C. L. S. C. NOTES ON REQUIRED READINGS FOR NOVEMBER.

PREPARATORY GREEK COURSE IN ENGLISH.

P. 95.—“Gorˈgi-as.” (B.C. 487-380.) A Greek rhetorician and sophist. He captivated the Athenian populace by the splendor of his eloquence, and had among his pupils Alcibiades and Æschines.

P. 97.—“Socrates.” The advice given by Socrates, who was very fearful “lest it might be a matter of censure on the part of the state” should Xenophon take part in this expedition, was that he should go to Delphi and consult the oracle of the great god Apollo concerning the undertaking.

P. 98.—“Pæˈan.” One of the names of Apollo; afterward transferred from him to a triumphal song dedicated to him.

P. 100.—“Larissa.” Now Nimroud, and probably (with its excavated palaces) the southern portion of the vast circuit of Nineveh, “Resen” mentioned in Gen. 10-12.

P. 105.—“Brazen Utensils.” They very artfully forebore to molest these, trying in every way possible to lead the Carduchians to look upon them as friendly, so that they, the Greeks, might have a safe passage through the country.

P. 108.—“Centrites.” Now called Bohtan Chai; eastern branch of the Tigris.

Xenophon’s explanation: “For they,” his followers, “all knew that any one might go to him at breakfast, or at dinner, or, if it should be necessary, might rouse him up from sleep to say whatever one might have to say concerning the war.”

P. 112.—“Părˈa-săng.” A Persian measure of length; about four English miles.

P. 115.—The Armenians lived in underground houses then, as they do now, on account of the excessive cold of the winters. The great elevation of the uplands explains the extreme severity of the cold.

P. 119.—“Golden Fleece.” The Argonauts were the earliest heroes of Greek antiquity; they were the first to navigate unknown and dangerous seas. The story is as follows: Jason was ordered by his uncle Pelias, of Thessaly, to bring him the golden fleece of a ram which was nailed to an oak in the grove of Mars, in Colchis, and which was watched by a sleepless dragon. After a voyage full of adventures he and his followers reached the goal of their expedition. Æëtes, king of the country, promised the fleece to Jason on condition that he would perform some difficult and dangerous tasks. Medea, the king’s daughter, fell in love with Jason, and taught him how to overcome the dangers and seize the fleece. Then she fled with him back to Iolcus.

P. 120.—“Pancratium,” pan-crāˈshĭ-um. An athletic contest which combined boxing and wrestling.

P. 121.—“Ulysses.” A Greek hero of the Trojan war. For account of his arrival, “outstretched and asleep,” see “Preparatory Greek Course in English,” page 222, the fifth stanza from the end.

“Cerasus.” Whence our word cherry, which fruit was brought from this region into Italy by Lucullus in 73 B. C.

“Mosynœci.” A people celebrated for their warlike spirit and savage customs. Their houses were built of wood and were of conical form. Their government was very curious; a king chosen by them was strictly guarded in a house higher than the rest, and was maintained at public cost; but as soon as he displeased the people they starved him to death.

P. 128.—“Atrides,” a-triˈdes. The name signifies son or descendant of Atreus, and was bestowed especially upon Agamemnon and Menelaus. Agamemnon is referred to here.

“Keats.” (1795-1821.) An English poet. His chief works were “Endymion,” “Eve of St. Agnes,” and “Hyperion.” He died in Rome.

P. 129.—“Thetis.” The wife of Pelé-us, and mother of Achilles. She dwelt in the depths of the sea, and had the power of assuming any form she pleased. All the gods were invited to be present on the occasion of her marriage to Peleus, except Discord, who avenged herself by throwing into the assembly the apple which was the source of so much misery. Thetis foretold Achilles that his fate was either to gain glory and die early, or to live a long and inglorious life. The hero chose the former, and took part in the Trojan War, from which he knew he was not to return.

“Derby.” (1799-1869.) A distinguished English statesman; for several years a member of Parliament, and among the first and most eloquent orators of the time; was elected Chancellor of Oxford on the death of the Duke of Wellington, and was made Premier after Lord Palmerston. “His version of the ‘Iliad,’” says the Edinburgh Review, “is far more allied to the original, and superior to any that has yet been attempted in the blank verse of our language.”

