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Other Poets take for their subject the actions of one person¹, or of one period of time, or an action which, though one, is composed of too many parts. Thus, the author of the Cypriacs², and of the Little Iliad³.

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.) — 23 focus

Περὶ δὲ τῆς διηγηματικῆς καὶ ἐν μέτρῳ μιμητικῆς, ὅτι δεῖ τοὺς μύθους καθάπερ ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις συνιστάναι δραματικούς, καὶ περὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν ὅλην καὶ τελείαν, ἔχουσαν ἀρχὴν καὶ μέσον καὶ τέλος, ἵν᾿ ὥσπερ ζῷον ἓν ὅλον ποιῇ τὴν οἰκείαν ἡδονήν, δῆλον,

καὶ μὴ ὁμοίας ἱστορίας τὰς συνήθεις εἶναι, ἐν αἷς ἀνάγκη οὐχὶ μιᾶς πράξεως ποιεῖσθαι δήλωσιν ἀλλ᾿ ἑνὸς χρόνου, ὅσα ἐν τούτῳ συνέβη περὶ ἕνα ἢ πλείους, ὧν ἕκαστον ὡς ἔτυχεν ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα.

Ὥσπερ γὰρ κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους ἥ τ᾿ ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ἐγένετο ναυμαχία καὶ ἡ ἐν Σικελίᾳ Καρχηδονίων μάχη, οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸ αὐτὸ συντείνουσαι τέλος, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐφεξῆς χρόνοις ἐνίοτε γίνεται θάτερον μετὰ θατέρου, ἐξ ὧν ἓν οὐδὲν γίνεται τέλος.

Σχεδὸν δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ποιητῶν τοῦτο δρῶσιν.

Διό, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν ἤδη, καὶ ταύτῃ θεσπέσιος ἂν φανείη Ὅμηρος παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους, τῷ μηδὲ τὸν πόλεμον, καίπερ ἔχοντα ἀρχὴν καὶ τέλος, ἐπιχειρῆσαι ποιεῖν ὅλον· λίαν γὰρ ἂν μέγας καὶ οὐκ εὐσύνοπτος ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι· ἢ τῷ μεγέθει μετριάζοντα καταπεπλεγμένον τῇ ποικιλίᾳ. Νῦν δ᾿ ἓν μέρος ἀπολαβὼν ἐπεισοδίοις κέχρηται αὐτῶν πολλοῖς, οἷον νεῶν καταλόγῳ καὶ ἄλλοις ἐπεισοδίοις, οἷς διαλαμβάνει τὴν ποίησιν.

Οἱ δ᾿ ἄλλοι περὶ ἕνα ποιοῦσι καὶ περὶ ἕνα χρόνον, καὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν πολυμερῆ, οἷον ὁ τὰ Κύπρια ποιήσας καὶ τὴν μικρὰν Ἰλιάδα.

Τοιγαροῦν ἐκ μὲν Ἰλιάδος καὶ Ὀδυσσείας μία τραγῳδία ποιεῖται ἑκατέρας ἢ δύο μόναι, ἐκ δὲ Κυπρίων πολλαί, καὶ ἐκ τῆς μικρᾶς Ἰλιάδος πλέον ὀκτώ, οἷον ὅπλων κρίσις, Φιλοκτήτης, Νεοπτόλεμος, Εὐρύπυλος, πτωχεία, Λάκαιναι, Ἰλίου πέρσις καὶ ἀπόπλους καὶ Σίνων καὶ Τρῳάδες.

Περὶ ποιητικῆς (OCR draft) Perseus (Aristotle, De arte poetica liber. Rudolf Kassel, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965. Reference edition for passage alignment.) — 23 focus

περὶ δὲ τῆς διηγηματικῆς καὶ ἐν μέτρῳ μιμητικῆς, ὅτι δεῖ τοὺς μύθους καθάπερ ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις συνιστάναι δραματικοὺς καὶ περὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν ὅλην καὶ τελείαν 20 ἔχουσαν ἀρχὴν καὶ μέσα καὶ τέλος, ἵν’ ὥσπερ ζῷον ἓν ὅλον ποιῇ τὴν οἰκείαν ἡδονήν, δῆλον,

καὶ μὴ ὁμοίας ἱστορίαις τὰς συνθέσεις εἶναι, ἐν αἷς ἀνάγκη οὐχὶ μιᾶς πράξεως ποιεῖσθαι δήλωσιν ἀλλ’ ἑνὸς χρόνου, ὅσα ἐν τούτῳ συνέβη περὶ ἕνα ἢ πλείους, ὧν ἕκαστον ὡς ἔτυχεν ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα.

ὥσπερ 25 γὰρ κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους ἥ τ’ ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ἐγένετο ναυμαχία καὶ ἡ ἐν Σικελίᾳ Καρχηδονίων μάχη οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸ αὐτὸ συντείνουσαι τέλος, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐφεξῆς χρόνοις ἐνίοτε γίνεται θάτερον μετὰ θάτερον, ἐξ ὧν ἓν οὐδὲν γίνεται τέλος.

σχεδὸν δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ποιητῶν τοῦτο 30 δρῶσι.

διὸ ὥσπερ εἴπομεν ἤδη καὶ ταύτῃ θεσπέσιος ἂν φανείη Ὅμηρος παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους, τῷ μηδὲ τὸν πόλεμον καίπερ ἔχοντα ἀρχὴν καὶ τέλος ἐπιχειρῆσαι ποιεῖν ὅλον· λίαν γὰρ ἂν μέγας καὶ οὐκ εὐσύνοπτος ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι ὁ μῦθος, ἢ τῷ μεγέθει μετριάζοντα καταπεπλεγμένον τῇ ποικιλίᾳ. 35 νῦν δ’ ἓν μέρος ἀπολαβὼν ἐπεισοδίοις κέχρηται αὐτῶν πολλοῖς, οἷον νεῶν καταλόγῳ καὶ ἄλλοις ἐπεισοδίοις δὶς διαλαμβάνει τὴν ποίησιν.

οἱ δ’ ἄλλοι περὶ ἕνα ποιοῦσι καὶ 1459b 1 περὶ ἕνα χρόνον καὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν πολυμερῆ, οἷον ὁ τὰ Κύπρια ποιήσας καὶ τὴν μικρὰν Ἰλιάδα.

τοιγαροῦν ἐκ μὲν Ἰλιάδος καὶ Ὀδυσσείας μία τραγῳδία ποιεῖται ἑκατέρας ἢ δύο μόναι, ἐκ δὲ Κυπρίων πολλαὶ καὶ τῆς μικρᾶς 5 Ἰλιάδος πλέον ὀκτώ, οἷον ὅπλων κρίσις, Φιλοκτήτης, Νεοπτόλεμος, Εὐρύπυλος, πτωχεία, Λάκαιναι, Ἰλίου πέρσις καὶ ἀπόπλους καὶ Σίνων καὶ Τρῳάδες.

