Of the Orthographie and Congruitie of the Britan Tongue: A Treates, noe shorter than necessarie, for the Schooles — David Hume — John Shaqi
Of the Orthographie and Congruitie of the Britan Tongue: A Treates, noe shorter than necessarie, for the Schooles
David Hume · en
2. This difference we declyne, not as doth the latines and greekes, be
terminationes, but with noates, after the maner of the hebrues, quhilk
they cal particles.
3. The nominative hath no other noat but the particle of determination;
as, the peple is a beast with manie heades; a horse serves man to manie
uses; men in auctoritie sould be lanternes of light.
4. Our genitive is alwayes joyned with an other noun, and is noated with
of, or s.
5. With of, it followes the noun quhar w_i_th it is joined; as, the
house of a good man is wel governed.
6. With s it preceedes the word quherof it is governed, and s is devyded
from it with an apostrophus; as, a gud man’s house is wel governed.
7. This s sum haldes to be a segment of his, and therfoer now almost al
wrytes his for it, as if it wer a corruption. But it is not a segment of
his; 1. because his is the masculin gender, and this may be fœminin;
as, a mother’s love is tender; 2. because his is onelie singular, and
this may be plural; as, al men’s vertues are not knawen.
8. The dative is noated w_i_th to, and for; as, geve libertie evin to
the best youth and it wil luxuriat. Al men doeth for them selves; few
for a frende.
9. The accusative hath noe other noat then the nominative; as, the head
governes the bodie.
10. The vocative is the person to quhom the speach is directed; as,
quhence cumes thou Æneas.
11. The ablative is noated w_i_th prepositiones in, with, be, and sik
lyke; as, be god al thinges wer made; God w_i_th his word his warkes
began; in my father’s house are manie mansiones.
OF THE DEGREES OF COMPARISON.
Cap. 6.
1. Al nounes that wil join with a substantive ar called adjectives; as,
gud, high, hard, sueet, sour.
2. These, and al that wil admit mare and mast, are compared be degrees;
as, sueet, more sueet, most sueet.
3. Of comparison ther be thre degrees: the positive, comparative, and
superlative, if the first may be called a degre.
4. The positive is the first position of the noun; as, soft, hard;
quhyte, blak; hoat, cald.
5. The comparative excedes the positive be more, and is formed of the
positive be adding er; as, softer, harder; quhiter, blaker; hoater,
calder.
6. The superlative excedes the positive be most, and is formed of the
positive be adding est; as, softest, hardest; quhytest, blakest;
hoatest, caldest.
OF THE VERB’S PERSON AND NUMBER.
Cap. 7.
1. This for the noun. The verb is a word of al persones declyned with
mood and tyme; as, I wryte, thou wrytes, he wrytes.
2. We declyne not the persones and nu_m_beres of the verb, as doth the
latine, but noat them be the person of the noun.
3. They are noated w_i_th I, thou, and he in the singular number; we,
ye, and they in the plural.
4. The nu_m_ber is noated with I and we; thou and ye; he and they.
OF THE MOOD OF THE VERB.
Cap. 8.
1. The mood is an affection of the verb serving the varietie of
utterance.
2. We utter the being of thinges or our awn wil.