GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE SOURCES OF CHARM AND BEAUTY IN COMPOSITION
Among the sources of charm and beauty in style there are, I conceive,
four which are paramount and essential,—melody, rhythm, variety, and
the appropriateness demanded by these three. Under “charm” I class
freshness, grace, euphony, sweetness, persuasiveness, and all similar
qualities; and under “beauty” grandeur, impressiveness, solemnity,
dignity, mellowness, and the like. For these seem to me the most
important—the main heads, so to speak, in either case. The aims set
before themselves by all serious writers in epic, dramatic, or lyric
poetry, or in the so-called “language of prose,” are those specified,
and I think
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ταῦθ’ ἕτερον· οἱ δὲ πρωτεύσαντες ἐν ἑκατέρῳ τε τούτων καὶ
ἐν ἀμφοτέροις πολλοί τε καὶ ἀγαθοὶ ἄνδρες· παραδείγματα δὲ
αὐτῶν ἑκάστου φέρειν ἐν τῷ παρόντι οὐκ ἐγχωρεῖ, ἵνα μὴ
περὶ ταῦτα κατατρίψω τὸν λόγον· καὶ ἅμα εἴ τι λεχθῆναι
περί τινος αὐτῶν καθήκει καὶ δεήσει που μαρτυριῶν, ἕτερος 5
αὐτοῖς ἔσται καιρὸς ἐπιτηδειότερος, ὅταν τοὺς χαρακτῆρας τῶν
ἁρμονιῶν ὑπογράφω. νῦν δὲ ταῦτ’ εἰρῆσθαι περὶ αὐτῶν
ἀπόχρη. ἐπάνειμι δὲ πάλιν ἐπὶ τὰς διαιρέσεις, ἃς ἐποιησάμην
τῆς θ’ ἡδείας συνθέσεως καὶ τῆς καλῆς, ἵνα μοι καὶ καθ’ ὁδόν,
ὥς φασι, χωρῇ ὁ λόγος. 10
ἔφην δὴ τὴν ἀκοὴν ἥδεσθαι πρώτοις μὲν τοῖς μέλεσιν,
ἔπειτα τοῖς ῥυθμοῖς, τρίτον ταῖς μεταβολαῖς, ἐν δὲ τούτοις
ἅπασι τῷ πρέποντι. ὅτι δὲ ἀληθῆ λέγω, τὴν πεῖραν αὐτὴν
παρέξομαι μάρτυρα, ἣν οὐχ οἷόν τε διαβάλλειν τοῖς κοινοῖς
πάθεσιν ὁμολογουμένην· τίς γάρ ἐστιν ὃς οὐχ ὑπὸ μὲν ταύτης 15
τῆς μελῳδίας ἄγεται καὶ γοητεύεται, ὑφ’ ἑτέρας δέ τινος οὐδὲν
πάσχει τοιοῦτον, καὶ ὑπὸ μὲν τούτων τῶν ῥυθμῶν οἰκειοῦται,
ὑπὸ δὲ τούτων διοχλεῖται; ἤδη δ’ ἔγωγε καὶ ἐν τοῖς πολυανθρωποτάτοις
θεάτροις, ἃ συμπληροῖ παντοδαπὸς καὶ ἄμουσος
ὄχλος, ἔδοξα καταμαθεῖν, ὡς φυσική τις ἁπάντων ἐστὶν ἡμῶν 20
οἰκειότης πρὸς ἐμμέλειάν τε καὶ εὐρυθμίαν, κιθαριστήν τε
ἀγαθὸν σφόδρα εὐδοκιμοῦντα ἰδὼν θορυβηθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ
πλήθους, ὅτι μίαν χορδὴν ἀσύμφωνον ἔκρουσε καὶ διέφθειρεν
τὸ μέλος, καὶ αὐλητὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἄκρας ἕξεως χρώμενον τοῖς
ὀργάνοις τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο παθόντα, ὅτι σομφὸν ἐμπνεύσας ἢ μὴ
1 τε om. M || τούτων om. PV 3 αὐτῶν FM: αὐτὴν P || ἑκάστου FM: καθ’
ἕκαστον PV || ἐν τῷ παρόντι om. P 4 εἴ τι V: εἴ τινα F: καὶ εἴ τι P:
καὶ εἴ τινα M 6 ἐπιτήδειος F 7 νυνὶ F 9 καὶ καθ’ ὁδόν] καὶ om.