Poetics, Greek text (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's Greek text of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 23 focus

Περὶ δὲ τῆς διηγηματικῆς καὶ ἐν μέτρῳ μιμητικῆς,
ὅτι δεῖ τοὺς μύθους καθάπερ ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις συνιστάναι
δραματικοὺς καὶ περὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν ὅλην καὶ τελείαν ἔχουσαν
ἀρχὴν καὶ μέσα καὶ τέλος, ἵν᾽ ὥσπερ ζῷον ἓν ὅλον
ποιῇ τὴν οἰκείαν ἡδονήν, δῆλον,

καὶ μὴ ὁμοίας ἱστορίαις τὰς
συνήθεις θεῖναι, ἐν αἷς ἀνάγκη οὐχὶ μιᾶς πράξεως ποιεῖσθαι
δήλωσιν ἀλλ᾽ ἑνὸς χρόνου, ὅσα ἐν τούτῳ συνέβη περὶ ἕνα
ἢ πλείους, ὧν ἕκαστον ὡς ἔτυχεν ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα.

ὥσπερ
γὰρ κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους ἥ τ᾽ ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ἐγένετο
ναυμαχία καὶ ἡ ἐν Σικελίᾳ Καρχηδονίων μάχη οὐδὲν
πρὸς τὸ αὐτὸ συντείνουσαι τέλος, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐφεξῆς
χρόνοις ἐνίοτε γίνεται θάτερον μετὰ θάτερον, ἐξ ὧν ἓν
οὐδὲν γίνεται τέλος.

σχεδὸν δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ποιητῶν τοῦτο
δρῶσι.

διὸ ὥσπερ εἴπομεν ἤδη καὶ ταύτῃ θεσπέσιος ἂν
φανείη Ὅμηρος παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους, τῷ μηδὲ τὸν πόλεμον
καίπερ ἔχοντα ἀρχὴν καὶ τέλος ἐπιχειρῆσαι ποιεῖν ὅλον·
λίαν γὰρ ἂν μέγας καὶ οὐκ εὐσύνοπτος ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι,
ἢ τῷ μεγέθει μετριάζοντα καταπεπλεγμένον τῇ ποικιλίᾳ.
νῦν δ᾽ ἓν μέρος ἀπολαβὼν ἐπεισοδίοις κέχρηται αὐτῶν
πολλοῖς, οἷον νεῶν καταλόγῳ καὶ ἄλλοις ἐπεισοδίοις διαλαμβάνει
τὴν ποίησιν.

οἱ δ᾽ ἄλλοι περὶ ἕνα ποιοῦσι
καὶ περὶ ἕνα χρόνον καὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν πολυμερή, οἷον ὁ τὰ
Κύπρια ποιήσας καὶ τὴν μικρὰν Ἰλιάδα.

τοιγαροῦν ἐκ μὲν
Ἰλιάδος καὶ Ὀδυσσείας μία τραγῳδία ποιεῖται ἑκατέρας
ἢ δύο μόναι, ἐκ δὲ Κυπρίων πολλαὶ καὶ τῆς μικρᾶς
Ἰλιάδος πλέον ὀκτώ, οἷον ὅπλων κρίσις, Φιλοκτήτης,
Νεοπτόλεμος, Εὐρύπυλος, πτωχεία, Λάκαιναι, Ἰλίου πέρσις
καὶ ἀπόπλους, καὶ Σίνων καὶ Τρῳάδες.

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.) — 23 focus

καὶ μὴ ὁμοίας ἱστορίας τὰς συνήθεις εἶναι, ἐν αἷς ἀνάγκη οὐχὶ μιᾶς πράξεως ποιεῖσθαι δήλωσιν ἀλλ᾽ ἑνὸς χρόνου, ὅσα ἐν τούτῳ συνέβη περὶ ἕνα ἢ πλείους, ὧν ἕκαστον ὡς ἔτυχεν ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα.

ὥσπερ γὰρ κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους ἥ τ᾽ ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ἐγένετο ναυμαχία καὶ ἡ ἐν Σικελίᾳ Καρχηδονίων μάχη, οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸ αὐτὸ συντείνουσαι τέλος, οὕτω καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐφεξῆς χρόνοις ἐνίοτε γίνεται θάτερον μετὰ θατέρου, ἐξ ὧν ἓν οὐδὲν γίνεται τέλος.

σχεδὸν δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ποιητῶν τοῦτο δρῶσιν.

διό, ὥσπερ¹ εἴπομεν ἤδη, καὶ ταύτῃ θεσπέσιος ἂν φανείη Ὅμηρος παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους, τῷ μηδὲ τὸν πόλεμον, καίπερ ἔχοντα ἀρχὴν καὶ τέλος, ἐπιχειρῆσαι ποιεῖν ὅλον, λίαν γὰρ ἂν μέγας καὶ οὐκ εὐσύνοπτος ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι, ἢ τῷ μεγέθει μετριάζοντα καταπεπλεγμένον τῇ ποικιλίᾳ. νῦν δ᾽ ἓν μέρος ἀπολαβών ἐπεισοδίοις κέχρηται [αὐτῶν] πολλοῖς, οἷον νεῶν καταλόγῳ καὶ ἄλλοις ἐπεισοδίοις, οἷς διαλαμβάνει τὴν ποίησιν.

οἱ δ᾽ ἄλλοι περὶ ἕνα ποιοῦσι καὶ περὶ ἕνα χρόνον, καὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν πο λυμερῆ, οἷον ὁ τὰ Κύπρια ποιήσας καὶ τὴν μικρὰν Ιλιάδα. [

τοιγαροῦν ἐκ μὲν Ἰλιάδος καὶ Ὀδυσσείας μία τραγῳδία ποιεῖται ἑκατέρας ἢ δύο μόναι, ἐκ δὲ Κυπρίων πολλαὶ καὶ τῆς μικρᾶς Ιλιάδος πλέον ὀκτώ, οἷον ὅπλων κρίσις, Φιλοκτήτης, Νεοπτόλεμος, Εὐρύπυλος, πτωχεία, Λάκαιναι, Ἰλίου πέρσις καὶ ἀπόπλους καὶ Σίνων καὶ Τρῳάδες.]

Translations (13)

Poetics (W. H. Fyfe) (OCR draft) Perseus (William Hamilton Fyfe's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, Loeb Classical Library, 1939 printing.) — 23 focus

We come now to the art of representation which is narrative and in metre.¹ Clearly the story must be constructed as in tragedy, dramatically, round a single piece of action, whole and complete in itself, 20 with a beginning, middle and end, so that like a single living organism it may produce its own peculiar form of pleasure.

It must not be such as we normally find in history, where what is required is an exposition not of a single piece of action but of a single period of time, showing all that within the period befell one or more persons, events that have a merely casual relation to each other.

