4. Mutes of the same class must always come together, from a principle of euphony. Thus,

5. From the organs with which they are pronounced, ,, are termed labials, or lip-letters; K, Y, X gutturals: and 7, 8, dentals.

6. Four of the consonants are called liquids, namely, λ, μ, v, p; and they are so denominated, because, in pronunciation, they easily flow into other sounds.

7. These four liquids, together with the sibilant or hissing letters, are also called semivowels, because their sound can be pretty distinctly perceived without the accession of a vowel.

8. There are three double consonants, namely, C, E, Y, composed of any letter of each of the three orders of mutes,

followed by s.

9. These double consonants are universally used (except in Æolic and Doric Greek) instead of their corresponding simple letters: not, however, where the two simple letters belong to two different parts of the compound, as ex-σeúw, not ἐξεύω.

(1) The combinations 75 and Os are merely inserted to complete the analogy to the eye; since is equivalent, in fact, to ds merely; and whenever a 7 or 0 comes before σ, it is thrown away; as, ἀνύσω for ἀνύτσω, and πείσω for πείθσω. Sometimes, even in the case of ds, the same rejection takes place, as ἐρείσω for ἐρείσσω, where could not occupy the place of the characteristic letter (~) of the future.

(2) Yet 'Αθήναζε is used instead of Αθήνασδα.

IV. BREATHINGS.

1. Every vowel, or diphthong, which is pronounced without a letter preceding it, is necessarily connected with a breathing.

2. There are two breathings, the soft' and aspirate; and, consequently, every word beginning with a vowel, or diphthong, must be pronounced with one of these breathings.

3. The signs employed for these breathings are, for the soft ('), as deì, è§; and for the aspirate ('), as vπèp, nμeîs.2

4. The soft breathing has no perceptible power3: the aspirate is equivalent to the modern h, as iπèp, pronounced huper.

5. Y at the beginning of words in the Attic dialect is always to be pronounced with the aspirate; as, vákιvoos, ὕαλος, ὕβρις.

6. In diphthongs, the breathings are marked over the second vowel; as, oi, ai, evlùs, autós; because the breathing does not belong to either of the blended vowels separately, but to the whole mingled sound. When, however, an improper diphthong has the iota adscribed, as in the case of capital letters or otherwise, subscribed the mark of the breathing is placed by or over the initial vowel; as, "Acòns, ᾅδης.

7. P is the only consonant that receives a breathing, since it cannot be pronounced without an audible exspiration. When p stands at the beginning of a word, therefore, this breathing is always the aspirate; as péw, pvròs, which in Latin is placed after the R, as rhetor, from the Greek ¿ýTwp.

(1) Called also " smooth," and by its Latin name lenis.

2) Originally, the rough breathing alone had a sign; namely, H, and the smooth remained unmarked. Afterward, that sign was divided into two halves; and the first half, F, was employed to denote the aspirate, the second half, 4, the soft breathing. By a subsequent abbreviation of these, two other marks were formed; namely, which finally changed into (') and ('), the signs now in use. (3) It attaches itself to the sound pronounced, as if spontaneously, without any exertion of the lungs.

Land

8. But when a is followed by another p, the first must have the soft breathing, and the latter the aspirate, as ἄῤῥηκτος, ἔῤῥεον ; for two of these letters could not be pronounced, in succession, each with an aspirate.

V. DIGAMMA.

1. Besides the rough breathing, there was in several dialects another sound, somewhat similar in nature, formed between the lips, and having the same relation to ƒ, ph, and v, that the aspirate bears to g, ch, and k.

2. It was originally a full and strong consonant, and represented by a letter (F) closely resembling the Roman F. This letter was called digamma, because looking like a double gamma; and originally occupied the sixth place in the Greek alphabet.

3. The term Æolic digamma was given to it, because it was retained in the alphabet principally by those branches of the Greek race that were of Æolic descent. Its true name, however, was Bav (Vau), the other appellation having been invented by the grammarians.

