And then I know the mist is drawn
A lucid veil from coast to coast,
And in the dark church like a ghost
Thy tablet glimmers to the dawn.

HINTS. I. (1) This bright image, vanishing, departs (2) from my bed with the dying light; (3, 4) I sleep worn-out until (adusque) the morning when the shadows are put to flight.

II. "And now I know the sea (line 2) from coast-to-coast (medius, line 2) is veiled with mists (2) of white (adj.) and thy tablet (aes memor, line 3), (3, 4) as a spectre in the shadowy church (aedes) is shining in the dawn.”

Exercise 89

Flow Down, Cold Rivulet, to the Sea, Tennyson

Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,

Thy tribute wave deliver;

No more by thee my steps shall be,
Forever and forever.

Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea,

A rivulet then a river:

No where by thee my steps shall be,
Forever and forever.

HINTS. I. (1) Flow down to the sea, and to the cold (2) wave let thy tribute be duly given; (3, 4) never shall my footsteps through the ages (sing.) seek thee, O rivulet.

II. Gently past the groves and woods (use syncopated form siluae, arum) (2) first a rivulet, now a stream, thou mayest wander, (3, 4) neither at any place (usquam) nor at any time mayest thou see (subjunctive) my steps.

Exercise 90

Flow Down, Cold Rivulet, to the Sea, Continued

But here will sigh thine alder tree,

And here thine aspen shiver:

And here by thee will hum the bee,
Forever and forever.

A thousand suns will stream on thee,
A thousand moons will quiver:
But not by thee my steps shall be,
Forever and forever.

HINTS. I. (1) Here the alder, guardian of thy shore, will moan, (2) the poplar will tremble when struck by the gentle breeze: (3, 4) here the bee at no time (annus) will cease to murmur by thee (dative).

II. (1) Thou shall continue to shine with a hundred suns, (2) (and) with the trembling gleam of a thousand moons, (3, 4) but at no time (aevum) shalt thou feel (fut. perf.) me wandering near thee.

Exercise 91

The Meeting of the Waters, Moore

There is not in this wide world a valley so sweet,
As the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet;
Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart,
Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.
Yet it was not that nature had shed o'er the scene
Her purest of crystal and brightest of green;

'Twas not her soft magic of streamlet or hill,

Oh! no, it was something more exquisite still.

HINTS. The first stanza is to form two stanzas and the second stanza one in Latin.

I. (1) Nowhere is there found a more pleasing spot (2) than the valley which pleases me beyond all (others), (3, 4) which

cherishes in its bosom the glittering waters (rivus) meetingtogether;

II. (1) May the last breath of life (adj.) depart (pl.) (2) and my last drop of blood (sanguis tenuis) before (3, 4) the bloom of that valley should fade from my heart that recalls (memor) (it).

III. Not because the nymphs have adorned (subjunctive) all the forest (2) with crystal water and green banks (sing.) (3, 4) nor (was it) the grace of her mountain and stream, but something more beautiful still (immo).

Exercise 92

The Meeting of the Waters, Continued

'Twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near,
Who made every dear scene of enchantment more dear,
And who felt how the best charms of nature improve,
When we see them reflected from looks that we love.

Sweet vale of Avoca! how calm could I rest

In thy bosom of shade, with the friends I love best,
Where the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease,
And our hearts, like thy waters, be mingled in peace.

HINTS. The first stanza is to form one stanza and the second stanza will make two stanzas in Latin.

I. (1, 2) Something more pleasant has made those shades dearer to me: my friends were near (3, 4) to whom (queis) its beauty reflected from the countenance of a friend was more pleasing.

II. (1, 2) How calm would I rest (foveo, pass.) in the pleasant bosom of thy vale with its quiet shade, (3, 4) reposing in the kindly company of my friends, sweet Avoca !

III. Then will the wild storms cease (i.e. "fly far ") (2) which vex our short life and like (ceu, line 3) thy rivers, (3, 4) our (dat.) hearts united will finally rest in peace.

Exercise 93

The Lee Shore, Hood
Sleet and hail and thunder,
And ye winds that rave,
Till the sands thereunder
Tinge the sullen wave,
Winds that like a demon
Howl with savage note
Round the toiling seaman
In his tossing boat,

From his humble dwelling
On the shingly shore,
Where the billows swelling

Keep such hollow roar: —

HINTS. I. (1) Hail (pl.) mingled with the falling snow, (2) thunder, (and) thou, North wind, with thy furious (sonorus) blast, (3, 4) at whose raging (abl. absol.) the lowest sand has tinged the sullen waves,

II. And (you) who rage (2d person) like to the Fury (2) wildly around the frail bark (3, 4) of the weary sailor, drive (imperative) him far from the well-worn shore. (The verb "drive" is introduced into this stanza from the fifth (Exercise 94) to avoid obscurity).

III. (1, 2) Where stands (pateo) his small house with its wretched (vilior) thatch (gen. of description), and where such (3, 4) a deep-sounding roar rises without end from the restless

wave.

Exercise 94

The Lee Shore, Continued

From that weeping woman,

Seeking with her cries
Succour superhuman

From the frowning skies

From the urchin pining
For his father's knee,
From the lattice shining
Drive him out to sea!

Let broad leagues dissever
Him from yonder foam :
O God! to think man ever

Comes too near his home!

HINTS. I. (1) From his wife weeping bitterly (multum) (2) who calls upon the unpropitious gods to give (3, 4) a refuge to (pro) the man, wearying the heavens (aura) with her piteous cries:

II. From his son desiring to embrace (line 2) the loving (2) knees (genu in the plural may be a dissyllable with first syllable long), of his father; from the window (3, 4) which shines far with the familiar light, drive him out to sea!

III. (1, 2) May the broad sea rage between him and the cruel reefs! Woe to thee, wretched one, (3, 4) who ever keeps (tueor) too much to his home and his Penates!

7. Alcaic Verse

Alcaic verse is considered one of the most difficult measures found among the works of Horace. It was a favorite metre with Alcaeus, from whom it derives its name. Alcaeus and Sappho standardized the verse and Horace has made few changes from the original Greek measure.

At first sight an alcaic stanza seems a heterogeneous collection of trochees, spondees, and dactyls. If, however, it is examined carefully, it will be found to bear a strong resemblance to the sapphic verse. This is shown by the fact that if we take off the first syllable