For just as the battle of Salamis occurred at the same time as the Carthaginian battle in Sicily , but they do not converge to the same result²; so, too, in any sequence of time one event may follow another and yet they may not issue in any one result.

Yet most of the poets do this.

So in this respect, too, compared with all other poets Homer may seem, as we have already said, divinely inspired, in that even with the Trojan war, which has a beginning and an end, he did not endeavor to dramatize it as a whole, since it would have been either too long to be taken in all at once or, if he had moderated the length, he would have complicated it by the variety of incident. As it is, he takes one part of the story only and uses many incidents from other parts, such as the Catalogue of Ships and other incidents with which he diversifies his poetry.

The others, on the contrary, all write about a single hero or about a single period or about a single action with a great many parts, the authors, 1459b 1 for example, of the Cypria and the Little Iliad.³

The result is that out of an Iliad or an Odyssey only one tragedy can be made, or two at most, whereas several have been made out of the Cypria, and out of the Little Iliad more than eight, e.g. The Award of Arms, Philoctetes, Neoptolemus, Eurypylus, The Begging, The Laconian Women, The Sack of Troy , and Sailing of the Fleet, and Sinon, too, and The Trojan Women.

Arabic Poetics (Badawī edition, 1953) (OCR draft) (The ancient Arabic translation of Aristotle's Poetics in ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Badawī's 1953 edition.) — 23 focus

〈وحدة الفعل: فى الملحمة، وعند هوميروس〉

وأما الاقتصاصى والوزن المحاكى فقد 〈ينبغى〉 أن نخبرعنها بالخرافات وحكاية الحديث على ما فى المديحات وأن يقوم المتقينين والقينات نحو العمل الواحد متكامل بأسره، وهو الذى له أول ووسط وآخر، وهو الذى كما الحيوان العـ〈ـامـ〉ـل للذة خاصية؛ ومن حيث لا يدخل فى هذه التركيبات اقتصاصات تشبه، وهى التى قد ينظر فيها أن الاستدلال ليس إنما هو لعمل واحد، لكن لزمان واحد، بمبلغ ما يعرض فى هذا وعمل واحد أو كثير، وكيف كل واحد واحد منها، على مالها انضافت إلى قرينها كما كانت 〈الأزمـ〉ـنة أنفسها، أما فى سالامانا فحروب المراكب، وفى سيقيليا حرب القركدونيا، فان كلا هذين ليس شيئاً آخر غير أنها تنتهى إلى انقضاء واحد واحد. وكذلك فى الأزمنة التى 〈تكون〉 بعد فى وقت بعد وقت يكون واحد منها الذى لا يكون له شىء آخر هو آخر وانقضاء؛ وكثير من الشعراء قد يفعلون هذا قريباً.

ولذلك كما قلنا وفرغنا من القول 〈فى ذلك〉 فليـر أوميروس فى هذا ذو سنة وناموس هاد؛ ومن هذا الوجه أيضاً يرى أوميروس أنه متبع للناموس، وأنه لازم للصواب والاستقامة أكثر من هؤلاء الأخر، 〈و〉هو الذى عمل الحرب وقد كان له أول وآخر من حيث يرى أن يأتى به بأسره، هذا على أنه قد كان عظيما جداً ولم تكن تسهل رؤيته، ولا أيضاً كان مزمعاً أن ينتهى فى خرافته بهذه الحال، من قبل أنها قد كانت عندما كانت تتركب وتقترن قد كانت تصغر فى عظمها، والآن فى هذه المداخل التى تقتضب جزءً ما، وهو ما الذى يفعل الإنسان.

وأما هؤلاء الأخر فيقتضبوا بحسب واحد واحد فى واحد واحد من الزمان خرافات كثيرة الأجزاء، بمنزلة ذاك الذى عمل هذه التى هى معروفة «بقوفوانيا» وجعل «الإلياذا صغيرة». ولذلك عمل «إلياذا» و«أودوسيا» كلتيهما مديحاً واحداً أو بعد كراثنتين، وأما فى المعروفة «بقوفوانيا» فكثيرة، وإلى الإلياذا الصغيرة فثمانية، وأكثر التى تقال بالسلاح منها المعروفة بنا أوفطلامس وفيلوقطيطس 〈و〉المعروف بأفطوخيا و〈لاقـ〉ـينس، إلياس، ورجوع المراكب، واينن وطرواس.

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.) — 23 focus

As to that poetic imitation which is narrative in
form and employs a single metre, the plot manifestly
ought, as in a tragedy, to be constructed on dramatic
principles. It should have for its subject a single
action, whole and complete, with a beginning, a middle,
and an end. It will thus resemble a living organism
in all its unity, and produce the pleasure proper to
it.

It will differ in structure from historical composi-
tions, which of necessity present not a single action,
but a single period, and all that happened within
that period to one person or to many, little connected
together as the events may be.

For as the sea-fight at 2
Salamis and the battle with the Carthaginians in Sicily
took place at the same time, but did not tend to any one
result, so in the sequence of events, one thing sometimes
follows another, and yet no single result is thereby
produced.

Such is the practice, we may say, of
most poets.

Here again, then, as has been already 3
observed, the transcendent excellence of Homer is
manifest. He never attempts to make the whole war of
Troy the subject of his poem, though that war had a
beginning and an end. It would have been too vast a
theme, and not easily embraced in a single view. If,
again, he had kept it within moderate limits, it must
have been over-complicated by the variety of the in-
cidents. As it is, he detaches a single portion, and
admits as episodes many events from the general story
of the war—such as the Catalogue of the ships and
others—thus diversifying the poem.

All other poets take a single hero, a single
period, or an action single indeed, but with a multiplicity
of parts. Thus did the
author of the Cypria and of the Little Iliad.

For this 4
reason the Iliad and the Odyssey each furnish the
subject of one tragedy, or, at most, of two; while the
Cypria supplies materials for many, and the Little Iliad
for eight—the Award of the Arms, the Philoctetes, the
Neoptolemus, the Eurypylus, the Mendicant Odysseus,
the Laconian Women, the Fall of Ilium, the Departure
of the Fleet.

Aristotle on the Art of Poetry (Ingram Bywater, 1909) (OCR draft) Experimental (Ingram Bywater's English translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1909.) — 23 focus

As for the poetry which merely narrates, or imitates by
means of versified language (without action), it is evident
that it has several points in common with Tragedy. I. The
construction of its stories should clearly be like that in
a drama; they should be based on a single action,
one that is a complete whole in itself, with a beginning,
middle, and end, so as to enable the work to produce its
own proper pleasure with all the organic unity of a living
creature.

Nor should one suppose that there is anything
like them in our usual histories.
A history has to deal not
with one action, but with one period and all that happened
in that to one or more persons, however disconnected the
several events may have been.

Just as two events may
take place at the same time, e.g. the sea-fight off Salamis
and the battle with the Carthaginians in Sicily, without
converging to the same end, so too of two consecutive
events one may sometimes come after the other with no
one end as their common issue.

Nevertheless most of our
epic poets, one may say, ignore the distinction.

