CHAPTER III THE MAGICAL EFFECT OF COMPOSITION, OR WORD-ORDER
Every utterance, then, by which we express our thoughts is either in metre or not in metre. Whichever it be, it can, when aided by beautiful arrangement, attain beauty whether of verse or prose. But speech, if flung out carelessly at random, at the same time spoils the value of the thought. Many poets, and prose-writers (philosophers and orators), have carefully chosen expressions that are distinctly beautiful and appropriate to the subject matter, but have reaped no benefit from their trouble because they have given them a rude and haphazard sort of arrangement: whereas others have invested their discourse with great beauty by taking humble, unpretending words, and arranging them with charm and distinction. It may well be thought that composition is to selection what words are to ideas. For just as a fine thought is of no avail unless it be clothed in beautiful language, so here too pure and elegant expression, is useless unless it be attired in the right vesture of arrangement.
But to guard myself against the appearance of making an unsupported assertion, I will try to show by an appeal to facts
4 ἄμετρος ἣ δ’ (ex ἥδ’ corr.) ἔμμετρος F,E || καλ(ῶς) P || μὲν om. M 5 οἵα τ’ M: οἷά τ’ PV: οἷά τε F,E || καὶ τὸ FE: τὸ PMV 6 ἔτυχεν] ἔοικε M || ῥιπτομένη PMVE: ῥιπτουμένη F 7 τὸ om. F1 || γοὖν καὶ F,E: γοῦν PMV 10 ἀποδόντες E γρ M: [ἀποδόν]τες cum litura F: περιθέντες PV: παραθέντες M 12 δὲ PMV 13 δε PV || ἀντὰ P1 || ἰδίως EFM1: ἡδέως ex ἱδίως P1: ἰδέως M2 || τ(ῶ) λόγ(ω) P: τῶν λόγων M 14 ἂν om. M 16 ἐστὶ ante διανοίας ponunt EF 17 κόσμον * * * * * P || ἀποδώσῃ F 18 καὶ ἐνταῦθα EF || πούργου P1 (ρ suprascr. P2): προὔργον V || καλλιῥήμονα FM,P: καλλιῤῥήμονα V 19 τίς F: τ(ῆς) P,MV 21 φασὶν libri: corr. Krueger || ἀναπόδεικτον P: ἀναπόδεικτα F2MV: ἀπόδεικτα F1 22 κρεῖττον] καὶ κρεῖττον F || τελεώτερον M
1. ἐξ ἑτοίμου λαμβάνειν: cp. 78 13 ἐξ ἑτοίμου λαβὼν ἐχρήσατο.
9. There is much similarity, both in thought and in expression, between this passage and the de Sublimitate xl. 2: ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅτι γε πολλοὶ καὶ συγγραφέων καὶ ποιητῶν οὐκ ὄντες ὑψηλοὶ φύσει, μήποτε δὲ καὶ ἀμεγέθεις, ὅμως κοινοῖς καὶ δημώδεσι τοῖς ὀνόμασι καὶ οὐδὲν ἐπαγομένοις περιττὸν ὡς τὰ πολλὰ συγχρώμενοι, διὰ μόνου τοῦ συνθεῖναι καὶ ἁρμόσαι ταῦτα δ’ ὅμως ὄγκον καὶ διάστημα καὶ τὸ μὴ ταπεινοὶ δοκεῖν εἶναι περιεβάλοντο, καθάπερ ἄλλοι τε πολλοὶ καὶ Φίλιστος, Ἀριστοφάνης ἔν τισιν, ἐν τοῖς πλείστοις Εὐριπίδης, ἱκανῶς ἡμῖν δεδήλωται. The author of the de Subl. had, as he himself tells us, dealt with the subject of composition ἐν δυσὶν συντάγμασιν (xxxix. 1 ibid.).
13. ἰδίως may be right, meaning with περιττῶς ‘in a special and distinctive manner.’
14. The Aristotelian ἀναλογία is before the author’s mind here, just as is the Aristotelian doctrine of τὸ μέσον later in the treatise ( 246 16).
17. de Demosth. c. 18 οὐχ ἅπαντα δέ γε τὰ πράγματα τὴν αὐτὴν ἀπαιτεῖ διάλεκτον, ἀλλ’ ἔστιν ὥσπερ σώμασι πρέπουσά τις ἐσθής, οὕτως καὶ νοήμασιν ἁρμόττουσά τις ὀνομασία.
18. προὔργου: cp. Plato Alcib. II. 149 E ὥστε οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ἦν προὔργου θύειν τε καὶ δῶρα τελεῖν μάτην.
21. MS. Canon. 45 has φάσιν, ἀναπόδεικτον, as reported (Journal of Philology xxvii. 84) by A. B. Poynton, who compares Aristot. Eth. Nic. 1143 b 12 ὥστε δεῖ προσέχειν τῶν ἐμπείρων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων ἢ φρονίμων ταῖς ἀναποδείκτοις φάσεσι καὶ δόξαις οὐχ ἧττον τῶν ἀποδείξεων. διὰ γὰρ τὸ ἔχειν ἐκ τῆς ἐμπειρίας ὄμμα ὁρῶσιν ὀρθῶς. Probably Dionysius has this passage of Aristotle in his mind, and wishes it to be understood that he does not mean to dogmatize simply on the score of being an old and experienced teacher. In the Rhet. ad Alex. 1432 a 33, an oath is defined as: μετὰ θείας παραλήψεως φάσις ἀναπόδεικτος.
τὴν σύνθεσιν, ἔργῳ πειράσομαι δεικνύναι, ἐμμέτρων τε καὶ
πεζῶν λόγων ἀπαρχὰς ὀλίγας προχειρισάμενος. λαμβανέσθω
δὲ ποιητῶν μὲν Ὅμηρος, συγγραφέων δὲ Ἡρόδοτος· ἀπόχρη
γὰρ ἐκ τούτων καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων εἰκάσαι. ἔστι δὴ παρ’
Ὁμήρῳ μὲν ὁ παρὰ τῷ συβώτῃ καταγόμενος Ὀδυσσεὺς περὶ 5
τὴν ἑωθινὴν ὥραν ἀκρατίζεσθαι μέλλων, ὡς τοῖς παλαιοῖς
ἔθος ἦν· ἔπειτα ὁ Τηλέμαχος αὐτοῖς ἐπιφαινόμενος ἐκ τῆς εἰς
Πελοπόννησον ἀποδημίας· πραγμάτια λιτὰ καὶ βιωτικὰ
ἡρμηνευμένα ὑπέρευ. ποῦ δ’ ἐστὶν ἡ τῆς ἑρμηνείας ἀρετή;
τὰ ποιήματα δηλώσει παρατεθέντα αὐτά· 10
τὼ δ’ αὖτ’ ἐν κλισίῃς Ὀδυσεὺς καὶ δῖος ὑφορβὸς
ἐντύνοντ’ ἄριστον ἅμ’ ἠοῖ κειαμένω πῦρ
ἔκπεμψάν τε νομῆας ἅμ’ ἀγρομένοισι σύεσσι.
Τηλέμαχον δὲ περίσσαινον κύνες ὑλακόμωροι
οὐδ’ ὕλαον προσιόντα. νόησε δὲ δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς 15
σαίνοντάς τε κύνας, ὑπὸ δὲ κτύπος ἦλθε ποδοῖιν·
αἶψα δ’ ἄρ’ Εὔμαιον προσεφώνεεν ἐγγὺς ἐόντα·
Εὔμαι’, ἦ μάλα τίς τοι ἐλεύσεται ἐνθάδ’ ἑταῖρος
ἢ καὶ γνώριμος ἄλλος, ἐπεὶ κύνες οὐχ ὑλάουσιν,
ἀλλὰ περισσαίνουσι· ποδῶν δ’ ὑπὸ δοῦπον ἀκούω. 20
οὔπω πᾶν εἴρητο ἔπος, ὅτε οἱ φίλος υἱὸς
ἔστη ἐνὶ προθύροισι. ταφὼν δ’ ἀνόρουσε συβώτης·
[77]
the reasons which have convinced me that composition is a more important and effective art than mere selection of words. I will first examine a few specimen passages in prose and verse. Among poets let Homer be taken, among prose-writers Herodotus: from these may be formed an adequate notion of the rest.
Well, in Homer we find Odysseus tarrying in the swineherd’s hut and about to break his fast at dawn, as they used to do in ancient days. Telemachus then appears in sight, returning from his sojourn in the Peloponnese. Trifling incidents of everyday life as these are, they are inimitably portrayed. But wherein lies the excellence of expression? I shall quote the lines, and they will speak for themselves:—
As anigh came Telemachus’ feet, the king and the swineherd wight
Made ready the morning meat, and by this was the fire alight;—
They had sent the herdmen away with the pasturing swine at the dawning;—
Lo, the dogs have forgotten to bay, and around the prince are they fawning!
And Odysseus the godlike marked the leap and the whine of the hounds
That ever at strangers barked; and his ear caught footfall-sounds.
Straightway he spake, for beside him was sitting the master of swine:
“Of a surety, Eumaeus, hitherward cometh a comrade of thine,
Or some one the bandogs know, and not with barking greet,
But they fawn upon him; moreover I hear the treading of feet.”
Not yet were the words well done, when the porchway darkened: a face
Was there in the door,—his son! and Eumaeus sprang up in amaze.
