Aristotle Poetics 25.9

Theodore Alois Buckley (Translator)

Table of Contents

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Chapter
← Previous Next →
and that according to the art pertaining to these things, then the fault will not be excusable. For it is requisite if possible to be entirely without error.

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 (4)
Περὶ ποιητικῆς (OCR draft) (Aristotle, Poetics. Immanuel Bekker, editor, Aristotelis Opera, volume 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1837.) — 25 focus
Περὶ ποιητικῆς (OCR draft) Perseus (Aristotle, De arte poetica liber. Rudolf Kassel, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965. Reference edition for passage alignment.) — 25 focus
Poetics, Greek text (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's Greek text of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 25 focus
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.) — 25 focus
Translations (13)
Poetics (W. H. Fyfe) (OCR draft) Perseus (William Hamilton Fyfe's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, Loeb Classical Library, 1939 printing.) — 25 focus
Arabic Poetics (Badawī edition, 1953) (OCR draft) (The ancient Arabic translation of Aristotle's Poetics in ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Badawī's 1953 edition.) — 25 focus
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.) — 25 focus
Aristotle on the Art of Poetry (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 25 focus
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.) — 25.9 focus
The pursuit of Hector is an instance 1 . If, indeed, this end might as well, or nearly as well, have been attained, without departing from the principles of the particular art in question, the fault, in that case, could not be justified; since faults of every kind should, if possible, be avoided.
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.) — 25.9 focus
as in this instance : • A wood of spears stood by, that fix'd upright, • Shot from their flashing points a quivering light.' IL. X. for such was then the usual order of placing them as it is now among the Illyrians. In examining whether a thing is either said or done, properly or improperly, we are not only to regard whether the thing itself is good or bad but we must consider the character of the actor or speaker as well as concerning whom and to whom and for what cause, he speaks or acts; as for example, if it would be a greater advantage to receive it or a greater disadvantage to omit it.
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.) — 25 focus
La poëtique d'Aristote (André Dacier, 1692) (OCR draft) Experimental (André Dacier's French translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1692.) — 25.9 focus
Que ſi le Poëte a pû parvenir à la même fin, & faire à peu prés le même effet, ſans violer les regles de ſon Art, alors ſa faute n'eſt plus pardonnable; car il faut ſi il eſt poſſible s'empêcher de tomber dans aucun défaut.
Poetica d'Aristotile (Bernardo Segni, 1549) (OCR draft) Experimental (Bernardo Segni's 1549 Florentine Italian translation, aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 25 focus
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.) — 25 focus
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.) — 25 focus
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.) — 25 focus
Arabic Poetics (Abū Bishr Mattā; Tkatsch edition, unaligned) (OCR draft) Experimental (Tkatsch's edition of the medieval Arabic translation in its original, unaligned segmentation.) — 25 focus

Commentary

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

9. mvp-aristotle-comment-983

1460b27 ἢ μὴ ἧττον: Metaph. K 5, 1062 b 25
δόξειε δὲ κἂν οὐχ ἵππον εἶναι φάσκων τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἢ μᾶλλον ἢ οὐχ ἧττον ἀληθεύειν ἢ οὐκ ἄνθρωπον.
1460b28

9. mvp-aristotle-comment-984

ἡμαρτῆσθαι here seems to be a dittographia of the ἡμαρτῆσθαι in the next line (J. of Phil. 14, p. 52).

9. mvp-aristotle-comment-985

δεῖ γὰρ κτἑ.: comp. the parallel statement as to the avoidance of ἄλογα in 24, 1460a 28 The general rule is that the descrip- tions in poetry should be in accordance with the technical standard of correctness; but at the same time there are cases in which some sacrifice of technical accuracy may be requisite to produce the poetic effect ( b24 ; comp. 1461 b11
πρὸς τὴν ποίησιν
), and in these the end justifies the means. This is the only direct answer to an objection of this kind. But if such an answer is not possible, it may perhaps be urged, in mitigation of censure at [ [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/ucl](https://hdl.handle.net/2027/ucl) 31210000876426/ Generated at Tufts University through HathiTrust on 2026-05-18 19:55 GMT Public Domain in the United States, Gongle-digitized 330 COMMENTARY 1460b28 any rate, that the technical error is in a minor matter ( b31 ), and as such, a venial fault in an imitative art.

