- Source
- Aristotle. Aristotelis De arte poetica liber. Kassel, Rudolf, editor. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1965 (printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
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- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg034.humanitext-grc2:21.1-21.26
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
Aristotle classifies nouns into simple and compound, defining eight types of words, including four kinds of metaphor. He explains the application of metaphors in poetic diction and outlines the phonological rules for masculine, feminine, and neuter noun endings.
ὀνόματος δὲ εἴδη τὸ μὲν ἁπλοῦν, ἁπλοῦν δὲ λέγω ὃ μὴ ἐκ σημαινόντων σύγκειται, οἷον γῆ, τὸ δὲ διπλοῦν·
The species of nouns are: on the one hand, the simple—and by simple I mean that which is not composed of significant parts, e.g., “earth” (γῆ)—and on the other hand, the double.
τούτου δὲ τὸ μὲν ἐκ σημαίνοντος καὶ ἀσήμου,1 πλὴν οὐκ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι σημαίνοντος καὶ ἀσήμου, τὸ δὲ ἐκ σημαινόντων σύγκειται.
Of this, one kind consists of a significant and a non-significant part—except that the part is not significant within the noun itself—and another kind consists of significant parts.
εἴη δ’ ἂν καὶ τριπλοῦν καὶ τετραπλοῦν ὄνομα καὶ πολλαπλοῦν, οἷον τὰ πολλὰ τῶν Μασσαλιωτῶν, Ἑρμοκαϊκόξανθος...
There could also be a triple, quadruple, or multiple noun, such as many of the Massaliote words, for instance, ”Hermocaïcoxanthus” (Ἑρμοκαϊκόξανθος)...
ἅπαν δὲ ὄνομά ἐστιν ἢ κύριον ἢ γλῶττα ἢ μεταφορὰ ἢ κόσμος ἢ πεποιημένον ἢ ἐπεκτεταμένον ἢ ὑφῃρημένον ἢ ἐξηλλαγμένον.
Every noun is either current, foreign, metaphorical, ornamental, newly-coined, lengthened, curtailed, or altered.
λέγω δὲ κύριον μὲν ᾧ χρῶνται ἕκαστοι, γλῶτταν δὲ ᾧ ἕτεροι· ὥστε φανερὸν ὅτι καὶ γλῶτταν καὶ κύριον εἶναι δυνατὸν τὸ αὐτό, μὴ τοῖς αὐτοῖς δέ· τὸ γὰρ σίγυνον Κυπρίοις μὲν κύριον, ἡμῖν δὲ γλῶττα.
By current I mean that which is used by each people. By foreign I mean that which is used by others; so it is clear that the same word can be both foreign and current, though not to the same people. For “sigynon” (σίγυνον) is current for the Cyprians, but foreign for us.
μεταφορὰ δέ ἐστιν ὀνόματος ἀλλοτρίου ἐπιφορὰ ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ γένους ἐπὶ εἶδος ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ εἴδους ἐπὶ τὸ γένος ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ εἴδους ἐπὶ εἶδος ἢ κατὰ τὸ ἀνάλογον.
Metaphor is the application of an alien name, either from genus to species, or from species to genus, or from species to species, or by analogy.
λέγω δὲ ἀπὸ γένους μὲν ἐπὶ εἶδος οἷον νηῦς δέ μοι ἥδ’ ἕστηκεν·
By “from genus to species” I mean, for example: “Here lies (ἕστηκεν) my ship.”
τὸ γὰρ ὁρμεῖν ἐστιν ἑστάναι τι. ἀπ’ εἴδους δὲ ἐπὶ γένος ἦ δὴ μυρί’ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἐσθλὰ ἔοργεν· τὸ γὰρ μυρίον πολύ ἐστιν, ᾧ νῦν ἀντὶ τοῦ πολλοῦ κέχρηται.
For to be moored is a species of standing. And “from species to genus”: “Truly Odysseus has wrought ten thousand (μυρί’) good deeds.” For “ten thousand” is a species of “many”, which he has used here instead of “many”.
ἀπ’ εἴδους δὲ ἐπὶ εἶδος οἷον χαλκῷ ἀπὸ ψυχὴν ἀρύσας καὶ τεμὼν ταναήκεϊ χαλκῷ· ἐνταῦθα γὰρ τὸ μὲν ἀρύσαι ταμεῖν, τὸ δὲ ταμεῖν ἀρύσαι εἴρηκεν· ἄμφω γὰρ ἀφελεῖν τί ἐστιν.
