GREEK AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE GREEKS 145 



Latin 1 and the Romance 2 languages are immeasurably inferior in 

 every respect. Doric alone of the dialects lacks the power to form 

 compounds readily. 



Like German, Greek has the power of giving a peculiar shading 

 of expression by its substantival compounds, which have a different 

 value than the analytical disposition of the members of the thought. 



The relative brevity of the compounds of Greek enables the poet 

 to view concretely an object or a quality from more points of vision 

 than is possible to most other Indo-European languages : extension 

 of the thought is not purchased by undue extension of mere word- 

 form. The images are, so to speak, phonetically condensed. Cf. 

 acTTwofioi opycu, "disposition for ordered life in cities." 



No term-stone can be set to the possibility of shaping new com- 

 pounds in Greek, or, indeed, to the character of their formation. 

 Innovations, such as (jiiXairex^^v, are continually coming to view. 

 The poets display the same delight in the delicately chiseled work- 

 manship of their Topevra n7 as Cellini took in each new creation of 

 his art. The lately discovered lyrics of Bacchylides showed nearly 

 one hundred compounds either used for the first time or unattested 

 in any other writer. 



The study of Greek compounds has been unduly neglected from 

 at least one point of view. Since sense-epithets are preeminently 

 a mark of personality, we have need of an investigation, especially 

 of the compounds of a sensuous character. Such a study should 

 include an examination of the range of each poet from Homer on, 

 together with the determination of the sensuous sphere from which 



1 Confessions by the Romans of the poverty of their speech in the formation of 

 compounds is frequent. Cf. Lucr. 1, 830, Livy 27, 11, 5, Cic. De. Fin. 3, 4, 15, 

 Gellius, N. A. 11, 16, 1, Latin has very few compounds with two prepositions (cf. 

 fva.Tro\a(i.{idt><o, 4irtKa-raftd\\ai), and the constitution of such compounds is evident 

 only after scrutiny (abscondo, consurgo). 



2 The inability of the Romance languages to grapple with the compounds of 

 Greek may be illustrated by the following translations, by Desrousseaux and Da 

 Festa respectively, of Bacchylides, 11, 37-46: 



vvv 8' "Aj>T/us a.ypOTfpa\xpv<ra\<iKaTOS \ivapiiv \ rj/j.epa ro6it\vTOS vinav eS 

 'A.fia.i>Tid5as\l3a>nbi> Kartvafffff irohv\-\ \UTTOV etiireir\oi re Kovpaf |ris 5' ^| tpa.r 

 irayKpar^s "Hpa jj.e\dOp<i>v\ Tlpoirov, irapa.ir\riyi <pp(i>as \ Kaprepq et5|air' iivdyiuf. 



Mais Arte'mis aujourd'hui, chasseresse au sceptre d'or, calme de"esse, illustre par 

 son arc, lui donne une victoire e"clatante. A Arte'mis jadis un autel ou s'empres- 

 sent les prieres fut bati par le fils d'Abas et ses filles au beau pe'plos, que la toute- 

 puissante He"ra chassa de 1'aimable palais de Prcetos, 1'esprit subjugue' par la dure 

 ne"cessite* de I'e'garement. 



Ma ecco che ora gli ha dato una splendida vittoria la cacciatrice Artemis dalF 

 aurea conocchia, la mite inclita arciera. A cui un giorno eresse un molto sup- 

 plicato altare 1'Abantiade e le sue vergini figlie vestite di bei pepli; poichd fuori 

 dalle amabili case di Proitos le aveya tratte spaventate la possente Hera, con le 

 menti awinte da una fiera, fatale insania. 



The translation of the passage by Jurenka does less violence to the native 

 quality of German: Doch jetzt hat die Jagerin Artemis, die goldspindlige, kundige 

 Schiitzin, die Sanftigerin, den glanzenden Sieg dir verliehen. Ihr siedelte einst der 

 Abantiade an einen vielumflehten Altar mit seinen schongewandigen Tochtern, 

 die aus den anmuthigen Hallen die hochmachtige Hera gescheucht des Proitos, 

 da den Geist in des Wahnsinns schreckliche Noth sie geschirret. 



