The frequent recurrence of the verb Nescio as a dactyl, and of
the prepositions Inter and intra as spondees, forming the second
foot, appears on the first view to be inconsistent with the preced-
ing rule, but it is in reality quite agreeable with it.
the prepositions Inter and intra as spondees, forming the second
foot, appears on the first view to be inconsistent with the preced-
ing rule, but it is in reality quite agreeable with it.
Latin - Bradley - Exercises in Latin Prosody
org/access_use#pd-google
? SCANNING. $7
9.
Cornaque, et in duris haerentia mora rubetis, ?
? t, quae deciderant patula Jovis arbore, glandes.
* 10.
Ver erat aeternum; placidique tepentibus auris
Mulcebant Zephyri natos sine semine flores.
11-
Mox etiam fruges tellus inarata ferebat;
Nec renovatus ager gravidis canebat aristis.
12.
Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant;
Flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella.
13.
Postquam, Saturno tenebrosa in Tartara misso,"
Sub Jove mundus erat, subiit argentea proles,
Auro deterior, fulvo pretiosior aere.
1*.
Jupiter antiqui contraxit tempora veris,
Perque hyemes, aestusque, et inaequales autumtios,
Et breve ver, spatiis exegit quatuor annum.
15.
Tum primum siccis, aer, fervoribus ustus,
Canduit; et ventis glacies astricta pependit.
Tum primum subiere domos; domus antra fuerunt,
16.
Et densi frutices, et vinctae cortice virgae.
Semina tum primum longis Cerealia sulcis
Obruta sunt, pressique jugo gemuere juvenci.
OVIB.
Lai. Pr. D
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? 38 EXERCISES IN
CHAPTER III--Pentameter.
A pentameter verse is generally divided in scanning
into two parts, the first of which consists of two feet,
which are either dactyls or spondees, followed by a long
syllable; the latter part is always composed of two dactyls
followed by another long syllable; as
Ipse juibet morjtis | te mSmT|nIssS DS|us.
Da venilam; propS! rat | vlverS | nemo sa]tis.
Sit nox | cum som|n6; | sit sine | litS di|es. Mart.
This is the most common, but not the most correct mode of
scanning this species of verse. A pentameter properly consists,
as its name implies, of five feet, of which the first two are either
dactyls or spondees, the third a spondee, and the fourth and fifth
anapaests or dactyls reversed. Ajrceably to this division, the last
of the preceding lines would be scanned thus,
Sit nox | cum soni|uo; tit I ting IT)re fiies.
The term pentameter is derived from nivre, five, and f*'vo>>, a
measure. This kind of verse is sometimes termed elegiac, because
it is generally employed by the poets in elegiac and similar compo-
sitions. It is however seldom or never used alone in a poem, but
is intermixed with hexameters, and sometimes with other
measures.
In the exercises in. this work, and indeed in poetry in genera),
a pentameter may be distinguished from a hexameter verse by the
first word being printed somewhat within the boundary of the
page, and consequently not beginning in a line with the other
verses; thus in the exercises, which immediately follow, every al-
ternate line is a pentameter; the others are hexameters.
EXERCISES.
1.
~, Ariadne Theseo,
Quae legis ex illo, Theseu, tibi littore mitto,
Unde tuam sine' me vela tulere ratem.
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? /
SCANNING. 99
2. J- ? ' -' ?
Tempus erat, vitrea quo primum terra pruina
Spargitur, et tectae fronde queruntur aves.
3.
Luna fuit: specto si quid nisi littora cernam;
Quod videant, oculi nil nisi littus habent.
*? ''
Nunc huc, nunc illuc, et utrdque sine ordine curro;
Alta puellares tardat arena pedes.
Mons fuit; apparent frutices in vertice rari;
Nunc scopulus raucis pendet adesus, aquis
5.
Ascendo; vires animus dabat; atque ita late
JEquora prospectu metior alta meo'.
Inde ego, nam ventis quoque sum crudelibus usa,
Vidi'praecipiti carbasa tenta noto.
6.
"Quo fugis? " exclamo, "scelerate, revertere, Theseu:
Flecte ratem; numerum non habet ilia suum. "
Haec ego; quod voci deerat, plangore replebam:
Verbera cum verbis mista fuere meis. .
7.
Quid faciam? quo sola ferar? vacat insula cultu:
Non hominum video, non ego facta boum.
Qmne latus terrae cingit mare. Navita nusquam;
Nulla per ambiguas puppis itura vias.
8.
Occurrunt animo pereundi mille figurae;
Morsque minus pcena;, quam mora mortis habet.
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? *(C) EXERCISES IN
Jam, jam venturos aut hac, aut suspicor iliac,
Qui lanient avido viscera dente, lupos:
9.
Forsitan et fulvos tellus alat ista leones;
Quis scit an haec saevas tigridas insula habet?
Et freta dicuntur magnas expellere phocas-.
Quid vetat et gladios per latus ire meum?
,10.
Si mare,, si terras, porrectaque littora vidi,
Multa mihi terra, multa minantur aquae.
Ccelum restabat: timeo simulacra deorum.
Destituor rapidis praeda cibusque feris.
11.
Ergo ego nec lacrymas matris moritura videbo?
Nec, mea qui digitis lumina condat, erit?
