Consonants should generally be joined to the vowels or diphthongs which they modify in utterance; as, An-ax-ag’-o-ras, ap-os-tol’-i-cal.[110]

RULE II.—­VOWELS.

Two vowels, coming together, if they make not a diphthong, must be parted in dividing the syllables; as, A-cka’-i-a, A-o’-ni-an, a-e’-ri-al.

RULE III.—­TERMINATIONS.

Derivative and grammatical terminations should generally be separated from the radical words to which they have been added; as, harm-less, great-ly, connect-ed:  thus count-er and coun-ter are different words.

RULE IV.—­PREFIXES.

Prefixes, in general, form separate syllables; as, mis-place, out-ride, up-lift:  but if their own primitive meaning be disregarded, the case may be otherwise; thus, re-create, and rec’-reate, re-formation, and ref-ormation, are words of different import.

RULE V.—­COMPOUNDS.

Compounds, when divided, should be divided into the simple words which compose them; as, boat-swain, foot-hold, never-the-less.

RULE VI.—­LINES FULL.

At the end of a line, a word may be divided, if necessary; but a syllable must never be broken.

OBSERVATIONS.

OBS. 1.—­The doctrine of English syllabication is attended with some difficulties; because its purposes are various, and its principles, often contradictory.  The old rules, borrowed chiefly from grammars of other languages, and still retained in some of our own, are liable to very strong objections.[111] By aiming to divide on the vowels, and to force the consonants, as much as possible, into the beginning of syllables, they often pervert or misrepresent our pronunciation.  Thus Murray, in his Spelling-Book, has “gra-vel, fi-nish, me-lon, bro-ther, bo-dy, wi-dow, pri-son, a-va-rice, e-ve-ry, o-ran-ges, e-ne-my, me-di-cine, re-pre-sent, re-so-lu-tion,” and a multitude of other words, divided upon a principle by which the young learner can scarcely fail to be led into error respecting their sounds.  This method of division is therefore particularly reprehensible in such books as are designed to teach the true pronunciation of words; for which reason, it has been generally abandoned in our modern spelling-books and dictionaries:  the authors of which have severally aimed at some sort of compromise between etymology and pronunciation; but they disagree so much, as to the manner of effecting it, that no two of them will be found alike, and very few, if any, entirely consistent with themselves.