The Length or
Quantity
of Syllables ,
3d.
3d.
Latin - Casserly - Complete System of Latin Prosody
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ark:/13960/t6m041t73 Public Domain / http://www.
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org/access_use#pd
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? GIFT or
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? Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007 with funding from
Microsoft Corporation
http://www. archive. org/details/completesystemofOOcassrich
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? A
COMPLETE SYSTEM
OP
LATIN PROSODY;
FOR THE USE OF
SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND PRIVATE LEARNERS;
ON A PLAN ENTIRELY NEW:
BY PATRICK S. CASSERLY,
Formerly Principal of the Chrestomathic Institution ,<<and Aythoi of " A Translation
of Jacobs' Greek Reader;" of "A New Literal Traftsfatidh Of Longinus on
the Sublime ;" of " The Little Garden of Rose? ,r,nd VtfflejJ of Lilies,"
from the original Latin of Thomas a Kempis, &c, &c.
SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND IMPROVED.
Scandere qui nescis, versiculos laceras. -- Claudian.
NEW YORK:
WILLIAM E. DEAN, No. 2 ANN STREET.
1847.
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? Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847,
BY WILLIAM E. DEAN,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States
for the Southern District of New York.
QQa^^^AVwxa^ v
STEREOTYPED BY THOMAS B. SMITH
516 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK
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? TO
THE KEY. JAMES R. BAYLEY, A. M. ,
VICE PRESIDENT OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, NEW YORK,
THIS LITTLE WORK,
INTENDED TO FACILITATE AN ACQUAINTANCE WITH
THE BEAUTIES OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE,
IS DEDICATED,
AS A TOKEN OF ESTEEM,
BY THE AUTHOR.
50401
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? PREFACE.
Among the most highly polished nations, whether of ancient or
of modern times, a knowledge of Latin Prosody has ever been re-
garded as a qualification, indispensable to every one claiming the
reputation of a classical scholar. And, considering the intimate
connexion subsisting between the knowledge of a learned language,
-- particularly of one so marvellously metrical as the Latin, -- and
that of its Prosody, this cannot seem strange : because without
the latter, the former is, in some degree, unattainable, or at least
imperfect.
With the single exception of the Greek, probably no language
in the world can boast a versification, approximating that of the
stately Roman. In beauty, sweetness, and melody, it is unrivalled :
-- in the admirable arrangement of its vowels and consonants, it is
the perfection of art: -- while the harmonious and ever varying re-
currence of long and short syllables (in strict accordance with the
nicest principles of music), has rendered Latin verse, for more than
two thousand years, the purest standard of rhythmical and poetic
excellence. To the most casual observer, then, it must be evident,
that a knowledge of the Prosody regulating the accentuation as
well as the pronunciation of this rich, majestic, and mellifluous
tongue, is, with the classical scholar, not merely a matter of choice
but of necessity.
No one certainly can pretend to fully understand a language
which he cannot correctly read : but no one can read the sonorous
and musical language of ancient Rome, without a thorough ac-
quaintance with its Prosody; it thence follows that a knowledge
of the latter is indispensable to a proper understanding of the for-
mer: yet how many are found among those calling themselves
classical scholars, who can scarcely read a page in Virgil or Ho-
race, much less of Homer, without perpetrating as many Prosodial
blunders as there are lines -- yea words -- in the page ! Why is
this? Why of all countries in the world, should the United States,
with the reputation of possessing the greatest number of colleges in
1*
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? VI PREFACE.
proportion to the population, suffer the imputation of producing
the worst Prosodians 1 Because in the United States, of ail coun-
tries of the world, the Prosody of the learned languages has not
received the attention which its importance demanded, or the more
finished classical studies of other countries required of either pro-
fessors or students. Another cause consequent on this -- the gene-
ral incompetence of teachers to impart a proper knowledge of its
rules or their application, has probably proved more injurious to
this branch of classical literature, than any other;-- in numberless
instances amounting to its partial neglect or even total desuetude:
for men too often affect to despise or undervalue what they can-
not appreciate or do not understand. From these and various other
causes,* not forgetting that too operative, utilitarian, cui bono prin-
ciple, which bears so powerful a sway over all studies and pursuits
on this side of the Atlantic, the cultivation of this elegant acquire-
ment has never received a due share of encouragement in the Uni-
ted States.
With the exception of two treatises by Professor Anthon, there
has been no work deserving of the name, published in this country.
One of these, however, was little more than a republication of the
well known work written in Latin by the learned Jesuit Alvarez ;
with a translation of the rules and some few trifling corrections, and
improvements : the other recently published, if not a more useful is
a far more elaborate production ; every way creditable to Professor
Anthon's high reputation as a profound scholar and an accom-
plished Prosodian.
But to the compiler as well as to many other classical teachers,
this latter, although a work of great merit and laborious research,
has always appeared defective in two great essentials; viz. , com-
prehensive brevity and educational permanency, both in its details
and mode of teaching. First, in "comprehensive brevity 1 ' -- a quali-
ty indispensable to all elementary works -- the rules and examples
are divided, broken up, and scattered into portions so far apart, that
before the pupil has arrived at the end of the rule and examples, the
commencement is not unfrequently forgotten: 2nd, in "educational
permanency" -- a quality of paramount necessity to the pupil, -- the
mode adopted of giving the rules in English only, and in isolated
paragraphs or sentences, often too loosely paraphrased -- is not cal-
culated to leave a permanent impression on the memory : which re-
quires the objects presented for its retention, in a form more tangi-
ble as well as more impressible.
Here the superiority of Latin Rules is manifest, -- presenting
within the shortest space, in regular Hexameter verse, and in form
calculated to leave an indelible impression on the mind of the Learner
* Enumerated in the course of the work.
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? PREFACE. Vil
? -- all that is requisite for the clear understanding of each rule and
its various exceptions.
To attempt in any other way to teach Latin Prosody soundly,
and with a view to permanent retention, must, in the vast majority
of cases, ever prove abortive: and in the course of the compiler's
experience, for more than twenty years as a teacher of classics, as
well in Europe as in America, he has never met a good Prosodian,
who had not been taught in this manner -- by rules brief but com-
prehensive, written in Latin Hexameter verse, with (or without) a
translation in the vernacular.
In the compilation of the present work, the author has taken care
to adapt it to either method -- that of teaching Latin Prosody by
Latin rules only or by English: whereas the translation appended
to each rule will suit the purpose of those who may prefer the lat-
ter ; so that the advocates of either can adopt that of his choice, or,
following the crede-experto advice of the compiler, make use of both
united.
The plan of the work is, nevertheless, different from any hitherto
published ; and, as it is believed, an improvement on all preceding
compilations, whether in Europe or in America. Wishing to ren-
der it as easy and as intelligible as possible to the tender capacity of
youth, as well as to raise it by regular gradation to the capacity and
comprehension of the more advanced, the compiler has. -- after giving
each rule in Latin Hexameter verse, followed in a sufficiently lite-
ral translation, -- 1st, exemplified not only the rule, but its various
exceptions and observations by single words only, without at this
stage embarrassing the student by examples in Hexameter or any
other kind of verse ; 2ndly, he has given Promiscuous Examples --
still by single words -- for exercising the learner in the rule under
consideration as well as on all the preceding rules without antici-
pating any subsequent; 3rdly, he has, for each rule, exception and
observation, given Examples in Composition, or in combination of
feet -- Hexameter* throughout (save in two or three unavoidable in-
stances); and 4thly, after the pupil will have, in this manner, gone
through not only the' Rules of Quantity, but the Figures of Proso-
dy, and the sections treating of Metre, Versification, and the Differ-
ent Kinds of Verse, the compiler has given at the end a Supplement
or Recapitulation, containing Examples of all the Rules of Quan-
tity, Figures of Prosody, and Different Kinds of Verse, requisite to
test the pupil's progress at the conclusion of the work.
In the text, little has been admitted not pertinent to the rule un-
der consideration ; in order that the student having nothing to un-
settle his eye or distract his attention, may afterwards more profit-
* Any other species, until the pupil had read and studied the sections on
Metre, Versification, and Different Kinds of Verse, being deemed anticipatory
and irrelevant.
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? Vlll PREFACE.
ably peruse the illustrations, derivations, or remarks thrown into
the notes in the margin. By the time the pupil has gone regularly
through this work, if carefully directed by a judicious teacher, it
may with all confidence be asserted that he will have acquired a
better, more extended, and enduring knowledge of the subject than
by any other compilation extant. And in order that this little trea-
tise may, in every point of view, be regarded as complete, Stir-
ling's excellent System of Rhetoric has been appended ; leaving
nothing to be desired in the formation of the perfect Prosodian.
The object of the compiler has been to collect within the shortest
space, what his own experience had long felt to be a desideratum --
A Compendious but Complete System of Latin Prosody; embracing
all that is necessary to impart a correct knowledge of this elegant
branch of classical study; -- in one word, to constitute the easiest,
the best, the most concise, and yet tlie most comprehensive Latin Proso-
dy ever published.
How far he has succeeded, remains with the public voice to de-
termine.
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? PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
The sale of one large Edition and the urgent demand for an-
other, in little more than twelve months, may be regarded as
ample criteria not only of the popularity of the work itself but
also of the growing taste of the public mind for a more accurate
cultivation of Classical studies.
In order to render it still further deserving of a patronage
rarely awarded in this or indeed in any country to a work of the
kind, the volume has been carefully revised and corrected through-
out; -- many false quantities, which had escaped observation in
the first edition, have been rectified, and some useful additions in-
corporated.
By the experienced Teacher, the elegant Scholar, and the
curious Student, these improvements will, it is presumed, be duly
appreciated.
To the Heads of Colleges, Schools, and Academies, by whom
his Complete System of Latin Prosody has been introduced and
adopted in their respective Institutions, the Author tenders his
thanks, and hopes that the care manifested in the preparation of
this second Edition, -- now stereotyped, will be received as a proof
of no illaudable anxiety to deserve a continuance of a patronage
already so liberally extended.
PATRICK S. CASSERLY.
New York : November, 1846.
f^ 3 A Second Part on Latin Versification, comprehending a
plain and easy method of constructing Latin Hexameters, Penta-
menters, Iambics, and other kinds of verse, is in course of pre-
paration. A copious Index to both First and Second Parts will be
given at the conclusion.
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? PROSODY.
SECTION I.
Prosody* is that part of grammar, which treats of
--1st. Accent ; 2d.
The Length or Quantity of Syllables ,
3d. The correct Pronunciation of Words : 4th. The dif-
ferent species of Verse ; and 5th. The Rules of Metrical
Composition.
Letters are divided into vowels and consonants. The
vowels are six: A, E, I, O, U, Y. From these are
formed nine diphthongs : M, AI, AU, EI, EU, (E, YI,
01, UI ; as in Prcemium, Maia, Aurum, Hei, Europa,
Pasna, Harpyia, Troia, Quis. Some of these, however^
are not, strictly speaking, proper diphthongs.
Consonants are divided into mutes and semivowels.
The mutes are eight: B, C, D,G, K,P, Q, T. The semi-
vowels are likewise eight : F, L, M, N, R, S, X, Z. Of
these semivowels, four, viz. L, M, N, R, are called liquids,
because they easily flow into, or, as it were, liquify with,
other letters! or sounds. F before the liquids L and R
has the force of a mute. Two of the semivowels are
also called double letters, X and Z : the X being equiva-
lent to CS, GS, or KS ; and Z having the force of DS or
SD. The letter H is not regarded in prosody as a letter
or consonant, but as a mere aspirate or breathing. The
letters I or J, and II or V placed before vowels, are
regarded as consonants : as, Janua, Jocus, Vita, Vultus.
