48 



they are the initials of nouns ; but the same accidents that cause a 

 variation in the sound of the other consonants cause a variation in 

 the pronunciation of these letters according to the gender of the 

 noun to which they belong." This is not correct, for it is the de- 

 nomination of the vowel that follows them immediately, i. e. broad 

 or slender, that causes a variation in their sounds, and this variation is 

 also peculiar to the other consonants. — This error the author has co- 

 pied from former grammarians, without seeming to have been aware 

 of its impropriety. We are further told " That some writers make 

 use of eclipsis instead of aspiration in the dative singular of their 

 nouns if the initial be susceptible of eclipsis. Thus for "co'ti cucti) 

 they write "oo'ti gcucti)." — But we are not informed which should 

 be used according to the analogy of the language. This indecision is 

 unpardonable in a grammarian. — Further — " Regular nouns ending 

 with an aspirated td or 5 seldom vary their terminations in any of the 

 cases of the singular number." On the contrary, it is seldom they do not 

 vary. The words butit), ^ luctg, SftutfO, ^5, and many others, change 

 in the genitive. — " The quantity or length of the vowels or diph- 

 thongs in the nominative singular is preserved throughout all the 

 other cases in both number?." — Erroneous ; for amongst others the 

 quantity of c-<t in the word tf.e-ttU a lump, is not tlie same in the Geni- 

 tive singular or nominative plural, which is tne-jlt, and <t long in t>^ji|t, 

 top, is changed into <i short in the nominative Plural 6ct|tfi<i'D<t, &c. — 

 He asserts that, " In all regular nouns the dative singular terminates 

 like the nominative." — Those of the masculine gender do, but 

 those of the feminine should terminate like the Genitive by cutting 

 off the increase ; as, Nom. 5ri)(tii. Gen. 5)ig^jtie- Dat. vo ^fe^)f\. — 

 In these rules for the inflections of nouns this grammarian, on the 

 whole, with very few exceptions, is faulty — but this is not so easily 



