§10.1.66plures eius auctores; Aristophanes tamen et Eupolis Cratinusque praecipui.
There are many authors of it; Aristophanes, however, Eupolis, and Cratinus are the chief.
tragoedias primus in lucem Aeschylus protulit, sublimis et gravis et grandiloquus saepe usque ad vitium, sed rudis in plerisque et incompositus; propter quod correctas eius fabulas in certamen deferre posterioribus poetis Athenienses permiserunt, suntque eo modo multi coronati. §10.1.67sed longe clarius illustraverunt hoc opus Sophocles atque Euripides, quorum in dispari dicendi via uter sit poeta melior, inter plurimos quaeritur;
Aeschylus was the first to bring tragedies into the light, sublime, grave, and often grandiloquent even to a fault, but in most respects rude and unpolished; for which reason the Athenians permitted later poets to bring his plays, after they had been corrected, into competition, and in this way many were crowned. But Sophocles and Euripides illuminated this genre far more brightly, and it is a question among most people which of them is the better poet in their different styles of speaking; this, since it is of no relevance to our present subject, I leave undecided.
idque ego sane, quoniam ad praesentem materiam nihil pertinet, iniudicatum relinquo. illud quidem nemo non fateatur necesse est, iis qui se ad agendum comparant utiliorem longe fore Euripiden. §10.1.68namque is et sermone (quod ipsum reprehendunt, quibus gravitas et cothurnus et sonus Sophocli videtur esse sublimior) magis accedit oratorio generi et sententiis densus et in iis quae a sapientibus tradita sunt paene ipsis par, et dicendo ac respondendo cuilibet eorum qui fuerunt in foro diserti comparandus; in adfectibus vero cum omnibus mirus tum in iis qui miseratione constant facile praecipuus. §10.1.69hunc admiratus maxime est, ut saepe testatur, et secutus, quanquam in opere diverso, Menander, qui vel unus, meo quidem iudicio, diligenter lectus ad cuncta, quae praecipimus, effingenda sufficiat; ita omnem vitae imagine expressit, tanta in eo inveniendi copia et eloquendi facultas, ita est omnibus rebus, personis, adfectibus accommodatus. §10.1.70nec nihil profecto viderunt, qui orationes, quae Charisii nomini addicuntur, a Menandro scriptas putant.
This much at least everyone must admit, that Euripides will be far more useful for those who prepare themselves for pleading in court. For he, both in his language (which very thing those find fault with to whom the gravity, the buskin, and the resonance of Sophocles seem more sublime) is closer to the oratorical style, and is dense in thoughts, and almost equal to the philosophers themselves in what they have handed down, and to be compared, in speaking and replying, to any of those who were eloquent in the forum; in emotions, moreover, he is admirable in all, but in those which consist in pity, he is easily the chief. He was most admired and followed, though in a different genre, as he often testifies, by Menander, who alone, in my judgment, if read diligently, would suffice to form all the qualities we teach; so completely did he express the image of all life, with such a great abundance of invention and power of expression, and so well is he adapted to all circumstances, characters, and emotions. Nor indeed did those lack insight who think that the speeches attributed to the name of Charisius were written by Menander.
sed mihi longe magis orator probari in opere suo videtur, nisi forte aut illa iudicia, quae Epitrepontes, Epicleros, Locroe habent, aut meditationes in Psophodee, Nomothete, Hypobolimaeo non omnibus oratoriis numeris sunt absolutae. §10.1.71ego tamen plus adhuc quiddam collaturum eum declamatoribus puto, quoniam his necesse est secundum condicionem controversiarum plures subire personas, patrum, filiorum, militum, rusticorum, divitum, pauperum, irascentium, deprecantium, mitium, asperorum.
But to me he seems to be approved as an orator far more in his own work, unless perhaps those trials which 'Epitrepontes', 'Epicleros', and 'Locroe' contain, or the preparatory speeches in 'Psophodes', 'Nomothetes', and 'Hypobolimaeus' are not perfect in all oratorical measures. Yet I think he will contribute still something more to declaimers, since it is necessary for them, according to the conditions of the controversies, to assume many characters, of fathers, sons, soldiers, peasants, rich, poor, angry, supplicating, gentle, and harsh.
in quibus omnibus mire custoditur ab hoc poeta decor. §10.1.72atque ille quidem omnibus eiusdem operis auctoribus abstulit nomen et fulgore quodam suae claritatis tenebras obduxit.
In all of these, propriety is wonderfully preserved by this poet. And he indeed took away the reputation of all other authors of the same genre and covered them with darkness by the brilliance of his own glory.
tamen habent alii quoque Comici, si cum venia leguntur, quaedam quae possis decerpere; et praecipue Philemon, qui ut prave sui temporis iudiciis Menandro saepe praelatus est, ita consensu tamen omnium meruit credi secundus. §10.1.73historiam multi scripsere praeclare, sed nemo dubitat longe duos ceteris praeferendos, quorum diversa virtus laudem paene est parem consecuta.
Yet other comic writers also, if read with indulgence, have certain things that you might gather; and especially Philemon, who, though wrongly preferred to Menander by the judgments of his own time, nevertheless deservedly by the consensus of all is believed to be second. Many have written history excellently, but no one doubts that two are far to be preferred to the rest, whose different virtues have obtained almost equal praise.
densus et brevis et semper instans sibi Thucydides, dulcis et candidus et fusus Herodotus; ille concitatis hic remissis adfectibus melior, ille contionibus hic sermonibus, ille vi hic voluptate. §10.1.74Theopompus his proximus ut in historia praedictis minor, ita oratori magis similis, ut qui, antequam est ad hoc opus sollicitatus, diu fuerit orator.
Thucydides is dense, concise, and always pressing onward; Herodotus is sweet, clear, and flowing; the former is better in excited emotions, the latter in calm ones; the former in public speeches, the latter in private conversations; the former in force, the latter in pleasure. Theopompus is closest to these, and though inferior to those mentioned in history, yet is more similar to an orator, as one who, before he was urged to this work, was an orator for a long time.
Philistus quoque meretur, qui turbae quamvis bonorum post eos auctorum eximatur, imitator Thucydidis et ut multo infirmior ita aliquatenus lucidior.
Philistus also deserves to be excepted from the crowd of writers after them, however good; he is an imitator of Thucydides, and though much weaker, yet in some degree clearer.
Ephorus, ut Isocrati uisum, calcaribus eget. §10.1.75Clitarchi probatur ingenium, fides infamatur.
Ephorus, as it seemed to Isocrates, needs the spur. The genius of Clitarchus is approved, but his credibility is defamed.
longo post intervallo temporis natus Timagenes vel hoc est ipso probabilis, quod intermissam historias scribendi industriam nova laude reparavit.
Timagenes, born a long time after, is commendable for this very thing, that he restored the interrupted industry of writing history with new praise.
Xenophon non excidit mihi, sed inter philosophos reddendus est.
Xenophon is not forgotten by me, but he is to be returned to the philosophers.