A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges

Part 62

Chapter 623,649 wordsPublic domain

2536. NAMES OF VERSES. Verses are called _trochaic_, _iambic_, _dactylic_, &c., according to their fundamental (or characteristic) feet. A verse which contains one foot (or one dipody if iambic, trochaic, or anapaestic; see 2531) is called a _monometer_, one of two a _dimeter_, one of three a _trimeter_, one of four a _tetrameter_, one of five a _pentameter_, and one of six a _hexameter_.

Trochaic, iambic, and anapaestic verses are often named by Latin adjectives in _-ārius_ (used as nouns) denoting the number of feet. Thus, such a verse of eight feet is called an _octōnārius_, one of seven a _septēnārius_, one of six a _sēnārius_, &c. A short verse which is employed to close a system (2547), or to mark a metrical or musical transition between longer verses, is called a _clausula_.

CATALEXIS, PAUSE, SYNCOPE.

2537. CATALEXIS. A verse, the last foot of which is incomplete, is said to suffer _Catalexis_ (Gr. κατάληξις, _a stopping short_) or to be _catalectic_; one of which the last foot is complete is called _acatalectic_.

It is usually the last part of the foot that is omitted; but (according to the theory now generally accepted) in catalectic iambic verses it is the last arsis that is omitted, the preceding thesis being protracted (2516) to compensate for the loss, thus: ⏑ ⏗́ -́

2538. A verse in which both the last arsis and the next to the last are suppressed, so that a whole foot appears to be wanting, is called _brachycatalectic_.

2539. A verse is said to be catalectic _in syllabam_, _in disyllabum_, or _in trisyllabum_, according to the number of syllables remaining in the last foot. Thus, the dactylic tetrameter - ⏑|- ⏑|- ⏑|- is catalectic _in syllabam_, but - ⏑|- ⏑|- ⏑|- ⏑ is catalectic _in disyllabum_.

2540. PAUSES. Theoretically all the feet (or dipodies; see 2531) into which a verse is divided must be equal in duration. Hence, when a final syllable (or two final syllables) is lost by catalexis, compensation is made for the loss by a pause at the end of the verse. Such a pause, which serves to fill out the last measure, answers to a _rest_ in music.

A pause of one _mora_ is often indicated by the sign ⌃, and one of two _morae_ by ⌅.

2541. SYNCOPE is the omission of one or more arses in the body of a verse. Compensation is made for the suppression of an arsis by protracting (2516) the preceding thesis.

CAESURA.

[Transcriber’s Note: In this section, a free-standing # represents the “diaeresis” symbol as described in the text.]

2542. CAESURA AND DIAERESIS. A _Caesūra_ (literally _a cutting_, from _caedo_, _I cut_) is the break in a verse produced by the ending of a word within a foot. When the end of a word coincides with the end of a foot, the break is called a _Diaeresis_ (Gr. διαίρεσις, _a separating_). A caesura is marked ‖, a diaeresis #.

The word _caesura_ is often loosely used to include both caesura proper and diaeresis.

2543. Strictly speaking, there is a caesura (or diaeresis, as the case may be) wherever a word ends within a verse; but the main incision in the verse is so much more important than the rest that it is often called the _principal caesura_, or simply _the caesura_.

2544. Caesuras are named according to their position in the verse; thus a caesura after the third half-foot (i.e. in the second foot) is called _trithemimeral_ (from Gr. τριθημιμερής, _containing three halves_), one after the fifth half-foot (i.e. in the third foot) _penthemimeral_ (Gr. πενθημιμερής, _consisting of five halves_), one after the seventh half-foot (i.e. in the fourth foot) _hephthemimeral_ (Gr. ἑφθημιμερής), &c.

The Latin names _caesūra sēmiternāria_ (= the trithemimeral caesura), _sēmiquīnāria_ (= the penthemimeral), _sēmiseptēnāria_ (= the hepthemimeral), &c., are sometimes used. For the _masculine_ and _feminine_ caesuras, see 2557.

