,transcriber's ,note3 ,the printed text shows most sections 7,roman numerals7 as a continuous block1 with chapter numbers in the margin4 ,in this e-text1 chapters are given as separate paragraphs determined by sentence breaks1 with continuing quotation marks supplied where necessary4 ,except for footnotes1 any brackets are from the original text4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,longinus ,,on ,,the ,,sublime ,translated into ,english by ,h4 ,l4 ,,havell1 ,b4,a4 ,formerly ,scholar of ,university ,college1 ,oxford with an ,introduction by ,,andrew ,,lang ,london ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co4 and ,new ,york #ahij ,all rights reserved 99 99 99 99 99 ,,to ,s4 ,h4 ,,butcher1 ,esq41 ,,ll4,d4 ,professor of ,greek in the ,university of ,edinburgh ,formerly ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge and of ,university ,college1 ,oxford ,this ,attempt to ,present the ,great ,thoughts of ,longinus in an ,english ,form ,is ,dedicated in ,acknowledgment of the ,kind ,support but for ,which ,it ,might ,never ,have ,seen the ,light and of the ,benefits of ,that ,instruction to ,which ,it ,largely ,owes ,whatever of ,scholarly ,quality ,it ,may ,possess ,,translator',s ,,preface ,the text which has been followed in the present ,translation is that of ,jahn 7,bonn1 #ahfg71 revised by ,vahlen1 and republished in #ahhd4 ,in several instances it has been found necessary to diverge from ,vahlen's readings1 such divergencies being duly pointed out in the ,notes4 ,one word as to the aim and scope of the present ,translation4 ,my object throughout has been to make ,longinus speak in ,english1 to preserve1 as far as lay in my power1 the noble fire and lofty tone of the original4 ,how to effect this1 without being betrayed into a loose paraphrase1 was an exceedingly difficult problem4 ,the style of ,longinus is in a high degree original1 occasionally running into strange eccentricities of language2 and no one who has not made the attempt can realise the difficulty of giving anything like an adequate version of the more elaborate passages4 ,these considerations ,i submit to those to whom ,i may seem at first sight to have handled my text too freely4 ,my best thanks are due to ,dr4 ,butcher1 ,professor of ,greek in the ,university of ,edinburgh1 who from first to last has shown a lively interest in the present undertaking which ,i can never sufficiently acknowledge4 ,he has read the ,translation throughout1 and acting on his suggestions ,i have been able in numerous instances to bring my version into a closer conformity with the original4 ,i have also to acknowledge the kindness of the distinguished writer who has contributed the ,introduction1 and who1 in spite of the heavy demands on his time1 has lent his powerful support to help on the work of one who was personally unknown to him4 ,in conclusion1 ,i may be allowed to express a hope that the present attempt may contribute something to reawaken an interest in an unjustly neglected classic4 ,,analysis ,the ,treatise on the ,sublime may be divided into six ,parts1 as follows3-- ,i4--cc4 i1 ii4 ,the ,work of ,caecilius4 ,definition of the ,sublime4 ,whether ,sublimity falls within the rules of ,art4 ,,ii4--cc4 iii-v4 ,the beginning lost4 ,vices of ,style opposed to the ,sublime3 ,affectation1 ,bombast1 ,false ,sentiment1 ,frigid ,conceits4 ,the cause of such defects4 ,,iii4--cc4 vi1 vii4 ,the true ,sublime1 what it is1 and how distinguishable4 ,,iv4--cc4 viii-xl4 ,five ,sources of the ,sublime 7how ,sublimity is related to ,passion1 c4 viii1 #b-d74 7i47 ,grandeur of ,thought1 cc4 ix-xv4 a4 ,as the natural outcome of nobility of soul4 ,examples 7c4 ix74 b4 ,choice of the most striking circumstances4 ,sappho's ,ode 7c4 x74 c4 ,amplification4 ,plato compared with ,demosthenes1 ,demosthenes with ,cicero 7cc4 xi-xiii74 d4 ,imitation 7cc4 xiii1 xiv74 e4 ,imagery 7c4 xv74 7ii47 ,power of moving the ,passions 7omitted here1 because dealt with in a separate work74 7iii47 ,figures of ,speech 7cc4 xvi-xxix74 a4 ,the ,figure of ,adjuration 7c4 xvi74 ,the ,art to conceal ,art 7c4 xvii74 b4 ,rhetorical ,question 7c4 xviii74 c4 ,asyndeton 7c4 xix-xxi74 d4 ,hyperbaton 7c4 xxii74 e4 ,changes of ,number1 ,person1 ,tense1 etc4 7cc4 xxiii-xxvii74 f4 ,periphrasis 7cc4 xxviii1 xxix74 7iv47 ,graceful ,expression 7cc4 xxx-xxxii and xxxvii1 xxxviii74 a4 ,choice of ,words 7c4 xxx74 b4 ,ornaments of ,style 7cc4 xxxi1 xxxii and xxxvii1 xxxviii74 77 ,on the use of ,familiar ,words 7c4 xxxi74 77 ,metaphors2 accumulated2 extract from the ,timaeus2 abuse of ,metaphors2 certain tasteless conceits blamed in ,plato 7c4 xxxii74 ,hence arises a digression 7cc4 xxxiii-xxxvi7 on the spirit in which we should judge of the faults of great authors4 ,demosthenes compared with ,hyperides1 ,lysias with ,plato4 ,sublimity1 however far from faultless1 to be always preferred to a tame correctness4 77 ,comparisons and ,similes lost 7c4 xxxvii74 77 ,hyperbole 7c4 xxxviii74 7v47 ,dignity and ,elevation of ,structure 7cc4 xxxix1 xl74 a4 ,modulation of ,syllables 7c4 xxxix74 b4 ,composition 7c4 xl74 ,v4--cc4 xli-xliii4 ,vices of ,style destructive to ,sublimity4 7i47 ,abuse of ,rhythm 7ii47 ,broken and ,jerky ,clauses 7cc4 xli1 xlii74 7iii47 ,undue ,prolixity 7iv47 ,improper ,use of ,familiar ,words4 ,anti-climax4 ,example from ,theopompus 7c4 xliii74 ,,vi4--,why this age is so barren of great authors--whether the cause is to be sought in a despotic form of government1 or1 as ,longinus rather thinks1 in the prevailing corruption of manners1 and in the sordid and paltry views of life which almost universally prevail 7c4 xliv74 ,,introduction ,,treatise ,,on ,,the ,,sublime ,boileau1 in his introduction to his version of the ancient ,treatise on the ,sublime1 says that he is making no valueless present to his age4 ,not valueless1 to a generation which talks much about style and method in literature1 should be this new rendering of the noble fragment1 long attributed to ,longinus1 the ,greek tutor and political adviser of ,zenobia4 ,there is1 indeed1 a modern ,english version by ,spurden1#a but that is now rare1 and seldom comes into the market4 ,rare1 too1 is ,vaucher's critical essay 7#ahed71 which is unlucky1 as the ,french and ,english books both contain valuable disquisitions on the age of the author of the ,treatise4 ,this excellent work has had curious fortunes4 ,it is never quoted nor referred to by any extant classical writer1 and1 among the many books attributed by ,suidas to ,longinus1 it is not mentioned4 ,decidedly the old world has left no more noble relic of criticism4 ,yet the date of the book is obscure1 and it did not come into the hands of the learned in modern ,europe till ,robertelli and ,manutius each published editions in #aedd4 ,from that time the ,treatise has often been printed1 edited1 translated2 but opinion still floats undecided about its origin and period4 ,does it belong to the age of ,augustus1 or to the age of ,aurelian8 ,is the author the historical ,longinus--the friend of ,plotinus1 the tutor of ,porphyry1 the victim of ,aurelian1--or have we here a work by an unknown hand more than two centuries earlier8 ,manuscripts and traditions are here of little service4 ,the oldest manuscript1 that of ,paris1 is regarded as the parent of the rest4 ,it is a small quarto of #dad pages1 whereof #cce are occupied by the 8,problems0 of ,aristotle4 ,several leaves have been lost1 hence the fragmentary character of the essay4 ,the ,paris ,,ms4 has an index1 first mentioning the 8,problems10 and then 1 that is1 8,the work of ,dionysius1 or of ,longinus1 about the ,sublime40 ,footnote #a3 ,longmans1 ,london1 #ahcf4 ,on this showing the transcriber of the ,,ms4 considered its authorship dubious4 ,supposing that the author was ,dionysius1 which of the many writers of that name was he8 ,again1 if he was ,longinus1 how far does his work tally with the characteristics ascribed to that late critic1 and peculiar to his age8 ,about this ,longinus1 while much is written1 little is certainly known4 ,was he a descendant of a freedman of one of the ,cassii ,longini1 or of an eastern family with a mixture of ,greek and ,roman blood8 ,the author of the ,treatise avows himself a ,greek1 and apologises1 as a ,greek1 for attempting an estimate of ,cicero4 ,longinus himself was the nephew and heir of ,fronto1 a ,syrian rhetorician of ,emesa4 ,whether ,longinus was born there or not1 and when he was born1 are things uncertain4 ,porphyry1 born in #bcc ,a4,d41 was his pupil3 granting that ,longinus was twenty years ,porphyry's senior1 he must have come into the world about #bac ,a4,d4 ,he travelled much1 studied in many cities1 and was the friend of the mystic ,neoplatonists1 ,plotinus and ,ammonius4 ,the former called him 8a philologist1 not a philosopher40 ,porphyry shows us ,longinus at a supper where the plagiarisms of ,greek writers are discussed--a topic dear to trivial or spiteful mediocrity4 ,he is best known by his death4 ,as the ,greek secretary of ,zenobia he inspired a haughty answer from the queen to ,aurelian1 who therefore put him to death4 ,many rhetorical and philosophic treatises are ascribed to him1 whereof only fragments survive4 ,did he write the ,treatise on the ,sublime8 ,modern students prefer to believe that the famous essay is1 if not by ,plutarch1 as some hold1 at least by some author of his age1 the age of the early ,caesars4 ,the arguments for depriving ,longinus1 ,zenobia's tutor1 of the credit of the ,treatise lie on the surface1 and may be briefly stated4 ,he addresses his work as a letter to a friend1 probably a ,roman pupil1 ,terentianus1 with whom he has been reading a work on the ,sublime by ,caecilius4 ,now ,caecilius1 a voluminous critic1 certainly lived not later than ,plutarch1 who speaks of him with a sneer4 ,it is unlikely then that an author1 two centuries later1 would make the old book of ,caecilius the starting-point of his own4 ,he would probably have selected some recent or even contemporary rhetorician4 ,once more1 the writer of the ,treatise of the ,sublime quotes no authors later than the ,augustan period4 ,had he lived as late as the historical ,longinus he would surely have sought examples of bad style1 if not of good1 from the works of the ,silver ,age4 ,perhaps he would hardly have resisted the malicious pleasure of censuring the failures among whom he lived4 ,on the other hand1 if he cites no late author1 no classical author cites him1 in spite of the excellence of his book4 ,but we can hardly draw the inference that he was of late date from this purely negative evidence4 ,again1 he describes1 in a very interesting and earnest manner1 the characteristics of his own period 7,translation1 pp4 #hb-hf74 ,why1 he is asked1 has genius become so rare8 ,there are many clever men1 but scarce any highly exalted and wide-reaching genius4 ,has eloquence died with liberty8 8,we have learned the lesson of a benignant despotism1 and have never tasted freedom40 ,the author answers that it is easy and characteristic of men to blame the present times4 ,genius may have been corrupted1 not by a world-wide peace1 but by love of gain and pleasure1 passions so strong that 8,i fear1 for such men as we are it is better to serve than to be free4 ,if our appetites were let loose altogether against our neighbours1 they would be like wild beasts uncaged1 and bring a deluge of calamity on the whole civilised world40 ,melancholy words1 and appropriate to our own age1 when cleverness is almost universal1 and genius rare indeed1 and the choice between liberty and servitude hard to make1 were the choice within our power4 ,but these words assuredly apply closely to the peaceful period of ,augustus1 when ,virgil and ,horace 8praising their tyrant sang10 not to the confused age of the historical ,longinus4 ,much has been said of the allusion to 8the ,lawgiver of the ,jews0 as 8no ordinary person10 but that remark might have been made by a heathen acquainted with the ,septuagint1 at either of the disputed dates4 ,on the other hand1 our author 7,section ,,xiii7 quotes the critical ideas of 8,ammonius and his school10 as to the debt of ,plato to ,homer4 ,now the historical ,longinus was a friend of the ,neoplatonist teacher 7not writer71 ,ammonius ,saccas4 ,if we could be sure that the ,ammonius of the ,treatise was this ,ammonius1 the question would be settled in favour of the late date4 ,our author would be that ,longinus who inspired ,zenobia to resist ,aurelian1 and who perished under his revenge4 ,but ,ammonius is not a very uncommon name1 and we have no reason to suppose that the ,neoplatonist ,ammonius busied himself with the literary criticism of ,homer and ,plato4 ,there was1 among others1 an ,egyptian ,ammonius1 the tutor of ,plutarch4 ,these are the mass of the arguments on both sides4 ,m4 ,egger sums them up thus3 8,after carefully examining the tradition of the ,,mss41 and the one very late testimony in favour of ,longinus1 ,i hesitated for long as to the date of this precious work4 ,in #ahed ,m4 ,vaucher#b inclined me to believe that ,plutarch was the author4#c ,all seems to concur towards the opinion that1 if not ,plutarch1 at least one of his contemporaries wrote the most original ,greek essay in its kind since the ,rhetoric and ,poetic of ,aristotle40#d ,footnote #b3 ,etude ,critique sur la trait du ,sublime et les ecrits de ,longin4 ,geneva4 ,footnote #c3 ,see also ,m4 ,naudet1 ,journal des ,savants1 ,mars #ahch1 and ,m4 ,egger1 in the same ,journal1 ,may #ahhd4 ,footnote #d3 ,egger1 ,histoire de la ,critique chez les ,grecs1 p4 #dbf4 ,paris1 #ahhg4 ,we may1 on the whole1 agree that the nobility of the author's thought1 his habit of quoting nothing more recent than the ,augustan age1 and his description of his own time1 which seems so pertinent to that epoch1 mark him as its child rather than as a great critic lost among the somnia ,pythagorea of the ,neoplatonists4 ,on the other hand1 if the author be a man of high heart and courage1 as he seems1 so was that martyr of independence1 ,longinus4 ,not without scruple1 then1 can we deprive ,zenobia's tutor of the glory attached so long to his name4 ,whatever its date1 and whoever its author may be1 the ,treatise is fragmentary4 ,the lost parts may very probably contain the secret of its period and authorship4 ,the writer1 at the request of his friend1 ,terentianus1 and dissatisfied with the essay of ,caecilius1 sets about examining the nature of the ,sublime in poetry and oratory4 ,to the latter he assigns1 as is natural1 much more literary importance than we do1 in an age when there is so little oratory of literary merit1 and so much popular rant4 ,the subject of sublimity must naturally have attracted a writer whose own moral nature was pure and lofty1 who was inclined to discover in moral qualities the true foundation of the highest literary merit4 ,even in his opening words he strikes the keynote of his own disposition1 where he approves the saying that 8the points in which we resemble the divine nature are benevolence and love of truth40 ,earlier or later born1 he must have lived in the midst of literary activity1 curious1 eager1 occupied with petty questions and petty quarrels1 concerned1 as men in the best times are not very greatly concerned1 with questions of technique and detail4 ,cut off from politics1 people found in composition a field for their activity4 ,we can readily fancy what literature becomes when not only its born children1 but the minor busybodies whose natural place is politics1 excluded from these1 pour into the study of letters4 ,love of notoriety1 vague activity1 fantastic indolence1 we may be sure1 were working their will in the sacred close of the ,muses4 ,there were literary sets1 jealousies1 recitations of new poems2 there was a world of amateurs1 if there were no papers and paragraphs4 ,to this world the author speaks like a voice from the older and graver age of ,greece4 ,if he lived late1 we can imagine that he did not quote contemporaries1 not because he did not know them1 but because he estimated them correctly4 ,he may have suffered1 as we suffer1 from critics who1 of all the world's literature1 know only 8the last thing out10 and who take that as a standard for the past1 to them unfamiliar1 and for the hidden future4 ,as we are told that excellence is not of the great past1 but of the present1 not in the classical masters1 but in modern ,muscovites1 ,portuguese1 or ,american young women1 so the author of the ,treatise may have been troubled by ,asiatic eloquence1 now long forgotten1 by names of which not a shadow survives4 ,he1 on the other hand1 has a right to be heard because he has practised a long familiarity with what is old and good4 ,his mind has ever been in contact with masterpieces1 as the mind of a critic should be1 as the mind of a reviewer seldom is1 for the reviewer has to hurry up and down inspecting new literary adventurers4 ,not among their experiments will he find a touchstone of excellence1 a test of greatness1 and that test will seldom be applied to contemporary performances4 ,what is the test1 after all1 of the ,sublime1 by which our author means the truly great1 the best and most passionate thoughts1 nature's high and rare inspirations1 expressed in the best chosen words8 ,he replies that 8a just judgment of style is the final fruit of long experience40 8,much has he travelled in the realms of gold40 ,the word 8style0 has become a weariness to think upon2 so much is said1 so much is printed about the art of expression1 about methods1 tricks1 and turns2 so many people1 without any long experience1 set up to be judges of style1 on the strength of having admired two or three modern and often rather fantastic writers4 ,about our author1 however1 we know that his experience has been long1 and of the best1 that he does not speak from a hasty acquaintance with a few contemporary prcieux and prcieuses4 ,the bad writing of his time he traces1 as much of our own may be traced1 to 8the pursuit of novelty in thought10 or rather in expression4 8,it is this that has turned the brain of nearly all our learned world to-day40 8,gardons nous d'crire trop bien10 he might have said1 8c'est la pire manire qu'il y'ait d'crire40#e ,footnote #e3 ,m4 ,anatole ,france4 ,the ,sublime1 with which he concerns himself1 is 8a certain loftiness and excellence of language10 which 8takes the reader out of himself4444 ,the ,sublime1 acting with an imperious and irresistible force1 sways every reader whether he will or no40 ,in its own sphere the ,sublime does what 8natural magic0 does in the poetical rendering of nature1 and perhaps in the same scarcely-to-be-analysed fashion4 ,whether this art can be taught or not is a question which the author treats with modesty4 ,then1 as now1 people were denying 7and not unjustly7 that this art can be taught by rule4 ,the author does not go so far as to say that ,criticism1 8unlike ,justice1 does little evil1 and little good2 that is1 if to entertain for a moment delicate and curious minds is to do little good40 ,he does not rate his business so low as that4 ,he admits that the inspiration comes from genius1 from nature4 ,but 8an author can only learn from art when he is to abandon himself to the direction of his genius40 ,nature must 8burst out with a kind of fine madness and divine inspiration40 ,the madness must be fine4 ,how can art aid it to this end8 ,by knowledge of1 by sympathy and emulation with1 8the great poets and prose writers of the past40 ,by these we may be inspired1 as the ,pythoness by ,apollo4 ,from the genius of the past 8an effluence breathes upon us40 ,the writer is not to imitate1 but to keep before him the perfection of what has been done by the greatest poets4 ,he is to look on them as beacons2 he is to keep them as exemplars or ideals4 ,he is to place them as judges of his work4 8,how would ,homer1 how would ,demosthenes1 have been affected by what ,i have written80 ,this is practical counsel1 and even the most florid modern author1 after polishing a paragraph1 may tear it up when he has asked himself1 8,what would ,addison have said about this eloquence of mine1 or ,sainte ,beuve1 or ,mr4 ,matthew ,arnold80 ,in this way what we call inspiration1 that is the performance of the heated mind1 perhaps working at its best1 perhaps overstraining itself1 and overstating its idea1 might really be regulated4 ,but they are few who consider so closely1 fewer perhaps they who have the heart to cut out their own fine or refined things4 ,again1 our author suggests another criterion4 ,we are1 as in ,lamb's phrase1 8to write for antiquity10 with the souls of poets dead and gone for our judges4 ,but we are also to write for the future1 asking with what feelings posterity will read us--if it reads us at all4 ,this is a good discipline4 ,we know by practice what will hit some contemporary tastes2 we know the measure of smartness1 say1 or the delicate flippancy1 or the sentence with 8a dying fall40 ,but one should also know that these are fancies of the hour--these and the touch of archaism1 and the spinster-like and artificial precision1 which seem to be points in some styles of the moment4 ,such reflections as our author bids us make1 with a little self-respect added1 may render our work less popular and effective1 and certainly are not likely to carry it down to remote posterity4 ,but all such reflections1 and action in accordance with what they teach1 are elements of literary self-respect4 ,it is hard to be conscientious1 especially hard for him who writes much1 and of necessity1 and for bread4 ,but conscience is never to be obeyed with ease1 though the ease grows with the obedience4 ,the book attributed to ,longinus will not have missed its mark if it reminds us that1 in literature at least1 for conscience there is yet a place1 possibly even a reward1 though that is unessential4 ,by virtue of reasonings like these1 and by insisting that nobility of style is1 as it were1 the bloom on nobility of soul1 the ,treatise on the ,sublime becomes a tonic work1 wholesome to be read by young