καὶ τοὺς τρόπους μετέβαλλον, Δωρίους τε καὶ Φρυγίους καὶ
Λυδίους ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ ᾄσματι ποιοῦντες, καὶ τὰς μελῳδίας
ἐξήλλαττον, τοτὲ μὲν ἐναρμονίους ποιοῦντες, τοτὲ δὲ χρωματικάς,
τοτὲ δὲ διατόνους, καὶ τοῖς ῥυθμοῖς κατὰ πολλὴν
ἄδειαν ἐνεξουσιάζοντες διετέλουν, οἵ γε δὴ κατὰ Φιλόξενον καὶ 5
Τιμόθεον καὶ Τελεστήν, ἐπεὶ παρά γε τοῖς ἀρχαίοις τεταγμένος
ἦν καὶ ὁ διθύραμβος.
ἡ δὲ πεζὴ λέξις ἅπασαν ἐλευθερίαν ἔχει καὶ ἄδειαν
ποικίλλειν ταῖς μεταβολαῖς τὴν σύνθεσιν, ὅπως βούλεται.
καὶ ἔστι λέξις κρατίστη πασῶν, ἥτις ἂν ἔχῃ πλείστας 10
ἀναπαύλας τε καὶ μεταβολὰς ἐναρμονίους, ὅταν τουτὶ μὲν ἐν
περιόδῳ λέγηται, τουτὶ δ’ ἔξω περιόδου, καὶ ἥδε μὲν ἡ
περίοδος ἐκ πλειόνων πλέκηται κώλων, ἥδε δ’ ἐξ ἐλαττόνων,
αὐτῶν δὲ τῶν κώλων τὸ μὲν βραχύτερον ᾖ, τὸ δὲ μακρότερον,
καὶ τὸ μὲν αὐτουργότερον, τὸ δὲ ἀκριβέστερον, ῥυθμοί τε 15
ἄλλοτε ἄλλοι καὶ σχήματα παντοῖα καὶ τάσεις φωνῆς αἱ
καλούμεναι προσῳδίαι διάφοροι κλέπτουσαι τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τὸν
κόρον. ἔχει δέ τινα χάριν ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις καὶ τὸ οὕτω
συγκείμενον ὥστε μὴ συγκεῖσθαι δοκεῖν. καὶ οὐ πολλῶν δεῖν
οἶμαι λόγων εἰς τοῦτο τὸ μέρος· ὅτι γὰρ ἥδιστόν τε καὶ 20
κάλλιστον ἐν λόγοις μεταβολή, πάντας εἰδέναι πείθομαι.
παράδειγμα δὲ αὐτῆς ποιοῦμαι πᾶσαν μὲν τὴν Ἡροδότου
λέξιν, πᾶσαν δὲ τὴν Πλάτωνος, πᾶσαν δὲ τὴν Δημοσθένους·
ἀμήχανον γὰρ εὑρεῖν τούτων ἑτέρους ἐπεισοδίοις τε πλείοσι
καὶ ποικιλίαις εὐκαιροτέραις καὶ σχήμασι πολυειδεστέροις 25
χρησαμένους· λέγω δὲ τὸν μὲν ὡς ἐν ἱστορίας σχήματι, τὸν
introducing Dorian and Phrygian and Lydian modes in the same song; and they varied the melodies, making them now enharmonic, now chromatic, now diatonic; and in the rhythms they continually showed the boldest independence,—I mean Philoxenus, Timotheus, Telestes, and men of their stamp,—since among the ancients even the dithyramb had been subject to strict metrical laws.
Prose-writing has full liberty and permission to diversify composition by whatever changes it pleases. A style is finest of all when it has the most frequent rests and changes of harmony; when one thing is said within a period, another without it; when one period is formed by the interweaving of a larger number of clauses, another by that of a smaller; when among the clauses themselves one is short, another longer, one roughly wrought, another more finished; when the rhythms take now one form, now another, and the figures are of all kinds, and the voice-pitches—the so-called “accents”—are various, and skilfully avoid satiety by their diversity. There is considerable charm, among efforts of this kind, in what is so composed that it does not seem to be artificially composed at all. I do not think that many words are needed on this point. Everybody, I believe, is aware that, in prose, variety is full of charm and beauty. And as examples of it I reckon all the writings of Herodotus, all those of Plato, and all those of Demosthenes. It is impossible to find other writers who have introduced more episodes than these, or better-timed variations, or more multiform figures: the first in the narrative form, the second in graceful dialogue,
7 καὶ F: om. PMV 8 ἔχει καὶ ἄδειαν PMV: καὶ ἄδειαν ἔχει F: ἔχει E 10 ἔχη F: ἔχει P: ἔχοι EMV 11 ἐναρμονίους EF: ἁρμονίας PMV 14 ᾖ] τι F 15 αὐτουργότερον F: αὐτῶν (om. E) γοργότερον τὸ δὲ βραδύτερον EPMV || τὸ δὲ ἀκριβέστερον om. EF 18 ἐν P2MV: ἐτι P1: om. F 19 καὶ F: om. PMV || δεῖν οἶμαι F: δὲ οἴομαι δεῖν PMV 20 τοῦτο PMV: τουτὶ F 21 μεταβολή FP: ἡ μεταβολή MV 24 ἀμήχανον PMV: ἀδύνατον EF 25 ποικίλαις F || εὐκαιροτέροις EF: εὐροωτέραις PMV 26 μὲν ὡς] μὲν P || ἱστορίαις PMV || σχήματι EF: σχηματισμὸν PM: σχηματισμῷ V
1. For the characteristics of the various modes cp. (besides the Republic and the Politics) Lucian Harmonides i. 1 καὶ τῆς ἁρμονίας ἑκάστης διαφυλάττειν τὸ ἴδιον, τῆς Φρυγίου τὸ ἔνθεον, τῆς Λυδίου τὸ Βακχικόν, τῆς Δωρίου τὸ σεμνόν, τῆς Ἰωνικῆς τὸ γλαφυρόν.
3. τοτὲ μὲν ... τοτὲ δέ: cp. [132] 19, where (as here) F and P have τότε.
5. ἐνεξουσιάζοντες, ‘using full liberty,’ ‘showing their independence.’ Cp. de Thucyd. c. 8 ... οὔτε προστιθεὶς τοῖς πράγμασιν οὐδὲν ὃ μὴ δίκαιον οὔτε ἀφαιρῶν, οὐδὲ ἐνεξουσιάζων τῇ γραφῇ, ἀνέγκλητον δὲ καὶ καθαρὰν τὴν προαίρεσιν ἀπὸ παντὸς φθόνου καὶ πάσης κολακείας φυλάττων, and c. 24 ibid. ἐν δὲ τοῖς συνθετικοῖς καὶ τοῖς προθετικοῖς μορίοις καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς διαρθροῦσι τὰς τῶν ὀνομάτων δυνάμεις ποιητοῦ τρόπον ἐνεξουσιάζων (translated in D.H. p. 135). So Hor. Carm. iv. 2. 10 “seu per audaces nova dithyrambos | verba devolvit numerisque fertur | lege solutis.”
οἱ κατά may refer simply to the individuals mentioned, or to them and their contemporaries: cp. note on [194] 20.
For Philoxenus, Timotheus (including the newly discovered Persae), and Telestes see Jebb’s Bacchylides pp. 47-55; Weir Smyth’s Greek Melic Poets pp. 460-7; W. von Christ Gesch. der Griech. Litt.3 pp. 188, 189.