CHAPTER XVII ON RHYTHMS, OR FEET

I have mentioned that rhythm contributes in no small degree to dignified and impressive composition; and I will treat of this point also. Let no one suppose that rhythm and metre belong to the science of song only; that ordinary speech is neither rhythmical nor metrical; and that I am going astray in introducing those subjects here.

In point of fact, every noun, verb, or other part of speech, which does not consist of a single syllable only, is uttered in some sort of rhythm. (I am here using “rhythm” and “foot” as convertible terms.) A disyllabic word may take three different forms. It may have both syllables short, or both long, or one short and the other long. Of this third rhythm there are two forms: one beginning in a short and ending in a long, the other beginning in a long and ending in a short. The one which consists of two shorts is called hegemon or pyrrhich, and is neither impressive nor solemn. Its character is as follows:—

Pick up the limbs at thy feet newly-scattered.[149]

1 αὐτῷ Toupius: αὐτῶν libri   6 μηδεὶς EF: μή κέ (καὶ M2) τις PM: μή μέ τις V   7 με om. PMV   10 καὶ ῥῆμα om. P   12 τέσσαρες E   13 βραχέων FM   20 νεόχυτα EF: νεόλυτα PMV

1. Usener’s αὐτῷ (“all his Catalogue is on the same high level”) is perhaps preferable to the manuscript reading αὐτῶν, which, however, may be taken to refer to πόλεσιν ( 166 13). Usener’s suggestion has, it should be pointed out, been anticipated by Toup (ad Longin. p. 296).

5. In this chapter Dionysius seems to have specially in view Aristotle’s Rhetoric iii. 8 (cp. note on 255 25 infra) and the Ῥυθμικὰ στοιχεῖα of Aristoxenus. But his general standpoint probably comes nearer to that of Aristophanes of Byzantium and Dionysius Thrax: he is, that is to say, primarily a metrist and a grammarian, and at times looks upon the rhythmists and musicians with some distrust.

11, 12. Dionysius agrees here with Aristoxenus, Ῥυθμικὰ στοιχεῖα ii. 16 ᾧ δὲ σημαινόμεθα τὸν ῥυθμὸν καὶ γνώριμον ποιοῦμεν τῇ αἰσθήσει, πούς ἐστιν εἷς ἢ πλείους ἑνός: and § 18 ibid. ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἐξ ἑνὸς χρόνου ποὺς οὐκ ἂν εἴη φανερόν, κτλ.

17. See Introduction (p. 6 supra) for a classified list of the metrical feet mentioned in this chapter. Voss says as to the πυρρίχιος, “nullum ex eo alicuius momenti constitui potest carmen, cum numero et pondere paene careat. aptus dumtaxat ad celeres motus exprimendos, cuius modi erant armati saltus Corybantum apud Graecos, et Saliorum apud Romanos”; see also Hermog. II. ἰδ. i. (Walz iii. p. 293, lines 1-11). Some sensible remarks on the whole question are made by Quintil. ix. 4. 87: “miror autem in hac opinione doctissimos homines fuisse, ut alios pedes ita eligerent aliosque damnarent, quasi ullus esset, quem non sit necesse in oratione deprehendi. licet igitur paeona sequatur Ephorus, inventum a Thrasymacho, probatum ab Aristotele, dactylumque, ut temperatos brevibus ac longis; fugiat molossum et trochaeum, alterius tarditate alterius celeritate damnata; herous, qui est idem dactylus, Aristoteli amplior, iambus humanior videatur; trochaeum ut nimis currentem damnet eique cordacis nomen imponat; eademque dicant Theodectes ac Theophrastus, similia post eos Halicarnasseus Dionysius: irrumpent etiam ad invitos, nec semper illis heroo aut paeone suo, quem, quia versum raro facit, maxime laudant, uti licebit. ut sint tamen aliis alii crebriores, non verba facient, quae neque augeri nec minui nec sicuti modulatione produci aut corripi possint, sed transmutatio et collocatio.”

20. λέγε δὲ σύ κτλ.: source unknown; perhaps the reference is to the tearing of Pentheus limb from limb.—A similar line in Latin would be: “id agite peragite celeriter,” Marius Victorinus Ars Gramm. iii. 1.

