Humanitext Reader

Theophrastus · Fragments §64.1

Two Relations of Speech: to Audience and to Facts

Passage 63 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Theophrastus distinguishes two relations of speech—one toward the audience and the other toward facts—stating that poets and orators pursue the former, while philosophers pursue the latter.

§64.1Fr. 64 Φησὶν ὁ Θ. "τοῦ λόγου σχέσεις ἔχοντος τὴν μὲν πρὸς τοὺς ἀκροατὰς τὴν δὲ πρὸς τὰ πράγματα, τὴν μὲν πρὸς τοὺς ἀκροατὰς ποιηταὶ καὶ ῥήτορες διώκουσι, τὴν δὲ πρὸς τὰ πράγματα φιλόσοφοι. "
Theophrastus says: "Since speech has two relations, the one toward the audience and the other toward the facts, poets and orators pursue the one toward the audience, while philosophers pursue the one toward the facts."

Notes

  1. §64.1τοῦ λόγου σχέσεις ἔχοντος — Genitive absolute construction. σχέσεις is the direct object (accusative plural) of the participle ἔχοντος, and the subsequent τὴν μὲν ... τὴν δὲ ... functions as an appositive, with the singular noun σχέσιν omitted.
  2. §64.1τὴν μὲν πρὸς τοὺς ἀκροατὰς — In the main clause, τὴν μὲν [σχέσιν] serves as the direct object (accusative) of the transitive verb διώκουσι. In the latter clause τὴν δὲ πρὸς τὰ πράγματα φιλόσοφοι, the verb διώκουσι is omitted and must be understood.

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §64.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:64.1

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