No More Learning

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? DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. 101
and in the public service of the Catholic Chui'cb, are
composed in this metre ; such as that exquisite Morning
Hymn --
Jam lu|cis or- |t to si|dere, &c, &c, --
or Jesu|cor6-||na vir-|ginum, &c, &c, --
or again . . Vexll-|la re-||g# pro-|deunt, &c, &c, --
all three justly attributed to St. Ambrose : although the
last has been assigned to Venantius Honorius Fortunatus. *
In these Dimeters, we find, that, with few exceptions,
- strict attention has been paid to the rules of Prosody ; the
verses generally terminating with a trisyllable, which is
their best cadence. ! Some of these hymns, however ex-
cellent in piety and elevated sentiment, are very indifferent
specimens of Prosodial composition ; as --
Jesu,|nostra||redem-|ti6, &c,
* A more beautiful or a more comprehensive matutinal prayer can scarcely be
offered his Creator by the pious student of any religious denomination, than the
first of the foregoing hymns. We are therefore induced to give it entire for the
reminiscence of the youthful reader : remarking, that, in reading or recitation,
the judicious Prosodian anxious to preserve its harmony and melody, will cause
the ictus metricus to fall, Iambico more, on every alternate syllable : as thus
marked --
Jam lulcis 6r||to slldere,
Deum precemur supplices,
Ut in diurnis actibus
Nos servet a nocentibus.
Linguam refraenans temperet,
Ne litis horror insonet.
Visum fovendo contegat,
Ne vanitates hauriat.
Sint pura cordis intima;
Absistat et vecordia.
Carnis terat superbiam
Potus cibique parcitas :
Ut cum dies abscesserit,
Noctemque sors reduxerit,
Mundi per abstinentiam
Ipsi canamus gloriam :
Deo Patri sit gloria,
Ejusque soli Filio,
Cum Spiritu Paracleto,
Nunc, et per omne seculum.
+ Much of the sweetness, delicacy and curiosa felicitas of these chaste effu-
sions of the Christian Muse, is undoubtedly lost to the readers of Latin Hymns,
unacquainted with Prosody.
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? 102
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.
arid cbuid nevgr have' emanated from the classic pen of the
accomplished St. Ambrose ; to whom this also has been
attributed.
21. Species 7. Dimeter Catalectic or Anacreontic con-
sists of three feet and a syllable. It admits in the first
position, a tribrach, a sponaee, or an amphibrach ; rarely
allowing- a spondee in the third ; as --
p C Lex hsec|data est||cadu-|cis,
1 Deo|juban-||te, mem-|bris ;
Mixed i ^ l tem-|peret||labo-|rem,
\ Medica-|bilis||v6lup-|tas. Prudentius.
IRREGULAR IAMBIC VERSES.
22. Species 1. -- Galliambus* is composed of two Ana-
creontics (21), with the final syllable cut off: that is, an
Anacreontic followed by three feet. The third foot of
both members is always an iambus, and the last but one
of the whole is commonly a tribrach ; as in the scale
following --
1, 2
3
4
5
6
7
w--
w--
--
"--
---
v-/ --
Jam jam|d6let||quod e-|gi,||jam jam-]que pcE-||nitet. Catul.
Roseis|ut hulc||label-|lis||palans|s6nltus||abit. Idem.
Ego muli-jer ego ad-||oles-|cens,||ego ephe|bus, ego||puer.
Idem.
Some Prosodians mark the scale and divide the lines
differently ; but the scale and metre above are in accord-
ance with the structure of the only specimen of the Gal-
liambus extant, -- Catullus's Atys ; in which the tribrach
in the penultimate foot is predominant.
* So called from its use by the Galli, or priests of Cybele, in their orgies.
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? DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. 103
23. Species 2. * -- The Scazon or Choriambus has six
feet ; the sixth always a spondee, the fifth always an
iambus, and the rest varied as in Art. 14; thus --
Miser|Catul-||le de-|sinas||inep-|tlre. CatulL
Pieta-|te fra-||tres Cu-|n6s||licet|vlncas. Martial.
