The ^nthon Library. COLLECTED BYvCHARLES ANTflON, Professor of Grreeli and ILiatin in Ooluxnbia. Oollege. Purchased jrby Cornell UniveYaity, 1868. V Cornell University Library arV10606 Modern Greek grammar : 3 1924 031 266 939 olin.anx Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031266939 MODEEl^ GREEK GRAMMAR: USE OF CLASSICAL STUDENTS. JAMES DONALDSON, M. A. OBESE TOTOB TO THE 0NIVEBSITr OF EDINBUBGH. EDINBURGH: ADAM & CHAELES BLACK, BOOKSELLERS TO THE QUEEN. MDCCCLIII, 63 CORNELl\ UfMlVERSilY \J LIBRARY y^ PEE FACE. This Grammar is sent forth in the hope that it may attract the attention of Scholars to an interesting field of Hellenic literature, which is almost entirely unknown to British Students. All that the Compiler had to do was to take five or six of the modem Greek Grammars, extract what was pecuUar to the modern Greek, and present it in as condensed a form as possible. The-€lassical Student is thus saved time and expense ; for modern Greek Gram- mars necessarily contain a great deal of matter with which he is already acquainted. The present Grammar, too, might have been compressed into smaller dimensions, if those irregularities, which are now banished altogether from the written language, had been omitted. But as one of the most interesting departments of mo- dem Greek literature is the Ballad poetry, and as the changes which characterise modern Greek form a part of the history of the Greek language, for the benefit also of travellers in Greece wish- ing to converse with the common people, I have given a copious list of the popular variations. This is the more needed, that Corpe's Modern Greek Grammar, though otherwise very good, is here remarkably deficient. In regard to the part of this Grammar which relates to the com- parison of ancient with modern Greek, I have been left almost ii PREFACE. entirely to my own resources, not having seen the CEolo-Dorie Grammar of Christopoulos, nor the Grammar of Bamvas. Tin; Grammars which I used were — 1. Nova Methodus of Father Thomas (Paris, 1709), of which there was a paiUal translation by H. Robertson, M.D. 2. A Translation of M. Jules David's Parallel of the Ancient and Modern Greek Languages, by John Mitchell, London, 1824. 3. Graramatica Linguse Grsecae Kecentioris, JRomae. In Col- legio Urbano, 1837. (By Franz.) 4. An Introduction to Neo-Hellenic, by Henry Corpe ; Lon- don, Groombridge & Sons, 1851. 5. The Grammar in Col. Leake's Researches. I have also examined Sophocles' Modern Greek Grammar, but had not the book beside me while compiling. I have compared the statements of these Grammars with the results of my own reading, and with what I have observed in con- versation with Greeks whom I met in London. I have also added a few things which I did not find noticed in the Grammars. In the sketch of Greek literature, I am indebted — 1. To Col. Leake's Researches in Greece — London, 1814 — wliich contams a Modem Greek Grammar, and an account of Mo- dern Greek Literature, with extracts from several of the earlier -PREFACE. Ill poems. Ail honour to Col. Leake, for hie is the only Englishman who has worked properly in this field. 2. To a small Tractate by Alex. Negris, called, " The Literary History of Modern Greece." 3. To Christian August Brandis's Mittheilungeu fiber Griechen- laiid. Vols. II. & III. There is also a list of early modern Greek writers in Ducange's •Gloss. Med. et Infimae Greecitatis. In all cases where I have pronounced an opinion on modern Greek works, except in the case of Germanos, whose character I take from Brandis, and Tricoupi's historical work, the reference to which in § 15 infra, is added by Professor Blackie, I have read the books themselves, or large extracts. Some say that modem Greek is quite different from ancient. Let such devote an hour or two to this Grammar, and then give judgment. It is really astonishing to notice the number of forms which, differing from Attic Greek, coincide with the proper forms as seen in verbs in /u or in Sanscrit. Altogether, there are very few forms that do not find their parallel in the ancient language. As to words, there is no doubt that the language was corrupted by intermixtures ; but these foreign elements have been systema- tically expelled ; and now I think it may be said with truth, that tliere is not a purer language in Europe. For, owing to the flexi- bility and scope of the language, every new idea which this pro- gressive age creates, and which, when transplanted into such lan- guages as English and French, or even German, retains the form iv PHEFACE, (sometimes Greek, asphonography) given it in its birthplace, is clothed with a Greek dress on its reaching a Greek mind. Thus, for a steam-boat they have ar^oVXo/ov ; for a railway-carriage, AT/j.a,i/,A^a ; for a balloon, ai^os-arov ; for a toilette, xaXhjjvrn^m ; for daguerreotype, fjXioroVia, &c. Apart from its excellencies as a language, modem Greek de- serves the careful study of the Scholar. It abounds in illustra- tions of the Classic Writers, and already, though very little has been done, several words, such as avoiyai, to get into the open sea, in Xenophon's Hellenica, have been explained by its help. A knowledge of it is also of the utmost importance to Greek etymolo- gists, and it has been used for etymological and lexical purposes, though sparingly, by Pott, Donaldson, Liddel and Scott, and others. It is the Theologian, however, who will find the greatest help in modern Greek. And the reason is obvious. The present language of the Greeks is the result of oral tradition, and is there- fore a representative of the ancient conversational dialect of the Greek people. Accordingly, it contains many ancient forms, just as we find in Scottish or in some of the dialects of the counties of England, words and expressions occurring in Shakspere, but now obsolete in written English. It also contains numerous Doric, CEolic, and Ionic, as well as Attic foims ; as might have been ex- pected, for there is not the slightest reason to suppose that the Attic was the conversational dialect of any but the smallest por- tion of the Greeks. Now, on looking over the field of Greek literature, the remains of the use of a conversational dialect are to be found principally in Homer, the comic poets, and the writers of the New Testament ; and accordingly modern Greek PREFACE. T bears most analogy to these. Thus, for instance, the forni asra^vs is common to Homer, the Kew Testament, and modern Greek. But as the dialect of the New Testament is nearest in time to the Neo-Hdlenic, it resembles the Neo-Hellenic in the greatest number of points. It, too, takes forms from aimost all dialects, as atpiuvra,!, &c. (See Winer, Gram. § 4.) It abounds in verbs which insert a v after the vowel, as aXXoiovai for aXKoiiu. And even particular expressions, such as a-irh //-lag, at once, are common both to Hellenistic and Neo-Hellenic. There ^re also multitudes of words peculiar to these two dialects. Of the similar grammatical forms, numerous instances are given in this Grammar, but the passages quoted might have been multiplied indefinitely. A vast deal has yet to be done in illustrating the New Testa- ment dialect from modern Greek ; and I have no hesitation in as- serting, that next to a knowledge of Aramsean, perhaps before it, the most essential requisite to a proper comprehension of the New Testament dialect, is a thorough acquaintance with the pre- sent language of the Greeks. It may be remarked also, that modern Greek is now beginning to receive that attention which it deserves. Pennington makes use of it in his Book on Greek Pronunciation ; Professor Blackie has gone still &rthcr into the matter in his " Pronunciation of Greek;" and the Athenjeum (on Corpe's Grammar), and the Times (on Tricoupis's Greek Revolution), have pronounced fa- vourably on the language. So that we may confidently hope that the time will soon come when no man can be pronounced a Greek scholar, who is not master of Nep -Hellenic, and when that language will be taught in our schools and colleges. Conti- nental Scholars in this as in many other matters, have gone far ahead of us. Many Germans, such as Koss, Brandis, Thiersch' VI PREFACE. s)ieak the modern dialect, and in Paris it is taught in the Uni-' versity. In order to save constant repetition of the words, I have used the letter H. for the Hellenic, as the Greeks call the ancient lan- guage ; and Neo-H. for modern Greek. I have also used the letter P. to express the popular or vulgar dialect, which occurs in the early modem Greek writers, in the Ballads, and in the conver- sation of the common people. SKETCH OP NEO-HELLENIC LITERATURE. 1. The modern Greek language is known under a variety of names. The one usually given to it up to recent times was the Romaic ; but, as that appellation pointed to a corrupt age and to a state of slavery, it has been generally discarded by native writers, and the language is now called the Neo-Hellenic. » 2. Neo-Hellenio is generally said to be a development or a corruption of Ecclesiastical or Byzantine Greek. There can be no doubt that the greater number of its peculiar forms do oc- cur in Hellenistic ; but whether it arose from a particular va- riety such as the one mentioned, or whether it be not the result of a variety of causes, some of them in operation long before the time of the HeUenistic, let the reader determine from the follow- ing Grammar. Col. Leake does not recognise an ecclesiastical dialect at all ; and correctly, if the word ecclesiastical is used to designate the Greek of the Fathers ; for the language of the Fa- thers; just like that of the Byzantine writers, is not Plellenistic, but a modification of the aoivri didXixrog. The Neo-Hellenic was rather contemporaneous with the Byzantine than posterior to it j for, while the latter was usually employed in writing, and was an imitation of earlier Greek, the former was the language used^iir ' conversation and by the common people. Indeed the Byzantine, as we have it in the Alexiads of Anna Conmena, or even in Can- tacuzeuus (not to mention earlier writers), is not much inferior in 2 SKETCH OF NEO-HELLENIC LITERATURE. purity to Pausanias, and writers of his age ; certainly not far, if at