COMPOSITION DEFINED
_Composition_ is, as the very name indicates, a certain arrangement
of the parts of speech, or elements of diction, as some call them.
These were reckoned as three only by Theodectes and Aristotle and the
philosophers of those times, who regarded nouns, verbs and connectives
as the primary parts of speech. Their successors, particularly the
leaders of the Stoic school, raised the number to four, separating the
articles from the connectives. Then the later inquirers divided the
appellatives from the substantives, and represented the primary parts
of speech as five. Others detached the pronouns from the nouns, and so
introduced a sixth element. Others, again, divided the adverbs from the
verbs, the prepositions
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τῶν συνδέσμων καὶ τὰς μετοχὰς ἀπὸ τῶν προσηγορικῶν, οἱ δὲ
καὶ ἄλλας τινὰς προσαγαγόντες τομὰς πολλὰ τὰ πρῶτα μόρια
τῆς λέξεως ἐποίησαν· ὑπὲρ ὧν οὐ μικρὸς ἂν εἴη λόγος. πλὴν
ἥ γε τῶν πρῶτων εἴτε τριῶν ἢ τεττάρων εἴθ’ ὅσων δήποτε
ὄντων μερῶν πλοκὴ καὶ παράθεσις τὰ λεγόμενα ποιεῖ 5
κῶλα, ἔπειθ’ ἡ τούτων ἁρμονία τὰς καλουμένας συμπληροῖ
περιόδους, αὗται δὲ τὸν σύμπαντα τελειοῦσι λόγον. ἔστι δὴ
τῆς συνθέσεως ἔργα τά τε ὀνόματα οἰκείως θεῖναι παρ’ ἄλληλα
καὶ τοῖς κώλοις ἀποδοῦναι τὴν προσήκουσαν ἁρμονίαν καὶ ταῖς
περιόδοις διαλαβεῖν εὖ τὸν λόγον. 10
δευτέρα δ’ οὖσα μοῖρα τῶν περὶ τὸν λεκτικὸν τόπον
θεωρημάτων κατὰ γοῦν τὴν τάξιν (ἡγεῖται γὰρ ἡ τῶν
ὀνομάτων ἐκλογὴ καὶ προϋφίσταται ταύτης κατὰ φύσιν)
ἡδονὴν καὶ πειθὼ καὶ κράτος ἐν τοῖς λόγοις οὐκ ὀλίγῳ
κρεῖττον ἐκείνης ἔχει. καὶ μηδεὶς ἡγήσηται παράδοξον, εἰ 15
πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων ὄντων θεωρημάτων περὶ τὴν ἐκλογήν,
ὑπὲρ ὧν πολὺς ἐγένετο φιλοσόφοις τε καὶ πολιτικοῖς ἀνδράσι
λόγος, ἡ σύνθεσις δευτέραν ἔχουσα χώραν τῇ τάξει καὶ λόγων
οὐδέ, πολλοῦ δεῖ, τῶν ἴσων ἐκείνῃ τυχοῦσα τοσαύτην ἰσχὺν
ἔχει καὶ δύναμιν ὥστε περιεῖναι πάντων τῶν ἐκείνης ἔργων 20
καὶ κρατεῖν, ἐνθυμούμενος ὅτι καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων τεχνῶν,
ὅσαι διαφόρους ὕλας λαμβάνουσαι συμφορητὸν ἐκ τούτων
ποιοῦσι τὸ τέλος, ὡς οἰκοδομική τε καὶ τεκτονικὴ καὶ ποικιλτικὴ
καὶ ὅσαι ταῖς τοιαύταις εἰσὶν ὁμοιογενεῖς, αἱ συνθετικαὶ
δυνάμεις τῇ μὲν τάξει δεύτεραι τῶν ἐκλεκτικῶν εἰσι, τῇ δὲ 25
δυνάμει πρότεραι· ὥστ’ εἰ καὶ τῷ λόγῳ τὸ αὐτὸ συμβέβηκεν,
οὐκ ἄτοπον ἡγητέον. οὐδὲν δὲ κωλύει καὶ πίστεις παρασχεῖν
2 προσαγαγόντες F: εἰσάγοντες PVa: προεισαγαγόντες M 3 οὐ μικρὸς
PMV: πολλὺς sic F 4 τῶν τριῶν PMV: * * * τριῶν * * * * F 5 καὶ om.
