§19.12Διὰ τί τῶν χορδῶν ἡ βαρυτέρα ἀεὶ τὸ μέλος λαμβάνει;
Why does the lower-pitched of the strings always take the melody?
ἂν γὰρ δέηται ᾆσαι τὴν παραμέσην σὺν ψιλῇ τῇ μέσῃ, γίνεται τὸ μέσον οὐθὲν ἧττον· ἐὰν δὲ τὴν μέσην, δέον ἄμφω, ψιλὰ οὐ γίνεται.
For if it is necessary to sing the paramese with the bare mese, the sound of the mese is produced no less; but if [one sings] the mese, when both are required, they do not become bare.
ἢ ὅτι τὸ βαρὺ μέγα ἐστίν, ὥστε κρατερόν;
Or is it because the low sound is large, so that it is dominant?
καὶ ἔνεστιν ἐν τῷ μεγάλῳ τὸ μικρόν· καὶ τῇ διαλήψει δύο νῆται ἐν τῇ ὑπάτῃ γίνονται.
And the small is contained in the large; and by division, two netai are produced in the hypate.
§19.13Διὰ τί ἐν τῇ διὰ πασῶν τοῦ μὲν ὀξέος ἀντίφωνον γίνεται τὸ βαρύ, τούτου δὲ τὸ ὀξὺ οὔ;
Why in the octave does the low note become the antiphonal of the high note, but the high note does not become the antiphonal of the low note?
ἢ ὅτι μάλιστα μὲν ἐν ἀμφοῖν ἐστὶν τὸ ἀμφοῖν μέλος, εἰ δὲ μή, ἐν τῷ βαρεῖ· μεῖζον γάρ.
Or is it because, ideally, the melody of both is in both, but if not, it is in the lower note; for it is greater.
§19.14Διὰ τί λανθάνει τὸ διὰ πασῶν, καὶ δοκεῖ ὁμόφωνον εἶναι, οἷον ἐν τῷ φοινικίῳ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ;
Why does the octave escape notice and seem to be in unison, as in the phoenikion and in the human voice?
τὰ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ὀξέσιν ὄντα οὐχ ὁμόφωνα, ἀλλ’ ἀνάλογον ἀλλήλοις διὰ πασῶν.
For the notes in the high registers are not in unison, but are analogous to each other by an octave.
ἢ ὅτι ὥσπερ ὁ αὐτὸς εἶναι δοκεῖ φθόγγος, διὰ τὸ ἀνάλογον ἰσότης ἐπὶ φθόγγων;
Or is it because, just as it seems to be the same sound, because of the proportion there is equality in the sounds?
τὸ δὲ ἴσον τοῦ ἑνός.
And the equal belongs to the one.
ταὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν ταῖς σύριγξιν ἐξαπατῶνται.
And people are deceived by this same thing in the case of panpipes too.
§19.15Διὰ τί οἱ μὲν νόμοι οὐκ ἐν ἀντιστρόφοις ἐποιοῦντο, αἱ δὲ ἄλλαι ᾠδαὶ αἱ χορικαί;
Why were the nomoi not composed in antistrophes, while the other choral songs were?
ἢ ὅτι οἱ μὲν νόμοι ἀγωνιστῶν ἦσαν, ὧν ἤδη μιμεῖσθαι δυναμένων καὶ διατείνεσθαι ἡ ᾠδὴ ἐγίνετο μακρὰ καὶ πολυειδής;
Or is it because the nomoi belonged to professional competitors, and since they were already capable of imitating and exerting themselves, the song became long and multifaceted?
καθάπερ οὖν καὶ τὰ ῥήματα, καὶ τὰ μέλη τῇ μιμήσει ἠκολούθει ἀεὶ ἕτερα γινόμενα.
Just as the words, then, so too the melodies followed the imitation, constantly becoming different.
μᾶλλον γὰρ τῷ μέλει ἀνάγκη μιμεῖσθαι ἢ τοῖς ῥήμασιν.
For it is more necessary to imitate with the melody than with the words.
διὸ καὶ οἱ διθύραμβοι, ἐπειδὴ μιμητικοὶ ἐγένοντο, οὐκέτι ἔχουσιν ἀντιστρόφους, πρότερον δὲ εἶχον.
Therefore, the dithyrambs too, since they became imitative, no longer have antistrophes, although they used to have them.
αἴτιον δὲ ὅτι τὸ παλαιὸν οἱ ἐλεύθεροι ἐχόρευον αὐτοί· πολλοὺς οὖν ἀγωνιστικῶς ᾄδειν χαλεπὸν ἦν, ὥστε ἐναρμόνια μέλη ἐνῇδον.
And the reason is that in ancient times, free citizens themselves danced; it was difficult, therefore, for many people to sing in a competitive manner, so they sang harmonious melodies.
μεταβάλλειν γὰρ πολλὰς μεταβολὰς τῷ ἑνὶ ῥᾷον ἢ τοῖς πολλοῖς, καὶ τῷ ἀγωνιστῇ ἢ τοῖς τὸ ἦθος φυλάττουσιν.
For it is easier for one person to make many variations than for many, and for a competitor than for those who preserve the character.
διὸ ἁπλούστερα ἐποίουν αὐτοῖς τὰ μέλη.
Therefore, they made the melodies simpler for them.
ἡ δὲ ἀντίστροφος ἁπλοῦν· ἀριθμὸς γάρ ἐστι καὶ ἑνὶ μετρεῖται.
And the antistrophe is simple; for it is a matter of number and is measured by a single unit.
τὸ δ’ αὐτὸ αἴτιον καὶ διότι τὰ μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς οὐκ ἀντίστροφα, τὰ δὲ τοῦ χοροῦ ἀντίστροφα· ὁ μὲν γὰρ ὑποκριτὴς ἀγωνιστὴς καὶ μιμητής, ὁ δὲ χορὸς ἧττον μιμεῖται.
And this same reason explains why the songs from the stage are not in antistrophes, but those of the chorus are; for the actor is a competitor and an imitator, whereas the chorus imitates less.
§19.16Διὰ τί ἥδιον τὸ ἀντίφωνον τοῦ συμφώνου;
Why is the antiphonal more pleasant than the consonant?
ἢ ὅτι μᾶλλον διάδηλον γίνεται τὸ συμφωνεῖν ἢ ὅταν πρὸς τὴν συμφωνίαν ᾄδῃ;
Or is it because the consonance becomes more clearly manifest than when one sings against the consonance?
ἀνάγκη γὰρ τὴν ἑτέραν ὁμοφωνεῖν, ὥστε δύο πρὸς μίαν φωνὴν γινόμεναι ἀφανίζουσι τὴν ἑτέραν.
For it is necessary for one of the two to sound in unison, so that two voices sounding against one drown out the other.
§19.17Διὰ τί 〈διὰ〉 πέντε οὐκ ᾄδουσιν ἀντίφωνα;
Why do they not sing antiphonal songs at the interval of a fifth?
ἢ ὅτι οὐχ ἡ αὐτὴ ἡ σύμφωνος 〈ἐν〉 τῇ συμφωνίᾳ, ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ διὰ πασῶν;
Or is it because the consonant note in the consonance is not the same as in the octave?
ἐκείνη γὰρ 〈ἡ βαρεῖα〉ἐν τῷ βαρεῖ ἀνάλογον, ὡς ἡ ὀξεῖα ἐν τῷ ὀξεῖ.
For in that case, the lower note in the low register is analogous to the higher note in the high register.
ὥσπερ οὖν ἡ αὐτή ἐστιν ἅμα καὶ ἄλλη.
Therefore, it is, as it were, at once the same and another.
αἱ δὲ ἐν τῷ διὰ πέντε καὶ διὰ τεττάρων οὐκ ἔχουσιν οὕτως, ὥστε οὐκ ἐμφαίνεται ὁ τῆς ἀντιφώνου φθόγγος· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ὁ αὐτός.
But the notes in the fifth and fourth do not have this character, so that the sound of the antiphonal note is not apparent; for it is not the same.
§19.18Διὰ τί ἡ διὰ πασῶν συμφωνία ᾄδεται μόνη;
Why is the concord of the octave alone sung?
μαγαδίζουσι γὰρ ταύτην, ἄλλην δὲ οὐδεμίαν.
For they magadize this interval, but no other.
ἢ ὅτι μόνη ἐξ ἀντιφώνων ἐστὶ χορδῶν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἀντιφώνοις καὶ τὴν ἑτέραν ἐὰν ᾄδῃ, τὸ αὐτὸ ποιεῖ;
Or is it because it alone consists of antiphonal strings, and in the case of antiphonal strings, even if one sings only one of them, it produces the same effect?
ἡ γὰρ μία τρόπον τινὰ τὰς ἀμφοτέρων ἔχει φωνάς, ὥστε καὶ μιᾶς ᾀδομένης ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ συμφωνίᾳ ᾄδεται ἡ συμφωνία, καὶ ἄμφω ᾄδοντες· ἢ τῆς μὲν ᾀδομένης, τῆς δὲ αὐλουμένης ὥσπερ μίαν ἄμφω ᾄδουσιν.
For one of them in a way contains the voices of both, so that even if only one is sung in this consonance, the consonance is sung, just as when both are singing; or, when one is sung and the other is played on the flute, both sound as if they were one.
διὸ μόνη μελῳδεῖται, ὅτι μιᾶς ἔχει χορδῆς φωνὴν τὰ ἀνΔιὰ τί δὲ ταῖς τίφωνα.
Therefore, it alone is used for melody, because the antiphonal notes have the voice of a single string.
§19.19αντιφώνοις τοῦτο μόναις ὑπάρχει;
And why does this belong to the antiphonal notes alone?
ἢ ὅτι μόναι ἴσον ἀπέχουσι τῆς μέσης;
Or is it because they alone are equally distant from the mese?
ἡ οὖν μεσότης ὁμοιότητά τινα ποιεῖ τῶν φθόγγων, καὶ ἔοικεν ἡ ἀκοὴ λέγειν ὅτι ἡ αὐτὴ καὶ ὅτι ἀμφότεραι ἔσχαται.
Thus, the centrality produces a certain similarity of the sounds, and hearing seems to say that it is the same, and that both are extremes.