2. Hexameter, followed by Iambic Dimeter.—EPOD. 14, 15. 3. Iambic Trimeter alone. - EPOD. 17. 4. Hexameter, followed by Iambic Trimeter.—EPOD. 16. 5. Verse of four Lesser Ionics. -OD. III. 12. 6. Hexameter with Dactylic Penthemim (five half-feet): diffulgērě ni|vēs rědě | ūnt jām | grāmînă | cāmpīs 7. Iambic Trimeter; Dactylic Penthemim; Iambic Dimeter.EPOD. 11. 8. Hexameter; Iambic Dimeter; Dactylic Penthemim.—ED. 13. 9. Archilochian Heptameter; Iambic Trimeter catalectic: as, sõlvitur | acris hilēms grā tā vicě | vēris | ēt Fǎ|vōni trăhūnt|què sīc¦cās mā chinæ | cărī|nas. —OD. I. 4. 10. Trochaic Dimeter and Iambic Trimeter, each imperfect: as, nōn | ĕbūr | něque au reum měā | rĕnīļdět în | dòmō | lăcū|nar.—OD. II. 18. k. Other lyric poets use other combinations of the abovementioned verses. 1. Four Glyconics with one Pherecratic: as, Dianæ sumus în | fidě puellæ ēt půĕri în tĕgrī: Dĭā nām, půĕri în tĕgrī puēl|læquè cănā|mus.-CATULL. 34. 2. Sapphics, in series of single lines, closing with an Adonic: as, An magis diri tremuēre Manes Herculem? et visum canis inferorum fugit abruptis trepidus catenis? quem tulit Pœas; humerisque tela Herculis heres. HERC. ET. 1600-6. 3. Sapphics followed by Glyconics, of indefinite number (HERC. FUR. 830-874, 875-894). 83. EARLY PROSODY. The prosody of the earlier Latin poets differs in several respects from that of the later. NOTE. Before the language was used in literature, it had become very much changed by the loss of final consonants and shortening of final syllables under the influence of accent, which was originally free in its position, but in Latin became limited to the penult and ante-penult. This tendency was arrested by the study of grammar and by literature, but shows itself again in the Romance languages. In many cases this change was still in progress in the time of the early poets. a. At the end of words s was only feebly sounded, so that it does not make position with a following consonant, and is sometimes cut off before a vowel. (This usage continues in all poets till Cicero's time: see §§ 1, 2, 6; 80, 2, note. b. The last syllable of any word of two syllables may be made short if the first is short. (This effect remained in a few words like pută, cavě, valě, vidě.) Thus: : ǎběst (Cist. ii. 1, 12); ǎpŭd tēst (Trin. 196); sõrŏr dictāst (Enn. 157); bonǎs (Stich. 99); dŏmī děæque (Pseud. 37); dŏmí (Mil. 194). c. The same effect is produced when a short monosyllable precedes a long syllable: as, Id ěst profecto (Merc. 372), ĕrit et tibi ĕxoptatum (Mil. 1011), si quidem hercle (Asin. 414), quid est si hōc (Andria, 237). d. In a few isolated words position is often disregarded. Such are, îlle, Iste, Inde, ŭnde, němpe, èsse (?). (Scholars are not yet agreed upon the principle in this irregularity, or its extent.) Thus: ecquis his in ædibust (Bacch. 581). e. In some cases the accent seems to shorten a syllable preceding it in a word of more than three syllables: as in senĕctūti, Syrǎcusae. f. At the beginning of a verse, many syllables long by position stand for short ones: as, ĭdně tu (Pseud. 442); ěstne consimilis (Epid. v. 1. 18). g. The original long quantity of many final syllables is retained. Thus: 1. Final a of the first declension is often long: as, ne epístula quidem úlla sit in aédibus (Asin. 762). 2. Final a of the neuter plural is sometimes long (though there seems no etymological reason for it): as, Núnc et amico prósperabo et géniō meo multā bona faciam (Pers. 263). 3. So also nouns in -or with long stem, either with original r or original s: as, módo quom dicta in me íngerebas ódium non uxōr eram (Asin. 927). íta mi in pectore átque corde fácit amōr incéndium (Merc. 590). atque quanto nóx fuisti lóngiōr hoc próxuma (Amph. 548). 4. So in nouns with vowel lengthened originally by loss of a consonant: as, milēs, superstitēs. 