1 ἔργω F || δεικνῦναι F || ἐνμέτρων F 4 εἰκᾶσαι F 5 ὁμήρ(ω) P || τῳ om. P || σϊβώτηι P: corr. in margine P2 || ὀδυσεὺς P 8 πραγμάτια λιτὰ καὶ PV: πραγμάτια ἅττα F: πραγματιάττα λιτὰ καὶ M 9 δ’ ἔστιν F: δέ (ἐστιν) P 11 κλισίησ’ EFV: κλισίῃ Hom. || ὀδυσσεὺς FP2M1V 12 ἐντύνοντ(ες) P,V 13 ἐκπέμψαντε EFPM || ἀγρομένοισ(ιν) P 14 περίσαινον FEV 15 ὀδυσεὺς P 16 περί τε κτύπος Hom. 17 ἂρ sic FP || ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα Hom. 18 ἐῦμαι’ P: εὔμαιε V 20 περισαίνουσι FV 22 ἐπὶ F || προθύροισ(ιν) P
5. The extract from the Odyssey well illustrates that Homeric nobleness which pervades even the homeliest scenes; and Dionysius is right in pointing out that this nobleness does not depend on any striking choice of phrase, since Homer’s language is usually quite plain and straightforward.
6. On Odyss. xvi. 2 (ἄριστον) there is the following scholium, ὅτι καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἰλιάδι ἅμα τῇ ἀνατολῇ ἐσθίουσιν: and similarly on Theocr. i. 50, πρωΐας ἔτι οὔσης ὀλίγον τινὰ ἐσθίομεν ἄρτον καὶ ἄκρατον οἶνον πίνομεν.
9. The charm of a simple scene, simply but beautifully described, is seen in Virg. Ecl. vii. 1-15; Georg. ii. 385-9; Aen. v. 328-30, 357-60. (The Latin illustrations, here and elsewhere, are for the most part the exempla Latina suggested by Simon Bircov (Bircovius), a Polish scholar who lived early in the seventeenth century.)
11. By “Hom.” in the critical notes is meant the best attested reading in the text of Homer. κλισίῃς, however, has some support among the manuscripts of Homer; and so has the form ἂρ in 76 17, and πέσεν in 78 1.
14. Monro (Odyss. xiv. 29) regards ὑλακόμωρος as a kind of parody of the heroic epithets ἐγχεσίμωρος and ἰόμωρος, and thinks that we cannot tell what precise meaning (if any) was conveyed by the latter part of the compound. See, further, his note on Iliad ii. 692.
20. The construction must be ὑπὸ ποδῶν: cp. Il. ii. 465 ὑπὸ χθὼν σμερδαλέον κονάβιζε ποδῶν. The force of ὑπό is half-way between the literal sense of ‘under’ and the derived sense of ‘caused by’ (Monro).
ἐκ δ’ ἄρα οἱ χειρῶν πέσεν ἄγγεα, τοῖς ἐπονεῖτο
κιρνὰς αἴθοπα οἶνον. ὁ δ’ ἀντίος ἔδραμ’ ἄνακτος·
κύσσε δέ μιν κεφαλήν τε καὶ ἄμφω φάεα καλὰ
χεῖράς τ’ ἀμφοτέρας· θαλερὸν δέ οἱ ἔκπεσε δάκρυ.
ταῦθ’ ὅτι μὲν ἐπάγεται καὶ κηλεῖ τὰς ἀκοὰς ποιημάτων 5
τε τῶν πάνυ ἡδίστων οὐδενὸς ἥττω μοῖραν ἔχει, πάντες ἂν
οἶδ’ ὅτι μαρτυρήσειαν. ποῦ δὴ αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ πειθὼ καὶ
διὰ τί τοιαῦτά ἐστι, πότερον διὰ τὴν ἐκλογὴν τῶν ὀνομάτων
ἢ διὰ τὴν σύνθεσιν; οὐδεὶς ἂν εἴποι διὰ τὴν ἐκλογήν, ὡς
ἐγὼ πείθομαι· διὰ γὰρ τῶν εὐτελεστάτων καὶ ταπεινοτάτων 10
ὀνομάτων πέπλεκται πᾶσα ἡ λέξις, οἷς ἂν καὶ γεωργὸς καὶ
θαλαττουργὸς καὶ χειροτέχνης καὶ πᾶς ὁ μηδεμίαν ὤραν τοῦ
λέγειν εὖ ποιούμενος ἐξ ἑτοίμου λαβὼν ἐχρήσατο. λυθέντος
γοῦν τοῦ μέτρου φαῦλα φανήσεται τὰ αὐτὰ ταῦτα καὶ ἄζηλα·
οὔτε γὰρ μεταφοραί τινες ἐν αὐτοῖς εὐγενεῖς ἔνεισιν οὔτε 15
ὑπαλλαγαὶ οὔτε καταχρήσεις οὔτ’ ἄλλη τροπικὴ διάλεκτος
οὐδεμία, οὐδὲ δὴ γλῶτται πολλαί τινες οὐδὲ ξένα ἢ πεποιημένα
ὀνόματα. τί οὖν λείπεται μὴ οὐχὶ τὴν σύνθεσιν τοῦ
κάλλους τῆς ἑρμηνείας αἰτιᾶσθαι; τοιαῦτα δ’ ἐστὶ παρὰ τῷ
[79]
Dropped from his hands to the floor the bowls, wherein erst he began
