8.
mvp-aristotle-comment-220
τῆς μὲν πράξεως ὁ μῦθος ἡ μίμησις
To complete the statement Aristotle might very well have added a clause like
τῶν δὲ πραττόντων τὰ ἤθη καὶ αἱ διάνοιαι
; and it has been suggested (
J. of Phil. 5 p. 119
) that these words or something equivalent must have dropped out.
In a context like the present, however, this second point may have been left to be mentally supplied by the reader (comp. Vahlen ad loc.), as the emphatic mention of the first point (
τῆς μὲν πράξεως κτέ.) is enough to suggest it (comp.
De interpr. 14, 23 b 30
, and Waitz ad loc.). For this use of
μέν solitarium comp.
26, 1462 b 5
, and Waitz on
An. pr. 2. 11, 61 b 19
.
8.
mvp-aristotle-comment-221
1450a4
τοῦτον
(=
τοῦτο) is preparative and explained by
τὴν σύνθεσιν τῶν πραγμάτων. The assimilation of gender has been a stumbling-block to Madius and others, though found again in
22, 1458 a 26
αἰνίγματός τε γὰρ ἰδέα αὕτη ἐστί, τὸ λέγοντα ὑπάρχοντα ἀδύνατα συνάψαι
(comp.
Kühner, Gr. Gr. 2. 1 p. 74
).
8.
mvp-aristotle-comment-222
1450a6
διάνοιαν
scil.
εἶναι λέγω. Instead of attempting a definition, Aristotle evades the difficulty by saying that
διάνοια is manifested in the argumentative and reflective utterances of the dramatis personae (comp. infra
b 11
).
The statement here is merely provisional, as one may see by comparing the fuller exposition in
19, 1456 a 34 — b 8
—where we are told among other things that the
διάνοια of a personage may be shown in his actions as well as in his words.
Διάνοια in the sense it bears in the Poetics is, like
ἦθος, an element in the personality of the dramatis personae. It is their intellectual capacity, as evinced in their language (or it may be, in their actions), and it is to be seen whenever they argue or make an appeal to the feelings of their hearers, in other words, when they reason or plead with one of the other dramatis personae in the same sort of way as a rhetor might do.
Hence it is that the general theory of the
διάνοια in a play is said (
19, 1456 a 34
) to belong to Rhetoric rather than Poetry; and a speech with a great display of
διάνοια in it is a rhetorical speech (v. on
b 6
).
The term answering to Aristotle's
διάνοια in Isocrates is
ἐνθυμήματα, 'arguments':
Isocr. 191 B
μετὰ μέτρων καὶ ῥυθμῶν ἅπαντα ποιοῦσιν . . . τοσαύτην ἔχει χάριν, ὥστ᾿ ἂν καὶ τῇ λέξει καὶ τοῖς ἐνθυμήμασιν . . . ἔχῃ κακῶς, ὅμως αὐταῖς ταῖς εὐρυθμίαις καὶ ταῖς συμμετρίαις ψυχαγωγοῦσι τοὺς ἀκούοντας
. —
319 D
καὶ γὰρ τῇ λέξει ποιητικωτέρᾳ καὶ ποικιλωτέρᾳ τὰς πράξεις δηλοῦσι, καὶ τοῖς ἐνθυμήμασιν ὀγκωδεστέροις καὶ καινοτέροις χρῆσθαι ζητοῦσιν
.
8.
mvp-aristotle-comment-223
λέγοντες
: comp.
b 6
ἐπὶ τῶν λόγων
, and
b 7
πολιτικῶς ἐποίουν λέγοντας
. Aristotle is thinking more immediately of the
ῥήσεις in a tragedy, and of the intellectual, i. e. the rhetorical or argumentative, capacity they may reveal in the personages.
8.
mvp-aristotle-comment-224
1450a7
ἀποδεικνύασίν τι
:
ἀποδεικνύουσί τι ὡς ἔστιν ἢ ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν
. —
19, 1456 a 37
τό τε ἀποδεικνύναι καὶ τὸ λύειν
. —
Rhet. 1. 1, 1355 a 5
ἡ δὲ πίστις ἀπόδειξίς τις· τότε γὰρ πιστεύομεν μάλιστα ὅταν ἀποδεδεῖχθαι ὑπολάβωμεν
.
8.
mvp-aristotle-comment-225
ἢ καὶ ἀποφαίνονται γνώμην
The equivalent in
b 12
is the more general expression,
καθόλου τι ἀποφαίνονται
, but it is hardly worth while to bring the two passages into unison by restoring here (with
Bernays, Zwei Abhandl. p. 155
)
ἢ καθόλου ἀποφαίνονται, on the assumption that
γνώμην may have come in as a gloss.
A
γνώμη as defined in the Rhetoric is a maxim, or general proposition relating to the conduct of life:
Rhet. 2. 21, 1394 a 21
ἔστι δὲ γνώμη ἀπόφανσις, οὐ μέντοι περὶ τῶν καθ᾿ ἕκαστον, οἷον ποιός τις Ιφικράτης, ἀλλὰ καθόλου· καὶ οὐ περὶ πάντων καθόλου, οἷον ὅτι τὸ εὐθὺ τῷ καμπύλῳ ἐναντίον, ἀλλὰ περὶ ὅσων αἱ πράξεις εἰσί, καὶ αἱρετὰ ἢ φευκτά ἐστι πρὸς τὸ πράττειν
.
The corresponding Latin term was sententia:
Quintilian 8. 5. 3
Antiquissimae sunt quae proprie . . . sententiae vocantur, quas Graeci γνώμας appellant: utrumque autem nomen ex eo acceperunt, quod similes sunt consiliis aut decretis
.
9.
mvp-aristotle-comment-226
μέρη εἶναι ἕξ
An answer to the question announced in
1, 1447 a 10
ἐκ πόσων καὶ ποίων ἐστὶ μορίων
.
9.
mvp-aristotle-comment-227
καθ᾿ ὃ ποιά τις ἐστὶν ἡ τραγῳδία
The word
μέρος being ambiguous (
Metaph. Δ 25, 1023 b 12
;
Ζ 10, 1034 b 32
), this clause had to be added to mark the distinction between the 'parts' at present under consideration and those to be enumerated hereafter in chap. 12.
