[§ 276]. A noun is a word capable of declension only. A verb is a word capable of declension and conjugation also. The fact of verbs being declined as well as conjugated must be remembered. The participle has the declension of a noun adjective, the infinitive mood the declension of a noun substantive. Gerunds and supines, in languages where they occur, are only names for certain cases of the verb.
[§ 277]. Although in all languages the verb is equally capable of declension, it is not equally declined. The Greeks, for instance, used forms like
| τὸ φθονεῖν | = invidia. |
| τοῦ φθονεῖν | = invidiæ. |
| ἐν τῷ φθονεῖν | = in invidia. |
[§ 278]. Returning, however, to the illustration of the substantival character of the so-called infinitive mood, we may easily see—
α. That the name of any action may be used without any mention of the agent. Thus, we may speak of the simple fact of walking or moving, independently of any specification of the walker or mover.
β. That, when actions are spoken of thus indefinitely, the idea of either person or number has no place in the conception; from which it follows that the so-called infinitive mood must be at once impersonal, and without the distinction of singular, dual, and plural.
γ. That, nevertheless, the ideas of time and relation in space have place in the conception. We can think of
a person being in the act of striking a blow, of his having been in the act of striking a blow, or of his being about to be in the act of striking a blow. We can also think of a person being in the act of doing a good action, or of his being from the act of doing a good action.
[§ 279]. This has been written to show that verbs of languages in general are as naturally declinable as nouns. What follows will show that the verbs of the Gothic languages in particular were actually declined, and that fragments of this declension remain in the present English.
The inflection of the verb in its impersonal (or infinitive state) consisted, in its fullest form, of three cases, a nominative (or accusative), a dative, and a genitive. The genitive is put last, because its occurrence in the Gothic languages is the least constant.