Universa Philosophia

It is confirmed, because in speeches we use an indeclinable name no otherwise than as if it were declined, and we attach adjectives to it, and assign cases to it, v.g. nullum frit est in spica, spica nullum frit habet: behold frit (signifying I know not what less than a grain) is set in different cases, which doctrine is expressly handed down by Augustine, tome 1, book on grammar, near the beginning, where he says that this name, frugi, et nihil is declined through all the cases of the singular and plural with this sound of the nominative: but frugi is reckoned among indeclinables by the grammarians, which Augustine says is declined through all cases as in the nominative, which declension is called monoptote by the grammarian, as Antonius teaches, book 3, chapter 5, which the grammarians explain by an indeclinable word, as also Blessed Augustine above, although a little before he had ascribed to them all cases of the same termination. Indeed in the same place a little further down he declines neuters of the fourth declension through all the cases of the singular, which he had said a little before to be indeclinable in the singular. And so to be indeclinable is to have all cases similar, and although it is against the concept of a name to lack all oblique cases, it is not, however, against the concept to lack some: but in languages lacking oblique cases, all are found: because all end similarly, but are distinguished by prefixed articles, or adjectives, or some other mark, as is clear in the Spanish language. But if we do not find the direct cases of some names, or more oblique ones, it is not that they do not have them, but because we do not know in what way the ancients used them.