Etymologies & Works 1 part 7/8

(Virgil, Aeneid 5.157): 'The Centaur; now both are borne along together with joined prows, and cleave the salt shallows with long keel'; whereas 'face' and 'brow' belong equally to animals and to human beings. If the poet had not applied this name to the ship, he would have had no proper term to call that same part. [7] Metalepsis is a trope [proceeding] from what precedes to what follows, as in (Persius 3.11): 'Or what hand'

of paper, and the knotty reed comes.' For by 'hand' words are signified, and by 'reed' letters. [8] Metonymy is a change of name transferred from one signification to another that is near it. It occurs in many ways. For either it shows, through that which contains, that which is contained, as 'the theaters applaud,' 'the meadows low,' since in the one place it is men who applaud, in the other oxen who

low; or contrariwise, through that which is contained, that which contains, as in (Virgil, Aeneid 2.311): 'Now nearby Ucalegon burns,' though it was not he, but his house that was burning. [9] Likewise, through the inventor, that which is invented, as in (Terence, Eunuch 732): 'Without Ceres and Liber, Venus grows cold'; and (Virgil, Aeneid 9.76): 'Vulcan sends the mingled embers to the stars.' For by Ceres

the inventress of grain, he means bread; by Liber, the discoverer of the vine, wine; by Venus, lust; by Vulcan, fire. But contrariwise, he indicates the inventor through the invention, as in (Plautus, fragment 159): 'We pray for wine,' in place of Liber, who among the Greeks discovered wine. [10] Likewise, through the agent, that which is effected, as 'sluggish cold,' because it makes men sluggish, and

'pallid fear,' because it renders men pallid. But contrariwise, through that which is effected, the agent, as in (Virgil, Aeneid 5.817): 'The father yokes the horses of gold and adds foaming bits to the fierce steeds.' He said 'foaming bits,' although it is certainly not they that make the foam, but the horse that wears them that sprinkles them with the foam it sheds. [11] Antonomasia is [something] put in place of a name, that is, in the stead of a name,

as 'the son of Maia' for Mercury. This trope occurs in three ways: from the mind, as in (Virgil, Aeneid 5.407): 'And the great-souled son of Anchises'; from the body, as in (Virgil, Aeneid 3.619): 'He himself, towering high'; from external circumstances, as in (Virgil, Aeneid 1.475): 'The unhappy boy, ill-matched in his encounter with Achilles.' [12] Epithet [means] 'upon the name.' For it is prefixed to a proper noun, as 'bountiful Ceres' (Virgil, Georgics 1.470):

'And the ill-omened dogs, and the troublesome birds.' Between antonomasia and epithet there is this difference: that antonomasia is put in place of a name, whereas the epithet is never without a name. By these two tropes we either censure someone, or point him out, or praise him. [13] Synecdoche is a comprehension, when the whole is understood from a part, or a part from the whole. For by it also, through

the species the genus, and through the genus the species is shown [but the species is a part, while the genus is the whole]. For from the whole a part is understood, as in (Virgil, Aeneid 6.311): 'As many as the birds that flock together when the cold year drives them across the sea.' For it is not the whole year that is cold, but a part of the year, that is, winter. But contrariwise the whole from a part, as in (Virgil, Aeneid 2.256): 'When the royal ship [raised] flames'

...had raised aloft. Here it was not only the stern, but the ship; and not the ship, but he who was in it; and not all, but one man alone who raised the flames aloft. [14] Onomatopoeia is a noun coined to imitate the sound of a confused voice, as 'the creaking of doors,' 'the neighing of horses,' 'the lowing of oxen,' 'the bleating of sheep.' [15] Periphrasis is a circumlocution, when a single thing is signified by many words, as (Virgil, Aeneid

1.387): 'He draws in the breath of life.' For by a joining of words he signified a single thing, that is, 'he lives.' Now this trope is twofold. For it either sets forth the truth splendidly, or by a roundabout way it avoids what is unseemly. It sets forth the truth splendidly, as (Virgil, Aeneid 4.584; 9.459): 'And now Aurora, leaving the saffron couch of Tithonus, was already scattering fresh light upon the lands.' For he means

to say: 'it was now growing light' or 'day had dawned.' It avoids what is unseemly by a roundabout way, as (Virgil, Aeneid 8.405): 'And, sinking into his wife's embrace, he sought the rest he longed for.' For by this circumlocution he avoids obscenity and decently indicates the act of union. [16] Hyperbaton is a transposition, when a word or a sentence is altered in its order. Of this there are five kinds: anastrophe, hysteron

proteron, parenthesis, tmesis, synthesis. Anastrophe is an inverted order of words, as 'litora circum' for 'circum litora' ('around the shores'). [17] Hysteron proteron is a sentence with its order reversed, as (Virgil, Aeneid 3.662): 'After he touched the deep waves, and came to the sea.' For he first came to the sea, and thus touched the waves. [18] Parenthesis, where we insert a sentence

of our own, which, once removed from the middle, leaves the discourse whole and intact, as (Virgil, Aeneid 1.643): 'Aeneas (for a father's love would not let his mind rest) sends swift Achates ahead to the ships.' [For the order is: 'Aeneas sends swift Achates ahead.'] For that clause in the middle is the parenthesis. [19] Tmesis is the division of a single word by the interposition of words, as (Virgil, Aeneid 1.412):

