scattering abroad with his hundred bands the leaves of truth. They contend in an age of revivals, illustrating the beauty, and excellence, and power of spiritual religion-an age of growing liberty, when the nations, having cast off the chains

of political tyranny, will not brook the more galling chains of spiritual slavery. And they contend with the pages of history in full view, written over with the enormities of religious despotism.

PERCIVAL'S CLASSIC MELODIES.

ONE of the most original, and, as many will think, one of the most interesting parts of the new volume of poems by Percival, has the title of "Classic Melodies." In the space of forty pages we are presented with thirty pieces, which must unquestionably be considered as most successful proofs of the genius and attainments of the poet and scholar. The pieces are not fragments of a few lines, but complete and highly finished poems, objective and classical in subject, spirit and form. We propose carefully to examine these experiments, and think that some at least of the readers of this journal will thank us for furnishing a metrical key, in regular form, to those which differ most in their structure from modern versification. Though in modern times the science of meter is far less studied than it was among the ancients, yet it still continues to be a subject of pe

culiar attractions to poets and schol

ars.

The limits of this article will not allow us to enter into a full discussion of the essential peculiarities in the very nature of the ancient versification, compared with the mod

ern.

We will merely observe, that either the ancients pronounced the words of their language in a manner different from the customary one of conversation, when they recited poetry, or their versification must have made an impression on the ear different from ours, in which we give the same pronunciation to the words as in the familiar intercourse of life. In classical versification, it was essential to the true harmony of a meter, that the metrical beat (ictus) frequently fall on unaccented syllables. In the following examples, let the burlesque character be overlooked, and attention directed solely to the meter.

Ārmă vĭrūmquě cănō || Trōjãe qui primus ǎb ōris.
Waken ǎröusing ĕ'chões || wā'r-sōngs chânt prãising ǎ hero.

In this example each word of the
English has the same number of
syllables as the corresponding word
of the Latin. Each word is accent-
ed on the same syllable, and each
syllable has the same quantity. Pre-
cisely the same difficulty is felt in
pronouncing echoes and war-songs
as in pronouncing cano and Troja.
The common scanning of schools
and colleges neglects entirely the
accent on the first syllable of the
Vol. II.

11

two Latin words; and if this was the mode in which the ancients read their poetry, then our English line should be read with the accent on the last syllables of echoes and warsongs. In a note to his translation of Buttman's Greek Grammar, Dr. Robinson informs us that some of the German scholars take pains to discipline their ear and voice until they succeed in giving on such a word as cano an accent on the first

syllable and long quantity on the
last. It is not difficult to do this on
the word echoes. The effect how
ever will not be particularly agreea-
ble, at least with our present habits
of ear.
We must content ourselves
with merely sugesting this funda-

mental difficulty: at some future time we may afford it a fuller consideration, and attempt a satisfactory solution. It will not be uninteresting to present a few more examples. In Dr. Percival's volume, p. 187, occurs the following line:

Not to Elysian fields | by the still ōblivioŭs rīvěr.

By changing a phrase, we can make it correspond in accent and quantity to a line from Homer, Il. a. 187.

Not to the sweet prospects | by the still oblivious river.
ἴσον εμοί φάσθαι

Thus we have the word prospects
presenting the same difficulty in ac-
cent as the word qúo 9a. The fol-
lowing line from p. 201, is in a me-

66

και όμοιο ωοθήμεναι ἄντην.

ter which becomes the heroic hexameter by the addition of another syllable.

· Dēep mĭd the shādes ōf night || Ï sink in silent rěpõse.

By a slight alteration this will correspond in accent with II. a. 221.

Deep mid the shades night-sent || I sink in silent reposing.
μύθω A-911- νάιτης | ἡ δ' Ολυμ-πονδε βεβήκει.

In this instance the word night-sent
has its accent on the first syllable,
but the metrical beat falls on the last,
just as in the corresponding Greek
word. The following ludicrous line
occurs in an extract quoted in the
North American Review from Tay

lor's translation of Voss's "Louise." It is made still more odd by the accommodated accent at the end. We will place under it a line from Homer of very inferior merit as regards rhythm. The accents correspond, except at σú.

butter the rolls and the cold hám.
δ' ἔσχιο 1 πείθει
δ ̓ ἡμῖν

But when áll had been emptied the ύβριος | εινεκα | τῆσος Η σύ In ancient versification, lines in which the accent and metrical ictus uniformly coincide are very bad, e. g.

