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Show Nom Magiftri Gen Magiftrorum Dat Magittris Acc. Magiltros "Voe. Plural Mafters of Mafters, Abl Magiftris rhe Mafters of the Ma#ers Matters zhe Malters Mafters ‘© Matfters from Mafters Gen Gen o lower, lowef?5 high, higher, higheft Some words are" frrégularly compared; as good, batter, bept Srom the Mafters Qur nouns are therefore only decline Mafter Scholar The Comparifon of Adjedives n d a b e r f i e i c j a The comparative degree o the fuperlative by a(%cling ¢, to the pofitive; az. Sair, falrer fairet5 lovely, lovelier, lovelig#s fuweet, fweeter, fveeteft; Iy to Mafters, ;7o the Mafters <Magiitf Mafters Scholars bad, worfe, aworft thus Pluy Plur latef Mai'cers Scholars infolencey the multitude's folly5 in all thefe cafes it is apparent that Ais cannot b We fa likewife zhe Soundation's Prength little mext5 mych nearer near lefs, lea/i more, moft ; mazzzy (or moe), . more (‘for moer) s moft (for moeft) ; lnte Thefe genitives are always written with a mark of elifion, maffer's, _fcba/ar": deeording to an opinion long received, that the's is a contrattion of Ais, a8 th Joldier's walour, for the foldier his walour: but this cannot be the true original becaufe *s is put to female nouns, Woman's beauty5 the Virgin's delicacy; Haugb{ Juno's wnrdlenting bate: and colle@ive nouns, as Wosmen's paffions, the rabble' underftood OFTH GRAMMA the diamond's lufire, the o laf? lalg'gme fompa{itives form a fuperlative by adding mop, nether, nethermoft; buler,fouier;z}q/} 5 under, undermoft 5 up, upper ) FOVEIOfTy [OR fore %/ n0fLs '{o uf s ILE met':ié added to afubftantive, as zopmoft, Southmop Many adje@tives do not admit of comparifon by terminations and are only compared by more and 7oft, as benevolent, mor benevolent moft benevolent avinter's Jewerity5 but in thefe cafes his may be underftood; be and his havin All adje@ives may be compared by more and moff, even whe formerly been applied to neuters in the place now fupplied by it and ifs they have comparatives and fuperlatives regularly formed; a The learned and fagacious Wallis, to whom every Englifh grammarian owes tribute of reverence, calls this modification of the moun an adjcfii-vvpojgfiv{; fair; fairer, Or more fair s faieft, O maoft fair I think with no more propriety than he might have applied the fame to the genitive in equitun decus, Troje oris, or any other Latin genitive. Dr. Lowth, on th In adje@ives that admit a regular "cbmparifon, the _cgm‘p:i'rative ‘mare%is ofterne other part, fuppofes the pofleffive pronouns mine and thine to be geniti ve ca‘fes. ufed than the fuperlativée moff, as more fair is oftener written for fairer, than mif This termination of the houn feems to conftitute a real genitive indicating fair for faireft - poffeffion. - It is-derived to us from thofe who declined ymid, a fmith; Gen fmider, of a fmith; Plur. pmider, orpmidar, fmiths; and fo in two other o their feven declenfions It is a further confirmation of this opinion, that in the old poets both th genitive and plural were longer by a fyllable than the original word; knitis, fo night's, in Chaucer; Jeawis, for leawes, in Spenfer Fg When a word ends in's, the genitive may be the fame with the nomtinative, a Yenus temple The plural is formed by adding s, as table, tabless fly, flies Sifter, fiffers 5 avood awoods ; or es where s could not otherwife b {founded, as after ¢4, s, /%, x, = ; after ¢ founded like s, and like ;7 ; the mute¢ 1s vocal before s, as lance, lances; odtrage 0m‘rage.r The formation of ‘the plural and genitive fingular is the fame A few words yet make the plural in #, as meny wwomen anciently eyen and fhoon Teutonick dialets oxeny [wine and mor 'This formation is that which generally prevails in,th Words that end in # commonly form their plural by wes, a loaf, loawves 5 calf, calves Except a few, muff, muffs ; chief; chiefs So boofy voofy proof; relicf, mifchicf puffs cuffs dwarf, bandkerchief; grief Teregular plurals are teeth from toothy fice from loufey mice from-mou e, gecf from goofe, feet from foot, dice from die, pence from. pennys brethre from brother children from