ON THE
LENGTHENING
POWER OF THE CJESURA.
Latin - Casserly - Complete System of Latin Prosody
Id.
Hermes suppositicius sibi ipsi. -- (Phal. ) Mart.
12. Desideratives in* urio, shorten the antepenultima,
which in the second and third person is the penult ,* as,
esurio, esuris, esiirit. But other verbs in urio lengthen
that syllable; as, ligurio,liguris ; scat urio, scaturis, 6cc.
The quantity of the first and middle syllables of foreign
or barbarous words introduced into the Latin language,
cannot be determined, unless when they fall within the
general rules. -- Those first and middle syllables which
cannot be ascertained by the preceding rules, must be
determined by the practice or authority of the poets.
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? 66 PRONUNCIATION.
SECTION IV.
OF PRONUNCIATION.
On this part of Latin Prosody it were needless to dilate,
as the modes adopted in the pronunciation of the vowels,
whether long or short, are so various, and so contradictory
in various countries, and withal so firmly engrafted on
their respective usages, that any attempt to lay down gen-
eral rules would appear not only useless but presumptuous.
The majority of classical scholars in all these countries
where the study of Latin language and literature is culti-
vated, appear to concur in assigning to the vowels of that
language, the same sound which they give the vowels of
their own vernacular respectively. How absurd soever
the custom may be, it is now too firmly fixed to admit a
remedy : nullis medicabilis verbis.
In the Catholic Universities and Colleges, the mode
adopted is that followed on the Continent of Europe ; in
the Literary Institutions of other denominations, -- at least
of those in the British empire and United States, the mode
usually adopted, is that followed by the Universities of
Oxford and Cambridge in England, and Trinity College,
Dublin. In many institutions on either side of the At-
lantic, both methods are, in some measure, blended with
a preponderance, more or less, to either, according to the
taste of the instructors, or the customs of the locality. The
consequence is, that the stately and sonorous language of
ancient Rome, for so many ages the most general medium
of intercourse, written, printed, and oral, among the liter-
ati of all nations, is with much difficulty understood by a
scholar of one country, when read in his hearing by the
scholar of another ! but when spoken in conversation it is
scarcely intelligible ! ! #
* Hence the sarcastic apology-- for not answering in turn-- made by Sqaliger.
when addressed in Latin by a Scotchman;-- that "he" (Scaligtr) "did not
understand Gaelic. "
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? PRONUNCIATION. 67
Without pretending to censure those who follow the
modern improvements (? ) in the mode of pronouncing the
Latin words, the compiler ventures to offer a few words in
defence of the mode, which he had been long taught to
regard as that least liable to objection, -- as nearest, in the
majority of instances, to the pronunciation of the old Ro-
mans -- afcd consequently as the best. He believes, then,
that the sounds of the Latin vowels (long) ought to be
nearly as laid down in the following scale :
The d long like the English a in far; as in the Latin words Mars, amdre.
The e " " e in there ; " tt dies, tulere.
The* " " i in thine; " iC Nilus, audirc.
The 6 u u o in no ; u " timore, nolite.
The u " " u in sure; " " musa,duco.
Between the Latin a and the Greek a (tilcpa) from which
it had been derived, there could have been no essential
difference of sound ; being both pronounced when in com-
bination, like the a in far ; as, dearum, Mcscenas ; &ea,
dpyo? : but the foppish and finical sound 'of a in fate, into
which it has been metamorphosed by modern improve-
ment, was certainly unknown to the full, open, ore-rotundo
pronunciation of the stately lords of the world. To the
majestic march and sonorous swell of " the long resound-
ing line" in Latin verse, nothing probably has done more
injury than this barbarous innovation.
The Latin e, allowedly the n (fjra) of the Greeks,
must have had a sound exactly similar to that of its
primitive ; like the English e in there ; or in the French
words, bete, tete ; as, in acies, diebus. All doubt on the
subject is removed by the testimony of Eustathius, who
says that ? ? rj, 0rj, was a sound formed from the bleating
of sheep ; quoting the well known verse of the poet :
*0 5' iiXidiog, SxrnBQ nydSajov, j9tj, jfftj Mywv @adl$6i:
so that the modernized, attenuated sound of e in we,
7#
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? 68 PRONUNCIATION.
foisted on this vowel, had been wholly unknown to the
ancients.
The vowel i being the Latin representative of the
Greek proper diphthong st>, -- not of the vowel t> (iwra), as
some assert, -- must be supposed to have preserved the
sound of both letters, and to have been pronounced like
the English l in thine ;* as, Nilus, (the river), Iphigenia,
dlcere. i Victorinus shows that the quantity of i was
marked by the ancients as if ei diphthong : which is also
proved from Lucilius where alluding to the sound of i in
the plural of words, he says --
Jam puerei venere e postremum facito atque i
Hoc illeifecere, addes e ut pinguius fiat : --
" That it may become fuller ;" an observation by no
means applicable to the sound of e, into which it has
been too generally converted. !
In 5, from the Greek w ((b/niya) -- more fortunate than
its brethren. -- -scarcely any difference has yet appeared
between the two systems alluded to above ; all agreeing
to give it the sound assigned it by nature, that of the
English 5 in no, oh ; in French cdte, and the Latin words
mobilis, poculum ; agreeably to the quantity of the Greek
vowel whence derived.
In u, from the Greek v (tiytlov), the difference between
the two systems has, in all probability, been as great as
in the case of the vowel i ; -- the scholars on the Conti-
nent generally giving it the sound of u in rule (do), while
those of the British empire most commonly pronounce it
like the English u in sure, tube ; as in manu, cornu : -- a
* It must not, however, be concealed, that this opinion is different from that
of many learned Prosodians.
t The force of custom has been more than usually capricious in the use or
abuse of this letter; not unfrequently compelling the bewildered student to follow
two different modes of pronunciation in the same line; as --
Cut tu lacte/avos et miti dilue Baccho. Virg.
