4. It cannot be expected that we should here enter into a minute examination of all the peculiarities of the Doric dialect: the following brief remarks will, it is hoped, be received as an attempt rather to set forth the most remarkable features of the spoken language, than to explain the niceties of the polished style used in writing and poetry. The frequent use of Α prevailed indeed partially in the ancient dialect, and in most cases the use of Η originated in the Ionic, which in this respect bore nearly the same relation to the ancient Greek as the English language does to the German.(1931) The broad pronunciation (πλατειασμὸς) of the Dorians frequently, however, exceeded that of the ancient language, as may be seen from the Latin. Thus φαγὸς, _fagus_—φάμα, _fama_—μᾶλον, _malum_—ἀρχᾶς, _terras_ (genit.) κᾶρυξ, (_caduceus_), and the like, are clearly the genuine ancient forms. On the other hand, the change from Α to Η in the temporal augment existed in the most ancient Greek, as is evident from _ago_, _ēgi_, _ἦγον_, _capio_, _cēpi_, &c. The Doric dialect, however, here also used Α in the place of Η. I am not aware whether another change very nearly coinciding with the latter has ever been noticed, viz. the frequent use of the short Α for Η, especially in the enclitics, as κᾶ (which however is long) for κε or ἂν, a form common to all the Dorians, and in the same manner γα for γε,(1932) κα for the correlative τε in τόκα, πόκα, ὅκα in Sophron, Theocritus, and others, to which corresponds θα in πρόσθα, ἐξύπισθα (Alcman), ἔμπροσθα, ἄνωθα.(1933) The same change is also observable in ἅτερος for ἕτερος, τράφω for τρέπω,(1934) Αρταμις(1935) for Αρτεμις, τάως, παραιτέρω, in the Cretan dialect,(1936) τάμνω in the Heraclean Tables and elsewhere, σκιαρὸς, φρασὶν, in Pindar; and innumerable examples of a similar kind. Η, either as a contraction of ΕΕ, or a lengthening of Ε, occurs in many instances in the place of ΕΙ in the other dialects (the reverse took place among the Bœotians), as in ποίη, πλήων, μήων,(1937) ὄρηος, Λύκηος (Alcman), κοσμῆν, κατοικῆν (Theocritus, and the Byzantine Decree in Demosthenes(1938)), δήρας for δείρας in the treaty of the Latians in Crete,(1939) χῆρες in Cretan, and also used by Alcman, κῆνος or τῆνος in Alcman and others; πεπόνθης, ἀπολώλη Theocritus and the Heraclean tables: and thus in contractions from ΑΕΙ, Η has frequently preponderated over Α, as in the pure Doric form ὁρῆν,(1940) ἡ καρδία παδῆ Sophron;(1941) although it must also be allowed that the diphthong ΑΕ was contracted into Η, as in ὅρη, &c. ἦραι for ἆραι,(1942) and ἐνίκη for ἐνίκαε in a Laconian inscription in Leake’s Morea, vol. III. Inscript. n. 71.:(1943) to which instances we should probably add the following cases of crasis, κἠν, κἠπὶ, κἠκ. The reverse of this, which we find in the words πει in Sophron,(1944) and ὅπει in a Corcyrean inscription(1945) for πῆ and ὄπη, is a remarkable variety.