16 Alexander C. Loney Here again the phrase appears with an aorist verb with the preced- ing sentence carried by imperfects. The function of the ν τα ς μ ραις κε ναις phrase remains the same: it sets at a distance the preceding statements of 1,80 by positioning the entirety of the present action of 2,1 (the aorist ξ λθεν) near to the speaking consciousness, viewed from an external perspective. The phrase, in conjunction with the change of verbal aspect, switches the mode of discourse. Luke then proceeds, in the new mode of discourse, to write in an annalistic manner. His statement in 2,1 is a matter of pure historical record: there was a census. One other passage where Luke employs this phrase will shed light on our present discussion about narratorial distance. In chapter nine, Luke gives his account of the transfiguration. At the climax of the pericope, after Peter irrationally offered to erect tents for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, a cloud appears, enveloping all present: [34] τα τα δ α το λ γοντος γ νετο νεφ λη κα πεσκ αζεν α το ς· φοβ θησαν δ ν τ ε σελθε ν α το ς ε ς τ ν νεφ λην. [35] κα φων γ νετο κ τ ς νεφ λης λ γουσα Ο τ ς στιν υ ς μου κλελεγμ νος, α το κο ετε. [36] κα ν τ γεν σθαι τ ν φων ν ε ρ θη ησο ς μ νος. κα α το σ γησαν κα ο δεν π γγειλαν ν κε ναις τα ς μ ραις ο δ ν ν ρακαν. [34] And, when he was saying these things, a cloud appeared and was overshadowing them. And they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. [35] Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my son, the chosen one, listen to him”. [36] And, when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they were silent and, in those days, told nothing of what they had seen to anyone (43). VV. 34-35 have an intensity of experience as befits this climactic mid- point of the gospel and the dramatic unveiling of a mysterious identity. As the voice sounds from the cloud announcing who Jesus is, the mode of discourse is the internally focused mimetic, and the reader observes the actions as they occur via the sequence of imperfective verbs: λ γοντος, πεσκ αζεν, and λ γουσα. The lone aorist φοβ θησαν, excepting the non-aspectual γ νετο and τ ε σελθε ν44, is still a part of the mimetic 43 Luke 9,34-36, author’s translation. 44 τ ε σελθε ν is aspectually vague here on account of the infrequence of the verb ε σ ρχομαι in the imperfective form. There are only four occurrences of the verb in the imperfective form, none of them as an infinitive, in the entire Luke-Acts corpus out of 84 total occurrences. The present form of this verb appears to be mostly constrained to future-referring uses. See Luke 10,8; 21,21.