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OBSERVATIONS ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE GREEK AND LATIN LANGUAGES.

To the Editor of the Athenæum.

Sir, IN the number of the Athenæum for April last, one of your readers desired to be informed, "at what period the present English pronunciation of Latin and Greek originated." To this question, which has not been noticed in the subsequent numbers of your publication, I will beg your permission to make a few observations in

answer.

There seems to be no difficulty in solving the query proposed; for it is obvious, that the origin of the pronunciation alluded to must be dated from the time at which those languages began to be studied; and this period may be fixed at the commencement of the 16th century, or soon after the revival of letters.

Your correspondent appears to imagine, that there is something very particular in the manner in which Englishmen pronounce Greek and Latin; but their pronunciation is, in fact, not more singular than that used by their neighbours. All the nations of Europe, among whom the knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages was introduced or revived at the period mentioned, pronounce them respectively according to the peculiar sounds of their native speech. Hence they all differ from one another. A German utters both the Greek and the Latin with the peculiarities of his own language; an Italian, conformably to the idiom of his country; a Frenchman, with French sound and accent; and, consequently, an Englishman not otherwise than he has been accustomed to speak his native tongue. It may be said, that the Italian, French, German pronunciations, and so forth, of Greek and Latin, agree more with each other than the English does with any of them; but still the latter is established exactly upon the same principle on which the others are founded. It may farther be asserted (though I will not, at present, engage in an examination of this opinion) that the mode of pronunciation in use among other nations seems to be less remote from that with which the ancient Romans and Grecians probably spoke their respective languages, than that way of pronouncing to which the natives of England are habituated. The truth, however, is, that the original and gemuine pronunciation of those languages is, in our days, no where either understood or practised.

This branch of classical science has been unaccountably neglected. While much labour and industry have been bestowed upon different parts of ancient literature, the preliminary topic of pronunciation, which was certainly not unimportant, has met with no adequate share of attention. Many points relating to this enquiry I am sure might be satisfactorily ascertained; but it has not been taken rightly in hand, nor steadily pursued. The discussions of Erasmus, Reuchlin,

Cheke,

Cheke, and others, are to be considered only as imperfect attempts, from which no valuable result was obtained. Since the time of those early scholars, this subject can hardly be said to have attracted the regards of learned men, if we except the disquisitions on accent and quantity, in the Greek language, which on various occasions have been produced. Yet it is a problem, if properly estimated, of no mean consideration, nor inferior in merit to many questions concerning antiquity which have been thought worthy of diligent investigation.

That some part of the ancient pronunciation might be restored to our knowledge, and that some rules might thence be derived which should be binding upon all who profess an acquaintance with those languages, admits, in my mind, of no doubt. Among the means to be employed for that purpose I would principally recommend a comparison of the modes of writing used by the ancient Grecians and Romans, when either of them transfer into their own language names and words borrowed from the other. The Greek writers, for example, who treat of Roman history, such as Polybius, Dionysius Halicarnassensis, Plutarch, and others, have frequently occasion to represent Roman words in the Greek character. Thus an opportunity is afforded us of comparing the letters of the two alphabets, which will often lead, with a tolerable degree of accuracy, to a conclusion respecting their sounds.

Your

In some instances the errors of modern pronunciation are so palpable, that a deviation from it must be regarded not only as justifiable, but as meritorious and proper. It may, for example, be demonstrated, that the letter A was not pronounced by the antients as it is in the English alphabet, but in the manner in which it is sounded by other nations. The broad and open pronunciation of that letter has accordingly been substituted by some judicious persons in this country, for the sharp and elevated sound which it bears in English. correspondent remarks, that the former is adopted by the scholars of Winchester. It seems not to be material to enquire at what time, and by whose example and authority, it was introduced in that respectable establishment. It is sufficient for us to know, that the cause must be looked for in a persuasion, which existed at the time of its introduction, that the other mode of pronunciation was wrong. Within my remembrance the Latin was in the schools of Germany spoken like f, according to the idiom of the German language, in which the letters v and fare of equal signification; but, at present, that pronunciation is exploded, at least in many places; and the Latin vis uttered by the Germans, as undoubtedly it ought to be, like the v of the French, Italian, and other nations.

I will now advert to a circumstance upon which your correspondent lays much stress. It strikes him, he says, that if Englishmen pronounced Latin as they at present do, before the reformation, when their priests had so much intercourse with the pope and other Roman catholic priests on the continent, it must have made great confusion; for, he adds, an Englishman can scarcely make himself understood to a foreigner." It certainly cannot be maintained, that the English

VOL. IV.

P

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pronounced

pronounced Latin before the reformation precisely in the same manner as they now do. It would depend upon the mode in which they spoke their own language, which was probably somewhat different from the practice of our age. But as to any great embarrassment having arisen, from a diversity in pronouncing the Latin tongue, between the English priests and the ecclesiastics of the continent, this matter will, upon reflection, appear less serious than it is represented. For in the first place it is not shewn, that the intercourse between the English clergy and their catholic brethren on the continent, and especially with the pope, supposing it to have been as frequent and extensive as your correspondent wishes to intimate, was carried on in the Latin language. And secondly, I know from experience that the difficulty of conversing through the medium of that language between Englishmen and foreigners, allowing that they know enough of it to be able to express their ideas, is, with regard to pronunciation, by far not so alarming as may be thought. Their mutual peculiarities soon become familiar, and a reciprocal accommodation easily takes place to facilitate the understanding of one another.

I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant,

G. H. NOEHDEN.

FOREIGN AND INTERNAL TRADE OF RUSSIA.

Continued from page 16.

