Pueri tuentur illum librum quæ Latina GrammaticesetComica dicitur.Boys regard that book which is called the Comic Latin Grammar.Sometimes a relative agrees with the primitive, which is understood in the possessive, asMirabantur impudentiam suam qui ad reginam literas misit.They wondered at his impudence, who wrote a letter to the queen.If a nominative case be interposed between the relative and the verb, the relative is governed by the verb, or by some other word which is placed in the sentence with the verb, asLuciferi quos Prometheus surripuit, ad Jovem cujus numen contempsit, pertinebant.The Lucifers which Prometheus shirked, belonged to Jupiter, whose authority he despised.In fact, Prometheusmade lightof Jupiter’slightning.We now take leave of the Concords, observing only how pleasant it is to seerelatives agree.woman and man arguingIT ’S PLEASANT TO SEE RELATIVES AGREE.vagabond in the stocksPROMETHEUS VINCTUS.Our next subject is theConstruction of Nouns Substantive.Which is not quite so amusing as the construction of small boats, paper kites, pinwheels, crackers, or any other mode of displaying the faculty of “constructiveness”—though in one sense the construction of nouns substantive, is not unlike the construction ofpuzzles.When two substantives of a different signification meet together, the latter is put in the genitive case, asUlysses lumen Cyclopis extinxit:Ulysses doused the glim of the Cyclops.This genitive case is sometimes changed into a dative, asUrbi pater est, urbique maritus. —Gram. Eton.He is the father of the city, and the husband of the city.He must have been a pretty fellow, whoever he was.An adjective of the neuter gender, put without a substantive, sometimes requires a genitive case, asPaululùm honestatis sartori sufficit:A very little honesty is enough for a tailor.A genitive case is sometimes placed alone; the preceding substantive being understood by the figure ellipsis, asUbi ad magistri veneris, cave verbum de porco:When you are come to the master’s (house), not a word about the pig.The word pig is a very general term, and is used to signify not only the animal so called, and such of the human race as resemble him in habits, appearance, or feelings; but also to denote a variety of little things, which it is sometimes necessary to keep secret. A pedagogue now and then discovers apig-tailappended to his coat collar—this, or rather the way in which it got there, is one of the littlepigsin question. Robbing the larder or the garden is another; so is insinuating horse-hairs into the cane, or putting cobbler’s wax on the seat of learning —we mean the master’s stool. A sort ofpig(or rather arat) is sometimessmeltby the master on taking his nightly walk though the dormitories, when roast fowl, mince pies, bread and cheese, shrub, punch, &c. have been slyly smuggled into those places of repose. Shirking down town is always apig, and the consequences thereof, in case of discovery, a greatbore.Considering that a secret is apig, it is singular that betraying one should be called letting thecatout of the bag.boys at supper in the bed roomSMELLING A PIG.Two substantives respecting the same thing are put in the same case, asTelemachum, juvenem bonæ indolis, Calypso existimavit.Calypso thought Telemachus a nice young man.By the way, what a nice young man Virgil makes out Marcellus to have been!Praise, dispraise, or the quality of a thing is placed in the ablative, and also in the genitive case—asVir paucorum verborum et magni appetitûs:A man of few words and large appetite.Paterfamilias. Vir multis miseriis:A father of a family. A man of many woes.family with many children on a walkThe man of mostwoes, however, is a hackney-coachman.Opus, need, and usus, need, require an ablative case, asDidoni marito opus erat;Dido had need of a husband.Æneæ cœnâ usus erat;Æneas had need of a dinner.But opus appears to be sometimes placed like an adjective for necessarius, necessary, asRegi Anthropophagorum coquus opus est:The King of the Cannibal Islands wants a cook.Which would serve his purpose best—a valet-de-chambre whodressesmen, or a wit, whoroaststhem?The Construction of NounsAdjective.the genitive case after the adjective.Adjectives which signify desire, knowledge, memory, fear, and the contrary to these, require a genitive case, asEst natura vetularum obtrectationis avida:The nature of old women is fond of scandal.This particularly applies to old maids. As those delightful creatures now-a-days, not content with beinggreyaspire to be actuallyblue; we cannot help recommending to them a kind of study, for which their propensity tocutting uprenders them peculiarly adapted; we meanAnatomy. And since it is on the foulest and most odious points of character that they chiefly delight to dwell, wemore especially suggest to them the pursuit ofMorbid Anatomy, as one which is likely to be attended both with gratification and success.Mens tempestatum præscia:A mind foreknowing the weather.A piece ofsea-weedhas often, heretofore, been used as a barometer; but it is only of late that this purpose has been answered by amurphy.Immemor beneficii:Unmindful of a kindness.The sort of kindness one is least likely to forget is that which our master used to say he conferred upon us, when he was inculcating learning by means of the rod. We cannot help thinking, however, that he beganat the wrong end.Imperitus rerum:Unacquainted with the world, i.e. Not ‘up to snuff’.Much controversy has been wasted in attempts to determine the origin of the phrase “up to snuff”. Some have contended that it was suggested by thewell-knownquality possessed by snuff, ofclearing the head; but this idea is far fetched, not to say absurd. Others will have that the expression was derived from Snofe, or Snoffe, the name of a cunning rogue who flourished about the time of the first crusade; so that “up to Snoffe” signified as clever, or knowing, as Snoffe; and was in process of timeconverted into “up to snuff.” This opinion is deserving of notice; though the only argument in its favour is, that the phrase in question was in vogue long before the discovery of tobacco. Probably the soundest view is that which connects it with the proper name Znoufe, which in ancient High-Dutch is equivalent to Mercury, whose reputation for astuteness among the ancients was exceedingly great. Conf. Hookey-Walk, ii. 13. Hok. Pok. Wonk-Fum. viii. 24. Cheek. Marin. passim, with a host of commentators, ancient and modern.Roscius timidus Deorum fuit:Rosciuswas afraid of theGods.Adjectives ending inax, derived from verbs, also require a genitive case, asTempus edax rerum:Time is the consumer of all things.Hence Time is sometimes figured as an alderman.Nouns partitive, nouns of number, nouns comparative and superlative, and certain adjectives put partitively, require a genitive case, from which also they take their gender; asUtrum horum mavis accipe:Take which of those two things you had rather.So Queen Eleanor gave Fair Rosamond her choice between the dagger and the bowl of poison. This, to our mind, would have been like choosing a tree to be hanged on.Primus fidicinum fuit Orpheus:Orpheus was the first of fiddlers.He is said to have charmed the hearts of broomsticks.Momus lepidissimus erat Deorum:Momus was the funniest of the Gods.Other deities may have made Jupiter shake his head. Momus used to make him shake his sides.Sequimur te, sancte deorum:We follow thee, O sacred deity.Namely, the aforesaid Momus. He is the only heathen god that we should have had much reverence for, and certainly the only one that we should ever have sacrificed to at all. The offering most commonly made to the god of laughter was, probably,a sacrifice of propriety.But the above nouns are also used with these prepositions, a, ab, de, e, ex, inter, ante; as,Primus inter philosophos Democritus est:Democritus is the first amongst philosophers.And why? Because he alone was wise enough to find out that laughing is better than crying. He it was who first proved to the world that philosophy and comicality are, in fact, one science; and that the more we learn the more we laugh. We forget whether it was he or Aristotle who made the remark, that man is the only laughing animal except the hyæna.bust of man in cap and gownSecundussometimes requires a dative case, asHaud ulli veterum virtute secundus:Inferior to none of the ancients in valour.Surely Virgil in saying this, had an eye to a hero, whose fame has been perpetuated in the verses of a later poet.