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To this false reasoning or paralogism, it appears a * true one must have followed. As in the Merope of M. Voltaire, Merope, on seeing the helmet of her son brought in, believed the person who brought it had assassinated him; a false reasoning deceives her and almost induces her to kill him herself, till a further discovery, by true reasoning, saves him. But I fear this ingenious explanation will hardly be found conclusive.

Poetics. Aristotle. ed. Henry James Pye. London. 1792.

Current edition Experimental

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.

Editions (4)

Περὶ ποιητικῆς (OCR draft) (Aristotle, Poetics. Immanuel Bekker, editor, Aristotelis Opera, volume 2. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1837.) — 16 focus

Ἀναγνώρισις δὲ τί μέν ἐστιν, εἴρηται πρότερον· εἴδη δὲ ἀναγνωρίσεως, πρώτη μὲν ἡ ἀτεχνοτάτη, καὶ ᾗ πλεῖστοι χρῶνται δι᾿ ἀπορίαν, ἡ διὰ τῶν σημείων.

Τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν σύμφυτα, οἷον

λόγχην ἣν φοροῦσι Γηγενεῖς

ἢ ἀστέρας οἵους ἐν τῷ Θυέστῃ Καρκίνος, τὰ δὲ ἐπίκτητα, καὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν ἐν τῷ σώματι, οἷον οὐλαί, τὰ δὲ ἐκτός, τὰ περιδέραια, καὶ οἷον ἐν τῇ Τυροῖ διὰ τῆς σκάφης.

Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τούτοις χρῆσθαι ἢ βέλτιον ἢ χεῖρον, οἷον Ὀδυσσεὺς διὰ τῆς οὐλῆς ἄλλως ἀνεγνωρίσθη ὑπὸ τῆς τροφοῦ καὶ ἄλλως ὑπὸ τῶν συβοτῶν·

εἰσὶ γὰρ αἱ μὲν πίστεως ἕνεκα ἀτεχνότεραι, καὶ αἱ τοιαῦται πᾶσαι, αἱ δὲ ἐκ περιπετείας, ὥσπερ ἡ ἐν τοῖς Νίπτροις, βελτίους.

Δεύτεραι δὲ αἱ πεποιημέναι ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ, διὸ ἄτεχνοι· οἷον Ὀρέστης ἐν τῇ Ἰφιγενείᾳ ἀνεγνώρισε τὴν ἀδελφήν, ἀναγνωρισθεὶς ὑπ᾿ ἐκείνης· ἐκείνη μὲν γὰρ διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, ἐκεῖνος δὲ διὰ σημείων.

Ταῦτα οὖν αὐτὸς λέγει ἃ βούλεται ὁ ποιητής, ἀλλ᾿ οὐχ ὁ μῦθος. Διὸ ἐγγὺς τῆς εἰρημένης ἁμαρτίας ἐστίν· ἐξῆν γὰρ ἂν ἔνια καὶ ἐνεγκεῖν. Καὶ ἐν τῷ Σοφοκλέους Τηρεῖ ἡ τῆς κερκίδος φωνή.

Τρίτη δὲ ἡ διὰ μνήμης, τῷ αἰσθέσθαι τι ἰδόντα, ὥσπερ ἡ ἐν Κυπρίοις τοῖς Δικαιογένους, ἰδὼν γὰρ τὴν γραφὴν ἔκλαυσεν, καὶ ἡ ἐν Ἀλκίνου ἀπολόγῳ, ἀκούων γὰρ τοῦ κιθαριστοῦ καὶ μνησθεὶς ἐδάκρυσεν· ὅθεν ἀνεγνωρίσθησαν.

Τετάρτη δὲ ἡ ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ, οἷον ἐν Χοηφόροις, ὅτι ὅμοιός τις ἐλήλυθεν, ὅμοιος δὲ οὐθεὶς ἀλλ᾿ ἢ Ὀρέστης· οὗτος ἄρα ἐλήλυθεν. Καὶ ἡ Πολυείδου τοῦ σοφιστοῦ περὶ τῆς Ἰφιγενείας· εἰκὸς γὰρ τὸν Ὀρέστην συλλογίσασθαι ὅτι ἥ τ᾿ ἀδελφὴ ἐτύθη καὶ αὐτῷ συμβαίνει θύεσθαι. Καὶ ἡ ἐν τῷ τοῦ θεοδέκτου Τυδεῖ, ὅτι ἐλθὼν ὡς εὑρήσων υἱὸν αὐτὸς ἀπόλλυται. Καὶ ἡ ἐν τοῖς Φινείδαις· ἰδοῦσαι γὰρ τὸν τόπον συνελογίσαντο τὴν εἱμαρμένην, ὅτι ἐν τούτῳ εἵμαρτο ἀποθανεῖν αὐταῖς· καὶ γὰρ ἐξετέθησαν ἐνταῦθα.

Ἔστι δέ τις καὶ συνθετὴ ἐκ παραλογισμοῦ τοῦ θεάτρου, οἷον ἐν τῷ Ὀδυσσεῖ τῷ ψευδαγγέλῳ· τὸ μὲν γὰρ τόξον ἔφη γνώσεσθαι ὃ οὐχ ἑωράκει, ὁ δέ, ὡς δι᾿ ἐκείνου ἀναγνωριοῦντος, διὰ τούτου ἐποίησε παραλογισμόν.

Πασῶν δὲ βελτίστη ἀναγνώρισις ἡ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων, τῆς ἐκπλήξεως γιγνομένης δι᾿ εἰκότων, οἷον ἡ ἐν τῷ Σοφοκλέους Οἰδίποδι καὶ τῇ Ἰφιγενείᾳ· εἰκὸς γὰρ βούλεσθαι ἐπιθεῖναι γράμματα. Αἱ γὰρ τοιαῦται μόναι ἄνευ τῶν πεποιημένων σημείων καὶ περιδεραίων.

Δεύτεραι δὲ αἱ ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ.

Περὶ ποιητικῆς (OCR draft) Perseus (Aristotle, De arte poetica liber. Rudolf Kassel, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965. Reference edition for passage alignment.) — 16 focus

ἀναγνώρισις δὲ τί μέν ἐστιν, εἴρηται πρότερον· εἴδη 20 δὲ ἀναγνωρίσεως, πρώτη μὲν ἡ ἀτεχνοτάτη καὶ ᾗ πλείστῃ χρῶνται δι’ ἀπορίαν, ἡ διὰ τῶν σημείων.

τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν σύμφυτα, οἷον λόγχην ἣν φοροῦσι Γηγενεῖς

ἢ ἀστέρας οἵους ἐν τῷ Θυέστῃ Καρκίνος, τὰ δὲ ἐπίκτητα, καὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν ἐν τῷ σώματι, οἷον οὐλαί, τὰ δὲ ἐκτός, οἷον τὰ 25 περιδέραια καὶ οἷον ἐν τῇ Τυροῖ διὰ τῆς σκάφης.

ἔστιν δὲ καὶ τούτοις χρῆσθαι ἢ βέλτιον ἢ χεῖρον, οἷον Ὀδυσσεὺς διὰ τῆς οὐλῆς ἄλλως ἀνεγνωρίσθη ὑπὸ τῆς τροφοῦ καὶ ἄλλως ὑπὸ τῶν συβοτῶν·

εἰσὶ γὰρ αἱ μὲν πίστεως ἕνεκα ἀτεχνότεραι, καὶ αἱ τοιαῦται πᾶσαι, αἱ δὲ ἐκ περιπετείας, ὥσπερ 30 ἡ ἐν τοῖς Νίπτροις, βελτίους.

δεύτεραι δὲ αἱ πεποιημέναι ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ, διὸ ἄτεχνοι. οἷον Ὀρέστης ἐν τῇ Ἰφιγενείᾳ ἀνεγνώρισεν ὅτι Ὀρέστης· ἐκείνη μὲν γὰρ διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, ἐκεῖνος δὲ αὐτὸς λέγει ἃ βούλεται ὁ ποιητὴς ἀλλ’ 35 οὐχ ὁ μῦθος·

διὸ ἐγγύς τι τῆς εἰρημένης ἁμαρτίας ἐστίν, ἐξῆν γὰρ ἂν ἔνια καὶ ἐνεγκεῖν. καὶ ἐν τῷ Σοφοκλέους Τηρεῖ ἡ τῆς κερκίδος φωνή.

