ἄπαρνος, ἔξαρνος
(Phryn. PS 11.13, Poll. 5.104)

D. General commentary

This entry in the PS (A.1) compares two synonymic adjectives, ἄπαρνος and ἔξαρνος, both of which mean ‘denying utterly’. They are intensive prefixed formations based on the verbs ἀπαρνέομαιἀπαρνέομαι (first attested in Plato) and ἐξαρνέομαιἐξαρνέομαι    (first attested in Herodotus and Aristophanes); the simplex ἀρνέομαι is first attested in Homer. Phrynichus judges ἄπαρνος to be more solemn (σεμνότερον) and more urbane (πολιτικώτερον) than ἔξαρνος. While the first evaluation is echoed in Photius (B.1), the further characterisation of ἄπαρνος as πολιτικός is found only in the PS. Pollux (A.2) mentions both adjectives in a list of synonyms – most of them prefixed formations – for ‘denying’, while all other lexica dealing with these forms focus exclusively on their meanings (see e.g. B.2, B.3).

Phrynichus’ preference for ἄπαρνος is likely a consequence of the two adjectives’ respective frequencies and literary distributions: ἄπαρνος is by far the rarer form, with only nine attested occurrences. In Classical Greek, it is attested in Sophocles (C.1), Aeschylus (Supp. 1039, in the passive sense of ‘denied’), twice in Antiphon’s Against the Stepmother (C.2, and Antipho 1.10), and once in Herodotus (C.3). In post-classical literature, it is only found in Cassius Dio (C.7) and later once in Cyril (Sancta trinitate 541.39), twice in Nicephorus I (Apologeticus 548.8, Refutatio 35.2), and once in Eustathius (De emendanda vita monachica 56.26). ἔξαρνος has very many attestations starting with Herodotus (C.4) and Aristophanes (C.5, C.6). Although it is employed by all major Attic orators and in imperial prose, including Atticising writers, such as Lucian and Aelius Aristides, it also occurs in lower-register texts, including documentary papyriPapyri from the 3rd century BCE (P.Hib. 2.239 [= TM 5199], petition) to the 4th century CE. It is likely, therefore, that Phrynichus perceived ἄπαρνος as a marked variant, a more distinguished synonym of ἔξαρνος.

Phrynichus’ characterisation of ἄπαρνος as both σεμνός and πολιτικός should also be considered in the light of Greek rhetorical thought. For a similar association of these two stylistic categories, see entry ἄψοφον ἔχειν στόμα (with further references), and Phryn. PS fr. *9 (= Σ^b α 462, Phot. α 470, ex Σʹʹʹ)Phryn. PS fr. *9 (= Σ^b α 462, Phot. α 470, ex Σʹʹʹ) re. ἄθηρος ἡμέρα (‘a day without hunting’), discussed there. In Phrynichus’ eyes, the σεμνότης of ἄπαρνος must reside in its tragic pedigree (see C.1) and rarity. As a general stylistic term, πολιτικός is associated with oratoryOratory, with different nuances in individual authors (for an overview, see Brandstätter 1893). Phrynichus is likely to have known that ἄπαρνος occurred in AntiphonAntiphon, who was not just any Attic orator but in fact occupied the first position in the canon of the ten Attic orators that Phrynichus fully exploited for the selection of his models of pure Attic (see Phot. Bibl. cod. 158.101b.6–7). HermogenesHermogenes (Id. 2.11, p. 401.3–6 Rabe) credited Antiphon with the invention of the πολιτικὸς λόγος (‘practical oratory’; see Rutherford 1998, 24, 38, 86), a genre in which σεμνότης – like all other qualities of style – may play a role, albeit not a prominent one (see Hermog. Id. 2.10Hermog. Id. 2.10, p. 381.16–8 Rabe: τὴν σεμνότητα καὶ διακόπτειν ἐν τῷ πολιτικῷ χρὴ λόγῳ καὶ καθαιρεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ μεγέθους, ‘one should break up solemnity in practical speeches and make it less grand’, transl. Wooten 1987, 109; on σεμνότης as a category of style in Hermogenes, see Patillon 1988, 223–7; for its role in oratory, see Patillon 1988, 285–6). These parallels support the supposition that in his preference for ἄπαρνος, Phrynichus is guided by the wish to recommend the would-be Atticising orator a kind of urbane vocabulary that, while not outlandish (and thus suited to public speeches), aspires to distinguish itself (σεμνότης).

E. Byzantine and Modern Greek commentary

ἄπαρνος remains a marked term in Byzantine Greek, while ἔξαρνος is common (suffice it to mention that Photius employs it several times in his writings). Neither ἔξαρνος nor ἄπαρνος survives in Modern Greek.

F. Commentary on individual texts and occurrences

N/A