Poetics. Aristotle. ed. Henry James Pye. London. 1792.
The Poetic of Aristotle (Henry James Pye, revised 1792) (OCR draft) (English) (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.)
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
Poetics
1. mvp-aristotle-comment-1
1.
mvp-aristotle-comment-2
1447a8
τῶν εἰδῶν αὐτῆς
The
εἴδη meant are epic poetry, Tragedy, and Comedy, as is clear from
6, 1449 b 21
, where the main subjects for consideration in the Poetics are enumerated. Lyric poetry, apart from an occasional reference to the Dithyramb and Nome, or the chorica in Tragedy, is ignored in the existing Poetics; and there is little or no reason to suppose it to have been discussed in the lost portion of the book. The probability is that, from the importance of its musical element, it belonged in Aristotle's classification of the arts to the theory of
μελοποία rather than to that of poetry proper. The work of the two lyric poets Phrynis and Timotheus is put under the head of
μελοποιία in
Metaph. a 1, 993 b 15
; and in the Problems, where Phrynichus is said to have been a
μελοποιός rather than a tragedian (
Probl. 18. 31, 920 II
Διὰ τί οἱ περὶ Φρύνιχον ἦσαν μᾶλλον μελοποιοί; διὰ τὸ πολλαπλάσια εἶναι τότε τὰ μέλη ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις τῶν μέτρων ;), the same view is implied of the lyric parts of Tragedy. It is to be remembered too that Aristophanes in
Ran. 1250
makes Euripides begin his criticism of the chorica in Aeschylus by calling him a
κακὸς μελοποιός.
For the antithesis in the text comp.
26, 1462 b 16
καὶ αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν εἰδῶν. —
Top. 1. 15, 106b 37
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων [scil. ὀνομάτων], ὅταν αὐτὸ πλεοναχῶς λέγηται, καὶ ἡ πτῶσις ἡ ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ πλεοναχῶς ῥηθήσεται, καὶ εἰ ἡ πτῶσις, καὶ αὐτό. —
Eth. E. 7. 15, 1248 b 22
δικαιοσύνη καὶ αὐτὴ καὶ αἱ πράξεις.
1.
mvp-aristotle-comment-3
ἥν τινα δύναμιν ἕκαστον ἔχει
=
ὅ τι δύναται ἕκαστον: comp.
Pol. 5. 2, 1302 b 5
τούτων δὲ ὕβρις μὲν καὶ κέρδος τίνα ἔχουσι δύναμιν καὶ πῶς αἴτια, σχεδόν ἐστι φανερόν ... δῆλον δὲ καὶ ἡ τιμὴ καὶ τί δύναται καὶ πῶς αἰτία στάσεως. Each species of poetry has its special capacities, which enable it to do what the rest either cannot do at all or cannot do so well and effectively. Other Aristotelian instances of
δύναμις with a sense approximating to our 'function' or 'effect' will be found in
Bon. Ind. 206 b 29
.
1.
mvp-aristotle-comment-4
1447a9
συνίστασθαι
συνίστασθαι is a passive in
26, 1462 b 16
, and probably also in
24, 1460 a 28
. That it is a passive in the present passage is shown by the parallels,
τοὺς συνεστῶτας εὖ μύθους
in 7, 1450 b 32
, and
οὕτω συνεστάναι τὸν μῦθον
in 14, 1453 b 4
.
1.
mvp-aristotle-comment-5
1447a10
καλῶς ἕξειν
:
13, 1453 a 12
τὸν καλῶς ἔχοντα μῦθον. —
24, 1459 b 12
τὰς διανοίας καὶ τὴν λέξιν ἔχειν καλῶς. As anything good of its kind may be said to be
καλόν, so anything that is in the condition in which it ought to be is said to
καλῶς ἔχειν (comp.
Bon. Ind. 360 b 38
).
1.
mvp-aristotle-comment-6
1447a10
ἔτι δὲ ἐκ πόσων καὶ ποίων ἐστὶ μορίων
scil.
ἡ ποίησις. Many of the translators, however, suppose the subject to be
ἕκαστον εἶδος ('ex quot et cujusmodi partibus constent singulae species,' Goulston). The question is considered in chap. 6 in reference to Tragedy, and in
24, 1450 b 10
in reference to epic poetry.
1.
mvp-aristotle-comment-7
1447a12
περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅσα τῆς αὐτῆς ἐστι μεθόδου
:
Soph. el. 33, 183 b 12
δεδήλωται δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅσα τῆς αὐτῆς μεθόδου τῶν λόγων ἐστίν. The meaning of
μέθοδος, a favourite word with Aristotle, has been discussed by Waitz, Org. 2 p. 297 (comp. Bon. Ind. 449 b 43).
1.
mvp-aristotle-comment-8
λέγωμεν ἀρξάμενοι κτέ.
The language here is very like that in
Soph. el. 1, 164 a 20
περὶ δὲ τῶν σοφιστικῶν ἐλέγχων . . . λέγωμεν ἀρξάμενοι κατὰ φύσιν ἀπὸ τῶν πρώτων (comp. De sensu 1, 436 b; De part. an. 1. 5, 646 a 3; 2. 10, 655 b 28; Eth. E. 1. 7, 1217 a 18; Rhet. 1. 13, 1373 b 1). In order to determine the definition of poetry, or rather of Tragedy as the highest form of the art, Aristotle starts with the assumption that Tragedy, together with certain other allied arts, comes under the general head of
μίμησις, 'imitation,' and then proceeds by successive divisions of this genus to note one by one the various points which differentiate it from the rest. (1) Tragedy has language, metre, and music as its means of imitation; the music in it, however, comes in only from time to time, in the choral parts—which distinguishes it from the Nome and the Dithyramb. (2) It represents noble personages—which distinguishes it from Comedy. (3) It has a dramatic form—which distinguishes it from the Epic. The logical order here exemplified is what Aristotle regards as the natural order of procedure:
Phys. 1. 7, 189 a 31
ἔστι γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν τὰ κοινὰ πρῶτον εἰπόντας οὕτω τὰ περὶ ἕκαστον ἴδια θεωρεῖν.
1447a13
2.
mvp-aristotle-comment-9
ἐποποιία κτέ.
This enumeration of imitative arts comprises the four great species of poetry distinguished by Plato in
Rep. 394 c
, together with two purely musical arts,
αὐλητική and
κιθαριστική. These last may be supposed to be added partly on account of the manifest analogy between them and poetry, both being imitative arts appealing to the ear, and partly also on account of the historical connexion of poetry with music (comp.
Cicero De Orat. 3, 174
musici, qui erant quondam idem poetae).
2.
mvp-aristotle-comment-10
ἡ τῆς τραγῳδίας ποίησις
:
6, 1449 b 26
ἡ τῶν διθυραμβικῶν ποίησις. —
Plato Gorg. 501 e
ἡ τῶν διθυράμβων ποίησις;
502 b
ἡ τῆς τραγῳδίας ποίησις.
2.
mvp-aristotle-comment-11
1447a14
διθυραμβοποιητική
Plato cites the Dithyramb as an instance of the non-imitative type of poetry:
Rep. 394 c
τῆς ποιήσεως . . . ἡ μὲν διὰ μιμήσεως ὅλη ἐστίν, ὥσπερ σὺ λέγεις, τραγῳδία τε καὶ κωμῳδία, ἡ δὲ δι᾽ ἀπαγγελίας αὐτοῦ τοῦ ποιητοῦ εὕροις δ᾽ ἂν αὐτὴν μάλιστά που ἐν διθυράμβοις. By Aristotle's time, however, the Dithyramb (as also the Nome) had lost its original form, and become 'imitative' or semi-dramatic. This change is noted in
Probl. 19. 15, 918 b 18
οἱ διθύραμβοι, ἐπειδὴ μιμητικοὶ ἐγένοντο, οὐκέτι ἔχουσιν ἀντιστρόφους, πρότερον δὲ εἶχον. Aristotle cites it as representing an imitative or dramatic form of lyric—a lyrical
μίμησις.
2.
mvp-aristotle-comment-12
1447a15
τῆς αὐλητικῆς ἡ πλείστη
:
De Caelo 3. 1, 298 b 2
τὴν πλείστην τῆς περὶ φύσεως ἱστορίας. The
αὐλός was the accompaniment of the Dithyramb and the
κιθάρα of the Nome. Aristotle is thinking rather of music without words, i.e.
ψιλὴ αὔλησις and
ψιλὴ κιθάρισις. Plato in the Laws (669 d) sets his face against this purely instrumental music on the ground that it ends in a mere display of technical execution (
θαυματουργία) and a 'brutish noise' (
φωνῆς θηριώδους σφόδρα φίλον). Aristotle's qualified form of expression show he is not unaware of exceptions.
2.
mvp-aristotle-comment-13
1447a16
μιμήσεις
The general meaning of
μιμεῖσθαι is either 'to do what another has done', or 'to make something like something else'. The primitive sense must have been 'to play the
μίμος,' to reproduce language, tones, gestures, etc.. In actual use the word includes counterfeiting movement (dancer), voice (musician), and forms (painter/sculptor). Plato in the Republic opposes
μίμησις to narrative, restricting it to the dramatic mode (
Rep. 393 b
,
394 b
). In the Poetics, Aristotle is inconsistent, including narrative in one place (
3, 1448 a 21
) and excluding it in another (
24, 1460 a 9
).
