καὶ οὐδὲν τῆς γλώττης συνεργούσης τοῦ τε πνεύματος κατὰ
τὴν ἄνοιξιν τῶν χειλῶν τὸν ψόφον λαμβάνοντος ἀθροῦν, ὡς
καὶ πρότερον εἴρηταί μοι· ἐν δὲ τῷ μεταλαμβάνειν τὸ στόμα
σχηματισμὸν ἕτερον ἐξ ἑτέρου μήτε συγγενῆ μήτε παρόμοιον
ἐμπεριλαμβάνεταί τις χρόνος, ἐν ᾧ διίσταται τὸ λεῖόν τε 5
καὶ εὐεπὲς τῆς ἁρμονίας. καὶ ἅμα οὐδ’ ἡ προηγουμένη τοῦ
πέμπετε συλλαβὴ μαλακὸν ἔχει τὸν ἦχον ἀλλ’ ὑποτραχύνει
τὴν ἀκοὴν ἀρχομένη τε ἐξ ἀφώνου καὶ λήγουσα εἰς ἡμίφωνον.
τῷ τε χάριν τὸ θεοὶ παρακείμενον ἀνακόπτει τὸν ἦχον καὶ
ποιεῖ διερεισμὸν ἀξιόλογον τῶν μορίων, τοῦ μὲν εἰς ἡμίφωνον 10
λήγοντος τὸ ν̄, τοῦ δὲ ἄφωνον ἔχοντος ἡγούμενον τὸ θ̄·
οὐδενὸς δὲ πέφυκε προτάττεσθαι τῶν ἀφώνων τὰ ἡμίφωνα.
τούτοις ἐπιφέρεται τρίτον κῶλον τουτί “πολύβατον οἵ
τ’ ἄστεος ὀμφαλὸν θυόεντα ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς Ἀθάναις
οἰχνεῖτε.” ἐνταῦθα τῷ τε ὀμφαλὸν εἰς τὸ ν̄ λήγοντι τὸ 15
θυόεντα παρακείμενον ἀπὸ τοῦ θ̄ ἀρχόμενον ὁμοίαν ἀποδίδωσιν
ἀντιτυπίαν τῇ πρότερον, καὶ τῷ θυόεντα εἰς φωνῆεν
τὸ ᾱ λήγοντι ζευγνύμενον τὸ “ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς” ἀπὸ
φωνήεντος τοῦ ε̄ λαμβάνον τὴν ἀρχὴν διέσπακε τῷ μεταξὺ
χρόνῳ τὸν ἦχον οὐκ ὄντι ὀλίγῳ. τούτοις ἐκεῖνα ἕπεται 20
“πανδαίδαλόν τ’ εὐκλέ’ ἀγοράν”· τραχεῖα κἀνταῦθα καὶ
ἀντίτυπος ἡ συζυγία· ἡμιφώνῳ γὰρ ἄφωνον συνάπτεται τῷ
ν̄ τὸ τ̄ καὶ διαβέβηκεν ἀξιόλογον διάβασιν ὁ μεταξὺ τοῦ τε
προσηγορικοῦ τοῦ πανδαίδαλον καὶ τῆς συναλοιφῆς τῆς
συναπτομένης αὐτῷ χρόνος· μακραὶ μὲν γὰρ ἀμφότεραι, 25
μείζων δὲ οὐκ ὀλίγῳ τῆς μετρίας ἡ συναλείφουσα τὰ δύο
συλλαβή, ἐξ ἀφώνου τε καὶ δυεῖν συνεστῶσα φωνηέντων· εἰ
doing none of the work, and the breath forming a concentrated noise when the lips are opened, as I have said before. While the mouth is taking one after another shapes that are neither akin nor alike, some time is consumed, during which the smoothness and euphony of the arrangement is interrupted. Moreover, the first syllable of πέμπετε has not a soft sound either, but is rather rough to the ear, as it begins with a mute and ends with a semi-vowel. θεοί coming next to χάριν pulls the sound up short and makes an appreciable interval between the words, the one ending with the semi-vowel ν, the other beginning with the mute θ. And it is unnatural for a semi-vowel to stand before any mute.
Next follows this third clause, πολύβατον οἵ τ’ ἄστεος ὀμφαλὸν θυόεντα ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς Ἀθάναις οἰχνεῖτε. Here θυόεντα which begins with θ, being placed next to ὀμφαλὸν which ends in ν, produces a dissonance similar to that previously mentioned; and ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς which opens with the vowel ε, being linked to θυόεντα which ends with the vowel α, interrupts the voice by the considerable interval of time there is between them. Following these come the words πανδαίδαλόν τ’ εὐκλέ’ ἀγοράν. Here, too, the combination is rough and dissonant. For the mute τ is joined to the semi-vowel ν; and the interval between the appellative πανδαίδαλον and the elided syllable which follows it is quite an appreciable gap; for both syllables are long, but the syllable which unites the two letters ε and υ, consisting as it does of a mute and two vowels, is considerably longer than the average. At any rate, if the τ in the syllable
1 γλώττης F: γλώσσης PMV || συνεργούσης] μεριζομένη συνεργούσης F: ἐνεργούσης PV 2 ὡς F: ὡς δὴ PMV 3 δὲ F: δὴ PMV || τὸ στόμα PMV: τὸν F 5 εν ὧι διίσταται P: δι’ οὗ συνίσταται FMV || λεῖόν τε F: λεῖον PMV 6 εὐεπὲς F: εὐπετὲς PV: εὐτελὲς M 7 μακρὸν P 8 ἀρχομένη F: ἄρχουσά PMV 10 ποιεῖ F: ποιεῖ τὸν PMV || διερεισμὸν Us.: ἐρισμὸν P: διορισμὸν FMV 11 τὸ ν̄ Sylburgius: τοῦ ν̄ (νῦ F) FMV: om. P || θῆτα F 14 ἀθάναις F: ἀθήναις PMV 16 θῆτα F 18 ζευγνύμενον F: ἐπεζευγμένον PMV 19 λαμβάνοντος F 20 ἦχον] χρόνον F 21 τραχεῖα κἀνταῦθα om. F 22 συνάπτεται F: συνάπτεται γράμμα PMV 23 διάβασιν FM1: διάστασιν PVM2 25 συναπτομένης F: ἐπισυναπτομένης PMV || χρόνος F: om. PMV || μακρὰ et ἀμφότερα F || μὲν γὰρ] μὲν P: γὰρ F: γάρ εἰσιν MV 26 μετρίας F: συμμετρίας PMV || τὰ δύο συλλαβή Us.: τὰς δύο (β̄ P) συλλαβὰς libri 27 δυεῖν FP: δυοῖν MV
2. ὡς καὶ πρότερον εἴρηταί μοι: the passages which seem to be meant ([144] 22 and [148] 15) do not exactly tally with the present one.
12. We must supply κατὰ μίαν συλλαβήν, which words are found in [218] 14 and [220] 2 (cp. [230] 4): otherwise we are confronted with such examples to the contrary as ἔνθα and (in this immediate context) μεταλαμβάνειν, ἀρχόμενον, etc.
21. τ’ εὐ- are treated as one syllable. So in [218] 22, Dionysius probably intends us to divide as follows:
ᴗ ᴗ – ἐπιτε|κλυτάν,
etc.