“Some talk of Alexander, and some of Pericles,Of Conon and Lysander, and Alcibiades;But of all the gallant heroes, there ’s none for to compare,With my ri-fol-de-riddle-iddle-lol to the British grenadier!”An interrogative, and the word which answers to it, shall be of the same case and tense, except words of a different construction be made use of; asQuarum rerum nulla est satietas? Pomorum.Of what things is there no fulness? Of fruit.Dr. Johnson used to say that he never got as much wall fruit as he could eat.boy looking at fruit on tableThe Dative Case after the Adjective.Adjectives by which advantage, disadvantage, likeness, unlikeness, pleasure, submission, or relation to any thing is signified, require a dative case; asAstaci incocti patriæ idonei sunt in pace; cocti autem in bello.Raw lobsters are serviceable to their country in peace; but boiled ones in war. Lobster’sclawsare nasty things to get into.The Corporation of London seemed very much afraid of thePolice clause.One of the reasons why a soldier is sometimes called a lobster, probably is, that the latter is amarineanimal.Balænæ persimile:Very like a whale.Qui color albus erat nunc est contrarius albo:The colour which was white is now contrary to white.Some people will swear white is black to gain their ends; and a man who will do this, though he may not always be—Jucundus amicis:Pleasant to his friends;is nevertheless frequently so to hisconstituents.Hither are referred nouns compounded of the prepositioncon, as contubernalis, a comrade; commilito, a fellow soldier, &c. You mustconall such words attentively before you canconstrue well, or theconsequence will be, that you will beconsiderably blown up, if notconfoundedly flogged.Some of these which signify similitude, are also joined to a genitive case, asPar uncti fulminis:Like greased lightning.The familiarity of our transatlantic friends with the nature of the electric fluid, is no doubt owing to the discoveries of theircountrymanFranklin.Q.Was the lightning which that philosopher drew down from the clouds, of the kind mentioned in the example?Communis, common; alienus, strange; immunis, free, are joined to a genitive, dative, and also to an ablative case, with a preposition, asAures longæ communes asinorum sunt:Long ears are common to asses.Thoughmusicalears are not. We even doubt whether they would have the slightest admiration forBray-ham.Non sunt communes caudæ hominibus:Tails are not common to men.Except coat-tails, shirt-tails, pig-tails, and rats’-tails—to which en-tailsmay perhaps also be added, though these last are often cut off.Non alienus a poculo cerevisiæ:Not averse to a pot of beer.We should think we were not; and should as soon think of engaging in an unnatural quarrel with our bread and butter.man leaning against postNatus, born; commodus, convenient; incommodus, inconvenient; utilis, useful; inutilis, useless; vehemens, earnest; aptus, fit, are sometimes also joined to an accusative case with a preposition, asNatus ad laqueum:Born to a halter.Those who are reserved for this exalted destiny, are said to enjoy a peculiar immunity from drowning. Is this the reason whywatermenare such a set of rogues?To prevent mistakes, it should be mentioned, that thewatermenhere meant are those who, by their own account, are so called from their office beingto shut the doors of hackney coaches.Verbal adjectives ending inbilis, taken passively, and participles made adjectives ending indus, require a dative case; asNulli penetrabilis astro;Penetrable by nostar—not fond ofacting?O venerande mihi Liston! te luget Olympus:O Liston, to be venerated by me theOlympicbewails thee.The Accusative Case after the Adjective.The measure of quantity is put after adjectives, in the accusative, the ablative, and the genitive case, asAnguis centum pedes longus:A snake a hundred feet long.Arborgummifera, alta mille et quingentis passibus.A gum-tree a mile and a half high.Aranea, lata pedum denum:A spider ten feet broad.An accusative case is sometimes put after adjectives and participles, where the preposition secundum, appears to be understood, asOs humerosque asello similis:Like to a cod-fish as to his head and shoulders.Some menareexceedingly like a cod-fish, as to their head and shoulders, and they often endeavour to increase this natural resemblance as much as possible, by wearinggills.The Ablative Case after the Adjective.Adjectives which relate to plenty or want, sometimes require an ablative, sometimes a genitive case, asAmor et melle et felle est fœcundissimus:Love is very full both of honey and gall.Thehoneyof love is—we do not know exactly what. Honey, however, is Latin for love, as the Irishman said.large foot, small bootA TIGHT BOOT.The gall of love consists inFirst. Tight boots, in which it is often necessaryto do penance beforeour Lady’swindow. This is at all events verygalling.Secondly. In lover’s sighs, to which it communicates their peculiarbitterness.Thirdly. Another verygallingthing in love is being cut out.Fourthly. Love is one of the passions treated of byGalland Spurzheim.Adjectives andsubstantivesgovern an ablative case, signifying the cause and the form, or the manner of a thing, asDemosthenes vociferatione raucus erat:Demosthenes was hoarse with bawling.Nomine grammaticus, re barbarus:A grammarian in name; in reality a barbarian.Like many of the old masters—we do not mean painters—though we certainly allude tobrothers of the brush—perhaps it would be better to call thembrothers of the angle, on account of their partiality to therod. Does the readertwig? If so, it is unnecessary tobranchout into a discussion with regard to the nature of the barbarity hinted at—a kind of barbarity which, though it may proclaim its perpetrators to be by no means allied to thefelinerace, connects them most decidedly with thecaninespecies.Dignus, worthy; indignus, unworthy; præditus,endued; captus, disabled; contentus, content; extorris, banished; fretus, relying upon; liber, free; with adjectives signifying price, require an ablative case, asLeander dignus erat meliore fato:Leander was worthy of a better fate.Poor fellow! first to be head over ears in love, and then over head and ears in the sea! Shocking! What anheroic young man he must have been.—Whata duck, too, the fair Hero must have thought him as she watched him from her lonely tower, nearing her every moment, as he cleft with lusty arm the foaming herring-pond. We mean the Hellespont—but no matter. What agoosehe must have been considered by any one else who happened to know of his nightly exploits! How miserably he wasgulledat last! Never mind. If Leander went to thefishesfor love, many a better man than he, has, before and since, gone, from the same cause, to thedogs.Conscientia procuratoris solidis sex, denariis octo, venale est;A lawyer’s conscience is to be sold for six and eightpence.Some of these, sometimes admit a genitive case, asCarmina digna deæ:Verses worthy of a goddess.Whether the following verses are worthy of a goddess or not, we shall not attempt to decide; they were addressed to one at all events—at least to a being who, ifidolizingconstitutes a goddess, may, perhaps, be termed one. We met with them in turning over the pages of an album.Lines by a Fond Lover.Lovely maid, with rapture swelling,Should these pages meet thine eye,Clouds of absence soft dispelling;Vacant memory heaves a sigh.As the rose, with fragrance weeping,Trembles to the tuneful wave,So my heart shall twine unsleeping,Till it canopies the grave!poet looking heavenwardAN ALBUM AUTHOR.Though another’s smiles requited,Envious fate my doom should be:Joy for ever disunited,Think, ah! think, at times on me!Oft amid the spicy gloaming,Where the brakes their songs instil,Fond affection silent roaming,Loves to linger by the rill—There when echo’s voice consoling,Hears the nightingale complain,Gentle sighs my lips controlling,Bind my soul in beauty’s chain.Oft inslumber’sdeep recesses,I thy mirror’d image see;Fancy mocks the vain caressesI would lavish like a bee!But how vain is glittering sadness!Hark, I hear distraction’s knell!Torture gilds my heart with madness!Now for ever fare thee well!It would be interesting as well as instructive to settle the difference between love verses and nonsense verses, if this were the proper place for doing so. But we are not yet come to the Prosody; nor shall we arrive there very soon unless we get on with the Syntax.Comparatives, when they may be explained by the word quam, than, require an ablative case, asAchilles Agamemnone velocior erat:Achilles was a faster man than Agamemnon.Fast menin modern times are very apt tooutrun the constable.Tanto, by so much, quanto, by how much, hoc, by this, eo, by this, and quo, by which; with some other words which signify the measure of exceeding; likewise ætate, by age, and natu, by birth, are often joined to comparatives and superlatives, asTanto deformissimus, quanto sapientissimus philosophorum.By