2.
mvp-aristotle-comment-14
τὸ σύνολον
qualifies
πᾶσαι, what is said of the class as a whole being opposed to the specific differences; comp.
Plato Soph. 220 b
.
1447a17
3.
mvp-aristotle-comment-15
τῷ γένει ἑτέροις
Forchhammer's correction
τῷ ἐν ἑτέροις is supposed to be confirmed by 22 and b 29. The sense, however, is just as well expressed by the simple dative. As the means under consideration—
λόγος,
ἁρμονία, and
ῥυθμός—differ in kind, they are rightly described as
γένει ἕτερα. Aristotle often omits the article in such formulas:
Top. 1. 7, 103 a 13
γένει ταὐτά;
H. A. 2. 1, 497 b 9
;
Metaph. I 10, 1059 a 14
γένει ἕτερα.
3.
mvp-aristotle-comment-16
1447a18
ἢ τῷ ἕτερα ἢ τῷ ἑτέρως
The distinction is already in Plato,
Rep. 398 b
ἅ τε γὰρ λεκτέον καὶ ὡς λεκτέον εἴρηται.
3.
mvp-aristotle-comment-17
καὶ μὴ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον
Other instances of
parallelismus antitheticus will be found in 3, 1448 a 22; 6, 1449 b 26; 15, 1454 a 30; 24, 1460 a 16.
4.
mvp-aristotle-comment-18
ὥσπερ γὰρ κτέ.
Aristotle prepares us for the difference of means in these arts by pointing to the difference of means in a larger group. The distinction between arts addressing the eye and the ear is frequently noted by Plato (
Rep. 373 b
,
603 b
;
Crat. 423 d
;
Gorg. 474 e
). Aristotle has a special reason for saying
ἕτεροι δὲ διὰ τῆς φωνῆς, because the imitative capacity of the voice renders language and poetry possible:
Rhet. 3. 1, 1404 a 21
ὑπῆρξε δὲ καὶ ἡ φωνὴ πάντων μιμητικώτατον τῶν μορίων ἡμῖν.
4.
mvp-aristotle-comment-19
1447a19
πολλά
is not otiose. The art of the painter or sculptor has limits; it can only indirectly express character and feeling. The theory in Lessing's Laocoon is based on an idea already in Aristotle.
4.
mvp-aristotle-comment-20
μιμοῦνταί τινες ἀπεικάζοντες
:
Xenophon Mem. 3. 10. 1
σώματα διὰ τῶν χρωμάτων ἀπεικάζοντες ἐκμιμεῖσθε.
4.
mvp-aristotle-comment-21
οἱ μὲν διὰ τέχνης οἱ δὲ διὰ συνηθείας
is thrown in parenthetically, like 8, 1451 a 24
ἤτοι διὰ τέχνην ἢ διὰ φύσιν. As opposed to
τέχνη,
συνήθεια means much the same as
ἐμπειρία (
Eth. N. 8. 7, 1158 a 14
;
10. 10, 1181 a 9
). The contrast is between skill depending on practice and that directed by consciousness of rules.
4.
mvp-aristotle-comment-22
1447a20
ἕτεροι δὲ
corresponds to a foregoing
τινές in
Eth. N. 1. 1, 1094 b 18
.
4.
mvp-aristotle-comment-23
διὰ τῆς φωνῆς
= τῇ φωνῇ. Aristotle has allowed himself to repeat the prepositional construction used in the parenthesis. The emendation of Madius,
διὰ τῆς φύσεως, ignores the whole point of the analogy: the diversity of means. The diversity of means in the group under consideration—
λόγος,
ῥυθμός, and
ἁρμονία—is like the diversity of
χρώματα,
σχήματα, and
φωνή.
4.
mvp-aristotle-comment-24
1447a22
ἐν ῥυθμῷ καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἁρμονίᾳ
The three terms had already appeared in the same sense in Plato's analysis of the song or choral in
Rep. 398 D
τὸ μέλος ἐκ τριῶν ἐστι συγκείμενον, λόγου τε καὶ ἁρμονίας καὶ ῥυθμοῦ (comp.
Laws 661 C
;
669 D
). His terminology, however, is not always quite the same; he sometimes says
ῥυθμὸς καὶ μέτρον (
Phil. 17 D
,
Gorg. 502 C
) or
μέτρον καὶ ῥυθμός (
Rep. 601 A
) in lieu of
ῥυθμός; and
μέλος, 'melody' or 'tune', in lieu of
ἁρμονία (
Rep. 400 A
,
Gorg. 502 C
,
Laws 656 C
, etc.). Aristotle also, in more than one passage in the Poetics (
1, 1447 b 25
;
6, 1449 b 31
), has put
μέλος in place of
ἁρμονία; and in one instance (
6, 1449 b 29
) he combines the two terms as synonyms. It is clear, therefore, that in its present application
ἁρμονία means no more than 'melody' or 'tune'.
ῥυθμός is properly 'time' or 'pace'. It is a very general word, since it includes the element of rhythm in language and in the movements of the dance, as well as that in music; comp.
Plato Laws 665 A
τῇ δὴ τῆς κινήσεως τάξει [scil. εἶπομεν ὡς] ῥυθμὸς ὄνομα εἴη, τῇ δ᾿ αὖ τῆς φωνῆς, τοῦ τε ὀξέος ἅμα καὶ βαρέος συγκεραννυμένων, ἁρμονία ὄνομα προσαγορεύοιτο, χορεία δὲ τὸ ξυναμφότερον κληθείη. —
672 E
Ὅλη μέν που χορεία ὅλη παίδευσις ἦν ἡμῖν, τούτου δ᾿ αὖ τὸ μὲν ῥυθμοί τε καὶ ἁρμονίαι, τὸ κατὰ τὴν φωνήν... τὸ δέ γε κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος κίνησιν ῥυθμὸν μὲν κοινὸν τῇ τῆς φωνῆς εἶχε κινήσει, σχῆμα δ᾿ ἴδιον. ἐκεῖ δὲ
μέλος ἡ τῆς φωνῆς κίνησις (see also
Symp. 187 B
and
Phil. 17 C
). The various applications of
ῥυθμός are thus summarized in Aristoxenus (p. 411, 8 Marquard):
ἔστι δὲ τὰ ῥυθμιζόμενα τρία· λέξις, μέλος, κίνησις σωματική. Plato's view as to the great imitative capacities of rhythm and harmony and music generally may be seen in
Rep. 399 A sqq.
, in
Laws 668 A sqq.
, and more briefly put, in
Laws 798 E
τὰ περὶ τοὺς ῥυθμοὺς καὶ πᾶσαν μουσικήν ἐστι τρόπων μιμήματα βελτιόνων και χειρόνων ἀνθρώπων. The point is recognized with equal clearness by Aristotle in
Pol. 8. 5, 1340 a 18
ἔστι δ᾿ ὁμοιώματα μάλιστα παρὰ τὰς ἀληθινὰς φύσεις ἐν τοῖς ῥυθμοῖς καὶ τοῖς μέλεσιν ὀργῆς καὶ πραότητος, ἔτι δ᾿ ἀνδρείας καὶ σωφροσύνης καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐναντίων τούτοις καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἠθικῶν... (a38) ἐν δὲ τοῖς μέλεσιν αὐτοῖς ἔστι μιμήματα τῶν ἠθῶν ... (a57) τὸν αὐτὸν γὰρ τρόπον ἔχει καὶ τὰ περὶ τοὺς ῥυθμούς· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἦθος ἔχουσι στασιμώτερον οἱ δὲ κινητικόν, καὶ τούτων οἱ μὲν φορτικωτέρας ἔχουσι τὰς κινήσεις οἱ δὲ ἐλευθεριωτέρας.
4.
mvp-aristotle-comment-25
1447a23
χωρὶς ἢ μεμιγμένοις
: a reminiscence of
Plato Laws 669 D
διασπῶσιν οἱ ποιηταὶ ῥυθμὸν μὲν καὶ σχήματα μέλους χωρίς, λόγους ψιλοὺς εἰς μέτρα τιθέντες, μέλος δ᾿ αὖ καὶ ῥυθμὸν ἄνευ ῥημάτων, ψιλῇ κιθαρίσει τε καὶ αὐλήσει προσχρώμενοι.
5.
mvp-aristotle-comment-26
χρώμεναι
, scil.
ποιοῦνται τὴν μίμησιν.
5.
mvp-aristotle-comment-27
1447a25
τυγχάνουσιν
On the construction with
κἂν see Vahlen, Beitr. 1, p. 35. Mr. Newman in a note on
Pol. 2. 1, 1260 b 31
seems to doubt the necessity of restoring the indicative in this and other similar places in Aristotelian texts.
5.
mvp-aristotle-comment-28
ἡ τῶν συρίγγων
The word to be supplied is apparently
μίμησις— not
τέχνη, as is assumed in HSt. s.v.