Herein, then, to repeat what we have said before, we have
a further proof of Homer's marvellous superiority to the
rest. He did not attempt to deal even with the Trojan war
in its entirety, though it was a whole with a definite beginning
and end—through a feeling apparently that it was too long
a story to be taken in in one view, or if not that, too
complicated from the variety of incident in it. As it is,
he has singled out one section of the whole; many of the
other incidents, however, he brings in as episodes, using
the Catalogue of the Ships, for instance, and other episodes
to relieve the uniformity of his narrative.

As for the other
epic poets, they treat of one man, or one period; or else
of an action which, although one, has a multiplicity of
parts in it.

This last is what the authors of the
Cypria and Little Iliad have done. And the result is that,
whereas the Iliad or Odyssey supplies materials for only
one, or at most two tragedies, the Cypria does that for
several, and the Little Iliad for more than eight: for an
Adjudgment of Arms, a Philoctetes, a Neoptolemus, a
Eurypylus, a Ulysses as Beggar, a Laconian Women, a Fall
of Ilium, and a Departure of the Fleet; as also a Sinon, and
a Women of Troy.

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.) — 23.6 focus

and the lesser Iliad, are satisfied if they confine themselves to one person, one period of time or one action, though it may have many parts. Not more than one or two tragedies at the most, could be formed either from the Iliad or the Odyssey. But many might from the Cypriacs;

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.) — 23.6 focus

and one action, consisting of many parts; as the authors of the Cypriacs, and the Lesser Iliad. [With respect to the Iliad ¹ and Odyssey, therefore, one or two tragedies only could be made from each. But many might be made from the Cypriacs; and from the Lesser Iliad more than eight;

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.) — 23 focus

Quod attinet ad artem narrativam metrisque imitativam, opus esse ut fabulas sicut in tragoediis componas dramaticas, ac circa unam actionem totam et absolutam, quae habeat principium et medium et finem, ut tamquam animal unum ac totum propriam suam faciat voluptatem, perspicuum est,

neque vulgares historias ei similes esse licere, in quibus necesse non est unius actionis proponere explicationem sed unius temporis, quaecumque intra hoc acciderunt circa unum aut plures, quorum singula ut casus fert sese contingunt.

nam quemadmodum isdem temporibus ad Salaminem pugna navalis facta est et Carthaginiensium in Sicilia praelium, nihil ad eundem finem contendentia, sic etiam in temporibus succedentibus interdum accidit unum cum altero, ex quibus unus non fit finis.

fere autem plerique poetarum hoc committunt.

quare, ut iam diximus, etiam in hoc genere divinus videatur Homerus prae ceteris, propterea quod neque bellum illud, quamvis praeditum principio et fine, adgressus est pangere totum, quippe nimis magnum nec facile contuendum futurum erat, neque in brevius contractum varietate implicatum. nunc vero una parte delecta, episodiis usus est [ipsarum] multis, ut navium indice et aliis episodiis, quibus distinguit poesin.

ceteri autem circa unum canunt et circa unum tempus, et unam actionem pluribus partibus constantem, ut qui Cypria fecit et parvam Iliadem.

[itaque ex Hiade et Odyssea una tragoedia conficitur ex utravis vel duae solae, ex Cypriis autem multae et parva Iliade plus quam octo, veluti armorum iudicium, Philoctetes, Neoptolemus, Eurypylus, mendicitas, Lacaenae, Ilii excidium et discessio et Sinon et Troades.]

La poëtique d'Aristote (André Dacier, 1692) (OCR draft) Experimental (André Dacier's French translation of Aristotle's Poetics, published in 1692.) — 23.6 focus

Il n'en eſt pas de même des autres Poëtes, ils s'imaginent conſerver cette unité de ſujet, lorſqu'ils s'attachent à décrire les actions d'un ſeul homme, ou les accidens arrivez dans un certain temps, ou une ſeule Hiſtoire qui a pluſieurs parties, & telle eſt la conduite du Poëte qui a fait les Cypriaques, & de celuy qui a fait la petite Iliade.

Poetica d'Aristotile (Bernardo Segni, 1549) (OCR draft) Experimental (Bernardo Segni's 1549 Florentine Italian translation, aligned to the Kassel reference passage sequence.) — 23 focus

Tquanto alla imitatione narratiua, & che fi fa col verſo, che quiui ſi debba, aſſettare le Fauole da poterſi rappreſentare fi come nelle Tragedie; & che elle debbino effere intorno à vna attione intera, & perfetta, che habbia & principio, & mezo, & fine :¹

acciochè ella non altrimenti che vno animale intero, par toriſca il piacere, che ſia propio di lei, è manifeſtiſsimo; & che elle non debbino eſſer' fimili alle Hiſtorie conſuete, le quali è di neceſsità, che dieno notitia non pure d'una fola attione, ma di tutte quelle, che in vn tempo medefimo accaddono;

non tanto circa ad vn' folo, quanto circa à piu:inquel modo cioè, che ciascuna d'ef fe cofe (come dette la ſorte) interuene, Perchè coſi come circa à vn' medefimo tempo fu fatta la guerra di mare appreſſo di Salamina, & quella de' Cartagineſi in - Sicilia, le quali non tendono adun' medefimo fine;medefimamente ne tempi ſuſſequenti accade alcuna volta, ch'un fatto vi fuccede doppo l'altro, delquale non ne rieſce vn' medefimo fine.

Et queſto vſan'di fare la piu parte de' Poeti.

Onde & per queſte cagioni ancora (ſi come io hò detto innanzi) Homero appariſce diuino ſopra di tutti gli altri Poeti, perchè e non tenta di fingere tutta la guerra (benchè ella haueſſe & principio,& fine) come ſe ella fuſſe ſtata per riuſcir' troppo grande;& perciò difficile à potere eſſer' confiderata: VV vero perchè gli ſtimò che ſe e' l'haueſſe riſtretta à vna moderata grandezza, che'l Poema non haueſſe à parer ripieno di troppe varietà. Ma hauendone egli preſa à raccontar vna parte, v'interpone dentro molti Epiſodii, come è il Catalago delle naui, & altri, Onde egli fa il ſuo Poema ricchiſsimo; doue gli altri Poeti ſtanno intorno ad vn' ſolo huomo, & intorno ad vn' fol tem po, & conſtituiſcono vna attione, che habbia molte parti, come fe quegli, che finſe nel ſuo Poemale coſe fatte da' Cipriani; & come quegli, che fece il Poema detto La piccola Iliade.

Ma l'Iliade, & l'Odiſſea ciaſcuna d'eſſe da vna fola Tragedia, ò da due al più poſſono effere racchiuſe; & il Poema de Cipriani non può efle re racchiuſo, ſenon da molte, & quello della piccola Iliade e racchiuſo da piu, che da otto, come è il giudicio dell'arme, il Filottete, Neoptolemo, Euripilo, LaPo uera, la Lacena, l'Eccidio di Troia, La Ritornata del le naui, Sinone, Et le Troiade.