Spiritus infelix peregrinas ibit in auras?
Nec positos artus unget amica manus?
12.
Ossa superstabunt volucres inhumata marinx?
Haec sunt officiis digna sepulcra meis?
Ibis Cecropios portus; patriaque receptus
Cum steteris urbis celsus in arce tuae,
. IS.
Et bene narraris lethum taurique virique,
Sectaque per dubias saxea tecta vias,
Me quoque narrato sola tellure relictam.
Non ego sum titulis surripienda tuis.
Nec pater est jEgeus; nec tu Pittheidos ^ithrx
Filius: auctores saxa fretumquetui.
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? SCANNING. 41
14.
Dl facerent, ut me summa de puppe videres!
Movisset vultus mcesta figura tuos.
Nunc quoque non oculis, sed, qua potes, aspice mente
Haerentem scopulo, quern vaga pulsat aqua.
Aspice demissos lugentis in ore capillos;
Et tunicas lacrymis, sicut ab imbre, graves.
15.
Corpus, ut impulse segetes Aquilonibus, horret;
Litteraque articulo pressa tremente labat.
Non te per meritum, quoniam male cessit, adoro;
Debita sit facto gratia nulla meo;
Sed nec pcena quidem; si non ego causa salutis,
Non tamen est, cur sis tu mihi causa necis.
16.
Has tibi, plangendo lugubria pectora lassas,
Infelix tendo trans freta longa manus.
Hos tibi, qui superant, ostendo mcesta capillos.
Per lacrymas oro, quas tua facta movent,
Flecte ratem, Theseu, versoque relabere velo.
Si prius occidero, tu tamen ossa leges.
PART III.
VERSIFICATION.
CHAPTER I. --Cjesura.
C/? SCRA is a division or separation of a foot, occasioned by
the syllables, of which it is composed, belonging to differ-
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? 42 EXERCISES IN
ent words: it is a term applied also to the last syllable or
two last syllables of a word, when they form the first part
of a foot.
The word casura is derived from Caedo, casus, to cut off; its use
has been adopted in versification either because the syllable, to
which it is applied, is divided or cut oft' from the other syllables in
the word by the termination of the preceding foot, or because the
foot, in which the cfesura takes place, is divided or separated, being
composed of syllables belonging to different words.
The beauty of a verse depends in a great measure on the c<esura.
It connects with each other the different words, of which the
line is composed, and gives to it smoothness and harmony. It must
not therefore be considered merely as an ornament, but as an es-
sential requisite of every hexameter and pentameter verse. A line,
in which it is neglected, is not only destitute of all poetic beauty,
but can hardly be distinguished from prose, and unless on peculiar
occasions, in which harmony is designedly avoided, it is not admis-
sible into Latin poetry.
There are three kinds of caesura, the syllabic, the tro-
chaic, and the monosyllabic.
The syllabic caesura is that, in which the first part of
the divided foot consists of the last syllable of a word; as
Sylves\trem tenu|7 mu|sam mSdi|ta"rls a|vena. Virg.
The syllabic appears to be the principal caesura in Latin versifi-
cation, and but few harmonious lines can be found, in which it is
not introduced. If the ancients did not consider it indispensably
necessary, it is evident that they seldom ventured to write a verse
without it.
The syllabic caesura may take place in a heroic verse
at the triemimeris, penthemimeris, hephthemimeris, and
sometimes at the ennehimeris; as
Si ca. m\mus syl|yas, syl|u2e sint | consiile | dignae.
HiS \i\tm nh%\um mol|/I fu\\tus hya|clnth6. Virg.
The ancient grammarian; generally divided every line into half
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? VERSIFICATION. *S
feet, and from this division the preceding names have been intro-
duced. The triemimeris is that portion of a verse, which contains
its three first half feet; the penthemimeris is the part, which con-
tains five half feet; the hephthemimeris that, which contains
seven; and the ennehimeris that, which comprises nine half
feet.
The trochaic caesura is that, in which the first part of
the divided foot consists either of a long and short sylla-
ble remaining at the end of a word, or of an entire word
comprised of one long and one short syllable; as
? brtu\natus St | tile, de|os qui | novit a|grestes. Virg.
Although one syllabic caesura at least generally occurs in every
hexameter verse, yet the trochaic has nearly the same metrical
effect, and often appears to be the principal ca;sura in the verse;
as
Fata vo|cant ci)i\\ditque na|tantia | lumina | somnus. Virg.
In Horace and Virgil, about twenty lines may be found, in which
the trochaic caesura only occurs, and which are still not deficient in
harmony: as
Spargens ] humidi | mella s6|p6rife|rumque pS|pavSr. Viae
The trochaic caesura may take place in either of the first
five feet of a verse, but two successive trochaics must not
occur in the second and third, or in the third and fourth
feet; as
Talia | voce relfert, b\terque <\u2. \terque be^ati.
Arma pro|cul cur]rusque vT|rum mi[ratur X|nanes.
Alba Yi\gustra ca|dunt, vac|cinia | nigra lelguntiir.
Virg. ,
The monosyllabic ctesura is that, in which the first syl-
lable of the divided foot is a monosyllable; as
Hie Yir hic | est tTbi | quern prolmitti | sxpius | audis.
Virg.
