V«* • •3 *. . . < vv / # ..^.-*o <2L *• • * * A & ••"•• >, <^* .'£fe', \>,/ . A '. ^ v ^ %^B// <^ ^ -.VW* . v ^ v <* ''TV^ ^0 i* .•*••• ^c o^ *o . » * A L^ y »'*s.^ <* ♦*T7i ^°^ 4©* ^ *o,T* A * .. " * •fife' ** •* * w ^ *♦ • P v V * .-ttta. \/ $Sgfi. %<* .-ttfeft % O, *© • ft * 4*> ELEMENTS OF GREEK PROSODY AND METRE, COMPILED FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES, ANCIENT AND MODERN. BY THOMAS WEBB. LONDON: PRINTED FOR BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1819. C. BalilwiD, Printer, few Bridge Street London. PREFACE. IN offering the Elements of Greek Prosody and Metre to the Public, the Author's chief aim is to facilitate the progress of those stu- dents who are about to commence an acquaint- ance with the Greek poets ; and, should the present work tend in the smallest degree to assist them in overcoming the difficulties they have to encounter, his object will be com- pletely attained. As it is not for the metrical Scholar, but for the metrical Tyro, and for him only, that these pages are intended, the Author has, according *to the most approved method, written his rules in English. Care has been taken to collect all the laws of the nine principal metres from the best au- thorities, both ancient and modern ; but should IV PREFACE. any defects in the Work present themselves, the Author asks and claims candid treatment for his errors, which shall, if pointed out, be corrected in a future edition, should the public approbation call for one. ELEMENTS OF GREEK PROSODY AND METRE. x ROSODY, in its common acceptation, treats of the quantity of syllables in the construction of verses. In the ancient grammarians, Trgoo-wMu applies also to accent. The vowels £, o, are naturally short, n and w are na- turally long ; but a, *, v, are called doubtful, being long in some syllables, and short in others. The quantity of syllables is determined by various methods. I. POSITION. A short or a doubtful vowel before two consonants or a double letter, is almost always long ; as, 7roXXoig $' lC0? 7T0\S(JI,01Q. II. a. 165. .... TaAai'oviJao at/axrof. II. (3. 5v6. Long vowels and diphthongs are mostly short at the end of words, when the next word begins with a vowel. w£>»? Iv Eia^ivvj, on, II. |3. 4*71. yptTiPU) ivi o'lXUy Iv Agyii. • • • IL a. 30. III. CONTRACTION. All contracted syllables are long ; as, ifa for Ufa. uvroig o (ruAa 7rw(AM pa^rr^iK. ... II. £ 116. Jexto /caei/ (fa. II. |3. 420. Trccgufxi F axcov. . . . Soph. Antig. 276. Two vowels forming two syllables are frequently contracted into one in poetry, as in ^ucrsw, II. a. 15. where fw form a short syllable. This contraction sometimes takes place, though the vowels be in different words ; as, y\ ov% aA(?. II. e. 349. IV. DIALECT. « in the Doric dialect is long ; as, ivrochv & ywa, Theocrit. 1. 34. .... x£xXuo-/tAfvov OujiAw yi [aevoivocix, TroXtpi^uv. II. t. 164. It is also long in the third person of verbs in /**, as T»0£a have the PROSODY AND METRE. 5 same quantity as in the Ionic uru (vopiw, vojoucrw),but they are not the same in the middle voice, cZywiovpoii, oiywvt- G-opui. Dawes, MisceL Crit. p. 81. V. DERIVATION. Derivatives for the most part follow the quantity of the words from which they are derived ; as, n jw-av cxZr dyogy vixciq. ... II. (3. 370. .... XE^a^nora vUy. II. y\. 312. VI. COMPOSITION. Compound words generally follow the quantity of their primitives ; as, .... eh auy£a xuhAoi/ lA»Vi? e£ aAo? IaOcov. II. v. 44. Except ^a^ and k«£. Genitives in afo$ are long, except roixxvoq and ^ixavoq. 5 Tirava? Tr^^ff. . . . Horn. Batrach, 251. PROSODY AND METRE. 7 . . • • IvtHgyzoc, Tlctvoq kkovsiv. Ep. 1. 4. u is long in the dative plural of nouns which have the penultima of the genitive singular long; as in yiyagi$) Kami?, 7rXo>cajw,K, papain?, crura^t?. * is long in monosyllables ; except t)?, and A»$, A)og ; as, Iva Ta]t*») <$Va 7racal a7riiv£a yatav. Dion. 768. Except 51/, TU7T1ia'G|U,a», t'i'XVTr&y 6T£TU7T£iV« PROSODY AND METRE. 9 The doubtful vowels a, i, v 9 are short in the first aorist, fourth conjugation, when they are short in the future ; so in verbs in aw they are also short, unless f or a vowel precedes a, when they are always long both in the aorist and future ; as, .... y£\oipot.\)Q<;. 2. In proper names, and names of stones, in ams, urig ; as, EvQgdrns, 'Ax* 771 *' 'A, oa-TPaxiov, JouAa^iOV, fogariov, &C. Except Gw^axtov, oloixiov, and such as are derived from words that have the penultima long. Verbs in »w have the penultima sometimes long, sometimes short. Also those in iw ; as, *■/*«, ovoZ Koixiov 'Exxrivwv 7tq\v. Eurip. Bacch. 483. The penultima of verbs in wu 9 u^w, and u^w, is mostly long ; as, tGww, xvow 9 (3^yp^w, thus ^a^i-u^o^ai ; but in the tenses derived from the future it is short ; as, xvgw 9 [ACZPTVOEOO, &C. v in polysyllables in wy is short ; also in some nouns in vtyis, as, yjiOoo-wu, plating ; in diminutives in vXog 9 as, (*iy.xv\q$, e^ wruXoff, &;c. ; and in numerous adjectives in vvog and u^o? ; as, yri$QQg 9 fiXovvgog. It is short in verbals in u«.* except ciyxvgoc, yi(p\jpoc 9 oXvpoc. Such words as have a consonant preceding p ; as, ay^a, irirpoc, dxs(rTPcc 9 (paifya. Except ocvv)g. Except monosyllabic nouns, and such as have two ter- minations ; as, x)g 9 dxr)g 9 foxqiiq. Also nouns in *& in- creasing in the genitive ; as, o%vig 9 y.Ug 9 x^ipri?. y final is short ; as in cAiruv ; and in the imperfect and second aorist of verbs in up ; as, vg final is long ; as, trZo, poigrvg, ^l J Iambus 6su .... one short and one long. o v Trochaeus .... rap* . . . one long and one short. PROSODY AND METRE. 17 , ^ Tribrachys . . . . . 7T0tefA0$ . . . three short. 03 1 Molossus .... . , ivftoM . . . . . three long. Dactylus . . . . . . a'af/jicrcc . . . one long and two short. 0? \)%V\0Q]/ il^iVY[V ^POCC. Euiip. Tl\ 500. — - 1 w w w I - -|U _|w_ l w _ Tribrach in 3d place. wrrXwji \oati(Tfi.a,T ddoxifA oXftioiq lyziv. Eurip. Tr. 501. Tribrach in 4th place. iroXiv Ts $ti%u tMe fjka.y.a.DiwxiOKv. Eurip. Tr. 309« w - I w - I - -|« wwfw-|w- PROSODY AND METRE. 