J^ROPER MONUNCIAtlON OF GREEK. 43 this invention he has described in his book, en- titled, " De recta latini graecique sermonis pro- nunciatione dialogus," and printed in 1528. There is a funny German story of a race be- tween a hare and a pig, which commences as follows : " This story sounds like a lie ; it must be true, however, otherwise we could not tell it." These words are a most appropriate intro- duction to the history of the Erasmian pronun- ciation. The history is true, the dialogue exists, this most absurd pronunciation has been transmitted from generation to generation down to the present day, that is, through three cen- turies. When, as we have seen, after the conquest of Constantinople Greek scholars came to Western European countries and there gave lessons in the language of their ancestors, pupils did not doubt that their pronunciation had a historical right. Reuchlin, the great German philologist of the time of the Renaissance, had learned and taught the Greek language with the pronun- ciation of his Greek contemporaries, hence all persons who follow his example are called Reuchlinians. Even Erasmus himself spoke ac- cording to the Reuchlinian, but never in his life according to the method called after him;
