big topic
extra links
some links to pages I have created that go deeper into some of the things we spoke about ------->
stream
online
my music! here are a few selections of some of my interpretations of "old music" from today's perspectives--->
music and
medicine
some of my projects that have united music and medicine --->
this composer is SICK!
a podcast from WQXR's Artist Propulsion Lab
Emi Ferguson & Max Fine explore the impact of Syphilis on the lives and music of Franz Schubert, Bedřich Smetana, and Scott Joplin
EPISODE 1
EPISODE 2
EPISODE 3
EPISODE 4
and some cool articles that talk about various aspects of music and medicine further --->
The Washington Post
Music is universal - but the way it makes us feel may not be
Sarah Kaplan
July 13, 2016
Journal of the History of the Neurosciences
Synesthesia: Is F-Sharp Colored Violet?
Amy Ione and Christopher Tyler
2004
Developmental Psychology
Synesthesia: A new approach to understanding the development of perception
Ferrine Spector and Daphne Maurer
2009
Synaesthesia: An overview of contemporary findings and controversies
Jamie Ward and Jason B Mattingly
2006
ancient mesopotamia
Queen Puabi's tomb ------->
In June of 2021, I visited the Penn Museum’s collection of artifacts from the ancient city of Ur, Mesopotamia with my good friend, and ancient Mesopotamia scholar, Paul Delnero. Paul took me on an incredible tour of the collection, translating the cuneiform tablets as we went and showing me the incredible importance of music in the lives, rituals, and laments of the people of Ancient Mesopotamia. Stories and images of flutes and harps abounded, and in the Penn Museum’s collection was, remarkably, a harp, found as part of the 1929 excavation of Queen Puabi’s cemetery. Over 4,500 years old, I was moved to think that the flute is part of such an incredible, long, and rich history of making music. One of the earliest melodic instruments in human history, the flute can be found in almost every culture around the world, and I’ve always felt that this meant that the sounds of the flute and the harp are embedded into our cultural DNA, no matter where we come from. And here, in the Penn Museum’s collection, was an instrument that was proof of the importance, value, and power of these instruments to create transformative sounds. To add to the impact, Paul told me how most of the music makers from Ur were women, many of whom were buried with the Queen, forever playing her celestial music in the afterlife. All of this has inspired concert programs, research, and more. Here's a little more about that.
In the late 1920s, deep in the southern Iraqi desert, British archaeologist Leonard Woolley uncovered the most lavish Mesopotamian tomb ever discovered.
There was a 4,500-year-old skeleton was draped in gold and precious stones.
Golden rings decorated each finger
a golden-looped belt lay across the waist
and a golden headdress with intricately wrought leaves and standing flowers adorned the head.
But the resplendent grave goods are not the only reason the discovery rocked the world in the early 20th century:
this tomb belonged to a woman.
and there were nine lyres, two harps, and a silver double flute
In one private grave, “PG 333”, they found “bars of silver wantonly twisted and bent” that was later discovered to be a silver double-flute, described in [Krispijn 2008]:
Beside the stringed instruments flutes were excavated from the royal tombs. The instrument might have had a reed mouthpiece. It certainly covers a diatonic scale, possibly from C-D-E-F-G-A.
These two photos show the recovered and cleaned silver fragments from the original excavation (from [Schlesinger 1939] and [Schlesinger 1970]) and a reconstruction of the double-flute (from [Krispijn 2008]):
The original excavation by Sir Leonard Woolley in the early 1930s are described in detail in [Woolley 1934] , pages 258–259:
"In PG/333 there were found what seemed to be bars of silver wantonly twisted and bent. These were scientifically cleaned in the University Museum and proved to be of great interest. The apparently meaningless mass consists of silver tubing, with a total length of 0.408 m. (16.06″); it is broken into five pieces, but may originally have consisted of two parts each of an approximate length of 0.260 m (10.24″). Along one side of each there are five (?) holes 0.006m. (0.24″) in diameter placed at intervals of 0.025 m. (0.98″); the last hole comes at 0.025 m. (0.98″) from the end of the tube, and the first at 0.14m. (5.51″) from the unbroken end which may be the mouthpiece. At 0.07 m. (2.76″) from the (complete) end of one tube there is a double incised band, and a similar band on the second tube close to its broken end. U. 8605.
