PART III.

INFLEXION.

CHAPTER I.

DECLENSION OF NOUNS AND PRONOUNS.

§ I. General Remarks.

146 IT has been already shown that every noun and verb in the Greek language may be reduced, by stripping off an affix, prefix, or both, to some single syllable, which constitutes its meaning, and which is found also in other words of cognate signification. This ultimate element we call the root, stem, or basis of the word. The prefix may generally be stript off at once, but the removal of the affix is often a double operation. To confine ourselves for the present to the noun, we find that almost every word of this kind ends with a short termination, often a single letter, which marks its immediate relation to the other objects in connexion with it, and which we call the case-ending. But in the majority of nouns, we find, between this and the root, an affix, consisting of one or more pronominal stems, which marks the definite class and quality of the noun, and points out the restriction with which the general force of the root is applied in the particular instance. When the case-ending alone is removed, the remaining part of the word is called its crude or uninflected form, whether it has another pronominal affix or not. The affections of the uninflected form, as such, belong to a different subject-that of the formation of words by derivation or otherwise (Part IV.). At present we are concerned only with the crude forms and cases of the noun.

147 The Greek noun (ovoμa, nomen) is either substantive (ὄνομα προσηγορικόν) or adjective (ὄνομα ἐπίθετον οἱ ἐπιθετικόν):

the former expresses a person or thing; the latter expresses the quality of a person or thing; or, to speak more strictly, the former expresses an appropriated, the latter an unappropriated quality.

The Greek noun has five cases (Tтwσes, casus): three numbers (ἀριθμοί, numeri),singular, dual, and plural (ενικός, πληθυντικός, Svikós) and three genders (yévn, genera),—masculine, feminine, and neuter (αρσενικόν, θηλυκόν, οὐδέτερον).

(a) Cases.

148 The five cases are the nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and vocative. Properly speaking, the vocative (kλŋtɩý) is not a separate inflexion, but is either the crude form, or the same as the nominative. And the nominative (eveîa or open, casus rectus) stands opposed to the genitive (γενική, κτητική, πατρική), dative (δοτική, ἐπισταλτική), and accusative αιτιατική), which are called #λáуiai Táσeis, casus obliqui. The Stoics and Peripatetics differed as to the reason for calling these inflexions Twσes, casus, "fallings."

The genitive may be translated by "of, from, out of, by:" the dative by "to, with, at, for:" the accusative corresponds to our simple objective case, or implies "motion towards a place or object." The use of the cases must be learned from the syntax. When a noun is used immutably in an oblique case it is called an adverb (èπípónμa, adverbium).

Besides these five cases, which alone appear in the ordinary declensions of nouns, there are remains of other inflexions, which are partly absorbed in the existing cases, or still represented by distinct forms of certain words.

(a) The locative or case of rest, which is generally absorbed in the dative, appears as a distinct form in some a and o nouns, chiefly proper names of places: thus we have in a nouns, 'A¤ñvai, ̓Αθήνησι; ̓Αλωπεκή, ̓Αλωπεκῆσι; Θεσπιαί, Θεσπιᾶσι; Πλαταιαί, Πλαταιάσι; Δεκέλεια, Δεκελείασι; Ὀλυμπία, Ολυμπίασι; Ερχία, Ἐρχίασι; also θύρασιν, foras, and ὥρασιν, opportune, and in one Attic inscription (Böckh, C. I. no. 140) we have Toîs Taμíaoi for τοῖς ταμίαις. In o nouns we have Ἰσθμός, Ισθμοί, τὰ Μέγαρα, Μεγαροι, Πειραιός, Πειραιοί, and the Attic demes Σφηττοῖ, Σουνιο,

&c.; also the common words oikoi, tedoî, μéσool. In consonantal nouns we have Πυθώ, Πυθοί, Μαραθών, Μαραθῶνι, and Δωδῶνι from the obsolete Δωδών for Δωδώνη.

