_SIR,_
In comparing _Virgil_'s and _Milton_'s Versification, I shall begin
with _Virgil_; and shew some of the principal Beauties of his Poetry
in this respect: And here I must own myself not a little indebted to
_La-Cerda_, _Pontanus_ and _Pierius_, but above all to the most
excellent _Erythræus_, who has not only considered every Paragraph,
every Line, every Foot, every Word, and every Syllable, but even every
Letter in _Virgil_; and it is not easy to conceive how much may depend
on a single Letter, very often the whole Harmony of a Line; and on
this Account we have vast Obligations to _Pierius_; to him we owe this
fine Verse, and many others.
"_Atq; rotis summas 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 Versification consist of the several following Particulars.
1st, The continual varying of the Pause.
2d, The Inversion of the Phrase.
3d, The adapting of the Sound to the Sense.
4th, The mixing of the singular and plural Numbers.
5th, The giving Majesty 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_, _Allusio Verborum_, and
_Assonantia Syllabarum_.
As these three last Articles arise from Observations perfectly new at
the time they were written by _Erythræus_, namely, about 200 Years
ago; and as new at this time, having been almost quite lost by I know
not what Accident to the World; I must follow my Master, and use his
Terms for his Discoveries, except where I differ a little from him.
1st, To begin with the first Article mentioned in this Letter, _The
Varying of the Pause_. This Subject I have met with in several Books,
but not fully explained in any one of them to my Capacity; for I must
confess I should never have thoroughly apprehended the Varying of the
Pause in any Language, if I had not thought of an Expedient to
discover what is the common Pause in a Verse that each Language
naturally stops at, of which I have any Knowledge.
To find out this, I consulted the middling sort of Poets, or the first
Practicers in this Art: In this Enquiry I observ'd from _Hesiod_ 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 Pause or Stop in all _Latin_ Heroick Verse (to say
nothing of the _Greek_, which agrees with it in this Respect) is upon
the 1st Syllable of the 3d Foot. For Example,
"_Ante mare & tellus | & quod tegit omnia, cælum,
Unus erat toto | Naturæ vultus in orbe,
Quem dixêre Chaos | rudis indigestaque moles;
Nec quicquam, nisi pondus, iners; | congestaque eodem
Non bene junctarum | discordia semina rerum.
Nullus adhuc mundo | præbebat lumina Titan;
Nec nova crescendo | reparabat cornua Phoebe,
Nec circumfuso | pendebat in aëre tellus_--
Here we have eight Lines all paused in the same Place, except one,
(the 4th); and in this kind of Measure the _Metamorphosis_ is
generally written; from whence I collected the natural Pause in the
_Latin_ Language to be as abovementioned: I then consulted the best
Poem of the best _Latin_ Poet, which begins with these Lines.
"_Quid faciat lætas segetes, | quo Sydere Terram
Vertere, | Mæcenas, | ulmisque adjungere Vites
Conveniat, | quæ cura Boum, | qui cultus habendo
Sit Pecori, | Apibus quanta experientia parcis
Hinc canere incipiam |._--
Here I observed that this great Master had artfully avoided the common
Pause till he came to the fifth Line; and he takes care to do it as
much as possible throughout the whole Work; from whence arises one of
the most material Differences in the Versification of _Ovid_ and
_Virgil_; and to produce more Examples would be a needless 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 _Æneid_, which
suspend all Pauses, and the Ear is relieved by this Means, and attends
with 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 Inversion of the
Phrase_. This flings the Stile out of Prose, and occasions that
Suspense which is the Life of Poetry. This _builds the lofty Rhyme_
(as _Milton_ expresses it) in such manner as to cause that Majesty in
Verse of which I have said so much before, that there is no need of
saying any thing more here.
3d. The third thing is, _The adapting the Sound to the Sense_.
Most People know such Instances of this Nature, as _Quadrupedante_,
&c. and _Illi inter sese_, &c. But few attend to an Infinity of other
Examples.
How is the Verse drawn out in length, and how does it labour when
strong heavy Land is to be ploughed!
"--_Ergo, age terræ
Pingue solum, primis extemplo a Mensibus Anni
Fortes invortant tauri._--
How nimbly does the Verse move when the turning over very light Ground
is represented!
"--_Sub ipsum
Arcturum_, tenui s[=a]t erit _suspendere sulco_.--
How slow does the heavy Waggon proceed in this Line!
"_Tardaque Eleusinæ Matris Volventïa Plaustra._--
How does the Boat bound over the _Po_ in these two Hemisticks!
"--_Levis innatat alnus
Missa Pado._--
See Feathers dancing on the Water in this!
"--_In aqua colludere plumas._--
No Stem of the Crab-tree is more rough than this Verse.
"_Inseritur vero ex foetu nucis arbutus horrida:_
Water is not more liquid than this.
"_Speluncisque lacus Clausos, lucosque sonantis._--
_S. & L. liquescit Carmen instar aquarum_, says _Erythræus_ in his
Note on this Line.