% Qu. -- Perverted?
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? PRONUNCIATION. OX
sound far preferable, not only from its more uniform pre-
valence in the recitation of the language, but from its
greater fullness and expressiveness : yet it must in candor
be admitted, that the sound given by the scholars of the
Continent of Europe, approximates more closely to that
supposed to be the sound of the ancient Romans than the
one adopted by the scholars of the British empire ; for
although derived from the Greek v (dtf/ddv), the Latin u
would appear to have differed widely from its primitive :
whence Ausonius tells us, that the sound of the Roman
u "had been unknown to the Greeks" -- Cecropiis ignota:
and Plautus makes his Parasite say --
Tw, tu, illic inquam, mrC adferri noctuam --
comparing it to the note or hooting of the owl.
With regard to the partial adoption of both systems, the
natural result is, the absence of all consistency: whereas
those who strenuously insist on the mincing petit-maitre
sound of a and e, as in the English vowels in fate and
? ne, almost uniformly abandon the sound of the English
vowels in the case of i; and generally in that of u ; --
pronouncing the former as e and the latter as 55! If the
Latin vowels a and e are doomed to submit to the Saxon
yoke, why exempt I and u? If z (sounded as e) and u
(sounded as 55) are retained as agreeable to the method
of the Romans, why not retain a and e, as unquestion-
ably pronounced by the same people, and as given in the
above scale ? In our improvements, let us preserve some
appearance at least of consistency. Let us Anglicize all
or Latinize all : but let us not blunder like the foolish
painter in Horace --
Ut nee pes nee caput uni
Reddatur forma.
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? 70 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
SECTION V.
FIGURES OF PROSODY,
Are sixteen : viz. 1. Cjesura ; 2. Synjeresis (with
its two co-relatives, Crasis and Synecphonesis) ; 3.
DiiEREsis, or Dialysis ; 4. Elision, (divided into
Synalcepha and Ecthlipsis) ; 5. Systole ; 6. Dias-
tole or Ectasis ; 7. Synapheia ; S. Prothesis ; 9.
Aphjeresis ; 10. Syncope; 11. Epenthesis ; 12.
Apocope ; 13. Paragoge ; 14. Tmesis ; 15. Antithe-
sis ; and 16. Metathesis.
1. CAESURA. *
The term Caesura is used by Prosodians in two different
acceptations: -- 1st, as applied to whole verses, and 2d,
as applied to single feet. Lines in poetry are most gene-
rally so constructed, that the voice of the reader is natu-
rally required to make a short pause or rest at that part of
every line or verse, where it can be most conveniently
done without injury to the sense or the harmony of the
line, as,
TantcR molts eratWRomanam condere gentem.
Errabant acti fatisWmaria omnia circum.
The division thus produced by the halt or pause u
called CcBsura -- Casural Pause, or perhaps more cor-
rectly -- Lineal Casiira. This is the term in its first
acceptation, and is used chiefly in reference to Hexameter
verse. It shall be noticed again under the rules for the
construction of Latin verse.
Caesura in its second application occurs in the manner
following : viz. , when a foot is made up of syllables be-
longing to separate consecutive words, and when the first
* From caderc, * to cut" or "divide. "
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? FIGURES' OF PROSODY. 71
syllable of that foot is the last syllable of the preceding
word, then the space, separation, or division between the
two consecutive words, is called Ccesura simply ; or more
emphatically, the Metrical Ccesura; as referring to a foot
or measure ; thus in the following line,
Pastojres dvi\um tener\bs de|pellere foetus --
the Metrical Caesura occurs three times -- in the second
foot, res bvi, where the division takes place between res
and ovi ; -- in the third foot um tener, where it takes place
between ilm, and tener ; -- in fourth foot os de, where it
takes place between os and de.
Of Metrical Caesura, there are three kinds ; namely,
the Syllabic, the Trochaic, and the Monosyllabic.
The Syllabic Caesura is that, in which the first part of
the divided foot consists of the last syllable of the pre-
ceding word ; as the syllables res, um, and os of the line
just quoted.
The Syllabic Casura may take place in five positions ;
viz. , after the first syllable of the 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, or 6th
foot : or in the technical language of Prosodians, the
Caesura after the 1st syllable of the 2d foot is called
Triemimeris, that is, " of the third half foot ;" that after
the 1st syllable of the third foot, or 5th half foot, is called
Penthemimeris ; -- at the 7th semi -foot, Hephthemimeris ;
-- at the 9th, Enneemimeris ; -- and at the 11th semi-foot,
or 1st syllable of the last foot, Hendecemimeris. * This
Caesura (the Hendecemimeris) never occurs unless where
the last word is a monosyllable.
EXAMPLES TO ELUCIDATE THE FOREGOING DEFINITIONS.
1. Pectori|? ws inhi|ans spijrantia | consulit | exta.
* These terras are formed of fiui "half," and [jep6$ or fxeptg "part," with the
Greek numerals prefixed.
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? 72 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
2. Emicat Eurya|Zfw et | munere | victor a|mici.
3.
3. Una ea|demque vi|a sanjg7<<s anijmusque se|quuntur.
4. Graius ho|mo infec|tos lin|quens profu| gus hyme|naeos.
. 3'
5. Vertitur | intereja cae|lum et ruit | Ocea\no nox.
The OCT 3 points out the position of the Caesura in each
line, viz. , of the Triembneris after bus; of the Penthemi-
meris after Ins ; -- of the Hephthemimeris after guis ; -- of
the Enneemimeris after gus ; -- of the Hendecemimeris after
no ; or as expressed in the following tabular form : --
Triemimeris.
