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Aristotle, Poetics, 1452b30-1453a20
Feb. 18th, 2012 09:04 pmὧν δὲ δεῖ στοχάζεσθαι καὶ ἃ δεῖ εὐλαβεῖσθαι συνιστάντας τοὺς μύθους καὶ πόθεν ἔσται τὸ τῆς τραγῳδίας [30] ἔργον, ἐφεξῆς ἂν εἴη λεκτέον τοῖς νῦν εἰρημένοις. ἐπειδὴ οὖν δεῖ τὴν σύνθεσιν εἶναι τῆς καλλίστης τραγῳδίας μὴ ἁπλῆν ἀλλὰ πεπλεγμένην καὶ ταύτην φοβερῶν καὶ ἐλεεινῶν εἶναι μιμητικήν （τοῦτο γὰρ ἴδιον τῆς τοιαύτης μιμήσεώς ἐστιν）, πρῶτον μὲν δῆλον ὅτι οὔτε τοὺς ἐπιεικεῖς ἄνδρας δεῖ [35] μεταβάλλοντας φαίνεσθαι ἐξ εὐτυχίας εἰς δυστυχίαν, οὐ γὰρ φοβερὸν οὐδὲ ἐλεεινὸν τοῦτο ἀλλὰ μιαρόν ἐστιν: οὔτε τοὺς μοχθηροὺς ἐξ ἀτυχίας εἰς εὐτυχίαν, ἀτραγῳδότατον γὰρ τοῦτ᾽ ἐστὶ πάντων, οὐδὲν γὰρ ἔχει ὧν δεῖ, οὔτε γὰρ φιλάνθρωπον οὔτε ἐλεεινὸν οὔτε φοβερόν ἐστιν:
In succession to the things which have been said, one must now say what it is necessary to aim at and what it is necessary to avoid while framing the stories, and from what place the proper work of tragedy will be. Since therefore it is necessary for the composition of the best tragedy to be not simple but [having been twisted round] complex and it is necessary for this to be good at imitating fearful and piteous matters - for this representation by art is peculiar to such as this - firstly, it's clear that it's not necessary to show good men undergoing a change from good fortune into misfortune, for this is neither fearful nor piteous but coarse; nor is it necessary to show the worthless undergoing a change from bad fortune to good fortune, for this of all things is unsuitable to tragedy, for it has nothing of what is neccesary, for it is neither humanising nor pitiable nor fearful.
[1453α] οὐδ᾽ αὖ τὸν σφόδρα πονηρὸν ἐξ εὐτυχίας εἰς δυστυχίαν μεταπίπτειν: τὸ μὲν γὰρ φιλάνθρωπον ἔχοι ἂν ἡ τοιαύτη σύστασις ἀλλ᾽ οὔτε ἔλεον οὔτε φόβον, ὁ μὲν γὰρ περὶ τὸν ἀνάξιόν ἐστιν δυστυχοῦντα, ὁ δὲ [5] περὶ τὸν ὅμοιον, ἔλεος μὲν περὶ τὸν ἀνάξιον, φόβος δὲ περὶ τὸν ὅμοιον, ὥστε οὔτε ἐλεεινὸν οὔτε φοβερὸν ἔσται τὸ συμβαῖνον.
Nor again for a very bad man to undergo a change from good fortune to misfortune: for while such a contrivance might have an appeal to human feeling, it is neither pitiable nor fearful, for one is for the worthy man in misfortune, while the other is for the man like us: pity is for the worthy man, fear for the one like us, so the result will rouse neither pity nor fear.
ὁ μεταξὺ ἄρα τούτων λοιπός. ἔστι δὲ τοιοῦτος ὁ μήτε ἀρετῇ διαφέρων καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ μήτε διὰ κακίαν καὶ μοχθηρίαν μεταβάλλων εἰς τὴν δυστυχίαν ἀλλὰ δι᾽ [10] ἁμαρτίαν τινά, τῶν ἐν μεγάλῃ δόξῃ ὄντων καὶ εὐτυχίᾳ, οἷον Οἰδίπους καὶ Θυέστης καὶ οἱ ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων γενῶν ἐπιφανεῖς ἄνδρες. ἀνάγκη ἄρα τὸν καλῶς ἔχοντα μῦθον ἁπλοῦν εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ διπλοῦν, ὥσπερ τινές φασι, καὶ μεταβάλλειν οὐκ εἰς εὐτυχίαν ἐκ δυστυχίας ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον [15] ἐξ εὐτυχίας εἰς δυστυχίαν μὴ διὰ μοχθηρίαν ἀλλὰ δι᾽ ἁμαρτίαν μεγάλην ἢ οἵου εἴρηται ἢ βελτίονος μᾶλλον ἢ χείρονος. σημεῖον δὲ καὶ τὸ γιγνόμενον: πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ οἱ ποιηταὶ τοὺς τυχόντας μύθους ἀπηρίθμουν, νῦν δὲ περὶ ὀλίγας οἰκίας αἱ κάλλισται τραγῳδίαι συντίθενται...
