არა ცოდèა ...[A-711, 11:9].

The underlined part is original as well. Thus, the original supplement by Anton I comes to the conclusion that this kind of thoughtful speech is not a sin.

As mentioned above, in the medieval philosophical texts the word “gamoxatva” (expression) refers to shape-giving. The meaning of this term has been translated into a number of Greek words: διασχηματίζω - ვითარცა გამოიხატე, ეგრეთ განაგე ცხორებაჲ შენი (ბას., ექუს., გ. ათ., 105, 30-31); μορφόω - ვითარ-იგი გამოიხატოს რაÁ და შეისახოს არსებაÁ (დამასკ., დიალ., 27,1, ეფრ.); χαρακτηρίζω - არამცა კუალად შეიცვალებოდეს განწესებანი ესე და დაწესებანი სახელთანი, არამედ გამოხატვიდესმცა ერთისა და შეურევნელისა ბუნებისა თÂთებათა (დამასკ., გარდ., 171, არს) [Ancient Greek.. 2010:55].

The quoted contexts, as well above discussed stanza from Anton’s redaction support this particular meaning of the term “gamoxatva” (shape-giving).

However, the other context of the Anton’s redaction gives different meaning to this term - the hidden thought, mind, thinking:

“Every word is preceded by thought” [Climacus, 1959: 6,1]. ἔννοια is derived from the word νοῦς (mind) and means understanding, discussion, thought. Euthimius the Athonite (and Ioane Petritsi following his footpaths) translates with the term “mogonebai” (thought) but Petre Gelateli in this and other context translates the Greek ἔννοια as “gagonebai”, which means thought as well. “gagonebai”, in ancient Georgian philosophical texts meant process of thinking, discussion, discourse thought, process of cognition. Such is in Ioane Petritsi’s translations: სული თჳით თჳს-შორის მაშინ არს, ოდეს გულის-ისიტყუვიდეს, ხოლო ოდესმე გონებასა შორის, რაჟამს გაიგონებდეს ვითარ შორის საგრძნობელთა იქმნების ვნებაჲ, რაჟამს იგრძნობდენ, ეგრეთვე და სულსა შორის რაჟამს გაიგონოს (ნემესიოს, პეტრ. 73.2.) [AncientGeorgian.. 2010:48]. The same is “mogonebai” in Euthimius the Athonite’s translation, which means thought. Often the Greek ἔννοια in medieval Georgian philosophical texts was translated as “mogonebai”:

Benumbed thought [Climacus, 1959: 18,2]. As the confirmed material from the parallel texts showed us the Georgian equivalent of the Greek ἔννοια in Euthimius the Athonite’s translation is “mogonebai”  (thought, mind), in Petre Gelateli’s text gagonebai (thought)( which is also highlighted by Edisher Chelidze) [Chelidze 1996:419]),  and Anton Catholicos uses the term “gamoxatua” (in the context it means thought as well). The term ἔννοια in the pre-Gelatian period was translated as “gonebai”, “dzali”, “gulis-sitkuai”, “guliskhmiskofai”. [Chelidze 1996: 418]. Such terminological variety occurs  in the translation of Euthimius the Athonite: ბილწებაჲ ესე არს რაჟამს დგეს კაცი წინაშე ღმრთისა და ბოროტთა გულის–სიტყათა (ἐννοίας [P.G. 1133B]) იწურთიდეს. . .  და წარპარვაჲ ესე არს, რაჟამს უცნაურად გონებაჲ მიმოვიდოდის და ბიწი არს გულის–სიტყუაჲ ცუდი (τὴν ἔννοιαν [P.G. 1133B]) ყოველივე მას ჟამსა ჩუენდა მოსრული [სინელი 1965: 489–490]. So, as mentioned above Petre Gelateli uses term “gagoneba” (thought, mind) as the main equivalent of the word ἔννοια”: სხუა მწიკული ლოცვისაჲ და სხუა უჩინოყოფაჲ და სხუა პარვაჲ და სხუა ბიწი. მწიკული არს ღმთისამი წარდგომაჲ და უადგილოთა გაგონებათა (ἐννοίας [P.G. 1133B])  ოცნებულობაჲ, უჩინოყოფაჲ არს ზრუნვათამი  უსარგებლოთა წარტყუებულობაჲ, პარვაჲ არს უგრძნობელად გაგონებისა (τὴν ἔννοιαν [P.G. 1133B])  დაბნევაჲ, ბიწი არს წინადარწყუმაჲ, ვითარცა რაჲმე მაშინ ჩუენდა მოახლებული [A-39, 184v]. In the relevant places from Anton’s redaction are used terms from both translations., although as in the example mentioned above, he changes the “mogonebai” (thought) used by Petre Gelateli with the term “midmogoneba” (which is created by Ioane Petritsi and also means process of thinking):

მწიკèლი ლოცჳსა სხვა არს, სხვა უჩინო-ქმნა,

სხვა არის პარვა, სხვაი ბიწი რაჲვე.

