καὶ ἀκατάστροφος, ὥσπερ μέρος οὖσα τῆς δευτέρας ἀλλ’ οὐχὶ
[τῆς πρώτης] τέλος.
τὸ δ’ αὐτὸ πέπονθε καὶ ἡ τρίτη περίοδος· καὶ γὰρ ἐκείνης
ἀπερίγραφός ἐστι καὶ ἀνέδραστος ἡ βάσις τελευταῖον ἐχούσης
μόριον “τὸ δὲ καὶ διανοούμενον”· πολλὰς ἅμα καὶ αὐτὴ 5
περιέχουσα φωνηέντων τε πρὸς φωνήεντα ἀντιτυπίας καὶ
ἡμιφώνων πρὸς ἡμίφωνα καὶ ἄφωνα, ἅσπερ ἐργάζεται τὰ μὴ
συνῳδὰ τῇ φύσει τραχύτητας. ἵνα δὲ συνελὼν εἴπω, δώδεκά
που περιόδων οὐσῶν ἃς παρεθέμην, εἴ τις αὐτὰς συμμέτρως
μερίζοι πρὸς τὸ πνεῦμα, κώλων δὲ περιλαμβανομένων ἐν 10
ταύταις οὐκ ἐλαττόνων ἢ τριάκοντα, τὰ μὲν εὐεπῶς συγκείμενα
καὶ συνεξεσμένα ταῖς ἁρμονίαις οὐκ ἂν εὕροι τις ἓξ ἢ ἑπτὰ
τὰ πάντα κῶλα, φωνηέντων δὲ συμβολὰς ἐν ταῖς δώδεκα
περιόδοις ὀλίγου δεῖν τριάκοντα, ἡμιφώνων τε καὶ ἀφώνων
ἀντιτύπων καὶ πικρῶν καὶ δυσεκφόρων παραβολάς, ἐξ ὧν αἵ 15
τε ἀνακοπαὶ καὶ τὰ πολλὰ ἐγκαθίσματα τῇ λέξει γέγονε,
τοσαύτας τὸ πλῆθος ὥστε ὀλίγου δεῖν καθ’ ἕκαστον αὐτῆς
μόριον εἶναί τι τῶν τοιούτων. πολλὴ δὲ καὶ ἡ τῶν κώλων
ἀσυμμετρία πρὸς ἄλληλα καὶ ἡ τῶν περιόδων ἀνωμαλία καὶ
ἡ τῶν σχημάτων καινότης καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀκολουθίας ὑπεροπτικὸν 20
καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα χαρακτηρικὰ τῆς ἀκομψεύτου τε καὶ
αὐστηρᾶς ἐπελογισάμην ὄντα ἁρμονίας. ἅπαντα γὰρ διεξιέναι
πάλιν ἐπὶ τῶν παραδειγμάτων καὶ καταδαπανᾶν εἰς ταῦτα
τὸν χρόνον οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον ἡγοῦμαι.
XXIII
ἡ δὲ γλαφυρὰ [καὶ ἀνθηρὰ] σύνθεσις, ἣν δευτέραν ἐτιθέμην
conclusion, as if it were part of the second period and not its termination.
The third period has the same characteristics. There is a lack of roundness and stability in its foundation, since it has for its concluding portion τὸ δὲ καὶ διανοούμενον. Further, it too contains many clashings of vowel against vowel and of semi-vowels against semi-vowels and mutes—discords produced by things in their very nature inharmonious. To sum up, here are some twelve periods adduced by me—if the breathing-space be taken as the criterion for the division of period from period; and they contain no fewer than thirty clauses. Yet of these not six or seven clauses in all will be found to be euphoniously composed and finished in their structure; while of hiatus between vowels in the twelve periods there are almost thirty instances, together with meetings of semi-vowels and mutes which are dissonant, harsh, and hard to pronounce. It is to this that the stoppages and the many retardations in the passage are due; and so numerous are these concurrences that there is one of the kind in almost every single section of it. There is a great lack of symmetry in the clauses, great unevenness in the periods, much innovation in the figures, disregard of sequence, and all the other marks which I have already noted as characteristic of the unadorned and austere style. I do not consider it necessary to waste our time by going over the whole ground once more with the illustrative passages.
CHAPTER XXIII
SMOOTH COMPOSITION
The smooth (or florid) mode of composition, which I regarded
2 τῆς πρώτης uncis inclusit Usenerus 4 ἐχούσης Us.: ἔχουσα libri 7 καὶ ... ἐργάζεται om. F || καὶ ἄφωνα P: om. FMV || ἅσπερ] ἅπερ PMV 8 τραχύτητας F: καὶ τραχύτητας PMV 9 εἴ τις] εἴπερ F 10 δὲ F: δὲ τῶν PMV || περιλαμβανομένων F: ἐμπεριλαμβανομένων PMV 11 ταύταις F: αὐταῖς PMV 12 τις ἑξῆς ἢ πάντα ταῦτα κῶλα F 13 συλλαβὰς F 14 καὶ ἀφώνων καὶ ἀντιτύπων P 17 τοσαύτας Uptonus: τοσαῦτα libri (cf. [160] 20) 20 σχημάτων F: σχηματισμῶν PMV 21 τὰ ἄλλα PMV: τἆλλα F || χαρακτηρικὰ F: χαρακτηριστικὰ PV: χαρακτηριστικὰ καὶ M || ἀκομψεύστου FMV 22 αὐστηρᾶς] ἰσχυρᾶς F || ἀπελογησάμην PM2: ἐπελογησάμην M1V || διεξιέναι F: ἐπεξιέναι PMV 25 καὶ ἀνθηρὰ om. P || ἐτιθέμην F: ἐθέμην PMV
1. Dionysius seems to discern three periods in the first sentence of Thucydides, viz. (1) Θουκυδίδης ... ἀλλήλους (2) ἀρξάμενος ... προσγεγενημένων, (3) τεκμαιρόμενος ... διανοούμενον. The general sense here is: ‘as there is no connexion between ἀρξάμενος and τεκμαιρόμενος, we must take the latter as beginning a new period, and yet logically ἀρξάμενος belongs to it.’ If the words τῆς πρώτης are to be retained at all, they might possibly be transported with τῆς δευτέρας: ‘as though it were a part of the first period and not the end of the second.’