J
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
OR -':'.
ALLITERATION IN LATIN VERSE
REDUCED TO RULE
^, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
CATULLUS, HORACE, JUVENAL, LUCAN, LUCRETIUS,
MARTIAL, OVID, PERSIUS, PHAEDRUS, PRIAPEIA,
PROPERTIUS, STATIUS, TIBULLUS, AND VIRGIL
BY
WALTER J. EVANS, M.A.
PKINCIPAL OF THE rRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE, CARMARTHEN,
AND SOMETIME SCHOLAR OF JESUS COLLEGE, OXFORD
Fronte exile negotium
et dignum pueris putes :
adgressis labor arduus.
Ter, Maur. 63-5.
*
LONDON
WILLIAMS AND NORGATE
14 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.2
192 1
MA in
TO
THE MEMORY OF
MY EARLIEST INSTRUCTOR IN LATIN,
MY FATHER,
AND TO THAT OF
MY BRAVE, SELF-SACRIFICING, DEVOTED MOTHER,
WHO SURVIVED HIM
NEARLY HALF A CENTURY
(1864-I9IO)
498281
PREFACE
About twelve years ago I rose from a perusal of Lombroso's Man of
Genius with the knowledge that a tendency to alHteration in verse
and prose was a well-marked feature of insanity in Italy ; and in
some of the illustrations quoted from the writings of French mattoids
I thought I saw a general resemblance to what is known in Welsh
poetry as cynghanedd :
La nomade a mis la madonne
A la paterne de Petronne
Quand le grand Dacier etait diacre
Le caffier cultive du fiacre.
To me who had not given much attention to the complicated
system inherited by my countrymen the coincidence appeared
highly amusing ; and, when opportunity offered, I could not help
rallying my friends among the bards on their affinity to the lunatics
of the South. None of them seemed much hurt, and one of them
took my fun in such good part that when I was elected Dean of
Divinity in the University of Wales he addressed some compli-
mentary verses to me in a local journal. Needless to say, the
characteristic alliteration was there in force, and I examined it with
uncommon interest. It so happened that I was reading Persius at
the time, and when I came upon the line (iv. 33)
ac si unctus cesses et figas in cute solem
it occurred to me to wonder why the poet had chosen that peculiar
ending, and how such writing could have commanded the popularity
viii ALLITTERATIO LATINA
which the satires are known to have immediately attained. A
casual glance revealed the correspondence
csncts gsncts,
and I then knew that there was more in Latin alliteration than the
stock illustrations had ever suggested. Recollecting the statements
in Lombroso, I now began to think somewhat furiously. Was the
versification of those poor lunatics a reversion to type under the
influence of some cerebral derangement, or was the feature which
they shared with the poets of both Wales and ancient Rome an
element in human nature which even disease could not destroy ?
I argued that whatever the explanation might be, the phenomenon
ought to admit of being reduced to rule. There was such a thing as
unconscious art. The nightingale trilled its untutored song with
an exactness and uniformity which allowed of its being imitated
by mechanical means and perhaps reduced to notation, and I saw
no reason why alliteration in Latin verse should not yield its secret,
even if the Latins themselves did not consciously conform to rule. I
had always been fond of puzzles, and here was one which seemed
worth the solving. I accordiagly set to work on the Aeneid, and
in so doing made my first mistake : for the bewildering reverbera-
tions of the Virgilian Hexameter were ill adapted for experimental
purposes, though some of the lines, and particularly i. 7, served as a
useful check on my successive theories for several years. Baffled
in the attempt to discover a single feature that looked like an
approach to law, I took refuge in the Pentameter, as being a some-
what shorter line, and from the Pentameter was driven to Lyrics,
where, side by side with much to encourage, I found myself in
presence of such lines as
cessant flamina tibiae.^
Lenaee sequi deum.^
illic bis pueri die.^
Jupiter in Ganymede flavo.*
The situation was decidedly embarrassing, but meanwhile the
conviction that there was a law had become an obsession, which,
» Hor. C. III. xix. 19. » 76. lU. xxv. 19. » lb. IV. i. 36.
• lb. IV. iv. 4.
PREFACE ix
notwithstanding many bouts of despair, never weakened for more
than a night. I was of course aware throughout that nothing
could be finally settled until the pronunciation of the letters was
itself settled ; and here the difficulties would have seemed in-
superable, were it not for the expectation that, spite of variations
in the texts and the spelling, the poets would help to solve them.
A close study of Lindsay's Latin Language — to which monumental
work I owe my warmest acknowledgments — introduced me to the
German writers, Stolz, Seelmann, Marx, and others, to whom I am
also under deep obligations. But as all my authorities either
expressed uncertainty or difiered in their conclusions on points of
cardinal importance to my subject, I finally had recourse to the
ancient grammarians, whose pages I carefully searched for additional
information, fortified by a large number of intractable lines which
I had by that time accumulated. Daylight gradually dawned, and
little by little I hammered out the scheme which I now present to my
readers. It has cost me more time and labour than I care to re-
member, and I have done my utmost to make it watertight ; but,
though I have much confidence that in the main I have proceeded
on the right lines, I am far from thinking that the last word has
been said on the subject ; and it is not reasonable to suppose that,
working single-handed as I have done on over 100,000 lines of
verse, with Httle or no ear for music, I have never misjudged an effect
or drawn a false inference or overlooked a difficulty. The remarks
of Aulus Gellius ^ warn me on the one hand that I may have missed
much that nature and training have given me no eyes to see, and
Mons. Loth's analysis of Welsh alliteration^ on the other that, in
straining after richness and symmetry in a sphere where the data
are often uncertain, I may have seen much that a Roman would not
have missed. I have, however, shirked or obscured no difficulty
that I actually noted, and it is on the faith of this assurance that my
little book bases its claim to the attention of students of the classics.
Such of them as are moved to pursue the investigation can hardly
fail to improve on the work of a first adventurer, and they may easily
6 VI. (VII.) XX., XIII. xxi. (XX.).
* La Metrique Galloise (Paris, 1900), reviewed by Prof. Sir J. Morris Jones of
Bangor in the Zeitschrift fur cdtische Philologie of 1903.
X ALLITTERATIO LATINA
find that what is true of Latin is also true, mutatis mutandis, of the
sister-language Greek. The best line for experimental purposes in
Latin is the Phalaecian, being short, simple, and available Kara
cTTixov in considerable quantity.
WALTER J. EVANS.
Grben Hill, Oabmabthen.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
. •
PAGE
. xiii
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
xxxiv
CHAP.
1. RHYME ....
1
2. ORTHOGRAPHY
7
3. ALPHABETICAL VALUES
12
4. SYLLABIFICATION
. 18
5. ICTUS ....
23
6. METRE .
.
27
7. QUANTITY
. 34
8. ELISION .
.
. 38
9. THE RULES
.
43
10. METHODS OF EMBELLISHMENT
64
11. ALLITERATIVE RICHNESS .
73
12. VINDICATION .
90
13. NOTES AND COMMENTS
94
14. LINES THAT RESIST .
103
15. PRAXIS (SENTEI
SfTIAE POETICAE)
110
APPENDICES
A. PRELIMINARY .
B. THE DIPHTHONGS aw, aiy ae
C. THE DIPHTHONGS oi, oe
D. THE DIPHTHONG eu .
E. THE LETTER * (j)
117
120
122
123
123
xii ALLITTERATIO LATINA
PAGB
F. THE LETTER u {v) . . . . . .127
G. THE LETTER y 131
H. THE ASPIRATE 131
J. THE LETTERS b, p; g, c (k, q); d, t . . . . 133
K. THE LETTER / . . . . . . .137
L. THE LETTER w .141
M. THE LETTER n , . . . . . .156
N. LIAISON AND LIGATION . .164
O. HIDDEN QUANTITIES (INCLUDING ALPHABETICAL LIST) 168
INDEX TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS
INDEX TO THE EMENDATIONS .
GENERAL INDEX
186
191
193
INTRODUCTION
The term " aUiteration " is said to have been invented by Pontanus
in the fifteenth century. Like many other words it has a somewhat
elastic connotation, and on the lips of different people does not
always mean the same thing. None, however, would deny that it is
a sort of rhyme, and it will conduce to clearness if we deal first with
the more familiar word.
Varieties of rhyme. — Khyme may be defined as an agreement
in sound between two or more syllables (or groups of syllables).
Such agreement may extend either to one letter or more ; and, if we
hold to our definition, may be looked for even within the limits of a
single word. There is no reason why we should not hold to it,
and, though rhymes in close proximity may not always be agreeable
to the ear, it is only just to admit them where they are found, as for
instance in " Lama," " lowly," " added," " dodo," " sentimental,"
" iUimitability," " abracadabra." Usually, however, rhyme is only
recognised between word and word. Be it so for present purposes ;
and, to narrow the field, let the words be monosyllables, so that we
may the better see how rhymes arise in their most elementary forms.
It will appear that there are at least four varieties.
1. The first form of rhyrae is where the vowels rhyme, and the
vowels alone, e.g. " Hke " and " sight " or " sin " and " miU." This
is what is known as Assonance, and in old French poetry, e.g. the
" Chanson de Roland," was the only requisite for a terminal rhyme.
In Spain and Portugal such rhymes are current to this day, as
they are in English when the vowel ends the word, e.g. " me " and
" see." In modern languages, however (if Welsh be excepted),
they are only found in accented syllables, which in the case of
xiv ALLITTERATIO LATINA
French, where accent is disclaimed, will mean sonorous syllables,
such as the first of " dire.''
2. The second form of rhyme is where the post- vocalic consonants
(or coalescing consonants) rhyme, and these alone, e.g. " like " and
" joke," or " send " and " found." This rhyme is not uncommon
even in English verse, particularly in hymns, where the vowels
often rhyme only to the eye ; ^ and is one of the regular features
of Gothic poetry, where it exists side by side with our third variety.
As the Icelandic name for it (skothending) is untranslatable, it
may here be distinguished as Post-sonance. In this case also the
syllable must be an accented syllable.
3. The third form of rhyme is where the pre- vocalic consonants
(or coalescing consonants) rhyme, and these alone, e.g. " like " and
" lost," or " prince " and " pray." To balance Post-sonance, it
might be known as Pre-sonance. At the beginning of any word
(monosyllable or other) it is a strong rhyme, regardless of accent,
and is the only form of " alliteration " recognised by some
writers.
4. The fourth form of rhyme, that between pre- vocalic and post-
vocalic consonants, such as " like " and " roll," does not appear to be
recognised by any English authority, the explanation apparently
being that it does not enter into any of the listed systems as a rule
of verse. Yet such a rhyme is not without effect. Tennyson's
line, for instance,
12 12 3 3
The murmur of innumerable bees,
would be shorn of half its beauty without the echoes in the latter
half. In Latin it would appear to be well established. Let it be
known as Trans-sonance. In " life " and " feel " there are two
such rhymes.
These elementary rhymes, or half-rhymes as they are sometimes
called, may obviously be combined in a variety of ways, e.g. " like,"
"look," "elk," "clay"; "like," "life"; "like," "chyle";
* Of, Cowper's stanza :
O for a closer walk with God,
A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road
That leads me to the Lamb !
INTRODUCTION xv
" like," " strike." Tlie composite rhymes are of course richer than
the others, though not rich enough to satisfy the English ear as
terminal rhymes between line and line, with the single exception
of the last (" like," " strike "), which has not unnaturally appro-
priated to itself the generic appellation Consonance. But all the
rhymes, both elementary and composite, are occasionally found in
the body of the line, where they are undoubtedly pleasing, when
skilfully introduced, e.g.
And ice, mast-high, came floating by (Coleridge).
Her look was hke the morning star ^ (Burns).
Sloping slowly to the west (Tennyson).
Lightly and brightly breaks away (Byron).
And feels its life in every limb (Wordsworth).
Long at the window he stood and wistfully gazed on the
landscape (Longfellow).
Internal rhymes of this description are sometimes called line-rhymes.
Alliteration : its meaning, raison d'etre,and place in English.—
Having thus cleared the ground, we may now return to "alliteration,"
which was provisionally described as a sort of rhyme. As intimated
supra, the word is often used exclusively of the particular sort which
arises between initial and initial, such as we have in Tennyson's
Prudes for proctors, dowagers for deans,
or in Coleridge's
The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free ;
and it is so understood by the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which
describes Churchill's attempt to illustrate the sense by the sound in
Apt alliteration's artful aid
as a failure, remarking that " alliteration is never effective unless it
runs upon consonants " — and obviously ignoring the ^'s and the
r's and the Vs. This view, however, seems too restricted ; and it is
noticeable that even those who adopt it cannot always resist the
2 Bums no doubt rolled the r, which would here be rated by many phoneticians
as a vowel.
xvi ALLITTERATIO LATINA
logic of facts. Marsh, for instance, in commenting on tlie alliteration
of Piers Plowman^ admits that by what he terms a poetic licence
accented syllables in the middle of a word are sometimes allowed to
rank as initial syllables ; ^ and Sidgwick, who commonly neglects
all but initial rhymes, says on Aen. x. 100, " Observe the alliteration
pat pot pot [in jKiter, omnipotens, potestasy Larousse's Dictionnaire
Universelle recognises no limitations, defining the word simply as a
" repetition of the same letters, the same syllables," and quoting
" qui terre a, guerre a " as an example. And in the Grande Encyclo-
pSdie the narrower interpretation is condemned as altogether
arbitrary : " C'est tout a fait arbitrairement que les grammairiens
ont restreint le sens de ce mot, alliteration." With these authorities
at our back, we need make no apology for adopting the larger view,
and we shall accordingly use the word of any rhyme other than the
special English variety known as terminal. An excellent line for the
illustration of our meaning is provided by Tennyson's
Universal Ocean softly washing all her warless isles.
Tennyson himself disclaimed a liking for what he understood by
alliteration, remarking that he had " sometimes no end of trouble
to get rid of it " ; * and, as he pronounced the verse just quoted to
be one of his best,^ it is obvious that for him the word did not
cover the congruences in " ocean " and " washing," " all " and
" isles," etc. For us, however, who are influenced not by spelling,
nor, in any undue measure, by the position of the rhyming letters,
but only by aural effects, the line is as full of alliteration as it could
well be without provoking an appearance of artificiality.
That aural repetitions have a natural charm is proved abundantly
by the frequency of their occurrence in hackneyed phrases (" by
hook or by crook "), proverbs ("money makes the mare to go"),
political cries (" peace and plenty "), advertisements (" pink pills
for pale people "), and nursery literature (" Jack the Giant,"
" Baby Bunting," etc.) ; and it is this fact which explains their
presence in verse. For though the poet's distinctive faculty may be
' StvderWs English Language (Murray, 1872), p. 390 — a work to which the fore-
going paragraphs owe a good deal.
* Memoir by his son, vol. ii. p. 15. ' lb. vol. i. p. 401 n.
INTRODUCTION xvii
vision, and his real power reside in appeals to the imagination and the
heart, he can seldom afford to dispense with adventitious aids.
Even in that sublime Psalm,
,. The Lord is my Shepherd : I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures :
He leadeth me beside the still waters,
there are artificial elements more or less patent to the Hebraist's
eye ; and when the essence of poetry is wanting, meretricious
ornament is the only resource.^ Hence the recourse to — inter alia —
alliteration. Its effect having been noted in ordinary speech, its
magic was enlisted in the service of song.
There can be little doubt that alliteration was one of the earliest
embellishments of verse, and that among primitive peoples it took
the place of what we now understand by rhyme — using this word in
the ordinary and narrower sense. To use it in the wider sense, we
may say that while, generally speaking, the modern line rhymes
externally and only at the end, the ancient line rhymed internally
and more or less all along. The progress from the one mode to the
other can often be traced, and particularly in the case of English,
where the materials available for study are very considerable.
Neither in England nor elsewhere did the change come about in a
day — natura nihil facit per saltum — and when the terminal rhyme
was first used, it was by way — not of substitution, but — of addition.
Only when this had been firmly established did the others lose
their hold.
The following extract from Piers Plowman (fourteenth century)
will illustrate one of the old English styles which had no terminal
rhyme : '
In a Somer Season, [ when hot was the Sunne,
I shope me into Shroubs, | as I a Shepe were ;
In Habite as an Harmet | unholy of Werkes,
Went wyde in thys World | Wonders to heare.
• " The invention of a barbarous age to set off wretched matter and lame metre,"
is Milton's description of one of these ornaments, terminal rhyme (Pref. to Par.
Lost). Of course metre itself is only an ornament.
' The correspondence between " were " and " heare " is accidental.
xviii ALLITTERATIO LATINA
The law which is said to obtain here is that in every line at least
three accented syllables (usually initial syllables) must begin with
the same letter, and that at least one of the rhyming syllables must
appear in each section of the line.®
Alliteration in Welsh.— In Welsh, alliteration is on its throne,
even to-day, though there are signs that the influences which have
prevailed in England are also operating here, for writers of hymns
and other varieties of song are no longer bound by the strict rules.
As the principles underlying internal rhymes have a general re-
semblance, it may be worth while to examine some of the forms in
which they have expressed themselves in this ancient tongue,
which, as is now well understood, is derived from the same stock as
Latin and Greek, and may be assumed to have shared their heritage.
Its love of rhyming groups — which often extend to half a dozen
consonants or more — is very remarkable.
Premising that a Welsh verse does not consist of a stated number
of feet, such as dactyles or spondees, but only of a stated number of
syllables, and that the metres are very numerous, some of them
observing one rule of verse, others another, and yet others two or
more combined — either in the same line or the same stanza — we
address ourselves at once to the rules themselves. In dealing with
them, we shall have to neglect the bardic terminology, which is
untranslatable except in cumbrous paraphrase; and we have no
space for the regulations relating to pause, caesura, accent, and the
like, though these things are of cardinal importance. Our object
is merely to bring to the notice of the reader the salient features
which have or may have a practical bearing on Latin. For fuller
information he wiU go elsewhere.®
The four heads under which the rhymes are usually treated may
be conveniently thrown into the following forms.^^ The examples
" Cf. Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (Wheatley's ed., 1876), vol. ii.
pp. 377-9.
• In Welsh may bo recommended Yr Ysgol Farddol (Evans & Son, Carmarthen,
1911, etc.) ; in English, Rector Edwards's Prize Essay on " The Characteristics of
Welsh Poetry " in the Carnarvon Eisteddfod Transactions of 1886 ; and (by way
of supplement) the valuable Zeitschrift article (English) referred to in a note to
our Preface.
1" The Welsh examples are from Yr Ysgol Farddol ; the English from the Car-
narvon Essay, the author of whioh is careful to explain that English, with its
INTRODUCTION xix
under (6) are lines with a trochaic rhythm at points where such
is optional.
I. Between the pausal syllable and the (trochaic) ending : Cyng-
hanedd Lusg.
(a) Minau af | dros yr afon : af af .
In fact I he was acting : act act.
Do not let go | the poet : o o.
(6) Minau groesaf | yr afon : af af .
Some discord | was afforded : ord ord. '
II. Between the beginning of the line and the ending : C, Draws,
(a) Mam 3^1 ceryddu ei merch : m m.
I felt that he was using force : f f .
(b) Cafwyd elfenau cyfoeth : cf cf.
A lover was then leaving : Iv Iv.
III. Between the pausal syllables in the first and second sections
of the line, and (alternating therewith) between the second section
and the third : C. Sain.
(a) Dyddan | yw can | yn mhob cell.
an
an
C
No longer |
a stranger | strives.
er
er
str str
(b)
Am aur | hyd ranau'r | ynys.
aur
aur
rn r^~^n
How blest i
% modest maiden.
est
est
md md
unphonetic alphabet, its eccentricities of spelling, its accentual rules, its embarrass-
ing definite article, etc., is altogether unsuitable for an alliterative system like the
Welsh, and that his illustrations are only intended to exhibit (as on a lay figure in
a shop window) the cut and make of the garments in which Welsh poets clothe
their thoughts (p. 325). An ordered list of illustrations from the Welsh classics
will be found in the synopsis which Sir J. Morris Jones has printed for the use of
his students at Bangor.
C
XX ALLITTERATIO LATINA
IV. Between the two halves of the line : C. Groes.
(a) i mi wr lledf | o mor Hon : mrll mrll.
He brought a cart | by a right course : brghtc brghtc.
(6) Ygwirfdrdd | oGaerfyrddin : grf rdd grf rdd.
bewar' | how you borrow : br br.
The following show composite rhymes :
ar ol Hywel | i'r helyg.
el el I.
r^l
r --1 II. or IV.
I own
1 he is grown | as great.
own
} III.
gr gr i
n"
' ^s gr n^^^s gr IV.
finter |
a painter | pointing.
er
I III
pnt pnt J
ntr^
nt r pnt }
Notable features in the Welsh alliterative system are
Uowing : —
the
Restrictions.
1. Except in special cases, rhyming consonants must not be
associated with rhyming vowels.
2. Pause and ending must not terminate with the same letter ;
and if one terminal is a vowel, the other must be a consonant.
3. In rhyming groups the order of the letters must not be reversed.
4. In certain metres the same alliterative mode must not be
employed in two successive lines.
5. The eleventh letter of the alphabet, the agmatic ng, cannot
provide a rhyme for n unless the latter is immediately followed
by g, though the combination nc on occasion may.
Groupings,
6. Rhyming groups may be caesuraed.
7. In certain positions, groups of vowels may balance each other
without rhyming in the ordinary way.
INTRODUCTION xxi
8. The repetition of a consonant without an intervening vowel
does not vitiate the symmetry of a group.
9. Otherwise, symmetry in the grouping is indispensable, subject
to the provision that a consonant may do double duty, as in " Enter
a painter pointing " (supra).
Miscellaneous.
10. h may be neglected, except in ch, ph, ih.
11. n, when it is the first consonant in a half -verse, may be
neglected.
12. h,d, g may in certain cases rhyme with p, t, c respectively.
13. In " consonance " (e.g. ot ot) short vowels may rhyme with
long.
14. An inflected word may be treated as if it retained its radical
vowel, e.g. the vowel in " spoke " may rhyme with that in " weak."
15. Rhyming elements may in some cases be in arsi or thesi
indifferently. Other cases are governed by rule.
16. At a pause or ending the concluding consonants are in certain
cases not available for internal rhyme.
17. A concluding syllable will sometimes rhyme with the first
syllable in the following line instead of rhyming in its own line ; and
sometimes with the pausal syllable of the following line in addition
to rhyming in its own line.
18. Liaison, ligation (§ 29), and Sandhi (§ 20. i n.) operate even
between line and line.
To lovers of the strict measures, alliteration is a fetish which
overrides everything in a way, so that in presence of an attractive
combination of consonants a versifier will sometimes sacrifice the
sense rather than the sound. A century or two ago it was actually
held that poetry could not exist without the artificial jingle, and even
a writer of the first rank like Coronwy Owen was a slave to the
superstition. Addressing a friend in 1753, he says : ^^
" Paradise Lost is a book I read with pleasure. . . . You will
find me ready to subscribe to anything that can be said in
praise of it, provided you do not call it poetry. ... As Enghsh
^^ Jones' 8|(?orow2^ Owen (Longmans, 1876), vol. ii. p. 53.
xxii ALLITTERATIO LATINA
poetry is too loose, so ours is too much confined and limited,
not by the ' cynghaneddau ' (alliterations) — for without them
it would not be poetry — but by the length," etc.
The author's investigations incHne him to believe that on the
main point and for several centuries the poets of Rome were domin-
ated by a similar feeling.
Alliteration in Latin : 1. Modem estimates.— The alliterative
character of Latin poetry has not always been recognised by English
writers. Marsh, for instance, afl&rms ^^ that " alliteration was wholly
unsuited to the metrical system of the ancients, which rejected all
echoings of sounds, and its accidental occurrence was regarded as
a rhetorical blemish." Macleane, too, all but ignores the subject
in his Horace, the following being perhaps the only reference :
" Dillenbr. in his Quaestiones Horatianae has drawn particular
attention to the alternate arrangement of the epithets in this
passage [C. III. i. 21], . . . He gives several instances, and they
are numerous enough to constitute a feature in Horace's style.
' Spiritum Graiae tenuem Camoenae ' is one instance out of
many. It is said to arise out of the liking the Latin poets had
for homoeoteleuton.^'
Ellis, in his elaborate commentary on Catullus, confines himself
to a few brief notices :
xlv. 1. Septimios is perhaps preferred as an assonance to
suos.
12. The repetition of the full vowel o in ilh purpurea
ore is no doubt intentional. ... Its effect is
heightened by the triple a of saviata.
15. muUo mihi major, triple alliteration in answer to
Septimius's pote plurimum perire.
Ixiv. 150. eripui . . . crevi, assonance like [Aen. ii. 134, 96,
iv. 374, Enn. Ann. 51].
xcvii. 4. mundior et melior, double alliteration as in . . .
leniter et leviler, Ixxxiv. 8 (where it is remarked
that Apuleius is full of such assonances).
*• Student's English Language^ p. 393.
INTRODUCTION xxiii
Conington seems to regard the recurrence of an initial — for so
he interprets the meaning of our word — as only an occasional device
introduced for special effect, his notices of the feature in Virgil —
they are not many — being generally accompanied by an attempt to
explain such effect :
G. i. 389. The alliteration, as in the previous verse, gives the
effect of monotony.
A. iv. 460. Is doubtless intended to produce the effect of
solemnity.
ix. 30. Gives the effect of slowness and quiet.
89. Is intentional, expressing rhetorically the in-
tensity of the anxiety.
340. The alliteration ' ' mandit — molle — mutum — metu ' '
is expressive,
xi. 627. The recurrence of r and s here is doubtless in-
tentional.
Mr Arthur Sidgwick, in his admirable notes on Virgil, reveals a
truer appreciation of the facts in abstaining from interpretations
which cannot be consistently applied, and is particularly impressed
with his author's fondness for the letter v :
xii. 825. Notice the alliteration of v's, the commonest in Virgil.
Lindsay, in discussing the orthography of Martial's Epigrams
{Jwirn. of Phil., 1903), remarks on the care with which the author
must have weighed his every word,^^ and in his preface to Plautus
{Bihl. Oxon.) emphasises the " Celtic assonance " which he finds
in the poet's treatment of vowels :
Curandum est litteras, praesertim vocales, vere et Latine
enunties, cum Plautus non raro assonantia fere Celtica gaudet
ut in Amph. 1042 (troch. septenar.) :
jam ad regem recta me ducem resque ut facta est eloquar.
Perhaps nowhere is there a finer tribute to the music and par-
ticularly to the sonorousness of Latin poetry than in Verrall's chapter
on Literature in the Companion to Latin Studies,^* though the
^^ Cf. Ov. Ex P. I. V. 19-20 for an indication of the same fastidious attitude.
" Edited by Dr Sandys (Cambridge, 1910).
xxiv ALLITTERATIO LATINA
sensitive ear of tliis capable writer did not always approve of par-
ticular effects. It is, however, in Munro's Lucretius that the purely
alliterative aspect is most strongly insisted on, and the language
there employed is so much to the point that an omission to quote
would be inexcusable :
" One of the most marked peculiarities of the old Latin
writers is their extreme fondness for alliteration, assonance,
repetition of the same or similar words, syllables, and sounds,
often brought together and combined in the most complex
fashion. In Latin, as in some other languages, this usage was
clearly transmitted from most ancient times, and is not the
invention of any one writer. Ennius and the serious poets use
it to produce a poetical effect : Plautus and the comic poets
employ it for comic purposes. . . . Cicero does not despise such
artifices even in prose : but none scatters them about more
prodigally than Lucretius, both singly and in manifold com-
bination : they are to be counted in his poem by hundreds, nay
thousands. . . . His alliterations comprise almost every letter
of the alphabet : the more effective letters such s.s m p v (pro-
nounced w) are often used with striking effect. The last
sometimes expresses pity, as its sound well fits it to do . . . or
force or violence, because the words indicating such effects
begin many of them with the letter. . . . Often various letters
are used in combination : the following is a good instance of
m p and v :
parare
non potuit, pedibus qui pontum per vada possent
transire et magnos manibus divellere mentis
multaque vivendo vitalia vincere saecla.
Compare Ennius's
Marsa manus, Peligna cohors, Vestina virum vis.
Such combinations are common in Virgil ; but occur by hun-
dreds in Lucretius. . . . After Virgil's time they appear to be
less frequent in Latin literature : people probably got tired
of them, as has happened in other literatures." ^^
" Vol. ii. pp. 15-16. Cruttwell'8 Hist, of Rom. Lit. (6th ed., 1898) has a lengthy
note on the general subject, pp. 238-0.
INTRODUCTION xxv
On the whole the subject seems to have attracted greater attention
on the Continent than in England. Prof. KviSala of Prague, who
confesses to a rooted conviction (feste Ueberzeugung) that alliteration
is a weighty though not an indispensable element in Latin poetry,
has analysed the language of the Aeneid with meticulous care, and
in his Neue Beitrdge zur Erkldnmg der Aeneis^^ (p. 294) names
several investigators who had laboured in the same general field.^'
His own book, which takes all the letters at their face value, is
mainly concerned with the registration and classification of the
rhymes which appealed to his ear, and makes no pretensions to an
ordered system. It would appear, nevertheless, to be a marked
advance on anything that had gone before.
Such then is the attitude of the moderns, who have in no case
translated internal jingle into a law of verse. The common view is
no doubt that expressed by Mr Classen in his treatise on Vowel
Alliteration in the Old Germanic Languages (1913) — that in Latin
poetry alliteration is not an essential part of the technique, but only
an ornament ; and that the alliteration is not determined by any
rules (p. 45).
Alliteration in Latin: 2. Ancient allusions.— What do the
ancients say ? It must be admitted that no passage can be pro-
duced which definitely points to recognition of a system ; and
indeed alliteration is seldom referred to. But there is evidence
enough to show that the grammarians were well aware of it as a
rhetorical device. They have, in fact, many names for the figure
in its various forms — irapofjiOLov, ofxoLOTeXevrov, adnominatio, collisio,
ccmfricatio, etc. — and they provide inter alia the following illustra-
tions :
solus Sannio servat ^^ (Donatus).
quidquam quisquam cuiquam quod conveniat neget ^^ (Rhet.
ad Herenn. IV. xii. (18) in Nobbe's ed. of Cicero),
non verbis sed armis ^^ (Quint. IX. iii. 75).
16 Prag, 1881.
1' Specially attractive among the works referred to seem Schliiter's Vet&rum
Latinorum alliteratio cum nostratium alliteratione comparata (Monast., 1820) and
Cadenbach's De alliterationis apud Horatium usu (Essen, 1837), both of which have
eluded the author's search.
18 Ter. Eun. 780. i» Ennius. 20 p^^til. Lup. 2. 12.
xxvi ALLITTERATIO LATINA
puppesque tuae pubesque tuorum ^i (ib.).
machina multa minax minitatur maxima muris ^^ (Diom.
K.I. 447. 4).
sola mihi tales casus Cassandra canebat ^^ (Servius).
Anchisen agnoscit amicum ^* (ib.).
In its most aggressive form the feature was regarded by some
writers with disfavour. Thus the author of the Rhetorica ad
Herennium (loc. cit.) defines it as ejusdem Utterae nimia assiduitas.
Martianus Capella remarks, ^^ Compositionis vitium maximum est non
vitare aijuslibet Utterae assiduitatem in odium repetitam ; and he is
supported by Servius, who, in connection with the two verses last
quoted, says, Haec compositio jam vitiosa est quae m^joribus placuit.
Ennius's line
Tite tute Tati tibi tanta turanne tulisti
is condemned by several of the grammarians, as for instance by
Plotius Sacerdos under the figure Aprepia, which he defines as
absurda et indecens verborum structura.^^
Servius's concluding words quae mujoribus placuit show that
literary taste had undergone a change during the four centuries
which separated him from Virgil — at least on the question of
recurrent initials, even as the taste has changed in England. Indeed,
all the passages suggest that the writers knew nothing of any
alliterative law ^^ — which, however, is by no means conclusive
against the existence of such a law. The rules which obtain in
Piers Ploivman had been forgotten among ourselves until they
were discovered about a century ago ; and in Latin the process of
forgetting was helped by the changes in pronunciation, which of
course went far to obscure the uniformities observed by the poets
of earlier times.
Assuming that there were some governing rules, it is not altogether
surprising that they should have been left imnoticed by the con-
" Virg. A. i. 399. ^' Anon. (Keil's minatur is obviously a misprint).
« Virg. A. iii. 183. " lb. iii. 82. " De Art. Rhetor., 33.
a« K. VI. 454. 30.
*' If Aulus Gellius had understood the rules, he could hardly have failed to
refer to them in connection with some of his remarks on euphony. Priscian, who
parses a dozen lines of Virgil at great length, and even scans them, has not a word
to say about the alliterative features.
INTRODUCTION xxvii
temporary writers whose works have come down to us. For the
early grammarians, even if they were acquainted with them, would
probably have regarded them as outside their province, or even
beneath their notice. The chances are that they were not acquainted
with them, or at least not well acquainted. In Wales, where
alliterative verse has been the vogue for centuries, the rules are only
known to those who are themselves writers. The public are indeed
aware of their existence and appreciate the effects, but, as Quin-
tiUan says,^ it is only the experts who understand how the effects
are produced ; and except in a work dealing expressly with the
subject, cynghanedd (alliteration) is seldom mentioned. It is
stated in the Zeitschrift article, referred to in a note to our Preface,
that when Dr Griffith Roberts, who wrote on Welsh poetry in the
sixteenth century, asked a bard to explain to him the rules of verse,
the latter refused on the ground that he was " sworn to teach no one
these secrets." And even to-day many a Welsh poet is imperfectly
acquainted with the canons. " He writes," says the author of the
article, " by ear rather than by rule ; he has read thousands of Hues
in the bardic metres, and his ear has impressed their form on his
mind. The lines themselves may be forgotten, but the impressions
of their form remain, and become the moulds into which the bard
pours his new molten metal. He takes first one and then another
as they happen to suit his purpose ; but, though he uses them all,
he may not have classified them, or even counted them. In time
of course he learns the rules, which he easily understands, as they
only enunciate more definitely what he already knows ; but he no
more begins by studying rules than he begins to speak by studying
grammar " (p. 141). And the same was probably true of the
ancients. What was {JieXonoua ? When Aristotle ^^ speaks of it
as distinguished from A-e^ts or metrical composition, he dismisses
it with the remark that its meaning was obvious to everybody. It
seems not unlikely that what he had in his mind was the music of
alliteration in the sense we have adopted. And so Horace, when he
contrasts niodi with tempora ^^ or numeri,^^ or speaks of distinguishing
a rightly constructed verse by the ear as well as by the fingers,^^ may
well have meant the same thing. Ovid too seems to hint at more
28 IX. iv. 116. 29 Poet. c. 6. ^o I. Sat. iv. 58. 3i A.P. 211. 32 /^^ 274.
xxviii ALLITTERATIO LATINA
than mere language and metre when (without claiming much credit
for the innovation) he characterises the color and structura of his
verse as something distinctive and uncommon.^^ It looks as if he
were referring to some self-imposed restriction in the ordering of
his rhymes, the nature of which was discernible even in his opening
lines.^* Finally, Martial has an epigram ^^ containing the couplet
Lector et auditor nostros probat, Aule, libellos,
sed quidam exactos esse poeta negat.
If the reference is not to the poet's Latinity or metrification —
neither of which, so far as the author knows, has been seriously
assailed — it must be to some law of alliteration which Martial
(perhaps only occasionally) failed to observe.
Alliteration in Latin : 3. Treatment in translation.— Whatever
may be thought of the author's attempt to systematise the alliterative
features referred to, there can be no doubt at all that the features
themselves are real. In such lines, for instance, as
verpus praeposuit Priapus ille ^®
crtida Virgine Marciave mergi ^'
chartae Thebaicaeve Caricaeve ^®
carmina caeruleos composuisse deos ^^
nam didici Getice Sarmaticeque loqui *^
vel anseris medtillula vel imula oricilla **
they leap to the eye ; and an attentive study of the following pages
will show that they are nowhere entirely absent. Now, obviously,
if justice is to be done to a poet who affects them, they ought to be
reproduced in some form or other when he is presented in a modern
dress, particularly as much that has come down to us can have had
little to attract beyond the jingle of the verse. Translators, in so
far as they have regarded the matter at all, have usually taken the
view that the demand was adequately met by a terminal rhyme
appended to a measure which had no relation to the original. But
in so behaving they do the ancients a double wrong ; and it is
«» Ex P. rV. xiii. M Cf. § 166 (infra). " jx. ixxxi. Cf. § 95 obs. (infra).
3« Cat. xlvii. 4. »' Mart. VI. xlii. 18. " Stat. Silv. IV. 9. 26.
3» Ov. Ex P. IV. xvi. 22. " lb. III. ii. 40. «i Cat. xxv. 2.
INTRODUCTION xxix
I perhaps one of the reasons why their work is so seldom valued either
by scholars or others. ^^
The justification for abandoning the ancient metres is no doubt
the fact that with few exceptions they do not appeal to the modern
ear, when taken as they stand. Among the exceptions are the metre
of the Pervigilium Veneris, which is that of Tennyson's Locksley
Hall:
Cras amet, qui niinquam amavit : quique amavit, eras amet
Comrades, leave me here a little, while as yet 'tis early morn ;
and the metre of Cat. xxv., which is that of Tennyson's Brook :
Remitte pallium mihi meum quod involasti
For men may come and men may go, but I go on for ever ;
and the dominant metre of Catullus's E'piihalamium, which is found
in Darby and Joan :
ColHs o Heliconiei Darby dear, you are old and gray :
cultor, Uraniae genus Fifty years since our wedding day !
But there are others which appear to resist ordinary treatment.
The remedy is to break up the lines, even (if need be) to the division
of a foot, and to introduce alliterative or terminal rhymes at the
important ictuses ; when it will be found that in at least most cases
the whole will work out in a form hardly distinguishable from the
metres of our own day. So at least it seems to the author, who, in
evidence of his good faith, submits a dozen illustrations to the
judgment of his readers, claiming for them no more than will be
willingly conceded to an amateur in verse :
1. Cat. xvii. 13-14 (Priapean),
Insulsissimus est homo, nee sapit pueri instar
bimuli tremula patris dormientis in ulna.
JFool is he — not the wide world through
Found would be such another :
Has not sense of a child of two
Drowsed in arms of its mother.
*2 Tennyson, who once remarked that " the benefit of translation rested with
the translator," compared the Sapphic stanza to " a pig with its tail tightly curled,"
and parodied the pentameter with " All men alike hate slops, particularly gruel "
(Memoir by his son).
XXX ALLITTERATIO LATINA
2. Cat. XXX. 3-4 {Second Asclepiad),
Jam me prodere, jam non dubitas fallere, perfide ?
num facta impia fallacum hominum coelicolis placent ?
Care you, Dare you
Falsest of men, Dream that a wrong
Thus to repay ? Flouting the skies
Thus to betray ? Vengeance defies
And then For long ?
3. Hor. C. I. iv. 1-2 (Fourth Archilochian),
Solvitur acris hiemps grata vice veris et Favoni,
trahuntque siccas machinae carinas.
Winter's a-wing
And a breath of spring
From the welcome West is coming ;
And, winches manned,
Each busy strand
Is humming.
4. Hor. C. I. viii. 1-2 (Second Sapphic).
Lydia die per omnes
te deos oro, Sybarin cur properes amando
perdere.
Hettie, by heav'n above you.
Tell me why you're ruining Guy,
Luring the lad to love you ?
5. Hor. C. I. xxiii. 1-4 (Fifth Asclepiad).
Vitas hinnuleo me similis, Chloe,
quaerenti pavidam montibus aviis
matrem non sine vano
aurarum et siluae metu.
Flo, you fly me in fear, like a young deer that hies
Headlong over the hoe, seeking the doe, her eyes
Wild with idle alarm, in bushes visioning harm
And skies.
INTRODUCTION xxxi
6. Hor. C. II. X. 1-4 {First Sapphic).
Rectius vives, Licini, neqiie altum
semper urgendo neque, dum procellas
cautus horrescis, nimium premendo
litus iniquum.
Best is not, good friend, to be got by heading
Out to sea perpetually, or threading
Perils more near rock-ridden shore,
Mid-ocean hurricane dreading.
7. Hor. C. III. i. 1-4 {Akaic).
Odi profanum vulgus et arceo ;
favete linguis : carmina non prius
audita musarum sacerdos
virginibus puerisque canto.
Keep off, ye common raff : from these cloisters fly.
A hymn no human lips e'er attempted I
To artless boys and girls am bringing.
Priest of the nine who are served by singing.
8. Hor. C. III. xxiv. 31-2 (Third Asclepiad).
Virtutem incolumem odimus,
sublatam ex oculis quaerimus invidi.
Hating Worth, while it walks on earth.
Envy looks for the hght, only when lost to sight.
9. Hor. Epod. v. 87-90 (Iambic).
Venena magnum fas nefasque non valent
convertere humanam vicem ;
diris agam vos : dira detestatio
nulla expiatur victima.
xxxii ALLITTERATIO LATINA
No drug or devil's art so strong
Can laws invert of right and wrong
To pleasure man.*^
On you my curses hot shall hail
Nor ever victim's blood avail
To lift the ban.
10. Virg. Aen. vi. 737-43 {Hexameter).
Penitusque necesse est
multa diu concreta modis inolescere miris.
Ergo exercentur poenis, veterumque malorum
supplicia expendunt. Aliae panduntur inanes
suspensae ad ventos ; aliis sub gurgite vasto
infectum eluitur scelus, aut exuritur igni :
quisque suos patimur manes.**
Much of the mischief they wrought
Must needs to the soul have extended,
Foulness in which must be fought
By penance for justice ofiended.
Some of us, hung to the blast,
Are winnowed by dolorous breezes ;
Some are 'neath cataracts cast
For the scouring away of diseases ;
Others in furnaces burn
Out the traces of contamination —
All of us victims in turn
Of the vice we have brought for purgation.
*^ Humanam vicem, a great trouble to the commentators, is only a variation of
hominum vicem, the meaning of which is sufficiently illustrated by Helenae vicem
(Epod. xvii. 42), illius vicem, nostram vicem (Cic. Ad Fam. IV. v. 2, I. ix. 1), and
publica vice (Quint. XI. i. 42).
** Here too the commentators are perplexed, but quite needlessly. The divine
essence has been contaminated by the body, and carries with it into the other
world the noxious elements that have to be painfully purged away ; so that the
condition of the individual manes (or soul) is the measure of its punishment.
Patimur munea is merely a contracted expression for patimur supplicia quae
neceaaaria aini ad manea noatroa purgandoa.
INTRODUCTION xxxiii
11. Ovid, Amor. II. xix. 19-20 (Elegiac),
Tu quoque, quae nostros rapuisti nuper ocellos,
saepe time insidias, saepe rogata nega.*^
Thou, too, whose rapturous charms
But newly my senses bemuse,
Feign often fictitious alarms,.
Often thy favours refuse.
12. Ter. Maur. 142-5 (Sotadean).
Hanc edere vocem quotiens paramus ore
nitamur ut u dicere, sic citetur ortus :
productius autera coeuntibus labellis
natura soni pressior altius meabit.
If to utter you seek But shoot out the lips,
V in the Greek Bringing the tips
Fairly and fully. Steadily nigher :
Your mouth you must round, A note you will strike
As though to sound Not much unlike,
u in (say) Tulli. But thinner and higher.*^
*^ " Not Ovidian," says Palmer {Heroides, Pref., p. xii), who, in agreement with
Lachmann, remarks that time insidias is nonsense, and accordingly conjectures
" saepe tamen sedeas.^^ Plainly the meaning is, " often pretend that your husband
is on the watch, and that you are afraid of being caught."
In blank verse no one has handled elegiacs more skilfully than Watson, e.g. :
Man and his littleness perish, erased like an error and cancelled.
Man and his greatness survive, lost in the greatness of God.
** Syllables have been resolved in this and the corresponding lines. So in
Ter. Maur. occasionally {e.g. 1560). Cf. his general remarks (1454, 2054) and
§ 54 (infra).
xxxiv ALLITTERATIO LATINA
ABBREVIATIONS
Ancient Literature.
Cat. Catullus : Postgate, 1889.
Gell. Aulus Gellius : Teubner, 1853.
Hor. Horace : Oxf. Pocket Text.
Juv. Juvenal: Lewis, 1882.
K. Keil's OrammcUici Latini.
Lucan. Lucan : Haskins, 1887.
Lucr. Lucretius : Munro, 1893.
Mart. Martial : Bibl. Oxon.
Ov. Ovid : in Heroides, i.-xiv., Palmer ; elsewhere Teubner.
Pers. Persius : Conington, 1874.
Phaedr. Phaedrus : J. M. B., 1847, supplemented by Valpy's Delphin ed.
Priap. Priapeia : Bibl. Lat., Athens, 1888.
Prise. Priscian : Krehl, 1819.
Prop. Propertius : Bibl. Oxon.
Quint. Quintilian's Institutes : Meister, 1886.
Stat. Statins : Valpy's Delphin ed.
Tib. TibuUus : Bibl. Oxon.
Virg. Virgil : Bibl. Oxon.
Modern Literature.
Lindsay, L.L. : Latin Language, 1894.
„ L.O. : Historical Latin Orammar (2nd ed., 1915).
Marx : Hiilfsbiichlein fur die Av^sprache der lateinischen Vokale (3rd ed.,
1901).
Ramsay : Manual of Latin Prosody (2nd ed., 1859).
Schneider : Grammatik der lateinische Sprache, 1819.
Seelmann : Aussprache des Latein, 1885.
Stolz : Historische Grammatik der lateinische Sprache, 1894.
Walde : Lateinisches etymologisches Worterhuoht 1910.
SYMBOLS
A^ A^ A^ indicate initial, medial, and terminal liaison or ligation respectively.
In a Line of Verse.
Italics indicate that a syllable (allowing for sandhi) does not rhyme independently
of a neighbouring line.
In the Analyses.
Italics indicate a letter annexed by liaison or ligation ; or an interlineal rhyme
(which may also be an internal rhyme).
B and the like : an oblique rhyme.
BB and the like (usually in brackets) : an initial rhyme.
8 — s and the like : a broken uniped.
ss, s . 8, s . . . s, and the like : an unbroken uniped.
8'~'t, s — t, s . . . t, and the like : that the letters are in a position to pair.
"I" indicates a (legitimate) transposition in the elements of a group somewhere in
the line.
a, e, », 0, u often represent a», oc, e» (y), oe (oi), and eu respectively.
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
CHAPTER I
RHYME
§ 1. The elements of a verse in any language are (1) the thought,
(2) the diction, (3) the syntax, (4) the metre, (5) the rhythm,
(6) the consonantia litterarum,^ and usually (7) the rhyme.
The thought may be trivial or obscure, the diction inelegant or
prosaic, the syntax involved or ungrammatical, the metre irregular,
the rhythm jerky, the consonantia litter arum frigid or harsh, ^ and
the rhyme imperfect. Few poets are concerned to observe the rules
of their art at all times : for, with so many interests to attend to,
there is a constant temptation to sacrifice the less important to the
more important ; and rhyme, with which alone this book is con-
cerned, has sometimes been sacrificed altogether. In Milton's
Paradise Lost, for instance, the ornament is missing.
§ 2. The word " rhyme," as commonly understood, means
terminal rhyme, such as we have in the following quatrain, where
the first rhyme is an assonance, and the second a consonance :
All nature is but art unknown to thee.
All chance direction which thou canst not see,
All discord harmony not understood,
All partial evil universal good.^
^ The term consonantia litterarum is borrowed from Gell. VI. (VII. ) xx. (capitulum),
who also makes use of the expression consonantia vocum jproximarum (XIII. xxi.
(xx.) 5). In speaking of Virgil's preference for the termination -e<s in urbes habitant
(A. iii. 106), for the fem. gender in haec finis (ii. 554), and for the masc. gender in
quern das finem (i. 241), he remarks that -bis followed by bi, hie by fi, and quam by
da would have been offensive to the ear, just as Quint. (IX. iv. 41) condemns the
frigidity of fortunatam natam in Cicero's verse. For harshness cf. Pomp. Gramm.
(K. V. 112. 17), where the combination cspr in lex prima est is quoted as an
illustration. * Pope's Essay on Man, i. 289-92.
1
2 . :.;ALLITTERATIO LATINA
Such rhymes in latin are merely accidental, e.g.
Non satis est pulchra esse poemata : dulcia sunto,
et quocunque volent animum auditoris agunto.^
The nearest approach to them on any appreciable scale is found in
the pentameter, where the two halves have not infrequently the
same syllabic endings, e.g.
nubila sunt subitis tempora nostra malis.*
parte premor vitae deteriore meae.*
§ 3. But there is another kind of rhyme which may be distin-
guished as internal, arising as it does between words or syllables
within the line, one variety of which is illustrated by the pentameters
just quoted. This is of earlier origin than the other, and appears
to be characteristic of primitive peoples all the world over. A good
instance of its effective use in modern English is provided by
Tennyson's
Universal Ocean softly washing all her warless isles,
where (to confine ourselves to a single feature) every accented
syllable except the first echoes some other accented syllable ; and a
still more striking example is the famihar tag,
Around the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran.
§ 4. The word " alliteration," though often restricted to cases
like " rocks " and " ran," where the rhyming letters are initial,
will in this book have a wider connotation, so as to cover every
variety of internal rhyme. That being understood, we may fairly
say that Tennyson's line — regard being had to sound rather than to
spelUng — is as full of alliteration as an English poet could well
hazard in these later days without the appearance of affectation.
§ 5. Where alliteration is a rule of verse, no other rule is more
' Hor. A.P. 100. If our analysis in § 1 is complete, pvlcher oan only apply to
ornament in rhyme and diction : f or " beauty " does not consist in mere avoidance
of faults (A.P. 276). Some remarks on the subject wiU be found in Tennyson's
Memoir^ voL ii. p. 403.
• Ov. Tr. I. i. 40, IV. viii. 34. Among the pentameters of the Tristia, numbering
1766, there are about 380 of this class, being nearly one in five. They are, however,
not distributed with any evenness, there being, for instance, seven rhyming lines
in IV. X. 80-94, while there is only one in IV. vii.
RHYME 3
jealously guarded. The echoes may indeed be occasionally strained,
but echoes more or less true there must always be in the appropriate
places. To this the bardic hterature of Wales is a living witness.
And the indications are strong that Latin poetry is of the Welsh
class. If it really is, the crucial question arises, What is the minimum
alliteration that would satisfy a Roman ear ? Unfortunately for
the investigator, the poets were seldom content with a bare minimum,
for like all artists they laboured to embeUish their productions, and
one of the difficulties in determining the laws or uniformities which
might not be neglected is the quantity of overlying material in the
shape of superadded ornament. Our answer to the question will be
found in Chapter IX. ; and in Chapter XIV. will be given a list of the
lines which resist our rules and may perhaps be assumed to be corrupt. ^
§ 6. AUiterative rhyme is chiefly found in the parts of the verse
where the ictus falls, ictus or ictus metricus (metrical beat or accent)
being the name which grammarians give to the stress which is laid
upon particular syllables in order that the measure may be per-
ceptible to the ear. A syllable on which such stress is laid is an
" ictic syllable," which is the same thing as a syllable in arsi, all
other syllables being in ihesi.^ A letter within an ictic syllable
may be described as an " ictic " ; and a rhyme between two letters
in two several ictic syllables is an " ictic rhyme." The letters
themselves in any single line may be distinguished as " recurrents "
and " non-recurrents." The latter are usually few in number, and
there are some lines which have none, e.g.
numina tu sparsos per nemus 6mne deos ? '
§ 7. A rhyme can only arise between like letters, i.e. between
letters which have the same phonetic value, such as jp and j>, or
which are regarded (by a convention or licence) as having the same
value, such as jp and 6, e.g.
praemia ponit (p p)
posse negabat (p b).
^ These refractory lines do not exceed 50 — out of the 110,000 or so which have
formed the author's field of inquiry. Only in about half of them are there no
manageable variants.
* Some writers use arsis and thesis in a converse sense.
' Ov. F. IV. 760. The thetic I has no significance.
4 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
The strongest rhymes are undoubtedly those in which the rhyming
consonants are the same and either both precede or both follow the
ictic vowel. The English " bell," for instance, is a closer echo of
" bat " than it is of " rub " ; and so pcmit rhymes more effectively
with praemia than it would with negabat, even if in the latter word
the 6 were p. Still they were both good rhymes to the Latin ear,
and the distinction is only noted for the sake of accuracy.
§ 8. Rhymes may subsist between like vowels as well as between
like consonants — and on the same indulgent footing. But, though
e (for instance) might answer to ae, it is hardly credible that it would
be admitted as a rhyme to e. For the Latins had a more delicate
sense of quantity than we have, and it is known that a wrong
pronunciation on the stage would provoke an immediate uproar
on the benches. Indeed, it would seem that short vowels had not
sufficient volume to furnish a rhyme under ordinary circumstances,
and it will accordingly be found that under our rules they are only
recognised when they are lengthened by the poet (§§ 60-62) or enter
into the relations described in § 22 :
ara Dianae (a a)
laudesque manebunt (e e).
There are many lines which — as will be understood at a later stage —
would rhyme sufficiently with their vowels alone, e.g.
tentator 6ri6n Dianae ®
non potui fato nobiliore mori'
quo non Romanes violabis vomere manes.^®
§ 9. A series of homogeneous rhymes, however short, may be
termed a " sequence,^' which may be either simple {p . . . p) or
compound (pr . . . pr). A series of sequences sufficient to satisfy
the minimum requirements of a verse may be termed a " line of
sequence."
§ 10. It will be observed that in the hexameter endings quoted
supra the rhyming consonant is not supported by a rhyming vowel,
nor the rhyming vowel by a rhyming consonant. Such support is
never necessary, and the rules that govern the terminal rhyme in
» Hor. C. III. iv. 71. » Mart. XI. Ixix. 12. i« Luoan, vii. 862.