The flame-flushed wine to pour, and to meet his lord he ran;
And he kissed that dear-loved head, and both his beautiful eyes;
And he kissed his hands, and he shed warm tears in his glad surprise.[89]
Everybody would, I am sure, testify that these lines cast a spell of enchantment on the ear, and rank second to no poetry whatsoever, however exquisite it may be. But what is the secret of their fascination, and what causes them to be what they are? Is it the selection of words, or the composition? No one will say “the selection”: of that I am convinced. For the diction consists, warp and woof, of the most ordinary, the humblest words, such as might have been used off-hand by a farmer, a seaman, an artisan, or anybody else who takes no account of elegant speech. You have only to break up the metre, and these very same lines will seem commonplace and unworthy of admiration. For they contain neither noble metaphors nor hypallages nor catachreses nor any other figurative language; nor yet many unusual terms, nor foreign or new-coined words. What alternative, then, is left but to attribute the beauty of the style to the composition? There are countless
1 πέσον Hom. 2 αἴθωπα PM || ἔδραμ(εν) F: ἔδραμ’ E: ἦλθεν PMV Hom. 3 καὶ φαλήν P 5 ἐπάγεταί τε καὶ F 6 τῶν F: καὶ τῶν PMV || οὐδ’ ἑνὸς F1 || ἥττων F 7 εὖ ante οἶδ’ habet F 8 τοιαύτη F1 || πότερα F 9 ἐκλογ[ὴ]ν cum litura P || ὡς ἐγὼ πείθομαι om. F 10 καὶ FE: τε καὶ PMV 12 ὤραν Sylburgius: ὥραν PMV: ὧραν F γρ φροντίδα in marg. M 13 λαβῶν P 14 γοὖν F: γ’ οὖν P 15 ἐν αὐτοῖς (αὐταῖς P) εὐγενεῖς ἔνεισιν PMV: εἰσὶν εὐγενεῖς ἐν αὐτοῖς EF 16 οὔτε ἄλλη PV || οὐδεμία διάλεκτος F 17 οὐδεδὴ P: οὔτε δὴ FMV || γλῶσσαι F || οὐδὲ Sauppius: οὔτε PMV: ἢ in rasura F2 19 τοιαῦτ(α) (εστι) P,MV
7. Perhaps ποῦ δὲ δή: cp. 116 9.
9. Cp. Hor. Ars P. 47 “dixeris egregie notum si callida verbum | reddiderit iunctura novum.”
On the other hand, the importance of ἐκλογή is illustrated by Aristotle’s comparison (Poetics xxii. 7) of νῦν δέ μ’ ἐὼν ὀλίγος τε καὶ οὐτιδανὸς καὶ ἀεικής with νῦν δέ μ’ ἐὼν μικρός τε καὶ ἀσθενικὸς καὶ ἀειδής.
10. Cp. J. W. Mackail in Class. Rev. xxii. 70, “A quality of the finest Greek poetry, from Homer to the late anthologists, is its power of taking common language and transforming it into poetry by an all but imperceptible touch.” The quality is exemplified in Euripides, though it did not originate with him (κλέπτεται δ’ εὖ, ἐάν τις ἐκ τῆς εἰωθυίας διαλέκτου ἐκλέγων συντιθῇ· ὅπερ Εὐριπίδης ποιεῖ καὶ ὑπέδειξε πρῶτος, Aristot. Rhet. iii. 2, 4: cp. Long. p. 146). So “tantum series iuncturaque pollet, | tantum de medio sumptis accedit honoris” (Hor. Ars P. 242-3).
13. λυθέντος γοῦν, κτλ. Cp. Isocr. Evag. 10 οἱ μὲν (sc. ποιηταὶ) μετὰ μέτρων καὶ ῥυθμῶν ἅπαντα ποιοῦσιν ... ἃ τοσαύτην ἔχει χάριν, ὥστ’ ἂν καὶ τῇ λέξει καὶ τοῖς ἐνθυμήμασιν ἔχῃ κακῶς, ὅμως αὐταῖς ταῖς εὐρυθμίαις καὶ ταῖς συμμετρίαις ψυχαγωγοῦσι τοὺς ἀκούοντας. γνοίη δ’ ἄν τις ἐκεῖθεν τὴν δύναμιν αὐτῶν· ἢν γάρ τις τῶν ποιημάτων τῶν εὐδοκιμούντων τὰ μὲν ὀνόματα καὶ τὰς διανοίας καταλίπῃ, τὸ δὲ μέτρον διαλύσῃ, φανήσεται πολὺ καταδεέστερα τῆς δόξης ἧς νῦν ἔχομεν περὶ αὐτῶν.
14. ἄζηλα: this adjective occurs also in the de Demosth. c. 28, and more than once in the Antiqq. Rom.
16. ὑπαλλαγαί, καταχρήσεις: see Glossary, s. vv.