PMV 11 δὴ F: δὲ PMV 12 ἐν F: ἐπὶ PMV 14 παρέξω F 18 τούτων δὲ
EF 20 ἐστὶν ἁπάντων PMV 24 ἀπὸ F: κα(τὰ) P, MV 25 τὸ αὐτὸ F: καὶ
αὐτὸ PV: καὶ αὐτὸν M || σομφὸν F γρ M: ἀσύμφων(ον) P, M^{1}V
9. =καθ’ ὁδόν, ὥς φασι, χωρῇ ὁ λόγος.= The metaphor here may be
rendered ‘keep to the track’ or ‘keep to the path prescribed.’ But
possibly it is not felt much more strongly than in Cicero’s “non quo
ignorare vos arbitrer, sed ut _ratione et via procedat oratio_” (_de
Finibus_ i. 9. 29). _Ratione et via_ (‘rationally and methodically,’
‘on scientific principles’) often corresponds to μεθόδῳ in Greek. In
=96= 25 ὁδῷ χωρεῖν is found, and ὁδοῦ τε καὶ τέχνης χωρίς in =262= 21.
13. A clearer rendering might be “the appropriateness which these three
require.”
19. =παντοδαπός=: cp. Hor. _Ars P._ 212 “indoctus quid enim saperet
liberque laborum | rusticus urbano confusus, turpis honesto?”
20. Probably Dionysius has in mind a Greek theatre. But Roman theatres
also contained sensitive hearers: cp. Cic. _de Orat._ iii. 196 “quotus
enim quisque est qui teneat artem numerorum ac modorum? at in eis
si paulum modo offensum est, ut aut contractione brevius fieret aut
productione longius, theatra tota reclamant. quid, hoc non idem fit in
vocibus, ut a multitudine et populo non modo catervae atque concentus,
sed etiam ipsi sibi singuli discrepantes eiciantur? mirabile est,
cum plurimum in faciendo intersit inter doctum et rudem, quam non
multum differat in iudicando”; id. _ibid._ iii. 98 “quanto molliores
sunt et delicatiores in cantu flexiones et falsae voculae quam certae
et severae! quibus tamen non modo austeri, sed, si saepius fiunt,
multitudo ipsa reclamat”; id. _Parad._ iii. 26 “histrio si paulum se
movit extra numerum aut si versus pronuntiatus est syllaba una brevior
aut longior, exsibilatur, exploditur.” In modern Italy (so it is
sometimes stated) the least slip on the part of a singer excites the
audience to howls of derision and execration. At Athens, an actor’s
false articulation was as fatal as a singer’s false note: cp. the case
of Hegelochus (Aristoph. _Ran._ 303, 304).
25. ἀσύμφωνον (found in P and in other MSS.) is probably an echo from
line 23.
[Page 123]
these are all. There are many excellent authors who have been
distinguished in one or both of these qualities. It is not possible
at present to adduce examples from the writings of each one of them;
I must not waste time over such details; and besides, if it seems
incumbent on me to say something about some of them individually, and
to quote from them anywhere in support of my views, I shall have a more
suitable opportunity for doing so, when I sketch the various types
of literary arrangement. For the present, what I have said of them
is quite sufficient. So I will now return to the division I made of
composition into charming and beautiful, in order that my discourse may
“keep to the track,” as the saying is.
Well, I said that the ear delighted first of all in melody, then in
rhythm, thirdly in variety, and finally in appropriateness as applied
to these other qualities. As a witness to the truth of my words I will
bring forward experience itself, for it cannot be challenged, confirmed
as it is by the general sentiment of mankind. Who is there that is not
enthralled by the spell of one melody while he remains unaffected in
any such way by another,—that is not captivated by this rhythm while
that does but jar upon him? Ere now I myself, even in the most popular
theatres, thronged by a mixed and uncultured multitude, have seemed to
observe that all of us have a sort of natural appreciation for correct
melody and good rhythm. I have seen an accomplished harpist, of high
