The Adynaton as a Stylistic Device

Author(s): Galen O. Rowe

Source: The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 86, No. 4 (Oct., 1965), pp. 387-396
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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THE ADYNATON AS A STYLISTIC DEVICE.

Frequently in Greek and Latin poetry one encounters a phenomenon known to modern scholars as the adynaton, an example
of which is the following passage from Vergil's Ecologues (I,
56-63 ):
ante leves ergo pascentur in aethere cervi
et freta destituent nudos in litore piscis,
ante pererratis amborum finibus exsul
aut Ararim Parthus bibet aut Germania Tigrim
quam nostro illius labatur pectore vultus.
Ernest Dutoit defines it in the following way: le poete, pour
representer un fait ou une action comme impossibles, absurdes
ou invraisemblables, les met en rapport avec une ou plusiers impossibilites naturelles.1 Scholars may be disappointed that a
definition has been supplied from modern scholarship rather than
from ancient rhetoric. The explanation is that, although previous
studies have been prompt to recognize it as a rhetorical device,
they have not found it listed in the ancient handbooksof rhetoric
and style. In the absence of ancient authority three conjectures
have been offered.
The earliest designation of the adynaton by modern scholars
appears to have been comparatio iK TOV

aSvvarov.2

The basis for

this term is Lactantius Placidus, who called an adynaton in the

Thebaid a comparatio ab impossibili.3 No mention, however, is
made of a comparatio ab impossibili in any rhetorical treatise,
and the term appears to have originated with Lactantius.4
1 Le theme de
I'adynaton dans la poesie antique (Paris, 1936), p. ix.
Dutoit's work contains a complete and accurate list of adynata in
Greek and Latin poetry.
2 C.
Orelli, Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Zurich, 1843), ad Epodes, 16,
25-35; Johann Demling, De Poetarum Latinorum EK TOV ad8vvProv Comparationibus (Wiirzburg, 1898), p. 1.
8 Comment. in Statii Thebaida et
Achilleida, ad Thebaid, VII, 552.
Demling, op. cit., p. 3, admits, Grammatici autem, si eos consulturi
sumus, nobis prorsus desunt; omnes d8bvaTov nescio quomodo praetermiserunt. Richard Volkmann, Die Rhetorik der Griechen und R6mer
(2d ed., Leipzig, 1885), does not cite this term. Likewise Heinrich
Lausberg, Handbuch der literarischen Rhetorik (2 vols., Munich, 1960),
II, p. 666, includes an extensive list of the uses of comparatio but not
a comparatio ab impossibili.

387

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GALEN O. ROWE.

388

whose oX-,ia
given by Brandt,
of
ancient
rhetoric,
although he
ring
did not cite his source.5 Subsequently
Brandt's term was found
in the rhetorical treatise of Fortunatianus,
but it had nothing
to do with the adytaton,
as modern scholars recognize it.6 The
is v7rep/oX0rX Kara TO
third and most widely accepted designation
Another

was

designation

aUvvaTov has the familiar

a8'varov,

which is derived from the remarks

hyperbole.7

of Demetrius

But when one examines Demetrius'

he will immediately
perceive that

hyperbole,
common with the adynaton.5

on the

impossible-type
it has little in

5 P. Brandt, P. Ovidi Nasonis De Arte Amatoria, Libri Tres

(Leipzig,
1902), ad I, 269-74.
6 Artis Rhetoricae Libri
III, I, 3 (Halm, p. 83). Fortunatianus is
not discussing figures of speech or style in this passage; instead he
is listing certain cases which cannot be proved and which the lawyer
and the following
should avoid. One such case is the aXizua e a&avv&rov,
example is given: ut si infans accusetur adulterii, quod cum uxore
cubarit aliena. Clearly this has nothing to do with the adynaton, but
Nicola Pirrone, "'AuSvarov," Athenaeum, II (1914), p. 38, carelessly
cited the passage as the stylistic designation and description of the
adynaton. H. V. Canter, "The Figure 'A86varov in Greek and Latin
LI (1930), p. 32, without investigating Pirrone's
Poetry," A.J.P.,
citation boldly asserted, "The technical designation of the figure is
aXu/.za &K (da7r)

roU aCivvdov."

