Rhyme effects and rhyming figures: A comparative study of sound repetitions in the classics with emphasis on Latin poetry [Reprint 2018 ed.] 9783111341316, 9783110990836

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DE P R O P R I E T A T I B U S L I T T E R A R U M edenda curat

C. H. VAN S C H O O N E V E L D Indiana

University

Series Maior, 18

RHYME EFFECTS AND RHYMING FIGURES A Comparative Study of Sound Repetitions in the Classics with Emphasis on Latin Poetry

by

EVA H. GUGGENHEIMER

1972

MOUTON T H E H A G U E • PARIS

© Copyright 1972 in The Netherlands. Mouton & Co. N.V., Publishers, The Hague. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publishers.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 82-88220

Printed in The Netherlands by Mouton & Co., Printers, The Hague

PREFACE

In the present work, rhyme effects are defined as conventional elements of classical Latin poetry. This definition admittedly is an unconventional one and collides with the axiom that quantitative poetry is unrhymed. It is well known that classical Latin poetry contains repetitions of sound in parallel metrical positions — e.g., similar syllables or words at consecutive verse endings — which have an effect comparable to medieval or modern rhyme. Such repetitions would be considered as rhymes in a non-quantitative poem. In classical Latin poetry, however, rhyme effects are disregarded, explained away as unintentional side effects of inflection, or criticized as prosaisms due to the corrupting influence of rhetoric. While rhyme as a general phenomenon is not recognized, occasional comments on special cases of rhyme do appear in the literature. These publications usually concentrate on a single verse form, e.g., the elegiac couplet, or on one particular poet, e.g., Lucretius or Vergil. Even convincing examples of rhyme could therefore be dismissed as curiosities without general significance. The present investigation does not concentrate upon any metre or poet in particular but is directed towards general phenomena. Examples of rhyme represent a broad selection of authors, metres, and literary genres, including passages from classical Greek poetry. In order to avoid faulty or subjective judgments the critical approach to rhyme moreover is based upon a systematic evaluation of ancient literary theory. The data obtained from this combined analysis indicate that regular repetitions of sound in quantitative poetry have the function of rhyme, i.e., they must be considered conventional elements of poetic composition. Some important points are: 1. Evaluation of ancient literary theory a. Ancient rhetoricians, grammarians, and literary critics include rhyme and rhyme-like effects among the figures of speech, which are accomplish-

6

PREFACE

ments of style. Rhyme effects therefore need not be explained away as accidents of grammar and syntax. b. According to ancient literary theory rhyming figures were copied from poetry by the inventors of artistic prose, not vice versa. Rhyme therefore need not be defined as 'rhetorical' but may be considered as originally and essentially poetic. c. Rhyming figures in ancient catalogues frequently are exemplified from classical Greek and Latin poetry (including Homer and Sappho, 1.e., poetry older than artistic prose). Rhyme in poetry thus must have been considered deliberate. 2. Evaluation of poetic practice a. Examples of rhyming figures may readily be identified in random selections from any classical Latin poet. It may be concluded that rhyme was not avoided in poetry. b. While rhyme effects in rhetorical theory are exemplified in isolation, poems contain various rhyme effects in combination. The same rhymes moreover may recur throughout long passages and entire poems. Frequent rhyme patterns are: periodical repetition of identical or similar sounds and words; arrangements in stanza-like groups; symmetrical patterns. c. End rhyme patterns moreover depend on a limited, conventional repertory of line endings, which recur in almost any poem regardless of author, metre (except for iambic and Ionic metres), subject, and period. d. Comparisons of Latin epics with Homeric poems show similar arrangements, comparable sequences of rhyme, and even similar rhyme effects. 3. Comparative analyses of end rhyme patterns a. In epic poetry acoustic replication (identity or similarity of verse endings in parallel positions relative to entire books or poems) was identified through manual analysis. b. Regular runs of specific verse endings in Aeneid I were identified through analysis by computer. c. Acoustic parallelism of end rhyme patterns in symmetrical poems by Catullus was found through manual analysis. None of these phenomena to my knowledge have been identified or described to date. Although the parallels and regularities so far have not converged into overall numerical arrangements, they do suggest that rhyme effects, especially end rhymes, follow conventional patterns of poetic composition.

PREFACE

7

It is hoped that the present study will be useful not only as a new approach to the enjoyment of quantitative poetry, but also as a fresh tool for literary and textual criticism. The evaluation of ancient comments on sound repetition and the fully documented catalogue of rhyming figures may also be helpful to students of speech and rhetoric, while comparisons of classical rhyme effects with later systems of rhyme (for example, the conceits of the Italian Renaissance) may be of interest to students of comparative literature. The present book has developed from my doctoral dissertation, Patterns of Sound Repetition in Classical Latin Poetry, and also contains material from my master's thesis, Rhyme in Classical Latin Poetry. I wish to thank Professor Robert P. Sonkowsky and Professor Roy A. Swanson for their advice and their interest in my work. I also wish to acknowledge valuable criticism and comments from Professor Donald C. Swanson and Professor Viktor Poschl, as well as from the editor of the series, De Proprietatibus Litterarum, Professor Cornelius H. van Schooneveld. The computer analysis of Aeneid I was done by my husband, Professor Henry W. Guggenheimer, on the computer of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. The analysis was based on a modified set of Professor Nathan A. Greenberg's punched cards of Aeneid I adapted by Mr. Stanley Rabinowitz. I sincerely thank all who have contributed to this project. New York, 1972. E.H.G.