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

13. mvp-aristotle-comment-608

25.9 13. Que fi le Poëte a pů parvenir à la même fin, & faire à peu prés le même effet ſans violer les regles de fon art, alors fa faute n'est plas pardonnable, car il faut, s'il eſt poſſible, s'em-pêcher de tomber dans aucun défaut.] 1

Commentary on the Poetics (Henry James Pye, 1792) (OCR draft) (Henry James Pye's 1792 English commentary, aligned to the Kassel reference edition.) focus

25.5. mvp-aristotle-comment-113 25.9

IN EXAMINING WHETHER A THING IS EITHER SAID OR DONE PROPERLY OR IMPROPERLY, WE ARE NOT ONLY TO REGARD WHETHER THE THING ITSELF IS GOOD OR BAD; BUT WE MUST CONSIDER THE CHARACTER OF THE ACTOR OR SPEAKER.

IF it is neceffary for the poet to introduce vicious persons, it is also necessary for him to make them speak and act in character, and no blame can be incurred from this if the character is so marked, and the expressions so introduced, as to shew they are not the real opinion of the poet [1]. [1] See Note IV. Chap. XII. Dr..
، Dr. Beattie, who censures a fault of this kind in Cowley, and another in Dryden's tranflation of Virgil, makes this judicious distinction. 'But ، if instruction may be drawn from the speeches and behaviour of Milton's devils, of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and of Virgil's Mezentius, Why is Cowley blamed for a phrase which at worst implies only a • flight fally of momentary pride (K)? I answer, that to speak serioufly the language of intemperate paffion is one thing, to imitate or defcribe it another. By the former, one can never merit praise or esteem; by the latter, one may merit much praise and do much good. In the one • cafe we recommend intemperate passions by our example, in the other we may render them odious by displaying their absurdity and consequences. To the greater part of his readers an author cannot convey • either pleasure or instruction by delivering sentiments as his own, which contradict the general confcience of mankind.' ESSAY ON POETRY AND MUSIC, Part 1. Chap. 1. If impious and immoral sentiments are put into the mouth of a virtuous character, the same fault is incurred perhaps rather in a higher degree. Since what a man says or even writes himself may be supposed to proceed from paffion; but sentiments that he makes a good man pronounce he will be imagined to approve from principle. In the Tatler, No. 122, by Addison, the circumstance is mentioned of Socrates quitting the theatre when a tragedy of Euripides was performing, on account of the following line being spoken by Hippolytus, [K] The following are the exceptionable lines of Cowley that are alluded to. • What shall I do to be for ever known, ، And make the age to come my own? ، I shall like beafts or common people die, • Unless you write my elegy." • My
POETIC OF ARISTOTLE. [L] 'My tongue has sworn indeed, but not my heart.' On which the following remark is made: 'Had a person of a vicious * character made such a speech, it might have been allowed as a proper representation of the baseness of his thoughts; but such an expression ، out of the mouth of the virtuous Hippolytus was giving a fanction to • falshood, and establishing perjury by a maxim. But a sentence grossly impious, by whomsoever spoken, will so far affect the feelings of an audience in any country, where religion is at all held in veneration, that they will instantly be shocked. Plutarch mentions a circumftance of this kind in his Dialogue on Love. • You have • certainly heard with what tumult [M] Euripides was received when he * opened his tragedy of (N) Menalippe in this manner: [0] " I know not Jove, or know him for my foe." And other daring expressions. On which account, when he wrote • out and corrected the piece, he changed the verse in the manner it now stands. [1.] Η γλῶσσ᾽ ὀμώμοχ᾽, ἡ δὲ φρὴν ἀνώμοτος. [M] An anecdote something fimilar is told of Æschylus. See Note IV. Chap. XII. [N] The speech of this lady is in Chap. xv. mentioned by Ariftotle as an instance of impropriety of manners. The story of the drama is very fingular: she has children by Neptune, whom her father taking for the unnatural produce of his cows is going to destroy. On which Menalippe makes a long speech to shew him that, on the principles of philosophy, they may be their natural offspring, and which Dionyfius of Halycarnassus says Euripides introduced on purpose to shew his knowledge in the philofophical tenets of Anaxagoras. [o] This verse is strangely mutilated in the original. I have followed the reading proposed by Xylander in his note on the passage. 3 U "What's
[P] "What's truly faid of Jove, and who he is, " I only know from fame." In the Alzire of Voltaire, Zamor fays to Alzire: • Perissent tes fermens & le Dieu qui J'abhorre." The shocking blafphemy of this verse, when we confider of whom it is spoken, whatever may be the situation of the speaker no English audience would tolerate; Hill in his tranflation has accordingly omitted it [].

