Chapter 19

The other kinds have now been discussed; it remains to speak of diction and thought.What concerns thought may[Bekker 1456a line 35]be left to the treatises on rhetoric, since it belongs more properly to that field of inquiry.Thought includes everything that must be produced through speech.Its parts are proof and refutation, the arousing of emotions—such as[Bekker 1456b][Bekker 1456b line 1]pity, fear, anger, and all similar emotions—and, further, the effects of magnitude and smallness.It is clear that in the events themselves one must employ the same forms of thought whenever it is necessary to produce effects of pity, terror, magnitude, or probability.There is, however, this[Bekker 1456b line 5]difference: the events must appear as they are without explicit exposition, whereas the effects conveyed in speech must be produced by the speaker and arise through the speech. For what would be the speaker’s function if the required effect were apparent in itself and did not result from the speech?Of matters concerning diction, one field of inquiry consists of the forms of utterance.[Bekker 1456b line 10]Knowledge of these belongs to the art of acting and to whoever possesses authoritative mastery of that art—for example, what is a command, a prayer, a narration, a threat, a question, an answer, and anything else of this kind.For no criticism worthy[Bekker 1456b line 15]of serious attention can be brought against the poetic art on the grounds of knowing or not knowing these things. For who could suppose there to be the error that Protagoras censures when he says that the poet, thinking he is uttering a prayer, issues a command in the words, “Sing, goddess, of the wrath”?For to bid someone do or not do something, he says, is a command.Let this matter therefore be set aside, since it belongs to another art and not to poetics.

The other kinds have now been discussed; it remains to speak about language and thought.What concerns thought should be treated[Bekker 1456a line 35]in the work on rhetoric, since it belongs more properly to that field of inquiry.Thought includes everything that must be produced through speech.Its parts are demonstrating and refuting, arousing emotions—such as[Bekker 1456b][Bekker 1456b line 1]pity, fear, anger, and all emotions of that kind—and, in addition, producing impressions of greatness and smallness.It is clear that in the events themselves one must also use the same forms of thought whenever it is necessary to produce effects that are pitiable, terrible, great, or probable.The only difference[Bekker 1456b line 5]is that some things must appear without verbal explanation, while others must be produced in the speech by the speaker and arise as a result of the speech. For what would the speaker’s task be if the required effect appeared by itself and not through the speech?Of the matters concerning language, one field of study is the forms of expression,[Bekker 1456b line 10]knowledge of which belongs to the art of delivery and to anyone who possesses expert command of that art—for example, what a command is, what a prayer is, and what narration, threat, question, answer, and anything else of that sort are.Knowledge or ignorance of these things brings no criticism upon poetry that is worthy[Bekker 1456b line 15]of serious attention. For who could suppose there is an error in what Protagoras criticizes, when he says that, while intending to pray, Homer gives a command in the words, “Sing, goddess, of the wrath”?For telling someone to do or not to do something, he says, is a command.We may therefore leave this issue aside, since it belongs to another field of study and not to poetry.