all, below Achilles Tatius and some others of the Greek novelists. There arose also another variety of Greek, principally among the patriarchs and bishops of the Greek Church (whence its name, Ecclesiastical), in which were retained most of the old inflexions with a strange mixture of Turkish and other foreign words. In this dialect the influence of the Hellenistic (perhaps we should say, Neo-Hellenic) was very great. It used such forms as ^X6a,, had no dual, and rarely employed the optative. But this priestly language, as far as I can ascertain, was not earlier than Jfeo-Hellenic. Very curious specimens of it are to be seen in Martin Crusius's Turco- Graecia. Some of the Greeks themselves, Christopoulos especially, main- tained that Neo-Hellenic was a union of the (Eolic and Doric, and the poet published what ho called an CEolo-Doric grammar of the language. There are various dialects of Neo-Hellenic. Of these the Tsakonianhas attracted the attention of Thiersch, Leake, and others, as it difiered considerably from the other dialects, and con- tained, or as Leake thinks, was merely supposed to contain, Doric forms not found in these. 3. The earliest Neo-Hellenic works, of whose date we are sure, belong to the 12th century, and are the productions of Prodro- mus (he styled himself Ptochoprodromus), a monk who addressed one of his efiusions to the Emperor Manuel Comnenus, and con- sequently must have lived about the middle of the 12th century. Specimens of his poetry are given in Leake's Researches. Leake says he got them from Ducange, Gloss. Med. et Infim. Grtecitatis ; but on examining the book (Du Fresne's edition), I found none collected, but a few lines scattered here and there under diiferent words. The language does not differ from the Neo-Hellenic of the commencement of the 19th century. Ducange gives extracts also from other Neo-Hellenic poems, which were written in the 14th and 15th centuries ; but neither of the merit of these nor of SKETCH OF NEO-HELLBNIC LITEEATOKE. 3 that of the poems of Ptochoprodroraus, can an estimate be formed, as large extracts were never published.* 4. After the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, the Greek nation was reduced to the most abject state of slavery, sometimes under the power of the Turks, sometimes under that of the Vene- tians. Education was neglected ; there were few learned men among them ; and even those who could have written books, would have been unable to publish. The consequence was, that few Neo-Hellenic books made their appearance, and the language was corrupted by a vast intermixture of Turkish and Italian words and phrases. This was the state of matters down to the time when the deeds of the Prench Kevolution stirred up the Greek mind to thoughts of liberty and progress. 5. During this state of stagnation, Crete was almost the only place in which there was the least literary spirit, and here appeared several poets in some respects remarkable and worthy of study. The most illustrious of these is Vincenzo Cornaro (about the end of the 16th century), whose poem, the Erotocritos, has been re- published several times. It is a long and rather dry Epic, but containing passages of sterling poetry, and interesting as a partial reflection of its own age. The names of its heroes are borrowed from antiquity, and the occurrences, are supposed to take place when good King Heracles reigned at Athens ; but the characters belong essentially ' to the Middle Ages, and the poem is allied to similar Italian works of the same period. Leake and Brandis have given abstracts of the poem, and Brandis conceives he discovers in it a vein of poetry quite peculiar and distinct from the Italian school. The other poems produced in Crete (most of them in the 1 7th * For a more particular account of Prodiomus, see Dr Smith's Dictionary, art. Theodorus Prodromus ; Bernhardy (Grand. Gr. Litt. vol. ii. p. 503) asserts that Prodromus is the author of the 62d Anacreontic. 4 SKETCH OF JJEO -HELLENIC LITERATURE. century) decidedly belong to the Italian scliool. Of these Inay be mentioned the Erophile, a tragedy in five acts, by George Chor- tatzi, full of horrors, and based on an Italian play ; King Rhodo- linos, by Andreas Troilos, another tragedy similar in nature to the former ; and the Fair Shepherdess, a pastoral. 6. Almost all the early Neo-Hellenic works were poetical. The earliest specimens of prose are to be found in a book, the title of which, as it tells its own tale, we copy : " Turco-Grasciae Libri Octo, a Martino Crusio, in Academia Tybengensi Graeco et Latino Professore, utraque lingua edita ; quibus Grsecorum status sub imperio Turcico, in Politia et Ecclesia, Oeconomia et Scholis, jam inde ab amissa Constantinopoli ad hsec usque tempora luculentur describitur, Basileaj.'' There is no date on the title-page, but that attached to the dedication is 1584, The book is quite com- mon in our Ubraries. This Collection' contains various works by the learned men in Greece, with whom Crusius corresponded. Some of these are in the old Greek, others in the modern. In the latter there is a history of the patriarchs of Constantinople to the year 1577, by Manuel Malaxos. There are also various Neo-Hellenic exercises and remarks on the popular language, and a large number of let- ters, some in ancient Greek aryi some in modern. The collection contains, also, the celebrated Neo-Hellenic translation of the Ba- trachomyomachia, by Demetrios Zenos of ZakjTithos, on which several German scholars in recent times have written learned com- mentaries. Altogether the book is very valuable for the informa- tion it gives us both as to the state of Greece, and also of its lan- guage, in the end of the 1 6th century. 