24. Species 3. -- Iambic Alcaic, commonly called
Greater Alcaic, consists of five feet, of which the fourth
is always an anapaest, and the rest are iambuses, admit-
ting the spondee on the first and third ; but as in the Di-
meter Hypermeter, (19), the first foot is seldom an iambus,
the third scarcely ever ; as --
Virtus|repul-||sse nes-|cia sor-|did? e. Horace.
The Greater Alcaic is sometimes scanned with a cho-
riambus and an iambus, in the latter member or colon ;
as --
Virtus | repul-|s? e || nescia sor-| didai.
The Alcaic is also scanned so as to make the first
colon, an iambic measure and a long syllable, and the
second, two dactyls : and indeed this is the mode gene-
rally followed ; as --
Virtus|repul|sae||nescia | sordidse. t
GENUS IV. TROCHAIC VERSES.
25. General Canon. The trochee is everywhere con-
vertible into a tribrach ; the same feet are also admitted
into the even places, that iambic verse receives into the
odd.
26. Species 1. -- Trochaic Tetrameter Catalectic con-
* Although the Saturnian ought, in regular order, find a place here, as species
2, still it has not been deemed requisite to introduce it, from its manifest inutility
to the young Prosodian.
t This affords an example of the poetica licentia in closing the line with a long
syllable, although the measure requires a short one. See p. 49, supra.
10*
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? 104
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.
sists of seven feet and a syllable. A tribrach is rarely
admitted into the sixth place, never into the seventh, except
in some few passages in comedy. In the case of proper
names, a dactyl is admissible into anyplace but the fourth
and seventh ; as in the following scale --
proper
name
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
--
_w
--
-^
-~
_w
""
zz~
~E~
Z3w
W W 1 ^> w
1
WWj^ w
Pure. Te so-]cer sub-||ire|celsa||poscit|astra||jupT-|ter.
Mart. Capella.
Mixed. Impl-|um rapi-||te, atquelmersum||premite|perpetu-
|| 13 ma-|lis. Seneca,
The comic writers, although scarcely venturing to alter
the seventh foot, introduce the spondee and its equivalents
into the odd places ; by a license similar to that employed
in iambic verse ; as,
Quern res|a3tas||usus|semper||aliquid|appor-||tet no|vT.
Terence.
In this metre also are written many of the Latin hymns
used in the Catholic Church ; for which purpose it is ad-
mirably adapted from its grand, solemn, and sonorous
character : such as that noble hymn on the Passion of
our Lord --
Pange,|lingua,||glori-losi||laure-|am cer-||tamin-|Ts.
St. Augustinus.
This is undoubtedly the true mode of writing and
scanning this beautiful poem, making every stanza consist
of three lines or verses ; contrary to the mode usually
followed in the Roman Breviary, of dividing each line
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? DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. 105
into two hemistichs : the first a Trochaic Dimeter, and
the other a Trochaic Dimeter Catalectic ; by which every
stanza consists of six lines ; thus,
Pange,|lIngua||glor! -! osi,||
Laure-|am cer-||tamin-|is.
This division, although contrary to all Prosodial rules,
was made to suit the convenience of the choir ; -- one side
-- or perhaps one choir -- singing the complete dimeter,
and the other the dimeter Catalectic. Some Prosodians
scan this verse as an Iambic Tetrameter Acephalous ; as,
-- Pan-|ge lin||gua glo-|rio||si lau - 1 ream ||certa-| minis : --
but with a manifest diminution of its stately movement
and sonorous majesty. It is worthy of remark, that many
hymns in this metre can be read with a strict observance
of modern accentuation without violating the Latin quan-
tity; as,
Solve vocem, mens, sonoram ;|| solve linguam mobilem.
Prudentius.
Scande cceli templa, virgo,||digna tanto fdedere. *
M. Capetta.
27 Species 2. -- Dimeter Catalectic (Euripedean) con-
sists of three trochees and a syllable without variation ;
as,
LargI|6ra||flagi-|to. Hor.
D6na|c6nsci-llenu-|a? . Prudent.
IRREGULAR TROCHAIC VERSES.