* From two Greeks words irpo^ " according to," and wSrj, " song or mel-
ody. "
t With the mutes; for instance, when preceding them in the same syllable.
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? 2 ACCENT.
U generally loses its force after Q, and sometimes
after G and S ; as Aqua, Lingua, Suadeo : -- being, in
some measure, absorbed by, or liquified into, the letter
preceding. It sometimes, however, retains its force ; as,
Exiguus.
SECTION II.
OF ACCENT. *
Accents in Latin were little marks placed over words
to direct or distinguish the tone or inflection of the voice
in pronunciation. During the flourishing state of the
language, these tones or inflections were not marked in
books ; because the Romans, to whom usage and practice
had made them at once both natural and familiar, did not
require the aid of any such accentual guidance to the
proper enunciation of their native tongue :--Exempla
eorum tradi scripto non possunt -- says Quintilian. They
w r ere invented in after times to fix the pronunciation and
render its acquisition easy to foreigners.
Of these accents there were three; viz. , the acute,
marked thus ('), -- the grave, thus ( N ) -- and the circumflex,
thus ( A ) ; being the junction of the other two. The acute
w r as also called aqaig, because it elevates the syllable, as,
dominus ; the grave -- which is in reality the absence or
privation of accent -- is called &eoig, because it sinks or
depresses the syllable ; as docte ;t while the circumflex
both elevates and depresses it : as, amare.
These accents being invented solely to mark the tone,
elevation or depression of the voice, were not regarded
as signs of the quantity of syllables whether long or
short. In modern typography they have -- an occasional
* From accc7itum, wh. fr. ara. no, u I sing to. " or K in concert with. "
* The last syllable of Latin words (in dissyllables, &c. ,) never admits the
acute or circumflex, unless for the sake of distinction between words similar in
orthography but different in meaning : as ergo, " on account of. " to distinguish
it from ergo, " therefore ;" or pone, " behind," from pone, the imperative mood
of pdno. The grave is however supposed to be placed oyer the last syllable of
all words, dissyllables, &c, not thus excepted.
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? ACCENT.
use of the circumflex excepted-- been long generally-
omitted ; yet as the reading or the recitation of the Latin
language 'is, (or at least ought to be,) in some degree,
regulated by their influence whether marked or not, it
it has been considered necessary to give a few short rules
for their application.
MONOSYLLABLES :
1. If long by nature, are always supposed to have a
circumflex; as, flos, spes, 6s (oris), a, x: -- if short by-
nature or long by position, they are considered to have
an acute ? as, vir, 6s, (ossis,) fax, mens.
DISSYLLABLES *.
2. Having the first syllable long by nature and the
second short, have the circumflex on the first ; as, Roma,,
floris, luna : -- but if the first syllable is short by nature
or long by position, it takes the acute ; as, homo, parens,
insons.
POLYSYLLABLES :
3. With the penultimate long and the ultimate short,
require a circumflex on the former ; as, Romanus, Impe-
rator, Justinianus. If both penultimate and ultimate
be long, the penultimate takes the acute ; as, parentes,
amaverunt ; -- if the penultimate be short, then the
antepenultimate* has the acute; as, dominus, homines,
Virgilius.
Exception. \y"ords compounded with enclitics, such
* No mark or accent in Latin can be placed farther back than the antepenul-
timate ; because if three, four, or more syllables were to follow the accent, --
as, perficeremus, Constantinopolis -- they would come so huddled or confusedly
heaped on one another, as to be undistinguishable in cadence, by the ear : which,
as Cicero remarks, cannot well determine the accent unless by the last three
syllables of a word, in the same way as it determines the harmony of a period, by
the last three words in the sentence.
2
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? 4 QUANTITY.
as the particles, que, ne, ve, and some prepositions, as
cum, most commonly throw the accent on the last sylla-
ble preceding the adjunct particle or preposition ; as,
dmat, -- when followed by an enclitic -- becomes amdtque,
so also, lackrymdnsve, probetne ; nobis becomes nobiscum,
quibuscum, &c.
Observation. It may, nevertheless, admit of some
doubt, if this exception can hold good, unless where the
penultimate is long ; for instance in this line from Ovid --
Pronaque cum spectent animalia ccetera terram --
the accent must fall on the first, not on the last, syllable
of Prona, contrary to the commonly received opinion on
the power of the enclitics to attract the accent. Various
similar examples abound in the classics.
The foregoing are the only rules for accentuation, as
laid down by the old Roman grammarians, that have
reached our times, and which can, with any regard to
classical accuracy or elegance, be safely recommended
to the attention of the student. As to the barbarous
practice of attempting to anglicise the venerable and
majestic languages of Greece and Rome, by reading
them according to the laws and principles of modern
English accent, it is so absurd in the inception, so sub-
versive of all beauty, melody, and accuracy in recitation
of the classic authors, and so utterly destructive of all
distinction between accent and quantity, as to deserve
universal reprobation.
SECTION III.
OF THE QUANTITY OF SYLLABLES.
