c) Infin. Perf.: surrexe for (surreg-si-se); traxe for (trac-si-se) d) Besides the Verbs which classically form a Perfect-stem with the characters, some other Verbs did this in old Latin: cap-ere, fac-ere, rap-ere, tan-gere, aud-ere. As the old formation of the Perf. Conj. and Fut. Perf. with characters was si-sim, si-so, such Verbs, by dropping si, formed these tenses in sim, so: faxim for (fac-si-sim); faxo for (fac-si-so) clepsit for (clep-si-sit); ausint for (au-si-sint). e) A-verbs in old Latin formed these two Tenses sometimes by casting out a syllable and then doublings: negassim for (nega-vi-sim): rogassit for (roga-vi-sit) A few such forms are found from E-verbs and I-verbs : Note. This Future in asso, mistaken, it would seem, for a Present, gave birth to Infinitives in assere, used by Plautus : impetrassere, oppugnassere, reconciliassere. Sometimes even to Passive forms: turbassitur, Cic. ; compare faxitur, Liv. xxxiii. The Shortening of Vowels in Latin. 1. Between the First Punic War (B.C. 260) and the Augustan age (B.C. 30) the Quantity of Vowels underwent a generally shortening process, especially in final syllables. This is shewn by comparing The extant specimens of old Saturnian Verse. The fragmentary remains of the old Dactylic and Iambic poets (Ennius, &c.). The Comedies of Plautus and Terence. The poetic remains of Lucilius and Cicero. The poetry of Lucretius and Catullus. The Augustan poetry (Virgil, Horace, Ovid, &c.). 2. The Comedies of Plautus (B.C. 180) are a most important stage in this enquiry: because, though they contain a large number of long syllables afterwards shortened, they also exhibit numerous examples of the shortening process always going on and among these some which are repudiated by the taste of Augustan poets. Such Plautine shortenings mark the direction in which the current of popular parlance was setting, whilst in Augustan literature these corruptive tendencies are suppressed for a while by the study of Greek models and a fine sense of what was really good in Roman antiquity. 3. Examples of Final Syllables with Quantity varying in Early Latin, in Plautus, and in the Augustan age. Exclusion of Conso nants with Contraction. 8. bus Dat. Abl. Pl. 9. mus 1st Pers. Pl. 10. ar in Nouns II. ar in Verbs 12. or in Nouns Yet Augustan poetry, especially the Hexameter, supplies many instances in which the antiquarian long quantity of a word was adopted to suit metrical convenience: gravia (Verg.) arāt (Hor.) vidēt (Verg.) velit (Hor.) tondebat (Verg.) ignis (Hor.) pectoribus (Verg.) negabamus (Ov.) trahōr (Tibull.), &c. 4. The words which Plautus shortens by the license of common parlance are mostly Iambic words, which he thus slurs into pyrrhichs, we might almost say into monosyllables. Such are loci, meri, doll, bono, domo, viro, domi, forěs, pedes, her, probě, amă, rogă, pută, cavě, maně, tacě, valě, abí, adí, bibl, dedi, steti, darf, loqui. Augustan poetry preserves the traces of this popular usage (which generally it rejected) in such words as beně, modo, nisí, quasi, mihi, tibi, sibi, ibi, ubi, pută, cavě, valě, &c. : and to its influence we may perhaps refer such abnormal quantities as palus, polypus in those writings of Horace which he himself calls sermoni propiora.'1 xxxiv. Exclusion of Consonants followed by Contraction of Vowels. s: dextans for (de-s-extans) = of the as: ni for nĭ-s-Ĭ. 1-consonans bīgae for bl-i-ugae; quadrigae for quadri-i-ŭgae: cuncti for co-i-uncti: aes for (Pr. ayas). h: cōrs for co-h-ors; vemens for vě-h-ěmens; prendo for pre-h-endo; praeda for (prae-h-eda); nemo for (ně-h-emo for ně-homo); nīlum for ně-hilum; nil for nĬ-h-il; mi for ini-h-1; imus for (I-h-Imus for in-f-Imus); debeo for de-h-ibeo; praebeo for prae-h-ibco. 1 On this subject, besides Corssen, the student should especially consult Ritschl's Plautus and Opuscula ; C. W. Müller's Plautinische Prosodie; and Munro's Lucretius: also the Prosody in this Grammar by the last-named scholar. q: dodrans (for dequadrans), of the as, is formed by the following process, according to Corssen (dequa x dequo x doquo x docu- x doc- x do-).1 ▼: There are two modes of suppressing with contraction: and in some words each mode would lead to the same result. 1. The short vowel after may be excluded, ▾ vocalised (becoming u), and then contracted with the preceding vowel. 2. may be excluded and contraction ensue. 1. First Mode. This is shewn where the diphthong au results : auceps (ǎv-I-ceps); auspex (av-i-spex) nauta for nav-I-ta; naufragus for nav-i-fragus and may be inferred (as shewn by lōtum, lūtum for lautum) in most instances where ō, ū result (for ov=ou or for uv=uu) : fōtum (fōv-I-tum); fōmentum (fov-I-mentum) Iupiter (Iov-I-piter); bobus or bubus (bov-I-bus) nunc (nov-um-ce); nuper (nov-I-per) iūnior (iuv-ě-nior); ūdus (uv-I-dus). In nundinae (nov-endinae, noundinae), nuntio (nov-entio, nountio), and contio (co-ventio, countio), the vocalization of seems to take place before the exclusion of the vowel. 