XXI

γραμμάτων παράθεσις τὰ διαλείμματα τῆς ἐνεργείας καὶ τὰςἐποχὰς καὶ τὸ τοῦ μόχθου μέγεθος· οἱ ῥυθμοὶ δ’ ἐν μήκειθεωρούμενοι τὴν ἔκτασιν τῶν μελῶν καὶ τὸν διελκυσμὸν τοῦκυλίοντος καὶ τὴν τοῦ πέτρου ἔρεισιν. καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα οὐφύσεώς ἐστιν αὐτοματιζούσης ἔργα ἀλλὰ τέχνης μιμήσασθαι      5πειρωμένης τὰ γινόμενα, τὰ τούτοις ἑξῆς λεγόμενα δηλοῖ. τὴνγὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς κορυφῆς ἐπιστρέφουσαν πάλιν καὶ κατακυλιομένηνπέτραν οὐ τὸν αὐτὸν ἡρμήνευκε τρόπον, ἀλλ’ ἐπιταχύνας τεκαὶ συστρέψας τὴν σύνθεσιν· προειπὼν γὰρ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷσχήματι      10ἀλλ’ ὅτε μέλλοιἄκρον ὑπερβαλέεινἐπιτίθησι τοῦτοτότ’ ἐπιστρέψασκε κραταιίς·αὖτις ἔπειτα πέδονδε κυλίνδετο λᾶας ἀναιδής.      15οὐχὶ συγκατακεκύλισται τῷ βάρει τῆς πέτρας ἡ τῶν ὀνομάτωνσύνθεσις, μᾶλλον δὲ ἔφθακε τὴν τοῦ λίθου φορὰν τὸτῆς ἀπαγγελίας τάχος; ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ. καὶ τίς ἐνταῦθα πάλιναἰτία; καὶ γὰρ ταύτην ἄξιον ἰδεῖν· ὁ τὴν καταφορὰν δηλῶντοῦ πέτρου στίχος μονοσύλλαβον μὲν οὐδεμίαν, δισυλλάβους      20δὲ δύο μόνας ἔχει λέξεις. τοῦτ’ οὖν καὶ πρῶτον οὐ διίστησιτοὺς χρόνους ἀλλ’ ἐπιταχύνει· ἔπειθ’ ἑπτακαίδεκα συλλαβῶνοὐσῶν ἐν τῷ στίχῳ δέκα μέν εἰσι βραχεῖαι συλλαβαί, ἑπτὰδὲ μακραί, οὐδ’ αὗται τέλειοι· ἀνάγκη δὴ κατασπᾶσθαι καὶ[205]of rough letters indicate the pauses in his efforts, the delays, the vastness of the toil. The rhythms, when it is observed how long-drawn-out they are, betoken the straining of his limbs, the struggle of the man as he rolls his burden, and the upheaving of the stone. And that this is not the work of Nature improvising, but of art attempting to reproduce a scene, is proved by the words that follow these. For the poet has represented the return of the rock from the summit and its rolling downward in quite another fashion; he quickens and abbreviates his composition. Having first said, in the same form as the foregoing,but a little more,And atop of the ridge would it rest[171]—he adds to this,some Power back turned it again:Rushing the pitiless boulder went rolling adown to the plain.[172]Do not the words thus arranged roll downhill together with the impetus of the rock? Indeed, does not the speed of the narration outstrip the rush of the stone? I certainly think so. And what is the reason here again? It is worth noticing. The line which described the downrush of the stone has no monosyllabic words, and only two disyllabic. Now this, in the first place, does not break up the phrases but hurries them on. In the second place, of the seventeen syllables in the line ten are short, seven long, and not even these seven are perfect. So

γραμμάτων παράθεσις τὰ διαλείμματα τῆς ἐνεργείας καὶ τὰςἐποχὰς καὶ τὸ τοῦ μόχθου μέγεθος· οἱ ῥυθμοὶ δ’ ἐν μήκειθεωρούμενοι τὴν ἔκτασιν τῶν μελῶν καὶ τὸν διελκυσμὸν τοῦκυλίοντος καὶ τὴν τοῦ πέτρου ἔρεισιν. καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα οὐφύσεώς ἐστιν αὐτοματιζούσης ἔργα ἀλλὰ τέχνης μιμήσασθαι      5πειρωμένης τὰ γινόμενα, τὰ τούτοις ἑξῆς λεγόμενα δηλοῖ. τὴνγὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς κορυφῆς ἐπιστρέφουσαν πάλιν καὶ κατακυλιομένηνπέτραν οὐ τὸν αὐτὸν ἡρμήνευκε τρόπον, ἀλλ’ ἐπιταχύνας τεκαὶ συστρέψας τὴν σύνθεσιν· προειπὼν γὰρ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷσχήματι      10ἀλλ’ ὅτε μέλλοιἄκρον ὑπερβαλέεινἐπιτίθησι τοῦτοτότ’ ἐπιστρέψασκε κραταιίς·αὖτις ἔπειτα πέδονδε κυλίνδετο λᾶας ἀναιδής.      15οὐχὶ συγκατακεκύλισται τῷ βάρει τῆς πέτρας ἡ τῶν ὀνομάτωνσύνθεσις, μᾶλλον δὲ ἔφθακε τὴν τοῦ λίθου φορὰν τὸτῆς ἀπαγγελίας τάχος; ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ. καὶ τίς ἐνταῦθα πάλιναἰτία; καὶ γὰρ ταύτην ἄξιον ἰδεῖν· ὁ τὴν καταφορὰν δηλῶντοῦ πέτρου στίχος μονοσύλλαβον μὲν οὐδεμίαν, δισυλλάβους      20δὲ δύο μόνας ἔχει λέξεις. τοῦτ’ οὖν καὶ πρῶτον οὐ διίστησιτοὺς χρόνους ἀλλ’ ἐπιταχύνει· ἔπειθ’ ἑπτακαίδεκα συλλαβῶνοὐσῶν ἐν τῷ στίχῳ δέκα μέν εἰσι βραχεῖαι συλλαβαί, ἑπτὰδὲ μακραί, οὐδ’ αὗται τέλειοι· ἀνάγκη δὴ κατασπᾶσθαι καὶ

γραμμάτων παράθεσις τὰ διαλείμματα τῆς ἐνεργείας καὶ τὰςἐποχὰς καὶ τὸ τοῦ μόχθου μέγεθος· οἱ ῥυθμοὶ δ’ ἐν μήκειθεωρούμενοι τὴν ἔκτασιν τῶν μελῶν καὶ τὸν διελκυσμὸν τοῦκυλίοντος καὶ τὴν τοῦ πέτρου ἔρεισιν. καὶ ὅτι ταῦτα οὐφύσεώς ἐστιν αὐτοματιζούσης ἔργα ἀλλὰ τέχνης μιμήσασθαι      5πειρωμένης τὰ γινόμενα, τὰ τούτοις ἑξῆς λεγόμενα δηλοῖ. τὴνγὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς κορυφῆς ἐπιστρέφουσαν πάλιν καὶ κατακυλιομένηνπέτραν οὐ τὸν αὐτὸν ἡρμήνευκε τρόπον, ἀλλ’ ἐπιταχύνας τεκαὶ συστρέψας τὴν σύνθεσιν· προειπὼν γὰρ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷσχήματι      10

ἀλλ’ ὅτε μέλλοιἄκρον ὑπερβαλέειν

ἐπιτίθησι τοῦτο

τότ’ ἐπιστρέψασκε κραταιίς·αὖτις ἔπειτα πέδονδε κυλίνδετο λᾶας ἀναιδής.      15

οὐχὶ συγκατακεκύλισται τῷ βάρει τῆς πέτρας ἡ τῶν ὀνομάτωνσύνθεσις, μᾶλλον δὲ ἔφθακε τὴν τοῦ λίθου φορὰν τὸτῆς ἀπαγγελίας τάχος; ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ. καὶ τίς ἐνταῦθα πάλιναἰτία; καὶ γὰρ ταύτην ἄξιον ἰδεῖν· ὁ τὴν καταφορὰν δηλῶντοῦ πέτρου στίχος μονοσύλλαβον μὲν οὐδεμίαν, δισυλλάβους      20δὲ δύο μόνας ἔχει λέξεις. τοῦτ’ οὖν καὶ πρῶτον οὐ διίστησιτοὺς χρόνους ἀλλ’ ἐπιταχύνει· ἔπειθ’ ἑπτακαίδεκα συλλαβῶνοὐσῶν ἐν τῷ στίχῳ δέκα μέν εἰσι βραχεῖαι συλλαβαί, ἑπτὰδὲ μακραί, οὐδ’ αὗται τέλειοι· ἀνάγκη δὴ κατασπᾶσθαι καὶ

[205]of rough letters indicate the pauses in his efforts, the delays, the vastness of the toil. The rhythms, when it is observed how long-drawn-out they are, betoken the straining of his limbs, the struggle of the man as he rolls his burden, and the upheaving of the stone. And that this is not the work of Nature improvising, but of art attempting to reproduce a scene, is proved by the words that follow these. For the poet has represented the return of the rock from the summit and its rolling downward in quite another fashion; he quickens and abbreviates his composition. Having first said, in the same form as the foregoing,but a little more,And atop of the ridge would it rest[171]—he adds to this,some Power back turned it again:Rushing the pitiless boulder went rolling adown to the plain.[172]Do not the words thus arranged roll downhill together with the impetus of the rock? Indeed, does not the speed of the narration outstrip the rush of the stone? I certainly think so. And what is the reason here again? It is worth noticing. The line which described the downrush of the stone has no monosyllabic words, and only two disyllabic. Now this, in the first place, does not break up the phrases but hurries them on. In the second place, of the seventeen syllables in the line ten are short, seven long, and not even these seven are perfect. So

[205]

of rough letters indicate the pauses in his efforts, the delays, the vastness of the toil. The rhythms, when it is observed how long-drawn-out they are, betoken the straining of his limbs, the struggle of the man as he rolls his burden, and the upheaving of the stone. And that this is not the work of Nature improvising, but of art attempting to reproduce a scene, is proved by the words that follow these. For the poet has represented the return of the rock from the summit and its rolling downward in quite another fashion; he quickens and abbreviates his composition. Having first said, in the same form as the foregoing,

but a little more,And atop of the ridge would it rest[171]—

he adds to this,

some Power back turned it again:Rushing the pitiless boulder went rolling adown to the plain.[172]

Do not the words thus arranged roll downhill together with the impetus of the rock? Indeed, does not the speed of the narration outstrip the rush of the stone? I certainly think so. And what is the reason here again? It is worth noticing. The line which described the downrush of the stone has no monosyllabic words, and only two disyllabic. Now this, in the first place, does not break up the phrases but hurries them on. In the second place, of the seventeen syllables in the line ten are short, seven long, and not even these seven are perfect. So

1 καὶ τὰς ἐποχὰς EF: ἐποχάς τε PMV   6 τὴν ... ἐπιστρέφουσαν ... κατακυλιομένην πέτραν EF: τὸν ... ἐπιστρέφοντα ... κατακυλιόμενον πέτρον PMV   13 τοῦτο EFM1: τούτω PM2V   14 ἐπιστρέψασ κε P, E: ἐπιστέψασ (ρ suprascr.) καὶ F, MV: ἀποστρέψασκε Hom. || κραταὶ· ἲσ P: κραταις F: κραταιὴ ἴς MV   15 αὖθις PMV   16 συγκατακεκύλισται PMV: συγκυλίεται EF   18 ἐμοί τε PM: ἐμοὶ F   19 ταύτην PMV: ταύτης F || ἄξιον ἰδεῖν PV: ἰδεῖν ἄξιόν ἐστιν F   21 οὖν καὶ F(E): οὐκ ἐᾶι P, MV || οὐ διίστησι E: οὐδ’ ἵστησι F: διεστηκέναι PMV   24 δὲ F: δὲ μόναι PMV || οὐδ’ F: καὶ οὐδ’ PMV || αὗται F: αὐταὶ PMV || τέλειοι FPV: τέλειαι M || δὴ F: οὖν PMV || κατασπᾶσθαι F: κατεσπάσθαι PM: κατεσπᾶσθαι V15. “Downward anon to the valley rebounded the boulder remorseless” (Sandys, in Jebb’sRhetoric of Aristotlep. 172). Voss marks the contrast between the slow and the rapid line by translating the one by “Eines Marmors Schwere mit grosser Gewalt fortheben,” and the other by “Hurtig mit Donnergepolter entrollte der tückische Marmor.”—For similar adaptations of sound to sense cp. Lucret. iii. 1000 “hoc est adverso nixantem trudere monte | saxum quod tamen e summo iam vertice rursum | volvitur et plani raptim petit aequora campi”; Virg.Aen.vi. 616 “saxum ingens volvunt alii, radiisque rotarum | districti pendent”; id.ib.viii. 596 “quadripedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum” (in imitation ofIl.xxiii. 116); id.ib.v. 481 “sternitur exanimisque tremens procumbit humi bos”; id.ib.ii. 304-8 “in segetem ... de vertice pastor”; RacinePhèdrev. 6 “L’essieu crie et se rompt: l’intrépide Hippolyte | Voit voler en éclats tout son char fracassé; | Dans les rênes lui-même il tombe embarrassé”; Pope’s “Up a high hill he heaves a huge round stone” (Odyss.xi.) or his “That like a wounded snake drags its slow length along” (Essay on Criticism), as compared with his “Thunders impetuous down, and smokes along the ground” (Odyss.xi.).—It is an interesting question whether Dionysius overstates his case when he makes ‘Homer’ as conscious and sedulous an artist (ἀεί τι καινουργῶν καὶ φιλοτεχνῶν,20018) as any later imitator. It is, however, unlikely that even the earliest poets who were late enough to produce consummate music were insensible to the effect of the music they produced. But great poets in all ages have had their ear so attuned by long use and practice to the music of sounds as to choose the right letters, syllables, and words almost unconsciously.19.ταύτην: Usener reads ταῦτ’ ἦν: but (1) ταύτην refers naturally to αἰτία; (2) with ἄξιον the verb is often omitted, e.g.18619,2022; (3) if there were a verb, ἐστίν would here be more natural than ἦν.22. The meaning is that the absence of short words implies the absence of frequent breaks, and this absence contributes to rapid utterance.24.τέλειοι, ‘perfect longs.’ The diphthongs in αὖτις, ἔπειτα, and ἀναιδής, are simply long by nature; they are not long by position as well. The ο in πέδονδε, and the ι in κυλίνδετο, are long by position but not by nature. The ᾶ in λᾶας, and the η in ἀναιδής, are long by nature but not (in the former case) by position. “Of the seven long syllables not one—except the last—contains more elements than are needful to make it pass for long and at the same time avoid hiatus; that is, no long vowel or diphthong is followed by more than one consonant; two consonants occur only where required to extend a short vowel to a long syllable” (GoodellGreek Metricp. 175). Compare15022-1543, and see also Gloss., s.v. τέλειος.—M here has τέλειαι (not τέλειοι): cp. τελείας in1741.

