Slell'io; et lucifugis
congesta
cubilia blattis.
Latin - Elements of Latin Prosody and Metre Compiled with Selections
Et gravida re|pendit in\iquis | pensa qua\sillis.
In the third and fourth, they are nearly as disagreeable ;r
Ennius. Pruden\tem, 5TM/|multa Zo|quIve ta\cereve\ fiosset.
q These terms owe their origin to the practice generally adopted by the
old grammarians, of measuring lines by half feet. Thus the triemimeris is
that portion of a verse (counted or measured from the beginning of a line)
which contains three half parts, i. e. three half fe<<t, or a foot and a half--
the penthemimeris, five half feet, or two feet and a half--the hephthemi-
merin, seven half feet, or three feet and a half--the ennehemimeris, nine
half feet, or four feet and a half. The term triemimeris, is derived from
T? tH, tres, Hpio-us, ilimidius, and ,Megit> pars. The derivation of the
rest is similar, the numerals wsvts, Wto. , and aim, being merely substi-
tuted in succession, in plaee of Tji/t.
r In Homer however, we have two remarkable instances of the use of
successive trochees in producing a beautiful onomatopoeia.
no*. ** f otviavra, K*T]<<VT<t, irtL^nntt. ts, | toy/titt I t' >>*6ov.
11. 4,116.
AtfTK <<>>! <</t* m\tcitt n. \i\\iitiro | Knits a. i\a. it>is. Od. A, 597.
The following striking passage also may be cited from Virgil, JEn. 1, 85,.
Una . Eujrusque ^Vettusque ru{unt cre|berque pro\cettisr
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY.
But two successive trochees may agreeably occur in thd
first and second feet; as,
Virg. Mre ei|ere vi\ro*, Mar\temque ac\cendere\cantu.
Or in the fourth and fifth; as,
Virg. Et glau\cas sali\ces casi[amque cro|cumque ru]
bentem.
The Monosyllabic Caesura is that, in which the first syllable
of the divided foot is a monosyllable ; as,
Virg. Hie vir hie \ est tibi | quern firv\mitti \ stefiius \ audis.
Of the three kinds of Caesura which have been enumer-
ated, the syllabic seems to have been the principal-one in
Latm versification; and but few harmonious lines can be
found, in which it is not introduced. Next in metrical effect
is the Trochaic.
On the Caesura, depend, in a very great degree, the beauty
and melody of verse. While its presence serves to give ani-
mation to the line, and by connecting together the different
words of which it is composed, imparts to it gracefulness
and ease, its absence is marked by a total want of poetic har-
mony. A line, in which the Caesura is either wholly omitted
or in a great measure neglected, has in fact little to distin-
guish it from common prose, and can only be admissible
into Latin poetry, on occasions in which harmony is pur-
posely avoided, as in many of the neglected hexameters of
Horace.
The following lines may serve to show the uncouthness
and inelegance attendant upon the neglect of the Caesura:
Ennius. Sfiarsis | hastis \ late \ camfius | sfilendet et \ horret.
Idem. Disfier\ge hostes, | distrafie \ diduc | divide | differ.
Propert. JVbn me | moribus | ilia sed | herbis \ imfiroba \ vicit.
A Caesura however is not indispensably requisite in every
foot of a verse. Although the most melodious lines are cer-
tainly those in which the Caesura is frequently introduced,
. still a long uninterrupted series of them, would have any
other than a pleasing effect; and therefore it becomes ad-
visable occasionally to omit the Caesura in one or more of
the feet, and in this way to produce an agreeable variety.
The following rules have been laid down on this subject, and
deserve attention :s
s Bradley's Latin Prosody, p. 49--51.
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? 70 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
1. Iii the first foot of a verse, the Csesura may generally
be omitted ; as,
Virg. Pauperis | et tugu\ri con\gestum \ cesfiite \ culmen.
2. In the second foot, the Csesura is often omitted; but
when this omission takes place, the word which begins the
foot is generally of sufficient length to complete it, and leave
a Csesural syllable in the next foot; as,*
Virg. Sguamea | convol| vens sub\lato \ fiectore | terga.
3. The Caesura is not so frequently omitted at the penthe-
mimeris, as it is in the other feet; and when it is omitted in
the third, it always occurs in the fourth, and generally in the
second . bob When this omission of the Csesura at the pen-
themimeris takes place, the third foot generally consist's of
the two or three first syllables of a word, which is finished in
the next foot; as,
Virg. Jussa mo\vi qua | sorti|tus non\ fierlulit | ullos.
4. In the fourth foot, the Caesura is not necessary, if there
be one at the penthemimeris; as,
Virg. Pinguis et \ ingra\\. & fireme\retur \ caseus \ urbi.
5. The syllabic and monosyllabic Caesuras are seldom in-
troduced after the fourth foot, but the trochaic often occurs
at the ennehemimeris, and is in most instances conducive to
the harmony of the line ; as,
Virg. . Safie le vi som
Idem. Hinc al ta sub
num. sua\debit in\ive sa\surro.
rufie ca\net fron\Aa\b\- ad [ auras.
6. When there is but one Ccesura in a verse, it is gene-
rally in the third foot, sometimes in the fourth, but never in
the second; as,
Virg. Quem mea | carmini\bus merti\isset\Jistula \ cafirum.
t The frequent recurrence of the verb nescio as a dactyl, and of the
prepositions inter and intra its spondees, forming the second foot, appears,
on the first view, to be inconsistent with this rule, but it is in reality quite
agreeable with it. It has been clearly ascertained that the preposition and
its case were frequently pronounced with one accent as one word, and there
is reason to suppose that nescio was often connected in a similar manner
with the word which followed it; thus the words inter se were pro-
nounced, and consequently regarded in versification, as though they were
written interse, and nelcio quia as though written nescioqms. <<. A similar
connexion is not unusual in English words; thus some body is pronounced
somebody; no body, nobody; can not, cannot. --Bradley, Lat. Pros. 49. '
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY. 71
7. In a pentameter verse, a syllabic Csesura generally
takes place at tn* pentdemimeris, and a trochaic in the foot
pr ceding the final syllable in the second hemistich, or half
verse ; as,
Ovid. JVec quere\rer *ar|dos | ire rf |iicta di\ea.
Idem. JVU milti \ rescri\bas \ atcamen | Ipse ve\ni.
8. There is sometimes a monosyllabic Coesura at the pen-
themimeris of a pentameter, when the preceding word is a
monosyllable; as,
Ovid. Magna la\men aftea | est | in boni\tate de\i.
9. The trochaic Csesura is sometimes neglected in the
foot preceding the final syllable of a pentameter, and the
verse is concluded by a word of four or more syllables; asy
Ovid. Lis est \ cumfor\ma \ magna pu|diciti|se.
Part 2.
Syllaba stefle brevia Csesura extendtiur, etai
Littera nec dufilex, nec consona bina sequatur.
A short syllable in the Csesura is frequently made long,
though neither two consonants nor a double letter follow its
vowel. TM This however, takes place chiefly in hexameter
verse--rarely in lyric poetry--never in Iambic. Thus,
u In the language of the rule, we ascribe this to the farce of the etc-
aura; but the true principle on which the rule depends, is simply the
pressure of the voice exerted on the syllables in question, and producing
the same effect as if the final consonant were doubled, or the final vowel
pronounced with double length. The subject is placed in the clearest light
by one of the ablest among the metrical scholars of the present day. "In
primam pedis syllabam, versibus Heroicis, ictus metricus proculdubio
caditi et cum Jlrsi, omnium consensu, convemt. Ubicunque vero hoc
fieret, ibi vox intendebutur, et mora queedam in pronuntiando obtingebat.
Quod si in tali loco syllaba natura brevis locaretur, cum acriore quadam
et iiicitutiore vi proferretur, evadebat longa. In quibus autem locis vocit
intentio major, et mora in efferenda syllaba longior, in illis isliusmodi
effectum prsecipue et frequentim conspici credibile est. Hoc nonnunquam
evenit in prima versis syllaba; ssepins autem in medio versis, ubi vox
ita dividitur, ut in syllabam a reliqua voce quasi abscissam metricua
ictus cadat. Csesurx women inde ootinuiti ted causam, unde csesura
vim suam adepta sit brevem syllabam produceniii, nullum aliam esse
contendo, quam qua in versis statim initio, eundem effectum generet. "
Maltby, Observ. ad Morelli Lex. Gneco-Pros. p. xtvii. ed. CaQtab. 1815.
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY.
Virg. Pectori\bw inhi\ans sfii\rantia \ consulit \ exla.
Idem. Emicat | Eurya\\\xi et | munere f victor a\mici.
Horat. Cum gravi\us dor\so subi\h onus. | Incifiit | Hie.
Virg. Grains ho\mo infec\tos lin\quens /tro/iijgus hyme\
naos.
In the first of these lines, the Csesura affects the final syl-
lable of the triemimeris; in the second, that of the penthe-
mimeris; in the third, that of the hephthemimeris; and in
the last, that of the Ennehemimeris.
Instances even occur, in which, on account of the influ-
ence of the Csesura, the final M remains unelided before a
vowel in the beginning of the word following, and forms with
its own preceding vowel, a long syllable. The following are
among the number
Propert. O me |/r/i|cem ! o | nox mihi | Candida et \ 0 tu.
Tibul. Et tan\tum vene\ratur vi rum hunc\sedula \curet.
Luc. Scit non \ esse ca|sam. O vita | tuta fa\cultas.
Manil. Emeri\tus cas|lum et \ Claudia | magna firo\fiago.
Numerous other examples might be cited from the best
Latin poets, of the peculiar force of the Csesura. The stu-
dent is referred to the table at the end of the Figures of
Prosody, for a list of those which occur in the writings of
Virgil.
2. ELISION.
Elision is the cutting off of the final vowel or diphthong,
or of the two final letters of a word, and is divided into
Synalcepha and Ecthlipsis.
Synaleefiha.
Difihthongum aut vocalem haurit Synaloepha firionm.
Synaloepha is the elision of a vowel or diphthong at the
end of a word, when the following word begins with a vowel,
a diphthong, or the aspirate h ;* as,
x Quinctilim applies the term Synalwpha, in one place ft, 5,) to what is
commonlv called Synxvesis, as Pheeihon for Pliaetl'anM in another
(9, 4. ) to what is usually styled Evthlipais, as JPra for Presidium
est. --The word Synaliplia is from the Greek vuyxmiph, commixtio, and
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? FIGURES OF PROSODT.
Virg. ConticuerE Omnes, intentiquE Ora tenebant.
Idem. DardanidJE E muris: spes addita suscitat iras.
Idem. Savus ubi JEacida telojacet, Hector ubi Ingens-
Idem. Humida sohtitiA AtquE Hyemes orate serenas.
Which lines, in scanning, are read as follows :--
Conticuer1 omnes, intentiqu' ora tenebant.
Dardanid' e muris : spes addita suscitat iras.
Savus ub' JEacidx telojacet, Hector ub' ingens.
Humida solstiti' atqu' hyemes orate serenas.
This however is done only in scanning, and not in writing,
nor in the usual mode of pronouncing a verse. In the two
latter cases, the lines are always written, and generally pro-
nounced, without any elisions. *
Synaloepha affects not only a single syllable, but also two
syllables sounded as one by synseresis; as,
Virg.
Slell'io; et lucifugis congesta cubilia blattis.
Catul. Et earum omnia adirem furibunda latibula.
pronounced Stetl yet, omn yad.
Exception. --Synaloepha never takes place in the words
O, heu, ah, firoh, vah, hex, and the like interjections,
which sustain the voice, and retard the pronunciation, by
reason of the feeling or passion which they express; as,
Virg. 0 pater, 6 hominum divumque (Sterna potestas.
Idem. Heu ubi pacta fides? ubi que jurare solebas?
Ovid. Ah ego non possum tanta videre mala.
Idem. Et bis id Arethusa, id Arethusa vocavit.
The poets frequently retain other long vowels or diph-
thongs unelided ; in which case, the vowel or diphthong so
according to its etymology, refers, not so much to the elision of one vowel
before another, as to the blending of two vowels or syllables intQ one. On
this account some have considered the term Synal&plia, as commonly used,
an improper one, and recommend that instead of Synaloepha and Ecthlip-
sit, the general term Elision be substituted.
y The best opinion, with regard to the ancient mode of pronouncing
Latin verse, is this, that much of the apparent harshness of elisions was
removed, by giving the elided syllable so slight and imperfect a sound, that
it could hardly be distinguished, and consequently interrupted but little
the measure of the verse,
G
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? 74
FIGURES OF PROSODY.
preserved from elision, becomes common, though generally
made short ;z as,
Virg. Ter sunt conati imponere Pelib Ossam.
Idem. Glaucd, et Panopeh, et Inoo Melictrt*.
Idem. Insula Ionio in magno, quas dira CeUno.
Lucr. Anni tempore eo, qui Etetim esse feruntur.
A short vowel more rarely escapes elision; yet some in-
stances de-occur; as,
Lucil. Vera putant: credunt signis cor inesse ahenis.
Colum. Delie te Poean, et te Eule, Euie Penan.
Catul. O factum male ! o miselle passer !
Idem. Male est, mehercule, et laboriose.
In each of the three last lines however there is a pause,
which may be partly instrumental in producing this effect,
by preventing the clash of the vowel which is unelided, with
that which follows.
A vowel at the end of a verse is not in general elided,
when the first word of the following verse begins with a
vowel. In some cases however, when a long pause does not
intervene to suspend the voice, (it not being required by the
sense,) but merely that slight pause ensues, which necessa-
rily takes place at the end of every verse, we find the final
vowel requiring elision ; as,a
Virg. Jactemur, doceas: ignari hominumque locorum \ que
Erramus, vento hue et vastis fluctibus acti.
in which the second line must be read, qu' Erramus, &c.
When the final vowel of a word is elided, the effect of the
syllable as a Caesura is hardly perceptible, and it ought not
perhaps to be regarded, in any instance, as a Caesural syl-
lable.
The student is referred to the list at the end of the Figures
of Prosody, for the instances which occur in Virgil, of vowels
remaining unelided.
Z A long vowel being equal to two short, and a diphthong actuallv con-
sisting of two, the latter vowel is supposed to be elided, leaving the other,
as it originally was, abort by position. Where the syllable remains long,
both vowels are supposed to be preserved unelidt d.
a See remarks upon the figure " Synapheia. "
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY.
75
Ecthlifisis. . .
M vorat Ecthlipsis quoties vocalibus anteii.
Ecthlipsisb is the elision of the consonant M with its pre-
ceding vowel, at the end of a word, when the following word
begins with a vowel or the aspirate h ; as,
Catul. Omnia tecu'M. Una fierierunt gaudia nostra.
Idem. MtemuM. Hoc sancte fo&dus amicitia.
Ih scanning which lines we must read them as follows:--
Omnia tec' una fierierunt gaudia nostra.
jEtern' hoc sancta fc&dus amicitia.
But we are to do this only in scanning, and not in writing
or pronouncing them.
Ecthlipsis sometimes, by the aid of Synapheia, strikes out
a syllable at the end of a line, when the next word begins
with a vowel, and no long pause intervenes; as,
Virg. Jamque iter emensi, turres ac tecta Latino\r\im
Ardua cernebant juvenes, murosque subibant.
In which the second line is to be read, r'Ardua, &c.
The earlier Latin poets often preserved the final M before
a vowel, and made the syllable short; a practice which was
retained by their successors, in the compounds of Con and
Circum. (See Section xxi. )
In some instances also, the Caesura operates in preserving
the M with its preceding vowel unelided, and making the
syllable long. (See " Csesura," part 2. )
The final S was also frequently elided by the earlier poets,
not only before a vowel, with the loss of a syllable, as in
li The terra Ecthlipsis (tuB^i^is) comes from the verb mUxiCiiti eff-
tJere. --The principle on which the use of this figure rests, has been ex-
plained in a very ingenious and. satisfactory manner by Dr. Carey. He sup-
poses that the Romans did not give to the consonant m that full and audible
pronunciation which it receives in English, but a slight nasal sound, such as
the French give to it in the word Faim, and the Portuguese at the present
day even in Latin words. As corroborative of the truth of this position, he
refers to Cicero, Oral. 45. and Quintilian, 9, 4. --If this be the correct doc-
trine, it will appear that the Romans gave the consonant m a pronunciation
so slight, that its sound at the end of a word in poetry was too feeble to pre-
serve it and the preceding vowel from elision. See Note b, page 1.
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? 16
FIGURES OF PROSODY.
Plautus and Terence, but also before a consonant, without
the loss of a syllable ;c as
Ennius. Vicimua o aocii, et magnam pugnavimu' fiugnam.
Lucil. Deblatcrat filenus bonu' rusticu'; concinit unci.
This species of elision seems to have taken place chiefly
in short syllables; yet it was also occasionally practised in
long ; as, multi' modis, vas' argenteis, fialm' et crinibus,
tecli' Jractis, for multis modis, vasis argenteis, fialmis et
crinibus, tectis fractis.
