The History of Roman Literature Part 42

[25] Dactylic poetry is not here included, as its progress is somewhat different. In this metre we observe: (1) That when a dactyl or spondee ends a word, the natural and metrical accents coincide; _e.g.--omnia, sunt mihi, prorumpunt_. Hence the fondness for such easy and natural endings as _clauduntur lumina nocte_, common in all writers down to Manilius. (2) That the caesura is opposed to the accent, _e.g.--arma virumque cano | Troiae | qui_. These anti-accentual rhythms are continually found in Virgil, Ovid, &c. from a fondness for caesura, where the older writers have _qui Troiae_, and the like. (3) That it would be possible to avoid any collision between ictus and accent, _e.g.--scilicet omnibus est labor impendendus et omnes: inveterascit et aegro in corde senescit_, &c. But the rarity of such lines after Lucretius shows that they do not conform to the genius of the language. The correspondence thus lost by improved caesura is partially re-established by more careful elision. Elision is used by Virgil to make the verse run smoothly without violating the natural p.r.o.nunciation of the words; _e.g.--monstrum horrendum informe_; but this is only in the Aeneid. Such simple means of gaining this end as the Lucretian _sive voluptas est, immortali sunt_, are altogether avoided by him. On the whole, however, among the Dactylic poets, from Ennius to Juvenal, the balance between natural and metrical accent remained unchanged.

[26] Most of the verses extant in this metre will be found in Wordsworth's _Fragments and Specimens of Early Latin_.

[27] A good essay on this subject is to be found in Wordsworth's _Fragments_ p. 580, _sqq._

CHAPTER III.

[1] Scipio quoted Homer when he saw the flames of Carthage rising. He is described as having been profoundly moved. And according to one report Caesar's last words, when he saw Brutus among his a.s.sa.s.sins, were _kahi se teknon_.

[2] The reader will find them all in Wordsworth.

[3] Brut. xviii. 71, _non digna sunt quae iterum legantur_.

[4] Ep. ii. 1, 69.

[5] Liv. vii. 2.

[6] 19, 35. The lines are--

"Etiam purpureo suras include cothurno, Altius et revocet volueres in pectore sinus: Pressaque iam gravida crepitent tibi terga pharetra; Derige odorisequos ad certa cubilia canes."

In their present form these verses are obviously a century and a half at least later than Livius.

[7] Livy, xxvii. 37.

[8] Gell. xvii. 21, 45.

[9] See page 46.

[10] The reader may like to see one or two specimens. We give one from tragedy (the _Lycurgus_):

"Vos qui regalis corporis custodias Agitatis, ite actutum in frundiferos locos, Ingenio arbusta ubi nata sunt, non obsita;"

and one from comedy (the _Tarentilla_), the description of a coquette--

"Quasi pila In choro ludens datatim dat se et communem facit; Alii adnutat, alii adnictat, alium amat, alium tenet.

Alibi ma.n.u.s est occupata, alii percellit pedem, Anulum alii dat spectandum, a labris alium invocat, Alii cantat, attamen alii suo dat digito literas."

[11] The _Hariolius_ and _Leo_.

[12] Mil. Glor. 211.

[13] Brut. 19, 75.

[14] If immortals might weep for mortals, the divine Camenae would weep for Naevius the poet; thus it is that now he has been delivered into the treasure-house of Orcus, men have forgotten at Rome how to speak the Latin tongue.

CHAPTER IV.

[1] See Livy, vii. 2.

[2] The most celebrated was that erected by Scaurus in his aediles.h.i.+p 58 B.C., an almost incredible description of which is given by Pliny, N.H.

x.x.xvi. 12. See Dict. Ant. _Theatrum_, whence this is taken.

[3] A temporary stone theatre was probably erected for the Apollinarian Games, 179 B.C. If so, it was soon pulled down; a remarkable instance of the determination of the Senate not to encourage dramatic performances.

[4] Done by Curio, 50 B.C.

[5] _Primus subselliorum ordo._

[6] Otho's Law, 68 B.C.

[7] See Mommsen, Bk. iii. ch. xv.

[8] See prol. to Andria.

[9] Quint. x. 1, _Comoedia maxime claudicamus_.

[10] Hor. Ep. ii. 1, 170.

"At vestri proavi Plautinos et numeros et Laudavere sales: nimium patienter utrumque Ne dicam _stulte_ mirati."

[11] De Off. i. 29, 104.

[12] iii. 3, 14.

[13] This process is called contamination. It was necessitated by the fondness of a Roman audience for plenty of action, and their indifference to mere dialogue.

[14] Cic. de Sen. 50.

[15] ii. 2, 35.

[16] Poen. v. 1.

[17] Plautus himself calls it Tragico-comoedia.

[18] We find in Donatus the term _crepidata_, which seems equivalent to _palliata_, though it probably was extended to tragedy, which _palliata_ apparently was not. _Trabeata_, a term mentioned by Suet. in his _Treatise de Grammat._, seems = _praetextata_, at all events it refers to a play with national characters of an exalted rank.

[19] _E.g._ trahax, perenniservus, contortiplicati, parcipromus, prognariter, and a hundred others. In Pseud. i. 5; ii. 4, 22, we have _charin touto poio, nal nam, kai touto dae_, and other Greek modes of transition. Cf. Pers. ii. 1, 79.

[20] One needs but to mention forms like _danunt_, _ministreis_, _hibus_, _sacres_, _postidea dehibere_, &c. and constructions like _quicquam uti_, _istanc tactio_, _quid tute tec.u.m_? _Nihil enim_, and countless others, to understand the primary importance of Plautus's works for a historical study of the development of the Latin language.

[21] De Opt. Gen. Or. 1; cf. Att. vii. 3, 10.

[22] "in eis quas primum Caecili didici novas Partim sum earum exactus, partim vix steti.

Perfeci ut spectarentur: ubi sunt cognitae Placitae sunt"