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but Cleophon men as they are; and Hegemon the Thasian, who first made parodies,

Poetics. Aristotle. Theodore Alois Buckley (Translator). London. 1857.

Current edition Experimental

The Poetic of Aristotle (Theodore Alois Buckley) (OCR draft) (English) (Theodore Alois Buckley's English translation, first published in 1850 and represented from the Henry G. Bohn 1857 printing; corrected against a second OCR and aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (5)

Περὶ ποιητικῆς (OCR draft) (Aristotle, Poetics. Immanuel Bekker, editor, Aristotelis Opera, volume 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1837.) — 2 focus

Ἐπεὶ δὲ μιμοῦνται οἱ μιμούμενοι πράττοντας, ἀνάγκη δὲ τούτους ἢ σπουδαίους ἢ φαύλους εἶναι (τὰ γὰρ ἤθη σχεδὸν ἀεὶ τούτοις ἀκολουθεῖ μόνοις· κακίᾳ γὰρ καὶ ἀρετῇ τὰ ἤθη διαφέρουσι πάντες), ἤτοι βελτίονας ἢ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἢ χείρονας ἢ καὶ τοιούτους, ὥσπερ οἱ γραφεῖς·

Πολύγνωτος μὲν γὰρ κρείττους, Παύσων δὲ χείρους, Διονύσιος δὲ ὁμοίους εἴκαζεν.

Δῆλον δὲ ὅτι καὶ τῶν λεχθεισῶν ἑκάστη μιμήσεων ἕξει ταύτας τὰς διαφοράς, καὶ ἔσται ἑτέρα τῷ ἕτερα μιμεῖσθαι τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον.

Καὶ γὰρ ἐν ὀρχήσει καὶ αὐλήσει καὶ κιθαρίσει ἔστι γενέσθαι ταύτας τὰς ἀνομοιότητας,

καὶ περὶ τοὺς λόγους δὲ καὶ τὴν ψιλομετρίαν, οἷον Ὅμηρος μὲν βελτίους, Κλεοφῶν δὲ ὁμοίους, Ἡγήμων δὲ ὁ Θάσιος ὁ τὰς παρῳδίας ποιήσας πρῶτος καὶ Νικοχάρης ὁ τὴν Δηλιάδα χείρους.

Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τοὺς διθυράμβους καὶ περὶ τοὺς νόμους, ὡς Πέρσας καὶ Κύκλωπας Τιμόθεος καὶ Φιλόξενος, μιμήσαιτο ἄν τις.

Ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ τῇ διαφορᾷ καὶ ἡ τραγῳδία πρὸς τὴν κωμῳδίαν διέστηκεν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ χείρους ἡ δὲ βελτίους μιμεῖσθαι βούλεται τῶν νῦν.

Περὶ ποιητικῆς (OCR draft) Perseus (Aristotle, De arte poetica liber. Rudolf Kassel, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965. Reference edition for passage alignment.) — 2 focus

1448a 1 ἐπεὶ δὲ μιμοῦνται οἱ μιμούμενοι πράττοντας, ἀνάγκη δὲ τούτους ἢ σπουδαίους ἢ φαύλους εἶναι (τὰ γὰρ ἤθη σχεδὸν ἀεὶ τούτοις ἀκολουθεῖ μόνοις, κακίᾳ γὰρ καὶ ἀρετῇ τὰ ἤθη διαφέρουσι πάντες), ἤτοι βελτίονας ἢ καθ’ ἡμᾶς ἢ χείρονας 5 ἢ καὶ τοιούτους, ὥσπερ οἱ γραφεῖς·

Πολύγνωτος μὲν γὰρ κρείττους, Παύσων δὲ χείρους, Διονύσιος δὲ ὁμοίους εἴκαζεν.

δῆλον δὲ ὅτι καὶ τῶν λεχθεισῶν ἑκάστη μιμήσεων ἕξει ταύτας τὰς διαφορὰς καὶ ἔσται ἑτέρα τῷ ἕτερα μιμεῖσθαι τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον.

καὶ γὰρ ἐν ὀρχήσει καὶ αὐλήσει καὶ 10 κιθαρίσει ἔστι γενέσθαι ταύτας τὰς ἀνομοιότητας,

καὶ τὸ περὶ τοὺς λόγους δὲ καὶ τὴν ψιλομετρίαν, οἷον Ὅμηρος μὲν βελτίους, Κλεοφῶν δὲ ὁμοίους, Ἡγήμων δὲ ὁ Θάσιος ὁ τὰς παρῳδίας ποιήσας πρῶτος καὶ Νικοχάρης ὁ τὴν Δειλιάδα χείρους·

ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τοὺς διθυράμβους καὶ περὶ τοὺς 15 νόμους, ὥσπερ † γᾶς † Κύκλωπας Τιμόθεος καὶ Φιλόξενος μιμήσαιτο ἄν τις.

ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ τῇ διαφορᾷ καὶ ἡ τραγῳδία πρὸς τὴν κωμῳδίαν διέστηκεν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ χείρους ἡ δὲ βελτίους μιμεῖσθαι βούλεται τῶν νῦν.

Poetics, Greek text (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's Greek text of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 2 focus

Ἐπεὶ δὲ μιμοῦνται οἱ μιμούμενοι πράττοντας, ἀνάγκη
δὲ τούτους ἢ σπουδαίους ἢ φαύλους εἶναι (τὰ γὰρ ἤθη σχεδὸν
ἀεὶ τούτοις ἀκολουθεῖ μόνοις, κακίᾳ γὰρ καὶ ἀρετῇ τὰ ἤθη
διαφέρουσι πάντες), ἤτοι βελτίονας ἢ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἢ χείρονας
ἢ καὶ τοιούτους, ὥσπερ οἱ γραφεῖς·

Πολύγνωτος μὲν γὰρ
κρείττους, Παύσων δὲ χείρους, Διονύσιος δὲ ὁμοίους εἴκαζεν.

