Page:The Theatre of the Greeks, a Treatise on the History and Exhibition of the Greek Drama, with Various Supplements.djvu/409

 OF THE GREEK DRAMATISTS. 383 y — ^ — W — W — w — w — w— w V^V_/V^ Kyy^ V>WV^ v^ww www w»ww — y^K^ — WW — WW WW — WW — WW — - WW — WW — (P. K WW - recipit.) Proprii ww — Nominis. WW — 3. From the first appearance of the scansional table here exhibited, it might be supposed that the varieties of this verse would be exceed- ingly numerous. Two considerations, however, for which we are in- debted to the acuteness and diligence of Elmsley, show sufficient cause why the actual number of those varieties is comparatively small : "All the trisyllabic feet which are admissible into Comic Iambics are employed with much greater moderation in the catalectic tetra- meters than in the common trimeters." Edinh. Rev. u. s. p. 83. "The Comic Poets admit Anapests more willingly and frequently into 1st, 3rd, and 5th places, than into the 2nd, 4th, and 6th of the tetrameter." Edinh. Rev. u. s. p. 87. 4. In the verses quoted below from Porson (xliii = 38) examples of the less usual feet will be found: of (a) www in 4th, of (5) ww— in Gth, and of (c) and id) ww— proprii nominis in 4th and 7th. The WW— (e) of a common word in 4th is given in deference to the judgment of Elmsley (Nub. 1059) : (a) TT/awTtcTTa /xcv yap cVa ye tlvo. Ka^etcrcv cyKaXvi/^as. (6) ov rjTTOV rj vvv ot aovvT€S t^XlOlos yap -^crOa. (c) 'A;)(tA.Xea tlv rj Nio^iyv, to TrpocrcoTrov ov^^ SciKvug. {d) eyevcTO, McvaXtTTTras Trotwv, $aiSpas re, Ti-qviXoTr-qv Se. (e) TToXAots* o yovv HryA-eus eXajSev Sid tovto rrjv fxaxatpav. 5. The structure generally agrees with the scansion, and divides the verse into two dimeters. In the Plutus, those lines which have this division are to those lines which divide the verse in the middle of a word or after an article, &c. nearly as four to one : Plut. 257, 8. OVK.OW opas 6pfjL(jjfX€vov VSpe?, tjk^l aycov o Bicnrorrj^, os v|/Aas 7rXov(TLOV<s Trorjdu.