pronounced as in English words derived from Latin. Thus c before e, i, y, æ, and œ was s, as in census, circus, Cyrus, Cæsar, and cœlestial, a spelling not classical and now out of use. Elsewhere c was k. Before the same vowels g was j (dʒ), as in genus, gibbus, gyrus. The sibilant was voiced or voiceless as in English words, the one in rosaceus, the other in saliva.

It will be seen that the Latin sounds were throughout frankly Anglicized. According to Burney a like principle was followed by Burke when he read French poetry aloud. He read it as though it were English. Thus on his lips the French word comment was pronounced as the English word comment.

The rule that overrode all others, though it has the exceptions given below, was that vowels and any other diphthongs than au and eu, if they were followed by two consonants, were pronounced short. Thus a in magnus, though long in classical Latin, was pronounced as in our 'magnitude', and e in census, in Greek transcription represented by η, was pronounced short, as it is when borrowed into English. So were the penultimate vowels in villa, nullus, cæspes.

This rule of shortening the vowel before two consonants held good even when in fact only one was pronounced, as in nullus and other words where a double consonant was written and in Italian pronounced.

Moreover, the parasitic y was treated as a consonant, hence our 'văcuum'.

In the penultima qu was treated as a single consonant, so that the vowel was pronounced long in āquam, ēquam, inīquam, lōquor. So it was after o, hence our 'collōquial'; but in earlier syllables than the penultima qu was treated as a double consonant, hence our 'subăqueous', 'equity', 'iniquity'.

Exceptions.

1. When the former of the two consonants was r and the latter another consonant than r, as in the series represented by larva, verbum, circus, corpus, laburnum, the vowels are a separate class of long vowels, though not really recognized as such. Of course our ancestors and the Gradus marked them long because in verse the vowel with the two consonants makes a long unit.

2. A fully stressed vowel before a mute and r, or before d or pl, was pronounced long in the penultima. Latin examples are labrum, Hebrum, librum, probrum, rubrum, acrem, cedrum, vafrum, agrum, pigrum, aprum, veprem, patrem, citrum, utrum, triplus, duplex, Cyclops. Moreover, in other syllables than the penultima the vowel in the same combinations was pronounced long if the two following vowels had no consonant between them, as patria, Hadria, acrius. (Our 'triple' comes from triplum and is a duplicate of 'treble'. Perhaps the short vowel is due to its passage through French. Our 'citron' comes from citronem, in which i was short.)

3. The preposition and adverb post was pronounced with a long vowel both by itself and in composition with verbs, but its adjectives did not follow suit. Hence we say in English 'pōstpone', but 'pŏsterior' and 'pŏsthumous'.

Monosyllables ending in a vowel were pronounced long, those ending in a consonant short. Enclitics like que were no real exception as they formed part of the preceding word. There were, however, some real exceptions.

1. Pronouns ending in -os, as hos, quos. These followed eos and illos.

2. Words ending in -es, as pes, res.

3. Words ending in r, as par, fer, vir, cor, fur. These had that form of long vowel which we use in 'part', 'fertile', 'virtue', 'cordate', 'furtive'.

In, disyllables the former vowel or diphthong, if followed by a single consonant, or by a mute and r, or by cl or pl, was pronounced long, a usage which according to Mr. Henry Bradley dates in spoken Latin from the fourth century. Examples are apex, tenet, item, focus, pupa, Psyche, Cæsar, fœtus. I believe that at first the only exceptions were tibi, sibi, ibi, quibus, tribus. In later days the imperfect and future of sum became exceptions. Here perhaps the short vowel arose from the hideous and wholly erroneous habit, happily never universal though still in some vogue, of reciting erám, erás, erát. There are actually schoolbooks which treat the verse ictus, the beat of the chanter's foot, as a word stress and prescribe terra tribús scopulís. I can say of these books only Pereant ipsi, mutescant scriptores, and do not mind using a post-classical word in order to say it.

In disyllables the former vowel or diphthong, if followed immediately by another vowel or diphthong, had the quality, and if emphatic also the quality, of a long vowel. The distinction was not recognized, and seems not to be generally acknowledged even now. We seem not to have borrowed many words which will illustrate this. We have however fiat, and pius was pronounced exactly as we pronounce 'pious', while for a diphthong we may quote Shelley,

English derivatives will show the long quality of the vowels in aer, deus, coit, duo. To these add Graius.

The rule of apex applies also to words of more than two syllables with long penultima, as gravamen, arena, saliva, abdomen, acumen. The rule of aer also holds good though it hardly has other instances than Greek names, as Macháon, Ænéas, Thalía, Achelóus, Achǽi.

In words of more than two syllables with short penultima the vowel in the stressed antepenultima was pronounced short when there was a consonant between the two last vowels, and i and y were short even when no consonant stood in that place. Examples are stamina, Sexagesima, minimum, modicum, tibia, Polybius. But u, au, eu were, as usual, exceptions, as tumulus, Aufidus, Eutychus. I believe that originally men said Cæ̆sarem, as they certainly said cæ̆spitem and Cæ̆tulum, as also Cæ̆sarea, but here in familiar words the cases came to follow the nominative.

Exceptions to the rule were verb forms which had āv, ēv, īv, or ōv in the antepenultima, as amāveram, defieverat, audivero, moveras, and like forms from aorists with the penultima long, as suaseram, egero, miserat, roseras, and their compounds.

This rule was among the first to break down, and about the middle of the nineteenth century the Westminster Play began to observe the true quantities in the antepenultimate syllables. Thus in spite of 'consĭderation' boys said sīdera, and in spite of 'nŏminal' they said nômina, while they still said sŏlitus and răpidus.

On the other hand the following rule, of which borrowed words provide many examples, still obtains in the Play. In words of more than two syllables any vowel in the antepenultima other than i or y was pronounced long if