All declensions have the following points in common: 1. In the second, third, and fourth declensions there are neuters which have three cases alike, viz. nominative, accusative, and vocative. 2. The vocative is like the nominative, except in the second declension and some Greek words in the first and third. 3. Where no exception arises from neuters, the accusative singular ends in m. 5. The dative plural is in all declensions like the ablative The following table contains the terminations of all the five declensions: CHAP. VIII. FIRST DECLENSION. [§ 45.] THE first declension comprises all nouns which form the genitive singular in ae. The nominative of genuine Latin words of this kind ends in ă. Greek words in a, as musa, historia, stoa, follow the example of the Latin ones, and shorten the final vowel when it is long in Greek. Some Greek words in ē, ās, and es have peculiar terminations in some of their cases. (See . Gen. vi-arum, of the ways. Dat. vi-is, to the ways. Acc. vi-as, the ways. Voc. vi-ae, O ways! Abl. vi-is, from the ways. In like manner are declined, for example, the substantives barba, causa, cura, epistola, fossa, hora, mensa, noverca, penna, porta, poena, sagitta, silva, stella, uva, victoria, and the adjectives and participles with the feminine termination a; as, longa, libera, pulchra, lata, rotunda, lecta, scripta. Note 1. An old form of the genitive singular in ās has been retained even in the common language, in the word familia when compounded with pater, mater, filius, and filia; so that we say paterfamilias, patresfamilias, filiosfamilias. But the regular form familiae is not uncommon; sometimes, though not often, we find familiarum in composition with the plural of those words. Note 2. An obsolete poetical form of the genit. sing. is aï for the diphthong ae or ai, as in aulaï, auraï, pictaï, which three forms occur even in Virgil. Note 3. Poets form the genitive plural of patronymics in es and a, of several compounds in cola and gena, and of some few names of nations, by the termination um instead of arum, as Aeneadum, Dardanidum, coelicolum, terrigenum, Lapithum. Of a similar kind are the genitives amphorum, drachmum, which are used even in prose, instead of amphorarum, drachmarum. (Comp. § 51.) Note 4. Some words form the dative and ablative plural in abus instead of is, such as anima, dea, filia, liberta, nata, mula, equa, asina; for the purpose of distinguishing them from the dative and ablative plural of the masculine forms, which would otherwise be the same. The regular termination is, however, is generally preferred, notwithstanding the possibility of ambiguity; and it is only deabus and filiabus that can be recommended, for the former is used in a solemn invocation by Cicero: dis deabusque omnibus ; and the latter by Livy (xxiv. 26.), cum duabus filiabus virginibus. Libertabus frequently occurs in inscriptions. The termination abus has remained in common use for the feminine of duo and ambo: duabus, ambabus. CHAP. IX. GREEK WORDS IN ē, ās, and ēs. [§ 46.] 1. IN the dative singular and throughout the plural, Greek words in e, as, and es, do not differ from the regular declension. In the other cases of the singular they are declined in the following manner:— Words of this kind in è are: aloë, crambe, epitome, Circe, Danaë, Phoenice; in as: Aeneas, Boreas, Gorgias, Midas, Messias, Satanas; in es: anagnostes, cometes, dynastes, geomětres, pyrites, satrăpes, sophistes, Anchises, Thersites, and patronymics (i. e. names of persons derived from their parents or ancestors, see § 245.); e. g. Aeneades, Alcides, Pelides, Priamides, Tydides. Note. Common nouns, such as epistola and poëta, which, on their adoption into the Latin language, exchanged their Greek termination ʼn or ng for the Latin ă, are treated as genuine Latin words, and no longer follow the Greek declension. But a great many other common, as well as proper, nouns likewise follow the Latin declension; and it must be especially remarked, that the early Latin writers, including Cicero, show a tendency to Latinize the declension of those words which they have frequent occasion to use. Thus we prefer with Cicero