σύριγξ, and in
Bon. Ind. 735 a 39
. The Platonic
ἡ τῶν λόγων τέχνη in
Phaedr. 260 D
is not a true parallel. For a similar genitive after
μίμησις comp.
Lucian De salt. 64
ἡ μίμησις τῆς ὀρχήσεως.
1447a26
6.
mvp-aristotle-comment-29
αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ ῥυθμῷ κτἑ.
is an unnecessary clause, as
ὀρχηστική is not one of the arts in the list in a13 ; it will be observed too that there is a change in the form of expression,
μιμοῦνται, instead of
χρώμεναι with
ποιοῦνται τὴν μίμησιν understood. The clause would seem to have been originally an afterthought, worked in by Aristotle as soon as he saw that there was an art that used rhythm alone. His giving a reason for this mention of
ὀρχηστική may be supposed to imply a consciousness of its being a new point, and one requiring demonstration.
6.
mvp-aristotle-comment-30
αἱ τῶν ὀρχηστῶν
The traditional reading
οἱ τῶν ὀρχηστῶν has been corrected into
ἔνιοι τῶν ὀρχηστῶν by Twining ; into
οἱ (πολλοί) τῶν ὀρχηστῶν by Heinsius; and into
οἱ (χαρίεντες) τῶν ὀρχηστῶν by Zeller. It is assumed that Aristotle may have wished to recognize the fact, of which Plato had spoken in
Laws 795 E
, that dancing is sometimes a mere exercise of the body and without dramatic meaning. A much simpler correction, however, is
αἱ τῶν ὀρχηστῶν, with
μιμήσεις (rather than
τέχναι) understood from the context. Aristotle is thinking of the professional dancers, who told a story in pantomime, by the mere movements and attitudes of their bodies (comp. Sittl, Die Gebärden der Gr. u. Röm. p. 244).
6.
mvp-aristotle-comment-31
1447a26
σχηματιζομένων ῥυθμῶν
: the rhythms in their movements, in the succession of their
σχήματα, their gestures or attitudes (see on
26, 1462 a 3
). The emphasis is on
ῥυθμῶν; that the attitudes of the dancer might be dramatic, and represent 'what men do or have done to them', was too obvious to require saying. Aristotle is insisting on the 'ethical' significance which rhythm imparts to the dance. On rhythm as expressive of character and temperament see
Pol. 8. 5, 1340 a 18
and the Platonic passages referred to on 22.
6.
mvp-aristotle-comment-32
1447a28
ἤθη
: the character and temperament of the personages represented, as distinct from their
πάθη καὶ πράξεις, 'what they do or have done to them'. The meaning of
πάθη καὶ πράξεις is sufficiently shown by
9, 1451 b 11
τί ᾿Αλκιβιάδης ἔπραξεν ἢ τί ἔπαθεν, and
13, 1453 a 22
παθεῖν δεινὰ ἢ ποιῆσαι (see also on 11, 1452 b).
πάθη is generally assumed (e. g. in Bon. Ind. 557 a 49) to denote in this passage 'feelings' or 'emotions'. The words
πάθη καὶ πράξεις cover the whole ground of the story in the dance; so that Aristotle, if he had cared to anticipate the term used later on in
6, 1450 a 4
, might have said here, without difference of meaning,
ἤθη καὶ μύθους.
1447a28
ἡ δὲ [ἐποποιία] κτέ.
Suckow's correction,
τυγχάνει οὖσα, is to be found in his Form der Platonischen Schriften p. 53. With it, and the readings implied in the Arabic Version, the whole passage becomes intelligible and in harmony with the context. We were told at the outset in 22 that the three means of imitation,
ῥυθμός,
λόγος, and
ἁρμονία, may be employed either singly or in certain combinations. Having just spoken (1) of imitation
ἐν ἁρμονίᾳ καὶ ῥυθμῷ and (2) of imitation
ἐν ῥυθμῷ alone, Aristotle passes on (3) to imitation
ἐν λόγῳ—whether alone, or in combination with rhythm or metre, and finally (4) to imitation
ἐν ἁρμονίᾳ καὶ ῥυθμῷ καὶ λόγῳ. This exhausts the possibilities, since it is evident that
ἁρμονία alone, and the combination
ἁρμονία +
λόγος, need not be taken into account. The third of his four heads Aristotle divides, and recognizes three possible forms of means, (1)
λόγος alone, (2)
λόγος + some one kind of metre, and (3)
λόγος + a plurality of metres. In other words he distinguishes between (1) imitations in prose, (2) imitations in some one metre (hexameters, trimeters, etc.), and (3) imitations in a plurality of metres. Of this large and well-marked class of imitative literature, which includes the Mime, the 'imaginary conversations' of Socrates, the Epic, and Chaeremon's Centaur, Aristotle observes that it has 'remained to this day without a distinctive name'. The common fact here is
μίμησις ἐν λόγῳ, but there is, he says, no one common name connoting the common fact and equally applicable to all the kinds within the class. Those who retain
ἐποποιία, with the addition of
ἀνώνυμος at the end of the sentence, suppose it to mean 'word-poetry' (Wortdichtung, Bernays, Zwei Abhandl. p. 81). Such a special and unique sense, however, for a term like
ἐποποιία is highly improbable, and also against the analogy of all the similar compounds (e.g.
λογοποιία,
μελοποιία,
μυθοποιία,
ὀνοματοποιία), in which the
ποιία means simply the making of something, just as much as in
ἀρτοποιία,
ὁδοποιία,
παιδοποιία and the like. And even if the word could bear its new meaning, it would be inappropriate here, as the Mime and the 'Socratic Conversation' were prose imitations—not poems. To a Greek of Aristotle's time the idea of a prose poem would have seemed a contradiction in terms.
1.
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2.
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3.
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4.
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5.
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6.
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7.
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9.
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18.
mvp-aristotle-comment-18
1.5
Le jeu de la flute, celuy de la lyre & s'il y en a encore quelqu'autre de même nature, comme celuy du chalumeau.
18
19.
mvp-aristotle-comment-19
20.
mvp-aristotle-comment-20
21.
mvp-aristotle-comment-21
1.
mvp-aristotle-comment-1
NOTE 1. P. 1.
1.1
DITHYRAMBICS—IMITATION.
If the senses, in which the term imitation is applied by Aristotle to Poetry, have been rightly determined in the first Dissertation, there can be no difficulty with respect to the imitative nature of the Epic and Dramatic species. That of the Dithyrambic is not quite so obvious, and has accordingly been variously explained. The little, however, that remains of what Aristotle had said upon this subject, seems sufficient to release any commentator, who is willing to be released, from the trouble of conjectural ingenuity.
In Sect. 3. Part I. where the different objects of imitation are considered, he expressly makes Dithyrambic Poetry imitative of actions, characters, and manners, as well as the Epic and Dramatic; and he, particularly, mentions the Persians and the Cyclops as imitated in the Dithyrambic and Nomic Poetry of Timotheus and Philoxenus.
1
We may conclude, then, that he regarded this kind of Poetry as imitative because, though the mythological tales, which furnished the subject of these hymns, were, indeed, articles of Pagan faith, and depended not on the Poet's imagination, yet, in the detail of these stories, in describing the actions, and delineating the characters, of the deities themselves, and, still more, of other fabulous and heroic personages occasionally introduced, his fancy and invention must necessarily be, more or less, employed.
This, as we have seen, was, in Aristotle's view, imitation, whether the form of that imitation was partly dramatic and personative, or mere recital in the person of the Poet
2
. That the Poetry of these Dithyrambic compositions was chiefly of the latter kind, seems to be implied in the expression of Plato, who, where he explains his division of Poetry into three sorts—the purely imitative, or dramatic, the purely narrative, and the mixed—refers, for an example of the purely narrative, to Dithyrambic Poetry.
3
Yet he says only, that it is to be found chiefly there—
ἐυροις δ᾽ ἂν αυτην ΜΑΛΙΣΤΑ ΠΟΥ ἐν Διθυραμβοις. The expression is remarkable, and leaves room for more than a conjecture, that the Dithyrambic was sometimes imitative even in the strict sense of Plato; that is, that the dramatic mixture of the Epic was occasionally admitted.
Instances of this occur in the Odes of Pindar; and many of the Odes of Horace are dramatic
4
. The embarrassment of the commentators seems to have arisen, principally, from the difficulty they found in conceiving, that fiction could be admitted into a species of Poetry addressed to the Gods, and founded on the established Theology of the age. The hymns of Callimachus, and those attributed to Homer, might have been sufficient to remove this difficulty. These are not, like the Orphic hymns, mere invocations, and indigitamenta, consisting in a short and solemn accumulation of epithets and attributes: they are Epic, narrative hymns; in which the birth, the actions, and even the characters and manners of the deities are described at length, and the fictions of the Poet's imagination are every where engrafted upon the popular creed. The mixture of dramatic imitation, in the Dithyrambic Poetry, is also rendered more probable by the frequent examples of it in these hymns; and especially in those of Homer. From the enthusiastic, wild, audacious character
5
peculiarly attributed to the Bacchic hymns, we have, surely, no reason to suppose in them a degree of scruple and reserve, with respect to all this, which we do not find in other antient religious compositions of a more sober and regular cast.
