§22.1λέξεως δὲ ἀρετὴ σαφῆ καὶ μὴ ταπεινὴν εἶναι.
The virtue of diction is to be clear and not commonplace.
§22.2σαφεστάτη μὲν οὖν ἐστιν ἡ ἐκ τῶν κυρίων ὀνομάτων, ἀλλὰ ταπεινή· παράδειγμα δὲ ἡ Κλεοφῶντος ποίησις καὶ ἡ Σθενέλου.
Now, while the clearest diction is that which consists of current words, it is commonplace; an example is the poetry of Cleophon and of Sthenelus.
§22.3σεμνὴ δὲ καὶ ἐξαλλάττουσα τὸ ἰδιωτικὸν ἡ τοῖς ξενικοῖς κεχρημένη· ξενικὸν δὲ λέγω γλῶτταν καὶ μεταφορὰν καὶ ἐπέκτασιν καὶ πᾶν τὸ παρὰ τὸ κύριον.
On the other hand, that which uses unfamiliar words is majestic and departs from the everyday; by unfamiliar I mean a foreign word, a metaphor, a lengthened word, and everything that is not current.
§22.4ἀλλ’ ἄν τις ἅπαντα τοιαῦτα ποιήσῃ, ἢ αἴνιγμα ἔσται ἢ βαρβαρισμός· ἂν μὲν οὖν ἐκ μεταφορῶν, αἴνιγμα, ἐὰν δὲ ἐκ γλωττῶν, βαρβαρισμός.
But if anyone should make a whole work of such words, it will be either a riddle or a barbarism; if it consists of metaphors, a riddle, and if of foreign words, a barbarism.
§22.5αἰνίγματός τε γὰρ ἰδέα αὕτη ἐστί, τὸ λέγοντα ὑπάρχοντα ἀδύνατα συνάψαι·
For this is the essential character of a riddle: to describe a real state of affairs by joining together impossible combinations.
κατὰ μὲν οὖν τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ὀνομάτων σύνθεσιν οὐχ οἷόν τε τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, κατὰ δὲ τὴν μεταφορῶν ἐνδέχεται, οἷον
ἄνδρ’ εἶδον πυρὶ χαλκὸν ἐπ’ ἀνέρι κολλήσαντα,
καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα.
Now, this cannot be done by the composition of other kinds of words, but it is possible by that of metaphors, as in: "I saw a man who with fire had glued bronze upon another man," and the like.
§22.6τὰ δὲ ἐκ τῶν γλωττῶν βαρβαρισμός.
That which consists of foreign words is a barbarism.
§22.7δεῖ ἄρα κεκρᾶσθαί πως τούτοις· τὸ μὲν γὰρ τὸ μὴ ἰδιωτικὸν ποιήσει μηδὲ ταπεινόν, οἷον ἡ γλῶττα καὶ ἡ μεταφορὰ καὶ ὁ κόσμος καὶ τἆλλα τὰ εἰρημένα εἴδη, τὸ δὲ κύριον τὴν σαφήνειαν.
There must, therefore, be a certain mixture of these; for the one kind will prevent the language from being everyday or commonplace—such as the foreign word, the metaphor, the ornament, and the other species mentioned—while the current word will provide clarity.
§22.8οὐκ ἐλάχιστον δὲ μέρος συμβάλλεται εἰς τὸ σαφὲς τῆς λέξεως καὶ μὴ ἰδιωτικὸν αἱ ἐπεκτάσεις καὶ ἀποκοπαὶ καὶ ἐξαλλαγαὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων·
Moreover, the lengthenings, curtailments, and alterations of words contribute in no small measure to the clarity and non-everyday character of the diction.
διὰ μὲν γὰρ τὸ ἄλλως ἔχειν ἢ ὡς τὸ κύριον παρὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς γιγνόμενον τὸ μὴ ἰδιωτικὸν ποιήσει, διὰ δὲ τὸ κοινωνεῖν τοῦ εἰωθότος τὸ σαφὲς ἔσται.
