Roman Pronunciation of Latin | Page 7

sed notam adspirationis tradidit.
There appears to have been the same difference of opinion and usage among the Romans as with us in the matter of sounding the H.
Quintilian says that the fashion changed with the age:
[Quint. I. v. l9,20,21.] Cujus quidem ratio mutata cum temporibus est saepius. Parcissime ea veteres usi etiam in vocalibus, cum _oedus vicos_que dicebant, diu deinde servatum ne consonantibus aspirarent, ut in Graecis et in triumpis; erupit brevi tempore nimius usus, ut choronae, chenturiones, praechones, adhuc quibusdam inscriptionibus maneant, qua de re Catulli nobile epigramma est. Inde durat ad nos usque vehementer, et comprehendere, et mihi, nam mehe quoque pro me apud antiques tragoediarum praecipue scriptores in veteribus libris invenimus.
In the epigram above referred to Catullus thus satirizes the excessive use of the aspirate:
[Catullus lxxxiv.]
Chommoda dicebat, si quando commoda vellet Dicere, et hinsidias Arrius insidias: Et tum mirifice sperabat se esse locutum, Cum quantum poterat dixerat hinsidias. Credo sic mater, sic Liber avunculus ejus, Sic maternus avus dixerat, atque avia. Hoc misso in Syriam requierunt omnibus aures; Audibant eadem haec leniter et leviter. Nec sibi post ilia metuebant talia verba, Cum subito adfertur nuntius horribilis, Ionios fluctus postquam illuc Arrius isset Jam non Ionios esse, sed Hionios.
On the other hand Quintilian seems disposed to smile at the excess of 'culture' which drops its H's, to class this with other affected 'niceties' of speech, and to regard the whole matter as of slight importance:
[Quint. I. vi. 21, 22.] Multum enim litteratus, qui sine aspiratione et producta secunda syllaba salutarit (avere est enim), et calefacere dixerit potius quam quod dicimus, et conservavisse; his adjiciat face et dice et similia. Recta est haec via, quis negat? sed adjacet mollior et magis trita.
Cicero confesses that he himself changed his practice in regard to the aspirate. He had been accustomed to sound it only with vowels, and to follow the fathers, who never used it with a consonant; but at length, yielding to the importunity of his ear, he conceded the right of usage to the people, and 'kept his learning to himself.'
[Cic. Or. XLVIII. 160.] Quin ego ipse, cum scirem ita majores locutos esse ut nusquam nisi in vocali aspiratione uterentur, loquebar sic, ut pulcros, cetegus, triumpos, Kartaginem, dicerem; aliquando, idque sero, convicio aurium cum extorta mihi veritas, usum loquendi populo concessi, scientiam mihi reservavi.
Gellius speaks of the ancients as having employed the H merely to add a certain force and life to the word, in imitation of the Attic tongue, and enumerates some of these words. Thus, he says, they said lachrymas; thus, sepulchrum, aheneum, vehement, inchoare, helvari, hallucinari, honera, honustum.
[Gellius II. iii.] In his enim verbis omnibus litterae, seu spiritus istius nulla ratio visa est, nisi ut firmitas et vigor vocis, quasi quibusdam nervis additis, intenderetur.
And he tells an interesting anecdote about a manuscript of Vergil:
Sed quoniam aheni quoque exemplo usi sumus, venit nobis in memoriam, fidum optatumque, multi nominis Romae, grammaticum ostendisse mihi librum Aeneidos secundum mirandae vetustatis, emptum in Sigillariis XX. aureis, quem ipsius Vergilii fuisse credebat; in quo duo isti versus cum ita scripti forent:
"Vestibulum ante ipsum, primoque in limine, Pyrrhus: Exultat telis, et luce coruscus a?na."
Additam supra vidimus H litteram, et ahera factum. Sic in illo quoque Vergilii versu in optimis libris scriptum invenimus:
"Aut foliis undam tepidi dispumat aheni."
I consonant has the sound of I in the English word onion. The grammarians all express themselves in nearly the same terms as to its character:
[Serg. Explan. in Art. Donat. Keil. v. IV. p. 520.] I et U varias habent potestates: nam sunt aliquando vocales, aliquando consonantes, aliquando mediae, aliquando nihil, aliquando digammae, aliquando duplices. Vocales sunt quando aut singulae positae syllabam faciunt aut aliis consonantibus sociantur, ut Iris et unus et Isis et urna. Consonantes autem sunt, cum aliis vocalibus in una syllaba praeponuntur, aut cum ipsae inter se in una syllaba conjunguntur. Nisi enim et prior sit et in una syllaba secum habeat conjunctam vocalem, non erit consonans I vel U. Nam Iulhis et Iarbas cum dicis, I consonans non est, licet praecedat, quia in una syllaba secum non habet conjunctam vocalem, sed in altera consequentem.
The grammarians speak of I consonant as different in sound and effect from the vowel I; and, as they do not say how it differs, we naturally infer the variation to be that which follows in the nature of things from its position and office, as in the kindred Romance languages.
Priscian says:
[Keil. v. II. p. 13.] Sic I et U, quamvis unum nomen et unam habeant figuram tam vocales quam consonantes, tamen, quia diversum sonum et diversam vim habent in metris et in pronuntiatione syllabarum, non sunt in eisdem meo judicio elementis accipiendae, quamvis et Censorino, doctissimo artis grammaticae, idem placuit.
It would seem to be by reason of this twofold nature (vowel and consonant) that I has its 'lengthening'