392 Mr MONRO, ON A METRICAL 



■verse you get an inert unrhythmical mass. Again owing to certain exceptions to the general 

 rules of Latin accentuation we find verses in which accent and ictus coincide throughout, and 

 yet the rhythmical movement is smooth and easy, as in this of Virgil : 

 Sanguine adhuc campique ingentes ossibus albent, 



and the following from Lucretius : 



Nee potuisset adhuc perducere saecla propago. 

 Nunc hue nunc illuc in cunctas undique partis. 

 Nunc hinc nunc illinc abrupti nubibus ignes. 



Others too without such exceptional accents are simple enough in their rhythmical move- 

 ment ; as these of Virgil, 



Funera nee cum se sub leges pacis iniquae. 

 Omnia jam vulgata. Quis aut Eurysthea durum, 



and this of TibuUus (Lygdamus), 



Non ego firrous in hoc, non haec patientia nostra, 



and these two consecutive verses of Lucretius, 



Tam manet haec et tam native corpore constant, 

 Quam genus omne quod hie generatim rebus abundat. 



What shall we say of the following excellent verse of Virgil, • 



Quid loquor ? aut ubi sum ? qUaS m€ntem insauia mutat ? 



in which accent and ictus agree throughout, and at the same time also disagree in the first 

 three places? Ot this from Lucretius, 



Cum metus aUt dolor est et cum jam gaudia gliscunt, 



in which accent and ictus agree throughout, and at the same time disagree in the first, second 

 and fourth places ; and the third foot is made up of the enclitic est and the atonic or proclitic 

 et ? In this case however I will not vouch for the fact that cum, aut, cum, jam had all dis- 

 tinct accents : I believe they had to Lucretius and Cicero, not to Servius and Priscian. The 

 whole history of the language proves that atonies went on increasing in number, until they 

 had reached quite an inordinate amount at the time when Latin was passing into its Romance 

 daughters. This would seem to be the main cause of the total disappearance of so many of 

 the most serviceable Latin particles from these dialects. This simultaneous coincidence and 

 contradiction between the two would seem indeed to be a strong ground for assuming that 

 the former has no direct influence whatever on the rhythm. Movements like Quantus Athos 

 aut quantus Eryx, Jrma viri ferte artna vocat must of course occur perpetually. 



Sometimes indeed the poet will by peculiarity of rhythm designedly produce a peculiar 

 effect, and accent and ictus will agree in all places as in these verses of Virgil : 



Saucius ora ruitque implorans nomine Tumum. 



Impius haec tam culta novalia miles habebit 



But this agreement is surely accidental. 



