THE PROBLEMS OF GREEK 



BY MILTON WYLIE HUMPHREYS 



[Milton Wylie Humphreys, Professor of Greek, University of Virginia, since 1887. 

 b. Sept. 15, 1844, Greenbrier County, West Virginia. M.A. Washington and 

 Lee University, 1869; Ph.D. Leipzig, 1874; LL.D. Vanderbilt University, 1883; 

 studied at Berlin, 1872-73; Leipzig, 1873-74. Gunner in Confederate Artillery, 

 1861-65; Assistant Professor of Latin and Greek, Washington and Lee Univer- 

 sity, 1867-70; Adjunct Professor, ibid. 1872-75; Professor of Greek, Vander- 

 bilt University, 1875-83; Professor of Ancient Languages, University of Texas, 

 188387. Member of American Philological Association; President of American 

 Philological Association, 1882-83. Editor of The Clouds of Aristophanes; The 

 Antigone of Sophocles; also editor-general of Revues des Revues (Paris), for 

 North America, 1878-88; and author of numerous articles in periodicals.] 



AN adequate treatment of the problems of Greek would require 

 the prolonged labor of many specialists, and the result would be, 

 not a short essay, but volumes. It is reasonable, therefore, for one 

 man, whose specialty is not suited for elaboration here, to hope for 

 lenience on the part of specialists in other branches of the subject. 



Under the perplexing conditions it seems best to give a rough, 

 general survey of the territory, and while doing so to make as it were 

 a few raids through some special parts. These parts will be confined 

 to the language proper, and definite references to modern works 

 will be avoided. 



This paper does not deal with the objects and tasks of Greek 

 philology; but a few remarks on the obstacles to the solution of 

 problems seem appropriate. Since many of the problems can be 

 solved only by means of accumulated results, it is obvious that all 

 errors or defects of research are obstacles. Two or three of these 

 will be noted by way of illustration. One is the failure to make 

 discriminations. I do not refer to hair-splitting distinctions, of which 

 we have too many, but to the confusion of wholly different things. 

 We find Bfiva TTOLCLV with its two meanings confounded with Savov (or 

 8va) -rroiflo-Oai, apxeiv with apxfo~0ai., Ifcori and the dative with t-feo-Tt 

 and the accusative with the infinitive, Stl and the accusative with 

 Set and the dative with the infinitive, and so on; and sometimes we 

 are told that one of the usages is "rare," when it is rare only in the 

 sense in which "broadaxe" is rare in comparison with "hatchet." 

 Sometimes we are. told that the perfects of certain verbs are used as 

 presents, and find TfQvrjKa, " I am dead," cited as an example instead of 

 rcOvdrw, "let him die"; and we actually find the supposed confusion 

 of the infinitive with ^ and the subjunctive or optative after verbs 

 of fearing ridiculed as if the infinitive after such verbs were never 

 used as the equivalent of ^ with the finite verb. Then there is the 