authors and old4 8,it is natural in us to feel our souls lifted up by the true ,sublime1 and1 conceiving a sort of generous exultation1 to be filled with joy and pride1 as though we had ourselves originated the ideas which we read40 ,here speaks his natural disinterested greatness the author himself is here sublime1 and teaches by example as well as precept1 for few things are purer than a pure and ardent admiration4 ,the critic is even confident enough to expect to find his own nobility in others1 believing that what is truly ,sublime 8will always please1 and please all readers40 ,and in this universal acceptance by the populace and the literate1 by critics and creators1 by young and old1 he finds the true external canon of sublimity4 ,the verdict lies not with contemporaries1 but with the large public1 not with the little set of dilettanti1 but must be spoken by all4 ,such verdicts assign the crown to ,shakespeare and ,molire1 to ,homer and ,cervantes2 we should not clamorously anticipate this favourable judgment for ,bryant or ,emerson1 nor for the greatest of our own contemporaries4 ,boileau so much misconceived these lofty ideas that he regarded 8,longinus's0 judgment as solely that 8of good sense10 and held that1 in his time1 8nothing was good or bad till he had spoken40 ,but there is far more than good sense1 there is high poetic imagination and moral greatness1 in the criticism of our author1 who certainly would have rejected ,boileau's compliment when he selects ,longinus as a literary dictator4 ,indeed we almost grudge our author's choice of a subject4 ,he who wrote that 8it was not in nature's plan for us1 her children1 to be base and ignoble2 no1 she brought us into life as into some great field of contest10 should have had another field of contest than literary criticism4 ,it is almost a pity that we have to doubt the tradition1 according to which our author was ,longinus1 and1 being but a rhetorician1 greatly dared and bravely died4 ,taking literature for his theme1 he wanders away into grammar1 into considerations of tropes and figures1 plurals and singulars1 trumpery mechanical pedantries1 as we think now1 to whom grammar is no longer1 as of old1 8a new invented game40 ,moreover1 he has to give examples of the faults opposed to sublimity1 he has to dive into and search the bathos1 to dally over examples of the bombastic1 the over-wrought1 the puerile4 ,these faults are not the sins of 8minds generous and aspiring10 and we have them with us always4 ,the additions to ,boileau's preface 7,paris1 #aggb7 contain abundance of examples of faults from ,voiture1 ,mascaron1 ,bossuet1 selected by ,m4 de ,st4 ,marc1 who no doubt found abundance of entertainment in the chastising of these obvious affectations4 ,it hardly seems the proper work for an author like him who wrote the ,treatise on the ,sublime4 ,but it is tempting1 even now1 to give contemporary instances of skill in the ,art of ,sinking--modern cases of bombast1 triviality1 false rhetoric4 8,speaking generally1 it would seem that bombast is one of the hardest things to avoid in writing10 says an author who himself avoids it so well4 ,bombast is the voice of sham passion1 the shadow of an insincere attitude4 8,even the wretched phantom who still bore the imperial title stooped to pay this ignominious blackmail10 cries bombast in ,macaulay's ,lord ,clive4 ,the picture of a phantom who is not only a phantom but wretched1 stooping to pay blackmail which is not only blackmail but ignominious1 may divert the reader and remind him that the faults of the past are the faults of the present4 ,again1 8,the desolate islands along the sea-coast1 overgrown by noxious vegetation1 and swarming with deer and tigers0--do1 what does any one suppose1 perform what forlorn part in the economy of the world8 ,why1 they 8supply the cultivated districts with abundance of salt40 ,it is as comic as-- 8,and thou ,dalhousie1 thou great ,god of ,war1 ,lieutenant-,colonel to the ,earl of ,mar40 ,bombast 8transcends the ,sublime10 and falls on the other side4 ,our author gives more examples of puerility4 8,slips of this sort are made by those who1 aiming at brilliancy1 polish1 and especially attractiveness1 are landed in paltriness and silly affectation40 ,some modern instances we had chosen2 the field of choice is large and richly fertile in those blossoms4 ,but the reader may be left to twine a garland of them for himself2 to select from contemporaries were invidious1 and might provoke retaliation4 ,when our author censures ,timaeus for saying that ,alexander took less time to annex ,asia than ,isocrates spent in writing an oration1 to bid the ,greeks attack ,persia1 we know what he would have thought of ,macaulay's antithesis4 ,he blames ,xenophon for a poor pun1 and ,plato1 less justly1 for mere figurative badinage4 ,it would be an easy task to ransack contemporaries1 even great contemporaries1 for similar failings1 for pomposity1 for the florid1 for sentences like processions of intoxicated torch-bearers1 for pedantic display of cheap erudition1 for misplaced flippancy1 for nice derangement of epitaphs wherein no adjective is used which is appropriate4 ,with a library of cultivated ,american novelists and uncultivated ,english romancers at hand1 with our own voluminous essays1 and the essays and histories and 8art criticisms0 of our neighbours to draw from1 no student need lack examples of what is wrong4 ,he who writes1 reflecting on his own innumerable sins1 can but beat his breast1 cry ,mea ,culpa1 and resist the temptation to beat the breasts of his coevals4 ,there are not many authors1 there have never been many1 who did not need to turn over the treatise of the ,sublime by day and night4#f ,footnote #f3 ,the examples of bombast used to be drawn as late as ,spurden's translation 7#ahcf71 from ,lee1 from ,troilus and ,cressida1 and ,the ,taming of the ,shrew4 ,cowley and ,crashaw furnished instances of conceits2 ,waller1 ,young1 and ,hayley of frigidity2 and ,darwin of affectation4 8,what beaux and beauties crowd the gaudy groves1 ,and woo and win their vegetable loves0-- a phrase adopted--8vapid vegetable loves0--by the ,laureate in 8,the ,talking ,oak40 ,as a literary critic of ,homer our author is most interesting even in his errors4 ,he compares the poet of the ,odyssey to the sunset3 the ,iliad is noonday work1 the ,odyssey is touched with the glow of evening--the softness and the shadows4 8,old age naturally leans10 like childhood1 8towards the fabulous40 ,the tide has flowed back1 and left dim bulks of things on the long shadowy sands4 ,yet he makes an exception1 oddly enough1 in favour of the story of the ,cyclops1 which really is the most fabulous and crude of the fairy tales in the first and greatest of romances4 ,the ,slaying of the ,wooers1 that admirable fight1 worthy of a saga1 he thinks too improbable1 and one of the 8trifles into which second childhood is apt to be betrayed40 ,he fancies that the aged ,homer had 8lost his power of depicting the passions02 in fact1 he is hardly a competent or sympathetic critic of the ,odyssey4 ,perhaps he had lived among ,romans till he lost his sense of humour2 perhaps he never had any to lose4 ,on the other hand1 he preserved for us that inestimable and not to be translated fragment of ,sappho-- 4 ,it is curious to find him contrasting ,apollonius ,rhodius as faultless1 with ,homer as great but faulty4 ,the 8faultlessness0 of ,apollonius is not his merit1 for he is often tedious1 and he has little skill in selection2 moreover1 he is deliberately antiquarian1 if not pedantic4 ,his true merit is in his original and1 as we think1 modern telling of a love tale--pure1 passionate1 and tender1 the first in known literature4 ,medea is often sublime1 and always touching4 ,but it is not on these merits that our author lingers2 he loves only the highest literature1 and1 though he finds spots on the sun and faults in ,homer1 he condones them as oversights passed in the poet's 8contempt of little things40 ,such for us to-day are the lessons of ,longinus4 ,he traces dignity and fire of style to dignity and fire of soul4 ,he detects and denounces the very faults of which1 in each other1 all writers are conscious1 and which he brings home to ourselves4 ,he proclaims the essential merits of conviction1 and of selection4 ,he sets before us the noblest examples of the past1 most welcome in a straining age which tries already to live in the future4 ,he admonishes and he inspires4 ,he knows the 8marvellous power and enthralling charm of appropriate and striking words0 without dropping into mere word-tasting4 8,beautiful words are the very light of thought10 he says1 but does not maunder about the 8colour0 of words1 in the style of the decadence4 ,and then he 8leaves this generation to its fate10 and calmly turns himself to the work that lies nearest his hand4 ,to us he is as much a moral as a literary teacher4 ,we admire that ,roman greatness of soul in a ,greek1 and the character of this unknown man1 who carried the soul of a poet1 the heart of a hero under the gown of a professor4 ,he was one of those whom books cannot debilitate1 nor a life of study incapacitate for the study of life4 ,a4 ,l4 ,i #a ,the treatise of ,caecilius on the ,sublime1 when1 as you remember1 my dear ,terentian1 we examined it together1 seemed to us to be beneath the dignity of the whole subject1 to fail entirely in seizing the salient points1 and to offer little profit 7which should be the principal aim of every writer7 for the trouble of its perusal4 ,there are two things essential to a technical treatise3 the first is to define the subject2 the second 7,i mean second in order1 as it is by much the first in importance7 to point out how and by what methods we may become masters of it ourselves4 ,and yet ,caecilius1 while wasting his efforts in a thousand illustrations of the nature of the ,sublime1 as though here we were quite in the dark1 somehow passes by as immaterial the question how we might be able to exalt our own genius to a certain degree of progress in sublimity4 ,however1 perhaps it would be fairer to commend this writer's intelligence and zeal in themselves1 instead of blaming him for his omissions4 #b ,and since you have bidden me also to put together1 if only for your entertainment1 a few notes on the subject of the ,sublime1 let me see if there is anything in my speculations which promises advantage to men of affairs4 ,in you1 dear friend--such is my confidence in your abilities1 and such the part which becomes you--,i look for a sympathising and discerning#a critic of the several parts of my treatise4 ,for that was a just remark of his who pronounced that the points in which we resemble the divine nature are benevolence and love of truth4 ,footnote #a3 ,reading 4 #c ,as ,i am addressing a person so accomplished in literature1 ,i need only state1 without enlarging further on the matter1 that the ,sublime1 wherever it occurs1 consists in a certain loftiness and excellence of language1 and that it is by this1 and this only1 that the greatest poets and prose-writers have gained eminence1 and won themselves a lasting place in the ,temple of ,fame4 #d ,a lofty passage does not convince the reason of the reader1 but takes him out of himself4 ,that which is admirable ever confounds our judgment1 and eclipses that which is merely reasonable or agreeable4 ,to believe or not is usually in our own power2 but the ,sublime1 acting with an imperious and irresistible force1 sways every reader whether he will or no4 ,skill in invention1 lucid arrangement and disposition of facts1 are appreciated not by one passage1 or by two1 but gradually manifest themselves in the general structure of a work2 but a sublime thought1 if happily timed1 illumines#b an entire subject with the vividness of a lightning-flash1 and exhibits the whole power of the orator in a moment of time4 ,your own experience1 ,i am sure1 my dearest ,terentian1 would enable you to illustrate these and similar points of doctrine4 ,footnote #b3 ,reading 4 ,,ii ,the first question which presents itself for solution is whether there is any art which can teach sublimity or loftiness in writing4 ,for some hold generally that there is mere delusion in attempting to reduce such subjects to technical rules4 8,the ,sublime10 they tell us1 8is born in a man1 and not to be acquired by instruction2 genius is the only master who can teach it4 ,the vigorous products of nature0 7such is their view7 8are weakened and in every respect debased1 when robbed of their flesh and blood by frigid technicalities40 #b ,but ,i maintain that the truth can be shown to stand otherwise in this matter4 ,let us look at the case in this way2 ,nature in her loftier and more passionate moods1 while detesting all appearance of restraint1 is not wont to show herself utterly wayward and reckless2 and though in all cases the vital informing principle is derived from her1 yet to determine the right degree and the right moment1 and to contribute the precision of practice and experience1 is the peculiar province of scientific method4 ,the great passions1 when left to their own blind and rash impulses without the control of reason1 are in the same danger as a ship let drive at random without ballast4 ,often they need the spur1 but sometimes also the curb4 #c ,the remark of ,demosthenes with regard to human life in general1--that the greatest of all blessings is to be fortunate1 but next to that and equal in importance is to be well advised1--for good fortune is utterly ruined by the absence of good counsel1--may be applied to literature1 if we substitute genius for fortune1 and art for counsel4 ,then1 again 7and this is the most important point of all71 a writer can only learn from art when he is to abandon himself to the direction of his genius4#a ,footnote #a3 ,literally1 8,but the most important point of all is that the actual fact that there are some parts of literature which are in the power of natural genius alone1 must be learnt from no other source than from art40 ,these are the considerations which ,i submit to the unfavourable critic of such useful studies4 ,perhaps they may induce him to alter his opinion as to the vanity and idleness of our present investigations4 ,,iii 444 8,and let them check the stove's long tongues of fire3 ,for if ,i see one tenant of the hearth1 ,i'll thrust within one curling torrent flame1 ,and bring that roof in ashes to the ground3 ,but now not yet is sung my noble lay40#a ,such phrases cease to be tragic1 and become burlesque1--,i mean phrases like 8curling torrent flames0 and 8vomiting to heaven10 and representing ,boreas as a piper1 and so on4 ,such expressions1 and such images1 produce an effect of confusion and obscurity1 not of energy2 and if each separately be examined under the light of criticism1 what seemed terrible gradually sinks into absurdity4 ,since then1 even in tragedy1 where the natural dignity of the subject makes a swelling diction allowable1 we cannot pardon a tasteless grandiloquence1 how much more incongruous must it seem in sober prose6 ,footnote #a3 ,aeschylus in his lost ,oreithyia4 #b ,hence we laugh at those fine words of ,gorgias of ,leontini1 such as 8,xerxes the ,persian ,zeus0 and 8vultures1 those living tombs10 and at certain conceits of ,callisthenes which are high-flown rather than sublime1 and at some in ,cleitarchus more ludicrous still--a writer whose frothy style tempts us to travesty ,sophocles and say1 8,he blows a little pipe1 and blows it ill40 ,the same faults may be observed in ,amphicrates and ,hegesias and ,matris1 who in their frequent moments 7as they think7 of inspiration1 instead of playing the genius are simply playing the fool4 #c ,speaking generally1 it would seem that bombast is one of the hardest things to avoid in writing4 ,for all those writers who are ambitious of a lofty style1 through dread of being convicted of feebleness and poverty of language1 slide by a natural gradation into the opposite extreme4 8,who fails in great endeavour1 nobly fails10 is their creed4 #d ,now bulk1 when hollow and affected1 is always objectionable1 whether in material bodies or in writings1 and in danger of producing on us an impression of littleness3 8nothing10 it is said1 8is drier than a man with the dropsy40 ,the characteristic1 then1 of bombast is that it transcends the ,sublime3 but there is another fault diametrically opposed to grandeur3 this is called puerility1 and it is the failing of feeble and narrow minds1--indeed1 the most ignoble of all vices in writing4 ,by puerility we mean a pedantic habit of mind1 which by over-elaboration ends in frigidity4 ,slips of this sort are made by those who1 aiming at brilliancy1 polish1 and especially attractiveness1 are landed in paltriness and silly affectation4 #e ,closely associated with this is a third sort of vice1 in dealing with the passions1 which ,theodorus used to call false sentiment1 meaning by that an ill-timed and empty display of emotion1 where no emotion is called for1 or of greater emotion than the situation warrants4 ,thus we often see an author hurried by the tumult of his mind into tedious displays of mere personal feeling which has no connection with the subject4 ,yet how justly ridiculous must an author appear1 whose most violent transports leave his readers quite cold6 ,however1 ,i will dismiss this subject1 as ,i intend to devote a separate work to the treatment of the pathetic in writing4 ,,iv ,the last of the faults which ,i mentioned is frequently observed in ,timaeus--,i mean the fault of frigidity4 ,in other respects he is an able writer1 and sometimes not unsuccessful in the loftier style2 a man of wide knowledge1 and full of ingenuity2 a most bitter critic of the failings of others--but unhappily blind to his own4 ,in his eagerness to be always striking out new thoughts he frequently falls into the most childish absurdities4 #b ,i will only instance one or two passages1 as most of them have been pointed out by ,caecilius4 ,wishing to say something very fine about ,alexander the ,great he speaks of him as a man 8who annexed the whole of ,asia in fewer years than ,isocrates spent in writing his panegyric oration in which he urges the ,greeks to make war on ,persia40 ,how strange is the comparison of the 8great ,emathian conqueror0 with an ,athenian rhetorician6 ,by this mode of reasoning it is plain that the ,spartans were very inferior to ,isocrates in courage1 since it took them thirty years to conquer ,messene1 while he finished the composition of this harangue in ten4 #c ,observe1 too1 his language on the ,athenians taken in ,sicily4 8,they paid the penalty for their impious outrage on ,hermes in mutilating his statues2 and the chief agent in their destruction was one who was descended on his father's side from the injured deity--,hermocrates1 son of ,hermon40 ,i wonder1 my dearest ,terentian1 how he omitted to say of the tyrant ,dionysius that for his impiety towards ,zeus and ,herakles he was deprived of his power by ,dion and ,herakleides4 #d ,yet why speak of ,timaeus1 when even men like ,xenophon and ,plato--the very demi-gods of literature--though they had sat at the feet of ,socrates1 sometimes forgot themselves in the pursuit of such paltry conceits4 ,the former1 in his account of the ,spartan ,polity1 has these words3 8,their voice you would no more hear than if they were of marble1 their gaze is as immovable as if they were cast in bronze2 you would deem them more modest than the very maidens in their eyes40#a ,to speak of the pupils of the eye as 8modest maidens0 was a piece of absurdity becoming ,amphicrates#b rather than ,xenophon4 ,and then what a strange delusion to suppose that modesty is always without exception expressed in the eye6 whereas it is commonly said that there is nothing by which an impudent fellow betrays his character so much as by the expression of his eyes4 ,thus ,achilles addresses ,agamemnon in the ,iliad as 8drunkard1 with eye of dog40#c ,footnote #a3 ,xen4 de ,rep4 ,laced4 #c1 #e4 ,footnote #b3 ,c4 iii4 sect4 #b4 ,footnote #c3 ,il4 i4 #bbe4 #e ,timaeus1 however1 with that want of judgment which characterises plagiarists1 could not leave to ,xenophon the possession of even this piece of frigidity4 ,in relating how ,agathocles carried off his cousin1 who was wedded to another man1 from the festival of the unveiling1 he asks1 8,who could have done such a deed1 unless he had harlots instead of maidens in his eyes80 #f ,and ,plato himself1 elsewhere so supreme a master of style1 meaning to describe certain recording tablets1 says1 8,they shall write1 and deposit in the temples memorials of cypress wood02#d and again1 8,then concerning walls1 ,megillus1 ,i give my vote with ,sparta that we should let them lie asleep within the ground1 and not awaken them40#e ,footnote #d3 ,plat4 de ,legg4 v4 #gda1 ,c4 ,footnote #e3 ,ib4 vi4 #ggh1 ,d4 #g ,and ,herodotus falls pretty much under the same censure1 when he speaks of beautiful women as 8tortures to the eye10#f though here there is some excuse1 as the speakers in this passage are drunken barbarians4 ,still1 even from dramatic motives1 such errors in taste should not be permitted to deface the pages of an immortal work4 ,footnote #f3 v4 #ah4 ,v ,now all these glaring improprieties of language may be traced to one common root--the pursuit of novelty in thought4 ,it is this that has turned the brain of nearly all the learned world of to-day4 ,human blessings and human ills commonly flow from the same source3 and1 to apply this principle to literature1 those ornaments of style1 those sublime and delightful images1 which contribute to success1 are the foundation and the origin1 not only of excellence1 but also of failure4 ,it is thus with the figures called transitions1 and hyperboles1 and the use of plurals for singulars4 ,i shall show presently the dangers which they seem to involve4 ,our next task1 therefore1 must be to propose and to settle the question how we may avoid the faults of style related to sublimity4 ,,vi ,our best hope of doing this will be first of all to