Asclepiʹadics

or Asclepiadic Metre. A Greek and Latin verse, so called from Asclepiʹadēs, the inventor. Each line is divided into two parts, thus:—

The first ode of Horace is Asclepiʹadic. The first and last two lines run thus, and in the same metre:—

Dear friend, patron of song, sprung from the race of kings;

Thy name ever a grace and a protection brings, … .

My name, if to the lyre haply you chance to wed,

Pride would high as the stars lift my exalted head.

E. C. B.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.