Letters Concerning Poetical Translations Part 2

"Bear on your Wings and in your Notes his Praise.

Can it be said that ten dull Words creep on dully in any one of these Lines? But Examples may likewise be given in rhym'd Verse, of the Harmony of _Monosyllables_. Harmony consists in mixing rough and smooth, soft and harsh Sounds. What Words can be rougher than such as these, _Rides_, _Rapt_, _Throws_, _Storms_; or smoother than these, _Wheel_, _Hush_, _Lull_?

"Then mounted on his radiant Carr he _rides_, And _wheels_ along the level of the Tides.

_Pit_'s 1st aeneid.

How rough is the first Line, how soft the latter! As soft as the Original, which is a Masterpiece.

"_Rapt_ by his Steeds he flies in open Day, _Throws_ up the Reins, and skims the watry Way.

"Has given to thee great _aeolus_ to raise _Storms_ at thy sov'reign Will, and _smooth_ the Seas.

"He spake, and speaking chas'd the Clouds away, _Hush'd_ the loud Billows, and restor'd the Day.

"Mean time the G.o.ddess on _Ascanius_ throws, A balmy Slumber and a sweet Repose.

_Lull'd_ in her Lap to Rest, the Queen of Love, Convey'd him to the soft _Idalian_ Grove.

_Pit_'s 1st aeneid.

Where can a smoother Line than this be found in our Language?

"_Lull'd_ in her Lap to Rest, the Queen of Love.

And it may be observed that this Line is all Monosyllables.

_Monosyllables_ are likewise of great consequence on another account.

The Strength of the _English_ Language is greatly owing to them: For to them it is princ.i.p.ally obliged for its Conciseness; and Conciseness is Strength. Now Conciseness is not only to express ourselves in as few Words as we can, but the Excellency of the Language shews itself, if those few Words are composed of few Syllables. And herein upon Examination, the Strength of the _English_ Tongue will be found to lye; and for this reason it may be said to be more concise than the _Latin_; which will appear if _Virgil_ is turned into _English_, I mean even _English_ Verse. For Example:

"--_Ubi tot Simois correpta sub undas Scuta virum, Galeasq; & fortia Corpora volvit._

"Where _Simois_ Streams inc.u.mber'd with the slain, Roll'd Shields, and Helms, and Heroes to the Main.

_Pit_'s 1st aeneid.

To discover which of these two Pa.s.sages is the most concise, it is not sufficient to shew, that there are two whole _English_ Lines, and but one Line and three Parts of another in the _Latin_. _Latin_ and _English_ Lines cannot be compared together, because in a _Latin_ Line there are six Feet, and in an _English_ Line but five. Again, in _Latin_ Verse there must be in every Line one Foot of three Syllables, often three or four, or even five Feet of three Syllables, and sometimes four or five Syllables in one Foot. Whereas in an _English_ Line, there is hardly ever more than two Syllables in a foot. So that an _English_ Verse cannot be compared with the _Latin_ by the Line, or by the Foot, but only by the Syllables of which the Words are composed, which make the Feet in both the Languages. The Business then is to enquire whether we write or p.r.o.nounce more Syllables in the _Latin_ or _English_ Verses here quoted: Upon Enquiry it appears that there are twenty nine Syllables in the _Latin_, and but twenty one in the _English_; so that the _English_ is almost one third part less than the _Latin_; which certainly shews the former to be much more concise than the latter, there being nothing left out in the _English_, but the whole Thought is rather more fully expressed: And this we see is owing to _Monosyllables_ both Verbs and Nouns, _Streams_, _Slain_, _Shields_, _Roll'd_, _Helms_, _Main_. In short the whole Pa.s.sage is equal to the Original in Majesty and Harmony, and superior in Conciseness.

To give another Example or two of the same nature.

"_Urbs antiqua fuit, Tyrii tenuere Coloni, Carthago, Italiam contra, Tyberinaque longe Ostia, dives opum, studiisque Asperrima Belli._

"Against the _Italian_ Coast, of ancient Fame A City rose, and _Carthage_ was the Name; A _Tyrian_ Colony, from _Tyber_ far, Rich, rough, and brave, and exercis'd in war.

