Thought and the Exclusion of Delivery from Diction — Aristotle, Poetics 19.1–19.9, Greek & English

§19.1

περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἄλλων εἰδῶν εἴρηται, λοιπὸν δὲ περὶ λέξεως καὶ διανοίας εἰπεῖν.

Now concerning the other kinds enough has been said; it remains to speak of diction and thought.

§19.2

τὰ μὲν οὖν περὶ τὴν διάνοιαν ἐν τοῖς περὶ ῥητορικῆς κείσθω· τοῦτο γὰρ ἴδιον μᾶλλον ἐκείνης τῆς μεθόδου.

Let the matters concerning thought, then, be laid down in the treatise on Rhetoric; for this is indeed more proper to that inquiry.

§19.3

ἔστι δὲ κατὰ τὴν διάνοιαν ταῦτα, ὅσα ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου δεῖ παρασκευασθῆναι.

And under thought fall all those effects that must be produced by speech.

§19.4

μέρη δὲ τούτων τό τε ἀποδεικνύναι καὶ τὸ λύειν καὶ τὸ πάθη παρασκευάζειν (οἷον ἔλεον ἢ φόβον ἢ ὀργὴν καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα) καὶ ἔτι μέγεθος καὶ μικρότητας.

The parts of these are demonstration, refutation, the producing of emotions (such as pity, fear, anger, and the like), and further, exaggeration and depreciation.

§19.5

δῆλον δὲ ὅτι καὶ ἐν τοῖς πράγμασιν ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν ἰδεῶν δεῖ χρῆσθαι ὅταν ἢ ἐλεεινὰ ἢ δεινὰ ἢ μεγάλα ἢ εἰκότα δέῃ παρασκευάζειν·

It is evident that in the dramatic actions as well, one must use the same forms of thought whenever it is necessary to produce effects of pity, terror, importance, or probability.

§19.6

πλὴν τοσοῦτον διαφέρει, ὅτι τὰ μὲν δεῖ φαίνεσθαι ἄνευ διδασκαλίας, τὰ δὲ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ ὑπὸ τοῦ λέγοντος παρασκευάζεσθαι καὶ παρὰ τὸν λόγον¹ γίγνεσθαι. τί γὰρ ἂν εἴη τοῦ λέγοντος ἔργον, εἰ φαίνοιτο ᾗ δέοι καὶ μὴ διὰ τὸν λόγον;

There is only this much difference, that the actions must appear to have these qualities without explicit explanation, whereas the latter must be produced in the speech by the speaker and arise from the speech. For what would be the function of the speaker if things should appear in the required light even without the speech?

§19.7

τῶν δὲ περὶ τὴν λέξιν ἓν μέν ἐστιν εἶδος θεωρίας τὰ σχήματα τῆς λέξεως, ἅ ἐστιν εἰδέναι τῆς ὑποκριτικῆς καὶ τοῦ τὴν τοιαύτην ἔχοντος ἀρχιτεκτονικήν,² οἷον τί ἐντολὴ καὶ τί εὐχὴ καὶ διήγησις καὶ ἀπειλὴ καὶ ἐρώτησις καὶ ἀπόκρισις καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο τοιοῦτον.

As regards diction, one subject of inquiry is the modes of expression, the knowledge of which belongs to the art of delivery and to him who possesses this master-art—such as, what is a command, a prayer, a narrative, a threat, a question, an answer, and so forth.

§19.8

παρὰ γὰρ τὴν τούτων γνῶσιν ἢ ἄγνοιαν³ οὐδὲν εἰς τὴν ποιητικὴν ἐπιτίμημα φέρεται ὅ τι καὶ ἄξιον σπουδῆς. τί γὰρ ἄν τις ὑπολάβοι ἡμαρτῆσθαι ἃ Πρωταγόρας ἐπιτιμᾷ, ὅτι εὔχεσθαι οἰόμενος ἐπιτάττει εἰπὼν μῆνιν ἄειδε θεά; τὸ γὰρ κελεῦσαι, φησίν, ποιεῖν τι ἢ μὴ ἐπίταξίς ἐστιν.

For no criticism is brought against the poetic art based on the knowledge or ignorance of these things that is at all worthy of serious attention. For why should anyone regard as an error what Protagoras criticizes—that, thinking to pray, he actually commands when he says, ‘Sing, goddess, the wrath’? For to order someone to do or not to do something, he says, is a command.

§19.9

διὸ παρείσθω ὡς ἄλλης καὶ οὐ τῆς ποιητικῆς ὂν θεώρημα.

Therefore, let this subject be passed over as belonging to another art and not to poetics.

Syntax notes3 items

1456b5παρὰ τὸν λόγον
The preposition παρά with the accusative here does not mean 'contrary to speech' or 'beyond speech,' but rather 'alongside,' 'by means of,' or 'arising from the speech itself.'
1456b10τοῦ τὴν τοιαύτην ἔχοντος ἀρχιτεκτονικήν
This phrase is coordinated with τῆς ὑποκριτικῆς. τοῦ ... ἔχοντος is a masculine genitive participle functioning as a noun ('of the person who possesses'). ἀρχιτεκτονικήν is a feminine accusative adjective modifying an implied noun like τέχνην or ἐπιστήμην, meaning a master-art or governing science.
1456b14παρὰ τὴν τούτων γνῶσιν ἢ ἄγνοιαν
The preposition παρά with the accusative here expresses dependence or cause ('depending on,' 'by reason of'). Thus, it means 'on account of the knowledge or ignorance of these things, no criticism is brought...'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg034.humanitext-grc2:19.1-19.9