BOOK II.1 INFLEXIONS. CHAPTER I. OF INFLEXION IN GENERAL. WORDS may be divided into two classes, those which have inflexions, and those which have not. Nouns, pronouns, and verbs are inflected: other words are not. 393 Inflexions are those alterations or additions, which are made in a 304 word in order to fit it for different functions, as part of a sentence. Thus in mulier, woman; mulier-is woman's; mulier-es, women; mulier-um, women's: ama-t, love-s; ama-sti, love-dst; amatus, love-d; ama-ns, lov-ing: pu-n-go, I prick; pu-pug-i, I prick-ed; pu-n-c-tus, prick-ed; we have the same noun or verb differently inflected. That part of a word, which is essentially the same under such 305 different uses, is called the stem. In the above words mulier, ama, and pug are the stems. The suffix, which forms the inflexion, often affects or is affected by the neighbouring letters of the stem, so that the two melt as it were into one another. A stem is in Latin rarely used without having, or at least having had, some inflexions; e.g. consul is both stem and nominative case; but this is probably because the nominative suffix is incompatible with 1 (see § 176, 5). 1 Throughout this book great and constant use has been made of F. Neue's Formenlehre Th. i. (1866); Th. ii. (1861). The authorities, on which the statements in the text are based, will usually be found there. Frequent reference has also been made to Ruddimann's (ed. Stallbaum 1823), Schneider's (1819), G. T. Krüger's (1842), Madvig's (3rd ed. 1857), and Key's (2nd ed. 1858) Grammars. Also to Bücheler's Grundriss der latein. Declination (1866); besides Corssen, Ritschl, &c. Different nouns and verbs and other words have frequently a 306 common part: such common part is called a root. Thus the root sta- is common to sta-re, sta-tio, sta-tuo, sta-men, sta-tūra, statim, &c., to stand, standing, stablish, standing-thread, standingheight, instantly, &c. A root may be used as a stem, or the stem may contain the root with alterations or additions. The additions made to form a stem from a root are discussed in Book III. The inflexions of nouns and pronouns are in the main the same, and will be treated of together. The inflexions of verbs are quite distinct, but the formation of certain verbal nouns, though properly belonging to Book III., is generally treated in connection with the inflexions of the verbs. CHAPTER II. OF NOUN INFLEXIONS, AND PARTICULARLY THE inflexions of nouns are always additions to, or alterations in, 307 the end of the stem. They serve to mark the gender, the number, and the case, of the word. As regards gender a two-fold distinction was made; (1) accord- 308 ing as sex could be attributed or not; (2) according as the sex attributed was male or female. Names of things, to which sex was not attributed, are said to be of the neuter gender: but the Romans, yielding to their imaginations, attributed sex to many things, which really had it not, and thus living creatures are but a small number of the objects, which have names of the masculine and feminine genders. The distinction of gender is not marked throughout all the 309 cases. In the nouns put together as the first class, the feminine was perhaps originally different from the masculine and neuter throughout, and it still is so in most cases. The masculine and neuter differ only in the nominative singular, and nominative and accusative plural. In the second class, the masculine and feminine are alike throughout: the neuter differs from both in the accusative, and usually in the nominative. The neuter form is always the same in the nominative and accusative cases. In the singular of the first class this form is the same as that of the accusative masculine: in the second class it is the bare stem, unprotected by a suffix, and therefore sometimes withered: in the plural of both declensions it always ends in -a. The real significance of the inflexions is best seen in adjectives, 310 because they have the same stem modified, if of the first class, to represent all three genders; if of the second class, usually only to represent the masculine and feminine genders as distinguished from the neuter; i.e. sex as distinguished from no sex; e.g. bonus (m.), bona (f.), bonum (n.); tristis (m. f.), triste (n.); amans (m. f. n.), but accusative amantem (m. f.), amans (n.). Substantives differ from adjectives as regards their inflexions, 311 chiefly in being fixed to one gender only. But I. Some substantival stems have a masculine and feminine form; e.g. Julius (m.); Julia (f.); equus (m.); equa (f.). 2. A few substantives of the first class are feminine, though with stems in -o; others masculine, though with stems in -a. 3. A substantive of the second class may be masculine, or feminine, or both, the form being indeterminate. 