(b) The form in -p is used by the epic poets, and sometimes also by the lyric poets, to denote a dative, genitive, or even an accusative with or without a preposition: thus we have forms like κεφαλῆφι, κλισιῆφι, θεόφιν, ἰκριόφιν, ὄχεσφιν, στήθεσφιν, ναῦφιν, ἐσχαρόφιν (by a metrical affection for ἐσχαράφων), κοτυληδονόφι (for κοτυληδόμφι), &c. In νόσφι, λικριφίς, &c. the form is merely adverbial.

(c) The form in -0ev or -0e generally indicates derivation or motion from a place, as Εὐξενίδα πάτραθε Σώγενες (Pind. Nem. VII. 70), but is also used as a common genitive, especially in the pronouns ἐμέθεν, σέθεν, ἔθεν.

(b) Numbers.

149 The dual, though a very old form, is never regarded in Greek syntax as a necessary expression for things considered as pairs, and is constantly interchanged with the plural, of which it is merely a corruption. Homer uses it very frequently to denote things taken in couples (see Il. VIII. 41, 45), and it is common in the Attic dialect; but the plural gradually superseded it; after the time of Alexander it became nearly obsolete; and it is not to be found in the New Testament. It is one of the most remarkable coincidences between the Eolic dialect and the Latin, that neither of them has dual forms (see Anecd. Bekk. 1184, 21). But they are found in Sanscrit.

(c) Genders.

150 The main rules with regard to the genders of nouns are the following:

(1) Masculine: names of male persons and animals; as Σwκράτης, ἀνήρ, προφήτης, αλέκτωρ, λέων, and of months, winds, rivers, and hills, as ὁ Γαμηλίων, ὁ Ζέφυρος, ὁ Ἰλισσός, ὁ Παρνασός.

(2) Feminine: names of female persons and animals; as Ασπασία, γυνή, θυγάτηρ, κομμωτρία, αλεκτορίς, λέαινα, and even diminutives of proper names; as AeóvTiov; also the proper names

of countries, islands, and cities, and the distinctive names of trees and plants; as Λακωνία, Δῆλος, ̓Αθῆναι, ἐλάτη, ἄχερδος, πίτυς.

(3) Neuter: infinitives used substantively, names of letters of the alphabet, and generally all words or even phrases which are regarded merely as outward forms or material objects; as τὸ ζῆν, τὸ ἄλφα, τὸ τύπτω, τὸ γνῶθι σεαυτόν, τὸ τεῖχος, τὸ Πελασγικόν.

Exceptions.

(a) The form of the word sometimes maintains the gender in spite of the signification: thus (a) nouns in -a and -n of the first declension are always feminine; as ἡ λήθη, “the river Lethe,” ἡ Όσσα, “ mount Ossa,” ἡ Αἴτνη, “ mount Etna.”

(6) Nouns in -ov of the second declension, excepting, as above, diminutives from proper names: thus we have τὸ μειράκιον, “ the boy,” τὸ ἀνθρώπιον, “ the mannikin,” τὸ γύναιον, " the little wench,” τὸ ἀνδράποδον, “the slave,” τὸ Λύκαιον, “ mount Ly

cæum."

(c) Nouns in -oς (-οτ-), -ι and -ευs of the third declension ; as τὸ τέκος, “the child,” τὸ ̓́Αργος, “the city Argos,” τὸ πέπερι, “ pepper,” ὁ Φανοτεύς, “ the city Phanoteus.” In Aristoph. Thesm. 432, τῆς γραμματέως is merely a joke.

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(α) Nouns used only in the plural; as οἱ Δελφοί, “ the city Delphi,” τὰ Λεύκτρα, “ the town Leuctra,” τὰ παιδικά, “ the pet" (delicia).

(β) Besides these there are certain special exceptions.

(a) The following names of rivers and hills are feminine: ἡ Στύξ, ἡ Παρνής, ἡ Κάραμβις, ἡ Πελωρίας οι Πελωρίς, ἡ Χαλκίς, αἱ "Αλπεις.