E'anchora di neceſsità, che il Poema Heroico ſi diuida in tante ſpetie, in quan te fi diuide eſſo Poema Tragico; Conciofia che e' debba eſſere,ò ſcempio, ò intrecciato,ò morale, ò affettuo fo. Le parti anchora,ò dell'uno,ò dell'altro Poema(eccetto l'Apparato & la Muſica) ſono le medeſime; douendo eſſere in luile Peripetie, le Recognitioni, gli Affetti,i Difcorfi, & la buona Locutione. Lequali tut te parti Homero prima di tutti hà vſato tanto che baſta, perchè l'uno de' ſuoi due Poemi, l'Iliade cioè e' com poſto ſcempio, & è affettuoſo; & l'Odiſſea è intrecciato, eſſendoui per tutto la recognitione, & il costume. Oltradiqueſto ha egli tutti gli altri auanzato con la Locutione, & col Diſcorſo.

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.) — 23 focus

De narrativa autem et in metro imitatione oportet fabnlas constituere, quemadmodum dramaticus in tragoediis, et circa unam actionem totam et perfectam, habentem principium et medium et finem,

ut quemadmodum animal unum totum efficiat propriam voluptatem, nec similes esse historias consuetas, in quibus necesse est non unius actionis efficere expositionem sed unius temporis,

quaecunque in eo evenerunt circa unum vel plures, quorum unumquodque, ut sors tulit, alterum respicit. quemadmodum enim secundum eadem tempora et in Salamine facta est navalis pugna et in Sicilia Carthaginiensium pugna,

nequaquam ad eundem tendentes finem,

sic et in temporibus consequentibus aliquando fit alterum cum altero, ex quibus non est unus finis. ac ferme id faciunt poëtarum multi. quamobrem, ut iam dicebamus, et in hac parte divinns apparere Homerus praeter ceteros potest, et quia neque bellum, quamvis habens principium et finem, aggressus est versibus totum describere (valde enim magnum, et quod non facile conspici poterat, evasurum erat) vel magnitudine se modice habens intertextum varietate. nunc autem cum abstulisset unam partem, episodiis usus est ipsorum multis, ut navium catalogo et aliis episodiis, quibus distinguit poësim.

alii vero circa unum canunt et circa unum tempus et unam actionem multarum partium, ut qui Cyprica fecit et parvam Iliadem.

igitur ex Iliade et Odyssea una tragoedia fit ex utraque, vel duae solae; at ex Cypriis multae, et ex parva Iliade plus quam octo, ut armorum iudicium, Philoctetes, Neoptolemus, Eurypylus, mendicatio, Lacaenae, Hii direptio et reditus classis et Sinon et Troades.

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.) — 23 focus

De narrativa autem et in metro imitativa, quod oportet fabulas sicut in tragodiis consistere actitivas et circa unam actionem totam et perfectam, habentem principium et media et finem, que sicut animal unum totum facit propriam delectationem, palam ;

et non similes hystorias consuetas esse, in quibus necesse non unius actionis fieri manifestationem, sed unius temporis, quecumque in hoc accidunt circa unum aut plures, quorum unumquodque ut contingit habet ad invicem.

Sicut enim secundum eadem tempora et in Salamina factum fuit navale bellum, et in Sicilia Carthaginensium bellum nichil ad eundem contendentia finem, sic et in hiis que deinceps temporibus aliquando fit alterum cum altero, ex quibus unus nullus fit finis.

Fere autem multi poetarum hoc actitant. Propter

quod, sicut diximus iam, et sic admirandus utique apparebit Homerus preter alios, eo quod neque bellum quamvis habens principium et finem conatus est poetizare totum ; valde enim utique magnum et non facile conspicabile debebat fore magnitudine moderantem complexum varietate. Nunc autem unam partem absumens usus est superadventitiis ipsi multis, puta katalogo et aliis superinductitiis bis bis intercipit poesim.

Alii autem circa unum faciunt et circa unum tempus et unam actionem multarum partium, velut qui Cyprica poetizavit et Parvam Nileidem.

Namque ex Iliade quidem et Odysseia unam tragodiam efficit utriusque aut duas solas, ex Cypriis autem multas et ex Parva Iliade plus quam octo, puta Oplon Krisis, Filoctetes, Neoptolemus, Eurypylus, Ptocheia, Lakena, Iliu Persis, et Apoplus, et Sinon et Proiades. —

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.) — 23 focus

‏ومن حيث لا يدخل فى هذه التركيبات اقتصاصات تشبه وهى التى قد ٮٮطر***ـا ان الاستدلال ليس انما هو لعمل واحد لكن لزمان واحد بمبلغ ما يعرض فى هذا وعمل واحد او كثير وكيف كل واحد واحد منها على ما لها انضافت الى قرينها كما كانت ا**رمنه انفسها

‏اما فى سالامانا فحروب المراكب وفى سيقيليا حرب الڡركوٮٮا ڡـ*ں كلى هذين ليسا شى احر غير انها تنتهى الى انقضا واحد واحد وكذلك فى الازمنة التى **ٮ بعد فى وقت بعد وقت يكون واحد منها الذى لا يكون له شى اخر هو اخر واىقصـ*

‏*كثير من الشعرا قد يفعلون هذا قريبا

‏ولذلك كما قلنا وفرغنا من القول ڡـ*ل فليرا اوميروس فى هذا ذو سبه وناموس هدو من هذا الوجه ايضا يرى اوميروس انه متبع للناموس وانه لازم للصواب والاستقامة اكثر من هولا الاخر *هو الذى عمل الحرر وقد كان له اول واحد من حيث يرى ان ياتى به باسره هذا على انه قد كان عظيم جد ولم يكن يسهل رويته ولا ايضا كان مزمع ان يبين فى خرافته بهذه الحال من قبل انها قد كانت عند ما كانت تتركب وتقترن قد كانت تصغر فى عظمها والان فى هذه المداخل التى ٮقبصت جزو ما وهو ما الذى يفعل الانسان

‏واما هولا الاخر فيقتضبوا بحسب واحد واحد فى واحد واحد من الزمان خرافات كثيرة الاجزا بمنزلة ذلك الذى عمل هذه التى هى معروفة ٮقوٯواٮٮا وجعل الاليادا صغيرة

‏ولذلك عمل اليادا واودوسيا كلتيهما مديحا واحدا او بعد كر اثنتين واما *** المعروفة ٮٯوٯواٮٮا فكثيرة والى الاليادا الصغيرة فثمانية واكثر التى تقال السلاح منها المعروفة ٮٮااوفطلامس وفيلوقطيطس المعروف بافطوخيلا وكبس الياس ورجوع المراكب واسين وطرواس

Arabic Poetics (Abū Bishr Mattā; Tkatsch edition, unaligned) (OCR draft) Experimental (Tkatsch's edition of the medieval Arabic translation in its original, unaligned segmentation.) — 23 focus

