Talent: physis and talanton

Talent as it is translated in Isocrates’ Antidosis originates from the Greek word physis, or nature. The true Greek origin of the word talent is talanton, which refers to a measure of money (LSJ). In the LSJ Greek Lexicon, talent has 20 definitions. Of these, 17 are concerned with talent’s monetary version, e.g. “chiliotalantos, weighing or worth a thousand talents” (LSJ). It is worth noting that a talent’s worth in Ancient Greece was significant. Sir Charles Warren (1913) calculated that 6,000 drachmas equaled one talent (p. 60), and Corey (2002) found that the average laborer earned one drachma per day.

It is difficult to pinpoint the shift in talent’s connotation from a monetary measure to a gift or ability. The Bible, a primary Judeo-Christian text, relays a parable of talents, which tells the tale three men given talents (money). The parable’s moral follows that people should take care of and use a god’s gift wisely. (25 Matthew, King James Bible). Between the English translation of the Bible and the year 1400, talent’s new connotation was solidified. Indeed, the OED notes a 1450 definition of talent as, “He which schall..make here have a talente to hire mete,” (OED).

The new connotation of talent’s that appears in the 15th century has its roots in Isocrates’ teaching philosophy. Isocrates believed the power of instruction had limits, and his writings illustrate that speaking exercises could not replicate a natural ability such as speaking. In his Antidosis, Isocrates writes that teachers are only so powerful and that, “They can contribute in some degree to these results, but these powers are never found in their perfection save in those who excel by virtue both of talent and of training.” (Antidosis, 185.) Note that in this George Norlin translation, “talent” is derived from the Latin physis, or nature.

While there are myriad rhetorical applications of “talent,” the word is examined here in the arenas of public speaking theory and football. Keith (2008) argues that the collegiate instatement of public speaking programs has democratized its practice. A society offering its public the opportunity to learn the same techniques as the political elite becomes more civic-minded, if only in theory.

And it is in this translation between the world of theory and practice that talent becomes muddled. Zagacki and Grano (2005) offer an interesting analysis of LSU football fans who conflate the players’ athletic talents with the players’ individual qualities as college students. An analysis of fan and radio-host dialogue yields a distinct impression the fans equate with the talent of LSU athletes and a fervent obsession with their NFL prospects. It is with this discussion of football and fans that talent’s connotations come full circle. Today’s society places immense and literal value on talent (physis) as identified by Isocrates. Athletes and performers are paid in sums (talanton) beyond the majority’s comprehension. And while university curriculum suggests an egalitarian practice of teaching basic skills, ours is a society that clearly rewards talent as it appears naturally in an individual.

Word Count = 500

Corey, David Dwyer (2002). The Greek sophists: Teachers of virtue. Ph.D. dissertation, Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College. Retrieved from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text.(Publication No. AAT 3049199).

Keith, W. (2008). On the origins of speech as a discipline: James A. Winans and public speaking as practical democracy. Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 38;3.

LSJ Greek-English Lexicon. (1995). Retrieved September 26, 2009, from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=talent.

OED. (2009). Retrieved September 28, 2009, from http://dictionary.oed.com.er.lib.k-state.edu

Warren, C. (1913). The Early Weights and Measures of Mankind. Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing.