Texte grec :
| [13] ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΤΗΣ ΜΗΔΕΙΑΣ ΑΓΑΛΜΑ.
Εἶδον καὶ τὴν πολυθρύλητον ἐν ὅροις Μακεδόνων
Μήδειαν. λίθος ἦν μηνύων τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς
εἶδος ἀπομαξαμένης εἰς αὐτὴν τῆς τέχνης τὰ
συμπληροῦντα τὴν ψυχήν· καὶ γὰρ λογισμοῦ κατηγορεῖτο
δήλωμα καὶ θυμὸς ὑπανίστατο καὶ πρὸς λύπης διάθεσιν
μετέβαινεν ἡ εἰκών, καὶ ὡς βραχέως εἰπεῖν τοῦ περὶ
αὐτὴν δράματος ἐξήγησις ἦν τὸ ὁρώμενον. ὁ μὲν
γὰρ λογισμὸς ὑπὲρ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐδήλου τῆς γυναικὸς
τὰ βουλεύματα, ὁ δὲ θυμὸς τῇ ῥύμῃ τῆς ὀργῆς
παραγραφόμενος τὴν φύσιν πρὸς τὸ ἔργον ἤγειρε τὴν ἐπὶ
τὸν φόνον ὁρμὴν εἰσηγούμενος, ἡ λύπη δὲ τὸν ἐπὶ
τοῖς παισὶν ἐπεσήμαινεν οἶκτον εἰς τὴν μητρῴαν σύνεσιν
ἀρρώστως ἐκ τοῦ θυμοῦ τὴν λίθον ἕλκουσα. οὐ
γὰρ ἄτεγκτος οὐδὲ θηριώδης ἡ εἰκών, ἀλλ´ εἰς θυμοῦ
καὶ μαλακίας ἔνδειξιν διῃρεῖτο ὑπηρετουμένη τοῖς τῆς
γυναικείας φύσεως βουλεύμασιν· εἰκὸς γὰρ ἦν μετὰ
τὸν χόλον καθαρεύουσαν τοῦ θυμοῦ ἐπιστρέφεσθαι
πρὸς οἶκτον καὶ εἰς ἔννοιαν ἐρχομένην τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν
ψυχὴν οἰκτίζεσθαι. ταῦτα μετὰ τοῦ σώματος τὰ
πάθη ἡ εἰκὼν ἐμιμεῖτο καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν τὴν λίθον ὁτὲ
μὲν φέρουσαν τὸν θυμὸν ἐν ὄμμασιν, ὁτὲ δὲ σκυθρωπὸν
ὁρῶσαν καὶ μαλαττομένην εἰς στυγνότητα, ὥσπερ
ἄντικρυς τοῦ τεχνησαμένου τὴν ὁρμὴν εἰς τῆς Εὐριπίδου
δραματοποιίας πλήσαντος τὴν μίμησιν, ἐν ᾗ καὶ
βουλεύεται συνανακινοῦσα καὶ σύνεσιν ἔμφρονα καὶ
εἰς θυμὸν ἀγριαίνει τὸ ἦθος τοὺς πεπηγότας τῇ φύσει
πρὸς τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς φιλογονίας ὅρους ἐκβάλλουσα καὶ
παιδικῶν λόγων μετὰ τὴν ἄνομον σφαγὴν ἅπτεται.
ἦν δὲ αὐτῇ καὶ ξιφηφόρος ἡ χεὶρ διακονεῖν ἑτοίμη
τῷ θυμῷ ἐπὶ τὸ μίασμα σπευδούσῃ καὶ ἠμελημένη
θρὶξ τὸ αὐχμηρὸν ἐπισημαίνουσα καὶ στολή τις πένθιμος
ἀκόλουθος τῇ ψυχῇ.
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Traduction française :
| [13] ON THE STATUE OF MEDEA.
I also saw the celebrated Medea in the land of the
Macedonians. It was of marble and disclosed the
nature of her soul in that art had modelled into it
the elements which constitute the soul ; for a course
of reasoning was revealed, and passion was surging
up, and the figure was passing over into a state of
grief, and, to put it briefly, what one saw was an
interpretation of her whole story. For her reasoning
about her course of action revealed the schemes of
the woman, the passion connoted by the onset of her
anger roused her nature to the deed by introducing
the impulse to murder, and the grief denoted her
compassion for her children, transforming without
violence the expression of the marble from passion
to the natural feeling of a mother. For the figure
was not relentless nor brutal, but was so apportioned
as to show both passion and tenderness, thus ministering
to the varying purposes of her womanly
nature ; for it was but natural that after her wrath
was over and she was purified of her passion, she
should turn to pity, and that when her soul came to a
realization of her evil deed it should be stirred to pity.
These passions the figure strove to imitate as well as
the form of the body, and one could see the marble
now flashing passion in its eyes, now wearing a look
sullen and softened into gloom, exactly as if the
artist had modelled the woman's passionate impulse
in imitation of the drama of Euripides, in which
Medea not only forms her plan with the exercise of
a rational intelligence, but also excites her spirit to
anger as she casts aside the principles fixed by
nature to govern a mother's love for her offspring,
and then after the lawless murder she speaks the
fond words of a mother. Her hand was armed with
the sword, being ready to minister to her passion as
she hastens to her foul deed, and her hair was
unkempt, a mark of squalor, and she wore a garment
of mourning in conformity to the state of her soul.
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