126 127 128 129 130 131 -būs in the dative plural is sometimes long in Pl. (see Peile p. 325), e.g. Merc. 900 aedibus. aedís probat, Rud. 975 ómnibus adséntio. -es in nom. of 3rd decl., with gen. in ětis, itis, idis, is short in Augustan poets; but even they make exceptions, e.g. ariēs, abiēs, paries. In the early language it was long, in compensation for the loss of the stem dental, and the original quantity is perhaps found in Pl., e. g. Aul,519 milés impransus, As. 330 tum igitur tu diués es factus. ēs from sum is always long in Pl. and Ter. (R. 260); e.g. lines 333, 412, 427, 837, 860 of this play. Being an unemphatic word, it was afterwards shortened contrary to the general rule with monosyllables, and in the Augustan poets is always short. The above are instances in which the general tendency to shorten long unaccented syllables, especially final ones, had not in the time of Pl. entirely obscured their original quantity. In the following three instances syllables originally long were afterwards shortened in accordance with the general rule in Latin that a vowel, standing before another vowel or diphthong and forming a separate syllable, is short. fo here the i was long by nature, and is found so in the Augustan poets except in fit (supra § 121), in the imperfect subjunctive fierem etc., and in the infinitive fieri. Some of these forms could not have been used at all in Dactylic verse, others not without elision, if the i had been kept long, and the Dactylic poets consequently shortened it in accordance with the general rule. Pl. and Ter., however, to whose metres this would not apply, sometimes kept it long; thus 998 fierent, 843 fieri, but in 587, 965, 996 fieri. fui: the u in fui and its persons, as well as in other perfects in -ui, was long in the oldest writers, according 132 133 134 to Priscian. Probably these perfects were formed, like so many others, by the addition of -u- to the stem. Ennius has fuui (fu-u-i) annuui genuui, and pluuit occurs often. The consonantal u (=w) was then absorbed in the preceding vowel u, which was thus lengthened, but was subsequently shortened again according to the general rule. In Pl. we sometimes find it long; thus in 262 fuimus, 555 and 633 fuit, in Mil. 1364 fuerim, Men. 63 plūerat. rei: the e in datives of this declension was invariably long (when it did not form a diphthong with the i, § 100) except in rei; rei is found in Pl. Ter. and Hor. Od. III. 24. 64; rē in Pl. and Lucr., and rēz in Pl. Ter. and Lucr. Finally, under Archaic Long Vowels may be mentioned Acheruns, which in Lucr. and Verg. always has the first syllable short (e.g. Lucr. I. 120, 111. 37 ; Verg. Aen. vii. 312), while in Pl. it is long in nearly 20 passages, including lines 689, 998, 999 of this play), short in two, Poen. 831, Most. 498. These two instances are explained (§§ 137, 140) by the peculiarity of Pl. scansion which is noticed next. LONG VOWELS SHORTENED. We now come to the chief difficulty in Plautine scansion; numerous Iambic, Trochaic and Anapaestic lines occur in which a long syllable stands after a short one and forms with it (as is evident from the scansion of the rest of the line) either the arsis or the thesis of a foot. Now in these measures neither arsis nor thesis can contain an iambus; the most that either of them can contain is one long syllable or two short ones. The question therefore arises, are we to scan this iambus as one long syllable or as two short ones? The first alternative is that which is adopted by the advocates of the 'correption' theory, who hold that the two syllables are to be run together and pronounced as one; some of the objections to this theory have 35 136 been already pointed out in § 115. The other and better view is that the long syllable is to be shortened and the iambus scanned as a pyrrhic. Two explanations of this shortening have been given. (i) The first is that the early dramatists sometimes neglected the law of position. Now in the first place this fails to explain the shortening of vowels long by nature, a large proportion of the instances; and in the second place, even with regard to vowels long by position it is no explanation at all, but simply restates the difficulty. These vowels are