{"slug":"damdi","id":"georgian:titus:damdi","title":"John Damascene, Dialectica","author":"Joh.Damasc.","genre":"hagiography","date":"","tradition":"georgian","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T00:59:16Z","cost_usd":0.001756},"source":{"registry_id":"georgian:titus:damdi","work_id":"damdi","edition":"titus","language":"","license":"This text is part of the TITUS edition of Iohannes Damascenus, Dialectica (Eprem Mcire). Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 12.5.2015. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder.","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"},"stats":{"passages":3,"english_words":271,"coptic_letters":0,"commentary_units":14,"commentary_kinds":6,"derived_notes":1,"ambiguities":4,"work_notes":6,"external_links":3,"timeline":4},"summary":{"work":"damdi","abstract":"The Old Georgian version of John Damascene's Dialectica is a translation of the philosophical introduction to his 'Fount of Knowledge', adapting Greek logical terms into Georgian. The Georgian translation likely originated in the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos, a center for Graeco-Georgian translation activity from the 10th–11th centuries. The original Greek Dialectica dates to the early 8th century; the Georgian version is undated but palaeographic evidence suggests a 10th–11th century manuscript tradition. This Georgian Dialectica was used in monastic education to train Georgian monks in Aristotelian logic, serving as a bridge between Greek patristic philosophy and Georgian theological writing. The edition does not provide a critical apparatus for the Greek Vorlage; readers cannot reconstruct the original Greek from the Georgian alone. Georgian technical terms for logical concepts may not map one-to-one onto Damascene's Greek, requiring careful cross-referencing.","historical_context":"The Georgian translation of John Damascene's Dialectica was produced at the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos, a major center for Graeco-Georgian translation activity during the 10th–11th centuries. The original Greek Dialectica, composed in the early 8th century, served as the philosophical introduction to Damascene's 'Fount of Knowledge', a comprehensive synthesis of Christian doctrine and Aristotelian logic. The Georgian version adapted Greek logical terminology into Georgian, using terms like 'სუბსტანცია' for 'ousia'. The translation was used in monastic education to train Georgian monks in Aristotelian logic, bridging Greek patristic philosophy and Georgian theological writing. The manuscript tradition, undated but palaeographically assigned to the 10th–11th centuries, survives in multiple witnesses from Georgian manuscript collections, likely from the Institute of Manuscripts in Tbilisi. The text's structure mirrors the Greek original, with section markers using Georgian letters corresponding to Greek alphabetical numbering.","significance":"The Georgian Dialectica is a key witness to the transmission of Greek philosophical and theological thought into the Georgian Christian tradition. It demonstrates the role of Iviron monastery as a cultural bridge and provides insight into how Aristotelian logic was adapted for monastic education in the Caucasus. The translation's technical vocabulary offers a case study in cross-linguistic philosophical adaptation, though the lack of a critical apparatus for the Greek Vorlage limits its use for reconstructing Damascene's original text.","timeline":[{"date":"early 8th c.","event":"John Damascene composes the Greek Dialectica as part of the 'Fount of Knowledge'."},{"date":"10th–11th c.","event":"Georgian translation produced at Iviron monastery on Mount Athos."},{"date":"10th–11th c.","event":"Manuscript tradition of the Georgian Dialectica, based on palaeographic evidence."},{"date":"undated","event":"Edition of the Georgian Dialectica published without critical apparatus for the Greek Vorlage."}],"relations":[{"work":"Fount of Knowledge","relation":"The Dialectica is the philosophical introduction to this larger work by John Damascene.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"John Damascene's Greek Dialectica","relation":"The Georgian version is a translation of this original Greek text.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Georgian hagiographical tradition","relation":"The work is classified under hagiography in the TITUS tradition, though it is primarily philosophical.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"wikipedia:John of Damascus","label":"John of Damascus","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Damascus","reason":"Provides background on the author and his works."},{"key":"wikipedia:Iviron monastery","label":"Iviron monastery","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastery_of_Iviron","reason":"Key location for the Georgian translation activity."},{"key":"wikipedia:Georgian language","label":"Georgian language","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_language","reason":"Context for the linguistic adaptation."}],"cautions":["The date of the Georgian translation is uncertain; palaeographic evidence suggests 10th–11th centuries but no precise date is given.","The edition lacks a critical apparatus for the Greek Vorlage, so the original Greek cannot be reconstructed from the Georgian alone.","Georgian technical terms for logical concepts may not map one-to-one onto Damascene's Greek, requiring careful cross-referencing.","The classification as hagiography in the TITUS tradition may be a misnomer, as the work is primarily philosophical."