Henr. Stephani Dialogus de bene instituendis Graecae linguae studiis

and by multiplying the series of derivatives back to the primogenitive forms, as if to the roots from which they sprout. But to return to that method of examination which Moschopoulos uses in that book of his, the σχεδῶν Handbook/Primer: it is amazing how little fruit it brings to the student’s memory, especially when he orders words to be recited that begin with such and such a syllable. Thus, on page 8, when asked which words beginning with the syllable χει are written with an ι, the answer is: χεῖα, whence χεῖσμα; and χεισὸς, and χεισοφόρος, and χείπομαι, as well as χεισιανὸς, χεισιώνυμος, χεισίνα, and others. Then, among those that have their beginning with the syllable χρη, he enumerates χρῆμα, χρηματίζω, χρησμὸς, χρησμολόγος, χρησμῳδῶ, χρησμῳδία, χρησμῴδημα, χρησμοδοτῶ, χρησμοδότημα, χρησπειάζω, χρησπεῖον, χρήσης, χελῶαι. PH. With a very heavy and yet superfluous burden, he weighs down the memory of the candidate for the Greek language (as you have complained) with such things. Add to this that, if one had to come to such an enumeration, it would suffice to recount only the primary words from which the others are derived; and thus, instead of those nine that are enumerated in the first place, it would have been enough to provide two, χρῆμα and χρησμὸς. But note this too: how little accuracy, or rather how much negligence, there is in this enumeration. For he places χρησμῳδία between χρησμῳδῶ and χρησμῴδημα; when, however, χρησμῳδία is (as you know) derived not from χρησμῳδῶ, but from χρησμῳδὸς (which he omits), just as κωμῳδία is from κωμῳδὸς. Furthermore, he puts χρησπειάζω before χρησπεῖον. COR. Do you not notice something else that is very ridiculous? For he asks thus: "Which words beginning with the syllable χει are written with an ι?" And when he has listed some, he asks which ones are written with an η. And he employs this formula of questioning not only here, but also elsewhere in many places. For such is that questioning of his.