RHYME 5
Englisli need not trouble us. Composite echoes, however, after the
EngUsh pattern are not exchided in Latin. But except in penta-
meter endings (§ 2 9^.) the tendency is to avoid an ictic rhyme in which
the same consonant is followed or preceded by the same vowel
(6s OS, so so), the prevaihng rule being uniformity in the one and
variety in the other, or, f aiUng that, an inversion of the order of the
letters.
§ 11. The hexameter endings which we have quoted were intended
to illustrate alliteration in its simplest form — that of the single
rhyme. The following are examples of the double rhyme, in some
of which, it will be seen, the order of the recurrents is (quite legiti-
mately) reversed :
Mdrtis amore : mr mr ctira pectili : cti cu
Pergama Graiis : rg gr. taha fatur : ta at.
By combining two or more double rhymes, we get triple, quadruple,
quintuple, sextuple rhymes, and so on, as will be exemplified at a
later stage. For the present, instances of the triple variety will
suffice :
praemia primi : prm prm viscera quisquam : vsc vsq
exercita ciirsu : src crs. ostroque decori : roq cor.
§ 12. The phonetic values of the letters will be set forth in a
succeeding chapter. Owing to the fact that there are only sixteen
consonant or vowel sounds which cannot echo each other, it is
diflScult to construct a long line without a single rhyme. An example,
however, is desirable, and the following elegiac couplet is offered as
a curiosity. To the Roman ear it would be nothing more than a
fragment of song in which every note was out of tune :
Assiduene idee, pulcherrima Laodamia,
aggrediebaris toUere vina mea ?
Contrast with these the following unpretentious line :
non merui tali forsitan 6sse loco ^^
o lis so
" Ov. Tr. V. X. 50.
6 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
or this other, where the poet has replaced simple rhymes by com-
pound, and beaten out his music with both his hands :
conticuere omnes intentique ora tenebant.^^
nt v.r ne nt v. .r ne
fntcv.r.o ne ntcv. . ro ne
" Virg. A. ii. 1.
CHAPTER II
ORTHOGRAPHY
§ 13. One of the difficulties connected with the problem to which
this book addresses itself is the spelling, which often confronts us in
more than one form. The explanation of the phenomenon must be
either (1) that the spelling was optional while the pronunciation
remained the same, or (2) that it reflected two pronunciations
current at the same time, or (3) that the original texts have been
corrupted by copyists who accommodated the spelling to the
fashions of their own age or to the mistaken directions of their
superiors.^ In all probability something is due to each of these
causes. How much to one and how much to another, it may never
be possible to determine. But at least on some points we have a
certain amount of guidance from the ancient grammarians, and our
alliterative scheme helps, though not to such an extent as might
have been expected — owing primarily to the fewness of the lines
which are free from superfluous ornament.
The variations may be conveniently dealt with under three heads :
§ 14. (a) Where the variations did not affect the pronunciation to
the extent of interfering with the rhymes (see Chapter III.).
i. -cumque, -cunque ; umquam unquam ; quamquam quanquam,
etc.
tamtus tantus ; damdus dandus ; eumdem eundem, etc.
sumsi sumpsi ; sumtum sumptum ; hiems hiemps ; Rodus
Rhodus, etc.
cum quum ; cui quoi ; scaena scena ; circumeo circueo, etc.
^ The rules laid down are still extant in some cases. The complications are
greatly increased by modem editors, who, for the sake of what they deem consist-
ency in the spelling, are often unfaithful to the MSS.
7
8 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
ii. sulphur sulfur ; negligo neclego ; cycnus cygnus, etc. s
maximus maxumus ; lubet libet ; portubus portibus, etc.
apud aput ; sed set ; baud haut, etc.
vulgo volgo ; vertex vortex ; faciendus faciundus, etc.
§ 15. (6) Where the spelling was optional and reflected two
pronunciations with different rhyming powers.
i. totiens toties ; deciens decies, etc.
ii. forensia foresia ; Megalensia -esia ; intrinsecus -isecus, etc.
iii. tonsus tosus ; mensus mesus, etc.
iv. tinguo tingo ; unguo ungo ; urgueo urgeo ; tempto tento,
etc.
V. querella querela ; ligurrio ligurio, etc. (see Alphabetical List in
Appendix 0).
§ 16. Two spellings (and pronunciations) are also found in a
large number of words compounded with prepositions, in one of
which the final consonant of the preposition is assimilated to the
following consonant, and in the other not. Assimilation itself is the
outcome of a tendency to avoid a combination of sounds which
cannot be produced without a sense of effort, such as is involved in
passing rapidly from one organ of speech to another not conveniently
placed. In other words, it is due to a sort of laziness ; and if we
say " Harry " or " Bessie " instead of " Henry " or " Betsy," it is
because they come more easily to the tongue. Now, when com-
pounds like ad-curro, dis-fero, in-ruo, etc., were first formed, common
sense suggests — pace some weighty authorities ^ — ^that the words
were pronounced as here written. For how long a period they were
so pronounced is another matter. In many cases assimilation must
have become permanently established before classical literature
arose ; in other cases two pronunciations may well have existed side
by side ; and in yet others, after perhaps centuries of the lazier
usage, the fashion would change, and there would be a harking
2 " It is quite a mistake to suppose the unassimilated forms to be the older and
the assimilated the more recent," says Lindsay {L.L., p. 313), appealing to Dorsch
in Prager Phil. Studien, 1887. Perhaps the statement is not intended to apply to
the pre-literary period.
ORTHOGRAPHY 9
back (" re-composition ") to the original forms. ^ It is noticeable
that in MSS. and inscriptions the same word is sometimes spelt in
different ways on the same page or monument ; and in the case of
adcurro we have the distinct testimony of Lucilius * (second century
B.C.) that it did not matter whether the d was assimilated or not :
adcurrere scribas
d-ne an c, non est quod quaeras eque labores.
It certainly looks as if in at least many cases usage sanctioned an
option. If so, and in such cases, we may be sure that in elevated
discourse and official documents the leaning would be to the more
dignified, etymological spelling. In poetry, where there is ever a
tendency to avoid the commonplace and to introduce even outworn
forms for the sake of their associations and the appeal they make
to the imagination, the preference would often be in the same
direction, particularly if the less familiar spelling fell in best with
the alliterative requirements of the line. On the evidence of the
grammarians — contradictory though it often is — assimilation would
seem to have been the rule in our period,^ and the author has not
met many lines which resist it under his treatment ; ^ but on the
other hand there are many lines which plead strongly for the
^ Cf. Servius's note on Aen. i. 616 : " Applicat : secundum praesentem usum per
d prima syllaba scribitur : secundum antiquam orthographiam . . . per p." By
antiquam he no doubt means roughly (like many other grammarians) " during the
classical period."
* ix. 25. That Lucilius did not approve of indiscriminate assimilation is evident
from the limit which he sets to the assimilation of per, which, he says, could only
unite with I. Cf. Vel. Long. K. vii. 65. 14, where the true reading must be :
" Apud Lucilium legit ur in praepositionem ' per ' :
praepositum nam 'per' 'liciendo' congeminat 1."
{Per prefixed to Ucere doubles the I.)
^ Priscian thought that the etymological spelling was due to ignorance :
" Frequenter invenimus . . . adfatur, adludo, adrideo, adnitor, adsumo. Errore
tamen scriptorum hoc fieri puto quam ratione " (II. i. 7) ; and he cannot understand
why the etymological spelling should be held more euphonious than the other. So
Ter. Scaurus : " [Novissimam litteram praepositionum] quidam imperite semper
custodiunt, ' adripit ' et ' conripit ' et ' conludit ' " (K. vii. 25. 18). Cassiod., however,
is in conflict with Priscian on one point : " Est ubi [d] sonet et ubi scribatur . . .
ut adfluo, adfui, adfectus" (K. vii. 151. 16). It seems clear that in every case the
pronunciation followed the spelling.
^ Lucan, ix. 488, demands adligat ; and Stat. Silv. III. i. 73, inmaduit (unless
we read * Libyam). With this cf. Cat. Ixi. 169 (173), which, without requiring,
strongly suggests in-minentes. For adsiduus, cf. § 182. 6o, 6i.
10 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
etymological spelling : and his general conclusion is that, in the
absence of countervailing reasons, individual cases must be decided
by the ear. We know that Virgil's choice of turrim, urheis, trisy etc.,
was dictated solely by considerations of euphony.
Obs. — The same general observations apply to other compounds such
as idcirco {iccirco), quidquid {quicquid).
§ 17. Words compounded with con and in form a class apart. Before
liquids these prepositions behaved like other prefixes, being sometimes
assimilated and sometimes not, and the same general considerations
apply. Before s (2), d (t), c{gk q),jy and (during our period) v the n was
retained, as it sometimes was before the labials (b pf) also, though
not always. The evidence relating to these labials — from inscrip-
tions, MSS., and the grammarians — is confusing and conflicting, and
only by disregarding some of it can a practical rule be reached. An
easy way out of the difficulty would be to admit the teaching of the
clari homines vouched for by Mar. Victorinus, that before a labial —
the illustrations are Sambyx, Ampelo, Lycambe — m had a sound
intermediate between m and n, which, without being identical with
either, partook of the nature of both, and was presumably capable of
rhyming with either. But as this teaching is ignored by other
ancient grammarians and contested by many modern philologists,
it seems safer to rely on Ter. Scaurus, who flourished near the close
of our period and at least recognises (what other grammarians do
not) that there was room for distinguishing, and that there were
cases where com and im could not be (properly) used. He says that
the n was preserved before these labials when they introduced a
syllable containing a vowel which was long by nature or position —
leaving us to infer that in other cases it was a matter of indifference
whether the n was changed into m or not (see §§ 291-7). His
spellings may therefore be typified by
inpurus conpello impia or inpia
conburo inbellis imbuo or inbuo
infamis infirmus imfimus or infimus.
They satisfy the requirements of our alliterative scheme, though it
must be admitted that the crucial lines are exceedingly few.
Obs. — In words which are not compounds of in and con the spelling is
assumed to be m {umbrae semper ^ etc.).
ORTHOGRAPHY 11
§ 18. (c) Where the spelling and pronunciation may have changed
during the Golden and early Silver Ages.
During the period in which we are interested, many words under-
went a change of spelling side by side with a change of pronunciation ;
and this, it is clear, should properly be taken into account in dealing
with the alliterative features of a particular author. The changes
afiected both vowels and consonants. Out of a number of spellings
which Lindsay has listed ' as current in the time of Quintihan (whom
he regards as the best model), the following are the most important
for present purposes. They do not necessarily represent the
spellings current in earlier years.
abicio, adicio, etc., better convicium, not -tium. oboedio, not -edio.
than abjicio, etc. cotidie and cott-, not quo-, obscenus, better than
Alexandrea, Dareus, etc., dicio, better than ditio. -scaenus : not -scoenus.
during the Republic ; -ria, faenum and f enum, not paenitet, not pen- ?M)r poen-.
-rius afterwards. foenum. pernicies, not -ties,
amoenus. fecundus, not foe-. pomerium, better than
artus, artare ; arct- is femina, not foe-. pomoer-.
earlier. fetus, not foe-. proelium, not prae-.
auctor, etc., not autor. Hadria, not Adria. setius, not seciua.
autumnus, not auct-. harena, harundo, haruspex solacium, not -tium.
caecus, not coe-. -probably better than ar-. soUemnis, not -nnis.
caelebs, not coe-. hedera, better than ed-. suscenseo, better than
caelum, not coe-. heres, not haeres nor eres. succenseo.
caenum, nx)t coe-. indutiae, nx)t -ciae. suspicio, better than -tio.
camena, not -moena. infitiae, not -ciae. tempto, not tento.
cena, not coena.^ maereo, maestus, nx3t moe-. Thrax and Thraex.
oondicio, better than -ditio. multa, not mulcta {old), trans- and tra-mitto, etc.
co-necto, etc., better f/iaw nactus and! nanctus. uraQTViBandwaxoT, better than
conn-. negotium, not -cium. hum-,
contio, not concio. nuntio, not -cio.
' L.O., pp. 204-6. ^ Ov. Am. I. iv. 2 demands coena.
CHAPTER III
ALPHABETICAL VALUES
§ 19. Anything that may be said in this chapter on the subject
of pronunciation assumes the spelHng which we have recognised as
current in hterary circles at Rome during the activities of the writers
named on our title-page, and will be primarily concerned with the
values of the letters as elements of rhyme. The evidence on which
we rely will be found in the Appendices. Here we confine ourselves
to the conclusions we have reached ; and we begin with the remark
that a double letter (e.g. U) has no more alliterative value than a
single, and that short vowels which are not lengthened by the
poet have no alliterative value whatsoever, apart from i tt and y in
certain positions (§ 22).
§ 20. The phonetic value of a letter often depends on the letter
which immediately follows ; and if we are to estimate the alliterative
features of a line aright, it will be necessary to discard the face-values
in many cases, m, for instance, ceases to be an m when it is pro-
nounced as n. Such phonetic changes are sometimes expressed in
the spelling by the substitution of a letter representing the true
sound, as in tantus for tamtus ; but except occasionally, in inscrip-
tions and certain MSS., at the hands of ilhterate workmen and
careless scribes, this is not done between word and word.^ It is,
however, important to remember that the influence of a following
letter is felt even when the latter is in another word, and even when
that word is in another line. The terminals and initials have
^ In Sanscrit, where the changes are expressed in script, the figure is known as
Sandhif and the term is often used to describe the same feature in other languages.
In Welsh the mutations are chiefly found at the beginning of a word, where they
often effect a striking transformation, e.g. eu pen, dy ben, fy mhen, e» phen (their,
thy, my, her head).
12
ALPHABETICAL VALUES 13
therefore to be carefully watched, and the proper adjustments made
in pronunciation. The circumstances under which the several
letters change their values will be specified in detail below.
§ 21. The reader will remember what is meant by like letters and
unlike (§7). Owing to the fact that certain letters are able to
rhyme effectively with certain disparates by a licence, and with
yet others under the transforming influence of a neighbour, the
number of those which can only rhyme with their fellows is com-
paratively small. When we come to sounds, the case is a little
different. If these be counted, they will be found — discarding nice
distinctions — to be twenty-five. Some, however, even of these are
too hke each other to be regarded as distinct alliterative elements,
and experiment has shown that those which are incapable of rhyming
with each other are just sixteen. They are the sounds represented by
dhcdehijlmnorsuv and their likes, or (as we may perhaps now
call them without danger of being misunderstood) equivalents (§ 24).
§ 22. Vowels, Semi-vowels, and Diphthongs (when not elided),
a e as in father, mate, rope respectively ; a rhymed with ai and au,
e with ae, and o with oe and oi.
Ohs. — When the interjection was followed immediately by u, the
pronunciation appears to have demanded the intervention of a v,
e.g. utinam=o-v-utinam.^ Presumably the rule applied to an
initial u following any unelided o.
i 1. When a consonant (j) : as in jet. Consonantal i
behaved like other consonants, and, between two vowels, as
though the i were doubled, which indeed it sometimes
visibly was, e.g. Maiia. The union of the earlier i with the
preceding vowel had the effect of lengthening the latter,
but did not otherwise affect the pronunciation, e.g. Troia
(TpoLa)=Troi-j-a, peior=pei-j-or.^ In words Hke Teia the
i is treated as a vowel.
2. When a long vowel : as in feel ; rhymed with ei and
y. Before another vowel in its own line, the i (whether
long or short) developed a j, so that Pieria=Pi-j-eri-j-a,
cuius =cul-j-us, pecori apibus *=pecori-]-apibus.
2 Hor. C. I. XXXV. 38.
^ It seems unlikely that ei in cases like this could have been pronounced as i.
* Virg. G. i. 4.
14 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
u 1. When a consonant (v) : as in win. Consonantal v
behaved like other consonants. In late Latin the pro-
nunciation changed.
2. When a long vowel : as in food ; rhymed with eu.
Before another vowel in its own Hne, the u (whether long
or short) developed a v, so that fuit=fu-y-it, heu ubi
=heu-v-ubi. Whether it was a vowel or a consonant after
c g q hin such words as cui, anguis, aqua, huic, hui-uSy may-
be an open question, but in any case the v was vocal during
our period, except in quum. Thus
qui nocuere suo ^
has the v rhyme at every ictus.
y =the French or Welsh u (German ii) and rhymed with the
Latin i. Before a vowel it behaved like i, developing a j,
so that Lyaeus—IA-yaeus.
Ohs. — Except in a few cases where it seems to have been im-
properly introduced (e.g. sylva), the letter is only found in words
borrowed from the Greek.
ae rhymed with e.
ai as in sJisle or ah^y-e^ (a being the predominant sound).
au like av in gra.vel, if the v were a w ; rhymed with a. In
special cases it probably rhymed with o. (Cf. § 202 obs.)
ei * —I (but not in peius, eius, etc.).
eu rhymed with u.
oe, oi as in oh^y-es or 6oy (pronounced with a long o) ; rhymed
with 6. quoi was pronounced like cui.
§ 23. Consonants (and h).
b dg as in bww, done, gun respectively,
except (1) when followed closely by h ;
(2) when closely associated with a sharp {pt c s),
in which cases they were pronoimced s^s p I c respectively,
with which, whether so pronounced or not, they could
always rhyme, b might also rhyme with/.
6 Ov. Ex. P. I. ii. 136.
« Priscian says (I. 6. 32) that the ancients employed this diphthong everywhere
for t. Nigidius Figulus deemed it a stnpid superfluity (GelL XIX. xiv. 8).
ALPHABETICAL VALUES 15
Obs. — Final d may have been regularly pronounced as f , as was the
case in late Latin. In hand the d is said to have been silent before
a consonant.'
c k q as in cat : rliymed with g.
f like pwh in pwha^ (an Irish pronunciation of what) or bhv in
ah^hmc ; rhymed with b and p. In late Latin the pronuncia-
tion changed. The first finff must have been a mere p.
h as in hat, except in phth chth, where the first h must have been
silent. It did not afiect the pronunciation of any letter
with which it was associated, except ut supra (h d g) \ and
it is said to have been pronounced more strongly with
consonants than with vowels. The sounds of ch, ph, th
were those in ink-horn, to^-hat, pot-house.
Aspirate might rhyme with aspirate in favourable
positions, and perhaps with /.
I p as in let -pin respectively, p rhymed with b and/.
m (when the spelling conforms to § 17) :
i. Like m in ram.
1. At the beginning of a word.
2. Before a vowel within the word.
3. Before bfjmpv.
4. Before an initial vowel or h (whether in the same or
following line), when elision did not operate.
5. At the end of a line before a marked pause.
ii. Like n in ran.
1. Before medial or initial dlnr stz.
2. Before a guttural (c g k q):
(a) when the letters are in different words (jam
queritur, remque) ;
(6) when the letters are in the same word and the m
in thesis {umqudm).
iii. Like ng in nng ^ (with Uberty to rh5T2ie with an ordinary
n at least occasionally) —
Before a guttural, when the letters are in the same
word and the m in arsis (umquam).
' Mar. Victor. K. VL 15. 21.
• The sound known as agma, being that of the first y in yy — a word invented by
the Greek grammarians to distinguish this y from the ordinary gamma.
16 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
iv. Silent.
1. Almost always before an initial vowel or h in its own
line.
2. In compounds of drcum before a vowel, e.g. circumeo
(pronounced drcuweo).
Obs. — A markedj'pause cannot arise within the line, and
seldom occurs elsewhere, except at the end of a poem (c/. § 29).
The reader is reminded that the last consonant in a line
adjusts itself to a following initial like any other (§ 20).
n (when the spelling conforms to § 17) :
i. Like n in ran, subject to the following :
ii. Like ng in nng (with liberty to rhyme with an ordi-
nary n at least occasionally) —
Before a guttural, when the letters are in the same
word and the n in arsis (unquam).
iii. Silent in mensa (in the sense of " table ") and perhaps in
conjux,
r as in hoviible — the littera canina — rolled as in Scotland.
s as in hiss — strongly sibilant ; rhymed with z. In the older
writers (e.g. Catullus, Lucretius) it was sometimes silent at
the end of a word.
t as in cat, except in the combinations nt st followed by a
guttural in the same foot, when the t was silent. In post-
quam the t was always silent. Otherwise it rhymed with d.
X as in 6ox : a mere symbol for cs.
z 1. When pronounced in the Greek fashion, like dz in Ms,
e.g. Mezentius, where, Servius tells us, the naturally short
e was lengthened by position before the double letter.®
2. When pronounced in the Latin fashion, like s in kss,
by which letter (single or doubled) it was in fact often
replaced.
§ 24. Equivalences,
In the following table are gathered up from the foregoing the
letters or combinations which were sufficiently Uke each other in
sound to be admitted as rhyming equivalents, when better failed.
• K. IV. 423. 6, 426. 2. .
ALPHABETICAL VALUES 17
Consonants.
i. bpf.
ii. eg k q and the guttural in x.
iii. d t and the dental in z when pronounced as ds.
i V. (Perhaps) h and the aspirate in /.
V. m (in certain positions) and n (including occasionally
the agmatic n).
vi. s and the sibilant in x z.
Vowels.
i. a ai au.
ii. (Perhaps occasionally) au, o.
iii. ae e.
iv. I y ei (diphthong).
V. o oe oi.
vi. u eu.
CHAPTER IV
SYLLABIFICATION
§ 25. As our alliterative scheme hinges largely on ictic syllables,
it is obviously of the first importance to determine what an ictic
syllable is. That it is the syllable containing the vowel on which
the ictus falls goes without the saying ; but how many consonants
does that vowel carry with it ?
§ 26. A vowel carries with it all the preceding consonants that
can be pronounced with it, say the ancients, who illustrate their
meaning in considerable detail. They are not always agreed, it is
true,^ but generally speaking the consonantal combinations which
are held to admit of being so pronounced are those which can begin
a Greek or Latin word. The following hst includes, it is believed, all
for which there is grammatical authority ^ and four others (in
ordinary type) which, though attested by poetic usage, appear to
have been overlooked :
bd- hi- bn- br- bs-
ch- chm- cl- cm- cfti- cr- cs- {x-) ct- ctr- cv-
dl- dm- dn- dr- dv- ^
fl-fn-fr-
gd- gl- gm- gn- gr- gv-
mj-* mn-
ph- pi- pn- pr- pS' pt- ptr-
rh-*
' Thus Servius, at variance with Priscian, rejects bd- (K. IV. 427. 32), and
Cassiod., against Scaurus, rejects dl- dn- dr-. Quint. (I. 7. 9) recommends etymo-
logical division, as do some others.
' For the references, c/. Lindsay, L.L. p. 126, and add the important witness
Ter. Scaur. K. VII. 17. 10 sqq. * e.g. dvellica (Lucr. ii. 662).
* e.g. miaia (monosyll.) in Scipio's epitaph, Rheniis.
18
SYLLABIFICATION 19
sb- sc- etc. (all ^ except ss- sx-), stl-, sir- sqv-
th- tl- tn- tr- tv- 6
To these, it would appear, should be added hh- dh- Ih- nh-, the only
alternative under our alliterative scheme being the suppression of the
aspirate in a line Uke
inter inhumanos esse poeta Getas.'
§ 27. Among the illustrations provided by the grammarians are
a-bdomen, a-bnuo, dra-chma, a-xis, vi-ctrix, Abo-dlds, Aria-dne,
My-gdonides, a-gnien, ma-gnus, o-mnis, i-pse, ca-pto, sce-ptrum,
pa-scua, co-smtis, a-spice, no-ster, a-stla, ra-strum, A-tlas, Ae-tna.
Greek will furnish many others, e.g. 8/xtos, Trvevfxxi, o-^eVw/xt.
Of the harsher combinations, perhaps only en, dn, dv, gn, cs, ct,
mn, ps, pt, tm, tn, tv need be assumed as permissible (occasionally)
for the purposes of this book.
§ 28. It would be rash to infer that with a preceding vowel only
those consonants were heard which could not be taken with a
following vowel. The ancients do not afi&rm it, and common sense
is against it. Our pronunciation of mas-ter and fast-er or seam-y
and sea-men is not affected by the syllabification, and we may be
sure that what is true of English was true of Latin also. In no
language is a word uttered syllable by syllable in the staccato style
of an elementary spelling-book. Roby, who has very definite views
on this point, expresses himself as follows : ®
" In ordinary pronunciation a [single] consonant between
two vowels is uttered partly with both. The real division of
the syllable is in the middle of the consonant. Thus pater is
really divided in the middle of the t, the first syllable being
pat, the second being ter. The t is not sounded twice, but one
^ Including sh-, it would seem ; unless we are to regard the h as elided in a case
like mdgnessam Hip2)olyten (Hor. C. III. vii. 18), or in Virg. ii, 7 and Ov. F. vi. 12,
where the liaisoned s cannot be spared. There is no indication that the collocation
sh was avoided. For instance, it is found twice in duris humum \ ezhauriebat
(Hor. Epod. V. 30-1).
^ e.g. in tuus (Plautus), scanned as a monosyllable, like suus in Lucr. i. 1022.
' Ov. Ex P. I. V. 66.
8 Lat. Gram, for ScJwols (1891), § 15. A full discussion of the subject will be
found in the larger grammar (5th ed., 1887), §§ 272-3, and Preface, Ixxxiii.
20 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
half is sounded with each syllable." Where there are more
consonants than one, " the tendency was to pronounce with
each vowel as many of the consonants following as could be
readily pronounced with it."
In conformity with this teaching, it will here be assumed that
consonants which can be pronounced with a preceding vowel in
KngUsh could be so pronounced in Latin also — including -mw,
where the n was heard through the m, as it was through the other
liquids I and r in such words as ulna, omus.
So much for the behaviour of consonants in isolated words. Next
to be considered is their behaviour (as initials or terminals) in
continued discourse.
§ 29. Adjoining words in tolerably close connection with each
other are run together in speech, so that the whole becomes virtually
one long word.^ As in other languages, so in Latin, where the same
continuity was often observed in script. Nobis, ne si cwpiamus
quidem, distrdhere voces (xmceditur, says Cicero.^^ Now Latin poetry
was written for recitation, and, if we are to estimate it aright, we
must think of it as it was heard, remembering that metre with its
regular ictuses and caesuraed feet often necessitated a connection
between word and word even closer than is usual in prose, and that
the movement is so rapid within the line that in Greek (where the
effect can be most clearly seen) a final vowel was eUded even between
speaker and speaker. That being so, it follows that a letter at the
beginning or end of a word — and particularly an ictic letter — would
adhere to the letters on either side, much as if it stood in a medial
syllable. To some extent this solidarity is recognised in French,
where the grammarians have appropriated the word liaison to the
linking of a final consonant to a following vowel (e.g. dit-il). But
there is more than this. For a final vowel attracts a following
consonant to itself in precisely the same way (e.g. m^superum).
Moreover, these influences operated not only between consonant and
vowel, but also between consonant and consonant (e.g. s^c- or -c^s),
• Dionysius of Halicarnassus, commenting on a passage in the Odyssey, remarks
(c. XX.) : ov 87J ylvtrai iid<TTa(ris aladrjr^ fi^ 5«7jpT7j/ii«Va»v tcSv \(^«uy, aWa <rvvo\i<T6ai-
vovffiy iiW-fiKais Koi (TvyKara<pipovTai koX rp6irov rivb. ftla i^ axaawv yiytrai 8iA tV "''*«'»'
apuovtHy kKpi$(iay. " Orator, xlv. 152.
SYLLABIFICATION 21
and not only between word and word in the same line, but also
(within limits) between adjoining words in different lines, unless
indeed there was a well-marked pause. A full stop does not in itself
constitute such a pause.^^
06s. 1. — " Ligation," which is etymologically of the same parentage
as " haison," will be a convenient name for the usage illustrated by
m"superum, and both usages may be fittingly symbolised by A — or by
A^ A* A3, according as the annexing syllable is at the beginning, middle,
or end of a line.
06s. 2. — The same consonant could not reasonably provide more than
one ictic rhyme. In the case of two adjacent ictic syllables, which had
equal claims to a particular consonant, e.g. regibus \ 6 et (Hor. C. I. i.
1-2), the poet had to take care that one syllable did not annex what the
other could not afford to lose. It would not affect the reading, for the s
would be heard with both the u and the o in the case quoted ; but if it came
to inquiring whether the minimum alliterative requirements had been
satisfied, the s could not be counted towards both lines.
§ 30. In the light of the above we can now define an ictic syllable.
Subject to the reservations in our next section, it is a vowel on which
the ictus faUs, together with all the consonants on either side that
can be conveniently pronoimced with it.
§ 31. The limits within which interhneal A can operate are
discussed in Appendix N. Here it will be sufficient to say that only
liaison is admissible when a verse ends with a syllable in thesis
thus:
lacertis | aiit : s^aut
ominatis | parcite : s^parcite ;
and not even liaison if the next syllable is thetic. The following
must therefore be taken as they stand :
albo I corpore
amavit | arenam
Favoni | trahuntque.
§ 32. The treatment of ictic syllables demanded by our alhterative
scheme will be sufficiently illustrated by the following, which will
also serve to illustrate the teaching of Chapters II. and III., the
spelling in the analysis being phonetic :
11 Welsh usage supports. Cf. § 306. 28.
22
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
Hor. C. II. xiii. 9-20.
Et quidquid usquam concipitur nefas
tractavit, agro qui statuit med ^^
te, triste lignum, te caducum
in domini caput immerentis.
Quid quisque vitet, ntimquam homini satis
cautum est in horas : navita Bosporum
Poentis perliorrescit neque ultra
caeca timet aliunde fata,
miles sagittas et celerem fugam
Parthi, catenas Partlius et Italtim
robur ; sed improvisa leti
vis rapuit rapietque gentes.
qvi dusq cone
turn
fas^
^ c
— ^
ctdv
tdg
qvist
vit
U
trist
«g
tec
due
mind
nic
*^n
rent
cvisq
vit
tnunq
nis
tisc
test
nhor
snav
bosp
rump
nusp
ihor
scit
qvult
caec
met
jtind
fat
les
git
set
remf
gdmp
thic
ten
spart
tit
lun
biirs
dinp
vis
16t
vis
vit
jet
gent.
^2 Throughout the book, italic lettering in a line of verse indicates that (allowing
for Sandhi) a syllable does not rhyme independently of a neighbouring line ; in
the analyses it indicates either a letter annexed by A or an interlineal rhyme
(which may also be an internal rhyme). As a rule, quantities are only marked
when they are of the " hidden " variety (Appendix 0) and have a bearing on the
alliteration.
CHAPTER V
ICTUS
§ 33, In our chapter on syllabification we laboured to explain
what tbe consonants were which adhered in speech to an ictic vowel.
It now becomes necessary to inquire where, within the limits of a
foot, the vowel is on which the ictus falls. Even in the famiHar
dactyle it is not always the first vowel which is in arsi.
§ 34. The nature of the basal feet in a fine of verse depends on
the metre, which also decides where the stress is to be laid within
those feet, when they are normal. In one class of verse, for instance,
the ictus falls regularly on the first syllable, in another on the
second, and in another on the third. Our problem only arises when
the basal feet are replaced by equivalents. The rule in such cases
is happily a very simple one. In the first place, ictus is not affected
by anything but resolution — and not even by resolution, if the
syllable resolved is in thesi. In the second place, if the portion of
the foot which would naturally receive the ictus has been resolved
into two syllables, the ictus falls on the first of those syllables.^ Of
the feet figured in our next section, the proceleusmaticus will be the
most illuminating example. If the metre is iambic, the basal foot
will of course be accented on the second syllable (- ^). The tribrach
which might replace it would be - ^ - : the spondee - -^ ; the dactyle
- ^ - ; the anapaest - - ^ ; and the proceleusmaticus itself - - ^ -.
§ 35. The feet in which we are interested are nine in number, viz.
1. Trochee ■ -^ ^
2. Iambus ^ -^
3. Spondee : in dactylic or trochaic verse ^ -
in iambic verse - ^
1 C/. Ramsay, p. 270.
23
24 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
4. Dactyle : in dactylic or trochaic verse ^ ^ ^
in iambic verse _ ^ ^
5. Tribrach : in trochaic verse .^ ^ ^
in iambic verse ^ ^ ^
6. Anapaest : in trochaic verse ^ ^ -
in iambic verse ^ ^ ^
7. Proceleusmaticus : in iambic verse (Phaedrus) ^ ^ ^ ^
8. Choriambus j. ^ ^ j:
9. Ionic a minore ^ ^ ^ -
In cases where only a part of a foot is used, as in hypercatalectic
verse, it will of course be the first part, which will thus be ictic or
otherwise according to the nature of the foot and metre. An
anacrusis is always in thesi.
§ 36. The variation of the ictus in the dactyle, etc., is commonly
overlooked by students of the classics. ^ Yet the point is as important
as any in connection with metrics, for without attention to it the
music of the verse is often lost — altogether apart from alliterative
effects. The following line will supply an illustration, showing that
only under the treatment indicated will the ordered movement
which distinguishes verse from prose be preserved :
alitibus atque canibus homicidam Hector^m.'
To this may be added a couple of EngHsh iambics — which of course
are not quantitative :
Recollect j ing this | will h61p | a novice | in Ldt ) in verse.
One little | remind | er kept | Masinis | sa true | to Rome.
§ 37. In the interests of a particular measure an additional
illustration is desirable. The following is from Macaulay's Lays of
Ancient Rome, in the metre of Three-and-a-half and Three :
* Cruttwell, who in his History of Roman Literature remarks that in Phaedrus's
hands the iambic senarius becomes " an extremely pleasing rhythm," must have
been fully alive to it, for the resolutions are very numerous.
* Hor. Epod. xvii. 12. It will be observed that the metrical ictus coincides in
almost every foot with the natural ictus (primary or secondary) ; and in resolu-
tions this is commonly the case. Phaedrus will supply many illustrations. C/.,
for instance, I. xxviii. 3 :
vulpinos cdtulos dquila qu6ndam stjstulit.
ICTUS 25
And now hatli every city
Sent up her tale of men :
The foot are fourscore thousand,
The horse are thousands ten.
With one possible exception, the feet are all iambi, which, however,
may be replaced by certain other feet without violence to the metre —
by the feet, that is to say, which are admitted into senarians by both
Latins and Greeks. The third line will serve as an example, it being
understood that the quantities marked are those which would be
appropriate to a corresponding line in ancient verse.
1. The foot
2. And the foot
3. Lo ! foot
4. The footmen
1. are foGr
2. are forty \ score thous | and.
3. are full four
(A dactyh would be ictified like a tribrach.)
If we combine the sections in every possible way, we shall obtain
twelve different hues, all of which are readable except that in which
No. 4 is combined with No. 3 ; and the reason why these latter do
not go well together is that there are more than two syllables between
the two ictuses. Such a rhythm offends the modern ear ; and,
until evidence is produced to the contrary, it must be held that it
also offended the ancient ear. The author has not observed a single
case where a tribrach or dactyle or proceleusmaticus is immediately
followed by an anapaest in any of the poets named on his
title-page.*
* The following are only apparent exceptions : — Pheiedr. I. xxii. 8, II. Epil. 17,
App. XX. 13 {-iunif -ior, -ie treated as monosyllables; cf. Hor. III. iv. 41, etc.) ;
iv. 5 {led; cf. alveo, etc.). In III. vii. 18, xvii. 13, Epil. 18, App. xix. 7 combina-
tions like quia videor acer must be scanned as ^^^>^\^-^; and in App. x. 15
prosilit et humeris aa-^l^^-^l^^-^^ the -it being lengthened in arsi. But
App. xiii. 13 is a real exception, if sound :
dec6pta viilpes : quid opus erat loqui mihi.
The fable is, however, only found in an anonymous collection, and must be a late
production. Phaedrus had already dealt with a somewhat similar incident in I. xiii.
A slight transposition — quid mihi 6pus erdt loqui — would regularise the line.
The GaUiambic is a composite, the parts of which are metrically distinct.
26 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
§ 38. In the light of the above we may now re-write Macaulay's
quatrain :
And to-day | hath ev' | ry ci | ty
Sent her tale | of horses | and men :
Of the foot I are eight | y thous | and,
Of the mount | ed comba | tants ten.
It is the normal metre of CatuUus's galUambic poem (Ixiii.), as will
be more fully explained in our next chapter.
CHAPTER VI
METRE
§ 39. The object of this chapter is to determine what the nature
of the feet is in metres where the authorities are at variance ; what
the Hues are which are self-subsistent — which, that is to say, do not
need to be treated as elements in a larger unit, but rhyme independ-
ently without relying on their neighbours for other assistance than
is provided by the ordinary indulgences (§ 73) ; whether in particular
cases any of these indulgences are denied ; and whether, too, any
other alHterative feature of a special kind is to be found.
§ 40. Premising that the chapter cannot be fully understood until
the Rules (Chap. IX.) have been studied, we may say at once that
(1) every line rhymes independently, subject to the proviso that when
a Sapphic is associated with an Adonic, or a Pherecratean with a
Glyconic, the two lines are to be treated as one ; that (2) Parallelism
(§ 97) and Privilege (§ 112) are only recognised in Ljrrics ; that (3)
in. the longer lines some of the other indulgences, though not denied,
are seldom claimed ; and that (4) only in the case of the Glyconic
Acara cttlxov is interliueal rhyme a regular additional feature.
§ 41. Chief among the metres in which we are interested is the
Hexameter, " the stateliest measure ever moulded by the lips of
man." ^ As there are no uncertainties or special restrictions here,
we pass on. Other metres of the same unequivocal nature wiU be
left unnoticed.
§ 42. In the Pentameter six ictuses are assumed, in accordance with
the common view. Quintilian, who describes the third foot as a
^ Tennyson. Cf. Diom. K. I. 495. 27 : dignitate primus et plenae rationis per-
fecUone firmatus ac totius gravitatis honore sublimis muUaque pulchritudinis venustate
praeclarus.
27
5» ALLITTERATIO LATINA
spondee with two anapaests following, would apparently reduce
them to five,2 for his admission of a pause in the spondee can hardly
be construed as meaning that the foot had two ictuses. Coming
from a literary critic who lived so near the times of Augustus, the
description is a little disquieting. It must, however, be rejected, if
only for the reasons that a succession of three unaccented syllables
offends our sense of rhythm,^ and that the line thus divided does not
respond so readily to our Rules.
§ 43. The Semi-pentameter, when it forms a line in itself, is self-
subsistent. In the Elegiambus (Hor. Epod. xi.), where it precedes
a Dimeter Iambic, neither of the components is self-subsistent (c/.
vv. 22, 24, 26, 28 ; 4, 6), though they are metrically distinct (c/. vv,
14, 24). In the lambelegus (Epod. xiii.), where the components are
in reverse order, they happen to rhyme independently.
§ 44. When the Dimeter Iambic forms a separate line, it rhymes
independently.
§ 45. The Glyconic, Asclepiad, and Hendecasyllahic Alcaic form a
group about which opinion is much divided, some admitting an ictus
on the terminal syllable, and others not.* In this book the ictus
is assumed for the reasons inter alia (1) that in at least one of the
lines dactylic treatment would involve some violence to quantity
in the middle of a word :
cur facunda partim deco | ro inter/
and in recitation might even lead a hearer to confuse such word with
another ; (2) that dactylic endings in unbroken succession (Asclepiad)
are not well adapted for singing ; and (3) that such endings are not
» IX. iv. 98, 109. Cf. Diom. K. I. 503. 2 : feritur quinquies. Several of the
grammarians adopt or describe this treatment.
' Cf. § 37.
* In the case of the eleven- and nine-syllabled Alcaics opinion is also divided
about the nature of the first syllable, which is treated by some prosodians as an
anacrusis. Tennyson's imitation, with dactylic ending, is well known :
O mighty-mouthed inventor of harmonies,
O skilled to sing of time and eternity,
God-gifted voice of England,
Milton a name to resound for ages !
A marriage-song of forty-one lines, showing the Hendec. Karh. a-rixov, will be
found in Cla 'dian, the last of the classical poets.
' Hor. ( . i. 36. In v. 36 prodelision (§ 69) might be expected to operate.
METRE 29
so manageable under our Rules, wMch, in fact, they occasionally
resist, e.g.
non sum quails eram bonae | sub regno. ^
immetata quibus jugera liberas | fruges.'
inter jocosi munera Liberi | cum prole.®
The scansion will accordingly be as follows — variations from the
common type being disregarded, as having no importance here :
Glyconic ^^\^^^j.\^j.
Asclepiad minor ^_|^^^^||^^w^|^^
Hend. Alcaic _^|^^|_||^^s.^|^^
The Glyconic, during our period, is only found Kara a-rixov in
Catullus (xxxiv., Ixi.), where the lines are not only self -subsi stent
(except the last), but rhyme interlineally, at least two ictic syllables
in each Hne regularly echoing two hke syllables in the preceding line
within the limits of the stanza.
In Horace and Catullus it is sometimes associated with a Phere-
cratean, which it sometimes follows {e.g. Cat. Ixi.) and sometimes
precedes {e.g. Hor. C. I. v.), in which latter case it may combine
with it to form a Priapean {e.g. Cat. xvii.). Whether the two lines
appear separately or not, they are to be treated as one for alliterative
purposes.
Ohs. — Instances of failure to rhyme independently are : in the Glyconic,
Cat. xvii. 23, 26, Ixi. 190 (194) ; in the Pherecratean, Cat. xvii. 7, 19, bd.
. 10. The latter is assumed to have three ictuses only {-^ - \ -^ ^ ^ \ -^ -).
In Horace the lines all rhyme in a way, when treated separately.
§ 46. The Enneasyllabic Alcaic is treated as Iambic :
§ 47. The Minor Sapphic, like its sister, the Phalaecian (§ 52), is
logaoedic.^ In the third line of the stanza, it fails to rhyme without
« Hor. C. IV. i. 3 (c/. § 95).
' lb. III. xxiv. 12 (c/. § 304. lo). » lb. IV. xv. 26 (c/. § 108. 49).
• A stanza from Ausonius {Eph. ad init. 21-4) is worth quoting, in evidence
of the difiEerence between a trochaic and an iambic rhythm, even though the ictuses
may be the same. The poet, having failed to rouse a sleeper with his softly
flowing sapphics, loses patience and suddenly changes the movement, declaiming
the conclusion with the sharp forward thrust which so well adapted the iambuS
for invective : —
30 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
the assistance of the Adonic in two or three cases, creating a sus-
picion that in this position it is not to be regarded as an independent
unit.
06s.— The lines referred to are Hor. C. II. ii. 15, III. xiv. 11, IV. vi. 35.
The last wiU rhyme, if ictam may be assumed in v. 36.
§ 48. Among the Adonics of Horace there are a few entirely devoid
of rhyme, e.g.
Orphea silvae ^° alite muros ^^
and a considerable number which only half rhyme, e.g.
amictus | aiigur Apollo ^^ supplice vitta | virginum.^^
Obviously the line has to be construed with the preceding Sapphic,
of which it was probably at one time an integral part ; ^* and it
confirms the suspicion that the Sapphic itself is dependent on it.
Only in later Latin is the Adonic found Kara o-tlxov.
§ 49. The Greater Archilochimi (Hor. C. I. iv.) falls into three
sections, so distinct that they might be printed in so many lines :
. . . I . . . I . „ . . I . . . II . _ I . . I . „
It is unsafe to generahse on the evidence of so short a poem, but it
may be pointed out that the first and second sections, taken together,
always rhyme independently of the third ; and that similarly the
second and third rhyme independently of the first.
§ 50. The stanza in Hor. C. I. viii. consists of what are usually
described as an Aristofhanic and a Greater Sapphic, but falls most
naturally into three lines, all of which rhyme independently : ^^
^ w V-. ^ w jC —
J. ^ J. — J. ^ ^ J.
Fors et haec somnum tibi cantilena
Sapphico suadet modulata versu,
Lesbiae depelle modum quietis,
acer lambe.
The result is a line in the metro of Cat. xxv., with an unimportant difference wliich
need not be particularised here :
-su Lcs I bia6 | dep61 | le mod6m | qui6 | tis d | cer lAm | be.
»» I. xii. 8. " IV. vi. 24. " I, ii, 32. 18 III. xiv. 8.
1* Ramsay, p. 184 n. *» It is so printed in at least one edition.
METRE 81
§ 51. The Ionic a minore Ode (Hor. C. III. xii.), containing forty
feet ( - - ^ - ) free from hiatus at every point, has been arranged in
various ways by the critics/^ who have, however, taken no account
of the alliteration. If it is thrown into twenty lines of equal length,
it will be found that, subject to the ordinary indulgences, each
of them rhymes perfectly ; and there can be Httle doubt that it
is to this grouping that the poem owes its marked alliterative
features, the proximity of the rhyming elements making them very
conspicuous. The division of a word in two cases (ex-animari,
Bel-lerophonti), which the grouping involves, is no real objection.
§ 52. The Phalaecian in its ordinary form is :
._ |.., I .. I .. I ..
The iambus or tribrach (Cat. Iv. 10), which sometimes replaces the
spondee, makes no difference to the ictus (§ 30).^'
§ 53. The Scazon is assumed to have the ictus on the terminal
syllable,^® the final spondee being thus treated like any other
spondee in the line. The teaching which admits a sudden reversal
of the accent at the close of the verse seems ill-considered in the
extreme. No ordinary ear could tolerate such a rhjrthm.
§ 54. The Sotadean owes its recognition in this book to a couplet in
Martial (III. xxix.), where the ictification is assumed to be as follows :
In Ter. Maurus, some of whose lines are translated in our Intro-
duction, the last two iambi are occasionally resolved, or else re-
placed by a choriambus.
^^ Fl. Mall. Theodorus says (K. VI. 600. 6) that a verse in this metre may con-
sist of either two, three, or four Ionics.
1' The ictification of the second syllable in the line is one of those ancient in-
junctions which it seems impossible to accept. Hephaestion is quoted by Ellis
{Comm. on Cat., p. Ill) as saying : rwu fihv rpt/xerpuv rh fxkv KaTa\7\KTiK6v, rh p.6yr}y
TTiv irpcoT-nv aifTi(rira(TTiK7}v t^ov ras 5e SaAos lafx&iKtis, <pa\aiK€iov KaXeirat,
18 So Ramsay, p. 195. Verrall {Comp. to Latin Studies, p. 842) takes the other
view, relying perhaps on Mar. Vict., who in an imperfectly preserved passage
speaks of the iambus becoming a spondee " mutato accejitu.'' Late grammarians,
however, had no special information about these things, and the scazon (which
fell out of fashion in the second century) was only known to them in literature. If
a " limp " in a last foot were attended with a reversal of the rhythm, we should
have to revise our ideas of the Hexameter inter alia, for some of Homer's lines
have this pecuUarity (e.gr. H. xii. 208), and were, in fact, called scazons (c/. Diom.
K. I. 500. 15).
82
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
§ 55. The Galliarnbic metre of Catullus (Ixiii.) has been adumbrated
in the preceding chapter. In view of the great interest which it has
for scholars, a minute analysis of it may be helpful here. Admired
by everybody, and even " imitated " by Tennyson,^® it has been
treated by the prosodians in a number of ways, all of which are
distrusted by Ramsay, who thought the metre more or less erratic.
Indeed, he speaks of the attempt to solve the problem as struggling
with a shadow.^*^ But where there is beauty, there is always law ;
and the situation is not so hopeless as it looks.
The metre appears in its simplest form in w. 73, 86 :
jam jam | dolet | quod e | gi |1 jam jam | que pae | nit^t.
vadit I fremit | refrin | git || virgul | ta pede | vago.
From which it will be seen that the line falls into two sections, the
first consisting (substantially) of three and a half iambi, and the
second of three.
But though the iambus is the base, it is only in the third foot of
each half hne that it regularly holds its ground. In the middle it is
usually resolved into a tribrach in the second half, as it sometimes
is in the first half also. At the beginning it is always replaced by a
spondee or its equivalent. The actual variations are shown in the
following analysis (Postgate's text), which, in the few cases where
there is room for doubt (vv. 4, 23, 29, 43, 91), rests on the assumption
that anapaests and tribrachs are only admissible at the points
indicated.
(93)
[..]
- - (83)
--(93)
-
[..]
. - (6)2«
- ^ (10 times) 21
... (10)23
- - (6) "
...(88)
...(78)
- - - (86)
. ... (5) 22
....(1)26
I 1* In his Boadicea, which was intended to be read " straight like prose " {Menunr,
' vol. i. pp. 436, 459) :
While about the shore of Mona those Neronian legionaries
Burnt and broke the groVo and altar of the Druid and Druidess,
Far in the east Boadicea, standing loftily Cvharioted,
Mad and maddening all that heard her in her fierce volubility,
Girt by half the tribes of Britain, near the colony Camulodune,
Yell'd and shrieked between her daughters o'er a wild confederacy, etc.
2» p. 216. " w. 5, 16, 17, 22, 26, 40, 67, 73, 77, 86.
" w. 23, 48, 64, 70, 91. " vv. 4, 27, 30, 31, 63, 69, 76-8, 91.
2* w. 18, 22, 34, 73, 83, 86. " v. 91. " w. 14, 35, 73, 76, 91.
METRE 33
Read witli due regard to ictus, on the principles explained in
Chapter V., the lines go with an ease and swing which leave no doubt
in the author's mind as to the correctness of his interpretation.
The prevaiHng type is obviously
. . . I . . I . . I _ II . . . I . . . I . . (65 Hues),"
as exemplified by vv. 1-3, or by the following line in English, which
is of course non-quantitative :
And he sank to rest serenely ; and he slept the sleep of the just.
Obs. — ^In V. 54, if the text is sound, the -m is not elided, and omnja
is a dissyllable.
2' In presence of the above analysis, Ter. Manr. would appear to be mistaken
in representing segetes meum laborem, segetes meum labd (2888) as the typical form.
CHAPTER VII
QUANTITY
§ 56. For tlie ordinary rules relating to quantity the reader will
of course go to the Prosodies. What is offered here is only by way
of supplement. The points which require attention are two, viz.
hidden quantities, and the short open vowel at the end of a verse.
Hidden Quantities,
§ 57. When a medial vowel is followed by two or more consonants,
the natural quantity cannot be determined by the rules of prosody,
which — except in special cases (patrem, duplex, etc.) — make no
distinction between vowels in that position, treating them all as
long. But they are not necessarily long in the strict sense,^ and the
real quantity is hidden. For the fidl appreciation of alliterative
effects, however, it is obviously important that this real quantity
should be known. For, if a vowel was naturally long, it was of
course pronounced as long.
§ 58. All the information which the author has been able to
gather on this subject will be found in Appendix 0, where inter aha
there is an alphabetical list of words showing hidden quantities
which have any claim to be regarded as long. Here it will be
sufl&cient to summarise the principal rules which have been formu-
lated by Marx and others for their determination.
A hidden quantity is long (subject in some cases to exceptions) —
1. When the vowel is followed by a double letter which also
appears as a single, e.g. querella (-ela).
' It is really the syllable which is long in such words as dentis, not the vowel,
the " length " being due to the presence of a second consonant requiring for its
pronunciation so much additional (musical) time. Cf. Pomp. Oram. K. V. 112. 3 aqq.
34
QUANTITY S5
2. When it results from a contraction, or is etymologically long.
3. In -abrum, -acrum, -atrum ; and before ns, ncs, net, nf or
mf, gn, gm, sco and scor, even, in the case of ns and nf
(mf), when the consonants are in different words, provided
that the n is in arsi,
4. In imparisyllabic nouns and adjectives in -bs, -ps, and -x,
when the genitive lengthens.
5. In perfects in -exi ; in perfects and supines when the vowel is
long in the present ; and in derivatives from such supines.
6. In con- before n, and in prepositional prefixes, when a letter
is lost without assimilation, e.g. connitor, dscendo, dl-scindo,
Obs. — Hoc, ille, omnis are assumed to lengthen, as demanded by several
lines. Cf. the Appendix on Hidden Quantities. The lines which rely on
disputed quantities are few, being perhaps not many more than those
indicated in the notes to the alphabetical list.
§ 59. Pompeius Grammaticus represents the difference between
long and short as a difference in musical time, a short vowel being
credited with one time and a long with two, so that a would be
simply a prolongation of a. This seems sound, and is at least in
keeping with the remark of Quintilian that in music short vowels
were often drawn out into long,^ and with the ancient practice of
writing a as da.
§ 60. There are about two hundred instances in the poets where
short vowels are found in arsi in the body of a line instead of long,
three of which may be quoted here :
nostrorum obruimur oriturque miserrima caedes ^
hminaque laurusque *
dona dehinc auro gravia sectoque elephanto.^
In the first example the syllable is a closed one ; in the others, open.
In the case of -mur, the deficiency in " time " was probably made up
by sounding r as rr ; but in the case of the others it cannot be
doubted that the vowel was not only accepted as long but pro-
nounced as long, and so formed part of the material available for the
alliteration of the verse. Such lengthening was of course a licence,
though of a sort with which we are not unfamiliar in English, e.g.
2 IX. iv. 89. 3 virg. Aen. ii. 411. * lb. iii. 91. ^ /6. iii. 464.
86 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
For modes of faith let graceless zealots fight ;
His can't be wrong whose life is in the right.
In faith and hope the world will disagree,
But all mankind's concern is chari-^^.®
It does not appear that the licence was ever taken in ihesi.
§ 61. What was admissible in the body of a verse would naturally
be admissible at the end of a verse under like circumstances, i.e. in
arsi ; and as a matter of fact the long accented syllable which
properly terminates a pentameter or asclepiad is not infrequently
replaced by a (prosodially) short one. It was of course a licence like
the other, from which it differed little or nothing ; and of course it
involved the same consequence — in recitation the short syllable
would have to be pronoimced as long. Now a close syllable might
obviously be lengthened with least violence by dwelling on the
consonant, e.g. by pronouncing -it as -itty and not as the EngHsh -eet ;
and this, it would seem, is what was actually done.' But with an
open vowel that door was closed, and a short syllable could only be
lengthened by drawing out the vowel and sounding e (for instance)
as ee, i.e. as e. If the final vowel was an a, such lengthening would
indeed be likely to obscure the meaning, but that was a danger which
it was the poet's business to provide for, if he took this particular
liberty.® It is well known that he seldom did take it ; and the fact
indirectly confirms our argument.
