The composition of the works hitherto mentioned naturally enough suggested itself to a high-priest, warrior, and politician, who was also fond of literature, and had the same command of his pen as of his sword. But it appears singular, that one so much occupied with war, and with political schemes for the ruin of his country, should have seriously employed himself in writing formal and elaborate treatises on grammar. There is no doubt, however, that he composed a work, in two books, on the analogies of the Latin tongue, which was addressed to Cicero, and was entitled, like the preceding work of Varro on the same subject, _De Analogia_. It was written, as we are informed by Suetonius, while crossing the Alps, on his return to the army from Hither Gaul, where he had gone to attend the assemblies of that province(208). In this book, the great principle established by him was, that the proper choice of words formed the foundation of eloquence(209); and he cautioned authors and public speakers to avoid as a rock every unusual word or unwonted expression(210). His declensions, however, of some nouns, appear, at least to us, not a little strange—as _turbo_, _turbonis_, instead of _turbinis_(211); and likewise his inflections of verbs,—as, _mordeo_, _memordi_; _pungo,_, _pepugi_; _spondeo_, _spepondi_(212). He also treated of derivatives; as we are informed, that he derived ens from the verb _sum_, _es_, _est_; and of rules of grammar,—as that the dative and ablative singular of neuters in _e_ are the same, as also of neuters in _ar_, except _far_ and _jubar_. It appears that he even descended to the most minute consideration of orthography and the formation of letters; Thus, he was of opinion, that the letter V should be formed like an inverted F,—thus Ⅎ,—because it has the force of the Æolic digamma. Cassiodorus farther mentions, that, in the question with regard to the use of the _u_ or _i_ in such words as _maxumus_ or _maximus_, Cæsar gave the preference to _i_; and, from such high authority, this spelling was adopted in general practice.