Discussion of methods for determining proper prosody/word accent in Greek, focusing on vowel length differences, accent placement affected by diphthongs and declension (examples: Ἶρος, μῖμος, κτίλος, Χῖος, σωλῆνος, ποιμήν, ἵζε), and dialectal accentual variations.
Τὸ ἑκάστῃ λέξει τὴν δέουσαν προσῳδίαν τιθέναι συμπέρασμα σχεδὸν πάσης τῆς γραμματικῆς τυγχάνει μεθόδου· καὶ γὰρ τὸν περὶ διχρόνων ὡς ὅτι μάλιστα διηκριβωκέναι ἀναγκαῖον τῷ τοῦτο ποιεῖν ἐθέλοντι· ἐπεὶ πόθεν τὸ μὲν Ἶρος καὶ μῖμος προπερισπάσει, τὸ δὲ κτίλος καὶ Χίος, τὴν νῆσον φημί, παροξυνεῖ μὴ γνοὺς ὡς τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἐκτεταμένον ἔχει τὸ 'ι', τὰ δὲ δεύτερα συνεσταλμένον; ἔτι καὶ τὸν περὶ κλίσεως· ἐπεὶ πόθεν τὸ μὲν σωλῆνος προπερισπάσει, τὸ δὲ ποιμένος παροξυνεῖ, ἀγνοῶν ὡς ἐν τῇ κλίσει τὸ μὲν φυλάττει τὸ 'η', τὸ δὲ εἰς 'ε' μεταβάλλει; καὶ προσέτι πόθεν τὸ μὲν προστακτικὸν ἵζε παροξυνεῖ, τὸ δὲ παρῳχημένον ἷζε προπερισπάσει, ἀγνοῶν ὡς τὸ μὲν ἵζω βραχὺ τὸ 'ι' ἔχει, τὸ δὲ ἷζον μακρόν, ὅθεν καὶ προπερισπᾶται κατὰ τὸ κοινὸν ἔθος. τά τε τῶν διαλέκτων ἰδιώματα δεήσει ἀκριβῶς εἰδέναι· ἐπεὶ πῶς γνώσεται ὅτι παρὰ Δωριεῦσι τὸ «ἐλέγον ἐκεῖνοι» παροξύνεται, τό τε Ἀφρόδιτα
To assign to each word the accent that is due is, as it happens, the conclusion of almost the whole method of grammar. For it is necessary for one who wishes to do this to have made the doctrine concerning dichrona as exact as possible; since how will he know why Ἶρος and μῖμος take the circumflex on the antepenult, but κτίλος and Χίος, I mean the island, are accented on the penult, if he does not know that in the former the ι is long, but in the latter it is short? Further, he must also know the doctrine concerning inflection; since how will he know why σωλῆνος takes the circumflex on the antepenult, but ποιμένος is accented on the penult, if he is unaware that in inflection the one preserves the η, but the other changes it to ε? And moreover, how will he know why the imperative ἵζε is accented on the penult, but the past ἷζε takes the circumflex on the antepenult, if he is unaware that ἵζω has a short ι, but ἷζον a long one, for which reason it also takes the circumflex on the antepenult according to the common usage? One must also know precisely the peculiarities of the dialects; since how will he know that among the Dorians «ἐλέγον ἐκεῖνοι» is accented on the penult, and also Ἀφρόδιτα