§49βαδίζειν, οἶμαι, μᾶλλον ἢ ὀχούμενον φέρεσθαι.
"to walk, I think, rather than to be carried riding.
οὐ γὰρ μέτρα πρῶτον ἐγένετο, εἶθʼ οὕτως εὑρέθη λόγος καὶ διαλέγεσθαι, οὐδὲ ποιηταὶ γενόμενοι τὰ ὀνόματα οἷς δεῖ χρῆσθαι διέθηκαν, ἀλλʼ ὄντων ὀνομάτων καὶ λόγου πεζοῦ χάριτός τινος ἕνεκα καὶ ψυχαγωγίας ἡ τούτων ἐργάτις ὕστερον εἰσῆλθε ποιητική.
For metres did not come first, and then in this way speech and conversation were invented, nor did poets arise and arrange the words which must be used; but when words and prose speech already existed, the art of poetry, the worker of these, entered later for the sake of a certain grace and soul-leading.
ὥστʼ εἰ τὴν φύσιν τιμῶμεν, τὴν αὐτῶν τῶν θεῶν διάταξιν καὶ βούλησιν τιμῶντες ἂν εἴημεν καὶ τὸ πρότερον καὶ πρεσβύτερον καὶ κατʼ αὐτοὺς ἄμεινον τοὺς ποιητὰς τιμιώτερον ἂν ποιοῖμεν τῇ τοιᾷδε προσρήσει προσαγορεύοντες τοὺς ἅπαντα ταῦτα διαθέντας θεοὺς, ὥσπερ γε καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἄνευ μέτρων προσαγορεύοντες οὐκ αἰσχυνόμεθα.
So that if we honor nature, we would be honoring the arrangement and will of the gods themselves, and we would make what is prior and older and, according to the poets themselves, better, more honorable, by addressing with such an address the gods who arranged all these things, just as indeed we are not ashamed to address ourselves without metres.
ταῦτα οὐ τὸ τῶν ποιητῶν ἀτιμάζων γένος εἶπον οὐδʼ ἀφαιρούμενος ἣν ἔχει τάξιν, ἀλλʼ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐκείνοις συγκεχωρημένων ἀποδεικνὺς ὅτι καὶ ταῦτα δικαίως ἂν προσνομίζοιμεν ὥσπερ ἱερεῖα πρὸς τοῖς οὖσι.
I did not say these things dishonoring the race of poets, nor taking away the position which they have, but demonstrating from the very things conceded to them that we might justly add these things as well, like sacrificial offerings, in addition to the existing ones.
καὶ εἰ τὸ κατὰ φύσιν ἐφʼ ὅτου ποτʼ ἂν εἴπῃς μᾶλλον κεχαρισμένον τοῖς θεοῖς, μᾶλλον ἂν ἐκ τῶν εἰκότων χαριζοίμεθα αὐτοῖς οὕτω τιμῶντες ἢ ʼκείνως, καὶ μᾶλλόν γʼ ἂν ἡμᾶς οἱ θεοὶ τιμῷεν, εἰ τὰ πρεσβεῖα ἀποδιδοῖμεν τοῖς αὐτοῖς οἷσπερ ἐκεῖνοι, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ μέτρον αὐτὸ τὴν μὲν εὐφημίαν τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῖς ποιηταῖς νέμει, τῇ δὲ χρείᾳ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἡμέτερόν ἐστιν.
And if what is according to nature, in whatever matter you might speak of, is more pleasing to the gods, we would more probably please them by honoring them in this way than in that way; and the gods would honor us more, if we should render the first honors to the same things which they do, since even metre itself awards the fair name to the poets, but in its utility it is much more ours.
ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ τὸ ἔπος ἰαμβεῖον μετρεῖ μόνον, εἰ πληροῖ τὸν τόνον, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ὅλον καταμετρεῖ τὸν λόγον καὶ διὰ παντὸς ὡς ἀληθῶς δίεισι, καὶ ἄρχεταί γε εὐθὺς ἐκ τοῦ ὀνόματος.
For there the hexameter or iambic only measures, if it fills the tone, but here it measures out the whole speech and truly goes through everything, and begins straightway from the word itself.
οὔτε γὰρ ὑπερβαλεῖν οὔτʼ ἐνδοτέρω τῆς ἀξίας ἐλθεῖν ἐᾷ, ἀλλʼ ἑκάστῳ τὸ γιγνόμενον ἀποδιδόναι κελεύει.
For it allows neither to exceed nor to fall short of the worth, but commands to render to each what is due.
ἔπειτα παρεμβαλεῖν οὐκ ἐᾷ περιττὰ, ὃ γελοῖόν ἐστιν, ἕνεκα τοῦ μέτρου· ἔπειτα ἐπὶ τὰς περιόδους ἐλθὸν ἀπαιτεῖ τὸ αὔταρκες, ἁπάντων, οἶμαι, μέτρων χαλεπώτατον, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἂν δὴ τοῦθʼ ὃ προεῖπον, εἰ τὰ σύμπαντα συμμετρίαν ἔχει, καὶ τὸν σκοπὸν τὸν προτεθέντα εἰ πεπλήρωκεν ἐπισκοπεῖ.
Then it does not allow to insert superfluous things for the sake of the metre, which is ridiculous; then having come to the periods it demands self-sufficiency, which is, I think, the most difficult of all measures, and above all, indeed, this which I said before, whether the whole has symmetry, and it examines whether it has fulfilled the proposed aim.
