Aristote Poetics 4.11

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Ainſi les premiers Poëtes ont été partagez en deux bandes, car les uns faiſoient des vers heroïques, & les autres des vers ïambes.

Poetics. Aristote. Paris. 1692.

Current edition Experimental

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

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.) — 4 focus
Περὶ ποιητικῆς (OCR draft) Perseus (Aristotle, De arte poetica liber. Rudolf Kassel, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965. Reference edition for passage alignment.) — 4 focus
Poetics, Greek text (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's Greek text of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 4 focus
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.) — 4 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.) — 4 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.) — 4 focus
Arabic Poetics (Badawī edition, 1953) (OCR draft) (The ancient Arabic translation of Aristotle's Poetics in ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Badawī's 1953 edition.) — 4 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.) — 4 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.) — 4 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.) — 4.11 focus
And thus these old Poets were divided into two classes—those who used the heroic, and those who used the iambic, verse 1 .
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.) — 4.11 focus
and which name was given it because they used to fatirize (IAMBIZON) each other in that sort of measure. And hence the earlier Poets came to be distinguished according to their use of the heroic and iambic measure. As Homer, therefore, was the greatest poet on serious subjects, standing alone in point of excellence, not only from the general merit of his imitations but from the dramatic form he gave them, so he also first taught the proper system of comedy, forming the comic drama on 1
The Poetic of Aristotle (Theodore Alois Buckley) (OCR draft) Experimental (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.) — 4.11 focus
Of ancient poets, likewise, some composed heroic poems, and others Iambic. But as Homer was the greatest of poets on serious subjects, (and this not only because he alone imitated well, but also because he made dramatic imitations,) thus too he first demonstrated the figures of comedy, not dramatically exhibiting invective, but ridicule.
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.) — 4 focus
Poetica d'Aristotile (Bernardo Segni, 1549) (OCR draft) Experimental (Bernardo Segni's 1549 Florentine Italian translation, aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 4 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.) — 4 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.) — 4 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.) — 4 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.) — 4 focus

Commentary

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

11. mvp-aristotle-comment-120

τῶν παλαιῶν . The reference is apparently to Homer and Archilochus, as the first and greatest representatives of the two great directions in poetry; comp. Velleius Paterc. 1. 5
Neque quenquam alium, cuius operis primus auctor fuerit, in eo perfectissimum praeter Homerum et Archilochum reperiemus
. Dio Chrysost. Or. 33, p. 5 R.
δύο γὰρ ποιητῶν γεγονότων ἐξ ἅπαντος τοῦ αἰῶνος, οἷς οὐδένα τῶν ἄλλων συμβάλλειν ἄξιον, Ὁμήρου τε καὶ Ἀρχιλόχου, τούτων Ὅμηρος μὲν σχεδὸν πάντα ἐνεκωμίασε Ἀρχίλοχος δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐναντίαν ἦκε [fort. ἠξε], τὸ ψέγειν
. Their pre-eminence is implied in the juxtaposition of the two names in Heraclitus fr. 119 (42 Diels)
τόν τε Ὅμηρον ἔφασκεν ἄξιον ἐκ τῶν ἀγώνων ἐκβάλλεσθαι καὶ ῥαπίζεσθαι καὶ Ἀρχίλοχον ὁμοίως
.