§ 62. There are numerous lines which suggest this lengthening
of a short ictic vowel at the end of a verse (c/. Hor. Epod. xvi.
38, 40, 44, 48), though those which demand it for the satisfac-
tion of the minimum alliterative requirements are few. The
following belong to the latter class, as will be understood at a
later stage :
' Pope's Essay on Man, iii. 305-8.
' In line with this is the contention of the grammarians that in Virgil's hoc
erat alma parens (A. ii. 664) and MezentiiLs hie est (xi. 16) the c was doubled in
pronunciation (Mar. Vict. K. VI. 22. 17, etc.).
" In MSS. the presence or absence of an apex would sufficiently guard the
situation. Why editors of the classics do not similarly distinguish long from short
seems inexplicable. To modem schoolboys their neglect involves something like
cruelty, seeing that they deny them the assistance which Quintilian (I. vii. 2)
pronounced indispensable {necessarius) to a native Roman.
QUANTITY 87
non ego sed tenuis vapulat umbra mea ®
dulci Lyaeo solvere ; ^^
and at first sight this also :
Padiis Matina laverit cacumina.^^
§ 63. The question now arises whether a short syllable in tJiesi at
the end (say) of a hexameter was also lengthened, for, if so, it
would sometimes enter — under our rules — into the alliteration of
the Hne. The answer must be no.
Quintilian tells us that at the end of a sentence (in prose) a short
terminal vowel was usually held to be long — in virtue of the time
which it borrowed from the pause, though personally he does not
accept the doctrine, there being to his ear a decided difference
(multum differre) between a vowel which was long in this sense and
one which was truly long — as marked a difference, he says, as that
between halting (subsistere) and sitting down.^^ Now, even if the
vowel were truly lengthened in prose, it would not follow that it
would be similarly lengthened at the end of every line of verse, for
the pause at the end of a verse is not (normally) so great as that at
the end of a sentence, nor anything like it. Did the poets lengthen
at the end of a sentence in the body of a verse, there might be room
for doubt ; but they do not (c/. Aen. i. 3). Under no circumstances,
in fact, do they lengthen a short vowel in ihesi, so that in this part
of the question there is no case.
The other consideration, that a short open vowel may not admit
of being pronounced short, has obviously no application here. It
obviously can be so pronounced in thesi, and always is. The number
of this section provides a convincing instance — " sixty-three."
» Prop. II. xii. 20. ^^ Hor. Epod. ix. 38 {I el e).
^^ lb. xvi. 28 (the blank is covered by the interlineal, tnlrtc).
" IX. iv. 94.
CHAPTER VIII
ELISION
§ 64. By elision we mean here the suppression of a letter in speech
or script. Sometimes it is a consonant that is dropped, sometimes
a vowel, and sometimes the aspirate. The following Hsts of (a)
typical and (b) exceptional forms will serve to bring to the mind of
the reader the cases which have already been noticed in the chapter
on alphabetical values, and two or three others which, though
interesting, have no present importance :
(a) dan'que, es'que, circu'eo, omnibu', dictu's ('st),^ tanton'.
(b) pos'quam, me'sa (table), co'jux (?), hau' (?), vi'n', vide'n'.
Final m before a Vowel {or h).
§ 65. There are at least a dozen cases in our period where the m
was retained in pronunciation, excluding such cases as the following :
circumsistite eam et reflagitate,^
where elision is commonly assumed, but where the m must have been
vocal, if a hearer was to identify the word, or even realise that there
was a word. But usually the m was suppressed as in prose, and
the reader should not be misled by such spellings as meumst, datumst,^
1 Cf. Cat., Ov., and Phaedr.; also (doubtfully) Virg. A. i. 237, Hor. II. Sat. viii. 2.
A case of some importance to us is Hor. C. I. xv. 32 : Tion hoc pollicitus tuae. For
unless -tu8=tu'es (pronounced twes)^ poll- must be assumed, the only rhyming
doubles in the line being no no. ^ Cat. xlii. 10.
^ This spelling was merely an abbreviation dictated by convenience. A still
more compendious spelling was audiendusHy -dd't, -dunCt (recommended by Mar.
Vict, to his pupils for the sake of showing the gender, K. VI. 22. 14). It seems to
have escaped the modems (who ignore the spelling -daH) that the injunction
related merely to script. There is no evidence that the s of tat was ever dropped
in pronunciation. In Cat. Ixviii. ♦66, Hor. Epod. xvii. 63, II. Sat. iii. 82 the
letter cannot be spared under our alliterative scheme.
ELISION 89
for here too the m was silent, as will presently be made clear by the
testimony of Quintilian. The disappearance of the m would of
course leave two vowels confronting each other. The treatment of
these will be considered under our next caption.
Final Vowel before a Vowel {or h).
§ 66. Quintilian,* commenting on a sentence of Cicero's, remarks
that it ended in two anapaests — leve praesiduim est — the second of
which was idiu^est, " synaliphe making the two last syllables sound
as one." This points to the pronunciation idiwest, for how else
could u and e be sounded as one ? Were they not so pronounced in
suetus ? The blending of u and e is rather a simple case. Instances
can be produced from the poets attesting the fusion of vowels and
semi-vowels in almost every shape and form, e.g. quoad, ferrei,
dehinc, aureo, eadem, jyrout, vietis,^ and it raises the question whether
contractions which were permissible in the body of a word might not
have been permissible also between word and word. Obviously
they may have been permissible in some cases without being
obligatory in all.
§ 67. The ancients, who treat of scansion in post-Quintilian times,
speak of eUsion and not fusion, and affirm almost unanimously both
that the vowel suppressed was always the first, and that when final
m was extruded the preceding vowel went with it.^ Modern
prosodians have followed their example, with the exception of those
who make a reservation in favour of meo'st, meum'st, and the like
(where the second word is est). But it is difficult to beheve that they
can be right where such suppression would destroy evidence of
gender, or render the mutilated word unrecognisable to the ear in
such a line as
incipit haec quid tarn egregium si femina forti.'
* IX. iv. 109.
^ Gf. Ramsay, pp. 118-9, for a long list.
^ Plotius Sacerdos says (K. VI. 448. 7 and 29) : " in m littera m non sola pent
in metro, sed etiam vocalis quae earn antecedit, ut monstrum horrendum=mon-
atrhor-." What Consentius says (K. V. 401. 20) is : " echthlipseos haec vis est . . .
ut inter dum vocalem cum m expeUat."
7 Virg. A. xi.;^705.
40 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
It must be admitted that when the blending of vowels was somewhat
violent, involving perhaps the introduction of something like an
extra-metrical syllable, there might easily be too much of it to be
agreeable to a listener, and that suppression of a vowel was often
preferred. The question is, which vowel ? — the earlier or the later ?
The point is important, because the elision of a long vowel means
that it is lost to a hearer, and could therefore have no part in the
alliteration.
§ 68. It must be constantly borne in mind that Latin poetry was
written mainly for recitation. The plain rule which applies to
conversation must therefore have applied here. No usage could have
been tolerated which tended to obscure the meaning ; and if elision
were contemplated or necessary, both writer and reciter had to be
circumspect. Sometimes the former would himself indicate the
where and the how — as perhaps he did in combinations like datast,
meost, and as he certainly did in those like vin\ tun\ tanton\ But
in other cases he required the co-operation of his ally. If it was the
business of the one to put his words together in such a way that a
vowel could be dropped without danger to clarity or euphony, it was
equally the business of the other to see that, in choosing between
two claimants to exclusion, he hit upon the right one. The choice
was probably not so difficult as it looks. By a Roman many
uninflected words would be at once recognised without head or tail :
even in inflected words the opening syllable might often be modified
without hazard ; and the context would always help. It is notice-
able, too, that in a large number of cases the vowels which face each
other in poetry are " Hke " vowels.
§ 69. There is antecedently no greater objection to suppressing a
vowel at the beginning of a word than at the end, provided that
perspicuity is not imperilled. We know that in Greek verse both
usages were admitted, for cases like m '^cVa^c, /xdXo> 'ya>, ttov Wt,
5 Vo, rj V are not uncommon. Prodelision is the name by which
the usage just illustrated is known, and quite apart from meost , etc.,
there is clear evidence that it was recognised in Latin. An in-
teresting example of its operation is provided by Aen. ii. 460,
where the spelling turrim, Probus Valerius tells us, was dictated
by considerations of euphony :
ELISION 41
Virgilius " turrim " dixit non turrem. . . . Turrim in praedpiti
stantem . . . quod est, opinor, jucundioris gracilitatis quam si
verbum per e litteram dicas.^
Turrem in would evidently have been read by Probus as turren — and
so read as a matter of course — with an eye to preserving the vowel
in the case ending ; but he says it would not have been so euphonious
as turrim, the difference between the short vowels being perceptible
to his sensitive ear even in thesi.
§ 70. Consentius, who devotes several pages to scansion, says that
when a single vowel was suppressed it was generally the earlier
(maxiine prior perit),^ e.g.
regina e speculis ^® (nespecu)
te violo aut tua ^^ (lauttua),
remarking, Quis non sic scandit ? But not always, not for instance
in
isque ubi ^^ (isquebi),
which, he says, no one would read as isquubi because of the two
v's ; nor in
Pleiadasque Hyadasque ^^ (sqvea),
because the e sounds better than the y.
In the following cases he implies that it did not matter which
vowel was elided :
(a) conjugio ifnchisa^ i* (anchi or onchi)
accipio agnoscoque ^^ (agno or ogno)
femineae ardentem ^^ (ard or aerd)
(6) egregium Antorem ^^ (anto or unto)
ruit ilium et ingens ^^ (IHet or lUut)
multum ille ^^ (till or tull).
§ 71. The conclusion is forced on us that when vowel faced vowel,
with or without an extruded m, there was no fixed rule for the
* Apud Gell. XIII. XX. (xxi.) 6. The quotation, though not exact, is substantially
accurate.
9 K. V. 403. 29. i« Virg. A. iv. 586. " lb. 27.
12 lb. iii. 596. 13 Virg. G. i. 138. i* Virg. A. iii. 475.
15 lb. viii. 155. i« lb. vii. 345. i' lb. x. 778.
18 lb. ii. 325. i» lb. i. 3.
42 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
treatment, but that (except in the rare cases where an hiatus was
admitted) ^^ fusion, elision of the earlier vowel, elision of the later
were regarded as alternative. Where fusion was practicable,
fusion there would be ; where elision would be less likely to prejudice
the sense or the sound or the rh3rfchm, one of the vowels would have
to go — and for choice the earlier. It was the poet's business, we f
repeat, to see that one or other of these courses could be safely and
suitably taken, the rest lying with the reciter. There are many ^
lines where the interests of alliteration plead strongly for the re- *
tention of the earlier vowel. In the following cases our scheme
demands it :
converso in pretium deo ^i (so'npreti)
Verani optime tuque ml FabuUe ^^ (ni'ptime).
20 e.g. pecori et (Virg. E. iii. 6). " Hor. C. III. xvi. 8. 22 Cat. xxviii. 3.
I
CHAPTER IX
THE RULES
§ 72. We may now introduce tlie reader to the fundamental rule
of alliterative verse, whicli is this :
Subject to certain indulgences, every ictic syllable must rhyme
with some other ictic syllable m its own line,
meaning that at least one effective letter in every ictic syllable must
rhyme with a like letter in some other ictic syllable. A rhyming
or effective letter, it will be remembered, may be either (I) a con-
sonant, or (2) a diphthong or long vowel, or (3) a semi- vowel expressed
or understood, meaning by " understood " the invisible j or v which
is generated in pronunciation by a pre- vocalic i (y) or u, or by an
initial u immediately succeeding an unelided o (§ 22).
Ohs. — An ictic rhyme is effective even when the rhyming letters have no
vowel between, provided that they are in different words, e.g. virds \\ saepe,
or viros | saepe (see § 86 obs.).
§ 73. The indulgences referred to are five in number, being the
following :
An ictic, instead of rhyming with a letter in another ictic syllable,
may rhyme (subject to restrictions) —
1. With a like letter which lies between it and the next
ictic syllable. The uniped rhyme (§ 75).
2. With a like initial letter in any word within the line. The
oblique rhyme (§ 84).
3. With a Uke letter in a companion line. The interlineal
rhyme (§ 88).
43
44 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
And an ictic syllable may be rliymeless —
4. Provided that there is compensation within the line. The
compensatory rhyme (§ 98).
5. Without compensation, in one foot of the first and last
lines in Lyrics. The privileged line (§ 112).
Obs. 1. — It is convenient to class the indulgences together in the manner
here adopted, but it is not to be supposed that they are all on the same
quaUtative plane. Some of the alternatives are so effective that recourse
to them can hardly be regarded as a weakness.
Obs. 2. — Some of the indulgences involve the recognition of letters
which are non-ictic, though only in three cases, viz. (1) when the letters
are initial, (2) when they enter into a uniped, or (3) when they are
supported by other rhyming letters and enter into a " double."
The Normal Line.
§ 74. The lines which satisfy the fundamental rule without claiming
any of the indulgences are very numerous (c/. §§ 168-174), being,
for instance, in Ov. F. i. about eighty per cent, of the whole. The
following are some of the simplest :
mtinere donat : ^ n n
nigris aut Erymanthi : ^ n t nt
depone sub lauro mea nee : ^ pon b o n
Ulic pliirima naribus : * 1 plr r b
coUocdte puellulam : ^ cell
jam licet venids marite : ^ j t j t
r^gibus horribilique Medo : ' reg r c e
saepe mero caluisse virtus : ® s r s r
ossibus et capiti inhumato : ^ s st 1 1
diligeret mulier sua quam te : ^® d rt r t
sic et Eiirop^ nivetim doloso : ^^ s t n nd s
in magni simul dmbulatione : ^^ n n 1 1 n
ultima co6na tuo sit precor ilia viro : ^^ It o o 1 1 o
dnnus in dpricis mattirat collibus tivas : i* n n c u c u.
1 Her. C. IV. ii. 20. ^ /^^ j. ^xi. 7.
' lb. II. vii. 19 (the variant lauru resists our rules).
« 76. III. i. 21. "* Cat. Ixi. 184 (188). « lb. 187 (191).
' Hor. C. I. xxix. 4. » lb. III. xxi. 11. » 76. I. xxviii. 24.
" Hor. Epod. xii. 24. " Hor. C. III. xxvu. 26. " Cat. Iv. 6.
" Ov. Am. I. iv. 2. " Tib. I. iv. 19.
THE RULES 45
Obs. — It will be understood at a later stage that with the exception of
the first four not one of the above lines is entirely free from meretricious
ornament (Chap. X.) in some form or other. The last example, for
instance, has a sequence (s . . . s) which does not appear in the analysis.
Such features have a certain value (§ 122 obs.), but cannot compensate for a
missing rhyme, and are for ordinary purposes negligible. A line which
does not contain a single superfluous rhyme is extremely difi&cult to find.
On the other hand, minimum lines which have alternative rhymes in
particular feet are not uncommon. In fact, every example in this chapter
and the Appendices which is adduced in support of a particular usage is of
that character, when it is not an absolute minimum.
The First Indulgence : the Uniped Rhyme.
§ 75. As stated in § 73, an ictic, instead of rhyming with a letter
in another ictic syllable, may in some cases rhyme with a preceding
or following Kke letter which Hes between it and the next ictic
syllable. These letters need not be in the same metrical foot, but
they will always be within the Hmits of a recognised prosodial foot ;
and " uniped " is a convenient name for the rhyme. Intervening
vowels, semi- vowels, and h offer no obstacle to the union of the two
letters, though intervening consonants in special cases do.
i. The Unbroken Uniped.
§ 76. An ictic and its like (whether consonant, vowel, or semi-
vowel) will always constitute a rhyme, if there is no unequivocal
consonant (i.e. other than^', v) between, provided —
1. That the letters do not form a double {annus excluded).
2. That one of them is in arsi (pdtre rd- excluded).
3. That if they are in different words without a vowel between,
the first is in arsi (et tu excluded), which is equivalent to saying
that the combination is only recognised when it forms an
obhque rhyme (§ 84).
4. That with or without the assistance of \ they can be
pronounced in different syllables {rr in retrorsum excluded,
but not nn in ncmTest or si^non),
§ 77. Typical conjimctions are the following (m being here
sounded as printed) :
46 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
amionay in dnnos, invenit, dcjacuit.
rmitat, ornant, quern jam^ invenit, removemus.
conviva, quovis, tua villa, Delia jam.
Uves, civilis, Ajdx.
Obs. — Vivunt, jejunus, Ajdx (so accented) are also "oblique" rhymes
(§ 84).
§ 78. The following will illustrate :
noscitetur ab omnibus : ^^ s tt b bs
hospitis ille venena Colcha : ^^ s si nn 1
patiperi recludittir : ^^ pp rr d t
amoris esset poculum | in : ^^ mo ss o m
accipit 6t virga lilia summa metlt : ^® c t g 11 mm t
reddas incolumem precor : ^o r c mm cr
Silvane tutor f iniiim | 1- : ^i n tt n n
mittit venenorum ferax : 22 tt nn r r
mtitari velit 6st enim leporum : ^3 t r t nn r
sed te jam ferre Herculei labos est : ^^ s f rr 11 bs
ciira vigil musis nomen inertis habet : ^s c g ss n n , 1 1
superne nascunturque leves : ^^ rn n r ee.
§ 79. The following can only be understood in the light of § 103 :
in impiam Ajacis ratem | o : ^^ m j . . j - m
ja ja
Caesar et hospitiwm sit tua villa meum :^ s s - s w mm
ts st
pallidus j^oo tiire quod ignis olet : ^^ 1 - 00 t d 1
Id It.
ii. The Broken Uniped.
§ 80. When a semi-vocalic or consonantal ictic and its like are
separated by one or more unequivocal consonants, the two like
letters form a rhyme, provided (1) that the first of the two is ictic,
" Cat. Ixi. 219 (223). i« Hor. C. II. xiii. 8. " lb. xviii. 33.
" Hor. Epod. V. 38. i» Ov. F. u. 706. 20 gor, c. I. iii. 7.
" Hor. Epod. ii. 22. 22 /ft, y^ 22. 23 Cat. xii. 8.
2« lb. Iv. 13 (the t in est is not effective; cf. § 114).
« Ov. A. A. iii. 412. " Hor. C. II. xx. 11. " Hor. Epod, x. 14.
" Ov. Ex P. I. viii. 70. " Mart. UI. Ixv. 6.
THE RULES 47
(2) that the other (being in ihesi) does not follow the last vowel in
the foot, and (3) that with or without the assistance of A. they can
be pronounced in different syllables. The first proviso (admitting
improbus and crebro) excludes at prope, crebro ; the second excludes
ndrrant ; and the third, stdnt per.
§ 81. The conjunctions that yield a broken uniped may be typified
by the following :
nomine, Ndrnia, continuo, rumpere, Idna placet,
volvere, evdnuit, virque, quemvis, quifuit.
Julia, jurgia, jdm via.
§ 82. The lines which establish this rhyme are probably not
numerous, and the forms which have been represented supra as
types have in many cases been suggested to the author by little
more than considerations of analogy and the frequency of their
occurrence at appropriate points. Here are three examples :
nee Sicula Palinurus unda : ^^ n 1-1 n n
non haec Colchidos asserit furorem : ^^ o c- c ss r ro
non est dimidio locus Priapo : ^^ o d-d o p p.
§ 83. The following rely on an additional indulgence :
impiae | ejus qui domita nomen ab Africa : ^^ ej d t n-n a a (§ 89)
deponi monet et rogat levari : ^^ d n-n 1 1 R (§ 84).
Cf: also Ov. A.A. iii. 184 (§ 96).
06s. 1. — Analogy suggests tliat in iambic and anapaestic rhythm (in-
cluding the ^ ^ -^ oi the choriambus) the same principles would apply,
and that accordingly words like animdns, infdns, objiciens {j~j), quemvis
{v-v) should yield rhymes ; but there would appear to be only one line
in support, viz.
o6ncinens | voce carmina tinnula | pelle : ^^ c c [n-n] I
and there, in presence of the variant continens, we are not on sure ground,
for if continens is the true reading, tin- would be covered by the interlineal
rhyme ntn (§ 92).
Obs. 2. — A convincing instance of a vowel uniped (e.g. sold yielding o-o)
does not seem to exist.
'" Hor. C. III. iv. 28 (the variant non would render the hne independent of the
uniped). ^^ Mart. X. xxxv. 5. 32 75. XI. xviii. 22.
33 Hor. C. IV. viii. 18 (if there were a foregoing hne ending in m or n, this example
would not be conclusive). ^^ Mart. I. cix. 13. ^5 q^^^ i^^ 13^
48 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
The Second Indulgence : the Oblique Rhyme.
§ 84. As a rule, the nearer a letter is to the beguming of a word, the
more noticeable it is in speech,^® and an initial is the most noticeable
of all, so that even in ihesi such a letter falls on the ear with a
sensible difference. It helps to explain why a medial or final ictic
was held to rhyme sufficiently, if there was a word in the line
beginning with a like letter.
If such like letter were in arsi, the rhyme would obviously be of
the normal type. What we desire to emphasise here is that a rhyme
arises when the letter is in thesi ; and " oblique " seems a suitable
name for it. In our analyses its presence will be indicated — when
recognition is important — ^by printing the ictic with a capital letter,
the thetic being left unnoticed. If the ictic itself were an initial, we
should of course have a pair of initials, and the oblique rhyme would
then merge in the weightier " initial " rhyme (§ 99).
§ 85. The following will sufficiently illustrate :
et miseras inimicat urbes : ^^ t r M tr
s I in dubio vitae lassa Corinna jacet : ^^ sn J t s n t
remque tuam ponds in meliore loco : ^^ r M n n or o
Romulus et mensas ossaque ntida videt : *^ M s s s d d.
When the initial is in the next following syllable, the rhyme is
practically a uniped, e.g.
teque n4c laeviis vetet ire picus : *^ t c V (or v-v) t c
tinde quo veni levis una mors est : ^^ n V (or v . v) n sn s.
The following anticipate § 98 :
ne careant summa Troica bella manu : *^ n nt M t - n
cr re
di cujiis jurdre tim6nt et fcillere numen : ** d J (or j-j) rr nt - n
mn nm.
§ 86. The rule applies even when the two letters have no vowel
between ; but the rhyme must have been a weak one, and the poets
seldom rely on it. It obviously admits of being classed as uniped.
36 Cf. Lindsay, L.L. p. 119. " Hof. C. IV. xv. 20. " Ov. Am. U. xiii. 2.
3» Ov. Tr. IV. XV. 22. *" Ov. F. ii. 376. " Hor. C. III. xxvii. 16.
«2 lb, 37. " Ov. Ex P. II. X. 14. «« Virg. A. vi. 324.
THE RULES 49
diluviem meditatur agris : *^ d M t r-r
lissit amatorem Nemesis lasciva Tibtillum : *® s T N s s L.
Ohs. — It follows (1) that a combination of the kind described may form
an element in a double rhyme (§ 103), e.g.
est 1 et poterit tacto moUior esse viro : *' 1 1 t - r r ;
tt tt
(2) that if the letters are in different ictic syllables, such as at the end of
one verse and beginning of another, or in the middle of a pentameter,
they will rhyme with each other, as intimated in § 72 ohs. ; and (3) that,
if in any position (whether in arsi or thesi) they are associated with rhyming
letters, the combinations will form a double rhyme, just as if they were
not consecutive, e.g.
/nvitum jube4s subire Ladan : *^ - t a - ad
n . t b . s sb dn.
§ 87. And so too when the letters are in the same word, provided
they are not in the same syllable, e.g.
nee laudet Polybi magis sinistras : *® n t B s nst
ridens dissimulare meiim jecur urere bilis : ^^ d d Ir M r I
immanem Lapithum valuit concessit in iras : ^^ m n tm t C n.
or (anticipating §§ 98, 99)
sive quos Elea domwm reducit : ^^ y cv E - c
sv vs
Persarum vigui rege bedtior : ^^ r r V r - r (PB).
The Third Indulgetice : the Interlineal Rhyme,
§ 88. There are three varieties of this rhyme, which may be dis-
tinguished as the first, the second, and the third. In our analyses
rhymes of the first and second orders will be indicated by italics,
of the third by parallels (||).
i. The First Interlineal Rhyme.
§ 89. The first interlineal rhyme arises between the last foot of
one line and the first of the next following. In combination these
feet often yield an ictic or other rhyme.
« Her. C. III. xiv. 28. *« Mart. XIV. exciii. 1. «' Ov. Am. II. iv. 24.
«8 Mart. III. Ixxxvi. 8. *9 lb. VII. Ixxii. 11.
^° Hor. I. Sat. ix. 66 (w . m is also a uniped). " Virg. A. vii. 305.
" Hor. C. IV. ii. 17. 63 76. m. j^. 4.
50 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
When they yield an ictic rhyme, both feet rhyme sufficiently,
even if the rhyming letters have no vowel between, e.g. dries \ cura,
pent I turn. This rhyme is very common, e.g.
-nata | aula divitem manet : ^* a d 1 1
mori I narras 6t, genus Aeaci : ^^ r s s C
-itas I clavos non animum metti | n : ^^ a nn mm n
flavo I olim juventas 6t patrius vigor | n : ^' I nss n
' flammeum video venire | ite : ^^ m m V *
-icos I jacere pulvillos amant | illiterati : ^^ c 1 1 ^
or (anticipating § 98) :
lippus I illinere intered Maecenas advenit atque : ^° Z n - n d t
nt nt.
§ 90. When they yield other rhymes, there is room for distinguish-
ing ; and it would appear that the oblique rhyme alone is here
recognised, and only when there is no vowel between the rhyming
letters, as for instance in aureum | med, where the terminal m rhymes
sufficiently. This rhyme may arise even between vowels (which
will, of course, be in hiatu) :
splendebat hilari poculis convivium | magno : ^^ b 1 p H i M
Africa neque Attali | ignotus : ^^ a ca c 7.
Obs. — The question arises whether other rhymes, such as would be
recognised if the feet were in the same line, have any value when the feet
are in different lines, e.g. in
Ves6vo I ora (o in the second foot)'^
4rmis | nee rediit {R in the first foot)
curae | quod si (0 in the first foot)
" Hor. C. II. xviii. 31. " jb. III. xix. 3. " lb. HI. xxiv. 7.
" lb. IV. iv. 6. " Cat. Ixi. 118 (122). " goj.. Epod. viii. 16.
60 Hor. I. Sat. v. 31. " Phaed. IV. xxiv. 20.
•2 Hor. C. II. xviii. 5. The vowel uniped seems to have appealed strongly to
the ancients, even when the syllables were in different lines, as here. GelUus,
VI. (VII.) XX., in speaking of Virgil's vicina Vesevo \ ora jugo (G. ii. 224), remarks
that the poets worked for these conjunctions, and instances from Homer :
^8*6 Tcprj 6fp€'i irpopeei elKv7a xaA(£C?7
fj x"^»'» ^^XPd^ ^1 vSaros KpvffrdWcf. — II. xzii. 151—2.
\aav 6.vu> todiaKf irorX \6<f>oy. — Od. xi. 596.
His ensuing paragraph on the hke " Homeric " hiatus in Cat. xxvii. 4 needs
amending. Read ebria acina ^briosioris followed by ebrio . . . ebriam . . . ebrio
. . . ebrioao, and what would otherwise have been unintelligible becomes perfectly
clear. Postgate, whose text had not been examined when this note was written,
must have taken the same view.
THE RULES 51
nostra | r611igio (r . r in the second foot)
agmen | miinera {mn mn)
agmen | admonuere {mn mn)
terra latet | v611era [L in the second foot and rl Ir). '^
The author has found no conclusive evidence of such value, unless
Hor. C. II. xiii. 32 be a case in point. Cf. § 186. 8.
§ 91. Close attention to liaison and ligation is sometimes necessary
for the detection of this rhyme. Thus in the first of the following
examples ren rhymes with ndi :
ad timbilicum addiicere | non aliter : ** d c dc w
liberrima indignatid | sectus : ^^ - d t s
nd nt
s I o dura messorum ilia | quid hoc : ®^ r - re.
so so
ii. The Second Interlineal Rhyme.
§ 92. The second interlineal rhyme arises between feet that are
not consecutive, the rule here being that an ictic will rhyme
sufficiently if it is an element in a group which is balanced by a
similar group in a companion line, provided that the groups have
a common ictic and that their length is proportionate to the distance
between them ; which means that the groups must rhyme ictically
at some one point, and that if the last letter of the earlier group
and the first letter of the later one are separated by a single ictus
only, the groups need not consist of more than two effective
letters, and that if they are separated by two ictuses they must
have at least three such letters, and so on.
065. — The provision that the groups must have a common ictic excludes
a case like the following :
siib trabe citrea | illic plurima naribiis,®'
where rb<5 and cp-f do not form an interHneal rhyme.
§ 93. The following will illustrate :
-scientia | ligdnibtis duris humtim \ ex: ^^ gn s s mm
per mare navitae | culpar* metuit Fides : ^® P rm t d.
*^ Ov. Med. Fac. 9, where the alliteration is independent even of fvelUra.
64 Hor. Epod. xiv. 8. «5 /^^ j^. lO. ea Ih. iii. 4.
67 Hor. C. III. i. 21. «8 76. Epod. v. 30. «» lb. C. IV. v. 20.
52 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
and these others, which demand the first interlineal as well as the
second :
hospites I azt fuisse ndvium celerrimtis | neque tillius : '^ tsuncls
insedit vapor | sittculosae Aptiliae | nee munus : '^ H 1 w (§ 91)
s I fioae citii^s vemte kwrus | nil : '^ se e s nil
centiceps | aures et intorti capiUis : '^ s ttcp.
§ 94. In the above instances the groups were regular — in the
sense that the constituents followed each other in the same order
from left to right ; but the rule holds even if the order in the second
group is reversed, e.g.
-16s pedes | rassilemque subi forem : '* rs Z bf r
-naeque Vestae | ^ncolumi Jove et tirbe Roma : '^ nc m.T im
i meritis ejus pars mihi ni^Ua vacat | quae numero : '^ M ts s s n t |
genus adprobet | qualis zinica ab optima : '^ a sn bp a
tit tandem videaris unus esse | tonsor : ^^ t d r s s.
§ 95. In both cases the grouping is occasionally of the spurious
type (§ 109), e.g.
campus opimae | quam domus Albuneae resonantis : '^ n s-b -n
nd nt
non sum qudhs eram bonae | siib regno : ^^ n - r-b n.
ns ns.
Obs. — Irregular groupings like ab'^cd balancing ab^dc were probably
not legitimate. The only case which has caught the author's eye is in
Martial : ®^
quas mihi tabellas | csmVbl rhyming
6t dicis modo Kberum esse jussi j with csmd^lb.
It may be one of the inexactnesses with which the poet was reproached by
a rival." Cf. § 187. 23.
§ 96. When a rhyming group is enlarged by the repetition of one
or more of its constituents, so that the answering group to cr
(say) is crrr or ccr or crc or crcr, etc., the benefit of the rhyme extends
to every element in the two groups, provided that the distance
'• Cat. iv. 2 (the interlineal tfs is omitted as being referable to § 94).
»i Hor. Epod. iii. 16. '« Stat. Silv. IV. iii. 110. '» Hor. C. II. xiii. 36.
'* Cat. Ixi. 164 (168). " Hor. C. III. v. 12. '« Ov. Ex P. IV. xv. 6.
" Cat. Ixi. 224 (228). '» Mart. X. Ixxxiu. 10. '» Hor. C. I. vii. 12.
" lb. IV. i. 3. " Mart. IX. Ixxxvu. 3-4. " /ft. jx. Ixxxi.
THE RULES 58
between the latter does not exceed that which is proportionate to
the mean length of the groups. A case in which the conditions
are barely fulfilled (with the help of a spurious couple) is the following
"privileged" line (§ 112), where 'pr echoes hr-jpr with two ictuses
between :
abrtimpere cdro | v/ncula P*rithod : ^^ c pr -
The double rap in the earlier line so awakes the attention that a
reverberation which would have escaped the Hstener after two
intervening ictuses, had the challenge not been renewed, becomes
under the circumstances sensible and effective.
Other lines — in which the conditions are more than satisfied — are :
ei sua velleribus nomina c^ra dedit | quot nova terra : ^*
ts vv s n-n r t (rddt - tr)
et ducit remds illic ubi nwper ararat | ille super : ®^
t ct - c p rr (prrr pr)
tr rt
libera per te | silmituT ^t vitae h'berioris iter : ®^
- ttlib ri (librpr librr).
rt tr
Obs. — The conditions are not satisfied by the following line :
parva cupidine | vectigalia porrigam | c : ^'
where por could only rhyme if prep balanced prg-c, which it does not, the
p in rep not being a development of re. The true reading must be
eorrigam*. Others, dissatisfied with the text, have suggested colUgam.
iii. The Third Interlineal Rhyme (Lyrics).
§ 97. This may be distinguished as the Parallel rhyme, and is
only found in Lyrics. It arises (1) when, unbroken by a versual
pause, at least three consecutive ictic syllables in one line rhyme
regularly with the like in a companion hne without more than
one ictus (which must not be a blank) between the two sets ; and
(2) when at least two consecutive ictic syllables rhyme doubly under
the same conditions. Syllables which so rhyme rhyme sufficiently.
With two exceptions (§ 177. 20, § 204. ii), the following are all the
cases which demand recognition in Horace :
83 Hor. IV. vii. 28 (last line ; cf. § 112). 84 Qv. A. A. iii. 184.
85 lb. Met. i. 294. »« lb. F. iii. 778. " Hor. C. III. xvi. 40,
H ALLITTERATIO LATINA
(1) divulsus querimoniis ism" js
suprema citius.^^ jam js
victrices catervas j c e t
conjuge me Jovis et sorore ®* | c e" t rr
cui donet inpermissa raptim ^ t m p
gaudia luminibws remotis ^° j d m 6" t
inter amabiles ^ t b e
vdtum ponere mi cboros ®^ j t ^"o e o
et superba civitim ] t r i
potentidrum k'mina ^^ / tn f" *" n
vocata partubus
Luc^Ila veris affuit ^^
(2) recantatis arnica
opprobriis animwmque re'ddas
IS mc
Ohs. — A meretricious rhyme (§ 120) of the same description as this last
(but stronger) will be found in Hor. C. I. xiii. 16-17, where ctr mbt
answers to c-tr mpt. For the rearrangement of the letters in mpt,
cf. § 108 ohs. 2.
The Fourth Indulgence : the Compensatory Rhyme.
§ 98. When a foot (with the assistance of A) does not show an
ictic, uniped, oblique, or interlineal rhyme, it is a blank foot in the
strictest sense of the word. Such feet occur in about five per cent,
of Virgil's lines,® s and are found indifferently at every point of the
verse.** When they are present, there must be compensation,
*^ Hor. C. I. xiii. 19. The v.l. divulsos would render the line independent of
the parallel rhyme.
*• lb. III. iii. 64. If the n in conjux is silent, the line rhymes independently.
*° lb. III. vi. 28. If the v.l. oacula be read, the line is self-subsistent.
" lb. IV. iii. 15. »2 Hor. Epod. ii. 8.
•* lb. V. 6. With adfuit one of the blanks would of course disappear.
M lb. C. I. xvi. 28.
•^ They are distributed very unequally. For instance, in G. ii. w. 4, 6, 7, 8
have a blank apiece, while vv. 108-211 have none, if prodelision is admitted in
V. 135.
•• For instance, the forty-nine blanks in the Eel. are distributed thus : —
9, 7, 9, 7, 8, 9. Blanks are sometimes found in successive feet, e.g. Ov. Am. III. i.l6
(1, 2) ; II. ii. 12 (2, 3) ; lU. xii. 6 (3, 4) ; III. x. 1 (4, 5) ; Trist. I. i. 20 (5, 6).
THE RULES 55
wliich can only be provided within the limits of the line (allowing
for X), and only in one of two ways— by adding, that is to say, to
the rhymes claimed by the other feet either an Initial rhyme or a
Double rhyme — one such rhyme, of course, for every blank. More
than three blanks are probably not found in any single line. Even
two blanks are uncommon.*'
i. The Initial Rhyme.
§ 99. An initial rhyme arises when two words begin with Hke
(effective) letters. It is obviously a strong rhyme, and the powers of
compensation inherent in it are operative, even if both its elements
are claimed for other rhjnoaes, subject to the provisoes (1) that, if
two initials in the same ictic syllable {e.g. te tolerare) are treated
as a uniped, only one of them can count towards an initial rhyme ;
and (2) that an initial in thesi cannot contribute to an initial rhyme
if it is needed for a uniped or oblique rhyme. A letter annexed by
liaison is, of course, not an initial.
§ 100. The following will exempHfy :
nwlla quit sine te domtis : ^® - ts t s (T D)
quo tibi ttim casu pulcherrima Ldodamta : *^
c c - c - - (CC, TT)
ct t-c
et lasciva Licentid : ^ t c ct - (LL)
favete Unguis carmina non prius : ^ - g sc nn s (FP)
clari Giganteo trii^mpho : ^ g gt t - (CG)
vivuntque commissi calores : * V (or c) c c - (CC).
Ilia ab Idaeo Laomedonte genus : ^ 1 d - 1 dn n (II).
§ 101. In the following, three like initials compensate for two
blanks :
si bene t4 novi longwm jam lassa libellum : ^ i - i - 1 1 (LLL)
det poenas nocuit jam tener ^lle ded : ' t n t n — (DTD).
^■^ Particularly in Virgil, where there are perhaps only nine cases in 12,915 lines,
viz. E. ii. 45, ix. 47 ; G. ii. 323, iv. 499 ; A. i. 617, iii. 398, v. 62, x. 833, xii. 204.
»8 Cat. Ixi. 66.
*^ lb. Ixviii. 65. Such a lean hexameter would be hard to parallel.
1 Hor. C. I. xix. 3. 2 /^. III, i. 2. 3 Hor. C. III. i. 7.
* lb. IV. ix. 11. 5 ov. Am. III. vi. 54. « Mart. HI. Ixviii. 11.
' lb. XIII. xxxix. 2.
56 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
§ 102. Other general illustrations are :
Lucan, i. 609 ; Lucr. iv. 479 ; Mart. III. xlvi. 2, Ixxx. 2,
VI. Ixii. 2, VII. Ixxxix. 2, VIII. lii. 5, X. civ. 18, XII. xxiv. 3,
XIII. xii. 2 ; Prop. I. xvii. 3 ; Ov. Amor. II. iii. 15 ; A.A. iii.
748 ; Her. xv. 216.
Obs. — If an (effective) initial is regarded as a double, as by a fiction it
may well be, this rhyme will merge in the following.
ii. The Double Ehjmae.
§ 103. Double rhymes are a prominent feature in all alHterative
systems. Subject to § 114, a pair of rhyming letters is effective in
Latin at any point in the line, whether in arsi or in ihesi (either
wholly or in part), whether regular (6r hr) or otherwise (hr rb), and
whether consonantal, vocalic, or mixed (tt tt, ed ed, to to, tj tj, va va) ;
and it can hardly be doubted that in its more perfect forms a double
rhyme was regarded, even in thesi, as an agreeable alternative to an
ictic rhyme. The following examples have been selected with an
eye to variety, and are classified according to the regularity or
irregularity of the answering groups :
§ 104. (a) Regular.
Romanus arces tireret : ® (sr sr)
laboriosi remiges JJlixei : ^ (gs cs)
mite precor duplici numen adesse via^ : ^° {tp dp)
tu recipis luco stimmovet ille nef as : ^^ {ps fs)
sive jactatam religarat udo : ^^ {tt td)
litore et attonita tympana pulsa manu : ^^ {tt tt)
ei mihi jiiravi nunc quoque paene tibi : i* {cv cv)
me quoque servato peccet ut ilia nihil : ^^ {cv cv)
felt em revocet mantisque coUo : ^® {vc vc)
joco s6 lepido vovere divis : ^' {dv dv)
durataeque solo niv^s : ^® {vs vs)
dd sua fdUci co^perat ire via : ^^ {ic ic)
inptine Lolli carpere lividcis : '^^ {li li)
dices labdrantes in tino : ^i {es es)
quls ullos homines bedtiores : ^^ {es es)
8 Hor. Epod. vii. 6. » lb. xvii. 16. lo Ov. Tr. I. x. 46.
" lb. F. ii. 140. " Hor. C. I. xxxii. 7. ^^ Ov. A.A. I. 638.
i« Ov. Her. xx. (xxi.) 108. " Tib. I. i. 16. " Cat. xxxv. 9.
" lb. xxxvi.510. " Hor. C. III. xxiv. 39. " Ov. F. i. 432.
" Hor. C. IV. ix. 33. ^ lb. I. xvii. 19. «« Cat. xlv. 26.
THE RULES 57
Castalia tellwre dez vix invenit Appi : ^s (cs cs tl tl)
<\waA pronos Hypenonis meatus : ^4 [jyrns 'prns).
§ 105. (6) Irregular.
curas et arcanwm jocoso : ^s (cr re)
qui major absentes habet : ^6 (^5 §5)
Marsis redibit vdcibus : ^7 {js sr)
terra sub ambobtis ndn jacet ulla polis : ^^ (^sh hs)
Vadaveronem montibws : ^^ (nm mn)
optima non ullo causa tuente perit : ^° {pt tp)
djB&cio doluit non eguisse suo : ^^ (vs sv)
non anus Haemonia perfida lavit aqua : ^2 ^av va)
in mdjus idem odere vires : ^^ (er re)
nomen beati qui dedrum : ^* (ti id)
indue regales Laodam^a sinus : ^^ {al la)
hac et tu ratidne qua poeta es : ^^ (ac ca)
carmina pastoris Siculi modulabor a vena : ^^ (jxi ab)
litus ut longe resonante Eda : ^^ (It tl, LL)
fenisecae crassd vitiarunt unguine pultas : ^^ (Jn np, FP).
§ 106. (c) Mixed.
sub haec pu^ jam non ut ante mdllibtis : *® (sb 65, nt rU).
agit praecipitem ^n meds iambos : *i {tp pt, os os)
nullus ab ifimathid religdsset litore ftinem : *2 (nu un, tr tr)
hue ades et tenerae morbos expelle puellae : *^ (6s spl pi)
hostis es Aened moned fuge litora Circes : ** (se es, re re)
n I et jacet in medio szcca puella toro : ^^ (ntj tn dj)
midus Achillea destituaris humd : *^ (ds ads to).
§ 107. It will doubtless have been noticed that many of the
doubles in the above examples resulted from letters which were not in
inmiediate contact, and it may now be formally declared that a double
23 Lucan, v. 188. ^4 stat. Silv. II. vii. 25. 25 gop q uj ^^- ^^
2« Ih. Epod. i. 18. 27 75, ^^ 75. 28 Qv. Ex P. II. vii. 64.
29 Mart. I. xlix. 6. 3" Ov. Her. xix. (xx.) 92. 3i Qv. F. v. 232.
32 Ov. Am. I. xiv. 40. 33 Hor. C. III. iv. 67. 34 /ft. IV. ix. 47.
35 Ov. Her. xiii. 36. 36 jyiart. I. Ixxii. 7. 37 yirg. E. x. 51.
33 Cat. xi. 3. Guarino has longe ubi litus, which seems better.
3» Pers. vi. 40. " Hor. Epod. v. 83. " Cat. xl. 2.
42 Lucan, vii. 860. " t-^, jy ^^ ^ 44 q^ ^^^ ^^^ 247.
*5 Mart. XI. Ixxxi. 2. " Ov. lb. 328. (If the aspirate in cUl rhymed
obliquely, this illustration would lose its point.)
58 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
is not vitiated by any intervening vowel, semi- vowel, or aspirate ; so
that a word like tuis will yield not only tv vi iSj but also ti vs ts."^"^
§ 108. The following will illustrate :
t I Hesperiae male Itictuosae : ^ {t - s t - s)
h vo
inter jocosi mwnera Liberi | c : *^ (r - c r-c)
j i
h^ro6s salv6te dewm gens 6 bona matrum : ^^ {o-s $o)
e
Aeneas maesto defixus lumina vultu : ^^ (e - s e^)
a
evaditque celer ripam irremeabilis undae '.^"^ (e-d de)
V
s I hue pater 6 Lenaee veni nudataque musto : ^^ (en e-n)
V
sive inopes erimtis coloni : ^* (i-n ni)
V
ast ubi me fessum sol dcrior ire lavdtum : ^^ {la I -a).
V
Obs. 1. — ^The rioiiness which this provision sometimes brings to a line
may be seen in
diversa^ varia^ via^ rep6rtant,5'
where over and above the ictic scaffolding, d e e et, and the ictic doubles
ev ev, we have also dr rt, vr vr vr, er er, je je. So in the hexameter ending
fluvii contagia viUs^'
we have not only Ivjc^ gjvl, but also Ij jl, U H, Ic gl, vi vi, ic gi, vc gv.
Obs. 2. — When it is necessary to exhibit two or more of these cross-
rhymes in our analyses, it will sometimes be convenient to depart from the
order of the spelling. For instance, if the two doubles vs and vo are utilised
in the case of tuos, the most compendious way of showing them will be
ovs. The same consideration applies to cases arising under our next
section, as, for instance, to the two doubles l-t and nt in lentus, which may
be figured as ItUy or, if it be desired to show In also, the whole might appear
as nltn.
§ 109. A double in an ictic syllable is not vitiated even by an
intervening consonant, so that l-t in lentus (for example) would
rhyme with It or tl, even if these latter be wholly in thesi. Such a
rhyme may be distinguished as a spurious double. It is important
*' It follows that a hexameter which relied wholly on (say) tuia votis would be
technically unassailable ; but it ia not likely that any poet would take such extreme
advantage of the rule. " Summum jus, summa injuria."
«» Hor. C. ni. vi. 8. " lb. IV. xv. 20. " Cat. Ixiv. 23.
" Virg. A. vi. 166. " lb. 425. " Virg. G. ii. 7.
" Hor. C. II. xiv. 12. " lb. 1. Sat. vi. 126. " Cat. xlvi. II.
»' Lucan, vi. 379.
THE RULES 59
to remember that this right to skip cannot be exercised if either of the
letters is in thesi ; nor indeed is it often exercised in arsi, except when
the intervening consonant is a liquid. The first example i7ifra
will illustrate the more irregular usage.
s I cur neque m^litaris : ^^ (s -r rs)
c
non indecoro pwlvere sordidos : ^^ (s -d ds)
r
s I Caesar ab ttalid volantem : ^° (tl l-t)
n
dum licet Assyriaque nardo : ^^ (dn n-d)
r
s I occurrat tacito ne levis umbra sibi : ^^ {s -h sb)
m
sed morere interitu gaudeat ilia tud : ^^ {r-t rt)
n
non erat in curas una puella satis | c : ^* {t-c t-c)
n s
horum delicias superbiamque : ^^ (cj j - c)
n
innuba permaneo sed jam fekcior aetas :^^{p-m mfy sd ts, PF)
r
Carmine sdnat^ femina virque meo : ^^ (re- mn mn rem).
r
§ 110. Reliance on a spurious rhyme, when one of the pairing
letters is a vowel, is rare :
prmcipum amicitids et arma : ^^ (i - c ic)
n
immemores soci* vasto Cyclopis in antro : ^^ (oc c-o)
I
non habet 6ffici^ Iticifer omnis idem : ^^ (on o-n, fc cf)
m
sed tua peccato lenior ira meo'st : '^ (st st to o- 1).
s
58 Hor. C. I. viii. 5.
5* lb. II. i. 22. If sord- be admitted, this example would not be decisive.
^^ lb. I. xxxvii. 16. The first foot has a broken uniped, ss, and is also covered
by the interlineal rs in veros).
" lb. II. xi. 16. 62 ov. F. V. 434. «3 p^op. II. viii. 18.
64 Ov. Am. II. X. 12. 65 Mart. XII. Ixxv. 6. 66 Qv. Met. xiv. 142.
6' Ov. R.A. 814. The spelling /oemtna would render this example indecisive.
68 Hor. C. II. i. 4. 69 virg. A. iii. 617.
'° Ov. F. i. 46. Officium would simplify, but has no MS. authority.
'1 Ov. Tr. V. ii. 60.
60 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
§ 111. By combining two double rhymes, we get a triple rhyme
{str str) which will provide compensation for two blanks, as indeed
has been seen in some of the examples supra. Three sets of the same
double (tr tr tr) will also provide for two blanks, while four sets
would provide for three ; and so on.
^set ca^a decentidr Philaenis : "'^ {tc cd c-t),
Obs. 1. — Though str is equivalent to st tr, it does not appear that tit is
equivalent to tt tt, or that trt is equivalent to tr rt. In the absence of
evidence to the contrary, it must be held that these combinations have no
more value for rhyming purposes than tt or tr, unless indeed they are
balanced by like combinations, when they would of course rank with
other triplets. It cannot be doubted that trt rtr are also rhyming triplets.
Obs. 2. — A group like str is often balanced by a combination in which
some of the letters are immediately repeated once or more, e.g. sstr, stttr,
etc. Such repetitions, it need hardly be said, do not detract from the
value of the combination as a rhyming group, but rather add to it. In the
analyses it will be convenient to indicate repetitions by figures, when the
intervening vowels are not utilised, or where there is no occasion for
showing the repeated letters as doubles, etc., e.g.
Tibure m6 miss4 jiissit ad^sse mor4 : '' rm^sH tsmr.
The Fifth Indulgence: the Privileged Line (Lyrics).
§ 112. As the first line in a poem is excluded on one side from the
benefit of interUneal X and interUneal rhyme, it is at a disadvantage,
compared with its feUows ; and the same consideration applies to
the last line. Some indulgence was therefore reasonable in Lyrics,
where the lines are often short ; and it took the form of allowing
one blank foot in a first or last line without compensation, when
there were less than six ictuses. The cases, however, in which the
indulgence is claimed are not numerous. One has already been
quoted supra (§ 96).
§ 113. The following will illustrate, being perhaps a full list :
Amedna puella d^futtita : '* a a - d t
si non omnia displicere vellem : '^ sn n s —
no no
" Mart. XII. xxii. 3. '» Prop. III. xvi. 2.
'* Cat. xli. 1. The opening word is suspect, and has been variously amended.
Perhaps Catullus wrote a me vana. This would eUrainate the blank.
" lb. Uv. 4. Only as a first line will this respond to rule (in the absence of
rich interUneal rhymes supplied by a foregoing missing line). In Guarino's text
it begins an epigram.
THE RULES 61
otium Cattille tib* molestumst : ^® t - 1 - t
tl 1-t
mitte super vacuos honores : ^' - r o or
vitas hinnuled me similis CHoe : ^® - s - e s e
1 . . m ml
urbamis tibi, CaeciH, videris : ^^ r t e - der
Issa est passere nequior CatwUi : ^° s s c c -
nil secwrius est malo poeta : ^^ 1 - 1 1 1
illusit mihi pauper inquilinus : ^^ 1 - pp n In.
Obs. — In Hor. C. I. xxviii. 36 the blank (^wZ-) is covered by parallelism
{t . , . I . . . c) ; and mic in III. xxiii. 20 by the spurious ihyme jtj-t
General.
§ 114. Wben the last vowel in a line is in thesi and is followed by
two consonants in the same word (e.g. Pollux, {bant, grata est), the
falling inflection obscures the earlier consonant, and so disqualifies
both for rhyming in their own line, except when a uniped results (e.g.
necesse est).^^ Such at least would appear to be the case, so far as the
evidence goes, which is of course negative. There is a somewhat
analogous feature in Welsh. See § 181.
Obs. — At other points in the line, consonants which follow a thetic
vowel are all e£fective, whether they admit of being liaisoned to a fol-
lowing vowel or not. Cf. neu multi Damalis meri (Hor. C. I. xxxvi. 13) ;
Prop. II. xxvi. 42, IV. ii. 61 ; Lucr. IV. 245, etc.
§ 115. No rule can be laid down as to the order of the rhymes.
Nor is it necessary that there should be rhymes at any fixed points.
The poet had an absolutely free hand. It is noticeable, however,
'^ Cat. h. 13. If this is not a first hne, the missing preceding Une must have
ended in 5 or n, or else rhymed interUneally with one of the blanks. The terminal
-st is not available for a rhyme in its own hne (§ 114).
" Hor. C. II. XX. 24.
'8 lb. I. xxiii. 1. The speUing hlnuleo would eliminate one of the blanks, and
80 regularise the line. " Mart. I. xli. 1.
8° lb. cix. 1. Nequior seems inconsistent with v. 15, and dulcior may be the
true reading. This would render the line independent of " privilege."
8^ lb. XII. Ixiii. 13. This line would rhyme fully, if the poet meant est (a sly
hit at the parasite).
^2 Priap. Ixxi. 1. Inlusit (so pronounced) would provide compensation for the
blank.
8^ If liaisoned to a following vowel, they may sometimes both rhyme in the
next line, e.g.
laetus in praesens animus quod ultra est 1 oderit. — Hor. C. II. xvi. 25.
62 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
that the third ictic syllable in the line has a tendency to unite the
rhymes of the first two, e.g.
et memor nostri Galatea vivas : ®^ t r tr . . .
and that widely separated rhymes are, as a rule, avoided. In the
hexameter the commonest rhyme is probably between the fifth foot
and the sixth, and a favourite ordering of the line is then ahah cc.
The most uncommon is naturally between the first and last, regard
being had to those cases only where the rhyme is not repeated
within the verse, e.g.
tu quoque mollis amor pennas suppone cadenti (t).^^
§ 116. Symmetry is chiefly observable in the pentameter, where the
two halves have a tendency to rhyme with each other at the close,
the rhyme being frequently a double one (e.g. os os). Indeed, half-
lines often rhyme with each other, foot for foot, more or less regularly,
and there are many cases where one of the halves (more particularly
the first) shows no other rhymes — where, that is to say, it does not
rhyme at all without its fellow.
