CHAPTER IX LENGTHENING AND SHORTENING OF CLAUSES AND PERIODS

I think I can in a very few words show that some clauses admit changes which take the form now of additions not necessary to the sense, now of curtailments rendering the sense incomplete; and that these changes are introduced by poets and prose-writers simply in order to add charm and beauty to the rhythm. Thus the following expression used by Demosthenes indisputably contains a pleonastic addition made for the sake of the rhythm: “He who contrives and prepares means whereby I may be captured is at war with me, though not yet shooting javelins or arrows.”[124] Here the reference to “arrows” is added not out of necessity, but in order that the last clause “though not yet shooting javelins,” being rougher than it ought to be and not pleasant to

2 εἰπ(ων) P, MV: εἴπ(ας) F, E   5 οὐκ prim. Dem.: καὶ οὐκ libri   6 δὲ alt om. F   7 δ’ F: om. PMV   14 γένοιτο PMV   15 ὁμολογῆσαι PV: ὁμολογήσηι F || μὲν post τήνδε habet F   19 ἐνταῦθα ... (21) βάλλῃ servarunt FM   21 βραχύτερον V: βραχυτέρα ex βραχύτερα P

1. Cicero (Philipp. xii. 3. 7) has the following climax: “Quid enim potest, per deos immortales! rei publicae prodesse nostra legatio? Prodesse dico? quid, si etiam obfutura est? Obfutura? quid, si iam nocuit atque obfuit?” Obviously it would be fatal to re-write this passage thus: “nostra legatio non poterit prodesse rei publicae, immo obfutura est, et iam nocuit.”

2. With εἰπών (rather than εἴπας) cp. line 5 (εἶπον, not εἶπα), though P gives προεῖπα in 280 19. In the Epitome εἴπας is found in V only, the other three MSS. giving εἰπών.—In Hellenistic times the non-sigmatic aorists constantly occur with the -α of the sigmatic aorists; but it is hardly likely that so good an Atticist as Dionysius would attribute εἴπας to Demosthenes, and introduce cacophony.

4. Cp. Demetr. de Eloc. § 270 λαμβάνοιτ’ ἂν καὶ ἡ κλῖμαξ καλουμένη, ὥσπερ Δημοσθένει τὸ “οὐκ εἶπον μὲν ταῦτα, οὐκ ἔγραψα δέ· οὐδ’ ἔγραψα μέν, οὐκ ἔπεισα δὲ Θηβαίους”· σχεδὸν γὰρ ἐπαναβαίνοντι ὁ λόγος ἔοικεν ἐπὶ μειζόνων μείζονα· εἰ δὲ οὕτως εἴποι τις ταῦτα, “εἰπὼν ἐγὼ καὶ γράψας ἐπρέσβευσά τε καὶ ἔπεισα Θηβαίους,” διήγημα ἐρεῖ μόνον, δεινὸν δὲ οὐδέν.

8. Dionysius seems subsequently to have written a special treatise περὶ σχημάτων: cp. Quintil. ix. 3. 89 “haec omnia copiosius sunt exsecuti, qui non ut partem operis transcurrerunt sed proprie libros huic operi dedicaverunt, sicut Caecilius, Dionysius, Rutilius, Cornificius, Visellius aliique non pauci.” The use of νῦν in de Demosth. c. 39 seems to point to an intention of the kind on Dionysius’ part: ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι δὲ νῦν, ὅσα γένη σχηματισμῶν ἐστι τῶν τε κατωνομασμένων καὶ τῶν ἀκατονομάστων, καὶ τίσιν αὐτῶν ἡ τοιαύτη μάλιστα πέφυκεν ἁρμονία χαίρειν, οὐκ ἔχω καιρόν.

10. This sentence of Dionysius himself may serve to show how successfully and conveniently Greek, as compared with English, can make a conjunction depend on words which came long after (viz. πάνυ ὀλίγου δεῖν οἴομαι λόγου in line 14).

16. προσθήκῃ οὐκ ἀναγκαίᾳ: compare, for example, such harmonious redundancies as οἱ δ’ ἐπεὶ οὖν ἤγερθεν ὁμηγερέες τ’ ἐγένοντο (Il. i. 57) and “when we assemble and meet together” (Book of Common Prayer).

20. Quintil. ix. 4. 63 “namque eo fit ut, cum Demosthenis severa videatur compositio, πρῶτον μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχομαι πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις, et illa (quae ab uno, quod sciam, Bruto minus probatur, ceteris placet) κἂν μήπω βάλλῃ μηδὲ τοξεύῃ, Ciceronem carpant in his: Familiaris coeperat esse balneatori, et Non minimum dura archipiratae. Nam balneatori et archipiratae idem finis est qui πᾶσι καὶ πάσαις et qui μηδὲ τοξεύῃ: sed priora sunt severiora.”

