On Poetic Tropes

OF GEORGE CHOIROBOSKOS, ON POETIC TROPES. The poetic tropes of all old and new scripture are 27: allegory, metaphor, catachresis, metalepsis, hyperbaton, anastrophe, synecdoche, syllepsis, onomatopoeia, neologism, antonomasia, metonymy, antiphrasis, periphrasis, ellipsis, pleonasm, epanalepsis, emphasis, hyperbole, enigma, parable, antapodosis, prosopopoeia, paradigm, irony, schema and hysterologia. And they are called poetic tropes because they abound among the poets, transgressing common usage.

{1αʹ. ΑΛΛΗΓΟΡΙΑ.}1 Allegory is a phrase saying one thing and presenting another meaning, as what is said in divine scripture, in which God says to the serpent, 20cursed are you above all cattle20; for the speech is to the serpent, but we understand it analogously of the devil, that is, allegorically. And this is also used for solemnity and for reverence; for solemnity, as is the case concerning Hera, in which Zeus says to her, Do you not remember when you were hanging from on high, and from your feet I let down two anvils, and around your hands I cast a golden bond; 245 the meaning of which is this: at the limit of the air, both the earth and the water are joined, which he also calls anvils as being heavier than the other elements, and a golden bond, the radiance from the sun's light poured around the air, by which the air is united. And for reverence, as in 20he loosed her maiden's girdle20, instead of "he corrupted her"; as also in Callimachus, 20and you kindled the fire, until it yielded to a great flame20, and again 20hold back from their course the raging horses, lest you round a second time, lest they break the chariot beside the turning-post, and you somersault headlong20. These things are not spoken literally; for his discourse is neither about fire nor about a horse race, but as if being ashamed to say what he wanted, he used allegory.

{1βʹ. ΜΕΤΑΦΟΡΑ.}1 Metaphor is a word transferred from one thing to another, or transferred from its literal meaning for the sake of resemblance or emphasis, and it has four kinds. For it is either transferred from animate things to animate things, or from inanimate things to inanimate things, or from inanimate things to animate things, or from animate things to inanimate things. And from animate to animate, as when one calls the king a shepherd of the peoples; for shepherding, being of animate things, is again transferred to animate things, since just as flocks are subject to shepherds, so too are subjects to kings; for a shepherd is literally called the pastor of the sheep; at any rate, both are animate, both the king and the pastor of the sheep. And from inanimate to inanimate, as when one who has hidden a coal of fire in ash says "to preserve the seed of fire." For seed, literally said of sown fruits, is now taken for the coal; or if one should say "a great flame has been poured on the wood"; for to be poured is proper to liquids. 246 And from inanimate to animate, as when Odysseus says to Ajax "for such a tower was lost to them"; for the tower, being inanimate, is spoken of Ajax, who is animate. And 20the sea saw and fled20; for seeing is literally said of animate things, but the sea is inanimate. And from animate to inanimate, as when one calls the ridge of a mountain a peak or a head; for peak and head are said of animate things. And again, 20and the raging spear-point darted through20. And again, and many [spears] stood fixed in the earth between, longing to sate themselves on flesh, before they could touch the fair skin; for "raging" and "longing" and "to sate," being animate, have been said of inanimate spears. Similarly also 20on the peaks of the mountain20, and 20the feet of many-fountained Ida20, when it should be ridge and foothills

Peri tropwn poihtikwn

ΓΕΩΡΓΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΧΟΙΡΟΒΟΣΚΟΥ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΡΟΠΩΝ ΠΟΙΗΤΙΚΩΝ. Πάσης παλαιᾶς καὶ νέας γραφῆς ποιητικοὶ τρόποι εἰσὶν κζʹ. ἀλληγορία, μεταφορά, κατάχρησις, μετάληψις, ὑπερβατόν, ἀναστροφή, συνεκδοχή, σύλληψις, ὀνοματο ποιΐα, πεποιημένον, ἀντονομασία, μετωνυμία, ἀντίφρα σις, περίφρασις, ἔλλειψις, πλεονασμός, ἐπανάληψις, ἐξοχή, ὑπερβολή, αἴνιγμα, παραβολή, ἀνταπόδοσις, προσωποποιΐα, παράδειγμα, εἰρωνεία, σχῆμα καὶ ὑστε ρολογία. λέγονται δὲ ποιητικοὶ τρόποι, διότι παρὰ τοῖς ποιηταῖς πλεονάζουσιν τὴν κοινὴν συνήθειαν ὑπερβαί νοντες.

