Ancient Literary Criticism Oxford Readings in Classical Studies
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Oxford Readings in Ancient Literary Criticism Oxford Readings in Classical Studies Greek Religion Edited by Richard Buxton Homer’s Iliad Edited by Douglas L. Cairns Virgil’s Aeneid Edited by S. J. Harrison The Roman Novel Edited by S. J. Harrison Aristophanes Edited by Erich Segal Greek Tragedy Edited by Erich Segal Menander, Plautus, and Terence Edited by Erich Segal The Greek Novel Edited by Simon Swain All available in paperback Oxford Readings in Ancient Literary Criticism Edited by ANDREW LAIRD 3 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With oYces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Oxford University Press 2006 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data available Typeset in Photina by Regent Typesetting, London Printed in Great Brtain on acid-free paper by Biddles Ltd., King’s Lynn, Norfolk ISBN 0–19–925865–1 978–0–19–925865–9 ISBN 0–19–925866–X (Pbk.) 978–0–19–925866–6 13579108642 PREFACE The first chapter of this book will attempt to define and defend the field of ancient literary criticism, and to provide a brief introduction to ancient authors and issues that will not be treated directly in the subsequent chapters. It is hoped that such a discussion may prove more useful and stimulating than a conventional résumé of the other individual contributions—which were selected partly on the basis that they could stand on their own. The Suggestions for Further Reading are designed to help readers explore for themselves some important areas that, given inevitable constrictions on space, could not be included (or covered in suYcient depth) in the present volume. Only a foolhardy editor would venture to produce an anthology on a subject of this complexity without seeking advice: I would like to thank Donald Russell for discussing this project with me at an early stage. Kathryn Gutzwiller, Doreen Innes, Hilary O’Shea, and the Press’s anonymous readers also made a number of useful recom- mendations. More recently, David Levene, Penelope Murray, Donald Russell, and Michael Silk were kind enough to comment on my intro- ductory chapter and each provided some vital additions to the Suggestions for Further Reading. However, it should be made clear that my own approach to the subject does not always reflect the views of those whose help I sought. It remains to thank all the authors who personally allowed their work to be included in this volume. Most of them willingly checked their own contributions, taking pains to transliterate Greek or trans- late Greek and Latin passages, in order to make their work accessible to a wider readership; or else advised me of corrections or changes that needed to be implemented. I am especially grateful to Jennifer Barnes for providing a new translation of ‘Aristotle on the EVect of Tragedy’, and to Jonathan Barnes for his introductory comments on this important essay by Jacob Bernays. A.L. This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Abbreviations ix Dates of Major Authors and Critics xi 1. The Value of Ancient Literary Criticism 1 andrew laird 2. Poetic Inspiration in Early Greece 37 penelope murray 3. Homeric Professors in the Age of the Sophists 62 n. j. richardson 4. A Theory of Imitation in Plato’s Republic 87 elizabeth belfiore 5. Plato and Aristotle on the Denial of Tragedy 115 stephen halliwell 6. Ethos and Dianoia: ‘Character’ and ‘Thought’ in Aristotle’s Poetics 142 a. m. dale 7. Aristotle on the EVect of Tragedy 158 jacob bernays (translated by Jennifer Barnes; introduction by Jonathan Barnes) 8. Literary Criticism in the Exegetical Scholia to the Iliad: A Sketch 176 n. j. richardson 9. Stoic Readings of Homer 211 a. a. long viii Contents 10. Epicurean Poetics 238 elizabeth asmis 11. Rhetoric and Criticism 267 d. a. russell 12. Theories of Evaluation in the Rhetorical Treatises of Dionysius of Halicarnassus 284 d. m. schenkeveld 13. Longinus: Structure and Unity 300 doreen c. innes 14. The Structure of Plutarch’s How to Study Poetry 313 d. m. schenkeveld 15. ‘Ars Poetica’ 325 d. a. russell 16. Ovid on Reading: Reading Ovid. Reception in Ovid, Tristia 2 346 bruce gibson 17. Reading and Response in Tacitus’ Dialogus 380 t. j. luce 18. The Virgil Commentary of Servius 414 don fowler 19. Ancient Literary Genres: A Mirage? 