2. Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, Interjection-- undeclined. Most
schoolboys would like to decline them altogether.
+OF A NOUN.+
A noun is a name,-- whether it be a Christian name, or a sur-name-- the
name of a prince, a pig, a pancake, or a post. Whatever is-- is a noun.
Nouns are divided into substantives and adjectives.
A noun substantive is its own trumpeter, and speaks for itself without
assistance from any other word-- brassica, a cabbage; sartor, a tailor;
medicus, a physician; vetula, an old woman; venenum, poison; are
examples of substantives.
An adjective is like an infant in leading strings-- it cannot go alone.
It always requires to be joined to a substantive, of which it shows the
nature or quality-- as lectio longa, a long lesson; magnus aper, a great
_boar_; pinguis puer, a fat boy; macer puer, a lean boy. In making love
(as you will find one of these days) or in abusing a cab-man, your
success will depend in no small degree in your choice of adjectives.
[Illustration: MACER PUER.]
[Illustration: PINGUIS PUER.]
+NUMBERS OF NOUNS.+
Be not alarmed, boys, at the above heading. There are numbers of nouns,
it is true, that is to say, lots; or, as we say in the schools,
"a precious sight" of nouns in the dictionary; but we are not now going
to enumerate, and make you learn them. The numbers of nouns here spoken
of are two only; the singular and the plural.
The singular speaks but of one-- as later, a brick; faba, a bean; tuba,
a trump (or trumpet); flamma, a blaze; æthiops, a nigger (or negro);
cornix, a crow.
The plural speaks of more than one-- as lateres, bricks; fabæ, beans;
tubæ, trumps; flammæ, blazes; æthiopes, niggers; cornices, crows.
Here it may be remarked that the cynic philosophers were very _singular_
fellows.
Also that prize-poems are sometimes composed in very _singular numbers_.
+CASES OF NOUNS.+
Nouns have six cases in each number, (that is, six of one and half a
dozen of the other) but can only be put in one of them at a time. They
are thus ticketed-- nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative,
and ablative.
The nominative case comes before the verb, as the horse does before the
cart, the "lieutenant before the ancient," and the superintendant of
police before the inspector. It answers to the question, who or what;
as, Who jaws? magister jurgatur, the master jaws.
The genitive case is known by the sign of, and answers to the question,
whose, or whereof; as, Whose breeches? Femoralia magistri-- the breeches
of the master, or the master's breeches.
The dative case is known by the signs to or for, and answers to the
question, to whom, or to or for what; as, To whom do I hold out my
hands? Protendo manus magistro-- I hold out my hands to the master.
In this place we are called upon to consider, whether it be more
agreeable to have Latin or the ferula at our _fingers' ends_.
Observe that _dative_ means _giving_. Schoolmasters are very often in
the dative case-- but their generosity is chiefly exercised in bestowing
what is termed monkey's allowance; that is, if not more kicks, more
boxes on the ear, more spats, more canings, birchings, and impositions,
than halfpence.
[Plate:
A DATIVE AND A VOCATIVE CASE.]
The accusative case follows the verb, as a bailiff follows a debtor,
a bull-dog a butcher, or a round of applause a supernatural squall at
the Italian Opera. It answers to the question Whom? or What? as, Whom do
you laugh at? (behind his back) Derideo magistrum-- I laugh at the
master.
The vocative case is known by calling, or speaking to; as, O magister--
O master; an exclamation which is frequently the consequence of shirking
out, making false concords or quantities, obstreperous conduct in
school, &c.
The ablative case is known by certain prepositions, expressed or
understood; as Deprensus magistro-- caught out by the master. Coram
_rostro_-- before the _beak_. The prepositions, in, with, from, by, and
the word, than, after the comparative degree, are signs of the ablative
case. In angustiâ-- in a fix. Cum indigenâ-- with a native. Ab arbore--
from a tree. A rictu-- by a grin. Adipe lubricior-- slicker than grease.
+GENDERS AND ARTICLES.+
The genders of nouns, which are three, the masculine, the feminine, and
the neuter, are denoted in Latin by articles. We have articles, also, in
English, which distinguish the masculine from the feminine, but they are
articles of dress; such as petticoats and breeches, mantillas and
mackintoshes. But as there are many things in Latin, called masculine
and feminine, which are nevertheless not male and female, the articles
attached to them are not parts of dress, but parts of speech.
[Illustration: MASC. FEM.]
We will now, with our readers' permission, initiate them into a new mode
of declining the article hic, hæc, hoc. And we take this opportunity of
protesting against the old and short-sighted system of teaching a boy
only one thing at a time, which originated, no doubt, from the general
ignorance of everything but the dead languages which prevailed in the
monkish ages. We propose to make declensions, conjugations, &c.,
a vehicle for imparting something more than the mere dry facts of the
immediate subject. And if we can occasionally inculcate an original
remark, a scientific principle, or a moral aphorism, we shall, of
course, think ourselves sufficiently rewarded by the consciousness-- et
cætera, et cætera, et cætera.
Masc. hic. Fem. hæc. Neut. hoc, &c.
