VERSIFICATION. 



" 4. In all Hebrew verfes, every alternate fyllable muft be 

 long ; the others may be long or fhort. 



" 5. The laft fyllable of every verfe is common ; i. e. either 

 long or fhort." 



On laying down thefe preliminaries, it was eafy for 

 Dr. Robertfon to reduce Hebrew verfe to the iambic or 

 trochaic metre. But fo long as the true Hebrew pro- 

 nunciation and the quantity of their vowels remain un- 

 known, to attempt the analyfis of Hebrew verfe by iambic, 

 trochaic, anapaeftic, or any other metre, is to lay a fuper- 

 ftrufture without a foundation. But whilft we prefer to 

 profecute the fequel rather with biftiop Lowth ; we do not 

 in the mean time withhold from our readers the pleafure of 

 perufing Dr. J. Robertfon's " Treatife on the true and 

 ancient Manner of Reading Hebrew, and on Hebrew 

 Verfification," Lond. 1757. 



As to the real quantity, the metre and rhythm, thefe from 

 the prefent ftate of the language feem to be altogether un- 

 known ; which is the neceflary confequence of our uncer- 

 tainty of the ancient pronunciation. To fome of thofe, 

 indeed, who have laboured in this matter, thus much of 

 merit is to be allowed, that they have rendered the Hebrew 

 metre, which, without their methods, founded uncommonly 

 harfli, in forae degree polilhed and more agreeable. They 

 indeed have furnifhed it with a fort of verfification and metrical 

 arrangement, when baffled in their attempts to difcover the 

 real. That we are warranted in attributing to them any 

 thing more than this, is neither apparent from the nature of 

 the thing, nor from the arguments with whicii they attempt 

 to defend their conjeftures. 



It is, however, undeniably apparent, that certain of the 

 Hebrew writings bear not only evident figns of poetic 

 animation, but alfo fuch charafterlRics of verfe, as leave us 

 little difficulty in pronouncing them of the poetic clafs. 

 There exiited, amongft the Hebrews, a icind of verfe, in- 

 tended, perhaps, for the memory ; in v/hich, when there was 

 little connexion between the fentiments, an alphabetic order 

 was preferved by the initial letters of each verfe or ftanza. 

 Of tliis there are fcveral examples, where the verfes are fo 

 exaftly marked and defined, that it is impoflible to miftake 

 them for profe, efpecially if we compare the correfpond- 

 ing parts of tlie proximate verfes, where word anfwers to 

 word, and almoll fyllable to fyllable. This being the cafe, 

 though no appeal can be made to the ear, yet the eye re- 

 mains competent to perceive the poetic fymmetry and 

 arrangement. 



Hebrew verfification alfo exhibits another property pecu. 

 liar to metrical compofition. Writers confined to the limits 

 of verfe, are generally indulged with the licence of ufing words 

 in a fenfe and manner remote from their common accepta- 

 tion, and of retrenching or adding a fyllable for the purpofe 

 of reducing the line to their afCgned limits. Next to the 

 Greeks, none, perhaps, have admitted thofe liberties more 

 freely than the Hebrews, and efpecially by the ufe of cer- 

 tain particles peculiar to metrical compofition, fo as to form 

 to themfelves a dialeiJl diftinftly poetical. There may be 

 further obferved a certain conformation of the fentences, 

 fo that a complete fenfe is almoft equally infufed into 

 every component part, and every member conftitutes an 

 entire verfe. So that as the poems divide themfelves in a 

 manner fpontaneoufly into periods, for the mod part equal, 

 fo the periods themfelves are divided into verfes, moll com- 

 monly couplets, though frequently of greater length. The 

 Hebrew verfe too vras adapted to their cullom of finging 

 correfponding parts by alternate and oppofite choirs. ( See 

 Nehcm. xii. 24. 31. 38. 40. and the title of the 88th Pfalm. ) 

 Verfe conftrufted in this manner, is fimilar to the Grecian 



proafm or epode. And it was thus, it is thought, that 

 Mofes with the Ifraelites chanted the ode at the Red fea. 

 ( Exod. XV. ) For " Miriam the prophetefs, the filler of 

 Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand ; and all the wom.en 

 went out after her, with timbrels and with dances. And 

 Miriam anfwered them, fing ye to the Lord, for he hath 

 triumphed glorioufly : the horfe and his rider hath he- 

 thrown into the fea." (Exod. XV. 20, 21.) Onfomeocca- 

 fions, one of the choirs fung a fingle verfe to the other, 

 which was anfwered by the other by a verfe in fome refpedt 

 correfpondent to the former. 



The 135th Pfalm is obvioufly adapted to three choirs ; the 

 high prieil with the houfe of Aaron conftituting xhe frjl ; 

 the Levites, the fecond ; and the congregation, the thin! ; 

 each ha\Hng its diftincl part, and all at dated intervals 

 uniting in full chorus. 



From an analyfis of this pfalm it might eafily be Ihewn, 

 that the Hebrew hymn is a compofition not lefs regular 

 than the Grecian ode. One cannot but obferve too, that it 

 was from tlie Jewifh, that the ChrilHan church derived the 

 cullom of finging in alternate chorus. Pliny (1. x. epiil. 

 97. ) obferves of the primitive Chrillians, that " they re- 

 peat alternate verfes to Chrift as to a god." And the 

 remains of this ancient cullom are yet evident in the alter- 

 nate or refponfive parts of the liturgy of the ellabliflied 

 church. See Bingham's Antiq. xiv. i. 



The peculiar conformation, already alluded to, in the 

 ftrufture of Hebrew verfe, confills chiefly in a certain 

 equality, refemblance, or paralleUfm between the members 

 of each period ; fo that in two verfes, or members of the 

 fame period, things for the moll part fhall anfwer to 

 things, and words to words, as if fitted to each other by a 

 kind of rule or meafure. This parallelifm confifts of three 

 fpecies. See Parallelism. 



Greek Verjification. 



It is necefTary, before we prefent the reader with a fyftem 

 of the Greek verfification, to apprize him, that the fecond, 

 fourth, and fixth foot, ixc. of a verfe are commonly called 

 the even places ; and the firft, third, and fifth foot, &c. the 

 odd places. 



I. Jamb'u Metre. 



1. An iambic verfe admits in the even places an iambus^ 

 in the odd, an iambus or a fpondee. 



2. An iambus in the odd places may be refolved into a 

 tribrach ; the fpondee, into a daclyl or anaposll. 



3. An iambus in the even places (^except the laft) may 

 be refolved into a tribrach. An anapseft is fubilituted for 

 it in the cafe of a proper name only. 



4. A daftyl muft be avoided in the fifth place ; and re- 

 folved feet muft not concur. 



Dimeters cataletlic. 

 Beginning with an anapxft. 



Ai« TouToy ovK ccdiX^O';^ 



<iKe TouToy ov TO)i)iij*.^Anacreon. 



Trimeters 



