2.12. Of all your other feete of three times and how well they would fashion a meetre in our vulgar.
All your other feete of three times I find no vse of them in our vulgar
meeters nor no sweetenes at all, and yet words inough to serue their
proportions. So as though they haue not hitherto bene made artificiall, yet
nowe by more curious obseruation they might be. Since all artes grew first
by obseruation of natures proceedings and custome. And first your
[Molossus] being of all three long is euidently discouered by this word
[permitting]. The [Anapestus] of two short and a long by this
word [furious] if the next word beginne with a consonant. The foote
[Bacchius] of a short and two long by this word [resistance]
the foote [Antibachius] of two long and a short by this word
[example] the foote [Amphimacer] of a long a short & a long
by this word [conquering] the foote of [Amphibrachus] of a
short a long and a short by this word [remember]
if a vowell follow. The foote [
Tribrachus] of three short
times is very hard to be made by any of our
trisillables vnles they be
compounded of the smoothest sort of consonants or sillables vocals, or of
three smooth
monosillables, or of some peece of a long
polysillable & after that sort we may with wresting of words
shape the foot [
Tribrachus] rather by vsurpation then by rule, which
neuertheles is allowed in euery primitiue arte & inuention: & so it
was by the Greekes and Latines in their first versifying, as if a rule should
be set downe that from henceforth these words should be counted al
Tribrachus [
enemie]
remedie]
selines]
moniles]
peniles]
cruellie] & such like, or a peece of
this long word [
recouerable]
innumerable readilie] and others.
Of all which manner of apt wordes to make these stranger feet of three
times which go not so currant with our eare as the
dactil, the maker
should haue a good iudgement to which serue most fitly for euery foote, or
else he should haue alwaies a little calender of them apart to vse readily
when he shall neede them. but because in very truth I thinke them but vaine
& superstitious obseruations nothing at all furthering the pleasant
melody of our English meeter, I leaue to speake any more of them and rather
wish the continuance of our old maner of Poesie, scanning our verse by
sillables rather than by feete, and vsing most commonly the word
Iambique & sometime the
Trochaike which ye shall
discerne by their accents, and now and then a
dactill keeping
precisely our symphony or rime without any other mincing measures, which
an idle inuentiue head could easily deuise, as the former examples teach.
