drinker. Cf. Lith. pota, tippling), potation, potion, pottage, (M. L. potagium, Fr. potage).

171. Potis, able (Sk. pati-s, a master, lord, or husband. Cf. L. suffix -pte, as in suopte, and also -pse, as in ipse = i(s) + pse. Gr. πόσις and also δέσποινα and δεσπότης, Eng. despot, Lith. pati-s, a husband). From potis with esse, to be, comes posse, and from posse, part. potens, come potent, impotent, potentate (M. L. potentatus), possible, power (Fr. pouvoir). From potis, with sedere, or possidere, lit. to sit by, be master of, come possess, prepossess, and dispossess.

172. Precari, to pray to or for (Sk. prachh, to ask. Cf. πрoloσεodai), pray (Fr. prier), precarious (lit. needing to be prayed for), precatory, deprecate, imprecate.

173. Prae, prep. before, for prai; and also pro, orig. prod-, Sk. prati (Sk. pra, before, Lith. pra and pro. The original adjective form pris, of which prior and primus are derivatives, is lost. Traces of it appear in the Gr. πpív, before, and also in L. priscus, ancient, and pristinus, primitive. With the sup. primus, cf. Sk. prathama-s, and Lith. pirmas), prior, prime, primary, primate, primer, premier (Fr. premier, for L. primus), prince (L. princeps = primum, sc. locum, capiens) and also principal and principle (L. principium).

174. Premere, pressum, to press (cf. Gr. πpiw and πρíw, I grind between the teeth, and πρý, I drive out by blowing), press, compress, depress, express (lit. to squeeze out, as the juice of grapes. Cf. for sense, Germ. ausdrücken), impress, oppress, repress, suppress; print (L. imprimere, Fr. empreinde, part. empreint) and imprint, imprimatur (lit. let it be printed; like exequatur, let it be executed).

175. Prehendere, prehensum, and sycopated prendere, to seize or lay hold of (Gr. xavdávw, stem xad; Goth. hinthan, to seize, which agrees closely with the Latin; Eng. and Germ. hand; cf. also, Goth. bigitan, Ang. Sax. gitan, which corresponds more with the Gr., Eng. get), prehensile, apprehend, comprehend, comprehensive, a prize (Fr. prendre, part. pris and prise), prison (Fr. do.), apprize (Fr. apprendre, part. appris), apprentice (Fr. apprenti), comprise, surprise.

176. Prope, near to, nigh (from same root as pro, before; Cf. Sk. prati, Gr. πρós, old form πроτí, Аеοl. πрожí, just by). The comp. and sup. forms, derived from it, are propior, proximus. Proprius, one's own (lit. near by one; cf. for sense, possidere, which see, under potis) is from prope. From these words come Eng. proprietor, propriety, property, proper (L. proprius, Fr. propre), appropriate, propitious, propitiate, propinquity (L. propinquus), approach (L. appropinquare, Fr. approcher), proximity, approximate (L. proximus), proxy, reproach (Fr. reprocher, lit. to come back, near to. See Fr. proche, near to).

=

177. Puer, a boy (Gr. Taîs, from which, or its derivatives, come pedagogue Tardiov+ayw, lit. to lead a child; encyclopaedia = παιδεία ἐν κύκλῳ; page, a boy, Gr. παιδίον, Fr. page; pedobaptism, etc. In the Spartan dialect, maîs occurs as Toîp. In old inscriptions it appears as por, as in Marcipor; like our English way of making surnames, as in Thomason, Jamieson, etc). From puer come puerile, puerperal (puer+parere), puberty (L. puber), pupa (L. pupus and pupa cont. from puberus, etc.), puppet, pup, and puppy (as being young), pupil (L. pupillus), bub and booby (Germ. bube), and babe, pusilanimous (L. do., lit. having the mind of a little boy).

178. Pungere, punctum, to prick or puncture, Gr. TεÚKη, the fir, viewed as being sharp-pointed; from which root come pike (Fr. pique), pique (Fr. piquer), picket (Fr. piquet), peek and pick (Germ. picken), pickle (cf. for form, tickle from tick, and tackle from tack), L. picea, Eng. pitch-pine, also, belongs here, and L. picare, to pitch, (and L. picra, bitter medicine, Gr. Tikρós, bitter, as bitter in Eng. comes from verb bite). From pungere comes pungent, poignant (Fr. poindre, part. poignant), poniard (Fr. poignard), compunction, punctuate, punctual, punctilious, point (L. punctum, Fr. point), appoint (M. L. appunctare and appointare), disappoint.

179. Purus, clean, undefiled (Sk. pû, to purify; Gr. πûp, fire, Germ. feuer, Eng. fire), pure, purify, purge (L. purgare = purum + agere), purgatory, expurgated, impurity, spurious (L. spurius se, insep. prep. without, and purus, pure. Cf. serious se + ridere, and sober se + ebrius).

180. Putare, to clear up, arrange, reckon, etc. (Sk. budh and bundh, to know, Gr. Tuvdávoμai, stem πud, I search into, or out), compute, depute, dispute, impule, reputation, count (Fr. compter, L. computare), account (formerly written accompt).

181. Quaerere (for quaesere), quaesitum, to seek (Sk. chesth, to go about), query, question, acquisition, conquer (Fr. conquerir = cum armis quaerere), exquisite (lit. sought out from among other things. Cf. for sense, egregious = e grege), inquire, inquest, inquisitive, perquisite, require, request, requisition, prerequisite, curious (L. curiosus. Cf. for form, cujus, with its nominative from quis).