17. Usener reads γλῶτται παλαιαί τινες. But (1) γλῶτται are usually παλαιαί (cp. Galen Gloss. Hipp. xix. 63 ὅσα τοίνυν τῶν ὀνομάτων ἐν μὲν τοῖς πάλαι χρόνοις ἦν συνήθη, νῦν δὲ οὐκέτι ἐστί, τὰ μὲν τοιαῦτα γλώττας καλοῦσι, κτλ.): (2) the phrase πολλοί τινες is elsewhere used by Dionysius, e.g. de Lysia c. 1 οὔτε πολλοῖς τισι κατέλιπεν ὑπερβολήν, κτλ.
18, 19. An interesting modern parallel is that passage in Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria (c. 18) which touches on the stanza (in Wordsworth’s Lyrical Ballads) beginning “In distant countries I have been.” Coleridge remarks, “The words here are doubtless such as are current in all ranks of life; and of course not less so in the hamlet and cottage than in the shop, manufactory, college, or palace. But is this the order in which the rustic would have placed the words? I am grievously deceived, if the following less compact mode of commencing the same tale be not a far more faithful copy, ‘I have been in many parts, far and near, and I don’t know that I ever saw before a man crying by himself in the public road; a grown man I mean that was neither sick nor hurt,’” etc.—In this connexion see also F. W. H. Myers’ Wordsworth, pp. 106 ff., for the music in Wordsworth’s Affliction of Margaret.
ποιητῇ μυρία, ὡς εὖ οἶδ’ ὅτι πάντες ἴσασιν· ἐμοὶ δ’ ὑπομνήσεως
ἕνεκα λέγοντι ἀρκεῖ ταῦτα μόνα εἰρῆσθαι.
φέρε δὴ μεταβῶμεν καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν πεζὴν διάλεκτον καὶ
σκοπῶμεν, εἰ κἀκείνῃ τοῦτο συμβέβηκε τὸ πάθος, ὥστε περὶ
μικρὰ καὶ φαῦλα πράγματά τε καὶ ὀνόματα συνταχθέντα 5
καλῶς μεγάλας γίνεσθαι τὰς χάριτας. ἔστι δὴ παρὰ τῷ
Ἡροδότῳ βασιλεύς τις Λυδῶν, ὃν ἐκεῖνος Κανδαύλην ‹καλεῖ,
Μυρσίλον δὲ› καλεῖσθαί φησιν ὑφ’ Ἑλλήνων, τῆς ἑαυτοῦ
γυναικὸς ἐρῶν, ἔπειτα ἀξιῶν τινα τῶν ἑταίρων αὐτοῦ γυμνὴν
τὴν ἄνθρωπον ἰδεῖν, ὁ δὲ ἀπομαχόμενος μὴ ἀναγκασθῆναι, ὡς 10
δὲ οὐκ ἔπειθεν, ὑπομένων τε καὶ θεώμενος αὐτήν—πρᾶγμα
οὐχ ὅτι σεμνὸν ἢ καλλιλογεῖσθαι ἐπιτήδειον, ἀλλὰ καὶ
ταπεινὸν καὶ ἐπικίνδυνον καὶ τοῦ αἰσχροῦ μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦ καλοῦ
ἐγγυτέρω· ἀλλ’ εἴρηται σφόδρα δεξιῶς, καὶ κρεῖττον γέγονεν
ἀκουσθῆναι λεγόμενον ἢ ὀφθῆναι γινόμενον. ἵνα δὲ μή τις 15
ὑπολάβῃ τὴν διάλεκτον εἶναι τῆς ἡδονῆς αἰτίαν τῇ λέξει,
μεταθεὶς αὐτῆς τὸν χαρακτῆρα εἰς τὴν Ἀτθίδα γλῶτταν καὶ
οὐδὲν ἄλλο περιεργασάμενος οὕτως ἐξοίσω τὸν διάλογον.
“Γύνη, οὐ γάρ σε δοκῶ πείθεσθαί μοι λέγοντι περὶ τοῦ
εἴδους τῆς γυναικός· ὦτα γὰρ τυγχάνει ἀνθρώποις ὄντα 20
ἀπιστότερα ὀφθαλμῶν· ποίει ὅπως ἐκείνην θεάσῃ γυμνήν. ὁ
[81]
passages of this kind in Homer, as everybody of course is well aware. It is enough to quote this single instance by way of reminder.
Let us now pass on to the language of prose and see if the same principle holds good of it too—that great graces invest trifling and commonplace acts and words, when they are cast into the mould of beautiful composition. For instance, there is in Herodotus a certain Lydian king whom he calls Candaules, adding that he was called Myrsilus by the Greeks. Candaules is represented as infatuated with admiration of his wife, and then as insisting on one of his friends seeing the poor woman naked. The friend struggled hard against the constraint put upon him; but failing to shake the king’s resolve, he submitted, and viewed her. The incident, as an incident, is not only lacking in dignity and, for the purpose of embellishment, intractable, but is also vulgar and hazardous and more akin to the repulsive than to the beautiful. But it has been related with great dexterity: it has been made something far better to hear told than it was to see done. And, that no one may imagine that it is to the dialect that the charm of the story is due, I will change its distinctive forms into Attic, and without any further meddling with the language will give the conversation as it stands:—
“‘Of a truth, Gyges, I think that thou dost not believe what I say concerning the beauty of my wife; indeed, men trust their ears less fully than their eyes. Contrive, therefore, to see her
1 δε P,MV 2 εἰρεῖσθαι P 3 μ[ε]ταβῶμεν cum litura P || ἤδη ante καὶ ἐπὶ add. F || διάλεξιν F 4 καὶ ἐκείνη F || τοῦτο F: τὸ αὐτὸ PV: τοῦτο αὐτὸ M || τὸ F: om. PMV 6 ἡδονὰς post μεγάλας add. F || τὰς PMV: καὶ F 7 καλεῖ Μυρσίλον δὲ om. FM: καλεῖ Μυρσίλον δὲ καλεῖσθαι om. PV: supplevit Sylburgius coll. Herod. i. 7 9 τινα post αὐτοῦ ponit F 10 ὁ δὲ PMV: ὃσ F 11 δὲ om. F || αὐτὴν· πρᾶγμα F: αὐτὴν τὸ πρᾶγμα P: αὐτὴν ἦν· τὸ δὲ πρᾶγμα MV 12 ἐπιτήδειον] δυνάμενον E 13 ταπεινὸν EPMV: παιδικὸν F 14 ἀλλὰ PM 16 τηῖ P 17 γλῶσσαν F 18 περιειργασμένος P || τὸν λόγον F 19 περὶ] τ(ους) περι P: τὰ περὶ Va 20 τυγχάνει] ὑπάρχει F
4. Usener’s conjecture παρὰ (for περὶ) may be held to find some support from 92 21 and 256 10, but on the other hand Dionysius’ love of μεταβολή has always to be remembered.
6. F’s reading ἡδονὰς γίνεσθαι καὶ adds still another καί to the four already used in this sentence. The two nouns ἡδονὰς ... χάριτας are superficially attractive, but the plural ἡδοναί is not common in this sense.
9. γυμνήν: some light is thrown on various phases of Greek and non-Greek feeling with regard to any exposure of the person by such passages as Thucyd. i. 6, Plato Menex. 236 D, Herod. i. 10 (ad f.). As to the women of Sparta cp. Gardner and Jevons Greek Antiquities pp. 352, 353.
10. For the participles cp. p. 76 ll. 5-7.
12. οὐχ ὅτι (in a context which gives it the meaning of non solum non) occurs elsewhere in Dionysius: e.g. Antiqq. Rom. ii. c. 18 καὶ οὐχ ὅτι θεῶν ἀλλ’ οὐδ’ ἀνθρώπων ἀγαθῶν ἀξίους.
13. ταπεινόν (which is weightily supported) seems to correspond better than παιδικόν to σεμνόν.—F’s reading παιδικὸν might perhaps be translated ‘sportive’ or ‘freakish’ (with a reference to boyish pranks); cp. D.H. p. 196 (s.v. μειρακιώδης) and p. 199 (s.v. παιδιώδης), and Aristot. Rhet. iii. 11 fin. εἰσὶ δὲ ὑπερβολαὶ μειρακιώδεις ... διὸ πρεσβυτέρῳ λέγειν ἀπρεπές.
17. So, in de Demosth. c. 41, μετακεκόμισται δ’ εἰς τὴν Ἀτθίδα διάλεκτον ἡ λέξις (the passage in question being Herod. vii. 8). For the charm of the Ionic dialect cp. Quintil. ix. 4. 18 “in Herodoto vero cum omnia (ut ego quidem sentio) lenitur fluunt, tum ipsa διάλεκτος habet eam iucunditatem, ut latentes etiam numeros complexa videatur.”
18. οὐδὲν ἄλλο περιεργασάμενος: notwithstanding this undertaking, the variations from the traditional text of Herodotus are (as will be seen on reference to the critical footnotes) considerable.
It is no doubt possible that F’s reading τὸν λόγον (‘the story’) is original, and was changed to τὸν διάλογον (‘the conversation’) because the whole story is not quoted. But such readings of F as ὑπάρχει (for τυγχάνει l. 20: against the MSS. of Herodotus) show that its unsupported testimony must be received with much reserve.
20. This passage of Herodotus may have been before Horace’s mind (Ars P. 180): “segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem | quam quae sunt oculis subiecta fidelibus et quae | ipse sibi tradit spectator.” Cp. also Shakespeare Coriolanus iii. 2 “the eyes of the ignorant | (are) more learned than the ears.” In the Greek the emphatic position of both ὦτα and ὀφθαλμῶν is to be noticed; cp. Introduction, pp. 19-25, for emphasis at the end and at the beginning of clauses.
