288 PROFESSOR BLACKIE ON THE 



acutum, quantum possent producerent, quum sit natura brevis, vel brevissima 

 potius. Etfere qui Grceca legunt, accentus observatione confundunt spatium mora?, 

 sic enunciantes pevekaos, quasi penultima sit brevis, et jxev£>7)ixo<; quasi duo? postre- 

 ma? sint breves, quemadmodum in deoScopos TrapaKk-qTos, etSwXa, aliisque innumeris. 

 Nee ita multis contingit sonare Grceca, ut accentuum simul et morarum rationem 

 observent, vel in carmine. Loquor autem non jam de vulgo, sed de eruditissimis 

 quoque. Minus est erroris in Latinis, sed tamen illic quoque tonus acutus ac in- 

 flexus obscurat coeterarum sonum, ut in videbimus, congruit accentus cum quanti- 

 tate, at in legebamus, sola penultima videtur esse producta, quum secunda sit ceque 

 longa : in amaveVimus sola antepenultima, quum ea sit brevis, secunda producta. 

 LE. Omnino sic obtinuit usus, quern dediscere difficillimum est. UR. Atqui qui 

 degustarunt musicam, nullo negotio distinguunt inter longam, brevem, et inter acu- 

 tam et gravem. Nihil enim est aliud pronunciatio, quam modulatio quondam 

 vocum numerosa. Est enim et in oratione soluta pedum ratio, licet non perinde 

 certis astricta legibus ut in carmine : qua? si confundatur, non magis erit oratio 

 quam cantio in qua graves cum acutis, longa? cum brevibus tenure confunduntur. 

 Unde quidam priscorum grammaticorum non inscite dixerunt, accentum esse ani- 

 mam dictionis. Et tamen hodie talis est etiam eruditorum pronunciatio, qualis 

 esset ilia ridicula cantio. Scis opinor canere cithara. LE. Utcunque. UR. 

 Nonne frequenter imam chordam pulsans producis sonos, et summam tangens 

 brevibus insonas aut contra ? LE. Frequenter, quanquam hoc discrimen eviden- 

 tius est in flatili musica. UR. Unde igitur nos sumus usque adeo a/xovcroi, ut 

 omnes acutas syllabas sonemus productiore mora, graves omnes corripiamus ? Vel 

 ab asinis licebat hoc discrimen discere, qui rudentes corripiunt acutam vocem, 

 imam producunt. LE. Ldem propemodum facit cuculus." 



The only other interesting point, with regard to the present matter, which 

 requires to be mentioned here, is that Erasmus distinctly teaches that verses, 

 both in Greek and Latin, are to be read with an accurate observance both of accent 

 and quantity. The difficulty and alleged impossibility of doing this, so much 

 spoken of by modern scholars, he supposes to arise only from the gross neglect of 

 the art of elegant reading in modern education. How far he is right in apply- 

 ing the spoken accent thus sweepingly to the rhythmical recitation of poetry, 

 we shall have occasion to consider afterwards. 



But what to the fine genius and well-trained ear of Erasmus presented no 

 difficulty, to the gross majority who take everything without discrimination in 

 broad masses was so formidable, that they do not even seem to have had the 

 courage to look the difficulty in the face, but quietly settled down into a habit 

 of confounding accent and quantity, and making all accented syllables long. 

 This is distinctly mentioned by the next champion in the field, Adolph von 

 Meetkerche (vulgarly Mekirch), a Flemish nobleman, born at Bruges in the 

 very year when Erasmus' book was published, and well known in high circles 



