D.Litt. et Phil. / Taking Golden Age Latin lyric poetry as a model for the genre, Prudentius' hymns in the Liber Cathemerinon are comparatively long. Since they were apparently not written for practical church liturgy and consequently lacked a religious ceremony which could provide unity, it is an open question whether Prudentius succeeded in each individual hymn in developing a coherent train of thought which resulted in a definite structure. The problem becomes more complicated when one considers that the poet employs a variety of Biblical motifs in his hymns which might lead to fragmentation of the line of thought ...

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