STROPHE. SYSTEM.

2545. THE STROPHE. A fixed number of verses recurring in a regular order is called a _Strophe_. A strophe commonly contains verses of different kinds, but some strophes are composed of verses which are all alike. The most common strophes in Latin poetry are either _distichs_ (i.e. groups of two lines each), _tristichs_ (of three lines each), or _tetrastichs_ (of four).

Strophes and verses are frequently named after some poet who made use of them. So the Alcaic strophe (named after Alcaeus), the Sapphic strophe (named after Sappho), the Glyconic verse (named after Glycon), the Asclepiadean (after Asclepiades), the Phalaecean (after Phalaecus), the Pherecratean (after Pherecrates), &c.

2546. A _Stichic Series_ is a series of verses of the same kind not combined into strophes.

2547. THE SYSTEM. A group of rhythmical series (see 2532) which is of greater extent than a verse is called a _System_. Long systems, such as are common in Greek poetry, are comparatively rare in Latin verse.

Few verses have more than two rhythmical series; none more than three.

2548. Although in all probability the Latin accent was mainly one of stress rather than of pitch, it seems to have been comparatively weak. Hence, when it conflicted with the metrical ictus, it could be the more easily disregarded. But accentual or semi-accentual poetry seems to have existed among the common people even in the Augustan age, and even in classical Latin verse in certain cases (as in the last part of the dactylic hexameter) conflict between ictus and accent was carefully avoided. After the third century A.D. the accent exerted a stronger and stronger influence upon versification, until in the Middle Ages the quantitative Latin verse was quite supplanted by the accentual.

NUMERI ITALICI.

2549. Some of the earliest remains of Latin literature are believed to show a rhythmical structure. These are chiefly prayers, imprecations, sacred songs and the like, couched in a set form of words. Of the rules according to which these #carmina# were composed, almost nothing is known. According to one theory, they are wholly accentual, and are composed of rhythmical series, each series containing four theses. Frequently an arsis is suppressed, and compensation for the omission is made by dwelling longer upon the thesis. As an example is given the prayer in Cato, _Dē Rē Rūsticā_, 141:

Mā́rs páter tḗ précor | quaésṓque útī síēs | vólēns própítiús míhī́ dómṓ | fámiliaéque nóstraé, &c.

THE SATURNIAN.

2550. THE SATURNIAN is the best known and most important of the old Italian rhythms; but its nature long has been, and still is, matter of high dispute. There are two principal theories as to its character, the quantitative and the accentual, each of which is advocated by many distinguished scholars.

2551. (1.) THE QUANTITATIVE THEORY. According to this theory, the Saturnian is a verse of six feet, with an anacrusis (2529). There is a break after the fourth arsis, or more rarely after the third thesis. Each thesis may be either a long syllable or two shorts; each arsis may be a short syllable, a long, or two shorts, but an arsis is not resolved before the principal break or at the end of the verse. Hiatus is common, especially at the principal break in the verse. A short final syllable may be lengthened by the influence of the verse-ictus. An arsis is frequently suppressed, especially the penultimate arsis. Two arses are never suppressed in the same half-verse, and rarely two in the same verse. Examples of the Saturnian, measured quantitatively, are:

Dabúnt malúm Metéllī # Naéviṓ poḗtae. Novém Iovís concórdēs # fī́liaé sorṓrēs. (Naevius.)

Virúm mihī́, Camḗna, # ī́nsecḗ versū́tum. (Livius Andronicus.)

E͡ōrúm sectám sequóntur # múltī mórtā́lēs. (Naevius.)

Compare in English: “The queén was ín the párlour, éating bréad and hóney.”

2552. Most of the Roman grammarians who discussed the nature of the Saturnian seem to have regarded it as quantitative. In modern times the quantitative theory has been advocated by Ritschl, Buecheler, Havet, Christ, Lucian Mueller, W. Meyer, Reichardt and many others.

