On the treatment of short final vowels before s impure in classical Latin poetry *

Journal article

It has long been remarked that the classical Latin poets avoided putting a short final vowel before words beginning with sc sp sq st. Although various theories have been put forward to account for this tendency, the few exceptions to it have received less attention, and many remain only partially explained. The object of this paper is to show that by eliminating textually dubious cases of lengthening and non-lengthening before s impure, and thus whittling down the range of authors who allow it to a kindred few, the literary and generic affiliations of this feature can be more clearly discerned and appreciated. New conjectures are offered on the text of Enn. Ann. 91 Skutsch (stabilitaque regni); Catul. 4.18 (impotentias freti), 17.24 (potis stolidum), 22.12 (modo aut scurra), 44.18 (nefarias chartas), 63.53 (gelida ad stabula); Prop. 3.11.67 (Scipiadae classes ubi nunc), 3.19.21 (data uenum), 4.1.41 (spondebant bene iam); Ov. Her. 7.152 (sceptra superba); Manil. 3.364 (ac leuem); Sen. HF 950 (frigida in spatio); Sil. Pun. 9.575 (iam magnum or astridens), 12.209 (quae); Stat. Theb. 6.551 (agile his studium); Mart. 2.66.7–8 (the athetesis thereof), 5.69.3 (nostrorum); and many forgotten suggestions are newly defended.

Authors: Hardy, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies
• Article number: qbag006
• Publication date: 2026-03-27
• DOI: 10.1093/bics/qbag006
• EISSN: 2041-5370
• ISSN: 0076-0730
• Language: English
• Keywords: s impurum; Extrasyllabicity; s impura; Extrametricality; s-clusters