28. Species 1. -- Sapphic^ consists of a dactyl inserted
* The young Prosodian should observe, that in all these hymns, the caesura
uniformly takes place at the termination of the fourth foot, corresponding with
the fifth semifoot of the Iambic trimeter: hence too, in a great measure, sprung
the error of the copyists and editors of the Breviary in dividing the verses as
above mentioned.
t So called from the gifted but ill-starred poetess ; its inventor
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? 106 DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.
between two trochaic measures ; or in other words, of
five feet, viz. , a trochee, a spondee, a dactyl and two more
trochees ; followed by an Adonic or Dactylic Dimeter (8) ;
according to the following scule :
1
2
3
4
5
>_?
-- -- V_/ v^
^
^
-^ w|
Adonic.
Inte-|ger vi-|tai,* scele-J risque |purus.
Non e-jget Mau-|rl* jacu-|lis necjarcu. *
Nee ve-|nena-|tis* gravi-|da sa-|gittis,
Fusee, pha-|retra. Hor*
An iambus, a trochee or a dactyl is sometimes admit-
ted into the second place ; but with Horace it is invari-
ably a spondee ; and the great Roman Lyrist is the safest
guide.
The asterisk * marks the ccesura after the second foot,
or rather the fifth semifoot. In reciting these odes, the
pupil should be taught to pay special attention to the
caesura, and the pause thereby required ; for in no other
position will the sweetness and harmony of this delightful
metre be fully preserved.
29. Species 2. -- The Phalceciani (sometimes called
Hendecasyllabic) has five feet, of which the second is a
dactyl and the rest trochees : but the first -- in violation
of the general canon, Art. 25, -- is almost always a
spondee : so that it may be said to consist of a spondee,
a dactyl, and three trochees ; as --
Non est|vivere,|sed va-jlere,|vita. Martial.
* The student must bear in mind what has been stated at p. 49 ; (note) on the
use of a long syllable for a short, and vice versa.
t So called from the Poet Phalaecius
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? DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. 107
This metre is extremely well adapted to the composi-
tion of Epigrams. By a slight transposition, the Sapphic
may be converted into the Phalaecian ; thus the above
Sapphic --
Non eget Mauri jaculis nee arcu>
may be converted into Phalaecian verse thus --
Non Mau-jrl jacu-|iis e-jget nec|arcu.
GENUS V. CHORIAMBIC VERSES.
30. General Canon. These have the first foot a tro-
chee, the last an iambus, and the intervening feet chori-
ambuses ; that is, they consist of one choriambus or more
inserted between the separated members of a choriambus.
In some instances, the choriambus is exchanged for an
equivalent molossus, and the initial trochee almost always
passes into a spondee.
31. Species 1. -- Choriambic Pentameter (Choriambic
Alcaic) consists of a spondee, three choriambuses, and an
iambus ; as,
Nullam|Vare sacra|vite priusj sevens ar-|borem. Hor.
32. Species 2. -- Tetrameter (Asclepiadean) is the last
species with one choriambus omitted ; as,
Nullam|vlte prius|severis ar-jborem.
Make-|nas atavisjedite re-| gibus. Hor.
As the casura takes place at the end of the first chori-
ambus, some Prosodians scan this metre as a Dactylic
Pentameter, wanting the last syllable ; thus,
Msece-]nas ata-[vis|| edite | regibus --
33. Species 3. -- Trimeter or Glyconic* is the last
species with another choriambus thrown out ; as, --
* So called from the poet Glyco, it3 inventor.
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? 108
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.
Nullam | | | sevens ar-|borem
Sic te | diva potens | Cypri. Hor.
111! | mors gravis In-|cubat,
Qui no-|tus nimis 6m-|nibus,
Igno-|tus moritur | sibl. Seneca.
34. Species 4.
-- Trimeter Catalectic or Pherecratic*
is the Glyconic deprived of its final syllable ; as, --
Quamvls | Pontica pl-|nus. Horace.
This may also be considered as the three last feet of
an hexameter (6) and thus scanned --
Quamvls | Pontica | plnus.
35. Species 5. -- A Pherecratic and a Glyconic joined
together form what is called Priapeani Hexameter; as, --
O co-|loniaquae | cupIs||ponte | ludere lon|go. Catullus.
IRREGULAR CHORIAMBIC VERSES.
36. Species 1. -- Choriambic Tetrameter Hypermeter
consists of three choriambuses, an iambus and a syllable ;
(or three choriambuses and a bacchic) ; as,
Solus 6van| tern Zephyrus | perdomine|tur an | num. Claud.
