Section 15: Prosody

SECTION XV.

OF PROSODY.

1. LONG vowels and diphthongs may be short, if the following word begins with a vowel or diphthong.

2. But sometimes even a short vowel is made long before a long vowel or a diphthong, by poetical license.

3. A doubtful vowel before another is not necessarily made short.

4. A short vowel before a Mute and a Liquid is either long or short, and sometimes before a Liquid only; as,

— Αὐτοὺς de< ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσι.

5. The letter a is always short in the Superlative Degree; as, σοφοτάτω.

6. Nouns ending in ia having an acute, which makes the last syllable long, have the last but one short; as, σοφία, Μαρία? Except ἀνία, κονία, καλία, ὁρμία.

7. The Privative Particle a in Composition is short; and so are za, ari, eri, bri, duv.

8. U is short in Nouns of many syllables ending in unh and uthv as, γηθοσύνη, βραδύτης, γλυκύτης.

9. A final is short; as, hJ τράπεζα, a table.

10. But it is long in Nouns ending in ea, aa, da, qa in eia, from Verbs ending in euw in ia, except ἀία, μία, πότνια in words of many syllables in aia in Adjectives in eia in Nouns in ra, not having a diphthong before them, as cara<, joy; in the Feminine Articles of the Dual Number; in the Vocative Case of Nouns in av of the First Declension as w+ Αἰνεία in the Dual Number of the First and Second Declension; in poetic Vocative Cases; in the Doric a in the Genitive Case, as tou~ Αἰνεία, for Αἰνείου, of Aeneas.

11. An final short; as, tr>apezan, ἐτυψαν, μέλαν.

12. These are excepted; πᾶν, all, (unless in its Compounds,) Nouns of the Masculine Gender ending in an, Adverbs, words in an of the First Declension, and of the Second, if it hath an acute on the last syllable but one; as, φιλίαν.

13. Ar final is short; as, νέκταρ, nectar; ὀναρ, a dream.

14. But the monosyllables, Κὰρ, a Carian, ψὰρ, a starling, are long: Γὰρ is common.

15. Av final is long.

16. Except Nouns of the Feminine Gender, as, λαμπὰς, a lamp, and many of the Masculine or Neuter: Also Adverbs, Accusative Cases of the Plural Number of the Third Declension, and ἡμέας, σφέας.

17. I final is short; as, μέλι, honey.

18. Except Adverbs and Pronouns increased by a Paragoge, as nuni<~ oujtosi<, made out of e by the Attics; as, ojdi< for oJde<, tauti< for tauta>: Also kri, barley, and the names of the letters xi, pi.

19. In final is short.

20. But Nouns of Two Terminations, as ῥὶν, λῖν, δελφὶν, ἀκτὶν, are long.

21. The letter n is short in Diminutives ending in ion, in Comparatives of the Neuter Gender, in many Adjectives and Substantives in iov as, ἀξιον, βίον.

22. As also in Nouns Possessive, and Nouns which signify matter, ending in inov as, ἀνθρώπινος, λίθινος.

23. Iv final is short; as, πόλις.

24. But it is long in words whose increase is long; and in words of one syllable, the Indefinite τὶς excepted.

25. U final is short; as, su<, δάκρυ, gluku>.

26. But it is long in u=, gru~, mu~, nu~ and in the Third Person Singular of the Imperfect and Second Indefinite of Verbs in mi of the Fourth Conjugation; as, ejdu, ἐφυ.

27. Un final is short, except circumflected words, as, νῦν, now, μῦν words which have two Terminations, or uv long in the Nominative; the First Person of Verbs in mi.

28. Ur final is long; as, to< πῦρ, fire; except in the oblique Cases. 29 Uv final is short: But it is long in κώμυς in words of one syllable, as μῦς in Participles ending in uv, as ζευγνύς and in Nouns which are declined with uv pure. It is either long or short in ἰχθύς.

30. The quantity in the last syllable of the Nominative generally remains the same in the other Cases; as, Τιτᾶν, Τιτᾶνος, Τιτᾶνι.

31. A, the Aeolic increase of the Genitive Case, is long; as, Αἰνείαο, of Aeneas; Μουσάων, of the Muses.

32. A, the increase of the Fifth Declension, is short in words of the Neuter Gender in a, av, ar except ψὰρ, ψαρός.

33. So also in words of the Masculine and Feminine Gender in av in Nouns in y, as, ]Aray, ]Arabov and most words ending in x.

34. And in words of the Masculine and Feminine Gender in ar and lv as, oJ μάκαρ, blessed; hJ a{lv, the sea.

35. An increases anov long; except τάλανος and μέλανος.

36. Auv increases aov short; as, ναῦς, ναός.

37. The increase i is long in Nouns of the Masculine and Feminine Gender which have Two Terminations; as, ἀκτὶς and ἀκτὶν ἀκτῖνος and in Monosyllables; except Δὶς, Διός ὀρνις, ὀρνιθος.

38. The increase i is short in Nouns of the Neuter Gender, in Nouns of the Masculine or Feminine which increase in iov, idov, and itov, without an accent.

39. And in Nouns of the Feminine Gender which have an Acute on ίδος as, hJ πατρὶς, πατρίδος.

40. Also in most Nouns ending in ix and iy as, hJ θρὶξ, τριχός.

41. Monosyllables in uv increase short; as, oJ μῦς, μύος.

42. Also Nouns of the Neuter Gender in u, Nouns penacuted, Nouns that have an Acute on the last syllable, and circumflected nouns ending in uv and ur as, oJ νέκυς, νέκυος oJ μάρτυρ, μάρτυρος.

43. But u is long in Nouns which end both in un and uv as, Φόρκυς and Φόρκυν, Φόρκυνος.

44. Nouns ending in ux and uy increase long; except γρὺψ, γρυπὸς, and γὺψ, γυπός.

45. A doubtful vowel has the same quantity in the Preterimperfect Tense, as well of the Active as of the Passive Voice, of all Moods, and in the Participles, as it hath in the Present; as, κρίνω, ἐκρινον, κρίνομαι, ἐκρινόμην, κρινόμενος the syllable kri being long everywhere.

46. Verbs in άνω have the last syllable but one short, unless they are formed from the future Tense; as, αὐξάνω, from αὐξήσω.

47. Verbs in uvnw have the last syllable but one long in the Present and Preterimperfect Tense; as, μολύνω.

48. Verbs in ύω and ίω have the last syllable but one either long or short.

49. If a doubtful vowel be short in the First Future or First Indefinite, it is also short in the Preterimperfect Tense of the Active and Passive Voice of all Moods; as, γελάω, γελάσω, γεγέλακα.

50. The Third Person Plural of the Preterperfect Tense in asi is always long.

51. So is the Participle of the Feminine Gender of the First Indefinite in asa.

52. The reduplication of Verbs in mi, unless Position hinders it, is short.

53. The letter u of the Fourth Conjugation, in the Singular Number of the Active Voice, is long; but it is short in the Dual and Plural Number of the Passive and Middle Voice.

54. The letter u is short in the Singular Number of the Imperative Mood of Polysyllables; but it is long in words of two syllables; as, κλῦθί meu, ’Αργυρότοξε.

55. The kinds of Verses are nearly the same among the Greeks as among the Latins.