%* By some
Prosodians
this is scanned as a choriam-
bic.
bic.
Latin - Casserly - Complete System of Latin Prosody
X Or "Scanding" from Scandere, "to climb"; as if mounting, climbing, or
advancing through the poem, step by step. Among the polished nations of anti-
quity, more attention was paid to scanning, as indispensable to the elegant read-
ing or verse, than among the moderns; who do not seem conscious of the poet's
rebuke --
Scandere qui nescis, versiculos laceras.
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? METRE. 91
must be read in scanning
Quidve moror ? s' omnes un' ordin' habetis Achivos.
Gentis Iule\ et rapti secreta Quirini
Monstr' horrend', inform', ingens, cui lumen ademtum.
The elision of a vowel or diphthong is called Synalcepha ;
that of m and the vowel before it, Ecthlipsis. The ear-
lier poets frequently elided s final before a consonant, to
preserve the vowel from becoming long by position ; as,
. . . Sive foras fertur, non est ea^rci' profecto. Lucret.
Sceptra potitus, eadem aliis sopitu 1 quiete est Id.
And when the next word begins with a vowel, the s is
sometimes cut off to expose the vowel before it to Elision ;
as,
Etenim ille quoin? hue jussu venio Jupiter [Iambic Trim. ]
Plautus.
To be sounded " quo' hue" And in Lucretius, III. 1048,
we ought to read
Ossa dedit terrse, proinde ncfamulu' infimus esset.
instead oifamul, as it is commonly printed.
Exc. The interjections o, heu, ah, proh, never suffer
elision.
7. Verses are called Acalalectic* Catalectic,^ Brachy-
catalectic, Hyper catalectic, (or Hyper meter,) and Acepha-
lous. X A line or verse that contains an exact number of
feet without deficiency or excess, is called Acatalectic ;
a line or verse that wants one syllable of a certain regu-
lar number of feet, is called Catalectic, or deficient by one;
a verse wanting two, is called Brachy catalectic, or deficient
* From aicara\iiKTiK6{, (fr. a priv. and KaraMjyw, " I stop, or cease. '')
t From Kara\ tiktik6<, denoting verses that stop short before completion;
wanting one syllable. Hence the derivation of the next two kinds is evident.
X From axtyaXos. (fr. a prixu and Kcdxxfoi, ? ? head") without a head.
9*
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? 92
METRE.
by tioo ; and if a verse have one or two syllables super-
fluous, after the regular number of feet is complete, it is
called Hyper cataleptic or Hypermeter ; i. e. , redundant ;
while a verse that wants a syllable at the beginning, is
called Acephalous or headless.
COMBINATIONS OF VERSE.
( two 'J ( Distrophos* or Distrophon.
A poem written J three I lines I Tristrbphos or Tristrophon.
in stanzas of ] four j is called ] Tetrastrophos or Tetrastroption.
I five J i. Pentastrbplws or Pentastrdpfton.
A nopm ( one kind ) nf -ppi-sp ( MonocoM or Monocolon.
wJS! << >><< S tw0 kinds J ? * ? I? L i < ^icoZo5 or Z? /cd/ow.
written in } ^ kindg J is called ( T/ . . . ^ or jy*^
Hence poetic composition is distinguished and denomi-
nated after two different ways ; viz. -- 1st, according to the
variety [or kinds] of verse used ; -- 2dly, from the number
of verses, of which it consists, previous to the completion
of each strophe ; i. e. , before the poem returns to the same
kind of verse, with which it had commenced.
First, according to the variety [or kinds] of verse used :
-- a poem written in one kind or sort of verse, is called
Monocolos, or Monocolon ;t a poem written in two kinds
or sorts of verse, is called Dicolos, or Dicolon ;? a poem
written in three kinds or sorts of verse, is called Tricolos,
or Tricolon. II
Secondly, according to the number of verses in each
strophe. When the same kind of verse with which a
poem commenced, recurs after the second line, the poem
is denominated Distrophos or Distrophon ;1f when the
same kind of verse recurs after the third line, the poem
* From Sis, "twice or double," and rrrpo^f], "a stanza :"' and so of the rest.
t From nofog, "single," and KcoAoiy"a member;" -- and so of tne others.
t As the Eclogues, Georgics, and ^neis of Virgil, the Satires of Horace, and
Ovid's Metamorphosis, -- all consisting of hexameters.
? As Ovid's Epistles, the Elegies of Tibullus, &c, Sec, composed in hexameters
and pentameters alternately.
II As the Alcaics of Horace.
tf As iii Ode, Lib. i. of Horace.
