ON THE TROCHAIC AND ANAPÆSTIC SYSTEMS OF TRAGEDY. 79. The Trochaic verse of Tragic dialogue consists of eight feet, wanting a syllable; which were originally all trochees; but in the existing form of the metre, spondees are admitted into the even places, the second, fourth, and sixth. A tribrach, as equivalent to a trochee, is admitted into every place; and an anapæst, as equivalent to a spondee, enters the even places : so that, on the whole, the admissible feet on ordinary occasions are these : The first foot is a trochee or a tribrach; as is also the third, fifth, and seventh. The second foot is a trochee, tribrach, spondee, or anapast ; as also is the fourth and sixth. Examples are, Αὐτὸς ἐξέσωσ ̓ ἐμαυτὸν ῥαδίως ἄνευ πόνου (all trochees). δωμάτων ἥκω πρὸς ὑμᾶς Πενθέως οὐ φροντίσας (spondees in even places). ἀλλὰ πῶς ἠλευθέρωθης ἀνδρὸς ἀνοσίου τυχὼν (tribrach in 6th place). τῷδε πέρι βρόχους ἔβαλλε γόνασι καὶ χηλαῖς ποδῶν (tribrach in 2d & 5th). ἀδικίᾳ γ ̓, ὦ θεοί. Μυκήναις, μὴ ἐνθάδ' ἀνακάλει θεοὺς (tribrach in 1st & 6th). ἀνόσιος πέφυκας, ἀλλ ̓ οὐ πατρίδος, ὡς σὺ, πολέμιος (tribrach in 1st, 5th, and 7th). κἀμὲ παρεκάλεις τί δράσω; τίνα δὲ πόρον ἔχω πόθεν; (tribrach in 2d, 5th, and 6th). οὐδὲ φίλος οὐδεὶς γελᾷ μοι, τὰ δ' Αγαμέμνονος κλύεις (anapæst in 2d). οὐκ ἔχω βωμὸν καταφυγεῖν ἄλλον ἢ τὸ σὸν γόνυ (anapast in 4th). οἵ με τῶν γάμων ἀπεκάλουν ἥσσον', ἀπεκρίνω δὲ τί; (anapæst in 4th & 6th). 80. When a proper name contains two short syllables intercepted between two long ones, as, Ιφιγένεια, Ιππολύτου, it cannot enter the verse regularly: it is allowed to be so introduced as to make any foot a dactyl, except the fourth and seventh. And the same licence is occasionally assumed in proper names which might enter regularly; such as, Πυλάδης, ̓Αχελώος. Thus we find εἰς ἄρ ̓ Ἰφιγένειαν Ἑλένης νόστος ἦν πεπρωμένος· with dactyl in 2d place, πάντες Ἕλληνες, στρατὸς δὲ Μυρμιδόνων οὔ σοι παρῆν. D 81. A tribrach in the seventh place must not be preceded by a spondee or anapæst in the sixth place: thus we might not have ἀνόσιος πέφυκας· ἀλλ ̓ οὐχ, ὡς σὺ, Θηβῶν πολέμιος, ἀνόσιος πέφυκας· ἀλλ ̓ οὐχ, ὡς σὺ, πατρίδος πολέμιος. nor 82. When the first two feet make up entire words not adhering closely, in sense and pronunciation, to the following word (as articles and prepositions adhere to the nouns to which they belong), the second foot cannot be a spondee or anapæst. Thus the line καὶ δάμαρτα τὴν κακίστην ναυστολῶν ἐλήλυθεν is right; but καὶ δάμαρτας τὰς κακίστας ναυστολῶν ἐλήλυθεν would be wrong; for the first two feet make the complete words kai dapaρras, and the second of them is a spondee. But ἢ θανεῖν, ἢ ζῇν, ὁ μῦθος οὐ μακρὸς μακρῶν πέρι is right; though Oaveiv, make complete words, and have the second foot a spondee; for the second coheres inseparably with in sense and pronunciation, and thus the spondee is justifiable. 83. The fourth foot must end with the end of a word; and that word must not be an article, preposition, or other word closely adhering to the next in sense and pronunciation. Thus, ξύνεπι | κεῖσθ ̓ ὑ | μεῖς ἐ ' γὼ δ ̓, ὦν | δρες, δι' ' ὑμᾶς | τύπτο | μαι cannot stand, as the fourth foot closes in the middle of the word vopes. Similarly, εἰ δέ | που πέ | σοιεν ] ἐς τὸν | ὠμὸν | ἐν μά | χῃ τι ] νι is inadmissible, because the fourth foot ends with an article. 84. When the sixth foot ends with a word, it must be a trochee or tribrach, not a spondee nor anapæst; unless the word with which the sixth foot ends be closely connected with the following word, as an article or preposition with a noun; or unless the seventh foot begin with an enclitic, or with a word that cannot begin a sentence. Thus οὐχ ὁρᾷς ; φυλασσόμεσθα φρουρίοισι πανταχῆ is right; but οὐχ ὁρᾷς ; φυλασσόμεσθα φρουρίοισιν πανταχῆ TROCHAIC AND ANAPESTIC SYSTEMS, 27 would be wrong, since the sixth foot ending with the end of a word would be a spondee. But in καὶ σὺ τῶνδ ̓ ἔξω κομίζου τειχέων, ἢ κατθανεῖ, coheres with katoaveî, and the spondee preceding the final Cretic is allowable. Similarly, in πρὸς γενειάδος σὲ, πρὸς σῆς δεξίας, πρὸς μητέρος, the close connection of the preposition with its noun admits the spondee. And in ταῦτα πάντα κατθανοῦσα ῥύσομαι, καί μου κλέος, the enclitic μov at the beginning of the seventh foot allows the spondee for the sixth. 