"Of law, no less can be acknowledged than that her seat is the bosom of God, her voice the harmony of the world. All things in heaven and earth do her homage; the very least as feeling her care, and the greatest as not exempted from her power."-HOOKER, Eccl. Polity, book i., 16. The classical languages represented love, under the masculine gender, as a playful boy. English poets have followed their example: If for his and her, in these passages, you substitute its, or translate them into languages in which gender is formed by termination, you destroy the images, and reduce poetry and eloquence to mere prose and common discourse. GROUNDS FOR A CHOICE OF GENDER IN PERSONIFI CATION. § 249. The current statement is, that such substantives as were conspicuous for the attributes of imparting or communicating, which were by nature active, strong, and efficacious, were considered as masculine. On the contrary, such were considered as feminine as were conspicuous for the attributes either of receiving, of containing, or of producing, or which had more of the passive in their nature than of the active, or which were peculiarly beautiful or amiable. Upon these principles, the sun was considered as masculine, the moon as feminine. Besides this statement, to which there are many exceptions, it should be mentioned that the English language, derived, as it is, from the Latin and the Anglo-Saxon, seems to inherit, to some extent, the habit of both languages in respect to gender, and to retain in individual words the gender of the words from which they were severally derived. Thus natura, in Latin, is feminine; and nature is feminine in English, when personified. Winter, in Anglo-Saxon, is masculine; and winter is masculine in English, when personified. COBBETT remarks: "And you know our country folks in Hampshire call almost every thing he or she." The same seems to have been the fact with the early language-makers of the world. As we have inherited a portion of their language, so we find in our own the remains of ancient gender. NUMBERS OF NOUNS. § 250. NUMBER is the distinction between one and more than one, usually expressed by some difference in termination. There are two numbers, the SINGULAR and the PLURAL. The singular number denotes one object; as, Book, pen, a man. The plural number denotes more than one object; as, Books, pens, the men. § 251. In most nouns the plural number is, in the SPOKEN language, formed from the singular, by the addition of the sound of s in seal, or of z in zeal, or of that of the syllable ez; as, Stack, stack-s; stag, stag-s; stage, stag-es. I. The plural number of nouns is generally expressed in the WRITTEN language by the addition of the letter s to the singular; as, Chief, chief-s; pin, pin-s; key, key-s; folio, folio-s; muse, muse-s. Nouns in the SPOKEN language ending with a sound which will not unite with that s, add the sound of ez to express the plural; as, Lens, lens-es; brush, brush-es; church, church-es; box, box-es. II. In the WRITTEN language, nouns ending with s, sh, ch, x, z, add es to express the plural; as, Lens, lens-es; brush, brushes; church, church-es; box, box-es; phiz, phiz-es. Nouns ending with ch pronounced like k form their plurals by the addition of s; as, Monarch, monarchs. III. Nouns ending in y, after a consonant, change y into ies to form the plural; as, Glory, glories; vanity, vanities; col· loquy, colloquies. In the last word qu is treated as one con sonant. Formerly the singular number of this class of words ended in ie; as, Glorie, vanitie. In the formation of the plural they followed the common rule. In the process of time ie was changed into y in the singular, while the ancient form of the plural was retained. Nouns ending in i generally form their plural by the addition of es; as, Alkali, alkalies; houri, houries; salmagundi, salmagundies. IV. Nouns ending in o, preceded by a consonant, generally form their plural in es; as, Hero, heroes; cargo, cargoes; negro, negroes: es was probably used instead of s as an orthographical expedient to indicate the long sound of o. To this rule there are many exceptions; as, Cantos, centos, grottos, juntos, duodecimos, octavos, quartos, solos, tyros, mementos. Proper