Penthemimeris.
Hephthemimeris.
Enneemimeris.
Hendecemimeris.
the 2d foot
tf
3d
u
it
4th
?
u
5th
(1
a
6th
u
or 3d half foot
or 5th "
or 7th "
or 9th "
or 11th "
Of these pauses or rests, the most beautiful -- as tending
beyond all others to impart sweetness, smoothness, and
rythm to the verse, -- is that which occurs after the Penthe-
mimeris. The pause after Triemimeris and Hephthemi-
meris, are also ornamental, though in a less degree ; but
the Enneemimeris and Hendecemimeris are injurious to
harmony, and are to be sparingly used ; unless where the
want of smoothness may be desirable.
The Trochaic Ccesura is that, in which the first part of
the divided foot consists of either a long and short syllable
(a trochee " ~) remaining at the end of a word, or of an
an entire word comprised of a long and a short syllable
(a trochee) ; as,
? drtu\ndtus et | tile de|os qm\novit a|grestes. Virg.
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY. 73
Here natas in the 2d foot, ille in the third, and novit
in the 5th, form, each a trochee, and at each of these
divisions, the Trochaic Ccesitra occurs.
The Trochaic Casura may occur in any of the first
five feet of a verse ; as,
Talla | voce re|fert, o\terque qno. \terque be|ati. Virg.
Ar? na pro|cul cur\rusque vi|rum mi\ratur in[anes. Id.
The syllables in Italics point out the Caesura.
Two successive trochees in the 2d and 3d feet should
be avoided ; as they give the verse a flippant, cantering
air or manner, which is extremely inelegant and undig-
nified ; as,
Ergo mk\glsque m&lgisque vi|rl nunc |gloria [claret. En.
The Monosyllabic Casura is that, in which the first
syllable of the divided foot, is a monosyllable ; as,
Hie vir hic|es? \Xh\\quem pro|mitti|s3epius|audIs. Virg.
Of the three kinds of Caesura, the principal is the
Syllabic ; the next in metrical effect is the Trochaic ; but
the Monosyllabic is inferior to either, and yet, in many
instances, it would appear to be the principal Caesura in
the verse.
ON THE LENGTHENING POWER OF THE CJESURA.
Syllaba smpe brevis Ccesnra extenditur, etsi
Liter a nee duplex nee consona bina scquatur.
A short syllable in the Caesura is frequently made long,
although its vowel may not be followed by two consonants
or a double letter.
Instead of attributing this to the power of the Caesura,
it is more agreeable to the laws of metre to ascribe it to
the halt, pause, or suspension of the voice invariably
accompanied by what is called the ictus, which takes
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? 74 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
place at the division of the foot, and which being counted
into the time or duration of the preceding short syllable,
makes it long : -- the Caesural pause producing an effect
similar to that of the final pause. Again, the swell or
stress of the voice in dactylic versification invariably falling
on the first syllable* of the foot, produces the same effect
on that syllable, as if its final letter were pronounced
double; the voice striking emphatically and dwelling
forcibly, for an instant, on the latter of the double letters. !
2. -- Syn^resis,! with its two co-relatives, Crasis? and
S YNECPHONESIS. il
SyUaba, de gemina facta una, Synseresis esto.
Two vowels naturally forming separate syllables, but
read and pronounced as one syllable, form a Synceresis ;
as, a-i-o, pronounced ai-o.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
Pro-in-de^pro-hi-be-aty Tro-i-a^a-i-uni, &c, pronounced
prom-de, prot-be-at, Troz-a, ai-unt.
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Proinde tona eloquio, solitum tibi ; meque timoris. Virg.
making a diphthong of the two contiguous vowels in the
word Pro-in-de, -- Proin-de, and preserving the sound of
* Called the apni$ or "elevation;" -- the tone being here always more elevated :
the other part being called Sems or " depression;'' this part of the foot being
comparatively depressed.
t To render this familiar to the young Prosodian, he should be taught to read
the Caesural syllables in the five verses given above, with a strong emphasis, a*
if written PectoribuSS, Eurj/aluSS, ScviguiSS, ProfvjmSS. &o. . forcibly,
although momentarily, dwelling on the duplicated letter. Servius on JEneid, 3 r
91, says the syllable is made longfiitalUatis ratione: and QnfntiTTan, Lib. 0. c. i f
agrees that -- in ipsauiivisione verborum (the Caesura"* quoddavi latent tempvt-
t Prom cvvaipeciq, "a contraction. "
? From icpaais, "a mixture" or "blending. "
fj From Qvvr. KtydJvriaiS) "a mutation of sound. "
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY. 75
both. This seems the peculiar province of Synasresis, as
the other contractions and alterations attributed to this
figure, more properly come under the head of Crasis and
Synecphonesis.
Crasis,
Blends or runs two vowels into one, so that the sound
of one at least is lost ; as, pro-emo -- pro-mo.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
E-a-dem (eadem), co-al-u-e-rint {coaluerint) , al-ve-a-ri-a
(alvearia), &c, -- pronounced adem, co-luerint, alvaria,
&c.
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Seu lento fuerint alvearia vimine tezta. Virg.
To Crasis then -- as the name indicates -- properly be-
longs all contractions, where the sound of one of the two
contiguous vowels is lost.
Synecphonesis,
Is the change of a vowel sound into that of a conso-
nant ; as, of I and of U into the sound of J and V, (or
W) ; as, parietibus, pronounced par-yetibus.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
Genua, tenuis, pituit a, tuas,fortuito, &c, -- pronounced
gen-va or wa, ten-vis or -wis, pit-wita, twos, fort-wito, &c.
