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eaſie Letter, which may perhaps be the reaſon why this Letter N, and L, and R, are for the moſt part, both in Greek and Latin immutable, both in Declenſions and Conjugations.

(Ng) is framed by an appulſe of the Root of the Tongue towards the inner part of the Palat. The ſound of it may be continued ſimple, as well as any other; which makes it evident to be a ſingle letter, and not a compound of n, and g, as we uſually write it: Thus the word Anguis, in the true ſpelling of it, ſhould be writ A, ng, G, ȣ, ι, s. The Hebrew (ע) is ſuppoſed by divers Authors, but I think groundleſly, to be of this power. I know ſeveral things may be ſaid, to render it pro­bable, that the power here intended, may be ſufficiently expreſſed, by a more ſoft and ſlight manner of pronouncing the letters N & G com­pounded together: But I rather incline to reckon it a ſimple and di­ſtinct Letter.

To the Sonorous letters of this kind, there are three Mutes of affini­ty, hm, hn, hng; which are formed when the breath is emitted through the Inſtruments of Speech, in the ſame poſition reſpectively as in the former, but without any Vocal Sound. The two firſt of theſe are in uſe amongſt the Welſh and Iriſh: And the laſt of them, in the opi­nion of Bellarmine, and ſome other Grammarians, is rather the true ſound of the Hebrew (ע).

2. The Spiritous Conſonants to be breathed through the Mouth, are likewiſe of two kinds,

${\displaystyle \scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\ \end{matrix}}\right.}}$	Sonorous, V. Dh. L. R. Z. Zh.
	Mute, F. Th. hL. hR. S. Sh.

(V) is the ſame with that which we call V Conſonant: 'Tis of the ſame power which is commonly aſcribed to B aſperated, or rather in­craſſated. So the Weſtern Jews pronounce their Letter (ב) when not Dageſhated. And 'tis obſerved that in Ancient Monuments amongſt the Latins, theſe two Letters have been often put for one another: And that in ſome words,Scaliger de Cauſis L. L. cap. 28. where the ſenſe hath been very much varied by this change; ſo Acerbus for Acervus: Veneficium for Beneficium. The power of this Letter was firſt expreſſed among the Latins by the Digamma Aeolicum, (ϝ) (ſo ſtiled for its Figure, not its Sound) which is now the Character for the Letter (F) but had at firſt the power of the Conſonant (V) and was written in Claudius his time invertedly, as DIℲAI, AMPLIAℲIT.Voſſius Gram. lib. 1. cap. 15. This Letter is framed by a kind of ſtraining or percolation of the Breath, through a Chink between the lower lip and upper teeth, with ſome kind of Murmure.

(F) is the correſpondent Mute to this: 'Tis framed by the ſame kind of poſition of the Lip and Teeth, and percolation of the Breath betwixt them, with this only difference, that as the former was with ſome kind of Vocal Sound, ſo this is wholly mute. This ſeems to be ſuch an incraſſation of the Letter (P) as (V) is of (B). 'Tis anſwera­ble to the Greek (φ). And though ſeveral of the Greek words with (φ) are rendred in Latin by Ph, as Philoſophia, Sophiſta, &c. yet the Ita­lians write Filoſofo, Sofiſta, &c. and ſome other words are ſo rendred in Latin, as φύγη, fuga, φήμη, fama. What that diluteneſs is,Ibid. which Voſ­ſius ſaith is more proper to F, than to φ, I underſtand not; nor is it eaſie to gueſs at the meaning of that in Cicero, concerning Fundanius, and Phundanius, unleſs perhaps it be, as Lipſius gueſſes, of pronoun­cing it as Pfhundanius, or elſe as P-hundanius.