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of it, and never creates it ; and he calls the opinion of Mr. Primatt 

 and others, that the acute accent lengthens the tone of the fyllable 

 on which it falls, a common prejudice. But he doth not deny 

 that accent will often be at war with quantity, unlefs tranfpofed 

 in the manner by him recommended. Thus in the line 



the word, A%iX^^, muft be pronounced 'A;^;;Xij©-. 



Although I never could aflent to a pofition fo ftrongly con* 

 tradidtory to the teftimony of my ear as that of the acute ac- 

 cent not lengthening the fyllable upon which it falls ; and 

 although my mind was much impreffed with a faying of 

 Mr. Primatt, that it is one of the extraordinary powers of the 

 acute accent, even to change the real quantity, and with his 

 affertion, that the opinion of MefTieur de Port Royal, that the 

 accent only raifes the voice but gives no duration in pro- 

 nouncing, is falfe ; I found myfelf difpofed to acquiefce in the 

 fentiment that the accents denoted only tone, or elevation and 

 depreflion of the voice : and this theory feemed to complete the 

 perfection of the Greek language, apparently aiming at more 

 accuracy, and greater freedom from ambiguity than any other 

 language ever did ; as to the time of an adlion by the variety 

 of its tenfes, as to the number of agents by its addition of 

 the dual, as to the objedl of the ad: by its three voices, as to 

 the varying pronunciation of its tribes by its analyfis of the 

 dialects, and as to the diflindlion of words written and fpelt in 

 the fame manner, by its accents. We know that fome nations, 

 particularly the Chinefe, have fo ufed the accents. They have, fay 



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