In the next place I will explain several cases of nouns and pronouns which have not yet come under our notice.  Sometimes a noun or pronoun may be in the nominative case when it has no verb to agree with it.

OF THE NOMINATIVE CASE INDEPENDENT.

Whenever a direct address is made, the person or thing spoken to, is in the nominative case independent; as, “James, I desire you to study.”

You notice that, in this expression, I address myself to James that is, I speak to him; and you observe, too, that there is no verb, either expressed or implied, to which James can be the nominative; therefore you know that James is in the nom. case independent, according to Rule 5.  Recollect, that whenever a noun is of the second person, it is in the nom. case independent; that is, independent of any verb; as, Selma, thy halls are silent; Love and meekness, my lord, become a churchman, better than ambition; O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not!—­For a farther illustration of this case, see Note 2, under the 5th Rule of Syntax.

    NOTE.  When a pronoun of the second person is in apposition with a
    noun independent, it is in the same case; as, “Thou traitor, I
    detest thee.”

OF THE NOMINATIVE CASE ABSOLUTE.

A noun or pronoun placed before a participle, without any verb to agree with it, is in the nominative case absolute; as, “The sun being risen, we pursued our journey.”

Sun is here placed before the participle “being risen,” and has no verb to agree with it; therefore it is in the nominative case absolute, according to RULE 6.

NOTE 1.  A noun or pronoun in the nominative case independent, is always of the second person; but, in the case absolute, it is generally of the third person.

2.  The case absolute is always nominative; the following sentence is therefore incorrect; “Whose top shall tremble, him descending,” &c.; it should be, he descending.

OF NOUNS IN APPOSITION.

Two or more nouns or pronouns signifying the same person or thing, are put, by apposition, in the same case; as, “Cicero, the great orator, philosopher, and statesman of Rome, was murdered by Antony.”

Apposition, in a grammatical sense, means something added, or names added, in order more fully to define or illustrate the sense of the first name mentioned.

You perceive that Cicero, in the preceding example, is merely the proper name of a man; but when I give him the three additional appellations, and call him a great orator, philosopher, and statesman, you understand what kind of a man he was; that is, by giving him these three additional names, his character and abilities as a man are more fully made known.  And, surely, you cannot be at a loss to know that these four nouns must be in the same case, for they are all names given to the same person; therefore, if Cicero was murdered, the orator was murdered, and the philosopher was murdered, and the statesman was murdered, because they all mean one and the same person.