Horace has altered the first choriambus to an Epitritus
secundus, or lame choriambic tetrameter ; as --
Te deos o-|ro, Sybarin | cur properes | aman-|do.
37. Species 2. -- Dimeter Hypermeter (Aristopkanian
Choriambic) consists of a choriambus, an iambus and a
syllable ; (or of a choriambus and a bacchic ;) as,
Lydia, die, | per 6m-|nes. Hor.
GENUS VI. IONIC VERSES.
38. General Canon. Ionic verses are of two . kinds, the
* From Pherecrates.
t From its use in hymns to Priapus.
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? DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. 109
Ionic a majore and the Ionic a minore ; or Ionicus Major
and Ionicus Minor : -- thus denominated from the feet of
which they are respectively composed.
39. Species 1. -- Ionic a minore, like the Anapaestic
(12), is a continued Series, and scanned as one line by
Synapheia. If printed in separate verses, the division
into tetrameters is to be preferred. Ionic a minore is
formed as often as may be required, and without varia-
tion from the foot whence it derives the name ; as --
Miserarum est | neque &mori | dare ludum, | neqiie dulci.
Mala vino | lavere, aut ex-|animarl | metuentes.
Patruse ver-|bera linguse, | &c, &c. Horace.
40. Species 2. -- If from an Ionic a minore Tetrameter,
the first two syllables are removed, there will remain
three Ionici a majore and a spondee, forming the Ionic a
majore or Sotadic* verse ; as,
| Vino lave-|re aut exanT-|mari metu-|entes.
Each of the Ionici, particularly the third, is convertible
into a ditrochee, and any long syllable may be resolved
into two short ; as --
Ter corripu-|i terribi-|lem manii bi-|pennem. Petronius.
GENUS VII. COMPOUND VERSES.
41. Species 1. -- Dactylico- Trochaic Heptameter (Ar-
chilochian) -- by some called Logaosdici verses -- consists
of the first four feet of a Dactylic Hexameter, (the fourth
being always a dactyl), followed by three trochees ; as,
Solvitur | acris hy|ems gra|ta vice||veris|et Fa|vonT. Hor.
42. Species 2. -- Dactylic Alcaic, commonly called
* From Sotades, a poet who lampooned Ptolemy Philadelphia in this metre.
$ From \6yog, "a discourse," and doiSfi, "a song," because these verses are a
combination of the two metres, viz. , trochaic, which approximates ordinary con-
versation, and of dactylic appropriated to the more elevated soarings of poetry.
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? 110
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.
Lesser Alcaic, consists of two dactyls and a trochaic
metre ; as,
Flumlna | constite-|rInt a-|cuto. Hor.
This, together with two Greater Alcaics (24) and one
Iambic Dimeter Hypermeter (19), constitutes the cele-
brated Alcaic Stanza of Horace ; and to which he was
so partial as to compose no fewer than thirty-seven of
his exquisite odes, in this metre.
SCALE OF THE ALCAIC STANZA.
First (
Two <<
Verses. (
12
3
4
5
L-zh"
--
--^ -
Third Verse.
12 3 4 5
1
2
3
4
Verse.
_w w
_^ ^
--w
-- ^~s
Odi|profa-|num||vulgus et|arceo :
Fave-|te linjguis :||carmina|non prius.
Audi-|ta Mu-|sarum|sacer-|dos,
Vlrgini-|bus pue- [risque | canto. Hor.
Two other kinds of Compound verse would appear to
be used by Boethius, iv. 5 ; -- the one consisting of an
Adonic (3), preceded by a trochaic metre and a sellable;
the other also of an Adonic, preceded by an iambic metre
and a syllable ; the first member of each admitting the
usual variations (25, 14) ; as,
Siquis|Arctu-|(ri||sidera|nescit
Propin-|qua sum-||mo||cardine|labi.
Carey followed by Anthon and other eminent Prosodians,
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? RHYMING- VERSIFICATION. Ill
speaks of these, as varieties of Phalcecian Pentameter, --
or according to our classification -- of the Alcmanian Te-
trameter Hypercatalectic (10) ; but the fact, that Boethius,
throughout the whole of this poem, has regularly used
the Trochai'co-Dactylic and the lambico-Dactylic alter-
nately, with scarcely a departure from the Trochaic law
(25) in the one, or from the Iambic law (14) in the other,
-- forms a weighty objection to this view of the subject.