Canter

also

neglected

directly as his source of information, and as a result

the blame for what was originally Pirrone's mistake
Gora, "Das Adynaton in der altfranzosischen und
Dichtung nebst Dazugehorigem," Archiv f. d. Studium
CLXI [1932], 204).
7 De Elocutione, 124-7.
8

Ibid.,

124:

Kara

ro

dav'vaTov,

Ws

TO

ovpav4

earT7ptKe

to cite

Pirrone

he has received
(cf. O. Schultzprovenzalischen
d. n. Sprachen,

Kapv7.

Strangely

enough, after Pirrone had used the word aX0/za to describe the adynaton,
he went on to say that it was a hyperbole (which is usually a trope
not a schema), op. cit., p. 39. Canter, loc. cit., again followed Pirrone,
and his remarks formed the gist of the article in Dictionary of World
Literature, ed. Joseph T. Shipley (Paterson, New Jersey, 1960), s. v.
adynaton. Neither Pirrone nor Canter, however, include Demetrius'
example (which is found in the Iliad, IV, 443 and imitated by Horace
in Odes, I, 1, 36) in their collections of adynata. On the other hand,
the adynaton is not included in studies on the hyperbole; cf. R. Hunziker, Die Figur der Hyperbel in den Gedichten Vergils (Berlin, 1896).
It would seem that Pirrone's designation of the adynaton as a hyperbole
does not even correspond to his own conception of it. At any rate,
Schultz-Gora, op. cit., pp. 204, 205, has convincingly shown that it has
little to do with the hyperbole.

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THE "ADYNATON"

AS A STYLISTIC DEVICE.

389

The preceding conjectures are unsatisfactory. They do not

correspond to what is generally considered an adynaton. What
is more important, they are not substantiated by the ancient
rhetoricians and stylists. It must be insisted that more than
conjecture is needed if we are to understand and appreciate the
function of the adynaton in Greek and Latin poetry.9 On the
other hand, it cannot be said that they occupied no fixed position
in the ancient theory of style. There are nearly two hundred
examples of adynata from Homer to Juvenal. A brief glance at
these examples will reveal a uniformity which could only be the
result of a standardized regard for their purpose and execution.
Although the rhetoricians and stylists appear to be completely
silent about the adynaton, there is one aspect of its study, overly
neglected, which promises to provide the evidence for its place in
the classical theory of style.
Passing notice of the popular and proverbial flavor of the
adynaton has been made by many who have been interested in
this problem.10 Striking statements denoting things which are
absurd, paradoxical, or impossible are found in the proverbs of
all nations. The extensive collections of Greek and Latin proverbs
abound in these statements, many of which appear as adynata
in Greek and Latin poetry.1 Of particular significance is a
9 This
point cannot be stressed enough. Previous studies have usually
acted on the assumption that the adynaton is primarily a rhetorical
figure; cf. R. H. Coon, "The Reversal of Nature as a Rhetorical
Figure," Indiana University Studies, XV (1928), pp. 3-20; J. G. Fucilla,
"Petrarchism and the Figure AATNATON," Zeitschr. f. rom. Phil., LVI
(1936), p. 681, speaks of "rhetorical unrestraint," and Dutoit, op. cit.,
pp. 155, 156, regularly mentions the rhetorical abus of many adynata.
Yet none of these studies has presented proof that the adynaton was
regarded primarily from the standpoint of rhetoric in antiquity. Hans
Herter, review of Le theme de l'Adynaton dans la Poesie antique,
by Ernest Dutoit, Gnomon, XV (1939), p. 210, is right when he suggests
that its significance went beyond rhetorical ornamentation.
10 I. V. Zingerle, " Der Rhein und andere Fliisse in sprichtwortlichen
Redensarten," Germania, VII (1862), pp. 187-92; Wilhelm Kroll,
Studien zum Verstandnis der romischen Literatur (Stuttgart, 1924),
pp. 166, 167. The proverbial nature of adynata did not escape Canter,
op. cit., p. 41, but he had accepted Pirrone's erroneous views and consequently did not pursue the relationship between the adynaton and the
proverb. Dutoit, op. cit., noted many of the popular origins of the
adynata, and his work has been invaluable for my own studies.
1 E. L. Leutsch and F. G.
Schneidewin (eds.), Corpus Paroemio-

