Aristotle · Complete work
Chapter 14
Chapter 14 of 26. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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[Bekker 1453b][Bekker 1453b line 1]ἔστιν μὲν οὖν τὸ φοβερὸν καὶ ἐλεεινὸν ἐκ τῆς ὄψεως γίγνεσθαι, ἔστιν δὲ καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς συστάσεως τῶν πραγμάτων, ὅπερ ἐστὶ πρότερον καὶ ποιητοῦ ἀμείνονος.δεῖ γὰρ καὶ ἄνευ τοῦ ὁρᾶν οὕτω συνεστάναι τὸν μῦθον ὥστε τὸν[Bekker 1453b line 5]ἀκούοντα τὰ πράγματα γινόμενα καὶ φρίττειν καὶ ἐλεεῖν ἐκ τῶν συμβαινόντων· ἅπερ ἂν πάθοι τις ἀκούων τὸν τοῦ Οἰδίπου μῦθον.τὸ δὲ διὰ τῆς ὄψεως τοῦτο παρασκευάζειν ἀτεχνότερον καὶ χορηγίας δεόμενόν ἐστιν.οἱ δὲ μὴ τὸ[Bekker 1453b line 9]φοβερὸν διὰ τῆς ὄψεως ἀλλὰ τὸ τερατῶδες μόνον[Bekker 1453b line 10]παρασκευάζοντες οὐδὲν τραγῳδίᾳ κοινωνοῦσιν· οὐ γὰρ πᾶσαν δεῖ ζητεῖν ἡδονὴν ἀπὸ τραγῳδίας ἀλλὰ τὴν οἰκείαν.ἐπεὶ δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ ἐλέου καὶ φόβου διὰ μιμήσεως δεῖ ἡδονὴν παρασκευάζειν τὸν ποιητήν, φανερὸν ὡς τοῦτο ἐν τοῖς πράγμασιν ἐμποιητέον.ποῖα οὖν δεινὰ ἢ ποῖα οἰκτρὰ φαίνεται τῶν[Bekker 1453b line 15]συμπιπτόντων, λάβωμεν. ἀνάγκη δὴ ἢ φίλων εἶναι πρὸς ἀλλήλους τὰς τοιαύτας πράξεις ἢ ἐχθρῶν ἢ μηδετέρων.ἂν μὲν οὖν ἐχθρὸς ἐχθρόν, οὐδὲν ἐλεεινὸν οὔτε ποιῶν οὔτε μέλλων, πλὴν κατ’ αὐτὸ τὸ πάθος·οὐδ’ ἂν μηδετέρως ἔχοντες·ὅταν δ’ ἐν ταῖς φιλίαις ἐγγένηται τὰ[Bekker 1453b line 20]πάθη, οἷον ἢ ἀδελφὸς ἀδελφὸν ἢ υἱὸς πατέρα ἢ μήτηρ υἱὸν ἢ υἱὸς μητέρα ἀποκτείνῃ ἢ μέλλῃ ἤ τι ἄλλο τοιοῦτον δρᾷ, ταῦτα ζητητέον.τοὺς μὲν οὖν παρειλημμένους μύθους λύειν οὐκ ἔστιν, λέγω δὲ οἷον τὴν Κλυταιμήστραν ἀποθανοῦσαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Ὀρέστου καὶ τὴν Ἐριφύλην ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀλκμέωνος,[Bekker 1453b line 25]αὐτὸν δὲ εὑρίσκειν δεῖ καὶ τοῖς παραδεδομένοις χρῆσθαι καλῶς. τὸ δὲ καλῶς τί λέγομεν, εἴπωμεν σαφέστερον.ἔστι μὲν γὰρ οὕτω γίνεσθαι τὴν πρᾶξιν, ὥσπερ οἱ παλαιοὶ ἐποίουν εἰδότας καὶ γιγνώσκοντας, καθάπερ καὶ Εὐριπίδης ἐποίησεν ἀποκτείνουσαν τοὺς παῖδας τὴν Μήδειαν·ἔστιν δὲ[Bekker 1453b line 30]πρᾶξαι μέν, ἀγνοοῦντας δὲ πρᾶξαι τὸ δεινόν, εἶθ’ ὕστερον ἀναγνωρίσαι τὴν φιλίαν, ὥσπερ ὁ Σοφοκλέους Οἰδίπους· τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἔξω τοῦ δράματος, ἐν δ’ αὐτῇ τῇ τραγῳδίᾳ οἷον ὁ Ἀλκμέων ὁ Ἀστυδάμαντος ἢ ὁ Τηλέγονος ὁ ἐν τῷ τραυματίᾳ Ὀδυσσεῖ.ἔτι δὲ τρίτον παρὰ ταῦτα τὸ[Bekker 1453b line 35]μέλλοντα ποιεῖν τι τῶν ἀνηκέστων δι’ ἄγνοιαν ἀναγνωρίσαι πρὶν ποιῆσαι.καὶ παρὰ ταῦτα οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλως. ἢ γὰρ πρᾶξαι ἀνάγκη ἢ μὴ καὶ εἰδότας ἢ μὴ εἰδότας.τούτων δὲ τὸ μὲν γινώσκοντα μελλῆσαι καὶ μὴ πρᾶξαι χείριστον· τό τε γὰρ μιαρὸν ἔχει, καὶ οὐ τραγικόν· ἀπαθὲς γάρ. διόπερ οὐδεὶς[Bekker 1454a][Bekker 1454a line 1]ποιεῖ ὁμοίως, εἰ μὴ ὀλιγάκις, οἷον ἐν Ἀντιγόνῃ τὸν Κρέοντα ὁ Αἵμων.τὸ δὲ πρᾶξαι δεύτερον.βέλτιον δὲ τὸ ἀγνοοῦντα μὲν πρᾶξαι, πράξαντα δὲ ἀναγνωρίσαι· τό τε γὰρ μιαρὸν οὐ πρόσεστιν καὶ ἡ ἀναγνώρισις ἐκπληκτικόν.κράτιστον δὲ[Bekker 1454a line 5]τὸ τελευταῖον, λέγω δὲ οἷον ἐν τῷ Κρεσφόντῃ ἡ Μερόπη μέλλει τὸν υἱὸν ἀποκτείνειν, ἀποκτείνει δὲ οὔ, ἀλλ’ ἀνεγνώρισε, καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἰφιγενείᾳ ἡ ἀδελφὴ τὸν ἀδελφόν, καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἕλλῃ ὁ υἱὸς τὴν μητέρα ἐκδιδόναι μέλλων ἀνεγνώρισεν.διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο, ὅπερ πάλαι εἴρηται, οὐ περὶ πολλὰ[Bekker 1454a line 10]γένη αἱ τραγῳδίαι εἰσίν. ζητοῦντες γὰρ οὐκ ἀπὸ τέχνης ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ τύχης εὗρον τὸ τοιοῦτον παρασκευάζειν ἐν τοῖς μύθοις· ἀναγκάζονται οὖν ἐπὶ ταύτας τὰς οἰκίας ἀπαντᾶν ὅσαις τὰ τοιαῦτα συμβέβηκε πάθη.περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων συστάσεως καὶ ποίους τινὰς εἶναι δεῖ τοὺς μύθους[Bekker 1454a line 15]εἴρηται ἱκανῶς.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from all 26 Ancient Greek chapters with all 279 Bekker markers preserved for fidelity, technical precision, clarity, and structure.
