The greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor. — Aristotle · Smartyfair

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The greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor. — Aristotle · Smartyfair

The greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor.

Aristotle384–322 BC · philosopher · Ancient GreeceAristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher who studied nearly everything — biology, physics, poetry, and politics — and organized knowledge in ways that shaped science for centuries.6 quotes

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Where these words come from

How sure this is: 90% sureThese words were traced back to where they first appeared. That source is listed below.
What turned up: Poetics, Ch. XXII (Bekker 1459a), S.H. Butcher translation, 1895 (public domain, via Project Gutenberg).
Work: Poetics
Occasion: c. 335 BCE · Athens · lecture notes on the art of poetry, delivered at the Lyceum
Sources checked: gutenberg.orgChecked using claude-sonnet-5, 21 August 2026Gutenberg full text of Butcher's Poetics, Section XXII, confirms exact wording

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