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Trial in the Court of Vowels (1-5)

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg014.perseus-eng4:1-5
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Seventh Pyanepsion.

Court of the Seven Vowels.

Action for assault with robbery.

Sigma v. Tau.

Plaintiffs casethat the words in -ττ- are wrongfully withheld from him.

Vowels of the jury.—For some time this Mr. Taus trespasses and encroachments on my property were of minor importance; I made no claim for damages, and affected unconsciousness of what I heard; my conciliatory temper both you and the other letters have reason to know. His covetousness and folly, however, have now so puffed him up, that he is no longer content with my habitual concessions, but insists on more; I accordingly find myself compelled to get the matter settled by you who know both sides of it. The fact is, I am in bodily fear, owing to the crushing to which I am subjected. This evergrowing aggression will end by ousting me completely from

v.1.p.27
my own; I shall be almost dumb, lose my rank as a letter, and be degraded to a mere noise.

Justice requires then that not merely you, the jury in this case, but the other letters also, should be on your guard against such attempts. If any one who chooses is to be licensed to leave his own place and usurp that of others, with no objection on your part (whose concurrence is an indispensable condition of all writing), I fail to see how combinations are to have their ancient constitutional rights secured to them. But my first reliance is upon you, who will surely never be guilty of the negligence and indifference which permits injustice; and even if you decline the contest, I have no intention of sitting down under that injustice myself.

It is much to be regretted that the assaults of other letters were not repelled when they first began their lawless practices; then we should not be watching the still pending dispute between Lambda and Rho for possession of κεφαλαλγία or κεφαλαργία, κίσηλις or κίσηρις: Gamma would not have had to defend its rights over γνάφαλλα, constantly almost at blows with Kappa in the debatable land, and per contra it would itself have dropped its campaign against Lambda (if indeed it is more dignified than petty larceny) for converting μόλις to μόγις: in fact lawless confusion generally would have been nipped in the bud. And it is well to abide by the established order; such trespasses betray a revolutionary spirit.

Now our first legislatorsCadmus the islander, Palamedes, son of Nauplius, or Simonides, whom some authorities credit with the measurewere not satisfied with determining merely our order of precedence in the alphabet; they also had an eye to our individual qualities and faculties. You, Vowels of the jury, constitute the first Estate, because you can be uttered independently; the semi-vowels, requiring support before they can be distinctly heard, are the second; and the lowest Estate

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they declared to consist of those nine which cannot be sounded at all by themselves. The vowels are accordingly the natural guardians of our laws.

Seventh 1 w 7
Pyanepsion 1 w 17
Court 1 w 23
of 1 w 25
the 1 w 28
Seven 2 w 33
Vowels 1 w 39
Action 1 w 46
for 1 w 49
assault 1 w 56
with 1 w 60
robbery 1 w 67
Sigma 1 w 73
v 3 w 74
Tau 1 w 78
Plaintiff 1 w 88
s 5 w 90
case 1 w 94
that 1 w 99
the 2 w 102
words 1 w 107
in 2 w 109
ττ- 1 w 113
are 1 w 116
wrongfully 1 w 126
withheld 1 w 134
from 1 w 138
him 1 w 141
Vowels 2 w 148
of 2 w 150
the 3 w 153
jury 1 w 157
For 1 w 162
some 1 w 166
time 1 w 170
this 1 w 174
Mr 1 w 176
Tau 2 w 180
s 11 w 182
trespasses 1 w 192
and 1 w 195
encroachments 1 w 208
on 4 w 210
my 1 w 212
property 1 w 220
were 1 w 224
of 3 w 226
minor 1 w 231
importance 1 w 241
I 1 w 243
made 1 w 247
no 2 w 249
claim 1 w 254
for 2 w 257
damages 1 w 264
and 2 w 268
affected 1 w 276
unconsciousness 1 w 291
of 4 w 293
what 1 w 297
I 2 w 298
heard 1 w 303
my 2 w 306
conciliatory 1 w 318
temper 1 w 324
both 1 w 328
you 1 w 331
and 3 w 334
the 4 w 337
other 1 w 342
letters 1 w 349
have 1 w 353
reason 1 w 359
to 2 w 361
know 1 w 365
His 1 w 369
covetousness 1 w 381
and 4 w 384
folly 1 w 389
however 1 w 397
have 2 w 402
now 2 w 405
so 3 w 407
puffed 1 w 413
him 2 w 416
up 1 w 418
that 2 w 423
he 8 w 425
is 3 w 427
no 5 w 429
longer 1 w 435
content 1 w 442
with 3 w 446
my 3 w 448
habitual 1 w 456
concessions 1 w 467
but 1 w 471
insists 1 w 478
on 12 w 480
more 1 w 484
I 3 w 486
accordingly 1 w 497
find 1 w 501
myself 1 w 507
compelled 1 w 516
to 4 w 518
get 1 w 521
the 6 w 524
matter 1 w 530
settled 1 w 537
by 1 w 539
you 2 w 542
who 1 w 545
know 2 w 549
both 2 w 553
sides 1 w 558
of 5 w 560
it 5 w 562
The 1 w 566
fact 1 w 570
is 5 w 572
I 4 w 574
am 2 w 576
in 7 w 578
bodily 1 w 584
fear 1 w 588
owing 1 w 594
to 5 w 596
the 7 w 599
crushing 1 w 607
to 6 w 609
which 1 w 614
I 5 w 615
am 3 w 617
subjected 1 w 626
This 1 w 631
evergrowing 1 w 642
aggression 1 w 652
will 1 w 656
end 1 w 659
by 2 w 661
ousting 1 w 668
me 4 w 670
completely 1 w 680
from 2 w 684
my 5 w 686
own 1 w 689
I 6 w 691
shall 1 w 696
be 2 w 698
almost 1 w 704
dumb 1 w 708
lose 1 w 713
my 6 w 715
rank 1 w 719
as 5 w 721
a 43 w 722
letter 2 w 728
and 5 w 732
be 3 w 734
degraded 1 w 742
to 7 w 744
a 46 w 745
mere 1 w 749
noise 1 w 754
Justice 1 w 762
requires 1 w 770
then 1 w 774
that 3 w 778
not 1 w 781
merely 1 w 787
you 3 w 790
the 9 w 794
jury 2 w 798
in 12 w 800
this 2 w 804
case 2 w 808
but 2 w 812
the 10 w 815
other 2 w 820
letters 2 w 827
also 1 w 831
should 1 w 838
be 4 w 840
on 14 w 842
your 1 w 846
guard 1 w 851
against 1 w 858
such 1 w 862
attempts 1 w 870
If 1 w 873
any 1 w 876
one 1 w 879
who 2 w 882
chooses 1 w 889
is 9 w 891
to 8 w 893
be 5 w 895
licensed 1 w 903
to 9 w 905
leave 1 w 910
his 4 w 913
own 2 w 916
place 1 w 921
and 6 w 924
usurp 1 w 929
that 4 w 933
of 6 w 935
others 1 w 941
with 4 w 946
no 9 w 948
objection 1 w 957
on 17 w 959
your 2 w 963
part 1 w 967
whose 1 w 973
concurrence 1 w 984
is 11 w 986
an 11 w 988
indispensable 1 w 1001
condition 1 w 1010
of 7 w 1012
all 2 w 1015
writing 1 w 1022
I 8 w 1025
fail 1 w 1029
to 10 w 1031
see 1 w 1034
how 2 w 1037
combinations 1 w 1049
are 2 w 1052
to 11 w 1054
have 3 w 1058
their 1 w 1063
ancient 1 w 1070
constitutional 1 w 1084
rights 1 w 1090
secured 1 w 1097
to 12 w 1099
them 1 w 1103
But 1 w 1107
my 7 w 1109
first 1 w 1114
reliance 1 w 1122
is 13 w 1124
upon 1 w 1128
you 6 w 1131
who 4 w 1135
will 2 w 1139
surely 1 w 1145
never 1 w 1150
be 6 w 1152
guilty 1 w 1158
of 8 w 1160
the 15 w 1163
negligence 1 w 1173
and 7 w 1176
indifference 1 w 1188
which 2 w 1193
permits 1 w 1200
injustice 1 w 1209
and 8 w 1213
even 3 w 1217
if 3 w 1219