repute, hissed by the public because he struck a single false note and
so spoilt the melody. I have seen, too, a flute-player, who handled his
instrument with the practised skill of a master, suffer the same fate
because he blew thickly or, through
[Page 124]
πιέσας τὸ στόμα θρυλιγμὸν ἢ τὴν καλουμένην ἐκμέλειαν
ηὔλησε. καίτοι γ’ εἴ τις κελεύσειε τὸν ἰδιώτην τούτων τι ὧν
ἐνεκάλει τοῖς τεχνίταις ὡς ἡμαρτημένων, αὐτὸν ποιῆσαι λαβόντα
τὰ ὄργανα, οὐκ ἂν δύναιτο. τί δήποτε; ὅτι τοῦτο μὲν
ἐπιστήμης ἐστίν, ἧς οὐ πάντες μετειλήφαμεν, ἐκεῖνο δὲ πάθους 5
ὃ πᾶσιν ἀπέδωκεν ἡ φύσις. τὸ δ’ αὐτὸ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ῥυθμῶν
γινόμενον ἐθεασάμην, ἅμα πάντας ἀγανακτοῦντας καὶ δυσαρεστουμένους,
ὅτε τις ἢ κροῦσιν ἢ κίνησιν ἢ φωνὴν ἐν ἀσυμμέτροις
ποιήσαιτο χρόνοις καὶ τοὺς ῥυθμοὺς ἀφανίσειεν. καὶ
οὐχὶ τὰ μὲν ἐμμελῆ καὶ εὔρυθμα ἡδονῆς ἀγωγά ἐστι καὶ 10
πάντες ὑπ’ αὐτῶν κηλούμεθα, αἱ μεταβολαὶ δὲ καὶ τὸ πρέπον
οὐκ ἔχουσι τὴν αὐτὴν ὥραν καὶ χάριν οὐδ’ ὑπὸ πάντων
ὁμοίως διακούονται· ἀλλὰ κἀκεῖνα πάνυ κηλεῖ πάντας ἡμᾶς
κατορθούμενα καὶ εἰς πολλὴν ὄχλησιν ἄγει διαμαρτανόμενα·
τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ὁμολογήσειεν; τεκμαίρομαι δέ, ὅτι καὶ τῆς 15
ὀργανικῆς μούσης καὶ τῆς ἐν ᾠδῇ καὶ τῆς ἐν ὀρχήσει χάριτος
<μὲν> ἐν ἅπασι διευστοχούσης, μεταβολὰς δὲ μὴ ποιησαμένης
εὐκαίρους ἢ τοῦ πρέποντος ἀποπλανηθείσης βαρὺς μὲν ὁ κόρος,
ἀηδὲς δὲ τὸ μὴ τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις ἁρμόττον φαίνεται. καὶ οὐκ
ἀλλοτρίᾳ κέχρημαι τοῦ πράγματος εἰκόνι. μουσικὴ γάρ τις 20
ἦν καὶ ἡ τῶν πολιτικῶν λόγων ἐπιστήμη τῷ ποσῷ διαλλάττουσα
τῆς ἐν ᾠδῇ καὶ ὀργάνοις, οὐχὶ τῷ ποιῷ· καὶ γὰρ ἐν
ταύτῃ καὶ μέλος ἔχουσιν αἱ λέξεις καὶ ῥυθμὸν καὶ μεταβολὴν
καὶ πρέπον, ὥστε καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτης ἡ ἀκοὴ τέρπεται μὲν τοῖς
μέλεσιν, ἄγεται δὲ τοῖς ῥυθμοῖς, ἀσπάζεται δὲ τὰς μεταβολάς, 25
3 ἐγκαλεῖ F 5 πάθους PMV: πᾶθος F 8 φωνὴν PMV: μορφὴν F 10
εὐμελῆ PMV || ἀγωγά F, suprascr. M: μεστὰ PM^{1}V 13 διακούονται
V: διοικοῦνται FPM 14 ἁμαρτανόμενα PMV 16 ὠιδῆι F, E: ὠιδαῖς
γοητείας P, MV 17 μὲν ins. Us. ex E 19 φαίνεται EF: ἐφάνη PMV 21
διαλλάττουσι τοῖς F 22 ὠιδῆι F: ὠιδαῖς EPMV Syrianus 23 ῥυθμὸν PMV
Syrianus: ῥυθμοὺς EF
3. It would weaken the argument to add (as has been suggested) ὀρθῶς or
ἄμεινον. The critic may be right, even if he cannot play at all; and
the player may retort, ‘Play it yourself, then,’ without adding ‘right’
or ‘better.’
5. =ἐπιστήμης=: cp. Ov. _ex Ponto_ iii. 9. 15 “non eadem ratio est
sentire et demere morbos: | sensus inest cunctis, tollitur arte malum,”
and Cic. _de Orat._ iii. 195 “omnes enim tacito quodam sensu sine ulla
arte aut ratione quae sint in artibus ac rationibus recta ac prava
diiudicant; idque cum faciunt in picturis et in signis et in aliis
operibus, ad quorum intellegentiam a natura minus habent instrumenti,
tum multo ostendunt magis in verborum, numerorum vocumque iudicio; quod
ea sunt in communibus infixa sensibus nec earum rerum quemquam funditus
natura esse voluit expertem. itaque non solum verbis arte positis
moventur omnes, verum etiam numeris ac vocibus.”
If πάθος be read, the meaning will be ‘the other is an instinct
imparted to all by nature.’
8. With μορφήν the translation will run: ‘when a note on an instrument,
a step in dancing, or a gesture (pose, attitude) in dancing, is
rendered by a performer out of time, and so the rhythm is lost.’
14. =διαμαρτανόμενα=, _manqué_: cp. ἡμαρτημέναι πολιτεῖαι, and the
like, in Plato.
16. =χάριτος= depends on =διευστοχούσης= (the same construction as with
the uncompounded verb εὐστοχεῖν).
20. This passage (=μουσικὴ γάρ ... οἰκεῖον=) is quoted (after Syrianus)
in Walz _Rhett. Gr._ v. 474.
21. ἦν, ‘was all along,’ ‘is after all’: cp. =92= 18.