CONTENTS

Preface

5

Part One: Sound Repetitions in Ancient Literary Theory I. Introduction II. III. IV. V. VI.

The Origin of Rhyming Figures The Nature of Rhyming Figures Vitium and Rhyming Figures The Use of Rhyming Figures A Catalogue of Rhyming Figures

13 23 32 50 61 73

Part Two: Sound Repetitions in Classical Latin Poetry — Examples VII. VIII. IX. X.

Introduction Epic Continuity Stanza Patterns Symmetry

XI. The Conventional Repertory of Line Endings XII. Comparative Analyses of End Rhyme Patterns

143 149 177 190 201 209

Bibliography

225

Index

232

Part One

SOUND REPETITIONS IN ANCIENT LITERARY THEORY

I INTRODUCTION

La littérature antique était une littérature à haute voix. (Herescu)

Classical Latin poetry, if read aloud, often seems to rhyme: Was such an effect intended? Generally this question is answered in the negative. A student collecting information on classical Latin poetry will find that it is considered unrhymed. Apparent rhymes usually are explained as unintentional side effects of inflection, or as devices copied from artistic prose under the influence of rhetoric. According to L. P. Wilkinson, a tendency to actual rhyme could hardly fail to occur in an inflected language, and it was promoted by the taste for parallelism. TrapicjfflGvç and OHOIOTSXSUXOV were both Gorgianic figures, and such rhyme as occurs in classical times is a chance by-product of rhetoric.1 If rhetorical theory recognized and recommended rhyming devices, the student may ask, where did these devices originate? The answer of classical scholarship is a classical example of circular argument. It is taken for granted that Gorgias, the inventor of artistic prose, copied his figures from poetry, whereas poets avoided Gorgianic figures because they were prosaic. As K. Polheim remarks, Gorgias was criticized for introducing poetic devices into prose : Neben der Masslosigkeit seines Figurenstils, dem frostigen und puerilen Wesen seiner Rede tadelte man an Gorgias, dass er die Grenzen der poetischen und prosaischen Sprache verwische. Sein 1

L.P.Wilkinson, Golden Latin Artistry (Cambridge, 1963), p. 32.

14

SOUND REPETITIONS IN ANCIENT LITERARY THEORY

Bestreben sei darauf gerichtet, den erhöhten Stil der Poesie für die Prosa dienstbar zu machen. Aus dem Bereiche der Poesie habe er seine seltenen oder neu komponierten Wörter entnommen, dort sei der Ursprung der Gleichklänge und des übrigen Figurensystems zu suchen, das als Ersatz für die Rhythmik diene.2 E. Norden characterizes Gorgias as an imitator of poetry who in the use of poetic devices was guilty of extravagant excess.3 On the other hand, the Gorgianic figures, if they occur in poetry, are considered prosaic: This is especially true of rhyme effects. Not all authorities are as strict as H. Kraffert, who flatly calls sound repetitions 'cacophonies', 4 or E.Wölfflin, in whose opinion classical Latin poetry "has produced absolutely nothing with regard to rhyme". 5 In more recent times scholars qualify their statements but still agree that rhyme as a deliberate literary device existed mainly in prose. According to Norden 'rhetorical' rhyme did exist in quantitative poetry but was avoided by the better poets: Wir sind also zum Resultat gekommen, dass es in der quantitierenden Dichtung des Altertums einen rhetorischen Reim gab, vor dessen Anwendung aber die meisten und besten Dichter begründete Scheu hatten. 6 Polheim admits that parallel and antithetical sentence structures sometimes resulted in rhyme effects but claims that rhymes in the acoustic sense, i.e., sound repetitions for their own sake, did not exist in classical antiquity: Man sucht die Gleichklänge niemals um ihrer selbst willen. Sie 2 "Besides the excess of his decorated style, the frigid and puerile character of his speech, Gorgias was criticized for blurring the borderlines of poetic and prosaic diction. It was said that he attempted to press the elevated style of poetry into the service of prose; that he had borrowed his rare or newly compounded words from the province of poetry; and that it was in poetry where one must seek the origin of the rhymes and the rest of his figure system which served as a substitute for metre." (Karl Polheim, Die Lateinische Reimprosa, Berlin, 1925, p. 145). 8 Eduard Norden, Die Antike Kunstprosa (Leipzig und Berlin, 1909), p. 41. 4 Hermann Kraffert, "Kakophonieen im Lateinischen", Zeitschrift für das GymnasialWesen, XXXXI (Berlin, 1887), 713-733. 6 Eduard Wölfflin, "Der Reim im Lateinischen", Archiv für Lateinische Lexikographie und Grammatik, I (Leipzig, 1884), p. 350. * "Thus we have come to the conclusion that in ancient quantitative poetry a rhetorical rhyme did exist but most poets, and the best of them, were rightly reluctant to use it." (Norden, p. 841).

