284 gramtflcitical disquisitions. ^ug. 29. ' 



circumstances. This will be granted ; but the con- 

 clusion is not thereby invalidated. 



It will be farther said, that in Latin, as well as 

 m Engliih, these genitives only afsume the appear- 

 ance of performing the function of a nominative, 

 •when they are joined with another noun. This also 

 will be admitted without altering the conclusion. 



It may be farther objected, that adjectives, in some 

 cases, are so joined with other nouns, as to become a 

 part of the proper name of certain objects ; such as 

 long-JJjanks, strong-how, red-head, and others. This 

 also IS admitted. And what are we hence to infer ? 

 merely that names, properly so called, are often com- 

 pounded of different elements, which, as in chemis- 

 try, coalesce, and form a new mixt, differing in qua- 

 lities from the simple elements of which they are 

 compounded: and if some of these elements can ne- 

 ver be exhibited in a separate form, there will be 

 nothing new in this circumstance*. 



From the foregoing considerations, I presume it 

 will be admitted, that that clafs of Englifh words 

 which has been usually called inflected genitives, are 

 only, in some particular cases, equivalent in sense to ' 

 the Latin genitive case : that many other words have 

 the same genitive, or, according to Dr Lowth, pof- 

 sefsive signification, wliich never have been called ei- 

 ther genitives, or pofsefAves : that other words arc 

 found in abundance, which have a dative or ablative 

 signification, though they have never obtained .the 



* The termiration, cr, is 3 pir'.kuhr cascof th's k'.ni, Londoner, JJKgfr, ■ 

 p-aier. 



