o without it? Those learned Persons who in
their Writings have treated Rhyme only as a needless _Gingle_, had not
fully considered all that could be said on this Subject: _Rhyme_, as I
have observed once before, has many Enemies because of its Difficulty,
when accompanied with all the other necessary Arts of Versification.
It is a particular Talent which very few are blessed with, and ought
to be esteemed accordingly: But if we give way to the Disuse of it,
and even suffer Blank Verse to be brought in Competition with it,
Poetry will in a short time be lost in _England_, as it has been long
since in _Italy_, and, if I mistake not, from this very Cause. They
have Blank-vers'd _Homer_, _Virgil_, and _Milton_, and I believe all
the _Classick Poets_: And if we follow their Example in giving
Applause to this kind of Verse, we must expect the same Consequences.
We should be the more to blame in this respect, because we have lately
had so many excellent Writers of proper Verse amongst us, as
_Addison_, _Rowe_, _Prior_, and many others; and have now Mr. _Pope_,
Mr. _Pit_, and some whom I do not just now recollect.

_Milton_, as I observ'd already, is never to be mention'd as an
Example in favour of Blank-Verse: To supply the Want of _Rhyme_ in
him, there are so many Arts of Verse, such Variety of Melody, that it
would require no small Volume to point them out.

I have nothing more to add, but that it is a very surprizing thing,
that _Milton_ ever undertook to write in such a _Stile_ as he has made
use of, and yet more surprizing that he should be read by all sorts of
People, considering that the _Stile_ is more properly _Latin_ or
_Greek_ than _English_.

I believe both these Things arise from the same Cause, which to me
seems to be the _English Bible_; at least, as to the latter, it cannot
be from any thing else. That _Milton_ acquir'd his _Stile_ from the
_Common Bible_, is not at all improbable, though he understood the
Original. It is certain he was entirely conversant with the _Bible_,
and, in all Probability frequently made use of the _English_
Translation. Now this Translation is, by Great Providence, (give me
leave to call it so) adapted to the _Latin and Greek Collocation_, or
Arrangement of Words; that is, the Words are placed in the _English_
as they stand in those Languages, which, perhaps, you may not have so
much attended to but that you may be glad to see some Examples of what
I am speaking of.

Psalm v. 3