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Argument and language

Elegiac verse and sayings

ἐλεγεῖον (elegeion); ποίημα (poiēma); ῥῆμα (rhēma)

Ἐλεγεῖον denotes elegiac verse, particularly the elegiac couplet formed by a hexameter followed by a pentameter.

From the book

Hipparchus

Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Orientation

At a Glance

  • The wordἘλεγεῖον denotes elegiac verse, particularly the elegiac couplet formed by a hexameter followed by a pentameter.
  • In HipparchusHipparchus does not simply put an undifferentiated collection of wise thoughts on stone.
  • In this editionThe translation distinguishes Homer’s “epics” from Hipparchus’ “poems” and uses “sayings” where their sententious content is in view.
  • A place to readεἰς ἐλεγεῖον — Hipparchus fits selected wisdom into elegiac form.

Meaning

Ἐλεγεῖον denotes elegiac verse, particularly the elegiac couplet formed by a hexameter followed by a pentameter. Ποίημα means a made thing or composition, here a poem. Ῥῆμα is a saying or spoken expression; its plural ῥήματα names Hipparchus’ maxims and earlier the clever sayings attributed to men skilled in lawsuits. Elegiac describes metre here, not necessarily lament or mournful subject matter.

Use in the book

Hipparchus does not simply put an undifferentiated collection of wise thoughts on stone. Socrates describes a sequence: he selects what he considers wisest from acquired and discovered wisdom, fits it into elegiac verse, and inscribes it as his own poems and specimens of wisdom. The form is therefore part of how the selected material is presented and attributed.

The two quoted ethical lines have the same beginning, “This is Hipparchus’ memorial,” followed by different commands. One asks the traveller to proceed with just thoughts; the other forbids deceiving a friend. Repetition makes the authorial or commemorative name inseparable from the practical instruction. The metre and brevity suit public recall, although the dialogue itself does not offer a theory of memory or say that travellers memorised the verses.

The edition’s metrical note is essential. Each quoted line is a pentameter, the second line of an elegiac couplet; the dialogue does not quote a complete couplet for each example. The geographical statement on the other side is described indirectly. One must not print the two different ethical pentameters together and call them a single elegiac couplet: they are alternative examples, and both occupy the same metrical role.

The word for sayings connects this elevated cultural display to the earlier mention of men clever at lawsuits. An impressive or memorable expression can attract assent without having its truth tested. The surrounding conversation does test the application of a saying: not deceiving a friend is admirable in form, but the companion wants to know whether Socrates is complying with it. Thus the narrative respects the force of concise wisdom while showing that its possession is not a substitute for examination.

Places to read

  1. 228dεἰς ἐλεγεῖον — Hipparchus fits selected wisdom into elegiac form.
  2. 228dαὑτοῦ ποιήματα — The compositions are presented as his own poems.
  3. 228eῥήματα μᾶλλον σοφὰ — The citizens are to consider his sayings wiser.
  4. 229bμνῆμα τόδ’ Ἱππάρχου· μὴ φίλον ἐξαπάτα. — The complete second quoted pentameter combines commemoration and command.

Translation in this edition

The translation distinguishes Homer’s “epics” from Hipparchus’ “poems” and uses “sayings” where their sententious content is in view. Its verse setting makes the two quotations visible as verse without representing them as a continuous poem. “Elegiac verse” should not be glossed as “an elegy for Hipparchus”: the monuments are described as his own educational initiative.