94 



ROLFE— THE USE OF DEVICES FOR 



are especially common, although the marking of the same case-endings 

 in successive words is rare. We find hac cmtate, statusque res 

 p(ublica), Sabinfs veniens. Combinations of three words are less 

 frequent : Anco Marcio, Priscus ; hoc ipso consulari ; securam atergo 

 pacem. We have one group of four words : superbt mores invfsi 

 civitati, but longer ones do not seem to occur. There are fewer indi- 

 cations of a use of the marks for dignity or emphasis than in the 

 M, A. Here perhaps belong civitas, which occurs four times, and 

 civili, Djvus twice, res publica four times. We have a single long 

 vowel marked in the neighborhood of short vowels, where the proper 

 observance of the quantity is especially important, in Oceanus (also 

 marked in the M. A.), utilitate, ornatissima. The most frequent use 

 of the marks seems to be in the indication of case-endings, prefixes 

 and suffixes : coloniarum, bonorum, atergo, res publica, approbare, 

 tenuere, tradere, translatum, diUgo, d/ducta, exactus, invisi. It must 

 be remembered, however, that in several of these words the vowel 

 which is marked is the only long vowel ; also, in all these categories, 

 that there may be other reasons for the marking of a vowel than those 

 which determine the category. The marking of tenuere seems to be 

 in accordance with Quintilian's rule, but in approbare it is unneces- 

 sary. 



A few words are marked in all their occurrences : civitas, Divus, 

 casus (twice with two marks), fines; perhaps less stress is to be laid 

 upon dicere and dixi, translatum and translata, venisti and veniens. 

 The use of the marks to indicate punctuation is much less frequent 

 than in the M. A. 



It may be convenient to arrange the distribution of the marks in 

 the two inscriptions in tabular form : 



M.A. 



S.C. 



M 

 C . 



►J "3 

 a o 



■s> 



.399 



498 