22. For the passage that follows cp. Aristoxenus _Harmonics_ i. 3
πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ἁπάντων τὴν τῆς φωνῆς κίνησιν διοριστέον τῷ μέλλοντι
πραγματεύεσθαι περὶ μέλους αὐτὴν τὴν κατὰ τόπον. οὐ γὰρ εἷς τρόπος
αὐτῆς ὢν τυγχάνει· κινεῖται μὲν γὰρ καὶ διαλεγομένων ἡμῶν καὶ
μελῳδούντων τὴν εἰρημένην κίνησιν, ὀξὺ γὰρ καὶ βαρὺ δῆλον ὡς ἐν
ἀμφοτέροις τούτοις ἔνεστιν—αὕτη δ’ ἐστὶν ἡ κατὰ τόπον καθ’ ἣν ὀξύ τε
καὶ βαρὺ γίγνεται—ἀλλ’ οὐ ταὐτὸν εἶδος τῆς κινήσεως ἑκατέρας ἐστίν.
[Page 125]
not compressing his lips, produced a harsh sound or so-called “broken
note” as he played. Nevertheless, if the amateur critic were summoned
to take up the instrument and himself to render any of the pieces
with whose performance by professionals he was just now finding
fault, he would be unable to do it. Why so? Because this is an affair
of technical skill, in which we are not all partakers; the other of
feeling, which is nature’s universal gift to man. I have noticed the
same thing occur in the case of rhythms. Everybody is vexed and annoyed
when a performer strikes an instrument, takes a step, or sings a note,
out of time, and so destroys the rhythm.
Again, it must not be supposed that, while melody and rhythm excite
pleasure, and we are all enchanted by them, variety and appropriateness
have less freshness and grace, or less effect on any of their hearers.
No, these too fairly enchant us all when they are really attained,
just as their absence jars upon us intensely. This is surely beyond
dispute. I may refer, in confirmation, to the case of instrumental
music, whether it accompanies singing or dancing; if it attains grace
perfectly and throughout, but fails to introduce variety in due season
or deviates from what is appropriate, the effect is dull satiety and
that disagreeable impression which is made by anything out of harmony
with the subject. Nor is my illustration foreign to the matter in
hand. The science of public oratory is, after all, a sort of musical
science, differing from vocal and instrumental music in degree, not in
kind. In oratory, too, the words involve melody, rhythm, variety, and
appropriateness; so that, in this case also, the ear delights in the
melodies, is fascinated by the rhythms, welcomes the variations, and
craves always
[Page 126]
ποθεῖ δ’ ἐπὶ πάντων τὸ οἰκεῖον, ἡ δὲ διαλλαγὴ κατὰ τὸ
μᾶλλον καὶ τὸ ἧττον.
διαλέκτου μὲν οὖν μέλος ἑνὶ μετρεῖται διαστήματι τῷ
λεγομένῳ διὰ πέντε ὡς ἔγγιστα, καὶ οὔτε ἐπιτείνεται πέρα
τῶν τριῶν τόνων καὶ ἡμιτονίου ἐπὶ τὸ ὀξὺ οὔτ’ ἀνίεται τοῦ 5
χωρίου τούτου πλέον ἐπὶ τὸ βαρύ. οὐ μὴν ἅπασα λέξις ἡ
καθ’ ἓν μόριον λόγου ταττομένη ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς λέγεται τάσεως,
ἀλλ’ ἡ μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς ὀξείας, ἡ δ’ ἐπὶ τῆς βαρείας, ἡ δ’ ἐπ’
ἀμφοῖν. τῶν δὲ ἀμφοτέρας τὰς τάσεις ἐχουσῶν αἱ μὲν κατὰ
μίαν συλλαβὴν συνεφθαρμένον ἔχουσι τῷ ὀξεῖ τὸ βαρύ, ἃς 10
δὴ περισπωμένας καλοῦμεν· αἱ δὲ ἐν ἑτέρᾳ τε καὶ ἑτέρᾳ
χωρὶς ἑκάτερον ἐφ’ ἑαυτοῦ τὴν οἰκείαν φυλάττον φύσιν. καὶ
ταῖς μὲν δισυλλάβοις οὐδὲν τὸ διὰ μέσου χωρίον βαρύτητός
τε καὶ ὀξύτητος· ταῖς δὲ πολυσυλλάβοις, ἡλίκαι ποτ’ ἂν
ὦσιν, ἡ τὸν ὀξὺν τόνον ἔχουσα μία ἐν πολλαῖς ταῖς ἄλλαις 15
βαρείαις ἔνεστιν. ἡ δὲ ὀργανική τε καὶ ᾠδικὴ μοῦσα διαστήμασί
τε χρῆται πλείοσιν, οὐ τῷ διὰ πέντε μόνον, ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ
τοῦ διὰ πασῶν ἀρξαμένη καὶ τὸ διὰ πέντε μελῳδεῖ καὶ τὸ διὰ
τεττάρων καὶ τὸ διὰ <τριῶν καὶ τὸν> τόνον καὶ τὸ ἡμιτόνιον,
ὡς δέ τινες οἴονται, καὶ τὴν δίεσιν αἰσθητῶς· τάς τε λέξεις 20
τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑποτάττειν ἀξιοῖ καὶ οὐ τὰ μέλη ταῖς λέξεσιν,
ὡς ἐξ ἄλλων τε πολλῶν δῆλον καὶ μάλιστα ἐκ τῶν Εὐριπίδου
μέλων, ἃ πεποίηκεν τὴν Ἠλέκτραν λέγουσαν ἐν Ὀρέστῃ πρὸς
τὸν χορόν·
2 καὶ τὸ EF: καὶ PMV 4 πέρα] παρα F 5 τόνων om. P || ἡμιτόνιον P:
ἡμιτονίων M 7 ἐπὶ om. PMV 10 συνδιεφθαρμένον FE 11 ἐν ἑτέρῳ τε
καὶ ἑτέρῳ MV: ἕτεραί τε καὶ ἕτεραι P 14 ἡλίκαι ποτ’ ἂν Us.: ἡλίκαι ἂν
E: εἰ καί ποτ’ ἂν PM: εἰ καί ποτ’ ἡλικἂν F: οἷαί ποτ’ ἂν V 15 ταῖς
ἄλλαις EFM: om. PV 19 τὸ διὰ <τριῶν καὶ τὸν> τόνον Radermacher: τόνον
