1793* ^^ Engli/h p'oetry^^—rhyme. 267 



that ever has been adopted can be supposed to con- 

 stitute the efsential characteristic of poetry. 



Among the Greeks and Romans, who were the on= 

 \j civilized nations in early times, with whose writ- 

 ings we are well acquainted, ttie rhythmical cadence 

 of poetry was produced in a man er extremely dif- 

 ferent from tha£ which is adopted in modern times ; 

 and in the ages that have pafsed away since the o- 

 verthrow of the Roman empire, various systems of 

 poetical rhythmus have started up, — prevailed for a 

 time, and been abandoned, — till at last, what we now 

 callrhime, or the coincidence of similar sounds, recur- 

 ring at the end of a certain number of syllables, has 

 acquired the predommance above all others, and is 

 now by many thought to constitute the discrimi- 

 native characteristic of poetry. 



The rhythmical cadence of the Greeks and Ro- 

 mans, was so accurately settled, that it could be dis- 

 tinguilhed in wnatever way it was written ; but as 

 by this rhythmus the whole composition was divided 

 into regular parts, by peculiar cadences recurring 

 pretty regularly, these divisions, consisting each of 

 a Certain number of lefser metrical divisions, which 

 have been technically named feet, have been called 

 lines, and are now regularly written or printed, each.- 

 in a stretch without a break, one below the other. 

 In imitation of this particular, modern poetry is in 

 general arranged into lines likewise, each line con- 

 sisting of a certain number of syllables, which must 

 be so arranged as to follow each other in a kind of 

 cadenced Eotv. Generally tv>o of these lines terminate 