After what has been said, the reader will hardly think it necessary to have recourse to so distant and conjectural an interpretation as that of the Abbé Batteux, who says—
"Le Dithyrambe est imitation, parceque le Poete, en le composant, exprime d'apres le vraisemblable, les sentimens, les transports, l'ivresse, qui doit regner dans le Dithyrambe."
6
This ingenious writer seems to have been forced into this solution of the matter by his desire of extending the principle of Poetic imitation beyond the limits, not only of Aristotle's meaning, but of all reasonable analogy. All Lyric Poetry he holds to be essentially imitative;
7
and defining it to be that Poetry,
"qui exprime le sentiment," he is reduced to the necessity of making out these sentiments, or feelings, to be, in some sort, imitations; for no other reason, than, that they are assumed and feigned—the temporary produce of that voluntary enthusiasm, which the Poet, by the force of his imagination, excites in himself during the moments of composition. But this belongs rather to the style and manner, than to the matter, of Poetry: if imitation at all, it is the imitation, not, properly, of the Poet, but of the man, in order to become the Poet.—The general character of Lyric Poetry is enthusiasm; and enthusiasm, says M. Batteux,
"n'est autre chose qu'un sentiment quel qu'il soit—amour, colere, joie, admiration, tristesse, &c.—produit par une idee."
8
But if all illusive feelings of this kind, raised in us by imagination, are imitations, then, not only every artist of genius is an imitator, when he conceives and plans his work, but even every man of sensibility, whenever he is led, by the voluntary excursions of his fancy, into warm and passionate feelings, that are not prompted by real circumstances. It is certain, indeed, that not only Dithyrambic and Lyric Poetry, but Epic also, and perhaps every other species worth regarding, has its appropriated style and tone, which every Poet adopts and imitates, when he composes in the kind to which it belongs. But the same may be said of a history, a sermon, and even of a letter: for in these also, though we may not imitate any particular writer, we naturally conform to the general style and manner that characterize the particular species of composition.
All this however has, manifestly, nothing to do with the imitation that we are considering.
The Lyric Poet is not always, and essentially, an imitator, any more than the Epic. While he is merely expressing his own sentiments, in his own person, we consider him not as imitating;—we inquire not whether they are the assumed sentiments of the Poetic character, or the real sentiments of the writer himself; we do not even think of any such distinction. He is understood to imitate, in the most general view, no otherwise than by fiction, by personation, by description, or by sound;
9
in the view of Aristotle, only by the two first of these.
I will only add, that the Dithyrambic Poetry was, it seems, not originally imitative, but became so by degrees. This fact, and the causes of it, we learn from a curious passage, in the Harmonic Problems of Aristotle, which I shall have occasion to mention in another place.
2.
mvp-aristotle-comment-2
NOTE 2. P. 2.
1.4
FOR, AS MEN, SOME THROUGH ART, AND SOME THROUGH HABIT, IMITATE VARIOUS OBJECTS, &C.
I have followed the old and most authentic reading,
δια της ΦΩΝΗΣ: which, though not unexceptionable, has been rejected, I think, without sufficient reason. The philosopher is, here, only illustrating what he had said of the different means of poetical and musical imitation, by comparing those arts, in this respect, with other arts more strictly and obviously imitative.
That he meant to confine his illustration to Painting, was a groundless fancy of Dacier, which led him into two unnecessary corrections of the text, and a very forced and improbable explication of the whole passage. The remark of Aristotle, parenthetically flung in, about art and habit, (
δι μεν δια τεχνης, δι δε δια συνηθειας,) was by no means necessary to his illustration. Dacier extends the parenthesis by the reading he adopts, (
δι μεν δια τέχνης, οι δε δια συνηθειας, ἐτεροι δε ΔΙ' ΑΜΦΟΙΝ,) then wonders, why Aristotle,
"qui n'ecrit pas un seul mot inutilement," should enter into such a detail; and then, wantonly alters the text, (from
δια τεχνής, to
δια ΤΥΧΗΣ,) in order to account for it in a manner, that leaves it more wonderful than he found it.
Castelvetro had before proposed a similar alteration—
ἐτεροι δε ΑΜΦΟΤΕΡΟΙΣ; but in a sense, which, could it be supported, would be far more to the purpose than that of Dacier: i. e. "others, again, [imitate] both by colour and by figure." This would answer to what follows, that the different means of imitation, in the Poetical and Musical arts, were used, sometimes separately, and sometimes combined. To this sense, however, an objection immediately occurs. We may imitate an object by figure without colour, but not by colour without figure.
10
But it would be a waste of discussion to enter fully into the merits of an explanation, that is founded on a reading, by no means, I think, sufficiently warranted, either by the authority of MSS. or by any necessity of alteration.
That the words
χρωματα and
σχηματα are very frequently joined by the Greek writers to denote painting, is certain. But Aristotle is not here speaking of the different Arts which employ these means of imitation, but of the means themselves, separately and abstractedly. The application of these, singly, or in their various combinations, to those arts, he has left to the reader. It seems probable, (as Victorius has observed,) that Sculpture, at least, was included in Aristotle's idea of
σχηματα. Possibly, too, the word may be here used in its widest sense, of figure or form in general; which would take in the outline of Painting, the solid figure of Sculpture, and the gestures of the personal Mimic.
That, at least, the word
φωνη is right, in the old reading, appears highly probable from the frequent mention of the voice, as a principal instrument of imitation, in antient authors. It is called by Aristotle, as Mr. Winstanley has judiciously observed,
παντων μιμητικωτατον των μοριων ημων.
11
Farther by this reading the illustration intended is more perfect, as it comprehends more "means of different kinds"—
ΓΕΝΕΙ ἑτερα. The same reason favours also the extension of the word
σχηματα to Sculpture, at least.
The only objection to the reading,
δια της φωνης, is, the improbability that Aristotle should, without any apparent reason, envelop the whole passage in embarrassment and ambiguity, by such a change of phrase : —
ΔΙΑ φωνης; — which every reader is naturally led to join, not with the datives,
χρώμασι και σχημασι, but with
ΔΙΑ τέχνης, and
ΔΙΑ συνηθειας: but the word
φωνης opposing such a construction, has therefore, probably, been changed to
άμφοιν. This objection has not been solidly answered, I think, either by Victorius, or any other commentator; nor can I think the change of phrase here by any means sufficiently accounted for, merely by assigning, as Victorius does, a passage of Lucian, where the phrase itself, (to which no one objects,) occurs. [See Mr. Winstanley's note.]—I am much inclined, therefore, to admit the reading said by Madius to have been found in an antient MS. and confirming the conjecture of Robortelli, —
ἐτεροι δε ΤΗ ΦΩΝΗ. This would clearly mark the bounds of the parenthesis, and fix the construction :
και χρωμασι, και σχήμασι, πολλα μιμενται τινες —(—) ἐτεροι δε τη φωνῃ.
3.
mvp-aristotle-comment-3
NOTE 3. P. 2.
1.5
AND OF ANY OTHER INSTRUMENTS CAPABLE OF A SIMILAR EFFECT, AS, THE SYRINX OR PIPE.
The word
Συριγξ is usually understood to mean the Fistula Panis, constructed of reeds, differing in length, fastened together with wax and thread : —
καλαμων συνθηκη, λινῳ και κηρῳ συνδεθείσα — as it is described by Jul. Pollux.
12
Tibullus has presented in two lines almost as distinct an idea of its form as can be obtained from a drawing.
[Lib. ii. 5. 31.]
Fistula cui semper decrescit arundinis ordo,
Nam calamus cerâ jungitur usque minor.
But the
Συριγξ of Aristotle, whatever it was, is here mentioned with the Lyre, and the Flute, as having some, though an inferior, degree of the same power and effect:
τοιαυται την δυναμιν. This is hardly applicable to so very simple and rude an instrument as the pipe of Pan; a contrivance not beyond the invention of a school-boy. Instruments of nearly the same construction are found, at this day, not only in Turkey, and Arabia, but even in the island of New Amsterdam in the South Seas; and it is a circumstance somewhat curious, that, in France, the instrument of the Arcadian deity, or something very like it, is degraded to the use of travelling tinkers, and known by the name of
sifflet de chaudronnier. The reader may see a description and a figure of it in Mersennus; as he may, also, of the South Sea instrument in the Philosophical Transactions, vol. 65, Part I.—But he will not, probably, be much disposed to believe, that the wild and random sounds of this savage whistle have any thing to do with the chromatic system of the Greeks.
But the passage before us is not the only one, where the Syrinx is mentioned in a way which naturally leads one to suppose, that some instrument less simple and imperfect than the fistula Panis must be meant. It is often joined with the cithara and the flute, as an instrument of some importance and effect in concerts and choral accompaniments.
13
In Lucian's treatise
Περί Ορχήσεως, it appears, among other curious information upon the subject, that the words of the drama, which the pantomimic dancer was to express by gesture alone, were, at the same time, sung by a chorus, accompanied by various instruments, among which the syrinx is repeatedly mentioned, together with the
Αυλος or flute.