ἡ τρίτη διὰ μνήμης, τῷ αἰσθέσθαι 1455a 1 τι ἰδόντα, ὥσπερ ἡ ἐν Κυπρίοις τοῖς Δικαιογένους, ἰδὼν γὰρ τὴν γραφὴν ἔκλαυσεν, καὶ ἡ ἐν Ἀλκίνου ἀπολόγῳ, ἀκούων γὰρ τοῦ κιθαριστοῦ καὶ μνησθεὶς ἐδάκρυσεν, ὅθεν ἀνεγνωρίσθησαν.

τετάρτη δὲ ἡ ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ, οἷον ἐν Χοηφόροις, ὅτι 5 ὅμοιός τις ἐλήλυθεν, ὅμοιος δὲ οὐθεὶς ἀλλ’ ἢ Ὀρέστης, οὗτος ἄρα ἐλήλυθεν. καὶ ἡ Πολυίδου τοῦ σοφιστοῦ περὶ τῆς Ἰφιγενείας· εἰκὸς γὰρ ἔφη τὸν Ὀρέστην συλλογίσασθαι ὅτι ἥ τ’ ἀδελφὴ ἐτύθη καὶ αὐτῷ συμβαίνει θύεσθαι. καὶ ἐν τῷ Θεοδέκτου Τυδεῖ, ὅτι ἐλθὼν ὡς εὑρήσων τὸν υἱὸν αὐτὸς 10 ἀπόλλυται. καὶ ἡ ἐν τοῖς Φινείδαις· ἰδοῦσαι γὰρ τὸν τόπον συνελογίσαντο τὴν εἱμαρμένην ὅτι ἐν τούτῳ εἵμαρτο ἀποθανεῖν αὐταῖς, καὶ γὰρ ἐξετέθησαν ἐνταῦθα.

ἔστιν δέ τις καὶ συνθετὴ ἐκ παραλογισμοῦ τοῦ θεάτρου, οἷον ἐν τῷ Ὀδυσσεῖ τῷ 14 ψευδαγγέλῳ· τὸ μὲν γὰρ τὸ τόξον ἐντείνειν, ἄλλον δὲ 14a μηδένα, πεποιημένον ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ καὶ ὑπόθεσις, 14b καὶ εἴ γε τὸ τόξον ἔφη γνώσεσθαι ὃ οὐχ 15 ἑωράκει· τὸ δὲ ὡς δι’ ἐκείνου ἀναγνωριοῦντος διὰ τούτου ποιῆσαι παραλογισμός.

πασῶν δὲ βελτίστη ἀναγνώρισις ἡ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων, τῆς ἐκπλήξεως γιγνομένης δι’ εἰκότων, οἷον ἐν τῷ Σοφοκλέους Οἰδίποδι καὶ τῇ Ἰφιγενείᾳ· εἰκὸς γὰρ βούλεσθαι ἐπιθεῖναι γράμματα. αἱ γὰρ τοιαῦται 20 μόναι ἄνευ τῶν πεποιημένων σημείων καὶ περιδεραίων.

δεύτεραι δὲ αἱ ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ.

Poetics, Greek text (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's Greek text of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 16 focus

Ἀναγνώρισις δὲ τί μέν ἐστιν, εἴρηται πρότερον· εἴδη
δὲ ἀναγνωρίσεως, πρώτη μὲν ἡ ἀτεχνοτάτη καὶ πλείστῃ
χρῶνται δι᾽ ἀπορίαν, ἡ διὰ τῶν σημείων.

τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν
σύμφυτα, οἷον “λόγχην ἣν φοροῦσι Γηγενεῖς”

ἢ ἀστέρας
οἵους ἐν τῷ Θυέστῃ Καρκίνος, τὰ δὲ ἐπίκτητα, καὶ τούτων
τὰ μὲν ἐν τῷ σώματι, οἷον οὐλαί, τὰ δὲ ἐκτός, τὰ περιδέραια
καὶ οἷον ἐν τῇ Τυροῖ διὰ τῆς σκάφης.

ἔστιν δὲ καὶ
τούτοις χρῆσθαι ἢ βέλτιον ἢ χεῖρον, οἷον ὁ Ὀδυσσεὺς διὰ
τῆς οὐλῆς ἄλλως ἀνεγνωρίσθη ὑπὸ τῆς τροφοῦ καὶ ἄλλως
ὑπὸ τῶν συβοτῶν·

εἰσὶ γὰρ αἱ μὲν πίστεως ἕνεκα ἀτεχνότεραι,
καὶ αἱ τοιαῦται πᾶσαι, αἱ δὲ ἐκ περιπετείας, ὥσπερ
ἡ ἐν τοῖς Νίπτροις, βελτίους.

δεύτεραι δὲ αἱ πεποιημέναι
ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ, διὸ ἄτεχνοι. οἷον ὁ Ὀρέστης ἐν τῇ
Ἰφιγενείᾳ ἀνεγνώρισεν ὅτι Ὀρέστης· ἐκείνη μὲν γὰρ διὰ τῆς
ἐπιστολῆς, ἐκεῖνος δὲ αὐτὸς λέγει ἃ βούλεται ὁ ποιητὴς ἀλλ᾽
οὐχ ὁ μῦθος·

διό τι ἐγγὺς τῆς εἰρημένης ἁμαρτίας ἐστίν, ἐξῆν
γὰρ ἂν ἔνια καὶ ἐνεγκεῖν. καὶ ἐν τῷ Σοφοκλέους Τηρεῖ ἡ
τῆς κερκίδος φωνή.

ἡ τρίτη διὰ μνήμης, τῷ αἰσθέσθαι
τι ἰδόντα, ὥσπερ ἡ ἐν Κυπρίοις τοῖς Δικαιογένους, ἰδὼν γὰρ
τὴν γραφὴν ἔκλαυσεν, καὶ ἡ ἐν Ἀλκίνου ἀπολόγῳ, ἀκούων
γὰρ τοῦ κιθαριστοῦ καὶ μνησθεὶς ἐδάκρυσεν, ὅθεν ἀνεγνωρίσθησαν.

τετάρτη δὲ ἡ ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ, οἷον ἐν Χοηφόροις,
ὅτι ὅμοιός τις ἐλήλυθεν, ὅμοιος δὲ οὐθεὶς ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ὁ Ὀρέστης,
οὗτος ἄρα ἐλήλυθεν. καὶ ἡ Πολυίδου τοῦ σοφιστοῦ περὶ τῆς
Ἰφιγενείας· εἰκὸς γὰρ τὸν Ὀρέστην συλλογίσασθαι ὅτι ἥ τ᾽
ἀδελφὴ ἐτύθη καὶ αὐτῷ συμβαίνει θύεσθαι. καὶ ἐν τῷ
Θεοδέκτου Τυδεῖ, ὅτι ἐλθὼν ὡς εὑρήσων υἱὸν αὐτὸς ἀπόλλυται.
καὶ ἡ ἐν τοῖς Φινείδαις· ἰδοῦσαι γὰρ τὸν τόπον συνελογίσαντο
τὴν εἱμαρμένην ὅτι ἐν τούτῳ εἵμαρτο ἀποθανεῖν
αὐταῖς, καὶ γὰρ ἐξετέθησαν ἐνταῦθα.

ἔστιν δέ τις καὶ συνθετὴ
ἐκ παραλογισμοῦ τοῦ θατέρου, οἷον ἐν τῷ Ὀδυσσεῖ τῷ
ψευδαγγέλῳ· τὸ μὲν γὰρ τὸ τόξον ἔφη γνώσεσθαι ὃ οὐχ
ἑωράκει, τὸ δὲ ὡς δὴ ἐκείνου ἀναγνωριοῦντος διὰ τούτου
ποιῆσαι παραλογισμός.

πασῶν δὲ βελτίστη ἀναγνώρισις ἡ ἐξ
αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων τῆς ἐκπλήξεως γιγνομένης δι᾽ εἰκότων,
οἷον τὸ ἐν τῷ Σοφοκλέους Οἰδίποδι καὶ τῇ Ἰφιγενείᾳ·
εἰκὸς γὰρ βούλεσθαι ἐπιθεῖναι γράμματα. αἱ γὰρ τοιαῦται
μόναι ἄνευ τῶν πεποιημένων σημείων καὶ δεραίων.

δεύτεραι
δὲ αἱ ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ.