For by being different from the current forms and departing from custom, they will prevent it from being everyday; while by sharing in the customary, they will secure clarity.
§22.9ὥστε οὐκ ὀρθῶς ψέγουσιν οἱ ἐπιτιμῶντες τῷ τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ τῆς διαλέκτου καὶ διακωμῳδοῦντες τὸν ποιητήν, οἷον Εὐκλείδης ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὡς ῥᾴδιον ὂν ποιεῖν εἴ τις δώσει ἐκτείνειν ἐφ’ ὁπόσον βούλεται, ἰαμβοποιήσας ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ λέξει
Ἐπιχάρην εἶδον Μαραθῶνάδε βαδίζοντα,
καὶ
οὐκ † ἂν γεράμενος † τὸν ἐκείνου ἐλλέβορον. §22.10τὸ μὲν οὖν φαίνεσθαί πως χρώμενον τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ γελοῖον· τὸ δὲ μέτρον κοινὸν ἁπάντων ἐστὶ τῶν μερῶν·
Therefore, those who criticize this manner of speech and mock the poet are incorrect; for example, Euclides the Elder used to say that it is easy to make poetry if one is allowed to lengthen words as much as one wants, and he wrote a parody in iambics using this very style: "I saw Epichares walking towards Marathon," and: "not... his hellebore." To appear in any way to be using this manner is indeed ridiculous; but moderation is a measure common to all parts.
§22.11καὶ γὰρ μεταφοραῖς καὶ γλώτταις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις εἴδεσι χρώμενος ἀπρεπῶς καὶ ἐπίτηδες ἐπὶ τὰ γελοῖα τὸ αὐτὸ ἂν ἀπεργάσαιτο.
For a person using metaphors, foreign words, and the other species inappropriately and deliberately for a ridiculous effect would produce the same result.
§22.12τὸ δὲ ἁρμόττον ὅσον διαφέρει ἐπὶ τῶν ἐπῶν θεωρείσθω ἐντιθεμένων τῶν ὀνομάτων εἰς τὸ μέτρον.
How great a difference the fitting use makes may be observed in the case of epic poetry when the words are fitted into the meter.
§22.13καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γλώττης δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν μεταφορῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἰδεῶν μετατιθεὶς ἄν τις τὰ κύρια ὀνόματα κατίδοι ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγομεν· οἷον τὸ αὐτὸ ποιήσαντος ἰαμβεῖον Αἰσχύλου καὶ Εὐριπίδου, ἓν δὲ μόνον ὄνομα μεταθέντος, ἀντὶ κυρίου εἰωθότος γλῶτταν, τὸ μὲν φαίνεται καλὸν τὸ δ’ εὐτελές.
And if one replaces foreign words, metaphors, and the other forms with current words, one would see that what we say is true. For example, Aeschylus and Euripides wrote the same iambic line, but Euripides changed only a single word, substituting an unfamiliar foreign word for a current, customary one, with the result that the one line appears beautiful and the other trivial.
Αἰσχύλος μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῷ Φιλοκτήτῃ ἐποίησε
"
φαγέδαιναν ἥ μου σάρκας ἐσθίει ποδός,
"
ὁ δὲ ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐσθίει τὸ θοινᾶται μετέθηκεν.
For Aeschylus in his Philoctetes wrote: "the ulcer that eats (esthiei) my flesh of my foot," but Euripides substituted "feasts upon" (thoinatai) for "eats".