δῆλον δὲ ὅτι καὶ τῶν λεχθεισῶν ἑκάστη μιμήσεων ἔξει
ταύτας τὰς διαφορὰς καὶ ἔσται ἑτέρα τῷ ἕτερα μιμεῖσθαι
τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον.

καὶ γὰρ ἐν ὀρχήσει καὶ αὐλήσει καὶ
κιθαρίσει ἔστι γενέσθαι ταύτας τὰς ἀνομοιότητας,

καὶ τῷ
περὶ τοὺς λόγους δὲ καὶ τὴν ψιλομετρίαν, οἷον Ὅμηρος μὲν
βελτίους, Κλεοφῶν δὲ ὁμοίους, Ἡγήμων δὲ ὁ Θάσιος ὁ τὰς
παρῳδίας ποιήσας πρῶτος καὶ Νικοχάρης ὁ τὴν Δειλιάδα
χείρους·

ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τοὺς διθυράμβους καὶ περὶ τοὺς
νόμους, ὥσπερ Κύκλωπας Τιμόθεος καὶ Φιλόξενος,
μιμήσαιτο ἄν τις.

ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ τῇ διαφορᾷ καὶ ἡ τραγῳδία
πρὸς τὴν κωμῳδίαν διέστηκεν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ χείρους ἡ δὲ
βελτίους μιμεῖσθαι βούλεται τῶν νῦν.

Poetics, Greek text (S. H. Butcher, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (S. H. Butcher's Greek text from Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art, fourth edition, 1911.) — 1 focus

[1] 1447a 8 Περὶ ποιητικῆς αὐτῆς τε καὶ τῶν εἰδῶν αὐτῆς, ἥν τινα δύναμιν ἕκαστον ἔχει, καὶ πῶς δεῖ συνίστασθαι τοὺς μύθους εἰ μέλλει καλῶς ἕξειν ἡ ποίησις, ἔτι δὲ ἐκ πόσων καὶ ποίων ἐστὶ μορίων, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅσα τῆς αὐτῆς ἐστι μεθόδου, λέγωμεν λέγωμεν λέγομεν¹ ἀρξάμενοι κατὰ φύσιν πρῶτον ἀπὸ τῶν πρώτων.

[2] ἐποποιία δὴ καὶ ἡ τῆς τραγῳδίας ποίησις ἔτι δὲ κωμῳδία καὶ ἡ διθυραμβοποιητικὴ καὶ τῆς 15 αὐλητικῆς ἡ πλείστη καὶ κιθαριστικῆς πᾶαι τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι μιμήσεις τὸ σύνολον,

[3] διαφέρουσι δὲ ἀλλήλων τρισίν, ἢ γὰρ τῷ ἐν ἑτέροις ἐν ἑτέροις γένει² μιμεῖσθαι ἢ τῷ ἕτερα ἢ τῷ ἑτέρως καὶ μὴ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον.

[4] ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ χρώμασι καὶ σχήμασι πολλὰ μιμοῦνταί τινες ἀπεικάζοντες (οἱ μὲν διὰ τέχνης οἱ δὲ διὰ συνηθείας), ἕτεροι δὲ διὰ τῆς φωνῆς τῆς φωνῆς τῆς φύσεως αὐτῆς τῆς φύσεως³, οὕτω κἀν κὰν καὶ ἐν καὶ ταῖς εἰρημέναις τέχναις· ἅπασαι μὲν ποιοῦνται τὴν μίμησιν ἐν ῥυθμῷ καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἁρμονίᾳ, τούτοις δ᾽ ἢ χωρὶς ἢ μεμιγμένοις· οἷον ἁρμονίᾳ μὲν καὶ ῥυθμῷ χρώμεναι μόνον ἥ τε αὐλητικὴ καὶ ἡ κιθαριστικὴ κἂν εἴ τινες ἕτεραι τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι τοιαῦται τὴν δύναμιν, οἷον ἡ τῶν συρίγγων.

[5] αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ ῥυθμῷ τῷ αὐτῷ δὲ⁴ [μιμοῦνται]⁵ χωρὶς ἁρμονίας ἡ⁶ τῶν ὀρχηστῶν, καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι διὰ τῶν σχηματιζομένων ῥυθμῶν μιμοῦνται καὶ ἤθη καὶ πάθη καὶ πράξεις.

[6] ἡ δὲ [ἐποποιία]⁷ μόνον τοῖς λόγοις ψιλοῖς ἢ τοῖς μέτροις καὶ τούτοις 1447b 8 εἴτε μιγνῦσα μετ’ ἀλλήλων εἴθ’ ἑνί τινι γένει χρωμένη τῶν μέτρων, ἀνώνυμος⁸ τυγχάνει οὖσα τυγχάνουσα μέχρι τοῦ νῦν.

Poetics, Greek text (Franz Ritter, 1839) (OCR draft) Experimental (Franz Ritter's 1839 Greek edition, corrected against OCR of the represented copy and aligned to the conventional Perseus chapter-and-subchapter sequence.) — 2 focus

Ἐπεὶ δὲ μιμοῦνται οἱ μιμούμενοι πράττοντας, ἀνάγκη δὲ τούτους ἢ σπουδαίους ἢ φαύλους εἶναι (τὰ γὰρ ἤθη σχεδὸν ἀεὶ τούτοις ἀκολουθεῖ μόνοις· κακίᾳ γὰρ καὶ ἀρετῇ τὰ ἤθη διαφέρουσι πάντες), ἤτοι βελτίονας ἢ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἢ χείρονας¹ ἢ καὶ τοιούτους, – ὥσπερ οἱ γραφεῖς·

Πολύγνωτος μὲν γὰρ κρείττους, Παύσων δὲ χείρους, Διονύσιος δὲ ὁμοίους εἴκαζεν.

