Corneille - Yavanika

210 Seyenteenth- and llightecnth-Ccilur y- Irdnce"We "those pitv," sa\,s he, li'hon r",'c scc suffer a rrisfortune thai theydo not deserve, and ue fear that a like fate rvill come to us when u'c seernen like ourselves suffer." '1hus, pitl enrbraces concern for thc pcrson ucsee suffering; terror, rvhich folloss upon it, concens orrr orvn; and this"following uporr," alone, givcs us enough rneaDs to find thc narrncr rnwhich the enotions arc purgcd in tragcdy. Pitv for a rrisfortunc into lhichwc scc urcn like ourselves frll trkcs ns to terror of a like one for oursclvcs;this terror to thc dcsirc to avoid it; this clcsirc to the rvish to purgc, tomoderate, to rectifv, even to eradicatc in oursclves thc enotio I'hich,beforc our cycs, plunges persous that te pitt into misfortunc; for thisordinarr, but natural ancl indubitable rcason: that to ar,oid tlre cffcct onenust cut out thc causc. . . . It is t.uc that, ordinarilv, onlr' kings are prescnted as the principal charactcrs in a trageth' and tlrat thc spcctatorshold ro sccptrcs as thev clo to givc thenr goocl reason to fe:rr the urisfortuucrvhich befalls thcsc kings; bLrt thesc kings are rlen like the spcctators andfall into nrisfortune bccausc of transports of passion of uhich thc spectatorsare capablc. 'lhcv themsclres present easilv comprehensible evidence of afall frorn the greatest to the lcast; tlre arrclienccan casilv coruprehend thatif a king, bv abandoning hirrsclf so courplcteh' to arrbitior], to lo\,c, tohate, to vcngernce, falls into rlisforturrc so great that thc auclicnce pitieshiur. there is much morc ncccssitl for onc qto is onh a cornlron lrran tobridle such enotions for fear that thur rrill hrrrl hinr into uqrrrl misfortune.Outside of that it is not nccessirl that tlie theatre onlr, shou thc rnisfortunesof kings. The nrisfortune of othcr ruen coLrld takc placc thcrc if it bcfcllany rvho u'crc illustrous ancl ertraortlinarl cnough to nerit it and if historvcarcd enougl] lbout then to tcach us.. . .'lb facilitatc for Lrs the means of engenclcring this pitr, and terror to uhichAristotle scerns to courpel us, he lrelps us to choosc pcople and cvcnts uhichcan cxcitc onc or the othcr. Conccrning shich I grant ulrat is r,ery true,that our audience is courposcd ncitlrcr of sickecl rnen nor of s:rints, but ofpcoplc of orclinarl intcgriti, uho arc not so scvcrclv cntrcnchcd in absolutcvirtue that thcr uoulcl not bc susccptible to erlrotions aud c:rpable offalling into dangcrs lhiclr cngirgc those uho submit to tlrcm too ruuch.'fhat being grantccl, lct us cx:rnrinc thc.rsc rl'honr tlie plrilosopher excludcsfrom tragccll in orcler to arrile, rvith lriur, at thosc in rton hc bclicvcspcrfcctiorr to consist.In the first place he does rlot \\'!rnt a "corupleteh virtuous man to passfrom prospcritv into aclvcrsitr'," and hc rnaintains that "that produces neitherpitv nor terror because it is a conrplcich unjust occurrcncc." Sonrc interpretersemphasize the Greck \\'ord, pr"p,ir,, uhich he uses as ar epitliet for this occurrcnce,eveo to translating it "aboninable." 'I'o shich I add that suclr apassagc c\citcs morc intlignatiol artl hirtrc