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390

GALEN O. ROWE.

proverb collection attributed to Plutarch-the so-called Eclogue

of Plutarch.l2 Unlike most of the collections of Greek proverbs
it is arranged according to subject rather than in the usual quasialphabetical order. The collection's first subject division has the
caption, IIEPI TQfN AAYNAT2N,

and contains solely impossible-

type proverbs or adynata. That there were other collections of

such proverbs seems more than likely. Plutarch quotes an
adynaton and remarks that it is a proverb found iv roS

daSvvaroi9.'3

Since this proverb is not in the Eclogue, nor, for that matter,
in any of the other early collections of Greek proverbs, we may
assume that Plutarch is referring either to a lost portion of
the Eclogue or to lists of adynata which are no longer extant.
The latter view is more probable. One would expect Plutarch to
be more exact if he were referring to a specific collection, whereas
his citation leaves the impression that lists of adynaton-type
proverbs were fairly common and were regarded as a distinct
group.
The scholia frequently identify adynata in poetry as proverbs.14
The comment of one scholiast deserves special attention. Concerning an adynaton in Aristophanes' Peace (1075-6) he states,
Tr aJ8varoTv E ElTrE, and directs his reader to a similar adynaton
graphorum Graecorum (2 vols. and suppl., Gottingen, 1839-1851), hence
referred to as C. P. G.; R. Str6mberg, Greek Proverbs (Goteborg, 1954);
A. Otto, Die Sprichw6rter und sprichwortlichen Redensarten der Rimer
(Leipzig, 1890). K. Rupprecht, "IapoLtl4a," R.-E., XVIII, pt. 4, cols.
1713, 1714, states, "Einen besonders breiten Raum nehmen im griechischen Spr. die sog. csbvara ein."
12 C. P. G., I,
pp. 343-8. It is highly doubtful that Plutarch is the
author; cf. K. Ziegler, "Plutarchos," R.-E., XXI, 1, col. 880.
18Moralia, 950F. J. J. Hartman, De Plutarcho Scriptore et Philosopho
(Leiden, 1916), p. 564 labels this passage as insulsum balbumque
scioli additamentum. I have not been able to find an edition which
omits it. The recent Teubner edition, Moralia, Vol. V, fasc. 3 (Leipzig,
1960), edited by C. Hubert and M. Pohlenz, retains it. However, even
if we are dealing here with a scholiast, the fact does not substantially
weaken the case for the existence of adynaton-type collections.
14 E. g., G. Dindorf, Scholia Graeca in Homeri Iliadem ex Codicibus
Aucta et Emendata (Oxford, 1875-1888), ad Iliad, XXII, 262, 263;
E. Schwartz, Scholia in Euripidem (Berlin, 1887), ad Medea, 410; Fr.
Diibner, Scholia Graeca in Aristophanem (Paris, 1877), ad Aves, 967-8.
Cf. also Eustathii Comment. ad Homeri Iliadem et Odysseam, ed. G.
Stallbaum (photo repr., Hildesheim, 1960), ad Iliad, XXII, 262, 263;
Porphyrionis Comment. in Horatium Flaccum, ed. A. Holder (Innsbruck, 1894), ad Odes, I, 29, 10-13.

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THE " ADYNATON " AS A STYLISTIC DEVICE.

391

in the Iliad (XXII, 262).15 The scholiast is certain to have

recognized this passage in Aristophanes as a well-known proverb.
Elsewhere he exhibits an acute knowledge of his author's proverbs, and it is generally believed that he had access to the fine
collections of Didymus and Lucillus.16 The use of the article
before aSvvarov and the reference to another passage indicate
that his comment is to be regarded as a technical term and not
an explanation of the passage, which offers no difficulty for
clarification. Since the scholiast undoubtedly recognized the
phrase as a proverb and was at the same time familiar with the
most learned and extensive collections of proverbs, it seems more
than reasonable to conclude that he is stating the technical term
of a distinct type of proverb-the adynaton.
The collections of proverbs (particularly the Eclogue of
Plutarch), the testimony of Plutarch, and the scholia justify the
conclusion that the adynaton in poetry was regarded by ancient
scholars as belonging to the category of proverbs. They are the
only technical sources which account for it. But there is one
major objection to this conclusion. Ernest Dutoit, who was the
first scholar to attempt a thorough investigation of the relationship of the adynaton and the proverb, observed that not every
adynaton could be found in the extant collections of Greek and
Latin proverbs, and consequently declined to accept the proverb
as its stylistic classification.l1 The immediate answer to Dutoit's
objection is that the collections, as we now have them, have
undergone centuries of epitomizing with the result that there
remains only a portion of the earlier list of proverbs and the
exhaustive comments which accompanied them. They cannot be
the sole determining factor as to what is a proverb and what
is not.
Proverbs, in the truest sense, are concrete representations of
abstract truths as opposed to the sententiae which are merely
concise statements of abstract truths. Thus nudo detrahere vestimenta is a proverb, but praeterita mutare non possumus is a
15