so much the ugliest, by howmuchthe wisest of philosophers.Such an one was Socrates. It is all very well to have a contemplative disposition; but it need not be accompanied by acontemplative nose.Quo plus habent, eo plus cupiunt:The more they have the more they want.This is a curious fact in the natural history ofschool-boys, considered in relation to roast beef and plum pudding.Maximum ætate virum in totâ Kentuckiâ contudi:I whopped the oldest man in all Kentucky.The Construction of Pronouns.All those who would understand the construction of pronouns, should take care to be well versed in the distinction betweenmeumandtuum, ignorance of which often gives rise to the disagreeable necessity of becoming too intimately acquainted withquod.Mei, of me, tui, of thee, sui, of himself, nostri, of us, vestri, of you, (the genitive cases of their primitives ego, tu, &c.) are used when a person is signified, asLanguet desiderio tui:He languishes for want of you.You cannot give a more acceptable piece of information than the above, to any young lady. The fairer and more amiable sex always like to have something—if not to love, at least to pity.Parsque tui lateat corpore clausa meo. —Eton Gram.And a part of you may lie shut up in my body.Or rathermayit so lie! How forcibly a sucking pig hanging up outside a pork-butcher’s shop alwaysrecalsthis beautiful line of Ovid’s to the mind!Meus, mine, tuus, thine, suus, his own (Cocknicè his’n),noster, ours, vester, yours, are used when action, or the possession of a thing is signified; asQui bona quæ non sunt sua furtim subripit, illeTempore quo capitur, carcere clausus erit:Him as prigs wot isn ’t his’n,Ven he’s cotch’d ’ll go to pris’n.boy picking pocket caught by second manThese possessive pronouns, meus, tuus, suus, noster, and vester, take after them these genitive cases,—ipsius, of himself, solius, of him alone, unius, of one, duorum, of two, trium, of three,&c.,omnium, of all, plurium, of more, paucorum, of few, cujusque, of every one, and also the genitive cases of participles, which are referred to the primitive word understood; asMeis unius impensis pocula sex exhausi:I drank six pots to my own cheek.We wonder that any one should have thefaceto say so.Sui and suus are reciprocal pronouns, that is, they have always relation to that which went before, and was most to be noted in the sentence, as—Jonathanus nimium admiratur se:Jonathan admires himself too much.Parcit erroribus suis, He spares his own errors.Magnoperè Jonathanus rogat ne se derideas, Jonathan earnestly begs that you would not laugh at him.If youdo, take care that he does notblow you upone of these fine days.These demonstrative pronouns, hic, iste, and ille are thus distinguished: hic points out the nearest to me; iste him who is by you; ille him who is at a distance from both of us.In makinggameof the Syntax, we regard them aspointers.When hic and ille are referred to two things or persons going before, hic generally relates to the latter, ille to the former, asRichardus Thomasque suum de more bibebant,Ebrius hic vappis, ebrius ille mero:Both Dick and Tom caroused away like swine,Tom drunk with swipes, and Dicky drunk with wine.The Construction of Verbs.The Nominative Case after the Verb.Verbs substantive, as sum, I am, forem, I might be, fio, I am made, existo, I am; verbs passive of calling, as nominor, I am named, appellor, I am called, dicor, I am said, vocor, I am called, nuncupor,I am named, and the like to them, as videor, I am seen, habeor, I am accounted, existimor, I am thought, have the same cases before and after them, asAdeps viridis est summum bonum:Green fat is the chief good.man with chimneypot on headTILED IN.Even among the ancients,turtleswere the emblems of love; which, next to eating and drinking, has always been the first object of human pursuit. This fact proves, very satisfactorily, two things, first, their proficiency in the science of gastronomy; and, secondly, their extreme susceptibility of the tender passion.Pileus vocatur tegula:A hat is called a tile.Likewise all verbs in a manner admit after them an adjective, which agrees with the nominative case of the verb, in case, gender, and number, asPii orant taciti. —Eton Gram.The pious pray silently.Is this a sly rap at the Quakers?The Genitive Case after the Verb.Sum requires a genitive case as often as it signifies possession, duty, sign, or that which relates to any thing; asQuod rapidam trahit Ætatem pecus est Melibœi,The cattlewotdrags theAge, fast coach, is Melibœus’s.Alas! that such an Age should be banished by the Age of rail-roads!—let us hear theCoachman’s Lament.Air.—“Oh give me but my Arab steed.”raggedly dressed manFarewell my ribbons, and, alack!Farewell my tidy drag;Mail-coach-men now have got thesack,And engineers thebag.My heart and whip alike are broke—I’ve lost my varmint teamThat used to cut away likesmoke,But could n’t go likesteam.It is, indeed, a bittercup,Thus to be sent topot;My bosom boils at boiling upA gallop or a trot.My very brain withfury’s rack’d,That railways are therage;I’m sure you’ll never find themact,Like our old Englishstage.A man whosepassion’s crost, is sore,Then pray excuse mypet;I ne’er wasoverturn’dbefore,But now am quiteupset.These nominative cases are excepted from the above rule, meum, mine, tuum, thine, suum, his, noster, our, vester, your, humanum, human, belluinum brutal, and the like, asNon est tuum aviam instruere:Don’t teach your grandmother—to suck eggs.Humanum est inebriari.It is a human frailty—or an amiable weakness—to get drunk.Lord Byron proves it to be ahumanfrailty.“Manbeingreasonable,mustget drunk.”man sleeping against a postA REASONABLE CREATURE.Another poet (anon.) proves it to be anamiableone, by establishing the analogy which exists between it and an intoxication of another kind—“Love is like a dizziness,Never lets a poor man go about his business.”Verbs of accusing, condemning, advising, acquitting, and the like, require a genitive case which signifies the charge; asQui alterum accusat probri, eum ipsum se intueri oportet.It is fit that he who accuses another of dishonesty should look into himself.If this maxim were acted up to, what attorney could we ever get to frame an indictment?Furti damnatus, “tres menses” adeptus est:Being condemned of theft, he had “three months.”We do not see muchfunin that. We cannot help thinking, however, that “Three Months at Brixton,” would form a taking (at least athief-taking) title for a novel.Admoneto magistrum squalidarum vestium:Put the master in mind of his seedy clothes.That is if you want agood dressing.This genitive case is sometimes changed into an ablative, either with or without a preposition, asPutavi de calendis Aprilibus te esse admonendum:I thought that you ought to be reminded of the first of April.Young reader! were you ever, on the above anniversary, sent to the cobbler’s for pigeons’ milk, and dismissed withstrap-oilfor yourpains? Were your domestic and alimentive affections ever sported with by the false intelligence that a letter from home and a large cake were waiting for you below! Or worse, did some waggish, but inconsiderate friend ever send you a fool’s-cap and a hamper of stones?Reader, of a more advanced age, were you ever?—but we cannot go on—Oh! Matilda—we might have been yourslave—but it was cruel of you tosellus in such a manner.Uterque, both, nullus, none, alter, the other, neuter, neither of the two, alius, another, ambo, both, and the superlative degree, are joined to verbs of that kind only in the ablative case, asFratris, an asini, trucidationis accusas me? Utroque, sed sceleris unius:Do you accuse me of killing my brother or my donkey? Of both; but of one crime.Satago, to be busy about a thing, misereor and miseresco, to pity, require a genitive case, asQui ducit uxorem rerum satagit:He who marries a wife has his hands full of business.We hear frequently of lovers beingdistracted. Husbands are much more so.O! tergi miserere mei non digna ferentis:Oh! have pity on my back, suffering things undeserved.Reminiscor, to remember, obliviscor, to forget, memini, to remember, recorder, to call to mind, admit a genitive or accusative case, asReminiscere nonarum Novembrium:Remember the fifth of November.No wonder that so manysquibsare let off on thatday; considering the political feeling connected with it.Hoc te spectantem me meminisse precor:When this you see remember me.How particularly anxious all young men and women who are lovers, and all waiters and chambermaids, whether they are lovers or no, besides coachmen and porters of all kinds, seem to beremembered. A coachman in one respect especially resembles a lover; he always wishes to be remembered by hisfare.Potior, to