In a Latin hexameter verse there are these possible pauses:-
Diaeresis: 1 2 3 4 5
Mid-foot: ½ 1½ 2½ 3½ 4½ 5½
Trochaic: 1troch 2troch 3troch 4troch 5troch
Winbolt in his book about writing Latin hexameters rejects 4½, 5½, 4troch as not to be used.
He lists these breaches of these rules. The asterisked comments are by me:-
— 4troch —
Winbolt calls 4troch “an ill-sounding pause; its effect is suddenly to check the line when it has just begun to gallop to its finish”.
Ennius, Ann, 195:-
Quid dono, noli remorare, sed accipe laetus
- “noli remorare” = “do not hold back”: the halt seems to represent the delay caused by holding back
Cicero (Phenom 168):-
Subter testatum cava tegmina, et intus et extra
Virgil (A v 167):-
cum clamore Gyas revocabat, et ecce Cloanthum
respicit
- Describing a ship rowing race :: the halt seems to represent when Gyas arguing with his steersman was distracted by seeing Cloanthus’s ship coming up alongside him.
Virgil (A v 623):-
“O miserae, quas non manus,” inquit. "Achaica bello
Virgil (A v 871 (last line)):-
“O nimium caelo et pelago confise sereno,
nudus in ignota, Palinure, iacebis harena.”
Virgil (E vii 33):-
Sinum lactis et haec tibi liba, Priape, quotannis
expectare sat est
Canon T.S.Evans (a modern author):-
Haec nimia angori medicina, quod instar amantis.
— 4½ —
Virgil (Geo ii 153):-
Nec rapit immensos orbes per humum, neque tanto
squameus in spiram tractu se colligit anguis
- The famous example. The halt represents the serpent suddenly stopping and coiling itself.
Ennius (Ann 33):-
Et ripas raptare locosque novos. Ita sola
postilla
Winbolt quotes a Greek example (Iliad xi 630):-
χάλκειον κάνεον, ἐπὶ δὲ κρόμυον, ποτῷ ὄψον,
— 5½ —
Cicero (Phenom 189):
Hic tamen, aeterno invisens loca curriculo, nox
signa dedit nautis.
Horace, Satires i 3,128:
Chrysippus dicat: “Sapiens crepidus sibi nunquam
Nec soleas fecit, sutor tamen est sapiens” - Quo?
and also in Satires ii.3.135 (furiis, quam) and ii.7.51 (neque sollicitum, ne)