Note 390 — Chapter I
Reading edition
According to the opinion of the Welsh antiquaries, the system of druidical knowledge forms the basis of the Triads. If this be the case, it must be confessed that the bards possessed a profound knowledge of human nature, uncommon critical sagacity, and a perfect acquaintance with the harmony of language and the properties of metre. For example, the subjects of the poetical Triads are,
The Welsh language. Fancy and invention. The design of poetry. Nature of just thinking. Rules of arrangement. Rules of description. Variety of matter and invention. Rules of composition; comprising the laws of verse, rhyme, stanzas, consonancy or alliteration, and accent.
We quote a few of these Triads to show their nature and structure.
The three qualifications of poetry;—endowment of genius, judgment from experience, and happiness of mind.
The three foundations of judgment;—bold design, frequent practice, and frequent mistakes.
The three foundations of learning;—seeing much, suffering much, and studying much.
The three foundations of happiness;—a suffering with contentment, a hope that it will come, and a belief that it will be.
The three foundations of thought;—perspicuity, amplitude, and justness.
The three canons of perspicuity;—the word that is necessary, the quantity that is necessary, and the manner that is necessary.
The three canons of amplitude;—appropriate thought, variety of thought, and requisite thought.