§ 117. When two ictic syllables meet (e.g. in the body of a penta-
meter or asclepiad, or at the end of one fine and beginning of the
next), the same letter cannot provide an ictic rhyme for both
(cf. § 29, obs. 2). It is noticeable too that when such syllables meet
in the middle of a pentameter where they are always in different
words, separated — on Quintilian's evidence — by a pause in the pro-
nunciation (cf. § 42), the line usually rhymes without haison or
ligation at that point. The following are among the exceptions :
si contra mores una puella facit :^^ strrs-t (PF)
vix aperit clausos una puella Lares :^^ vrssvr
obfuit atictori nee fera lingua suo : ^^ F c n c n -
n'^c ng
Itala nam tellus Graecia major erat : ®^ t t g c - t
tltl
uni I ne mens ex iUo corpore sanguis eat : ^^ n c c r-r g -
cs gs
§ 118. It is clear that a hexameter which links foot to foot
" Hor. C. III. xxvii. 14. " Ov. Her. xv. 179. " Prop. II. xxxii. 44.
" lb. IV. iii. 54. " Qv. Ex P. IV. xiv. 40. «» Ov. F. IV. 64.
•» Ov. Her. xiii. 80.
THE RULES 63
by different rhymes throughout the line requires five unlike
recurrents, e.g,
1 Im mn np pq q,
and that a hexameter which relies wholly on unlike unipeds requires
six, e.g.
1.1 m.m n.n p.p q.q r.r.
Even this is not the Hmit (mathematically speaking). But such
variety in the formation of necessary rhymes is altogether foreign to
Latin song. The essential elements in either hexameter or penta-
meter do not usually exceed two or three,^^ and there are many
cases where the strict requirements are met by a single letter, e.g.
conciHumque vocat vitasque et crimina discit (c) ^^
a^grum me male saepe te videbo (e) ^^
m I annosam pinum magno moHmine tempt at (m) ^*
transierant binae forsan trinaeve Kalendae (n) ^^
abstrahor a patriis pedibus raptamque capillis (jp) ^^
vir precor uxori f rater succurre sorori (r) ^^
si quaeris cui sint similes cognosceris ilHs {s) ^^
interea toto clamanti litore Theseu (t).^^
§ 119. The interlineal requirements of the Glyconic Kara a-rixov^
referred to in § 45, wiU be illustrated in § 164. A distinctive feature
in Ovid is reserved for § 166.
§ 120. The alliteration exempHfied in this chapter is the least that
could satisfy a Roman ear in and about Augustan times. As
already intimated (§ 5), the lines which estabhsh this least are
comparatively few in number, being in truth but a small fraction
per cent, of the wholc^^*^ In the great majority of cases the essentials
are overlaid, and often heavily overlaid, with rhyming material
which can only be described by an analyst as meretricious. The
nature and extent of this it will be our next business to investigate.
*^ Four are not uncommon, but five are rare (c/. Ov. Her. i. 88).
»2 Virg. A. vi. 433. «» Mart. VIII. xxv. 2. »* Ov. Met. xii. 356.
»5 Mart. X. Ixxv. 7. ^^ Qv. Her. xiv. 83. »' Ih. viii. 29.
»« lb. vi. 123. »» lb. X. 21.
1®° See Index to Illustrations, where crucial lines are distinguished by an obelus.
CHAPTER X
METHODS OF EMBELLISHMENT
§ 121. It has been shown in the foregoing chapter that when an
ictic syllable does not rhyme, compensation is provided in the form
of a double or initial rhyme. The reason why such a rhyme was
admitted as an equivalent is that the concurrence was so deUghtful
to the sense that it beguiled the hearer into forgetting that a musical
note was missing. Now these concurrences have their charm even
when a note is not missing ; and it could not fail to come about that
there would be a tendency to introduce them when, as elements of
compensation, they were superfluous. And the same consideration
appUes to every variety of rhyme that has been represented as
alternative to an ictic rhyme. The Hberty to choose between one
mode and another naturally suggested the inclusion of both, where
the conditions were favourable ; and rarely did a poet neglect his
opportunities, as any investigator will quickly realise. Even a
glyconic, with only four ictuses, is not easy to find in a form which
merely satisfies the rules ; and, as the fine lengthens, the search for a
minimum becomes more and more difficult. Ovid, indeed, is said to
have dehberately perpetrated a weak verse on occasion by way of
enhancing the beauty of its surroundings, and the statement is
itself an indication — exceptio probat regulam — ^that the feature was
phenomenal. Like instrumentahsts who set off a simple melody
with endless turns and variations, the writers of that age strained
after sensuous efiects ; and, to embellish their verses, they volup-
tuously threw in all the meretricious ornament they could command,
interweaving sequence with sequence, overlaying ictic rhymes with
uniped, oblique, and initial rhymes, multiplying double rhymes,
64
METHODS OF EMBELLISHMENT 65
extending the double rhymes into triple, quadruple, quintuple,
sextuple, or even longer rhymes, and tincturing the whole with such
music as could be echoed from a neighbouring hue. Not often,
indeed, could they compass all these things at the same time, but,
generally speaking, that is what they worked for. The love of
alhterative jingle grows with every successful effort, and, Hke the
craze for punning, with which it has some affinity, it tends to become
a passion.
The methods by which embeUishment was effected must now
be illustrated in detail, though only on a modest scale. The fuller
treatment which some of them demand is reserved for our next
chapter.
1. By Extension or Composition of Sequences,
§ 122. The difference between a sequence and a Hne of sequence
has been explained in § 9. The method of embellishment with
which we are here concerned consists (1) in introducing a letter
which will extend one of the existing sequences ; or (2) in com-
pounding a Hne of sequence with one or more additional sequences ;
or (3) in both.
(1) collocate puellulam : ^ c ell
1
(2) onusta bacis ambulet : ^ t b b t
s s
caementis licet occupes : ^ c s c s
et t e
(3) aridior porro si nubes accipit ignem : * r p r beg
r s s
ma jus fichionia^ve Thebae : ^ j j e e.
h j h
06s. — Though an additional sequence gives fullness and body to a verse
by introducing an additional strand into its texture, and (if cacophonies be
avoided) may add substantially to its merits, it is an ornament of an
inferior order, without power to compensate for the absence of an ictic
rhyme, unless its introduction results in a double (tr tr). It will be seen
that in the third of the above examples there are two independent lines
of sequence ; and there are many cases in which there are even three
or more (see § 135).
1 Cat. Ixi. 184 (188). 2 Hor. Epod. viii. 14. ^ 7^. C. III. xxiv. 3.
* Lucr. vi. 150. ^ gor, c. IV. iu. 64.
5
66 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
2. By Addition of Uniped Rhymes.
§ 123. In the following there are three unipeds :
atque utinam possis et detur amicius arvum : ® t m s t m s.
t-t s . s d . t
3. By Addition of Oblique Rhymes.
§ 124. in magni simul ambulatione : "^ n n IM 1 n
tit f ugerem exemplis vitiorum quaeque notando : ® t res Ps r cV tN. i
4. By Addition of Interlineal Rhymes.
§ 125. In the case of the First interlineal, the instances are
innumerable. The ode from Horace quoted below (§ 135) has no
less than eleven examples in twenty lines.
§ 126. In the case of the Second, embellishment may be effected
either (1) by lengthening a pair of indispensable rhyming groups
beyond the requirements, e.g.
quid leges sine mdribus | r5 . . . p* would
vdnae proficiiint (pro) * j have sufficed
-ris pericultim \ri . . . ir would
sub^re Maecenas tu6 | c (sbir) ^^ J have sufficed
major Caelius et minor fatigant ^rft... rpt would
ne multos repetita (rpti) ^^ J have sufficed ;
or (2) by introducing wholly gratuitous groups, e.g.
flores I necte meo Lamiae coronam ^^ (ol)
quam sibi sortem | seu ratio ^^ {srt)
ilia meo quis | quis nisi CaUimachiis ^* (Im^)
-serpina canum \cn...nc would
p^sonam capiti detrahet ilia tud (prs nc) ^^ f have sufficed.
§ 127. It is to be observed that a line which is weak in itself is
often strong in interlineals, e.g.
• Ov. Ex P. IV. XV. 21. ' Cat. Iv. 6. " Hor. I. Sat. iv. 106.
• Hor. C. III. xxiv. 36-6. i» lb. Epod. i. 3-4. " Mart. XII. xviii. 6.
" Hor. C. I. xxvi. 8. " lb. I. Sat. i. 1-2. " lb. 11. Epp. ii. 99-100.
" Mart. lU. xliii. 3-4.
METHODS OF EMBELLISHMENT 67
medicamina ntitrix
attulit audac* siipposuitque manu (tcmnu) ^^
s I et vera ^ncessu patuit dea. ^lle ubi matrem
agnovit tdXi fugientem est voce secutus.^''
Ohs. — The first is a minimum line, but the second rhjrmes finely. The
interhneal is vUlilb (§ 1386).
Ruris colonus te dominam aequoris \ sclnst nc
Quictinque B*thyna lacessit > nc^bt nlcst
Carpatbium pelagus carina ^^ ^ c-jpt Igs
intabuissent pupulae 1 nthvis^ntjpHe
non defuisse masculae libidinis ^® J ntfvis elhdns.
§ 128. In tbe case of tbe Tbird or Parallel rbyme, the following
will illustrate. In Horace it is not uncommon :
voltis severae me quoque stimere 'I
partem Falerni ? dicat Opuntiae 20 j i ^ c u e (^ 61)
nardo perunctum quale non perfectiws ^
meae laborarint manus ^^ J
lots.
5. By Addition of Initial Rhymes.
§ 129. ctilpam poena premit comes ^^ (CC, PP)
et sola in sicca sectim spatiatur arena ^^ (SSSS)
quo possit poenas pendere pignus babet ^^ (PPPP).
6. By Addition of Double Rhymes.
§ 130. This metbod of embellisbment is, in one of its forms, only
a special case of composition (§ 122), tbe special feature being tbat
bere sequence {li . . . n) is compounded witb sequence {t . . . ()
and not merely witb a Hne of sequence, regardless of affinities.
Sucb composition necessarily results in tbe formation of ictic
doubles {ni . . . nt), e.g.
quantum parva su6 Mantua Virgilio : ^^ t r o t r o.
nt nt
i« Ov. Her. xi. 40. i' Virg. A. i. 405-6. ^^ Hor. C. I. xxxv. 6-8.
i» Hor. Epod. V. 40-1. 20 jf,, c. I. xxvii. 9-10. 21 /&, Epod. v. 59-60.
" lb. C. IV. V. 24. 23 Virg. G. i. 389. 24 Qv. R vi. 612.
25 Mart. XIV. cxcv. 2.
68 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
§ 131. Distinguishable from these ictic doubles are those which
arise from the pairing of letters which are not all in arsi, and may
be all in thesi. They are commoner than the others, and will be
found in one form or other in almost any elegiac couplet. The
following line, remarkable for its " imitative rhythm," has two ictic
and four mixed doublets :
m I et quatitur trepido littera nostra metu : ^^ 1 1 d t t t
mt t^r tr tr tr mt.
§ 132. The first form was naturally the most effective,^' and there
are many lines which show such rhymes in every foot, most of them
having other ornament as well. Even triple rhymes of this character
are occasionally found.
partibus Oceanoque rubro : ^s pr oc oc rb
stistulerat nullas ut solet herba comas : 2» st rt as ts tr as
quae saga quis te solvere Thessalis : ^^ sg est si ts Is
sentiant motiis orientis Atistri : ^^ nt jnt ts jnt st
prosequitur pavitans et ficto pectore fatur : ^^ pr rp ta fct pet at.
Ohs. — The third illustration, though perhaps not the best, is in many
respects remarkable. Besides the features noted in the analysis, it has a
uniped and an interlineal, six rhyming initials (one in each word), two
triples (cm, tsl)^ and three doubles {cv es vs).
7. By Interlineal Liaison and Ligation.
§ 133. EmbelHshment by this method is effected by ending and
beginning consecutive lines in a way that will admit of a letter or
two being annexed by one or other of them. Such annexation may
enrich a line under any of the above heads, except the fifth (the
initial rhyme), and particularly under the last (the double rhyme).
For instance, in
bimi ciim patera meri | m ^^
ligation adds two double rhymes (im rm) ; and in
s I vir tuos Tyrio in toro | t ^*
liaison and ligation combined add three (so st ot).
2« Ov. Tr. III. i. 54. " (jf^ Tennyson's " O well for him whose wiU is Btrong."
" Hor. C. I. XXXV. 32. 2» Qv. F. iii. 854. »° Hor. C. I. xxvii. 21.
»i lb. III. xxvii. 22. ^2 virg. A. ii. 107. »» Hor. C. I. xix. 16.
3< Cat. Ixi. 168 (172).
METHODS OF EMBELLISHMENT 69
An Exercise in Analysis.
§ 134. An illustration is now desirable in a form which will
bring together more or less compactly the phenomena under con-
sideration, emphasise the distinction between the essential and
the meretricious, and call renewed attention to the comparative
values of not only embellishment and embellishment, but also of
indulgence and indulgence. For while there is a difference of
degree between a uniped, an oblique, an initial, and a double rhyme,
and between the varieties within each class, there is also a difierence
between an internal rhyme and an interlineal rhyme, between a
line which dispenses with liaison and ligation and one which is
dependent on them, between a line which echoes an earlier line and
one which anticipates a later rhyme, and between a line which echoes
or anticipates a doublet and one that, with a proportionally length-
ened interval, echoes or anticipates a triplet. What the quality
of the difference is may indeed often be a matter of opinion.
The form of illustration referred to will best consist of a number
of short lines arranged in order of alliterative merit on an ascending
scale. The Glyconics of Hor. C. I. xiii. will probably answer the
purpose as well as any ; and as this is the only example of the kind
included in the book, the author has endeavoured to determine the
relations of every effective letter with all the care which he does
not doubt that the poet himself gave to the subject in putting his
lines together ; and he has thought it just to exhibit them one and
all. For if a rhyme, however poor, is recognised anywhere as a
makeshift for a better, it must appeal to a sensitive ear wherever
it occurs, and therefore cannot be ignored in an analysis which
aims at completeness, however strong the other rhymes may be.
In each verse the interlineal rhymes of the second and third order
are exhibited collectively in italics at or towards the foot of the
analysis, where a perpendicular mark of division, or (in the case of
a parallel rhyme) an arrow, distinguishes the rhymes that relate to
the earlier and later lines respectively, an arrow to the left indi-
cating an earlier line.
With the exception of v. 3, all the verses have at least two inde-
pendent lines of sequence, thus satisfying the minimum require-
ments at least twice over. The index affixed to the number of the
70 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
verse shows in each case how many independent lines there are.
It has not always been convenient to distinguish them clearly in
the analyses.^s
§ 135. Hor. Carm. I. xiii.
1. Quum tu Lydia Telephi
Cervicem roseam, cerea Telephi
» 3. Laudas brachia, vae meum
Fervens difficili bile tumet jecur.
6. Turn nee mens mihi nee color
Certa sede manent, humor et in genas
7. Furtim labitur argucns
Quam lentis penitus macerer ignibus.
9. Uror, seu tibi candidos
Turparunt humeros immodicae mero
11. Rixae, sive puer furens
Impressit memorem dente labris notam.
13. Non, si me satis audias,
Speres perpetuum dulcia barbare
15. Laedentem oscula, quae Venus
Quinta parte sui nectaris imbuit.
17. Felices ter et amplius,
Quos irrupta tenet copula, nee malis
19. Divulsus querimoniis '•
Suprema citius solvet amor die.
Grade 1.
Minimum^ toithmd embellishments
(None.)
Grade 2.
Minimum^ with embellishments which provide aUemative rhymes
where they stand, but cannot compensate for a blank elsewhere,
III II I II
3^ a a m m
l-d\\^ f
"•^ In reckoning up a line of sequence, the reader must be careful not to count
the same letter twice in the same capacity.
'• There is a variant divulaoa which would eliminate the blank.
METHODS OF EMBELLISHMENT 71
Grade 3.
With one meretricious double or initial rhyme, plus
embellishments of the Grade 2 class.
192
til
s
III
s
mil
III
s
s - i
il
s . s
s|sii
mH
is
1 1
t
c
III
l.d
t
1
tl
i
c
III
e
d
III
s
t c
c
/ / III
e s
c
sc
V
. V sc
15*
I .dnt-cV^ \ cv .V . .n
Grade 4.
TF*YA two meretricious double or initial rhymes, plus, etc.
I I t i t III I 1 1 I
73 f b g c
s rt t . . r r 8
f-t bt ^ ns\
rtn I ^ i;n
173
III
1 1 1 1
/ / / / /
f
s
p s
e
ce t
t c
f .1
c . s
pi sc
c— iril
tmf 38
c.sii
^.pl>
Grade 5.
With three meretricious double or initial rhymes, plus, etc.
Ill III I III
93 r...r t d <?
su us . t d . s
s . r r . s I ^" wc^i' o s^' -»
3' The explanation of this figuring is that -tuum dulcia in v. 14 yields the groups
tndl ndcl (§ 108 obs. 2), which are both present in Idnt of v. 15.
wi-cZ
38 For this rhyme cf. § 97 065.
72 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
// / /// //
13' s s s s
st asd as
S S
nsi
<- w" sit dPi
Grade 6.
With four meretricious double or initial rhymes ^ plus, etc.
// I I 4 i II II
5^ n n n r
nc m.n mncc c
N M MN
i" e . s" n" ->
Grade 7.
With five meretricimis double or initial rhymes, plus, etc.
/// /// /// III
11* ri i r r
S S V V s
i-s si p . . . r f . . . r
r — s V p V . . f r - s
P F
sW s" r" Till ->
Obs. — ^It would almost seem that by assigning appropriate numerical
values to the various embellishments, and making due deductions for
recurring words, ill-managed recurring syllables, cacophonous groupings,
spurious doubles, and the like, the alliterative merit of a line might be
expressed in mathematical terms. There is apparently not much to
choose between some of the lines which are graded together suprUy and in
balancing their competing claims the author's judgment may have been
easily at fault.
CHAPTER XI
ALLITERATIVE RICHNESS
§ 136. Doubles and interlineals could not be adequately treated
in tlie foregoing chapter without overloading it with material which
would obscure the general perspective. It is now proposed to illus-
trate with some fullness the extent to which the poets availed them-
selves of these devices for the embellishment of their productions.
The examples adduced are only a few out of a large number which
arrested the author's attention while he was working through the
texts in search of lines of quite another sort — of such, that is to say,
as had the appearance of poverty and might not conform to his
rules ; and it is altogether unhkely that they include the very best.
They are, however, elaborate enough for the immediate purpose,
and incidentally may throw some Hght on those passages in the
poets which attest the anxiety and toil of composition, and perhaps
help to explain why in the (unrevised) Aeneid there are so many
lines which Virgil could not immediately complete to the satis-
faction of his fastidious ear.^
I. Profusion in Doubles.
§ 137. Now that the object is to emphasise richness and symmetry,
it will not be necessary to show the scaffolding of a verse in a
separate form, nor will it be practicable to exhibit every rhyme,
even when it is an ictic or initial rhyme. Unfortunately, justice
cannot be done to the alliteration at all points at the same time.
We are here concerned with rhyming groups alone.
^ It is of course possible that the half -lines are due to the editing of Varius
and Tucca, who would not concern themselves about the integrity of a particular
verse if they decided on excising an entire passage.
73
74 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
§ 138. For the classification of lines of sequence which consist
of rhyming groups we need a couple of new terms.
(a) In the case of a series like tr str st, the rhymes may be figured
as just shown, or by tr st [t]r st, or again by tr tr One mode may
St St.
be convenient at one time, and another at another. But it is the
third which reflects the facts most accurately, and when str is used
— not to balance another str, but — in the connection mentioned, it
may be fittingly called an imbricated group. A convenient example
of such imbrification is
dtirus Aricina de regione pater ^
dr rcndrgn tr
where the most luminous grouping is, dr dr tr.
rcn rgn
Differing somewhat from this, but involving the same principle,
is the treatment of a case like
magis dilexit Ulixe ^
where the grouping is best shown under the form gstlcs This
cstlcs.
is stronger than gstl cstl cs, as is fully recognised in Welsh poetry,
which in fact does not admit the latter, destitute as it is of symmetry.
Let it be understood that when a line requires such treatment for
the definition of its groups, it belongs to the imbricated class.
(6) In the case of a series like
psonr psnr dos ds
the double so os cannot be shown in the same line of analysis as the
other rhyming groups, and the whole is best figured as
ps.nr psnr d.s ds.
so OS
A doublet thus imbedded may be described as a biiried group, and
lines which call for the disinterment of such a group will for present
purposes be regarded as a class apart.
In cases where the environment is favourable, a doublet which
2 Mart. X. Ixviii. 4. « Ov. Ex P. IV. xiv. 36.
ALLITERATIVE RICHNESS 75
appears at first sight to require disinterment can, by an extension of
the principle explained in § 108 obs. 2, be retained in situ. For
instance, in
Diana6 Celebris di6 | n *
dndjne dndjne will cover all the rhymes ; and so treated, the line
has no " buried " group. Another interesting example is provided
by
mo6nia R6man6sque suo de nomine dicet ^
where, by assembling the rhymes in moenia under the form monm,
we bring out the correspondence between it and the other quartets
in the line :
monm omno nomn.
For groups of four, consisting of the same elements, have the same
alliterative value, if they severally begin and end with the same
letter — as indeed larger groups also have, when the order of the
letters is otherwise maintained. Cf., for instance, § 153. 5 and
§ 157. 39. When these compendious methods are adopted in the
analyses infra, the fact will be notified by an obelus.
Plainly, in the case of both imbricated and buried groups, the
method of treatment, whatever it may be, is largely a matter for
the eye ; and any classification based on it is more or less an artificial
one, which only convenience can justify.
§ 139. Lines of sequence which consist of rhyming groups naturally
fall into two classes, symmetrical and unsymmetrical, the latter
of which wiU necessarily include inter alia all varieties which have
buried groups. Mere inversion of order in the elements of a group
(abc cba) is not regarded as a ground of distinction.
So much being premised, our classification will be as follows. For
simplicity, the number of the basal rhyming groups is taken as four ;
and the " buried " varieties are for the moment left un-illustrated.
A. Symmetrical.
i. Without imbricated groups : ii. With imbricated groups :
abc rst abc rst. abc abc
cde cde.
* Hor. C, II. xii. 20. 5 Virg. A. i. 277.
76
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
B. Umymmetrical.
i. Without imbricated or buried ii. With imbricated or buried
groups —
1. In irregular order :
abc rst rst abe.
2. In any order, when there
are unbalanced addi-
tions :
(a) Integral :
abc rst abc rst abc.
(b) Fractional :
abc rst abc rst ab.
(c) Both :
abc rst abc rst abc rs.
groups —
1. In irregular order :
abc abc.
cde cde
2. In any order, when there
are unbalanced addi-
tions :
(a) Integral :
abc abc abc.
cde cde
(6) Fractional :
abc abc ab.
cde cde
(c) Both :
abc abc abc
cde cde de.
A. Symmetrical.
i. Without imbricated groups.
§ 140. divelletur adulter6 : « dltr dltr
■f dticere niida chords : ^ udcr udcr
mtilta Dircaewm levat aura cycnum : ® It^rcn Itrcn
SufEenus iste Vare quem probe nosti : ^ fensH benst
qu6d jussi timuere fretiim temeraria primo : ^^ tmrfr tmr^pr
Rhenique nodos atireamque nitellam : ^^ rncvnd rncvnt
et pudor obscenum diffiteatur opus : ^^ tpdrps dft^rps
f litore Threicio class^m religarat Atrides : ^^ itrtrc^l Igrt^rdi
prospectat Siculum et despicit Tuscum mar^ : ^* spcttsc spcttsc
nido laborum propulit mscium : ^^ nidlbor ropltin
t navibus d portti lene fuisse f return | f : ^® nbvbsprtu nfvfsfrtu
t c^rtabdnt Tro6s contrd defendere sdxis : ^' rtatbnt^rsc rtadfndrsc
' lb. IV. vii. 6.
I® Lucan, v. 501.
8 Hor. C. I. xxxvi. 19.
« Cat. xxii. 1.
»« Ov. Am. III. xiv. 28. ^» Ov. Met. xiii. 439.
^•^ Hor. C. IV. iv. 6. Note the interlineal in-cj.
»' Virg. A. ix. 633.
« lb. IV. ii. 26.
" Mart. V. xxxvii. 8.
" Phaedr. H. v. 10.
»• Ov.Her.xvi.(xvii.)236.
ALLITERATIVE RICHNESS 77
§ 141. altior Italiae ruinis : ^^ It jri tl jri
regnavit populorum ex humili potens : ^^ rg ntp^l rc Iptn
cum laude victorem geretque : ^^ en vctr ng rtcv
t qui fuerat cultor factus amator erat : ^^ cfrtc trfct tr rt
edidit a dextro talia dicta toro : ^^ t^a dc-tro ta dct^ro
opportiina fuit si forte et idonea flammis : ^3 prtnf si frt^nf is
f Iwmina qui trepidos a dape vertat equos : ^^ vctvtrpd os dprtvtcv os.
§ 142. sectus flagellis hie triwmviralibus : ^s set sfl set lbs
omnisque hiimanis lustrata eruoribus arbos : ^6 mns mns r%s rbs
t et acris solet incitare morsus : ^7 ate rss eta rss
paiiea tamen fieto verba dolore pati : ^^ pet fct orbd orpt
languere coepit annis ingravantibiis : ^ ngrv ptn ngrv ntb
dedecus ille domus seiet ultimus interea tu : ^^ d^cs Itms set Itms
t et similes ira atque fames moUissima corda : ^^ smls rtc smls rdc
mox ait experiar deus hie discrimine aperto : ^^
mcstes pr^d scdsc-m prt.
§ 143. t sperne dilectam Cypron et vocantis : ^^ prnd ctnc prnt cntc
aiit herbae campo apparent aut arbore frondes : ^* atrb p^rnt atrb frnd
t anguiferiimque caput dura ne laedat harena : ^^
ngvcf ncvcp t^rne d^rne.
§ 144. videre Rhaeti bella sub Alpibus : ^^ ider reti bl sp Ip bs
unde nisi indicio magni sciremus Homeri : ^^ nd ns nd ns irem meri
h'mitibus comites et abest custodia regi : ^^ bsc bsc
mt mt st st^
sustinet incursiis instdntiaque ora retardat : ^^
su stnt>-cr su stntcr rt rd^
t tanto virginibtis praestantior omnibus Herse : *^
tntro nbs rse tntro nbs rse
t qui tribus ante quater mensibus ortus erat : *^
tcvtr bsn tcvtr nsb srt srt.
18 Hor. C. III. V. 40. 19 lb. xxx. 12. 20 j^, ly. iv. 67.
21 Ov. A.A. i. 722. 22 Qv. F. iv. 664. 23 L^cr, yi 313.
2« Ov. Her. xv. (xvi.)206. 25 Hor. Epod. iv. 11. 26 Lucan, iii. 406.
2' Cat. ii. 4. 28 Ov. Tr. I. viii. 20. 29 Phaedr. V. x. 3.
30 Juv. X. 342. 31 76, XV. 131. 32 Ov. Met. i. 222.
33 Hor. C. I. xxx. 2. 34 yirg, q, uj, 353, 35 Ov. Met. iv. 741.
3« Hor. C. IV. iv. 17. 37 Qv. Tr. II. 379. 38 Ov. Met. xiv. 371.
3 9 Ov. Met. iii. 82. *» lb. ii. 724. " Ov. Tr. IV. ix. 10.
78 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
ii. With imbricated groups.
§ 145. tw curva recines lyra : *2 cr re
ar ra
sustinet oranti nee qui regit ima negare : *^ ti nc^r ti ngr
nt nt
splendentis Pario marmore ptirius : ** sp sp [p]rj prj
nd nt mr mr
f necubi suppressus pereat gener. 6 bene rapta : *^
no prt gn prt
spr s^pr nrb nrp
private liceat dilituisse loco : *^ ivtl Itvi
Ic Ic
t jtisserat et patriast ilia recepta domd : *' jsrt^ trsj
pt pt2
sive rudis placita es simplicitate tua : *^ dsplct ta t^a
ts^-plct
dixit et incertae tanta est discordia mentis : *^ crt^ nts crd nts
cst^ d^sc
f c6nsimil^ ratione ex omnibus amnibus humor : ^^
oncsm oncsm smnbsm
smnbsm
t atque omnis pelagique minas caelique ferebat : ^^
cvmns cvmns
Igicv Icicv.
B. Umymmetrical.
i. Without imbricated or buried groups.
1. Consisting of evenly balanced groups in irregular order. ,
§ 146. pernices uxor Apuli : ^^ pr cs cs rp
illi insultare victor poteris credulus : ^^ sltrc tr tr crdls
venertint ad te Telamone et Amyntore nati : ^* rnt* mnt mnt mt
m^ntula conattir Pipl6um scandere montem : ^^ mnt cntr cndr mnt
vtncendum parit^r Pharsalia praestitit orbem : ^^ mprt prs prs t^bm
t non sum materid, fortior ipsa med : ^' sm-a trjrf trjrp sma.
« Hor. C. III. xxviii. 11. « Ov. Met. x. 47. " Hor. C. I. xix. 6.
« Lucan, ix. 1058. " Ov. Tr. III. i. 80. «' Ov. R.A. 474.
" Ov. Am. II. iv. 18. " Ov. Met. ix. 630. " Lucr. vi. 606.
" Virg. A. vi. 113. " Hor. Epod. ii. 42. " Phaedr. App. xxvi. 9.
" Ov. Her. iii. 27. " Cat. ov. 1. " Lucan, iii. 297.
" Ov. Tr. III. i. 42.
ALLITERATIVE RICHNESS 79
§ 147. sertaque odoratae myrtea ferte comae : ^^ rtc rt em rt rtc me
rumoresque seniim severiorum : ^^ rm ore vsn nsv ero rm
concipiunt et ab his oriuntur cuncta duobus : ^° cnc jnt tbs jnt cnc t%s
et viret in tenero fertilis herba solo : ^^ tr tn tn rf rt Is rb si
ipsa nitor galeae claro radiantis ab auro : ^^ ps ntr gl cl aro rdn sb aro.
2. Consisting of evenly balanced groups plus an unbalanced
repetition of one or more of them, either (a) in entirety, or
(b) in part, or (c) partly in one and partly in the other.
Obs. — In rich lines the classification will often depend on the grouping
which the analyst favours — particularly under Division ii.
(a) Integral additions.
§ 148. hinc soror in partem misera cum matre doloris : ^^
rtm^ m^tr
sr^ sr rs
piirpureo velare comas adopertus amictu : ^* cmsd tsmc
pr pr pr
Amphitryoniadae ventisque faventibus aequor : ^^ scv scv
vnd vnt vnt
nutrita faustis sub penetralibus : ^^ ntr it ti ntr
fs s2b2 bs
si raperet Graias barbara turba nurus : ®' prt br br trb
sr rs rs
in dando se tenacidres indicant : ^ se tnc es cnt
nd nd nd
tristia persequerer miserarum voce sororum : ^
rs rscv sr vesr
r^m rm rm
sdxa quis hoc credat nisi sit pro teste vetustas : ^°
rt2 sH rt St ts ts
sc sc sc^
ante tamen veniet nobis properantibus obstet : '^
pr pr
nt^ n^t bs nt bs bs
piippis et expositis omnibus hatista perit : '^ p2gt pg^ I3g2^
58 Ov. A.A. ii. 734. ^9 Cat. v. 2. eo Ov. Met. i. 431.
" Ov. Am. II. xvi. 6. «2 Qv. Met. xii. 105. «3 Ov. Tr. III. ix. 51.
«* Virg. A. iii. 405. ^^ Qv. Met. xv. 49. ^e jjoj. q jy j^^ 26.
"' Ov. Her. viii. 12. «» phaedr. App. xxix. 9. ^^ Ov. Met. viii. 535.
'» lb. i. 400. '1 Juv. iii. 243. ^a Qv. F. iii. 600.
80 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
(b) Fractional additions.
§ 149. edita forte tuo fuerit si femina partu : '^ t^frt tfrt prt
sed meminit nostrum virginis esse torum : ^* sd nstrm nstrm
posce sed appellat puer wnicus tit Polyphemi : '^ csdpl tp cstpl
tune ille Aeneas quam Dardanid Anchisae : ^^ tn escnd dn^cse
f potare et nostra came satiari. vale : '' tra nstra nstra
progeniem nidosque fa vent hinc arte recentis : '^ rgn^ds tncr rents
lacte madens illic suberat Pan ilicis, umbrae : ^^ Ic ilcsbr ilcs-br
sic erit quondam cithara tacentem : ®^ rtcndn ct rtcntn
aiictor vindictae jam venit 6cce tuae : ^^ ct vndcte vntcte
nee tu jam poteras enectum pondere terrae : ®^ nctmptr nctmp-dr tr
f lit matutinos spargens super aequora Phoebus : ®^
nssprge nssprce rp^s
t Caesar in hoc vestra non eguisset ope : ^* cs rnoncvcst rnongvgst.
§ 150. Cressa ne careat pulchra dies nota : ^^ esn esn
cr crt crd
doliturum amanti ventitare adiilteriim | s : ®^ nt nt
dltr tr dltr
f nosces ecce furit te reperire atrox : *' frt^r pr^tr
ocs sc ocs
victor ab Aurora6 populis et litore rubro : ®^ li li
trbro rp2 tr^bro
astitit in ripa liquidi nova vacca parentis : ^^ cv v^c
st^nrp dn prnts
illic me claudat Boreas ubi dulce morarist : ^° ra ra
Ic mcld^b bdlcm
imbre per indignas usque cadente genas : ^^ br pr
ndgnas c^d ntgnas
s I et Diomedis equi spirantes naribus ignem : ^^
cisprn nrbsig.
st eds ets
'» Ov. Met. ix. 678. '* Ov. Her. xx. (xxi.) 192. '^ Juv. ix. 64.
'« Virg. A. i. 617. '' Phaedr. App. xxxii. 10. " Virg. G. iv. 56.
'» Tib. II. V. 27. «» Hor. C. II. x. 18. " Ov. F. vi. 676.
82 Ov. Met. iv. 243. " Lucan, iii. 521. ** Ov. Tr. I. u. 66.
s"^ Hor. C. I. XXX vi. 10. »« Phaedr. III. x. 16. «' Hor. C. I. xv. 27.
" Virg. A. viii. 686. " Qv. Her. xiv. 89. '^ lb. xvii. 209.
•1 Ov. Tr. I. iii. 18. »* Luor. v. 30.
ALLITERATIVE RICHNESS 81
(c) Integral and fractional additions.
§ 151. visere et alloquiis parte levare tuis : ®^ rtl rtl rt
vis vis vis
nota mihi freta sunt Afrum fragrantia litus : ^^ mfr fr mfr
nt ts nt nt ts
t fortis et in se ipso totus teres atque rotundus : ^^
stn sto ots st nds
rt tr rt.
cum peterent nondiim fama prodente ruinas : ^^
tmt nd rd ntrn.
mp mf mp
ii. With imbricated or buried groups.
{For the sake of compactness, the imhricMed doublets in a series
like st str tr are often left unresolved.)
1. Consisting of evenly balanced groups in irregular order.
§ 152. Phoenissa et pariter puero donisque movetur : ®'
onis prt prd onis
tr tr
ingens ad terram duplicato poplite Tiirnus : ^^ t^rn dpi tp^l t^rn
ns ns
t nunc ostendere Canium Terentos : ®^ nc ostn en ntso
ndr ntr
me dulces dominae musa Licymniae : ^ me [e]dm edm em
Ic mne Ic mne
Nyctaliumque patrem nocttirnaque sacra parare : ^
net ncv net ncv or or.
trn trn
§ 153. cognitio est igitur de milite nee mihi deerit : ^
c^nt trd . m tnc md . rt
de de
imbribus tit tabe nimborum arbiista vac^llant : * mbrbst mbr^bst
tb b-t
vina columbino limum bene colligit 6vo : ^ nclmb-n Im^bncl
in in
»3 Ov. Tr. I. viii. 18. »4 Ov. Her. vii. 169. '^ Hor. II. Sat. vii. 86.
9« Lucan, viii. 15. «' Virg. A. i. 714. as Virg. A. xii. 927.
»" Mart. I. Ixx. 2. i Hor. C. II. xii. 13. ^ Qv. A.A. i. 567.
3 Juv. xvi. 18. * Lucr. i. 806. ^ Hor. II. Sat. iv. 56 (c/. § 1386).
6
82 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
t Tros Anchisiade f acilis descensus Av6mi : ^ rs ncsde edscns^r
t-s s.d
t cur non exilium malasque in oras : ' rnoncslm ml.scnonr
as as.
§ 154. t nie nee tarn patiens Lacedaemon : ^ e-n ctm en cd.m
emn te demn
qualis populea maerens Philomela sub umbra : ^ Isp^l.me splme Isb
al la
f indiicta verbis aquila monitis paruit | s : ^^ tvrbsi isprvt
nd nt.s ts
liistrabunt convexa polus dum sidera pascat : ^^ Istrba 1st sdrpa
esp p.sc
t intumuere tori totosque indiiruit artus : ^^ nt vrtrt.t.s nd vrtrt.s
toto du tu
purpureosque jacit flores ac talia fatur : ^^ orsc.ct orscta at
pr p.r tfl If .t
cum Venus et Juno sociosque Hymenaeus ad ignes : ^*
cm.nst n.s c""m'^n.sd n.s
mv osc ose vm nes nes
t quid Sophocles et Thespis et Aeschylus utile ferrent : ^^
tsp cl.st tsp cist
cts sc-es st-[c] cesc
in t^rgo cornix otiosa considens : ^^ rg cr so os n"^s ns
nt oc cs SCO dn
c-n s.t c.n sd
et sudibus crebris et adusti robqris ictu : ^'
scrbr.s du rbrs.c tu.
tsd bs b — st d.st s 1
ris ir si
2. Consisting of evenly balanced groups plus unbalanced
additions (as under B. i. 2).
(a) Integral additions.
§ 155. aquila est parata rapere porcellos tibi : ^^ clstp clstb
pr pr pr
t solvat phaselon saepe Diespit^r : ^® tpse espd espt
si s.l
• Virg. A. vi. 126. ' Cat. xxxiii. 5. » Hor. C. I. vii. 10.
• Virg. G. IV. 511. 10 Phaedr. II. vi. 14. ii Virg. A. i. 608.
" Luoan, iv. 631. ^^ Virg. A. v. 79. " Ov. Met. ix. 796-
1* Hor. II. Epp. i. 163. i« Phaedr. App. xxviL 1. ,ixsmiJ *
1' Lucan, iii. 494. ictu may be wrongly quantiHed. ^^ Phaedr. II; iv. ML -
» Hor. C. ItL ii. 29.
ALLITERATIVE RICHNESS 83
quaerunt in trivio vocationes : ^^ vr rv jo jo
cv nt nt vc t - n
nee deus intersit nisi dignus vindice nodus : ^i
snt stn snd nds
ncds sdgn s-dcn
f justitiam legesque et apertis otia portis : ^^ tprfcis t. prtis
jts tj t.s tj t.s
cum tot prodierint pretio leviore colores : ^^
nt^r.d^ ntprtjo jo
ro ol or lor
rod jr t.o j.r
(6) Fractional additions.
§ 156. perniciem opprobritimque pagi : ^^ prncp [p]r brncp
qui sedens adversus identidem te : ^s vsdn sd vsdn
dnt dnt
dives et inportunus ad umbram lucis ab ortu : ^^ st-p sd-b
prtu br brtu
SoUicitent avros yap i<f>e\K€Tai avSpa Kii/atSos I ^^ Ictnt XktvB v8
TS Kp pK 8s
ecce super corpus communia damna gementes : ^^
cspr rpsc
cmnd mn gmnt
agnoscam caeliimque tremens cum lancea transit : ^^
nscn Inctr nscn Inctr ns
gn nc
nee tua frangetur noctiirna janua rixa : ^^ net rngtrn nr
rnctrn
quaeque diu latuit nunc se qua tollat in auras : ^^
cv ecvdl . t^n eevtltn
vt n vt tn
t non negat hoc Hister cuius tua dextera quondam : ^^
testrev [c]st destrcv
ngt net
quum tibi invistis laeeranda reddet 1 cnt c-ndr I c-n . tr.
cornua taurus ^^ j nv ern [ ernv
2» Cat. xlvii. 7. 21 Hor. a.P. 191. 22 jf,^ j. gpp. ii. 199.
23 Ov. A.A. iii. 171. 24 Hor. C. II. xiii. 4. 26 Cat. li. 3.
2« Hor. II. Epp. ii. 185. 27 j^^. j^. 37. as Qv. F. ii. 835.
2» Lucan, vii. 288. 3o Qv. A. A. iii. 71. ^i Ov. R iii. 239.
32 Ov. Ex P. IV. vii. 19. ^^ jjo^^ q^ m. xxvii. 71-2.
84 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
(c) Integral and fractional additions.
§ 157. I clara colore suo brevibtis distincta sigillis : ^*
clr clr vbs vbs gl
st st ts
nesciaque humanis precibus mansuescere corda : ^^
esc^ sp bs esc
n.s mans re mans cr cr
t I age caede terga cauda tua verbera patere | f : ^^
gcdtr gcdtr tr
tg t— g rbrp r/
corripitint rapideque rotanti turbine portant : ^'
rpntr [r[p rt nt^rbn pit
cr pd cr t-b p-t
terraque in umbrantiir qui nimbi cumque feruntur : ^^
trcvnmb trcvnmb cv tr
c.n br c-n en fr
s I quae frustra rure quaeras contra rusticus | t : ^^
r.s r..s c-t r.s t^c
ecve rustrar ur ecve ra trarus"^t st
s.c r — t r . . . r s . . c r.r 1 cs
§ 158. In few cases is the grouping more conspicuous than when
the line is crowded with proper names, which it is clear were often
selected by the poet for the sake of alliterative effect. For instance,
within the limits of about a dozen lines we have :
Jamque Leontinos Amenanaque fliimina cursu : ncvl ron^cvl mnc
Liquerat 6rtygien Megareaque Pantagienque : tgjen tgjen
vert rt rev cv
t I Himeraque et Didymen Acragantaque Tauromenenque :
cvt mnenc cvt mnencv
tmrc . 1 1^ rg-t rm
t Jamque Peloriaden Lilybaeaque jamque Pachynum : *°
jncvcpl Pbcv jncvcp cn^.
Dionysius of HaUcarnassus remarks on a like feature in Homer's
catalogue of the ships. *^
** Ov. Met. vi. 86. «« Virg. G. iv. 470. »• Cat. Ixiii. 81.
»' Lucr. i. 294. " jj, y. 289.
'• Phaedr. App. ix. 17. This line has doubles enough to compensate for
twenty -four blanks, and must be one of the richest in the language.
*» Ov. F. iv. 467-71-75-79. " De comp. Verb. xvi.
ALLITERATIVE RICHNESS 85
§ 159. Under the influence of Welsh alliterative verse, which in
some of the metres favours long groups of rhyming letters, the
author has included among his illustrations supra a considerable
number of lines which reflect the same tendency. But it would
be a mistake to suppose that such lines are common. More
numerous by far — particularly in lyrics — are the Hues which consist
of short groups more or less symmetrically ordered. Yet symmetry
too is the exception. The most prominent feature is really rich-
ness — the frequent recurrence, that is to say, of the same letters
in rhyming combinations, without much regard to either symmetry
or length of group. And of this every teacher who tells his pupils
to put into their exercises all the alhteration they can is vaguely
aware. It is a safe counsel, and those who remember it and have
the music of the ancients in their ears can seldom go wrong. Such
compilations as Sabrinae Corolla and Arundines Cami prove that
our best modern scholars, without knowing exactly the why
or the wherefore, have at least in most cases successfully caught
the tune.
§ 160. It is noticeable that, however fond the Latin poets may
be of repeating a group, they generally avoid doing so in a form
which savours too much of sameness, except, indeed, when the
groups are confined to two letters and are some distance apart, as,
for instance, in semi-pentameter endings (§ 2). When Tennyson
was asked to specify the line in Virgil which pleased him best, he
quoted one which had the — to him — supreme merit of showing a
different vowel at every ictus. But variety (a) in the ictic vowels,
though a notable feature in many of the best verses, is only one of
the methods by which the ancients sought to temper uniformity
with diversity. Variety (6) in the linking of the consonants (bl,
bel, bil, etc.) at any point in the line is another, and (c) in the
incidence of the ictus, and {d) in the caesuraes ; ^^ and often (e)
the order of the rhyming letters was reversed. The instances
given below will illustrate all these points, and they might be
multiplied indefinitely.
*^ This much-abused prosodial expression {caesura), which under Ramsay's
definition (p. 105) would apply to every syllable which ends a hypercatalectic
line, properly means the " cutting " or dividing of a metrical foot into parts, such
as occurs when these latter belong to different words.
m ALLITTERATIO LATINA
queriintur in silvls aves : *^ (run rin, vis ves)
agrum voldrent atque evellerent sata : **
dignatur suboles inter amabilis : *^ (natur inter, uboles abilis)
l^ti corripuit gradum : ^^ (eticor itgr)
ales in terris imitaris almae : *^ (ales s | al, terr& taris)
cardines audis minus et minus jam : *®
(nes nus ntis, dis s | et, minus minus)
nocturno putere meo certare diiirno : *^
(tur ter tar ert re | d, urno umo)
quae laborantis utero puellas : ^° (ve 1 1 vel, bor ro | p, lab puell)
Tiburis ripas operosa parvus : ^^
(ib ip^, bur rip per par, ris ros rvus, s | op sa | p)
ferre pirum et prunis lapidosa rubescere corna : ^^
(fer pir pr rb, 1 1 p pid, run orn, cer cor).
Cicero's line
6 forttinatam natam me consule Romam,
with its uncaesuraed, undiversified, unintercalated natdm natdm, is
a stock instance of the manipulation which offends. ^^
II. Pkofusion in Interlineals.
§ 161. The examples under this head will all be drawn from
Horace, whose free use of interlineals in the Hexameter would
seem to show convincingly that while a writer of verse might, in
dealing with certain subjects, safely neglect the claims of poetry,
he did not think it wise to ignore those of alliterative ornament.
§ 162. acuisse ferrum | quo graves Persae : ^* (cv vspr)
pharetra | fraternd : ^^ ("f prtra)
" Hor. Epod. ii. 26. ** Phaedr. App. xi. 5.
*^ Hor. C. IV. iii. 14. The spelling in the Oxf. Pocket text is -biles, which can
hardly be right here. *« Ib. I. iii. 33. *' Ib. ii. 42.
" Ib. XXV. 6. " Hor. I. Epp. xix. 11. '« Ib. C. UI. xxii. 2.
" Ib. IV. ii. 31. ^2 virg. G. ii. 34.
M Cf. Quint. IX. iv. 41, XI. i. 24, and Juv. x. 122-i, where it is wittily said of
Cicero :
Antoni gladios potuit contemnere si sic
omnia dixisset.
" Hor. C. I. iii. 21-2. " Ib. I. xxi. 11-12.
ALLITERATIVE RICHNESS 87
prot6rvis in mare Creticum | portare ventis : ^® (prtrv)
s^d prius Apulis (spl) \
jungentiir capreae lupis (gntr elpi Ip.s) >
quam turpi Pholoe : ^'' (cntr iple) J
me peritus | discet Iber Rhoda- ^^ (fids br^d)
trahentes hac Quirinus | Martis equis Acheronta : ^^ (tscv scm)
despice tibiae | et te saepe vocanti : ^^ (despcti ep)
finire quaerentem labores | Pierio recre- : ^^ (ir^cr fpro)
consilium retegis Lyaeo | tu spem redticis : ^^ (nrtgs)
mentes asperioribus | mrmandae studiis : ®^ (ffro mndes)
-tiim peractis | imperiis decus arrogavit : ^* (mpr isdc rgat)
referat intra | naturae fines : ^^ (ref- frtn)
fades quod | tJmmidiiis quidam : *® (jscvd)
saepe pericla | hie se praecipi- : ^"^ (ic seprc)
patre non ego circum | me Satureiano vectari : ^ ("ftrnonc)
dicere multa laborum | praemia latu- : ^* (prm rmlt)
cedentem aera disco | quum labor extuderit : '^ (cst^rt)
tutoque ciconia nido | donee vos : ^^ (fodnocv)
gestare amet agnam | huic vestem ut gnatae : '^ (est f^agn)
pomdrius auceps | tinguentarius ac : '^ (arjsac)
rtiperis inquit | par eris haec a te : 74 (prs-ct)
jam desine cultum ( majorem censti teneas : ^^ (cnstn)
cessator Davus ut ipse | subtilis veterum : '^ (sbt svtr)
narraret earum et | naturas : ^^ (atra)
flentis uti mox | nulla fides damnis : '^ (nlf dsdm)
inportuna famesque | quem paupertatis : ^ (prt mp cv)
pueros bostili more refertur | adversarius est f rater : ®^ (vrsrs^t frtr)
qui crediderit te | fautor utroque | ^^ (trtrcv)
5« Hor. C. I. xxvi. 2-3.
^' lb. xxxiii. 7-9. v. 8 is independent of the interlineals, cp rhyming with p- | c.
58 lb. II. XX. 19-20. 59 76. III. iii. i5_i6.
^ lb. vii. 30-1. Theae two lines admit of being constraed as one (§ 45 065.).
" lb. iv. 39^0. «2 jf,^ xxi. 16-17. ^^ lb. xxiv. 53-4.
«* lb. IV. xiv. 39-40. «s lb. I. Sat. i. 49-50. ^e j^,. 94,5.
«' lb. u. 40-1. 68 lb. vi. 58-9. «» lb. II. Sat. i. 11-12.
'0 lb. ii. 13-14. " lb. 49-50. " 7^. iij. 214r-16.
'3 lb. 227-8. 7« lb. 319-20. « 7^. 323-4.
76 lb. vii. 100-1. " lb. viii. 92-3. '« lb. I. Epp. xvii. 56-7.
'» lb. xviii. 23-4. 8«> lb. 62-3. " lb. 65-6.
88 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
varias indticere pliimas | undique : ^^ (sndc)
et vino qui Pythia cantat | tibicen didicit : ®^ (tibicnd dct).
§ 163. In Lyrics, where the grouping of the lines into sets of two
or three or four naturally suggested continuity of colouring, the
same rhymes often run through the entire couplet or stanza. Indeed,
in many of Horace's odes the correspondence between line and line
is so marked that it is difficult to get away from the idea that a
certain amount of concatenation was regarded as essential, e.g.
Jam satis terris nivis atque dirae
Grandinis misit Pater, et rubente
Dextera sacras jaculatus arces
terruit urbem^^
where the minimum requirements would be amply satisfied by
s and t alone. And so in
Jam mari terraque manus potentis
Medus Albanasque timet securis
jam Scythae responsa petunt superbi
nuper et Indi ^^
where the principal interlineal rhymes are :
ri re nsptnts
sb ansct ts cri
ansct nsptnts pr
pr tnt
But the following would seem to make it clear that the poet was
not bound by a settled rule :
si quis infamem mihi nunc juv^ncum
dedat irata^ lacerare ferro et ^^
the only correspondence between the two lines being inf- echoed
by Ir- and jer-. It is noticeable, however, that the leading rhymes
of both lines are united in the third :
frangere enitar modo multum amati | cornua monstri.
" Hor. A.P. 2-3. ^^ lb. 414-16. m /^^ c. I. ii. 1-4.
«5 lb. C.S. 53-66. 8« lb. C. III. xxvii. 45-6.
ALLITERATIVE RICHNESS 89
§ 164. In the Glyconic stanza alone, where the hnes are short and
regularly echo each other in two of their ictic syllables, does there
appear to be warrant for assuming concatenation as a law of verse, e.g.
ColHs 6 HeHc6nie^
c - c -
cultor Uraniae genws
ctr g -
qui rapis teneram ad virnni
r t - m
V^rginem o Hymenaee Hymen ^^
r — m
87 Cat. Ixi. 1-4.
CHAPTER XII
VINDICATION
§ 165. The object of this chapter is to give the reader an easy
opportunity of verifying the fundamental rule by the Ught of a few
continuous passages treated in skeleton. In justice to the poets
it must be pointed out that the analyses do not always bring out
the best among the ictics : for in the interests of clearness it was
important to abstain from overcrowding, and two letters have
been avoided where one would do, even when the latter was of the
weaker class. Meretricious rhymes are, of course, left unnoticed.
The student will find it a useful exercise to supply the omissions.
Many of the lines are decidedly rich. Those which contain the
first of a pair of meretricious interlineal rhyming groups are
asterisked.
§ 166. It will be seen that in the extract from Ovid the poet
speaks of the color and structura of his verse as something peculiar
to himself ; and it is evident that he expects hi^ reader to recognise
the distinguishing feature in the first couplet. Now, what arrests
the attention there is — not anything in the language nor in the
metre — for the niceties which Ovid observes are not habitually
neglected by any poet — but the close reverberations in the latter
part of the pentameter. And yet this particular music is not found
in every line of the poem, as might have been expected if it were
indeed the hall-mark : nor, on the other hand, is it entirely absent
from the writings of Ovid's contemporaries or predecessors. It is
noticeable, however, that while these others usually built up their
groups with the help of " equivalents," Ovid in his striking assem-
blage of rhymes has disdained such assistance ; and it seems clear
that the structural colouring, which he claims for his verses as
90
VINDICATION 91
unmistakably his own, was the rhyming of his vowels, his b d g's
and his p c t's with their full-blooded brethren alone. ^ An examina-
tion of the poem will show that every line in it is independent of
any indulgence in this matter. ^
§ 167. To what extent Ovid exercised this self-restraint elsewhere
is another question, which may well stand over. That he did not do
so always may be inferred from the lines quoted in Appendix H,
some of which are from his latest pubHcation, the Epp. ex Ponto,
But, in talking over these things with his friends, he had no doubt
often insisted on exactness in rhyme as a counsel of perfection,^ and
must have often demonstrated its practicability to them ; so that
when he achieved a notable success they could not fail to recognise
his hand.