7. The 18th centjary boasts of few Neo-Hellenic works, and the best writers often employed the Hellenic. The most remark- able men were Eugenics Bulgaris, Nicephoros Theotoki, and Me- letios. SKETCH OP NEO-HELLENIC LITERATUEE. 5 Eugenics Bulgaria was born at Corfu in 1716 ; in 1775 was raised to the archbishopric of Cherson by the Empress Catharine, — afterwards resigned it in favour of Theotoki ; and died at Pe- tersburgh in 1806. Bulgaria was very highly esteemed by his countrymen. His most famous work was a treatise on Logic, which became very popular. Besides this and several other ori- ginal works and poems, he translated a number of celebrated books. Nicephoros Theotoki was also a native of Corfu. He was twenty years younger than Bulgaris — was educated at Bologna and Mantua — became Archbishop of Cherson, then of Astrachan — retired, and died at Petersburgh in 1800. His works were principally theolo- gical and philosophical. Meletioa was born at Joannina, and in 1703 became Bishop of Athens. His Geography and Ecclesiastical History, though de- fective, were the means of great good to his fellow-countrymen. 8. About the end of the last century a new era began to dawn on Neo-Hellenic. A national enthusiasm took possession of the minds of a goodly number of educated Greeks, who resolved to raise their country from the degradation into which it had sunk. As a consequence of this movement, education was extended among the Greek people, and the language gradually threw off those Turkish and Italian elements with which it had been encrusted. This improvement is still going on ; and as education advances, and the Greek people learn the ancient language, foreign admix- tures are rejected, and Hellenic words used instead. Khigas of Velestina was the originator and leader of the Greek Revolution. A man of bold and strong heart, of extraordinary energy and perseverance, he dedicated his life to the regeneration of his country, and sealed his services by a heroic death. The lyre was one of the instruments with which this high-souled man acted 6 SKETCH OF NEO-BELLENIC UTEUATURE, upon his fatherland ; and several of his songs were sung with en- thusiasm by the Greeks. One of these, given by Byron (in Mur- ray's collected edition of Byron's Works, and in some of the edi- tions of Childe Harold), '' Come on, sons of the Greeks," deserves to rank among the first of war-songs. The man who did most for the Greek language at this time, was Adamantines Korais (or Coray), a physician of Chios, and a first rate Hellenic scholar. He devoted all his energies to the en- lightenment of his fellow-countrjTnen, and employed himself in making translations into Neo-Hellenic ; in editing the ancient authors for the Greeks ; and in writing appeals to the Greek nation, flis style is remarkably good, clear, and powerful. He also took a prominent part in the controversies which raged at this time as to the forms which should prevail in the Neo-Hellenic. One party wished to expunge all modern, or what they fancied modern forms, while the other was to retain all the barbarisms which had found their way into the language. Korais adopted a middle course, and, while rejecting foreign words, retained most of the pecuhar Neo-Hellenic inflections and constructions. One of those opposed to Korais in this matter, but co-operating with him in endeavours to educate the people, was the poet Athanasios Christopoulos who adhered to the vulgar Greek. His poems are sweet, charming, graceful, and smooth, and were great favourites with the Greek ladies. 9. The end of the last and the commencement of this century produced several comic poems, such as the " War of the Ele- ments," from which Leake gives extracts, and the 'Fuaao-TaM^o- ' AyyXoc, noticed by Byron, and described by Leake. In 1817, appeared a comic poem, the Hermilos of Perdikaris, and in 1821 the Demos, a Klephtic poem by Spuridion Trikoupis, a man who afterwards took a prominent part in the Greek Revolution and the aflairs of the Greek Church, and who pronounced a funeral oration on Byron in MissolonghL About this time also (1824), Fauriel SKETCH OF NEO-HELLENIC UTEEATniSE. 