SATURNIAN METRE [Lat., Saturnius, see SATURN] , a native Italian metre, used in some of the oldest known Latin compositions. It was in later times wholly displaced by Greek metres, and but few specimens survive. These are (I) inscrip tions, notably some of the epitaphs of the Scipios, (2) frag The diameters assigned by observers to the smaller and fainter satellites are necessarily very uncertain, but that of Titan is probably not far from 3,00o miles. The diameter of Phoebe is, perhaps, only about 150 miles.
The five inner satellites seem to form a class by themselves. Their orbits are nearly circular and their planes coincide exactly or very nearly with that of the ring system and the planet's equator. Thus, so far as the position of the planes of rotation and revolution are concerned, the system keeps together as if it were rigid. This results from the mutual attraction of the various bodies. A remarkable feature of this inner system is the near approach to commensurability in the periods of revolution. The period of Tethys is very nearly double that of Mimas, and the period of Dione about double that of Enceladus. The result of this near approach to commensurability is a wide libration in the longitudes of the satellites, having periods very long compared with the times of revolution.
Each of the four outer satellites has some special feature of interest. Titan is much the brightest of all; Hyperion is so small
as to be visible only in a powerful telescope, and has a quite eccentric orbit; its time of revolution is almost commensurable with that of Titan, the ratio of the periods being 3 to 4, with the result that the major axis of the orbit of Hyperion has a retro grade motion of 18° 4o' annually, of such a character that the conjunction of the two satellites always occurs near the apocentre of the orbit, when the distance of the orbit from that of Titan is the greatest. This is among the most interesting phenomena of ments of Livius Andronicus's translation of the Odyssey, and of Naevius's Bellum Punicum, with a very few remnants of other authors. The following are specimens of this verse : Dabunt malum Metelli/ Naevio poetae Quamde mare saevom/ vis et quoi sunt magnae.
The scansion is very doubtful; on the whole it is more likely that it is accentual' than that it is quantitative. Some account of it will be found in Lindsay, Early Latin Verse, p. g.
Nothing resembling the Saturnian exists in English; the ex ample given by Macaulay ("The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey") is not in the least like it.