grammatica, rhetorica, dialectica, musica, to grammatice, rhetorice, dialectice, musice, and we may say Creta and Penelopa just as well as Hecuba and Helena, although some writers, especially the later poets, with an affectation of erudition, preferred Crete and Penelope. But there is no fixed law in this respect. In the words in es, Cicero prefers this Greek termination to the Latin ă, e.g. Philoctetes, Scythes, Perses, sophistes, to Persa, sophista, &c. In the accusative he sometimes uses en, as Arsinoën, Circen, Sinopen. (See my note on Cic. in Verr. iv. 18.) But although he would use the nominative Sinope for Sinopa, yet he makes the genitive Sinopae in the adverbial sense of "at Sinope," e. g. in Rull. ii. 20. As to the practice of Horace, see Bentley on Epod. xvii. 17. 2. Greek words in as commonly take the accusative an in poetry, and Virgil uniformly uses Aenean. In prose the Latin am is much more frequent, although Livy too has Aenean, and in Quintus Curtius we not unfrequently find the forms Amyntan, Philotan, Perdiccan, and others, along with Amyntam, Philotam, Perdiccam. The vocative of words in es is usually ē, as in Virgil: Conjugio, Anchise, Veneris dignate superbo; but the Latin vocative in ǎ also occurs frequently, e. g. at the end of an hexameter in Horace, Serm. ii. 3. 187.:— Atridă, vetas cur? and in Cicero: Aeeta, Thyesta! The vocative in a seldom occurs, as in the oracle mentioned by Cicero, De Divin. ii. 56.: Ajo te, Aeacidā, Romanos vincere posse. Words in es form their ablative regularly in ā, e. g. in Cicero: de Philocteta, de Protagora Abderita. The poets, however, sometimes use the termination ē, as in Virgil: Uno graditur comitatus Achate. 3. Generally speaking, however, the patronymics in ns, genit. ou, are the only Greek words that follow the second declension; and the majority of proper names ending in es follow the third declension, as Alcibiades, Miltiades, Xerxes. But many of them form the accusative singular in en (as Euphraten, Mithridaten, Phraaten), and the vocative in e, together with the forms of the third declension in em and es. (See Chap. XVI.) Note. The word satrapes (øarpáπnç, ov) is best declined after the first declension; but no example of the genit. sing. being satrapae is known; Nepos (Lysand. 4.) uses satrapis. This does not necessarily presuppose the existence of a nominative satraps, which occurs only in later times, but may be the same as Miltiades, genitive Miltiadis. Instances of the dative satrapae, accus. satrapēn, and ablat. satrape, occur in other writers, as well as in the correct texts of Q. Curtius. The form satrapem must be rejected; but the Latin form satrapam may be used. The plural is throughout after the first declension, satrapae, satraparum, &c. CHAP. X. GENDER OF THE NOUNS OF THE FIRST DECLENSION. [§ 47.] NOUNS in a and e are feminine, and those in as and es (being chiefly names of men) are masculine. Note. Nouns denoting male beings are of course masculine, though they end in a, as auriga, collēga, nauta, parricida, poëta, scriba. Names of rivers in a, such as Garumna, Trebia, Sequana, Himera (to be distinguished from the town of the same name), and Hadria (the Adriatic) are masculine, according to the general rule. (See Chap. VI.) The three rivers Allia, Albula, and Matrona, however, are feminine. Cometa and planeta, which are usually mentioned as masculines, do not occur in ancient writers, who always use the Greek forms cometes, planetes; but cometa and planeta would, according to analogy, be masculine. CHAP. XI. SECOND DECLENSION. [§ 48.] ALL nouns which form the genitive singular in i, belong to the second declension. The greater part of them end in the nominative in us, the neuters in um; some in er, and only one in ir, viz. vir with its compounds, to which we must add the proper name, Trevir. There is only one word ending in ur, viz. the adjective satur, satura, saturum. The genitive of those in us and um is formed by changing these terminations into i. The vocative of words in us ends in ě: as, O felix anně, O happy year! In all other cases the vocative is like the nominative. SINGULAR. Nom. gladi-us, the sword. PLURAL. Nom. gladi-i, the swords. |