Section 11: Prosody

SECTION XI.

OF PROSODY.

1. PROSODY is the art of making verses.

2. A short syllable is marked thus, a; a long one thus, a.

3. A vowel before two consonants, or a double consonant, is long; as parens, gaza: And so is a diphthong, or a contracted vowel; as, foedus, cogo, for coago.

4. But prae before a vowel is short; as, praeire.

5. A vowel before another is short; as, Deus.

6. Except in alius, (Genitive,) diei, faciei, fio, fiunt, fiebant, etc.

7. A short vowel, before a mute and a liquid, is either long or short; as patris, or patris.

8. Monosyllables are long; except the enclitics, que, ne, ve.

9. And also vir, quis, is, es; bis, cis, ter; nec, per, in an, vel, and those which end in b, d, or t.

10. A final declined is short; as, musa; but a is long in indeclinable words, (as, frustra; except puta, ita, quia, eja, postea,) in the Ablative Case, (as, fama,) in the Vocative of Greek Nouns, (as, Aenea,) and in the Imperative Mood; as ama.

11. E final is short; as, mare; except in Monosyllables, in the First and Fifth Declension, (as, ode, die,) in Imperatives of the Second Conjugation, (as, doce,) and in Adverbs from Adjectives of three Terminations; as, docte; except bene, male.

12. I final is long; except in necubi, nisi, quasi, sicubi, sicuti, and in the Dative and Vocative of Greek Nouns.

13. O final is common; as pono, or pono; except in monosyllables, in Datvies and Ablatives, (as, filio,)and in Adverbs derived from Nouns, (as, merito,) and Nominatives which make their Genitives in us, (as, Dido,) and Gerunds in do; as amando.

14. U final is long; as penu. Y is short; as, moly.

15. B, d, l, r, t, final is short; except er, having eris, and Hebrew words; as, David, Daniel, Gabriel, Job.

16. C, n, final, are long; except some Greek Nouns in on and en, having inis; as carmen, carminis; and donec, hic, hoc; forsan, tamen, and nostin, for nostine.

17. As final is long; except as having adis.

18. Es final is long; but es having itis, and es in the Nominative Plural of Greek Nouns of the Third Declension, increasing in the Genitive Case, are short; as, daemones.

19. So it is in Neuters of the Third Declension; as, cacoethes; and in the Second Person of the Verb sum and its compounds; as, potes, etc., and in penes.

20. Os final is long; except Genitives in os.

21. Os is also short in Nouns of the Second Declension: So it is in arbos, compos, impos, otis, os ossis.

22. Is, us, ys, final, are short; except is in Plural Nouns, (as, musis,) in Nouns having itis, inis, entis; and in the Second Person Singular of Verbs which form the Second Plural in itis.

23. So it is in glis, vis, sis, and their compounds, quamvis, possis.

24. Except also us in Monosyllables; us having odis, udis, uris, utis, untis; and in the Genitive or Plural of the Fourth Declension.

25. Cor, mel, fel, and the final syllables of mihi, tibi, sibi, ubi, ibi, uti; of words ending in inta, (as, quadraginta,) or Compounds ending in par or pos, (as, impar,) are common.

26. The Second Declension increases short; as gener, generi.

27. A, al, Masculine, ar, as, adis, increase short; as, thematis, Hannibalis, caesaris, lampadis.

28. But ar, Neuter, an, as, atis, ax, increase long; except in jubar, nectar.

29. Al, Neuter, an, as, atis, ax, increase long; as animalis, Paeanis, aestatis, pacis: Except anatis, maris.

30. Er, es, ex, ecis, icis, and igis, increase short; as, carceris, militis, necis: Except vibex, vibicis, and es in Greek Nouns; as, magnes, magnetis; and locupletis, mercedis, quietis, veris, and haeredis.

31. El, en, increase long; except en, inis; as carminis.

32. Il, is, increase short; as, vigilis, pulveris: Except gliris, and Genitives in itis: In, ix, long; as, delphinis, felices; except picis, and some others.

33. O increases inis short, enis and onis long; as, hominus, sermonis.

34. Ol, os, ox, increase long, and or Masculine or Feminine; except bovis, compotis, impotis, and praecocis; arboris, memoris.

35. On, sometimes long, sometimes short; or, Neuter or Greek, short.

36. Ul, ur, us, ut, ux, increase short; as, consulis, corporis, femoris, capitis, ducis: Except us in udis, uris, utis, (as, paludis,) and in the Comparative Degree; as, melius, melioris.

