Essay on the Modern Pronunciation of the Greek and Latin Languages

Sir Uvedale Price (1747-1829) most notably concerned himself with questions of the preservation of natural beauty and harmony in landscape gardening. His Essay on the Picturesque (1794) and Letter to H. Repton (second edition, 1798) are also reissued in this series. He took on a completely different subject in the present work, published in 1827. Arguing that modern mispronunciation of ancient Greek and Latin damages 'quantity, metre, rhythm, variety, connexion, euphony, articulation and expression', Price proposes a complete reform. Stresses in particular should be applied along the lines followed by the ancients themselves, thereby preserving the appropriate emphases. He recommends that the young be given proper instruction to correct mistakes and to restore texts to their full effect. Praised by Wordsworth as 'most ingenious', this work will be of value to scholars with an interest in classical phonetics.