And “from species to species”, as: “Drawing off (ἀρύσας) the life with bronze,” and “Cutting (τεμών) with the long-edged bronze.” For here he has used “to draw off” for “to cut”, and “to cut” for “to draw off”; for both are species of “taking away”.
τὸ δὲ ἀνάλογον λέγω, ὅταν ὁμοίως ἔχῃ τὸ δεύτερον πρὸς τὸ πρῶτον καὶ τὸ τέταρτον πρὸς τὸ τρίτον· ἐρεῖ γὰρ ἀντὶ τοῦ δευτέρου τὸ τέταρτον ἢ ἀντὶ τοῦ τετάρτου τὸ δεύτερον.
And I speak of “analogy” when the second term is related to the first as the fourth is to the third; for one will then speak of the fourth instead of the second, or the second instead of the fourth.
καὶ ἐνίοτε προστιθέασιν ἀνθ’ οὗ λέγει2 πρὸς ὅ ἐστι. λέγω δὲ οἷον ὁμοίως ἔχει φιάλη πρὸς Διόνυσον καὶ ἀσπὶς πρὸς Ἄρη· ἐρεῖ τοίνυν τὴν φιάλην ἀσπίδα Διονύσου καὶ τὴν ἀσπίδα φιάλην Ἄρεως.
And sometimes people add that to which the term replaced is related. I mean, for example, a cup is related to Dionysus as a shield is to Ares; so one will call the cup “the shield of Dionysus”, and the shield “the cup of Ares”.
ἢ ὃ γῆρας πρὸς βίον, καὶ ἑσπέρα πρὸς ἡμέραν· ἐρεῖ τοίνυν τὴν ἑσπέραν γῆρας ἡμέρας ἢ ὥσπερ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς, καὶ τὸ γῆρας ἑσπέραν βίου ἢ δυσμὰς βίου.
Or as old age is to life, so is evening to day; so one will call evening “the old age of the day”, or, as Empedocles did, call old age “the evening of life” or “the sunset of life”.
ἐνίοις δ’ οὐκ ἔστιν ὄνομα κείμενον τῶν ἀνάλογον, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲν ἧττον ὁμοίως λεχθήσεται· οἷον τὸ τὸν καρπὸν μὲν ἀφιέναι σπείρειν, τὸ δὲ τὴν φλόγα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου ἀνώνυμον· ἀλλ’ ὁμοίως ἔχει τοῦτο πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὸ σπείρειν πρὸς τὸν καρπόν, διὸ εἴρηται σπείρων θεοκτίσταν φλόγα.
In some cases there is no established name for one of the analogous terms, but it will nonetheless be expressed in a similar way. For instance, to cast forth seed is “to sow” (σπείρειν), but the casting forth of light from the sun has no name; yet this act is related to the sun just as sowing is to the seed, and hence the expression: “Sowing (σπείρων) the god-created flame.”
ἔστι δὲ τῷ τρόπῳ τούτῳ τῆς μεταφορᾶς χρῆσθαι καὶ ἄλλως, προσαγορεύσαντα τὸ ἀλλότριον ἀποφῆσαι τῶν οἰκείων τι, οἷον εἰ τὴν ἀσπίδα εἴποι φιάλην μὴ Ἄρεως ἀλλ’ ἄοινον...
It is also possible to use this manner of metaphor in another way, by applying the alien term and then denying of it one of its proper attributes; as if one should call the shield not “the cup of Ares” but “the wineless cup”...
πεποιημένον δ’ ἐστὶν ὃ ὅλως μὴ καλούμενον ὑπὸ τινῶν αὐτὸς τίθεται ὁ ποιητής, δοκεῖ γὰρ ἔνια εἶναι τοιαῦτα, οἷον τὰ κέρατα ἔρνυγας καὶ τὸν ἱερέα ἀρητῆρα.
A newly-coined word is one which, not being in use by anyone at all, the poet himself invents; for there seem to be some such words, as when he calls horns “ernyges” (ἔρνυγας) and a priest “arēter” (ἀρητῆρα).
