Language Studies

Language Studies

A Review of ac (M2 II)

Author
Mohsen Mirzaie
Department of Culture Ancien Iranian Languages, Faculty of Persian and Foreign Language, University of Tabriz, Iran
Abstract
In M2 II, a fragment of Manichaean Turfan texts, equivalent to the text “ac” according to the subject-matter partition created by Boyce, there are two powers named by Mani as “the Power of Light”, and “the Power of Darkness”. By giving some notes, Andreas and Henning interpreted the Power of Light as an active Power who will gain the eternal salvation, and a passive one that have to stay bogged down in Darkness forever. Though the scholar translations of the text are based on Andreas and Henning’s, they are either quiet about the Powers or some indefinite allusions are just mentioned by them. With making unnecessary changes to the scribe’s paragraphs on the one hand, and paying not much attention to the Parthian syntax rules on the other, the scholars who translated this text did suggest different translations which seem in some cases to be obscure. In this essay these items will be discussed: The idea of the active and passive Powers of Light is in the air; the scholars did not pay attention to the distinct topical divisions appeared in the scribe’s writing system; the scholar’s negative attitude to some syntactical structures is rather responsible for those obscurity.
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Language Studies
Volume 9, Issue 18
January 2019
Pages 49-73

  • Receive Date 29 August 2018
  • Revise Date 14 November 2019
  • Accept Date 26 November 2018