'The goddess poured much mist around them as a mantle' (circum ... fudit), for 'circumfudit' ('poured around'). [20] Synthesis is when the words are jumbled together on every side, as that passage (Virgil, Aeneid 2.348): 'Young men, hearts most brave -- in vain, if your desire is fixed to follow me in daring the utmost -- you see what fortune has befallen our cause. All the gods, by whom this empire stood, have departed, forsaking their shrines and altars;

you come to the aid of the burning city; let us die and rush into the midst of the fray.' The order is this: 'Young men, hearts most brave, in vain do you come to the aid of the burning city, because the gods have departed. Hence, if your desire is fixed to follow me as I dare the utmost, let us rush into the midst of the fray and die.' [21] Hyperbole is an exaggeration surpassing belief, beyond what ought to be credited, as (Virgil, Aeneid 3.423):

'The wave lashes the stars'; and (Virgil, Aeneid 1.107): 'It lays bare the ground amid the waves.' For in this manner something is magnified beyond belief, yet without straying from the path of signifying the truth, although the words employed go to excess, so that the intent of one who speaks -- not of one who deceives -- may appear. By this trope not only is something magnified, but also diminished: magnified, as 'swifter than the East Wind';

diminished, as 'softer than a feather,' 'harder than rock.' Allegory is a speaking of one thing to mean another. [22] For it sounds one thing, and another is understood, as (Virgil, Aeneid 1.184): 'On the shore he spies three stags wandering.' Here the three leaders of the Punic War, or the three Punic Wars, are signified. And in the Bucolics (3.71): 'I have sent ten golden apples,' that is, to Augustus ten pastoral eclogues. Of this trope

has several species, of which seven stand out: irony, antiphrasis, enigma, charientismos, paroemia, sarcasm, astysmos. [23] Irony is an utterance which, through its delivery, bears a meaning contrary to its words. For by this trope something is said craftily, either by way of accusation or of insult, as in that passage (Virgil, Aeneid 1.140): 'To your own halls, East Wind; let Aeolus'

vaunt himself in that hall of his, and reign over the winds' prison locked fast.' And how is it a 'hall,' if it is a 'prison'? The difficulty is resolved by the delivery. For 'prison' is spoken as plain utterance; 'let him vaunt himself' and 'hall' are irony; and the whole is announced, through a contrary delivery, in the manner of irony, which mocks by praising. [24] Antiphrasis is speech to be understood in the opposite sense, as 'lucus' ('grove') because it lacks

light, on account of the excessive shade of the woods; and 'manes' (the departed spirits), that is, 'the gentle ones' (though they are not gentle) and 'the mild,' although they are terrible and monstrous; and the 'Parcae' (the Fates) and 'Eumenides' (the Furies, meaning 'the kindly ones'), because they spare (parcere) and do good to no one. By this trope dwarfs are called 'Atlases,' the blind 'seeing,' and Ethiopians commonly 'silver ones.' [25] Between irony and antiphrasis there is this difference, that irony

indicates by delivery alone what it wishes to be understood, as when we say to one who does everything badly: 'It is good, what you are doing'; but antiphrasis signifies the contrary not by the speaker's tone of voice, but solely by its own words, whose origin is contrary to their meaning. [26] An enigma is an obscure question which is understood only with difficulty unless it is unraveled, as that passage (Judges 14.14): 'Out of the eater

came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness,' signifying the honeycomb drawn from the lion's mouth. Now between allegory and enigma there is this difference, that the force of allegory is twofold and figuratively indicates one thing under the guise of other things; whereas an enigma is merely an obscure meaning, shadowed forth through certain images. [27] Charientismos is a trope by which things harsh to say are uttered more agreeably,

as when, to those who ask, 'Has anyone been looking for us?' the answer is: 'Good Fortune [has looked for you]' -- from which it is understood that no one has been looking for us. [28] Paroemia is a proverb adapted to circumstances and to times. To circumstances, as: 'You kick against the goad,' whereby it is signified that adversities must be resisted. To times, as: 'The wolf in the tale.' For country folk say that a man loses his voice

