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 a Noune.

A Noune is the Name of a thing, as Manus a Hand, Do•…•… a House, Bonus Good, Pul∣ch•…•…r Fair.

Nounes be Substantives or Adjectives.

A Noun Substantive is understood by it self, as homo a man, domus a house.

An Adjective, to be well understood, re∣quireth a Substantive to be joyn'd with it, as bo∣nus good, parvus little, which cannot be well un∣derstood unless somthing good or little be either nam'd, as bonus vir a good man, parvus puer a lit∣tle boy; or by use understood, as honestum an honest thing, boni good men.

The Declining of Substantives.

NOunes Substantive have five Declensions or forms of ending thir Cases, chiefly distin∣guisht by the different ending of thir Genitive Singular.

The first Declension.

THe first is when the Genitive and Dative singular end in ae, &c. as in the Example following.

Singular.	Plural.
Nom. Voc. Abl. musa	Nom. Voc. musae
Gen. Dat. musae	Gen. musar um
Acc. musam	Dat. Abl. mus•…•…s.
	Acc. Musas

This one word familia joyn'd with pater, ma∣ter, filius, or filia, endeth the Genitive in as, a•…•… pater familias, but somtimes familiae: Dea, mu•…•…, equa, liberta, make the Dative and Ab•…•…ative plu∣ral in abus; filia and nata in is or abus.

The first Declension endeth alwayes in a, un∣less in some words deriv'd of the Greek: and is always of the Feminin Gender, except in names attributed to men, according to the ge∣neral Rule, or to Stars, as Cometo, Planeta.

Nounes, and especially proper Names deri∣ved of the Greek, have here three endings, as, es, e, and are declin'd in some of thir Cases after the Greek form. Aeneas, acc. Aenean, voc Aene•…•…. Anchises, acc. Anchisen, voc Anchise or Anchisa, •…•…bl. Anchise. Penelope, Penelopes, Penelope, Penelopen, voc. abl. Penelope. Somtimes following the La∣tin, as Marsya, Philocteta, for as and es; Philocte∣tam, Eriphylam, for an and en. Cic.

The second Declension.

THe second is when the Genitive Singular endeth in i, the Dative in o, &c.

Sing.	Plur.
Nom. Voc. Liber	Nom. Voc. Libri
Gen. libri	Gen. librorum
Dat. Abl. libr•…•…	Dat. Abl. libr•…•…
Acc. librum	Acc. libros.

Note that when the Nominative endeth in us, the Vocative shall end in e, as Dominus ô Domine, except Deus ô Deus. And those following, Ag∣•…•…us, lucus, vulgus, populus, chorus, f•…•…vius, e or us.

When the Nominative endeth in ius, if it be the proper name of a man, the Vocative shall end in i, as Georgius ô Georgi; hereto add filius ô fili, and genius ô geni.

All Nounes of the Second Declension are of the Masculin or Neuter Gender; of the Mascu∣lin, such as end in ir, or, or us, except some few, humus, domus, alvus, and others deriv'd of the Greek, as methodus, antidotus, and the like, which are of the Feminin, and some of them som∣times also Masculin, as atomus, phaselus; to which add f•…•…us the name of a disease, grossus, pampi∣nus, and rubus.

Those of the Neuter, except virus, pelagus, and vulgus (which last is sometimes Masculin) end all in 〈◊〉〈◊〉, and are declin'd as followeth:

Sing.	Plur.
Nom. Ac. Voc. Studium	Nom. Ac. Voc. Studia
Gen. studii	Gen. studiorum
Dat. Abl. studio	Dat. Abl. studiis.

Some Nouns in this Declension are of the first Example Singular, of the second Plural, as

Pergamus the City Troy, Plur. Haec Pergama; and some names of hills, as Maenalus, Ismarus, haec Isma ra; So also Tartarus, and the Lake Avernus; others are of both, as sibilus, jocus, locus, hi lo•…•…i, or haec loca. Some are of the Second Example Sin∣gular, of the first Plural, as Argos, Caelum, Plur. hi Caeli; others of both, as Rastrum, Capistrum, Filum, Fraenum; Plur. fraeni or fraena. Nundinum, & Epulum, are of the first Declension Plural, Nun∣dinae, Epulae; Balneum of both, balneae or balnea.

