414 
It is also governed by certain prepositions. Among 
Grammar. these there are some that are also used in such a man- 
ner as to terminate the meaning without being follow- 
ed by any noun; for example, clam “ privately,” 
and palam “ openly.” Clam Cesare is “ privately as to 
Cesar,’’ afterwards translated “ without the knowledge 
of Cesar.” It is indeed true that even such preposi- 
tions as govern the accusative are sometimes used in the 
same manner as adverbs, that is, without any subjoined 
noun. This is the case with juata and contra. But 
some difference may here be perceived; juata and contra 
always refer to some specific object previously men- 
tioned ; clam and palam may be wholly general. 
Some illustration of the ablative as compared with the 
accusative case may be derived from this consideration, 
that all the prepositions which denote that an action or 
motion terminates in the object signified by the governed 
noun, govern the accusative, as ad *‘to,” contra “ against,” 
in ‘ into ;” they have thus a general analogy to active 
transitive verbs ; while all those which denote that the 
object signified by the governed noun is the point at 
which motion commences, govern the ablative, as 
aand ab, “ from,” e and ex, “ out of ;” and, finally, those 
which denote fixed posture or condition are in their re- 
gimen distributed betwixtthese two cases. Ante “before,” 
apud “at,” secus “along,” citra ‘on this side of,”andsome 
others, govern the accusative ; while cum “ with,” pro 
“ for,” pre “before,” govern the ablative. But, though no 
uniform circumstance of syntax marks these lastmention- 
ed prepositions, some motive must have directed the per- 
sons by whom the language was modified to prefer in 
each instance one of the cases to the other. If we should 
suppose that they were derived from pre-existing verbs, 
the regimen would depend on the genius of each original 
verb. Prepositions governing the accusative are those 
which are most completely prepared. for a transition of 
thought to the noun, and thus possess the most complete 
active energy. Juata, for example, may be held equi- 
valent in force to jungentia “ joining,” apud to the word 
“ accompanying,” contra to the word “ opposing.” 
Those which govern the ablative must have been consi- 
dered as more passive, leading by a more leisurely tran- 
sition to the subsequent noun. Cum might be con- 
sidered as equivalent to “ accompanied.’? The mean- 
ings of these prepositions may be expressed either 
in an active or a passive form. Circum may be ana- 
lysed into “ surrounding,” and thus itsgoverns the ac- 
cusative, If it had originated from some such passive 
participle as “ penetrated,” it would have governed the 
ablative. This variety of syntax might sometimes be 
founded in etymology, and sometimes the result of 
arbitrary fancy. 
The Greek language has no case corresponding to 
the ablative. The use of the genitive is in that language 
extended in such a manner as to include it. The Greek 
genitive seems to have a greater similarity to the Latin 
ablative than to the Latin genitive, as the ablative is the 
least dependent of the two, and possesses the most ge- 
neral application. In Latin it is in some instances go- 
verned by a noun; a circumstance which we have not 
before mentioned, as it takes place only in particular 
phrases, as vir egregid sapientid, or vir egregi@ sapientia. 
he Greek genitive is governed by prepositions like the 
Latin ablative ; and the noun in the absolute state, which 
in Latin is put inthe ablative, isin Greek in the genitive, 
In this latter language therefore we are left to infer from 
the connection whether the meaning of the. geni- 
tive case or one of those applications which in Latin are 
assigned to the ablative is attached to it in each parti- 
GRAMMAR. re 4 
cular instance. The only meaning proper to it is the Un 
general one of concomitance; and it may be either a S™# 
concomitance with an object expressed by a noun, or, 
like the ablative, it may be concomitance with an idea 
expressed by an adjective, a preposition, or a verb. 
In the French and English languages, the noun is Thee 
subjected to very few variations corres; ing to cases. pi 
We have the genitive in s with an , which ).., 
is sometimes called the ive case. In the pro- ~ 
nouns “ I,” * thou,” “he,” and their plurals, we have one 
variation, consisting in a case equivalent to the Latin 
accusative, and technically the objective case; as 
“me,” “thee,” and “him.” It isby means of thisform, - 
preceded by the prepositions “ of” and * to,” that the 
nitive and dative in Latin are translated; and by 
different other prepositions suited to each occasion, we 
express a variety " a ae which in Latin are in- 
discriminately, and with less particular meaning, ex< 
pressed by the ablative. In the French languages 
the nouns je and éw have in like manner moi and toi 
their objective cases. Moi in that is even 
used where the nominative would be used in ish, as 
c'est moi for ‘it is 1.” Hence some have described moi as 
a rete noun, being a ot the English peasy ob- 
jective form. In the use ngli Pp 
sons who have not been taught to adhere paveagtigies 
grammatical rules, sometimes say “ it is me,’’ instead 
of “itis I? It is probable that this was ene y a 
legitimate use of the word, and that the establishment 
of a contrary rule has proceeded from a forced ica- 
tion of a Latin idiom. Even moi in French is aa 
as a nominative to a verb. The French do not say 
moi parle or mot fais. It is only that sort of nominative 
which follows the substantive verb. (We do not here 
speak of that subsequence in mere arrangement which 
indicates interrogation, and depends on inversion, in 
which the nominative always follows the verb, as in 
suis je; and we do not think, that any attentive read- 
er would have taken such an a against our 
views, though we had not stated this circumstance. 
Those who would have been so disposed may object to 
several others which the limits of this article do not 
allow us te defend against every slight exception. We 
here speak of that form of the noun which follows a— 
substantive verb, after that verb has been introduced 
by its proper nominative.) a 
This application * the Mer after the substantive in the 
verb is uliar, and might with as great propriety follo 
have a Sealine form assigned to it as those which are the sut 
expressed by cases. It has not an appropriate form, bes "V& 
cause it is of less frequent recurrence. In Latin, it is 
put in the nominative. In French it is putin the objec. 
tive case, being treated as a state of the noun introduced 
(or governed) by the substantive verb. In English we 
now adopt the Latin idiom, But, while our language 
was unfixed, it certainly would have been equally na- 
tural to have followed a similar usage.to that of the 
French, \ ch 
CHAP. V. 
Of Adjectives. 
Secr. I. The Nature of the Adjective. _ 
Tue impropriety of considering adjectives as intended Adjeci 
to express our ideas of qualities, in contradistinction to do no 
our ideas of substances, has been already pointed out, om, 
The only objects known to us are qualities,and therefore {).° iy 
this distinction has no foundation in: nature. Qua- expre 
lties habitually conjoined, and forming definite assem 
° 