ὁ δ’ ἀμφοτέρας τὰς συλλαβὰς μακρὰς ἔχων κέκληται μὲν
σπονδεῖος, ἀξίωμα δ’ ἔχει μέγα καὶ σεμνότητα πολλήν·
παράδειγμα δ’ αὐτοῦ τόδε

ποίαν δῆθ’ ὁρμάσω, ταύταν
ἢ κείναν, κείναν ἢ ταύταν;      5

ὁ δ’ ἐκ βραχείας τε καὶ μακρᾶς συγκείμενος ἐὰν μὲν τὴν
ἡγουμένην λάβῃ βραχεῖαν, ἴαμβος καλεῖται, καὶ ἔστιν οὐκ
ἀγεννής· ἐὰν δ’ ἀπὸ τῆς μακρᾶς ἄρχηται, τροχαῖος, καὶ ἔστι
μαλακώτερος θατέρου καὶ ἀγεννέστερος· παράδειγμα δὲ τοῦ
μὲν προτέρου τοιόνδε      10

ἐπεὶ σχολὴ πάρεστι, παῖ Μενοιτίου.

τοῦ δ’ ἑτέρου

θυμέ, θύμ’ ἀμηχάνοισι κήδεσιν κυκώμενε.

δισυλλάβων μὲν δὴ μορίων λέξεως διαφοραί τε καὶ ῥυθμοὶ
καὶ σχήματα τοσαῦτα· τρισυλλάβων δ’ ἕτερα πλείω τῶν      15
εἰρημένων καὶ ποικιλωτέραν ἔχοντα θεωρίαν. ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ
ἁπασῶν βραχείων συνεστώς, καλούμενος δὲ ὑπό τινων χορεῖος
[τρίβραχυς πούς], οὗ παράδειγμα τοιόνδε

Βρόμιε, δορατοφόρ’, ἐνυάλιε, πολεμοκέλαδε,

ταπεινός τε καὶ ἄσεμνός ἐστι καὶ ἀγεννής, καὶ οὐδὲν ἂν ἐξ      20

[171]

That which has both its syllables long is called a spondee, and possesses great dignity and much stateliness. Here is an example of it:—

Ah, which way must I haste?—had I best flee
By this path? or by that path shall it be?[150]

That which is composed of a short and a long is called iambus if it has the first syllable short; it is not ignoble. If it begins with the long syllable, it is called a trochee, and is less manly than the other and more ignoble. The following is an example of the former:—

My leisure serves me now, Menoetius’ son.[151]

Of the other:—

Heart of mine, O heart in turmoil with a throng of crushing cares![152]

These are all the varieties, rhythms, and forms of disyllabic words. Those of the trisyllabic are distinct; they are more numerous than those mentioned, and the study of them is more complicated. First comes that which consists entirely of short syllables, and is called by some choree (or tribrach), of which the following is an example:—

Bromius, wielder of spears,
Lord of war and the onset-cheers.[153]

This foot is mean and wanting in dignity and nobility, and

5 ἢ κείναν κείναν ἢ ταύταν PMV: ἢ κείναν ἢ ταύταν E, F   10 μὲν om. PMV   11 ἐπεὶ σχολὴ EMV: ἐπὶ σχολῆι FP   13 κήδεσι κεκυκώμενε sic F   14 μὲν EPMV: om. F   17 χορεῖος MV: om. FP   18 τρίβραχυς] τροχαῖος F. uncinis includendum vel τρίβραχυς πούς vel χορεῖος tamquam glossema quod, margini olim adscriptum, in textum postea irrepserit   20 καὶ ἀγεννής om. P

2. The high rank assigned to the spondee is noted in schol. anon. ad Hermog. II. ἰδ. (Walz Rhett. Gr. vii. 1049): τάττει (sc. Διονύσιος) δὲ τὸν σπονδεῖον μετ’ αὐτῶν (sc. μετὰ τῶν καλῶν ῥυθμῶν).—For Dionysius’ view of the spondee and other feet see also Walz viii. 980 Διονύσιος μὲν ἐν τῷ περὶ συνθέσεως ὀνομάτων φησὶν ὅτι ὁ δάκτυλος κτλ.