Quantity is distinct from accent though not inconsistent
with it. The former denotes the period of time occupied
in pronouncing a syllable ; the latter is used to signify a
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? QUANTITY. 5
peculiar tone, as above described, by which one syllable
in a word is distinguished from the rest. The one is
length or continuance, whether long or short, the other
is elevation or depression of sound, or both. *
The length or quantity of a syllable then is the dura-
tion of time occupied in pronouncing it. A syllable is
either short, long, or common. The length or quantity of
syllables is marked, as in the word amalb ; of which
the first syllable is sbort, the second long, and the third
common. A short syllable is pronounced rapidly; as,
concido, legere. A long syllable is pronounced slowly ; as,
concido, seddre. Hence, in the language of prosodians,
a short syllable is said to have one time and a long sylla-
ble, two times. A common or doubtful syllable is that
* In the great majority of the Classical Institutions throughout the United
States, it is to be regretted, that the practice of reading the ,aucient authors
according to accent alone -- not, however, the accent of the^ld Romans, but
modern English accent ! -- instead of by quantity, prevails to an extent likely to
prove injurious to the best interests of elegant literature. What, for instance,
can be more irreconcilable to classical purity of taste or correctness, than to find
in some of the most popular Latin grammars of the country, rules laid down in
which the pupil is gravely instructed to pronounce the i in parietes and muUeres
long ! because "it is accented and comes before another vowel! " -- and the i in
fides also long! because "it comes before a single consonant''! and this,
although he (the pupil) must then, or shortly know, that, in accordance with the
very first rule in Ins prosody, " A Vowel before a Vowel is short," and by another
rule that " Derivatives must follow the quantity of their Primitives ;" and that in
the entire Corpus Poetarum, he will not find a single instance in which the i in
any of these words is otherwise than short ? Is it then a matter of wonder to
find so few classical scholars in the United States taught in this preposterous
manner, who can read a page of Homer or Virgil prosodially ? Their incompe-
tence is the inevitable result of the perverted mode of teaching adopted ab limine :
inconsiderately endeavoring to reduce the laws of a dead language which have
been ascertained and fixed for centuries to those of a living and variable language
whose very accentuation and pronunciation are yet in a state of transition;
neither unchangeably fixed nor unalterably ascertained. Instead of rationally
teaching their pupils to read the exquisitely beautiful and wonderfully metrical
language of Greece or of Rome agreeably to its own laws and principles, as well
of quantity as of accent, most of our cisatlantic Professors endeavor with more
than Procrustean ingenuity (qu. cruelty ? ) to stretch or shorten it to the shifting
standard of their own immature and imperfect vernacular ! Would that these
gentlemen were more observant of the advice given by the great Roman orator : --
Atque ut Latine loquamur, non solum videndum est, ut et verba eiferamus ea
quee nemo jure reprehendat ; et ea sic et casibus, et temporibus, et genere, et
numero conservemus, ut nequid perturbatum ac discrepans aut praeposterum
sit ; sed etiam lingua, et spiritus, et vocis sonus est ipse moderandus. -- De Orat.
lib. iii.
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? 6 A VOWEL BEFORE A VOWEL.
which in poetry is sometimes long and sometimes short ;
as, italics or Italus, Papyrus or Papyrus, Vaticdnus or
Vaticd? ius, &c.
The quantity of syllables is determined either by es-
tablished rules or the authority of the poets. The last
syllable of a word is called the ultimate ; the last but
one, the penultimate ; the last but two, the antepenulti-
mate ; and the last but three, the prat-antepenultimate.
RULE I.
A Voivel before a Vowel.
Vocalem breviant, alia subeunte, Latini.
Produc, ni sequitur R,fio, et nomina quintae
Quae geminos casus, E longo, assumunt in -ei,
Verum E corripiunt^deique, speique, reique.
-lus commune est vati, tamen excipe alius,
Quod Crasisrtardat ; Pompei et caetera produc,
Et primae patrium cum sese solvit in -at ;
Protrahiturque eheu, sed w variatur et ohe.
Nomina Gragcorum certa sine lege vagantur :
Multa etenim longis, ceu Dlus, Dla, Thalia,
Quaedam autem brevibus, veluti Symphonia, gaudent ;
Quaedam etiam variant, veluti Diana, Diana.
A vowel before another vowel or a diphthong, is short ;
as. piier, patriot: or before h followed by a vowel; as,
nihil.
Exception 1. A vowel before a vowel is long in all
the tenses of Jio ; as, flebam; unless where the vowel
is followed by r, (or rather by er) ; &s,fierem*
Excep. 2. The genitives and datives singular of the
fifth declension make e long before i; as, diet: except
* Carey in his translation of the Latin rule says -- "when r follows, the i is
usually short ; -- and adduces five decisive examples where it is long: so that it
may, in some degree, be regarded a3 common. In no species of Dactylic verse
can it be ever found long.
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? A VOWEL BEFORE A VOWEL. 7
the e in spei, rei, fidli. In the last two words, it is
sometimes ong; as, rei, fidei.
Excep. 3. Genitives in ius have the i long in prose,
but common in poetry ; as, unius : the word alterius how-
ever has the i always short ; alius always long -- being
formed by Crasis* from aliius.
Excep. 4. Proper names, as, Caius, Pompeius, have
the vowel a or e long before i : the a is also long in the
old genitives and datives, aulai, terrai.
Excep. 5. In ohe and Diana, the vowel in the first
syllable is common : in eheu and lo [a proper name] it
is long; but to the interjection, follows the general rule.
Excep, 6. In many other words derived from the
Greek, a vowel though immediately followed by another,
is long ; as, Orion, air.
IE? 5 Foreign or barbarous words introduced into the
Latin language, are not subject to any invariable rule.
Prudentius lengthens the first a in Baal, while Sedulius
shortens it. Sidonius lengthens the penultimate vowel
in Abraham, while Arator shortens it. Christian poets
also make the a before e in Israel, Michael, Raphael, &c,
&c, sometimes long, and sometimes short.
EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE BY SINGLE WORDS.
On Rule: -- Audii'sse, aurese, mihi : -- On Exceptions:
1. Hunt, fierent; 2. speciei, diei ; 3. totlus, nulHus ; 4,
Vultei'us, Grai'us, pictai; 5. ohe, eheu; 6. Clio, chorea. t
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Rule -- Conscia mens recti fama mendacia ridet. Ovid.
Musa, mihi causas memora; quo numine Iceso. Virg.
Exc. T. Omnia jam fient, fieri quce posse negabam. Ovid.
2. Nunc adeo, melior quoniam pars acta diei. Virg.
* Derived from xpams (fr. vspdeo, or Kspiwvin), " a mingling,"-- in grammar--
* a blending of two letters into one. " t The e in chorea is common.
2*
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? GIFT or
1
r
C^<^
C^M4
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? ? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-26 11:55 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc2. ark:/13960/t6m041t73 Public Domain / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd
? Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007 with funding from
Microsoft Corporation
http://www. archive. org/details/completesystemofOOcassrich
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? A
COMPLETE SYSTEM
OP
LATIN PROSODY;
FOR THE USE OF
SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND PRIVATE LEARNERS;
ON A PLAN ENTIRELY NEW:
BY PATRICK S. CASSERLY,
Formerly Principal of the Chrestomathic Institution ,<<and Aythoi of " A Translation
of Jacobs' Greek Reader;" of "A New Literal Traftsfatidh Of Longinus on
the Sublime ;" of " The Little Garden of Rose? ,r,nd VtfflejJ of Lilies,"
from the original Latin of Thomas a Kempis, &c, &c.
SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND IMPROVED.
Scandere qui nescis, versiculos laceras. -- Claudian.
NEW YORK:
WILLIAM E. DEAN, No. 2 ANN STREET.
1847.
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? Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847,
BY WILLIAM E. DEAN,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States
for the Southern District of New York.
QQa^^^AVwxa^ v
STEREOTYPED BY THOMAS B. SMITH
516 WILLIAM STREET, NEW YORK
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? TO
THE KEY. JAMES R. BAYLEY, A. M. ,
VICE PRESIDENT OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, NEW YORK,
THIS LITTLE WORK,
INTENDED TO FACILITATE AN ACQUAINTANCE WITH
THE BEAUTIES OF THE LATIN LANGUAGE,
IS DEDICATED,
AS A TOKEN OF ESTEEM,
BY THE AUTHOR.
50401
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? PREFACE.
Among the most highly polished nations, whether of ancient or
of modern times, a knowledge of Latin Prosody has ever been re-
garded as a qualification, indispensable to every one claiming the
reputation of a classical scholar. And, considering the intimate
connexion subsisting between the knowledge of a learned language,
-- particularly of one so marvellously metrical as the Latin, -- and
that of its Prosody, this cannot seem strange : because without
the latter, the former is, in some degree, unattainable, or at least
imperfect.
With the single exception of the Greek, probably no language
in the world can boast a versification, approximating that of the
stately Roman. In beauty, sweetness, and melody, it is unrivalled :
-- in the admirable arrangement of its vowels and consonants, it is
the perfection of art: -- while the harmonious and ever varying re-
currence of long and short syllables (in strict accordance with the
nicest principles of music), has rendered Latin verse, for more than
two thousand years, the purest standard of rhythmical and poetic
excellence. To the most casual observer, then, it must be evident,
that a knowledge of the Prosody regulating the accentuation as
well as the pronunciation of this rich, majestic, and mellifluous
tongue, is, with the classical scholar, not merely a matter of choice
but of necessity.
No one certainly can pretend to fully understand a language
which he cannot correctly read : but no one can read the sonorous
and musical language of ancient Rome, without a thorough ac-
quaintance with its Prosody; it thence follows that a knowledge
of the latter is indispensable to a proper understanding of the for-
mer: yet how many are found among those calling themselves
classical scholars, who can scarcely read a page in Virgil or Ho-
race, much less of Homer, without perpetrating as many Prosodial
blunders as there are lines -- yea words -- in the page ! Why is
this? Why of all countries in the world, should the United States,
with the reputation of possessing the greatest number of colleges in
1*
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? VI PREFACE.
proportion to the population, suffer the imputation of producing
the worst Prosodians 1 Because in the United States, of ail coun-
tries of the world, the Prosody of the learned languages has not
received the attention which its importance demanded, or the more
finished classical studies of other countries required of either pro-
fessors or students. Another cause consequent on this -- the gene-
ral incompetence of teachers to impart a proper knowledge of its
rules or their application, has probably proved more injurious to
this branch of classical literature, than any other;-- in numberless
instances amounting to its partial neglect or even total desuetude:
for men too often affect to despise or undervalue what they can-
not appreciate or do not understand. From these and various other
causes,* not forgetting that too operative, utilitarian, cui bono prin-
ciple, which bears so powerful a sway over all studies and pursuits
on this side of the Atlantic, the cultivation of this elegant acquire-
ment has never received a due share of encouragement in the Uni-
ted States.
With the exception of two treatises by Professor Anthon, there
has been no work deserving of the name, published in this country.
One of these, however, was little more than a republication of the
well known work written in Latin by the learned Jesuit Alvarez ;
with a translation of the rules and some few trifling corrections, and
improvements : the other recently published, if not a more useful is
a far more elaborate production ; every way creditable to Professor
Anthon's high reputation as a profound scholar and an accom-
plished Prosodian.
But to the compiler as well as to many other classical teachers,
this latter, although a work of great merit and laborious research,
has always appeared defective in two great essentials; viz. , com-
prehensive brevity and educational permanency, both in its details
and mode of teaching. First, in "comprehensive brevity 1 ' -- a quali-
ty indispensable to all elementary works -- the rules and examples
are divided, broken up, and scattered into portions so far apart, that
before the pupil has arrived at the end of the rule and examples, the
commencement is not unfrequently forgotten: 2nd, in "educational
permanency" -- a quality of paramount necessity to the pupil, -- the
mode adopted of giving the rules in English only, and in isolated
paragraphs or sentences, often too loosely paraphrased -- is not cal-
culated to leave a permanent impression on the memory : which re-
quires the objects presented for its retention, in a form more tangi-
ble as well as more impressible.
Here the superiority of Latin Rules is manifest, -- presenting
within the shortest space, in regular Hexameter verse, and in form
calculated to leave an indelible impression on the mind of the Learner
* Enumerated in the course of the work.
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? PREFACE. Vil
? -- all that is requisite for the clear understanding of each rule and
its various exceptions.
To attempt in any other way to teach Latin Prosody soundly,
and with a view to permanent retention, must, in the vast majority
of cases, ever prove abortive: and in the course of the compiler's
experience, for more than twenty years as a teacher of classics, as
well in Europe as in America, he has never met a good Prosodian,
who had not been taught in this manner -- by rules brief but com-
prehensive, written in Latin Hexameter verse, with (or without) a
translation in the vernacular.
In the compilation of the present work, the author has taken care
to adapt it to either method -- that of teaching Latin Prosody by
Latin rules only or by English: whereas the translation appended
to each rule will suit the purpose of those who may prefer the lat-
ter ; so that the advocates of either can adopt that of his choice, or,
following the crede-experto advice of the compiler, make use of both
united.
The plan of the work is, nevertheless, different from any hitherto
published ; and, as it is believed, an improvement on all preceding
compilations, whether in Europe or in America. Wishing to ren-
der it as easy and as intelligible as possible to the tender capacity of
youth, as well as to raise it by regular gradation to the capacity and
comprehension of the more advanced, the compiler has. -- after giving
each rule in Latin Hexameter verse, followed in a sufficiently lite-
ral translation, -- 1st, exemplified not only the rule, but its various
exceptions and observations by single words only, without at this
stage embarrassing the student by examples in Hexameter or any
other kind of verse ; 2ndly, he has given Promiscuous Examples --
still by single words -- for exercising the learner in the rule under
consideration as well as on all the preceding rules without antici-
pating any subsequent; 3rdly, he has, for each rule, exception and
observation, given Examples in Composition, or in combination of
feet -- Hexameter* throughout (save in two or three unavoidable in-
stances); and 4thly, after the pupil will have, in this manner, gone
through not only the' Rules of Quantity, but the Figures of Proso-
dy, and the sections treating of Metre, Versification, and the Differ-
ent Kinds of Verse, the compiler has given at the end a Supplement
or Recapitulation, containing Examples of all the Rules of Quan-
tity, Figures of Prosody, and Different Kinds of Verse, requisite to
test the pupil's progress at the conclusion of the work.
In the text, little has been admitted not pertinent to the rule un-
der consideration ; in order that the student having nothing to un-
settle his eye or distract his attention, may afterwards more profit-
* Any other species, until the pupil had read and studied the sections on
Metre, Versification, and Different Kinds of Verse, being deemed anticipatory
and irrelevant.
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? Vlll PREFACE.
ably peruse the illustrations, derivations, or remarks thrown into
the notes in the margin. By the time the pupil has gone regularly
through this work, if carefully directed by a judicious teacher, it
may with all confidence be asserted that he will have acquired a
better, more extended, and enduring knowledge of the subject than
by any other compilation extant. And in order that this little trea-
tise may, in every point of view, be regarded as complete, Stir-
ling's excellent System of Rhetoric has been appended ; leaving
nothing to be desired in the formation of the perfect Prosodian.
The object of the compiler has been to collect within the shortest
space, what his own experience had long felt to be a desideratum --
A Compendious but Complete System of Latin Prosody; embracing
all that is necessary to impart a correct knowledge of this elegant
branch of classical study; -- in one word, to constitute the easiest,
the best, the most concise, and yet tlie most comprehensive Latin Proso-
dy ever published.
How far he has succeeded, remains with the public voice to de-
termine.
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? PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
The sale of one large Edition and the urgent demand for an-
other, in little more than twelve months, may be regarded as
ample criteria not only of the popularity of the work itself but
also of the growing taste of the public mind for a more accurate
cultivation of Classical studies.
In order to render it still further deserving of a patronage
rarely awarded in this or indeed in any country to a work of the
kind, the volume has been carefully revised and corrected through-
out; -- many false quantities, which had escaped observation in
the first edition, have been rectified, and some useful additions in-
corporated.
By the experienced Teacher, the elegant Scholar, and the
curious Student, these improvements will, it is presumed, be duly
appreciated.
To the Heads of Colleges, Schools, and Academies, by whom
his Complete System of Latin Prosody has been introduced and
adopted in their respective Institutions, the Author tenders his
thanks, and hopes that the care manifested in the preparation of
this second Edition, -- now stereotyped, will be received as a proof
of no illaudable anxiety to deserve a continuance of a patronage
already so liberally extended.
PATRICK S. CASSERLY.
New York : November, 1846.
f^ 3 A Second Part on Latin Versification, comprehending a
plain and easy method of constructing Latin Hexameters, Penta-
menters, Iambics, and other kinds of verse, is in course of pre-
paration. A copious Index to both First and Second Parts will be
given at the conclusion.
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? PROSODY.
SECTION I.
Prosody* is that part of grammar, which treats of
--1st. Accent ; 2d.
The Length or Quantity of Syllables ,
3d. The correct Pronunciation of Words : 4th. The dif-
ferent species of Verse ; and 5th. The Rules of Metrical
Composition.
Letters are divided into vowels and consonants. The
vowels are six: A, E, I, O, U, Y. From these are
formed nine diphthongs : M, AI, AU, EI, EU, (E, YI,
01, UI ; as in Prcemium, Maia, Aurum, Hei, Europa,
Pasna, Harpyia, Troia, Quis. Some of these, however^
are not, strictly speaking, proper diphthongs.
Consonants are divided into mutes and semivowels.
The mutes are eight: B, C, D,G, K,P, Q, T. The semi-
vowels are likewise eight : F, L, M, N, R, S, X, Z. Of
these semivowels, four, viz. L, M, N, R, are called liquids,
because they easily flow into, or, as it were, liquify with,
other letters! or sounds. F before the liquids L and R
has the force of a mute. Two of the semivowels are
also called double letters, X and Z : the X being equiva-
lent to CS, GS, or KS ; and Z having the force of DS or
SD. The letter H is not regarded in prosody as a letter
or consonant, but as a mere aspirate or breathing. The
letters I or J, and II or V placed before vowels, are
regarded as consonants : as, Janua, Jocus, Vita, Vultus.
