[92]
When a short syllable is followed by a long the effect
is one of vigorous ascent, while a long followed by a
short produces a gentler impression and suggests
descent. It is therefore best to begin with long
syllables, though at times it may be correct to begin
with short, as in the phrase novum crimen:1 a gentler
effect is created, if we commence with two shorts,
as in the phrase animadverti iudices: but this opening, which comes from the pro Cluentio, is perfectly
correct, since that speech begins with something
similar to partition, which requires speed.2
Quintilian. With An English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1922.
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