§ 168. CatuUus, i.
Quoi dono lepidtim novum libellum
* arida modo pumice expoHtum ?
* CorneU, tibi ; namque tu solebas
* meas esse aliquid putare nugas,
jam tum * cum ausus es unus Italorum.
* omne aevom tribus explicare chartis
* doctis, Juppiter, et laboriosis.
* Quare habe tibi quidquid hoc Ubelli,
qualecumque ; quod, o patrona virgo,
plus uno maneat perenne saeclo.
§ 169. Horace, C. I. xxvi.
* Musis amicus tristitiam et mettis i i t t t
* tradam protervis ^n mare Creticum m tr - rt m
* portare ventis, queis sub Axcto t t c c
* rex gehdae metuatur orae, r d t r
1 It is to be remembered that the flats (6 g d) in certain positions become sharps
{p c t), and that these letters are not always to be taken at their face value.
2 The analysis of v. 43 is : t st c c {rs rs, SS). If oe were pronounced as
u in foedera (of. poena, punio, etc.), there would be no blank.
^ Tennyson, who also had his pious opinions, prided himself on avoiding a clashing
of s's — " kicking the geese out of the boat," as he called it. " I never put two s'a
together in any verse of mine," he once remarked {Memoir, ii. 14) ; and yet in the
corrected " And dear to me as sacred wine " (later editions of In Memoriam) he
retained the objectionable concurrence.
* v.l. tamen, which seems a better reading (" and that when ").
d
1
dn n
1
a
da
P P
t
n
It
n t
1
s
s
cd t
g
t
s
s t
t
c c
t
t
p
t bo
o
c
b
c c
b
c
c
O
g
s^
■^n
- n"
"s
92
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
* quid Tiridaten terreat unice
* securus. quae fontibus integris
* gaudes, apricos necte flores,
necte meo Lamiae coronam,
* Pimplea dulcis ! nil sine te mei
* prosunt honores ; hunc fidibus novis,
* hunc Lesbio sacrare plectro
teque tuasque decet sorores.
§ 170. Horace, C. I. xxxviii.
* Persicos odi, puer, apparatus,
displicent nexae philjrra coronae ;
mitte sectari, rosa quo locorum
* sera moretur.
Simplici myrto nihil allabores
* sedulus euro ; neque te ministrum
* dedecet myrtus, neque me sub arcta
vite bibentem.
prs s p
p en p
t t r
r
m m o
s s n
e t t
t
r
n
or
o
nst
t
§ 171. Phaedrus, Prologue.
Aesopus atictor quam materiam reperit,
hanc ego polivi versibus senariis.
* Duplex libelli dos est : quod risum movet,
* et quod prudenti vitam c5nsili6 monet.
* Calumniari si quis autem voluerit,
quod arbores loquantur, non tantum ferae :
fictis jocari nos meminerit fabulis.
s s.c c r
eg i rs s
§ 172. Virgil, Aen. i. 1-7.
* AimsL virtimque cano, Troja^ qui primus ab oris r
Italiam fato profugus Lavinaque venit s
litora — multum ille et terris jactatus et alto i
vi superum, saevae memorem Junonis ob iram. v
* Multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet
urbem t
* inferretque deos Latio — genus unde Latinum n
Albanique patres atque altae moenia Romae. 1
VINDICATION 93
§ 173. Ovid, Ex Pont. IV. xiii. 1-6.
* 6 mihi non dubios inter memorande sodales
quique quod es vere, Care, vocaris, ave.
* Unde saluteris, color hie tibi protinus index
* et structura mei carminis esse potest.
* Non quia mirifica est, sed quod non pwblica ^
certe
qualis enim cunque est, non latet esse meam. c n cs n s
§ 174. Martial, III. xiv.
* Romam petebat esuritor Tucciiis p b s t t s
profectus ex Hispania. c c a a
* Occurrit iUi sportularum fabula : r 1 r 1 a a
a ponte rediit^Mulvio. o d t o
* It may well be that the pronunciation was puplica, in which case the blank
would disappear. The u is long, but throughout this chapter hidden quantities
have only been marked when they have a bearing on the alliteration of the line.
r
rd
d
c d
e
c
c
e
d t
r
r
t
d
t ctr
c
r
s
s
cv r
t
cv
—
rt
c n
cs
n
s
M
CHAPTER XIII
NOTES AND COMMENTS
§ 175. In tliis chapter are assembled the verses wMch, without
being insoluble, have an appearance of difficulty. Only when an
attractive emendation presents itself are lines included which
plainly conform to rule. Original conjectures are asterisked.
§ 176. CatuUus.
6rci quae omnia bella devoratis.^
The choice lies between prodelision (§ 69) and -etis*, the first
3rielding ve ev, and the second de et. Perhaps both should be
admitted.
tua nunc opera meae puellae ^
flendo tiirgiduli rubent ocelli.
The full analysis of the first line as it stands is v c" r" ^il vZ". Guarino's
reading vestra ^ extends the paralleUsm over the whole line, adds the
double ra ra, and improves the sense.
tuo imbuisse palmulas in aequore.*
The hne rhymes as it stands (§ 62). With one exception, however,
all the MSS. read iuas (monosyllable ; cf. § 26. 6), which improves
both sense and alliteration (fs-fim sp-m).
jdm Bithynia quo modo se haberet
ecquonam mihi profmsset aere | respondi.^
In the second line : \\ paralleUsm (n" o" s" e") and the interlineal fs,
1 iii. 14. a iii. 17.
* Guarino's edition (1621) is so rare as to be all but unobtainable; and the
variants exhibited in this ajid the following chapter may be new to modem students
of Catullus. « iv. 17. » x. 8.
04
NOTES AND COMMENTS 95
Sarapim | deferri mane '\me inquii puellae.®
Guarino's reading is : ferri mane : mane, inquio puelhe, wliicli
seems unexceptionable, m^ne meaning " wait a bit."
fme mef puer et sitire discet.''
The richness of the close (rts rd.s) renders the line independent of
ti di
any rhymes in the two opening feet. Guarino reads meus jam puer.
cum fdiva mulier Ariesf ostendet oscitantes.^
The true reading may be : cum divites m^ndies'^.
Dianam pueri integri
puellaeque canamus.^
These lines, taken together (§ 40), rhyme. But the first has no
MS. authority and is only a conjecture by Avantius (1494). huic
mslos pueri placens* would at least improve the alliteration.
ignosco tibi, Sapphica puella.^^
Sapphica must be quantified as shown. Guarino's spelling is
Saphica.
cum longa voluisti amare poena. ^^
The analysis is : n av v a n. Penna* (there is a variant pena) must
be the true reading, with its pointed " double entendre."
te in templo summ^ Jo vis sacrato.^^
Compensation : TT as well as SS. Guarino's reading, superiy
eliminates the blank.
conjugis cupidam nov* : ^^ c g nn - {CC)
Pleitner's conjugi eliminates the blank.
tu fero juveni in maniis | flori- ^*
The line, with the double rhyme, uf u-f, is independent of the
(spurious) interlineal /ro /-ro. (§§ 110, 108 065. 2.)
« X. 27.
' xxi. 2.
* XXV. 5.
» xxxiv. 3-4.
10 XXXV. 16.
" xl. 8.
12 Iv. 5.
13 Ixi. 32.
1* lb. 56.
96 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
limen aureolos pedes
rassilemque subi forem | jo ^^
The au in the first line must here rhyme with o. 0/. 202 obs. In
the second line si rhymes interhneally with Is,
vidit I 6 Beroniced vertice Caesariem | ftilg- 1*
With X^, the line rhymes as it stands. The spelling -ceio (-(tetw)
would eliminate the blank. For the lengthening of -iem |/, cf.
Hor. C. IV. viii. 8, where, however, there is a variant polum.
v6rum is mos populi jdnua quippe facit.^'
The line provides compensation for three blanks (pp pf, cp fc, PF),
though, if quippe be assumed, there is only one.
§ 177. Horace.
nee viget quidquam simile atit secundum
proximos illi tamen occupavit | Pallas honores.^®
Apart from the Adonic, the Sapphic rhymes independently :
p-cs s I c^p. Note the strong parallel rhyme : c" ms" It" nc". If
prdx- may be assumed, there is the additional double o-s os.
tentavit in dulci juventa : lent
fervor et in celeres iarhbos : ^^ fr-rtncl
misit furentem ; nunc ego mitibus : fr-tn^c^
The rhymes shown are interlineal : the blank in the middle line is
covered on both sides.
Boivo mittere ctim
L joc6.2*^ \
dm. . , J
s" m" c'l
ipsum m6 mehor quum
The case comes near to overstepping the provision relating to a
versual pause (§ 97). For a still more critical case, cf. Hor. C. IV. i. 5
(§ 204).
" lb. 163-4 (167-8). " Ixvi. 8.
*' Ixvii. 12. The commentators seem to regard this poem as a hopeless puzzle ;
but (in at least Postgate's text) the situation seems tolerably clear. The door at
Verona, so dear to Balbus and to his son Caecilius after him, had been guilty of no
disloyalty. All the trouble was due to Caecilius's wife, who had begun her evil
courses at Brixia, where her first husband and his father lived.
" I. xii. 18-20. i» I. xvi. 24. " I. xxxiii. 12.
NOTES AND COMMENTS 97
saepitis vent is agitatur /ngens | pinus.^i
The terminal -ns cannot enter into the alliteration of its own line
(§ 114), so that the agmatic n in ing- must rhyme interlineally with
pin-. If the conjecture saevius were admitted, we should have the
double sv sv.
moliar atrium | cur valle p^rmutem Sabina.^^
The blank is covered by the interhneal Ird.
concita tympano | illam cogit amor Nothi | 1- ^^
The blank is covered both by the double il il and by the interlineal
ncHm.
pericultimst | 6 Lenaee sequi Deum | c.^*
An interesting line : tl ndn.
patiperiem sine dote qua6ro : ^^ pp e dt e
clamore vicinaeque s^lvae | quum fera diluvies.^^
Compensation vc cv ; interlineal Ive.
fistula I ilUc bis pueri die | ntimen cum t- ^7
Analysis ; il b-p i n. The interhneal rhyme in the fourth foot is
between dn and nt. If bis may lengthen (Ramsay, p. 35), we shall
also have the initial rhyme BP and the interlineal is.
fidelem | Jupiter in Ganymede flavo | olim.^^
The blank is covered by pt df and also by the interhneal fde, while
flavo rhymes three times over.
intenta fulvae matris ab tibere'.^^
The v.l. furvae would improve.
fugient heredis amico
quae deder/s animd ^^
qutim semel occideris.
The middle Hne is fortified on the one side by t" r" m" and on the
other by the interlineal cdris.
21 II. X. 9. 22 in. I 47. 23 III. XV. 11.
2* III. XXV. 19. " III. xxix. 8. 2« 76. 39.
" IV. i. 25. «8 IV. iv. 4. 2» If, 14
3» lb. viii. 20.
98 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
miratur 6 tutela praesens
Italiae dominaeque Romae | te fontium.^^
Parallel rhyme : t" t" e" r" : also interlineal o.
dapis I inemor^ spectaculo | quum promineret.^^
Interlineals : fs sp, nmr-p prmn. The fourth foot lo \ q rhymes
with the third. Inemori does not occur elsewhere, and may be a
corruption of lente mori*. i
infido gener | aut acer hostis Bupald.^^ I
Compensation r \ t r-t, as well as A A. There is also an interlineal tc,
Hostis may be a corruption of hospes*, which would improve both
rhyme and sense (balancing gener).
Petti nihtl me sicut Anted juvat.^*
The v.l. Pecti would improve the line, which, however, rhymes
sufficiently, if nihil be admitted (cf. Ov. Ex P. III. i. 113, etc.).
§ 178. Martial,
mimos ridiculi Philistidnis.^^
Only by assuming list will the line rhyme : i i i i -
est in drca | 6 grande ingenitim me/ sodalis | durum est S^xte.^^
The blank is covered doubly by s | d s-t in the following Hne. Note
the interlineal grnd.
septem quod pueros levat vel octo
res non difficilis mihi videtur.^'
Parallelism : s" d" s" v" t". Cf. xxiv. 5-6, where, however, the
rhyme is meretricious, m | Hermes (m-w) not being a blank.
Patile negat lasso janitor 6sse domt.^
Either lasso must be admitted, or domo be read.
" IV. xiv. 44. " Epod. v. 34. ^ lb. vi. 14.
^ lb. xi. 1. «» II. xli. 15. " II. xUv. 10.
»' V. xii. 5. " V. xxii. 10.
NOTES AND COMMENTS 99
nullas relliquias habet Charinus.^^
The liaisoning of s to r seems unnatural without the intervention of
h, but is in line with the teaching of Ter. Scaurus (§ 26) : n s s - n.
as as
subrisi modice levique nutu | me quem dix- *"
Interlineal cmt.
n6c pallens toga mortui tribulis
n6c pigri rota quassa mwlionis.*^
Parallel rhyme : n" r" v" ull The conjecture lassa would eliminate
the blank.
§ 179. Ovid.
ndn modo militiae turbine f actus equ^s.*^
Compensation, t-b f-t. The v,l. fortunae munere improves.
expectem pelago vela negante data (Palmer).*^
The common reading vela negata meo is better, with its dm gtm as
against ct g-t.
dehinc erit 6ri6n dspicienda mihi.**
The first rhyming ictic is ei —i, and the compensation jn jn, nc en.
file locus saevi vulnus amoris habet | Anna soror soror.*^
A poor line : 1 ss v vl r -. The interUneal rhyme is between rs and
il i-1
sr-sr^ (cf. § 96). The true reading is probably ipse locus.
si jungar Pyrrh6, tu mihi laesus eris.**
The line will only rhyme by assuming -m, for which cf. poteris
(A. A. i. 370). The true reading may be lusus.
s I utque pudenda me* videatur causa doldris.*'
Compensation : d-d dt, s \ t sd. The v.l. magis (for mei) extin-
guishes a blank and adds the double gs cs.
3» VL xxxvii. 2. *o VI. Ixxxii. 7. " IX. Ivii. 9.
*2 Am. III. XV. 6. " Her. ii. 100. ^* lb. vi. 788.
« lb. vii. 190. " lb. viii. 36. «' lb. xv. 119.
100 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
cumque Pheretiade et Hyanted loldo.*^
Analysis : c-c t d t — . The spelling -teio would give us the
etj de etj
uniped jj and so eliminate one of the blanks.
lano I hoec ubi nubilibus primum maturuit annis.*^
lano is regarded with suspicion, and the true reading might supply
a rhyme to hoec or liaison a rhyming consonant to it. Either ut*
for ubi or emat-* for mat- would remove all difficulty. If the text
is sound, dnnis must be assumed (§ 308. i, obs. 1).
aurigcim video vela dedisse rati | c.^°
Analysis : R g - V d t
ig di tic.
-8 concita ventis | aequora Palladid numine tuta fuit.^^
Interlineal so s\q. Double dn nt. Pall- rhymes obliquely. The
v.l. fugit improves.
seu ratio fattim vincere nulla valet.**
A minimum line, if sound : u - t n nu t (VV). The v.l. seu Jatum
ratio nulla vitare potest has no blank, and shows three doubles
{atj tn, rt) in addition to FP.
Postumid Laenas persoluere mih^ | quaerere.^^
Analysis : s - 8 8 ver - (PP). This is one of many lines
ps le ap l.e
which suggest that the first i in mi-hi contributes a j to the follow-
ing syllable (see § 208, 065. 1.)
§ 180. Propertius.
Theiodamanteo proximus ardor Hyla^.**
There is only compensation for one blank (r-s sr), and either Thej-
or prox- must be assumed. The v.l. Thero- removes all difficulty.
§ 181. Statins.
-OS Av6rni | Aeneds avid6 futtira qua6rens.**
The terminal -ns cannot contribute (§ 114) : e s e r r (§ 92).
«" Met. viii. 310. •• lb. xiv. 336. " Tr. I. iv. 16.
" lb. X. 12. " Tr. III. vi. 18. " F. v. 330.
»* L XX. 6. »» SUv. IV. iii. 132.
NOTES AND COMMENTS 101
Teucros alba colit Lareg • \M} ibP i"! t^U i'»\ V-i ] :
fortem atque facundum Severum ^^ J t" f" d" er"
The/'s cannot count as an initial rhyme if they are utiHsed for
an oblique rhyme (§ 99).
-bus domi salutes ^ d" m" u"
atit cum me dape juveris opima ^'
^ d" m" u"
J t" m" u" i i
If au can rhyme with uv, there is no blank. See § 217. i. obs.
et summo placitura Jovi : quis letifer annus. ^
Quis is dat. plur. : t - tr v-v t r.
VI VI
aequi | impatiens largtisque animae modo suaserit zra.^
Assuming A-i (§211 obs.) and the spelling inp-, the line rhymes,
the compensation being J^j^. The v.l. si (for modo) would provide
the double e-s es.
§ 182. TibuUus.
dum meus adsidud luceat igne focus. ^°
The spelling ads- required here, if the line is sound. There is a
v.l. exiguo.
ludit et adsidue proeHa miscet amor.*^
The choice lies between (1) retaining the spelling ads- and so
securing the double dt td ; (2) admitting the speUing 'praelia, which
would extinguish the blank ; and (3) accepting the conjecture
assiduus,
natali Romae jam licet esse tuo | omnibus. *2
tuo or suo requires esse. With the conjecture meo, esse might stand.
§ 183. Virgil,
quo Troia ptibes | Albam docuere suos hinc maxima porro.®^
The blank is covered by the interlineal dcv.
56 Silv. IV. V. 3.
" lb. ix. 5L
88 Theb. i. 707.
5» Ih. iii. 603.
«» I. i. 6.
61 I. iii. 64.
62 IV. ix. 2.
63 A. V. 600.
102 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
-r^ptqUG repi^4;i'f 4mnes'n6c reperire viam dtque evolvere posset.^*
Analysis : n sn r . r - v-v s, with an interlineal ncrj). The v.l.
rp rv vrp
neque volvere would improve
ergo nee clipeo juvenis subsistere tantum | n.^^
Compensation, tn tn. The v.l. juvenis clipeo would improve.
«« A. V. 807. ^^ lb. ix. 806.
CHAPTER XIV
LINES THAT RESIST
§ 184. Apart from the cases already considered, all the lines which
have been noted by the author as not conforming to rule are given
below. They or their immediate neighbours are assumed to be
corrupt, and the business of this chapter is to amend them. When
there is no indication to the contrary, the corrections ofEered are
derived from the critical notes in the Valpy Delphin. The author's
own conjectures are asterisked.
§ 185. CatuUus.
adjuvato | ne quis liminis obseret tabellam | n.^
Read adjubeto (Turnebus) : e 1 s-s tt 1.
file mi par esse ded videtur.^
Sappho has to-os Oeola-Lv. Read deis*.
suave olentis amarac^.^ Read -raci et*,
quos Hamadryades deae
liidicrum sibi rosido.*
Read roscido sibi ludicrum*. This will add r to the previous line
and so provide a double (dr dr) in compensation for the blank.
jam cubile adeat viri.^
Read adeant (with all the MSS.).
§ 186. Horace,
quam virga semel hdrrida.'
Read virga quam*.
1 xxxii. 5. * li. 1. 3 ixi. 7.
* lb. 23-4. 8 76. 179 (igs). 7 c. I. xxiv. 16.
103
104 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
d6nsum humeris bibit aiire vwlgus | quid mirum.^
Read (v.l.) tensa humilis. It is noticeable that Bentley con-
jectured humili. aur-, however, may have been admitted as a rhyme
to vulg- in virtue of the common v. See remarks on Ov. Am. III.
XV. 16, infra.
-tis tirges | stimmov^re k'tord | partim.*
summoveo (" thrust aside ") is not the right word to use of the
shore. Read jyromovere* (yielding pr as a rhyme to r | ^).
r/pas 6t vacuum nemtis.^^
Read rivos (conjecture).
horridi | dumeta S*lvam : car6tque.^^
Read (v.l.) horrida | dumeta s^lvarum caret qua {va va (X!).
atidiv^re Lyce ; fis anus 6t tam^n.^^
Read en fis*.
Arimin^nsem Foliam | et.^^
Read^Zmm* — the daughter of Veia (29), and perhaps the younger
sister of Sagana (c/. I. Sat. viii. 25).
oblivione pellic^/m | ah ah.^*
The couplets 69-70, 71-2 must be transposed, so that -cum
(hardened before the following non) may rhyme with -on. This
indeed the line of thought requires. For in Canidia's mind ambulet
{cf. 57-8) was prior to dormit, as of course venefica was to unctis.
The lacuna shown by some editors after v. 70, and the omission of
ah ah m v. 71 by others, are sufficient in themselves to show that
the text at this point is in some confusion.
sol ddspicit conopiwm | at.^^
Read conopion* (kwi/wttiov).
December 6x quo destiti
Inachia furer6, silvis honorem decutit.^*
Read (v.l.) Inachiam. The blank is now covered by the inter-
lineal cmbr-s.
» C. II. xiii. 32. • 76. xviii. 21. i" C. IH. xxv. 13.
" lb. xxix. 23. " C. IV. xiii. 2. " Epod. v. 42.
" lb. 70. " lb. ix. 16. i« lb. xi. 5-6.
LINES THAT RESIST 105
§ 187. Martial,
impotens | Aquilone raiico mtigiet.^'
Read mugient*, as required by strict grammar,
miserere tti felicitim | v.^*
Read tunc* : rr c c M.
^tque nihil monstro ptirius esse tuo.^®
This line will not rhyme without the v.l. monstro as here given.
ingentl late vectus es hexaphoro.^^
Read (v.l.) laooe.
calentis | expertum meminit die vel tino.^i
Read (v.l.) minuit. Were there no alternative, diem vel unum
might be conjectured.
vivet Ap^Uewm ctim morie'tur opus.22
Read Apelldum* : vv p j mm j p.
jurat Gellia sed per uniones
hos ampl6ctitur.23
The group rtgl (the e in Gellia and amphct- is presumably short)
is not quite long enough to rhyme interhneally with Icttr, and the
liaisoning of t to Gellia seems too violent to be admissible ; so
that the line has only compensation for one blank (ur ru). It would
be easy to amend by conjecturing Julia or Dellia ; but in the book
immediately following (IX. Ixxxi.) there is evidence of an attack
on Martial's " inexactness/' and it may well be that the criticism
was provoked by this very line. Cf, § 95 obs.
t6cum, si memini, fuere, JtiH.^^
The line will only rhjnne by writing the last word as Julji* (j-j),
a legitimate contraction of JuHi (cf. con.siljtim, etc.). Ter. Scaurus,
1' I. xlix. 20. 18 76. 38.
1' III. Ixxxvii. 2. It is well understood that in most other cases monstrum in
the MSS. is a deliberate corruption ; and it may be conjectured that the choice
of the word weis suggested to prudish copyists by its use in the present passage.
2° IV. li. 2. 21 VI. Ixx. 4. 22 VII. Ixxxiv. 8.
23 VIII. Ixxxi. 4-5. *« XII. xxxiv. 2.
106 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
a younger contemporary of Martial, says that this latter was the
only correct way of spelling and pronouncing the vocative, holding
as he did that the number of syllables in the voc. should be the
same as in the nom. : "0 Antonii et Aemilii in singulari vocativo
et dicendum et scribendum esse contenderim " (K. VII. 22. 12).
miraris ? nondtim fecerat ilia Deus.^s
For deus read secus*. The poet is playing on the double meaning
of servoj for which facio here does vicarious duty. The goose had
always " kept " or clung to the temple, and there was nothing
wonderful in its having kept it (safe) on a particular occasion.
mandatus populo vela negare solet.^^
Read (v.l.) nam ventus : N 1 1 1 - t (VV).
§ 188. Ovid.
culte puer puerique parens Amathusia culti
awrea de campo vellite signa meo | c.^'
The uncertainty of the text in the first line is sufl&ciently indicated
by the variants mihi tempore longo and am^t hostia cuUu. The
reading Amath. cult, is a conjecture of Heinsius. The true reading
is perhaps si mi bene vultis*. The analysis of the pentameter would
then be : s c o - sg o with an interlineal vlts. If the v in aur- is a
cm m.c
consonant, as Ter. Scaurus says it is {of. § 217. i. obs.), the penta-
meter rhymes independently. Cf. Hor. C. II. xiii. 32 (§ 186. 8).
aptius 6 mira calliditate virum | r.^®
The fault is in the first word of the following line, where there
are several variants, all beginning with a vowel. Any one of these
would leave the terminal m its face value, and so remove every
difficulty.
adsiduo durum poUice nebat opus.*®
For durum (which is hardly the word for spinning or weaving)
read duplum*. Cf. Hor. Epp. I. xvii. 25 (duplex pannus). If the
text is sound, the o in pollex must be long.
" XIII. Ixxiv. 2. " XIV. xxix. 2. " Am. m. xv. 15-16.
28 Her. XV. (xvi.) 300 (302). " Med. Fac. 14.
LINES THAT RESIST 107
venit honos, auro conciliatur am6r.^°
Read ccmcilietur*.
accipienda sinii, mdbilis aura, venl.^^
Mobilis is objectionable in itself, as excluding a reference to a
woman. Read (v.l.) nobilis.
officioque meo ripa sistatur in ^lla.^2
For ilia read ista*.
nee nisi pars casu flammis erepta dolove
ad vos ingenii pervenit ulla mei.^^
For nee nisi . . . pervenit read (v.l.) hinc nisi . . . non venit.
denique opus nostrae culpetur ut undique curae
officium nemo qui reprehendat erit.^*
Qui has led the commentators to give the couplet a turn which
is altogether at variance with the context. Read quifi* (yielding
the doubles en nr), and translate, " In order that nothing I have
done may escape censure, everybody will blame me for my officious-
ness in approaching the emperor. Yet goodwill," etc. For the
sentiment, c/. Lucan, vii. 558 : " ne qua parte sui pereat scelus."
t I ignea quum pura Vesta nitebit humo 1 1.^^
Read (v.l.) virebit.
verberor et tutae non licet esse miM | ergo.^*
Read (v.l.) tutam , . . niicem.
§ 189. Propertius.
et flere injectis Galle diu manibus.^'
Read (v.l.) illectis.
Lesbia Mentoreo vina bibas opere.^^
Read operi*. For this archaic form, which would not be without
significance here, cf. Cat. Ixviii. 124, Lucr. i. 978, iv. 235, etc.
30 A.A. ii. 278. ai lb. iii. 698. 32 Met. ix. 109.
33 Tr. V. xii. 65-6 34 Ex P. III. iv. 77-8. 35 y. vi. 234.
36 NUX 148. 3 7 I, xiii. 16. 38 j. xiv. 2.
108 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
solus ero quonidm non licet esse tuwm.^*
One of the n's in non is ineffective (§ 76. 4), and there is no double
rhjnne to compensate for the blank. Read (v.l.) tv,o, and cf. Ov. Her.
xiv. 64, etc.
indue me Cois fiam non dtira puella.*®
As ^ is needed for the oblique rhyme (F), there is no initial rhyme
(§ 99. 2), so that there is only compensation for one blank. Read
(v.\.)fiam modoy yielding the double dm md.
§ 190. Statius.
Horrebat mala navigationis.*^
Read -bant* (the subject is plebs, a noun of multitude).
oscitationes | d6 capsd miseri Hbellionis | 6mtum.**
The first ictic is covered by the interlineal ctt, which, however, is
superfluous, as the terminal s in the previous Hne admits of being
liaisoned. The last ictic is not strictly covered by the interlineal
jons, which is one letter short, though such a licence may have been
tolerated when both the rhymes were terminal. If emtum were
pronounced entum by those who spelt the word without the p
there would, of course, be no blank. In presence of Mar. Victorinus's
language in I. iv. 82, and of tento for tempto, this seems possible.
ostendere ndtis
s^c ubi Maura diu populatum rtira leonem.*^
au must here rhyme with o (cf. § 202 obs.) ; and -s | s-^ may be a
legitimate uniped rhyme between line and line {cf. § 90. 62), though
for want of substantial support it has been excluded in § 76. 3.
Perhaps gnatis* should be read, yielding the analysis : c or u L ur o.
§ 191. TibuUus.
dncillam medi6 d^tinutsse foro.**
A hopeless line as it stands. Read condliasse*.
»• II. ix. 46. " IV. ii. 23. " Silv. IV. iii. 31.
«• lb. ix. 21. «» Theb. ix. 189. *« I. ii. 94.
LINES THAT RESIST 109
is gerat et miti sit procul d Venere.*^
Read{v.l.)/era«(frprFP).
ei mihi ne vincds, diira puella, deam | p.*^
There is no initial rhyme, for the thetic d is needed for the obUque
rhyme (§ 99). Read (v.l.) bella puella : m v - 1 vl m.
blb.l
*5 I. X. 66. « II. vi. 28.
CHAPTER XV
PRAXIS
§ 192. Sententiae Poeticae.
In selecting the following lines the author has had sole regard to gnomic
values. Torn from their context, as they are, many of them do
not reveal their full alliterative merit. As it happens, they are
all self-subsistent.
Catullus.
1. Difl&cilest longum subito deponere amorem | d.
Horace.
2. Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam | j.
3. Post equitem sedet atra Cura.
4. Dulce et decorum est pro patrid mori.
5. Mors et fugacem persequittir virum | n.
6. Vis consili expers mole ruit sua.
7. Lenit albescens animos capillus.
8. Crescentem sequitur cura pecuniam | m.
9. Fortes creantur fortibus et bonis.
10. Dignum latide viriim Musa vetat mori.
11. Dulce est desipere in loco.
12. Forttina non mutat genus.
13. Dum vitant stulti vitia, in contraria currunt.
14. Quum sibi quisque timet, quamquam est intactus, et odit.
15. Acclinis falsis animus meliora recusat.
1. Ixxvi. 13. 2. C. I. iv. 15. 3. C. III. i. 40.
4-5. lb. ii. 13-14. 6. lb. iv. 65. 7. lb. xiv. 25.
8. lb. xvi. 17. 9. C. IV. iv. 29. 10. lb. viii. 28.
11. lb. xii. 28. 12. Epod. iv. 6. 13. I. Sat. ii. 24.
14. II. Sat. i. 23. 15. lb. ii. 6.
110
PRAXIS 111
16. Nil agit exemplum litem quod lite resolvit.
17. Nemo adeo ferus est ut non mitescere possit.
18. Vilius argentum est auro, virtutibus aurum | o.
19. Quod satis est cui contingit, nihil amplius optet.
20. Sperne voluptates : nocet empta dolore voluptas.
21. Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret.
22. Imperat aut servit coUecta pecunia cuique.
23. Caelum, non animum, mutant qui trans mare currunt.
24. Oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore.
25. Prmcipibus placuisse viris non ultima laus est.
26. Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum | s.
27. Virtus est medium vitiorum et utrinque reductum | a.
28. Percontatorem fugito, nam garrulus idem est.
29. In vitium ducit culpae fuga, si caret arte.
30. Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci.
31. s I Invitum qui servat idem facit occidenti.
Juvenal.
32. Cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator.
33. Orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano.
34. Crescit amor nummi quanta ipsa pecunia crevit.
Lucretius.
35. Scire licet nobis nil esse in morte timendum | n.
36. Surgit amari aliquit quod in ipsis floribus angat.
37. Divitiae grandes hominum sunt vivere parce.
Martial.
38. Non cuicumque datum est habere nasum | 1.
39. Quod tegitur ma jus creditur esse malum ||.
40. Extra fortunam est quidquid donatur amicis.
16. II. Sat. iii. 103. 17. I. Epp. i. 39. 18. lb. 52.
19. lb. ii. 46. 20. lb. 55. 21. lb. x. 24.
22. lb. 47. 23. lb. xi. 27. 24. lb. xv. 52.
25-26. lb. xvii. 35-6. 27. lb. xviii. 9. 28. lb. 69.
29. A.P. 31. 30. lb. 343. 31. lb. 467.
32. X. 22. 33. X. 356. 34. xiv. 139.
35. iii. 866. 36. iv. 1134. 37. v. 1118.
38. I. xli. 18. 39. III. xlii. 4. 40. V. xlii. 7.
112 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
41. Non est vivere, sed valere, vita.
42. Principis est virtus maxima nosse suos.
43. Aestate piieri si valent, satis discunt.
44. Forttina multis dat nimis satis nulli.
45. Nulla est gloria praeterire asellos.
Ovid.
46. Heu quam difficile est crimen non prodere vultu.
47. Serius aut citius sedem properamus ad unam | t.
48. Quo quisquam major, magis est placabilis irae.
49. Vulgus amicitias utilitate probat.
50. Livor, iners vitium, mores non exit in altos.
51. Omne solum forti patria est, ut piscibus aequor.
52. Conscia mens recti famae mendacia ridet.
53. Res est solliciti plena timoris amor.
54. Quaecimique et merito spes venit, aequa venit.
55. Sint procul a nobis juvenes ut femina compti.
56. Non honor est sed onus species laesura ferentes.
57. Est aHqua ingrato meritum exprobrare voluptas.
58. Non faciunt molles ad fera tela manus.
59. Est virtus placitis abstinuisse bonis.
60. Tarda solet magnis rebus inesse fides.
61. An nescis longas regibus esse manus ?
62. Utilis interdum est ipsis injuria passis.
63. Fertilior seges est aKenis semper in arvis.
64. Pessima sit, nulli non sua forma placet.
65. Pectoribus mores tot sunt quot in orbe figurae.
66. Asperitas odium saevaque bella movet.
67. Res est blanda canor : discant cantare pueUae.
68. Non bene cum sociis regna Venusque manent.
41. VI. Ixx. 15. 42. VIII. XV. 8. 43. X. Ixxii. 12.
44. XII. X. 2. 46. XII. xxxvi. 13. 46. Met. ii. 447.
47. lb. X. 33. 48. Tr. III. v. 31. 49. Ex P. II. iii. 8.
50. lb. III. iii. 101. 51. Fast. i. 493. 52. 76. IV. 311 (tense altered).
53. Her. i. 12. 64. lb. ii. 62. 55. 76. iv. 76.
66. 76. ix. 31. 67. 76. xii. 21. 58. 76. xiv. 56.
59. 76. xvi. (xvii.) 98. 60. 76. 130. 61. 76. 166.
62. 76. 187. 63. A.A. i. 349. 64. 76. 614.
66. 76. 759. 66. 76. ii. 146. 67. 76. iu. 316.
68. 76. 664.
PRAXIS iia
69. Non habet eventus aordida praeda bonos.
70. Pascitur in vivis Livor, post fata quiescit.
71. Nitimur in vetitum semper cupimusque negata.
72. Auctor abit operis, sed tamen extat opus.
73. Omnia sub leges mors vocat atra suas.
Phaedrus.
74. Amittit m^rito proprium, qui alienum petit.
75. Nunquam est fidelis cum potente societas.
76. Solent mendaces luere poenas malefici.
77. Repente liberalis sttiltis gratus est.
78. Inops, potentem diim vult imitari, perit.
79. Humiles laborant libi potentes dissident.
80. Successus improborum plures allicit.
81. Magnae periclo siint opes obnoxiae.
82. Successus ad perniciem multos devocat.
83. Id demum est homini ttirpe, quod meruit pati.
84. Nisi utile est quod facimus, stulta est gloria | n.
85. Noli affectare quod tibi non est datum | d.
86. Utilius homini ntbil est qudm recte loqui.
87. Homo doctus in se semper divitias habet.
88. Paucis temeritas est bono, multis malo.
89. Amittit famam qui se indignis comparat.
90. Prodesse pericula caiitis aliorum solent.
91. Laus magna natis obsequi parentibiis.
92. Susp^ctus esse debet qui laesit semel.
Propertius.
93. Panditur ad nullas janua nigra preces.
69. Am. I. X. 48. 70. lb. xv. 39. 71. lb. III. iv. 17.
72. Cons. 238. 73. lb. 360. 74. I. iv. 1.
75. I. V. 1. 76. I. xvii. 1. 77. I. xxiii. 1.
78. I. xxiv. 1. 79. I. XXX. 1. 80. II. iii. 7.
81. II. vii. 14. 82. III. V. 1. 83. lb. xi. 7.
84. lb. xvii. 12. 85. lb. xviii. 14. 86. IV. xiii. 1.
87. lb. xxi. 1. 88. V. iv. 12. 89. App. xvi. 10.
90. lb. XXX. 8 {per. caut. are here transposed*, the text, as commonly printed,
being unmetrical). 91. lb. xxxii. 11. 92. lb. xxxiii. 15.
93. IV. xi. 2.
8
114 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
TiBULLUS.
94. Non opibus mentes hominum curaeque levantur.
95. Vincuntur molli pectora dura prece.
96. Difficile est tristi fingere mente jocum | n.
Virgil.
97. Scinditur incertum studia in contraria vulgus.
98. Una salus victis nullam sperare salutem | s.
99. Desine fata deum flecti sperare precando.
100. Discite justitiam moniti et non temnere divos.
94. III. iii. 21. 95. lb. iv. 76. 96. lb. vi. 34.
97. A. ii. 39. 98. 76. 354. 99. A. vi. 376.
100. lb. 620.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A
PRELIMINARY
§ 193. The difficulties attending an investigation into the pro-
nunciation of Latin are due to the fact that at no single period even
in any one locality was the pronunciation uniform, that from century
to century it changed over the whole field, and that our informa-
tion from ancient sources, whether literary or inscriptional, is not
only incomplete, but often contradictory.
§ 194. In any one period and locaUty three pronunciations are
to be distinguished — the literary, the better-class colloquial (sermo
urbanus), and the plebeian (sermo plebeius, jyrohtarius).^ The
educated and uneducated Romans, we may be sure, differed as
widely in their ordinary conversation as do the educated and un-
educated Londoners of to-day ; and the pronunciation of poUte
society, with its slurring or suppression of consonants and sus-
ceptibilities to fashion, we may be equally sure, was not that of the
high-class actor or reciter who is bound by tradition and before all
things deliberate and articulate in speech. Unfortunately, even
in the histrionic or literary sphere there is no certainty that words
were always pronounced as they are written. " Quid quae scribun-
tur aUter quam enuntiantur ? Multa sunt generis hujus," says
Quintilian.2 And there are serious differences in the spelHng itself,
influenced as it has been by the copyists of a later age even more
than by the individual preferences of the original writers. The
usages too of poetry were in many respects different from those of
^ There were, of course, many gradations. Quintilian, for instance, speaks of
the " everyday style " which men of his class adopted in familiar intercourse with
intimates and inferiors ("cotidianus sermo, quo cum amicis, conjugibus, liberis,
servis loquimur" : XII. x. 40). * I. vii. 28-9.
117
118 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
prose, and we do not know how far they extended.^ Both in poetry
and prose the quantity of the vowels is often veiled beyond recovery.
§ 195. As between period and period and locaUty and locaHty*
the differences must have been intensified ; and perhaps in ex-
treme cases they were as great as those between the " pure Enghsh
undefiled " of Chaucer and the camp dialect of the Far West.
" Latinitas et regionibus mutatur et tempore," says Cyprian.^
At Rome itself the changes had been enormous. " Totus prope
mutatus est sermo," says Quintilian.® Primarily no doubt these
utterances referred to the materials of speech, but in a secondary
degree they also apply to the pronunciation.
§ 196. The inscriptions and graffiti, of course, reflected more or
less accurately the complex features of their times ; but for the
literary pronunciation of the Augustan age, or indeed of any age,
they are not rehable guides even when they agree. The gram-
marians in hke manner reflect for the most part the society in which
they Uved — often far removed from the conditions which prevailed
at Rome in the Golden Age. Many of them knew Latin only as a
foreign language, and perhaps only from books ; and in some cases
were obviously no better qualified to pronounce on the problems
they discuss than a modern.'' For a comprehensive view of their
teaching the reader is referred to Seelmann and Lindsay. This
' What we do know is that the natural accent was often neglected ; that two
syllables were sometimes contracted into one ; that in certain cases vowels were
elided ; that in similar cases final m, which in prose was sometimes heard, was
almost regularly suppressed, though not at the end of a line ; that vowels recog-
nised as short were sometimes lengthened ; that in the case of proper names the
poets sometimes adapted the quantity to the metre ; that in the case of verbs of
the fourth conjugation the first i in forms like avdiit, which in prose appears to
have been long (Servius ad Aen. i. 451, though Priscian dififers), was always
shortened ; that the long c in steterunt, etc., was also often shortened ; that at
the end of a line of verse the distinction between long and short was ignored ; and
that expressions like foetus est, whatever the usage may have been in ordinary
speech, were commonly pronounced as written.
* Every municipal town had its own " sermo oppidanus," and the surrounding
district its " lingua rustica," while in the provinces there grew up in infinite variety
what is sometimes known as " vulgar " Latin, the parent of the Romance languages.
6 Epist. 25. • VIII. iii. 26.
' One of them (Donatus, K. V. 320. 19) is unable to decide the quantity of the
vowel preceding final m because " it is difficult to find a decisive instance " (in
poetry) ! Another (Servius, K. IV. 522. 26) remarks that hidden quantities were
often difficult to determine.
APPENDICES 119
teaching is not always consistent — far from it; and where that is
so, it becomes necessary — our purpose being a practical one — to
choose and reject, for contradictory statements cannot both be true
of the same set of facts at the same time. In these Appendices it
will be natural to give chief prominence to the authorities whose
dicta have contributed to the framing of our alliterative scheme.
§ 197. The scheme itself rests on the assumption that alliterative
effects are obedient to law, and is wholly empirical. Built up in
the rough out of materials supplied by lines of verse which seemed
free from serious complications, it has been modified and modified
to meet the new requirements which presented themselves as the
work went on, until it was sufficiently advanced to become a sort
of touchstone for the determination of the alphabetical values on
which it necessarily hinged. The results are embodied in the fore-
going pages, but the processes followed could not well be ex-
plained there, and the reader will want some evidence that the
ground has been duly surveyed and competing ideas carefully ex-
amined. In tendering this evidence, one of the author's objects
has been to register the difficulties which the problem involves, so
that others who are tempted to pursue the inquiry and are not
satisfied with his conclusions may be able to reconnoitre the situa-
tion at a sitting, and at least have within easy reach a repertory of
unembroidered lines by which to test their theories at an early
stage. Owing to the alliterative richness of the poets such lines
are of rare occurrence, and the search for them is laborious.
§ 198. The following table of ancient writers, whose authority
is invoked in this book, will be useful for reference. The Roman
numerals denote the centuries in which they flourished,® the early,
middle, and later portions of each being distinguished by a, 6, and
c respectively. When the numeral is asterisked, it means B.C.
§199.
*IV6. Aristotle. Ila. Caesellius Vindex.
VI6. Audax. Vc. Martianus Mineus Felix
? III. L. Caecilius Vindex. Capella.
*I6. C. Julius Caesar. lie. Flavins Caper.
8 Reliable information is sometimes wanting, and the authorities consulted —
Keil, Stolz, and Smith's Classical Dictionary — are not always agreed.
120
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
VIa6.
Magnus Aur. Cassiodorus.
*I-I.
Melissus.
IVc.
Flav. Sosipater Charisius.
I.
Nisus.
*I6.
M. Tullius Cicero.
IVc.
Papirianus.
V.
P. Consentius.
16.
C. Plinius Secundus.
16.
L. Annaeus Cornutus
Va.
Pompeius Grammaticus.
Leptitanus.
Via.
Priscianus Caesariensis.
III6.
Cyprian.
Ila.
Valerius Probus.
IVc.
Diomedes.
?
pseudo-Probus.
*Ic.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus.
Ic.
M. Fabius Quintilianus.
IV6.
Donatus.
?IV.
M. Plotius Sacerdos.
?IV.
Sext. Pompeius Festus.
Ila.
Q. Terentius Scaurus.
*I6.
P. Nigidius Figulus.
IV6.
Marius Servius Honora-
*I-I.
Verrius Flaccus.
tus.
116.
Aulus Gellius.
' IV-V.
Flav. Mallius Theodoms.
116.
Hephaestion.
*Ia6.
Terentius Varro.
Ila.
Velius Longus.
III6.
C. Marius Victorinus
*IIc.
C. Lucilius.
Afer. .
? III6.
Terentianus Maurus.
IV6.
Maximus Victorinus.
APPENDIX B
'
THE DIPHTHONGS aw, m, oe
§ 200. It is common ground that at least in early Latin the
sound of a diphthong was that of its components when the latter
were pronounced in rapid succession so as to form a single
syllable. The first vowel would usually have chief prominence ;
and in all the above the a-sound must have originally been
the predominant one ; so that it is no great assumption to make,
in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that each of the
diphthongs retained enough of its flavour to rhyme both with a
and each other.
§ 201. To begin with, the first, which from one point of view —
owing to the volume of the w-sound — seems the most difficult, au
in (say) audit, must have impressed the ear in much the same way
as the combination av did in pavity where the a-sound is only
APPENDICES 121
affected by the v in the sense in which it is affected by (say) the r
in jparet. To drive the point home, we may say that audit rhymes
singly with paret and doubly with favit.
Ohs. 1. — There does not appear to be a line which requires au au to
count £is a double.
Obs. 2. — Ter. Scaurus says (if the text is sound) that v was a consonant
in the combinations au eu, etc. See § 217. i. obs.
§ 202. The following are cases where au must be accepted as a
rhyme to a :
destinata | aula divitem manet : ^ a d 1 1
s I morte venalem peti^sse latirum :^ s - 1 s 1
al la
inhospitalem et Caticasum : ^ s a a s
aut acer hostis Btipalo : * 1 1 bp - (AA)
caiisam reddere vellet Aeliano : ^ a r-r 11a.
Obs. — There are many words in which the au passed into o, e.g. plostrum^
Clodius, loreola (Cic. ad Att. v. 20, 4), oricilla (Cat.), colicula (Mart.),
though originally the o-sound was regarded as " countrified." " Rustici
oru7n dicebant " (for aurum), says Festus. Cf. Prise. I. ix. 52, where it is
said that the ancients often interchanged o and au. There is thus always
the possibihty that when the vowels are found in the same line they were
intended to rhyme, as must have been the case in Cat. Ixi. 163 (167).
Cf. §§ 176. 15, 190. 43.
§ 203. The.diphthong ai is of rare occurrence in our period (Baiae,
Maia, etc.) ; for in most cases it had passed into ae, with which it
must have rhymed sufficiently for alUterative purposes before the
latter changed its character (§ 204). The reasoning advanced in the
case of au applies equally to ai, which may therefore be assumed
to rhyme with both a and au. Between Baiae, bajulo, and balo
there is apparently no essential difference so far as the first vowel
is concerned. Unfortunately, a test Hne is wanting.
§ 204. As to ae, it is known from Varro and others that the rustic
pronunciation of this diphthong was that of the Latin e ; and Professor
Lindsay in his Hist. Lat. Gram, affirms that this pronunciation —
1 Hor. C. II. xviii. 31. ^ lb. III. xiv. 2. a /^,, gpod. i. 12.
« lb. vi. 14 (see, however, § 177. 33). s Mart. XL xl. 6.
122 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
which in late Latin became general — must have established itself
at Rome even in Cicero's time.* This is borne out by :
ctim fugeret tamen uda Lyaeo | tempora : ' c-g t d e
vivet extento Proculeius aevo : ^ v 1 1 e ev
calvae m6 numerus tuae fefelHt : ^ 1 e - e 1
ve ve
permisstim saevo caput allattira Lyaeo : ^° o s-s o 1 1 -
eo eo.
The following relies on parallelism :
-rae desine dulcium 1 d e d
mater saeva Cupidinum | c ^^ J t e d nn.
APPENDIX C
THE DIPHTHONGS oi, 06
§ 205. Oi after passing through the form oe had in most cases ]
been reduced to u (e.g. unus, utor) as early as the second century
B.C. ; and oe itself was only retained in " some words of the legal or
official style like/oetZws (a treaty) and poetical words like amoenus,
foedus (foul)." Professor Lindsay, from whose Hist. Lat. Gram, this ^
statement is derived (p. 174; cf. pp. 14-15), says that the oe was j
pronounced like " the German o rapidly followed by the e- vowel " ; 1
but there is apparently no decisive line which supports this view
under our alliterative scheme. The evidence from that source
points to as the predominant sound during our period, with a
tendency — as may be inferred from the variations in the spelling
of such words as coena (caena^ cena),foenus (fenvs),foemina (femina),
coelum (caelum), etc. — to pass into the e-sound. Boii, Troiu, etc.
(cf. § 209) show the oi unmodified. In the following line there is .
no escape from the o-sound : |
errdre per lucos amoenae : ^^ r r o o. |
• Pp. vii, 13. Cf. L.L. p. 42. The common view i8 that ae had the sound of
ai in aisle. Roby declares it to have been " nearly that of the single vowel a in
hat lengthened " {School Lat. Or., % U). ' Hor. C. I. vii. 22. |
« lb. II. ii. 16. » Mart. V. xlix. 3. lo Stat. Theb. xi. 320. I
*i Hor. C. IV. i. 5. Cf. II. xix. 1, where the same line occurs and parallelism |
is also present — though not necessary there, an uncompensated blank being per-
missible in a first line (§ 112). " Hor. C. III. iv, 7.
APPENDICES 123
06s. — In the case of quoi the o was otiose, for Quintilian tells us that
the dative was so spelt (in his boyhood) merely to distinguish it from the
nominative. ^^
APPENDIX D
THE DIPHTHONG CU
§ 206. The sound of this diphthong is usually assumed to be
that of ev in the English clever^ if the v were pronounced as a t(; ;
and when seu (for instance) is found in a position to rhyme with
jleve- and the like, the temptation to accept that view is great.
But there does not appear to be any line which requires the rhyme,
while there is at least one which negatives it and requires the pro-
nunciation 00, viz.
vellicet heu sero flebis amata diti : ^* 1 tu f lb t u.
The following may be corrupt (see § 179. 52) :
seu ratio fatiim vincere nulla valet : ^^ u - 1 n nu t ( VV).
APPENDIX E
THE LETTER i (j)
§ 207. In certain cases this letter had a consonantal force which
is often indicated in modern times by the symbol j. It was then
pronounced like the y in " yet " or " young," and in combination
with another consonant could (prosodially) lengthen a preceding
vowel, e.g.
aut ut ertint patres in Julia t6mpla vocati : ^^
^^ I. vii. 27. If the spelling of this particular word in (say) Cicero has been
systematically altered by the copyists of a later age, it is clear that no reliance
can be placed on them in other cases where the fashion changed. Have these
copyists also systematically altered the spellings -mf -mv, which Cicero is known
to have favoured (see § 299) ? They have certainly done so in Mar. Vict., wheye,
in the very sentence in which the grammarian recommends Cicero's spelhng,
our texts show nf — as indeed they do throughout the treatise along with nv
(K. VI. 18. 14). " Prop. II. V. 8. is Qv. Tr. III. vi. 18.
1^ Ov. Ex P. IV. V. 21. In Statins the consonant does not always make position,
e.g. Theb. i. 62 : " Firmasti si stagna petji Cyrrhaea bicorni." CJ. i. 69.
124 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
§ 208. The functions of the letter depended on its position, and
may be distinguished thus :
i. When it immediately preceded a consonant or h (e.g. dit}"^
sive, dijudicOj mihi) it was merely a vowel.
ii. When it immediately preceded a vowel, it was either (a) a
consonant (e.g. Juno, adjuvo), or (6) a vowel which carried a con-
sonant in its bosom (e.g. Troia, lulus, abies).
Obs. 1. — The mihi type {i before h) has been included under i. with some
hesitation, there being so many lines that suggest its inclusion under ii. (6),
though none that seem decisive. Cf. § 230. 14.
Obs. 2. — In some cases — owing fundamentally to laziness (§ 16) — the
first of two t's was suppressed (e.g. inice for injice), though the preceding
syllable was not always shortened. ^^
§ 209. To begin with cases of the Trqja type, the ancient doctrine
was that between two vowels the i was a consonant, and that in
speech the consonant was doubled, thus lengthening the preceding
vowel by " position." For instance, Velius Longus says : ^^
'* Ipsa natura i litterae est ut inter jecta vocaUbus latins
enuntietur, dum et prior illam adserit et sequens sibi
vindicat." And so (as he afterwards puts it) " duarum
consonantium obtinet vicem."
And Priscian,^^ in speaking of Maiius, peiius, eiius, etc., as the
forms used by the ancients (meaning, no doubt, Cicero, etc.), remarks
that the words could only have been pronounced by attaching the
first i to the preceding vowel and the second to the following. So
too Ter. Maurus, in a passage too long to quote,^^ has
i bis profuit
cum facit longam primam Troia, Maia et alia.
There are also inscriptions which countenance the same view, e.g.
SESTULEi-us, SESTULE-io.^2 Short of exhibiting the two letters,
nothing could be more significant, having regard to the ancient
doctrine of syllabification.
The modernists, however, while they accept the doubling of the
i, regard the first as a vowel — as the first y certainly is in English
1' CJ. Prise. X. i. 1. " Cf. Gell. IV. xvii. 9. " K. VII. 66. 7, 18.
«» I. iv. 18. " K. VI. 344, v. 640. " Seehnann, p. 236.
APPENDICES 125
in such a. case as " say you " ; and the lengthening of a short vowel
before the two ^'s, which the ancients held was due to " position,"
is accordingly explained as due to the formation of a diphthong,
so that Troia (Tpota) is not Troj-ja but Troi-ja.
This is only another way of representing the i as a vowel carry-
ing a consonant in its bosom, and we have given preference to the
latter description only because it brings Troia and the like into the
same class as lulus, etc. What is important to remember is that
the consonant belongs equally to both syllables (§ 28), so that
Aiax=Ai-j-ax, peior=pei-j-or, eius—ei-j-us, cuius— aui-j-us, huius
=hii-j-uSf etc.