21. In τραχύτερον Dionysius is apparently referring to the sound of two spondees (each forming a separate word) at the end of a sentence, and to the improvement effected by the addition of a cretic followed by a spondee.—P and V give βραχύτερον, which is perhaps right, since a clause that is shorter than it ought to be can be improved (cp. 114 16) by extension.

τῇ προσθήκῃ ταύτῃ γένηται χαριέστερον. καὶ ἔτι τὴν
Πλατωνικὴν ἐκείνην περίοδον, ἣν ἐν τῷ ἐπιταφίῳ ὁ ἀνὴρ
γράφει, τίς οὐκ ἂν φαίη παραπληρώματι λέξεως οὐκ ἀναγκαίῳ
προσηρανίσθαι; “ἔργων γὰρ εὖ πραχθέντων λόγῳ καλῶς
ῥηθέντι μνήμη καὶ κόσμος γίνεται τοῖς πράξασι παρὰ τῶν      5
ἀκουσάντων.” ἐνταυθοῖ γὰρ τὸ “παρὰ τῶν ἀκουσάντων” πρὸς
οὐδὲν ἀναγκαῖον λέγεται, ἀλλ’ ἵνα τὸ τελευταῖον κῶλον τὸ
“τοῖς πράξασι” πάρισόν τε καὶ ἐφάμιλλον τοῖς πρὸ αὐτοῦ
γένηται. τί δὲ δὴ τὸ παρ’ Αἰσχίνῃ λεγόμενον τουτί “ἐπὶ
σαυτὸν καλεῖς, ἐπὶ τοὺς νόμους καλεῖς, ἐπὶ τὴν δημοκρατίαν      10
καλεῖς,” τρίκωλον ἐν τοῖς πάνυ ἐπαινούμενον, οὐχὶ τῆς αὐτῆς
ἰδέας ἔχεται; ὃ γὰρ οἷόν τε ἦν ἑνὶ κώλῳ περιληφθῆναι τόνδε
τὸν τρόπον “ἐπὶ σεαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς νόμους καὶ τὴν δημοκρατίαν
καλεῖς,” τοῦτο εἰς τρία διῄρηται, τῆς αὐτῆς λέξεως οὐ τοῦ
ἀναγκαίου ἕνεκα, τοῦ δὲ ἡδίω ποιῆσαι τὴν ἁρμονίαν πολλάκις      15
τεθείσης [καὶ προσέτι πάθος τῷ λόγῳ]. τῆς μὲν δὴ προσθέσεως
ἣ γίνεται τοῖς κώλοις οὗτος ὁ τρόπος· τῆς ἀφαιρέσεως
δὲ τίς; ὅταν τῶν ἀναγκαίων τι λέγεσθαι λυπεῖν μέλλῃ καὶ
διοχλεῖν τὴν ἀκρόασιν, ἀφαιρεθὲν δὲ χαριεστέραν ποιῇ τὴν
ἁρμονίαν· οἷά ἐστιν ἐν μὲν τοῖς μέτροις τὰ Σοφόκλεια ταυτί·      20

μύω τε καὶ δέδορκα κἀξανίσταμαι
πλέον φυλάσσων αὐτὸς ἢ φυλάσσομαι·

ἐνταυθοῖ γὰρ ὁ δεύτερος στίχος ἐκ δυεῖν σύγκειται κώλων οὐχ
ὅλων· τελεία γὰρ ἂν ἡ λέξις ἦν οὕτως ἐξενεχθεῖσα “πλεῖον

[117]

the ear, may be made more attractive by this addition. Again, the famous period of Plato which that author inserts in the Funeral Speech has beyond dispute been extended by a supplement not necessary to the sense: “When deeds have been nobly done, then through speech finely uttered there come honour and remembrance to the doers from the hearers.”[125] Here the words “from the hearers” are not at all necessary to the sense; they are added in order that the last clause, “to the doers,” may correspond with and balance what has preceded it. Again, take these words found in Aeschines, “you summon him against yourself; you summon him against the laws; you summon him against the democracy,”[126] a sentence of great celebrity, formed of three clauses: does it not belong to the class we are considering? What could have been embraced in one clause as follows, “you summon him against yourself and the laws and the democracy,” has been divided into three, the same expression being repeated not from any necessity but in order to make the rhythm more agreeable.

In such ways, then, may clauses be expanded: how can they be abridged? This comes about when something necessary to the sense is likely to offend and jar on the ear, and when, consequently, its removal adds to the charm of the rhythm. An example, in verse, is afforded by the following lines of Sophocles:—

I close mine eyes, I open them, I rise—
Myself the warder rather than the warded.[127]

Here the second line is composed of two imperfect clauses. The expression would have been complete if it had run thus,

1 γεγένηται PMV || χαριέστερα F   6 ἐνταυθοῖ ... ἀκουσάντων F, E: om. PMV   7 τὸ ante τοῖς om. EF   11 ἐπαινουμένοις F   15 ἡδείαν F, M   16 καὶ ... λόγῳ secl. Us.: προσἔτι F, M: πρόσεστι PV   19 ποιῆι P, M: ποιεῖ EFV: ποιεῖν coni. Reiskius   20 ἁρμονίαν F: ἐρμηνείαν P, MV || οἵα F: οἷάπέρ PMV || μὲν F: om. PMV   21 καὶ ξυνίσταμαι P   22 πλέον ... (24) ἐξενεχθεῖσα om. P

2. ὁ ἀνήρ is used by Dionysius with various shades of meaning,—‘the author,’ ‘the Master,’ ‘the worthy,’ etc. Cp. 96 8, 182 2, 184 12, 186 2, 198 4, 228 15, 264 25.