* From two Greeks words irpo^ " according to," and wSrj, " song or mel-
ody. "
t With the mutes; for instance, when preceding them in the same syllable.
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? 2 ACCENT.
U generally loses its force after Q, and sometimes
after G and S ; as Aqua, Lingua, Suadeo : -- being, in
some measure, absorbed by, or liquified into, the letter
preceding. It sometimes, however, retains its force ; as,
Exiguus.
SECTION II.
OF ACCENT. *
Accents in Latin were little marks placed over words
to direct or distinguish the tone or inflection of the voice
in pronunciation. During the flourishing state of the
language, these tones or inflections were not marked in
books ; because the Romans, to whom usage and practice
had made them at once both natural and familiar, did not
require the aid of any such accentual guidance to the
proper enunciation of their native tongue :--Exempla
eorum tradi scripto non possunt -- says Quintilian. They
w r ere invented in after times to fix the pronunciation and
render its acquisition easy to foreigners.
Of these accents there were three; viz. , the acute,
marked thus ('), -- the grave, thus ( N ) -- and the circumflex,
thus ( A ) ; being the junction of the other two. The acute
w r as also called aqaig, because it elevates the syllable, as,
dominus ; the grave -- which is in reality the absence or
privation of accent -- is called &eoig, because it sinks or
depresses the syllable ; as docte ;t while the circumflex
both elevates and depresses it : as, amare.
These accents being invented solely to mark the tone,
elevation or depression of the voice, were not regarded
as signs of the quantity of syllables whether long or
short. In modern typography they have -- an occasional
* From accc7itum, wh. fr. ara. no, u I sing to. " or K in concert with. "
* The last syllable of Latin words (in dissyllables, &c. ,) never admits the
acute or circumflex, unless for the sake of distinction between words similar in
orthography but different in meaning : as ergo, " on account of. " to distinguish
it from ergo, " therefore ;" or pone, " behind," from pone, the imperative mood
of pdno. The grave is however supposed to be placed oyer the last syllable of
all words, dissyllables, &c, not thus excepted.
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? ACCENT.
use of the circumflex excepted-- been long generally-
omitted ; yet as the reading or the recitation of the Latin
language 'is, (or at least ought to be,) in some degree,
regulated by their influence whether marked or not, it
it has been considered necessary to give a few short rules
for their application.
MONOSYLLABLES :
1. If long by nature, are always supposed to have a
circumflex; as, flos, spes, 6s (oris), a, x: -- if short by-
nature or long by position, they are considered to have
an acute ? as, vir, 6s, (ossis,) fax, mens.
DISSYLLABLES *.
2. Having the first syllable long by nature and the
second short, have the circumflex on the first ; as, Roma,,
floris, luna : -- but if the first syllable is short by nature
or long by position, it takes the acute ; as, homo, parens,
insons.
POLYSYLLABLES :
3. With the penultimate long and the ultimate short,
require a circumflex on the former ; as, Romanus, Impe-
rator, Justinianus. If both penultimate and ultimate
be long, the penultimate takes the acute ; as, parentes,
amaverunt ; -- if the penultimate be short, then the
antepenultimate* has the acute; as, dominus, homines,
Virgilius.
Exception. \y"ords compounded with enclitics, such
* No mark or accent in Latin can be placed farther back than the antepenul-
timate ; because if three, four, or more syllables were to follow the accent, --
as, perficeremus, Constantinopolis -- they would come so huddled or confusedly
heaped on one another, as to be undistinguishable in cadence, by the ear : which,
as Cicero remarks, cannot well determine the accent unless by the last three
syllables of a word, in the same way as it determines the harmony of a period, by
the last three words in the sentence.
2
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? 4 QUANTITY.
as the particles, que, ne, ve, and some prepositions, as
cum, most commonly throw the accent on the last sylla-
ble preceding the adjunct particle or preposition ; as,
dmat, -- when followed by an enclitic -- becomes amdtque,
so also, lackrymdnsve, probetne ; nobis becomes nobiscum,
quibuscum, &c.
Observation. It may, nevertheless, admit of some
doubt, if this exception can hold good, unless where the
penultimate is long ; for instance in this line from Ovid --
Pronaque cum spectent animalia ccetera terram --
the accent must fall on the first, not on the last, syllable
of Prona, contrary to the commonly received opinion on
the power of the enclitics to attract the accent. Various
similar examples abound in the classics.
The foregoing are the only rules for accentuation, as
laid down by the old Roman grammarians, that have
reached our times, and which can, with any regard to
classical accuracy or elegance, be safely recommended
to the attention of the student. As to the barbarous
practice of attempting to anglicise the venerable and
majestic languages of Greece and Rome, by reading
them according to the laws and principles of modern
English accent, it is so absurd in the inception, so sub-
versive of all beauty, melody, and accuracy in recitation
of the classic authors, and so utterly destructive of all
distinction between accent and quantity, as to deserve
universal reprobation.
SECTION III.
OF THE QUANTITY OF SYLLABLES.