Op. cit.
Karl Rupprecht, "Paroemiographoi," R.-E., XVIII, 4, col. 1759.
Dutoit, op. cit., p. 154. Dutoit apparently was not interested in
tracing the adynaton's place in the theory of style. He did not adopt
any of the views of his predecessors, and instead invented his own term,
thlme, ibid., p. xii.
16
17

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392

GALEN O. ROWE.

sententia. The subject matter of the proverb is drawn mainly

from the realm of nature as seen through the eyes of common
people. Frequent use is made of animals, plants, and elements
which have to do with the constitution of the earth and the
universe (e.g., rivers, fire, ocean, and stars). The adynata in
poetry have this same subject matter; in fact, most of them
represent natural forces functioning in reverse or contrary to
nature's laws. Rivers reverse their courses and run uphill;
animals by nature hostile toward each other suddenly abandon
their hostility and join as mates; trees produce fruit alien to
their kind; and stars reverse their courses. The coincidence of
subject matter, however, does not prove anything; the favorite
source for nearly all poetic imagery is the realm of nature. But
the adynata share another characteristic with proverbs which is
of paramount importance. Like the proverbs, they consistently
reflect folklore motifs. The great majority of them can be traced
to fables, marchen, magic, oracles, and prodigies.18
It is not my intention to assert that every adynaton employed
by the poets was an accepted proverb, but rather that the poets,
when they employed it, were working in the realm of proverbs
and popular speech. When an adynaton appeared which could
not be found in the proverb collections, it was nevertheless
18 It is
beyond the scope of this study to go into detail here. For
an insight into the relationship of the adynaton to fable and mdrchen
cf. O. Crusius, " Mirchenreminiscenzen im antiken Sprichwort," Verhandlungen der vierzigsten Versammlung Deutscher Philologen und
Schulmdnner in G6rlitz (Leipzig, 1890), pp. 31-47. One will find
numerous examples of adynata in H. Hendess, Oracula Graeca Quae
Apud Scriptores Graecos Romanosque Exstant (diss., Halle, 1877);
note especially nos. 64 and 87. A folklore motif which is often represented by the adynaton is that of the impossible task, such as the
numbering of the waves of the sea or carrying water in a sieve; cf.
Eugene McCartney, "Popular Methods of Measuring," C.J., XXII
(1927), pp. 325-44. Two other studies which treat the popular aspect
of the adynaton are G. van der Leeuw, "Adunata," J. E. O. L., II (193942), pp. 631-41; and Otto Weinreich, "Volkskunde," Arch. R. W., XXIX
(1931), pp. 276-7. Dutoit, op. cit., made many observations along these
same lines, but his work suffered from a lack of systematic treatment. In
my dissertation, " The Adynaton and the Statement of Perpetuity in
Greek and Latin Poetry" (Dept. of Comparative Literature, Vanderbilt
University, 1963), I expanded upon the contributions of Dutoit and
sought to present the popular aspect of the adynaton in a systematic
manner.

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THE "ADYNATON"

AS A STYLISTIC DEVICE.

