1 805.] On the Prsnunc'iatlon of Greek and Latin Poetry'. 



107 



^rith very little or no change of tone.* — 

 The accentus, or ncocyJia, o\ the an- 

 cients probably referred to mufical modu- 

 lations of the voice in th?.t kind of recita- 

 tive wiih which they delivered poetry and 

 orations. 



To this niiftake we join another. We 

 very ofien fubftitute our own accent in- 

 Itead of a lovg time ; indeed I believe al- 

 nioft always, when the fyilable is long by 

 pofition. For inftarce, vie. fcarcely ever 

 hear a daftyl in which the firft fyllable is 

 not made quiie as (hort as either of the 

 fuccteding ones, and differs only by be- 

 ing accented. Frequently, indeed, the 

 very ftroke of the accent accelerates the 

 pronunciation to fnch a degree, that the 

 long fyllable becomes fenhbly the fliorteft 

 of the three. 



I obierved that we a5l upon a tacit ad- 

 miffion of thefe errors ; for it is not to be 

 fiippofed that a perfon moderately inform- 

 ed on thefe fubjeils, can in opinion fall 

 into errcrs {-:> palpable, whatever he may 

 do in practice. 



The confequence of this practical mif- 

 take is a hafty, huddled, mutilated pro- 

 nunciation of coiTipofitions which require 

 perfeftly oppofite treatment. The genius 

 of the Greek and Roman tongues vvillnrt 

 comport with that of our Teutonic dia- 

 led. Inftead of a rapil utterance which 

 crurties the vowels under the trampling 

 fucceliion of confonants, and an accentu- 

 ation ufually as fmart and quicJc as the tap 

 of a knocker, thole m.lodious languages, 

 particularly the firft of them, require an 

 enunciation charaflerized by the flow of 

 fweet, fonorous vowels and diphthongs, 

 conftituting a very large proportion of 

 truly long times. 



Thefe are the chief reafont of my dif- 

 fatisfaflion with " the current Englifli 

 mode of reciting the twonobleft languages 

 that ever adorned the earth." I fubmit 

 ihem, with a!l deference and refpei5t, to 

 your leirned Correl'pondcnts ; fiom any 

 of whom I (hall efteem it an equal favour 

 to corroborate, in any inftance, my opinion 

 jf right, or to correct it if erroneous. 



It will have been anticipated, that my 

 defign in troubling you with this long 

 Paper is tn recommend the praftice of 



• It is true that the Englift accent is fre- 

 quently placed on a long fyllable, as in the 

 voxiighry , faithful, record ; f rom wh i c h ci rcu m- 

 flance Sheridan has grofsly confuunded accent 

 with quantity, in his Lcdiures on Elocution. 

 Such imlances can fairly be confidcred .is no- 

 thing more than a mere coincidence of accent 

 Kith a lung time. 



reading by quantity, ?.s a fure method cf 

 avoiding the inconveniences enumerated, 

 and ot fecuring fome further impor- 

 tant advantages. To this praflice, I 

 piefume, your qtierifl: muft have referred, 

 when he fpenks of a " method tf leading 

 the Greek and Latin poets, io as to p:e- 

 ferve the charms of due quantity in the 

 feet, and confequent melody in the gene- 

 ral effea." 



This is that method which was recom- 

 mended above two hundred years ago by 

 Sir Adolphus a Meetkercke, in h's" ele- 

 gant little book," as the great Prefident 

 de Thou ftyles it, De Veteri et ReBd Lin- 

 gux Graca Prontintiatioiie •■, which the 

 late Dr. Warner agiin recommended with 

 ardent zeal and earneftnefs in his valuable 

 and entertaining Metron Arifion; which 

 Dr. Carey not obfcurely, though very mo- 

 deftly, dittinguiflies with his prefer nee in 

 his very excellent "Latin Prolbf'ymide 

 Eafy;" which is praflifed bymanyof ihe 

 firft fcholars on the Continent;* and 

 which the two lalt-mentioned authors in- 

 form us has been adopted by feveral emi- 

 nent teachers in our own country. 



This method, as fimple and eafy as it 

 is excellent, confilts in n-ither more nor 

 lefs than pronouncing the woids of a verfe 

 fo as to give its due quantity, in real time, 

 to every fyllable. 



This is, in fa£f , the whole : but, to 

 prevent all occafion of mifunderllanding, 

 three obfervations may be ufeful, 



1. It does not confilt in breaking and 

 fplitting the words, by attending only to 

 the feet. Bifhop Horfley, in his " Efiay 

 on the Profodies of the Greek and Latin 

 Languages," has retailed this objeftion 

 from Primatt, that the " manner of read- 

 ing by quantity was rather a fcanning of 

 the verfe than a reading of it," Nothing 

 can be more eironeous, or more contrary 

 to the txprefs words of Meetkercke. — See 

 Metfon Ar'iflon, p, 119, It mult, how- 

 ever, be admitied, that an inexperienced, 

 heedlels, or talielcfs perl'on, profe/Ting fu 

 read according to qumtity, might fall into 

 this vicious hhbit. But the fault may be 

 avoided with the utmoft cafe, by modcrrte 

 aHention and care, even withiui the aid 

 of Dr. Warner's otopoled meth'>d for that 



* Perinps Hermann, who, in his edi'ioa 

 of the Hecuba of Euripides, has fo unfortu- 

 nately incurred the wrath of Piole(;'jr Porloii, 

 referred to nothing more thin the advantage 

 of reading according to quantity, when he 

 took the liberty of faying, " Nos Gcrmani— , 

 multo melius Anglis fyUabarum quaiiiitdLcia 

 cailemus." 



O z purpofe. 