Obs. 1. — The doubling of the i, entailing a lengthening of the preceding
vowel, does not apply to compounds {hi-jugus, etc.).
Ohs. 2. — By a poetic licence the i sometimes formed a syllable in itself,
e.g. Catullus and Martial make Gaius a dactyle.
Obs. 3. — Nigidius Figulus deemed the diphthong ei a stupid superfluity
in Latin, seeing that it was always replaceable by i.^^ On that view peius
would be pronounced as pi-yus, eius as i-yus^ etc., which seems untenable
and is negatived by at least one line under our alliterative scheme, viz.
meientis mulae cunnus habere solet : ^^ e 1 1 - e It (MM).
What saves the credit of the grammarian is that in making his general
statement he took no account of these ei's, for to him they were ej's.
§ 210. In line with the modern view (put as* we have put it) is
the usage which our alliterative scheme postulates in the case of
words like lulus, abies, audiet, etc. For here too we hold that the i
does double duty, the pronunciation being I-y-ulus, abi-y-es, audi-y-it,
etc. This is the feature which the grammarians appear to refer to
when they speak of a pinguis sonus as opposed to an exilis or tenuis
sonus.^^ They make the same distinction in speaking of u, which,
as we shall see, behaves like i in this matter.
Obs. — It would thus seem that abjete, fluvjus, Nasidjenus, stelljo, and
the like are simply cases of contraction, comparable to lamna, calfacio,
aspris, soldus, etc.
§ 211. Notwithstanding the absence of a crucial instance, it may
fairly be assumed — as a corollary to the above — that the vowel (in
obedience to liaison) exercised the same force when it appeared in
23 ApudGell. XIX. xiv. 8. 24 Cat. xcvii. 8.
25 E.g. Servius (K. IV. 422. 1) and Pompeius (K. V. 103). Cf. Lindsay, L.L. p. 48.
126 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
hiatu in the body of a line, where the movement was always rapid
(§ 29). So treated, it adds the groups rjj) rj jp to the following fine
line :
sit pecori. apibus quanta experientia parcis.^*
06s. — The question arises whether i had the same power at the end of a*
line, when it immediately preceded an initial vowel in the following line.
In the absence of a decisive instance, the point must remain unsettled.
But cf. § 181. 6o, § 183. 65, § 219 06s.
§ 212. As stated in § 107, the treatment of ^' as a consonant did not
wholly destroy its character as a vowel, for, like the sister-letter v, it
might stand between two other letters without offering any resistance
to their union as a couple.
§ 213. The following will illustrate generally :
nee sese a gremio fUius movebat : 2' c g j j -
cs sg
jam lic^t venias marite : ^^ j t j t
juver*t quoniam palam | c ^^ : j - ] c (v.l. invenit)
en nc
ansa 6t jacentem visere regiam | v : ^^ s c s g J
majus Echioniaeve Thebae : ^^ j j je e
et Chia vina aut Lesbia | v : ^^ ij i _ j
jv jv
in impiam Ajac*s rat6m | o : ^3 m j — j - m
ja ja
Aeglen | 6t jacet in medio s*cca puella toro : 3* t t o — o
ntj tn dj
horum deUcias superbiamque : ^^ r - j r j
cj j-c
parare co^nam jussus 6st maturitis : ^® r - s s r s
js js
gloria pugnantes vincere major erdt : ®' g g t c - t
rj jr
esses lonii facta pu^a maris : ^^ s si i F - s.
ij ji
" Virg. G. i. 4. " Cat. iii. 8. " lb. Ixi. 187 (191).
" 76. 199 (203). '» Hor. C. I. xxxvii. 25. '^ lb. IV. iv. 64.
»^ lb. Epod. ix. 34. "^ /^^ x. 14. '* Mart. XI. Ixxxi. 2.
« lb. XII. Ixxv. 6. »• Phaedr. III. xix. 2. »' Ov. Am. II. ix. 6.
»« Prop. n. xxvi. 14.
■il
APPENDICES 127
APPENDIX F
THE LETTER U (v)
§ 214. TMs letter, being both a vowel and a consonant, is very
much on all fours with i (j), and where the behaviour is the same
the treatment of it here may be advantageously shortened. In late
Latin the consonant came to be sounded as a 6 or even as an English
V, but during our period it was a w, as is proved in the case of ave by
Cicero's story of the fig-seller whose cry " cauneas," mistaken for
cave ne eas, terrified the soldiers of Crassus on his departure for
Parthia in 55 b.c.,^ by Phaedrus's story of the raven, whose caw was
mistaken for ave,^ and by Juvenal's causis for cave sis,^
§ 215. As a consonant, v might help to make " position," though
in this matter it did not operate so regularly as j. In aqua, for
instance, the cv does not lengthen the preceding vowel (except in
late Latin). The truth appears to be that in their consonantal
capacities the semi-vowels had only the limited powers of a liquid
{Imn r). Cf. Statius's treatment of ^' (§ 207. i6).
§ 216. That V was also a rhyming element is shown by such
lines as
Conspicuam fulvo vellere vexit ovem.*
Indeed it is so often utilised in this way that Sidgwick, who was
impressed by the frequency of its occurrence in Virgil, describes it as
the commonest alUterative feature in that author.
§ 217. Like i {j), but with two differences in behaviour (§ 221), its
functions depended on its position, and may be distinguished as
follows :
i. When it immediately preceded a consonant or another v (e.g. utj
uvidus) it was merely a vowel.
Ohs. — If reUance can be placed on the statement in Ter. Scaurus that
V in au eu iu ou is a consonant,^ u is not a vowel in aut, prout, etc. But
Keil, who distrusts the text, rearranges (in a note) so as to exclude this
view.
ii. When it immediately preceded a vowel, it was either {a) a
consonant (e.g. venit, avidus, and, as will presently appear, qui), or
1 De div. II. xl. 84. ^ App. xxi. " ix. 119.
* Ov. Am. II. xi. 4. ^ k. VII. 17. 3 (note on p. 16).
128 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
(b) a vowel which carried a consonant in its bosom (e.g. tenuis =temi-
W'iSy duo—du-w-o, etc.), such consonant — like other inter- vocalic
consonants (§ 28) — belonging equally to both syllables.
Obs. — This pronunciation is required by a large number of lines, and
would have seemed the only natural one, were it not known that the word
uvam was a dilQ&culty to the Greeks, who were given to pronouncing it as
u-am.^
§ 218. Again, like i {j) — under cover of poetic licence — ^the con-
sonantal V was sometimes treated as a vowel (e.g. stluaj cui, aqua '),
and the vocalic u was treated as a consonant (e.g. genva, dvellica,
etc.).
§ 219. Like i (j) too, when u ended a word, it admitted of being
liaisoned to a following vowel in its own line, e.g.
heu ubi mollities pectoris ilia tui : ® v 1 s T si v.
Obs. — As in the case of i, the question arises whether a final u at the
end of a line behaved in like manner before an initial vowel in the next
line. Unless fortior lengthens the first o (cf . forSj fdrtis), the following line
would seem to show that it did :
ictu I 4dmonitu coepi fortior 6sse tu6 : • vd t p f r r v.
§ 220. And finally, Hke i (j), it might stand between two other
letters without offering any resistance to their union as a couple.
§ 221. But unlike i (j) it was never doubled between two vowels,
and accordingly, when not accompanied by another consonant,
could not lengthen a preceding vowel (e.g. dvarus) ; and unlike i (j)
it had the power, when initial, of contributing a v to an immediately
preceding unelided o (in its own Une), e.g. (perhaps the only crucial
instance)
pep6rcit aris. 6 utinam nova : ^^ r r v nn v.
Obs. — This power may have extended to other unelided vowels.
§ 222. A special problem connected with this letter is the deter-
mination of its character after c, g, and q. As the subject is discussed
by nearly all the grammarians, it would be a long task to analyse the
entire position. The point, however, which has chief importance
for us emerges with tolerable clearness. The letter u after the
consonants named had the w soimd, as it had after s in suadeOy
• ConsentiuB, K. V. 393. 1. ' Lucr. vi. 652, etc. • Ov. Am. III. viii. 18.
• Ov. Ex P. I. iii. 8. " Her. C. I. xxxv. 38.
APPENDICES 129
suavis, etc. The only difference between the v in quo and that in
vitulus, primitivus, etc., was, according to Veliiis Longus,^^ that the
latter was slightly aspirated (sonat cum aliqua asjnratione). F,
quamvis contractum, says Priscian,^^ who seems to be tryingjto
describe a sound like that in " quick," eundem tamen, hoc est y [v],
habet sonum inter qet e vel i vel ae diphthongum positum, ut que, quis,
quae. Necncm inter g et easdem vocales, cum in una syllaba sic invetiitur,
ut pingue, sanguis, linguae. And to this he adds : didmus anguis
sicuti quis, et augur sicut cur. Moreover, Pompeius,^^ in calculating
the value of ensque, assigns to v the same musical time as to n and s
and q. Thus qui, beyond a doubt, =cwee, and urgueo (when so
written) =urgweo. There were many words like the latter which
might be spelt and pronounced with or without the v, according to
the taste of the individual {ungo, coquus, equus, etc.).^* We have
to take these words as we find them.
§ 223. What seems certain is that u and a following vowel did not
in combination form a diphthong, for diphthongs are long, whereas
-que, aquila, sanguis, etc., are short. The v in such cases is therefore
a (quasi-liquid) consonant — as it also is in huic.
§ 224. It appears that the letter q is only a symbol for cv, and
that the insertion of a i* after it is altogether irrational. Velius
Longus, who puts forward this view, tells us that quis quae quid were
sometimes written as qis qae qid.^^
Among the words involving this letter is qmim, which after being
in universal use in this form up to about a.d. 50 passed into cum,
under the influence, as Stolz thinks, ^^ of turn. Cur had gone
through a hke transformation at a much earlier date,^^ and the fact
lends some support to the statements or implications by Velius
Longus and one or two others that the v after q was weaker than
other v's. That the u in qiMim was originally vocal seems certain, for
otherwise the letter would not have been there ; but Marius Victorinus
tells us that it was silent even at the beginning of our period :
11 K. VII. 58. 17. 12 I. ii, 6^ iv. 15,
13 K. V. 113. 24. 1* Cf. Vel. Long. K. VII. 67, 15 and 79. 11.
" lb. 63. 18. i« p. 254.
1' So had hircuSy as proved by its derivative hirquitallus. Thus Vel. Long., who
thinks that the v in antiquo{d) was due to the word being derived from quod (" ab eo
quod est ' quod' ")— K. VII. 60. 3.
9
130 ALLITTERATIO LATIN A
"Cum, adverbium temporis, antiqui quatuor litteris scribe-
bant. In his ' quum ' apud Catonem, rursus ' qiiom.' Sed
antiqui, cum ita scriberent, pronimtiabant tamen perinde ac
si per c scriptum esset."
It is to be remarked that if the v were sounded, Cicero's objection to
cam nos would have lost its point. ^^ There does not appear to be
any line which demands its pronunciation in our period.
§ 225. The following will illustrate the various points referred to.
An alternative analysis is often possible, but not without the
assistance of either a hidden or visible consonantal v.
vos hinc interea valete abite : ^^ v t v 1 1
nam unguenttim dabo quod meae puellae : ^^ ng n cv - v
ntnd
vulnere qua pereat sagitta : ^^ v v 1 1
non civium ardor prava jubentiiim | n : ^^ v r rv n n
ab se removisse et virilem : ^^ sr V s r
durataeque sold nives : 2* d te - e
vs V . s
crede veloci nisi herile mavis : ^^ cr v c r v
quod fugiens semel hdra vexit : 2« c'^g s - s
cv vc
mantim puella sdvio opponat tu6 i^' npvvpnv
equina quales wbera | venterque : ^s c c - r
cv cv
et Chia vina aut Lesbia | v : ^^ i vi - v
jv \v
Luna neque illitis forma secunda tuae : ^^ n v S - n v
nc en
avertit vultus nempe puella suos : ^^ v t ts pp v s
putare | et quasi cum verd ntimine posse loqui : ^^
t cm - m - c (CC)
cv cv
at puer Amphissos namque hoc avus Etirytus UK : ^^
- r s c^c r s
cvcv
calvae me numerws
tuae fefelHt : ^M e
- el.
ve
ve
" Cf. § 263.
i» Cat. xiv. 21.
20 lb. xiii. 11.
21 Hon C. I. xxvii. 12.
22 lb. III. iii. 2.
23 lb. V. 43.
2« lb. xxiv. 39.
" lb. xxvii. 63.
" lb. xxix. 48.
a^ lb. Epod. iii. 21.
2» lb. viii. 8.
» lb. ix. 34.
3" Ov. Am. 1. xiii. 44.
31 Ov. A.A. ii. 616.
•'- Ov. Ex P. II. viii. 10.
w Ov. Met. ix. 366.
3* Mart. V. xlix. 3.
APPENDICES 131
APPENDIX G
THE LETTER y
§ 226. This letter is of infrequent occurrence, being (properly)
found only in words borrowed from the Greeks ; and as an initial
was always aspirated.^ Described by Ter. Maurus as an attenuated
u {cf. Introd. ad fin, supra), it must have been something like the
French or Welsh u, which would be near enough in sound to the
Latin i to rhyme with it, e.g.
Lydia die per omnes : ^ d d -
yddi
Obs. — The grammarians, as often happens, are not agreed. While
Audax ^ would in the absence of y write hymnus as himnus, Maxim.
Victorinus * would spell Hylas as Hulas.
§ 227. Before a vowel it must have behaved like pre- vocalic i,
contributing a j to the following syllable : so that the letter is a
close approximation to our EngHsh y. Without this j the following
line would have two blanks, with compensation for one only :
s I occidis Lomi puer altera cura Lyaei : ^ s s j r r j
ji rl rl ji.
Some other cases suggest at first sight that it contributed a v to the
following syllable, e.g.
-tusque testa | qua modo ferbuerat Lya^o : ®
where the correct analysis, however, m: qvr r -
frbr
Ohs. — Kvaios could not have been pronounced with a v. Cf. § 217. ii. ohs.
APPENDIX H
THE ASPIRATE
§ 228. Though the grammarians were reluctant to recognise the
aspirate (nota asfirationis) as a letter, it is clear from CatuUus's
famous skit (Ixxxiv.) that it was well sounded when used. In
1 Comutus, K. VII. 153. 16. 2 Hor. C. I. viii. 1. ^ K. VII. 327. 2.
* K. VI. 196. 5. 6 Stat. Theb. vii. 684. « Stat. Silv. IV. v. 16.
132 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
English its alliterative value cannot be questioned, when it is an
initial in arsi, as for instance in Byron's line :
Our hearts divided and our hopes destroyed ;
and it seems quite reasonable to hold that in Latin too its presence
would be sufficiently felt to constitute a rhyme, e.g, in
haeret adhuc Orci licet has exaudiat herbas.'
§ 229. Subject to § 235, it did not affect the pronunciation of any
consonant to which it was attached. Spiritus potestatem litterae non
mutat, says Priscian,® who also tells us that it was sounded more
strongly after a consonant than when it was an initial.^ There
would thus be no blank in the Adonic
Phthius AchiUes i^
nor in such collocations as
horto I PhyUi."
§ 230. The difficulty is to decide whether the h appeared in a
particular word at a particular time ; for the fashion varied very
much, and Velius Longus tells us that there was no fixed rule (firmum
catholicum) ^^ — except presumably in the matter of initial y (§ 226).
Even Cicero found it necessary to adapt himself to a new mode in the
case of such words as jmlcher, triumphus, etc., the earher practice
having been to aspirate vowels only.^^ The following passage from
Quintihan will elucidate the general situation :
H litterae ratio mutata cum temporibus est saepius.
Parcissime ea veteres usi etiam in vocahbus, cum " aedos
ircosque" dicebant. Diu deinde servatum, ne consonantibus
adspirarent, ut in " Graccis " et " triumpis." Erupit brevi
tempore nimius usus, ut " choronae, chenturiones, praechones "
adhuc quibusdam inscriptionibus maneant, qua de re Catulli
nobile epigramma est. Inde durat ad nos usque " vehementer "
et " comprehendere " et " mihi." ^*
' Lucan, vi. 715. « I. iv. 14. » I. v. 24. i» Hor. C. IV. vi. 4.
" lb. xi. 2-3. 12 K. VII. 69. 15. i» Gc. Or. xlviii. 160.
1* I. V. 20. The passage concludes with the statement that me?ie for me was also
found in some ancient writings. The disappearance of the h in this case suggest s
that the aspirate may not have been so strong in mihi as to prevent the first » from
contributing a j to the following vowel. But a crucial line is not forthcoming.
APPENDICES 133
§ 231. The words in which the h was so thoroughly estabUshed as
to justify a poet in relying on it as a rhyme cannot have been very
numerous ; and it is not surprising that the lines should be few in
which its powers can be demonstrated. There are possibly only
the following :
Hylaeiim domitosque Herculecf manu | t : ^^ h d t h - t
nd n^
venisset mallem funeris hora mihi r^^ nsMnshh
nullum inquit ille verum hoc a summo mihi : ^^ 1 c il - c mm i
mh mh
§ 232. The relations of this letter to / will be considered in
Appendix K.
APPENDIX J
b,p;g,G {k, q) ; d, t
§ 233. The sounds symboHsed by b and p are closely related,
being in both cases produced by compression of the lips. The
difference is that, while the former is "voiced," as the technical
expression is, the latter is " unvoiced " — a distinction which also
applies to some of the letters produced by other organs, viz. to g
and c, to d and t, and (where it will perhaps be best appreciated) to
z and s in the English words " gaze " and " gas."
§ 234. In modern verse, where all depends on a single terminal
rhyme, the equivalence of voiced and unvoiced letters could not be
accepted ; but in Latin, where rhyme pervades the whole line,
there was room for indulgence, and in fact there are in every poet
quite a number of lines which make it plain that strictness was not
demanded. In special cases indeed, even in Lyrics (c/. Horace's C.S.),
a poet might forbear to exercise his liberty in his reaching after the
highest excellence ; but usually it was not so, and if a d, for in-
stance, were not forthcoming to rhyme with another d, then t would
be admitted. It was of course only a second best, but still it was
obviously held to be good enough ; and the licence thus taken was
so far from being regarded as a reproach that it is sometimes taken
15 Hor. C. II. xii. 6. i« Ov. Tr. V. xi. 12.
1' Phaedr. IV. xix. 11. -rum hdc a is assumed to bejan anapaest.
184 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
twice or (in rare cases) thrice in the same verse, even in the hexa-
meter, though as a rule a line of this length is independent of any
indulgence whatsoever.
§ 235. It is to be observed that in rapid pronunciation, when a
flat (b d g) is closely united to a sharp (f t c and the unvoiced s), the
flat itself necessarily becomes a sharp. For instance, urhs^ ag-tum,
adsum, quos dedit could not be other than urps, actum, atsum, quos
tedit.
The same consideration applies to h and d when immediately
followed by h. In that position they rhyme strictly with f and t
respectively, as — in obedience to the same phonetic law — they do
in Welsh, where the rules relating to rhyme are very stringent.
Obviously the rhyming of a flat with a sharp under the circum-
stances described is not to be regarded as a laxity.
Ohs. 1. — Ann. Cornutus and Caecilius Vindex/ in speaking of ad in
composition, say that the d could not be sounded before I n or r and was
therefore assimilated. Nullo modo sonare d littera potest It seems to
follow that in cases where assimilation was not attempted {Hadria,
apiid nos, etc. ) the d was pronounced as t
Ohs. 2. — Professor Lindsay, relying apparently on the changes whicli
certain words underwent in popular contractions (e.g. vetulus, veclus), says
that t when immediately followed by I was pronounced as c.^ Were this
the fact, Ter. Maurus might have been expected to mention it in connection
with w. 865-6, but he does not. The author is unable to produce a case
to which his alUterative test can be effectively applied.
Ohs. 3. — In the case of final d {ad, apud, aliudy etc.) the ^sound may have
been the normal pronunciation, as it almost certainly was in late Latin.
§ 236. The following are some of the lines which demand recog-
nition of the licence :
Favoni | nee saevi Boreae aut Apeliotae : ^ w b t p t
Lesbio primum modulate civi : * lb p mm 1 ii
ergo obligatam redde Jovi dapem : ^ gb g d d p
bacchabor fidoms recepto : ® c R - c
cb cp
nee parcit inbelUs juv^ntae : ' p nb - n
tn nt
» K. VII. 15L 13 and (almost in the same words) 207. 7.
2 L.L. p. 81. * Cat. xxvi. 3. * Hor. C. I. xxxii. 6.
» lb. II. vii. 17. • Ih. 27. ' lb. III. ii. 15.
APPENDICES 135
superbus incedis malo | s : ^ p-b s s s
turba rutint in me luxuriosa proci : ^ t t - cs s c
rb pr
signattim memori pectore nomen habe : ^° i m i p m b
t I naec fac in exiguo tempore liber eris : ^^ t s t p b s
et breviiis quam nos *lle peregit iter : ^^ t s s - r tr
br pr
membraque stint cera pallidiora nova : ^^ b N ra p r a
s I uberitis nullt provenit ista seges : ^^ b s - p s s
ts ts
gc{k q).
claiidite ostia virgines : ^^ c s g s
leti corripuit gradiim : ^ ^ t C t d
regibus horribilique Medo : ^' reg r c e
querceta Gargan^ laborant : ^® c gr - r
crc grg
clari Giganteo triwmpho : ^® g gt t - (CG)
sternat aquae nisi fallat augur : ^^ n en - g
tc tg
robiginem atit dulces alumni | pom- : ^^ g tt c m
caliginosa nocte premit Deus : ^^ g s ct t s
immunem meditor tingere poculis | plena : ^^ m m t tg c Z
silvis ferae | dulci sopdre languidae : 2* c - g D
Ic 1-g
porrecta mergos jiWeris : ^^ r r - r
re rg
corrupit magnum nulla puella Jovem | s : ^^ c P g 1 vl v
gloria ptignantes vincere major erat : ^^ g g t c - t
rj jr
tempora Phoebea virgine nexa tulit : ^^ tp p - g c t (TT)
adde quod Illyrica si jam pice nigrior essem | n : ^^
d d cs - g s
re gr
8 Hor. Epod. XV. 18. » Ov. Her. i. 88. i» lb. xiii. 66.
11 Ov. Am. II. ii. 40. 12 Ov. Ex P. I. iv. 32. i^ 76. x. 28.
14 lb. IV. ii. 12. 15 Cat. Ixi. 227 (231). i« Hor. C. I. iii. 33.
1' Hor. C. I. xxix. 4. i* lb. II. ix. 7. i» lb. III. i. 7.
2» lb. xvii. 12. 21 ih^ xxiii. 7. 22 j^. xxix. 30.
23 lb. IV. xii. 23. 24 76. Epod. v. 56. The blank is really covered by
the interlineal ispr. 25 75 ^ 22. 26 Qv. A. A. i. 714.
27 Ov. Am. II. ix. G. 28 Ov. Ex P. II. ii. 82. 29 75^ jy. xiv. 45.
136 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
par dies agite in modum | d : ^^ d - t d
tn dn
sordebant tibi vilicae | cone- : ^^ d t - c
db tb
ex Ariadneis awrea t^mporibus : ^^ s d s - 1 s
srd s.r.t
deeertdntem Aquilonibws : ^^ d tn n -
de te
Ilio dives Priamtis relicto : ^* 1 d s s It
nuper sollicittim quae mihi ta^ditim |n:^^n-nee n
tn dn
de gente sub divo moreris : ^^ t d - r.r (DD)
pauperi recludittir : ^' pp r d tr
inter liidere virgines : ^^ nt d rr n
rore deos fragikque myrto : ^^ or o - r
rdo rto
Jule ceratis ope Daedalea : ^^ 1 e t d le
nomen beati qui deorum : *^ N t d -
ti id
lassi sub adventum viri : ^^ i d t i
nunc jacet in viduo credulus ^lle toro : ^^ n n o r - ro
rd tr
tdntum mobilitas /Ua decoris habet : ** t o t - o t
It Id
parsque sutim mundi nulla ten^bit iter : ^ r mm d n n tr
v*x humili duram reppulit drte famem | c : *^ - d rn r rt n
ld..r It.r
Mixed.
nondiim subacta ferre jugum valet : *' d be f g t
ambitidne relegata te dicere possum :^ b-g t..tcp
at at
lit culpent alii tibi m.6 lauddre necesse est : *^ t t t - d C
p-t tb
"^ Cat. Ixi. 38. " lb. 132 (136). " ^ ixvi. 60.
'3 Hor. C. I. iii. 13. ^* lb. x. 14. ^r. /^ ^iv. 17.
=« 76. II. iii. 23. »' lb. xviii. 33. " 76. III. xv. 5.
=*» 76. xxiii. 16. -»•> 76. IV. ii. 2. " 76. ix. 47.
« 76. Epod. ii. 44. " Ov. Her. v. 106. " Ov. A. A. iii. 352.
« Ov. Tr. I. viii. 6. " Ov. Ex P. IV. iii. 40. *' Hor. C. II. v. 1.
«8 76. I. Sat. X. 84. «» Ov. Her. xii. 131.
APPENDICES 137
if V arripuit ille veniam sibi dari rogat : ^^ rp t - b r t
^^ p"~^t bd
grus venit ille ptierum jubet ofiam dare : ^^ e t p b d e
d I agebas inquit ilia non erat otiwm | u : ^^ g c t o to -
dg c'^t
§ 237. In connection with t, it may be remarked that the com-
binations -^ntc and -^stc are difficult to pronounce in the same foot ;
and there can be little doubt that in these cases the t was regularly-
suppressed. That it was so in postquam we know on the authority
of the grammarians.^^
For -^tc the following is a crucial line :
nee virides metutint colwbrae : ^^ n d-t n -
nc nc
Virgil has no less than four examples of the combination in
hinc metuunt cupiuntque dolent gaudentque nee auras. ^^
When the t and c were in separate feet, the t was sounded, e.g.
liicididr visa est quam fuit ante domtis : ^^ c - s c t-t s.
cd tc
APPENDIX K
THE LETTER /
§ 238. The descriptions of this letter by Ter. Maurus,^ Mar. Vic-
torinus,^ and Mart. Capella ^ leave no doubt that their pronuncia-
tion was that of the English /. But it is to be observed that they
were all Africans, and though the pronunciation they attest was the
one which ultimately prevailed, it is clear from the statements of
Quintilian and Priscian that it was not the pronunciation at Rome
in the first century a.d., nor in the East even in the sixth. There
can thus be little doubt that it arose in some of the western provinces,
and was due to a foreigner's inabihty to produce what is known to
5" Phaedr. App. iv. 6. ^i lb. xi. 15. ^2 /^^ xxviii. 5.
f^3 e.g. Mar. Vict. K. VI. 22. 11. " Hor. C. I. xvii. 8.
55 A. vi. 733. 56 ov. F. i. 94.
1 K. VI. 332, V. 227. ^ r, yi. 34. 9. 3 iij. 261.
138 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
have been a difficult sound.* The Englishman's dentification of the
Welsh II in Llanelly and the like is a somewhat similar case.
§ 239. Priscian tells us that the early Latins, following the example
of the Aeolians, substituted/ for the aspirate :
Antiqui Romani, Aeoles sequentes, loco aspirationis eam (f)
ponebant ; ®
that this / moreover had the same sound as it had among those
Aeolians :
f, Aeohcum digamma, . . . apud antiquissimos Latinorum
eandem vim quam apud Aeoles habuit ; ^
and that this sound was that of consonantal v, as pronounced in
his own day (being that of b) :
Habebat haec f littera hunc sonum quern nunc habet u loco
consonantis posita, unde antiqui af pro ab scribere solebant.^
§ 240. The above was the early/, which if not aspirated from the
first became so later,' and so strongly that in a number of Latin
words h was during the classical period the only survival of an
original /, e.g. hordeum, haedvs, hircus, hariolus, harena.^ There
are many cases where it represented the Greek i> {fama, <t>T]fxr} ; Dafne,
Aa<^v>7, etc.) ; yet the sound was not the same, for Cicero ridiculed
a Greek witness who could not produce it correctly in the word
Fundanius.^ Nor was it the same as the Latin ph, for Priscian
notes a difference, which he emphasises by the remark that while
words of foreign origin were written with ph, those of home growth
were written with/.
§ 24L Ph was simply ^ plus an aspirate, as in the English top-hat.
That the p was not modified in the combination is certain — spiritus
potestatem litterae non rmitat — and the difference between / and ph
which impressed Priscian was that in the former the labial was pro-
nounced more rapidly :
* Seelmann assignfi the conversion of bilabial / into labio-dental / to the Middle
Empire (p. 295). « I. viii. 46. « I. iv. 12.
' Cf. Jhefhaked in the Praencste fibula, sixth century B.C. Ter. Scaunis, speaking
of / and h, says, " utraque est flatus " (K. VII. 13. 8) ; and Vel. Longus describes //
in relation to / as a " vicina aspiratio " (K. VII. 69. 9).
» Tor. Scaurus, Vel. Long. Quint. " Quint. I. iv. 14.
I
APPENDICES 139
Non fixis labris est pronuntianda f quomodo p et h ; atque
hoc solum interest.^*^
The lips only touched each other momentarily before proceeding
to an explosive aspirate.^' Now this could hardly be done without
the insertion of a light w between the p and the h ; and there, it
would appear, Ues the key to the whole mystery. If we prefix f to
" what," we shall have a sound which is often heard in some parts
of Ireland, and there seems every reason for thinking that it is
identical with the Latin/, as pronounced at Rome in cultured circles
in and about Augustan times. ^^
§ 242. All this is fairly in line with Quintihan's references to the
letter. If the Greeks blundered over /, it must have been because
they aspirated it too Ughtly — indeed the grammarian as good as
says so — pronouncing it like their own <^, which he describes else-
where as one of the most melodious letters in their language.^^ The
/ itself was a harsh, repulsive sound, discharged through the open
mouth — not with the teeth resting on the lower lip — but with the
upper and lower teeth apart — scarcely a human sound, scarcely
indeed an articulate sound — bad enough when the / was followed
by a vowel, and worse by far when it was followed by an I or r.
Ilia (littera f) paene non humana voce vel omnino non voce
potius inter discrimina dentium efflanda est : quae etiam cum
vocalem proxima accipit, quassa quodam modo sonat, atque
quotiens aliquam consonantium frangit, ut in hoc ipso " fran-
git," multo fit horridior.i*
§ 243. The following are a few of the lines which require / to
rhyme with 6 or ^ under our alliterative scheme :
10 I. iv. 14.
11 The author is not repelled by the difficulties. He has known a Welsh lady
who habitually aspirated all her initial consonants in English, " tchentleman," etc.
12 It is no little satisfaction to the author to find that this conclusion, long
resisted, is in substantial agreement with that of Professor Conway, who, in an
appendix to Arnold and Conway's ReMored Pronunciation of Greek and Latin
(Camb. 1908), describes the earlier /as " a bilabial spirant " (like the sound made
in blowing out a candle) (p. 26).
1^ I. iv. 14, XII, X. 27-8. The text of the illustrations is uncertain, but v and
(p fit in best with spirant, and with aU that follows. Quint, had already remarked
that words of foreign origin were written with ph instead of the Latin /.
1* XII. X. 29. The italicised words are an attempt to amend.
140 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
unum me facerem bedtiorem | n : ^^ - m rm - r (FB)
mf mb
V^ani 6ptime tuque mi Fabtille : ^^ - pt t f b
ip if
non si Pegaseo ferdr voldtu : ^^ o p of rr - (PF etc.)
fund^ns liquorem non opimae : ^^ n o no P
6bria sed minuit furorem : ^® B d t rr
f idum pectus amdribus : ^^ f p - b
fd p-t
regina sublimi flagello : ^i g b f g
ducit opes animtimque f ^rro : ^^ c p c f
flumina praetereunt : ^^ f pt t
petita f erro bellud : 2* f^t f b -
ptt^f
effundi saccos nummorum accedere pltires : ^^ f d o o d p
adjuror 4t nulla fessa med^ntis ope : ^^ d t - f t p
tn nt
janua fallac/ ne sit aperta viro [pi^'nf-np f
pr r^
qua nupta6 possint fallere ab arte viros : ^ n p n f r r
talia peccandi jam mihi finis erit : ^^ t p d mm f t
efiectiim curd pectoris 6sse tm : ^° f c - pc ss -
fct pet
6t vacuam patefecit atilam : ^^ t p f t.
§ 244. It is reasonable to suppose that the strong aspirate in /
would rhyme with Ji. But (for the reason given in § 231) many-
decisive lines are not to be expected. Here is one :
stamina de nigro vellere fdcta mihi : ^^ \ d g - fct h.
tm tm
Oha. — It should be remembered that the aspirate is not in arsi in
a word like rufus any more than it is in triumphus.
15 Cat. X. 17. i« lb. xxvii. 3. " lb. Iv. 4.
18 Hor. C. I. xxxi. 3. i» lb. xxxvii. 12. 20 /ft. n. ^ii. 16.
21 lb. III. xxvi. 11. 22 /ft IV. iv. 60. «» lb. vii. 4.
2* lb. Epod. V. 10. 26 /ft, II, Sat. iii. 149. 26 Qv. Her. xx. (xxi.) 14.
27 Ov. A.A. iii. 466 (v.l. nee renders indecisive). 28 Qv. Tr. ii. 462.
2» Ov. Ex P. III. vii. 10. '0 lb. IV. v. 36. " Hor. C. IV. xiv. 36.
32 Ov. Tr. IV. i. 64.
APPENDICES 141
APPENDIX L
THE LETTER m
§ 245. The pronunciation of this letter before a vowel within the
word is not in dispute. Except in compounds of circum, where the
letter was silent ^ {circumago=circu-ago=circu-w-ago)j it was that
of the Enghsh m, e.g. mens, domus.
§ 246. The only other positions are (A) at the end of a word, as
in bdlum, and (B) before a consonant within the word, as in impiiis,
omnis, umbra, quemque. In view of the wide differences of opinion
which have prevailed among scholars in connection with this part
of the subject, the cases must be examined in detail.
A. Final m.
§ 247. If we set aside for the moment the position before a vowel,
and confine ourselves to the theories that have hitherto been pro-
mulgated, the choice seems to lie between the following :
1. That the m had a dull obscure sound which sufficed indeed
for making " position," but obviously could not rhyme with
other than its like.
2. That the letter always had its face value.
3. That it was always assimilated to the following consonant.
4. That, while it was itself silent, it expressed itself in the
additional energy with which the following consonant was
pronounced. 2
5. That, while it was itself silent, it expressed itself in the
nasalisation of the preceding vowel.^
§ 248. Not one of the above will fit in with the facts as they
present themselves to the author, who finds inter alia that they
will not work under his alHterative scheme. The following lines,
for instance, resist one or other of them, and in some cases all of them :
coelum ipsum petimtis sttiltitia neque : * c s s tt - c
sm ms
Hesperiae sonittim ruinae : ^ s s n n
1 Papirian K. VII. 164. 7. Cf. Prise. II. i. 3.
2 Practical Hints on the Quantitative Pronunciation of Latin, by A. J. Ellis (Mac-
millan, 1874). ^ Lindsay, L.G. p. 16.
* Hor. C. I. iii. 38. Caelum (so spelt) would render the line independent of the
m's— yielding ce^qe (§ 62). ^ j^. II. i. 32.
142 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
inclinare meridiem | s : ^ n r r n
s I ureret flammis etiam latentem : ^ s t s n nt
quae vis deorum est maniiim | o : ^ s - mm
st st
ferens ol^ntem Maevi6m | u : ^ n n m m.
i. Before a Vowel (or h).
§ 249. In a phrase like quantum erat the final m was so lightly
passed over in ordinary speech that it may well be doubted
whether it was really audible to a hearer. Imagination plays us
strange tricks, and people who are accustomed to seeing words in
print or script often fancy that they pronounce a consonant when
they do nothing of the kind (cf. r in sugar). So Quintilian thought
that he felt the final m in the case just quoted, though he could
not identify its quality with that of any known letter ; ^^ and so
possibly thought Verrius Flaccus, when he proposed the introduction
of a new character for the letter in this position, though Velius
Longus says that the symbol was merely intended to indicate that
the m was silent ^^ — as it is roundly affirmed to be by several of the
grammarians. Melissus, who describes hominem amicum as a
mean between homine amicum and homine m^tmicum, evidently
foimd in it the ghost of an m.^^
§ 250. The determination of the quality of an obscure sound in
ordinary speech is outside the purview of this book, and the subject
has only been introduced for the sake of the side-fights which the
grammarians, in discussing it, throw on the value of m in other
positions. For it appears that it was only between words in
grammatical union and intimate contact that the m was passed
over as described. Quintifian's statement {loc. cit.) is :
Quotiens ultima est iUa fittera, et vocalem verbi sequentis
ita contingit ut in earn transire possit, etiam si scribitur, tamen
parum exprimitur, ut " multum iUe " et " quantum erat,"
« Hor. C. III. xxviii. 5. ' lb. IV. vi. 19. « lb. Epod. v. 94. » lb. x. 2.
^" IX. iv. 40. It was little more than a mark (nota), he says, to keep the two
vowels from combining. It is noticeable that in the collocation quoted in § 66
he does not recognise this mark nor its efficacy.
" K. VIL 80. IT, ^« K. V. 287. 11.
APPENDICES 143
where the limiting words ita contingit ut warn the reader that what
is about to follow does not apply to every m before a vowel. In
fact, when the final ri'i ended a clause, or in other words when there
was a grammatical or other pause, the letter was not passed over.
Diomedes makes this clear ; for in discussing the barbarism
tnytacismus, which consisted in pronouncing final m before a vowel,
when it was properly silent, as, for instance, in quousque tandem
abiitere, he tells us that before a particular kind of vowel, viz. v andj
— a point which does not concern us here — and before a pause the
letter was vocal.
Tunc autem pronuntiamus m litteram cum sequitur vocalis
loco consonantis posita, ut est " cum Juno " : [cum sequitur]
distinctio quoque, quae separat verba, ut est " dum conderet
urbem | inferretque." ^^
§ 251. There might still be a doubt as to whether the m was
sounded as m. But Consentius removes it when he tells us that
there was a tendency to pronounce dixeram illis as dixera millis i*
— among, we may presume, the uncultured folk who could not appre-
ciate the distinction emphasised by Quintihan and Diomedes, and
who accordingly sounded and of course liaisoned the final m
wherever they found it.-^^
§ 252. Some additional evidence is provided by Ter. Scaurus,
who says that, in order to distinguish (final) m from its congener n,
the ancients used to pronounce the former with an I before it
[meum=meulm], and that the similarity of the two sounds was
proved by the fact that where the Greeks wrote a-dXov the Latins
wrote solum. His words, with which Keil has taken a strange liberty
at tlie point where we have first used italics, are :
M et n . . . paene idem sonant, unde distinguendorum sonorum
utriusque Htterae causa, [priorem] dicere antiqui praeposita I
quam n maluerunt. Hoc [i.e. paene idem sonare] probant
etiam Graeci qui, ubi nos m litteram ponimus, n ponunt, ut
graphium ypa<^fiov et solum c-aXov et similia.^^
^' K, I. 453. 9. The words which follow can only refer to the " tandem
abutere " cases. ^ K. V. 394. 5.
1^ That this habit was not peculiar to late Latinity may be inferred from the
remarks of Cornutus, quoted in § 264, where the enunciation of the m is described
as harsh and barbarous. ^* K. VII. 13. 15.
144 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
§ 253. Scaurus in the above passage does not refer specifically to
the position before an initial vowel, but he emphasises the m sound
and so enables us to interpret the meaning of Diomedes beyond a
cavil. The conclusion we have now reached — that when final m
was not elided it was pronounced as m — provides us with a starting-
point of much importance.
§ 254. What has been said thus far relates primarily to ordinary
speech or prose recitation. In verse the usage varied on three
points :
1. The movement within the line being always rapid, there
was no pause at any point to interfere with the suppression j
of an m, and when the latter was ehded, the preceding vowel
(it is usually held) was also ehded.
Ohs. — Such is the common doctrine, though it may well be thtft
when the consonant disappeared and the vowels confronted each
other it was only when synaliphe was impracticable that one of them
was suppressed (the choice resting with the reciter. Cf. § 66 sqq.),
2. The end of a line constituted a pause in itself, so that a
terminal m followed by a vowel in the next line was always
sounded as an m, unless indeed it was in an overlapping
syUable and ehded (cf. Virg. G. i. 295, Hor. C. II. ii. 18, etc.).
Like any other consonant, the m might then be liaisoned. The
following will illustrate :
amoris esset poculum | i : ^' mo ss o m
fore hunc amorem mtituum | o : ^^ r mr m m
-naedum | iratam mihi Pontiae lagonam :^^ mm. n - n
on on
-licum I 6 quanta scabie miser laborat : ^o /wc c m r r
tirbem | et referam lassiis basia mille domum | s : ^^
m n s s m n.
3. Though in the body of a line suppression of the m was
the rule, the rule was (by a licence) not always observed.
Vetustissimi non semper earn [litteram] subtrahebant, says
Priscian, who quotes milia militum octo as the ending of one
" Hor. Epod. V. 38. " lb. xv. 10. " Mart. IV. xliii. 6.
20 lb. VI. xxxvii. 4.
^^ lb. XII. xxix. 4 (this illustration fails if lasatu lengthens). Cf, also Hor.
Epod. V. 30, X. 14 ; Ov. Ex P. I. viii. 70.
APPENDICES 145
of Ennius's hexameters. 22 There are about a dozen such
cases in the poets of our period, and it is to be assumed that
in each of them the m was fully pronounced as m. For if
Priscian had been merely thinking of reduction to the type
" SI me amas" by the suppression of the m, he would not have
said " non subtrahebant."
ii. Before a Long Pause.
§ 255. The pronunciation of the m in helium at the end of a
sentence or as a dictionary word in isolation has been largely
settled by the facts appealed to swpra. And yet not wholly, for
the letter might have been silent — Uke so many terminal consonants
in French which are only heard when they are followed by a vowel.
Some further evidence is therefore desirable, and it is happily
forthcoming.
§ 256. So long as the nasaUsation theory is in the field, passages
from the grammarians, which do not absolutely exclude it, can
have no convincing force. Probus, for instance, who insists on
nunquam, passim, jyridem, olim, idem as against nunqua, passi, etc.,^^
and Diomedes, who describes domu (for domum) as a barbarism,^^ may
conceivably have pronounced final m as the modern Frenchman
does ; and Cornutus's evidence quoted in § 264 might perhaps be
rejected as indecisive ; but the passage quoted in the same section
from CaeciHus Vindex seems to leave no room for uncertainty.
The opening sentence makes it plain that he is not speaking of
compounds, 25 and he tells us that the m was pronounced as a
consonant.
§ 257. When Quintilian contrasts final m with the ringing Greek
V, he calls it contemptuously the moo-ing letter (miigiens littera).^^
To a nasalised u the description would not be inappropriate. But
what about the other vowels ? The French ekin, terrain, Amiens,
dessin, printemps, pion, have nothing of the 00 about them ; so
that it must have been the m sound which suggested to Quintihan
the image of a lowing cow.
" I. vii. 38. 23 K. IV. 199. 14.' ^* K. I. 452. 27.
25 Lindsay (L.L. p. 51) does not agree. But see § 268. 39 n., infra.
26 XII. X. 31. Cf. Ter. Maur. K. VI. 332. v. 235 ; Mar. Vict. K. VI. 34. 12.
10
146 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
§ 258. When the same grammarian touches on the pronunciation
of m before initial n — a question, by the way, which could never
have arisen if the m merely energised a following consonant or
merely nasalised a preceding vowel — he clearly implies that the !
normal sound of the terminal was one which could not be produced
without closing the lips (and which in this case could only have
meant the sound of the English m), and that even in cum notis the
letter would be pronounced in the normal way, if the speaker
paused between the two words. What the sound of the letter was
when there was no pause will appear from § 263, where the entire
passage is quoted. Meanwhile there is no escape from the in-
ference that Clint in isolation was pronounced as here written.
§ 259. Priscian seems to be the earliest authority who weakens
an unelided final m ; but even with him the letter is still an m.
M obscurum in extremitate dictionum sonat, ut templum ;
apertum in principio, ut magnus ; mediocre in mediis, ut umbra.^"
If this phonetician had been weighing the values of m in the
English " random," " master," " humble," he would probably have
expressed himself in the same way.
§ ^60. The facts, then, as attested by the grammarians are :
1. That final m did not merely nasalise a preceding vowel
(Quint.).
2. That before semi- vowels and consonants final m was
vocal (Diom. and Corn.) and consonantal (Caec. Vindex).
3. That before a vowel it was under some circumstances
silent (Vel. Long., etc.), undefinable (Quint.), or a half-m
(MeHssus), and under others vocal (Diomedes, Priscian) and
pronounced like initial m (Consentius).
4. That in isolated words it was vocal (Probus, Diom.), had
a *' moo " sound (Quint.), and was pronounced with closed lips
(Quint.), as an m (Scaurus, Prise), though not so distinctly as
a medial or initial m (Prise.).
The cumulative force of all this is irresistible, and can only
warrant one conclusion, viz. that final m had its face value when |
27 I, vii. 38.
APPENDICES 147
it was free from disturbing influences in a following word. In our
succeeding sections this will be assumed as proved.
iii. Before a Consonant.
§ 261. It has now to be remembered that, though m was the value
of final m in an isolated word, this value was liable to modification
when the letter was in contact with a following consonant. As
has been indicated in § 16, such modification is usually due to a
sort of laziness which, shrinking from the effort of passing from one
vocal organ to another when the path is not a smooth one, is apt to
accommodate the earlier consonant to the later.
Hanc mutationem sciendum [says Priscian ^^] naturali
quadam fieri vocis ratione, propter celeriorem motum linguae
labrorumque ad vicinos facihus transeuntium pulsus.
Before m.
§ 262. We have said " usually due," because natural tendencies are
occasionally overruled by a freak of fashion or considerations of
analogy ; and if final m was ever modified before another m, it can
only be explained in this way. The sole reason for supposing that
it was pronounced as n in that position is the assertion of Caecilius
Vindex (in a passage quoted infra) ^^ that the ri-pronunciation
was more becoming before consonants. Perhaps, after all, the
grammarian recognised the exception to his rule, and omitted to
notice it simply because it was so self-evident. Be that as it may,
there is the following evidence that the fashion had not arisen in
our period:
diluviem meditatur agris : ^^ d mm t r-r
splendebat hilari poculis convivium | m : ^^ b 1 p 1 vv m.
Before n.
§ 263. As regards other consonants, it will be convenient to begin
with the case of m before n, where we are on firm ground. For
Cicero tells us that the form nobisoum was preferred to cum nobis
because the latter suggested an obscenity, ^^ and that the Uke was
-« I. vii. 40. 29 § 264. 3" Hor. C. IV. xiv. 28
31 Phaedr. IV. xxiv. 20. ^2 Qr. § 154.
148 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
involved in such expressions as (Mm nos te voluimus convenire ^^ —
which points unmistakably to the pronunciation of m as w.
QuintiUan, dealing with a similar collocation, makes the case still
plainer, for he tells us that in the phrase ciim notis hominibus we
must either pause between the cum and the notis, or else assimilate
the m to the n. As the passage has a bearing on another part of
our argument (§ 258), it must be quoted in full :
Si " cum hominibus notis loqui " nos dicimus, nisi hoc ipsum
" hominibus " medium sit, in praefanda videmur incidere,
quia ultima prioris syllabae littera, quae exprimi nisi labris
coeuntibus non potest, aut insistere nos indecentissime cogit,
aut continuata cum insequente in naturam ejus corrumpitur.^*
Finally, Velius Longus aflQ.rms that, before nunCy etiam was heard
as etian :
Cum dico " etiam nunc," quamvis per m scribam, nescio
quomodo tamen exprimere non possum.^^
So far, then, as m before n is concerned, we may be sure that in
our period it was pronounced as n — in the absence, of course, of a
distinct intervening pause.^^
Before c (k q) g ; d t ; Irs.
§ 264. Here we are confronted with the difl&culty that the only
two passages in the grammarians which are material to the issue
flatly contradict each other, for according to one of them (as the
text stands) the m-sound was regularly preserved, while according
to the other the better pronunciation was n.
M Ad Fam. IX. xxii. ^* VIII. iii. 45. ^ K. VH. 78. 19.
'» There is a corrupt passage in Mar. Vict. (K. VI. 16) which is perhaps worth
quoting — in a slightly amended form (where the words are in italics). Marius
wishes that the " clari homines " of whom he had spoken had applied their ingenious
theory of " between an m and an n " to the explanation of inde^ unde, and cun non
instead of to words like quanquam, where it was a case of between an n and a c.
Nam si inter m et n esset disputatio nobis . . . commodius credo acturos
fuisse receptae auctoritatis viros si banc potius redderent rationera ne duae
partes orationis quae junctae voces confundunt integre scribantur, iamquam
umde imde (non undo inde) et similia, etiam quod in iis vocibus quae ultimam
habent m, si soquatur n, rautatur m in n, ut " cum non Hannibal " (a remini-
scence of Hor. Epod. xvi. 2-8. Hiempaal a gloss).
APPENDICES 149
Annaeus Cornutus says :
Si duo verba conjungantur, quorum prius m consonantem
novissimam habeat, posterius a vocali incipiat, m consonans
perscribitur quidem, ceterum in enuntiando durum et barbarum
sonat. At si posterius verbum quamlibet consonantem
habuerit vel vocalem loco positam consonantis, servat m litterae
sonum. par enim atque idem est vitium ita cum consonante
sicut cum vocali et ita cum vocali sicut cum consonante m
litteram exprimere.^'
Caecilius Vindex says :
M Ktteram, ad vocales primo loco in verbis positas si accesserit,
non enuntiabimus : cum autem ad consonantes aut digammon
Aeolicon, pro quo nos v loco consonantis posita utimur, tunc
pro m littera n litterae sonum decentius efferemus.^
§ 265. Cornutus was an African who taught at Rome during the
middle of the first century a.d., and was the friend and heir of Persius.
His authority for our period is thus very high, and yet, in saying
that m before n was pronounced as m he attacks the conclusion
which has been established sujpra on irrefragable evidence. The
explanation must be that in servat m litterae sonum the text is cor-
rupt, and that the true reading is servat m littera sonum. That the
copyist was of the careless class is patent from the very next sentence,
which, it will be seen, has here been amended by the insertion of the
itahcised words.
§ 266. This correction simpHfies the situation considerably, for
Cornutus's teaching may now be reconciled with that of Caecilius.
When two words are closely united, says Cornutus — the conjungantur
is significant (of. Quintilian's ita contingit ut, § 250, supra) — final m
was silent before a vowel, but before a consonant or semi-vowel it
was vocal. The way in which it was then sounded, adds CaeciUus,
was a matter of taste, and depended on the speaker, but the genteeler
pronunciation was n.
§ 267, The implication by Caecilius that there were two pro-
nunciations in current use is supported by the inscriptions in
" K. VII. 147. 27. 38 K. VII. 206. 16.
150 ALLITTERATIO LATIN A
Seelmann (p. 364) ; and among those which reveal the 7i-pronuncia-
tion are the following :
SALVON ET CON NATVS (cum natus
cvN Bixi fuerit)
CVN QVEN VIXIT LOCVN SANCTVM
CON FILIIS ITEN TACITI
QVAN FLORIDOS ETIAN VENEFICA
Among those which show m are :
CVM QVEN FECI FORSITAM IPSE
Unfortunately all the specimens offered appear to be of late date,
the only exception being libertinan (Lex Juha Municip., 25 B.C.),
where the next word is missing.
§ 268. Now the value of Caecilius's statement for us depends on
its date, and it is quite uncertain who the grammarian was.
Cassiodorus distinguishes him from CaeseUius {circ. 100 a.d.),^^
giving extracts from each ; and Keil's theory *^ that the two men
were really the same does not greatly help, if it is remembered
that (on his hypothesis) " CaeciHus " was after all only a compila-
tion by a later grammarian who adapted CaeseUius's teaching to
his own times, supplemented it, and — to gain credit with the pubhc
— borrowed and (through the blundering of a copyist) mis-spelt the
great man's name. Who, under those circumstances, can have any
confidence that what the pseudo-Caesellius says about the letter m
applies to the period in which we are interested ? On the face of it,
he was writing at a time when the practice attested by Quintilian
(§ 258) of sounding final m as m, when no special difficulty was
involved, was passing away, and the fashion had set in — among
^' The grammarian criticised by Scaurus under Hadrian (Gell. XL xv. 3), being
possibly the doctics Vindex referred to by Martial (XI. xliii. 14). It is noticeable
that the first extract from his writings begins : " Con praepositio, si ad verba a
vocalibus incipientia accedat, n consonantcm perdit ut aequo co-aequo," etc. ;
while that from Caecilius begins : " M littcram, ad vocales primo loco in verbis
positas HI acceaserit, non enuntiabimus." If these two statements emanated from
the same pen and refer to compounds (fis the first of course does), the second can
only apply to circum. But if only circum were contemplated, the grammarian
would have said circum^ instead of putting the case in the form of a general
rule. Cum in composition is always described by the grammarians as " the
preposition con." " VII. 139-40.
APPENDICES 151
superior people — of sounding it as an n before all consonants.
With that (shall we say mid-empire ?) fashion this book can have
no concern.
§ 269. The fashion must have grown out of what was a well-
estabhshed practice in connection with some of the letters, viz.
c, I, n, r, s, t, and their cognates. In these cases there was a good
phonetic reason for pronouncing the m as n. For before n final m
could not be sounded as m without an effort or a pause (Quint.
he. cit.), and the same apphes to the c-group ; while before s, d (t),
I, and r it could not be pronounced without an intervening b oi p
(§§ 274-6).
