This answered pretty well; but the Grammars admitted no such foot as a
foot of one syllable; and besides the rhythm was dactylic. In despair,
the books are well searched, however, and at last the investigators
are gratified by a full solution of the riddle in the profound
"Observation" quoted in the beginning of this article:- "When a
syllable is wanting, the verse is said to be catalectic, when the
measure is exact, the line is acatalectic; when there is a redundant
syllable it forms hypermeter" This is enough. The anomalous line is
pronounced to be catalectic at the head and to form hypermeter at
the tail- and so on, and so on; it being soon discovered that nearly
all the remaining lines are in a similar predicament, and that what
flows so smoothly to the ear, although so roughly to the eye, is,
after all, a mere jumble of catalecticism, acatalecticism, and
hypermeter- not to say worse.
Now, had this court of inquiry been in possession of even the shadow
of the philosophy of Verse, they would have had no trouble in
reconciling this oil and water of the eye and ear, by merely
scanning the passage without reference to lines, and, continuously,
thus:
Know ye the / land where the / cypress and myrtle Are / emblems of
deeds that are / done in their / clime Where the rage of the /
vulture the / love of the / turtle Now / melt into / softness now /
madden to / Know ye the / land of the / cedar and / vine Where the
flowers ever / blossom the / beams ever / shine And the / light
wings of / Zephyr op / pressed by per / fume Wax / faint o'er the /
gardens of / Gul in their / bloom where the / citron and / olive are /
fairest of / fruit And the / voice of the / nightingale / never is /
mute Where the / virgins are / soft as the / roses they / twine And
/ all save the / spirit of / man is di / vine.
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