Accedence commenc't grammar, supply'd with sufficient rules for the use of such (younger or elder) as are desirous, without more trouble than needs to attain the Latin tongue the elder sort especially, with little teaching and their own industry / by John Milton.

Of Latin SPEECH are Eight General Parts:

De∣clin'd.

• Noun
• Pronoun
• Verb
• Participle

Unde∣clin'd.

• Adverb
• Conjunction
• Preposition
• Interjection

DEclin'd are those Words which have divers endings; as Homo a man, hominis of a man; Amo I love, amas thou lovest. Undeclin'd are those words which have but one ending, as bene well, cum when, tum then.

Nounes, Pronounes, and Participles, are de∣clin'd with Gender, Number, and Case; Verbs, as hereafter in the Verb.

Of Genders.

GEnders are three, the Masculin, Feminin, and Neuter. The Masculin may be declin'd with this Article Hic, as hic Vir a Man; The Fe∣minin with this Article Haec, as haec Mulier a Wo∣man; The Neuter with this Article Hoc, as hoc S•…•…um a Stone.

Of the Masculin are generally all Nounes be∣longing to the Male kind, as also the Names of Rivers, Months, and Winds.

Of the Feminin, all Nounes belonging to the Female kind, as also the names of Countries, Cities, Trees, some few of the two latter ex∣cepted: Of Cities, as Agragas and Sulmo, Mascu∣lin; Argos, Tibur, Praen•…•…ste, and such as end in um,

Neuter; Anxur both. Of Trees, Oleaster and Spinus, Masculin; but Oleaster is read also Feminin, Cic. Verr. 4. Acer, siler, suber, thus, robur, Neuter.

And of the Neuter are all Nouns, not being proper Names, ending in um, and many others.

Some Nouns are of two Genders, as hic or haec dies a Day; and all such as may be spoken both of Male and Female, as hic or haec Parens a Father or Mother; some be of three, as hic haec and hoc Pelix Happy.

Of Numbers.

WOrds Declin'd have two Numbers, the Singular, and the Plural. The Singular speaketh but of one, as Lapis a Stone. The Plural of more then one, as Lapides Stones; yet some∣times but of one, as Athenae the City Athens, Lite∣rae an Epistle, aedes aedium a House.

Note that some Nounes have no Singular, and some no Plural, as the nature of thir significati∣on requires. Some are of one Gender in the Sin∣gular; of another, or of two Genders in the Plural, as reading will best teach.

Of Cases.

NOunes, Pronounes, and Participles are de∣clin'd with six Endings, which are called Cases, both in the Singular and Plural Number. The Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Vocative, and Ablative.

The Nominative is the first Case, and properly nameth the thing, as Liber a Book.

The Genitive is Englisht with this Sign of, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Libri of a Book.

The Dative with this Sign to, or for, as Libro to or for a Book.

The Accusative hath no sign.

The Vocative calleth or speaketh to, as O Liber O Book, and is commonly like the Nomina∣tive.

But in the Neuter Gender the Nominative, Accusative, and Vocative, are like in both Num∣bers, and in the Plural end alwayes in a.

The Ablative is Englisht with these Signs, in, with, of, for, from, by, and such like, as d•…•… Libro of or from the Book, pro Libro for the Book And the Ablative Plural is alwayes like the Dative.

Note, that some Nouns have but one ending throughout all Cases, as Frugi, nequam, nihil; and all words of number from three to a hundred, a•…•… quatuor four, quinque five, &c.

Some have but one, some two, some three Cases only, in the Singular or Plural, as use will best teach.