transcriber's note: phonetic characters are represented by the following symbols: [^1] = raised "1", etc. [e] = inverted "e" or schwa [oe] = oe ligature character ['x] = any letter "x" with acute accent [=x] = any letter "x" with macron [)x] = any letter "x" with breve [=xy] = any pair of letters "xy" with joining macron, except [=oe], [=ae] = oe, ae ligature characters with macron ['oe], ['ae] = oe, ae ligature characters with acute accent and [)xy] = any pair of letters "xy" with joining breve, except [)ae], [)ae], [)oe], [)oe] = ae, ae, oe, oe ligature characters with breve _s.p.e. tract no. iv_ the pronunciation of english words derived from the latin by john sargeaunt with preface and notes by h. bradley correspondence & miscellaneous notes by h.b., r.b., w.h.f., and editorial _at the clarendon press_ mdccccxx on the pronunciation of english words derived from latin [this paper may perhaps need a few words of introduction concerning the history of the pronunciation of latin in england. the latin taught by pope gregory's missionaries to their english converts at the beginning of the seventh century was a living language. its pronunciation, in the mouths of educated people when they spoke carefully, was still practically what it had been in the first century, with the following important exceptions. 1. the consonantal _u_ was sounded like the _v_ of modern english, 2. the _c_ before front vowels (_e_, _i_, _o_, _æ_, _oe_), and the combinations _t[)i]_, _c[)i]_ before vowels, were pronounced _ts_. 3. the _g_ before front vowels had a sound closely resembling that of the latin consonantal _i_. 4. the _s_ between vowels was pronounced like our _s_. 5. the combinations _æ_, _oe_ were no longer pronounced as diphthongs, but like the simple _e_. 6. the ancient vowel-quantities were preserved only in the penultima of polysyllables (where they determined the stress); in all other positions the original system of quantities had given place to a new system based mainly on rhythm. of this system in detail we have little certain knowledge; but one of its features was that the vowel which ended the first syllable of a disyllabic was always long: _p[=a]ter_, _p[=a]trem_, _d[=e]us_, _p[=i]us_, _[=i]ter_, _[=o]vis_, _h[=u]mus_. even so early as the beginning of the fifth century, st. augustine tells us that the vowel-quantities, which it was necessary to learn in order to write verse correctly, were not observed in speech. the latin-speaking schoolboy had to learn them in much the same fashion as did the english schoolboy of the nineteenth century. it is interesting to observe that, while the english scholars of the tenth century pronounced their latin in the manner which their ancestors had learned from the continental missionaries, the tradition of the ancient vowel-quantities still survived (to some extent at least) among their british neighbours, whose knowledge of latin was an inheritance from the days of roman rule. on this point the following passage from the preface to ælfric's latin grammar (written for english schoolboys about a.d. 1000) is instructive:- miror ualde quare multi corripiunt sillabas in prosa quae in metro breues sunt, cum prosa absoluta sit a lege metri; sicut pronuntiant _pater_ brittonice et _malus_ et similia, quae in metro habentur breues. mihi tamen uidetur melius inuocare deum patrem honorifice producta sillaba quam brittonice corripere, quia nec deus arti grammaticae subiciendus est. the british contagion of which ælfric here complains had no permanent effect. for after the norman conquest english boys learned their latin from teachers whose ordinary language was french. for a time, they were not usually taught to write or read english, but only french and latin; so that the englishmen who attempted to write their native language did so in a phonetic orthography on a french basis. the higher classes in england, all through the thirteenth century, had two native languages, english and french. in the grammar schools, the latin lessons were given in french; it was not till the middle of the fourteenth century that a bold educational reformer, john cornwall, could venture to make english the vehicle of instruction. in reading latin, the rhythmically-determined vowel-quantities of post-classical times were used; and the roman letters were pronounced, first as they were in french, and afterwards as in english, but in the fourteenth century this made little difference. in chaucer's time, the other nations of europe, no less than england, pronounced latin after the fashion of their own vernaculars. when, subsequently, the phonetic values of the letters in the vernacular gradually changed, the latin pronunciation altered likewise. hence, in the end, the pronunciation of latin has become different in different countries. a scholar born in italy has great difficulty in following a frenchman speaking latin. he has greater difficulty in understanding an englishman's latin, because in english the changes in the sounds of the letters have been greater than in any other language. every vowel-letter has several sounds, and the normal long sound of every vowel-letter has no resemblance whatever to its normal short sound. as in england the pronunciation of latin developed insensibly along with that of the native tongue, it eventually became so peculiar that by comparison the 'continental pronunciation' may be regarded as uniform. it is sometimes imagined that the modern english way of pronouncing latin was a deliberate invention of the protestant reformers. for this view there is no foundation in fact. it may be conceded that english ecclesiastics and scholars who had frequent occasion to converse in latin with italians would learn to pronounce it in the italian way; and no doubt the reformation must have operated to arrest the growing tendency to the italianization of english latin. but there is no evidence that before the reformation the un-english pronunciation was taught in the schools. the grammar-school pronunciation of the early nineteenth century was the lineal descendant of the grammar-school pronunciation of the fourteenth century. this traditional system of pronunciation is now rapidly becoming obsolete, and for very good reasons. but it is the basis of the pronunciation of the many classical derivatives in english; and therefore it is highly important that we should understand precisely what it was before it began to be sophisticated (as in our own early days) by sporadic and inconsistent attempts to restore the classical quantities. in the following paper mr. sargeaunt describes, with a minuteness not before attempted, the genuine english tradition of latin pronunciation, and points out its significance as a factor in the development of modern english. h.b.] * * * * * it seems not to be generally known that there is a real principle in the english pronunciation of words borrowed from latin and greek, whether directly or through french. in this matter the very knowledge of classical latin, of its stresses and its quantities, still more perhaps an acquaintance with greek, is apt to mislead. some speakers seem to think that their scholarship will be doubted unless they say 'doctrínal' and 'scriptúral' and 'cinéma'. the object of this paper is to show by setting forth the principles consciously or unconsciously followed by our ancestors that such pronunciations are as erroneous as in the case of the ordinary man they are unnatural and pedantic. an exception for which there is a reason must of course be accepted, but an exception for which reason is unsound is on every ground to be deprecated. among other motives for preserving the traditional pronunciation must be reckoned the claim of poetry. mark pattison notes how a passage of pope which deals with the barrier treaty loses much of its effect because we no longer stress the second syllable of 'barrier'. pope's word is gone beyond recovery, but others which are threatened by false theories may yet be preserved. the _new english dictionary_, whose business it is to record facts, shows that in not a few common words there is at present much confusion and uncertainty concerning the right pronunciation. this applies mostly to the position of the stress or, as some prefer to call it, the accent, but in many cases it is true also of the quantity of the vowels. it is desirable to show that there is a principle in this matter, rules which have been naturally and unconsciously obeyed, because they harmonize with the genius of the english tongue. for nearly three centuries from the reformation to the victorian era there was in this country a uniform pronunciation of latin. it had its own definite principles, involving in some cases a disregard of the classical quantities though not of the classical stress or accent. it survives in borrowed words such as _[=a]li[)a]s_ and _st[)a]mina_, in naturalized legal phrases, such as _n[=i]s[=i] prius_ and _[=o]nus probandi_, and with some few changes in the westminster play. this pronunciation is now out of fashion, but, since its supersession does not justify a change in the pronunciation of words which have become part of our language, it will be well to begin with a formulation of its rules. the rule of latin stress was observed as it obtained in the time of quintilian. in the earliest latin the usage had been other, the stress coming as early in the word as was possible. down to the days of terence and probably somewhat later the old rule still held good of quadrisyllables with the scansion of _m[)u]l[)i][)e]r[)i]s_ or _m[)u]l[)i][)e]r[=e]s_, but in other words had given way to the later quintilian rule, that all words with a long unit as penultimate had the stress on the vowel in that unit, while words of more than two syllables with a short penultimate had the stress on the antepenultimate. i say 'unit' because here, as in scansion, what counts is not the syllable, but the vowel plus all the consonants that come between it and the next vowel. thus _inférnus_, where the penultimate vowel is short, no less than _suprémus_, where it is long, has the stress on the penultima. in _volucris_, where the penultimate unit was short, as it was in prose and could be in verse, the stress was on the _o_, but when _ucr_ made a long unit the stress comes on the _u_, though of course the vowel remains short. in polysyllables there was a secondary stress on the alternate vowels. ignorance of this usage has made a present-day critic falsely accuse shakespeare of a false quantity in the line coríolánus in coríoli. it may be safely said that from the reformation to the nineteenth century no englishman pronounced the last word otherwise than i have written it. the author of the pronouncing dictionary attached to the 'dictionary of gardening' unfortunately instructs us to say _gládiolus_ on the ground that the _i_ is short. the ground alleged, though true, is irrelevant, and, although terence would have pronounced it _gládiolus_, quintilian, like cicero, would have said _gladíolus_. mr. myles quotes pliny for the word, but pliny would no more have thought of saying _gládiolus_ than we should now think of saying 'laboúr' except when we are reading chaucer. we need not here discuss the dubious exceptions to this rule, such as words with an enclitic attached, e.g. _prim[)a]que_ in which some authorities put the stress on the vowel which precedes the enclitic, or such clipt words as 'illuc', where the stress may at one time have fallen on the last vowel. in any case no english word is concerned. in very long words the due alternation of stressed and unstressed vowels was not easy to maintain. there was no difficulty in such a combination as _hónoríficábilí_ or as _tudínitátibús_, but with the halves put together there would be a tendency to say _hónoríficabilitúdinitátibus_. thus there ought not to be much difficulty in saying _cónstantínopólitáni_, whether you keep the long antepenultima or shorten it after the english way; but he who forced the reluctant word to end an hexameter must have had 'constantinóple' in his mind, and therefore said _constántinópolitáni_ with two false stresses. the result was an illicit lengthening of the second _o_. his other false quantity, the shortening of the second _i_, was due to the english pronunciation, the influence of such words as 'metropol[)i]tan', and, as old schoolmasters used to put it, a neglect of the gradus. even when the stress falls on this antepenultimate _i_, it is short in english speech. doubtless milton shortened it in 'areopagitica', just as english usage made him lengthen the initial vowel of the word. probably very few of the englishmen who used the traditional pronunciation of latin knew that they gave many different sounds to each of the symbols or letters. words which have been transported bodily into english will provide examples under each head. it will be understood that in the traditional pronunciation of latin these words were spoken exactly as they are spoken in the english of the present day. for the sake of simplicity it may be allowed us to ignore some distinctions rightly made by phoneticians. thus the long initial vowel of _alias_ is not really the same as the long initial vowel of _area_, but the two will be treated as identical. it will thus be possible to write of only three kinds of vowels, long, short, and obscure. the letter or symbol _a_ stood for two long sounds, heard in the first syllables of _alias_ and of _larva_, for the short sound heard in the first syllable of _stamina_, and for the obscure sound heard in the last syllable of each of these last two words in english. the letter _e_ stood for the long sounds heard in _genus_ and in _verbum_, for the short sound heard in _item_, and for the obscure sound heard in _cancer_. when it ended a word it had, if short, the sound of a short _i_, as in _pro lege_, _rege_, _grege_, as also in unstressed syllables in such words as _precentor_ and _regalia_. the letter _i_ stood for the two long sounds heard in _minor_ and in _circus_ and for the short sound heard in _premium_ and _incubus_. the letter _o_ stood for the two long sounds heard in _odium_ and in _corpus_, for the short sound in _scrofula_, and for the obscure in _extempore_. the two long sounds of _u_ are heard in _rumor_, if that spelling may be allowed, and in the middle syllable of _laburnum_, the two short sounds in the first _u_ of _incubus_ and in the first _u_ of _lustrum_, the obscure sound in the final syllables of these two words. further the long sound was preceded except after _l_ and _r_ by a parasitic _y_ as in _albumen_ and _incubus_. this parasitic _y_ is perhaps not of very long standing. in some old families the tradition still compels such pronunciations as _moosic_. the diphthongs _æ_ and _oe_ were merely _e_, while _au_ and _eu_ were sounded as in our _august_ and _euxine_. the two latter diphthongs stood alone in never being shortened even when they were unstressed and followed by two consonants. thus men said _[=eu]stolia_ and _[=au]gustus_, while they said _[)æ]schylus_ and _[)oe]dipus._ dryden and many others usually wrote the _æ_ as _e_. thus garrick in a letter commends an adaptation of 'eschylus', and although boswell reports him as asking harris 'pray, sir, have you read potter's _æschylus_?' both the speaker and the reporter called the name _eschylus_. the letter _y_ was treated as _i_. the consonants were pronounced as in english words derived from latin. thus _c_ before _e_, _i_, _y_, _æ_, and _oe_ was _s_, as in _census_, _circus_, _cyrus_, _cæsar_, and _coelestial_, a spelling not classical and now out of use. elsewhere _c_ was _k_. before the same vowels _g_ was _j_ (d[ezh]), as in _genus_, _gibbus_, _gyrus_. the sibilant was voiced or voiceless as in english words, the one in _rosaceus_, the other in _saliva_. it will be seen that the latin sounds were throughout frankly anglicized. according to burney a like principle was followed by burke when he read french poetry aloud. he read it as though it were english. thus on his lips the french word _comment_ was pronounced as the english word _comment_. the rule that overrode all others, though it has the exceptions given below, was that vowels and any other diphthongs than _au_ and _eu_, if they were followed by two consonants, were pronounced short. thus _a_ in _magnus_, though long in classical latin, was pronounced as in our 'magnitude', and _e_ in _census_, in greek transcription represented by [greek: eta], was pronounced short, as it is when borrowed into english. so were the penultimate vowels in _villa_, _nullus_, _cæspes_. this rule of shortening the vowel before two consonants held good even when in fact only one was pronounced, as in _nullus_ and other words where a double consonant was written and in italian pronounced. moreover, the parasitic _y_ was treated as a consonant, hence our 'v[)a]cuum'. in the penultima _qu_ was treated as a single consonant, so that the vowel was pronounced long in _[=a]quam_, _[=e]quam_, _in[=i]quam_, _l[=o]quor_. so it was after _o_, hence our 'coll[=o]quial'; but in earlier syllables than the penultima _qu_ was treated as a double consonant, hence our 'sub[)a]queous', 'equity', 'iniquity'. exceptions. 1. when the former of the two consonants was _r_ and the latter another consonant than _r_, as in the series represented by _larva_, _verbum_, _circus_, _corpus_, _laburnum_, the vowels are a separate class of long vowels, though not really recognized as such. of course our ancestors and the gradus marked them long because in verse the vowel with the two consonants makes a long unit. 2. a fully stressed vowel before a mute and _r_, or before _d_ or _pl_, was pronounced long in the penultima. latin examples are _labrum_, _hebrum_, _librum_, _probrum_, _rubrum_, _acrem_, _cedrum_, _vafrum_, _agrum_, _pigrum_, _aprum_, _veprem_, _patrem_, _citrum_, _utrum_, _triplus_, _duplex_, _cyclops_. moreover, in other syllables than the penultima the vowel in the same combinations was pronounced long if the two following vowels had no consonant between them, as _patria_, _hadria_, _acrius_. (our 'triple' comes from _triplum_ and is a duplicate of '_treble_'. perhaps the short vowel is due to its passage through french. our 'citron' comes from _citronem_, in which _i_ was short.) 3. the preposition and adverb _post_ was pronounced with a long vowel both by itself and in composition with verbs, but its adjectives did not follow suit. hence we say in english 'p[=o]stpone', but 'p[)o]sterior' and 'p[)o]sthumous'. monosyllables ending in a vowel were pronounced long, those ending in a consonant short. enclitics like _que_ were no real exception as they formed part of the preceding word. there were, however, some real exceptions. 1. pronouns ending in _-os_, as _hos_, _quos_. these followed _eos_ and _illos_. 2. words ending in _-es_, as _pes_, _res_. 3. words ending in _r_, as _par_, _fer_, _vir_, _cor_, _fur_. these had that form of long vowel which we use in 'part', 'fertile', 'virtue', 'cordate', 'furtive'. in, disyllables the former vowel or diphthong, if followed by a single consonant, or by a mute and _r_, or by _cl_ or _pl_, was pronounced long, a usage which according to mr. henry bradley dates in spoken latin from the fourth century. examples are _apex_, _tenet_, _item_, _focus_, _pupa_, _psyche_, _cæsar_, _foetus_. i believe that at first the only exceptions were _tibi_, _sibi_, _ibi_, _quibus_, _tribus_. in later days the imperfect and future of _sum_ became exceptions. here perhaps the short vowel arose from the hideous and wholly erroneous habit, happily never universal though still in some vogue, of reciting _erám_, _erás_, _erát_. there are actually schoolbooks which treat the verse _ictus_, the beat of the chanter's foot, as a word stress and prescribe _terra tribús scopulís_. i can say of these books only _pereant ipsi, mutescant scriptores_, and do not mind using a post-classical word in order to say it. in disyllables the former vowel or diphthong, if followed immediately by another vowel or diphthong, had the quality, and if emphatic also the quality, of a long vowel. the distinction was not recognized, and seems not to be generally acknowledged even now. we seem not to have borrowed many words which will illustrate this. we have however _fiat_, and _pius_ was pronounced exactly as we pronounce 'pious', while for a diphthong we may quote shelley, mid the mountains euganean i stood listening to the paean. english derivatives will show the long quality of the vowels in _aer_, _deus_, _coit_, _duo_. to these add _graius_. the rule of _apex_ applies also to words of more than two syllables with long penultima, as _gravamen_, _arena_, _saliva_, _abdomen_, _acumen_. the rule of _aer_ also holds good though it hardly has other instances than greek names, as _macháon_, _ænéas_, _thalía_, _achelóus_, _ach['æ]i_. in words of more than two syllables with short penultima the vowel in the stressed antepenultima was pronounced short when there was a consonant between the two last vowels, and _i_ and _y_ were short even when no consonant stood in that place. examples are _stamina_, _sexagesima_, _minimum_, _modicum_, _tibia_, _polybius_. but _u_, _au_, _eu_ were, as usual, exceptions, as _tumulus_, _aufidus_, _eutychus_. i believe that originally men said _c[)æ]sarem_, as they certainly said _c[)æ]spitem_ and _c[)æ]tulum_, as also _c[)æ]sarea_, but here in familiar words the cases came to follow the nominative. exceptions to the rule were verb forms which had _[=a]v_, _[=e]v_, _[=i]v_, or _[=o]v_ in the antepenultima, as _am[=a]veram_, _defieverat_, _audivero_, _moveras_, and like forms from aorists with the penultima long, as _suaseram_, _egero_, _miserat_, _roseras_, and their compounds. this rule was among the first to break down, and about the middle of the nineteenth century the westminster play began to observe the true quantities in the antepenultimate syllables. thus in spite of 'cons[)i]deration' boys said _s[=i]dera_, and in spite of 'n[)o]minal' they said _nômina_, while they still said _s[)o]litus_ and _r[)a]pidus_. on the other hand the following rule, of which borrowed words provide many examples, still obtains in the play. in words of more than two syllables any vowel in the antepenultima other than _i_ or _y_ was pronounced long if no consonant divided the two following vowels. possibly the reason was that there was a synæresis of the two vowels, but i doubt this, for a parasitic _y_ was treated as a consonant. examples are _alias_, _genius_, _odium_, _junior_, _anæmia_, and on the other hand _f[)i]lius_, _l[)y]dia_. compound verbs with a short prefix were exceptions, as _[)o]beo_, _r[)e]creo_, whence our 'recreant'. a long prefix remained long as in _d[=e]sino_. the only other exception that i can remember was _ph[)o]loe_. in polysyllables the general rule was that all vowels and diphthongs before the penultima other than _u_, when it bore a primary or secondary stress, and _au_ and _eu_ were pronounced short except where the 'alias' rule or the 'larva' rule applied. thus we said _h[)e]r[)e]ditaritis_, _[)æ]qu[)a]bilitas_, _imb[)e]cillus_, _susp[)i]cionem_, but _fid[=u]ciarius_, _m[=e]diocritas_, _p[=a]rticipare_. i do not know why the popular voice now gives _[)a]riadne_, for our forefathers said _[=a]riadne_ as they said _[=a]rea_. in very long words the alternation of stress and no-stress was insisted on. i remember a schoolmaster who took his degree at oxford in the year 1827 reproving a boy for saying _álphesib['oe]us_ instead of _alphesib['oe]us_, and i suspect that wordsworth meant no inverted stress in laódamía, that at jove's command-nor landor in artémidóra, gods invisible-though i hope that they did. * * * * * it is not to be thought that these rules were in any way arbitrary. so little was this so that, i believe, they were never even formulated. if examples with the quantities marked were ever given, they must have been for the use of foreigners settling in england. english boys did not want rules, and their teachers could not really have given them. the teachers did not understand that each vowel represented not two sounds only, a long and a short, but many more. this fact was no more understood by john walker, the actor and lexicographer, who in 1798 published a key to the classical pronunciation of greek and latin proper names. his general rule was wrong as a general rule, and so far as it agreed with facts it was useless. he says that when a vowel ends a syllable it is long, and when it does not it is short. apart from the confusion of cause and effect there is the error of identifying for instance the _e_ in _beatus_ and the _e_ in _habebat_. moreover, walker confounds the _u_ in 'curfew', really long, with the short and otherwise different _u_ in 'but'. the rule was useless as a guide, for it did not say whether _moneo_ for instance was to be read as _ino-neo_ or as _mon-eo_, and therefore whether the _o_ was to be long or short. even walker's list is no exact guide. he gives for instance _m[=o]-na_, which is right, and _m[=o]-næses_, which is not. now without going into the difference between long vowels and ordinary vowels, of which latter some are long in scansion and some short, it is clear that there is no identity. in fact _mona_, has the long _o_ of 'moan' and _monæses_ the ordinary _o_ of 'monaster'. a boy at school was not troubled by these matters. he had only two things to learn, first the quantity of the penultimate unit, second the fact that a final vowel was pronounced. when he knew these two things he gave the latin word the sounds which it would have if it were an english word imported from the latin. thus he finds the word _civilitate_. i am not sure that he could find it, but that does not matter. he would know 'civility', and he learns that the penultima of the latin word is long. therefore he says _c[)i]v[)i]l[)i]t[=a]t[)e]_. again he knows '[)i]nf[)i]n[)i]t' (i must be allowed to spell the word as it is pronounced except in corrupt quires). he finds that the penultima of _infinitivus_ is long, and he therefore says _[)i]nf[)i]n[)i]t[=i]v[)u]s_. again he knows 'irradiate', and finding that the penultima of _irradiabitur_ is short he says _[)i]rr[=a]d[)i][)a]b[)i]t[)u]r_. it is true that some of these verb forms under the influence of their congeners came to have an exceptional pronunciation. thus _irradi[=a]bit_ led at last to _irradi[=a]bitur_, but i doubt whether this occurred before the nineteenth century. the word _dabitur_, almost naturalized by luther's adage of _date et dabitur_, kept its short _a_ down to the time when it regained it, in a slightly different form, by its roman right; and _am[)a]mini_ and _mon[)e]mini_ were unwavering in their use. old people said _v[=a]ri[)a]bilis_ long after the true quantities had asserted themselves, and the word as the specific name of a plant may be heard even now. its first syllable of course follows what i shall call the 'alias' rule. we may still see this rule in other instances. all men say 'hippopót[)a]mus', and even those who know that this _a_ is short in greek can say nothing but 'mesopot[=a]mia', unless indeed the word lose its blessed and comforting powers in a disyllabic abbreviation. when a country was named after cecil rhodes, where the _e_ in the surname is mute, we all called it 'rhod[=e]sia'. had it been named after a newman, where the _a_ is short or rather obscure, we should all have called it 'newm[=a]nia ', while, named after a davis, it would certainly have been 'dav[)i]sia'. the process of thought would in each case have been unconscious. a new example is 'aviation', whose first vowel has been instinctively lengthened. again, when the word 'telegram' was coined, some scholars objected to its formation and insisted upon 'telegrapheme', but the most obdurate grecian did not propose to keep the long greek vowel in the first syllable. when only the other day 'cinematograph' made its not wholly desirable appearance, it made no claim to a long vowel in either of its two first syllables. not till it was reasonably shortened into 'c[)i]n[)e]ma' did a judge from the bench make a lawless decree for a long second vowel, and even he left the _i_ short though it is long in greek. of course with the manner of speech the quantities had to be learnt separately. the task was not as difficult as some may think. to boys with a taste for making verses the thumbing of a gradus (i hope that no one calls it a gr[)a]dus) was always a delightful occupation, and a quantity once learnt was seldom forgotten. it must be admitted that, as boys were forced to do verses, whether they could or not, there were always some who could read and yet forget. although these usages did not precede but followed the pronunciation of words already borrowed from latin, we may use them to classify the changes of quantity. we shall see that although there are some exceptions for which it is difficult to give a reason, yet most of the exceptions fall under two classes. when words came to us through french, the pronunciation was often affected by the french form of the word. thus the adjective 'present' would, if it had come direct from latin, have had a long vowel in the first syllable. to an english ear 'pr[)e]sent' seemed nearer than 'pr[=e]sent' to the french 'présent'. the _n.e.d._ says that 'gladiator' comes straight from the latin 'gladiatorem'. surely in that case it would have had its first vowel long, as in 'radiator' and 'mediator'. in any case its pronunciation must have been affected by 'gladiateur'. the other class of exceptions consists of words deliberately introduced by writers at a late period. thus 'adorable' began as a penman's word. following 'inéxorable' and the like it should have been 'ádorable'. actually it was formed by adding _-able_ to 'adóre', like 'laughable'. it is now too stiff in the joints to think of a change, and must continue to figure with the other sins of the restoration. before dealing with the words as classified by their formation, we may make short lists of typical words to show that for the pronunciation of english derivatives it is idle to refer to the classical quantities. from _[=æ]_: [)e]difice, [)e]mulate, c[)e]rulean, qu[)e]stion. from _[=oe]_: [)e]conomy, [)e]cumenical, conf[)e]derate. from _[=a]_,: don[)a]tive, n[)a]tural, cl[)a]mour, [)a]verse. from _[)a]_: [=a]lien, st[=a]tion, st[=a]ble, [=a]miable. from _[=e]_: [)e]vident, quadrag[)e]sima, pl[)e]nitude, s[)e]gregate. from _[)e]_: s[=e]ries, s[=e]nile, g[=e]nus, g[=e]nius. from _[=i]_: lasc[)i]vious, erad[)i]cate, d[)i]vidend, f[)i]lial, susp[)i]cion. from _[)i]_: l[=i]bel, m[=i]tre, s[=i]lex. from _[=o]_: [)o]rator, pr[)o]minent, pr[)o]montory, s[)o]litude. from _[)o]_: b[=o]vine, l[=o]cal, f[=o]rum, coll[=o]quial. from _[=u]_: fig[)u]rative, script[)u]ral, sol[)u]ble. from _[)u]_: n[=u]merous, c[=u]pid, all[=u]vial, cer[=u]lean. the _n.e.d._ prefers the spelling 'oecumenical'; but newman wrote naturally 'ecumenical', and so does dr. j.b. bury. dublin scholarship has in this matter been markedly correct. _classification of words according to their latin stems._ in classification it seems simplest to take the words according to their latin stems. we must, however, first deal with a class of adjectives borrowed bodily from the latin nominative masculine with the insertion of a meaningless _o_ before the final _-us_.[1] these of course follow the rules given above. in words of more than two syllables the antepenultimate and stressed vowel is shortened, as '[)e]mulous' from _æmulus_ and in 'fr[)i]volous' from _fr[=i]volus_, except where by the 'alias' rule it is long, as in 'egr[=e]gious' from _egr[)e]gius_. words coined on this analogy also follow the rules. thus 'glabrous' and 'fibrous' have the vowels long, as in the traditional pronunciation of _glabrum_ and _fibrum_, where the vowels in classical latin were short. the stressed _u_ being always long we have 'lug[=u]brious' and 'sal[=u]brious', the length being independent of the 'alias' rule. some words ending in _-ous_ are not of this class. thus 'odorous' and 'clamorous' appear in italian as _odoroso_ and _clamoroso_. milton has sonórous mettal blowing martial sounds. the italian is _sonoro_, and our word was simply the latin _sonorus_ borrowed bodily at a somewhat late period. hence the stress remains on the penultima. skeat thought that the word would at last become 'sónorous'. it maybe hoped that milton's line will save it from the effect of a false analogy. [footnote 1: i regard this statement as inaccurate. the _-ous_ in these words does not come from the nominative ending _-us_, but is the ordinary _-ous_ from l. _-osus_ (through fr.). it was added to many latin adjective stems, because the need of a distinctly adjectival ending was felt. similarly in early french _-eux_ was appended to adjectives when they were felt to require a termination, as in _pieux_ from _pi-us_. compare the english _capacious_, _veracious_, _hilarious_, where _-ous_ is added to other stems than those in _o_. other suffixes of latin origin are used in the same way: e.g. _-al_ in _aerial_, _ethereal_.--h.b.] in classifying by stems it will be well to add, where possible, words of greek origin. except in some late introductions greek words, except when introduced bodily, have been treated as if they came through latin, and some of the bodily introductions are in the same case. thus 'anæsthetic' is spelt with the latin diphthong and the latin _c_. even 'skeleton' had a _c_ to start with, while the modern and wholly abominable 'kaleidoscope' is unprincipled on the face of it. stems ending in -ant and -ent. these are participles or words formed as such. our words have shed a syllable, thus _regentem_ has become 'regent'. disyllables follow the 'apex' rule and lengthen the first vowel, as 'agent', 'decent', 'potent'. exceptions are 'clement' and 'present', perhaps under french influence. words of more than two syllables with a single consonant before the termination throw the stress back and shorten a long penultima, as 'ignorant', 'president', 'confident', 'adjutant'. where there are two heavy consonants, the stress remains on the penultima, as 'consultant', 'triumphant', even when one of the consonants is not pronounced, as 'reminiscent'. in some cases the latinists seem to have deliberately altered the natural pronunciation. thus gower has 'ápparaúnt', but the word became 'appárent' before shakespeare's time, and later introductions such as 'adherent' followed it. what right 'adjacent' has to its long vowel and penultimate stress i do not know, but it cannot be altered now. stems ending in -ato and -uto. these are mostly past participles, but many of them are used in english as verbs. it must be admitted that the disyllabic words are not wholly constant to a principle. those verbs that come from _-latum_ consistently stress the last vowel, as 'dilate', 'relate', 'collate'. so does 'create', because of one vowel following another. of the rest all the words of any rank have the stress on the penultima, as 'vibrate', 'frustrate', 'mígrate', 'cástrate', 'púlsate', 'vácate'. thus pope has the whisper, that to greatness still too near, perhaps, yet vibrates on his sov'reign's ear, and shelley music, when soft voices die, vibrates in the memory. there are, however, verbs of no literary account which in usage either vary in the stress or take it on the latter syllable. such are 'locate', 'orate', 'negate', 'placate', and perhaps 'rotate'. with most of these we could well dispense. 