The parts here described are the formative constituents of a tragedy; whereas those defined in chap. 12 are the sections into which it is divided. It is through these various formative constituents that we are able to speak of a tragedy as
ποία τις—as good or bad, as
ἠθική or
πεπλεγμένη or
παθητική, or whatever else it may be said to be, when we come to judge of its quality.
11.
mvp-aristotle-comment-228
οὐκ ὀλίγοι αὐτῶν
=
οὐκ ὀλίγοι τῶν ποιητῶν
. The
ὡς εἰπεῖν which follows should perhaps be transposed and inserted after
πᾶν in the next line.
Of the many emendations that have been propounded the simplest certainly is that of Bursian,
οὐκ ὀλίγοι αὐτῶν 〈ἀλλὰ πάντες〉, on which that formerly suggested by myself,
ὀλίγου αὐτῶν 〈ἅπαντες〉 (
J. of Phil. 14 p. 44
), was based.
οὐκ ὀλίγοι αὐτῶν, however, has on it a certain stamp of genuineness.
The sense seems to be this: The six parts are in the nature of things possible elements in every tragedy, so to say; and due use has been made of them by not a few of the poets. The statement may be compared with those in
a 25
, 36, and
18, 1456 a 3
, where the existence is recognized of plays weak or deficient in some of the parts.
For the sense of
ἔχει in this passage (='admits of', 'has in it the possibility of') comp.
2, 1448 a 7
; and for the distinction between it and
κέχρηνται,
Eth. N. 7. 4, 1146 b 32
ὁ ἔχων μὲν οὐ χρώμενος δὲ τῇ ἐπιστήμῃ
. —
1147 a 1
ἔχοντα μὲν ἀμφοτέρας [scil. τὰς προτάσεις] οὐδὲν κωλύει πράττειν παρὰ τὴν ἐπιστήμην, χρώμενον μέντοι τῇ καθόλου ἀλλὰ μὴ τῇ κατὰ μέρος
(comp.
Bon. Ind. 854 b 37
).
11.
mvp-aristotle-comment-229
1450a13
εἴδεσι
: see on
4, 1449 a 7
.
11.
mvp-aristotle-comment-230
ὄψεις
: see on
6, 1449 b 33
.
11.
mvp-aristotle-comment-231
πᾶν
, i. e. every play; comp.
12, 1452 a 18
ἁπάντων
. —
18, 1456 a 31
ἐξ ἄλλου εἰς ἄλλο
.
12.
mvp-aristotle-comment-232
μέγιστον κτέ.
Aristotle proceeds at this point to arrange the six elements in the order of their relative importances; and he begins by asserting, with an abundance of reasons which seems to imply that it was a subject of controversy at the time, the supreme importance of the
μῦθος.
As it is the first duty of a tragedy to represent an action, the
μῦθος or story of action in it must be the first and most essential element in its construction. The characters, i.e. the personal agents, are mainly required in order to work out the story, and as means to that end; so that this element is to be deemed of secondary and subordinate significance as compared with the
μῦθος.
The paramount importance of plot in Drama has been re-asserted with equal emphasis in our own time by an eminent living dramatist: 'The idea, the plot, always comes first. The plot, in a sense, is nine-tenths of a play' (
H. A. Jones, Strand Magazine 34 p. 379
).
12.
mvp-aristotle-comment-233
ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων σύστασις
=
ὁ μῦθος. As the action in a tragedy is a whole of some magnitude (comp.
4, 1449 a 19
;
6, 1449 b 25
), it must have a plurality of incidents (
πράγματα) embodied in it. What Aristotle means by a combination of incidents may be seen from his synopses of the Iphigenia and Odyssey in
17, 1455 b 2 sqq.
.
12.
mvp-aristotle-comment-234
1450a17
βίου
:
Plato Laws 817 B
ἡμεῖς ἐσμὲν τραγῳδίας αὐτοὶ ποιηταὶ κατὰ δύναμιν ὅτι καλλίστης ἅμα καὶ ἀρίστης· πᾶσα οὖν [? γοῦν] ἡμῖν ἡ πολιτεία ξυνέστηκε μίμησις τοῦ καλλίστου καὶ ἀρίστου βίου, ὃ δή φαμεν ἡμεῖς γε ὄντως εἶναι τραγῳδίαν τὴν ἀληθεστάτην
. —
Lycurgus in Leocr. 102
οἱ ποιηταὶ μιμούμενοι τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον
. Alcidamas described the Odyssey as a
καλὸν ἀνθρωπίνου βίου κάτοπτρον
(
Aristot. Rhet. 3. 3, 1406 b 12
). Of Menander also it was said:
Μένανδρε καὶ βίε, πότερος ἄρ᾿ ὑμῶν πότερον ἀπεμιμήσατο;
(
Nauck, Aristophanis Byz. Fragm. p. 249
).
12.
mvp-aristotle-comment-235
καὶ εὐδαιμονίας
:
Plato Rep. 603 C
πράττοντας, φαμέν, ἀνθρώπους μιμεῖται ἡ μιμητικὴ βιαίους ἢ ἑκουσίας πράξεις καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πράττειν ἢ εὖ οἰομένους ἢ κακῶς πεπραγέναι
.
12.
mvp-aristotle-comment-236
1450a18
ἐν πράξει
According to the definition in
Eth. N. 1. 6, 1098 a 16
happiness is a certain kind of activity, a
ψυχῆς ἐνέργεια κατ᾿ ἀρετήν
. Comp.
Phys. 2. 6, 197 b 4
ἡ δὲ εὐδαιμονία πρᾶξίς τις· εὐπραξία γάρ
. —
Pol. 7. 3, 1325 a 32
ἡ γὰρ εὐδαιμονία πρᾶξίς ἐστιν
(also
Eth. N. 1. 8, 1098 b 21
;
Rhet. 1. 5, 1360 b 14
).
12.
mvp-aristotle-comment-237
τὸ τέλος
:
Eth. N. 1. 8, 1098 b 18
πράξεις τινὲς λέγονται καὶ ἐνέργειαι τὸ τέλος
.
