On RYTHMICAL MEASURES. 



99 



hear without pain and difguft ; and I would very willingly fup- 

 pofe, that they made fome fuch accommodation as is hinted at 

 above in the performance of their mufic, and that their feet or 

 bars were fometimes unequal, more in theory than in pradlice. 

 "When we confider the rythmical conflitution of man, which, 

 being a part of his nature, muft be fundamentally the fame, in 

 all ages and amongft all nations ; when we confider that thefe 

 Greeks had a very lively feeling of the powers of rythm, and 

 that they were accuftomed to have equal meafures frequenrly 

 prefented to them in their moft popular compofitions ; laftly, 

 when we confider, that they had no written charaflers to repre- 

 fent fome of the proportions which may enter into the fimpleft 

 mufic, particularly that which is marked by the point in the 

 modern notation, and therefore could have no dillindl percep- 

 tion of thofe proportions, or rather might occafionally exprefs 

 them, without being confcious of their doing fo ; it does not 

 feem impoflible, or even improbable, that their pradlice upon 

 many occafions was not conformable to their theory, and that 

 they might actually exprefs as equal thofe meafures, which, ac- 

 cording to rule and fyftem, were unequal. After all, it is im- 

 poflible to fay, how far the power of habit may operate upon 

 men in this as well as in every thing elfe. It muft be acknow- 

 ledged, that there are various circumftances in the mufical fyftem 

 of the ancients, befides the one that we have been now treating 

 of, which we muft be fatisfied with contemplating and admir- 

 ing at a diftance, without hoping fully to underftand them, or 

 daring to imitate them. 



To conclude this part of the fubje(5l, the laft deviation that 

 can be made from regular rythm, is varying the length of the 

 unit or fingle time in the fame bar. This has never been at- 

 tempted in written mufic, and can hardly be done without al- 

 moft entirely deftroying every impreflion of rythm or mea- 

 fured founds. 



N 2 The 



