4th, The mixing of the fingular and plural Numbers. 5th, The giving Majefty and Strength to his Verse with the connecting Particles Que and Et. 6th, The Collocatio Verborum, or artful way of placing Words. 7th, The changing the common Pronunciation of Words. 8th, Verses contrary to the common Measure. 9th, 10th, and 11th, His Alliteratio, Allufio Ver borum, and Affonantia Syllabarum. As these three last Articles arife from Obfervations perfectly new at the time they were written by Erythræus, namely, about 200 Years ago; and as new at this time, having been almoft quite loft by I know not what Accident to the World; I must follow my Mafter, and use his Terms for his Dif coveries, except where I differ a little from him. ift, To begin with the first Article mentioned in this Letter, The Varying of the Paufe. This Subject I have met with in feveral Books, but not fully explained in any one of them to my Capacity; for I must confefs I fhould never have thoroughly apprehended the Varying of the Paufe in any Language, if I had not thought of an Expedient to dif cover what is the common Paufe in a Verse that each Language naturally stops at, of which I have any Knowledge. To find out this, I confulted the middling fort of Poets, or the firft Practifers in this Art: In this Enquiry I obferv'd from Hefiod and Ennius among the Greek and Latin Poets, and afterwards from Ovid with relation to the latter, and which I am now to speak of, that the common Paufe or Stop in all Latin Heroick Verfe (to fay nothing of the Greek, which agrees with it in this Refpect) is C 2 upon upon the 1ft Syllable of the 3d Foot. Example, For "Ante mare & tellus & qued tegit omnia, cælum, "Unus erat toto | Naturæ vultus in orbe, 66 Quem dixêre Chaos | rudis indigestaque moles ; "Nec quicquam, nifi pondus, iners; eodem "Non bene junctarum congeftaque difcordia femina rerum. "Nullus adhuc mundo præbebat lumina Titan ; "Nec nova crefcendo reparabat cornua Phæbe, "Nec circumfufo | pendebat in aëre tellus Here we have eight Lines all paused in the fame Place, except one, (the 4th); and in this kind of Measure the Metamorphofis is generally written; from whence I collected the natural Paufe in the Latin Language to be as abovementioned: I then confulted the beft Poem of the best Latin Poet, which begins with thefe Lines. Quid faciat lætas fegetes, quo Sydere Terram "Vertere, Macenas, ulmifque adjungere Vites Conveniat, quæ cura Boum, qui cultus babendo "Sit Pecori, Apibus quanta experientia parcis "Hinc canere incipiam \. Here I obferved that this great Master had artfully avoided the common Paufe till he came to the fifth Line; and he takes care to do it as much as poffible throughout the whole Work; from whence arifes one of the most inaterial Differences in the Verfification of Ovid and Virgil; and to produce more Examples would be a needlefs Labour. In this Place let me take Notice that it is on Account of Varying the Pause that Virgil makes his broken Lines in the Eneid, which fufpend all Paufes, and the Ear is relieved by this Means, and attends with fresh fresh Pleasure. Whoever intends to come up to Virgil in Harmony in Heroick Numbers in any long Work, must not omit this Art. 2d, The next thing to be attended to, is, The Inverfion of the Phrafe. This flings the Stile out of Profe, and occafions that Sufpenfe which is the Life of Poetry. This builds the lofty Rhyme (as Milton expreffes it) in fuch manner as to cause that Majesty in Verse of which I have faid fo much before, that there is no need of faying any thing more here, 3d. The third thing is, The adapting the Sound to the Senfe. Most People know fuch Inftances of this Nature, as Quadrupedante, &c, and Illi inter fefe, &c But few attend to an Infinity of other Examples. How is the Verfe drawn out in length, and how does it labour when ftrong heavy Land is to be ploughed ! -Ergo, age terræ "Pingue folum, primis extemplo a Menfibus Anni "Fortes invortant tauri. > How nimbly does the Verfe move when the turning over very light Ground is reprefented! •Sub ipfum "Arcturum, tenui sat erit fufpendere fulco. How flow does the heavy Waggon proceed in this Line! "Tardaque Eleufine Matris Volventia Plauftra. How does the Boat bound over the Po in thefe two Hemifticks! C 3 66 Levis "Miffa Pado. -Levis innatat alnus See Feathers dancing on the Water in this! In aqua colludere plumas. No Stem of the Crab-tree is more rough than this Verse. ἐσ Inferitur vero ex fætu nucis arbutus horrida: Water is not more liquid than this. Speluncifque lacus Claufos, lucofque fonantis. S. & L. liquefcit Carmen inftar aquarum, fays Erytbræus in his Note on this Line. How gently flow the Streams in this Verfe! "Unde pater Tiberinus, & unde Aniena fluenta. What a roaring do the Hypanis and Caicus make in the next! "Saxofumque sonans Hypanis, Myfufque Caïcus. But now observe how he raifes his Song to honour his Favourite Eridanus! "Et gemina auratus taurino cornua vultu The former Line strikes the Ear with Myjus and Caïcus; here you have Auratus, Eridanus, and Alius. Then an Alliteration, Per Pinguia, and at laft the whole Paffage rolls on in a Dactyl Line, and rushes into the Sea with an Affultus of the Vowel i, repeated five times in three Words. Violentior influit amnis. The following Line tours into the Skies with the highest Mountain in Italy. ત Gaudetque nivali "Vertice fe attollens pater Appeninus ad auras. This falls down as low as the deepest Valley. "Saxa per, & fcopulos, & depreffas convalles. In fhort there is nothing in Nature that Virgil's Verfe does not convey to the Ear, and the Eye; fo that this Subject is inexhauftible, and muft be left to every one's particular Observation. The learned Morbophius has a Paffage relating to this Matter which comes in too properly here to be omitted. "Solent Carminibus fuæ effe a Numeris Veneres, & certa quædam Artificia, quæ mirifice or"nant verfum, quales apud Virgilium, mirum "numeri Poetici Obfervatorem, frequenter occur"runt, e. g. cum verfus terminantur Monofyllabis, 66 ut: procumbit bumi bos: nafcetur ridiculus mus. "Vel cum Spondæi multi adhibentur, ut; media "agmina circumfpexit: Illi inter fefe magnâ vi bra"chia tollunt. Aut cum Dactyli & Spondæi ita "mifcentur, ut REI NATURAM EXPRIMANT, 66 ut cum de turri ruente ait : |