Aristotle · Complete work
Chapter 18
Chapter 18 of 26. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
ἔστι δὲ πάσης τραγῳδίας τὸ μὲν δέσις τὸ δὲ λύσις,[Bekker 1455b line 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[Bekker 1455b line 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[Bekker 1456a][Bekker 1456a line 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[Bekker 1456a line 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[Bekker 1456a line 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[Bekker 1456a line 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[Bekker 1456a line 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[Bekker 1456a line 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[Bekker 1456a line 30]Ἀγάθωνος τοῦ τοιούτου. καίτοι τί διαφέρει ἢ ἐμβόλιμα ᾄδειν ἢ εἰ ῥῆσιν ἐξ ἄλλου εἰς ἄλλο ἁρμόττοι ἢ ἐπεισόδιον ὅλον;
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.
Every tragedy consists partly of complication and partly of resolution.[Bekker 1455b line 25]The events outside the play, and often some of those within it, form the complication; the remainder is the resolution.By complication I mean everything from the beginning up to and including the last point from which the action passes into good fortune or bad fortune; by resolution, everything from the beginning of that change to the end.Thus, in Theodectes’ Lynceus,[Bekker 1455b line 30]the complication comprises the events already accomplished, the seizure of the child, and then the seizure of the parents themselves; the resolution extends from the accusation of murder to the end.There are four kinds of tragedy—for the parts were also said to be that many:the complex, which consists wholly of reversal and recognition;the tragedy of suffering, such as the plays about[Bekker 1456a][Bekker 1456a line 1]Ajax and Ixion;the tragedy of character, such as the Women of Phthia and Peleus;and the fourth, †the spectacular†, such as the Phorcides, Prometheus, and all plays set in Hades.One should therefore strive above all to include every kind, but if that is impossible, then the most important and the greatest number—especially[Bekker 1456a line 5]because of the way poets are now maliciously criticized. Since there have been good poets in each individual kind, the critics expect a single poet to surpass each of them in his particular excellence.Nothing defines one tragedy as different from or the same as another so properly as the plot; that is, tragedies are the same when their complication and resolution are the same.Many poets construct the complication well[Bekker 1456a line 10]but resolve it badly;yet both must always be brought off with mastery.One must remember what has often been said and not make a tragedy into an epic structure—by “epic” I mean one containing many stories—as one would do, for example, by taking the whole plot of the Iliad.In epic, because of its length, the parts assume their proper magnitude; but[Bekker 1456a line 15]in dramas the result falls far short of expectation.The proof is that all who have dramatized the entire sack of Troy rather than separate portions of it, as Euripides did, or the whole story of Niobe rather than treating it as Aeschylus did, either fail outright or fare badly in the competition; indeed, Agathon failed for this reason alone.But in reversals and in simple actions, poets attain the effect they desire with marvelous skill;[Bekker 1456a line 20]for this is both tragic and satisfying to human feeling.This occurs when a clever but wicked man is deceived, like Sisyphus, or when a brave but unjust man is defeated.And this is also probable, as Agathon says; for it is probable that many things should happen[Bekker 1456a line 25]contrary to probability.The chorus, too, must be regarded as one of the actors; it must be a part of the whole and share in the action, not as in Euripides but as in Sophocles.In the other poets, the songs belong no more to the plot at hand than to another tragedy; hence their choruses sing interludes, Agathon having been the first[Bekker 1456a line 30]to introduce this practice. Yet what difference is there between singing interludes and fitting a speech from one play into another, or even an entire episode?
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 26 Ancient Greek chapters with all 279 Bekker markers preserved.
Every tragedy has one part that is complication and another that is resolution.[Bekker 1455b line 25]The events outside the play, together with some of those within it, often constitute the complication, and the remainder constitutes the resolution.By complication I mean everything from the beginning up to the last part from which the change to good fortune or bad fortune begins; by resolution I mean everything from the beginning of that change to the end.Thus, in Theodectes’ Lynceus,[Bekker 1455b line 30]the complication consists of the preceding events, the seizure of the child, and then the seizure of the parents themselves; the resolution extends from the accusation of murder to the end.There are four kinds of tragedy, since the same number of constituent parts has also been stated:the complex tragedy, whose whole consists of reversal and recognition;the tragedy of suffering, such as the[Bekker 1456a][Bekker 1456a line 1]plays about Ajax and Ixion;the tragedy of character, such as The Women of Phthia and Peleus;and the fourth, †spectacular†, such as The Daughters of Phorcys, Prometheus, and all plays set in Hades.Ideally, the poet should try to include all these qualities; but if that is impossible, he should include the most important and as many as possible, especially[Bekker 1456a line 5]because of the way poets are now subjected to hostile criticism. Since excellent poets have arisen in each particular kind, critics expect a single poet to surpass each of them in the particular excellence that is his own.It is also right to call one tragedy different from or the same as another on no basis so much as its plot—that is, when they have the same complication and resolution.Many poets construct the complication well[Bekker 1456a line 10]but resolve it badly.Both, however, must always be mastered.One must remember what has often been said and not turn a tragedy into an epic structure—by an epic structure I mean one containing many stories—as someone would if he made the whole story of the Iliad into a tragedy.In the epic, because of its length, the parts acquire their appropriate magnitude; but[Bekker 1456a line 15]in dramas the result falls far short of expectation.The evidence is that those who have dramatized the entire sack of Troy, rather than treating it part by part as Euripides did, or the whole story of Niobe, rather than treating it as Aeschylus did, either fail outright or do badly in competition; even Agathon failed for this reason alone.But in reversals and in simple actions, poets achieve the effects they aim at with astonishing success;[Bekker 1456a line 20]for this is both tragic and satisfying to human feeling.This happens when a clever but wicked man is deceived, as Sisyphus was, or when a brave but unjust man is defeated.This is also probable, as Agathon says, since it is probable that many things should happen[Bekker 1456a line 25]contrary to probability.The chorus must also be regarded as one of the actors; it should be a part of the whole and participate in the action, not as in Euripides but as in Sophocles.In the other poets, the choral songs belong no more to the plot than to some other tragedy. That is why their choruses sing inserted songs, a practice of this kind first introduced[Bekker 1456a line 30]by Agathon. Yet what difference is there between singing inserted songs and fitting a speech from one play into another, or even an entire episode?