F: διάτονον P: διὰ τόνον M: τὸ διάτονον EV 22 ἐκ τῶν EF: τῶν PMV
3. =μετρεῖται=, ‘is measured,’ ‘is confined,’—_terminatur_,
_coërcetur_.—For various points in this chapter see Introduction, pp.
39-43 _supra_. With regard to the late Mr. W. E. Gladstone’s oratorical
delivery, on a special occasion, Sir Walter Parratt obligingly makes
the following communication to the editor: “I heard him make his famous
‘Upas tree’ speech at Wigan, in a wooden erection, and watched with
some care the inflection of his voice. Addressing so large a crowd I
think he put more tone into the voice than usual. Roughly I found that
he began his sentences on [**TN: image of E above middle C] generally
ending on [**TN: image of G-sharp below middle C], but sometimes
falling the full octave to [**TN: image of E below middle C].”
4. =ὡς ἔγγιστα=, ‘as nearly as possible,’ ‘approximately.’
5. “Which measure a Fifth, C to D one Tone, D to E one Tone, E to F
half a Tone, F to G one Tone,—total C to G, or a Fifth, three Tones
and half. In Norwegian the interval is said by Professor Storm to
be usually a Fourth, and in Swedish it is said by Weste to be about
a Third or less,” A. J. Ellis _English, Dionysian, and Hellenic
Pronunciations of Greek_, p. 38. (Under the initial “A. J. E.”
occasional quotations will be made from this pamphlet, to which the
phonetic studies of its author lend special interest, even when his
conclusions cannot be accepted.)
10. “That is, the voice _glides_ from the high to the low pitch, and
does not _jump_ from high to low,” A. J. E.
12. “That is, one pitch does not glide into the other, but each is
distinctly separated, as the notes on a piano.” A. J. E.
20. =δίεσιν=: see Gloss., s.v. δίεσις.
23. Line 140 of the _Orestes_ is assigned to Electra (rather than to
the Chorus) not only by Dionysus but seemingly also by Diogenes Laert.
vii. 5 (Cleanthes). 172 ἐρομένου τινὸς τί ὑποτίθεσθαι δεῖ τῷ υἱῷ, “τὸ
τῆς Ἠλέκτρας, ἔφη: σῖγα σῖγα, λεπτὸν ἴχνος.”—If the reading =λευκὸν=
(rather than λεπτὸν) is right, the word may possibly be understood
(like ἀργός) of swift, glancing feet, though the notion of rest rather
than of movement is prominent here.
24. Reference may be made to Ruelle’s “Note sur la musique d’une
passage d’Euripide” in the _Annuaire de l’Association des Études
grecques_, 1882, pp. 96 ff.
[Page 127]
what is in keeping with the occasion. The distinction between oratory
and music is simply one of degree.
Now, the melody of spoken language is measured by a single interval,
which is approximately that termed a _fifth_. When the voice rises
towards the acute, it does not rise more than three tones and a
semitone; and, when it falls towards the grave, it does not fall more
than this interval. Further, the entire utterance during one word is
not delivered at the same pitch of the voice throughout but one part
of it at the acute pitch, another at the grave, another at both. Of
the words that have both pitches, some have the grave fused with the
acute on one and the same syllable—those which we call circumflexed;
others have both pitches falling on separate syllables, each retaining
its own quality. Now in disyllables there is no space intermediate
between low pitch and high pitch; while in polysyllabic words, whatever
their number of syllables, there is but one syllable that has the acute
accent (high pitch) among the many remaining grave ones. On the other
hand, instrumental and vocal music uses a great number of intervals,
not the fifth only; beginning with the octave, it uses also the fifth,
the fourth, the third, the tone, the semitone, and, as some think,
even the quarter-tone in a distinctly perceptible way. Music, further,
insists that the words should be subordinate to the tune, and not
the tune to the words. Among many examples in proof of this, let me
especially instance those lyrical lines which Euripides has represented
Electra as addressing to the Chorus in the _Orestes_:—
[Page 128]
σῖγα σῖγα, λευκὸν ἴχνος ἀρβύλης
τίθετε, μὴ κτυπεῖτ’·
ἀποπρόβατ’ ἐκεῖσ’, ἀποπρό μοι κοίτας.