gain, is joined either to a genitive or to an ablative case, asXantippe, marito subacto, femoralium potita fuit.Xantippe, her husband being overcome, gained the breeches.Terentius Thrace potitus est:Terence got a Tartar.At least he said he did, when he took the prisoner who would n’t let him come.The Dative Case after the Verb.All verbs govern a dative case of that thing to or for which any thing is gotten or taken away, asDiminuam tibi caput:I will break your head.Eheu! mihi circulum ademit!Oh dear, he has taken away my hoop!What a thing it is to be a junior boy!Verbs of various kinds belong to the above rule. In the first place verbs signifying advantage or disadvantage govern a dative case, asJudæi ad commodandum nobis vivunt:The Jews live to accommodate us.Or accommodate us to live—which?Of these juvo, lædo,delecto, and some others, require an accusative case, asMaritum quies plurimum juvat:Rest very much delighteth a married man—when he can get it.mother, father and crying babyVerbs of comparing govern a dative case, asAjacem “Surdo” componere sæpe solebam:I was often accustomed to compare Ajax to the “Deaf un,”—not because he was hard of hearing, but hard in hitting.Sometimes, however, they require an ablative case with the preposition cum; sometimes an accusative case with the prepositions ad and inter, asComparoPompeiumcumglobo nivali:I comparePompeywith asnow-ball.Pompey is called in the schools a proper name. Whether it is aproper namefor a nigger or not, may be questioned. It may also be doubted whether a negro can ever rightly be called “snow-ball,” except he bean iceman; in which case even though he should be the knave ofclubs, it is obvious that he ought never to beblack balled.Si ad pensum verberatio comparetur nihil est:If a flogging be compared to an imposition, it is nothing.A flogging is a fly-blow, or at least aflea-blow to the boy, and a task only to the master; whereasanimposition is a task to the boy, and very often aversetask.Verbs of giving and of restoring govern a dative case, asLearius unicuique filiarum dimidium coronæ dedit:Lear gave his daughters half-a-crown a-piece.Hence we are enabled to gain some notion of the great value of money in the time of the Ancient Britons.Verbs of promising and of paying govern a dative case; asMenelaus Paridi fustuarium promisit:Menelaus promised Paris a drubbing.two actors on stage“Gubernatoris” est pendere sartoribus pecuniam:It is the place of “the governor” to pay tailors.Hence young men may learn how desirable it is to be “in statu pupillari.” True, in that state offelicity, they are somewhat under control, but the above example, and many others of a like nature, sufficiently prove, that such restriction, compared to the responsibilities of manhood, is but aminorinconvenience.Verbs of commanding and telling govern a dative case, asAlexander, vinosus, animis imperare non potuit:Alexander, when drunk, could not command his temper.Thus, in a state of beer, he committed manslaughter at least, by killing and slaying his friend Clitus. We could not resist the temptation to mention this fact, since, as we have so often laughed at its narration in those interesting compositions called themes, we thought there must needs be something very funny about it. Alexander the Great, be it remarked, for the special behoof of schoolboys, furnishes an example of any virtue or vice descanted on in any prose task or poem under the sun.
Pueri tuentur illum librum quæ Latina GrammaticesetComica dicitur.Boys regard that book which is called the Comic Latin Grammar.
Pueri tuentur illum librum quæ Latina GrammaticesetComica dicitur.
Boys regard that book which is called the Comic Latin Grammar.
Sometimes a relative agrees with the primitive, which is understood in the possessive, as
Mirabantur impudentiam suam qui ad reginam literas misit.They wondered at his impudence, who wrote a letter to the queen.
Mirabantur impudentiam suam qui ad reginam literas misit.
They wondered at his impudence, who wrote a letter to the queen.
If a nominative case be interposed between the relative and the verb, the relative is governed by the verb, or by some other word which is placed in the sentence with the verb, as
Luciferi quos Prometheus surripuit, ad Jovem cujus numen contempsit, pertinebant.The Lucifers which Prometheus shirked, belonged to Jupiter, whose authority he despised.
Luciferi quos Prometheus surripuit, ad Jovem cujus numen contempsit, pertinebant.
The Lucifers which Prometheus shirked, belonged to Jupiter, whose authority he despised.
In fact, Prometheusmade lightof Jupiter’slightning.
We now take leave of the Concords, observing only how pleasant it is to seerelatives agree.
woman and man arguing
IT ’S PLEASANT TO SEE RELATIVES AGREE.
vagabond in the stocksPROMETHEUS VINCTUS.
vagabond in the stocks
PROMETHEUS VINCTUS.
Our next subject is the
Which is not quite so amusing as the construction of small boats, paper kites, pinwheels, crackers, or any other mode of displaying the faculty of “constructiveness”—though in one sense the construction of nouns substantive, is not unlike the construction ofpuzzles.
When two substantives of a different signification meet together, the latter is put in the genitive case, as
Ulysses lumen Cyclopis extinxit:Ulysses doused the glim of the Cyclops.
Ulysses lumen Cyclopis extinxit:
Ulysses doused the glim of the Cyclops.
This genitive case is sometimes changed into a dative, as
Urbi pater est, urbique maritus. —Gram. Eton.He is the father of the city, and the husband of the city.
Urbi pater est, urbique maritus. —Gram. Eton.
He is the father of the city, and the husband of the city.
He must have been a pretty fellow, whoever he was.
An adjective of the neuter gender, put without a substantive, sometimes requires a genitive case, as
Paululùm honestatis sartori sufficit:A very little honesty is enough for a tailor.
Paululùm honestatis sartori sufficit:
A very little honesty is enough for a tailor.
A genitive case is sometimes placed alone; the preceding substantive being understood by the figure ellipsis, as
Ubi ad magistri veneris, cave verbum de porco:When you are come to the master’s (house), not a word about the pig.
Ubi ad magistri veneris, cave verbum de porco:
When you are come to the master’s (house), not a word about the pig.
The word pig is a very general term, and is used to signify not only the animal so called, and such of the human race as resemble him in habits, appearance, or feelings; but also to denote a variety of little things, which it is sometimes necessary to keep secret. A pedagogue now and then discovers apig-tailappended to his coat collar—this, or rather the way in which it got there, is one of the littlepigsin question. Robbing the larder or the garden is another; so is insinuating horse-hairs into the cane, or putting cobbler’s wax on the seat of learning —we mean the master’s stool. A sort ofpig(or rather arat) is sometimessmeltby the master on taking his nightly walk though the dormitories, when roast fowl, mince pies, bread and cheese, shrub, punch, &c. have been slyly smuggled into those places of repose. Shirking down town is always apig, and the consequences thereof, in case of discovery, a greatbore.
Considering that a secret is apig, it is singular that betraying one should be called letting thecatout of the bag.
boys at supper in the bed roomSMELLING A PIG.
boys at supper in the bed room
SMELLING A PIG.
Two substantives respecting the same thing are put in the same case, as
Telemachum, juvenem bonæ indolis, Calypso existimavit.Calypso thought Telemachus a nice young man.
Telemachum, juvenem bonæ indolis, Calypso existimavit.
Calypso thought Telemachus a nice young man.
By the way, what a nice young man Virgil makes out Marcellus to have been!
Praise, dispraise, or the quality of a thing is placed in the ablative, and also in the genitive case—as
Vir paucorum verborum et magni appetitûs:A man of few words and large appetite.Paterfamilias. Vir multis miseriis:A father of a family. A man of many woes.
Vir paucorum verborum et magni appetitûs:
A man of few words and large appetite.
Paterfamilias. Vir multis miseriis:
A father of a family. A man of many woes.
family with many children on a walk
The man of mostwoes, however, is a hackney-coachman.
Opus, need, and usus, need, require an ablative case, as
Didoni marito opus erat;Dido had need of a husband.Æneæ cœnâ usus erat;Æneas had need of a dinner.
Didoni marito opus erat;
Dido had need of a husband.
Æneæ cœnâ usus erat;
Æneas had need of a dinner.
But opus appears to be sometimes placed like an adjective for necessarius, necessary, as
Regi Anthropophagorum coquus opus est:The King of the Cannibal Islands wants a cook.
