its conftruction.

It is compofed of feet, the number and variety of which are ascertained. Profe, though alfo composed of feet, is more loose and scarce fubjected to any rules. rules. But But many are ignorant of these

rules: Are fuch left without means to make the distinction? And even with respect to the learned, muft they apply the rule before they can with certainty pronounce whether the compofition be profe or verse? This will hardly be maintained; and therefore, instead of rules, the ear must be appealed to as the proper judge. But what gain we by being thus referred to another standard? It still recurs, by what mark does the ear diftinguish verse from profe? The proper and fatisfactory answer is, That these make different impreffions, which are readily distinguishable by every one who hath an ear. This advances us one step in our inquiry.

Taking it then for granted, that verse makes upon the ear a different impreffion from that of profe; nothing remains but to explain this difference, and to affign its caufe. To these ends, I must call to my

aid an observation made above in treating of the found of words, that they are more agreeable to the ear when compofed of long and short fyllables than when all the fyllables are of the fame fort. A continued found in the fame tone, makes an impreffion that comes not up to any idea we have of mufic. The fame note fucceffively renewed by intervals, is more agreeable; but ftill makes not a mufical impreffion. To produce this impreffion, variety is neceffary as well as number. The fucceffive founds or fyllables, must be some of them long, fome of them short; and if alfo high and low, the mufic is the more perfect. Now if this impreffion can be made by single words, much more by a plurality in an orderly fucceffion. The mufical impreffion made by a period confifting of long and fhort fyllables arranged in a certain order, is what the Greeks call rhythmus, the Latins, numerus, and we modulation or meafure. Cicero juftly observes, that in one continued found there is no modulation: "Numerus in continuatione nullus eft." But in what follows he is wide of the truth,

if by numerus he means modulation or mufical measure. Diftinctio, et æqualium

"et fæpe variorum intervallorum percuffio, "numerum conficit; quem in cadentibus

guttis, quod intervallis diftinguuntur, "notare poffumus." Falling drops, whether with equal or unequal intervals, are certainly not musical. We begin then only to be fenfible of a musical expreffion, when the notes are varied. And this alfo was probably the opinion of the author cited, though his expreffion be a little unguarded *.

It will probably occur, that modulation, so far as connected with long and short fyllables combined in a fentence, may be found in prose as well as in verse; confidering especially, that in both, particular words are accented or pronounced in a

From this paffage, however, we difcover the etymology of the Latin term for mufical expreffion. Every one being fenfible that there is no mufic in a continued found; the firft inquiries were probably carried no farther, than that to produce a mufical expreffion, a number of founds is neceffary; and musical expreffion obtained the name of numerus, before it was clearly afcertained, that variety is neceffary as well as number.

-higher tone than ordinary; and therefore that the difference betwixt them cannot confist in modulation merely. The observation is juft; and it follows, that the dif tinction betwixt profe and verse, since it depends not on modulation merely, must arife from the difference of the modulation. This is precisely the cafe, though the difference cannot with any accuracy be explained in words. Verfe is more mufical than profe; and of the former, the modulation is more perfect than of the latter. The difference betwixt verse and profe, refembles the difference in music properly fo called betwixt the fong and the recitative. And the refemblance is not the lefs complete, that these differences, like the fhades of colours, approximate fometimes fo nearly as fcarce to be difcernible. A recitative in its movement approaches fometimes to the liveliness of a fong; which on the other hand degenerates fometimes toward a plain recitative. Nothing is more distinguishable from profe, than the bulk of Virgil's hexameters. Many of those com

pofed

pofed by Horace, are very little removed from prote. Sapphic verfe has a very fenfible modulation. That on the other hand of an Iambic, is extremely faint *.

This more perfect modulation of articulate founds, is what diftinguisheth verse from profe. Verfe is fubjected to certain inflexible laws. The number and variety of the component fyllables are ascertained, and in fome measure the order of fucceffion. Such restraint makes it a matter of difficulty to compose in verse; a difficulty that is not to be furmounted but by a fingular genius. Useful leffons of every fort convey'd to us in verfe, are agreeable by the union of mufic with inftruction. But are we for that reason to reject knowledge offered in a plainer drefs? This would be ridiculous; for knowledge may be acquired without mufic, and mufic is entertaining independent of knowledge. Many there are, not lefs will

Mufic, properly fo called, is analyfed into melody and harmony. A fucceffion of founds fo as to be agreeable to the ear, constitutes melody. Harmony is the pleasure that arises from co-existing founds. Verfe therefore can only reach melody, and not harmony.