Greek proper names have here three endings, os, on, and us long from a Greek Diphthong. Haec Delos, hanc Delon. Hoc Ilion. The rest regu∣lar, Hic panthus, ô panthu, Virg.

The third Declension.

THe third is when the Genitive singular end∣eth in is, the Dative in i, the Accusative in om and somtimes in im, the Ablative in e, and somtimes in i, the Nom. Acc. Voc. Plural in es, the Genitive in um and somtimes in ium, &c.

Sing.	Plur.
Nom. Gen. Voc. Panis	Nom. Ac. Vo. panes
Dat. pani	Gen panum
Acc. panem	Dat. Abl. panibus.
Abl. pane

Sing	Plur.
Nom. Voc. Parens	No. Ac. Voc. parentes
Gen. parentis	Gen. parentum
Dat. parenti	Dat. Abl. parentibus.
Acc. parentem
Abl. parente

This third Declension, with many endings, hath all Genders, best known by dividing all Nounes hereto belonging into such as either increase one syllable long or short in the Geni∣•…•…ive, or increase not at all.

Such as increase not in the Genitive are ge∣nerally Feminin, as Nubes nubis, Caro carnis.

Except such as end in er, as hic venter ventris, and these in is following, natalis, aqualis, lienis, •…•…rbis, callis, caulis, collis, follis, mensis, ensis, fustis, funis, panis, penis, crinis, ignis, cassis, fascis, to•…•…is, •…•…iscis, unguis, vermis, vectis, postis, a•…•…is, and the Compounds of assis, as centussis.

But Canalis, finis, clunis, restis, sentis, amnis, cor∣•…•…is, linter, torquis, anguis, hic or haec; To these add •…•…epres.

Such as end in e are Neuters, as mare, rete, and two Greek in es, as hippomanes, cacoëthes.

Nounes encreasing Long.

Nounes encreasing one syllable long in the Genitive are generally Feminin, as haec pietas pietatis, virtus virtutis.

Except such as end in ans Masculin, as do∣drans, quadrans, sextans; in ens, as oriens, torrens, bidens a pick-axe.

In or, most commonly deriv'd of Verbs, as •…•…or, clamor; In o, not thence deriv'd, as ternio, senio, ser•…•…o, temo, and the like.

And these of one syllable, sal, sol, ren, splen, as, bes, pes, mos, flos, ros, dens, mons, pons, sons, grex.

And words deriv'd from the Greek in e•…•…, as lichen; in er, as crater; in as, as adamas; in es, as lebes; to these, hydrops, thorax, phaenix.

But scrobs, rudens, stirps the body or root of a tree, and calx a heel, hic or haec.

Neuter, these of one syllable, mel, sel, lac, sar, ver, cor, aes, vas vasis, os ossis, os oris, rus, thus, jus, crus, pus. And of more syllables in al and ar, as capital, laquear, but halec hoc or haec.

Nounes encreasing Short.

Nounes encreasing short in the Genitive are generally Masculin, as hic sanguis sanguinis, lapis lapidis.

Except, Feminin all words of many syllables ending in do or go, as dulcedo, compago, arbor, hyems, cuspis, pecus, pecudis: These in ex, forfex, carex, tomex, supellex: In ix, appendix, hi∣strix, co•…•…endix, filix. Greek Nounes in as and is, as lampas, iaspis: To these add chlamys, bacehar, syndon, icon.

But margo, cinis, pulvis, adeps, forceps, pumex, vamex, imbrex, obex, silex, cortex, onix and sardo∣nix, hic or haec.

Neuters are all ending in a as problema, in en, except hic pecten, in ar as jubar, in er these, ver∣ber, iter, uber, cadaver, zinziber, laser, cicer, siser, piper, papaver; somtimes in ur, except hic furfur, in us as onus, in ut as caput; to these, marmor, aequor, ador.

