QUANTITY. 



■put and the letters that follow them, which is called pofi- 

 tion. 



In moft laiip-uages, there are fome fyllablcs whofe quan- 

 tities vary, as the meafure requires, which are called com- 

 mon ; as in the Engliih record and record. 



Some authors confound the quantity with the accent ; but 

 the difference is very evident ; the former being the length 

 or fhortncfs of a fyllable, the latter the raifing or falling of 

 the voice. 



From two quantities, viz. long and (hort fyllables, arife 

 all the varieties of poetic feet, which are very great. Ho- 

 race alone ufes no lefs than twenty -eight. Yet the Greeks 

 went vallly beyond the Romans in this rcfpeft. In effeft, 

 as many ways as two quantities may be varied by compofi- 

 tion and tranfpofition, from two to fix fyllablcs, fo many 

 different feet have the Greek poets contrived, and that under 

 diftinft names, to the number of 124. Though it is the 

 opinion of fome of the learned, that poetical numbers may 

 be iufhciently explained from the feet of two or three fylla- 

 bles, into which the rcfl may he refolved. 



The feet, formed bv the ancients of the long and (hort 

 fyllables immediately, are the fpondee, confdling of two long 

 fyllables ; the pyrrhic, of two fliort ones ; the trochee, of 

 a h)ng and fhort fyllablt ; and the iambic, of a fhort and 

 long fyllable. 



'I'hofe of three fyllables are the moloffiis, confifting of 

 three long fyllables ; the tribrach, of three fhort ones ; the 

 dadyl, of one long and two fhort fyllables ; and the anapeji, 

 of two fliort and one long fyllable. 



The Englifh tongue admits of no feet above two fylla- 

 blcs, though both the Latin and Greek allow of fix. 



Our heroic verfes conCll of five long and five fhort fyl- 

 lables intermixed alternately ; though not fo (Iriftly but 

 that the order may be difpenfed with. Dryden varies them 

 with admirable beauty ; frequently his heroic verfe begins 

 with a long fyllable followed by two (hort ones. 



The truth is, the quantity of the fyllables is but little 

 fixed in the modern tongues ; and there is ftill lefs regard 

 had to it in the compofition of modern verfes. The want 

 of feet, or rather the fliortnefs and uniformity of our feet, 

 makes great difference between the numbers of the ancient 

 and modern verfe. Our poets are fettered ; and their fetters 

 are fo fhort, confifting of but two poor links, that it is no 

 wonder they can make no extraordinary motions. 



The ancients fubfifled by their quantities alone ; fo well 

 were they diflinguifhed, and fuch a variety and harmony did 

 they afford ! Our quantities make fuch poor mufic, that 

 we are forced to call in the Gothic aid of rhyme to diltin- 

 guifh our verfe from profe. 



Yet have attempts been made to fettle our verfe on the 

 ancient and natural footing of quantities, in exclufion of 

 rhyme, and vi-ith fuch fuccefs too (witnefs the immortal 

 Paradife Loft) as feems ta leave the praftice of rhyming 

 inexcufable. The French have likewife attempted the faijie 

 in their tongue, particularly Jodelet, and after liiin Pafquier, 

 ' Pafferat, and Rapin ; but they have all failed. 



On Qiiantity in the Greek Language. 

 Rules for the determination of quantity in the Greek 

 language, chiefly relate to the doubtful vowels a, 1, v, fince 

 E, 0, are, by nature, or not affefted by />o/?/ioff, fhort ; and r,, oj, 

 . are, by nature, or not affefted by pofition, long. 

 Pofition. 

 I. A fyllablp in which a (hort or doubtful vowel precedes 

 two confonants or a double letter, is long in every fituation ; 

 as tiiiT, 3e xXayyr, ixird^ ejus Zei);> xara f^ivx, rarfij, ilKtoii. 



Horn. 



r. Except that aJJ^ort vowel before two confonaiit?, 

 whereof theformcr is a mute and the latter a liquiel, is 

 common ; as 



'AXK imXixl^ov im, d-teov cxk1vtc-j xarajaxvi'. Hom. 

 Pa.'T^ci.x. V. 45. 



MJTjx ^iicjxi SsoKTi, TO ya^ //.Vtjov (ri> ajirov. Phocyl. 

 V. 92. 



Note. — I. In pafloril, elegiac, and epigrammatic verfe, tl.c fyllable 

 is more I'requenily (hort. 



