CRF.RK LANGUAGE. 



vorJ to form tit; pafih-e voicf, was ;y.oi, tlie primary form 

 of the verb mult have been TKTrrs/^wi, and not -^i/Tio/zai ; and 

 in tlie iinperfeiil ETv:rT!,ut;», and not !7i/rro/i>iv : but aftriwarjs 

 I was changed into o, as in other numerous inftances. Hence 

 the pallive form of verbs in ui was originally the fame witli 

 that of verbs in jut : and this form iiad only two fenfes, ^<ai 

 for the preient; and ijm for the part. The fecond perfon 

 fuigular is formed in the common tongue by droppinjj r, and 

 can trafting the t wo luccecding vowels in every mood andtcnfe. 

 'i hu3 TV~r;a-zi, Tvrrsjii, TLTrrv; imperfeft £7^;:-r!3-o, !Ti.7rT£o, 

 trirrrov, ; firil aoriit middle £7i/ J. xto, eti^J^ko, eti;4-i; ; optative 

 'iv-TiiTt, T-J--010 ; ir=iri, S=n. Tlie iirft future middle is de- 

 rived from the firll future aftive, by changing o into o/^.m, 

 zvlouzi. The fecond future middle is derived front ir^Tic-i-, 

 (which is from the obfolete tu-ei-,) rvjnrofiy.i. This drop* 

 0-, and is contrafted — Tur-o^xi, TtrriVfjxi. Hence what is 

 called the fecond future is no other than the lird future. 

 The fame obfolete radical has given rife to the fecond future 

 ]>airive, whicii is no other than the lirft future — nz-ir, Tiro^-if, 

 ■:vr<^TouLy.i ; wlule the iirll future is from the obfolete in 



The termination n of the two aorifts paffive is borrowed 

 froni verbs in ix. ; and from this fonn, though obfolete, 

 verbs in thefe te:if-'S are in reality derived. Thus i-\j~r.\, 

 which is erroaeoudy fuppofjd the fecond aorift palfivc, is 

 only the pail of verbs in ^i ; as cr-r4;rft>, (the obfolete of 

 cr7;i3i',) is ia--x.fr.:- ; Tvrry/i, E7ii->i». Wlirit grammarians call 

 tke lirll aorift paifive is from verbs in ;G;x' ; as ■rv^'i-v, rvf S'-./ni, 

 £Tv*i>:v ; y-.-/^-.,-., X\x^r,jjii, -^^-i^jir,:: In the third plural cr is 

 <lropped — ;2v5<-,Txv, ^a)i'ir,-j, jxvSiv. So in the active voice, 

 Tt— roi;-'. for Tu-ronrav; TiS-isv for tiO;1>i-ki ; etuI-kv for i.vl-y.'yx-i; 

 and ErLTr-,v for sTv-TTorav. In the infancy of language, wliile 

 words were yet Icanty, the moll natural way whereby a 

 writer or fpcakcr might give an additional vieight to his 

 meaning, was to repeat fuch terms as he \\-ilhed to render 

 emphatic. The more ancient any language is, the more 

 numerous appear the traces of fuch repetiti«n ; and, next 

 to the Hebrew, they form a reniarkai)lo feature in the Greek 

 longue. Thus, fizi-, fif.-j.; I J. fire., (-/.-//rf, blended into oiie 

 word, become f^i.'^xi, and means I greatly il-fir; ; ^V.;, .■3*i;, 

 I -walk, ii'.i/i ; »"i^xi', IJtride: and inch words arp nmnc- 

 rous in this tou'^ue ; from which we m.'v vlraw the followin,' 

 nilerences. 



Firjl, that the augment is only the remains of a verlt 

 lioiiiL-J, in order to augment the fenfe. Secondly, th.is aug- 

 ment takes place in the prelJent tenfe as well as in the 

 imperfecl ; as t«i»v, tito.^i ; r.f.r.y^, <i-<\\>.x ; Sn^^tt, ti'ir.yi. 

 Thirdly, that the augment of the imperfect, and of the 

 aorills, is but a corruption, ftill^ more remote of the 

 reduplication ; and that the dialed, which prefixes a cou- 

 fonant to the vowel likt t'le pcrfecl, fuch as ~;-7Ai-,)'yv:;, 

 for £-Xr,y!iJ!-o is the moll ancient ufage, and comes neavell to 

 the primitive fimplicity of the language. Fourthly, the 

 augment is applied to the firll and fecond futures ; and 

 tiie efTecl of it is to increafe the fiirnification of the verb ; 

 -,j1.u, T:7'j4.u ; xjxji', X zfzlowxi, J 'lestl cry loudly ; y.y.^xu; 

 ---.%/xv, J tvdl greatly fati^uf. Fifthly, that tin- form called 

 by grammarians paulo [>oJl futurum, is not a dillinct tenfe, 

 but the lirll future middle augmented ; t<j-3,ui., r'.-.tyjfiai ; 

 T^4.'J;/.xl, TSTK J-o/xai. Si.vlhly, that the augment of the per- 

 fecl comes nearell to the original reduplication than that of 

 any other tenfe, wliich is prelerved Hill more dillinclly in 

 the augment of verbs beginning with vowels o\-i■^z, <,T-.c-ri, 

 and the like. 



