Produced by Stanley A. Bridgeford A GREEK PRIMER For Beginners in New Testament Greek μηδὲν ἄγαν by Wallace N. Stearns [image: logo] THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN NEW YORK CINCINNATI Copyright, 1914, by WALLACE N. STEARNS A scholarly knowledge of Greek requires some time and effort. Every preacher and teacher of the New Testament books would be greatly helped by being able even to refer to the dictionary and to pick out the critical notes in a high-grade commentary. In many instances memory has grown dim, and there is need of some not too pretentious guide to a new beginning. Out of many such experiences this meager outline has come, an attempt built up on the old maxim, "Do not in the beginning attempt too much." SUGGESTIONS 1 Learn principles. Language preceded grammar, and the latter is at best a generalization of the former. 2 Learn words. Acquire a vocabulary. The first step is to know words and, further, to know them in their Greek dress. 3 Read aloud. The ear lends efficient help to the eye. There is an indefinable swing even to Greek prose that facilitates study. 4 Commit passages—however brief—to memory. Better than rules is a fund of actual examples, stored up in the memory, of Greek as it was spoken and written. 5 With this outline the text of the forth Gospel should be used from the start (see notice on next page) for study, reading aloud, and for memorizing. 6 Remember that in the end all methods avail little. The way to do a thing is to do it. ABBREVIATIONS USED B. M. T. Burton's New Testament Moods and Tenses. Bt. Babbit's Grammar of Attic and Ionic Greek. G. Gildersleeve's Syntax of Classical Greek. Gl. Goodell's School Grammar of Attic Greek. G. M. T. Goodwin's Greek Moods and Tenses. Gn. Goodwin's Greek Grammar. H.A. Hadley and Allen's Greek Grammar. Useful beginning books are: Huddilston's Essentials of New Testament Greek (Macmillan, 65 cents). The Gospel of John in Greek, issued by the Massachusetts Bible Society (10 cents a copy). Moulton's Brief Dictionary of New Testament Greek (Hinds and Noble, $1.00); or Green's Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament (with supplement. Hastings, Boston, 75 cents). I. THE ALPHABET 1. In learning a new alphabet attention need be paid only to such letters as are not already know. Of the Greek alphabet only twelve characters are unfamiliar: A, Β, Γ, Δ, Ε, Ζ, Η, Θ, Ι, Κ, Λ, Μ, α, β, γ, δ, ε, ζ, η, θ, ι, κ, λ, μ, a, b, g, d, ĕ, z, ē, th, i, k, l, m, Ν, Ξ, Ο, Π, Ρ, Σ, Τ, Υ, Φ, Χ, Ψ, Ω, ν, ξ, ο, π, ρ, σ(ς), τ, υ, φ, χ, ψ, ω, n, ks, ŏ, p, r, s, t, u, ph, ch, ps, ō, Note.—The small letters, most used, should be learned. The capital letters may be learned as they occur. 2. ε, ο are always short; η, ω, always long; α, ι, υ, sometimes long, sometimes short.