§3.4.1ἔστιν δὲ καὶ ἡ εἰκὼν μεταφορά· διαφέρει γὰρ μικρόν·
The simile is also a metaphor; for it differs only slightly.
ὅταν μὲν γὰρ εἴπῃ
"
ὡς δὲ λέων ἐπόρουσεν
"
, εἰκών ἐστιν, ὅταν δὲ
λέων ἐπόρουσε
, μεταφορά· διὰ γὰρ τὸ ἄμφω ἀνδρείους εἶναι, προσηγόρευσεν μετενέγκας λέοντα τὸν Ἀχιλλέα.
For when one says "like a lion he rushed on," it is a simile, but when "a lion rushed on," it is a metaphor; for because both are courageous, he called Achilles a lion by transferring the term.
§3.4.2χρήσιμον δὲ ἡ εἰκὼν καὶ ἐν λόγῳ, ὀλιγάκις δέ· ποιητικὸν γάρ.
The simile is also useful in prose, but seldom, for it is poetic.
οἰστέαι δὲ ὥσπερ αἱ μεταφοραί· μεταφοραὶ γάρ εἰσι, διαφέρουσαι τῷ εἰρημένῳ.
And they must be applied just like metaphors; for they are metaphors, differing only in the way mentioned.
§3.4.3εἰσὶν δʼ εἰκόνες οἷον ἣν Ἀνδροτίων εἰς Ἰδριέα, ὅτι ὅμοιος τοῖς ἐκ τῶν δεσμῶν κυνιδίοις· ἐκεῖνά τε γὰρ προσπίπτοντα δάκνειν, καὶ Ἰδριέα λυθέντα ἐκ τῶν δεσμῶν εἶναι χαλεπόν.
Similes are such as that which Androtion used against Idrieus, that he was like small dogs let loose from their chains; for those dogs fly at people and bite them, and Idrieus, when released from his bonds, was dangerous.
καὶ ὡς Θεοδάμας εἴκαζεν Ἀρχίδαμον Εὐξένῳ γεωμετρεῖν οὐκ ἐπισταμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀνάλογόν ἐστιν· ἔσται γὰρ καὶ ὁ Εὔξενος Ἀρχίδαμος γεωμετρικός.
And as Theodamas compared Archidamus to Euxenus who did not know geometry, in a proportional relation; for Euxenus will be Archidamus skilled in geometry.
καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ Πολιτείᾳ τῇ Πλάτωνος, ὅτι οἱ τοὺς τεθνεῶτας σκυλεύοντες ἐοίκασι τοῖς κυνιδίοις ἃ τοὺς λίθους δάκνει, τοῦ βάλλοντος οὐχ ἁπτόμενα, καὶ ἡ εἰς τὸν δῆμον, ὅτι ὅμοιος ναυκλήρῳ ἰσχυρῷ μὲν ὑποκώφῳ δέ, καὶ ἡ εἰς τὰ μέτρα τῶν ποιητῶν, ὅτι ἔοικε τοῖς ἄνευ κάλλους ὡραίοις· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀπανθήσαντες, τὰ δὲ διαλυθέντα οὐχ ὅμοια φαίνεται.
And that in Plato’s Republic, that those who strip the dead are like small dogs that bite the stones, not touching the one who throws them. And that concerning the democracy, that it is like a shipmaster who is strong but slightly deaf. And that concerning the meters of the poets, that they are like those in their prime without beauty; for when they fade, and the meters are dissolved, they do not appear the same.
καὶ ἡ Περικλέους εἰς Σαμίους, ἐοικέναι αὐτοὺς τοῖς παιδίοις ἃ τὸν ψωμὸν δέχεται μέν, κλαίοντα δέ, καὶ εἰς Βοιωτούς, ὅτι ὅμοιοι τοῖς πρίνοις· τούς τε γὰρ πρίνους ὑφʼ αὑτῶν κατακόπτεσθαι, καὶ τοὺς Βοιωτοὺς πρὸς ἀλλήλους μαχομένους.
And that of Pericles concerning the Samians, that they are like children who indeed accept the morsel, but weep. And concerning the Boeotians, that they are like holm-oaks; for holm-oaks are split by themselves, and the Boeotians are fighting among themselves.
καὶ ὃ Δημοσθένης εἰς τὸν δῆμον, ὅτι ὅμοιός ἐστιν τοῖς ἐν τοῖς πλοίοις ναυτιῶσιν.
And what Demosthenes said concerning the democracy, that it is like those who get seasick in ships.
καὶ ὡς Δημοκράτης εἴκασεν τοὺς ῥήτορας ταῖς τίτθαις αἳ τὸ ψώμισμα καταπίνουσαι τῷ σιάλῳ τὰ παιδία παραλείφουσιν.
And as Democrates compared the orators to nurses who, swallowing the morsel themselves, smear the children with saliva.
καὶ ὡς Ἀντισθένης Κηφισόδοτον τὸν λεπτὸν λιβανωτῷ εἴκασεν, ὅτι ἀπολλύμενος εὐφραίνει.
And as Antisthenes compared the thin Cephisodotus to incense, because he gives pleasure by perishing.
πάσας δὲ ταύτας καὶ ὡς εἰκόνας καὶ ὡς μεταφορὰς ἔξεστι λέγειν, ὥστε ὅσαι ἂν εὐδοκιμῶσιν ὡς μεταφοραὶ λεχθεῖσαι, δῆλον ὅτι αὗται καὶ εἰκόνες ἔσονται, καὶ αἱ εἰκόνες μεταφοραὶ λόγου δεόμεναι.
All these can be spoken of both as similes and as metaphors, so that those which are well-received when spoken as metaphors will clearly also be similes, and similes are metaphors requiring a word.
§3.4.4ἀεὶ δὲ δεῖ τὴν μεταφορὰν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἀνάλογον ἀνταποδιδόναι καὶ ἐπὶ θάτερα τῶν ὁμογενῶν, οἷον εἰ ἡ φιάλη ἀσπὶς Διονύσου, καὶ τὴν ἀσπίδαἁρμόττει λέγεσθαι φιάλην Ἄρεως.
And one must always reciprocate the proportional metaphor even to the other of the coordinate terms; for example, if the cup is the shield of Dionysus, it is also fitting to call the shield the cup of Ares.