[16.] Lex Repetund. “ceivis romanus ex hac lege fiet, nepotesque — ceiveis romanei justei sunto.” Cf. Egger, Lat, Serm. Vetust. Reliq., p. 245. Meunier, in Mémoires de la Societé de Linguistique de Paris, vol. i. p. 34.
[17.] Still used as long by Plautus; of. Neue, Formenlehre, ii. p. 340.
[18.] In old Latin the termination of the first person singular was em. Thus Quintilian, i. 7, 23, says: “Quid? non Cato Censorius dicam et faciam, dicem et faciem scripsit, eundemque in ceteris, quæ similiter cadunt, modum tenuit? quod et ex veteribus ejus libris manifestum est, et a Messala in libro de s. littera positum.” Neue, Formenlehre, ii. p. 348. The introduction of feram, originally a subjunctive, to express the future in the first person, reminds us of the distinction in English between I shall and thou wilt, though the analogy fails in the first person plural. In Homer the use of the subjunctive for the future is well known. See Curtius, Chronologie, p. 50.
[19.] Historically the i in tuleritis should be long in the subjunctive of the perfect, short in the future.
[20.] Bleek, On the Concord, p. lxvi.
[21.] In δώ-σω, for δωσίω, the i or y is lost in Greek as usual. In other verbs s and y are both lost. Hence τενεσίω becomes τενέσω, and τενῶ the so-called Attic future. Bopp, Vergleich-Grammatik, first ed., p. 903. In Latin we have traces of a similar future in forms like fac-so, cap-so, etc. See Neue, Formenlehre, ii. p. 421. The Epic dialect sometimes doubles the σ when the vowel is short, αἰδέσσομαι. But this can hardly be considered a relic of the original σι, because the same reduplication takes places sometimes in the Aorist, ἐγέλασσα.
[22.] See Bopp, Vergleichende Grammatik, §§ 897, 898. These verbal adjectives should be carefully distinguished from nominal adjectives, such as Sanskrit div-yá-s, divinus, originally div-i-a-s, i.e., divi-bhavas, being in heaven; ὀίκεῖος, domesticus, originally οἴκει-ο-ς, being in the house. These are adjectives formed, it would seem, from old locatives, just as in Bask we can form from etche, house, etche-tic, of the house, and etche-tic-acoa, he who is of the house; or from seme, son, semea-ren, of the son, and semea-ren-a, he who is of the son. See W. J. van Eys, Essai de Grammaire de la Langue Basque, 1867, p. 16.
[23.] Bopp, Vergleichende Grammatik, §§ 888–898.
[24.] Bacon, Novum Organum, i. 55.
[25.] Until a rational account of these changes, comprehended under the name of Lautverschiebung, is given, we must continue to look upon them, not as the result of phonetic decay, but of dialectic growth. I am glad to find that this is more and more admitted by those who think for themselves, instead of simply repeating the opinions of others. Grimm’s Law stands no longer alone, as peculiar to the Teutonic languages, but analogous changes have been pointed out in the South-African, the Chinese, the Polynesian dialects, showing that these changes are everywhere collateral, not successive. I agree with Professor Curtius and other scholars that the impulse to what we call Lautverschiebung was given by the third modification in each series of consonants, by the gh, dh, bh in Sanskrit, the χ, θ, φ, in Greek. I differ from him in considering the changes of Lautverschiebung as the result of dialectic variety, while he sees their motive power in phonetic corruption. But whether we take the one view or the other, I do not see that Dr. Scherer has removed any of our difficulties. See Curtius, Grundzüge, 4th ed., p. 426, note. Dr. Scherer, in his thoughtful work, Zur Geschichte der Deutschen Sprache, has very nearly, though not quite, apprehended the meaning of my explanation as to the effects of dialectic change contrasted with those of phonetic decay. If it is allowable to use a more homely illustration, one might say with perfect truth, that each dialect chooses its own phonetic garment, as people choose the coats and trousers which best fit them. The simile, like all similes, is imperfect, yet it is far more exact than if we compare the ravages of phonetic decay, as is frequently done, to the wear and tear of these phonetic suits.