CHAPTER III
THE MAGICAL EFFECT OF COMPOSITION, OR WORD-ORDER
Every utterance, then, by which we express our thoughts is either in metre or not in metre. Whichever it be, it can, when aided by beautiful arrangement, attain beauty whether of verse or prose. But speech, if flung out carelessly at random, at the same time spoils the value of the thought. Many poets, and prose-writers (philosophers and orators), have carefully chosen expressions that are distinctly beautiful and appropriate to the subject matter, but have reaped no benefit from their trouble because they have given them a rude and haphazard sort of arrangement: whereas others have invested their discourse with great beauty by taking humble, unpretending words, and arranging them with charm and distinction. It may well be thought that composition is to selection what words are to ideas. For just as a fine thought is of no avail unless it be clothed in beautiful language, so here too pure and elegant expression, is useless unless it be attired in the right vesture of arrangement.
But to guard myself against the appearance of making an unsupported assertion, I will try to show by an appeal to facts
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τὴν σύνθεσιν, ἔργῳ πειράσομαι δεικνύναι, ἐμμέτρων τε καὶ πεζῶν λόγων ἀπαρχὰς ὀλίγας προχειρισάμενος. λαμβανέσθω δὲ ποιητῶν μὲν Ὅμηρος, συγγραφέων δὲ Ἡρόδοτος· ἀπόχρη γὰρ ἐκ τούτων καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων εἰκάσαι. ἔστι δὴ παρ’ Ὁμήρῳ μὲν ὁ παρὰ τῷ συβώτῃ καταγόμενος Ὀδυσσεὺς περὶ 5 τὴν ἑωθινὴν ὥραν ἀκρατίζεσθαι μέλλων, ὡς τοῖς παλαιοῖς ἔθος ἦν· ἔπειτα ὁ Τηλέμαχος αὐτοῖς ἐπιφαινόμενος ἐκ τῆς εἰς Πελοπόννησον ἀποδημίας· πραγμάτια λιτὰ καὶ βιωτικὰ ἡρμηνευμένα ὑπέρευ. ποῦ δ’ ἐστὶν ἡ τῆς ἑρμηνείας ἀρετή; τὰ ποιήματα δηλώσει παρατεθέντα αὐτά· 10
τὼ δ’ αὖτ’ ἐν κλισίῃς Ὀδυσεὺς καὶ δῖος ὑφορβὸς ἐντύνοντ’ ἄριστον ἅμ’ ἠοῖ κειαμένω πῦρ ἔκπεμψάν τε νομῆας ἅμ’ ἀγρομένοισι σύεσσι. Τηλέμαχον δὲ περίσσαινον κύνες ὑλακόμωροι οὐδ’ ὕλαον προσιόντα. νόησε δὲ δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς 15 σαίνοντάς τε κύνας, ὑπὸ δὲ κτύπος ἦλθε ποδοῖιν· αἶψα δ’ ἄρ’ Εὔμαιον προσεφώνεεν ἐγγὺς ἐόντα· Εὔμαι’, ἦ μάλα τίς τοι ἐλεύσεται ἐνθάδ’ ἑταῖρος ἢ καὶ γνώριμος ἄλλος, ἐπεὶ κύνες οὐχ ὑλάουσιν, ἀλλὰ περισσαίνουσι· ποδῶν δ’ ὑπὸ δοῦπον ἀκούω. 20 οὔπω πᾶν εἴρητο ἔπος, ὅτε οἱ φίλος υἱὸς ἔστη ἐνὶ προθύροισι. ταφὼν δ’ ἀνόρουσε συβώτης·
1 ἔργω F || δεικνῦναι F || ἐνμέτρων F 4 εἰκᾶσαι F 5 ὁμήρ(ω) P || τῳ om. P || σϊβώτηι P: corr. in margine P^2 || ὀδυσεὺς P 8 πραγμάτια λιτὰ καὶ PV: πραγμάτια ἅττα F: πραγματιάττα λιτὰ καὶ M 9 δ’ ἔστιν F: δέ (ἐστιν) P 11 κλισίησ’ EFV: κλισίῃ Hom. || ὀδυσσεὺς FP^2M^1V 12 ἐντύνοντ(ες) P,V 13 ἐκπέμψαντε EFPM || ἀγρομένοισ(ιν) P 14 περίσαινον FEV 15 ὀδυσεὺς P 16 περί τε κτύπος Hom. 17 ἂρ sic FP || ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα Hom. 18 ἐῦμαι’ P: εὔμαιε V 20 περισαίνουσι FV 22 ἐπὶ F || προθύροισ(ιν) P
5. The extract from the _Odyssey_ well illustrates that Homeric nobleness which pervades even the homeliest scenes; and Dionysius is right in pointing out that this nobleness does not depend on any striking choice of phrase, since Homer’s language is usually quite plain and straightforward.
6. On _Odyss._ xvi. 2 (ἄριστον) there is the following scholium, ὅτι καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἰλιάδι ἅμα τῇ ἀνατολῇ ἐσθίουσιν: and similarly on Theocr.