{1αʹ. ΑΛΛΗΓΟΡΙΑ.}1 Ἀλληγορία ἐστὶ λέξις ἕτερόν τι λέγουσα καὶ ἑτέραν ἔννοιαν παριστῶσα, ὡς τὸ λεγόμενον ἐν τῇ θείᾳ γραφῇ, ἐν οἷς πρὸς τὸν ὄφιν φησὶν ὁ θεός, 20ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν20· ὁ γὰρ λόγος πρὸς τὸν ὄφιν ἐστίν, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ διαβόλου ἀναλόγως αὐτὸν ἐκλαμβάνομεν, ἤγουν ἀλληγορικῶς. παραλαμβάνεται δὲ αὕτη καὶ διὰ σεμνότητα καὶ δι' εὐλάβειαν· σεμνότητα μέν, ὡς ἔχει τὰ περὶ τῆς Ἥρας, ἐν οἷς φησιν ὁ Ζεὺς πρὸς αὐτήν, ἦ οὐ μέμνησ' ὅτε ἐκρέμω ὑψόθεν· ἐκ δὲ ποδοῖϊν ἄκμονας ἧκα δύο· περὶ χερσὶ δὲ δεσμὸν ἴηλα χρύσειον· 245 ἧς ἡ ἔννοια αὕτη, τῷ πέρατι τοῦ ἀέρος ἥ τε γῆ καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ συνάπτονται, ἃ καὶ ἄκμονας ὡς βαρύτερα τῶν ἄλ λων στοιχείων λέγει, χρύσειον δὲ δεσμὸν τὴν περικεχυ μένην τῷ ἀέρι αὐγὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἡλιακοῦ φωτός, ᾧ ἥνωται ὁ ἀήρ. δι' εὐλάβειαν δέ, ὡς τὸ 20λῦσε δὲ παρθενικὴν ζώνην20, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἔφθειρεν· ὡς καὶ παρὰ Καλλιμάχῳ, 20τὸ πῦρ δέ τ' ἀνέκαυσας, ἕως οὗ πολλῇ κεχώ ρηκε φλογί20, καὶ πάλιν 20ἴσχε δὲ δρόμου μαργῶν τας ἵππους, μὴ δευτέραν κάμψῃς, μήτι παρὰ νύσσῃ δίφρον ἄξωσιν, ἐκ δὲ κύμβαχος κυβι στήσῃς20. ταῦτα οὐ κυρίως εἴρηται· οὔτε γὰρ περὶ πυ ρὸς οὔτε περὶ ἱπποδρομίας ὁ λόγος αὐτῷ, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ αἰδούμενος εἰπεῖν, ὃ ἐβούλετο, τῇ ἀλληγορίᾳ ἐχρήσατο.

{1βʹ. ΜΕΤΑΦΟΡΑ.}1 Μεταφορά ἐστι λέξις ἀφ' ἑτέρου εἰς ἕτερον μεταφε ρομένη, ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίως λεγομένου μεταφερομένη ὁμοιώσεως ἢ ἐμφάσεως ἕνεκα, ἔχει δὲ εἴδη δʹ. ἢ γὰρ ἀπὸ ἐμψύχων εἰς ἔμψυχα μετάγεται, ἢ ἀπὸ ἀψύχων ἐπὶ ἄψυχα, ἢ ἀπὸ ἀψύχων εἰς ἔμψυχα, ἢ ἀπὸ ἐμψύχων εἰς ἄψυχα. καὶ ἀπὸ μὲν ἐμψύχων ἐπ' ἔμψυχα, ὡς ὅταν τις τὸν βασιλέα λέγῃ ποιμένα λαῶν· τὸ γὰρ ποιμαίνειν ἐμψύχων ὂν πάλιν ἐπ' ἔμψυχα μετενήνεκται, ἐπειδὴ ὥσπερ τοῖς ποιμέσιν ὑποτέτακται τὰ ποίμνια, οὕτω καὶ τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν οἱ ὑπὸ χεῖρα· ποιμὴν γὰρ κυρίως ὁ τῶν προβάτων νομεὺς λέγεται· ἀμφότεροι γοῦν ἔμψυχοι, ὅ τε βασιλεὺς καὶ ὁ τῶν προβάτων νομεύς. ἀπὸ δὲ ἀψύ χων ἐπὶ ἄψυχα, ὡς ὅταν τις ἄνθρακα πυρὸς ἐν σποδῷ κρύψας λέγῃ σπέρμα· πυρὸς διασώσασθαι. τὸ γὰρ σπέρμα κυρίως ἐπὶ τῶν σπειρομένων καρπῶν λεγόμε νον νῦν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀνθρακιᾶς ἐλήφθη· ἢ εἴπῃ πολλὴ κέχυ ται τῇ ὕλῃ φλόξ· τὸ γὰρ χεῖσθαι τοῖς ὑγροῖς συμβέβη 246 κεν. ἀπὸ δὲ ἀψύχων εἰς ἔμψυχα, ὡς ὅταν ὁ Ὀδυσσεὺς λέγῃ πρὸς τὸν Αἴαντα τοῖος γάρ σφισι πύργος ἀπώλετο· ὁ γὰρ πύργος ἄψυχος ὢν ἐπὶ τοῦ Αἴαντος ἐμψύχου ὄν τος εἴρηται. καὶ ἡ 20θάλασσα εἶδε καὶ ἔφυγε20· τὸ γὰρ ὁρᾶν ἐπὶ ἐμψύχων κυρίως λέγεται, ἡ δὲ θάλασσα ἄψυχός ἐστιν. ἀπὸ δὲ ἐμψύχων ἐπὶ ἄψυχα, ὡς ὅταν τις τὴν ἀκρώρειαν τοῦ ὄρους κορυφὴν ἢ κεφαλὴν εἴπῃ· κορυφὴ γὰρ καὶ κεφαλὴ ἐπὶ ἐμψύχων λέγεται. καὶ πά λιν, 20αἰχμὴ δὲ διέσσυτο μαιμώωσα20. καὶ πάλιν, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ μεσσηγὺ πάρος χρόα καλὸν ἐπαυρεῖν ἐν γαίῃ ἵσταντο λιλαιόμενα χροὸς ἆσαι· τὸ γὰρ μαιμώωσα καὶ τὸ λιλαιόμενα καὶ τὸ ἆσαι ἔμ ψυχα ὄντα ἐπὶ τῶν ἀψύχων λέλεκται δοράτων. ὁμοίως καὶ τὸ 20οὔρεος ἐν κορυφῇσι20, καὶ 20πόδες πολυπι δάκου Ἴδης20, δέον ἀκρώρειαν καὶ ὑπώρειαν