Biblical time travel: diachronic linguistics

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Obscurity of what?

Well, while brevity is a good quality usually it can also lead to mistakes for lack of material resources. Creationists often are accused of "quote mining" which is usually, outside of creationist circles, done by stringing quips out of context in such a manner as to give them a desired meaning. Within the circles I'm a part of it would be quoting multiple paragraphs in context in the order they appear in the text while italicizing the sentence in reference and saying [emphasis mine]. If you don't give the complete data, sometimes it leads to hearty attacks by people who have nothing better to do, I.E. people usually found on PPR or Facebook....

Obscurus in Horace's statement probably was what some of his earlier poems were, that statement being an explanation as to why he doesn't write small. Doesn't apply to me completely. I just like having a lot of data to browse through and discover things from.

Could you throw something a bit older, like pre-modern English in, just for kicks? I love to speak Anglo-Saxon (even if I don't actually understand it). I know there are translations running around somewhere, I memorized a line or two from the story of Isaac once...

Edit: Oops! It looks like there is some Middle English at least in one of those...

In opinion this information implies an obscure means of a message that is exclusively pedantic........

As for mining quotes, a creationist might be misconstrued for what seems to another a hidden meaning.

Heck, while I'm sending you on scavenger hunts, I'd love some Frisian too.

Anglo-Saxon is Old English, not Middle English. I don't have anything from the Anglo-Saxon times. The youngest I have is a Wycliffe New Testament. But, Isaac you say:

Genesis 26:6-16 KJV-1611
(6) And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.
(7) And the men of the place asked him of his wife: and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah, because shee was faire to looke vpon.
(8) And it came to passe when he had bene there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistims looked out at a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.
(9) And Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, of a suretie she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said vnto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
(10) And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done vnto vs? one of the people might lightly haue lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest haue brought guiltinesse vpon vs.
(11) And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, Hee that toucheth this man or his wife, shall surely bee put to death.
(12) Then Isaac sowed in that land, and receiued in the same yeere an hundred fold: & the LORD blessed him.
(13) And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew vntill he became very great.
(14) For he had possession of flocks, and possession of heards, and great store of seruants, and the Philistims enuied him.
(15) For all the wels which his fathers seruants had digged in the dayes of Abraham his father, the Philistims had stopped them, & filled them with earth.
(16) And Abimelech said vnto Isaac, Goe from vs: for thou art much mightier then we.


That is the first King James Version, in 1611. A little bit different isn't it?

Surely this belongs in the PPR forum?

http://www.worldscriptures.org/pages/frisian.html

Looks like a cross between Norwegian and Welsh. Don't have that particular translation, hence the link.

This is neither a political, religious, or philosophical discussion; it and the other one are on linguistics.

I'd consider being pedantic a virtuous quality.

I'm well aware of that, but in my original request I had asked for something other than modern...

No Anglo Saxon you say?

The story of Abraham and Isaac from http://www.the-orb.net/textbooks/oeindex.html

Anglo-Saxon:

God wolde þa fandian Abrahames gehiersumnesse, and clipode his naman, and cwæð him þus to: 'Nim þinne ancennedan sunu Isaac, þe þu lufast, and far to þam lande Visionis hraðe, and geoffra hine þær uppan anre dune.' Abraham þa aras on þære ilcan nihte, and ferde mid twam cnapum to þam fierlenan lande, and Isaac samod, on assum ridende. Þa on þam þriddan dæge, þa hie þa dune gesawon þær þær hie to scoldon to ofsleanne Isaac, þa cwæð Abraham to þam twam cnapum þus: 'Anbidiað eow her mid þam assum sume hwile. Ic and þæt cild gað unc to gebiddenne, and we siððan cumað sona eft to eow.' Abraham þa het Isaac beran þone wudu to þære stowe, and he self bær his sweord and fyr.





I don't have Anglo-Saxon on my computer. However, let's compare that to other languages.

