The Clausula in Annniauus Marcellinus. 195 



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b) Quantity neglected 

 makes position does not make position total 



These tables require very little comment. At first glance one 

 might be tempted to include III ;' (V among the clausulae in which 

 position is sought, inasmuch as it has its monosyllable long by 

 position in 75 per cent of the cases. But the ratio is purely natural, 

 for in I /3 {sol aestimatur) and in III ^ t {poterant nee cavcri) the 

 monosyllable makes position to precisely the same extent. 



Our investigations have shown us that under certain circum- 

 stances Ammianus made a distinct effort to avoid positional leng- 

 thening in the first unaccented syllable and to secure it in the 

 second. It should be mentioned further that in 28 cases of form II 

 with C caesura {vivus exustus est) and 6 of IV with /> caesura {fiden- 

 tius absolutus est) the next-to-the last syllable uniforml}' fails to make 

 position. This fact, however, may be quite unintentional, for even 

 if no attempt were made to avoid position here it would seldom 

 occur.^ Consequently it is hardly on a par with the phenomena 

 that we have been discussing. We may note, though, that the 

 syllable is long by nature 6 times in II and once in IV. When it 

 is not in caesura {semper innocui etc.), it is bound to be short as 

 a result of the penultimate law. 



In forms III and IV the third and fourth unaccented syllables 

 show no trace of any attention to position. But the fact that they 

 are so often both long {cernebatur) and so rarely both short {tribu- 

 entes) appears to be indicative of a slight abnormality which I should 

 refer to Ammianus' desire to avoid the hexameter close. 



these two peculiarities is so rare, tlie occurrence of both together in so 

 many cases cannot be set down to mere coincidence. It points to a 



futile desire to avoid the hexameter tag — ^-^ --^ . 



' The combinations of participle and auxiliary that would naturally 

 occur most frequently do not give position {tractns, tracta, tractum est : 

 tracti^ tractae^ tracta sunt). 



