Aristotle · Complete work
Chapter 21
Chapter 21 of 26. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
ὀνόματος δὲ εἴδη τὸ μὲν ἁπλοῦν, ἁπλοῦν δὲ λέγω ὃ μὴ ἐκ σημαινόντων σύγκειται, οἷον γῆ, τὸ δὲ διπλοῦν·τούτου δὲ τὸ μὲν ἐκ σημαίνοντος καὶ ἀσήμου, πλὴν οὐκ ἐν τῷ[Bekker 1457a line 33a]ὀνόματι σημαίνοντος καὶ ἀσήμου, τὸ δὲ ἐκ σημαινόντων σύγκειται.εἴη δ’ ἂν καὶ τριπλοῦν καὶ τετραπλοῦν ὄνομα καὶ[Bekker 1457a line 35]πολλαπλοῦν, οἷον τὰ πολλὰ τῶν Μασσαλιωτῶν,[Bekker 1457b][Bekker 1457b line 1]Ἑρμοκαϊκόξανθος...ἅπαν δὲ ὄνομά ἐστιν ἢ κύριον ἢ γλῶττα ἢ μεταφορὰ ἢ κόσμος ἢ πεποιημένον ἢ ἐπεκτεταμένον ἢ ὑφῃρημένον ἢ ἐξηλλαγμένον.λέγω δὲ κύριον μὲν ᾧ χρῶνται ἕκαστοι,γλῶτταν δὲ ᾧ ἕτεροι· ὥστε φανερὸν ὅτι καὶ[Bekker 1457b line 5]γλῶτταν καὶ κύριον εἶναι δυνατὸν τὸ αὐτό, μὴ τοῖς αὐτοῖς δέ· τὸ γὰρ σίγυνον Κυπρίοις μὲν κύριον, ἡμῖν δὲ γλῶττα.μεταφορὰ δέ ἐστιν ὀνόματος ἀλλοτρίου ἐπιφορὰ ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ γένους ἐπὶ εἶδος ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ εἴδους ἐπὶ τὸ γένος ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ εἴδους ἐπὶ εἶδος ἢ κατὰ τὸ ἀνάλογον.λέγω δὲ ἀπὸ γένους μὲν ἐπὶ[Bekker 1457b line 10]εἶδος οἷον νηῦς δέ μοι ἥδ’ ἕστηκεν· τὸ γὰρ ὁρμεῖν ἐστιν ἑστάναι τι.ἀπ’ εἴδους δὲ ἐπὶ γένος ἦ δὴ μυρί’ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἐσθλὰ ἔοργεν· τὸ γὰρ μυρίον πολύ ἐστιν, ᾧ νῦν ἀντὶ τοῦ πολλοῦ κέχρηται.ἀπ’ εἴδους δὲ ἐπὶ εἶδος οἷον χαλκῷ ἀπὸ ψυχὴν ἀρύσας καὶ τεμὼν ταναήκεϊ χαλκῷ· ἐνταῦθα[Bekker 1457b line 15]γὰρ τὸ μὲν ἀρύσαι ταμεῖν, τὸ δὲ ταμεῖν ἀρύσαι εἴρηκεν· ἄμφω γὰρ ἀφελεῖν τί ἐστιν.τὸ δὲ ἀνάλογον λέγω, ὅταν ὁμοίως ἔχῃ τὸ δεύτερον πρὸς τὸ πρῶτον καὶ τὸ τέταρτον πρὸς τὸ τρίτον· ἐρεῖ γὰρ ἀντὶ τοῦ δευτέρου τὸ τέταρτον ἢ ἀντὶ τοῦ τετάρτου τὸ δεύτερον.καὶ ἐνίοτε προστιθέασιν ἀνθ’ οὗ λέγει[Bekker 1457b line 20]πρὸς ὅ ἐστι. λέγω δὲ οἷον ὁμοίως ἔχει φιάλη πρὸς Διόνυσον καὶ ἀσπὶς πρὸς Ἄρη· ἐρεῖ τοίνυν τὴν φιάλην ἀσπίδα Διονύσου καὶ τὴν ἀσπίδα φιάλην Ἄρεως.ἢ ὃ γῆρας πρὸς βίον, καὶ ἑσπέρα πρὸς ἡμέραν· ἐρεῖ τοίνυν τὴν ἑσπέραν γῆρας ἡμέρας ἢ ὥσπερ[Bekker 1457b line 25]Ἐμπεδοκλῆς, καὶ τὸ γῆρας ἑσπέραν βίου ἢ δυσμὰς βίου.