There can be no question but that we have here the remains of one of the double pipes figured on Sumerian carvings, e.g. to take a late instance, on the great stela of Ur-Nammu; the slenderness of the pipe suggests that it is directly inspired by its original, the reed of the marshes; the intervals may help to throw light on Sumerian music as a whole."
The Silver Pipes of Ur are the oldest existing wind instruments from the Near East region, more than 500 years older than the oldest surviving Egyptian instrument, a set of Middle Kingdom flutes made of reed ([Lawergren 2000], page 123). See the reconstruction of his instrument below by Bo Lawergren.
The Silver Pipes of Ur are in the collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, object number 30-12-536. They list the dates as 2650–2550 BCE. For more information and images, visit the page for Flute 30-12-536 on the Penn Museum web site.
Many researchers have attempted to reconstruct the Silver Pipes of Ur over the years ([Galpin 1937], [Sachs 1943], page 73, [Rimmer 1969], page 36, and [Collinson 1975]), but were hampered by various issues of identification of the segments and the confusion surrounding subsequent pipes and segments found at later dates.
Bo Lawergren did an exhaustive survey in 1998–2000 of the past work and examined the artifacts first-hand, as well the various historical photographs ([Lawergren 2000]). His analysis produced this reconstruction, redrawn here from [Lawergren 2000],
ancient mesopotamia
flutes in literature ------->
THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH
Book VIII of the Epic, lines 144–149
Translated by Andrew R. George
He displayed to the Sun God a flask of lapis lazuli
for Ereshkigal, the queen of the Netherworld:
"May Ereshkigal, the queen of the teeming Netherworld, accept this,
may she welcome my friend and walk by his side!"
He displayed to the Sun God a flute of carnelian
for Dumuzi, the shepherd beloved of Ishtar:
"May Dumuzi, the shepherd beloved of Ishtar, accept this,
may he welcome my friend and walk by his side!"
A Flute of Carnelian
The original text from the Epic of Gilgamesh that contains the reference to “a flute of carnelian” comes from the last 5 lines of column 3 of the front of a cuneiform tablet. Portions of the tablet were composed from three clay fragments in the British Museum: BM 36909, BM 37023, and F 235. A drawing is shown at the left, with lines 145-150 of Chapter VIII of the poem highlighted.
The key word is em-bū-bu, Akkadian for “flute”. We will look at the word em-bū-bu and many related Akkadian topics below.
The full phrase is “a flute of carnelian”. Carnelian is a semi-precious reddish-brown stone that was mined and processed in the East. It was used as early as 4000 BCE in Mehrgarh, in present-day Pakistan and the site one of the earliest centers of agriculture and herding in South Asia, beginning in about 7000–5500 BCE ([Sharif-M 1999]).
Akkadian Grammar and the word “Embūbum”
The grammar of Akkadian is complex: nouns change form based on their declension, based on their case, grammatical gender, and number (singular, dual, or plural). The word em-būb-um is always masculine, so the variants are (based on [Caplice 1988], page 11):
-
em-būb-um — Nominative (grammatical subject), masculine, singular (eg. “The em-būb-um is made of reed”).
-
em-būb-im — Genitive (grammatical possession), masculine, singular (eg. “The em-būb-im('s) finger holes”).
-
em-būb-am — Accusative (grammatical object of a sentence, among other uses), masculine, singular (eg. “The song is played on the em-būb-am”).
-
em-būb-ān — Nominative, masculine, dual.
-
em-būb-īn — Genitive and Accusative, masculine, dual.
-
em-būb-ū or em-būb-ānū — Nominative, masculine, plural.
-
em-būb-ī or em-būb-ānī — Genitive and Accusative, masculine, plural (nominative, masculine, singular in early Sargonic Akkadian).
Grammar also changed over time, so there are additional possibilities from early (“Sargonic”) forms of Akkadian ([Hasselbach 2005], page 161):
-
em-būb-u (Sargonic nominative, masculine, singular),
-
em-būb-a (Sargonic accusative, masculine, singular),
-
em-būb-ūt (Sargonic nominative and accusative, masculine, plural), and
-
em-būb-ūti (Sargonic genitive, masculine, plural).
From all these choices, I generally use the nominative singular form of embūbum in mixed Akkadian / English contexts.