Z. In diamatic poetry we may obferve, ift, that a (hort vowel liefore 

 Ajhort or ajpiratc mute followed by a liquid, and before a middle 

 mute followed bv {, remjin-- (Imrt. In tragedy the fyllable, if not 

 linnl, is often long. 2dly A (Inort vowel before a wiitdlc mute 

 followed by X, /i, or v, lengthens the lyllablc in all drani.itic poetry. 



3. When the fyllable i- length'-ned b fore two confon,iiits, ilie vowel 

 in pronunciation 'alfumes one of them; as 5ex-Xay7s), ifietr-Ail;^ 

 Karxp-^ivxy Tyr-^c^j rcK-^ev. Hom When tlie fyllable remains 

 {hort the vnwel concludes it ; as -rv-r^gs, rt-Kvov. 



2. A (hort vowel is fometimes made long before a fingle 

 confonant, particularly before a liquid, as 7ro>.Aa Xtcro-o;x£v^, 

 Hom. ; wKfa p'ny^uVn, Hom. 



Note — k is generally long before f, vi-liich with its afpir.-te appears 

 to have been doubled in pronunciation ; .is •jret^ffffnyfiii't. This 

 licence is not confined to a liquid ; as iTit^hy o<P'v. .ic Hom. 



3. A fhort fyllable is often made long when the next word 

 begins with a digammated vowel, as 0, o^, for foi. Hom. 

 MfAajo; o'itoio for Fnmtc. Hom. 'Ouil ovi for Fnu-:. Horn. 



4. When three (hort fyllables come together, it is necef- 

 fary, on account of the meafure in heroic verfe, that one 

 fhould be made long ; as aflsaTo-, nfixixi^'r)-. 



Note. — This takes place even where the three fyllables are in dif- 

 ferent words; a5 itu fttv, Horn.; }^ua; t^Vfza, Hef 



5. A vowel before another does not fuffer elifion, as in 

 Latin, at the end of a word, unlefs an apoftrophe is fub- 

 flituted. 



Note. — The elifion of diplithongs takes place in verbs only : real in- 

 fiances of this are to be found only in the fr.ignients of the new 

 comedy. 



6. A long vowel, or a diphthong, is generally fhortened 

 at the end, and fometimes at the beginning, of a word, 

 before a vowel ; as oiVw ev, Hom. ; iroiii, Soph. ; 4 I^m 

 ujjil:, Theocr. 



Note. — A long vowel, or a diphthong, may be confidered as confifting 

 of two lliort vowels. If the latter is fuppofed to fuffer elifiou, tlis 

 former will of courfe remain (hort; as o'Uo Iv. 



Crajis, or Contradion. 



7. A contrafted fyllable is always long ; as o^ifj, ojl; ; 



l:^0:, 'i^ijC. 



8. Two fuccefTive vowels, forming two fyllables, even in 

 different words, frequently coalefce m poetry ; thus 6tos be- 

 comes a monofyllable, ic^vrij! a diffyllable, and in » xdQ'.T'f 

 n ovK hmTit, Horn. ; ri ovk are pronounced as one fyllable. 



Compofition and Derivation. 



g. Compound and derivative words follow the quantity of 

 their primitives ; as 'a,^'^^oi from xi^-ir, ^vyn from 'iffvyot; lixai- 

 from fivn, 



fjote, — Grammarians have fometimes complained that " non feinpcr 

 huic reguls fidendum." But Dr. S. Clarke alh'rms; — " Deriva'i 

 pro eo, a qua parte fluant penultimam fimiliter \el perpet^o corri- 

 piunt, vel peipctuo producunt. Latini habent Ic-go, Isgi, quafi con- 

 traci^tum eK loli^gi. Similiter sfideo, sr-di,indeque sC-des,sedile. Coii- 

 fimili quadam ratione, apud Orsecos fit. Verba ninurum inuumera 

 funt, qu^ in prsfentibus et imperfc(^lis omnibus et in aorillrs pri- 

 mis, aCtivis et mediis, femper producantur ; in futuris autem er 

 auriftis lecundis omnibus, temper corripianiur ; ut ^I'w, ?^a«*a», 

 E^jjya; ^stvwj i^ivov^ E^owc'/inv, indeque ^affii, ^angoj. Sec. K^ivu, 

 ix^tyov, ixgivflt ; x^'ivM, indeque x^^/y, xelrig, y.a'iTr.s, &c. 



A a 2 .Accordiup 