4. Some suffixes of derivation are exclusively used for substantives, and not for adjectives: some again are confined to the masculine gender, others to the feminine. E.g. no adjective is formed with the suffix -iōn: again all abstract substantives, if formed by the suffix -iōn, or -tat are feminine; if formed by the suffix -ōr are masculine. It follows from the above, that the gender is not always known 312 by the form. The test of a substantive's being of a particular gender is the use of an adjective of that particular gender as an attribute to it; e.g. humus is known to be feminine, because dura humus, not durus humus is used. An adjective, where the form is not determinately significant, is commonly said to be in the same gender, as that of the substantive to which it is used as an attribute. But though the sex attributed to the person or thing is not 313 always expressed by the form, the gender was never assigned in defiance of the true sex in persons, nor in animals, if the sex was of importance. Many animals are denoted by a substantive of only one form and only one gender, the masculine or feminine having I. 4. been originally selected, according as the male or female was most frequently thought of. Animals of the kind generally would be spoken of, without distinction, by this noun, whether it were masculine or feminine; e.g. olōres (m.) swans in general; anătes ducks, including drakes. If a distinction is important, the word mas or femina, as the case may be, is added; e.g olor femina, the female swan; anas mas, the male duck. Such nouns are called epicœna (Quint. 24). In the same way a feminine, e.g. Etna, can be spoken of as masculine, if mons be added; a river can be neuter, if flumen be added: and the appropriate change of gender takes place sometimes without the explanatory word being expressed; e.g. Eunuchus acta est, i.e. the play Eunuchus; Centauro invehitur magna, i.e. on the ship Centauros. So occasionally herba or litera is understood. The genders assigned to names of persons, animals, or vegetables, 314 and of some other classes of natural objects were as follows: 1. Names of persons: Names of males are masculine, of females feminine. Thus proper names of females, derived from the Greek, though retaining the neuter suffix corresponding to their neuter gender in Greek, are in Latin feminine; e. g. in Plautus, and Terence, Planēsium, Glycerium, Phronēsium, Stephanium, Delphium. For Appellatives, especially those derived from age or relation- 315 ship, there are separate forms, sometimes from different roots, for the males and females; e.g. mas, femina; păter, māter; ävus, avia; proǎvus, proavia, &c.; filius, filia; puer, puella; něpos, neptis, &c.; vir, mulier; mărītus, uxor; vitricus, nòverca; prīvignus, privigna; socer, socrus; gener, nŭrus; frater, soror; pătruus, amita; ǎvunculus, mātertěra; verna (m.), ancilla (f.); antistes, antistita; hospes, hospita; cliens, clienta; tibicen, tibicina; fidicen, fidicina. So also many (derived from verbs) with -or for masculine, and -rix for feminine; è.g. tonsor, tonstrix. Homo, animans (of a rational creature) are masculine; virgo and matrōna, feminine. Others (all of 2nd class of nouns) are common: viz. conjunx, părens, affinis, patruēlis, sĕnex, jůvěnis, ădulescens, infans. In Ennius and Nævius puer, něpos, and socrus are common. So are ranked hospes (in the poets) and antistes. In none of these, except puer (when used as f.) and verna is the form opposed to the sex. Other personal appellatives are usually or exclusively masculine, 316 because the offices, occupations, &c., denoted were filled by men, or at least by men as much as by women. The following are sometimes feminine; civis, municeps, contubernalis, hostis, exul, vātes, săcerdos, augur (once or twice), dux, comes, sătelles, custos, interpres, mīles, vindex, index, júdex testis, præses, hēres, artifex, auctor. Others are used of females, but without a feminine adjective; e.g. opifex, carnifex, auspex, sponsor, viātor, defensor, tutor, auceps, manceps. So also some with -a stems (see § 335); aurīga, advěna, &c. Others are nowhere found applied to females; e.g. cornicen, tibicen, tubicen; latro, fullo, mango, něbělo. Some words which are only metaphorically applied to men or 317 women retain their original gender; e.g. mancipium (n.) a chattel, acroāma (n.) a musical performer, scortum (n.), prostibulum (n.); vigilia (f.), excubiæ (f.), dpěræ (f.), dēliciæ (f.); auxilia (n.). 2. Names of Animals. For some quadrupeds, with which the 318 Romans had much to do, separate forms are found for the male and. female. The stems in -o are masc., those in -a fem. Agnus, agna; ǎper, apra; aries (m.), vervex (m.), ŏvis (f.); ăsĭnus, asina; asellus, asella; hircus, căper, capra; cătus (m.), fêles (f.); cătŭlus, catula; cervus, cerva; columbus, columba; èquus, equa; gallus, gallina; hædus, căpella; hinnus, hinna; júvencus, juvenca; leo (m.), lea, or (Greek) leana; lupus, lupa; mulus, mula; porcus, porca; simius, simia (also of apes in general); taurus, vacca; verres, scrōfa; vitŭlus, vitula; ursus, ursa. (Of these ovis is said to have been also used as masc. in old sacrificial language. Varro had the expression lupus femina: Cato had porcus femina.) For most other animals there was only one form; e.g. Quadrupeds (besides above); bidens (f. sc. ovis); bos (m. f.); 319 cămēlus (m. f.); cănis (m. f.); damma (m. f.); ělěphans, elephantus (m. rarely f.); fiber (m.); glis (m.); hystrix (f.); lěpus (m.` rarely f.); lynx (f. rarely m.); mus (m.); mustella (f.); nitella (f.); panthera (f.); pardus (m.); quadrupes (m. f. n.); sorex (m.); sus (m. f.); talpa (f. rarely m.); tigris (f. rarely m.); vespertilio (m.); vulpes (f.). Birds: e. g. accipiter (m. rarely f.); āles (m. f.); ănas (f.); anser 320 (m. rarely f.); ǎquila (f.); ăvis (f.); būbo (m. rarely f.); cicōnia (f.); cīris (f.); cornix (f.); coturnix (f.); cygnus (m.), ŏlor (m.); filica and fulix (f.); graculus (m.); grus (f. rarely m.); hirundo (f.); Ibis (f.); luscinius (m.), luscinia (f. also of nightingales in general); mérula (f.); milvus, miluus (m.); noctua (f.); oscen |