Page:The Theatre of the Greeks, a Treatise on the History and Exhibition of the Greek Drama, with Various Supplements.djvu/346

 320 aeistotle's treatise on poetry. practice hitherto established, to a single species. For we should other- wise have no general name, which would comprehend the Mimes of Sophron and Xenarchus, and the Socratic Dialogues; or poems in iambic, elegiac, or other metres, in which the ejnc species of imitation may be conveyed. Custom, indeed, connecting the word Trotetv, "to make," with the name of the metre employed, has denominated some elegiac poets, i. e. makers of elegiac verse; others, epic poets, i. e. makers oj hexameter verse: thus distinguishing poets, not according to the nature of their imitation, but according to that of their metre only. For even they who compose treatises on medicine, or natural philosophy, in verse, are denominated Poets : yet Homer and Empedocles have nothing in common, except their metre ; the former, therefore, justly merits the name of Foet; while the other should rather be called a Physiologist than a Poet. So also, though any one should choose to convey his imitation in every kind of metre, promiscuously, as Cheeremon has done in his Cen- taur, which is a medley of all sorts of verse, it would not immediately follow, that on that account merely he was entitled to the name of Poet. — But of this enough. There are, again, other species of poetry, which make use of all the means of imitation, rhythm, melody, and verse. Such are the dithyram- hic, that of nomes, tragedy, and comedy : with this difference, however, , that in some of these they are emjoloyed all together, in others, separately. And such are the differences of these arts with respect to the mea7is by which they imitate. Cap. ir. But, as the objects of imitation are the actions of men (eVet Se fxtfiovv- Liitation! ° ^-at ot fxLfxovfJievoL TrparrovTas), and these men must of necessity be either good or bad (for on this does character principally depend ; the manners being in all men most strongly marked by virtue and vice), it follows that we can only represent men either as better than they actually are, or worse, or exactly as they are : just as, in painting, the pictures of Polygnotus were above the common level of nature; those of Pauson, below it ; those of Dionysius, faithful likenesses. Now it is evident that each of the imitations above-mentioned will admit of these differences, and become a different kind of imitation, as it imitates objects that differ in this respect. This may be the case with dancing ; with the music of the flute, and of the lyre; and, also, with the poetry which employs words, or verse, only, without melody or rhythm : thus. Homer has drawn men superior to what they are ; Cleo- phon, as they are; Hegemon the Thasian, the inventor of parodies, and Nicochares, the author of the Deliad, worse tlian they are.