182. Quatuor four (Sk. chatur and chatvâra-s; Lith. keturi ; Gr. τέσσαρες, Archaic πέσσυρες and πίσυρες, with which cf. Celtic petor. For the interchangeableness of gutturals and labials, as in quatuor and τέσσαρες, for πέσσαρες, now apparently quite unrelated, cf. also Gr. πévτe, five, and L.quinque, and also Gr. πῶς and πότε, Ionic κὣς and κότε, Sk. kati and kadâ. See also Gr. πos, Aeol. Kкos (L. equus), quart (L. quartus), quadrant, quadrature, quadruped (+ pes, pedis), quadruple (+plicare, to fold), square (L. quadrare, Ital. squadrare, Fr. equarrir and carrer), squadron (L. quadratus, Ital. squadrone).

ARTICLE VI.

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.

LETTER FROM REV. B. SCHNEIDER, AINTAB, SYRIA, MARCH 26, 1862.

IN passing through Oorfa, supposed to be the ancient Ur of the Chaldees, we examined some excavations in the environs of the city. These were evidently tombs, and apparently family tombs. They are exceedingly numerous; the high rocks, surrounding the city to the west and south, being full of them. They all have the same general form and size, and are always in the side of a hill, and the excavation is made horizontally, so that by stooping a little at the entrance you can walk right into them. On your entrance you find a room some twelve or fifteen feet long and nearly as wide, and perhaps eight feet high; and at the right and left side and at the further end there are niches in the wall, just large enough to receive a full-grown human body. The generality of them have only these three receptacles for the dead, but occasionally there were side rooms, entered from the central one, of the same form and size, in each of which there were again three such niches or sarcophagi. In two or three there were images carved over these niches. In one it was the image of a Roman warrior, in a reclining position, with a female standing at his feet. Both figures were in a tolerably good state of preservation. In a second were two similar images, though not very distinct; and in a third, two angelic figures and one of an eagle. In a fourth there was an inscription over one of the niches, in rather large characters. A copy of it was once sent to Dr. Robinson by the Rev. Mr. White; but it could not be deciphered.

That these excavations were tombs, scems not only probable from their form, but is positively proved by our observations. One of them had been opened quite recently, and we found the remains of human bones still in the niches. We handled parts of the skull and other portions of the human frame, and found also small pieces of glass. These we conjectured to have been pieces of the tear bottles, often deposited with the dead in ancient times. I have seen a perfect one of these bottles, taken from a similar tomb on the banks of the Euphrates; and, again, in the island of Cyprus I once had some beautiful ones shown me, made from translucent marble.

One feature of these tombs interested us particularly. It was a semicircular groove outside of the entrance to the left, and of such a size as to receive a large round stone, which was evidently used to close the entrance. Whenever the tomb was to be opened, this stone was rolled to the left into this groove, especially made for its reception; and when it was closed again, it was rolled back before the entrance or door. At one of them, brought to view by removal of the earth only a few days before our examination, we found the stone actually standing before the entrance, so as to preclude our ingress. It was of the size and thickness of a common mill-stone, large and heavy, standing perpendicularly right in front.

These tombs are all expressly hewn out of solid limestone rock; and those recently opened appear as fresh as though the excavation had been made within quite a recent date.

Was not the tomb in which Christ was laid, in all probability, precisely like those here mentioned? In Matt. xxvii. 60, it is said: "He laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed." In Mark xvi. 3, 4, is is said of the women who were on their way to the sepulchre : " And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the sepulchre'... for it was very great." When we saw the size and weight of the stone above mentioned, we could not at all wonder that these females felt themselves unable to roll it away, being so large and heavy. Rolling seems a much more proper word than moving or raising; for the round stone, standing perpendicularly before the door, must be rolled away, and not lifted or moved, to secure an entrance. With tombs like those we saw, before our mind the whole account of the opening of a tomb out of a rock, and closing it by means of a large circular stone, and of the men's entering it (not going down into it), and of a "young man sitting at the right side," is perfectly natural and consistent, and just what the circumstances require.

The only possible objection to the idea that Christ's tomb was like these, arises from the expression in Matt. xxviii. 2, where it is said the angel "rolled back the stone, and sat upon it." But the expression éкáðŋтo èñávw avtov may not necessarily imply that he sat down upon it, as we usually understand the phrase; but simply that the angel having rolled away the stone, took a position by the side of it, and leaned against it. The word àwokuxíw is translated rolled back in Matthew; but it could not be rolled back unless it was a stone precisely of the kind we saw; but, considering it of that nature, no word could have expressed the act more truly, as is readily seen: it was rolled back into this semicircular groove, made expressly for it, and not rolled off from a grave beneath the surface of the ground.

In Birsdgik, on the Euphrates, and in many other parts of Mesopotamia through which we passed, we saw many of these tombs; and in all cases the form was the same. Many poor families of Koords and Arabs now actually occupy these abodes of the dead as habitations for themselves.

Another object of interest in Oorfa is what we supposed must be the site of the famous school of Edessa. The position is one very favorable and suitable for such an institution, and there is an abundant supply of flowing water. Some parts of the ancient wall are still to be seen, and some remains of marble pillars, scattered about, may have adorned some of the doors and entrances of the building. But the most prominent relic of the edifice is a tower, or steeple, which seems to have been the belfrey. It is square in its form, and the upper part is so constructed as to indicate, very plainly, that a bell was once suspended there, and poured forth its clear tones all over the city. It is now used as a minaret, from which the Turkish muezzin daily calls the followers of the false prophet to their prayers. But Mohamedans do not construct their minarets in that form; but finding it ready-made, they use it for this purpose.