shewn by the metre to be short, whereas by the law of position they should be long; it is no explanation, but only a paraphrase, to say that in such cases the law of position is neglected. What is wanted is an explanation why it is so, and why the natural length of other syllables is neglected also. (ii) The second explanation refers this shortening to the influence of the ictus metricus (§ 39); an influence which the early drama inherited from the old Saturnian Rhythm, but which disappeared with the complete adoption of the Greek method of versification (cf. § 79). Now the metrical ictus, although a different thing from the natural accent of a word, very generally coincides with it, and indeed takes its place in the rhythmical recitation of verse, and it is therefore not unnatural to attribute to the ictus in verse an effect similar to that produced by the accent in ordinary pronunciation. And the effect of accenting a syllable in ordinary speech is to throw the unaccented syllables on each side of it into the shade, as it were; with the common result of weakening or shortening them if long, and often causing them to disappear if short. The following words1 illustrate this effect of the accent, both backwards and forwards :--c(a)lámor, discip(u)lína, pur(i) 1 Peile, Gr. and Lat. Etym. p. 331. As to final syllables, which were never accented in Latin, see §§ 116 sqq. 137 138 gáre, teg(u)méntum, nó(ue)ram, quaés(i)tor, uinc(u)lum, uól(i)tis, illius, hómines, plátěa, etc. The second explanation, then, attributes to the ictus metricus a similar influence, forwards and backwards. For it has been already stated that the iambus which has to be shortened to a pyrrhic always forms the arsis or thesis of a foot, and a moment's consideration will shew that if it forms the arsis the ictus must fall on its first syllable (~−), and if it forms the thesis the ictus must fall on the first syllable of the following arsis (--). Consequently the long syllable which is to be scanned as short stands either just after or just before the syllable receiving the ictus and (according to this theory) is thereby shortened. This will be made clearer by the following instances, taken mainly from Brix Trin. p. 15-18. The syllables forming the iambus which has to be shortened to a pyrrhic are printed in ordinary type. (1) Forward influence of the ictus: Trin. 60 Namque énim tu, credo, me inprudentem obrépseris. 902 Áb Ipson istas áccepisti? S. E mánibus dédīt mi Ps. 154 Numquam édepol uostrum dúrius tergum érit quam terginum hóc meumst. Mil. 696 Tum óbstetrix expóstulauit mécum, párům missúm sibi. Most. 572 Immo ábí domum! Verum hércle dico, abí domum. uiáticum. Sti. 98 Víros nostros, quibus tú nos uoluisti ésse matres fámilias? 99 Bónus ut aequomst fácere facitis, quóm tamen absentés uiros. 139 Trin. 851 Pól hic quidem fungino generest: cápite se totum tegit. Bac. 187 Salútem tibi ab sodáli solidam núntio. Trin. 630 Quód ěst facillumúm facis. LY. Quid id ést? LE. Amico iniúriam. Mil. 1138 Néminem pol uideo nísi hunc quem uolumus conuentum. P. Ét ego uos. Curc. 698 Béne et pudice mé domi habuit. T. Haúd uoluntate id sua. Ter. Heaut. 505 Quam súa? An eo fit quía in re nostra aut gaúdio. Trin. 969 Quód ǎ me te accepisse fassu's. S. Ábs te accepisse? C. Íta loquor. Poen. 619 Sed quíd huc tantum hominum incédunt? Ecquidnam ádferunt. Sti. 237 Adibo ad hominem. G. Quis haec est quae aduorsúm uenit. 140 Trin. 664 Ín occulto iacébis, quom te máxume clarúm uoles. Trin. 318 Quid exprobras, bene quód fecisti? Tibi fecisti, nón mihi. Pers. 109 Sapis múltum ad Genium. T. Séd ecquid id meministi, ere. Ter. Heaut. 551 Si quíd huius simile fórte aliquando euénerit. 1Poen. 831 Quóduis genus ibi hóminum uideas, quási Acheruntem uéneris. 1Most. 498 Viuóm me accersunt ád Ăcheruntem mórtui. 141 Am. 761 Dédisse dono hodié, qua te illi dónatum esse díxeras? Sti. 532 Nós potius onerémus nosmet uícìssatim uoluptátibus. 142 (2) Backward influence of the ictus :— Mil. 1061 Dabitúr, quantum ipsus pretí poscet. P. Talentúm Rud. 895 Sed uxór scelesta me ómnibus seruát modis. 143 Trin. 456 Ferĕntárium esse amicum inuentum intéllego. Mil. 1091 Lepidé factumst: iam ex sérmone hoc guběrnábunt doctius pórro. 1 V. sup. § 133. |