- Source
- Aristotle. Aristotelis Ars Rhetorica. Ross, William David, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press,1959 (printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
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- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0086.tlg038.humanitext-grc2:2.5.1-2.5.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
Aristotle defines 'fear' as pain or disturbance arising from the expectation of a destructive or painful evil in the future, lists the classes of people and situations that evoke fear, and discusses the subjective state of mind of those who experience it.
ποῖα δὲ φοβοῦνται καὶ τίνας καὶ πῶς ἔχοντες, ὧδʼ ἔσται φανερόν. ἔστω δὴ ὁ φόβος λύπη τις ἢ ταραχὴ ἐκ φαντασίας μέλλοντος κακοῦ φθαρτικοῦ ἢ λυπηροῦ· οὐ γὰρ πάντα τὰ κακὰ φοβοῦνται, οἷον εἰ ἔσται ἄδικος ἢ βραδύς,1 ἀλλʼ ὅσα λύπας μεγάλας ἢ φθορὰς δύναται, καὶ ταῦτα ἐὰν μὴ πόρρω ἀλλὰ σύνεγγυς φαίνηται ὥστε μέλλειν. τὰ γὰρ πόρρω σφόδρα οὐ φοβοῦνται· ἴσασι γὰρ πάντες ὅτι ἀποθανοῦνται, ἀλλʼ ὅτι οὐκ ἐγγύς, οὐδὲν φροντίζουσιν.
What kinds of things people fear, and whom, and in what state of mind, will be clear from the following. Let fear, then, be a certain pain or agitation arising from the mental image of a destructive or painful evil that is to come; for people do not fear all evils, such as whether one will be unjust or slow, but only those which are capable of causing great pains or destructions, and these only if they do not appear far off but near at hand, so as to be imminent. For people do not fear things that are very far off; indeed, everyone knows that they will die, but because it is not near, they do not care at all.
εἰ δὴ ὁ φόβος τοῦτʼ ἐστίν, ἀνάγκη τὰ τοιαῦτα φοβερὰ εἶναι ὅσα φαίνεται δύναμιν ἔχειν μεγάλην τοῦ φθείρειν ἢ βλάπτειν βλάβας εἰς λύπην μεγάλην συντεινούσας· διὸ καὶ τὰ σημεῖα τῶν τοιούτων φοβερά· ἐγγὺς γὰρ φαίνεται τὸ φοβερόν· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι κίνδυνος, φοβεροῦ πλησιασμός.
If, then, fear is this, it is necessary that those things are fearful which appear to have great power to destroy or to cause damages tending to great pain; wherefore the signs of such things are also fearful, for the fearful thing appears near. For this is danger: the approach of a fearful thing.
τοιαῦτα δὲ ἔχθρα τε καὶ ὀργὴ δυναμένων ποιεῖν τι (δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι βούλονται τε καὶ δύνανται, ὥστε ἐγγύς εἰσιν τοῦ ποιεῖν), καὶ ἀδικία δύναμιν ἔχουσα· τῷ προαιρεῖσθαι γὰρ ὁ ἄδικος ἄδικος.
And of this kind are both the enmity and the anger of those who have the power to do something (for it is clear that they both wish and are able to do so, so that they are near to doing it), and injustice possessing power; for the unjust man is unjust by his deliberate choice.
καὶ ἀρετὴ ὑβριζομένη δύναμιν ἔχουσα (δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι προαιρεῖται μὲν ὅταν ὑβρίζηται, ἀεί, δύναται δὲ νῦν), καὶ φόβος τῶν δυναμένων τι ποιῆσαι·2 ἐν παρασκευῇ γὰρ ἀνάγκη εἶναι καὶ τὸν τοιοῦτον·
And insulted virtue possessing power (for it is clear that it always makes the deliberate choice to avenge when it is insulted, and now it has the power), and the fear of those who have the power to do something; for such a person also must of necessity be in a state of preparation.
ἐπεὶ δʼ οἱ πολλοὶ χείρους καὶ ἥττους τοῦ κερδαίνειν καὶ δειλοὶ ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις, φοβερὸν ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ τὸ ἐπʼ ἄλλῳ αὐτὸν εἶναι, ὥστε οἱ συνειδότες πεποιηκότι τι δεινὸν3 φοβεροὶ ἢ κατειπεῖν ἢ ἐγκαταλιπεῖν.
And since the majority of people are of the worse sort, slaves to gain, and cowardly in dangers, it is as a rule fearful to be at the mercy of another, so that those who share the knowledge of one’s having done something terrible are fearful either of informing against one or of abandoning one.
καὶ οἱ δυνάμενοι ἀδικεῖν τοῖς δυναμένοις ἀδικεῖσθαι· ὡς γὰρ ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ ἀδικοῦσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι ὅταν δύνωνται. καὶ οἱ ἠδικημένοι ἢ νομίζοντες ἀδικεῖσθαι· ἀεὶ γὰρ τηροῦσι καιρόν. καὶ οἱ ἠδικηκότες, ἂν δύναμιν ἔχωσι, φοβεροί, δεδιότες τὸ ἀντιπαθεῖν·
And those who are able to commit injustice are fearful to those who are capable of being treated unjustly; for as a rule, men commit injustice when they are able. And those who have been treated unjustly or who believe they are being treated unjustly; for they are always watching for an opportunity. And those who have committed injustice, if they possess power, are fearful, because they are afraid of suffering in return;
ὑπέκειτο γὰρ τὸ τοιοῦτο φοβερόν. καὶ οἱ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀνταγωνισταί, ὅσα μὴ ἐνδέχεται ἅμα ὑπάρχειν ἀμφοῖν· ἀεὶ γὰρ πολεμοῦσι πρὸς τοὺς τοιούτους.
for such a thing was assumed to be fearful. And rivals for the same things, whenever it is not possible for both to possess them at the same time; for they are always at war with such people.
