§ 301. Adjectival use of mien, tien, sien, and mon, ton, son. The forms mien, tien, sien, come probably from men, ten, sen, the Picardian equivalents of mon, ton, son. Men, ten, sen, were strengthened into mien, tien, sien, and gradually made de rigueur in the absence of the noun. But at first, according to the dialect, we find mon, ton, son =men, ten, sen= mien, tien, sien.+ Et uns siens chevaliers fu montes a cheval. (VILLEHARDOUIN, 13th cent.) Cette sienne resolution arresta sus bout la furie de son maistre. (MONTAIGNE, 16th cent.) § 302. Mon, ton, son, before a feminine Substantive. 1. The strange combination of a masculine attributive form with a feminine noun first arose in the 14th century. Till then the hiatus was either maintained or was avoided in the same way as in the article. La renommee de cil saint home ala tant qu'ele vint a l'apostele Innocent, et l'apostles li manda qu'il sermonnast de la croix par s'auctorite. (VILLEHARDOUIN, 13th cent.) 2. M'amie, now spelt ma mie, only remains of the better forms. Si le roi m'avait donné Et qu'il m'eût fallu quitter J'aime mieux ma mie. (MOLIÈRE.) (BÉRANGER.) Ma mie, o vous que j'adore, mais que vous plaignez toujours. * The reason for the strengthened syllable is exactly analogous to that given for me, moi, te, toi, etc. (see § 299), viz.: the necessity for a substantial form upon which to lay the tonic accent. Compare a similar diphthongaison' in verbs venir, vient; recevoir, reçoivent, etc. (§ 393.) Also in isolated words pierre (petra), hier (heri), fièrre (febris), legem (loi), etc. This conversion of the simple vowel into diphthongs seems to have begun in the Gallo-Latin of the sixth century: paedem for pedem, whence pied. See Brachet's Dict., pp. lv. (English edition.) Brachet in his Grammaire historique, p. 109, follows Diez in his derivation of mien, tien, sien. "Moi, mi; toi, tibi; soi, sibi; were mi, ti, si, in the 11th cent. "To this form the suffix en was attached, and the possessive mi-en, ti-en, si-en formed." In his Dictionary we find he gives the derivation mon=men=mien, as above. He contradicts himself. § 303. Why 'leur,' and not 'leure' in feminine. Leurs yeux étaient enflammés et leurs bouches étaient fumantes. (FENELON, 17th cent.) It will be seen by the above example that leur agrees in number with the noun, but not in gender. The reason is this: Leur is derived from illorum. In the absence of agreement the influence of the Latin idiom (illorum oculi) still shows itself. Till the 15th century, leur correctly agrees neither in gender nor in number. Toutes leur aventures. (Berte, 13th cent.) In the 15th and 16th centuries some authors write leurs; some leur. (COMMINES, 15th cent.) Les princes en leurs jeunesses. Le peuple donnant de bon cœur la disme de leur fruits et le quint de leur butîns. (D'AUBIGNÉ, 16th cent.) § 304. Cet, cette, ces, and celui, celle, ceux, celles. 1. The adverb ça (in Old French iça) in deça, ça et là, is derived from ecce and hac; the adverb ici or ci from ecce and hic. Similarly from ecce and iste are derived icist or cist; from ecce and istius, icettui or cettui; from ecce and ille, icil or cil; from ecce and illius, icelui or celui. 2. Cist or icest and cil or icil were declined with two cases like Substantives. To these cestui or icestui, cettui or icettui, celui or icelui seem to have been complementary objective forms. En cest pays (il) nous est venus confondre. Cist out (eut) dous fiz (fils). (Ch. de Rol., 11th cent.) (BENOIT, 12th cent.) Car tous les autres ne nageaient que sous le vent de cettui. (COMMINES, 15th cent.) Et de cestui fontaine avoit grand soif li profete. (ST. BERNARD, 12th cent.) Ilec (là) (ils) trouverent Guillaume de Braiecuel et cex qui avec lui etoient. (VILLEH., 13th cent.) 4. In the 14th century the subjective forms disappeared as in the Substantives, etc., and to the remaining objective cases we owe the modern words. § 305. Cet, cette, ces, celle, celles, celui, ceux,-their uses in Old, Middle, and Modern French, etc. A. In the 15th century the forms celle, celles, ceux, celui, derived from ecce, ille, which till then had been employed either adjectively or