Page:The Classical Heritage of the Middle Ages.djvu/277

IX] GREEK CHRISTIAN POETRY sermons of the Greek preachers, Chrysostom, Basil, and Gregory Nazianzen. Such rhythms needed only to be more definitely ordered into parallel cadences and strophes to present forms of accentual verse. Thus Greek accentual verse probably sprang from rhythmic prose.^ And so in all likelihood did rhyme. The word rhyme has no connection with the word rhythm, nor is rhyme necessary to accentual verse. Nevertheless, rhyme was usually present. On the other hand, in classical Greek metrical poetry, rhymes, if not accidental, were never an essential element of metrical verse structure. But apparently it was otherwise in Greek rhythmic prose, where frequently rhymes occur deepening and defining the accentual rhythm; they are marked in the emotional climaxes of oratorical speech, and are clearly intended to add emphasis. As Greek accentual verse took the sugges- tion of its rhythmic structure from rhythmic prose, it probably took rhyme from the same source. Besides his metrical hymns already alluded to, Gregory Nazianzen composed two hymns, the rhythm of which was dependent on accent. They were not fully successful, for accentual verse was in a rudi- mentary stage.* Its forms, perfected in line and 1 Cf. Norden, op. cit., p. 843, etc. ; Krumbacher, Oeschichte der byzantinischen Literatur, § 291, pp. 702-705 (2d ed.). For another view, that Latin and Greek Christian accentual poetry was deeply influenced by Semitic — i.e. Syrian — forms, see W. Meyer, "An- fang, etc., lat. und griech. rhythmischen Dichtung," Abhand. Bayr. Akad. Fhilos.'Philol. Classe, Bd. XVII (1886), p. 369et8eq. ; Hubert Grimme, Strophenbau in den Oedichten Ephraem* des Syrers (1893) , p. 77 et seq. > These two hymns were Gregory's Evening Hymn and hfi Hymn upon Virginity, See, for metrical criticism and text, W. Meyer,