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Harent parietibus scala, postesque, sub ipsos. Virg.
3. -- Dleresis,* or Dialysis. t
Distraint in gcminas resoluta Diaeresis unam.
A Dimresis is the division of one syllable into two ; as
curat for aurm.
* From 6ii(p*ei;, " a division. "
t Tmm 6ia\v(Tts, " a loosening. "
8
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? 76 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
Silua (for silva), solua (for solvo), suadent (for suadent),
Tro-i-a (for Troi-a)>Ecqms (for Ecquis. )
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Mthereum sensum, atque aurai simplicis ignem. Virg.
4. -- Elision* is divided in Synaloephaf and Ecthlipsis. t
1. Synalcepha.
Dipthongum aut vocalem haurit Synalcepha priorem.
Synalapha is the elision (or cutting off) of a vowel or
diphthong at the end of a word, when the following word
begins with a vowel or diphthong, or the letter h ; as y
conticvjer* o? ? mes, for conticuere omnes.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
Intentiqv? ora (for intentique ora) Bardanid ' e muris
(for BardanidcB e muris), uV ingens (for ubi ingens),
atqxC yemes (for atque hyemes. )
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Quidve moror ? si omnes uno ordine habetis Achivos. Vir.
This line must be scanned thus : --
Quidve moror ? s'omnes un' ordin' habetis Achivos.
2. ECTHLIPSIS.
M vorat Ecthlipsis, quoties vocalibus anteit.
Ecthlipsis cuts off the final m and the preceding
vowel ,? when the following word begins with a vowel;
as, virtuf ex for virtutem ex.
* From elisio (wh. fr. eliderc), "a cutting off. "
t From cvva\oi<pn, " a coalescing," or rather "a re-anointing or smearing over,
to conceal or destroy the last coat or layer. "
% From cKd\i\pts, "a striking out. "
? The preceding vowel is -- to speak accurately -- thus cut off by the Synalcepha,
on the removal of the m.
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY. 77
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
O ! quanf est for O ! quantum est) tec' una (for tecum
una) , ferend' est (for ferendum est).
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, verumque labor em.
Fortun&m ex aliis. Virg.
5. -- Systole. *
Systole prcecipitat positu vel origine Ion gam.
Systole shortens a syllable otherwise long by nature or
by position ; as, viden' for videsne.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
Steterunt, tulerunt, hodie (for hoc-die), obicis (for ob-
jicis), omitto (for obmitto).
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Cum subitb assur gens fluctu nimbosus Orio? i. \ Virg.
6. -- Diastole^ or Ectasis. ?
Ectasis extenditque brevem, duplicatque elementum.
By Ectasis a syllable naturally short is made long ; as,
Italia for italia: it sometimes doubles the consonant; as,
relligio for religio.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
I
Relliquice, repperit, Priamides (from Priamus) , Arabia,
(from ^Lrabs).
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Qui clypeo, galeaque, Macedoniagwe, sarissa. Ovid.
* From a-varoXfj, ? a contraction, or shortening. "
03^ For the objections urged against the existence of Systole, the curious
student should read Carey, Anthou and others, under this head.
t Written in Greek with an w, and consequently long by nature, it is here
shortened by the figure.
t From StacTTo\fi, "an extension," or "lengthening. "
? From eKTdois, the same.
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? 7s figures of prosody.
7. -- Synapheia. *
Copvlat irrupto versus Synapheia tenore.
Synapheia connects verses together, in such a manner
as to make them run on uninterruptedly, as if not divided
into separate lines or verses. By this mode of connect-
ing lines together-- irrupto te? wre -- the initial syllable of
a succeeding verse has an influence on the final syllable
of the preceding, -- affecting it by the concourse of con-
sonants, by ecthlipsis, and by synaloepha. The use of sy-
napheia was however confined principally to anapaestic
verse and the Ionic a minore. In other species of verse,
it was rarely introduced by any of the great poets.
The following anapaestic lines are examples of Syna-
pheia :
Prceceps\sylvas\\montes\que fugit\\
Citus Act\ceon,\\agilis\que magis\\
Pede per\sdltus\\et sax\a vagiis\\
Metuit | mot as || Zephyr is plumas. || Seneca.
By reading these lines -- continuo carmine -- the natu-
rally short final syllables of fugit, magis, and vagus, re-
spectively become long by position before their own fi-
nal, and the initial consonants in the lines immediately
succeeding.
Virgil's hexameters also furnish some examples ; as --
Jactemur, doceas : ignari hominumque locorum\q}ie
Erramus, vento hue et vastis fiuctibus acti.
In this example the first line ends with rum, the
superfluous syllable que at the termination, combines
with Er the first syllable in the second line, and thence
by Synapheia and Synalaspha, produces QiCerra, -- as a
spondee, to commence the second line. *
* From aviHKpeia, " a conjunction, or joining together. "
t The celebrated Bentley, in his Dissertation upon Phalaris, had the merit
of discovering the law of Synapheia.
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? figures of prosody. 79
8. -- Prosthesis. * 9. -- Aphjeresis. !
Principium apponit Prosthesis, quod Aphaeresis aufert.
Prosthesis adds a letter or syllable to the beginning of
a word ; while Aphceresis takes away a letter or syllable
from it. Examples of Prosthesis -- Gnatm for Natus ;
Tetuli for Tuli : -- of Aphceresis -- 'st for est, Camander
and Maragdus for Scamander and Smaragdus.
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION OF APH^RESIS.
Tu poteras virides pennis hebetare smaragdos. l Ovid.
10.