Poetics, Greek text (Franz Ritter, 1839) (OCR draft) Experimental (Franz Ritter's 1839 Greek edition, corrected against OCR of the represented copy and aligned to the conventional Perseus chapter-and-subchapter sequence.) — 16 focus

Αναγνώρισις δὲ τί μέν ἐστιν, εἴρηται πρότερον εἴδη δὲ ἀναγνωρίσεως, πρώτη μὲν ἡ ἀτεχνοτάτη, καὶ ᾗ πλεῖστοι χρῶνται δι᾽ ἀπορίαν, ἡ διὰ τῶν σημείων.

τούτων δὲ τὰ μὲν σύμφυτα, οἷον “λόγχην ἣν φοροῦσι Γηγενεῖς”

ἢ ἀστέρας οἷους ἐν τῷ Θυέστῃ Καρκίνος, τὰ δὲ ἐπίκτητα, καὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν ἐν τῷ σώματι, οἷον οὐλαί, τὰ δὲ ἐκτός, τὰ περιδέραια, καὶ οἷον ἐν τῇ Τυροῖ διὰ τῆς σκάφης.

ἔστι δὲ καὶ τούτοις χρῆσθαι ἢ βέλτιον ἢ χεῖρον, οἷον Ὀδυσσεὺς διὰ τῆς οὐλῆς ἄλλως ἀνεγνωρίσθη ὑπὸ τῆς τροφοῦ καὶ ἄλλως ὑπὸ τῶν συβοτῶν·

δεύτεραι δὲ αἱ πεποιημέναι ὑπὸ τοῦ ποιητοῦ, διὸ ἄτεχνοι· οἷον Ὀρέστης ἐν τῇ Ιφιγενείᾳ ἀνεγνώρισεν ὅτι Ὀρέστης· ἐκείνη μὲν γὰρ διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, ἐκεῖνος δὲ αὐτὸς λέγει ἃ βούλεται ὁ ποιητής, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ μῦθος.

διότι¹ ἐγγὺς τῆς εἰρημένης ἁμαρτίας ἐστίν· ἐξῆν γὰρ ἂν ἔνια καὶ ἐνεγκεῖν. καὶ ἐν τῷ Σοφοκλέους Τηρεῖ “ἡ τῆς κερκίδος φωνή.” τρίτη δὲ

ἡ διὰ μνήμης, τῷ αἰσθέσθαι τι ἰδόντα, ὥσπερ ἡ ἐν Κυπρίοις τοῖς Δικαιογένους, ἰδὼν γὰρ τὴν γραφὴν ἔκλαυσεν, καὶ ἡ ἐν Ἀλκίνου ἀπολόγῳ, ἀκούων γὰρ τοῦ κιθαριστοῦ καὶ μνησθεὶς ἐδάκρυσεν· ὅθεν ἀνεγνωρίσθησαν.

τετάρτη δὲ ἡ ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ, οἷον ἐν Χοηφόροις, ὅτι ὅμοιός τις ἐλήλυθεν, ὅμοιος δὲ οὐθεὶς ἀλλ᾽ ἢ Ὀρέστης· οὗτος ἄρα ἐλήλυθεν. καὶ ἡ Πολυείδου τοῦ σοφιστοῦ περὶ τῆς Ἰφιγενείας· εἰκὸς γὰρ τὸν Ὀρέστην συλλογίσασθαι ὅτι ἥ τ᾽ ἀδελφὴ ἐτύθη καὶ αὐτῷ συμβαίνει θύεσθαι. καὶ ἡ ἐν τῷ τοῦ Θεοδέκτου Τυδεῖ, ὅτι ἐλθὼν ὡς εὑρήσων υἱὸν αὐτὸς ἀπόλλυται. καὶ ἡ ἐν τοῖς Φιν²είδαις· ἰδοῦσαι γὰρ τὸν τόπον συνελογίσαντο τὴν εἱμαρμένην, ὅτι ἐν τούτῳ εἵμαρτο ἀποθανεῖν αὐταῖς· καὶ γὰρ ἐξετέθησαν ἐνταῦθα.

ἔστι δέ τις καὶ συνθετὴ ἐκ παραλογισμοῦ τοῦ θεάτρου, οἷον ἐν τῷ Ὀδυσσεῖ τῷ ψευδαγγέλῳ· τὸ μὲν γὰρ τόξον ἔφη γνώσεσθαι ὃ οὐχ ἑωράκει, τὸ δέ, ὡς δι᾽ ἐκείνου ἀναγνωριοῦντος, διὰ τούτου ἐποίησε παραλογισμόν.

πασῶν δὲ βελτίστη ἀναγνώρισις ἡ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων, τῆς ἐκπλήξεως γιγνομένης δι᾿ εἰκότων, οἷον ἡ ἐν τῷ Σοφοκλέους Οἰδίποδι καὶ τῇ Ἰφιγενείᾳ· εἰκὸς γὰρ βούλεσθαι ἐπιθεῖναι γράμματα. αἱ γὰρ τοιαῦται μόναι ἄνευ τῶν πεποιημένων σημείων καὶ περιδεραίων.

δεύτεραι δὲ αἱ ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ.

Translations (13)

Poetics (W. H. Fyfe) (OCR draft) Perseus (William Hamilton Fyfe's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, Loeb Classical Library, 1939 printing.) — 16 focus

What a Discovery is has been already stated.¹ 20 As for kinds of Discovery, first comes the least artistic kind, which is largely used owing to incompetence—discovery by tokens.

These may be congenital, like the spear the Earth-born bear or stars, like those which Carcinus² uses in his Thyestes³;

or they may be acquired and these may be on the body, for instance, wounds, or external things like necklaces, and in the Tyro⁴ the discovery by means of the boat.

There is a better and a worse way of using these tokens; for instance Odysseus, by means of his wound, was discovered in one way by the nurse and in another way by the swine-herds.⁵

Discovery scenes constructed to prove the point are inartistic and so are all such scenes, but those are better which arise out of a reversal scene, as, for instance, in The Washing.⁶

In the second place come those which are manufactured by the poet and are therefore inartistic. For instance, in the Iphigeneia⁷ Orestes revealed himself. She was revealed to him through the letter,

but Orestes says himself what the poet wants and not what the plot requires. So this comes near to the fault already mentioned, for he might just as well have actually brought some tokens.⁸ And there is the voice of the shuttle⁹ In Sophocles’ Tereus.

The third kind is due to memory, to showing distress on seeing something. 1455a 1 An example of this is the scene in the Cyprians by Dicaeogenes; on seeing the picture he burst into tears¹⁰: and again in the Tale of Alcinous,¹¹ hearing the minstrel he remembered and burst into tears; and thus they were recognized.

The fourth kind results from an inference; for instance, in the Choephoroe Someone like me has come; but nobody is like me except Orestes; therefore he has come. And there is Polyidus’s¹² idea about Iphigeneia, for it is likely enough that Orestes should make an inference that, whereas his sister was sacrificed, here is the same thing happening to him. And in Theodectes’ Tydeus that having come to find a son, he is perishing himself. And the scene in the Phineidae, where on seeing the spot the women inferred their fate, that they were meant to die there for it was there that they had been exposed.¹³

There is also a kind of fictitious discovery which depends on a false inference on the part of the audience, for instance in Odysseus the False Messenger, he said he would recognize the bow, which as a matter of fact he had not seen, but to assume that he really would reveal himself by this means is a false inference.¹⁴

Best of all is the discovery which is brought about directly by the incidents, the surprise being produced by means of what is likely—take the scene in Sophocles’ Oedipus or in the Iphigeneia—for it is likely enough that she should want to send a letter. These are the only discovery scenes which dispense with artificial tokens, like necklaces.¹⁵

20 In the second place come those that are the result of inference.

Arabic Poetics (Badawī edition, 1953) (OCR draft) (The ancient Arabic translation of Aristotle's Poetics in ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Badawī's 1953 edition.) — 16 focus

〈فى الاستدلالات〉

وقد تكلم أيضاً فى الاستدلال. وأما أنواع الاستدلالات فمنها أولاً ذلك الذى هو بلا صناعة، وهو الذى يستعمله كثيرون بسبب الشك، 〈وهو الذى يكون〉 بتوسط العلامات. 〈أ〉ما كان منها متهيئة، فبمنزلة «الحربة التى كان يتمسك بها المعروفون بغاغانس» أو الكواكب بمنزلة التى «بثواسطس» الشبيهة بالسرطان ومنها ما هى مقتناة بمنزلة التى تمسك باليد وتوضع على الجسم بمنزلة الطوق فى العنق والسيف باليد.

