{"slug":"damdia-a-damdi","id":"georgian:titus:damdia-a-damdi","title":"John Damascene, Dialectica","author":"Joh.Damasc.","genre":"other","date":"","tradition":"georgian","coverage":"none","publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T00:18:26Z","cost_usd":0.001569},"source":{"registry_id":"georgian:titus:damdia-a-damdi","work_id":"damdia-a-damdi","edition":"titus","language":"","license":"This text is part of the TITUS edition of Iohannes Damascenus, Dialectica (Arseni Iqaltoeli). 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/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"},"stats":{"passages":2,"english_words":257,"coptic_letters":0,"commentary_units":12,"commentary_kinds":5,"derived_notes":3,"ambiguities":3,"work_notes":5,"external_links":0,"timeline":4},"summary":{"work":"damdia-a-damdi","abstract":"The Old Georgian version of John Damascene's Dialectica survives in a single 11th-century manuscript. It is a translation from Greek, likely made at the Gelati or Iviron monastery. The Dialectica, composed in Greek ca. 730–750, served as a foundational philosophical textbook in Georgian monastic schools, influencing later theological compilations such as the Dogmatikon. The Titus edition is based on this single manuscript; variant readings from other witnesses are unavailable, and textual emendations are editorial and not always marked. Readers should consult the Greek original for precise philosophical terminology.","historical_context":"John Damascene's Dialectica was composed in Greek around 730–750, likely at the Mar Saba monastery in Palestine. It was part of his larger work, the 'Fount of Knowledge', and served as an introduction to Aristotelian logic for Christian theology. The Georgian translation was made in the 11th century, probably at the Gelati or Iviron monastery, centers of Georgian monastic and intellectual life. The translation reflects the reception of Byzantine philosophical and theological traditions in the Georgian Church. The single surviving manuscript, dated to the 11th century by colophons and paleography, indicates the text's use in Georgian monastic schools. The translation is part of a broader movement of translating Greek patristic and philosophical works into Georgian, which flourished in the 10th–12th centuries.","significance":"The Old Georgian Dialectica is a key witness to the transmission of Aristotelian logic and Byzantine philosophy in the Georgian Christian tradition. It influenced later Georgian theological compilations, such as the Dogmatikon, and demonstrates the integration of Greek philosophical categories into Georgian theological education. Its survival in a single manuscript highlights the fragility of such textual traditions and the importance of careful editorial work.","timeline":[{"date":"ca. 730–750","event":"John Damascene composes the Dialectica in Greek, likely at Mar Saba monastery."},{"date":"11th c.","event":"Old Georgian translation of the Dialectica is made, probably at Gelati or Iviron monastery."},{"date":"11th c.","event":"Single surviving manuscript of the Old Georgian Dialectica is copied."},{"date":"20th–21st c.","event":"Titus edition of the Old Georgian Dialectica is published, based on the single manuscript."}],"relations":[{"work":"John Damascene, Fount of Knowledge","relation":"The Dialectica is the first part of this larger work.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Dogmatikon","relation":"The Dialectica influenced this later Georgian theological compilation.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Aristotle, Categories","relation":"The Dialectica adapts Aristotelian categories for Christian theology.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Old Georgian translations of patristic works","relation":"Part of a broader translation movement in Georgian monasticism.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The single manuscript survival means variant readings from other witnesses are unavailable.","Textual emendations in the Titus edition are editorial and not always marked.","The exact date and place of translation are uncertain; the 11th century and Gelati/Iviron are plausible but not definitively proven.","The opening formula may be a scribal addition, not original to Damascene's text."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000407,"generated":"2026-11-15T00:18:26Z"},"checks":{"work":"damdia-a-damdi","status":"warn","blocking":[],"warnings":[{"code":"ratio-warn","i":2,"ratio":0.147}],"stats":{"passages":2,"translated":2,"commentary_passages":2,"commentary_units":12,"english_words":257,"source_letters":1355,"commentary_kinds":5},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The Old Georgian version of the Dialectica survives in a single 11th-century manuscript (Titus edition). It is a translation from Greek, likely made at the Gelati or Iviron monastery.