Humanitext Reader

Theophrastus · Fragments §57.1

Equivocality of Words in Isolation and in Combination

Passage 48 of 196 · Greek

Summary

The author explains, citing Theophrastus' work, that some things signify multiple meanings when isolated but no longer do so when combined.

§57.1Fr. 57 Ἔστι γάρ τινα ἃ καθʼ ἑαυτὰ μὲν λεγόμενα πλείω σημαίνει, συντεθέντα δὲ οὐκέτι, ὡς ἐν τῷ περὶ τοῦ Πολλαχῶς Θ. φησίν.
For there are some things which, when spoken by themselves, signify several things, but when combined do so no longer, as Theophrastus says in his On That Which Is Spoken of in Many Ways.

Notes

  1. Fr. 57τινα ἃ — The combination of the neuter plural indefinite pronoun τινα, which serves as the subject of Ἔστι, and the relative pronoun ἃ with it as its antecedent. A noun such as "words" or "expressions" is understood.
  2. Fr. 57λεγόμενα ... συντεθέντα — Both are neuter plural participles agreeing with the relative pronoun ἃ, functioning adverbially here to express time or condition ("when spoken..." vs. "when combined..."), contrasting the isolated state with the combined state.
  3. Fr. 57οὐκέτι — The phrase "signify several things" (πλείω σημαίνει) from the first half of the clause is elliptically omitted after οὐκέτι, meaning "no longer signify several things."

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §57.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:57.1

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