grasp some definite theory and criterion of the true ,sublime4 ,nevertheless this is a hard matter2 for a just judgment of style is the final fruit of long experience2 still1 ,i believe that the way ,i shall indicate will enable us to distinguish between the true and false ,sublime1 so far as it can be done by rule4 ,,vii ,it is proper to observe that in human life nothing is truly great which is despised by all elevated minds4 ,for example1 no man of sense can regard wealth1 honour1 glory1 and power1 or any of those things which are surrounded by a great external parade of pomp and circumstance1 as the highest blessings1 seeing that merely to despise such things is a blessing of no common order3 certainly those who possess them are admired much less than those who1 having the opportunity to acquire them1 through greatness of soul neglect it4 ,now let us apply this principle to the ,sublime in poetry or in prose2 let us ask in all cases1 is it merely a specious sublimity8 is this gorgeous exterior a mere false and clumsy pageant1 which if laid open will be found to conceal nothing but emptiness8 for if so1 a noble mind will scorn instead of admiring it4 #b ,it is natural to us to feel our souls lifted up by the true ,sublime1 and conceiving a sort of generous exultation to be filled with joy and pride1 as though we had ourselves originated the ideas which we read4 #c ,if then any work1 on being repeatedly submitted to the judgment of an acute and cultivated critic1 fails to dispose his mind to lofty ideas2 if the thoughts which it suggests do not extend beyond what is actually expressed2 and if1 the longer you read it1 the less you think of it1--there can be here no true sublimity1 when the effect is not sustained beyond the mere act of perusal4 ,but when a passage is pregnant in suggestion1 when it is hard1 nay impossible1 to distract the attention from it1 and when it takes a strong and lasting hold on the memory1 then we may be sure that we have lighted on the true ,sublime4 #d ,in general we may regard those words as truly noble and sublime which always please and please all readers4 ,for when the same book always produces the same impression on all who read it1 whatever be the difference in their pursuits1 their manner of life1 their aspirations1 their ages1 or their language1 such a harmony of opposites gives irresistible authority to their favourable verdict4 ,,viii ,i shall now proceed to enumerate the five principal sources1 as we may call them1 from which almost all sublimity is derived1 assuming1 of course1 the preliminary gift on which all these five sources depend1 namely1 command of language4 ,the first and the most important is 7#a7 grandeur of thought1 as ,i have pointed out elsewhere in my work on ,xenophon4 ,the second is 7#b7 a vigorous and spirited treatment of the passions4 ,these two conditions of sublimity depend mainly on natural endowments1 whereas those which follow derive assistance from ,art4 ,the third is 7#c7 a certain artifice in the employment of figures1 which are of two kinds1 figures of thought and figures of speech4 ,the fourth is 7#d7 dignified expression1 which is sub-divided into 7a7 the proper choice of words1 and 7b7 the use of metaphors and other ornaments of diction4 ,the fifth cause of sublimity1 which embraces all those preceding1 is 7#e7 majesty and elevation of structure4 ,let us consider what is involved in each of these five forms separately4 ,i must first1 however1 remark that some of these five divisions are omitted by ,caecilius2 for instance1 he says nothing about the passions4 #b ,now if he made this omission from a belief that the ,sublime and the ,pathetic are one and the same thing1 holding them to be always coexistent and interdependent1 he is in error4 ,some passions are found which1 so far from being lofty1 are actually low1 such as pity1 grief1 fear2 and conversely1 sublimity is often not in the least affecting1 as we may see 7among innumerable other instances7 in those bold expressions of our great poet on the sons of ,alous-- 8,highly they raged ,to pile huge ,ossa on the ,olympian peak1 ,and ,pelion with all his waving trees ,on ,ossa's crest to raise1 and climb the sky20 and the yet more tremendous climax-- 8,and now had they accomplished it40 #c ,and in orators1 in all passages dealing with panegyric1 and in all the more imposing and declamatory places1 dignity and sublimity play an indispensable part2 but pathos is mostly absent4 ,hence the most pathetic orators have usually but little skill in panegyric1 and conversely those who are powerful in panegyric generally fail in pathos4 #d ,if1 on the other hand1 ,caecilius supposed that pathos never contributes to sublimity1 and this is why he thought it alien to the subject1 he is entirely deceived4 ,for ,i would confidently pronounce that nothing is so conducive to sublimity as an appropriate display of genuine passion1 which bursts out with a kind of 8fine madness0 and divine inspiration1 and falls on our ears like the voice of a god4 ,,ix ,i have already said that of all these five conditions of the ,sublime the most important is the first1 that is1 a certain lofty cast of mind4 ,therefore1 although this is a faculty rather natural than acquired1 nevertheless it will be well for us in this instance also to train up our souls to sublimity1 and make them as it were ever big with noble thoughts4 #b ,how1 it may be asked1 is this to be done8 ,i have hinted elsewhere in my writings that sublimity is1 so to say1 the image of greatness of soul4 ,hence a thought in its naked simplicity1 even though unuttered1 is sometimes admirable by the sheer force of its sublimity2 for instance1 the silence of ,ajax in the eleventh ,odyssey#a is great1 and grander than anything he could have said4 ,footnote #a3 ,od4 xi4 #edc4 #c ,it is absolutely essential1 then1 first of all to settle the question whence this grandeur of conception arises2 and the answer is that true eloquence can be found only in those whose spirit is generous and aspiring4 ,for those whose whole lives are wasted in paltry and illiberal thoughts and habits cannot possibly produce any work worthy of the lasting reverence of mankind4 ,it is only natural that their words should be full of sublimity whose thoughts are full of majesty4 #d ,hence sublime thoughts belong properly to the loftiest minds4 ,such was the reply of ,alexander to his general ,parmenio1 when the latter had observed1 8,were ,i ,alexander1 ,i should have been satisfied02 8,and ,i1 were ,i ,parmenio0444 ,the distance between heaven and earth#a--;a measure1 one might say1 not less appropriate to ,homer's genius than to the stature of his discord4 ,footnote #a3 ,il4 iv4 #ddb4 #e ,how different is that touch of ,hesiod's in his description of sorrow--if the ,shield is really one of his works3 8rheum from her nostrils flowed0#b--;an image not terrible1 but disgusting4 ,now consider how ,homer gives dignity to his divine persons-- 8,as far as lies his airy ken1 who sits ,on some tall crag1 and scans the wine-dark sea3 ,so far extends the heavenly coursers' stride40#c ,he measures their speed by the extent of the whole world--a grand comparison1 which might reasonably lead us to remark that if the divine steeds were to take two such leaps in succession1 they would find no room in the world for another4 ,footnote #b3 ,scut4 ,herc4 #bfg4 ,footnote #c3 ,il4 v4 #ggj4 #f ,sublime also are the images in the 8,battle of the ,gods0-- 8,a trumpet sound ,rang through the air1 and shook the ,olympian height2 ,then terror seized the monarch of the dead1 ,and springing from his throne he cried aloud ,with fearful voice1 lest the earth1 rent asunder ,by ,neptune's mighty arm1 forthwith reveal ,to mortal and immortal eyes those halls ,so drear and dank1 which e'en the gods abhor40#d ,earth rent from its foundations6 ,tartarus itself laid bare6 ,the whole world torn asunder and turned upside down6 ,why1 my dear friend1 this is a perfect hurly-burly1 in which the whole universe1 heaven and hell1 mortals and immortals1 share the conflict and the peril4 ,footnote #d3 ,il4 xxi4 #chh2 xx4 #fa4 #g ,a terrible picture1 certainly1 but 7unless perhaps it is to be taken allegorically7 downright impious1 and overstepping the bounds of decency4 ,it seems to me that the strange medley of wounds1 quarrels1 revenges1 tears1 bonds1 and other woes which makes up the ,homeric tradition of the gods was designed by its author to degrade his deities1 as far as possible1 into men1 and exalt his men into deities--or rather1 his gods are worse off than his human characters1 since we1 when we are unhappy1 have a haven from ills in death1 while the gods1 according to him1 not only live for ever1 but live for ever in misery4 #h ,far to be preferred to this description of the ,battle of the ,gods are those passages which exhibit the divine nature in its true light1 as something spotless1 great1 and pure1 as1 for instance1 a passage which has often been handled by my predecessors1 the lines on ,poseidon3-- 8,mountain and wood and solitary peak1 ,the ships ,achaian1 and the towers of ,troy1 ,trembled beneath the god's immortal feet4 ,over the waves he rode1 and round him played1 ,lured from the deeps1 the ocean's monstrous brood1 ,with uncouth gambols welcoming their lord3 ,the charmd billows parted3 on they flew40#e ,footnote #e3 ,il4 xiii4 #ah2 xx4 #fj2 xiii4 #ai1 #bg4 #i ,and thus also the lawgiver of the ,jews1 no ordinary man1 having formed an adequate conception of the ,supreme ,being1 gave it adequate expression in the opening words of his 8,laws03 8,god said0--what8--8let there be light1 and there was light3 let there be land1 and there was40 #aj ,i trust you will not think me tedious if ,i quote yet one more passage from our great poet 7referring this time to human characters7 in illustration of the manner in which he leads us with him to heroic heights4 ,a sudden and baffling darkness as of night has overspread the ranks of his warring ,greeks4 ,then ,ajax in sore perplexity cries aloud-- 8,almighty ,sire1 ,only from darkness save ,achaia's sons2 ,no more ,i ask1 but give us back the day2 ,grant but our sight1 and slay us1 if thou wilt40#f ,the feelings are just what we should look for in ,ajax4 ,he does not1 you observe1 ask for his life--such a request would have been unworthy of his heroic soul--but finding himself paralysed by darkness1 and prohibited from employing his valour in any noble action1 he chafes because his arms are idle1 and prays for a speedy return of light4 8,at least10 he thinks1 8,i shall find a warrior's grave1 even though ,zeus himself should fight against me40 ,footnote #f3 ,il4 xvii4 #fde4 #aa ,in such passages the mind of the poet is swept along in the whirlwind of the struggle1 and1 in his own words1 he 8,like the fierce war-god1 raves1 or wasting fire ,through the deep thickets on a mountain-side2 ,his lips drop foam40#g ,footnote #g3 ,il4 xv4 #fje4 #ab ,but there is another and a very interesting aspect of ,homer's mind4 ,when we turn to the ,odyssey we find occasion to observe that a great poetical genius in the decline of power which comes with old age naturally leans towards the fabulous4 ,for it is evident that this work was composed after the ,iliad1 in proof of which we may mention1 among many other indications1 the introduction in the ,odyssey of the sequel to the story of his heroes' adventures at ,troy1 as so many additional episodes in the ,trojan war1 and especially the tribute of sorrow and mourning which is paid in that poem to departed heroes1 as if in fulfilment of some previous design4 ,the ,odyssey is1 in fact1 a sort of epilogue to the ,iliad-- 8,there warrior ,ajax lies1 ,achilles there1 ,and there ,patroclus1 godlike counsellor2 ,there lies my own dear son40#h ,footnote #h3 ,od4 iii4 #aji4 #ac ,and for the same reason1 ,i imagine1 whereas in the ,iliad1 which was written when his genius was in its prime1 the whole structure of the poem is founded on action and struggle1 in the ,odyssey he generally prefers the narrative style1 which is proper to old age4 ,hence ,homer in his ,odyssey may be compared to the setting sun3 he is still as great as ever1 but he has lost his fervent heat4 ,the strain is now pitched to a lower key than in the 8,tale of ,troy divine03 we begin to miss that high and equable sublimity which never flags or sinks1 that continuous current of moving incidents1 those rapid transitions1 that force of eloquence1 that opulence of imagery which is ever true to ,nature4 ,like the sea when it retires upon itself and leaves its shores waste and bare1 henceforth the tide of sublimity begins to ebb1 and draws us away into the dim region of myth and legend4 #ad ,in saying this ,i am not forgetting the fine storm-pieces in the ,odyssey1 the story of the ,cyclops1#i and other striking passages4 ,it is ,homer grown old ,i am discussing1 but still it is ,homer4 ,yet in every one of these passages the mythical predominates over the real4 ,my purpose in making this digression was1 as ,i said1 to point out into what trifles the second childhood of genius is too apt to be betrayed2 such1 ,i mean1 as the bag in which the winds are confined1#aj the tale of ,odysseus's comrades being changed by ,circe into swine#aa 78whimpering porkers0 ,zolus called them71 and how ,zeus was fed like a nestling by the doves1#ab and how ,odysseus passed ten nights on the shipwreck without food1#ac and the improbable incidents in the slaying of the suitors4#ad ,when ,homer nods like this1 we must be content to say that he dreams as ,zeus might dream4 ,footnote #i3 ,od4 ix4 #ahb4 ,footnote #aj3 ,od4 x4 #ag4 ,footnote #aa3 ,od4 x4 #bcg4 ,footnote #ab3 ,od4 xii4 #fb4 ,footnote #ac3 ,od4 xii4 #ddg4 ,footnote #ad3 ,od4 xxii4 passim4 #ae ,another reason for these remarks on the ,odyssey is that ,i wished to make you understand that great poets and prose-writers1 after they have lost their power of depicting the passions1 turn naturally to the delineation of character4 ,such1 for instance1 is the lifelike and characteristic picture of the palace of ,odysseus1 which may be called a sort of comedy of manners4 ,x ,let us now consider whether there is anything further which conduces to the ,sublime in writing4 ,it is a law of ,nature that in all things there are certain constituent parts1 coexistent with their substance4 ,it necessarily follows1 therefore1 that one cause of sublimity is the choice of the most striking circumstances involved in whatever we are describing1 and1 further1 the power of afterwards combining them into one animate whole4 ,the reader is attracted partly by the selection of the incidents1 partly by the skill which has welded them together4 ,for instance1 ,sappho1 in dealing with the passionate manifestations attending on the frenzy of lovers1 always chooses her strokes from the signs which she has observed to be actually exhibited in such cases4 ,but her peculiar excellence lies in the felicity with which she chooses and unites together the most striking and powerful features4 #b 8,i deem that man divinely blest ,who sits1 and1 gazing on thy face1 ,hears thee discourse with eloquent lips1 ,and marks thy lovely smile4 ,this1 this it is that made my heart ,so wildly flutter in my breast2 ,whene'er ,i look on thee1 my voice ,falters1 and faints1 and fails2 ,my tongue's benumbed2 a subtle fire ,through all my body inly steals2 ,mine eyes in darkness reel and swim2 ,strange murmurs drown my ears2 ,with dewy damps my limbs are chilled2 ,an icy shiver shakes my frame2 ,paler than ashes grows my cheek2 ,and ,death seems nigh at hand40 #c ,is it not wonderful how at the same moment soul1 body1 ears1 tongue1 eyes1 colour1 all fail her1 and are lost to her as completely as if they were not her own8 ,observe too how her sensations contradict one another--she freezes1 she burns1 she raves1 she reasons1 and all at the same instant4 ,and this description is designed to show that she is assailed1 not by any particular emotion1 but by a tumult of different emotions4 ,all these tokens belong to the passion of love2 but it is in the choice1 as ,i said1 of the most striking features1 and in the combination of them into one picture1 that the perfection of this ,ode of ,sappho's lies4 ,similarly ,homer in his descriptions of tempests always picks out the most terrific circumstances4 #d ,the poet of the 8,arimaspeia0 intended the following lines to be grand-- 8,herein ,i find a wonder passing strange1 ,that men should make their dwelling on the deep1 ,who far from land essaying bold to range ,with anxious heart their toilsome vigils keep2 ,their eyes are fixed on heaven's starry steep2 ,the ravening billows hunger for their lives2 ,and oft each shivering wretch1 constrained to weep1 ,with suppliant hands to move heaven's pity strives1 ,while many a direful qualm his very vitals rives40 ,all must see that there is more of ornament than of terror in the description4 ,now let us turn to ,homer4 #e ,one passage will suffice to show the contrast4 8,on them he leaped1 as leaps a raging wave1 ,child of the winds1 under the darkening clouds1 ,on a swift ship1 and buries her in foam2 ,then cracks the sail beneath the roaring blast1 ,and quakes the breathless seamen's shuddering heart ,in terror dire3 death lours on every wave40#a ,footnote #a3 ,il4 xv4 #fbd4 #f ,aratus has tried to give a new turn to this last thought-- 8,but one frail timber shields them from their doom10#b-- banishing by this feeble piece of subtlety all the terror from his description2 setting limits1 moreover1 to the peril described by saying 8shields them02 for so long as it shields them it matters not whether the 8timber0 be 8frail0 or stout4 ,but ,homer does not set any fixed limit to the danger1 but gives us a vivid picture of men a thousand times on the brink of destruction1 every wave threatening them with instant death4 ,moreover1 by his bold and forcible combination of prepositions of opposite meaning he tortures his language to imitate the agony of the scene1 the constraint which is put on the words accurately reflecting the anxiety of the sailors' minds1 and the diction being stamped1 as it were1 with the peculiar terror of the situation4 ,footnote #b3 ,phaenomena1 #bii4 #g ,similarly ,archilochus in his description of the shipwreck1 and similarly ,demosthenes when he describes how the news came of the taking of ,elatea#c--8;,it was evening10 etc4 ,each of these authors fastidiously rejects whatever is not essential to the subject1 and in putting together the most vivid features is careful to guard against the interposition of anything frivolous1 unbecoming1 or tiresome4 ,such blemishes mar the general effect1 and give a patched and gaping appearance to the edifice of sublimity1 which ought to be built up in a solid and uniform structure4 ,footnote #c3 ,de ,cor4 #afi4 ,,xi ,closely associated with the part of our subject we have just treated of is that excellence of writing which is called amplification1 when a writer or pleader1 whose theme admits of many successive starting-points and pauses1 brings on one impressive point after another in a continuous and ascending scale4 #b ,now whether this is employed in the treatment of a commonplace1 or in the way of exaggeration1 whether to place arguments or facts in a strong light1 or in the disposition of actions1 or of passions--for amplification takes a hundred different shapes--in all cases the orator must be cautioned that none of these methods is complete without the aid of sublimity1--unless1 indeed1 it be our object to excite pity1 or to depreciate an opponent's argument4 ,in all other uses of amplification1 if you subtract the element of sublimity you will take as it were the soul from the body4 ,no sooner is the support of sublimity removed than the whole becomes lifeless1 nerveless1 and dull4 #c ,there is a difference1 however1 between the rules ,i am now giving and those just mentioned4 ,then ,i was speaking of the delineation and co-ordination of the principal circumstances4 ,my next task1 therefore1 must be briefly to define this difference1 and with it the general distinction between amplification and sublimity4 ,our whole discourse will thus gain in clearness4 ,,xii ,i must first remark that ,i am not satisfied with the definition of amplification generally given by authorities on rhetoric4 ,they explain it to be a form of language which invests the subject with a certain grandeur4 ,yes1 but this definition may be applied indifferently to sublimity1 pathos1 and the use of figurative language1 since all these invest the discourse with some sort of grandeur4 ,the difference seems to me to lie in this1 that sublimity gives elevation to a subject1 while amplification gives extension as well4 ,thus the sublime is often conveyed in a single thought1#a but amplification can only subsist with a certain prolixity and diffusiveness4 ,footnote #a3 ,comp4 i4 #d4 #bf4 #b ,the most general definition of amplification would explain it to consist in the gathering together of all the constituent parts and topics of a subject1 emphasising the argument by repeated insistence1 herein differing from proof1 that whereas the object of proof is logical demonstration1 444 ,plato1 like the sea1 pours forth his riches in a copious and expansive flood4 #c ,hence the style of the orator1 who is the greater master of our emotions1 is often1 as it were1 red-hot and ablaze with passion1 whereas ,plato1 whose strength lay in a sort of weighty and sober magnificence1 though never frigid1 does not rival the thunders of ,demosthenes4 #d ,and1 if a ,greek may be allowed to express an opinion on the subject of ,latin literature1 ,i think the same difference may be discerned in the grandeur of ,cicero as compared with that of his ,grecian rival4 ,the sublimity of ,demosthenes is generally sudden and abrupt3 that of ,cicero is equally diffused4 ,demosthenes is vehement1 rapid1 vigorous1 terrible2 he burns and sweeps away all before him2 and hence we may liken him to a whirlwind or a thunderbolt3 ,cicero is like a widespread conflagration1 which rolls over and feeds