Sóle cadénte juvéncus || arátra reliquit in árvo.

We quote this line from Hermann, who gives in connection with it the true reason of its unpleasing rhythm. This coincidence of accent and ictus, is undoubtedly the cause of the disagreeable sound, to persons of classical ear, of the Latin poetry of the monks of the middle ages.

To discover the true cause of the fact, that what is an intolerable fault in the English and perhaps in all the modern languages, is essential to excellence in the Greek and Lat. in, requires a more minute investigation into the nature of the rhythm of the latter, as spoken in ancient times, than has yet, so far as we can

learn, been attempted. Sir Philip Sidney, and one or two others in the age of Elizabeth, constructed English hexameters, on the ancient principle; but readers find them intolerable, on account of the violence which must be done to the pronunciation of the language.*

The reviewer in the North American of Professor Longfellow's bal

North American, in the article already referred to, seems not to have observed the principle according to which the lines are constructed, which he quotes from an anonymous pamphlet. If read according to the intention of their author, they are exceedingly musical.

It is curious that the reviewer in the

lads, considers his hexameters as not
more successful than those of his
predecessors in this metrical exper
iment, and observes, "No modern
tongue can fitly represent this an-
cient meter." Upon this assertion
we remark that a perfect correspon
dence with ancient meters in the sep-
aration of accent from metrical ic-
tus, is indeed with our present hab-
its impossible; but that every other
peculiarity of rhythm may be rep-
resented, we think Dr. Percival has
demonstrated in the volume before
us. The reviewer further remarks,
"Most modern hexameters are for-
ced and awkward, and forcibly re-
mind us of the difficulty overcome.
To the truth of this the hexameters
of Dr. Percival are a striking excep-
tion. No one will deny the ease and
spirit of their movement. We feel
indeed constrained to consider these
as the only exceptions to the truth
of the remark. Having met with
English hexameters by thirteen dif-
ferent writers, we cannot but think
that our author is the only one among
them who has succeeded in produ-
cing a meter that closely imitates the
"Forth on thy rose-wreathen car, I thou rollest 'mid billows of saffron and gold.
Loves, on their iris wings, the red streaming mists as thy canopy hold.
Gracefully, ever at morn, thy car thus aloft o'er the mountain is borne,
And, as thou comest, the woods ring aloud || with the clang of the welcoming horn."

ancient, and yet is natural and agree.
able. Every one must be struck
with the ease and freedom, not only
of this but of all his classic meters,
Let common readers be ignorant of
the fact that they are experiments
in versification, and they will scarce.
ly notice that they are new and sin-
gular. They will scarcely observe
that they contain any greater pecu.
liarities than many of the pieces in
other parts of the volume-the songs,
for instance, adapted to national airs.
The length of the lines in some of
them might be complained of, but
this objection may be removed by
dividing them at the casural pause.
All parts of the present volume are
distinguished by our author's char-
acteristic magnificence of versifica.
tion, yet in none does the poet seem
to write with less labor and pour
forth his verses from a more natural
and genial impulse. How admira-
ble are the following extracts, not
only for their magnificence and
splendor, but, so to speak, for their
poetic exuberance of spirits. We
will mark in each line the place of
the cæsural pause.

"Still, as in youth, ever green, || the laurel of Homer is flourishing.

p. 204.

Life-giving streams bathe its roots, its wide waving foliage nourishing."- 202,

"Bright ascends the festal dawn;
Bright the temple is flashing:

Wide a nation is rolling on,

Spear and armor are clashing."-p. 212.

"With loud burst of thunder, I 'mid a wide whirlwind of fire, From the high heaven in glory, I descends the god of war.

The fearless hero, exulting, beholds his warrior sire;

And he mounts, joyous, beside him, I the bright triumphal car."*-p, 216.

How the mind is floated on in the following choriambics.

"When the blue wave sinks on the sea, and the still night hushes the deep, Ever my soul hastens to thee, || ever thy smile blesses my sleep." The problem to be solved in such attempts as these that we are now considering, is analogous to that of an adequate translation from one language into another. A perfect

The Ascent of Romulus.

translation it is evident can not pro-
duce an effect identically the same
as that of the original, for no two
languages are alike in their impres
sion on the ear and mind. A trans-
lator works with different instru-
ments, and if his success be com-

No useless coffín enclos'd his breast,
Not in sheet nor in shroud we wound him.

"Not in sheet nor în shrōud hăd wě wõund him."

syllable of his dactyls really long, We may represent it by two lines,