only to nouns. The changes made upon the verb are called Conjugation.

The English language has one part of fpeech more than the Latin, namely, the ARTICLE.

The want of the article is a defect in the Latin tongue, and often renders the meaning of nouns undetermined: thus filius regis, may fignify, either, a fon of a king, or, a king's fon; or the son of the king, or the king's son.

NOUN.

A noun is either fubftantive or adjective.

The adjective feems to be improperly called noun: it is only a word added to a substantive or noun, expreffive of its quality; and therefore fhould be confidered as a different part of fpeech. But as the fubftantive and adjective together exprefs but one object, and in Latin are declined after the fame manner, they have both been comprehended under the fame general name.

SUBSTANTIVE.

A Subftantive, or noun, is the name of any perfon, place, or thing; as, boy, School, book.

Substantives are of two forts; proper and common names. Proper names are the names appropriated to individu. als; as the names of persons and places: fuch are, Cafar, Rome.

Common names ftand for whole kinds, containing feveral forts; or for forts, containing many individuals under them; as, animal, man.

Every particular being fhould have its own proper name; but this is impoffible, on account of their innumerable multitude: men have therefore been obliged to give the fame common name to fuch things as agree together in certain respects. Thefe form what is called a genus, or kind; a fpecies, or fort.

A proper name may be used for a common, and then in English it has the article joined to it; as, when we say of fome great conqueror, "He is an Alexander;" or,

“The Alexander of his age.”

To proper and common nanes may be added a third clafs of nouns, which mark the names of qualities, and

are called abftra& nouns ; as, hardness, goodness, whiteness, virtue, juflice, piety, &c.

When we fpeak of things, we confider them as one or more. This is what we call Number. When one thing is spoken of, a noun is faid to be of the fingular number ; when two or more, of the plural.

Things confidered according to their kinds, are either male or female, or neither of the two. Males are faid to be of the mafculine gender; females of the feminine; and all other things, of the neuter gender.

Such nouns as are applied to fignify either the male or the female, are faid to be of the common gender, that is, either masculine or feminine.

Various methods are ufed, in different languages, to express the different connexions or relations of one thing to another. In the English, and in moft modern languages, this is done by prepofitions, or particles placed before the fubftantive; in Latin, by declenfion, or by different cases; that is, by changing the termination of the noun; as, rex, a king, or the king; regis, of a king, or of the king.

LATIN NOUNS.

A Latin noun is declined by Genders, Cafes,

and Numbers.

There are three genders, Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter.

The cafes are fix, Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accufative, Vocative, and Ablative.

There are two numbers, Singular and Plural. There are five different ways of varying or declining nouns, called, the firft, fecond, third, fourth, and fifth declenfions.

Cafes are certain changes made upon the termination of nouns, to exprefs the relation of one thing to another. They are fo called, from cads, to fall; because they fall, as it were, from the nominative; which is therefore

named cafus rectus, the straight cafe; and the other cases, · cafus obliqui, the oblique cafes.

The different declenfions may be diftinguished from one another by the termination of the genitive fingular. The first declenfion has a dipthong; the fecond has i; the third has is; the fourth has ûs; and the fifth has i in the genitive.

Although Latin nouns be faid to have fix cafes, yet none of them have that number of different terminations, both in the fingular and plural.

GENERAL RULES OF DECLENSION.

1. Nouns of the neuter gender have the Ac cufative and Vocative like the Nominative, in both numbers; and thefe cafes in the plural end always in a.

2. The Dative and Ablative plural end always alike.

3. The Vocative for the most part in the fin gular, and always in the plural, is the fame with the Nominative.

Greek nouns in s generally lofes in the Vocative; as, Thomas, Thoma; Anchifes, Anchife; Paris, Pari; Panthus, Panthu; Pallas, -antis, Palla, names of men. But nouns in es of the third declenfion oftener retain the s; as, ô Achilles, or -e; O Socrates, or -e and fometimes nouns in is and as; as, O Thais, Myfis, Pallas, -adis, the goddess Minerva, &c.

4. Proper names for the molt part want the plural:

Unless feveral of the fame name be fpoken of; as, due decim Cafares, the twelve Cæfars.

GENDER.