on all around it1 whose fire is extensive and burns long1 breaking out successively in different places1 and finding its fuel now here1 now there4 #e ,such points1 however1 ,i resign to your more competent judgment4 ,to resume1 then1 the high-strung sublimity of ,demosthenes is appropriate to all cases where it is desired to exaggerate1 or to rouse some vehement emotion1 and generally when we want to carry away our audience with us4 ,we must employ the diffusive style1 on the other hand1 when we wish to overpower them with a flood of language4 ,it is suitable1 for example1 to familiar topics1 and to perorations in most cases1 and to digressions1 and to all descriptive and declamatory passages1 and in dealing with history or natural science1 and in numerous other cases4 ,,xiii ,to return1 however1 to ,plato3 how grand he can be with all that gentle and noiseless flow of eloquence you will be reminded by this characteristic passage1 which you have read in his ,republic3 8,they1 therefore1 who have no knowledge of wisdom and virtue1 whose lives are passed in feasting and similar joys1 are borne downwards1 as is but natural1 and in this region they wander all their lives2 but they never lifted up their eyes nor were borne upwards to the true world above1 nor ever tasted of pleasure abiding and unalloyed2 but like beasts they ever look downwards1 and their heads are bent to the ground1 or rather to the table2 they feed full their bellies and their lusts1 and longing ever more and more for such things they kick and gore one another with horns and hoofs of iron1 and slay one another in their insatiable desires40#a ,footnote #a3 ,rep4 ix4 #ehf1 ,a4 #b ,we may learn from this author1 if we would but observe his example1 that there is yet another path besides those mentioned which leads to sublime heights4 ,what path do ,i mean8 ,the emulous imitation of the great poets and prose-writers of the past4 ,on this mark1 dear friend1 let us keep our eyes ever steadfastly fixed4 ,many gather the divine impulse from another's spirit1 just as we are told that the ,pythian priestess1 when she takes her seat on the tripod1 where there is said to be a rent in the ground breathing upwards a heavenly emanation1 straightway conceives from that source the godlike gift of prophecy1 and utters her inspired oracles2 so likewise from the mighty genius of the great writers of antiquity there is carried into the souls of their rivals1 as from a fount of inspiration1 an effluence which breathes upon them until1 even though their natural temper be but cold1 they share the sublime enthusiasm of others4 #c ,thus ,homer's name is associated with a numerous band of illustrious disciples--not only ,herodotus1 but ,stesichorus before him1 and the great ,archilochus1 and above all ,plato1 who from the great fountain-head of ,homer's genius drew into himself innumerable tributary streams4 ,perhaps it would have been necessary to illustrate this point1 had not ,ammonius and his school already classified and noted down the various examples4 #d ,now what ,i am speaking of is not plagiarism1 but resembles the process of copying from fair forms or statues or works of skilled labour4 ,nor in my opinion would so many fair flowers of imagery have bloomed among the philosophical dogmas of ,plato1 nor would he have risen so often to the language and topics of poetry1 had he not engaged heart and soul in a contest for precedence with ,homer1 like a young champion entering the lists against a veteran4 ,it may be that he showed too ambitious a spirit in venturing on such a duel2 but nevertheless it was not without advantage to him3 8for strife like this10 as ,hesiod says1 8is good for men40#b ,and where shall we find a more glorious arena or a nobler crown than here1 where even defeat at the hands of our predecessors is not ignoble8 ,footnote #b3 ,opp4 #bi4 ,,xiv ,therefore it is good for us also1 when we are labouring on some subject which demands a lofty and majestic style1 to imagine to ourselves how ,homer might have expressed this or that1 or how ,plato or ,demosthenes would have clothed it with sublimity1 or1 in history1 ,thucydides4 ,for by our fixing an eye of rivalry on those high examples they will become like beacons to guide us1 and will perhaps lift up our souls to the fulness of the stature we conceive4 #b ,and it would be still better should we try to realise this further thought1 ,how would ,homer1 had he been here1 or how would ,demosthenes1 have listened to what ,i have written1 or how would they have been affected by it8 ,for what higher incentive to exertion could a writer have than to imagine such judges or such an audience of his works1 and to give an account of his writings with heroes like these to criticise and look on8 #c ,yet more inspiring would be the thought1 ,with what feelings will future ages through all time read these my works8 ,if this should awaken a fear in any writer that he will not be intelligible to his contemporaries it will necessarily follow that the conceptions of his mind will be crude1 maimed1 and abortive1 and lacking that ripe perfection which alone can win the applause of ages to come4 ,,xv ,the dignity1 grandeur1 and energy of a style largely depend on a proper employment of images1 a term which ,i prefer to that usually given4#a ,the term image in its most general acceptation includes every thought1 howsoever presented1 which issues in speech4 ,but the term is now generally confined to those cases when he who is speaking1 by reason of the rapt and excited state of his feelings1 imagines himself to see what he is talking about1 and produces a similar illusion in his hearers4 ,footnote #a3 1 8fictions of the imagination10 ,hickie4 #b ,poets and orators both employ images1 but with a very different object1 as you are well aware4 ,the poetical image is designed to astound2 the oratorical image to give perspicuity4 ,both1 however1 seek to work on the emotions4 8,mother1 ,i pray thee1 set not thou upon me ,those maids with bloody face and serpent hair3 ,see1 see1 they come1 they're here1 they spring upon me60#b ,and again-- 8,ah1 ah1 she'll slay me6 whither shall ,i fly80#c ,the poet when he wrote like this saw the ,erinyes with his own eyes1 and he almost compels his readers to see them too4 ,footnote #b3 ,eur4 ,orest4 #bee4 ,footnote #c3 ,iph4 ,taur4 #bia4 #c ,euripides found his chief delight in the labour of giving tragic expression to these two passions of madness and love1 showing here a real mastery which ,i cannot think he exhibited elsewhere4 ,still1 he is by no means diffident in venturing on other fields of the imagination4 ,his genius was far from being of the highest order1 but by taking pains he often raises himself to a tragic elevation4 ,in his sublimer moments he generally reminds us of ,homer's description of the lion-- 8,with tail he lashes both his flanks and sides1 ,and spurs himself to battle40#d ,footnote #d3 ,il4 xx4 #agj4 #d ,take1 for instance1 that passage in which ,helios1 in handing the reins to his son1 says-- 8,drive on1 but shun the burning ,libyan tract2 ,the hot dry air will let thine axle down3 ,toward the seven ,pleiades keep thy steadfast way40 ,and then-- 8,this said1 his son undaunted snatched the reins1 ,then smote the winged coursers' sides3 they bound ,forth on the void and cavernous vault of air4 ,his father mounts another steed1 and rides ,with warning voice guiding his son4 #8,drive there6 ,turn1 turn thy car this way4'0#e ,may we not say that the spirit of the poet mounts the chariot with his hero1 and accompanies the winged steeds in their perilous flight8 ,were it not so1--had not his imagination soared side by side with them in that celestial passage1--he would never have conceived so vivid an image4 ,similar is that passage in his 8,cassandra10 beginning 8,ye ,trojans1 lovers of the steed40#f ,footnote #e3 ,eur4 ,phaet4 ,footnote #f3 ,perhaps from the lost 8,alexander0 7,jahn74 #e ,aeschylus is especially bold in forming images suited to his heroic themes3 as when he says of his 8,seven against ,thebes0-- 8,seven mighty men1 and valiant captains1 slew ,over an iron-bound shield a bull1 then dipped ,their fingers in the blood1 and all invoked ,ares1 ,enyo1 and death-dealing ,flight ,in witness of their oaths10#g and describes how they all mutually pledged themselves without flinching to die4 ,sometimes1 however1 his thoughts are unshapen1 and as it were rough-hewn and rugged4 ,not observing this1 ,euripides1 from too blind a rivalry1 sometimes falls under the same censure4 ,footnote #g3 ,sept4 c4 ,th4 #db4 #f ,aeschylus with a strange violence of language represents the palace of ,lycurgus as possessed at the appearance of ,dionysus-- 8,the halls with rapture thrill1 the roof's inspired40#h ,here ,euripides1 in borrowing the image1 softens its extravagance#i-- 8,and all the mountain felt the god40#aj ,footnote #h3 ,aesch4 ,lycurg4 ,footnote #i3 ,lit4 8,giving it a different flavour10 as ,arist4 ,poet4 1 ii4 #aj4 ,footnote #aj3 ,bacch4 #gbf4 #g ,sophocles has also shown himself a great master of the imagination in the scene in which the dying ,oedipus prepares himself for burial in the midst of a tempest1#aa and where he tells how ,achilles appeared to the ,greeks over his tomb just as they were putting out to sea on their departure from ,troy4#ab ,this last scene has also been delineated by ,simonides with a vividness which leaves him inferior to none4 ,but it would be an endless task to cite all possible examples4 ,footnote #aa3 ,oed4 ,col4 #aehf4 ,footnote #ab3 ,in his lost 8,polyxena40 #h ,to return1 then1#ac in poetry1 as ,i observed1 a certain mythical exaggeration is allowable1 transcending altogether mere logical credence4 ,but the chief beauties of an oratorical image are its energy and reality4 ,such digressions become offensive and monstrous when the language is cast in a poetical and fabulous mould1 and runs into all sorts of impossibilities4 ,thus much may be learnt from the great orators of our own day1 when they tell us in tragic tones that they see the ,furies#ad--;good people1 can't they understand that when ,orestes cries out 8,off1 off1 ,i say6 ,i know thee who thou art1 ,one of the fiends that haunt me3 ,i feel thine arms ,about me cast1 to drag me down to hell10#ae these are the hallucinations of a madman8 ,footnote #ac3 #b4 ,footnote #ad3 ,comp4 ,petronius1 ,satyricon1 ch4 i4 passim4 ,footnote #ae3 ,orest4 #bfd4 #i ,wherein1 then1 lies the force of an oratorical image8 ,doubtless in adding energy and passion in a hundred different ways to a speech2 but especially in this1 that when it is mingled with the practical1 argumentative parts of an oration1 it does not merely convince the hearer1 but enthralls him4 ,such is the effect of those words of ,demosthenes3#af 8,supposing1 now1 at this moment a cry of alarm were heard outside the assize courts1 and the news came that the prison was broken open and the prisoners escaped1 is there any man here who is such a trifler that he would not run to the rescue at the top of his speed8 ,but suppose some one came forward with the information that they had been set at liberty by the defendant1 what then8 ,why1 he would be lynched on the spot60 ,footnote #af3 c4 ,timocrat4 #bjh4 #aj ,compare also the way in which ,hyperides excused himself1 when he was proceeded against for bringing in a bill to liberate the slaves after ,chaeronea4 8,this measure10 he said1 8was not drawn up by any orator1 but by the battle of ,chaeronea40 ,this striking image1 being thrown in by the speaker in the midst of his proofs1 enables him by one bold stroke to carry all mere logical objection before him4 #aa ,in all such cases our nature is drawn towards that which affects it most powerfully3 hence an image lures us away from an argument3 judgment is paralysed1 matters of fact disappear from view1 eclipsed by the superior blaze4 ,nor is it surprising that we should be thus affected2 for when two forces are thus placed in juxtaposition1 the stronger must always absorb into itself the weaker4 #ab ,on sublimity of thought1 and the manner in which it arises from native greatness of mind1 from imitation1 and from the employment of images1 this brief outline must suffice4#ag ,footnote #ag3 ,he passes over chs4 x4 xi4 ,,xvi ,the subject which next claims our attention is that of figures of speech4 ,i have already observed that figures1 judiciously employed1 play an important part in producing sublimity4 ,it would be a tedious1 or rather an endless task1 to deal with every detail of this subject here2 so in order to establish what ,i have laid down1 ,i will just run over1 without further preface1 a few of those figures which are most effective in lending grandeur to language4 #b ,demosthenes is defending his policy2 his natural line of argument would have been3 8,you did not do wrong1 men of ,athens1 to take upon yourselves the struggle for the liberties of ,hellas4 ,of this you have home proofs4 ,they did not wrong who fought at ,marathon1 at ,salamis1 and ,plataea40 ,instead of this1 in a sudden moment of supreme exaltation he bursts out like some inspired prophet with that famous appeal to the mighty dead3 8,ye did not1 could not have done wrong4 ,i swear it by the men who faced the foe at ,marathon60#a ,he employs the figure of adjuration1 to which ,i will here give the name of ,apostrophe4 ,and what does he gain by it8 ,he exalts the ,athenian ancestors to the rank of divinities1 showing that we ought to invoke those who have fallen for their country as gods2 he fills the hearts of his judges with the heroic pride of the old warriors of ,hellas2 forsaking the beaten path of argument he rises to the loftiest altitude of grandeur and passion1 and commands assent by the startling novelty of his appeal2 he applies the healing charm of eloquence1 and thus 8ministers to the mind diseased0 of his countrymen1 until lifted by his brave words above their misfortunes they begin to feel that the disaster of ,chaeronea is no less glorious than the victories of ,marathon and ,salamis4 ,all this he effects by the use of one figure1 and so carries his hearers away with him4 ,footnote #a3 ,de ,cor4 #bjh4 #c ,it is said that the germ of this adjuration is found in ,eupolis-- 8,by mine own fight1 by ,marathon1 ,i say1 ,who makes my heart to ache shall rue the day60#b ,but there is nothing grand in the mere employment of an oath4 ,its grandeur will depend on its being employed in the right place and the right manner1 on the right occasion1 and with the right motive4 ,in ,eupolis the oath is nothing beyond an oath2 and the ,athenians to whom it is addressed are still prosperous1 and in need of no consolation4 ,moreover1 the poet does not1 like ,demosthenes1 swear by the departed heroes as deities1 so as to engender in his audience a just conception of their valour1 but diverges from the champions to the battle--a mere lifeless thing4 ,but ,demosthenes has so skilfully managed the oath that in addressing his countrymen after the defeat of ,chaeronea he takes out of their minds all sense of disaster2 and at the same time1 while proving that no mistake has been made1 he holds up an example1 confirms his arguments by an oath1 and makes his praise of the dead an incentive to the living4 ,footnote #b3 ,in his 7lost7 8,demis40 #d ,and to rebut a possible objection which occurred to him--8,can you1 ,demosthenes1 whose policy ended in defeat1 swear by a victory80--the orator proceeds to measure his language1 choosing his very words so as to give no handle to opponents1 thus showing us that even in our most inspired moments reason ought to hold the reins4#c ,let us mark his words3 8,those who faced the foe at ,marathon2 those who fought in the sea-fights of ,salamis and ,artemisium2 those who stood in the ranks at ,plataea40 ,note that he nowhere says 8those who conquered10 artfully suppressing any word which might hint at the successful issue of those battles1 which would have spoilt the parallel with ,chaeronea4 ,and for the same reason he steals a march on his audience1 adding immediately3 8,all of whom1 ,aeschines1--not those who were successful only1--were buried by the state at the public expense40 ,footnote #c3 ,lit4 8,that even in the midst of the revels of ,bacchus we ought to remain sober40 ,,xvii ,there is one truth which my studies have led me to observe1 which perhaps it would be worth while to set down briefly here4 ,it is this1 that by a natural law the ,sublime1 besides receiving an acquisition of strength from figures1 in its turn lends support in a remarkable manner to them4 ,to explain3 the use of figures has a peculiar tendency to rouse a suspicion of dishonesty1 and to create an impression of treachery1 scheming1 and false reasoning2 especially if the person addressed be a judge1 who is master of the situation1 and still more in the case of a despot1 a king1 a military potentate1 or any of those who sit in high places4#a ,if a man feels that this artful speaker is treating him like a silly boy and trying to throw dust in his eyes1 he at once grows irritated1 and thinking that such false reasoning implies a contempt of his understanding1 he perhaps flies into a rage and will not hear another word2 or even if he masters his resentment1 still he is utterly indisposed to yield to the persuasive power of eloquence4 ,hence it follows that a figure is then most effectual when it appears in disguise4 ,footnote #a3 ,reading with ,cobet1 4 #b ,to allay1 then1 this distrust which attaches to the use of figures we must call in the powerful aid of sublimity and passion4 ,for art1 once associated with these great allies1 will be overshadowed by their grandeur and beauty1 and pass beyond the reach of all suspicion4 ,to prove this ,i need only refer to the passage already quoted3 8,i swear it by the men10 etc4 ,it is the very brilliancy of the orator's figure which blinds us to the fact that it is a figure4 ,for as the fainter lustre of the stars is put out of sight by the all-encompassing rays of the sun1 so when sublimity sheds its light all round the sophistries of rhetoric they become invisible4 #c ,a similar illusion is produced by the painter's art4 ,when light and shadow are represented in colour1 though they lie on the same surface side by side1 it is the light which meets the eye first1 and appears not only more conspicuous but also much nearer4 ,in the same manner passion and grandeur of language1 lying nearer to our souls by reason both of a certain natural affinity and of their radiance1 always strike our mental eye before we become conscious of the figure1 throwing its artificial character into the shade and hiding it as it were in a veil4 ,,xviii ,the figures of question and interrogation#a also possess a specific quality which tends strongly to stir an audience and give energy to the speaker's words4 8,or tell me1 do you want to run about asking one another1 is there any news8 what greater news could you have than that a man of ,macedon is making himself master of ,hellas8 ,is ,philip dead8 ,not he4 ,however1 he is ill4 ,but what is that to you8 ,even if anything happens to him you will soon raise up another ,philip40#b ,or this passage3 8,shall we sail against ,macedon8 ,and where1 asks one1 shall we effect a landing8 ,the war itself will show us where ,philip's weak places lie40#b ,now if this had been put baldly it would have lost greatly in force4 ,as we see it1 it is full of the quick alternation of question and answer4 ,the orator replies to himself as though he were meeting another man's objections4 ,and this figure not only raises the tone of his words but makes them more convincing4 ,footnote #a3 ,see ,note4 ,footnote #b3 ,phil4 i4 #dd4 #b ,for an exhibition of feeling has then most effect on an audience when it appears to flow naturally from the occasion1 not to have been laboured by the art of the speaker2 and this device of questioning and replying to himself reproduces the moment of passion4 ,for as a sudden question addressed to an individual will sometimes startle him into a reply which is an unguarded expression of his genuine sentiments1 so the figure of question and interrogation blinds the judgment of an audience1 and deceives them into a belief that what is really the result of labour in every detail has been struck out of the speaker by the inspiration of the moment4 ,there is one passage in ,herodotus which is generally credited with extraordinary sublimity4444 ,,xix 444 ,the removal of connecting particles gives a quick rush and 8torrent rapture0 to a passage1 the writer appearing to be actually almost left behind by his own words4 ,there is an example in ,xenophon3 8,clashing their shields together they pushed1 they fought1 they slew1 they fell40#a ,and the words of ,eurylochus in the ,odyssey-- 8,we passed at thy command the woodland's shade2 ,we found a stately hall built in a mountain glade40#b ,words thus severed from one another without the intervention of stops give a lively impression of one who through distress of mind at once halts and hurries in his speech4 ,and this is what ,homer has expressed by using the figure ,asyndeton4 ,footnote #a3 ,xen4 ,hel4 iv4 #c4 #ai4 ,footnote #b3 ,od4 x4 #bea4 ,,xx ,but nothing is so conducive to energy as a combination of different figures1 when two or three uniting their resources mutually contribute to the vigour1 the cogency1 and the beauty of a speech4 ,so ,demosthenes in his speech against ,meidias repeats the same words and breaks up his sentences in one lively descriptive passage3 8,he who receives a blow is hurt in many ways which he could not even describe to another1 by gesture1 by look1 by tone40 #b ,then1 to vary the movement of his speech1 and prevent it from standing still 7for stillness produces rest1 but passion requires a certain disorder of language1 imitating the agitation and commotion of the soul71 he at once dashes off in another direction1 breaking up his words again1 and repeating them in a different form1 8by gesture1 by look1 by tone--when insult1 when hatred1 is added to violence1 when he is struck with the