section, taken, with some alterations, from the Grammar of Professor Sophocles, of the Hartford University, has been devoted to the subject. Rules for accentuation seem to the author an absolute essential in every work on Greek composition, whether in Prose or Verse.

4. In order to meet the wishes of numerous friends, and render the work available for beginners, as well as for those for whom it was originally designed, the author has engaged his colleague, Mr Jeffery, to compose and arrange sixty short INTRODUCTORY EXERCISES. Mr Jeffery has accordingly translated, paraphrased, and subjoined Notes to these sixty Exercises, and has moreover written a Critical Analysis of faulty lines, which appears in Section V. of the Introduction.

It is only fair to state that many of the English passages given to Mr Jeffery for these Exercises were selected by the author from Boyes' Illustrations of the Greek Tragedians.

5. The author has carefully revised all his own Exercises, which appeared in the first edition, and has arranged them in a more progressive order, gradually diminishing the amount of assistance given as the Exercises advance.

This is deemed an important improvement. He has also added about fifty new Exercises.

6. Lastly, a short Appendix has been added, containing the Critical Canons, and certain other important matter, which seems an appropriate accompaniment to a work of this kind.

The main portion of the original work is thus increased to nearly double its former extent, an alteration which was first kindly suggested by Professor Browne, of King's College, London.

In this edition, it may be added, Paraphrases have been affixed to all the Exercises, though those towards the end of the book are much less literal than the earlier ones.

These paraphrases do not aim at a rigidly close rendering of the original passages, but rather at a representation of ENGLISH idioms and ideas by corresponding GREEK ones.

When the pupils are sufficiently advanced to render a paraphrase unnecessary, the author would strongly recommend the introduction of that admirable collection of passages, entitled Foliorum Silvula, by the Rev. H. A. Holden.

It may not be inappropriate to add, that in the Latin Verse Book, which, under the title of Lyra Latina, or Exercises in Latin Verse, will

appear almost simultaneously with this work, a large number of the Exercises will be found to have been arranged from the same passages of English Poetry.

It need hardly be stated that the author's object in making this arrangement, (which is, he believes, quite a novel one,) has been to familiarize, in some degree, the minds of young scholars with the LATIN, as well as the GREEK, poetical renderings of the same English words and ideas.

As this plan, however, has only occurred to the author's mind very lately, while he has been engaged in the laborious and anxious duty of conducting a large school, he feels only too conscious that it must be but imperfectly realised.

CHELTENHAM GRAMMAR SCHOOL,

May, 1854.

INTRODUCTION.

SECTION I.

T is intended that the following remarks and rules,

IT

which have been condensed and arranged from the latest and best authorities on the subject, should be learned and thoroughly understood by the pupil, before he attempts the Exercises; and it is suggested that teachers using this book should illustrate the rules by numerous examples from their own reading, and test the knowledge of their pupils by giving them lines from the Tragedians to analyse. Also, before entering upon the series of exercises here given, it would be desirable to give preliminary exercises of lines from some play which has not been read by the class, the words being read to the pupils divested of the metrical arrangement, and the feet of which each line is to consist, being stated.

Explanation of Metrical Terms.

Rhythm is the regular succession of parts of time, called Times; in other words, variety in the movement as to quickness or slowness, or length

and shortness of the times in metre, or notes in music.

Arsis is a stronger Time. ARSIS is also used to denote the syllable which receives the Ictus. The Ictus in Iambics, Spondees, and Anapæsts is on the last syllable: in Tribrachs and Dactyls on the second.

Thesis is a weaker Time.

Catalectic wanting one syllable to complete the

metre.

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Acatalectic not wanting, i. e. complete.

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Brachycatalectic = wanting two syllables to complete the metre.

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Hypercatalectic having one syllable above the proper

metre.

Cœsura =

the pause made by the close of a word before the close of the foot.

Diaresis (in metre) = the close of a word and foot simultaneously.

Senarius a line of six feet, properly a Latin designation of a Trimeter Iambic Line.

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Elision the cutting off of a syllable at the end of a word.

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Prodelision the cutting off of a syllable at the beginning of a word.

Crasis the union of the last syllable of one word

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