4. Usener’s ἐχούσης seems likely, though the words καὶ γὰρ ... ἡ βάσις might be regarded as parenthetical and ἔχουσα as in agreement with περίοδος.
18. πολλὴ δὲ καί κτλ.: cp. Cic. Orat. ix. 32. 33 “itaque numquam est (Thucydides) numeratus orator ... sed, cum mutila quaedam et hiantia locuti sunt, quae vel sine magistro facere potuerunt, germanos se putant esse Thucydidas.”
25. For ἀνθηρά cp. n. on [208] 26 supra.—The whole chapter should be compared with de Demosth. c. 40. In c. 49 of that treatise Dionysius refers expressly to his previously written de Compositione: εἰ δέ τις ἀπαιτήσει καὶ ταῦτ’ ἔτι μαθεῖν ὅπῃ ποτ’ ἔχει, τοὺς ὑπομνηματισμοὺς ἡμῶν λαβών, οὓς περὶ τῆς συνθέσεως τῶν ὀνομάτων πεπραγματεύμεθα, πάντα ὅσα ποθεῖ τῶν ἐνθάδε παραλειπομένων εἴσεται (cp. c. 50 ibid.).
τῇ τάξει, χαρακτῆρα τοιόνδε ἔχει· οὐ ζητεῖ καθ’ ἓν
ἕκαστον ὄνομα ἐκ περιφανείας ὁρᾶσθαι οὐδὲ ἐν ἕδρᾳ πάντα
βεβηκέναι πλατείᾳ τε καὶ ἀσφαλεῖ οὐδὲ μακροὺς τοὺς μεταξὺ
αὐτῶν εἶναι χρόνους, οὐδ’ ὅλως τὸ βραδὺ καὶ σταθερὸν τοῦτο
φίλον αὐτῇ, ἀλλὰ κεκινῆσθαι βούλεται τὴν ὀνομασίαν καὶ 5
φέρεσθαι θάτερα κατὰ τῶν ἑτέρων ὀνομάτων καὶ ὀχεῖσθαι
τὴν ἀλληλουχίαν λαμβάνοντα βάσιν ὥσπερ τὰ ῥέοντα καὶ
μηδέποτε ἀτρεμοῦντα· συνηλεῖφθαί τε ἀλλήλοις ἀξιοῖ καὶ
συνυφάνθαι τὰ μόρια ὡς μιᾶς λέξεως ὄψιν ἀποτελοῦντα εἰς
δύναμιν. τοῦτο δὲ ποιοῦσιν αἱ τῶν ἁρμονιῶν ἀκρίβειαι, 10
χρόνον αἰσθητὸν οὐδένα τὸν μεταξὺ τῶν ὀνομάτων περιλαμβάνουσαι·
ἔοικέ τε κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος εὐητρίοις ὕφεσιν ἢ
γραφαῖς συνεφθαρμένα τὰ φωτεινὰ τοῖς σκιεροῖς ἐχούσαις.
εὔφωνά τε εἶναι βούλεται πάντα τὰ ὀνόματα καὶ λεῖα καὶ
μαλακὰ καὶ παρθενωπά, τραχείαις δὲ συλλαβαῖς καὶ ἀντιτύποις 15
ἀπέχθεταί που· τὸ δὲ θρασὺ πᾶν καὶ παρακεκινδυνευμένον
δι’ εὐλαβείας ἔχει.
οὐ μόνον δὲ τὰ ὀνόματα τοῖς ὀνόμασιν ἐπιτηδείως
συνηρμόσθαι βούλεται καὶ συνεξέσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ κῶλα
τοῖς κώλοις εὖ συνυφάνθαι καὶ πάντα εἰς περίοδον τελευτᾶν, 20
ὁρίζουσα κώλου τε μῆκος, ὃ μὴ βραχύτερον ἔσται μηδὲ μεῖζον
τοῦ μετρίου, καὶ περιόδου μέτρον, οὗ πνεῦμα τέλειον ἀνδρὸς
κρατήσει· ἀπερίοδον δὲ λέξιν ἢ περίοδον ἀκώλιστον ἢ κῶλον
as second in order, has the following features. It does not intend that each word should be seen on every side, nor that all its parts should stand on broad, firm bases, nor that the time-intervals between them should be long; nor in general is this slow and deliberate movement congenial to it. It demands free movement in its diction; it requires words to come sweeping along one on top of another, each supported by that which follows, like the onflow of a never-resting stream. It tries to combine and interweave its component parts, and thus give, as far as possible, the effect of one continuous utterance. This result is produced by so nicely adjusting the junctures that they admit no appreciable time-interval between the words. From this point of view the style resembles finely woven stuffs, or pictures in which the lights melt insensibly into the shadows. It requires that all its words shall be melodious, smooth, soft as a maiden’s face; and it shrinks from harsh, clashing syllables, and carefully avoids everything rash and hazardous.
It requires not only that its words should be properly dove-tailed and fitted together, but also that the clauses should be carefully inwoven with one another and all issue in a period. It limits the length of a clause so that it is neither shorter nor longer than the right mean, and the compass of the period so that a man’s full breath will be able to cover it. It could not endure to construct a passage without periods, nor a period
1 ἓν EPM: om. FV 5 κεκινῆσθαι EF: κ[αὶ] κινῆσθαι cum rasura P: καὶ κινεῖσθαι MV 6 φέρεσθαι EFM: φέρεσθαι καὶ PV || τῶν ἑτέρων PMV: τῶν θατέρων F: θατέρων E || καὶ FMV: om. P || ὀχλεῖσθαι F 7 βάσιν om. F || τὰ ῥέοντα EF: τὰ ῥέοντα νάματα PMV 8 συνηλεῖφθαι F: συνειλῆφθ[αι] cum rasura P, MV 9 ὡς E: om. FPMV || μιᾶς EF: τῆς PMV || ἀποτελοῦντα PMV: διατελεῖν E: διατελοῦντα F 11 περιλαμβάνουσαι EFM: λαμβάνουσαι PV 12 τοῦτο τὸ om. EF || εὐκτρίοις PM || ὑφέσιν F: ὑφαίσιν M: ὑφαῖσιν cum rasura P, V: ὑφαῖς Es 13 τάφω τινα (sed suprascripto ε) P || σκιαροις P 14 τὰ EF: om. PMV 16 που ... παρακεκινδυνευμένον om. P 17 δι’ EF: καὶ δι’ PMV 20 εὖ E: om. FPMV 21 ὁρίζουσα Schaefer: ὁρίζουσαν EFPM 22 μέτρον EF: χρόνον PMV