Part 29

#nōsne hoc cēlātōs tam diū#, T. _Hec._ 645, _for us not to be told of this so long_; rarely with reversed construction: #quōr haec cēlāta mē sunt?# Pl. _Ps._ 490, _why was this hid from me?_ Accusatives of appellatives are rare: as, #omnīs mīlitiae artīs ēdoctus fuerat#, L. 25, 37, 3, _he had been thoroughly taught all the arts of war_. #interrogātus sententiam#, L. 36, 7, 1, _being asked his opinion_. Other constructions of #doctus#, and of the passive of #cēlō#, #flāgitō#, #poscō#, #rogō# and #interrogō#, may be found in the dictionary.

1172. (2.) Verbs of wishing, reminding, inducing, and accusing, and some others, also sometimes take an accusative of the person and one of the thing.

Such are #volō#, #moneō# and its compounds, #hortor# and #cōgō#; #accūsō#, #arguō#, #īnsimulō#, #obiūrgō#. The thing is usually the neuter of a pronoun or enumerative word (1144): as, #quid mē voltis?# Pl. _Mer._ 868, _what do you want of me?_ #illud tē esse admonitum velim#, _Cael._ 8, _on this point I want you to be reminded_ (1171). In old Latin, accusatives of appellatives also are thus used, and sometimes also with #dōnō# and #condōnō#.

1173. (3.) The defining accusative is sometimes combined with an accusative of the person: as, #tam tē bāsia multa bāsiāre#, Cat. 7, 9, _thee to kiss so many kisses_ (1140). But usually with an accusative of the person, the ablative takes the place of the defining accusative: as, #ōdissem tē odiō Vatīniānō#, Cat. 14, 3, _I should hate thee with a Vatinian hate_.

[Erratum: 1169 ... #cōtīdiē Caesar Aeduōs frūmentum flāgitāre#, 1, 16, 1, 1, 16, 1.]

OBJECT AND EXTENT, DURATION, OR AIM.

1174. The accusative of extent or duration, or of aim of motion is often combined with that of the object: as,

(_a._) #mīlia passuum decem novem mūrum perdūcit#, 1, 8, 1, _he makes a wall nineteen miles_ (1151). #mātrōnae annum eum lūxērunt#, L. 2, 7, 4. _the married women wore mourning for him a year_ (1151). (_b._) #Ancus multitūdinem omnem Rōmam trādūxit#, L. 1, 33, 1, _Ancus moved the whole population over to Rome_ (1157). #eōs domum remittit#, 4, 21, 6, _he sends them home again_ (1162). For other combinations, see 1138, 1198, and 2270.

THE DATIVE.

1175. The dative denotes that for or to which a thing is or is done, and either accompanies single words, such as verbs, adjectives, sometimes adverbs, rarely substantives, or serves to modify the entire sentence. It has two principal uses.

1176. I. The dative is used as a complement. Complements may be roughly distinguished as essential or optional. But these two complements are not always separated by a sharp line, and the same dative may sometimes be referred indifferently to either head.

1177. (1.) The ESSENTIAL COMPLEMENT is a dative of the person or thing added to an idea which is felt as incomplete without the dative (1180).

Thus, #pāret#, _he is obedient_, is a statement which is felt as incomplete without a dative added to denote what it is he is obedient to, in the sentence #pāret senātuī#, _he is obedient to the senate_. But when stress is put on the action merely, without reference to its bearing, such a verb may be used without a dative: as, #pāret#, _he is obedient_, _he yields obedience_.

1178. (2.) The OPTIONAL COMPLEMENT, that is, the dative of interest, advantage, or disadvantage, adds something to an idea that is already complete in itself (1205).

Thus, #carmina cantō#, _I chant verses_, is a statement entirely complete in itself; it may be modified or not, at option, by a dative, thus: #carmina virginibus puerīsque cantō#, _verses for maids and boys I chant_.

1179. II. The dative of certain substantives is used predicatively (1219).

I. THE COMPLEMENTARY DATIVE.

(1.) THE ESSENTIAL COMPLEMENT.

THE DATIVE WITH VERBS.

1180. Many verbs require a dative to complete their meaning.

WITH VERBS OF INTRANSITIVE USE.

