The root is curr: the noun, however, is formed by the letter u, and hence the crude form curru, and the nominative curru-s, &c.

[§ 879.] Now every crude form must end in a consonant or in a vowel; a, e, i, o, or u. Hence nouns have been divided into two great classes, consonant-nouns and vowel-nouns. The latter of these have been naturally subdivided according to the particular vowel found; and hence the a-declension, the e-declension, the i-declension, the o-declension, and the u-declension. The Third declension, as it is called, is on this plan split into two; namely, the i-declension and the consonant declension. The consonant declension must be taken as the original declension, and then the i-declension stands on the same ground as the a-, e-, o-, and u- declensions. The consonant declension preserves the case-endings most fully. In the vowel declensions the last letter of the crude form and the vowel of the case-ending are sometimes incorporated and disguised.

[§ 880.] Now from these premises some idea may ⚫easily be formed of the ancient forms of declension, and in order to carry out this idea, it will be worth while to give a table of the declensions as they would stand if the case-endings were affixed at once to the crude form without any contraction or incorporation; for in so doing we shall detect several ancient forms which actually occur. The case-endings are,

The vocative has not been inserted, because this case is always either the crude form (modified frequently on euphonic principles) or the same as the nominative. In the o-declension, in Latin, we find an e at the end of the vocative; as, taure. This e is the representative of the oor u in the nominative, taurus tauros.*

* Bopp, Vergleich. Gramm., p. 234.

[§ 881.] It is probable that all these declensions once had a b in the dative, and that the remaining i is only the relic of the bi which we see in ti-bi, i-bi, si-bi, and u-bi, as in Greek the t is the relic of φι, e. g., μορφηι=μορφη φι It is also probable that in all these declensions the dative plural ended in bis. The plural bis-bus remained in regular use in three of the declensions, and examples of it are not wanting in the other two; as, deabus, nymfabus, horabus, duobus, ambobus, dibus, diibus, amicibus, &c.*

[§ 882.] With respect to the genitive plural, it is disputed whether the original ending was um or rum, seeing that in the consonant declension, and the i- and u- declension there is no r, and in the a- and o- declensions there is. Struve contends that the r is euphonic, and that the original ending is um, answering to the Greek wv. Many things favour this view; e. g., o-um would naturally be contracted into úm, which is constantly found in such instances as deûm, virûm, Graiûm, signiferum, &c., whereas the transition from orum to um is not so easy. The same remark applies to the a-declension; as, Dardanidûm, coelicolûm. That this contracted form was a

*Orelli, Inscript., Nos. 1628, 1629, 4601, 2118, 4608, 1676, 1307, 3413 4681.-Struve, über die Lat. Decl., p. 15, § 10.

a

very old one appears clearly from the instances given by Cicero (Orat,, § 155, 156). Still the forms boverum and Joverum, in Varro (viii., 74), and lapiderum, regerum, nancerum, in Charisius, seem to point to a full and original ending erum, the e being the connecting vowel. In a note on the above-cited passage in Varro, Müller observes that those forms are the remains of the ending of which the original type must have been in Greek and Latin M. Perhaps it is an argument for considering the r euphonic, that in Sanscrit the letter n is inserted in some forms in a similar way. For example, vach is “ discourse;" the plural genitive-ending is am: the genitive, then, is vachâm. Now, when the crude form ends in a vowel, the ending ám is joined to it by a euphonic n ; thus, vana is “a wood;" the genitive plural is not vanaam, but vana-n-am. Thus the gentive of musa would, in Sanscrit, be musanam (=musarum). On the other hand, however, it should be stated that the pronouns (and they would naturally preserve the old formation longer than any other parts of speech) have the termination sam in Sanscrit, answering to the Latin rum. Compare Sans. tâ-sâm and the Lat. ista-rum, to which it is equivalent.

[§ 883.] Most of the changes from the original type of the Latin declensions given under § 880 may be traced from existing instances. To give them all would lead too far: one example shall be mentioned. The full form of the genitive singular of the a-declension is a+is, e. g., formais. This is found with a euphonic change of the vowel i to e; as, partis dimidiaes, Proculaes, Saturniaes.* It was abbreviated in three ways: first, by dropping the i, whence formas; secondly, by dropping the s; as, formaï; and, thirdly, by contracting aï into ae; as, forme. Examples of the first contraction are paterfamilias and materfamilias. Examples of the second contraction are common in Lucretius and other old writers. Some occur in Virgil; as, auraï (Aen., vi., 747); pictaï (Aen., ix., 26). The third contraction became the common form.

* Orelli, Inscript., Nos. 4376, 4537, 2869, 4887.

APPENDIX VI.

REMAINS OF EARLY LATIN.

[§ 884.] We have very few specimens of the Latin language previous to the time of Ennius and Plautus, when it had become nearly developed, and was substantially the same as in the later times of the Republic. The specimens of the ancient language which have come down to us principally consist of fragments of ancient laws, preserved by Festus, Cicero, and others, and of a few inscriptions. The former, as might have been expected, appear to have been considerably altered; and the latter are, unfortunately, too few to give us much assistance in tracing the rise and progress of the language. Of these, however, one of the most important was the ancient song of the Fratres Arvales, discovered in the year 1777, and which appears to have been the same as was sung in the most early times, though the inscription was not cut till A.D. 218. It appears from the introductory remarks that this song was confined to the priests, the Publici being excluded. The song is as follows:

1. Enos Lases juvate,

2. Neve luerve, Marmar, sins incurrere in pleoris: 3. Satur furere, Mars, limen salis sta berber:

4. Semunis alternei advocapit conctos.

5. Enos Marmor juvato:

6. Triumpe, triumpe, triumpe, triumpe, triumpe.

1. Enos is a form of the first person plural (nos), analLases is instead of Lares. ogous to the German uns.

(Quinctil., Inst. Or., i., 4, § 13.)

2. Luerve for luerve-m, according to a custom of dropping the final m, which lasted till Cato's time. This form is equivalent to luem. Marmar is a name of Mars, who was called Mamers in the Oscan language. Sins is instead of sinas. Pleoris is the older form of plures. The root of this word is ple, as we see in ple-nus and in imple-o, and the comparative is formed by adding ior or or. Pleores afterward became plures, in the same way as reversus or reorsus was shortened into rursus.

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3. Satur furere, &c. The meaning appears to be, “O Mars, having raged to your satisfaction, put a stop to the scorching heat of the sun." Compare Horace (Ổd., i., 2, 37), "longo satiate ludo." Limen for lumen may be compared with plisima for plurima (Fest., p. 205). Salis is the original form of solis: compare oéλas, hos, Au-selius, &c. Whether we read sta or ta, the meaning seems to because to cease," which may be derived from either root. Berber is another form of fervere.

4. Semuneis is semones, i. e., semihemones. Advocapit is instead of advocabite, the e being omitted as in dic, duc, fac, fer. The future is here used in the sense of an imperative.

[§ 885.] The other extant religious compositions, though few and scanty, contribute to the same conclusion with the preceding, that the oldest Latin was not so unlike the language with which we are familiar as to defy interpretation. The fragments of the oldest Roman laws, though undoubtedly genuine in substance, must be considered as having undergone much alteration in the orthography at least. They are precious memorials of primeval Latinity, but, like the Homeric poems, they not unfrequently exhibit the deformity of an ancient statue, which the false taste of a later age may have daubed over with a coat of coloured plaster. We will now proceed to give specimens of the same, with the later Latin opposite.