Page:The Theatre of the Greeks, a Treatise on the History and Exhibition of the Greek Drama, with Various Supplements.djvu/421

 Phœn. 609.

5. Of all the resolved feet, the Tribrach in Trochaic verse with its ictus on the first syllable is most readily recognized by the ear as equivalent to the Trochee:

Phœn. 618.

6. That the Tribrach is to the Trochee, the nominal Anapest is to the Trochaic Spondee, as its equivalent or substitute; and this Anapest of course has its ictus on the first syllable Orest. 1540.

7. The following lines, formed artificially (like Bentley's Commodavi, &c. in his metres of Terence,) are calculated merely to afford an easy praxis for the ictuation of Trochaic verse:

8. Instances frequently occurring of words like those now given,, &c. ictuated on the antepenult, may be considered, if not as positively agreeable to the ear, yet at any rate as passing without objection or offence.

But where the penultima of words like or  is marked with the ictus, something awkward and hard, or so fancied at least, has even led to violations of the genuine text under pretence of improving the metre.

For example, the following genuine verse, ''Iph. A.'' 875 = 886,

has on that very plea been disfigured (vid. ch. vi. § 4) by this alteration: