LECTURE XX.

ON THE COMPOSITION OF SENTENCES AS POINTED OUT BY THE INFLUENCE OF THE ACCENTS.

244. After what has been said on the composition of incomplex and simple propositions (Art. 212.), in addition to what has been stated and exemplified on the concordance and government of words, it cannot be necessary to exemplify our rules by adducing and accounting for complex and compound propositions, as they occur in this language. We shall, therefore, now shew in what way this has been done by the authors of the accents.

On the Distinctive Powers of the Tonic Accents.

245. It has already been remarked (Artt. 58. 59.), that these accents have been supposed to have the property of dividing sentences into their several members, just as our comma, semicolon, colon, and period, do. Nothing can be more likely, than that the Masorets, or, whoever else they were who affixed the vowel points to the Hebrew text, would apply some system to it, whereby the mutual dependence of its several parts upon one another would also be pointed out. It has been shewn, that these accents (Artt. 60. 64.) also serve to mark the accented syllable in any word, as also that which sustains a secondary kind of accent.

2. But as they differ considerably from one another in shape and name, they may also have been intended to point out the grammatical relations of words, or of sentences, to one another. The Jews have attached certain musical notes to each of these marks, which may be seen in the Bibliotheca Rabbinica of Bar

parties in a sort of dialogue, in which the one responded to the other, and both joined occasionally in a kind of chorus, as has been well supposed and maintained by Lowth and others, no word could, perhaps, be more suitable than this for such occasional chorus: and hence perhaps the Aayaλua of the Seventy, and the &c. for ever, of the Chaldee. See Nold. num. 1877., as

tollocci (vol. iv. p. 427, &c.); or in the second volume of the Hebrew Grammar by Guarin (page 329, &c.) :* but this is not to be wondered at. There has always existed a predilection for a sort of chanting in divine worship.-The Mahomedans chant their Koran, and we ourselves still continue to chant several parts of our ritual in the cathedral and collegiate churches.

:

3. It is not our intention to detain the Learner long on this subject we shall merely lay down a few of the general principles which regulate the accents, with a few examples by way of illustration, referring to other Writers for further particulars.

4. In considering the nature and application of the accents, we have nothing to do with the grammatical or purely formal government of words (Art. 215. 5.). The logical import of passages is all we can now be concerned with; and this may be considered in two points of view. The first is, that which respects the construction of phrases, as of nouns in immediate or mediate apposition or construction, or of verbs with their apparent nominatives, or complementary words: in all which the connection is considered and represented, as being the closest possible. The second is, the combination of such phrases, or sentences, in the construction of periods; and in this the connection will be considered and represented, as more or less close or dependent, according to the intention of the Writer.

5. For the first of these cases, accents have been adopted, which have been termed Servants or Ministers, and which are rarely found in any other situation: for the second, two systems of accentuation are found to prevail in the Hebrew Bible: one peculiar to the Books which are generally termed Prosaïc; the other to those which are said to be Poetical. The Poetical Books are, Job Zi, Proverbs, and the Psalms ; termed by the Rabbins ns, which is a technical word, formed out of the initials of the names above mentioned. All the rest of the Books are said to be Prosaïc.

6. We shall first lay down a few rules for the prosaïc, and afterwards, for the poetical, books.

7. The following table gives the relative powers, and the order

* Where we also have them in score, so that we can convert any part of the Hebrew Bible into a Quartett whenever we please!

of consecution, of the several accents: it has been taken from a Hebrew Grammar of considerable merit, which appeared for the third time at Vienna in 1810, by one Jehuda Leb Ben Zeb. This is adapted to the prosaïc Books of the Bible only, and is sufficiently correct and extensive for our present purpose. Should the Student wish to pursue this subject to a greater length, he may consult the elaborate work of Ouseel, the Biblia Accentuata of Daschelius, or the "Doctrina Accentuationis Hebrææ" by Daniel Weimar,† which last is certainly the best work I have seen on the subject; I have, therefore, generally followed it.See the Table of Accents (Art. 58. &c.)

*

246. A Table pointing out the Rank, Order, and Powers, of the different Accents.

,

2. The reader will find considerable difference between this table, and that given by Ouseel* in his elaborate work on the Hebrew accents. Ouseel's table is much larger, and contains several instances of the power and consecution of the accents not to be found here. Shalshéleth,, for example, with Pěsík, is placed among the subdistinctives, which does not occur at all in our table. Yerách also is among the conjunctives, of which we have not a vestige here. Zāképh gādól, 14 Apr are also found among the greatest distinctives in consecution, to which several more, found in other places, may be added.

סגול
,סגלתאֹ

and Sěgoltá

or

3. I have not translated the terms employed by the Hebrew Grammarian, but have used those which appeared to me the most suitable.

as

4. It will be perceived, that many of the words are abbreviated : , for, which is the same with Géresh (Art. 59.), the mark for which is placed above the . In every other case, the form of the accent meant is placed over the initial letter of its Telisha Ketanna, and so of

name: as,

Telisha Gedóla,

others. In one instance we have 7, i. e. Zakeph gadol and Zakeph katon. The syllable id. is to shew, that the accent above is also to be used here.

5. It will be unnecessary to explain the different names given to the several classes of accents in the tables, as Emperors, Kings, &c. ; every one will see, that a greater or less dependence, observed in the relation of phrases or sentences one to another, is intended to be pointed out by these titles.

6. It should also be observed, that, in the above table, the accents greatest in rank, or, in other words, which point out those phrases, &c. which have the least dependence upon others, are placed uppermost: and, that those which accompany the closing word of any sentence, or member of a sentence, are placed at the left side. Silluk, for example, ranks highest, and is placed in the left-hand column. Its office, therefore, is to close a period.

* "Tabula accentuationis," prefixed to his "Introductio in accentuationem Hebræorum prosaïcam. Lugd. Batav. 1715.

7. In the next place, as these leading accents are situated at the close of a sentence, or of a member of a sentence, and are placed in the left-hand column of the table, we must look towards the right hand for those which should either immediately, or more remotely, precede them. In this point of view, therefore, Mercá , will be found to attend on, or to precede, Silluk, as its

servant.

8. The second accent (proceeding downwards) in the left-hand column, is Athnákh. This accent, therefore, is the next inferior to Silluk; and is usually found to close a larger member of a sentence. To the right of Athnákh we find Mũnákh, in the capacity of a minister or servant. Athnákh, therefore, is to be considered, as usually accompanied by Munákh.

9. In the same manner, proceeding downwards, and again to the right, we shall find the several accents with their attendants, which are supposed to mark the members of a sentence, each having a less dependence on one another than the preceding.

10. We have now explained the use of the two first columns containing the distinctive, and their several accompanying, accents. Let us now proceed to the other three, containing the small, greater, and greatest, distinctive accents.

11. If we can suppose a period to consist of several sentences, or members of sentences, we can also suppose that each of these will have a greater or less dependence on one another, with respect to signification. The Author, from whom our table is taken, is of opinion (and with him all other writers on this subject agree), that phrases, considerably removed from the end of a verse or period, have less dependence on those which immediately follow them, than others have on those nearer its conclusion. Hence he has supposed, that the first of these, considered in the capacity of distinctive, will have a greater dependence on those which immediately follow them, than others will, which are farther removed from the end of the period, &c. Hence, these have been termed small, the next greater, and the next or last, the greatest, distinctives. Now, most of these, considered as distinctives, will also be found in the left-hand column, their servants or attendants will be always found there also, in the next, or right-hand column, as already explained.

12. Hence it should seem, that, for the most part, every second accent, counting from the end of a period or sentence, and pro