Greek proper names here end in as, an, is and eus, and may be declin'd some wholly after the Greek form, as Pollas pallados palladi pallada; others in some Cases, as Atlas, acc. Atlanta, voc. Atla. Goramas, plur. garamantes, acc. garàmantas. Pan panos pana Phyllis phyllidos, voc phylli, plur. Phyl∣l•…•…des, acc. phyllidas. Tethys, tethyos, acc. tethyn, voc. tethy. Neapolis, neapolios, acc. neapolin. Pa∣ris, paridos or parios, acc. parida or parin. Orphe∣us orpheos orphei orphea orpheu. But Names in eus borrow somtimes thir Genitive of the Se∣cond

Declension, as Erechtheus, erech•…•…hei. Cic. Achilles or Achilleus, Achillei; and somtimes their Accusative in on or um, as Orpheus Orpheon, The∣seus Theseum, Perseus Perseum, which somtimes is formd after Greek words of the First Declension Latin, Perseus or Perses, Persae Persae Persen Persae Persa.

The fourth Declension.

THe fourth is when the Genitive Singular endeth in us, the Dative Singular in ui, and somtimes in u, Plural in ibus and sometimes in ubus.

Sing.	Plur.
Nom. Gen. Vo. Sensus	Nom. Ac Voc. Sensus
Dat. sensui	Gen. sensuum
Acc. sensum	Dat. Abl sensibus.
Abl. sensu

The fourth Declension hath two endings, us and u; us generally Masculin, except some few, as haec manus, ficus the fruit of a tree, acus, por∣ticus, tribus: but penus and specus hic or haec. U of the Neuter, as gelu, genu, veru; but in the Singular most part defective.

Proper Names in os and o long pertaining to the Fourth Declension Greek, may belong best to the fourth in Latin, as Androgeos, Gen. Androgeo, Acc. Androgeon. Hic Athos, hunc Atho, Virg. Haec Sappho, Gen. Sapphus, Acc. Sappho. Better Au∣thors follow the Latin form. as Dido didonis di∣donem. But Iesus Iesu Iesu Iesum Iesu Iesu.

The fifth Declension.

THe fifth is when the Genitive and Dative Singular end in ei, &c.

Sing.	Plur.
Nom. Voc. Res	Nom. Acc. Voc. res
Gen. Dat. rei	Gen. rerum
Acc. rem	Dat. Abl. rebus.
Abl. re

All Nounes of the fifth Declension are of the Feminin Gender, except dies hic or haec, and his Compound meridies hic only.

Some Nounes are of more Declensions then one, as vas vasis of the third in the Singular, of the second in the Plural vasa vasorum. Colus, lau∣rus, and some others, of the second and fourth. Saturnalia saturnalium or saturnaliorum saturnalibus, and such other names of feasts, Poēmata poēma∣tum, Poëmatis or poëmatibus, of the second and third Plural. Plebs of the third and fifth, plebis or plebei.

The declining of Adjectives.

A Noun Adjective is declin'd with three Terminations, or with three Articles.

An Adjective of three terminations is declin'd like the first and second Declension of Substan∣tives joyn'd together after this manner.

Sing.	Plur.
Nom. bonus bona bonum	Nom. Vo. boni bonae bona
Gen. boni bonae boni	Gen. bonorum bona∣rum bonorum
Dat. bono bonae bono	Dat. Abl. bonis
Ac. bonum bonam bonum	Ac. bonos bonas bona.
Voc. bone bona bonum
Abl. bono bona bono

In like manner those in er and ur, as sacer sa∣cra sacrum, satur satura saturum: but unus, totus, so∣lus, alius, alter, ullus, uter, •…•…ith their compounds

Neuter, uterque, and the like, make thir Genitive Singular in ins, the Dative in i, as Unus una unum, Gen. unius, Dat. uni, in all the rest like bo∣nus, save that olius maketh in the Neuter Gen∣der aliud, and in the Dative alii, and somtimes in the Genitive.

