[B-Greek] Chiasmus
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Wed Feb 23 06:11:14 EST 2011
On Feb 23, 2011, at 1:41 AM, Stephen and Amanda wrote:
> Does anybody know where any discussion of chiasmus occurs in ancient
> rhetorical literature?
>
> To be clear, I'm not asking for examples of chiasmus but for ancient's
> discussing the "device".
>
> I once read that there is little to no discussion of it in rhetorical
> literature (can't remember where I read that).
> Nonetheless, my own reading of rhetorical literature confirms this. I am yet
> to come across any discussion of it.
>
> Is there any discussion in rhetorical lit.? If so, where?
LSJ s.v. χιασμός:
χι-ασμός, ὁ,
placing crosswise, diagonal arrangement, esp. of the clauses of a period, so that the 1st corresponds with the 4th, and the 2nd with the 3rd, Hermog.Inv.4.3; κατὰ χιασμόν Sch.Isoc.12.47.
That's Hermogenes of Tarsus, evidently -- a 2nd-century AD rhetorician -- and the treatise would probably be De Inventione. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermogenes_of_Tarsus
There's a 19th century edition of the Opera Hermogenis and a relatively complete French version of the whole, M. Patillon, Hermogène. L'art rhétorique. Paris: L'Age d'Homme, 1997.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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