85. The anapæstic system of tragedy consists of verses containing each four feet; of which any one may be an anapæst, a spondee, or a dactyl. Examples are, πîμa otevάxw tî τотe μóx0wv (spondee, anapæst, dactyl, spondee). δεσμοῖς ἀλύτοις ἀγρίοις πελάσας (spondee, three anapæsts). χρείαν ἕξει μακάρων πρύτανις (two spondees, two anapæsts). kal тd Taλaidν Kioσwov éρkos (dactyl, spondee, dactyl, spondee). ζύγον ἀμφιβαλεῖν δούλιον Ελλάδι (two anapasts, two dactyls). 86. The last verse of a system is shorter by half a foot: It usually ends with a spondee preceded by a dactyl, assimilating itself to the close of a dactylic hexameter or heroic verse, Examples are, πολέμου στίφος παρέχοντες ψυχῆς εὐτλήμονι δόξα τοξουλκῷ λήματι πιστούς. Sometimes the final spondee is preceded by another spondee, as in ἵππων τ ̓ ἐλατὴρ Σωσθάνης βέλος ἠλίθιον σκήψειεν. Sometimes the first foot is a dactyl, as in εὔτυκος εἴη δὲ τὰ λῷστα. This verse is called the Paroemiac: it is often preceded by a verse of two feet, admitting the same feet as the rest of the system. 87. To avoid the concurrence of four short syllables, an anapæst is not allowed to follow a dactyl immediately. A few D 2 instances are to be found, in which the second foot is a dactyl, and the third an anapæst; but they are not frequent enough for imitation. A dactyl, in an even place, is seldom found immediately following a spondee. 89. A long vowel or diphthong is sometimes shortened before a vowel at the beginning of the next word: thus we find καὶ ἑλειοβάται ναῶν ἐρέται where respectively the final syllables kai, σai, Taι, Čw are shortened before initial vowels in the following words. This is called Hiatus. 90. In this metre, the last syllable of a verse is not common; but retains its quantity, unless affected by the first letter of the first word in the following line, which acts on the final syllable of the preceding line just as if the whole system formed one long verse continued throughout. Thus a final spondee, or anapæst cannot end with os unless the next line begins with a consonant. But a final dactyl cannot end with os unless the following line begins with a vowel. Again, a final spondee or anapæst cannot end in e, unless the following line begin with ¿,,, or two consonants which lengthen a preceding short vowel. (See Art. 24.) This property is called Evvápeia. But when a verse ends with a vocative case or with an exclamation; when the next verse is given to another character in the dialogue; or at the close of a sentence; we sometimes find that a tribrach is put for an anapæst, or that a hiatus is allowed without shortening the diphthong. Thus, ἄγε νῦν σύ με, παῖ, ἵν ̓ ἂν εὐσεβίας ἐπιβαίνοντες. the vocative maî is allowed to stand unshortened before v. and in ἔσται τι νέον. ἥξει τί μέλος γοερὸν γοεραῖς· the pause at véov allows the tribrach T veòv to stand for an anapæst. DIALECT. THE dialect that must be used in the Exercises is the Attic, the severe and dignified Attic of Thucydides. It must be kept free from the colloquial usages found in the Orators, and the writers of dialogue and comedy. The final deɩktikòv in τουτοΐ, τουτονὶ, κ. τ. λ., κινδυνεύειν in the sense to be likely, άTexv@s as a confirmatory particle, are examples of Atticisms not admissible into the tragic Senarius. On the other hand, a few Ionisms are intermingled with the early Attic of the tragic stage: the termination of the third person plural of the optative mood in από for ντο, as ἐκσωζοίατο for ἐκσώCouro, is allowed; and that of the first person plural in μεσθα instead of μεθα, as ἱέμεσθα for ἱέμεθα : and there occur examples of the substitution of ov for o, and eɩ for e, before liquids, as εἵνεκα for ἕνεκα, δουρί, οὔνομα, μοῦνος, κοῦρος, yoúvara: nor is the doubling of unknown; Sophocles has μέσσος and ἔσσεται. Ὑπὸ and διὰ are met with in the form ὑπαὶ, διαί. But these three last changes must be confined to words for which one has immediate authority; analogy being scarcely admissible when the instances are so few. Indeed it should ever be remembered, that it is the settled practice of the Ancients, and not their occasional deviations, that we should imitate. The voices and tenses in which verbs may be used, in conformity with tragic practice, will be best learned from the Indexes to the Tragedians; that of Beck to Euripides, and those on the plan of that to Eschylus and Sophocles: the same source will furnish the epithets and combinations most suitable for an imitator of the Attic dramatists, and a copious exemplification of the management of particles. Published by W. P. Grant, Cambridge. |