INTRODUCTION

15

werden als störend empfunden und verurteilt, wenn sie nur wegen ihrer Wirkung aufs Ohr herbeigeführt werden. 7 "Rime is rare in verse, characteristic of prose in antiquity", 8 says H.J.Rose. Even H.Herescu, who considers certain forms of assonance and internal rhyme in classical Latin poetry as deliberate, thinks that end rhyme in classical times was avoided : La préférence des poètes latins pour la rime intérieure s'explique, certes, par le fait que le latin présentant de lui-même, grâce au jeu inévitable des désinences, un grand nombre de rimes dans la contexture des phrases, il fallait éviter de les faire encore revenir en fin de vers, et cela par souci de mesure. 9 Aside from these considerations, rhyme and other repetitions of sound in Latin often are associated with the ancient carmina and therefore considered as essentially preliterate, popular devices. "The jingle of rustic incantations", as Wilkinson calls it, according to most authorities was avoided in classical Latin poetry. Thus instructed, the student might in the future, while noticing and appreciating rhyme effects in prose, e.g., Cicero's jingle (here divided into separate lines) : domus tibi deeraf, at habeèas; pecunia superabai, at egebas.10 turn a deaf ear to similar effects in poetry, e.g., Catullus's couplets: quoi dono lepidum novum libellwm arida modo pumice expolitwm? 7 "Rhymes are never sought for their own sake. They are felt to be obtrusive and are condemned if they are produced for their acoustic effect alone." (Polheim, pp. 136-7). 8 H.J.Rose, A Handbook of Greek Literature (New York, 1960), p. 279, footnote. 9 "The Latin poets' preference for internal rhyme of course may be explained by the fact that, due to the inevitable play of inflections, Latin in its sentence structure automatically presents a great number of rhymes : for the sake of proportion one had to avoid repeating them again at verse endings." (N.I.Herescu, La Poésie Latine, Paris, 1960, p. 179). It will be noted that Herescu's argument is not entirely consistent. Deliberate internal rhyme likewise would add sound repetitions to the already existing 'automatic rhymes'. According to Herescu the Latin poets should have avoided internal rhyme as well as end rhyme. 10 Cicero, Orator, 67, 223.

16

SOUND REPETITIONS IN ANCIENT LITERARY THEORY

Corneli, tibi, namque tu solebos meas esse aliquid putare nugaj

11

(where the similar, unstressed endings, soleb&y - nug&y, do not result from grammatical parallelism), or Vergil's quatrain: non tepidum ad solem pennas in litore pandwni dilectae Thetidi alcyonej, non ore solute« immundi meminere suei iactare maniples, at nebulae magis ima petunt campoque recumbw«/

12

Nevertheless, such effects are by no means rare: Would accomplished poets like Catullus and Vergil have been unable to avoid rustic jingles and prosaisms in their works, if they had wished to do so? Also, why are these 'rustic jingles' and 'prosaisms', even if they consist of metrically unaccented syllables, often arranged in regular patterns? As Maurice P. Cunningham remarks, "grammatical relation is expressed in Latin primarily by morphological means", 13 while, from the grammatical standpoint, the word order is not rigidly fixed. In classical Latin poetry slight metathesis of words, which would have destroyed the rhyme, in many cases was technically possible. Otherwise non-rhyming synonyms might have replaced rhyming words. Given the flexibility of diction and word order in Latin, is it not reasonable to suppose that the rhyme patterns of classical Latin poetry might easily have been broken by substitutions of words and the rearrangement of sentences? It is instructive to compare the supposedly unintentional rhyme patterns of classical Latin poetry with post-classical, rhymed poems. A comparison with regularly rhymed, non-quantitative poetry shows that the difference of the rhyme effects is sometimes not very great. Catullus's couplets of metrically unstressed suffixes are paralleled in medieval poetry, e.g.: inde cum multas referret causas subiunxit totwm esse infernwm accinctum densw 14 undique silvis "

"

1,1.

Georgics I, 398-401. "Phonetic Aspects of Latin Word Order", Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, CI, 5 (October 1957), p. 481. " "Heriger", strophe 2, A Primer of Medieval Latin, ed. Charles H.Beeson (Chicago, 1925), p. 342. 13

INTRODUCTION

17

Probably this non-quantitative poem is intended as an imitation of the Adonic metre: - ^ v | - i n which case the last, rhyming syllables would be unaccented. Nevertheless, according to the editor, Charles H. Beeson, "the verses generally rime in pairs." (ibid.). Comparable rhyme effects may be observed in late quantitative poetry, e.g., Terentianus Maurus's abridged version of the Aeneid in Adonics: primus ab oris Troius heros ^erdita flammw Pergama linquens exsul in alt«m vela resolv/f. saepe repulsus Ausone terra moenia fessis

sera locavit; unde Latinwm post genus ortwm altaque magnae moenia Romae. 1 5

and in Martianus Capella: prudens puella pulchrae mater fuit Lacaenae inlecta sed canore nescit dolum cavere. nam candidus nivosw olor involutus alzs argenteis minorem (plumis videns dccorem nec posse purpurat/i nimium) placere ocelli's, teneros ciere cantus Phaethoniasque Musas coepit repente fieta fraudem parans senecia.16 These verses from the song of Harmony are quoted in this context because 15

"

De Litteris Syllabis et Metris Liber, 2163-2175. De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii Libri Villi, 311G, 918.

18

SOUND REPETITIONS IN ANCIENT LITERARY THEORY

of their regular end-rhyme couplets which (except for minorem-(decorem) in a possibly spurious passage) consist of metrically unstressed, monosyllabic suffixes. Harmony's entire poem later will be considered in the context of ubiquitous rhyme words and sequences of conventional rhymes, e.g., ocelli - labellis - capellas; senecta - amictu - noctu; pinus Camenam ; numìna - lumina - carmina, etc. Some of Vergil's stanza-like arrangements contain extended parallelism, e.g.: ite meae, quondam felix pecus, ite capellae. non ego vos posthac viridi proiectus in antro dumosa pendere procul de rupe videbo; carmina nulla canam; non me pascente, capellae

17

fraxinus in silvis pulcherrima, pinus in hortis, populwj influvi w, abies in montibus altw; saepiws at si me, Lycida formose, revisas fraxinus in silvis cedat tibi, pinus in hortis.16 ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim. necte tribus nodis ternos, Amarylli, colores; necte, Amarylli, modo et 'Veneris' die 'vincula necto.' ducite ab urbe domum, mea carmina, ducite Daphnim.1* quamque ilja levem fygiens secai aethera pennis, ecce inimicus atrox magno stridore per auras insequitur Nisus; qua se fert Nisus ad auras ilja levem fugiens raptim secat aethera pennis.20 These arrangements are comparable to modem stanza forms, e.g., Thomas Campion's quatrain : Follow thy fair sun, unhappy shadow, Though thou be black as night, And she made all of light, Yet follow thy fair sun, unhappy shadow.21 or Robert Frost's lines: The bearer of evil tidings, "

18

"

40 21

Ecloga 1,74-77. Ecloga VII, 65-68. Ecloga VIII, 76-79. Georgics I, 406-409; Ciris (App. Verg.), finis. Alan Swallow, ed., The Rinehart Book of Verse (New York, 1960), p. 71.

INTRODUCTION

19

When he was halfway there, Remembered that evil tidings Were a dangerous thing to bear.22 These examples show that, except for the quantitative metre, ancient and modern patterns of rhyme in some cases are comparable. But although rhyme in simple and extended form is recognized as an important element of acoustic structure in post-classical poetry, similar acoustic patterns are disregarded if they occur in a classical Latin poem. On what grounds, the student may ask himself, must it be assumed that rhymes are inaudible in classical, quantitative poetry? Standard authorities associate deliberately rhymed Latin poetry with the Middle Ages, i.e., with non-quantitative poetry. The terminology of poetry and rhyme, however, is far from clear and instead of enlightening the student may even lead him into greater confusion. As a case in point, Norden's contradictory statements on medieval church hymns may be noted. In Norden's Appendix on the history of rhyme, the hymns are first described as rhyming prose and later as rhymed poetry: Bezeichnend scheint mir auch der Name, den die mittelalterliche Kirche für die dem Halleluja untergelegten Gesangstexte wählte: sie hiessen prosae.

Da nun also eine erhebliche Wesensverschiedenheit der hochrhetorischen Predigt und des feierlichen Kirchengesangs nicht existiert hat, so sind wir berechtigt oder vielmehr genötigt, beide in betreff ihrer am meisten charakteristischen Erscheinungsform, nämlich des Reims, in engste Beziehung zueinander zu setzen, oder — mit anderen Worten — den Reim der hohen Prosa mit dem der getragenen Poesie für identisch zu erklären Ganz wie in der Kunstprosa seit Gorgias findet sich der Reim in den Hymnen nur an besonders pathetischen Stellen: die Verfasser dieser Hymnen sind sich also bewusst gewesen, im Reim eine fakultative, nicht eine obligatorische Zier (a%f\\ia,figurä)der Verse zu besitzen.23 22

A Pocket Book of Robert Frost's Poems, ed. Louis Untermeyer (New York, 1961), p. 58. 28 "What also appears to me significant is the name which the medieval church chose for the hymn texts subjoined to the Halleluja: they were called prosae. Thus no significant difference existed between the highly rhetorical sermon and the solemn church hymn; we are therefore entitled, or rather forced, to assume a very close connection between the two concerning their most striking characteristic, rhyme. In other words, we must identify the rhyme of elevated prose with that of solemn poetry— Exactly as in artistic prose since the time of Gorgias, rhyme in the hymns only occurs

20

SOUND REPETITIONS IN ANCIENT LITERARY THEORY

Despite the optional character of their rhymes, Norden considers the medieval church hymns as the first models of modern rhymed poetry. In Norden's opinion "the fact must be considered as certain that rhyme in the poetry of modern peoples made its actual appearance by transmission from Latin hymn song " M Norden does not state clearly, however, at which point rhyme from a rhetorical figure turned into a device of poetry. Norden's definition of rhyme as a rhetorical device is correct insofar as sound repetitions are not elements of the quantitative metre. The same definition of rhyme, however, strictly speaking also applies to rhymes in post-classical poetry, which has no quantitative metre at all. Therefore from Norden's viewpoint a modern rhymed poem might be defined, not as poetry, but rather as a piece of elevated prose decorated in regular intervals with certain embellishments of rhetoric. In order to be entirely consistent, one would thus either have to define all rhymes as rhetorical and all non-quantitative poetry as prose: With the same degree of logic one might define classical quantitative poetry as prose because it is not regularly rhymed in stanzas. It seems therefore that the modern division of rhymes into 'rhetorical' and 'poetic' devices, in quantitative and nonquantitative poetry respectively, needlessly complicates the issue without clarifying the actual aesthetic connotations of rhyme. To avoid the embarassment resulting from modern terminology, the student may decide to concentrate on ancient authors, who need not be suspected of carrying modern notions back into antiquity. No ancient source claims that rhyme was originally a device of prose. On the contrary ancient literary theorists mention figures of sound repetition among the decorations of diction copied from poetry by the inventors of artistic prose. Because of their rhyme effect these devices are recommended for special cases, either as ornaments or to add emphasis to the speech. Moreover repetitions of sound serve in the construction of acoustic units, e.g., in marking beginnings and endings of coordinated clauses in prose or of metrical units in poetry, and thus result in harmony and acoustic structure. Rhyming figures accordingly are counted among the highlights (lumina) and elegancies (exornationes) of style. in especially moving passages: the creators of these hymns accordingly were aware that they possessed in rhyme an optional rather than an obligatory ornament ('figure') of verse." (Norden, p. 861). u Norden, p. 813.

