Μᾶλλον μᾶλλον
more and more
Translated by Nick Nicholas12 Apr 2009Vetting: high6 revisions
Translation
Meaning ever more. Alexis in Atthis [writes]: "how Zeus casts clouds at first quietly, then more and more."1 Anaxilas in Hours [and] Alexis in Pezonike [sc. also use the phrase].2
This 'more' is said affirmatively, as [in] 'a pirate is no more evil than a liar'. But by the Skeptics it is said not positively, but negatively: as by someone who in refutation says, 'Scylla did not exist, any more than Chimaera did'. And sometimes it is used comparatively, as when we say 'honey is more sweet than grapes'; while sometimes it is used both positively and negatively, as when we say 'virtue does more good than harm'. For [by that] we mean that virtue does good, but does not do harm.3
This 'more' is said affirmatively, as [in] 'a pirate is no more evil than a liar'. But by the Skeptics it is said not positively, but negatively: as by someone who in refutation says, 'Scylla did not exist, any more than Chimaera did'. And sometimes it is used comparatively, as when we say 'honey is more sweet than grapes'; while sometimes it is used both positively and negatively, as when we say 'virtue does more good than harm'. For [by that] we mean that virtue does good, but does not do harm.3
Greek original · Adler’s text
Μᾶλλον μᾶλλον· ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀεὶ καὶ μᾶλλον· Ἄλεξις Ἀτθίδι· πῶς ἐπινεφεῖ τὸ πρῶτον ὁ Ζεὺς ἡσυχῇ, ἔπειτα μᾶλλον μᾶλλον. Ἀναξίλας Ὥραις, Ἄλεξις Πεζονίκῃ. τοῦτο τὸ μᾶλλον λέγεται θετικῶς, οἷον οὐδὲν μᾶλλον ὁ πειρατὴς κακός ἐστιν ἢ ὁ ψεύστης. ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν Σκεπτικῶν οὐ θετικῶς, ἀλλ' ἀναιρετικῶς λέγεται· ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀνασκευάζοντος καὶ λέγοντος, οὐ μᾶλλον ἢ Σκύλλα γέγονεν ἢ Χίμαιρα. καί ποτε μὲν συγκριτικῶς ἐκφέρεται, ὡς ὅταν φῶμεν, μᾶλλον τὸ μέλι γλυκὺ ἢ τὴν σταφίδα· ποτὲ δὲ θετικῶς καὶ ἀναιρετικῶς, ὡς ὅταν λέγωμεν, μᾶλλον ἡ ἀρετὴ ὠφελεῖ ἢ βλάπτει. σημαίνομεν γάρ, ὅτι ἡ ἀρετὴ ὠφελεῖ, βλάπτει δ' οὔ.
Betacode
*ma=llon ma=llon: a)nti\ tou= a)ei\ kai\ ma=llon: *)/alecis *)atqi/di: pw=s e)pinefei= to\ prw=ton o( *zeu\s h(suxh=|, e)/peita ma=llon ma=llon. *)anaci/las *(/wrais, *)/alecis *pezoni/kh|. tou=to to\ ma=llon le/getai qetikw=s, oi(=on ou)de\n ma=llon o( peirath\s kako/s e)stin h)\ o( yeu/sths. u(po\ de\ tw=n *skeptikw=n ou) qetikw=s, a)ll' a)nairetikw=s le/getai: w(s u(po\ tou= a)naskeua/zontos kai\ le/gontos, ou) ma=llon h)\ *sku/lla ge/gonen h)\ *xi/maira. kai/ pote me\n sugkritikw=s e)kfe/retai, w(s o(/tan fw=men, ma=llon to\ me/li gluku\ h)\ th\n stafi/da: pote\ de\ qetikw=s kai\ a)nairetikw=s, w(s o(/tan le/gwmen, ma=llon h( a)reth\ w)felei= h)\ bla/ptei. shmai/nomen ga/r, o(/ti h( a)reth\ w)felei=, bla/ptei d' ou)/.
Notes (3)
- The Greek of the headword phrase is actually "more more". Besides the instances noted here, LSJ s.v.
ma/la , II, cites others from Euripides and Aristophanes.
The first paragraph of the entry is also in Photius (mu77 Theodoridis), and a truncated version in the Lexica Segueriana (Antiatticista 108.5). - 1Alexis fr. 29 Kock (and K.-A.). ↩
- 2Anaxilas fr. 32 Kock (31 K.-A.); Alexis fr. 181 Kock (186 K.-A.). ↩
- 3Diogenes Laertius 9.75, on Pyrrho, founder of the Skeptic school of philosophy (on which see web address 1); cf. omicron 802. ↩
External resources
- Web address 1 plato.stanford.edu
Neighbouring entries
Revision history6 revisions · last 4 Jul 2020
- more tweaks — Catharine Roth
- tweaked translation — Catharine Roth
- coding — David Whitehead
- tweaking — David Whitehead
- cosmetics — Catharine Roth
- augmented notes and keywords; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — Nick Nicholas