Paradiastole (Greek "distinction") is a sequential contrasting of concepts or words, which thereby receive comparable synonymous and antonymical meanings, forming semantic series; at the same time, paradiastole is also a definition through the contrast of the word with a homonym. Paradiastole is often used in recapitulations - generalizing statements - or in conclusions that complete the argument:
“The myth is not hypothetical, but actual reality, not a function, but a result, a thing, not an opportunity, but reality, and moreover, it is vitally and specifically felt, created and existing.” A.F. Losev.
The term “paradiastole” was first used by Quintilian (35-96) and, thus, most likely is the creation of the Hellenistic era. Machiavelli (1469-1527) addresses him in the treatise "Sovereign".
The paradiastole was described by moralists as a dangerous technique harboring vices (" not greedy, but domovy ", "not stupid, but adamant").