158 GREEK LANGUAGE 



difficult to understand; those of recent times, drawn mostly from 

 trade, science, art, we comprehend, as a rule, with ease. So rapid, 

 however, is the change in social conditions that a metaphor less than 

 a century old now may need its interpreter. Who grasps at first the 

 meaning of "to burke a parliamentary question"? So the ancients 

 must have been sore distressed to comprehend reXen/cto-at " to make 

 empty," from the Seriphian beggar Telenicus. 



Greek figurative language is not so ample a record of civilization 

 as are the metaphors of modern times. Invention and discovery 

 are infrequently a source of the metaphorical language of the Greeks, 

 possibly because of a difference of attitude in comparison with any 

 modern people, but more certainly because invention and discovery 

 constituted a mark of civilization less effectively in ancient times 

 than they do at present. Some expressions of the sort do exist, 

 however, as Kaivoro/xciv, "to make innovations in the state," from 

 opening up a new vein in mining. 



It is well-nigh impossible to discover mint-marks of nationality 

 in the "petrified metaphor," which permeates every language and is 

 seen especially in the expression of intellectual conceptions. If we 

 confine our observation to the pure metaphor and the simile, we shall 

 find that they record to no slight degree national activities and 

 especially occupations. Latin shows at every hand the Roman 

 soldier, the agriculturist, the spectator at the gladiatorial games. 

 With the Greeks the sea is the most prolific source of metaphors that 

 bespeak the national thought. The figurative uses of epeWo>, dvTAe'w, 



yaA>7via>, o/ceAAw, di/aKporw, <raAeua>, Ko/rovpi^o), ep/xa ballast, op/xos haven, 



etc., are constant. The Greek says Ai//v drvxi'as " a harbor of misery "; 



ei? Tre'Aayos avrov e/x/JaActs yap TrpayttdYwv is the warning of Menander 



(65, 6) to a man about to marry. Aristophanes says of the bride 

 TrAeuo-reov eVi Tov wfj.(f)iov. The sea is the type of animation (TreAayos ^ 

 TTO'AI? eo-Tiv) , of peevishness, inconstancy; whereas we speak of the 

 uncertainty of the weather. The audience in the theatre is the 

 OaXarra KoiX-rj. The palaestra yields an abundance of figurative usages : 



utpu), dTroorAeyyi^u), KAi/xaKia>, VTrocrKeXt^o), crKtaita^ia, Trepi crrdcrews dyaw'^oyu.ai, 



may serve as common examples. The contests in court recall those 



in the gymnasium, dywv, cupeco, SIWKW, <eirya), Trapepxo/xtu, TrpOKaAeo/xat, 



etc., in their figurative senses are all drawn from the same source. 

 Most metaphors from riding deal with racing. 



Music yields TrapaTraiw, Trapa^opSt^a), TrA^/x/xcAea), etc., and auros avrov 



auXci. Roman gravity reprehended dicing : impudicus et vorax et aleo, 

 says Catullus, 29, 2. The Greeks had easier consciences on this score. 

 Witness the use of Kv/Jeua> for KivBwevu. dvapptVTw KiVSwov is borrowed 

 from drappiTTTO) Kvfiov. From the occupation of weaving are drawn the 



figurative USeS of Sixoppa^ew, eniKXwOo), a-iraOdw, the phrases d/^pvroi 

 Aoyoi, paTTTw 7rt/?ouAds ; fishing yields SeAea^to, tKKaAa/xao/xai ; the statll- 



