56 GLOSSOLOGY. 



The alphabet, thus completed, was first adopted by the lonians ; 

 hence sometimes called the Ionic alphabet. The loniaus first intro- 

 duced the mode of writing from left to right, about 450 B. C. : pre- 

 viously to which, the Semitic, or inverse order prevailed ; or else the 

 method called boustrophedon, alternately from right to left, and left 

 to right. The shape of the letters having been changed, from the 

 original uncial characters, the following is the Greek Alphabet, 

 with the name and sound of each letter, and its numerical power: 



The letter h is expressed by the aspirate (), as in fyiwv, of us ; 

 ,be hallowed; us, as; ptaaijead. To complete the series 

 of numerals, the Greeks used ( r ), a character called episemon for 6; 

 (2, or q), koppa, for 90 ; and () sanpi, for 900. The following is the 

 Lord's prayer in Greek, as given by St. Matthew. (Ch. vi. 9 13.) 



IIATHP f]iiu>v b tv TOIS ovpavoif ayiaaOrjro) TO ovo^a crov. EXfcrw f\ @aoi\eia arnv. Tsvt}- 

 Sijrw TO 6e\r)ni aov, wj tv ovpavu, Kai eiri TIJJ ^175. Tov aprov fin&v TOV ciriovviov Sog fi(iiv 

 urifiepov. Kat a<f>es f]i*tv ra o^etXij/^ara ^//wj/, w? KCLI f)i.'.is a^ie^cv TOIS oQciXerais nn&v. 

 Kat IITJ ioVyicns fjpas ei> ireipafffiuv, aXXa pvaai fi^as airo TOV novripov. On aov eanv $ 

 /?a<r(Xta, Kai ft Swa/jus, /cat fi tio%a, eij TOVS aiiovas. 



The signification of some of the words in this specimen of the 

 Greek language, is as follows: rtar^p, father: }/u3y, of us, (from 

 j^uctj, we ) : 6, (the definite article used as a relative) : tv, in : -toi$ 

 oupavotj, the heavens, (from 6 otpavoj, the heaven) : ayiaaeytu, let it be 

 hallowed, (from dye,o$, holy ; and ayta<o, I make holy) : -to ovo^a, 

 the name, (to being the neuter gender of the article) : oov, of thee, 

 (from ffv, thou). Exfo-r'cd, let it come, (from fp^opu, I come) : % 

 /3aoa.fia, the kingdom, (^ being the feminine form of the article). 

 Tfi'TjfljjT'to, let it be done, (from yivopai, I become) : -to fox^a, the 

 will: tbj, as: xat, and, or also : tTti, upon: T^J y^j, the earth, (srtt, 

 requiring the genitive or possessive case of % yq, the earth). Tov 

 the bread, (the objective or accusative case of .o aptoj, the bread) : 

 , daily, or suitable, (agreeing with ap-r-o^) : fioj, give, (from 

 I give) : ^tv, to us, (the dative case of ^si?) : o^/tfpoy, to- 

 day. We have no room here, interesting though it may be, to pur- 

 sue the subject farther. 



Of the dialects of the Greek language, the Doric, spoken in the 

 Peloponnesus, is the oldest, and most harsh ; the JEolic, spoken in 

 Greece north of the Isthmus, and in JSolis of Asia Minor, resembles 

 the Doric, but is smoother, and more like the Latin language ; while 

 the Ionic, spoken chiefly in Ionia, and the neighboring islands, is 

 more soft and flowing; and the Attic, confined to Athens, and its 



