The Root of Boulomaic

--- by JLS
------ for the GC

WITH BOB DOYLE, elsehwere, we are concluding that 'free will' is redundant. It would be very otiose for a language, such as English, to allow expressions like,

---- "Peter willed -- but unfreely."

---

The root seems to be here. "Eleutheros" is an ugly enough word (as my Aunt Matilda describes it -- I just cite her). So, there must be something, perhaps, in the meaning of 'boulomai', that already presupposes or better entails this 'free' thing.

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From Liddell/Scott:


βούλομαι

(Ep. also βόλομαι , q. v.),
Dor. βώλ- (q. v.),
Aeol. βόλλ- (v. βόλομαι),
Thess. βέλλ- IG9(2).517.20,
Boeot. βείλ- ib.7.3080, βήλ- SIG1185.18 (Tanagra, iii B. C.), Locr.and Delph. δείλ- IG9(1).334.3, GDI2034.10, Coan, etc. δήλ- (q. v.), Ion. 2sg.
A. “βούλεαι” Od.18.364, Hdt.1.11: impf. “ἐβουλόμην” Il.11.79, etc.; “ἠβουλόμην” E.Hel.752, D.1.15, etc.; Ion. 3pl. ἐβουλέατο codd. in Hdt.1.4, 3.143: fut. “βουλήσομαι” A.Pr.867, S.OT1077, etc.; later fut. βουληθήσομαι v.l. in Aristid.Or.48(24).8, Gal.13.636: aor. ἐβουλήθην, also ἠβ- (v. infr.), “βουληθείς” S.OC732, IG22.1236, etc., but Ep. aor. subj. 3sg. βούλεται (from Βόλσ-ε-ται) Il.1.67: pf. “βεβούλημαι” D.18.2; also βέβουλα （προ-) Il.1.113 (ἐβέβουλε dub. in Epigr. in Berl.Sitzb.1894.907):— forms with augm. ἠ- are found in Att. Inscrr. from 300 B.C. onwards, as IG22.657, al., and occur frequently in Mss. as ἠβούλοντο v.l.in Th. 2.2, 6.79, “ἠβούλου” Hyp.Lyc.11; said to be Ionic in An.Ox.2.374.— An Act. βούλητε ( = βούλησθε) Mitteis Chr.361.10 (iv A. D.):

MEANING:


—

will,
wish,
be willing,


Hom., etc.:

usu. implying [i.e. entailing, rather than implicating -- JLS] choice or preference (cf. IV) opp.

ἐθέλω 'consent',

εἰ βούλει, ἐγὼ ἐθέλω”

Pl.Grg.522e, cf. R. 347b, 437b;

ἐὰν βούλῃ σὺ . . ἐὰν θεὸς ἐθέλῃ

Id.Alc.1.135d;

ἂν οἵ τε θεοὶ 'θέλωσι καὶ ὑμεῖς βούλησθε

D.2.20;

οὔτ᾽ ἀκούειν ἠθέλετ᾽ οὔτε πιστεύειν ἐβούλεσθε

Id.19.23; but

ἐθέλω is also used = 'wish',

λέξαι θέλω σοι, πρὶν θανεῖν, ἃ βούλομαι,

E.Alc.281 (so

“ἐθέλω εἰπεῖν” Pl.Prt.309b, but

φράσαι τι βούλομαι

Ar.Pl.1090): Hom. uses βούλομαι for

ἐθέλω

in the case of the gods,

for with them wish is will:

ἐθέλω is more general, and is sts. used where βούλομαι might have stood, e.g. Il. 7.182.

—Construct.: mostly c. inf.,

Τρώεσσιν ἐβούλετο κῦδος ὀρέξαι

11.79, etc.; sts. c. inf. fut., Thgn.184; c. acc. et inf., Od.4.353, and freq. in Prose: when βούλομαι is folld. by acc. only, an inf. may generally be supplied, as καί κε τὸ βουλοίμην (sc. γενέσθαι) Od.20.316; ἔτυχεν ὧν ἐβούλετο (sc. τυχεῖν) Antiph.18.6; πλακοῦντα β. (sc. σε λέγειν) Id.52.11; καὶ εἰ μάλα βούλεται ἄλλῃ [Ποσειδάων] (sc. τοῦτο γενέσθαι) Il.15.51; so εἰς τὸ βαλανεῖον βούλομαι (sc. ἰέναι) Ar.Ra. 1279; βουλοίμην ἄν (sc. τόδε γενέσθαι) Pl.Euthphr.3a.