Not only S and its vowel thus suffered elision, but ST
also; as, fio' meridiem, fiomerldianus, for fiost meridiem,
flostmeridianus.
In the body of words also, the consonant S was sometimes
elided, or else obscured in the pronunciation; as, Camante
for Casmxna, CamiUua for Caamitlus, Camilla for Casmilla,
Sec.
Before quitting the subject of Elision, it may be as well
to add the following rules, which regulate its use
1. A verse, in -which there are more than two elisions, is
most commonly deficient in harmony; as the following1
pentameter line :--
Catul. Quam modo qui me unum atqae unicum amieum
habuit.
3. Elisions may generally be introduced into a verse with-
out diminishing its harmony, when the final vowel of a word
is the same as that which begins the next word, and when
c About Cicero's lime it began tn be generally sounded. Cicero however,
as well as his contemporaries Catullus and Lucretius, sometimes omitted
it in their poetry. Dr. Carey supposes that the early ltoman pons gene-
rally pronounced the final S when immediately followed by a vowel, but
that before consonants it was optional with tbem either to pronounce the
final S and make the syllaMe long by position, or not to pronounce it, and
thus retain it short. And th'jt about the commencement of the Augustan
lera, the rule was established that the final S should always be pronounced
in poetry as well before consonants as before vowels. ---L'icero, Orat. 48.
speaking of the pronunciation of the final S, observes: " Qjiineliam . . . quod
*' jam subrusticum videtur, olim autem politius . . corum verborum, quo-
? ' rum esedem erant postremas duse liters; qua; sunt in Optumus, postre-
" mam literam detrahehant, nisi vocalis insequebatur. Ita non erat offensio
? ( in versibus qnara nunc fugiunt poetse novi: ita enim loqu'bantur, Qui est
f omnibu' princeps, non Omnibus princeps, et Vita ilia Wignu' loeodQe, non
" dignus. "--To the same effect are the remarks of Quintilian, 9, 4.
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY.
ft
the elided vowel is either naturally short, or followed by a
long syllable ; as,
Virg. Ipse ego cana legam tenera lanugine mala.
Idem. Tum casia atque aliis intexens suavibus herbis.
3. An elision has seldom a good effect, when it occurs in
the first syllable of a verse--in the end of the fifth foot of an
hexameter--immediately after the penthemimeris in a pen-
tameter--or in a word ending with a long vowel, before a
word beginning with a short vowel; as,
Horat. Nam ut ferula ctedas meritum majora subire.
Juv. Lorifiedem rectus derideat jEthiopem albus.
Catul. Troja nefas ! commune sefiulcrumY. xir<yp&jtiieque.
Idem. Me misero eripuisti omnia nostra bona*
3. SYN. ERESIS.
Syllaba de gemina facta una Synseresis esto.
Synseresis is the contraction of two syllables into one ;d as,.
Ovid. Quid fiater Ismario, quid mater firofuit Orpheo?
the EO being sounded together within the time of one syN
lable, as in the name Romeo, in Shakspeare.
" Romeo slew Tibalt: Romeo must not live.
The use of Synaeresis is frequent in li, iidem, iisdem ; dii,
diis; dein, deincefis, dtinde; deest, deerat, deero, deerit,
deeas'e ; cui, and huic.
Synseresis however may often be referred to Synalcepha,
or in other words, the first vowel, in many instances, may
rather be considered as elided, than as uniting with the fol-
lowing vowel to form one syllable. Thus, jinteambuh, an',
teire, antehac, semianimis, semihomo, &c. and other com-
pound words, ought in strictness perhaps to be regarded as
suffering elision, and to be pronounced Ant'ambulo, ant'iret
Sec. This opinion receives, in many cases, strong confirma-
tion from the quantity of the vowel which begins the latter
part of the compound word. This vowel often retains its
original quantity, when that quantity is short; which it would
(1 Synaresis CrvtMmt) is derived frpni fvia. i^m, contrahere.
G2
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? 78 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
not do, if the two vowels were united by Synaeresis, instead
of the first being elided by Synaloepha, but would in every
such instance become necessarily long.
Other cases occur, in which two vowels, properly belong-
ing to separate syllables, are united into one, which retains
the original quantity of the latter vowel whether long or
short; as in Abiete, dbiegna, driete, fidrietibus, tenuius,
firincifiium, flituita, fortuitos, vindemidtor, JVasidieni. --
Here the I and U suffering somewhat of a change from
their vowel state, are used like the initial Y and W in Eng-
lish ; on which occasions the I or U operates as a consonant,
and has (in conjunction with another consonant) the power
of lengthening a preceding short vowel. Hence we must
pronounce these words, Ab-yete, db-yegna, dr-yete, fidr-
yetibus, ten-wius, firincifi-yum,fiit-wita,fort-v>ito8,vindem-
ydtor, JVasid-yeni,
In Statius, Silv. 1, 4, 36, and Theb. 12, 2. the word
lenuiore occurs, in which the license is carried still farther,
and which must be pronounced ten-wiore.
In Virgil, Geo. 1, 482. the word flwviorum begins the
line, and many have supposed the first foot of the verse toi
be an anapaest. By reading the word however, Jluvydrum,
the difficulty entirely disappears, and the initial foot becomes
3 spondee.
4. DI. EB. ESIS, OR DIALYSIS.
Distraint in geminas resoluta Diaeresis unatn.
Diteresise is the division of one syllable into two; as aurae
for aura, suddent for madent, Troia for Troja or Tioi-a,
siiesco for suesco, miluus for milvus, silua for silva, soluo
for solvo.
Virg, Mtkereum sensum, atque aurdi simfilicis ignem.
Luc. Atque alios alii irrident; Veneremque suddent.
Sen. Misit infestos Troite minis.