δῆλον δὲ ὅτι καὶ τῶν λεχθεισῶν ἑκάστη μιμήσεων ἕξει ταύτας τὰς διαφοράς, καὶ ἔσται ἑτέρα τῷ ἕτερα μιμεῖσθαι τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον.

καὶ γὰρ ἐν ὀρχήσει καὶ αὐλήσει καὶ κιθαρίσει ἔστι γενέσθαι ταύτας τὰς ἀνομοιότητας,

ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τοὺς διθυράμβους καὶ περὶ τοὺς νόμους [, ὡς Πέρσας καὶ Κύκλωπας Τιμόθεος καὶ Φιλόξενος,] μιμήσαιτο ἄν τις.

Translations (13)

Poetics (W. H. Fyfe) (OCR draft) Perseus (William Hamilton Fyfe's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, Loeb Classical Library, 1939 printing.) — 2 focus

1448a 1 Since living persons¹ are the objects of representation, these must necessarily be either good men or inferior—thus only are characters normally distinguished, since ethical differences depend upon vice and virtue—that is to say either better than ourselves or worse or much what we are. It is the same with painters.

Polygnotus depicted men as better than they are and Pauson worse, while Dionysius made likenesses.²

Clearly each of the above mentioned arts will admit of these distinctions, and they will differ in representing objects which differ from each other in the way here described.

In painting too, and flute-playing and harp-playing, these diversities may certainly be found, and it is the same in prose and in unaccompanied verse.

For instance Homer’s people are better, Cleophon’s are like, while in Hegemon of Thasos , the first writer of parodies, and in Nicochares, the author of the Poltrooniad, they are worse.³

It is the same in dithyrambic and nomic poetry, for instance . . . a writer might draw characters like the Cyclops as drawn by Timotheus and Philoxenus.⁴

It is just in this respect that tragedy differs from comedy. The latter sets out to represent people as worse than they are to-day, the former as better.

Arabic Poetics (Badawī edition, 1953) (OCR draft) (The ancient Arabic translation of Aristotle's Poetics in ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Badawī's 1953 edition.) — 2 focus

〈اختلاف ضروب الشعر باختلاف موضوعاته〉

ولما كان الذين يحاكون ويشبهون قد يأتون بذلك بأن يعملوا العمل الارادى، فقد يجب ضرورةً أن يكون هؤلاء إما أفاضل، وإما أراذل (وذلك أن العادات والأخلاق مثلا هى تابعة لهذين فقط) وذلك أن عاداتهم وأخلاقهم بأجمعهم إنما الخلاف بينها بالرذيلة والفضيلة ونأتى بالحكاية والتشبيه إما الأفاضل وإ[لا] ما [و] الأر〈ا〉ذل، وإما من كانت 〈له〉 حال فى ذلك 〈كحالنا〉 كما يشبه المصورون فى صنائعهم: أما الأخيار منهم للأخيار، والأشرار، كما 〈أنه〉 أما 〈فولوغنوطس فقد حاكى الأفاضل، وأما〉 [أن] فاوسن 〈فقد〉 حاكى الأشرار وشبه، وأما ديونوسيوس 〈فقد〉 كان يشبه ويحاكى 〈حسب〉 الشبيه. فظاهر بين أن يكون كل تشبيه وحكاية من التى وصفت. وكل واحد واحد من الأفعال الإرادية لها هذه الأصناف والفصول، وأن تكون الواحدة تشبه بالأخرى وتحاكيها بهذا الضرب.

وذلك أنه فى الرقص والزمر وصناعة العيدان قد يوجد لهذه أن تكون غير متشابهة، ونحو الكلام والوزن المرسل — مثال ذلك أما أوميروس فالفاضل، وأما قالاوفون فالأشياء الشبيهة، وإما ايجيمن المنسوب إلى ثاسيا، وهو الذى كان أولاً يعمل المديح، ونيقوخارس المنسوب إلى 〈د〉 الادى الذى كان يحاكى الأرذل، وكذلك ونحو هذه الداثورامبوس و〈الـ〉ـنواميس كما يشبه الانسان ويحاكى هكذا لقوقلوفاس طيموثاوس وفيلوكسانس.

وبهذا الفصل بعينه الخلاف الذى للمديح عند الهجاء: وهو أنه أما تلك فبالأراذل، وأما هذه فكانت تشبه بالأخيار وإياهم كانت تحاكى.

Poetics (S. H. Butcher, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (S. H. Butcher's English translation from Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art, fourth edition, 1911.) — 2 focus

Since the objects of imitation are men in action, and
these men must be either of a higher or a lower type (for
moral character mainly answers to these divisions,
goodness and badness being the distinguishing marks of
moral differences), it follows that we must represent men
either as better than in real life, or as worse, or as they
are.

It is the same in painting. Polygnotus depicted men as
nobler than they are, Pauson as less noble, Dionysius
drew them true to life.

Now it is evident that each of the modes of imitation
above mentioned will exhibit these differences, and
become a distinct kind in imitating objects that are thus
distinct.

Such diversities may be found even in dancing, flute-playing,
and lyre-playing.

So again in language, whether prose or verse
unaccompanied by music. Homer, for example, makes
men better than they are; Cleophon as they are;
Hegemon the Thasian, the inventor of parodies, and
Nicochares, the author of the Deiliad, worse than they
are.

The same thing holds good of Dithyrambs and Nomes;
here too one may portray different types, as Timotheus
and Philoxenus differed in representing their Cyclopes.

The same distinction marks off Tragedy from Comedy;
for Comedy aims at representing men as worse, Tragedy
as better than in actual life.

Aristotle on the Art of Poetry (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 2 focus

The objects the imitator represents are actions, with
agents who are necessarily either good men or bad—the
diversities of human character being nearly always derivative
from this primary distinction, since the line between virtue
and vice is one dividing the whole of mankind. It follows
therefore, that the agents represented must be either above
our own level of goodness, or beneath it, or just such as we
are;

in the same way as, with the painters, the personages of
Polygnotus are better than we are, those of Pauson worse,
and those of Dionysius just like ourselves.

