A Practical Introduction To Greek Accentuation

Author : Henry W. Chandler
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781547042494
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (424 download)

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Download or read book A Practical Introduction to Greek Accentuation written by Henry W. Chandler and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-05-30 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Preface to the First Edition. THE greatest scholars have sanctioned the practice of accentuating Greek by their example, a few have enforced it by their precept, but it is to be regretted that none have condescended to justify it by sound and conclusive reasons. Porson, as is well-known, in language more vigorous than polite, denounces those who valued such matters less highly than he did himself; but none who can distinguish between assertion and proof will attach much importance to the bare word even of a critic so illustrious as Porson, while they may possibly suspect that his vehemence, though caused in part by zeal for this curious branch of knowledge, is attributable in some degree to his contempt for Wakefield, who happened to entertain a different opinion from his own. Whether a skilful advocate could convince, I do not say a mere verbal scholar, for that would be easy, but a man of sense, that a knowledge of the subject is worth the time and trouble which must be expended to acquire it, may or may not be doubtful, but it is certain that for the present all who pretend to a critical knowledge of the Greek language must yield perforce to a tyrannous custom, or refusing to do so, must expect to be rebuked for their ignorance by those who are unable to see the absurdity of' perpetuating in writing a something to which they never attend in reading, and who persist in ornamenting their Greek with three small scratches, the very meaning of which is doubtful and perhaps unknown. It is remarkable that we accentuate Homer and Hesiod, Lascaris and Gaza in substantially the same way; which is tacitly to assume that no material change in pronunciation took place for the space of more than two thousand years. If true, this is an interesting fact. To affix these signs correctly is a work of no small difficulty, and for our guidance we find either principles so vague that they cannot be applied, or rules so numerous that they cannot be remembered; We have to deal with a subject in which popular caprice has been complicated by scholastic pedantry, two elements of confusion, governed it may be by laws, but by laws mysterious as those which regulate English weather or Parisian fashions. We are environed by false theories and still falser facts, by erroneous analogies, absurd derivations, preposterous ideas of language, and by the puerile conceits of the grammarians...