(6) The following names of countries and cities are masculine: Πόντος, Αἰγιαλός, Μάσης, Ωρωπός, Ορχόμενος, Ογχηστός, Κάνωβος (-πος), Οἰνεών, and most of those in -ους, -as, and -ων, as Δαφνοῦς, Τάρας, Βραυρών, though some are common, as Μαραθών, ̓Ακράγας, Σελινοῦς, Φλιούς, &c.

(c) The following names of trees and plants are masculine: φοίνιξ, έρινεός, φελλός, λωτός, κύτισος, ἄκανθος, ἀμάρακος, ἀσπάραγος, ἀσφόδελος, ἑλλέβορος, λάπαθος, and the following are com

mon: κέρασος, κόμαρος, κότινος, πάπυρος. The general term δρος was masc. in the Lacedæmonian dialect, which was imitated in this respect by the later writers (Schol. Arist. Nub. 401).

151 In many cases the feminine is distinguished from the masculine by a formative affix. The following are the most common examples of this motion of substantives, which, as we shall see, is regular in certain classes of adjectives:

-os into -η or -a ; as υἱωνός, υἱωνή; κόρος, κόρη; ἑκυρός, ἑκυρά. της and -τηρ into -τρια; as ποιητής, ποιητρία; ψαλτήρ, ψαλτρία. -τηρ and -τωρ into -τειρα (in the poets); as σωτήρ, σώτειρα; πανδαμάτωρ, πανδαμάτειρα.

της or της into -τις = τιδος or -ις = ιδ-ς; as προδότης, προδότες; Σπαρτιάτης, Σπαρτιάτις; Σκύθης, Σκύθις ; Πέρσης, Περσίς.

Obs. Some of these endings have more than one form of the feminine; thus λῃστήρ οι λῃστής makes λῄστειρα, συλλῃστρία, λῃστρίς ; ὀρχηστήρ makes ορχηστρία and ὀρχηστρίς; ολετήρ makes ὀλέτειρα and ὀλέτις; and αὐλητήρ or αὐλητής makes αὐλήτρια and αὐλητρίς.

-os into -ις=ιδ-s; as αἰχμάλωτος, αἰχμαλωτίς; κάπηλος, καπηλίς. -ευς into -us ; as Δωριεύς, Δωρίς.

Consonant noun into -is; as φύλαξ, φυλακίς ; "Ελλην, Ελληνίς. -ων, -as into -αινα = ανγα; as λέων, λέαινα; τέκτων, τέκταινα; δράκων, δράκαινα; Λάκων, Λάκαινα; θεράπων, θεράπαινα ; μέλας, μέλαινα; τάλας, τάλαινα.

Obs. We have also certain irregular forms, which seem to indicate other inflexions of the masculine since become obsolete; as θεός, θέαινα; λύκος, λύκαινα; ὖς, ἔαινα; δεσπότης, δέσποινα by the side of πότνια and δεσποτίς.

Various nouns form the feminine in -σσα; as ἄναξ, ἄνασσα (for ἀνάκια) ; Θρᾷξ, Θρῇσσα; θής, θῆσσα; Κρής, Κρήσσα; Κίλιξ, Κίλισσα; Φοίνιξ, Φοίνισσα; Λίβυς, Λίβυσσα; φάψ, φάσσα. Το this class belongs βασιλεύς, which, however, makes not only βασίλισσα, but βασίλεια, βασιλίς, and even βασίλιννα.

The feminine patronymics sometimes exhibit a shortened form of the masculine: thus we have Βορεάδης, Βορεάς; Τανταλίδης, Τανταλίς. Others are formed independently in ivy and -ωνη, as Αδραστίνη from "Αδραστος, ἡρωΐνη, ἡρώνη, ἡρωΐς and ἡρῷσσα from ἥρως; Ηλεκτρυώνη from Ἠλεκτρύων, Τυνδαρεώνη from Τυνδαρεύς (see Lobeck, Pathol. pp. 32, 509).