lonius, Tiberius, Demetrius, Mercurius, Dionysius, Pontius, Tertius. LUS MUS NUS RUS SUS TUS Accent the Penultimate. Aristobulus, Eubulus, Nicodemus, Ecanus, Hircanus, Auranus, Sylvanus, Ahasuerus, Assuerus, Heliodorus, Areturus, Bar-jesus, Fortunatus, Philetus, Epaphroditus, Azotus. Accent the Antepenultimate. Attalus, Theophilus, Alcimus, Trophimus, Onesimus, Didymus, Libanus, Antilibanus, Sarchedonus, Acheacharus, Lazarus, Citherus, Elutherus, Jäirus, Prochorus, Onesiphorus, Asapharasus, Ephesus, Epenetus, Asyncritus. AT ET OT IST OST Accent the Antepenultimate. Ararat, Eliphalet, Gennesaret, Iscariot, Antichrist, Pentecost. EU HU ENU EW MY Accent the Penultimate. Casleu, Chisleu, Abihu, Andrew. Accent the Antepenultimate, Jehovah-Tsidkenu, Bartholomew, Jeremy, BAZ GAZ PHAZ Accent the Penultimate. Mahar-shalal-hash-baz, Shäash-gaz, Eliphaz, Accent the Antepenultimate. Jchöahaz. OBSERVATIONS ON THE GREEK AND LATIN ACCENT AND QUANTITY; WITH SOME PROBABLE CONJECTURES ON THE METHOD OF FREEING THEM FROM THE OBSCURITY AND CONTRADICTION IN WHICH THEY ARE INVOLVED, BOTH BY THE ANCIENTS AND MODERNS. "Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri."– -Horace. ADVERTISEMENT. AFTER the many learned pens which have been employed on the subject of the following Observations, the Author would have been much ashamed of obtruding his humble opinion on so delicate a point, had he not flattered himself that he had taken a material circumstance into the account, which had been entirely overlooked by almost every writer he had met with. It is not a little astonishing, that when the nature of the human voice forms so great a part of the inquiry into accent and quantity, that its most marking distinctions should have been so little attended to. From a perusal of every writer on the subject *, one would be led to suppose that high and low, loud and soft, and quick and slow, were the only modifications of which the voice was susceptible; and that the inflexions of the voice, which distinguish speaking from singing, did not exist. Possessed, therefore, of this distinction of sounds, the Author at least brings something new into the inquiry: and if, even with this advantage, he should fail of throwing light on the subject, he is sure he shall be entitled to the indulgence of the learned, as they fully understand the difficulty of the question. *The only exception to this general assertion is Mr. Steele, the author of Prósodia Rationalis; but the design of this gentleman is not so much to illustrate the accent and quantity of the Greek language as to prove the possibility of forming a notation of speaking sounds for our own, and of reducing them to a musical scale, and accompanying them with instruments. The attempt is undoubtedly laudable, but no farther useful than to show the impossibility of it by the very method he has taken to explain it ; for it is wrapped up in such an impenetrable cloud of music as to be unintelligible to any but musicians; and the distinctions of sound are so nice and numerous as to discourage the most persevering student from labouring to understand him. After all, what light can we expect will be thrown on this subject by one who, notwithstanding the infinitessimal distinctions he makes between similar sounds, says, that the u in ugly, and the e in met and get, are diphthongs; that the a in may is long, and the same letter in nation short; and that the u in you, use, &c. is always acuto-grave, and the i in idle, try, &c. grave-acute ? The necessity of understanding the accent and quantity of our own language before we attempt to settle the accent and quantity of the Greek and Latin What English quantity is That it is entirely independent on accent Mr. Sheridan's erroneous opinion of English accent 251 252 His definition of accent applicable only to singing in a mono 253 ib. The true distinction between singing and speaking laid down - ib. Singing and speaking tones as essentially distinct as motion and rest Recitative real singing, and not a medium between singing and speaking The true definition of English accent - ib. - 256 257 The true difference between the English and Scotch accent - - 261 Some attempts to form a precise idea of the quantity of the Greek and Latin languages Dr. Gally's idea of Greek and Latin quantity examined Opposite opinions of learned men concerning the nature of 262 263 265 266 R |