1 καὶ τὰς ἐποχὰς EF: ἐποχάς τε PMV   6 τὴν ... ἐπιστρέφουσαν ... κατακυλιομένην πέτραν EF: τὸν ... ἐπιστρέφοντα ... κατακυλιόμενον πέτρον PMV   13 τοῦτο EFM1: τούτω PM2V   14 ἐπιστρέψασ κε P, E: ἐπιστέψασ (ρ suprascr.) καὶ F, MV: ἀποστρέψασκε Hom. || κραταὶ· ἲσ P: κραταις F: κραταιὴ ἴς MV   15 αὖθις PMV   16 συγκατακεκύλισται PMV: συγκυλίεται EF   18 ἐμοί τε PM: ἐμοὶ F   19 ταύτην PMV: ταύτης F || ἄξιον ἰδεῖν PV: ἰδεῖν ἄξιόν ἐστιν F   21 οὖν καὶ F(E): οὐκ ἐᾶι P, MV || οὐ διίστησι E: οὐδ’ ἵστησι F: διεστηκέναι PMV   24 δὲ F: δὲ μόναι PMV || οὐδ’ F: καὶ οὐδ’ PMV || αὗται F: αὐταὶ PMV || τέλειοι FPV: τέλειαι M || δὴ F: οὖν PMV || κατασπᾶσθαι F: κατεσπάσθαι PM: κατεσπᾶσθαι V

15. “Downward anon to the valley rebounded the boulder remorseless” (Sandys, in Jebb’sRhetoric of Aristotlep. 172). Voss marks the contrast between the slow and the rapid line by translating the one by “Eines Marmors Schwere mit grosser Gewalt fortheben,” and the other by “Hurtig mit Donnergepolter entrollte der tückische Marmor.”—For similar adaptations of sound to sense cp. Lucret. iii. 1000 “hoc est adverso nixantem trudere monte | saxum quod tamen e summo iam vertice rursum | volvitur et plani raptim petit aequora campi”; Virg.Aen.vi. 616 “saxum ingens volvunt alii, radiisque rotarum | districti pendent”; id.ib.viii. 596 “quadripedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum” (in imitation ofIl.xxiii. 116); id.ib.v. 481 “sternitur exanimisque tremens procumbit humi bos”; id.ib.ii. 304-8 “in segetem ... de vertice pastor”; RacinePhèdrev. 6 “L’essieu crie et se rompt: l’intrépide Hippolyte | Voit voler en éclats tout son char fracassé; | Dans les rênes lui-même il tombe embarrassé”; Pope’s “Up a high hill he heaves a huge round stone” (Odyss.xi.) or his “That like a wounded snake drags its slow length along” (Essay on Criticism), as compared with his “Thunders impetuous down, and smokes along the ground” (Odyss.xi.).—It is an interesting question whether Dionysius overstates his case when he makes ‘Homer’ as conscious and sedulous an artist (ἀεί τι καινουργῶν καὶ φιλοτεχνῶν,20018) as any later imitator. It is, however, unlikely that even the earliest poets who were late enough to produce consummate music were insensible to the effect of the music they produced. But great poets in all ages have had their ear so attuned by long use and practice to the music of sounds as to choose the right letters, syllables, and words almost unconsciously.

19.ταύτην: Usener reads ταῦτ’ ἦν: but (1) ταύτην refers naturally to αἰτία; (2) with ἄξιον the verb is often omitted, e.g.18619,2022; (3) if there were a verb, ἐστίν would here be more natural than ἦν.

22. The meaning is that the absence of short words implies the absence of frequent breaks, and this absence contributes to rapid utterance.

24.τέλειοι, ‘perfect longs.’ The diphthongs in αὖτις, ἔπειτα, and ἀναιδής, are simply long by nature; they are not long by position as well. The ο in πέδονδε, and the ι in κυλίνδετο, are long by position but not by nature. The ᾶ in λᾶας, and the η in ἀναιδής, are long by nature but not (in the former case) by position. “Of the seven long syllables not one—except the last—contains more elements than are needful to make it pass for long and at the same time avoid hiatus; that is, no long vowel or diphthong is followed by more than one consonant; two consonants occur only where required to extend a short vowel to a long syllable” (GoodellGreek Metricp. 175). Compare15022-1543, and see also Gloss., s.v. τέλειος.—M here has τέλειαι (not τέλειοι): cp. τελείας in1741.

συστέλλεσθαι τὴν φράσιν τῇ βραχύτητι τῶν συλλαβῶν ἐφελκομένην.ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις οὐδ’ ὄνομα ἀπὸ ὀνόματος ἀξιόλογονεἴληφεν διάστασιν· οὔτε γὰρ φωνήεντι φωνῆεν οὔτε ἡμιφώνῳἡμίφωνον ἢ ἄφωνον, ἃ δὴ τραχύνειν πέφυκεν καὶ διιστάναιτὰς ἁρμονίας, οὐδέν ἐστι παρακείμενον. οὐ δὴ γίνεται διάστασις      5αἰσθητὴ μὴ διηρτημένων τῶν λέξεων, ἀλλὰ συνολισθαίνουσινἀλλήλαις καὶ συγκαταφέρονται καὶ τρόπον τινὰ μίαἐξ ἁπασῶν γίνεται διὰ τὴν τῶν ἁρμονιῶν ἀκρίβειαν. ὃ δὲμάλιστα τῶν ἄλλων θαυμάζειν ἄξιον, ῥυθμὸς οὐδεὶς τῶνμακρῶν οἳ φύσιν ἔχουσιν πίπτειν εἰς μέτρον ἡρωϊκόν, οὔτε      10σπονδεῖος οὔτε βακχεῖος ἐγκαταμέμικται τῷ στίχῳ, πλὴν ἐπὶτῆς τελευτῆς· οἱ δ’ ἄλλοι πάντες εἰσὶ δάκτυλοι, καὶ οὗτοιπαραδεδιωγμένας ἔχοντες τὰς ἀλόγους, ὥστε μὴ πολὺ διαφέρεινἐνίους τῶν τροχαίων. οὐδὲν δὴ τὸ ἀντιπρᾶττον ἐστὶν εὔτροχονκαὶ περιφερῆ καὶ καταρρέουσαν εἶναι τὴν φράσιν ἐκ τοιούτων      15συγκεκροτημένην ῥυθμῶν. πολλά τις ἂν ἔχοι τοιαῦτα δεῖξαιπαρ’ Ὁμήρῳ λεγόμενα· ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀποχρῆν δοκεῖ καὶ ταῦτα, ἵν’ἐγγένηταί μοι καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων εἰπεῖν.ὧν μὲν οὖν δεῖ στοχάζεσθαι τοὺς μέλλοντας ἡδεῖαν καὶκαλὴν ποιήσειν σύνθεσιν ἔν τε ποιητικῇ καὶ λόγοις ἀμέτροις,      20ταῦτα κατ’ ἐμὴν δόξαν ἐστὶ τὰ γοῦν κυριώτατα καὶ κράτιστα.ὅσα δὲ οὐχ οἷά τε ἦν, ἐλάττω τε ὄντα τούτων καὶ ἀμυδρότερακαὶ διὰ πλῆθος δυσπερίληπτα μιᾷ γραφῇ, ταῦτ’ ἐν ταῖς καθ’ἡμέραν γυμνασίαις προσυποθήσομαί σοι, καὶ πολλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶνποιητῶν τε καὶ συγγραφέων καὶ ῥητόρων μαρτυρίοις χρήσομαι.      25νυνὶ δὲ τὰ καταλειπόμενα ὧν ὑπεσχόμην καὶ οὐδενὸς ἧττονἀναγκαῖα εἰρῆσθαι, ταῦτ’ ἔτι προσθεὶς τῷ λόγῳ παύσομαι[207]the line has to go tumbling down-hill in a heap, dragged forward by the shortness of the syllables. Moreover, one word is not divided from another by any appreciable interval, for vowel does not meet vowel, nor semi-vowel or mute meet semi-vowel—conjunctions the natural effect of which is to make the connexions harsher and less close-fitting. There is, in fact, no perceptible division if the words are not forced asunder, but they slip into one another and are swept along, and a sort of great single word is formed out of all owing to the closeness of the junctures. And what is most surprising of all, not one of the long feet which naturally fit into the heroic metre—whether spondee orbacchius—has been introduced into the line, except at the end. All the rest are dactyls, and these with their irrational syllables hurried along, so that some of the feet do not differ much from trochees. Accordingly nothing hinders the line from being rapid, rounded and swift-flowing, welded together as it is from such rhythms as this. Many such passages could be pointed out in Homer. But I think the foregoing lines amply sufficient, and I must leave myself time to discuss the remaining points.The aims, then, which should be steadily kept in view by those who mean to form a charming and noble style, alike in poetry and in prose, are in my opinion those already mentioned. These, at all events, are the most essential and effective. But those which I have been unable to mention, as being more minute and more obscure than these, and, owing to their number, hard to embrace in a single treatise, I will bring before you in our daily lessons, and I will draw illustrations in support of my views from many good poets, historians, and orators. But now I will go on to add to this work, before concluding it, the remainder of the points which I promised to treat of, and the discussion of which is as indispensable as any: viz. what

συστέλλεσθαι τὴν φράσιν τῇ βραχύτητι τῶν συλλαβῶν ἐφελκομένην.ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις οὐδ’ ὄνομα ἀπὸ ὀνόματος ἀξιόλογονεἴληφεν διάστασιν· οὔτε γὰρ φωνήεντι φωνῆεν οὔτε ἡμιφώνῳἡμίφωνον ἢ ἄφωνον, ἃ δὴ τραχύνειν πέφυκεν καὶ διιστάναιτὰς ἁρμονίας, οὐδέν ἐστι παρακείμενον. οὐ δὴ γίνεται διάστασις      5αἰσθητὴ μὴ διηρτημένων τῶν λέξεων, ἀλλὰ συνολισθαίνουσινἀλλήλαις καὶ συγκαταφέρονται καὶ τρόπον τινὰ μίαἐξ ἁπασῶν γίνεται διὰ τὴν τῶν ἁρμονιῶν ἀκρίβειαν. ὃ δὲμάλιστα τῶν ἄλλων θαυμάζειν ἄξιον, ῥυθμὸς οὐδεὶς τῶνμακρῶν οἳ φύσιν ἔχουσιν πίπτειν εἰς μέτρον ἡρωϊκόν, οὔτε      10σπονδεῖος οὔτε βακχεῖος ἐγκαταμέμικται τῷ στίχῳ, πλὴν ἐπὶτῆς τελευτῆς· οἱ δ’ ἄλλοι πάντες εἰσὶ δάκτυλοι, καὶ οὗτοιπαραδεδιωγμένας ἔχοντες τὰς ἀλόγους, ὥστε μὴ πολὺ διαφέρεινἐνίους τῶν τροχαίων. οὐδὲν δὴ τὸ ἀντιπρᾶττον ἐστὶν εὔτροχονκαὶ περιφερῆ καὶ καταρρέουσαν εἶναι τὴν φράσιν ἐκ τοιούτων      15συγκεκροτημένην ῥυθμῶν. πολλά τις ἂν ἔχοι τοιαῦτα δεῖξαιπαρ’ Ὁμήρῳ λεγόμενα· ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀποχρῆν δοκεῖ καὶ ταῦτα, ἵν’ἐγγένηταί μοι καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων εἰπεῖν.ὧν μὲν οὖν δεῖ στοχάζεσθαι τοὺς μέλλοντας ἡδεῖαν καὶκαλὴν ποιήσειν σύνθεσιν ἔν τε ποιητικῇ καὶ λόγοις ἀμέτροις,      20ταῦτα κατ’ ἐμὴν δόξαν ἐστὶ τὰ γοῦν κυριώτατα καὶ κράτιστα.ὅσα δὲ οὐχ οἷά τε ἦν, ἐλάττω τε ὄντα τούτων καὶ ἀμυδρότερακαὶ διὰ πλῆθος δυσπερίληπτα μιᾷ γραφῇ, ταῦτ’ ἐν ταῖς καθ’ἡμέραν γυμνασίαις προσυποθήσομαί σοι, καὶ πολλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶνποιητῶν τε καὶ συγγραφέων καὶ ῥητόρων μαρτυρίοις χρήσομαι.      25νυνὶ δὲ τὰ καταλειπόμενα ὧν ὑπεσχόμην καὶ οὐδενὸς ἧττονἀναγκαῖα εἰρῆσθαι, ταῦτ’ ἔτι προσθεὶς τῷ λόγῳ παύσομαι

συστέλλεσθαι τὴν φράσιν τῇ βραχύτητι τῶν συλλαβῶν ἐφελκομένην.ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις οὐδ’ ὄνομα ἀπὸ ὀνόματος ἀξιόλογονεἴληφεν διάστασιν· οὔτε γὰρ φωνήεντι φωνῆεν οὔτε ἡμιφώνῳἡμίφωνον ἢ ἄφωνον, ἃ δὴ τραχύνειν πέφυκεν καὶ διιστάναιτὰς ἁρμονίας, οὐδέν ἐστι παρακείμενον. οὐ δὴ γίνεται διάστασις      5αἰσθητὴ μὴ διηρτημένων τῶν λέξεων, ἀλλὰ συνολισθαίνουσινἀλλήλαις καὶ συγκαταφέρονται καὶ τρόπον τινὰ μίαἐξ ἁπασῶν γίνεται διὰ τὴν τῶν ἁρμονιῶν ἀκρίβειαν. ὃ δὲμάλιστα τῶν ἄλλων θαυμάζειν ἄξιον, ῥυθμὸς οὐδεὶς τῶνμακρῶν οἳ φύσιν ἔχουσιν πίπτειν εἰς μέτρον ἡρωϊκόν, οὔτε      10σπονδεῖος οὔτε βακχεῖος ἐγκαταμέμικται τῷ στίχῳ, πλὴν ἐπὶτῆς τελευτῆς· οἱ δ’ ἄλλοι πάντες εἰσὶ δάκτυλοι, καὶ οὗτοιπαραδεδιωγμένας ἔχοντες τὰς ἀλόγους, ὥστε μὴ πολὺ διαφέρεινἐνίους τῶν τροχαίων. οὐδὲν δὴ τὸ ἀντιπρᾶττον ἐστὶν εὔτροχονκαὶ περιφερῆ καὶ καταρρέουσαν εἶναι τὴν φράσιν ἐκ τοιούτων      15συγκεκροτημένην ῥυθμῶν. πολλά τις ἂν ἔχοι τοιαῦτα δεῖξαιπαρ’ Ὁμήρῳ λεγόμενα· ἐμοὶ δὲ ἀποχρῆν δοκεῖ καὶ ταῦτα, ἵν’ἐγγένηταί μοι καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων εἰπεῖν.ὧν μὲν οὖν δεῖ στοχάζεσθαι τοὺς μέλλοντας ἡδεῖαν καὶκαλὴν ποιήσειν σύνθεσιν ἔν τε ποιητικῇ καὶ λόγοις ἀμέτροις,      20ταῦτα κατ’ ἐμὴν δόξαν ἐστὶ τὰ γοῦν κυριώτατα καὶ κράτιστα.ὅσα δὲ οὐχ οἷά τε ἦν, ἐλάττω τε ὄντα τούτων καὶ ἀμυδρότερακαὶ διὰ πλῆθος δυσπερίληπτα μιᾷ γραφῇ, ταῦτ’ ἐν ταῖς καθ’ἡμέραν γυμνασίαις προσυποθήσομαί σοι, καὶ πολλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶνποιητῶν τε καὶ συγγραφέων καὶ ῥητόρων μαρτυρίοις χρήσομαι.      25νυνὶ δὲ τὰ καταλειπόμενα ὧν ὑπεσχόμην καὶ οὐδενὸς ἧττονἀναγκαῖα εἰρῆσθαι, ταῦτ’ ἔτι προσθεὶς τῷ λόγῳ παύσομαι

[207]the line has to go tumbling down-hill in a heap, dragged forward by the shortness of the syllables. Moreover, one word is not divided from another by any appreciable interval, for vowel does not meet vowel, nor semi-vowel or mute meet semi-vowel—conjunctions the natural effect of which is to make the connexions harsher and less close-fitting. There is, in fact, no perceptible division if the words are not forced asunder, but they slip into one another and are swept along, and a sort of great single word is formed out of all owing to the closeness of the junctures. And what is most surprising of all, not one of the long feet which naturally fit into the heroic metre—whether spondee orbacchius—has been introduced into the line, except at the end. All the rest are dactyls, and these with their irrational syllables hurried along, so that some of the feet do not differ much from trochees. Accordingly nothing hinders the line from being rapid, rounded and swift-flowing, welded together as it is from such rhythms as this. Many such passages could be pointed out in Homer. But I think the foregoing lines amply sufficient, and I must leave myself time to discuss the remaining points.The aims, then, which should be steadily kept in view by those who mean to form a charming and noble style, alike in poetry and in prose, are in my opinion those already mentioned. These, at all events, are the most essential and effective. But those which I have been unable to mention, as being more minute and more obscure than these, and, owing to their number, hard to embrace in a single treatise, I will bring before you in our daily lessons, and I will draw illustrations in support of my views from many good poets, historians, and orators. But now I will go on to add to this work, before concluding it, the remainder of the points which I promised to treat of, and the discussion of which is as indispensable as any: viz. what

[207]

the line has to go tumbling down-hill in a heap, dragged forward by the shortness of the syllables. Moreover, one word is not divided from another by any appreciable interval, for vowel does not meet vowel, nor semi-vowel or mute meet semi-vowel—conjunctions the natural effect of which is to make the connexions harsher and less close-fitting. There is, in fact, no perceptible division if the words are not forced asunder, but they slip into one another and are swept along, and a sort of great single word is formed out of all owing to the closeness of the junctures. And what is most surprising of all, not one of the long feet which naturally fit into the heroic metre—whether spondee orbacchius—has been introduced into the line, except at the end. All the rest are dactyls, and these with their irrational syllables hurried along, so that some of the feet do not differ much from trochees. Accordingly nothing hinders the line from being rapid, rounded and swift-flowing, welded together as it is from such rhythms as this. Many such passages could be pointed out in Homer. But I think the foregoing lines amply sufficient, and I must leave myself time to discuss the remaining points.

The aims, then, which should be steadily kept in view by those who mean to form a charming and noble style, alike in poetry and in prose, are in my opinion those already mentioned. These, at all events, are the most essential and effective. But those which I have been unable to mention, as being more minute and more obscure than these, and, owing to their number, hard to embrace in a single treatise, I will bring before you in our daily lessons, and I will draw illustrations in support of my views from many good poets, historians, and orators. But now I will go on to add to this work, before concluding it, the remainder of the points which I promised to treat of, and the discussion of which is as indispensable as any: viz. what

1 συστέλεσθαι P: συντελεῖσθαι F   4 διιστάναι F: διιστάνειν PMV   5 διάτασις F   6 διηρτημένη F   10 ἡρωϊκὸν F: ἡρῶιον P, MV   12 οὗτοι F: οὗτοί γε PMV   17 δοκεῖ καὶ FM: ἐδόκει P: εἰδοκεῖ V   19 ἡδεῖαν καὶ καλὴν F: καλὴν καὶ ἡδεῖαν PMV   23 μιᾶι F: μὴ PM: om. V   24 σοι καὶ PMV: καὶ F || ἀγαθῶν καὶ ποιητῶν τε (τε om. M) καὶ P, M   25 μαρτυρίοις F: μαρτυρι(ας) P: μαρτυρίαις MV   26 νυνὶ F: νῦν PMV1.τῇ βραχύτητικτλ.: i.e. the utterance must necessarily be rapid when the syllables are short and trip along.2. “Again, as between words, there is no hiatus, no semi-vowel or mute meets a semi-vowel, there is no rhetorical pause and no elision, the words almost run together into one” (GoodellGreek Metricp. 175).11.βακχεῖος: see note on20017supra.13.τὰς ἀλόγους[συλλαβάς]: i.e. the long syllables in πέδονδε and κυλίνδετο.—With Usener’s conjecture παραμεμιγμένας the meaning will be “and these too are such as have irrational syllables incorporated with them.”14.τροχαίων: Schaefer suggests τριβραχέων, Sauppe χορείων.18.ἐγγένηται: cp.Antiqq. Rom.vi. 9 ὦ μακάριοι μέν, οἷς ἂν ἐγγένηται τὸν ἐκ τοῦδε τοῦ πολέμου θρίαμβον καταγαγεῖν. In6811 σχολή is added, ἐὰν δ’ ἐγγένηταί μοι σχολή: and in22422 χρόνος is found in P and V.23.ἐν ταῖς καθ’ ἡμέραν γυμνασίαις: this is one of the incidental references which show that Dionysius taught rhetoric at Rome.

1 συστέλεσθαι P: συντελεῖσθαι F   4 διιστάναι F: διιστάνειν PMV   5 διάτασις F   6 διηρτημένη F   10 ἡρωϊκὸν F: ἡρῶιον P, MV   12 οὗτοι F: οὗτοί γε PMV   17 δοκεῖ καὶ FM: ἐδόκει P: εἰδοκεῖ V   19 ἡδεῖαν καὶ καλὴν F: καλὴν καὶ ἡδεῖαν PMV   23 μιᾶι F: μὴ PM: om. V   24 σοι καὶ PMV: καὶ F || ἀγαθῶν καὶ ποιητῶν τε (τε om. M) καὶ P, M   25 μαρτυρίοις F: μαρτυρι(ας) P: μαρτυρίαις MV   26 νυνὶ F: νῦν PMV

1.τῇ βραχύτητικτλ.: i.e. the utterance must necessarily be rapid when the syllables are short and trip along.

2. “Again, as between words, there is no hiatus, no semi-vowel or mute meets a semi-vowel, there is no rhetorical pause and no elision, the words almost run together into one” (GoodellGreek Metricp. 175).

11.βακχεῖος: see note on20017supra.

13.τὰς ἀλόγους[συλλαβάς]: i.e. the long syllables in πέδονδε and κυλίνδετο.—With Usener’s conjecture παραμεμιγμένας the meaning will be “and these too are such as have irrational syllables incorporated with them.”

14.τροχαίων: Schaefer suggests τριβραχέων, Sauppe χορείων.

18.ἐγγένηται: cp.Antiqq. Rom.vi. 9 ὦ μακάριοι μέν, οἷς ἂν ἐγγένηται τὸν ἐκ τοῦδε τοῦ πολέμου θρίαμβον καταγαγεῖν. In6811 σχολή is added, ἐὰν δ’ ἐγγένηταί μοι σχολή: and in22422 χρόνος is found in P and V.

23.ἐν ταῖς καθ’ ἡμέραν γυμνασίαις: this is one of the incidental references which show that Dionysius taught rhetoric at Rome.

* * * τίνες εἰσὶ διαφοραὶ τῆς συνθέσεως καὶ τίς ἑκάστηςχαρακτὴρ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ, τῶν τε πρωτευσάντων ἐν αὐταῖςμνησθῆναι καὶ δείγματα ἑκάστου παρασχεῖν, ὅταν δὲ ταῦταλάβῃ μοι τέλος, τότε κἀκεῖνα διευκρινῆσαι τὰ παρὰ τοῖςπολλοῖς ἀπορούμενα, τί ποτ’ ἐστὶν ὃ ποιεῖ τὴν μὲν πεζὴν      5λέξιν ὁμοίαν ποιήματι φαίνεσθαι μένουσαν ἐν τῷ τοῦ λόγουσχήματι, τὴν δὲ ποιητικὴν φράσιν ἐμφερῆ τῷ πεζῷ λόγῳφυλάττουσαν τὴν ποιητικὴν σεμνότητα· σχεδὸν γὰρ οἱκράτιστα διαλεχθέντες ἢ ποιήσαντες ταῦτ’ ἔχουσιν ἐν τῇλέξει τἀγαθά. πειρατέον δὴ καὶ περὶ τούτων, ἃ φρονῶ,      10λέγειν. ἄρξομαι δ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου.XXIἐγὼ τῆς συνθέσεως εἰδικὰς μὲν διαφορὰς πολλὰς σφόδραεἶναι τίθεμαι καὶ οὔτ’ εἰς σύνοψιν ἐλθεῖν δυναμένας οὔτ’ εἰςλογισμὸν ἀκριβῆ, οἴομαί τε ἴδιον ἡμῶν ἑκάστῳ χαρακτῆραὥσπερ ὄψεως, οὕτω καὶ συνθέσεως ὀνομάτων παρακολουθεῖν,      15οὐ φαύλῳ παραδείγματι χρώμενος ζῳγραφίᾳ· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐνἐκείνῃ τὰ αὐτὰ φάρμακα λαμβάνοντες ἅπαντες οἱ τὰ ζῷαγράφοντες οὐδὲν ἐοικότα ποιοῦσιν ἀλλήλοις τὰ μίγματα, τὸναὐτὸν τρόπον ἐν ποιητικῇ τε διαλέκτῳ καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ πάσῃτοῖς αὐτοῖς ὀνόμασι χρώμενοι πάντες οὐχ ὁμοίως αὐτὰ συντίθεμεν.      20τὰς μέντοι γενικὰς αὐτῆς διαφορὰς ταύτας εἶναιπείθομαι μόνας τὰς τρεῖς, αἷς ὁ βουλόμενος ὀνόματα θήσεταιτὰ οἰκεῖα, ἐπειδὰν τούς τε χαρακτῆρας αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς διαφορὰςἀκούσῃ. ἐγὼ μέντοι κυρίοις ὀνόμασιν οὐκ ἔχων αὐτὰς προσαγορεῦσαιὡς ἀκατονομάστους μεταφορικοῖς ὀνόμασι καλῶ τὴνμὲν αὐστηράν, τὴν δὲ γλαφυράν [ἢ ἀνθηράν], τὴν δὲ τρίτην[209]are the different styles of composition and what the usual distinguishing mark of each is. I will include some mention of those who have been eminent in them, and will also add examples from each author. When the treatment of these points is completed, I must proceed to dispose of certain difficulties very generally felt: what it can be that makes prose appear like a poem though retaining the form of prose, and verse like prose though maintaining the loftiness of poetry; for almost all the best writers of prose or poetry have these excellences in their style. I must do my best, then, to set forth my views on these matters also. I will begin with the first.CHAPTER XXITHREE MODES, OR STYLES, OF COMPOSITIONI assert without any hesitation that there are many specific differences of composition, and that they cannot be brought into a comprehensive view or within a precise enumeration; I think too that, as in personal appearance, so also in literary composition, each of us has an individual character. I find not a bad illustration in painting. As in that art all painters from life take the same pigments but mix them in the most diverse ways, so in poetry and in prose, though we all use the same words, we do not put them together in the same manner. I hold, however, that the essentially different varieties of composition are the three following only, to which any one who likes may assign the appropriate names, when he has heard their characteristics and their differences. For my own part, since I cannot find recognized names for them, inasmuch as none exist, I call them by metaphorical terms—the firstaustere, the secondsmooth(orflorid), the third

* * * τίνες εἰσὶ διαφοραὶ τῆς συνθέσεως καὶ τίς ἑκάστηςχαρακτὴρ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ, τῶν τε πρωτευσάντων ἐν αὐταῖςμνησθῆναι καὶ δείγματα ἑκάστου παρασχεῖν, ὅταν δὲ ταῦταλάβῃ μοι τέλος, τότε κἀκεῖνα διευκρινῆσαι τὰ παρὰ τοῖςπολλοῖς ἀπορούμενα, τί ποτ’ ἐστὶν ὃ ποιεῖ τὴν μὲν πεζὴν      5λέξιν ὁμοίαν ποιήματι φαίνεσθαι μένουσαν ἐν τῷ τοῦ λόγουσχήματι, τὴν δὲ ποιητικὴν φράσιν ἐμφερῆ τῷ πεζῷ λόγῳφυλάττουσαν τὴν ποιητικὴν σεμνότητα· σχεδὸν γὰρ οἱκράτιστα διαλεχθέντες ἢ ποιήσαντες ταῦτ’ ἔχουσιν ἐν τῇλέξει τἀγαθά. πειρατέον δὴ καὶ περὶ τούτων, ἃ φρονῶ,      10λέγειν. ἄρξομαι δ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου.XXIἐγὼ τῆς συνθέσεως εἰδικὰς μὲν διαφορὰς πολλὰς σφόδραεἶναι τίθεμαι καὶ οὔτ’ εἰς σύνοψιν ἐλθεῖν δυναμένας οὔτ’ εἰςλογισμὸν ἀκριβῆ, οἴομαί τε ἴδιον ἡμῶν ἑκάστῳ χαρακτῆραὥσπερ ὄψεως, οὕτω καὶ συνθέσεως ὀνομάτων παρακολουθεῖν,      15οὐ φαύλῳ παραδείγματι χρώμενος ζῳγραφίᾳ· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐνἐκείνῃ τὰ αὐτὰ φάρμακα λαμβάνοντες ἅπαντες οἱ τὰ ζῷαγράφοντες οὐδὲν ἐοικότα ποιοῦσιν ἀλλήλοις τὰ μίγματα, τὸναὐτὸν τρόπον ἐν ποιητικῇ τε διαλέκτῳ καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ πάσῃτοῖς αὐτοῖς ὀνόμασι χρώμενοι πάντες οὐχ ὁμοίως αὐτὰ συντίθεμεν.      20τὰς μέντοι γενικὰς αὐτῆς διαφορὰς ταύτας εἶναιπείθομαι μόνας τὰς τρεῖς, αἷς ὁ βουλόμενος ὀνόματα θήσεταιτὰ οἰκεῖα, ἐπειδὰν τούς τε χαρακτῆρας αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς διαφορὰςἀκούσῃ. ἐγὼ μέντοι κυρίοις ὀνόμασιν οὐκ ἔχων αὐτὰς προσαγορεῦσαιὡς ἀκατονομάστους μεταφορικοῖς ὀνόμασι καλῶ τὴνμὲν αὐστηράν, τὴν δὲ γλαφυράν [ἢ ἀνθηράν], τὴν δὲ τρίτην

* * * τίνες εἰσὶ διαφοραὶ τῆς συνθέσεως καὶ τίς ἑκάστηςχαρακτὴρ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ, τῶν τε πρωτευσάντων ἐν αὐταῖςμνησθῆναι καὶ δείγματα ἑκάστου παρασχεῖν, ὅταν δὲ ταῦταλάβῃ μοι τέλος, τότε κἀκεῖνα διευκρινῆσαι τὰ παρὰ τοῖςπολλοῖς ἀπορούμενα, τί ποτ’ ἐστὶν ὃ ποιεῖ τὴν μὲν πεζὴν      5λέξιν ὁμοίαν ποιήματι φαίνεσθαι μένουσαν ἐν τῷ τοῦ λόγουσχήματι, τὴν δὲ ποιητικὴν φράσιν ἐμφερῆ τῷ πεζῷ λόγῳφυλάττουσαν τὴν ποιητικὴν σεμνότητα· σχεδὸν γὰρ οἱκράτιστα διαλεχθέντες ἢ ποιήσαντες ταῦτ’ ἔχουσιν ἐν τῇλέξει τἀγαθά. πειρατέον δὴ καὶ περὶ τούτων, ἃ φρονῶ,      10λέγειν. ἄρξομαι δ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου.

ἐγὼ τῆς συνθέσεως εἰδικὰς μὲν διαφορὰς πολλὰς σφόδραεἶναι τίθεμαι καὶ οὔτ’ εἰς σύνοψιν ἐλθεῖν δυναμένας οὔτ’ εἰςλογισμὸν ἀκριβῆ, οἴομαί τε ἴδιον ἡμῶν ἑκάστῳ χαρακτῆραὥσπερ ὄψεως, οὕτω καὶ συνθέσεως ὀνομάτων παρακολουθεῖν,      15οὐ φαύλῳ παραδείγματι χρώμενος ζῳγραφίᾳ· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐνἐκείνῃ τὰ αὐτὰ φάρμακα λαμβάνοντες ἅπαντες οἱ τὰ ζῷαγράφοντες οὐδὲν ἐοικότα ποιοῦσιν ἀλλήλοις τὰ μίγματα, τὸναὐτὸν τρόπον ἐν ποιητικῇ τε διαλέκτῳ καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ πάσῃτοῖς αὐτοῖς ὀνόμασι χρώμενοι πάντες οὐχ ὁμοίως αὐτὰ συντίθεμεν.      20τὰς μέντοι γενικὰς αὐτῆς διαφορὰς ταύτας εἶναιπείθομαι μόνας τὰς τρεῖς, αἷς ὁ βουλόμενος ὀνόματα θήσεταιτὰ οἰκεῖα, ἐπειδὰν τούς τε χαρακτῆρας αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς διαφορὰςἀκούσῃ. ἐγὼ μέντοι κυρίοις ὀνόμασιν οὐκ ἔχων αὐτὰς προσαγορεῦσαιὡς ἀκατονομάστους μεταφορικοῖς ὀνόμασι καλῶ τὴνμὲν αὐστηράν, τὴν δὲ γλαφυράν [ἢ ἀνθηράν], τὴν δὲ τρίτην

[209]are the different styles of composition and what the usual distinguishing mark of each is. I will include some mention of those who have been eminent in them, and will also add examples from each author. When the treatment of these points is completed, I must proceed to dispose of certain difficulties very generally felt: what it can be that makes prose appear like a poem though retaining the form of prose, and verse like prose though maintaining the loftiness of poetry; for almost all the best writers of prose or poetry have these excellences in their style. I must do my best, then, to set forth my views on these matters also. I will begin with the first.CHAPTER XXITHREE MODES, OR STYLES, OF COMPOSITIONI assert without any hesitation that there are many specific differences of composition, and that they cannot be brought into a comprehensive view or within a precise enumeration; I think too that, as in personal appearance, so also in literary composition, each of us has an individual character. I find not a bad illustration in painting. As in that art all painters from life take the same pigments but mix them in the most diverse ways, so in poetry and in prose, though we all use the same words, we do not put them together in the same manner. I hold, however, that the essentially different varieties of composition are the three following only, to which any one who likes may assign the appropriate names, when he has heard their characteristics and their differences. For my own part, since I cannot find recognized names for them, inasmuch as none exist, I call them by metaphorical terms—the firstaustere, the secondsmooth(orflorid), the third

[209]

are the different styles of composition and what the usual distinguishing mark of each is. I will include some mention of those who have been eminent in them, and will also add examples from each author. When the treatment of these points is completed, I must proceed to dispose of certain difficulties very generally felt: what it can be that makes prose appear like a poem though retaining the form of prose, and verse like prose though maintaining the loftiness of poetry; for almost all the best writers of prose or poetry have these excellences in their style. I must do my best, then, to set forth my views on these matters also. I will begin with the first.

I assert without any hesitation that there are many specific differences of composition, and that they cannot be brought into a comprehensive view or within a precise enumeration; I think too that, as in personal appearance, so also in literary composition, each of us has an individual character. I find not a bad illustration in painting. As in that art all painters from life take the same pigments but mix them in the most diverse ways, so in poetry and in prose, though we all use the same words, we do not put them together in the same manner. I hold, however, that the essentially different varieties of composition are the three following only, to which any one who likes may assign the appropriate names, when he has heard their characteristics and their differences. For my own part, since I cannot find recognized names for them, inasmuch as none exist, I call them by metaphorical terms—the firstaustere, the secondsmooth(orflorid), the third

1 hiatum indicavit Schottius   2 τε om. F   4 κακεῖνα P, MV: καὶ ταῦτα F || διευκρινήσω V || τοῖς FM: om. PV   5 μὲν F: om. PMV   7 λόγῳ om. PV   9 ἢ om. P   11 δὲ ἀπὸ MV: δὲ κατὰ P   12 εἰδικὰς F (E): ἰδικὰς PMV || διαφορὰς πολλὰς F: πολλὰς διαφορὰς PMV   13 εἰς συλλογισμὸν F   14 ἴδιον ἡμῶν ἑκάστῳ χαρακτῆρα] ἰδιώματα ἑκάστῳ χαρακτῆρι F   16 φαύλω F: φαύλως PMV || ζωγραφία F: ζωγραφιαίω PM   19 πάσῃ Us.: ἁπάση libri   20 ἅπαντες F   22 μόνας EF: om. PMV   25 ἀκατονομάστοις PV   26 ἢ ἀνθηράν om. P3. As the sentence stands, the infinitives μνησθῆναι, παρασχεῖν and διευκρινῆσαι are without regular government. βουλόμενος may be inserted after μνησθῆναι, or (as Usener prefers to think) something like ἀναγκαῖον γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι πρῶτον μὲν παραστῆσαι may be supposed to have fallen out between παύσομαι and τίνες.7. Dionysius’ practice of variety in his own style is shown by his use of ἐμφερῆ here, as compared with ὁμοίαν in l. 6.12. This and the following chapters should be compared carefully withde Demosth.cc. 36 ff.21. For Greek views as to types of style in general (not simply ἁρμονίαι) reference may be made to Demetr. pp. 28 ff.24. At this point in the Epitome, the Darmstadt codex has (in the margin) ὁ δὲ Πλούταρχος τὸ μὲν τῆς συνθέσεως ἁδρόν, τὸ δὲ ἰσχνόν, τὸ δὲ μέσον καλεῖ.26.ἢ ἀνθηράν: cp.23225 (where P again omits the second epithet) and2489 (with critical note).

1 hiatum indicavit Schottius   2 τε om. F   4 κακεῖνα P, MV: καὶ ταῦτα F || διευκρινήσω V || τοῖς FM: om. PV   5 μὲν F: om. PMV   7 λόγῳ om. PV   9 ἢ om. P   11 δὲ ἀπὸ MV: δὲ κατὰ P   12 εἰδικὰς F (E): ἰδικὰς PMV || διαφορὰς πολλὰς F: πολλὰς διαφορὰς PMV   13 εἰς συλλογισμὸν F   14 ἴδιον ἡμῶν ἑκάστῳ χαρακτῆρα] ἰδιώματα ἑκάστῳ χαρακτῆρι F   16 φαύλω F: φαύλως PMV || ζωγραφία F: ζωγραφιαίω PM   19 πάσῃ Us.: ἁπάση libri   20 ἅπαντες F   22 μόνας EF: om. PMV   25 ἀκατονομάστοις PV   26 ἢ ἀνθηράν om. P

3. As the sentence stands, the infinitives μνησθῆναι, παρασχεῖν and διευκρινῆσαι are without regular government. βουλόμενος may be inserted after μνησθῆναι, or (as Usener prefers to think) something like ἀναγκαῖον γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι πρῶτον μὲν παραστῆσαι may be supposed to have fallen out between παύσομαι and τίνες.

7. Dionysius’ practice of variety in his own style is shown by his use of ἐμφερῆ here, as compared with ὁμοίαν in l. 6.

12. This and the following chapters should be compared carefully withde Demosth.cc. 36 ff.

21. For Greek views as to types of style in general (not simply ἁρμονίαι) reference may be made to Demetr. pp. 28 ff.

24. At this point in the Epitome, the Darmstadt codex has (in the margin) ὁ δὲ Πλούταρχος τὸ μὲν τῆς συνθέσεως ἁδρόν, τὸ δὲ ἰσχνόν, τὸ δὲ μέσον καλεῖ.

26.ἢ ἀνθηράν: cp.23225 (where P again omits the second epithet) and2489 (with critical note).

εὔκρατον· ἣν ὅπως ποτὲ γίνεσθαι φαίην ἄν, ἔγωγε ἀπορῶ,καὶ “δίχα μοι νόος ἀτρέκειαν εἰπεῖν,” εἴτε κατὰ στέρησιντῶν ἄκρων ἑκατέρας εἴτε κατὰ μῖξιν· οὐ γὰρ ῥᾴδιονεἰκάσαι τὸ σαφές. μή ποτ’ οὖν κρεῖττον ᾖ λέγειν, ὅτι κατὰτὴν ἄνεσίν τε καὶ τὴν ἐπίτασιν τῶν ἐσχάτων ὅρων οἱ διὰ      5μέσου γίνονται πολλοὶ πάνυ ὄντες· οὐ γὰρ ὥσπερ ἐν μουσικῇτὸ ἴσον ἀπέχει τῆς νήτης καὶ τῆς ὑπάτης ἡ μέση, τὸν αὐτὸντρόπον καὶ ἐν λόγοις ὁ μέσος χαρακτὴρ ἑκατέρου τῶν ἄκρωνἴσον ἀφέστηκεν, ἀλλ’ ἔστι τῶν ἐν πλάτει θεωρουμένων ὡςἀγέλη τε καὶ σωρὸς καὶ ἄλλα πολλά. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐχ οὗτος      10ὁ καιρὸς ἁρμόττων τῇ θεωρίᾳ ταύτῃ· λεκτέον δ’, ὥσπερ ὑπεθέμην,καὶ περὶ τῶν χαρακτήρων οὐχ ἅπανθ’ ὅσ’ ἂν εἰπεῖνἔχοιμι (μακρῶν γὰρ ἄν μοι πάνυ δεήσειε λόγων), ἀλλ’ αὐτὰτὰ φανερώτατα.XXIIτῆς μὲν οὖν αὐστηρᾶς ἁρμονίας τοιόσδε ὁ χαρακτήρ·      15ἐρείδεσθαι βούλεται τὰ ὀνόματα ἀσφαλῶς καὶ στάσεις λαμβάνεινἰσχυράς, ὥστ’ ἐκ περιφανείας ἕκαστον ὄνομα ὁρᾶσθαι,ἀπέχειν τε ἀπ’ ἀλλήλων τὰ μόρια διαστάσεις ἀξιολόγουςαἰσθητοῖς χρόνοις διειργόμενα· τραχείαις τε χρῆσθαι πολλαχῇκαὶ ἀντιτύποις ταῖς συμβολαῖς οὐδὲν αὐτῇ διαφέρει, οἷαι      20γίνονται τῶν λογάδην συντιθεμένων ἐν οἰκοδομίαις λίθων αἱμὴ εὐγώνιοι καὶ μὴ συνεξεσμέναι βάσεις, ἀργαὶ δέ τινες καὶ[211]harmoniously blended. How I am to say the third is formed I am at a loss to know—“my mind is too divided to utter truth”[173]: I cannot see whether it is formed by eliminating the two extremes or by fusing them—it is not easy to hit on any clear answer. Perhaps, then, it is better to say that it is by relaxation and tension of the extremes that the means, which are very numerous, arise. The case is not as in music, where the middle note is equally removed from the lowest and the highest. The middle style in writing does not in the same way stand at an equal distance from each of the two extremes; “middle” is here a vague general term, like “herd,” “heap,” and many others. But the present is not the right time for the investigation of this particular point. I must say what I undertook to say with regard to the several styles—not all that I could (I should need a very long treatise to do that), but just the most salient points.CHAPTER XXIIAUSTERE COMPOSITIONThe characteristic feature of the austere arrangement is this:—It requires that the words should be like columns firmly planted and placed in strong positions, so that each word should be seen on every side, and that the parts should be at appreciable distances from one another, being separated by perceptible intervals. It does not in the least shrink from using frequently harsh sound-clashings which jar on the ear; like blocks of building stone that are laid together unworked, blocks that are not square and smooth, but preserve their natural roughness and irregularity.

εὔκρατον· ἣν ὅπως ποτὲ γίνεσθαι φαίην ἄν, ἔγωγε ἀπορῶ,καὶ “δίχα μοι νόος ἀτρέκειαν εἰπεῖν,” εἴτε κατὰ στέρησιντῶν ἄκρων ἑκατέρας εἴτε κατὰ μῖξιν· οὐ γὰρ ῥᾴδιονεἰκάσαι τὸ σαφές. μή ποτ’ οὖν κρεῖττον ᾖ λέγειν, ὅτι κατὰτὴν ἄνεσίν τε καὶ τὴν ἐπίτασιν τῶν ἐσχάτων ὅρων οἱ διὰ      5μέσου γίνονται πολλοὶ πάνυ ὄντες· οὐ γὰρ ὥσπερ ἐν μουσικῇτὸ ἴσον ἀπέχει τῆς νήτης καὶ τῆς ὑπάτης ἡ μέση, τὸν αὐτὸντρόπον καὶ ἐν λόγοις ὁ μέσος χαρακτὴρ ἑκατέρου τῶν ἄκρωνἴσον ἀφέστηκεν, ἀλλ’ ἔστι τῶν ἐν πλάτει θεωρουμένων ὡςἀγέλη τε καὶ σωρὸς καὶ ἄλλα πολλά. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐχ οὗτος      10ὁ καιρὸς ἁρμόττων τῇ θεωρίᾳ ταύτῃ· λεκτέον δ’, ὥσπερ ὑπεθέμην,καὶ περὶ τῶν χαρακτήρων οὐχ ἅπανθ’ ὅσ’ ἂν εἰπεῖνἔχοιμι (μακρῶν γὰρ ἄν μοι πάνυ δεήσειε λόγων), ἀλλ’ αὐτὰτὰ φανερώτατα.XXIIτῆς μὲν οὖν αὐστηρᾶς ἁρμονίας τοιόσδε ὁ χαρακτήρ·      15ἐρείδεσθαι βούλεται τὰ ὀνόματα ἀσφαλῶς καὶ στάσεις λαμβάνεινἰσχυράς, ὥστ’ ἐκ περιφανείας ἕκαστον ὄνομα ὁρᾶσθαι,ἀπέχειν τε ἀπ’ ἀλλήλων τὰ μόρια διαστάσεις ἀξιολόγουςαἰσθητοῖς χρόνοις διειργόμενα· τραχείαις τε χρῆσθαι πολλαχῇκαὶ ἀντιτύποις ταῖς συμβολαῖς οὐδὲν αὐτῇ διαφέρει, οἷαι      20γίνονται τῶν λογάδην συντιθεμένων ἐν οἰκοδομίαις λίθων αἱμὴ εὐγώνιοι καὶ μὴ συνεξεσμέναι βάσεις, ἀργαὶ δέ τινες καὶ

εὔκρατον· ἣν ὅπως ποτὲ γίνεσθαι φαίην ἄν, ἔγωγε ἀπορῶ,καὶ “δίχα μοι νόος ἀτρέκειαν εἰπεῖν,” εἴτε κατὰ στέρησιντῶν ἄκρων ἑκατέρας εἴτε κατὰ μῖξιν· οὐ γὰρ ῥᾴδιονεἰκάσαι τὸ σαφές. μή ποτ’ οὖν κρεῖττον ᾖ λέγειν, ὅτι κατὰτὴν ἄνεσίν τε καὶ τὴν ἐπίτασιν τῶν ἐσχάτων ὅρων οἱ διὰ      5μέσου γίνονται πολλοὶ πάνυ ὄντες· οὐ γὰρ ὥσπερ ἐν μουσικῇτὸ ἴσον ἀπέχει τῆς νήτης καὶ τῆς ὑπάτης ἡ μέση, τὸν αὐτὸντρόπον καὶ ἐν λόγοις ὁ μέσος χαρακτὴρ ἑκατέρου τῶν ἄκρωνἴσον ἀφέστηκεν, ἀλλ’ ἔστι τῶν ἐν πλάτει θεωρουμένων ὡςἀγέλη τε καὶ σωρὸς καὶ ἄλλα πολλά. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐχ οὗτος      10ὁ καιρὸς ἁρμόττων τῇ θεωρίᾳ ταύτῃ· λεκτέον δ’, ὥσπερ ὑπεθέμην,καὶ περὶ τῶν χαρακτήρων οὐχ ἅπανθ’ ὅσ’ ἂν εἰπεῖνἔχοιμι (μακρῶν γὰρ ἄν μοι πάνυ δεήσειε λόγων), ἀλλ’ αὐτὰτὰ φανερώτατα.

τῆς μὲν οὖν αὐστηρᾶς ἁρμονίας τοιόσδε ὁ χαρακτήρ·      15ἐρείδεσθαι βούλεται τὰ ὀνόματα ἀσφαλῶς καὶ στάσεις λαμβάνεινἰσχυράς, ὥστ’ ἐκ περιφανείας ἕκαστον ὄνομα ὁρᾶσθαι,ἀπέχειν τε ἀπ’ ἀλλήλων τὰ μόρια διαστάσεις ἀξιολόγουςαἰσθητοῖς χρόνοις διειργόμενα· τραχείαις τε χρῆσθαι πολλαχῇκαὶ ἀντιτύποις ταῖς συμβολαῖς οὐδὲν αὐτῇ διαφέρει, οἷαι      20γίνονται τῶν λογάδην συντιθεμένων ἐν οἰκοδομίαις λίθων αἱμὴ εὐγώνιοι καὶ μὴ συνεξεσμέναι βάσεις, ἀργαὶ δέ τινες καὶ

[211]harmoniously blended. How I am to say the third is formed I am at a loss to know—“my mind is too divided to utter truth”[173]: I cannot see whether it is formed by eliminating the two extremes or by fusing them—it is not easy to hit on any clear answer. Perhaps, then, it is better to say that it is by relaxation and tension of the extremes that the means, which are very numerous, arise. The case is not as in music, where the middle note is equally removed from the lowest and the highest. The middle style in writing does not in the same way stand at an equal distance from each of the two extremes; “middle” is here a vague general term, like “herd,” “heap,” and many others. But the present is not the right time for the investigation of this particular point. I must say what I undertook to say with regard to the several styles—not all that I could (I should need a very long treatise to do that), but just the most salient points.CHAPTER XXIIAUSTERE COMPOSITIONThe characteristic feature of the austere arrangement is this:—It requires that the words should be like columns firmly planted and placed in strong positions, so that each word should be seen on every side, and that the parts should be at appreciable distances from one another, being separated by perceptible intervals. It does not in the least shrink from using frequently harsh sound-clashings which jar on the ear; like blocks of building stone that are laid together unworked, blocks that are not square and smooth, but preserve their natural roughness and irregularity.

[211]

harmoniously blended. How I am to say the third is formed I am at a loss to know—“my mind is too divided to utter truth”[173]: I cannot see whether it is formed by eliminating the two extremes or by fusing them—it is not easy to hit on any clear answer. Perhaps, then, it is better to say that it is by relaxation and tension of the extremes that the means, which are very numerous, arise. The case is not as in music, where the middle note is equally removed from the lowest and the highest. The middle style in writing does not in the same way stand at an equal distance from each of the two extremes; “middle” is here a vague general term, like “herd,” “heap,” and many others. But the present is not the right time for the investigation of this particular point. I must say what I undertook to say with regard to the several styles—not all that I could (I should need a very long treatise to do that), but just the most salient points.

The characteristic feature of the austere arrangement is this:—It requires that the words should be like columns firmly planted and placed in strong positions, so that each word should be seen on every side, and that the parts should be at appreciable distances from one another, being separated by perceptible intervals. It does not in the least shrink from using frequently harsh sound-clashings which jar on the ear; like blocks of building stone that are laid together unworked, blocks that are not square and smooth, but preserve their natural roughness and irregularity.

1 εὔκρατον EF: κοινὴν PMV   2 κατὰ E: κατὰ τὴν FPMV   3 μίξιν F   4 ἦι P: ἦν F || κατὰ τὴν FPMV: κατὰ E   5 τε καὶ τὴν PMV: τε καὶ F: καὶ E   6 ἐν om. P   7 νήτης F: νεάτης PMV   8 χαρακτὴρ om. PV   9 ἴσως F   11 ὥσπερ F: ὡς PMV   12 καὶ F: om. PMV || ὅσα εἰπεῖν codd.: ἂν ins. Schaeferus   13 ἄν μοι F: ἂν οἶμαι PMV || δεήσειε F: δεήσει P: δεήσειν MV   17 περιφερίας F   18 διατάσεις F   20 οἷαι F: οἳ P: οἷον MV   21 αἱ μη F: αἱ μὴτε P, MV   22 καὶ μὴ F: μὴδε P || ἀργαὶ δὲ] γὰρ αἷδε F1. Here (and in24611) it is open to question whether κοινήν does not fit the context better than εὔκρατον.2. The passage of Pindar is quoted in Cic.Ep. ad Att.xiii. 38 “nunc me iuva, mi Attice, consilio, ‘πότερον δίκᾳ τεῖχος ὕψιον,’ id est utrum aperte hominem asperner et respuam, ‘ἢ σκολιαῖς ἀπάταις.’ ut enim Pindaro sic ‘δίχα μοι νόος ἀτρέκειαν εἰπεῖν.’ omnino moribus meis illud aptius, sed hoc fortasse temporibus.”3.κατὰ μῖξιν: sc. τῶν ἄκρων. —Cp.de Demosth.c. 36 οἱ δὲ συνθέντες ἀφ’ ἑκατέρας τὰ χρησιμώτατα τὴν μικτὴν καὶ μέσην ἐζήλωσαν ἀγωγήν.4.μή ποτ’ ... ᾖ: a favourite Platonic usage, e.g.Gorgias462Eμὴ ἀγροικότερον ᾖ τὸ ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν,Apol.39Aἀλλὰ μὴ οὐ τοῦτ’ ᾖ χαλεπόν, ὦ ἄνδρες, θάνατον ἐκφυγεῖν, ἀλλὰ πολὺ χαλεπώτερον πονηρίαν.5. The intermediate, or eclectic, styles are numerous and differ greatly according as they relax or strain the extreme, or pronounced, styles: cp.de Demosth.c. 37 init.8. A point worth considering is how far this may seem to make for or against the view that the Dionysian doctrine of styles is Peripatetic in origin, being derived from Theophrastus.10.σωρός: cp. σωρείτης (Lat.acervalis, Cic.de Div.ii. 4. 11), in the sense which it bears in Hor.Ep.ii. 1. 45-47 and Cic.Academ.ii. 16. 49.15. Batteux (p. 249) would illustrate the austere style from Rousseau’sOdei. 2 (tirée du Psaume xviii.), “Les cieux instruisent la terre | À révérer leur auteur; | Tout ce que leur globe enserre | Célèbre un Dieu créateur,” etc.—With c. 22 of theC.V.should be compared, throughout, cc. 38, 39 of thede Demosth.18.ἀπέχειν τεκτλ.: i.e. it (the austere style) aims at dividing its clauses from one another by appreciable pauses.

1 εὔκρατον EF: κοινὴν PMV   2 κατὰ E: κατὰ τὴν FPMV   3 μίξιν F   4 ἦι P: ἦν F || κατὰ τὴν FPMV: κατὰ E   5 τε καὶ τὴν PMV: τε καὶ F: καὶ E   6 ἐν om. P   7 νήτης F: νεάτης PMV   8 χαρακτὴρ om. PV   9 ἴσως F   11 ὥσπερ F: ὡς PMV   12 καὶ F: om. PMV || ὅσα εἰπεῖν codd.: ἂν ins. Schaeferus   13 ἄν μοι F: ἂν οἶμαι PMV || δεήσειε F: δεήσει P: δεήσειν MV   17 περιφερίας F   18 διατάσεις F   20 οἷαι F: οἳ P: οἷον MV   21 αἱ μη F: αἱ μὴτε P, MV   22 καὶ μὴ F: μὴδε P || ἀργαὶ δὲ] γὰρ αἷδε F

1. Here (and in24611) it is open to question whether κοινήν does not fit the context better than εὔκρατον.

2. The passage of Pindar is quoted in Cic.Ep. ad Att.xiii. 38 “nunc me iuva, mi Attice, consilio, ‘πότερον δίκᾳ τεῖχος ὕψιον,’ id est utrum aperte hominem asperner et respuam, ‘ἢ σκολιαῖς ἀπάταις.’ ut enim Pindaro sic ‘δίχα μοι νόος ἀτρέκειαν εἰπεῖν.’ omnino moribus meis illud aptius, sed hoc fortasse temporibus.”

3.κατὰ μῖξιν: sc. τῶν ἄκρων. —Cp.de Demosth.c. 36 οἱ δὲ συνθέντες ἀφ’ ἑκατέρας τὰ χρησιμώτατα τὴν μικτὴν καὶ μέσην ἐζήλωσαν ἀγωγήν.

4.μή ποτ’ ... ᾖ: a favourite Platonic usage, e.g.Gorgias462Eμὴ ἀγροικότερον ᾖ τὸ ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν,Apol.39Aἀλλὰ μὴ οὐ τοῦτ’ ᾖ χαλεπόν, ὦ ἄνδρες, θάνατον ἐκφυγεῖν, ἀλλὰ πολὺ χαλεπώτερον πονηρίαν.

5. The intermediate, or eclectic, styles are numerous and differ greatly according as they relax or strain the extreme, or pronounced, styles: cp.de Demosth.c. 37 init.

8. A point worth considering is how far this may seem to make for or against the view that the Dionysian doctrine of styles is Peripatetic in origin, being derived from Theophrastus.

10.σωρός: cp. σωρείτης (Lat.acervalis, Cic.de Div.ii. 4. 11), in the sense which it bears in Hor.Ep.ii. 1. 45-47 and Cic.Academ.ii. 16. 49.

15. Batteux (p. 249) would illustrate the austere style from Rousseau’sOdei. 2 (tirée du Psaume xviii.), “Les cieux instruisent la terre | À révérer leur auteur; | Tout ce que leur globe enserre | Célèbre un Dieu créateur,” etc.—With c. 22 of theC.V.should be compared, throughout, cc. 38, 39 of thede Demosth.

18.ἀπέχειν τεκτλ.: i.e. it (the austere style) aims at dividing its clauses from one another by appreciable pauses.

αὐτοσχέδιοι· μεγάλοις τε καὶ διαβεβηκόσιν εἰς πλάτος ὀνόμασινὡς τὰ πολλὰ μηκύνεσθαι φιλεῖ· τὸ γὰρ εἰς βραχείας συλλαβὰςσυνάγεσθαι πολέμιον αὐτῇ, πλὴν εἴ ποτε ἀνάγκη βιάζοιτο.ἐν μὲν δὴ τοῖς ὀνόμασι ταῦτα πειρᾶται διώκειν καὶτούτων γλίχεται· ἐν δὲ τοῖς κώλοις ταῦτά τε ὁμοίως ἐπιτηδεύει      5καὶ τοὺς ῥυθμοὺς τοὺς ἀξιωματικοὺς καὶ μεγαλοπρεπεῖς,καὶ οὔτε πάρισα βούλεται τὰ κῶλα ἀλλήλοις εἶναι οὔτεπαρόμοια οὔτε ἀναγκαίᾳ δουλεύοντα ἀκολουθίᾳ, ἀλλ’ εὐγενῆκαὶ λαμπρὰ καὶ ἐλεύθερα, φύσει τ’ ἐοικέναι μᾶλλον αὐτὰβούλεται ἢ τέχνῃ, καὶ κατὰ πάθος λέγεσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ κατ’      10ἦθος. περιόδους δὲ συντιθέναι συναπαρτιζούσας ἑαυταῖς τὸννοῦν τὰ πολλὰ μὲν οὐδὲ βούλεται· εἰ δέ ποτ’ αὐτομάτως ἐπὶτοῦτο κατενεχθείη, τὸ ἀνεπιτήδευτον ἐμφαίνειν θέλει καὶἀφελές, οὔτε προσθήκαις τισὶν ὀνομάτων, ἵνα ὁ κύκλοςἐκπληρωθῇ, μηδὲν ὠφελούσαις τὸν νοῦν χρωμένη, οὔτε ὅπως αἱ      15βάσεις αὐτῶν γένοιντο θεατρικαί τινες ἢ γλαφυραί, σπουδὴνἔχουσα, οὐδ’ ἵνα τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ λέγοντος ὦσιν αὐτάρκειςσυμμετρουμένη μὰ Δία, οὐδ’ ἄλλην τινὰ [πραγματείαν] τοιαύτηνἔχουσα ἐπιτήδευσιν οὐδεμίαν. ἔτι τῆς τοιαύτης ἐστὶνἁρμονίας καὶ ταῦτα ἴδια· ἀγχίστροφός ἐστι περὶ τὰς πτώσεις,      20ποικίλη περὶ τοὺς σχηματισμούς, ὀλιγοσύνδεσμος, ἄναρθρος,ἐν πολλοῖς ὑπεροπτικὴ τῆς ἀκολουθίας, ἥκιστ’ ἀνθηρά,μεγαλόφρων, αὐθέκαστος, ἀκόμψευτος, τὸν ἀρχαϊσμὸν καὶ τὸνπίνον ἔχουσα κάλλος.ταύτης δὲ τῆς ἁρμονίας πολλοὶ μὲν ἐγένοντο ζηλωταὶ κατά      25[213]It is prone for the most part to expansion by means of great spacious words. It objects to being confined to short syllables, except under occasional stress of necessity.In respect of the words, then, these are the aims which it strives to attain, and to these it adheres. In its clauses it pursues not only these objects but also impressive and stately rhythms, and tries to make its clauses not parallel in structure or sound, nor slaves to a rigid sequence, but noble, brilliant, free. It wishes them to suggest nature rather than art, and to stir emotion rather than to reflect character. And as to periods, it does not, as a rule, even attempt to compose them in such a way that the sense of each is complete in itself: if it ever drifts into this accidentally, it seeks to emphasize its own unstudied and simple character, neither using any supplementary words which in no way aid the sense, merely in order that the period may be fully rounded off, nor being anxious that the periods should move smoothly or showily, nor nicely calculating them so as to be just sufficient (if you please) for the speaker’s breath, nor taking pains about any other such trifles. Further, the arrangement in question is marked by flexibility in its use of the cases, variety in the employment of figures, few connectives; it lacks articles, it often disregards natural sequence; it is anything rather than florid, it is aristocratic, plain-spoken, unvarnished; an old-world mellowness constitutes its beauty.This mode of composition was once zealously practised by

αὐτοσχέδιοι· μεγάλοις τε καὶ διαβεβηκόσιν εἰς πλάτος ὀνόμασινὡς τὰ πολλὰ μηκύνεσθαι φιλεῖ· τὸ γὰρ εἰς βραχείας συλλαβὰςσυνάγεσθαι πολέμιον αὐτῇ, πλὴν εἴ ποτε ἀνάγκη βιάζοιτο.ἐν μὲν δὴ τοῖς ὀνόμασι ταῦτα πειρᾶται διώκειν καὶτούτων γλίχεται· ἐν δὲ τοῖς κώλοις ταῦτά τε ὁμοίως ἐπιτηδεύει      5καὶ τοὺς ῥυθμοὺς τοὺς ἀξιωματικοὺς καὶ μεγαλοπρεπεῖς,καὶ οὔτε πάρισα βούλεται τὰ κῶλα ἀλλήλοις εἶναι οὔτεπαρόμοια οὔτε ἀναγκαίᾳ δουλεύοντα ἀκολουθίᾳ, ἀλλ’ εὐγενῆκαὶ λαμπρὰ καὶ ἐλεύθερα, φύσει τ’ ἐοικέναι μᾶλλον αὐτὰβούλεται ἢ τέχνῃ, καὶ κατὰ πάθος λέγεσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ κατ’      10ἦθος. περιόδους δὲ συντιθέναι συναπαρτιζούσας ἑαυταῖς τὸννοῦν τὰ πολλὰ μὲν οὐδὲ βούλεται· εἰ δέ ποτ’ αὐτομάτως ἐπὶτοῦτο κατενεχθείη, τὸ ἀνεπιτήδευτον ἐμφαίνειν θέλει καὶἀφελές, οὔτε προσθήκαις τισὶν ὀνομάτων, ἵνα ὁ κύκλοςἐκπληρωθῇ, μηδὲν ὠφελούσαις τὸν νοῦν χρωμένη, οὔτε ὅπως αἱ      15βάσεις αὐτῶν γένοιντο θεατρικαί τινες ἢ γλαφυραί, σπουδὴνἔχουσα, οὐδ’ ἵνα τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ λέγοντος ὦσιν αὐτάρκειςσυμμετρουμένη μὰ Δία, οὐδ’ ἄλλην τινὰ [πραγματείαν] τοιαύτηνἔχουσα ἐπιτήδευσιν οὐδεμίαν. ἔτι τῆς τοιαύτης ἐστὶνἁρμονίας καὶ ταῦτα ἴδια· ἀγχίστροφός ἐστι περὶ τὰς πτώσεις,      20ποικίλη περὶ τοὺς σχηματισμούς, ὀλιγοσύνδεσμος, ἄναρθρος,ἐν πολλοῖς ὑπεροπτικὴ τῆς ἀκολουθίας, ἥκιστ’ ἀνθηρά,μεγαλόφρων, αὐθέκαστος, ἀκόμψευτος, τὸν ἀρχαϊσμὸν καὶ τὸνπίνον ἔχουσα κάλλος.ταύτης δὲ τῆς ἁρμονίας πολλοὶ μὲν ἐγένοντο ζηλωταὶ κατά      25

αὐτοσχέδιοι· μεγάλοις τε καὶ διαβεβηκόσιν εἰς πλάτος ὀνόμασινὡς τὰ πολλὰ μηκύνεσθαι φιλεῖ· τὸ γὰρ εἰς βραχείας συλλαβὰςσυνάγεσθαι πολέμιον αὐτῇ, πλὴν εἴ ποτε ἀνάγκη βιάζοιτο.ἐν μὲν δὴ τοῖς ὀνόμασι ταῦτα πειρᾶται διώκειν καὶτούτων γλίχεται· ἐν δὲ τοῖς κώλοις ταῦτά τε ὁμοίως ἐπιτηδεύει      5καὶ τοὺς ῥυθμοὺς τοὺς ἀξιωματικοὺς καὶ μεγαλοπρεπεῖς,καὶ οὔτε πάρισα βούλεται τὰ κῶλα ἀλλήλοις εἶναι οὔτεπαρόμοια οὔτε ἀναγκαίᾳ δουλεύοντα ἀκολουθίᾳ, ἀλλ’ εὐγενῆκαὶ λαμπρὰ καὶ ἐλεύθερα, φύσει τ’ ἐοικέναι μᾶλλον αὐτὰβούλεται ἢ τέχνῃ, καὶ κατὰ πάθος λέγεσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ κατ’      10ἦθος. περιόδους δὲ συντιθέναι συναπαρτιζούσας ἑαυταῖς τὸννοῦν τὰ πολλὰ μὲν οὐδὲ βούλεται· εἰ δέ ποτ’ αὐτομάτως ἐπὶτοῦτο κατενεχθείη, τὸ ἀνεπιτήδευτον ἐμφαίνειν θέλει καὶἀφελές, οὔτε προσθήκαις τισὶν ὀνομάτων, ἵνα ὁ κύκλοςἐκπληρωθῇ, μηδὲν ὠφελούσαις τὸν νοῦν χρωμένη, οὔτε ὅπως αἱ      15βάσεις αὐτῶν γένοιντο θεατρικαί τινες ἢ γλαφυραί, σπουδὴνἔχουσα, οὐδ’ ἵνα τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ λέγοντος ὦσιν αὐτάρκειςσυμμετρουμένη μὰ Δία, οὐδ’ ἄλλην τινὰ [πραγματείαν] τοιαύτηνἔχουσα ἐπιτήδευσιν οὐδεμίαν. ἔτι τῆς τοιαύτης ἐστὶνἁρμονίας καὶ ταῦτα ἴδια· ἀγχίστροφός ἐστι περὶ τὰς πτώσεις,      20ποικίλη περὶ τοὺς σχηματισμούς, ὀλιγοσύνδεσμος, ἄναρθρος,ἐν πολλοῖς ὑπεροπτικὴ τῆς ἀκολουθίας, ἥκιστ’ ἀνθηρά,μεγαλόφρων, αὐθέκαστος, ἀκόμψευτος, τὸν ἀρχαϊσμὸν καὶ τὸνπίνον ἔχουσα κάλλος.ταύτης δὲ τῆς ἁρμονίας πολλοὶ μὲν ἐγένοντο ζηλωταὶ κατά      25

[213]It is prone for the most part to expansion by means of great spacious words. It objects to being confined to short syllables, except under occasional stress of necessity.In respect of the words, then, these are the aims which it strives to attain, and to these it adheres. In its clauses it pursues not only these objects but also impressive and stately rhythms, and tries to make its clauses not parallel in structure or sound, nor slaves to a rigid sequence, but noble, brilliant, free. It wishes them to suggest nature rather than art, and to stir emotion rather than to reflect character. And as to periods, it does not, as a rule, even attempt to compose them in such a way that the sense of each is complete in itself: if it ever drifts into this accidentally, it seeks to emphasize its own unstudied and simple character, neither using any supplementary words which in no way aid the sense, merely in order that the period may be fully rounded off, nor being anxious that the periods should move smoothly or showily, nor nicely calculating them so as to be just sufficient (if you please) for the speaker’s breath, nor taking pains about any other such trifles. Further, the arrangement in question is marked by flexibility in its use of the cases, variety in the employment of figures, few connectives; it lacks articles, it often disregards natural sequence; it is anything rather than florid, it is aristocratic, plain-spoken, unvarnished; an old-world mellowness constitutes its beauty.This mode of composition was once zealously practised by

[213]

It is prone for the most part to expansion by means of great spacious words. It objects to being confined to short syllables, except under occasional stress of necessity.

In respect of the words, then, these are the aims which it strives to attain, and to these it adheres. In its clauses it pursues not only these objects but also impressive and stately rhythms, and tries to make its clauses not parallel in structure or sound, nor slaves to a rigid sequence, but noble, brilliant, free. It wishes them to suggest nature rather than art, and to stir emotion rather than to reflect character. And as to periods, it does not, as a rule, even attempt to compose them in such a way that the sense of each is complete in itself: if it ever drifts into this accidentally, it seeks to emphasize its own unstudied and simple character, neither using any supplementary words which in no way aid the sense, merely in order that the period may be fully rounded off, nor being anxious that the periods should move smoothly or showily, nor nicely calculating them so as to be just sufficient (if you please) for the speaker’s breath, nor taking pains about any other such trifles. Further, the arrangement in question is marked by flexibility in its use of the cases, variety in the employment of figures, few connectives; it lacks articles, it often disregards natural sequence; it is anything rather than florid, it is aristocratic, plain-spoken, unvarnished; an old-world mellowness constitutes its beauty.

This mode of composition was once zealously practised by

1 εἰς F: ἐκ PMV   2 συλλαβὰς F: συλλαβῆς PMV   3 ποτε καὶ ἡ ἀνάγκη F   5 ὁμοίως Us.: ὁμοίως ἢ οὐχ ἧττον P: οὐχ ἧττον ὁμοίως F: οὐχ ἧττον MV   6 καὶ (alt.) EF: καὶ τοὺς PMV   7 καὶ οὔτε EF: ἐκλέγεται καὶ οὔτε PMV || εἶναι om. P   8 παρ’ ὅμοια F || ἀναγκαίαι P, M: ἀνάγκηι F, E: ἀναγκαῖα V || ἀκολουθίαι ἀλλ’ P, MV: ἀκόλουθα δὲ καὶ EF   9 λαμπρὰ EF: ἁπλᾶ PMV   10 ἡ τέχνη F || λέγεται EF   11 συναπαρτιζούσας E: συναπαρτιζούσαις F: συναρτιζούσας PM: συναρμοζούσας V || ἑαυταῖς EF (coniecerat Uptonus): om. PMV   12 οὐδὲ EF: οὔτε PMV   17 ἔχουσα Sylburgius: ἔχουσαι libri || τοῦ δέοντος P   18 συμμετρουμένη Schaeferus: συμμετρούμεναι libri || πραγματείαν secl. Usenerus   19 ἔχουσα P: ἔχουσαν FM: om. V || ἐπίτηδ’ οὐδεμι(αν) P: ἐπιτηδεύει οὐδὲ FMV || ἔτι Uptonus: ἐπὶ libri || ἐστὶν F: om. PMV   20 καὶ FP: κατὰ MV || ἴδια] δὲ MV || ἀγχίστροφός PM: ἀντίρροπός F   21 ἄναρθρος] ἀναίσθιος F   22 ὑπεροπτικὴ] ὑποδεκτικὴ F   23 ἀκόμψευστον F || τὸν EF: τὸ PMV   24 πῖνον libri || ἔχοντα F || κάλλος om. F   25 δὲ om. EF8. Perhaps ἀνάγκῃ δουλεύοντα, ἀνακόλουθα δὲ καί: with ἐπὶ (‘in the case of’) retained in l. 19.11. The meaning is that the austere style does not seek for periods containing a complete thought, and that, if accidentally it stumbles into them, it wishes to emphasize (by means of careful abstention from all artificial means of rounding off the sentence) the absence of premeditation.—With regard to Upton’s conjecture ἑαυταῖς it should be noticed that this is only one of many instances in which his acuteness has since been confirmed by manuscript authority.18.μὰ Δία: cp. (for the order) νὴ Δία1209. μά is here used because of the preceding negatives.22.ἐν πολλοῖς ὑπεροπτικήκτλ.: in other words, such a style delights in anacolutha.19-24. It is to be noticed, in this and other sentences, that Dionysius often so writes as to reflect the character of the style he is for the moment describing.—Baudat (p. 58) illustrates the style in question by quotations from Malherbe and Boileau, and adds: “Chacun connaît ces vers duCord’Alf. de Vigny:Roncevaux! Roncevaux! dans ta sombre valléeL’ombre du grand Roland n’est donc pas consolée!Le sonony revient six fois, le sonantrois fois, le sonaudeux fois; ils sont tous trois sourds et la rime enéeseule est sonore. La succession de ces sons produit une harmonie dure, qui a quelque chose de voilé et de funèbre; on croit entendre le grondement de l’orage.”

1 εἰς F: ἐκ PMV   2 συλλαβὰς F: συλλαβῆς PMV   3 ποτε καὶ ἡ ἀνάγκη F   5 ὁμοίως Us.: ὁμοίως ἢ οὐχ ἧττον P: οὐχ ἧττον ὁμοίως F: οὐχ ἧττον MV   6 καὶ (alt.) EF: καὶ τοὺς PMV   7 καὶ οὔτε EF: ἐκλέγεται καὶ οὔτε PMV || εἶναι om. P   8 παρ’ ὅμοια F || ἀναγκαίαι P, M: ἀνάγκηι F, E: ἀναγκαῖα V || ἀκολουθίαι ἀλλ’ P, MV: ἀκόλουθα δὲ καὶ EF   9 λαμπρὰ EF: ἁπλᾶ PMV   10 ἡ τέχνη F || λέγεται EF   11 συναπαρτιζούσας E: συναπαρτιζούσαις F: συναρτιζούσας PM: συναρμοζούσας V || ἑαυταῖς EF (coniecerat Uptonus): om. PMV   12 οὐδὲ EF: οὔτε PMV   17 ἔχουσα Sylburgius: ἔχουσαι libri || τοῦ δέοντος P   18 συμμετρουμένη Schaeferus: συμμετρούμεναι libri || πραγματείαν secl. Usenerus   19 ἔχουσα P: ἔχουσαν FM: om. V || ἐπίτηδ’ οὐδεμι(αν) P: ἐπιτηδεύει οὐδὲ FMV || ἔτι Uptonus: ἐπὶ libri || ἐστὶν F: om. PMV   20 καὶ FP: κατὰ MV || ἴδια] δὲ MV || ἀγχίστροφός PM: ἀντίρροπός F   21 ἄναρθρος] ἀναίσθιος F   22 ὑπεροπτικὴ] ὑποδεκτικὴ F   23 ἀκόμψευστον F || τὸν EF: τὸ PMV   24 πῖνον libri || ἔχοντα F || κάλλος om. F   25 δὲ om. EF

8. Perhaps ἀνάγκῃ δουλεύοντα, ἀνακόλουθα δὲ καί: with ἐπὶ (‘in the case of’) retained in l. 19.

11. The meaning is that the austere style does not seek for periods containing a complete thought, and that, if accidentally it stumbles into them, it wishes to emphasize (by means of careful abstention from all artificial means of rounding off the sentence) the absence of premeditation.—With regard to Upton’s conjecture ἑαυταῖς it should be noticed that this is only one of many instances in which his acuteness has since been confirmed by manuscript authority.

18.μὰ Δία: cp. (for the order) νὴ Δία1209. μά is here used because of the preceding negatives.

22.ἐν πολλοῖς ὑπεροπτικήκτλ.: in other words, such a style delights in anacolutha.

19-24. It is to be noticed, in this and other sentences, that Dionysius often so writes as to reflect the character of the style he is for the moment describing.—Baudat (p. 58) illustrates the style in question by quotations from Malherbe and Boileau, and adds: “Chacun connaît ces vers duCord’Alf. de Vigny:

Roncevaux! Roncevaux! dans ta sombre valléeL’ombre du grand Roland n’est donc pas consolée!

Le sonony revient six fois, le sonantrois fois, le sonaudeux fois; ils sont tous trois sourds et la rime enéeseule est sonore. La succession de ces sons produit une harmonie dure, qui a quelque chose de voilé et de funèbre; on croit entendre le grondement de l’orage.”

τε ποίησιν καὶ ἱστορίαν καὶ λόγους πολιτικούς, διαφέροντεςδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἐν μὲν ἐπικῇ ποιήσει ὅ τε Κολοφώνιος Ἀντίμαχοςκαὶ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς ὁ φυσικός, ἐν δὲ μελοποιίᾳ Πίνδαρος,ἐν τραγῳδίᾳ δ’ Αἰσχύλος, ἐν ἱστορίᾳ δὲ Θουκυδίδης, ἐν δὲπολιτικοῖς λόγοις Ἀντιφῶν. ἐνταῦθα ἡ μὲν ὑπόθεσις ἀπῄτει      5πολλὰ παρασχέσθαι τῶν εἰρημένων ἑκάστου παραδείγματα,καὶ ἴσως οὐκ ἀηδὴς ἂν ὁ λόγος ἐγένετο πολλοῖς ὥσπερ ἄνθεσιδιαποικιλλόμενος τοῖς ἐαρινοῖς· ἀλλ’ ὑπέρμετρον ἔμελλε φανήσεσθαιτὸ σύνταγμα καὶ σχολικὸν μᾶλλον ἢ παραγγελματικόν·οὐ μὲν δὴ οὐδ’ ἀνεξέλεγκτα παραλιπεῖν τὰ ῥηθέντα ἥρμοττεν,      10ὡς δὴ φανερὰ καὶ οὐ δεόμενα μαρτυρίας· ἔδει δέ πως τὸμέτριον ἀμφοῖν λαβεῖν καὶ μήτε πλεονάσαι τοῦ καιροῦ μήτ’ἐλλιπεῖν τῆς πίστεως. τοῦτο δὴ πειράσομαι ποιῆσαι δείγματαλαβὼν ὀλίγα παρὰ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ἀνδρῶν. ποιητῶν μὲνοὖν Πίνδαρος ἀρκέσει παραληφθείς, συγγραφέων δὲ Θουκυδίδης·      15κράτιστοι γὰρ οὗτοι ποιηταὶ τῆς αὐστηρᾶς ἁρμονίας. ἀρχέτωδὲ Πίνδαρος, καὶ τούτου διθύραμβός τις οὗ ἐστιν ἡ ἀρχή·δεῦτ’ ἐν χορόν, Ὀλύμπιοι,ἐπί τε κλυτὰν πέμπετε χάριν, θεοί,πολύβατον οἵ τ’ ἄστεος ὀμφαλὸν θυόεντα      20ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς Ἀθάναις[215]many authors in poetry, history, and civil oratory; pre-eminently in epic poetry by Antimachus of Colophon and Empedocles the natural philosopher, in lyric poetry by Pindar, in tragedy by Aeschylus, in history by Thucydides, and in civil oratory by Antiphon. At this point the subject would naturally call for the presentation of numerous examples of each author cited, and possibly the discourse would have been rendered not unattractive if bedecked with many such flowers of spring. But then the treatise would probably be felt to be excessively long—more like a course of lectures than a manual. On the other hand, it would not be fitting to leave the statements unsubstantiated, as though they were obvious and not in need of proof. The right thing, no doubt, is after all to take a sort of middle course, neither to exceed all measure, nor yet to fall short of carrying conviction. I will endeavour to do so by selecting a few samples from the most distinguished authors. Among poets it will be enough to cite Pindar, among prose-writers Thucydides; for these are the best writers in the austere style of composition. Let Pindar come first, and from him I take a dithyramb which begins—Shed o’er our choir, Olympian Dominations,The glory of your grace,O ye who hallow with your visitationsThe curious-carven place,

τε ποίησιν καὶ ἱστορίαν καὶ λόγους πολιτικούς, διαφέροντεςδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἐν μὲν ἐπικῇ ποιήσει ὅ τε Κολοφώνιος Ἀντίμαχοςκαὶ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς ὁ φυσικός, ἐν δὲ μελοποιίᾳ Πίνδαρος,ἐν τραγῳδίᾳ δ’ Αἰσχύλος, ἐν ἱστορίᾳ δὲ Θουκυδίδης, ἐν δὲπολιτικοῖς λόγοις Ἀντιφῶν. ἐνταῦθα ἡ μὲν ὑπόθεσις ἀπῄτει      5πολλὰ παρασχέσθαι τῶν εἰρημένων ἑκάστου παραδείγματα,καὶ ἴσως οὐκ ἀηδὴς ἂν ὁ λόγος ἐγένετο πολλοῖς ὥσπερ ἄνθεσιδιαποικιλλόμενος τοῖς ἐαρινοῖς· ἀλλ’ ὑπέρμετρον ἔμελλε φανήσεσθαιτὸ σύνταγμα καὶ σχολικὸν μᾶλλον ἢ παραγγελματικόν·οὐ μὲν δὴ οὐδ’ ἀνεξέλεγκτα παραλιπεῖν τὰ ῥηθέντα ἥρμοττεν,      10ὡς δὴ φανερὰ καὶ οὐ δεόμενα μαρτυρίας· ἔδει δέ πως τὸμέτριον ἀμφοῖν λαβεῖν καὶ μήτε πλεονάσαι τοῦ καιροῦ μήτ’ἐλλιπεῖν τῆς πίστεως. τοῦτο δὴ πειράσομαι ποιῆσαι δείγματαλαβὼν ὀλίγα παρὰ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ἀνδρῶν. ποιητῶν μὲνοὖν Πίνδαρος ἀρκέσει παραληφθείς, συγγραφέων δὲ Θουκυδίδης·      15κράτιστοι γὰρ οὗτοι ποιηταὶ τῆς αὐστηρᾶς ἁρμονίας. ἀρχέτωδὲ Πίνδαρος, καὶ τούτου διθύραμβός τις οὗ ἐστιν ἡ ἀρχή·δεῦτ’ ἐν χορόν, Ὀλύμπιοι,ἐπί τε κλυτὰν πέμπετε χάριν, θεοί,πολύβατον οἵ τ’ ἄστεος ὀμφαλὸν θυόεντα      20ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς Ἀθάναις

τε ποίησιν καὶ ἱστορίαν καὶ λόγους πολιτικούς, διαφέροντεςδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἐν μὲν ἐπικῇ ποιήσει ὅ τε Κολοφώνιος Ἀντίμαχοςκαὶ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς ὁ φυσικός, ἐν δὲ μελοποιίᾳ Πίνδαρος,ἐν τραγῳδίᾳ δ’ Αἰσχύλος, ἐν ἱστορίᾳ δὲ Θουκυδίδης, ἐν δὲπολιτικοῖς λόγοις Ἀντιφῶν. ἐνταῦθα ἡ μὲν ὑπόθεσις ἀπῄτει      5πολλὰ παρασχέσθαι τῶν εἰρημένων ἑκάστου παραδείγματα,καὶ ἴσως οὐκ ἀηδὴς ἂν ὁ λόγος ἐγένετο πολλοῖς ὥσπερ ἄνθεσιδιαποικιλλόμενος τοῖς ἐαρινοῖς· ἀλλ’ ὑπέρμετρον ἔμελλε φανήσεσθαιτὸ σύνταγμα καὶ σχολικὸν μᾶλλον ἢ παραγγελματικόν·οὐ μὲν δὴ οὐδ’ ἀνεξέλεγκτα παραλιπεῖν τὰ ῥηθέντα ἥρμοττεν,      10ὡς δὴ φανερὰ καὶ οὐ δεόμενα μαρτυρίας· ἔδει δέ πως τὸμέτριον ἀμφοῖν λαβεῖν καὶ μήτε πλεονάσαι τοῦ καιροῦ μήτ’ἐλλιπεῖν τῆς πίστεως. τοῦτο δὴ πειράσομαι ποιῆσαι δείγματαλαβὼν ὀλίγα παρὰ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ἀνδρῶν. ποιητῶν μὲνοὖν Πίνδαρος ἀρκέσει παραληφθείς, συγγραφέων δὲ Θουκυδίδης·      15κράτιστοι γὰρ οὗτοι ποιηταὶ τῆς αὐστηρᾶς ἁρμονίας. ἀρχέτωδὲ Πίνδαρος, καὶ τούτου διθύραμβός τις οὗ ἐστιν ἡ ἀρχή·

δεῦτ’ ἐν χορόν, Ὀλύμπιοι,ἐπί τε κλυτὰν πέμπετε χάριν, θεοί,πολύβατον οἵ τ’ ἄστεος ὀμφαλὸν θυόεντα      20ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς Ἀθάναις

[215]many authors in poetry, history, and civil oratory; pre-eminently in epic poetry by Antimachus of Colophon and Empedocles the natural philosopher, in lyric poetry by Pindar, in tragedy by Aeschylus, in history by Thucydides, and in civil oratory by Antiphon. At this point the subject would naturally call for the presentation of numerous examples of each author cited, and possibly the discourse would have been rendered not unattractive if bedecked with many such flowers of spring. But then the treatise would probably be felt to be excessively long—more like a course of lectures than a manual. On the other hand, it would not be fitting to leave the statements unsubstantiated, as though they were obvious and not in need of proof. The right thing, no doubt, is after all to take a sort of middle course, neither to exceed all measure, nor yet to fall short of carrying conviction. I will endeavour to do so by selecting a few samples from the most distinguished authors. Among poets it will be enough to cite Pindar, among prose-writers Thucydides; for these are the best writers in the austere style of composition. Let Pindar come first, and from him I take a dithyramb which begins—Shed o’er our choir, Olympian Dominations,The glory of your grace,O ye who hallow with your visitationsThe curious-carven place,

[215]

many authors in poetry, history, and civil oratory; pre-eminently in epic poetry by Antimachus of Colophon and Empedocles the natural philosopher, in lyric poetry by Pindar, in tragedy by Aeschylus, in history by Thucydides, and in civil oratory by Antiphon. At this point the subject would naturally call for the presentation of numerous examples of each author cited, and possibly the discourse would have been rendered not unattractive if bedecked with many such flowers of spring. But then the treatise would probably be felt to be excessively long—more like a course of lectures than a manual. On the other hand, it would not be fitting to leave the statements unsubstantiated, as though they were obvious and not in need of proof. The right thing, no doubt, is after all to take a sort of middle course, neither to exceed all measure, nor yet to fall short of carrying conviction. I will endeavour to do so by selecting a few samples from the most distinguished authors. Among poets it will be enough to cite Pindar, among prose-writers Thucydides; for these are the best writers in the austere style of composition. Let Pindar come first, and from him I take a dithyramb which begins—

Shed o’er our choir, Olympian Dominations,The glory of your grace,O ye who hallow with your visitationsThe curious-carven place,

1 ποιητικοὺς F   2 ἐπικῇ Sylburgius: ἐπιεικη F: ἐπιεικεῖ PMV: om. E   5 ποιητικοῖς F   8 ἐαρινοῖς] ἀριθμ(οις) P   10 οὐδ’ ἀνεξέλεγκτα P: οὐδ’ ἀνεξέλεκτα M: οὐδ’ ἂν ἐξέλεγκτα F   12 μέτριον PV: μέτρον FM   13 δὴ F   17 τίς οὖν ἐστιν ἀρχῆι P || ἡ ἀρχὴ E: ἀρχὴ FMV   18 δεῦτ’ EFM2V: ΐδετ’ P, M1|| ἐν χορὸν EFV: ἐν σχορ(ὸν) P   19 πέμπεται P   20 οἵ τ’] οἳ F || ἄστεως F (ἄστεος praestat idem22214)   21 ἀθήναις libri: sed cf. n. crit. ad222142. ForAntimachus of Colophoncp.de Imitat.ii. 6 Ἀντίμαχος δὲ εὐτονίας [ἐφρόντισεν] καὶ ἀγωνιστικῆς τραχύτητος καὶ τοῦ συνήθους τῆς ἐξαλλαγῆς: Catullus xcv. 20 “at populus tumido gaudeat Antimacho”: Quintil. x. 1. 53 “contra in Antimacho vis et gravitas et minime vulgare eloquendi genus habet laudem. sed quamvis ei secundas fere grammaticorum consensus deferat, et affectibus et iucunditate et dispositione et omnino arte deficitur, ut plane manifesto appareat, quanto sit aliud proximum esse, aliud parem.” Plato’s admiration for his poetry is said to have been great.3. ForEmpedoclesas being a physicist rather than a poet see Aristot.Poet.i. 9 καὶ γὰρ ἂν ἰατρικὸν ἢ φυσικόν τι διὰ τῶν μέτρων ἐκφέρωσιν, οὕτω καλεῖν εἰώθασιν, οὐδὲν δὲ κοινόν ἐστιν Ὁμήρῳ καὶ Ἐμπεδοκλεῖ πλὴν τὸ μέτρον, διὸ τὸν μὲν ποιητὴν δίκαιον καλεῖν, τὸν δὲ φυσιολόγον μᾶλλον ἢ ποιητήν. But on the other side cp. Lucret. i. 731 “carmina quin etiam divini pectoris eius | vociferantur et exponunt praeclara reperta, | ut vix humana videatur stirpe creatus.” The fragments of Empedocles go far to justify Lucretius’ opinion; and the true poetic gifts of Empedocles, as of Lucretius himself, may have been seen in his work as a whole, even more than in its parts.3, 4. The μεγαλοπρέπεια ofPindaris emphasized in thede Imitat.B. vi. 2.—Similarly,ibid., as toAeschylus: ὁ δ’ οὖν Αἰσχύλος πρῶτος ὑψηλός τε καὶ τῆς μεγαλοπρεπείας ἐχόμενος, κτλ.5. For other references toAntiphonseede Isaeoc. 20,de Thucyd.c. 51,de Demosth.c. 8,Ep. i. ad Amm.c. 2, andC.V.c. 10. Also Thucyd. viii. 68 Ἀντιφῶν ἀνὴρ Ἀθηναίων τῶν καθ’ ἑαυτὸν ἀρετῇ τε οὐδενὸς δεύτερος καὶ κράτιστος ἐνθυμηθῆναι γενόμενος καὶ ἃ γνοίη εἰπεῖν.—ForThucydideshimself see D.H.passim(especially pp. 30-34, 104 ff., 130 ff.).17. G. S. FarnellGreek Lyric Poetryp. 417: “The excited nature of the rhythm throughout, and the rapturous enthusiasm with which the approach of spring is described, are eminently characteristic of the dithyramb at its best; and it is easy to understand how such a style, in the hands of inferior poets, degenerated into the florid inanity which characterizes the later dithyrambic poets.”18.δεῦτ’ ἐν χορόν, ‘come ye to the dance.’ “ἐνcum accus.(eight times in Pindar, chiefly in the Aeolic odes) is a relic of the original stage of the language when this preposition had the functions of the Latinin. It is preserved in Boeotian, Thessalian, North-West Greek, Eleian, Arcadian, Cyprian, and perhaps even in the Attic ἔμβραχυ. The accusative use was abandoned on the rise of ἐν-ς (cf.ab-s), which, before a vowel, became εἰς, before a consonant, ἐς” (Weir SmythGreek Melic Poetsp. 359). P’s curious reading ἐν σχορ(ὸν) is to be noticed.20.ὀμφαλόν: the reference is to the Athenian Acropolis, and the passage suggested a fitting motto to Otto Jahn for hisPausaniae Descriptio Arcis Athenarum.

