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The CHORUS should be considered as one of the persons in the drama¹; should be a part of the whole, and a sharer in the action: not as in Euripides², but, as in Sophocles.

Poetics. Aristotle. Thomas Twining (Translator). London, UK. 1789.

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Current edition Experimental

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

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.) — 18 focus

Ἔστι δὲ πάσης τραγῳδίας τὸ μὲν δέσις τὸ δὲ λύσις, τὰ μὲν ἔξωθεν καὶ ἔνια τῶν ἔσωθεν πολλάκις ἡ δέσις, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ἡ λύσις.

Λέγω δὲ δέσιν μὲν εἶναι τὴν ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς μέχρι τούτου τοῦ μέρους ὃ ἔσχατόν ἐστιν, ἐξ οὗ μεταβαίνει εἰς εὐτυχίαν, λύσιν δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς μεταβάσεως μέχρι τέλους,

ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ Λυγκεῖ τῷ Θεοδέκτου δέσις μὲν τά τε προπεπραγμένα καὶ ἡ τοῦ παιδίου λῆψις, λύσις δ᾿ ἡ ἀπὸ τῆς αἰτιάσεως τοῦ θανάτου μέχρι τοῦ τέλους.

Τραγῳδίας δὲ εἴδη εἰσὶ τέσσαρα· τοσαῦτα γὰρ καὶ τὰ μέρη ἐλέχθη.

Ἡ μὲν πεπλεγμένη, ἧς τὸ ὅλον ἐστὶ περιπέτεια καὶ ἀναγνώρισις·

ἡ δὲ παθητική, οἷον οἵ τε Αἴαντες καὶ οἱ Ἰξίονες·

ἡ δὲ ἠθική, οἷον αἱ Φθιώτιδες καὶ ὁ Πηλεύς·

τὸ δὲ τέταρτον, οἷον αἵ τε Φορκίδες καὶ Προμηθεὺς καὶ ὅσα ἐν ᾅδου.

Μάλιστα μὲν οὖν ἅπαντα δεῖ πειρᾶσθαι ἔχειν, εἰ δὲ μή, τὰ μέγιστα καὶ πλεῖστα, ἄλλως τε καὶ ὡς νῦν συκοφαντοῦσι τοὺς ποιητάς· γεγονότων γὰρ καθ᾿ ἕκαστον μέρος ἀγαθῶν ποιητῶν, ἕκαστον τοῦ ἰδίου ἀγαθοῦ ἀξιοῦσι τὸν ἕνα ὑπερβάλλειν.

Δίκαιον δὲ καὶ τραγῳδίαν ἄλλην καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν λέγειν οὐδὲν ἴσως τῷ μύθῳ. Τοῦτο δέ, ὧν ἡ αὐτὴ πλοκὴ καὶ λύσις.

Πολλοὶ δὲ πλέξαντες εὖ λύουσι κακῶς·

δεῖ δὲ ἄμφω ἀεὶ κροτεῖσθαι.

Χρὴ δέ, ὅπερ εἴρηται πολλάκις, μεμνῆσθαι καὶ μὴ ποιεῖν ἐποποιικὸν σύστημα τραγῳδίαν. Ἐποποιικὸν δὲ λέγω τὸ πολύμυθον, οἷον εἴ τις τὸν τῆς Ἰλιάδος ὅλον ποιοῖ μῦθον.

Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸ μῆκος λαμβάνει τὰ μέρη τὸ πρέπον μέγεθος, ἐν δὲ τοῖς δράμασι πολὺ παρὰ τὴν ὑπόληψιν ἀποβαίνει.

Σημεῖον δέ, ὅσοι πέρσιν Ἰλίου ὅλην ἐποίησαν καὶ μὴ κατὰ μέρος, ὥσπερ Εὐριπίδης Νιόβην, καὶ μὴ ὥσπερ Αἰσχύλος, ἢ ἐκπίπτουσιν ἢ κακῶς ἀγωνίζονται, ἐπεὶ καὶ Ἀγάθων ἐξέπεσεν ἐν τούτῳ μόνῳ.

Ἐν δὲ ταῖς περιπετείαις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἁπλοῖς πράγμασι στοχάζονται ὧν βούλονται θαυμαστῶς· τραγικὸν γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ φιλάνθρωπον.

Ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο, ὅταν ὁ σοφὸς μὲν μετὰ πονηρίας δὲ ἐξαπατηθῇ, ὥσπερ Σίσυφος, καὶ ὁ ἀνδρεῖος μὲν ἄδικος δὲ ἡττηθῇ.

Ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο εἰκός, ὥσπερ Ἀγάθων λέγει· εἰκὸς γὰρ γίνεσθαι πολλὰ καὶ παρὰ τὸ εἰκός.

Καὶ τὸν χορὸν δὲ ἕνα δεῖ ὑπολαβεῖν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, καὶ μόριον εἶναι τοῦ ὅλου, καὶ συναγωνίζεσθαι μὴ ὥσπερ παρ᾿ Εὐριπίδῃ ἀλλ᾿ ὥσπερ παρὰ Σοφοκλεῖ.

Τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς τὰ διδόμενα μᾶλλον τοῦ μύθου ἢ ἄλλης τραγῳδίας ἐστίν· διὸ ἐμβόλιμα ᾄδουσιν, πρώτου ἄρξαντος Ἀγάθωνος τοῦ τοιούτου. Καίτοι τί διαφέρει ἢ ἐμβόλιμα ᾄδειν ἢ ῥῆσιν ἐξ ἄλλου εἰς ἄλλο ἁρμόττειν ἢ ἐπεισόδιον ὅλον;

Περὶ ποιητικῆς (OCR draft) Perseus (Aristotle, De arte poetica liber. Rudolf Kassel, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965. Reference edition for passage alignment.) — 18 focus

ἔστι δὲ πάσης τραγῳδίας τὸ μὲν δέσις τὸ δὲ λύσις, 25 τὰ μὲν ἔξωθεν καὶ ἔνια τῶν ἔσωθεν πολλάκις ἡ δέσις, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ἡ λύσις·

λέγω δὲ δέσιν μὲν εἶναι τὴν ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς μέχρι τούτου τοῦ μέρους ὃ ἔσχατόν ἐστιν ἐξ οὗ μεταβαίνει εἰς εὐτυχίαν ἢ εἰς ἀτυχίαν, λύσιν δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς μεταβάσεως μέχρι τέλους·

ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ Λυγκεῖ τῷ Θεοδέκτου 30 δέσις μὲν τά τε προπεπραγμένα καὶ ἡ τοῦ παιδίου λῆψις καὶ πάλιν ἡ αὐτῶν λύσις δ’ ἡ ἀπὸ τῆς αἰτιάσεως τοῦ θανάτου μέχρι τοῦ τέλους.

τραγῳδίας δὲ εἴδη εἰσὶ τέσσαρα (τοσαῦτα γὰρ καὶ τὰ μέρη ἐλέχθη),

ἡ μὲν πεπλεγμένη, ἧς τὸ ὅλον ἐστὶν περιπέτεια καὶ ἀναγνώρισις,

ἡ δὲ παθητική, οἷον οἵ τε 1456a 1 Αἴαντες καὶ οἱ Ἰξίονες,

ἡ δὲ ἠθική, οἷον αἱ Φθιώτιδες καὶ ὁ Πηλεύς·

τὸ δὲ τέταρτον † οης †, οἷον αἵ τε Φορκίδες καὶ ὁ Προμηθεὺς καὶ ὅσα ἐν ᾅδου.

μάλιστα μὲν οὖν ἅπαντα δεῖ πειρᾶσθαι ἔχειν, εἰ δὲ μή, τὰ μέγιστα καὶ πλεῖστα, ἄλλως τε 5 καὶ ὡς νῦν συκοφαντοῦσιν τοὺς ποιητάς· γεγονότων γὰρ καθ’ ἕκαστον μέρος ἀγαθῶν ποιητῶν, ἑκάστου τοῦ ἰδίου ἀγαθοῦ ἀξιοῦσι τὸν ἕνα ὑπερβάλλειν.

δίκαιον δὲ καὶ τραγῳδίαν ἄλλην καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν λέγειν οὐδενὶ ὡς τῷ μύθῳ· τοῦτο δέ, ὧν ἡ αὐτὴ πλοκὴ καὶ λύσις.