P^1 8 οἰκείως θεῖναι τά τε ὀνόματα (verbis in hunc modum dispositis)
PMV || παράλληλα PM, corr. F^1 9 ἀποδιδόναι F || ἀρμονίαν FP: sic
passim 10 λαβεῖν F^1 || εὖ τὸν EF: αὐτὸν ὅλον τὸν PMV 11 δὲ PMV
12 κατὰ γοὖν F: κατανοοῦντι EPMV 14 τοῖς EF: om. PMV || ὀλίγον M 15
κρεῖττον EFM: κρείττω PV || ἡγήσεται F 17 καὶ ῥητορικοῖς PMV || ἀνδρᾶσι
F: ἀνδράσιν P 18 χώραν ἔχουσα F || συντάξει F^1 19 ἐκείνη (sine
iota) FP 21 ἐπὶ EF: αἱ περὶ PMV 22 δ(ια)αφόρους P^1 || λαμβάνουσιν
F: λαμβάνουσι M 23 τε om. EF || πολιτικὴ E 24 ταῖς τοιαύταις PMV:
ταύτης F || ὁμοιογενεῖς P: ὁμογενεῖς FMV 25 τῶν λεκτικῶν E
6. =ἁρμονία=: see Gloss., s.v.
8. Cic. _de Orat._ iii. 43. 171 “sequitur continuatio verborum, quae
duas res maxime, collocationem primum, deinde modum quendam formamque
desiderat. collocationis est componere et struere verba sic, ut neve
asper eorum concursus neve hiulcus sit, sed quodam modo coagmentatus et
levis; in quo lepide soceri mei persona lusit is, qui elegantissime id
facere potuit, Lucilius:
quam lepide λέξεις compostae! ut tesserulae omnes
arte pavimento atque emblemate vermiculato.”
9. In the actual contents of his treatise Dionysius pays more attention
to the ὀνόματα than to the κῶλα and περίοδοι. The importance of
employing periods judiciously is indicated in =118= 15.
12. κατανοοῦντι (the more difficult and better supported reading) may
be right, cp. =90= 12 εἰσπλέοντι (from Thucydides).
13. Cic. _Brut._ 72. 253 “primoque in libro dixerit (Caesar) verborum
dilectum originem esse eloquentiae.”
25. For the antithesis cp. Demosth. _Olynth._ iii. 15 τὸ γὰρ πράττειν
τοῦ λέγειν καὶ χειροτονεῖν ὕστερον ὂν τῇ τάξει, πρότερον τῇ δυνάμει καὶ
κρεῖττόν ἐστιν.
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from the connectives and the participles from the appellatives; while
others introduced still further subdivisions, and so multiplied the
primary parts of speech. The subject would afford scope for quite a
long discussion. Enough to say that the combination or juxtaposition
of these primary parts, be they three, or four, or whatever may be
their number, forms the so-called “members” (or clauses) of a sentence.
Further, the fitting together of these clauses constitutes what are
termed the “periods,” and these make up the complete discourse. The
function of composition is to put words together in an appropriate
order, to assign a suitable connexion to clauses, and to distribute the
whole discourse properly into periods.