5. So all verb-endings in r and t, where the vowel is elsewhere long in inflection: as, régrediōr audísse mē (Capt. 1023); átque ut qui fueris et qui nunc (Capt. 248); me nómināt hæc (Epid. iv. 1, 8); faciāt ut semper (Pœn. ii. 42); ínfuscabát, amabo (Cretics, Cist. i. 1, 21); quí amēt (Merc. 1021); ut fit in bello capitur alter filius (Capt. 25); tibi sit ad me revísas (Truc. ii. 4, 79). h. The hiatus is allowed very freely, especially at a pause in the sense, or when there is a change of the speaker. (The extent of this license is still a question among scholars, but in the present state of texts it must sometimes be allowed.) 84. RECKONING OF TIME. 1. Date of Year. The year was dated, in earlier times, by the names of the Consuls; but was afterwards reckoned from the building of the City (ab urbe conditâ, or anno urbis condita), the date of which was assigned by Varro to a period corresponding with B.C. 753. In order, therefore, to reduce Roman dates to those of the Christian era, the year of the city is to be subtracted from 754: e.g. A.u.c. 691 (the year of Cicero's consulship) = B.C. 63. 2. The Roman Year. Before Cæsar's reform of the Calendar (B.C. 46), the Roman year consisted of 355 days: March, May, Quintilis (July), and October having each 31 days, February having 28, and each of the remainder 29; with an Intercalary month, on alternate years, inserted after February 23, at the discretion of the Pontifices. The "Julian year," by the reformed calendar, had 365 days, divided as at present. Every fourth year the 24th of February (vi. kal. Mart.) was counted twice, giving 29 days to that month: hence the year was called Bissextilis. The month Quintilis received the name Julius (July), in honor of Julius Cæsar; and Sextilis of Augustus (August), in honor of his successor. The Julian year (see below) remained unchanged till the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar (A.D. 1582), which omits leap-year once in every century. 3. The Month. Dates, according to the Roman Calendar, are reckoned as follows:— a. The first day of the month was called Kalendae (Calends), from calare, to call, that being the day on which the pontiffs publicly announced the New Moon in the Comitia Calata, which they did, originally, from actual observation. - b. Sixteen days before the Calends, - that is, on the fifteenth day of March, May, July, and October, but the thirteenth of the other months, were the Idus (Ides), the day of Full Moon. c. Eight days (the ninth by the Roman reckoning) before the Ides, - that is, on the seventh day of March, May, July, and October, but the fifth of the other months, were the Nonae (Nones, or ninths). d. From the three points thus determined the days of the month were reckoned backwards (the point of departure being, by Roman custom, counted in the reckoning), giving the following rule for determining the date: If the given date be Calends, add two to the number of days in the month preceding, if Nones or Ides, add one to that of the day on which they fall, — and from the number thus ascertained subtract the given date: thus, viii. Kal. Feb. (33-8)= Jan. 25;-iv. Non. Mar. (8-4)=Mar. 4;-iv. Id. Sept. (14-4) Sept. 10. = e. The days of the Roman month by the Julian Calendar, as thus ascertained, are given in the following Table: So June, Sept., Nov. NOTE. Observe that a date before the Julian Reform (B.C. 46) is to be found not by the above, but by taking the earlier reckoning of the number of days in the month. 85. MEASURES OF VALUE. 1. The Money of the Romans was in early times wholly of copper, the unit being the As. This was nominally a pound, but actually somewhat less, in weight, and was divided into twelve unciae. In the third century B.C. the As was reduced by degrees to one-twelfth of its original value. At the same time silver coins were introduced; the Denarius : 10 Asses, and the Sestertius or sesterce (semis-tertius, or half-third, represented by IIS or HS: duo et semis) = 21⁄2 Asses. = 2. The Sestertius, being probably introduced at a time when it was equal in value to the original as, came to be used as the unit of value: hence nummus, coin, was used as equivalent to Sestertius. Afterwards, by the reductions in the standard, four asses became equal to a sesterce. Gold was introduced later, the aureus being equal to 100 sesterces. |