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? DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. 93
is denominated Tristrophos or Tristrophon ;* when the
same kind recurs after the fourth line, it is denominated
Tetrastrophos or Tetrastrophon ;t and so of the rest.
Then by a combination of the preceding terms, a poem
written in stanzas, consisting of two verses of different
kinds, is called Dicolon-Distrophon jt when the stanza
consists of three verses, but of two sorts only, (one sort
being twice repeated,) it is called Dicolon-tristrophon ;?
when the stanza consists of four verses, -- still of two sorts
only, (one being thrice repeated,) it is called Dicolon-tetra-
strophon. W When the poem is written in stanzas consist-
ing of three lines, each of a different kind, it is called
Tricolon-tristrophon ;1T when a stanza consists of four
verses, but of three kinds only, (one being repeated,) it is
called Tricolon-tetrastropkon ;** and so of the rest.
SECTION VIII.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.
GENUS I. DACTYLIC VERSES.
1. General Canon. These have their last foot always
a spondee,tt and the last but one always a dactyl, while
the rest may indiscriminately be either dactyles or spon-
dees. The penultimate foot is very seldom a spondee,
but when it is so, a dactyl most generally precedes it.
2. Species 1. -- Dactylic Hexameter or Heroic Verse
* As Ode xi. lib. Epod. of Horace, and the Preface to the Hymns of Pruden-
tius.
t As Ode ii. lib. i. of Horace.
X As the Elegiacs of Ovid, Catullus, Propertius, Tibullus, and many of Horace'i
Odes.
5 As Ode xii. lib. iii. of Horace.
f| As Ode ii. lib. i. of Horace, already quoted.
IT As Ode xi. and xiii. lib. Epod. of Horace.
** As Ode ix. lib. i. of Horace.
tt Because a dactyl at the end, would become an amphimacer.
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? 94
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.
consists of six feet,* varied and limited as above : i. e. ,
five dactyls and one spondee ; admitting a spondee instead
of a dactyl, on any of the first four places, but on the fifth,
rarely : according to the following scale --
l
2
3
45 6
-- ~~
---1 --
Raditi|terltqui|dum,cele-|resneque | commovet| alas. "for.
oil! j respon|d! t rex | Alba|i lon|gai. Ennius.
Ludere | quae vel-|lem cala-|mo per-jmlsit a|gresti. V*rg.
Marglne | terra-|rum por-|rexerat | Amphi-|trite. Ovid,
The fifth foot should never be a spondee, unless for the
purpose of expressing slow or difficult motion, in solemn,
majestic, or mournful descriptions, or in those expressive
of dignity, gravity, astonishment, consternation, vastness
of extent, &c, &c.
3. Species 2. -- Dactylic Tetrameter a priore consists
of the first four feet of the ordinary hexameter varied and
limited as in Art. 1 ; with this difference, that the fourth
or last foot is always a dactyl.
Lumini-|bus que pri-|6r redi-|it vigor. Boethius.
Garrula | per ra-|mos avis | obstrepit. Seneca.
4. Species 3. -- Dactylic Tetrameter a posteriore, has
the last four feet of an hexameter ; as,
* As each of these feet -- whether dactyls or spondees-- contains fonr times,
there are consequently in every line or verse -- prosodially speaking-- twenty-four
times. So also in every other species of verse, must the number of times, in pro-
portion to the number of its feet, be inviolably preserved. Hence appears the
absurdity of attempting to read Latin verse, according to the rules of English
accent and quantity; by which the twenty-four times of an hexameter line are
often extended to twenty-nine times ! ! -- not unfrequently to thirty-one ! ! ! &3* It
may be useful to the young Prosodian to bear in mind, that every regular Hexa-
meter verse or line must contain not fewer than thirteen, and not more than
seventeen, syllables; i. e. , the line or verse may consist of five spondees and on<
dactyl (the penultimate foot), making thirteen syllables ; or of five dactyls an<
one spondee, making seventeen syllables.
IT
i
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? DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. 95
lbimus|o socI-|I cdmi-|tesque. Hor.
Judice|te non|sor didus|auctor. Idem.
Menso-|rem cohi-|bent Ar-|chyta. Idem.
5. Species 4. -- Tetrameter Catalectic is the last species
with its final syllable cut off; as,
Ibimus|o soci-|I comi-|tes.
Unus e-|nim re-|rum pater|est. Boeth.
6. Species 5. -- Trimeter (Pherecratic) consists of a
spondee, a dactyl, and a spondee without variation ; as,
Cras do-|naberis|h2edo. Hor.
%* By some Prosodians this is scanned as a choriam-
bic. See Art. 34, under that head.
