Et propterea cum in fine repente hinc Ecclesia "assumetur"

Tsidkenu

New Member

This citation is from Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, 5.29.1:

“Et propterea cum in fine repente hinc Ecclesia assumetur: Erit, inquit, tribulatio qualis not est facta ab initio, neque fiet.”

I do not require a full translation of the above line. This passage comes up in Christian theological discussion regarding a teaching called the Rapture, that is, the removal of believers from the earth.

I am wondering the general thrust of the use of assumo here as opposed to using the verb rapio. It is argued by some theologians that hinc Ecclesia assumetur means "caught up from this", that is, physical removal from the world. I wish to assess the validity of this opinion from the standpoint of the Latin of Irenaeus' text.

I am also wondering the relationship of the adverb hinc to the whole clause/flow of argument.

For full citation context, see here.

Again, no translation of this citation is required.
 

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis

Location:
Belgium
The verb assumo means, as literally as I can render it, "to take to (oneself)". I would say that the most salient difference between this and rapio is that the latter has a more violent, or at least forceful, connotation, much like "to snatch" or "seize".

Hinc means "from here", denoting the place from where the Church will be taken up. In the context you've explained, "from here" must mean "from this world".

As you've stated you're not exactly after a translation, I'm going to move your thread from the translation section to "General Latin Chat".
 

Laurentius

Civis Illustris

  • Civis Illustris

Location:
Lago Duria
Reminds me of the assumption of Mary.
 

Tsidkenu

New Member

As you've stated you're not exactly after a translation, I'm going to move your thread from the translation section to "General Latin Chat".
Thank you! I realised I should have posted elsewhere (either here or in the grammar section) only after I posted, a newbie error!

Charleton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879) lists quite a number of different nuances for assumo, with literary referents. Irenaeus' citation is not one of them, so I was perplexed as to how it should be taken.

Laurentius dixit:
Reminds me of the assumption of Mary.
This has given me an idea: perhaps I would be better served scouring the Latin text of Irenaeus and see how he uses this word in comparison to rapio, and there are quite a few places where he does use them, and in close proximity (e.g. 2.30.7; 3.12.1; 4.34.3; 5.5.1).

Cheers.
 
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