Institutio Oratoria

Nor need the words which correspond consist of the same number of syllables. For example, we find the following sentence in Domitius Afer: Amisso nuper infelicis aulae, [*]( The sense of infelicis aulae is uncertain. See Crit. note. This unhappy court having lost, if not all that might protect it in the hour of peril, at any rate all that might console it in moments of adversity. ) si non praesidio inter pericula, tamen solacio inter adversa. The best form of this figure is that in which the beginnings and ends of the clauses correspond (as in this case praesidio corresponds with solacio and pericula with adversa ), in such a way that there is a close resemblance between the words, while cadence and termination are virtually identical.

It is also desirable that the clauses should be of equal length, although as a matter of fact this forms the fourth figure of this class, and is known as ἰσόκωλον The following will serve as an example, being both ἰσόκωλον and ὁμοιόπτωτον: Si, quantum in agro locisque desertis audacia potest, tantum in foro atque iudiciis impudentia valeret; continuing, it combines ἰσόκωλον, ὁμοιόπτωτον, and ὁμοιοτέλευτον. :—non minus nunc in causa cederet Aulus Caecina Sexti Aebutii imnpudentiae, quam turn in vi facienda cessit audaciae. [*](Cic. pro Caec. i. 1. If shamelessness carried as much weight in the forum and the law courts as daring carries in the country and in lonely places, Aulus Caecina would now yield no less to the shamelessness of Sextus Aebutius in the present case than he yielded to his audacity in the use of violence. ) This passage derives an additional elegance from the figure which I mentioned above [*]( §§ 36, 66. It must be remembered that casus can be applied to verbs as well as nouns. ) as consisting in the repetition of words with an alteration of case, tense, mood, etc., to be found in this instance in the words non minus cederet quam cessit. The following, on the other