The preceding is one of the few lines, in which no ca-sr. ra but
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? 44 EXERCISES IK
the monosyllabic occurs; the metrical effect of this caesura is by no
means so great as that of the syllabic or trochaic, hut many in-
stances may be found, in which it appears to be the principal
ciesura in the verse.
A caesura is not indispensably necessary in every foot of
si verse. Those lines, in which it most frequently occurs,
generally appear to be the most poetical, but for the sake
of that variety without which the most harmonious ar-
rangement 'of words would, soon become tedious, the
caesura is often omitted in one or more of the feet, and its
situation is frequently varied.
In the first foot of a verse, the caesura may generally be
omitted; as
Pasto|res ovi|um tene|ros de'pellere | fcetus.
Pauperis | It tugii|ri con]gestum | cespTte | culmen-
Virg.
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 to leave a caesural syllable in the next foot; as
Squamea | convol\vens sub|lato | pectore J terga.
Virg.
The frequent recurrence of the verb Nescio as a dactyl, and of
the prepositions Inter and intra as spondees, forming the second
foot, appears on the first view to be inconsistent with the preced-
ing 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
? pronounced, and consequently regarded in versification, as though
they were written Inteise, and Nescio quis as though written
Nescioquis. A similar connection is not unusual in English
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? VERSIFICATION. 45
woids; thus Some body, is pronounced somebody; No body,
nobody; Can not, cannot.
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 foot : when this omission of the caesura at
the penthemimeris takes place, the third foot generally
consists of the two or three first syllables of a word, which
is finished in the next foot; as
Jussa mo|<< quae | sdrtl\tus non J perttflft | ullos.
VlRG.
In the fourth foot the caesura is not necessary, if there
is one at the penthemimeris; as
Pinguis St | Ingra|Ai preme|retur | caseus | urbi.
? VlRG.
The syllabic and monosyllabic caesuras are seldom in-
troduced after the fourth foot, but the trochaic often oc-
curs at the ennehimeris, and is in most instances conducive
to the harmony of the line; as
Saepe lelvl som|num sua|debit in|7re su|surro.
Hinc al|ta sub | rupe cajnet fron|(7a<or ad | auras.
VlRG.
When there is but one caesura in a verse, it is generally
in the third foot, sometimes in the fourth, but never in
the second; as
Quem mea | carminiliiis merallsset | fistula | caprum.
VlRG.
In a pentameter verse, a syllabic caesura generally takes
place at the penthemimeris, and a trochaic in the foot
preceding the final syllable in the second hemistich or
half verse; as
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? *6 EXERCISES IN
Nec queerer tar|<ios ( Ire re|llcta di|es.
Nil mihi | rescri|fow | attamen | Ipse velnl. Ovid.
There is sometimes a monosyllabic caesura at the pen-
themimeris of a pentameter, when the preceding word is
a monosyllable; as
Magna ta|men spes. | est | in boni|tatS de|I. Ovid.
The trochaic caesura 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; as
Lis est | cum for|ma [ magna pu\dicit)\ee. Ovid.
The syllabic caesura sometimes lengthens a short sylla-
ble; as
Pectori|6Ss mhi|ans spi|rantia | consutft | exta. Virg.
The questions in the first eight of the following exer-
cises are designed to be answered by the pupil: the remain-
ing exercises in this chapter consist of lines, to which the
preceding observations on the casura are to be applied, and
which may be formed into hexameter or pentameter verses,
by a change of the position of one word in each line.
EXERCISES.
i
1.
What is meant by caesura?
Is attention to the caesura indispensably necessary in
Latin versification?
What are the principal advantages resulting from the
caesura?
How many kinds of caesura are there? Mention them.
: :. 2.
What is the syllabic caesura?
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? VERSIFICATION. *7
"What caesura is termed trochaic?
What is a monosyllabic caesura?
How many syllabic caesuras are there in the following
line from Virgil;
Sic positae quoniam suaves miscetis odores i
3.
Are the caesuras in the following line from Virgil syl-
labic or trochaic caesuras;
Lumina labentem ccelo quae ducitis annum i
Which is considered the principal caesura in Latin
poetry?
What part of a hexameter line is termed the triemimeris?
What part of the following line from Virgil is the pen-
themimcris;
Et jam summa procul villarum culmina fumant i
4.
. How many half-feet are comprised in the ennehimeris,
and how many in the hephthemimeris?
In how many feet of a hexameter may the syllabic
caesura occur f
In what parts of a heroic verse is the trochaic caesura
found?
In what feet are two successive trochaic caesuras ob-
. jectionable?
5.
Why are the following verses from Ennius objectionable;
Ergo magisque magisque viri nunc gloria claret;
'Prudentem qui multa loquive tacereve posset I
In what respect is the following line from Ennius de-
fective;
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? 48 EXERCISES IN
Sparsis hastis late campus splendet et horret?
Is a caesura necessary in every foot of a verse?
Does a caesura always occur in the first foot of a hexame-
ter?
6.
Of what does the second foot of a verse generally con-
sist when a caesura does not take place in it?
In what feet of the following line from Virgil is the
syllabic caesura omitted;
Cognatique patres tua terris didita fama?
When the caesura is omitted in the third foot, in which
of the other feet in the line is it generally found?
When may the caesura be omitted in the fourth foot?
7.
