medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Saturday, May 8, 2010, at 2:43 pm, Judith Rosenberg wrote:
> Yes, I'm being boring and probably thick-headed, but that wasn't what
> puzzled me. What do the words Thus far this Vita. mean? This is the
> partial sentence...
'Thus far X.' is a formula used to indicate that at this point the reading, quoting, or summarizing of X is at an end. A traditional grammarian would probably describe it as a sentence showing ellipsis (with the verb 'to be' -- or some other verb supplied from context and experience -- understood) rather than as an incomplete sentence.
The usage is as old as the Bible. Cf. Vulgate Dan 7:28, _Hucusque finis verbi._; Vulgate Jer 51:64, _Hucusque verba Ieremiae._
To keep this somewhat list-pertinent, herewith two examples in medieval Latin (use the Find function of your browser to locate <Hucusque>):
http://tinyurl.com/2algcpq
http://tinyurl.com/2b5644g
Some examples in English (use the Find function of your browser to locate <Thus far>):
http://tinyurl.com/2cnjmao
http://tinyurl.com/299brxm
also here (use the analogous function of your reader to locate <Thus far the gospel of the Lord.>):
http://tinyurl.com/22ld3ta
Some examples in German (use the Find function of your browser to locate <So weit>):
http://tinyurl.com/2ak9k3g
http://tinyurl.com/2ak9k3g
Best again,
John Dillon
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