acute on the latter, in this manner: Minor, min'eral, lively, liv'id, rival, riv'er.

Spiritus Afper, an afpirate', is peculiar to the Greek language, and implies, that the letters over which it is placed, should be pro-; nounced with a rough breathing, or as if they were preceded by an h.

Among the ancient Greeks the H, that is, the letter eta, fupplied this office: as, HEKAΤΟΝ centum, ΗΟΔΟΣ via, for ἑκατον, ὁδος. This character, we are told, was afterwards divided into two parts; the left fide making the rough, and the right I, the smooth breathing *.

From this character the Latin †, and the

* Spirituum afperi et lenis schemata et literâ H, duas in partes divifâ, notavit Aristophanes; ita ut prima pars ejufdem cha racteris afperum fpiritum denotaret, fecunda refidua, tenuem. MONTF. Palæog. Græca, p. 33. SCAL. de Caufis Ling.

Lat. c. 54.

† Οίμαι δε και δια του Η ςαχειου τυπώσασθαι τους παλείους στην δασείαν διόπερ και Ρωμαίοι προ πάντων των δασυνομένων ονομα των τα Η προγραφούσιο "I think the ancient Greeks reprefented the afpirate by the letter H; and therefore the Romans prefix an H to all words, which are to be afpirated." ATHEN. Deipnof. 1. ix. c. 12, p. 398, edit. 1589..

*

modern languages, have borrowed their h: as, hora from ώρα, hefperus from έσπερος.

The Lenis denoted a fmooth breathing. Every word in Greek, which begins with a vowel, has either an afper or a lenis prefixed. The afper fhould be retained; but the lenis is absolutely useless.

A long Syllable. A fyllable is long, when the voice dwells longer upon it, than upon other fyllables in the fame word; or when it refts upon a vowel or diphthong: as, Pactōlus, Cocytus, Euripus, Mausoleum, asylum, ho

rizon.

A fhort Syllable . A fyllable is fhort, when the voice paffes rapidly over the vowel: as, Caucafus, Lotophagi, Areopagus, Antipödes.

Demetrius Triclinius, who lived about the beginning of the fourteenth century, having afcribed to the old Gresk grammarians the invention of tones and fpirits, adds: "Befides thefe, they invented this mark

as the fign

of

of a long fyllable, and this

,

as the fign of

a short one

These marks are ftill used in treatises of profody, and in Latin dictionaries.

* Προς τούτοις, δε και μακρας μεν σημείον τοδι ~, της δε βρα χειας τουτι DEMET. TRICLIN. in Præf. ad Ariftopha

nem.

CHA P. III.

Abbreviations, and fome technical terms, relative

to books.

TOLIO. A book is faid to be in

Fol.

F%

paper makes

folio, when one sheet of paper makes only two leaves, or four pages.

4to. Quarto, when one fheet makes four leaves, or eight pages.

The Frontispiece, the picture facing the title

page.

The Title-page, the first page of every book, containing the title.

The Running Title, the word or fentence at the top of every page.

A Column. When the page is divided into feveral parts by a blank space, or a line running from the top to the bottom, each divifion is called a column: as in bibles, dictionaries, news-papers, &c.

A, B, C, and A 2, A 3, &c. at the bottom of the page, are marks for directing the bookbinder, in collecting and folding the sheets.

The Catchword, the word at the bottom of the page, on the right hand, which is repeated at the beginning of the next, in order to fhew, that the pages fucceed one another in proper order.

++ references to notes in the margin.

The