Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typ...os. Excerpt from book: THE FIRST PART. OF THE HEBREW METRE. LECTURE III. THE HEBREW POETRY IS METRICAL. Tlie necessity of inquiring1 into the nature of the Hebrew verse ? The Hebrew poetry proved to be metrical from the alphabetical poems, and from the equality and correspondence of the sentiments; also from the poetical diction ? Some of the most obvious properties of the verse ? The rhythm and mode of scanning totally lost: proved from facts ? The poetical conformation of the sentences? The Greek and I+atin poetry materially different from the Hebrew, from the very nature of the languages ? Hence a peculiar property in the prose versions of the Hebrew poetry and the attempts to exhibit this poetry in the verse of other languages. N the very first attempt to elucidate the nature of the sacred poetry, a question presents itself uncommonly difficult and obscure, concerning the nature of the Hebrew verse. This question I would indeed gladly have avoided, could I have abandoned it consistently with my design. But since it appears essential to every species of poetry, that it be confined to numbers, and consist of some kind of verse, (for indeed wanting this, it would not only want its most agreeable attributes, but would scarcely deserve the name of poetry) in treating of the poetry of the Hebrews, it appears absolutely necessary to demonstrate, that those parts at least of the Hebrew writings which we term poetic, are in a metrical form, and to inquire whether any thing be certainly known concerning the nature and principles of this versification or not. This part of my subject therefore I undertake, not as hoping io illustrate it by any new observations, but merely with a view of inquiring whether it will admit of any illustration at all. Even this I shall attempt with brevity and caution...Detailed info »« Brief info