Regi Anthropophagorum coquus opus est:
The King of the Cannibal Islands wants a cook.
Which would serve his purpose best—a valet-de-chambre whodressesmen, or a wit, whoroaststhem?
Adjectives which signify desire, knowledge, memory, fear, and the contrary to these, require a genitive case, as
Est natura vetularum obtrectationis avida:The nature of old women is fond of scandal.
Est natura vetularum obtrectationis avida:
The nature of old women is fond of scandal.
This particularly applies to old maids. As those delightful creatures now-a-days, not content with beinggreyaspire to be actuallyblue; we cannot help recommending to them a kind of study, for which their propensity tocutting uprenders them peculiarly adapted; we meanAnatomy. And since it is on the foulest and most odious points of character that they chiefly delight to dwell, wemore especially suggest to them the pursuit ofMorbid Anatomy, as one which is likely to be attended both with gratification and success.
Mens tempestatum præscia:A mind foreknowing the weather.
Mens tempestatum præscia:
A mind foreknowing the weather.
A piece ofsea-weedhas often, heretofore, been used as a barometer; but it is only of late that this purpose has been answered by amurphy.
Immemor beneficii:Unmindful of a kindness.
Immemor beneficii:
Unmindful of a kindness.
The sort of kindness one is least likely to forget is that which our master used to say he conferred upon us, when he was inculcating learning by means of the rod. We cannot help thinking, however, that he beganat the wrong end.
Imperitus rerum:Unacquainted with the world, i.e. Not ‘up to snuff’.
Imperitus rerum:
Unacquainted with the world, i.e. Not ‘up to snuff’.
Much controversy has been wasted in attempts to determine the origin of the phrase “up to snuff”. Some have contended that it was suggested by thewell-knownquality possessed by snuff, ofclearing the head; but this idea is far fetched, not to say absurd. Others will have that the expression was derived from Snofe, or Snoffe, the name of a cunning rogue who flourished about the time of the first crusade; so that “up to Snoffe” signified as clever, or knowing, as Snoffe; and was in process of timeconverted into “up to snuff.” This opinion is deserving of notice; though the only argument in its favour is, that the phrase in question was in vogue long before the discovery of tobacco. Probably the soundest view is that which connects it with the proper name Znoufe, which in ancient High-Dutch is equivalent to Mercury, whose reputation for astuteness among the ancients was exceedingly great. Conf. Hookey-Walk, ii. 13. Hok. Pok. Wonk-Fum. viii. 24. Cheek. Marin. passim, with a host of commentators, ancient and modern.
Roscius timidus Deorum fuit:Rosciuswas afraid of theGods.
Roscius timidus Deorum fuit:
Rosciuswas afraid of theGods.
Adjectives ending inax, derived from verbs, also require a genitive case, as
Tempus edax rerum:Time is the consumer of all things.
Tempus edax rerum:
Time is the consumer of all things.
Hence Time is sometimes figured as an alderman.
Nouns partitive, nouns of number, nouns comparative and superlative, and certain adjectives put partitively, require a genitive case, from which also they take their gender; as
Utrum horum mavis accipe:Take which of those two things you had rather.
Utrum horum mavis accipe:
Take which of those two things you had rather.
So Queen Eleanor gave Fair Rosamond her choice between the dagger and the bowl of poison. This, to our mind, would have been like choosing a tree to be hanged on.
Primus fidicinum fuit Orpheus:Orpheus was the first of fiddlers.
Primus fidicinum fuit Orpheus:
Orpheus was the first of fiddlers.
He is said to have charmed the hearts of broomsticks.
Momus lepidissimus erat Deorum:Momus was the funniest of the Gods.
Momus lepidissimus erat Deorum:
Momus was the funniest of the Gods.
Other deities may have made Jupiter shake his head. Momus used to make him shake his sides.
Sequimur te, sancte deorum:We follow thee, O sacred deity.
Sequimur te, sancte deorum:
We follow thee, O sacred deity.
Namely, the aforesaid Momus. He is the only heathen god that we should have had much reverence for, and certainly the only one that we should ever have sacrificed to at all. The offering most commonly made to the god of laughter was, probably,a sacrifice of propriety.
But the above nouns are also used with these prepositions, a, ab, de, e, ex, inter, ante; as,
Primus inter philosophos Democritus est:Democritus is the first amongst philosophers.
Primus inter philosophos Democritus est:
Democritus is the first amongst philosophers.
And why? Because he alone was wise enough to find out that laughing is better than crying. He it was who first proved to the world that philosophy and comicality are, in fact, one science; and that the more we learn the more we laugh. We forget whether it was he or Aristotle who made the remark, that man is the only laughing animal except the hyæna.
bust of man in cap and gown
Secundussometimes requires a dative case, as
Haud ulli veterum virtute secundus:Inferior to none of the ancients in valour.
Haud ulli veterum virtute secundus:
Inferior to none of the ancients in valour.
Surely Virgil in saying this, had an eye to a hero, whose fame has been perpetuated in the verses of a later poet.
“Some talk of Alexander, and some of Pericles,Of Conon and Lysander, and Alcibiades;But of all the gallant heroes, there ’s none for to compare,With my ri-fol-de-riddle-iddle-lol to the British grenadier!”
“Some talk of Alexander, and some of Pericles,
Of Conon and Lysander, and Alcibiades;
But of all the gallant heroes, there ’s none for to compare,
With my ri-fol-de-riddle-iddle-lol to the British grenadier!”
An interrogative, and the word which answers to it, shall be of the same case and tense, except words of a different construction be made use of; as
Quarum rerum nulla est satietas? Pomorum.Of what things is there no fulness? Of fruit.
Quarum rerum nulla est satietas? Pomorum.
Of what things is there no fulness? Of fruit.
Dr. Johnson used to say that he never got as much wall fruit as he could eat.
boy looking at fruit on table
Adjectives by which advantage, disadvantage, likeness, unlikeness, pleasure, submission, or relation to any thing is signified, require a dative case; as
Astaci incocti patriæ idonei sunt in pace; cocti autem in bello.Raw lobsters are serviceable to their country in peace; but boiled ones in war. Lobster’sclawsare nasty things to get into.
Astaci incocti patriæ idonei sunt in pace; cocti autem in bello.
Raw lobsters are serviceable to their country in peace; but boiled ones in war. Lobster’sclawsare nasty things to get into.
The Corporation of London seemed very much afraid of thePolice clause.
One of the reasons why a soldier is sometimes called a lobster, probably is, that the latter is amarineanimal.
Balænæ persimile:Very like a whale.Qui color albus erat nunc est contrarius albo:The colour which was white is now contrary to white.
Balænæ persimile:
Very like a whale.
Qui color albus erat nunc est contrarius albo:
The colour which was white is now contrary to white.
Some people will swear white is black to gain their ends; and a man who will do this, though he may not always be—
Jucundus amicis:Pleasant to his friends;
Jucundus amicis:
Pleasant to his friends;
is nevertheless frequently so to hisconstituents.
Hither are referred nouns compounded of the prepositioncon, as contubernalis, a comrade; commilito, a fellow soldier, &c. You mustconall such words attentively before you canconstrue well, or theconsequence will be, that you will beconsiderably blown up, if notconfoundedly flogged.
Some of these which signify similitude, are also joined to a genitive case, as
Par uncti fulminis:Like greased lightning.
Par uncti fulminis:
Like greased lightning.
The familiarity of our transatlantic friends with the nature of the electric fluid, is no doubt owing to the discoveries of theircountrymanFranklin.Q.Was the lightning which that philosopher drew down from the clouds, of the kind mentioned in the example?
Communis, common; alienus, strange; immunis, free, are joined to a genitive, dative, and also to an ablative case, with a preposition, as
Aures longæ communes asinorum sunt:Long ears are common to asses.
Aures longæ communes asinorum sunt:
Long ears are common to asses.
Thoughmusicalears are not. We even doubt whether they would have the slightest admiration forBray-ham.