The Descent of Ishtar
A passage in a separate Babylonian literary work, known as The Descent of Ishtar into the Netherworld, mentions a flute of another semi-precious stone, lapis lazuli, in two locations.
The original tablet is K 162 in the Kouyunjik Collection of the British Museum, shown at the right ([DEAA 1902], plates 45–47, [Jastrow 1915], pages 453–461, [Horne-CF 1917] pages 235–241, and [Heidel 1963], pages 119–128). It is from 600–700 BCE.
The myth descends from an earlier Sumerian myth about Inanna, the Sumerian counterpart of Ishtar. According to the Sumerian myth of Inanna, she can only return from the underworld if she sends someone back in her place. Demons go with her to make sure she sends someone back. However, each time Inanna runs into someone, she finds him to be a friend and lets him go free. When she finally reaches her home, she finds her husband Dumuzi (Babylonian Tammuz, [Wiggermann 2010]) seated on his throne, not mourning her at all. In anger, Inanna has the demons take Dumuzi back to the underworld as her replacement. Dumuzi's sister Geshtinanna is grief-stricken and volunteers to spend half the year in the underworld, during which time Dumuzi can go free ([Wolkstein 1983], pages 52–89).
The two references to flutes are on lines 49 and 56 of the reverse of the tablet, translated here from [Heidel 1963], pages 127 and 128:
49: Clothe him with a red garment (and) let him play upon the flute of lapis lazuli [....].
56: On the day that Tammuz greets me with jubilation(?), that with him the flute of lapis lazuli (and) the ring of carnelian greet me with jubilation(?)
Heidel suggests the possibility that “the ring of carnelian” could be a tambourine inlaid with carelian. The transliteration of line 56 is provided in [Vanderburgh 1908], in footnote 1 on page 19:
56: ina ȗ-me ilu Dumu-zi el-la-an-ni malil abnu ukni abnu it-ti-šu el-la-an-ni
The word used here for flute is ma-li-l, different from the em-bū-bu used in Gilgamesh. See the explanation in The Pious Sufferer, below
flute in
the ancient world
ancient greece
------->
The flute is the oldest melodic instrument and we are so lucky to have descriptions of flutes in civilizations around the world.
Western Classical composers whole heartedly embraced the Ancient Greek myths featuring the flute in their work, but how much of that has been romanticized and sanitized? By taking a look at the primary sources we can get a better understanding of the role in Ancient Greek life and how myths have been reinterpreted throughout time.
One of the most iconic works in the flute repertoire is Debussy Syrinx. Originally written in 1913 as incidental music to the play Psyché by Mourey. Originally called La Flûte de Pan, it eventually took the name Syrinx, accompanying Mourey's story about the death of Pan.
The video above is performed on a Louis Lot silver flute created in 1870, a flute similar to one that Louis Fleury performed the premiere of the work on.
The original score lacked bar lines. When it was published in 1928 as a colalboration between publisher Jobert and Marcel Moyse, bar lines were added back in and breath marks added.
They also changed the title from La Flûte de Pan to Syrinx.
Here are some examples from Ancient Greek literature that speak about Pan.
euripedes
helen
Translated by Emily Wilson
412 BCE
Helen to chorus:
Strophe 1
Fly to me on your wings
Young daughters of the Earth,
Sirens, bring to my cries of mourning
A Libyan oboe or pipes
to harmonize with my grief
Tune my tears to mine and sing my songs,
match your melody to my lament,
so that the Queen of Death, Persephone,
may gain a gift from me
of a tearful hymn
to the dead.
Chorus
Antistrophe 1
Beside the dark blue water I was drying purple clothes
out on the tangled grasses
in the golden sunlight
by the sprouting reeds.
There I heard a dreaful wailing,
a sad song that no lyre could play,
that once a girl was screaming,
wailing like a Naiad,
crying a song of grief
as she runs away across the mountains,
then screeches in the rocky caves,
as Pan is raping her. (167-190)
ovid's
metamorphoses
Translated by Ian Johnston
“On the icy mountains of Arcadia
among the hamadryads of Nonacris. [690]
the most celebrated was a naiad— 1020
nymphs called her Syrinx. She had eluded
many times the satyrs who pursued her,
as well as those gods who inhabited
the shady woods and fertile countryside.
