x 



♦ 



of the Greek Lan^ua^rt. 



a '""a 



S35 



coiisequently, between the Roman B 



Greek Beta 



Pe 



haps their true sound 



between our V and W, like the 



TF in German; which would be formed by barely touching the 



trongly 

 That 



upper teeth to the lower lip, instead of pressing them so sti 

 upon it as we are accustomed to do in pronouncing our F. 

 the Roman Bj however;, suffered some slight changes in sound at 

 different periods, is not improbable ; and it might be hazardous 



that in the aee of Cic 



which 



find the incriptions above referred 

 the pronunciation, which was used 



If, however 



at 



latter p 



would be sufficiently near to that of the Augustan age, to satisfy 

 the most fastidious ears of foreigners.* 



Another argument of Erasmus is, the common, 



thougb 



very 



inconclusive one, founded on the etymologies of Latin words from 

 the Greek ; as that (2sg in Greek becomes hos in Latin ; jSoai/, 



ioare; tv^Coip, turbare; ^uXamo^ 



t Thi 



both 



upon the assumption, that the Latin B and Greek were 

 sounded like the modern B; which, as we have just seen, for 



* Since these remarks were written, I have obtained a copy of the Hercu- 



lanensia, 



^ 



IValpole; Ijj means of which interesting work, the evidence of the similarity 

 of the Roman B and Fis now carried back to the Augustan age. In the tenth 

 Dissertation the author (Walpole) obser^-es — ^^ Capacio has published some LaU 

 in inscriptions which were found at Herculaneuin, without anj comments on 

 them. I shall point out what appears to be worthy of notice in them. In the 

 first inscription we have devitum for dehitum.^^ The author then also adds — ^^^I 

 find the changes of B and Fvery common in the early Christian inscriptions, 

 as BIXIT for Vixit s BIRGO for Virgo.'' p. 172- 



t Erasm. Dialog. p< 129. 



V. 