child Plurals ending in s have for the moft part no genitives ; bu we {ay, Womens excellencies, and Weigh the mens awits againff th ladies /airs Pope Dr. Wallis thinks the Lords' houfe may be faid for the houfe of Lords but fuc ph afes are not now in ufe and furely an Englifh ear rebels againft them would commonly producé a troublefome ambiguity the boufe of Lords or the boufe of 2 Lord The as the Lord's boufe may b Befides that the miark of elifion. is improper, for in the Lords® boufe nothing is cut off Some Englifh fubftantives, like thefe of many. other languages change thei termination.as they exprefs different fexes, as prince, princefs; aftor atrefs; lion lionef 5 bero, beroine T thefe mentioned by Dr. Lowth may be added arbitrefs poetefs, chauntrefs, duchefs, tigrefs, gowerncfs, tutrefs, peerefs, autho efs, traytrefs and perhaps othérs Of ‘thefe vatiable terminations we have only a fufficien number to make us feel our want; for when we {ay of a w man that.fhe is philofopbery an affronomery a builder, a aeawery a dancer, we pe ceive an impropriety in the termination which we cannot avoid 5 but w can fay that the is a -archite€ty a botanift, a fludent, becaufe thefo términations hav not annexed t them the notio of fex I words which th neceflities of life are often re quiring, the fex is diftinguifhed not by different terminations bu b di fe en names as, a bull, a cow a borfe, amare equus, equas acocky a ben times by pronouns prefixed, as a he-goat, a the-goat OF Abprectives and fome Adjeftives in the Englith language are wholly i d c i a l having neither cafe, gender, nor number and being added t fubftantives in all relations without any chang ; as 2 good wwoman, good wonen, of a good awoman 5 good man, good men, o Lood men Th comparifon of adjedive is very uncertain and bei much regulated by commodioufnefs of utterance, or agreeablenefs of found, is not eafily reduced to rules LS Monofyllables.are commonly compared Polyfyllables, or words of more than two {yllables, are feldo compared otherwife than by smore and mof?, as deplorable, mor deplorable moft deplorable " Diffyllables are feldom compared if they terminate in Jome as fulfome toilfome ing, as trifling in ful, a carcful _/;)lee{zful, dreadful ; i cbarmz';zg 3 10 ous, as porous ; n lcfi, as mre[ej.'r harmlefs5 in ed, as aretchedy in idy as candid 5 In aly as mortal in ent, as recent, fervent ; in ain, 4s cerfain; in ive, as miffive in dy, as woody; in fy as Py s ir} £y S rocky, except lucky in my, as roomy 5 in my, " as feinny 5 in py, as ropys except bagpy in ry, as hoary Some comparatives and fuperlatives are yet found in good: writers, forme without regard to the foregoing rules lately to grammar but in a language fubjeéte fo little and f fuch anomalies muft frequently occur So fkady is compared by Milron She in jbadieft covert hid Tun'd her nocturnal note An virtuous P N Paradife Loft 5 RI reil' What fhe wills to fay or do Seems wifeft; wirtnon - dife creet t ft, beft Paradife Loffs So trifling, by Rayy who isindecd of no great authority e AR It is not fo decorous, in refpet of God, that he fhould immediat l do all the meaneft and triflingeft things himfelf, without making uf o ~apy inferiot or {ubordinate minifter Ray'on'the Creation Famous, by Milton I fhall be pam'd-among the Samoufef L in all matters Mortal, by Bacon Afebam's Schodlmafler VHYO T Of women, fung at folemn feftivals Milton's Agoniftese Inwentivey by Afcham Thofe have the inventivefp heads for all purpofes, and roundeft tongue 3 baww BI Sk The mortaleft poifons practifed by the Weft Indians, have fome mix,t m‘ of the blood, fat, or'fleh of man Bacon Natural, by Wotton : X T will now deliver a few of the propereft and naturalleft confideration that belong to this piece Wottor's Architeftures Wretched, by Fonfon ' Stses The wretcheder are the contemners of all helps; fuch as p efuming o their own naturals, deride diligence, and moc derftand not things at terms when they ui= Powerfuly by Milton We have fuftain'd one day in doubtful fighty What heav''n's great King hath pow'rfull ft to fen Againtt u from about his throne Ben jeufm Paradife Loft pdee SR |