Quantity is distinct from accent though not inconsistent
with it. The former denotes the period of time occupied
in pronouncing a syllable ; the latter is used to signify a
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? QUANTITY. 5
peculiar tone, as above described, by which one syllable
in a word is distinguished from the rest. The one is
length or continuance, whether long or short, the other
is elevation or depression of sound, or both. *
The length or quantity of a syllable then is the dura-
tion of time occupied in pronouncing it. A syllable is
either short, long, or common. The length or quantity of
syllables is marked, as in the word amalb ; of which
the first syllable is sbort, the second long, and the third
common. A short syllable is pronounced rapidly; as,
concido, legere. A long syllable is pronounced slowly ; as,
concido, seddre. Hence, in the language of prosodians,
a short syllable is said to have one time and a long sylla-
ble, two times. A common or doubtful syllable is that
* In the great majority of the Classical Institutions throughout the United
States, it is to be regretted, that the practice of reading the ,aucient authors
according to accent alone -- not, however, the accent of the^ld Romans, but
modern English accent ! -- instead of by quantity, prevails to an extent likely to
prove injurious to the best interests of elegant literature. What, for instance,
can be more irreconcilable to classical purity of taste or correctness, than to find
in some of the most popular Latin grammars of the country, rules laid down in
which the pupil is gravely instructed to pronounce the i in parietes and muUeres
long ! because "it is accented and comes before another vowel! " -- and the i in
fides also long! because "it comes before a single consonant''! and this,
although he (the pupil) must then, or shortly know, that, in accordance with the
very first rule in Ins prosody, " A Vowel before a Vowel is short," and by another
rule that " Derivatives must follow the quantity of their Primitives ;" and that in
the entire Corpus Poetarum, he will not find a single instance in which the i in
any of these words is otherwise than short ? Is it then a matter of wonder to
find so few classical scholars in the United States taught in this preposterous
manner, who can read a page of Homer or Virgil prosodially ? Their incompe-
tence is the inevitable result of the perverted mode of teaching adopted ab limine :
inconsiderately endeavoring to reduce the laws of a dead language which have
been ascertained and fixed for centuries to those of a living and variable language
whose very accentuation and pronunciation are yet in a state of transition;
neither unchangeably fixed nor unalterably ascertained. Instead of rationally
teaching their pupils to read the exquisitely beautiful and wonderfully metrical
language of Greece or of Rome agreeably to its own laws and principles, as well
of quantity as of accent, most of our cisatlantic Professors endeavor with more
than Procrustean ingenuity (qu. cruelty ? ) to stretch or shorten it to the shifting
standard of their own immature and imperfect vernacular ! Would that these
gentlemen were more observant of the advice given by the great Roman orator : --
Atque ut Latine loquamur, non solum videndum est, ut et verba eiferamus ea
quee nemo jure reprehendat ; et ea sic et casibus, et temporibus, et genere, et
numero conservemus, ut nequid perturbatum ac discrepans aut praeposterum
sit ; sed etiam lingua, et spiritus, et vocis sonus est ipse moderandus. -- De Orat.
lib. iii.
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? 6 A VOWEL BEFORE A VOWEL.
which in poetry is sometimes long and sometimes short ;
as, italics or Italus, Papyrus or Papyrus, Vaticdnus or
Vaticd? ius, &c.
The quantity of syllables is determined either by es-
tablished rules or the authority of the poets. The last
syllable of a word is called the ultimate ; the last but
one, the penultimate ; the last but two, the antepenulti-
mate ; and the last but three, the prat-antepenultimate.
RULE I.
A Voivel before a Vowel.
Vocalem breviant, alia subeunte, Latini.
Produc, ni sequitur R,fio, et nomina quintae
Quae geminos casus, E longo, assumunt in -ei,
Verum E corripiunt^deique, speique, reique.
-lus commune est vati, tamen excipe alius,
Quod Crasisrtardat ; Pompei et caetera produc,
Et primae patrium cum sese solvit in -at ;
Protrahiturque eheu, sed w variatur et ohe.
Nomina Gragcorum certa sine lege vagantur :
Multa etenim longis, ceu Dlus, Dla, Thalia,
Quaedam autem brevibus, veluti Symphonia, gaudent ;
Quaedam etiam variant, veluti Diana, Diana.
A vowel before another vowel or a diphthong, is short ;
as. piier, patriot: or before h followed by a vowel; as,
nihil.
Exception 1. A vowel before a vowel is long in all
the tenses of Jio ; as, flebam; unless where the vowel
is followed by r, (or rather by er) ; &s,fierem*
Excep. 2. The genitives and datives singular of the
fifth declension make e long before i; as, diet: except
* Carey in his translation of the Latin rule says -- "when r follows, the i is
usually short ; -- and adduces five decisive examples where it is long: so that it
may, in some degree, be regarded a3 common. In no species of Dactylic verse
can it be ever found long.
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? A VOWEL BEFORE A VOWEL. 7
the e in spei, rei, fidli. In the last two words, it is
sometimes ong; as, rei, fidei.
Excep. 3. Genitives in ius have the i long in prose,
but common in poetry ; as, unius : the word alterius how-
ever has the i always short ; alius always long -- being
formed by Crasis* from aliius.
Excep. 4. Proper names, as, Caius, Pompeius, have
the vowel a or e long before i : the a is also long in the
old genitives and datives, aulai, terrai.
Excep. 5. In ohe and Diana, the vowel in the first
syllable is common : in eheu and lo [a proper name] it
is long; but to the interjection, follows the general rule.
Excep, 6. In many other words derived from the
Greek, a vowel though immediately followed by another,
is long ; as, Orion, air.
IE? 5 Foreign or barbarous words introduced into the
Latin language, are not subject to any invariable rule.
Prudentius lengthens the first a in Baal, while Sedulius
shortens it. Sidonius lengthens the penultimate vowel
in Abraham, while Arator shortens it. Christian poets
also make the a before e in Israel, Michael, Raphael, &c,
&c, sometimes long, and sometimes short.
EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE BY SINGLE WORDS.
On Rule: -- Audii'sse, aurese, mihi : -- On Exceptions:
1. Hunt, fierent; 2. speciei, diei ; 3. totlus, nulHus ; 4,
Vultei'us, Grai'us, pictai; 5. ohe, eheu; 6. Clio, chorea. t
EXAMPLES IN COMPOSITION.
Rule -- Conscia mens recti fama mendacia ridet. Ovid.
Musa, mihi causas memora; quo numine Iceso. Virg.
Exc. T. Omnia jam fient, fieri quce posse negabam. Ovid.
2. Nunc adeo, melior quoniam pars acta diei. Virg.
* Derived from xpams (fr. vspdeo, or Kspiwvin), " a mingling,"-- in grammar--
* a blending of two letters into one. " t The e in chorea is common.
2*
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