12.
mvp-aristotle-comment-238
οὐ ποιότης
:
Eth. N. 10. 2, 1173 a 14
οὐδὲ γὰρ αἱ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐνέργειαι ποιότητές εἰσιν, οὐδ᾿ ἡ εὐδαιμονία
.
13.
mvp-aristotle-comment-239
πράττουσι
scil.
οἱ μιμούμενοι. The reference is to the actors (see on
3, 1448 a 23
) rather than the poets.
13.
mvp-aristotle-comment-240
συμπεριλαμβάνουσιν
scil.
ἐν τῇ μιμήσει, 'they include in the representation';
συμπεριλαμβάνειν in this sense is not infrequent in later Greek (v.
HSt. s. v.
).
It is hardly necessary, therefore, to reject it for the reading of one of the apographs,
συμπαραλαμβάνουσιν, though it is no doubt quite true that manuscripts are apt to confuse the two prepositions.
13.
mvp-aristotle-comment-241
1450a22
διὰ τὰς πράξεις
διά in this connexion must mean 'with a view to', 'for the sake of', as in
Thuc. 2. 89. 4
διὰ τὴν σφετέραν δόξαν
.
13.
mvp-aristotle-comment-242
καὶ ὁ μῦθος
The
καί is explanatory, 'that is to say'.
13.
mvp-aristotle-comment-243
1450a23
τὸ δὲ τέλος μέγιστον ἁπάντων
modelled on the proverb in
Plato Rep. 377 A
ἀρχὴ παντὸς ἔργου μέγιστον
, which reappears in Aristotle
Soph. el. 33, 183 b 22
μέγιστον γὰρ ἴσως ἀρχὴ παντός, ὥσπερ λέγεται
. —
Probl. 10. 13, 892 a 29
ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἀρχὴ παντὸς ἔργου μέγιστον· ἥμισυ γάρ
.
15.
mvp-aristotle-comment-244
τῶν νέων
As it is clear from
14, 1453 b 28
that Euripides is not classed among the old poets (
οἱ παλαιοί),
οἱ νέοι, 'the moderns,' must mean the poets from Euripides downwards.
It is to be observed also that, when Aristotle a little further on in this chapter distinguishes between
οἱ ἀρχαῖοι and
οἱ νῦν, the point noted as characteristic of 'the moderns' (
ῥητορικῶς ποιοῦσι λέγοντας) is manifestly true of Euripides, and was recognized as true of him by the ancients themselves (see on
ῥητορικῶς,
b 8
).
15.
mvp-aristotle-comment-245
ἀήθεις
:
24, 1460 a 11
οὐδέν᾿ ἀήθη ἀλλ᾿ ἔχοντα ἤθη
.
ἀήθης is, like other compounds of
α privativum (
De anima 2. 10, 427 a 26
;
Metaph. Δ 22, 1022 b 32
), an ambiguous word, as it may mean either 'destitute of character', or merely 'deficient in character'.
Aristotle must be using it in this latter sense, since a play with personages wholly destitute of character is hardly conceivable. The language in the illustration which follows from painting,
οὐδὲν ἔχει ἦθος
, is an instance of a common form of exaggeration, just like that in the saying of Pope,
Most women have no characters at all
.
15.
mvp-aristotle-comment-246
1450a26
τοιοῦτοι
i. e.
ἀήθεις.
15.
mvp-aristotle-comment-247
οἷον καὶ τῶν γραφέων Ζεῦξις πρὸς Πολύγνωτον πέπονθεν
:
De gen. an. 5. 3, 783 a 6
ἔστι δ᾿ ἔνια τῶν ζῴων . . . μαλακὴν μὲν ἔχει τὴν τρίχα ἧττον δὲ λεπτήν, οἷον τὸ τῶν δασυπόδων πρὸς τὸ τῶν προβάτων πέπονθεν
. —
Rhet. 3. 2, 1404 b 22
οἷον ἡ Θεοδώρου φωνὴ πέπονθε πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ὑποκριτῶν
.
15.
mvp-aristotle-comment-248
γραφέων
For other illustrations from painting see on
2, 1448 a 5
.
15.
mvp-aristotle-comment-249
1450a27
Πολύγνωτον
The same view of him, as one who knew how to indicate character in painting, is implied in
Pol. 8. 5, 1340 a 37
τὰ Πολυγνώτου κἂν εἴ τις ἄλλος τῶν γραφέων ἢ τῶν ἀγαλματοποιῶν ἐστιν ἠθικός
.
15.
mvp-aristotle-comment-250
1450a28
Ζεύξιδος
This taken in connexion with what is said of him later on, in
25, 1461 b 12
, would seem to show that, in Aristotle's view, Zeuxis sacrificed expression to beauty.
16.
mvp-aristotle-comment-251
ῥήσεις
i. e. the speeches put into the mouths of the personages in a play or poem (comp.
15, 1454 a 31
;
18, 1450 b 31
).
The word had been already used in this technical sense by both Plato and Aristophanes.
16.
mvp-aristotle-comment-252
ἠθικάς
In the Rhetoric the
ἠθικὸς λόγος is one designed to create a favourable idea of the speaker's
ἦθος, in contradistinction to the
παθητικὸς λόγος, which addresses the feelings, and the
ἀποδεικτικὸς λόγος, which addresses the reason of his audience.
In matters of imitative art, however, the usual meaning of
ἠθικός is
μιμητικὸς ἤθους, 'expressive of character' (comp.
Bon. Ind. 315 b 21
)—which is the sense the word has in the present and other passages in the Poetics.
Thus in
18, 1456 a 1
a certain kind of tragedy is termed the
ἠθική τραγῳδία, 'the tragedy of character', because its main interest is as a portraiture of character; in
23, 1459 b 16
the Odyssey is described as
ἠθική, because it is more of a portraiture of character than the Iliad; in
24, 1460 b 3
certain passages in a poem are termed
ἠθικά μέρη, as serving to bring out the
ἦθος of the personages in the story.