Which of the caesuras may properly be introduced in
the fifth foot of a hexameter?
What objection may be made to the following line from
Lucretius;
Corporibus caecis igitur natura gerit res?
When there is only one caesura in a verse, in which
foot is it generally found?
In what part of a pentameter does the trochaic caesura
generally occur?
8. *
What caesura generally takes place at thejjenthemimeris
of a pentameter verse?
When may a monosyllable be admitted at the penthe-
mimeris of a pentameter?
How is a pentameter verse concluded, if the trochaic
caesura in the last hemistich is omitted?
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? VERSIFICATION. 49
What short syllable is lengthened by the caesura in the
following line from Virgil;
Dona dehinc auro gravia sectoque elephanto?
9.
Ipse dei clypeus terra cum ima tollitur,
Mane rubet; rubet terraque, cum cohditur ima.
10.
En, proles antiqua redit; virtus, Concordia,
Cumque fide pietas cervice alta vagantur.
11.
Robora nec cuneis, olentem scindere et cedrum,
Nec plaustris cessant vectare ornos gementibus.
12.
Sponte juvenco tuus florebit ager cessante;
Oblatas mirabitur incola ditior messes.
13.
Non propter vitam quidam faciunt patrimonia,
Vitio caeci, sed propter patrimonia vivunt.
14.
Sol fugit, et removent subeuntia ccelum nubila,
Et efFusis, gravis decidit imber, aquis.
15.
Quod si quis monitis aures tardas adverterit,
Heu, referet quanto mea verba dolore!
16.
Arte laborata e puppes vincuntur ab aquore. *
Tu tua brachia plus remis posse putes?
Lot. Pr. E
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? 50 EXERCISES IK
17.
Casta placent superis; venite purl cum veste,
Et manibus puris sumite aquam fontis.
18.
Corpora sive flamma rogus, seu tabe vetustas
Abstulerit, posse pati non ulla mala putetis.
19.
Multa dies, variusque mutabilis aevi labor,
In melius rettulit, multos alterna revisent
Lusit, et in solido fortuna rursus locavit.
20.
Alternis idem cessare tonsas novates,
Et patiere segnem situ durescere campum;
Aut ibi flava, mutato sidere, seres farra.
21.
Lucus erat nunquam violatus ab longo sevo,
Obscurum aera cingens connexis ramis,
Et gelidas umbras, alte summotis solibus.
22.
Interea colat pax arva; pax Candida primum
Duxit sub juga curra araturos boves.
Nitent pace bidens vomerque; at tristia duri
Militis situs in tenebris occupat arma.
-23.
Non domus et fundus, non acervus aeris et auri
Deduxit aegroto domini corpore febres,
Non animo curas. Oportet valeat possessor,
Si uti comportatis rebus bene cogitat.
24.
Hlc sedes augusta deae, colendi templique
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? VERSIFICATION. 51
Silex religiosa, densis quam pinus obumbrat
Frondibus, et procella nulla lucos agitante,
Rami stridula coniferi modulantur carmina.
CHAPTER II. --ARRANGEMENT OP WORDS.
1 he principal rules for the arrangement of words in Latin
prose are applicable also to the composition of verse;
but the language of poetry admits of a much greater
variety of inversion than the language of prose, and con-
sequently of a more frequent deviation from the general
laws of position.
As the introduction of the general rules for the position of
words in a sentence could contribute but little to the utility of
this work, they have not been inserted. Lyne's Latin Primtr
affords a summary of these rules, but a more comprehensive
statement of them may be found in Grant's Grammar and Valpy's
Elegantia Latina.
An adjective is generally placed in poetry before one or
more words, which intervene between it and its substan-
tive; it is sometimes found immediately after the noun, to
which it relates, and sometimes immediately before it; and
it occasionally occurs in other situations; as
Dumosa pendere procul de rupe videbo.
Carmina nulla canam; non, me pascente, capellae,
Florentem cytisum et salices carpetis amaras. Virg.
When two adjectives are introduced in the same verse,
they are most commonly placed together in the beginning
of the line; as
Agrestem tenui meditabor arundine musam. Virc.
When an adjective is peculiarly emphatic, it is elegantly
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? S2 EXERCISES IN
placed at a considerable distance after its substantive, and
sometimes in the beginning of the following line; as,
Vox quoque per lucos vulgo exaudita silentes
Ingens, et simulacra modis pallentia miris. Virg.
Prepositions are often placed in poetry after the noun,
which they govern, and are sometimes separated from the
words, with which they are compounded, and placed in a
different part of the verse; as
Spemque metumque inter dubii seu vivere credant.
Ter conatus ibi collo dare brachia circum. Virg.
The compounds Quicunque, quisnam, priusquam, with
a few other compound words, are sometimes divided by
the figure tmesis; as
Qui te cunque manent isto certamine casus. Virg.
Although each of the four first feet in a hexameter
verse may be either a dactyl or a spondee, yet the greatest
harmony generally results from a judicious intermixture
of both these kinds of feet. This variety, however, is
often neglected, and sometimes with an expressive and
striking effect. It may in general be observed that light-
ness, rapidity, or confusion may be expressed the most
forcibly by dactyls, and slowness, grief, or dignity, by
spondees; as .
Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas.
Cara deum soboles, magnum Jovis incrementum.
ViRC.