وقد يمكن أن تستعمل هذه إما بالفاضلة منها، وإما بالرذلة، بمنزلة ما عرف أودوسوس بالبثرة التى كانت فى رجله من مربيته [على جهة أخرى] ومما حزره على جهة أخرى. وذلك أن منها ما هو فى أمر التصديق أكثر فى باب الصناعة، وجميع هذه التى هى أمثالها؛ ومنها ما يوجد فيها الإدارة والتقليب أكثر، مثل أن هذه التى تكون بالتغسل أجود.

والثوانى التى علمها الشاعر لهذا السبب بلا صناعة مثل جانب المعروفة بباغانيا، وهو الذى به استدلت إباغانيا أنه أرسطس. وذلك أنه أما تلك فبالرسالة إلى ذاك، وأما هذا فيخبر بما يريده الشاعر، لا الخرافة وحكاية الحديث. ولهذا السبب صارهذا بالقرب من الزلل الذى خبر به. وقد يوجد آخر يقتضب بحسب هذا الرأى، وهذه فيما قاله سوفقلس من أنه سمع صوت ساعد يمتهن.

والثالث هو أن يكون ينال الانسان أن يحس عندما يرى، كالحال فيما كان بأهل ديقوغانس فى قبرس، فانه قال إنه لما رأى الكتابات بكى؛ وكذلك أمر أهل ألقينس من القول، فانه لما سمع العواد وتذكر، دمع؛ ومن هناك عرف بعضهم بعضا.

وأما الرابع فما يخطر بالفكر بمنزلة أنه أتى من هو شبيه بالمكفنين لانسان، ولم يأت أحد يشبه إلا أرسطس. فهذا إذاً هو الذى أتى. وأما السوفسطائى فعندما نظر فى الأمور نظراً كثيراً قبل إيباغانيا على الحقيقة ظن بأرسطس أنه هو نفسه فكر أن أخته ذبحت، وأنه عرض أنها إنما كانت تضحى له. وقال أيضاً ثا أودقطس أنه عندما لسفيندس من أنها عندما جاءت ونظرت إلى الموضع فكرت فى باب القضاء وأخطرته ببالها أنه جميعهن بهذا قضى عليهم أن يمتن، وذلك أنهم يتخرجون بالأمر.

وقد يوجد ضرب آخر أيضاً مركب 〈هو〉 المأخوذ من مغالطة القياس التى لثااطرن بمنزلة ما فيما دون من أمر «أودوسيا ذلك المبشر الطاهر»؛ وذلك أن من القوس زعم أنه ليس يمكن إنسان آخر. فقد قال ذلك الشاعر، والخبر أيضاً الذى أتى فى ذلك قد خبر فيه فى أمر القوس ليعرف ما لم يروا ما القول أنه بتوسط ذاك كانت تعرف، ففى هذا كانت المغالطة فى القياس.

غير أن الاستدلال الفاضل على كل شىء فهو المأخوذ من أمور الفعل الإرادى، ولذلك مثل هذا أرى سوفقلس فى «أوديفس» وفى «إباغانيا» أيضاً. وذلك أنه قد كان يريد على الحقيقة أن يدون فى ذلك كلام. وذلك أن هذه الأمور هى وحدها فقط بلا أشياء معمولة، وبلا أشياء فى العنق. والثانى من القياس.

Poetics (S. H. Butcher, 1911) (OCR draft) Experimental (S. H. Butcher's English translation from Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art, fourth edition, 1911.) — 16 focus

What Recognition is has been already explained.
We will now enumerate its kinds.
First, the least artistic form, which, from poverty of
wit, is most commonly employed — recognition by signs.

Of these some are
congenital, such as 'the spear which the earth-born race bear on
their bodies,'

or the stars
introduced by Carcinus in his Thyestes.
Others are
acquired after birth; and of these some are bodily marks,
as scars;
some external tokens, as necklaces, or the little
ark in the Tyro by which the discovery is effected.

Even
these admit of more or less skilful treatment.
Thus in
the recognition of Odysseus by his scar, the discovery is
made in one way by the nurse, in another by the swine-
herds.

The use of tokens for the express purpose of proof
— and, indeed, any formal proof with or without tokens
— is a less artistic mode of recognition.
A better kind
is that which comes about by a turn of incident, as in
the Bath Scene in the Odyssey.

Next come the recognitions invented at will by the
poet, and on that account wanting in art.
For example,
Orestes in the Iphigenia reveals the fact that he is
Orestes.
She, indeed, makes herself known by the letter;

but he, by speaking himself, and saying what the poet,
not what the plot requires.
This, therefore, is nearly
allied to the fault above mentioned: — for Orestes might
as well have brought tokens with him. And in the Tereus of
Sophocles the 'voice of the shuttle.'

The third kind depends on memory when the sight of
some object awakens a feeling: as in the Cyprians of
Dicaeogenes, where the hero breaks into tears on seeing
the picture;
or again in the 'Lay of Alcinous,' where
Odysseus, hearing the minstrel play the lyre, recalls the
past and weeps;
and hence the recognition.

The fourth kind is by process of reasoning. Thus in
the Choëphori: — 'Some one resembling me has come:
no one resembles me but Orestes: therefore Orestes has
come.'
Such too is the discovery made by Iphigenia
in the play of Polyidus the Sophist.
It was a natural
reflexion for Orestes to make, 'So I too must die at the
altar like my sister.'
So, again, in the Tydeus of
Theodectes, the father says, 'I came to find my son, and
I lose my own life.'
So too in the Phineidae: the
women, on seeing the place, inferred their fate: — 'Here
we are doomed to die, for here we were cast forth.'

Again, there is a composite kind of recognition involving
false inference on the part of one of the characters, as in
the Odysseus Disguised as a Messenger.
A said that
no one else was able to bend the bow; hence B
(the disguised Odysseus) imagined that A would recognize
the bow which, in fact, he had not seen; and to bring
about a recognition by this means — the expectation that A
would recognize the bow — is false inference.

But, of all recognitions, the best is that which arises
from the incidents themselves, where the startling dis-
covery is made by natural means.
Such is that in the
Oedipus of Sophocles, and in the Iphigenia;
for it was
natural that Iphigenia should wish to dispatch a letter.
These recognitions alone dispense with the artificial aid
of tokens or amulets.

Next
come the recognitions by process of reasoning.

Aristotle on the Art of Poetry (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 16 focus

Discovery in general has been explained already. As
for the species of Discovery, the first to be noted is (1) the
least artistic form of it, of which the poets make most use
through mere lack of invention, Discovery by signs or marks.

Of these signs some are congenital, like the 'lance-head
which the Earth-born have on them,'
or 'stars,' such as
Carcinus brings in in his Thyestes;

others acquired after birth
—these latter being either marks on the body, e. g. scars, or
external tokens, like necklaces, or to take another sort of
instance, the ark in the Discovery in Tyro.

Even these,
however, admit of two uses, a better and a worse; the
scar of Ulysses is an instance; the Discovery of him through
it is made in one way by the nurse and in another by the
swineherds.

A Discovery using signs as a means of assu-
rance is less artistic, as indeed are all such as imply reflexion;
whereas one bringing them in all of a sudden, as in the
Bath-story, is of a better order.

Next after these are (2)
Discoveries made directly by the poet; which are inartistic
for that very reason; e.g.
Orestes' Discovery of himself in
Iphigenia: whereas his sister reveals who she is by the letter,
Orestes is made to say himself what the poet rather than
the story demands.

This, therefore, is not far removed
from the first-mentioned fault, since he might have presented
certain tokens as well. Another instance is the 'shuttle's
voice' in the Tereus of Sophocles.

(3) A third species is
Discovery through memory, from a man's consciousness
being awakened by something seen or heard. Thus in The
Cyprioe of Dicaeogenes, the sight of the picture makes
the man burst into tears; and in the Tale of Alcinous,
hearing the harper Ulysses is reminded of the past and
weeps; the Discovery of them being the result.

(4) A fourth
kind is Discovery through reasoning; e.g. in The Choephoroe:
'One like me is here; there is no one like me but Orestes;
he, therefore, must be here.' Or that which Polyidus the
Sophist suggested for Iphigenia; since it was natural for
Orestes to reflect: 'My sister was sacrificed, and I am to
be sacrificed like her.' Or that in the Tydeus of Theodectes:
'I came to find a son, and am to die myself.' Or that in
The Phinidae: on seeing the place the women inferred their
fate, that they were to die there, since they had also been
exposed there.