2553. (2.) THE ACCENTUAL THEORY. According to this theory, the Saturnian is an accentual verse, constructed without regard to quantity. It is divided by the principal break into two halves, the first of which has three theses. The second half usually has three, but may have only two, in which case it is usually preceded by an anacrusis (2529). Two accented syllables are regularly separated by an unaccented syllable, but in strictly constructed Saturnians the second and third unaccented syllables are regularly separated by two unaccented ones. Hiatus was at first freely admitted, but in the Saturnians of the second century B.C. occurs only at the principal break. Examples of the Saturnian, measured according to this theory, are:

Dábunt málum Metéllī # Naéviṓ poḗtae. Nóvem Ióvis concórdēs # fī́liaé sorṓrēs. (Naevius.)

Vírum míhi, Camḗna, # ī́nsecḗ versū́tum. (Livius Andronicus.)

E͡ōrum séctam sequóntur # múltī mórtā́lēs. (Naevius.)

2554. The accentual theory was held by the scholiast on V. _G._ 2, 385, and in modern times has been upheld (in one form or another) by O. Keller, Thurneysen, Westphal, Gleditsch, Lindsay and others. The brief statement given above agrees essentially with that of O. Keller. Gleditsch holds that each half-verse has four accents, as: #Dábunt málum Métellī́ ‖ Naéviṓ poḗtaé#; Lindsay that the first hemistich has three accents and the second two, as: #Dábunt málum Metéllī ‖ Naéviō poḗtae#. The whole question is still far from its final settlement.

DACTYLIC RHYTHMS.

2555. These are descending rhythms belonging to the _Equal Class_ (see 2527). In them the fundamental foot is the dactyl (-́ ⏑), for which its metrical equivalent, the spondee (-́ ⏔), is frequently substituted.

THE DACTYLIC HEXAMETER.

2556. The DACTYLIC HEXAMETER is the verse regularly employed in epic, didactic, and bucolic poetry, and is used by the Latin writers oftener than any other measure. It consists of six feet, the last of which is a spondee (but with the privilege of _syllaba anceps_; see 2534). The fifth foot is usually a dactyl; but sometimes a spondee is employed, in which case the verse is called _spondaic_. In each of the other four feet either a dactyl or a spondee may be used. The scheme is therefore:

-́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔

[In the final (fifth) ⏔, the long-syllable line is in brackets.]

2557. A caesura which comes immediately after the thesis of a foot is called _masculine_; one which falls in the middle of the arsis (i.e. after the first short of a dactyl) is termed _feminine_. The Roman writers show a strong preference for masculine principal caesuras, and in general their treatment of the caesura is more strict than that of the Greek poets.

2558. The principal caesura in the Latin hexameter is most frequently the penthemimeral (2544): as in:

Arma virumque canō ‖ Troiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs (V. 1, 1).

Next in order of frequency stands the hephthemimeral, which is usually accompanied by a secondary trithemimeral, and in many cases also by a feminine caesura in the third foot: as in the verse,

Īnsīgnem ‖ pietāte ‖ virum ‖ tot adīre labōrēs (V. 1, 10).

If the secondary trithemimeral caesura is lacking, the penthemimeral is usually accompanied by a feminine caesura in the second foot. Sometimes, though more rarely, the principal break in the line is the feminine caesura in the third foot (often called the “caesura after the third trochee”), as in the verse

Spargēns ūmida mella ‖ sopōriferumque papāver (V. 4, 486).

2559. The diaeresis (see 2542) after the fourth foot (often called “bucolic diaeresis” from its use by pastoral writers) sometimes occurs, but is much less common in Latin hexameters than in Greek. An example is

Dīc mihi, Dāmoetā, ‖ cuium pecus? # An Meliboeī? (V. _E._ 3, 1).

This diaeresis, though common in Juvenal, is rare in most of the Latin poets (even the bucolic), and when it does occur, it is usually accompanied by a penthemimeral caesura. Lucian Mueller and others deny that the bucolic diaeresis ever forms the principal break in a line.