Horat. Mine mare, nunc silua.
Tibul.
In the third and fourth, they are nearly as disagreeable ;r
Ennius. Pruden\tem, 5TM/|multa Zo|quIve ta\cereve\ fiosset.
q These terms owe their origin to the practice generally adopted by the
old grammarians, of measuring lines by half feet. Thus the triemimeris is
that portion of a verse (counted or measured from the beginning of a line)
which contains three half parts, i. e. three half fe<<t, or a foot and a half--
the penthemimeris, five half feet, or two feet and a half--the hephthemi-
merin, seven half feet, or three feet and a half--the ennehemimeris, nine
half feet, or four feet and a half. The term triemimeris, is derived from
T? tH, tres, Hpio-us, ilimidius, and ,Megit> pars. The derivation of the
rest is similar, the numerals wsvts, Wto. , and aim, being merely substi-
tuted in succession, in plaee of Tji/t.
r In Homer however, we have two remarkable instances of the use of
successive trochees in producing a beautiful onomatopoeia.
no*. ** f otviavra, K*T]<<VT<t, irtL^nntt. ts, | toy/titt I t' >>*6ov.
11. 4,116.
AtfTK <<>>! <</t* m\tcitt n. \i\\iitiro | Knits a. i\a. it>is. Od. A, 597.
The following striking passage also may be cited from Virgil, JEn. 1, 85,.
Una . Eujrusque ^Vettusque ru{unt cre|berque pro\cettisr
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY.
But two successive trochees may agreeably occur in thd
first and second feet; as,
Virg. Mre ei|ere vi\ro*, Mar\temque ac\cendere\cantu.
Or in the fourth and fifth; as,
Virg. Et glau\cas sali\ces casi[amque cro|cumque ru]
bentem.
The Monosyllabic Caesura is that, in which the first syllable
of the divided foot is a monosyllable ; as,
Virg. Hie vir hie \ est tibi | quern firv\mitti \ stefiius \ audis.
Of the three kinds of Caesura which have been enumer-
ated, the syllabic seems to have been the principal-one in
Latm versification; and but few harmonious lines can be
found, in which it is not introduced. Next in metrical effect
is the Trochaic.
On the Caesura, depend, in a very great degree, the beauty
and melody of verse. While its presence serves to give ani-
mation to the line, and by connecting together the different
words of which it is composed, imparts to it gracefulness
and ease, its absence is marked by a total want of poetic har-
mony. A line, in which the Caesura is either wholly omitted
or in a great measure neglected, has in fact little to distin-
guish it from common prose, and can only be admissible
into Latin poetry, on occasions in which harmony is pur-
posely avoided, as in many of the neglected hexameters of
Horace.
The following lines may serve to show the uncouthness
and inelegance attendant upon the neglect of the Caesura:
Ennius. Sfiarsis | hastis \ late \ camfius | sfilendet et \ horret.
Idem. Disfier\ge hostes, | distrafie \ diduc | divide | differ.
Propert. JVbn me | moribus | ilia sed | herbis \ imfiroba \ vicit.
A Caesura however is not indispensably requisite in every
foot of a verse. Although the most melodious lines are cer-
tainly those in which the Caesura is frequently introduced,
. still a long uninterrupted series of them, would have any
other than a pleasing effect; and therefore it becomes ad-
visable occasionally to omit the Caesura in one or more of
the feet, and in this way to produce an agreeable variety.
The following rules have been laid down on this subject, and
deserve attention :s
s Bradley's Latin Prosody, p. 49--51.
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? 70 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
1. Iii the first foot of a verse, the Csesura may generally
be omitted ; as,
Virg. Pauperis | et tugu\ri con\gestum \ cesfiite \ culmen.
2. In the second foot, the Csesura is often omitted; but
when this omission takes place, the word which begins the
foot is generally of sufficient length to complete it, and leave
a Csesural syllable in the next foot; as,*
Virg. Sguamea | convol| vens sub\lato \ fiectore | terga.
3. The Caesura is not so frequently omitted at the penthe-
mimeris, as it is in the other feet; and when it is omitted in
the third, it always occurs in the fourth, and generally in the
second . bob When this omission of the Csesura at the pen-
themimeris takes place, the third foot generally consist's of
the two or three first syllables of a word, which is finished in
the next foot; as,
Virg. Jussa mo\vi qua | sorti|tus non\ fierlulit | ullos.
4. In the fourth foot, the Caesura is not necessary, if there
be one at the penthemimeris; as,
Virg. Pinguis et \ ingra\\. & fireme\retur \ caseus \ urbi.
5. The syllabic and monosyllabic Caesuras are seldom in-
troduced after the fourth foot, but the trochaic often occurs
at the ennehemimeris, and is in most instances conducive to
the harmony of the line ; as,
Virg. . Safie le vi som
Idem. Hinc al ta sub
num. sua\debit in\ive sa\surro.
rufie ca\net fron\Aa\b\- ad [ auras.
6. When there is but one Ccesura in a verse, it is gene-
rally in the third foot, sometimes in the fourth, but never in
the second; as,
Virg. Quem mea | carmini\bus merti\isset\Jistula \ cafirum.
t The frequent recurrence of the verb nescio as a dactyl, and of the
prepositions inter and intra its spondees, forming the second foot, appears,
on the first view, to be inconsistent with this rule, but it is in reality quite
agreeable with it. It has been clearly ascertained that the preposition and
its case were frequently pronounced with one accent as one word, and there
is reason to suppose that nescio was often connected in a similar manner
with the word which followed it; thus the words inter se were pro-
nounced, and consequently regarded in versification, as though they were
written interse, and nelcio quia as though written nescioqms. <<. A similar
connexion is not unusual in English words; thus some body is pronounced
somebody; no body, nobody; can not, cannot. --Bradley, Lat. Pros. 49. '
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY. 71
7. In a pentameter verse, a syllabic Csesura generally
takes place at tn* pentdemimeris, and a trochaic in the foot
pr ceding the final syllable in the second hemistich, or half
verse ; as,
Ovid. JVec quere\rer *ar|dos | ire rf |iicta di\ea.