πολλοὶ δὲ πλέξαντες εὖ 10 λύουσι κακῶς·

δεῖ δὲ ἀμφότερα ἀρτικροτεῖσθαι.

χρὴ δὲ ὅπερ εἴρηται πολλάκις μεμνῆσθαι καὶ μὴ ποιεῖν ἐποποιικὸν σύστημα τραγῳδίαν—ἐποποιικὸν δὲ λέγω τὸ πολύμυθον— οἷον εἴ τις τὸν τῆς Ἰλιάδος ὅλον ποιοῖ μῦθον.

ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸ μῆκος λαμβάνει τὰ μέρη τὸ πρέπον μέγεθος, ἐν 15 δὲ τοῖς δράμασι πολὺ παρὰ τὴν ὑπόληψιν ἀποβαίνει.

σημεῖον δέ, ὅσοι πέρσιν Ἰλίου ὅλην ἐποίησαν καὶ μὴ κατὰ μέρος ὥσπερ Εὐριπίδης, ἢ Νιόβην καὶ μὴ ὥσπερ Αἰσχύλος, ἢ ἐκπίπτουσιν ἢ κακῶς ἀγωνίζονται, ἐπεὶ καὶ Ἀγάθων ἐξέπεσεν ἐν τούτῳ μόνῳ.

ἐν δὲ ταῖς περιπετείαις καὶ ἐν τοῖς 20 ἁπλοῖς πράγμασι στοχάζονται ὧν βούλονται θαυμαστῶς· τραγικὸν γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ φιλάνθρωπον.

ἔστιν δὲ τοῦτο, ὅταν ὁ σοφὸς μὲν μετὰ πονηρίας δ’ ἐξαπατηθῇ, ὥσπερ Σίσυφος, καὶ ὁ ἀνδρεῖος μὲν ἄδικος δὲ ἡττηθῇ.

ἔστιν δὲ τοῦτο καὶ εἰκὸς ὥσπερ Ἀγάθων λέγει, εἰκὸς γὰρ γίνεσθαι πολλὰ 25 καὶ παρὰ τὸ εἰκός.

καὶ τὸν χορὸν δὲ ἕνα δεῖ ὑπολαμβάνειν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, καὶ μόριον εἶναι τοῦ ὅλου καὶ συναγωνίζεσθαι μὴ ὥσπερ Εὐριπίδῃ ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ Σοφοκλεῖ.

τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς τὰ ᾀδόμενα οὐδὲν μᾶλλον τοῦ μύθου ἢ ἄλλης τραγῳδίας ἐστίν· διὸ ἐμβόλιμα ᾄδουσιν πρώτου ἄρξαντος 30 Ἀγάθωνος τοῦ τοιούτου. καίτοι τί διαφέρει ἢ ἐμβόλιμα ᾄδειν ἢ εἰ ῥῆσιν ἐξ ἄλλου εἰς ἄλλο ἁρμόττοι ἢ ἐπεισόδιον ὅλον;

Poetics, Greek text (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's Greek text of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 18 focus

Ἔστι δὲ πάσης τραγῳδίας τὸ μὲν δέσις τὸ δὲ λύσις, τὰ
μὲν ἔξωθεν καὶ ἔνια τῶν ἔσωθεν πολλάκις ἡ δέσις, τὸ δὲ
λοιπὸν ἡ λύσις—

λέγω δὲ δέσιν μὲν εἶναι τὴν ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς
μέχρι τούτου τοῦ μέρους ὃ ἔσχατόν ἐστιν ἐξ οὗ μεταβαίνει
εἰς εὐτυχίαν, λύσιν δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς μεταβάσεως
μέχρι τέλους·

ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ Λυγκεῖ τῷ Θεοδέκτου
δέσις μὲν τά τε προπεπραγμένα καὶ ἡ τοῦ παιδίου λῆψις καὶ
πάλιν ἡ αὐτῶν, λύσις δ᾽ ἡ ἀπὸ τῆς αἰτιάσεως τοῦ θανάτου
μέχρι τοῦ τέλους.

τραγῳδίας δὲ εἴδη εἰσὶ τέσσαρα (τοσαῦτα
γὰρ καὶ τὰ μέρη ἐλέχθη),

ἡ μὲν πεπλεγμένη, ἧς τὸ ὅλον
ἐστὶν περιπέτεια καὶ ἀναγνώρισις,

ἡ δὲ παθητική, οἷον οἵ τε
Αἴαντες καὶ οἱ Ἰξίονες,

ἡ δὲ ἠθική, οἷον αἱ Φθιώτιδες καὶ ὁ
Πηλεύς·

τὸ δὲ τέταρτον ὄψις, οἷον αἵ τε Φορκίδες καὶ Προμηθεὺς
καὶ ὅσα ἐν ᾅδου.

μάλιστα μὲν οὖν ἅπαντα δεῖ πειρᾶσθαι
ἔχειν, εἰ δὲ μή, τὰ μέγιστα καὶ πλεῖστα, ἄλλως τε
καὶ ὡς νῦν συκοφαντοῦσιν τοὺς ποιητάς· γεγονότων γὰρ καθ᾽
ἕκαστον μέρος ἀγαθῶν ποιητῶν, ἑκάστου τοῦ ἰδίου ἀγαθοῦ
ἀξιοῦσι τὸν ἕνα ὑπερβάλλειν.

δίκαιον δὲ καὶ τραγῳδίαν
ἄλλην καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν λέγειν οὐδενὶ ἴσως τῷ μύθῳ· τοῦτο
δέ, ὧν ἡ αὐτὴ πλοκὴ καὶ λύσις.

πολλοὶ δὲ πλέξαντες εὖ
λύουσι κακῶς·

δεῖ δὲ ἄμφω ἀεὶ κρατεῖσθαι.

χρὴ δὲ ὅπερ
εἴρηται πολλάκις μεμνῆσθαι καὶ μὴ ποιεῖν ἐποποιικὸν σύστημα
τραγῳδίαν—ἐποποιικὸν δὲ λέγω τὸ πολύμυθον—
οἷον εἴ τις τὸν τῆς Ἰλιάδος ὅλον ποιοῖ μῦθον.

ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ
διὰ τὸ μῆκος λαμβάνει τὰ μέρη τὸ πρέπον μέγεθος, ἐν
δὲ τοῖς δράμασι πολὺ παρὰ τὴν ὑπόληψιν ἀποβαίνει.

σημεῖον
δέ, ὅσοι πέρσιν Ἰλίου ὅλην ἐποίησαν καὶ μὴ κατὰ
μέρος ὥσπερ Εὐριπίδης, ἢ Νιόβην καὶ μὴ ὥσπερ Αἰσχύλος,
ἢ ἐκπίπτουσιν ἢ κακῶς ἀγωνίζονται, ἐπεὶ καὶ Ἀγάθων ἐξέπεσεν
ἐν τούτῳ μόνῳ·

ἐν δὲ ταῖς περιπετείαις καὶ ἐν τοῖς
ἁπλοῖς πράγμασι στοχάζονται ὧν βούλονται θαυμαστῶς·
τραγικὸν γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ φιλάνθρωπον.

ἔστιν δὲ τοῦτο, ὅταν
ὁ σοφὸς μὲν μετὰ πονηρίας δ᾽ ἐξαπατηθῇ, ὥσπερ Σίσυφος,
καὶ ὁ ἀνδρεῖος μὲν ἄδικος δὲ ἡττηθῇ·

ἔστιν δὲ τοῦτο
εἰκὸς ὥσπερ Ἀγάθων λέγει, εἰκὸς γὰρ γίνεσθαι πολλὰ
καὶ παρὰ τὸ εἰκός.

καὶ τὸν χορὸν δὲ ἕνα δεῖ ὑπολαβεῖν
τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, καὶ μόριον εἶναι τοῦ ὅλου καὶ συναγωνίζεσθαι
μὴ ὥσπερ Εὐριπίδῃ ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ Σοφοκλεῖ.

