I think the ancients had more reason to be angry with those who compared Plautus with Terence, though much nearer the mark, than Lucretius with Virgil. It makes much for the estimation and preference of Terence, that the father of Roman eloquence has him so often, and alone of his class, in his mouth; and the opinion that the best judge of Roman poets has passed upon his companion. I have often observed that those of our times, who take upon them to write comedies (in imitation of the Italians, who are happy enough in that way of writing), take three or four plots of those of Plautus or Terence to make one of their own, and, crowd five or six of Boccaccio's novels into one single comedy. That which makes them so load themselves with matter is the diffidence they have of being able to support themselves with their own strength. They must find out something to lean to; and not having of their own stuff wherewith to entertain us, they bring in the story to supply the defect of language. It is quite otherwise with my author; the elegance and perfection of his way of speaking makes us lose the appetite of his plot; his refined grace and elegance of diction everywhere occupy us: he is so pleasant throughout,
Liquid, and likest the pure river.
---Horace
在我看来,虽然普劳图斯与泰伦斯的名声旗鼓相当,但将这两人进行比较,一定会比将卢克莱修与维吉尔比较,更令古人感到气愤。罗马雄辩术之父西塞罗常常提到秦伦斯,说他是同辈中的佼佼者,罗马诗人中的最佳鉴赏家贺拉斯也对他的朋友费不绝口,这为秦伦斯赢得了显赫的名声。我常常看到我们这个时代那些写喜剧的人(模仿擅长此道的意大利人),将普劳图斯或泰伦斯的作品中的三四个情节凑在一起,作为他们的独立剧本;他们还会将薄伽丘的五六个故事同时编进一出喜剧里。如此堆砌情节的做法,说明他们对自己独立完成刷本的能力信心不足,他们必须有所倚靠,因为他们冥思苦想也写不出能令我们感兴趣的东西了,所以只能用故事情节来弥补语言上的欠缺了。这与我提到的作者泰伦斯是不可同日而语的:他的文笔如此优雅,以至使人们忘记去计较情节了;他在遭词用语方面的优美动人随处可见,令人自始至终都沉醉其中。
清澈无比，犹如一条纯洁的河流。
——贺拉斯
and so possesses the soul with his graces that we forget those of his fable. This same consideration carries me further. I observe that the best of the ancient poets have avoided affectation and the hunting after, not only fantastic Spanish and Petrarchic elevations, but even the softer and more gentle touches, which are the omament of all succeeding poesy. And yet there is no good judgment that will condemn this in the ancients, and that does not incomparably more admire the equal polish, and that perpetual sweetness and flourishing beauty of Catullus's epigrams, than all the stings with which Martial arms the tails of his.
我们的全部心神都被语言之美所吸引,竟忽略了故事情节的魅力。我的思路更加宽阔了:我发现古代的那些杰出诗人从不矫揉造作、刻意求工,既不像西班牙人和彼特拉克信徒那祥夸夸其谈，也从不使用后世诗歌中含有的尖酸刻薄的语言,而且,在这方面他们的诗作从未受到评论家的任何指责,而卡图鲁斯短诗的清新自然、隽永秀丽,早已让卓越的评论家们对马提雅尔那些辛辣的诗句的评价适可而止了。
The first, without being moved, or without getting angry, make themselves sufficiently felt; they have matter enough of laughter throughout, they need not tickle themselves; the others have need of foreign assistance; as they have the less wit they must have the more body; they mount on horseback, because they are not able to stand on their own legs. As in our balls, those mean fellows who teach to dance, not being able to represent the presence and dignity of our noblesse, are fain to put themselves forward with dangerous jumping, and other strange motions and tumblers tricks; and the ladies are less put to it in dance; where there are various coupees, changes, and quick motions of body, than in some other of a more sedate kind, where they are only to move a natural pace, and to represent their ordinary grace and presence. And so I have seen good drolls, when in their own everyday clothes, and with the same face they always wear, give us all the pleasure of their art, when their apprentices, not yet arrived at such a pitch of perfection, are fain to meal their faces, put themselves into ridiculous disguises, and make a hundred grotesque faces to give us whereat to laugh. This conception of mine is nowhere more demonstrable than in comparing the AEneid with Orlando Furioso; of which we see the first, by dint of wing, flying in a brave and lofty place, and always following his point: the latter, fluttering and hopping from tale to tale, as from branch to branch, not daring to trust his wings but in very short flights, and perching at every turn, lest his breath and strength should fail.
像卡图鲁斯这样的人,可以不动声色,也不故作姿态,就写出令人称费不已的佳作,对他们而言,信手拈来都是笑料,无需自我搔痒。而像马提雅尔这样的人写作时则需要下一番苦功,他们的才智愈匮乏,就愈需要在情节上动脑筋;他们的双腿没有足够的力量使他们站立起来。所以他们不得不骑在马背上。就像在我们的舞会上一样，舞技平庸的舞师表现不出贵族般的典雅风范和高责气派,为了吸引观众的目光,只能做一些危险的跳跃,以及杂技演员一样的怪异动作。女士们在跳舞的时候也是如此,有的女士快速地扭动着身体,而有的女士只是自然地缨步轻移,但后者却能表现出前者所没有的清新优雅的气质。我也曾见过许多出色的演员,他们穿着日常服装,保持着自然本色,仅凭个人才能就能使我们享受到超然的艺术;而那些技艺并不高超的新手,则只能在脸上除脂抹粉、穿上奇装异服、做各种鬼脸,才能使我们发笑。我的这些观点在《埃涅伊德》和《疯狂的奥兰多》的对比中可以得到更加充分的论证。我们先来看《埃涅伊德》,它内容充实,情节顺畅,一路展翅翱翔,直向目标飞去;而《疯狂的奥兰多》则内容杂乱，从一个情节突然跳到另一个情节，就像在枝头上飞飞停停的小鸟一样,它的翅膀只能承受短途的飞行,因此会常常落下来栖息,唯恐会累得气嘴吁吁。
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