4. In the dialects which retained the digamma, its sound was soon softened down; and it then answered, in pronunciation, to the English wh. Between two vowels it was still more attenuated, and passed, even with the Æolians, into v; as ανήρ, αὐως, for ἀὴρ, ήώς.

5. In Æolic, the digamma served also for the rough breathing, which had no place in that dialect.1

VI. ACCENTS.2

1. There are three accents in Greek; the acute, grave, and circumflex.

2. The acute is denoted by the sign ('); as, púλać. The

(1) For some further remarks respecting the digamma, consult Excursus B, at the end of this volume.

(2) For a more enlarged view of accents, consult Excursus C.

grave is never marked, but lends its sign to the softened The circumflex is indicated by (^); as, kĥπos.

acute.

3. In every word there can be but one predominant tone, to which all the rest are subordinate. This is the sharp or acute accent, the fundamental tone of discourse being the grave.

4. The grave accent, therefore, does not require any mark; since if the syllable which receives the strengthened accent be ascertained, we know that all the rest must have the weaker or fundamental one. Consequently, it would be superfluous to write Θεόδωρος, since Θεόδωρος is sufficient.

5. When a word, which by itself has the acute accent on the last syllable, stands in connexion before other words, the acute tone is softened down, and passes more or less into the grave. This depressed accent is called the softened acute, and is indicated by the mark of the grave; the strictly grave syllables having, as we have just remarked, no use for this sign, and lending it, therefore, to the softened acute. Thus, ὀργὴ δὲ πολλὰ δρᾶν ἀναγκάζει κακά.

6. The acute accent is placed on one of the last three syllables of a word; the circumflex on one of the last two.

7. All words which have no accent on the last syllable are called Barytones; because a syllable neither marked by an acute nor circumflex accent has, of course, the grave tone (βαρὺν τόνον).

8. All words which have the acute on the last syllable are called Orytones (Οξύτονα, from ὀξὺς and τόνος).

(1) The ancients observed, in pronunciation, both quantity and accent. This, however, is extremely difficult of accomplishment at the present day; and it is better for the learner, therefore, to let the quantity predominate, as being for us the more important of the two. Still, however, the student should accustom himself to distinguish every accented vowel from an unaccented one. Thus, for example, we can accent the first syllable in aveрwños, and yet keep the second long; as in the English grándfather, álms-basket. Care must be taken, at the same time, not to prolong the accented short vowels; as, for example, not to pronounce oTep like άπер.

VII. MARKS OF READING.

1. For a period and comma the same signs are employed in Greek as in English.

2. The colon and semicolon have one and the same mark; namely, a dot or point above the line; as, étúpλwσé μe kaì τυφλός εἰμι.

3. A sign of interrogation has this form (;), as, Tí TOÛTO; It is the same in appearance as our English semicolon, and not unlike our mark of interrogation inverted.

4. No sign of exclamation occurs in the older editions; yet, after interjections, and terms indicative of feeling, it is well to put the one in use among us; as, ὦ μοι, τῶν παρόντων κακῶν! φεῦ! φεῦ!

5. Diastole, or hypodiastole, has the same sign as the comma, and is used in certain small compound words, to distinguish them from others; as, o,T ("whatever," formed from oσTs) to distinguish it from or (“that”); and %,te ("which also") to distinguish it from ore ("when").

6. In place, however, of the diastole and hypodiastole, many of the more recent editions have merely the syllables of such words separate, and without the inserted mark; as, ὅτι and ὅτε, instead of ὅ,τι and ὅ,τε. This method is attended with less interruption than the other, and is, at the same time, equally perspicuous.

7. A diæresis, or sign of separation, is put when two vowels that follow in succession are not to be read as a diphthong, but separately. It is indicated by two dots placed horizontally over the second one of the two vowels; and, if the accent fall on that same vowel, the accentual mark is placed between the two dots. Thus, didn's (to be pronounced ἀ-ιδής), πραΰς (to be pronounced πρα-ύς).

1. Contractions are of two kinds, proper and improper ; called, otherwise, synærěsis and crasis.