abilities, and educated in a liberal manner, occupies at present a station in a shop, and, after having, in a situation so unfavorable to literary pursuits, applied himself to the study of Hebrew as well as of Greek, was easily prevailed on, about the middle of last year, to compose an index to Longinus: he has since transcribed the first volume of Plutarch's Lives from Mr. Bryan's magnificent edition in quarto, and already digested into order all the words beginning with A, B, and F. He informs me that, in cutting the words asunder which he had written out, he seemed to recollect every passage in the book; and whereas, just before the proposal of making an index was mentioned to him, he was upon the point of laying aside his study of the Greek language, as despairing of acquiring it, he seems now to be such a proficient in it as might do honor to any learned society. He has assured me that he is well satisfied with the fruits of his labor, yet not so far satisfied as to decline the farther labor of composing indexes to the other four volumes of the Greck author above-mentioned. I am confirmed in my hope that this method of study will prove acceptable and useful to the younger students in our two universities and in our schools, by the approbation which it has received, as from several eminent persons to whom it has been mentioned, so particularly from a gentleman of excellent learning and abilities residing in Oxford, who has informed me by letter, that it seems to him the right method of attaining the knowledge of the Greek tongue; and adds: "I think it a pity that every reader does not make for himself an index of every author he reads, if his time will permit: by that means Greek would be as well known as Latin." it is no small addition to my satisfaction to know that you, Sir, as I was lately informed, have entertained a very favorable opinion of this method, and have expressed a desire of being made acquainted with the whole process of it. You may possibly, in case you should choose to recommend this exercise to any young persons, find it convenient to have a view of the method drawn up in writing, which may be occasionally put into any person's hands who shall be inclined to learn it. Give me leave, therefore, to set down the chief particulars which I have found useful to be ob served on this occasion.

A Method of composing an Index to a Greek Author. All the words which are to have a place in the index (i. e. all the substantives and adjectives, except proper names, and

Proper Names may be usefully, and without much trouble, inserted in an Index to a small piece, but, in an Index to a large work, may with the less inconvenience be omitted, as they may be supposed to have their place,

all the verbs except Eiul, sum, which is to be omitted in all its moods and tenses, and also in its participles wv and oóuevos) are first to be written down as often as they occur, in the order in which they stand in the author. All the prepositions are to be omitted,' and all the most common adverbs and pronouns, as well as the articles and conjunctions. After each word the number of the page and line in which the word occurs is to be set down : in order to which, it may be well to mark with a pen or pencil the number of every fifth line in the margin of your book (I speak, as addressing myself to the young compiler) before you begin your index. A transcript of Polybius, adapted to Gronovius's edition, would,

wherever the mention of them is material, in the historical Indexes which are subjoined to the principal Authors in the best editions of them.

' 1 am well aware that the insertion of the Prepositions, whenever they are used in an uncommon signification, would be a very useful addition to a Greek Index; as would also that of the phrases and idioms: but I know few persons who are so accurately skilled in the Greek Language as to be qualified for such a task, and fewer yet, if any, who would be ready to undertake it. The Indexes above described, though consisting of single words, will not only be extremely useful in themselves, but will also afford such assistance towards any work relating to the Greek Phraseology as may perhaps hereafter encourage some able and experienced Critic or Lexicographer to present the public with a general collection of the Greek Phrases; the want of which may at present be in a good measure supplied by Vigerus's excellent Treatise on that subject, published with M. Hoogeveen's Annotations, and by Posselius's Calligraphia Oratoria Linguæ Græcæ.

2 It is neither easy nor necessary to say exactly what Adverbs are to be left out; as some of the common ones, such as ồn, vûv, ĕri, and the like, may deserve a place in a small Index, but may occur too frequently to be inserted in a large one. It is therefore not to be expected that all the Indexes formed on the plan which we propose, should exactly agree with each other in this point. The case is much the same with regard to the Pronouns.

3 The accents will deserve a particular attention, in the composition of an Index, as they may often prevent the disorder which would arise from confounding very different words, which, when all the words of the Book have been cut asunder, could not otherwise be distinguished without very great labor. The young student should therefore take care to accent each word as he finds it in the volume from which he transcribes, never varying from the printed copy but on such occasions as are comprehended under the two following rules; the observance of which will, I hope, be sufficient to preserve those who are wholly unacquainted with the method of accenting from any inconvenience.

Rule I. In transcribing words for an Index, when an acute Accent stands on the last syllable of a word that has but one Accent, turn it into a grave: Thus, instead of yuxás, write yʊxàs in the Index.

