HEADINGS IN GliEEK. 



131 



iistrumont of this kind may bo very easily constructed. 



If a brass pluto cannot bo procured, ono of tin or zino may be 



<-aro must, how<-. u to make tho edge* M 



i as possible. A lamp ohiumoy, too, will answer instead 



mouthed bottle or flask may be 



n-i.-.l. but in that case a Btnoll opening should bo filed or ground 

 at tin- l>ol tnm through which a narrow piece of tinfoil may pass 

 to j<>i:i tho strip* pasted on the sides. Common Dutch metal 



' will answer for tho loaves instead of gold leaf. 

 A gn\it n:inil> r of experiments can be tried with this inatrn- 



10 wing in how many ways electricity is constantly being 

 produced. 



If wo take a small piece of fur, and gently strike it across tho 

 brass disc, tho leaves will at once diverge ; tho corner of a silk 

 handkerchief will produce a similar effect. Whenever two bodies 

 are rubbed together, both become electrified, one positively and 

 the other negatively ; they must, however, be separated before 

 the electricity will manifest itself. Whether a body when 

 rubbed becomes charged with positive or negative electricity, 

 depends on tho substance with which it is rubbed. Cat's skin, 

 however, becomes positively electrified by friction with almost 

 all bodies. If it be rubbed on polished glass, the glass is 

 negatively charged, though it becomes positively charged by 

 friction with woollen cloth or silk. If, however, ground glass 



i instead of polished, it is negative, and the silk or cloth 

 positive. 



r causes besides friction evolve electricity. If certain 

 minerals are warmed, their electricity seems to be decomposed, 

 and one portion of them becomes + and another . This 

 was seen first with tourmaline, a piece of which, if placed 

 in hot ashes, repels tho particles of dust round it. To observe 

 it, we should fix a piece to a rod of glass, or suspend it by silk, 

 and, having warmed it, allow different parts of it to come in 

 contact with the plate of the electroscope. Many other 

 substances act in a similar way, and are said to be pyro- 

 electric. 



Pressure, too, causes electrical excitement. The substances 

 to bo placed together should bo fixed to insulating handles, and 

 removed as rapidly as possible after the pressure, in order to 

 prevent the fluids again combining. Cork and caoutchouc 

 become thus electrified if pressed together. Two differently- 

 coloured silk ribbons do so likewise, and a disc of wood may be 

 charged by merely pressing it on an orange. Many other effects 

 this kind will be found out by the student. 



any crystalline and laminated substances, if divided or 

 iken, exhibit similar effects. This may be seen with a piece 

 of mica or a lump of sugar. All these experiments, tend to 

 show that electrical phenomena are more common than is 

 usually supposed. 



READINGS IN GREEK. II. 



EURIPIDES. 



AMONG the amusements in which the ancient Greeks were wont 

 to indulge, dramatic entertainments held a prominent place 

 from a very early period in the history of the country. Greece 

 was, in truth, the birthplace of the drama, and some of the 

 most famous Greek poets were those who excelled in this branch 

 of literature. Foremost among the dramatic poets of Greece 

 stand the names of JEschylns, Sophocles, and Euripides, the 

 three great tragic poets, and Aristophanes, the unrivalled writer 

 of comedies. Of these Euripides must come first on our list, 

 though ho was last of the three tragic poets in the order of 

 time, and can hardly claim precedence on the score of merit; 

 but he wrote at a time when tho language had attained a more 

 settled and perfect form, and his writings, being consequently 

 not so difficult to interpret as those of J3schylus and Sophocles, 

 are put first into the student's hands. Greek plays were made 

 up of two elements, the speeches and dialogues on the one hand, 

 and on the other the chorus. In the first of these the action of 

 the play was carried on, while the choral odes which were inter- 

 spersed throughout the piece were sung by a band of choristers 

 (xop(vrai), who did not as a rule interfere with the business 

 of the stage, though occasionally they were employed as inter- 

 locutors. The speeches and dialogue were almost always 

 written in the Iambic metre, while the measure of the ohoric 

 odes is very variable, though most frequently it is some variety 

 of Anaptustio metre. 



Oar first extract U taken from Euripides' play of " Hecuba," 

 which describe* the miseries that befell Hecuba, the wife of 

 Priam, in her captivity among the Greek* after the taking of 

 Troy. Hecuba U lying on the ground, bewailing her miaeriea, 

 and nrroundod by tho chorus in the character of Trojan cap- 

 tives. Talthybius, the Grecian herald, enter* to bring her a 

 message from Agamemnon : 



EURIPIDES. " HECUBA," 482505. 



