68 



Mr. Ellis, for whofe obfervations on ancient poetry the learned world is 

 much obliged, I would fay, that had the monk of Weiffemburg never 

 been born, nor a fmgle Latin rhime difgraced the fixth or any other 

 century, every nation in Europe would have rhimed its poetry in the 

 very fame manner it now does. Not confiderlng the genius of language, 

 or the facility with which the poetry of fome nations more than of |others 

 receives the rhime, we are feeking for its caufe where it cannot be found, 

 and without examining the queftion, affume that for a truth, which a 

 little reflexion would have told us could have no foundation. Thus ig- 

 norance having firfl: peeviflily afferted that rhime was a monkifli invention, 

 becaufe the Italian monks had brought it into contempt by their taftelefs 

 and barbarous jingles, a dark and credulous age embraced it on trull, 

 as firmly acquiefcing in it as in the maffes of the monks themfelves. 

 Neither time, nor the illuminations of learning have yet difpelled the 

 error; the deception continues, and the veil yet remains to be re- 

 moved. 



" But," fays Mr. Ellis, " this date, (viz. the 6th century,) is cer- 

 " tainly anterior to any that can be afligned to the Runic ode, called 

 " Elgin's Ranfom, that has been tranflated by Dr. Percy, and affords 

 " perhaps the earliefl; fpecimen of rhime in any modern language." The 

 precife date of the Runic ode I do not pretend to know ; but the Ar- 

 moric or ancient Britifli continues yet to be fpoken, and with great purity, 

 by an whole people, and is therefore modern : yet the rhimes of 

 ThalieJJin are more ancient by a century than thofe of the Latin monks, 

 while thofe of yf«^«r/« are at leaft of equal antiquity,* and confequently 

 each of them " anterior" to any date that hath been afligned to the Runic 

 ode. The Irifli likewife is a modern language, and perhaps both more 

 generally, and more accurately fpoken than the Armoric ; yet we have 

 a fragment of Ullen^ a poet far more ancient than ThaUeJfvi himfelf, 



in 



* See Appendix, No. 4. 