7 published his celebrated collection of the Greek ballads. Many of these were translated into Englishby Charfes B. Sheridan (London 1825), with dissertations on the Klephts. A German translation also, accompanied by the Greek, was made by Wilhelm Miiller. These ballads are well worth perusal : they breathe a bold spii-it ; afford insight into the dangers and hard struggles of brave men ; and occasionally give affecting touches of maternal and filial attachment — of love stronger than death, and of ardent patriotism and devotion to religion, 10. Since the time of the Greek Revolution, literature has been cultivated in Greece with great spirit, and some remarkable works have made their appearance. At the head of their poets stand two brothers, Panagiotis and Alexander Soutsos, who resemble each other in many features of their character. They are both ardently attached to their country. Indeed a deep feeling of the Hellenic glories, and a longing for a restoration of something like the good old times, seem to be prime movers of all they have writ- ten, and occasion the grandest efforts of their muse. They are without doubt men of genius, and that, too, of rather a higher order. The works of Panagiotis Soutsos, are a volume of poetry con- taining a drama, love songs, and elegies ; a novel (Leandros), a sacred poem (The Messiah), and a collection of lyrics, which he calls the Lyre. The works of Alexander are similar. He has a poem called the JJi^i-yrXai/ufiivoe, corresponding to the drama of Panagiotis, which is named the ' Odomogog. The poem of Alex- ander is very much in the style of Lord BjTon's Childe Harold, some parts of which, especially the address to the ocean, are imi- tated with considerable power. A young Greek wanders to Rome and France, and thus gives the poet an opportunity of describing places in these countries, and making reflections on their destiny. Some of the verses are exquisite, and full of genuine poetry. The story, however, which is the basis of the whole, has too much of 8 SKETCH OF NEO-HEIXENIC LITERATURE. the affectations and exaggerations characteristic of French novel- ists. Alexander Soutsos has also written a novel, The Banished One of 1831. It is rather too political for English taste, and demands from the reader an intimate acquaintance with the prin- cipal agents in the later acts of the Greek revolution ; notwith- standing this, it is exceedingly interesting, and some chapters are written with a depth of feeling and a beauty of language, not un- worthy of the best age of Greece. Other parts of the novel dis- play the writer's satirical and comic powers, as do two poems which are printed along with the Wanderer. The other work of Alexander is his Panorama. Among the recent poets of Greece, may be mentioned Karatsoutsas, whose lyrics are sweet and ele- gant. 11. Jakobaki Rizos Jferoulos, Charmouzis and Rangavis, are among the most successful of the dramatic writers. Neroulos occupies a prominent position in the history of Greece. He has written a French " Course of Greek Literature" (Geneva 1828) ; and a history of the Greek Revolution. His comedies were published anonymously, or rather under fictitious names, such as Ba^x^Tga^. The name of the comedy of Charmouzis, is Tup^o- 3/wZT»)5, and came out in Athens in 1835. Rangavis is one of the most illustrious scholars of Greece. Two volumes of his poetry have appeared, one in 1837, and the other in 1840. They contain two dramas, a number of lyrics and songs ; some wiitten in the usual Neo-Hcllenie, and others in the popular dia- lect ; and translations of the First Book of the Odyssey, and of the Phoenissas of Euripides ; besides some French and German verses. There is a want of dramatic power in the two plays : the speeches are too long : and the whole is too much spun out : but, notwithstanding, there is a great deal of delicious poetry in them, and they will well repay perusal. The songs are remarkably good, and some of the popular ones are written in a bold and dajbing style, congenial to their subjects, and full of spirit. SKETCH OF NEO-HELLENIC LITERATURE. 9 12. There have been a considerable number of Greek histo- rians, but they have generally confined themselves to the late occurrences of their own history. At the head of them stands Perraevos, whom Niebuhr thought not unworthy of a place beside the ancient historians. His " Memoirs of Different Battles fought between the Greeks and Turks from 1820 to 1829," are admir- ably written. The style is manly and straightforward, with none of that Gallicism which appears in many Neo-Hellenic writers, and even in the Soutsoses ; and he shews great power in depicting scenes. His narrative never fails to keep up the attention, and sometimes excites thrilling interest, especially when the subject he handles draws forth his own patriotic feelings. Two or three accounts of Suliote exploits and battles are written with Homeric vigour as well as faithfulness. Bishop Germands has also his recollections of the Rise of the Kevolution — a work which par- takes in a considerable degree of the simplicity and straight- forwardness of Perrsevos's. Joannes Philemon has given an account of the STCiiciia, or secret society, which worked so ear- nestly in the cause of Greek freedom, and brought about the Re- volution ; and Dionysius Sourmelis has written a history of Athens during the same eventful period. There is also a history of Greece from 1715 to 1835, by Ambrosius Phrantzis, and a his- tory of Hydra, Petza, and Psara during the same time, by No- menides. Among those who have devoted themselves to ancient history, the most famous is Paparrigopoulos, who has been actively em- ployed, as well as some of the other writers already mentioned, in the education of the Greek youth. 