Nouns in Latin are faid to be of different genders, not merely from the diftinction of fex, but chiefly from their being joined with an adjective of one termination, and

not of another. Thus, penna, a pen, is faid to be feminine, because it is always joined with an adjective in that termination, which is applied to females; as, bona penna, a good pen, and not bonus penna.

The gender of nouns which fignify things without life, depends on their termination, and different declenfion.

To diftinguish the different genders, grammarians make ufe of the pronoun hic, to mark the mafculine; hat, the feminine; and hoc, the neuter.

GENERAL RULES CONCERNING GENDER.

1. Names of males are mafculine; as, Homerus, Homer; pater, a father; poëta, a poet. 2. Names of females are feminine; as,

Helena, Helen; mulier, a woman; uxor, a wife; mater, a mother; foror, a fifter; Tellus, the Goddess of the

earth.

3. Nouns which fignify either the male or female, are of the common gender; that is, either mafculine or feminine; as,

Hic bos, an ox; hæc bos, a cow; hic parens, a father ; parens, a mother.

hæc

The following lift comprehends moft nouns of the common gender.

Adolefcens, Sa young Conjux, a busband, or Nemo, no body.

Juvěnis,

man, or

wife.

woman. Conviva, a guest.
Cuftos, a keeper.
Dux, a leader.

Affinis, a relation by marriage.

Antiftes, a prelate.
Auctor, an author.

Hæres, an beir.

Augur, a foothfayer.

Canis, a dog or bitch.
Civis, a citizen.
Cliens, a client.

Comes, a companion.

Hoftis, an enemy.
Infans, an infant.

Obles, an boftage.
Patruēlis, a coufinger
man, by the father's fide.
Præs, a furety.

Princeps, a prince or
princefs.

Sacerdos, a priest or

Interpres, an interpre-
Judex, a judge.

priestess.

[ter. Sus, a fwine.

Martyr, a martyr.
Miles, a foldier.
Municeps, a burgefs.

Vates, a prophet.

Teftis, a witness.

Vindex, an avenger.

But antifles, cliens, and hofpes, alfo change their termination to express the feminine, thus, antiflita, clienta, hofpita: in the fame manner with leo, a lion; leana, a lionefs; equus, equa; mulus, mula; and many others.

There are several nouns, which, though applicable to both fexes, admit only of a masculine adjective; as, advěna, a stranger; agricola, a husbandman; affecla, an attendant; accola, a neighbour; exul, an exile; latro, a robber; fur, a thief; opifex, a mechanic, &c. There are others, which, though applied to perfons, are on account. of their termination, always neuter; as, scortum, a courtezan; mancipium, fervitium, a flave, &c.

In like manner, opera, workmen; vigilia, excubia, watches; noxa, guilty perfons; though applied to men, are always feminine.

OBS. I.

OBSERVATIONS.

The names of brute animals commonly follow the gender of their termination.

Such are the names of wild beafts, birds, fishes, and infects, in which the diftinction of fex is either not easily difcerned, or seldom attended to. Thus, paffer, a sparrow, is masculine, because nouns in er are matculine; fo aquila, an eagle, is feminine, because nouns in a of the firft declenfion are feminine. These are called Epicene or promifcuous nouns. When any particular sex is marked, we ufually add the word mas or femina, as mas passer, a male sparrow; femina passer, a female sparrow.

OBS. 2. A proper name, for the most part, follows the gender of the general name under which it is comprehended.

Thus, the names of months, winds, rivers and mountains, are masculine, because menfis, ventus, mons, and fluvius, are mafculine; as, hic Aprīlis, April; hic Aquilo, the north wind; Africus, the south-weft wind; hic Tibĕris, the river Tiber; hic Othrys, a hill in Theffaly. But many of these follow the gender of their termination; as, hæc Matrona, the river Marne in France; hæc Ætna, a mountain in Sicily; hoc Sorade, a hill in Italy.

In like manner, the names of countries, towns, trees, and fhips, are feminine, because terra or regio, urbs, arbor and navis, are feminine; as, hæc Egyptus, Egypt; Samos, an island of that name; Corinthus, the city Corinth; pomus, an apple tree; Centaurus, the name of a fhip: Thus alfo the names of poems, hæc Ilias, ·ădos,

B