37. But these are short, pecudis, Liguris, intercutis.

38. Yr and ys increase short; except ys, ynis; as trachynis.

39. S impure commonly increases short; as. inops, inopis.

40. A, e, o in the increase of Plurals, are long; as, pennarum, dierum, ventorum, duabus, ambobus. I, u, short; as, sermonibus, artubus.

41. Preterites and Supines of two syllables have the former long; as, veni. Except bibi, dedi, fidi, steti, tuli; itum, situm, datum, ratum, satum, statum.

42. Preterites doubling the first syllable have the two fromer short; as, tetigi.

43. A, e, and, o in the increase of Verbs, are long; as, amamus, legemus, amatote.

44. E in beris, and before ram, rim, ro, is short; as, amaberis, amaveram, amaverim, amavero.

45. I in the Third Conjugation is short; as, legimus: In the Fourth, long; as, audimus.

46. U is short; as, volumus; except before rus in the Participle; as, amaturus.

47. Participles of two syllables commonly have the former long; as, notus.

48. Participles from avi and ivi have the last syllable but one long; as, amatus, auditus.

49. And so have Participles in utus; as, solutus.

50. A vowel before do, go, le, lis, men, nus, na, rus, tim, is long:

51. Except Verbals in bilis, Materials, and Derivatives from Adverbs in inus: Also ligo; anus, bonus, dominus, genus, manus, onus, sonus; columen; gena, fiscina, fuscina, machina, pagina, sarcina, trutina; ferus, herus, merus, torus; statim, tamen.

52. The last vowel but one is also long in words ending in anis, atus, ela, etus, eta, etum, itis, osus, orus, udus, unis, utus; except canis, latus, lateris, status, sitis.

53. I, u, before or after r, is long; except Meditatives in urio: Also, caerulus, nurus, querulus, tribus; hirudo, hirundo; rudis, rudens; rigo, furo, rigeo, rubeo, vireo.

54. O, u, before m is long; except coma, comes, cucmis, cumulus, crumena, domo, domos, homo, humus, incolumis, sumus; glomero, tumeo; numerus.

55. U before c is long; except cucumis, volucer.

56. A compound or derived syllable generally preserves the quantity of the word from which it is derived.

57. There are other exceptions to these rules, which observation will teach.

58. The common feet in Latin verse are, a Spondee, which is two long syllables, as, puros; an Iambic, which is a short and a long, as manum; and a Dactyle, which is one long and two short, as, scribimus.

59. The less common feet are, a Trochee, which is a long and a short syllable, as, panis; an Anapest, which is two short and a long, as, tuleras; Tribrachys, which is three short, as, dominus; and a Procleusmatic, which is four short.

60. A long verse, commonly called an Hexameter, consists of six feet. The first four of these may be either Dactyles or Spondees; the fifth must be a Dactyle, the last a Spondee; as,

Tityre | tu patu | lae recu | bans sub | tegmine | fagi.

61. But sometimes the fifth is a Spondee; then it is called a Spondaic verse.

62. A short verse, commonly called a Pentameter, consists of five feet; viz., two either Dactyles or Spondees with a long syllable, and two Dactyles with a long syllable; as,

Nullus ad | amis | sas | ibit a | micus o | pes.

63. An Asclepiad Verse consists of a Spondee, a Dactyle, a long syllable, and then two Dactyles; as,

Mecae | nas ata | vis | edite | regibus.

64. A Sapphic consists of a Trochee, a Spondee, a Dactyle, and two Trochees. After three of these verses follwos an Adonic, consisting of a Dactyle, and a Spondee; as,

Inte | ger vi | tae scete | risque | purus

Non e | get Mau | ri jacu | lis nec | arcu

Nec ve | nena | tis grave | da sa | gittis

Fusce pha | retra.

65. A Phaleucian verse consists of a Spondee, a Dactyle, and three Trochees; as,

Hic est | quem legis | ille | quem re | quiris.

An Iambic properly consists of six Iambics; as,

Suis | et ip | sa Ro | ma vi | ribus | ruit.

66. But sometimes it has more, sometimes fewer, feet; and frequently Spondees or other feet in the place of Iambics.

67. It matters not what quantity the last syllable of a verse is of.

68. The last vowel of a word is cut off, if h or another vowel follow; and so is m, with the vowel going before it: Only heu and O! are never cut off.