Excerpt from The Origin of Rhythmical Verse, in Late Latin: A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculties of the Graduate Schools of Arts, Literature, and Science, in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Latin

The work upon the subject here presented grew out of remarks made several years ago by Professor F. F. Abbott of the University of Chicago, in connection with the work of his seminar in Colloquial Latin, of which I was a member. He suggested that a metrical study of the Latin inscriptions might throw some light upon the problem of Latin popular-poetry. I had not proceeded far, before I found that it would be very hard to make even a profitable classification of epigraphical verse without extending the scope of the investigation. This extension naturally brought with it a change in point of view and purpose, and has made the Christian hymns rather than the inscriptions the centre of the discussion.

The work has almost entirely been done under somewhat unfavorable conditions, in the spare moments of a busy instructor. Some undesirable effects of these conditions will, I am afraid, appear all too clearly in the treatment of the subject. Nevertheless I feel sure that any real results which I may have to offer are, to some extent at least, also due to the method of work made necessary by frequent interruptions and delays. At any rate the work would hardly have been possible without the kindness of the Latin department of the University of Chicago, in allowing me the free use of their library, and it might possibly have been abandoned in its early stages, if it had not been for the encouragement which Pro fessor Abbott gave it from time to time The last chapter and the appendix were added at Gottingen, where I had the privilege of obtaining a more thorough acquaintance with the views of Professor W. Meyer, to whom this branch of metrical study owes much of its progress.

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