Untitled

40
may be either male or female, or in the case of a group, the reference
may be to beasts of both sexes; in other words, where the
reference to sex is wholly indefinite. This is best shown by a
long passage from Varro (L. L. IX, 55 sqq.),S3 which it will be
well to bear in mind throughout the remainder of this dissertation.
"Negant, cum omnis natura sit aut mas aut femina aut neutrum,
(non) debuisse ex singulis vocibus ternas figuras vocabulorum
fieri, ut albus, alba, album; nunc fieri in multis rebus binas, ut
Metellus, Metella ., nonnulla singula, ; dici corvum,
turdum, non dici corvam, turdam; contra dici pantheram,
merulam, non dici patherum, merulum, . . . Ad h(a)ec dicimus
omnis orationis, quamvis res naturae subsit, tamen si ea in
usu (m) non pervenerit, eo non pervenire verba; ideo equus
dicitur et equa; in usu enim horum discrimina; corvus et corva
non, quod sine usu id quod dissimilis natura(e). Itaque quaedam
al(i)ter olim ac nunc; nam et tum omnes mares et feminae
dicebantur columbae, quod non erant in eo usu domestico quo
nunc, (nunc) contra propter domesticos usus quod internovimus,
appellatur mas columbus, femina columba."
These animal words are not discussed as nouns of common
gender and of one declension, as hic or haec corvus and turdtts, hic
or haec panthera and merula. The evidence proves them unmistakably
to be epicenes. First of all let us note the testimony of
other passages on the animal names chosen. Varro himself says
(R. R. III, 5,6) :
"Turdi, qui cum sint nomine mares, re vera feminae quoque
sunt. Neque id non secutum ut esset in merulis, quae nomine
feminino nwres quoque sint."
Here, though omitting the designation epicene, he shows emphatically
that such is the usage of the words turdus and merula.
Again, corvus is defined by name as epicene (promiscuus) by
Consentius (Ars, Keil V, 30) :
"In promiscuis . . sub uno articulo uterque sexus significatur.
Nam cum dico masculino genere corvus, neque nomine
neque articulo confusionem generis separare possum: tam enim
femina quam masculus corvus masculino genere enuntiatur. Item
,. Text of Goetz and Schoell; cf. with Servius' Commentary on Donatus.
p. 1782 (Keil, IV, 408).