if a wolf sees him first. Hence, to one who suddenly falls silent, this proverb is said: 'The wolf in the tale.' [29] Sarcasm is a hostile mockery with bitterness, as (Virgil, Aeneid 2.547): 'You shall report these things, then, and go as a messenger to my father, the son of Peleus; remember to tell him of my grievous deeds and of Neoptolemus, his degenerate son.' [30] The opposite of this is Astysmos, wit

without anger, as that passage (Virgil, Eclogue 3.90): 'Whoever does not hate Bavius, let him love your songs, Maevius, and likewise let him yoke foxes and milk he-goats.' That is: whoever does not hate Bavius, may it befall him as a punishment that he love Maevius. Now Maevius and Bavius were most wretched poets, and enemies of Virgil. Whoever, then, loves these men, let him do things contrary to nature, that is, let him yoke

foxes and milk he-goats. [31] Homoeosis, which is rendered in Latin as 'likeness' (similitudo), is that by which the demonstration of a less-known thing is opened up through its likeness to something better known. Of this there are three species: icon, parabola, paradigma -- that is, image, comparison, example. [32] Icon is an image, when we attempt to express the form of a thing from a like kind, as (Virgil,

Aeneid 4.558): 'In all things like to Mercury, in voice and complexion, in golden hair and in limbs graced with youthful bloom.' For the likeness is fitting, drawn from the appearance of one whose person is introduced. [33] Parabola is a comparison drawn from unlike things, as (Lucan 1.205): 'As a lion in the fields of sultry Libya, when he has caught sight of his foe, crouches to close with him' -- where he compared Caesar to a lion, making the likeness not from his own,

but rather making the likeness from another kind. [34] Paradigma, however, is an example of some saying or deed, drawn either from a like or from an unlike kind, suited to the matter which we set forth, thus: 'Scipio died as bravely at Hippo as Cato did at Utica.' [35] Likeness, moreover, is made in three ways: from an equal, from a greater, from a lesser. From an equal (Virgil, Aeneid 1.148): 'And just as,'

'when often, among a great people, sedition has arisen'; from the greater to the lesser (Lucan 1.151): 'Just as a thunderbolt forced out through the clouds by the winds'; from the lesser to the greater (Virgil, Aeneid 6.119): 'If Orpheus was able to summon back the shade of his wife, relying on his Thracian lyre and its tuneful strings' -- as if to say, by a small and slight instance: that is, if he prevailed relying on his lyre, may I prevail by my devotion. XXXVIII. ON PROSE.

[1] Prose is speech extended and freed from the law of meter. For the ancients used 'prosum' to mean 'extended' and 'straight.' Hence Varro says, with reference to Plautus, that by 'prose couches' (prosae lecti) are meant 'straight' ones; whence also speech that is not bent about by rhythm, but runs straight, is called 'prose,' being drawn out in a straight line. Others say that 'prosa' is so called because it is 'poured forth' (profusa), or because it rushes forth more expansively

and runs on, with no boundary set for itself beforehand. [2] Moreover, both among the Greeks and among the Latins the cultivation of poetry was far more ancient than that of prose. For everything was first composed in verse; the study of prose flourished only late. Among the Greeks, Pherecydes of Syros was the first to write in loosened speech [prose]; among the Romans, Appius the Blind [Caecus] first practiced prose speech against Pyrrhus

was the first to practice it. From then on the rest too strove in the eloquence of prose. XXXIX. ON METERS. [1] They are called 'meters' (metra) because they are bounded by fixed measures and intervals of feet, and do not proceed beyond the appointed measure of time-units. For a measure is called METRON in Greek. [2] Verses (versus) are so called from this, that, with their feet arranged in due order, they are governed by a fixed close through clauses (articuli),

which are called 'cuts' (caesa) and 'members' (membra). And lest they should roll onward further than the judgment of the ear could bear, reason set a limit from which the verse should turn back; and from this very fact the verse (versus) is named, because it 'turns back' (revertitur). [3] Closely allied to it is rhythm (rhythmus), which is not governed by a fixed close, yet nonetheless runs on with feet arranged according to reason; in Latin it is called nothing other than 'number' (numerus), concerning which is that

that passage (Virgil, Eclogue 9.45): 'I remember the tunes, if only I could recall the words.' [4] A 'song' (carmen) is whatever is contained within metrical feet; the name, they suppose, was given to it either because it is uttered piecemeal (carptim) -- whence today we say 'to card' (carminare) of the wool which those who clean it pluck apart -- or because those who sang such things were thought to be out of their mind (carere mentem). [5] Meters [are named] either from feet, or from the things which