Filling a Lacuna in a Prescribed Text
A student's prescribed text has a corrupt line: '... καὶ τοὺς μὲν [lacuna of about six letters] ἔπεμψεν, τοὺς δὲ κατέσχεν.' The apparatus suggests either ἀδελφούς or ἑταίρους. The student must translate the passage for an assessment and cannot simply ignore the gap. She has a lexicon, a list of the author's characteristic vocabulary from elsewhere in the set text, and 15 minutes. Her draft translation currently reads 'and he sent the men, but held the others back', which is smooth but leaves the lacuna unmarked. The examiner's rubric rewards awareness of textual uncertainty.
1. Explain why 'he sent the men... held the others back' is an inadequate translation of a text with a lacuna, and what the student should do instead.
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The draft silently suppresses the uncertainty: it presents a smooth text as if the gap were not there. A translation of a corrupt passage should signal the gap, e.g. 'some he sent ... others he detained', with a bracketed note '[lacuna]'. This is not pedantry: the missing word may have specified who was sent (brothers? companions?), which changes the sense of the whole episode. Marking the gap preserves the reader's ability to judge.
The student should translate what is secure, mark the gap, and - if the assessment allows - add a one-line note giving the conjectures and their effect.
2. How should the student choose between the two conjectures using internal evidence?
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She should test each against (a) the author's habitual vocabulary elsewhere in the set text, (b) the letter-count and metre or rhythm, and (c) the narrative logic - sending some and detaining others implies a category distinction the audience must recognise. If ἀδελφούς fits the author's known usage and the family theme of the passage, it is preferable; if ἑταίρους fits the political context better, that argues for it. She should state the criterion she used, not just the answer: the exam rewards the reasoning.
3. Draft the final translation line she should submit, with a note, in about 40 words.
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'Some he sent [lacuna: perhaps 'his brothers' or 'his companions'], but the rest he detained.' Note: the missing word may specify relationship; both conjectures fit the sense, and the choice affects how we read the episode's family politics.