fist1 when he is struck as a slave60 ,by such means the orator imitates the action of ,meidias1 dealing blow upon blow on the minds of his judges4 ,immediately after like a hurricane he makes a fresh attack3 8,when he is struck with the fist1 when he is struck in the face2 this is what moves1 this is what maddens a man1 unless he is inured to outrage2 no one could describe all this so as to bring home to his hearers its bitterness40#a ,you see how he preserves1 by continual variation1 the intrinsic force of these repetitions and broken clauses1 so that his order seems irregular1 and conversely his irregularity acquires a certain measure of order4 ,footnote #a3 ,meid4 #gb4 ,,xxi ,supposing we add the conjunctions1 after the practice of ,isocrates and his school3 8,moreover1 ,i must not omit to mention that he who strikes a blow may hurt in many ways1 in the first place by gesture1 in the second place by look1 in the third and last place by his tone40 ,if you compare the words thus set down in logical sequence with the expressions of the 8,meidias10 you will see that the rapidity and rugged abruptness of passion1 when all is made regular by connecting links1 will be smoothed away1 and the whole point and fire of the passage will at once disappear4 #b ,for as1 if you were to bind two runners together1 they will forthwith be deprived of all liberty of movement1 even so passion rebels against the trammels of conjunctions and other particles1 because they curb its free rush and destroy the impression of mechanical impulse4 ,,xxii ,the figure hyperbaton belongs to the same class4 ,by hyperbaton we mean a transposition of words or thoughts from their usual order1 bearing unmistakably the characteristic stamp of violent mental agitation4 ,in real life we often see a man under the influence of rage1 or fear1 or indignation1 or beside himself with jealousy1 or with some other out of the interminable list of human passions1 begin a sentence1 and then swerve aside into some inconsequent parenthesis1 and then again double back to his original statement1 being borne with quick turns by his distress1 as though by a shifting wind1 now this way1 now that1 and playing a thousand capricious variations on his words1 his thoughts1 and the natural order of his discourse4 ,now the figure hyperbaton is the means which is employed by the best writers to imitate these signs of natural emotion4 ,for art is then perfect when it seems to be nature1 and nature1 again1 is most effective when pervaded by the unseen presence of art4 ,an illustration will be found in the speech of ,dionysius of ,phocaea in ,herodotus3 8,a hair's breadth now decides our destiny1 ,ionians1 whether we shall live as freemen or as slaves--ay1 as runaway slaves4 ,now1 therefore1 if you choose to endure a little hardship1 you will be able at the cost of some present exertion to overcome your enemies40#a ,footnote #a3 vi4 #aa4 #b ,the regular sequence here would have been3 8,ionians1 now is the time for you to endure a little hardship2 for a hair's breadth will now decide our destiny40 ,but the ,phocaean transposes the title 8,ionians10 rushing at once to the subject of alarm1 as though in the terror of the moment he had forgotten the usual address to his audience4 ,moreover1 he inverts the logical order of his thoughts1 and instead of beginning with the necessity for exertion1 which is the point he wishes to urge upon them1 he first gives them the reason for that necessity in the words1 8a hair's breadth now decides our destiny10 so that his words seem unpremeditated1 and forced upon him by the crisis4 #c ,thucydides surpasses all other writers in the bold use of this figure1 even breaking up sentences which are by their nature absolutely one and indivisible4 ,but nowhere do we find it so unsparingly employed as in ,demosthenes1 who though not so daring in his manner of using it as the elder writer is very happy in giving to his speeches by frequent transpositions the lively air of unstudied debate4 ,moreover1 he drags1 as it were1 his audience with him into the perils of a long inverted clause4 #d ,he often begins to say something1 then leaves the thought in suspense1 meanwhile thrusting in between1 in a position apparently foreign and unnatural1 some extraneous matters1 one upon another1 and having thus made his hearers fear lest the whole discourse should break down1 and forced them into eager sympathy with the danger of the speaker1 when he is nearly at the end of a period he adds just at the right moment1 i4e4 when it is least expected1 the point which they have been waiting for so long4 ,and thus by the very boldness and hazard of his inversions he produces a much more astounding effect4 ,i forbear to cite examples1 as they are too numerous to require it4 ,,xxiii ,the juxtaposition of different cases1 the enumeration of particulars1 and the use of contrast and climax1 all1 as you know1 add much vigour1 and give beauty and great elevation and life to a style4 ,the diction also gains greatly in diversity and movement by changes of case1 time1 person1 number1 and gender4 #b ,with regard to change of number3 not only is the style improved by the use of those words which1 though singular in form1 are found on inspection to be plural in meaning1 as in the lines-- 8,a countless host dispersed along the sand ,with joyous cries the shoal of tunny hailed10 but it is more worthy of observation that plurals for singulars sometimes fall with a more impressive dignity1 rousing the imagination by the mere sense of vast number4 #c ,such is the effect of those words of ,oedipus in ,sophocles-- 8,oh fatal1 fatal ties6 ,ye gave us birth1 and we being born ye sowed ,the self-same seed1 and gave the world to view ,sons1 brothers1 sires1 domestic murder foul1 ,brides1 mothers1 wives4444 ,ay1 ye laid bare ,the blackest1 deepest place where ,shame can dwell40#a ,here we have in either case but one person1 first ,oedipus1 then ,jocasta2 but the expansion of number into the plural gives an impression of multiplied calamity4 ,so in the following plurals-- 8,there came forth ,hectors1 and there came ,sarpedons40 ,footnote #a3 ,o4 ,r4 #adjc4 #d ,and in those words of ,plato's 7which we have already adduced elsewhere71 referring to the ,athenians3 8,we have no ,pelopses or ,cadmuses or ,aegyptuses or ,danauses1 or any others out of all the mob of ,hellenised barbarians1 dwelling among us2 no1 this is the land of pure ,greeks1 with no mixture of foreign elements10#b etc4 ,such an accumulation of words in the plural number necessarily gives greater pomp and sound to a subject4 ,but we must only have recourse to this device when the nature of our theme makes it allowable to amplify1 to multiply1 or to speak in the tones of exaggeration or passion4 ,to overlay every sentence with ornament#c is very pedantic4 ,footnote #b3 ,menex4 #bde1 ,d4 ,footnote #c3 ,lit4 8,to hang bells everywhere10 a metaphor from the bells which were attached to horses' trappings on festive occasions4 ,,xxiv ,on the other hand1 the contraction of plurals into singulars sometimes creates an appearance of great dignity2 as in that phrase of ,demosthenes3 8,thereupon all ,peloponnesus was divided40#a ,there is another in ,herodotus3 8,when ,phrynichus brought a drama on the stage entitled ,the ,taking of ,miletus1 the whole theatre fell a weeping0--instead of 8all the spectators40 ,this knitting together of a number of scattered particulars into one whole gives them an aspect of corporate life4 ,and the beauty of both uses lies1 ,i think1 in their betokening emotion1 by giving a sudden change of complexion to the circumstances1--whether a word which is strictly singular is unexpectedly changed into a plural1--or whether a number of isolated units are combined by the use of a single sonorous word under one head4 ,footnote #a3 ,de ,cor4 #ah4 ,,xxv ,when past events are introduced as happening in present time the narrative form is changed into a dramatic action4 ,such is that description in ,xenophon3 8,a man who has fallen1 and is being trampled under foot by ,cyrus's horse1 strikes the belly of the animal with his scimitar2 the horse starts aside and unseats ,cyrus1 and he falls40 ,similarly in many passages of ,thucydides4 ,,xxvi ,equally dramatic is the interchange of persons1 often making a reader fancy himself to be moving in the midst of the perils described-- 8,unwearied1 thou wouldst deem1 with toil unspent1 ,they met in war2 so furiously they fought40#a and that line in ,aratus-- 8,beware that month to tempt the surging sea40#b ,footnote #a3 ,il4 xv4 #fig4 ,footnote #b3 ,phaen4 #bhg4 #b ,in the same way ,herodotus3 8,passing from the city of ,elephantine you will sail upwards until you reach a level plain4 ,you cross this region1 and there entering another ship you will sail on for two days1 and so reach a great city1 whose name is ,meroe40#c ,observe how he takes us1 as it were1 by the hand1 and leads us in spirit through these places1 making us no longer readers1 but spectators4 ,such a direct personal address always has the effect of placing the reader in the midst of the scene of action4 ,footnote #c3 ii4 #bi4 #c ,and by pointing your words to the individual reader1 instead of to the readers generally1 as in the line 8,thou had'st not known for whom ,tydides fought10#d and thus exciting him by an appeal to himself1 you will rouse interest1 and fix attention1 and make him a partaker in the action of the book4 ,footnote #d3 ,il4 v4 #he4 ,,xxvii ,sometimes1 again1 a writer in the midst of a narrative in the third person suddenly steps aside and makes a transition to the first4 ,it is a kind of figure which strikes like a sudden outburst of passion4 ,thus ,hector in the ,iliad 8,with mighty voice called to the men of ,troy ,to storm the ships1 and leave the bloody spoils3 ,if any ,i behold with willing foot ,shunning the ships1 and lingering on the plain1 ,that hour ,i will contrive his death40#a ,the poet then takes upon himself the narrative part1 as being his proper business2 but this abrupt threat he attributes1 without a word of warning1 to the enraged ,trojan chief4 ,to have interposed any such words as 8,hector said so and so0 would have had a frigid effect4 ,as the lines stand the writer is left behind by his own words1 and the transition is effected while he is preparing for it4 ,footnote #a3 ,il4 xv4 #cdf4 #b ,accordingly the proper use of this figure is in dealing with some urgent crisis which will not allow the writer to linger1 but compels him to make a rapid change from one person to another4 ,so in ,hecataeus3 8,now ,ceyx took this in dudgeon1 and straightway bade the children of ,heracles to depart4 #8,behold1 ,i can give you no help2 lest1 therefore1 ye perish yourselves and bring hurt upon me also1 get ye forth into some other land4'0 #c ,there is a different use of the change of persons in the speech of ,demosthenes against ,aristogeiton1 which places before us the quick turns of violent emotion4 8,is there none to be found among you10 he asks1 8who even feels indignation at the outrageous conduct of a loathsome and shameless wretch who1--vilest of men1 when you were debarred from freedom of speech1 not by barriers or by doors1 which might indeed be opened10#b etc4 ,thus in the midst of a half-expressed thought he makes a quick change of front1 and having almost in his anger torn one word into two persons1 8who1 vilest of men10 etc41 he then breaks off his address to ,aristogeiton1 and seems to leave him1 nevertheless1 by the passion of his utterance1 rousing all the more the attention of the court4 ,footnote #b3 c4 ,aristog4 i4 #bg4 #d ,the same feature may be observed in a speech of ,penelope's-- 8,why com'st thou1 ,medon1 from the wooers proud8 ,com'st thou to bid the handmaids of my lord ,to cease their tasks1 and make for them good cheer8 ,ill fare their wooing1 and their gathering here6 ,would ,god that here this hour they all might take ,their last1 their latest meal6 ,who day by day ,make here your muster1 to devour and waste ,the substance of my son3 have ye not heard ,when children at your fathers' knee the deeds ,and prowess of your king80#c ,footnote #c3 ,od4 iv4 #fha4 ,,xxviii ,none1 ,i suppose1 would dispute the fact that periphrasis tends much to sublimity4 ,for1 as in music the simple air is rendered more pleasing by the addition of harmony1 so in language periphrasis often sounds in concord with a literal expression1 adding much to the beauty of its tone1--provided always that it is not inflated and harsh1 but agreeably blended4 #b ,to confirm this one passage from ,plato will suffice--the opening words of his ,funeral ,oration3 8,in deed these men have now received from us their due1 and that tribute paid they are now passing on their destined journey1 with the ,state speeding them all and his own friends speeding each one of them on his way40#a ,death1 you see1 he calls the 8destined journey02 to receive the rites of burial is to be publicly 8sped on your way0 by the ,state4 ,and these turns of language lend dignity in no common measure to the thought4 ,he takes the words in their naked simplicity and handles them as a musician1 investing them with melody1--harmonising them1 as it were1--by the use of periphrasis4 ,footnote #a3 ,menex4 #bcf1 ,d4 #c ,so ,xenophon3 8,labour you regard as the guide to a pleasant life1 and you have laid up in your souls the fairest and most soldier-like of all gifts3 in praise is your delight1 more than in anything else40#b ,by saying1 instead of 8you are ready to labour10 8you regard labour as the guide to a pleasant life10 and by similarly expanding the rest of that passage1 he gives to his eulogy a much wider and loftier range of sentiment4 ,let us add that inimitable phrase in ,herodotus3 8,those ,scythians who pillaged the temple were smitten from heaven by a female malady40 ,footnote #b3 ,cyrop4 i4 #e4 #ab4 ,,xxix ,but this figure1 more than any other1 is very liable to abuse1 and great restraint is required in employing it4 ,it soon begins to carry an impression of feebleness1 savours of vapid trifling1 and arouses disgust4 ,hence ,plato1 who is very bold and not always happy in his use of figures1 is much ridiculed for saying in his ,laws that 8neither gold nor silver wealth must be allowed to establish itself in our ,state10#a suggesting1 it is said1 that if he had forbidden property in oxen or sheep he would certainly have spoken of it as 8bovine and ovine wealth40 ,footnote #a3 ,de ,legg4 vii4 #hja1 ,b4 #b ,here we must quit this part of our subject1 hoping1 my dear friend ,terentian1 that your learned curiosity will be satisfied with this short excursion on the use of figures in their relation to the ,sublime4 ,all those which ,i have mentioned help to render a style more energetic and impassioned2 and passion contributes as largely to sublimity as the delineation of character to amusement4 ,,xxx ,but since the thoughts conveyed by words and the expression of those thoughts are for the most part interwoven with one another1 we will now add some considerations which have hitherto been overlooked on the subject of expression4 ,to say that the choice of appropriate and striking words has a marvellous power and an enthralling charm for the reader1 that this is the main object of pursuit with all orators and writers1 that it is this1 and this alone1 which causes the works of literature to exhibit the glowing perfections of the finest statues1 their grandeur1 their beauty1 their mellowness1 their dignity1 their energy1 their power1 and all their other graces1 and that it is this which endows the facts with a vocal soul2 to say all this would1 ,i fear1 be1 to the initiated1 an impertinence4 ,indeed1 we may say with strict truth that beautiful words are the very light of thought4 #b ,i do not mean to say that imposing language is appropriate to every occasion4 ,a trifling subject tricked out in grand and stately words would have the same effect as a huge tragic mask placed on the head of a little child4 ,only in poetry and 444 ,,xxxi 444 ,there is a genuine ring in that line of ,anacreon's-- 8,the ,thracian filly ,i no longer heed40 ,the same merit belongs to that original phrase in ,theophrastus2 to me1 at least1 from the closeness of its analogy1 it seems to have a peculiar expressiveness1 though ,caecilius censures it1 without telling us why4 8,philip10 says the historian1 8showed a marvellous alacrity in taking doses of trouble40#a ,we see from this that the most homely language is sometimes far more vivid than the most ornamental1 being recognised at once as the language of common life1 and gaining immediate currency by its familiarity4 ,in speaking1 then1 of ,philip as 8taking doses of trouble10 ,theopompus has laid hold on a phrase which describes with peculiar vividness one who for the sake of advantage endured what was base and sordid with patience and cheerfulness4 ,footnote #a3 ,see ,note4 #b ,the same may be observed of two passages in ,herodotus3 8,cleomenes having lost his wits1 cut his own flesh into pieces with a short sword1 until by gradually mincing his whole body he destroyed himself02#b and 8,pythes continued fighting on his ship until he was entirely hacked to pieces40#c ,such terms come home at once to the vulgar reader1 but their own vulgarity is redeemed by their expressiveness4 ,footnote #b3 vi4 #ge4 ,footnote #c3 vii4 #aha4 ,,xxxii ,concerning the number of metaphors to be employed together ,caecilius seems to give his vote with those critics who make a law that not more than two1 or at the utmost three1 should be combined in the same place4 ,the use1 however1 must be determined by the occasion4 ,those outbursts of passion which drive onwards like a winter torrent draw with them as an indispensable accessory whole masses of metaphor4 ,it is thus in that passage of ,demosthenes 7who here also is our safest guide73#a ,footnote #a3 ,see ,note4 #b 8,those vile fawning wretches1 each one of whom has lopped from his country her fairest members1 who have toasted away their liberty1 first to ,philip1 now to ,alexander1 who measure happiness by their belly and their vilest appetites1 who have overthrown the old landmarks and standards of felicity among ,greeks1--to be freemen1 and to have no one for a master40#b ,here the number of the metaphors is obscured by the orator's indignation against the betrayers of his country4 ,footnote #b3 ,de ,cor4 #bif4 #c ,and to effect this ,aristotle and ,theophrastus recommend the softening of harsh metaphors by the use of some such phrase as 8,so to say10 8,as it were10 8,if ,i may be permitted the expression10 8,if so bold a term is allowable40 ,for thus to forestall criticism#c mitigates1 they assert1 the boldness of the metaphors4 ,footnote #c3 ,reading 4 #d ,and ,i will not deny that these have their use4 ,nevertheless ,i must repeat the remark which ,i made in the case of figures1#d and maintain that there are native antidotes to the number and boldness of metaphors1 in well-timed displays of strong feeling1 and in unaffected sublimity1 because these have an innate power by the dash of their movement of sweeping along and carrying all else before them4 ,or should we not rather say that they absolutely demand as indispensable the use of daring metaphors1 and will not allow the hearer to pause and criticise the number of them1 because he shares the passion of the speaker8 ,footnote #d3 ,ch4 xvii4 #e ,in the treatment1 again1 of familiar topics and in descriptive passages nothing gives such distinctness as a close and continuous series of metaphors4 ,it is by this means that ,xenophon has so finely delineated the anatomy of the human frame4#e ,and there is a still more brilliant and life-like picture in ,plato4#f ,the human head he calls a citadel2 the neck is an isthmus set to divide it from the chest2 to support it beneath are the vertebrae1 turning like hinges2 pleasure he describes as a bait to tempt men to ill2 the tongue is the arbiter of tastes4 ,the heart is at once the knot of the veins and the source of the rapidly circulating blood1 and is stationed in the guard-room of the body4 ,the ramifying blood-vessels he calls alleys4 8,and casting about10 he says1 8for something to sustain the violent palpitation of the heart when it is alarmed by the approach of danger or agitated by passion1 since at such times it is overheated1 they 7the gods7 implanted in us the lungs1 which are so fashioned that being soft and bloodless1 and having cavities within1 they act like a buffer1 and when the heart boils with inward passion by yielding to its throbbing save it from injury40 ,he compares the seat of the desires to the women's quarters1 the seat of the passions to the men's quarters1 in a house4 ,the spleen1 again1 is the napkin of the internal organs1 by whose excretions it is saturated from time to time1 and swells to a great size with inward impurity4 8,after this10 he continues1 8they shrouded the whole with flesh1 throwing it forward1 like a cushion1 as a barrier against injuries from without40 ,the blood he terms the pasture of the flesh4 8,to assist the process of nutrition10 he goes on1 8they divided the body into ducts1 cutting trenches like those in a garden1 so that1 the body being a system of narrow conduits1 the current of the veins might flow as from a perennial fountain-head4 ,and when the end is at hand10 he says1 8the soul is cast loose from her moorings like a ship1 and free to wander whither she will40 ,footnote #e3 ,memorab4 i4 #d1 #e4 ,footnote #f3 ,timaeus1 #fi1 ,d2 #gd1 ,a2 #fe1 ,c2 #gb1 ,g2 #gd1 ,b1 ,d2 #hj1 ,e2 #gg1 ,g2 #gh1 ,e2 #he1 ,e4 #f ,these1 and a hundred similar fancies1 follow one another in quick succession4 ,but those which ,i have pointed out are sufficient to demonstrate how great is the natural power of figurative language1 and how largely metaphors conduce to sublimity1 and to illustrate the important part which they play in all impassioned and descriptive passages4 #g ,that the use of figurative language1 as of all other beauties of style1 has a constant tendency towards excess1 is an obvious truth which ,i need not dwell upon4 ,it is chiefly on this account that even ,plato comes in for a large share of disparagement1 because he is often carried away by a sort of frenzy of language into an intemperate use of violent metaphors and inflated allegory4 8,it is not easy to remark0 7he says in one place7 8that a city ought to be blended like a bowl1 in which the mad wine boils when it is poured out1 but being disciplined by another and a sober god in that fair society produces a good and temperate drink40#g ,really1 it is said1 to speak of water as a 8sober god10 and of the process of mixing as a 8discipline10 is to talk like a poet1 and no very sober one either4 ,footnote #g3 ,legg4 vi4 #ggc1 ,g4 #h ,it was such defects as these that the hostile critic#h ,caecilius made his ground of attack1 when he had the boldness in his essay 8,on the ,beauties of ,lysias0 to pronounce that writer superior in every respect to ,plato4 ,now ,caecilius was doubly unqualified for a judge3 he loved ,lysias better even than himself1 and at the same time his hatred of ,plato and all his works is greater even than his love for ,lysias4 ,moreover1 he is so blind a partisan that his very premises are open to dispute4 ,he vaunts ,lysias as a faultless and immaculate writer1 while ,plato is1 according to him1 full of blemishes4 ,now this is not the case3 far from it4 ,footnote #h3 ,reading 1 by a conjecture of the translator4 ,,xxxiii ,but supposing now that we assume the existence of a really unblemished and irreproachable writer4 ,is it not worth while to raise the whole question whether in poetry and prose we should prefer sublimity accompanied by some faults1 or a style which never rising above moderate excellence never stumbles and never requires correction8 and again1 whether the first place in literature is justly to be assigned to the more numerous1 or the loftier excellences8 ,for these are questions proper to an inquiry on the ,sublime1 and urgently asking for settlement4 #b ,i know1 then1 that the largest intellects are far from being the most exact4 ,a mind always intent on correctness is apt to be dissipated in trifles2 but in great affluence of thought1 as in vast material wealth1 there must needs be an occasional neglect of detail4 ,and is it not inevitably so8 ,is it not by risking nothing1 by never aiming high1 that a writer of low or middling powers keeps generally clear of faults and secure of blame8 whereas the loftier walks of literature are by their very loftiness perilous8 #c ,i am well aware1 again1 that there is a law by which in all human productions the weak points catch the eye first1 by which their faults remain indelibly stamped on the memory1 while their beauties quickly fade away4 #d ,yet1 though ,i have myself noted not a few faulty passages in ,homer and in other authors of the highest rank1 and though ,i am far from being partial to their failings1 nevertheless ,i would call them not so much wilful blunders as oversights which were allowed to pass unregarded through that contempt of little things1 that 8brave disorder10 which is natural to an exalted genius2 and ,i still think that the greater excellences1 though not everywhere equally sustained1 ought always to be voted to the first place in literature1 if for no other reason1 for the mere grandeur of soul they evince4 ,let us take an instance3 ,apollonius in his ,argonautica has given us a poem actually faultless2 and in his pastoral poetry ,theocritus is eminently happy1 except when he occasionally attempts another style4 ,and what then8 ,would you rather be a ,homer or an ,apollonius8 #e ,or take ,eratosthenes and his ,erigone2 because that little work is without a flaw1 is he therefore a greater poet than ,archilochus1 with all his disorderly profusion8 greater than that impetuous1 that god-gifted genius1 which chafed against the restraints of law8 or in lyric poetry would you choose to be a ,bacchylides or a ,pindar8 in tragedy a ,sophocles or 7save the mark67 an ,io of ,chios8 ,yet ,io and ,bacchylides never stumble1 their style is always neat1 always pretty2 while ,pindar and ,sophocles sometimes move onwards with a wide blaze of splendour1 but often drop out of view in sudden and disastrous eclipse4 ,nevertheless no one in his senses would deny that a single play of ,sophocles1 the ,oedipus1 is of higher value than all the dramas of ,io put together4 ,,xxxiv ,if the number and not the loftiness of an author's merits is to be our standard of success1 judged by this test we must admit that ,hyperides is a far superior orator to ,demosthenes4 ,for in ,hyperides there is a richer modulation1 a greater variety of excellence4 ,he is1 we may say1 in everything second-best1 like the champion of the pentathlon1 who1 though in every contest he has to yield the prize to some other combatant1 is superior to the unpractised in all five4 #b ,not only has he rivalled the success of ,demosthenes in everything but his manner of composition1 but1 as though that were not enough1 he has taken in all the excellences and graces of ,lysias as well4 ,he knows when it is proper to speak with simplicity1 and does not1 like ,demosthenes1 continue the same key throughout4 ,his touches of character are racy and sparkling1 and full of a delicate flavour4 ,then how admirable is his wit1 how polished his raillery6 ,how well-bred he is1 how dexterous in the use of irony6 ,his jests are pointed1 but without any of the grossness and vulgarity of the old ,attic comedy4 ,he is skilled in making light of an opponent's argument1 full of a well-aimed satire which amuses while it stings2 and through all this there runs a pervading1 may we not say1 a matchless charm4 ,he is most apt in moving compassion2 his mythical digressions show a fluent ease1 and he is perfect in bending his course and finding a way out of them without violence or effort4 ,thus when he tells the story of ,leto he is really almost a poet2 and his funeral oration shows a declamatory magnificence to which ,i hardly know a parallel4 #c ,demosthenes1 on the other hand1 has no touches of character1 none of the versatility1 fluency1 or declamatory skill of ,hyperides4 ,he is1 in fact1 almost entirely destitute of all those excellences which ,i have just enumerated4 ,when he makes violent efforts to be humorous and witty1 the only laughter he arouses is against himself2 and the nearer he tries to get to the winning grace of ,hyperides1 the farther he recedes from it4 ,had he1 for instance1 attempted such a task as the little speech in defence of ,phryne or ,athenagoras1 he would only have added to the reputation of his rival4 #d ,nevertheless all the beauties of ,hyperides1 however numerous1 cannot make him sublime4 ,he never exhibits strong feeling1 has little energy1 rouses no emotion2 certainly he never kindles terror in the breast of his readers4 ,but ,demosthenes followed a great master1#a and drew his consummate excellences1 his high-pitched eloquence1 his living passion1 his copiousness1 his sagacity1 his speed--that mastery and power which can never be approached--from the highest of sources4 ,these mighty1 these heaven-sent gifts 7,i dare not call them human71 he made his own both one and all4 ,therefore1 ,i say1 by the noble qualities which he does possess he remains supreme above all rivals1 and throws a cloud over his failings1 silencing by his thunders and blinding by his lightnings the orators of all ages4 ,yes1 it would be easier to meet the lightning-stroke with steady eye than to gaze unmoved when his impassioned eloquence is sending out flash after flash4 ,footnote #a3 ,i4e4 ,thucydides4 ,see the passage of ,dionysius quoted in the ,note4 ,,xxxv ,but in the case of ,plato and ,lysias there is1 as ,i said1 a further difference4 ,not only is ,lysias vastly inferior to ,plato in the degree of his merits1 but in their number as well2 and at the same time he is as far ahead of ,plato in the number of his faults as he is behind in that of his merits4 #b ,what truth1 then1 was it that was present to those mighty spirits of the past1 who1 making whatever is greatest in writing their aim1 thought it beneath them to be exact in every detail8 ,among many others especially this1 that it was not in nature's plan for us her chosen children to be creatures base and ignoble1--no1 she brought us into life1 and into the whole universe1 as into some great field of contest1 that we should be at once spectators and ambitious rivals of her mighty deeds1 and from the first implanted in our souls an invincible yearning for all that is great1 all that is diviner than ourselves4 #c ,therefore even the whole world is not wide enough for the soaring range of human thought1 but man's mind often overleaps the very bounds of space4#a ,when we survey the whole circle of life1 and see it abounding everywhere in what is elegant1 grand1 and beautiful1 we learn at once what is the true end of man's being4 ,footnote #a3 ,comp4 ,lucretius on ,epicurus3 8,ergo vivida vis animi pervicit1 et extra ,processit longe flammantia moenia mundi10 etc4 #d ,and this is why nature prompts us to admire1 not the clearness and usefulness of a little stream1 but the ,nile1 the ,danube1 the ,rhine1 and far beyond all the ,ocean2 not to turn our wandering eyes from the heavenly fires1 though often darkened1 to the little flame kindled by human hands1 however pure and steady its light2 not to think that tiny lamp more wondrous than the caverns of ,aetna1 from whose raging depths are hurled up stones and whole masses of rock1 and torrents sometimes come pouring from earth's centre of pure and living fire4 ,to sum the whole3 whatever is useful or needful lies easily within man's reach2 but he keeps his homage for what is astounding4 ,,xxxvi ,how much more do these principles apply to the ,sublime in literature1 where grandeur is never1 as it sometimes is in nature1 dissociated from utility and advantage4 ,therefore all those who have achieved it1 however far from faultless1 are still more than mortal4 ,when a writer uses any other resource he shows himself to be a man2 but the ,sublime lifts him near to the great spirit of the ,deity4 ,he who makes no slips must be satisfied with negative approbation1 but he who is sublime commands positive reverence4 #b ,why need ,i add that each one of those great writers often redeems all his errors by one grand and masterly stroke8 ,but the strongest point of all is that1 if you were to pick out all the blunders of ,homer1 ,demosthenes1 ,plato1 and all the greatest names in literature1 and add them together1 they would be found to bear a very small1 or rather an infinitesimal proportion to the passages in which these supreme masters have attained absolute perfection4 ,therefore it is that all posterity1 whose judgment envy herself cannot impeach1 has brought and bestowed on them the crown of glory1 has guarded their fame until this day against all attack1 and is likely to preserve it 8,as long as lofty trees shall grow1 ,and restless waters seaward flow40 #c ,it has been urged by one writer that we should not prefer the huge disproportioned ,colossus to the ,doryphorus of ,polycletus4 ,but 7to give one out of many possible answers7 in art we admire exactness1 in the works of nature magnificence2 and it is from nature that man derives the faculty of speech4 ,whereas1 then1 in statuary we look for close resemblance to humanity1 in literature we require something which transcends humanity4 #d ,nevertheless 7to reiterate the advice which we gave at the beginning of this essay71 since that success which consists in avoidance of error is usually the gift of art1 while high1 though unequal excellence is the attribute of genius1 it is proper on all occasions to call in art as an ally to nature4 ,by the combined resources of these two we may hope to achieve perfection4 ,such are the conclusions which were forced upon me concerning the points at issue2 but every one may consult his own taste4 ,,xxxvii ,to return1 however1 from this long digression2 closely allied to metaphors are comparisons and similes1 differing only in this 99 99 99#a ,footnote #a3 ,the asterisks denote gaps in the original text4 ,,xxxviii ,such absurdities as1 8,unless you carry your brains next to the ground in your heels40#a ,hence it is necessary to know where to draw the line2 for if ever it is overstepped the effect of the hyperbole is spoilt1 being in such cases relaxed by overstraining1 and producing the very opposite to the effect desired4 ,footnote #a3 ,pseud4 ,dem4 de ,halon4 #de4 #b ,isocrates1 for instance1 from an ambitious desire of lending everything a strong rhetorical colouring1 shows himself in quite a childish light4 ,having in his ,panegyrical ,oration set himself to prove that the ,athenian state has surpassed that of ,sparta in her services to ,hellas1 he starts off at the very outset with these words3 8,such is the power of language that it can extenuate what is great1 and lend greatness to what is little1 give freshness to what is antiquated1 and describe what is recent so that it seems to be of the past40#b ,come1 ,isocrates 7it might be asked71 is it thus that you are going to tamper with the facts about ,sparta and ,athens8 ,this flourish about the power of language is like a signal hung out to warn his audience not to believe him4 ,footnote #b3 ,paneg4 #h4 #c ,we may repeat here what we said about figures1 and say that the hyperbole is then most effective when it appears in disguise4#c ,and this effect is produced when a writer1 impelled by strong feeling1 speaks in the accents of some tremendous crisis2 as ,thucydides does in describing the massacre in ,sicily4 8,the ,syracusans10 he says1 8went down after them1 and slew those especially who were in the river1 and the water was at once defiled1 yet still they went on drinking it1 though mingled with mud and gore1 most of them even fighting for it40#d ,the drinking of mud and gore1 and even the fighting for it1 is made credible by the awful horror of the scene described4 ,footnote #c3 xvii4 #a4 ,footnote #d3 ,thuc4 vii4 #hd4 #d ,similarly ,herodotus on those who fell at ,thermopylae3 8,here as they fought1 those who still had them1 with daggers1 the rest with hands and teeth1 the barbarians buried them under their javelins40#e ,that they fought with the teeth against heavy-armed assailants1 and that they were buried with javelins1 are perhaps hard sayings1 but not incredible1 for the reasons already explained4 ,we can see that these circumstances have not been dragged in to produce a hyperbole1 but that the hyperbole has grown naturally out of the circumstances4 ,footnote #e3 vii4 #bbe4 #e ,for1 as ,i am never tired of explaining1 in actions and passions verging on frenzy there lies a kind of remission and palliation of any licence of language4 ,hence some comic extravagances1 however improbable1 gain credence by their humour1 such as-- 8,he had a farm1 a little farm1 where space severely pinches2 ',twas smaller than the last despatch from ,sparta by some inches40 #f ,for mirth is one of the passions1 having its seat in pleasure4 ,and hyperboles may be employed either to increase or to lessen--since exaggeration is common to both uses4 ,thus in extenuating an opponent's argument we try to make it seem smaller than it is4 ,,xxxix ,we have still left1 my dear sir1 the fifth of those sources which we set down at the outset as contributing to sublimity1 that which consists in the mere arrangement of words in a certain order4 ,having already published two books dealing fully with this subject--so far at least as our investigations had carried us--it will be sufficient for the purpose of our present inquiry to add that harmony is an instrument which has a natural power1 not only to win and to delight1 but also in a remarkable degree to exalt the soul and sway the heart of man4 #b ,when we see that a flute kindles certain emotions in its hearers1 rendering them almost beside themselves and full of an orgiastic frenzy1 and that by starting some kind of rhythmical beat it compels him who listens to move in time and assimilate his gestures to the tune1 even though he has no taste whatever for music2 when we know that the sounds of a harp1 which in themselves have no meaning1 by the change of key1 by the mutual relation of the notes1 and their arrangement in symphony1 often lay a wonderful spell on an audience-- #c though these are mere shadows and spurious imitations of persuasion1 not1 as ,i have said1 genuine manifestations of human nature3--can we doubt that composition 7being a kind of harmony of that language which nature has taught us1 and which reaches1 not our ears only1 but our very souls71 when it raises changing forms of words1 of thoughts1 of actions1 of beauty1 of melody1 all of which are engrained in and akin to ourselves1 and when by the blending of its manifold tones it brings home to the minds of those who stand by the feelings present to the speaker1 and ever disposes the hearer to sympathise with those feelings1 adding word to word1 until it has raised a majestic and harmonious structure3--can we wonder if all this enchants us1 wherever we meet with it1 and filling us with the sense of pomp and dignity and sublimity1 and whatever else it embraces1 gains a complete mastery over our minds8 ,it would be mere infatuation to join issue on truths so universally acknowledged1 and established by experience beyond dispute4#a ,footnote #a3 ,reading 1 and putting a full stop at 4 #d ,now to give an instance3 that is doubtless a sublime thought1 indeed wonderfully fine1 which ,demosthenes applies to his decree3 1 8,this decree caused the danger which then hung round our city to pass away like a cloud40 ,but the modulation is as perfect as the sentiment itself is weighty4 ,it is uttered wholly in the dactylic measure1 the noblest and most magnificent of all measures1 and hence forming the chief constituent in the finest metre we know1 the heroic4 ,and it is with great judgment that the words are reserved till the end4#b ,supposing we transpose them from their proper place and read1 say --nay1 let us merely cut off one syllable1 reading --and you will understand how close is the unison between harmony and sublimity4 ,in the passage before us the words move first in a heavy measure1 which is metrically equivalent to four short syllables3 but on removing one syllable1 and reading 1 the grandeur of movement is at once crippled by the abridgment4 ,so conversely if you lengthen into 1 the meaning is still the same1 but it does not strike the ear in the same manner1 because by lingering over the final syllables you at once dissipate and relax the abrupt grandeur of the passage4 ,footnote #b3 ,there is a break here in the text2 but the context indicates the sense of the words lost1 which has accordingly been supplied4 ,,xl ,there is another method very efficient in exalting a style4 ,as the different members of the body1 none of which1 if severed from its connection1 has any intrinsic excellence1 unite by their mutual combination to form a complete and perfect organism1 so also the elements of a fine passage1 by whose separation from one another its high quality is simultaneously dissipated and evaporates1 when joined in one organic whole1 and still further compacted by the bond of harmony1 by the mere rounding of the period gain power of tone4 #b ,in fact1 a clause may be said to derive its sublimity from the joint contributions of a number of particulars4 ,and further 7as we have shown at large elsewhere71 many writers in prose and verse1 though their natural powers were not high1 were perhaps even low1 and though the terms they employed were usually common and popular and conveying no impression of refinement1 by the mere harmony of their composition have attained dignity and elevation1 and avoided the appearance of meanness4 ,such among many others are ,philistus1 ,aristophanes occasionally1 ,euripides almost always4 #c ,thus when ,heracles says1 after the murder of his children1 8,i'm full of woes1 ,i have no room for more10#a the words are quite common1 but they are made sublime by being cast in a fine mould4 ,by changing their position you will see that the poetical quality of ,euripides depends more on his arrangement than on his thoughts4 ,footnote #a3 ,h4 ,f4 #abde4 #d ,compare his lines on ,dirce dragged by the bull-- 8,whatever crossed his path1 ,caught in his victim's form1 he seized1 and dragging ,oak1 woman1 rock1 now here1 now there1 he flies40#b ,the circumstance is noble in itself1 but it gains in vigour because the language is disposed so as not to hurry the movement1 not running1 as it were1 on wheels1 because there is a distinct stress on each word1 and the time is delayed1 advancing slowly to a pitch of stately sublimity4 ,footnote #b3 ,antiope 7,nauck1 #bbb74 ,,xli ,nothing so much degrades the tone of a style as an effeminate and hurried movement in the language1 such as is produced by pyrrhics and trochees and dichorees falling in time together into a regular dance measure4 ,such abuse of rhythm is sure to savour of coxcombry and petty affectation1 and grows tiresome in the highest degree by a monotonous sameness of tone4 #b ,but its worst effect is that1 as those who listen to a ballad have their attention distracted from its subject and can think of nothing but the tune1 so an over-rhythmical passage does not affect the hearer by the meaning of its words1 but merely by their cadence1 so that sometimes1 knowing where the pause must come1 they beat time with the speaker1 striking the expected close like dancers before the stop is reached4 ,equally undignified is the splitting up of a sentence into a number of little words and short syllables crowded too closely together and forced into cohesion1--hammered1 as it were1 successively together1--after the manner of mortice and tenon4#a ,footnote #a3 ,i must refer to ,weiske's ,note1 which ,i have followed1 for the probable interpretation of this extraordinary passage4 ,,xlii ,sublimity is further diminished by cramping the diction4 ,deformity instead of grandeur ensues from