2. in Hom. of gods, c. acc. rei et dat. pers., Τρώεσσιν . . ἐβούλετο νίκην he willed victory to the Trojans, Il.7.21, cf. 23.682: later c. acc., τὸ βουλόμενον τὴν πολιτείαν πλῆθος that supports the constitution, Arist.Pol.1309b17.

II. Att. usages:

1. βούλει or βούλεσθε folld. by Verb in subj., βούλει λάβωμαι;

would you have me take hold?

S.Ph.761; βούλει φράσω; Ar.Eq.36, cf. Pl.Phd.79a, R.596a; ποῦ δὴ βούλει ἀναγνῶμεν; Id.Phdr.228e.

2. εἰ βούλει

if you please

---------------- [Strictly, 'if you will'].


, S.Ant.1168, X.An.3.4.41; also

εἰ δὲ βούλει, ἐὰν δὲ βούλῃ,

to express a concession, or if you like, Pl.Smp.201a, etc.;

εἰ μὲν β., φρονήσει, εἰ δὲ β., ἰσχύι” Id.R. 432a.


3. ὁ βουλόμενος

any one who likes, Hdt.1.54, Th.1.26, etc.;

ἔδωκεν ἅπαντι τῷ βουλομένῳ

D.21.45; ὁ β. the 'common in former', Ar. Pl.918 (whence, in jest, βούλομαι ib.908); ὅστις βούλει

who or which ever you like, Pl.Grg.517b, Cra.432a.


4. βουλομένῳ μοί ἐστι, c. inf.,

it is according to my wish that . . , Th.2.3;

εἰ σοὶ β. ἐστὶν ἀποκρίνεσθαι

Pl.Grg.448d; also “τὰ θεῶν οὕτω βουλόμεν᾽ ἔσται” E.IA33; τὸ κεἰνου βουλόμενον

his wish,

ib. 1270; but with pass. sense, τὸ β.

the object of desire, Luc.Am.37, Plu.Art.28.


5. τί βουλόμενος;

with what purpose? Pl.Phd.63a, D.18.172; “τί βουληθεὶς πάρει” ; S.El.1100.


III. mean, Pl.R.362e, 590e, etc.; τί ἡμῖν βούλεται οὗτος ὁ μῦθος; (folld. by β. λέγειν ὡς . . ) Id.Tht.156c;

τί β. σημαίνειν τὸ τέρας

D.H.4.59;

βούλεται εἶναι

professes or pretends to be

, Pl.R.595c;

β. τὸ ὄνομα ἐπικεῖσθαι” Id.Cra.412c; freq. in Arist., τὸ ἀκούσιον βούλεται λέγεσθαι οὐκ εἰ . . EN1110b30; β. ἄσωτος εἶναι ὁ ἕν τι κακὸν ἔχων ib.1119b34; β. ὁ πρᾶος ἀτάραχος εἶναι ib.1125b33;

tend to be,

ἡ τοῦ ὕδατος φύσις β. εἶναι ἄχυμος” Id.Sens.441a3; β. ἤδη τότε εἶναι πόλις ὅταν . . Id.Pol.1261b12, cf. 1293b40; ἡ φύσις β. μὲν τοῦτο ποιεῖν πολλάκις, οὐ μέντοι δύναται ib. 1255b3, cf. GA778a4, al.

2. to be wont, X.An.6.3.18.

IV. folld. by ἤ . . ,

prefer, for

βούλομαι μᾶλλον (which is more usu. in Prose), βούλομ᾽ ἐγὼ λαὸν σόον ἔμμεναι ἢ ἀπολέσθαι I had rather . . , Il.1.117, cf. 23.594, Od.3.232, 11.489, 12.350; “β. τὸ μέν τι εὐτυχέειν . . ἢ εὐτυχέειν τὰ πάντα” Hdt.3.40; β. παρθενεύεσθαι πλέω χρόνον ἢ πατρὸς ἐστερῆσθαι (for πολὺν χρόνον, μᾶλλον ἤ . . ) ib.124, cf. E.Andr. 351; less freq. without ἤ . . , πολὺ βούλομαι αὐτὴν οἴκοι ἔχειν

I much prefer . . , Il.1.112, cf. Od.15.88. (g[uglide]el-g[uglide]ol-, cf. the dialectic forms.)