δ’ ἀναβοήσας εἶπε· Δέσποτα, τίνα λόγον λέγεις οὐχ ὑγιᾶ,
κελεύων με δέσποιναν τὴν ἐμὴν θεάσασθαι γυμνήν; ἅμα δὲ
χιτῶνι ἐκδυομένῳ συνεκδύεται καὶ τὴν αἰδῶ γυνή. πάλαι
δὲ τὰ καλὰ ἀνθρώποις ἐξεύρηται, ἐξ ὧν μανθάνειν δεῖ· ἐν οἷς
ἓν τόδ’ ἐστίν, ὁρᾶν τινα τὰ ἑαυτοῦ. ἐγὼ δὲ πείθομαι ἐκείνην 5
εἶναι πασῶν γυναικῶν καλλίστην, καὶ σοῦ δέομαι μὴ
δεῖσθαι ἀνόμων. ὁ μὲν δὴ λέγων ταῦτα ἀπεμάχετο, ὁ δ’
ἠμείβετο τοῖσδε· Θάρσει Γύγη, καὶ μὴ φοβοῦ μήτ’ ἐμέ, ὡς
πειρώμενόν σου λέγω λόγον τόνδε, μήτε γυναῖκα τὴν ἐμήν,
μή τί σοι ἐξ αὐτῆς γένηται βλάβος. ἀρχὴν γὰρ ἐγὼ μηχανήσομαι 10
οὕτως, ὥστε μηδὲ μαθεῖν αὐτὴν ὀφθεῖσαν ὑπὸ σοῦ.
ἀγαγὼν γάρ σε εἰς τὸ οἴκημα, ἐν ᾧ κοιμώμεθα, ὄπισθε τῆς
ἀνοιγομένης θύρας στήσω· μετὰ δὲ ἐμὲ εἰσελθόντα παρέσται
καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἐμὴ εἰς κοίτην. κεῖται δ’ ἐγγὺς τῆς εἰσόδου
θρόνος· ἐπὶ τοῦτον τῶν ἱματίων καθ’ ἓν ἕκαστον ἐκδῦσα 15
θήσει, καὶ καθ’ ἡσυχίαν πολλὴν παρέσται σοι θεάσασθαι.
ὅταν δ’ ἀπὸ τοῦ θρόνου πορεύηται ἐπὶ τὴν εὐνὴν κατὰ νώτου
τε αὐτῆς γένῃ, σοὶ μελέτω τὸ ἐντεῦθεν, ὅπως μή σε ὄψεται
ἀπιόντα διὰ θυρῶν. ὁ μὲν δὴ ὡς οὐκ ἐδύνατο διαφυγεῖν,
ἕτοιμος ἦν [ποιεῖν ταῦτα].” 20
[83]
naked.’ But he cried out and said: ‘My lord, what is this foolish word thou sayest, bidding me look upon my lady naked? for a woman, when she puts off her dress, puts off her shamefastness also. Men of old time have found out excellent precepts, which it behoves us to learn and observe; and among them is this—“Let a man keep his eyes on his own.” As for me, I am fully persuaded that she is the fairest of all women, and I beseech thee not to require of me aught that is unlawful.’ Thus he spoke, and strove with him. But the other answered and said: ‘Be of good cheer, Gyges, and fear not that I say this to prove thee, or that harm will come to thee from my wife. For, in the first place, I will contrive after such a fashion that she shall not even know that she has been seen by thee. I will bring thee into the room where we sleep, and set thee behind the door that stands ajar; and after I have entered, my wife will come to bed. Now, near the entrance there is a seat; and on this she will place each of her garments as she puts them off, so that thou wilt have time enough to behold. But when she passes from the seat to the couch, and thou art behind her back, then take heed that she see thee not as thou goest away through the door.’ Forasmuch, then, as he could not escape, he consented to do after this manner.”[90]
1 δ’ F: δὲ PMV: δὲ μέγα Her. (exc. ACP) || λέγεις λόγον Her. 3 ἐκδυομένῳ F, Her.: ἐκδυομένη PMV 5 ἐν τώδε (τῶδε corr.) F, MV: ἐν τωῖ δε P || ἔνεστιν corr. F1, M 6 εἶναι post γυναικῶν traiciunt PMV 7 δεῖσθαι F, Her.: χρήιζειν P, MV || ἀνομῶν P || ταῦτα] τοιαῦτα Her. || post ἀπεμάχετο haec verba habet Her., ἀρρωδέων μή τί οἱ ἐξ αὐτῶν γένηται κακόν || δὲ P 8 ὡς σέο πειρώμενον (vel πειρώμενος) Her. 9 λόγον λέγω PMV || τόνδε ... ἐγὼ om. add. in marg. P2 10 τ[ι] σοι cum litura F: τισ P 12 ἄγων P: ἐγὼ Her. || ἐσ P,M || ὄπισθεν PMV 13 θυραστήσω P1 14 καὶ post παρέσται om F || ἐς PMV || δὲ PMV 15 ἐκδῦσα ante καθ’ ponunt PMV || ἐκδύνουσα Her. 16 παρέξει Her. 17 ὅτ’ ἂν FP ut solent: ἐπεὰν Her. || δε P, MV 18 μελέτω σοι F 19 ἰόντα Her. || δ[ι]α cum litura P || ἐδύνατο F, Her. (exc. RSVb): ἠδύνατο PMV || διαφεύγειν P 20 ἦν ἕτοιμος Her. || ποιεῖν ταῦτα (τά γ’ αὐτά P) om. Her.