მწიკèლი უწესო მიდმოგონება შეძრვა,

უჩინო-ყოფა ამაოთგან წარტყვენვა,

პარვა განბნევა, ბიწი, ცუდ-გულის-სიტყვა  [A-711, 28:9].

Anton I summarizes the process of translation and reproduction of the text of The Ladder in Medieval Georgian thought and, of course, takes into account the previous tradition. The main source for Anton’s redaction of The Ladder is Petre Gelateli’s work, but he also uses Euthimius the Athonite’s and Ioane Petritsi’s redactions. Such relation towards the text is present in the other context of The Ladder of Divine Ascend:  

Petre Gelateli: მრავალმეტყუელებაჲ არს უმეცრებისა სახე, ძჳრისჴსენებისა კარ, კადნიერებისა ჴელისამპყრობელ, ტყუილისა მსახურ, ლმობიერებისა დაჴსნა, მოწყინებისა მხდელ, ძილისა წინამორბედ, თანგონებობისა  დაბნევა... [A-39, 84v]. The postscript on the edging of the manuscript is as following: გონებისშინაობასა იტყჳს თანგონებობად. Euthimius the Athonite: განმაბნეველი კეთილთა გულის–სიტყუათაჲ, უჩინო–მყოფელი გლოისაჲ.[Climacus 1965: 213].

Anton I:

კუალად ესევე ვნება ესთა ცნობილ-არს

ვითარმედ ესე გონებ-შინაობისა

ესე იგი არს მიმოგონების ანუ

გულის-სიტყèათა კეთილთა განმაბნეველ,

ხოლო გლოვისა ყოვლად უჩინო-მყოფელ  [A-711, 11:3].

“The dissipation of recollection” [Climacus, 1959: 11,2] “tangoneboba”, “gonebisshinaoba”,  “gulis-sitkua” and “mimogoneba” (in Anton’s redaction)  mean “thought”  and  are the equivalent of the Greek word συννοίας [P.G. 852B]. Thus, analyzing the terminology once more outlines the influence of the previous redactions on Anton’s text.

The Georgian translators translate the Greek λογισμὸς as “gulis-sitkua” (direct translation of this word would be “The word of the heart”, which means thought, desire hidden in the heart) [P.G. 664 B]: უჩინოჲ გულისსიტყუაჲ [A-39, 19r]; გულის-სიტყუაჲ უჩინოჲ [სინელი 1965: 43]. λογισμῶν [P.G. 828C]: საშუალი არს დადუმებაჲ გულის–სიტყუათაჲ წულილადითა აღძრვითა სულისაჲთა [სინელი 1965: 188]; საშუალი დუმილი გულისსიტყუათაჲ – წყლულსა შინა შფოთებასა სულისასა [A-39,75v]; λογισμῶν ἐπίσκοπος  [852B]: გულისსიტყუათა ზედგანმხილველ [A-39, 85r]; ზედამდგომელი გულის–სიტყუათაჲ  [სინელი 1965: 213]; გულის სიტყèათა ზედ განმხილველ განმკითხველ [A 711, 11:4]. The title of the XXIII step is: Περί τῶν ἀνεκφράστων λογισμῶν τῆς βλασφημίας [P.G. 976B]: თქმული მისივე გამოუთქუმელთა გულის-სიტყუათათÂს გმობისათა – Euthimius the Athonite; მისივე გამოუთქუმელთათჳს გულისსიტყუათა გმობისათა - Petre Gelateli. In some cases Euthimius the Athonite translates the Greek σκοπὸς (goal) as “gulis-sitkua” (that in most contexts means intention) while Petre Gelateli translates the same word as “ganzraxva” (which direct meaning is intention as well): Σκοπὸς δὲ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἡμῶν . . .[P.G. 656Α] ხოლო განზრახვაჲ არს მტერთა ჩუენთაჲ.. [A-39, 16v]; ხოლო ესე არს გულის-სიტყუაჲ მტერთა ჩუენთაჲ.. [სინელი 1965: 37]. (πρὸς τὸν ... σκοπὸν – P.G. 664B) წინააღმდგომ  და დამაბრკოლებელ კეთილისა მის გულის-სიტყჳსა  ჩუენისა  [სინელი 1965: 42]; კეთილმოსავობისა განზრახვასა ჩუენსა წინააღმდგომ მოქმედთაჲ [A-39,19r]. In Anton I’s redaction “gamoxatva” (in the previous example’s this word meant shape-giving, expression) is used as a synonym for the “gulis-sitkva” (thought, goal, intention): გულის-სიტყèათა, ანუ გამოხატèათა [A-711,3:1]. Thus, giving another meaning to the above-mentioned word: goal, intention.

