Περὶ ποιητικῆς

Sections

1 – 1 2 – 3 4 – 7 8 – 11 12 – 14 1 – 4 5 – 3 4 – 5 6 – 6 7 – 9 10 – 13 14 – 16 17 – 20 21 – 3 4 – 11 1 – 6 7 – 11 12 – 16 17 – 23 24 – 27 28 – 8 9 – 12 1 – 3 4 – 3 4 – 6 7 – 9 10 – 11b 11c – 3 4 – 1 2 – 5 6 – 8 9 – 9 10 – 4 5 – 6 7 – 11 12 – 3 4 – 8 9 – 15 16 – 19 20 – 5 6 – 10 10b – 10c 10d – 11 12 – 3 4 – 6 7 – 8 9 – 9 10 – 12 1 – 2 3 – 5 6 – 8 9 – 3 4 – 8 9 – 19 20 – 5 6 – 9 1 – 4 5 – 9 10 – 2 3 – 9 10 – 13 14 – 19 20 – 4 5 – 8 9 – 12 13 – 15 16 – 2 3 – 5 6 – 2 3 – 6 7 – 12 13 – 15 16 – 17 18 – 19 20 – 22 23 – 3 4 – 9 10 – 14 15 – 15 16 – 16 17 – 17 18 – 19 20 – 21 22 – 24 25 – 30 31 – 1 2 – 5 6 – 12 13 – 16

ARA İngilizce Latince Latince

7 If these incidents are relevant, they increase the bulk of the poem, and this increase gives the epic a great advantage in richness as well as the variety due to the diverse incidents; for it is monotony which, soon satiating the audience, makes tragedies fail.

8 Experience has shown that the heroic hexameter is the right metre. Were anyone to write a narrative poem in any other metre or in several metres, the effect would be wrong.

9 The hexameter is the most sedate and stately of all metres and therefore admits of rare words and metaphors more than others, and narrative poetry is itself elaborate above all others.

10 The iambic and the trochaic tetrameter are lively, the latter suits dancing and the former suits real life.

11 Still more unsuitable is it to use several metres as Chaeremon did.

12 So no one has composed a long poem in any metre other than the heroic hexameter. As we said above, Nature shows that this is the right metre to choose.