Diex (Dieu) commanda que on amast son proisme (prochain) comme soimesme. (BEAUMANOIR, 13th cent.)

(c) We find side by side with u, and x added:
Car ma foy mes chevaulx se lasse.

(E. DESCHAMP, 15th cent.)

Il est ravy trop plus hault qu'aux tiers cieulx.

(A. CHARTIER, 15th cent.)

Out of such confusion naturally have come modern rules in which the confusion is still felt.*

Words in

1. al in the singular have aux generally, sometimes als

§ 211. Z final in Substantives and Adjectives.

As, unlike s or x, the letter Z is no longer added as a distinctive mark of the plural, it will be sufficient to say (1) that it is the Burgundian and Norman equivalent for the Picardian s, and (2) that what has been said of s applies to z. In Old French it seems to have arisen from a greater softness of pronunciation in the former dialects.

§ 212. The "rule of s" in Adjectives and Participles. 1. Ordinary adjectives and participles were subject to the "rule of s:"

On doit croire que chascuns est bons, dusqu'a tant que li contraires est proves. (BEAUMANOIR, 13th cent.)

2. The modern forms, beau, bel, beaux; nouveau, nouvel, nouveaux; fou, fol, fous; mol, mous; vieux, vieil, etc., retain fragmentary traces of the conflicting orthography shown in § 210. The use to which they are now put is explained elsewhere (§ 147).

Biaus tres dous fils fait elle.

(Berte, 13th cent.)

Par un jour si tres bel qu'il ne plent et ne vente.

* See § 148.

Id.

It is to this irregular use of x that we must refer the forms croix, noix, etc. Even in verbs we have traces of it: je peux, je veux.

Articles, Possessive, Demonstrative Pronouns, etc., are spoken of in their place.

Si vit ung songe en mon dormant, qui moult fut biax et moult me plot.

Li noviaus empereres seroit couronnes.

Il est noviax nes.

(Rose, 13th cent.)

(VILLEHARDOUIN, 13th cent.) (BEAUMANOIR, 13th cent.)

Dont parleroit et li fol et li sage. (Ronc., 12th cent.)
Si aturned (s'arrangea) un mol mangier devant lui.

As fous et as feluns.

(Rois, 12th cent.) (Thomas le Martyr, 12th cent.)

(Renard, 12th cent.)

(Dui) vilain . . . qui tant me donerent de cous que tous

les costez (j') en ai mous.

Et ainsi il croient le vieil de la montagne

Et li viaux hom li dist.

(JOINVILLE, 13th cent.) (Merlin, 13th cent.)

§ 213. Infinitives, etc., used as Substantives.

From long usage some infinitives have become common substantives: les diners, les soupers, les êtres, etc.

La Fontaine has employed le dormir, le manger, and le boire. He has on his side the example of Old French, where we find dormir, jeûner, penser, plaindre, etc., etc., with the usual two

cases:

Ses ieux, son vis (visage), qui de joie sautele, son aler, son venir, son beau parler et son gent maintenir,

(Coucy, 13th cent.)

Icis venirs, icis alers, icis veilliers, icis parlers, font ces amans.

(La Rose, 13th cent.)

Car bel parler souvent refraint un cœur felon.

(Guescl., 14th cent.)

§ 214. Irregularities in the formation of the Plural arising from the vocalisation of 1.

The of many Latin words has been changed into 'u' in its passage into Modern French. This vocalisation began in the twelfth century. It has been only partial, and in most cases we have from a common root some forms in 7 side by side with the forms in u.

Au, à l'; du, de l'; ils, eux; cheveu, chevelure; vieux, vieil; cieux, ciels; cheval, chevaux; résoudre, résolvant, etc., etc.

In addition to the variations in the particles, substantives, adjectives, verbs, which have been already given, the following irregularities have their origin in the vocalisation or non-vocalisation of l.

A.

Substantives and Adjectives with Plural in -als.

The following substantives take -als; many of them are rare: several are not of Latin origin :—

Aval, bal, cal, cantal, caracal, carnaval, cérémonial, chacal, festival, galgal, narval, nopal, pal, régal, s.real, val.

The greatest difficulty arising from the partial adoption of u for occurs in the plural of adjectives in -al, of which there are between two or three hundred. Most of these change al into aux, but the plural of many of the remainder is very doubtful. The following certainly form their plural in als :

Amical, bancal, fatal, final, frugal, filial, glacial, initial, labial, matinal, médial, naval, pascal, pénal, théâtral.*

The list given above is Bescherelle's. It has one great merit, it is short. The Academy, and after it Poitevin, Chapsal, etc., give much longer lists. Jullien declares that many even of the above cannot have a plural. Littré recommends the form aux in almost every case.