ἐνίοις δ’ οὐκ ἔστιν ὄνομα κείμενον τῶν ἀνάλογον, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲν ἧττον ὁμοίως λεχθήσεται· οἷον τὸ τὸν καρπὸν μὲν ἀφιέναι σπείρειν, τὸ δὲ τὴν φλόγα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου ἀνώνυμον· ἀλλ’ ὁμοίως ἔχει τοῦτο πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὸ σπείρειν πρὸς τὸν καρπόν, διὸ εἴρηται σπείρων θεοκτίσταν[Bekker 1457b line 30]φλόγα.ἔστι δὲ τῷ τρόπῳ τούτῳ τῆς μεταφορᾶς χρῆσθαι καὶ ἄλλως, προσαγορεύσαντα τὸ ἀλλότριον ἀποφῆσαι τῶν οἰκείων τι,οἷον εἰ τὴν ἀσπίδα εἴποι φιάλην μὴ Ἄρεως ἀλλ’ ἄοινον...πεποιημένον δ’ ἐστὶν ὃ ὅλως μὴ καλούμενον ὑπὸ τινῶν αὐτὸς τίθεται ὁ ποιητής, δοκεῖ γὰρ ἔνια εἶναι τοιαῦτα, οἷον[Bekker 1457b line 35]τὰ κέρατα ἔρνυγας καὶ τὸν ἱερέα ἀρητῆρα.ἐπεκτεταμένον[Bekker 1458a][Bekker 1458a line 1]δέ ἐστιν ἢ ἀφῃρημένον, τὸ μὲν ἐὰν φωνήεντι μακροτέρῳ κεχρημένον ᾖ τοῦ οἰκείου ἢ συλλαβῇ ἐμβεβλημένῃ, τὸ δὲ ἂν ἀφῃρημένον τι ᾖ αὐτοῦ,ἐπεκτεταμένον μὲν οἷον τὸ πόλεως πόληος καὶ τὸ Πηλείδου Πηληιάδεω, ἀφῃρημένον δὲ οἷον τὸ[Bekker 1458a line 5]κρῖ καὶ τὸ δῶ καὶ μία γίνεται ἀμφοτέρων ὄψ.ἐξηλλαγμένον δ’ ἐστὶν ὅταν τοῦ ὀνομαζομένου τὸ μὲν καταλείπῃ τὸ δὲ ποιῇ, οἷον τὸ δεξιτερὸν κατὰ μαζόν ἀντὶ τοῦ δεξιόν.αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν ὀνομάτων τὰ μὲν ἄρρενα τὰ δὲ θήλεα τὰ δὲ μεταξύ,ἄρρενα μὲν ὅσα τελευτᾷ εἰς τὸ Ν καὶ Ρ καὶ Σ[Bekker 1458a line 10]καὶ ὅσα ἐκ τούτου σύγκειται (ταῦτα δ’ ἐστὶν δύο, Ψ καὶ Ξ), θήλεα δὲ ὅσα ἐκ τῶν φωνηέντων εἴς τε τὰ ἀεὶ μακρά,οἷον εἰς Η καὶ Ω, καὶ τῶν ἐπεκτεινομένων εἰς Α·ὥστε ἴσα συμβαίνει πλήθει εἰς ὅσα τὰ ἄρρενα καὶ τὰ θήλεα· τὸ γὰρ Ψ καὶ τὸ Ξ σύνθετά ἐστιν.εἰς δὲ ἄφωνον οὐδὲν ὄνομα τελευτᾷ, οὐδὲ εἰς[Bekker 1458a line 15]φωνῆεν βραχύ.εἰς δὲ τὸ Ι τρία μόνον, μέλι κόμμι πέπερι. εἰς δὲ τὸ Υ πέντε. τὰ δὲ μεταξὺ εἰς ταῦτα καὶ Ν καὶ Σ.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from all 26 Ancient Greek chapters with all 279 Bekker markers preserved for fidelity, technical precision, clarity, and structure.