Non sunt communes caudæ hominibus:Tails are not common to men.
Non sunt communes caudæ hominibus:
Tails are not common to men.
Except coat-tails, shirt-tails, pig-tails, and rats’-tails—to which en-tailsmay perhaps also be added, though these last are often cut off.
Non alienus a poculo cerevisiæ:Not averse to a pot of beer.
Non alienus a poculo cerevisiæ:
Not averse to a pot of beer.
We should think we were not; and should as soon think of engaging in an unnatural quarrel with our bread and butter.
man leaning against post
Natus, born; commodus, convenient; incommodus, inconvenient; utilis, useful; inutilis, useless; vehemens, earnest; aptus, fit, are sometimes also joined to an accusative case with a preposition, as
Natus ad laqueum:Born to a halter.
Natus ad laqueum:
Born to a halter.
Those who are reserved for this exalted destiny, are said to enjoy a peculiar immunity from drowning. Is this the reason whywatermenare such a set of rogues?
To prevent mistakes, it should be mentioned, that thewatermenhere meant are those who, by their own account, are so called from their office beingto shut the doors of hackney coaches.
Verbal adjectives ending inbilis, taken passively, and participles made adjectives ending indus, require a dative case; as
Nulli penetrabilis astro;Penetrable by nostar—
Nulli penetrabilis astro;
Penetrable by nostar—
not fond ofacting?
O venerande mihi Liston! te luget Olympus:O Liston, to be venerated by me theOlympicbewails thee.
O venerande mihi Liston! te luget Olympus:
O Liston, to be venerated by me theOlympicbewails thee.
The measure of quantity is put after adjectives, in the accusative, the ablative, and the genitive case, as
Anguis centum pedes longus:A snake a hundred feet long.Arborgummifera, alta mille et quingentis passibus.A gum-tree a mile and a half high.Aranea, lata pedum denum:A spider ten feet broad.
Anguis centum pedes longus:
A snake a hundred feet long.
Arborgummifera, alta mille et quingentis passibus.
A gum-tree a mile and a half high.
Aranea, lata pedum denum:
A spider ten feet broad.
An accusative case is sometimes put after adjectives and participles, where the preposition secundum, appears to be understood, as
Os humerosque asello similis:Like to a cod-fish as to his head and shoulders.
Os humerosque asello similis:
Like to a cod-fish as to his head and shoulders.
Some menareexceedingly like a cod-fish, as to their head and shoulders, and they often endeavour to increase this natural resemblance as much as possible, by wearinggills.
Adjectives which relate to plenty or want, sometimes require an ablative, sometimes a genitive case, as
Amor et melle et felle est fœcundissimus:Love is very full both of honey and gall.
Amor et melle et felle est fœcundissimus:
Love is very full both of honey and gall.
Thehoneyof love is—we do not know exactly what. Honey, however, is Latin for love, as the Irishman said.
A TIGHT BOOT.
The gall of love consists in
First. Tight boots, in which it is often necessaryto do penance beforeour Lady’swindow. This is at all events verygalling.
Secondly. In lover’s sighs, to which it communicates their peculiarbitterness.
Thirdly. Another verygallingthing in love is being cut out.
Fourthly. Love is one of the passions treated of byGalland Spurzheim.
Adjectives andsubstantivesgovern an ablative case, signifying the cause and the form, or the manner of a thing, as
Demosthenes vociferatione raucus erat:Demosthenes was hoarse with bawling.Nomine grammaticus, re barbarus:A grammarian in name; in reality a barbarian.
Demosthenes vociferatione raucus erat:
Demosthenes was hoarse with bawling.
Nomine grammaticus, re barbarus:
A grammarian in name; in reality a barbarian.
Like many of the old masters—we do not mean painters—though we certainly allude tobrothers of the brush—perhaps it would be better to call thembrothers of the angle, on account of their partiality to therod. Does the readertwig? If so, it is unnecessary tobranchout into a discussion with regard to the nature of the barbarity hinted at—a kind of barbarity which, though it may proclaim its perpetrators to be by no means allied to thefelinerace, connects them most decidedly with thecaninespecies.
Dignus, worthy; indignus, unworthy; præditus,endued; captus, disabled; contentus, content; extorris, banished; fretus, relying upon; liber, free; with adjectives signifying price, require an ablative case, as
Leander dignus erat meliore fato:Leander was worthy of a better fate.
Leander dignus erat meliore fato:
Leander was worthy of a better fate.
Poor fellow! first to be head over ears in love, and then over head and ears in the sea! Shocking! What anheroic young man he must have been.—Whata duck, too, the fair Hero must have thought him as she watched him from her lonely tower, nearing her every moment, as he cleft with lusty arm the foaming herring-pond. We mean the Hellespont—but no matter. What agoosehe must have been considered by any one else who happened to know of his nightly exploits! How miserably he wasgulledat last! Never mind. If Leander went to thefishesfor love, many a better man than he, has, before and since, gone, from the same cause, to thedogs.
Conscientia procuratoris solidis sex, denariis octo, venale est;A lawyer’s conscience is to be sold for six and eightpence.
Conscientia procuratoris solidis sex, denariis octo, venale est;
A lawyer’s conscience is to be sold for six and eightpence.
Some of these, sometimes admit a genitive case, as
Carmina digna deæ:Verses worthy of a goddess.
Carmina digna deæ:
Verses worthy of a goddess.
Whether the following verses are worthy of a goddess or not, we shall not attempt to decide; they were addressed to one at all events—at least to a being who, ifidolizingconstitutes a goddess, may, perhaps, be termed one. We met with them in turning over the pages of an album.
Lovely maid, with rapture swelling,Should these pages meet thine eye,Clouds of absence soft dispelling;Vacant memory heaves a sigh.As the rose, with fragrance weeping,Trembles to the tuneful wave,So my heart shall twine unsleeping,Till it canopies the grave!poet looking heavenwardAN ALBUM AUTHOR.Though another’s smiles requited,Envious fate my doom should be:Joy for ever disunited,Think, ah! think, at times on me!Oft amid the spicy gloaming,Where the brakes their songs instil,Fond affection silent roaming,Loves to linger by the rill—There when echo’s voice consoling,Hears the nightingale complain,Gentle sighs my lips controlling,Bind my soul in beauty’s chain.Oft inslumber’sdeep recesses,I thy mirror’d image see;Fancy mocks the vain caressesI would lavish like a bee!But how vain is glittering sadness!Hark, I hear distraction’s knell!Torture gilds my heart with madness!Now for ever fare thee well!
Lovely maid, with rapture swelling,
Should these pages meet thine eye,
Clouds of absence soft dispelling;
Vacant memory heaves a sigh.
As the rose, with fragrance weeping,
Trembles to the tuneful wave,
So my heart shall twine unsleeping,
Till it canopies the grave!
Though another’s smiles requited,
Envious fate my doom should be:
Joy for ever disunited,
Think, ah! think, at times on me!
Oft amid the spicy gloaming,
Where the brakes their songs instil,
Fond affection silent roaming,
Loves to linger by the rill—
There when echo’s voice consoling,
Hears the nightingale complain,
Gentle sighs my lips controlling,
Bind my soul in beauty’s chain.
Oft inslumber’sdeep recesses,
I thy mirror’d image see;
Fancy mocks the vain caresses
I would lavish like a bee!
But how vain is glittering sadness!
Hark, I hear distraction’s knell!
Torture gilds my heart with madness!
Now for ever fare thee well!
It would be interesting as well as instructive to settle the difference between love verses and nonsense verses, if this were the proper place for doing so. But we are not yet come to the Prosody; nor shall we arrive there very soon unless we get on with the Syntax.
Comparatives, when they may be explained by the word quam, than, require an ablative case, as
Achilles Agamemnone velocior erat:Achilles was a faster man than Agamemnon.
Achilles Agamemnone velocior erat:
Achilles was a faster man than Agamemnon.
Fast menin modern times are very apt tooutrun the constable.