16.
mvp-aristotle-comment-253
λέξει καὶ διανοίᾳ εὖ πεποιημένας
, 'made perfect in the matter of language and thought'. The same use of the dative is found in
a 36
τῇ λέξει καὶ τοῖς ἤθεσιν ἀκριβοῦν
. —
24, 1460 b 2
τῇ δὲ λέξει δεῖ διαπονεῖν
; and in
Alcidamas De soph. 12
οἱ τοῖς ὀνόμασιν ἀκριβῶς ἐξειργασμένοι [scil. λόγοι].
16.
mvp-aristotle-comment-254
1450a30
οὔπω ποιήσει ὃ ἦν τῆς τραγῳδίας ἔργον
:
Rhet. 3. 2, 1404 b 2
ὁ λόγος, ἐὰν μὴ δηλοῖ, οὐ ποιήσει τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἔργον
. The Arabic version seems to suggest
οὔπω (see on
9, 1451 b 13
) rather than
οὐ. For the fut. with
οὔπω comp.
Eth. N. 5. 10, 1135 a 22
ὥστε ἔσται τι ἄδικον μὲν ἀδίκημα δὲ οὔπω, ἐὰν μὴ τὸ ἑκούσιον προσῇ
. —
6. 13, 1144 a 35
ὥστε τὴν μὲν ἤδη τὴν δ᾿ οὔπω εἰληφὼς ἔσται
.
The imperfect in
ἦν τῆς τραγῳδίας ἔργον implies that the point has been already settled in the preceding discussion (comp.
Bon. Ind. 754 a 40
), the reference being presumably to
6, 1449 b 36
, where Tragedy is said to be a
μίμησις πράξεως.
16.
mvp-aristotle-comment-255
1450a31
ἀλλὰ πολὺ μᾶλλον
scil.
ποιήσει, as in
Eth. N. 6. 8, 1141 b 18
εἰ γὰρ εἰδείη ὅτι τὰ κοῦφα εὔπεπτα κρέα καὶ ὑγιεινά, ποῖα δὲ κοῦφα ἀγνοοῖ, οὐ ποιήσει ὑγίειαν, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ εἰδὼς ὅτι τὰ ὀρνίθεια [κοῦφα καὶ] ὑγιεινὰ ποιήσει μᾶλλον
. For the form of antithesis comp.
De caelo 2. 3, 286 a 5
πόρρω δ᾿ οὐχ οὕτω τῷ τόπῳ, πολὺ δὲ μᾶλλον τῷ ... ὀλίγην ἔχειν αἴσθησιν
, and the instances collected by Vahlen (ad loc.) and Schwab (Schanz's Beiträge 4. 1, p. 66).
16.
mvp-aristotle-comment-256
τούτοις
refers back to the
ῥήσεις ἠθικαὶ καὶ λέξει καὶ διανοίᾳ εὖ πεποιημέναι of 29. Aristotle's point is, that the dramatic effectiveness of a tragedy depends before all else on its plot, and that no literary or rhetorical brilliancy will make up for a weak plot.
17.
mvp-aristotle-comment-257
ψυχαγωγεῖ
comp.
b 17
ψυχαγωγικόν
. Said of a work of art the word means no more than to 'move' or 'rivet the attention', and is thus the equivalent of our word 'attract' or (as people now sometimes say) 'fascinate'.
This sense of
ψυχαγωγεῖν is as old as Xenophon:
Mem. 3. 10. 6
ὃ δὲ μάλιστα ψυχαγωγεῖ διὰ τῆς ὄψεως τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, τὸ ζωτικὸν φαίνεσθαι, πῶς τοῦτο ἐνεργάζῃ τοῖς ἀνδριασιν;
. It is found more than once in Isocrates:
24 D
δέδεικται τοῖς ἐπιθυμοῦσι τοὺς ἀκροωμένους ψυχαγωγεῖν ὅτι τοῦ μὲν νουθετεῖν καὶ συμβουλεύειν ἀφεκτέον, τὰ δὲ τοιαῦτα λεκτέον οἷς ὁρῶσι τοὺς ὄχλους μάλιστα χαίροντας
. —
191 A
τοσαύτην ἔχει χάριν, ὥστ᾿ ἂν καὶ τῇ λέξει καὶ τοῖς ἐνθυμήμασιν ἔχῃ κακῶς, ὅμως αὐταῖς ταῖς εὐρυθμίαις καὶ ταῖς συμμετρίαις ψυχαγωγοῦσι τοὺς ἀκούοντας
. Later writers also often use the word in the sense of to 'attract' or 'please'; comp. the Antiatticista in Bekker's Anecdota 116
ψυχαγωγεῖν: τὸ τέρπειν
, and Vahlen, Symb. Phil. Bonn. p. 168.
17.
mvp-aristotle-comment-258
1450a34
αἵ τε περιπέτειαι καὶ ἀναγνωρίσεις
These are considered later on in
chap. 11
. It will be observed that Aristotle uses the two terms without explanation, as though they were already part of the established language of the theatre. The appositional clause comes in as an afterthought, at some distance from the words it illustrates (comp.
Kühner, Gr. Gr. 2. 1 p. 282
).
18.
mvp-aristotle-comment-259
συνίστασθαι
is apparently a middle in
24, 1460 a 34
also (v. ad loc.).
18.
mvp-aristotle-comment-260
οἷον καὶ
introduces not an instance but a parallel from a different class of things just like
ὥσπερ καὶ, from which it is often hardly distinguishable in sense (comp.
Top. 6. 9, 148 a 4
;
Eth. N. 9. 1, 1164 a 15
;
Rhet. 3. 11, 1412 a 11
;
3. 12, 1413 b 25
) . In
De mem. 1, 450 b 20
and in
Plato Phaedr. 255 C
οἷον
is so completely equivalent to
ὥσπερ as to have a
οὕτως as its antecedent. In
Poet. 25, 1460 b 33
οἷον ... ταύτῃ
is practically the same thing as
ὥσπερ ... οὕτως.
19.
mvp-aristotle-comment-261
ἀρχὴ
A little before this the
μῦθος was said to be the
τέλος τῆς τραγῳδίας (a 22). From one point of view it is the
ἀρχή, as being the necessary basis of every tragedy; from another it is the
τέλος, because it is this much more than the characters that Tragedy
μίμησις πράξεως
has to represent.