German:

Genesis 22:1-6 GEB
(1) Und es geschah nach diesen Dingen, daß Gott den Abraham versuchte; und er sprach zu ihm: Abraham! Und er sprach: Hier bin ich!
(2) Und er sprach: Nimm deinen Sohn, deinen einzigen, den du lieb hast, den Isaak, und ziehe hin in das Land Morija, und opfere ihn daselbst als Brandopfer auf einem der Berge, den ich dir sagen werde.
(3) Und Abraham stand des Morgens früh auf und sattelte seinen Esel und nahm mit sich zwei von seinen Knaben und Isaak, seinen Sohn; und er spaltete Holz zum Brandopfer und machte sich auf und zog hin an den Ort, den Gott ihm gesagt hatte.
(4) Am dritten Tage, da erhob Abraham seine Augen und sah den Ort von ferne.
(5) Und Abraham sprach zu seinen Knaben: Bleibet ihr hier mit dem Esel; ich aber und der Knabe wollen bis dorthin gehen und anbeten und dann zu euch zurückkehren.
(6) Und Abraham nahm das Holz des Brandopfers und legte es auf Isaak, seinen Sohn; und in seine Hand nahm er das Feuer und das Messer; und sie gingen beide miteinander.

Some similarities, I think.

Welsh

Genesis 22:1-6 BCN
(1) Wedi'r pethau hyn, rhoddodd Duw brawf ar Abraham.
(2) "Abraham," meddai wrtho, ac atebodd yntau, "Dyma fi." Yna dywedodd, "Cymer dy fab, dy unig fab Isaac, sy'n annwyl gennyt, a dos i wlad Moreia, ac offryma ef yno yn boethoffrwm ar y mynydd a ddangosaf iti."
(3) Felly cododd Abraham yn fore, cyfrwyodd ei asyn, a chymryd dau lanc gydag ef, a'i fab Isaac; a holltodd goed i'r poethoffrwm, a chychwynnodd i'r lle y dywedodd Duw wrtho.
(4) Ar y trydydd dydd cododd Abraham ei olwg, a gwelodd y lle o hirbell.
(5) Yna dywedodd Abraham wrth ei lanciau, "Arhoswch chwi yma gyda'r asyn; mi af finnau a'r bachgen draw ac addoli, ac yna dychwelwn atoch."
(6) Cymerodd goed y poethoffrwm a'u gosod ar ei fab Isaac; a chymerodd y tân a'r gyllell yn ei law ei hun. Ac felly yr aethant ill dau ynghyd.

Uhh, no.

Danish

Genesis 22:1-6 Dansk
(1) Efter disse Begivenheder satte Gud Abraham på Prøve og sagde til ham: "Abraham!" Han svarede: "Se, her er jeg!"
(2) Da sagde han: "Tag din Søn Isak, din eneste, ham, du elsker, og drag hen til Morija Land.og bring ham der som Brændoffer på et af Bjergene, som jeg vil vise dig!"
(3) Da sadlede Abraham tidligt næste Morgen sit Æsel, tog to af sine Drenge og sin Søn Isak med sig, og efter at have kløvet Offerbrænde gav han sig på Vandring; til det Sted, Gud havde sagt ham.
(4) Da Abraham den tredje Dag så. op, fi1k han Øje på Stedet langt borte.
(5) Så sagde Abraham til sine Drenge: "Bliv her med Æselet, medens jeg og Drengen vandrer der. hen for at tilbede; så kommer vi tilbage til eder."
(6) Abraham tog da Brændet til Brændofferet og lagde,det på sin Søn Isak; selv tog han Ilden og Offerkniven, og så gik de to sammen.

More than Welsh...

Well I can make out some writing from the Anglo-Saxon language. I don't see the significance of it other than being educational?

go back in time with a perennial favourite, "It's not you, it's me."

I would be very surprised if Shakespeare's England did not have it's own version of that phrase. Sure, it's silly, but so is life. Hell, let's go right back to the birth of the English language as we know it. You're a smart guy, so this should be easy.