11 January 1827. Price, Uvedale to Browning, Elizabeth Barrett.

              Foxley

Janry 11th 1827

Dear Ba.

Dr Russel’s answer does not give me the idea of such a person, as, from the account Luxmoore had heard, I conceived him to be; as very open to conviction, & likely to give a candid consideration to opinions that differed from his own. Had he, indeed, been all that he was reported to be, he must naturally have felt some displeasure at so direct & unqualified an attack, & little disposed to admit the truth of any part of it: but he might have said & without committing himself, that the statements, tho’ they did not at all convince him, seemed not unworthy of attention; & that he should turn them in his mind, tho’ he had not leisure to enter into any discussion. Perhaps, if he had felt confident of being able to confute what I had advanced, & in no great compass, he might have been tempted to make one vigorous charge, in spite of his professional engagements: but if he felt that the contest would be at least doubtful, he might think “discretion the better part of valour.”[1] No one could have a better plea for declining the combat altogether: but in quitting his stronghold, & making a little sortie, of which your comment has so pointedly shewn the feebleness, he only betrayed the weakness of his cause, & his bigotted attachment to what he had once adopted

 

αλις δε οι αλλα εκηλος

Ερρετω εκ γαρ οι φρενας ειλετο μητιετα Ζευς[2]

He probably has return’d my letter; which, indeed, he could have as little wish, as right to retain: I will beg you to keep it, as I possibly may introduce part of it in what I think of printing. I must now say a few words on Bro’s correction. I certainly did suppose that at the Charterhouse the first syllable of κυνε[3] & such words was pronounced like that of cunning: I of course, stand corrected as far as the practice goes: I must say, however, that, in my mind, the practice is at variance with the principle: the principle is, that you (not Ba, but Bro, or rather Dr Russel) are to pass over the vowel to the consonant in iambi & pyrrhics wherever it can be done: it cannot in κυων, but may, & ought consistently to be done in κυνε rubus &cæ. The pretext (I can afford it no better name) for passing over the vowel to the consonant in pyrrhics, is, that our disyl[la]bles in which we do pass over it, as coney punish &cæ, are true pyrrhics & standards for pronouncing that foot in the ancient languages: coney therefore (the first of which, tho’ spelt with an o has exactly the same sound as that of cun’ning pun’ish &cæ) is your true