t if ye will exchange both these consonants of the accented
sillable, or voyde but one of them away, then will your cadences be good
and your concord to, as to say, _restraine, refraine, remaine: aspire,
desire, retire_: which rule neuerthelesse is not well obserued by many
makers for lacke of good iudgement and a delicate eare. And this may
suffise to shew the vse and nature of your cadences, which are in effect
all the sweetnesse and cunning in our vulgar Poesie.

_CHAP. VIII_

_How the good maker will not wrench his word to helpe his rime, either by
falsifying his accent, or by untrue orthographie._

Now there can not be in a maker a fowler fault then to falsifie his accent
to serue his cadence, or by vntrue orthographie to wrench his words to
helpe his rime, for it is a signe that such a maker is not copious in his
owne language, or (as they are wont to say) not halfe his crafts maister:
as for example, if one should rime to this word [_Restore_] he may not
match him with [_Doore_] or [_Poore_] for neither of both are of like
terminant, either by good orthography or in naturall sound, therfore such
rime is strained, so is it to this word [_Ram_] to say [_came_] or to
[_Beane [_Den_] for they sound not nor be written alike, & many other like
cadences which were superfluous to recite, and are vsuall with rude rimers
who obserue not precisely the rules of [_prosodie_] neuerthelesse in all
such cases (if necessitie constrained) it is somewhat more tolerable to
help the rime by false orthographie, than to leaue an unpleasant
dissonance to the eare, by keeping trewe orthographie and loosing the
rime, as for example it is better to rime [_Dore_] with [_Restore_] then
in his truer orthographie, which is [_Doore_] and to this word [_Desire_]
to say [_Fier_] then fyre though it be otherwise better written _fire_.
For since the cheife grace of our vulgar Poesie consisteth in the
Symphonie, as hath bene already sayd, our maker must not be too licentious
in his concords, but see that they go euen, iust and melodious in the
eare, and right so in the numerositie or currantnesse of the whole body of
his verse, and in euery other of his proportions. For a licentious maker
is in truth but a bungler and not a Poet. Such men were in effect the most
part of all your old rimers and specially _Gower_, who to make vp his rime
would for the most part write his terminant sillable with false
orthographie, and many times not sticke