A sentence is most commonly completed in every dis-
tich or two lines of pentameter or elegiac poetry, but the
elegance of hexameters is increased, when neither a sen-
tence nor the clause of a sentence is finished with the
verse, and when each line through several successive
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?
? SCANNING. $7
9.
Cornaque, et in duris haerentia mora rubetis, ?
? t, quae deciderant patula Jovis arbore, glandes.
* 10.
Ver erat aeternum; placidique tepentibus auris
Mulcebant Zephyri natos sine semine flores.
11-
Mox etiam fruges tellus inarata ferebat;
Nec renovatus ager gravidis canebat aristis.
12.
Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant;
Flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella.
13.
Postquam, Saturno tenebrosa in Tartara misso,"
Sub Jove mundus erat, subiit argentea proles,
Auro deterior, fulvo pretiosior aere.
1*.
Jupiter antiqui contraxit tempora veris,
Perque hyemes, aestusque, et inaequales autumtios,
Et breve ver, spatiis exegit quatuor annum.
15.
Tum primum siccis, aer, fervoribus ustus,
Canduit; et ventis glacies astricta pependit.
Tum primum subiere domos; domus antra fuerunt,
16.
Et densi frutices, et vinctae cortice virgae.
Semina tum primum longis Cerealia sulcis
Obruta sunt, pressique jugo gemuere juvenci.
OVIB.
Lai. Pr. D
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? 38 EXERCISES IN
CHAPTER III--Pentameter.
A pentameter verse is generally divided in scanning
into two parts, the first of which consists of two feet,
which are either dactyls or spondees, followed by a long
syllable; the latter part is always composed of two dactyls
followed by another long syllable; as
Ipse juibet morjtis | te mSmT|nIssS DS|us.
Da venilam; propS! rat | vlverS | nemo sa]tis.
Sit nox | cum som|n6; | sit sine | litS di|es. Mart.
This is the most common, but not the most correct mode of
scanning this species of verse. A pentameter properly consists,
as its name implies, of five feet, of which the first two are either
dactyls or spondees, the third a spondee, and the fourth and fifth
anapaests or dactyls reversed. Ajrceably to this division, the last
of the preceding lines would be scanned thus,
Sit nox | cum soni|uo; tit I ting IT)re fiies.
The term pentameter is derived from nivre, five, and f*'vo>>, a
measure. This kind of verse is sometimes termed elegiac, because
it is generally employed by the poets in elegiac and similar compo-
sitions. It is however seldom or never used alone in a poem, but
is intermixed with hexameters, and sometimes with other
measures.
In the exercises in. this work, and indeed in poetry in genera),
a pentameter may be distinguished from a hexameter verse by the
first word being printed somewhat within the boundary of the
page, and consequently not beginning in a line with the other
verses; thus in the exercises, which immediately follow, every al-
ternate line is a pentameter; the others are hexameters.
EXERCISES.
1.
~, Ariadne Theseo,
Quae legis ex illo, Theseu, tibi littore mitto,
Unde tuam sine' me vela tulere ratem.
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? /
SCANNING. 99
2. J- ? ' -' ?
Tempus erat, vitrea quo primum terra pruina
Spargitur, et tectae fronde queruntur aves.
3.
Luna fuit: specto si quid nisi littora cernam;
Quod videant, oculi nil nisi littus habent.
*? ''
Nunc huc, nunc illuc, et utrdque sine ordine curro;
Alta puellares tardat arena pedes.
Mons fuit; apparent frutices in vertice rari;
Nunc scopulus raucis pendet adesus, aquis
5.
Ascendo; vires animus dabat; atque ita late
JEquora prospectu metior alta meo'.
Inde ego, nam ventis quoque sum crudelibus usa,
Vidi'praecipiti carbasa tenta noto.
6.
"Quo fugis? " exclamo, "scelerate, revertere, Theseu:
Flecte ratem; numerum non habet ilia suum. "
Haec ego; quod voci deerat, plangore replebam:
Verbera cum verbis mista fuere meis. .
7.
Quid faciam? quo sola ferar? vacat insula cultu:
Non hominum video, non ego facta boum.
Qmne latus terrae cingit mare. Navita nusquam;
Nulla per ambiguas puppis itura vias.
8.
Occurrunt animo pereundi mille figurae;
Morsque minus pcena;, quam mora mortis habet.
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? *(C) EXERCISES IN
Jam, jam venturos aut hac, aut suspicor iliac,
Qui lanient avido viscera dente, lupos:
9.
Forsitan et fulvos tellus alat ista leones;
Quis scit an haec saevas tigridas insula habet?
Et freta dicuntur magnas expellere phocas-.
Quid vetat et gladios per latus ire meum?
,10.
Si mare,, si terras, porrectaque littora vidi,
Multa mihi terra, multa minantur aquae.
Ccelum restabat: timeo simulacra deorum.
Destituor rapidis praeda cibusque feris.
11.
Ergo ego nec lacrymas matris moritura videbo?
Nec, mea qui digitis lumina condat, erit?
Spiritus infelix peregrinas ibit in auras?
Nec positos artus unget amica manus?
12.
Ossa superstabunt volucres inhumata marinx?
Haec sunt officiis digna sepulcra meis?