2560. When a line has several caesuras, it is often hard to determine which is the principal one. In general, masculine caesuras out-rank feminine; the penthemimeral takes precedence over the hephthemimeral, and the latter over all other caesuras. But if the hephthemimeral, or even one of the minor caesuras, coincides with an important pause in the sentence, it may out-rank the penthemimeral. Thus in the verse

Paulāt(im) adnābam ‖ terrae; ‖ iam tūta tenēbam (V. 6, 358),

the principal caesura is after #terrae#, not #adnābam#.

Lines without a principal caesura are rare. An instance is

Nōn quīvīs videt inmodulāta poēmata iūdex (H. _AP._ 263).

2561. The great flexibility of the hexameter makes it an admirable vehicle of poetic expression. Accumulated spondees give the verse a slow and ponderous movement: as in the line

The multiplication of dactyls imparts to the verse a comparatively rapid and impetuous motion, as in the famous verse

But even when dactyls are numerous, the Latin hexameter, “the stateliest measure ever moulded by the lips of man,” should not be read with the jerky 3/8 movement which is characteristic of the English hexameter.

2562. The following passage may serve to illustrate the movement of the hexameter, and to show how the use of the different caesuras imparts variety to the measure:

Compare in English:

Rolls and rages amain the restless, billowy ocean, While with a roar that soundeth afar the white-maned breakers Leap up against the cliffs, like foemen madly rejoicing.

NOTES ON THE HEXAMETER.

2563. (1.) In all probability, the hexameter was originally a composite verse, made up of two tripodies, or of a tetrapody and a dipody. Hence hiatus in the principal caesura is not very rare, even in the Augustan poets. The stress upon the first and fourth theses was probably stronger than that upon the other four.

2564. (2.) In the second half of the hexameter, particularly in the fifth and sixth feet, verse-ictus and word-accent show a strong tendency to coincide.

2565. (3.) A monosyllable rarely stands before the principal caesura or at the end of the verse. When the verse ends in a monosyllable, the thesis of the last foot is generally a monosyllable also, as in the line

Crīspīnus minimō mē prōvocat; accipe, sī vīs (H. _S._ 1, 4, 14).

Exceptions to this rule sometimes occur when the poet wishes to produce a particular effect, as in

Parturient montēs, nāscētur rīdiculus mūs (H. _AP._ 139).

2566. (4.) A hexameter generally ends in a word of two or three syllables, almost never in one of four, rarely in one of five. But _spondaic_ verses (2556) generally end with a word of four syllables, more rarely with one of three, almost never with one of two.

2567. (5.) Spondaic verses are comparatively rare in Ennius and Lucretius, but become more frequent in Catullus. They are not common in Vergil, Horace, Propertius and Ovid, and do not occur at all in Tibullus. Persius has one spondaic verse, Valerius Flaccus one, Claudian five, Silius Italicus six, Statius seven. Ennius has lines composed entirely of spondees, and so in one instance (116, 3) Catullus. Ennius also resolves the thesis of a dactyl in a few cases.

2568. (6.) A verse which is connected with the following one by elision (2492) is called hypermetrical. Such verses are rare, and usually end with the enclitics #-que# or #-ve#.

2569. (7.) The dactylic hexameter was introduced into Latin literature by Ennius, and was further perfected by Lucilius, Lucretius, and Cicero, who took him as their model. Catullus and the group to which he belonged followed Alexandrian models more closely, while the great poets of the Augustan age carried the technique of the hexameter to its highest perfection. Horace in his lyric poetry treats the hexameter with great strictness; but in the Satires and Epistles he handles it with much freedom, imparting to the measure a more colloquial character by the frequent use of spondees and by less rigorous treatment of the caesura.

THE DACTYLIC PENTAMETER.