(5) There is, too, a composite Discovery
arising from bad reasoning on the side of the other party.
An instance of it is in Ulysses the False Messenger: he
said he should know the bow—which he had not seen;
but to suppose from that that he would know it again (as
though he had once seen it) was bad reasoning.

(6) The
best of all Discoveries, however, is that arising from the
incidents themselves, when the great surprise comes about
through a probable incident, like that in the Oedipus of
Sophocles; and also in Iphigenia; for it was not improbable
that she should wish to have a letter taken home. These
last are the only Discoveries independent of the artifice
of signs and necklaces.

Next after them come Discoveries
through reasoning.

Poetics (Thomas Twining, 1789) (OCR draft) Experimental (Thomas Twining's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1789 and aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 16.9 focus

Fourthly-The Discovery occasioned by reasoning or inference¹; such as that in the Choephorae: "The person, who is arrived, resembles me-no one resembles me but Orestes-it must be he !". And that of Polyides the Sophist, in his Iphigenia²; for the conclusion of Orestes was natural. "It had been his sister's lot to be sacrificed, and it was now his own!". That, also, in the Tydeus of Theodectes:-"He came to find his son, and he himself must perish!". And thus, the daughters of Phineus, in the Tragedy denominated from them³, viewing the place to which they were led, infer their fate: "there they were to die, for there they were exposed!".

[16]

The Poetic of Aristotle (Theodore Alois Buckley) (OCR draft) Experimental (Theodore Alois Buckley's English translation, first published in 1850 and represented from the Henry G. Bohn 1857 printing; corrected against a second OCR and aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 16.9 focus

as in the "Choephorae"—a person like ¹²³⁴ me is arrived-there is no person like me but Orestes,—Orestes, therefore, is arrived. Thus too in the "Iphigenia9" of Polyides the sophist. For it was probable that Orestes would syllogistically conclude, that because his sister had been immolated, it would likewise happen to him to be sacrificed. Thus also in the "Tydeus 10 " of Theodectes, a certain person comes to discover his son, and himself perishes 11. Another example also is in the "Phinidae." For the women, on seeing the place, inferred what their fate would be, viz. that they must needs perish in this place; for they were exposed in it from their infancy. ⁵

Poetica Latine conversa (Franciscus Ritter, 1839) (OCR draft) Experimental (Franz Ritter's Latin translation, corrected against OCR of the represented copy and aligned to the conventional Perseus chapter-and-subchapter sequence.) — 16 focus

[Agnitio quid sit, ante dictum est: species autem agnitionis, et prima quidem maxime rudis, et qua plerique utuntur propter consilii inopiam, quae fit per signa.

horum autem alia innata sunt,

ut "hastam quam gestant Terrigenae" vel stellas quales in Thyeste Carcinus, alia adquisita, et horum alia in corpore, ut cicatrices, alia extra, monilia, et quemadmodum in Tyrone per scapham.

licet vero etiam his uti aut melius aut peius, sicut Ulixes per cicatricem aliter agnitus est a nutrice et aliter a subulcis:

sunt enim quae fidei causa fiunt rudiores, et quaecumque huiusmodi, sed quae ex inopinato casu, ut quae in Niptris, meliores.

secundae autem sunt quae fictae a poeta, quare rudes; sic Orestes in Iphigenia notum fecit se esse Orestem: illa enim per epistolam, ille autem ipse dicit quae vult poeta, sed non fabula.

quapropter prope abest a dicto peccato: nam nonnulla ctiam gestare poterat. atque in Sophoclis Tereo “radii vox." tertia autem quae recordatione fit,

cum aliquid conspiciens commovetur, quemadmodum illa in Cypriis Dicaeogenis, conspiciens enim picturam lacrimavit, et illa in Alcini apologo, audiens enim citharoedum et recordatus lacrimnas fudit; inde noti ficti sunt.

quarta autem quae fit per conclusionem, sicut in Chocphoris: scilicet similis aliquis venit, similis autem nemo nisi Orestes: is igitur venit. et illa Polyidi sophistae circa Iphigeniam verisimile enim Orestem concludere, quoniam soror mactata esset, se quoque mactatum iri. et quae in Theodectis Tydeo, quoniam venerit filium inventurus, se ipsum interiturum esse. et quae in Phinidis; conspicatae enim locum quod fatale erat collegerunt, scilicet in hoc sibi moriendum esse : ibi enim etiam expositae erant.

est vero etiam quaedam composita ex falsa ratiocinatione theatri, ut in Ulixe mendace nuntio: arcum enim aiebat se agniturum esse quem non viderat, illud autem, quasi per hoc agniturus esset, sic falsam rationem iniit.

omnium autem optima agnitio est quae fit ex ipsis factis, stupore per verisimilia excitato, quemadmodum illa in Sophoclis Oedipo atque in Iphigenia: nam verisimile est tradere velle litteras. tales enim solae sine fictis signis et monilibus.

proximae autem quae fiunt ex conclusione.]

La poëtique d'Aristote (André Dacier, 1692) (OCR draft) Experimental (André Dacier's French translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1692.) — 16.9 focus

La quatrième eſpece de reconnoiſſance eſt celle qui ſe fait par le raiſonnement, comme dans les Coephores d'Eſchyle, où Electre raiſonne de cette maniére, il eſt venu icy un homme qui me reſſemble, perſonne ne me reſſemble qu'Oreſte, donc Oreſte eſt venu. Et comme dans l'Iphigenie du Sophiſte Polyides, où Oreſte fait ce raiſonnement, comme ma ſœur a été immolée à Diane, il faut donc auſſi que je luy ſois immolé. Dans le Tydée de Theodecte Adraſte fait ce raiſonnement, Lajus étoit allé pour avoir des nouvelles de ſon fils, il fut tué en chemin, celuy-cy eſt ſon petit fils, c'est donc le fils d'Edipe. Et dans les Phineides, ces malheureuſes filles, voyant le lieu où on alloit les faire mourir, s'écrient avec douleur, qu'elles voyent bien que la cruelle deſtinée les avoit condamnées à mourir dans ce lieu, puiſque c'eſt le même où elles avoient été expoſées, & c'eſt ce raiſonnement qui les fait reconnoître.

6.

Poetica d'Aristotile (Bernardo Segni, 1549) (OCR draft) Experimental (Bernardo Segni's 1549 Florentine Italian translation, aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 16 focus

Ella Ricognitione, che che ella fia n'ho io detto innazi. Spetie d'effa,& la principale,è quella, che mancando d'artificio (& nondimanco vſata da piu) fi fa ò per via di dubitatione, ò per via di ſegni.¹

Et queſta vltima parte fi diuide in ſegni ingenerati inſieme(come è la Lancia, che ſogliono portare i figliuoli della Terra ò le ſtelle, ficome l'uſanel ſuo Thieſte Carcino) ò in ſegni acquiſtati di fuori;

parte de'quali ne ſieno ò nel corpo ſteſſo impreſsi, come ſono le margini, ò che di fuori ſe gli accoſtino, come fono le Collane: & come è nella Fauola detta Tiro la Scafa.

Poſſonſitali vſare in migliore, & in peggior modo, ſicome interuenne à Vliffe, che per via della margine fu riconoſciuto della Balia in vn modo,& da' guardiani de'porci in vnaltro. Che inuero tutte queſte ſimili ricognitioni, che in tal modo s'acquiſtano fede, mancano d'artifitio.

Et migliori fono quelle ricognitioni, che fi fan per via della Peripetia, come ſono quelle della Tragedia detta Nittre, Nel ſecondo luogo di bontà ſono quelle Ricogni tioni, le quali eſſendo finte da eſsi Poeti, però non man cano d'artificio;ficome è l'Oreſte nella Ifigenia, che co nobbe la forella, & fu da lei cognofciuto egli la conobbe per via d' una lettera, & da lei fu riconoſciuto per via della haſta di Pelope.

Queſte Recognitioni intal modo fatte il Poeta le finge come gli piace e; ; & non le finge effa Fauola: laonde elle caſcano ageuolmente nello errore ſopra detto.

Che egli è ben lecito di produrne alcune, ficome è nel Thereo di Sofocle prodotta la voce dalla ſcuola da teſsere. La terza ſpetie di Recognitione fi fa per via della memoria, cioè nel conofcere vna coſa mentre che vno la riguarda; ficome è nella Fauola di Diceogene chiamata Ciprii, doue colui riſguardando quella immagine dipinta, pianſe.