4. Euripides’ Hec. 162-4 runs thus in G. G. A. Murray’s text:—

ποίαν ἢ ταύταν ἢ κείναν
στείχω; †ποῖ δ’ ἥσω; †ποῦ τις θεῶν
†ἢ δαιμόνων †ἐπαρωγός;

As the editor remarks later, “metrum nec in se perfectum,” etc. See also Porson’s note on the same passage of the Hecuba.—For a Latin spondaic line cp. Ennius “olli respondit rex Albai longai” (Annal. Reliq. i. 31 Vahlen).

7. The iambus and the trochee abound in ordinary speech, and must therefore be used in oratory with moderation: cp. Cic. de Oratore iii. 47 “nam cum sint numeri plures, iambum et trochaeum frequentem segregat ab oratore Aristoteles, Catule, vester, qui natura tamen incurrunt ipsi in orationem sermonemque nostrum; sed sunt insignes percussiones eorum numerorum et minuti pedes”; Orator 56. 189 “versus saepe in oratione per imprudentiam dicimus; quod vehementer est vitiosum, sed non attendimus neque exaudimus nosmet ipsos; senarios vero et Hipponacteos effugere vix possumus; magnam enim partem ex iambis nostra constat oratio”; Aristot. Rhet. iii. 8. 4 ὁ δ’ ἴαμβος αὐτή ἐστιν ἡ λέξις ἡ τῶν πολλῶν· διὸ μάλιστα πάντων τῶν μέτρων ἰαμβεῖα φθέγγονται λέγοντες: Poet. iv. 14 μάλιστα γὰρ λεκτικὸν τῶν μέτρων τὸ ἰαμβεῖόν ἐστιν· σημεῖον δὲ τούτου· πλεῖστα γὰρ ἰαμβεῖα λέγομεν ἐν τῇ διαλέκτῳ τῇ πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ἑξάμετρα δὲ ὀλιγάκις καὶ ἐκβαίνοντες τῆς λεκτικῆς ἁρμονίας: Demetr. de Eloc. § 43 ὁ δὲ ἴαμβος εὐτελὴς καὶ τῇ τῶν πολλῶν λέξει ὅμοιος. πολλοὶ γοῦν μέτρα ἰαμβικὰ λαλοῦσιν οὐκ εἰδότες.

9. Cp. Aristot. Rhet. iii. 8 ὁ δὲ τροχαῖος κορδακικώτερος· δηλοῖ δὲ τὰ τετράμετρα· ἔστι γὰρ ῥυθμὸς τροχαῖος τὰ τετράμετρα.

11. As in Hor. Epod. ii. 1 “Beatus ille, qui procul negotiis.”

13. This line of Archilochus is preserved (together with the six that follow it) in Stobaeus Florileg. i. 207 (Meineke). For a similar Latin trochaic verse see Marius Victorinus i. 12 “Roma, Roma cerne, quanta sit Deum benignitas.”

18. For the effect of tribrachs in Latin cp. Marius Victorinus i. 12 “nemus ave reticuit, ager homine sonat.”

20. καὶ ἀγεννής: these words are absent from P; perhaps rightly. They do not sort well with καὶ οὐδὲν ... γενναῖον.

αὐτοῦ γένοιτο γενναῖον. ὁ δ’ ἐξ ἁπασῶν μακρῶν, μολοττὸν δ’
αὐτὸν οἱ μετρικοὶ καλοῦσιν, ὑψηλός τε καὶ ἀξιωματικός ἐστι
καὶ διαβεβηκὼς ἐπὶ πολύ· παράδειγμα δὲ αὐτοῦ τοιόνδε

ὦ Ζηνὸς καὶ Λήδας κάλλιστοι σωτῆρες.

ὁ δ’ ἐκ μακρᾶς καὶ δυεῖν βραχειῶν μέσην μὲν λαβὼν τὴν      5
μακρὰν ἀμφίβραχυς ὠνόμασται, καὶ οὐ σφόδρα τῶν εὐσχήμων
ἐστὶ ῥυθμῶν ἀλλὰ διακέκλασταί τε καὶ πολὺ τὸ θῆλυ καὶ
ἀγεννὲς ἔχει, οἷά ἐστι ταυτί

Ἴακχε θρίαμβε, σὺ τῶνδε χοραγέ.