τοῖς
δὲ λοιποῖς τὰ ᾀδόμενα οὐδὲν μᾶλλον τοῦ μύθου ἢ ἄλλης
τραγῳδίας ἐστίν· διὸ ἐμβόλιμα ᾄδουσιν πρώτου ἄρξαντος
Ἀγάθωνος τοῦ τοιούτου. καίτοι τί διαφέρει ἢ ἐμβόλιμα
ᾄδειν ἢ εἰ ῥῆσιν ἐξ ἄλλου εἰς ἄλλο ἁρμόττοι ἢ ἐπεισόδιον
ὅλον;

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.) — 18 focus

Ἔστι δὲ πάσης τραγῳδίας τὸ μέν δέσις τὸ δὲ λύσις, τὰ μὲν ἔξωθεν καὶ ἔνια τῶν ἔσωθεν πολλάκις ἡ δέσις, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ἡ λύσις.

λέγω δὲ δέσιν μὲν εἶναι τὴν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς μέχρι τούτου τοῦ μέρους ὃ ἔσχατόν ἐστιν, ἐξ οὗ μεταβαίνει εἰς εὐτυχίαν, λύσιν δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς μεταβάσεως μέχρι τέλους,

ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ Λυγκεῖ τῷ Θεοδέκτου δέσις μὲν τά τε προπεπραγμένα καὶ ἡ τοῦ παιδίου λῆψις, λύσις δ᾽ ἡ ἀπὸ τῆς αἰτιάσεως τοῦ θανάτου μέχρι τοῦ τέλους.] [

Τραγῳδίας δὲ εἴδη εἰσὶ τέσσαρα· τοσαῦτα γὰρ καὶ τὰ μέρη ἐλέχθη.

ἡ μὲν πεπλεγμένη, ἧς τὸ ὅλον ἐστὶ περιπέτεια καὶ ἀναγνώρισις·

ἡ δὲ παθητική, οἷον οἵ τε Αἴαντες καὶ οἱ Ἰξίονες·

ἡ δὲ ἠθική, οἷον αἱ Φθιώτιδες καὶ ὁ Πηλεύς·

τὸ δὲ τέταρτον, οἷον αἵ τε Φορκίδες καὶ Προμηθεὺς καὶ ὅσα ἐν¹ Αιδου.

μάλιστα μὲν οὖν ἅπαντα δεῖ πειρᾶσθαι ἔχειν, εἰ δὲ μή, τὰ μέγιστα καὶ πλεῖστα, ἄλλως τε καὶ ὡς νῦν συκοφαντοῦσι τοὺς ποιητάς· γεγονότων γὰρ καθ᾽ ἕκαστον μέρος ἀγαθῶν ποιητῶν, ἕκαστον τοῦ ἰδίου ἀγαθοῦ ἀξιοῦσι τὸν ἕνα ὑπερβάλλειν.

δίκαιον δὲ καὶ τραγῳδίαν ἄλλην καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν λέγειν οὐδὲν ἴσως τῷ μύθῳ· τοῦτο δέ, ὧν ἡ αὐτὴ πλοκὴ καὶ λύσις.

πολλοὶ δὲ πλέξαντες εὖ λύουσι κακῶς·

δεῖ δὲ ἄμφω ἀεὶ κροτεῖσθαι.]

Χρὴ δέ, ὅπερ εἴρηται πολλάκις, μεμνῆσθαι καὶ μὴ ποιεῖν ἐποποιικὸν σύστημα τραγῳδίαν. ἐποποιικὸν δὲ λέγω τὸ πολύμυθον, οἷον εἴ τις τὸν τῆς Ἰλιάδος ὅλον ποιοῖ μῦθον.

ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸ μῆκος λαμβάνει τὰ μέρη τὸ πρέπον μέγεθος, ἐν δὲ τοῖς δράμασι πολὺ παρὰ τὴν ὑπόληψιν ἀποβαίνει.

σημεῖον δέ, ὅσοι πέρσιν Ἰλίου ὅλην ἐποίησαν καὶ μὴ κατὰ μέρος [, ὥσπερ Εὐριπίδης Νιόβην, καὶ μὴ ὥσπερ Αἰσχύλος], ἢ ἐκπίπτουσιν ἢ κακῶς ἀγωνίζονται, ἐπεὶ καὶ² Ἀγάθων ἐξέπεσεν ἐν τούτῳ μόνῳ.

ἐν δὲ ταῖς περιπετείαις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἁπλοῖς πράγμασι στοχάζονται ὧν βούλονται θαυμαστῶς· τραγικὸν γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ φιλάνθρωπον.

ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο, ὅταν ὁ σοφὸς μὲν μετὰ πονηρίας δὲ ἐξαπατηθῇ, ὥσπερ Σίσυφος, καὶ ὁ ἀνδρεῖος μὲν ἄδικος δὲ ἡττηθῇ.

ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο εἰκός, ὥσπερ Ἀγάθων λέγει· εἰκὸς γὰρ γινεσθαι πολλὰ καὶ παρὰ τὸ εἰκός.

καὶ τὸν χορὸν δὲ ἕνα δεῖ ὑπολαβεῖν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, καὶ μόριον εἶναι τοῦ ὅλου, καὶ συναγωνίζεσθαι μὴ ὡς παρ' Εὐριπίδῃ ἀλλ᾽ ὡς παρὰ Σοφοκλεῖ.

τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς τὰ ᾠδόμενα οὐ μᾶλλον τοῦ μύθου ἢ ἄλλης τραγῳδίας ἐστίν· διὸ ἐμβόλιμα ᾄδουσιν, πρώτου ἄρξαντος Ἀγάθωνος τοῦ τοιούτου. καίτοι τί διαφέρει ἢ ἐμβόλιμα ᾄδειν ἢ ῥῆσιν ἐξ ἄλλου εἰς ἄλλο ἁρμόττειν ἢ ἐπεισόδιον ὅλον;

Translations (13)

Poetics (W. H. Fyfe) (OCR draft) Perseus (William Hamilton Fyfe's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, Loeb Classical Library, 1939 printing.) — 18 focus

In every tragedy there is a complication and a denouement.¹ The incidents outside the plot and some of those in it usually form the complication, the rest is the denouement.

I mean this, that the complication is the part from the beginning up to the point which immediately precedes the occurrence of a change from bad to good fortune or from good fortune to bad; the denouement is from the beginning of the change down to the end.

For instance, in the Lynceus of Theodectes the complication is the preceding events, and the seizure of the boy, and then their own seizure; and the denouement is from the capital charge to the end.²

Tragedies should properly be classed as the same or different mainly in virtue of the plot, that is to say those that have the same entanglement and denouement. Many who entangle well are bad at the denouement. Both should always be mastered.

There are four varieties of tragedy—the same as the number given for the elements³—

first the complex kind, which all turns on reversal and discovery;

the calamity play like the stories of Ajax and Ixion;

the character play like the Phthian Women⁴ and the Peleus⁵.

1456a 1 The fourth element is spectacle, like the Phorcides⁶ and Prometheus, and all scenes laid in Hades.

One should ideally try to include all these elements or, failing that, the most important and as many as possible, especially since it is the modern fashion to carp at poets, and, because there have been good poets in each style, to demand that a single author should surpass the peculiar merits of each.

One must remember, as we have often said, not to make a tragedy an epic structure:

by epic I mean made up of many stories—suppose, for instance, one were to dramatize the IIiad as a whole.

The length of the IIiad allows to the parts their proper size, but in plays the result is full of disappointment.

And the proof is that all who have dramatized the Sack of Troy as a whole, and not, like Euripides, piecemeal, or the Niobe story as a whole and not like Aeschylus, either fail or fare badly in competition. Indeed even Agathon failed in this point alone.

In reversals, however, and in simple stories⁷ too, 20 they admirably achieve their end, which is a tragic effect that also satisfies your feelings.

This is achieved when the wise man, who is, however, unscrupulous, is deceived—like Sisyphus—and the man who is brave but wicked is worsted.

And this, as Agathon says, is a likely result, since it is likely that many quite unlikely things should happen.

The chorus too must be regarded as one of the actors. It must be part of the whole and share in the action, not as in Euripides but as in Sophocles.

In the others the choral odes have no more to do with the plot than with any other tragedy. And so they sing interludes, a practice begun by Agathon. And yet to sing interludes is quite as bad as transferring a whole speech or scene from one play to another.

