138 ANALOGY of GREEK LETTERS; 



The reafon why v remains in the cafe of h, is, that if v were 

 omitted, as in the cafe of <n>i<, certain perfons of the prefent of 

 the compound verb would be confounded with certain perfons 

 of the imperfect tenfe of the fimple verb, as in the cafe of h 

 becoming Ig before g>, which has been already mentioned *. 



V. Lajily, The peculiar nature of Tiypa., and that which feems 

 to have fuggefted its various functions in the ftructure of the 

 Greek tongue, arifes from this, that it is the only letter which 

 is fibilant or hiffing in the whole Greek alphabet. For £, which 

 by fome is confidered as a fibilant letter, is no farther fo than 

 the two other double confonants f and \J/ and whatever fibila- 

 tion is obferved in their found, they plainly derive from <r,. which 

 is half of their composition. 



In what manner then the improvers of the Greek language: 

 availed themfelves of this Angular letter, I have now endea- 

 voured to mow. From the various ufes to which it has been 

 applied, fome have confidered it as a fervile letter ; and from 

 its hifftng, and, as they thought, difagreeable found, fome of 

 the ancient writers., notwithstanding its great ufe in their lan- 

 guage, conceived a violent diflike at it. But this, with feveral 

 other particulars relative to the fame letter, I propofe to confider 

 in a fecond part of this EfTay. 



In the mean time, if the authority of names be deemed of 



any ufe in juftifying inquiries of this nature, I may afk with 



Quinctilian, " An ideo minor eft M. Tullius orator, quod 



" idem artis hujus diligentiflimus fuit, et in filio (ut in epifto- 



" lis apparet) recte loquendi ufquequaque afper quoque exactor ? 



" Aut vim C. Cjes-4-RIS fregerunt editi de analogia libri ? Aut 



" ideo minus Mess ala nitidus, quia quofdam totos libellos non 



" de verbis modo fingulis, fed etiam Uteris dedit f ?" 



If 



* This will appear evident, by declining the prefent tenfe of a compound verb, with 

 the v thrown out, as Is-we/gw, &c. and the imperfecl tenfe of the fimple verb, as Ec-jnlgev, &c. 



I Tnjfitut. Orat. Lib. I. Cap. J. " Vilefcit tibi hie fermo. Itane ? Scilicet Mureto 

 " et Lipsio indignum decurrere Grammaticum hoc aequor, quod tot olim Senatores 



" inv>. 