P. 132.—“Newman.” An English author, born 1805. He was a great traveler, and wrote many works on historical, political, and theological subjects. He was a brother of John Henry Newman, who was converted to Roman Catholic doctrines.

“Worsley.” See “Preparatory Greek Course in English,” page 203.

“Ipsissimus.” His very own self. A strengthened form of the Latin pronoun ipse, meaning himself.

P. 134.—“Quære.” From the Latin word quæ-ro, meaning to question; whence our word query.

P. 136.—“Macedonia’s Madman.” A title given to Alexander the Great, so called because of his fiery, impetuous character.

P. 142.—“Empyrean,” ĕm-py-rēˈan. The highest heaven.

P. 144.—“Ajax.” One of the great chiefs of the Trojan War, second only to Achilles in martial powers. There was another of the same name, and the two were distinguished by adding the words greater or lesser after their names.

“Pelides.” Son of Peleus; Achilles.

“Phthiˈa.” The city in which Achilles resided, situated in the southeastern part of Thessaly. Thessaly now forms part of the Turkish province of Salonika.

P. 147.—“By this sacred scepter.” As the oath was a renunciation of service to Agamemnon, the general-in-chief, Achilles very naturally swears by his scepter, which was the emblem of regal power.

P. 148.—“Centaurs.” A race said to have lived on Mt. Pelion, in Thessaly. They were represented as half horses and half men, perhaps from the fact that hunting on horseback was a national custom. From this very easily the fable might have arisen, just as the Americans, when they first saw a Spaniard on horseback, thought horse and man to be one being.

P. 150.—“Ambrosial.” Divine, immortal.

“Here,” heˈre or heˈra. Juno.

P. 160.—“Achaians.” One of the chief Greek races. As they were the ruling nation in the heroic times, Homer frequently calls the collective Greeks by their name.

“Danaäns.” Another name applied to the Greeks. It was derived from Danaus, one of the earliest settlers in Greece.

P. 161.—“Neologism,” ne-ŏlˈo-gism. The introduction of new words.

P. 164.—“Tydides,” ty-dīˈdes. Son of Tydeus, Diomed.

P. 165.—“Son of Capaneus.” Sthenelus, commander of the Greeks under Diomed, and one of those who afterward were concealed in the wooden horse.

“Well-greaved.” Greaves were armor for the legs, a sort of heavy boots.

P. 166.—“Iris.” The messenger of the gods. She traveled on the rainbow.

P. 167.—“Ichor,” īˈkor. An ethereal fluid that supplied the place of the blood in the veins of the gods.

“Pergamus.” The citadel of Troy.

P. 170.—“Simoïs and Scamander,” simˈo-is, sca-manˈder. Rivers of Troy. “Simoïs,” also name of the river god. The Scamander was sometimes called Xanthus.

THE ART OF SPEECH.

P. 11.—“Leibnitz,” fon līpˈnĭts. (1646-1716.) Preëminent as a philosopher and mathematician. In his papers on “Language” he advanced theories which place him among linguists in the same position which Hallam considers him to hold among geologists, when he says: “Of all the early geologists, or indeed of all down to a time not very remote, Leibnitz came nearest to the theories which are most received in the English school at this day.”

