A Greek reader PDF
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Bgrani A GREEK READER GREEK READER BY W. H D ROUSE, LiTT.D. HEAD-MASTER OF THE PERSE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY TEACHER OF SANSKRIT 'MENT iY ! I _,- ''V* LONDON BLACKIE & SON, LIMITED, 50 OLD BAILEY, E.G. GLASGOW, DUBLIN AND BOMBAY 1907 PREFACE THIS Reader was meant to be used with my First Greek Course, as supplementing the pieces of Greek there given ; it may, however, follow any beginner's book of Greek, as soon as the elementary grammar has been learnt. All the pieces in this book (except some of the comic fragments) are complete in themselves, and present a unity of action or thought, if they are sometimes abstracted from a larger whole. They are of three kinds. First, there are pieces of simple verse : such as the Anacreontea, the fragments of comedy, the epigrams from the Anthology, the Swallow Song. Secondly, simple narratives and dialogues in prose : for this section I found the statements of case in the orators, and the openings of Plato's dialogues, most useful. The orators in particular supply a series of very dramatic scenes, which have the advantage of being closely in touch with life, and are therefore well suited for beginners. One short specimen is given from Lucian, but no more, since his Dialogues, with omissions, form an admirable Reader by themselves. For the same reason, Herodotus has been left untouched; in some shape his work ought to be read within the first two years of Greek. Lastly, a number ofpieces have been chosen for their bearing on the daily life ofthe Greeks : two private letters, some descriptions of street scenes and the like, proverbs and riddles, and the extracts from Hippocrates and Oribasius. My attention was first called to Oribasius by Prof. U. von Wilamowitz-Mollendorff; and I think the v VI GREEK READER extracts given are of great interest : we see the daily life of the Greek gentleman, and the training of his sons, very clear before us. Ifthe style of these pieces is not so elegant as Plato, it is admirably lucid, and I cannot help thinking that boys who could write as good Greek would be not unwelcome in an English school on their merits. Hippocrates is more than a physician ; he is a philosopher and a man of letters, besides being a singularly noble and dignified figure. Those who may disapprove of such authors in a schoolbook, may leave them alone; for my part, I find the extracts not only worth reading, but very useful as material for original com- position, in a style which is perhaps meant to be better. I hope no one will object to the presence of Euclid i. i because it does not fit into any ofthe above classes. Very little change has been made in the text beyond shortening. Attic forms have replaced Ionic or Doric : and the grammatical blunders of the Egyptian schoolboy have been tacitly corrected. Although his schoolmaster is unknown, I think it would be unkind to expose the shortcomings of a colleague. For the father I have no sympathy; and I feel sure that the mother was not blameless. I have plenty of material for another Reader, of quite a different kind, if this should prove to be interesting. But really, if any one wants a piece of advice gratis, I offer him this : Buy a dozen copies of all the Greek texts you can lay hands on, and keep them in your class-room from these ; make your own Reader, by handing them round and reading out the piece of your choice on the spot; no Reader of mine will be wanted then. And when I say reading, I mean read- ing; not translating. But this brings in King Charles's head, and I will only add, that if you wish your pupils ofall ages to understand Greek, and to enjoy it, this is the way. W. H. D. ROUSE.
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