“Those Ancients have been faithful Imitators and wise Observers of that Nature, which is so torn and ill-represented in our Plays.  They have handed down to us a perfect Resemblance of Her, which we, like ill copyers, neglecting to look on, have rendered monstrous and disfigured.

“But that you may know, how much you are indebted to your Masters! and be ashamed to have so ill-requited them!  I must remember you, that all the Rules by which we practise the Drama at this day (either such as relate to the Justness and Symmetry of the Plot; or the episodical ornaments, such as Descriptions, Narrations, and other beauties which are not essential to the play), were delivered to us from the Observations that ARISTOTLE made of those Poets, which either lived before him, or were his contemporaries.  We have added nothing of our own, except we have the confidence to say, ‘Our wit is better!’ which none boast of in our Age, but such as understand not theirs.  Of that book, which ARISTOTLE has left us, [Greek:  peri taes Poietikaes]; HORACE his Art of Poetry is an excellent Comment, and, I believe, restores to us, that Second Book of his [i.e., ARISTOTLE] concerning Comedy, which is wanting in him.

“Out of these two [Authors], have been extracted the Famous Rules, which the French call, Des trois Unites, or ‘The Three Unities,’ which ought to be observed in every regular Play; namely, of TIME, PLACE, and ACTION.

“The UNITY OF TIME, they comprehend in Twenty-four hours, the compass of a natural Day; or, as near it, as can be contrived.  And the reason of it is obvious to every one.  That the Time of the feigned Action or Fable of the Play should be proportioned, as near as can be, to the duration of that Time in which it is REPRESENTED.  Since therefore all plays are acted on the Theatre in a space of time much within the compass of Twenty-four hours; that Play is to be thought the nearest Imitation of Nature, whose Plot or Action is confined within that time.

“And, by the same Rule which concludes this General Proportion of Time, it follows, That all the parts of it are to be equally subdivided.  As, namely, that one Act take not up the supposed time of Half a day, which is out of proportion to the rest; since the other four are then to be straitened within the compass of the remaining half:  for it is unnatural that one Act which, being spoken or written, is not longer than the rest; should be supposed longer by the audience.  ’Tis therefore the Poet’s duty to take care that no Act should be imagined to exceed the Time in which it is Represented on the Stage; and that the intervals and inequalities of time, be supposed to fall out between the Acts.