She worshipped the Ortygian goddess
in her actions and remained a virgin.
She tied up her dress just like Diana
and could have been confused with Leto’s child,
except her bow was made of cornel wood,
while Diana’s was of gold. Even so, 1030
her appearance was deceptive. Once Pan,
with a wreath of pine around his head, spied her
on her way back from Mount Lycaeus
and spoke to her.”
Now Mercury had to give [700]
more details—how the nymph then ran away,
despising his pleas, through pathless regions,
until she came to the gentle waters
of the sandy Ladon stream and how here,
with water hindering her way, she begged
her sisters of the stream to change her shape, 1040
how Pan, just when he thought he had Syrinx
in his arms at last, was holding marsh reeds
instead of the nymph’s body, and then how,
as he sighed there, wind passing through the reeds
had made a subtle, plaintive sound, and Pan,
captivated by the new art’s sweet voice,
had said:
“This way of conversing with you [710]
will remain with me.”
And by using wax
to join together reeds of different lengths,
he had immortalized the young girl’s name. 1050
euripedes
ion
Translated by Emily Wilson
412 BCE
O Pan!
Above your knitted caves
Near the Long Rocks
Three spectral daughters
Dance in the wet grass
Before Athena’s shrine
Flute song rises
From the sunless caves
Where you play your pipes
And where a wretched girl
Exposed Apollo’s child
As blood-fest for birds
That was a bitter wedding
And I have never heard
In tales of at my weaving
Of any happiness
That ever came to children
Born of gods and men
But Syrinx and Pan are not the only Ancient Greek myths that reference the creation of the flute. While a "syrinx" is similar to modern day pan-pipes, we often encounter "aulos", or a double-flute, probably similar to a duduk.
This instrument owes it origin stories to Athena and is made famous in the tragic myth about Marsyas.
Athena
Marsyas
In unwrung, apart, always Michael Hersch explored the myth of Marsyas. Check out my performance of the piece below.
aristotle
excepts from politics
(350 B.C.E.)
Translated by Benjamin Jowett
EXCERPT 1, from part VI
The flute, or any other instrument which requires great skill, as for example the harp, ought not to be admitted into education, but only such as will make intelligent students of music or of the other parts of education.
Besides, the flute is not an instrument which is expressive of moral character; it is too exciting.
The proper time for using it is when the performance aims not at instruction, but at the relief of the passions. And there is a further objection; the impediment which the flute presents to the use of the voice detracts from its educational value. The ancients therefore were right in forbidding the flute to youths and freemen, although they had once allowed it. For when their wealth gave them a greater inclination to leisure, and they had loftier notions of excellence, being also elated with their success, both before and after the Persian War, with more zeal than discernment they pursued every kind of knowledge, and so they introduced the flute into education. At Lacedaemon there was a choragus who led the chorus with a flute, and at Athens the instrument became so popular that most freemen could play upon it.
The popularity is shown by the tablet which Thrasippus dedicated when he furnished the chorus to Ecphantides. Later experience enabled men to judge what was or was not really conducive to virtue, and they rejected both the flute and several other old-fashioned instruments, such as the Lydian harp, the many-stringed lyre, the 'heptagon,' 'triangle,' 'sambuca,' the like- which are intended only to give pleasure to the hearer, and require extraordinary skill of hand.
There is a meaning also in the myth of the ancients, which tells how Athene invented the flute and then threw it away. It was not a bad idea of theirs, that the Goddess disliked the instrument because it made the face ugly; but with still more reason may we say that she rejected it because the acquirement of flute-playing contributes nothing to the mind, since to Athene we ascribe both knowledge and art.
EXCERPT 2, from part VII
A man receives pleasure from what is natural to him, and therefore professional musicians may be allowed to practice this lower sort of music before an audience of a lower type. But, for the purposes of education, as I have already said, those modes and melodies should be employed which are ethical, such as the Dorian, as we said before; though we may include any others which are approved by philosophers who have had a musical education.
The Socrates of the Republic is wrong in retaining only the Phrygian mode along with the Dorian, and the more so because he rejects the flute; for the Phrygian is to the modes what the flute is to musical instruments- both of them are exciting and emotional. Poetry proves this, for Bacchic frenzy and all similar emotions are most suitably expressed by the flute, and are better set to the Phrygian than to any other mode.
flute players power
are they greater than philosophers?
