ABSTRACT
Aristotle regarded metaphor as an important poetic and rhetorical tool because it contributed to “excellence in diction”, which consisted of clear speech and yet employ ordinary words, phrases, and generally “low” language: “excellence in diction is clarity and the avoidance of banality”. Verbal predication is derived from this system because when one goes through the processes of naming and description, general classes and attributes can be “said of” specific and individual things. The chapter explores the intricacies of this movement below, but for the time being, we may say, for instance, that using the term “animal” to describe a member of the species “man” is an example of a taxonomic metaphor. The necessity of identifying a superordinate genos in order to compose eidos-to-eidos metaphors is highlighted in the Rhetoric. The presentation of terms in ‘related-in-genos’ columns is likely the product of an ancient philosophical school that sorted principles into a series of oppositions.
