Particularly of the LETTER 2ITMA. 121 



" while the breath ruihes through the middle part of it, and 

 " emits a gentle and conflricled fibilation about the teeth *." 

 The name itfelf is evidently derived from o-ify, to hifs j and 

 from the huTing found of which it is the fign, it has been 

 called the ferpentine letter. Some have even fancied, that vari- 

 ous ihapes of the ferpent have been copied in the different forms 

 it has aflumed f . The forms moft commonly in ufe, are two 

 for the large or capital letter, thus 2, C, and three for the fmall 

 one, thus a; Q, $, of which the laft is always final, the other two 

 initial or intermediate J. In order to comprehend more diftindlly 

 the ufe of the 27y//„a, it will here be proper to take a £hort view 

 of the other confonants. 



Vol. II. Q^ The 



* To o- \lx.<puvSi:xi\ tSjj y.iv yXutreys ■x , gtKrxV(Xyo[/.ivtis am ttqis tov aa«>'o», th Si l 7Ttiv l ua.T@* 



Sia. piTS avia ipepa^iva xj Trsgl raj oSovtx; Xitttov xxl mov Ifa'SanT©- re av%\ypx. 



Ceratinus's definition is nearly the fame : " Profertur lingua furfum adducta ad pa- 

 " latum, cujus medio fpatio fpiritus fertur et circa dentes exilem et anguftum et quodam- 

 " modo triftem fibilum expellit." De Sono Gr. Lift. Libellus. It ought never to be 

 pronounced, as in fome Englifh and French words, as if it were the fame with Z, or a 

 double S. "Hie quidem certe graviter errant et labuntur praeter caeteros Galli, quoties 

 " oiypx interjacet duabus vocalibus in una vel diverfis diftonibus. Turn enim fonus qui 

 " eft in $5t«, vel in Zain Hebraeorum ex eo percipitur : ac perinde pronuntiatur ac (i 

 " pS& fcriberetur. Quod certe vitium dum nonnulli fubterfugere ac devitare volunt, 

 " utinam in alterum minime inciderent, nee quafi per geminum SS effet fcriptum mussa 

 " proferrent." Hen. Steph. Apologet. pro vet. L. Gr. Pron. In which opinion Lan- 

 celot agrees. " Sa prononciation doit eftre ferme et entiere, auffibien entre deux 

 " voi'elles qu'en tout autre lieu. C'eft pourquoi il le faut prononcer dans Xpv<r»s de me- 

 " me que dans c-ij? tuae : quoiqu'en Francois nous prononcions autretnent Chryses que 

 " Ses." Nouvelle methode pour apprendre facilement la Langue Greque, p. 16. 



f " Sigma merus eft fibilus : ideoque ab Hebraeis fpecie quadam ferpentis caudam 



" ad caput retorquentis, et a Grascis, in gyrum iefe revolventis, hac videlicet figura 2* 

 " vel veluti caput vibrantis, ut <r : denique ut {kfe finuantis, pingitur, nempe Q. quam fi- 

 *' guram Latini imitati." Beza de pronunt. Gr. L. p. ai. Edit. H. Steph. 1587. 



% Father Montfaucon has given ten different figures of the Ziypa, and mentioned 

 the different periods when each of them was ufed. Palaogr. Gr. p. 336, 337. " The 

 " difability of pronouncing this letter is called Blce/itas, Lifping, whence it is corruptly 

 " founded like {th.y Wilkins, p. 369. 