19.
mvp-aristotle-comment-262
ψυχὴ
:
Isocrates 142 B
ἔστι γὰρ ψυχὴ πόλεως οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ πολιτεία
. —
261 B
πᾶσα πολιτεία ψυχὴ πόλεώς ἐστιν
. —
[Demosthenes] 60. 23
ἡ τῶνδε τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀρετὴ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἦν ψυχὴ τἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν
—
Martianus Capella 3, 268
Est accentus, ut quidam putaverunt, anima vocis
.
20.
mvp-aristotle-comment-263
παραπλήσιον κτέ.
This clause Castelvetro and others would transpose and insert after
σύστασιν πραγμάτων in 33. It comes in, however, naturally enough where it stands, as an afterthought to illustrate the secondary position (
δεύτερον δὲ τὰ ἤθη) of the element of character in a play.
So also in the sister art of painting, says Aristotle, the colouring is of subordinate importance in comparison with the design which makes the work to mean something and be like something; a portrait is a portrait, and will give us the pleasure of one, even though executed in mere whites and greys; whereas a medley of much more beautiful colours without a design to give them meaning will not produce the same pleasure, because we cannot see that it represents anything. The nature of the pleasure found in a work of imitative art was explained in
4, 1448 b 13
.
20.
mvp-aristotle-comment-264
1450b1
εἰ γάρ τις ἐναλείψειε κτέ.
The sense is thus given by Goulston:
'si quis tabulam, pigmentis licet pulcherrimis, temere fusimque illeverit; non perinde spectantem oblectet, ac si, albo licet colore, imaginem delinearet certam: pari modo in tragoediis absque constitutione rerum minus valent mores quam morum expers fabula.'
.
The object left to be understood with
ἐναλείψειε is
τὸν πίνακα, the 'panel' or 'canvas', as we should say;
ἀλείφειν and
ἐπαλείφειν are used in just the same way, in the sense of covering a surface with colour.
ἐναλείφειν, it is to be observed, has apparently a different kind of object in
De gen. an. 2. 6, 743 b 23
οἱ γραφεῖς ὑπογράψαντες ταῖς γραμμαῖς οὕτως ἐναλείφουσι τοῖς χρώμασι τὸ ζῷον
('painters first sketch the outline of the figure before proceeding to work it out in colour').
χύδην means 'without system or order', i.e. without a design to give form and sense to the whole.
The direct opposite of this unmeaning medley of the most beautiful colours (
εἴ τις ἐναλείψειε τοῖς καλλίστοις φαρμάκοις χύδην) is a portrait in plain whites and greys (
λευκογραφήσας εἰκόνα); in what follows, therefore,
εἰκόνα serves as an antithesis to
χύδην (comp. Vahlen, Symb. Phil. Bonn. p. 166) and
λευκογραφήσας to
τοῖς καλλίστοις φαρμάκοις.
λευκογραφεῖν, as a derivative from
λευκογράφος (a word no longer to be found), is to 'paint monochromes in white', i.e. in shades of white and grey (it would seem) on a dark ground. Zeuxis, whom Aristotle has just mentioned in 27, was among other things a painter of monochromes in white—
pinxit et monochromata ex albo
(
Pliny N. H. 35. 64
; comp.
Brunn, Gr. Künstler 2 p. 55
).
A portrait, however, even though it be a mere monochrome in whites (comp.
λευκογραφήσας εἰκόνα), will have a meaning, and give the mind the intellectual pleasure which accompanies the recognition of the meaning (comp.
4, 1448 b 15
); whereas a medley of beautiful colours has no meaning, and the pleasure it gives the beholder is of a wholly different order (comp.
4, 1448 b 18
οὐχ ᾗ μίμημα ποιήσει τὴν ἡδονὴν ἀλλὰ διὰ ... τὴν χροιάν
). The antithesis, therefore, is simply between beautiful colours without an
εἰκών, and an
εἰκών without any beauty of colour.
Vahlen's view of the import of these words is somewhat different. He thinks that
λευκογραφήσας may denote the preliminary sketch (like
ὑπογράφειν in the above-quoted passage in the De gen. an.) in white, which is afterwards filled in with colour, when the picture comes to be finished; so that the clause may be taken to describe two stages in the process of painting, (1)
λευκογραφεῖν εἰκόνα, and (2)
ἐναλείφειν φαρμάκοις, and serves to illustrate the order of procedure in Tragedy, where the
μῦθος is said to come first, as the
ἀρχὴ τῆς τραγῳδίας, and the
ἤθη second:
'orationis formam sic accipio, εἴ τις ἐναλείψειε τοῖς καλλίστοις φαρμάκοις χύδην, οὐκ ἂν ὁμοίως εὐφράνειεν καὶ λευκογραφήσας εἰκόνα εἰ ἐναλείψειε φαρμάκοις', ut χύδην, h. e. nulla ante delineatione facta, et λευκογραφήσας εἰκόνα inter se opponantur'
. This very subtle interpretation seems to me to read more into Aristotle's words than is required for the argument. Aristotle would perhaps have said:
οὐκ ἂν ὁμοίως εὐφράνειε καὶ εἰ λευκογραφήσας εἰκόνα οὕτως ἐναλείψειε τοῖς φαρμάκοις.
21.
mvp-aristotle-comment-265
ἔστιν τε μίμησις πράξεως κτέ.
supports the statement (38-39) before the parenthesis by recalling the general fact on which it is based (v. 20-23).
22.
mvp-aristotle-comment-266
τρίτον δὲ ἡ διάνοια
As the intellectual quality of the dramatis personae comes out mainly in what they are made to say,
διάνοια is provisionally explained (see on 6) as a power of making the best of one's case or of saying the right thing.
22.
mvp-aristotle-comment-267
1450b5
τὰ ἐνόντα
scil.
ἐν τοῖς πράγμασιν, as in
Isocr. 292 E
ὑπισχνοῦνται τοιούτους ῥήτορας τοὺς συνόντας ποιήσειν ὥστε μηδὲν τῶν ἐνόντων ἐν τοῖς πράγμασι παραλιπεῖν
(comp.