1 ποιητικοὺς F   2 ἐπικῇ Sylburgius: ἐπιεικη F: ἐπιεικεῖ PMV: om. E   5 ποιητικοῖς F   8 ἐαρινοῖς] ἀριθμ(οις) P   10 οὐδ’ ἀνεξέλεγκτα P: οὐδ’ ἀνεξέλεκτα M: οὐδ’ ἂν ἐξέλεγκτα F   12 μέτριον PV: μέτρον FM   13 δὴ F   17 τίς οὖν ἐστιν ἀρχῆι P || ἡ ἀρχὴ E: ἀρχὴ FMV   18 δεῦτ’ EFM2V: ΐδετ’ P, M1|| ἐν χορὸν EFV: ἐν σχορ(ὸν) P   19 πέμπεται P   20 οἵ τ’] οἳ F || ἄστεως F (ἄστεος praestat idem22214)   21 ἀθήναις libri: sed cf. n. crit. ad22214

2. ForAntimachus of Colophoncp.de Imitat.ii. 6 Ἀντίμαχος δὲ εὐτονίας [ἐφρόντισεν] καὶ ἀγωνιστικῆς τραχύτητος καὶ τοῦ συνήθους τῆς ἐξαλλαγῆς: Catullus xcv. 20 “at populus tumido gaudeat Antimacho”: Quintil. x. 1. 53 “contra in Antimacho vis et gravitas et minime vulgare eloquendi genus habet laudem. sed quamvis ei secundas fere grammaticorum consensus deferat, et affectibus et iucunditate et dispositione et omnino arte deficitur, ut plane manifesto appareat, quanto sit aliud proximum esse, aliud parem.” Plato’s admiration for his poetry is said to have been great.

3. ForEmpedoclesas being a physicist rather than a poet see Aristot.Poet.i. 9 καὶ γὰρ ἂν ἰατρικὸν ἢ φυσικόν τι διὰ τῶν μέτρων ἐκφέρωσιν, οὕτω καλεῖν εἰώθασιν, οὐδὲν δὲ κοινόν ἐστιν Ὁμήρῳ καὶ Ἐμπεδοκλεῖ πλὴν τὸ μέτρον, διὸ τὸν μὲν ποιητὴν δίκαιον καλεῖν, τὸν δὲ φυσιολόγον μᾶλλον ἢ ποιητήν. But on the other side cp. Lucret. i. 731 “carmina quin etiam divini pectoris eius | vociferantur et exponunt praeclara reperta, | ut vix humana videatur stirpe creatus.” The fragments of Empedocles go far to justify Lucretius’ opinion; and the true poetic gifts of Empedocles, as of Lucretius himself, may have been seen in his work as a whole, even more than in its parts.

3, 4. The μεγαλοπρέπεια ofPindaris emphasized in thede Imitat.B. vi. 2.—Similarly,ibid., as toAeschylus: ὁ δ’ οὖν Αἰσχύλος πρῶτος ὑψηλός τε καὶ τῆς μεγαλοπρεπείας ἐχόμενος, κτλ.

5. For other references toAntiphonseede Isaeoc. 20,de Thucyd.c. 51,de Demosth.c. 8,Ep. i. ad Amm.c. 2, andC.V.c. 10. Also Thucyd. viii. 68 Ἀντιφῶν ἀνὴρ Ἀθηναίων τῶν καθ’ ἑαυτὸν ἀρετῇ τε οὐδενὸς δεύτερος καὶ κράτιστος ἐνθυμηθῆναι γενόμενος καὶ ἃ γνοίη εἰπεῖν.—ForThucydideshimself see D.H.passim(especially pp. 30-34, 104 ff., 130 ff.).

17. G. S. FarnellGreek Lyric Poetryp. 417: “The excited nature of the rhythm throughout, and the rapturous enthusiasm with which the approach of spring is described, are eminently characteristic of the dithyramb at its best; and it is easy to understand how such a style, in the hands of inferior poets, degenerated into the florid inanity which characterizes the later dithyrambic poets.”

18.δεῦτ’ ἐν χορόν, ‘come ye to the dance.’ “ἐνcum accus.(eight times in Pindar, chiefly in the Aeolic odes) is a relic of the original stage of the language when this preposition had the functions of the Latinin. It is preserved in Boeotian, Thessalian, North-West Greek, Eleian, Arcadian, Cyprian, and perhaps even in the Attic ἔμβραχυ. The accusative use was abandoned on the rise of ἐν-ς (cf.ab-s), which, before a vowel, became εἰς, before a consonant, ἐς” (Weir SmythGreek Melic Poetsp. 359). P’s curious reading ἐν σχορ(ὸν) is to be noticed.

20.ὀμφαλόν: the reference is to the Athenian Acropolis, and the passage suggested a fitting motto to Otto Jahn for hisPausaniae Descriptio Arcis Athenarum.

οἰχνεῖτε πανδαίδαλόν τ’ εὐκλέ’ ἀγοράν,ἰοδέτων λάχετε στεφάνων τᾶν τ’ ἐαριδρόπων ἀοιδᾶν·Διόθεν τέ με σὺν ἀγλαΐᾳἴδετε πορευθέντ’ ἀοιδᾶν δεύτερονἐπὶ τὸν κισσοδέταν θεόν,      5τὸν Βρόμιον ἐριβόαν τε βροτοὶ καλέομεν,γόνον ὑπάτων μὲν πατέρων μέλπομενγυναικῶν τε Καδμεϊᾶν [ἔμολον].ἐναργέα τελέων σάματ’ οὐ λανθάνει,φοινικοεάνων ὁπότ’ οἰχθέντος Ὡρᾶν θαλάμου      10εὔοδμον ἐπάγῃσιν ἔαρ φυτὰ νεκτάρεα·τότε βάλλεται, τότ’ ἐπ’ ἄμβροτον χέρσον ἐραταὶἴων φόβαι, ῥόδα τε κόμαισι μίγνυταιἀχεῖ τ’ ὀμφαὶ μελέων σὺν αὐλοῖς,ἀχεῖ τε Σεμέλαν ἑλικάμπυκα χοροί.      15ταῦθ’ ὅτι μέν ἐστιν ἰσχυρὰ καὶ στιβαρὰ καὶ ἀξιωματικὰ καὶπολὺ τὸ αὐστηρὸν ἔχει τραχύνει τε ἀλύπως καὶ πικραίνειμετρίως τὰς ἀκοὰς ἀναβέβληταί τε τοῖς χρόνοις καὶ διαβέβηκενἐπὶ πολὺ ταῖς ἁρμονίαις καὶ οὐ τὸ θεατρικὸν δὴτοῦτο καὶ γλαφυρὸν ἐπιδείκνυται κάλλος ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀρχαϊκὸν      20ἐκεῖνο καὶ αὐστηρόν, ἅπαντες ἂν εὖ οἶδ’ ὅτι μαρτυρήσειαν οἱ[217]The heart of Athens, steaming with oblations,Wide-thronged with many a face.Come, take your due of garlands violet-woven,Of songs that burst forth when the buds are cloven.Look on me—linked with music’s heaven-born glamourAgain have I drawn nighThe Ivy-wreathed, on earth named Lord of Clamour,Of the soul-thrilling cry.We hymn the Babe that of the Maid KadmeianSprang to the Sire throned in the empyrean.By surest tokens is he manifested:—What time the bridal bowersOf Earth and Sun are by their crimson-vestedWarders flung wide, the Hours.Then Spring, led on by flowers nectar-breathing,O’er Earth the deathless flingsViolet and rose their love-locks interwreathing:The voice of song outringsAn echo to the flutes; the dance his storyEchoes, and circlet-crowned Semele’s glory.[174]That these lines are vigorous, weighty and dignified, and possess much austerity; that, though rugged, they are not unpleasantly so, and though harsh to the ear, are but so in due measure; that they are slow in their time-movement, and present broad effects of harmony; and that they exhibit not the showy and decorative prettiness of our day, but the austere beauty of a distant past: this will, I am sure, be attested by all readers

οἰχνεῖτε πανδαίδαλόν τ’ εὐκλέ’ ἀγοράν,ἰοδέτων λάχετε στεφάνων τᾶν τ’ ἐαριδρόπων ἀοιδᾶν·Διόθεν τέ με σὺν ἀγλαΐᾳἴδετε πορευθέντ’ ἀοιδᾶν δεύτερονἐπὶ τὸν κισσοδέταν θεόν,      5τὸν Βρόμιον ἐριβόαν τε βροτοὶ καλέομεν,γόνον ὑπάτων μὲν πατέρων μέλπομενγυναικῶν τε Καδμεϊᾶν [ἔμολον].ἐναργέα τελέων σάματ’ οὐ λανθάνει,φοινικοεάνων ὁπότ’ οἰχθέντος Ὡρᾶν θαλάμου      10εὔοδμον ἐπάγῃσιν ἔαρ φυτὰ νεκτάρεα·τότε βάλλεται, τότ’ ἐπ’ ἄμβροτον χέρσον ἐραταὶἴων φόβαι, ῥόδα τε κόμαισι μίγνυταιἀχεῖ τ’ ὀμφαὶ μελέων σὺν αὐλοῖς,ἀχεῖ τε Σεμέλαν ἑλικάμπυκα χοροί.      15ταῦθ’ ὅτι μέν ἐστιν ἰσχυρὰ καὶ στιβαρὰ καὶ ἀξιωματικὰ καὶπολὺ τὸ αὐστηρὸν ἔχει τραχύνει τε ἀλύπως καὶ πικραίνειμετρίως τὰς ἀκοὰς ἀναβέβληταί τε τοῖς χρόνοις καὶ διαβέβηκενἐπὶ πολὺ ταῖς ἁρμονίαις καὶ οὐ τὸ θεατρικὸν δὴτοῦτο καὶ γλαφυρὸν ἐπιδείκνυται κάλλος ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀρχαϊκὸν      20ἐκεῖνο καὶ αὐστηρόν, ἅπαντες ἂν εὖ οἶδ’ ὅτι μαρτυρήσειαν οἱ

οἰχνεῖτε πανδαίδαλόν τ’ εὐκλέ’ ἀγοράν,ἰοδέτων λάχετε στεφάνων τᾶν τ’ ἐαριδρόπων ἀοιδᾶν·Διόθεν τέ με σὺν ἀγλαΐᾳἴδετε πορευθέντ’ ἀοιδᾶν δεύτερονἐπὶ τὸν κισσοδέταν θεόν,      5τὸν Βρόμιον ἐριβόαν τε βροτοὶ καλέομεν,γόνον ὑπάτων μὲν πατέρων μέλπομενγυναικῶν τε Καδμεϊᾶν [ἔμολον].ἐναργέα τελέων σάματ’ οὐ λανθάνει,φοινικοεάνων ὁπότ’ οἰχθέντος Ὡρᾶν θαλάμου      10εὔοδμον ἐπάγῃσιν ἔαρ φυτὰ νεκτάρεα·τότε βάλλεται, τότ’ ἐπ’ ἄμβροτον χέρσον ἐραταὶἴων φόβαι, ῥόδα τε κόμαισι μίγνυταιἀχεῖ τ’ ὀμφαὶ μελέων σὺν αὐλοῖς,ἀχεῖ τε Σεμέλαν ἑλικάμπυκα χοροί.      15

ταῦθ’ ὅτι μέν ἐστιν ἰσχυρὰ καὶ στιβαρὰ καὶ ἀξιωματικὰ καὶπολὺ τὸ αὐστηρὸν ἔχει τραχύνει τε ἀλύπως καὶ πικραίνειμετρίως τὰς ἀκοὰς ἀναβέβληταί τε τοῖς χρόνοις καὶ διαβέβηκενἐπὶ πολὺ ταῖς ἁρμονίαις καὶ οὐ τὸ θεατρικὸν δὴτοῦτο καὶ γλαφυρὸν ἐπιδείκνυται κάλλος ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀρχαϊκὸν      20ἐκεῖνο καὶ αὐστηρόν, ἅπαντες ἂν εὖ οἶδ’ ὅτι μαρτυρήσειαν οἱ

[217]The heart of Athens, steaming with oblations,Wide-thronged with many a face.Come, take your due of garlands violet-woven,Of songs that burst forth when the buds are cloven.Look on me—linked with music’s heaven-born glamourAgain have I drawn nighThe Ivy-wreathed, on earth named Lord of Clamour,Of the soul-thrilling cry.We hymn the Babe that of the Maid KadmeianSprang to the Sire throned in the empyrean.By surest tokens is he manifested:—What time the bridal bowersOf Earth and Sun are by their crimson-vestedWarders flung wide, the Hours.Then Spring, led on by flowers nectar-breathing,O’er Earth the deathless flingsViolet and rose their love-locks interwreathing:The voice of song outringsAn echo to the flutes; the dance his storyEchoes, and circlet-crowned Semele’s glory.[174]That these lines are vigorous, weighty and dignified, and possess much austerity; that, though rugged, they are not unpleasantly so, and though harsh to the ear, are but so in due measure; that they are slow in their time-movement, and present broad effects of harmony; and that they exhibit not the showy and decorative prettiness of our day, but the austere beauty of a distant past: this will, I am sure, be attested by all readers

[217]

The heart of Athens, steaming with oblations,Wide-thronged with many a face.Come, take your due of garlands violet-woven,Of songs that burst forth when the buds are cloven.Look on me—linked with music’s heaven-born glamourAgain have I drawn nighThe Ivy-wreathed, on earth named Lord of Clamour,Of the soul-thrilling cry.We hymn the Babe that of the Maid KadmeianSprang to the Sire throned in the empyrean.By surest tokens is he manifested:—What time the bridal bowersOf Earth and Sun are by their crimson-vestedWarders flung wide, the Hours.Then Spring, led on by flowers nectar-breathing,O’er Earth the deathless flingsViolet and rose their love-locks interwreathing:The voice of song outringsAn echo to the flutes; the dance his storyEchoes, and circlet-crowned Semele’s glory.[174]

That these lines are vigorous, weighty and dignified, and possess much austerity; that, though rugged, they are not unpleasantly so, and though harsh to the ear, are but so in due measure; that they are slow in their time-movement, and present broad effects of harmony; and that they exhibit not the showy and decorative prettiness of our day, but the austere beauty of a distant past: this will, I am sure, be attested by all readers


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