Bibliotheca Polyglotta

6. (26) Εἰς ὄγκον δὲ τῆς λέξεως συμβάλλεται τάδε,

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for instance, if you say, ‘I meant, after telling him this, that and the other thing, to set out’, rather than something of this kind ‘I meant to set out after telling him; then this, that, and the other thing occurred.’

τὸ λόγῳ (27) χρῆσθαι ἀντ’ ὀνόματος, οἷον μὴ κύκλον, ἀλλ’ ἐπίπεδον τὸ (28) ἐκ τοῦ μέσου ἴσον· εἰς δὲ συντομίαν τὸ ἐναντίον, ἀντὶ τοῦ (29) λόγου ὄνομα. καὶ ἐὰν αἰσχρὸν ἢ ἀπρεπές, ἐὰν μὲν ἐν τῷ (30) λόγῳ ᾖ <τὸ> αἰσχρόν, τοὔνομα λέγειν, ἐὰν δ’ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι, (31) τὸν λόγον.

. . . .

Part 6. The following suggestions will help to give your language impressiveness. (1) Describe a thing instead of naming it: do not say ‘circle’, but ‘that surface which extends equally from the middle every way’. To achieve conciseness, do the opposite—put the name instead of the description.

καὶ μεταφορᾷ δηλοῦν καὶ τοῖς ἐπιθέτοις, εὐ(32)λαβούμενον τὸ ποιητικόν.

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When mentioning anything ugly or unseemly, use its name if it is the description that is ugly, and describe it if it is the name that is ugly.

καὶ τὸ ἓν πολλὰ ποιεῖν, ὅπερ οἱ (33) ποιηταὶ ποιοῦσιν· ἑνὸς ὄντος λιμένος ὅμως λέγουσι
λιμένας εἰς Ἀχαϊκούς
(34) καὶ
(35) δέλτου μὲν αἵδε πολύθυροι διαπτυχαί.

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(2) Represent things with the help of metaphors and epithets, being careful to avoid poetical effects. (3) Use plural for singular, as in poetry,

(35) καὶ μὴ ἐπιζευγνύναι, ἀλλ’ ἑκατέρῳ ἑκάτερον, “τῆς γυναικὸς (36) τῆς ἡμετέρας”· ἐὰν δὲ συντόμως, τοὐναντίον, “τῆς ἡμετέρας (37) γυναικός”. καὶ μετὰ συνδέσμου λέγειν· ἐὰν δὲ συντόμως, (38) ἄνευ μὲν συνδέσμου, μὴ ἀσύνδετα δέ, οἷον “πορευθεὶς καὶ δια (1408a1) λεχθείς”, “πορευθεὶς διελέχθην”.

. . . . .

where one finds
Unto havens Achaean,
Here are my letter’s many—leaved folds. (4) Do not bracket two words under one article, but put one article with each; e.g. ’that wife of ours.’ The reverse to secure conciseness; e.g. ’our wife.’ Use plenty of connecting words; conversely, to secure conciseness, dispense with connectives, while still preserving connexion;

καὶ τὸ Ἀντιμάχου χρήσι(2)μον, ἐξ ὧν μὴ ἔχει λέγειν, ὃ ἐκεῖνος ποιεῖ ἐπὶ τοῦ Τευμησσοῦ,
ἔστι τις ἠνεμόεις ὀλίγος λόφος·

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e.g. ’having gone and spoken’, and ‘having gone, I spoke’, respectively.

(3) αὔξεται γὰρ οὕτως εἰς ἄπειρον. ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ (4) ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν, ὅπως οὐκ ἔχει, ὁποτέρως ἂν ᾖ χρή(5)σιμον, ὅθεν καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα οἱ ποιηταὶ φέρουσιν, τὸ ἄχορδον (6) καὶ τὸ ἄλυρον μέλος· (7) ἐκ τῶν στερήσεων γὰρ ἐπιφέρουσιν· (8) εὐδοκιμεῖ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐν ταῖς μεταφοραῖς λεγόμενον ταῖς ἀνά(9)λογον, οἷον τὸ φάναι τὴν σάλπιγγα ἱέναι μέλος ἄλυρον.

. . . .

(6) And the practice of Antimachus, too, is useful—to describe a thing by mentioning attributes it does not possess; as he does in talking of Teumessus
There is a little wind—swept knoll... A subject can be developed indefinitely along these lines. You may apply this method of treatment by negation either to good or to bad qualities, according to which your subject requires. It is from this source that the poets draw expressions such as the ‘stringless’ or ‘lyreless’ melody, thus forming epithets out of negations.

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