Hermes suppositicius sibi ipsi. -- (Phal. ) Mart.
12. Desideratives in* urio, shorten the antepenultima,
which in the second and third person is the penult ,* as,
esurio, esuris, esiirit. But other verbs in urio lengthen
that syllable; as, ligurio,liguris ; scat urio, scaturis, 6cc.
The quantity of the first and middle syllables of foreign
or barbarous words introduced into the Latin language,
cannot be determined, unless when they fall within the
general rules. -- Those first and middle syllables which
cannot be ascertained by the preceding rules, must be
determined by the practice or authority of the poets.
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? 66 PRONUNCIATION.
SECTION IV.
OF PRONUNCIATION.
On this part of Latin Prosody it were needless to dilate,
as the modes adopted in the pronunciation of the vowels,
whether long or short, are so various, and so contradictory
in various countries, and withal so firmly engrafted on
their respective usages, that any attempt to lay down gen-
eral rules would appear not only useless but presumptuous.
The majority of classical scholars in all these countries
where the study of Latin language and literature is culti-
vated, appear to concur in assigning to the vowels of that
language, the same sound which they give the vowels of
their own vernacular respectively. How absurd soever
the custom may be, it is now too firmly fixed to admit a
remedy : nullis medicabilis verbis.
In the Catholic Universities and Colleges, the mode
adopted is that followed on the Continent of Europe ; in
the Literary Institutions of other denominations, -- at least
of those in the British empire and United States, the mode
usually adopted, is that followed by the Universities of
Oxford and Cambridge in England, and Trinity College,
Dublin. In many institutions on either side of the At-
lantic, both methods are, in some measure, blended with
a preponderance, more or less, to either, according to the
taste of the instructors, or the customs of the locality. The
consequence is, that the stately and sonorous language of
ancient Rome, for so many ages the most general medium
of intercourse, written, printed, and oral, among the liter-
ati of all nations, is with much difficulty understood by a
scholar of one country, when read in his hearing by the
scholar of another ! but when spoken in conversation it is
scarcely intelligible ! ! #
* Hence the sarcastic apology-- for not answering in turn-- made by Sqaliger.
when addressed in Latin by a Scotchman;-- that "he" (Scaligtr) "did not
understand Gaelic. "
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? PRONUNCIATION. 67
Without pretending to censure those who follow the
modern improvements (? ) in the mode of pronouncing the
Latin words, the compiler ventures to offer a few words in
defence of the mode, which he had been long taught to
regard as that least liable to objection, -- as nearest, in the
majority of instances, to the pronunciation of the old Ro-
mans -- afcd consequently as the best. He believes, then,
that the sounds of the Latin vowels (long) ought to be
nearly as laid down in the following scale :
The d long like the English a in far; as in the Latin words Mars, amdre.
The e " " e in there ; " tt dies, tulere.
The* " " i in thine; " iC Nilus, audirc.
The 6 u u o in no ; u " timore, nolite.
The u " " u in sure; " " musa,duco.
Between the Latin a and the Greek a (tilcpa) from which
it had been derived, there could have been no essential
difference of sound ; being both pronounced when in com-
bination, like the a in far ; as, dearum, Mcscenas ; &ea,
dpyo? : but the foppish and finical sound 'of a in fate, into
which it has been metamorphosed by modern improve-
ment, was certainly unknown to the full, open, ore-rotundo
pronunciation of the stately lords of the world. To the
majestic march and sonorous swell of " the long resound-
ing line" in Latin verse, nothing probably has done more
injury than this barbarous innovation.
The Latin e, allowedly the n (fjra) of the Greeks,
must have had a sound exactly similar to that of its
primitive ; like the English e in there ; or in the French
words, bete, tete ; as, in acies, diebus. All doubt on the
subject is removed by the testimony of Eustathius, who
says that ? ? rj, 0rj, was a sound formed from the bleating
of sheep ; quoting the well known verse of the poet :
*0 5' iiXidiog, SxrnBQ nydSajov, j9tj, jfftj Mywv @adl$6i:
so that the modernized, attenuated sound of e in we,
7#
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? 68 PRONUNCIATION.
foisted on this vowel, had been wholly unknown to the
ancients.
The vowel i being the Latin representative of the
Greek proper diphthong st>, -- not of the vowel t> (iwra), as
some assert, -- must be supposed to have preserved the
sound of both letters, and to have been pronounced like
the English l in thine ;* as, Nilus, (the river), Iphigenia,
dlcere. i Victorinus shows that the quantity of i was
marked by the ancients as if ei diphthong : which is also
proved from Lucilius where alluding to the sound of i in
the plural of words, he says --
Jam puerei venere e postremum facito atque i
Hoc illeifecere, addes e ut pinguius fiat : --
" That it may become fuller ;" an observation by no
means applicable to the sound of e, into which it has
been too generally converted. !
In 5, from the Greek w ((b/niya) -- more fortunate than
its brethren. -- -scarcely any difference has yet appeared
between the two systems alluded to above ; all agreeing
to give it the sound assigned it by nature, that of the
English 5 in no, oh ; in French cdte, and the Latin words
mobilis, poculum ; agreeably to the quantity of the Greek
vowel whence derived.
In u, from the Greek v (tiytlov), the difference between
the two systems has, in all probability, been as great as
in the case of the vowel i ; -- the scholars on the Conti-
nent generally giving it the sound of u in rule (do), while
those of the British empire most commonly pronounce it
like the English u in sure, tube ; as in manu, cornu : -- a
* It must not, however, be concealed, that this opinion is different from that
of many learned Prosodians.
t The force of custom has been more than usually capricious in the use or
abuse of this letter; not unfrequently compelling the bewildered student to follow
two different modes of pronunciation in the same line; as --
Cut tu lacte/avos et miti dilue Baccho. Virg.
