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παυσαμένου δὲ τοῦ Πρωτογένους, καλέσας ἐμὲ ὁ Ἀμμώνιος ‘οὐδέν’ ἔφη ‘ σὺ τῷ Κάδμῳ βοηθεῖς ὁ Βοιώτιος, ὅν φασι τὸ ἄλφα πάντων προτάξαι διὰ τὸ Φοίνικας, οὕτω καλεῖν τὸν βοῦν 1, ὃν οὐ δεύτερον [p. 363] οὐδὲ τρίτον, ὥσπερ Ἡσίοδος 2, ἀλλὰ πρῶτον τίθεσθαι τῶν ἀναγκαίων;’ ‘οὐδέν’ ἔφην ἐγώ: ‘τῷ γὰρ ἐμῷ πάππῳ βοηθεῖν, εἴ τι δύναμαι, δίκαιός εἰμι μᾶλλον ἢ τῷ τοῦ Διονύσου. Λαμπρίας γὰρ ὁ ἐμὸς πάππος ἔλεγε πρώτην φύσει φωνὴν τῶν ἐνάρθρων ἐκφέρεσθαι διὰ τῆς τοῦ ἄλφα δυνάμεως: τὸ γὰρ ἐν τῷ στόματι πνεῦμα ταῖς περὶ τὰ χείλη μάλιστα πλάττεσθαι κινήσεσιν, ὧν πρώτην ἀνοιγομένων τὴν ἄνω διάστασιν οὖσαν ἐξιέναι τοῦτον τὸν ἦχον, ἁπλοῦν ὄντα κομιδῇ καὶ μηδεμιᾶς δεόμενον πραγματείας, μήτε τὴν γλῶτταν παρακαλοῦντα μήδ᾽ 3 ὑπομένοντα 4, ἀλλὰ κατὰ χώραν ἀποκειμένης ἐκείνης ἐκπεμπόμενον ᾗ καὶ τὰ νήπια ταύτην πρώτην ἀφιέναι φωνήν. ὠνομάσθαι 5 δὲ 6 καὶ τὸ ‘ἀίειν 7’ ἐπὶ τῷ φωνῆς αἰσθάνεσθαι καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ὁμοίων, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ ‘ᾁδειν’ καὶ τὸ ‘αὐλεῖν’ καὶ τὸ ‘ἀλαλάζειν’ . οἶμαι δὲ καὶ τὸ ‘αἴρειν’ καὶ τὸ ‘ἀνοίγειν’ οὐκ ἀπὸ τρόπου τῇ τῶν χειλῶν ἀνοίξει καὶ ἄρσει, καθ᾽ ἣν οὗτος ἐκπίπτει τοῦ στόματος ὁ φθόγγος, ὠνομάσθαι διὸ καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀφώνων γραμμάτων ὀνόματα πλὴν ἑνὸς ἅπαντα προσχρῆται τῷ ἄλφα καθάπερ φωτὶ τῆς περὶ αὐτὰ τυφλότητος : τοῦ δὲ πῖ μόνον ἄπεστιν ἡ δύναμις αὕτη: τὸ γὰρ φῖ καὶ τὸ χῖ τὸ μέν ἐστι πῖ τὸ δὲ κάππα δασυνόμενον.’
Plutarch. Moralia. Gregorius N. Bernardakis. Leipzig. Teubner. 1892. 4.
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