The persistence in Modern French of the form als may perhaps be thus explained: (a) Many adjectives, from their meaning, have not been employed except by writers who, aware of their Latin origin, have preferred the spelling which best recalled the etymology, the form in -als. They have preferred a 'learned' form to a 'popular' one (§ 37). (b) Again, there are certain adjectives which are mostly used (1) with nouns that, from their meaning, scarcely admit of plural; (2) with feminine nouns. If perchance an author wishes to use the masculine plural of such an adjective, he would prefer the form in als as having the sound to which his ear is most accustomed, viz., the sound now represented by al, als, ales. But these motives would not influence all. It is amusing to see the constant dispute about these unfortunate adjectives in al. It is a dispute of old standing, and has been even thought worthy of the ridicule of the stage. See Le Mercure Galant, BOURSAULT.

Lemare gives a lively sketch of the quarrel :-" Grand tumulte parmi les grammairiens à cette occasion; l'Académie elle-même ne peut se faire entendre. Buffon a dit: des habitants brutaux, des mouvements machinaux; Jean-Jacques: des compliments triviaux; Regnard: des liens conjugaux; l'Académie des offices vénaux, tandis qu'elle rejette tous les mots précédents. M. Chapsal qui cite et adopte les examples ci-dessus se glisse dans la mêlée et augmentant le désordre il veut qu'on dise: les sons nasals, les soins filials, les ciseaux fatals. Le Tellier s'accourt, s'escrime à droite et à gauche, s'attaque aux habitants brutaux de Buffon, arrête ses mouvements machinaux, rit des compliments triviaux de JeanJacques, foule aux pieds les liens conjugaux de Regnard, étouffe les sons nasals de M. Chapsal, et sans respect pour l'autorité qui tient notre langue en tutelle, proscrit ses offices vénaux. Quel parti prendre dans une aussi grande affaire. Celui de l'analogie ou s'abstenir lorsqu'on craint de choquer l'oreille par un son tout à fait inusité."—Few authors have courage to act otherwise.

B.

Substantives with two forms for the plural: -1s, -ux.

Most of these modern distinctions in meaning have little to justify them either in the history of the use of the words, or in their etymology.

(1) Aïeul; aïeuls, and aïeux (L. L. aviolus).

The plural aïeuls is confined to the strict meaning, grandfather or grandmother: as, Il est mort avant ses aïeuls.

So bisaïeul and trisaïeul.

The more common form aïeux is only used in the sense of ancestors.

(2) Ciel, ciels, and cieux (colum).

The plural ciels is only found in such figurative senses as-
Les ciels de ces tableaux. The skies of these pictures.
In the sense of climate, ciels or cieux may be employed.

(3) Eil, ails, and yeux (oculus).

The plural yeux is always employed even in a figurative sense, when there is no danger of a mistake (!) being made between that figurative sense and the literal one :

Un fromage qui est rempli d'yeux.

A cheese which is full of holes,

Dans cette maison il y a beaucoup d'œils-de-bœuf.
In that house there are many round windows.

(4) Travail (work); travails and travaux (trabaculum). The plural travails is only used in the rare senses of (a) Wooden frames, used to prevent horses from kicking whilst they are being shod. This is its literal meaning. (b) Official reports, as

Ce ministre a eu plusieurs travails cette semaine avec le roi.

(5) Ail (garlic); ails and aule (allium).
The plural aulx (see § 210, 5, c) is almost obsolete.

(6) Bétail; bestiaux.

(Acad.)

Bétail (cattle) has for plural bestiaux. The old form of the substantive was bestial, which is now only used as an adjective.

§ 215. Proper Names.

"A proper name may be accidentally employed as a common substantive, and is then capable of flexion.” (§ 150.)

In this natural use of proper names we have the origin of a large number of common nouns.

Some come from an historical source; others from the names of inventors, or of the place where the invention was made, etc. Many have been, as a matter of course, altered more or less in form.

Brake, trave. (GASc.)

§ 216. The plural article is often put in an emphatic way before proper names, without any idea of plurality.

Les Bossuet, les Racine ont été la gloire du siècle de Louis XIV. (LITTRÉ.)

Les expressions heureuses qui font l'âme de la poésie et le mérite des Homere, des Virgile, des Tasse, des Milton, des Pope, des Corneille, des Racine, des Boileau. (VOLTAIRE.)

Guidé par nos maîtres les Villemain, es Ampère, les De Nisard, les Ph. Charles, nous avons tâché de joindre le résultat de nos recherches personnelles au souvenir de leurs savantes leçons. (DEMOGEOT.)