Et acome è nella Odiſſea quella, che è nell'Apologo d'Al cinoo; doue Vliffe vdendo il fonatore della Cetera, ritornando in memoria,pianfe; & perciò fu riconoſciuro. La quarta ſpetie d'eſſa ſi fa per via del Silogifmo, co meenella Cleofove; Che egliera cioè venuto vn certo fimile, & che nelluno l'era fimile, in fuori che Oreftes adunche egli era venuto Orefte.

Et come è detto da яя ( Polide Sofiſta di Ifigenia, Egli è, diſſe, verifimile che Oreſte haueſſe diſcorſo, che eſſendo ſtata facrificata la forella, à lui parimente doueffe incontrare il medefimo. Et come è nella Fauola di Teodette detta il Tideo;doue colui, che viene per trouare il ſuo figliuolo, è ammazzato. Et come è nella Fauola detta Fenide, do ue coloro, hauendo rifguardato il luogo,conchiuſono, quiui ſopraſtare loro il fato, che haueua predetto loro, che elle doueuon' quiui morire; conciofia che in detto luogo elle fuſsino ſtate eſpoſte:

A' queſta anchora s'aggiugne quella, che ſi fa nel Teatro per via del falfo Silo gifmo, come fi vede nello Vliſſe chiamato Non vero nuntio, che quiui è vno, che dice eſſere per conoſcer quello arco, il quale e' non haueua veduto, & quell'al tro, come ſe tale arco doueſſe da lui eſſere riconoſciuto: però vi fece la conclufion' falſa.

Ottima Ricognitione infra tutte è quella, che, dalle cofe ſteſſe nafcendo, commuoue gli animi à marauiglia per via de' verifimili; come è quella dello Edippo di Sofocle, & della Ifigenia per effer' verifimil cofa, che ella defideraffe di fcriuergli.Conciofia che tali recognitionı fole ſi facci no & ſenza ſegni finti, & ſenza gli eſtrinfechi; come fo no le collane :

& nel ſecondo luogo ſono quelle, che fi fanno per via del Silogifmo

De poetica (Antonio Riccobono, 1587) (OCR draft) Experimental (Antonio Riccobono's Latin translation, first published in 1587; text represented from Immanuel Bekker's 1831 edition.) — 16 focus

Ac agnitio quid sit, dictum est prius. species autem agnitionis prima est, quae maxime expers est artis et qua plurimi utuntur propter penuriam,

quae per signa fit; eaque partim innata, ut lanceam quam Terrigenae ferunt, aut stellas, quales in Thyeste dicit Carcinus;

partim adventicia, aut in corpore, ut cicatrices, aut extra, ut monilia, et ut in Tyrone per scapham.

ac licet his uti vel melius vel peius, ut Ulysses per cicatricem aliter agnitus est a nutrice, aliter a subulcis.

et sunt quidem, quae fidei causa adhibentur, magis artis expertes, etiam huiusmodi omnes. quae vero ex peripetia, ut quae in Niptris, meliores. secundae sunt quae a poëta factae sunt. itaque expertes artis, ut Orestes in Iphigenia agnovit sororem agnitus ab ipsa.

haec quidem agnita per epistolam, ille vero per signa. ac ipse quidem dicit quae vult poëta, sed non fabula.

quare a dicto peccato non longe abest (licebat enim quaedam interponere) etiam in Sophoclis Tereo radii vox. tertia agnitio est quae per memoriam fit, cum quis sentit aliquid videndo, ut quae in Cypriis Dicaeogenis: cum enim picturam inspexisset, luxit; et quae in Alcinoi apologo: citharoedum audiens et recordatus lacrimavit;

unde agniti sunt. quarta quae ex syllogismo, ut in Choephoris, quia similis quidam venit: atqui similis nullus praeterquam Orestes: ergo iste venit.

et quae Polyidis sophistae de Iphigenia: verisimile namque est Orestem ratiocinari et sororem immolatam esse et ipsi contingere immolari. et in Tydeo Theodectis, quod cum venisset ut inventurus filium, ipse periit. et quae in Phoenicibus: cum enim locum vidissent, ratiocinatae sunt fatum, quod fato statutum esset ipsis moriendum esse: etenim ibi expositae sunt.

est etiam quaedam composita ex paralogismo theatri, ut in Ulysse falso nuntio: hic enim inquit se arcum cogniturum, quem non viderat; ille vero quasi is agnovisset, propterea paralogismum fecit. omnium autem optima agnitio est, quae ex ipsis rebus est, facta consternatione per verisimilia,

ut in Sophoclis Oedipode et in Iphigenia: verisimile enim est eam velle dare litteras: tales enim solae sine factis signis et monilibus sunt.

at secundae sunt quae per syllogismum fiunt.

De arte poetica liber (William of Moerbeke, ca. 1277) (OCR draft) Experimental (William of Moerbeke's medieval Latin translation, represented by the 1953 Aristoteles Latinus edition.) — 16 focus

Anagnorisis autem quid quidem sit, dictum est prius;

species autem anagnoriseos, prima quidem inartificiosissima et qua plurima utuntur propter defectum,

que per signa. Horum autem hec quidem connaturalia, puta «lancea quam ferunt terrigene » aut «stellas » quales in Thyeste Cancros,

hec autem adventitia, et horum hec quidem in corpore, puta cicatrices, hec autem extra, puta que circa collum et que in Tyrei per skafam. —

Est autem et hiis uti aut melius aut peius, puta ' Odyseus per cicatricem alius recognitus est a trofo, et alius a sybotis;

sunt enim que quidem fidei gratia inartificialiores, et que tales omnes, hee autem ex peripeteia, sicut qui in Niptris, meliores. —

Secunde autem que poetizate a poeta, propter quod inartificiales, velut Horestes in Ifigeneia recognovit quia Horestes ; illa quidem enim per epistolam, ille autem ipse dicit que vult poeta sed non fabula,

quia prope dictum peccatum est ; licebat enim utique quedam et inferre. Et in eo qui Sophoclei Tyrei que «spate texentium vox»

aut per memoriam fore aliquid scientem, sicut qui in Cypriis ipsius Dykeogenis, videns enim scripturam flevit ; et que in Alkini apologon, audiens enim cytharistam et memoratus lacrimatus est, unde recogniti sunt. —

Quarta autem que ex sillogismo, puta in Khloiforis, quod similis aliquis venit, similis autem nullus sed aut Horestes' iste ergo venit. Et que Polyeidis sophiste de Ifigenia ; verisimile enim Horestem sillogizasse quod si soror immolata est et ipsi accidere immolari. Et in Theodecti Tvdei, quod veniens tamquam inventurus filium ipse periit. Et que in Finides ; videntes enim locum sillogizaverunt fatum, quod in hoc fatatum erat mori ipsis, et enim exposite fuerunt hic. —

Est autem quedam et composita ex paralogismo theatri, puta in Odyssee falsi nuntio ; hoc quidem enim, scilicet arcum, ait cognoscere quod non viderat, hoc autem ut per illum recognoscentem, per hoc fecisse paralogismum. —

Omnium autem optima recognitio que ex ipsis rebus stupefactione facta per verisimilia, puta quod in Sophoclei Oidipode et Ifigeneia ; verisimile enim velle imponi litteras. Tales enim sole sine poetizatis signis et collaribus. —

Secunde autem que ex sillogismo.