13. The Greeks have very keenly discussed ethical and religious questions, and sometimes their newspapers are filled with contro- versies which look rather strange in the midst of politics. For a long time they were not allowed to write on politics very freely, and accordingly they gave themselves up to religious investigations 10 SKETCH OP KEO-HELLKNIC LITERATUKE. and squabblings. Pharmakides stands at the head of their religious writers. Neophytos Bamvas has written on Ethical Fhiloaophy, and numerous works on PoUtical Economy and cognate subjects have been translated. The Greeks have also several works on Mathematics, but by far the greatest number are translations. They have also had several illustrious physicians, and works on Anatomy ; but frequently books on such matters are written in ancient Greek, which is still regarded as the proper language of scientific men. 14. Among philologists, Asopius, Eangavis, Constantinos QSeo- nomos, N. Bamvas, and Gennadios, hold the first rank. Bamvas has published a Syntax of ancient Greek, as well as a compa- rative grammar of the ancient and modern. Gennadios, too, has published a grammar of the Hellenic, which has obtained the sanc- tion of government, and is accordingly used in the schools. It is much superior to many of the grammars used in Britain. It has reached a third edition. There are also several good oriental scholars among the Greeks ; and there are translations in Neo-Hellenic of Brahminical works, which have never been translated into any other European lan- guage. 15. There are now several newspapers in Athens. The articles are often written with great spirit, and owing to the peculiar stand- point of the writers, their ideas on European matters arc generally highly interesting and instructive. The Greeks have also produced lexicons of the Hellenic and Neo-Hellenic, but none of first-rate excellence. The Neo-Hellenic Lexicon of Scarlatto Byzantino (Athens, 1835), is the best. There are likewise lexicons of Keo-Hellenic and Italian, Keo-Hellenic and French, Neo-Hellenic and German, and Neo-Hellenic and English. The English Lexicon is by Lowndes, but its character SKETCH OF NEO-HELLEKIC LITERATURE. 11 I don't know, as I have never seen it. Tauchnitz publishes a very useful little Lexicon, Neo-Hellenic and German, by Theodor Kind, ■which may be had for a few shillings. 15. Several Neo-Hellenic books have been either reprinted or published in England. One of these is by Stephanos Xenos, who is also the author of the " Devil in Turkey." It is styled "'H XLayaogft.ioi "Exheig," and is a description of the Crystal Palace, first contributed to two Neo- Hellenic newspapers, the Amalthia and the Athena. It is' beautifully printed, elegantly written, and illustrated with very good plates, and, as it contrasts modern art and its inventions with ancient, it is the most suitable memorial which a scholar could have of the Great Exhibition. But by far the most valuable Neo-Hellenic work published in England is the first volume of the History of the Greek Revolution by the same Tricoupi, whose name is mentioned above. See a notice of this in the Times newspaper, October. " The Greeks generally find great difficulty in publishing, because they have a narrow literary public in their o^vn country. Almost all the Greek works that have appeared have been got up at the cost of rich Greek merchants. Might not our scholars do some- thing to help the Greeks in this matter ? If they were to buy Neo-Hellenic books more liberally, they would find themselves much the better for it, and they would be contributing toward the advancement of that country, their attachment to which is generally strong and elevated. I. ALPHABET. 1. The letters of the alphabet are the same as in H. The following letters have a different pronunciation in Greece to what they have in England : — tj, ;, u, II, 01, VI = ee in been. They may also have the short sound corresponding to ee, as i in pin. B 12 SKETCH OF NEO-HELLENIO LITEKATUKE. a/ ^ ai in pain ; ou = oo in boon. av = af, av, £u = ev, ef. rju = if, ef, ev. The v sound is given before /3, y, d, the liquids and the vowels. /3 =. V in vase. 7 before ►, f, a, o, ca, ou, has a guttural, aspirated sound, to which there is nothing similar in English. It is the same as the Hebrew ayin, in the word Gomorrha, and might be represented by gh. Before /, s, )j, a,i, ei, oi, it has the sound of y. yaXa, = ghala, ay/OS = ayios. 5 = th in the, 3 = th in thaw. X, is founded like a soft s, or like z in zone. Though ■3' and r are sounded as in English, //.ff is sounded as mb, and n as nd, jjiHtojiu = emboro, ami ^ andi. r; and r^ before the ee sound, is pronounced as ch. When it follows V, they are sounded as j. In other cases they are sounded as ts or tz. In transposing from English into Greek, b is represented by ^t, w by ou, ch by rs or tZ. II. ACCENTS AND BREATHINGS. 