393

accepted as a proverbial saying. There are three indications for

this: The first is the sense of decorum observed by the poets
when working with the adynaton. It is found chiefly in personal
poetry (lyric and elegiac), while in epic it appears rarely and
then always in the mouths of characters. Instances of adynata
in comedy are numerous; Plautus alone has fourteen. Bucolic
poetry, with its use of the dialogue and its common-type characters, uses them frequently. As a striking instance of the sense
of propriety with which it is used, one may note that Ovid,
who has more adynata than any other poet, confines his examples
mainly to elegiac poetry; only three examples are to be found
in the Metamorphoses, whose narrative form tended to preclude
proverbial and popular expressions. By limiting the adynata
to personal utterance the poets testify to their popular character.
A second indication for a proverbial basis lies in the accumulations of adynata in a single passage, where well-known proverbs
appear with other adynata whose connection with proverbs is
vague or non-existent.l9 The following passage from Propertius
(III, 19, 5-10) will serve as an example:
flamma per incensas citius sedetur aristas
fluminaque ad fontis sint reditura caput,
et placidum Syrtes portum et bona litora nautis
praebeat hospitio saeva Malea suo
quam possit vestros quisquam reprehendere cursus
et rabidae stimulos frangere nequitiae.
Of the four adynata in this passage the first two, the fire in a
cornfield and the rivers reversing their courses, are proverbs20;
the fourth, although it is not a proverb, relates to a proverb21;
the third adynaton is not listed in any of the extant collections.
While the poet has definitely established the atmosphere of
popular speech, he has also added adynata of his own making.
The originality of the poet here, as in other passages, does not
prevent us from seeing that his principal source for these motifs
has been proverbs. In fact the modification and addition of
motifs is exactly what one would expect where the demands of
19 With the exception of Greek epic and tragedy accumulations of
adynata are the rule. As an interesting coincidence Demetrius, De
Elocutione, 156 mentions that Sophron used accumulations of proverbs.
20C. P. G.,
I, 47, 346.
1 Otto,
op. cit., pp. 206, 207.

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GALEN 0. ROTVE.

394

theme and meter, as well as the poet's genius, require originality

in the treatment of traditional material.
Thirdly, the poets regularly associate the adynata with a
popular setting. Vows and covenants are often expressed by
adynata. A typical example is Horace's sixteenth epode (25-34):
sed iuremus in haec: simul imis saxa renarint
vadis levata, ne redire sit nefas:
neu conversa domum pigeat dare lintea, quando
Padus Matina laverit cacumina,
in mare seu celsus procurrerit Appenninus,
novaque monstra iunxerit libidine
mirus amor, iuvet ut tigris subsidere cervis,
adulteretur et columba miluo,
credula nec ravos timeant armenta leones,
ametque salsa levis hircus aequora.
The first motif in this series of adynata, the impossibility of
sunken rocks floating to the surface, is an unmistakable allusion
to the famous pledge of the Phocaeans, who sank iron weights
into the sea before they left their city and vowed not to return
until the weights reappeared on the surface.22 Similar vows
are to be found in ancient histories and documents.23 As an
example of the adynaton's association with oracles one may note
the list of adynata which the oracle monger in Aristophanes'
Peace (1075-86) addressesto Trygaeus. Magic is another setting
in which adynata are found. The witch Canidia in an effort to
recapture the affections of Varus concocts a powerful charm and
makes the following promise (Horace, Epodes, 5, 79-82):
priusque caelum sidet inferius mari
tellure porrecta super,
quam non amore sic meo flagres uti
bitumen atris ignibus.
Many other examples could be cited, but the preceding references
suffice to show the poets' awareness that they were working in
the area of popular speech and beliefs when they employed
I, 165. Zenobius includes in his proverb collection
I, 171, 172. Cf. also C.P.G., I, 345. For the
background of the other adynata in Horace's accumulation cf. A.
Kiessling and R. Heinze, Q. Horatius Flaccus. Oden und Epoden (Berlin,
(1960), pp. 182, 183, n.
28 Cf. A. E. Raubitschek, " The Covenant of Platea," T. A. P. A., XCI
(1960), pp. 182; 183, n.
22

Herodotus,

(wKae'wv dpa, C.P.G.,

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THE "ADYNATON"

AS A STYLISTIC DEVICE.