names form their plural by the addition of s; as, Cato, Catos; Scipio, Scipios. V. Certain nouns ending in f or fe form their plurals by changing ƒ or fe into ves; as, Loaf, loaves; wife, wives. F in the singular is changed into v in the plural, not from any difficulty in pronouncing the sound of ƒ with that of s, since they are both surd consonants, but because ƒ in the Anglo-Saxon had, in the end of words, the power of v; so that, instead of the piural form being changed, it is probable that the singular has been modified. Thus we have calf, calves; elf, elves; half, halves; leaf, leaves; loaf, loaves; self, selves; sheaf, sheaves; thief, thieves; wolf, wolves; and the Norman word beef, beeves; also life, lives; knife, knives; wife, wives. Other nouns ending in ƒ and fe are regular in the formation of the plural, namely, by the addition of s to the singular; as, Grief, griefs; staff, staffs (and staves); turf, turfs (and turves); strip, strips; fife, fifes. The original pronunciation in the SPOKEN language was that of s in the plural, but by a euphonic change the sound of surd s has been converted into that of vz sonant. VI. Certain nouns form their plurals in en or n; as, Ox, oxen; hose, hos-en. In the Anglo-Saxon, no termination of the plural number was more common than n; as, Tungen, tongues. Of this termination we have remains in the words quoted; and also in shoe, shoon; eye, eyen or eyne; house, housen; welken. VII. Certain nouns form their plurals by a CHANGe of vowel; as, Man, men, Anglo-Saxon man, men; woman, women, AngloSaxon wimman, wimmen; tooth, teeth, Anglo-Saxon toth, teth; mouse, mice, Anglo-Saxon mus, mys; louse, lice, Anglo-Saxon lus, lys; goose, geese, Anglo-Saxon gos, ges; sow, anciently sowen, swine; cow, anciently cowen, kine. Analogous to these are the following words from the Anglo-Saxon: Freond, frynd, friend, friends; feond, fynd, foe, foes; boc, bec, book, books; broc, brec, breeches; turf, tyrf, turf, turfs or turves. Mussulman, Turcoman, talisman, caiman, form their plurals by the addition of s; as, Mussulmans, Turcomans, talismans, caimans. They are not compounds of the word man. Child, § 252. Some nouns have a DOUBLE FORM of the plural. plural child-er; er is an ancient plural termination. Child-eren; -en is another plural termination; children-childeren has a double form of the plural. So brother, by a change of vowel, brether; next, by the addition of -en. As children is a double form of one sort (r+n), so peasen=pulse is a double form of another sort (s+en); pea, pea-s, pea-s-en. Chick, plural chick-en; double plural chick-en-s. Some nouns have Two PLURALS, with different significa Brothers (of the same par- Brethren (of the same so ciety). Fishes (individuals), Brother, ents), Fish, Fowl, Genius, Index, Pea, Penny, Pennies (coins), Geniuses (men of genius), FOREIGN WORDS. § 253. I. Many foreign words retain their ORIGINAL PLURALS, though the tendency of the language is to English forms. In respect to words in common use, this tendency should be en II. Certain foreign words have both an ENGLISH PLURAL and ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS. § 254. I. Some nouns have NO PLURAL TERMINATIONS: 1. Those which denote things measured or weighed; as, Rye, barley, flax, flour, tallow, cider, gold, coffee, fennel. But, to express varieties, some have plural forms; as, Sugar, sugars; wine, wines. 2. Names of abstract qualities; as, Harshness, prudence, meekness, sloth, decorum. To this there are some exceptions, as we say affinities, gravities. II. Some nouns denote PLURALITY WITHOUT A PLURAL TERMINATION; as, Horse, foot, infantry, cavalry, pulse, cattle. Collective nouns in the singular form indicate plurality when they refer to the individuals; as, "The committee were divided." In other cases they put on the plural form; as, The committees. III. Some nouns have the SAME FORM IN BOTH NUMBERS; as, Deer, sheep, trout, salmon, vermin, cannon, shot, head, sail, weight; as, Twenty weight. Cannon has sometimes the plural form, so has shot and brick. In the Saxon Chronicle it is said, "He heald that Arcebisceop-rice eighteen year." In the same work occurs the expression forty-one winter. Yet, in the |