270 GILBERT WHITE OF SELBORNE 1774 



been our best prose writers ; of this assertion Dryden and 

 Pope are notorious instances. It would be in vain to think 

 of saying much here on the art of versification ; instead of 

 the narrow limits of a letter, such a subject would require a 

 large volume. However, I may say in a few words that the 

 way to excell is to copy only from our best writers. The 

 great grace of poetry consists in a perpetual variation of 

 your cadences: if possible no two lines following ought to 

 have their pause at the same feet. 



Another beauty should not be passed over ; and that is, 

 the art of throwing the sense and power into the third 

 line, which adds a dignity and freedom to your expressions. 

 Dryden introduced this practice, and carried it to great 

 perfection; but his successor. Pope, by his over exactness, 

 corrected away that noble liberty, and almost reduced every 

 sentence within the narrow bounds of a couplet. Allitera- 

 tion, or the art of introducing words beginning with the 

 same letter in the same or following line, has also a fine 

 effect when managed with discretion. Dryden and Pope 

 practised this art with wonderful success. As, for example, 

 where you say "the polished beetle," the epithet "burnished " 

 would be better for the reason above. But then you must 

 avoid affectation in this case, and let the alliteration slide 

 in, as it were, without design ; and this secret will make 

 your lines bold and nervous. There are also in poetry 

 allusions, similes, and a thousand nameless graces, the 

 efficacy of which nothing can make you sensible of but the 

 careful reading of our best poets, and a nice and judicious 

 application of their beauties. I need not add that you 

 should be careful to seem not to take any pains about your 

 rhimes ; they should fall in, as it were, of themselves. Our 

 old poets laboured as much formerly to lug in two rhiming 

 words as a butcher does to drag an ox to be slaughtered ; 

 but Pope has set such a pattern of ease in that way, that 

 few composers now are faulty in the business of rhiming. 



