ON CERTAIN TENSES ATTRIBUTED TO THE GREEK VERB. JN OTHiNG in language is more beautiful and perfect in its kind than the Greek verb. Its varied inflexions^ as ex- pressive in signification as they are euphonious in sound, furnish us with means of indicating the times, circumstances, and relations of actions, with a readiness and precision not elsewhere to be met with. And when we consider how large a proportion these constitute of the subject matter of discourse, and how it is the most difficult task of language to give them adequate expression, we shall be able to estimate the real merit of this transcendent member of the Greek tongue, and the degree in which it alone establishes the superiority of that language above -all others known and studied among us. It is not, however, the design of this paper to illustrate the ex- cellence of the Greek verb^ an undertaking which could not be properly accomplished within a small space, but to point out what are apprehended to be some injurious errors which have long prevailed in its grammatical analysis, and by which the general perception of that excellence has been impeded. It is intended to prove that the analysis of the Greek verb, as commonly taught in our schools and colleges, has not yet attained that degree of simplicity which not only practical utility, but consistency with the truth itself requires. The mechanism of the Greek verb is certainly artificial and complicated ; as much so, perhaps, as any thing in human language. Not only has it more tenses than the verb of any other European language either ancient or modern, but each of those tenses is developed through a greater variety of forms sustaining the function of the several moods and participles, and these participles again are declined with a fulness quite peculiar. In all this richness of apparatus it surpasses the Vol. I. No. 4. B b
