Chiasmus

=Chiasmus=

Definition: A type of parallelism in which two parts of a sentence are reversed variations of each other, always reversed in parts of speech, but not necessarily with the same exact words.

General Examples:

"Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live." - Sophocles "By day the frolic, and the dance by night." - Samuel Johnson, //The Vanity of Human Wishes//

Example from E.B. White: "In a week or two, all would be changed, all (or almost all) would be lost." - E.B. White, //The Ring of Time// "It seems to me that if the government has the power to immobilize some trains for the benefit of the mail, it has an obligation to speed up other trains for the benefit of the passengers." - E.B. White, //The Railroad//