The principles of Latin grammar; comprising the ... - Essan.org

:;|:§ 164 PROSODY.—METRE. 321THE CiESURAL PAUSE.856.— Ccesura, in metre, is the separation, by the ending of a word,of syllables rhythmically or metrically connected.It is of three kinds, 1. Of the foot; 2. of the rhythm; 3. of the verse.1st. Caesura of the foot occurs when a word ends before a foot is completed; as in the second, third, fourth, and fifth feet of the following lineSilves- |trem tenu- |I Mu- sam medi-| [taris a- |vena.2d. Caesura of the rhythm is the separation of the arsis from the thesisby the ending of a word, as in the second, third, and fourth feet of thepreceding line.This has sometimes the effect of making a final short syllable long, bythe force of the ictus; as,Pecton- |bus inhi-|ans spi- |rantia|consulit|exta.Note.—This effect is not produced by the Caesura of the foot, nor of theverse, unless they happen to coincide with the caesura of the rhythm.3d. The Caesura of the verse is such a division of the line into twoparts, as affords to the voice a pause or rest, at a proper or fixed place,without injuring the sense by pausing in the middle of a word.857.—The proper management of this pause is a great beauty in cer-In peDtameter verse,tain kinds of verse, and shows the skill of the poet.its place is fixed ; in hexameter and other metres, it is left to the poet.When it occurs at the end of the third half foot, it is called trimimerisof the fifth, penthemimeris — of the seventh, hephthe?nimer?s.858.—The situation of each foot in a verse is called its place.§ 164. DIFFERENT KINDS OF METRE.The canons, or rules of the different kinds of metre used in Latin poetry,are the following859.— 1. IAMBIC METRE.1. A pure iambic line consists of iambic feet only ; as,Phase- |bus II-||le quern |vide- Jtis hos-||Here the single line marks the end of the foot ; the doubleline, the end of the metre ;and the Italic syllable, the caesuralpause.2. A mixed iambic line admits a spondee into the first,third, and fifth places ; and again in all these a dactyl or ananapaest is sometimes admitted for a spondee, and a tribrachfor the iambus.3. This verse occurs in all varieties of length, from thedimeter catalectic to the tetrameter.14*