"Mean time the Goddess on Afcanius throws, "A balmy Slumber and a sweet Repose. "Lull'd in her Lap to Reft, the Queen of Love, Convey'd him to the foft Idalian Grove. Pit's 1ft Eneid, Where can a smoother Line than this be found in our Language? "Lull'd in her Lap to Reft, the Queen of Love. And it may be observed that this Line is all Monofyllables. Monofyllables are likewife of great confequence on another account. The Strength of the English Language is greatly owing to them: For to them it is principally obliged for its Concifenefs; and Concifenefs is Strength. Now Concifeness is not only to express ourselves in as few Words as we can, but the Excellency of the Language fhews itself, if those few Words are compofed of few Syllables. And herein upon Examination, the Strength of the English Tongue will be found to lye; and for this reafon it may be faid to be more concife than the Latin; which will appear if Virgil is turned into English, I mean even English Verfe. For Example: << Ubi tot Simois correpta fub undas "Where Simois Streams incumber'd with the flain, "Roll'd Shields, and Helms, and Heroes to the Main. To discover which of these two Paffages is the most concise, it is not fufficient to fhew, that there are two whole English Lines, and but one Line and three Parts of another in the Latin. Latin and English Lines cannot be compared together, because in a Latin Line there are fix Feet, and in an English Line but five. Again, in Latin Verfe there must be in every Line one Foot of three Syllables, often three or four, or even five Feet of three Syllables, and fometimes four or five Syllables in one Foot. Whereas in an English Line, there is hardly ever more than two Syllables in a foot. So that an English Verse cannot be compared with the Latin by the Line, or by the Foot, but only by the Syllables of which the Words are compofed, which make the Feet in both the Languages. The Business then is to enquire whether we write or pronounce more Syllables in the Latin or English Verfes here quoted: Upon Enquiry it appears that there are twenty nine Syllables in the Latin, and but twenty one in the English; fo that the English is almoft one third part lefs than the Latin; which certainly fhews the former to be much more concife than the latter, there being nothing left out in the English, but the whole Thought is rather more fully expreffed: And this we fee is owing to Monofyllables both Verbs and Nouns, Streams, Slain, Shields, Roll'd, Helms, Main. In fhort the whole Paffage is equal to the Original in Majefty and Harmony, and fuperior in Conciseness. To give another Example or two of the fame na ture. "Urbs antiqua fuit, Tyrii tenuere Coloni, 66 Carthago, Italiam contra, Tyberinaque longe * Against the Italian Coaft, of ancient Fame "A City rofe, and Carthage was the Name; "A Tyrian Colony, from Tyber far, "Rich, rough, and brave, and exercis'd in war. "Sed vos, qui tandem, 66 Quove tenetis iter? Mr. Pit's Eneid. Facti de Nomine Byrfam, quibus aut veniftis ab oris, "Hence Byrfa nam'd.-But now ye Strangers, fay, "Who, whence you are, and whither lies your Way? I have chofen here three Paffages of three very different kinds, and in all of them the English appears to be much more concife than the Latin; neither is there any thing wanting in the Fulness of the Sense, or in Majefty, or in Harmony of Numbers, any more in the two last Paffages than in the former. Another Inftance of this kind might be produced out of Virgil's moft perfect Work, the Georgick, although it wants the Advantage of being tranflated by fuch a Hand as Mr. Pit's. "Si vero Viciamq; feres vitemq; Fafelum, "Nec Pelufiace curam afpernabere lentis. "But if the Vetch you fow, or meaner Tare, "Nor fhall difdain th' Ægyptian Lentil's Care. In the Latin there are thirty Syllables in the two Lines, in the English but twenty one. So that the English is almoft one third more concife than the Latin; and at the fame time Virgil's Senfe fully expreffed. I will conclude this Letter with the Opinion of a Foreigner concerning our Monofyllables: A Perfon not at all prepoffeffed in favour of our Language. "The English Language, befides the most fig"nificant Words borrowed from the Latin, Greek, "&c. and often fhortned, hath a vaft Stock of its own, and being for the most part Monofyllables, "no Speech is capable of expreffing Thought in "Sounds fo few as the English does: This is eafily "obferved by the Translations of the English into "Foreign Languages. "The Strength and Concifenefs that Monofylla❝bles (especially in Verbs) produce, are of won"derful Üfe in Lyrick Poetry, because they en 66 ter into any Foot or Measure of Verfes, by diffe"rent Tranfpofitions; fo that I dare venture to "affert,there is no Italian or Foreign Song, which "English Words will not fuit; the Variety of "Feet and Metres producing equal Variety of "Mode and Movements in Compofition. The "want of this is what makes the French vocal "Mufick fo confined and uniform; for I cannot "recollect above two of their Verbs in use in the "infinitive Mood, that are Monofyllables, and not one exact Dactile in all their Polyfyllables." Sept. 13. 1736. Röner's Preface to his Melopeia Sacra. I am, SIR, &c C LET principal Beauties of his Poetry in this refpect: And here I muft own myself not a little indebted to LaCerda, Pontanus and Pierius, but above all to the moft excellent Erythraus, who has not only confidered every Paragraph, every Line, every Foot, every Word, and every Syllable, but even every Letter in Virgil; and it is not eafy to conceive how much may depend on a fingle Letter, very often the whole Harmony of a Line; and on this Account we have vaft Obligations to Pierius; to him we owe this fine Verfe, and many others. 66 Atq; rotis fummas levibus pellabitur undas. All the common Editions read perlabitur; which is horrid to the ear. But to go on with the Matter in hand. The principal Excellencies of Virgil's Verfification consist of the several following Particulars. ift, The continual varying of the Pause. 2d, The Inverfion of the Phrase. 3d, The adapting of the Sound to the Senfe. 4th |