sise, as he ranne or stood in a verse, was called by them a foote of such and so many times, namely the _bissillable_ was either of two long times as the _spondeus_, or two short, as the _pirchius_, or of a long & a short as the _trocheus_, or of a short and a long as the _iambus_: the like rule did they set vpon the word _trissillable_, calling him a foote of three times: as the _dactilus_ of a long and two short: the _mollossus_ of three long, the _tribracchus_ of three short, the _amphibracchus_ of two long and a short, the _amphimacer_ of two short and a long. The word of foure sillables they called a foote of foure times, some or all of them, either long or short: and yet not so content they mounted higher, and because their wordes serued well thereto, they made feete of sixe times: but this proceeded more of curiositie, then otherwise: for whatsoeuer foote passe the _trissillable_ is compounded of his inferiour as euery number Arithmeticall aboue three, is compounded of the inferiour numbers as twise two make foure, but the three is made of one number, videl. of two and an vnitie. Now because our naturall & primitiue language of the _Saxon English_, beares not any wordes (at least very few) of moe sillables then one (for whatsoeuer we see exceede, commeth to vs by the alterations of our language growen vpon many conquestes and otherwise) there could be no such obseruation of times in the sound of our wordes, & for that cause we could not haue the feete which the Greeks and Latines haue in their meetres: but of this stirre & motion of their deuised feete, nothing can better shew the qualitie then these runners at common games, who setting forth from the first goale, one giueth the start speedely & perhaps before he come half way to th'other goale, decayeth his pace, as a man weary & fainting: another is slow at the start, but by amending his pace keepes euen with his fellow or perchance gets before him: another one while gets ground, another while loseth it again, either in the beginning, or middle of his race, and so proceedes vnegally sometimes swift somtimes slow as his breath or forces serue him: another sort there be that plod on, & will neuer change their pace, whether they win or lose the game: in this maner doth the Greeke _dactilus_ begin slowly and keepe on swifter till th'end, for his race being deuided into three parts, he spends one, & that is the first slowly, the other twaine swiftly: the _anapestus_ his two first parts swiftly, his last slowly: the _Molossus_ spends all three parts of his race slowly and egally _Bacchius_ his first part swiftly, & two last parts slowly. The _tribrachus_ all his three parts swiftly: the _antibacchius_ his two first partes slowly, his last & third swiftly: the _amphimacer_, his first & last part slowly & his middle part swiftly: the _amphibracus_ his first and last parts swiftly but his midle part slowly, & so of others by like proportion. This was a pretie phantasticall