ὁ δὲ προλαμβάνων τὰς δύο βραχείας ἀνάπαιστος μὲν καλεῖται, 10 σεμνότητα δ’ ἔχει πολλήν· καὶ ἔνθα δεῖ μέγεθός τι περιτιθέναι τοῖς πράγμασιν ἢ πάθος, ἐπιτήδειός ἐστι παραλαμβάνεσθαι· τούτου τὸ σχῆμα τοιόνδε

βαρύ μοι κεφαλᾶς ἐ πίκρανον ἔχειν.

ὁ δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς μακρᾶς ἀρχόμενος, λήγων δὲ εἰς τὰς βραχείας      15
δάκτυλος μὲν καλεῖται, πάνυ δ’ ἐστὶ σεμνὸς καὶ εἰς τὸ κάλλος
τῆς ἑρμηνείας ἀξιολογώτατος, καὶ τό γε ἡρωϊκὸν μέτρον ἀπὸ
τούτου κοσμεῖται ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολύ· παράδειγμα δὲ αὐτοῦ τόδε

Ἰλιόθεν με φέρων ἄνεμος Κικόνεσσι πέλασσεν.

οἱ μέντοι ῥυθμικοὶ τούτου τοῦ ποδὸς τὴν μακρὰν βραχυτέραν      20

[173]

nothing noble can be made out of it. But that which consists entirely of long syllables—molossus, as the metrists call it—is elevated and dignified, and has a mighty stride. The following is an example of it:—

O glorious saviours, Zeus’ and Leda’s sons.[154]

That which consists of a long and two shorts, with the long in the middle, bears the name of amphibrachys, and has no strong claim to rank with the graceful rhythms, but is enervated and has about it much that is feminine and ignoble, e.g.—

Triumphant Iacchus that leadest this chorus.[155]

That which commences with two shorts is called an anapaest, and possesses much dignity. Where it is necessary to invest a subject with grandeur or pathos, this foot may be appropriately used. Its form may be illustrated by—

Ah, the coif on mine head all too heavily weighs.[156]

That which begins with the long and ends with the shorts is called a dactyl; it is decidedly impressive, and remarkable for its power to produce beauty of style. It is to this that the heroic line is mainly indebted for its grace. Here is an example:—

Sped me from Ilium the breeze, and anigh the Ciconians brought me.[157]

The rhythmists, however, say that the long syllable in this foot

3 διαβεβηκῶς (ῶ suprascripto) P: διαβέβηκεν ὡς M1: διαβεβηκὼς ὡς M2V: διαβέβηκεν F || τοιόνδε F: τόδε PMV   5 δυεῖν P: δυοῖν MV: β F   6 μακρὰν F: μακρὰν ἑκατέρας τῶν βραχειῶν PMV || εὐσχήμων EF: εὐσχημόνων PMV   7 διακεκόλασται F: κέκλασται E   8 ἀγεννες P, M: ἀγενὲς V: ἀηδὲς F   9 θρίαμβε L. Dindorfius: διθύραμβε libri   11 μέγεθός τι F: μέγεθος PV: μεγέθη M || περιτιθέναι F: περιθεῖναι PMV   12 περιλαμβάνεσθαι F   14 κεφαλᾶς E: κεφαλὰς F: κεφαλῆς PMV || ἔχειν P: ἔχει EFMV   16 δάκτυλος EFM: δακτ̑ P: δακτυλικὸς V || τὸ κάλλος τῆς ἑρμηνείας EF: κάλλος ἁρμονίας PMV   17 ὑπὸ R

2. ἀξιωματικός: various modern examples of the rhythmical effect of long and short syllables will be found in Demetr., e.g. p. 219. Here may be added, from George Meredith’s Love in the Valley—

Thicker crowd the shades as the grave East deepens
Glowing, and with crimson a long cloud swells.
Maiden still the morn is; and strange she is, and secret;
Strange her eyes; her cheeks are cold as cold sea-shells.

Here the long syllables in italics may be contrasted with:

Deals she an unkindness, ’tis but her rapid measure, – ᴗ ᴗ ᴗ ᴗ Even as in a dance; and her smile can heal no less.

9. Virg. Ecl. viii. 68 might be fancifully divided in such a way as to present several feet of this kind:

ᴗ – ᴗ ᴗ – ᴗ ᴗ – ᴗ ᴗ – ᴗ ᴗ – ᴗ “[ducite] ab urbe | domum me|a carmin|a, ducit|e Daphnim.”

