_SIR_,
I Should now go upon the Comparison of _Virgil_'s and _Milton_'s
Versification, in which you will meet with that Paradox, as you
thought it at first, namely, that the principal Advantage _Virgil_ has
over _Milton_ is _Virgil_'s Rhyme. But I beg leave to postpone that
matter at present, because I have a mind to make some Remarks upon the
second Line in the Translation of the beginning of the _Iliad_
mentioned in my former Letter, in which the auxiliary Verb _did_ (as
our Grammarians call it) is made use of. The Line runs thus.
"Which to the _Greeks did_ endless Sorrows bring.
It is commonly apprehended from a Passage in Mr. _Pope_'s _Essay on
Criticism_, that all auxiliary Verbs are mere _Expletives_.
"While Expletives their feeble Aid _do_ join,
And ten low Words oft creep in one dull Line.
But this I believe Mr. _Pope_ never intended to advance. _Milton_ has
used them in many Places, where he could have avoided it if he had
pleased. I will produce one.
--"Him the most High
Wrapt in a balmy Cloud with fiery Steeds
_Did_, as thou saw'st, receive.--
_Milton_ might have said,
"Receiv'd, as thou hast seen.--
But he thought the auxiliary Verb added Strength to the Expression, as
indeed it does. I own where the auxiliary Verb is brought close to its
principal, and _that_ a thin monosyllable, as in the Line just now
referred to, the Verse is very rude and disagreeable. But to prove
that the auxiliary Verb may be employed properly, I will produce an
Instance in rhym'd Verse, as strong as that of _Milton_ just
mentioned.
"Then _did_ the roaring Waves their Rage compose,
When the great Father of the Flood arose.
_Pit's_ 1st Æneid.
I believe it will not be disputed, but that this Line is as full, as
sonorous, and majestick as if the auxiliary Verb had been left out,
and the Author had used _compos'd_ instead of _did compose_. The
Expression is certainly more beautiful and more poetical; and the
reason of it is, that it occasions suspence, which raises the
attention; or in other Words the auxiliary Verb gives notice of
something coming, before the principal thing itself appears, which is
another Property of Majesty. Mr. _Dryden_'s authority might likewise
be added on this occasion; even in his celebrated Lines on _Milton_ it
is to be met with.
"_Greece_, _Italy_, and _England did_ adorn.
In his Translation of the _Æneid_ there are many Instances of the same
nature, one of which I will mention;
"The Queen of Heav'n _did_ thus her fury vent.
The Metre of this Line, as the Words are here rang'd, is not bad, as
the Ear can judge; but it would have been extremely so, if he had writ
it thus,
"The Queen of Heaven her Fury thus _did_ vent.[A]
[Footnote A:
His Heart, his Mistress and his Friends _did_ share.
_Pope_, on _Voiture_.]
From whence it appears that the auxiliary Verb is not to be rejected
at all times; besides, it is a particular Idiom of the _English_
Language: and has a Majesty in it superior to the _Latin_ or _Greek_
Tongue, and I believe to any other Language whatsoever.
Many Instances might be brought to support this Assertion from Great
Authorities. I shall produce one from _Shakespear_.
--_This to me
In dreadful Secrecy impart they_ did.
The Auxiliary Verb is here very properly made use of; and it would be
a great loss to _English_ Poetry, if it were to be wholly laid aside.
In Translations from the _Greek_ and _Latin_, I believe it wou'd
sometimes be impossible to do justice to an Author without this Help:
I think the Passage in _Homer_ before us, I mean the two first Lines
of the _Iliad_, are an Instance of this kind. They have been
translated by many Persons of late, _Dryden_, _Manwaring_, Mr.
_Tickel_, and by Mr. _Pope_ twice, and not by any one of 'em, as I
apprehend, in the Spirit of _Homer_. As to Mr. _Pope_'s two
Translations, I don't understand why the latter ought to be preferr'd
to the former. Mr. _Pope_'s first Translation stood thus.
The Wrath of _Peleus'_ Son, the direful Spring
Of all the _Grecian_ Woes, _O_ Goddess sing.
