[ Pitch.]
But besides the length of the syllable, and the place and quality of the accent, another matter claims attention.
In English all that is required is to know the place of the accent, which is simply distinguished by greater stress of voice. This peculiarity of our language makes it more difficult for us than for other peoples to get the Latin accent, which is one of pitch.
In Latin the acute accent means that on the syllable thus accented you raise the pitch; the grave indicates merely the lower tone; the circumflex, that the voice is first raised, then depressed, on the same syllable. To quote again the passage from Priscian:
[Keil. v. III. p. 519.] Acutus namque accentus ideo inventus est quod acuat sive elevet syllabam; gravis vero eo quod deprimat aut deponet; circumflexus ideo quod deprimat et acuat.
In conclusion of this part of the work the following anecdotes from Aulus Gellius are given, as serving to show that to the rules of classic Roman pronunciation there were exceptions, apparently more or less arbitrary, some—perhaps many—of which we may not now hope to discover; and as serving still more usefully to show, by the stress laid upon points of comparative insignificance, that exceptions were rare, such as even scholars could afford to disagree upon, and not such as to affect the general tenor of the language. So that we are encouraged to believe that, as the English language may be well and even elegantly spoken by those whose speech still includes scores, if not hundreds, of variations in pronunciation, in sounds of letters or in accent, so we may hope to pronounce the Latin with some good degree of satisfaction, whether, for instance, we say quiêsco or quiésco, ăctito or āctito:
[Aul. Gell. VI. xv.] Amicus noster, homo multi studii atque in bonarum disciplinarum opere frequens, verbum quiescit usitate e littera correpta dixit. Alter item amicus homo in doctrinis, quasi in praestigiis, mirificus, communiumque vocum respuens nimis et fastidiens, barbare eum dixisse opinatus est; quoniam producere debuisset, non corripere. Nam quiescit ita oportere dici praedicavit, ut calescit, nitescit, stupescit, atque alia hujuscemodi multa. Id etiam addebat, quod quies e producto, non brevi, diceretur. Noster autem, qua est omnium rerum verecunda mediocritate, ne si Aelii quidem Cincii et Santrae dicendum ita censuissent obsecuturum sese fuisse ait, contra perpetuam Latinae linguae consuetudinem. Neque se tam insignite locuturum, absona aut inaudita ut diceret. Litteras autem super hac re fecit, item inter haec exercitia quaedam ludicra; et quiesco non esse his simile quae supra posui, nec a quiete dictum, sed ab eo quietem; Graecaeque vocis ἔσχον καὶ ἔσκον, Ionice a verbo ἔσχω ἴσχω, et modum et originem verbum illud habere demonstravit. Rationibusque haud sane frigidis docuit quiesco e littera longa dici non convenire.
[Aul. Gell. IX. vi.] Ab eo, quod est ago et egi, verba sunt quae appellant grammatici frequentativa, actito et actitavi. Haec quosdam non sane indoctos viros audio ita pronuntiare ut primam in his litteram corripiant; rationemque dicant, quoniam in verbo principali, quod est ago, prima littera breviter pronuntiatur. Cur igitur ab eo quod est edo et ungo, in quibus verbis prima littera breviter dicitur, esito et unctito, quae sunt eorum frequentativa prima littera longa promimus? et contra, dictito, ab eo verbo quod est dico, correpte dicimus? Num ergo potius actito et actitavi producenda sunt? quoniam frequentativa ferme omnia eodem modo in prima syllaba dicuntur, quo participia praeteriti temporis ex iis verbis unde ea profecta sunt in eadem syllaba pronuntiantur; sicut lego, lectus, lectito facit; ungo, unctus, unctito; scribo, scriptus, scriptito; moneo, monitus, monito; pendeo, pensus, pensito; edo, esus, esito; dico, autem, dictus, dictito facit; gero, gestus, gestito; veho, vectus, vectito; rapio, raptus, raptito; capio, captus, captito; facio, factus, factito. Sic igitur actito producte in prima syllaba pronuntiandum, quoniam ex eo fit quod est ago et actus.
[PART II.]
HOW TO USE IT.
The directions now to be given may be fittingly introduced by a few paragraphs from Professor Munro’s pamphlet on the pronunciation of Latin, already more than once quoted from. He says—and part of this has been cited before: