suzmccarth wrote:

>
> --- In qalam@yahoogroups.com, "Peter T. Daniels" <grammatim@...> >
>
> > Havelock was an ignorant antisemitic nincompoop.
>
> Here is the catch, Mr. Daniels. I agree with what you said about I.
> Taylor because I was able to read a review and you were right.
>
> I did not agree with the recommendation to read C. Seeley because I
> also read a review of his book.
>
> Now I suspect that you are right about Havelock. However, I have to
> remember your assessment of me, the 'rhetorical' and 'conditional'
> ignorant ***** and ***** and **** . How would you know?

I don't know what's in the asterisks, but I know about Havelock because
I've read (AFAIK) everything he published on ancient literacy.

He was ignorant because he knew no ancient languages other than Greek
and presumably Latin, yet presumed to pass judgment on Gilgamesh and
Atra-Hasis on the basis of Speiser's translations in ANET; he was
antisemitic because he denigrated both Akkadian literature and the
theology and mindset of the Hebrew Scriptures, and because the first
scene in his memoir *The Muse Learns to Write* is a paean to the
rhetorical genius of Adolf Hitler; he was a nincompoop because he
thought the former was a legitimate way to pass judgment on ancient
literacy (and poetry) and the latter was an appropriate anecdote for the
beginning of his memoir.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...