Antimetathesis

Antimetathesis (an-ti-me-ta’-the-sis): Inversion of the members of an antithesis.

Back and forth, to and fro. What about forth and back and fro and to? Why doesn’t it seem right? We’re not used to hearing it that way. The reversal is logically coherent, but we would probably say it that way: That swing was swinging fro and to. People might think there’s something wrong with you for putting it that way, or: the door swung forth and back in the wind.

But then, there’s good and bad, and bad and good. There may be a rationale to putting it one way or the other. As transformations of one to the other, they can be readily reversed, signifying, perhaps, the instability of one’s moral compass.

When I was younger, I used to worry about being good or bad. But, it seemed I was good or gad all day long. I’d tease my little sister and then, later in the afternoon, help an elderly person cross the street. This happened numerous times every day. Being bad always seemed more “real” than being good. It was more “fun” stealing candy than giving it away. but, then I was caught and punished for being bad. I had to work at the candy store on Saturdays. While working there, I continued to steal candy. I put it down my pants. I got away with it and experienced a sort of joy at becoming a good thief. Then, I realized that there was a sort of expertise that could be called “good” and had nothing to do with morality—with being a good person. So many people were praised for being good in the technical sense—skiers, bakers, dog walkers, etc. Hardly anybody is praised for being good in the moral sense. In my case, I discovered I was good at being bad. I had a number of criminal enterprises operating. I pretty much invented phishing. I even set up a fake Amazon 800 helpline number and collected credit card numbers from elderly people. I also invented computer operated roll backs on used car odometers. There’s more, but suffice it to say, I WAS GOOD.

I’m still good, but I’m serving a 3-year prison sentence for fraud. I come up for parole in 2 weeks. I have been a good prisoner—I followed the rules, didn’t get in any fights, kept my cell neat, and stamped out my fair share of license plates. When I get out, I want to be good at something that’s good. I’ll be thinking about it for the next two weeks. I am meeting daily with the prison chaplain.

POSTSCRIPT

He was paroled. He enrolled in the local community college and was majoring in electrical engineering. It was determined he was a genius and was allowed to work independently on a special project: a dog bark suppressor—a collar device that could remotely shock a dog to silence it. The day came for its test. The dog barked and he pressed the button. The dog exploded and the remote malfunctioned and electrocuted him.

Definition courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu)

The Daily Trope is available on Amazon in paperback under the title of The Book of Tropes for $9.95. It is also available in Kindle format for $5.99.