On Difficult Words is a lost philological treatise composed in Attic Greek by the 4th-century BCE philosopher Heraclides of Pontus. The work survives only in six brief fragments preserved by later grammarians, which reveal its focus on analyzing irregular or problematic Greek words, particularly concerning their proper declensions and usages. This technical study reflects the scholarly pursuits of Heraclides, a student of Plato's Academy who was also associated with Aristotle's school. The extant fragments, embedded within the works of later authors such as the grammarian Herodian, suggest the treatise served as an early form of specialized linguistic analysis, likely intended for students of philosophy or rhetoric who required guidance in navigating textual ambiguities. It exemplifies the intersection of philosophical inquiry and grammatical study that would later flourish in Hellenistic scholarship. Having no independent manuscript tradition, the work is reconstructed entirely from these cited excerpts.
| 1 | ................... |
| 2 | [ ]ς [ ]ε [ ]μ [ ]εν [ ]ιη [ ]δυ [ ]τωι [ ] . αδη [ ]ων [ τρ?]ίτου [ οὐ?]δέν [ ]πλη[ τ?]ε γὰρ τὸ ........................... ................................. |
| 3 | [ ... ] . [ . ] .. [ .. ]ιδη .. [ ] τὸ ς εἶεν πα[ρ]ὰ Δωριεῦσι σ[ ] οἴονται καὶ τὴν ἐς πρόθε[σιν ] ἀληθὲς καὶ ἡ εἰς ποτε ἐν[ ] ων ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος ⟦ ι ⟧ ῥητέον ‵ α, ′ [ ἀνα?] λογικῆς, ‵ ἀ ′δύνατον γὰρ το[ ] ὅτι μὴ συμβέβηκε τοι[ ] ἐστιν ἴδιον τοῦ ῥήματο[ς ] τὸ εἴαν κατὰ τρίτον πρόσω[πον ] συλλαβῆς δύο σύμφωνα σ[ ] πληθυντικὸν ἐνυτ[ τόσα? σύμφω] να ἀρκτικὰ τῆς τ[ελ]ευ[ταίας συλλαβῆς τοῦ πρώτου?] προσώπου ‵ ὅσα καὶ τοῦ τ[ρ]ίτου ′ [προσώπου ] [ ]οιον δὲ κλ[ ] σι ⟦ κα ⟧ καθ’ ἑ‵ κά ′τερα ‵ γὰρ ′ τὰ πρόσ[ωπα ] τῆς τελευταίας συλλαβ[ῆς ] ἐστί διὰ δυεῖν ἐκφερομεν[ τὴν τελευ] ταίαν συλλαβὴν . [ . ] ἐσμέν [ ] δι’ ἑνὸς [ .. ] . [ ..... τ]ὸ εἰ [μέν ] διαλ . [ ] λαμον[ ] ἑνικοῦ[ ] ................................................... |
| (50) | [ ]ησοστ[ ] [ ± 8 ]τα ἀκο[ .. ] .. [ ... ] ἀναλογικ[ ] [ ± 7 ]ντο ἐ σμ έν . τ[ὰ] αὐτὰ γὰρ ἀρ[κτικά ] [ ± 4 τελ]ευταίας συλλαβῆ[ς] τοῦ πρώ[του προσώπου] [ ± 10 π]ληθυντικὸν [ .. ]α καὶ τ[ ] [ ± 7 ] υ[ .. ἐ]νδείκνυτε τὸ [λ]έγεσ[θαι ] [ ± 6 ἄ]λλους δύο σύμφωνα καὶ τ . [ ] [ ± 7 ]ων ἐξενεχθήσεται . ἔνιοι δ[ὲ ] [ ± 7 ]ου «ἀπήμονές εἰμεν ἁπάντω[ν» ] [καταδέ?]χεσθαι νομίζουσι ἐν τῶι «ποῖοί κ[’εἶτε Ὀδυσσῆϊ] [ἀμυνέμ]εν», ὁριστικοῦ ἀ[κ]ούοντες ἐκ τοῦ ε[ὐκτικοῦ], [μεταποιοῦ]ντες τὸν στίχον «ποῖοί κ’ ἐ[σ]τὲ [Ὀδυσσῆϊ ἀμυ] [νέμεν» . ταῦτ]α δ’ ἁμαρτάνουσ[ι], οὔτε γὰρ ἁρμόζ[ει ὁ κέν] [σύνδεσμ]ος π ρὸς ὁριστικὰ ῥήματα, ἀλλὰ [τῷ εὐκτι] [κῷ ὑποτά]ττεται . σόλοικον ἄρα ποιοῦσι τὴ[ν σύνταξιν] [οὕτως κεκ]λιμένοι «ποῖοι ἄν ἐστε Ὀδυσσῆϊ ἀ[μυνέμεν»] [ἀντὶ τοῦ] «ποῖοι ἂν εἴητε» τὴν τε . η[ν] ὅλην[ ] [ ± 7 ]οκ ... ἑκάστο[τ]ε[ ........ ]κοι [ ] [ ± 7 ]ον γουν [ ] [ ± 7 ἀ]ληθῶσ[ ] [ ± 7 ]ιλωσχ[ ] ................................................ |
| (50) | [ ]σι [ ] .. φι [ ] ⟦ .. αι ⟧ [ ]υπλη [ ]η ................................................ ................................................ |
| (50) | [ ] .. [ .. ]οντ[ ] [τ]ῶν εἰς μ ι τ [ελευτ ] [ . ]ν ὅτι πᾶν ρ[ ] [ . ] τηι εἰς μι λ[ηγ ] ἐκφέρεται το [ ] ὐπ οτακτικῶ [ ] δι’ ἣν αἰτίαν . [ ] ληγόντων[ ] εἰς μι περαι[ν ] οντος ὐπὸ τῶ[ν ] ἀπὸ τοῦ κιρν[ ] γραμμάτων[ ] κωι παρ’ οσον[ ὑπο] τακτικὸν εν[ ] κίρναμαι τὸ ϋ[ ] ἐπιδέχοιτο [ ] λου . στοισα[ ] ν .. π . [ ] ................................................ |