14
This has, certainly, the appearance of some more powerful instrument than the pastoral syrinx.—Indeed, from the passage of Pollux above referred to, there is reason to conclude, that there were two instruments of this denomination; that above described, which he calls the rude, or extemporaneous syrinx, [
αυτοσχεδι] and another, of similar form, but more artificial construction, which he describes as consisting, not of reeds, but of a number of flutes [
αύλοι πολλοι] arranged in the same manner. The passage is defective; but this seems to me pretty clearly to be the drift of it.
15
By flutes, he must, at least, be supposed to mean pipes of larger size, and of more solid materials, such as those of which flutes were made. It seems, on the whole, very probable, that the syrinx of Aristotle was either some such improved construction of the flute of Pan, or, as I rather incline to believe, some kind of single pipe, or flageolet. Any single pipe, modulated by the fingers, must be regarded as an instrument far superior to any kind of the fistula Panis, that could be played on only by the clumsy expedient of drawing it along the mouth;"
suprà calamos unco percurrere labro," as Lucretius has well described the operation.
16
I cannot indeed say, that I have met with any passage in which the word
Συριγξ, by itself, is clearly and expressly applied to a single musical pipe or flute. But such a sense is perfectly analogous to other common applications of the word; and, on the other hand, I know of no clear authority that restrains the meaning of the word, whenever it is singly used, to the fistula Panis.
17
Athenæus speaks of the
μονοκαλαμα Συριγξ invented by Mercury, and opposes it to the
πολυκαλαμα ; and Spanheim, whose authority, in matters of erudition, is as great as the profoundest erudition can give to any man, understands this single-reed syrinx to be meant in the hymn to Mercury attributed to Homer, where it is said of that god, that—
ΣΥΡΙΓΓΩΝ ἐνοπην ποιησατο ΤΗΛΟΘ᾽ ΑΚΟΥΣΤΗΝ. v. 509. —a mode of characterizing the tone of the instrument, that reminds one of the "ear-piercing fife" of Shakspeare.
After all, a modern reader may be still surprised to find any degree of imitation, or expression, attributed to so trifling an instrument as a flageolet, or a common flute. But, in reading antient authors, it is frequently necessary, if we would either relish, or even understand them, properly, to lay aside modern ideas. And if this be necessary in general, it is, perhaps, peculiarly so in the subject of Music. Expression, in our musical language, usually conveys the idea of delicate and refined performance, and is almost appropriated to emotions of the tender and pathetic kind. But, with the antients, imitation, or expression (for the words appear to have been synonymous,) extended to every kind of emotion; to every effect produced, in any considerable degree, by Music upon the mind. Now very simple instruments, as well as very simple music, are capable of making impressions, and strong impressions, of the joyous kind, without any delicacy or refinement, either in the composition, or the execution. It is not, therefore, strange, that the syrinx, a shrill and lively pipe, should be ranked by Aristotle as an instrument of some expression; especially if, as it seems probable, the syrinx, of whatever kind, was considered as a pastoral instrument, and its expressions were, in consequence, aided by the association of rural and pastoral ideas. The rude syrinx of Pan was unquestionably of this kind, and appropriated to pastoral use; and, as far as it can be supposed to have affected by association, might, in the musical language of the Greeks, and by a hearer who felt that effect from it, be considered and spoken of as imitative, without impropriety. But being, as I conceive, of too simple and inconvenient a construction to admit of any expression but what it derived purely from associated ideas, it would not, I think, have been joined by Aristotle with the most expressive and refined instruments of the antients, the cithara, and the flute, and mentioned as of "similar power and effect."
4.
mvp-aristotle-comment-4
NOTE 4.
1.6
P. 2. FOR THERE ARE DANCERS WHO BY RHYTHM APPLIED TO GESTURE.
performed,] The Greek is—
ὁι των ὀρχηστων: but there is great reason to suspect the reading. It is generally rendered,
"Some dancers:" but Victorius, who understands it in that sense, says—
durus tamen sermo; and produces no authority for such a phrase. Heinsius proposed—
ΠΟΛΛΟΙ των ὀρχησων. The learned reader may, perhaps, agree with me, that—
ΕΝΙοι των όρχησων, would be preferable, as nearer to the text. It is not probable, that the degree of imitative skill here described was possessed by all dancers, or even by
"the greater part" of them. A passage from Aristocles is preserved by
Athenæus
, in which Telestes, a dancer employed by Æschylus, is mentioned as remarkable for this talent:—
ΟΥΤΩΣ ΗΝ ΤΕΧΝΙΤΗΣ, ωστε, εν τω ορχεισθαι τες Επτα επι Θηβας, φανερα ποιεισθαι τα πραγματα δι ορχησεως.
[Athen. p. 22.]
This dancing appears plainly to have been of that kind, which was afterwards pushed to such an excess of cultivation by the pantomimic dancers in the age of Augustus;
18
and which is well known to have divided all Rome into parties, and even, frequently, to have made the theatre a scene of bloodshed.
19
Of this fact, I cannot help adding, that a proof somewhat curious is furnished by
Valerius Maximus
; who, in the arrangement of his miscellaneous work, places his chapter
De Spectaculis, immediately after that,
De militaribus institutis; and gives this reason:
"Proximus militaribus institutis, ad urbana castra, id est, Theatra, gradus faciendus est: quoniam hæc quoque, sæpenumero, animosas acies instruxerunt; excogitataque cultûs Deorum, et hominum delectationis, causâ, non sine aliquo pacis rubore, voluptatem et religionem CIVILI SANGUINE, Scenicorum portentorum gratiâ, macularunt."
[Lib. ii. 4.]—These
scenica portenta were the Pantomimes.
Aristotle says here,
δια των σχηματιζομενων ῥυθμων. It seems, at first view, that the inverse of this expression would have been more accurate—
δια των ρυθμιζομενων σχηματων—by rhythmic gestures. And, if he had been here considering the imitation of Dance, separately, and in itself, he probably would have expressed himself in that way. But dancing is here transiently mentioned, merely to exemplify what he had been saying, of the combined, or separate, use of rhythm, words, and melody; and to shew, in what manner, not only melody and rhythm might be separated from words, as in music; but rhythm, also, might be separated from melody, and used alone.
20
Any mode of expression, therefore, which would have represented gestures (
σχηματα) as the principal means of the imitation, would not have suited his purpose. It would, also, as Victorius and others have observed, have tended to confound the means of imitation in the poetic and musical arts, which he is here considering, with those means of a different kind, which he had just enumerated, as employed in arts of more obvious and strict imitation, and among which
ΣΧΗΜΑΤΑ were mentioned.
It has been also objected, that Aristotle is, here, professedly instancing
εν ταις ΕΙΡΗΜΕΝΑΙΣ τεχναις—in the arts
"above-mentioned" and yet introduces Dancing, which had not been mentioned: a difficulty easily overcome, if we consider, that Dancing was among the musical arts; closely connected with Poetry, and, above all, with Tragedy.
1.1.
mvp-aristotle-comment-1
1.1
THE EPOPEE AND TRAGEDY, AS ALSO COMEDY AND DITHY- RAMBICS, AND THE GREATER PART OF THOSE COMPOSITIONS WHICH ARE SET TO THE FLUTE AND THE LYRE, ALL AGREE IN THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF BEING IMITATIONS.
By imitation, Aristotle does not mean merely description, but a lively representation of human actions, paffions, and manners. It would be fuperfluous to say much on a subject which has been so amply and clearly treated by Mr. Twining, in his ' Differtation on Poetry confidered as ، an imitative art,' and to which I refer such of my readers as defire full and fatisfactory information on this subject. Aristotle, undoubtedly, places that species of imitation in the first class, which is performed by persons acting, as in the drama, and, for the most part, in the epopees of Homer. This appears from what he says of the epopee, in the twenty-fourth chapter. • The poet (he observes) should appear • himself as little as poffible, for whenever he speaks in his own person N 2 ' he
⚫ he ceases to be an imitator;' seeming even to contradict what he had before allowed in the third chapter, ' that the poet might imitate, either like Homer, fometimes by fimple narration, and sometimes by affuming a different character; or entirely by narration, without affuming any ' character.' It may perhaps be impoffible strictly to reconcile this difference of opinion, but it obviously shews the great preference he gave personal imitation to any other, from which arose his strong predilection for tragedy; and I think we may fairly deduce from it, that even the poet whose imitation is folely narrative, must paint in strong colours the effects of action, paffions and manners, and not merely relate a fable though fictitious, like an hiftorian, for the purpose of drawing moral reflections from it. Those passages, nevertheless, of an epic poem, where the poet speaks in his own person, have great beauty from their contrast with the impaffioned parts, and the relief they give the mind, provided they are neither too frequent nor too long, and the rule laid down by Ariftotle, in his twenty-fourth chapter, concerning the elegance of the versification be carefully observed. Mr. Twining quotes a beautiful example from the first Æneid. ، ، • Urbs antiqua fuit, (Tyrii tenuêre coloni,) Carthago, Italiam contra Tiberinaque longe Oftia-.' Innumerable instances may be produced from Milton; as the description of evening and of paradise, in the fourth book of Paradise Loft; in this he is superior to any poet ancient or modern, though there are many striking passages of the fame kind in the Odyssey. The
POETIC OF ARISTOTLE. The modern invention of reciting a tale, by means of an epistolary correspondence between the perfons concerned, is a very happy mode of imitation, uniting in some measure the different advantages of the epopee and the drama. Perhaps a work of this nature, where the character and style of all the persons corresponding, is nicely difcriminated and rigidly observed, is yet a defideratum in imitative compofition [A].