[Bekker 1453b][Bekker 1453b line 1]Fear and pity may, then, arise from the spectacle, but they may also arise from the very structure of the events, which is the better way and the mark of a superior poet.For the plot should be so constructed that, even without seeing the action, anyone who[Bekker 1453b line 5]hears the events as they occur will shudder and feel pity because of what happens—as one would on hearing the plot of Oedipus.To produce this effect through spectacle is less artistic and requires lavish production.Those who use spectacle to produce not[Bekker 1453b line 9]the fearful but only the monstrous[Bekker 1453b line 10]have nothing in common with tragedy; for one should not seek every kind of pleasure from tragedy, but only the pleasure proper to it.Since the poet must produce through imitation the pleasure that comes from pity and fear, it is clear that this effect must be embodied in the events.Let us determine, then, what kinds of incidents appear terrible or pitiable among the[Bekker 1453b line 15]events that occur. Such actions must necessarily take place between friends, between enemies, or between those who are neither.If enemy acts against enemy, there is nothing pitiable either in the deed or in the intention, except in the suffering considered by itself;nor is there if the parties are neither friends nor enemies.But when these[Bekker 1453b line 20]sufferings arise within bonds of affection—for example, when brother kills brother, son kills father, mother kills son, or son kills mother, or is about to do so, or commits some other such deed—these are the situations one must seek.The traditional stories cannot be broken apart—I mean, for example, that Clytemnestra was killed by Orestes and Eriphyle by Alcmaeon—[Bekker 1453b line 25]but the poet must exercise his own invention and make good use of what tradition has handed down. Let us explain more clearly what we mean by “good use.”The deed may be done, as the ancient poets represented it, by characters who know and recognize what they are doing, just as Euripides made Medea kill her children;or they may[Bekker 1453b line 30]commit the deed without knowing the horror of what they do, and afterward recognize the bond of affection, as in Sophocles’ Oedipus. There the deed lies outside the drama; within the tragedy itself, examples are Astydamas’ Alcmaeon and Telegonus in the Wounded Odysseus.There is, besides these, a third possibility:[Bekker 1453b line 35]someone who is about to commit an irreparable deed in ignorance may recognize the victim before committing it.Beyond these there is no other possibility. The deed must either be done or not done, and the agent must either know or not know.Of these possibilities, to be about to act with full knowledge and then not act is the worst: it is morally repugnant and not tragic, since no suffering occurs. Therefore no one[Bekker 1454a][Bekker 1454a line 1]constructs a scene this way, except rarely—as, in Antigone, Haemon does with Creon.To perform the deed knowingly is second worst.Better is to perform it in ignorance and recognize the victim afterward; for then there is no moral repugnance, and the recognition is startling.Best of all[Bekker 1454a line 5]is the last possibility. I mean, for example, that in Cresphontes Merope is about to kill her son but does not kill him, recognizing him instead; in Iphigenia the sister is about to kill her brother; and in Helle the son, when about to surrender his mother, recognizes her.This is why, as was said long ago, tragedies concern only a few[Bekker 1454a line 10]families. For poets, in their search, discovered how to produce this effect in their plots not by art but by chance; they are therefore compelled to resort to those houses in which such sufferings occurred.Enough, then, has been said about the structure of events and what sort of plots[Bekker 1454a line 15]there ought to be.