It is clear
that each of the above-mentioned arts will admit of these
differences, and that it will become a separate art by
representing objects with this point of difference.

Even in
dancing, flute-playing, and lyre-playing such diversities are
possible;

and they are also possible in the nameless art that
uses language, prose or verse without harmony, as its means;
Homer's personages, for instance, are better than we are;
Cleophon's are on our own level; and those of Hegemon of
Thasos, the first writer of parodies, and Nicochares, the
author of the Diliad, are beneath it.

The same is true of
the Dithyramb and the Nome: the personages may be
presented in them with the difference exemplified in the ...
of ... and Argas, and in the Cyclopses of Timotheus and
Philoxenus.

This difference it is that distinguishes Tragedy
and Comedy also; the one would make its personages worse,
and the other better, than the men of the present day.

Poetics (Thomas Twining, 1789) (OCR draft) Experimental (Thomas Twining's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1789 and aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 2.5 focus

and, also, with the Poetry which employs words, or verse only, without melody, or rhythm: thus, Homer has drawn men superior to what they are¹; Cleophon, as they are; Hegemon the Thasian, the inventor of parodies, and Nicocharis, the author of the Deliad, worse than they are.

[3]

The Poetic of Aristotle (Henry James Pye, revised 1792) (OCR draft) Experimental (Henry James Pye's revised 1792 English translation, corrected against the 1788 first edition, aligned to the Kassel reference edition, and supplied with a selective apparatus of substantive 1788 readings.) — 2.5 focus

but Hegemon the Thasian, who first invented Parodies and Nicocharis who wrote the Deliad, make them worse. The same distinctions will be found in the Dithyrambics and Nomi (B); as for instance, in¹²

Poetica Latine conversa (Franciscus Ritter, 1839) (OCR draft) Experimental (Franz Ritter's Latin translation, corrected against OCR of the represented copy and aligned to the conventional Perseus chapter-and-subchapter sequence.) — 2 focus

Quoniam autem qui imitantur agentes imitantur, eos autem necesse est aut graves esse aut viles (mores enim ferme haec sequuntur sola: nequitia enim et virtute in moribus differunt omnes), aut meliores quam ipsi sumus aut peiores aut eiusdem moduli, ut pictores:

Polygnotus enim meliores, Pauso peiores, Dionysius similes pingebat.

manifestum vero est etiam illarum quas dixi imitationum unamquamque habituram esse has differentias, diversamque futuram, prout diversa in hoc genere imitabitur.

etenim in saltatione et in tibiarum citharaeque cantu licet

inesse hasce diversitates, etiam in sermonibus et nudis metris, veluti Homerus meliores, Cleophon similes, Hegemo autem Thasius, qui parodias primus fecit et Nicochares Deliadis auctor, peiores.

pariterque circa dithyrambos et circa nomos [, ut Persas et Cyclopes Timotheus et Philoxenus,] possit aliquis imitari.

ipsa hac differentia tragoedia discessit a comoedia: haec enim peiores illa autem meliores imitari vult quam qui nunc sunt.

La poëtique d'Aristote (André Dacier, 1692) (OCR draft) Experimental (André Dacier's French translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1692.) — 2.5 focus

Par exemple, Homere a fait les hommes meilleurs, Cleophon les a fait tels qu'ils font, & Egemon de Thaſos qui a été l'inventeur des parodies, & Nicochares Auteur de la Deliade les ont fait plus méchans.

Poetica d'Aristotile (Bernardo Segni, 1549) (OCR draft) Experimental (Bernardo Segni's 1549 Florentine Italian translation, aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 2 focus

Ma cóciofia che chiûche imita, imiti coloro, che operano. Et queſti è di neceſsità, che ſieno ò buoni, ò maluagi; perchè i coſtumi quaſi ſempre confeguitano à queſti ſoli : per eſſer ciaſcheduno differente ne' coſtumi mediante la virtù, òl vitio. Conſeguita pe rò neceffariamente, che e'ſi vada imitando ò gli migliori degli altri ; ò gli ſimili, ò gli peggiori: ſicome an chora interuenne fra' dipintori, che Polignoto andò ri trahendo i migliori.

Pauſone i peggiori. Et Dionifio li ſimili. Onde è manifeſto, che ciascuna delle imitationi ſopradette haurà queſte differenze;

& fia diuerfa l'u na dall'altra, s'ella imitera coſe diuerſe nel modo detto. Perchè queſte medeſime differenze anchora ſi poſſono ſcorgere nell'arte faltatoria, & in quella de ſuoni detti diſopra.

Nè queſto medefimo ancora ci è nafcoſto nelle profe, & nei verfi, oue ſi faccia l'imitatione he roica; ficome ſi può vedere in Homero, che imita li mi gliori.

In Cleofone, che imita i fimili. In Egemone da Tafio, che fu il primo, che compoſe le Parodie. Et in Nicocle, che compoſe la Deliade. Che amendue imita rono i piu vili.

Queſto ſimigliante ſi vede anchora nel la poeſia de'Ditirambi, & delle leggi. Doue fi potrebbe far l'imitatione di ſimil fatta; ſicome la fe Timoteo, & Filoſſeno nella fauola, chiamata I Perfi.

Et in quella, che fu chiamata I Ciclopi. Queſta medefima differenza ha la Tragedia con la Commedia, perchè infino al di d'hoggi l'una vuole imitare i piu rei; & l'altra vuole imitare i piu buoni.