25 Tribrach in 5th place. ctxXov? rvpdvvovg ccurov ovrtx. fiucrtXsa,. Eurip. Helen. 519. This metre also admits a spondee in the odd places, i. e. the first, third, and fifth. Spondee in 1st, 3d, and 5th places. n (Titottqie'iv xdv 7T£(Tw aoirocq i'/fiv. Eurip. Tr. 498. m Eurip. Heracl. cura Elmsleii, v. 284. (>vyw* Eurip. Tr. 480. Dactyl in 3d place. pvtwi/ lye Jwju,aTWv. Eurip. Tr. 499* ~ |w -I- w w |w _ I - _|W_ Anapaest in 1st place. npiXori^iocg ttou pri i/«i£l TrufiivQiq r J aVoj3A£7rro? jui-ra. The tragic writers, therefore, never use an anapaest but in the first place of a senarian, except in proper names, when it is admitted in every place except the last : they very rarely write a verse whieh wants the caesura ; and scarcely ever neglect the pause in the fifth place, which is often a spondee, formed of two hy- permonosyllabic words, as in this, 'ArAas | o %#A | yJot | woi/ rovfc XzfiriToi y oq ^itrag. Cycl. 343. Anapaest in the 5th place. Mfyuq i^oc^oc^ocg xoti [xsyccv (pxxeXov %v\uv. Cycl. 242. r Anapaest in 1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th places. g xaTa(3a jca-ra(3a xx7oi'3oj aiVcov yzvopiv'A, Menander. A Table of Feet allowable in a tragic iambic tri- meter, or senarian. 12 3 4 5 6 W _ w-^w _ V _ w - w - U» \J - " - The double lines denote the places of the caesura. Iambic Dimeter Acatalectic, Fn systems of iambic dimeter acatalectic the dactyl is PROSODY AND METRE. 29 not often admitted, the feet mostly used being the tri- brach, the spondee, and the anapaest. Systems of pure dimeters are not found in the tragic writers, but in the lyric and comic poets they very frequently occur. The last syllable of an iambic dimeter, like that of a trochaic or an anapaestic, is not common, but is subject to the same rules of quantity as the other syllables in the verse, each final syllable having its proper measure through the system, which should always be concluded with a catalectic verse. Tiq TYiV ILltyOLh'W U7r£$7l$0XZV 1015 tv\<; pvAi/ido; ; TO TCvfiXlQV - - I u - I \J - I w- TO 7T£pV. twi/ vZv yvvcaxwv HywzXqttyiv, <&iZi$pci$ $* oi.7r(x% ) Qt.7roi?. Soph. (Ed. Col. 1694. Kafytoff £,aoA£ rwh yoiv. Eurip. Phoeniss. 647- Trochaic dimeter acatalectic consists of two trochaic metres, or four trochees. A spondee is admitted in the second and fourth places, and a tribrach in every one. This metre occurs with catalectic verses interspersed through the strophe and antistrophe of Aristoph. Aves, 1470. PROSODY AND METRE. 33 \cAauT£ (piXouri Qoivtov, Mschyh Pers. 680. ed. BlomfiekL 5 38 ELEMENTS OF GREEK -ffischyl. Suppl. 544. Burneii T, £X 1 u^ia? sppovrKS £7T cc- ^schyl. Persae, 962. Burneii Tent. Dactylic tetrameter acatalectic consists of four dactyls, and admits a spondee in the first place.* dptpiyvoi HQtrifio(,v iroo 'yoifj.oov TivW. Soph. Trach. 504. Dactylic pentameter consists of five dactyls, and admits a spondee in every place : in the Eumenides of iEschylus there is a system of pentameters, which closes with trochaic dimeter catalectic. i TocxopEVoci aura, yocv jotn/uOouctv oiri^oi jtAorj r £7TKp9ovoi? 7ro^o? Trochaic dim. cat. Dactylic pentameter hypercatalectic consists of five dactyls and a syllable ; as, Boo->cc^£Voi Xocyivocv IgMvpovot (pig pari yiv- iEschyl. Ag. 119. Burneii. Dactylic hexameter consists, if pure, of six dactyls, or of five dactyls with a cretic in the last place ; as, avrofAOii, a.pa feiXcciccv. Eurip. Suppl. 288. An impure dactylic hexameter has a spondee or a * Professor Dunbar says this verse admits a spondee in the first and second places, sometimes in the third. According to Dr. Bur- ney's arrangement of the choral metres of iEschylus, a spondee is admitted in the fourth place. — See Dunbari Prosodia Graeca, p. 36. and Burneii Tentamen, lxi.and Ixii. PROSODY AND METRE. 39 trochee in the last place, and admits a spondee in every- one except the fifth ; as, aAAa 0£oi yeysraif xAust' ev to Smociov ^ovrsg. ^sdryl. Suppl. 77. HEROIC VERSE. An heroic verse, which is dactylic hexameter, is com- posed of six feet, the last of which must be a spondee, the fifth is almost always a dactyl ; the first four may be either dactyls or spondees, as the following scheme shows, :: i_. i:_ i:_ i ~r: This verse admits the caesura in various places ; but that which falls on the penthemimeris, or first syllable of the third foot, was most used by Homer and the ancient writers, as in the following verse, fjwitiy cizih, Ota, JlYiXmoihco 'Ap£tA>ioff. II. dc. 1. where the caesura takes place on, or as others say after, the last syllable of §£<*. Another position of the caesura is after a trochee in the third foot, as in the first verse of the Odyssey, ccvfya, jCtot ivvtict Mov %%&, tbt^jkXov has the first syllable short. The second syllable is short in fofegufo od - 5 - 448 - In Od. 8, 92, the last syllable of xocroi is short before ^»Ta. In Od. 12, 99, r* is short before *g*r\. Od. 14, 529, & is short before PROSODY AND METRE. 41 X^ccTvav, and some others, on which he offers con- jectures. In proper names, and such words as could not be used in other situations, the syllable may be short ; as, 'A^oftm, irgoxtiptva, and the like. The hiatus of vowels, so unpleasant to the ear in pronunciation, and contrary to the usage of the Greek language, occurs often in the poems of Homer. To get rid of this defect (for such must the hiatus always be) various methods have been suggested, but none answers the purpose designed so completely as that proposed by Dr. Bentley, who affixed the iEolic digamma before the vowels, by which expedient the disagreeable effect of the hiatus was destroyed, and the language restored to its original purity. I shall now give a few examples : 'H^wwt/j ocvtqv; S\ IXoogioc tzv^s xui/£cr7rvXXe$ xsTtqu rat? EAi>c«i/iari roig //,u The first, or iambic part, admits all the variations of the first place of a tragic iambic trimeter, or senarian ; as, 6 PROSODY AND METRE. 