4) Absence of Comparative Flexion.

A great number of Adjectives have no Comparative Flexion : some being incapable of it by their meaning (Incomparabilia) : merus, vernus; some unsuited to it by their form: memor, tremulus; while for others no reason can be assigned but usage.1

Among Adjectives excluded from Comparison by their form are most of those in eus, lus, uus : idoneus, anxius, arduus; (but not those in quus: antiquus, antiquior, antiquissimus).

Rare instances occur of Comparative Flexion by such Adjectives : assiduissimus, Cic.; strenuissimus Tac. And Iuvenal has 'Egregius cenat meliusque miserrimus horum,' xi. 12.

Any Adjectives, not Incomparabilia, can be modified Comparatively by the addition of the Adverb magis: 'Quid magis est durum saxo, quid mollius unda,' Ov.; and Superlatively by the Adverbs maxime, summe, also admodum, perquam, valde, and others.

vi. Comparison of Adverbs.

30 Com

parison

of Ad

1) ADVERBS in ē, ō, ě, těr, derived from Adjectives, verbs. often follow their Comparison, with Comparative Ending as, Superlative ē (ō, um) :

meritus merito
(ubertim)

uber

deservedly
abundantly uberius

meritissimō (ē)
uberrimē

'Adjectiva Incomparabilia are too numerous to be set down at full, and are indeed best learnt by reading and practice. Among them may be mentioned: (1) those which express colour, matter, time, place, nationality, descent: albus (but viridis has Compar. flexion), aureus, aestivus, campester, Romanus, paternus, &c. (2) De minutives, parvulus, vetulus, &c. (3) Compounds of e, per, sub, ve: egelidus, perfacilis, subobscurus, vesanus, &c. (many compounds of prae are comparable, as praeclarior). (4) Compounds of animus, arma, color, genus, gradus, inguen, lex, modus, sonus, somnus (but the compounds of ars, cor, mens are comparable: inertior, misericordior, dementior). (5) Compounds of fero, gero: signifer, belliger, &c. (6) Most adjectives in -ĭcus, -imus, -inus, -inus, -õrus, -īvus, -bundus, -āris, -ālis, -ilis; exceptions are, divinus, familiaris, hospitalis, liberalis, civilis, and a few more. (7) Also the following with many more: almus, canus, caducus, calvus, claudus, compos, impos, cicur, dispar, impar, ferus, fessus, gnarus, gnavus, ieiunus, lacer, lassus, mancus, mediocris, merus, mirus, mutilus, mutus, nefastus, rudis, sospes, trepidus, trux, vagus, vivus, volucer, volgaris, &c.

Comic poets invent jocular forms of Comparison: exclusissimus, ipsissimus, oculissi⚫ mus, patruissimus, ridiculissimus.

31

2) Irregular Comparison is in most forms represented adver

bially:

Magis means more in degree;' plus,

'Lucio magis carus sum :''Lucius me plus diligit.'

nuperrime

more in quantity.

SECTION IX.

Pronouns.

i. Pronouns (Pronomina).

I. A Pronoun, being a substitute for a Noun, may be
(1) Substantive: (2) Adjective: (3) Capable of being both.
2. A Pronoun may be

(a) 1st Person: (b) 2nd Person: (c) 3rd Person: (✅) Of all

Persons.

ii. Classification of Pronouns.

A. The Pronouns purely Substantival are:

1. The PERSONAL Pronouns ego, I, nos, we, of the First Person; and tu, thou, vos, ye, of the Second. 2. The REFLEXIVE Pronoun, se, himself, herself, or selves, which has no Nominative, and is always re

1

1.

to a Subject of the Third Person, Singular or

B. The Pronouns Proper purely Adjectival are: The POSSESSIVE Pronouns, which correspond to the Personal and Relative Pronouns :

with the Gentilia, nostras, of our country, vestras, of your country; cuias, of what country?

Suus, like se, is referred to a Subject of the Third Person.

C. The remaining Pronouns are Adjectival, but often used as Relational Substantives. These are:

I. The DEMONSTRATIVE Pronouns (of the Third Person):

is, ĕa, id, that (or he, she, it)
hic, haec, hōc, this (near me)

istě, ista, istud, that (near you)

illě, illa, illud, that, yon (aloof from us).

2. The DEFINITIVE Pronouns (of all Persons) : ipsě, ipsa, ipsum, self

idem, eadem, ĭdem, same.

3. The RELATIVE Pronoun (of all Persons): qui, quae, quod, who or which.

Akin to this are:

a. The INTERROGATIVE Pronouns :

quís, quid? qui, quae, quod? who or what? uter? whether of two?

b. The INDEFINITE Pronouns :

quis, quă (quae), quid; qui, quae, quod, any. uter, either of two.

c. The various COMPOUNDS of quis, qui, uter.

4. PRONOMINALIA, or Adjectives of a Pronominal nature as alius, alter, &c., talis, tantus, &c., qualis, quantus, &c., aliquantus, &c. See v.

Nom. (none).

Acc. se, or sese, himself, herself, itself, or themselves.

Gen. sui, of himself, &c.

Dat. sibi, to himself, &c.

Abl. se, or sese, &c., from himself, &c.

B. POSSESSIVE.

1) declined in Gender, Number, and Case, like bonus: meus, mea, meum, my, mine; | suus, sua, suum, his, &c., their, own; tuus, tua. tuum, thy, thine; cuius, cuia, cuium, whose.

meus has Vocative Masc. mi.1

2) declined in Gender, Number, and Case, like niger: noster, nostra, nostrum, our; | vester, vestra, vestrum, your.

The Demonstratives have no Possessives corresponding to them; but their Genitives supply the want: eius vacca, his (her) cow.

3) Gentilia (of 3rd Decl.):

nostr-as-ati-; vestr-as -ati- ; cui-as-ati-?

The affix met (self) may be appended to all the cases of ego, tu (except the Plural Genitives and the form tu itself), also to se, sibi: egomet, nosmet, temet, vobismet, semet, sibimet: often with a case of ipse added: nobismetipsis, semetipsum. Tu takes affix te, tute; also tutemet. The affix met is appended to the cases of suus, after which a case of ipse often follows: Intra suamet ipsum moenia compulere,' they drove him within his own walls, L. vi. 36. Also meamet: Sall., Plaut. The affix pte is appended to the Ablatives Sing. of the Posives: Meopte ingenio,' Plaut. Suapte manu,' with his hand, Cic. See M. Lucr. vi. 755.

only Pronouns capable of having a Vocative are tu, vos; and meus, noster.