substantively (see above), began to have their modern distinctive substantive use assigned to them, ex. : Comme celle qui ne savoit a qui ni en quel pays trouver comfort. (FROISSART, 15th cent.) Ils etoient proches parents comme ceux qui estoient enfants de deux cousins. (AMYOT, 16th cent.) Rare instances of the use of celui as an adjective still occur in the 16th century. Les hommes de celui temps. (RABELAIS, 16th cent.) In the 17th century it is no longer thus employed. purposely imitates the older French in the "Plaideurs." Racine Témoin trois procureurs dont icelui Citron a déchiré la robe. B. On the other hand, the forms cet, ces, derived from ecce iste, which had likewise been employed adjectively or substantively (see above), were greatly confined to their modern adjective use. Their double employment is still seen in the 16th century; then it ceases. Que ceste soit la premiere reigle. Cet esprit rare, present des cieux. In Modern French, ce is C. (CALVIN.) (DU BELLAY.) 1. SUBSTANTIVAL. C'est beau; c'était le beau temps; ce qui est vrai doit être dit. Qu'est-ce que c'est ? ceci est fini, mais cela reste à faire, etc. 2. ADJECTIVAL. Ce roi, ce bel homme, ce héros. § 306. Ce its adjectival and substantival uses. Ce is derived from ecce and hoc (ço, iço, ice, in Old French). 1. In Old French ce was always substantival; it was not declined. It was virtually neuter. When substantival, it may be said to be so still. Que pourra-ce estre. (Ch. de Rol., 11th cent.) Ce dist li rois. (Ronciv., 12th cent.) Bien il croit que ce soit elle. (Berte, 13th cent.) 2. At the end of the 14th or beginning of the 15th century, ce began to combine with the various adjectival forms cet, ces, etc., given above, but it retained its former indefinite substantival character side by side with this adjectival use. Compare from FROISSART (15th cent.) : Les archers anglois avoient laisse en leur logis ce de harnois qu'ils avoient and Ce terme pendant vint Messire d'Artois en Angleterre. Also from COMMINES (16th cent.) : La cour, c'est a entendre le prince and Mais Dieu ne lui voulait consentir cesto grace que de recevoir ce sage conseil. 3. In the 17th century the use of the adjectival ce is fully established, side by side with the substantival: Ces flambeaux, ce bucher, cette nuit enflammée Qui tous de mon amant empruntaient leur éclat, Et ces lauriers encor témoins de sa victoire. (RACINE.) Vous avez fait de grandes choses; mais avouez la vérité, ce n'est guère vous par qui elle ont été faites. (FENELON.) § 307. Ci and là in ceci, celui-ci, etc. It is not easy, in Old French, to trace the correct force of hoc, iste and ille in Latin, but thus much seems certain :-ce, cist, cettui, etc., indicated the nearer object (this); cil, celui, etc., the more distant one. This distinction disappeared by degrees in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the adverbs ci and là were then gradually introduced in all the forms when necessary to prevent ambiguity. MONTAIGNE writes with ci : Vraiement ceulx-ci ont je ne scay quoy de plus vif. RABELAIS writes without là: Les hommes de celui temps. The following sentence illustrates well the origin of their use : On fait cecy, on fait cela, on va par cy, on va par la. (COQUILLART, 15th cent.) § 308. Declension of qui in Old French. Till the 12th century it is possible to trace distinctions of gender in qui, but such distinctions seem to have been but feebly maintained; the declensions commonly followed ran thus: Both Genders and Numbers. SUBJ.: qui (Lat. qui) OBJ.: cui indirect object of verb and also objective of preposition (Lat. cui). que direct object of verb (Lat. quem, quam, quod). Subjective. Qui mult est las, il se dort contre terre. (Ch. de Rol., 12th cent.) La dame fu au bois qui durement plora. (Berte, 13th cent.) Dites qui vaut mieux . . . loïal folie ou sage traïson. (Coucy, 12th cent.) Objective. Mesmement les povres gens cui (à qui) elle donnait vestimens furent plain de doleur et d'ire. (Roman de la Manekine.) Devers le roi de Hongrie cui (= de qui) sereur il avait a feme. (VILLEHARD., 13th cent.) Perisset le jors en cui je fui neiz. (Mor. s. Job.) |