Βρομίῳ πόνον ἡδύν
κάματόν τ’ εὐκάματον, Βάκχιον εὐαζομένα.
τίς ὁδῷ; τίς ὁδῷ; τίς μελάθροις; ἔκτοπος ἔστω,
στόμα τ’ εὔφημον ἅπας ἐξοσιούσθω·
τὰ νομισθέντα γὰρ ἀεὶ Διόνυσον ὑμνήσω.
⏑⏑⁝⏘⏑⏑|– –ꞈ̄‖
⏑⏑⁝– –⏑⏑|– –⏑⏑|– –ꞈ̄‖
⏑⏑⁝⏘⏑⏑|– –ꞈ̄〛
⏑⏑⁝– –⏑⏑|– –⏑⏑|– –⏑⏑|⏘ꞈ̄〛
⏑⏑⁝⏘⏑⏑|– –⏑⏑|– –⏑⏑|– –ꞈ̄‖
⏑⏑⁝– –⏑⏑|– –⏑⏑|– –ꞈ̄‖
⏑⏑⁝– –⏑⏑|– –⏑⏑|–⏑–˃|⏘ꞈ̄〛
I
⎛ 2
⎜ 3—mesode.
⎝ 2
II
⎛ 2
⎝ 2
III
⎰ 2
⎛ ⎱ 2
⎜ 3—mesode
⎝ ⎰ 2
⎱ 2
This song of the Bacchantes, like that of the Persians, expresses both excitement and confidence; both are magnificent, and the metre is the same. But the difference is unmistakable; it lies in the rhythm. In Æschylus the practically unvaried rhythm and the gorgeous language give to such a passage as πολύχειρ καὶ πολυναύτας Σύριόν θ’ ἅρμα διώκων an almost intolerable weight and austere pomp. Euripides, by use of the doubly-lengthened syllable, by varying the extent of his cola, and by the irrationality of the penultimate foot, has, within the limits of the same metre, produced a sense of exotic beauty and urgency, a thrill of wildness as well as of awe.
(g) Choriambics.—These consist of –⏑⏑–. Anacrusis is not found:—