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Large quantities of furs are exported from Russia, the greater part of which are conveyed by land to Turkey, Moldavia, Vallachia, and Germany. According to Beaujour, furs are the most important article of the Russian trade with Greece and the whole of the Turkish empire. "Without furs,' says this writer, a person in these countries is never well dressed; they form the chief ornament of all ranks at every period of the year. The other northern nations have, therefore, endeavoured to wrest this profitable branch of trade from the hands of the Russians, but their attempts have not been attended with success. Greeks travel about in Russia, and buy up this article in the markets of the Ukraine and of Poland, in order to sell it at the fairs of Selimia and Ozongoria, from which it is dispersed throughout all Romelia. The other provinces of the Ottoman empire procure furs at Constantinople, to which they are conveyed in part by the Black Sea. Furs to the value of 900,000 piastres are sold in the Greek markets, but this quantity is not all used in the country. A third part of it is sent from Salonichi to Syria and Egypt. The following are the kinds of fur which find the readiest sale in Turkey:

1. Sable, which is held in high estimation. The furs of this kind worn by the Sultan on public occasions are reckoned to be worth 30,000 piastres. It is said that the two pelisses and other articles

which

which Catherine I. gave to the Vizier to extricate her husband from his unfortunate position at Pruth, cost upwards of 100,000 piastres, and that they are still preserved in the seraglio, where they are shewn every year on a certain fête given by the Sultan to his ladies. The sables are sold by chests, each containing ten bundles, and each bundle forty skins. The price of the whole is from 300 to 3000 piastres.

2d. Ermine, which forms the summer furs, and is destined chiefly for the dresses of the ladies. The highest recommendation in the sables is their deep black colour; in the ermine it is the most unsullied whiteness. The furriers in the Levant, to make the whiteness more striking, place black patches on this kind of fur; they fasten the tail of the animal also to the skin with great dexterity. The Turks take great pleasure in drawing these tails through their hand, for a rich Turk does scarcely any thing throughout the whole day but sit on a sofa stroking his beard or his furs. The ermine is sold in bundles, each containing forty skins; the price of the bundle is from twenty to forty piastres.

3d. The fur of a Siberian squirrel, which in summer is red, but in winter becomes grey. The back of this animal is of a beautiful grey colour, but the belly is nearly as white as the fur of the ermine. The most beautiful and richest pelisses are composed of pieces cut from the back and the belly, joined together alternately. The use of this kind of fur is very common in Turkey; the men line with it their wrappers or cloaks, and the women their robes. The skins are sold by the thousand, at the rate of from 300 to 500 piastres for that number.

4th. The fur of the black fox, which is dearer even than sable, and which in Turkey serves to distinguish persons of the highest dignity. Pelisses of this fur are worn only on days of public solemnity by the Grand Signior and Pachas of three tails. There are some skins, the hair of which is so long and so silky that a hen's egg might be concealed in it. A beautiful skin is sold sometimes at Constantinople for 50,000 piastres.

5th. The skins of lambs cut from their mother's bellies, the hair of which is soft and shining, black, short, and strongly curled. They are used for bordering caps and other articles of dress. Caps of this kind are worn by the Greek nobility, and by the papas or priests of all the christian sects in Turkey. The skins are sold in pairs, at the rate of from fifteen to fifty piastres; and a pair are necessary for one cap. There are also grey lamb skins, which come from Persia: the wool of these is softer, finer, and more curled than that of the black; but they are so dear, that they are used only in ornamenting the most valuable dresses. The hospodars of Moldavia and Vallachia, and the dragoman of the Porte, border their caps with them. They are sold also by the pair, at the rate of fifty, a hundred, and even two hundred piastres.

Sir,

ON PUGILISM.

To the Editor of the Athenæum.

AS the practice of pugilism is defended by many writers, under the idea that it tends to improve the national character for bravery; permit me to submit to your consideration, whether the example by which a nation is to be benefited, ought, with propriety, to come from the lower orders of society? Ought it not rather to originate with the upper classes, whose rank in life would sanction and bring into universal esteem the noble art of boxing?

The principle of its utility being properly acknowledged, and the practice thereof allowed by the legislature, we ought to have public exhibitions of pugilistic prowess, in which the most athletic of our nobility should exert themselves, purely from the love of their country, and from a desire to improve its national character: Dukes and Earls ought to be the combatants"; Barons and Viscounts should act as seconds; and there would, perhaps (under those circumstances) be no impropriety in Judges and Bishops becoming bottle-holders. Really, Sir, there is no saying what ardour and enthusiasm might not be produced among the people from such an assemblage; nor with what veneration a broken nose or a black eye would be regarded, when obtained in these honourable conflicts.

Perhaps it would be requisite that some regulations should be adopted respecting the technical terms at present made use of, as it might, in the printed accounts of these engagements, possibly offend some fastidious and classical readers, to have it recorded that, in "the fourth round" the Duke "fibbed" the Earl; and in "the eighth round" the Earl" ruffianed" the Duke! This matter, however, with the assistance of the Literati, would soon be properly adjusted; and I am convinced that their good offices would not be with-held on an occasion so evidently "pro bono publico."

I am, Sir, your's, &c.

P.

Woburn,

SYNONYMIC ELUCIDATIONS CONTINUED.

Saying. Saw. By-word. Proverb. Sentence. Sentiment. Maxim. Adage. Axiom. Truism. Aphorism. Apophthegm.

Here are twelve words, which all denote phrases, that affirm, not a particular fact, but a general proposition.

Say and saw are dialectic variations of the same word, which is collateral with the Iselandish saga, and is the root of the German verb sagen, to say, or to affirm. Saw being the provincial, and saying the metropolitan mode of utterance, the former word has acquired a con

temptuous