INTRODUCTION

21

In ancient treatises on style rhyming figures often are exemplified by quotations from classical literature. Although these examples may be taken from poetry or artistic prose, rhymes are considered suitable for poets and epideictic speakers rather than for politicians and lawyers in court. If at all used in an actual case, the ancient principle is that rhyme effects must be appropriate, not monotonous, not forced upon the sense, and rare. Most extant comments on rhyming figures are contained in treatises on rhetoric. These handbooks aim to prepare the student for effective speaking in court, where sober and serious language is called for. Although a public speaker might use occasional rhyme effects to advantage, he might also ruin his speech by too many or too obvious rhymes. Authors therefore recommend caution: haec tria genera exornationum, quorum unum in similiter cadentibus, alterum in similiter desinentibus verbis, tertium in adnominatione positum est, perraro sumenda sunt cum in veritate dicimus 25 (actori verae causae) elocutionis figuris modus adhibendus, et iis maxime... in quibus paribus paria redduntur aut simili casu aut sono determinantur; in his etiam, quae iteratione verbi aut repetitione aut aliocumque huius modi motu accidunt.26 In serious cases rhyming figures are felt to be entirely out of place: ... ubi vero atrocitate, invidia, miseratione pugnandum est, quis ferat contrapositis et pariter cadentibus et consimilibus irascentem, flentem, rogantem? cum nimia in his rebus cura verborum deroget adfectibus fidem, et ubicumque ars ostentatur, Veritas abesse videatur.27 It would be a double fallacy to conclude from these precepts to orators that rhyme in classical antiquity (1) was essentially a device of prose 25

"These last three types of figures, the first of which consists in similar cases of words, the second in similar endings, the third in plays upon words, should be used very sparingly if we speak in an actual cause " (Auctor ad Herennium, IV, 22, 32). M "[A speaker in an actual cause] must use figures of speech in moderation, especially those... in which similar [parts of speech] are balanced against each other or end in similar cases or sounds; in those likewise which result from reduplication or repetition of a word or any other trope of this kind." (Aquila Romanus, § 42). a ' "But where one must fight by horror, hate, or pity, who would represent, by balanced clauses and similar cases and exact correspondences, a furious, or a weeping, or a begging person? because in these matters too great concern with words lessens the credibility of the emotions, and wherever art is displayed sincerity seems to be absent." (Quintilian, Institutio Oratorio, IX, 3, 102).

22

SOUND REPETITIONS IN ANCIENT LITERARY THEORY

which (2) had to be avoided by poets. One may rather come to the opposite conclusion. Rhyme apparently was felt to be far from 'prosaic' since it had to be avoided by serious speakers of prose. It may even be argued that in classical literary theory the concept of 'rhetorical rhyme' does not exist. All sources agree that the origin of rhyme is poetry, that its nature is poetic, that its uses are mainly for poets and epideictic speakers, and that vitium from rhyming figures occurs mainly in prose. Thus the ancient authorities encourage a modern student to recognize and appreciate rhyme effects in quantitative poetry as a legitimate element of poetic composition.

II THE ORIGIN O F R H Y M I N G FIGURES

legendi etiampoetae... (Crassus).... poetas omnino quasi alia quadam lingua locutos non conor attingere. (Antonius). (Cicero, De Oratore)

According to ancient authorities the origin of rhyming figures is not prose but poetry, a theory which tallies with the historical priority of poetry over artistic prose. Gorgias, the founder of professional oratory, is said to have copied rhyme effects from poetry in order to achieve "numerus" or rhythmical structure. Ancient literary criticism shows that the Gorgianic figures, despite their use in prose, were felt to retain part of their original, poetic quality. This ambivalent character of prose rhyme is reflected in ambivalent critical evaluations. On the one hand rhyme effects are carefully catalogued, classified, and recommended to students of rhetoric; on the other hand, the poetic effect of rhyming figures in prose is often considered out of place. One may add that the doubtful reputation of Gorgias himself sometimes is more aggravating to ancient critics than the poetic origin of his figures. It is generally agreed that the first poets were the creators not only of poetic forms but of artistic literary expression in general. Ancient poetry exemplifies rhetorical perfection as well as poetic genius. It is therefore not surprising to find Homer described as the father of eloquence: ...nos rite coepturi ab Homero videmur. hie enim...omnibus eloquentiae partibus exemplum et ortum dedit. hunc nemo in magnis rebus sublimitate, in parvis proprietate superavit. idem laetus [latus?] ac pressus, iucundus et gravis, turn copia turn brevitate mirabilis, nec poetica modo, sed oratoria virtute eminentissimus.1 1 " . . . it seems that we will do well to start with Homer, for he... has given the model and origin to all parts of eloquence. No one has excelled his sublimity in great, or his

