Orphica (Argonautica, Hymni, Lithica)

IX

...which were scattered throughout the commentaries, so that they might be easily found, I have added.

I will add a few words about certain matters concerning orthography. I have added the paragogic nu The letter "ν" (n) added to the end of some Greek words to avoid two vowel sounds meeting or to lengthen a syllable in verse. at the end of verses, even where it was absent from the manuscripts, just as I previously judged should be done in Book I of my work On the Method of Correcting Greek Grammar, page 22. I see that this reasoning also pleased Wolf Friedrich August Wolf (1759–1824), a foundational figure in modern philology and Hermann’s contemporary. in his most recent edition of the Iliad. The reason why it ought to be written this way is widely evident. For now, I consider it sufficient to mention these two points.

The first is of a kind found in many other places:

Hear me, child of Zeus the aegis-bearer, you who always
stand by me in all my labors.
original Greek: κλῦθί μευ, αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς τέκος, ἥτε μοι αἰεὶ / ἐν πάντεσσι πόνοισι παρίστασαι. (Homer, Iliad 10.278–279).

In this instance, the poet did not say aien The version of the word "always" with the paragogic nu.. The second point is that antistrophic The second part of an ode, which mirrors the structure of the first part (the strophe). verses by the tragic poets for the most part end with a long syllable, excluding the anceps In poetry, a "doubtful" syllable that can be either long or short., which, if I see correctly, is not admitted except under certain conditions. If I were to say these conditions can be derived from Aristotle’s Problems XIX. 15 A collection of questions and answers on various scientific and philosophical topics attributed to Aristotle., I fear very few would understand it. But to pursue these matters further is not for this place.

Regarding accents, if I have departed anywhere from the teaching of the grammarians, I have done so knowingly; the arguments for this have been stated elsewhere. Why should we, who in other matters—such as in seeking the origins of words—abandon the grammarians, not dare to do the same with accents? In these matters, the reasoning that pleases the grammarians is often not only openly false, but also leads to...