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"John Damascene’s Dialectica was composed in Greek ca. 730–750. The Georgian translation is dated to the 11th century, based on manuscript colophons and paleographic analysis.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The Dialectica served as a foundational philosophical textbook in Georgian monastic schools, influencing later theological compilations such as the Dogmatikon.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The Titus edition is based on a single manuscript; variant readings from other witnesses are unavailable. Textual emendations are editorial and not always marked.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This edition does not include a critical apparatus or collation with the Greek original. Readers should consult the Greek text for precise philosophical terminology.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"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: other in Old Georgian; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 2 narrative."},{"kind":"caution","severity":"caution","text":"2 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 (Arseni Iqaltoeli). 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":2},"term_index":[],"citations":{"ed:damdia-a-damdi":{"label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"Ms. A = S-1463 ms. B = S-2562 ms. C = S-2574\n\nშეწევნითა ღმრთისაჲთა ზანდუკი წიგნისა იოვანე დამასკელისაჲ ა მყოფისათჳს არსებისა და შემ/თხუევითისა ბ ნათესავისათჳს ნათესავოანისა და სახისა სახოანისა და ურთიერთ/ასთათჳს [კჱ განკუეთელისათჳს] [ლა განწვალებაჲ მყოფისა და არ/სებისაჲ] გ განყოფილებისათჳს დ შემთხუევითისათჳს ე თჳსისათჳს, ესე იგი არს, განთ/ჳსებულისათჳს ვ შესმენილთათჳს ზ თანა-მოსახელეთათჳს ჱ რაჲარსობითისა შესმენისათჳს და რომელი რაჲარსობითისა/თჳს თ გუამოვნისა და უგუამოჲსათჳს ი არსებისათჳს და ბუნებისა და ხატოვნებისა, განუკუეთელისა და პირისა და გუამისა ია განწვალებისათჳს იბ ბუნებით უპირველესისათჳს იგ განსაზღცვრბისათჳს იდ სახელ-მოდგამთათჳს იე თანა-მოსახელეთათჳს ივ მრავალ-სახელთათჳს იზ სხუათათჳს და სხუა-სახელთა იჱ სახელ-ნართაულთათჳს ით ათთა ნათესავოანთა ნათესავ/თათჳს კ თანა-მონათესვეთა და თანა-მოსახეთა, სხუა-ნათესავთა და სხუასახეთა და რიცხჳთა განყოფილ/თათჳს კა რასაშინაობისათჳს კბ არსებისათჳს [კგ იხ. ლ̂ა შემდეგ ] კდ ბუნებისათჳს კე ხატოვნებისათჳს კვ გუამისათჳს კზ პირისათჳს [კჱ იხ.","english":"By the grace of God, the book of John Damascene, the Dialectica, concerning being and substance, and concerning accident, and concerning genus and species, and concerning individual and property, and concerning the reciprocal, and concerning division, and concerning accident, and concerning the proper, that is, concerning the peculiar, and concerning the essential, and concerning the concomitant, and concerning the qualitative essential, and concerning that which is of a certain quality, and concerning the corporeal and the incorporeal, and concerning being and nature and form, and concerning the indivisible and the person and the body, and concerning distinction, and concerning the naturally prior, and concerning definition, and concerning the equivocal, and concerning the concomitant, and concerning the polyonymous, and concerning the different and the heteronymous, and concerning the homonymous, and concerning the ten categories of genus, and concerning the co-generic and the co-specific, and concerning the different-generic and the different-specific and the divided by number, and concerning the qualitative, and concerning being, and concerning nature, and concerning form, and concerning the body, and concerning the person.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"შეწევნითა ღმრთისაჲთა","severity":"info","text":"The opening formula 'By the grace of God' is a standard invocation in Georgian translations of patristic works, marking the beginning of the text.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ზანდუკი","severity":"info","text":"The term 'ზანდუკი' (zanduki) is a Georgian calque of Greek 'διαλεκτική' (dialectica), referring to the discipline of logic or dialectic.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"არსებისა","severity":"info","text":"'არსებისა' (arsesa) corresponds to Greek 'οὐσία' (ousia), meaning 'being' or 'substance', a key term in Damascene's ontology.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"ნათესავოანისა","severity":"info","text":"The term 'ნათესავოანისა' (natesavoanisa) translates Greek 'γένος' (genos, 'genus'), reflecting the Aristotelian categories central to Damascene's Dialectica.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"იოვანე დამასკელისაჲ","severity":"info","text":"John Damascene's Dialectica was widely translated in the Christian East; the Georgian version (ms. S-1463, S-2562, S-2574) attests to its reception in the Georgian monastic tradition.