2. Second Mode. a) (dis, Ter. once) for di-v-es; ditior for di-v-itior; ditissimus for di-v-Itissimus: oblitus (obli-v-itus): hornus (ho-v-ernus): praes (prae-v-I-des, prae-i-des, praeds): Cloelius (Clo-v-i-lius, Cloilius): mālo, mälle, &c. for ma-v-olo, ma-v-elle, &c. nōlo, nōlle, &c., (ne-v-olo, ne-v-olle, &c.) : sis for si vis; sultis, for si vultis, elides iv. b) Many Adverbs are formed by the contraction of a Pronoun or Particle with the Participle vorsus, vorsum : horsum (ho-vorsum); prors-us -um (provors-us -um); hence prosa for prorsa (pro-vorsa); aliorsum (alio-vorsum); rurs-us-um (revors-us-um); sursum (sus-vorsum); intrors-us-um for (intro-vorsus -um): rusum, susum, introsum. M. Lucr. iii. 45. 'Bes, or bessis, bes-ses (dvi-esses), two thirds of the as, is another curious abbreviation; representing bis trientes, twice one third. Contraction in Perf. Stem. c) This form of Contraction prevails especially in the Perfectstem Tenses of Pure Verbs. a. When the Perfect-stem ends in āv, ēv, ōv, the ▾ may be excluded before is or er (but not before ērě), contraction ensuing : amasti for amav-isti; implēssem for implev-issem; nōsse for nov-isse. amāram for amav-eram; implero for implev-ero; norunt for nov-erunt. And in Lucr. at for avit: inritāt, i. 70. These contractions are not used in the forms of lāvi, cāvi, fāvi, pāvi, fōvi, vōvi: but in those of mōvi and iūvi they sometimes occur in poetry: adiūris for adiūveris; mōstis for movistis; admōrunt for admoverunt; summōsses for submnovisses. B. When the Perfect-stem ends in iv, the v is often excluded, and contraction usually follows before is : audi-eram for audiveram; audi-ero for audiv-ero, audissem for audivissem. So, in eo and its compounds : feram, fero; issem, isse, &c. Siris is used for sīveris from sinĕre, sīvi. The contraction of -it into it occurs; obīt for obiit. Anciently the Perfect ending it was itself long, being often exhibited as eit in E. L. See M. Lucr. iii. 1042. 'Peculiar contractions are seen in the formation of the Tenses of Verbs. A) Forms of (esum) sum, compounded with other Verbs: Indic. Mood. Fut. 1. (eso) ero: Imperf. (esa-m) eram. Conj. Mood. (Mood-vowel ia=ie). Pres. (es-ia-m, es-ie-m) siem, sim. Imperf. Forms of fuo (shewn in före=fure, fuisse, &c.), compounded with other Verbs. B) Tenses of amo (ama-o): Ind. M. Fut. 1. (ama-fuo) amabo. Imp. (ama-fuam) amabam. Perf. (ama-fui) amavi. Fut. 2. (amav-eso) amavero. Plup. (amav-esam) amaveram. Conj. M. Pres. (ama-ia-m, am-ai-m) amem. Imp. (ama-esem) amarem. Perf. (amav-esim) amaverim. Plup. (amav-esem) amavissem Infin. (ama-se) amare: (amav-ese) amavisse. C) Passive Present-stem forms are derived generally from the Active by adding se (self), and making euphonic change: Pres. Ind. (amo-se) amor; (amas-se) amar-is; (amat-se) a mat-ur, &c. D) Inf. Pass. (amase-se) amari-er, amari; (regese-se) regi-er, regi. The Conj. Pres. endings am, as, at, &c. of the Third Conjugation (regam, regas, &c.) represent the Primitive Conjunctive in a; and Fut. forms in es, et, &c. (reges, reget, &c.) are contracted from a-ia-s, &c., as in (esa-ia-s) esēs. See C. II. 729. 2) Qu sometimes corresponds to Sk. s'v, Gr. π (k) +: L. equos Sk. as'vas Gr. ἵππος ἵκκος (for infος. More frequently qu corresponds to Sk. c', k, Gr. #, T (k): Some think that kʊ should always be assumed as the primitive of qu; but Corssen maintains that c (k) could develop u after it in Italian language as a transition-step to the labial p: and he thinks that even in Indic kv is developed from k. 3) The Labialism by which and p represent Pr. k, prevailed in Umbrian and Oscan. U. peturpursus-quadrupedibus; O. pitpit quidquid. Hence (from O. petora, four) come the names Petreius, Petronius: and (from O. pom-t-is-quinque) Pontius (Quinctius), Pompeius, Pompeii, Pomponius, Pompilius. 4) In two instances c, qv seem to correspond to Sk. p, Gr. π: Here some think the primitive roots were kak or kvak; kanka or kvankva. Fick, however, supposes coquo to be for (poquo), quinque for (pinque), by assimilation. 5) In proof that qu could be developed from c, Corssen cites huiusque for huiusce; inquilinus from incolo; inquinare from coenum; quom cum; querquetum for quercetum; Quirites from Cures; sterquilinium from stercus. Perhaps other instances of Labialism (p for k) in Latin are dialectic (Sabine): as lupus (Sk. var-kas, Gr. Aúxos); popina for coquina; palumbes columba: Epona (for Equõna): spolium (Gr. oxuλov): and one or two more doubtful, as pa vo (Gr. raWS). Of Dentalism in Latin (t for k) the traces are few and dubious: as talpa (for s-talpa, calpa): sterens (Gr. σkup); studeo, studium (Gr. σnevdw, σnovôý). ants. Gut turals C, Q. |