“Halhed.” It may be of interest to note the various works which these scholars have contributed to the science of philology; Hălˈhed (1751-1830), an English author, prepared a “Grammar of the Bengal Language;” “Jones” (1764-1794), of whom it has been said that in the branch of literature to which he devoted his attention he undoubtedly surpassed all other Europeans, translated from the Persian, Turkish, and Sanskrit, and organized the “Asiatic Society” for investigating the language and customs of Asia; “Colebrooke,” kōlˈbrŏok (1765-1837), wrote a “Grammar” and “Dictionary of the Sanskrit Language;” “M. de Chézy,” deh shāˈzeˌ (1773-1832), was a learned and popular scholar, for whom a chair of Sanskrit was founded in Paris in 1815. W. Humboldt and A. Schlegel were among his pupils. He translated much and wrote a Sanskrit grammar; “Schlegel,” schlāˈgel (1767-1845) is said to be the first German who mastered Sanskrit, on which he wrote much; “Bopp” (1791-1867) founded the science of comparative philology. His greatest work was a “Comparative Grammar of the Sanskrit, Zend, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, Old Sclavonian, Gothic and German languages.” This work was translated into English by Prof. Wilson (1786-1860), who, while a surgeon in Bengal, had learned Sanskrit. Returning to England, he was made professor of Sanskrit at Oxford; “Grimm” (1785-1863), the great German philologist furthered the study by the discovery of the law by which words change their forms; “Weber” (1825-⸺), a pupil of Bopp’s, contributed a large number of translations and papers on oriental lore; “Kuhn,” kōōn (1812-⸺), also Bopp’s pupil, is called the founder of comparative Indo-Germanic mythology; for many years he has been connected as editor, with two German periodicals devoted to comparative philology; “Steinthal,” stīnˈtäl (1823-⸺), a Jew, is the author of several volumes on the classification of languages, primitive speech, the development of speech, and similar subjects; “Eichhoff,” āˈkofˌ (1799-⸺), a Frenchman, wrote a “Comparison of the Languages of Europe with those of India;” “Renan,” reh-nonˈ (1823-⸺), the French critic and author, has written a “History of the Semetic Languages,” and a treatise on the “Origin of Languages;” “Chavée,” shäˌvāˈ (1815-1877), a Belgian, has attempted to disprove the unity of the human race, in an “Essay on the Knowledge of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, French and Russian Words;” “Müller,” müˈler (1823-⸺), the present German-English authority on language, has written several volumes, and Prof. “Whitney” (1827-⸺), at present professor of Sanskrit, in Yale College, is the author of works on “Language and the Study of Language,” the “Life and Growth of Language,” etc.

P. 17.—“Farrar.” Canon of Westminster, chaplain in ordinary to the Queen, and the author of several valuable works.

“Sporadic,” spo-rădˈic. Occurring singly or apart from other things of the same kind.

“Agglutinative,” ag-glūˈti-na-tive. Formed by agglutinations, as the union of several words into one compound vocable is called.

“Alloplylian,” ăl-lo-plylˈi-an.

P. 20.—“Estrays,” strays. Adopted from a law term referring to a lost animal.

P. 21.—“Humboldt.” (1767-1835.) A brother of the famous scholar and traveler of this name. He wrote much on language and comparative philology, his most ambitious work being a “Memoir on Comparative Linguistics.”

P. 26.—“Du Ponceau,” du-ponˈsō. (1760-1844.) His contributions to philology consisted of several treatises on language and a “Memoir oh the Indian Languages of North America.”

“Charlevoix,” sharˈlĕh-vwäˌ. (1682-1761.) A Jesuit missionary to America.

P. 29.—“Onomatopoetic,” ŏnˈo-mătˌo-po-ëtˌic. Words found to resemble the thing signified. The term is derived from two Greek words signifying to make a name.

P. 31.—“Heyse,” hēˈzeh. (1797-1855.) An able German scholar who wrote a valuable work on philology.

P. 33.—“Bleek,” (1827-1875.) He spent many years in Africa, where he collected materials for a “Vocabulary of the Mozambique Language,” and a “Grammar of South Africa.” He assisted in writing a “Handbook of African, Australian, and Polynesian Philology.”

“Schleicher,” shlīˈker. (1821-1869.) A German linguist, said to rank next to Bopp in comparative philology.

“Vinet,” ve-naˈ. (1797-1847.) A Swiss theologian and author, particularly well versed in the French language and literature.

P. 42.—“Ultimo,” etc. These expressions from the Latin have all English equivalents. Ultimo, on the last; instanter, at once; proximo, on the next; cultus, culture; onus, burden; magnum opus, a great work; status, state, standing; curriculum, course, particularly a course of study; ultimatum, the end, a final condition; maximum, the greatest; minimum, the least.

