Saturnian meter or verse is an old Latin and Italic poetic form, of which the principles of versification have become obscure. Only 132 complete uncontroversial verses survive. 95 literary verses and partial fragments have been preserved as quotations in later grammatical writings, as well as 37 verses in funerary or dedicatory inscriptions. The majority of literary Saturnians come from the Odysseia (more commonly known as the Odissia or Odyssia), a translation/paraphrase of Homer's Odyssey by Livius Andronicus (c. 3rd century BC), and the Bellum Poenicum, an epic on the First Punic War by Gnaeus Naevius (c. 3rd century BC).

The meter was moribund by the time of the literary verses and forgotten altogether by classical times, falling out of use with the adoption of the hexameter and other Greek verse forms. Quintus Ennius is the poet who is generally credited with introducing the Greek hexameter in Latin, and dramatic meters seem to have been well on their way to domestic adoption in the works of his approximate contemporary Plautus. These Greek verse forms were considered more sophisticated than the native tradition; Horace called the Saturnian horridus. Consequently, the poetry in this meter was not preserved. Cicero regretted the loss in his Brutus:

Atque utinam exstārent illa carmina, quae multīs saeclīs ante suam aetātem in epulīs esse cantitāta ā singulīs conuīuīs dē clārōrum uirōrum laudibus in Orīginibus scrīptum relīquit Catō.

'I heartily wish those venerable Odes were still extant, which Cato informs us in his Antiquities, used to be sung by every guest in his turn at the homely feasts of our ancestors, many ages before, to commemorate the feats of their heroes.'

However, it has been noted that later poets like Ennius (by extension Virgil, who follows him in both time and technique) preserve something of the Saturnian aesthetic in hexameter verse. Ennius explicitly acknowledges Naevius' poem and skill (lines 206–7 and 208–9 in the edition of Skutsch, with translations by Goldberg):

[...] scrīpsēre aliī rem

vorsibus quōs ōlim Faunei vātesque canēbant

'[...] Others have given an account

in rhythms which the Fauns and seers sang.'

nam neque Mūsārum scopulōs ēscendit ad altōs

nec dictī studiōsus fuit Rōmānus homō ante hunc.

'For no Roman scaled the Muses' lofty crags

or was careful with his speech before this man.'

Ancient grammarians sought to derive the verse from a Greek model, in which syllable weight or the arrangement of light and heavy syllables was the governing principle. Scholars today remain divided between two approaches:

1. The meter was quantitative (but not borrowed from Greek).
2. The meter was accentual or based on accented and unaccented syllables.

Despite the division, there is some consensus regarding aspects of the verse's structure. A Saturnian line can be divided into two cola or half-lines, separated by a central caesura. The second colon is shorter than or as long as the first. Furthermore, in any half-line with seven or more syllables, the last three or four are preceded by word-end. This is known as Korsch's caesura or the caesura Korschiana, after its discoverer.

The Saturnian as quantitative

Most—but not all—Saturnians can be captured by the following scheme:

• ∪ = light syllable
• – = heavy syllable
• ∪∪ = two light syllables that occupy the space of one heavy
• || = caesura
• ∪ over – (x at verse-end) = position can be occupied by either light or heavy syllable
• ∪∪ over – over ∪ = position can be occupied by any of the three

Examples

Numeration of literary fragments is according to Warmington's edition; translations are also by Warmington (see bibliography infra).

(1) Livius Andronicus, Odissia fragment 1

Virum mihī Camēna īnsece versūtum

∪ – ∪ – || ∪ – ∪ || – ∪ ∪ – – x

'Tell me, O Goddess of song, of the clever man'

(2) Naevius, Bellum Poenicum fragments 2–4

Postquam avem aspexit in templō Anchīsa

sacr(ā) in mēnsā Penātium ordine pōnuntur

immolābat auream victimam pulchram

– ∪ ∪ ∪ || – – ∪ || – – – – – x

∪ – – – || ∪ – (∪) – || – ∪ – – – x

– ∪ – – || – ∪ – || – ∪ – – x

'After Anchises had seen a bird within the range of view,

hallowed offerings were set in a row on the table of the Household Gods;

and he busied himself in sacrificing a beautiful golden victim.'

(3) Epitaph for Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus (c. 270–150 BC)

                         GNAIVOD•PATRE

PROGNATVS•FORTIS•VIR•SAPIENSQVE—QVOIVS•FORMA•VIRTVTEI•PARISVMA

FVIT—CONSOL CENSOR•AIDILIS•QVEI•FVIT•APVD•VOS—TAVRASIA•CISAVNA

SAMNIO•CEPIT—SVBIGIT•OMNE•LOVCANA•OPSIDESQVE•ABDOVCIT

In regularized orthography (note the punctuation on the stone, viz. — = verse-end):

Gnaevō patre / prōgnātus, fortis vir sapiēnsque

cuius fōrma virtūtī parissuma / fuit

cōnsul, cēnsor, aedīlis quī fuit apud vōs

Taurāsiam, Cisaunam, / Samnium cēpit

subigit omnem Lūcānam, opsidēsque abdūcit.

– – ∪ ∪ || – – – || – – – || ∪ ∪ – x

– ∪* – ∪ || – – – || ∪ – ∪ ∪ ∪ x

– – – ∪† || – – ∪* || – ∪ ∪† ∪ –** x

– – ∪ – || ∪ – – || – ∪ – – x

∪∪ ∪ – – || – – ∪ || – ∪ – ∪ || – – x

* As in early Latin poetry, if not – as in later.

** Some early Latin poetry treats this as ∪.

† This syllable is historically –.

'Sprung from Gnaeus his father, a man strong and wise,

whose appearance was most in keeping with his virtue,

who was consul, censor, and aedile among you,

he captured Taurasia, Cisauna, Samnium,

he subdued all Lucania and led off hostages.'

The Saturnian as accentual

W.M. Lindsay formalizes the accentual scheme of the Saturnian as follows:

• ´ = accented syllable
• ∪ = unaccented

Handbooks otherwise schematize the verse as 3+ || 2+ stresses. This theory assumes Classical Latin accentuation. However, there is reason to believe that the Old Latin accent may have played a role in the verse. Afterwards, Lindsay himself abandoned his theory.

Examples

Here are the same texts from above, scanned accentually.

(4) Livius Andronicus, Odissia fragment 1

Virum mihī Camēna īnsece versūtum

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪ ∪ (Old Latin)

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪ (Classical Latin)

(5) Naevius, Bellum Poenicum fragments 2–4

Postquam avem aspexit in templō Anchīsa

sacr(ā) in mēnsā Penātium ordine pōnuntur

immolābat auream victimam pulchram

(Old Latin)

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ ´ ∪ ∪

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ (∪) ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪ ∪

´ ∪ ` ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪

(Classical Latin)

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ (∪) ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪

` ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪

(6) Epitaph of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus

Gnaevō patre / prōgnātus, fortis vir sapiēnsque

cuius fōrma virtūtī parissuma / fuit

cōnsul, cēnsor, aedīlis quī fuit apud vōs

Taurāsiam, Cisaunam, / Samnium cēpit

subigit omnem Lūcānam, opsidēsque abdūcit.

(Old Latin)

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ || ´ ∪ ´ || ´ ∪ ` ∪

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ || ´ ´ ∪ ´ ∪ ´

´ ∪ ∪ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪

´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ || ´ ∪ ` ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪

(Classical Latin)

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ´ || ` ∪ ´ ∪

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪

∪ ´ ∪ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪

´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ || ` ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪

The Saturnian in non-Latin Italic

Despite the obscurity of the principles of Saturnian versification in Latin, scholars have nonetheless attempted to extend analysis to other languages of ancient Italy related to Latin.

(7) Faliscan (two nearly identical inscriptions on cups from Civita Castellana, 4th century BC)

FOIED•VINO•(PI)PAFO•CRA•CAREFO

In Latin orthography:

foiēd vīnom (pi)pafō. crā(s) carēfō.

– – – – (||) ∪ (∪) – || – ∪ – x (Quantitative)

´ ∪ ´ ∪ (||) ´ (∪) ∪ || ´ ∪ ´ ∪ (Accentual)

'Today, I shall drink wine. Tomorrow, I shall go without.'

(8) Oscan (one of several similar inscriptions in Etruscoid script on vessels from Teano, 3rd century BC)

minis:beriis:anei:upsatuh:sent:tiianei*

* Sabellian inscriptional texts in native orthography are conventionally transcribed in bold-face minuscule, and those in the Latin script italicized.

In Latin orthography:

Minis Beris ā(n)nei opsātō sent Teānei.

(scansion of first three words uncertain) || – – – – || ∪ – x (Quantitative)

´ ∪ ´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ – ∪ – || ∪ – ∪ (Accentual)

' (these) were made at Teanum in Minius Berius' (workshop?).' (meaning of anei uncertain)

(9) Umbrian (inscription on a bronze plate from Plestia, 4th century BC)

cupras matres pletinas sacrụ [esu]**

** In epigraphy, graphemes transcribed with an underdot are of uncertain reading, and restorations are enclosed in square brackets.

In Latin orthography:

Cuprās Mātris Plestīnās sacrum esum.

∪ – – – || – – – || ∪ ∪ ∪ x (Quantitative)

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ∪ ´ ∪ (Accentual)

'I am a sacred object of Mother Cupra from Plestia.' (Cupra was a Sabine goddess)

(10) Paelignian (final verse in an inscription on a stone from Corfinium, 1st century BC)

lifar dida vus deti hanustu herentas

In Latin orthography:

Līfar dida(t) vūs deti hanustō herentās.

– – ∪ – || – (scansion of deti uncertain) || ∪ – – ∪ – x (Quantitative)

´ ∪ ´ ∪ || ´ ´ ∪ || ∪ ´ ∪ ∪ ´ ∪ (Accentual)

'May Liber grant you ... (good?) will ....' (meanings of deti and hanustu unknown)

Prehistory of the Saturnian

A large number of the verses have a 4 || 3 || 3 || 3 syllable count and division, which scholars have been inclined to take as underlying or ideal. This has permitted comparison with meters from related Indo-European poetic traditions outside Italic, such as Celtic, and a few scholars have tried to trace the verse back to Proto-Indo-European. John Vigorita derived the 4 || 3 || 5-6 syllable Saturnian from:

a Proto-Indo-European 7- or 8-syllable line combined with a shorter 5- or 6-syllable line, which is itself derivable from the octosyllable by undoing truncations (noted in metrical schemes by one or more ^'s, wherever in the meter the truncation has occurred).

M.L. West schematized this subset of verses as:

which he then traces to two Proto-Indo-European octosyllables:

one giving the Saturnian's heptasyllabic half-line by acephaly (truncation of line-beginning), the other yielding the hexasyllabic colon both by acephaly and catalexis (truncation of line-end). Ultimately, owing to the difficulties of describing and analyzing the Saturnian without taking its history into account, attempts at reconstruction have not won acceptance.