RHYMING VERSIFICATION.
\CT The following hymn, written by Pope Damasus
about the middle of the fourth century, is given as a liter-
ary curiosity ; not only as affording one of the earliest
specimens of rhyming versification so prevalent for many
ages afterwards, but also as evidence of the method
of reading verse then customary among the Eornans.
Being written anterior to the decline of the Latin lan-
guage and while it was yet a living tongue, by one of the
most accomplished scholars of his age, it demonstrates
beyond contradiction, that quantity not accent was re-
garded as the only safe guide in reading or recitation :
because, from the structure of the hymn, it is evident, the
Pope intended his verses to rhyme. Now this they
never will do unless read with the nicest attention to
quantity in the manner following: viz. -- let the first
syllable of every line or verse be separated or pointed off,
and let the remaining syllables be read and pronounced
as Anapaests ; laying a stress on every third syllable ;
particularly on the final long ones, and we shall have as
perfect rhyme as can be desired : thus --
Mar-|tyris ec|ce diesJAgath. se,
Vir-|ginis e|micat ex|imue;
Christus earn sibi qua sociat,
Et diadema duplex decorat.
11
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? 112 RHYMTNG VERSIFICATION.
Stirpe decens, elegans specie,
Sed magis actibus atque fide,
Terrea prospera nil reputans,
Jussa Dei sibi corde ligans ;
Fortior haec trucibusque viris,
Exposuit sua membra flagris.
Pectore quam fuerit valido,
Torta mamilla docet patulo.
Deliciae cui' career erat ;
Pastor ovem Petrus hanc recreat.
Laetior inde, magisque flagrans,
Cuncta flagella cucurrit ovans.
Ethnica turba, rogum fugieTW,*
Hujus et ipsa meretur opem;*
Quos fidei titulus decorat,
His Venerem magis ipsa premat.
Jam renitens, quasi sponsa, polo,
Pro misero rogito Damaso.
Sic tua festa coli faciat,
Se celebrantibus ut faveat.
* The possibility if not the probability of making opem rhyme with fugien*
is plausibly argued by Carey. See his Latin Prosody made Easy, in loc.
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? SUPPLEMENT,
CONTAINING
Exercises on the Rides of Quantity, Figures of Prosody,
and Different Species of Verse,
FOR GENERAL RECAPITULATION.
Tertia post illas successit aenca proles. Ovid.
Omnia jam f 'tent, fieri quas posse negabam. Id.
Nam, simul ac species patefacta est verna diei. Lucret.
Morbus ut indicat, et gclidax stringor aqudi. Id.
TJnius ob noxam, et furias Ajacis Oilei. Virgil.
Navibus, infandum ! amissis, unius ob iram. Id.
Exercet Diana choros, quam mille secutae. Id.
Ira pharetratae fertur satiata Diance. Ovid.
Quam nosjtro illijus lajbatur | pectore | vultus. Virgil.
Inter cunctantes cecidit moribund a ministros. Virgil.
Pyrrhumque, et ingentem cecidit. (19. ) Horace'
Pan deus Arcadiae venit, quern vidimus ipsi. Virgil.
. . Visa mihi ante oculos, et nbta major imago. Id.
Haec ubi dicta dedit portis sese extulit in gens. Virgil.
. . Demersa exitio. Diffidit urbium. (32. ) Horace,
Nam ccelo terras, et terris abscidit* undas. Ovid.
Matre dea monstrante viam, data fata secutus. Virg.
Cornua velatdrum obvertimus antenndrum. Id.
Insignem pietdte virum tot adire labores . . . Id.
? . . . iEolus, et clauso ventorum carcere regnet. Id.
* But abscidi, from abs and c ado, is long.
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? 114 ^ SUPPLEMENT.
Claudite jam rivos pueri, sat prata biberunt. Id.
. . . . Alitibusque jaces, nee te in tua funera mater. Id.
Jam nunc mindci murmure cornuum. . . . (24. ) Horace.
Ipsi in defossis specubus secura sub aha. Virgil.
Et gener auxilium Priamo Phrygihisque ferebat.