“Distingué,” etc. For these French terms we have equally expressive English words. Distingué, distinguished; blasé, surfeited, incapable of pleasure; à merveille, marvelously; beau monde, the fashionable world; coup d’œil, a quick glance; demi monde, loose livers; haut ton, aristocracy, the high toned; coiffée à ravir, charmingly dressed; debutante, a lady making her first appearance.

P. 47.—“Tooke.” (1736-1812.) A philologist and politician whose fame rests on one valuable work on language.

P. 49.—“De Quincy,” de kwĭnˈsĭ. (1785-1859.) His contributions to the art of speech consist of several valuable essays and literary criticisms.

P. 62.—“Kames,” kāmz. (1696-1782.) The most famous of all the various works of this eminent Scotch jurist was a treatise on the “Elements of Criticism.”

P. 63.—“Alford.” (1810-1871.). We are indebted to this English clergyman for a “Plea for the Queen’s English,” a very valuable book.

P. 75.—“Quintilian,” kwĭn-tĭlˈi-an. A Roman critic and rhetorician of the first century, the author of the “most complete and methodical treatise on rhetoric that has come down to us from antiquity.”

P. 81.—“Blair.” (1718-1800.) A Scottish clergyman whose “Lectures on Rhetoric” were famous in his own day, and until recently were used in a text-book in the United States.

P. 148.—“Aphæresis,” a-phérˈe-sis; “Syncope,” synˈcō-pe; “Apocope,” a-pŏcˈo-pe; “Prosthesis,” prŏsˈthe-sĭs; “Paragoge,” părˌa-gōˈge; “Synæresis,” syn-ĕrˈe-sis; “Diæresis,” dĭ-erˈe-sis; “Tmesis,” mēˈsis.

P. 149.—“Pleonasm,” plēˈo-nasm. “Enallage,” e-nălˈla-je; “Hyperbaton,” hy-pĕrˈba-tŏn.

P. 153.—“Theremin,” teˈreh-meenˌ. (1783-1846.) A German theologian and author.

P. 156.—“Paiezade,” pā-ē-dzäˈdĕ.

“Ruggiero,” rood-jāˈro. A young Saracen knight in Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso.” He possessed a winged horse or hĭpˈpo-griff.

“Astolpho,” as-tŏlˈpho. Another character of the same work, a cousin of Orlando’s. He possessed a magic lance and a horn which routed armies with a blast.

“Frerabras,” frĕ-räˈbräs.

P. 163.—“Alliteration,” al-lĭt-er-āˈtion; “Iambic,” so called from the Greek iambus, the name of a foot consisting of a short and long syllable.

“Trochaic,” tro-chaˈic. From trochee (troˈkee), the name of the foot which forms the verse. The word trochee is derived from the Greek word for running.

P. 164.—“Anapæstic,” anˌa-pestˈic. Composed of anapests. Anapest means struck back, being so named because the foot is a reversed dactyl.

“Dactylic,” dac-tylˈic. Of dactyls. A word derived from the Greek for finger, and applied to this peculiar foot because of the similarity of the arrangement to that of the joints of the finger.

P. 187.—“Synecdoche,” syn-ĕcˈdo-che; “Anthropopathy,” ănˌthro-pŏpˈa-thy.

P. 188.—“Trope,” trōpe; “Metonymy,” me-tŏnˈy-my.

P. 192.—“Apostrophe,” a-posˈtro-phe; “Hyperbole,” hy-pĕrˈbo-le.

P. 194.—“Oxymoron,” ŏx-y-mōˈron.

P. 198.—“Ploce,” plōˈce; “Anaphora,” a-năphˈo-ra; “Epistrophe,” e-pĭsˈtro-phe; “Antistrophe,” an-tĭsˈtro-phe; “Anadiplosis,” an-a-di-plōˈsîs.

P. 203.—“Incongruentia,” in-conˈgrū-enˌshe-a.

P. 205.—“Innuendo,” ĭn-nu-ĕnˈdo.