47 Iambus. www Tribrach. - l - Spondee. w * - Anapaest. Dactyl. The second, or trochaic part, receives all the varia- tions common to the second place of a tragic trochaic tetrameter; as, Trochee, Tribrach. Spondee. u ** - Anapaest. In the impure form a dactyl is admitted in the second or trochaic part, and a diiambus or a ditrochee is received for the pure antispastus ; as, « - - - Diiambus. Ditrochee. Dactyl in 2d part. In this metre an hiatus of long vowels and diph- thongs is sometimes admitted, and the feet in the strophe do not always correspond exactly with those in the same place in the antistrophe : sometimes a trochee answers to a spondee, and vice versa a spondee to a trochee. Interjections and exclamations are not always included in the metre ; as in this verse from Gaisford's Hephaestion, p. 301. Dochmiac verse, or antispastic monometer hyperca- 48 ELEMENTS OF GREEtf talectic, consists of an antispastus and a final long syl- lable ; it admits all the variations above described, and is frequently used by Aristophanes, Pindar, and the tragic writers ; as, Ti pgiic/AMc ; jEsch. Sept. Th. 2. Mum. T. xxi. ri y yt^atfi oxgioero-otv. 300 See also Soph. (Ed. Col. 670, 706, 1242, 1243 ; Antig. 109, 843 ; Ajax, 631, 632 ; Eurip. Phoeniss. 214, 220, 235 ; Alcest. 986, 988, 989, 990 ; Iph. Aul. 1059 has a tribrach in 1st part of the antispastus. Antispastic glyconic metre is formed of an antispastus and an iambic syzygy. The antispastus admits all the variations described in pherecratic verse, and the metre is called glyconic, with an iambus, a spondee, or a tro- chee, according as either of these feet occupy the first place of the antispastus. The following scheme shows the variations of this metre: Ato? , tk ofyoi 7r^o(T£7rTa p d, «7T7r« ^Jey oL'Tnfy'rou oiypiov opnErov* GREEK PROSODY AND METRE. 61 »/ui/ §\ tooSe fAiu ctpuTo; ccXXov *%£*? *AaJoi/, OiXXoV J* 0L\JOLQV 9 Ijr ZTZOCd $* ZTEOOV [ACITYIS. 15 koc'i xev q iTrgotg, lac, tKgaviv. Ouk Antispastic dimeter. %cz'iv Antispast. Dimeter. so ^stz'^m Xo&%Svtx Choriambic dim. cat. Ow yxg sttiv sV«6A|<5 Pherecratic. tfXoutov Tt^aq xtfiov uv&l The same. XxxTitravTi piyocv Jl'y.xc, Pure gly conic. /3» ( m/ov, st'g uQxmai hm9 Pherecratic, beginning with a trochee. iEscHYL. Coeph. 817. Bur neii Tent. Epode. K«i tots & 7t\oZtv\ .,,.,,«,.,..., Dochmiac. 7 64* ELEMENTS OF GREEK dapuTw Amqgwr, Trochaic dim. cat. dijAw odgioa-TccTxv, The same. if/jou xgacTov yeKTuv Antispast. dim. cat. ve/juev fjut^a-cyjiv xoter Antispast. dim. acat. rot £' iv, 'pov, t[*ot Antispast. monometer. xi°$oc, lt,i\tTcu roP' x- Choria. clim. acat. impure. rx P ei7roL Trochaic Hemiolius. Awr. 2w & 6x^, fyoo'Sra. vfa rs 9 r«W, Trochaic dimeter. irxTgo$ uu^etv, xxi xigxl- Trochaic dim. cat. 9w f7Tiu,o[Aj^5, iv&ttv « . . . . Antispast. dimeter. w Dactylic pentameter. JEschyl. Ag. 988. Burned Tent. Antistrophe. TlivOopcti $* ctw o[*[jijaiT6)v Trochaic dim. cat. vca-rovy etuTO[AccgTV$ av The same. To» £' o&nv Aw- Trochaic monometer. £*ss oujuc, v[*»a$t7 , Trochaic hemiolius. tifivov 'Egmuo$ oiuTo£$eiKTo$ iraSiv Dactylic pentameter. K 66 ELEMENTS OF GREEK Qvpoc, ou to %u'.