There is the remainder between them. There is the man of such kind neither prevailing in excellence or in justice nor by means of wickedness nor worthlessness undergoing a change into misfortune but by means of some failure, as he would be one of those with great reputation, such as Oedipus and Thyestes and the distinguished men of similar families. It is necessary for the one having best story to be single-fold, rather than two-fold, as some people say, and [for the man] to undergo a change not into good fortune from misfortune but the very opposite, from good fortune into misfortune not through worthlessness but through a great fault or of such kind as it was said or indeed of one better rather than worse. And also a sign is what's happened: for first the poets told over the chance-met stories, but now the best tragedies are made about a few households...
Aristotle: easier syntax than Euripides. Harder vocabulary.
In succession to the things which have been said, one must now say what it is necessary to aim at and what it is necessary to avoid while framing the stories, and from what place the proper work of tragedy will be. Since therefore it is necessary for the composition of the best tragedy to be not simple but [having been twisted round] complex and it is necessary for this to be good at imitating fearful and piteous matters - for this representation by art is peculiar to such as this - firstly, it's clear that it's not necessary to show good men undergoing a change from good fortune into misfortune, for this is neither fearful nor piteous but coarse; nor is it necessary to show the worthless undergoing a change from bad fortune to good fortune, for this of all things is unsuitable to tragedy, for it has nothing of what is neccesary, for it is neither humanising nor pitiable nor fearful.
[1453α] οὐδ᾽ αὖ τὸν σφόδρα πονηρὸν ἐξ εὐτυχίας εἰς δυστυχίαν μεταπίπτειν: τὸ μὲν γὰρ φιλάνθρωπον ἔχοι ἂν ἡ τοιαύτη σύστασις ἀλλ᾽ οὔτε ἔλεον οὔτε φόβον, ὁ μὲν γὰρ περὶ τὸν ἀνάξιόν ἐστιν δυστυχοῦντα, ὁ δὲ [5] περὶ τὸν ὅμοιον, ἔλεος μὲν περὶ τὸν ἀνάξιον, φόβος δὲ περὶ τὸν ὅμοιον, ὥστε οὔτε ἐλεεινὸν οὔτε φοβερὸν ἔσται τὸ συμβαῖνον.
Nor again for a very bad man to undergo a change from good fortune to misfortune: for while such a contrivance might have an appeal to human feeling, it is neither pitiable nor fearful, for one is for the worthy man in misfortune, while the other is for the man like us: pity is for the worthy man, fear for the one like us, so the result will rouse neither pity nor fear.
ὁ μεταξὺ ἄρα τούτων λοιπός. ἔστι δὲ τοιοῦτος ὁ μήτε ἀρετῇ διαφέρων καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ μήτε διὰ κακίαν καὶ μοχθηρίαν μεταβάλλων εἰς τὴν δυστυχίαν ἀλλὰ δι᾽ [10] ἁμαρτίαν τινά, τῶν ἐν μεγάλῃ δόξῃ ὄντων καὶ εὐτυχίᾳ, οἷον Οἰδίπους καὶ Θυέστης καὶ οἱ ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων γενῶν ἐπιφανεῖς ἄνδρες. ἀνάγκη ἄρα τὸν καλῶς ἔχοντα μῦθον ἁπλοῦν εἶναι μᾶλλον ἢ διπλοῦν, ὥσπερ τινές φασι, καὶ μεταβάλλειν οὐκ εἰς εὐτυχίαν ἐκ δυστυχίας ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον [15] ἐξ εὐτυχίας εἰς δυστυχίαν μὴ διὰ μοχθηρίαν ἀλλὰ δι᾽ ἁμαρτίαν μεγάλην ἢ οἵου εἴρηται ἢ βελτίονος μᾶλλον ἢ χείρονος. σημεῖον δὲ καὶ τὸ γιγνόμενον: πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ οἱ ποιηταὶ τοὺς τυχόντας μύθους ἀπηρίθμουν, νῦν δὲ περὶ ὀλίγας οἰκίας αἱ κάλλισται τραγῳδίαι συντίθενται...
There is the remainder between them. There is the man of such kind neither prevailing in excellence or in justice nor by means of wickedness nor worthlessness undergoing a change into misfortune but by means of some failure, as he would be one of those with great reputation, such as Oedipus and Thyestes and the distinguished men of similar families. It is necessary for the one having best story to be single-fold, rather than two-fold, as some people say, and [for the man] to undergo a change not into good fortune from misfortune but the very opposite, from good fortune into misfortune not through worthlessness but through a great fault or of such kind as it was said or indeed of one better rather than worse. And also a sign is what's happened: for first the poets told over the chance-met stories, but now the best tragedies are made about a few households...
Aristotle: easier syntax than Euripides. Harder vocabulary.