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

18. mvp-aristotle-comment-88

4.11 Et comme Homere a tenu ſans contredit le premier rang dans le Poëme heroïque & tragique.) 1

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

9. mvp-aristotle-comment-25

Ritter, cap. 4 § 9

μόνος γὰρ οὐχ ὅτι εὖ, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι καὶ μιμήσεις δραματικὰς ἐποίησεν : cum in versu praecedente virtutis praestantiaeque Homeri mentio facta esset, ea hisce interiectis breviter vindicatur: quippe ille epicam imitationem non modo bene instituit, sed etiam dramaticam eius formam unus recte adhibuit, quatenus ipse perpauca exsequitur narrando sed alios enarrantes et loquentes inducit. accuratius hoc exposuit c. 24, 7. aptum vero erat eam Homeri virtutem h. 1. memorare, cum paulo post idem poeta tragoediae comoediaeque formam ostendisse dicatur. οὐ ψόγον ἀλλὰ τὸ γελοῖον δραματοποιήσας: duo sunt quae hic edocemur; eorum unum ad argumentum Margitae, alterum ad formam eiusdem pertinet. Margitam qui fecit, is non unum aliquem maledictis lacessivit, sed exemplar stulti hominis et multa inepte molientis proposuit; non τὸ καθ' ἕκαστον pangere voluit, sed missa singulos carpendi consuetudine ( ἀφέμενος τῆς ἰαμβικῆς ἰδέας) secutus est τὸ καθόλου 2). praeter hoc discimus Margitae non defuisse for- 2) Quam vere hoc ab Aristotele traditum sit, cum ex aliis veterum scriptorum locis tum ex Eustathii commentariis ad Odyss. K. p. 1669, 49. cognoscere licet: οὕτως ἔγνωμεν καὶ τὸν ἄφρονα Μαργίτην, τὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ μαργαίνειν ὅ ἐστι μωραίνειν· ὃν ὁ ποιήσας τὸν ἐπιγραφόμενον Ὁμήρου Μαργίτην ὑποτίθεται εὐπόρων μὲν εἰς ὑπερβολὴν γονέων φῦναι· γήμαντα δὲ μὴ συμπεσεῖν τῇ νύμφῃ, ἕως ἀναπεισθεῖσα ἐκείνη τετραυματίσθαι τὰ κάτω ἐσκήψατο, φαρμακόν τε μηδὲν ὠφελήσειν ἔφη, πλὴν εἰ τὸ ἀνδρεῖον αἰδοῖον ἐκεῖ ἐφαρμοσθείη. καὶ οὕτως θεραπείαςmam illam dramaticam, qua Homeri Ilias et Odyssea tantopere excellunt. nimirum stultus iste et ineptus cum uxore et matre sua et patre aliisque hominibus colloquendo stultitiae documenta edidit. ceterum Margites pro Homeri carmine habetur a scriptoribus Graecis antiquis, non solum ab Aristotele et ignoto illo Alcibiadis secundi auctore sed etiam a Zenone Stoico. vid. Dio Chrysost. Orat. 53. tom. II. p. 275 ed. Reisk. γέγραφε δὲ καὶ Ζήνων ὁ φιλόσοφος εἴς τε τὴν Ἰλιάδα καὶ τὴν Ὀδυσσείαν καὶ περὶ τοῦ Μαργίτου. sed grammatici Alexandrini nonnisi duo magna illa poemata vel unam Iliadem Homero relinquentes cum ceteris Margitam quoque ei abiudicaverunt 3), unde factum ut scriptores posterioris aetatis ab illorum iudicio pendentes de huius poematis auctore dubitanter loquerentur, veluti scholiasta Aristophanis ad Aves v. 914. ἐπεπίστευτο δὲ καὶ ὁ Μαργίτης τοῦ Ὁμήρου εἶναι, Eustathius ad Odyss. K. ρ. 1669, 50. ὁ ποιήσας τὸν ἐπιγραφόμενον Ὁμήρου Μαργίτην, alii. Callimachus tamen Homerum carminis auctorem videtur existimasse, quod coniicere forsitan liceat ex iis quae refert Harpocratio s. V. Μαργίτης: ἐκάλουν δὲ τοὺς ἀνοήτους οὕτω διὰ τὸν εἰς Ὅμηρον ἀναφερόμενον Μαργίτην, ὅπερ ποίημα Καλλίχάριν ἐκεῖνος ἐπλησίασεν. conf. Dio Chrysost. Orat. 67. tom. II. p. 362. ed. Reisk. Suidas s. v. Μαργίτης. Tzetzes Chiliad. IV, 869-871. Histor. VI, 62. 595. ipso Μαργίτου nomine quoddam hominum genus denotari vix est cur moneamus. ex radice MP vel stirpe MAPI (ea motum quendam inaequabilem videtur significare) nomen μάργος et μάργης (insanus vel stultus) nascitur, item verbum μαργᾶν et μαργαίνειν (insanire) atque μαργοῦν (et insanum esse et insanum facere aliquem). a μάργος fit μαργίτης, ut ab ἁγνὸς ἁγνίτης, λευκός λευκίτης, μάκαρ μακαρίτης, πεζὸς πεζίτης, ψαφαρὸς ψαφαρίτης. μάργος insanus est, sed μαργίτης qui insanus vel stultus esse perseverat, h. e. qui omnibus factis dictisque insaniam ostendit. 3) Eustathius ad. II. p. 4, 30. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἕτερα ποιήματά εἰσιν Ὁμήρου, οἷον καὶ ὁ Μαργίτης καὶ ἡ τῶν μυῶν καὶ βατράχων μάχη, ἄλλοι καὶ αὐτὸ ἐξήτασαν πρὸς ἀκρίβειαν. μάχος θαυμάζειν ἔοικεν. ex ceteris illis grammaticis nonnulli Margitae auctorem in incerto reliquerunt, alii coniectura utique incerta eundem assequi voluerunt. horum fidem sequitur Suidas dum scribit Πίγρης: Κάρ, ἀπὸ ῾Αλικαρνασσοῦ, ἀδελφὸς ᾿Αρτεμισίας ... ὃς τῇ Ἰλιάδι παρενέβαλε κατὰ στίχον ἐλεγεῖον οὕτω γράψας μῆνιν ἄειδε θεά Πηληϊάδεω Αχιλῆος, Μοῦσα, σὺ γὰρ πάσης πείρατ' ἔχεις σοφίης. ἔγραψε καὶ τὸν εἰς Ὅμηρον φερόμενον Μαργίτην καὶ Βατραχομυομαχίαν. hanc illi coniecturam ita conceperunt, ut quem in Batrachomyomachia ridiculum tractasse argumentum cognossent, eidem Margitam humane concederent. vere igitur vir ingeniosus Fr. Welckerus huic opinioni nihil tribuendum esse putat in Cyclo epico p. 415., ubi aliam etiam illius coniecturae causam exponit sibi probatam ac Nitzschio in Histor. Hom. I. p. 106. scilicet cum critici illi Pigretem elegos Iliadi inseruisse cognitum haberent, eos propter iambos Margitae intextos huius carminis eundem auctorem esse statuisse. conferenda sunt quae Welckerus in eodem libro p. 184. perdocte, ut solet, de Margita exposuit. coniecturam valde incertam de hoc poemate protulit Wassenberghius ad Vitas Homeri p. 11 sqq..