De poetica (Antonio Riccobono, 1587) (OCR draft) Experimental (Antonio Riccobono's Latin translation, first published in 1587; text represented from Immanuel Bekker's 1831 edition.) — 2 focus

Quoniam autem ii qui imitantur agentes imitantur, necesse vero est eos aut bonos ant aut malos esse (mores enim ferme hos consequuntur solos: nam vitiositate et virtute in moribus differunt omnes), aut meliores quam secundum nos aut peiores necesse est imitari, ut ex pictoribus Polygnotus quidem meliores,

Pauson vero deteriores, at Dionysius similes pingebat. manifestum autem est quod et ex iis quae dictae sunt imitationibus unaquaeque habebit has differentias,

et erit diversa eo quod diversa imitabitur. nam in saltatione et auletica et citharistica possunt esse huiusmodi dissimi- litudines dissimilitudines.

et circa sermones et nuda metra, ut Homerus quidem meliores,

Cleophon vero similes: at Hegemon Thasius, qui parodias, et Nicocharis, qui Deiliada, peiores.

similiter vero etiam circa dithyrambos et circa nomos, ut qui fecit Cyclopes Timotheus et Philoxenus, posset aliquis imitari.

in eadem vero differentia et tragoedia et comoedia separata est: haec enim peiores, illa meliores imitari vult quam ii qui nunc sint.

De arte poetica liber (William of Moerbeke, ca. 1277) (OCR draft) Experimental (William of Moerbeke's medieval Latin translation, represented by the 1953 Aristoteles Latinus edition.) — 2 focus

Quoniam autem imitantes imitantur agentes, necesse autem hos aut studiosos aut pravos esse (mores enim fere semper hiis assecuntur solis, malitia enim et virtute secundum mores differunt omnes) aut meliores quam secundum nos aut peiores aut et tales, sicut pictores :

Polygnostus quidem enim meliores, Pauson autem peiores, Dionisius autem similes assimilavit. —

Palam autem quod et dictarum imitationum unaqueque habebit has differentias et erit altera per altera imitari hoc modo.

Et enim in saltatione et fystulatione et cytharizatione est fieri has dissimilitudines.

Et circa sermones autem et nudam metrizationem, puta Homerus quidem meliores, Cleofon autem similes, Igimon autem Thasius parodias poetizans primus, et Nicokhares qui Diliadem peiores.

Similiter autem et circa dithyrambos et circa leges, sicut Kyclopas Thimotheus et Filoxenus, imitabitur utique aliquis.

In ipsa autem differentia et tragodia ad komodiam distat: hec quidem enim peiores, hec autem meliores imitari vult nunc. —

Arabic Poetics (Abū Bishr Mattā; Tkatsch edition) (OCR draft) Experimental (The Arabic translation attributed to Abū Bishr Mattā, edited by Jaroslaus Tkatsch in 1928 and aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 2 focus

‏ولما كان الذين يحاكون ويشبهون قد ياتون بذلك بان يعملوا العمل الارادى فقد يجب ضرورة ان يكون هولا اما افاضل واما اراذل وذلك ان العادات والاخلاق مثلا هى تابعة لهذين فقط وذلك ان عادتهم واخلاقهم باجمعهم انما الخلاف بينها بالرذيلة والفضيلة وياتى بالحكاية والتشبيه اما الافاضل منا والاما [و]الاراذل واما من كانت حال فى ذلك كما يشبه المصورون فى صنايعهم اما الاخيار منهم للاخيار والاشرار للاشرار كما

‏اما ان فاوسن حاكا الاشرار وشبه واما ديونوسيوس كان يشبه ويحاكى الشبيه

‏فظاهر بين ان يكون كل تشبيه وحكاية من التى وصفت وكل واحد واحد من الافعال الاراديه لها هذه الاصناف والفصول وان تكون الواحدة تشبه بالاخرى وتحاكيها بهذا الضرب

‏وذلك انه فى الرقص والزمر وصناعة العيدان قد يوجد لهذه ان تكون غير متشابهة

‏ونحو الكلام والوزن المرسل مثال ذلك اما اوميروس فالقاٮل واما قالاوفون فالاشيا الشبيهة واما ايجيمن المنسوب الى ثاسيا وهو الذى كان اولا يعمل المديح ونيقوخارس المنسوب الى الارى الذى كان يحاكى الارذل

‏وكذلك ونحو هذه الى لثورامى ونوامس كما يشبه الانسان ويحاكى هكذى لقوقلوفاس طيموثاوس وفيلوكسانس

‏وبهذا الفصل بعينه الخلاف الذى للمديح عند الهجا وهو انه اما تلك فبالاراذل اما هذه فكانت تشبه بالاخيار واياهم كانت تحاكى

Arabic Poetics (Abū Bishr Mattā; Tkatsch edition, unaligned) (OCR draft) Experimental (Tkatsch's edition of the medieval Arabic translation in its original, unaligned segmentation.) — 2 focus

‏وذلك انه فى الرقص والزمر وصناعة العيدان قد يوجد لهذه ان تكون غير متشابهة ونحو الكلام والوزن المرسل مثال ذلك اما اوميروس فالقاٮل واما قالاوفون فالاشيا الشبيهة واما ايجيمن المنسوب الى ثاسيا وهو الذى كان اولا يعمل المديح ونيقوخارس المنسوب الى الارى الذى كان يحاكى الارذل

‏وكذلك ونحو هذه الى لثورامى ونوامس كما يشبه الانسان ويحاكى هكذى لقوقلوفاس طيموثاوس وفيلوكسانس

Commentary

Commentary on the Poetics (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) (Ingram Bywater's English commentary on Aristotle's Poetics.) focus

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-63

τῷ περὶ τοὺς λόγους δὲ καὶ τὴν ψιλομετρίαν is a general expression for the group of purely literary imitative arts, which were described in 1, 1447 b 29 as using τοῖς λόγοις ψιλοῖς ἢ τοῖς μέτροις. Ψιλομετρία—a term misunderstood by later writers (v. Bernays, Heraklit. Briefe p. 116 )—means verse without music ( χωρὶς ἁρμονίας; see on 1447 a 29 ). The qualifying addition 'without music' might no doubt have been appended to τοὺς λόγους also ; but it is more wanted where it is, so as to distinguish the verse that was simply recited from the verse that was sung. From this point onward Aristotle ignores the prose imitations (the Mime and the Dialogue), and deals only with 'poetry', the versified forms of imitative literature ( μίμησις ἐν μέτροις; see on 1, 1447 b 23 ). τῷ περὶ τοὺς λόγους = ἐν τῷ περὶ τοὺς λόγους, the preposition being understood from the preceding context (comp. Bon. Ind. 63 b 40 ). The restoration of τῷ for τὸ in 25, 1461 a 33 admits of the same explanation. For τὸ περί τι in the sense of 'the class comprising' see Plato Soph. 221 B , Symp. 205 , Rep. 394 B .

