Rudimenta prima grammatices, ex eruditissimis quibusque grammaticis excerpta

R V D I M E N T A ELEMENTS

Changes, as aufero I take away, indoctus unlearned. Diminishes, as subticeo I keep partly silent, subtriftis somewhat sad.

Whence is it called a preposition? From "placing before," because it is placed before other parts in speech. How? For it is either placed before a noun, as inualidus invalid: or placed before a pronoun, as per me through me: or is placed after, as mecum with me, tecum with you, fecum with himself/herself, nobifcum with us, vobifcum with you: or precedes a verb, as præfero I prefer: or an adverb, as expreffe expressly: or a participle, as præcedens preceding: or a conjunction, as abfque without: or itself, as circumcirca all around.

What is a preposition being placed before other parts of speech through composition? It is a preposition being composed with other parts of speech: as adduco I lead to, pertingo I reach through.

Can every preposition now be placed before its case, now adhere to a composite? Certainly not, but some can do this: as ad to, per through, præter except. Some always have their own case, and cannot be composed in any way: as apud at and penes in the power of. Some are always in composition, and nowhere in apposition: as are these, di-, dis-, re-, se-, am-, con-: as diduco I lead apart, diftraho I draw apart, recipio I receive back, femoueo I move apart, ambio I go around, congredior I gather together.

A C C I D E N T I A P R Æ P O S I T I O N I S ACCIDENTS OF THE PREPOSITION.
How many things happen to a preposition? One. Which? Case only. How many cases? Two. Accusative and ablative.

How many prepositions serve the accusative case? Thirty and about. Enumerate. Ad to, apud at, ante before, aduerfum against or aduerfus against, cis on this side, citra on this side, circum around, circa around, circiter about, contra against, erga towards, extra outside, inter between, intra inside, infra below; iuxta near, ob on account of, pone behind, per through, prope near, propter because of, poft after, præter except, penes in the power of, fecundum according to, fecus along, fupra above, trans across, vltra beyond, vfque up to and verfus towards.

For we say, Ad patrem to the father, apud villam at the villa, ante ædes before the house, aduerfus inimicos against enemies, cis Rhenum on this side of the Rhine, citra forum on this side of the forum, circum vicinos around the neighbors, circa templum around the temple, contra hoftem against the enemy, erga propinquos towards kin, extra terminos outside the borders, inter naues between the ships, intra mœnia inside the walls, infra tectum below the roof, iuxta macellum near the market, ob augurium on account of the omen; pone tribunal behind the platform, per parietem through the wall, prope feneftram near the window, propter difciplinam on account of discipline, fecundum fores along the doors, poft tergum behind the back, trans ripam across the bank, vltra fines beyond the borders, præter officium beyond duty, fupra cœlum above the sky, circiter annos about the years, vfque Oceanum up to the Ocean, fecus viam along the road, penes arbitros in the power of judges.

How many are those that serve the ablative? Sixteen. Which? A, ab, abs from, abfque without, cum with, coram in the presence of, clam secretly from, de from, è, ex out of, pro for, præ before, palam in the sight of, procul far from, fine without, tenus up to.

For we say, A domo from the house, ab homine from the man, abs quolibet from anyone, abfque iniuria without injury, cum exercitu with the army, coram teftibus in the presence of witnesses, clam cuftodibus unknown to the guards, de foro from the forum, è iure from the law, ex præfectura from the prefecture, pro clientibus for clients, præ timore for fear, palam omnibus in the sight of all, procul vrbe far from the city, fine labore without work, tenus pube up to the groin, which we say