Ibis Cecropios portus; patriaque receptus
Cum steteris urbis celsus in arce tuae,
. IS.
Et bene narraris lethum taurique virique,
Sectaque per dubias saxea tecta vias,
Me quoque narrato sola tellure relictam.
Non ego sum titulis surripienda tuis.
Nec pater est jEgeus; nec tu Pittheidos ^ithrx
Filius: auctores saxa fretumquetui.
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? SCANNING. 41
14.
Dl facerent, ut me summa de puppe videres!
Movisset vultus mcesta figura tuos.
Nunc quoque non oculis, sed, qua potes, aspice mente
Haerentem scopulo, quern vaga pulsat aqua.
Aspice demissos lugentis in ore capillos;
Et tunicas lacrymis, sicut ab imbre, graves.
15.
Corpus, ut impulse segetes Aquilonibus, horret;
Litteraque articulo pressa tremente labat.
Non te per meritum, quoniam male cessit, adoro;
Debita sit facto gratia nulla meo;
Sed nec pcena quidem; si non ego causa salutis,
Non tamen est, cur sis tu mihi causa necis.
16.
Has tibi, plangendo lugubria pectora lassas,
Infelix tendo trans freta longa manus.
Hos tibi, qui superant, ostendo mcesta capillos.
Per lacrymas oro, quas tua facta movent,
Flecte ratem, Theseu, versoque relabere velo.
Si prius occidero, tu tamen ossa leges.
PART III.
VERSIFICATION.
CHAPTER I. --Cjesura.
C/? SCRA is a division or separation of a foot, occasioned by
the syllables, of which it is composed, belonging to differ-
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? 42 EXERCISES IN
ent words: it is a term applied also to the last syllable or
two last syllables of a word, when they form the first part
of a foot.
The word casura is derived from Caedo, casus, to cut off; its use
has been adopted in versification either because the syllable, to
which it is applied, is divided or cut oft' from the other syllables in
the word by the termination of the preceding foot, or because the
foot, in which the cfesura takes place, is divided or separated, being
composed of syllables belonging to different words.
The beauty of a verse depends in a great measure on the c<esura.
It connects with each other the different words, of which the
line is composed, and gives to it smoothness and harmony. It must
not therefore be considered merely as an ornament, but as an es-
sential requisite of every hexameter and pentameter verse. A line,
in which it is neglected, is not only destitute of all poetic beauty,
but can hardly be distinguished from prose, and unless on peculiar
occasions, in which harmony is designedly avoided, it is not admis-
sible into Latin poetry.
There are three kinds of caesura, the syllabic, the tro-
chaic, and the monosyllabic.
The syllabic caesura is that, in which the first part of
the divided foot consists of the last syllable of a word; as
Sylves\trem tenu|7 mu|sam mSdi|ta"rls a|vena. Virg.
The syllabic appears to be the principal caesura in Latin versifi-
cation, and but few harmonious lines can be found, in which it is
not introduced. If the ancients did not consider it indispensably
necessary, it is evident that they seldom ventured to write a verse
without it.
The syllabic caesura may take place in a heroic verse
at the triemimeris, penthemimeris, hephthemimeris, and
sometimes at the ennehimeris; as
Si ca. m\mus syl|yas, syl|u2e sint | consiile | dignae.
HiS \i\tm nh%\um mol|/I fu\\tus hya|clnth6. Virg.
The ancient grammarian; generally divided every line into half
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? VERSIFICATION. *S
feet, and from this division the preceding names have been intro-
duced. The triemimeris is that portion of a verse, which contains
its three first half feet; the penthemimeris is the part, which con-
tains five half feet; the hephthemimeris that, which contains
seven; and the ennehimeris that, which comprises nine half
feet.
The trochaic caesura is that, in which the first part of
the divided foot consists either of a long and short sylla-
ble remaining at the end of a word, or of an entire word
comprised of one long and one short syllable; as
? brtu\natus St | tile, de|os qui | novit a|grestes. Virg.
Although one syllabic caesura at least generally occurs in every
hexameter verse, yet the trochaic has nearly the same metrical
effect, and often appears to be the principal ca;sura in the verse;
as
Fata vo|cant ci)i\\ditque na|tantia | lumina | somnus. Virg.
In Horace and Virgil, about twenty lines may be found, in which
the trochaic caesura only occurs, and which are still not deficient in
harmony: as
Spargens ] humidi | mella s6|p6rife|rumque pS|pavSr. Viae
The trochaic caesura may take place in either of the first
five feet of a verse, but two successive trochaics must not
occur in the second and third, or in the third and fourth
feet; as
Talia | voce relfert, b\terque <\u2. \terque be^ati.
Arma pro|cul cur]rusque vT|rum mi[ratur X|nanes.
Alba Yi\gustra ca|dunt, vac|cinia | nigra lelguntiir.
Virg. ,
The monosyllabic ctesura is that, in which the first syl-
lable of the divided foot is a monosyllable; as
Hie Yir hic | est tTbi | quern prolmitti | sxpius | audis.
Virg.
The preceding is one of the few lines, in which no ca-sr. ra but
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? 44 EXERCISES IK
the monosyllabic occurs; the metrical effect of this caesura is by no
means so great as that of the syllabic or trochaic, hut many in-
stances may be found, in which it appears to be the principal
ciesura in the verse.