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-64

1448a12 Κλεοφῶν In 22, 1458 a 20 his diction is said to be ταπεινή. Aristotle notes elsewhere the ludicrous effect his occasional attempts at fine language produced owing to the incongruity between the expression and the matter he dealt with: Rhet. 3. 7, 1408 a 10

τὸ δὲ πρέπον ἕξει ἡ λέξις, ἐὰν ᾖ ... τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις πράγμασιν ἀνάλογον. τὸ δ᾿ ἀνάλογόν ἐστιν ἐὰν μήτε περὶ εὐόγκων αὐτοκαβδάλως λέγηται μήτε περὶ εὐτελῶν σεμνῶς, μηδ᾿ ἐπὶ τῷ εὐτελεῖ ὀνόματι ἐπῇ κόσμος. εἰ δὲ μή, κωμῳδία φαίνεται, οἷον ποιεῖ Κλεοφῶν· ὁμοίως γὰρ ἔνια ἔλεγε καὶ εἰ εἶπειεν ἂν πότνια συκῆ

. In the present passage we are told that his personages were 'like ourselves' ( ὁμοίους), neither better than the ordinary man, like those in Homer, nor worse, like those in a parody. From the context as well as the company in which he is placed it is plain that he is to be regarded as a sort of epic poet. He is taken as the representative of the prosaic Epic—the Epic of the commonplace, as distinct from the noble Epic of Homer and the debased Epic known as parody. His work being put under the head of ψιλομετρία, 'verse without the accompaniment of song,' he cannot have been in Aristotle's view either a lyric or a dramatic poet. The notion that he was the writer of a dialogue entitled the 'Mandrobulus' is based on an erroneous interpretation of Soph. el. 15, 174 b 19 .

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-65

Ἡγήμων : see Brandt, Parodorum epicorum reliq., p. 37 , and Kock, CAF. 1, p. 700 . Parody was an element in the humour of the Old Comedy, as also of Epicharmus; and there were certainly others before Hegemon who travestied Homer. What Aristotle means, however, is that Hegemon was the first to take up parody as a special form of poetical literature. According to Athenaeus 699 A he was the first to present a parody in the poetical contests in the theatre:

πρῶτος εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τοὺς ἀγῶνας τοὺς θυμελικοὺς Ἡγήμων, καὶ παρ᾿ Ἀθηναίοις ἐνίκησεν ἄλλαις τε παρῳδίαις καὶ τῇ Γιγαντομαχία

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-66

1448a13 παρῳδίας A παρῳδία, in Aristotle's sense of the word, is a mock epic, a poem on an ignoble theme in epic language and metre.

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-67

Νικοχάρης : he may perhaps be the same as the comic poet of the same name ( Kock, CAF. 1 p. 770 ). We know nothing more of his work, and there is some uncertainty even as to its title. Δειλιάς (which is assonant to Ιλιάς) would mean, as Twining says, the 'Poltroniad'; Δηλιάς, either the 'Tale of Delos', or the 'Tale of Delium'; it is practically impossible to say which.

1448a15

ὥσπερ γᾶς κτἑ. It is important to bear in mind that in A the ὥσπερ here ends a line, and that the γᾶς stands at the beginning of another. The better apographs have either ὡς περγᾶς or ὡς πέργας. The reading ὡς Πέρσας καὶ Κύκλωπας was probably due to a corrector who knew of the Πέρσαι as a nome of Timotheus. Vahlen suggests that ὥσπερ γὰρ Κύκλωπας should be restored on the supposition (1) that Timotheus and Philoxenus may represent the ignoble Nome and Dithyramb, and (2) that instances of the opposite were not wanted, as the Nome and Dithyramb were so generally associated with noble subjects. Castelvetro was probably right in recognizing in γᾶς the second half of Ἀργᾶς, the name of one notorious in antiquity as the writer of a debased kind of nome. The text, when entire, may have given the name of another writer of nomes, who was put in contrast with Argas, and also the name of a common subject differently treated by the two poets ( ὥσπερ (-- καὶ Ἀργᾶς).

Remarques sur la poëtique d'Aristote (André Dacier, 1692) (OCR draft) (André Dacier's French commentary on Aristotle's Poetics.) focus

8. mvp-aristotle-comment-45

2.5 Par exemple, Homere a fait les hommes meilleurs.]¹

9. mvp-aristotle-comment-46

2.5 Cleophon les a fait tels qu'ils font.)²

10. mvp-aristotle-comment-47

2.5 Hegemon de Thaſos qui a été l'Inventeur des parodies.]³

11. mvp-aristotle-comment-48

2.5 Parodies.]⁴

12. mvp-aristotle-comment-49

2.5 Nicochares Auteur de la Deliade.)⁵

Commentary on the Poetics (Thomas Twining, 1789) (OCR draft) (Thomas Twining's notes on Aristotle's Poetics, aligned to the Kassel reference edition.) focus

14. mvp-aristotle-comment-14

NOTE 14.

