“Arma virumque can[=o], tr[=o]jae qu[=i] pr[=i]mus ab oris Italiam,
  fat[=o] pr[=o]fugus, Lavinaqu[=e] v[=e]nit.—­

But for this particular, and the other just mentioned, I refer you to Erythraeus himself, if you would be fully instructed on this Subject.  The Conclusion of this whole Matter is this:  Rhyme is certainly one of the chief Ornaments of Latin Verse, even of Virgil’s Verse:  Most of his wonderful, harmonious Paragraphs are concluded with a full, strong, plain Rhyme:  And if this is the Case; if Virgil’s Verse would lose one of its chief Ornaments by being stript of Rhyme, What would English Verse do 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.