Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber’s Note:

Special Characters

Metrical notation is used in the original book to mark the length
or weight of syllables in scansion. In the e-text, the metrical
notation is placed on a separate line above the text and uses the
following Unicode symbols:

metrical short: ᴗ (U+1D17)
metrical long: – (U+2013)
metrical short over long: ⏓ (U+23D3)
metrical long over short: ⏒ (U+23D2)

When Greek letters are cited as examples in the original book they
have an overline printed above them (e.g., λ̅, ν̄), much as in
English cited letters are underlined or italicized. A combining
macron (U+0304) is used in this e-text above single letters to
represent the overline. In cases where the overline extends above
more than one letter, combining overline U+0305 is used because it
gives a better result (e.g., κ̅δ̅).

Since there is no precomposed Unicode character for omicron with
acute and diaeresis (e.g., το̈́ῦτοτε), this e-text uses U+0308
combining diaeresis and U+0301 combining acute accent above the
omicron.

The following additional character modifications used in the
original book are represented in the e-text as follows:

o with breve above: ο̆ (U+0306)
o with macron above: ο̄ (U+0304)
θ with inverted breve above: θ̑ (U+0311)

Unicode symbols for some of the above cases are currently not well
supported by standard fonts, and they may be displayed imperfectly
or not at all.

In the critical apparatus there are several occurrences of a letter
printed above another letter. Since this cannot be reproduced in an
e-text in a standard way, a Transcriber’s Note of the form [**TN:
φ written above first τ of στατωνα] is entered into the e-text at
that point.

Text that is widely-spaced (gesperrt) for emphasis in the original is surrounded here with #, a character not otherwise used (e.g., #χειρῶν#). Equals signs (=) indicate =bold= passages; superscript text is denoted by a preceding caret symbol (e.g., PV^2).

Page numbers and page breaks from the original text have been retained throughout in order to preserve the usefulness of the many page references in the explanatory notes, glossary, appendices and indices.

Page images of a different copy, but the same edition, of the original book can be viewed at The Internet Archive: http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924026465165

Errata:

Page 40: ὠδῇ -> ᾠδῇ
Page 108, note 16: οὐδεμίας -> οὐδεμιᾶς
Page 109, line 21: μηδεμίας -> μηδεμιᾶς
Page 112, note 14: διάνοιας -> διανοίας
Page 182, note 9: Διά -> Δία
Page 188, critical apparatus to line 5: συγκαμφθείς -> συγκαμφθεὶς
Page 204, line 11: ἀλλ -> ἀλλ’
Page 232, line 1: οὐχι -> οὐχὶ
Page 334, s.v. ᾠδή: ὠδικός -> ᾠδικός

Dionysius of Halicarnassus

On Literary Composition

BEING THE GREEK TEXT OF THE

_DE COMPOSITIONE VERBORVM_

EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION, TRANSLATION, NOTES

GLOSSARY, AND APPENDICES

BY

W. RHYS ROBERTS

LITT.D. (CAMBRIDGE), HON. LL.D. (ST. ANDREWS)

PROFESSOR OF CLASSICS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS

FORMERLY FELLOW OF KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

EDITOR OF ‘DIONYSIUS OF HALICARNASSUS: THE THREE LITERARY LETTERS,’ ETC.

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED

ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON

1910

EQVITI INSIGNI

=NATHAN BODINGTON=

VNIVERSITATIS LOIDENSIS VICE-CANCELLARIO PRIMO

HVNC LIBRVM DAT DICAT DEDICAT

EDITOR COLLEGA AMICVS

_Tantum series iuncturaque pollet,
Tantum de medio sumptis accedit honoris._

HORACE _Ars Poetica_ 242, 243.

_See Dionysius Homer’s thoughts refine,
And call new beauties forth from every line._

POPE _Essay on Criticism_ 665, 666.

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