Of the Orthographie and Congruitie of the Britan Tongue Part 5

2. s.e.x is a distinction of a noun be male and female, and these are distinguished the one from the other, or both from thinges without s.e.x.

3. The one is distinguished from the other be he and she.

4. He is the noat of the male; as, he is a gud judge; he is a wyse man; he is a speedie horse; he is a crouse c.o.c.k; he is a fat wether.

5. She is the noate of the femal s.e.x; as, she is a chast matron; she is a stud meer; she is a fat hen; she is a milk cowe.

6. Nounes that want s.e.x are noated with it; as, it is a tale tree; it is a sueet aple; it is a hard flint; it is a faer day; it is a foul way.

7. In the plural number they are not distinguished; as, they are honest men; they are vertueouse ladies; they are highe montanes.

OF THE CASE OF THE NOUN.

Cap. 5.

1. Case is an affection of a noun for distinction of person; as, the corner stone fel on me; stone is the nominative case. The corner of a stone hurt me; stone is the genitive case. Quhat can you doe to a stone; stone is the dative case. He brak the stones; it is the accusative case.

Quhy standes thou stone; it is the vocative. And he hurt me with a stone; it is the ablative case.

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 fminin; 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 c.u.mes thou aeneas.

11. The ablative is noated w_i_th prepositiones in, with, be, and sik lyke; as, be G.o.d al thinges wer made; G.o.d 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.

3. The being of thinges is uttered be inquyring or avouing.

4. We inquyre of that we wald knaw; as, made G.o.d man w_i_thout synne; and in this the supposit of the verb followes the verb.

5. We avoue that q_uhi_lk we knaw; as, G.o.d made man without sinne; and in this the supposit preceedes the verb.

6. We utter our wil be verbes signifying the form of our wil, or postposing the supposit.

7. We wish be wald G.o.d, G.o.d grant, and G.o.d nor; as, wald G.o.d I knew the secretes of nature.