Nuda genu, nodôque || sinûs col|lecta fluentes
Again,
Formosam resonâre || docês Amar|yllida sylvas
Beside this capital accent, slighter accents are laid upon other portions; particularly upon the 4th, unless where it consists of two short syllables; upon the 9th, which is always a long syllable; and upon the 11th, where the line concludes with a monosyllable. Such conclusion, by the by, lessens the melody, and for that reason is not to be indulged unless where it is expressive of the sense. The following lines are marked with all the accents.
Ludere quæ vêllem calamô permîsit agresti
Again,
Et duræ quêrcus sudâbunt rôscida mella
Again,
Parturiunt môntes, nascêtur rîdiculûs mus
Inquiring into the melody of Hexameter verse, we soon discover, that order or arrangement doth not constitute the whole of it. Comparing different lines, equally regular as to the succession of long and short syllables, the melody is found in very different degrees of perfection. Nor does the difference arise from any particular combination of Dactyles and Spondees, or of long and short syllables. On the contrary, we find lines where Dactyles prevail and lines where Spondees prevail, equally melodious. Of the former take the following instance: