And Midwife Time-the ripen'd Plot to Murther brought.
The Prince purfu'd, and march'd along with equal Pace.

Dryd.

Dryd.

In the last of which it is very apparent, that if the Senfe and Conftruction would allow us to make the Paufe at the 6th Syllable,

The Prince purfu'd, and march'd-along with equal Pace. the Verfe would be much more flowing and eafy.

The Verfes of 14 Syllables are lefs frequent than those of 12; they are likewife inferted in Heroick Poems, &c. and are agreeable enough when they conclude a Triplet and Senfe, and follow a Verfe of 12; as,

For thee the Land in fragrant Flow'rs is drest;

For thee the Ocean fmiles, and fmooths her wavy Breast,

And Heav'n it felf with more ferene and purer Light is blest. Dryd. But if they follow one of 10 Syllables, the Inequality of the Measure renders them lefs agreeable; as,

While all thy Province, Nature, I furvey,
And fing to Memmius an immortal Lay,

(Dryd.

Of Heav'nand Earth; and every where thy wondrous Pow'r difplay.. Efpecially if it be the laft of a Couplet only; as, With Court-Informers Haunts, and Royal Spies,

Things done relates, not done fbe feigns, and mingles Truth with Lies.

(Dryd. But this is only in Heroicks; for in Pindaricks and Lyricks, Verfes of 12 or 14 Syllables are frequently and gracefully plac'd, not only after thofe of 12 or 10, but of any other Number of Syllables whatsoever.

The Verses of 4 and 6 Syllables have nothing worth obferv ing, and therefore I fhall content my felf with having made mention of them. They are, as I faid before, us'd only in Operas and Masks, and in Lyrick and Pindarick Odes. Take one Example of them.

To rule by Love,

To fhed no Blood,

May be extoll'd above;

But here below,

Let Princes know,

'Tis fatal to be good.

Dryd.

Several Rules conducing to the Beauty of our Verfification.

UR_Poetry being very much polifh'd and refin'd fince the Days of Chaucer, Spencer, and the other antient Poets,

fome

fome Rules which they neglected, and that conduce very much to the Ornament of it, have been practis'd by the best of the Moderns.

The Firft is, to avoid as much as poffible the Concourfe of Vowels, which occafions a certain ill-founding Gaping, call'd by the Latins Hiatus; and which they thought fo disagreeable to the Ear, that, to avoid it, whenever a Word ended in a Vowel, and the next began with one, they never, even in Profe, founded the Vowel of the firft Word, but loft it in the Pronunciation; and it is a Fault in our Poets not to do the like, whenever our Language will admit of it.

For this Reason the e of the Particle The ought always to be cut off before the Words that begin by a Vowels; as, With weeping Eyes fhe beard th'unwelcome News.

Dryd.

And it is a Fault to make The and the firft Syllable of the following Word Two diftin& Syllables, as in this, Refrain'd a while by the unwelcome Night.

Wall.

A Second fort of Hiatus,and that ought no lefs to be avoided, is, when a Word that ends in a Vowel that cannot be cut off, is plac'd before one that begins by the fame Vowel, or one that has the like Sound; as,

Should thy Iambicks fwell into a Book.

Wall.

The Second Rule is, to contract the Two laft Syllables of the Preterperfe&t Tenfes of all the Verbs that will admit of it; which are all the Regular Verbs whatsoever, except only thofe ending in Dor T, and DE or TE. And it is a Fault to make Amazed of Three Syllables, and Loved of Two, inftead of Amax'd of Two, and Lov'd of One.

And the Second Perfon of the Prefent and Preterperfect Tenfes of all Verbs ought to be contracted in like manner; as thou lov'ft, for thou loveft, &c.

The Third Rule is, not to make ufe of feveral Words in a Verfe that begin by the fame Letter; as,

The Court he knew to feer in Storms of State.

He in thefe Miracles Defign difcern'd.

Dav.

Yet we find an Inftance of fuch a Verfe in Dryden's Translation of the first Pastoral of Virgil;

Till then a helpless, hopeless, homely Swain.

Which I am perfwaded he left not thus through Negligence or Inadvertency, but with defign to paint in the Number and Sound of the Words the thing he defcrib'd, a Shepherd in whom

Nec fpes libertates erat, nec cura peculi.

Now

Now how far the Sound of the H Afpirate, with which Three Feet of that Verfe begin, expreffes the Defpair of the Swain, let the Judicious judge: I have taken notice of it only to fay, that 'tis a great Beauty in Poetry, when the Words and Numbers are fo difpos'd, as by their Order and Sound to represent the things defcrib'd.

The Fourth is, to avoid ending a Verfe by an Adjective whofe Subftantive begins the following; as,

Some loft their quiet Rivals, fome their kind

Parents, &c.

Dav.

Or, by a Prepofition when the Cafe it governs begins the Verfe that follows; as,

The daily leffning of our Life, fhews by
A little dying, how outright to dye.

Wall.

The Fifth is, to avoid the frequent Ufe of Words of many Syllables, which are proper enough in Profe, but come not into Verfe without a certain Violence altogether difagreeable; particularly those whofe Accents is on the Fourth Syllable from the laft, as Undutifulness.

SECT. IV.

Doubts concerning the Number of Syllables of certain

TH

Words.

Here is no Language whatsoever that fo often joyns feveral Vowels together to make Diphthongs of them as ours; this appears in our having feveral compos'd of Three different Vowels, as EAU and EOU in Beauteous, IOU in Glorious, UAI in Acquaint, &c.

Now from hence may arife fome Difficulties concerning the true Pronunciation of thofe Vowels, Whether they ought to be founded separately in Two Syllables, or joyntly in one.

The antient Poets made them fometimes of Two Syllables, fometimes but of One, as the Measure of their Verfe requir'd; but they are now become to be but of One, and it is a Fault to make them of Two: From whence we may draw this general

Rule;

That

That whenever one Syllable of a Word ends in a Vowel, and the next begins by one, provided the first of thofe Syllables be not that on which the Word is accented, those Two Syllables ought in Verfe to be contracted and made but one.

Thus Beauteous is but Two Syllables, Victorious but Three ; and it is a Fault in Dryden to make it Four, as he has done in this Verfe:

Your Arms are on the Rhine victorious.

To prove that this Verfe wants a Syllable of its due Meafure, we need but add one to it; as,

Tour Arms are on the Rhine victorious now.

Where, tho' the Syllable now be added to the Verfe, it has no more than its due Number of Syllables; which plainly proves it wanted it.

But if the Accent be upon the firft of thefe Syllables, they cannot be contracted to make a Dipthong, but must be computed as Two diftin&t Syllables: Thus Poet, Lion, Quiet, and the like, muft always be us'd as Two Syllables; Poetry and the like as Three.

And it is a Fault to make Riot, for Example, one Syllable, as Milton has done in this Verfe,

Their Riot afcends above their lofty Tow'rs.

The fame Poet has in another Place made ufe of a like Word twice in one Verfe, and made it Two Syllables each time :

With Ruin upon Ruin, Rout on Rout.

And any Ear may discover that this last Verse has its true Meafure, the other not,

But there are fome Words that may be excepted; as Diamond, Violet, Violent, Diadem, Hyacinth, and perhaps fome pthers, which, though they are accented upon the first Vowel, are fometimes us'd but as Two Syllables; as in the following Verfes,

From Diamond Quarries hewn, and Rocks of Gold.

Milt.

With Poppies, Daffadils, and Violets joyn'd.

Tate.

With vain, but violent Force their Darts they flung.

Cowl.

His Ephod, Mitre, well-cut Diadem on.

Cowl.

My blushing Hyacinths, and my Bays I keep.

Dryd.

Sometimes as Three; as,

A Mount of rocky Diamond did rise.

Blac.

Hence the blue Violet and blushing Rofe.

Blac

And fet foft Hyacinths of Iron Blue.

Dryd.

When they are us'd but as Two Syllables they fuffer an Eli

fion of one of their Vowels, and are generally written thus, Di'mond, Vilet, &c,

This Contraction is not always made of Syllables of the fame Word only; for the Particle A being plac'd after a Word that ends in a Vowel, will fometimes admit of the like Contraction: For Example, after the Word many; as,

Tho' many a Victim from my Folds was bought,
And many a Cheese to Country Markets brought.
They many a Trophy gain'd with many a Wound.

After To; as,

Dryd.

Dav.

Can be to a Friend, to a Son fo bloody grow.

Cowl.

After They ; as,

From thee, their long-known King, they a King defire:

Cowl:

After By; as,

When we by a foolish Figure fay.

Cowl.

And perhaps after fome others.

There are alfo other Words whofe Syllables are fometimes contracted, fometimes not; as Bower, Heaven, Prayer, Nigher, Towards, and r many more of the like Nature: But they generally ought to be us'd but as one Syllable; and then they fuffer an Elifion of the Vowel that precedes their final Confonant, and ought to be written thus, Pow'r, Heav'n, Pray`r, Nigh'r, Tow'rds.

as,

The Termination IS M is always us'd but as one Syllable

Cowl.
Dryd.

Where griefly Schifm and raging Strife appear. And Rheumatisms I fend to rack the Joynts." And indeed, confidering that it has but one Vowel, it may feem abfurd to affert that it ought to be reckon❜d Two Syllables; yet in my Opinion thofe Verses seem to have a Syllable more than their due Measure, and would run better if we took one from them; as,

Where griefly Schifm, raging Strife appear.

I Rheumatisms fend to rack the Joynts.

Yet this Opinion being contrary to the conftant Practice of our Poets, I fhall not prefume to advance it as a Rule for others to follow, but leave it to be decided by such as are better Judges of poetical Numbers.

The like may be faid of the Terminations ASM and OS M.

SECT.