Bon. Ind. 250 a 56
). The whole expression
τὰ ἐνόντα καὶ τὰ ἁρμόττοντα covers the same ground as that in
Rhet. 2. 22, 1396 b 5
τὰ ἐνδεχόμενα καὶ τὰ ἐπικαιρότατα
.
22.
mvp-aristotle-comment-268
1450b6
ἐπὶ τῶν λόγων
has been taken to mean 'in soluta oratione' (Paccius), and 'in orationibus' (Valla) or 'in eloquentia', 'bei der Beredsamkeit' (Vahlen). The explanation, however, in the context,
ἐποίουν λέγοντας (57), is enough to show that the
λόγοι Aristotle has in mind are the
λόγοι in a play, i.e. the
ῥήσεις put into the mouths of the personages. This is apparently the sense the word bears in the next sentence also,
τῶν λόγων ἐν οἷς μηδ᾿ ὅλως ἔστιν τι προαιρεῖται ἢ φεύγει ὁ λέγων
(b 9).
22.
mvp-aristotle-comment-269
τῆς πολιτικῆς καὶ ῥητορικῆς ἔργον
Aristotle seems to be thinking of what is said in a play by the chief personages (e. g. the tragic hero), and of the kind of intellectual capacity (
διάνοια) revealed in their statements. One has to remember that the chief personages in ancient Tragedy are not ordinary men, and that the tragic hero is expressly said by Aristotle (
13, 1453 a 10-21
) to be always in the best tragedies a man of great position and lineage. In a play, therefore, such personages might very well be made to speak
πολιτικῶς, 'like statesmen', and to show a statesmanlike power of saying what is appropriate to the situation before them (
τὰ ἁρμόττοντα). But it would also be possible to make them speak
ῥητορικῶς, 'like rhetors', with something of the rhetor's cleverness in seizing on the various possible points that may be urged on the occasion (
τὰ ἐνόντα, i.e.
τὰ ἐνδεχόμενα).
Though
ῥητορική stands in a certain relation to
πολιτική (
Rhet. 1. 2, 1356 a 27
), the distinction between them is a very real one with Aristotle;
πολιτική is with him the practical wisdom of the statesman (
Eth. N. 6. 8, 1141 b 23
), and
ῥητορική only a form of the art of argumentation—a
δύναμις τοῦ πορίσαι λόγους
(
Rhet. 1. 2, 1356 a 33
), or
δύναμις περὶ ἑκάστου τοῦ θεωρῆσαι τὸ ἐνδεχόμενον πιθανόν
(
Rhet. 1. 2, 1355 b 26
). There is no reference to
πολιτική in
chap. 19
. Aristotle may perhaps have felt that the practice of the later dramatists (
οἱ νῦν) was too firmly established to admit of change, and that the tragic personages accordingly must still be allowed to speak
ῥητορικῶς, as they did in the Tragedy of his time.
23.
mvp-aristotle-comment-270
ἀρχαῖοι
: the dramatists anterior to Euripides (see on
6, 1450 a 25
).
23.
mvp-aristotle-comment-271
πολιτικῶς . ... λέγοντας
which Valla rendered by 'civiliter dicentes', is often taken to mean 'to speak the language of civil life', like ordinary citizens, as distinct from the professional orator. But as the context shows that the ability to speak
πολιτικῶς implies something of
πολιτική in the speaker (comp.
Newman on Pol. 2. 11, 1273 b 12
),
πολιτικῶς would seem rather to mean 'like a
πολιτικός'—the statesman being assumed to say that which is befitting (
τὰ ἁρμόττοντα) without any ostentation of rhetorical cleverness (comp.
HSt. s. v. πολιτικός
).
Vahlen (Symb. phil. Bonn. p. 175) supposes the expression to coincide in sense with the
ἠθικῶς λέγειν of
Rhet. 3. 17, 1418 b 38
which means
ἀπὸ προαιρέσεως λέγειν, as opposed to
ἀπὸ διανοίας λέγειν (
Rhet. 3. 16, 1417 a 23
). The objection to this interpretation is twofold. (1) Aristotle is to all appearance not contrasting
διάνοια with
ἦθος, but distinguishing between the two forms it may assume in the dramatic
ῥήσεις. (2)
πολιτικῶς λέγειν can hardly be identical with
ἠθικῶς λέγειν; the personages in Comedy speak
ἠθικῶς, but it would be a paradox to say of them that they speak
πολιτικῶς, in the sense of there being something of
πολιτική in their utterances.
23.
mvp-aristotle-comment-272
1450b8
ῥητορικῶς
Euripides is termed by Aristophanes (
Pax 534
) a
ποιητὴς ῥηματίων δικανικῶν
. Quintilian also (10. 1, 68) thinks the study of his plays one of the best preparations for the bar:
'Illud quidem nemo non fateatur necesse est, iis qui se ad agendum comparant utiliorem longe fore Euripidem. namque is et sermone magis accedit oratorio generi et sententiis densus et in iis quae a sapientibus tradita sunt paene ipsis par, et dicendo ac respondendo cuilibet eorum qui fuerunt in foro diserti comparandus.'
.
24.
mvp-aristotle-comment-274
1450b09
ὁποῖά τις.
This (the reading of
o) is very rightly retained by
Vahlen, who translates the clause by
quod aperiat voluntatem, qualia quis in quibus apertum non est aut appetat aut fugiat
; the explanation is added to show that
προαίρεσις is to be taken in a wide sense, which may include aversion as well as desire. For an explanatory clause of this form
comp.
16, 1455b10
συνελογίσαντο τὴν εἱμαρμένην ὅτι ἐν τούτῳ εἵμαρτο ἀποθανεῖν
, and
Plato
Rep. 535 A
μέμνησαι οὖν τὴν προτέραν ἐκλογὴν τῶν ἀρχόντων, οἷους ἐξελέξαμεν ;
ἐν οἷς οὐκ ἔστι δῆλον is added because there are situations in which the moral purpose of the agent is too obvious to require to be revealed in an 'ethical' speech; see
19, 1456 b7
for a parallel statement on the subject of
διάνοια.
24.
mvp-aristotle-comment-275
1450b9_2
προαιρεῖται.