1.2.
mvp-aristotle-comment-2
1.5
THERE ARE SOME DANCERS WHO, REGULATING THEIR GESTURES BY RHYTHM, CAN IMITATE MANNERS, PASSIONS AND ACTIONS.
THE dances of our opera will afford proof of this. In the dance of the Deferter, I have seen the spectators almost as much affected by Roffi, as by the acting of Mrs. Siddons. This fubject is well illustrated in an ingenious treatise (written by Mr. Nares,) entitled, REMARKS ON THE FAVORITE BALLET OF CUPID AND PSYCHE.
1.3.
mvp-aristotle-comment-3
1.6
THE EPOPEE USES PLAIN LANGUAGE, OR VERSE.
MY own opinion of the proper construction of this passage, and with what qualification it is to be understood as to the regular epic poem I have already given in a note on this place in my tranflation, and [A] See Beattie on Fiction and Romance, page 567. on
on a passage in the fixth chapter. But it is impossible to observe the great earnestness with which Dacier and Metastasio support their oppofite opinions, the one zealous for the honor of (B) Telemachus, and the other partial to the beautiful poems of Ariosto and Tasso, without being convinced of the neceffity of fober criticism, divesting itself of all national and personal partiality. And yet after all it can be of little consequence what Aristotle says on this subject, since in his time the (c) epopee, or the drama, unadorned by verse, if known at all, so far from having attained that degree of perfection to which they have been carried by the moderns, were confidered as an irregular and spurious kind of composition. [B] A fellow-countryman of Dacier's, Bossu, has settled this difference of opinion by the following accommodating hypothefis. • But if an epopee should be written in prose, would * it be an epic poem ? I think not, because a poem is a compofition in verse, but neverthe- * less that does not hinder it from being an epopee; so a tragedy in profe is not a tragic ' poem, but it is still a tragedy. Those who have been in doubt whether the Roman ' comedy was a poem have never doubted its being comedy.' Boffu, 1. 1. chap. v. See also Beattie on Poetry and Music, page 295, and on Fable and Romance, page 518. [c] The Cyropædia of Xenophon, though I believe generally allowed to be not wholly founded on truth, still takes its most prominent features from history, and perhaps does not deviate much more from fact than the account of Cyrus given by Herodotus, though it has more of a poetical form, as there is a manifest design in the arrangement of the circumstances. It seems to bear fome resemblance to the historical novels of the present day.. Strabo, it is true, mentions other writers of poetical profe. Λύσαντες τὸ μέτρον, τ᾽ ἄλλα δὲ φυλάξαντες, τὰ ποιητικὰ συνέγραψαν ὁι περὶ Κάδμον κὶ Φερεκύδην κὶὴ Ἑκατᾶιον, Ι. Ι. • For Cadmus and Pherecydes and Hecatæus wrote poetry, not confining themselves to verse, < but retaining its other requifites. Perhaps, however, by ποιητικά, in this place, compofition in general is meant, fince Suidas says of Hecatæus, Πρῶτος ἰσορίαν πεζῶς ἐξήνεγκεν. • He first wrote history in profe.' From
POETIC OF ARISTOTLE. From the examples here produced by Aristotle, I think it obvious he confiders the word epopee, in this place, according to its etymology, as imitating by woRDS alone, independent of musical accompaniment [D], without the distinction of prose and verse, and not at all as confined to narrative imitation. Neither is his use of the word epopee afterwards, in its more appropriated sense, any objection to the more general meaning he gives it here, since similar instances may be found in this short treatise, as in the words ἐπεισόδιον, μέτρον, and ἀπλόος. See note [c] on the tranflation of chapter xiii. I think it may be doubted whether Aristotle would have classed a modern comedy with the drama, as being a species of dramatic compofition, though deficient in the necessary requisites of verse and musical accompaniment; or with the epopee, as he has the mimes of Sophron, and the Socratic dialogues, as wanting every character of poetry except the essential one of imitation. The construction of the whole passage has occafioned much difference of opinion among the various commentators. As it appears to me, Aristotle having asserted that the epopee uses either plain language, or verse of different forts, as well as the particular species of verse which custom, founded on the nature of the compofition, had [D] Though I profefs this to be my opinion, yet as I by no means am an advocate for any particular hypothesis at the expence of truth, I must mention one objection that strikes me. If Aristotle, by λόγοις ψιλοις, means prose, there appears to be wanting something added to μέτροις, in this particular place, to distinguish verse unaccompanied with music, as one of the means of imitation peculiar to the epopee. The friends of an hypothesis to be combated hereafter, would perhaps say, that by μέρδις here, hexameter verse only is meant, did not the τουλοις μιγνῦσα that immediately follows, convey the most compleat refutation of such an appropriated use of μέτρον. See note II. on chapter xxvi. appropriated
СНАР. Г. appropriated to it, aware that he was hazarding a paradox, explains himself by saying, imitation, and not verse, was the criterion of Poetry; and as on one hand there would be no general name under which imitations, whether narrative or in a dramatic form, if written in profe, or an unusual kind of verse, could be classed, unless they were allowed to come under that of the epopee, whose characteristic it was to imitate by words alone, unassisted by mufic or representation; fo on the other it was a mistake to suppose that verse alone, independant of imitation, was the effential part of poetry, or that poets were styled elegiac, or epic, from writing in epic or elegiac measures, and not from the fubjects they chose, and their manner of treating them. Perhaps the following free paraphrafe of the whole passage may more plainly elucidate my idea of the reasoning of the critic. • The epopee imitates by language alone, without the afsistance of • musical accompaniment; and that, either in [E] prose, or in verse, • which verse may be either of various forts mixed together, or of one • fort only, viz. hexameter, as has hitherto been the general, and almost • universal practice.. • I know I am now advancing a paradox. But if we do not admit ⚫ certain compofitions in prose to be classed under the general name of epopee, what shall we call the mimes of Sophron and Xenarchus, [E] Mr. Twining thinks it odd that Aristotle should mention prose first. But it seems to be his usual practice to begin with the worst mode. See his enumeration of the different forms of tragic fable, chapter xiv. and the methods of discovery, chapter xvi. Prose is the greatest deviation from the proper form of the regular epopee, mixed verse the next. and
POETIC OF ARISTOTLE. ' and the dialogues of Socrates? Fictitious imitation of action, and • character, is the essential diftinction of poetry, and this they possess; • therefore we must at least allow them to be a species of poetry, as • poffeffing its principal requifite, though divested of verfification, • which we acknowledge to be a great, and indeed a necessary ornament; on the fame principle as the history of Herodotus (fee chap. ix. [F]), • if written in verse, would still be a species of history, as being defti- ، tute of the essential character of poetry, fictitious imitation, though • possessing its chief and peculiar ornament, verfification.' • If, indeed, we are so strict as to admit no fort of compofitions to • be classed with the epopee but such as are regular epic poems, where • shall we place any narrative imitation, that might be made in iambic, ، elegiac, or any other kind of verse, except hexameter, poffeffing the • essential character of poetry, though wanting the requifite of heroic ' verse, which we allow to be most congenial with it?' • It may poffibly be said in answer, that these compositions may be ' classed according to the structure of the verse; for custom, it must be ، allowed, has authorized fuch a distinction; and we are used to diftinguish poets rather by the form of the verse than the nature of the imitation, calling those elegiac poets who use elegiac verse, and those epic poets who use heroic verse, without paying any regard to the • subject they write on. Nay, if a didactic essay, either on phyfic or ، mufic, is written in verse, though entirely destitute of fiction or • imitation, it is usual to call the author a poet; yet certainly Homer [G], [F] See also note I on that chapter. [G] (Virgil and Milton.) • whose
' whose works imitate actions and manners, can have nothing in common ، ' with Empedocles [H], except the verse; therefore one indeed may • justly be styled a poet, according to the proper sense of the word, but ⚫ the other is rather a naturalift than a poet.' • The fame objection may be made to my classing compofitions in ' mixed verse with the epopee, and the fame answer may be given. • Chæremon has written a poem, called the Centaur, in various forts ' of verse; the work poffeffes the poetic requifites of fiction and imitation; it is true it is written in a new and an unusual form, and is fo • far faulty, in deviating from the proper composition of the regular epopee [1]; but shall the author on this account be denied the name • of poet, fince his work possesses the essential qualities of poetry?' • I think then there can be no doubt of my being right as to claffing poetry according to the imitation and not the verse.' In this concluding fentence, in the original, the critic speaks a little more ex cathedra, using the imperative, διωρίσθω. Taking the word epopee in this enlarged sense, I shall, in the course of these obfervations, draw a part of my illustrations from fome of those compofitions which we usually call novels, and which Dr. Beattie [K] [H] (Lucretius and Armstrong). It is true there are parts of these writers, especially the former, which may be classed with poetry of the highest order, but these are episodic; the same thing, in some degree, may be faid of the historian and the orator. [1] See note III. chapter xxiv. [*] Effay on Fable and Romance, page 518. On Poetry and Mufic, part i. ch. ii. p. 45. obferves,
POETIC OF ARISTOTLE. observes, may be stiled the comic or profe epopee. I do not mean to controvert the fentence the bishop of Worcester has pronounced againft these writers, in his Effay on the Idea of universal Poetry (page 153), yet if the best of them, who cannot be supposed to have guided their pens by the rules of the Stagirite, have in practice, essentially conformed to those rules, it will go far to shew that, they do not folely originate from the caprice of the critic, or the peculiar customs of the ancients, but are really founded on truth and general nature. CHAP.