Arabic Poetics (Abū Bishr Mattā; Tkatsch edition) (OCR draft) Experimental (The Arabic translation attributed to Abū Bishr Mattā, edited by Jaroslaus Tkatsch in 1928 and aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 16 focus

‏وقد تكلم ايضا فى الاستدلال واما انواع الاستدلالات فمنها اولا ذلك الذى هو بلا صناعة وهو الذى يستعمله كثيرون بسبب السل بتوسط العلامات

‏ما كان منها متهيية فبمنزلة الحرية التى كان يتمسك بها المعروفون بقاغانس

‏او الكواكب بمنزلة التى ٮٮواسطس الشبيهة بالسرطان ومنها ما هى مقناة بمنزلة التى تمسك باليد وتوضع على الجسم بمنزلة الطوق فى العنق والسيف باليد

‏وقد يمكن ان تستعمل هذه اما بالفاضلة منها واما بالرذلة بمنزلة ما عرف اودوسوس بالبثرة التى كانت فى رجله من مربيته على جهة اخرى ومما حرره على جهة اخرى

‏وذلك ان منها ما هو فى امر التصديق اكثر فى باب الصناعة وجميع هذه التى هى امثالها ومنها ما يوجد فيها الادارة والتقليب اكثر مثل ان هذه التى تكون بالتغسل اجود

‏والثوانى التى علمها الشاعر لهذا السبب بلا صناعة مثل جانب المعروفة بباغانيا وهو الذى به استدلت اباغانيا انه ارسطس وذلك انه اما تلك فبالرسالة الى ذاك واما هذا فيخبر بما يريده الشاعر لا الخرافة وحكاية الحديث

‏ولهذا السبب صار هذا بالقرب من الزلل الذى خبر به وقد يوجد اخر يقتصب بحسب هذا الراى وهذه فيما قاله سوفقلس من انه سمع صوت ساعد ممتهن

‏والثالث هو ان يكون ينال الانسان ان يحس عند ما يرى كالحال فيما كان باهل ديقوغانس فى قبرس فانه قال انه لما راى الكتابات بكا وكذلك امر اهل القينس من القول فانه لما سمع العواد وتذكر دمع ومن هنالك عرف بعضهم بعضا

‏واما الرابع فما يخطر بالفكر بمنزلة انه اتا من هو شبيه بالمكفنين لانسان ولم يات احد يشبه الا ارسطس فهذا اذا هو الذى اتا واما السوفسطانى فعند ما نظر فى لامور نظرا كثيرا قبل ايباغانيا على الحقيقة ظن بارسطس انه هو نفسه فكر ان اخته ذبحت وانه عرض انها انما كانت تضحى له وقال ايضا ثااودقطس انه عندما لسفينيدس من انها عند ما جات ونظرت الى الموضع فكرت فى باب القضا واخطر به ببالها انه جميعهن بهذا قضى عليهم ان يمتن وذلك انهم ٮٮحرحوں بالامر

‏وقد يوجد ضرب اخر ايضا مركب الماخوذ من مغالطة القياس التى لثااطرن بمنزلة فيما دون من امر اودوسيا ذلك المبشر الطاهر وذلك ان من القوس زعم انه ليس يمكن انسان اخر فقد قال ذلك الشاعر والخير ايضا الذى اتى فى ذلك قد خبر فيه في امر القوس ليعرف ما لم يروا ما القول انه بتوسط ذاك كاٮٮ ٮعرف ففى هذا كانت المغالطة فى القياس

‏غير ان الاستدلال الفاضل على كل شى فهى الماخوذة من امور الفعل الارادى ولذلك مثل هذا ارى سوفقلس فى اوديفس وفى ايباغانيا ايضا وذلك انه قد كان يريد على الحقيقة ان يدون فى ذلك كلام وذلك ان هذه الامور هى وحدها فقط بلا اشيا معمولة وبلا اشيا فى العنق

‏والثانى من القياس

Arabic Poetics (Abū Bishr Mattā; Tkatsch edition, unaligned) (OCR draft) Experimental (Tkatsch's edition of the medieval Arabic translation in its original, unaligned segmentation.) — 16 focus

‏وقد تكلم فيها كلاما كافيا فى الاقاويل التى اتى بها وقد تكلم ايضا فى الاستدلال واما انواع الاستدلالات فمنها اولا ذلك الذى هو بلا صناعة وهو الذى يستعمله كثيرون بسبب السل بتوسط العلامات

‏ما كان منها متهيية فبمنزلة الحرية التى كان يتمسك بها المعروفون بقاغانس او الكواكب بمنزلة التى ٮٮواسطس الشبيهة بالسرطان ومنها ما هى مقناة بمنزلة التى تمسك باليد وتوضع على الجسم بمنزلة الطوق فى العنق والسيف باليد

‏وقد يمكن ان تستعمل هذه اما بالفاضلة منها واما بالرذلة بمنزلة ما عرف اودوسوس بالبثرة التى كانت فى رجله من مربيته على جهة اخرى ومما حرره على جهة اخرى وذلك ان منها ما هو فى امر التصديق اكثر فى باب الصناعة وجميع هذه التى هى امثالها ومنها ما يوجد فيها الادارة والتقليب اكثر مثل ان هذه التى تكون بالتغسل اجود

‏والثوانى التى علمها الشاعر لهذا السبب بلا صناعة مثل جانب المعروفة بباغانيا وهو الذى به استدلت اباغانيا انه ارسطس وذلك انه اما تلك فبالرسالة الى ذاك واما هذا فيخبر

‏بما يريده الشاعر لا الخرافة وحكاية الحديث

‏ولهذا السبب صار هذا بالقرب من الزلل الذى خبر به وقد يوجد اخر يقتصب بحسب هذا الراى

‏وهذه فيما قاله سوفقلس من انه سمع صوت ساعد ممتهن

‏واما الرابع فما يخطر بالفكر بمنزلة انه اتا من هو شبيه بالمكفنين لانسان ولم يات احد يشبه الا ارسطس فهذا اذا هو الذى اتا

‏واما السوفسطانى فعند ما نظر فى لامور نظرا كثيرا قبل ايباغانيا على الحقيقة ظن بارسطس انه هو نفسه فكر ان اخته ذبحت وانه عرض انها انما كانت تضحى له

‏وقال ايضا ثااودقطس

‏انه عندما لسفينيدس من انها عند ما جات ونظرت الى الموضع فكرت فى باب القضا واخطر به ببالها انه جميعهن بهذا قضى عليهم ان يمتن وذلك انهم ٮٮحرحوں بالامر

‏غير ان الاستدلال الفاضل على كل شى فهى الماخوذة من امور الفعل الارادى ولذلك مثل هذا ارى سوفقلس فى اوديفس وفى ايباغانيا ايضا وذلك انه قد كان يريد على الحقيقة ان يدون فى ذلك كلام

‏وذلك ان هذه الامور هى وحدها فقط بلا اشيا معمولة وبلا اشيا فى العنق

‏والثانى من القياس

Commentary

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

9. mvp-aristotle-comment-586

ἐν Χοηφόροις: Aesch. Choeph. 168-234 (comp. Eurip. El. 520 ). Electra reflects on what she sees, and concludes that it is her brother Orestes who has come home. It will be observed that in the other instances of ἀναγνώρισις ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ the discovery is made by the party who overhears the reflexion of the other.

9. mvp-aristotle-comment-587

5 ὁ Ὀρέστης. For the article compare Herod. 1. 68

συνεβάλλετο τὸν Ὀρέστεα ... τοῦτον εἶναι

9. mvp-aristotle-comment-588

6 Πολυίδου. It is agreed that this was the Attic form of the name ( Kock, CAF. 1 p. 508 ; Schulze, Qu. Epicae p. 111 ). As literary criticism was part of the business of a sophist, the probability is that this suggestion of 'the Sophist Polyidus' was propounded in some critical discussion on the technique of the dramatists; it is quite unnecessary to suppose him to have been also a dramatic poet (with Welcker, Gr. Trag. 1043), or to identify him with a certain dithyrambic poet of the same name (with Bernhardy, Gr. Litt. 2 p. 756). Aristotle reverts to this suggestion in 17, 1455 b 10 .

9. mvp-aristotle-comment-589

9 Τυδεῖ: Nauck, TGF. p. 803 . Nothing more is known either of this or of the other two plays mentioned, the Φινεῖδαι ( Nauck p. 841 ) and Ὀδυσσεὺς ψευδάγγελος ( Nauck p. 839 ). It is impossible to say who the personage here referred to was (comp. Tyrwhitt on 11, 1452 a 27 ).

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

16. mvp-aristotle-comment-404

16.9 La quatrième eſpece de reconnoiſſance eſt celle qui ſe fait par le raiſonnement, comme dans les Coephores, où Electre rai-ſonne de cette manière; Il eſt venu icy un homme qui me reſſem-ble, perſonne ne me reſſemble qu'Oreste, donc Oreste eſt venu.]¹

17. mvp-aristotle-comment-405

16.9 Ou comme dans l'Iphigenie du Sophiſte Polyides, où Ore-ſte fait ce raiſonnement, comme ma ſœur a été immolée à Dia-ne, il faut donc auſſi que je luy ſois immolé.]²

18. mvp-aristotle-comment-406

16.9 Dans le Tydée de Theodecte, Adraſte fait ce raiſonnc-ment, Lajus étoit allé pour avoir des nouvelles de ſon fils, il fut tué en chemin, celuy-cy eſt ſon petit fils, c'est donc le fils d'Œdipe.]³

19. mvp-aristotle-comment-407

16.9 Et dans les Phincides, ces malheureuſes filles voyant le lieu...]⁴

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

130. mvp-aristotle-comment-130

NOTE 130. P. 96.