Arabic Poetics (Badawī edition, 1953) (OCR draft) (The ancient Arabic translation of Aristotle's Poetics in ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Badawī's 1953 edition.) — 18 focus

〈العقدة والحل؛ أنواع المأساة؛ مدى الخرافة والمأساة〉

وكل مديح فشىء منها حل، وشىء ما رباط؛ أما أشياء التى من خارج والأفراد من داخل فى بعض الأوقات فالرباطات التى من الابتداء إلى هذا الجزء، وهى تلك التى هى أقلية، ومنها يكون العبور إما 〈إلى〉 النجاح والفلاح، وإما إلى لا نجاح ولا فلاح. وأما الانحلال فهو كان من أول العبور إلى آخره، كحال رباط ثاوداقطس فى لونقى. أما الارتباط فالتى تقدمت فكتبت وأخذ الطفل وأيضاً والتى عليها؛ وأما الانحلال فذاك الذى هو من لونقى إلى الموت وإلى الانقضاء.

وأنواع المدائح أربعة أنواع (وهذا كله قيل إنه أجزاء أيضاً): فأحدها مقترن مؤلف؛ والآخر الإدارة والتقليب الذى فى الكل والاستدلال؛ والآخر هى انفعالية، بمنزلة أفثوطيدس وفيلوس أيضاً، والرابع فأمور فو〈ر〉 قيداس وأفرومثيوس، وما قيل لهما وهو أن التى فى الجحيم هى ممتحنة محزنة فى كل شىء.

وإن لم يكن هكذا فهى لا محالة فى أشياء عظام وكثيرة، وإنهم يهتمون ويقسمون الشعراء على جهة أخرى كما الآن؛ وذلك أنه لما كان فى كل جزء وحيد شعراء جياد حذاق، هم يؤهلون كل إنسان لخيره الخاص. وقد ينبغى ألا يكون هم يؤهلون كل إنسان للخيرالخاص به.

وقد كان يجب ألا يكون لا مديح آخر، وهذا أن يقال للخرافة. وهذا إذا كان موجوداً فتأليفته وحله هما بأعيانهما. وكثيرين عندما ألفوا وأقرنوا يحلون حلا حسناً، وإما على جهة رديئة إن أمسكا كليهما بالتبديل.

وقد يجب أن يتذكر مما قد قيل مرات كثيرة ولا يفعل تركيب المديح المسمى افوفيوايقون — وأعنى بايفوفيايقون الوزن الكثير الخرافات — مثل أن يعمل إنسان الخرافة التى من «إيليادا» كلها. وذلك أن الأجزاء هنالك تأخذ بسبب الطول العظم اللائق والأولى. وأما فى العياب فيكون النظير خارجاً عن الشىء كثيراً. والدليل هو هذا وهو أن بمبلغ الزيادة التى لا يليون عملوها بجملتها لا بالأجزاء، كما عمل أوريفيدس بناوبى وليس كما عمل اسكيولوس من أنهم إما أن يقعون وإما أن يجاهدون جهاداً رديئاً، من قبل أن هذا من الخيرات وقع.

فى الإدارات وفى الأمور البسيطة يستدلون ويتعرفون حقيقة هذه التى يريدون ويحبون على طريق الزهو، من قبل أن هذا هو مديحى ومن شأن محبة الانسان. وهذا موجود متى انخدع حكيم، بمنزلة سيوسيفوس مع الرذيلة وغلب الشجاع من الجائر. وهذه هى بالحقيقة أيضاً كما يقول فى الخير أيضاً بالحقيقة: وقد تكون كثيرة خارجة عن الحق.

وللصف الذى فى الجحيم من هؤلاء المنافقين، وأن يكون جزءاً للقول، وأن يجاهده مع لا على أنه مع أوريفيدس، لكن كما يجاذب مع سوفقلس. وكثير من التى تتغنى ليس فيها شىء آخر أكبر من الخرافة أو من المدح؛ ولذلك إنما تتغنى الدخيلة، وأول من بدأ ذلك أغاثن الشاعر. على 〈أنه〉 لا فرق بين أن يتغنى بالدخيلات، وبين أن يؤلف قول من أخرى إلى أخرى.

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.) — 18 focus

Every tragedy falls into two parts, Complication
and Unravelling or Dénouement.

Incidents extraneous
to the action are frequently combined with a portion of
the action proper, to form the Complication; the rest is
the Unravelling. By the Complication I mean all that
extends from the beginning of the action to the part
which marks the turning-point to good or bad fortune.
The Unravelling is that which extends from the
beginning of the change to the end.

Thus, in the
Lynceus of Theodectes, the Complication consists of the
incidents presupposed in the drama, the seizure of the
child, and then again * * extends
from the accusation of murder to the end.

There are four kinds of Tragedy,

the Complex, depend-
ing entirely on Reversal of the Situation and Recognition;

the Pathetic (where the motive is passion), such as the
tragedies on Ajax and Ixion;

the Ethical (where the
motives are ethical), such as the Phthiotides and the
Peleus.

The fourth kind is the Simple.
exclude the purely spectacular element>, exemplified by
the Phorcides, the Prometheus, and scenes laid in Hades.

The poet should endeavour, if possible, to combine all
poetic elements; or failing that, the greatest number and
those the most important; the more so, in face of the
cavilling criticism of the day. For whereas there have
hitherto been good poets, each in his own branch, the
critics now expect one man to surpass all others in their
several lines of excellence.

In speaking of a tragedy as the same or different, the
best test to take is the plot. Identity exists where the
Complication and Unravelling are the same.

Many poets tie the knot well, but unravel it ill.

Both arts, however, should always be mastered.

Again, the poet should remember what has been often
said, and not make an Epic structure into a Tragedy—
by an Epic structure I mean one with a multiplicity of
plots—as if, for instance, you were to make a tragedy
out of the entire story of the Iliad.

In the Epic poem,
owing to its length, each part assumes its proper
magnitude. In the drama the result is far from
answering to the poet's expectation.

The proof is that
the poets who have dramatised the whole story of the
Fall of Troy, instead of selecting portions, like Euripides;
or who have taken the whole tale of Niobe, and not a
part of her story, like Aeschylus, either fail utterly or
meet with poor success on the stage. Even Agathon

has been known to fail from this one defect. In his
Reversals of the Situation, however, he shows a marvellous
skill in the effort to hit the popular taste, —to produce a
tragic effect that satisfies the moral sense.

This effect is
produced when the clever rogue, like Sisyphus, is out-
witted, or the brave villain defeated.

Such an event is
probable in Agathon's sense of the word: 'it is probable,'
he says, 'that many things should happen contrary to
probability.'

The Chorus too should be regarded as one of the
actors; it should be an integral part of the whole, and
share in the action, in the manner not of Euripides but
of Sophocles.

As for the later poets, their choral songs
pertain as little to the subject of the piece as to that of
any other tragedy. They are, therefore, sung as mere
interludes, a practice first begun by Agathon. Yet
what difference is there between introducing such choral
interludes, and transferring a speech, or even a whole act,
from one play to another?

Aristotle on the Art of Poetry (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 18 focus

(4) There is a further point
to be borne in mind. Every tragedy is in part Complication
and in part Dénouement; the incidents before the opening
scene, and often certain also of those within the play,
forming the Complication; and the rest the Dénouement.

By Complication I mean all from the beginning of the story
to the point just before the change in the hero's fortunes;
by Dénouement, all from the beginning of the change to
the end.

In the Lynceus of Theodectes, for instance, the
Complication includes, together with the presupposed inci-
dents, the seizure of the child and that in turn of the parents;
and the Dénouement all from the indictment for the murder
to the end.

(5) There are
four distinct species of Tragedy-that being the number of
the constituents also that have been mentioned:

first, the
complex Tragedy, which is all Peripety and Discovery;

second, the Tragedy of suffering, e. g. the Ajaxes and Ixions;

third, the Tragedy of character, e.g. The Phthiotides and
Peleus.

The fourth constituent is that of 'Spectacle,' ex-
emplified in The Phorcides, in Prometheus, and in all plays
with the scene laid in the nether world.

The poet's aim,
then, should be to combine every element of interest, if
possible, or else the more important and the major part
of them. This is now especially necessary owing to the
unfair criticism to which the poet is subjected in these days.
Just because there have been poets before him strong in
the several species of tragedy, the critics now expect
the one man to surpass that which was the strong point
of each one of his predecessors.

Now it is right, when one speaks of a tragedy
as the same or not the same as another, to do so on the
ground before all else of their Plot, i. e. as having the same
or not the same Complication and Dénouement.

Yet there
are many dramatists who, after a good Complication, fail in
the Dénouement.

But it is necessary for both points of
construction to be always duly mastered.

(6) One should also re-
member what has been said more than once, and not write
a tragedy on an epic body of incident (i.e. one with a plurality
of stories in it), by attempting to dramatize, for instance,
the entire story of the Iliad.

In the epic owing to its scale
every part is treated at proper length;
with a drama, how-
ever, on the same story the result is very disappointing.

This is shown by the fact that all who have dramatized
the fall of Ilium in its entirety, and not part by part, like
Euripides, or the whole of the Niobe story, instead of a
portion, like Aeschylus, either fail utterly or have but ill
success on the stage;
for that and that alone was enough
to ruin even a play by Agathon.

Yet in their Peripeties, as
also in their simple plots, the poets I mean show wonderful
skill in aiming at the kind of effect they desire-a tragic
situation that arouses the human feeling in one,

like the
clever villain (e. g. Sisyphus) deceived, or the brave wrong-
doer worsted.

This is probable, however, only in Agathon's
sense, when he speaks of the probability of even improbabilities
coming to pass.

(7) The Chorus too should be regarded as
one of the actors; it should be an integral part of the
whole, and take a share in the action-that which it has
in Sophocles rather than in Euripides.

With the later poets,
however, the songs in a play of theirs have no more to do
with the Plot of that than of any other tragedy. Hence
it is that they are now singing intercalary pieces, a practice
first introduced by Agathon. And yet what real difference is
there between singing such intercalary pieces, and attempting
to fit in a speech, or even a whole act, from one play into
another?

The Poetic of Aristotle (Henry James Pye, revised 1792) (OCR draft) Experimental (Henry James Pye's revised 1792 English translation, corrected against the 1788 first edition, aligned to the Kassel reference edition, and supplied with a selective apparatus of substantive 1788 readings.) — 18.19 focus

The [1] chorus ought to be considered as one of the characters of the drama and be deemed a part of the whole and contribute to the action.¹²³

Yet [K] not in the manner used by Euripides but like Sophocles. In other poets, the parts that are [L] sung seem to have no more relation to the fable, than to another tragedy

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.) — 18.19 focus

or to adapt the diction of one drama to another,

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.) — 18 focus

[Est autem omnis tragoedia partim convinctio partim solutio, externa scilicet et quaedam ex internis saepe convinctio, quod autem relicuum solutio.

dico autem convinctionem esse quae a principio usque ad eam partem quae postrema est, ex qua transitus ad felicitatem,

solutionem autem quae a principio transitus usque ad finem, quemadmodum in Lynceo Theodectis convinctio quae ante acta sunt et pueri captio,

solutio autem quae ab accusatione capitis usque ad finem.] [Tragoediae autem species quattuor sunt: tot enim etiam partes dictae sunt.

alia implicata, cuius totum est peripetia et agnitio;

alia pathetica, ut Aiaces et Ixiones;

alia moralis, ut Phthiotides et Peleus ;

quartum autem, ut Phorcides et Prometheus et quot in Orco.

praecipue igitur enitendum est ut omnia habeas, sin minus, maxima et plurima, praesertim ut nunc calumniantur poetas: nam cum in unaquaque specie boni poetae exstiterint, unumquemque in eo quo ipse excellit ab uno superari postulant.

iustum vero etiam tragoediam aliam et eandem dicere non fortasse ob fabulam : immo hoc, quarum eadem convinctio et solutio.

multi autem convinctione bene facta male solvunt.

decet autem utrumque

semper cum plausu excipi.] Oportet autem, quod saepe dictum est, meminisse nec committere ut tragoedia epica fiat compositio. epicam autem dico quae multis fabulis constet, ut si quis Iliadis totam fabulam tractaret.

illic enim propter longitudinem partes aptam magnitudinem accipiunt, sed in scenicis fabulis multum praeter exspectationem discedunt.

signum autem, quot excidium Ilii totum tractaverunt, et non ex parte [, ut Euripides Niobam, ac non ut Aeschylus], aut non stant aut tur.

male certant, quandoquidem etiam Agatho in hoc uno non stetit, sed peripetiis et simplicibus factis quod volunt mirifice consectantur: tragicum enim hoc est et humanum sensum tangit.

est autem hoc, cum prudens quidem sed pravitate infectus decipitur, sicut Sisyphus, et fortis quidem sed iniustus vincitur.

est autem id verisimile, quemadmodum Agatho dicit: nam verisimile est fieri multa etiam praeter similitudinem yeri.

atque chorum existimare debet unum ex actoribus, et partem esse totius, et una agere non ut apud Euripidem sed ut apud Sophoclem.

apud relicuos autem quae canuntur non magis ad fabulam quam ad aliam tragoediam pertinent; quapropter exodia canunt, posteaquam primus haec fecit Agatho. quamquam quid interest utrum exodia canas an orationem ex alia fabula alii inseras vel episodium totum?

La poëtique d'Aristote (André Dacier, 1692) (OCR draft) Experimental (André Dacier's French translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1692.) — 18.19 focus

Il faut auſſi que le Chœur joüe le rolle d'un Acteur, qu'il faſſe une partie du tout, & qu'il ne chante rien qui ne convienne au ſujet, & qui ne concoure à l'avancement de l'action, comme dans Sophocle, & non pas, comme dans Euripide.

Poetica d'Aristotile (Bernardo Segni, 1549) (OCR draft) Experimental (Bernardo Segni's 1549 Florentine Italian translation, aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 18 focus

Vttala Tragedia conſiſte in due parti. Vna è, che fichiama Nodo. Et l'altra fi chiama. Scioglimen to.¹

Le coſe, che ſono fuori d'eſſa Tragedia, & parte di quelle, che le fono dentroj, moltevolte ſono cotenute ſotto la parte del nodo ; & tutto il reſto viene ſotto la parte dello ſcioglimento.

Io chiamo Nodo effer' quel la parte, che da principio dura infino à quel punto, doue fi fa il trapaſſamento nella felicità, o nella miferia.

Scioglimento dico eſſer quell'altra, che dura dal principio di queſto trapaſſamento infino alla fine;come ap parifce nel Linceo di Teodette, doue le coſe ſeguiteui, & la preſa del figliuolo vanno ſotto il Nodo:& l'ac cufa della morte infino all'ultimo della Fauola vanno ſotto lo Scioglimento.

SS Vattro fono le le forti della Tragedia, che tante anchora ſono ſtate chiamate le fue parti;²

delle quali quella ſi chiama intrecciata, doue Pimportanza d'eſſa e la Peripetia, & la Ricognitione.

L'altra è ſtata chiamata Affettuofa, come è la Tragedia detta gli Aiaci, & la detta gli Ifsioni.

Laterza ela morale, com'è la Tiotide, & come è Peleo.La quarta, come le Forcide, & come Prometheo; & tutte le altre, che fono appreſſo agli inferi.

Di tutte queſte forti fi debbono sforzare i Poeti d'eſſete abbodanti, & fenon di tutte, almeno delle principali, & delle piu che ſi puo;&& maſsimamente ne' tempi noftri, che gli huomini ſon pronti à taſſare i Poeti come queglische hauen do conoſciuto gli antichi Poeti buoni in tutte queſte parti, paia loro ragioneuole, che in ciascuna d'effe diſperse i Poeti debbino effere hoggi eccellenti.

Ma pafſando ad unaltra coſa, forſe non è ragioneuole, che dal la Fauola ſia chiamata la Tragedia una medefima, ô di uerfa;

ma queſta differenza debbe pigliarſi dal nodo, & dallo ſcioglimento d'efla:che nel vero alcuni Poeti, fono, che fanno il nodo bene, & fciolgonlo male.

Ma e fi debbe dall'una, & dall'altra parte eſcitarſi fauo re;& guardarſi maſsimamente, che il ſuggetto del Poe ma Heroico noi non lo mettiamo in ſuggetto Tragicolo chiamo fuggetto da Poema Heroicoquello, che cofitiene affar Fatole, com come ſe vn metteſſe tutto quel 1o della Iliade in una Tragedia;

perché quiui per la lun ghezza d'eſſo Poema v'hanno le parti grandezza conueniente:& nelle Fauole elle vi riuſcirebbono più lun ghe, che non richiede quella impreſa.