1.
mvp-aristotle-comment-1
Ritter, cap. 1 § 1
Operis consilio et instituti ratione paucis verbis exposita, statim singula poesis genera artesque cognatas eo conspirare ut imitentur, sed easdem tribus rebus differre, quod diversa materia imitationem peragant aut quod diversa imitando exprimant aut quod diverse, monetur; quo facto prima illa artium differentia, quae nascitur ex diversa imitandi materia, paulo accuratius explicatur.
περὶ ποιητικῆς –
εἰδῶν αὐτῆς: de arte poetica et ipsa et formis ipsius quod Aristoteles in hoc libro se dicturum, h. e. eius artis rationem tam universe explicaturum quam de singulis eiusdem formis separatim absoluturum profitetur, priorem propositi argumenti locum breviter quidem sed plene pertractavit (c. 1-5), alterum in relicuo opere ita exsecutus est ut primum de tragoedia, tum de epopocia, deinde de comoedia ceterisque poesis generibus quae meditatus esset cum lectoribus communicaret. nobis vero nonnisi tragoediae explicatio, neque ea quidem integra ut videtur, et pauca quaedam de epopoeia conservata sunt: cetera temporum iniuria interciderunt omnia. sed de hac re explicatius in Praefatione diximus.
ἣν τινα δύναμιν ἕκαστον ἔχει :
δύναμις cuique poesis generi inhaerescens vis est et effectus qui declaratur in hominum animis et afficiendis et percolendis. -
καὶ πῶς δεῖ συνίστασθαι τοὺς μύθους: partim ut natura et vis singulorum poesis generum accuratius explicaretur, partim ut praeceptis instruerentur poetae futuri, Aristoteles in unoquoque genere docuit quomodo fabulas, h. e. materiam poemati subiectam ac fere ex fabulosa historia petendam, tractari oporteat, si quis poesis fini iuste respondere velit. illi
μύθοι pro variis artis poeticae generibus sive formis variam speciem induunt; in tragoedia v. c.
μῦθος est
ἡ σύνθεσις τῶν πραγμάτων, h. e. facta compluria argumento conserta. vid. c. 6,6.
ἐκ πόσων καὶ ποίων ἐστὶ μορίων : ex quot et quibus constet partibus unaquaeque artis poeticae species post generalem huius artis explicationem persecuturus est. subiectum enuntiati est
ἕκαστον (
εἶδος), non
ποίησις: poesis enim in species sive formas (
είδη, Arten), formae rursus in partes (
μόρια,
μέρη) dividuntur. tragoediae partes enumerantur c. 6, 4-7., epopoeiae breviter significantur c. 24, 1. -
κατὰ φύσιν : ut natura argumenti ad pertractandum propositi requirit.
ἀπὸ τῶν πρώτων: ab iis quae prima sunt, h. e. unde ars poetica nascitur. conf. Rhetor. III, 1. pag. 1403 b 18.
τὸ μὲν οὖν πρῶτον ἐζητήθη κατὰ φύσιν,
ὅπερ πέφυκε πρῶτον,
αὐτὰ τὰ πράγματα ἐκ τίνων ἔχει τὸ πιθανόν.
2.
mvp-aristotle-comment-2
Ritter, cap. 1 § 2
ἐποποιία δή: particula
δὴ lectorem admonet, iam eam disputandi normam secuturum esse Aristotelem quam modo praescripsit verbis illis
αρξάμενοι κατὰ φύσιν πρῶτον ἀπὸ τῶν πρώτων. –
ἔτι δὲ κωμῳδία καὶ ἡ διθυραμβοποιητική: poesin dithyrambicam hoc loco commemoravit, ut etiam ex lyrico genere una saltem species poneretur, cum ante per nomen
ἐποποιίας totum genus epicae poesis ac continuo dramatici generis duas illas species praecipuas ad partes vocasset. infra c. 2, 4. duas lyrici generis species memoravit:
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τοὺς διθυράμβους καὶ περὶ τοὺς νόμους μιμήσαιτο ἄν τις. id non opus erat, ut omnes artis poeticae species collectas poneret, sed praecipuas appellasse sufficiebat, ubi quid sit commune artis poeticae formis indicare volebat. ceterum poesis divisio his duobus locis subiecta Ciceroni ob oculos versata est scribenti de Optimo gen. or. c. 1. poematis enim tragici, comici, epici, melici etiam ac dithyrambici, suum quodvis est diversum a reliquis, cet.
καὶ τῆς αὐλητικῆς ἡ πλείστη καὶ κιθαριστικῆς: duas hasce artes ad poeticam non pertinentes memoravit, ut quid huic cum aliis artibus commune esset appareret, statim dicturus quibus illa differret. quod cum ita sit, post
διθυραμβοποιητική commatis signum posui, ut diversae quae sequuntur artes a prioribus quodammodo discernerentur. qui citharam pulsat quique tibiis canit tum imitatur, cum hominum affectus animi perturbationesque concentu sonorum exprimit. at vero cum non quivis pulsandae citharae tibiisque canendi modus in tali imitatione necessario versetur, sed citharista vel tibicen nonnisi gratum sonorum concentum et varietatem sectari possit, accurate scripsit Aristoteles
τῆς αὐλητικῆς ἡ πλείστη καὶ κιθαριστικῆς : neque huic sententiae repugnat quod ille aliis locis (Polit. VIII, 5. p. 1340 a 18 et 38. Problem. XIX, 27 et 28) pronuntiavit, mores scilicet et affectus potissimum arte musica exhiberi, cum quod aptum est ad imitationem peragendam, idem ut semper imitetur nihil sit quod cogat. conferantur quae paulo post ad §. 4 extr. et ad §. 5. dicta sunt.
πᾶσαι τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι μιμήσεις τὸ σύ νολον: per
μίμησιν et
μιμεῖσθαι et hic et paulo post significatur quidquid sive verbis sive sonis musicis sive motibus sive coloribus aliave materia expressum ad veritatis similitudinem accedit (Nachbildung durch Worte oder Töne oder Bewegungen oder Stoffe). eatenus igitur omnis poetica
μίμησις est et omnia eius genera
μιμητικά sunt. sed aliis locis id poeticae genus quod dramaticum appellare solemus ab Aristotele
κατ' ἐξοχὴν vocatur
μιμητικόν, quatenus res a poeta expressae ab hominibus aliam personam in se suscipientibus repetuntur oculisque spectantium aut mentilegentium subiiciuntur. hoc intellectu poesis epica non est imitativa (
μιμητική) sed narrativa (
διηγηματική). conf. Hermanni ad h. 1. Commentarii p. 84-90. Formam
μιμήσεις ex codicibus Bekkerianis praebent ABC,
μίμησις Να: libri ab aliis collati in utramque partem discedunt. si
μίμησις scripsit Aristoteles, omnes artes modo allatas imitationem esse, h. e. in imitando convenire, sin
μιμήσεις, easdem esse varios imitandi modos dixit, utrumque recte. sed quoniam structura verborum recepto numero multitudinis expeditior est, et quia is facilius in singularis formam a librariis syllabam i tamquam ī pronuntiantibus commutari potuit, pluralem praeferendum existimavi.
3.
mvp-aristotle-comment-3
Ritter, cap. 1 § 3
διαφέρουσι δὲ ἀλλήλων τρισίν: dum artes modo enumeratae in imitando conveniunt, eaedem tribus differunt: imitantur enim aut iis quae genere (h. e. natura sua) diversa sunt, aut diversa, aut diverse. de primo illo artium discrimine ex imitationis materia ducto statim dis putatur, alterum in capite secundo, tertium deinceps explicatur. illa
καὶ μὴ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον explicationis causa adverbio
ἑτέρως adiunguntur, idque factum videtur, ne quis
ἑτέρως opponeret iis quae proxime antecedunt, sed illud per se constare intelligeret. rhetores Graeci appellant
ισοδυναμοῦν κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον. conf. Victorii ad h. 1. annotatio. subsimile est illud ex c. 6, 2.
δρώντων καὶ οὐ δι' ἀπαγγελίας.
4.
mvp-aristotle-comment-4
Ritter, cap. 1 § 4
ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ χρώμασι καὶ σχήμασι: in arte pingendi et materia imitandi et ipsa imitatio admodum manifesta apparet; ea causa fuit cur inde exemplum peteretur, quo artis musicae et poeticae ratio, quantum ad materiam pertinet, illustraretur.
