W. M. Lindsay, Syntax of Plautus

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Numerals.

Unus. (M. Paul: Quaestionum Grammaticarum part. I. De ‘unus’ nominis numeralis apud priscos scriptores usu. Jena (diss.) 1884.) The colloquial use with the Superlative is frequent in Plautus (cf. Seyffert in Bursian's Jahresbericht, 1895, p. 293). Other notable uses are:

• Epid. 453 “pol ego magis unum (= quendam) quaero meas (sc. pugnas) cui praedicem”;
• Trin. 166 “unos (= tantummodo) sex dies”;
• Most. 677 “iterum iam ad unum (= idem) saxum me fluctus ferunt”;
unus populus ‘a whole people,’
• Mil. 584 “nam uni satis populo improbo merui mali”;
• Poen. 226 “sed vero duae, sat scio, maxumo uni populo quoilubet plus satis dare potis sunt”.

Some find an anticipation of the Indefinite Article of the Romance languages in a line like Capt. 482 “dico unum ridiculum dictum de dictis melioribus.”

Mille is a Neuter Noun, and takes the Genitive, e.g.

• Trin. 959 “si hunc possum illo mille nummûm Philippûm circumducere”,
• Mil. 1079 “quin mille annorum perpetuo vivunt”,
Ter. Heaut. 601 “huic drachumarum haec argenti mille dederat mutuum” (cf. Aul. Gell. 1, 16. In Truc. 485 editors change mille memorari potest to pote).