“[p. 471] you are the kind of man that I see you are and err without detriment to yourself, you will lose nothing whichever you say.” With these words then and this conclusion Probus dismissed the man, somewhat rudely, as was his way with stupid folk. But I afterwards found another similar instance of double spelling by Vergil. For he has used tres and tris in the same passage with such fineness of taste, that if you should read differently and change one for the other, and have any ear at all, you would perceive that the sweetness of the sound is spoiled. These are the lines, from the tenth book of the Aeneid: 1
Three (tres) Thracians too from Boreas' distant race,In one place he has tres, in the other tris; weigh and ponder both, and you will find that each sounds most suitable in its own place. But also in this line of Vergil, 2
And three (iris) whom Idas sent from Ismarus' land.
This end (haec finis) to Priam's fortunes then,if you change haec and say hic finis, it will be hard and unrhythmical and your ears will shrink from the change. Just as, on the contrary, you would make the following verse of Vergil less sweet, if you were to change it: 3
What end (quem finem) of labours, great king, dost thou grant?For if you should say quam das finem, you would somehow make the sound of the words harsh and somewhat weak.