395

adynata. Dutoit's objection that not all the adynata in Greek

and Latin poetry can be found in the extant proverb collections 24
is of little consequence in the light of the rich popular background which they manifest in every instance.
If the adynaton is regarded as a type of proverb, it is possible
to find its place in rhetoric. Previously, in attempting to reduce
the adynaton to a figure of style (aXo/ia), modern scholars have
been baffled by the great variety of forms in which it appears.
It is usually found in temporal clauses, in conditions, in comparisons, and in parataxis.25 Dutoit is right when he observes
that the adynaton ne se laisse heureusement pas reduire a la
notion d'un pur crX,a.26 It is likewise useless to seek unity of
form for the proverb.27Both expressions are dependent on individual authors for their forms. The basis of their uniformity
is in their function. The function of the adynaton is, as Dutoit
rightly observes, pour representer un fait ou une action comme
impossibles, absurdes ou invraisemblables,28and to bring this
about the poet places the thing regarded as impossible in juxtaposition with one or more natural impossibilities. In other
words, the idea of impossibility is represented by a concrete
example. Otto defines the function of the proverb in much the
same terms:
Das Sprichwort in engerem Sinne oder, wie man es auch
nennen konnte, das eigentliche Sprichwort kennzeichnet
neben der Verbreitung und Anerkennung im Volke die
Vertretung and Ubertragung eines allgemeinen Gedankens
auf ein Besonderes, Partikulares, d. h. das Bildiche, Tropische und Allegorische im Ausdruck.29
Dutoit's definition is easily subsumed under Otto's definition.
Both the proverb and the adynaton have as a common denominator a tropical function.
24

Supra, note 17.

Canter, op. cit., has arranged his collection of adynata according
to the forms in which they are expressed.
26 Op. cit., p. xiii.
27
Otto, op. cit., p. xxxi, observes, "Rein rhetorische Figuren, die
doch sonst von den R6mern angelegentlich ausgebildet und
gepflegt
wurden, sind dem Charakter des Sprichworts und iiberhaupt der Volksrede . . . zuwider."
28
Supra, note 1.
29
Otto, op. cit., p. vii. Cf. also Rupprecht, " Ilapoqtla," op. cit., col.
1712; Fr. Seiler, Deutsche Sprichw6rterkunde (Munich, 1922), p. 5.
25

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GALEN 6. ROWE.

396)

There is ample evidence that the proverb was regarded as a

trope in ancient rhetoric. Aristotle's definition, al irapotLaL
was apparently the beginning
erTaopaL acrr' Jesovw ei7r'ESo eEtcn,30a
of a fairly consistent tradition that extended through the Middle
Ages. In the preface to his collection of proverbs Diogenianus
affirms that the proverb is a trope and adds that it is a species
of allegory.31 There is good reason to suspect that the words
of Diogenianus have been borrowed from Chrysippus, who, like
Aristotle, had exhibited a great interest in proverbs.3' Early
Roman rhetoricians do not classify the proverb, but the late
rhetoricians and grammarians reflect the views of Aristotle and
Chrysippus (or Diogenianus) by classifying the proverb as a
trope usually under allegory.33
It is the conclusion of this study that the adynaton was regarded by the ancients as a type of proverb. Its use of the
paradoxical, impossible, or absurd thought is in accordancewith
the proverbial manner in speech. The scholia and ancient commentators identify the adynata as proverbs. Plutarch indicates
that collections of adynaton-type proverbs were in circulation
at his time, and the Eclogue of Plutarch provides an example
of such collections. To the objection that not every adynaton
can be traced to the proverb collections it has been pointed
out that in nearly every instance the adynata are invested with
the characteristics of proverbs. They embody popular ideas and
superstitions, they are reserved for personal utterance rather
than narrative, and they are used by the poets in popular settings.
The adynaton has the same function as the proverb; both attempt
to represent abstract ideas by means of concrete images. Since
it was a type of proverb, the adynaton was regarded by the
ancient rhetoricians as a trope.
GALEN 0. ROWE.
STATE

UNIVERSITY

OF IOWA.

"3Rhetorica, II, 11, 1413a 15.

81 C. P.
G., I, 178.

82

Ibid., I, vi.

8 Charisius, Ars Grammatica, IV, 2 (Keil, I, 276)

includes proverb
with allegory under the heading of trope. Diomedes, Ars Grammatica,
II (Keil, I, 462) states, parhoemia est vulgaris proverbii usurpatio
rebus temporibusque accomodata, cum aliud significatur, quam quod
dicitur. Beda, De Tropis (Halm, p. 615), also places the proverb under
allegory.

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