Noctes Atticae

Gellius, Aulus

Gellius, Aulus. The Attic Nights of Aulus Gellius. Rolfe, John C., translator. Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, 1927 (printing).

On the inflection of certain words by Varro and Nigidius contrary to everyday usage; and also a quotation of some instances of the same kind from the early writers, with examples.

I LEARN that Marcus Varro and Publius Nigidius, [*](Fr. 63, Swoboda.) the most learned of all the Romans, always said and wrote senatuis, domuis and fluctuis as the genitive case of the words senatus, domus and fluctus, and used senatui, domui, fluctui, and other similar words, with the corresponding dative ending. There is also a line of the comic poet Terence, which in the old manuscripts is written as follows: [*](Heaut. 287.)

  1. Because, I think, of that old dame (anuis) who died.
Some of the early grammarians wished to give this authority of theirs [*](That is, of Varro, Nigidius, and Terence.) the sanction of a rule; namely,
v1.p.361
that every dative singular ending in l, if it has not the same form as the genitive singular, [*](Dative singulars ending in i and having the same form as the genitive singular occur only in the fifth declension (diei, rei, etc.), except for the archaic forms of the first declension in -ai.) makes the genitive singular by adding s, as pati patris, duci ducis, caedi caedis.
Therefore,
they say,
since we use senatui as the dative case, the genitive singular of that word is senatuis, not senatus.

But all are not agreed that we should use senatui in the dative case rather than senatu. For example, Lucilius in that same case uses victu and ann, and not victui and anui, in these verses: [*](1288, Marx. )

  1. Since you to honest fare (victu) do waste and feasts prefer,
and in another place: [*](280, Marx.)
  1. I'm doing harm to the old girl (anu).
Vergil also in the dative case writes aspectu and not aspecui: [*](Aen. vi. 465.)
  1. Withdraw not from our view (aspectu)
and in the Georgics: [*](iv. 198.)
  1. Nor give themselves to love's embrace (concubitu).
Gaius Caesar too, a high authority on the Latin language, says in his Speech against Cato: [*](ii. p. 136, Dinter.)
owing to the arrogance, haughtiness and tyranny dominateu) of one man.
Also in the First Action against Dolabella, Book I: [*](ii. p. 121, Dinter; O. R. F.2, p. 410.)
Those in whose temples and shrines they had been placed for an honour and an adornment (ornatu).
[*](ii. p. 129, Dinter.) Also, in his books on analogy he decides that i should be omitted in all such forms.