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

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-188

Ritter, cap. 25 § 5

ὥστε δεῖ- λύειν: si reprehenduntur nonnulla in quodam artis poeticae opere a quaestionum subtilium captatoribus, ad diluendas reprehensiones quaerere convenit, utrum ars (poetica) ipsa peccaverit an peccatum ab alia arte acceptum propagaverit. quid excusationis et quando proferendum sit, ubi ars ipsa ἀδύνατα commiserit, continuo docet verbis πρῶτον μέν -Ἕκτορος δίωξις. τὸ γὰρ τέλος – ποιεῖ μέρος: respicit quae paulo ante (c. 24, 8) apud verum Aristotelem legit, unde perperam colligit epicae poesis finem esse ut admirationem faciat ( τὸ ἐκπλήττειν), id quod Aristoteles nusquam dixit neque dicere potuit. idem falsus auctor ex loco indicato exemplum illud suum sumpsit, sed tam obscure breviterque, ut hominem decet in exemplis unice versantem et nihil ultra exempla sapientem. — εἰ μέντοι τὸ τέλος - περὶ τούτων τέχνην: in his primum friget 5) Noli defendere falsum auctorem eiusmodi locis, qualis est in Topicis VI, 4 init. πρῶτον μὲν εἰ μὴ διὰ προτέρων καὶ γνωριμωτέρων πεποίηται τὸν ὁρισμόν.additum ἢ μᾶλλον ἢ ἧττον, tum subobscurum est quid sibi velint illa καὶ κατὰ τὴν περὶ τούτων τέχνην, quibus idem significari videtur quod modo monitum est, εἰ οὕτως ἐκπληκτικώτερον ἢ αὐτὸ ἢ ἄλλο ποιεῖ μέρος, h. e. si ne id quidem excusationis gratia dici potest, οὕτω ἐκπληκτικώτερον γίγνεσθαι ἢ αὐτὸ ἢ ἄλλο μέρος. nimirum technicus hic noster ubique artes loquitur. cf. Commentar. ad c. 20, 4. ἔτι ποτέρων - κακομιμήτως ἔγραψεν: alteram illam levioremque peccandi rationem interrogando et lectorem quasi excitando proponit, postquam priorem absolvit. si poeta κατὰ συμβεβηκός peccavit, illum peccasse quidem sed levius esse peccatum excusantes dicemus. illa ἔλαττον γὰρ – κακομιμήτως ἔγραψεν exempli gratia afferuntur. si quis cervae cornua tribuit (id quod et alii poetae fecerunt et Pindarus Ol. III, 29. vid. Boeckhii Explicationes ad h. 1.), is eam non κακομιμήτως γράφει, interpolatore quippe iudice: non enim quae sunt male describit ( κακομιμήτως γράφει), sed quae non sunt, eorum unum aliquid admisit, ut magis peccaverit in ἱστορίαν τῶν ζῴων quam in ipsam artem poeticam. hem astutias. similiter, ut poetae cornutas cervas producentes, Aristophanes peccavit, dum scribit in Nubibus 151. ἐνέβαψεν εἰς τὸν κηρὸν αὐτῆς (pulicis) τώ πόδε, ubi scholiasta: δυϊκὸν τὼ πόδε ἐπὶ τῆς ψύλλης κακῶς· λέγεται γὰρ ἓξ ἔχειν πόδας.