The lonians, we liave obferved, changed v into at ; and 

 tliis analogy, perhapSj converted tlie i'wperfect form r;i-j7o:, 

 ■Vol. XVI. 



or TETv^;;, into ti-.wx, or nrv^x. Tlie third perfon plural 

 woul.l be then ■;;:oZ-x^.c,. Hence the Boeotians ufed tetk "a,. 

 The Dorians write TE:t/;-/.vr;, whioli, in tlie common tongue, 

 is foftened into t--:iPuTi. Tlic fimple and itntural way of 

 forming the perfed was to give it t!ie charaCteriflic of the 

 jirelent which it always implies, as an aftion, though pall. 

 Hill continuing in its cftea ; n-sn-, tetutt^ ; /.tyi,, /.s^t^,-K. 

 ]5ut from the facility by which letters of the fame organs 

 are changed for one another, tit-j-x became t^-.v'Pi, and 

 x-.Jioyx, or ?,a:yx, became As\;;/z. Hence tet^-k, ai.d ^(\->-/'x, 

 which are improperly called the perfeft middle, feem to 

 have been the original perteft aclive, accidentally corrupted. 

 And as there is no foundation for the dillindtion of perfect 

 aclive and perfi-cl middle, in facl there is none in fignifi- 

 cation. Wlien, from whatever caufe, k in fome verbs be- 

 came the charaelerillic of the perfedV, it prevailed in other 



verbs, which ftill retained the charadleriilic of tiie prefent 



r /»•, rs-oi^a, TTE-Ei/.z. The diilinction, therefore, of per- 

 fedl adive and perfeft middle is a fiction of grammarians, 

 founded on the interchange of iimilar confonaiits, or the 

 blind impulfe of analogy. 



Prc-p'ilhiotis form the inoft difficult part of the Greek 

 tongue, not only becaufe they, for the moll part, govern 

 diftereiit cafes, but becaufe each has a great variety of fi"-ni. 

 fications. Yet the author of the Greek gramm'ar, above 

 mentioned, has laid down two obfervatiiHis, which tend 

 greatly to fimplify this branch of the Greek laiigua.Tc. 

 The jirimary meaning of a prepolition, fays he, is^to%e 

 fought in the root from whence it is derived', and the mean- ' 

 ing fo obtained, or one obviouily connected with it, and 

 flowing from it by analogy, it preferves in all cafes what- 

 ever. A prepolition combines with its ov.n lignilication 

 llic meaning of the cafe in which the depcndiin noun is 

 tifed ; and It governs the genitive, the dative, or the accii- 

 iativc, as the writer willies fo iix the attention of his 

 readers on the origin, the irJlnimertaHty, or the ol'tal of t!ie 

 governed noun. 



We cannot forbear tranfcribing one inflancc (v. iiich is the 

 lirft that occurs) of hi? manner of explaining the prcpo- 

 iltions— :to (from the Hebrew n^\», ab, a Jlim or root ;■ 

 and as the root is underneath, the plant or tree fprincirg ' 

 from it, the primary fenl'c of tVo is') under, i~r, a^°.-^ 

 imder :i JhiJd. Farther, the root of a tree is the cauff of 

 itj growth ; hence i'to denotes the caufe or r-\fii of the 

 avtion fpecilied in eonncction with it. " And"*they jverc 

 baptized by him, ^-' a-jm ; he being the cairfe gf their bap- 

 tilm." I'inally, rs a root flioots upwards, fo as to appear 

 above the ground, Cro is foinctimes to be rendered /Jo/n 

 under — i-o f'vy.u from under the yoL-e — xrro, (from the lame 

 Hebrew origin with tfr', ; and :« the root is the orio-in of a 

 thing, it denotes beginning, caufe, t;:otii:', and is roldercd) 

 frjrn. As by the ufe of a^c, the attention is dircfted back- ' 

 ward to the beghining of motioii, its governed noun is 

 always in the genitive. -" He was not able to fee .Iffus, 

 c-T" oyj.vj, from the cro-aul," the croud bilr.g the cavfe of his 

 iihtbility. From iignifying begimii:-.^, kt: came to eNprcfs 

 the exact point of time at wi-ich motion begins. " Tiiey 

 weni fi-u?;i ftijfer, csot i=imi,', i. e. irr,m.\TuUcly after fuMer, ] t 

 expreli'es alio the dflance to which a thing" lias advanced in 

 eor.fequenco of moving, etca rr,- y-yfjr from the land. Tlie 

 cjnleqtience of diftance in moll ca'.es is I'epjratiin, or pri- 

 yiilion, x-o tiv i-Xai, from their cirris, i. e. •zvltkoui them. 

 Taken in this fenfe, ar:->, abbreviated into a, us in Latin ab 

 becomes a, and compounded with nouns, adie^tcs, and 

 verbs, imparts to them a contrary figniiication ; 4-'i:.'ixi!;, ^rar, 

 3.<tr'.>.;u.o.; up'u-arHh. On the contrary, tiic cfTcCl of dillancc 

 Ml fome cales is inerejfe, asti llrea»t ^lows larger the farther 



