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, 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