2570. The DACTYLIC PENTAMETER is a verse consisting of two catalectic dactylic tripodies, separated by a fixed diaeresis. Spondees are admitted in the first tripody, but not in the second. The final thesis of the first tripody is protracted to a tetraseme (2516) to compensate for the omission of the arsis. The scheme is therefore

-́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | ⏘́ # -́ ⏑ | -́ ⏑ | -́ ⌅

2571. (1.) The verse is not asynartetic (2535), neither _syllaba anceps_ nor hiatus being allowed at the end of the first tripody.

2572. (2.) This verse is known as the pentameter because the ancient grammarians measured it

- ⏑ | - ⏑ | - - | ⏑ - | ⏑ -

2573. The pentameter is rarely used except in combination with the hexameter, with which it forms the so-called _Elegīac Distich_:

-́ ⏔ | - ⏔ | - ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ -́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | ⏘́ # -́ ⏑ | -́ ⏑ | -́ ⌅

2574. The Elegiac Distich is used chiefly in elegiac poetry (whence the name), in amatory verse and in epigrams. The end of the pentameter generally coincides with a pause in the sense. As examples of the Elegiac Distich, the following may serve:

Compare in English (but see 2561 _ad fin._):

“These lame hexameters the strong-winged music of Homer! No--but a most burlesque, barbarous experiment . . . Hexameters no worse than daring Germany gave us, Barbarous experiment, barbarous hexameters.” (TENNYSON).

2575. The Elegiac Distich was introduced into Roman poetry by Ennius, who used it in epigrams. Varro employed it in his _Saturae_, and Catullus seems to have been the first of the Latins who used it in Elegiac poetry. The elegiac and amatory poets of the Augustan age, especially Ovid, perfected it, and wielded it with unequalled grace and ease.

2576. Ovid nearly always closes the pentameter with a disyllabic word; but earlier poets, especially Catullus, are less careful in this regard. Elision is less frequent in the pentameter than in the hexameter. It sometimes occurs in the main diaeresis of the pentameter, though rarely.

THE DACTYLIC TETRAMETER ACATALECTIC (or _Alcmanian_).

2577. This verse is chiefly used in composition with a trochaic tripody to form the Greater Archilochian verse (2677); but it occurs alone once in Terence (_Andria_ 625), and is employed in stichic series (2546) by Seneca. The scheme is:

-́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | -́ ⏑

An example is:

hocine | crēdibi|l(e) aut memo|rābile (T. Andr. 625).

This verse is often called _Alcmanian_ because it was used by the Greek poet Alcman.

THE DACTYLIC TETRAMETER CATALECTIC (or _Archilochian_).

2578. This verse consists of four dactylic feet, the last one being incomplete. The scheme is:

-́ ⏔ | -́ ⏔ | - ⏔ | -́ ⏑ ⌃

[In the final ⏔, the long-syllable line is in brackets.]

An example is:

Cármine | pérpetu|ṓ cele|brā́r(e) et (H. 1, 7, 6).

This verse differs from the preceding in that the last foot is always a trochee or spondee, never a dactyl. It is used only in the Alcmanian strophe (2724).

THE DACTYLIC TRIMETER CATALECTIC (or _Lesser Archilochian_).

2579. This verse has the scheme:

-́ ⏑ | -́ ⏑ | -́ ⌅

An example is:

Árbori|búsque co|maé (H. 4, 7, 2).

It is used chiefly in the First Archilochian Strophe (see 2725). In form it is the same as the second half of the pentameter (2570).

2580. These verses (2578, 2579) are often called _Archilochian_ because they were first used by the Greek poet Archilochus.

[Erratum: Árbori|búsque co|maé (H. 4, 7, 2). Árbori|búsque co | maé (H. 4, 7, 2).]

IAMBIC RHYTHMS.

2581. These are ascending rhythms (2528) in 3/8 time. The fundamental foot is the Iambus (⏑ -́), for which its metrical equivalent the tribrach ⏑́ ⏑, the irrational spondee > -́, the irrational dactyl > ⏑́ ⏑, the cyclic anapaest ⏑ -́, or the proceleusmatic ⏑ ⏑́ ⏑ is sometimes substituted.