Tanto, by so much, quanto, by how much, hoc, by this, eo, by this, and quo, by which; with some other words which signify the measure of exceeding; likewise ætate, by age, and natu, by birth, are often joined to comparatives and superlatives, as
Tanto deformissimus, quanto sapientissimus philosophorum.By so much the ugliest, by howmuchthe wisest of philosophers.
Tanto deformissimus, quanto sapientissimus philosophorum.
By so much the ugliest, by howmuchthe wisest of philosophers.
Such an one was Socrates. It is all very well to have a contemplative disposition; but it need not be accompanied by acontemplative nose.
Quo plus habent, eo plus cupiunt:The more they have the more they want.
Quo plus habent, eo plus cupiunt:
The more they have the more they want.
This is a curious fact in the natural history ofschool-boys, considered in relation to roast beef and plum pudding.
Maximum ætate virum in totâ Kentuckiâ contudi:I whopped the oldest man in all Kentucky.
Maximum ætate virum in totâ Kentuckiâ contudi:
I whopped the oldest man in all Kentucky.
All those who would understand the construction of pronouns, should take care to be well versed in the distinction betweenmeumandtuum, ignorance of which often gives rise to the disagreeable necessity of becoming too intimately acquainted withquod.
Mei, of me, tui, of thee, sui, of himself, nostri, of us, vestri, of you, (the genitive cases of their primitives ego, tu, &c.) are used when a person is signified, as
Languet desiderio tui:He languishes for want of you.
Languet desiderio tui:
He languishes for want of you.
You cannot give a more acceptable piece of information than the above, to any young lady. The fairer and more amiable sex always like to have something—if not to love, at least to pity.
Parsque tui lateat corpore clausa meo. —Eton Gram.And a part of you may lie shut up in my body.
Parsque tui lateat corpore clausa meo. —Eton Gram.
And a part of you may lie shut up in my body.
Or rathermayit so lie! How forcibly a sucking pig hanging up outside a pork-butcher’s shop alwaysrecalsthis beautiful line of Ovid’s to the mind!
Meus, mine, tuus, thine, suus, his own (Cocknicè his’n),noster, ours, vester, yours, are used when action, or the possession of a thing is signified; as
Qui bona quæ non sunt sua furtim subripit, illeTempore quo capitur, carcere clausus erit:
Qui bona quæ non sunt sua furtim subripit, ille
Tempore quo capitur, carcere clausus erit:
Him as prigs wot isn ’t his’n,Ven he’s cotch’d ’ll go to pris’n.
Him as prigs wot isn ’t his’n,
Ven he’s cotch’d ’ll go to pris’n.
boy picking pocket caught by second man
These possessive pronouns, meus, tuus, suus, noster, and vester, take after them these genitive cases,—ipsius, of himself, solius, of him alone, unius, of one, duorum, of two, trium, of three,&c.,omnium, of all, plurium, of more, paucorum, of few, cujusque, of every one, and also the genitive cases of participles, which are referred to the primitive word understood; as
Meis unius impensis pocula sex exhausi:I drank six pots to my own cheek.
Meis unius impensis pocula sex exhausi:
I drank six pots to my own cheek.
We wonder that any one should have thefaceto say so.
Sui and suus are reciprocal pronouns, that is, they have always relation to that which went before, and was most to be noted in the sentence, as—
Jonathanus nimium admiratur se:Jonathan admires himself too much.Parcit erroribus suis, He spares his own errors.Magnoperè Jonathanus rogat ne se derideas, Jonathan earnestly begs that you would not laugh at him.
Jonathanus nimium admiratur se:
Jonathan admires himself too much.
Parcit erroribus suis, He spares his own errors.
Magnoperè Jonathanus rogat ne se derideas, Jonathan earnestly begs that you would not laugh at him.
If youdo, take care that he does notblow you upone of these fine days.
These demonstrative pronouns, hic, iste, and ille are thus distinguished: hic points out the nearest to me; iste him who is by you; ille him who is at a distance from both of us.
In makinggameof the Syntax, we regard them aspointers.
When hic and ille are referred to two things or persons going before, hic generally relates to the latter, ille to the former, as
Richardus Thomasque suum de more bibebant,Ebrius hic vappis, ebrius ille mero:
Richardus Thomasque suum de more bibebant,
Ebrius hic vappis, ebrius ille mero:
Both Dick and Tom caroused away like swine,Tom drunk with swipes, and Dicky drunk with wine.
Both Dick and Tom caroused away like swine,
Tom drunk with swipes, and Dicky drunk with wine.
Verbs substantive, as sum, I am, forem, I might be, fio, I am made, existo, I am; verbs passive of calling, as nominor, I am named, appellor, I am called, dicor, I am said, vocor, I am called, nuncupor,I am named, and the like to them, as videor, I am seen, habeor, I am accounted, existimor, I am thought, have the same cases before and after them, as
Adeps viridis est summum bonum:Green fat is the chief good.
Adeps viridis est summum bonum:
Green fat is the chief good.
Even among the ancients,turtleswere the emblems of love; which, next to eating and drinking, has always been the first object of human pursuit. This fact proves, very satisfactorily, two things, first, their proficiency in the science of gastronomy; and, secondly, their extreme susceptibility of the tender passion.
Pileus vocatur tegula:A hat is called a tile.
Pileus vocatur tegula:
A hat is called a tile.
Likewise all verbs in a manner admit after them an adjective, which agrees with the nominative case of the verb, in case, gender, and number, as
Pii orant taciti. —Eton Gram.The pious pray silently.
Pii orant taciti. —Eton Gram.
The pious pray silently.
Is this a sly rap at the Quakers?
Sum requires a genitive case as often as it signifies possession, duty, sign, or that which relates to any thing; as
Quod rapidam trahit Ætatem pecus est Melibœi,The cattlewotdrags theAge, fast coach, is Melibœus’s.
Quod rapidam trahit Ætatem pecus est Melibœi,
The cattlewotdrags theAge, fast coach, is Melibœus’s.
Alas! that such an Age should be banished by the Age of rail-roads!—let us hear the
raggedly dressed man
Farewell my ribbons, and, alack!Farewell my tidy drag;Mail-coach-men now have got thesack,And engineers thebag.My heart and whip alike are broke—I’ve lost my varmint teamThat used to cut away likesmoke,But could n’t go likesteam.It is, indeed, a bittercup,Thus to be sent topot;My bosom boils at boiling upA gallop or a trot.My very brain withfury’s rack’d,That railways are therage;I’m sure you’ll never find themact,Like our old Englishstage.A man whosepassion’s crost, is sore,Then pray excuse mypet;I ne’er wasoverturn’dbefore,But now am quiteupset.
Farewell my ribbons, and, alack!
Farewell my tidy drag;
Mail-coach-men now have got thesack,
And engineers thebag.
My heart and whip alike are broke—
I’ve lost my varmint team
That used to cut away likesmoke,
But could n’t go likesteam.
It is, indeed, a bittercup,
Thus to be sent topot;
My bosom boils at boiling up
A gallop or a trot.
My very brain withfury’s rack’d,
That railways are therage;
I’m sure you’ll never find themact,
Like our old Englishstage.
A man whosepassion’s crost, is sore,
Then pray excuse mypet;
I ne’er wasoverturn’dbefore,
But now am quiteupset.
These nominative cases are excepted from the above rule, meum, mine, tuum, thine, suum, his, noster, our, vester, your, humanum, human, belluinum brutal, and the like, as
Non est tuum aviam instruere:Don’t teach your grandmother—to suck eggs.Humanum est inebriari.It is a human frailty—or an amiable weakness—to get drunk.
Non est tuum aviam instruere:
Don’t teach your grandmother—to suck eggs.
Humanum est inebriari.
It is a human frailty—or an amiable weakness—to get drunk.
Lord Byron proves it to be ahumanfrailty.
“Manbeingreasonable,mustget drunk.”
man sleeping against a post
A REASONABLE CREATURE.
