10.
mvp-aristotle-comment-828
φαίνεσθαί πως χρώμενον:
De gen. et corr. 1. 10, 328b 10
φαίνεται γάρ πως καὶ μικτὰ ἠρέμα
. A visible use of these artifices is one thing and a discreet use of them (
τὸ μέτριον, b 12) another. For the antithesis comp.
Pol. 5. 11, 1314a 28
περί τε τὰς ἀπολαύσεις τὰς σωματικὰς [scil. δεῖ] τοὐναντίον ποιεῖν ἢ νῦν τινὲς τῶν τυράννων ποιοῦσιν· οὐ γὰρ μόνον εὐθὺς ἕωθεν τοῦτο δρῶσιν καὶ συνεχῶς πολλὰς ἡμέρας, ἀλλὰ καὶ φαίνεσθαι τοῖς ἄλλοις βούλονται τοῦτο πράττοντες, ἵν᾿ ὡς εὐδαίμονας καὶ μακαρίους θαυμάσωσιν· ἀλλὰ μάλιστα μὲν μετριάζειν τοῖς τοιούτοις, εἰ δὲ μή, τό γε φαίνεσθαι τοῖς ἄλλοις διαφεύγειν.
In the
Rhetoric
Aristotle lays down the same rule for oratory: the orator must use all the arts of language, but with discretion, so as not to allow his use of them to become too apparent:
Rhet. 3. 2, 1404b 18
διὸ δεῖ λανθάνειν ποιοῦντας, καὶ μὴ δοκεῖν λέγειν πεπλασμένως ἀλλὰ πεφυκότως
(comp. also
3. 7, 1408b 4
).
10.
mvp-aristotle-comment-829
τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ,
scil.
τῆς διαλέκτου; comp.
οἱ ἐπιτιμῶντες τῷ τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ τῆς διαλέκτου in b 6, and
τῷ τρόπῳ τούτῳ τῆς μεταφορᾶς χρῆσθαι in
21, 1457 b 30
.
Vahlen, who supplies
ἐπεκτάσεσι after
χρώμενον, takes
τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ as equivalent to
τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον.
10.
mvp-aristotle-comment-830
12
τὸ δὲ μέτριον.
If the traditional reading,
τὸ δὲ μέτρον, be retained, we have to understand
μέτρον in the sense of 'measure' or 'limit'. The objection to this interpretation is that
μέτρον has the sense of 'metre' in the immediate context (b 16), and that any other sense would be somewhat confusing in a passage dealing with 'metrical' licences.
τὸ μέτριον, on the other hand, is certified by more than one parallel in the
Rhetoric:
Rhet. 3. 2, 1405a 32
εὐλαβεῖσθαι δὲ δεῖ καὶ παρατηρεῖν ἐν ἀμφοῖν τὸ μέτριον.
—
3. 3, 1406a 16
ἀλλὰ δεῖ στοχάζεσθαι τοῦ μετρίου, ἐπεὶ μεῖζον ποιεῖ κακὸν τοῦ εἰκῇ λέγειν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἔχει τὸ εὖ, ἡ δὲ τὸ κακῶς, διὸ τὰ Ἀλκιδάμαντος ψυχρὰ φαίνεται· οὐ γὰρ ἡδύσματι χρῆται ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐδέσματι τοῖς ἐπιθέτοις, οὕτω πυκνοῖς καὶ μείζοσι καὶ ἐπιδήλοις.
In another passage,
Rhet. 2. 14, 1390b 8
ὅσα δ᾽ ὑπερβάλλουσιν ἢ ἐλλειπουσι, τούτων τὸ μέτριον καὶ τὸ ἁρμόττον
, we find
Aristotle passing from the idea of
τὸ μέτριον to that of
τὸ ἁρμόττον just as he does here in the context (b 15).
10.
mvp-aristotle-comment-831
κοινὸν ἁπάντων ἐστὶ τῶν μερῶν:
Rhet. 3. 7, 1408a 36
τὸ δ᾽ εὐκαίρως ἢ μὴ εὐκαίρως χρῆσθαι κοινὸν ἁπάντων τῶν εἰδῶν ἐστιν.
