Stichometry is the division of a prose piece into lines whose lengths correspond to the natural divisions of sense or to the natural cadences, as in manuscripts written before the adoption of punctuation. In Latin, according to Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adkins in their Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome: "Punctuation and spacing between words were rare, and enlarged initial letters were not used. The interpunct (stop) could be used to mark word division, but is not seen after the 2nd century, and usually there is no spacing at all between words."