᾿ Lenis.
῾ Asper.
´ Acute.
` Grave.
῀ Circumflex.
῎ Lenis acute.
῍ Lenis grave.
῞ Asper acute.
῝ Asper grave.
῏ Circumflex lenis.
῟ Circumflex asper.
¨ Diæresis.
΅ Diæresis acute.
῭ Diæresis grave.
Accents are nothing more than small marks which have been introduced
into the language to denote the pronunciation of words, and aid its
acquisition by learners. The ancient Greeks never used them, as is
demonstrated from Aristotle, old inscriptions, and ancient medals. It is
not easy to tell the date when the practice of writing with accents first
obtained, though it is probable not till after the Romans began to learn
the Greek tongue and to send their children to study at Athens,—that is,
about or a little before the time of Cicero.
Accents—by the Greeks called τόνοι, tones—show the rising or falling of
the voice in pronouncing; either separately in distinct syllables, or
conjunctively in the same syllable.
Wherefore there are two sorts of accents: two simple, viz. the acute,
ὀξύς, figured thus [´], which denotes the elevation of the voice; and
the grave, βαρὺς, shaped thus [`], to signify the falling or depression
of the voice: and the circumflex, περισπώμενος which was formed first
of these two lines or points joined together thus [῍] and afterward was
changed into a round sort of a figure like an inverted upsilon, thus
[[symb]], but at length came to be figured like an s drawn crosswise
[῀].[14]
* * * * *
The acute accent raises the voice, and affects one or more of the last
three syllables of a word, if it has so many.
* * * * *
The grave depresses the voice, and affects the last syllable only.
* * * * *
The circumflex lengthens the sound, and affects either the last syllable
of a word or the last but one.
* * * * *
There are two spirits, or breathings: the asper [῾], which is equivalent
to the modern letter h; and the lenis [᾿], which has no perceptible
power, and indicates the bare opening of the mouth and simple emission of
the voice.
All the words that begin with a vowel have one of these breathings over
them; but the vowel upsilon admits of no other than the _spiritus asper_
at the beginning of a word.
In diphthongs the _spiritus_ is put over the second vowel: as αὐτὸς, not
ἀυτὸς.
The letter ρ, at the beginning of a word, has an _asper_ over it, as,
ῥέω; and where two ρs meet in a word, the first has a _lenis_, and the
other an _asper_.
* * * * *
The apostrophe [’] is used for cutting off the vowels α, ε, ι, ο, and the
diphthongs αι and οι, when they stand at the end of a word and the next
word begins with a vowel: as, παρ’ αὐτῷ for παρὰ αὐτῷ; πάντ’ ἔλεγον for
πάντα ἔλεγον.
Sometimes the apostrophe contracts two words into one: as, κᾳ’γὼ for καὶ
ἐγὼ; ἐγῶ’μαι for ἐγῶ οἴμαι; κᾳ’κεῖνος for καὶ ἐκεῖνος.
Sometimes an apostrophe supplies the place of the first vowel beginning a
word: as ὦ ’γαθὲ for ὦ ἀγαθὲ; ποῦ ’ςι for ποῦ ἐςι. This is chiefly used
in poetry.
But the prepositions περὶ and πρὸ suffer no apostrophe though the next
word begin with a vowel; for we write περὶ υμῶν, πρὸ ἐμοῦ; περὶ αὐτον,
πρὸ ἐτῶν, &c.
* * * * *
The diæresis [¨] is put over the last one of two vowels that come
together, to show that they must be pronounced separately, and not as a
diphthong: thus, ἀϋτὴ with a diæresis makes three syllables; but without
a diæresis αυ is a diphthong, and makes αὐτὴ two syllables.
* * * * *
Diastole [,] is put between two particles that would bear a different
sense without it: thus, ὄ,τε ὄ,τι signify _whatever_; whereas ὁτε stands
for _as_, and ὁτι for _that_. Τό,τε with a diastole implies _and this_;
but when without, it answers to the adverb _then_.
* * * * *
The sign of interrogation, in Greek, is made by a semicolon [;].
The colon is made by an inverted full-point [·].
All other points are the same as in English.
* * * * *
The compositor will find it advantageous to bear in mind the following
rules:—
1. No accent can be placed over any other than one of the last three
syllables of a word.
2. The grave accent never occurs but on the last syllable; and, this
being the case, the asper grave ῝ and lenis grave ῍ can be wanted only
for a few monosyllables.
3. No vowel can have a spirit, or breathing, except at the beginning of a
word.