% Qu. -- Perverted?
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? PRONUNCIATION. OX
sound far preferable, not only from its more uniform pre-
valence in the recitation of the language, but from its
greater fullness and expressiveness : yet it must in candor
be admitted, that the sound given by the scholars of the
Continent of Europe, approximates more closely to that
supposed to be the sound of the ancient Romans than the
one adopted by the scholars of the British empire ; for
although derived from the Greek v (dtf/ddv), the Latin u
would appear to have differed widely from its primitive :
whence Ausonius tells us, that the sound of the Roman
u "had been unknown to the Greeks" -- Cecropiis ignota:
and Plautus makes his Parasite say --
Tw, tu, illic inquam, mrC adferri noctuam --
comparing it to the note or hooting of the owl.
With regard to the partial adoption of both systems, the
natural result is, the absence of all consistency: whereas
those who strenuously insist on the mincing petit-maitre
sound of a and e, as in the English vowels in fate and
? ne, almost uniformly abandon the sound of the English
vowels in the case of i; and generally in that of u ; --
pronouncing the former as e and the latter as 55! If the
Latin vowels a and e are doomed to submit to the Saxon
yoke, why exempt I and u? If z (sounded as e) and u
(sounded as 55) are retained as agreeable to the method
of the Romans, why not retain a and e, as unquestion-
ably pronounced by the same people, and as given in the
above scale ? In our improvements, let us preserve some
appearance at least of consistency. Let us Anglicize all
or Latinize all : but let us not blunder like the foolish
painter in Horace --
Ut nee pes nee caput uni
Reddatur forma.
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? 70 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
SECTION V.
FIGURES OF PROSODY,
Are sixteen : viz. 1. Cjesura ; 2. Synjeresis (with
its two co-relatives, Crasis and Synecphonesis) ; 3.
DiiEREsis, or Dialysis ; 4. Elision, (divided into
Synalcepha and Ecthlipsis) ; 5. Systole ; 6. Dias-
tole or Ectasis ; 7. Synapheia ; S. Prothesis ; 9.
Aphjeresis ; 10. Syncope; 11. Epenthesis ; 12.
Apocope ; 13. Paragoge ; 14. Tmesis ; 15. Antithe-
sis ; and 16. Metathesis.
1. CAESURA. *
The term Caesura is used by Prosodians in two different
acceptations: -- 1st, as applied to whole verses, and 2d,
as applied to single feet. Lines in poetry are most gene-
rally so constructed, that the voice of the reader is natu-
rally required to make a short pause or rest at that part of
every line or verse, where it can be most conveniently
done without injury to the sense or the harmony of the
line, as,
TantcR molts eratWRomanam condere gentem.
Errabant acti fatisWmaria omnia circum.
The division thus produced by the halt or pause u
called CcBsura -- Casural Pause, or perhaps more cor-
rectly -- Lineal Casiira. This is the term in its first
acceptation, and is used chiefly in reference to Hexameter
verse. It shall be noticed again under the rules for the
construction of Latin verse.
Caesura in its second application occurs in the manner
following : viz. , when a foot is made up of syllables be-
longing to separate consecutive words, and when the first
* From caderc, * to cut" or "divide. "
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? FIGURES' OF PROSODY. 71
syllable of that foot is the last syllable of the preceding
word, then the space, separation, or division between the
two consecutive words, is called Ccesura simply ; or more
emphatically, the Metrical Ccesura; as referring to a foot
or measure ; thus in the following line,
Pastojres dvi\um tener\bs de|pellere foetus --
the Metrical Caesura occurs three times -- in the second
foot, res bvi, where the division takes place between res
and ovi ; -- in the third foot um tener, where it takes place
between ilm, and tener ; -- in fourth foot os de, where it
takes place between os and de.
Of Metrical Caesura, there are three kinds ; namely,
the Syllabic, the Trochaic, and the Monosyllabic.
The Syllabic Caesura is that, in which the first part of
the divided foot consists of the last syllable of the pre-
ceding word ; as the syllables res, um, and os of the line
just quoted.
The Syllabic Casura may take place in five positions ;
viz. , after the first syllable of the 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, or 6th
foot : or in the technical language of Prosodians, the
Caesura after the 1st syllable of the 2d foot is called
Triemimeris, that is, " of the third half foot ;" that after
the 1st syllable of the third foot, or 5th half foot, is called
Penthemimeris ; -- at the 7th semi -foot, Hephthemimeris ;
-- at the 9th, Enneemimeris ; -- and at the 11th semi-foot,
or 1st syllable of the last foot, Hendecemimeris. * This
Caesura (the Hendecemimeris) never occurs unless where
the last word is a monosyllable.
EXAMPLES TO ELUCIDATE THE FOREGOING DEFINITIONS.
1. Pectori|? ws inhi|ans spijrantia | consulit | exta.
* These terras are formed of fiui "half," and [jep6$ or fxeptg "part," with the
Greek numerals prefixed.
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? 72 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
2. Emicat Eurya|Zfw et | munere | victor a|mici.
3.
3. Una ea|demque vi|a sanjg7<<s anijmusque se|quuntur.
4. Graius ho|mo infec|tos lin|quens profu| gus hyme|naeos.
. 3'
5. Vertitur | intereja cae|lum et ruit | Ocea\no nox.
The OCT 3 points out the position of the Caesura in each
line, viz. , of the Triembneris after bus; of the Penthemi-
meris after Ins ; -- of the Hephthemimeris after guis ; -- of
the Enneemimeris after gus ; -- of the Hendecemimeris after
no ; or as expressed in the following tabular form : --
Triemimeris.
