§17.1δεῖ δὲ τοὺς μύθους συνιστάναι καὶ τῇ λέξει συναπεργάζεσθαι ὅτι μάλιστα πρὸ ὀμμάτων τιθέμενον·
In constructing plots and working them out with diction, one should set them before one's eyes as much as possible.
οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἐναργέστατα ὁρῶν ὥσπερ παρ’ αὐτοῖς γιγνόμενος τοῖς πραττομένοις εὑρίσκοι τὸ πρέπον καὶ ἥκιστα ἂν λανθάνοι τὰ ὑπεναντία. §17.2σημεῖον δὲ τούτου ὃ ἐπετιμᾶτο Καρκίνῳ.
For in this way, seeing them most vividly, as if present at the very events being performed, one would discover what is appropriate and would least of all overlook contradictions. An indication of this is the mistake for which Carcinus was censured.
ὁ γὰρ Ἀμφιάραος ἐξ ἱεροῦ ἀνῄει, ὃ μὴ ὁρῶντα ἐλάνθανεν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς σκηνῆς ἐξέπεσεν δυσχερανάντων τοῦτο τῶν θεατῶν. §17.3ὅσα δὲ δυνατὸν καὶ τοῖς σχήμασιν συναπεργαζόμενον·
For his Amphiaraus was coming up out of the temple, which escaped the notice of the poet through his not seeing it; but on the stage it failed, since the spectators took offense at this. One should also work it out as far as possible with the gestures of the characters.
πιθανώτατοι γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς φύσεως οἱ ἐν τοῖς πάθεσίν εἰσιν, καὶ χειμαίνει ὁ χειμαζόμενος καὶ χαλεπαίνει ὁ ὀργιζόμενος ἀληθινώτατα. §17.4διὸ εὐφυοῦς ἡ ποιητική ἐστιν ἢ μανικοῦ· τούτων γὰρ οἱ μὲν εὔπλαστοι οἱ δὲ ἐκστατικοί εἰσιν. §17.5τούς τε λόγους καὶ τοὺς πεποιημένους δεῖ καὶ αὐτὸν ποιοῦντα ἐκτίθεσθαι καθόλου, εἶθ’ οὕτως ἐπεισοδιοῦν καὶ παρατείνειν. §17.6λέγω δὲ οὕτως ἂν θεωρεῖσθαι τὸ καθόλου, οἷον τῆς Ἰφιγενείας· τυθείσης τινὸς κόρης καὶ ἀφανισθείσης ἀδήλως τοῖς θύσασιν, ἱδρυνθείσης δὲ εἰς ἄλλην χώραν, ἐν ᾗ νόμος ἦν τοὺς ξένους θύειν τῇ θεῷ, ταύτην ἔσχε τὴν ἱερωσύνην·
For those who are themselves in the grip of passions are most persuasive by virtue of their shared nature: the one who is agitated agitates others most genuinely, and the one who is angry rages most truly. Therefore, poetry belongs to the highly gifted person or to the madman; for of these, the former are adaptable, while the latter are ecstatic. As for the plots, whether they are already made or whether he is making them himself, the poet should first lay them out in general terms, and then insert the episodes and extend them in this way. What I mean by looking at the general outline in this way may be illustrated from Iphigenia: A certain girl has been sacrificed and has vanished in a way unseen by those who sacrificed her; she is established in another country, where it was the custom to sacrifice strangers to the goddess, and she obtains this priesthood.
χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον τῷ ἀδελφῷ συνέβη ἐλθεῖν τῆς ἱερείας, τὸ δὲ ὅτι ἀνεῖλεν ὁ θεὸς ἐλθεῖν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐφ’ ὅ τι δὲ ἔξω τοῦ μύθου·
Sometime later, it happens that the brother of the priestess arrives; the fact that the god ordered him to go there, and for what purpose, is outside the plot.
ἐλθὼν δὲ καὶ ληφθεὶς θύεσθαι μέλλων ἀνεγνώρισεν, εἴθ’ ὡς Εὐριπίδης εἴθ’ ὡς Πολύιδος ἐποίησεν, κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς εἰπὼν ὅτι οὐκ ἄρα μόνον τὴν ἀδελφὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν ἔδει τυθῆναι, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἡ σωτηρία. §17.7μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ἤδη ὑποθέντα τὰ ὀνόματα ἐπεισοδιοῦν· §17.8ὅπως δὲ ἔσται οἰκεῖα τὰ ἐπεισόδια, οἷον ἐν τῷ Ὀρέστῃ ἡ μανία δι’ ἧς ἐλήφθη καὶ ἡ σωτηρία διὰ τῆς καθάρσεως. §17.9ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς δράμασιν τὰ ἐπεισόδια σύντομα, ἡ δ’ ἐποποιία τούτοις μηκύνεται. §17.10τῆς γὰρ Ὀδυσσείας οὐ μακρὸς ὁ λόγος ἐστίν· ἀποδημοῦντός τινος ἔτη πολλὰ καὶ παραφυλαττομένου ὑπὸ τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος καὶ μόνου ὄντος, ἔτι δὲ τῶν οἴκοι οὕτως ἐχόντων ὥστε τὰ χρήματα ὑπὸ μνηστήρων ἀναλίσκεσθαι καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι, αὐτὸς δὲ ἀφικνεῖται χειμασθείς, καὶ ἀναγνωρίσας τινὰς ἐπιθέμενος αὐτὸς μὲν ἐσώθη τοὺς δ’ ἐχθροὺς διέφθειρε. §17.11τὸ μὲν οὖν ἴδιον τοῦτο, τὰ δ’ ἄλλα ἐπεισόδια.
But having come and been captured, when he is about to be sacrificed, he makes himself known—either as Euripides made him do or as Polyidus did, by saying, as was natural, that not only his sister, then, but also he himself had to be sacrificed—and from this comes his salvation. After this, having already assigned the names, one should insert the episodes. But one must see to it that the episodes are appropriate, as in the case of Orestes, his madness through which he was captured, and his salvation through the purification. In dramas, then, the episodes are concise, but epic poetry is lengthened by them. For the story of the Odyssey is not long: A certain man is away from home for many years, watched hostilely by Poseidon, and is alone; further, matters at home are in such a state that his property is being wasted by suitors and his son's life is being plotted against; he himself arrives after being tempest-tossed, and having made himself known to certain persons, he makes an attack, saves himself, and destroys his enemies. This, then, is the core of the story, and the rest is episodes.