VERSIFICATION. 



3. I'lircc Gluconic choriambic trimeters acataleftic, and 

 a Pherecratic dadlylic trimeter acataledic ; as, 



Dianae fiimus in fide 

 Puella?, et pueri integri : 

 Dianam pueri integri, 

 Puellxque canamus. — Catull. 



4. Three Afclepiadic choriambics and a Glyconic ; as, 



Aurum per medios ire fatellites, 

 El peirunipere amat faxa potentius 

 Itlu fulmineo. Concidit auguris 

 Argivi doraus ob lucrum. — Hor. 



IV. Of the Carmen Ti'tcolon Trijlrophon. 



1. An hexameter, an Archilochian dactyhc dimeter 

 hypercataleftic, and an Iambic dimeter acataledlic ; as, 



Te regem Dominiimque canam, dum lucida volvet 



Lucidus aftro pclus, 



Et unicum colutn Deum. — Buchan. 



2. An hexameter, an Iambic dimeter acataleftic, and an 

 Archilochian daftylic penthemimer ; as, 



Horrida tempeftas ccelum contraxit ; et imbres 

 Nivefque deducunt Jovem : « 



Nunc mare, nunc filiiaf. Epod. 13. 



Thus Heinfius fcans tlie 13th Epod. 



3. An Iambic trimeter acatale(Elic, an Archilochian dac- 

 tylic penthemimer, with an Iambic dimeter acataleftic ; as. 



Petti, nihil me, ficut antea juvat 



Scribere verficulos — 



Amore perculfum gravi. — Hor. 



But others term this a carmen dicolon diftrophon. 



4. A Glyconic choriambic trimeter, an Afclepiadic 

 choriambic tetrameter, and an Alcaic choriambic pen- 

 tameter ; as. 



Per quinquennia jam decern 



Ni fallor, fuimus ; feptimus infuper 



Anno cardo rotat, dum fruimur Sole volubili Prudent. 



V. Of the Carmen Tricolon Telrajlrophon. 



1. Two great alcaics, an Iambic dimeter hypercatalec- 

 tic, and a fmall alcaic ; as, 



Odi profanum vulgus et arceo : 

 Favete hnguis : carmina non prius 

 Audita, Mufarum facerdos, 

 Virginibus puerifque canto. — Hor. 



2. Two Afclepiadic choriambics, a Pherecratic daftylic 

 trimeter, and a Glyconic choriambic ; as, 



Prima nofte domum claude, neque in vias 



Sub cantu querulae defpice tibiae : 



Et te faepe vocanti 



Duram, difficilis mane. — Hor. 



There is likewife a third kind formed by a certain ar- 

 rangement of ode 12. lib. 3. of Horace; for which fee the 

 Carmen Diocolon Triftrophon, No. III. 



As the literature of Italy and France is allowed to hold 

 fuch diftingui/hed rank and importance in the republic of 



letters, it is now incumbent on us to offer fuch re.Tiarks a» 

 may tend to develope tlie nature and principles of 



Italian and French V erjificatwn. 



I. If tlie reader will take the trouble to confult the abbe 

 d'Ohvet on the French Language, (edit, of 1807, p. 6 — 

 10. ) he will find a detail of thofe who attempted the coni- 

 poiition of verfe after the principles of the ancient Greeks 

 and Romans. This praftice, however, h;i3 long fince be- 

 come quite obfolete, and fvllabic quantity has been fuper- 

 feded, in the ilrufture of verfe, by accentuation, and there- 

 fore the definition of modern verfe mav be given in the 

 following words. 



II. A verfe is an aflemblage of fuch a definite number of 

 lyllables or feet, and comprifes fuch a ferics of regularly 

 recurring accents, as may be eafily remarked by the eai" ; 

 whofe pleafing fucceflion is regulated by our innate per- 

 ception of what is mufical and harmonious ; and it, there- 

 fore, admirably ferves to delight the ear, to expand the 

 foul, to folace the heart, to aid the memory, and lo adapt 

 the language of difcourfe to that of long and mufic. 



The extent or the meafure of verfe ought to be fuch, that 

 it may be eafily and fenfibly felt by the ear ; otherwife verfe 

 differs not from profe. For if the number of feet or fyl- 

 lables conftituting the verfe be fuch, as to prevent the eafy 

 recognifance of the fame returning feries, the ear fail-to be 

 delighted, or the memory to be afGfled by the recurrence of 

 what it is only fatigue or difficulty to anticipate. 



That an intimate analogy exifts between verfe and mufic 

 is manifeil to the moft fuperficial obferver. They receive 

 their exiftence from the fame laws, and their objeft is to 

 gratify and delight the fame organ. Amongll the ancients, 

 miific lent its numbers to poetry. It was to the, lyre that 

 Apollo, Orpheus, and Homer fung their verfe. " Illud 

 quidem certum," fays Voffius, " comnem poefim olim can- 

 tatum fuifie." It is, therefore, to mufic that we mull refer 

 for the bafis, the rationale, of verfification. 



It is affirmed too, by the definition jull given, tliat verfe 

 admirably ferves to delight the ear, to expand the foul, and 

 to aid the memory. Verfe aims to render the truths and 

 fentiments exprefled by its language, amiable and intcrciling. 

 And this it effefts by the medium of an accurately meafured 

 and agreeable fucceffion of accented and unaccented founds, 

 which addrefs the ear ; and by the means of fuch images and 

 fentiments as delight and affeft the foul : and the memory- 

 is powerfully affifted as well by the one as by the other. 



III. To explain the nature of Italian verfe, it is neceffary 

 to remark, that they divide all the words contained in their 

 language into three claffes, termed words tronchi, piani, and 

 fdruccioli. Words having the accent on the laft fyllable are 



called tronchi; as bontk, virtu, fa, fenti. Thofe having 

 the accent on the penaltimate are termed piani ; as uomo, 

 animale, impero, ^c. And thofe that are accented on the 

 antepenultimate are narrted fdruccioli ; as docile, abito, an- 

 cora, &c. The firft are denominated tronchi, [tronques 

 coupes, cut Jhort,^ becaufe they were originally entire, as 

 bontade, virtute, face, fentis. The fecond clafs, piani, 

 receives this diftinftion from the circumftance of the words 

 compofing it being pronounced [pianamente] more gently 

 than thofe of the other two claffes ; and the laft, the fdruc- 

 cioli {coulans or glijjons), becaufe the words of this kind 

 feem to flow or Aide fwiftly from the antepenultimate fyllable 

 to the end. 



IV. Hence alfo it follows, that a verfe alfo receives its de- 

 nomination, according as it is terminated by a word of one 

 or the other of thefe kinds : confequently, verfes termed 

 tronchi are terminated by an acute accent ; thofe called 



piani 



