GREEK PREPOSITIONS. 355 



kind, the Greek prepofition irj denotes precifely fore objeB in re- 

 /pe£i to. 



Thus we find, in refpedl to place. 'E?riiu •r^o rS tvXShoc, " he 

 " flood before the door," — " he flood, — front objedl in refpeft 

 " to him, — the dooK." 



In refpecS to time. "Eyinro -x^o t5 ^eXs^tts, " it happened 

 " before the war," — " it happened, — being a fore event in 

 " refpe<Sl to the war." 



In refpeil to preference. ' Koir'n ir^o )^^rifx,u,Ta», " virtue be- 

 " fore riches," — " virtue, an obje<S in felecflion preceding riches." 



In refpedl to defence or proteSiion. IT^o 7av tui^uv ^ tuv yu- 

 vuiKuv iJt.ci,^i(^ci,i, " to fight in defence of wives and children," — 

 " to fight, — being the front objed in refpedl to your wives and 

 " children." 



In transferring this original word ttocoo? from the Greek, the 

 Latins have been fo accurate as to form two prepofiiions from 

 the primitive adje(5live ; pne, derived from the feminine ■jr^ri, and 

 retaining the literal meaning of fore or before ; and pro, derived 

 from the mafculine or neuter, ufed chiefly in the fecondary, 

 but more extended fenfe, anfwering to the Englifh for, on ac- 

 count of. 



I MAY add here, that our Englifh prepofition for, appears 

 to have a fimilar origin with the Greek -tt^o. ^dn the "Y.mu. 

 ITTs^osjira, indeed, a different fource is afTigned-to the Englifh 

 for ; it is faid to be an abbreviation of the Saxon //V///;^, a caiife. 

 Had Lord Monboddo or Mr Harris afcribed to it fuch a ge- 

 nealogy, how would HoRNE TooKE and Dr Beddoes have ri- 

 diculed the fancy of originating a prepofition from the abflradl 

 and metaphyfical idea of caufation. In facl, this derivation 

 is far-fetched, and it evidently required no fmall ftraining 

 to twifl fome of the applications of for into the line of caufe 

 and efFed *. Without going fo far, a ^Jain and obvious 



origin 



* Thus, — " This may dio for once, but not for ever," — " caufe once, — or caufe 



" ever," would give hardly any fenfe. " It is goodybr nothing," — what mean- 



