St. George Stock (modern guide) · 1850–1922
A Guide to Stoicism 3 ¶5 — St. George Stock (modern guide)
From “Logic”
Original English text (1908)
St. George Stock (modern guide), A Guide to Stoicism 3 ¶5
There were reckoned to be five virtues of speech--Hellenism, clearness, conciseness, propriety, distinction. By 'Hellenism' was meant speaking good Greek. 'Distinction' was defined to be 'a diction which avoided homeliness.' Over against these there were two comprehensive vices, barbarism and solecism, the one being an offence against accidence, the other against syntax.
Cite this passage
St. George Stock (modern guide), A Guide to Stoicism 3 ¶5 (1908)
https://whatwouldstoicsdo.com/passage/a-guide-to-stoicism/3.5
St. George Stock, Stoicism (1908), text of the Haldeman-Julius reprint “A Guide to Stoicism”. Text: Project Gutenberg #7514. Sources and licences
In plain English
AI-written notesThe Stoics listed five virtues of good speech: correct Greek, clarity, brevity, appropriateness and a refined style. The two opposing faults were mistakes in word forms and mistakes in sentence structure.
Older wording
- “Hellenism”
- — speaking correct Greek
- “solecism”
- — a grammatical blunder in sentence structure
- “accidence”
- — the forms and endings of words
Themes and situations
- Speech and silence
Quote cards
The opening line of this passage as an image, with its citation — for sharing or keeping.