Segno e dició, che tutti quegli, che hanno finto in vna Fauola tutto l'eccidio di Troia, & non qualche parte e'ello (& ciò fu offeruato da Euripide nella Niobe, & nella Medea;

& non da Eſchilo) queſti tali, dico, ô e' fono deriſi nel Ior Poema;ò eſsi gareggiano infelicemente. Che inue ro Agatone per queſta ſola coſa caſcò, auuenga che fimili Poeti fi nella Peripetie, ſi nelle Fauole ſcempie conſeguiſchino il fine, che e' ſi ſono propoſti, marauiglioſamente:

concioſia, che egli appariſca il ſuggetto loro & Tragico,& molto humano.

Et queſto interuie ne, quando vn'huomo ſaggio, ma cattiuo (come fù Sififo) reſta ingannato; & quando vn' huomo forte, ma ingiusto, reſta abbattuto:

perchè tal caſo ha del verifimile, nel modo che dice Agatone, cioè, che egli è ve rifimile molte cofe accadere, che non fieno verifimili.

Debbeſi ſtimare, che il Choro fia vno degli Iſtrioni, & che e' ſia vna particella del tutto, & debbe fare le fue at tioni non come vſa Euripide, ma come vſa Sofocle:& agli altri ſieno piutoſto concedute le coſe, che s'appartengono à quella Fauola, che à vnaltra Tragedia.Onde è vſato, che è cantino coſe anneſſe alla materia.

Il principio della qual coſa dette Agatone. Che egli è inuero qualche differenza à cantare coſe congiunte alla Fauola, ò paſſare d'una in altra materia conuenentemente;ò dire l'intero Epiſodio. Quanto alle altre parti adunche ſe n'è detto à baſtanza. Reſtaci à dire hora del la Locutione, & del Diſcorſo. LA BOETICA

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.) — 18 focus

Est autem omnis tragoediae una quidem pars nexus, altera vero solutio.

ea quidem quae sunt extra, et aliqua eorum quae intra, saepenumero sunt nexus, reliquum vero est solutio.

dico antem autem nexum esse eum qui a principio est usque ad eam partem quae postrema est, ex qua transit in prosperam fortunam vel adversam,

solutionem vero, quae est a principio transitus usque ad finem, ut in Lynceo Theodectis nexus sunt ea quae gesta sunt et pueri sum- ptio sumptio, at solutio, quae est ab obiectione mortis usque ad finem.

tragoediae species sunt quattuor: tot enim etiam partes dictae sunt.

una quidem implexa, cuius totum est peripetia et agnitio;

altera vero affecta, ut Aiaces et Ixiones;

tertia morata, ut Phthiotides et Peleus; quarta, ut Phorcides et Prometheus, et quaecunque apud inferos.

ac omnia quidem maximopere conandum est ut habeantur: sin autem, maxima et plurima, praesertim ut nunc criminationem obiiciunt poetis. cum enim bonì fuerint secundum unamquanque partem poetae, unum superare singulos in proprio bono dignum existimant.

iustum autem est et tragoediam aliam et eandem dicere nihil fortasse ob fabulam.

hoc vero intelligitur in iis quarum eadem plicatio et solutio est. multi qui bene plicarunt, solvunt male.

ac ambo semper cum plausu excipi oportet. et oportet, quod dictum est, saepe in memoriam revocare, et non efficere ut tragoedia sit epopoeica constitutio. dico epopoeicam, quae multas fabulas continet, ut si quis totam fabulam Iliadis conficiat.

ibi enim propter longitudinem partes assumunt convenientem magnitudinem. in dramatibus vero multum praeter existimationem accidit.

signum vero est, quod quicunque expugnationem Ilii totam fecerunt et non secundum partem, ut Euripides Hecubam et non ut Aeschylus,

vel labuntur vel male certant, siquidem Agathon in hoc solo lapsus est. in peripetiis autem et in simplicibus rebus assequuntur quod volunt,

per admirabile: tragicum enim hoc et gratum hominibus.

est autem hoc, quando sapiens quidem sed cum improbitate deceptus fuerit, ut Sisyphus, et fortis quidem sed iniustus superatus sit.

atque hoc verisimile est, ut Agathon dicit: verisimile enim est multa fieri etiam praeter verisimile.

et existimandum est chorum esse unum de histrionibus et partem totius, ac simul contendere, non ut apud Euripidem, sed ut apud Sophoclem. quae vero conceduntur aliis, magis sunt fabulae et tragoediae alterius.

quamobrem embolima canunt, cum primus Agathon rem talem inceperit. atqui quid interest, si quis embolima canat, vel dictionem ex alio in aliud accommodet?

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.) — 18 focus

Est autem omnis tragodie hoc quidem colligatio hoc autem solutio, que quidem extrinsecus quedam eorum que intrinsecus sepe colligatio, quod autem reliquum solutio.

Dico autem colligationem quidem esse eam que a principio usque ad partem que extrema est ex qua transit in eufortunium, solutionem autem esse eam que a principio transitionis usque ad finem ;

sicut in Lykei Theodecti; colligatio anteacta et pueri sumptio et iterum que ipsorum utique ab accusatione mortis usque ad finem. —

Tragodie autem species sunt quatuor, tot enim et partes dicte sunt,

hec quidem complexa, cuius totum est peripeteia et anagnorisis,

hec autem passionalis, velut que Aiaces et Ixyones,

hec vero moralis, velut que Fthiotides et Pileus;

quarta autem , velut que Forkides et Prometheus et quecumque in Aido. —

Maxime quidem igitur omnes oportet temptare habere, si autem non, maximas et plurimas, aliterque et ut nunc calumpniantur poetas ; factis enim secundum unamquamque partem bonis poetis, unumquemque in proprio bono volunt unum superexcedere.

Iustum autem et tragodiam aliam et eandem dicere nichil minus fabula, hoc autem, quorum eadem complicatio et solutio.

Multi autem complectentes bene solvunt prave ;

oportet autem ambo semper coadiuvare. —

Oportet autem, ut dictum est sepe, memorari et non facere epopoiicam consistentiam tragodiam. Epopoiicam autem dico quod multarum fabularum, velut si quis eam que Iliadis totam facit fabulam.

Ibi quidem enim propter longitudinem sumunt partes decentem magnitudinem, in drama- tibus autem multum preter existimationem evenit.

Signum autem; quicumque quidem Sinili totam poetizaverunt et non secundum partem, sicut Euripedes Niobem, et non sicut Eschylus; aut excidunt aut prave agonizant; quoniam et Agathon decidit in hoc solo. —

In peripetiis autem et in simplicibus rebus coniecturant que volunt mirabiliter.

Tragicum enim hoc et philanthropon ; est autem hoc, quando sapiens quidem cum nequitia seductus fuerit, sicut Sisyfus, et Andreius quidem, iniustus autem victus est.

Est autem hoc verisimile sicut Agathon dicit; verisimile enim fieri multa et preter verisimilitudinem. —

Et chorum autem unum oportet suscipere ypocritas et partem esse totius et coagonizari, non sicut Euripidi, sed sicut Sophocleo.

Reliquis autem data magis fabule quam alterius tragodie sunt ; propter quod embolima ducunt ante incipientem Agathonem huius. Et quidem quid differt aut embolima canere aut sl seriem ex alio in aliud coaptet aut episodium totum ?

