Comedy, Tragedy, and Stoicism - The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius - Unpublished Selections Explained, Med. XI.06

Meditation XI.06 - Comedy, Tragedy, and Stoicism - Translated by George Long and rewritten by Russell McNeil

At first tragedies were brought on the stage as means of reminding us of the things which happen, and that it is according to nature for things to happen so, and that, if you are delighted with what is shown on the stage, you should not be troubled with that which takes place on the larger stage. For you see that these things must be accomplished thus, and that even they bear them who cry out "O Cithaeron."¹ And, indeed, some things are said well by the dramatic writers, of which kind is the following especially: - “Me and my children if the gods neglect, This has its reason too.” And again - “We must not chale and fret at that which happens.” And, “Life's harvest reap like the wheat's fruitful ear.” And other things of the same kind.² After tragedy the old comedy was introduced, which had a magisterial freedom of speech, and by its very plainness of speaking was useful in reminding us to beware of insolence;³ and for this purpose too Diogenes used to take from these writers.⁴ But as to the middle comedy which came next,⁵ observe what it was, and again, for what object the new comedy was introduced, which gradually sunk down into a mere mimic artifice.⁶ That some good things are said even by these writers, everybody knows: but the whole plan of such poetry and dramaturgy, to what end does it look!⁷

Explanation

(1) Marcus offers us a cool reminder of the role and importance of the arts. Drama offers not only entertainment, but demonstrates how our personal experiences tie in with those on the "larger stage." Drama serves too as a mechanism for reflecting on the most difficult situations. The cry "O Cithaeron" is a reference to Oedipus's powerful monologue in Sophocles's tragedy Oedipus the King:

"O Cithaeron! Why didst thou e'er receive me, or received, Why not destroy, that men might never know Who gave me birth? O Polybus! O Corinth! And thou, long time believed my father's palace, Oh! what a foul disgrace to human nature Didst thou receive beneath a prince's form! Impious myself, and from an impious race. Where is my splendor now? ... "

(2) These selections are consistent with Stoic philosophy. We ought never "fret" about the accidents of life - what happens to us causes no real harm and is - in the end - what was meant to be. And, in his second reference, we do indeed "harvest" what we sow, so that here too we not not be surprised by life's twists and turns.

(3) The Old Comedy survives today in the works of Aristophanes (ca. 448-380 BCE).

(4) The reference is to Diogenes the Stoic (ca. 230 - ca. 150 BCE), a Greek philosopher active during the middle period of Stoicism (for more on this, please see the Introduction, "A Brief History of Stoicism" p xxiii, in the book). None of Diogenes's works survive but he is quoted frequently by other writers, particularly by Cicero (103-43 BCE).

(5) Middle comedy flourished in the 4th century BCE in the works of Eubulus, Epicrates of Ambracia, Anaxandrides, and Alexis.

(6) The New Comedy is perhaps best represented by Menander (ca. 342–291 BCE). Marcus's veiled criticism, "mere mimic artifice," might refer to New Comedy's predilection toward moral one liners, as well as its frequent but simplified imitations of the older styles of comedy.

(7) Marcus clearly prefers the older comedy forms over the new, which he seems here to dam with faint praise, "some good things are said even by these writers." His criticism was valid. The works of Aristophanes and the importance of the old comedy have survived over twenty-five hundred years of positive critical review.

Russell McNeil, PhD, is the author of The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius: Selections Annotated and Explained by Skylight Paths Publishing. The unpublished selections presented in this Blog are provided as supplemental material to the published selections which are annotated and explained in the book. The published selections are referenced in this Blog by page number and section.

Terence (Publius Terentius Afer) (185 BCE-159 BCE)

Children should be led into the right paths, not by severity, but by persuasion.

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Sophocles (c 495 BCE-406 BCE)

I have nothing but contempt for the kind of governor who is afraid, for whatever reason, to follow the course that he knows is best for the State; and as for the man who sets private friendship above the public welfare - I have no use for him either. - from Antigone

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Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BCE-65 CE)

Everything is the product of one universal creative effort. There is nothing dead in Nature. Everything is organic and living, and therefore the whole world appears to be a living organism.

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Plautus (c 254 -184 BCE)

Friendship is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.

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Menander (342 BCE-291 BCE)

Quotation

Deus ex machina [A god from the machine] - from The Woman Possessed with a Divinity

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Biographical

Greek dramatist, the chief representative of the New comedy, was born at Athens. He was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes Dc Chersoneso. He doubtless derived his taste for the comic drama from his uncle Alexis. He was the friend and associate, if not the pupil, of Theophrastus, and was on intimate terms with Demetrius of Phalerum. He also enjoyed the patronage of Ptolemy Soter, the son of Lagus, who invited him to his court. But Menander, preferring independence and the company of his mistress Glycera in his villa in the Peiraeus, refused. According to the note of a scholiast on the Ibis of Ovid, he was drowned while bathing; his countrymen built him a tomb on the road leading to Athens, where it was seen by Pausanias. A well-known statue in the Vatican, formerly thought to represent Marius, is now generally supposed to be Menander (although some distinguished archaeologists dispute this), and has been identified with his statue in the theatre at Athens, also mentioned by Pausanias.