Though the usual opposite of
φεύγειν is the simple verb
αἱρεῖσθαι (
Bon. Ind. 18b3
), there is a certain propriety in
προαιρεῖται in a clause explanatory of
προαίρεσις. The word is found in a similar antithesis in
Eth. N. 10. 1, 1172b25
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἡδέα προαιροῦνται, τὰ δὲ λυπηρὰ φεύγουσιν.
24.
mvp-aristotle-comment-276
1450b11
διόπερ κτέ.
In the
Rhetoric we are told that a mathematical argument does not admit of any colouring of character, because the facts with which it deals are indifferent to us—not objects of either desire or aversion:
Rhet. 3. 16, 1417b9
διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔχουσιν οἱ μαθηματικοὶ λόγοι ἤθη, ὅτι οὐδὲ προαίρεσιν· τὸ γὰρ οὗ ἕνεκα οὐκ ἔχουσιν.
In like manner a speech in a play may be on a subject wholly indifferent to the speaker, and in that case there is no room for any infusion of
ἦθος into his statement.
25.
mvp-aristotle-comment-277
καθόλου τι ἀποφαίνονται
replaces the
ἀποφαίνονται γνώμην in 7 (
v. ad loc.).
26.
mvp-aristotle-comment-278
τέταρτον δὲ τῶν ἐν λόγῳ κτέ.
On the reading which I have ventured to introduce into the text see the
J. of Phil. 5 p. 1191.
It is clear that the four elements in a tragedy, the
μύθος
ἤθη
διάνοια and
λέξις, belong to it as a work of literature, and that the music and 'spectacle' are accessories, which attach to it only when it comes to be acted on the stage. Apart from these accessories, a tragedy is, like an epic (
comp.
23, 1459 b10
), a
μίμησις ἐν λόγῳ (see on
1, 1447 29
), and all the elements which constitute it are
ἐν λόγῳ.
τὰ ἐν λόγῳ, therefore, is a comprehensive designation for the four literary elements, as distinct from the non-literary elements (
τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν b 15), the music and 'spectacle', with which the enumeration concludes. If
τῶν μὲν λόγων be retained, the genitive
1
has to be taken as an objective gen. after
λέξις.
Valla renders the words by
orationum dictio
,
Paccius by
sermonum dictio
, and
Goulston by
ipsarum orationum elocutio
. The main difficulty, however, is in the particle, which has never been satisfactorily explained.
Vahlen formerly (
Symb. Phil. Bonn. p. 181
) connected the clause with that which follows in 615
τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν κτέ., supposing the sense to be 'viertens für die Dialoge (
τῶν λόγων) die sprachliche Form; für das übrige (
τῶν λοιπῶν) die Melopöie'. His later view (1885) is that the
μέν in
τῶν μὲν λόγων may be an instance of
μέν solitarium, and that
Aristotle may have meant at first to append something about the
τῶν δὲ μελῶν... Such a division of the fourth part, it seems to me, is wholly inconsistent with the general scheme of the six parts, which is throughout this chapter so clearly before
Aristotle's mind, as well as with the express mention of the
μελοποιία in its proper place in the next sentence.
26.
mvp-aristotle-comment-279
1450b13_2
ὥσπερ πρότερον εἴρηται.
If the reference is to
6, 1449 b 34
, where the
λέξις is defined as
ἡ τῶν μέτρων σύνθεσις,
Aristotle must have forgotten the exact terms of his previous formula. The point, however, is practically the same in both instances;
λέξις is to be understood in the sense of 'diction' or 'expression in language', and not in any of the other senses which the word might bear (see on
23, 1459 12
).
26.
mvp-aristotle-comment-280
1450b14
διὰ τῆς ὀνομασίας
διὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων, i. e. by means of the words or language of the speaker. As the
ὄνομα, which includes the verb and the adverb as well as the noun, is the directly significant part of all language,
ὀνομασία means practically the same thing as vocabulary or language.
26.
mvp-aristotle-comment-281
1450b14_2
ἑρμηνείαν,
'communication', 'expression'; the Latin equivalent for it is
interpretatio. After
ἑρμηνείαν we may supply τῶν ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ, the spoken word being the outward sign or expression of a thought in the mind:
De interpr. 1, 16ª3
ἔστι μὲν οὖν τὰ ἐν τῇ φωνῇ τῶν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ παθημάτων σύμβολα.
On the meaning of
ἑρμηνεία in
Aristotle see
Waitz,
Organon 1 p. 323
, and
Steinthal,
Gesch. der Sprachwissenschaft 1 p. 235.
26.
mvp-aristotle-comment-282
1450b15
ἔχει τὴν αὐτὴν δύναμιν
ταὐτὸ δύναται, 'is practically the same thing' (see on
1, 1447ª8
).
27.
mvp-aristotle-comment-283
1450b16
πέντε
Similar instances of an intrusive numeral will be found in
Rhet. 1. 2, 1356 21
, and
1. 13, 1373 b3
(
v.
Roemer
ad loc.).
Vahlen accepts the correction πέμπτον, in the sense of
quinto loco: 'reliquarum autem partium (h. e. quae post illas quattuor iam reliquae sunt duae) quinto loco
μελοποιία gravissimum est condimentum,
ὄψις autem ad poeticam artem omnino non pertinet'.
27.
mvp-aristotle-comment-284
μέγιστον τῶν ἡδυσμάτων:
see on
6, 1449 b 25
(
ἡδυσμένῳ). For the pleasure given by music
comp.
Pol. 8. 5, 1339 b 20
τὴν δὲ μουσικὴν πάντες εἶναί φαμεν τῶν ἡδίστων.
—
1340 a 2
δεῖ μὴ μόνον τῆς κοινῆς ἡδονῆς μετέχειν ἀπ᾿ αὐτῆς, ἧς ἔχουσι πάντες αἴσθησιν· ἔχει γὰρ ἡ μουσικὴ τὴν ἡδονὴν φυσικήν, διὸ πάσαις ἡλικίαις καὶ πᾶσιν ἤθεσιν ἡ χρῆσις αὐτῆς ἐστι προσφιλής.
—
οἱ μὲν γὰρ νέοι διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν ἀνήδυντον οὐδὲν ὑπομένουσιν ἑκόντες, ἡ δὲ μουσικὴ φύσει τῶν ἡδυσμένων [ἡδυσμάτων] ἐστίν.