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.) — 18 focus

‏وكل مديح فشى منها حل وشى ما رباط اما اشيا التى من خارج والافراد من داخل فى بعض الاوقات فالرباطات التى من الابتدا الى هذا الجزو

‏وهى تلك التى هى اقليه ومنها يكون العبور اما النجاح والفلاح واما الى لا نجاح ولا فلاح واما الانحلال فهو كان من اول العبور الى اخره

‏كحال رباط ثاوداقطس فى اوعى اما الارتباط فالتى تقدمت فكتبت واخذ الطفل وايضا فالتى علٮها واما الانحلال فذاك الذى هو من اوعى الى الموت والى الانقضى

‏وانواع المدايح اربعة انواع وهذا كله قيل انه احرايضا

‏فاحها مقترن مولف والاحر الاداره والتقليب الذى فى الكل والاستدلال

‏والاخر هى انفعالية بمنزلة

‏افثوطيدس وفيلوس ايضا

‏والرابع فامور فوقيداس وافروميثوس وما قيل لهما وهو ان التى فى الجحيم

‏هى ممتحنة مجربة فى كل شى وان لم يكن هكذى فهى لا محالة فى اشيا عظام وكٮيرة وانهم يتهمون وٮٯسمون الشعرا على جهة اخرى كما الان وذلك انه لما كان فى كل جزو وحيد شعرا جياد حداق هم يوهلون كل انسان لخيره الخاص

‏وقد ينبغى الا يكون هم يوهلون كل انسان للخير الخاص به وقد كان يجب الا يكون لا مديح اخر ولا هذا ان يقال للخرافة وهذا اذا كان موجودا ڡٮالٮڡيه وحله هما باعيانهما

‏وكثيرين عند ما الفوا واقرنوا يحلون حلا حسنا

‏واما على جهة ردية ان امسكا كليهما ٮالتسديد

‏وقد يجب ان نتذكر مما قد قيل مرات كثيرة ولا تفعل ٮركٮں المديح المسمى افوفيوايقون واعنى بايفوفيايقون الوزن الكثير الخرافات مثل ان يعمل انسان الخرافة التى من ايليادا كلها

‏وذلك ان الاجزاء هنالك تاخذ بسبب الطول العظم اللايق والاولى واما فى القٮاٮ فيكون الٮظير خارج عن الشى كثيرا

‏والدليل هو هذا وهو ان بمبلغ الزياده التى لايليون عملوها بجملتها لا بالاجزا كما عمل اوريفيدس ٮيارى وليس كما عمل اسكٮوٮوس من انهم اما ان يقعون واما ان يجاهدون جهادا رديا

‏من قبل ان هذا من الخيرات وقع فى الارادات وفى الامور البسيطة يستدلون ويتعرفون حقيقة هذه التى يريدون ويحبون على طريق الزمز من قبل ان هذا هو مديحى ومن شان محبة الانسان

‏وهذا موجود متى انخدع حكيم بمنزلة سيوسيفوس مع الرذيلة وغلب الشجاع من الحاير

‏وهذه هى بالحقيقة ايضا كما يقول فى الخير ايضا بالحقيقة وقد يكون كثيرة خارجة عن الحق

‏وللصف الذى فى الجحيم من هولا المنافقين ويكون جزو للقول وان يجاهده مع لا على انه مع اوريفيدس لكن كما محادن مع سوفقلس

‏وكثير من التى ٮٮڡٮا ليس فيها شى اخر اكثر من الخرافة او من المدح ولذلك انما ٮٮڡا الدخيلة واول من بدا بذلك اغاثن الشاعر على لا فرق بين ان ٮٮفيا بالدخيلات وبين ان يولف قول من اخرى الى اخرى

Arabic Poetics (Abū Bishr Mattā; Tkatsch edition, unaligned) (OCR draft) Experimental (Tkatsch's edition of the medieval Arabic translation in its original, unaligned segmentation.) — 18 focus

‏وهى تلك التى هى اقليه ومنها يكون العبور اما النجاح والفلاح واما الى لا نجاح ولا فلاح واما الانحلال فهو كان من اول العبور الى اخره كحال رباط ثاوداقطس فى اوعى اما الارتباط فالتى تقدمت فكتبت واخذ الطفل وايضا فالتى علٮها واما الانحلال فذاك الذى هو من اوعى الى الموت والى الانقضى

‏وانواع المدايح اربعة انواع وهذا كله قيل انه احرايضا

‏فاحها مقترن مولف والاحر الاداره والتقليب الذى فى الكل والاستدلال والاخر هى انفعالية بمنزلة افثوطيدس وفيلوس ايضا والرابع فامور فوقيداس وافروميثوس وما قيل لهما وهو ان التى فى الجحيم

‏وقد ينبغى الا يكون هم يوهلون كل انسان للخير الخاص به وقد كان يجب الا يكون لا مديح اخر ولا هذا ان يقال للخرافة

‏وهذا اذا كان موجودا ڡٮالٮڡيه وحله هما باعيانهما

‏وكثيرين عند ما الفوا واقرنوا يحلون حلا حسنا واما على جهة ردية ان امسكا كليهما ٮالتسديد

‏وقد يجب ان نتذكر مما قد قيل مرات كثيرة ولا تفعل ٮركٮں المديح المسمى افوفيوايقون

‏واعنى بايفوفيايقون الوزن الكثير الخرافات مثل ان يعمل انسان الخرافة التى من ايليادا كلها

‏وذلك ان الاجزاء هنالك تاخذ بسبب الطول العظم اللايق والاولى واما فى القٮاٮ فيكون الٮظير خارج عن الشى كثيرا

‏وهذا موجود متى انخدع حكيم بمنزلة سيوسيفوس مع الرذيلة وغلب الشجاع من الحاير

‏وهذه هى بالحقيقة ايضا كما يقول فى الخير ايضا بالحقيقة وقد يكون كثيرة خارجة عن الحق

‏وكثير من التى ٮٮڡٮا ليس فيها شى اخر اكثر من الخرافة او من المدح ولذلك انما ٮٮڡا الدخيلة واول من بدا بذلك اغاثن الشاعر

‏على لا فرق بين ان ٮٮفيا بالدخيلات وبين ان يولف قول من اخرى الى اخرى

Notes on the current edition

Poetics

1. Actoris partes chorus, officiumque virile Defendat: neu quid medios intercinat actus, Quod non proposito conducat & haereat aptè. Hor. A. P. 193 .

2. This expression does not, I think, necessarily imply any stronger censure of Euripides, than that the Choral Odes of his Tragedies were, in general, more loosely connected with the subject, than those of Sophocles: which, on examination, would, I believe, be found true. For, that this is the fault here meant, not the improper "choice of the persons who compose the Chorus," as the ingenious translator of Euripides understands, is, I think, plain from what immediately follows; the connection being this: "Sophocles is, in this respect, most perfect; Euripides less so; as to the others, "their choral songs are totally foreign to the subject of their Tragedies.". See Mr. Potter's Euripides-Postscript to the Trojan Dames. Dr. Warton's Essay on the Genius, &c. of Pope, vol. i. p. 71 .

Commentary

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

1. mvp-aristotle-comment-642

1. mvp-aristotle-comment-643

24 Ἔστι δὲ πάσης τραγῳδίας κτέ. The fourth of these supplementary rules. The complication and dénouement are of such paramount importance, that two tragedies with the same sort of complication and dénouement should be regarded as substantially the same, however different they may be in other respects. It is quite possible to succeed in the one point and fail in the other; but they are both of equal moment, and require equal attention from the poet. This view of the drift of the paragraph assumes that the sentence δίκαιον ... κρατεῖσθαι in 1456 a 7 should follow after μέχρι τοῦ τέλους in 1455 b 32 . A mere definition of δέσις and λῦσις would have no place in these chapters, unless it were made to lead up to some practical precept, such as we have in δεῖ δὲ ἄμφω ἀεὶ κρατεῖσθαι in 1456 a 10 .

1. mvp-aristotle-comment-644

δέσις ... λύσις: see on 15, 1454 b 37 .

1. mvp-aristotle-comment-645

ἔξωθεν: see on 14, 1453 b 32 .

1. mvp-aristotle-comment-646

ἔνια τῶν ἔσωθεν πολλάκις. It is not necessary to transpose πολλάκις and insert it after the preceding τὰ μὲν ἔξωθεν. The δέσις, says Aristotle, comprises not only the presupposed part of the story ( τὰ ἔξωθεν, or τὰ προπεπραγμένα), but also in many instances ( πολλάκις) some portion of the action within the play. In the Iph. Taur. the δέσις extends as far as l. 391. In the O. T. on the other hand the entire δέσις is presupposed, the λῦσις beginning with the opening scene.

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

1. mvp-aristotle-comment-426

18.1 TOutē Tragedie est composée d'un nœud & d'un de-noiement. Les Incidens qui arrivent du dehors, & tres ſouvent même une partie de ceux que le Poëte tire de ſon ſujet, font le nœud, le reste est le denoiement.]¹

2. mvp-aristotle-comment-427

18.2 F'appelle le nœud toute cette partie de la Tragedie, de-puis le commencement jusqu'à l'endroit où les choses changent de face.]²

3. mvp-aristotle-comment-428

18.2 Et j'appelle le denoiement tout ce qui est depuis l'endroit, où ce changement a commencé, juſqu'à la fin.]³

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

148. mvp-aristotle-comment-148

NOTE 148. p. 100.