Mr. _Pope_ had reason to be dissatisfy'd with the _O_ in the second
Line, and to reject it; for _Homer_ has nothing of it. But now let us
see how the Vacancy is supplied in Mr. _Pope_'s new Translation.
_Achilles'_ Wrath, to _Greece_ the direful Spring
Of Woes un-number'd, _Heav'nly_ Goddess, sing.
Is not _Heav'nly_ as much an Expletive as _O_, and can either of these
Couplets deserve to be plac'd in the Front of the Iliad? I could wish
Mr. _Pope_ would return these two Lines once more to the Anvil, and
dismiss all Expletives here at least. But enough of Expletives.
I shall now say something of _Monosyllables_, which seem to be
absolutely condemn'd in the second Line of the two Verses just
mention'd from Mr. _Pope's Essay on Criticism_.
And ten low Words oft creep in one dull Line.
Mr. _Dryden_ indeed has said in several Places, that the vast Number
of _Monosyllables_ in our Language makes it barbarous and rough, and
unfit for Poetry. I am apt to think Mr. _Pope_ gave into Mr.
_Dryden_'s Sentiment a little too hastily. I own _ten low Words_ too
frequently _creep on in one dull line_, in a Poet's Works, whom Mr.
_Pope_ has formerly celebrated with no mean Encomiums.
The following Lines afford an Example in this respect.
At the beginning of the third Book of the _Davideis_, this is the
Description of _Goliah_'s Sword.
"A Sword so great, that _it_ was only _fit_
To take off his great Head, who came with _it_.
_Cowley._
Here are ten _dull_ Words most certainly in one _dull_ Line.
"To take off his great Head, who came with _it_.
And miserable is the Metre in which they creep on. But hundreds of
_monosyllable_ Lines are to be found in _Milton_ that are as sublime,
as beautiful, and as harmonious as can possibly be written. Look only
into the Morning Hymn in the fifth Book.
"Speak ye who best can tell, ye Sons of Light.
Again,
"Thou Sun! of this great World both Eye and Soul.
Again,
"And when high Noon hast gain'd, and when thou fall'st.
Again,
"With the fixt Stars, fixt in their Orb that flies.
Again,
"Breathe soft or loud; and wave your Tops, ye Pines.
Again,
"Bear on your Wings and in your Notes his Praise.
Can it be said that ten dull Words creep on dully in any one of these
Lines? But Examples may likewise be given in rhym'd Verse, of the
Harmony of _Monosyllables_. Harmony consists in mixing rough and
smooth, soft and harsh Sounds. What Words can be rougher than such as
these, _Rides_, _Rapt_, _Throws_, _Storms_; or smoother than these,
_Wheel_, _Hush_, _Lull_?
"Then mounted on his radiant Carr he _rides_,
And _wheels_ along the level of the Tides.
_Pit_'s 1st Æneid.
How rough is the first Line, how soft the latter! As soft as the
Original, which is a Masterpiece.
"_Rapt_ by his Steeds he flies in open Day,
_Throws_ up the Reins, and skims the watry Way.
"Has given to thee great _Æolus_ to raise
_Storms_ at thy sov'reign Will, and _smooth_ the Seas.
"He spake, and speaking chas'd the Clouds away,
_Hush'd_ the loud Billows, and restor'd the Day.
"Mean time the Goddess on _Ascanius_ throws,
A balmy Slumber and a sweet Repose.
_Lull'd_ in her Lap to Rest, the Queen of Love,
Convey'd him to the soft _Idalian_ Grove.
_Pit_'s 1st Æneid.
Where can a smoother Line than this be found in our Language?
"_Lull'd_ in her Lap to Rest, the Queen of Love.
And it may be observed that this Line is all Monosyllables.
_Monosyllables_ are likewise of great consequence on another account.