16. Cp. Long. de Sublim. xxxix. 4 ὅλον τε γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν δακτυλικῶν εἴρηται ῥυθμῶν· εὐγενέστατοι δ’ οὗτοι καὶ μεγεθοποιοί, διὸ καὶ τὸ ἡρῷον, ὧν ἴσμεν κάλλιστον, μέτρον συνιστᾶσιν.

19. This is of course the very start of Odysseus’ adventures as recounted by himself. He sails away from Ilium on as many dactyls as possible.—For dactyls freely used in the Virgilian hexameter cp. Aen. ix. 503 “at tuba terribilem sonitum procul aere canoro [increpuit, etc.]”; Georg. iii. 284 “sed fugit interea, fugit irreparabile tempus.”

20. τούτου τοῦ ποδός. “Unless a lacuna be assumed, a rather violent assumption, the phrase [i.e. τούτου τοῦ ποδός] must simply resume the αὐτοῦ just before the hexameter, the τούτου just before that, and the δάκτυλος two lines earlier, which immediately follows the phrase of description,” Goodell Greek Metric p. 172.

εἶναί φασι τῆς τελείας, οὐκ ἔχοντες δ’ εἰπεῖν ὅσῳ, καλοῦσιν
αὐτὴν ἄλογον. ἕτερός ἐστιν ἀντίστροφον ἔχων τούτῳ ῥυθμόν,
ὃς ἀπὸ τῶν βραχειῶν ἀρξάμενος ἐπὶ τὴν ἄλογον τελευτᾷ·
τοῦτον χωρίσαντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἀναπαίστων κυκλικὸν καλοῦσι
παράδειγμα αὐτοῦ φέροντες τοιόνδε      5

κέχυται πόλις ὑψίπυλος κατὰ γᾶν.

περὶ ὧν ἂν ἕτερος εἴη λόγος· πλὴν ἀμφότεροί γε τῶν πάνυ
καλῶν οἱ ῥυθμοί. ἓν ἔτι λείπεται τρισυλλάβων ῥυθμῶν γένος,
ὃ συνέστηκεν ἐκ δύο μακρῶν καὶ βραχείας, τρία δὲ ποιεῖ
σχήματα· μέσης μὲν γὰρ γινομένης τῆς βραχείας, ἄκρων δὲ      10
τῶν μακρῶν κρητικός τε λέγεται καὶ ἔστιν οὐκ ἀγεννής.
ὑπόδειγμα δὲ αὐτοῦ τοιοῦτον

οἱ δ’ ἐπείγοντο πλωταῖς ἀπήναισι χαλκεμβόλοις.

ἂν δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν αἱ δύο μακραὶ κατάσχωσιν, τὴν δὲ τελευτὴν
ἡ βραχεῖα, οἷά ἐστι ταυτί      15

σοὶ Φοῖβε Μοῦσαί τε σύμβωμοι,

ἀνδρῶδες πάνυ ἐστὶ τὸ σχῆμα καὶ εἰς σεμνολογίαν ἐπιτήδειον.
τὸ δ’ αὐτὸ συμβήσεται κἂν ἡ βραχεῖα πρώτη τεθῇ τῶν
μακρῶν· καὶ γὰρ οὗτος ὁ ῥυθμὸς ἀξίωμα ἔχει καὶ μέγεθος·
παράδειγμα δὲ αὐτοῦ τόδε      20

τίν’ ἀκτάν, τίν’ ὕλαν δράμω; ποῖ πορευθῶ;

τούτοις ἀμφοτέροις ὀνόματα κεῖται τοῖς ποσὶν ὑπὸ τῶν μετρικῶν
βακχεῖος μὲν τῷ προτέρῳ, θατέρῳ δὲ ὑποβάκχειος. οὗτοι
δώδεκα ῥυθμοί τε καὶ πόδες εἰσὶν οἱ πρῶτοι καταμετροῦντες

[175]

is shorter than the perfect long. Not being able to say by how much, they call it “irrational.” There is another foot having a rhythm corresponding to this, which starts with the short syllables and ends with the “irrational” one. This they distinguish from the anapaest and call it “cyclic,” adducing the following line as an example of it:—