The nominative singular's hic, hæc, and hoc,--
Which to learn, has cost school boys full many a knock;
The genitive 's hujus, the dative makes huic,
(A fact Mr. Squeers never mentioned to Smike);
Then hunc, hanc, and hoc, the accusative makes,
The vocative-- caret-- no very great shakes;
The ablative case maketh hôc, hac, and hôc,
A cock is a fowl-- but a fowl 's not a cock.
The nominative plural is hi, hæ, and hæc,
The Roman young ladies were dressed à la Grecque;
The genitive case horum, harum, and horum,
Silenus and Bacchus were fond of a jorum;
The dative in all the three genders is his,
At Actium his tip did Mark Antony miss:
The accusative 's hos, has, and hæc in all grammars,
Herodotus told some American crammers;
The vocative here also-- caret-- 's no go,
As Milo found rending an oak-tree, you know;
And his, like the dative the ablative case is,
The Furies had most disagreeable faces.
Nouns declined with two articles, are called common. This word common
requires explanation-- it is not used in the same sense as that in which
we say, that quackery is common in medicine, knavery in the law, and
humbug everywhere-- pigeons at Crockford's, lame ducks at the Stock
Exchange, Jews at the ditto, and Royal ditto, and foreigners in
Leicester Square-- No; a common noun is one that is both masculine and
feminine; in one sense of the word therefore it is _uncommon_. Parens,
a parent, which may be declined both with hic, and hæc, is, for obvious
reasons, a noun of this class; and so is fur, a thief; likewise miles,
a soldier, which will appear strange to those of our readers, who do not
call to mind the existence of the ancient amazons; the dashing white
sergeant being the only female soldier known in modern times. Nor have
we more than one authenticated instance of a female sailor, if we except
the heroine commemorated in the somewhat apocryphal narrative-- Billy
Taylor.
Nouns are called doubtful when declined with the article hic or hæc--
whichever you please, as the showman said of the Duke of Wellington and
Napoleon Bonaparte. Anguis, a snake, is a doubtful noun. At all events
he is a doubtful customer.
[Illustration]
Epicene nouns are those which, though declined with one article only,
represent both sexes, as hic passer, a sparrow, hæc aquila, an eagle,--
cock and hen. A sparrow, however, to say nothing of an eagle, must
appear a doubtful noun with regard to gender, to a cockney sportsman.
After all, there is no rule in the Latin language about gender so
comprehensive as that observed in Hampshire, where they call every thing
_he_ but a tom-cat, and that _she_.
+DECLENSION OF NOUNS SUBSTANTIVE.+
There are five declensions of substantives. As a pig is known by his
tail, so are declensions of substantives distinguished by the ending of
the genitive case. Our fear of outraging the comic feelings of humanity,
prevents us from saying quite so much about them as our love of learning
would otherwise induce us to do. We therefore refer the student to that
clever little book, the Eton Latin Grammar, strongly recommending him to
decline the following substantives, by way of an exercise, after the
manner of the examples there set down. First declension, Genitivo æ.
Virga, a rod. --Second, i. Puer, a boy. Stultus, a fool. Tergum, a back.
--Third, is. Vulpes, a fox. Procurator, an attorney. Cliens, a client.
--Fourth, ûs-- here you may have, Risus, a laugh at. --Fifth, ei.
Effigies, an effigy, image, or Guy.
The substantive face, facies, _makes faces_, facies, in the plural.
Although we are precluded from going through the whole of the
declensions, we cannot refrain from proposing "for the use of schools,"
a model upon which all substantives may be declined in a mode somewhat
more agreeable, if not more instructive, than that heretofore adopted.
_Exempli Gratiâ._
Musa mus_æ_,
The Gods were at tea,
Musæ mus_am_.
Eating raspberry jam,
Musa mus_â_,
Made by Cupid's mamma,
Musæ mus_arum_,
Thou "Diva Dearum."
Musis mus_as_,
Said Jove to his lass,
Musæ mus_is_.
Can ambrosia beat this?
+DECLENSIONS OF NOUNS ADJECTIVE.+
Some nouns adjective are declined with three terminations-- as a pacha
of three tails would be, if he were to make a proposal to an English
heiress-- as bonus, _good_-- tener, _tender_. Sweet epithets! how
forcibly they remind us of young Love and a leg of mutton.
Bonus, bona, bonum,
Thou little lambkin dumb,
Boni, bonæ, boni,
For those sweet chops I sigh,
Bono, bonæ, bono,
Have pity on my woe,
Bonum, bonam, bonum,
Thou speak'st though thou art mum,
Bone, bona, bonum,
"O come and eat me, come,"
Bono, bonæ, bono,
The butcher lays thee low,
Boni, bonæ, bona,
Those chops are a picture,-- ah!
Bonorum, bonarum, bonorum,
To put lots of Tomata sauce o'er 'em
Bonis-- Don't, miss,
Bonos, bonas, bona,
Thou art sweeter than thy mamma,
Boni, bonæ, bona,
And fatter than thy papa.
Bonis,-- What bliss!
In like manner decline tener, tenera, tenerum.
Unus, one; solus, alone; totus, the whole; nullus, none; alter, the
other; uter, whether of the two-- make the genitive case singular in
_ius_ and the dative in i.