...
...
sextus empiricus
against the musicians
Translated by Emily Wilson
~200 BCE
Thus Pythagoras, when he once observed how youths who had been filled with Bacchic frenzy by alcoholic drink differed not at all from mad-men, exhorted the flute-player, who was joining them in the carousal, to play his aulos for them in the spondaic melos. When he thus did what was ordered, they suddenly changed and became as temperate as if they had been sober even at the beginning.
Commentary: "To be more precise, Pythagoras orders the execution of a solo flute performance according to a specific tune, the spondaic. This typically Doric mode is suitable for libations and solemn religious events, ana is further characterized by slow tempos and a relaxed rhythm, which exerts a soothing effect."
And Pythagoras, in the first piace, was foolish in wishing to give temperance at the wrong moment to those who were intoxicated instead of avoiding [intoxication]. In the second piace, by correcting them in this manner, he concedes that the flute-players have more power than the philosophers with respect to the correction of ethos.
If playing the spondaic tone on a flute achieves better and more morally effective results than the use of philosophical theories, this boxes Pythagoras into a corner, for he must then admit that music is superior to philosophy. In the matter of correcting the moral inclinations of someone who is dangerously straying from the straight path, then we had better forget about professional philosophers and find some flute-players.
- Emidio Spinelli
galen
~165-175 BCE
Damon, a musician, was once present as a female flute-player was playing according to the Phrygian style and.some youths, intoxicated by wine, were engaging in senseless behaviour. He then ordered her to play according to the Doric style, and they immediately ceased their immoderate agitation.
plato
symposium
(385-370 BCE)
Translation by Benjamin Jowett
Then, said Eryximachus, as you are all agreed that drinking is to be voluntary, and that there is to be no compulsion, I move, in the next place, that the flute-girl, who has just made her appearance, be told to go away and play to herself, or, if she likes, to the women who are within (compare Prot.). To-day let us have conversation instead; and, if you will allow me, I will tell you what sort of conversation. This proposal having been accepted, Eryximachus proceeded as follows:—
alcibiades' speech
from symposium
When Socrates had done speaking, the company applauded, and Aristophanes was beginning to say something in answer to the reference Socrates had made to his own speech, when suddenly there was a loud knocking at the door of the house, as of revelers, and the sound of a flute-girl was heard. Agathon told the attendants to go and see who were the intruders. ‘If they're friends of ours,’ he said, ‘invite them in, but if not, say that the drinking is over.’ A little while afterwards they heard the voice of Alcibiades resounding in the court. He was very drunk, and kept roaring and shouting ‘Where's Agathon? Lead me to Agathon,’ and after a while, supported by the flute-girl and some of his attendants, he found his way to the party.
‘Hail, friends,’ he said, appearing at the door crowned with a massive garland of ivy and violets, his head flowing with ribbons. ‘Will you accept a very drunken man as a companion at your party? Or shall I crown Agathon, which was my intention in coming, and go away? For I was unable to come yesterday, and therefore I am here today, carrying on my head these garlands, that taking them from my own head, I may crown the head of this fairest and wisest of men, as I may be allowed to call him. Will you laugh at me because I'm drunk? Yet I know very well that I'm speaking the truth, although you may laugh. But first tell me, if I come in shall we have the understanding of which I spoke? Will you drink with me or not?’
......
And now, my boys, I shall praise Socrates in a figure which will appear to him to be a caricature, and yet I speak, not to make fun of him, but only for the truth’s sake. I say that he is exactly like the busts of Silenus, which are set up in the statuaries’ shops, holding pipes and flutes in their mouths; and they are made to open in the middle, and have images of gods inside them. I say also that he is like Marsyas the satyr. You yourself will not deny, Socrates, that your face is like that of a satyr. Yes, and there is a resemblance in other points too. For example, you are a bully, as I can prove by witnesses, if you will not confess. And aren't you a flute player? That you are, and a performer far more wonderful than Marsyas.
He with instruments used to charm the souls of men by the power of his breath by using musical instruments, and the players of his music still do so: for the melodies of the gods are derived from Marsyas who taught them, and these, whether they are played by a great master or by a lowly flute-girl, have a power which no others have. They alone possess the soul and reveal the desires of those who need the gods and mysteries, because they are divine.
