The Four Fundamental Operations
The four fundamental operations, or categories of change, governing the formation of all figures of speech are:
- addition (adiectio), also called repetition/expansion/superabundance
- omission (detractio), also called subtraction/abridgement/lack
- transposition (transmutatio), also called transferring
- permutation (immutatio), also called switching/interchange/substitution/transmutation
These four operations were detected by classical rhetoricians, and still serve to encompass the various figures of speech. Originally these were called, in Latin, the four operations of quadripartita ratio. The ancient surviving text mentioning them, although not recognizing them as the four fundamental principles, is the Rhetorica ad Herennium, of unknown authorship, where they are called πλεονασμός (addition), ἔνδεια (omission), μετάθεσις (transposition) and ἐναλλαγή (permutation). Quintillian then mentioned them in Institutio Oratoria. Philo of Alexandria also listed them as addition (πρόσθεσις), subtraction (ἀφαίρεσις), transposition (μετάθεσις), and transmutation (ἀλλοίωσις).
Read more about this topic: Figure Of Speech
Famous quotes containing the words fundamental and/or operations:
“This leads us to note down in our psychological chart of the mass-man of today two fundamental traits: the free expansion of his vital desires, and, therefore, of his personality; and his radical ingratitude towards all that has made possible the ease of his existence. These traits together make up the well-known psychology of the spoilt child.”
—José Ortega Y Gasset (1883–1955)
“You can’t have operations without screams. Pain and the knife—they’re inseparable.”
—Jean Scott Rogers. Robert Day. Mr. Blount (Frank Pettingell)