ἐπεκτεταμένον δέ ἐστιν ἢ ἀφῃρημένον, τὸ μὲν ἐὰν φωνήεντι μακροτέρῳ κεχρημένον ᾖ τοῦ οἰκείου ἢ συλλαβῇ ἐμβεβλημένῃ, τὸ δὲ ἂν ἀφῃρημένον τι ᾖ αὐτοῦ, ἐπεκτεταμένον μὲν οἷον τὸ πόλεως πόληος καὶ τὸ Πηλείδου Πηληιάδεω, ἀφῃρημένον δὲ οἷον τὸ κρῖ καὶ τὸ δῶ καὶ μία γίνεται ἀμφοτέρων ὄψ.
A lengthened or curtailed word: the former is one where a longer vowel than the proper one is used, or a syllable is inserted; the latter is one where something has been taken away from it. An example of a lengthened word is “polēos” (πόληος) for “poleōs” (πόλεως) and “Pēlēïadeō” (Πηληιάδεω) for “Pēleidou” (Πηλείδου); of a curtailed word, ”kri” (κρῖ) and “dō” (δῶ), and: “The sight (ὄψ) of both becomes one (μία).”
ἐξηλλαγμένον δ’ ἐστὶν ὅταν τοῦ ὀνομαζομένου τὸ μὲν καταλείπῃ τὸ δὲ ποιῇ, οἷον τὸ δεξιτερὸν κατὰ μαζόν ἀντὶ τοῦ δεξιόν.
An altered word is when, of the word that is named, the poet leaves one part and creates another, as: “upon the right (δεξιτερὸν) breast” instead of “dexion” (δεξιόν).
αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν ὀνομάτων τὰ μὲν ἄρρενα τὰ δὲ θήλεα τὰ δὲ μεταξύ, ἄρρενα μὲν ὅσα τελευτᾷ εἰς τὸ Ν καὶ Ρ καὶ Σ καὶ ὅσα ἐκ τούτου3 σύγκειται (ταῦτα δ’ ἐστὶν δύο, Ψ καὶ Ξ), θήλεα δὲ ὅσα ἐκ τῶν φωνηέντων εἴς τε τὰ ἀεὶ μακρά, οἷον εἰς Η καὶ Ω, καὶ τῶν ἐπεκτεινομένων εἰς Α·
Of nouns themselves, some are masculine, some feminine, and some in between. Masculine are those that end in N, R, and S, and those composed of this (which are two, Ψ and Ξ); feminine are those derived from vowels that end in those that are always long, such as H and Ω, and of those vowels that can be lengthened, in A.
ὥστε ἴσα συμβαίνει πλήθει εἰς ὅσα τὰ ἄρρενα καὶ τὰ θήλεα· τὸ γὰρ Ψ καὶ τὸ Ξ σύνθετά ἐστιν.
Consequently, the number of endings in which masculine and feminine nouns terminate is equal; for Ψ and Ξ are composite.
εἰς δὲ ἄφωνον οὐδὲν ὄνομα τελευτᾷ, οὐδὲ εἰς φωνῆεν βραχύ.
No noun ends in a mute, nor in a short vowel.
εἰς δὲ τὸ Ι τρία μόνον, μέλι κόμμι πέπερι. εἰς δὲ τὸ Υ πέντε. τὰ δὲ μεταξὺ εἰς ταῦτα καὶ Ν καὶ Σ.
Only three end in I: “meli” (μέλι), “kommi” (κόμμι), “peperi” (πέπερι). Five end in Y. And the neuter nouns end in these and in N and S.
- 1457aσημαινόντος καὶ ἀσήμου
The genitive phrase σημαινόντος καὶ ἀσήμου relies on the preposition ἐκ implied from the previous clause. The clause beginning with πλὴν οὐκ indicates that although the parts are technically significant and non-significant, they do not function as such inside the compound noun itself.
- 1457b15ἀνθ’ οὗ λέγει
The relative pronoun οὗ incorporates its antecedent and is in the genitive case governed by the preposition ἀντί (ἀνθ’), meaning "instead of that which he [actually] says [or means]" (i.e., the term that has been replaced).
- 1458a10ἐκ τούτου
The masculine/neuter singular demonstrative pronoun τούτου refers back to the letter Σ (sigma, which is treated as a neuter indeclinable noun). It means "composed of this [s-sound]", referring to the double consonants Ψ (p+s) and Ξ (k+s) introduced in the next parenthesis.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1