‏واما الاقتصاصى والوزن المحاكى فقد بين ان نخبر عنها الخرافات وحكاية الحديث على ما فى المديحات وان تقوم المتقينين والقينات نحو العمل الواحد متكامل باسره وهو الذى له اول ووسط واخر وهو الذى كما الحيوان العـ**ل للذة حاصية ومن حيث لا يدخل فى هذه التركيبات اقتصاصات تشبه وهى التى قد ٮٮطر***ـا ان الاستدلال ليس انما هو لعمل واحد لكن لزمان واحد بمبلغ ما يعرض فى هذا وعمل واحد او كثير وكيف كل واحد واحد منها على ما لها انضافت الى قرينها كما كانت ا**رمنه انفسها

‏يفعلون هذا قريبا

‏ولا ايضا كان مزمع ان يبين فى خرافته بهذه الحال من قبل انها قد كانت عند ما كانت تتركب وتقترن قد كانت تصغر فى عظمها والان فى هذه المداخل التى ٮقبصت جزو ما وهو ما الذى يفعل الانسان

Notes on the current edition

Poetics

1. Part II. Sect. 5.

2. Of this kind seems the Poem of Ariosto, the exordium of which, not only expresses the miscellaneous variety of his matter, but, also, his principle of unity. Le Donne, i cavalier, l'arme, gli amori, Le cortesie, l'audaci imprese, io canto, Che furo al TEMPO che passaro i Mori, &c. Ariosto's expedient was, to "intertwist the several actions together, in order to give something like the appearance of one action," to the whole, as has been observed of Spenser: [Letters on Chivalry, &c.] he has given his Poem the continuity of basket-work. Or, if I may be indulged in another comparison, his unity, is the unity produced between oil and vinegar by shaking them together; which only makes them separate by smaller portions.

3. So called, to distinguish it from the Iliad of Homer, of which it seems to have been a continuation. See the NOTE.

Commentary

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

4. mvp-aristotle-comment-874

τοῦτο δρῶσι = ὁμοίας ἱστορίας τὰς συνήθεις τιθέασι (v. a 21).

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-875

ἤδη: 8, 1451 a 23 sqq.

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-876

33 εὐσύνοπτος: see on 7, 1451 a 4 .

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-877

34 ἢ τῷ μεγέθει μετριάζοντα κτέ. Vahlen supposes ἔδει or ἀναγκαῖον ἦν εἶναι to be understood from the ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι in the preceding clause. The sense of the passage is clear enough: The Trojan War was a real whole in itself ( ἔχοντα ἀρχὴν καὶ τέλος = ὅλον; v. 7, 1450 b 26 ); but Homer declined to deal with it in its entirety ( ποιεῖν ὅλον), through a feeling apparently that it was too long for his purpose ( λίαν μέγας; comp. 7, 1451 a 15 ), or if not too long ( τῷ μεγέθει μετριάζοντα), too full of matter through the variety of incident in it ( καταπεπλεγμένον τῇ ποικιλίᾳ). The explanation of the grammatical difficulty may perhaps be that Aristotle has lapsed into obliqua oratio. λίαν γὰρ ἂν μέγας κτέ. is virtually oratio obliqua, like the clause of explanation in 3, 1448 a 33.

μετριάζοντα

is intransitive, as it generally is in Aristotle ( Bon. Ind. 463 b 23). For the dative with it comp. Pol. 5. 11, 1314 b 33

μετριάζειν τοῖς τοιούτοις

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-878

35 ἓν μέρος ἀπολαβών: comp. Bon. Ind. 82 b 49, and Plato Rep. 392 E

οὐ κατὰ ὅλον ἀλλ᾽ ἀπολαβὼν μέρος τι πειράσομαί σοι ἐν τούτῳ δηλώσαι βούλομαι

. By this ἓν μέρος in the history of the Trojan War Aristotle means the 'Wrath of Achilles' and its consequences; see Adam l. c. p. 43. αὐτῶν, scil. τῶν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ πραγμάτων, a construction κατὰ σύνεσιν such as we often find with pronouns (comp. 13, 1453 a 24 ; 23, 1459 a 29 , and Kühner, Gr. Gr. 2. 1, p. 54). Vahlen quotes Eth. N. 4. 1, 1120 a 2

δοκεῖ δ᾽ ἀπώλειά τις αὑτοῦ εἶναι καὶ ἡ τῆς οὐσίας φθορά, ὡς τοῦ ζῆν διὰ τούτων

(= τῶν χρημάτων, implied in τῆς οὐσίας)

ὄντος

5. mvp-aristotle-comment-879

37 διαλαμβάνει: comp. Dionysius Hal. 5 p. 543 R.

τὸ διαλαμβάνεσθαι τὴν ὁμοείδειαν ἰδίαις μεταβολαῖς καὶ ξένοις ἐπεισοδίοις

. The proper meaning of the word is 'to break the continuity of' a thing, as in Phys. 4. 6, 213 b 32

οὐκ ἔστι διάστημα . . διαλαμβάνει τὸ πᾶν σῶμα ὥστε εἶναι μὴ συνεχές

. Its present meaning, that of to 'break the uniformity of', or 'diversify', is found also in Plato Phaed. 110 B

γῆ . . χρώμασι διειλημμένη

. Closely allied to this is the sense in Pol. 7. 12, 1331 a 20

τὰ δὲ τείχη διειλῆφθαι φυλακτηρίοις καὶ πύργοις

—where it denotes to 'break the line of the walls', not the walls themselves. The use of episodes as giving an element of variety in the Epic is noted again in 24, 1459 b 30 . An echo of Aristotle's approval of Homer's episodes survives in Eustathius on Il. 3. 230, p. 409, 20 R. :

οὕτως εὐμηχάνως Ὅμηρος τὰς ἔξω τε [? ἔξωθεν] τοῦ νῦν καιροῦ ἱστορίας ἐπεισοδιάζει τῇ ποιήσει καὶ ταῖς μεθόδοις αὐτὴν καταποικίλλει τῶν ἀφηγήσεων

, and in the Schol. on Od. 1. 284 :

τῆς Ὀδυσσείας οὐκ ἐχούσης ἐξ αὐτῆς ποικιλίαν ἱκανὴν τὸν Τηλέμαχον ἐξελθεῖν εἰς Σπάρτην καὶ Πύλον ποιεῖ, ὅπως ἂν τῶν Ἰλιακῶν ἐν παρεκβάσεσι πολλὰ λεχθείη διά τε τοῦ Νέστορος καὶ τοῦ Μενελάου

(comp. the second Schol. ad loc.:

ὑπόθεσιν αὐτὴν [scil. τὴν ἀποδημίαν Τηλεμάχου] πεποίηκεν ὁ ποιητὴς ποικιλίας λόγων καὶ ἐξαλλαγῆς ἰδεῶν, ἵνα μὴ μονότροπος ᾖ τῆς ποιήσεως ὁ τρόπος

