Note 58 — INTRODUCTION

Cp. C.V. 176 20 οὐ γὰρ ἀπελαύνεται ῥυθμὸς οὐδεὶς ἐκ τῆς ἀμέτρου λέξεως, ὥσπερ ἐκ τῆς ἐμμέτρου. With regard to the occasional presence in prose of metrical or quasi-metrical lines, the likely explanation seems often to be one which Dionysius does not favour (πολλὰ γὰρ αὐτοσχεδιάζει μέτρα ἡ φύσις, 256 19), rather than one which recognizes μέτρα καὶ ῥυθμούς τινας ἐγκατατεταγμένους ἀδήλως (254 3).