The arte of English poesie Contriued into three bookes: the first of poets and poesie, the second of proportion, the third of ornament.

CHAP. VI.

Of accent, time and stir perceiued euidently in the distinction of mans voice, and which makes the flowing of a meeter.

NOwe because we haue spoken of accent, time and stirre or motion in wordes, we will set you downe more at large what they be. The auncient Greekes and Latines by reason their speech fell out originally to be fashioned with words of many sil∣lables for the most part, it was of necessity that they could not vt∣ter euery sillable with one like and egall sounde, nor in like space of time, nor with like motion or agility: but that one must be more suddenly and quickely forsaken, or longer pawsed vpon

then another: or sounded with a higher note & clearer voyce then another, and of necessitie this diuersitie of sound, must fall either vpon the last sillable, or vpon the last saue one, or vpon the third and could not reach higher to make any notable difference, it cau∣sed them to giue vnto three different sounds, three seuerall names: to that which was highest lift vp and most eleuate or shrillest in the eare, they gaue the name of the sharpe accent, to the lowest and most base because it seemed to fall downe rather then to rise vp, they gaue the name of the heauy accent, and that other which see∣med in part to lift vp and in part to fall downe, they called the cir∣cumflex, or compast accent: and if new termes were not odious, we might very properly call him the (windabout) for so is the Greek word. Thē bycause euery thing that by nature fals down is said heauy, & whatsoeuer naturally mounts vpward is said light, it gaue occasiō to say that there were diuersities in the motion of the voice, as swift & slow, which motiō also presupposes time, bycause time is mensura motus, by the Philosopher: so haue you the causes of their primitiue inuention and vse in our arte of Poesie, all this by good obseruatiō we may perceiue in our vulgar wordes if they be of mo sillables thē one, but specially if they be trissillables, as for example in these wordes [altitude] and [heauinesse] the sharpe ac∣cent falles vpō [al] & [he] which be the antepenultimaes: the other two fall away speedily as if they were scarse sounded in this trissi∣lable [forsaken] the sharp accent fals vpō [sa] which is the penul∣tima, and in the other two is heauie and obscure. Againe in these bissillables, endúre, vnsúre, demúre: aspíre, desíre, retíre, your sharpe accent falles vpon the last sillable: but in words monosillable which be for the more part our naturall Saxon English, the accent is in∣different, and may be vsed for sharp or flat and heauy at our plea∣sure. I say Saxon English, for our Normane English alloweth vs very many bissillables, and also trissillables as, reuerence, diligence, amorous, desirous, and such like.