REGULE GENERALES. GENERAL RULES. 1. Nomina Neutrius Generis 1. Nouns of the Neuter Genhabent Nominativum, Accusa- der have the Nominative, Accutivum, et Vocativum, similes sative, and Vocative, alike in both in utroque Numero: et hi Ca-numbers: And these Cases in the sus in Plurali semper desinunt Plural end always in a. in a. 2. Vocativus in Singulari 2. The Vocative for the most plerumque, in Plurali semper, Part in the Singular [and] alest similis Nominativo. ways in the Plural, is like the Nominative. 3. Dativus et Ablativus Pluralis sunt similes. 4. Nomina propria plerum que carent Plurali. 3. The Dative and Ablative Plural are alike. 4. Proper names for the most part want the Plural. A NOUN is that part of Speech which signifies the Name or Quality of a thing; as Homo, a Man; Bonus, Good. A Noun is either Substantive or Adjective. A Substantive Noun is, that which signifies the Name of a thing; as Arbor, a Tree; Virtus, Virtue; Bonitas, Goodness. An Adjective Noun is, that which signifies an accident, quality, or property of a thing; as Albus, white; Felix, happy; Gravis, heavy. A Substantive may be distinguished from an Adjective these two ways: : 1. A Substantive can stand in a Sentence without an Adjective, but an Adjective cannot without a Substantive: as, I can say, A stone falls; but I cannot say, Heavy falls. 2. If the Word Thing be joined with an Adjective, it will make Sense; but if it be joined with a Substantive, it will make Nonsense. Thus we say, A good Thing, A white Thing; but we do not say, A Man Thing, A Beast Thing. A Substantive Noun is divided into Proper and Appellative. A Proper Substantive is, that which agrees to one particular Thing of a Kind; as, Virgilius, a Man's name, Penelope, a Woman's name; Scotia, Scotland; Edinburgum, Edinburgh; Taus, the Tay. An Appellative Substantive is, that which is common to a whole Kind of things; as, Vir, a Man; Femina, a Woman; Regnum, a Kingdom; Urbs, a City; Fluvius, a River. NOTE, That when a proper name is applied to many, it becomes an Appellative, as, Duodecim Casăres, the Twelve Cæsars. GENDER in a natural sense is the distinction of Sex, or the difference between Male and Female: but in a grammatical sense we commonly understand by it, the fitness that a Substantive Noun hath to be joined to an Adjective of such a Termination, and not of another....Therefore, Of Names of Animals, the Hes are of the Masculine, and the Shes of the Feminine Gender: but of Things without Life, and where the Diversity of Sex is not considered, even of Things that have Life, some are of the Masculine, others of the Feminine, and others of the Neuter Gender, according to the Use of the best Authors of the Latin Tungue. Besides these three principal Genders, there are reckoned also other three less principal, which are nothing else but compounds of the three former, viz. the Gender common to two, the Gender common to three, and the doubtful Gender. I. The Common Gender, or Gender common to two (Genus commune, or Commune duúm), is Masculine and Feminine; and belongs to such Nouns, as agree to both Sexes; as, Parens, a Father or Mother; Bos, an Ox or Cow. II. The Gender common to three, (Genus commune trium) is Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter, and belongs only to Adjectives whereof some have three Terminations, the first Masculine, the second Feminine, and the third Neuter; as, Boutts, bona, bonum, good. Some have two, the first Masculine and Feminine, and the second Neuter; as, Mullis, molle, soft. And some have but one Termination, which agrees indifferently to any of the three Genders; as, Prudens, wise. III. The Doubtful Gender, (Genus dubium) belongs to such Nouns as are found in good authors, sometimes in one Gender, and sometimes in another; as, Dies, a day, Mas. or Fem. Vulgus, the Rabble, Masc. or Neut. There [We have excepted out of the number of Genders the Epicene or Promiscuous Gender; for, properly speaking, there is no such Gender distinct from the three chief ones, or the doubtful. are indeed Epicene Nouns, that is, some Names of Animals, in which the Distinction of Sex is either not at all, or very obscurely considered: And these are generally of the Gender of their Termination, as, Aquila, an Eagle, Femin. because it ends in a ; Pas ser, a Sparrow, Masc. because it ends in er (See p. 12 and 15.) So, Homo, a Man or Woman, Masc. Mancipium, a slave, Neut. Anguis, a Serpent, Doubtful.] To distinguish these Genders we make use of these three Words, Hic, hæc, hoc; which are commonly, though improperly called Articles. Hic is the sign of the Masculine, hac of the Fem. hoc of the Neuter Gender; Hic et hæc, of the Common to two; hic, hæc, hoc, of the Common to three; hic aut hæc, hic aut hoc, &c. of the Doubtful. By CASES we understand the different