you 7 w 1222
decline 1 w 1229
the 16 w 1232
contest 1 w 1239
I 9 w 1241
have 4 w 1245
no 10 w 1247
intention 1 w 1256
of 9 w 1258
sitting 1 w 1265
down 1 w 1269
under 1 w 1274
that 5 w 1278
injustice 2 w 1287
myself 2 w 1293
It 1 w 1296
is 14 w 1298
much 1 w 1302
to 13 w 1304
be 7 w 1306
regretted 1 w 1315
that 6 w 1319
the 17 w 1322
assaults 1 w 1330
of 10 w 1332
other 4 w 1337
letters 3 w 1344
were 2 w 1348
not 2 w 1351
repelled 1 w 1359
when 1 w 1363
they 1 w 1367
first 2 w 1372
began 1 w 1377
their 2 w 1382
lawless 1 w 1389
practices 1 w 1398
then 2 w 1403
we 6 w 1405
should 2 w 1411
not 3 w 1414
be 9 w 1416
watching 1 w 1424
the 22 w 1427
still 1 w 1432
pending 1 w 1439
dispute 1 w 1446
between 1 w 1453
Lambda 1 w 1459
and 9 w 1462
Rho 1 w 1465
for 3 w 1468
possession 1 w 1478
of 11 w 1480
κεφαλαλγία 1 w 1490
or 11 w 1492
κεφαλαργία 1 w 1502
κίσηλις 1 w 1510
or 12 w 1512
κίσηρις 1 w 1519
Gamma 1 w 1525
would 1 w 1530
not 4 w 1533
have 5 w 1537
had 1 w 1540
to 14 w 1542
defend 1 w 1548
its 2 w 1551
rights 2 w 1557
over 1 w 1561
γνάφαλλα 1 w 1569
constantly 1 w 1580
almost 2 w 1586
at 13 w 1588
blows 1 w 1593
with 5 w 1597
Kappa 1 w 1602
in 25 w 1604
the 23 w 1607
debatable 1 w 1616
land 1 w 1620
and 11 w 1624
per 4 w 1627
contra 1 w 1633
it 14 w 1635
would 2 w 1640
itself 1 w 1646
have 6 w 1650
dropped 1 w 1657
its 4 w 1660
campaign 1 w 1668
against 2 w 1675
Lambda 2 w 1681
if 4 w 1684
indeed 1 w 1690
it 17 w 1692
is 16 w 1694
more 2 w 1698
dignified 1 w 1707
than 1 w 1711
petty 1 w 1716
larceny 1 w 1723
for 4 w 1727
converting 1 w 1737
μόλις 1 w 1742
to 15 w 1744
μόγις 1 w 1749
in 29 w 1752
fact 2 w 1756
lawless 2 w 1763
confusion 1 w 1772
generally 1 w 1781
would 3 w 1786
have 7 w 1790
been 1 w 1794
nipped 1 w 1800
in 30 w 1802
the 24 w 1805
bud 1 w 1808
And 1 w 1812
it 18 w 1814
is 17 w 1816
well 1 w 1820
to 16 w 1822
abide 1 w 1827
by 3 w 1829
the 25 w 1832
established 1 w 1843
order 1 w 1848
such 2 w 1853
trespasses 2 w 1863
betray 1 w 1869
a 115 w 1870
revolutionary 1 w 1883
spirit 1 w 1889
Now 1 w 1893
our 4 w 1896
first 3 w 1901
legislators 1 w 1912
Cadmus 1 w 1919
the 26 w 1922
islander 1 w 1930
Palamedes 1 w 1940
son 2 w 1944
of 12 w 1946
Nauplius 1 w 1954
or 17 w 1957
Simonides 1 w 1966
whom 1 w 1971
some 2 w 1975
authorities 1 w 1986
credit 1 w 1992
with 6 w 1996
the 27 w 1999
measure 1 w 2006
were 3 w 2011
not 5 w 2014
satisfied 1 w 2023
with 7 w 2027
determining 1 w 2038
merely 2 w 2044
our 5 w 2047
order 2 w 2052
of 13 w 2054
precedence 1 w 2064
in 33 w 2066
the 28 w 2069
alphabet 1 w 2077
they 2 w 2082
also 2 w 2086
had 2 w 2089
an 23 w 2091
eye 1 w 2094
to 18 w 2096
our 6 w 2099
individual 1 w 2109
qualities 1 w 2118
and 13 w 2121
faculties 1 w 2130
You 1 w 2134
Vowels 3 w 2141
of 14 w 2143
the 30 w 2146
jury 3 w 2150
constitute 1 w 2161
the 31 w 2164
first 4 w 2169
Estate 1 w 2175
because 1 w 2183
you 8 w 2186
can 1 w 2189
be 15 w 2191
uttered 1 w 2198
independently 1 w 2211
the 32 w 2215
semi-vowels 1 w 2226
requiring 1 w 2236
support 1 w 2243
before 1 w 2249
they 3 w 2253
can 2 w 2256
be 17 w 2258
distinctly 1 w 2268
heard 2 w 2273
are 3 w 2277
the 34 w 2280
second 1 w 2286
and 14 w 2290
the 35 w 2293
lowest 1 w 2299
Estate 2 w 2305
they 4 w 2309
declared 1 w 2317
to 19 w 2319
consist 1 w 2326
of 15 w 2328
those 1 w 2333
nine 1 w 2337
which 3 w 2342
cannot 1 w 2348
be 18 w 2350
sounded 1 w 2357
at 19 w 2359
all 4 w 2362
by 4 w 2364
themselves 1 w 2374
The 2 w 2378
vowels 2 w 2384
are 5 w 2387
accordingly 2 w 2398
the 38 w 2401
natural 1 w 2408
guardians 1 w 2417
of 16 w 2419
our 7 w 2422
laws 1 w 2426