CHAPTER XVIII.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRINCIPLES OF VERSIFICATION.

THE ear is as capable of being raised by cultivation to a quicker perception and higher enjoyment of the harmony of verse, as it is of music, and as the fancy, taste, and other powers and sensibilities are of evolution and refinement by culture; and just in proportion as a high beau-ideal is approached, the delight which fine verse yields is increased, and the possibility of a still higher and more varied pleasure is augmented. If the characteristics that have been pointed out are not at first distinctly appreciated, they will soon be unfolded by careful study, and become the vehicle of a delicate and lofty delight, with which those who have never particularly considered them have no acquaintance. A few of the finest passages in which they appear, thoroughly analysed and revolved till all their peculiarities are

comprehended, and their beauty fully felt, will contribute more to unfold the sensibility to what is graceful, elegant, and grand, and give truth, elevation, and strength to the taste, than months and years of casual and unobservant reading; make the understanding and comprehension of other passages easy and instantaneous, and raise the perception and enjoyment of every charm to a quickness and energy of which otherwise we could have no conception.

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An acquaintance with the principles of versification, and with the structure and laws of figures, is essential, in order to the proper reading, understanding, and enjoyment of the psalms and hymns that are used in domestic and public worship. knowledge of the office and the proper method of pronouncing a trochee at the commencement of a line is necessary to the correct reading, and frequently to the full appreciation of the sentiment of a hymn. It is used not merely to vary and heighten. the melody of the verse, but often because the employment of an emphatic word or syllable at the beginning of the line is requisite to a vivid exhibition of the act which it narrates or describes, or expression of the thought which it utters. There is an eminent example of this in the following passage of Paradise Lost, b. vi.:

"He' on his im'pious foes-right on'ward drove,-
Gloom'y as night,-un'der his burning wheels-
The stead'fast empyrean-shook' throughout-
All' but the throne itself of God'.-Full soon'-
Among' them he arrived,-in his right hand'-
Grasp''ing ten thousand thun'ders,-which he sent'-
Before' him, such' as in their souls' infixed-
Plagues". They, aston'ished, all resist'ance lost,—
All cou'rage;-down' their idle wea'pons dropt.-
O'er shields,' and helms,—and hel'med heads he rode-
Of thrones', and mighty seraphim prostrate'
That wish'ed the mountains-now might be again'
Thrown" on them,-as a shel'ter from his ire.-
Yet half' his strength he put not forth,-but check'ed-
His thun'der in mid vol'ley;-for he meant'-
Not' to destroy,-but root' them out of heaven.—
The overthrown' he raised,—and as a herd'—
Of goats', or timorous flock',-together throng'ed,—
Drove" them before him thun'derstruck,—pursued'—
With ter'rors and with fuʼries,—to the bounds'—
And crystal wall of heaven,—which, opening wide',—
Roll'd in'ward, and-a spacious gap' disclosed-
In''to the wasteful deep.-The monstrous sight'—
Struck" them with horror backward;-but, far worse',-
Urg'd' them behind.—Head'long themselves they threw'-
Down" from the verge of heaven ;—eternal wrath'-
Burnt" after them-to the bot'tomless pit."

This description is far more spirited and energetic

than it would have been, if, instead of the emphatic words with which so many of the lines, and especially the last six, begin, iambics had been used. They not only give rapidity and power to the modulation, but the verbs that are used, consisting of a single syllable, were requisite to paint the scene with a vividness that corresponds to its awful nature. Ordinary iambic verbs would have rendered the spectacle tame, compared to the terrible energy with which it is now drawn. There are several exquisite cadences also in the passage. That in the eighth line, formed of the first syllable, falls on the ear with the abruptness and force of a thunder crash.

The fine effect of a trochee at the commencement of a line, in giving force to the expression, and a grateful variety to the modulation, is exemplified in many of the psalms and hymns; as in the Hundredth Psalm, in eight syllables. In this, as in blank verse, an emphatic accent is usually to be thrown on only two or three syllables in a line:

"Before Jeho'vah's aw'ful throne

Ye na'tions bow with sa'cred joy.
Know"-that the Lord' is God' alone;
He"-can create, and he' destroy,

"His sovereign power, without' our aid,

Made" us of clay, and form'ed us men
And when', like wand'ring sheep, we strayed,
He brought' us to his fold' again.

"We" are his peo'ple, we' his care',

Our souls', and all our mor'tal frame;
What last'ing hon'ors shall we rear,
Almigh'ty Ma'ker, to thy name!

"We'll crowd' thy gates' with thank'ful songs,
High"—as the heavens' our voic ́es raise;
And earth', with her ten thou'sand tongues,
Shall fill' thy courts with sound'ing praise.

"Wide"-as the world' is thy command;
Vast"-as eter'nity thy love;

Firm" as a rock' thy truth' shall stand,

While roll'ing years shall cease' to move."

The trochees with which so many of the lines commence thus present the acts they are employed to express in a far bolder and more impressive attitude than they could have received had iambics been used, and give a vivacity and force to the modulation that brings it into harmony with them, and makes it as indicative almost of their vehemence as the emphatic monosyllables are by which