Terminations that Nouns receive in declining; so called from cado, to fall, because they naturally fall or flow from the Nominative, which is therefore called Casus rectus, the straight Case; as the other five are named Obliqui, crooked. The Singular NUMBER denotes one single Thing; as Homo, a Man the Plural denotes more Things than one; as, Homines, Men. : Before the Learner proceeds to the Declension of Latin Nouns, it may not perhaps be improper to give him a general View of The Declension of English Nouns. I. The English Language hath the two Genders of Nature, viz, Masculine and Feminine; for Animals in it are called HE or SHE, according to the difference of their Sex; and almost every Thing, without Life is called IT. But because all the Adjectives of this Language are of one Termination, it has no occasion for any other Genders. II. The English, properly speaking, has no Cases, because there is no Alteration made in the Words themselves, as in the Latin; but instead thereof we use some little Words called PARTICLES. Thus the Nominative Case is the simple Noun itself. The Particle OF put before it, or 's after it, makes the Genitive; TO or FOR before it, makes the Dative; the Accusative is the same with the Nominative; the Vocative hath O before it; and the Ablative hath WITH, FROM, IN, BY, &c. NOTE 1. That when a Substantive comes before a Verb, it is called the Nominative; when it follows after a Verb Active, without a Preposition intervening, it is called the Accusative. NOTE 2. The Genitive of Words ending in 's or ss, or of Plural Nouns ending in &, is expressed by adding the Apostrophe; as, the soldiers' valour: for righteousness' sake: the muses' aid. NOTE 3. That TO, the sign of the Dative, and of the Vocative, are frequently omitted or understood. Besides these, there are other two little Words called ARTICLES, which are commonly put before Substantive Nouns, viz. A (or AN before a Vowel or H) called the Indefinite Article, and THE called the Definite. A or AN signifies as much as the Adjective One, and is put for it; as, A Man, that is, One Man. The is used pronominally and signifies almost the same with This or That, and These or Those. NOTE 1. That proper Names of Men, Women, Towns, Kingdoms, and Appellatives, when used in a very general sense, have none of these Articles; as Man is mortal, i. e. every Man; God abhors sin, i. e. all sins: but proper names of Rivers, Ships, Hills, &c. frequently have The: as, the Thames, the Britannia, the Alps. NOTE 2. That the Vocative has none of these Articles, and the Plural wants the Indefinite. NOTE 3. That when an Adjective is joined with a Substantive, the Article is put before both; as A good Man, the good Man and the Definite is put before the Adjective when the Substantive is understood; as, The just shall live by Faith, i. e. the just Man. III. The English hath two Numbers as the Latin, and the Plural is commonly made by putting an's to the singular; as, “Book, Books. Exc. 1. Such as end in ch, sh, ss, and X, which have es, added to their Singular; as, Church-es, Brush-es, Witness-es, Box-es. Where it is to be noticed, that such words have a syllable more in the Plural than in the Singular Number: which likewise happens to all words ending in ce, ge, se, ze; as, Faces, Ages, Houses, Mazes. The reason of this proceeds from the near approach these Terminations have in their sound to an s, so that their Plural could not be distinguished from the Singular, without the addition of another syllable. And, for the same reason, Verbs of these terminations have a syllable added to them in their Third Person Singular of the Present Tense. Exc. 2. Words that end in f, or fe, have their Plural in ves; as Calf, Calves; Leaf, Leaves; Wife, Wives: But not always; for Hoof, Roof, Grief, Mischief, Dwarf, Strife, Muff, &c. retain ƒ. Staff has Staves. Exc. 3. Some have their Plural in en ; as, Man, Men; Woman, Women; Child, Children; Chick, Chicken; Brother, Brothers or Brethren; (which last is seldom used but in sermons or in a burlesque sense.) Exc. 4. Some are more irregular; as, Die, Dice; Mouse, Mice; Louse, Lice; Goose, Geese; Foot, Feet; Tooth, Teeth; Penny, Pence; Sow, Sows, and Swine; Cow, Cows, and Kine. Exc. 5. Some are the same in both Numbers; as Sheep, Hose, Swine, Chicken, Pease, Deer; Fish and Fishes, Mile and Miles, Horse and Horses. NOTE, That as Nouns in y do often change y into ie, so these have rather ies than ys in the Plural; as, Cherry, Cherries. vum singularem in a Diph-tive singular in x Diphthong. thongo. M. Quot habet Terminatio nes ? M. How many Terminations hath it? D. Quatuor; a, e, as, es; ut,| S. Four; a, e, as, es; as, *** After the same Manner you may decline Litera, a Letter; Via, a Way; Galea, an Helmet; Tunica, a Coat; Toga, a Gown. pens, am, as, Opens, a, a, |