عروض OF VERSIFICATION. THE modern Perfians borrowed their poetical measures from the Arabs they are too various and complicated to be fully explained in this grammar; but when the learner can read the Perfian poetry with tolerable ease, he may receive further information from a treatise written professedly upon verfification by S no contemptible poet. Vahîdi, who was himself There are nineteen forts of metre which are used by the Perfians, but the most common of them are بحر or the iambick measure, بحر رجزه بحر هزج or the trochaick meafure, and رمل chiefly of those compounded feet which the ancients called 'ETITρÍTOS, and which are compofed of iambick feet and fpondees alternately, as ămātōrēs pūēllārām. In lyrick poetry these verses are generally of twelve or fixteen fyllables, as كاخر صبا زان طره بکشاید ببوي نانه كاخر صبا زان زجعد زلف مشکینش چه تاب افتاد در دلها Běbūī nā | fĕi kākhēr sěbā zān tur | rě būcfhāyed I Zī jādī zūl | fi mūshkīnēsh | chỉ tāb uftad | ŭ der dīlhā. When the zephyr difperfes the fragrance of those musky locks, what ardent desire inflames the hearts of thy admirers ! They They fometimes confift of fourteen fyllables in this form, تا غنچه خندانت دولت بکه خواهد داد اي شاخ گل رعنا از بهر كه ميرويي Tā ghunchě | ĕkhēndānēt | dēvlēt bě | kẽ khāhēd dād Ai shākhi | gŭlī rānā | ēz bēhri | kě mīrūyī Ah! to whom will the smiling rose bud of thy lips give delight? O fweet branch of a tender plant ! for whofe ufe doft thou grow ? or in this, as گوشم همه بر قول ني و نغمت چنگست چشم همه بر لعل تو و گردش جامست Gōshēm hě | mě bēr kūli | něy ū nāgmă | tỉ chẽnguēst Cheshmēm hě mě bēr lali | to ū ghērdě | fhi jāmēst My ear is continually intent upon the melody of the pipe, and the soft notes of the lute: my eye is continually fixed upon thy rubied lip, and the circling cup. This kind of measure is not unlike that which Sappho uses in those elegant lines quoted by Hepheftion, Γλυκεῖα μᾶτερ, οὗτοι δύναμαι κρέκειν τὸν ἰστὸν Πόθω δαμοῖσα σε αιδὸς βραδινὰν δι ̓ Αφροδίταν. which he scans thus, Γλυκεῖα μᾶ | τερ, οὗτοι δι' | ναμαι κρέκειν ] τὸν ἰσὸν Other lyrick verses contain thirteen fyllables in this form, صبا به تهنیت پیر میفروش آمد طرب و هیش و ناز و نوش آمد که موسم Sēbā bĕ tēh | neītī peēr | ĭ meifōrōsh | āmēd Kĕ mūsĭmī | tārbū eish | ŭ nāzŭ nōsh | āmēd The zephyr comes to congratulate the old keeper of the banquet-house, that the feafon of mirth, joy, wantonnefs, and wine is coming. or, as صبا بلطف بكو آن غزال رعنا را كه سر بکوه و بیابان تو داده مارا Seba belutf | bögou an | gazali ra | nara Kě sēr becoūh | vă byābān | tŏ dādeī | mārā This couplet has been translated in another part of the grammar. See p. 209. The Persians sometimes ufe a measure confifting of trochees and spondees alternately, like these verfes of Catullus and Ariftophanes, Cras Cras amet qui nunquam amavit, quique amavit cras amet. Ὅτις ἡμῶν τὰς ̓Αθήνας ἐκκ:κῶφηκας βοῶν. thus Hafiz, ابر اذاري برآمد باد نوروزي وزيد Aber âzari ber âmed badi neurúzi vazeed The vernal clouds appear, the gales of the pleasant season breathe. But the most common Persian verfe contains eleven fyllables, as چونکه گل رفت و گلستان درگذشت نشنوی زان پس زبلبل سرگذشت Chúnkeh gul reft va gulistán derguzesht Neshenvi zan pes zebulbul ferguzesht When the roses wither, and the bower lofes its sweetness, you have no longer the tale of the nightingale. In this last measure are written all the great Perfian poems, whether upon heroick or moral fubjects, as the works of Ferdúfi, and of Jámi, the Boftan of Sadi, and the Mefnavi of the excellent Geláleddîn. This fort of verse answers to our common heroick rhyme, which was brought to fo high a degree of perfection by Pope, and which the English poets will do well to retain, instead of adopting the less harmonious measures of other nations. I have dwelt the longer upon the different forts of verse used in Perfia, because there are few books or even common letters written in VOL. II. H H the the Perfian language, which are not interfperfed with fragments of poetry; and because all the Perfian verfes must be read according to the pauses of scanfion: thus the following elegant couplet quoted by Meninski, تبا در چین هر تاري بود زلف ترا صد چین كل سوري زسنبل پوده چین بر چین که سازي بر must be pronounced, Tebader ché ne her tareé ] buved zulfeé | tera fad cheén Ke fazee bér guleé fureé [ zesumbul pú | de cheen ber cheén with a strong accent upon every fourth fyllable; and it may here be observed, that the Perfians, like the French, usually accent the laft fyllables of their words. As to their profody, nothing can be more eafy and fimple; their vowels elif, " vau, and ya are long by nature; the points, which they commonly suppress, are naturally short; and every short syllable that ends with a confonant is long by pofition; as jlu ,dehan دهان ,sumbal سمن Shīrāz, Jim سنبل شیراز semen: but the Perfians, like other poets, have many licences; they often add a short vowel which does not pro perly belong to the word, as in the first ode of Hafiz, ,veli aftadu muhkilha ولي افتاد مشکلها .cuja danendi hali ma کجا دانند حال ما and cŭjā They alfo fhorten fome long fyllables at pleasure by omitting the vowels I elif, vau, and Sya; thus بیرون beerūn, which is a fpondee, |