[52]
Some phrases have all the appearance
of a solecism and yet cannot be called faulty; take
for instance phrases such as tragoedia Thyestes or
ludi Floralia and Megalensia1: although these are
never found in later times, they are the rule in
ancient writers. We will therefore style them figures
and, though their use is more frequent in poets, will
not deny their employment even to orators.
1 Where strict grammar would require tragoedia Thyestis, ludi Florales, Megalenses. The normal usage would be simply to say Thyestes, Floralia, Megalensia.
Quintilian. With an English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1920.
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