'equate' is mainly a technical word. dictionaries seem to prefer the stress on the ultima, but some at least of the early victorian mathematicians said 'équate', and the pronunciation is to be supported. trisyllabic verbs throw the stress back and shorten the penultima, as 'dés[)o]late', 'súff[)o]cate', 'scínt[)i]llate'. even words with heavy double consonants have adopted this habit. thus where browning has (like milton and cowper) i the trinity illústrate drinking water'd orange pulp, in three sips the arian frustrate. while he drains his at one gulp, it is now usual to say 'íllustrate'. adjectives of this class take as early a stress as they can, as 'órnate', 'pínnate', 'délicate', 'fórtunate'. nouns from all these words throw the accent back and shorten or obscure all but the penultimate vowel, as 'ignorance', 'evaporation'. stems in -ia. here even disyllables shorten the penultima, as 'copy', 'province', while longer words throw the stress back as well as shorten the penultima, as 'injury', 'colony', while 'ignominy' almost lost its penultimate vowel, and therefore threw back the stress to the first syllable. shakespeare frankly writes the word as a trisyllable, thy ignomy sleep with thee in the grave. milton restored the lost syllable, often eliding the final vowel, as in exile, or ignominy, or bonds, or pain. even with heavy consonants we have the early stress, as in 'industry'. greek words follow the same rules, as 'agony', 'melody'. some words of this class have under french influence been further abbreviated, as 'concord'. corresponding stems in -io keep the same rules. perhaps the only disyllable is 'study'; the shortening of a stressed _u_ shows its immediate derivation from the old french _estudie_. trisyllabic examples are 'colloquy', 'ministry', 'perjury'. many words of this class have been further abbreviated in their passage through french. such are 'benefice', 'divorce', 'office', 'presage', 'suffrage', 'vestige', 'adverb', 'homicide', 'proverb'. the stress in 'divórce' is due to the long vowel and the two consonants. a few of these words have been borrowed bodily from latin, as 'odium', 'tedium', 'opprobrium'. stems in -do and -to (-so). these words lose the final latin syllable and keep the stress on the vowel which bore it in latin. the stressed vowel, except in _au_, _eu_, is short, even when, as in 'vivid', 'florid', it was long in classical latin. this, of course, is in accord with the english pronunciation of latin. examples are 'acid', 'tepid', 'rigid', 'horrid', 'humid', 'lurid ', 'absurd', 'tacit', 'digit', 'deposit', 'compact', 'complex', 'revise', 'response', 'acute'. those which have the suffix _-es_ prefixed throw the stress back, as 'honest', 'modest'. those which have the suffix _-men_ prefixed also throw the stress back, as 'moment', 'pigment', 'torment', and to the antepenultima, if there be one, as 'argument', 'armament', 'emolument', the penultimate vowel becoming short or obscure. in 'temperament' the tendency of the second syllable to disappear has carried the stress still further back. we may compare 'séptuagint', where _u_ becomes consonantal. an exception for which i cannot account is 'cemént', but shakespeare has 'cément'. stems in -t[=a]t. these are nouns and have the stress on the antepenultima, which in latin bore the secondary stress. they of course show the usual shortening of the vowels with the usual exceptions. examples are 'charity', 'equity', 'liberty', 'ferocity', 'authority', and with long antepenultima 'immunity', 'security', 'university'. with no vowel before the penultima the long quality is, as usual, preserved, as in 'satiety'. stems in -oso. these are adjectives and throw the stress back to the antepenultima, if there be one. in disyllables the penultimate vowel is long, as in 'famous', 'vinous'; in longer words the antepenultimate vowel is short, as 'criminous', 'generous'. many, however, fall under the 'alias' rule, as 'ingenious', 'odious', while those which have _i_ in the penultimate run the two last syllables into one, as 'pernicious', 'religious', 'vicious'. a few late introductions, coming straight from the latin, retained the latin stress, as 'morose', 'verbose'. stems in -t[=o]rio and -s[=o]rio. in these words the stress goes back to the fourth syllable from the end, this in latin having the secondary stress, or, as in 'circulatory', 'ambulatory', even further. in fact the _o_, which of course is shortened, tends to disappear. examples are 'declamatory', 'desultory', 'oratory', 'predatory', 'territory'. three consonants running, as in 'perfunctory', keep the stress where it has to be in a trisyllable, such as 'victory'. so does a long vowel before _r_ and another consonant, as in 'precursory'. otherwise two consonants have not this effect, as in 'prómontory', 'cónsistory'. in spite of milton's a gloomy consistory, and them amidst with looks agast and sad he thus bespake, the word is sometimes mispronounced. stems in -[=a]rio. these follow the same rules, except that, as in 'ádversary', combinations like _ers_ are shortened and the stress goes back; and that words ending in _-entary_, such as 'elementary' and 'testamentary', stress the antepenultima. examples are 'antiquary', 'honorary', 'voluntary', 'emissary'. it is difficult to see a reason for an irregular quantity in the antepenultima of some trisyllables. the general rule makes it short, as in 'granary', 'salary', but in 'library' and 'notary' it has been lengthened. the _n.e.d._ gives 'pl[=e]nary', but our grandfathers said 'pl[)e]nary'. of course 'diary' gives a long quality to the _i_. stems in -[)i]li. these seem originally to have retained the short _i_. thus milton's spelling is 'facil' and 'fertil' while other seventeenth-century writers give 'steril'. this pronunciation still obtains in america, but in england the words seem to have been usually assimilated to 'fragile', as milton spells it, which perhaps always lengthened the vowel. the penultimate vowel is short. stems in -[=i]li. here the long _i_ is retained, and in disyllables the penultima is lengthened, as in 'anile', 'senile', 'virile'. there is no excuse for following the classical quantity in the former syllables of any of these words. as an english word 'sedilia' shortens the antepenultimate, like 'tibia' and the rest, the 'alias' rule not applying when the vowel is _i_. stems in -b[)i]li. these mostly come through french and change the suffix into _-ble_. disyllables lengthen the penultima, as 'able', 'stable', 'noble', while 'mobile', as in french, lengthens its latter vowel. trisyllables shorten and stress the antepenultima, as 'placable', 'equable', but of course _u_ remains long, as in 'mutable'. longer words throw the stress further back, except mere negatives, like 'implácable', and words with heavy consonants such as 'delectable'. examples are 'miserable', 'admirable', 'intolerable', 'despicable'. the poet laureate holds that in these words milton kept the long italian _a_ of the penultimate or secondary stress. fall'n cherube, to be weak is miserable. in english we have naturalized _-able_ as a suffix and added it to almost any verb, as 'laughable', 'indescribable', 'desirable'. the last word may have been taken from french. the form 'des[)i]derable' occurs from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century. originally 'acceptable' threw the stress back, as in milton's so fit, so acceptable, so divine, but the double mute has brought it into line with 'delectable'. nowadays one sometimes hears 'dispútable', 'despícable', but these are intolerable vulgarisms. suffixes in t[)i]li and s[)i]li. these words mostly lengthen the _i_ and make the usual shortenings, as 'missile', 'sessile', 'textile', 'volatile', but of course 'futile'. exceptions which i cannot explain are 'foss[)i]l' and 'fus[)i]le'. suffix in [=a]li. these adjectives shorten the _-a_ and, with the usual exceptions, the preceding vowels, as 'dóctrinal', 'fílial', 'líberal', 'márital', 'medícinal', but of course by the 'alias' rule 'arb[=o]real' (not a classical word in latin) and 'g[=e]nial'. words like 'national' and 'rational' were treated like trisyllables, which they now are. the stress is on the antepenultima except when heavy consonants bring it on to the penultima, as in 'sepulcral', 'parental', 'triumphal'. those who say 'doctrínal' on the ground that the second vowel is long in latin commit themselves to 'medicínal', 'natúral', 'nutríment', 'instrúment', and, if their own principle be applied, they make false quantities by the dozen every day of their lives. three words mostly mispronounced are, from their rarity, perhaps not past rescue. they are 'décanal', 'ruridécanal', and 'prébendal'. there is no more reason for saying 'decánal' than for saying 'matrónal' or for saying 'prebéndal' than for saying 'caléndar'. of course words like 'tremendous', being imported whole, keep the original stress. in our case the latin words came into existence as _décanális_, _prébendális_, parallel with _náturális_, which gives us 'nátural'. that mostly wrong-headed man, burgon of chichester, was correct in speaking of his rights or at any rate his claims as 'décanal'. stems in -lo. of these 'stimulus' and 'villa' have been borrowed whole, while _umbella_ is corrupted into 'umbrella'. disyllables lengthen the penultima, as 'stable', 'title', 'pupil'. under french influence 'disciple' follows their example. in longer words the usual shortenings are made, as in 'frivolous', 'ridiculous'. the older words in _-ulo_ change the suffix into _-le_, as 'uncle', 'maniple', 'tabernacle', 'conventicle', 'receptacle', 'panicle'. later words retain the _u_, as 'vestibule', 'reticule', 'molecule'. stems in -no. the many words of this class are a grief to the classifier, who seeks in vain for reasons. thus 'german' and 'germane' have the same source and travelled, it seems, by the same road through france. the latin _hyacinth[)i]nus_ and _adamant[)i]nus_ are parallel words, yet milton has 'hyacinthin' for the one and 'adamantine' for the other. one classification goes a little way. thus 'human' and 'urban' must have come through french, 'humane' and 'urbane' direct from latin. on the other hand while 'meridian' and 'quartan' are french, 'publican', 'veteran', and 'oppidan' are latin. words with a long _i_, if they came early through france, shorten the vowel, as 'doctrine', 'discipline', 'medicine', and 'masculine', while 'genuine', though a later word, followed them, but 'anserine' and 'leonine' did not. disyllables seem to prefer the stress on the ultima, as 'divine', 'supine', but even these are not consistent. some critics would scan cassio's words the dívine desdemona, though shakespeare nowhere else has this stress, while shelley has. shelley, too, has she cannot know how well the súpine slaves of blind authority read the truth of things. the grammatical term, too, is 'súpine'. later introductions also have this stress, as 'bóvine', 'cánine', 'équine'. the last word is not always understood. at any rate halliwell-phillips, referring to a well-known story of shakespeare's youth, says that the poet probably attended the theatre 'in some equine capacity'. as it is agreed that 'bovine' and 'equine' lengthen the former vowel, we ought by analogy to say 'c[=a]nine', as probably most people do. words of more than two syllables have the stress on the antepenultima and the vowel is short, as in 'libertine', 'adulterine', but of course '[=u]terine'. when heavy consonants bring the stress on to the penultima, the _i_ is shortened, as in 'clandest[)i]n(e)', 'intest[)i]n(e)', and so in like disyllables, as 'doctr[)i]n(e)'. the modern words 'morphin(e)' and 'strychnin(e)', coined, the one from morpheus and the other from the greek name of the plant known to botanists as _withania somnifera_, correctly follow 'doctrine' in shortening the _i_, though another pronunciation is sometimes heard. stems in -tudin. these shorten the antepenultima, as 'plenitude', 'solitude', with the usual exceptions, such as 'fortitude'. stems in -tion. these words retain the suffix, which in early days was disyllabic, as it sometimes is in shakespeare, for instance in portia's before a friend of this descriptión shall lose a hair through bassanio's fault. thus they came under the 'alias' rule, and what is now the penultimate vowel is long unless it be _i_. examples are 'nation', 'accretion', 'emotion', 'solution', while _i_ is shortened in 'petition', 'munition', and the like, and left short in 'admonition' and others. in military use an exception is made by 'ration', but the pronunciation is confined to one sense of the word, and is new at that. i remember old soldiers of george iii who spoke of 'r[=a]tions'. perhaps the ugly change is due to french influence. originally the adjectives from these words must have lengthened the fourth vowel from the end long, as n[=a]t[)i][)o]nal, but when _ti_ became _sh_ they came to follow the rule of latin trisyllables in our pronunciation. stems in -ic. of these words we have a good many, both latin and greek. those that came direct keep the stress on the vowel which was antepenultimate and is in english penultimate, and this vowel is short whatever its original quantity. examples are 'aquatic', 'italic', 'germanic'. words that came through french threw the stress back, as 'lúnatic'. skeat says that 'fanatic' came through french, but he can hardly be right, for the pronunciation 'fánatic' is barely three score years old. there is no inverted stress in milton's fanátic egypt and her priests. as for 'unique' it is a modern borrowing from french, and of late 'ántique' or 'ántic', as shakespeare has it, has followed in one of its senses the french use. it is a pity in face of milton's with mask and ántique pageantry, and it obscures the etymological identity of 'antique' and 'antic', but the old pronunciation is irredeemable. at least the new avoids the homophonic inconvenience. greek words of this class used as adjectives mostly follow the same rule, as 'sporadic', 'dynamic', 'pneumatic', 'esoteric', 'philanthropic', 'emetic', 'panegyric'. as nouns the earlier introductions threw the stress back, as 'heretic', 'arithmetic', but later words follow the adjectives, as 'emetic', 'enclitic', 'panegyric'. as for 'politic', which is stressed as we stress both by shakespeare and by milton, it must be under french influence, though skeat seems to think that it came straight from latin. stems in -os. these words agree in being disyllabic, but otherwise they are a tiresome and quarrelsome people. for their diversity in spelling some can make a defence, since 'horror', 'pallor', 'stupor' came straight from latin, but 'tenor', coming through french, should have joined hands with 'colour', 'honour', 'odour'. the short vowel is inevitable in 'horror' and 'pallor', the long in 'ardour', 'stupor', 'tumour'. the rest are at war, 'clamour', 'colour', 'honour', 'dolour', 'rigour', 'squalor', 'tenor', 'vigour' in the short legion, 'favour', 'labour', 'odour', 'vapour' in the long. their camp-followers ending in -ous are under their discipline, so that, while 'cl[)a]morous', 'r[)i]gorous', 'v[)i]gorous' agree with the general rule, '[=o]dorous' makes an exception to it. all the derivatives of _favor_ are exceptions to the general rule, for 'favourite' and 'favorable' keep its long _a_. of course 'l[)a]b[=o]rious' is quite in order, and so is 'v[)a]pid'. stems in -tor and -sor. these words, when they came through french, threw the stress back and shortened the penultimate, _[=o]r[=a]torem_ becoming _orateur_, and then '[)o]r[)a]tor', with the stress on the antepenultimate. others of the same type are 'auditor', 'competitor', 'senator', and shelley has the sister-pest, congrégator of slaves, while 'amateur' is borrowed whole from french and stresses its ultima. trisyllables of course shorten the first vowel, as 'cr[)e]ditor', 'j[)a]nitor'. polysyllables follow the stress of the verbs; thus 'ágitate' gives 'ágitator' and 'compóse' gives 'compósitor'. to the first class belongs 'circulator', 'educator', 'imitator', 'moderator', 'negotiator', 'prevaricator', with which 'gladiator' associates itself; to the second belongs 'competitor'. words which came straight from latin keep the stress of the latin nominative, as 'creator', 'spectator', 'testator', 'coadjutor', 'assessor', to which in walton's honour must be added 'piscator' and 'venator'. on 'curator' he who decides does so at his peril. on one occasion eldon from the bench corrected erskine for saying 'cúr[)a]tor'. 'cur[=a]tor, mr. erskine, cur[=a]tor.' 'i am glad', was the reply, 'to be set right by so eminent a sen[=a]tor and so eloquent an or[=a]tor as your lordship.' neither eminent lawyer knew much about it, but each was so far right that he stuck to the custom of his country. on other grounds erskine might be thought to have committed himself to 'tést[)a]tor', if not quite to the 'testy tricks' of sally in mrs. gaskell's 'ruth'. stems in -ero and -uro. adjectives of this type keep the latin stress, which thus falls on the ultima, and shorten or obscure the penultimate vowel, as 'mature', 'obscure', 'severe', 'sincere', but of course '[=a]ustere'. of like form though of other origin is 'secure'. nouns take an early stress, as 'áperture', 'sépulture', 'líterature', 'témperature', unless two mutes obstruct, as in 'conjécture'. of the disyllables 'nature' keeps a long penultima, while 'figure' has it short, not because of the latin quantity, but because of the french. the lonely word 'mediocre' lengthens its first vowel by the 'alias' rule and also stresses it. whether the penultima has more than a secondary stress is a matter of dispute. stems in -ari. these words have the stress on the antepenultima, which they shorten, as in 'secular' or keep short as in 'jocular', 'familiar', but of course 'pec[=u]liar'. _on certain greek words._ it will have been seen that greek words are usually treated as latin. thus 'crisis' lengthens the penultima under the 'apex' rule, while 'critical' has it short under the general rule of polysyllables. other examples of lengthening are 'bathos', 'pathos', while the long quantity is of course kept in 'colon' and 'crasis'. for the 'alias' rule we may quote '[=a]theist', 'cryptog[=a]mia', 'h[=o]meopathy', 'heterog[=e]neous', 'pandem[=o]nium', while the normal shortenings are found in 'an[)o]nymous', 'eph[)e]meral', 'pand[)e]monium', '[)e]r[)e]mite'. ignorance of english usage has made some editors flounder on a line of pope's: yes, or we must renounce the stagirite. the birthplace of aristotle was of course stag[=i]ra or, as it is now fashionable to transcribe it, stageira, as pope doubtless knew, but the editors who accuse him of a false quantity in greek are on the contrary themselves guilty of one in english. the penultima in english is short whether it was long or, as in 'dynamite' and 'malachite', short in greek. there is, however, one distinct class of greek words in which the latin rule is not followed. in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there were scholars who rightly or wrongly treated the greek accent as a mark of stress. it is clear that this habit led to an inability to maintain a long quantity in an unstressed syllable. shakespeare must have learnt his little greek from a scholar who had this habit, for he writes 'andrón[)i]cus' and also i am misánthr[)o]pos and hate mankind. of course all scholars shortened the first vowel of the word, and doubtless shakespeare shortened also the third. busby also thus spoke greek with the result that dryden in later life sometimes wrote epsilon instead of eta and also spoke of 'cleoménes' and 'iphig[=e]n[)i]a'. as a boy at westminster he wrote learn'd, vertuous, pious, great, and have by this an universal metempsuchosis. macaulay with an ignorance very unusual in him rebuked his nephew for saying 'metamórph[)o]sis', and dr. johnson, had he been living, would have rebuked macaulay. for the sake of our poets we ought to save 'apothé[)o]sis', which is in some danger. garth may perhaps be forgotten, allots the prince of his celestial line an apotheosis and rights divine, but 'rejected addresses' should still carry weight. in the burlesque couplet, ascribed in the first edition to the younger colman and afterwards transferred to theodore hook, we have that john and mrs. bull from ale and tea-houses may shout huzza for punch's apotheosis. it need hardly be said that 'tea-houses' like 'grandfathers' has the stress on the antepenultimate. there are other words of greek origin which now break the rules, though i believe the infringement to be quite modern. first we have the class beginning with _proto_. it can hardly be doubted that our ancestors followed rule and said 'pr[)o]tocol', and 'pr[)o]totype', and i suspect also 'pr[)o]tomartyr'. there seems, however, to be a general agreement nowadays to keep the greek omega. as for 'protagonist' the word is so technical and is often so ludicrously misunderstood that writers on the greek drama would do well to retain the greek termination and say 'protagonistes'; for 'protagonist' is very commonly mistaken and used for the opposite of 'antagonist'. next come words beginning with _hypo_ or _hyph_. in a disyllable the vowel is long by the 'apex' rule, as in 'hyphen'. in longer words it should be short. so once it was, and we still say 'hypocaust', 'hypocrit', 'hypochondria' (whence 'hypped'), 'hypothesis', and others, but a large group of technical and scientific words seems determined to have a long _y_. it looks as though there were a belief that _y_ is naturally long, though the french influence which gives us 't[=y]rant' does not extend to 'tyranny'. i do not know what mr. hardy calls his poem, but i hope he follows the old use and calls it 'the d[)y]nasts'. it might be thought that 'd[)y]nasty' was safe, but it is not. some modern words like 'dynamite' have been misused from their birth. another class begins with _hydro-_ from the greek word for water. none of them seem to be very old, but probably 'hydraulic' began life with a short _y_. surely mrs. malaprop, when she meant 'hysterics' and said 'hydrostatics', must have used the short _y_. of course 'hydra' which comes from the same root follows the 'apex' rule. words beginning with _hyper-_ seem nowadays always to have a long _y_ except that one sometimes hears 'h[)y]perbole' and 'h[)y]perbolical'. of course both in _hypo-_ and in _hyper-_ the vowel is short in greek, so that here at least the strange lengthening cannot be ascribed to the grecians. the false theory of a long _y_ has not affected 'cynic' or 'cynical', while 'cyril' has been saved by being a christian name. we may yet hope to retain _y_ short in 'cylinder', 'cynosure', 'lycanthropy', 'mythology', 'pyramid', 'pyrotechnic', 'sycamore', 'synonym', 'typical'. as for 'h[=y]brid' it seems as much a caprice as '[=a]crid', a pronunciation often heard. though 'acrid' is a false formation it ought to follow 'vivid' and 'florid'. the 'alias' rule enforces a long _y_ in 'hygiene' and 'hygienic'. on the matter of greek names the lettern and the pulpit are grievous offenders. once it was not so. the clergymen of the old type and the scholars of the oxford retrogression said t[)i]m[=o]th[)e][)u]s, because they had a sense of english and followed, consciously or unconsciously, the 'alias' rule. if there was ever an error, it was on the lips of some illiterate literate who made three syllables of the word. now it seems fashionable to say t[=i]m[)o]th[)e][)u]s. the literate was better than this, for he at least had no theory, and frank ignorance is to be forgiven. it is no shame to a man not to know that the second _i_ in 'villiers' is as mute as that in 'parliament' or that bolingbroke's name began with bull and ended with brook, but when ignorance constructs a theory it is quite another matter. the etymological theory of pronunciation is intolerable. etymology was a charming nymph even when men had but a distant acquaintance with her, and a nearer view adds to her graces; but when she is dragged reluctant from her element she flops like a stranded mermaid. the curate says 'deuteronómy', and on his theory ought to say 'económy' and 'etymológy'. when robert gomery--why not give the reverend poetaster his real if less elegant name--published his once popular work, every one called it 'the omnípresence of the deïty', and shelley had already written and, as i look'd, the bright omnípresence of morning through the orient cavern flowed. it is true that ken a century earlier had committed himself to thou while below wert yet on high by omniprésent deity, and later coleridge, perhaps characteristically, had sinned with there is one mind, one omniprésent mind, but neither the bishop nor the poet would have said 'omniscíence', or 'omnipótence'. another word to show signs of etymological corruption is '[)e]volution'. it seems to have been introduced as a technical term of the art of war, and of course, like 'd[)e]volution', shortened the _e_. the biologists first borrowed it and later seem desirous of corrupting it. perhaps they think of such words as '[=e]gress', but the long vowel is right in the stressed penultimate. one natural tendency in english runs strongly against etymology. this is the tendency to throw the stress back, which about a century ago turned 'contémplate' into 'cóntemplate' and somewhat later 'illústrate' into 'íllustrate'. shakespeare and milton pronounced 'instinct' as we pronounce 'distinct' and 'aspect' as we pronounce 'respect'. thus belarius is made to say 'tis wonder that an invisible instínct should frame them to royalty unlearn'd, and milton has by this new felt attraction and instinct, and also in battailous aspéct and neerer view. the retrogression of the stress is in these instances well established, and we cannot quarrel with it; but against some very recent instances a protest may be made. one seems to be a corruption of the war. in 1884 the _n.e.d._ recognized no pronunciation of it save 'allý', as in romeo's this gentleman, the prince's neer alie. the late mr. b.b. rogers in his translations of aristophanes has of course no other pronunciation. his verses are too good to be spoiled by what began as a vulgarism. another equally recent vulgarism, not recognized by the _n.e.d._ and bad enough to make george russell turn in his grave, is 'mágazine' for 'magazíne'. it is not yet common, but such vulgarisms are apt to climb. in times not quite so recent the word 'prophecy' has changed, not indeed its stress, but the quantity of its final vowel. when alford wrote 'the queen's english', every one lengthened the last vowel, as in the verb, nor do i remember any other pronunciation in my boyhood. now the _n.e.d._ gives the short vowel only. alford to his own satisfaction accounted for the long vowel by the diphthong _ei_ of the greek. it is to be feared that his explanation would involve 'dynast[=y]' and 'polic[=y]', even if it did not oblige us to turn 'pompey' into 'pomp[=y]'. in this case it may be suspected that the noun was assimilated to the verb, which follows the analogy of 'magnify' and 'multiply'. the voice of the people which now gives us 'prophec[)y]' seems here to have felt the power of analogy and assuredly will prevail. _on proper names._ it is to be hoped that except in reading latin and greek texts we shall keep to the traditional pronunciation of proper names as it is enshrined in our poetry and other literature. we must continue to lengthen the stressed penultimate vowel in athos, cato, draco, eros, hebrus, lichas, nero, otho, plato, pylos, remus, samos, titus, venus, and the many other disyllables wherein it was short in the ancient tongues. on the other hand we shall shorten the originally long stressed antepenultimate vowel in brasidas, euripides, icarus, lavinia, lucilius, lydia, nicias, onesimus, pegasus, pyramus, regulus, romulus, scipio, sisyphus, socrates, thucydides, and many more. quin, and the actors of his day, used to give to the first vowel in 'cato' the sound of the _a_ in 'father'. they probably thought that they were italianizing such names. in fact their use was neither latin nor english. they were like the men of to-day who speak of the town opposite dover as 'cally', a name neither french nor english. a town which once sent members to the english parliament has a right to an english name. prior rhymed it with 'alice' and browning has when fortune's malice lost her calais. shakespeare, of course, spelt it 'callis', and this form, which was first evicted by pope, whom other editors servilely followed, ought to be restored to shakespeare's text. in the pronunciation of cato the stage regained the english diphthong in the mouth of garrick, whose good sense was often in evidence. it is recorded that his example was not at once followed in scotland or ireland. if there was any highlander on the stage it may be hoped that he gave to the vowel the true latin sound as it appears in 'mactavish'. a once well-known schoolmaster, a correspondent of conington's, had a daughter born to him whom in his unregenerate days he christened rosa. at a later time he became a purist in quantities, and then he shortened the _o_ and took the voice out of the _s_ and spoke of her and to her as rossa. the mother and the sisters refused to acknowledge what they regarded as a touch of shamrock and clung persistently to the english flower. the good gentleman did not call his son sol[=o]mon,[2] though this is the form which ought to be used by those who turn the traditional english 'elk[)a]nah' into 'elk[=a]nah', 'ab[)a]na' into 'ab[=a]na', and 'zeb[)u]lun' into 'zeb[=u]lun'. if they do not know poor elk[)a]nah, all other troubles past, for bread in smithfield dragons hiss'd at last, yet at least they ought to know of abb[)a]na and pharphar, lucid streams. the malison of milton on their heads! if the translators of the bible had foreseen 'zeb[=u]lun', they would have chosen some other word than 'princes' to avoid the cacophony of 'the princes of zeb[=u]lun'. [footnote 2: but pedantry would not suggest this. the new testament has [greek: solomôn], and the latin christian poets have the _o_ short. true, the vatican septuagint has [greek: salômôn], but there the vowel of the first syllable is _a_.--h.b.] that these usages were familiar is evident from the pronunciation of proper, especially biblical, names. thus 'b[=a]bel' and 'b[)a]bylon', 'n[=i]nus' and 'n[)i]neveh', were spoken as unconsciously as m[=i]chael' and 'm[)i]chaelmas'. nobody thought of asking the quantity of the hebrew vowels before he spoke of 'c[=a]leb' and 'b[=a]rak', of 'g[)i]deon' and 'g[)i]lead', of 'd[)e]borah' and 'ab[)i]melech', of '[=e]phraim' and 'b[=e]lial'. the seeming exceptions can be explained. thus the priest said 'h[)e]rod' because in the vulgate he read 'h[)e]rodes', but there was no greek or latin form to make him say anything else than 'm[=e]roz', 'p[=e]rez', 's[=e]rah', 't[=e]resh'. he said '[)a]dam' because, although the septuagint and other books retained the bare form of the name, there were other writings in which the name was extended by a latin termination. there was no like extension to tempt him to say anything but 'c[=a]desh', '[=e]dom', 'j[=a]don', 'n[=a]dab'. i must admit my inability to explain 'th[)o]mas', but doubtless there is a reason. the abbreviated form was of course first 'th[)o]m' and then 't[)o]m'. possibly the pet name has claimed dominion over the classical form. as in the _herba impia_ of the early botanists, these young shoots sometimes refuse to be 'trash'd for overtopping'. a story is told of an eccentric essex rector. he was reading in church the fourth chapter of judges, and after 'now d[)e]borah, a prophetess', suddenly stopped, not much to the astonishment of the rustics, for they knew his ways. then he went on 'deb[)o]rah? deb[)o]rah? deb[=o]rah! now deb[=o]rah, a prophetess', and so on. probably a freak of memory had reminded him that the letter was omega in the septuagint. it will be remembered that miss jenkyns in _cranford_ liked her sister to call her deb[=o]rah, 'her father having once said that the hebrew name ought to be so pronounced', and it will not be forgotten that the good rector was too sound a scholar to read 'deb[=o]rah' at the lettern. an anecdote of burgon's is to the point. he had preached in st. mary's what he regarded as an epoch-making sermon, and afterwards he walked home to oriel with hawkins, the famous provost. he looked for comment and hoped for praise, but the provost's only remark was, 'why do you say emm[=a]us?' 'i don't know; isn't it emm[=a]us?' 'no, no; emm[)a]us, emm[)a]us.' when hawkins was young, in the days of george iii, every one said emmaus, and in such matters he would say, 'i will have no innovations in my time.' on the king's lips the phrase, as referring to politics, was foolish, but hawkins used it with sense. ps.--i had meant to cite an anecdote of johnson. as he walked in the strand, a man with a napkin in his hand and no hat stept out of a tavern and said, 'pray, sir, is it irréparable or irrepáirable that one should say?'--'the last, i think, sir, for the adjective ought to follow the verb; but you had better consult my dictionary than me, for that was the result of more thought than you will now give me time for.' the dictionary rightly gives _irréparable_, and both the rule and example of the doctor's _obiter dicta_ (literally _obiter_) are wrong. j.s. miscellaneous notes and correspondence * * * * * addenda to homophones in tract ii several correspondents complain of the incompleteness of the list of homophones in tract ii. the object of that list was to convince readers of the magnitude of the mischief, and the consequent necessity for preserving niceties of pronunciation: evidence of its incompleteness must strengthen its plea. the following words may be added; they are set here in the order of the literary alphabet. add to table i (p. 7) band, [^1] _a tie_, [^2] _a company_. bend, [^1] _verb_, [^2] _heraldic sub._ bay, [^1] _tree_, [^2] _arm of sea_, [^3] _window_, [^4] _barking of dog_, and '_at bay_', [^5] _a dam_, [^6] _of antler_, [^7] _a colour_. blaze, [^1] _of flame_, [^2] _to sound forth_. bluff, [^1] _adj. & sub. = broad = fronted_, [^2] _blinker_, [^3] _sub. and v. confusing_ [^1] _and_ [^2]. boom, [^1] _to hum_, [^2] _= beam_. cant, [^1] _whine_, [^2] _to tilt_. chaff, [^1] _of wheat_, [^2] _= chafe (slang)_. cove, [^1] _a recess_, [^2] _= chap (slang)_. file, [^1] _string_, [^2] _rasp_, [^3] _= to defile_. grave, [^1] _sub._, [^2] _adj._ hind, [^1] _fem. of stag_, [^2] _a peasant_, [^3] _adj. of behind_. limb, [^1] _member_, [^2] _edge_, [^3] limn. limber, [^1] _shaft of cart (verb in artillery)_, [^2] _naut. subs._, [^3] _adj. pliant_. loom, [^1] _subs._, [^2] _v._ nice, gneiss. ounce, [^1] _animal_, [^2] _a weight_. plash, [^1] _= pleach_, [^2] _a puddle_. port, [^1] _demeanour, & military v._, [^2] _haven_, [^3] _gate & naut.= port-hole_, [^4] _= larboard_, [^5] _a wine_. shingle, [^1] _a wooden tile_, [^2] _gravel_, [^3] (_in pl._) _a disease_. shrub, [^1] _a bush_, [^2] _a drink_. smack, [^1] _a sounding blow_, [^2] _a fishing boat_, [^3] _taste_. throw, throe. also note that _so_ should be added to _sew, sow_, and that the words _leech_, _leach_, are not sufficiently credited with etymological variety: [see below p. 33]. to table ii add when, _wen_. to table viii the following words, the absence of which has been noted, are not true homophones:- crack fool fume gentle interest palm stem trip to table ix add must [^1] _obs? new wine_, [^2] _verb._ to shakespearean obsoletes p. 27 add limn, _lost in_ limb. * * * * * the skilful leech the poet laureate has pointed out that several useful words have been lost to the english language because their identity in sound with other words renders it impossible to use them without the risk either of being misunderstood or of calling up undesirable associations. it is owing to this cause that english--or, at least, the english of great britain--has no word that can correctly be used as a general designation for a member of the healing profession. in america, i believe, the word is 'physician'; but in england that appellation belongs to one branch of the profession exclusively. the most usual term here is 'doctor'; but the m.d. rightly objects to the application of this title to his professional brother who has no degree; and in a university town to say that john smith is a doctor would be inconveniently ambiguous. 'medical man' is cumbrous, and has the further disadvantage (in these days) of not being of common gender. now the lack of any proper word for a meaning so constantly needing to be expressed is certainly a serious defect in modern (insular) english. the americans have some right to crow over us here; but their 'physician' is a long word; and though it has been good english in the sense of _medicus_ for six hundred years, it ought by etymology to mean what _physicien_ does in french, and _physicist_ in modern english. our ancestors were better off in this respect than either we or the americans. the only native word to denote a practiser of the healing art is _leech_, which is better than the foreign 'physician' because it is shorter. it was once a term of high dignity: chaucer could apply it figuratively to god, as the healer of souls; and even in the sixteenth century a poet could address his lady as 'my sorowes leech'. why can we not so use it now? why do we not speak of 'the royal college of leeches'? obviously, because a word of the same form happens to be the name of an ugly little animal of disgusting habits. if i were to introduce my medical attendant to a friend with the words 'this is my leech', the gentleman (or lady) so presented would think i was indulging in the same sort of pleasantry as is used when a coachman is called a 'whip'; and he (or she) would probably not consider the joke to be in the best of taste. of course all educated people know that it was once not unusual to speak of a man of medicine as a 'leech'; but probably there are many who imagine that this designation was a disparaging allusion to the man's tool of trade, and that it could be applied only to inferior members of the profession. the ancient appellation of the healer is so far obsolete that if i were to answer a question as to a man's profession with the words 'oh, he is a leech', there would be some risk of being misunderstood to mean that he was a money-lender. etymologists generally have regarded the name of the bloodsucking animal as the same word with _leech_ a physician, the assumption being that the animal received its name from its use as a remedial agent. but the early forms, both in english and low german, show that the words are originally unconnected. the english for _medicus_ was in the tenth century _l['æ]ce_ or _léce_, and in the thirteenth century _leche_; the word for _sanguisuga_ was in the tenth century _lyce_, and in the thirteenth century _liche_. according to phonetic law the latter word should have become _litch_ in modern english; but it very early underwent a punning alteration which made it homophonous with the ancient word for physician. the unfortunate consequence is that the english language has hopelessly lost a valuable word, for which it has never been able to find a satisfactory substitute. h.b. differentiation of homophones on this very difficult question the attitude of a careful english speaker is shown in the following extract from a letter addressed to us: metal, mettle: and principal, principle 'i find that i do not _naturally_ distinguish _metal_ and _mettle_ in pronunciation, tho' when there is any danger of ambiguity i say _metal_ for the former and _met'l_ for the latter; and i should probably do so (without thinking about it) in a public speech. in my young days the people about me usually pronounced _met'l_ for both. theoretically i think the distinction is a desirable one to make; the fact that the words are etymologically identical seems to me irrelevant. the words are distinctly two in modern use: when we talk of _mettle_ (meaning spiritedness) there is in our mind no thought whatever of the etymological sense of the word, and the recollection of it, if it occurred, would only be disturbing. so i intend in future to pronounce metal as _met[e]l_ (when i don't forget). and i am not sure that _met[e]l_ is, strictly speaking, a "spelling-pronunciation": it is possible that the difference in spelling originated in a difference of pronunciation, not the other way about. for _metal_ in its literal sense was originally a scientific word, and in that sense may have been pronounced carefully by people who would pronounce it carelessly when they used it in a colloquial transferred sense approaching to slang. 'the question of _principal_ and _principle_ is different. when i was young, educated people in my circle always, i believe, distinguished them; so to this day when i hear principal pronounced as principle it gives me a squirm, tho' i am afraid nearly everybody does it now. that the words are etymologically distinct does not greatly matter; it is of more importance that i have sometimes been puzzled to know which word a speaker meant; if i remember right, i once had to ask. 'it would be worth while to distinguish _flower_ and _flour_ (which originally, like _metal_ and _mettle_, were the same word); yet in practice it is not easy to make the difference audible. the homophony is sometimes inconvenient.' correction to tract ii on p. 37 of tract ii the words 'the anglo-prussian society which mr. jones represents' have given offence and appear to be inaccurate. the german title of the series in which jones's dictionary is one has the following arrangement of words facing the english title: herausgegeben und der "association phonétique internationale" gewidmet von h. michaelis, and this misled me. i am assured that, though the dictionary may be rightly described as anglo-prussian, the phonetic association is gallo-scandinavian. in behalf of the s.p.e. i apologize to the a. ph. i. for my mistake which has led one of its eminent associates to accuse me of bearing illwill towards the germans. the logic of that reproach baffles me utterly. [r.b.] * * * * * some lexical matters fast = quick or firm 'an old cricketer' writes: 'after reading your remarks on the ambiguity of the word _fast_ (tract iii, p. 12) i read in the report of a lancashire cricket match that _makepeace was the only batsman who was fast-footed_. but for the context and my knowledge of the game i should have concluded that makepeace kept his feet immovably on the crease; but the very opposite was intended. at school we used to translate [greek: podas ôkus achilleus] "swift-footed achilles", and i took that to mean that achilles was a sprinter. i suppose _quick-footed_ would be the epithet for makepeace.' sprinter is a good word, though _sprinting achilles_ could not be recommended. brattle a correspondent from newcastle writes advocating the recognition of the word _brattle_ as descriptive of thunder. it is a good old echo-word used by dunbar and douglas and burns and by modern english writers. it is familiar through the first stanza of burns's poem 'to a mouse'. wee sleekit cow'rin tim'rous beastie, o what a panic's in thy breastie. thou need na start awa sae hasty wi' bickering brattle.... which is not suggestive of thunder. the _n.e.d._ explains this as 'to run with brattling feet, to scamper'. in burns's 'a winter night', it is the noisy confusion of _biting boreas_ in the bare trees and bushes: i thought me on the ourie cattle or silly sheep, wha bide this brattle o' winter war. it is possible that _brattle_ has fallen into disuse through too indiscriminate application. after burns's famous poem the word can establish itself only in the sense of a scurrying dry noise: it is too small for thunder. we would call attention to the principle involved in this judgement, for it is one of the main objects of our society to assist and guide englishmen in the use of their language by fully exposing the facts that should determine their practice. every word has its history, and no word can prosper in the speech or writing of those who do not respect its inherited and unalterable associations; these cannot be got rid of by ignoring them. littré in the preface to his dictionary claims for it this pre-eminent quality of usefulness, that it will enable his countrymen to speak and write good french by acquainting them with historic tradition, and he says that it was enthusiasm for this one purpose that sustained him in his great work. its object was to harmonize the present use of the language with the past usage, in order that the present usage may possess all the fullness, richness, and certitude which it can have, and which naturally belong to it. his words are: 'avant tout, et pour ramener à une idée mère ce qui va être expliqué dans la _préface_, je dirai, définissant ce dictionnaire, qu'il embrasse et combine l'usage présent de la langue et son usage passé, afin de donner à l'usage présent toute la plénitude et la sûreté qu'il comporte.' it is the intention of our society to offer only expert and well-considered opinion on these literary matters, which are often popularly handled in the newspapers and journals as fit subjects for private taste and uninformed prejudice: and since the oxford dictionary has done more fully for english what littré did for french, our task is comparatively easy. but experts cannot be expected, all of them, to have the self-denying zeal of émile littré, and the worth of our tracts will probably improve with the increase of our subscribers. bicker as burns happens to use _bickering_ as his epithet for the mouse's brattle, we may take this word as another illustration of littré's principle. the _n.e.d._ gives the original meaning as _skirmish_, and quotes shakespeare, if i longer stay we shall begin our ancient bickerings, which a man transposing the third and fourth words might say to-day without rising above colloquial speech; but there is another allied signification which milton has in smoak and bickering flame; and this is followed by many later writers. it would seem therefore, if the word is to have a special sense, that it must be focused in the idea of something that both wavers and skirmishes, and this suggests another word which caught our eye in the dictionary, that is brangle it is defined in the _n.e.d._ as 'a brawl, wrangle, squabble' and marked _obsolete_. it seems to differ from its numerous synonyms by the suggestion of what we call a muddle: that is an active wrangling which has become inextricably confused. survivals in lancashire speech mr. ernest stenhouse sends us notes on tract ii, from which we extract the following: '_poll_ (= to cut the hair) is still familiar in lancashire. _tickle_ (unstable) is obsolescent but not yet obsolete. as a child i often heard _meterly_ (= moderately): e.g. _meterly fausse_ (? false) = moderately cunning. it may still be in use. _bout_ (= without = a.s. butan) is commonly heard. 'the words tabulated in tract ii, p. 34, and the following pairs are not homophones in lancashire: stork, stalk; pattern, patten; because although the _r_ in stork and pattern is not trilled as in scotland, it is distinctly indicated by a modification of the preceding vowel, somewhat similar to that heard in the _[(or]e_ words (p. 35). 