24

SOUND REPETITIONS IN ANCIENT LITERARY THEORY

In Cicero's opinion Homer would not have praised Odysseus and Nestor for their eloquence if he had not been an orator himself as well as a poet.2 According to Quintilian, oratory in all its aspects was perfected by Homer who, besides paying attention to word choice, ideas, and overall organization, also used figures of speech: quid? in verbis, sententiis, figuris, dispositione totius operis nonne humani ingenii modum excedit?3 For Demetrius even the periodic prose structure, as introduced by Gorgias and Isocrates, might be compared to the compactness of the Homeric hexameter.4 Homer is by no means the only poet recommended to students of oratory. In Latin literature Homer's excellence is paralleled by Vergil's.5 Future orators are advised to study the poets,6 particularly those who excel in qualities of style such as Euripides7 and Lucan.8 Horace, praised by Ovid as "numerosus", 9 is the only lyric poet whom Quintilian recommends to future orators, mainly for the qualities of his figures and his diction: nam et insurgit aliquando et plenus est iucunditatis et gratiae et varius figuris et verbis felicissime audax.10 Occasionally an orator may even insert verses speech, not only to show his erudition but also to attractive.11 Although oratory for its artistic devices thus artistic prose must not be allowed to develop into

from poetry into a make his style more depends on poetry, a poem. The future

propriety in small matters. He is likewise cheerful and subdued [the variant reading for laetus, la tus, also makes sense: 'diffuse and succinct'], pleasant and serious, admirable now for his fullness, now for his brevity, and entirely outstanding not only in poetic but also in oratorical excellence." {ibid., X, 1, 46). 2 Brutus, 10, 40. 8 "How? does he not, in his vocabulary, thoughts, figures, and in the disposition of the whole work, surpass the measure of human capability?" (X, 1, 50). 4 On Style, I, 12. 6 Quintilian, X, 1, 85. • Cicero, De Oratore, I, 34, 158. ' Quintilian, X, 1, 67-8. 8 ibid., X, 1, 90. » Tristia, IV, 10, 49. 10 "for he sometimes rises to elevation, he is charming and graceful, versatile in his figures, and in expression bold with felicity" (X, 1, 96). 11 Quintilian, I, 8, 10-11.

THE ORIGIN OF RHYMING FIGURES

25

orator should be thoroughly acquainted with poetry, but he may not imitate the poets' wide range of diction and their indulgence in figures.12 Especial caution is necessary in the matter of numerus, or prose rhythm, which to some extent is an imitation of numerus in poetry, i.e., metre: nec in numeris magis quam in reliquis ornamentis orationis, eadem cum faciamus quae poetae, effugimus tamen in oratione poematis similitudinem. 13 Numerus, which may refer to metre in poetry, is a technical term of complex meaning. Like its English derivative, 'numbers', numerus may denote rhythmical or metrical regularity and harmony in general. But numerus is also mentioned more specifically as a concomitant of the Gorgianic figures, i.e., artistic speech patterns involving parallel constructions and rhyming figures.14 As in other respects, poetry is the example of artistic prose in the matter of numerus. Despite the fundamental difference of metre, poetry and prose have comparable acoustic structure based on similar, coordinated units of composition. The perfectly regular repetition of metrical or rhythmical sequences in poetry is imitated in oratory by the less regular balanced clauses of the periodic style. The principle of composition in oratory thus is comparable to that of verse. Both periodic prose and poetry are built from more or less regular acoustic units which must be marked off by audible divisions. In classical times these important breaks at endings of acoustic units are a feature shared by poetry and artistic prose. 15 Originally, however, acoustic breaks were elements of poetical, or musical, composition: versus enim veteres illi in hac soluta oratione propemodum, hoc est, numeros quosdam nobis esse adhibendos putaverunt: interspirationis enim, non defetigationis nostrae neque librariorum notis, sed verborum et sententiarum modo interpunctas clausulas in orationibus esse voluerunt; idque princeps Isocrates instituisse fertur, ut inconditam antiquorum dicendi consuetudinem delectationis atque aurium causa, quem ad modum scribit discipulus eius Naucrates, numeris astringeret. namque haec duo musici, qui erant 12

ibid., X, 1, 27-8. "But in prose rhythm, no less than in the other ornaments of speech, while we are imitating the poets we all the same avoid the likeness of poetry." (Cicero, Orator, 59, 201). 14 ibid., 52, 175-6. 15 ibid., 53, 178; Quintilian, IX, 4, 115-6. 13

