We had supposed all along that the spectator, whoever he might be, would always have to remain conscious of the fact that he had before him a work of art, not empiric reality,
我们始终认为：真正的观众，不管是何种人，总是知道自己在欣赏艺术作品，而不是面对着经验的现实。
whereas the tragic chorus of the Greeks is constrained to view the characters enacted on the stage as veritably existing.
但是希腊歌队却不得不把舞台形象当作真人。
The chorus of the Oceanides think that they behold the actual Titan Prometheus, and believe themselves every bit as real as the god.
扮海神女儿的歌队就要真的相信自己亲眼看见普罗密修所，并且认为自己就是剧中的真神。
Are we seriously to assume that the highest and purest type of spectator is he who, like the Oceanides, regards the god as physically present and real?
若果观众象海神女儿那样，认为普罗密修斯是现身临场的真神，难道他们便是最高级最纯粹的观众吗？
That it is characteristic of the ideal spectator to rush on stage and deliver the god from his fetters?
难道所谓理想的观众有责任走上舞台，从严刑中解放普罗密修斯吗？
We had put our faith in an artistic audience, believing that the more intelligent the individual spectator was, the more capable he was of viewing the work of art as art;
我们相信观众的审美能力；我们认为，一个观众愈能把艺术作品当作艺术来看，就是说，从审美观点来看，他就愈是合格的观众。
and now Schlegel's theory suggests to us that the perfect spectator viewed the world of the stage not at all as art but as reality.
但是，希勒格尔的说法却告诉我们：完善的、理想的观众不是以审美态度来对待剧中世界，而是身体力行，实际参予其中。
"Oh these Greeks!" we moan.
我们不禁要叹道：“希腊人呵。”
"They upset our entire aesthetic!"
你们推翻了我们的一切美学，
But once we have grown accustomed to it, we repeat Schlegel's pronouncement whenever the question of the chorus comes up.
然而，既熟识了这点，以后讲到歌队时，我们还要提及希勒格尔的话。