7. Species 6. -- Trimeter Catalectic (Arckilockian)
consists of two dactyls and a syllable ; a spondee being
seldom admitted ; as,
Arb5ri-|busque co-|mai. Hor.
8. Species 7. -- Dimeter (Adonic*) consists of a dactyl
and a spondee without variation ; as,
Terr CiT t|urbem. Hor.
The Adonic is rarely used unless joined to the Tro-
chaic, Pentameter or Sapphic : one Adonic being annexed
to three Sapphics, to form the strophe or stanza. In tragic
choruses, however, it is annexed to any number of Sap-
phics at the will of the poet. t
IRREGULAR DACTYLIC VERSES. t
Of Pentameter.
9. Species 1. -- Pentameter consists of five feet, of
* So called from the metre used in lamenting the fate of Adonis.
t See Seneca, (Edip. act 1 \-Troas, act 4;-- Here. Fur. act 3;-- Thy 'est. act 3,
&c.
X Those verses are called irregular, because they deviate from the general
canon laid down at the beginning of the genus.
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? 96
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.
which the first and second are either dactyls or spondees,
the third is always a spondee, and the fourth and fifth are
anapaests, according to the scale --
! 1
2
3
4
5
_w ^
--- ~
~v-
wV-
Lassa-|ret vidu-|as pen-jdiila te-|la manus. Ovid.
Et graci-|lis struc-|tos ef-jfugit um-|bra rogos. Idem.
The Pentameter must always have a caesura Penthe-
mimeris ; and every line ought to conclude with a dis-
syllable ; as a trisyilable is considered inelegant.
Another mode of dividing the Pentameter, and which
is preferred by the best Prosodians, -- is to separate each
line into two Catalectic Trimeters (7), the first admitting
the spondee, the second not : in other words, the first
two feet may be either dactyls or spondees, followed by
a long syllable, then two dactyls followed by another long
syllable : according to the scale --
1
2
3
4
5
6
--^ V
-
~
Lassa-|ret vidu-|as|jpendula|tela ma-|nus.
Et graci-|lls struc-]tos||effugit|umbra ro-|gos.
10. Species 2. -- Alcmanian Tetrameter Hypercatalec-
tic* consists of two divisions, the first being a dactylic
* Carey who has been followed hy Anthon and other distinguished classical
scholars-- calls it Phalacian, on the authority, it is alleged, of Terentianus. But
this writer's meaning appears to hare been misunderstood on this passage. Te-
rentianus in describing that particular form of verse in the above text, remarks,
that it is hendecasyllabic. But as in making this remark, he uses a Phalacian
verse, to which species, the term hendecasyllabic is almost exclusively confined,
he adds, in his prolix manner, that the verse he is describing i* alter--" differ-
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? DIFFERENT KINDS OF Y r ERSE. 97
penthemimeris, i. e. , two feet and a half from the begin-
ning of an Hexameter, and the second a dactyl and spon-
dee ; as,
Heu quam|praeclpi-|ti||mersa pro-|fundo. Boethius.
This might be scanned as a common Pentameter defi-
cient by a semifoot ; as,
Heu quam|praecipi-|ti mer-|,&a profun-|do.
or still again as a Choriambic Catalectic Tetrameter ; as,
Heu quam|prfficipitl|mersa profun|do.
GENUS II. ANAPAESTIC VERSES.
11. General Canon, The Anapaest is everywhere con-
vertible into a dactyl or a spondee, [and sometimes into
a proceleusmatic] with this limitation, that a dactyl is
rarely found in an even place : i. e. , in the second or
fourth ; -- according to the following scale of the Ana-
paestic Dimeter --
1
2
3
4
-- >-? >w*
12. Species 1. -- The Anapcsstic series is not limited to
any definite number of feet, but runs on continue carmine,
till it stops short at a pause in the sense, sometimes in
the middle of a foot. It then begins again, runs on and
stops short as before ; and so on to the end of the poem.
It is sometimes printed in verses of four feet ; as,
Indus |gelidum||potat Ar-|axem,
Albim | Persse, 1 1 Rhenum- 1 que bibunt.
ent/'-- from that he is using;-- "for the latter," says he, "is PhaUzcia/n, which
shall be afterwards described. " In the original his words are--
Fiet hendecasyllabos, sed alter,
Namque hie de genere est Phalaeciorum,
Cujus~mox tibi regulam loquemur.
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? 98 DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.
Venient|annis||sascu]a|seris ;
Quibus 0|ceanus||vIncula|rerum,
Laxet et|ingens||pateat|tellus
Tiphys-|que novos||detegat|6rbes.
Nee sIt|tems||ultima|Thule. * Seneca,
Sometimes in verses of two feet ; as,
Defle | te virum,
Quo non | alms
Potuit | citius
Discere causas. Seneca.