Rule II. When two Accents stand on one word, omit the latter. Thus instead of ὀνόματά write ὀνόματα.

if an index of the words used by that author were to be made according to this plan, begin thus:

When the whole book has been transcribed in this manner, (one side of the paper being always left blank,) the words are to be cut apart, and to be dropped into a box divided into twenty-four partitions, which are first to be marked with the Greek letters. Thus, (to instance in the words transcribed above from Polybius,) avaγράψασι is to be dropped into the partition marked with A, πράξεις and παραλελεῖφθαι into the partition marked with Π, συνέβαινε into that marked with E, and so on. When by this means all the words that begin with A lie together in the first partition, all with B in the second, and the rest in their order, the words beginning with A are to be taken out of their cell, and to be spread on a large sheet of light brown paper, which paper is first to be marked at equal distances with the letters of the Greek alphabet, so that the sheet may appear in this form :

Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω

ABTA EZ HOI KAM

The convenience of placing the first series of letters below the second, as in this scheme, will be soon found by experience. Excuse me therefore from the trouble of explaining the reasons of it. In laying the words on the sheet thus marked, you are to place them according to their second letter. Thus, if, among the words beginning with A, άyat`s should happen to come first to hand, it is to be placed under г, if ágtáuevos, under P. When the words be

ginning with A are thus respectively laid in heaps under their second letter, the first heap, if not too large, may be extended, by the eye, in exact alphabetical order, and being transcribed in that order, will make the beginning of your index: if the heap be too large to be easily spread out without a farther division, you may take it off from your first sheet of paper, and drop the words of which it consists on another sheet marked with the Greek alphabet, under their third letter. In which case, if ἀγέλη, ἀγαθὸς, ἀγορὰ, and ἄγῃ were a part of the words which are to be subdivided, ayan would be placed under E, ayalòs under A, ayopa under O, and an under H. The heaps of words, being thus thinned, might easily be put into exact order as they lie, if the index were of a moderate size; but if it were designed for a large book, a second box might be used in order to the second division of the words, instead of a sheet of paper, and the third division, and perhaps a fourth, be made by the help of such a sheet. When all the words beginning with A are thus transcribed in an order strictly alphabetical, (so that yzin should stand before ἀγαθὸν, and ἀγαθὸν before ἀγαθός,) the words beginning with B are to be taken out of the second partition of the box, and to be alphabetically ranged by the same method. When you have gone through all the partitions of your box, and have thus subdivided the contents of it, your index is complete.

The method here recommended is very much the same with that which Scheidius followed in preparing his index to Herodian; as we learn from his preface to that work: but if it be inconvenient to procure, or to make use of, a box in order to the distributing of the words under their first letter, they may, as they are cut asunder, be dropped on one of the sheets of paper described above, and the heap of words dropped under each letter may, when it grows large, be taken up and put into a paper bag marked with the correspondent letter. Twenty-four such bags should therefore be provided, answering to the letters of the alphabet. As this kind of exercise seems particularly proper for persons newly entered at the university, or advancing towards the senior part of a school, (though the service which it promises to religion and learning may reasonably engage older persons to take a share of it,) it may be proper to give some very minute directions on the subject.

Let it therefore be observed that, in numbering the lines of each book, the title of the work is not to be considered as making a part of the book, nor is it to be taken notice of in the index.

If a word happens to be divided at the end of a line, the word is considered as belonging to that line in which the first half of it stands thus gáteis, one part of which, (pá-) happens to stand at the end of the second line of the first page of Polybius, should, in the index, be referred to that line.

If the latter half of a word make a whole line in the book, (which sometimes happens at the end of a paragraph,) that line is to be regarded in numbering the lines of a page. For instance; when -λιπεῖν, (the latter half of καταλιπεῖν,) is found by itself next after the sixth line of the 92d page of Isocrates, (vol. i. ed. Battie.) -λιπεῖν itself is to be considered as the seventh line, and ἀθλιωτάτους, (which immediately follows,) begins the eighth line.

Though it may be given as a general rule that each word which comes into the index shall, in transcribing the book, be set down as often as it occurs, it should in the index be set down but once : yet the number of every page and line in which it occurs should be added, in this manner:

'Ayalà, 9, 2. 13, 3. 17, 4, 7, 10.

In which instance I have placed a comma after the page, and a full stop after the line, if the word άyalà has occurred but in one line of the page. But in the 17th page, where I have supposed it to occur in three different lines, (viz. the 4th, 7th, and 10th,) [ have placed a comma after the number of the page, and after the number of each line, (without repeating the number of the page,) except the last whereas a person not used to this exercise might be apt to have made the reference thus: 17, 4. 17, 7. 17, 10.

of

How far the composition of indexes may be admitted into any our public schools, without interfering with more useful exercises, must be left to the determination of those learned gentlemen who preside over them, and who do honor to themselves, and a most signal service to their country, by the judicious discharge of so important a trust. But as I have lately more than once been desired by gentlemen concerned in the education of youth, to point out a method in which the young students under their care might with most advantage apply themselves to the making of indexes, I shall, I hope, be acquitted of presumption, if, with due submission to persons of better judgment, I offer my sentiments on that head.

As the chief design of making an index is, with regard to the immediate improvement of the person who makes it, the imprinting of the words in his memory, no very young person should, I think, at first be employed in making an index to any book, or part of a book, which he has not construed to his master or tutor. It might be well therefore if any scholar, when he has construed one chapter of the Greek Testament, were directed to make an index to all the nouns and verbs, (and to them only,) which occur in that chapter. After having made indexes of this kind to a competent number of chapters, he 'may be employed in the same manner with regard to any other Greek book that he learns at school, whether in prose or verse: and when by this kind of exercise he has acquired some knowledge VOL. XX. CI. JI. NO. XL. R