26

SOUND REPETITIONS IN ANCIENT LITERARY THEORY

quondam idem poetae, machinati ad voluptatem sunt, versum atque cantum, ut et verborum numero et vocum modo delectatione vincerent aurium satietatem. haec igitur duo, vocis dico moderationem et verborum conclusionem, quoad orationis severitas pati posset, a poetica ad eloquentiam traducenda duxerunt.16 While numerus, in the sense of rhythmical regularity, in oratory was a late addition,17 poetry had always had a natural affinity to numbers, not only in the acoustic but also in the mathematical sense. According to Quintilian the ancient poets, who were at the same time musicians, also understood astronomy and things supernatural.18 Similar references to the mathematical and magical aspects of poetry and music may be found in Martianus Capella.19 This connection of poetry and music with mathematics and religion suggests the Pythagorean concept of numerical regularity and harmony as a structural principle of the universe. It may therefore be unjust to classify the formulaic, heavily rhymed Latin carmina with their extreme acoustic parallelism as 'rustic jingles', as Wilkinson does (cf. p. 15). These rhymed incantations perhaps may be considered as musical sequences arranged to a magic numerical system. If comparable, regular sequences of rhyme occur in quantitative Greek and Latin poetry of secular content, these effects might correspond to numerical patterns still known to poets but used without their former magical implications. According to ancient sources the invention of artistic prose is associated with Sicily. The beginnings of rhetorical theory go back to Empedocles of Agrigentum and the Sicilian orators Corax and Tisias,20 while the " "Indeed these ancient authorities felt that in such prose we should employ verse almost, that is to say, a certain rhythmical regularity: they wanted that in oratory there should be pauses, of breathing to be sure rather than of our exhaustion, and marked, not by the scribes' punctuation, but through the pattern of words and sentences; Isocrates reportedly was the first to teach this method, in order to tie together the ancients' random manner of speech by regular rhythm and also to please the audience, just as his student Naucrates writes. In fact the musicians, who formerly were poets as well, devised these two things, verse and song, for pleasure, so that they might convince a weary audience by delighting it with the regular rhythm of words and the pattern of sounds. It was believed that these two things, then, I mean the regulation of sound and the conclusion of phrases, as far as was compatible with the seriousness of oratory, should be transferred from poesy to rhetoric." (Cicero, De Oratore, III, 44, 173-4). 17 Cicero, Orator, 56, 187. 18 I, 10, 10. 16 IX, 312 G, 921-30. 20 Quintilian, III, 1, 8.

THE ORIGIN OF RHYMING FIGURES

27

professional introduction of figures into oratory is generally attributed to Gorgias of Leontini. The Gorgianic figures were intended as imitations of poetry. Syntactic parallelism and balanced cola, closing with rhymed cadences and resulting in rhythmical regularity, were among the most striking characteristics of the Gorgianic style, which was very similar to verse.21 The introduction of figures sometimes was attributed (in Cicero's opinion, erroneously) to Isocrates, but he, likewise, was said to have copied them from poetry: nam qui Isocratem maxime mirantur, hoc in eius summis laudibus ferunt, quod verbis solutis numeros primum adiunxerit. cum enim videret oratores cum severitate audiri, poetas autem cum voluptate, turn dicitur numeros secutus, quibus etiam in oratione uteretur, cum iucunditatis causa turn ut varietas occurreret satietati.22 In Latin literature the chronological priority of poetry over prose is less obvious because Greek oratory and poetry were introduced together and taught within the general framework of literary studies.23 Native Latin verse, on the other hand, apparently had antiquarian rather than literary interest. Poetry always was studied and often practised by the rhetoricians. According to Suetonius the same teachers gave courses in both literature and oratory.24 Victorinus defines the rhetorician as a man who "teaches literature and passes on the theory of eloquence".26 Suetonius notes that Aurelius Opillus taught philosophy, rhetoric, and literature,26 while P. Valerius Cato27 and Q. Remmius Palaemon28 besides teaching literature 21

Cicero, Orator, 12, 38-9; De Oratore, III, 44, 173-5. "For those who greatly admire Isocrates note among his highest achievements that he first gave regular rhythm to prose. In fact, when he noticed that orators were heard with severity while poets were listened to with delight, then he reportedly began to imitate numerus in order to employ it likewise in oratory, partly for the sake of enjoyment and partly so that variety might prevent boredom." (Cicero, Orator, 52, 174). (It is hard to find a satisfactory English equivalent for the term numerus. That numerus in this context cannot be equated with 'metre' is evident from the sequel to the above passage, where rhyming figures are specified as resulting in numerus: ".. .nam, ut paulo ante dixi, paria paribus adiuncta et similiter definita, itemque contrariis relata contraria, quae sua sponte, etiam si id non agas, cadunt plerumque numerose " {ibid., 175).) 28 Suetonius, De Grammaticis, 4, 103. 21 ibid. 26 "Rhetor est, qui docet litteras atque artes tradit eloquentiae...." {Expl. in Rhet. Cic., I, p. 156 Halm). 2 * Suetonius, De Grammaticis, 6, 105. 2 ' ibid., 11, 109-10. 28 ibid., 23, 117. 22

28

SOUND REPETITIONS IN ANCIENT LITERARY THEORY

also wrote poetry. Suetonius even includes names one might not expect to find in a catalogue of grammarians and rhetoricians: antiquissimi doctorum, qui idem et poetae et semigraeci erant, 29 Livium et Ennium dico The influence of poetry on oratory, however, could go too far; the inventors of artistic prose were not only admired for their figures but also criticized for their excessive stress on diction and their neglect of the subject matter that went with it. Unlike his follower Isocrates, who used figures of speech more sparingly, Gorgias was notorious for his excess: sunt igitur figurae elocutionis... ad ornandum tantum et quasi ad pingendum orationem accommodatae: quibus princeps Gorgias Leontinus uses est, sed sine modo Isocrates autem post eum 30 parcius n a m . . . paria paribus adiuncta et similiter definitaitemque contrariis relata contraria, quae sua sponte, etiam si id non agas, cadunt plerumque numerose, Gorgias primum invenit, sed eis est usus intemperatius... [Isocrates] est enim, ut in transferendis faciendisque verbis tranquillior, sic in ipsis numeris sedatior. Gorgias autem 31 avidior est generis eius et his festivitatibus The extravagant vocabulary and blatant rhyme effects of the Gorgianic style, being out of place in serious oratory, were often ridiculed : TttUTT) K a i x a TOO A e o v x l v o u T o p y i o u y e ^ a x a i y p a i p o v t o g "EGp^riq 6 t S v I l e p o c a v Zeuq" K a i "yOjie? M n y o x o i xdcpoi 26