Idem. JVU milti \ rescri\bas \ atcamen | Ipse ve\ni.
8. There is sometimes a monosyllabic Coesura at the pen-
themimeris of a pentameter, when the preceding word is a
monosyllable; as,
Ovid. Magna la\men aftea | est | in boni\tate de\i.
9. The trochaic Csesura is sometimes neglected in the
foot preceding the final syllable of a pentameter, and the
verse is concluded by a word of four or more syllables; asy
Ovid. Lis est \ cumfor\ma \ magna pu|diciti|se.
Part 2.
Syllaba stefle brevia Csesura extendtiur, etai
Littera nec dufilex, nec consona bina sequatur.
A short syllable in the Csesura is frequently made long,
though neither two consonants nor a double letter follow its
vowel. TM This however, takes place chiefly in hexameter
verse--rarely in lyric poetry--never in Iambic. Thus,
u In the language of the rule, we ascribe this to the farce of the etc-
aura; but the true principle on which the rule depends, is simply the
pressure of the voice exerted on the syllables in question, and producing
the same effect as if the final consonant were doubled, or the final vowel
pronounced with double length. The subject is placed in the clearest light
by one of the ablest among the metrical scholars of the present day. "In
primam pedis syllabam, versibus Heroicis, ictus metricus proculdubio
caditi et cum Jlrsi, omnium consensu, convemt. Ubicunque vero hoc
fieret, ibi vox intendebutur, et mora queedam in pronuntiando obtingebat.
Quod si in tali loco syllaba natura brevis locaretur, cum acriore quadam
et iiicitutiore vi proferretur, evadebat longa. In quibus autem locis vocit
intentio major, et mora in efferenda syllaba longior, in illis isliusmodi
effectum prsecipue et frequentim conspici credibile est. Hoc nonnunquam
evenit in prima versis syllaba; ssepins autem in medio versis, ubi vox
ita dividitur, ut in syllabam a reliqua voce quasi abscissam metricua
ictus cadat. Csesurx women inde ootinuiti ted causam, unde csesura
vim suam adepta sit brevem syllabam produceniii, nullum aliam esse
contendo, quam qua in versis statim initio, eundem effectum generet. "
Maltby, Observ. ad Morelli Lex. Gneco-Pros. p. xtvii. ed. CaQtab. 1815.
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY.
Virg. Pectori\bw inhi\ans sfii\rantia \ consulit \ exla.
Idem. Emicat | Eurya\\\xi et | munere f victor a\mici.
Horat. Cum gravi\us dor\so subi\h onus. | Incifiit | Hie.
Virg. Grains ho\mo infec\tos lin\quens /tro/iijgus hyme\
naos.
In the first of these lines, the Csesura affects the final syl-
lable of the triemimeris; in the second, that of the penthe-
mimeris; in the third, that of the hephthemimeris; and in
the last, that of the Ennehemimeris.
Instances even occur, in which, on account of the influ-
ence of the Csesura, the final M remains unelided before a
vowel in the beginning of the word following, and forms with
its own preceding vowel, a long syllable. The following are
among the number
Propert. O me |/r/i|cem ! o | nox mihi | Candida et \ 0 tu.
Tibul. Et tan\tum vene\ratur vi rum hunc\sedula \curet.
Luc. Scit non \ esse ca|sam. O vita | tuta fa\cultas.
Manil. Emeri\tus cas|lum et \ Claudia | magna firo\fiago.
Numerous other examples might be cited from the best
Latin poets, of the peculiar force of the Csesura. The stu-
dent is referred to the table at the end of the Figures of
Prosody, for a list of those which occur in the writings of
Virgil.
2. ELISION.
Elision is the cutting off of the final vowel or diphthong,
or of the two final letters of a word, and is divided into
Synalcepha and Ecthlipsis.
Synaleefiha.
Difihthongum aut vocalem haurit Synaloepha firionm.
Synaloepha is the elision of a vowel or diphthong at the
end of a word, when the following word begins with a vowel,
a diphthong, or the aspirate h ;* as,
x Quinctilim applies the term Synalwpha, in one place ft, 5,) to what is
commonlv called Synxvesis, as Pheeihon for Pliaetl'anM in another
(9, 4. ) to what is usually styled Evthlipais, as JPra for Presidium
est. --The word Synaliplia is from the Greek vuyxmiph, commixtio, and
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? FIGURES OF PROSODT.
Virg. ConticuerE Omnes, intentiquE Ora tenebant.
Idem. DardanidJE E muris: spes addita suscitat iras.
Idem. Savus ubi JEacida telojacet, Hector ubi Ingens-
Idem. Humida sohtitiA AtquE Hyemes orate serenas.
Which lines, in scanning, are read as follows :--
Conticuer1 omnes, intentiqu' ora tenebant.
Dardanid' e muris : spes addita suscitat iras.
Savus ub' JEacidx telojacet, Hector ub' ingens.
Humida solstiti' atqu' hyemes orate serenas.
This however is done only in scanning, and not in writing,
nor in the usual mode of pronouncing a verse. In the two
latter cases, the lines are always written, and generally pro-
nounced, without any elisions. *
Synaloepha affects not only a single syllable, but also two
syllables sounded as one by synseresis; as,
Virg.
Slell'io; et lucifugis congesta cubilia blattis.
Catul. Et earum omnia adirem furibunda latibula.
pronounced Stetl yet, omn yad.
Exception. --Synaloepha never takes place in the words
O, heu, ah, firoh, vah, hex, and the like interjections,
which sustain the voice, and retard the pronunciation, by
reason of the feeling or passion which they express; as,
Virg. 0 pater, 6 hominum divumque (Sterna potestas.
Idem. Heu ubi pacta fides? ubi que jurare solebas?
Ovid. Ah ego non possum tanta videre mala.
Idem. Et bis id Arethusa, id Arethusa vocavit.
The poets frequently retain other long vowels or diph-
thongs unelided ; in which case, the vowel or diphthong so
according to its etymology, refers, not so much to the elision of one vowel
before another, as to the blending of two vowels or syllables intQ one. On
this account some have considered the term Synal&plia, as commonly used,
an improper one, and recommend that instead of Synaloepha and Ecthlip-
sit, the general term Elision be substituted.
y The best opinion, with regard to the ancient mode of pronouncing
Latin verse, is this, that much of the apparent harshness of elisions was
removed, by giving the elided syllable so slight and imperfect a sound, that
it could hardly be distinguished, and consequently interrupted but little
the measure of the verse,
G
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? 74
FIGURES OF PROSODY.
preserved from elision, becomes common, though generally
made short ;z as,
Virg. Ter sunt conati imponere Pelib Ossam.
Idem. Glaucd, et Panopeh, et Inoo Melictrt*.
Idem. Insula Ionio in magno, quas dira CeUno.
Lucr. Anni tempore eo, qui Etetim esse feruntur.
A short vowel more rarely escapes elision; yet some in-
stances de-occur; as,
Lucil. Vera putant: credunt signis cor inesse ahenis.
Colum. Delie te Poean, et te Eule, Euie Penan.
Catul. O factum male ! o miselle passer !
Idem. Male est, mehercule, et laboriose.
In each of the three last lines however there is a pause,
which may be partly instrumental in producing this effect,
by preventing the clash of the vowel which is unelided, with
that which follows.
A vowel at the end of a verse is not in general elided,
when the first word of the following verse begins with a
vowel. In some cases however, when a long pause does not
intervene to suspend the voice, (it not being required by the
sense,) but merely that slight pause ensues, which necessa-
rily takes place at the end of every verse, we find the final
vowel requiring elision ; as,a
Virg. Jactemur, doceas: ignari hominumque locorum \ que
Erramus, vento hue et vastis fluctibus acti.
in which the second line must be read, qu' Erramus, &c.
When the final vowel of a word is elided, the effect of the
syllable as a Caesura is hardly perceptible, and it ought not
perhaps to be regarded, in any instance, as a Caesural syl-
lable.
The student is referred to the list at the end of the Figures
of Prosody, for the instances which occur in Virgil, of vowels
remaining unelided.
Z A long vowel being equal to two short, and a diphthong actuallv con-
sisting of two, the latter vowel is supposed to be elided, leaving the other,
as it originally was, abort by position. Where the syllable remains long,
both vowels are supposed to be preserved unelidt d.
a See remarks upon the figure " Synapheia. "
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY.
75
Ecthlifisis. . .
M vorat Ecthlipsis quoties vocalibus anteii.
Ecthlipsisb is the elision of the consonant M with its pre-
ceding vowel, at the end of a word, when the following word
begins with a vowel or the aspirate h ; as,
Catul. Omnia tecu'M. Una fierierunt gaudia nostra.
Idem. MtemuM. Hoc sancte fo&dus amicitia.
Ih scanning which lines we must read them as follows:--
Omnia tec' una fierierunt gaudia nostra.
jEtern' hoc sancta fc&dus amicitia.
But we are to do this only in scanning, and not in writing
or pronouncing them.
Ecthlipsis sometimes, by the aid of Synapheia, strikes out
a syllable at the end of a line, when the next word begins
with a vowel, and no long pause intervenes; as,
Virg. Jamque iter emensi, turres ac tecta Latino\r\im
Ardua cernebant juvenes, murosque subibant.
In which the second line is to be read, r'Ardua, &c.
The earlier Latin poets often preserved the final M before
a vowel, and made the syllable short; a practice which was
retained by their successors, in the compounds of Con and
Circum. (See Section xxi. )
In some instances also, the Caesura operates in preserving
the M with its preceding vowel unelided, and making the
syllable long. (See " Csesura," part 2. )
The final S was also frequently elided by the earlier poets,
not only before a vowel, with the loss of a syllable, as in
li The terra Ecthlipsis (tuB^i^is) comes from the verb mUxiCiiti eff-
tJere. --The principle on which the use of this figure rests, has been ex-
plained in a very ingenious and. satisfactory manner by Dr. Carey. He sup-
poses that the Romans did not give to the consonant m that full and audible
pronunciation which it receives in English, but a slight nasal sound, such as
the French give to it in the word Faim, and the Portuguese at the present
day even in Latin words. As corroborative of the truth of this position, he
refers to Cicero, Oral. 45. and Quintilian, 9, 4. --If this be the correct doc-
trine, it will appear that the Romans gave the consonant m a pronunciation
so slight, that its sound at the end of a word in poetry was too feeble to pre-
serve it and the preceding vowel from elision. See Note b, page 1.
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? 16
FIGURES OF PROSODY.
Plautus and Terence, but also before a consonant, without
the loss of a syllable ;c as
Ennius. Vicimua o aocii, et magnam pugnavimu' fiugnam.
Lucil. Deblatcrat filenus bonu' rusticu'; concinit unci.
This species of elision seems to have taken place chiefly
in short syllables; yet it was also occasionally practised in
long ; as, multi' modis, vas' argenteis, fialm' et crinibus,
tecli' Jractis, for multis modis, vasis argenteis, fialmis et
crinibus, tectis fractis.
Not only S and its vowel thus suffered elision, but ST
also; as, fio' meridiem, fiomerldianus, for fiost meridiem,
flostmeridianus.