2.5 P. 68. CLEOPHON, AS THEY ARE.—

It may be worth while to remark, that the character Aristotle gives of the diction of Cleophon—that it was of the common and familiar kind, without Poetic elevation¹—corresponds with the account here given of the general object of his Poetry, the exact delineation of common nature and common life. He who means to represent men as they are, will also, of course, represent their language nearly as it is.

The only Poet of this name, of whom, I believe, any account is given, is recorded as a Tragic Poet²: but Aristotle undoubtedly alludes here to a Poem of the narrative kind. In another part of his works he mentions a Poem of Cleophon, called MANDRABULUS.³ From the proverbial expression—

ἐπι Μανδραβέλε χωρει το πραγμα

(

"worse and worse, like the affairs of Mandrabulus"—

) in Lucian ,⁴ and the account of its origin in Suidas ,⁵ and Hesychius , it seems very improbable that the Poem was a Tragedy. We may rather conclude it to have been of a comic cast; and it seems no unreasonable conjecture, to suppose, that it might be of the narrative kind; modelled, perhaps, in some respects, upon the MARGITES of Homer . At least, the two heroes seem to have been of kindred characters.

15. mvp-aristotle-comment-15

NOTE 15.

2.5 P. 68. HEGEMON INVENTOR OF PARODIES.

See Athenæus, p. 698, 699 , and 406, 407 . And Fabric. Biblioth. Gr. lib. ii. cap. vii. —The Athenians were delighted with this sort of fun—of all expedients to raise a laugh, the cheapest, and, at the same time, the most infallible. HOMER was the great and inexhaustible resource of these Parodists. The best and most considerable specimen remaining, of this kind of Poem, seems to be the Homeric description of an Attic supper by Matron, a great Parodist, and a great eater, in Athenæus, lib. iv. cap. v. Isaac Casaubon calls it,

"Carmen ingeniosum, et leporis ac venustatis plenissimum."

The first three lines may serve as a specimen:—

Δείπνα μοι ἐννεπε, Μεσα, πολυτροφα και μάλα πολλα⁶, Ἃ Ξενοκλης ῥητωρ ἐν Αθηναις δενπνισεν ἡμας, Ηλθον γαρ κέμκεισε, πολυς δε μοι ἐσπετο λιμα.⁷

The Poem, it must be confessed, has some pleasantry, and much dexterity of comical perversion. We cannot wonder at its effect upon a people, who had all Homer in their memories. It is easy to conceive the roar of the Athenian upper gallery, when, in the description of the cook, bringing in the supper, they heard this line:

Τῳ δ' αρα τεσσερακοντα μελαιναι ΧΥΤΡΑΙ ἑποντος.⁸

Sometimes the Parody depended on a pun; of which Athenæus gives, with great complacence, a curious example, in a scrap from a Parody of Eubæus , describing a quarrel between a barber and a potter. The barber, whose wife, it seems, the other attempts to force from him, addresses the potter in the language of Nestor:—

Μητε συ τονδ , ἀγαθα περ ἐων, ἀποαιρεο ΚΟΥΡΗΝ, Μητε συ, ΠΗΛΕΙΔΗ.

See IL. L. 275, &c. —where the joke depends on the allusion to

ΠΗΛΟΣ

, mud, or clay; and, probably, to the trade of the speaker, in the word

κερην

; or, perhaps, to the instrument of his art, which we may suppose the actor of the Parody to have brandished at his adversary.—But I do not mean to take to myself the honour of this illustration of an Attic joke. It is to be found in the Poetics of J. C. Scaliger .—See Athen. p. 699. B.

16. mvp-aristotle-comment-16

NOTE 16.

2.5 P. 68. THE DELIAD.—

The conjecture of Castelvetro ,

την ΔΕΙλιαδα

, (which might be rendered,

The Poltroniad

,) was certainly ingenious, but, I think, unnecessary. Dacier's account is probably right; and both his idea, and the common reading, seem to receive some support from the similar national titles that are preserved of other pieces of this Poet; such as,

Κρητες

Λάκωνες

Λημνιαι

.—See Suidas and Fabricius .

Commentarius in Aristotelis Poeticam (Franciscus Ritter, 1839) (OCR draft) (Ritter's Latin commentary, extracted from the 1839 volume, divided by Ritter's chapters and sections, and linked to the corresponding Perseus reference subsections.) focus

