ἅπασαν ἔμμετρόν τε καὶ ἄμετρον λέξιν, ἐξ ὧν γίνονται στίχοι
τε καὶ κῶλα· οἱ γὰρ ἄλλοι πόδες καὶ ῥυθμοὶ πάντες ἐκ
τούτων εἰσὶ σύνθετοι. ἁπλοῦς δὲ ῥυθμὸς ἢ ποὺς οὔτ’ ἐλάττων
ἔσται δύο συλλαβῶν οὔτε μείζων τριῶν. καὶ περὶ μὲν τούτων
οὐκ οἶδ’ ὅτι δεῖ τὰ πλείω λέγειν. 5
XVIII
ὧν δ’ ἕνεκα νῦν ὑπήχθην ταῦτα προειπεῖν (οὐ γὰρ δὴ τὴν
ἄλλως γέ μοι προὔκειτο μετρικῶν καὶ ῥυθμικῶν ἅπτεσθαι
θεωρημάτων, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἀναγκαίου ἕνεκα), ταῦτ’ ἐστίν, ὅτι διὰ
μὲν τῶν γενναίων καὶ ἀξιωματικῶν καὶ μέγεθος ἐχόντων
ῥυθμῶν ἀξιωματικὴ γίνεται σύνθεσις καὶ γενναία καὶ μεγαλοπρεπής, 10
διὰ δὲ τῶν ἀγεννῶν τε καὶ ταπεινῶν ἀμεγέθης τις
καὶ ἄσεμνος, ἐάν τε καθ’ ἑαυτοὺς ἕκαστοι τούτων λαμβάνωνται
τῶν ῥυθμῶν, ἐάν τε ἀλλήλοις κατὰ τὰς ὁμοζυγίας
συμπλέκωνται. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἔσται δύναμις ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν
κρατίστων ῥυθμῶν συνθεῖναι τὴν λέξιν, ἔχοι ἂν ἡμῖν κατ’ 15
εὐχήν· εἰ δ’ ἀναγκαῖον εἴη μίσγειν τοῖς κρείττοσι τοὺς
χείρονας, ὡς ἐπὶ πολλῶν γίνεται (τὰ γὰρ ὀνόματα κεῖται τοῖς
πράγμασιν ὡς ἔτυχεν), οἰκονομεῖν αὐτὰ χρὴ φιλοτέχνως καὶ
διακλέπτειν τῇ χάριτι τῆς συνθέσεως τὴν ἀνάγκην ἄλλως τε
καὶ πολλὴν τὴν ἄδειαν ἔχοντας· οὐ γὰρ ἀπελαύνεται ῥυθμὸς 20
οὐδεὶς ἐκ τῆς ἀμέτρου λέξεως, ὥσπερ ἐκ τῆς ἐμμέτρου.
μαρτύρια δὲ ὧν εἴρηκα παραθεῖναι λοιπόν, ἵνα μοι καὶ
πίστιν ὁ λόγος λάβῃ. ἔσται δ’ ὀλίγα περὶ πολλῶν. φέρε
δή, τίς οὐκ ἂν ὁμολογήσειεν ἀξιωματικῶς τε συγκεῖσθαι καὶ
language, metrical or unmetrical, and from them are formed lines and clauses. All other feet and rhythms are but combinations of these. A simple rhythm, or foot, will not be less than two syllables, nor will it exceed three. I do not know that more need be said on this subject.
CHAPTER XVIII
EFFECT OF VARIOUS RHYTHMS
The reason why I have been led to make these preliminary remarks (for certainly it was no part of my design to touch without due cause on metrical and rhythmical questions, but only so far as it was really necessary) is this, that it is through rhythms which are noble and dignified, and contain an element of greatness, that composition becomes dignified, noble, and splendid, while it is made a paltry and unimpressive sort of thing by the use of those rhythms that are ignoble and mean, whether they are taken severally by themselves, or are woven together according to their mutual affinities. If, then, it is within human capacity to frame the style entirely from the finest rhythms, our aspirations will be realized; but if it should prove necessary to blend the worse with the better, as happens in many cases (for names have been attached to things in a haphazard way), we must manage our material artistically. We must disguise our compulsion by the gracefulness of the composition: the more so that we have full liberty of action, since no rhythm is banished from non-metrical language, as some are from metrical.
It remains for me to produce proofs of my statements, in order that my argument may carry conviction. Wide as the field is, a few proofs will suffice. Thus it is surely beyond dispute
4 ἔσται EF: ἐστὶ PMV || δύο EF: δυεῖν P: δυοῖν MV 5 τὰ πλείω FM: πλείω PV 7 μετρικῶν καὶ ῥυθμικῶν F: ῥυθμικῶν (ῥυθμῶν MV) τε καὶ μετρικῶν PMV 10 γενναία F: βεβαία PMV 14 δῆλον post συμπλέκωνται praestant FMV: om. P || ἁπάντων τῶν PMV: ἁπάντων F 17 κεῖται F: ἔκκειται PM: ἔγκειται V 20 οὐ FP: οὐδὲ MV 23 ἔσται FPM: ἔστι V
3. ἁπλοῦς δὲ ... μείζων τριῶν. A. J. Ellis (p. 48) says, “This gives a simple and convenient rule for practising the quantitative pronunciation of words of more than three syllables.... The effect of quantity in prose is the most difficult thing for moderns to appreciate. Hence the only easy pronunciation of Greek is the modern, where quantity is entirely neglected, and a force-accent used precisely as in English.”