In the body of words also, the consonant S was sometimes
elided, or else obscured in the pronunciation; as, Camante
for Casmxna, CamiUua for Caamitlus, Camilla for Casmilla,
Sec.
Before quitting the subject of Elision, it may be as well
to add the following rules, which regulate its use
1. A verse, in -which there are more than two elisions, is
most commonly deficient in harmony; as the following1
pentameter line :--
Catul. Quam modo qui me unum atqae unicum amieum
habuit.
3. Elisions may generally be introduced into a verse with-
out diminishing its harmony, when the final vowel of a word
is the same as that which begins the next word, and when
c About Cicero's lime it began tn be generally sounded. Cicero however,
as well as his contemporaries Catullus and Lucretius, sometimes omitted
it in their poetry. Dr. Carey supposes that the early ltoman pons gene-
rally pronounced the final S when immediately followed by a vowel, but
that before consonants it was optional with tbem either to pronounce the
final S and make the syllaMe long by position, or not to pronounce it, and
thus retain it short. And th'jt about the commencement of the Augustan
lera, the rule was established that the final S should always be pronounced
in poetry as well before consonants as before vowels. ---L'icero, Orat. 48.
speaking of the pronunciation of the final S, observes: " Qjiineliam . . . quod
*' jam subrusticum videtur, olim autem politius . . corum verborum, quo-
? ' rum esedem erant postremas duse liters; qua; sunt in Optumus, postre-
" mam literam detrahehant, nisi vocalis insequebatur. Ita non erat offensio
? ( in versibus qnara nunc fugiunt poetse novi: ita enim loqu'bantur, Qui est
f omnibu' princeps, non Omnibus princeps, et Vita ilia Wignu' loeodQe, non
" dignus. "--To the same effect are the remarks of Quintilian, 9, 4.
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? FIGURES OF PROSODY.
ft
the elided vowel is either naturally short, or followed by a
long syllable ; as,
Virg. Ipse ego cana legam tenera lanugine mala.
Idem. Tum casia atque aliis intexens suavibus herbis.
3. An elision has seldom a good effect, when it occurs in
the first syllable of a verse--in the end of the fifth foot of an
hexameter--immediately after the penthemimeris in a pen-
tameter--or in a word ending with a long vowel, before a
word beginning with a short vowel; as,
Horat. Nam ut ferula ctedas meritum majora subire.
Juv. Lorifiedem rectus derideat jEthiopem albus.
Catul. Troja nefas ! commune sefiulcrumY. xir<yp&jtiieque.
Idem. Me misero eripuisti omnia nostra bona*
3. SYN. ERESIS.
Syllaba de gemina facta una Synseresis esto.
Synseresis is the contraction of two syllables into one ;d as,.
Ovid. Quid fiater Ismario, quid mater firofuit Orpheo?
the EO being sounded together within the time of one syN
lable, as in the name Romeo, in Shakspeare.
" Romeo slew Tibalt: Romeo must not live.
The use of Synaeresis is frequent in li, iidem, iisdem ; dii,
diis; dein, deincefis, dtinde; deest, deerat, deero, deerit,
deeas'e ; cui, and huic.
Synseresis however may often be referred to Synalcepha,
or in other words, the first vowel, in many instances, may
rather be considered as elided, than as uniting with the fol-
lowing vowel to form one syllable. Thus, jinteambuh, an',
teire, antehac, semianimis, semihomo, &c. and other com-
pound words, ought in strictness perhaps to be regarded as
suffering elision, and to be pronounced Ant'ambulo, ant'iret
Sec. This opinion receives, in many cases, strong confirma-
tion from the quantity of the vowel which begins the latter
part of the compound word. This vowel often retains its
original quantity, when that quantity is short; which it would
(1 Synaresis CrvtMmt) is derived frpni fvia. i^m, contrahere.
G2
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? 78 FIGURES OF PROSODY.
not do, if the two vowels were united by Synaeresis, instead
of the first being elided by Synaloepha, but would in every
such instance become necessarily long.
Other cases occur, in which two vowels, properly belong-
ing to separate syllables, are united into one, which retains
the original quantity of the latter vowel whether long or
short; as in Abiete, dbiegna, driete, fidrietibus, tenuius,
firincifiium, flituita, fortuitos, vindemidtor, JVasidieni. --
Here the I and U suffering somewhat of a change from
their vowel state, are used like the initial Y and W in Eng-
lish ; on which occasions the I or U operates as a consonant,
and has (in conjunction with another consonant) the power
of lengthening a preceding short vowel. Hence we must
pronounce these words, Ab-yete, db-yegna, dr-yete, fidr-
yetibus, ten-wius, firincifi-yum,fiit-wita,fort-v>ito8,vindem-
ydtor, JVasid-yeni,
In Statius, Silv. 1, 4, 36, and Theb. 12, 2. the word
lenuiore occurs, in which the license is carried still farther,
and which must be pronounced ten-wiore.
In Virgil, Geo. 1, 482. the word flwviorum begins the
line, and many have supposed the first foot of the verse toi
be an anapaest. By reading the word however, Jluvydrum,
the difficulty entirely disappears, and the initial foot becomes
3 spondee.
4. DI. EB. ESIS, OR DIALYSIS.
Distraint in geminas resoluta Diaeresis unatn.
Diteresise is the division of one syllable into two; as aurae
for aura, suddent for madent, Troia for Troja or Tioi-a,
siiesco for suesco, miluus for milvus, silua for silva, soluo
for solvo.
Virg, Mtkereum sensum, atque aurdi simfilicis ignem.
Luc. Atque alios alii irrident; Veneremque suddent.
Sen. Misit infestos Troite minis.
Horat. Mine mare, nunc silua.
Tibul.