421 thomas g. rosenmeyer 20. Criticism Ancient and Modern 440 denis feeney Acknowledgements 455 Suggestions for Further Reading 457 Index of Principal Passages Cited 479 General Index 483 ABBREVIATIONS Citations are generally given in full in the Suggestions for Further Reading and in Chapter 1. Elsewhere, classical authors, Greek and Latin works, collections of fragments and inscriptions, titles of modern periodicals, etc. will often be abbreviated according to the system used in the Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd edn., ed. Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth (Oxford, 1996)—which is itself sometimes abbreviated to OCD iii. Common abbreviations of modern works are as follows (sometimes authors used diVerent abbreviations for the same work). AJP American Journal of Philology AJPh American Journal of Philology ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt Ant. u. Abend. Antike und Abendland Arch. Delt. Archaiologikon Deltion BICS Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies CP Classical Philology CPh Classical Philology CQ Classical Quarterly CR Classical Review FGH F. Jacoby (ed.), Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (Berlin/Leiden, 1923–58; Leiden,1994– ) GRBS Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies HSCP Harvard Studies in Classical Philology JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies JRS Journal of Roman Studies LSJ H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones et al. (eds.), Greek– English Lexicon (1940; suppl. 1968; repr. 1992). MD Materiali e Discussione per l’analisi dei testi classici Mnem. Mnemosyne Mus. Helv. Museum Helveticum OCT Oxford Classical Texts x Abbreviations PCG R. Kassel and C. Austin (eds.), Poetae comici graeci (Berlin and New York, 1983–2001). PCPhS Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society PLLS Papers of the Liverpool [superseded by: Leeds Inter- national] Latin Seminar RE G. Wissowa et al. (eds.), Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (Stuttgart, 1893– 1978) REG Revue des études grecques Rh.M Rheinisches Museum für Philologie SIFC Studi Italiani di Filologia Classica Stud. Ital. Studi Italiani di Filologia Classica SVP Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta (Stuttgart, 1974) TAPA Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philo- logical Association DATES OF MAJOR AUTHORS AND CRITICS This highly selective list is in chronological order for quick reference. Many of the dates given below can only be estimates. For bio- graphical details and other information about ancient critics and sources, readers are advised to consult the most recent Oxford Classical Dictionary and material in the Suggestions for Further Reading at the end of this book. Homer 8th century bc Hesiod c.700 bc Pindar c.518–c.446 bc Protagoras c.490–c.420 bc Gorgias c.485–c.380 bc Socrates 469–399 bc Aristophanes c.460–386 bc Isocrates 436–338 bc Plato c.429–347 bc Aristotle 384–322 bc Epicurus 341–270 bc Callimachus 3rd century bc Neoptolemus 3rd century bc ‘Demetrius’ 2nd century bc Philodemus c.110–c.40/35 bc Cicero 106–43 bc Dionysius of Halicarnassus Later 1st century bc Virgil 70–19 bc Horace 65–8 bc Seneca the Elder c.50 bc–ad c.40 Ovid 43 bc–ad 17 Seneca the Younger c.1 bc–ad 65 Pliny the Elder ad 23/4–79 Quintilian ad c.35–90s ‘Longinus’ 1st century ad xii Dates of Major Authors and Critics Dio Chrysostom ad 40/50–110 Plutarch ad c.50–120(ϩ) Pliny the Younger ad c.61–c.112 Tacitus ad c.56–c.120 Lucian ad 120–180(ϩ) Philostratus ad 170–244–9 Plotinus ad 205–69/70 ‘Servius’ 4th century ad Augustine ad 354–430 1 The Value of Ancient Literary Criticism andrew laird Whilst in all likelihood every art and philosophy has repeatedly been explored to the utmost and has then perished again, these opinions have been preserved like relics until the present. (Aristotle, Metaphysics 12. 1074b10) There exists a very strong idea that in order better to understand an alien culture, one must enter into it, forgetting one’s own, and view the world through the eyes of this alien culture . but if this were the only aspect of this understanding, it would be merely duplication and would not involve anything new or enriching.