3. Cp. Diog. Laert. Vit. Pythag. § 43 τῇ δὲ πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον ἄνδρα μελλούσῃ πορεύεσθαι παρῄνει (sc. Θεανὼ) ἅμα τοῖς ἐνδύμασι καὶ τὴν αἰσχύνην ἀποτίθεσθαι, ἀνισταμένην τε πάλιν ἅμ’ αὐτοῖσιν ἀναλαμβάνειν.
14. εἰς κοίτην and ἐγγὺς τῆς εἰσόδου are Dionysius’ Attic equivalents for ἐς κοῖτον and ἀγχοῦ τῆς ἐσόδου.
15. καθ’ ἓν ἕκαστον: cp. Herod. viii. 113 ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων συμμάχων ἐξελέγετο κατ’ ὀλίγους.
20. Perhaps the effect of Herodotus’ style is best conveyed by the Elizabethan translation (published in 1584) of Barnaby Rich, which is, however, confined to books i. and ii. In The Famous History of Herodotus, by B. R. (i.e., probably, Barnaby Rich), Dionysius’ extract from Herod. i. 8 is freely Englished thus: “My faithful servant Gyges, whereas thou seemest not to credit the large vaunts and often brags which I make of my lady’s beauty and comeliness (the ears of men being much more incredulous than their eyes), behold I will so bring to pass that thou shalt see her naked. Whereat the poor gentleman greatly abashed, and in no wise willing to assent thereto, made answer as followeth, My lord (quoth he) what manner of speech is this which unadvisedly you use in persuading me to behold my lady’s secrets, for a woman, you know, the more in sight the less in shame: who together with her garments layeth aside her modesty. Honest precepts have been devised by our elders which we ought to remember, whereof this is one, that every man ought to behold his own. For mine own part I easily believe you that of all women in the world there is none comparable unto her in beauty. Wherefore I beseech your grace to have me excused, if in a case so heinous and unlawful I somewhat refuse to obey your will. Gyges having in this sort acquitted himself, fearing the danger that might ensue, the king began afresh to reply, saying, My good Gyges, take heart at grace, and fear not, lest either myself do go about to examine and feel thy meaning by the coloured glose of feigned speech, or that the queen my lady take occasion to work thy displeasure hereby. Pull up thy spirits, and leave all to me: it is I that will work the means, whereby she shall never know any part of herself to have been seen by any creature living. Listen then awhile and give ear to my counsel:—When night is come, the door of the chamber wherein we lie being wide set open, I will covertly place thee behind the same: straight at my entrance thereinto, her custom is not to be long after me, directly at her coming in, there standeth a bench, whereat unclothing herself, she accustometh to lay her garments upon it, propounding her divine and angelical body, to be seen and viewed for a long space. This done, as she turns from the bench to bedward, her back being toward thee, have care to slip privily out of the doors lest haply she espy thee.—The gentleman seeing himself taken in a trap, that in no wise he could escape without performance of his lord’s folly, gave his assent.” [From the rare copy in the British Museum, with the spelling modernized.]
If Dionysius does not quote the sequel of the story, the reason may well be that he expects his readers to find it, or to have found it, in the pages of Herodotus himself.
οὐκ ἂν ἔχοι τις οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα εἰπεῖν, ὅτι τὸ ἀξίωμα καὶ
ἡ σεμνότης τῶν ὀνομάτων εὔμορφον πεποίηκε τὴν φράσιν·
ἀνεπιτήδευτα γάρ ἐστι καὶ ἀνέκλεκτα, οἷα ἡ φύσις τέθεικεν
σύμβολα τοῖς πράγμασιν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἥρμοττεν ἴσως κρείττοσι
χρήσασθαι ἑτέροις. ἀνάγκη δὲ δήπου, ὅταν τοῖς κυριωτάτοις 5
τε καὶ προσεχεστάτοις ὀνόμασιν ἐκφέρηται τὰ νοήματα, μηδὲν
σεμνότερον εἶναι, ἢ οἷά ἐστιν. ὅτι δὲ οὐδὲν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐστι
σεμνὸν οὐδὲ περιττόν, ὁ βουλόμενος εἴσεται μεταθεὶς οὐδὲν
ὅτι μὴ τὴν ἁρμονίαν. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ παρὰ τούτῳ τῷ ἀνδρὶ
τοιαῦτά ἐστιν, ἐξ ὧν ἄν τις τεκμήραιτο, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τῷ κάλλει 10
τῶν ὀνομάτων ἡ πειθὼ τῆς ἑρμηνείας ἦν, ἀλλ’ ἐν τῇ συζυγίᾳ.
καὶ περὶ μὲν τούτων ἱκανὰ ταῦτα.