ἐν γὰρ δὴ τούτοις τὸ “σῖγα σῖγα λευκὸν” ἐφ’ ἑνὸς φθόγγου
μελῳδεῖται, καίτοι τῶν τριῶν λέξεων ἑκάστη βαρείας τε τάσεις 5
ἔχει καὶ ὀξείας. καὶ τὸ “ἀρβύλης” τῇ μέσῃ συλλαβῇ τὴν
τρίτην ὁμότονον ἔχει, ἀμηχάνου ὄντος ἓν ὄνομα δύο λαβεῖν
ὀξείας. καὶ τοῦ “τίθετε” βαρυτέρα μὲν ἡ πρώτη γίνεται,
δύο δ’ αἱ μετ’ αὐτὴν ὀξύτονοί τε καὶ ὁμόφωνοι. τοῦ τε
“κτυπεῖτε” ὁ περισπασμὸς ἠφάνισται· μιᾷ γὰρ αἱ δύο συλλαβαὶ 10
λέγονται τάσει. καὶ τὸ “ἀποπρόβατε” οὐ λαμβάνει τὴν τῆς
μέσης συλλαβῆς προσῳδίαν ὀξεῖαν, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τὴν τετάρτην
συλλαβὴν μεταβέβηκεν ἡ τάσις ἡ τῆς τρίτης. τὸ δ’ αὐτὸ
γίνεται καὶ περὶ τοὺς ῥυθμούς. ἡ μὲν γὰρ πεζὴ λέξις
οὐδενὸς οὔτε ὀνόματος οὔτε ῥήματος βιάζεται τοὺς χρόνους 15
οὐδὲ μετατίθησιν, ἀλλ’ οἵας παρείληφεν τῇ φύσει τὰς συλλαβὰς
τάς τε μακρὰς καὶ τὰς βραχείας, τοιαύτας φυλάττει· ἡ δὲ
μουσική τε καὶ ῥυθμικὴ μεταβάλλουσιν αὐτὰς μειοῦσαι καὶ
παραύξουσαι, ὥστε πολλάκις εἰς τἀναντία μεταχωρεῖν· οὐ
1 σῖγα σῖγα M^2: σίγα σίγα cett. (necnon codd. Eur.) || λευκὸν codd.
Dionys.: λεπτὸν Eurip. 2 τίθετ(αι) P^1: τιθεῖτ(αι) P^2: τιθεῖτε FEMV
|| κτυπῆτε P^1: κτυπεῖτε cett. 3 ἀποπρόβατ’ V: ἄπο προβᾶτ’ PM: ἄπο
πρόβατ’ FE || ἐκεῖσε libri || ἀποπρόμοι F, EPM: ἀπόπροθι Vs 6 τῆι F,
E: ἐπὶ PMV 8 τίθεται FP: τιθεῖτε EMV 9 δ’ αἱ Us.: δὲ libri 11
ἀποπρόβατ’ V: ἄπο*προβᾶτε P: ἄπο πρόβατε EF: ἄπο προβᾶτ’ ἐκεῖσε M 13
καταβέβηκεν PMV 18 καὶ αὔξουσαι PMV
2. =τίθετε= is clearly right, notwithstanding the strong manuscript
evidence (FEMV) for τιθεῖτε.
4. The general sense is that =σῖγα= is sung upon a monotone, though the
spoken word had two tones or pitches (the acute and the grave, the high
and the low), and, “indeed, both of them combined in the circumflex
accent of its first syllable” (Hadley _Essays_ p. 113).
7. Dionysius clearly means “in speaking,” and “on two successive
syllables.” Without the latter addition, the case of an enclitic
throwing back its accent on a proparoxytone word seems to be left out
of account.
14. D. B. Monro _Modes of Ancient Greek Music_ p. 117 writes: “In
English the time or quantity of syllables is as little attended to as
the pitch. But in Greek the distinction of long and short furnished
a prose rhythm which was a serious element in their rhetoric. In the
rhythm of music, according to Dionysius, the quantity of syllables
could be neglected, just as the accent was neglected in the melody.
This, however, does not mean that the natural time of the syllables
could be treated with the freedom which we see in a modern composition.
