Of the Genders of Nouns
Commonly Known by the Name of
“Propria Quæ Maribus”
As the “Propria Quæ Maribus” is no joke, and the “As in Præsenti” is too much of a joke, we must do with them as we did with the verbs. Singing a song is always esteemed a valid substitute for telling a story; and the indulgence which we would have extended to us in this respect, is that universally granted to civilized society.
Let the “Propria Quæ Maribus” be turned into a series of exercises, thus, or in like manner—
Air — “Here ’s to the Maiden of Bashful Fifteen”
All names of the male kind you masculine call,
Ut sunt (for example), Divorum,
Mars, Bacchus, Apollo, the deities all,
And Cato, Virgilius, virorum.
Latin ’s a bore, and bothers me sore,
Oh how I wish that my lesson was o’er.
Fluviorum, ut Tibris, Orontes likewise,
Fine rivers in ocean that lost are,
And Mensium—October an instance supplies;
Ventorum, ut Libs, Notus, Auster.
Latin ’s a bore, &c.
We do not pretend that the mode of study here recommended, is perfectly original. The genuine Propria Quæ Maribus, and As in Præsenti, like the writings of the most remote antiquity, consist of certain useful truths recorded in harmonious numbers. It has been a question among commentators, whether these interesting compositions were originally intended to be said or sung. Analogy (we mean that derived from the works of Homer and Virgil) would incline us to the latter opinion, which however does not appear to have been generally entertained in the schools. We shall give one more specimen in the above style; and we beg it may be remembered, that in so doing, we have no wish to detract in any way from the merit of the illustrious poet in the Eton Grammar; all we think is, that he might have introduced a little more comicality into his work, while he was about it.