"That's vile, should we a parent's fault adore,
And err, because our fathers err'd before?"
In the middle of the second foot, the pause may be used, but produces little melody.
"And who but wishes to invert the laws
Of order, sins against the eternal cause."
Harmony is produced by a proportion between the members of the same verse, or between the members of different verses. Example.
"Thy forests, Windsor, and thy green retreats,
At once the monarch's, and the muse's seats,
Invite my lays. Be present sylvan maids,
Unlock your springs, and open all your shades."
Here we observe, the pause in the first couplet, is in the middle of the third foot; both verses are in this respect similar. In the last couplet, the pause falls after the second foot. In each couplet separately considered, there is a uniformity; but when one is compared with the other, there is a diversity. This variety produces a pleasing effect.[126] The variety is further encreased, when the first lines of several succeeding couplets are uniform as to themselves, and different from the last lines, which are also uniform as to themselves. Churchill, speaking of reason, lord chief justice in the court of man, has the following lines.
"Equally form'd to rule, in age and youth,
The friend of virtue, and the guide to youth;
To her I bow, whose sacred power I feel;
To her decision, make my last appeal;
Condemn'd by her, applauding worlds in vain
Should tempt me to take up my pen again;
By her absolv'd, the course I'll still pursue;
If Reason's for me, God is for me too."
The first line of three of these couplets, has the pause after the second foot; in this consists their similarity. The last line in three of them, has the pause in the middle of the third foot; they are uniform as to themselves, but different from the foregoing lines. This passage, which on the whole is very beautiful, suffers much by the sixth line, which is not verse, but rather hobbling prose.[127]
The foregoing remarks are sufficient to illustrate the use and advantages of the cesural pause.