'homophony may arise from a failure to make distinctions that are recognized in p.s.p. thus in lancashire the diphthong sound in _flow_, _snow_, _bone_, _coal_, _those_, &c., is very often pronounced as a pure vowel (cf. french _eau_, _mot_): hence confusion arises between _flow_ and _flaw_, _sow_ and _saw_, _coal_ and _call_: both these vowel sounds tending to become indistinguishable from the french _eau_.' feasible _feasible_ is a good example of a word which appears in danger of being lost through incorrect and ignorant use. it can very well happen that a word which is not quite comfortable may feel its way to a useful place in defiance of etymology; and in such cases it is pedantry to object to its instinctive vagaries. but _feasible_ is a well-set comfortable word which is being ignorantly deprived of its useful definite signification. in the following note mr. fowler puts its case clearly, and his quotations, being typically illustrative of the manner in which this sort of mischief comes about, are worthy of attention. 'with those who feel that the use of an ordinary word for an ordinary notion does not do justice to their vocabulary or sufficiently exhibit their cultivation, who in fact prefer the stylish to the working word, _feasible_ is now a prime favourite. its proper sense is "capable of being done, accomplished, or carried out". that is, it means the same as _possible_ in one of the latter's senses, and its true function is to be used instead of _possible_ where that might be ambiguous. _a thunderstorm is possible_ (but not _feasible_). irrigation is possible (or, indifferently, _feasible_). _a counter-revolution is possible_; i.e., (a) one may for all we know happen, or (b) we can if we choose bring one about; but, if _b_ is the meaning, _feasible_ is better than _possible_ because it cannot properly bear sense _a_, and therefore obviates ambiguity. 'the wrong use of _feasible_ is that in which, by a slipshod extension, it is allowed to have also the other sense of _possible_, and that of _probable_. this is described by the highest authority as "hardly a justifiable sense etymologically, and ... recognized by no dictionary". it is however becoming very common; in all the following quotations, it will be seen that the natural word would be either _possible_ or _probable_, one of which should have been chosen:--continuing, mr. wood said: "i think it is very feasible that the strike may be brought to an end this week, and it is a significant coincidence that ...". / witness said it was quite feasible that if he had had night binoculars he would have seen the iceberg earlier. / we ourselves believe that this is the most feasible explanation of the tradition. / this would appear to offer a feasible explanation of the scaffold puzzle.' protagonist mr. sargeaunt (on p. 26) suggests that we might do well to keep the full greek form of this word, and speak and write _protagonistes_. familiarity with _agonistes_ in the title of milton's drama, where it is correctly used as equivalent to 'mighty champion', would be misleading, and the rejection of the english form 'protagonist' seems otherwise undesirable. the following remarks by mr. fowler show that popular diction is destroying the word; and if ignorance be allowed its way we shall have a good word destroyed. 'the word that has so suddenly become a prime favourite with journalists, who more often than not make it mean champion or advocate or defender, has no right whatever to any of those meanings, and almost certainly owes them to the mistaking of the first syllable (representing greek [greek: prôtos] "first") for [greek: pro] "on behalf of"--a mistake made easy by the accidental resemblance to _antagonist_. "accidental", since the greek [greek: agônistês] has different meanings in the two words, in one "combatant", but in the other "play-actor". the greek [greek: prôtagônistês] means the actor who takes the chief part in a play--a sense readily admitting of figurative application to the most conspicuous personage in any affair. the deuteragonist and tritagonist take parts of second and third importance, and to talk of several protagonists, or of a chief protagonist or the like, is an absurdity. in the newspapers it is a rarity to meet _protagonist_ in a legitimate sense; but two examples of it are put first in the following collection. all the others are outrages on this learned-sounding word, because some of them distinguish between chief protagonists and others who are not chief, some state or imply that there are more protagonists than one in an affair, and the rest use _protagonist_ as a mere synonym for advocate. 'legitimate uses: _the "cher halévy" who is the protagonist of the amazing dialogue. / marco landi, the protagonist and narrator of a story which is skilfully contrived and excellently told, is a fairly familiar type of soldier of fortune._ 'absurd uses with _chief_, &c.: _the chief protagonist is a young nonconformist minister. / unlike a number of the leading protagonists in the home rule fight, sir edward carson was not in parliament when.... / it presents a spiritual conflict, centred about its two chief protagonists, but shared in by all its characters._ 'absurd plural uses: _one of the protagonists of that glorious fight for parliamentary reform in 1866 is still actively among us. / one of these immense protagonists must fall, and, as we have already foreshadowed, it is the duke. / by a tragic but rapid process of elimination most of the protagonists have now been removed. / as on a stage where all the protagonists of a drama assemble at the end of the last act. / that letter is essential to a true understanding of the relations of the three great protagonists at this period. / the protagonists in the drama, which has the motion and structure of a greek tragedy_ (fy! fy!--a greek tragedy and protagonists?). 'confusions with _advocate_, &c.: _the new warden is a strenuous protagonist of that party in convocation. / mr ----, an enthusiastic protagonist of militant protestantism. / the chief protagonist on the company's side in the latest railway strike, mr ----. / it was a happy thought that placed in the hands of the son of one of the great protagonists of evolution the materials for the biography of another. / but most of the protagonists of this demand have shifted their ground. / as for what the medium himself or his protagonists may think of them--for etymological purposes that is neither here nor there._ 'perhaps we need not consider the greek scholar's feelings; he has many advantages over the rest of us, and cannot expect that in addition he shall be allowed to forbid us a word that we find useful. is it useful? or is it merely a pretentious blundering substitute for words that are useful? _pro-_ in _protagonist_ is not the opposite of _anti-_; _-agonist_ is not the same as in _antagonist_; _advocate_ and _champion_ and _defender_ and _combatant_ are better words for the wrong senses given to _protagonist_; and _protagonist_ in its right sense of _the_ (not _a_) chief actor in an affair has still work to do if it could only be allowed to mind its own business.' * * * * * american appreciation we are glad to reprint the following short extracts from the _new york times book review and magazine_, september 26, 1920. 'the campaign for pure english 'among those who joined it (the s.p.e.) immediately were arthur j. balfour, a.c. bradley, austin dobson, thomas hardy, j.w. mackail, gilbert murray, mrs. humphry ward, and mrs. wharton.... the rallying of these men and women of letters was not more significant than the prompt adhesion of the professors of english in the various british universities: w.m. dixon, oliver elton, e.s. gordon, c.h. herford, w.p. ker, g.c. moore-smith, f.w. moorman, a. quiller-couch, george saintsbury, and h.c.k. wyld.... 'there is a peril to the proper development of the language in offensive affectations, in persistent pedantry, and in other results of that comprehensive ignorance of the history of english, which we find plentifully revealed in many of our grammars. it is high time that men who love the language, who can use it deftly and forcibly, and who are acquainted with the principles and the processes of its growth, should raise the standard of independence.... 'it is encouraging to realize that the atrophy of the word-making habit is less obvious in the united states than it is in great britain.... we cannot but regret that it is not now possible to credit to their several inventors american compounds of a delightful expressiveness--_windjammer, loan-shark, scare-head_, and that more delectable _pussy-footed_--all of them verbal creations with an imaginative quality almost elizabethan in its felicity, and all of them examples of the purest english.... we americans made the compound _farm-hand_, and employ it in preference to the british [english?] _agricultural labourer_. '_the attention of the officers of the society may be called to the late professor lounsbury's lively and enlightening_ history of the english language, _and to professor george philip krapp's illuminating study of_ modern english. brander matthews.' * * * * * report of the proceedings of the society for the first year ending xmas, 1920. the society still remains governed by the small committee of its original founders: the support of the public and the press has been altogether satisfactory: the suggestions and programme which the committee originally put forward have met with nothing but favourable criticism; no opposition has been aroused, and we are therefore encouraged to meet the numerous invitations that we have received from all parts of the english-speaking world to make our activities more widely known. the sale of the tracts has been sufficient to pay their expenses; and we are in this respect very much indebted to the oxford university press for its generous co-operation; for it has enabled us to offer our subscribers good workmanship at a reasonable price. the publication of this tract iv closes our first 'year': we regret that the prevalent national disturbances have extended it beyond the solar period, but the conditions render explanation and apology needless. our list shows 188 members, and their names include many well-known men of letters, professors of literature, editors, journalists, and others interested in the history and present condition of the language. nineteen members sent donations (above 10s. 6d.) which together amounted to about £40; and thirty-two sent subscriptions of ten shillings for the supply of one year's publications. to these subscribers (whose names are printed in the list below) all the four tracts for this year have been sent: and it will appear that since they might have bought the four tracts for 7s. 6d., they have made a donation of 2s. 6d. apiece to the funds of the society. this margin is very useful and we hope that they will renew their 10s. subscription in advance for the ensuing year. that will ensure their receiving the society's papers as they are issued, and it will much assist the machinery of publication. also members who have not hitherto subscribed are now specially invited to do so. they can judge of the society's work, and can best support it in this way. the publications of 1921 _will be sent as soon as issued to all such subscribers_. subscriptions may be sent to the secretary, l. pearsall smith, 11 st. leonard's terrace, chelsea, london, s.w., to whom all communications should be addressed, or they may be paid direct to 'treasurer of s.p.e.', barclay's bank, high street, oxford. * * * * * list of subscribers *+ aikin, dr. w.a., 66 bedford gardens. * bennett, arnold, 80 piccadilly. bottomley, gordon, the sheiling, silverdale, carnforth. brindley, h.h., 25 madingly road, cambridge. * brown, miss e.o., bournstream, wotton-under-edge. carleton, brig.-gen. l.r., holmdale, grasmere. * case, thomas, corpus christi college, oxford. curtis, james, 179 marylebone road, n.w. 1. dixon, prof. j. main, univ. s. california, los angeles. elliott, rear-adml. h.v., 13 south road, weston-super-mare. fry, miss agnes, failand house, nr. bristol. * gainsford, w.d., skendleby hall, spilsbury. * harman, capt. h.a., d.s.o., king's college, lagos, s. nigeria. headlam, rev. stewart, wavertree, st. margaret-on-thames. * henderson, t., upumulo napumulo, natal. horniman, miss a.e.f., 1h.* montague mansions, w. 1. hunt, howard l., univ. s. california, los angeles. * lacy, miss h., highbury crescent, n. 5. + lawrence, a., 13 norfolk crescent, w. 2. lindsay, prof. w.m., 5 howard place, st. andrews. melland, e. alport, bakewell. morton, g.h., 13 kimberley terrace, tredegar. * muirhead, l., haseley court, wallingford. * nickerson, rev. d., newton-on-ouse, york. * o'may, j., c/o messrs. barker & co., singapore. partington, s., sunny brow, eden mount, grange on sands, lancs. * pickering-jones, j., west africa house, water street, liverpool. portal, miss e., 82 carlisle mansions, victoria street, s.w. * pryor, mrs., lannock manor, stevenage, herts. ramsden, william, marshfield, huddersfield. reade, h.v., 181 queen's gate, s.w. rieder, madame a., lyceum club, 128 piccadilly. robinson, frances g., the towers, sneyd park, nr. bristol. samuel, rt. hon. sir herbert, 31 porchester terrace, hyde park. sampson, john, university library, liverpool. scrivener, miss j., the ladies' college, cheltenham. * sheldon, e.w., 46 park avenue, new york. shepherd, arthur, 46 edwardes square, w. 8. * strachey, lady, 51 gordon square, w.c. teixeira de mattos, a., 9 cheltenham terrace, s.w. 3. thompson, rev. e.j., wesleyan college, bankura, bengal. * tilley a., 2 selwyn gardens, cambridge. warrington, t.c., high school, leek, staffs. * waterhouse, mrs. t.c., lomberdale hall, bakewell. wheeler, horace l., public library, back bay, boston, mass. wigram, col. clive, 37 chester square, s.w. 1. wollaston, g.h., flaxley cottage, flax bourton. ++ the ladies' college, cheltenham. ++ queen's university, belfast. ++ minnesota university. ++ princeton university. * donors of above 10s. 6d. + subscribers for 1921. ++ universities, colleges, or libraries to which the issues of 1921 will be sent without prepayment. the secretary should be informed of any error in the above addresses, and of any permanent change of address. finis letters concerning poetical translations, &c. (price one shilling.) letters concerning poetical translations, and virgil's and milton's arts of verse, &c. _london_: printed for j. roberts, near the _oxford-arms_ in _warwick-lane_. mdccxxxix. letter i. _sir,_ i am now going to obey your commands; but you must let me do it in my own way, that is, write as much, or as little at a time as i may have an inclination to, and just as things offer themselves. after this manner you may receive in a few letters, all that i have said to you about poetical translations, and the resemblance there is between _virgil's_ and _milton's_ versification, and some other matters of the same nature. to begin with the business of translation. whoever sits down to translate a poet, ought in the first place to consider his author's peculiar _stile_; for without this, tho' the translation may be very good in all other respects, it will hardly deserve the name of a translation. the two great men amongst the antients differ from each other as much in this particular as in the subjects they treat of. the stile of _homer_, who sings the anger or rage of _achilles_, is _rapid_. the stile of _virgil_, who celebrates the piety of _æneas_, is _majestick_. but it may be proper to explain in what this difference consists. the stile is _rapid_, when several relatives, each at the head of a separate sentence, are governed by one antecedent, or several verbs by one nominative case, to the close of the period. thus in _homer_: "goddess, sing the pernicious anger of _achilles_, which brought infinite woes to the _grecians_, and sent many valiant souls of heroes to hell, and gave their bodies to the dogs, and to the fowls of the air." here you see it is the anger of _achilles_, that does all that is mentioned in three or four lines. now if the translator does not nicely observe _homer's_ stile in this passage, all the fire of _homer_ will be lost. for example: "o heavenly goddess, sing the wrath of the son of _peleus_, the fatal source of all the woes of the _grecians_, that wrath which sent the souls of many heroes to _pluto's_ gloomy empire, while their bodies lay upon the shore, and were torn by devouring dogs, and hungry vultures." here you see the spirit of _homer_ evaporates; and in what immediately follows, if the stile of _homer_ is not nicely attended to, if any great matter is added or left out, _homer_ will be fought for in vain in the translation. he always hurries on as fast as possible, as _horace_ justly observes, _semper ad eventum festinat_; and that is the reason why he introduces his first speech without any connection, by a sudden transition; and why he so often brings in his [greek: ton d' apameibomenos]: he has not patience to stay to work his speeches artfully into the subject. here you see what is a _rapid_ stile. i will now shew you what is quite the contrary, that is, a _majestic one_. to instance in _virgil_: "arms and the man i sing; the first who from the shores of _troy_ (the fugitive of heav'n) came to _italy_ and the _lavinian_ coast." here you perceive the subject-matter is retarded by the _inversion of the phrase_, and by that _parenthesis_, the _fugitive of heaven_ all which occasions _delay_; and _delay_ (as a learned writer upon a passage of this nature in _tasso_ observes) is the property of majesty: for which reason when _virgil_ represents _dido_ in her greatest pomp, it is, --_reginam_ cunctantem _ad limina primi_ _poenorum expectant_.-for the same reason he introduces the most solemn and most important speech in the _æneid_, with three monosyllables, which causes great delay in the speaker, and gives great majesty to the speech. --_o qui res_ hominumq; deumq;-these three syllables occasion three short pauses. _o--qui--res_--how slow and how stately is this passage! but it happens that i can set the beginning of the _æneid_ in a clear light for my purpose, by two translations of that passage, both by the same hand; one of which is exactly in the manner of _virgil_, the other in the manner of _homer_: the two translations are made by the reverend mr. _pitt_. he published the first among some miscellany poems several years since, the latter in his four books of the _æneid_ about two years ago. i. "arms and the man i sing; the first who driv'n from _trojan_ shores, the fugitive of heav'n, came to th' _italian_ and _lavinian_ coast;-ii. "arms and the man i sing, the first who bore his course to _latium_ from the _trojan_ shore.-the first translation is exact in every respect: you have in it the suspence and majesty of _virgil_. the second is a good translation, though not at all like _virgil_, but exactly like _homer_: there is no hesitation, but the verse and the matter hurry on together as fast as possible. i have now shown you what is a _rapid_, and what is a _majestick stile_. but a few more lines of the beginning both of the _iliad_ and of the _æneid_ will make it still more plain. iliad. "the anger of _achilles_, goddess, sing; which to the _greeks_ did endless sorrows bring; and sent untimely, to the realms of night, the souls of many chiefs, renown'd in fight: and gave their bodies for the dogs to tear, and every hungry fowl that wings the air. and thus accomplish'd was the will of _jove_, since first _atrides_ and _achilles_ strove. what god the fatal enmity begun? _latonâ_'s, and great _jove_'s immortal son. he through the camp a dire contagion spread, the prince offended, and the people bled: with publick scorn, _atrides_ had disgrac'd the reverend _chryses_, _phoebus'_ chosen priest. he to redeem his daughter, sought the shore, where lay the _greeks_, and mighty presents bore: deckt with the ensigns of his god, he stands, the crown, the golden sceptre in his hands; to all he su'd, but to the princes most, great _atreus_'s sons, the leaders of the host: princes! and _grecian_ warriors! may the gods (the pow'rs that dwell in heav'ns sublime abodes) give you to level _priam_'s haughty tow'rs, and safely to regain your native shores. but my dear daughter to her sire restore, these gifts accept, and dread _apollo_'s pow'r; the son of _jove_; he bears a mighty bow, and from afar his arrows gall the foe. æneid. arms and the man i sing, the first who driv'n from _trojan_ shores, the fugitive of heav'n, came to th' _italian_ and _lavinian_ coast; much o'er the earth was he, and ocean tost, by heavenly powers, and _juno_'s lasting rage; much too he bore, long wars compell'd to wage; e'er he the town could raise, and of his gods, in _latium_ settle the secure abodes; whence in a long descent the _latins_ come, the _albine_ fathers, and the tow'rs of _rome_. sept. 6. 1736. _i am_, sir, _&c._ * * * * * _p.s._ i should not part with the passage in _homer_ above-mentioned without observing that the speech of _apollo_'s priest is wonderfully peinturesque, and in character. we plainly see the priest holding up his hands, and pointing with his crown and sceptre to heaven. "princes! and _grecian_ warriors! may the gods (the pow'rs that dwell in heav'ns sublime abodes) it is a priest that speaks, and his audience is composed of soldiers who had liv'd ten years in a camp. he does not only put them in mind of the _gods_, but likewise of the _place_ where they dwelt, and at the same time points up to it. neither is the conclusion of the speech less remarkable than the beginning of it: the priest of _apollo_ does not end in an humble supplicant manner like a common suitor; but he frankly offers his presents, and threatens the generals and princes he addresses himself to, with the vengeance of his god if they refuse his request: and he very artfully lets them know that his god is not a deity of inferior rank, but the son of _jove_; and that his arrows reach from a great distance. the next line to those last mentioned i cannot omit taking notice of, because it contains, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful expressions in all the poetical language. _to give to do a thing._ "princes! and _grecian_ warriors! may the gods (the pow'rs that dwell in heav'ns sublime abodes) _give you to level priam_'s haughty tow'rs, and safely to regain your native shores. _virgil_ was so sensible of this charming expression, that he has used it in the three following passages, and i believe in one or two others in the very first _æneid_. "--_tibi divum paler atque hominum rex et mulcere_ dedit _fluctus & tollere vento_.- "--_tu_ das _epulis accumbere divûm_.- "_o regina, novam cui condere jupiter urbem justitiaque_ dedit _gentes frænare superbas_:-_salvini_ in his _italian_ translation in 1723, dedicated to his late majesty, is attentive to all the beauties of the passage in _homer_ last mentioned. "--_a voi gl' iddii, che l'olimpie magioni abitan_, dieno _espugnar ilio e a casa far ritorno_." letter ii. _sir_, i should now go upon the comparison of _virgil_'s and _milton_'s versification, in which you will meet with that paradox, as you thought it at first, namely, that the principal advantage _virgil_ has over _milton_ is _virgil_'s rhyme. but i beg leave to postpone that matter at present, because i have a mind to make some remarks upon the second line in the translation of the beginning of the _iliad_ mentioned in my former letter, in which the auxiliary verb _did_ (as our grammarians call it) is made use of. the line runs thus. "which to the _greeks did_ endless sorrows bring. it is commonly apprehended from a passage in mr. _pope_'s _essay on criticism_, that all auxiliary verbs are mere _expletives_. "while expletives their feeble aid _do_ join, and ten low words oft creep in one dull line. but this i believe mr. _pope_ never intended to advance. _milton_ has used them in many places, where he could have avoided it if he had pleased. i will produce one. --"him the most high wrapt in a balmy cloud with fiery steeds _did_, as thou saw'st, receive.-_milton_ might have said, "receiv'd, as thou hast seen.-but he thought the auxiliary verb added strength to the expression, as indeed it does. i own where the auxiliary verb is brought close to its principal, and _that_ a thin monosyllable, as in the line just now referred to, the verse is very rude and disagreeable. but to prove that the auxiliary verb may be employed properly, i will produce an instance in rhym'd verse, as strong as that of _milton_ just mentioned. "then _did_ the roaring waves their rage compose, when the great father of the flood arose. _pit's_ 1st æneid. i believe it will not be disputed, but that this line is as full, as sonorous, and majestick as if the auxiliary verb had been left out, and the author had used _compos'd_ instead of _did compose_. the expression is certainly more beautiful and more poetical; and the reason of it is, that it occasions suspence, which raises the attention; or in other words the auxiliary verb gives notice of something coming, before the principal thing itself appears, which is another property of majesty. mr. _dryden_'s authority might likewise be added on this occasion; even in his celebrated lines on _milton_ it is to be met with. "_greece_, _italy_, and _england did_ adorn. in his translation of the _æneid_ there are many instances of the same nature, one of which i will mention; "the queen of heav'n _did_ thus her fury vent. the metre of this line, as the words are here rang'd, is not bad, as the ear can judge; but it would have been extremely so, if he had writ it thus, "the queen of heaven her fury thus _did_ vent.[a] [footnote a: his heart, his mistress and his friends _did_ share. _pope_, on _voiture_.] from whence it appears that the auxiliary verb is not to be rejected at all times; besides, it is a particular idiom of the _english_ language: and has a majesty in it superior to the _latin_ or _greek_ tongue, and i believe to any other language whatsoever. many instances might be brought to support this assertion from great authorities. i shall produce one from _shakespear_. --_this to me in dreadful secrecy impart they_ did. the auxiliary verb is here very properly made use of; and it would be a great loss to _english_ poetry, if it were to be wholly laid aside. in translations from the _greek_ and _latin_, i believe it wou'd sometimes be impossible to do justice to an author without this help: i think the passage in _homer_ before us, i mean the two first lines of the _iliad_, are an instance of this kind. they have been translated by many persons of late, _dryden_, _manwaring_, mr. _tickel_, and by mr. _pope_ twice, and not by any one of 'em, as i apprehend, in the spirit of _homer_. as to mr. _pope_'s two translations, i don't understand why the latter ought to be preferr'd to the former. mr. _pope_'s first translation stood thus. the wrath of _peleus'_ son, the direful spring of all the _grecian_ woes, _o_ goddess sing. mr. _pope_ had reason to be dissatisfy'd with the _o_ in the second line, and to reject it; for _homer_ has nothing of it. but now let us see how the vacancy is supplied in mr. _pope_'s new translation. _achilles'_ wrath, to _greece_ the direful spring of woes un-number'd, _heav'nly_ goddess, sing. is not _heav'nly_ as much an expletive as _o_, and can either of these couplets deserve to be plac'd in the front of the iliad? i could wish mr. _pope_ would return these two lines once more to the anvil, and dismiss all expletives here at least. but enough of expletives. i shall now say something of _monosyllables_, which seem to be absolutely condemn'd in the second line of the two verses just mention'd from mr. _pope's essay on criticism_. and ten low words oft creep in one dull line. mr. _dryden_ indeed has said in several places, that the vast number of _monosyllables_ in our language makes it barbarous and rough, and unfit for poetry. i am apt to think mr. _pope_ gave into mr. _dryden_'s sentiment a little too hastily. i own _ten low words_ too frequently _creep on in one dull line_, in a poet's works, whom mr. _pope_ has formerly celebrated with no mean encomiums. the following lines afford an example in this respect. at the beginning of the third book of the _davideis_, this is the description of _goliah_'s sword. "a sword so great, that _it_ was only _fit_ to take off his great head, who came with _it_. _cowley._ here are ten _dull_ words most certainly in one _dull_ line. "to take off his great head, who came with _it_. and miserable is the metre in which they creep on. but hundreds of _monosyllable_ lines are to be found in _milton_ that are as sublime, as beautiful, and as harmonious as can possibly be written. look only into the morning hymn in the fifth book. "speak ye who best can tell, ye sons of light. again, "thou sun! of this great world both eye and soul. again, "and when high noon hast gain'd, and when thou fall'st. again, "with the fixt stars, fixt in their orb that flies. again, "breathe soft or loud; and wave your tops, ye pines. again, "bear on your wings and in your notes his praise. can it be said that ten dull words creep on dully in any one of these lines? but examples may likewise be given in rhym'd verse, of the harmony of _monosyllables_. harmony consists in mixing rough and smooth, soft and harsh sounds. what words can be rougher than such as these, _rides_, _rapt_, _throws_, _storms_; or smoother than these, _wheel_, _hush_, _lull_? "then mounted on his radiant carr he _rides_, and _wheels_ along the level of the tides. _pit_'s 1st æneid. how rough is the first line, how soft the latter! as soft as the original, which is a masterpiece. "_rapt_ by his steeds he flies in open day, _throws_ up the reins, and skims the watry way. "has given to thee great _æolus_ to raise _storms_ at thy sov'reign will, and _smooth_ the seas. "he spake, and speaking chas'd the clouds away, _hush'd_ the loud billows, and restor'd the day. "mean time the goddess on _ascanius_ throws, a balmy slumber and a sweet repose. _lull'd_ in her lap to rest, the queen of love, convey'd him to the soft _idalian_ grove. _pit_'s 1st æneid. where can a smoother line than this be found in our language? "_lull'd_ in her lap to rest, the queen of love. and it may be observed that this line is all monosyllables. _monosyllables_ are likewise of great consequence on another account. the strength of the _english_ language is greatly owing to them: for to them it is principally obliged for its conciseness; and conciseness is strength. now conciseness is not only to express ourselves in as few words as we can, but the excellency of the language shews itself, if those few words are composed of few syllables. and herein upon examination, the strength of the _english_ tongue will be found to lye; and for this reason it may be said to be more concise than the _latin_; which will appear if _virgil_ is turned into _english_, i mean even _english_ verse. for example: "--_ubi tot simois correpta sub undas scuta virum, galeasq; & fortia corpora volvit._ "where _simois_ streams incumber'd with the slain, roll'd shields, and helms, and heroes to the main. _pit_'s 1st æneid. to discover which of these two passages is the most concise, it is not sufficient to shew, that there are two whole _english_ lines, and but one line and three parts of another in the _latin_. _latin_ and _english_ lines cannot be compared together, because in a _latin_ line there are six feet, and in an _english_ line but five. again, in _latin_ verse there must be in every line one foot of three syllables, often three or four, or even five feet of three syllables, and sometimes four or five syllables in one foot. whereas in an _english_ line, there is hardly ever more than two syllables in a foot. so that an _english_ verse cannot be compared with the _latin_ by the line, or by the foot, but only by the syllables of which the words are composed, which make the feet in both the languages. the business then is to enquire whether we write or pronounce more syllables in the _latin_ or _english_ verses here quoted: upon enquiry it appears that there are twenty nine syllables in the _latin_, and but twenty one in the _english_; so that the _english_ is almost one third part less than the _latin_; which certainly shews the former to be much more concise than the latter, there being nothing left out in the _english_, but the whole thought is rather more fully expressed: and this we see is owing to _monosyllables_ both verbs and nouns, _streams_, _slain_, _shields_, _roll'd_, _helms_, _main_. in short the whole passage is equal to the original in majesty and harmony, and superior in conciseness. to give another example or two of the same nature. "_urbs antiqua fuit, tyrii tenuere coloni, carthago, italiam contra, tyberinaque longe ostia, dives opum, studiisque asperrima belli._ "against the _italian_ coast, of ancient fame a city rose, and _carthage_ was the name; a _tyrian_ colony, from _tyber_ far, rich, rough, and brave, and exercis'd in war. mr. _pit_'s æneid. "--_facti de nomine byrsam, sed vos, qui tandem, quibus aut venistis ab oris, quove tenetis iter?_- "hence _byrsa_ nam'd.--but now ye strangers, say, who, whence you are, and whither lies your way? i have chosen here three passages of three very different kinds, and in all of them the _english_ appears to be much more concise than the _latin_; neither is there any thing wanting in the fulness of the sense, or in majesty, or in harmony of numbers, any more in the two last passages than in the former. another instance of this kind might be produced out of _virgil_'s most perfect work, the _georgick_, although it wants the advantage of being translated by such a hand as mr. _pit_'s. "_si vero viciamq; seres vitemq; faselum, nec pelusiacoe curam aspernabere lentis._ "but if the vetch you sow, or meaner tare, nor shall disdain th' _ægyptian_ lentil's care. in the _latin_ there are thirty syllables in the two lines, in the _english_ but twenty one. so that the _english_ is almost one third more concise than the _latin_; and at the same time _virgil_'s sense fully expressed. i will conclude this letter with the opinion of a foreigner concerning our monosyllables: a person not at all prepossessed in favour of our language. "the _english_ language, besides the most significant words borrowed from the _latin_, _greek_, &c. and often shortned, hath a vast stock of its own, and being for the most part monosyllables, no speech is capable of expressing thought in sounds so few as the _english_ does: this is easily observed by the translations of the _english_ into foreign languages. "the strength and conciseness that monosyllables (especially in verbs) produce, are of wonderful use in lyrick poetry, because they enter into any foot or measure of verses, by different transpositions; so that i dare venture to assert, there is no _italian_ or foreign song, which _english_ words will not suit; the variety of feet and metres producing equal variety of mode and movements in composition. the want of this is what makes the _french_ vocal musick so confined and uniform; for i cannot recollect above two of their verbs in use in the infinitive mood, that are monosyllables, and not one exact dactile in all their polysyllables." _röner_'s preface to his _melopeïa sacra_. sept. 13. 1736. _i am_, sir, _&c._ letter iii. _sir,_ in comparing _virgil_'s and _milton_'s versification, i shall begin with _virgil_; and shew some of the principal beauties of his poetry in this respect: and here i must own myself not a little indebted to _la-cerda_, _pontanus_ and _pierius_, but above all to the most excellent _erythræus_, who has not only considered every paragraph, every line, every foot, every word, and every syllable, but even every letter in _virgil_; and it is not easy to conceive how much may depend on a single letter, very often the whole harmony of a line; and on this account we have vast obligations to _pierius_; to him we owe this fine verse, and many others. "_atq; rotis summas levibus_ pellabitur _undas_.-all the common editions read _perlabitur_; which is horrid to the ear. but to go on with the matter in hand. the principal excellencies of _virgil_'s versification consist of the several following particulars. 1st, the continual varying of the pause. 2d, the inversion of the phrase. 3d, the adapting of the sound to the sense. 4th, the mixing of the singular and plural numbers. 5th, the giving majesty and strength to his verse with the connecting particles _que_ and _et_. 6th, the _collocatio verborum_, or artful way of placing words. 7th, the changing the common pronunciation of words. 8th, verses contrary to the common measure. 9th, 10th, and 11th, his _alliteratio_, _allusio verborum_, and _assonantia syllabarum_. as these three last articles arise from observations perfectly new at the time they were written by _erythræus_, namely, about 200 years ago; and as new at this time, having been almost quite lost by i know not what accident to the world; i must follow my master, and use his terms for his discoveries, except where i differ a little from him. 1st, to begin with the first article mentioned in this letter, _the varying of the pause_. this subject i have met with in several books, but not fully explained in any one of them to my capacity; for i must confess i should never have thoroughly apprehended the varying of the pause in any language, if i had not thought of an expedient to discover what is the common pause in a verse that each language naturally stops at, of which i have any knowledge. to find out this, i consulted the middling sort of poets, or the first practicers in this art: in this enquiry i observ'd from _hesiod_ and _ennius_ among the _greek_ and _latin_ poets, and afterwards from _ovid_ with relation to the latter, and which i am now to speak of, that the common pause or stop in all _latin_ heroick verse (to say nothing of the _greek_, which agrees with it in this respect) is upon the 1st syllable of the 3d foot. for example, "_ante mare & tellus | & quod tegit omnia, cælum, unus erat toto | naturæ vultus in orbe, quem dixêre chaos | rudis indigestaque moles; nec quicquam, nisi pondus, iners; | congestaque eodem non bene junctarum | discordia semina rerum. nullus adhuc mundo | præbebat lumina titan; nec nova crescendo | reparabat cornua phoebe, nec circumfuso | pendebat in aëre tellus_-here we have eight lines all paused in the same place, except one, (the 4th); and in this kind of measure the _metamorphosis_ is generally written; from whence i collected the natural pause in the _latin_ language to be as abovementioned: i then consulted the best poem of the best _latin_ poet, which begins with these lines. "_quid faciat lætas segetes, | quo sydere terram vertere, | mæcenas, | ulmisque adjungere vites conveniat, | quæ cura boum, | qui cultus habendo sit pecori, | apibus quanta experientia parcis hinc canere incipiam |._-here i observed that this great master had artfully avoided the common pause till he came to the fifth line; and he takes care to do it as much as possible throughout the whole work; from whence arises one of the most material differences in the versification of _ovid_ and _virgil_; and to produce more examples would be a needless labour. in this place let me take notice that it is on account of varying the pause that _virgil_ makes his broken lines in the _æneid_, which suspend all pauses, and the ear is relieved by this means, and attends with fresh pleasure. whoever intends to come up to _virgil_ in harmony in heroick numbers in any long work, must not omit this art. 2d, the next thing to be attended to, is, _the inversion of the phrase_. this flings the stile out of prose, and occasions that suspense which is the life of poetry. this _builds the lofty rhyme_ (as _milton_ expresses it) in such manner as to cause that majesty in verse of which i have said so much before, that there is no need of saying any thing more here. 3d. the third thing is, _the adapting the sound to the sense_. most people know such instances of this nature, as _quadrupedante_, &c. and _illi inter sese_, &c. but few attend to an infinity of other examples. how is the verse drawn out in length, and how does it labour when strong heavy land is to be ploughed! "--_ergo, age terræ pingue solum, primis extemplo a mensibus anni fortes invortant tauri._-how nimbly does the verse move when the turning over very light ground is represented! "--_sub ipsum arcturum_, tenui s[=a]t erit _suspendere sulco_.