2582. The Greek poets excluded all feet except the iambus and tribrach, and in comedy the anapaest, from the even places in iambic verse. The Latin poets were not so strict: but when one of the even feet was formed by a word or a word-ending, they did not usually allow the foot to be a spondee or an anapaest, but required it to be an iambus.

THE IAMBIC TRIMETER OR SENARIUS.

2583. The IAMBIC TRIMETER is the verse most frequently used by the Roman dramatists. It consists of six iambic feet, or three iambic dipodies. The ictus on the second thesis of each dipody was probably weaker than that upon the first thesis. Some ancient authorities, however, held that the ictus on the second thesis was the stronger. The last foot is always an iambus. The normal scheme is therefore:

⏑ -́ | ⏑ -̇ | ⏑ -́ | ⏑ -̇ | ⏑ -́ | ⏑ -̇

Some prefer (see 2529) to regard this verse as a trochaic trimeter catalectic with anacrusis. The normal scheme will then be:

⏑ ⁝ -́ ⏑ | -̇ ⏑ | -́ ⏑ | -̇ ⏑ | -́ ⏑ | -̇ ⌃

2584. The Latin poets differ widely in their treatment of the Senarius, some (especially Plautus, Terence, and the other early dramatists) handling it with great freedom, while others (especially Phaedrus and Publilius Syrus) conform more closely to Greek models. We may therefore distinguish two periods:

(A.) Early Period.

2585. Any one of the substitutions enumerated in 2581 is admitted in any foot except the last. The scheme is therefore:

⏑͐ -́ | ⏑͐ -̇ | ⏑͐ -́ | ⏑͐ -̇ | ⏑͐ -́ | ⏑ -̇ ⏑́ ⏑ | ⏑̇ ⏑ | ⏑́ ⏑ | ⏑̇ ⏑ | ⏑́ ⏑ | > ⏑́ ⏑ | > ⏑̇ ⏑ | > ⏑́ ⏑ | > ⏑̇ ⏑ | [> ⏑́ ⏑] | ⏑ -́ | ⏑ -̇ | ⏑ -́ | ⏑ -̇ | ⏑ -́ | ⏑ ⏑́ ⏑ | ⏑ ⏑̇ ⏑ | ⏑ ⏑́ ⏑ | ⏑ ⏑̇ ⏑ | ⏑ ⏑́ ⏑ |

The main caesura is usually penthemimeral (2544); but it is sometimes hephthemimeral, in which case there is generally a secondary caesura in, or diaeresis after, the second foot.

The following passage may serve to show the rhythm:

T. _Hau._ 275.

⏑ -́ | ⏑ -̇ | > ‖ -́ | ⏑ -̇ | > -́ | ⏑ -̇ ⏑ -́ | > -̇ | ⏑ ‖ -́ | ⏑̇ ⏑ | ⏑ -́ | ⏑ -̇ > ⏑́ ⏑ | > -̇ | > -́ | ⏑ ‖ -̇ | ⏑ -́ | ⏑ -̇ ⏑ ⏑́ ⏑ | ⏑ -̇ | > ‖ -́ | ⏑ -̇ | > -́ | ⏑ -̇ > -́ | > ⏑̇ ⏑ | ⏑ ‖ -́ | > ⏑̇ ⏑ | > -́ | ⏑ -̇ > ⏑́ ⏑ | > -̇ | > ‖ -́ | > -̇ | > -́ | ⏑ -̇ ⏑ -́ | > -̇ | > ‖ -́ | > -̇ | > ⏑́ ⏑ | ⏑ -̇

2586. (1.) In the early dramatists, substitutions are very numerous, and lines which follow the normal scheme are rare. Substitutions are most frequent in the first foot.

2587. (2.) Four shorts rarely stand in succession unless they belong to the same foot. Hence a dactyl or tribrach is seldom followed by an anapaest.

2588. (3.) The dactyl and proceleusmatic are rare in the fifth foot. The proceleusmatic occurs chiefly in the first foot.