A caesura is not indispensably necessary in every foot of
si verse. Those lines, in which it most frequently occurs,
generally appear to be the most poetical, but for the sake
of that variety without which the most harmonious ar-
rangement 'of words would, soon become tedious, the
caesura is often omitted in one or more of the feet, and its
situation is frequently varied.
In the first foot of a verse, the caesura may generally be
omitted; as
Pasto|res ovi|um tene|ros de'pellere | fcetus.
Pauperis | It tugii|ri con]gestum | cespTte | culmen-
Virg.
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 to leave a caesural syllable in the next foot; as
Squamea | convol\vens sub|lato | pectore J terga.
Virg.
The frequent recurrence of the verb Nescio as a dactyl, and of
the prepositions Inter and intra as spondees, forming the second
foot, appears on the first view to be inconsistent with the preced-
ing 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
? pronounced, and consequently regarded in versification, as though
they were written Inteise, and Nescio quis as though written
Nescioquis. A similar connection is not unusual in English
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? VERSIFICATION. 45
woids; thus Some body, is pronounced somebody; No body,
nobody; Can not, cannot.
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 foot : when this omission of the caesura at
the penthemimeris takes place, the third foot generally
consists of the two or three first syllables of a word, which
is finished in the next foot; as
Jussa mo|<< quae | sdrtl\tus non J perttflft | ullos.
VlRG.
In the fourth foot the caesura is not necessary, if there
is one at the penthemimeris; as
Pinguis St | Ingra|Ai preme|retur | caseus | urbi.
? VlRG.
The syllabic and monosyllabic caesuras are seldom in-
troduced after the fourth foot, but the trochaic often oc-
curs at the ennehimeris, and is in most instances conducive
to the harmony of the line; as
Saepe lelvl som|num sua|debit in|7re su|surro.
Hinc al|ta sub | rupe cajnet fron|(7a<or ad | auras.
VlRG.
When there is but one caesura in a verse, it is generally
in the third foot, sometimes in the fourth, but never in
the second; as
Quem mea | carminiliiis merallsset | fistula | caprum.
VlRG.
In a pentameter verse, a syllabic caesura generally takes
place at the penthemimeris, and a trochaic in the foot
preceding the final syllable in the second hemistich or
half verse; as
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? *6 EXERCISES IN
Nec queerer tar|<ios ( Ire re|llcta di|es.
Nil mihi | rescri|fow | attamen | Ipse velnl. Ovid.
There is sometimes a monosyllabic caesura at the pen-
themimeris of a pentameter, when the preceding word is
a monosyllable; as
Magna ta|men spes. | est | in boni|tatS de|I. Ovid.
The trochaic caesura 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; as
Lis est | cum for|ma [ magna pu\dicit)\ee. Ovid.
The syllabic caesura sometimes lengthens a short sylla-
ble; as
Pectori|6Ss mhi|ans spi|rantia | consutft | exta. Virg.
The questions in the first eight of the following exer-
cises are designed to be answered by the pupil: the remain-
ing exercises in this chapter consist of lines, to which the
preceding observations on the casura are to be applied, and
which may be formed into hexameter or pentameter verses,
by a change of the position of one word in each line.
EXERCISES.
i
1.
What is meant by caesura?
Is attention to the caesura indispensably necessary in
Latin versification?
What are the principal advantages resulting from the
caesura?
How many kinds of caesura are there? Mention them.
: :. 2.
What is the syllabic caesura?
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? VERSIFICATION. *7
"What caesura is termed trochaic?
What is a monosyllabic caesura?
How many syllabic caesuras are there in the following
line from Virgil;
Sic positae quoniam suaves miscetis odores i
3.
Are the caesuras in the following line from Virgil syl-
labic or trochaic caesuras;
Lumina labentem ccelo quae ducitis annum i
Which is considered the principal caesura in Latin
poetry?
What part of a hexameter line is termed the triemimeris?
What part of the following line from Virgil is the pen-
themimcris;
Et jam summa procul villarum culmina fumant i
4.
. How many half-feet are comprised in the ennehimeris,
and how many in the hephthemimeris?
In how many feet of a hexameter may the syllabic
caesura occur f
In what parts of a heroic verse is the trochaic caesura
found?
In what feet are two successive trochaic caesuras ob-
. jectionable?
5.
Why are the following verses from Ennius objectionable;
Ergo magisque magisque viri nunc gloria claret;
'Prudentem qui multa loquive tacereve posset I
In what respect is the following line from Ennius de-
fective;
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? 48 EXERCISES IN
Sparsis hastis late campus splendet et horret?
Is a caesura necessary in every foot of a verse?
Does a caesura always occur in the first foot of a hexame-
ter?
6.
Of what does the second foot of a verse generally con-
sist when a caesura does not take place in it?
In what feet of the following line from Virgil is the
syllabic caesura omitted;
Cognatique patres tua terris didita fama?
When the caesura is omitted in the third foot, in which
of the other feet in the line is it generally found?
When may the caesura be omitted in the fourth foot?
7.
Which of the caesuras may properly be introduced in
the fifth foot of a hexameter?
What objection may be made to the following line from
Lucretius;
Corporibus caecis igitur natura gerit res?
When there is only one caesura in a verse, in which
foot is it generally found?