Another poet (anon.) proves it to be anamiableone, by establishing the analogy which exists between it and an intoxication of another kind—
“Love is like a dizziness,Never lets a poor man go about his business.”
“Love is like a dizziness,
Never lets a poor man go about his business.”
Verbs of accusing, condemning, advising, acquitting, and the like, require a genitive case which signifies the charge; as
Qui alterum accusat probri, eum ipsum se intueri oportet.It is fit that he who accuses another of dishonesty should look into himself.
Qui alterum accusat probri, eum ipsum se intueri oportet.
It is fit that he who accuses another of dishonesty should look into himself.
If this maxim were acted up to, what attorney could we ever get to frame an indictment?
Furti damnatus, “tres menses” adeptus est:Being condemned of theft, he had “three months.”
Furti damnatus, “tres menses” adeptus est:
Being condemned of theft, he had “three months.”
We do not see muchfunin that. We cannot help thinking, however, that “Three Months at Brixton,” would form a taking (at least athief-taking) title for a novel.
Admoneto magistrum squalidarum vestium:Put the master in mind of his seedy clothes.
Admoneto magistrum squalidarum vestium:
Put the master in mind of his seedy clothes.
That is if you want agood dressing.
This genitive case is sometimes changed into an ablative, either with or without a preposition, as
Putavi de calendis Aprilibus te esse admonendum:I thought that you ought to be reminded of the first of April.
Putavi de calendis Aprilibus te esse admonendum:
I thought that you ought to be reminded of the first of April.
Young reader! were you ever, on the above anniversary, sent to the cobbler’s for pigeons’ milk, and dismissed withstrap-oilfor yourpains? Were your domestic and alimentive affections ever sported with by the false intelligence that a letter from home and a large cake were waiting for you below! Or worse, did some waggish, but inconsiderate friend ever send you a fool’s-cap and a hamper of stones?
Reader, of a more advanced age, were you ever?—but we cannot go on—Oh! Matilda—we might have been yourslave—but it was cruel of you tosellus in such a manner.
Uterque, both, nullus, none, alter, the other, neuter, neither of the two, alius, another, ambo, both, and the superlative degree, are joined to verbs of that kind only in the ablative case, as
Fratris, an asini, trucidationis accusas me? Utroque, sed sceleris unius:Do you accuse me of killing my brother or my donkey? Of both; but of one crime.
Fratris, an asini, trucidationis accusas me? Utroque, sed sceleris unius:
Do you accuse me of killing my brother or my donkey? Of both; but of one crime.
Satago, to be busy about a thing, misereor and miseresco, to pity, require a genitive case, as
Qui ducit uxorem rerum satagit:He who marries a wife has his hands full of business.
Qui ducit uxorem rerum satagit:
He who marries a wife has his hands full of business.
We hear frequently of lovers beingdistracted. Husbands are much more so.
O! tergi miserere mei non digna ferentis:Oh! have pity on my back, suffering things undeserved.
O! tergi miserere mei non digna ferentis:
Oh! have pity on my back, suffering things undeserved.
Reminiscor, to remember, obliviscor, to forget, memini, to remember, recorder, to call to mind, admit a genitive or accusative case, as
Reminiscere nonarum Novembrium:Remember the fifth of November.
Reminiscere nonarum Novembrium:
Remember the fifth of November.
No wonder that so manysquibsare let off on thatday; considering the political feeling connected with it.
Hoc te spectantem me meminisse precor:When this you see remember me.
Hoc te spectantem me meminisse precor:
When this you see remember me.
How particularly anxious all young men and women who are lovers, and all waiters and chambermaids, whether they are lovers or no, besides coachmen and porters of all kinds, seem to beremembered. A coachman in one respect especially resembles a lover; he always wishes to be remembered by hisfare.
Potior, to gain, is joined either to a genitive or to an ablative case, as
Xantippe, marito subacto, femoralium potita fuit.Xantippe, her husband being overcome, gained the breeches.Terentius Thrace potitus est:Terence got a Tartar.
Xantippe, marito subacto, femoralium potita fuit.
Xantippe, her husband being overcome, gained the breeches.
Terentius Thrace potitus est:
Terence got a Tartar.
At least he said he did, when he took the prisoner who would n’t let him come.
All verbs govern a dative case of that thing to or for which any thing is gotten or taken away, as
Diminuam tibi caput:I will break your head.Eheu! mihi circulum ademit!Oh dear, he has taken away my hoop!
Diminuam tibi caput:
I will break your head.
Eheu! mihi circulum ademit!
Oh dear, he has taken away my hoop!
What a thing it is to be a junior boy!
Verbs of various kinds belong to the above rule. In the first place verbs signifying advantage or disadvantage govern a dative case, as
Judæi ad commodandum nobis vivunt:The Jews live to accommodate us.
Judæi ad commodandum nobis vivunt:
The Jews live to accommodate us.
Or accommodate us to live—which?
Of these juvo, lædo,delecto, and some others, require an accusative case, as
Maritum quies plurimum juvat:Rest very much delighteth a married man—when he can get it.
Maritum quies plurimum juvat:
Rest very much delighteth a married man—when he can get it.
mother, father and crying baby
Verbs of comparing govern a dative case, as
Ajacem “Surdo” componere sæpe solebam:I was often accustomed to compare Ajax to the “Deaf un,”—not because he was hard of hearing, but hard in hitting.
Ajacem “Surdo” componere sæpe solebam:
I was often accustomed to compare Ajax to the “Deaf un,”—not because he was hard of hearing, but hard in hitting.
Sometimes, however, they require an ablative case with the preposition cum; sometimes an accusative case with the prepositions ad and inter, as
ComparoPompeiumcumglobo nivali:I comparePompeywith asnow-ball.
ComparoPompeiumcumglobo nivali:
I comparePompeywith asnow-ball.
Pompey is called in the schools a proper name. Whether it is aproper namefor a nigger or not, may be questioned. It may also be doubted whether a negro can ever rightly be called “snow-ball,” except he bean iceman; in which case even though he should be the knave ofclubs, it is obvious that he ought never to beblack balled.
Si ad pensum verberatio comparetur nihil est:If a flogging be compared to an imposition, it is nothing.
Si ad pensum verberatio comparetur nihil est:
If a flogging be compared to an imposition, it is nothing.
A flogging is a fly-blow, or at least aflea-blow to the boy, and a task only to the master; whereasanimposition is a task to the boy, and very often aversetask.
Verbs of giving and of restoring govern a dative case, as
Learius unicuique filiarum dimidium coronæ dedit:Lear gave his daughters half-a-crown a-piece.
Learius unicuique filiarum dimidium coronæ dedit:
Lear gave his daughters half-a-crown a-piece.
Hence we are enabled to gain some notion of the great value of money in the time of the Ancient Britons.
Verbs of promising and of paying govern a dative case; as
Menelaus Paridi fustuarium promisit:Menelaus promised Paris a drubbing.
Menelaus Paridi fustuarium promisit:
Menelaus promised Paris a drubbing.
two actors on stage
“Gubernatoris” est pendere sartoribus pecuniam:It is the place of “the governor” to pay tailors.
“Gubernatoris” est pendere sartoribus pecuniam:
It is the place of “the governor” to pay tailors.
Hence young men may learn how desirable it is to be “in statu pupillari.” True, in that state offelicity, they are somewhat under control, but the above example, and many others of a like nature, sufficiently prove, that such restriction, compared to the responsibilities of manhood, is but aminorinconvenience.
Verbs of commanding and telling govern a dative case, as
Alexander, vinosus, animis imperare non potuit:Alexander, when drunk, could not command his temper.
Alexander, vinosus, animis imperare non potuit:
Alexander, when drunk, could not command his temper.
Thus, in a state of beer, he committed manslaughter at least, by killing and slaying his friend Clitus. We could not resist the temptation to mention this fact, since, as we have so often laughed at its narration in those interesting compositions called themes, we thought there must needs be something very funny about it. Alexander the Great, be it remarked, for the special behoof of schoolboys, furnishes an example of any virtue or vice descanted on in any prose task or poem under the sun.