[Text version of illustration]
[110.5-6.] man ... hī. Here the plural hī refers to the singular man. Cf. [p. 109, ll. 18-19], ǣlc ... mōtan. In Exodus xxxii, 24, we find “Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off”; and Addison writes, “I do not mean that I think anyone to blame for taking due care of their health.” The construction, though outlawed now, has been common in all periods of our language. Paul remarks (Prinzipien der Sprachgeschichte, 3d ed., § 186) that “When a word is used as an indefinite [one, man, somebody, etc.] it is, strictly speaking, incapable of any distinction of number. Since, however, in respect of the external form, a particular number has to be chosen, it is a matter of indifference which this is.... Hence a change of numbers is common in the different languages.” Paul fails to observe that the change is always from singular to plural, not from plural to singular. See Note on the Concord of Collectives and Indefinites (Anglia XI, 1901). See [p. 119, note on ll. 19-21].
[1] = selfe.
[2] = hēo.
[3] = fīftīene.
[4] = medu.
[5] = ealu.
[6] = lęng.
[7] = sculon.
[8] = mōton.