The following lines attest the w-sound before the letters named :
c. t I 6 Lenaee sequi Deum | c : ^^ t n d n
inveni noceam qua ratione tibi : ^^ n ni n - n i
ncnc
linum illtid verbum Gellius aedifico : *^ n Id n gl d c
I. Silvane tutor finitim | 1 : ** n tt n n
socii fuere cum leone in saltibus : ^^ f - n n s bs (SS)
ad cenam venid fugas sedentem | 1 : *^ d n~n - G d
dn tn
dum licet Assyridque nardo : *^ d t - d
dn n-d
n. jam non est locus hac in urbe vobis : ^"^ n s s nb b
r. serus in coeltim redeas diuque : *^ s nc n s c
Hesperiae sonittim ruinae : ^^ s s n n
cum redeo videor naiif ragus esse mihi | hoc : ^^ n - R n ss ^
rd dr
audiat tit natum Regulus iUa duos : ^^ (j ^ t - s s
tn tn
5. /liae dum se nimitim querent! : ^^ - j n j n
dn nt
t. -s opimae | quam domus Albuneae resonantis : ^* d s"6 - t
nd nt.
41 Hor. C. III. XXV. 19. "^ jvia^. VI. xU. 2. " lb, IX. xlvi. 6.
*^ Hor. Epod. ii. 22. « phaedr. I. v. 4. ^« Mart. III. xliv. 15.
" Hor. C. II. xi. 16. ^8 Mart. X. Ixxii. 4. " Hor. C. I. ii. 45.
^ 60 /6. II. i. 32. " Ov. Her. xvii. (xviii.) 120. ^sMart. VI. xxxviii. 10.
53 Hor. C. I. ii. 17. ^* lb. vii. 12.
152 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
Before b p f .
§ 270. As there is no reason why final m should change its character
before a labial, we may fairly assume that it had its face value, as
it must have in the following :
f. et regntim Priami vettis : ^^ t m m t
/. laudas brachia vae meum | f : ^^ a a m m.
Before j v.
§ 271. The extract from Diomedes (§ 250 ; c/. § 253) shows that
here also m had its face value, ^^ e.g.
j. ridens dissimulare meum jecur urere bills : ^ rd d Ir M r 1
V. flammeiim video venire | ite : ^^ m m V L
B. Before a Consonant within the Word.
§ 272. In a number of Latin words the texts, grammarians, or
inscriptions exhibit two spellings, specimens of which in the more
unusual forms are the following :
quemdam, damdus, tamtus
numcubi, samguis, numquam
inbeUis, inpius, imfimus
imvidus, comvocat.
Whether this variety in the spelHng is the explanation of the
doctrine that there was between m and n an intermediate sound
which, while partaking of the nature of both, was distinct from
either, may be an open question. Marius Victorinus, who reports
this teaching, does not himself admit the existence of such a sound
except " perhaps " in such (foreign) words as Sambyx, Lycambe,
AmpeloSy and emphatically rejects it in connection with the com-
bination nc.^^ We shall presently see that there is no room for it
in the combination mn ; and our scheme could only admit it in
other cases on the assumption that the m ov n involved was at
" Hor. C. I. XV. 8. " lb. xiii. 3.
" Quoniam is sometimes adduced as evidence of the n-sound before j {=quum
jam)t but the etymology is disputed (=qtionejam).
5» Hor. I. Sat. ix. 66. " Cat. Ixi. 118 (122). •» K. VI. 16.
APPENDICES 153
liberty to rhyme with an ordinary m or n. Stolz, who at one time
accepted the doctrine, afterwards changed his mind for the (to him)
convincing reason that Romance shows no trace of the hybrid sound. ^^
Before n.
§ 273. As under a former head, so here, it will be convenient to
begin with the combination mn, where we are again on firm ground.
The well-attested syllabification of a-mnis, supported as it is by
Priscian's statement that the n was here sounded more indistinctly
(exilior) than at the beginning or end of a word,^^ proves (1) that
the m was not assimilated, and (2) that as the dominant letter it
was fully pronounced. Lamna, a contraction of lamina, clinches
the matter, as do humanus (humnanus * =huminanus *) and
omnes ( ^homines), if the etymologies are sound. As amnis carries
with it Mnestheus and the like, this part of the question may be
regarded as settled.
06s. 1. — The difference of treatment in etiam nunc and amnis is to be
explained by the fact that in the one case m ends, while in the other it
begins, a syllable.
Ohs. 2. — In such words as amnis, when the first syllable was in arsi, the
n could be heard through the m, which thus behaved like other liquids.
In the following, recognition of the m-sound is imperative :
abdito terris inimice lamnae : ®^ d t i mi m.
Before 1, r.
§ 274. There is no instance of an m before these letters, where in
fact it could not be sounded without the intervention of a 6 or p.
Before t.
§ 275. For the same reason — as Priscian specifically tells us in this
particular case ^* — m could not be sounded before t (d), and was
pronounced as n.^^ Cornutus's remarks in this connection are
worth quoting :
Tamtus et quamtus in medio m habere debent. Quam
enim et tam est unde quamtitas, quamtus, tamtus. Nee
quosdam moveat, si n sonat ; jam enim supra docui n sonare
debere, tametsi in scriptura m positum est.*®
" p. 309. «2 I, vii. 39. 63 Hor. q jj jj 2.
«4 X. vii. 37. '"^ I. vii. 38. «6 k. VII. 152. 3.
154 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
Before s.
§ 276. Similarly, m before s could only be pronounced as n. But
in Amsanctus, hiems, siimsi, etc., a p though not expressed was
implied, and the treatment therefore comes under another head (mp).
Papirian tells us :
Hiems, ut Caesellio videtur, p habere post m litteram non
debet, quod satis sine ea littera sonet.^'
With this compare Varro's statement on the subject of ^ in Rhodus,
rhetor f etc., where he says that the A need not be written : ^
Lector enim ipse intelligere debet " Rodum," tametsi h non
habet, " Rhodum " esse.
Before c (k q) g.
§ 277. Before c and its cognates m passed into n.^^ The treat-
ment of this combination (mc or nc) is reserved for Appendix M.
Before b p f .
§ 278. The case of m before 6, p, /, when it represents the n of
in or con (e.g. imbellis, compello, imfirmiis), will be considered in
§ 291 sqq. When it represents the last letter of drciim (e.g. drcum-
fero, circiimplaudo), it retains its face value, for there is no intelligible
reason why it should have changed its character before a labial at a
time when the artificial appeal to analogy had not arisen. In other
cases, where m is the invariable spelling (e.g. umbra, semper, emptns),
it may also be assumed to have had its face value, if only for the
reason that there is nothing in the grammarians to suggest the
contrary. Indeed, Priscian excludes any other pronunciation in
emptus and the like when he insists on the spelling here shown, and
tells us that the m could not be pronounced before t without an
intervening p :
Non potest m ante t sine p inveniri, euphoniae causa.'^
The following lines cannot dispense with the m-sound :
6t domus Aeolio semper amica Noto : '^ t s o sm m o
•' K. VII. 161. 17. •» lb. 154. 1. 6» Prise. I. vii. 38.
'» X. vii. 37. " Mart. V. Ixxi. 4.
APPENDICES 155
s I accend*t geroinas lampadas acer amor : ^^ ^ _ ^ m ac m
as sa
niimmus et e pleno toUatur semper acervo : '^ n p nt t p -
ms sm
Before j v.
§ 279. Before j and v the letter is only found before tlie enclitic
-ve and in compounds of dream, where Papirian tells us it was duly-
sounded :
Et scribitur et enuntiatur, ut circumvenit, circumjacet.''*
Whether it was sounded as w or n is, of course, another question,
which, in the absence of specific information from the grammarians,
can only be met by an appeal to general considerations. The m in
an isolated dream was pronounced as m ; as a terminal, it retained
this character before a semi- vowel ; and there is no euphonic reason
why it should change it before a semi- vowel in the body of a word.
Cicero is said to have favoured the m-spelling and presumably the
m-sound before v, even in compounds of m and con ; and Caecilius,
whether he is referring to compounds or not, seems to exclude j
when he enjoins the conversion of m into n before a consonant or v.
There is therefore a fair case for accepting Papirian's statement in
its natural sense, viz. that m before j and v had its face value.
The only crucial line that has been noted by the author is :
sit trabibiis fragilemve mecum : ^^ s s m m.
§ 280. Cum, which in composition is described by the grammarians
as " the preposition con,'' is reserved for the next Appendix.
§ 281. The numerous problems connected with this letter have
given the author more trouble than any other part of his subject.
M is so common and is so often accompanied in the same line by
both an m and an n that to find a verse in which only one value can
attach to it under his aUiterative scheme is a matter of extreme
difficulty ; and the fact has often led him to suspect that in many
cases the poets recognised the existence of two pronunciations, and
constructed their lines in a way that would satisfy either. In
'2 Tib. IV. ii. 6. '' Juv. vi, 364.
'* K. VII. 164. 7. « Hor. C. III. ii. 28.
156 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
presence, however, of the crucial examples which have presented
themselves, few though they are, he abandons the idea. On the
assumption that his scheme is sound, even a single line which is
free from suspicion may reasonably be regarded as decisive, if the
usage which it illustrates is not invalidated by other lines and
derives some support from the writings of a trustworthy grammarian.
APPENDIX M
THE LETTER n
§ 282. At the beginning and end of a word the sound of this
letter was that of the English n, e.g. nomen.
Obs. 1. — It is likely enough that in vulgar speech a final n would
succumb to the influence of a following consonant, as in the body of a
word — becoming an agma before a guttural {nomenquCy non carets remque)
and an m before a labial (m hurim in some Virgilian MSS.) ; but hardly
in the mouth of a reciter.
Ohs. 2. — There was a tendency in late Latin to assimilate w to a following
s in the case of the preposition in ; but Caper, to whom we owe our know-
ledge of the circumstance, expressly condemns the practice :
" In Siciliam " dicendum, non " is Siciliam," Karh. rh i/, non Kara
rh s, quia nunquam sine n pronuntiatur — which disposes of " im
burim " inter alia.^
§ 283. After a consonant in the body of a word, the n was not so
clearly heard as in other cases :
N plenior in primis sonat et in ultimis partibus syllabarum, ut
nomen, stamen : exilior in mediis, ut amnis, damnum,
says Priscian.2 But this is a remark which would be applicable to n
in almost any language, and only for the phonetician who lays
himself out for minute distinctions has it any importance.
§ 284. In the case of amnis and the like, the union of the two
liquids was so intimate that the n could be heard through the m
when the latter was in arsi, e.g.
Euterp6 cohib^t n^c Polyhymniei : ^ t c t nc n -
pc cp
» K. VII. 106. 17. « I. vii. 39. • Hor. C. I. i. 33.
APPENDICES 157
s I ex Agamemnoniis una puella tribiis : * s n s n - s
sc sg
amnis Acarnaniim laetissimus hospite tanto : ^ n n n s s n.
§ 285. In the body of a word n is found before all the consonants
except k.
Before 1, m, r.
§ 286. As an element of in and con before I (inludo), m (inmineo), or
r (inruo) the n might apparently be either preserved or assimilated
according to the taste of the speaker or writer. Assimilation must
have been the rule in ordinary speech — some of the grammarians
insist on it — but there are always purists or precisians who do not
conform to popular usages even in conversation, and it is hkely
enough that in poetry and other elevated styles the more out-of-the-
way forms may have been deliberately preferred, when there was a
reaching after alliterative or other effects. The lines which suggest
the etymological spelling and pronunciation are very numerous,
but those that require it under our alliterative scheme must be few.
If there be a clear instance, it has escaped the author's notice.
Before s.
§ 287. In -ns the n is sometimes said to have been silent * in the
sense that it only expressed itself in the nasalisation of the preceding
vowel or the doubling of the following consonant. That it was
silent during our period in mensa, " a table " — though not in mensa,
a " meal " or " course " — may be conceded ; ^ and also that in
certain words (e.g. quotiens quoties, forensia foresia, intrinsecus
intrisecus, and perf . participles like tonsus, mensus) the spelling and
pronunciation were optional.^ But beyond that it does not seem
« Ov. Her. iii. 38. ^ Qv. Met. viii. 570. « Cf. Lindsay, L.L. p. 63.
' Cf. Charis. K. I. 58. 17. (The words printed below in italics have been intro-
duced by the author for the better elucidation of what he believes to be the meaning.)
" Mensam " sine n littera dictam Varro ait, quod media poneretur [because
etymologically mensa meant something placed in the middle— med-sa ?].
Sed auctores cum n littera pro tule runt, Vergilius saepe. Sed et " mensam "
cumw posse dici idem Varro ait, quod et " mensa " [)8p&>T<£] edulia [esculenta]
vocarentur quae in ea ponerentur.
8 Cf. Vel. Long. K. VIL 78 ; Papirian, ib. 160. 13 (Antiquorum nulla observantia
fuit cum n an sine n scriberent) ; Ter. Scaur., ib. 24. 7 {Quidam . . . intrinsecus
. . . sine n, ne bis posita eadem littera duriarem sonum faceret).
158 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
safe to go,® particularly as Ter. Scaurus pronounces the n in rmn-
soribus ^^ and Pompeius counts it in calculating the time- value of
the combination ensqv in scribensque ; ^^ and in this book the
/i-sound is (with one exception) assumed, where the letter appears in
the printed texts. The exception is
inde per immensam croceo velatus amictu,^^
where the alliteration is defective if the n is sounded, the analysis
being
dm c"c - t m
ms sm.
In the following, on the contrary, the letter cannot be spared :
ferens olentem Maevitim | u : ^^ en n me m
c^nsura specuk' mantim regente : i* s s - n n
en gn
signabat nuUo limit e m^nsor humtim | n : ^^ s - 1 1 m^s m
mn mn.
Before d t.
§ 288. In nd (nt) Schuchardt thought ^^ that n had the same dull,
obscure sound (" neither an m nor an n ") which m is sometimes
believed to have had before a consonant (§ 272). But for this there
appears to be no ancient authority ; and in the following lines among
others the letter is needed as a rhyme to the ordinary n :
* It is strangely represented by the phoneticians that Quintilian attests the
pronunciation columa and cosul^ notwithstanding the fact that Pompeius pro-
nounces one of them {columa) a barbarism (K. V. 283. 11). Quintilian's words
are (I. vii. 28-9) :
Quid quae scribuntur ahter quam enuntiantur ? Nam et " Gains " c
littera significatur . . . nee "Gnaeus" eam litteram in praenominis nota
accipit qua sonat ; et " columna " et " consules " [note the plural] excepta
n littera legiraus (" read "), et Subura, cum tribus litteris notatur, c tertiam
ostendit.
The spelling (in inscriptions, etc.), he says, often misrepresented the pro-
nunciation, g appearing as c, and columna, consules, Subura as columa, coss. Sue.
[<Swc. is an abbreviation of Sux^uaa, the original form of Subusa or Subura]. A
crucial line of verse has not presented itself in the matter of consul. Ov. Ex P. IV.
ix. 66 would demand the n, if imperium were spelt as here shown.
*" K. VII. 20. 9 {vindicat consuetude, quod vox pleniu^ sonat).
** K. V. 1 13. 24, where it is explained that g (two time8)-f ns (one time)-\-qv (one
time) =4 (musical) times. ^^ Ov. Met. x. 1. " Hor. Epod. x. 2.
" Mart. VIII. lii. 7. « Ov. Am. III. viii. 42. " Seelmann, p. 289.
APPENDICES 159
/liae dum se nimium querent! : ^' - j n j n
dn nt
decertant AquilonibMS : ^^ d tn -
dc tc
nee Sicula Palinurus unda : ^^ n 1-1 n n.
Before c (k q) g.
§ 289. In nc, which may be taken as a type of the w^-or-7^-plus-
guttural groupings (vincet lingua qiiamquam), the letter n is described
as a spurious n by Nigidius Figulus, who remarks it in angids, ancora,
incurrit, and says :
In omnibus his non verum n sed adulterinum ponitur. Nam
n non esse lingua indicio est : nam si ea littera esset, lingua
palatum tangeret.^'*
Undoubtedly there is truth in this ; and though Priscian tells us
that before c an m was turned into an w,2i the sound of this last in
such words as quanquam was, at least in ordinary speech, not that
of n but of ng in the English word " sing," or of the first y in ayyeAo?,
being the sound which the Greek grammarians, in order to dis-
tinguish it from gamma, called agma. It is to be remembered,
however, that it was only men's laziness that converted the ^i-sound
into that form — just as in English we often say " ing-convenient,"
when we ought to say " in-convenient " — and that even so the n-
sound had not wholly vanished ; for Mar. Victorinus, who describes
the agma as a mean between n and g, remarks that ng was more
truly representative of the n than of the g, because the Latin ear took
more cognisance of the nasal than of the guttural (quoniamfamilarior
est auribus nostris n potius quam g).^^ It would thus not be strange
if the original n-sound had really survived on the lips of the Muses
in a number of words where the more slovenly pronunciation was in
favour with the " profanum vulgus," and if in every case the
rhyme to the eye was by a poetical convention accepted as a rhyme
to the ear. Such would appear to have been the fact, for under our
alliterative scheme there are many Unes which claim the rhyme, and
1' Hor. C. I. ii. 17. 18 lb. iii. 13. 18 lb. III. iv. 28
2» Gell. XIX. xiv. 7. " I. vii. 38. 22 cf. K. VI. 16. 4, sqq. and 19. 11 sqq.
160 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
among others those in the following section. The last is perhaps
the most striking :
§ 290. tinget pavtmentiim superbo : ^3 t - t pb
tn tn
inclinare meridiem | s : 2* n nr r n
-naeque Vestae | incolumi Jove et urbe Roma : ^^ nc m r rm
fingent ^eoHo cdrmine n6bil6m \ t :^^ g-ocno n
f n n . b
nomen ab eventu patria lingua dedit i^' nbtpnt
ille premit duram sanguinulentus humum | h : ^^ 1 m n n 1 m
sentitur nobis iraque longa deae | haec : ^^ sn r s r n e
-ronis | famae Tutilitim suae relinquat | si versus :^^ sttnsrn
hanc ego Lticinae credo fu/sse manum : ^^ c c n c - n.
nc n~c
§ 290a. In the following a cultured Roman would probably have
said there was no agma (§ 282 obs. 1) :
(a) Baccharumque valentium | p : ^^ b n n ^
sic mihi res eadem vtilnus opemque ferat : ^^ s s d n n t
cumque su6 Bored Maenalis ursa videt : ^^ n V- n s'^s dt
sv sv
tuamque Laletanidm | i : ^^ n 11 n -
tn tn
nee Grylli tenebras ^eoliamque Lupi : ^^ c i b - c pi
nc nc
(h) serus in coelum redeas diuque : ^^ s nc n s c
et spissae nemorum comae : ^ s sen n e
unda deum caelo miserit indigitem |e:^®n n-mn m
nd nd
esset ut in cura nominis huius erdm | e : *^ s n r n s r.
Before f .
§ 291. That either m or w was heard before / is proved to the
author's satisfaction by the line
vilis in dmplexus Inferioris edfc,^^
M Hor. C. II. xiv. 27. ^* lb. III. xxvii. 5. " 75. y. 12.
2« lb. IV. iii. 12. " Prop. IV. ii. 48. "s Qv. F. iv. 844.
«» Ov. Her. ix. 46 (v.l. lerUa would eliminate the agma).
»« Mart. V. Ivi. 6. '^ lb. xiii. 4. " Hor. C. III. xxv. 15.
w Ov. Tr. I. ii. 20. ^ lb. III. xi. 8. ^^ Mart. I. xlix. 22.
»• lb. II. xiv. 12. " Hor. C. I. ii. 45. '« lb. IV. iii. 11.
*• Tib. II. V. 44. " Ov. F. vi. 12. " Ov. A.A. i. 770.
APPENDICES 161
where the compensation for the blank can only be sn nf or mf.
Which of the two letters it was must be determined by other con-
siderations. " The facts certainly point to com- im- being the oldest
spellings before v and/," says Lindsay/^ though he finds conflouont
as well as comflaiiont in early inscriptions, which is good evidence
that there was no fixed rule, or else that the fashion was changing ;
and Cicero himself is said to have favoured mf {cf. § 299). But
Priscian, while quoting PHuy's authority for m before 6 and p, does
not claim it before /. Whs^t he tells us on his own authority relates
only to the preposition or prefix am, which before /, he says, was
changed into an,^^ instancing anfractus, which is the only Latin word
of that type except anjlexus. It is noticeable that in both words the
an is followed by a long syllable ; and it looks as if it were only a
particular case of the rule which we formulate in our next section
on the authority of Ter. Scaurus.
Before b p {and f).
§ 292. Ter. Scaurus, living as he did under Hadrian (a.d. 117-138),
is a weighty authority for at least the close of our period ; and as
almost immediately before entering on the question of prepositions
in composition he expresses the opinion that words ought to be
written as they are pronounced (vox scribenda quomodo et sonat),*^ it
may safely be assumed that his remarks apply to pronunciation as
well as to spelling. His treatise was hurriedly written ^^ for the
information of a friend, and his treatment of words compounded
with prepositions is extremely sketchy and (if taken Hterally) even
misleading, the explanation apparently being that he only thought
it necessary to touch on points which were not weU understood, and
that he had unbounded confidence in the intelUgence of his reader.
§ 293. Before liquids (I m n r), he says, a preposition was assimi-
lated (thinking of som£ of the prepositions, including in and con) ;
before the other " semi- vowels " (f s x z) assimilation was also
observed, instancing effatus and effervens (and confining himself to
ex as being perhaps the only preposition except in and con about
which there was a difference of opinion at that period) ; so also in
the case of mutes (b c d g h k p q t), generally speaking, but not with
" L.L. p. 50. «3 I. vii. 38. " K. VII. 25. 11. «" 16. 28. 17.
11
162 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
con (or in), which preserved the n before d and t (contulit), v {con-
vivit)j s (consumit), and all syllables which contained a vowel long
by position or nature, unless they began with a Hquid (demanding
assimilation).
The language used above is only a paraphrase of what Scaurus
appears to mean. His own words at the most important point are :
Item in mutis [geminant praepositiones primam sequentis
verbi Htteram], ut attuht per t et attigit et attinuit. In contulit
tamen non mutat nee in convivit nee in consumit, et sicubi
longa sequatur aut natura aut positione, nisi media consonans
liquida fuerit.**
§ 294. The only unnamed or un-indicated letters to which his
closing remark can apply are 6 ^/ and the gutturals ; and it is clear
that, whatever the popular speUing or pronunciation might be, it was
Scaurus's considered opinion that the correct usage was that typified
by the following :
inpurits
conpello
conburo
inbellis
infdmis
infirimis
incdutus
incultus.
§ 295. The question of course arises what the spelling should be
when the in or con was followed by a syllable containing a short
vowel. If Scaurus passed it over (as he did), it must have been
because in the case of the gutturals the answer was self-evident —
always n — and because in the case of the labials it was a matter of
taste. He could not have meant that incdlo (for example) should
be spelt and pronounced with an m.
§ 296. Scaurus's rule seems our safest guide, though it is not in
line with the teaching of (inter alios) Phny, a weighty authority of
earher date, who enjoins m before b and p in all cases, teste QuinH^
liano {loc. cit.). The following line, however, resists the m :
s I inperio regit unus aequo : *' sn rr n s
•• K. VII. 26. 14. There is obviously something wrong with the text in the
closing sentence, and perhaps n non mtUatur should be read.
" Hon C. m. iv. 48.
APPENDICES 163
and " as early as 189 B.C. we have inpeirator and in the Sen. Cons, de
Bacchanalibus 186 B.C. conpromesise — clear instances of n before an
undoubted bi-labial." ^ This other line requires the m-sound :
in impiam Ajac^s rat em | o : *^ m j^j - m.
ja ja
§ 297. The above two Unes are the only crucial cases to which
the author can appeal under his alliterative scheme, though he has
sifted the lyric poets of his period with the utmost dihgence. It
almost looks as if these poets did not care to rely on a rhyme which
did not meet with universal recognition.
Before j.
§ 298. In presence of mido and conicio there is no room for sup-
posing that n before j had any other than its face value; an
m-sound would have produced imicio, comicio. GeUius, who dis-
cusses these words and attributes the quantity of the prepositional
vowel to its position before n and an invisible j (which he thinks
ought to be shown in script), does not hint at any modification of
the n. On the contrary, he expressly tells us that iniice ought to
be so written and pronounced. ^^ In conjux the n must have been
sounded in the time of Nisus (first century), who,^^ while objecting
to the second n in conjunx on the ground that words " should not
be burdened with superfluous letters," retains the earlier one, if
the texts can be trusted. It is significant too that Scaurus, in
speaking of the same word, addresses himself to the n in the last
syllable (detrahendum n novissimae parti).^^
Obs. — Among the modems, Stolz pronounces for conj- (and conv-),^^
while Seelmann regards conjux^ conjungo, convenio, etc., as late recompo-
sitions, concluding that in earlier times the m of cum before j and v was
reduced to a glide, as final m was before vowels. 5*
Before v.
§ 299. The oldest spellings before v, according to Lindsay (see
§ 291), were com-j im-, which Cicero himseK is said to have favoured. ^^
But if the printed texts can be trusted, he did not give practical
«8 Lindsay, L.L. p. 50. " Hor. Epod. x. 14. so ly. xvii. 9.
" Apud Vel. Long. K. VII. 155. 17. " j^. 20. 10.
53 p. 332. 5* p. 274. " Apud Mar. Vict. K. VI. 18. 14.
164 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
efEect to his views, and the doctrine may have been one of those
pious opinions which he cherished in private (c/. § 230). CaeseUius's
testimony is that the n of in and con was preserved, (xmvolvo and
convinco being the instances given. ^^ The following lines cannot
dispense with it :
converso in pretium deo : ^^ n o n o
sen non fingebas, inveniere levis : ^ s f b n - s
sn sn
arbiter invitus Caeciliane dedit : ^^ r rn t c-c n t
inveni noceam qua ratione tibi : «° n ni n - n i.
ncn~c
APPENDIX N
LIAISON AND LIGATION
§ 300. The operations described by these terms have been ex-
plained in § 29, and in the body of a line will be sufficiently
illustrated by the following :
(a) mori | ndrras et genus'^Aeaci : ^ r s s C
bitumen atris^ignibus : ^ 1 1 s s
(6) non^Zephyris agitata Tempe : ^ s s 1 1
c^rvici juvenis^dabat : * c c 1 1.
§ 301. At the beginning or end of a verse the conditions are some-
what different, for it might well be argued that between line and
line there is a natural barrier which would prevent anything like the
union of two words into one ; and French, which does not admit
liaison at the end of a line, would support that view, though Welsh
does not. Latin itself, which admits both hiatus and synapheia at
the end of a verse, has the appearance of being both for and against.
§ 302. In cases where the pause is well marked, liaison or Ugation
would of course be out of the question in any language. But un-
fortunately no hard and fast rule can be laid down as to what is well
" K. VII. 202. 21. ^^ Hor. C. III. xvi. 8 (prodelision necessary).
" Ov. Ex P. IV. iii. 20. "• Mart. VI. xxxv. 2. "> lb. li. 2.
» Hor. C. III. xix. 3. » lb. Epod. v. 82. » 76. C. III. i. 24.
• lb. ix. 3.
APPENDICES 165
marked and what is not. For we have to reckon not merely with
punctuation but with the elocution of the reciter as contemplated
by the poet, and perhaps with poetic conventions also. In at least
an animated passage the flow of dehvery would not be interrupted
even by a full-stop. Synapheia operated even at the end of a
paragraph, e.g.
ipsique nepotesque.
Haec ait et partis animum versabat in omnis.®
More important than punctuation was the relation to the ictus.
§ 303. Apart from a pause in recitation, the following are the
situations with which we have to deal, the processes shown (in
brackets) as permissible being those demanded by the illustrations
given in our next section. The linking of consonant to consonant
is uncommon, or rather the lines which demand recognition of such
linking are uncommon.
1. die I spernit {Ligation)
2. regibus | 6 et {Liaison)
3. dltitis I quod non {Liaison and Ligation)
4. foco I large {Ligation)
5. Sericas | arcu {Liaison)
6. pectoris | tentavit {Liaison and Ligation)
7. albo I corpore {neither)
8. lacertis | aiit {Liaison)
9. ominatis | parcite {Liaison)
10. Favoni | trahuntque {neither)
11. noctes I et quaeret {neither)
12. senectus | tu vina {neither).
§ 304. Examples.
1. 6 testudinis atireae | dulcem : ^ t st s c^
-tas I claros non animum metu | non : ' a nn mm 7i
ilia est agricolae messis iniqua suo | Itim- : ^ 1 g 1 ss c Z
5 Virg. A. iv. 629-30. • Hor. C. IV. iii. 17.
' lb. III. xxiv. 7. » Ov. Her. xii. 48.
166 ALLITTERATIO LATIN A
2. -lum est | 6 Lenaee seqm Deum | c : ^ ^ n d n
-tas I et vultus nimium lubricus aspic* : ^^ 1 1 N b p -
st ts
3. minus | ptilcher es neque te Venus : ^^ s s - s
sn ns
litere : non alio limine dignus ems | quae : ^^ t o o i dig c
immetata quibus jugera liberas | fruges : ^^ - a b G b a
bs s/
4. et consulenti Pollio curiae | cui latirus : ^* c 1 1 c c
tandem querelarum 4t potiiis nova | cantemus : ^^ c r r - c
cv vc
int^r jocosi mwnera Liberi | cum prole : ^® r c - i ic
r^c r.c
5. -titis I o dura messorum ilia | quid hoc : ^' r - r c
so so
quid I agebas inquit ilia non erat otiwm | ut de f- : ^^ g c t o o -
c?g c^t
-leis I an otiosus in schola poetartim | lepore : ^^ nt s s - t n
sn sn
6. fldvo I ohm juventas et patrius vigor | nido : ^^ ? nt st s w
tuis I tibique pallor lute?is : ^^ b pi 1 -
St ts
et Cbia vina aut Lesbia | Vel quod : ^2 i vi - v
jv p
8. omnes | angulws ridet ubi non Hymetto : ^3 5 s t nn t
-dbor I 6 quantum est hominwm beatiorum : 2* o t - 1 o
ro or
ventris | in dubio vitae Idssa Corinna jacet : ^^ sn J t s n t
9. Theseus | PhyUida Demophodn hospes uterque malus : ^^
pld- ptl
sp sp
-riles I virgineo remov6te manws acc6ptior illi : ^^ svrg r v s c r
• Hor. C. III. XXV. 19. 10 76. I. xix. 8. " Cat. Ixi. 194 (198).
12 Prop. I. xiii. 34. i» Hor. C. III. xxiv. 12. i« lb. II. i. 14.
" Ih. ix. 18. " lb. IV. XV. 26. " lb. Epod. iii. 4.
" Phaedr. App. xxviii. 5. " Mart. III. xx. 8. 20 jjo^^ q yH. iv. 5.
21 lb. Epod. X. 16. 22 76. ix. 34. 23 Hor. C. II. vi. 14.
24 Cat. ix. 10. 25 ov. Am. II. xiii. 2. 26 p^op. H. xxiv. 44.
«' Ov. Met. xiii. 467.
APPENDICES 167
parvis | materiae gracih' sufficit Ingemtim | n : ^^ s jg - s g j
r-g re
puellis I non mollis Sinuessa fervidique | fltictus : ^^ s s s - c.
sn sn
§ 305. The net result thus is that interlineal liaison and ligation
are admissible in all cases except when the earlier syllable is in
thesi, the rule then being that such syllable
(1) cannot ligate ;
(2) can only liaison a syllable in arsi.
§ 306. The length to which terminal ligation is carried in some
systems may be illustrated by a specimen of Welsh verse, where
the rules which govern alliteration are very stringent.
In the first stanza (where there is no ligation) the terminal rhymes
are i i i i, which, though in thesi in three cases, are unexceptionable
in Welsh, which indeed does not admit an ictic rhyme in these
positions.
To Menai Bridge.^^
Uchel gaer, uwch y weilgi — gyr y byd
Ei gerbydau drosti ;
A chwithau llongau y 111,
Ewch o dan ei chadwyni.
In the following the corresponding rhymes are y | str ys \ tr
yst I r ystr.
To Drunkards. ^^
Yn wastad yn y gwesty — strangciant hwy
Bost ringciant iaith echrys :
Trwy win dwe'd ei twrw'n dyst
Rhodianant tua'r dinystr.^^
28 Ov. Ex P. 11. V. 26. 29 Mart. VI. xlii. 5. 3» By Dewi Wyn o Eifion.
31 By Nathan Twrch.
32 The alliteration of the Englyn, as this variety of stanza is called, has often
been imitated by Greek and Latin scholars. The following, by the Rev. David
Lloyd of Llwynrhydowen (1724-1779), will serve as an example. The translation
is a reprint from the Lloyd Letters (Aberystwyth, 1908), for which it was originally
written :
avdvTwv Oeiuv Oehs — /jLeynrre, O God of gods, supernal Power,
fi 6.y' is TO iJLov T€\os, Be with me to my latest hour,
rh KpdrKTTov Swpov S6s, And let the crowning joy be mine
ToG daveiy kuKus <t04vos. To trust in death Thy love divine.
168 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
APPENDIX
HIDDEN QUANTITIES
§ 307. The materials available for the determination of hidden
quantities are (1) scattered notices in the writings of the ancients,
(2) the diacritical marks and the speUings found in inscriptions and
graffiti, (3) Greek transHterations, (4) the survivals and develop-
ments in the Romance languages, (5) etymology, (6) analogy, and
(7) poetic usage. For various reasons none of them commands
entire confidence except in particular cases, and the evidence from
Romance is open to the special danger that it may be founded on
words which have only passed into modern languages through
vulgar Latin of the latest type, or on borrowed or book-words which
have not been inherited through oral transmission in a natural way.
With some differences in the arrangement, the rules in this Appen-
dix are mainly those of Marx (third edition). The quantification
in the Alphabetical List is also his, when the word is not printed in
italics. Hidden quantities which are true to rule are left unmarked
when there would be any danger of distracting attention from the
point at issue. An asterisk shows that the evidence is more or less
conflicting, or that the quantity marked is disputed by one or other
of the authorities on whom the author rehes, viz. Lindsay, Marx,
Seelmann, Stolz, and Walde. No account is taken of words which
are only found in prose.
I. RULES.
i. General.
§ 308. A vowel is short —
1. In the case of a, when it becomes e or i in composition, e.g.
cdptus (deceptus), tango (contingo).
Oha. 1 . — Annus and tracto may be exceptions. Annus {anus) ^ is
favoured by Romance and inscriptions (one of which has ovot), and
yields quotannis as well as biennis, etc. De- and con-tracto are found as
well as detrecto, etc., and an inscription has trdcia.
Ohs. 2. — ^Diomedes gives drma against in-ermis and other evidence ; and
an inscription has pdssus against perpessus, etc.
Ohs. 3. — Such compounds as inlquus {aequus), conoisvs (caesu^) warn
UB that the rule may easily be pushed too far.
* All doubtful and exceptional cases (where the vowel is or may be long) are
included in the Alphabetical List, infra.
APPENDICES 169
2. In the case of i, when it is a connecting vowel, e.g. multiplex^
navifragus.
Obs. — Plelnscitum is a case of simple composition, and should perhaps be
written plebi scitum.
3. When it represents e o or other short vowel in Greek loan or
cognate words, e.g. Procne (II/aoKvr?), dogma (8oy/xa), amurca (aixopyr))^
lectUS (A-e^os, AcKT/aof), tingo (reyyw), incertUS ((XKptTOs).
Obs. — An inscription hasllecticarios.
4. Before a double consonant, e.g. Anna, effari, dssis, Catullus,
(Diom.), and perhaps annus (see sub-sec. 1, obs. 1, supra).
Except (1) where there is evidence of an alternative spelling
with a single consonant, e.g. Jupp- Jupiter, qu^erella -rela, ndrro
ndrare (Varro), garrio (gdrulus).
Obs. — In the Alphabetical List, infra, the vowel before the double letter
is left unmarked, in view of the possibility that in some cases two pro-
nunciations were current ^ — a feature common enough in every language
where changes are in progress (as they always are).^ Assuming two
pronunciations, the chief point of interest to the student of alliterative
verse will be when the new spelling first came in. So long as it was new,
it would be avoided in dignified composition. The old might survive for
centuries in particular cases.
Except (2) where the vowel results from a contraction (§ 309. 8)
or simple composition (§ 324), or is otherwise etymologically long.
Except (3) before II rr ss tt in the following words (some of
which admit of explanation under the foregoing heads) :
catella, etc. (§ 310,
gryllus
mille (millia)
*miillus
oUa
PoUio
*pullus
uUus (ntiUus) esse, etc. (edo)
*vallis *fossa (§ 318 obs. 2) *mitto
vallum *-isse (§ 319) *quattuor
vallus *-issimus (§ 310. 4)
2 Cf. Lucr. iii. 504 (vaccillans) and vi. 575 {vdcillant) for a striking instance.
^ E.g., in English : epoch, granary, torn, precedence, doctrinal, leisure, etc.
Dyrrachium
*jussi *jussum
*ferre (§ 320 obs.)
*missum
*parra
*musso
susurrus
*narcissus
*passus (patior)
*assus
*russus
*cessi *cessum
Sassina
170 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
Obs. — Agrippa is found in an inscription, and also Achilles (notwith-
standing the Homeric 'AxUeus). Britanni appears as BperSz/o/.
5. Before nt, e.g. fnontis, gigdniis, sunt, sint, amdntOy monentis.
Exceptions : — contio Greek names (§ 309. i) in
jentaculum -on -ontis (-wv -uivTos)
niintio, -ius -us -iintis (-ovs -ovvro';)
quintus
065. 1. — Other exceptions may be Amyntas, Amyntor {afivyeiv).
Obs. 2. — Diomedes shortens contio.
Obs. 3. — Frdntem, fontem, pontem are supported by an inscription,
Probus, and Romance respectively.
6. Before nd (on the analogy of nt), e.g. pdndus, findo, amdndus,
frdndis, jucundus.
Exceptions :
— *arundo
nondum
vendo
*hiriindo
prendo
vindemia
nundinae
qnTndecim
iindecim
§ 309. A vowel is long —
1. When it represents y w ot other long vowel in Greek loan or
cognate words, e.g. dthleta {aSka), orchestra (opxw'^po), aliptes
(dXctWiys), Cyclops (KvKXoyxf/), gdrrio (yrjpvw)^ frustum (dpavecv)^ ulna
(wAcVr;), and possibly carmen (Krjpv$).
2. Before nf, e.g. Infimus (also found as imfimus).
Obs. — Romance favours Infans and infernus.
3. Before ns, e.g. mdns, amdns, Inscius, tonsum.
Exception : — insdns (Probus). [Sons does not occur.]
Obs. — Inscriptions show that the rule applies equally to the preposition
in, when followed by initial / or s ; and it is to be inferred that in poetry
■^n\s {^m\s), ^n\f{^m\f) always lengthen. Of. Priap. U. 9.
4. Before gn, e.g. mdgnus, segnis, but not Egnatius, Theognis
(§308.3).
Obs. — Lindsay {L.L. p. 138) distrusts the rule, which, though well
* supported by inscriptions, is discredited in many cases by Romance, even
in respect of the terminations -gniis -a -urriy for which alone is there any
grammarian's authority (Prise. II. xi. 63) ; and he shortens ignis^ ignosco,
and ignore. Mar. Vict, shortens agnusy Terence has Ignave, an inscription
shows KoyyiTov, and Diom. seems to favour digniias.
APPENDICES 171
5. Before gm on tlie analogy of gn, e.g. segmentum.
Obs. 1. — Lindsay shortens agmen.
Obs. 2. — In loan words from the Greek, where the vowels are a, «, or u,
the quantity is often uncertain before both gn and gm.
6. Before nx, e.g. dnxius, vinxi.
Obs. — Romance favours cinxi, finxi^ and (doubtfully) stnnxi.
7. Before net, e.g. vlnctum.
Obs. — Lindsay, influenced by Romance, declares for Unctus, against
Gellius (IX. vi. 3). Romance also favours cinctus, pUnctus, and tmctus.
Eusebius has '^^dyKTos.
8. In contractions, e.g.
quorsum (quo-vorsum), etc., but not deorsum, seorsum
amaati, amassem, amasse, etc. (all conjugations)
dest, desse, derro ; malle, nolle
cors (cohors), triilla (tru-ella)
deum, duumvir, currum (gen. plurals), etc., etc.
Obs. — So also apparently in Greek genitives like Aonidum {-ov). Cf.
Stat. Theb. x. 195.
ii. Substantives and Adjectives.
r § 310. A vowel is short before the endings
1. Is : puis, pultis rnus {rnius, minus)
Ics : calx, cdlcis except vernus, hornus
^ mns : alumnus (-6fjL€vo<:) rs : drs, drtis
f mps : hiemps, -emis except cors, cortis
rbs (rps) : urbs, urbis Lars, Ldrtis
stirps, stirpis Mars, Mdrtis
rx : drx, drcis.
and in the endings
2. -estas -estus, excei^tfesfMS,
-ester (estris) infestus, manifestus
except bi-mestris, etc. -inquus
(mmsis) -Ister (istrum)
I -esticus -ustus, except Justus.
172 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
3. -erculus, -unculus, undo
-usculus : except musculus, plusculuSy crusculum, Tusculum.
4. -errimus, -illimuSy *-issimus,
Ohs. 1. — ^The quantity of -issimus (often long in inscriptions) is un-
certain. Mar. Vict, shortens amicissimus.
Ohs. 2. — The vowel is long in maturrimus^ mdximus, and possibly
ultimus and proxirmis (irpdo^i/xos being found as well as Trp6^tiJ.os). It is short
in optirmLS, pessimus, and aHmmus.
5. -ellus, e.g. lihellus, jmella
-illuSy e.g. pupilluSf tiglllum.
lions : — catella
Bovillae
*pastillus
*dueUum
♦Camillus
pulviUus
*stella
Cataius
stilla
favilla
suillus
anguilla
hillae
villa
06s. — To these perhaps should be added querella, pJiasellus, and a few
other words in which there is an alternative spelling (see Alphabetical
List), though the vowel may not have been long when the double letter
was used.
§ 311. The vowel is long in tlie endings -ahrum, -acrum, -atrum.
§ 312. The quantity is determined by the genitive, when the word
ends in -6s -ps -x, preceded by a vowel, e,g. \
plebs, plebis gryps, grypis vox, vocis
coelebs, coelibis biceps, bicipitis dux, diicis
So too in
nox, noctis senex, senis suppellex, -lectilis
§ 313. The quantity is determined by the nominative in words
which end in -er, e.g. acer, dcris.
So also in 6s f el quincunx
c&ro far deunx
mel sphinx septunx
Oba. — ForSy IdCy and *d8 yield *furt%8y IdctiSy and daaia {semXssis, dec-'
iissia, eto.) respectively.
hiinc
ipse
banc
iste
-cunque
APPENDICES 173
iii. NUMEBALS AND PrONOUNS.
§ 314. The following are noticeable :
quinque (quintus) quadr-
mille (millia) noster
ullus (nullus) vester
Obs. 1. — Unciay quattuor, and even quartus are doubtful.
06s. 2. — Notwithstanding the admitted connection with olim and some
support from Romance (Italian and French), the philologists seem
unanimous in shortening ille. Seelmann is particularly emphatic (p. 84).
But at least one grammarian (Nisus) spelt the plural eillei, and it is
noticeable that Vel. Long., who gives us the information (K. VII. 77. 3),
bases his objection to such spelling — not on any violation of natural
quantity, but — on the absence of any etymological justification. Our
alliterative scheme demands Ille in a few cases.*
065. 3. — Against the philologists, our alliterative scheme demands
omnis, e.g. in Mart. I. Ixxxvi. 4. Only in Italian has the word survived
(Lindsay, L.L. p. 450), and there the o is long (ogni).
iv. The Verb.
(a) The Present.
§315. The vowel is s^«—
1. In verbal stems strengthened by n, e.g. pingo, mquam.
Except : nuntio, prendo, vendo.
Obs. — Nuncv/po (nomen-capio) is not a case in point.
2. In all other verbal stems where the vowel is long by position,
e.g. necto, serpo, verto, plecto (braid), amplector.
Except : *cesso
pOrgo
*misceo
*gusto
rixor
jurgo
*ructo
*mItto
*musso
texo
plecto (punish)
nano
vasto
♦ordino
garrio
*orno
ardeo
niitrio
ordior
06s. — opSiy- (Byzant.) and
opvaros are found.
* E.g. Cat. Ixi. 172 (176) ; Ov. Her. xiii. 144-5 (interlineal rhyme) ; Met. xv. 851 ;
Stat. Ach. ii. 436 (v.l. fiigae avoids).
174
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
§ 316. The vowel is hng before the endings sco and scor, e.g.
labdsco, Jloresco, tremisco, posco, experglscor.
Ohs. 1. — Quiesco may be an exception. Cf. Gell. VII. (VI.) xv.
065. 2. — Walde queries pdsco, and Lindsay shortens disco,
(b) The Perfect and Supine. J
§ 317. The vowel is long in the perfect when it ends in -ex%
e.g. veho, vexi.
Ohs. — Priscian says (IX. v. 28) that all other vowels before xi are short
(e.g. tra^if vinxif duxi)i and he elsewhere shortens mansi ; but modern
authorities hold him to be mistaken on both points.
§ 318. Subject to the foregoing, the quantity of the present stem 1
is preserved before two or more consonants (except ns net nx : ;
§ 309), e.g.
adolesco adolevi
ardeo arsi
facio feci
paciscor pactus sum
texo texui
vivo vixi
adiiltum
arsum
factum
textum
victum
Except in the following :
fungor
functus sum
friior
fructus Slim
nanciscor
*nactus or nanctus sum
traho
traxi
*tractnm
uro
iissi
In the Supine.
*ustnm
ago
egi
actum
dico
dixi
dictum
duco
duxi
ductum
emo
emi
♦emptum
frango
fregi
fractum
frendeo
—
fressum
ico
ici
ictum
APPENDICES
175
lego
legi
lectum
pango
pepigi
pactum
-sido
-sedi
-sessum
tango
tetigi
tactum
torreo
tormi
♦tOStllTH
In the Perfect and
Supine.
cedo
*cessi
*cessum
jfluo
fluxi
fluxum
jubeo
*jussi
*jussum
misceo
*miscm
mixtum
rego
rexi
recti! m
striio
strfixi
structum
teffo
texi
tectum
Obs. 1. — Jubeo and misceo are much contested ; Ictum is determined by
Romance, which also shortens tostum ; emptum, notwithstanding ^fx-wra,
aBejuirreveit/, etc., in Byz. Greek, is well supported by inscriptions (Greek
as well as Latin) ; so cessum by the proper name Successus.
Obs. 2. — Additional exceptions may be fodio {(paxra-a being found as
well as (poaara) ; pdtior (one inscription having pdssus) ; verro (Charisius
declaring for verri) ; gero {one inscription showing gestum against 8(76 o-ra,
^fyeara, (Tovy^cra, and Gell. IX. vi. 3) ; and vinco (late inscriptions often
lengthening the supine and its derivatives, e.g. inmctus, victor, with which
compare ^eLKTupia and BiiKTa)p7uos).
Obs. 3. — Purgo and siirgo are compounds of rego ; analecta is a loan
word (oyaAeKTa) ; delectare is from -licio,
' Obs. 4. — Almost all derivatives from the supine follow its quantity, e.g.
dictito, dctito, fiuctus (Gell. I.e.). The exceptions are not known.
§ 319. The vowel in the perfect before ss (amavissem, fuisse) and
st (amavisti) is held by Marx to be short ; but the inscriptions leave
room for doubt, and Lindsay expresses uncertainty. Stolz (p. 94)
lengthens.^
(c) Miscellanea.
§ 320. Noticeable are-
posse, possum, etc.
fers, fert, *ferre, *ferrem, etc. (perhaps)
volt, voltis, velle, vellem, etc.
^ Cf. Ov. Her. ix. 72 : ne pigeat moUi succubuisse viro | inter lonicas, where
the analysis is - -is so. The text is, however, uncertain (vv.ll. ut and nee).
pg i"8 eb is
176 ALLITTERATIO LATINA
nolle, nollem, etc.
malle, mallem, etc.
est, estis, esse, essem, etc., from sum
est, estis, estur, esse, essem, etc., from edo.
Oha. — The Lex Agraria of 111 b.o. has rejeri, pointing to ferre (Stolz,
p. 195).
V. Prefixes.
§ 321. A preposition retains its quantity in composition when the
spelling remains unaltered, or is only altered by the assimilation of
its final consonant to the following consonant (cor-rigo, im-primo,
etc.), except —
1. In the case of pro, which is sometimes shortened (profugus,
prdfectus, etc.).
2. When the combination nf or ns results (§ 309).
3. When con (the form assumed by cum in composition) is
followed by n, e.g. connitor (Lindsay). Such forms should
probably be written with a single n.
4. Possibly in cdlloco (supported by Romance).
§ 322. When a monosyllabic preposition loses a consonant (except
through assimilation) the vowel is lengthened by way of compensa-
tion,® e,g.
abs : as-porto
ad : a-scendo, ac (ad-que)
con : *c5-gnosco, comburo (co-amburo)
in : *i-gnoro
sub : su-spicio '
dis : di-scindo, but dis-cingo, dis-crimen, etc.
065. 1. — ^Lindsay shortens ignosco and ignoro.
Obs. 2. — The rule does not hold when con is altered into co before a
vowel with which it does not coalesce, e.g. co-erceo ; nor apparently when
ex assumes the form of ec {ecfero).
« " Detrimentum literae productione syllabae compensatur," says Gellius (II. xvii.
9), who instances copertus, cojugatus (v.l. coligaius), and conexua. But the prin-
ciple does not always apply, e.g. viden (for vidSsne).
' Sustineo lengthens in the following line :
libare n611os s(istin6t mih» versus (Priap. xlvii. 2),
where the analysis is - n s n - 8
SUS 8U8.
APPENDICES 177
§ 323. The vowel is short in bi- tn~, except before -duum (Walde)
and in contractions (blgae=bi-jugae).
vi. Derivatives.
§ 324. Subject to the foregoing rules, derivatives preserve the
quantities of the words from which they are formed, particularly in
simple composition, e.g.
inter- vallum, res-publica, jus-jurandum, se-cretus (0. Lat.
prep. se=sine)
eis-dem, mas-culus, audacter, paluster, mancipium
pristinus (prae), escam (esse), Africa (Afer), deinceps (c/.
princeps), and perhaps *quippe (Probus, K. IV. 252. 15).
Obs. 1. — An inscription has drvalis against drva (Mar. Victor.), from
dro ; and another has ^dictator against dictum (Gell.).
065. 2. — There are many known exceptions to the rule, e.g. dgo, ambages ;
Idbare, Idbi ; pdciscor, pdcem ; lego^ legem ; rego, regem ; sedeo, sedes ;
fides, fldo ; woto, notus ; diicem, ducere. The fact is that, notwithstanding
general tendencies, accident has played a great part in the development
of language. Even the imperfect utterances of a child have sometimes
given currency to a new word or a new pronunciation, and these things
must be allowed for. The ultimate court of appeal is after all usage
{usus),
quem penes arbitrium est et jus et norma loquendi,^
and in literature the usage of the best {consensus eruditorum).^ " Consue-
tudo certissima loquendi magistra, utendximque plane sermone ut nummo,
cui publica forma est." ^°
II. ALPHABETICAL LIST.
§ 325. The following is beheved to be a tolerably complete list
of the poetical words whose hidden quantities have any claim to
be regarded as long under the treatment of ancient or modern
authorities. Undisputed words which are covered by the foregoing
rules are omitted, except in a certain number of cases — chiefly
proper names from the Greek — where the rules might not be readily
seen to apply. Derivatives of the most obvious kind are also
omitted. The justification for the quantification will in most
cases be found in Marx. The references are to the sections. The
italics and asterisks are explained in § 307.
8 Hor. A.P. 71. * Quint. I. vi. 45. i» lb. 3.
12
178
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
dc,^ 322.
*drca.
bess-, besis.
*AcJiilles, 308.4 obs.
*arcesso.
*bestia.
acriter.
ardeo.
bi-mestris.
acta (ago).
*drdelio.
bis-senus.
actutum.
*drma, 308.1 obs. 2.
Bovaiae.
ademptus.
Arr-, Aretium.
bracca, *-aca.
Adrastus (v)-
Arr-, Aruns.
brace-, brachium.
^adulter.
*arundo.
*Britdnni, 308.4 obs.
*aenigma.
*drva, 324 obs. 1.
bucc-, buca.
Africa, 324.
*ds, assis.
bucella.
*agmen, 309.5 obs.
a-scendo, 322.
bucina.
agnosco.
a-scribo.
bustum.
*agnus (a, Mar. Vict.).
d-specto.
Btithrotum (ov).
*Agnppa, 308.4 obs.
d-spergo.
♦Byzantium.
Alcestis (rj).
a-spernor.
aliptes (ct).
d-spiro.
caballus.
All-, Alecto (v).
ds-porto (abs).
*cdlculus.
AU-, AHa.
Asculum.
camellus, -elus.
All-, *Alifae.
*assus.
♦Camilla, -us.
all-, alium.
astus.
*cdpsa.
all-, alucinor.
athleta (5).
♦carduus.
Amathunt-is (ov).
atramentum.
*cdrmen, 309.1.
Amazon.
atrium.
carrus.
Ampsanctus.
Att-, Atys.
carr-, caruca.
amygdalum.
audacter.
Cass-, Casandra.
*Amyntas, -tor, 308.5
axilla.
Casiope.
obs. 1.
*axis (a, Mar. Vict.).
catella.
anfractus.
catillus.
anguiUa.
bacca, bdca.
Cephissus, -isus.
ann-, anulus (ring).
balbuttio, -utio.
*cessi,^ *cessum.
annus,* anus (year).
ball-, bdlaena.
