the one thing approaches nearer to fullness or perfection than another, presupposing that neither of the things is absolutely full."-GRANT's Grammar, p. 54.

COMPARATIVE ETYMOLOGY.

§ 277. In the Classical and the Anglo-Saxon languages, adjectives were declined. The following is the declension of god (good) in the Anglo-Saxon:

These inflections have, in the modern English language, been all dropped, and in place of them we have the word good in a single form.

NUMERALS.

§ 278. NUMERALS express the relation of number and quantity. Hence, like pronouns, they are form-words or relational words, and not, like adjectives, proper notional words. In the Beckerian system of grammar they are regarded as a distinct part of speech. In our common grammars they are referred to under the heads of abstract nouns, numeral adjectives, and numeral adverbs. But they differ, like pronouns, from common substantives, adjectives, and adverbs, in that they respect not some inherent quality or attribute of substances, but only an external relation, namely, that of quantity.

IMPORTANCE.

§ 279. The importance of this class of words is evident from the consideration that quantity as distinct from quality is one of the general categories, or fundamental principles of human knowledge. Their importance in logic is also evident, from the late discussions of Sir William Hamilton in respect to the quantification of the subject and the predicate. The small space allotted to numerals in common grammars shows that the old

arrangement is not adapted to develop fully the nature of this class of words.

CLASSIFICATION.

§ 280. I. CARDINAL NUMERALS, or Cardinals, which express number in its simplest form, and answer the question How many? as, One, two, three, four, and so on indefinitely. These express the repetition of a substance in space, and are properly attributive. The word one is naturally singular. The rest are naturally plural.

1. Abstract Numerals, expressed either by the preceding numbers used substantively; as, The ones, the tens; by words derived from the Latin; as, Unity, trinity; or by words derived from the Greek; as, Monad, duad.

2. Distributive Numerals (comp. Lat. bini, trini); as, One by one, two by two, by fifties. These are expressed in English only by adverbial phrases.

3. Iterative Numerals; as, Once, twice, thrice. These are the genitives of the abstract numerals used adverbially. The series is continued by means of adverbial phrases; as, Four times, five times; and answers to the question How often?

II. ORDINAL NUMERALS, or Ordinals, which denote a series, and answer the question Which one in the series? as, First, second, third, fourth. The ordinal first is a superlative form derived from the root fore. The word second, contrary to the analogy of the other ordinal, is derived from the Latin secundus. The remainder of the ordinals are derived from the cardinal numerals by the addition of the sound of th, subject to slight variations. In third th becomes d. In fifth the vowel is shortened. In third there is the transposition of the letter r.

Adverbs of order are derived, for the most part, from the preceding, by means of the adverbial affix ly; as, Firstly, or, what is better, first, secondly, thirdly, &c., and lastly. In the higher numbers it is necessary to use an adverbial phrase; as, In the eleventh place, in the twelfth place.

III. MULTIPLICATIVE NUMERALS, or Multiplicatives, which show the number of parts of which a whole is composed, and answer the question How many fold? as, Single, double, triple, or treble, four-fold or quadruple.

IV. PARTITIVE NUMERALS; as, Half, a third, a quarter, or fourth part. They are mostly used as substantives.

V. INDEFINITE NUMERALS; as, Many, few, some, all, much, less, several, whole, enough, other, another, only, alone, more, any, none, aught, naught, something, nothing, somewhat, &c. VI. INDEFINITE QUANTITATIVES; as, Great, little, some, all. They are taken, for the most part, from the indefinite numerals, sometimes by different words; as, Great and little, or large and small (comp. many and few); sometimes by a different construction; as, Some water (comp. some men); all the house (comp. all houses).

The indefinite numerals and quantitatives form antitheses; as, Many opposed to few; great to little; large to small; all

to some.

COMPOUND NUMERALS.

§ 281. In COMPOUND NUMERALS of the ordinal series, it is only the last number that takes the ordinal termination; as, The thirty-third year; the five hundred and twenty-fifth year. We may compare this with our mode of adding a genitive termination to such phrases as the King of England: the King of England's crown. As we consider King of England a sort of compound substantive, and add the mark of the genitive to the end of it, so we consider five hundred and twenty-five a compound adjective, and are satisfied with having the mark of its class put on to the end. When units are combined with tens, they are placed either first, with "and," or last, without "and" (four-and-twenty, or twenty-four); but after a hundred the smaller number is always last; as, A hundred and twenty-four.

PLURAL FORM S.

§ 282. CARDINALS take the plural form, though all except one are naturally plural.

"We are not to stay altogether, but to come to him where he stands by ones, by twos, and by threes."-SHAKspeare.

Numerals are usually classed with adjectives, and called numeral adjectives. Like pronouns, they can be divided, according to their signification and form, into substantive, adjective, and adverbial numerals; as, A hundred; ten men; tenthly.

QUESTIONS UNDER CHAPTER III.

1. Give the two definitions of an adjective, and the derivation of the term. 2. What does it denote, and why is it called a noun adjective?

3. Mention the several classes of adjectives.

4. What is a proper adjective, and what is a common adjective?

5. What is a numeral adjective, and what is a pronominal adjective?

6. What is a participial adjective, and what a compound adjective? 7. Mention other classifications, with examples.

8. How many degrees of comparison have adjectives that denote variable quantities, and what are they?

9. In terminational comparison, how is the positive expressed? how is the comparative expressed? how is the superlative expressed?

10. What is said of compound comparison? and of diminution of quality? and of the termination ish? and of the number of varieties of quality?

11. Give an instance of irregular comparison, in which different words are employed.

12. Give instances of irregular terminations in comparison.

13. Give instances of defective comparison?

14. What is said of comparison by intensive words?

15. What is said of adjectives not admitting comparison?

NUMERALS.

16. What do numerals express? what kind of words are they? and what is said of their importance?

17. Which are the cardinal numerals? what do they express? and what question do they answer?

18. Which are the ordinal numerals? what do they denote? and what question do they answer?

19. Which are the multiplicative numerals? what do they denote? and what question do they answer?

20. Which are the partitive numerals, and the indefinite numerals? 21. Which are the indefinite quantitatives, and the compound numerals? 22. What is said of plural forms?

CHAPTER IV.

THE ARTICLE.

$283. The ARTICLE is a part of speech serving to reduce a noun substantive from a general to a particular signification It is a question whether the words AN and THE should be regarded as a distinct part of speech, called the article, or should be classed with adjectives. An is very closely related in origin and power to the word one, a numeral adjective. The, both in its original and its present power, is closely related to the word that, a pronominal adjective. It is convenient to class them as a distinct part of speech.

RELATION OF THE ARTICLES TO THE PROPOSITION.

§ 284. Still, though they agree severally with one and that, they also differ from them. They can not, either of them, like one and that, form the predicate of a proposition. Nor can ei ther of them stand by itself as the subject of a proposition. The can enter into a proposition only as the sign of definite ness; as, The man is mortal. An or a can enter into a proposition only as a sign of indefiniteness; as, A man is mortal. The article can be only a secondary part of speech.

§ 285. 1. The article AN is the Anglo-Saxon án, the Scotch ane, the Latin unus, and the numeral one. But, though it is the same in derivation as the numeral one, it differs from it in meaning. A man is more indefinite than one man. an can not be used by itself; the word one can. say "He sold one," but not " He sold a."

The word

Thus we can

2. In the Anglo-Saxon, an was used before consonantal sounds as well as vowel sounds. In the English language the n is omitted before consonantal sounds and retained before vowel sounds; as, A man, an eagle, a heart, an hour, a union, The last two words commence with consonantal

a oneness.