CHA P. VI.

Of the words of the Greek language, confidered as fignificant.-The art of the Greek language most wonderful in this reSpect. Of the noun, and the various things denoted by its declenfion.—Of the verb, and the fill greater variety of expreffion by it.-Of the words in Greek formed from the Verb.—The Greek verb, though expreffing so many different things, not incumbered or overloaded.

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Come now to speak of the words of the Greek language as fignificant. And here the art of the Greek language appears ftill more wonderful. For as much as the meaning is of greater excellence than the found of the words, fo much greater skill have the artificers of this language

shown by the invention of an analogy, as it is called, whereby all the different circumstances of things, and their relations to one another, are expreffed, without making new words, and only by changes made upon the fame word: So that the Greek language, at the fame time that it is moft copious and rich of words, is as frugal of them as poffible. I will begin with fingle words.

Single words are by grammarians divided into what is called parts of speech; and these they make to be eight. But, as I have shown elsewhere *, if we are to speak philofophically, there are but two, correfponding to the grand divifion of things into fubftance and accident, viz. the noun, by which fubftances are expreffed, and the verb, expreffing accidents. Now, all the feveral qualities and relations of fubftances or nouns to one another, are expreffed by what is called the declenfion of nouns, that is, by their cafes, numbers, and genders; which, at the fame time that they vary the

* Vol. ii. of this Work, p. 28. and following.

termination, and fo add much to the pleafure of the ear, exprefs the thing most accurately, particularly with respect to number, diftinguishing not only betwixt one and many, but betwixt two and many

*

The other part of fpeech, according to this philofophical divifion, comprehends the other feven, according to the common divifion; but I fhall speak only of one of them, viz. the verb, which is the glory of the Greek analogy; for, by the several changes made upon it, it expreffes, imo, Whether the action be done, or fuffered; 2do, Whether the action be perfect or imperfect; 3tio, Whether the person who speaks is the actor or sufferer, or whether it be the person fpoken to, or fome third perfon or thing; 4to, what the number of actors or fufferers is, whether one, two, or more; 5to, The time of the action or fuffering. And here there is a wonderful va

* See what I have faid of the philofophy of this part of speech, Vol. ii. of this Work, Book. i. Chap. 4. alfo Chap. 9. where I have given a philofophical account of the cafes of nouns, fuch as hitherto has not been given.

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riety; for, not only the three great divifions of time, the past, prefent, and future, are expreffed, but the compofitions of thefe, the past with the prefent, with the future, and with the past: And, lastly, there is a form of the word, which expreffes that the action is fimply past, without determining whether it be likewife prefent or not; in fhort, it denotes the past indefinitely. 6to, The verb expreffes alfe the difpofition of the mind of the speaker, whether he affirms, commands, wifhes, or prays. This is expreffed by three forms of the verb, which we call moods, viz. the indicative, the imperative, the optative. 7mo, There is a fourth mood, which expreffes fimply the action of the verb, with the addition only of time. This is what is called the infinitive mood *. 8vo, There is

*This mood, with the article prefixed, is to be confidered in Greek as an abstract noun. το πράττειν, for example, is a noun, as much as gas, with the addition only of the fignification of time.alfo this explained in Vol. ii. p. 40 The Latins likewife ufe the infinitive this way; but, as they have not an article, it often makes the expreffion obfcure, because it is doubtful whether the infinitive is to be understood as a noun, or in the ordinary way as a

a fifth mood, called the subjunctive or conjunctive, by which it is expreffed whether the verb be principal in the fentence, or dependent upon another verb. 9no, The object, too, of the action is expreffed, as far as that is poffible; for, by the nature of things, it is impoffible, by any flection, or change of any kind made upon the word, to exprefs all the feveral things or perfons that may be the object of the action. But, if that object is either the person who speaks, or the person spoken to, or the perfon or thing which is the fubject of the difcourfe, it is expreffed by that form of the verb we call the middle voice. Laftly, There is a form of the verb which has the fignification of an adjective; but, besides quality, it expresses time. This kind of adjective is what is called a participle. And likewife from the verb are formed many fubftantive nouns ; and fo rich is the analogy of the Greek in this particular, that, not only from different tenfes are nouns derived,

mood, and fo to be construed with another verb in the fentence.