How gently flow the Streams in this Verse!
"_Unde pater Tiberinus, & unde Aniena fluenta._--
What a roaring do the _Hypanis_ and _Caicus_ make in the next!
"_Sax[=o]sumque s[=o]nans Hypanis, Mysusque Caïcus._
But now observe how he raises his Song to honour his Favourite
_Eridanus_!
"_Et gemina_ auratus _taurino cornua vultu_
Eridanus; _quo non_ alius _Per Pinguia culta
In mare purpureum v[=i]olent[=i]or [=i]nflu[=i]t amn[=i]s._
The former Line strikes the Ear with _Mysus_ and _Caïcus_; here you
have _Auratus_, _Eridanus_, and _Alius_. Then an Alliteration, _Per
Pinguia_, and at last the whole Passage rolls on in a Dactyl Line, and
rushes into the Sea with an _Assultus_ 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_.
"--_Gaudetque nivali
Vertice se attollens pater Appeninus, ad auras._--
This falls down as low as the deepest Valley.
"_Saxa per, & scopulos, & depressas convalles._
In short there is nothing in Nature that _Virgil's_ Verse does not
convey to the _Ear_, and the _Eye_; so that this Subject is
inexhaustible, and must be left to every one's particular Observation.
The learned _Morhophius_ has a Passage relating to this Matter which
comes in too properly here to be omitted.
"Solent Carminibus suæ esse a Numeris Veneres, & certa quædam
Artificia, quæ mirifice ornant versum, quales apud Virgilium, mirum
numeri Poetici Observatorem, frequenter occurrunt, e.g. cum versus
terminantur Monosyllabis, ut: _procumbit humi bos: nascetur
ridiculus mus_. Vel cum Spondæi multi adhibentur, ut; _media agmina
circumspexit: Illi inter sese magnâ vi brachia tollunt_. Aut cum
Dactyli & Spondæi ita miscentur, ut REI NATURAM EXPRIMANT, ut cum de
turri ruente ait:
"--_Convellimus altis
Sedibus; impulimusq;, ea lapsa repente_ ruinam
_Cum sonitu trahit_.--
"Talia infinita apud Virgilium habentur quæ homo in iis non
exercitatus contemnat, doctus vero & prudens admiretur.
_Polyhist._
There is also a Remark of the judicious _Columna_ on a celebrated Line
in _Virgil_, which is very much to the present Purpose.
_Unus Homo Nobis Cunctando Restituit Rem._]
Virgilius de eodem loquens Æneid l. 6. integrum hoc carmen sumpsit,
ita tamen, ut _spondeorum tarditate Fabii moram referret_,
--tu Maximus ille es,
Unus, qui nobis cunctando restituis rem.
_Enn. Frag._
Sept. 21, 1736,
_I am_, SIR, _&c._
* * * * *
_P.S._
The Passage in the learned _Muhlius_, which I should have inserted at
the beginning of this Letter, I send you in a Postscript. You have
seen it before, but it is worth reading more than once. You know it
belongs principally to the Article that treats of _the varying the
Pause_.
"Neque potest unus idemque semper tenor in carmine usurpari, sed
debet is pro varià periodorum Poeticarum ratione distingui. Et ut
insurgat decore & intumescat aliquando, iterumque remittat, ubi opus
est, consequimur cæsorum ac periodorum sola inæqualitate. Quod
pulcerrime observat _Virgilius_, cujus alia mensura, alia pedum
compositio est in narrationibus, descriptionibus, orationibus, &
tanta periodorum numerorumque variatio, ut ad eam perfectionem nihil
addi possit. Hujus rei quanta negligentia in _Statio_, _Lucano_,
_Claudiano_, _Silio Italico_? Ubi admirabilis illa harmonia,
suavitas, gravitas ipsorum pedum æqualiter, inæqualiter
temperatorum, per clausulas verborum fractorum, ac intra regiones
suas aliter aliterq; interceptorum? Ut de junctura illa literarum
nihil addam, cum vocales ac consonantes ipsæque syllabæ ita
miscentur, ut rei naturam tam apte jucundeque exprimant, ut ea
_geri_ potius quam _cani_, _spectari_ magis quam _audiri_ videatur.
Talia infinita sunt apud _Virgilium_, quæ captum imperitorum longe
excedunt, doctiores vero & prudentiores impense admirantur; quæ
nihil tritum, vulgare, hiuclum nihil elumbe ac contortum patiuntur,
at nescio quid virile & stupendum plane, ac majus humana voce
videntur sonare. _Claudianus_ certe istud fastigium non attingit, &
quod in _Maroniana_ dictione, in illa periodorum ac numerorum
varietate præclarum putamus, vix est, ut ejus vel levem umbram
ostentet. Sic eadem semper oberrat chorda, quod ridiculum existimat
magnus iste dicendi magister."