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000464,"generated":"2026-11-15T00:18:07Z"},"checks":{"work":"damdi","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":3,"translated":3,"commentary_passages":3,"commentary_units":14,"english_words":259,"source_letters":1352,"commentary_kinds":6},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The Old Georgian version of John Damascene's Dialectica is a translation of the philosophical introduction to his 'Fount of Knowledge', adapting Greek logical terms into Georgian.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The Georgian translation likely originated in the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos, a center for Graeco-Georgian translation activity from the 10th–11th centuries.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The original Greek Dialectica dates to the early 8th century; the Georgian version is undated but palaeographic evidence suggests a 10th–11th century manuscript tradition.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This Georgian Dialectica was used in monastic education to train Georgian monks in Aristotelian logic, serving as a bridge between Greek patristic philosophy and Georgian theological writing.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The edition does not provide a critical apparatus for the Greek Vorlage; readers cannot reconstruct the original Greek from the Georgian alone.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"Georgian technical terms for logical concepts (e.g., 'ousia' as 'სუბსტანცია') may not map one-to-one onto Damascene's Greek, requiring careful cross-referencing.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: hagiography in Old Georgian; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 3 narrative."},{"kind":"caution","severity":"caution","text":"1 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: titus — This text is part of the TITUS edition of Iohannes Damascenus, Dialectica (Eprem Mcire). Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 12.5.2015. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder."}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":3},"term_index":[],"citations":{"ed:damdi":{"label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"Ms. A = A-24 Ms. B = S-1358 Ms. C = A-406","english":"Ms. A = A-24 Ms. B = S-1358 Ms. C = A-406","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ms. A = A-24 Ms. B = S-1358 Ms. C = A-406","severity":"info","text":"The passage lists three manuscript sigla (A, B, C) with their shelfmarks, indicating a textual apparatus typical of critical editions. This structural note signals that the following text may be collated from these witnesses.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"Ms. A = A-24 Ms. B = S-1358 Ms. C = A-406","severity":"info","text":"The three manuscripts (A-24, S-1358, A-406) are from the Georgian manuscript collections, likely from the Institute of Manuscripts in Tbilisi. Their inclusion shows the editor's reliance on multiple witnesses for the Dialectica.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ms. A = A-24 Ms. B = S-1358 Ms. C = A-406","severity":"caution","text":"The English draft merely repeats the Georgian sigla without translation or explanation. This may confuse readers unfamiliar with manuscript notation; a brief gloss (e.g., 'manuscript A = codex A-24') would improve clarity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The passage is purely a manuscript list; no Coptic text is present. The structural classification 'narrative' from the Coptic cues is not applicable here, as the content is paratextual."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"ზანდუკი და შესავალი წიგნისა ამის, რომელსა ეწოდების გარდამოცემაჲ, თქუმული წმიდისა მამისა ჩუენისა იოანე დამასკელისა ა ნამდჳლვე ჭეშმარიტისა არსებისათჳს და შემთხუევისათჳს ბ ნათესავისათჳს ნათესავოანისა და სახისა სახოვანისა გ განკუეთელთათჳს დ არსებათა განფენისათჳს ე თითო-სახისა განყოფილებისათჳს ვ შემთხუევითისათჳს ზ თჳსისათჳს ჱ შესმენითთა სიტყუათათჳს თ ერთ-სახელთა და თანა-მოსახელეთა შესმენათათჳს ი ნართაულთათჳს ია თუ რაჲსა შინა არს შესმენაჲ იბ გუამისათჳს და გუამოვნებისა და უგუამოჲსა იგ არსებისათჳს და ბუნებისა იდ განყოფათათჳს იე პირველობისათჳს ბუნებისა ივ განსაზღვრებისათჳს იზ თანა-მოსახელეთათჳს იჱ ერთ-სახელთათჳს ით მრავალ-სახელთათჳს კ სხუათა და სხუათა-სახელთათჳს კა სახელ-ნართაულთათჳს კბ ათთა მათთჳს ნათესავოანთა ნა/თესავთა კგ თანა-მონათესავეთა და თანა/მოსახეთათჳს კდ რასაშინაობისათჳს კე მერმეცა არსებისათჳსვე კვ ბუნებისათჳს კზ შესახედავისათჳს კჱ გუამისათჱს კთ პირისათჳს ლ ერთგუამოვნებისათჳს ლა უგუამო[ჲ]სათჳს ლბ არსებისა ნათესავოანად გან/ყოფისათჳს ლგ თითო-სახისა განყოფილებისა/თჳს ლდ თჳსებისათჳს არსებისა და მო/ძღურებისა ლე ერთ-ნათესავთა და ერთ-სახე/თათჳს ლვ რაოდენისათჳს და რაოდენო/ბისა ლზ ვისსამიმართთათჳს ლჱ რომელობისათჳს ლთ ქმნისათჳს და ვნებისა და მდე/ბარეობისა მ სადაობისათჳს მა ოდესობისათჳს მბ","english":"The chest and introduction of this book, which is called the Transmission, the utterance of our holy father John of Damascus. A. Concerning true and genuine being. B. Concerning substance and accident. C. Concerning genus and species. D. Concerning individuals. E. Concerning the extension of beings. F. Concerning specific difference. G. Concerning accident. H. Concerning property. I. Concerning the categories of words. K. Concerning homonyms and synonyms in the categories. L. Concerning paronyms. M. In what category does the category reside? N. Concerning