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and Odyssea, the two poems of Homer; hæc Eneis, -idos, a poem of Virgil's; hæc Eunuchus, one of Terence's comedies.

The gender, however, of many of thefe depends on the termination; thus, hic Pontus, a country of that name; hic Sulmo, onis; Peffinus, untis; Hydrus, -untis ; names of towns; hæc Perfis, -idis, the kingdom of Perfia; Carthago, inis, the city Carthage; hoc Albion, Britain; hoc Care, Reate, Pranefte, Tibur, Ilium, names of towns. But fome of these are alfo found in the feminine; as, Gelida Prænefte, Juv. Ilion defensa, Ovid.

The following names of trees are mafculine, oleafler, -tri, a wild olive tree; rhamnus, the white bramble.

The following are mafculine or feminine; cytisus, a kind of fhrub; rubus, the bramble-bufh; larix, the larchtree; lotus, the lot-tree; cupreffus, the cyprefs-tree. The first two however are oftener mafculine; the rest oftener feminine.

Those in um are neuter; as, buxum, the bush, or boxtree; liguflrum, a privet; fo likewife are fuber, -ĕris, the cork-tree; filer, -ĕris, the ofier; robur, -ŏris, oak of the hardest kind; acer, -ĕris, the maple-tree.

The place where trees or fhrubs grow is commonly neuter; as, Arbuftum, quercētum, efculetum, fali&um, fruticetum, &c. a place where trees, oaks, beeches, willows, fhrubs, &c. grow: Alfo the names of fruits and timber; as, pomum, or malum, an apple; pirum, a pear; eběnum, ebony, &c. But from this rule there are various exceptions.

OBS. 3. Several nouns are faid to be of the doubtful gender; that is, are fometimes found in one gender, and fometimes in another; as, dies, a day, masculine or fem inine; vulgus, the rabble, masculine or neuter.

FIRST DECLENSION.

Nouns of the firft declenfion end in a, e, as, es. Latin nouns end only in a, and are of the feminine gender.

The terminations of the different cafes are; Nom. and Vec. Sing. a; Gen. and Dat. e dipthong; Acc. ami

Abl. â: Nom. and Voc. Plur. æ; Gen. ārum; Dat. and Abl. is; Acc. as; Thus,

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Exc. I.

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of pens;
to pens; a, is,

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O pens; with pens. a, is.

The following nouns are masculine; Hadria the Hadriatic fea; comēta, a comet; planēta, a planet ; and fometimes talpa, a mole; and dama, a fallow-deer. Pafcha, the paffover, is neuter.

Exc. 2. The ancient Latins fometimes formed the genitive fingular in ai; thus, aula, a hall, gen. aulāi: and fometimes likewife in as; which form the compounds of familia ufually retain; as, mater-familias, the mistress of a family; gen. matris-familias; nom. plur. matres-familias, or matres-familiarum.

Exc. 3.

The following nouns have more frequently abus in the dative and ablative plural, to distinguish them in these cases from masculines in us of the fecond declen.

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Famula, a female fervant.

Equa, a mare.

Filia, & Nata, a daughter

Liberta, a freed-woman.

Mula, a fhe-mule.

Thus, deabus, filiabus, rather than filiis, &c.

GREEK NOUNS.

Nouns in as, es, and e, of the first declenfion, are Greek. Nouns in as and es are masculine nouns in e are feminine.

only they have Æneas the name

Nouns in as are declined like penna; am or an in the accufative; as, Æneas, of a man; gen. Æneæ; dat. -a; acc -am or -an; voc. ⚫a; abl. a. So Boreas, -ea, the north wind; Tiāras, -a, a turban. In profe they have commonly am, but in po

etry oftener an, in the accufative. Greek nouns in a have fometimes alfo an in the acc. in poetry; as Offa, -am, or -an, the name of a mountain.

Nouns in es ande are thus declined,

Anchifes, Anchifes, the name of a man.

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Penelope, Penelope, the name of a woman.

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These nouns, being proper names, want the plural un, lefs when feveral of the fame name are spoken of, and then they are declined like the plural of penna.

The Latins frequently turn Greek nouns in es and e into a; as, Atrīda, for Atrides; Perfa for Perfes, a Perfian Geometra, for -tres, a Geometrician: Circa for Circe; Epitoma, for me, an abridgment; Grammatica, for -ce, grammar; Rhetorica, for ce, oratory. So Clinia, for Clinias, &c. The accufative of nouns in es and e is found fometimes in em.

Note. We fometimes find the genit. plur. contracted; as, Calico Jum, for Galicolarum; Æneădûm, for -arum.

SECOND DECLENSION.

Nouns of the fecond declension end in er, ir, ur, us, um; os, on.

Nouns in um and on are neuter; the rest are mafculine.

Nouns of the fecond declenfion have the gen. fing. in i; the dat. and abl. in o; the acc. in um; the voc. like the nom. (But nouns in us make the vocative in e :) The nom. and voc. plur. in i, or a; the gen. in orum ; the dat. and abl. in is; and the acc. in os, or a; as,

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