But you produce the same effect with your words only, and do not require the flute: that's the difference between you and him. When we hear any other speaker, even a very good one, he produces absolutely no effect upon us, or not much, whereas the mere fragments of you and your words, even at second-hand, and however imperfectly repeated, amaze and possess the souls of every man, woman, and child who comes within hearing of them. And if I were not afraid that you would think me hopelessly drunk, I would have sworn as well as spoken to the influence which they have always had and still have over me. For my heart leaps within me more than that of any Corybantian reveler, and my eyes rain tears when I hear them.
And I observe that many others are affected in the same way. I have heard Pericles and other great orators, and I thought that they spoke well, but I never had any similar feeling. My soul was not stirred by them, nor was I angry at the thought of my own slavish state. But this Marsyas has often brought me to such a state that I have felt as if I could hardly endure the life I'm leading (this, Socrates, you will admit); and I'm conscious that if I did not shut my ears against him, and fly as from the voice of the siren, my fate would be like that of others: he would transfix me, and I would grow old sitting at his feet. For he makes me confess that I ought not to live as I do, neglecting the wants of my own soul, and busying myself with the concerns of the Athenians, so I hold my ears and tear myself away from him. And he is the only person who ever made me ashamed, which you might think not to be in my nature, and there is no one else who does the same. For I know that I can't answer him or say that I shouldn't do as he bids, but when I leave his presence the love of popularity gets the better of me. And so I run away and fly from him, and when I see him I'm ashamed of what I've confessed to him. I've often wished that he were dead, and yet I know that I would be much more sorry than glad, if he were to die, so that I am at my wit’s end.
And this is what I and many others have suffered from the flute-playing of this satyr. Yet hear me once more while I show you how exact the image is, and how marvelous his power. For let me tell you, none of you know him, but I will reveal him to you. Having begun, I must go on. See you how fond he is of the beautiful? He's always with them and always being smitten by them, and then again he knows nothing and is ignorant of all things, that's the show he puts on. Isn't he like a Silenus in this? Of course he is: his outer mask is the carved head of the Silenus, but, my fellow drinked, when he's opened, what temperance there is inside! Realize that beauty and wealth and honor, which the many prise, are of no account with him, and are utterly despised by him. He has no reagrd for the persons gifted with them. Mankind are nothing to him; his whole life is spent mocking and flouting them. But when I opened him, and looked within at his serious purpose, I saw in him divine and golden images of such fascinating beauty that I was ready to do in a moment whatever Socrates commanded. They may have escaped the observation of others, but I saw them.
Now I imagined that he was seriously enamored of my beauty, and I thought that I would therefore have a great opportunity to hear him tell what he knew, for I had a wonderful opinion of the my youthful good looks. In pursuit of this design, the next time I went to him, I sent away the servant who usually accompanied me. (I will confess the whole truth, and beg you to listen, and if I speak falsely, Socrates can expose the falsehood). Well, he and I were alone together, and I thought that when there was nobody with us, I would hear him speak the language lovers use with their beloveds when the two are alone with one another, and I was delighted. Nothing of the sort happened. He conversed as usual, and spent the day with me and then went away. Afterwards I challenged him to a wrestling match, and he wrestled with me several times when there was no one present. I thought that I might succeed in this way. Not a bit. I couldn't make any headway with him. Finally, since everything else had failed, I thought that I must take stronger measures and approach him boldly, and not let him go until I discovered how matters stood between him and me. So I invited him to have dinner with me, just as if he were a handsome youth, and I a designing lover. He was not easily persuaded to come, but after a while accepted the invitation. When he came the first time, he wanted to leave as soon as dinner was over, and I didn't have the nerve to detain him. The second time, still in pursuit of my goal, after we had dined, I went on talking far into the night, and when he wanted to go away, I pretended that it was late and that he would be better off staying. So he lay down on the couch next to me, the same on which he had dined, and there was no one but us sleeping in the apartment. All this may be told without shame to any one. But what follows I could hardly tell you if I were sober. Yet as the proverb says, ‘There is truth in wine,’ whether with boys, or without them, and therefore I must speak. I wouldn't be justified in concealing the lofty actions of Socrates when I came to praise him. Moreover I have felt the serpent’s sting, and he who has suffered, as they say, is willing to tell his fellow-sufferers only, as they alone will be likely to understand him, and will not be extreme in judging what he has said or done from agony. For I have been bitten by a more than viper’s tooth. I have known in my soul, or in my heart, or in some other part, that worst of pangs, more violent in innocent youth than any serpent’s tooth, the pang of philosophy, which will make a man say or do anything. And you whom I see around me, Phaedrus and Agathon and Eryximachus and Pausanias and Aristodemus and Aristophanes, all of you, and I need not say Socrates himself, have had experience of the same madness and passion in your longing after wisdom. Therefore listen and excuse my words and actions now, but let the servents and other profane and unmannered persons close their ears.