Menander was the author of more than a hundred comedies, but only gained the prize eight times. His rival in dramatic art and also in the affections of Glycera was Philemon, who appears to have been more popular. Menander, however, believed himself to be the better dramatist, and, according to Aulus Gellius, used to ask Philemon: "Don't you feel ashamed whenever you gain a victory over me?" According to Caecilius of Plutarch (Comparison of Menander and Aristophanes and Quintilian, who accepted the tradition that he was the author of the speeches published under the name of the Attic orator Charisius. A great admirer and imitator of Euripides, he resembles him in his keen observation of practical life, his analysis of the emotions, and his fondness for moral maxims, many of which have become proverbial:

The property of friends is common, Whom the gods love die young, Evil communications corrupt good mantlets (from the Thais, quoted in I Cor. xv. 33). These maxims (chiefly monostichs) were afterwards collected, and, with additions from other sources, were edited as a kind of moral textbook for the use of schools.

Menander found many Roman imitators. The Eunuchus, Andria, and Adelpili of Terence (called by Caesar "dimidiatus Menander ") were avowedly taken from Menander, but some of them appear to be adaptations and combinations of more than one play; thus, in the Andria were combined from several of Menander's plays, while the Adelphi was compiled partly from Menander and partly from Diphilus. The original of Terence's Hecyra (as of the Phormio) is generally supposed to be not Menander, but Apollodorus of Carystus. The Bacchides and Stichus of Plautus were probably based upon Menander's plays. Caecilius Statius, Luscius Lavinius, Turpilius and Atilius also imitated Menander. He was further credited with the authorship of some epigrams of doubtful authenticity; the letters addressed to Ptolemy Soter and the discourses in prose on various subjects mentioned by Suidas are probably spurious.

Till the end of the 19th century, all that was known of Menander were the fragments collected by A. Meineke (1855) and T. Kock. They consist of some 1650 verses or parts of verses, in addition to a considerable number of words quoted expressly as from Menander by the old lexicographers. From 1897 to 1907 papyri were discovered in different parts of Egypt, containing fragments of considerable length, amounting to some 1400 lines.

It is doubtful whether these fragments, which are of sufficient length to afford a basis for the consideration of the merits of Menander as a writer of comedies, justify the great reputation enjoyed by him in ancient times. With few exceptions of scenes, they contain little that is witty or humorous; there is little variety in the characters, the situations are conventional, and the plots, not of a highly edifying character, are lacking in originality. Menander's chief excellences seem to be facility of language, accurate portrayal of manners, and naturalness of the sentiments which he puts into the mouth of his dramatis personae. It is remarkable that the maxims, which form the chief part of the earlier collections of fragments, are few in the later. [Adapted from Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)]

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Aristophanes (c 448-380 BCE)

Quotation

Shrines! Shrines! Surely you don't believe in the gods. What's your argument? Where's your proof?

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Biographical

Aristophanes (ca. 446 BC - 385 BC) was a Greek comic poet, famous for writing plays, especially comedies such as The Birds for the two Athenian festivals the Dionisia and the Lenea.

Many of his plays were political and he is known to have been prosecuted for Athenian law's equivalent of libel more than once. A famous comedy, The Frogs, was given the unprecedented honor of a second perfomance. He appears in Plato's Symposium, giving a humorous mythical account of the origin of Love. The Clouds pokes fun at famous figures, notably Socrates, and may have contributed to the common conception of the philosopher as a Sophist. Plato is said to have kept a copy of the Clouds under his pillow. Lysistrata was written during the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta and presents a pacifist theme in a comical manner: the women of the two states deprive their husbands of sex until they stop fighting. This play was later illustrated at length by Pablo Picasso. [This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and uses material adapted in whole or in part from the Wikipedia article on Aristophanes.]

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Aeschylus (c 525-456 BCE)

Quotation

For there is no defense for a man who, in the excess of his wealth, has kicked the great altar of Justice out of sight.

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Biographical

Athenian writer of tragedy who fought at Marathon in the Athenian victory over the Persians. He is the first of the three great Greek tragedians, the others being Sophocles and Euripides. Aeschylus' work has a strong moral and religious emphasis. Aeschylus' greatest contribution to the theater was the addition of a second actor to his scenes. Previously, the action took place between a single actor and the Greek chorus. Aeschylus is known to have written over 70 plays, seven of which are extant. [This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License and uses material adapted in whole or in part from the Wikipedia article on Aeschylus.]

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