REMARKS ON THE USE OF NAMES. 21 



Accentuation. 



This is a matter of prime importance. P^or elegant, even for bearable, pronun- 

 ciation, it is essential to place the accent or stress of ^'oice on the right syllaltle. 

 Fortunateh' the rules are simple, with comparatively few exceptions. 



Accent the penult when it is long. 



Accent the antepenult when the penult is short. 



These two rules will carr}' us safely across the great majorit}' of Latin words. 

 In many cases lengthening the syllable, whether penult or antepenult, is actually 

 equivalent to accenting it. We can scarcel}' recall a case of a short accented penult ; 

 but many short antepenults take the accent, which is simply because it cannot be 

 thrown still further back. Modern proper names of three syllables with the accent 

 on the first, keep it there after addition of the i of the genitive case ; as, aud'uboni, 

 rich'ardsom. 



So important is the matter of accent, that were all other diacritical marks dis- 

 pensed with, we could still pronounce the words with measurable accuracy, knowing 

 where to put the stress of voice. 



The tendency in English is constantly to throw the accent back as far as possi- 

 ble ; and there is much of this same practice in the usual pronunciation of Latin. 

 For the latter language, and especially for words derived from the Greek, we con- 

 sider it vicious and undesirable. It seems to us much more sensible and natural 

 in the case of a word compounded of two Greek words, to keep the stress of the 

 voice on the stem of each, than to throw it, for sake of glibness, on the most insig- 

 nificant SA'llable, often the mere connective vowel, and a short one at that. Take 

 for example Troglodytes, Lophophanes, Phylloscopus, or any similar words of four 

 syllables, compounds of two words of two syllables each. It is glib to accent the 

 antepenult, but it is done at the sacrifice of the strength and dignit}' of the stem 

 which stands penult, and which we should prefer to accent, even if short. Where 

 we have found it practicable on etymological grounds to lengthen and accent 

 such penults, we have done so ; in general, however, we have closel}' conformed 

 to routine custom, especially as there is to be strongly set before the inexperienced 

 student the necessity of avoiding the glaring impropriety of accenting the penult 

 of erythrocephalus, for example. The tendency of all persons who find it difficult to 

 handle a long new word, is to dissect it, with two or even three accents ; and per- 

 haps the inclination of the scholar to show his erudition has unconsciously led him 

 to the opposite extreme. Any " rule" or custom aside, the natural accent of poly- 

 syllabic words is rhetorical — as if each syllable were a word. It may be seen in 

 those words whose looseness of composition, so to speak, leaves them like sen- 

 tences ; as ne'vertheless", not' withstand" ing . The naturalness of a'naly'Uic, ge'omet"ric 

 contrasts favorably with the conventionality of ana'lysis, geo'mctry ; and there is 

 nothing in the quality of the final syllables to account for the differences in accent. 

 But we are aware that our views of this matter will not pass current, even if they 

 escape adverse criticism. 



