JlXCURSUS ON OLD IRISH METRIC. 89 



DonC anmain 10 



tuc cobair, tuc comdiibiad 

 in uair techta don talmain. 



Co daingen 



ar cend m^ anma ernaides 



tair co n-ilmilib aingel. 15 



A m^tlid, 



for bith cham claen cosnumach 

 tair dom cobair dartrib. 



Ni tarda 



dinsium fora n-abraim-si, 20 



/ cein mairer nim fargba ! 



Not togaim, 



gura saera m^ anmain-si, 



mo conn, mo ceill, mo cholaind. 



A chaingnig, 25 



a choscuraig, cathbuadaig, 

 a marbad Anchrist ai^iglig. 



The foregoing remarks on the metre of oiir poem may require some explanation 

 after the new views on Irish metric recently brought forward by Professor Zimmer in 

 the second Heft of his Keltische Studien, where he endeavours to estabhsh the position 

 that Old-Irish poetry, like Modern-Irish poetry, must be read by word accent. I do 

 not believe that many students of Irish poetry will share his views, yet, as the number 

 of such persons is very limited, I may possibly by refuting them render a good service 

 to philology generally. 



Zimmer's position is that in Irish, as in Teutonic, poetry word accent and metrical 

 accent are identical. This he says on p. 159. But almost in the same breath he modifies 

 his statement, laying down the new rule that any syllable except verbal prefixes 

 (not infixed pronouns) immediately preceding the syllable bearing the 

 principal accent may have the metrical ictus. This is something very different 

 from his first position. We cannot speak of accentuating poetry when we have to 

 read, as Zimmer shows in the hymn which he scans, do cach 1. 17, ;/ biu 26, innd 

 cloen, nd noeb 10, frid chorp 32, z cetaidchi 32. And if in the one hymn which he 

 analyses verbal prefixes immediately preceding the syllable with the principal accent 

 really never have the metrical accent, this can only be accidental. For I maintain 



10. dominL,, 11. comdignad\^. 14. cenn^L,. 15. co/tnL,. 16. wi/td h. 



17. cam costixxmach L. 18. tar after which le has been erased daririb L. 20. dinsim L. 



21. inceinl^. 22. mo iogaim h. 24. colamd L. 26. coscoraigL,. 27. ancrist 

 amlaiil a aingilfinltt L. 



N 