-how slow does the heavy waggon proceed in this line! "_tardaque eleusinæ matris volventïa plaustra._-how does the boat bound over the _po_ in these two hemisticks! "--_levis innatat alnus missa pado._-see feathers dancing on the water in this! "--_in aqua colludere plumas._-no stem of the crab-tree is more rough than this verse. "_inseritur vero ex foetu nucis arbutus horrida:_ water is not more liquid than this. "_speluncisque lacus clausos, lucosque sonantis._-_s. & l. liquescit carmen instar aquarum_, says _erythræus_ in his note on this line. how gently flow the streams in this verse! "_unde pater tiberinus, & unde aniena fluenta._-what a roaring do the _hypanis_ and _caicus_ make in the next! "_sax[=o]sumque s[=o]nans hypanis, mysusque caïcus._ but now observe how he raises his song to honour his favourite _eridanus_! "_et gemina_ auratus _taurino cornua vultu_ eridanus; _quo non_ alius _per pinguia culta in mare purpureum v[=i]olent[=i]or [=i]nflu[=i]t amn[=i]s._ the former line strikes the ear with _mysus_ and _caïcus_; here you have _auratus_, _eridanus_, and _alius_. then an alliteration, _per pinguia_, and at last the whole passage rolls on in a dactyl line, and rushes into the sea with an _assultus_ of the vowel _i_, repeated five times in three words. "--_violentior influit amnis._ the following line tours into the skies with the highest mountain in _italy_. "--_gaudetque nivali vertice se attollens pater appeninus, ad auras._-this falls down as low as the deepest valley. "_saxa per, & scopulos, & depressas convalles._ in short there is nothing in nature that _virgil's_ verse does not convey to the _ear_, and the _eye_; so that this subject is inexhaustible, and must be left to every one's particular observation. the learned _morhophius_ has a passage relating to this matter which comes in too properly here to be omitted. "solent carminibus suæ esse a numeris veneres, & certa quædam artificia, quæ mirifice ornant versum, quales apud virgilium, mirum numeri poetici observatorem, frequenter occurrunt, e.g. cum versus terminantur monosyllabis, ut: _procumbit humi bos: nascetur ridiculus mus_. vel cum spondæi multi adhibentur, ut; _media agmina circumspexit: illi inter sese magnâ vi brachia tollunt_. aut cum dactyli & spondæi ita miscentur, ut rei naturam exprimant, ut cum de turri ruente ait: "--_convellimus altis sedibus; impulimusq;, ea lapsa repente_ ruinam _cum sonitu trahit_.- "talia infinita apud virgilium habentur quæ homo in iis non exercitatus contemnat, doctus vero & prudens admiretur. _polyhist._ there is also a remark of the judicious _columna_ on a celebrated line in _virgil_, which is very much to the present purpose. _unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem._] virgilius de eodem loquens æneid l. 6. integrum hoc carmen sumpsit, ita tamen, ut _spondeorum tarditate fabii moram referret_, --tu maximus ille es, unus, qui nobis cunctando restituis rem. _enn. frag._ sept. 21, 1736, _i am_, sir, _&c._ * * * * * _p.s._ the passage in the learned _muhlius_, which i should have inserted at the beginning of this letter, i send you in a postscript. you have seen it before, but it is worth reading more than once. you know it belongs principally to the article that treats of _the varying the pause_. "neque potest unus idemque semper tenor in carmine usurpari, sed debet is pro varià periodorum poeticarum ratione distingui. et ut insurgat decore & intumescat aliquando, iterumque remittat, ubi opus est, consequimur cæsorum ac periodorum sola inæqualitate. quod pulcerrime observat _virgilius_, cujus alia mensura, alia pedum compositio est in narrationibus, descriptionibus, orationibus, & tanta periodorum numerorumque variatio, ut ad eam perfectionem nihil addi possit. hujus rei quanta negligentia in _statio_, _lucano_, _claudiano_, _silio italico_? ubi admirabilis illa harmonia, suavitas, gravitas ipsorum pedum æqualiter, inæqualiter temperatorum, per clausulas verborum fractorum, ac intra regiones suas aliter aliterq; interceptorum? ut de junctura illa literarum nihil addam, cum vocales ac consonantes ipsæque syllabæ ita miscentur, ut rei naturam tam apte jucundeque exprimant, ut ea _geri_ potius quam _cani_, _spectari_ magis quam _audiri_ videatur. talia infinita sunt apud _virgilium_, quæ captum imperitorum longe excedunt, doctiores vero & prudentiores impense admirantur; quæ nihil tritum, vulgare, hiuclum nihil elumbe ac contortum patiuntur, at nescio quid virile & stupendum plane, ac majus humana voce videntur sonare. _claudianus_ certe istud fastigium non attingit, & quod in _maroniana_ dictione, in illa periodorum ac numerorum varietate præclarum putamus, vix est, ut ejus vel levem umbram ostentet. sic eadem semper oberrat chorda, quod ridiculum existimat magnus iste dicendi magister." letter iv. _sir_, [sidenote: iv.] the fourth thing to be consider'd is, _virgil_'s _mixing the singular and plural numbers_. this has a wonderful effect, and is very diligently attended to by _virgil_; but i believe never once thought of by _ovid_, or any other _roman_ writer in the days of _augustus_. "_quid faciat lætas_ segetes, _quo sidere_ terram _vertere, mæcenas, ulmisque adjungere_ vites, _conveniat: quæ cura boum, qui cultus habendo sit_ pecori, apibus _quanta experientia parcis_. here you have _segetes_ and _terram_, and then _vites_, and after that _pecori_ and _apibus_. again, "--_camposque, & flumina late curva tenent: ut molle_ siler, _lentæque_ genistæ, populus, & _glauca canentia fronde_ salicta. _pars autem posito surgunt de semine: ut altæ_ castaneæ; _nemorumq; jovi quæ maxima frondet_ esculus, _atque habitæ graiis oracula_ quercus. here are _siler_ and _genistæ_, _populus_ and _salicta_, _castaneæ_ and _esculus_, and _quercus_. again, "arma virumque _cano, trojæ qui primus ab oris_ italiam, _fato profugus_, lavinaque _venit_ litora. _multum ille &_ terris _jactatus &_ alto, _vi_ superum _sævæ memorem_ junonis _ob iram. multa quoq; & bello passus, dum conderet_ urbem, _inferretque_ deos _latio_: genus _unde latinum albanique_ patres, _atque altæ moenia romæ_. these _two first words_ of the _æneid_ are an example of what i am taking notice of; and then we have in this introduction _italiam_ and _litora lavina_, _terris_ and _alto_, _superum_ and _junonis_, _urbem_ and _deos_, _genus_ and _patres_. but the most beautiful passage of this nature is in the _georgics_. here the thing to be done, and the instrument with which it is to be done, are varied alternately. "_quod nisi & assiduis_ terram _insectabere_ rastris, _et_ sonitu _terrebis_ aves, _& ruris opaci_ falce _premes_ umbras, votisq; _vocaveris_ imbrem. terram _rastris_, sonitu _aves_, falce _umbras_, votis _imbrem_. upon which _la cerda_ makes this remark: "_placet_ virgilius _semper, sed cur placeat sæpe ignoratur. in rebus quatuor recensendis numquam pluralem cum plurali, neque singularem cum singulari, quod minus ad varietatem: sed semper cum singulari pluralem. unica terra multis rastris insectanda est, unica pluvia multis votis petenda. contra, multæ aves terrendæ unico sonitu, multæ umbræ unica falce compescendæ._" now in _ovid_ nothing of this art is to be found. "_ante_ mare & tellus, _& (quod tegit omnia)_ coelum, _unus erat toto naturæ_ vultus _in orbe, quem dixere_ chaos: _rudis indigestáque_ moles, _nec quicquam nisi_ pondus _iners_. here are _mare_, _tellus_, _coelum_, _vultus_, _chaos_, _moles_, and _pondus_, without any one word of the plural number amongst them. v. the next particular to be taken notice of, is _virgil_'s uncommon use of the particles _et_ and _que_. "--_multum ille_ et _terris jactatus_ et _alto_; _multa quoque_ et _bello passus_- et _premere_, et _laxas sciret dare jussus habenas_. and more frequently in his most finish'd piece. _quid tibi odorato referam sudantia ligno. balsama_que, et _baccas_- _quod nisi_ et _assiduis terram insectabere rastris_, et _sonitu terrebis aves_, et _ruris opaci falce premes umbras, votis_que _vocaveris imbrem. si vero viciam_que _seres, vilem_que _faselum_. this manner of using these connecting particles, gives majesty and strength to the verse. it gives majesty, because it occasions suspense and raises the attention. for example: _si vero viciam_que _seres_-here the _que_ hinders the sense from being concluded, till you have read the rest of the line, --_vilemque faselum._ but if the poet had writ (supposing the verse would have allowed it) _si vero viciam seres_-the reader would have understood him without going any farther; and it is easily perceiv'd the verse would have been very flat to what it is now. this double use of the particles gives strength to the verse; because, as the excellent _erythræus_ observes, the copulative conjunctions are in language of the same use as nerves in the body, they serve to connect the parts together; so that these sorts of verses which we are speaking of may be very properly called, nervous lines. this art _virgil_ most certainly learnt from _homer_: for there is nothing more remarkable in _homer_'s versification, nothing to which the majesty of it is more owing, than this very thing, and i wonder none of his commentators (that i have seen) have taken notice of it. there are four in the 23 first lines of the iliad, of this kind. i will put the _latin_ for the sake of the generality of readers. _atrides_que, _rex virorum,_ et _nobilis achilles. redempturus_que _filiam, ferens_que _infinitum pretium liberationis, atridæ_que, et _alii bene ocreati achivi, reverendum_que _esse sacerdotem,_ et _splendidum accipiendum pretium_. clarke's _translation_. vi. i come now to the _collocatio verborum_, of which there is no occasion to give any more than one instance: "_vox quoque per lucos vulgo exaudita silentes_ ingens.-the reader cannot but perceive that the manner of placing _ingens_ has a wonderful effect; it makes him hear the melancholy voice _groan through the grove_. vii. the _changing the common pronunciation of words_, as thus: _"fluvi[)o]rum rex eridanus._-and _"strid[)e]re apes utero & ruptis efferv[)e]re costis._ viii. _lines contrary to the common measure_, or rather without any measure at all, _viz._ "_quod fieri ferro, liquidove potest electro, saxa per & scopulos & depressas convalles._ ix, x, xi. these are the three articles formerly mentioned, namely, the _alliteratio_, the _allusio verborum_, and the _assonantia syllabarum_. 1. as to the _alliteratio_. this is of several kinds, it is _initial_, _single_ and _double_; sometimes _treble_, or more frequent. it is likewise _mix'd_, that is, both in the first letters of the words, and in the following syllables. it is sometimes so often repeated, that it may be term'd _assultus_, or an attack upon, or a storming of the ear. the following are examples of the _single alliteratio_. "_quid faciat lætas_ segetes, _quo_ sidere _terram_ vertere, _mæcenas_, _ulmisque adjungere_ vites, conveniat: _quæ_ cura _boum_, _qui_ cultus _habendo_. again, "--_sed_ viva volare _sideris in numerum_.-and, "--_asia longe_ pulia palus.-of the _double_ initial _alliteratio_, this is an example: "_totaque thuriferis panchaia pinguis arenis._ of the _treble_ and more frequent initial _alliteratio_, this is an instance: "_et sola in siccâ secum spatiatur arena._ the _mix'd alliteratio_, and the _assultus_ are to be found in these two lines: "illas _ducit_ amor trans gargara, transque sonantem ascanium: superant _montes_, & flumina tranant. in these two lines the vowel _a_ is repeated fourteen times, and what an effect this has upon the ear, the reader cannot but perceive. 2. of the _allusio verborum_, the following are examples: "_nec nocturna quidem carpentes pensa puellæ._ again, "_hoc metuens; molemque & montes insuper altos._ again, "_stat sonipes, ac frena ferox spumantia mandit._ again, "_vitavisse vices danaum._ 3. of the _assonantia syllabarum_ or _rhyme_, there are in _virgil_ the several following sorts. 1. _the plain direct rhyme_, which is of two kinds, _single_ or _double_. 2. _the intermediate_ or _casual plain rhyme_. 3. _the scanning conclusive rhyme_. so called, because it would hardly be perceived by the generality of readers, unless they first scann'd the verse; but when they have done that in three or four lines, the ear will afterwards make the necessary distinction without any farther trouble. i will explain and give examples of all these several sorts of _rhyme_ in their order. 1. to treat of the plain _single_ direct _rhyme_. the following verses are examples of this sort of rhyme: but to make them more like our own, i will divide the verse into two parts. "_poculaque inventis acheloia miscuit uvis._ "_totaque thuriferis panchaia pinguis arenis._ "_et premere, & laxas sciret dare, jussus habenas._ "_atque rotis summas levibus pellabitur undas._ "_o nimium coelo et pelago confise sereno._ many more of these lines might be produced, but these are sufficient. of the plain direct _double_ rhyme (which is the sort of rhyme the _spectator_ speaks of no. 60, and which the monks were in love with) the following are instances. "_hic labor extremus, lon_garum _hæc meta vi_arum. again, "_i nunc & verbis virtutem illude superbis._ again, "_cornua veletarum obvertimus antennarum._ 2. _of the intermediate plain rhyme_, the following are examples. "imposuit, _regemque_ dedit, _qui foedere certo_. and, "_descendo, ac ducente_ deo _flammam inter & hostes_. in this passage _virgil_ uses _deus_ in speaking of a _goddess_, for no other reason imaginable but to enrich his verse with rhyme. 3. of the _scanning conclusive rhyme_ the following are instances. "_sylvestrem tenui musam medi--taris [=a]--ven[=a]_. "_nudus in ignota pali--nure j[=a]--cebis [=a]--ren[=a]_. from whence it appears that _virgil_'s poetry is almost all rhyme of one kind or other; and it is evident beyond dispute that he generally concludes his strong, sounding, majestick paragraphs with a full rhyme, for which i refer to that fine line already more than once mentioned, which sums up the praises of _italy_. "_totaque thuriferis panchaia pinguis arenis._ and to the conclusion of his finest work. "_hic vero subitum, ac dictu mirabile monstrum aspiciunt: liquefacta boum per viscera toto stridere apes utero, & ruptis effervere costis, immensasque trahi nubes; jamque arbore summa confluere, & lentis uvam demittere ramis._ and to this i will add the last line of the epilogue to the _georgicks_. "_tytyre te patulæ cecini sub tegmine fagi._ where the two several hemisticks or parts of the verse rhyme each to itself. i would observe here that both _ovid_ and _lucan_, for want of judgment, begin with a full rhyme; the consequence of which is, that the conclusion of the paragraph is less sonorous than the beginning, which must needs have a bad effect. "_in nova fert animus muta_tas _discere for_mas. ovid. "_bella per æmath_ios _plus quam civilia cam_pos. lucan. but a modern writer, and a much better composer of _latin_ verses than either _ovid_ or _lucan_, has with great judgment taken care to follow _virgil_'s example in this and many other particulars. i mean _vanerius_. there are a great number of lines in his _prædium rusticum_ which are worthy of _virgil_ himself: i shall entertain you with some of them. in his kitchen-garden, the following passage is a description of all the numerous family of colworts, or the cabbage-kind. "_quid dicam quanta jactat se brassica laude? sive volubilibus redit in se frondibus, orbesque orbibus agglomerans, capitis sub mole laborat; tornato similes ebori seu candida flores ediderit, seu coniacas imitata cupressus, seque suas plicat in frondes, & acumen in album desinit, & tenui venit haud ingloria mensæ. sive hieme in media cum cætera frigore torpent loeta viret, boreamque trucem, caurosque malignos despiciens, vacuis ultro dominatur in hortis._" in his description of the farm-yard, he paints the following several sorts of fowls in this manner: "_se pictæ cervicis_ anas | _& garulus_ anser _tarda mole movent: | habitu_ gallina _modesto progreditur: | caudam_ gallus _cristasque rubentes erigit, | & motis sibi plaudit lætior alis_." and i cannot omit this most charming verse which describes the courtship of a pigeon. "_sæpe solum verrens pennâ pendente rotatur._" "oft with his trailing wing the wanton dove brushes the ground, and wheels about his love. such verse as this must please in all ages, and in all countries, where the readers have any taste and delicacy of ear. all the beauties of _virgil_'s poetry are in these lines; and you may observe in the four last mentioned, 1. how curiously the _pause_ is varied. in the first line it is upon the first syllable of the fourth foot. in the second line it is upon the first syllable of the third foot. in the third line it is upon the first syllable of the second foot. in the fourth line it is upon the last syllable of the first foot. 2. observe the _initial alliteration_ in the first, second and third lines. in the first, _anas_ and _anser_. in the second, _mole_, _movent_, and _modesto_. in the third, _caudam_, _cristasque_. the mixt alliteration in the first line where _garrulus_ is placed betwixt _anser_ and _anas_, makes the verse very sonorous; but the mixt alliteration in the last line where the vowel _i_ is repeated eight times in seven words, is a very masterly stroke; "_er_i_g_i_t, & mot_i_s s_i_b_i _plaud_i_t loet_i_or al_i_s_." --i_lle h_i_nc concentus_ i_n omn_i _carm_i_ne d_i_v_i_n_i _vat_i_s_.-which _extempore_ remark is itself an instance of what i am taking notice of as imitated from _virgil_. 3. you will perceive the _allusio verborum_ to have a very good effect in the second line. "_tarda m_o_le m_o_vent, habitu gallina m_o_dest_o." 4. the mixing the singular and plural numbers in the third line is very judicious. "_caudam_ cristasque _rubentes_. _ovid_ would have said, "_caudam_ cristamque-lastly, the full rhyme in the fourth line makes the whole paragraph very harmonious. it is not improper to produce here the conclusion of the description of _æolus_'s cave, which is one of the finest passages in the _æneid_. "_sed pater omnipotens spelunc_is _abdidit at_ris _hoc metuens_, mo_lemque &_ mo_ntis insuper altos imposu_it, _regemque ded_it, _qui foedere certo et premere, & lax_as _sciret dare jussus haben_as. would not any body think that _vanerius_ intended to vie with _virgil_ in this place? october 2. 1736. _i am_, sir, _&c._ * * * * * _p.s._ the examples i have given in this letter of _plain direct rhyme_ are only in _long_ or _heroic_ verse, but i might have instanc'd in _lyric lines_. _horace_ abounds in rhyme. in the first ode we find _metaque fervidis evitata rotis palmaque nobilis illum si proprio condidit horreo_ and several others. in two of his finest odes the following lines are as full rhymes as can possibly be made, _nec venenatis gravida sagittis pone me pigris ubi nulla campis arbor æstiva recreatur aura aut in umbrosis heliconis oris aut super pindo gelidove in hæmo._ the two last are doubly rhym'd. letter v. _sir,_ i am now to consider _milton_'s versification under the same heads as i have considered _virgil_'s, so far as there is opportunity of doing it. i. to begin with _the varying of the pause_, which is the soul of all versification in all languages. verse is musick, and musick is more or less pleasing as the notes are more or less varied, that is, raised or sunk, prolonged or shortned. in order to judge of the varying of _english_ versification, i first endeavour'd (as i have already said, with respect to the _latin_) to find out the common pause in _english_ verse, that is, where the voice naturally makes some sort of stop when a verse is read. to this purpose i look'd into mr. _cowley_'s _davideis_ (for it would be of no use to quote such authors as _quarles_ and _ogilby_, who never had any reputation for poetry; but this gentleman has been stil'd, and is at present recorded in _westminster-abbey_, as _anglorum pindarus_, _maro_, _flaccus_) and there i soon found the common pause to be upon the last syllable of the second foot. for example: "i sing the man | who _judah_'s sceptre bore in that right-hand, | which held the crook before; who from best poet, | best of kings _did_ grow: the two chief gifts | heav'n could on man bestow. much dangers first, | much toil did he sustain, whilst _saul_ and hell | crost his strong fate in vain. nor did his crown | less painful work afford-here we have seven lines, and all of them, except the third, paus'd in the same place. thus i discovered from _cowley_ in _english_ what i perceived from _ovid_ in _latin_. i then turned to the _paradise lost_, and there i found _milton_ even surpasses _virgil_ in this particular. _virgil_ uses the common pause at the fifth line of the _georgicks_, but _milton_ does not use it till he comes to the sixth line in his _paradise lost_. "of man's first disobedience | and the fruit of that forbidden tree | whose mortal taste brought death into the world | and all our woe, with loss of _eden_ | 'till one greater man restore us | and regain the blissful seat, sing heavenly muse |-it would be needless to produce more examples to this purpose; and i believe i may venture to affirm that the verse is varied at least with as much skill in the _paradise lost_, as even in the _georgick_ itself: i am inclinable to think with more, because in this respect the _english_ language surpasses the _latin_, by reason of its monosyllables, of which i have said enough for any body at all versed in these matters, to be able to make out what is here advanc'd. but before i quit this article, i will observe that it is to the artful and uncommon varying the pause, that the harmony is owing in those two celebrated lines of sir _john denham_. "tho' deep | yet clear; | tho' gentle | yet not dull. strong | without rage, | without o'erflowing | full. this is one of those mysteries in versification which the late duke of _bucks_ would not suffer mr. _dryden_ to communicate to the publick. to the same art is owing the delicacy of two of the finest lines in all the _latin_ tongue. "_te | dulcis conjux | te | solo in littore | secum, te | veniente die | te | decedente | canebat._ of the same nature are many lines in _milton_, of which this is one: "him first | him last | him midst | and without end. ii. i come now to the second particular: _the inversion of the phrase_. every page affords instances of this nature. "--him the almighty pow'r hurl'd headlong flaming from the ethereal sky. again, "--up stood the corny reed embattell'd in her field.-again, "--him the most high rapt in a balmy cloud with winged steeds did, as thou saw'st, receive. and in one of _milton_'s juvenile poems we have "trip the pert fairies.-and, "revels the spruce jocund spring. _comus._ iii. the third thing to be consider'd, is, _the adapting the sound to the sense_. who does not hear the warbling of a _brook_, the rustling of _wings_, the rough sound of _trumpets_ and _clarions_, and the soft one of _flutes_ and _recorders_ in the following lines? "fountains, and ye that warble as ye flow melodious murmur warbling, tune his praise. again, "--but chief the spacious hall thick swarm'd, both on the ground and in the air, _brush'd with the hiss of rustling wings_. again, "then strait commands, that at the warlike sound of _trumpets_ loud and _clarions_, be uprear'd his mighty standard.-again, "--nor with less dread, the loud ethereal trumpet from on high _'gan blow_. again, "--thus they breathing united force with fixed thought mov'd on _in silence to soft pipes_. who does not see porpoises and dolphins tumbling about in the ocean when he reads this line? "--on smooth the seal, and bended dolphins play: part huge of bulk, wallowing unwieldy, enormous in their gate, tempest the ocean.-how variously the rivers run in these verses? "--so the watry throng wave rowling after wave, where way they found, if steep, with torrent rapture, if through plain soft ebbing.-how is the verse extended where the whale lies at length upon the ocean! "--there leviathan hugest of living creatures, on the deep stretch'd like a promontory sleeps.-how does the line labour when the elephant is working himself through the stiff clay, whilst the lesser animals sprout up as it were in an instant! "--scarce thro' his mould _behemoth_, biggest born of earth, upheav'd his vastness.-and, "--fleec'd the flocks and bleating, rose as plants.-but i shall have occasion to take notice of this subject hereafter. iv. the fourth thing to be enquir'd into is, _the mixing of singular and plural numbers_, in which _milton_ excels. "--flowers were the couch pansies, and violets, and _asphodel_, and _hyacinth_, earth's freshest softest lap. again, "--through many a dark and dreary vale they pass'd, and many a region dolorous, o'er many a frozen, many a fiery alp, rocks, caves, lakes, fens, bogs, dens, and shades of death. again, "sporting the _lion_ ramp'd, and in his paw dandled the _kid_; bears, tigers, ounces, pards, gambol'd before them.-again, "--sweet interchange of hill and valley, rivers, woods and plains, now land, now sea, and shores with forest crown'd rocks, dens and caves. again, "the glittering guard he pass'd, and now is come into the blissful field, thro' groves of myrrh, and flow'ry odours, _cassia_, _nard_, and _balm_. v. as to the fifth remark upon _virgil_, which relates to his using the particles _que_ and _et_ in his verse, there can be nothing of that nature in _milton_. so that i proceed to vi. the sixth thing to be observed, which is, _the collocatio verborum_. _milton_ often places the adjective after the substantive, which very much raises the stile. "strait he commands that at the warlike sound of trumpets _loud_, and clarions, be uprear'd his mighty standard. that proud honour claim'd _azazel_, as his right; a cherub _tall_.-again, "thy goodness beyond thought and pow'r _divine_.-and again, "then from the mountain hewing timber _tall_. but the utmost of his art in this respect consists in his removing the adjective, the substantive, and even the verb, from the line or verse in which the sense is previously contained, and the grammatical construction inverted, to the beginning of the next line. this has a wonderful effect; especially when the word is a monosyllable. "here finish'd he, and all that he had made _view'd_--and behold all was entirely good. again, "over their heads triumphant death his dart _shook_--but refus'd to strike. this artful collocation commands the attention, and makes the reader feel and see what is offer'd to him. that this effect is owing to the collocation will appear by considering any one of the instances now produc'd. for example: "over their heads triumphant death his dart _shook_.-this passage makes the reader see death with his dart in his hand, making it over the heads of the unhappy creatures describ'd in the _lazar-house_, as plainly as if the whole was painted upon canvas. but let this line be alter'd thus: "over their heads death shook his dreadful dart. how much of the fire and spirit of this passage is lost, will be easily perceiv'd. i was long of opinion that _milton_ had invented this art himself, for i knew he had it not from _virgil_: the _latin_ language is hardly capable of it. but by accident i found _milton_ learn'd it from _homer_, though it is plain what is _art_ in the former was _chance_ in the latter; which cannot be disputed when it is considered that in so many thousand lines that we have of _homer_'s, there is i believe but one single instance of this monosyllable collocation; but in _milton_ there are many, both substantives, adjectives and verbs. the single instance in _homer_ is in _odysse_ 9. in the story of _polyphemus_. [greek: sun de duô marpsas, hôs te phulakas poti gaiê / kopt'] _hom._ odyss. _&c._ "two of my hapless friends with all his pow'r, like dogs, the monster on the rocky floor dash'd.-can any body be insensible of the power of this word, _dash'd_, as it is here plac'd. i remember an instance of this monosyllable collocation at the beginning of a line in rhym'd verse, which is very well worth inserting here. it is at the conclusion of mr. _pit_'s 4th _æneid_, when _juno_ sends _iris_ from heaven in haste to relieve _dido_ from the agonies of death. _"tum juno omnipotens, longum miserata dolorem, difficilesque obitus, irim_ demisit olympo _quæ luctantem animam, nexosque resolveret artus_. "then mighty _juno_ with a melting eye, beheld her dreadful anguish from the sky; and bade fair _iris_ from the starry pole, _fly_, and enlarge her agonizing soul. how is the verse animated by the placing that monosyllable, _fly_, at the beginning of the last line.--the reader sees all the concern of _juno_, and all the hurry she is in to get the unhappy queen released from the pangs of death. _milton_ likewise uses his monosyllables very artfully in placing them at the conclusion of a line, so as to divide the last foot of the verse, which has a very extraordinary effect. "silence, ye troubled waves, and thou, _deep_, peace. again he divides the last foot by making a monosyllable the beginning of a new sentence, which is very pleasing. "--up flood the corny reed imbattled in his plain, the humble furz and bush with frisled hair implicit. _last_ rose as in dance the stately trees. _milton_ also sometimes places two monosyllables at the end of the line, stopping at the 4th foot, to adapt the measure of the verse to the sense; and then begins the next line in the same manner, which has a wonderful effect. "now at their shady lodge arriv'd, _both stopt_, _both turn'd_, and under open sky ador'd the god who made, _&c._ this artful manner of writing makes the reader see them _stop_ and _turn_ to worship god before they went into their bower. if this manner was alter'd, much of the effect of the painting would be lost. "and now arriving at their shady lodge _both stopt, both turn'd_, and under open sky ador'd the god, _&c._ this falls very short of the original. so in _latin_, "_jamq; domûs ventum est umbrosæ ad limina_: sistunt ambo, ambo vertunt, & _aperto numen adorant sub coelo._-alter these lines, thus, "_et nunc arborei ventum est ad limina tecti_; sistunt ambo, ambo vertunt, & _numen adorant sub coelo._-there is here just the same difference in the _latin_ as in the _english_. i cannot omit two other instances of _milton_'s wonderful art in the collocation of words, by which the thoughts are exceedingly heighten'd. "under his forming hands a creature grew manlike, but different sex, so lovely fair, that what seem'd fair in all the world, seem'd now _mean_, or in her summ'd up.-what a force has that word _mean_, as it is plac'd! again, "i turn'd my thoughts, and with capacious mind considered all things visible in heav'n, or earth, or middle, all things fair and good; but all that fair and good, in thy divine _semblance_, and in thy beauty's heav'nly ray united i beheld-i presume there is no other language in which perfection equal to this is to be found: and i could give many more instances of the same kind out of the _paradise lost_. vii. the seventh particular in _virgil_ was his _varying the common pronunciation_, in which _milton_ has imitated him in several places; the following is one instance. "--thus to his son au--[=di]--bly spake. for so it must be read, and not after the common manner. again, "hoarse murmur eccho'd to his words applause thro' the in--[=fi]--nite host-and the like in many other places. viii. _his verses contrary to the common measure._ the following is an example of this kind. "drove headlong down to the bottomless pit.-those who may be apt to find fault with such arts as these (for arts they are in _virgil_ and _milton_) little think what it is to write 10 or 12 thousand lines, and to vary the sound of them in such manner as to entertain the ear from the beginning to the end of the work. ix. i come now to the _alliteratio_. and 1. to speak of the single _alliteratio_. this is so common in _milton_, that you need but begin the poem, or open any page of it, and you will meet with it. "of man's _first_ disobedience, and the _fruit_ of that forbidden _tree_, whose mortal _taste_ brought death into the _world_, and all our _woe_. again, "_restore_ us, and _regain_ the blissful seat. and "_sing_ heav'nly muse! that on the _secret_ top. and a little lower, "that _shepherd_ who first taught the chosen _seed_. but i will produce an example or two of this kind out of our author's juvenile poems. his verses upon the circumcision are addressed to the angels that appear'd to the shepherds, and begin thus, "ye flaming pow'rs, and _winged warriors_ bright, that erst with musick and triumphant song through the _soft silence_ of the listning night _so sweetly sung_ your joy the clouds along. all the masters of verse from _chaucer_ to _milton_, and from _milton_ to this time, were sensible of this art. _dryden_ attends to it more than any thing else. "_beneath_ the shade which _beechen boughs_ diffuse, _you tityrus_ entertain _your_ sylvan muse: _round_ the _wide world_ in banishment _we roam_, _forc'd from_ our pleasing _fields_ and native home. again, _arms and_ the man i sing, who _forc'd_ by _fate_ and _haughty_ juno's unrelenting _hate_, _expell'd_ and _exil'd_, left the _trojan_ shore: _long labours_, both by sea and _land_ he bore. mr. _pope_ begins his poems with this delicacy. "_first_ in these _fields_ i try the _sylvan strains_, nor _blush_ to sport on _windsor's blissful_ plains. _fair_ thames _flow_ gently _from_ thy _sacred spring_, while on thy banks _sicilian_ muses _sing_; let vernal airs _thro' tre_mbling osiers play, and _albion_'s cliffs _resound_ the _rural_ lay. you, that too wise for _pride_, too good for _pow'r_ enjoy the _glory_ to be _great_ no more. mr. _pitt_ has the following lines in his 2d _æneid_. "so when an _aged ash_, whose honours rise from some _steep_ mountain tow'ring to the _skies_, with many _an axe_ by _shouting swains_ is ply'd, _fierce_ they repeat the _strokes from_ every _side_; _the tall tree trembling_, as the blows go round, bows the _high head_, and nods to every wound. sir _philip sidney_, who was very unhappy in versification, seems to have despised this beauty in verse, and even to have thought it an excellence to fix the pause always in one place, namely at the end of the second foot: so that he must have had no more ear for poetry than mr. _cowley_. not but that i am apt to think some writers in sir _philip sidney_'s time carried this matter to a ridiculous extreme. others thought this beauty a deformity, and concluded it so from two or three silly _latin_ lines of _ennius_ and _tully,_ such as, _o tite, tute, tati_, &c. and, _o fortunatam, natam_, &c. without ever attending to _virgil_ in the least. _spencer_ every where abounds in all his works with _alliterations_; i will produce but one, which is exceeding beautiful. "the _lilly, lady_ of the _flow'ry field_. here is a double initial alliteration, and a continual mix'd alliteration of the liquid _l_, which makes the verse so very musical that there are few such lines in our, or any other language. _fairfax_, who was one of the first curious versifyers amongst us, embellishes his lines continually with this ornament. in his description of a troop of fighting monks, in his first book of his translation of _tasso_, are these lines. "their jolly notes, they _chanted_ loud and _clear_: and _horrid helms high_ on their _heads_ they bear. than which verses nothing can be more truly poetical. but to go farther back than either _fairfax_ or _spencer_, those celebrated lines in our antient translation of the _psalms_ owe their greatest beauty to their _alliteration_. "the lord descended from above, and bow'd the _heavens high_, and underneath his feet he cast the darkness of the sky. "on _cherubs_ and on _cherubims_ full _royally_ he _rode_, and on the _wings_ of mighty _winds_ came flying _all abroad_. a line of _chaucer_'s just now offers itself to my memory, which has almost all the arts of poetry in it. "a _sheffield_ whittle bare _he_ in _his hose_. there is a fine alliteration in the conclusion of the line, bare _he_ in _his hose_, and a mix'd one at the beginning of it. the _h_ in the first syllables of the second and third words mixes the sound very agreeably; and lastly, the inversion of the phrase (where the nominative is put immediately after the verb) is extremely poetical. _bare he._ _chaucer_ seems (to me) by the help of a delicate ear, and a curious judgment, to have learnt all his graces from _virgil_. 1. his rhyme. 2. his inversion of the phrase: and 3. his alliteratio. the varying of the pause he does not seem to have attended to. but to return to _milton_. having spoken sufficiently of the _initial_, i come now to the _mix'd alliteration_. and this latter is almost as common as the former, and is to be found in all such lines as these. "--and now is come into the _blissful field_.-every ear must perceive how the _f_ and the _l_ are mingled in the two last words. again, "--th[r=]o' g[r=]oves of my[rr=]h.-here the rough _r_ predominates as much as the soft _l_ did in the first part of the verse. again, "and _flow'r_y o_dours_.-here the _allusio verborum_ is introduc'd. _flow'r_ at the beginning of the first word, and _dour_ at the end of the second, make a most agreeable harmony. the line concludes with what may be call'd the _assultus_, or the attack upon the ear. "--_c[=a]ssi[=a], n[=a]rd [=a]nd b[=a]lm._-these five _a_'s in four words at the end of the line must make themselves perceiv'd if words can do it. 'tis of the same kind as _virgil_'s, "--_tumid[=a] æquor[=a] pl[=a]c[=a]t._ but it may be proper to add another instance or two of the _allusio verborum_. "so talk'd the _spirited sly snake_, and _eve_ yet more amaz'd.-again, "when from the _boughs_ a savoury odour _blown_. again, "immediately the mountains huge appear emergent, and their _broad bare backs_ upheave into the clouds.-again, "--scarce from his mould _behemoth, biggest born_ of earth, upheav'd his vastness.-spirited sly snake.--boughs blown.--broad bare backs.--_behemoth_ biggest born. all these passages are in the same stile of sound as _virgil_'s-_metuens_, _molem_, _montis_. "_hoc metuens, molemque & montis insuper altos imposuit._-observe how the _molemque_ & _montis_ labour in the verse exactly in the same manner as broad, bare backs, and _behemoth_ biggest born. but here let me give you a few more instances of the _allusio verborum_, or the mixing of sounds of words in rhym'd verse. "as o'er th'aerial _alps_ sublimely spread some aged oak uprears his reverend head. _pit_'s æneid. a gentleman justly esteemed for his great learning and excellent skill in criticism, but not of so delicate an ear as mr. _pit_, would have had him writ, _as on th'aerial alps_. but then the verse would have wanted much of its harmony, because _o'er_ mingles in sound with _a'er_ which _on_ does not; and the same thing would have happen'd in the next line, if it had stood thus-_some aged oak uplifts his mighty head_.--because _uplifts_ and _mighty_ have no resemblance in sound to each other, or to _aged_ and _head_; but as the line stands, "some aged oak uprears his reverend head, the words all melt into one another, and the musick dies along the verse from the beginning to the end. this is the greatest delicacy of poetry, neither are the other graces wanting in this verse. the pause is properly varied, the first line is entirely suspended. there is in it a double alliteration, _aerial alps, sublimely spread_: and to conclude all, the rhyme is as perfect as possible. octob. 11. 