125. After an adjective in the Comparative degree the thing which is made the standard of comparison is put (1.) In the Ablative Nihil est virtute formosius, nihil pulchrius, nihil amabilius, Nothing is more beautiful, nothing more fair, nothing more lovely than virtue. O matre pulchra filia pulchrior, O daughter, fairer than thy fair mother!-HOR. Vilius argentum est auro, virtutibus aurum, Silver is less precious than gold, gold than virtues.-HOR. (2.) In the same case as the thing compared with it, the word quam = than being put before it-— Tullus Hostilius ferocior etiam quam Romulus fuit, Romulus multitudini gratior fuit quam patribus, Romulus Facilius est pauperi contemptum effugere, quam diviti invidiam, It is easier for a poor man to escape contempt, than for a rich man (to escape) envy. NOTE.-Magis quam or plus quam = more than— Oculis magis quam auribus credimus, We trust more to the eyes than to the ears. Saepe virtus plus proficit ad misericordiam quam humilitas, Courage is often more effectual than self-abasement to excite pity. NUMERALS. 126. Numerals are Adjectives and Adverbs used in expressing numbers. They are divided into four classes :— I. Cardinal, answering the question How many? as Quat- II. Ordinal, answering the question In what order? as III. Distributive, answering the question How many of each? as Quaterni, four of each. IV. Adverbial, answering the question How often? as Quater, four times. 6. sex 7. septem 8. octŏ 9. novem 10. děcem 11. undĕcim 14. quattuordecim 17. septemděcim 19. undēvīginti 20. viginti 21. unus et viginti 22. duo et viginti 28. duodetriginta nōnus unus et vicensimus quadragensimus septuagensimus octogensimus NOTE. The forms in -ensimus and -ens are frequently written -esimus and -es, as vicesimus and vicies. 127. Unus, duo, and tres are declined thus:-- The plural is used with plural nouns which have a singular meaning, as unae litterae, una castra; and in the sense alone. For duorum the contraction duum is not uncommon; the accusative has duo for duos in some places. Ambō, both, is declined like duo. For the accusative tres, we often find tris. 128. The Cardinals from 4. to 100 are indeclinable. In writing such a number as 24 in Latin, we may put quattuor et viginti, or viginti quattuor. Again, "234 years may be rendered "ducenti anni et triginta quattuor," or "ducenti triginta quattuor anni." Mille is indeclinable, and may be used as an adjective, as "mille homines," or with a genitive, as (6 'mille hominum." The plural is only used as a noun, and is declined thus:-millia, millium, millibus. It is often followed by a genitive, as tria millia hominum. For millia many мss. give milia. FRACTIONS. 129. One-half is expressed in Latin by dimidia pars. 130. In describing measures of length, such as the length or height of a wall, and the breadth or depth of a ditch, the distance is expressed by the Genitive or Accusative, thus— Fossa viginti pedum, a ditch twenty feet wide. Even after a comparative the accusative of distance is usedFlumen ab castris Caesaris non amplius millia passuum aberat, The river was not more than a thousand paces from Caesar's camp. Castra haud plus quinque millia passuum ab urbe locant, They pitch their camp not more than five miles from the city. NOTE 1.—When a Roman army encamped for the night, a ditch (fossa) was dug round the camp (castra); on the inner side of the ditch the earth was thrown into a mound (agger), on which they put a row of palisades (vallus), and the whole work was called an entrenchment (vallum). NOTE 2. The thousand paces (mille passuum) of Latin writers mean double steps, so that mille passuum = about 5000 English feet. TIME. 131. When the Latins spoke of an action going on through the whole of a period of time, they put the words expressing the time in the Accusative Romulus septem et triginta regnavit annos; Numa tres et quadraginta, Romulus reigned thirty-seven years; Numa, forty-three. Triginta dies obsidio fuit, The blockade lasted thirty days. 132. The time at which an action is performed is put in the Ablative Prima luce, At daybreak. Hora sexta, At the sixth hour. Abhinc annis quattuor est mortuus, He died four years ago. Multis ante diebus, Many days before, } ante and post are here adverbs. Non ita multis ante annis, Not very many years before. Sexcentesimo et altero anno post urbem conditam, In the So also the ablatives hieme, aestate, die, nocte. 133. In describing the age of a person the genitive is used— Puer annorum fere novem, A boy about nine years old; or the accusative with natus, born— Annos sexaginta natus es, aut plus eo, ut conicio, You are sixty years old or more, I guess.—TER. 134. The time in which a work is done is expressed by the ablative Quod Helvetii diebus viginti aegerrime confecerant, id |