body, corporeality, and incorporeality. O. Concerning being and nature. P. Concerning divisions. Q. Concerning priority of nature. R. Concerning definition. S. Concerning synonyms. T. Concerning homonyms. U. Concerning polyonyms. V. Concerning heteronyms and allonyms. W. Concerning paronyms. X. Concerning the ten genera of genera. Y. Concerning co-genera and co-species. Z. Concerning whatness. AA. Again concerning being. BB. Concerning nature. CC. Concerning the visible. DD. Concerning body. EE. Concerning person. FF. Concerning consubstantiality. GG. Concerning incorporeality. HH. Concerning the division of being into genera. II. Concerning specific difference. JJ. Concerning property of being and accident. KK. Concerning co-generic and co-specific things. LL. Concerning quantity and quantitation. MM. Concerning relatives. NN. Concerning quality. OO. Concerning action, passion, and state. PP. Concerning position. QQ. Concerning time.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ზანდუკი და შესავალი","severity":"info","text":"The opening phrase 'Chest and introduction' signals a table of contents or summary of topics, typical of Byzantine didactic works. The list of 42 topics (A–QQ) mirrors the structure of Damascene's Dialectica.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ნათესავი","severity":"info","text":"The Georgian term 'ნათესავი' (nat'esavi) corresponds to Greek γένος (genus). It is used consistently in the list (e.g., topics C, X, HH) to denote the logical category of genus.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"სახი","severity":"info","text":"The Georgian term 'სახი' (saxi) corresponds to Greek εἶδος (species). It appears in topics C, F, S, T, U, V, etc., reflecting the standard Aristotelian logical distinction.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"გარდამოცემაჲ","severity":"info","text":"The title 'გარდამოცემაჲ' (gardamotsemay) translates Greek Διαλεκτική (Dialectica) or perhaps Παράδοσις (Tradition). This work is John Damascene's introduction to logic, part of his 'Source of Knowledge'.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"ა–მბ","severity":"info","text":"The Georgian text uses Georgian letters (ა, ბ, etc.) as section markers, corresponding to the Greek alphabetical numbering. This suggests a direct translation from a Greek exemplar with similar structure.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ზანდუკი","severity":"caution","text":"The term 'ზანდუკი' (zanduki) is unusual; it may be a calque or loanword from Armenian or Syriac meaning 'chest' or 'repository'. Its precise origin in this context is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The term 'ზანდუკი' (zanduki) is ambiguous: it may mean 'chest' (as a container for scrolls) or 'summary' (as a repository of topics). The reading 'chest' is adopted here.","The list of topics is extensive but some correspondences to Greek originals are uncertain; e.g., 'რასაშინაობისათჳს' (topic Z) likely translates 'τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι' (whatness), but the exact Greek term is not given."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"ქონებისათჳს მგ წინააღმდგომთათჳს მდ წესისათჳს და მოკლებისა მე პირველისათჳს და უკუანაჲ/სკნელისა მვ მყისთანადისათჳს მზ მოძრაობისათჳს მჱ ქონებისათჳს მთ წართქუმისათჳს და უკუთქუ/მისა ნ საზღვრისათჳს და წინა-დაწესებისა და შემოკრებისა ხოლო ამათ შეუდგან ურიცხუნი თავნი: განსაზღვრებისათჳს ფილოსოფოსობისათა ერთი, გუამოვნებითისა შეერთებისათჳს ერთი, არსებისათჳს და შემთხუევისა ერთი.","english":"Concerning properties, concerning opposites, concerning order and diminution, concerning the prior and the posterior, concerning the simultaneous, concerning motion, concerning having, concerning position and rest, concerning boundary and predication and synthesis. And to these are joined countless chapters. Concerning the definition of philosophy, one; concerning natural union, one; concerning substance and accident, one.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage lists topics (properties, opposites, order, etc.) and concludes with three single-chapter headings, forming a table of contents for the Dialectica.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ქონება","severity":"info","text":"Georgian 'ქონება' (literally 'having') translates Greek 'ἕξις' (hexis), a key Aristotelian category meaning a state or disposition, distinct from 'possession'.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"წინააღმდგომთათჳს","severity":"info","text":"Georgian 'წინააღმდგომთათჳს' (concerning opposites) corresponds to Greek 'περὶ ἀντικειμένων', a standard topic in Aristotelian logic.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The list of topics (order, diminution, prior/posterior, simultaneous, motion, having, position/rest, boundary/predication/synthesis) reflects the structure of Aristotle's Categories and Porphyry's Isagoge, foundational for Byzantine logic.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'countless chapters' suggests the Georgian translator or redactor acknowledges the extensive scope of Damascene's work, possibly adapting it for a Georgian monastic audience.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/hagiorit/damdia_e/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Georgian text lists topics without clear demarcation; the English draft interprets 'ქონებისათჳს' as 'concerning properties' but it may also mean 'concerning having' (a distinct category). The reading follows the draft's sense."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}