1459b

6. mvp-aristotle-comment-880

περὶ ἕνα ποιοῦσι κτέ.: i. e. they write just like chroniclers (comp. 23) or biographers (comp. 8, 1451 a 21 ). In some of the inferior epics, however, there is, says Aristotle, a certain Unity of story; but it is not of the right kind (comp. 8, 1451 a 28

περὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν οἷαν λέγομεν

), as the action there consists of a plurality of parts ( πολυμερή), each of them easily detached from the rest of the work. The consequence is that several tragedies may be made out of a single epic of this type; whereas the Iliad or Odyssey does not supply materials for more than one or two. This emphatic assertion of the Unity of action in the Homeric epic, and of its affinity in this respect to Tragedy, is not quite in harmony with what we read elsewhere in the Poetics. In 18, 1456 a 13 the story of the Iliad is said to be a πολύμυθον σύστημα, one with a plurality of stories in it, and therefore incapable of being successfully dramatized in one single tragedy. And in 26, 1462 b 3 we are expressly told that the action in the Iliad and Odyssey is made up of several actions ( ἐκ πλειόνων πράξεων) and of many parts ( ἔχει πολλὰ τοιαῦτα μέρη); in other words, it is conceived to be a μία πρᾶξις πολυμερής, and not so unlike that of the inferior epics as is assumed in the present passage. μίαν πρᾶξιν = περὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν (comp. 8, 1451 a 28 ).

6. mvp-aristotle-comment-881

2 ὁ τὰ Κύπρια ποιήσας: Herodotus 2. 117

δηλοῖ ὅτι οὐκ Ὁμήρου τὰ Κύπρια ἔπεά ἐστι ἀλλ᾽ ἄλλου τινός

. — Athenaeus 334 B

ὁ τὰ Κύπρια ποιήσας ἔπη, εἴτε Κύπριός τίς ἐστιν Στασῖνος ἢ ὅστις δή ποτε χαίρει ὀνομαζόμενος

. For the ancient ideas as to the authorship of the Κύπρια see Welcker, Ep. Cycl.p. 279 (comp. Wilamowitz, Phil. Untersuch.7 p. 337 ).

6. mvp-aristotle-comment-882

3 τὴν μικρὰν Ἰλιάδα = ὁ τὴν μικρὰν Ἰλιάδα (comp. Bon. Ind. 109 b 48). The book is treated as anonymous even by Pausanias (3. 26, 7 and 10. 26, 2) and by several of the grammarians who quote from it (comp. Wilamowitz l.c. p. 341). Ἰλιάδος, 'a poem like the Iliad' (see on 4, 1448 b 38 ).

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

7. mvp-aristotle-comment-538

23.5 7. C'est pourtant en cela que pechent la plupart des Poëtes, c'est auſſi en cela comme je l'ay déja dit, qu' Homere me paroît divin au prix d'eux, car ayant devant luy une guerre qui avoit un commencement & une fin, il n'a pas entrepris de la traiter toute entiere.]¹

8. mvp-aristotle-comment-539

23.5 8. C'est pourquoy il n'en a pris qu'une seule partie.]²

9. mvp-aristotle-comment-540

23.5 9. Et il tire du reſte quantité d'Epiſodes, comme le Catalogue des Vaiſſeaux, & pluſieurs autres, dont il enrichit & diverſifie fon Poëme.]³

10. mvp-aristotle-comment-541

23.6 10. Il n'en eſt pas de mème des autres Poëtes, ils s'imaginent conſerver cette unité de ſujet, lorſqu'ils s'attachent à décrire les actions d'un ſeul homme.]⁴

11. mvp-aristotle-comment-542

23.6 11. Ou les accidens arrivez dans un certain temps.]⁵

12. mvp-aristotle-comment-543

23.6 12. Et telle est la conduite du Poëte qui a fait les Cypriaques.]⁶

13. mvp-aristotle-comment-544

23.6 13. Et de celuy qui a fait la petite Iliade.]⁷

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

210. mvp-aristotle-comment-210

NOTE 210.

23.4 P. 115. EVEN IN THIS, THEREFORE, &C.

Ἤδη καὶ ταύτῃ.

already even in the first operation of his genius—the very choice of his subject, and formation of his plan. Such appears to me to be the force of

ἤδη

in this passage, which, I think, is injured by those commentators who punctuate—

ὥσπερ ἔιπομεν ἤδη

"as we have already said."

211. mvp-aristotle-comment-211

NOTE 211.

23.4 P. 115. HE HAS, FROM THE REST, INTRODUCED MANY EPISODES—

Νῦν δὲ, ἓν μέρος ἀπολαβὼν, ἐπεισοδίοις κέχρηται ΑΥΤΩΝ πολλοῖς.

—i. e. as the commentators explain it, of the other parts of the war. But, what should we think of this English—

"Selecting one part of the war, he introduces many episodes of them?"

If Aristotle meant the other parts of the war,

ἀυτῶν

must, surely, be wrong: if

ἀυτῶν

be right, I confess I cannot see what he meant. I wish we had manuscript authority for the

ἀυτοῦ

of Heinsius, which is adopted and explained by Le Bossu, II. 5, and 6. —But a learned friend has suggested to me a conjecture still more probable; that Aristotle wrote

ΑΛΛΩΝ. Νῦν δὲ, ἝΝ μέρος ἀπολαβὼν, ἐπεισοδίοις κέχρηται ΑΛΛΩΝ [sc. μερῶν] πολλοῖς.

"Selecting one part only of the war, he has, from other parts, introduced many Episodes,"

&c.

212. mvp-aristotle-comment-212

NOTE 212.

23.6 P. 115. THE AUTHOR OF THE CYPRIACS, AND OF THE LITTLE ILIAD.

To the authors usually referred to on the subject of these Poems, it may now be useful to add Heyne, Excursu primo ad Æn. II. p. 228, 229 —a very learned and curious dissertation concerning the writers on the Trojan war.

213. mvp-aristotle-comment-213

NOTE 213.

23.6 P. 116. THE FALL OF TROY.

See Heyne, Excursu primo ad Æn. II. p. 230, 231.

Commentary on the Poetics (Henry James Pye, 1792) (OCR draft) (Henry James Pye's 1792 English commentary, aligned to the Kassel reference edition.) focus

23.4. mvp-aristotle-comment-99 23.4

HE DID NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO INCLUDE THE WHOLE TROJAN WAR.

MR. ADDISON I believe thought he paid the Duke of Marlborough an hyperbolical compliment, when he called the transactions of the summer, in which the battle of Blenheim was fought, • An Iliad rifing out of one campaign." When on examination the action of the Iliad takes up only forty-feven days. Bossu has alfo calculated the duration of the action of the Odyssey and the Æneid. He fixes the former at fifty-eight days, and the latter at half a year. It is impossible to apply these critical compasses to a poem whose action passes • Beyond the flaming bounds of space and time. It is obvious however that the Paradise Lost is confined within such a period, that the connection of the [L] beginning, the middle, and the end is easily comprehended; and that though the action is continued, it enters sufficiently into detail to be perfectly interesting [M]. [L] See Chap. VIII.. [M] See Note 11. Chap. xxiv. NOTE

23.5. mvp-aristotle-comment-100 23.5

TAKING THEREFORE ONLY ONE PART FOR HIS SUBJECT, НЕ INTRODUCES ABUNDANCE OF EPISODES FROM THE OTHER PARTS.