1736. _i am_, sir, _&c._ * * * * * _p.s._ in looking over this letter i observe a passage in _milton_, which merits a very particular consideration, and which i ought to have taken notice of before, when i was speaking of the collocation of words; the passage i mean is, _for since i first_, &c. the entire passage runs thus, "_eve, easily_ may faith admit that all the good which we enjoy, from heav'n descends; _but_, that from _us_ ought should ascend to heav'n so prevalent as to concern the mind of god high-blest, or to incline his will, hard to belief may seem; _yet_ this will prayer, or one short sigh of human breath, up born ev'n to the seat of god. for since i sought by pray'r th' offended deity to appease; _kneel'd_ and before him humbled all my heart, methought i saw him placable and mild, bending his ear, _&c._ how extremely fine is the poetry of this passage? how soft is the beginning, occasion'd by the assonance of the two first words, _eve_, _easily_, and of the five next all alliterated with the same vowel, _a_ "--_may faith admit that all._ how solemn is the pause at the 1st syllable of the 3d line! _but_-and the cæsure upon the monosyllable _us_ that follows immediately, "_but_--that from _us_-and the same energy is plainly perceiv'd at the end of the 6th line, where the cæsure is plac'd upon the monosyllable _yet_, "_yet_--this will prayer, _&c._ but when we come to that line, "_kneel'd_; and before him humbled all my heart, such is the force of the word _kneel'd_ in that situation, that we actually see _adam_ upon his knees before the offended deity; and by the conclusion of this paragraph,--_bending his ear_, infinite goodness is visibly as it were represented to our eyes as inclining to hearken to the prayers of his penitent creature. letter vi. _sir,_ [sidenote: xi.] i am now to proceed to the _assonantia syllabarum_ or _rhyme_. i have shown under this head how much _virgil_ abounds in _rhyme_; from whence i conclude, that it may be reasonably supposed _rhyme_ had its original from a nobler beginning than the barbarity of _druids_ and _monks_. it is very probable that _chaucer_, _dante_, and _petrarch_ learnt it from _virgil_, and that other nations follow'd the example they had set them. to say the _bards_ rhym'd in the times of grossest ignorance, merely by their own invention, only proves that rhyme is naturally harmonious. we are told by the learned that the _hebrew_ poetry is in _rhyme_, and that where-ever any footsteps of this art are to be trac'd, _rhyme_ is always found, whether in _lapland_ or in _china_. if it should be objected that the _greek_ tongue is an exception to this general rule; that matter perhaps may be disputed, or a particular answer might be given. but that the _latin_ language is a friend to _rhyme_ is clear beyond all doubt; and the same is as true of all the living tongues that are distinguished in the learned world. it is no wonder that _verse_ without _rhyme_ has so many advocates amongst the dealers in poetry, because of its facility. _rhym'd_ verse, with all its ornaments, especially the artful way of varying the pause, is exceeding difficult; and so are all the curious productions of art. fine painting, fine musick or sculpture, are all very hard to perform; it is the difficulty that makes those performances so deserving of applause when they attain the highest perfection. as to the matter before us; _rhyme_ (as mr. _dryden_ justly observes) never was _milton_'s talent: this appears from his juvenile poems. and when he sate down to write the _paradise lost_, his imagination was too vigorous, too lofty to be shackled by _rhyme_. it must be own'd that a thousand beauties would have been lost, which now shine with amazing splendor in that poem, if _milton_ had writ in the most exquisite _rhyme_. but then on the other hand, it is as certain that upon the whole it would have been a more agreeable poem to the generality of readers than it is at present. of this opinion was the learned foreigner mentioned in a former letter, a judicious critick both in the ancient and modern languages. "quicquid tamen ejus sit, ostendunt miltoni scripta virum vel in ipsâ juventute: quæ enim ille adolescens scripsit carmina latina, unà cum anglicis edita, ætatem illam longè superant, quâ ille vir scripsit poëmata anglica, sed sine rythmis, quos, ut pestes carminum vernaculorum, abesse volebat, _quale illud decem libris constans, the paradise lost_, plena ingenii & acuminis sunt, sed insuavia tamen videntur ob _rythmi_ defectum; quem ego abesse à tali carminum genere non posse existimo, quicquid etiam illi, & italis nonnullis, & nuper isaaco vossio in libro _de poematum cantu_, videatur." _polyhist._ however, we must take _paradise lost_ as it is, and rejoice that we have in it, one of the finest works that ever the wit of man produc'd: but then the imperfection of this work must not be pleaded in favour of such other works as have hardly any thing worthy of observation in them. placing _milton_ with his blank verse by himself (as indeed he ought to be in many other respects, for he certainly has no companion) this dispute about the excellency of _blank_ verse, and even the preference of it to _rhym'd_ verse, may be determined by comparing two writers of note, who have undertaken the same subject; that is, _virgil_'s æneid. now i will take all the passages of that poem mentioned in my letters to you, and compare them in these two translations: and if it shall appear by the comparison that the _rhym'd_ verses have not only more harmony and conciseness, but likewise that they express _virgil_'s sense more fully and more perspicuously than the _blank_ verse, will it not be easy to determine which of these two sorts ought to be preferr'd? octob. 22. 1736. _i am_, sir, _&c._ * * * * * _p.s._ when i was taking notice of _virgil_'s arts of versification, i should not have omitted his sudden varying the tense of the verb from the preterperfect to the present. "_non tua te nobis, genitrix pulcherrima talem_ promisit, _graiisque ideo bis_ vindicat _armis_. this is very agreeable both as to the verse and the sense; for it makes the thing described more immediately present than it would be otherwise. i cannot just now recollect an example in _milton_ of this nature, but i remember one in _fairfax_, in a couplet already cited. "their jolly notes they _chanted_ loud and clear, and horrid helms high on their heads they _bear_. this is much more lively and peinturesque than if he had writ _bore_, and you will easily perceive it. it may be said, perhaps, that _fairfax_ used _bear_ here for the sake of the verse; let that be allow'd, but then it must be likewise granted, that _virgil_ uses _vindicat_ instead of _vindicavit_, for the sake of his verse, which he would not have done, if it had not been more beautiful than the common prose way of writing: and as it is an excellency in _virgil_, so it is in _fairfax_. letter vii. _sir,_ i am now to collect the passages of the _æneid_, mentioned in my former letters, and bring them together with the _rhym'd_ and _blank_ verse translations. the first passage is this (not to take notice of the very first lines, which mr. _pit_ has translated in two different manners) "_sic cunctus pelagi cecidit fragor, æquora postquam prospiciens genitor, coeloque invectus aperto flectit equos, curruque volans dat lora secundo._ dr. _trapp_, "so all the hurry of the ocean ceas'd, soon as its god appear'd above the waves: who, managing his steeds in air serene, flies swift with slacken'd reins and loose career. mr. _pit_, "then did the roaring waves their rage compose, when the great father of the flood arose, rapt by his steeds he flies in open day, throws up the reins, and skims the watry way. "_atque rotis summas levibus pellabitur undas._ dr. _trapp_, "and with light wheels upon the surface rides, mr. _pit_, "then mounted on his radiant carr he rides, and wheels along the level of the tides. again, "_æole (namque tibi divûm pater atque hominum rex et mulcere dedit fluctus, & tollere vento)_ dr. _trapp_, "--o æolus (for thee the sire of gods, and king of men impow'rs to smooth the waves, or raise them with the wind.) mr. _pit_, "--since mighty _jove_, the king of men, and sire of gods above, gives thee, great _æolus_, the power to raise storms at thy sovereign will, and smooth the seas. again, "_sit ait, & dicto citius tumida æquora placat, collectasque fugat nubes, solemque reducit._ dr. _trapp_, "so spake the god, and sooner than he spoke appeas'd the tossing of the waves, dispell'd the clouds collected, and restor'd the sun. mr. _pit_, "he spoke, and speaking chas'd the clouds away: hush'd the loud billows, and restor'd the day. again, "--_fotum gremio dea tollit in altos idaliæ lucos._ dr. _trapp_, "--and on her bosom hush'd, carries him to _idalia_'s lofty groves.-mr. _pit_, "lull'd in her lap to rest, the queen of love conveys him to the soft _idalian_ grove. again, "--_ubi tot simois correpta sub undis scuta virûm, galeasque, & fortia corpora volvit,_ dr. _trapp_, "where _simois_ in his rapid torrent rolls so many warriour bodies, helms and shields. mr. _pit_, "where _simois_ streams incumber'd with the slain, roll'd shields, and helms, and heroes to the main. again, "_urbs antiqua fuit, tyrii tenuere coloni carthago, italiam contra, tiberinaque longe ostia, dives opum, studiisque asperrima belli,_ dr. _trapp_, "fronting th' _italian_ coast, and _tyber_'s mouth, tho' far remote, an ancient city stood. _carthage_ its name, a colony of _tyre_, mighty in wealth, and rough in study'd war, mr. _pit_, "against th' _italian_ coast, of ancient fame, a city rose, and _carthage_ was the name; a _tyrian_ colony: from _tyber_ far, rich, rough, and brave, and exercis'd in war, again, "_hoc metuens, molemque & montis insuper altos imposuit, regemque dedit, qui foedere certo et premere, & laxas sciret dare jussus habenas,_ dr. _trapp_, "but fearing this, the sovereign of the gods pent them in gloomy caves, and o'er them threw vast piles of massy rocks; impos'd a king, who should by certain measures know to curb, or, when commanded, to indulge their rage. mr. _pit_, "but _jove_, the mighty ruin to prevent, in gloomy caves th'aereal captives pent: o'er their wild rage the pond'rous rock he spread, and hurl'd huge heaps of mountains on their head; and gave a king commissioned to restrain and curb the tempest, or to loose the rein. _hurl'd_, _huge_, _heaps_, _head_, all in the same line, imitate virgil's _metuens_, _molem_, _montis_. and again, "--_facti de nomine_ byrsam; _sed vos qui tandem, quibus aut venistis ab oris, quove tenetis iter?_-dr. _trapp_, "--and the name of _byrsa_ gave in mem'ry of the deed. but, in your turn, at length inform me, who, and whence you are, _and whither bound_?-mr. _pit_, "hence _byrsa_ nam'd: but now ye strangers, say, who? whence you are? and whither lies your way?-there is no occasion to make any more remarks upon these lines. nov. 20. 1736. _i am_, sir, _&c._ letter viii. _sir,_ it has been said by several persons, especially by foreigners, that there is no such thing as measure or feet, or long and short syllables in _english_ words. this mistake, i believe, is chiefly owing to _vossius_, who has advanc'd it in his treatise _de poematum cantu_, &c. as also, that the _french_ language is more fit for heroick verse than the _english_. to examine one or both of these points will be the subject of this letter. that our language does not abound with dactyls and spondees is very true; but that we have words enough which are perfect iambick and trochaick feet is very certain, and this naturally makes our verse iambick. _divine_, _attend_, _directs_, are as perfect iambicks as any _latin_ words of two syllables, and so are most of our monosyllable nouns with their particles. _the lord_, _the man_, _the rock_. every one must perceive that in all these words, the last syllable strikes the ear more than the first, or, in other words, the last is longer than the first, which is all that makes an iambick _latin_ foot. the following words, _people_, _substance_, _angels_, _chearful_, and the like, are all trochaick feet; for it is easily observ'd, that the first syllable dwells longer on the ear than the latter. i wonder that _vossius_, who was a canon of _windsor_, did not perceive this in the metre which he could not but often have heard at church. "all people that on earth do dwell sing to the lord with chearful voice. suppose these two lines were alter'd thus, "all ye people that on earth dwell, sing to the lord with voice chearful. here the natural sound of the words _people_ and _chearful_ is very much alter'd, by their being wrong plac'd; or rather, the verse is quite destroy'd: but to chuse an example from _milton_. "and if our _substance_ be _indeed divine_.-let this be alter'd, "and indeed divine if be our substance.-is not the verse quite destroy'd by this alteration? and does it not appear to be so, because _indeed_ and _divine_, which are iambick feet, are plac'd as if they were trochaick, and _substance_, which is a trochaick foot, is plac'd as if it were an iambick? but i might have omitted the altering of this line of _milton_'s, if i had thought of one in _cowley's davideis_, which is as barbarous as it is possible for the wit of man to make a verse. "to divine nobé directs then his flight. _lib. 3. v. 3._ _nobé_, mr. _cowley_ says in his notes, he puts instead of _nob_, because that word seem'd to him to be _unheroical_. but that is not what i am chiefly to take notice of. _divine_ and _directs_ are both iambicks, but mr. _cowley_ has made them both trochaicks, which makes this line so terrible to the ear. it is plain that _vossius_, who came into _england_ when he was pretty much advanc'd in years, and in all probability convers'd chiefly in _latin_ or _french_, knew nothing at all of the pronunciation of _english_ words. we have as certainly feet or numbers in our language, as in the _latin_; and indeed the _latin_ seems to me to be rather more arbitrary in this respect than the _english_. what reason can be given why _ma_ in _manus_ is short, and _ma_ in _manes_ long? why is _a_ in _amens_ long, and _a_ in _amans_ short, and the like of other words too numerous to relate? that all _english_ verses are _iambick_, appears most plainly by considering monosyllable lines. for example: "arms and the man i sing, who forc'd by fate. here _arms_, _the_, _i_, _who_, _by_, appear to be shorter in their sound than _and_, _man_, _sing_, _forc'd_, _fate_. again, "breathe soft or loud, and wave your tops, ye pines. in this line the same difference is perceiv'd between _breathe_, _or_, _your_, _ye_; and _soft_, _loud_, _wave_, _tops_, _pines_. whence it is evident that these lines are perfectly iambick. the particle _and_, as well as some other monosyllables, may be said to be common, like many words in _latin_; they submit themselves to be alter'd by the voice in reading, and may be pronounced either long or short: but this is not so in other words. and here it may be proper to observe, that _milton_ has a very artful way of varying his numbers, by putting a trochaick foot at the beginning of a verse; and the reason why he could do it, is, that the verse is not enough form'd in that place for the ear to perceive the want of the proper measure. the examples of this kind are very numerous: i will mention but two. "_angels_, for ye behold him, and with song. and again, "_fountains_, and ye that warble as ye flow. nov. 27. 1736. _i am_, sir, _&c._ letter ix. _sir,_ to reply to the opinion that _vossius_ has given in favour of _french_ verse compared with _english_, i would observe in the first place that what the _french_ call heroick verse, is the very worst sort of verse that can be contriv'd. if the excellence of verse consists chiefly in varying the pause, as i have shewn it does in the _latin_, and could do the same in the _greek_ and other languages; what must be thought of that sort of versification in which the pause is most strictly preserv'd in the same place in every line, be it for 10 or 20 thousand together, especially in verses of 12 syllables? perhaps an _englishman_ may not be a very proper person to make this objection to _french_ verse: i will therefore produce the opinion of several of their own writers. _ronsard_, in the preface to his _franciade_, owns that their _alexandrine_ lines have too much prattle (_ils ont trop de caquet_) and that it is a fault in their poetry that one line does not run into another, and therefore he wrote his _franciade_ in verses of ten syllables, and broke the measure. the author of the history of _french_ poetry confesses, that the constant pause in their lines makes the poetry tedious; and the judicious and learned translator of _quintilian_ says directly, that it is owing to the continual sameness of numbers that their verse cannot please long. in reality, it is a kind of stanza, and ought to be so writ. _jeune & vaillant heros dont la haute sagesse n'est point le fruit tardif d'une lente vieillesse._ not to insist upon the _prattle_ (as _ronsard_ calls it) of these two celebrated lines; for what does _vaillant_ add to _heros_, or _haute_ to _sagesse_, and what is the difference between _tardif_ and _lente_? i say to let this pass, the eternal repetition of the same pause is the reverse of harmony: three feet and three feet for thousands of lines together, make exactly the same musick as the ting, tong, tang of the same number of bells in a country-church. we had this wretched sort of metre amongst us formerly, and _chaucer_ is justly stil'd the father of _english_ verse, because he was the first that ever wrote in rhym'd couplets of ten syllables each line. he found, by his judgment, and the delicacy of his ear, that lines of eight syllables, such as _gower_ his cotemporary wrote in, were too short, and the twelve syllable-lines too long. he pitch'd upon the other sort just mentioned, and that is now found, by the experience of so many ages, to be the most majestick and most harmonious kind of verse. just the same obligation the _romans_ had to _ennius_: he first introduc'd the hexameter line, and therefore is properly called the father of their poetry; and it is judiciously said, that if they had never had _ennius_, perhaps they had never had _virgil_. if the _french_ had taken _ronsard_'s advice instead of following _malherbe_, perhaps they might, and indeed they certainly would have arriv'd at a better art of versification than we see now amongst them: but they have miss'd their way; tho' had it happen'd otherwise, they could never have equall'd the _english_ in poetry, because their language is not capable of it, for two reasons which i shall mention, and many others that i could add to them. _1st_, their words do not sound so fully as ours, of which these nouns are examples, _god_, _dieu_. _man_, _l'homme_. in both the _english_ words every letter is perceiv'd by the ear. in the _french_ the first word is of a very confused sound, and the latter dies away in the _e_ mute. so _angels_, _ange_. _head_, _tete_. and innumerable others. and in verbs, _to love_, _to hate_, _aimer_, _hayir_. in the _english_ the sound is clear and strong. in _french_ the last letter is dropp'd, and the words don't dwell upon the ear like the _english_. _2d_, they have too many particles: to shew how much more their verse is incumber'd by them than the _english_, i will give you an example from a passage in _milton_. "so spoke, so wish'd much humbled _eve_, but fate subscrib'd not; nature first gave signs, imprest on bird, beast, air; air suddenly eclips'd after short blush of morn.-now to put this passage into _french_ all the following particles must be added. _le_, _la_, _des_, _les_, _les_, _le_, _le_, _un_, _du_. of which there is not one in the _english_: and what an effect this would have in heroick verse, you will easily judge. upon the whole, _vossius_ was very little acquainted with _english_ heroic poetry. _hudibras_ was the favourite bard in his time, and therefore he does us the honour to say, the _english_ is extremely fit for that sort of poetry which the _italians_ call _sdruccioli_, that is, doggrel verse. thus much for _vossius_, and his _french_ and _english_ poetry. i will now shew you a very different opinion of another learned foreigner, referr'd to more than once already, and i will give it you in his own words. "_sane in epico carminum genere_; joh. miltoni _insigne poema_, the paradise lost, _gallos omnes in epicis inseliciores longo post se intervallo reliquit_. morhosius polyhistor. this judicious critick gave the same opinion of mr. _cowley_ above 50 years ago, which mr. _pope_ has given of him lately in one of his _horatian_ epistles. "abr. cowley _seu coulejus poemata scripsit_, &c. _quæ ad genium virgiliani carminis non accedunt: argutiis enim nimium indulget, ut epigrammaticum potius quod interdum scribat, quam planum carmen: ac præterea non ubique purus est: quanquam angli illum omnes veterum poetarum numeros implevisse sibi persuadeant._ foreigners, i am apt to think, frequently judge with more exactness of our countrymen's performances than the generality of the natives. i think the judgment of another learned foreigner very sensible, when he says upon reading _virgilium dryd[)e]ni_, "that if the original had been no better than the copy, _augustus_ would have done well to have committed it to the flames." but the author's own words are worth perusing. "_sæpe, maro, dixi, quantum mutatus ab illo es! romani quondam qui stupor orbis eras. si te sic tantum voluisset vivere cæsar, quam satius, flammis te periisse foret._ _vid._ fabric. bib. lat. december 4. 1736, _i am_, sir, _&c._ letter x. _sir,_ by what i have shewn in the preceding letters, it sufficiently appears that _virgil_ and _milton_ had good reason to begin with _hinc canere incipiam_. _nunc te bacche canam._ _arma virumque cano._ _sing heavenly muse._ their verse is all _musick_, and that is the reason why their poems please, though ever so often read: and all poetry that is not attended with harmony, is properly speaking no poetry at all. let the sense be ever so fine, if the _verse_ is not _melodious_, the reader will undoubtedly find himself soon overtaken with drowsiness. but what i chiefly hope i have made out, is, that _rhyme_ does not owe its original to _druids_, or to _dreaming monks_, since it is certain there is more _rhyme_ in _virgil_, than there can be in any _english_ translation of his works. _english_ verse never admits but of two syllables that rhyme in two lines. but in _virgil_, it is not easy to tell how many rhymes there are in a single line; as for example, "_o nimium coelo, & pelago confise sereno,_ "_et sola in siccâ secum spatiatur arenâ._ and the like. but what would you say, if i was to observe to you all that _erythræus_ has writ of the rhyme _cum intervallo, & sine intervallo_ in _virgil_? of the rhyme _sine intervallo_ there are four examples in the two first lines of the _æneid_, namely, in the first, _no_--_tro_, and _qui_--_pri_. in the second, _to_--_pro_, and _que_-_ve_. "_arma virumque can[=o], tr[=o]jæ qu[=i] pr[=i]mus ab oris italiam, fat[=o] pr[=o]fugus, lavinaqu[=e] v[=e]nit._-but for this particular, and the other just mentioned, i refer you to _erythræus_ himself, if you would be fully instructed on this subject. the conclusion of this whole matter is this: rhyme is certainly one of the chief ornaments of _latin_ verse, even of _virgil_'s verse: most of his wonderful, harmonious paragraphs are concluded with a full, strong, plain rhyme: and if this is the case; if _virgil_'s verse would lose one of its chief ornaments by being stript of rhyme, what would _english_ verse do without it? those learned persons who in their writings have treated rhyme only as a needless _gingle_, had not fully considered all that could be said on this subject: _rhyme_, as i have observed once before, has many enemies because of its difficulty, when accompanied with all the other necessary arts of versification. it is a particular talent which very few are blessed with, and ought to be esteemed accordingly: but if we give way to the disuse of it, and even suffer blank verse to be brought in competition with it, poetry will in a short time be lost in _england_, as it has been long since in _italy_, and, if i mistake not, from this very cause. they have blank-vers'd _homer_, _virgil_, and _milton_, and i believe all the _classick poets_: and if we follow their example in giving applause to this kind of verse, we must expect the same consequences. we should be the more to blame in this respect, because we have lately had so many excellent writers of proper verse amongst us, as _addison_, _rowe_, _prior_, and many others; and have now mr. _pope_, mr. _pit_, and some whom i do not just now recollect. _milton_, as i observ'd already, is never to be mention'd as an example in favour of blank-verse: to supply the want of _rhyme_ in him, there are so many arts of verse, such variety of melody, that it would require no small volume to point them out. i have nothing more to add, but that it is a very surprizing thing, that _milton_ ever undertook to write in such a _stile_ as he has made use of, and yet more surprizing that he should be read by all sorts of people, considering that the _stile_ is more properly _latin_ or _greek_ than _english_. i believe both these things arise from the same cause, which to me seems to be the _english bible_; at least, as to the latter, it cannot be from any thing else. that _milton_ acquir'd his _stile_ from the _common bible_, is not at all improbable, though he understood the original. it is certain he was entirely conversant with the _bible_, and, in all probability frequently made use of the _english_ translation. now this translation is, by great providence, (give me leave to call it so) adapted to the _latin and greek collocation_, or arrangement of words; that is, the words are placed in the _english_ as they stand in those languages, which, perhaps, you may not have so much attended to but that you may be glad to see some examples of what i am speaking of. psalm v. 3. _my voice shalt thou hear in the morning, o lord; in the morning will i direct prayer unto thee, and will look up._ matthew xiii. 1. _the same day went jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea-side._ matthew xxvii. 32. _and as they came out, they found a man of_ cyrene, simon _by name_: him _they compelled to bear his cross_. john ii. 11. _this beginning of miracles did_ jesus _in_ cana _of_ galilee. john xii. 16. _these things understood not his disciples at the first._ john viii. 44. _ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father will ye do._ "_verbo sensum cludere, multo, si compositio patiatur, optimum est. in verbis enim sermonis vis inest._" quintil. by these passages, and innumerable others that might be produc'd, it appears that the _english bible_ is translated in such a manner as i have mentioned above: and as we see many places in the _paradise lost_, which are exactly taken from this translation, why may we not conclude _milton_ acquir'd much of his stile from this book? i can give an instance of another very learned person, who certainly learnt his way of writing from it. i mean the late dr. _clarke_. nothing can be more clear than his _stile_, and yet nothing can be more like the _greek_ or _latin_, agreeably to the _english bible_. i beg leave to produce one instance from his _exposition of the church catechism_. "_next after the creed are in natural order plac'd the ten commandments._ is there any thing in _demosthenes_ or _tully_ more inverted than this passage? and yet the meanest persons understand it, and are not at all shock'd at it; and this cannot possibly, with respect to them, proceed from any thing else, but their having been from their childhood accustomed to this language in the _bible_, and their still continuing frequently to hear it in the publick offices of the church, and elsewhere: from whence i am apt to think mr. _pope_'s opinion is not to be subscrib'd to, when he says, "_and what now_ chaucer _is, shall_ dryden _be_." it did not occur to that ingenious writer, that the state of the _english_ language is very different at this time from what it was in _chaucer_'s days: it was then in its infancy: and even _the publick worship of god was in a foreign tongue_, a thing as fatal to the _language_ of any country, as to _religion_ itself. but now we have all that service in the vernacular tongue; and besides that, the _bible_ in _english_, which may be properly called the _standard_ of our language: for this book contains a variety of every kind of _stile_, the _poetick_, the _historick_, the _narrative_, and all framed after the manner of the most learned tongues. so that whilst this _book_ continues to be as publickly used among us as it is at present, the _english_ language cannot receive any great alteration; but all sorts of learned men may write, either in verse or prose, in the most learned manner in their native tongue, and at the same time be perfectly understood by the common people. indeed, if ever we should be so unhappy as to be depriv'd of the _publick use_ of that _book_, all that came with it, must go with it; and then farewel the _english language_, farewel _milton_, farewel _learning_, and farewel all that distinguishes man from beasts. decemb. 9. 1736. _i am_, sir, _&c._ _finis._ [transcriber's notes: several sequential lines of poetry had opening quotes; these have been removed for clarity. several lines have no closing quotes. these have not been corrected. letter i: superfluous opening quote removed: "subject-matter letter v.: section numbered '3.' in original; changed to 'iii' for consistency. letter x.: corrected typo: 'primns' changed to 'primus'] [transcriber's note: the five songs marked [**music] were printed with musical notation. the music is available in .png format in the "images" directory accompanying the html version of this text, or as a separate document in .ly format (lilypond, compilable to .pdf).] a handbook for latin clubs by susan paxson teacher of latin in the central high school omaha, neb. d. c. heath & company, publishers boston new york chicago copyright, 1916, by d. c. heath & co. * * * * * preface the latin club in secondary schools is the result of the incessant demand that our latin instruction must be vivified. many teachers feel the need of supplementary work in their latin teaching, but they have been handicapped because of a lack of material as well as a lack of time. this is especially true of the teacher in the small town. to help meet this demand is the purpose of this book. the programs have purposely been made too long for one session in order that the teacher may have some choice in selection, and that, in case all references are not accessible, enough may be secured to insure a reasonably varied program. i would suggest that the club purchase as many perry pictures and berlin photographs of classical subjects as possible and that its members coöperate with the city library board for the purchase of such books as are essential, in case there is no school fund available for this purpose. some high school alumnus in whose heart there is appreciation of rome's gift to us might present a book to his alma mater. another might offer some suitable magazines, properly bound. of a latin club, as of most school work, it may be said that _usus est optimus magister_, and especially applicable in this connection are the words of horace: _dimidium facti, qui coepit_. omaha, nebraska, june, 1916 contents programs the value of latin pompeii ancient rome the roman forum the roman house roman slaves roman children education among the romans some common professions and trades among the romans roman doctors the roman soldier caesar cicero vergil horace roman literature some famous women of ancient rome roman holidays funeral customs and burial places roman games some famous buildings of ancient rome some famous roman letters some ancient romans of fame a roman banquet roman roads some roman gods some famous temples of ancient and modern rome some religious customs some famous pictures and sculpture roman book and libraries ancient myths and legends the ancient myth in modern literature what english owes to greek modern rome italy of to-day o tempora! o mores! selections that may be used for the programs a plea for the classics _eugene field_ on an old latin text book _t. w. higginson_ st. augustine's love of latin _andrew lang_ the watch of the old gods old and new rome _herman merivale_ the fall of rome _arthur chamberlain_ a christmas hymn _alfred dommett_ roman girl's song _mrs. hemans_ capri _walter taylor field_ palladium _matthew arnold_ after construing _a. c. benson_ a roman mirror _rennell rodd_ the doom of the slothful _john addington symonds_ hector and andromache schiller _tr. sir e. b. lytton_ enceladus _henry w. longfellow_ nil admirari _john g. saxe_ perdidi diem _mrs. sigourney_ jupiter and his children _john g. saxe_ the prayer of socrates _john h. finley_ by the roman road _anonymous_ a nymph's lament _nora hopper_ helen of troy _nora hopper_ an etruscan ring _j. w. mackail_ orpheus with his lute _william shakespeare_ a hymn in praise of neptune _thomas campion_ horace's philosophy of life _tr. sir theodore martin_ an invitation to dine written by horace to vergil _tr. sir theodore martin_ the golden mean. horace _tr. wm. cowper_ to the reader. martial _tr. lord byron_ on portia. martial _tr. lamb_ to potitus. martial _tr. john hay_ what is given to friends is not lost. martial to cotilus. martial _tr. elton_ the happy life. martial _tr. sir richard fanshawe_ to a schoolmaster. martial _tr. john hay_ epitaph on erotion. martial _tr. leigh hunt_ non amo te gratitude _robert burns_ a hymn to the lares _robert herrick_ elysium. schiller _tr. sir edward bulwer lytton_ orpheus _robert herrick_ cerberus _oliver herford_ the harpy _oliver herford_ cupid and the bee _anacreon_ the assembly of the gods. a. tassoni _tr. a. werner_ a model young lady of antiquity _pliny the younger_ translation _alfred j. church_ to lesbia's sparrow _catullus_ translation _elton_ cicero _catullus_ translation _charles lamb_ de patientia _thomas à kempis_ the favorite prayer of mary queen of scots ultime thule _seneca_ translation the roman of old _anonymous_ ich bin dein malum opus _james a. morgan_ felis amantis res adversae puer ex jersey songs that may be used for the programs flevit lepus parvulus carmen vitae longfellow _tr. benjamin l. d'ooge_ gaudeamus igitur lauriger horatius america _tr. george d. kellogg_ integer vitae _horace_ rock of ages toplady _tr. william gladstone_ dies irae _thomas of celano_ ad sanctum spiritus _robert ii, king of france_ adeste fideles de nativitate domini bibliography * * * * * programs * * * * * the value of latin "latin is the most logically constructed of all the languages, and will help more effectually than any other study to strengthen the brain centres that must be used when any reasoning is required." --dr. frank sargent hoffman the latin language. mosaics in history. arthur gilman. _chautauqua_. vol. ii, p. 317. _illustrated history of ancient literature_. john d. quackenbos. p. 305. a short story of the english language. jessie a. chase. _saint nicholas_. vol. xxvi, p. 593. the value of latin. the advantages which accrue from a classical education. caroline r. gaston. _education_. vol. xxiii, p. 257. the study of cæsar. adeline a. knight. _education_. vol. viii, p. 188. a plea for culture. t.w. higginson. _atlantic monthly_. vol. xix, p. 29. the nature of culture studies. r.m. wenley. _school review_. vol. xiii, p. 441. the teaching of second year latin. h.w. johnston. _school review_. vol. x, p. 72. essay. what i have gained from the study of latin. the value of latin as a preparation for the study of medicine. the advantages that accrue from a classical education. caroline r. gaston. _education_. vol. xxiii, p. 351. the value of greek and latin to the medical student. victor c. vaughan. _school review_. vol. xiv, p. 389. _latin and greek in american education_. francis w. kelsey. chap. iv. the place of the humanities in the training of engineers. _latin and greek in american education_. francis w. kelsey. chap. iv. the value of the humanistic studies as a preparation for the study of engineering. herbert c. sadler. _school review_. vol. xiv, p. 400. the value of latin as a training for practical life. _latin and greek in american education_. francis w. kelsey. chap. iv. _bulletin of the missouri state normal school_ (1909). p. 19. the practical value of humanistic studies. wm. gardner hale. _school review_. vol. xix, p. 657. the value of latin to the business girl. latin as a vocational study in the commercial course. albert s. perkins. _the classical journal_. vol. x, p.7. rome's gift to us. the indebtedness of the english language to the latin. federico garlanda. _chautauqua_. vol. xi, p. 10. _a first year latin book_. (introduction.) wm. gardner hale. the value of latin as a training for the lawyer. _bulletin of the missouri state normal school_ (1909). p. 17. _will latin follow greek out of the high school_. joseph p. behm. _classical weekly_. vol. vii, p. 25. poem.--a plea for the classics. eugene field. pompeii "there is nothing on the earth, or under it, like pompeii." --w. d. howells poem.--pompeii. _poetical works_. mrs. sigourney. p. 270. the city of pompeii before the destruction. _the last days of pompeii_. sir edward bulwer-lytton. p. 89. the destruction of pompeii. _the last days of pompeii_. sir edward bulwer-lytton. p. 366. poem.--the earthquake. whittier's _complete poems_. p. 487. a letter from pliny the younger to tacitus. the eruption of vesuvius. pliny the younger. _century_. vol. lxiv, p. 642. the eruption of vesuvius. translation of pliny's letter. _readings in ancient history_. hutton webster. p. 248. a doomed city. arranged from pliny's letters. _chautauqua_. vol. xviii, p. 506. vesuvius, destroyer of cities. b.f. fisher. _cosmopolitan_. vol. xxxii, p. 573. _peeps at many lands_. italy. john finnemore. chap. xiv, p. 61. a day in pompeii as described by shelley. _the prose works of percy bysshe shelley_. harry buxton forman. vol. iv, p. 71. _with shelley in italy_. anna b. mcmahan. p. 187. a day in pompeii as described by howells. _italian journeys_. w.d. howells. chap. viii. poem.--pompeii. edgar fawcett. _cosmopolitan_. vol. xxiv, p. 182. the interior of a pompeian house. h.g. huntington. _cosmopolitan_. vol. xxiv, p. 521. a municipal election in a.d. 79. _littell's living age_. vol. ccxlii, p. 188. recent excavations and discoveries in pompeii. john l. stoddard's _lectures_. naples. vol. viii. a day in pompeii as described by dickens. _pictures from italy_. charles dickens. p. 164. probing pompeii. antonio sogliano. _cosmopolitan_. vol. liii, p. 760. poem.--the eruption of vesuvius. _poems_. victor hugo. p. 112. ancient rome "yet wears thy tiber's shore a mournful mien- rome, rome! thou art no more as thou hast been." --mrs. hemans roll call. quotations referring to rome from byron's "childe harold" or other poems. the topography of rome. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. p. 5. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler. chap. i. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. chap. iv. _ancient history_. hutton webster. p. 631. rome: the eternal city. the eternal city. lyman abbott. _harper's magazine_. vol. xliv, p. 1. new splendors of old rome. dante vaglieri. _cosmopolitan_. vol. lii, p. 440. a walk in ancient rome. a walk in rome. oscar kuhns. _chautauqua_. vol. xxxiv, p. 56. the waterworks of rome. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 461. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 299. poem.--a roman aqueduct. _poetical works_. oliver wendell holmes. p. 326. the gardens. the gardens of ancient rome and what grew in them. st. clair baddely, _littell's living age_. vol. ccxxxix, p. 458. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 475, 533. poem.--a roman garden. florence wilkinson. _current literature_. vol. xliii, p. 570. the fountains. roman fountains. e. mcauliffe. _catholic world_. vol. lxxvii, p. 209. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 464. _roba di roma_. william w. story. chapter xvii. _the prose works of percy bysshe shelley_. harry buxton forman. vol. iv, p. 96. _with shelley in italy_. anna b. mcmahan. p 99. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 305. poem.--the fountain of trevi. _poetical works_. bayard taylor. p. 91. hawthorne's description of the fountain of trevi. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 65. poem.--the fountain. _poetical works_. james r. lowell. p. 10. a stroll in rome as described by horace. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. p. 51. the burning of rome. tacitus. _annales_. chap. xv. _readings in ancient history_. hutton webster. p. 232. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 192. _illustrated history of ancient literature_. john d. quackenbos. p. 414. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson. vol. iv, p. 105. the sky scrapers of rome. rodolfo lanciani. _north american review_. vol. clxii, p. 45. poem.--nero's incendiary song. _poems_. victor hugo. p. 31. poem.--_urbs, roma, vale_. _littell's living age_. j.p.m. vol. cliv, p. 575; vol. clv, p. 447. _blackwood's magazine_. vol. cxxxii, pp. 176, 490, 781. the roman forum "in many a heap the ground heaves, as if ruin in a frantic mood had done its utmost. here and there appears, as left to show his handiwork, not ours, an idle column, a half-buried arch, a wall of some great temple." --rogers the topography of the forum. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 82. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. pp. 21, 43. _the remains of ancient rome_. j.h. middleton. vol. i, p. 231. _ancient history_. hutton webster. p. 636. the roman capitol. eugene lawrence. _harper's magazine_. vol. xliv, p. 570. the rostra. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. pp. 65, 117. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 356. the mamertine prison. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 35. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 75. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. p. 22. dickens' description of the mamertine prison. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. p. 21. recent excavations in the forum as seen by a traveler. _roma beata_. maud howe. p. 254. the roman forum as cicero saw it. walter dennison. _the classical journal_. vol. iii, p. 318. cicero's house near the forum. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 249. a roman street scene. _gallus_. w.a. becker. p. 43. poem.--the pillar of trajan. _complete poetical works_. william wordsworth. p. 652. nero's golden house. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 192. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 342. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 369. _the golden house of nero_. j.g. winter. _classical weekly_. vol. vii, p. 163. the lapis niger. _roma beata_. maud howe. pp. 163, 260. pompey's theater. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 374. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 190. the roman forum as it appears to-day. _roman holidays and others_. w.d. howells. p. 96. poem.--in the roman forum amelia josephine burr. _literary digest_. vol. xlviii, p. 1130. the roman house "here is my religion, here is my race, here are the traces of my forefathers. i cannot express the charm which i find here, and which penetrates my heart and my senses." --cicero: _pro domo_. the plan of the roman house. _callus_. w.a. becker. p. 237. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 357. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. chap. vi. _society in rome under the caesars_. william r. inge. chap. x. the heating and lighting of the house. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 457. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. chap. vi. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. pp. 78, 269. the interior of the house. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler. chap. viii. the interior of a pompeian house. h.g. huntington. _cosmopolitan_. vol. xxiv, p. 52. household furniture. _gallus_. w.a. becker. p. 295. _society in rome under the caesars_. w.r. inge. chap. x. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. chap. vi. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. p. 77. the palatine: home of the aristocracy. _rome: the eternal city_. clara e. clement. vol. i, p. 324. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. pp. 225, 249. a haunted house. c. pliny. _epist._ 7, 27, 5-11. roman slaves "is not a slave of the same stuff as you, his lord? does he not enjoy the same sun, breathe the same air, die, even as you do? then let your slave worship rather than dread you. scorn not any man. the universe is the common parent of us all." --seneca the roman slave. _gallus_. w.a. becker. p. 200. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 530. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. chap. ii. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. chap. v. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 511. _ancient history_. hutton webster. p. 596. the roman slave as seen in literature. _vergilius_. irving bacheller. p. 38. _a friend of caesar_. william stearns davis. chap. ii, pp. 33, 44. treatment of slaves. cato: _on agriculture_. translation in _source book of roman history_. dana c. munro. p. 184. letter of pliny the younger. translation in _readings in ancient history_. hutton webster. p. 245. the household slave. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 513. _society in rome under the caesars_. william r. inge. p. 160. slaves as physicians. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 526. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 71. trimalchio's cook. _trimalchio's dinner_. harry thurston peck. p. 115. seneca's opinions upon slavery. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 259. dialogue.--a slave owner and his slaves. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 90. roman children "pueri mei sunt mea ornamenta." --cornelia the roman child. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 67. his pets and games. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 73. his playthings. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 71. _second latin book_. miller and beeson. introduction. p. 20. a roman boy as described by petronius. _trimalchio's dinner_. harry thurston peck. p. 112. cicero's son. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. chap. ii. a roman boy's birthday. bertha a. bush. _saint nicholas_. vol. xxii, p. 38. the story of a roman boy. _second latin book_. miller and beeson. introduction. poem.--a girl's funeral in milan. _in the garden of dreams_. louise chandler moulton. p. 39. roman children on their way to school. _second latin book_. miller and beeson. introduction. p. 24. poem.--to lesbia's sparrow. education among the romans "iam tristis nucibus puer relictis clamoso revocatur a magistro." --martial ode.--to a schoolmaster. _the epigrams of martial_. book x: lxii. education among the romans. _a literary history of rome_. j. wight duff. p. 49. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. chap. iv. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler. chap. vi. wages of schoolmasters in ancient rome. r.f. leighton. _education_. vol. iv, p. 506. the troubles of the roman schoolmaster. _society in rome under the caesars_. william r. inge. chap. vi. the punishment of pupils. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. p. 15. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 230. cato's training of his son. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 525. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler. chap. vi, p. 172. a letter written by cicero's son while at college. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler. chap. vi, p. 199. _masterpieces of latin literature_. gordon j. laing. p. 176. the boy poet sulpicius: a tragedy of roman education. j. raleigh nelson. _school review_. vol. xi, p. 384. some common professions and trades among the romans "rome had her great shopping district (mainly on streets leading into the forum), and seemingly her 'department stores'; also her class of inveterate shoppers." --_readings in ancient history_. william stearns davis, p. 225. poem.--pan in wall street. edmund clarence stedman. _atlantic monthly_. vol. xix, p. 118. _the classic myths in english literature_. charles mills gayley. chap. xv, p. 183. how a well-to-do roman spent his day. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler. chap. ix. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. viii. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 308. _ancient history_. hutton webster. p. 581. banking and money lending. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler. chap. iii, p. 80. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 306. a roman author. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. vi. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 296. the baker. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 521. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 191. the florist. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 273. the lawyer. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. vi. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 301. a roman craft set at nought by paul. _bible_. acts, chap. xix, v. 21 ff. some business advertisements. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 263. a business panic in rome. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 222. the vexations of city life. c. pliny. _epist._ i, 6. translation in _ancient classics for english readers_. pliny. w. lucas collins. chap. x, p. 124. roman doctors "mens sana in corpore sano." --juvenal the sanitary conditions of ancient rome. _the italians of to-day_. rené bazin. p. 121. _roba di roma_. william w. story. chap. vii. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 70. roman doctors. _gallus_. w.a. becker. p. 207. _society in rome under the caesars_. w.r. inge. chap. vi. _roba di roma_. william w. story. p. 527. remedies for toothache and hydrophobia. _illustrated history of ancient literature_. john d. quakenbos. p. 404. ancient microbes. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 416. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 52. the faith cure. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. pp. 52, 68. baiae: the health resort. _society in rome under the caesars_. w.r. inge. chap. ix. medical service in the roman army. medicine in the roman army. eugene hugh byrne. _classical journal_. vol. v, p. 267. the story of a roman doctor. _lazy tours in spain_. louise chandler moulton. p. 103. the public baths. _society in rome under the caesars_. w.r. inge. p. 232. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 272. the roman soldier "tu regere imperio populos, romane, memento; hae tibi erunt artes; pacisque imponere morem parcere subiectis, et debellare superbos." --vergil. _aeneid_, vi, 851 ff. the roman soldier. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. chap. xiv. the soldier's armor. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 567. _the genesis of rome's military equipment_. eugene s. mccartney. _classical weekly_. vol. vi, p. 74. caesar's art of war. caesar's art of war and of writing. _atlantic monthly_. vol. xliv, p. 273. caesar's care for his soldiers. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. chap. xxiv. debate. resolved that caesar was justified in subduing gaul. dialogue: a roman man o' war's man. _heroic happenings_. e.s. brooks. p. 63. the italian soldier of to-day. _the italians of to-day_. rené bazin. p. 66. studying caesar on the aisne. _literary digest_. vol. l, p. 919. poem.--gods of war. _literary digest_. vol. xlix, p. 1022. caesar "the foremost man of all this world." --shakespeare the boyhood of caesar. _great captains_. caesar. theodore a. dodge. chap. iii. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. chap. viii. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. chap. vi. his personal appearance. _a history of roman literature_. charles thomas cruttwell. p. 193. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. chap. viii. the habits of the gauls. _great captains_. caesar. theodore a. dodge. chap. iv. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. chap. xiii. caesar in gaul. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. pp. 198, 217. caesar's army and a modern army compared. _great captains_. theodore a. dodge. chaps. xxiii, xlvi. the animals of the hercynian forest. grace g. begle. _school review_. vol. viii, p. 457. caesar's favorite horse. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 362. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 84. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. p. 537. our english forefathers as described by caesar. _commentaries_. caesar. book v, chaps. xii-xv. caesar a guest at the home of cicero. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson. vol. iv, p. 243. the death of caesar. _julius caesar_. william shakespeare. act iii, scene i. a new version of the death of caesar. _harper's magazine_. vol. cxv, p. 655. poem.--the lads of liege. _the present hour_. percy mackaye. p. 35. _new york times_. sept. 2, 1914. cicero "caesar alone excepted, no ancient roman has been so widely, so continuously, and so intensely alive since his death, as has been marcus tullius cicero." --wilkinson the house where cicero was born. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. chap. vi. his favorite house. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. p. 121. cicero, the man. cicero. john lord. _chautauqua_. vol. ii, p. 563. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson. vol. iv. chap. vii. cicero, the orator. _cicero in the senate_. harriet waters preston. _atlantic monthly_. vol. lxi, p. 641. cicero, the wit. cicero as a wit. w.l. collins. _chautauqua_. vol. xi, p. 377. cicero as a wit. francis w. kelsey. _classical journal_. vol. iii, p. 3. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. p. 197. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson, vol. iv, p. 235. humor repeats itself. irene nye. _classical journal_. vol. ix, p. 154. cicero, the exile. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 621. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. chap. x. the prosecution of archias. richard wellington husband. _classical weekly_. vol. ix, p. 165. a comparison: cicero and demosthenes. _illustrated history of ancient literature_. john d. quackenbos. p. 286. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson. vol. iv, p. 487. cicero in maine. martha baker dunn. _atlantic monthly_. vol. xciii, p. 253. debate: resolved that cicero was justified in putting the catilinarian conspirators to death. the conviction of lentulus. h.c. nutting. _classical journal_. vol. iii, p. 186. catiline as a party leader. e.s. beesly. _fortnightly review_. vol. i, p. 175. the death of cicero. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 624. vergil "the noble sage who knew everything." --dante song.--opening lines of the aeneid. an experiment with the opening lines of the aeneid. j. raleigh nelson. _school review_. vol. vii, p. 129. _dido_. an epic tragedy. miller and nelson. p. 57. vergil. outline for the study of vergil's aeneid. maud emma kingsley. _education_. vol. xxiii, p. 148. _vergil_. harper and miller. introduction. in vergil's italy. frank justus miller. _chautauqua_. vol. xxxiv, p. 368. dido: a character study. j. raleigh nelson. _school review_. vol. xii, p. 408. _vergil_. harper and miller. vergil's estimate of his æneid. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 636. poem.--the doom of the slothful. john addington symonds. essay.--paris and helen. _adventures among books_. andrew lang. p. 235, or _cosmopolitan_. vol. xviii, p. 173. legends connected with vergil. _a history of roman literature_. charles thomas cruttwell. p. 278. vergil in maine. martha baker dunn. _atlantic monthly_. vol. c, p. 773. vergil's influence. on teaching vergil. h.h. yeames. _school review_. vol. xx, p. 1. a travesty on the taking of troy. _roba di roma_. william w. story. p. 186. _north american review_. vol. xcvii, p. 255. st. paul's visit to vergil's tomb. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 640. poem.--to vergil. _poetical works_. alfred tennyson. p. 511. _littell's living age_. vol. clv, p. 2. horace "exegi monumentum acre perennius regalique situ pyramidum altius." --horace. _carmina_. iii, xxx. horace. horace: person and poet. grant showerman. _classical journal_. vol. vi, p. 158. _a history of roman literature_. charles thomas cruttwell. p. 515. a glimpse of horace's schooldays. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. p. 39. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 227. poem.--capri. walter taylor field. an invitation from horace to vergil for dinner. _foreign classics in english_. vol. iv. william cleaver wilkinson. p. 183. some translations of horace's odes. _blackwood's magazine_. vol. civ, p. 150. poem.--the sabine farm. michael monahan. _current literature_. vol. xlviii, p. 344. a dialogue from horace.--the bore. _sat_. i, 9. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. p. 51. _masterpieces of latin literature_. gordon j. laing. p. 295. poem.--i sing of myself. (horace. book ii, ode xx.) louis untermeyer. _century magazine_. vol. lxiv, p. 960. poem.--byron's farewell to horace. _childe harold_. byron. canto iv, lxxvii. roman literature "haec studia adulescentiam alunt, senectutem oblectant, secundas res ornant, adversis perfugium ac solacium praebent, delectant domi, non impediunt foris, pernoctant nobiscum, peregrinantur, rusticantur." --cicero. _pro archia poeta_, vii. roll call.--gems of latin thought. _illustrated history of ancient literature_. john d. quackenbos. p. 425. latin mottoes and proverbs. _latin lessons_. m.l. smith. p. 212. the literature of rome. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. v. latin literature. nelson g. mccrea. _classical weekly_. vol. v, p. 194. children in roman literature. _childhood in literature and art_. horace e. scudder. chap. ii, p. 6. the calendar. how the roman spent his year. william f. allen. _lippincott's magazine_. vol. xxxiii, p. 447. _the ancient city_. fustel de coulanges. p. 212. music in ancient rome. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. v. roman folk-lore. _second latin book_. miller and beeson. p. 52. ode to apollo. _complete poetical works_. keats. p. 7. some famous women of ancient rome "a marked feature of the roman character, a peculiarity which at once strikes the student of their history as compared with that of the greeks was their great respect for the home and the _mater familias_." --eugene hecker the roman matron. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. chap. vii. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 482. the women of cicero's time. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler. p. 150. _a friend of caesar_. william stearns davis. chap. vi, p. 104. the women of ulysses' time. mischievous philanthropy. simon newcomb. _forum_. vol. i, p. 348. the roman woman as described by juvenal. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 537. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 247. poem.--venus and vulcan. _poetical works_. john g. saxe. p. 238. lollia paulina, a woman of wealth and misfortune. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 104. livia, the politician. _the women of the caesars_. guglielmo ferrero. chap. ii. the vestal virgins. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 3. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 135. _a friend of caesar_. william stearns davis. chap. iii, p. 37. julia, augustus' daughter. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 133. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 81. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 547. _the women of the caesars_. guglielmo ferrero. chap. ii. martial's epigram on portia. book i, xlii. a contrast: tarpeia and virginia. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. pp. 14, 40. the history of women's rights in rome. _a short history of women's rights_. eugene hecker. p. 1. some roman examples. _outlook_. vol. xciii, p. 490. women and public affairs under the roman republic. frank frost abbott. _scribner's magazine_. vol. xlvi, p. 357. poem.--our yankee girls. _complete poems_. oliver wendell holmes. p. 327. poem.--to a pair of egyptian slippers. sir edwin arnold. _oxford book of victorian verse_. p. 499. a roman citizen. anne c.e. allinson. _atlantic monthly_. vol. cxii, p. 263. roman holidays "januarias nobis felices multos annos!" poem.--january. henry w. longfellow. _chautauqua_. vol. xviii, p. 506. janus. _chautauqua_. vol. xviii, p. 365. new year's day in rome. how the roman spent his year. william f. allen. _lippincott's magazine_. vol. xxxiii, p. 347. christmas holidays in rome. _roba di roma_. william w. story. chap. iv. a christmas hymn. alfred dommett. the roman carnival. _pictures from italy_. charles dickens. p. 116. st. valentine's day in rome. st. valentine's day. keziah shelton. _chautauqua_. vol. xvi, p. 604. poem.--pompey's christmas. carolyn wells. _st. nicholas_. vol. xxvii, p. 154. poem.--a roman valentine. emma d. banks's _original recitations_. p. 91. the liberalia. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 87. the lupercalia. _rome: the eternal city_. clara e. clement. vol. i, p. 48. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. pp. 36, 161. _harper's dictionary of classical literature and antiquities_. harry thurston peck. p. 979. the saturnalia. _gallus_. w.a. becker. p. 193. _roba di roma_. william w. story. chap. v. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler, chap. x. christmas throughout christendom. o.m. spencer. _harper's magazine_. vol. xlvi, p. 241. december and its festivals. pamela m. cole. _chautauqua_. vol. xvi, p. 343. a roman triumph. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 83. the floralia. _roba di roma_. william w. story. p. 202. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 57. _harper's dictionary of classical literature and antiquities_. harry thurston peck. p. 677. poem.--holy-cross day. robert browning. funeral customs and burial places "reddenda est terra terrae." the roman's belief concerning death. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. pp. 60, 530. _the ancient city_. fustel de coulanges. chap. i. the preparation of the body for burial. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 592. roman funerals. the old romans at home. benson j. lossing. _harper's magazine_. vol. xlvi, p. 183. _rome: the eternal city_. clara e. clement. vol. i, p. 67. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 494. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. chap. xii. _gallus_. w.a. becker. p. 507. the funeral of gallus. _gallus_. w.a. becker. p. 144. the funeral of misenus. _the aeneid_. vergil. book vi, 212 ff. the funeral of julius caesar. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 157. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. chap xxvii. the catacombs of rome. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 300. the catacombs of rome. wm. withrow. _chautauqua_. vol. ii, p. 103. _marble faun_. nathaniel hawthorne. chap. iii. poem.--the antique sepulcher. _poetical works_. mrs. hemans. p. 235. the burial place of augustus. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 130. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 50. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 254. the tomb of hadrian. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. pp. 238, 285. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 262. the tomb of cecilia metella. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 172. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 253. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 342. _childe harold_. lord byron. canto iv, xcix-civ. the tomb of minicia marcella.[1] _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 279. tomb inscriptions and memorial structures. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 387. the old romans at home. benson j. lossing. _harper's magazine_. vol. xlvi, p. 184. the burial of a young roman girl. the old romans at home. benson j. lossing. _harper's magazine_. vol. xlvi, p. 183. epitaph on erotion, six years of age. martial. poem.--tartarus. _complete poetical works_. oliver wendell holmes. p. 196. [footnote 1: see pliny's letter on minicia marcella, p. 109.] roman games "ast ubi me fessum sol acrior ire lavatum admonuit, fugio campum lusumque trigonem." --horace roman games. _roba di roma_. william w. story. chap. vi. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. chap. ix. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler. chap. x. roman games. vincenzo fiorentino. _cosmopolitan_. vol. xxxiv, p. 269. the games of the amphitheater. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chaps. iii, viii. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. chap. ix. common sports in ancient rome. _roba di roma_. william w. story. chap. xxii. _gallus_. w.a. becker. pp. 398, 500. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 546. a day of sport in the campus martius. _second latin book_. miller and beeson. introduction, p. 36. the chariot race. _ben hur_. lew wallace. chap. xiv, p. 368. ancient sports in rome to-day. _current literature_. vol. xxxiii, p. 325. the theater. _roba di roma_. william w. story. chap. viii. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 565. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. p. 222. "morra" illustrated. _roba di roma_. william w. story. p. 123. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 675. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap viii. some famous buildings of ancient rome "the world has nothing else like the pantheon." --hawthorne the pantheon. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. p. 9. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 283. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 249. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 541. lord byron's description of the pantheon. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 251. _childe harold_. lord byron. canto iv, cxlvi. the coliseum. _the life of the greeks and the romans_. guhl and koner. p. 434 _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. pp. 125, 158. _roba di roma_. william w. story. chap. ix. _the marble faun_. nathaniel hawthorne. chap. xvii. dickens' visit to the coliseum. _pictures from italy_. charles dickens. p. iii. hawthorne's impressions of the arch of titus. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. p. 54. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 425. the coliseum, a fragment of a romance. _the prose works of percy bysshe shelley_. harry buxton forman. vol. iii, p. 27. some famous roman letters "the authors who have lived and written under an italian sky, are reticent and shy in the foreign schoolroom. but if we transfer ourselves with them to the market and enter their families, then they grow confiding and social." --shumway the writing and sending of letters. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 287. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 530. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 541. some roman letters from the bible. _bible_. acts, chap. xxiii, 25 ff. _bible_. acts, chap. xxvii. a letter written by cicero to his wife. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. p. 206. a letter written by cicero describing his return from exile. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson. vol. iv, p. 238. a letter from pliny the younger to trajan, "on the christians." _illustrated history of ancient literature_. john d. quackenbos. p. 418. _readings in ancient history_. hutton webster. p. 250. a love letter from pliny the younger to his wife. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson. vol. iv, p. 287. _readings in ancient history_. hutton webster. p. 241. a famous literary antique.--the letter of consolation written by servius sulpicius to cicero upon the death of tullia. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson. vol. iv, p. 251. a letter by cicero describing caesar's visit at cicero's home. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson. vol. iv, p. 244. letter of a schoolboy. _source book of roman history_. dana c. munro. p. 197. some ancient romans of fame "they were a great race, not unworthy of their fame,--those ancient romans; and alpine flowers of moral beauty bloomed amid the alpine snow and ice of their austere pride." --wilkinson, p. 274 ancient nicknames. ancient nicknames. w.w. story. _chautauqua_. vol. xi, p. 241. a conversation between cicero and atticus. a roman holiday twenty centuries ago. w.w. story. _atlantic monthly_. vol. xliii, p. 273. horatius, the patriot. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 16. _poetical works_. thomas babington macaulay. lays of ancient rome, p. 31. caius verres, the grafter. _caesar_. a sketch. james anthony froude. chap. ix. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. chap. iv. pompey, fortune's favorite. _a friend of caesar_. william stearns davis. chap. vi, p. 102. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. chap. ix. _great captains: caesar_. theodore a. dodge. chap. ii. maecenas, the gentleman of leisure. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 161. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson. vol. iv, p. 177. poem.--_perdidi diem_. _poetical works_. mrs. sigourney. p. 32. catiline, the conspirator. _roman life in the days of cicero_. alfred j. church. p. 135. _harper's dictionary of ancient literature and antiquities_. harry thurston peck. p. 296. cato, the upright. _a history of roman literature_. charles thomas cruttwell. p. 95. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 525. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 97. _great captains: caesar_. theodore a. dodge. chap. xii. pliny the elder as described by pliny the younger. _a history of roman literature_. charles thomas cruttwell. p. 403. pliny the younger at home. _peeps at many lands_. italy. john finnemore. chap. iii. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. v. _foreign classics in english_. william cleaver wilkinson. vol. iv, p. 279. a roman banquet "none of my friends shall in his cups talk treason." --martial roman cookery. the old romans at home. benson j. lossing. _harper's magazine_. vol. xlvi, p. 66. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. chap. viii. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 501. the meals and menus. _gallus_. w.a. becker. p. 451. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, pp. 523, 533. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 501. the use of iced water. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 185. martial's preparation for a banquet. _the epigrams of martial_. book x: xlviii. entertainments at banquets. letter of pliny the younger. translation in _readings in ancient history_. hutton webster. p. 247. to theopompus, a handsome youth become a cook. _the epigrams of martial_. book x: lxvi. dido's banquet. _the aeneid_. vergil. book i, 695-756. a banquet at the home of lentulus. _gallus_. w.a. becker. scene 9. the cost of high living in old rome. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, pp. 524, 527, 535. at trimalchio's dinner. (petronius, satire 41.) _trimalchio's dinner_. (translation) harry thurston peck. _masterpieces of latin literature_. gordon j. laing. p. 389. the bill of fare at a banquet at which caesar served. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 533. roman roads "could the entire history of the construction of roman military roads and highways be written, it would include romantic tales of hazard and adventure, of sacrifice and suffering, which would lend to the subject a dignity and effectiveness somewhat in keeping with their value to rome and to the world." --clara erskine clement military roads. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 104. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 484. _lectures_. john l. stoddard. vol. viii, p. 301. the roman as a road builder. _the roman road builders' message to america_. archer b. hulbert. _chautauqua_. vol. xliii, p. 133. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 282. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 341. _source book of roman history_,. dana c. munro. p. 111. means of travel. _gallus_. w.a. becker. chap. iv. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 280. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 514. via appia. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. pp. 130, 264. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 282. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. pp. 303, 343. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 486. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 106. the ancient street-bully. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. iii. luxuries enjoyed by the wealthy traveler. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 540. some roman gods. "there are in rome more gods than citizens." --fustel de coulanges poem.--to the gods of the country. _helen redeemed and other poems_. maurice hewlett. p. 193. the pagan altars. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 149. the greater and lesser gods. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 22. _the ancient city_. fustel de coulanges. p. 201. _the classic myths in english literature_. charles mills gayley. chap. xvi. poem.--miracles. _two rivulets_. walt whitman. p. 102. did caesar believe in gods? _a friend of caesar_. william stearns davis. p. 309. poem.--by the roman road. the gods of the underworld. _classic myths in english literature_. charles mills gayley. chap. iv. the gods of the waters. _the classic myths in english literature_. charles mills gayley. chap. v. poem.--palladium. _poems_. matthew arnold. p. 273. poem.--what has become of the gods? _poetical works_. john g. saxe. p. 22. hymn to apollo. _complete poetical works_. john keats. p. 7. some famous temples of ancient and modern rome "a vast wilderness of consecrated buildings of all shapes and fancies." --dickens the architecture of the temples. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 159. vol. ii, p. 691. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 297. the temple of concord. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 77. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 161. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 65. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 312. the temple of castor and pollux. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. pp. 80, 150. _a day in ancient rome_. edgar s. shumway. p. 44. the temple of vesta. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. pp. 75, 160. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 689. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 319. _italian note-books_. nathaniel hawthorne. p. 128. the temple of saturn. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 77. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 29. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 143. poem.--dedication hymn. _poems_. nathaniel p. willis. p. 91. st. peter's. a walk in rome. oscar kuhns. _chautauqua_. vol. xxxiv, p. 57. a night in st. peter's. t. adolphus trollope. _atlantic monthly_. vol. xl, p. 409. hawthorne's visit to st. peter's. _italian note-books_. nathaniel hawthorne. pp. 64, 143. dickens' impressions of roman churches. _pictures from italy_. charles dickens. p. 133. poem.--jupiter and his children. john g. saxe. some religious customs "in the house of every greek and roman was an altar; on this altar there had always to be a small quantity of ashes, and a few lighted coals. the fire ceased to glow upon the altar only when the entire family had perished; an extinguished hearth, an extinguished family, were synonymous expressions among the ancients." --de coulanges the pagan religion. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. i. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, chap. i. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. w. warde fowler. chap. xi. some roman goddesses. _classic myths in english literature_. charles mills gayley. chap. x. _vergil_. introduction. charles knapp. the penates. _the ancient city_. fustel de coulanges. chap. xvi. the blessing of animals. _roba di roma_. william w. story. p. 462. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. iii. children's day in rome. _heroic happenings_. elbridge s. brooks. p. 89. the interpretation of dreams. _roba di roma_. william w. story. p. 142. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. i. easter time in rome. anne hollingsworth wharton. _lippincott's magazine_. vol. lxxix, p. 528. a roman citizen. _bible_. acts, xxii, 25. poem.--elysium. _poems and ballads of schiller_. tr. sir edward bulwer-lytton. p. 369. the infernal regions. _classic myths in english literature_. charles mills gayley. p. 354. _the aeneid_. vergil. book vi. some famous pictures and sculpture _vita brevis, ars longa._ how to study pictures. charles h. caffin. _saint nicholas_. vol. xxxii, p. 23. ode.--upon the sight of a beautiful picture. _complete poems_. william wordsworth. p. 399. sculpture in ancient rome. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. v. the sculpture gallery of the capitol at rome. _the marble faun_. nathaniel hawthorne. chap. i. poem.--the celestial runaway: phaëton. _poetical works_. john g. saxe. p. 233. dido building carthage. _the aeneid_. vergil. book i, 418-440. byron's impression of the laocoön. _childe harold_. canto iv, clx. shelley's impression of the laocoön. _the prose works of percy bysshe shelley_. harry buxton forman. vol. iii, p. 44. atalanta's foot race. _classic myths in english literature_. charles mills gayley. p. 139. _hellenic tales_. edmund j. carpenter. p. 80. poem.--ode on a grecian urn. _complete poetical works_. john keats. p. 134. the faun of praxiteles. _the marble faun_. nathaniel hawthorne. chap. i. poem.--a likeness. willa s. cather. _literary digest_. vol. xlviii, p. 219. roman books and libraries _vita sine litteris mors est._ roman books. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 401. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. pp. 182, 199. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 290. cicero's library. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 405. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 180. public libraries in rome. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. i, p. 413. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. chap. vii. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 531. the book markets. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 183. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 529. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. vi. ancient myths and legends "o antique fables! beautiful and bright, and joyous with the joyous youth of yore; o antique fables! for a little light of that which shineth in you evermore, to cleanse the dimness from our weary eyes and bathe our old world with a new surprise of golden dawn entrancing sea and shore. --james thomson song.--hymn to the dawn. _dido: an epic tragedy_. miller and nelson. p. 61. the relation of the classic myths to literature. the influence of the classics on american literature. paul shorey. _chautauqua_. vol. xliii, p. 121. _classic myths in english literature_. c.m. gayley. introduction. the origin of myths. _classic myths in english literature_. c.m. gayley. p. 431. mythology in art. classic myths in modern art. _chautauqua_. vol. xlii, p. 455. the myth of admetus and alcestis. _classic myths in english literature_. c.m. gayley. p. 106. tarpeia and the tarpeian rock. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 118. _the marble faun_. nathaniel hawthorne. chap. xiii. the origin and growth of the myth about tarpeia. henry a. sanders. _school review_. vol. viii, p. 323. lamia. _complete poetical works_. john keats. p. 146. play.--persephone. _children's classics in dramatic form_. augusta stevenson. vol. iv. recitation.--mangled mythology. _literary digest_. vol. xxxix, p. 1110. the ancient myth in modern literature "the debt of literature to the myth-makers of the mediterranean has been an endless one starting at mt. olympus, and flowing down in fertilizing streams through all the literary ages." --james a. harrison icarus. _poetical works_. bayard taylor. p. 88. orpheus with his lute. _henry viii_. william shakespeare. act. iii, scene i. iphigenia and agamemnon. the shades of agamemnon and iphigenia. _poems and dialogues in verse_. walter savage landor. vol. i, p. 78. venus and vulcan. _poetical works_. john g. saxe. p. 238. pandora. _poetical works_. bayard taylor. p. 203. the legend of st. mark. _poetical works_. john g. whittier. p. 36. icarus: or the peril of the borrowed plumes. _poetical works_. john g. saxe. p. 229. laodamia. _complete poetical works_. william wordsworth. p. 525. the lotus eaters _poetical works_. alfred tennyson. p. 51. the shepherd of king admetus. _complete poetical works_. james russell lowell. p. 44. _classic myths in english literature_. c.m. gayley. p. 131. ceres. bliss carman. _literary digest_. vol. xlv, p. 347. persephone. _poetical works_. jean ingelow. p. 181. what english owes to greek "we are all greeks. our laws, our literature, our religion, our arts, have their root in greece." the influence of greek on english. the iliad in art. eugene parsons. _chautauqua_. vol. xvi. p. 643. the greek in english. e.l. miller. _school review_. vol. xiii, p. 390. the social life of ancient greece. edward capps. _chautauqua_. vol. xxiv, p. 290. _the life of the greeks and romans_. guhl and koner. p. 183. the modern maid of athens and her brothers of to-day. william e. waters. _chautauqua_. vol. xvii, p. 259. our poets' debt to homer. english poems on greek subjects. james richard joy. _chautauqua_. vol. xvii, p. 271. athens as it appears to-day. in and about modern athens. william e. waters. _chautauqua_. vol. xvii, p. 131. skirting the balkan peninsula. robert hichens. _century magazine_. vol. lxiv, p. 84. greece revisited. martin l. d'ooge. _nation_. vol. xcvi, p. 569. the influence of greek architecture in the united states. w.h. goodyear. _chautauqua_. vol. xvi, pp. 3, 131, 259. modern rome "what shall i say of the modern city? rome is yet the capital of the world." --shelley poem.--the voices of rome. _poetical works_. bayard taylor. p. 202. the beauty of rome. rome. maurice maeterlinck. _critic_. vol. xlvi, p. 362. shelley's impression of rome. _with shelley in italy_. anna b. mcmahan. p. 70. a frenchman's impression of rome. _the italians of to-day_. rené bazin. p. 94. poem.--at rome. _poetical works_. william wordsworth. p. 749. hawthorne's moonlight walk in rome _italian note-books_. nathaniel hawthorne. p. 173. the american school in rome. howard crosby butler. _critic_. vol. xxiii, p. 466. the vatican. _roba di roma_. william w. story. p. 534. the city of the saints. lyman abbott. _harper's magazine_. vol. xlv, p. 169. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. chap. xvi. the protestant cemetery in rome. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, p. 512. _roba di roma_. william w. story. p. 509. _walks in rome_. augustus j.c. hare. p. 698. _with shelley in italy_. anna b. mcmahan. pp. 228, 241. _literary landmarks of rome_. laurence hutton. p. 35. poem.--the grave of keats. _the poems of oscar wilde_. vol. ii, p. 5. the tiber. _rome of to-day and yesterday_. john dennie. p. 7. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. rodolfo lanciani. p. 232. following the tiber. _lippincott's magazine_. vol. xv, p. 30. poem.--roman antiquities. _poetical works_. william wordsworth. p. 695. the expense of living in rome. _roma beata_. maud howe. pp. 28, 250. poem.--february in rome. _on viol and flute_. edmund w. gosse. p. 53. poem.--what he saw in europe. _current literature_. vol. xxxvi, p. 365. poem.--rome unvisited. _the poems of oscar wilde_. vol. i, p. 64. poem.--roman girl's song. _poetical works_. mrs. hemans. p. 227. italy of to-day "no sudden goddess through the rushes glides, no eager god among the laurels hides; jove's eagle mopes beside an empty throne, persephone and ades sit alone by lethe's hollow shore." --nora hopper sonnet.