Page:The battle of the books - Guthkelch - 1908.djvu/313

Rh And Suidas, one of those grammarians, could not be ignorant of this; for he cites the very same epitaph, and calls it. The case is no more than this: in the old times they generally made their epitaphs in a single distich, hexameter and pentameter; whence in process of time an epitaph at large came to be called. The ancients, says the Scholiast upon Apollonius Rhodius, used for inscriptions upon tombs. , says Lycurgus the orator,. But what advantage is this now to Mr B. and his Phalaris? An of all hexameters is as remote from a lyric song, as if it was mixed with pentameters. So that and  cannot yet be used for the same copy of verses, but by that privilege of making solecisms, that Mr B. would vindicate to princes.

But his next proof perhaps may be better; for a nightingale, he says, in Aristophanes's, is said to sing , and by and by those very are called. This indeed carries both surprise and demonstration along with it. What a strange reach of fancy has our Examiner? Who but he could ever have