"32

"The most ancient of the professors, who at the same time also were poets and Half-Greeks, I mention Livius and Ennius " (ibid., 1, 100). 30 "Now there are figures of diction... suitable only to decorate and, so to speak, to color the speech: Gorgias of Leontini was the first to use them, although without moderation But Isocrates after him did it more sparingly " (Aquila Romanus, 21). 31 "In fact... equal parts of speech matched together and those with similar terminations, as well as opposites balanced against each other, which as a rule spontaneously fall into rhythmical patterns, even if you do not plan it, were first devised by Gorgias, but he used them to excess [Isocrates] certainly is so much more quiet in his figurative meanings and new creations of words as he is more restrained in the matter of prose rhythm. Gorgias, on the other hand, is quite insatiable for this kind of style and these gaieties...." (Cicero, Orator, 52, 175-6). 32 "Thus people also laugh at the works of Gorgias of Leontini, who writes, for example: 'Xerxes the Zeus of the Persians', and 'vultures, living tombs'...." (Longinus, On the Sublime, 180r, III, 2).

THE ORIGIN OF RHYMING FIGURES KTRI EBQ r o p y i c u ; (BVONA^E, "TCTCOXOHOUCJCX; K O X A ^ ,

Kai

29 iniopKtjaavxai;

KaievopKtjaavrag."33

because they were too poetic: 6iov r o p y lag "x^-copd Kai avai(ia t a jrpaynaia"; "CTU 5E xauia aiaxpftjg |IEV sCTTteipag, KOKCS? 8e e&epiaac". JIOIT|TIKCDvoOCTi i d xstoi xcbv nepioScov TtposiSoTe^ Kai Jtpoava|k>coai.36 In Aristotle's opinion poetic diction first was introduced by Gorgias because poets seemed to get their reputation by saying even silly things well. 37 This stress of form over content met with serious opposition: materiam rhetorices quidem dixerunt esse orationem, qua in sententia ponitur apud Platonem Gorgias.38 The passage referred to may be Plato's Gorgias, 450: . . . xfjq 5s pf|TopiKfj.oû|isva K&Xa, KaSàjtep àvcwtaôovxa x ô v X é y o v x à xe Kai x à A,eyô|ieva a ù x d

21

and that the elaboration of clauses in prose was introduced after the example of poetry: ut igitur poeticae versus inventus est terminatione aurium, observat i o n prudentium, sic in oratione animadversum est, multo illud 18

Cicero, De Oratore, III, 44, 173; Quintilian, IX, 4, 61. "But the end must be set apart by a long (syllable) and clearly marked, neither by the scribe nor by the punctuation, but by the rhythm." (Art of Rhetoric, 1409a, III, 8). 40 "Therefore, since the listener always waits for the end and relaxes in it, this part should not be without rhythm, but towards this termination the period must be conducted from the start, and the whole must flow from its beginning in such a way that when it arrives at the end it stops by itself." (Orator, 59, 199). 21 "Just as poetry is divided by metre... thus the so-called cola divide and punctuate prose oratory, as they stop the speaker and also that which is spoken...." (Demetrius, 226r, I, 1). 19

38

SOUND REPETITIONS IN ANCIENT LITERARY THEORY

tamen serius, sed eadem natura admonente, esse quosdam certos cursus conclusionesque verborum. 22 Although the rhythmical elaboration of oratory might not develop into metre, rhythmical conclusions of prose periods were comparable to those of verse: versus in oratione si efficitur coniunctione verborum, vitium est, et tamen earn coniunctionem sicuti versum numerose cadere et quadrare et perfici volumus. 23 For the effective conclusion of cola and periods in oratory both metrical clauses and rhymed endings are recommended. Cicero's usual technical term to described properly elaborated clauses, numerose et apte cadere,2* probably illustrates both these acoustic aspects of periodic conclusions. The term numerose may refer to the ordered rhythmical or metrical aspect of the clauses while apte may refer to the element of matched sounds "expected by the ear", i.e., rhyming figures.25 Both numerose and apte, however, may have been Cicero's Latin equivalents for Greek technical terms. Numerus may be a translation of the Greek pu9|ioq- api%i6.suxaÌ0V |ièv o i o v tò MaoKpaiEiov, o l o v

"Kaì too

|ièv G7ci(iovov Kai èiiiKÌvSuvov xòv piov èiroirjoe, xfj? 8è Tiepip^entov Kaì 7rspi|xàxr|TOV tt|v «puciv KaTécnT/crev."131 Ó|xoiot£^-si)tóv è o x i v . . .

Kaì dx; a v eijioi ti? "Xéyere,

(pspsre,

Xalpere." 1 3 2 ÓJXOIÓ71TCOTOV 5è èoxiv, OTav fi aÙTT) 7tTCòov