TAA. IloiJ rfy &vatTffav 9ri for' tilaw 



485 



XO. ACrr; WAaj <rov, 

 ToA0i//3if , KCITCU, 

 TAA. *fl Ztv, rl \t<a ; trorfpd a' avOpunroui 



EK. 



490 



496 



O'K) 



7, SoKovvrat Katfi6v<ai> tlvai yivot, 



5t TTtt^TO TO.' V Pporoif 



ovx' f}8' avacrffa rtav iroKv\pv(i<av 

 oi>x' ^8 npidVou roG /xV 6X/3/ov Sduap . 

 teal vvv iro"A.ij /uti/ iracr' 4''ffT77c' 8opi, 

 at/rrj 5 Suv\rj, ypavs, avail, if\ \Qovl 

 Ktlrat, K&vti (pvpouffa ovffTijvov ndpa. 

 4ft/, tptv, y4p<av fifv tifjL 1 0/j.us Si not Ocoitiv 

 efij, vplf ajVxPf irfptirtfffli' ri/xy rwl' 

 eWo'Tao"' SuerTTjve, /cal fitrdpaiov 

 ir\(vpdv (Ttatpt, Kal TO TraAAti/Ktii/ icdpa. 

 'Ea- TIJ oi/roy (Tw/xa rovfjibv OUK as 

 KcTo'dai ; ri Ktve'is fJ.' 'darts tl, \inrovfif yijv . 



TAA. Ta\6uj3<os fj/cw, Aa^at'Swt/ inrrtptrrfs, 



'Ayafj-ffJivovof irtntyavros, S> yvvai, n^ra. 



EK. T il <f>/A.TaT' apa cSfi' ^irto-^o^aj TC<^XJI> 



SOKOVV 'A^ajois, ^Afles; us (^(X* &v \tyoir 

 crvevS<anft>, lyKovSjfjitv' riyov poi ytpov. 



NOTES. 



TAA. is the abbreviation of ToXW/Jior. XO. is tor Xopot. EK. foi 

 'Ed/Sn. 



482. A>; is used with interrogative^ to increase the force of the qucc- 

 tion, and often denotes that a definite answer is expected. 



483. "Ac adds indefiniteness to the question, When in the world. 



487. "H Sofav, etc., or that it is merely that false things which but pretend 

 to be a race of deities have gained this reputation groundlssly. "AAAw, other- 

 wise than it should be, and thus /ruitlessly, and hence it comes to meam 

 merely. 



488. Vcvfiri, creatures which are but fictions, and as being thus applied to 

 persons has ioxovvrat agreeing with it where one would more naturally 

 expect Sonovrra. Thjs is called a constructio KUTU avttaiv according to 

 the sense of the passage. Thus we find retva, a neuter, as meaning per- 

 sons, agreeing with masc. or fern, adjectives and participles. 



491. Mf7* 6\/3'oM, highly prosperous. Me-ya, neut. adjective, is naed * 

 an adverb. 



492. ' A^ta-TFiKec, has been laid waste. 'AnVrttui, to mate to rise up, to make 

 people leave their homes, and in the intransitive tenses it has generally a 

 hostile sense to be unpeopled. The 2 aor., perf., and plup. act. of la-ttvu 

 and its compounds are intransitive. 



496. Eiri, may it happen to me to die, may death be my lot, 

 nepurcaeiV, before I fall in with, encounter. 



497. Merapa-iov goes with toip<, raise on high; lit, raise it so as to b on 

 high. This is called the proleptic or anticipatory use of the adjective, 

 the property expressed by it not existing in the subject till after the 

 action of the verb is completed. So tu<t>t\^ov o<Viit<roi> o-roMa, where the 

 adjective is equivalent to the expression uurre c'xpnuo* <ia<, so as to be 

 civil. 



502. lU'M^arrot M*'fa. Supply <rt. Having sent me to fetch you. Mrra 

 in composition often has this sense. Compare turaMw, I run after; 

 fi<Ta<rTC<x<*> / go after, pursue. 



503. Ka/ie, me also; as well as her daughter Polyxena, who had already 

 been sacrificed. 



501. AUKOVV. Norn, absolute. It having seemed good to the Greeks. 

 'at fi\' a* \ffoit, what a welcome message you would be bringing. 

 505. 'HIOV M', lead the way for me. 



The " Baccho3 " (Bacchanals), which describes the terrible 

 vengeance taken by the frenzied worshippers of Dionysus, or 

 Bacchus, upon Penthens, king of Thebes, who had dared to in- 

 terfere with their orgies, supplies oar next extract. A mes- 

 senger who has come from beholding the horrid sight is giving 

 an account of it to the terror-stricken Thebans. The extract 

 is only part of a very long speech, and is chiefly remarkable 

 for the exceeding beauty and vigour of the description : 



