William Shakespeare: The Merry Wives of Windsor

ACT IV. SCENE 1. The street. (continued)

EVANS.
No, it is 'lapis'; I pray you remember in your prain.

WILLIAM.
Lapis.

EVANS.
That is a good William. What is he, William, that
does lend articles?

WILLIAM.
Articles are borrowed of the pronoun, and be
thus declined: Singulariter, nominativo; hic, haec, hoc.

EVANS.
Nominativo, hig, hag, hog; pray you, mark: genitivo,
hujus. Well, what is your accusative case?

WILLIAM.
Accusativo, hinc.

EVANS.
I pray you, have your remembrance, child.
Accusativo, hung, hang, hog.

QUICKLY.
Hang-hog is Latin for bacon, I warrant you.

EVANS.
Leave your prabbles, 'oman. What is the focative
case, William?

WILLIAM.
O vocativo, O.

EVANS.
Remember, William: focative is caret.

QUICKLY.
And that's a good root.

EVANS.
'Oman, forbear.

MRS. PAGE.
Peace.

EVANS.
What is your genitive case plural, William?

WILLIAM.
Genitive case?

EVANS.
Ay.

WILLIAM.
Genitive: horum, harum, horum.

QUICKLY.
Vengeance of Jenny's case; fie on her! Never
name her, child, if she be a whore.

EVANS.
For shame, 'oman.

QUICKLY.
YOU do ill to teach the child such words. He
teaches him to hick and to hack, which they'll do fast
enough of themselves; and to call 'horum'; fie upon you!

EVANS.
'Oman, art thou lunatics? Hast thou no understandings
for thy cases, and the numbers of the genders? Thou
art as foolish Christian creatures as I would desires.