PREFACE. THE plan and object of the present volume are so fully and so satisfactorily stated by Mr. Arnold in his Preface, that it is quite superfluous for the American Editor to add any thing to what he has there said. It is simply incumbent on him to state, that he has bestowed much care and attention upon the volume in order to perfect its arrangement and render it uniform with the other works of the series, and also to ensure, as far as possible, correctness, neatness, and even elegance of typography. While he can hardly dare to promise himself that there is an entire absence of errors of this kind, he ventures to express the hope that nothing of consequence has escaped attention, and that the Practical Introduction to Greek Prose Composition will be found equally acceptable and equally valuable with any of its predecessors in the Arnold Series of Classical Books for Schools and Colleges. NEW-YORK, Nov. 20th, 1846. J. A. S. PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION. THE plan of this Introduction requires some explanation. Its object is to enable the student, as soon as he can decline and conjugate with tolerable facility, to translate simple sentences after given examples and with given words; the principles trusted to being those of imitation and very frequent repetition. It is at once a Syntax, a Vocabulary, and an Exercise-book; the Syntax being in substance that of Buttmann's excellent School Grammar. One object I have steadily kept in view, that of making the general construction of sentences of more importance than the mere government of cases, which is nearly all that most Exercise-books pretend to teach. The Exercises are adapted for viva voce practice; but if the book is so used, they should by all means be written down afterwards. The Vocabularies, if possible, but at all events the Examples, should be committed to memory and carefully kept up. It is due to Mr. Ollendorff, whose Introduction to German has appeared in English, to state that the publication of a work like the present was suggested to me by the advantage I myself derived from the use of his book. I had originally drawn it up exactly on his plan; but the probable expense of publication deterred me, for some time, from publishing it in that shape.* The present work differs therefore from his, in requiring from the pupil a general acquaintance with the Accidence. For the convenience of those who may wish to use the Syntax as such, I have added a complete set of Questions to the work. Lyndon, 1841. T.K. A. * The very great success of this work, and the similar one on "Latin Prose Composition," which are now used at all, or nearly all, our public schools, has encouraged the author to send to press the more elementary Exercises here alluded to, under the title of a "Practical Introduction to Greek Accidence." [This volume forms the "First Greek Lessons," carefully revised and improved by the American Editor.] |