καὶ
"
νῦν δέ μ’ ἐὼν ὀλίγος τε καὶ οὐτιδανὸς καὶ ἀεικής,
"
εἴ τις λέγοι τὰ κύρια μετατιθεὶς
"
νῦν δέ μ’ ἐὼν μικρός τε καὶ ἀσθενικὸς καὶ ἀειδής· "
καὶ
"
δίφρον ἀεικέλιον καταθεὶς ὀλίγην τε τράπεζαν,
"
"
δίφρον μοχθηρὸν καταθεὶς μικράν τε τράπεζαν· "
καὶ τὸ
ἠιόνες βοόωσιν,
ἠιόνες κράζουσιν. §22.14ἔτι δὲ Ἀριφράδης τοὺς τραγῳδοὺς ἐκωμῴδει ὅτι ἃ οὐδεὶς ἂν εἴπειεν ἐν τῇ διαλέκτῳ τούτοις χρῶνται, οἷον τὸ δωμάτων ἄπο ἀλλὰ μὴ ἀπὸ δωμάτων, καὶ τὸ σέθεν καὶ τὸ ἐγὼ δέ νιν καὶ τὸ Ἀχιλλέως πέρι ἀλλὰ μὴ περὶ Ἀχιλλέως, καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τοιαῦτα.
And: ¦25 "And now a man who is small (oligos), of no account, and unsightly," if one were to say it by substituting current words: "And now a man who is little (mikros), weak, and ugly." And: "Having set down a mean stool and a poor (oligēn) table," ¦30 "Having set down a wretched stool and a small (mikran) table." And: "The shores roar (boōsin)," "The shores cry (krazousin)." Furthermore, Ariphrades used to mock the tragedians because they use expressions that no one would say in conversation, such as "from the houses" (dōmatōn apo) instead of "apo dōmatōn", and "of thee" (sethen), and "I him" (egō de nin), and "about Achilles" (Achilleōs peri) instead of "peri Achilleōs", and all other such things.
§22.15διὰ γὰρ τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἐν τοῖς κυρίοις ποιεῖ τὸ μὴ ἰδιωτικὸν ἐν τῇ λέξει ἅπαντα τὰ τοιαῦτα· ἐκεῖνος δὲ τοῦτο ἠγνόει.
For because all such terms are not in the current vocabulary, they prevent the diction from being everyday; but he was ignorant of this.
§22.16ἔστιν δὲ μέγα μὲν τὸ ἑκάστῳ τῶν εἰρημένων πρεπόντως χρῆσθαι, καὶ διπλοῖς ὀνόμασι καὶ γλώτταις, πολὺ δὲ μέγιστον τὸ μεταφορικὸν εἶναι.
It is a great thing to make a fitting use of each of the elements mentioned, both double words and foreign words, but by far the greatest is to be metaphorical.
§22.17μόνον γὰρ τοῦτο οὔτε παρ’ ἄλλου ἔστι λαβεῖν εὐφυΐας τε σημεῖόν ἐστι· τὸ γὰρ εὖ μεταφέρειν τὸ τὸ ὅμοιον θεωρεῖν ἐστιν.
For this alone cannot be learned from another and is a sign of natural genius; since to make good metaphors is to contemplate what is similar.
§22.18τῶν δ’ ὀνομάτων τὰ μὲν διπλᾶ μάλιστα ἁρμόττει τοῖς διθυράμβοις, αἱ δὲ γλῶτται τοῖς ἡρωικοῖς, αἱ δὲ μεταφοραὶ τοῖς ἰαμβείοις.
Of words, the double are most suited to dithyrambs, foreign words to heroic verse, and metaphors to iambics.
§22.19καὶ ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἡρωικοῖς ἅπαντα χρήσιμα τὰ εἰρημένα, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἰαμβείοις διὰ τὸ ὅτι μάλιστα λέξιν μιμεῖσθαι ταῦτα ἁρμόττει τῶν ὀνομάτων ὅσοις κἂν ἐν λόγοις τις χρήσαιτο·
While in heroic verse all the mentioned species are useful, in iambics—because they mimic spoken language as much as possible—those words are appropriate which one would use also in prose.
ἔστι δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα τὸ κύριον καὶ μεταφορὰ καὶ κόσμος.
Such words are the current, the metaphor, and the ornament.
§22.20περὶ μὲν οὖν τραγῳδίας καὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ πράττειν μιμήσεως ἔστω ἡμῖν ἱκανὰ τὰ εἰρημένα.
Let this, then, suffice as our account of tragedy and of imitation in action.