χρώματα καὶ σχήματα interpretor colores et lineamenta (Farben und Umrisse sive Zeichnungen). scilicet pictores ad figuras exhibendas aut coloribus utuntur aut lineis vel lineamentis, ipsae figurae hoc loco non denotantur: figurae enim sunt illud ipsum quod imitando efficitur (
τὸ μίμημα), non imitandi materia. eodem modo
χρώματα καὶ σχήματα pictori (
τα
ζωγράφῳ) tribuit Plato in Civitate X. p. 601 A,
χρόας καὶ σχήμαια idem ibidem V. p. 476 B. ipse hic noster
σχήματα καὶ χρώματα pictorum esse indicat in Politicis VIII, 5. p. 1340 a 34.
ἔτι δὲ οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα ὁμοιώματα τῶν ἠθῶν,
ἀλλὰ σημεῖα μᾶλλον τὰ γιγνόμενα σχήματα καὶ χρώματα τῶν ἠθῶν. aliis in locis
σχήματα ipsae figurae sunt: conf. Plat. Civit. II. p. 373 B. Gorg. p. 465 B. 474 D et E. Menon. p. 74 E. Cratyl. p. 431 C. Sophist. p. 251 A. Phaedon. p. 100 D. nomen pictores (
γραφεῖς,
ζωγράφοι,
εἰκονογράφοι) indefinite per
τινες et
ἀπεικάζοντες significavit, eo opinor consilio ut omne pingendi negotium, etiam vulgare et minus politum, comprehenderet.
ἀπεικάζοντες est assimulantes, h. e. ad similitudinem rei cuiusdam ad imitandum propositae imaginem facientes. praepositio
ἀπὸ in
ἀπεικάζοντες ad rem illam spectat, unde (
ὅθεν) imago ducitur."
οἱ μὲν διὰ τέχνης οἱ δὲ διὰ συνηθείας : hoc additamentum salva loci sententia omitti potuit, sed accessit ut lectores admonerentur eam imitationem quae fiat coloribus lineamentisve duobus modis ab hominibus vulgo exerceri, aut per artem professionemque aut per consuetudinem. qui per artem (
διὰ τέχνης) pingit, is data opera hoc negotium exsequitur, h. e. artem pingendi factitat et profitetur; qui per consuetudinem (
διὰ συνηθείας) pingit, is animi causa et pro arbitrio, non aliorum hominum gratia, modo ad id negotium incumbit modo missum facit et alias res agit.
τέχνη h. 1. neque artis exercendae facultatem (Kunstfertigkeit) neque artis legum intellectum (Kunsteinsicht) potest denotare, propterea quod sic non
συνήθειαν sed aut
ἐμπειρίαν (cf. Metaphys. A. 1 sub init.) opponi oportuit aut
φύσιν, quemadmodum c. 8,3.
ἤτοι διὰ τέχνην ἢ διὰ φύσιν legimus. ac sane tantum abest ut sermo sit de imitatione cum arte et scientia instituenda, ut communi hoc imitandi negotio, quo fungentes multa imitantur aliqui, imitationem veris illis artibus subiectam illustrari scriptor voluerit. iam vero tam is qui per consuetudinem pingit (der Dilettant) quam qui per artem (der Maler von Fach), et felicissime et pessime negotio suo defungi possunt, prout ingenio et natura fautrice aut instructi sunt aut destituti. hoc igitur iam in aperto est, in subsequentibus pro
ἕτεροι δὲ διὰ τῆς φωνῆς legi non posse
ἕτεροι δὲ διὰ τῆς φύσεως, quod a Madio excogitatum ab ipsoque reprobatum in operis contextum admisit Hermannus, improbante recte quidem, non tamen iustam ob causam ¹), Augusto Matthiae in diurnis Ienens. a. 1805. n. 223. p. 547. sed quid nos faciemus verbis istis quae mutanda negamus? ea membris duobus praecedentibus,
οἱ μὲν διὰ τέχνης οἱ δὲ διὰ συνηθείας, respondere et tamquam tertium adiungi non posse, hoc et per se manifestum est et magis etiam liquet ex nostra verborum
διὰ τέχνης et
διὰ συνηθείας interpretatione. Buhlius igitur aliis praeeuntibus in hunc modum Aristotelia disposuit:
ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ χρώμασι καὶ σχήμασι πολλὰ μιμοῦνταί τινες ἀπεικάζοντες (
οἱ μὲν διὰ τέχνης,
οἱ δὲ διὰ συνηθείας),
ἕτεροι δὲ διὰ τῆς φωνῆς, ut ad haec postrema ex prioribus
πολλὰ μιμοῦνται intelligerentur. sed ut omittam pessimam et ambiguam membrorum sententiae copulationem, hoc tamen silentio praetermittere non possum, agi de materia imitandi, vocem autem esse quidem instrumentum imitationis, materiam non esse, vide quam absurde dicatur ex pictoribus alii coloribus imitantur, alii autem manu, et tamen hoc illi de quo disputamus simile esset. itaque ad hanc explicationem vindicandam pro
διὰ τῆς φωνῆς (durch die Stimme) scriptum certe oportuit
διὰ φωνῶν (durch Laute), sed eam mutationem neque admittere ullus sustinebit, neque per eam ipsam omnes loci difficultates vitabuntur: scilicet illam imitationem quae fit
φωναῖς in arte poetica et musica, eam ipsam per hoc exemplum ex imitatione pingentium petitum illustrari voluit Aristoteles. quid multa? additamentum illud, unde sanam sententiam nemo 1) Censor eruditus paulo confidentius pronuntiat
συνήθειαν h. 1. esse usum ingenio partum, quem
συνήθειαν ἀφ᾿ ἕξεως vocaverit Aristoteles in Rhetoricis I, 1. p. 1354 a 7.interpretum adhuc potuit elicere, a consilio scribentis alienissimum est neque ab ipso profectum est, sed insertum ab homine male sedulo qui sententiam a se pro manca habitam explere pro virili sed infeliciter tentavit. fortasse hanc notam in margine posuit ut breviter comprehenderet illa
οὕτω κὰν ταῖς εἰρημέναις κτλ., sed tum debuit saltem
διὰ φωνῶν.
ἢ τε αὐλητικὴ καὶ ἡ κιθαριστική : potuit musicam simpliciter appellare, sed eam cum per partes paulo ante significavisset, eandem loquendi rationem hic quoque tenuit; ut tamen recte intelligeretur addidit
κἂν εἴ τινες ἕτεραι τυγχάνωσιν οὖσαι τοιαῦται 2)
τὴν δύναμιν. sed cavendum ne, cum Aristoteles dixerit artem tibiis canendi citharaeque pulsandae imitari per concentum numerumque, inde imitativas esse has artes, h. e, semper imitari, statuisse illum opinemur. id enim si fecisset, paulo ante inconsiderate posuisset
τῆς αὐλητικῆς ἡ πλείστη καὶ κιθαριστικῆς, cum illam latiorem et angustiorem imitandi significationem, quam in poesi admissam invenimus, ad musicam Graeci non adplicuerint. hoc dicit Aristoteles, auleticam et citharisticam ceterasque musicae species, si imitentur, imitari per concentum numerumque. idem ille de tota musica profitetur in Politicis VIII, 5. р. 1340 a 18.
ἔστι δ' ὁμοιώματα μάλιστα παρὰ τὰς ἀληθινὰς φύσεις ἐν τοῖς ῥυθμοῖς καὶ τοῖς μέλεσιν ὀργῆς καὶ πραότητος,
ἔτι δ᾽ ἀνδρίας καὶ σωφροσύνης καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐναντίων τούτοις καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἠθικῶν.
5.
mvp-aristotle-comment-5
Ritter, cap. 1 § 5
οἱ τῶν ὀρχηστῶν: numeri sive motus saltatorum. nomen
ῥυθμοί ad verba
οἱ τῶν ὀρχηστῶν ex praegressis
αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ ῥυθμῷ advocatum intelligo. durum hoc est, fateor, sed quod melius sit vix invenias. nam Dacerius linguae vim facit, cum
οἱ τῶν ὀρχηστῶν idem vult esse quod
οἱ ὀρχησταί. D. Heinsius
οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ὀρχηστῶν, Twinin- 2)
Τοιαῦται in nullo dum codice repertum aut Aldus addidisse aut accepisse a correctore Italo videtur. pronomen quamvis necessarium ab illo ex libro non interpolato receptum esse vix credo.gius
ἔνιοι τῶν ὀρχ. coniecit, sed utraque medicina et violentior est neque omnes difficultates tollit, cum post
οἱ πολλοί aeque ac post
ἔνιοι vix pergere Aristoteles potuisset
καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι κτλ. unus Parisiensis 2038 exhibet
μιμεῖται - ἡ τῶν ὀρχήστῶν, quod vel facilitate sua indocti correctoris manum prodit. nisi a temeraria medicina animus abhorreret, scribendum suaderem
οἱ τῶν ὀρχηστῶν σχηματοποιοῦνται. saltatores omnes imitari, ea non est Aristotelis sententia: ipse enim veriorem rationem monstravit adiectis illis
διὰ τῶν σχηματιζομένων ῥυθμῶν μιμοῦνται. numeri
σχηματιζόμενοι eiusmodi sunt motus, quibus actio et gestus adiunguntur.