Mr. _Pit_'s aeneid.

"--_Facti de Nomine Byrsam, Sed vos, qui tandem, quibus aut venistis ab oris, Quove tenetis iter?_--

"Hence _Byrsa_ nam'd.--But now ye Strangers, say, Who, whence you are, and whither lies your Way?

I have chosen here three Pa.s.sages of three very different kinds, and in all of them the _English_ appears to be much more concise than the _Latin_; neither is there any thing wanting in the Fulness of the Sense, or in Majesty, or in Harmony of Numbers, any more in the two last Pa.s.sages than in the former. Another Instance of this kind might be produced out of _Virgil_'s most perfect Work, the _Georgick_, although it wants the Advantage of being translated by such a Hand as Mr. _Pit_'s.

"_Si vero Viciamq; seres vitemq; Faselum, Nec Pelusiacoe curam aspernabere lentis._

"But if the Vetch you sow, or meaner Tare, Nor shall disdain th' _aegyptian_ Lentil's Care.

In the _Latin_ there are thirty Syllables in the two Lines, in the _English_ but twenty one. So that the _English_ is almost one third more concise than the _Latin_; and at the same time _Virgil_'s Sense fully expressed.

I will conclude this Letter with the Opinion of a Foreigner concerning our Monosyllables: A Person not at all prepossessed in favour of our Language.

"The _English_ Language, besides the most significant Words borrowed from the _Latin_, _Greek_, &c. and often shortned, hath a vast Stock of its own, and being for the most part Monosyllables, no Speech is capable of expressing Thought in Sounds so few as the _English_ does: This is easily observed by the Translations of the _English_ into Foreign Languages.

"The Strength and Conciseness that Monosyllables (especially in Verbs) produce, are of wonderful Use in Lyrick Poetry, because they Enter into any Foot or Measure of Verses, by different Transpositions; so that I dare venture to a.s.sert, there is no _Italian_ or Foreign Song, which _English_ Words will not suit; the Variety of Feet and Metres producing equal Variety of Mode and Movements in Composition. The want of this is what makes the _French_ vocal Musick so confined and uniform; for I cannot recollect above two of their Verbs in use in the infinitive Mood, that are Monosyllables, and not one exact Dactile in all their Polysyllables."

_Roner_'s Preface to his _Melopea Sacra_.

Sept. 13. 1736.

_I am_, SIR, _&c._

LETTER III.

_SIR,_

In comparing _Virgil_'s and _Milton_'s Versification, I shall begin with _Virgil_; and shew some of the princ.i.p.al Beauties of his Poetry in this respect: And here I must own myself not a little indebted to _La-Cerda_, _Ponta.n.u.s_ and _Pierius_, but above all to the most excellent _Erythraeus_, who has not only considered every Paragraph, every Line, every Foot, every Word, and every Syllable, but even every Letter in _Virgil_; and it is not easy to conceive how much may depend on a single Letter, very often the whole Harmony of a Line; and on this Account we have vast Obligations to _Pierius_; to him we owe this fine Verse, and many others.

"_Atq; rotis summas levibus_ pellabitur _undas_.--

All the common Editions read _perlabitur_; which is horrid to the ear.

But to go on with the Matter in hand. The princ.i.p.al Excellencies of _Virgil_'s Versification consist of the several following Particulars.

1st, The continual varying of the Pause.

2d, The Inversion of the Phrase.

3d, The adapting of the Sound to the Sense.

4th, The mixing of the singular and plural Numbers.

5th, The giving Majesty and Strength to his Verse with the connecting Particles _Que_ and _Et_.

6th, The _Collocatio Verborum_, or artful way of placing Words.

7th, The changing the common p.r.o.nunciation of Words.

8th, Verses contrary to the common Measure.

9th, 10th, and 11th, His _Alliteratio_, _Allusio Verborum_, and _a.s.sonantia Syllabarum_.