*cesso, 318 obs. 1.
308.1 obs. 1.
ball-, bdlhta.
cetra (caetra).
♦antestor (testis).
♦bardus (stupid).
Charondas (w).
App-, Apenninus.
Bellerophont-is (w).
Chirurgus (ov).
App-, Apuleius.
bellua, belua.
Christus.
App-, Apulia.
♦benignus.
cicatrix.
* Cat. xiv. 20. =» Ph
aedr. II. vi. 2 lengthens, unj
less prodelision is assumed.
I
APPENDICES
179
*cmxi, *cinctum.
(cingo) 309.6 obs.,
7 obs.
cipp-, cipus,
*c1rca.
*ctsterna.
clandestinus.
classis.
classicum.
clathri (rj).
Clytaemnestra (rj).
Cnossus ((u).
*cognosco, 309.4 obs.,
322.
collectus (lego).
*cdlloco, 321.4.
coll-, c5lus (Lucil.).
comburo, 322.
comiss-, "^^sor.
comm-, cominus.
confestim.
confirmo (firmus).
conj- ?
*conjunx.
conn-, 321.3.
*c6ntio, 308.5 obs. 2.
corolla.
cors, cortis, 309.8.
cott-, cotidie.
covinn-, covmus.
crabro.
crastinus.
Cressa {-q).
cribrum.
*crispus.
crisso, criso.
crusculum.
crusta.
*crustum.
cucuUus, *-ulus
(cuckoo),
cull-, culeus.
cupp-, *cupedo.
custos.
Cyclops (co).
cycnus.
damma, dama.
de-cretum.
deformis (forma),
delectus (lego),
but delecto (licio).
delubrum.
Demetrius (r)).
derro.
de-stino.
dest, desse, etc.
(desum).
de-trimentum.
dextans.
dico, dixi, dictum.
^dictator, 324 obs. 1.
dicterium (ct).
di- (for dis), 322.
di-gredior.
di-scindo.
di-scribo.
di-spicio, etc.
Diespiter.
*dignus, 309.4 obs,
dilectus (lego),
directus (rego).
*diremptum (emo).
*dIsco, 316 obs. 2.
diss-, *disicio.
dodrans.
*ddrmio.
duco, duxi, ductum.
*diiellum.
duumviri, 309.8.
duntaxat.
Dyrrachium.
ebrius.
ecc-*, ecastor.
egregius.
*emptum (emo), 318
065. 1.
enormis (norma).
Epaminondas (w).
*ergo.
Erinn-, Erlnys.
*eructo.
esca (esse).
Esquiliae.
esse, est, etc. (edo).
Etruscus.
ex-istimo.
ex-ordium (ordo).
"^Falisd.
*fdscia.
fasti.
fastus.
fastidium.
fastigium.
fa villa.
fello, felo.
^fene, 320 obs.
180
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
festino.
garrio (v).
♦ignore, ib.
festuca.
garr-, garulus.
♦ignosco, ib.
festus.
Garunna, -una.
Ilissus, -isus.
festivus.
gessi, *gestum, 318
nile, 314 obs. 2.
fingo, *fmxi, 309.6
obs. 2.
ill-, ilico.
obs.
*gibbus.
illustris.
♦firmus.
gluttio, glutio.
Ill-, *Ilyria.
*fistula.
grabattus, -atus.
immo, imo.
fldsculus.
grallae.
♦indtistria.
fluo, -uxi, -uxum.
grail-, gralator.
♦infans, 309.2 obs.
fluctus.
gryllus.
♦infernus, ib.
fodio, *fdssum, 318
*gusto.
in-festus.
obs. 2.
guttus, gutus.
informis (forma).
fons, *fdnt-is, 308.5
♦insignis.
obs. 3.
hactenus.
♦insons, 309.3 obs.
*forma.
Hellespontus (Ary).
instillo.
*Fdrmiae.
hell-, heluo.
intellectum (lego).
fors, *fdrt-is.
*Hercules, but hercle.
♦inter- vallum (a, Ann,
forsit.
*hesternus (Mar. Vict.)
Corn.).
♦fortasse.
hibiscus.
intestatus, but
*fdrtuna.
hillae.
intestinus.
*fdssa, 318 obs. 2.
hinn-, "^hmuleus.^
introrsus.
frango, fractum.
hircus.
involucrum.
*fraxinus.
Hfrpini.
lolchos (o)).
frendeo, fress-,-esum.
hirsutus.
*-^sse, *-isti, 319.
frons, "^front-em,
hirtus.
*^simuSy 310.406s. 1.
308.5, obs. 3.
''^hirundo.
fmor, fructus.
hispidus.
jentaculum.
frustra.
hornus.
jubeo, *jussi, "^ jus-
frustum, 309.1.
*hdrtus.
sum.
fungor, functus.
Hymettus {rj).
jiiglans.
furtum.
Hypermnestra (vri).
Jupp-, Jupiter.
*furvus.
jurgo.
*fuscus.
*idcirco.
jurgium.
fustis.
♦ignavus, 309.4 obs.
Justus.
futt-, futilis.
♦ignis, ib.
■ Hon C. I. xxiii. 1.
juxta, -tim.
APPENDICES
181
*Labdacus.
Hurco.
Messalla, -alina.
labium (vat).
lustrum (purifica-
mille, millia, milia.
labrusca.
tion).
milvus.
lac, lactis.
lustro.
*Minturnae.
lamna.
Hutra.
^niisceo, *rmscui, mix-
lardum.
luxuria.
tum (mistum dis-
Larissa, -isa.
Lycurgus (ov).
credited).
Lars, Lartis.
Lyrnessus (ri).
^rmtto, ^missum.
larva.
muccus, mucus.
lascivus.
Magnessus (rj).
miicro.
Idterna, lant-.
*malignus.
*mullus.
latrare (bark).
malle.
*musca.
latrina.
manifestus.
muscipulnm.
Hectica, but lectus
Manlius.
musculus.
(bed), 3O8.3.
mdntellum.
muscus.
lego, lectum, lec-
mantissa, -isa.
*musso.
tor, etc., but
Marcomanni, -dni.
mustela.
analecta (c).
*Marcus.
muttio, mutio.
Lemnos (rj).
Marcellus.
lentiscus.
1 Leoprepes (w).
Marculus.
nanciscor, nanctus
Marpessius, -esius.
or *ndctus.
Hibertus.
Marr-, Marucini.
Narbo.
libra, -bro.
Mars, Martis.
*ndrc'issus.
lictor.
martialis.
Narnia.
♦lignum.
Mar si.
narro, 308.4, Exc. 1.
ligurrio, -urio.
marsuppium,
nasturtium.
*limpidus, but
r lympha.
-upium.
nefastus.
mas-culu3.
negligo, -exi, -ectum
lipp-, Ujms.
massa.
(lego).
litt-, *litera.
Mass-, Mdsinissa.
neqmcquam.
litt-, litus.
matrona.
*nescio.
lixa (sutler).
maturrimus.
*mcto.
j loll-, Idligo.
maxilla.
ndlle.
*Ldnginus, hntlongas.
maximus.
non-dum, etc.
loquella, -ela.
maza (a).
n5ngenti.
! lubricus.
mercenn-, mercen-
norma.
luctus (lugeo). 1
arius.
nuUus.
182
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
numm-, *numus.
Parnassus, -asus (rj).
plusculiim.
nuncupo, 315.1 obs.
*pdrra.
poetria (rj).
nundinae.
parr-, *pdricida.
polliceor (perhaps).*
nuntio, -tius.
*pasco, pastum, 316
poUlctor, -inctor.
*nuptiae.
obs. 2.
PoUio, PoUo.
nusquam.
*pastillus
Polymestor (yj).
nutrio, -trix.
(perhaps i).
*Pdmponius, but
Nyssa, Nysa.
pastor.
Pompeius.
patior, *pdssus, ^08.1
pons, *pdnt-is, 308.5
Oenotria (tu).
obs. 2.
obs. 3.
611a.
pegma (>?).
*pdntifex.
*dmniSy 314 obs, 3.
pell-, pelex.
Porsenna, -ena (IIop-
Opuntius (ov).
^pelvis.
o-iyi/as).
"^orbita, but orbis.
peremptum (emo).
posco, pop5sci.
*orca.
pergo, -rectum.
postulo.
orchestra (>?).
periclitor.
praeceptum.
♦ordior (ordo).
pestis.
pragma-ticus (a).
*6rdo, -ino, 315.2 obs.
petorr-, petoritum.
Praxi-teles (a).
*orno, ib.
phasellus, -elus.
prendo, but pre-
*dmus.
Phoenissa.
hendo.
os-cen.
Phosphorus (w).
primordia (ordo).
-cfllum.
*Pictones.
princeps.
-cito.
*pignus.
priscus.
-culor.
pill-, pileus.
pristinus.
-tium (Ostia).
pistor.
Procrustes (ov).
*dstendo.
pistrinum.
profestus.
♦ostium.
plebiscitum, 308.2
promptus.
obs.
prorsus.
*pdctum (agreement).
plecto (>?), punish,
pro-sper.
palimpsestus (rj).
but plecto, braid.
*prdximuSy 310.4 obs.
paluster.
plectrum (^).
2.
pango, pactum, but
Plemm-,
publicus, but Popli-
paciscor,pactus.
Plemyrium (-q).
cola.
pann-, panus (>/).
Plisthenes («).
*pugnus.5
papp-, papare,
plostellum.
-^'pullus (young).
papus, etc.
♦plumbum.
*pulmo.
* Of. § 64.
I. » Cf. Ov. Am
u III. i. 38.
APPENDICES
183
pill villus.
rursus.
sinciput.
pungo, *puiictum,
ruscus.
sindon.
309.7 obs.
*russiis.
sinistrorsum.
puppa, pupa.
rusticus.
sistrum («).
purgo.
*rutrum.
sobrius.
pustula.
Socrates (w).
♦Pygmalion.
saccus, saculus,
soil-, solennis.
Sail-, Salentini.
solers.
quail-, qualus.
Sail-, Saliistius.
solicito.^
*quartus.
*sanctus, 309.7 obs.
sol-stitium.
*qudttuor, but quadr-
Sappho, Sdpho.^
Sophron (w).
querella, -ela.
sarculum.
*sdrdes.
*qiiiesco, 316 obs. 1.
Sardanapallus, -alus.
sospes.
quinque.
sarissa, -isa.
Sostratus (<u).
quincunx.
Sarmatae.
sphinx, -ingos.
quindecim.
sarrio, sario.
^splendeo.
quintus, etc.
Sarsina.
*stella.
Quintilianus.
Sassina.
stellio, stelio (lizard)
quinquatrus.
sceptrum (yj).
stilla, -Ho.
^'qidppe, 324.
scriptor.
strenna, strena.
quorsum.
*se-cessus (cedo).
stringo, *strinxi.
se-cludo.
309.6 obs.
rastrum.
se-cretus,etc.,324.
striixi, -uctum.
*re-cessus (cedo).
semestris (mensis).
stuppa, stiipa.
rect- (rego).
♦semuncia.
sublustris.
regnum.
septum (saeptum).
*successus (cedo).
rell-, reliquiae.
Sescenti.
succus, sucus.
religio.
sesqui-.
SUCC-, sucinium.
retrorsum.
♦Sestertius.
Sufies.
rixa, -or.
Sestius, but Sextius.
suillus.
roscidus.
SestOS (rj).
sumptus.
Roscius.
siccine.
supp-, suparum.
rostrum.
* siccus (perhaps).'
surculus.
*ructo.
*signum.
siirgo, -rectum.
8 Cf. Cat. XXXV. 1
6 (Guarino's ed.).
' Suggested by se
veral weak lines. Cf. Wald
e, and Welsh sych.
s Cf. Ov. Tr. IV.
X. 38.
184
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
sursum.
su-spicio, 322.
-spiro, etc.
susurrus.
*syrtes (o-i5pa>),
tactum (tango).
Tartessius (rj).
taxo.
Tecmessa (rj).
tectum (tego).
Hemjpero,
Hemplum,
*tempora (anat.) ^
Hesqua.
*testa.
testis,
testamentum.
tSstudo.
theatrum.
Thressa (77).
*tinctus (tlnguo), 309.
7 ohs.
tinnio, tinio
Hornus.
*tostum (torreo), 318
ohs. 1.
Hraxitum, traxi.
Hrdcto, 308.1 06s. 1.
» Cf. Hor. C. I. vii. 22.
Hrdnquillus.
Trasumennus, -enus.
*tristis.
* triumvir, 309.8.
trossulus.
trulla, 309.8.
Tusculum.
Tuscus.
uUus.
ulna, 309.1.
*ultra, *ultimus.
ulva.
*uncia.
undecim.
iingo, *unctus, 309.
7 obs,
*urceus.
*urna.
uro, ussi, *ustum.
urtica.
uspiam.
usquam.
usque,
rusurpo.
*iltris (uter).
*uxor.
.'o 10
*vallum.
*vallus (stake).
vasculum.
vastus, -are (waste), j
but vastus (vast).
ve-grandis.
Venafrum.
vendo.
Cf.
vernus.
verro, *verri,yeT8um
318 obs, 2.
vescus.
*vespa.
ve-stibulum.
vestigo.
Vestini.
vexillum.
victus (vivo).
*v1ctus (vinco), 318
obs. 2.
villa,
villicus, vil-.
vindemia.
*Virbius.
^virgo.
^virtus.
viscera.
*vitricus.
Vopiscus.
Hor. C. III. i. 47.
,1
INDEX TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS
The sub-sectional references are to the footnote indices,
that the line is of a crucial character.
An obelus indicates
Catullus.
XI.
xii.
xiii.
xiv.
XXI.
xxii.
XXV.
xxvi.
xxvii.
xxviii.
xxxii.
xxxiii.
xxxiv.
XXXV.
xl.
xli.
xlii.
xlv.
xlvi.
xlvii.
li.
4.
8.t
14.
17.
2.t
17.
2.
lO.f
8.
17.t
27.
3.t
s.t
ll.t
20.
21.t
7,9.
23, 26.
2.
1.
5.
S.t
3.t
3.t
5.
5.
3-4.
9.t
16.
lO.t
2.t
8.
l-t
10.
25.t
II.
7.
1.
3.
§168
§ 142.27
§ 213.27
§ 176.1
§ 176.2
§ 93.70
§ 176.4
§ 147.59
§ 304.24
§ 176.5
§ 243.15
§ 176.6
§ 105.38
§ 78.23
§ 225.20
§ 325.1
§ 225.19
§ 45 06s.
§ 45065.
§ 176.7
§ 140.9
§ 176.8
§ 236.3
§ 243.16
§ 71.22
§ 185.1
§ 153.7
§ 176.9
§ 104.16
§ 176.IO
§ 104.17
§ IO6.41
§ 176.11
§ 113.74
§ 65.2
§ 104.22
§ 108.56
§ 155.20
§ 185.2
§ 156.25
li.
13.
Hv.
4.t
Iv.
4.t
5.
6.t
13.t
Ixi.
1-4.
7.
10.
13.t
23-4.
32.
38.t
56.
66.t
118 (122).t
132 (136).t
163-4 (167-8).t
164
(168).t
168 (172).
169 (173).
172
(176).
179
(183).
184 (188).t
187
(191).t
190
(194).
194
(198).t
199 (203).t
219 (223).t
224 (228).t
227 (231).t
Ixiii.
81.
Ixiv.
23.t
Ixvi.
8.
60.t
Ixvii.
12.
Ixviii.
65.t
Ixviii.*
66.t
xcvii.
8.t
cv.
1.
186
§ 113.76
§ 113.75
§ 243.17
§ 176.12
§ 74.12
§ 124.7
§ 78.24
§ 164.87
§ 185.3
§ 45065.
§ 83.35
§ 185.4
§ 176.13
§ 236.30
§ 176.14
§ 100.98
§ 89.58
§ 271.59
§ 236.31
§ 176.15
§ 94.74
§ 133.34
§ 16.6W.
§ 314.4
§ 185.6
§ 74.5
§ 74.61
§ 213.28
§ 45065.
§ 304.11
§ 213.29
§ 78.15
§ 94.77
§ 236.15
§ 157.36
§ IO8.50
§ 176.16
§ 236.32
§ 176.17
§ 100.99
§ 65.3 n.
§ 209.24
§ 146.55
Horace.
Odes, Bk. I.
i. 4.
33.t
ii. 1-4.
17.t
42.
45. t
iii. 7.t
13.t
21-2.
33.t
38.
vii. 10.
12.t
22.t
viii. 1.
5.t
X. 14.t
xii. 18-20.
xiii. 3.t
16-17.
19.t
17.t
8.t
27.
32.
24.
28.t
8.t
19.t
3.t
6.
8.t
15.
7.
11-12.
XIV.
XV.
§ 110.68
§ 284.3
§ 163.84
§ 269.53
§ 288.17
§ 160.47
§ 290a.37
§ 78.20
§ 236.33
§ 288.18
§ 162.54
§ I6O.46
§ 236.16
§ 248.4
§ 154.8
§ 95.79
§ 269.54
§ 204.7
§ 226.2
§ 109.58
§ 236.34
§ 117.18
§ 270.56
§ 97065.
§ 97.88
§ 236.35
§ 270.55V
§ 150.87
§ 64.1 n.
§ 177.19
§ 97.94
§ 237.54
§ 104.21
§ lOO.i
§ 145.44
§ 304.IO
§ 133.33
§ 74.2
§ 162.55
186
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
HoR. Odes, Bk.
xxiii. l.f
xxiv.
16.
XXV.
6.
xxvi.
1-12.
2-3.
8.
xxvii.
9-10.
12.t
21.
xxviii.
24.t
36.
xxix.
4.t
XXX.
2.
xxxi.
3.t
xxxii.
5.t
7.1
xxxiii.
7-9.
12.
XXXV.
6-8.
32.
38.t
xxxvi.
10.
13.t
19.
xxxvii.
12.t
16.t
25.t
xxxviii.
1-8.
Odes, Bk.
i.
4.t
14.t
22.t
32.t
ii.
2.t
lo.t
45.
iii.
23.t
V.
l.f
vi.
14.t
17.t
19.t
27.t
ix.
7.t
18.t
X.
9.
18.
xi.
16.t
xii.
6.t
13.
16.t
20.
xiii.
4.
8.t
9-20.
I. (cont.).
§ 113.78
§ 325.3
§ 186.7
§ I6O.48
§169
§ 162.56
§ 126.12
§ 128.20
§ 225.21
§ 132.30
§ 74.9
§ 113065.
§ 74.7
§ 236.17
§ 143.33
§ 243.18
§ 236.4
§ 104.12
§ 162.57
§ 177.20
§ 127.18
§ 132.28
§ 221.4
§ 150.85
§ 114065.
§ 140.6
§ 243.19
§ 109.60
§ 213.30
5 170
§ 110.68
§ 304.14
§ 109.59
§ 248.5
§ 269.50
§ 273.63
§ 47065.
§ 204.8
§ 269.49
§ 236.36
§ 236.47
§ 304.23
§ 236.5
§ 74.3
§ 236.6
§ 236.18
§ 304.15
§ 177.21
§ 149.80
§ 109.61
§ 26947
§ 231.15
§ 152.1
§ 243.20
§ 138.4
§ 156.24
§ 78.16
§ 32.
XVI.
xviii.
32. § 186.8
35.t § 93.73
12.t § 108.54
27.t § 290.23
25. § II4.83W.
5.t § 90.62
21. § I86.9
31.t § 89.54
§ 202.1
33.t § 78.17
§ 236.37
1. § 204.iin.
ll.f § 78.26
19-20. § I62.58
24.t § 113.77
Odes, Bk. III.
2.t §
7.t §
§
21.t §
§
24.t §
47. §
15.t §
28.t §
29. §
2.t §
15-16. §
64.t §
5.t §
7.t §
28.t §
§
39-40. §
48.t §
67.t §
71. §
12.t §
§
40. §
43.t §
8.t §
28.t §
30-1. §
1. §
3.t §
4.t §
xiii. (odd lines)
xiv. 2.t §
11. §
28.t §
XV. 5.t §
11. §
xvi. 8.t §
vu.
viii.
ix.
xvu.
xix.
40.t §
12.t §
3.t §
§
lit §
100.2
100.3
236.19
74.4
92.67
300.3
177.22
236.7
279.75
155.19
255.12
162.59
97.89
304.20
205.12
82.30
288.19
162.61
296.47
105.33
8.8
94.75
290.25
141.18
225.23
IO8.48
97.90
1 62.60
226.2
300.4
87.53
§135.
202.2
47 065.
86.45
236.38
177.23
71.21
299.57
96.87
236.20
89.55
300.1
74.8
XXII.
xxiii.
XXVI.
xxvii.
15.-^
16-7.
2.
7.+
16.t
20.
3.
7.t
12.t
35-6.
39.t
53-4.
13.
15.
19.t
ll.f
5.t
15.t
22.
25.t
37.t
45-6-7.
63.t
71-2.
5.t
11.
8.
23.
30.t
39.
48.t
12.
§ 105.25
§ 162.62
§ I6O.50
§ 236.21
§ 236.39
§ 113.065.
§ 122.3
§ 89.56
§304.7
§ 45.7
§ 304.13
§ 126.9
§ 104.18
§ 226.24
§ 162.63
§ I86.10
§ 290a.32
§ 177.24
§ 269.41
§304.9
§243.21
§ 290.24
§ 85.41
§ 132.31
§ 74.11
§ 85.42
§ 163.86
§ 225.25
§ 156.83
§ 248.6
§ 145.42
§ 177.25
§ 186.11
§ 236.22
§ 177.26
§ 225.26
§ 141.19
Odes, Bk. IV.
3.t § 45.6
§ 95.80
5.t § 204.11
25. § 177.27
35. § 45.5
2.t § 236.40
17.t § 87.52
25. § 140.8
31. § I6O.51
11. § 290a.38
12.t § 290.26
14. §160.45
15.t § 97.91
17.t § 304.6
64. § 122.5
4. § 177.28
6.t § 89.57
6. § 140.15
14. § 177.29
17. § 144.36
26. § 148.66
60.t § 243.22
INDEX TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS
187
Hoe. Odes, Bk. IV. (cont.).
iv. 64.t § 213.31
67. § 141.20
V. 20.t § 93.69
24. § 129.22
vi. 4. § 229.10
19.t § 248.7
35. § 47065.
vii. 4.t § 243.23
6. § 140.7
28.t § 96.83
viii. 8. § 176.16
18.t § 83.33
20. § 177.30
ix. ll.t § 100.4
33.t § 104.20
47.t § 105.34
§ 236.41
xi. 2-3. § 229.11
xii. 23.t § 236.23
xiii. 2. § 186.12
xiv. 28. t § 262.30
36.t § 243.31
39-40. § 162.64
44. § 177.31
XV. 20.t § 85.37
26. t § 45.8
§ 108.49
§ 304.16
Carm. Seculare.
53-6. § 163.85
Epodes.
i. 3-4. § 126.IO
12.t § 202.3
18.t § 105.26
ii. 8.t § 97.92
22.t § 78.21
§ 269.44
26. § I6O.43
42. § 146.52
44.t § 236.42
iii. 4.t § 91.66
§ 304.17
16.t § 93.71
21.t § 225.27
iv. lO.f § 91.65
11. §142.25
V. 6.t § 97.93
lO.f § 243.24
22.t § 78.22
30. t § 93.68
§254.21 w.
34. § 177.32
38.t § 78.18
§ 254.17
40-1. § 127.19
42. § 1 86.13
56.t § 236.24
59-60. § 128.21
V.
70.
76.t
82.t
83.t
94.t
vi.
14.t
vii.
6.t
\riii.
8.t
14.
16.t
ix.
16.
34.t
38.
X.
2.t
xu.
xiv.
XV.
xvi.
xvii.
14.t
16.t
22.t
1.
5-6.
24. t
8.t
lO.t
18.t
28.
12.
16.t
63.t
§ I86.14
§ 105.27
§ 300.2
§ IO6.40
§ 248.8
§ 177.33
§ 202.4
§ 104.8
§ 225.28
§ 122.2
§ 89.59
§ I86.15
§ 123.32
§ 225.29
§ 304.22
§ 62.11
§ 248.9
§ 287.13
§ 78.27
§ 213.33
§254.2 in.
§ 296.49
§ 304.21
§ 236.25
§ 177.34
§ 1 86.16
§ 74.10
§ 91.64
§ 255.18
§ 236.8
§ 62.IO
§ 36.3
§ 104.9
§ 65.3 w.
Satires.
II.
11.
iv.
V.
vi.
IV.
vii.
vm.
1-2.
49-50.
94-5.
40-1.
106.
31.t
58-9.
125.t
66.t
84.t
11-12.
13-14.
49-50.
82.t
149.t
214-5.
227-8.
319-20.
323^.
56.
86.
100-1.
2.
92-3.
§ 126.13
§ 162.65
§ 162.66
§ 162.67
§ 124.8
§ 89.60
§ 162.68
§ 108.55
§ 87.50
§ 271.58
§ 236.48
§ 162.69
§ 1 62.70
§ 162.71
§ 65.3 ri
§ 243.25
§ 162.72
§ 162.73
§ 162.74
§ 162.75
§ 153.5
§ 151.95
§ 162.76
§ 64.1 n
§ 162.77
Epistles.
11.
xvii.
xviii.
n.
199.
56-7.
23-4.
62-3.
65-6.
11.
163.
ii.99-100.
185.
P. 2-3.
100.
191.
414-15.
xix.
i.
§ 155.22
§ 162.78
§ 162.79
§ 162.80
§ 162.81
§ 160.49
§ 154.15
§ 126.14
§ 156.26
§ 162.82
§ 2.3
§ 155.21
§ 162.83
in.
vi.
ix.
X.
XV.
xvi.
Juvenal.
243. § 148.71
364.t § 278.73
37. § 156.27
64. § 149.75
342. § 142.30
131. § 142.31
18. §153.3
LUCAN.
1.
iii.
IV.
V.
Vll.
viii.
609,
297
405,
494,
521
631
188,
501,
379,
715,
860,
15,
288.
852.
488.
1058.
•t § 102.
. § 146.56
. § 142.26
. §154.17
. §149.83
. § 154.12
•t § 104.23
. § 140.IO
. §108.57
. §228.7
•t § IO6.42
. §151.96
. § 156.29
. § 8.10
. § 16.6 «
§ 145.45
Lucretius.
. 294. §157.37
806. § 153.4
. 245. t § 114065.
479.t § 102.
30. § 150.92
§ 157.38
§ 122.4
§ 141.23
§ 145.50
289.
150.
318.
506.
Martial.
41.
49.
l.f § 113.79
6.t § 105.29
20. § 187.17
188
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
Martial (cont.).
I. 49.
70.
72.
109.
109.
II. 14.
41.
44.
III. 14.
20.
43.
44.
46.
65.
68.
80.
86.
87.
IV. 43.
51.
V. 12.
13.
22.
24.
38.
49.
56.
71.
VI. 35.
37.
38.
41.
42.
51.
62.
70.
82.
VII. 72.
84.
89.
VIII. 52.
81.
IX. 46.
57.
87.
X. 35.
68.
72.
83.
104.
XI. 18.
40.
69.
81.
xn. 18.
22. § 290a.35
38. § 187.18
2. §152.99
7.t § 105.36
l.t § 113.80
13.t § 82.34
12. § 290a.36
15. §178.35
10. §178.36
1^. § 174.
8.t § 304.19
3-4. § 126.15
15.t § 269.46
2.t § 102.
6.t § 78.29
ll.t § 101.6
2.t § 102.
8.t § 86.48
2. § 187.19
5.t § 254.19
2. § 187.20
5. §178.37
4.t § 290.31
10. § 178.38
5-6. § 178.37
8. § 140.11
3.t § 204.9
§ 225.34
6.t § 290.30
4.t § 278.71
2.t § 299.59
2. §178.39
4.t § 254.20
lO.t § 269.52
2.t § 269.42
5.t § 304.29
2.t § 299.60
2.t § 102.
4. § 187.21
7. § 178.40
ll.t § 87.49
8. § 187.22
2.t § 102.
5.t § 102.
7.t § 287.14
4-5. §187.23
6.t § 269.43
9. § 178.41
3-4.t § 95.81
5.t § 82.31
4. § 138.2
4.t § 269.48
lO.t § 94.78
18.t § 102.
22.t § 82.32
6.t § 203.5
12. § 8.9
2.t § 106.45
§ 213.34
6. § 126.11
xn.
XIII.
XIV.
. 22.
3.t § 111.72
24.
3.t § 102.
29.
4.t § 254.21
34.
2. § 187.24
63.
13. § 113.81
75.
6.t § 109.65
§ 213.35
12.
2.t § 102.
39.
2.t § 101.7
74.
2. §187.25
29.
2. § 187.26
193.
l.t § 86.46
195.
2. § 130.25
Epp. ex Ponto.
Ovid.
Amores.
I. 4. 2.t
II.
13.
44.t
14.
40.t
2.
40.t
3.
15.t
4.
18.
24.t
9.
6.t
10.
12.t
11.
4.
13.
2.t
III.
16.
1.
6.
8.
14.
15.
6.
38.
54. t
18.t
42. t
28.
6.
15-16.
§ 18.8
§ 74.3
§ 225.30
§ 105.32
§ 236.11
§102.
§ 145.48
§ 86.47
§ 213.37
§ 236.27
§ 109.64
§ 2I6.4
§ 85.38
§ 304.25
§ 147.61
§ 325.5
§ 100.5
§ 219.8
§ 287.15
§ 140.13
§ 179.42
§ 188.27
Ars Amatoria.
538.t
567.
714.t
722.
770.t
278.
616.t
734.
71.
171.
184.t
352.t
412.t
456. t
698.
748.t
§ 104.13
§ 152.2
§ 236.26
§ 141.21
§ 291.41
§ I88.30
§ 225.31
§ 147.58
§ 156.30
§ 155.23
§ 96.84
§ 236.44
§ 78.25
§ 243.27
§ I88.31
§102.
II.
III.
IV.
2.
3.
4.
8.
10.
2.
5.
7.
8.
10.
136.
8.
32.t
70.t
28. t
82.t
26.t
64. t
lO.t
14.t
4.77-8.
7. lO.t
2. 12.t
3. 20.t
40.t
5. 21.
36.t
19.
-6.
7.
13.
14.
15.
43.
35.
40.t
45.t
6.t
21.
Fasti.
i. 46.t
94.t
432.t
ii. 140.t
376.t
706.t
835.
iii. 239.
600.
778.t
854.
iv. 64. t
467-71-5-9.
664.
844.t
V. 232.t
330.
434.t
vi. 12.
234.
512.
676.
§ 22.5
§ 219.9
§ 236.12
§ 78.28
§ 254.2IW.
§ 236.13
§ 236.28
§ 304.28
§ 105.28
§ 225.32
§ 85.43
§ 188.34
§ 243.29
§ 236.14
§ 299.58
§ 236.46
§ 207.16
§ 243.30
§ 156.32
§173.
§ 166.2 n.
§ 138.3
§ 117.88
§ 236.29
§ 94.76
§ 123.6
§ 110.70
§ 237.56
§ 104.19
§ 104.11
§ 85.40
§ 78.89
§ 156.28
§ I66.31
§ 148.62
§ 96.86
§ 132.29
§ 117,89
§ 158.40
§ 141.22
§ 290.28
§ 105.31
§ 179.53
§ 109.62
§ 290a.4O
§ 188.35
§ 129.24
§ 149.81
ii.
iii.
Heroides.
8.t § 118.9in.
88.t § 236.9
100. §179.43
27. §146.54
38. t § 284.4
106.t § 23643
INDEX TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS
189
VI.
vii.
Ovid — Heroides {cont.).
§ 179.44
§ 151.94
§ 179.45
§ 148.67
§ 179.46
§ 290.29
§ 319.5
§ 127.16
§ 304.8
§ 236.49
§ 105.35
§ 236.IO
§ 117.90
§ 314.4
§ 150.89
§ 179.47
§102.
§ 141.24
§ I88.28
§ 140.16
§ 150.90
§ 269.51
§ 105.30
§ 243.26
§ 104.14
§ 149.74
788.
169.
190.
viii. 12.
36.
ix. 46.t
72.
xi. 40.
xii. 48.t
131.t
xiii. 36.t
66.1
SO.f
144-5.
xiv. 89.
XV. 119.
216.t
XV. (xvi.) 206.
300 (302).
xvi. (xvii.) 236.
xvii. 209.
xvii.(xviii.)120.t
xix. (xx.) 92. t
XX. (xxi.) 14.t
108.t
192.
Ibis.
Med.
328.t § IO6.46
Fac. 9. § 90.63
Metamorphoses.
i.
222.
294.t
400.
431.
ii.
724.
iii.
382.
iv.
243.
741.
vi.
86.
viii.
310.
535.
570.t
ix.
109.
356.t
630.
678.
796.
X.
l-t
47.
xii.
105.
jriii.
439.
467.t
siv.
142.t
247.t
335.
371.
XV.
49.
851.
§ 142.32
§ 96.85
§ 148.70
§ 147.60
§ 144.40
§ 144.39
§ 149.82
§ 143.35
§ 157.34
§ 179.48
§ 148.69
§ 284.5
§ I88.32
§ 225.33
§ 145.49
§ 149.73
§ 154.14
§ 287.12
§ 145.43
§ 147.62
§ 140.12
§ 304.27
§ 109.66
§ 106.44
§ 179.49
§ 144.38
§ 148.65
§ 314.4
Nux. 148. § I88.36
Rem. ^mor.814.t § IO9.67
474. § 145.47
Tristia.
I. 1. 40.
2. 20.
66.
II.
III. 1.
6.
3. 18.
4. 16.
8. 6.t
18.
20.
10. 12.
46.t
379.
462.t
42.
54.
80.
18.
9.
11.
IV. 1.
51.
8.
64. t
8. 34.
9. 10.
10. 38.
15. 22.t
V. 2. 60.t
10. 50.
11. 12.t
12.65-6.
§ 2.4
§ 290a.33
§ 149.84
§ 150.91
§ 179.50
§ 236.45
§ 151.93
§ 142.28
§ 179.51
§ 104.IO
§ 144.37
§ 243.28
§ 146.57
§ 131.26
§ 145.46
§ 179.52
§ 2O6.15
§ 148.63
§ 290a.34
§ 244.32
§ 2.4
§ 144.41
§ 325.8
§ 85.39
§ 110.71
§ 12.11
§ 231.16
§ 188.33
Persius.
IV.
vi.
33. iii.
40.t § 105.39
Phaedeus.
Prologue.
I. 5.
22.
28.
II. 4.
5.
6.
Epil.
III. 7.
10.
17.
19.
Epil.
IV. 19.
24.
4.t §
8. §
3. §
15. §
10. §
2. §
14. §
17. §
18. §
16. §
13. §
2.t §
18. §
ll.t §
20.t §
V. 10. 3. §
171.
269.45
37.4
36.3 n.
155.18
140.14
325.2
154.IO
37.4
37.4
150.86
37.4
213.36
37.4
231.17
90.61
262.31
142.29
App.
4.
5. § 37.4
6.t § 236.50
9.
17. § 157.39
10.
15. § 37.4
11.
5. §160.44
11.
15.t § 236.51
13.
13. § 37.4
19.
7. § 37.4
20.
13. § 37.4
26.
9. § 146.53
27.
1. § 154.16
28.
5.t § 236.52
§ 304.18
29.
9. § 148.68
32.
10. §149.77
Priapeia.
xlvii. 2. § 322.7 n.
U. 9. §309.(3)065.
Ixxi. 1. § 113.82
Propertius.
I. 13.
14.
17.
20.
5.
II.
III.
IV.
12.
24.
26.
32.
16.
2.
3.
16. §189.37
34.t § 304.12
2. §189.38
3.t § 102.
6. §180.54
8.t § 2O6.14
18.t § 109.63
46. §189.39
20. § 62.9
44.t § 304.26
14.t § 213.38
42. t § 114 06s.
44.t § 117.86
2. §111.73
23. § I89.40
48.t § 290.27
61.t §114065.
54.t § 117.87
m.
vii.
ix.
xi.
Statius.
Thebais.
62, 69. § 207.i6rt.
707. § I8I.58
603. § 181.59
684.t § 227.5
189.t § 190.43
320.t § 204.IO
AcMll. ii. 436. § 314.4
Silvae.
II. 7. 25.t § 104.24
III.'^ 1. 173. J 16.6 w.
190
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
Statius — SUvae {cord.).
IV. 3. 31. § 190.41
llO.f § 93.72
132. §181.55
5. 3. § 181.56
16. § 227.6
9. 21. § 190.42
61. § 181.57
II.
IV.
TiBULLUS.
I. 1.
2.
3.
4.
10.
5.
6. § 182.60
16.t § 104.15
94. §191.44
64. § 182.61
19.t § 74.14
66. § 191.45
27. §149.79
44. § 290a.39
28. § 191.46
6.t § 278.72
l.f § 106.43
2. § 182.62
ViEGIL.
Edog. X. 51.t § 105.37
Georgics.
i. 4. § 211.26
389. § 129.23
ii. 34. § I6O.52
7.t § 108.53
iii. 353. § 143.34
iv. 56. § 149.78
470. § 157.35
511. § 154.9
Aeneid.
i. 1-7. § 172
237. § 64.171.
277. § 138.5
405-6. § 127.17
608. § 154.11
1.
m.
617.
714.
1.
107.
460.
405.
617.t
iv. 629-30.
V. 79.
600.
807.
vi. 126.
156.t
324.t
425.t
733.t
vii. 113.
305.t
686.
533.
806.
705.t
927.
viu.
ix.
§ 149.76
§ 152.97
§ 12.12
§ 132.2
§ 69
§ 148.64
§ 110.69
§ 302.5
§ 154.13
§ 183.63
§ 183.64
§ 153.6
§ IO8.51
§ 85.44
§ IO8.52
§ 237.55
§ 145.51
§ 87.51
§ 150.88
§ 140.17
§ 183.65
§ 67.7
§ 152.98
INDEX TO THE EMENDATIONS
The sub-sectional references are to the footnote indices. An asterisk indicates
that the emendation offered is by the author.
Where emendation is necessary.
Cat.
xxxii. 5.
H. 1.*
liv. 4.*
Ixi. 7.*
23—4.*
179 (183)*.
16.*
Hor. C. I. xxiv,
II. vii. 19
xiii. 32
xviii.
III. xvi.
XXV.
Mart.
IV. xiii.
Epod.
I.
III.
IV.
VI.
VII.
87.
51.
70.
84.
21.*
40.*
13.*
xxix. 23.
2."
V. 42.*
70.*
X. 16.*
d. 6.
49. 20.
38.*
2.
2.
4.*
8.
§ 185.1
§ 185.2
§ 113.75 n.
§ 185.3
§ 185.4
§ 185.6
§ 186.7
§ 74.3 w.
§ 186.8
§ 186.9
§ 96. 065.
§ I86.10
§ 186.11
§ 186.12
§ I86.13
§ I86.14
§ 186.15
§ I86.16
§ 187.17
§ 187.18
§ 187.19
§ 187.20
§ 187.21
§ 187.22
Mart. VIII. 81. 4? §
XII. 34. 2.* §
XIII. 74. 2.* §
XIV. 29. 2. §
Ov. Am. III. xv.l5-16.*§
A. A. ii. 278.* §
iii. 698. §
Epp. ex P. III. iv. 78.* §
F. vi. 234. §
Her.xv. (xvi.), 300(302) §
Prop.
Stat. Silv.
Tib.
Med. Fac.
Met.
Nux.
Tr, V.
I.
14.*
ix. 109.*
148.
xii.65-6.
xiii. 16.
II.
IV.
IV.
Theb.
I.
II.
XIV.
ix.
ii.
3.
9.
ix.
ii.
X.
vi.
2.*
46.
23.
31.
21.
189.*
94.*
66.
28.
187.23
187.24
187.25
187.26
188.27
1 88.30
I88.31
188.34
188.35
1 88.28
188.29
I88.32
1 88.36
188.33
189.37
189.38
189.39
189.40
190.41
190.42
190.43
191.44
191.45
191.46
ii. Where emendation {loithout being necessary) improves the cUliteration.
Cat.
IV.
X.
xi.
xxi.
XXV.
xxxiv.
XXXV.
xli.
xl.
Iv.
Ixi.
cix.
5. § I68.4
14.* § 176.1
17. § 176.2
§ 176.4
§ 176.6
§ 105.38 n.
§ 176.7
§ 176.8
§ 176.9
§ 176.IO
§ 113.74 w.
§ 176.11
§ 176.12
§ 176.13
§ 113.80 n.
17.
27.
3.
2.
5.
3-4.
16.
1.*
8.
5.
32.
I.*
Hor.
C. I.
II.
III.
IV.
Epod.
Mart. V.
IX.
Ov. Am. III.
F.
Her.
xiu.
X.
iv.
vi.
iii.
iv.
viii.
V.
vi.
xi.
xxii.
Ivii.
XV.
i.
ii.
19.
9.
28.
28.
14.
14.
8.*
34.*
14.*
1.
10.*
9.
6.
46.*
100.
§ 97.88 n.
§ 177.21
§ 82.30 TO.
§ 97.90 n.
§ 160.45
§ 177.29
§ 1 76.16
§ 177.32
§177.33
§ 177.34
§ 178.38
§ 178.41
§ 179.42
§ 110.70 n.
§ 179.43
191
192
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
Ov. Her.
Met.
Tr.
Phaedr.
vii.
190.*
§ 179.45
Phaedr.
App.
XXX.
8.*
§ 192.90
viii.
36.*
§ 179.46
Prop.
I.
XX.
6.
§ 180.54
ix.
46.
§ 290.29 n.
Stat. Silv.
III.
i.
73.*
§ 16.6 n.
XV.
119.
§ 179.47
Theh
.
iii.
603.
§ 181.59
viii.
310.
§ 179.48
Tib.
I.
i.
6.
§ 182.60
xiv.
335.
§ 179.49
iii.
64.
§ 182.61
I.
X
12.
§ 179.51
IV.
ix.
2.
§ 182.62
III.
vi.
18.
§ 179.52
Virg. A.
V.
807.
§ 183.64
^pp-
xiii.
13.*
§ 37.4 n.
ix.
806.
§ 183.65
iii. Where emendation has a bearing on the teaching of the grammarians.
Quintilian * § 242.14
Ter. Scaurus * § 293.46 n.
Mar. Vietorinus * § 264.36 n.
Charisius *
§ 287.7 n.
Ann. Cornutus *
§265.
GeUius *
§ 90.62 n
Lucilius *
§ 16.4».
I
GENERAL INDEX
For words containing hidden quantities, which are represented as long in Appen-
dix O on more or less reliable evidence, see Alphabetical List (§ 325).
When there is no indication to the contrary, the Roman numerals refer to the
pages (Pref. and Introd.), the larger Arabic numerals to the sections and sub-
sections, and the smaller to the footnote indices.
a, 22.
adcurro, 16.
adligat, 16.6 n.
Adonic, 48.
adsiduus, 60, 61, 182.
ae, 22, 204.
agma, 23.8 w., 289.
ai, 22, 203.
Alcaic verse, 45-6.
alliteration :
a kind of rhyme, xiii ; narrower
meaning, xv, 4 ; meaning in this
book, xvi, 4 ; appeal to primitive
peoples, xvii, 3 ; general attractive-
ness, xvi ; affinity to punning, 121 ;
exaggeration in the insane, vii ;
assertiveness as a rule of verse,
xxi, 5.
in English poetry, xv, xvii ; in
Welsh poetry, xviii, 5.
in Latin : recognition by the
modems, xxii ; by the ancients,
XXV ; minimum, 5, 74 obs.y 120 ;
rules. Chap. IX. ; methods of
embellishment. Chap. X. ; rich-
ness within the line, 137-58 ; be-
tween line and line, 161-2 ; per-
vading the stanza, 163 ; degrees
of excellence, 134-5 ; best field of
study, X ; treatment in translation,
xxviii.
alphabetical values. Chap. III.
anacrusis, 35.
analysis illustrated in skeleton, 168-74 ;
in detail, 135.
Archilochian metre, 49.
Aristophanic metre, 50.
arsis, 6.
Asclepiad metre, 45, 117.
assimilation, 16.
assonance, ix, 2, 8.
au, 22, 201, 202 065.
6, 23, 235 ; relation to p, 233 ; to/, 239.
c, 23, 235 ; relation to gr, 233.
caesura, I6O.42 n.
coena (caena), 18.8 n.
columna, 287.9 w.
compensatory rhymes, 98.
composite rhymes, 10.
composition of sequences, 122.
con in composition, 17, 286, 291-9.
concatenation, 45, 164.
conjux, 298 and obs.
consonance, xi, 2.
consonants : like and unlike, 7, 8, 21,
24 ; voiced and unvoiced, 233 ;
not sounded, 64-5 ; not available
for rhyme, 114.
consul, 287.9 w.
corruptions, 5.5, 13, 194, 205.13 n.
cuius, 209.
d, 23, 235 and 065. 3 ; relation to t, 233.
difficult lines : in appearance. Chap.
XIII. ; in reality. Chap. XIV.
dimeter Iambic, 44.
diphthongs, 200.
double letters, 19.
double rhymes, 11, 103; in profusion,
137-58.
e 22.
ei, 22, 209 065. 3.
elegiambus, 43.
elision, Chap. VIII. ; of w, 65,
249-50 ; of vowels, 67-71.
193 13
245,
194
ALLITTERATIO LATINA
embellishment : methods, Chap. X. ;
richness, Chap. XI. ; difference in
value, 134, 135 oba.
equivalent (or like) letters, 7, 8, 21, 24,
234.
CM, 22, 206.
/, 23, App. K ; relation to h, 239-40,
244 ; to 6, 239 ; to <p and ph, 240-1.
g, 23, 235 ; relation to c, 233.
Galliambic metre, 38, 55.
Glyconic metre, 45.
grammarians, list of, 199 ; evidence
contradictory, I6.5 n., 196, 226.
groupings : regular and irregular, 94 ;
not barred by vowels or semi- vowels,
107 ; spurious, 95, 109 ; unifor-
mity avoided, 10, 160 ; symmetry
often present, 140-5 ; but ex-
ceptional, 159.
A, 23, App. H ; its relation to/, 239-40,
244 ; offers no resistance to pair-
ing, 107.
half-rhymes, xiv.
hexameter, 41.
hiatus : involving t, 211 ; w, 219, 221.
hidden quantities, 57, 196.7 w., App. 0.
hiemps, 14.i, 276.
huius, 209.
hypercatalectic syllables, 35.
t, 22, App. E ; in audiet, etc., 210 ; in
inicio, etc., 208 obs. 2, 298 ; in
Troia, etc., 209 ; in Gains, etc., 209
obs. 2 ; in mihi, 179.53, 208 obs. 1,
230.14 n. ; in hiatu, 211 and 06s.;
makes position, 207 ; offers no
resistance to pairing, 107, 212.
ictic doubles, 130, 132.
ictic rhyme, 6.
ictic syllable, 6, 30.
ictus, Chap. V. ; meaning, 6 ; inci-
dence, 34-6.
in in composition, 17, 286, 291-9.
indulgences, 73, 233.
initial rhyme, 99.
in-maduit, 16.6 n.
interlineal rhyme, 40 : first, 89 ; second,
92 ; third, 97 ; profusion, 161.
internal rhyme, 3.
Ionic a minore metre, 51.
Jk, 23.
letters : effective, 72, 73 obs. 2 ; re-
current and non-recurrent, 6. ^ee
" consonants," " vowels," " semi-
vowels."
liaison and ligation, App. N ; 29 065. 2,
31, 91, 117 ; i, 211 and obs. ; m,
254 (2) ; tt, 219 065.
line rhymes, xv.
lyrics : special features, 45, 97, 112,
163-4.
m, 23, App. L ; opposing views, 247.
i. final m : in isolated words,
255-9 ; before a vowel or h in
prose, 249-53 ; in verse, 254 ; evi-
dence summarised, 260.
before m, 262 ; w, 263 ; cgkq,
269 ; dt, 269 ; Irs, 269 ; bpf, 270,
291-6 ; jv, 271.
ii. initial or medial m : in
sambyx, etc., 17, 272 ; before a
vowel, 245 ; in circum-ago, etc., 245.
before n, 273 ; cgkq, 277 ; dt,
275; Ir, 274; s, 275; bpf, 278,
291-7 ; jv, 279.
Martial's inexactness, xxviii, 95 obs.,
187.23.
mensa, 287.7.
meretricious rhymes, 120-1.
metre. Chap. VI. ; in translation, xxix.
minimum alliteration, 5, 74 obs., 120.
n, 23, App. M.
i. initial and final, 282 ; in in,
282 065. 2 ; in non caret, nomen-
que {rem-que), etc., 282 obs. 1.
ii. medial : after m, 283-4,
287.9 n.
before s, 287 ; dt, 288 ; cgkq,
289. J
in in and con in composition : I
before Imr, 286, 293 ; j, 298 ; v, '
299 ; hsdt, 293 ; bpf, 294-6.
nasalisation, 247 (5), 257-8.
-ntc, 237.
o, 22, 202 obs.
oblique rhyme, 84.
oe, 22, 205.
oi, 22, 205 : in qnoi, 205 065. 2.
Ovidian structure, 166.
p, 23 ; relation to 6, 233 ; to /, 240-1 ;
to ph, 241 ; in hiemps, sumptus,
etc., 14.i, 276.
parallel rhyme, 97.
pentameter, 42 ; semi-pentameter, 43.
ph, 241.
Phalaecian metre, 52.
Pherecratean metre, 40, 45 obs.
poetry : artificial features, xvii, 6 n., 18,
Priapean metre, 46.
privilege, 112.
prodelision, 69.
pronunciation : alternative, 15-17, 267,
308 (4) obs.; changes, 18, 196;
GENERAL INDEX
195
difficulties of the problem, 193 ;
diphthongs, 200 ; evidence con-
flicting, 16.5 n., 193, 196, 226 ;
local, colloquial, plebeian, affected,
194-5.
q, 23, 224.
quantity. Chap. VII. ; of last vowel in
line, 61-3 ; hidden, q.v. ; differ-
ence between long and short, 59 ;
lengthening in arsi, 60, but not in
thesiy 63 ; meaning of " long by
position," 57.1 n.
qui, etc., 222.
quoi, 205 ohs.
quoniam, 271.57 n.
quum, 224.
r, 23.
re -composition, 16.
resolution : effect on ictus, 34.
restrictions: in indulgences, 97, 112;
in utilisation of rhyming letters,
114, 117 ; in liaison and ligation,
29 obs. 2, 31, 305 ; in unipeds, 76,
80 ; in interlineals, 92, 97 ; in
initial rhymes, 99 ; in Welsh verse,
XX.
rhyme, xiii. Chap. I.
assonance, xiii, 2, 8 ; compensa-
tory, 98; composite, 10; conca-
tenative, 45, 164 ; consonance, xv, 2 ;
double, 11, 103, 132; half -rhyme,
xiv; ictic, 6 ; initial, 99 ; interlineal,
q.v. ; internal or line rhymes, xv,
3.13 ; meretricious, 120-1 ; oblique,
84; order of rhymes, 115; parallel,
97 ; post-sonance, xiv ; pre-sonance,
xiv ; spurious, 95, 109 ; terminal, 2 ;
trans-sonance, xiv ; comparative
values, 134, 135 obs. ; vowel-
rhymes, q.v.
richness in doubles, 137-58 ; in inter-
lineals, 161 ; in concatenation
(lyrics), 163.
rules : in alliteration. Chap. IX. ; vin-
dicated, Chap. XII. ; hidden
quantities. 57, App. O ; ictus in
resolved feet, 34.
5, 23 ; relation to Eng. z, 233.
sandhi, 20.i n.
Sapphic major, 60 ; minor, 47.
scazon, 53.
semi-pentameter, 43.
semi-vowels : see i and u.
sequence and line of sequence, 9 ; com-
position of sequences, 122.
sh, 26.5 w.
Sotadean verse, 54.
spelling. Chap. II. ; alternative, 14-16,
308 (4) obs. ; changes, 18 ; cor-
ruptions, 13, 205.13 n.
spurious rhyme, 95, 109.
sr, 178.39.
-stc, 237.
syllabification. Chap. IV. ; exemplified,
32.
symmetry, 116 ; exceptional, 159.
synaliphe, 66, 71, 254.
t, 23 ; relation to d, 233 ; before I, 235
06s. 2 ; in -ntc, -stc, 237.
terminal rhyme, 2.
thesis, 6.
u, 22, App. F ; in aut, etc., 217.i 06s. ;
in duo, etc., 217, ii ; in silua, etc.,
218 ; in anguis, qui, etc., 222 ; in
hiaiu, 219 and obs. ; in o ubi, etc.,
221 ; in quum, 224.
makes position, 215 ; offers no
resistance to pairing, 107, 220.
uniped rhyme, 75 ; broken, 80 ; un-
broken, 76 ; vowel uniped, 76,
83 06s. 2, 90, and 90.62 n.
voiced and unvoiced, 233.
vowels in hiaiu : see i, u, and " hiatus."
vowels lengthened in arsi, 60 ; especially
at end of line, 61 ; difference be-
tween short and long, 59; short
vowels ineffective, 8.
vowel-rhymes, 8.
vowel uniped : see *' uniped."
Welsh verse, xviii, xxvii, 114, 138 (a),
306.
jc, 23.
y, 22, App. G.
z, 23.
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY NEILL AND CO., LTD., EDINBURGH.
RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT ^
TO--^ 202 Main Library
LOAN PERIOD 1
HOME USE
2 3
4
5 6
ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS
1 -month loans may be renewed by calling 642-3405
6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books to Circulation Desk
Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date
DUE AS STAMPED BEL
OW
B^ JUL 2 (J 198
r
FORM NO. DD6, 60m.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
12/80 BERKELEY, CA 94720
U.C.BERKELEY LIBRARIES
CD^7D^D^^b
49H2S1
^$
UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY