[THE NOMINATIVE.]
[1113.] The nominative is principally used as the subject or predicate noun of a verb or of an infinitive. Besides this use, the nominative occurs in titles, exclamations, and addresses ([1114-1123]).
[The Nominative of Title.]
[1114.] The nominative is used in inscriptions, notices, titles, or headings: as,
L · CORNELIVS · CN · F · CN · N · SCIPIO, CIL. I, 34, on a tomb, Lucius Cornelius Scipio, son (fīlius) of Gnaeus, grandson (nepōs) of Gnaeus. LABYRINTHVS HIC HABITAT MINOTAVRVS, CIL. IV, 2331, on a plan of the Labyrinth scratched by a Pompei schoolboy, The Maze. Here lives Minotaur. PRIVATVM PRECARIO ADEITVR, CIL. I, 1215, Private Grounds. No Admittance without leave. Themistoclēs, Neoclī fīlius, Athēniēnsis, N. 2, 1, Themistocles, son of Neocles, of Athens.
[1115.] The title proper of a book is often put in the genitive, dependent on līber or librī: as, Cornēlī Tacitī Historiārum Liber Prīmus, Tacitus’s Histories, Book First. Or prepositional expressions are used: as, M. Tullī Cicerōnis dē Fātō Liber, Cicero, Fate, in One Book. Cornēlī Tacitī ab Excessū dīvī Augustī Liber Prīmus, Tacitus’s Roman History from the Demise of the sainted Augustus, Book First.
[1116.] Sometimes the nominative of a title or exclamation is retained in a sentence for some other case: as, Gabīniō cōgnōmen ‘Cauchius’ ūsurpāre concessit, Suet. Cl. 24, he allowed Gabinius to take the surname ‘Cauchius;’ (compare Catō quasi cōgnōmen habēbat Sapientis, L. 6, Cato had the virtual surname of the Wise). ‘Marsya’ nōmen habet, O. 6, 400, it has the name of ‘Marsyas;’ (compare nōmen Dānuvium habet, S. Fr. 3, 55, it has the name Danube), resonent mihi ‘Cynthia’ silvae, Prop. 1, 18, 31, let woods reecho ‘Cynthia’ for me; (compare tū, Tītyre, fōrmōsam resonāre docēs Amaryllida silvas, V. E. 1, 4, thou, Tityrus, dost teach the woods to echo Amaryllis Fair).
[The Nominative of Exclamation.]
[1117.] The nominative is sometimes used in exclamations: as,
fortūnae fīlius, omnēs, H. S. 2, 6, 49, ‘the child of Fortune,’ all exclaim. This nominative is often accompanied by an interjection, such as ecce, ēn, heu, ō, prō, vāh: as, ēn Priamus, V. 1, 461, lo, Priam here. ō fēstus diēs, T. Eu. 560, oh day of cheer. For eccilla, see [667].