Ambo and duo be thus declin'd in the plural only. Nom. Voc. Ambo ambae ambo.

Gen. amborum ambarum amborum.

Dat. Abl. Ambobus ambabus ambobus.

Acc. ambos or ambo, ambas ambo.

Adjectives of three Articles have in the No∣minative either one ending, as hic, haec, & hoc felix; or two, as hic & haec tristis, & hoc triste; and are declin'd like the Third Declension of Substantives, as followeth.

Sing.	Plur.
Nom. hic haec & hoc Felix	Nom. hi & hae felices; & haec felicia
Gen. felicis	Gen. felicium
Dat. felici	Dat. Abl. felicibus
Acc. hunc & hanc fe∣licem, & hoc felix	Acc. hos & has felices, & haec felicia
Voc. ô felix	Voc. ô felices, & ô fe∣licia.
Abl. felice or felici

Sing.	Plur.
No. hic & haec tristis, & hoc triste	Nom. hi & hae tristes; & haec tristio
Gen. tristis	Gen. tristium
Dat. Abl. tristi	Dat. Abl. tristibus
Acc. hunc & hanc tri∣st•…•…, & hoc triste	Acc. hos & has tristes, & haec tristia
Voc. ô tristis, & ô triste	Voc. ô tristes, & ô tristia.

There be also another sort which have in the Nominative Case three Terminations and three Articles, as hic acer, hic & haec acris, hoc acre. In like manner be declined equester, volucer, and some few others, being in all other cases like the Examples beforegoing.

Comparisons of Nounes.

ADjectives, whose signification may in∣crease or be diminish't, may form Com∣parison, whereof there be two degrees above the positive word it self, The Compara∣tive, and Superlative.

The Positive signifieth the thing it self without comparing, as durus hard.

The Comparative exceedeth his Positive in signification, compar'd with some other, as durior harder; and is formd of the first Case of his Po∣sitive that endeth in i, by putting thereto or and us, as of duri, hic & haec durior, & hoc durius; of dulci, dulcior dulcius.

The Superlative exceedeth his Positive in the highest degree, as durissimus hardest; and it is formd of the first case of his Positive that endeth in is, by putting thereto simus, as of duris duris∣simus, dulcis dulcissimus.

If the Positive end in er, the Superlative is formd of the Nominative case by putting to ri∣mus, as pulcher pulcherrimus. Like to these are vetus veterrimus, maturus maturimus; but dexter dextimus, and sinister sinisterior sinistimus.

All these Nouns ending in lis make the Su∣perlative by changing is into limus, as humilis, sunilis, facilis, gracilis, agilis, docilis docillimus.

All other Nounes ending in lis do follow

the general Rule, as utilis utilissimus.

Of these Positives following are formd a dif∣ferent sort of Superlatives; of superus, supremus and summus; inferus, infimus and imus; exterus, extimus and extremus; posterus postremus.

Some of these want the Positive, and are form'd from Adverbs; of intra, interior intimus, ultra ulterior ultimus, citra citerior citimus, priden•…•… prior primus, prope propior proximus.

Others from Positives without Case, as nequam nequior nequissimus.

Some also from no Positive, as ocior ocissimus. Some want the Comparative, as novus novis∣simus, sacer sacerrimus.

Some the Superlative, as senex senior, juve∣nis junior, adol•…•…scens adolescentior.

Some ending in us, frame thir Comparative as if they ended in e•…•…s, benevolus, maledicus, magnificus magnificentior magnificentissimus.

These following are without Rule, Bonus melior optimus, Malus pejor pessimus, Magnus ma∣jor maxi•…•…, Porvus minor minimus; Multus pluri∣mus, multa plurima, multum plus plurimum.

If a Vowel come before us, it is compared with magis and maximè, as pius, magis pius, maxi∣mè pius; idoneus, magis and maximè idoneus. Yet some of these follow the general Rule, as As∣siduus assiduissimus, strenuus strenuior, exiguus exi∣guissimus, tenuis tenuior tenuissimus.