At the full stretch of both his hands, he drew,
And almost joined, the horns of the tough yew.—P. 54.
The first of these lines is all of monosyllables, and both verses are very rough, but of choice; for it had been easy for me to have smoothed them. But either my ear deceives me, or they express the thing which I intended in their sound: for the stress of a bow, which is drawn to the full extent, is expressed in the harshness of the first verse, clogged not only with monosyllables, but with consonants; and these words, the tough yew, which conclude the second line, seem as forceful, as they are unharmonious. Homer and Virgil are both frequent in their adapting sounds to the thing they signify. One example will serve for both; because Virgil borrowed the following verses from Homer's Odysses.
Una Eurusque Notusque ruunt, creberque procellis
Africus, et vastos volvunt ad litora fluctus.
Συν δ' Ευροστε, Νοτοςτ' επεσεν. Ζεφυροστε δυσαης,
Και Βορεης αιθρηγενετης, μεγα κυμα κυλινδων.
Our language is not often capable of these beauties, though sometimes I have copied them, of which these verses are an instance.