Greek vs. Latin

                  Being interested in studying the Classics in college, I thought it only logical to get a head start on Greek before I go to school, so a month or two ago I bought myself a Greek textbook, thick with grammar and all that hard, gritty stuff. After getting past the excruciatingly painful sections that had to do with Greek spelling and accents and such (mega ouch), I now find myself already translating long and not so simple Greek sentences with some proficency--and enjoying it. While listening to recordings of ancient Greek and reading Greek text, I also find myself picking up one or two words and understanding their specific import. Greek really is a fascinating and strange language. Although it shares many things in common with Latin, it is also differs from Latin in many ways. Here are some of the ways that Greek is similar to and different from Latin:
                   (1) Both languages are inflected. This means that their nouns change form to show how they relate to other words in the sentence, and that their verbs change form to express different persons, numbers, moods, etc. The nouns in both Latin and Greek have several cases. The Greek noun has five cases: the nominative, genetive, dative, accusative, and vocative. Latin has all of these plus an extra two: the ablative and locative. Both languages use the cases that they share in common in many of the same ways. For instance, just as in Latin, the Greek nominative is used as the case of the subject, while the accusative is used as the case of the direct object. But the genetive and the dative in Greek have some additional functions that they do not have in Latin.
                   (2) Greek and Latin both share some of the same words, and some of the same noun and verb endings. For example, the Greek word for "I" is "ego," just as in Latin. The word for "assembly," which was eventually used by the Christians to refer to the Church, is "ekklesia" in Greek and "ecclesia" in Latin. All Greek verbs that I have learned so far have the endings "-o, -eis, -ei" in the singular of the Present Inicative Active. Compare that to the Latin "-o, -s, -t." But while Greek and Latin are very alike in some ways, they are very distinct from eachother as well. The endings of the present optative active, for example, are "-oimi, -ois, -oi," etc., a very weird bunch of endings for a student of Latin. The endings for the plural of one of the Greek declensions are "-ai, -on,-ais, -as, -ai" instead of the familiar "-ae, -arum,-is, -as, -is."
                   (3) Greek and latin share the same noun and verb numbers, and the same verb tenses, moods, and voices. But, oddly enough, Greek adds more to all of these things, sometimes to my bewilderment and wonder. Greek has the numbers "singular" and "plural," but it adds a third number, the dual which it uses to speak of things that come in twos. Greek has four moods, sharing three with Latin and including one of its own: the optative. Greek has seven tenses instead of Latin's six. The addition it makes is a tense called the "Aorist." Finally, Greek makes a mysterious and unheard-of addition to the voices of the verb. The voice of a verb tells us what part the subject takes in the action performed. There are only two voices in English and Latin: the active and the passive. The active voice tells us that the subject is performing the action, and the passive voice tells us that the action is being performed on the subject. In the sentence "He is smashing," the verb is active; in the sentence "He is being smashed," the verb is passive. I always thought, until I began studying Greek, that these were the only two voices that a verb could have, but I was totally wrong. Greek has three voices instead of two! The third voice is called the middle, and it tells us that the subject is performing the action, but it also shows that the action returns to the subject in some way. Since there is no middle voice in English, it will be a unique challenge to translate it.
                   Those are the points on which Latin and Greek agree and differ, although I'm sure there are many more. From my short time in studying this language, I gather that Greek grammar really is complex--more complex and subtle than Latin grammar. No wonder the Greeks were good philosophers! Their vehicle of communication was truly suitable for good thinking. I've heard, althugh I have only seen this in one or two instances, that Greek vocabulary is also very subtle, another feature of the language which makes it incredibly good for making tiny distinctions. I think that it is a very mysterious and awesome language, and I'm sure that I'll get a lot out of the experience of studying it.  

What is Logic Anyway?

              "Logic," says Sarek to his son Spock in J. J. Abrams' first Star Trek film, "offers a serenity Humans seldom experience: the control of feelings, so that they do not control you." This, and other similar quotations from Star Trek, have provoked me to speak up on this subject. Throughout Star Trek, the Vulcans always insist that one must be logical, and I agree. But what the heck is Logic? Since no Vulcan ever offered a definition, I will have to provide one myself, to the best of my ability. Therefore, I have four questions to ask: (1) What is Logic? (2) Of what is it composed? (3) Where do the laws of Logic come from? (4) What is Logic's purpose?
             
              (1) What is Logic? Logic is not an easy concept to define because it includes many things, but I will do my best. Logic is the tool that the mind uses to think, and often, to gain new knowledge. It is the science of coming to a proper knowledge of concepts, making correct judgments about them, and reasoning validly from two or more premises to a conclusion. We all do these things all the time, no matter where we are. After all, we human beings are always thinking.                

              (2) Of what is Logic composed? Logic is divided into two main parts: Formal Logic and Material Logic. The former is involved with the structure of argument apart from the content. The latter is primarily concerned with content, the statements of argument, and not with the structure. Formal Logic is divided into deduction, which begins with universal principles and reasons to particular conclusions; and induction, which reasons from particular things to universal conclusions. There are a couple more divisions under deduction, but suffice it to say that under deduction lies the classical syllogism in all its forms, both categorical and hypothetical, and it is with these forms of reasoning that a Traditional Logic course is particularly interested.
              As I said above, Logic is divided into two main parts, Formal Logic and Material Logic. The second division, Material Logic, is quite a bit different from the first. Material Logic includes the Ten Categories, the Five Predicables, Definition, and Division (by which the concept we are now exploring is divided). All the things listed above help immensely in understanding concepts.
             

              (3) Where do the laws of Logic come from? The laws of Logic are some of the most fundamental laws in the universe, part of the structure of reality that God has designed. In fact, some of them are so fundamental that we cannot disobey them even if we want to. The law of identity, for example, is that everything is what it is. If you try to disobey this law by saying that things aren't what they are, then you are still assuming that they really are what they are by the very act of saying that they aren't what they are. But there are also many other laws of Logic (many of them formulated by Aristotle). For example, there are certain laws that govern the categorical syllogism, the hypothetical syllogism (in all its forms), the definition of terms, and the division of concepts.
             

              Finally, (4) What is Logic's purpose? Logic's ultimate and highest purpose is the discovery of truth. This truth can be universal and eternal, or it can be particular and temporary. Temporary truths are sometimes very important in our daily lives and sometimes useful. Eternal truth, however, is far more important, and it is toward this truth that we should look more.
              I hope this article has been informative. Unfortunately, I don't have time to write more, so I'll just close here.