Ἐξηγήσασθαι
to expound
Translated by David Whitehead19 May 2003Vetting: high5 revisions
Translation
[To expound] differs from to describe.1 For description is simply talking about things one knows, and speaking either to listeners who do not know them or even to those who do. But exposition2 is telling people about things they do not know and, at the same time, instructing them about what they are ascertaining.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Ἐξηγήσασθαι τοῦ διηγήσασθαι διαφέρει. διηγήσασθαι μὲν γάρ ἐστιν εἰπεῖν ἁπλῶς, ἅ τις αὐτὸς ἐπίσταται, ἤτοι πρὸς ἀγνοοῦντας τοὺς ἀκροωμένους λέγων ἢ καὶ πρὸς εἰδότας. τὸ δὲ ἐξηγήσασθαι ἅμα λέγειν τε περὶ ὧν ἀγνοοῦσιν οἱ ἀκούοντες, καὶ διδάσκειν αὐτούς, περὶ ὧν πυνθάνονται.