The Strength of the _English_ Language is greatly owing to them: For
to them it is principally obliged for its Conciseness; and Conciseness
is Strength. Now Conciseness is not only to express ourselves in as
few Words as we can, but the Excellency of the Language shews itself,
if those few Words are composed of few Syllables. And herein upon
Examination, the Strength of the _English_ Tongue will be found to
lye; and for this reason it may be said to be more concise than the
_Latin_; which will appear if _Virgil_ is turned into _English_, I
mean even _English_ Verse. For Example:
"--_Ubi tot Simois correpta sub undas
Scuta virum, Galeasq; & fortia Corpora volvit._
"Where _Simois_ Streams incumber'd with the slain,
Roll'd Shields, and Helms, and Heroes to the Main.
_Pit_'s 1st Æneid.
To discover which of these two Passages is the most concise, it is not
sufficient to shew, 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 six Feet, and in an _English_ Line but five. Again, in
_Latin_ Verse there must be in every Line one Foot of three Syllables,
often three or four, or even five Feet of three Syllables, and
sometimes 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
composed, 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_ Verses here quoted: Upon Enquiry it appears that
there are twenty nine Syllables in the _Latin_, and but twenty one in
the _English_; so that the _English_ is almost one third part less
than the _Latin_; which certainly shews the former to be much more
concise than the latter, there being nothing left out in the
_English_, but the whole Thought is rather more fully expressed: And
this we see is owing to _Monosyllables_ both Verbs and Nouns,
_Streams_, _Slain_, _Shields_, _Roll'd_, _Helms_, _Main_. In short the
whole Passage is equal to the Original in Majesty and Harmony, and
superior in Conciseness.
To give another Example or two of the same nature.
"_Urbs antiqua fuit, Tyrii tenuere Coloni,
Carthago, Italiam contra, Tyberinaque longe
Ostia, dives opum, studiisque Asperrima Belli._
"Against the _Italian_ Coast, of ancient Fame
A City rose, and _Carthage_ was the Name;
A _Tyrian_ Colony, from _Tyber_ far,
Rich, rough, and brave, and exercis'd in war.
Mr. _Pit_'s Æneid.
"--_Facti de Nomine Byrsam,
Sed vos, qui tandem, quibus aut venistis ab oris,
Quove tenetis iter?_--
"Hence _Byrsa_ nam'd.--But now ye Strangers, say,
Who, whence you are, and whither lies your Way?
I have chosen here three Passages of three very different kinds, and
in all of them the _English_ appears to be much more concise than the
_Latin_; neither is there any thing wanting in the Fulness of the
Sense, or in Majesty, or in Harmony of Numbers, any more in the two
last Passages than in the former. Another Instance of this kind might
be produced out of _Virgil_'s most perfect Work, the _Georgick_,
although it wants the Advantage of being translated by such a Hand as
Mr. _Pit_'s.
"_Si vero Viciamq; seres vitemq; Faselum,
Nec Pelusiacoe curam aspernabere lentis._
"But if the Vetch you sow, or meaner Tare,
Nor shall disdain 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 almost one third
more concise than the _Latin_; and at the same time _Virgil_'s Sense
fully expressed.
I will conclude this Letter with the Opinion of a Foreigner concerning
our Monosyllables: A Person not at all prepossessed in favour of our
Language.
"The _English_ Language, besides the most significant Words borrowed
from the _Latin_, _Greek_, &c. and often shortned, hath a vast Stock
of its own, and being for the most part Monosyllables, no Speech is
capable of expressing Thought in Sounds so few as the _English_ does:
This is easily observed by the Translations of the _English_ into
Foreign Languages.
"The Strength and Conciseness that Monosyllables (especially in
Verbs) produce, are of wonderful Use in Lyrick Poetry, because they
Enter into any Foot or Measure of Verses, by different
Transpositions; so that I dare venture to assert, there is no
_Italian_ or Foreign Song, which _English_ Words will not suit; the
Variety of Feet and Metres producing equal Variety of Mode and
Movements in Composition. The want of this is what makes the
_French_ vocal Musick so confined and uniform; for I cannot
recollect above two of their Verbs in use in the infinitive Mood,
that are Monosyllables, and not one exact Dactile in all their
Polysyllables."
_Röner_'s Preface to his _Melopeïa Sacra_.
Sept. 13. 1736.
_I am_, SIR, _&c._