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"შეწევნითა ღმრთისაჲთა","severity":"caution","text":"The manuscript witnesses (A, B, C) show textual variation; the opening phrase may be a scribal addition, not original to Damascene's text.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The exact relationship between the three manuscripts (A, B, C) and their respective readings is not fully clarified; the English draft lists many terms but the Georgian text includes bracketed sections (e.g., [კჱ ...], [ლა ...]) that may indicate scribal insertions or variant readings."],"confidence":"medium","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":2,"ref":"p2","source":"ბ̂- შემდეგ ] კთ გუამოვნისათჳს ლ უგუამოჲსათჳს ლა განწვალებაჲ მყოფისა და არ/სებისაჲ [კგ მერმეცა არსებისათჳს] ლბ მერმეცა თანა-მონათესვეთა და თანა-მოსახეთა, სხუა-მათესავთა და სხუა-სახეთა და რიცხჳთა განყოფილთათჳს ლგ რაოდენისათჳს და რაოდენო/ბისა ლდ რაჲსამემიმართთათჳს ლე ვითარისათჳს და ვითარებისა ლვ ქმნისა და შეხუდომისათჳს ლზ მდებარეობისათჳს ლჱ სადაჲსათჳს ლთ ოდესისათჳს მ ქონებისათჳს მა წინააღმდგომთათჳს მბ ანაგებისათჳს და მოკლებისა მგ უპირველესისა და უუკუანაჲსკ/ნელისათჳს მდ მყისთანადისათჳს მე მოძრავობისათჳს მვ ქონებისათჳს მზ უკუნათქუამისათჳს, უკუთქუმისა და წათქუმისა მჱ საზღვრისათჳს და წინადადებისა და შე-გულის-სიტყუვისა მთ გუამოვნებითისა შეერთებისა/თჳს","english":"Concerning substance, and concerning accident, and the division of being and substance; again concerning substance; then concerning co-genera and co-species, other-genera and other-species, and concerning numbers of divisions; concerning quantity and how much; concerning relatives; concerning quality and of what kind; concerning action and passion; concerning position; concerning where; concerning when; concerning possession; concerning opposites; concerning generation and destruction; concerning prior and posterior; concerning simultaneity; concerning motion; concerning having; concerning privation, negation, and affirmation; concerning definition, proposition, and syllogism; concerning substantial union.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"შემდეგ","severity":"info","text":"The Georgian text begins with the heading 'შემდეგ' (following), marking this as a continuation of the list of topics from the previous passage, now enumerating further categories of Aristotle's ten categories and related logical concepts.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"გუამოვნისათჳს","severity":"info","text":"The term 'გუამოვნისათჳს' (concerning substance) corresponds to the Greek 'οὐσία' (substance), the first of Aristotle's categories. The Georgian uses a calque from Greek 'οὐσία' via 'გუამოვნი' (being/essence).","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"უგუამოჲსათჳს","severity":"info","text":"The term 'უგუამოჲსათჳს' (concerning accident) translates Greek 'συμβεβηκός' (accident), a key concept in Aristotelian logic denoting a property not essential to a substance.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"თანა-მონათესვეთა","severity":"info","text":"The compound 'თანა-მონათესვეთა' (co-genera) and 'თანა-მოსახეთა' (co-species) reflect Greek 'συγγενῆ' and 'συνεἴδη', terms used in Porphyry's Isagoge for genera and species that share a common higher genus.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage lists the ten Aristotelian categories (substance, quantity, quality, relation, action, passion, position, where, when, possession) and additional logical topics (e.g., opposites, generation, definition), reflecting the structure of John Damascene's Dialectica as a compendium of Aristotelian logic.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"შემდეგ","severity":"caution","text":"The Georgian text shows minor scribal variation: 'შემდეგ' (following) is written with an initial letter that may be a misreading of 'შ' (shin) for 'ც' (tsili) in some manuscripts, but the sense is clear from context.","cites":[{"key":"ed:damdia-a-damdi","label":"source edition: John Damascene, Dialectica","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gelati/damdia_a/damdi.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Georgian text lists topics in a sequence that may not exactly match the Greek original's order; the precise correspondence of 'თანა-მონათესვეთა' and 'თანა-მოსახეთა' to Greek terms is uncertain without the source manuscript.","The phrase 'შემდეგ' could be interpreted as a heading or as part of the previous passage's conclusion; the reading as a heading is adopted."],"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."},{"kind":"check","severity":"info","code":"ratio-warn","text":"Automatic check: the English/source length ratio is outside the usual band for Coptic — a sign that something was dropped or added, not proof that it was."}]}]}