Penthemimeris.
Hephthemimeris.
Enneemimeris.
Hendecemimeris.
the 2d foot
tf
3d
u
it
4th
?
u
5th
(1
a
6th
u
or 3d half foot
or 5th "
or 7th "
or 9th "
or 11th "
Of these pauses or rests, the most beautiful -- as tending
beyond all others to impart sweetness, smoothness, and
rythm to the verse, -- is that which occurs after the Penthe-
mimeris. The pause after Triemimeris and Hephthemi-
meris, are also ornamental, though in a less degree ; but
the Enneemimeris and Hendecemimeris are injurious to
harmony, and are to be sparingly used ; unless where the
want of smoothness may be desirable.
The Trochaic Ccesura is that, in which the first part of
the divided foot consists of either a long and short syllable
(a trochee " ~) remaining at the end of a word, or of an
an entire word comprised of a long and a short syllable
(a trochee) ; as,
? drtu\ndtus et | tile de|os qm\novit a|grestes. Virg.
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY. 73
Here natas in the 2d foot, ille in the third, and novit
in the 5th, form, each a trochee, and at each of these
divisions, the Trochaic Ccesitra occurs.
The Trochaic Casura may occur in any of the first
five feet of a verse ; as,
Talla | voce re|fert, o\terque qno. \terque be|ati. Virg.
Ar? na pro|cul cur\rusque vi|rum mi\ratur in[anes. Id.
The syllables in Italics point out the Caesura.
Two successive trochees in the 2d and 3d feet should
be avoided ; as they give the verse a flippant, cantering
air or manner, which is extremely inelegant and undig-
nified ; as,
Ergo mk\glsque m&lgisque vi|rl nunc |gloria [claret. En.
The Monosyllabic Casura is that, in which the first
syllable of the divided foot, is a monosyllable ; as,
Hie vir hic|es? \Xh\\quem pro|mitti|s3epius|audIs. Virg.
Of the three kinds of Caesura, the principal is the
Syllabic ; the next in metrical effect is the Trochaic ; but
the Monosyllabic is inferior to either, and yet, in many
instances, it would appear to be the principal Caesura in
the verse.
ON THE LENGTHENING POWER OF THE CJESURA.
Syllaba smpe brevis Ccesnra extenditur, etsi
Liter a nee duplex nee consona bina scquatur.
A short syllable in the Caesura is frequently made long,
although its vowel may not be followed by two consonants
or a double letter.
Instead of attributing this to the power of the Caesura,
it is more agreeable to the laws of metre to ascribe it to
the halt, pause, or suspension of the voice invariably
accompanied by what is called the ictus, which takes
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? 74 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
place at the division of the foot, and which being counted
into the time or duration of the preceding short syllable,
makes it long : -- the Caesural pause producing an effect
similar to that of the final pause. Again, the swell or
stress of the voice in dactylic versification invariably falling
on the first syllable* of the foot, produces the same effect
on that syllable, as if its final letter were pronounced
double; the voice striking emphatically and dwelling
forcibly, for an instant, on the latter of the double letters. !
2. -- Syn^resis,! with its two co-relatives, Crasis? and
S YNECPHONESIS. il
SyUaba, de gemina facta una, Synseresis esto.
Two vowels naturally forming separate syllables, but
read and pronounced as one syllable, form a Synceresis ;
as, a-i-o, pronounced ai-o.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
Pro-in-de^pro-hi-be-aty Tro-i-a^a-i-uni, &c, pronounced
prom-de, prot-be-at, Troz-a, ai-unt.
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Proinde tona eloquio, solitum tibi ; meque timoris. Virg.
making a diphthong of the two contiguous vowels in the
word Pro-in-de, -- Proin-de, and preserving the sound of
* Called the apni$ or "elevation;" -- the tone being here always more elevated :
the other part being called Sems or " depression;'' this part of the foot being
comparatively depressed.
t To render this familiar to the young Prosodian, he should be taught to read
the Caesural syllables in the five verses given above, with a strong emphasis, a*
if written PectoribuSS, Eurj/aluSS, ScviguiSS, ProfvjmSS. &o. . forcibly,
although momentarily, dwelling on the duplicated letter. Servius on JEneid, 3 r
91, says the syllable is made longfiitalUatis ratione: and QnfntiTTan, Lib. 0. c. i f
agrees that -- in ipsauiivisione verborum (the Caesura"* quoddavi latent tempvt-
t Prom cvvaipeciq, "a contraction. "
? From icpaais, "a mixture" or "blending. "
fj From Qvvr. KtydJvriaiS) "a mutation of sound. "
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY. 75
both. This seems the peculiar province of Synasresis, as
the other contractions and alterations attributed to this
figure, more properly come under the head of Crasis and
Synecphonesis.
Crasis,
Blends or runs two vowels into one, so that the sound
of one at least is lost ; as, pro-emo -- pro-mo.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
E-a-dem (eadem), co-al-u-e-rint {coaluerint) , al-ve-a-ri-a
(alvearia), &c, -- pronounced adem, co-luerint, alvaria,
&c.
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Seu lento fuerint alvearia vimine tezta. Virg.
To Crasis then -- as the name indicates -- properly be-
longs all contractions, where the sound of one of the two
contiguous vowels is lost.
Synecphonesis,
Is the change of a vowel sound into that of a conso-
nant ; as, of I and of U into the sound of J and V, (or
W) ; as, parietibus, pronounced par-yetibus.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
Genua, tenuis, pituit a, tuas,fortuito, &c, -- pronounced
gen-va or wa, ten-vis or -wis, pit-wita, twos, fort-wito, &c.
