NOTE.-These accidents belong also to personal and rela tive pronouns (239).

Person.

111. Person, in Grammar, is the distinction of nouns to denote the speaker, the person or thing spoken to, or the person or thing spoken of. (120). Hence,

112. There are three persons, called First, Second, and Third.

113. A noun is in the first person, when it denotes the speaker; as, "I, Paul, have written it."

114. A noun is in the second person, when it denotes the person or thing addressed; as, "Thou, God, seest me."-" Hail, Liberty !"

115. A noun is in the third person, when it denotes the person or thing spoken of; as, "Washington was brave."-"Truth is mighty."

116. REMARK.-The third person is used sometimes for the first; as, "Thy servant became surety for the lad to my father." Gen. xliv. 32. Sometimes, particularly in the language of supplication, it is used for the second; as, “O let not the Lord be angry." Gen. xviii. 30. "Will the Lord bless us!"

Observations on Person.

117. The first and the second person can belong only to nouns denoting persons, or things personified; because persons only can speak or be spoken to. The third person may belong to all nouns, because every object, whether person or thing, may be spoken of.

118. A noun can be the subject of a verb (600), only in the third person. A noun in the first or second person is never used as the subject of a verb, but only in apposition (668) with the first or second personal pronoun, for the sake of explanation or emphasis; and sometimes in the second person, without a pronoun, as the object addressed.

119. A noun in the predicate (629), is generally, though not always, in the third person, even when the subject is in the first or second; as, "I am Alpha," etc., "who is." So with the pronouns 1 and thou; as, “I am he." Thou art the man."

120. REMARK.—Person makes no change either in the meaning or form of a noun, but simply denotes the manner in which it is used, as above stated. Moreover, as the name of the speaker, or of the person spoken to, is seldom expressed (the pronouns I and thou, we and you, being used in their stead), it seems to be a useless waste of time, in parsing, to mention the person of a noun, unless it be in the first or second person, which will not happen more than once in a thousand times. Much time therefore will be saved, and no loss sustained, if it be considered as taken for granted, without stating it, that a noun is in the third person, unless it be otherwise mentioned.

Gender.

121. Gender is the distinction of nouns with regard to sex. APPENDIX II.

122. There are three genders, Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter.

123. Nouns denoting males are Masculine; as, man, boy.

124. Nouns denoting females are Feminine; as, woman, girl.

125. Nouns denoting neither males nor females, i. e., things without sex, are Neuter; as, house, book, tree.

126. Nouns which denote either males or females, such as parent, neighbor, friend, etc., are sometimes, for the sake of convenience, said to be of the Common Gender, i. e., either masculine or feminine.

127. There are three ways of distinguishing the sexes.

128. Many masculine nouns have no corresponding feminine; as, baker, brewer, etc. and some feminine nouns have no corresponding masculine; as, laundress, seamstress, etc.

129. Some nouns naturally neuter, are often, by a figure of speech (1046, 1), converted into the masculine or feminine; as, when we say of the sun, "He is setting;" of the moon, "She is eclipsed;" or of a ship, " She sails."

130. REMARK.-This inferior species of personification, peculiar to the English language, is often used with great beauty to impart animation and liveliness to the style, without rendering it inflated or passionate. No certain rule, however, can be given as to the gender assumed, except that nouns denoting objects distinguished for strength or boldness, are usually regarded as masculine, while, on the other hand, those denoting objects noted for softness, beauty, and gracefulness, are considered feminine.

131. In speaking of animals whose sex is not known to us, or not regarded, we assign the masculine gender to nouns denoting those distinguished for boldness, fidelity, generosity, size, strength, etc., as the dog, the horse, the elephant. Thus we say, “the dog is remarkably various in his species." On the other hand, we assign the feminine gender to animals characterized by weakness and timidity; as the hare, the cat, etc.; thus, "The cat, as she beholds the light, draws the ball of her eye small and long."

132. In speaking of animals, particularly those of inferior size, we frequently consider them without sex, and use the neuter pronoun. Thus, of an infant, we say, "It is a lovely creature;" of a cat, “It is cruel to its enemy.

133. When the male and female are expressed by distinct terms,

as, shepherd, shepherdess, the masculine term has sometimes also a general meaning, expressing both male and female, and is always to be used when the office, occupation, profession, etc., and not the sex of the individual, is chiefly to be expressed. The feminine term is used only when the discrimination of sex is necessary. Thus, when it is said, "the Poets of this country are distinguished for correctness of taste," the term "Poets" clearly includes both male and female writers of poetry. But, "the best Poetess of the age,” would be said when speaking only of females.

134. Collective nouns, when the reference is to the aggregate as one whole, or when they are in the plural number, are considered as neuter; as, "The army destroyed everything in its course;" but when the reference is to the objects composing the collection as individuals, they take the gender représenting the sex of the individuals referred to.

EXERCISES.

1. What is the feminine of-Father, prince, king, master, actor, emperor, bridegroom, stag, buck, hart, nephew, friar, priest, heir, hero, Jew, host, hunter, sultan, executor, horse, lord, husband, brother, son, bull, he-goat, etc.?

2. What is the masculine of-Lady, woman, girl, niece, nun, aunt, belle, duchess, abbess, empress, heroine, wife, sister, mother, hind, roe, mare, hen-sparrow, shepherdess, daughter, ewe, goose, queen, songstress, widow, etc.?

3. Tell of what gender the following nouns are, and why.

Man, horse, tree, field, father, house, mother, queen, count, lady, king, prince, castle, tower, river, stone, hen, goose, seamstress, mountain, cloud, air, sky, hand, foot, head, body, limb, lion, tiger, mayor, countess ;—friend, neighbor, parent, teacher, assistant, guide;-sun (129), moon, earth, ship;-cat (132), mouse, fly, bird, elephant, hare.

4. Take any of the above words, and say something respecting the person or thing which it denotes, so as to make a sentence; thus, "My father is at home."