3. mvp-aristotle-comment-13

Ritter, cap. 2 § 3

καὶ περὶ τοὺς λόγους δὲ καὶ τὴν ψιλο μετρίαν: quod paulo ante (c. 1, 6) nove ἐποποιίαν dixit, idem nunc λόγους καὶ ψιλομετρίαν appellat. λόγοι h. 1. sunt sermones pedestri oratione ( λογάδην) conscripti sed simul μι μητικῶς compositi, ut Sophronis mimi Xenarchique et dialogi Platonici: per ψιλομετρίαν alteram ἐποποιίας partem comprehendit, imitationem numeris quidem decurrentem sed musica et saltatione destitutam, quam c. 1, 6. per μέτρα signi ficavit, talis est epica poesis quae vulgo vocatur, praeterea elegiaca, denique parodiae iambique. aliter hunc locum intellexit Augustus Matthiae in diurnis Ienens. a. 1805. n. 222. p. 549. quippe καὶ τὴν ψιλομετρίαν explicationis gratia ad τοὺς λόγους ab Aristotele addita esse opinatur. hoc vero et per sese non verisimile videtur et ex repetito ante ψιλο μετρίαν articulo falsum esse liquet. quod dicit ille censor, exempla statim afferri nonnisi ex poesi sumpta, id cur factum sit prompte explicaveris. prosae enim imitationis exempla allata iam erant c. 1, 7., ubi imitationes numeris instructae et cantu carentes nonnisi universe et breviter significabantur per εἴ τις διὰ τριμέτρων ἢ ἐλεγείων ἢ τῶν ἄλλων τινῶν τῶν τοιούτων ποιοῖιο τὴν μίμησιν. lyrica quidem ars et ipsa imitatur, sed eam paulo post, ubi nomes et dithyrambos memorat, designavit ita ut duabus formis totum genus complecteretur. οἷον Ὅμηρος μὲν βελτίους : quos Homerus in medium produxit viros, ii superant homines qui vulgo sunt, praecipue corporis viribus et animi fortitudine, saepius etiam morum ingeniique praestantia. valentiores et fortiores a se describi ipse significavit Il. E, 302, ὁ δὲ χερμάδιον λάβε χειρὶ Τυδείδης, μέγα ἔργον ὃ οὐ δύο γ᾽ ἄνδρε φέρθιεν, οἷοι νῦν βροτοί εἰσ᾽· ὁ δέ μιν ῥέα πάλλε καὶ οἷος. similia protulit idem duobus aliis Iliadis locis, M. 383. Y. 287. Κλεοφῶν δὲ ὁμοίους: an hic poeta idem sit atque is cuius decem tragoedias Suidas et Eudocia enumerant, dubitari potest, sed hoc dubitari non posse videtur, non tragoedias Cleophontis sed aliud eius poema ab Aristotele intelligi, nam h. I. ψιλομετρίας exempla ponuntur, tragoedia comoediaque paulo post alio in genere nominantur. sed haud dubie hic homo non diversus est ab eo, quem aliis locis Aristoteles commemoravit. primum ille in Soph. Elench. c. 15. p. 174 b 27. Cleophontis Μανδρόβουλον citavit a Suida in tragoediis eius non relatum, tum eiusdem in Critiam reprehensionem ex Solonis elegis petitam exposuit in Rhetoricis I, 15. p. 1375 b 32. in codem opere (III, 7. p. 1408 a 15.) Cleaphontem epitheta ornantia vilibus nominibus adiunxisse tradit: μηδ' ἐπὶ τῷ εὐτε λεῖ ὀνόματι ἐπῇ κόσμος· εἰ δὲ μή, κωμῳδία φαίνεται, οἷον ποιεῖ Κλεοφῶν· ὁμοίως γὰρ ἔνια ἔλεγε καὶ εἰ εἴπειεν ἂν “ ὦ πότνια συκῆ.” eius humilem elocutionem notavit infra c. 22, 1. quae omnia cum considero, verisimile mihi videtur hune Cleophontem poema conscripsisse nomine Μανδροβού 20v, quod mediam quasi viam teneret inter epicae poesis dignitatem et parodiarum humilitatem. Ἡγήμων - πρῶτος: Aristoteles Hegemonem facit inventorem paesis parodicae, florentem illum ingenii laude tempore belli Peloponnesiaci (vid. Athen. IX. p. 407 A), alii autem eiusdem inventionis gloriam in Hipponactem circa Olympiadem 60. viventem contulerunt, ut Polemo apud Athenaeum XV. p. 698 Β. εὑρέτην τοῦ γένους ( παρῳδιῶν) Ἱππώνακτα φατέον τὸν ἰαμβοποιόν. nimirum Aristoteles parodias Hipponactis, quamvis herois versibus conscriptas, in iambis sive maledictis numeravit, τὴν ἰαμβικὴν ἰδέαν 1) potius respiciens quam Homerici sermonis similitudinem. ipsa Polemonis verba ostendunt Hipponactem pro parodiarum scriptore habitum non 1) Nobilem irrisorem etiam in parodiis more suo singulos perstringendi delectatum esse non solum per se probabile videtur, sed etiam insigni fragmento constat. vid. Athen. XV. p. 698. C.esse: scribit enim εὑρέτην - φατέον, neque ipse illa carmina παρῳδίας sed εξάμετρα designat: λέγει γὰρ οὗτος ἐν τοῖς ἑξαμέτροις κτλ. minus recte, ut mihi videtur, nonnulli * existimant Hegemonem ob eam causam parodiarum inventorem ab Aristotele perhiberi, quod ille parodiis ex scena recitatis de praemio certare coeperit, ut docet Athenaeus XV. p. 699 A. eam sententiam probaverunt Floegelius in Comicae poesis histor. I. p. 383., Tyrwhittus ad h. 1., Weland de Parodiarum Homer. scriptoribus apud Graecos p. 26. de Hegemone lege Athen. IX. p. 406 Е - 407 В. Νικοχάρης ὁ τὴν Δηλιάδα χείρους: Nicocharis Deliadem compositam fuisse ad irridendos Delios, quos propter vitam deliciis diffluentem famosos fuisse docuit Apollodorus apud Athenaeum IV. p. 172 F- 173 C., acute vidit Tyrwhittus, sed idem nomen χείρους non recte accepit, cum scripsit Deli incolas magnam partem χείρους fuisse, coquos scilicet et caupones. nam ipsos coquos et caupones aliquis et βελτίους et χείρους et ὁμοίους potest imitari. immo Nicochares Delios tales ostendit, ut aliquanto peiores ( χείρους) quam re vera essent apparerent. hunc Nicocharem comoediis docendis certasse cum Aristophane scimus. vid. Argumentum Pluti et Meinekii Quaest. scen. II. p. 58. sed hoc eius poema comoediam non fuisse vel inde liquet, quod in ψιλομετρίας exemplis refertur. parodiam fuisse vel parodiae similem speciem prae se tulisse suspicor. neque sane mirandum est ab eodem homine (nihil est cur hunc Aristotelium Nicocharem a poeta comico diversum fuisse statuamus) et comoedias et parodias editas esse, siquidem etiam Hermippus antiquae comoediae poeta parodias fecit, et rursus Hegemo parodiarum scriptor comoediam nomine Philinnae evulgavit. vid. Athen. XV. p. 699 A. ....

Aristotle Poetics 2.5

Theodore Alois Buckley (Translator)

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NOTE 14.

NOTE 15.

NOTE 16.

Ritter, cap. 2 § 3

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