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Harent parietibus scala, postesque, sub ipsos. Virg.
3. -- Dleresis,* or Dialysis. t
Distraint in gcminas resoluta Diaeresis unam.
A Dimresis is the division of one syllable into two ; as
curat for aurm.
* From 6ii(p*ei;, " a division. "
t Tmm 6ia\v(Tts, " a loosening. "
8
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? 76 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
Silua (for silva), solua (for solvo), suadent (for suadent),
Tro-i-a (for Troi-a)>Ecqms (for Ecquis. )
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Mthereum sensum, atque aurai simplicis ignem. Virg.
4. -- Elision* is divided in Synaloephaf and Ecthlipsis. t
1. Synalcepha.
Dipthongum aut vocalem haurit Synalcepha priorem.
Synalapha is the elision (or cutting off) of a vowel or
diphthong at the end of a word, when the following word
begins with a vowel or diphthong, or the letter h ; as y
conticvjer* o? ? mes, for conticuere omnes.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
Intentiqv? ora (for intentique ora) Bardanid ' e muris
(for BardanidcB e muris), uV ingens (for ubi ingens),
atqxC yemes (for atque hyemes. )
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Quidve moror ? si omnes uno ordine habetis Achivos. Vir.
This line must be scanned thus : --
Quidve moror ? s'omnes un' ordin' habetis Achivos.
2. ECTHLIPSIS.
M vorat Ecthlipsis, quoties vocalibus anteit.
Ecthlipsis cuts off the final m and the preceding
vowel ,? when the following word begins with a vowel;
as, virtuf ex for virtutem ex.
* From elisio (wh. fr. eliderc), "a cutting off. "
t From cvva\oi<pn, " a coalescing," or rather "a re-anointing or smearing over,
to conceal or destroy the last coat or layer. "
% From cKd\i\pts, "a striking out. "
? The preceding vowel is -- to speak accurately -- thus cut off by the Synalcepha,
on the removal of the m.
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY. 77
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
O ! quanf est for O ! quantum est) tec' una (for tecum
una) , ferend' est (for ferendum est).
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Disce, puer, virtutem ex me, verumque labor em.
Fortun&m ex aliis. Virg.
5. -- Systole. *
Systole prcecipitat positu vel origine Ion gam.
Systole shortens a syllable otherwise long by nature or
by position ; as, viden' for videsne.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
Steterunt, tulerunt, hodie (for hoc-die), obicis (for ob-
jicis), omitto (for obmitto).
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Cum subitb assur gens fluctu nimbosus Orio? i. \ Virg.
6. -- Diastole^ or Ectasis. ?
Ectasis extenditque brevem, duplicatque elementum.
By Ectasis a syllable naturally short is made long ; as,
Italia for italia: it sometimes doubles the consonant; as,
relligio for religio.
EXAMPLES BY SINGLE WORDS.
I
Relliquice, repperit, Priamides (from Priamus) , Arabia,
(from ^Lrabs).
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Qui clypeo, galeaque, Macedoniagwe, sarissa. Ovid.
* From a-varoXfj, ? a contraction, or shortening. "
03^ For the objections urged against the existence of Systole, the curious
student should read Carey, Anthou and others, under this head.
t Written in Greek with an w, and consequently long by nature, it is here
shortened by the figure.
t From StacTTo\fi, "an extension," or "lengthening. "
? From eKTdois, the same.
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? 7s figures of prosody.
7. -- Synapheia. *
Copvlat irrupto versus Synapheia tenore.
Synapheia connects verses together, in such a manner
as to make them run on uninterruptedly, as if not divided
into separate lines or verses. By this mode of connect-
ing lines together-- irrupto te? wre -- the initial syllable of
a succeeding verse has an influence on the final syllable
of the preceding, -- affecting it by the concourse of con-
sonants, by ecthlipsis, and by synaloepha. The use of sy-
napheia was however confined principally to anapaestic
verse and the Ionic a minore. In other species of verse,
it was rarely introduced by any of the great poets.
The following anapaestic lines are examples of Syna-
pheia :
Prceceps\sylvas\\montes\que fugit\\
Citus Act\ceon,\\agilis\que magis\\
Pede per\sdltus\\et sax\a vagiis\\
Metuit | mot as || Zephyr is plumas. || Seneca.
By reading these lines -- continuo carmine -- the natu-
rally short final syllables of fugit, magis, and vagus, re-
spectively become long by position before their own fi-
nal, and the initial consonants in the lines immediately
succeeding.
Virgil's hexameters also furnish some examples ; as --
Jactemur, doceas : ignari hominumque locorum\q}ie
Erramus, vento hue et vastis fiuctibus acti.
In this example the first line ends with rum, the
superfluous syllable que at the termination, combines
with Er the first syllable in the second line, and thence
by Synapheia and Synalaspha, produces QiCerra, -- as a
spondee, to commence the second line. *
* From aviHKpeia, " a conjunction, or joining together. "
t The celebrated Bentley, in his Dissertation upon Phalaris, had the merit
of discovering the law of Synapheia.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 11:55 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc2. ark:/13960/t6m041t73 Public Domain / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd
? figures of prosody. 79
8. -- Prosthesis. * 9. -- Aphjeresis. !
Principium apponit Prosthesis, quod Aphaeresis aufert.
Prosthesis adds a letter or syllable to the beginning of
a word ; while Aphceresis takes away a letter or syllable
from it. Examples of Prosthesis -- Gnatm for Natus ;
Tetuli for Tuli : -- of Aphceresis -- 'st for est, Camander
and Maragdus for Scamander and Smaragdus.
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION OF APH^RESIS.
Tu poteras virides pennis hebetare smaragdos. l Ovid.
10.