5. In the actual text of Menex. 236 E there is a slight difference of order, viz. τοῖς πράξασι γίγνεται instead of γίνεται τοῖς πράξασι (as Dionysius gives it).

6. The Epitome makes the meaning quite plain by inserting παραπλήρωμα τῆς λέξεως between ἀκουσάντων and πρὸς οὐδέν.

9. Here all MSS. agree in giving the form τουτί. The same agreement will be found in 86 9, 110 17, 116 20, 120 24, 156 15, 158 5, etc.

10. Demetrius, de Eloc. § 268, regards this sentence as an example of three ‘figures,’—anaphora, asyndeton, and homoeoteleuton. He adds, “Were we to write ‘you summon him against yourself and the laws and the democracy,’ the force would vanish together with the figures.”—Similarly, “Appius eos [servos] postulavit et produxit” would be less telling than “Quis eos postulavit? Appius. Quis produxit? Appius. Unde? ab Appio” (Cic. pro Milone 22. 59).

11. τῆς αὐτῆς ἰδέας, ‘the same form of expression,’ i.e. the effectively pleonastic.

16. If the words καὶ προσέτι πάθος τῷ λόγῳ are retained, ποιῆσαι (in a slightly different sense) must be repeated in order to govern πάθος: unless some such word as γίγνεται can be supplied.

21. The context of these lines of Sophocles is not known, but the idea may well be that of ‘uneasy lies the head’ or οὐ χρὴ παννύχιον εὕδειν βουληφόρον ἄνδρα (Il. ii. 24). The ‘elliptical’ effect (an ellipse being implied by ἀφαίρεσις, cp. 116 17) is produced by the presence of αὐτός, which suggests that ἑτέρους and ὑφ’ ἑτέρων are to be mentally supplied.—Cp. Cic. in Q. Caec. Divin. 18. 58 “hic tu, si laesum te a Verre esse dices, patiar et concedam: si iniuriam tibi factam quereris, defendam et negabo”; and Racine Andromaque iv. 5 “Je t’aimais inconstant; qu’aurais-je fait fidèle?”

φυλάσσων αὐτὸς ἑτέρους ἢ φυλασσόμενος ὑφ’ ἑτέρων,” τὸ δὲ
μέτρον ἠδίκητο καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἔσχεν ἣν νυνὶ χάριν ἔχει. ἐν δὲ
τοῖς πεζοῖς λόγοις τὰ τοιαῦτα· “ἐγὼ δ’ ὅτι μὲν τινῶν κατηγοροῦντα
πάντας ἀφαιρεῖσθαι τὴν ἀτέλειαν τῶν ἀδίκων ἐστίν,
ἐάσω.” μεμείωται γὰρ κἀνταῦθα τῶν πρώτων δυεῖν κώλων      5
ἑκάτερον· αὐτοτελῆ δ’ ἂν ἦν, εἴ τις αὐτὰ οὕτως ἐξήνεγκεν·
“ἐγὼ δ’ ὅτι μὲν τινῶν κατηγοροῦντα ὡς οὐκ ἐπιτηδείων ἔχειν
τὴν ἀτέλειαν πάντας ἀφαιρεῖσθαι καὶ τοὺς δικαίως αὐτῆς
τυχόντας τῶν ἀδίκων ἐστίν, ἐάσω.” ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐδόκει τῷ
Δημοσθένει πλείονα ποιεῖσθαι πρόνοιαν τῆς ἀκριβείας τῶν      10
κώλων ἢ τῆς εὐρυθμίας.

τὰ δ’ αὐτὰ εἰρήσθω μοι καὶ περὶ τῶν καλουμένων περιόδων·
καὶ γὰρ ταύτας χρὴ τάς τε προηγουμένας καὶ τὰς ἑπομένας
οἰκείως συναρμόττειν, ὅταν ἐν περιόδοις προσήκῃ τὸν λόγον
ἐκφέρειν· οὐ γὰρ δὴ πανταχῇ γε τὸ ἐμπερίοδον χρήσιμον.      15
καὶ αὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο τὸ θεώρημα τῆς συνθετικῆς ἐπιστήμης ἴδιον,
πότε δεῖ χρῆσθαι περιόδοις καὶ μέχρι πόσου καὶ πότε μή.