ὥσπερ §50οὖν τὰ κατʼ ἀγορὰν μέτρα οἷς νομίζομεν ἔστιν, οἶμαι, τοῦθʼ ὃ καλεῖται, οὐ μέντοι τό γε τοῦ μέτρου τυγχάνειν παρὰ τοῖς καπήλοις μάλιστʼ ἂν φήσαιμεν εἶναι, ὅτι χοίνικα καὶ κοτύλην κέκτηνται, ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μέν ἐστι τὰ καθʼ ἕκαστα μέτρα, μᾶλλον δὲ ὀνόματα ὡς εἰπεῖν μέτρου, τὸ δὲ ὅλον μέτρον, εἰς ὃ καὶ τούτων δεῖ πολλάκις καὶ πρὸς ὃ πάντα ἀναφέρειν χρὴ περὶ παντὸς πράγματος καὶ τὸ ὡς ἀληθῶς τοῦ παντὸς ἄξιον καὶ φέρον εἰς ἀρετὴν ἄλλο τι καὶ εἰδέναι καὶ ἔχειν φαῖμεν ἂν, οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθά ἐστι τὰ μέτρα παρὰ τοῖς ποιηταῖς τὰ καθʼ ἕκαστα, οἶμαι, ταῦτα, οὐ μέντοι τό γε ὅλον μέτρον παρʼ αὐτοῖς.
Just as" "therefore, the measures in the market which we use are, I think, what is so called, yet we would not say that obtaining the measure is found especially among the retail-dealers, because they possess a choenix and a cotyle, but these are individual measures, or rather, so to speak, names of measure, but the whole measure, to which even of these there is often need, and to which one must refer everything concerning every matter, and which is truly worthy of all and leading to virtue, is something else, which we would say we know and possess, so also here, the measures among the poets are, I think, these individual ones, yet the whole measure is not among them.
καὶ μάλιστα οὐδʼ ὀκνητέον διὰ τὴν τοῦ ὀνόματος εὐφημίαν, ὡς τῶν ποιητῶν μόνων εἰδότων τὸ μέτρον τῶν λόγων.
And especially we must not hesitate because of the fair name, as if poets alone knew the measure of speech.
ἔνι γὰρ καὶ χωρὶς μέτρων τῶν γε τοιούτων τυγχάνειν τοῦ μέτρου καὶ τοὐναντίον, ὥσπερ ἰατρὸν ἄνευ σταθμῶν καὶ μέτρων ἔνεστι τὸ δέον συλλογίσασθαι καὶ αὖ τὸν τούτοις χρώμενον διαμαρτεῖν ἀπειρίᾳ τοῦ πράγματος εἰς ὃ δεῖ τῶν μέτρων.
For it is possible even without measures—such ones indeed—to attain the measure, and vice versa, just as it is possible for a physician without weights and measures to calculate what is needed, and again for one who uses these to fail through inexperience of the matter for which the measures are needed.
ἐγὼ δὲ οὐκ ἀγνοῶ μὲν, ὅπερ εἶπον, ὡς πολὺ ῥᾷον διʼ ᾠδῆς ἢ λόγῳ ταῦτα ποιεῖν, καὶ ὡς τοῖς ποιηταῖς παρακεχώρηται τῶν τοιούτων ἀγωνισμάτων· εἰκότως.
And I am not ignorant, as I said, that it is much easier to do these things through song than in prose speech, and that to the poets such contests have been conceded; reasonably.
πολλὰ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὑπάρχει πλεονεκτήματα καὶ εἰσὶν αὐτοκράτορες ὅ τι ἂν βούλωνται ποιεῖν.
For many advantages belong to them, and they are absolute masters to do whatever they wish.
ἡμῖν δὲ οὔτε ἀνοῖξαι πίθον ὕμνων οὔθʼ ἅρμα μουσαῖον οὔθʼ ὁλκάδα μυριοφόρον οὔτε νεφέλας, οὐ γρῦπας οὐδὲ τῶν τοιούτων οὐδὲν ἔξεστιν εἰπεῖν, οὔτε θρασύνασθαι οὔτʼ ἐπεμβαλεῖν λόγον ἔξω τοῦ πράγματος, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἀληθῶς δεῖ μένειν ἐν τῷ μέτρῳ καὶ μεμνῆσθαι παρὰ πάντα ἑαυτοῦ, οἷον ἐπὶ στρατείας τὴν τάξιν φυλάττοντα.
But to us it is permitted neither to open a jar of hymns, nor a Musean chariot, nor a ship of burden carrying ten thousand, nor clouds, nor griffins, nor to say any of such things, nor to behave boldly, nor to insert speech outside the matter, but we must truly remain in the measure and remember oneself in all things, like one keeping his rank on a campaign.
ὅμως δὲ πειρατέον τήν γε πρόσρησιν ἐκτελέσαι, ἄλλως τε καὶ εὐχὴν ἀποπληροῦντας, ἐπειδήπερ ἐσώθημεν, καὶ ἅμα διατρίβειν περὶ μέτρου διαλεγομένους οὐ συμβαῖνόν ἐστιν.
But nevertheless we must try to complete the address, especially as we are fulfilling a vow, since we were saved, and at the same time, passing time conversing about measure is not unsuitable.
εἶεν.
Well then.
σὲ γὰρ δὴ πᾶς τις ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ βοηθὸν καλεῖ, Σάραπι· δὸς λέξαι τὸν λόγον
For everyone calls you helper in every season, Sarapis; grant me to speak the speech."