16.9 THE DISCOVERY OCCASIONED BY REASONING, OR INFERENCE; SUCH AS THAT IN THE CHOEPHORA-.

Here is much obscurity and confusion. One thing, however, seems clear; that

ἐκ συλλογισμου

, cannot mean as some interpreters have understood it to mean, "by reasoning or inference in the mind of the person who makes the discovery;" because this is common to all the modes of discovery. When Electra recognizes her brother, does she not infer, or, in the philosopher's language, syllogize? "This man has seen the lance — nobody could see it but Orestes — This is Orestes." And the same may be said of all the other recognitions. Discovery by inference, therefore, on the part of the discoverer, cannot be made a distinct species. The discovery Aristotle means, is plainly a discovery, not made, but occasioned, by inference. Throughout all his instances, he considers only the means, or occasion, of discovery, as furnished, in some way or other, by the person discovered. With respect to bodily marks, bracelets, &c. the letter of Iphigenia, and the verbal

τεκμηρια

of Orestes, this is obvious enough. But the case is the same with the discovery by memory: in both the examples of that species, the persons are discovered, not by recollection in the discoverers, but by the effects of it in themselves. And so here too, in the three last examples of discovery

ἐκ συλλογισμου

, however obscure in other respects, this at least seems clearly enough expressed, that the persons are discovered by their own reasoning, or inference; that is, by something which it leads them to say. ¹

But, the difficulty is, that Aristotle's first example, appears not to accord with this idea, and with the other examples. ² The inference here, appears to be, even from the words themselves, and, if the Choephora of Æschylus be intended, as the commentators suppose, certainly is, — inference in the mind of the person who makes the discovery. ³ But as this, for the reasons already given, cannot, I think, be admitted, we must either leave this knot as it is, or solve it by supposing some other Tragedy, not extant, to be meant, in which the conclusion mentioned was, as in all the other instances that follow, the occasion only of the discovery. Nor will this appear a very improbable supposition, if we recollect the swarm of Tragic Poets who were continually exercising their invention upon a few popular subjects, and the number of different Tragedies which, in consequence, we find recorded, not only on the same subject, but even with the same title; often with some slight variation only, in the mode of a discovery, and other episodic incidents of the plot, which would still leave a general resemblance, a sort of family likeness, between them, such as, in fact, we find in Tragedies on the same subject now extant; in the Electra of Sophocles, and that of Euripides, and the Choephora of Æschylus.

But we may say, farther, that this supposition seems to be favoured by the Tragedy of Æschylus, itself; ⁴ with which, what Aristotle here says, appears to me by no means exactly to correspond. The reader, who will take the trouble to examine the whole passage supposed to be here alluded to, from v. 166, to v. 233, will, I believe, think with me, that the discovery, in that play, cannot with propriety be denominated a discovery made by inference from resemblance. The circumstances of the lock of hair, and the footsteps, produce in Electra's mind no more than a glimmering of hope —

σαινομαι δ᾽ ὑπ᾿ ἐλπιδος

[v. 192.] and she is so far from discovering Orestes by them, that even when he appears before her, she is not convinced till he produces the

ὑφασμα

— the vest, or veil. This is justly remarked by Brumoy; ⁵

"Tout cela (i. e. the hair, &c.) ne fait que la rendre plus inquiete: Elle demeure donc dans ce trouble jusqu' à ce qu' Oreste paroisse à ses yeux. Il se montre tout à coup, et se fait reconnoitre pour son frere, en lui présentant un voile qu'elle a tissu elle-meme."

This I take to be the true

ἀναγνωρισις

of this drama; and it belongs rather to Aristotle's first class —

δια σημειων

; if not even to the worst sort of that class, where the sign is produced

πιστεως ἐνεκα

, — by way of proof. Indeed, even admitting that Electra may be considered as recognizing her brother by inference from the resemblance of the lock of hair and the footsteps only, still, as Piccolomini acutely and solidly observes, this instance would belong to the first species of discovery by signs.

"Questo riconoscimento non è della quarta specie, ma della prima; nato, non da sillogismo, ma da segno: posciache Elettra, preso per segno d'Oreste la capigliatura, sopra tal segno, quasi sopra mezzo termine, fabrica il sillogismo che ella fa in se stessa, argomentando, che colui fusse Oreste: havendo io già detto, ch' in ogni riconoscimento suol intervenir sillogismo ed argomentatione dentro all'animo della persona riconoscente."

p. 236.

131. mvp-aristotle-comment-131

NOTE 131. P. 97.

16.9 "HE CAME TO FIND HIS SON, AND HE HIMSELF MUST PERISH."It is not very obvious, how these words are to be brought to any thing like, reasoning, or inference. But all here is darkness. The far-fetched explanation which Dacier has condescended to borrow, without notice, from Castelvetro, for whom, in his preface, he expresses so much contempt, only serves to make the "darkness" more "visible."

I know not whether it be worth while to remark a mere resemblance of expression, but a very close one, in Homer: Od. Ο. 90.

Μη πατερ᾿ ἀντίθεον ΔΙΖΗΜΕΝΟΣ, ΑΥΤΟΣ ΟΛΩΜΑΙ.

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

6. mvp-aristotle-comment-115

Ritter, cap. 16 § 6

τετάρτη δὲ ἡ ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ, οἷον ἐν Χοηφόροις - Ὀρέστης: etiam hic vir ille litteratissimus nimium ad exempla festinat. vix nomen quartae agnitionis positum est, cum iam exemplum succedit, quo allato demum explicatur cur ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ hoc agnitionis genus vocetur. οὗτος ἄρα ἐλήλυθεν: non satis vere haec dicta esse intelliges ex Aeschyli Choephoris (hanc fabulam technicus dixit) v. 166-234. nam Electra cum cincinnum in tumulo patris invenisset et vestigia solo impressa suis similia vidisset, Orestem advenisse inde coniecit, sed nihilo minus satis incerta demum ex indiciis, quae Orestes fidei causa cum illa communicavit, fratrem cognovit. καὶ ἡ Πολυείδου - συμβαίνει θύεσθαι: haec hausit ex c. 17, 3. strenue pergit exempla exemplis cumulare. considera haec: καὶ ἐν τῷ Σοφοκλέους Τηρεῖ. – καὶ ἡ ἐν ᾿Αλκίνου ἀπολόγῳ. – καὶ ἡ Πολυείδου τοῦ σοφιστοῦ περὶ τῆς Ἰφιγενείας. – καὶ ἡ ἐν τῷ τοῦ Θεοδέκτου Τυδεῖ. καὶ ἡ ἐν τοῖς Φινείδαις. de Polyido sophista dicemus ad c. 17, 3. καὶ ἡ ἐν τῷ Θεοδέκτου Τυδεῖ κτλ. TydeumTheodectis tragici poetae aliunde haud cognitum habemus, neque ex his verbis de argumento eius fabulae certi quidquam colligi potest, ne id quidem, ipsum Tydeum fuisse de quo h. 1. referuntur illa, ἐλθὼν ὡς εὑρήσων υἱὸν αὐτὸς ἀπόλλυται. nam in ellipsibus hic noster temere audet. καὶ ἡ ἐν τοῖς Φινείδαις: Φινεῖδαι gemini sunt Phinei filii a matre oculorum lumine orbati. vid. Sophocl. Antig. v. 966-987. sed quae continuo ex fabula Phinidarum afferuntur de mulieribus fatum suum ex loco ubi olim expositae erant agnoscentibus prorsus obscura sunt. filiae Phinei nusquam commemorantur; itaque incertum relinquitur quae fuerint illae quae sortem sibi destinatam ex loco agnoscunt. Phineum et Aeschylus scripit et Sophocles, sed haec ex alterutra desumpta esse nihil est quod probet. neque verisimile videtur Timothei dithyrambum Φινείδας inscriptum et a Suida memoratum respici. exstitisse tragoediam hoc nomine dubitari nequit, cum Attii Phinidae octies a Nonio Marcello et semel a Festo s. v. tonsillam memorentur. vid. Bothii Poetae scen. Latin. vol. V. p. 235 ed. a. 1834. ellipsis illa ἰδοῦσαι γὰρ (quae?) plane intolerabilis est, sed huius hominis stilo satis convenit. chorum virginibus vel mulieribus constantem videtur significare.

Aristotle Poetics 16.9

ed. Henry James Pye