the accent on the first syllable, because, in pronouncing the Latin words, parsimonia, caeremonia, matrimonia, melancholia, etc. we are permitted, and prone, in our English pronunciation of these words, to place a secondary accent on that syllable. See Academy, Irreparable, etc.
(p) With respect to the quantity of the antepenultimate syllable in polysyllables, it may be observed, that, regardless of the quantity of the original, we almost, without exception, follow the analogy of our own language. This analogy uniformly shortens the vowel, unless it be u, followed by a single consonant, or any other vowel followed by a single consonant, succeeded by a semi-consonant diphthong: thus the first u in dūbious is pronounced long, though short in the Latin word dŭbĭus: the same may be observed of the e and o in mědium and empŏrium: and the first i in delĭrium, and the first e in dĕlicate, are pronounced short in English, according to our own analogy, (507) though these letters are long in the Latin delīrium, and delīcatus. For the quantity of English dissyllables derived from the Greek and Latin, see Syllabication, No. 543, 544, etc.
Terminational Accent.
504. We have seen that the Saxon terminations, regardless of harmony, always leave the accent where they found it, let the adventitious syllables be ever so numerous. The Saxons, attentive chiefly to sense, preserved the same simplicity in the accentuation, as in the composition of their words; and, if sense were the only object of language, it must be confessed, that our ancestors were, in this respect, superior to the Greeks and Romans. What method could so rigidly preserve, and so strongly convey, the sense of words, as that which always left the accent on the root, where the principal meaning of the word undoubtedly lies? But the necessities of human nature require that our thoughts should not only be conveyed with force, but with ease; to give language its due effect, it must be agreeable as well as forceful; and the ear must be addressed while we are informing the mind. Here, then, terminational accent, the music of language, interposes; corrects the discordant, and strengthens the feeble sounds; removes the difficulty of pronunciation which arises from placing the accent on initial syllables, and brings the force gently down to the latter part of the word, where a cadence is formed, on the principles of harmony and proportion.
505. To form an idea of the influence of termination upon accent, it will be sufficient to observe, that words which have ei, ia, ie, io, eu, eon, in their termination, always have the accent on the preceding syllable: thus atheist, alien, regalia, ambrosia, caduceus, etc. the numerous terminations in ion, ian, etc. as gradation, promotion, confusion, logician, physician, etc. those in ious, as harmonious, abstemious, etc. those in eous, as outrageous, advantageous, etc. These vowels may not improperly be styled semi-consonant diphthongs. (196)
506. The only exceptions to this rule are one word in iac, as elegiac, which has the accent on the i, and the following words in iacal, as prosodiacal, cardiacal, heliacal, genethliacal, maniacal, demoniacal, ammoniacal, theriacal, paradisiacal, aphrodisiacal, and hypochondriacal; all which have the accent on the antepenultimate i, and that long and open, as in idle, title, etc.
507. Nothing can be more uniform than the position of the accent in words of these terminations; and, with very few exceptions, the quantity of the accented vowel is as regular as the accent; for when these terminations are preceded by a single consonant, every accented vowel is long, except i; which, in this situation, is as uniformly short: thus occasion, adhesion, erosion, and confusion, have the a, e, o, and u, long; while vision and decision have the i short. The same may be observed of probation, concretion, devotion, ablution, and exhibition. The exceptions are, impetuous, especial, perpetual, discretion, and battalion, which last ought to be spelt with double l, as in the French, from which it is derived, and then it would follow the general rule. National and rational form two more exceptions; and these are almost the only irregularities to which these numerous classes of words are subject.
508. Nearly the same uniformity, both of accent and quantity, we find in words ending in ic. The accent immediately precedes this termination, and every vowel under this accent, but u, is short: thus Satanic, pathetic, eliptic, harmonic, etc. have the accent on the penultimate, and the vowel short: while tunic, runic, and cubic, have the accented vowel long.
509. The same may be observed of words ending in ical, as fanatical, poetical, levitical, canonical, etc. which have the accent on the antepenultimate syllable, and the vowels e, i, and o, short; but cubical and musical, with the accent on the same syllable, have the u long.
510. The only exceptions to this rule are, arsenic, choleric, ephemeric, turmeric, empiric, rhetoric, bishopric, (better written bishoprick, see No. 400) lunatic, arithmetic, splenetic, heretic, politic, and, perhaps, phlegmatic; which, though more frequently heard with the accent on the antepenultimate syllable, ought, if possible, to be reduced to regularity. Words ending in scence have uniformly the accent on the penultimate syllable, as quiescence, reminiscence, etc. concupiscence, which has the accent on the antepenultimate, is the only exception.
511. In the same manner, if we take a view of the words ending in ity, we find the accent invariably placed on the preceding syllable, as in diversity, congruity, etc. On a closer inspection we find every vowel in this antepenultimate syllable, when no consonant intervenes, pronounced long, as deity, piety, etc. A nearer inspection shows us, that, if a consonant precede this termination, the preceding accented vowel is short, except it be u, as severity, curiosity,