1. Accents are the same as in H. The common people some- times misplace the accents, and in this way the laws generally given for accentuation are occasionally violated. Comp. /j,s//,a)i>/i,rj in Corinna, fr. 21, Bergk., and Mridiia in Sappho, Joann. Alex. 4, 28, in Ahrens. De Dial. CEol. p. 12. SKETCH OF NEO-HKLLENIC LITERATURE. 13 Though the breathings are regularly placed on words, the Greeks neglect the aspirate in pronunciation, as in CEolic ; see the gram- marians quoted by Ahrens, De Dial. (Eol. pp. 19, 20, note. III. DECLINABLB PARTS OF SPEECH. General Remarks, 1. The dative case is seldom used, unless in particular phrases. It is supplied by the accusative, sometimes with and sometimes without lis. There is no dual number. The (Eolic had no dual. Air. De Dial. CEol. p. 108. Doric seldom used it, Ahr. De Dial. Dor. pp. 222 & 298 ; and it does not occur in the New Testament. IV. ARTICLE. 1. The article is the same as in H. In the popular dialect »i and raTs or rjis occur instead of ai and rAj. eJs is frequently used for our indefinite article (sometimes in Hellenistic, Matth. viii. 19 ; xxi. 19), its declension being the same as in H. ; only that instead of iJg for the nom. sing. sWs occurs not unfrequently. V. NODN. 1. The First, Second, and Third Declensions are the same as inH. 2, There are forms of nouns, not to be found in H., derived from foreign languages. a. Nouns in ou are thus declined : Sing. PL Nom. PaXXoO. PaXXoESa. Gen. TaXkovi. PaXXo-Jdaiv. Ace. FaXXouv. FaXXfi~A'(,s (ej). M SKETCH OP NKO-HELLENIC LITERATURE. 6. Many words in as are declined like -vl/ajas, a fisherman. Nom. ■^a^&i. >)/aga3£s. Gen. -vJ^ajS. ■'^a^ddiut. Ace. ■^a.^&v or a. -^a^adig. So in P. some nouns in jjs and a ; those in ?is retaining the jj in the sing. c. Feminine nouns in ui are variously declined. Mag/yS, Maria, has /La^iyws in the gen. AeS'Trai, Madam, has Aeittous, and pgoVtuhas pgoVou ; the accus. in all being like the nom. d. Turkish words are thus declined : Nom. ^arsni, a pilgrim ; plur. ^oiTeijSeg, regular, o xa^ef (coffee) ; plur. xa(p'sSeg. Gen. ;^arir?. xa(p£. Ace. ^arariv. xaplv, -k. Voc. ;^arir?. xa^E. i (par/jji. (paT/i'eSeg. ' rfig arijisg. Tiji' ipar/ih. (par/A. 3. Several nouns in ug that belonged to the third declension in H., are sometimes declined according to the Attic form of the ccond, as, yiXag (also in Hellen. See Jelf. Greek Grammar, 116, 4. Comp. also ejos and ysXos of the second deal, in CEolic. Ahr. p. 120) ; and mg belongs to the third (as in the New T.) 4. Spoken Language. — a. Some nouns in as of the First Decl, have a in the genitive sing, (as in Doric), and some in ng have »i. SKETCH OF NKO-HELLENIC LITERATTIEE. 15 h. In the First Decl. the ace. sing, sometimea loses the final v, and the nom. and aoc plur. have aig instead of ou, ac. The aoc. plur. in aig is CEolio. c. In the Second Decl. the v in the ace. sing, of masc. and in nom. and ace. sing, of neuter nouns, was frequently struck off as rh aXoyo, the horse. (Comp. rouro, and such words.) An irre- gular plural of neuter words was sometimes used, as aXoyara, 3d decl. for aXoya. Comp. wjoffcii'irara, Odyss. xviii. 192 ; Jelf, 117, 8 &9. d. Words in rov lose the ov in the nom. and ace. sing, as vaid! for 'Ko.iiiov. e. Ace. plural of mase. and fem. nouns of the Third Ded. often ends in eg. f- Some nouns are declined partly according to the First (Third ?) partly according to the Second ; as, Nom. Gen. Ace. o ^ogajt-ag, -m, -a ; plur. ^i^xoi. The trans- position of words from the third to the second decl. is common in 0 SKETCH OF NEO-HBLLENIC LITERATURE. 3. Table of a Regular Veri. Indicative. Subjunctive. Imperative. Infinitive. Participle. Present, yf«fI. y^d^J/as- Perfect, tx" Vi'i'^'V- Pluperfect, iix:" y(ii^v Future, BsXiu y^oi^ri^ or y^atpuv. Conditional, rf^sXa y^ai^-jj, or y^aipuv. Scriberem. Passive. Present, y^atpofteth voi y^a^aif^Bci, y^dipaV' Imperative, ly^a^ofitiv, Aorist, iy^d[MW. Plur. 1. iimTimi/iighv, 2. E^raTE/ouwu. 2. I'jra.riiovdh, or s'jraTsiigh. 3. IffarE/oui'TO, or cvaTii'mv.] 3. ivaTsioZvTat. 3. Several verbs are conjugated very irregularly in the popular dialect. The following are the most common : Present, fayu, to go (yva/yia in the written language). Sing. 1. Tayoi. Plur. 1. vd/Liv. Imperfect, evdyaiva, infl. 2. was.* 2. TarE. like sygapa ; and first 3. -ffa. 3. ffaff/, or wavi. Aor, sV}] ya like Ej'ga-4/a. Imperative. 1. as irdfiiv. Sing. 2. ways, or aiii. 2. as tote. 3. as wa/E/. 3. as waff*. Xsyw, I say. Present. Sing. 1. Xs'yw, Xsw. PI. 1. Xe/ieu. Imperf. sXEya like Eyja- 2. Xes. 2. Xete. pa ; and 1st Aorist sJwa 3. Xe. 3. Xeve, or "kiei. like 'iy^a-^a. Imperat. 1. oJs E/VoD/iev. Sing. 2. WE, or E/WE. 2. as w;Ve. 3. as e;w^. 3. as woCff/. * The omission of y between two vowels, and tlie consequent contraction of two syllables into one, is a common phenomenon in language. So Hagel, German j English, hail. In Greek it is formed by the soft pronunciation of of the y. SKETCH OF NKO-HELLENIC LITERATURE. 