--on approaching italy. _the poems of oscar wilde_. vol. i, p. 59. naples. _lectures_. john l. stoddard. naples. vol. viii, p. 115. _peeps at many lands_. italy. john finnemore. chap. xiii. certain things in naples. _italian journeys_. w.d. howells. p. 80. a school in naples. _italian journeys_. w.d. howells. p. 139. italian recollections. more letters of a diplomat's wife. mary king waddington. _scribner's magazine_. vol. xxxvii, p. 204. the italian peasantry. _roma beata_. maud howe. p. 34. _peeps at many lands_. italy. john finnemore. chap. xix. a stroll on the pincian hill. _the marble faun_. nathaniel hawthorne. chap. xii. hotels in italy. _roman holidays and others_. w.d. howells. chap. vi, p. 68. a modern italian farmyard as seen by shelley. _the prose works of percy bysshe shelley_. harry buxton forman. vol. iv, p. 43. school life in italy. glimpses of school life in italy. mary sifton pepper. _chautauqua_. vol. xxxv, p. 550. education in italy. alex oldrini. _chautauqua_. vol. xviii, p. 413. a night in italy. _exits and entrances_. charles warren stoddard. p. 41. poem.--in italy. _poetical works_. bayard taylor. p. 130. life in modern italy. in italy. john h. vincent. _chautauqua_. vol. xviii, p. 387. life in modern italy. bella h. stillman. _chautauqua_. vol. xi, p. 6. o tempora! o mores! "the seeds of godlike power are in us still; gods are we, bards, saints, heroes, if we will!" --matthew arnold poem.--the watch of the old gods. poverty among the ancient romans. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. iii. _the private life of the romans_. h.w. johnston. p. 305. _the ancient city_. fustel de coulanges. p. 449. poverty among the americans. the problem of poverty. robert hunter. _outlook_. vol. lxxix, p. 902. the weary world of human misery. _world's work_. vol. xvi, p. 10526. _how the other half lives_. jacob riis. chap. xxii, p. 255. the craze for amusement among the ancient romans. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. chap. ix. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 194. the craze for amusement among the americans. what new york spends at the theaters. _literary digest_. vol. xlv, p. 19. luxury and extravagance in ancient rome. _rome: the eternal city_. clara erskine clement. vol. ii, pp. 524, 529. _society in rome under the caesars_. william ralph inge. p. 262. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. william stearns davis. p. 305. luxury and extravagance among americans. newport: the city of luxury. jonathan t. lincoln. _atlantic monthly_. vol. cii, p. 162. housekeeping on half-a-million a year. emily harington. _everybody's_. vol. xiv, p. 497. _the passing of the idle rich_. frederick townsend martin. chap. ii, p. 23. poem.--_tempora mutantur_. _poetical works_. john g. saxe. p. 98. * * * * * selections that may be used for the programs * * * * * a plea for the classics[1] a boston gentleman declares, by all the gods above, below, that our degenerate sons and heirs must let their greek and latin go! forbid, o fate, we loud implore, a dispensation harsh as that; what! wipe away the sweets of yore; the dear "_amo, amas, amat?_" the sweetest hour the student knows is not when poring over french, or twisted in teutonic throes, upon a hard collegiate bench; 'tis when on roots and kais and gars he feeds his soul and feels it glow, or when his mind transcends the stars with "_zoa mou, sas agapo!_" so give our bright, ambitious boys an inkling of these pleasures, too-a little smattering of the joys their dead and buried fathers knew; and let them sing--while glorying that their sires so sang, long years ago-the songs "_amo, amas, amat_" and "_zoa mou, sas agapo!_" --eugene field [footnote in original book (published 1916): copyright. used by permission of charles scribner's sons.] on an old latin text book i remember the very day when the schoolmaster gave it to me.... and i remember that the rather stern and aquiline face of our teacher relaxed into mildness for a moment. both we and our books must have looked very fresh and new to him, though we may all be a little battered now; at least, my _new latin tutor_ is. it is a very precious book, and it should be robed in choice turkey morocco, were not the very covers too much a part of the association to be changed. for between them i gathered the seed-grain of many harvests of delight; through this low archway i first looked upon the immeasurable beauty of words.... what liquid words were these: _aqua_, _aura_, _unda_! all english poetry that i had yet learned by heart--it is only children who learn by heart, grown people "commit to memory"--had not so awakened the vision of what literature might mean. thenceforth all life became ideal.... then human passion, tender, faithful, immortal, came also by and beckoned. "but let me die," she said. "thus, thus it delights me to go under the shades." or that infinite tenderness, the stronger even for its opening moderation of utterance, the last sigh of aeneas after dido,- nec me meminisse pigebit elissam dum memor ipse mihi, dum spiritus hos regit artus.... or, with more definite and sublime grandeur, the vast forms of roman statesmanship appear: "today, romans, you behold the commonwealth, the lives of you all, estates, fortunes, wives and children, and the seat of this most renowned empire, this most fortunate and beautiful city, preserved and restored to you by the distinguished love of the immortal gods, and by my toils, counsels, and dangers." what great thoughts were found within these pages, what a roman vigor was in these maxims! "it is roman to do and suffer bravely." "it is sweet and glorious to die for one's country." "he that gives himself up to pleasure, is not worthy the name of a man."... there was nothing harsh or stern in this book, no cynicism, no indifference; but it was a flower-garden of lovely out-door allusions, a gallery of great deeds; and as i have said before, it formed the child's first real glimpse into the kingdom of words. i was once asked by a doctor of divinity, who was also the overseer of a college, whether i ever knew any one to look back with pleasure upon his early studies in latin and greek. it was like being asked if one looked back with pleasure on summer mornings and evenings. no doubt those languages, like all others, have fared hard at the hands of pedants; and there are active boys who hate all study, and others who love the natural sciences alone. indeed, it is a hasty assumption, that the majority of boys hate latin and greek. i find that most college graduates, at least, retain some relish for the memory of such studies, even if they have utterly lost the power to masticate or digest them. "though they speak no greek, they love the sound on't." many a respectable citizen still loves to look at his horace or virgil on the shelf where it has stood undisturbed for a dozen years; he looks, and thinks that he too lived in arcadia.... the books link him with culture, and universities, and the traditions of great scholars. on some stormy sunday, he thinks, he will take them down. at length he tries it; he handles the volume awkwardly, as he does his infant; but it is something to be able to say that neither book nor baby has been actually dropped. he likes to know that there is a tie between him and each of these possessions, though he is willing, it must be owned, to leave the daily care of each in more familiar hands.... i must honestly say that much of the modern outcry against classical studies seems to me to be (as in the case of good dr. jacob bigelow) a frank hostility to literature itself, as the supposed rival of science; or a willingness (as in professor atkinson's case) to tolerate modern literature, while discouraging the study of the ancient. both seem to commit the error of drawing their examples of abuse from england, and applying their warnings to america.... because the house of commons was once said to care more for a false quantity in latin verse than in english morals, shall we visit equal indignation on a house of representatives that had to send for a classical dictionary to find out who thersites was?... granted, that foreign systems of education may err by insisting on the arts of literary structure too much; think what we should lose by dwelling on them too little! the magic of mere words; the mission of language; the worth of form as well as of matter; the power to make a common thought immortal in a phrase, so that your fancy can no more detach the one from the other than it can separate the soul and body of a child; it was the veiled half revelation of these things that made that old text-book forever fragrant to me. there are in it the still visible traces of wild flowers which i used to press between the pages, on the way to school; but it was the pressed flowers of latin poetry that were embalmed there first. these are blossoms that do not fade. --thomas wentworth higginson saint augustine's love of latin andrew lang, in his _adventures among books_, writes: "saint augustine, like sir walter scott at the university of edinburgh, was 'the greek dunce.' both of these great men, to their sorrow and loss, absolutely and totally declined to learn greek. 'but what the reason was why i hated the greek language, while i was taught it, being a child, i do not yet understand.' the saint was far from being alone in that distaste, and he who writes loathed greek like poison--till he came to homer. latin the saint loved, except 'when reading, writing, and casting of accounts was taught in latin, which i held not far less painful or penal than the very greek. i wept for dido's death, who made herself away with the sword,' he declares, 'and even so, the saying that two and two makes four was an ungrateful song in mine ears, whereas the wooden horse full of armed men, the burning of troy, and the very ghost of creusa, was a most delightful spectacle of vanity.'" the watch of the old gods were the old gods watching yet, from their cloudy summits afar, at evening under the evening star, after the star is set, would they see in these thronging streets, where the life of the city beats with endless rush and strain, men of a better mold, nobler in heart and brain, than the men of three thousand years ago, in the pagan cities old, o'er which the lichens and ivy grow? would they not see as they saw in the younger days of the race, the dark results of broken law, in the bent form and brutal face of the slave of passions as old as earth, and young as the infants of last night's birth? alas! the old gods no longer keep their watch from the cloudy steep; but, though all on olympus lie dead yet the smoke of commerce still rolls from the sacrifice of souls, to the heaven that bends overhead. old and new rome still, as we saunter down the crowded street, on our own thoughts intent, and plans and pleasures, for miles and miles beneath our idle feet, rome buries from the day yet unknown treasures. the whole world's alphabet, in every line some stirring page of history she recalls,-her alpha is the prison mamertine, her omega, st. paul's, without the walls. above, beneath, around, she weaves her spells, and ruder hands unweave them all in vain: who once within her fascination dwells, leaves her with but one thought--to come again. so cast thy obol into trevi's fountain- drink of its waters, and, returning home, pray that by land or sea, by lake or mountain, "all roads alike may lead at last to rome." --herman merivale the fall of rome rome ruled in all her matchless pride, queen of the world, an empire-state; her eagles conquered far and wide; her word was law, her will was fate. within her immemorial walls the temples of the gods looked down; her forum echoed with the calls to greater conquest and renown. all wealth, all splendor, and all might the world could give, before her lay; she dreamed not there could come a night to dim the glory of her day. rome perished: legions could not save, nor wealth, nor might, nor majesty,-the roman had become a slave, but the barbarian was free. --arthur chamberlain a christmas hymn it was the calm and silent night! seven hundred years and fifty-three had rome been growing up to might, and now was queen of land and sea. no sound was heard of clashing wars-peace brooded o'er the hushed domain: apollo, pallas, jove and mars held undisturbed their ancient reign, in the solemn midnight, centuries ago. 'twas in the calm and silent night! the senator of haughty rome impatient, urged his chariot's flight, from lordly revel rolling home: triumphal arches, gleaming, swell his breast with thoughts of boundless sway: what recked the roman what befell a paltry province far away, in the solemn midnight, centuries ago? within that province far away went plodding home a weary boor; a streak of light before him lay, falling through a half shut stable-door across his path. he passed--for naught told what was going on within: how keen the stars, his only thought-the air how calm, and cold and thin in the solemn midnight, centuries ago! oh, strange indifference! low and high drowsed over common joys and cares; the earth was still--but knew not why, the world was listening, unawares. how calm a moment may precede one that shall thrill the world forever! to that still moment, none would heed, man's doom was linked no more to sever-in the solemn midnight, centuries ago! it is the calm and silent night! a thousand bells ring out, and throw their joyous peals abroad, and smite the darkness--charmed and holy now! the night that erst no name had worn, to it a happy name is given; for in that stable lay, new-born, the peaceful prince of earth and heaven, in the solemn midnight, centuries ago! --alfred dommett roman girl's song rome, rome! thou art no more as thou hast been! on thy seven hills of yore thou satt'st a queen. thou hadst thy triumphs then purpling the street, leaders and sceptred men bow'd at thy feet. they that thy mantle wore, as gods were seen-rome, rome! thou art no more as thou hast been! rome! thine imperial brow never shall rise: what hast thou left thee now?- thou hast thy skies! blue, deeply blue, they are, gloriously bright! veiling thy wastes afar, with color'd light. thou hast the sunset's glow, rome, for thy dower, flushing tall cypress bough, temple and tower! and all sweet sounds are thine, lovely to hear, while night, o'er tomb and shrine rests darkly clear. many a solemn hymn, by starlight sung, sweeps through the arches dim, thy wrecks among. many a flute's low swell, on thy soft air lingers, and loves to dwell with summer there. thou hast the south's rich gift of sudden song-a charmed fountain, swift, joyous and strong. thou hast fair forms that move with queenly tread; thou hast proud fanes above thy mighty dead. yet wears thy tiber's shore a mournful mien: rome, rome! thou art no more as thou hast been! --mrs. hemans capri rising from the purpling water with her brow of stone, sprite or nymph or triton's daughter, rising from the purpling water, capri sits alone-sits and looks across the billow now the day is done resting on her rocky pillow sits and looks across the billow toward the setting sun. misty visions trooping sadly glimmer through her tears, shapes of men contending madly,-misty visions trooping sadly from the vanished years. here tiberius from his palace on the headland gray hurls his foes with gleeful malice, proud tiberius at his palace murd'ring men for play. there lamarque's recruits advancing scale yon rocky spot, 'neath the moon their bright steel glancing, see lamarque's recruits advancing through a storm of shot. but today the goat bells' tinkle and the vespers chime, vineyards shade each rock-hewn wrinkle, and today the goat bells' tinkle marks a happier time. soft the olive groves are gleaming, war has found surcease, and as capri sits a-dreaming soft the olive groves are gleaming, crowning her with peace. --walter taylor field palladium set where the upper streams of simois flow was the palladium, high 'mid rock and wood; and hector was in ilium, far below, and fought, and saw it not--but there it stood! it stood, and sun and moonshine rain'd their light on the pure columns of its glen-built hall. backward and forward rolled the waves of fight round troy,--but while this stood, troy could not fall. so, in its lovely moonlight, lives the soul. mountains surround it, and sweet virgin air; cold plashing, past it, crystal waters roll; we visit it by moments, ah, too rare! men will renew the battle in the plain tomorrow; red with blood will xanthus be; hector and ajax will be there again, helen will come upon the wall to see. then we shall rust in shade, or shine in strife, and fluctuate 'twixt blind hopes and blind despairs, and fancy that we put forth all our life, and never know how with the soul it fares. still doth the soul, from its lone fastness high, upon our life a ruling effluence send; and when it fails, fight as we will, we die, and while it lasts, we cannot wholly end. --matthew arnold after construing lord caesar, when you sternly wrote the story of your grim campaigns and watched the ragged smoke-wreath float above the burning plains, amid the impenetrable wood, amid the camp's incessant hum at eve, beside the tumbling flood, in high avaricum, you little recked, imperious head, when shrilled your shattering trumpets' noise, your frigid sections would be read by bright-eyed english boys. ah me! who penetrates today the secret of your deep designs? your sovereign visions, as you lay amid the sleeping lines? the mantuan singer pleading stands; from century to century he leans and reaches wistful hands, and cannot bear to die. but you are silent, secret, proud, no smile upon your haggard face, as when you eyed the murderous crowd beside the statue's base. i marvel: that titanic heart beats strongly through the arid page, and we, self-conscious sons of art, in this bewildering age, like dizzy revellers stumbling out upon the pure and peaceful night, are sobered into troubled doubt, as swims across our sight, the ray of that sequestered sun, far in the illimitable blue,-the dream of all you left undone, of all you dared to do. --arthur christoher benson a roman mirror they found it in her hollow marble bed, there where the numberless dead cities sleep, they found it lying where the spade struck deep a broken mirror by a maiden dead. these things--the beads she wore about her throat, alternate blue and amber, all untied, a lamp to light her way, and on one side the toll men pay to that strange ferry-boat. no trace today of what in her was fair! only the record of long years grown green upon the mirror's lustreless dead sheen, grown dim at last, when all else withered there dead, broken, lustreless! it keeps for me one picture of that immemorial land, for oft as i have held thee in my hand the chill bronze brightens, and i dream to see a fair face gazing in thee wondering wise and o'er one marble shoulder all the while strange lips that whisper till her own lips smile and all the mirror laughs about her eyes. it was well thought to set thee there, so she might smooth the windy ripples of her hair and knot their tangled waywardness or ere she stood before the queen persephone. and still it may be where the dead folk rest she holds a shadowy mirror to her eyes, and looks upon the changelessness, and sighs and sets the dead land lilies in her hand. --rennell rodd the doom of the slothful when through the dolorous city of damned souls the florentine with vergil took his way, a dismal marsh they passed, whose fetid shoals held sinners by the myriad. swollen and grey, like worms that fester in the foul decay of sweltering carrion, these bad spirits sank chin-deep in stagnant slime and ooze that stank. year after year forever--year by year, through billions of the centuries that lie like specks of dust upon the dateless sphere of heaven's eternity, they cankering sigh between the black waves and the starless sky; and daily dying have no hope to gain by death or change or respite of their pain. what was their crime, you ask? nay, listen: "we were sullen--sad what time we drank the light, and delicate air, that all day daintily is cheered by sunshine; for we bore black night and murky smoke of sloth, in god's despite, within our barren souls, by discontent from joy of all fair things and wholesome pent: therefore in this low hell from jocund sight and sound he bans us; and as there we grew pallid with idleness, so here a blight perpetual rots with slow-corroding dew our poisonous carcase, and a livid hue corpse-like o'erspreads these sodden limbs that take and yield corruption to the loathly lake." --john addington symonds hector and andromache _andromache_ will hector leave me for the fatal plain, where, fierce with vengeance for patroclus slain, stalks peleus' ruthless son? who, when thou glid'st amid the dark abodes, to hurl the spear and to revere the gods, shall teach thine orphan one? _hector_ woman and wife beloved--cease thy tears; my soul is nerved--the war-clang in my ears! be mine in life to stand troy's bulwark!--fighting for our hearths, to go in death, exulting to the streams below, slain for my father-land! _andromache_ no more i hear thy martial footsteps fall-thine arms shall hang, dull trophies, on the wall- fallen the stem of troy! thou go'st where slow cocytus wanders--where love sinks in lethe, and the sunless air is dark to light and joy! _hector_ longing and thought--yea, all i feel and think may in the silent sloth of lethe sink, but my love not! hark, the wild swarm is at the walls! i hear! gird on my sword--belov'd one, dry the tear- lethe for love is not! --schiller enceladus under mount etna he lies, it is slumber, it is not death; for he struggles at times to arise, and above him the lurid skies are hot with his fiery breath. the crags are piled on his breast, the earth is heaped on his head; but the groans of his wild unrest, though smothered and half suppressed, are heard, and he is not dead. and the nations far away are watching with eager eyes; they talk together and say, "tomorrow, perhaps today, enceladus will arise!" and the old gods, the austere oppressors in their strength, stand aghast and white with fear at the ominous sounds they hear, and tremble, and mutter, "at length!" ah me! for the land that is sown with the harvest of despair! where the burning cinders, blown from the lips of the overthrown enceladus, fill the air. where ashes are heaped in drifts over vineyard and field and town, whenever he starts and lifts his head through the blackened rifts of the crags that keep him down. see, see! the red light shines! 'tis the glare of his awful eyes! and the storm-wind shouts through the pines, of alps and of apennines, "enceladus, arise!" --henry w. longfellow nil admirari when horace in venusian groves was scribbling wit or sipping "massic," or singing those delicious loves which after ages reckon classic, he wrote one day--'twas no vagary-these famous words:--_nil admirari!_ "wonder at nothing!" said the bard; a kingdom's fall, a nation's rising, a lucky or a losing card, are really not at all surprising; however men or manners vary, keep cool and calm: _nil admirari!_ if kindness meet a cold return; if friendship prove a dear delusion; if love, neglected, cease to burn, or die untimely of profusion,-such lessons well may make us wary, but needn't shock: _nil admirari!_ ah! when the happy day we reach when promisers are ne'er deceivers; when parsons practice what they preach, and seeming saints are all believers, then the old maxim you may vary, and say no more, _nil admirari!_ --john g. saxe perdidi diem the emperor titus, at the close of a day in which he had neither gained any knowledge nor conferred benefit, was accustomed to exclaim, "perdidi diem," "i have lost a day." why art thou sad, thou of the sceptred hand? the rob'd in purple, and the high in state? rome pours her myriads forth, a vassal band, and foreign powers are crouching at thy gate; yet dost thou deeply sigh, as if oppressed by fate. "_perdidi diem!_"--pour the empire's treasure, uncounted gold, and gems of rainbow dye; unlock the fountains of a monarch's pleasure to lure the lost one back. i heard a sigh-one hour of parted time, a world is poor to buy. "_perdidi diem!_"--'tis a mournful story, thus in the ear of pensive eve to tell, of morning's firm resolves, the vanish'd glory, hope's honey left within the withering bell and plants of mercy dead, that might have bloomed so well. hail, self-communing emperor, nobly wise! there are, who thoughtless haste to life's last goal. there are, who time's long squandered wealth despise. _perdidi vitam_ marks their finished scroll, when death's dark angel comes to claim the startled soul. --mrs. sigourney jupiter and his children a classic fable once, on sublime olympus, when great jove, the sire of gods and men, was looking down on this our earth, and marking the increasing dearth of pious deeds and noble lives, while vice abounds and meanness thrives,-he straight determined to efface at one fell swoop the thankless race of human kind. "go!" said the king unto his messenger, "and bring the vengeful furies; be it theirs, unmindful of their tears and prayers, these wretches,--hateful from their birth,-to wipe from off the face of earth!" the message heard, with torch of flame and reeking sword, alecto came, and by the beard of pluto swore the human race should be no more! but jove, relenting thus to see the direst of the murderous three, and hear her menace, bade her go back to the murky realms below. "be mine the cruel task!" he said, and, at a word, a bolt he sped, which, falling in a desert place, left all unhurt the human race! grown bold and bolder, wicked men wax worse and worse, until again the stench to high olympus came, and all the gods began to blame the monarch's weak indulgence,--_they_ would crush the knaves without delay! at this, the ruler of the air proceeds a tempest to prepare, which, dark and dire, he swiftly hurled in raging fury on the world! but not where human beings dwell (so jove provides) the tempest fell. and still the sin and wickedness of men grew more, instead of less: whereat the gods declare, at length, for thunder bolts of greater strength which vulcan soon, at jove's command, wrought in his forge with dexterous hand. now from the smithy's glowing flame two different sorts of weapons came: to _hit_ the mark was one designed; as sure to _miss_, the other kind. the second sort the thunderer threw, which not a human being slew; but roaring loudly, hurtled wide on forest-top and mountain-side! moral what means this ancient tale? that _jove_ in wrath still felt a parent's love: whatever crimes he may have done, the father yearns to spare the son. --john g. saxe the prayer of socrates _socrates_ ere we leave this friendly sky, and cool ilyssus flowing by, change the shrill cicala's song for the clamor of the throng, let us make a parting prayer to the gods of earth and air. _phaedrus_ my wish, o friend, accords with thine, say thou the prayer, it shall be mine. _socrates_ this then, i ask, o thou beloved pan, and all ye other gods: help, as ye can, that i may prosper in the inner man; grant ye that what i have or yet may win of those the outer things may be akin and constantly at peace within; may i regard the wise the rich, and care myself for no more gold, as my earth-share, than he who's of an honest heart can bear. --john h. finley by the roman road "poetry and paganism do not mix very well nowadays. the hellenism of our versifiers is, as a rule, not greek; it is derived partly from swinburne and partly from pater. but now and then there comes a poet who has real appreciation of the beauty of classic days; who can express sincerely and vividly the haunting charm of greek or roman culture. such an one is the anonymous writer of these lines, which appeared in the london _punch_." the wind it sang in the pine-tops, it sang like a humming harp; the smell of the sun on the bracken was wonderful sweet and sharp. as sharp as the piney needles, as sweet as the gods were good, for the wind it sung of the old gods, as i came through the wood! it sung how long ago the romans made a road, and the gods came up from italy and found them an abode. it sang of the wayside altars (the pine-tops sighed like the surf), of little shrines uplifted, of stone and scented turf, of youths divine and immortal, of maids as white as the snow that glimmered among the thickets a mort of years ago! all in the cool of dawn, all in the twilight gray, the gods came up from italy along the roman way. the altar smoke it has drifted and faded afar on the hill; no wood-nymphs haunt the hollows; the reedy pipes are still; no more the youth apollo shall walk in his sunshine clear; no more the maid diana shall follow the fallow-deer (the woodmen grew so wise, the woodmen grew so old, the gods went back to italy--or so the story's told!). but the woods are full of voices and of shy and secret things the badger down by the brook-side, the flick of a woodcock's wings, the plump of a falling fir-cone, the pop of the sunripe pods, and the wind that sings in the pine-tops the song of the ancient gods-the song of the wind that says the romans made a road, and the gods came up from italy and found them an abode! a nymph's lament o sister nymphs, how shall we dance or sing remembering what was and is not? how sing any more now aphrodite's rosy reign is o'er? for on the forest-floor our feet fall wearily the summer long, the whole year long: no sudden goddess through the rushes glides, no eager god among the laurels hides; jove's eagle mopes beside an empty throne, persephone and ades sit alone, by lethe's hollow shore. and hear not any more echoed from poplar-tree to poplar-tree, the voice of orpheus making sweetest moan for lost eurydice. the fates walk all alone in empty kingdoms, where is none to fear shaking of any spear. even the ghosts are gone from lightless fields of mint and euphrasy: there sings no wind in any willow-tree, and shadowy flute-girls wander listlessly down to the shore where charon's empty boat, as shadowed swan doth float, rides all as listlessly, with none to steer. a shrunken stream is lethe's water wan unsought of any man: grass ceres sowed by alien hands is mown, and now she seeks persephone alone. the gods have all gone up olympus' hill, and all the songs are still of grieving dryads, left to wail about our woodland ways, bereft, the endless summertide. queen venus draws aside and passes, sighing, up olympus' hill. and silence holds her cyprian bowers, and claims her flowers, and quenches all her altar-flames, and strikes dumb in their throats her doves' complaining notes: and sorrow sits crowned upon her seat: nor any morrow hears the loves laughing round her golden chair. (alas, thy golden seat, thine empty seat!) nor any evening sees beneath her feet the daisy rosier flush, the maidenhair and scentless crocus borrow from rose and hyacinth their savour sweet. without thee is no sweetness in the morn, the morn that was fulfilled of mystery, it lies like a void shell, desiring thee, o daughter of the water and the dawn, anadyomene! there is no gold upon the bearded corn, no blossom on the thorn; and in wet brakes the oreads hide, forlorn of every grace once theirs: no faun will follow by herne or hollow their feet in the windy morn. let us all cry together "cytherea!" lock hands and cry together: it may be that she will heed and hear and come from the waste places of the sea, leaving old proteus all discomforted, to cast down from his head its crown of nameless jewels, to be hurled in ruins, with the ruined royalty of an old world. the nereids seek thee in the salt sea-reaches, seek thee; and seek, and seek, and never find: canst thou not hear their calling on the wind? we nymphs go wandering under pines and beeches, and far--and far behind we hear paris' piping blown after us, calling thee and making moan (for all the leaves that have no strength to cry, the young leaves and the dry), desiring thee to bless these woods again, making most heavy moan for withered myrtle-flowers, for all thy paphian bowers empty and sad beneath a setting sun; for dear days done! the naiads splash in the blue forest-pools- "idalia--idalia!" they cry. "on ida's hill, with flutings faint and shrill,-on ida's hill the shepherds vainly try their songs, and coldly stand their damsels by, whatever tunes they try; for beauty is not, and love may not be, on land or sea-oh, not in earth or heaven, on land or sea, while darkness holdeth thee." the naiads weep beside their forest-pools, and from the oaks a hundred voices call, "come back to us, o thou desired of all! elsewhere the air is sultry: here it cools and full it is of pine scents: here is still the world-pain that has driven from ida's hill thine unreturning feet. alas! the days so fleet that were, and sweet, when kind thou wert, and dear, and all the loves dwelt here! alas! thy giftless hands, thy wandering feet! oh, here for pithys' sake the air is sweet and here snow falls not, neither burns the sun nor any winds make moan for dear days done. come, then: the woods are emptied all of glee, and all the world is sad, desiring thee!" --nora hopper helen of troy i am that helen, that very helen of leda, born in the days of old: men's hearts as inns that i might dwell in: houseless i wander to-night, and cold. because man loved me, no god takes pity: my ghost goes wailing where i was queen! alas! my chamber in troy's tall city, my golden couches, my hangings green! wasted with fire are the halls they built me, and sown with salt are the streets i trod, where flowers they scattered and spices spilt me- alas, that zeus is a jealous god! softly i went on my sandals golden; of love and pleasure i took my fill; with paris' kisses my lips were holden, nor guessed i, when life went at my will, that the fates behind me went softlier still. --nora hopper an etruscan ring where, girt with orchard and with oliveyard, the white hill-fortress glimmers on the hill, day after day an ancient goldsmith's skill guided the copper graver, tempered hard by some lost secret, while he shaped the sard slowly to beauty, and his tiny drill, edged with corundum, ground its way until the gem lay perfect for the ring to guard. then seeing the stone complete to his desire, with mystic imagery carven thus, and dark egyptian symbols fabulous, he drew through it the delicate golden wire, and bent the fastening; and the etrurian sun sank behind ilva, and the work was done. what dark-haired daughter of a lucumo bore on her slim white finger to the grave this the first gift her tyrrhene lover gave, those five-and-twenty centuries ago? what shadowy dreams might haunt it, lying low so long, while kings and armies, wave on wave, above the rock-tomb's buried architrave went trampling million-footed to and fro? who knows? but well it is so frail a thing, unharmed by conquering time's supremacy, still should be fair, though scarce less old than rome. now once again at rest from wandering across the high alps and the dreadful sea, in utmost england let it find a home. --j. w. mackail orpheus with his lute orpheus with his lute made trees, and the mountain tops that freeze, bow themselves when he did sing: to his music, plants and flowers ever sprung: as sun and showers there had made a lasting spring. everything that heard him play, even the billows of the sea, hung their heads, and then lay by. in sweet music is such art, killing care and grief of heart fall asleep or hearing, die. --william shakespeare a hymn in praise of neptune of neptune's empire let us sing at whose command the waves obey; to whom the rivers tribute pay, down the high mountains sliding: to whom the scaly nation yields homage for the crystal fields wherein they dwell: and every sea-god pays a gem yearly out of his wat'ry cell to deck great neptune's diadem. the tritons dancing in a ring before his palace gates do make the waters with their echoes quake, like the great thunder sounding: the sea-nymphs chant their accents shrill, and the sirens, taught to kill with their sweet voice, make every echoing rock reply unto their gentle murmuring noise the praise of neptune's empery. --thomas campion horace's philosophy of life book ii, ode 16 (in part, only) he lives on little, and is blest, on whose plain board the bright salt-cellar shines, which was his sire's delight, nor terrors, nor cupidity's unrest, disturb his slumbers light. why should we still project and plan, we creatures of an hour? why fly from clime to clime, new regions scour? where is the exile, who, since time began, to fly from self had power? fell care climbs brazen galley's sides; nor troops of horse can fly her foot, which than the stag's is swifter, ay, swifter than eurus when he madly rides the clouds along the sky. careless what lies beyond to know, and turning to the best, the present, meet life's bitters with a jest, and smile them down; since nothing here below is altogether blest. in manhood's prime achilles died, tithonus by the slow decay of age was wasted to a show, and time may what it hath to thee denied on me perchance bestow. to me a farm of modest size, and slender vein of song, such as in greece flowed vigorous and strong, kind fate hath given, and spirit to despise the base, malignant throng. --sir theodore martin an invitation to dine written by horace to virgil book iv, ode 12 yes, a small box of nard from the stores of sulpicius[2] a cask shall elicit, of potency rare to endow with fresh hopes, dewy-bright and delicious, and wash from our hearts every cobweb of care. if you'd dip in such joys, come--the better the quicker!- but remember the fee--for it suits not my ends, to let you make havoc, scot-free, 'with my liquor, as though i were one of your heavy-pursed friends. to the winds with base lucre and pale melancholy!- in the flames of the pyre these, alas! will be vain, mix your sage ruminations with glimpses of folly,- 'tis delightful at times to be somewhat insane. --sir theodore martin [footnote 2: virgil must bring some rare perfume in exchange for the rich wine, since horace thus playfully conditions his invitation.] the golden mean horace. book ii, ode 10 receive, dear friends, the truths i teach, so shalt thou live beyond the reach of adverse fortune's power; not always tempt the distant deep, nor always timorously creep along the treacherous shore. he that holds fast the golden mean and lives contentedly between the little and the great, feels not the wants that pinch the poor, nor plagues that haunt the rich man's door, imbittering all his state. the tallest pines feel most the power of wintry blasts; the loftiest tower comes heaviest to the ground; the bolts that spare the mountain's side his cloud-capt eminence divide, and spread the ruin round. the well-informed philosopher rejoices with a wholesome fear, and hopes in spite of pain; if winter bellow from the north, soon the sweet spring comes dancing forth, and nature laughs again. what if thine heaven be overcast? the dark appearance will not last; expect a brighter sky. the god that strings a silver bow awakes sometimes the muses too, and lays his arrows by. if hindrances obstruct thy way, thy magnanimity display, and let thy strength be seen: but o! if fortune fill thy sail with more than a propitious gale, take half thy canvas in. --william cowper to the reader martial he unto whom thou art so partial, o reader, is the well-known martial, the epigrammatist: while living, give him the fame thou wouldst be giving so shall he hear, and feel, and know it: post-obits rarely reach a poet. --lord byron on portia martial. book i, xlii when the sad tale, how brutus fell, was brought, and slaves refused the weapon portia sought; "know ye not yet," she said, with towering pride, "death is a boon that cannot be denied? i thought my father amply had imprest this simple truth upon each roman breast." dauntless she gulph'd the embers as they flamed and, while their heat within her raged, exclaim'd "now, troublous guardians of a life abhorr'd, still urge your caution, and refuse the sword." --george lamb to potitus martial. book x, lxx that scarce a piece i publish in a year, idle perhaps to you i may appear. but rather, that i write at all, admire, when i am often robbed of days entire. now with my friends the evening i must spend: to those preferred my compliments must send. now at the witnessing a will make one: hurried from this to that, my morning's gone. some office must attend; or else some ball; or else my lawyer's summons to the hall. now a rehearsal, now a concert hear; and now a latin play at westminster. home after ten return, quite tir'd and dos'd. when is the piece, you want, to be compos'd? --john hay what is given to friends is not lost martial your slave will with your gold abscond, the fire your home lay low, your debtor will disown his bond your farm no crops bestow; your steward a mistress frail shall cheat; your freighted ship the storms will beat; that only from mischance you'll save, which to your friends is given; the only wealth you'll always have is that you've lent to heaven. --_english journal of education_, _jan., 1856_ to cotilus martial they tell me, cotilus, that you're a beau: what this is, cotilus, i wish to know. "a beau is one who, with the nicest care, in parted locks divides his curling hair; one who with balm and cinnamon smells sweet, whose humming lips some spanish air repeat; whose naked arms are smoothed with pumice-stone, and tossed about with graces all his own: a beau is one who takes his constant seat from morn till evening, where the ladies meet; and ever, on some sofa hovering near, whispers some nothing in some fair one's ear; who scribbles thousand billets-doux a day; still reads and scribbles, reads, and sends away; a beau is one who shrinks, if nearly pressed by the coarse garment of a neighbor guest; who knows who flirts with whom, and still is found at each good table in successive round: a beau is one--none better knows than he a race-horse, and his noble pedigree"-indeed? why cotilus, if this be so, what teasing trifling thing is called a beau! --elton the happy life martial _to julius martialis_ the things that make a life to please, (sweetest martial), they are these: estate inherited, not got: a thankful field, hearth always hot: city seldom, law-suits never: equal friends, agreeing forever: health of body, peace of mind: sleeps that till the morning bind: wise simplicity, plain fare: not drunken nights, yet loos'd from care: a sober, not a sullen spouse: clean strength, not such as his that plows; wish only what thou art, to be; death neither wish, nor fear to see. --sir richard fanshawe to a schoolmaster martial. book x, lxii thou monarch of eight parts of speech, who sweep'st with birch a youngster's breech, oh! now awhile withhold your hand! so may the trembling crop-hair'd band around your desk attentive hear, and pay you love instead of fear; so may yours ever be as full, as writing or as dancing school. the scorching dog-day is begun; the harvest roasting in the sun; each bridewell keeper, though requir'd to use the lash, is too much tir'd. let ferula and rod together lie dormant, till the frosty weather. boys do improve enough in reason, who miss a fever in this season. --john hay epitaph on erotion martial. book x, lxi underneath this greedy stone, lies little sweet erotion;[3] whom the fates, with hearts as cold, nipp'd away at six years old. thou, whoever thou mayst be, that hast this small field after me, let the yearly rites be paid to her little slender shade; so shall no disease or jar hurt thy house, or chill thy lar; but this tomb be here alone the only melancholy stone. --leigh hunt [footnote 3: a little girl who died at six years of age.] _non amo te_ martial. i, 32 non amo te, sabidi, nec possum dicere quare: hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te.