Although in logical order arrangement of words occupies the second
place when the department of expression is under investigation, since
the selection of them naturally takes precedence and is assumed to be
already made; yet it is upon arrangement, far more than upon selection,
that persuasion, charm, and literary power depend. And let no one deem
it strange that, whereas many serious investigations have been made
regarding the choice of words,—investigations which have given rise
to much debate among philosophers and political orators,—composition,
though it holds the second place in order, and has been the subject
of far fewer discussions than the other, yet possesses so much solid
strength, so much active energy, that it triumphantly outstrips all the
other’s achievements. It must be remembered that, in the case of all
the other arts which employ various materials and produce from them a
composite result,—arts such as building, carpentry, embroidery, and the
like,—the faculties of composition are second in order of time to those
of selection, but are nevertheless of greater importance. Hence it must
not be thought abnormal that the same principle obtains with respect to
discourse. But we may as well submit proofs of this statement,
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τοῦ προκειμένου, μή τι δόξωμεν ἐξ ἑτοίμου λαμβάνειν τῶν ἀμφισβήτησιν
ἐχόντων λόγων.
III
ἔστι τοίνυν πᾶσα λέξις ᾗ σημαίνομεν τὰς νοήσεις ἡ μὲν
ἔμμετρος, ἡ δὲ ἄμετρος· ὧν ἑκατέρα καλῆς μὲν ἁρμονίας
τυχοῦσα καλὸν οἵα τ’ ἐστὶ ποιεῖν καὶ τὸ μέτρον καὶ τὸν 5
λόγον, ἀνεπιστάτως δὲ καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν ῥιπτομένη προσαπόλλυσι
καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ χρήσιμον. πολλοὶ γοῦν καὶ
ποιηταὶ καὶ συγγραφεῖς φιλόσοφοί τε καὶ ῥήτορες λέξεις
πάνυ καλὰς καὶ πρεπούσας τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις ἐκλέξαντες
ἐπιμελῶς, ἁρμονίαν δὲ αὐταῖς ἀποδόντες εἰκαίαν τινὰ καὶ 10
ἄμουσον οὐδὲν χρηστὸν ἀπέλαυσαν ἐκείνου τοῦ πόνου. ἕτεροι
δ’ εὐκαταφρόνητα καὶ ταπεινὰ λαβόντες ὀνόματα, συνθέντες
δ’ αὐτὰ ἡδέως καὶ περιττῶς πολλὴν τὴν ἀφροδίτην τῷ λόγῳ
περιέθηκαν. καὶ σχεδὸν ἀνάλογόν τι πεπονθέναι δόξειεν ἂν
ἡ σύνθεσις πρὸς τὴν ἐκλογήν, ὃ πάσχει τὰ ὀνόματα πρὸς 15
τὰ νοήματα. ὥσπερ γὰρ οὐδὲν ὄφελος διανοίας ἐστὶ χρηστῆς,
εἰ μή τις αὐτῇ κόσμον ἀποδώσει καλῆς ὀνομασίας, οὕτω
κἀνταῦθα οὐδέν ἐστι προὔργου λέξιν εὑρεῖν καθαρὰν καὶ καλλιρήμονα,
εἰ μὴ καὶ κόσμον αὐτῇ τις ἁρμονίας τὸν προσήκοντα
περιθήσει. 20
ἵνα δὲ μὴ δόξω φάσιν ἀναπόδεικτον λέγειν, ἐξ ὧν
ἐπείσθην κρεῖττον εἶναι καὶ τελειότερον ἄσκημα τῆς ἐκλογῆς
4 ἄμετρος ἣ δ’ (ex ἥδ’ corr.) ἔμμετρος F,E || καλ(ῶς) P || μὲν om. M
5 οἵα τ’ M: οἷά τ’ PV: οἷά τε F,E || καὶ τὸ FE: τὸ PMV 6 ἔτυχεν]
ἔοικε M || ῥιπτομένη PMVE: ῥιπτουμένη F 7 τὸ om. F^1 || γοὖν καὶ F,E:
γοῦν PMV 10 ἀποδόντες E γρ M: [ἀποδόν]τες cum litura F: περιθέντες
PV: παραθέντες M 12 δὲ PMV 13 δε PV || ἀντὰ P^1 || ἰδίως EFM^1:
ἡδέως ex ἱδίως P^1: ἰδέως M^2 || τ(ῶ) λόγ(ω) P: τῶν λόγων M 14 ἂν om.