over-compression4 ,here ,i am not referring to a judicious compactness of phrase1 but to a style which is dwarfed1 and its force frittered away4 ,to cut your words too short is to prune away their sense1 but to be concise is to be direct4 ,on the other hand1 we know that a style becomes lifeless by over-extension1 ,i mean by being relaxed to an unseasonable length4 ,,xliii ,the use of mean words has also a strong tendency to degrade a lofty passage4 ,thus in that description of the storm in ,herodotus the matter is admirable1 but some of the words admitted are beneath the dignity of the subject2 such1 perhaps1 as 8the seas having seethed0 because the ill-sounding phrase 8having seethed0 detracts much from its impressiveness3 or when he says 8the wind wore away10 and 8those who clung round the wreck met with an unwelcome end40#a 8,wore away0 is ignoble and vulgar1 and 8unwelcome0 inadequate to the extent of the disaster4 ,footnote #a3 ,hdt4 vii4 #ahh1 #aia1 #ac4 #b ,similarly ,theopompus1 after giving a fine picture of the ,persian king's descent against ,egypt1 has exposed the whole to censure by certain paltry expressions4 8,there was no city1 no people of ,asia1 which did not send an embassy to the king2 no product of the earth1 no work of art1 whether beautiful or precious1 which was not among the gifts brought to him4 ,many and costly were the hangings and robes1 some purple1 some embroidered1 some white2 many the tents1 of cloth of gold1 furnished with all things useful2 many the tapestries and couches of great price4 ,moreover1 there was gold and silver plate richly wrought1 goblets and bowls1 some of which might be seen studded with gems1 and others besides worked in relief with great skill and at vast expense4 ,besides these there were suits of armour in number past computation1 partly ,greek1 partly foreign1 endless trains of baggage animals and fat cattle for slaughter1 many bushels of spices1 many panniers and sacks and sheets of writing-paper2 and all other necessaries in the same proportion4 ,and there was salt meat of all kinds of beasts in immense quantity1 heaped together to such a height as to show at a distance like mounds and hills thrown up one against another40 #c ,he runs off from the grander parts of his subject to the meaner1 and sinks where he ought to rise4 ,still worse1 by his mixing up panniers and spices and bags with his wonderful recital of that vast and busy scene one would imagine that he was describing a kitchen4 ,let us suppose that in that show of magnificence some one had taken a set of wretched baskets and bags and placed them in the midst1 among vessels of gold1 jewelled bowls1 silver plate1 and tents and goblets of gold2 how incongruous would have seemed the effect6 ,now just in the same way these petty words1 introduced out of season1 stand out like deformities and blots on the diction4 #d ,these details might have been given in one or two broad strokes1 as when he speaks of mounds being heaped together4 ,so in dealing with the other preparations he might have told us of 8waggons and camels and a long train of baggage animals loaded with all kinds of supplies for the luxury and enjoyment of the table10 or have mentioned 8piles of grain of every species1 and of all the choicest delicacies required by the art of the cook or the taste of the epicure10 or 7if he must needs be so very precise7 he might have spoken of 8whatever dainties are supplied by those who lay or those who dress the banquet40 #e ,in our sublimer efforts we should never stoop to what is sordid and despicable1 unless very hard pressed by some urgent necessity4 ,if we would write becomingly1 our utterance should be worthy of our theme4 ,we should take a lesson from nature1 who when she planned the human frame did not set our grosser parts1 or the ducts for purging the body1 in our face1 but as far as she could concealed them1 8diverting10 as ,xenophon says1 8those canals as far as possible from our senses10#b and thus shunning in any part to mar the beauty of the whole creature4 ,footnote #b3 ,mem4 i4 #d4 #f4 #f ,however1 it is not incumbent on us to specify and enumerate whatever diminishes a style4 ,we have now pointed out the various means of giving it nobility and loftiness4 ,it is clear1 then1 that whatever is contrary to these will generally degrade and deform it4 ,,xliv ,there is still another point which remains to be cleared up1 my dear ,terentian1 and on which ,i shall not hesitate to add some remarks1 to gratify your inquiring spirit4 ,it relates to a question which was recently put to me by a certain philosopher4 8,to me10 he said1 8in common1 ,i may say1 with many others1 it is a matter of wonder that in the present age1 which produces many highly skilled in the arts ,of popular persuasion1 many of keen and active powers1 many especially rich in every pleasing gift of language1 the growth of highly exalted and wide-reaching genius has with a few rare exceptions almost entirely ceased4 ,so universal is the dearth of eloquence which prevails throughout the world4 #b 8,must we really10 he asked1 8give credit to that oft-repeated assertion that democracy is the kind nurse of genius1 and that high literary excellence has flourished with her prime and faded with her decay8 ,liberty1 it is said1 is all-powerful to feed the aspirations of high intellects1 to hold out hope1 and keep alive the flame of mutual rivalry and ambitious struggle for the highest place4 #c 8,moreover1 the prizes which are offered in every free state keep the spirits of her foremost orators whetted by perpetual exercise2#a they are1 as it were1 ignited by friction1 and naturally blaze forth freely because they are surrounded by freedom4 ,but we of to-day10 he continued1 8seem to have learnt in our childhood the lessons of a benignant despotism1 to have been cradled in her habits and customs from the time when our minds were still tender1 and never to have tasted the fairest and most fruitful fountain of eloquence1 ,i mean liberty4 ,hence we develop nothing but a fine genius for flattery4 ,footnote #a3 ,comp4 ,pericles in ,thuc4 ii41 4 #d 8,this is the reason why1 though all other faculties are consistent with the servile condition1 no slave ever became an orator2 because in him there is a dumb spirit which will not be kept down3 his soul is chained3 he is like one who has learnt to be ever expecting a blow4 ,for1 as ,homer says-- #e 8',the day of slavery ,takes half our manly worth away4'#b 8,as1 then 7if what ,i have heard is credible71 the cages in which those pigmies commonly called dwarfs are reared not only stop the growth of the imprisoned creature1 but absolutely make him smaller by compressing every part of his body1 so all despotism1 however equitable1 may be defined as a cage of the soul and a general prison40 ,footnote #b3 ,od4 xvii4 #cbb4 #f ,my answer was as follows3 8,my dear friend1 it is so easy1 and so characteristic of human nature1 always to find fault with the present4#c ,consider1 now1 whether the corruption of genius is to be attributed1 not to a world-wide peace1#d but rather to the war within us which knows no limit1 which engages all our desires1 yes1 and still further to the bad passions which lay siege to us to-day1 and make utter havoc and spoil of our lives4 ,are we not enslaved1 nay1 are not our careers completely shipwrecked1 by love of gain1 that fever which rages unappeased in us all1 and love of pleasure8--one the most debasing1 the other the most ignoble of the mind's diseases4 ,footnote #c3 ,comp4 ,byron1 8,the good old times1--all times when old are good40 ,footnote #d3 ,a euphemism for 8a world-wide tyranny40 #g 8,when ,i consider it ,i can find no means by which we1 who hold in such high honour1 or1 to speak more correctly1 who idolise boundless riches1 can close the door of our souls against those evil spirits which grow up with them4 ,for ,wealth unmeasured and unbridled is dogged by ,extravagance3 she sticks close to him1 and treads in his footsteps3 and as soon as he opens the gates of cities or of houses she enters with him and makes her abode with him4 ,and after a time they build their nests 7to use a wise man's words#e7 in that corner of life1 and speedily set about breeding1 and beget ,boastfulness1 and ,vanity1 and ,wantonness1 no base-born children1 but their very own4 ,and if these also1 the offspring of ,wealth1 be allowed to come to their prime1 quickly they engender in the soul those pitiless tyrants1 ,violence1 and ,lawlessness1 and ,shamelessness4 ,footnote #e3 ,plato1 ,rep4 ix4 #egc1 ,e4 #h 8,whenever a man takes to worshipping what is mortal and irrational#f in him1 and neglects to cherish what is immortal1 these are the inevitable results4 ,he never looks up again2 he has lost all care for good report2 by slow degrees the ruin of his life goes on1 until it is consummated all round2 all that is great in his soul fades1 withers away1 and is despised4 ,footnote #f3 ,reading 4 #i 8,if a judge who passes sentence for a bribe can never more give a free and sound decision on a point of justice or honour 7for to him who takes a bribe honour and justice must be measured by his own interests71 how can we of to-day expect1 when the whole life of each one of us is controlled by bribery1 while we lie in wait for other men's death and plan how to get a place in their wills1 when we buy gain1 from whatever source1 each one of us1 with our very souls in our slavish greed1 how1 ,i say1 can we expect1 in the midst of such a moral pestilence1 that there is still left even one liberal and impartial critic1 whose verdict will not be biassed by avarice in judging of those great works which live on through all time8 #aj 8,alas6 ,i fear that for such men as we are it is better to serve than to be free4 ,if our appetites were let loose altogether against our neighbours1 they would be like wild beasts uncaged1 and bring a deluge of calamity on the whole civilised world48 #aa ,i ended by remarking generally that the genius of the present age is wasted by that indifference which with a few exceptions runs through the whole of life4 ,if we ever shake off our apathy#g and apply ourselves to work1 it is always with a view to pleasure or applause1 not for that solid advantage which is worthy to be striven for and held in honour4 ,footnote #g3 ,comp4 ,thuc4 vi4 #bf4 #b1 for this sense of 4 #ab ,we had better then leave this generation to its fate1 and turn to what follows1 which is the subject of the passions1 to which we promised early in this treatise to devote a separate work4#h ,they play an important part in literature generally1 and especially in relation to the ,sublime4 ,footnote #h3 iii4 #e4 ,,notes ,,on ,,longinus ,transcriber's ,note3 ,citation format is as in the printed text4 ,the last number in each group appears to refer to clauses in the original ,greek2 there is no correspondence with line numbers in the printed book4 ,i4 #b4 #aj4 ,there seems to be an antithesis implied in 1 referring to the well-known distinction between the and the 4 #d4 #bg4 ,i have ventured to return to the original reading1 1 though all editors seem to have adopted the correction 1 on account1 ,i suppose1 of 4 ,to illumine a large subject1 as a landscape is lighted up at night by a flash of lightning1 is surely a far more vivid and intelligible expression than to sweep away a subject4#a ,footnote #a3 ,comp4 for the metaphor ,goethe1 ,dichtung und ,wahrheit1 ,b #h4 8,wie vor einem ,blitz erleuchteten sich uns alle ,folgen dieses herrlichen ,gedankens40 ,,iii4 #b4 #ag4 1 lit4 8without a cheek-strap10 which was worn by trumpeters to assist them in regulating their breath4 ,the line is contracted from two of ,sophocles's1 and ,longinus's point is that the extravagance of ,cleitarchus is not that of a strong but ill-regulated nature1 but the ludicrous straining after grandeur of a writer at once feeble and pretentious4 ,ruhnken gives an extract from some inedited 8versus politici0 of ,tzetzes1 in which are some amusing specimens of those felicities of language ,longinus is here laughing at4 ,stones are the 8bones10 rivers the 8veins10 of the earth2 the moon is 8the sigma of the sky0 7 the old form of 72 sailors1 8the ants of ocean02 the strap of a pedlar's pack1 8the girdle of his load02 pitch1 8the ointment of doors10 and so on4 ,,iv4 #d4 #d4 ,the play upon the double meaning of 1 7#a7 maiden1 7#b7 pupil of the eye1 can hardly be kept in ,english4 ,it is worthy of remark that our text of ,xenophon has 1 a perfectly natural expression4 ,such a variation would seem to point to a very early corruption of ancient manuscripts1 or to extraordinary inaccuracy on the part of ,longinus1 who1 indeed1 elsewhere displays great looseness of citation1 confusing together totally different passages4 #i4 4 ,i can make nothing of this word4 ,various corrections have been suggested1 but with little certainty4 #e4 #aj4 1 literally1 8as though he were laying hands on a piece of stolen property40 ,the point seems to be1 that plagiarists1 like other robbers1 show no discrimination in their pilferings1 seizing what comes first to hand4 ,,viii4 #a4 #bj4 4 ,i have avoided the rather harsh confusion of metaphor which this word involves1 taken in connection with 4 ,,ix4 #b4 #ac4 1 properly an 8echo10 a metaphor rather ,greek than ,english4 ,x4 #b4 #ac4 1 lit4 8more wan than grass0--of the sickly yellow hue which would appear on a dark ,southern face under the influence of violent emotion4#b ,footnote #b3 ,the notion of yellowness1 as associated with grass1 is made intelligible by a passage in ,longus1 i4 #ag4 #ai4 #c4 #f4 ,the words 444 are omitted in the translation1 being corrupt1 and giving no satisfactory sense4 ,ruhnken corrects1 1 1 1 4 4 4 #ah4 ,probably of sea-sickness2 and so ,i find ,ruhnken took it1 quoting ,plutarch1 ,t4 ii4 #hca3 1 4 ,an objection on the score of taste would be out of place in criticising the laureate of the ,arimaspi4 ,x4 #g4 #b4 appears to be a condensed phrase for 4 8,having chosen the most striking circumstances par excellence1 and having relieved them of all superfluity10 would perhaps give the literal meaning4 ,longinus seems conscious of some strangeness in his language1 making a quasi-apology in 4 #c4 ,partly with the help of ,toup1 we may emend this corrupt passage as follows3 1 1 4 here 8omnino40 ,to explain the process of corruption1 would easily drop out after the final - in 2 is simply a corruption of 1 which is itself a gloss on 1 having afterwards crept into the text2 became corrupted into through the error of some copyist1 who wished to make it agree with 4 ,the whole maybe translated3 8,such interpolations1 like so many patches or rents1 mar altogether the effect of those details which1 by being built up in an uninterrupted series 4 41 produce sublimity in a work40 ,,xii4 #d4 #b4 2 the sense seems clearly to require 4 ,,xiv4 #c4 #af4 444 ,most of the editors insert before 1 thus ruining the sense of this fine passage4 ,longinus has just said that a writer should always work with an eye to posterity4 ,if 7he adds7 he thinks of nothing but the taste and judgment of his contemporaries1 he will have no chance of 8leaving something so written that the world will not willingly let it die40 ,a book1 then1 which is 1 is a book which is in advance of its own times4 ,such were the poems of ,lucretius1 of ,milton1 of ,wordsworth4#c ,footnote #c3 ,compare the 8,geflgelte ,worte0 in the ,vorspiel to ,goethe's ,faust3 ,was glnzt1 ist fr den ,augenblick geboren1 ,das ,aechte bleibt der ,nachwelt unverloren4 ,,xv4 #e4 #bc4 1 lit4 8like raw1 undressed wool40 ,,xvii4 #a4 #be4 ,i construct the infinit4 with 1 though the ordinary interpretation joins 3 8proprium est verborum lenociniis suspicionem movere0 7,weiske74 #b4 #h4 4 ,this word has given much trouble2 but is it not simply a continuation of the metaphor implied in 8 1 in the sense of calling in an ally1 is a common enough use4 ,this would be clearer if we could read 4 ,i have omitted in translating1 as it seems to me to have evidently crept in from above 7p4 #cc1 l4 #be74 1 8the art of playing the villain10 is surely1 in ,longinus's own words1 1 8a startling novelty0 of language4 #ab4 4 ,the words may remind us of ,shelley's 8,like a poet hidden in the light of thought40 ,,xviii4 #a4 #bd4 ,the distinction between or and or is said to be that is a simple question1 which can be answered yes or no2 a fuller inquiry1 requiring a fuller answer4 ,aquila ,romanus in libro de figuris sententiarum et elocutionis1 #ab 7,weiske74 ,,xxxi4 #a4 #aa4 1 properly of the fixed diet of athletes1 which seems to have been excessive in quantity1 and sometimes nauseous in quality4 ,i do not know what will be thought of my rendering here2 it is certainly not elegant1 but it was necessary to provide some sort of equivalent to the ,greek4 8,swallow10 which the other translators give1 is quite inadequate4 ,we require a threefold combination--7#a7 ,to swallow 7#b7 something nasty 7#c7 for the sake of prospective advantage4 ,,xxxii4 #a4 #c4 ,the text is in great confusion here4 ,following a hint in ,vahlin's critical note1 ,i have transposed the words thus3 1 41 1 1 1 444 #h4 #af4 ,some words have probably been lost here4 ,the sense of 1 and the absence of antithesis to 1 point in this direction4 ,the original reading may have been something of this sort3 1 the sense being that1 though we may allow something to the partiality of ,caecilius1 yet this does not excuse him from arguing on premises which are unsound4 ,,xxxiv4 #d4 #aj4 1 444 ,probably the darkest place in the whole treatise4 ,toup cites a remarkable passage from ,dionysius of ,halicarnassus1 from which we may perhaps conclude that ,longinus is referring here to ,thucydides1 the traditional master of ,demosthenes4 ,de ,thucyd4 #ec1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 ,so close a parallel can hardly be accidental4 ,,xxxv4 #d4 #e4 ,longinus probably had his eye on the splendid lines in ,pindar's ,first ,pythian3 1 -- - 1 which ,i find has also been pointed out by ,toup1 who remarks that confirms the reading here1 which has been suspected without reason4 ,,xxxviii4 #b4 #g4 ,comp4 ,plato1 ,phaedrus1 #bfg1 ,a3 1 1 1 1 4 ,,appendix ,,some ,,account ,,of ,,the ,,less ,,known ,,writers ,,mentioned ,,in ,,the ,,treatise ,,on ,,the ,,sublime ,,ammonius4--,alexandrian grammarian1 carried on the school of ,aristarchus previously to the reign of ,augustus4 ,the allusion here is to a work on the passages in which ,plato has imitated ,homer4 7,suidas1 s4v42 ,schol4 on ,hom4 ,il4 ix4 #edj1 quoted by ,jahn47 ,,amphikrates4--,author of a book ,on ,famous ,men1 referred to by ,athenaeus1 xiii4 #egf1 ,g1 and ,diog4 ,laert4 ii4 #aja4 ,c4 ,muller1 ,hist4 ,gr4 ,fragm4 iv4 p4 #cjj1 considers him to be the ,athenian rhetorician who1 according to ,plutarch 7,lucullus1 c4 #bb71 retired to ,seleucia1 and closed his life at the ,court of ,kleopatra1 daughter of ,mithridates and wife of ,tigranes 7,pauly1 ,real-,encyclopdie der classischen ,alterthumswissenschaft74 ,plutarch tells a story illustrative of his arrogance4 ,being asked by the ,seleucians to open a school of rhetoric1 he replied1 8,a dish is not large enough for a dolphin0 7 71 v4 ,luculli1 c4 #bb1 quoted by ,pearce4 ,,aristeas4--,a name involved in a mist of fable4 ,according to ,suidas he was a contemporary of ,kroesus1 though ,herodotus assigns to him a much remoter antiquity4 ,the latter authority describes him as visiting the northern peoples of ,europe and recording his travels in an epic poem1 a fragment of which is given here by ,longinus4 ,the passage before us appears to be intended as the words of some ,arimaspian1 who1 as belonging to a remote inland race1 expresses his astonishment that any men could be found bold enough to commit themselves to the mercy of the sea1 and tries to describe the terror of human beings placed in such a situation 7,pearce ad4 l42 ,abicht on ,hdt4 iv4 #ab2 ,suidas1 s4v47 ,,bakchylides1 nephew and pupil of the great ,simonides1 flourished about #dfj ,b4,c4 ,he followed his uncle to the ,court of ,hiero at ,syracuse1 and enjoyed the patronage of that despot4 ,after ,hiero's death he returned to his home in ,keos2 but finding himself discontented with the mode of life pursued in a free ,greek community1 for which his experiences at ,hiero's ,court may well have disqualified him1 he retired to ,peloponnesus1 where he died4 ,his works comprise specimens of almost every kind of lyric composition1 as practised by the ,greeks of his time4 ,horace is said to have imitated him in his ,prophecy of ,nereus1 c4 ,i4 xv4 7,pauly1 as above74 ,so far as we can judge from what remains of his works1 he was distinguished rather by elegance than by force4 ,a considerable fragment on the ,blessings of ,peace has been translated by ,mr4 ,j4 ,a4 ,symonds in his work on the ,greek poets4 ,he is made the subject of a very bitter allusion by ,pindar 7,ol4 ii4 s4 fin4 c4 ,schol47 ,we may suppose that the stern and lofty spirit of ,pindar had little sympathy with the 8tearful0 7,catullus1 xxxviii47 strains of ,simonides or his imitators4 ,,caecilius1 a native of ,kale ,akte in ,sicily1 and hence known as ,caecilius ,kalaktinus1 lived in ,rome at the time of ,augustus4 ,he is mentioned with distinction as a learned ,greek rhetorician and grammarian1 and was the author of numerous works1 frequently referred to by ,plutarch and other later writers4 ,he may be regarded as one of the most distinguished ,greek rhetoricians of his time4 ,his works1 all of which have perished1 comprised1 among many others1 commentaries on ,antipho and ,lysias2 several treatises on ,demosthenes1 among which is a dissertation on the genuine and spurious speeches1 and another comparing that orator with ,cicero2 8,on the ,distinction between ,athenian and ,asiatic ,eloquence02 and the work on the ,sublime1 referred to by ,longinus 7,pauly74 ,the criticism of ,longinus on the above work may be thus summed up3 ,caecilius is censured 7#a7 as failing to rise to the dignity of his subject2 7#b7 as missing the cardinal points2 and 7#c7 as failing in practical