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 26 Ancient Greek chapters with all 279 Bekker markers preserved.
[Bekker 1453b][Bekker 1453b line 1]The fearful and the pitiable can arise from the spectacle, but they can also arise from the very structure of the events, which is preferable and the mark of a better poet.For the plot should be so constructed that, even without seeing the action, a person who[Bekker 1453b line 5]hears the events taking place will shudder and feel pity because of what happens, as someone would when hearing the plot of Oedipus.To produce this effect through the spectacle is less artistic and requires theatrical resources.Those who use spectacle to produce not[Bekker 1453b line 9]the fearful but only the monstrous[Bekker 1453b line 10]have nothing in common with tragedy. For one should not seek every kind of pleasure from tragedy, but only the pleasure proper to it.Since the poet must produce through imitation the pleasure that comes from pity and fear, it is clear that this must be built into the events.Let us therefore determine what kinds of occurrences appear[Bekker 1453b line 15]terrible or pitiable. Such actions must necessarily take place between friends, between enemies, or between people who are neither.If an enemy acts against an enemy, there is nothing pitiable either in what he does or in what he intends to do, except in the suffering itself;nor is there if the people are neither friends nor enemies.But when these sufferings arise within close relationships,[Bekker 1453b line 20]as when a brother kills or intends to kill a brother, a son his father, a mother her son, or a son his mother, or does some other such thing, these are the situations one should seek.Now, one cannot undo the traditional plots—I mean, for example, that Clytemnestra was killed by Orestes and Eriphyle by Alcmaeon—[Bekker 1453b line 25]but the poet must invent for himself and make good use of the tradition. Let us explain more clearly what we mean by “good.”The action may happen in the way the early poets represented it, with the characters acting knowingly and with full awareness, just as Euripides represented Medea killing her children.Or they may[Bekker 1453b line 30]commit the deed but commit the terrible act in ignorance, and only afterward recognize the close relationship, as Sophocles’ Oedipus does. In that case the act lies outside the drama, but it may occur within the tragedy itself, as in Astydamas’ Alcmaeon or in the Telegonus of The Wounded Odysseus.There is also a third possibility besides these:[Bekker 1453b line 35]someone who is about to commit an irreparable act in ignorance may recognize the victim before committing it.Apart from these, there is no other possibility. The deed must either be done or not done, and the characters must either know or not know.Of these possibilities, the worst is for someone knowingly to intend the deed but not perform it. This is morally repulsive and not tragic, since no suffering occurs. That is why no one[Bekker 1454a][Bekker 1454a line 1]writes such a situation, except rarely, as in Antigone, where Haemon intends to kill Creon.The second possibility is to perform the deed knowingly.Better is to perform it in ignorance and then recognize the victim afterward, for the act is not morally repulsive, and the recognition is astonishing.The best possibility[Bekker 1454a line 5]is the last one. I mean, for example, that in Cresphontes Merope is about to kill her son, but does not kill him and instead recognizes him; in Iphigenia the sister is about to kill her brother; and in Helle the son, when about to surrender his mother, recognizes her.This is why, as was said earlier, tragedies concern only a small number[Bekker 1454a line 10]of families. For poets discovered how to produce such effects in their plots not by art but by chance, through searching; they are therefore compelled to turn to those families in which sufferings of this kind happened.Enough, then, has been said about the structure of events and about what kinds of plots there should be.[Bekker 1454a line 15]