M 16 ἐστὶ ante διανοίας ponunt EF 17 κόσμον * * * * * P || ἀποδώσῃ
F 18 καὶ ἐνταῦθα EF || πούργου P^1 (ρ suprascr. P^2): προὔργον V ||
καλλιῥήμονα FM,P: καλλιῤῥήμονα V 19 τίς F: τ(ῆς) P,MV 21 φασὶν
libri: corr. Krueger || ἀναπόδεικτον P: ἀναπόδεικτα F^2MV: ἀπόδεικτα
F^1 22 κρεῖττον] καὶ κρεῖττον F || τελεώτερον M
1. =ἐξ ἑτοίμου λαμβάνειν=: cp. =78= 13 ἐξ ἑτοίμου λαβὼν ἐχρήσατο.
9. There is much similarity, both in thought and in expression, between
this passage and the _de Sublimitate_ xl. 2: ἀλλὰ μὴν ὅτι γε πολλοὶ
καὶ συγγραφέων καὶ ποιητῶν οὐκ ὄντες ὑψηλοὶ φύσει, μήποτε δὲ καὶ
ἀμεγέθεις, ὅμως κοινοῖς καὶ δημώδεσι τοῖς ὀνόμασι καὶ οὐδὲν ἐπαγομένοις
περιττὸν ὡς τὰ πολλὰ συγχρώμενοι, διὰ μόνου τοῦ συνθεῖναι καὶ ἁρμόσαι
ταῦτα δ’ ὅμως ὄγκον καὶ διάστημα καὶ τὸ μὴ ταπεινοὶ δοκεῖν εἶναι
περιεβάλοντο, καθάπερ ἄλλοι τε πολλοὶ καὶ Φίλιστος, Ἀριστοφάνης ἔν
τισιν, ἐν τοῖς πλείστοις Εὐριπίδης, ἱκανῶς ἡμῖν δεδήλωται. The author
of the _de Subl._ had, as he himself tells us, dealt with the subject
of composition ἐν δυσὶν συντάγμασιν (xxxix. 1 _ibid._).
13. ἰδίως may be right, meaning with περιττῶς ‘in a special and
distinctive manner.’
14. The Aristotelian ἀναλογία is before the author’s mind here, just as
is the Aristotelian doctrine of τὸ μέσον later in the treatise (=246=
16).
17. _de Demosth._ c. 18 οὐχ ἅπαντα δέ γε τὰ πράγματα τὴν αὐτὴν ἀπαιτεῖ
διάλεκτον, ἀλλ’ ἔστιν ὥσπερ σώμασι πρέπουσά τις ἐσθής, οὕτως καὶ
νοήμασιν ἁρμόττουσά τις ὀνομασία.
18. =προὔργου=: cp. Plato _Alcib. II._ 149 E ὥστε οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ἦν
προὔργου θύειν τε καὶ δῶρα τελεῖν μάτην.
21. MS. Canon. 45 has φάσιν, ἀναπόδεικτον, as reported (_Journal of
Philology_ xxvii. 84) by A. B. Poynton, who compares Aristot. _Eth.
Nic._ 1143 b 12 ὥστε δεῖ προσέχειν τῶν ἐμπείρων καὶ πρεσβυτέρων ἢ
φρονίμων ταῖς ἀναποδείκτοις φάσεσι καὶ δόξαις οὐχ ἧττον τῶν ἀποδείξεων.
διὰ γὰρ τὸ ἔχειν ἐκ τῆς ἐμπειρίας ὄμμα ὁρῶσιν ὀρθῶς. Probably Dionysius
has this passage of Aristotle in his mind, and wishes it to be
understood that he does not mean to dogmatize simply on the score of
being an old and experienced teacher. In the _Rhet. ad Alex._ 1432 a
33, an _oath_ is defined as: μετὰ θείας παραλήψεως φάσις ἀναπόδεικτος.
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that we may not be thought to assume off-hand the truth of a doubtful
proposition.