< \x uv Trochaic dim. cat. tariff .w 6^aA^ov The same. iEscHYL. Supplices, 1017. Burneii Tent. 'Xxo&lotrdt £' oxxSol Ionic a minore dimeter. fjuivoq. Aho$ $s 7foMv 7w- The same. h UtXxvyZv i%ira > puP The same. tri NsUov Ionic a min. monometer. sff o%ox<; a-ifiaptv upm? Ionic a min. anaclomenon. ^Eschyl. Sept. Theb. 727. Burn. Tent. Antistrophe. E£»05 $ xA-^eas j!7»v«- , Glyconicpolyschematistic. fjcu XxXvfios *Zx.v8ay unoi- Choriamb, dim. impure. xo§, KTixvuv %gii[A>otTo$sii- The same, pure. toss fn*£o§, co^ocp^v .x$, ofrotretv uv Chor. mon. hypercat. or adonean. nxl (pdiptvovq xxTi%itv y Dactylic dim. hypercat. rofy fjjiyxXwv xiHav ctpoigovs Logacedic. PROSODY AND METRE. 67 I now present the student with a praxis, in which he is expected to mark the quantity of the syllables, to divide them into feet, and denominate the metres with- out the assistance afforded in the preceding examples. Soph. (Ed. Tyr. 463. ex. ed. Brunch. Strophe 1. T»V, ovriv a ^unrinriw. ctppnr dp farm rsXi(TO(,vrx 465 (pOlVlMKTl 'XJZflClV ; oooa, viv ocsXXccScov Wttoov gQsVOCPUITEPOV (pvyOt, 7TQ$/ » > a / v t ~ •>/ » J / OUT £l/tfad OOWJ/, OUT 07TKTOO. tj a(Jats, # tw IIoAu|3oU ^WOJ E^iT*, 490 V / A/ » >/ » OUT£ 7T0(,P01V£V 7T0T lyOOy ovn rocvvv not 'lpoc§ov, ttpqi; otou p£07]iPiToti 9 XPHTli; OUK £(TTiV a- TcoL^&pityuiv dvyp. ccXX ou ttot £ywy av, rgw idoif* 00001/ 'ilTOq, (A£fA(pQfJt.lVOOV oiv x.otTOt,cw pavfm?, 530 outs yag 7rv^og 9 out cciTTgm v7t£(>T£()ov (3£Ao?, ► ro7ov^ to raj 'A^o^iTa? iWiv Ijc %££wi/ 535 ''E^wj o Aio? 7ra7V. Antistrophe 1. rf AXXw?, aAAw? 7ra£>a t 'AAOt|3oU T £7rl IluOtOl? TS()£fJl.VOl<; fiovroiv (povov 'EAXa? as^ft <$*], E^wm Je tov Tvgccwov dvtywv, 540 * Ionic a majore dim. cat. ; the first word not being included in the metre. See note on this verse. 6 70 ELEMENTS OF GREEK TOV T0C$ n.(p goo it ot<; QiXtoItoov OaAa^wi/ TrtgQovToc, vtoil hoi Trottyoc; iqvtoc , oiov avaxTa Aa^rov, r£. Antistrophe 2. Out£ y«£ QLvfya<; 7tct' »7rwXXv 7roA£^«- 72 ELEMENTS OF GREEK (ttuo t £>uxAy]c£To n^- ivy.iv, lirzi vr^aroy £u £7roJax£t* Strophe 3. eAG' £7r' axw^ov xo^u/xpov 0- %Gou ? xooxofionrTov 7tq$q$ si- £«? (pCcXUQQV 7TlUdV. ^acrxs 7T£^wv axaxe Antistrophe 3. C>7rw$ xaivoxoTa y.Aiw v£& f" ap£»> 0*. ^Tuyta «ya£ Ti£ £7t' a- p^Xu? 7T£7T0TaTai. V£0AC6i- \ V fiavHE Trsguv uxocxe Aoc^7\ IolvoT. Epode. *t V V >/ #t, at, at, oci } w 7roXu>tActuT£ (piKoitri Gai/ow' PROSODY AND METRE. 73 rt TQL$£, AvVOtToif $VVa£f, (tvazq avoce<; 9 The following Poem is from " Sapphonis Fragmenta," as printed in the " Museum Criticum/' vol. i. p. 3. nOIKIAO$PON, dUv»r 'AtyoXr*, ir oh Aiog $oXo7rX6aB 9 Xi TCOtVlOty 0Ujt/,cV aKhoc tuk) tvv , on ttotoc HKTsgoorx roig Ipois ctv$oi$ uiovrou iroXXoiq £XA.U£$j TTOCT^oq T£ $6[A0V Xl7To7uQgi 9 Trsgi yoig [azXoliv&s 7TUX1/0& Oil/fUVT£? 7TTE£ CC7T Ug&VU) \J£- (>£VS Mot [Atvcrw. cuirtrot, £a ^ri &%£T, aAAa $u>arti 9 al $\ jw»j piAf?, Taj^£Co? 0iAat octt fioovroii ax.(x.^o(,vroTro$oq ^£u rsoci yag u^oci V7TQ 7TOlKl\Q(pQ(>p,\yyO$ CCQl$0C{ iXi 47TOV 7lV£(AO£