plato
republic
(380-370 BCE)
book 3
But what do you say to flute-makers and flute-players?
Would you admit them into our State when you reflect that in this composite use of harmony the flute is worse than all the stringed instruments put together; even the panharmonic music is only an imitation of the flute?
Clearly not.
There remain then only the lyre and the harp for use in the city, and the shepherds may have a pipe in the country.
That is surely the conclusion to be drawn from the argument.
The preferring of Apollo and his instruments to Marsyas and his instruments is not at all strange, I said.
Not at all, he replied.
And so, by the dog of Egypt, we have been unconsciously purging the State, which not long ago we termed luxurious.
book 8
Yes, he said; that is the way with him.
Yes, I said, he lives from day to day indulging the appetite of the hour; and sometimes he is lapped in drink and strains of the flute; then he becomes a water-drinker, and tries to get thin; then he takes a turn at gymnastics; sometimes idling and neglecting everything, then once more living the life of a philosopher; often he-is busy with politics, and starts to his feet and says and does whatever comes into his head; and, if he is emulous of any one who is a warrior, off he is in that direction, or of men of business, once more in that. His life has neither law nor order; and this distracted existence he terms joy and bliss and freedom; and so he goes on.
book 10
Most true.
And may we not say the same of all things?
What?
That there are three arts which are concerned with all things: one which uses, another which makes, a third which imitates them?
Yes.
And the excellence or beauty or truth of every structure, animate or inanimate, and of every action of man, is relative to the use for which nature or the artist has intended them.
True.
Then the user of them must have the greatest experience of them, and he must indicate to the maker the good or bad qualities which develop themselves in use; for example, the flute-player will tell the flute-maker which of his flutes is satisfactory to the performer; he will tell him how he ought to make them, and the other will attend to his instructions?
Of course.
The one knows and therefore speaks with authority about the goodness and badness of flutes, while the other, confiding in him, will do what he is told by him?
True.
The instrument is the same, but about the excellence or badness of it the maker will only attain to a correct belief; and this he will gain from him who knows, by talking to him and being compelled to hear what he has to say, whereas the user will have knowledge?
True.
But will the imitator have either? Will he know from use whether or no his drawing is correct or beautiful? Or will he have right opinion from being compelled to associate with another who knows and gives him instructions about what he should draw?
Neither.
Then he will no more have true opinion than he will have knowledge about the goodness or badness of his imitations?
I suppose not.
The imitative artist will be in a brilliant state of intelligence about his own creations?
Nay, very much the reverse.
And still he will go on imitating without knowing what makes a thing good or bad, and may be expected therefore to imitate only that which appears to be good to the ignorant multitude?
Just so.
Thus far then we are pretty well agreed that the imitator has no knowledge worth mentioning of what he imitates. Imitation is only a kind of play or sport, and the tragic poets, whether they write in iambic or in Heroic verse, are imitators in the highest degree?
Very true.
And now tell me, I conjure you, has not imitation been shown by us to be concerned with that which is thrice removed from the truth?
Certainly.
And what is the faculty in man to which imitation is addressed?
What do you mean?
I will explain: The body which is large when seen near, appears small when seen at a distance?
True.
And the same object appears straight when looked at out of the water, and crooked when in the water; and the concave becomes convex, owing to the illusion about colours to which the sight is liable. Thus every sort of confusion is revealed within us; and this is that weakness of the human mind on which the art of conjuring and of deceiving by light and shadow and other ingenious devices imposes, having an effect upon us like magic.