[4] [footnote 4: this well known epigram is the original of one equally famous in english, that written by tom brown on dr. john fell, about 1670. "i do not like thee, dr. fell. the reason why i cannot tell; but this i know and know full well i do not like thee, dr. fell." ] gratitude some hae meat and canna eat, and some wad eat that want it; but we hae meat and we can eat and sae the lord be thanket. --burns translation sunt quibus est panis nec amor tamen ullus edendi: sunt quibus hic amor est deest tamen ipse cibus. panis at est nobis et amor quoque panis edendi pro quibus est domino gratia habenda deo. --_the lawrence latinist_ a hymn to the lares it was, and still my care is, to worship ye, the lares, with crowns of greenest parsley, and garlick chives not scarcely; for favors here to warme me, and not by fire to harme me; for gladding so my hearth here, with inoffensive mirth here; that while the wassaile bowle here with north-down ale doth troule here, no sillable doth fall here, to marre the mirth at all here. for which, o chimney-keepers! (i dare not call ye sweepers) so long as i am able to keep a country-table great be my fare, or small cheere, i'll eat and drink up all here. --robert herrick elysium past the despairing wail-and the bright banquets of the elysian vale melt every care away! delight, that breathes and moves forever, glides through sweet fields like some sweet river! elysian life survey! there, fresh with youth, o'er jocund meads, his merry west-winds blithely leads the ever-blooming may! through gold-woven dreams goes the dance of the hours, in space without bounds swell the soul and its powers, and truth, with no veil, gives her face to the day. and joy today and joy tomorrow but wafts the airy soul aloft; the very name is lost to sorrow, and pain is rapture tuned more exquisitely soft. here the pilgrim reposes the world-weary limb, and forgets in the shadow, cool-breathing and dim, the load he shall bear never more; here the mower, his sickle at rest, by the streams lull'd with harp strings, reviews, in the calm of his dreams the fields, when the harvest is o'er. here, he, whose ears drank in the battle roar, whose banners streamed upon the startled wind a thunder-storm,--before whose thunder tread the mountains trembled,--in soft sleep reclined, by the sweet brook that o'er its pebbly bed in silver plays, and murmurs to the shore, hears the stern clangour of wild spears no more. --schiller orpheus orpheus he went (as poets tell) to fetch euridice from hell; and had her; but it was upon this short, but strict, condition: backward he should not looke while he led her through hell's obscuritie. but ah! it happened as he made his passage through that dreadful shade, revolve he did his loving eye, for gentle feare, or jelousie, and looking back, that look did sever him and euridice forever. --robert herrick cerberus dear reader, should you chance to go to hades, do not fail to throw a "sop to cerberus" at the gate, his anger to propitiate. don't say "good dog!" and hope thereby his three fierce heads to pacify. what though he try to be polite and wag his tail with all his might, how shall one amiable tail against three angry heads prevail? the heads _must_ win.--what puzzles me is why in hades there should be a watchdog; 'tis, i should surmise, the _last_ place one would burglarize. --oliver herford the harpy they certainly contrived to raise queer ladies in the olden days. either the type had not been fixed, or else zoölogy got mixed. i envy not primeval man this female on the feathered plan. we only have, i'm glad to say, two kinds of human birds today-women and warriors, who still wear feathers when dressed up to kill. --oliver herford cupid and the bee anacreon[5] young cupid once a rose caressed, and sportively its leaflets pressed. the witching thing, so fair to view one could not but believe it true, warmed, on its bosom false, a bee, which stung the boy-god in his glee. sobbing, he raised his pinions bright, and flew unto the isle of light, where, in her beauty, myrtle-crowned, the paphian goddess sat enthroned. her cupid sought, and to her breast his wounded finger, weeping, pressed. "o mother! kiss me," was his cry-"o mother! save me, or i die; a winged little snake or bee with cruel sting has wounded me!" the blooming goddess in her arms folded and kissed his budding charms; to her soft bosom pressed her pride, and then with truthful words replied: "if thus a little insect thing can pain thee with its tiny sting, how languish, think you, those who smart beneath my cupid's cruel dart? how fatal must that poison prove that rankles on the shafts of love." [footnote 5: anacreon was a greek society poet, living in the sixth century b.c.] the assembly of the gods o'er rolling stars, from heavenly stalls advancing, the coaches soon were seen, and a long train of mules with litters, horses fleet and prancing, their trappings all embroidery, nothing plain; and with fine liveries, in the sunbeams glancing, more than a hundred servants, rather vain of handsome looks and of their stature tall, followed their masters to the council hall. first came the prince of delos, phoebus hight, in a gay travelling carriage, fleetly drawn by six smart spanish chestnuts, shining bright, which with their tramping shook the aerial lawn; red was his cloak, three-cocked his hat, and light around his neck the golden fleece was thrown; and twenty-four sweet damsels, nectar-sippers, were running near him in their pumps or slippers. pallas, with lovely but disdainful mien, came on a nag of basignanian race; tight round her leg, and gathered up, was seen her gown, half greek, half spanish; o'er her face part of her hair hung loose, a natural screen, part was tied up, and with becoming grace; a bunch of feathers on her head she wore, and on her saddle-bow her falchion bore. but ceres and the god of wine appeared at once, conversing; and the god of ocean upon a dolphin's back his form upreared, floating through waves of air with graceful motion; naked, all sea-weed, and with mud besmeared; for whom his mother rhea feels emotion, reproaching his proud brother, when she meets him, because so like a fisherman he treats him. diana, the sweet virgin, was not there; she had risen early and o'er woodland green had gone to wash her clothes in fountain fair upon the tuscan shore--romantic scene. and not returning till the northern star had rolled through dusky air and lost its sheen, her mother made excuses quite provoking, knitting at the time, a worsted stocking. juno-lucina did not go--and why? she anxious wished to wash her sacred head. menippus, jove's chief taster, standing by for the disastrous fates excuses made. they had much tow to spin, and lint to dry, and they were also busy baking bread. the cellarman, silenus, kept away, to water the domestics' wine, that day. on starry benches sit the famous warriors of the immortal kingdom, in a ring; now drums and cymbals, echoing to the barriers, announce the coming of the gorgeous king; a hundred pages, valets, napkin-carriers attend, and their peculiar offerings bring. and after them, armed with his club so hard, alcides, captain of the city guard. with jove's broad hat and spectacles arrived the light-heeled mercury; in his hand he bore a sack, in which, of other means deprived, he damned poor mortals' prayers, some million score; those he disposed in vessels, well contrived, which graced his father's cabinet of yore; and, wont attention to all claims to pay, he regularly signed them twice a day. then jove himself, in royal habit dressed, with starry diadem upon his head, and o'er his shoulders an imperial vest worn upon holidays.--the king displayed a sceptre, pastoral shape, with hooked crest: in a rich jacket too was he arrayed, given by the inhabitants of sericane, and ganymede held up his splendid train. --a. tassoni a model young lady of antiquity (pliny, the younger, writes the following in a letter relative to the death of minicia marcella, the daughter of his friend, fundanus.) tristissimus haec tibi scribo, fundani nostri filia minore defuncta, qua puella nihil umquam festivius, amabilius, nec modo longiore vita sed prope immortalitate dignius vidi. nondum annos quattuor decem impleverat, et iam illi anilis prudentia, matronalis gravitas erat, et tamen suavitas puellaris cum virginali verecundia. ut illa patris cervicibus inhaerebat! ut nos amicos paternos et amanter et modeste complectabatur! ut nutrices, ut paedagogos, ut praeceptores, pro suo quemque officio diligebat! quam studiose, quam intellegenter lectitabat! ut parce custoditeque ludebat! qua illa temperantia, qua patientia, qua etiam constantia novissimam valetudinem tulit! medicis obsequebatur, sororem, patrem adhortabatur, ipsamque se destitutam corporis viribus vigore animi sustinebat. duravit hic illi usque ad extremum nec aut spatio valetudinis aut metu mortis infractus est, quo plures gravioresque nobis causas relinqueret et desiderii et doloris. o triste plane acerbumque funus! o morte ipsa mortis tempus indignius! iam destinata erat egregio iuveni, iam electus nuptiarum dies, iam nos vocati. quod gaudium quo maerore mutatum est! nec possum exprimere verbis quantum anima vulnus acceperim, cum audivi fundanum ipsum, praecipientem, quod in vestes margarita gemmas fuerat erogaturus, hoc in tus et unguenta et odores impenderetur. --c. pliny. _epist._ v, 16 translation i have the saddest news to tell you. our friend fundanus has lost his youngest daughter. i never saw a girl more cheerful, more lovable, more worthy of long life--nay, of immortality. she had not yet completed her fourteenth year, and she had already the prudence of an old woman, the gravity of a matron, and still, with all maidenly modesty, the sweetness of a girl. how she would cling to her father's neck! how affectionately and discreetly she would greet us, her father's friends! how she loved her nurses, her attendants, her teachers,--everyone according to his service. how earnestly, how intelligently, she used to read! how modest was she and restrained in her sports! and with what self-restraint, what patience--nay, what courage--she bore her last illness! she obeyed the physicians, encouraged her father and sister, and, when all strength of body had left her, kept herself alive by the vigor of her mind. this vigor lasted to the very end, and was not broken by the length of her illness or by the fear of death; so leaving, alas! to us yet more and weightier reasons for our grief and our regret. oh the sadness, the bitterness of that death! oh the cruelty of the time when we lost her, worse even than the loss itself! she had been betrothed to a noble youth; the marriage day had been fixed, and we had been invited. how great a joy changed into how great a sorrow! i cannot express in words how it went to my heart when i heard fundanus himself (this is one of the grievous experiences of sorrow) giving orders that what he had meant to lay out on dresses, and pearls, and jewels, should be spent on incense, unguents, and spices. --tr. alfred j. church to lesbia's sparrow lugete, o veneres cupidinesque, et quantumst hominum venustiorum. passer mortuus est meae puellae, passer, deliciae meae puellae, quem plus illa oculis suis amabat: nam mellitus erat suamque norat ipsa tam bene quam puella matrem, nec sese a gremio illius movebat, sed circumsiliens modo huc modo illuc ad solam dominam usque pipiabat. qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum illuc unde negant redire quemquam. at vobis male sit, malae tenebrae orci, quae omnia bella devoratis: tam bellum mihi passerem abstulistis. o factum male! io miselle passer! tua nunc opera meae puellae flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli. --catullus translation each love, each venus, mourn with me! mourn, every son of gallantry! the sparrow, my own nymph's delight, the joy and apple of her sight; the honey-bird, the darling dies, to lesbia dearer than her eyes, as the fair one knew her mother, so he knew her from another. with his gentle lady wrestling, in her snowy bosom nestling; with a flutter and a bound, quiv'ring round her and around; chirping, twitt'ring, ever near, notes meant only for her ear. now he skims the shadowy way, whence none return to cheerful day. beshrew the shades! that thus devour all that's pretty in an hour. the pretty sparrow thus is dead; the tiny fugitive is fled. deed of spite! poor bird!--ah! see, for thy dear sake, alas! for me!-my nymph with brimful eyes appears, red from the flushing of her tears. --elton cicero the following tribute to cicero was written by catullus, the roman lyric poet (87-54 b.c.) disertissime romuli nepotum, quot sunt quotque fuere, marce tulli, quot que post aliis erunt in annis, gratius tibi maximas catullus agit, pessimus omnium poeta, tanto pessimus omnium poeta quanto tu optimus omnium patronum. translation tully, most eloquent, most sage of all the roman race, that deck the past or present age, or future days may grace. oh! may catullus thus declare an overflowing heart; and, though the worst of poets, dare a grateful lay impart! 'twill teach thee how thou hast surpast all others in thy line; for, far as he in his is last, art thou the first in thine. --charles lamb _de patientia_ patiendo fit homo melior, auro pulchrior, vitro clarior, laude dignior, gradu altior, a vitiis purgatior, virtutibus perfectior, iesu christo acceptior, sanctis quoque similior, hostibus suis fortior, amicis amabilior. --thomas à kempis the favorite prayer of mary, queen of scots[6] o domine deus! speravi in te; o care mi iesu! nunc libera me: in dura catena in misera poena desidero te; languendo, gemendo, et genuflectendo adoro, imploro, ut liberes me! translation my lord and my god! i have trusted in thee; o jesus, my savior belov'd, set me free: in rigorous chains, in piteous pains, i am longing for thee! in weakness appealing, in agony kneeling, i pray, i beseech thee, o lord, set me free! [footnote 6: from the prayer-book of queen mary, and believed to be her composition. said to have been uttered by the queen just before her execution.] _ultima thule_ american pride has often gloried in seneca's "vision of the west" written more than 1800 years ago. venient annis saecula seris, quibus oceanus vincula rerum laxet, et ingens pateat tellus, tethysque novos detegat orbes, nec sit terris ultima thule. --seneca translation a time will come in future ages far when ocean will his circling bounds unbar, and, opening vaster to the pilot's hand, new worlds shall rise, where mightier kingdoms are, nor thule longer be the utmost land. the roman of old oh, the roman was a rogue, he erat, was, you bettum; he ran his automobilis and smoked his cigarettum; he wore a diamond studibus and elegant cravatum, a maxima cum laude shirt and such a stylish hattum. he loved the luscious hic-haec-hoc, and bet on games and equi: at times he won: at others, though, he got it in the nequi. he winked (quousque tandem?) at puellas on the forum, and sometimes even made those goo-goo oculorum! he frequently was seen at combats gladiatorial, and ate enough to feed ten boarders at memorial: he often went on sprees, and said on starting homus, "hic labor, opus est, oh, where's my hic-haec-domus?" although he lived in rome- of all the arts the middle-he was (excuse the phrase) a horrid individ'l; ah, what a different thing was the homo (dative homini) of far away b.c. from us of anno domini! --_harvard lampoon_ _ich bin dein_ the _journal of education_ commends this ingenious poem, written in seven languages--english, french, german, greek, latin, spanish, and italian--as one of the best specimens of macaronic verse in existence, and worthy of preservation by all collectors. _in tempus_ old a hero lived, _qui_ loved _puellas deux_; he no _pouvait pas_ quite to say which one _amabat mieux_. _dit-il lui-meme un beau matin_, "_non possum_ both _avoir_, _sed si_ address amanda ann, then kate _y yo_ have war. amanda _habet argent_ coin, _sed_ kate has _aureas_ curls; _et_ both _sunt_ very _agathæ_ _et_ quite _formosæ_ girls." _enfin_ the _joven anthropos_, _philoun_ the _duo_ maids, resolved _proponere ad_ kate _devant cet_ evening's shades, _procedens_ then to kate's _domo_, _il trouve_ amanda there, _kai_ quite forgot his late resolves, both _sunt_ so goodly fair, _sed_ smiling on the new _tapis_, between _puellas_ twain, _coepit_ to tell _suo_ love _a_ kate _dans un poetique_ strain. _mais_, glancing ever _et_ anon at fair amanda's eyes, _illæ non possunt dicere_ _pro_ which he meant his sighs. each _virgo_ heard the demi-vow, _con_ cheeks as _rouge_ as wine, _ed_ offering, each, a milk-white hand, both whispered, "_ich bin dein._" _malum opus_ prope ripam fluvii solus a senex silently sat; super capitum ecce his wig, et wig super, ecce his hat. blew zephyrus alte, acerbus, dum elderly gentleman sat; et a capite took up quite torve et in rivum projecit his hat. tunc soft maledixit the old man, tunc stooped from the bank where he sat, et cum scipio poked in the water, conatus servare his hat. blew zephyrus alte, acerbus, the moment it saw him at that; et whisked his novum scratch wig in flumen, along with his hat. ab imo pectore damnavit, in coeruleus eye dolor sat; tunc despairingly threw in his cane, nare cum his wig and his hat. _l'envoi_ contra bonos mores, don't swear it est wicked you know (verbum sat) si this tale habet no other moral mehercle! you're gratus to that. --james a. morgan _felis_ a cat sedebat on our fence as laeta as could be; her vox surgebat to the skies, canebat merrily. my clamor was of no avail, tho' clare did i cry. conspexit me with mild reproof, and winked her alter eye. quite vainly ieci boots, a lamp, some bottles and a book; ergo, i seized my pistol, et my aim cum cura took. i had six shots, dixi, "ye gods, may i that felis kill!" quamquam i took six of her lives the other three sang still. the felis sang with major vim, though man's aim was true, conatus sum, putare quid in tonitru i'd do. a scheme advenit in my head scivi, 'twould make her wince-i sang! et then the hostis fled non eam vidi since. --_tennessee university magazine_ _amantis res adversae_ a homo ibat, one dark night puellas visitare et mansit there so very late ut illi constet cura. pueri walking by the house saw caput in fenestra, et sunt morati for a while to see quis erat in there. soon caput turned its nasum round in viam puerorum; agnoscunt there the pedagogue, oh! maximum pudorem! progressus puer to the door cum magna quietate, et turned the key to lock him in moratus satis ante. tum pedagogue arose to go est feeling hunky-dore: sed non potest to get out nam key's outside the fore. ascendit sweetheart now the stairs cum festinato pede, et roused puellas from their sleep sed habent non the door key. tum excitavit dominum by her tumultuous voce insanus currit to the door et vidit puellam. "furenti place," the master roared, "why spoil you thus my somnum? exite from the other door si rogues have locked the front one." puella tristis hung her head and took her lover's manum, et cite from the other door his caput est impulsum. cum magno gradu redit domum retrorsum umquam peeping, et never ausus est again vexare people's sleeping. _puer ex jersey_ puer ex jersey iens ad school; vidit in meadow, infestum mule. ille approaches o magnus sorrow! puer it skyward funus tomorrow. _moral_ qui vidit a thing non ei well-known est bene for him id relinqui alone. --_anonymous_ * * * * * songs that may be used for the programs * * * * * flevit lepus parvulus 16th century student song [**music] flevit lepus parvulus clamans altis vocibus: [chorus] quid feci hominibus, quod me sequuntur canibus? neque in horto fui, neque olus comedi. longas aures habeo, brevem caudam teneo. leves pedes habeo, magnum saltum facio. domus mea silva est, lectus meus durus est. [footnote in original book (published 1916): by permission of miss m.l. smith. latin lessons. allyn and bacon.] carmen vitæ. h. w. longfellow, 1839, english b. l. d'ooge, 1885, latin f. h. barthélémon, 1741-1808 [**music] ne narrate verbis mæstis, esse vitam somnium! vita nam iners est inanis, et est visum perfidum. vita vera! vita gravis! meta non est obitus; "cinis es et cinis eris," nihil est ad spiritus. ned lætitia, nec mæror, finis designatus est; sed augere, est noster labor, semper rem quæ nobis est. ars est longa, tempus fugit, ut cor tuum valens sit, tamen modum tristem tundit neniæ qui concinit. orbis terræ campo in lato, in ætatis proeliis, mutum pecus turpe ne esto! heros esto in copiis! fidere futuro noli! anni numquam redeunt. age nunc! age in præsenti! fortes dei diligunt. summi nos admonent omnes simus inter nobilis, et legemus, disce dentes, signa viæ posteris; signa forsitan futura alicui felicia, qui, tum in dura vitæ via, cernat hæc cum gratia. agite, tum nos nitamur quidquid erit, fortiter, superantes iam sequamur patienter, acriter. vita vera! vita gravis! meta non est obitus; "cinis es et cinis eris," nihil est ad spiritus. gaudeamus [**music] gaudeamus igitur, iuvenes dum sumus; post iucundam iuventutem, post molestam senectutem, nos habebit humus. ubi sunt, qui ante nos in mundo fuere? transeas ad superos, abeas ad inferos, quos si vis videre. vita nostra brevis est, brevi finietur; venit mors velociter, rapit nos atrociter, nemini parcetur. vivat academia, vivant professores, vivat membrum quodlibet, vivant membra quaelibet, semper sint in flore. vivant omnes virgines, faciles formosae; vivant et mulieres, dulces et amabiles, bonae, laboriosae. vivat et res publica, et qui illam regit. vivat nostra civitas, maecenatum caritas, quae nos hic protegit. pereat tristitia, pereant osores, pereat diabolus, quivis antiburschius atque irrisores. translation while the glowing hours are bright, let not sadness mar them, for when age shall rifle youth, and shall drive our joys unsooth, then the grave will bar them. where are those who from the world long ago departed! scale olympus' lofty height-see grim hades' murky night- there are the great hearted. mortal life is but a span, that is quickly fleeting; cruel death comes on apace and removes us from the race, none with favor treating. long may this fair temple stand, nassau now and ever! long may her professors grace each his own time honored place, friendship failing never. may our charming maidens live, matchless all in beauty, may our blooming matrons long be the theme of grateful song, patterns bright of duty. may our union grow in strength, faithful rulers guiding; in the blaze of freedom's light where the genial arts are bright, find we rest abiding. out on sighing! vanish hate, and ye friends of sadness; to his chill abode of woe, let the dread philistine go, who would steal our gladness. --tr. j. a. pearce, jr. _lauriger horatius_ [**music] lauriger horatius, quam dixisti verum! fugit euro citius tempus edax rerum. _chorus_ ubi sunt, o pocula, dulciora melle, rixae, pax, et oscula rubentis puellae? crescit uva molliter, et puella crescit, sed poeta turpiter sitiens canescit. quid iuvat aeternitas nominis, amare nisi terrae filias licet, et potare? translation horace, crowned with laurels bright, truly thou hast spoken; time outspeeds the swift winds' flight, earthly power is broken. _chorus_ give me cups that foaming rise, cups with fragrance laden, pouting lips and smiling eyes, of a blushing maiden. blooming grows the budding vine, and the maid grows blooming; but the poet quaffs not wine, age is surely dooming. who would grasp at empty fame? 'tis a fleeting vision; but for love and wine we claim, sweetness all elysian. --tr. j. a. pearce, jr. america this singable latin translation of america was made by professor george d. kellogg of union college and appeared in _the classical weekly_. te cano, patria, candida, libera; te referet portus et exulum et tumulus senum; libera montium vox resonet. te cano, patria, semper et atria ingenuum; laudo virentia culmina, flumina; sentio gaudia caelicolum. sit modulatio! libera natio dulce canat! labra vigentia, ora faventia, saxa silentia vox repleat! tutor es unicus, unus avum deus! laudo libens. patria luceat, libera fulgeat, vis tua muniat, omnipotens! integer vitæ. [**music] horace. book i, ode xxii integer vitae, scelerisque purus non eget mauris jaculis nec arcu, nec venenatis gravida sagittis, fusce, pharetra. sive per syrtes, iter aestuosas, sive facturus per inhospitalem caucasum, vel quae loca fabulosus lambit hydaspes. pone me pigris ubi nulla campis arbor aestiva recreatur aura; quod latus mundi nebulae malusque iuppiter urget; pone sub curru nimium propinqui solis, in terra domibus negata: dulce ridentem lalagen amabo, dulce loquentem. translation fuscus, the man of life upright and pure needeth nor javelin, nor bow of moor nor arrows tipped with venom deadly-sure, loading his quiver. whether o'er afric's burning sand he rides, or frosty caucasus' bleak mountain-sides, or wanders lonely, where hydaspes glides, that storied river. place me where no life-laden summer breeze freshens the meads, or murmurs 'mongst the trees; where clouds oppress, and withering tempests' breeze from shore to shore. place me beneath the sunbeams' fiercest glare, on arid sands, no dwelling anywhere, still lalage's sweet smile, sweet voice _e'en there_ i will adore. --tr. william greenwood rock of ages iesu, pro me perforatus, condar intra tuum latus, tu per lympham profluentem, tu per sanguinem tepentem, in peccata mi redunda, tolle culpam, sordes munda. coram te nec iustus forem, quamvis tota vi laborem. nec si fide nunquam cesso, fletu stillans indefesso: tibi soli tantum munus: salva me, salvator unus! nil in manu mecum fero sed me versus crucem gero; vestimenta nudus oro, opem debilis imploro; fontem christi quaero immundus, nisi laves, moribundus. dum hos artus vita regit; quando nox sepulchre tegit; mortuos cum stare iubes; sedens iudex inter nubes; iesu, pro me perforatus, condar intra tuum latus. --toplady. tr. by gladstone _dies irae_[7] dies irae, dies illa solvet saeclum in favilla, teste david cum sybilla. quantus tremor est futurus, quando iudex est venturus, cuncta stricte discussurus! tuba, mirum spargens sonum per sepulcra regionum, coget omnes ante thronum. mors stupebit, et natura, cum resurget creatura iudicanti responsura. liber scriptus proferetur, inquo totum continetur, unde mundus iudicetur. iudex ergo cum sedebit, quidquid latet, apparebit, nil inultum remanebit. quid sum miser tunc dicturus, quem patronum rogaturus, cum vix iustus sit securus? rex tremendae maiestatis, qui salvandos salvas gratis, salva me, fons pietatis! recordare, iesu pie, quod sum causa tuae viae; ne me perdas illa die! quaerens me sedisti lassus, redemisti crucem passus: tantus labor non sit cassus! iuste iudex ultionis, donum fac remissionis ante diem rationis! --thomas of celano [footnote 7: "this marvelous hymn is the acknowledged masterpiece of latin poetry and the most sublime of all uninspired hymns." --schaff.] translation day of wrath,--that day of days,-when earth shall vanish in a blaze, as david, with the sibyl, says! what a trembling will come o'er us, when the judge shall be before us, for every hidden sin to score us! the trumpet with its wondrous sound, piercing each sepulchral mound, shall summon all, the throne around. nature and death will stand aghast, when those who to the grave have past, come answering to the judgment blast! the written book shall be unrolled, wherein the deeds of all are told, and shall the doom of all unfold. for when the judge shall be enthroned, no secret shall be left unowned, no crime or trespass unatoned. when for a guilty wretch like me, what plea, what pleader, will there be, when scarcely shall the just go free! king of tremendous majesty, whose grace saves all who saved may be, fountain of mercy, oh save me! forget not then, dear son of god, for my sake thou thy way hast trod, nor let me sink beneath thy rod. yes, me to save thou sat'st in pain, nor didst the bitter cross disdain,-let not such anguish be in vain! unerring judge, thy wrath restrain, and let my sins remission gain, while still the days of grace remain. --tr. robert c. winthrop _ad sanctum spiritus_[8] veni, sancte spiritus, et emitte coelitus lucis tuae radium. veni, pater pauperum, veni, dator munerum, veni, lumen cordium; o lux beatissima, reple cordis intima tuorum fidelium! sine tuo numine nihil est in homine, nihil est innoxium. da tuis fidelibus in te confitentibus sacrum septenarium; da virtutis meritum, da salutis exitum, da perenne gaudium! [footnote 8: ascribed to innocent iii, robert ii, of france, and others. ranks second to _dies irae_ among the great hymns. can be sung to the tune of rock of ages.] translation holy spirit, come, we pray shed from heaven thine inward ray, kindle darkness into day. come, thou father of the poor, come, thou source of all our store, light of hearts forevermore. light most blissful! fire divine! fill, oh! fill these hearts of thine! on our inmost being shine. if in thee it be not wrought all in men is simply naught, nothing pure in deed and thought. on the faithful who confide, solely in thyself as guide, let thy sevenfold gifts abide. grant them virtue's full increase, grant them safe and sweet release, grant them everlasting peace! _adeste, fideles_ _a christmas hymn_ adeste, fideles, laeti, triumphantes, venite, venite in bethlehem: natum videte regem angelorum: _chorus_ venite adoremus, venite adoremus, venite adoremus dominum. deum de deo, lumen de lumine, gestant puellae viscera: deum verum, genitum non factum: cantet nunc io chorus angelorum, cantet nunc aula caelestium: gloria in excelsis deo: ergo qui natus die hodierna iesu, tibi sit gloria: patris aeterni verbum caro factum. translation o come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, o come ye, o come ye to bethlehem; come and behold him. born, the king of angels; o come, let us adore him, o come, let us adore him, o come, let us adore him, christ the lord. god of god, light of light, lo! he abhors not the virgin's womb; very god, begotten, not created; o come, let us adore him, etc. sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation, sing, all ye citizens of heav'n above: "glory to god in the highest"; o come, let us adore him, etc. yea, lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning; jesu, to thee be glory given; word of the father, now in flesh appearing; o come, let us adore him, etc. _de nativitate domini_[9] puer natus in bethlehem unde gaudet ierusalem hic iacet in praesepio, qui regnat sine termino. cognovit bos et asinus quod puer erat dominus. reges de saba veniunt, aurum, thus, myrrham offerunt. intrantes domum invicem novum salutant principem. de matre natus virgine sine virile semine; sine serpentis vulnere de nostro venit sanguine; in carne nobis similis, peccato sed dissimilis; ut redderet nos homines deo et sibi similes in hoc natali gaudio benedicamus domino. laudetur sancta trinitas; deo dicamus gratias. [footnote 9: this may be sung to the tune of sweet hour of prayer.] * * * * * bibliography bazin, rené. _the italians of today_. new york. henry holt & co. $1.25 becker, w.a. _gallus_. new york. longmans, green, and co. 1.25 brooks, elbridge s. _heroic happenings_. new york. g.p. putnam's sons 1.25 church, alfred j. _roman life in the days of cicero_. new york. dodd, mead, & co. 1.25 clement, clara erskine. _rome: the eternal city_. boston. dana estes & co. 2 vols. 3.00 cruttwell, charles thomas. _a history of roman literature_. new york. charles scribner's sons 2.50 davis, william stearns. _readings in ancient history_. rome and the west. boston. allyn and bacon 1.00 de coulanges, fustel. _the ancient city_. boston. lothrop, lee and shepard 2.00 dennie, john. _rome of today and yesterday_. new york. g.p. putnam's sons 4.50 dodge, theodore a. _great captains. caesar_. boston, houghton, mifflin co. 2.00 forman, harry buxton. _the prose works of percy bysshe shelley_. new york. macmillan. 5 vols. .75¢ each fowler, w. warde. _social life at rome in the age of cicero_. new york. macmillan 2.25 froude, james anthony. _caesar_. a sketch. new york. charles scribner's sons 1.50 gayley, charles mills. _the classic myths in english literature_. boston. ginn and company 1.60 guhl and koner. _the life of the greeks and romans_. new york. charles scribner's sons 2.50 hare, augustus j.c. _walks in rome_. new york. macmillan 2.50 inge, william ralph. _society in rome under the caesars_. new york. charles scribner's sons 1.25 johnston, h.w. _the private life of the romans_. chicago. scott, foresman & co. 1.50 kelsey, francis w. _latin and greek in american education_. new york. macmillan 1.50 lanciani, rodolfo. _ancient rome in the light of recent discoveries_. boston. houghton, mifflin co. 6.00 munro, dana carleton. _source book in roman history_. new york. d.c. heath & co. 1.00 peck, harry thurston. _harper's dictionary of classical literature and antiquities_. new york. american book company 6.00 quackenbos, john d. _illustrated history of ancient literature_. new york. american book company 1.20 shumway, edgar s. _a day in ancient rome_. new york. d.c. heath & co. (paper cover 30_c_.) .75 story, william w. _roba di roma_. boston. houghton, mifflin co. 2.50 webster, hutton. _ancient history_. new york. d.c. heath & co. 1.50 webster, hutton. _readings in ancient history_. 1.00 wilkinson, william cleaver. _college latin course in english_. new york. chautauqua press 1.50 wilkinson, william cleaver. _foreign classics in english_. vol. iv. new york. funk & wagnalls 1.50 acknowledgment [transcriber's note: the following section is reproduced unchanged from the original text (published 1916).] i wish to express my sincere gratitude to professor benjamin l. d'ooge, of the michigan state normal school, for his generous assistance and hearty encouragement in the preparation of this work. sincere thanks are due to the various authors and publishers of copyrighted books from which selections are taken for their courteous permission to copy. specific acknowledgment is due george bell and sons, london, for martial's _epigrams_; smith, elder, and company, london, for the doom of the slothful; houghton, mifflin co., for after construing, a roman mirror, enceladus, and the poems of john g. saxe; the chautauqua press, for capri and the translations of horace's _odes_; charles scribner's sons, for the assembly of the gods, cerberus, the harpy, a plea for the classics, and _malum opus_; the american book company, for cupid and the bee; lothrop, lee and shepard co., for a christmas hymn; _new england magazine_, for the fall of rome; little, brown and company, for the translation of _dies irae_; the outlook company, for the prayer of socrates; allyn and bacon, for the music for _flevit lepus parvulus_. i must beg forgiveness of any one whose rights i have overlooked and of a few whom, after repeated efforts, i have been unable to trace. * * * * * high school english grammar allen's review of english grammar for secondary schools $.64 such a course as is recommended in the college entrance requirements. macewan's the essentials of the english sentence .80 a review preparatory to teaching or to the study of rhetoric. meiklejohn's english grammar. revised .88 a thorough course for review and the mastery of principles and detail. sanford and brown's english grammar .72 uses the new uniform nomenclature and has rich illustrative material. composition buhlig's business english 1.16 spelling, punctuation, oral english, letter writing, and business practice. duncan, beck and graves's prose specimens 1.16 selections illustrating description, narration, exposition, and argumentation. gerrish and cunningham's practical english composition 1.24 modern, progressive, teaching by example as well as by precept. williams's composition and rhetoric by practice 1.00 concise and practical, with little theory and much practice. woolley's handbook of composition .80 a systematic guide to the writing of correct english. woolley's written english 1.12 the main things to know in order to write english correctly. rhetoric espenshade's essentials of composition and rhetoric. revised 1.20 an inductive course with abundant application of principles. kellow's practical training in english .80 helpful in its study of vocabulary, grammar, and structure. spalding's principles of rhetoric 1.08 a supremely interesting presentation of the essentials. strang's exercises in english. revised .56 examples in syntax, accidence and style, for criticism and correction. literature heath's english classics. prices range from .50 to .25 about 100 volumes covering literature for high school reading. send for list. hooker's study book in english literature 1.00 a handbook to accompany the appreciative study of the greater writers. howes's primer of american literature .52 a brief, satisfactory account of the facts of american literary history. howes's primer of english literature .52 the essentials concerning great writers and important periods. meiklejohn's history of the english language and literature. .60 spelling sandwick and bacon's high school word book .44 graded lists of 5000 words needed by high school pupils. sandwick and bacon's high school word book. briefer course .28 d. c. heath & co., boston, new york, chicago latin paxson's handbook for latin clubs. 158 pages $.60 latin grammar gildersleeve-lodge latin grammar. school edition. 340 pages 1.00 gildersleeve-lodge latin grammar. complete. 560 pages 1.40 jenks's latin word formation. 86 pages .56 beginners' books bain's first latin book. revised. 420 pages 1.00 barss's beginning latin. 331 pages 1.12 d'ooge's colloquia latina. 81 pages .28 moulton's introductory latin. revised. 278 pages 1.00 smith's elements of latin. 361 pages 1.00 caesar dotey's exercise books on caesar's gallic war. four books. each .28 perrin's caesar's civil war, with vocabulary. 340 pages 1.00 towle & jenks's caesar's gallic war. books i and ii. 378 pages 1.00 towle & jenks's caesar's gallic war. books i and ii, with selections for sight reading. 518 pages 1.28 towle & jenks's caesar's gallic 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1.00 rockwood's cicero's de officiis. 183 pages 1.00 sihler's cicero's second philippic. 157 pages 1.00 wilson's juvenal. 372 pages 1.36 d. c. heath & co., boston, new york, chicago * * * * * [ music ] [ errata: table of contents: ultima thule _text reads_ ultime programs: _the classic myths in english literature_. _text reads_ engish selections: are really not at all surprising; _text reads_ suprising songs: _ad sanctum spiritus_ _word-form unchanged (also in toc)_ _adeste, fideles_ _text reads_ adestes (also in toc)] 