could form a verse. And conversely, if the anacrusis was wanting, the Saturnius could extend itself to a triplet of tripodia. We We may apply the same principle to the choriambic metres in Horace, which differ only in the number of imperfect trochees which follow the dactyls in this logaœdic rhythm. Thus we have nothing but dactyls in Sic te díva po téns Cypri: || we have one imperfect trochee or dactyl in Sic fratrés Helenaé || lúcida | sídera; || and two imperfect feet of the same kind in Tu ne quaésie rís || scíre ne fás || quém mihi | quém tibi. || The cretic bears the same relation to the trochaic dipodia that the choriambus does to the dactylic dipodia, or logaœdic verse; and it was in consequence of this reduction of the trochaic dipodia to the cretic that the ancient writers on music were enabled to find a rhythmical identity between the dactyl and the trochaic dipodia (see Müller, Liter. of Greece, I. p. 228). It appears to me that this view of the question is calculated to settle the dispute between those who reject and those who maintain the termination of a line in the middle of a word. If every compound foot is a sort of conclusion to the rhythm, many rhythms must end in the middle of a word; and therefore such a cæsura cannot be in itself objectionable. We can hardly take any strophe in Pindar without finding some illustration of this. As a specimen, I will subjoin the first strophe of the IX. Olympian ode, with its divisions according to the rhythm: τὸ μὲν | Αρχιλόχου μέλος || φων εν Ολυμπία || καλλίνικος ὁ τριπλόος κεχλαδώς || ἀλλὰ νὶν ἑκαταβόλων Μοι σᾶν ἀπὸ τόξων Διά τε | φοινικοστερό παν σεμνόν τ' ἐπίνειμαι τοι οίσδε βέλεσσιν τὸ δή ποτε | Λυδὸς | ρως Πέλοψ | ἐξάρατο | κάλλιστον | ἔδνον | Ιπποδαμείας. [ In general, it seems unreasonable to call a number of syllables in which the ictus occurs more than once by the name of "foot" (pes); for the foot, so called, is defined by the stamp of the foot which marks the ictus, and therefore, as above suggested, the half-Saturnius would be called tri-pudium, because it consisted of three feet. For instance, if 'Apxiλóxov μέλος had no ictus except on the first and fourth syllables of Αρχιλόχου we might scan it as two dactyls; but if, as the analogy of -vâev 'OXvμñía would seem to indicate, it had an ictus on the last syllable of μéλos, we must scan the words as a dactyl + trochee + ictus. This method of considering the Greek metres is exemplified in the Prosody of the Complete Greek Grammar. Lond. 1848. have instances of both practices in the old Latin translation of an epigram, which was written, probably by Leonidas of Tarentum, at the dedication of the spoils taken in the battles of Heraclea and Asculum (B. c. 280, 279), and which should be scanned as follows: Quì ántedhác invícti | fúvére víri | páter óptime Olýmpi || Hòs égo in púgna víci || Niebuhr suggests (III. note 841) that the first line is an attempt at an hexameter, and the last two an imitation of the shorter verse; and this remark shows the discernment which is always so remarkable in that great scholar. The author of this translation, which was probably made soon after the original, could not write in hexameter verse, but he represented the hexameter of the original by a lengthened form of the Saturnius, and indicated the two penthemimers of the pentameter by writing their meaning in two truncated Saturnians, taking care to indicate by the anacrusis that there was really a break in the rhythm of the original pentameter, although it might be called a single line according to the Greek system of metres. To return, however, to the epitaphs of the Scipios. The scansion of the lines, which I have adopted, is sufficiently indicated by the metrical marks placed over the words. It is only necessary to add a few explanatory observations. With the exception of a. 2, 3, b. 3, and c. 7, every line begins with an anacrusis, or unaccentuated thesis; and it seems to be a matter of indifference whether this is one long or two short syllables. The vowel i is often pronounced like y before a vowel, as in Lúcyus (a. 1), Lúcyom (b. 3), dyális (c. 1), brévya (c. 2), ingényum (c. 3), útyer (c. 4), grémyu (c. 6), Scípyo (ibid.). And u is pronounced like w in c. 2. The rules of synaloepha and ecthlipsis are sometimes attended to (as in a. 6), and sometimes neglected (as in b. 5, c. 4). The quantity of fuisse and víro' in b. 2, may be justified on general principles; for fuisse is properly fuvisse, and viro is written veiro in Umbrian. But there is no consistency in the syllabic measurement of the words in these rude The lost original may have been as follows: τοὺς πρὶν ἀνικήτους, πάτερ αἰγλήεντος Ολύμπου, lines. Facile, in c. 5, makes a thesis in consequence of that short pronunciation which is indicated by the old form facul (Fest. p. 87, Müller). As all the other verbs in epitaph a. are in the perfect tense, it seems that subigit and abdoucit, in the last line, must be perfect also. Indoucimus is perhaps a perfect in the Tiburtine inscription (1. 10): "postquam senatus audivit, tanto magis-indoucimus ;" and subigit was probably pronounced subigit. The beginning of b. seems to have been the conventional phraseology in these monumental nenias. The sepulchre of A. Attilius Calatinus, which stood near those of the Scipios at the Porta Capena (Cic. Tusc. Disp. I. 7, § 13), bore an inscription beginning in much the same way: Hònc oíno ploírumé co|séntiónt géntes. Populí primáriúm | fúísse vírum. (Comp. Cic. de Finibus, II. 35, § 116; Cato M. 17, 61). The Columna Rostrata, as it is called, was found at the foot of the Capitol in the year 1565. Its partial destruction by lightning is mentioned by Livy (XLII. 20); and it was still standing, probably in the existing copy, when Servius wrote (ad Virgil. Georg. III. 29). It refers to the well-known exploits of C. Duilius, who was consul B.C. 260, A.U.C. 494. This inscription, with the supplements of Ciacconi, and a commentary, was published by Funck, in his treatise de Orig. et Puer. L. L. pp. 302, sqq. It is here given with the restorations of Grotefend (Orelli, no. 549). [C. Duilios, M. F. M. N. Consol advorsum Poenos en Siceliad Sicest]ano[s socios Rom. obsidioned crave]d exemet leciones r[efecet dumque Poenei maximosque1 macistratos lecionumque duceis ex novem castreis exfociunt Macel[am opidom opplucnandod cepet enque eodem mac 1 As it is said that maxumus was the prevalent form before Cæsar's time, this more recent spelling may indicate that the inscription is not in its original condition. [istratod bene r]em navebos marid consol primos § 22. The Silian and Papirian Laws, and the Edict of the Curule Ediles. Festus has preserved two interesting fragments of laws, which are nearly contemporary with the Columna Rostrata. The first of these is the Lex Silia de publicis ponderibus, which was passed in the year B. C. 244, A. U. c. 510. Festus s. v. Publica pondera, p. 246: "Publica pondera [ad legitimam normam exacta fuisse] ex ea causa Junius. ...[collegi]t quod duo Silii P. et M. Trib. pleb. rogarint his verbis: Ex ponderibus publicis, quibus hac tempestate populus oetier solet, uti coaequetur" sedulum", uti quadrantal vini octoginta pondo siet; congius vini decem p. siet; sex sextari congius siet vini; duo de quinquaginta sextari quadranta siet vini; sextarius aequus aequo cum librario siet; sex dequimque librari in modio sient. (4) Si quis magistratus adversus hac d. m. pondera modiosque vasaque publica modica, majora, minorave faxit, jusseritre" fieri, dolumve adduit quo ea fiant, eum quis rolet magistratus" multare, dum minore parti familias taxat, liceto; sive quis im sacrum judicare voluerit, liceto." (8) The Latinity of this fragment requires a few remarks. (1) coæquetur. In the Pompeian Inscription (Orelli, no. 4348) we have: mensuras exæquandas. (2) Sedulum. Scaliger suggests se dolo m. i. e. sine dolo malo. But sedulo or sedulum itself signifies "sine fraude indiligentiæve culpa" (Müller ad l.), and the law refers to the care and honesty of those who were to test the weights and measures. For sedulus, see Döderl. Syn. u. Et. I. p. 118. (3) "Nihil intelligo nisi librarius qui hic significatur sextarius frumenti erat." Müller. (4) Sex dequimque sex decimque, the qu being written instead of c. (5) The editions have jussit ve re, for which Müller writes jussitve; Haubold (Monumenta Legalia) proposes jusseritve, "propter sequens re;" and I have adopted this reading on account of the word faxit, which precedes. (6) Quis volet magistratus. Tab. Bantin. Osc. 12. Lat. 7. (7) Dum minore parti familias taxat. Compare the Latin Bantine Inscription, 1. 10: [dum minoris] partus familias taxsat. Cato, apud Aul. Gell. VII. 3: "Quæ lex est tam acerba quæ dicat, si quis illud facere voluerit, mille nummi dimidium familia multa esto?" The abl. parti (which occurs in Lucretius) and the genitive partus (comp. Castorus in the Bantine Inscription, ejus, cujus, &c.) depend on multare and multam, which are implied in the sentence. For taxat, see Fest. p. 356. These passages show the origin of the particle dumtaxat, which is used by the classical writers to signify "provided one estimates it," "estimating it accurately," "only," "at least," "so far as that goes," &c.1 (8) Im = eum. Fest. p. 103. Cf. The Lex Papiria de Sacramento, which is to be referred to the year B.C. 243, A.U.C. 511, is thus cited by Festus s. v. Sacra 1 It is scarcely necessary to point out the absurdity of the derivation proposed by A. Grotefend (Ausf. Gramm. d. Lat. Spr. § 124): “duntaxat aus dum taceo (cetera) sat (est hoc)!" |