alliteration as well as those at the beginning. Thus when several words in a row begin with the same vowel, as in "the huge man, struck, falls to the ground" (Virgil), some scholars follow Pontano in referring to it as alliteration, while others use the term assonance. Conversely, when a medial consonant is involved, as in , it is called "internal alliteration" by Bailey but would be considered as assonance by Maclennan. Compound alliteration Although simple alliteration involving only the initial consonants of words is very common, in Latin authors of all periods it will often be found that primary alliteration on an initial consonant is accompanied by a secondary or "minor" alliteration on a medial consonant. Thus Cicero's "the gates are open" as well as the primary alliteration of P has minor alliteration of T. Occasionally there are two minor consonants involved, as in "lakes and groves" (Cicero) or "with coils of snakes" (Virgil). In other examples, the same consonant occurs both initially and medially, e.g. (Plautus) and (Virgil) with C, or (Virgil) with R. Often two different consonants are involved in the same phrase, partly initial and partly medial: (Naevius) and (Virgil) with M and T; and with M and L (Virgil); and (Nepos), (Virgil) and (Virgil) with R and G. Any account of alliteration in Latin must therefore take such cases into consideration. However, as Bailey warns, caution must be observed in recognising such examples, as the internal alliteration may sometimes be accidental. Alliteration and assonance Alliteration frequently overlaps with assonance, which is defined by one dictionary as "a resemblance in the sounds of words or syllables, either between their vowels (e.g. meat, bean) or between their consonants (e.g. keep, cape)". (This latter kind is also known as consonance.) By this definition some of the examples which Naeke in the 19th century called alliteration, such as "thief who wears three yokes" (Plautus), "it's never been imagined, or painted, or written" (Plautus), or "she is overcome with grief" (Terence) would usually these days be referred to as assonance. Often alliteration and assonance are combined, as in "with copious blood they wash their necks and shoulders" (Virgil), where there is alliteration of L L L, but also assonance of A AR AR A. Examples of alliteration In popular phrases The earliest appearance of alliteration in Latin seems to have been not in poetry but in proverbs and popular sayings,