καὶ οἱ τοῖς κρείττοσιν αὐτῶν φοβεροί· μᾶλλον γὰρ ἂν δύναιντο βλάπτειν αὐτούς, εἰ καὶ τοὺς κρείττους. καὶ οὓς φοβοῦνται οἱ κρείττους αὐτῶν, διὰ ταὐτό.
And those who are fearful to those who are superior to them; for they would be even more able to harm them, if indeed they can harm even their superiors. And those whom their superiors fear, for the same reason.
καὶ οἱ τοὺς κρείττους αὐτῶν ἀνῃρηκότες, καὶ οἱ τοῖς ἥττοσιν αὐτῶν ἐπιτιθέμενοι· ἢ γὰρ ἤδη φοβεροὶ ἢ αὐξηθέντες. καὶ τῶν ἠδικημένων καὶ ἐχθρῶν ἢ ἀντιπάλων οὐχ οἱ ὀξύθυμοι καὶ παρρησιαστικοί, ἀλλὰ οἱ πρᾶοι καὶ εἴρωνες καὶ πανοῦργοι· ἄδηλοι γὰρ εἰ ἐγγύς,4 ὥστε οὐδέποτε φανεροὶ ὅτι πόρρω.
And those who have destroyed their superiors, and those who attack their inferiors; for they are either already fearful or will become so when they have grown stronger. And of those who have been treated unjustly, and of enemies or rivals, not the quick-tempered and outspoken, but the mild, the dissembling, and the unscrupulous; for it is unclear if they are near at hand, so that it is never manifest that they are far off.
πάντα δὲ τὰ φοβερὰ φοβερώτερα ὅσα ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἐπανορθώσασθαι μὴ ἐνδέχεται, ἀλλʼ ἢ ὅλως ἀδύνατα, ἢ μὴ ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐναντίοις. καὶ ὧν βοήθειαι μή εἰσιν ἢ μὴ ῥᾴδιαι. ὡς δʼ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, φοβερά ἐστιν ὅσα ἐφʼ ἑτέρων γιγνόμενα ἢ μέλλοντα ἐλεεινά ἐστιν. τὰ μὲν οὖν φοβερὰ καὶ ἃ φοβοῦνται σχεδὸν ὡς εἰπεῖν τὰ μέγιστα ταῦτʼ ἐστίν, ὡς δὲ διακείμενοι αὐτοὶ φοβοῦνται, νῦν λέγωμεν.
And all fearful things are more fearful when, if people make a mistake, it is impossible to correct it, but is either wholly impossible, or not in their own power but in that of their opponents. And those things for which there are no helps, or where they are not easy. To speak simply, all things are fearful which, when happening or about to happen to others, are pitiable. These, then, are, so to speak, the greatest of fearful things and those which people fear; let us now state in what state of mind people themselves feel fear.
εἰ δή ἐστιν ὁ φόβος μετὰ προσδοκίας τινὸς τοῦ πείσεσθαί τι φθαρτικὸν πάθος, φανερὸν ὅτι οὐδεὶς φοβεῖται τῶν οἰομένων μηδὲν ἂν παθεῖν, οὐδὲ ταῦτα ἃ μὴ οἴονται ἂν παθεῖν οὐδὲ τούτους ὑφʼ ὧν μὴ οἴονται, οὐδὲ τότε ὅτε μὴ οἴονται. ἀνάγκη τοίνυν φοβεῖσθαι τοὺς οἰομένους τι παθεῖν ἄν, καὶ τοὺς ὑπὸ τούτων καὶ ταῦτα καὶ τότε.
If, then, fear is accompanied by some expectation of suffering some destructive affliction, it is clear that no one fears who thinks that he will suffer nothing, nor do they fear those things which they do not think they will suffer, nor those persons by whom they do not think they will, nor at that time when they do not think they will. It is necessary, therefore, that those who fear are those who think they are likely to suffer something, both from these persons and these things, and at this time.
- 1382a22οἷον εἰ ἔσται ἄδικος ἢ βραδύς
The future indicative ἔσται in the conditional clause indicates a prospective state. The implicit subject is an indefinite person (the future self). Becoming unjust or slow, while being evils, are excluded from the definition of 'fearful' because they do not directly cause immediate physical ruin or intense pain.
- 1382b2καὶ φόβος τῶν δυναμένων τι ποιῆσαι
Here, φόβος means the emotion of fear felt by those who have power (subjective genitive), rather than the fear felt towards them. When such powerful individuals are afraid, they actively prepare themselves for preventive or preemptive action ( ἐν παρασκευῇ εἶναι ), thereby becoming a source of danger to others.
- 1382b6οἱ συνειδότες πεποιηκότι τι δεινὸν
The participle οἱ συνειδότες means 'those who share knowledge.' The subsequent dative participle πεποιηκότι (perfect dative) is governed by the preposition σύν- embedded in the compound participle, meaning 'someone having committed a terrible deed.' Thus, the phrase means 'those who share the knowledge of one's having done something terrible' (e.g., accomplices or witnesses).
- 1382b21ἄδηλοι γὰρ εἰ ἐγγύς
The subject of the adjective ἄδηλοι is 'the mild, the dissembling, and the unscrupulous' ( οἱ πρᾶοι καὶ εἴρωνες καὶ πανοῦργοι ) mentioned just before. The conjunction εἰ introduces an indirect question ('whether'), indicating that because it is unclear whether they are near at hand, they remain constantly threatening.