The kinds of noun are these: one is simple—and by simple I mean one not composed of significant elements, such as “earth”—and another is compound.Of the latter, one kind is composed of a significant and an insignificant element, though the latter is not significant within the[Bekker 1457a line 33a]noun; another is composed of significant elements.A noun may also be triple, quadruple, or[Bekker 1457a line 35]multiple, as are many Massaliot names,[Bekker 1457b][Bekker 1457b line 1]such as Hermocaicoxanthus...Every noun is either ordinary, a foreign word, a metaphor, an ornament, a coined word, a lengthened word, a curtailed word, or an altered word.By ordinary I mean the word used by each people,and by foreign the word used by others; hence it is clear that the same word can be both[Bekker 1457b line 5]foreign and ordinary, though not for the same people: “sigynon” is ordinary among the Cypriots but foreign to us.Metaphor is the application of an alien noun, either from genus to species, from species to genus, from species to species, or by analogy.By transfer from genus to[Bekker 1457b line 10]species I mean, for example, “Here stands my ship”; for lying at anchor is a kind of standing.From species to genus: “Truly ten thousand noble deeds has Odysseus wrought”; for ten thousand is many, and the poet has used it here in place of “many.”From species to species, for example, “drawing off his life with bronze” and “cutting with the long-edged bronze”; here[Bekker 1457b line 15]he has called drawing off “cutting,” and cutting “drawing off,” since both are forms of taking something away.By analogy I mean when the second stands to the first as the fourth stands to the third; one may then speak of the fourth instead of the second, or of the second instead of the fourth.And sometimes they add to the substituted term that to which[Bekker 1457b line 20]the term replaced is related. I mean, for example, that the cup stands to Dionysus as the shield stands to Ares; one may therefore call the cup “the shield of Dionysus” and the shield “the cup of Ares.”Or old age stands to life as evening stands to day; one may therefore call evening “the old age of day,” or, as[Bekker 1457b line 25]Empedocles does, call old age “the evening of life” or “the sunset of life.”In some analogies one of the corresponding terms has no established name, yet the expression may nevertheless be formed in the same way. For example, casting forth seed is called “sowing,” while the sun’s casting forth its flame has no name; but this action stands to the sun as sowing stands to seed, and hence the phrase “sowing the god-created[Bekker 1457b line 30]flame.”This kind of metaphor may also be used in another way: after applying the alien term, one may deny one of the attributes proper to it;for example, one might call the shield not “the cup of Ares” but “the wineless cup”...A coined word is one not used at all by any people but established by the poet himself; for some words appear to be of this sort, such as[Bekker 1457b line 35]“sprouters” for horns and “supplicator” for priest.A lengthened[Bekker 1458a][Bekker 1458a line 1]or curtailed word is produced in the former case when a vowel longer than the proper one is used or a syllable is inserted, and in the latter when some part of the word is removed.Examples of lengthening are polēos for poleōs and Pēlēïadeō for Pēleidou; examples of curtailment are[Bekker 1458a line 5]kri, dō, and “the sight of both becomes one.”An altered word is produced when part of the ordinary word is retained and part newly made, as in “on the rightward breast” instead of “on the right breast.”Of nouns themselves, some are masculine, some feminine, and some intermediate.Masculine nouns are those ending in N, R, and S,[Bekker 1458a line 10]and in letters compounded with S—of which there are two, PS and X. Feminine nouns are those ending, among the vowels, in those that are always long,such as Ē and Ō, and, among vowels capable of being lengthened, in A.Thus the number of endings in which masculine and feminine nouns terminate is equal; for PS and X are compound letters.No noun ends in a mute consonant, nor in[Bekker 1458a line 15]a short vowel.Only three end in I: meli, kommi, peperi. Five end in U. Intermediate nouns end in these vowels and in N and S.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 26 Ancient Greek chapters with all 279 Bekker markers preserved.
Of nouns, one kind is simple—and by simple I mean one that is not composed of meaningful parts, such as “earth”—and another is compound.Of the latter, one kind is composed of a meaningful and a meaningless part, though these parts are not meaningful and meaningless within the[Bekker 1457a line 33a]noun itself, while another is composed of meaningful parts.There may also be triple, quadruple, and[Bekker 1457a line 35]multiple nouns, like many of the Massaliot names,[Bekker 1457b][Bekker 1457b line 1]“Her-mocaico-xanthus”...Every noun is either ordinary, a foreign word, a metaphor, an ornament, a coined word, an extended word, a shortened word, or an altered word.By an ordinary word I mean one used by a particular people,and by a foreign word one used by another people. It is therefore clear that the same word can be both[Bekker 1457b line 5]foreign and ordinary, though not for the same people: “sigynon” is an ordinary word among the Cypriots, but a foreign word for us.A metaphor is the application of a word belonging to something else, either from genus to species, from species to genus, from species to species, or by analogy.By transfer from genus to[Bekker 1457b line 10]species I mean, for example, “Here stands my ship,” since lying at anchor is a kind of standing.From species to genus: “Indeed, Odysseus has done ten thousand noble deeds,” since ten thousand is a great number, and here the poet has used it in place of “many.”From species to species, for example, “drawing off his life with bronze” and “cutting with long-edged bronze.” Here[Bekker 1457b line 15]he has called drawing off “cutting” and cutting “drawing off,” since both are kinds of taking something away.By analogy I mean when the second stands in the same relation to the first as the fourth does to the third; the poet will then use the fourth in place of the second, or the second in place of the fourth.Sometimes they also add to the substituted word the term to which the replaced word[Bekker 1457b line 20]belongs. I mean, for example, that a cup stands in the same relation to Dionysus as a shield does to Ares. The poet will therefore call the cup “Dionysus’s shield” and the shield “Ares’s cup.”Or old age stands to life as evening stands to day. The poet will therefore call evening “the old age of day,” or, as[Bekker 1457b line 25]Empedocles does, old age “the evening of life” or “the sunset of life.”In some analogies, one of the corresponding terms has no established name, but the expression can nevertheless be formed in the same way. For example, casting seed is called sowing, but the sun’s casting of its flame has no name. Yet this action stands in the same relation to the sun as sowing does to seed, and so the phrase has been used, “sowing the god-created[Bekker 1457b line 30]flame.”This kind of metaphor can also be used in another way: after applying the alien term, one may deny one of the attributes proper to it.For example, one might call the shield not “Ares’s cup,” but “a wineless cup”...A coined word is one that has not been used at all by anyone else but is introduced by the poet himself. Some words seem to be of this kind, such as[Bekker 1457b line 35]“shoots” for horns and “prayer” for priest.An extended[Bekker 1458a][Bekker 1458a line 1]or shortened word is such that the former either uses a longer vowel than the word normally has or has a syllable inserted, while the latter has had something removed from it.Examples of extension are “polēos” for “poleōs” and “Pēlēïadeō” for “Pēleidou”; examples of shortening are[Bekker 1458a line 5]“kri” and “dō,” and “the appearance of both becomes one.”An altered word is one in which the poet retains one part of the word being named but invents another, as in “the rightward breast” instead of “the right breast.”Of nouns themselves, some are masculine, some feminine, and some intermediate.Masculine nouns are those ending in N, R, and S,[Bekker 1458a line 10]and in letters composed with S; there are two of these, PS and X. Feminine nouns are those ending in vowels that are always long,such as Ē and Ō, and, among vowels that can be lengthened, in A.It follows that masculine and feminine nouns end in an equal number of letters, since PS and X are compound letters.No noun ends in a mute consonant or in[Bekker 1458a line 15]a short vowel.Only three end in I: “meli,” “kommi,” and “peperi.” Five end in Y. Intermediate nouns end in these vowels and in N and S.