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Demetrius: On Style

    - translated by W. Rhys Roberts


This translation is no longer available in its original location on the web at classicpersuasion.org, and therefore it has been copied here for ease of reference, with minimal alterations.   Little is known about Demetrius, apart from his name; and even his approximate date (perhaps 1st or 2nd century A.D.) is uncertain. The Greek text of his treatise can be found at Perseus.



I. Preliminary Remarks on the Period, etc.

The members (kôla); their appropriate length ... §§1-8
The phrase (komma) ... §9
The period ... 10, 11 ff.
The periodic and the disjointed style.
        Number of members in a period ... §§12-18.
        The historical period ... §19.
        The rhetorical period ... §20.
        The conversational period ... §21.
        Periods formed of contrasting members ... §§22-24.
        Symmetrical members ... §25.
        Members with similar endings (homoioteleuta) ... §§26-29.
        The enthymeme; how it differs from the period ... §§30-33.
        The member as defined by Aristotle and Archedemus ... §§34-35.

II. The Elevated Style

The four types of style: plain, elevated , elegant and forcible ... §§36-37.
The elevated style (charactêr megaloprepês):
Elevation in composition or arrangements ... §§38-74.
        Figures of speech ... §§59-67.
        Hiatus ... §§68-74.
Elevation in subject matter ... §§75-76.
Elevation in diction ... §§77-113.
        Metaphor ... §§78-88.
        Simili ... §§75-76.
        Onomatopoeic or coined words ... §§91-93.
        Allegory ... §§99-102.
        Brevity ... §§103-105.
        Epiphoneme ... §§106-111.
        Poetical color in prose ... §§112-113.

Frigidity: the related vice ... 124-126

III. The Elegant Style

Charm and gaity of expression ... §§128-172.
        Kinds of graces and their elements ... §§128-136.
        Sources of graces ... §§137-162.
                Sources in diction and composition ... §§137-155.
                Sources in subject-matter ... §§156-172.
        Differences between the ridiculous and the charming ... §§163-172.
Elegant diction, beautiful and smooth words ... §§173-178.
Elegant composition ... §§179-185.

Affected style: the related vice ... §§186-189.

IV. The Plain Style

Plain subject-matter ... §§190.
Plain diction ... §§190,191.
        Concerning clearness (also, stage-style and repetition) ... §§194 ff.
Plain composition ... §§204-208.
        Concerning vividness ... §§209-220.
        Concerning persuasiveness ... §§221-222.
        Concerning the epostolary style ... §§223-235.

Arid style: the related vice ... §§236-239.

V. The Forcible Style

Forcible subject-matter ... §§240.
Forcible composition ... §§241-271.
Forcible diction ... §§272-286.
        Concerning figured language ... §§287-298.
        Concerning hiatus in forcible passages ... §§299-300.

The graceless style: the related vice ... §§301-304.


This e-version of W. Rhys Roberts' translation of Demetrius On Style was adapted from: Demetrius On style: the Greek text of Demetrius De Elocutione edited after the Paris manuscript with introd., translation, facsimiles, etc. by W. Rhys Roberts (Cambridge, at the University Press: 1902), pp. 67-207. This is only the translation from Robert's edition, and does not include his scholarly notes or commentary. Some of Roberts' notes have been converted to in-line links and modified to reflect reference style at the Perseus Project.



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