In what part of a pentameter does the trochaic caesura
generally occur?
8. *
What caesura generally takes place at thejjenthemimeris
of a pentameter verse?
When may a monosyllable be admitted at the penthe-
mimeris of a pentameter?
How is a pentameter verse concluded, if the trochaic
caesura in the last hemistich is omitted?
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? VERSIFICATION. 49
What short syllable is lengthened by the caesura in the
following line from Virgil;
Dona dehinc auro gravia sectoque elephanto?
9.
Ipse dei clypeus terra cum ima tollitur,
Mane rubet; rubet terraque, cum cohditur ima.
10.
En, proles antiqua redit; virtus, Concordia,
Cumque fide pietas cervice alta vagantur.
11.
Robora nec cuneis, olentem scindere et cedrum,
Nec plaustris cessant vectare ornos gementibus.
12.
Sponte juvenco tuus florebit ager cessante;
Oblatas mirabitur incola ditior messes.
13.
Non propter vitam quidam faciunt patrimonia,
Vitio caeci, sed propter patrimonia vivunt.
14.
Sol fugit, et removent subeuntia ccelum nubila,
Et efFusis, gravis decidit imber, aquis.
15.
Quod si quis monitis aures tardas adverterit,
Heu, referet quanto mea verba dolore!
16.
Arte laborata e puppes vincuntur ab aquore. *
Tu tua brachia plus remis posse putes?
Lot. Pr. E
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? 50 EXERCISES IK
17.
Casta placent superis; venite purl cum veste,
Et manibus puris sumite aquam fontis.
18.
Corpora sive flamma rogus, seu tabe vetustas
Abstulerit, posse pati non ulla mala putetis.
19.
Multa dies, variusque mutabilis aevi labor,
In melius rettulit, multos alterna revisent
Lusit, et in solido fortuna rursus locavit.
20.
Alternis idem cessare tonsas novates,
Et patiere segnem situ durescere campum;
Aut ibi flava, mutato sidere, seres farra.
21.
Lucus erat nunquam violatus ab longo sevo,
Obscurum aera cingens connexis ramis,
Et gelidas umbras, alte summotis solibus.
22.
Interea colat pax arva; pax Candida primum
Duxit sub juga curra araturos boves.
Nitent pace bidens vomerque; at tristia duri
Militis situs in tenebris occupat arma.
-23.
Non domus et fundus, non acervus aeris et auri
Deduxit aegroto domini corpore febres,
Non animo curas. Oportet valeat possessor,
Si uti comportatis rebus bene cogitat.
24.
Hlc sedes augusta deae, colendi templique
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? VERSIFICATION. 51
Silex religiosa, densis quam pinus obumbrat
Frondibus, et procella nulla lucos agitante,
Rami stridula coniferi modulantur carmina.
CHAPTER II. --ARRANGEMENT OP WORDS.
1 he principal rules for the arrangement of words in Latin
prose are applicable also to the composition of verse;
but the language of poetry admits of a much greater
variety of inversion than the language of prose, and con-
sequently of a more frequent deviation from the general
laws of position.
As the introduction of the general rules for the position of
words in a sentence could contribute but little to the utility of
this work, they have not been inserted. Lyne's Latin Primtr
affords a summary of these rules, but a more comprehensive
statement of them may be found in Grant's Grammar and Valpy's
Elegantia Latina.
An adjective is generally placed in poetry before one or
more words, which intervene between it and its substan-
tive; it is sometimes found immediately after the noun, to
which it relates, and sometimes immediately before it; and
it occasionally occurs in other situations; as
Dumosa pendere procul de rupe videbo.
Carmina nulla canam; non, me pascente, capellae,
Florentem cytisum et salices carpetis amaras. Virg.
When two adjectives are introduced in the same verse,
they are most commonly placed together in the beginning
of the line; as
Agrestem tenui meditabor arundine musam. Virc.
When an adjective is peculiarly emphatic, it is elegantly
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? S2 EXERCISES IN
placed at a considerable distance after its substantive, and
sometimes in the beginning of the following line; as,
Vox quoque per lucos vulgo exaudita silentes
Ingens, et simulacra modis pallentia miris. Virg.
Prepositions are often placed in poetry after the noun,
which they govern, and are sometimes separated from the
words, with which they are compounded, and placed in a
different part of the verse; as
Spemque metumque inter dubii seu vivere credant.
Ter conatus ibi collo dare brachia circum. Virg.
The compounds Quicunque, quisnam, priusquam, with
a few other compound words, are sometimes divided by
the figure tmesis; as
Qui te cunque manent isto certamine casus. Virg.
Although each of the four first feet in a hexameter
verse may be either a dactyl or a spondee, yet the greatest
harmony generally results from a judicious intermixture
of both these kinds of feet. This variety, however, is
often neglected, and sometimes with an expressive and
striking effect. It may in general be observed that light-
ness, rapidity, or confusion may be expressed the most
forcibly by dactyls, and slowness, grief, or dignity, by
spondees; as .
Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas.
Cara deum soboles, magnum Jovis incrementum.
ViRC.
A sentence is most commonly completed in every dis-
tich or two lines of pentameter or elegiac poetry, but the
elegance of hexameters is increased, when neither a sen-
tence nor the clause of a sentence is finished with the
verse, and when each line through several successive
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