Page:The Defence of Poesie - Sidney (1595).djvu/76

 an affinitie in the wordish consideratiō, that I think this digression will make my meaning receiue the fuller vnderstanding: which is not to take vpon me to teach Poets how they should do, but only finding my selfe sicke among the rest, to shew some one or two spots of the common infection growne among the most part of writers; that acknowledging our selues somewhat awry, wee may bende to the right vse both of matter and manner. Whereto our language giueth vs great occasion, being indeed capable of any excellent exercising of it. I knowe some will say it is a mingled language: And why not, so much the better, taking the best of both the other? Another will say, it wanteth Grammer. Nay truly it hath that praise that it wants not Grammer; for Grammer it might haue, but it needs it not, being so easie in it selfe, and so voyd of those combersome differences of Cases, Genders, Moods, & Tenses, which I thinke was a peece of the Tower of Babilons curse, that a man should be put to schoole to learn his mother tongue. But for the vttering sweetly and properly the conceit of the minde, which is the end of speech, that hath it equally with any other tongue in the world. And is perticularly happy in compositions of two or three wordes togither, neare the Greeke, farre beyond the Latine, which is one of the greatest bewties can be in a language. Now of versefying, there are two sorts, the one auncient, the other moderne. The auncient marked the quantitie of each sillable, and according to that, framed his verse: The moderne, obseruing onely number, with some regard of the accent; the chiefe life of it,