29 Present. Sng. 1. rjtiyft). Plur. 1. Toii/jLSK 3, rjw. 3. rjStf/, or r^tan. Imperfect. Sing. 1. ir^iaya^ Plur. 1. sf^dya/iS}/, 2. srgwj. 2. JrgwrE. 3. srgM. 3. Irgwyai/E. Aorist. £ing. 1. ipaya. Piur. 1. Ipaya/ieiL 2. EpayES. 2. es ri^vZ, from 'jre^dm ; and the P. Neo-H. is fond of verbs in aivu, as '!ra,6a,ivca, /iaiahu. 5. Some verbs that in Attic have a in the ^future, have in P. Neo-H. § as in Doric, as, eQddTa^a, and a ff is sometimes used where there was none in H. ; as ^off/iExos from SiSo/ihog. Comp. aiudTog in Sunonides of Amorgos, fr. 6, v. 56, and dri/jjaeTos in Mimnermus, fi-. 1. XIII. ADVERBS. 1. They are for the most part the same as in H. A few occur very fi-equently which do not occur in the ancient language, though for the most part mere variations of ancient words. SKETCH or NEO-HELLENIC LITERATURE. 31 idu, here (said to be from ^Ss by metathesis) ; a/iegoig, imme- diately ; fSeZalag, jSsCa/a, (H.") Yes ; certainly : vai, fLaXiera (H.) are also used in this sense. dh (oudiv) not, 'i^i (ou;^/), no : firi, (Jii\\i, not. &h corresponds to H. ou;£, but is not used alone. ,«.)] and ,0.^11 correspond to i^n ; 0;^/ replies to questions, No, and occurs also in a few phrases such as o')(i lU.owii', not only ; rtijga {rf i"^'?)) ^o^ > '''i^ovTi, indeed (common in H., but written rSi ovti. Probably, however, it was sometimes written as in Neo-H. Comp. Pearson's emendation of rip OVTI for irrmmra in Suidas on ' AXv-fidv, where the confusion seems to have arisen from the two words being written together ;)* TsXog •xavraiv, (H.) at length ; &x6/mj, still, yet ; 'irgi, so j wdvTa, always; tl&v ne-quidem, at least, (Mark vi. 56.) The following are found in the P. dial : dfydi, (from a^yog) late ; U'lrinsi, (a'jth, sKsT,) afterwards ; •ai^si (tsjuo'/), last year ; o^Tgo^A, of/yV^Z; (sfi' 'ir^oekv, comp. .ffiolic and Doric, i/i^^osSa, and the reading e/i'ffgo- hv in Theoer. Idyll. 9, v. 6.) before, forward ; xafi«6eov, xa/^- •TToaaKi, neveV so little ; xaitou xdvou, sometimes ; adavoi, adavSi, immediately ; roLGin^g, in some place. 2. Several adverbs are used as prepositions. Most of them would be recognized at once by the classical student. We shall mention those that are peculiar to Neo-H. avd/iiiBd rou, or i'lg rhv, between him ; a'Trofieaci 0,96 rov, from within. There are several other adverbs compounded with avh, easily recognizable. Mwd nv, or iic rhv, near him ; fj,at^l tou, or /jti rhv, together with ; ei//jd nv, or iig rhv, near him ; T^iydoai rov, or eig nv, round him. XIV. PREPOSITIONS. 1. They are almost all the same as in H. The cases which they * Various other emendations, however, have been proposed. See Schnei- dewin's Delectus, p. 238. 32 SKETCH OF NKO-HELLENIC LITEnATURE, govern are sometimes different, and their sense is occasionally slightly changed, avrl, ix, rr§h, govern the gen. ; awh, eig, /*£, -rohc, the accus. ; e\i, the dat. ; di^, liri, xarot., /isri, ^sf/, i^rsj, iwJ, gen. and ace. ; '?ra,^a, gen. dat. and ace. a. el; has the signification of h as well as its own Hellenic. This is Hellenistic. Comp. Mark i. 21, 39, x. 10, (See Tisch.'s edition, as the readings vary), John i. 18, where there is no various reading. This use of e/'s is frequent in critical editions of the New Test, h and eig (svs) are really the same, as in German and Latin in serves for both ; h is used for tig, and is followed by the accusative in Boeotic and sometimes in Pindar, iv with the dative is also, though rarely, used for ilg, as in John v. 4. Com- pare also the Scottish into, as in the song of " Saw ye Johnnie comin' " — " 1 hae twa sarks into my kist." fig for iv is also H., see Person ad Eurip. Phoeniss. 1381,"cited by Donaldson in his Cratylus. Iv is very seldom used, though it is becoming more common. It occurs regularly in several phrases, as h TodovTw, in the meantime, iv rfi 'EXXddi, &c. 6. di& (written yia in P. dialect; comp. the form of di& not very dissimilar in sound, in the Sapphic word ^asXs§a/iai', fr. 88 Bergk. ; and see liobeck. Path. G. S., Elem. p. 203 ; comp. also journal from diurnal), besides its usual meaning, has with the ace. the sense of the Hellenic tig. He came to the city, rjXh 8i& t^v ■xokiv. It also often supplies the place of the H. Dative. c. fu signifies with, and is frequently used to express the H. modal dative. I have no doubt that /4s is an old form, like xa. See Donaldson's Cratylus, p. 244. XV. CONJUNCTIONS. m (from 7i/a) that: It continually occurs, owing to the absence 8KETCH OP NEO-HELLINIC LITEKATUEE. 33 of the Infinitive ; ha is very common also in Hellenistic, being used in the N. T. according to an apparently Latin idiom for ut, Luke i. 43 ; viii. 31, &c. In the popular dialect it is frequently used for on, as is also , sometimes takes the place of u, as we have seen SKETCH OP NBO-HELLENIC LITEKATURE. 37 u take the place of /3 in luydXii ; as apsvrjjg for auS'evrtig, ixa-^s for ixauds, s^rj^t-^i for i^rigiuae. 16. The order of letters is sometimes changed, as w^ixa for •Trlxga, y^miZiu for yvaig/^w. Comp. in H. sVga^ov from itigSto, &c. Perhaps the ancients took as great liberties in this respect as the moderns ; comp. the form hii