- FROM what is said by Aristotle in Chapter XVII. where he gives the plain story of the Iphigenia in Tauris, and the Odyssey, it appears that he confiders every thing as episode that is at all extraneous to the fimple story. Every thing in short, that if either taken away or altered, would make no essential change in the principal event of the fable; and even the episode, he adds, should be nearly connected with the story, as he instances in the madness of Orestes. The fame injunction as to the epopee is infinuated here, as the episodes of Homer are faid to be taken from the events of the war, of which he brings the catalogue of the ships as an example. However Homer did not confine himself always to these congenial episodes as in the history of Bellerophon given by Glaucus in the fixth Iliad.

From what Ariftotle says, and the examples he produces in both places, he feems to make this distinction between the dramatic and epic episode. That the first should be an event, though not essentially, yet closely connected with the story, and happening to one of the characters as the madness of Orestes, and not any detached circumstance, any interesting under-plot which in so short a composition as a tragedy would hurt the unity, and divide the interest of the fable. (N) But that the epopee from [N] See Chap. xxvi. its

POETIC OF ARISTOTLE. its greater extent, to which variety was more necessary, and from its interest being less compressed, and in which so powerful an effect was not requifite, was indulged with a freer use of episodes, in themselves interesting, provided they were connected at all with the main fubject; even so interesting as to form a proper basis for a tragedy. This however he does not propose so much as an addition to the excellencies of the epopee, as an indulgence allowed to its defects. The Paradife Loft abounds with episodes, all of which are connected with the fable. The modern comic epopee affords examples of all forts. The worst are those like the novels introduced in Don Quixote, such as [o] the 'Ill-timed Curiosity,' which Fielding has imitated in the story of, The Man of the Hill' in Tom Jones, and Paul and Leonard' in Joseph Andrews. These episodes exactly resemble the eastern arrangement of fable. The story of Cardenio and Lucinda' in Don Quixote, and still more • Nightingale and Mrs. Miller's Daughter' in Tom Jones, are episodes connected with the fable. Perhaps the true criterion of the propriety of an epic episode is the possibility of the reader's passing it over without breaking, in the least degree, the chain of the narrative. [O] IL CURIOSO IMPERTINENTE, which has been wisely rendered in English, THE CU- RIOUS IMPERTINENT, CHAP.

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

3. mvp-aristotle-comment-171

Ritter, cap. 23 § 3

σχεδόν δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ποιητῶν τοῦ - το δρῶσιν : sententiam hanc sane gravem ac fortasse subiniquam mitigavit addito σχεδόν. ceteri Graecorum epici poetae Homero excepto non eam unitatis normam secuti sunt, quam summus artis poeticae magister praescripsit, sed ita tantummodo observaverunt ut accederent aliquatenus ad rationem in rerum scriptoribus probatam. διό, ὥσπερ εἴπομεν ἤδη-καταπεπλεγμένον τῇ ποικιλίᾳ : quod auctor occasione oblata iam ante (c. 8, 3) monuerat et Odysseae exemplo illustraverat, idem h. 1. ita persequitur ut Iliadem solam respiciat. Homerus in condenda Iliade duobus modis excellit, primum quod bellum Troianum non totum carmine celebrare adgressus est, deinde quod ne summa quidem fastigia rerum in modicam magnitudinem con-... tracta sed nimía varietate implicata poemati materiam substravit. enuntiati duo membra coordinata sunt, unum τῷ μηδὲ τὸν πόλεμον ἐπιχειρῆσαι ποεῖν ὅλον, alterum ἢ τῷ (intellige μηδ' ἐπιχειρῆσαι ποιεῖν) μεγέθει μετριάζοντα καταπεπλεγμένον τῇ ποικιλίᾳ. Iliada esse ἁπλῆν non multo post (c. 24, 3) iterum monuit. ἐπεισοδίοις κέχρηται [ αὐτῶν] πολλοῖς: pronomen αὐτῶν adhuc explicare nemo ita potuit, ut linguae Graecae legibus satisfaceret. Victorius et Hermannus belli Troiani partes ab Homero omissas designari putant, sed id quomodo fieri possit, neuter explicuit. Hermannus auctoris negligentiam agnoscit; alii coniecturis sanare locum tentaverunt. mihi haec vox plane supervacanea casu illata videtur esse: nimirum adversus ἀπολαβών in margine aliquis posuit αὐτῶν, isque intellexit μερῶν τοῦ πολέμου ex praecedente ἓν μέρος, ut ne lectorem fugeret quo ἀπολαβών referendum esset. hinc nota in verborum contextum, sed alieno loco, recepta est. οἱ δ᾽ ἄλλοι: intelligit poetas cyclicos et Panyasin Halicarnassensem, Choerilum Samium, Antimachum Colophonium. conf. c. 8. · καὶ μίαν πρᾶξιν πολυμερῆ: actio carmini epico subiecta non solum ita una esse debet ut unius hominis et unius temporis sit, sed etiam una parte primaria illam contineri oportet. minus epopoeiae vitii inest quae circa unam actionem eamque πολυμερή versatur quam quae duplex argumentum vel multiplex admisit. vitium illud prius et levius in Cypriis et parva Iliade deprehendit, et rectissime quidem, ut etiamnum ex illis Chrestomathiae Proculianae excerptis videre licet. μία πρᾶξις Cyprio carmini subiecta origo erat belli Troiani, sed eam vel maxime πολυμερῆ fuisse fragmenta quae dixi probant. parvae Iliadis nonnisi priorum quattuor librorum summaria excerpta illa praestant: nam Proclus rerum gestarum seriem contexturus ubi quattuor libros parvae Iliadis excerpsit, hanc mittit et ad Arctini Ἰλίου Πέρσιν pergit, quamquam etiam a parvae Iliadis poeta (Lesches a plerisque fertur carminis auctor, ab aliis in incerto relinquitur in quibus Aristoteles) Ilii excidium enarratum fuisse constat. conf. Hermanni ad h. 1. Commentarii, Wüllneri de Cyclo epico Commentatio p. 85 sqq., Welckeri opus quod patria lingua scripsit de Cyclo epico p. 214 sqq. Nitzschii de Historia Homeri Meletem. fasc. II. p. 38 sqq. de Cypriis praeter alios exposuerunt Wüllnerus et Welckerus in libris modo laudatis, et peculiari scriptione Henrichsen: de Carminibus Cypriis, Hafniae 1828.

Aristotle Poetics 23.6

Thomas Twining (Translator)