Bernays (
Zwei Abhandl. p. 157) supposed that a further statement on the subject of music, like that in the
Anonymus De Comedy (
Kaibel,
CGF. 1 p. 52
),
μέλος τῆς μουσικῆς ἐστιν ἴδιον, ὅθεν ἀπ᾿ ἐκείνης τὰς αὐτοτελεῖς ἀφορμὰς δεήσει λαμβάνειν
, may have dropped out after
ἡδυσμάτων.
28.
mvp-aristotle-comment-285
28.
mvp-aristotle-comment-286
1450b17_2
ἀτεχνότατον:
13, 1453 67
τὸ δὲ διὰ τῆς ὄψεως τοῦτο παρασκευάζειν ἀτεχνότερον καὶ χορηγίας δεόμενόν ἐστιν.
ἄτεχνος is frequently used in the sense of 'depending on means outside the art itself';
comp.
Rhet. 3. 16, 1416 b 18
σύγκειται γὰρ ἔχων ὁ λόγος τὸ μὲν ἄτεχνον, οὐθὲν γὰρ αἴτιος ὁ λέγων τῶν πράξεων, τὸ δ᾽ ἐκ τῆς τέχνης.
The opposite of it in this sense is
ἔντεχνος (
Bon. Ind. 11964
).
28.
mvp-aristotle-comment-287
1450b18
ἡ γὰρ τῆς τραγῳδίας δύναμις κτέ.
The tragic effect may be produced by a good tragedy even without any actual performance of it on a stage, i. e. as a mere work of literature (
comp.
14, 1453b4
, and
26, 1462ª11
). The reading of A
o here,
ὡς γὰρ, is defended by
Vahlen, who translates it by
quia enim (wenn nämlich), on the assumption that the apodosis is omitted in the same way as in
Eth. N. 8. 6, 1157 3
οἱ δ᾽ ἀγαθοὶ δι᾽ αὐτοὺς φίλοι· ᾗ γὰρ ἀγαθοί
[scil. φίλοι εἰσίν].—
8. 10, 1159 10
οἱ χρήσιμοι δὲ καὶ ἡδεῖς ἐπὶ πλεῖον διαμένουσιν ἕως γὰρ ἂν πορίζωσιν ἡδονὰς ἢ ὠφελείας ἀλλήλοις
[scil. διαμένουσιν], and certain more or less similar passages. The present passage (with the reading
ὡς γὰρ) does not seem to me to be a genuine parallel. On behalf of the amended reading (
ἡ γὰρ) it has to be remembered that a confusion between ἡ and the compendium for ὡς is not so uncommon in MSS. of a certain date (
Bast,
Comm. Palaeogr. p. 780
).
28.
mvp-aristotle-comment-288
1450b18_2
ἄνευ ἀγῶνος.
ἀγών is generally rendered by
certamen or 'contest', but it is not clear that that is the sense
Aristotle attaches to it in the present and other places (
7, 1451b
;
13, 1453ª27
) of the
Poetics. It seems to mean rather little more than a 'public performance'. Similarly
ἀγωνίζεσθαι in
7, 1451ª8
and
24, 146089
means apparently 'to perform in public',
συναγωνίζεσθαι in
18, 1456ª26
'to take part in such a performance'; and
ἀγώνισμα in
9, 1451b37
a 'work to be performed in public'. The word
ἀγωνιστής, likewise, in
Pol. 8. 7, 1342=18
and
Probl. 19. 15, 918b 28
, means no more than a 'public' or 'professional performer' (
comp.
πρωταγωνιστής etc.). In
Rhet. 3. 12, 1413b4
ἀγωνιστικὴ λέξις
means the style allowable in public speaking, as distinct from the
γραφικὴ λέξις, the more formal style required for a purely literary work. The idea of contest or competition, there- fore, is not always a recognizable element in the meaning of this group of words (
comp.
Nitzsch,
De historia Homeri 2 p. 113
).
28.
mvp-aristotle-comment-289
1450b18_3
ἀγῶνος καὶ ὑποκριτῶν:
13, 1453ª27
ἐπὶ τῶν σκηνῶν καὶ τῶν ἀγώνων.
—
Probl. 19. 15, 918 28
ὁ μὲν γὰρ ὑποκριτὴς ἀγωνιστής.
—
Rhet. 3. 12, 141358
ἔστι δὲ λέξις γραφικὴ μὲν ἡ ἀκριβεστάτη, ἀγωνιστικὴ δὲ ἡ ὑποκριτικωτάτη κτέ.
The present clause shows that the
ὄψις is
ἥκιστα οἰκεῖον τῆς ποιητικῆς; the next, that it is
ἀτεχνότατον.
28.
mvp-aristotle-comment-290
1450b18_4
ὄψεων:
for the plural see on
6, 1449b 33
.
28.
mvp-aristotle-comment-291
1450b18_5
σκευοποιοῦ,
the theatrical costumier, who enabled the actors to appear in character by supplying the masks, dresses, and other paraphernalia of their make-up;
comp.
Aristophanes
Eq. 230
καὶ μὴ δέδιθ· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἐξῃκασμένος. ὑπὸ τοῦ δέους γὰρ αὐτὸν οὐδεὶς ἤθελε τῶν σκευοποιῶν εἰκάσαι
(v. Schol. ad loc.). —
Aelian
V. H. 2. 13
οἱ σκευοποιοὶ ἔπλασαν αὐτὸν ὡς ὅτι μάλιστα ἐξεικάσαντες.
—
Pollux 4. 115
σκευὴ μὲν ἡ τῶν ὑποκριτῶν στολή . . . σκευοποιός δὲ ὁ προσωποποιός.
—
2. 47
ἡ δὲ νέα κωμῳδία καὶ προσωποποιὸν εἴρηκεν ὃν ἡ ἀρχαία σκευοποιὸν ἐκάλει
(ν. Meineke, FCG. 4 p. 680). For
σκευή in the sense of the make-up of actors see
Eurip. Suppl. 1054
,
Aristoph. Ran. 108
,
Plato Rep. 577 b.
