Talk:Eiron

Aristotle established the three stock characters?
This article claims that Aristotle establishes the "alazon" and "eiron" as two of the main stock characters of Greek comedy in the passage from the Nicomachean Ethics referred to. However, this is not the case. The Nicomachean Ethics, as its name implies, is an ethical treatise, not a work of literary criticism. Turning to the cited passage reveals that comedy is not under discussion; instead Aristotle is talking about the "golden mean" with respect to the truth. The two "extremes" with respect to honesty are boasting and false modesty, and so Aristotle says that the people who exhibit these two vicious extremes are called the "alazon" i.e. braggart and "eiron" i.e. self-deprecator. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.237.45.68 (talk) 23:02, 8 March 2020 (UTC)