The regularity of lyric metres is sufficient to prove that the increase
or diminution of natural quantity referred to by Dionysius was kept
within narrow limits, the nature of which is to be gathered from the
remains of the ancient system of Rhythmic. From these sources we learn
with something like certainty that the rhythm of ordinary speech, as
determined by the succession of long or short syllables, was the basis
of metres not only intended for recitation, such as the hexameter and
the iambic trimeter, but also of lyrical rhythm of every kind.” With
this statement should be compared the extract (given below, l. 17) from
Goodell’s _Greek Metric_.
16. =τῇ φύσει=: cp. Cic. _Orat._ 51. 173 “et tamen omnium longitudinum
et brevitatum in sonis sicut acutarum graviumque vocum iudicium ipsa
natura in auribus nostris collocavit.” And with regard to accentuation
as well as quantities: id. _ib._ 18. 57 “est autem etiam in dicendo
quidam cantus obscurior ... in quo illud etiam notandum mihi videtur
ad studium persequendae suavitatis in vocibus: ipsa enim natura, quasi
modularetur hominum orationem, in omni verbo posuit acutam vocem nec
una plus nec a postrema syllaba citra tertiam; quo magis naturam ducem
ad aurium voluptatem sequatur industria.”
17 ff. Cp. Goodell _Chapters on Greek Metric_ p. 52: “We find ample
recognition [sc. in these two sentences] of the fact that in Greek
lyric metres, so far as they come under what we have seen called μέλη
and ῥυθμοί or ‘rhythmi,’ long and short syllables alike were more or
less variable. In some way the reader knew in what rhythmical scheme or
pattern the poet intended the verses to be rendered. To reproduce the
rhythmical pattern which the poet had in mind, the singer, if not also
the reader, made some long syllables longer and others shorter than two
χρόνοι πρῶτοι, and made some short syllables longer than one χρόνος
πρῶτος. It seemed to Dionysius in those cases that one did not so much
regulate the times by the syllables, but rather regulated the syllables
by the times.”
19. The compound =παραύξουσαι=, as given by EF, may be compared with
παραυξηθεῖσα in =152= 18. Dionysius does not avoid hiatus after καί,
and so he would not prefer παραύξουσαι to αὔξουσαι on this account,
though an early reviser of his text might do so.
=εἰς τἀναντία μεταχωρεῖν=: e.g., a short syllable will sometimes be
treated as if it were long and were circumflexed.
[Page 129]
Hush ye, O hush ye! light be the tread
Of the sandal; no jar let there be!
Afar step ye thitherward, far from his bed.[129]
In these lines the words σῖγα σῖγα λευκόν are sung to one note; and yet
each of the three words has both low pitch and high pitch. And the word
ἀρβύλης has its third syllable sung at the same pitch as its middle
syllable, although it is impossible for a single word to take two acute
accents. The first syllable of τίθετε is sung to a lower note, while
the two that follow it are sung to the same high note. The circumflex
accent of κτυπεῖτε has disappeared, for the two syllables are uttered
at one and the same pitch. And the word ἀποπρόβατε does not receive
the acute accent on the middle syllable; but the pitch of the third
syllable has been transferred to the fourth.
The same thing happens in rhythm. Ordinary prose speech does not
violate or interchange the quantities in any noun or verb. It keeps the
syllables long or short as it has received them by nature. But the arts
of rhythm and music alter them by shortening or lengthening, so that
often they pass into their opposites: the time of production is not
regulated by the
[Page 130]
γὰρ ταῖς συλλαβαῖς ἀπευθύνουσι τοὺς χρόνους, ἀλλὰ τοῖς
χρόνοις τὰς συλλαβάς.
δεδειγμένης δὴ τῆς διαφορᾶς ᾗ διαφέρει μουσικὴ λογικῆς,
λοιπὸν ἂν εἴη κἀκεῖνα λέγειν, ὅτι τὸ μὲν τῆς φωνῆς μέλος,
λέγω δὲ οὐ τῆς ᾠδικῆς ἀλλὰ τῆς ψιλῆς, ἐὰν ἡδέως διατιθῇ 5
τὴν ἀκοήν, εὐμελὲς λέγοιτ’ ἄν, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐμμελές· ἡ δ’ ἐν τοῖς
χρόνοις τῶν μορίων συμμετρία σῴζουσα τὸ μελικὸν σχῆμα
εὔρυθμος, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἔνρυθμος· πῇ δὲ διαφέρει ταῦτα ἀλλήλων,
κατὰ τὸν οἰκεῖον καιρὸν ἐρῶ. νυνὶ δὲ τἀκόλουθ’ ἀποδοῦναι
πειράσομαι, πῶς ἂν γένοιτο λέξις πολιτικὴ παρ’ αὐτὴν τὴν 10
σύνθεσιν ἡδύνουσα τὴν ἀκρόασιν κατά τε τὰ μέλη τῶν
φθόγγων καὶ κατὰ τὰς συμμετρίας τῶν ῥυθμῶν καὶ κατὰ τὰς
ποικιλίας τῶν μεταβολῶν καὶ κατὰ τὸ πρέπον τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις,
ἐπειδὴ ταῦθ’ ὑπεθέμην τὰ κεφάλαια.
XII
οὐχ ἅπαντα πέφυκε τὰ μέρη τῆς λέξεως ὁμοίως διατιθέναι 15
τὴν ἀκοήν, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τὴν ὁρατικὴν αἴσθησιν τὰ ὁρατὰ
πάντα οὐδὲ τὴν γευστικὴν τὰ γευστὰ οὐδὲ τὰς ἄλλας αἰσθήσεις
τὰ κινοῦντα ἑκάστην· ἀλλὰ καὶ γλυκαίνουσιν αὐτήν τινες
ἦχοι καὶ πικραίνουσι, καὶ τραχύνουσι καὶ λεαίνουσι, καὶ
πολλὰ ἄλλα πάθη ποιοῦσι περὶ αὐτήν. αἰτία δὲ ἥ τε 20
τῶν γραμμάτων φύσις ἐξ ὧν ἡ φωνὴ συνέστηκεν, πολλὰς
καὶ διαφόρους ἔχουσα δυνάμεις, καὶ ἡ τῶν συλλαβῶν πλοκὴ
παντοδαπῶς σχηματιζομένη. τοιαύτην δὴ δύναμιν ἐχόντων
τῶν τῆς λέξεως μορίων ἐπειδὴ μεταθεῖναι τὴν ἑκάστου φύσιν
οὐχ οἷόν τε, λείπεται τὸ τῇ μίξει καὶ κράσει καὶ παραθέσει 25
συγκρύψαι τὴν παρακολουθοῦσαν αὐτῶν τισιν ἀτοπίαν, τραχέσι
3 δὴ τῆς PMV: τῆς F 4 τὸ μὲν] μὲν τὸ F 5 ἐὰν Us.: κἂν PV: ὃ μὲν FM
|| διατίθησι FM 6 εὐμενὲς P 7 συμμετρία σώζουσα FPM: συμμετριάζουσα
V 8 πῆ F: τῆι P || ἀλλήλων om. P 14 ἐπειδὴ δὲ ταῦθ’ F 18 αὐτὴν
τινὲς EF: τινες αὐτὴν PMV 20 ἥ τε] ἡ EF 23 δὴ] ἤδη F: δὲ ἤδη E 25
τὸ τῆι F, E: τῆι P, MV 25 καὶ τῆι κράσει F 26 συγκρύπτειν EF ||
ἀτοπίαν om. F
1. The subject of =ἀπευθύνουσι= is, of course, ἡ μουσική τε καὶ ῥυθμική.
7. =συμμετρία=: cp. l. 12 τὰς συμμετρίας τῶν ῥυθμῶν, and =254= 10
τεταγμένους σῴζουσα ῥυθμούς.
9. =κατὰ τὸν οἰκεῖον καιρόν=: i.e. in cc. 25, 26.
10. =παρ’ αὐτὴν τὴν σύνθεσιν.= With this use of παρά cp. =156= 12
παρ’ οὐδὲν οὕτως ἕτερον ἢ τὰς τῶν συλλαβῶν κατασκευάς, =160= 9 παρὰ
τὰς τῶν γραμμάτων συμπλοκάς κτλ., =202= 11 καὶ παρὰ τί γέγονε τούτων
ἕκαστον;—In αὐτὴν τὴν σύνθεσιν the contrast implied is with ἡ ἐκλογὴ
τῶν ὀνομάτων: cp. =252= 21 κατὰ γοῦν τὴν σύνθεσιν αὐτήν· ἐπεὶ καὶ ἡ
ἐκλογὴ τῶν ὀνομάτων μέγα τι δύναται.
23. If ἤδη be read (with F and E) the meaning will be, “the data being
the letters with their invariable qualities.” Cp. the German _schon_.
25. Quintil. ix. 91 “miscendi ergo sunt, curandumque, ut sint plures,
qui placent, et circumfusi bonis deteriores lateant. nec vero in
litteris syllabisque natura mutatur, sed refert, quae cum quaque optime
coeat.”
[Page 131]
quantity of the syllables, but the quantity of the syllables is
regulated by the time.
The difference between music and speech having thus been shown, some
other points remain to be mentioned. If the melody of the voice—not the
singing voice, I mean, but the ordinary voice—has a pleasant effect
upon the ear, it will be called melodious rather than in melody. So
also symmetry in the quantities of words, when it preserves a lyrical
effect, is rhythmical rather than in rhythm. On the precise bearing of
these distinctions I will speak at the proper time. For the present I
will pass on to the next question, and try to show how a style of civil
oratory can be attained which, simply by means of the composition,
charms the ear with its melody of sound, its symmetry of rhythm, its
elaborate variety, and its appropriateness to the subject. These are
the headings which I have set before myself.