18.2 I CALL COMPLICATION, ALL THAT IS BETWEEN THE BEGINNING OF THE PIECE, AND THE LAST PART, &c.

Aristotle is here, as usual, very short and dry in the information he bestows upon us concerning this

δέσις

and

λύσις

. I wish he had given us a definition of their meanings, instead of a mere designation of their places. One would suspect, on the first view, from the mention of a change

εἰς εὐτυχίαν

only, (in which reading all the MSS. I think, agree,) from his instance, (if it be the same Tragedy as he before cited, cap. xi.) and from the common acceptation of the word

λύσις

itself, that he was speaking only of those Tragedies in which the principal characters are extricated from the difficulties they were involved in, and the end is happy.

And, indeed, the way in which Le Bossu, and others after him, explain this

nœud

and

denouement

, leads naturally to this idea, and seems hardly consistent with their allowing, as they do, that the denouement may be either calamitous or prosperous¹. For they explain the

nœud

, or

δέσις

, by

"obstacles à vaincre"

—

"efforts contraires— i. e. aux efforts du heros pour l'execution de son dessein."

— "Les obstacles présentés s'appellent nœuds, et la maniere dont on les force, se nomme, denouement." —This will do very well for Æneas, or Ulysses. But when Oedipus finds himself guilty of parricide and incest, and, from a state of regal dignity and happiness, becomes a wretched, blind, and banished vagabond—this is but a strange way of surmounting obstacles.

The truth is, that the obstacles of the

δέσις

, or the knot, are those which are presented to the mind of the spectator; the difficulty overcome is that of seeing how the piece will terminate. And thus, indeed, the Abbé Batteux more accurately expresses himself elsewhere:—

"Le nœud dans le Cinna est, de sçavoir si Cinna tuera Auguste,"

&c.² The

λύσις

is, to the spectator, the solution of the problem, "How will all this end?" And we may add, the more difficult the problem, the greater the pleasure of the solution.

It may be objected, that this is applicable only to those Tragedies, the subjects of which are totally unknown to the spectator; and it may be asked, "Where is the problem to be solved, in those dramas, which we have repeatedly seen and read, and of which we are perfectly acquainted with the catastrophe, and every incident that leads to it?" To this I can only answer, that it is a fact, and certainly a curious fact, that it makes little difference, or none at all, in the sympathetic interest which a spectator feels during the course of the action, whether he knows, or does not know, beforehand, how the piece will end. "Quelque prévenu que l'on soit de la maniere dont tout va se réfoudre, la marche de l'action en écarte la reminiscence: l'impression de ce que l'on voit empêche de réfléchir à ce que l'on sçait; et c'est par ce prestige que les spectateurs qui se laissent toucher, pleurent vingt fois au même spectacle."

The term

λύσις

, therefore, is as applicable to the calamitous catastrophe of the Oedipus, as to the satisfactory conclusion of the Iphigenia in Tauris. For Aristotle expressly gives these parts, as parts of every Tragedy.

Ἔστι δὲ ΠΑΣΗΣ τραγῳδίας, τὸ μὲν, δέσις, τὸ δὲ, λύσις.

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

1. mvp-aristotle-comment-123

Ritter, cap. 18 § 1

Partes tragoediae sunt convinctio et solutio; eiusdem species quattuor, una implexa, alia pathetica, alia moralis, quarta qualis Prometheus cet. ut tragici argumenti unitas conservetur, cavere decet complexum fabularum, neque choro tribuere licet nisi quae proposito conducant et apte cohaereant. -3. ἔστι δὲ πάσης τραγῳδίας - δεῖ δὲ ἄμφω ἀεὶ κροτεῖσθαι: primum signum ac magnum quo haec ab Aristotelis explicatione segreganda esse colligo hoc est, quod quae in capitis 17. fine et inde a c. 18, 4. docentur his illatis mire divelluntur. nam extremo c. 17. cum expositum esset propter diversam argumenti condicionem poesin dramaticam brevibus episodiis distingui, epicam longioribus dilatari, iam consentaneum est ut tragoediarum scriptori commendetur, ne materiam epopoeiae aptam in tragoedia pertractare velit. id vero ipsum monetur demum c. 18, 4. quo facto praecipitur, ne chori cantica a fabulae argumento aliena sint, ac tum totum illud disputationis caput (c. 17 et 18, 4-7), in quo tragoedias scripturum respexit et praeceptis instruxit Aristoteles, finitur. num forte hisce illa c. 18, 1-3. apte inseri possunt? non possunt: quippe non solum aliena sunt, sed etiam futilia. nam quaedam inania de iis tragoediae partibus explicantur quas technici δέσιν et λύσιν appellant, deinde quattuor tragoediarum genera non explicantur sed nude enumerantur et ridiculo praecepto clauduntur. alterum signum hoc est, quod simpliciter ponit cuiusque tragoediae partim esse implicationem partim solutionem, porro tragoediae quattuor species, et hoc ita narrat ut nullo suo iudicio utatur sed totus ab exemplis pendeat. hoc vero indignum est Aristotelis ingenio. accedunt alia de quibus ad singulos locos disputabimus. esse §. 1. τὰ μὲν ἔξωθεν καὶ ἔνια τῶν ἔσωθεν πολλάκις ἡ δέσις, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ἡ λύσις: praeclara vero et loquendi et definiendi ratio. τὰ ἔξωθεν sunt quae c. 15, 7. ἔξω τῆς τραγῳδίας vocantur; sed quae extra sunt nullam fabulae partem efficiunt; immo implicatio fit per eam actionem quae in tragoedia ostenditur, et haec ipsa ut tota sit ab initio proficisci debet. illud πολλάκις adeo significare videtur interdum ἔνια τῶν ἔσωθεν ne requiri quidem ad instituendam implicationem. τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ἡ λύσις quod relicuum solutio. nomine λοιπὸς Graeci et relicuus Latini utuntur, cum quae restant certa sunt et definita; alioqui Latini cetera et Graeci τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ponunt. at vero hic plane deest eiusmodi definitio, quoniam nonnisi vage dictum est ad δέσιν pertinere ἔνια τῶν ἔσωθεν πολλάκις, unde consequitur interdum totam fabulam solutione contineri, quod absurdum est falsumque. λέγω δὲ δέσιν - εἰς εὐτυχίαν: cum modo λύσιν ita descripsisset interpolator, ut λύσει maior tragoediae pars contineri videretur, continuo tamen δέσιν longe maximam esse pronuntiavit: λέγω δὲ δέσιν μὲν εἶναι τὴν ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς μέχρι τούτου τοῦ μέρους ὁ ἔσχατόν ἐστιν cet. vide, non quid sit δέσις vel quo modo instituatur exposuit, sed digitis pro norma usus quousque pertineat indicavit; eadem ratione λύσιν statim definire voluit. ἐξ οὗ μεταβαίνει εἰς εὐτυχίαν: quid est hoc? nihil est nisi vitium manifestum. qui haec scripsit tragoedias cogitavit, qualis est Sophoclis Philocteta, Euripidis Iphigenia utraque, etiam Medea eiusdem: nam ea tragoedia quamvis satis luctuosa sit et atrox, ipsa tamen Medea feliciter evasit, quod igitur in paucis tragoediis factum sciebat, id temere ad omnes transtulit. quapropter non bene fecerunt qui verborum contextu immutato hoc vitium tollere aut obscurare conati sunt. alii enim ἀτυχίαν dederunt (Goulstonus), alii εὐτυχίαν ἢ δυστυχίαν (Tyrwhittus), alii δυστυχίαν ἢ εἰς εὐτυχίαν (Reizius), Graefenhanius denique persuasissimum sibi habet verbo εὐτυχία breviter fortunae mutationes notatas esse. λύσιν δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς μεταβάσεως μέχρι τέλους: quemadmodum ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς scripsit, ita μέχρι τοῦ τέλους scribere debuit, quod ipsum paulo post subsequitur. non solum ex hac inconstantia agnoscas serioris aetatis scriptorem, sed etiam ex loquendi infantia quae perspicitur ex illis μέχρι τούτου τοῦ μέρους, μέχρι τέλους, μέχρι τοῦ τέλους.

Aristotle Poetics 18.19

Thomas Twining (Translator)

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Commentary

NOTE 148. p. 100.

Ritter, cap. 18 § 1

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