utility4 ,he wastes his energy in tedious attempts to define the ,sublime1 but does not tell us how it is to be attained 7,i4 i47 ,he is further blamed for omitting to deal with the ,pathetic 7,,viii4 i4 sqq47 ,he allows only two metaphors to be employed together in the same passage 7,,xxxii4 ii47 ,he extols ,lysias as a far greater writer than ,plato 7ib4 viii471 and is a bitter assailant of ,plato's style 7ib47 ,on the whole1 he seems to have been a cold and uninspired critic1 finding his chief pleasure in minute verbal details1 and incapable of rising to an elevated and extensive view of his subject4 ,,eratosthenes1 a native of ,cyrene1 born in #bge ,b4,c42 appointed by ,ptolemy ,,iii4 ,euergetes as the successor of ,kallimachus in the post of librarian in the great library of ,alexandria4 ,he was the teacher of ,aristophanes of ,byzantium1 and his fame as a man of learning is testified by the various fanciful titles which were conferred on him1 such as 8,the ,pentathlete10 8,the second ,plato10 etc4 ,his great work was a treatise on geography 7,lbker74 ,,gorgias of ,leontini1 according to some authorities a pupil of ,empedokles1 came1 when already advanced in years1 as ambassador from his native city to ask help against ,syracuse 7#dbg ,b4,c47 ,here he attracted notice by a novel style of eloquence4 ,some time after he settled permanently in ,greece1 wandering from city to city1 and acquiring wealth and fame by practising and teaching rhetoric4 ,we find him last in ,larissa1 where he died at the age of a hundred in #cge ,b4,c4 ,as a teacher of eloquence ,gorgias belongs to what is known as the ,sicilian school1 in which he followed the steps of his predecessors1 ,korax and ,tisias4 ,at the time when this school arose the ,greek ear was still accustomed to the rhythm and beat of poetry1 and the whole rhetorical system of the ,gorgian school 7compare the phrases 1 7 is built on a poetical plan 7,lbker1 ,reallexikon des classischen ,alterthums74 ,hermogenes1 as quoted by ,jahn1 appears to classify him among the 8hollow pedants0 7 71 8who10 he says1 8talk of vultures as #8living tombs1' to which they themselves would best be committed1 and indulge in many other such frigid conceits40 7,with the metaphor censured by ,longinus compare ,achilles ,tatius1 ,,iii4 v4 #ej1 ed4 ,didot47 ,see also ,plato1 ,phaedrus1 #bfg1 ,a4 ,,hegesias of ,magnesia1 rhetorician and historian1 contemporary of ,timaeus 7#cjj ,b4,c47 ,he belongs to the period of the decline of ,greek learning1 and ,cicero treats him as the representative of the decline of taste4 ,his style was harsh and broken in character1 and a parody on the ,old ,attic4 ,he wrote a life of ,alexander the ,great1 of which ,plutarch 7,alexander1 c4 #c7 gives the following specimen3 8,on the day of ,alexander's birth the temple of ,artemis in ,ephesus was burnt down1 a coincidence which occasions ,hegesias to utter a conceit frigid enough to extinguish the conflagration4 #8,it was natural1' he says1 #8that the temple should be burnt down1 as ,artemis was engaged with bringing ,alexander into the world'0 7,pauly1 with the references74 ,,hekataeus of ,miletus1 the logographer2 born in #edi ,b4,c41 died soon after the battle of ,plataea4 ,he was the author of two works--7#a7 2 and 7#b7 4 ,the ,periodos deals in two books1 first with ,europe1 then with ,asia and ,libya4 ,the quotation in the text is from his genealogies 7,lbker74 ,,ion of ,chios1 poet1 historian1 and philosopher1 highly distinguished among his contemporaries1 and mentioned by ,strabo among the celebrated men of the island4 ,he won the tragic prize at ,athens in #deb ,b4,c41 and ,aristophanes 7,peace1 #dba ,b4,c47 speaks of him as already dead4 ,he was not less celebrated as an elegiac poet1 and we still possess some specimens of his elegies1 which are characterised by an ,anacreontic spirit1 a cheerful1 joyous tone1 and even by a certain degree of inspiration4 ,he wrote also ,skolia1 ,hymns1 and ,epigrams1 and was a pretty voluminous writer in prose 7,pauly74 ,compare the ,scholiast on ,ar4 ,peace1 #hja4 ,,kallisthenes of ,olynthus1 a near relative of ,aristotle2 born in #cfj1 and educated by the philosopher as fellow-pupil with ,alexander1 afterwards the ,great4 ,he subsequently visited ,athens1 where he enjoyed the friendship of ,theophrastus1 and devoted himself to history and natural philosophy4 ,he afterwards accompanied ,alexander on his ,asiatic expedition1 but soon became obnoxious to the tyrant on account of his independent and manly bearing1 which he carried even to the extreme of rudeness and arrogance4 ,he at last excited the enmity of ,alexander to such a degree that the latter took the opportunity afforded by the conspiracy of ,hermolaus1 in which ,kallisthenes was accused of participating1 to rid himself of his former school companion1 whom he caused to be put to death4 ,he was the author of various historical and scientific works4 ,of the latter two are mentioned--7#a7 ,on the ,nature of the ,eye2 7#b7 ,on the ,nature of ,plants4 ,among his historical works are mentioned 7#a7 the ,phocian ,war 7read 8,phocicum0 for v4 l4 8,troikum0 in ,cic4 ,epp4 ad ,div4 v4 #ab72 7#b7 a ,history of ,greece in ten books2 7#c7 1 apparently identical with the description of ,alexander's march1 of which we still possess fragments4 ,as an historian he seems to have displayed an undue love of recording signs and wonders4 ,polybius1 however 7vi4 #de71 classes him among the best historical writers4 ,his style is said by ,cicero 7de ,or4 ii4 #ad7 to approximate to the rhetorical 7,pauly74 ,,kleitarchus1 a contemporary of ,alexander1 accompanied that monarch on his ,asiatic expedition1 and wrote a history of the same in twelve books1 which must have included at least a short retrospect on the early history of ,asia4 ,his talents are spoken of in high terms1 but his credit as an historian is held very light--8probatur ingenium1 fides infamatur10 ,quint4 x4 #a1 #gd4 ,cicero also 7de ,leg4 i4 #b7 ranks him very low4 ,that his credit as an historian was sacrificed to a childish credulity and a foolish love of fable and adventure is sufficiently testified by the pretty numerous fragments which still remain 7,pauly74 ,demetrius ,phalereus1 quoted by ,pearce1 quotes a grandiloquent description of the wasp taken from ,kleitarchus1 8feeding on the mountainside1 her home the hollow oak40 ,,matris1 a native of ,thebes1 author of a panegyric on ,herakles1 whether in verse or prose is uncertain4 ,in one passage ,athenaeus speaks of him as an ,athenian1 but this must be a mistake4 ,toup restores a verse from an allusion in ,diodorus ,siculus 7i4 #bd71 which1 if genuine1 would agree well with the description given of him by ,longinus3 1 7see ,toup ad ,long4 ,,iii4 ii47 ,,philistus of ,syracuse1 a relative of the elder ,dionysius1 whom he assisted with his wealth in his attack on the liberty of that city1 and remained with him until #chf ,b4,c41 when he was banished by the jealous suspicions of the tyrant4 ,he retired to ,epirus1 where he remained until ,dionysius's death4 ,the younger ,dionysius recalled him1 wishing to employ him in the character of supporter against ,dion4 ,by his instrumentality it would seem that ,dion and ,plato were banished from ,syracuse4 ,he commanded the fleet in the struggle between ,dion and ,dionysius1 and lost a battle1 whereupon he was seized and put to death by the people4 ,during his banishment he wrote his historical work1 1 divided into two parts and numbering eleven books4 ,the first division embraced the history of ,sicily from the earliest times down to the capture of ,agrigentum 7seven books71 and the remaining four books dealt with the life of ,dionysius the elder4 ,he afterwards added a supplement in two books1 giving an account of the younger ,dionysius1 which he did not1 however1 complete4 ,he is described as an imitator1 though at a great distance1 of ,thucydides1 and hence was known as 8the little ,thucydides40 ,as an historian he is deficient in conscientiousness and candour2 he appears as a partisan of ,dionysius1 and seeks to throw a veil over his discreditable actions4 ,still he belongs to the most important of the ,greek historians 7,lbker74 ,,theodorus of ,gadara1 a rhetorician in the first century after ,christ2 tutor of ,tiberius1 first in ,rome1 afterwards in ,rhodes1 from which town he called himself a ,rhodian1 and where ,tiberius during his exile diligently attended his instruction4 ,he was the author of various grammatical and other works1 but his fame chiefly rested on his abilities as a teacher1 in which capacity he seems to have had great influence 7,pauly74 ,he was the author of that famous description of ,tiberius which is given by ,suetonius 7,tib4 #eg71 1 8,a clod kneaded together with blood40#a ,footnote #a3 ,a remarkable parallel1 if not actually an imitation1 occurs in ,goethe's ,faust1 8,du ,spottgeburt von ,dreck und ,feuer40 ,,theopompus1 a native of ,chios2 born #chj ,b4,c4 ,he came to ,athens while still a boy1 and studied eloquence under ,isokrates1 who is said1 in comparing him with another pupil1 ,ephorus1 to have made use of the image which we find in ,longinus1 c4 ii4 8,theopompus10 he said1 8needs the curb1 ,ephorus the spur0 7,suidas1 quoted by ,jahn ad v47 ,he appeared with applause in various great cities as an advocate1 but especially distinguished himself in the contest of eloquence instituted by ,artemisia at the obsequies of her husband ,mausolus1 where he won the prize4 ,he afterwards devoted himself to historical composition4 ,his great work was a history of ,greece1 in which he takes up the thread of ,thucydides's narrative1 and carries it on uninterruptedly in twelve books down to the battle of ,knidus1 seventeen years later4 ,here he broke off1 and began a new work entitled ,the ,philippics1 in fifty-eight books4 ,this work dealt with the history of ,greece in the ,macedonian period1 but was padded out to a preposterous bulk by all kinds of digressions on mythological1 historical1 or social topics4 ,only a few fragments remain4 ,he earned an ill name among ancient critics by the bitterness of his censures1 his love of the marvellous1 and the inordinate length of his digressions4 ,his style is by some critics censured as feeble1 and extolled by others as clear1 nervous1 and elevated 7,lbker and ,pauly74 ,,timaeus1 a native of ,tauromenium in ,sicily2 born about #ceb ,b4,c4 ,being driven out of ,sicily by ,agathokles1 he lived a retired life for fifty years in ,athens1 where he composed his ,history4 ,subsequently he returned to ,sicily1 and died at the age of ninety-six in #bef ,b4,c4 ,his chief work was a ,history of ,sicily from the earliest times down to the #abith ,olympiad4 ,it numbered sixty-eight books1 and consisted of two principal divisions1 whose limits cannot now be ascertained4 ,in a separate work he handled the campaigns of ,pyrrhus1 and also wrote ,olympionikae1 probably dealing with chronological matters4 ,timaeus has been severely criticised and harshly condemned by the ancients1 especially by ,polybius1 who denies him every faculty required by the historical writer 7xii4 #c-ae1 #bc-bh74 ,and though ,cicero differs from this judgment1 yet it may be regarded as certain that ,timaeus was better qualified for the task of learned compilation than for historical research1 and held no distinguished place among the historians of ,greece4 ,his works have perished1 only a few fragments remaining 7,lbker74 ,,zoilus1 a ,greek rhetorician1 native of ,amphipolis in ,macedonia1 in the time probably of ,ptolemy ,philadelphus 7#bhe-bdg ,b4,c471 who is said by ,vitruvius to have crucified him for his abuse of ,homer4 ,he won the name of ,homeromastix1 8the scourge of ,homer10 and was also known as 1 8the dog of rhetoric10 on account of his biting sarcasm2 and his name 7as in the case of the ,english ,dennis7 came to be used to signify in general a carping and malicious critic4 ,suidas mentions two works of his1 written with the object of injuring or destroying the fame of ,homer--7#a7 ,nine ,books against ,homer2 and 7#b7 ,censures on ,homer 7,pauly74 ,the facts contained in the above short notices are taken chiefly from ,lbker's ,reallexikon des classischen ,alterthums1 and the very copious and elaborate ,real-,encyclopdie der classischen ,alterthumswissenschaft1 edited by ,pauly4 ,i have here to acknowledge the kindness of ,dr4 ,wollseiffen1 ,gymnasialdirektor in ,crefeld1 in placing at my disposal the library of the ,crefeld ,gymnasium1 but for which these biographical notes1 which were put together at the suggestion of ,mr4 ,lang1 could not have been compiled4 ,,crefeld1 #cast ,july #ahij4 ,,the ,,end ,printed by ,r4 ,r4 ,,clark1 ,edinburgh ,,classical ,,library4 ,texts1 ,edited with ,introductions and ,notes1 for the use of ,advanced ,students2 ,commentaries and ,translations4 ,,schylus4--,,the ,,supplices4 ,a ,revised ,text1 with ,translation4 ,by ,t4 ,g4 ,,tucker1 ,m4,a41 ,professor of ,classical ,philology in the ,university of ,melbourne4 #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,seven ,,against ,,thebes4 ,with ,translation4 ,by ,a4 ,w4 ,,verrall1 ,litt4,d41 ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,agamemnon4 ,with ,translation4 ,by ,a4 ,w4 ,,verrall1 ,litt4,d4 #hvo4 #abs4 ,,agamemnon1 ,,choephor1 ,,and ,,eumenides4 ,by ,a4 ,o4 ,,prickard1 ,m4,a41 ,fellow and ,tutor of ,new ,college1 ,oxford4 #hvo4 ,in preparation4 ,,aristotle4--,,the ,,metaphysics4 ,,book ,i4 ,translated by a ,cambridge ,graduate4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,the ,,politics4 ,translated by ,rev4 ,j4 ,e4 ,c4 ,,welldon1 ,m4,a41 ,headmaster of ,harrow4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,rhetoric4 ,translated by the same4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,an ,,introduction ,,to ,,aristotle',s ,,rhetoric4 ,with ,analysis1 ,notes1 and ,appendices4 ,by ,e4 ,m4 ,,cope1 ,fellow and late ,tutor of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4 #hvo4 #ads4 ,,the ,,ethics4 ,translated by ,rev4 ,j4 ,e4 ,c4 ,,welldon1 ,m4,a4 ,cr4 #hvo4 ,in preparation4 ,,the ,,sophistici ,,elenchi4 ,with ,translation4 ,by ,e4 ,,poste1 ,m4,a41 ,fellow of ,oriel ,college1 ,oxford4 #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 ,,attic ,,orators4--,,from ,,antiphon ,,to ,,isaeos4 ,by ,r4 ,c4 ,,jebb1 ,litt4,d41 ,regius ,professor of ,greek in the ,university of ,cambridge4 #b vols4 #hvo4 #bes4 ,,babrius4--,with ,lexicon4 ,by ,rev4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,rutherford1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,headmaster of ,westminster4 #hvo4 #abs4 #f;d4 ,,cicero4--,,the ,,academica4 ,by ,j4 ,s4 ,,reid1 ,litt4,d41 ,fellow of ,caius ,college1 ,cambridge4 #hvo4 #aes4 ,,the ,,academics4 ,translated by the same4 #hvo4 #es4 #f;d4 ,,select ,,letters4 ,after the ,edition of ,,albert ,,watson1 ,m4,a4 ,translated by ,g4 ,e4 ,,jeans1 ,m4,a41 ,fellow of ,hertford ,college1 ,oxford4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,euripides4--,,medea4 ,edited by ,a4 ,w4 ,,verrall1 ,litt4,d4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,iphigenia ,,in ,,aulis4 ,edited by ,e4 ,b4 ,,england1 ,m4,a4 #hvo4 ,in the ,press4 ,,herodotus4--,,books ,i4-,,iii4 ,,the ,,ancient ,,empires ,,of ,,the ,,east4 ,edited by ,a4 ,h4 ,,sayce1 ,deputy-,professor of ,comparative ,philology1 ,oxford4 #hvo4 #afs4 ,,books ,,iv4-,,ix4 ,edited by ,r4 ,w4 ,,macan1 ,m4,a41 ,lecturer in ,ancient ,history at ,brasenose ,college1 ,oxford4 #hvo4 ,in preparation4 ,,the ,,history4 ,translated by ,g4 ,c4 ,,macaulay1 ,m4,a4 #b vols4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #ahs4 ,,homer4--,,the ,,iliad4 ,by ,,walter ,,leaf1 ,litt4,d4 #hvo4 ,books ,i4-,,xii4 #ads4 ,books ,,xiii4-,,xxiv4 #ads4 ,,the ,,iliad4 ,translated into ,english ,prose by ,,andrew ,,lang1 ,m4,a41 ,,walter ,,leaf1 ,litt4,d41 and ,,ernest ,,myers1 ,m4,a4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #abs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,odyssey4 ,done into ,english by ,s4 ,h4 ,,butcher1 ,m4,a41 ,professor of ,greek in the ,university of ,edinburgh1 and ,,andrew ,,lang1 ,m4,a4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #fs4 ,,horace4--,,studies1 ,,literary ,,and ,,historical1 ,,in ,,the ,,odes ,,of ,,horace4 ,by ,a4 ,w4 ,,verrall1 ,litt4,d4 #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 ,,juvenal4--,,thirteen ,,satires ,,of ,,juvenal4 ,by ,,john ,e4 ,b4 ,,mayor1 ,m4,a41 ,professor of ,latin in the ,university of ,cambridge4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #b vols4 #ajs4 #f;d4 each4 ,vol4 ,i4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,thirteen ,,satires4 ,translated by ,,alex4 ,,leeper1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,warden of ,trinity ,college1 ,melbourne4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #cs4 #f;d4 ,,ktesias4--,,the ,,fragments ,,of ,,the ,,persika ,,of ,,ktesias4 ,by ,,john ,,gilmore1 ,m4,a4 #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 ,,livy4--,,books ,,xxi4-,,xxv4 ,translated by ,a4 ,j4 ,,church1 ,m4,a41 and ,w4 ,j4 ,,brodribb1 ,m4,a4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,pausanias4--,,description ,,of ,,greece4 ,translated with ,commentary by ,j4 ,g4 ,,frazer1 ,m4,a41 ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4 ,in preparation4 ,,phrynichus4--,,the ,,new ,,phrynichus2 being a ,revised ,text of the ,ecloga of the ,grammarian ,phrynichus4 ,with ,introduction and ,commentary by ,rev4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,rutherford1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,headmaster of ,westminster4 #hvo4 #ahs4 ,,pindar4--,,the ,,extant ,,odes ,,of ,,pindar4 ,translated by ,,ernest ,,myers1 ,m4,a4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #es4 ,,the ,,nemean ,,odes4 ,by ,j4 ,b4 ,,bury1 ,m4,a41 ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 ,dublin4 #hvo4 ,in the ,press4 ,,plato4--,,ph,,do4 ,by ,r4 ,d4 ,,archer-,,hind1 ,m4,a41 ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4 #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 ,,ph,,do4 ,by ,w4 ,d4 ,,geddes1 ,,ll4,d41 ,principal of the ,university of ,aberdeen4 #hvo4 #hs4 #f;d4 ,,timaeus4 ,with ,translation4 ,by ,r4 ,d4 ,,archer-,,hind1 ,m4,a4 #hvo4 #afs4 ,,the ,,republic ,,of ,,plato4 ,translated by ,j4 ,,ll4 ,,davies1 ,m4,a41 and ,d4 ,j4 ,,vaughan1 ,m4,a4 #ahmo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,euthyphro1 ,,apology1 ,,crito1 ,,and ,,ph,,do4 ,translated by ,f4 ,j4 ,,church4 #ahmo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,ph,,drus1 ,,lysis1 ,,and ,,protagoras4 ,translated by ,j4 ,,wright1 ,m4,a4 #ahmo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,plautus4--,,the ,,mostellaria4 ,by ,,william ,,ramsay1 ,m4,a4 ,edited by ,g4 ,g4 ,,ramsay1 ,m4,a41 ,professor of ,humanity in the ,university of ,glasgow4 #hvo4 #ads4 ,,pliny4--,,correspondence ,,with ,,trajan4 ,c4 ,plinii ,caecilii ,secundi ,epistul ad ,traianum ,imperatorem cum ,eiusdem ,responsis4 ,by ,e4 ,g4 ,,hardy1 ,m4,a4 #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,,polybius4--,,the ,,histories ,,of ,,polybius4 ,translated by ,e4 ,s4 ,,shuckburgh1 ,m4,a4 #b vols4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #bds4 ,,tacitus4--,,the ,,annals4 ,by ,g4 ,o4 ,,holbrooke1 ,m4,a41 ,professor of ,latin in ,trinity ,college1 ,hartford1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,with ,maps4 #hvo4 #afs4 ,,the ,,annals4 ,translated by ,a4 ,j4 ,,church1 ,m4,a41 and ,w4 ,j4 ,,brodribb1 ,m4,a4 ,with ,maps4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,the ,,histories4 ,by ,rev4 ,w4 ,a4 ,,spooner1 ,m4,a41 ,fellow of ,new ,college1 ,oxford4 #hvo4 ,in the ,press4 ,,the ,,history4 ,translated by ,a4 ,j4 ,,church1 ,m4,a41 and ,w4 ,j4 ,,brodribb1 ,m4,a4 ,with ,map4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #fs4 ,,the ,,agricola ,,and ,,germany1 ,,with ,,the ,,dialogue ,,on ,,oratory4 ,translated by ,a4 ,j4 ,,church1 ,m4,a41 and ,w4 ,j4 ,,brodribb1 ,m4,a4 ,with ,maps4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,,theocritus1 ,,bion1 ,,and ,,moschus4 ,translated by ,a4 ,,lang1 ,m4,a4 #ahmo4 #ds4 #f;d4 ,also an ,edition on ,large ,paper4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #is4 ,,thucydides4--,,book ,,iv4 ,a ,revision of the ,text1 ,illustrating the ,principal ,causes of ,corruption in the ,manuscripts of this ,author4 ,by ,rev4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,rutherford1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,headmaster of ,westminster4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,virgil4--,,the ,,neid4 ,translated by ,j4 ,w4 ,,mackail1 ,m4,a41 ,fellow of ,balliol ,college1 ,oxford4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #gs4 #f;d4 ,,xenophon4--,translated by ,h4 ,g4 ,,dakyns1 ,m4,a4 ,in four vols4 ,vol4 ,i41 containing 8,the ,anabasis0 and ,books ,i4 and ,,ii4 of 8,the ,hellenica40 ,cr4 #hvo4 #ajs4 #f;d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 in the ,press4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41 ,,london4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,errata ,noted by ,transcriber3 ,elementary errors such as for are not noted4 ,the spellings ,the spellings 8,heracles0 and 8,herakles0 each occur twice4 certain tasteless conceits blamed in ,plato so in original3 8on ,plato08 ,i4#b ,and since444 text shows chapter break in previous line1 8writer's 444 instead0 444 the very maidens in their eyes40#a close quote missing in text 444 text reads alternate citation form3 #addi;b ,,xxiii4#d ,and in those words 444 text shows chapter break in following line1 8already 444 to the0 444 a good and temperate drink40#a close quote missing in text ,,xxxix4#c though these are mere shadows444 chapter break conjectural3 no sentence-ends in ,english text ,,appendix any punctuation anomalies1 including missing full stops after sentence-final parentheses1 are as in the original to ask help against ,syracuse 7#dbg ,b4,c47 open parenthesis missing in text the capture of ,agrigentum 7seven books7 open parenthesis missing in text