“Midmogoneba” (Intellect, mind, discussion, discourse thinking) should be included to the group of the logical terms:

“A phantasy is an illusion of the eyes, when the intellect is asleep” [Climacus, 1959: 3,26]. In the medieval philosophical texts the Greek word διανόησις was translated as “midmogoneba” for describing discussion, discourse thinking. Petre Gelateli translated διανοία as “midmogoneba”, while Anton I translates it as “mimogoneba” (both have the same meaning). Before Ephrem Mtsire in the translations of  Athonian or pre-Athonian periods the word διανοία is mostly translated as “ mind” [Chelidze 1996: 403], Euthimius the Athonite translates likewise in this and many other passages: მრავალგზის წრფელთა და უმანკოთა გონებათა (ἐν τῇ ... διανοίᾳ P.G. 977C) მოვიდის ესე ეშმაკი.. [სინელი 1965: 331]. მორჩილებაჲ არს მოკუდინებაჲ  ასოთა გონებითა (ἐν ... διανοίᾳ [P.G. 680A]) ცხოელითა... [Climacus1965: 57].

We should also outline the lexical units belonging to this group of terms which are not translated and are used in its original form in some Georgian philosophical texts of the middle ages. The same trend takes place in Anton I’s redaction:

შიში განაკრთობს სულსა ქèჱ-მდებარესა,

გამოხატèათა სავსეთა შერეულ-ჰყოფს,

განჰსჯათ აყენებს, უცხო-ჰყოფს აპოდიქსის.

ამად ელიჶას იტყჳს გამოცდილებით:

გამიკრთეს თმითურთ Ãორცნიო (შიშისაგან) [A-711, 20:4].

The term “apodeixis” as mentioned above, is the Greek word (ἀπόδειξις) and in Georgian is translated as to prove, to justify, and in some cases stays without any translation [Melikishvili 2011: 99], as it is in the cited stanzas of Anton I. In Saba's Dictionary “apodeixis” is defined as “agmochena”. The term “agmochena”, as Damana Melikishvili notes was created by Ioane Petritsi in order to distinguish the common meaning of the verb “gamochineba” (manifestation) to give terminological importance to it. In the context of Dialectic by John of Damascus Ephrem Mtsire and Arsen Iqaltoeli translate the term ἀπόδειξις as "gamochineba" and "gamomachinebloba". Along with the form of “gamochineba” the same terms are used in some cases by the translator of Armonios Erminas, who sometimes uses Greek term without translation and gives Georgian form to it: “apodeixis” is something like syllogism [Melikishvili 2011: 96-101]. The Georgian translators of The Ladder of Divine Ascend translated it in a different way: ἐλπίδος ἀπόδειξις  [P.G 1129B]; Euthimius the Athonite – mizezi (reason), მიზეზი სასოებისაჲ [სინელი 1965:483]; სასოებისა აღმოსაჩენი [A-39: 184r].თანკუეთითცა თქუმულისა ამის აღმოსაჩენისა (δι’ ἀποδείξεως [P.G. 992A]) მიერ განმტკიცებად ვმეცადინობდეთ  [A-39: 132v]. Petre Gelateli uses the term “agmosacheni” as a Georgian version of “apodeixis”. "agmosacheni” in this context means argument; The latter form  as Damana Melikishvili observes also was created by Ioane Petritsi as Georgian version of ἀπόδειξις [Melikishvili 2011: 97]. 

Thus, The Ladder of Divine Ascend is quite diverse with logical terminology. Parallel texts show evolution of translation practice on the example of philosophical terminology. In particular, the early stage of the philosophical and theological terminology is less systemic and does not seem to have a strictly organized terminological apparatus (The same Greek terms are translated with different Georgian equivalents and vise versa). Later, Petre Gelateli’s translation, as was expected, shows a well-defined conceptual language. As for Anton I’s redaction, in some cases, the source is the earlier prosaic translations, sometimes - the philosophical and theological terminology developed in medieval Georgian philosophical texsts, and its deep and thorough knowledge appears repeatedly in the text. In some cases, Anton I uses the existing term not with the traditional meaning, but he changes its meaning. The referenced contexts from Ioane Petritsi’s redaction follow the main source, the translation of Euthimius the Athonite. 

 [1] Anton I Catholicos–Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

[2] The text we use is the one which is being prepared by Professor Meri Tsintsadze