But divide them as we may in printing, we should
always scan the whole paragraph as one line, the verses
being connected by Synapheia,t and a short syllable at
the end of a line being always lengthened by a consonant
or consonants at the beginning of the next : as the final
syllables of virum,% alius, citius, in the above\ examples.
13. Species 2. -- Anapaestic Tetrameter Catalectic (or,
as called by others, Dimeter Catalectic or Parcemiac)
consists of three anapaests and a syllable ; varied by the
admission of a spondee on the first two places ; as,
Nee vinct-|ta libi-|dine col-|la.
Fcedls | submlt-|tat habe-|nls. Bo'eth.
GENVS III. IAMBIC VERSES.
14. General Canon. Iambic verse is of two kinds,
pure and mixed. The pure admits no foot except the
iambus ; the mixed admits spondees on the odd places --
the first, third, &c, and allows any long syllable to be
* This remarkable prophecy uttered nearly 1500 years before its accomplish-
ment, has been verified to an extraordinary degree, by the discovery of America,
and its colonization from Europe. The poet doubtless drew his inspiration ftom
some of the Sybilline vaticinations extant in his day.
t See Synapheia, p. 78.
t M litera terminatus accusativus, in omni genere semper brevem habet . V&l.
Probus, i. See also Servius de ultimis syTlabis ; and Diomedes, iii.
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? DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. 99
resolved into two short, by which means, an iambus may-
be converted into a tribrach, and a spondee into a dactyl,
an anapaest, or a proceleusmatic. Iambic verse, then,
admits on the even places a tribrach, and on the odd, a
tribrach, a spondee, dactyl, anapaest or a proceleusmatic.
But a tribrach is never admitted into the last place, nor
a proceleusmatic into any but the first;* according to the
following scale of an Iambic Trimeter Acatalectic.
1
2
3
4
5
6
^_
^_
w-
~-
~_
~zz
ZZ--
33-
15. Species 1. -- Iambic Tetrameter or Octonarius con-
sists of eight feet, that is, four metres or measures ; and
admits all the variations ; as,
Pure. Adest|celer||phase|lusi]||lequem|vide||tis hos|p! tes.
Catullus.
Mixed. Sane |polis||tate|mulen||ta est muli|eret||temera|ria.
Terence.
And agreeably to the practice of the comic poets : --
Atqueest|h33cea||demquae|mihidix||titu|tedI||casmulijerL
Idem.
16. Species 2. -- Tetrameter Catalectic consists of
seven iambics and a syllable, admitting the variations ;
as,
Pure. Kemlt|te pal||lium|mihI||meum|quod In||v6las|tT.
Catullus.
* Writers of Comedy and of Fable (the latter more sparingly), that their lan-
guage might approach nearer to that of common life, admit the spondee and its
equivalents into all the even places but the last.
10
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? 100
DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.
Mixed. Quum de^via||mulier|aves|Josten|dit os||citan|tes.
Idem,
And according to the comic license ; --
Non pos|sum sati'|narra|re qu6s||ludos|praBbiie||ris Inltus.
Terence.
17. Species 3. -- Trimeter or Senarius (as in the above
scale) consists of six feet with all the variations ; as.
Pure. Suis|et Ip||sa Rojma vl||ribus|rult. Hor.
( Aliti|bus at|[que cani|bushomi||cidamHec|tora.
Mixed. < * Idem.
( Rex, ad|voca||ta c6n|cio-ne,|hax e|dldit. Phced.
And by the usage of comedy and fable : --
Infes-|tls Tau-||rus mox-|confo-||dit cor-|nibus. Phcedrus.
Jam mul-|tos an-||nos est,|cum pos||sideo et-|colo. Plan.
18. Species -4. -- Trimeter Catalectic consists of five
feet and a syllable. It admits the variations, except that
the spondee is rarely if ever admitted into the fifth place,
but is into the first and third ; as,
Pure. Pius | f ide-| |lis In-|n6cens||pudl-|cus. Prudentius.
Mixed. Regumjque pue-||ris; nec|satel-||les 6r-|cl. Hor,
19. Species 5. -- Dimeter Hypermeter consists of four
feet and a syllable, admitting the spondee on the odd
places ; as,
Non vul-|tus In-||stantis|tyran-||ni. Horace.
20. Species 6. -- Dimeter or Quaternarius has four
feet, admitting the Variations ; --
Pure. Sacer|nepo-||tibus|cruor. Horace,
Mixed. Mentis | repen-! | det con-|griia. Prudentius.
Most of the beautiful hymns in the Roman Breviary
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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.