On the earth is the high-gated city laid low.[158]

This question cannot be discussed here; but both rhythms are of the distinctly beautiful sort. One class of trisyllabic rhythms still remains, which is composed of two longs and a short. It takes three shapes. When the short is in the middle and the longs at the ends, it is called a cretic and has no lack of nobility. A sample of it is:—

On they sped, borne on sea-wains with prows brazen-beaked.[159]

But if the two long syllables occupy the beginning, and the short one the end, as in the line

Phoebus, to thee and the Muses worshipped with thee,[160]

the structure is exceptionally virile, and is appropriate for solemn language. The effect will be the same if the short be placed before the longs; for this foot also has dignity and grandeur. Here is an example of it:—

To what shore, to what grove shall I flee for refuge?[161]

To the former of these two feet the name of bacchius is assigned by the metrists, to the other that of hypobacchius. These are the twelve fundamental rhythms and feet which measure all

1 ὅσω F: πόσω PMV   2 ἕτερός ἐστιν F: ἕτερον δὲ PMV || ἔχων F: τινα PMV   3 ἐπὶ τὴν ἄλογον FP1V: ἐπί τιν’ ἄλογον P2: ἐπί τινα λόγον M || τελευτᾶι τοῦτον FM: τοῦτον τελευτᾷ V: τελευτᾶι P   4 κυκλικὸν FM2: κύκλον PM1V   6 ὑψί*πολος cum rasura F: ὑψίπυλον PMV   8 τρισύλλαβον F   9 συνέστηκεν F: συνέστηκε μὲν PMV || δὲ ποιεῖ F: δὲ ἔχει PV   12 τοιοῦτον PM: τοιόνδε FV   13 πρώταις FM2 || ἀπήναισι EP: ἀπήνεσι MV: ἀπήνεσσι F || χαλκεμβόλοις EF: χαλκεμβόλοισιν PMV   14 ἂν F: ἐὰν PMV   15 ἡ F: om. PMV   16 σοὶ EPMV: σὺ F || σύμβωμοι EFMV: συμβῶμεν Ps   17 πάνυ ἐστὶ τὸ EF: δὲ πάνυ τοῦτο PMV || εἰσ σεμνότητα (σ pr. suprascripto) λογίαν P   18 πρώτη τεθῆι P, MV: συντεθῆι F   21 τίν’ ἀκτάν, τίν’ ὕλαν] τίνα γᾶν τινυδἂν F   22 τοῖς ποσὶν FPM: ῥυθμοῖς V   23 παλιμβάκχειος E

1. ὅσῳ: cp. 190 9, where there is the same divergence between F and PMV.

2, 4. See Glossary under ἄλογος and κυκλικός.

13. Usener suggests that this line may possibly come from the Persae of Timotheus, some newly-discovered fragments of which were issued by Wilamowitz-Moellendorff in 1903.—Similarly, in Latin, cretics may be found in such lines of Terence as “tum coacti necessario se aperiunt” (Andr. iv. 1).

16.

– – ᴗ – – ᴗ – – ᴗ “O Phoebus | O Muses | co-worshipped”

might give the metrical effect, in a rough and uncouth way. In Latin cp. “baccare, laetare praesente Frontone” (Rufinus de Metris Comicorum).

18. πρώτη τεθῇ τῶν μακρῶν, ‘at the head of’; cp. note on 98 7 supra.

21. After πορευθῶ P has a gap which would contain a dozen letters, and in the middle of the gap the original copyist has written οὐδ(ὲν) λείπ(ει).

ἅπασαν ἔμμετρόν τε καὶ ἄμετρον λέξιν, ἐξ ὧν γίνονται στίχοι
τε καὶ κῶλα· οἱ γὰρ ἄλλοι πόδες καὶ ῥυθμοὶ πάντες ἐκ
τούτων εἰσὶ σύνθετοι. ἁπλοῦς δὲ ῥυθμὸς ἢ ποὺς οὔτ’ ἐλάττων
ἔσται δύο συλλαβῶν οὔτε μείζων τριῶν. καὶ περὶ μὲν τούτων
οὐκ οἶδ’ ὅτι δεῖ τὰ πλείω λέγειν.      5