1181. (1.) Many verbs of intransitive use, particularly such as denote a state, disposition, feeling, or quality, take the dative: as,

#quodne vōbīs placeat, displiceat mihī?# Pl. _MG._ 614, _shall that which pleases you, displeasing be to me?_ #sī Asiciō causa plūs prōfuit quam invidia nocuit#, _Cael._ 23, _if his case has been more helpful to Asicius than the hostility has been damaging_. #imperat aut servit collēcta pecūnia cuique#, H. _E._ 1, 10, 47, _for every man his garnered hoard or master is or slave_. #nōnne huic lēgī resistētis?# _Agr._ 2, 85, _will you not stand out against this law?_ #gymnasiīs indulgent Graeculī#, Traj. in Plin. _Ep._ 40 [49], 2, _our Greek cousins are partial to gymnasiums_. #īgnōscās velim huic festīnātiōnī meae#, in a letter, _Fam._ 5, 12, 1, _please excuse haste_. #huic legiōnī Caesar cōnfīdēbat maximē#, 1, 40, 15, _Caesar trusted this legion most of all_. #an C. Trebōniō ego persuāsī? cui nē suādēre quidem ausus essem#, _Ph._ 2, 27, _or was it I that brought conviction to Trebonius? a man to whom I should not have presumed even to offer advice_. In the passive, such verbs are used impersonally, the dative remaining (1034); personal constructions are rare and poetical.

1182. This dative is used with such verbs or verbal expressions as mean _am pleasing_ or _displeasing_, _helpful_ or _injurious_, _command_, _yield_, or _am obedient_, _am friendly_, _partial_, or _opposed_; _spare_, _pardon_, _threaten_, _trust_, _advise_, _persuade_, _happen_, _meet_. But the English translation is not a safe guide: many of the verbs used with a dative are represented transitively in English; and some verbs of the meanings above are used transitively in Latin: as, #dēlectō#, #iuvō#, #laedō#, &c., &c.

1183. The dative is rarely used with a form of #sum# and a predicate noun corresponding in meaning with the verbs above (1181): as, #quid mihi scelestō tibī̆ erat auscultātiō?# Pl. _R._ 502, i.e. #quid tibī̆ auscultābam?# _why did I, ill-starred wretch, lend ear to thee?_ #quī studiōsus re͡i nūllī aliaest#, Pl. _MG._ 802, i.e. #quī studet#, _who lends his soul to nothing else_. Or immediately with a noun: as, #servitūs opulentō hominī#, Pl. _Am._ 166, _slavery to a millionaire_. #optemperātiō lēgibus#, _Leg._ 1, 42, _obedience to the laws_. #aemula labra rosīs#, Mart. 4, 42, 10, _lips rivalling the rose_.

1184. Some verbs have a variable use without any difference of meaning: thus, #cūrō#, #decet#, and #vītō#, have sometimes the dative in old Latin, but usually the accusative. In Cicero, #adūlor# has the accusative; from Nepos on, the dative as well. #medeor#, #medicor#, and #praestōlor# take either the accusative or the dative.

1185. Some verbs have an accusative with one meaning, a dative of the complement, essential or optional, with another: see #aemulor#, #caveō#, #comitor#, #cōnsulō#, #conveniō#, #cupiō#, #dēspērō#, #maneō#, #metuō#, #moderor#, #prōspiciō#, #temperō#, #timeō#, and the different uses of #invideō#, in the dictionary.

1186. In poetry, verbs of union, of contention, and of difference, often take a dative: as, (_a._) #haeret laterī lētālis harundō#, V. 4, 73, _sticks to her side the deadly shaft_. So with #coëō#, #concurrō#, #haereō#, and similarly with #iungō#, #misceō#. (_b._) #quid enim contendat hirundō cycnīs?# Lucr. 3, 6, _for how can swallow cope with swans?_ So with #bellō#, #certō#, #contendō#, #pugnō#. (_c._) #īnfīdō scurrae distābit amīcus#, H. _E._ 1, 18, 4, _a friend will differ from a faithless hanger-on_. So with #differō#, #discrepō#, #dissentiō#, #distō#.

1187. A verb often takes the dative, when combined with #adversum#, #obviam#, or #praestō#, also with #bene#, #male#, or #satis#, and the like: as,

#fit ob viam Clōdiō#, _Mil._ 29, _he runs across Clodius_. #cui bene dīxit umquam bonō?# _Sest._ 110, _for what patriot had he ever a good word?_ #nōs, virī fortēs, satis facere rē̆ī pūblicae vidēmur#, _C._ 1, 2, _we doughty champions flatter ourselves we are doing our whole duty by the state_. Similarly with verbs of transitive use.

1188. (2.) Many verbs of intransitive use compounded with a preposition take a dative connected in sense with the preposition: as,

#manus extrēma nōn accessit operibus eius#, _Br._ 126, _the last touch was not put upon his works_. #omnibus adfuit hīs pugnīs Dolābella#, _Ph._ 2, 75, _Dolabella was on hand in all these battles_. #pontō nox incubat ātra#, V. 1, 89, _over the deep, night broodeth black_. #cōgnitiōnibus dē Chrīstiānīs interfuī numquam#, Plin. _Ep. ad Trai._ 96 [97], 1, _I have never been to any of the trials of the Christians_.

1189. The prepositions are chiefly #ad#, #ante#, #com-#, #in#, #inter#, #ob#, #prae#, #sub#, or #super#. In many compounds of these prepositions, however, the dative is due to the general meaning of the verb, as in #cōnfīdit mihī̆#, _he puts all trust in me_ (1181), as contrasted with #cōnsentit mihī̆#, _he feels with me_, nearly equivalent to #sentit mēcum# (1188).

1190. Instead of the dative, such verbs often have a prepositional construction, particularly when place, literal or figurative, is distinctly to be expressed: as,

#accēdere in fūnus#, _Leg._ 2, 66, _to go to a funeral_. #in morbum incidit#, _Clu._ 175, _he fell ill_.

1191. Some verbs of intransitive use take, when compounded, either the dative or the accusative. See #adiaceō#, #antecēdō#, #anteeō#, #praecurrō#, #praestō#, #incēdō#, #inlūdō#, #īnsultō#, #invādō#, in the dictionary. And some compounds acquire a transitive use altogether, as #obeō#, #oppugnō#: see 1137.

[Errata: 1188 ... _Ph._ 2, 75, _Dolabella was on hand in all these battles_. _Ph_ 2, 75, #pontō nox incubat ātra#, V. 1, 89 #pontō nox incubat ātra#.]

WITH VERBS OF TRANSITIVE USE.

1192. (1.) Many verbs of transitive use take the dative: as,

#ē̆ī fīliam suam in mātrimōnium dat#, 1, 3, 5, _he gives this person his own daughter in marriage_. #decima legiō ē̆ī grātiās ēgit#, 1, 41, 1, _the tenth legion gave him thanks_. #huic fert subsidium Puliō#, 5, 44, 13, _to him Pulio brings aid_. #multīs idem minātur Antōnius#, _Ph._ 11, 2, _to many Antony threatens the same_. #reliquī sēsē fugae mandārunt#, 1, 12, 3, _the rest betook themselves to flight_. #commendō vōbīs meum parvum fīlium#, _C._ 4, 23, _unto your keeping do I commit the little son of mine_. #multī sē aliēnissimīs crēdidērunt#, 6, 31, 4, _many people put themselves in the hands of utter strangers_. #equitēs imperat cīvitātibus#, 6, 4, 6, _he issues orders to the communities for horse_.

1193. This dative is used with such verbs as #dō#, #trādō#, #tribuō#, #dīvidō#, #ferō#, #praebeō#, #praestō#, #polliceor#, #prōmittō#, #dēbeō#, #negō#, #mōnstrō#, #dīcō#, #nārrō#, #mandō#, #praecipiō#, &c., &c. In the passive construction, the accusative becomes nominative, the dative remaining.

1194. (2.) Many verbs of transitive use compounded with a preposition take a dative connected in sense with the preposition: as,

#nihil novī vōbīs adferam#, _RP._ 1, 21, _I shall not lay any novelty before you_. #lēgēs omnium salūtem singulōrum salūtī antepōnunt#, _Fin._ 3, 64, _the law always puts the general safety before the safety of the individual_. #timōrem bonīs iniēcistis#, _Agr._ 1, 23, _you have struck terror into the hearts of patriots_. #nōluērunt ferīs corpus obicere#, _RA._ 71, _they would not cast his person before ravenous beasts_. #nēminem huic praeferō#, N. 8, 1, 1, _there is nobody I put before him_. #hībernīs Labiēnum praeposuit#, 1, 54, 2, _he put Labienus over the winter-quarters_. #anitum ōva gallīnīs saepe suppōnimus#, _DN._ 2, 124, _we often put ducks’ eggs under hens_.

1195. The prepositions are #circum#, #dē#, #ex#, #post#, or those named in 1189. In many compounds of transitive use, however, the dative is due to the general meaning of the verb, as with those spoken of in 1189.

1196. With these verbs, a prepositional construction is often used, as with the verbs of intransitive use (1190): as,

#iam diū nihil novī ad nōs adferēbātur#, _Fam._ 2, 14, _no news has got to us this long time_. For compounds of #circum# and #trāns# with two accusatives, see 1138.

1197. Verbs of transitive use compounded with #com-# have oftener the ablative with #cum#: as, #cōnferte hanc pācem cum illō bellō#, _V._ 4, 115, _just compare this peace with that war_. See also in the dictionary, #coniungō# and #compōnō#; also the indirect compounds #comparō#, _compare_, from #compār#, and #commūnicō#.

1198. With a few compounds of #ad# or #in#, a second accusative is exceptionally used: as, #arbitrum illum adēgit#, _Off._ 3, 66, _he had the other man up before a daysman_. So with #inmittō#, Pl. _Cap._ 548, #īnsinuō#, Lucr. 1, 116, &c., &c. Regularly with #animum advertō#: as, #animum advertī columellam#, _TD._ 5, 65, _I noticed a modest shaft_. #quā rē animum adversā#, Caes. _C._ 1, 80, 4, _this fact being paid heed to_: compare 1138.

1199. A few compound verbs admit either the dative of the person or thing and accusative of the thing, or the accusative of the person or thing and ablative of the thing; such are #adspergō# and #īnspergō#, #circumdō#, #circumfundō#, #exuō# and #induō#, #impertiō#, #interclūdō#; also the uncompounded #dōnō#: as, #praedam mīlitibus dōnat#, 7, 11, 9, _he presents the booty to the soldiers_. #scrībam tuum ānulō dōnāstī#, _V._ 3, 185, _you presented your clerk with a ring_. For the different constructions of #interdīcō#, see the dictionary.

THE DATIVE WITH ADJECTIVES.

1200. The dative with many adjectives and some adverbs denotes that to which the quality is directed.

Such have the meaning of _useful_, _necessary_, _fit_, _easy_, _agreeable_, _known_, _near_, _belonging_, _friendly_, _faithful_, _like_, and most of their opposites; the adjective is often predicative: as, #vēr ūtile silvīs# (1036), V. _G._ 2, 323, _the spring is good for woods_. #est senātōrī necessārium nōsse rem pūblicam#, _Leg._ 3, 41, _for a senator it is indispensable to be conversant with government_. #ōrātiōnis genus pompae quam pugnae aptius#, _O._ 42, _a style better suited to the parade than to the field_. #convenienter nātūrae vīvere#, _Off._ 3, 13, _to live in touch with nature_.

1201. Some adjectives of this class have the dative of a person, the accusative with #ad# of a thing: so #accommodātus#, #aptus#, #idōneus#, #necessārius#, and #ūtilis#; and some denoting feeling have also the accusative with a preposition: #aequus#, #inīquus#, #fidēlis# with #in#, #benevolus# with #ergā#, and #impius# with #adversus#. #propior# and #proximus# sometimes accompany an accusative, like #prope#, #propius#, and #proximē#.

1202. The adjectives #commūnis#, #proprius# or #aliēnus#, #sacer#, #tōtus#, often accompany the construction of the genitive of the owner: see 1238. For #aliēnus# with the ablative, see 1306. Sometimes #aliēnus# has the ablative with #ab#.

1203. Some adjectives denoting relationship, connection, friendship or hostility, become substantives, and as such, admit the genitive also (1103): such are (_a._) #adfīnis#, #cōgnātus#; (_b._) #aequālis#, #familiāris#, #fīnitimus#, #pār# and #dispār#, #propīnquus#, #vīcīnus#; (_c._) #adversārius#, #amīcus#, #inimīcus#, #necessārius#.

1204. In Plautus and Terence, #similis#, _the like_, _the counterpart_, and its compounds, regularly take the genitive. The dative, as well as the genitive, is also used from Ennius on, particularly of a limited or approximate likeness: see the dictionary.

(2.) THE OPTIONAL COMPLEMENT.

1205. The dative of a person or thing interested, benefited, harmed, may be added at option to almost any verb: as,

#cōnservāte parentī fīlium, parentem fīliō#, _Cael._ 80, _save the son for the father, the father for the son_. #mea domus tibī̆ patet, mihī̆ clausa est#, _RA._ 145, _the very house I own is open for you, is shut upon me_. #cui flāvam religās comam, simplex munditiīs?# H. 1, 5, 4, _for whom bind’st thou in wreaths thy golden hair, plain in thy neatness?_ #nōn audēret facere haec viduae mulierī, quae in mē fēcit#, T. _Hau._ 953, _he durst not to an unprotected female do what he hath done towards me_.

1206. The place of a verb with the dative of interest is sometimes filled by an interjection, #ecce#, #ei#, #em#, or #vae#: as, #ei mihi quālis erat#, E. 1, 7, V. 2, 274, _ah me, how ghastly he did look_. #vae vīctīs#, Pl. _Ps._ 1317, said by Brennus, 390 B.C., L. 5, 48, 9, _woe worth the worsted_. #vae capitī atque aetātī tuae#, Pl. _R._ 375, _a murrain on thy head and life_.

1207. The dative is often added to the entire sentence, where either a genitive or a possessive pronoun limiting a substantive might be used.

In such cases the dative expresses interest, advantage, or disadvantage, while the genitive would simply indicate the owner or the object: as, #trānsfīgitur scūtum Puliōni#, 5, 44, 7, _unfortunately for Pulio, his shield gets pierced through and through_. #mīlitantī in Hispāniā pater ē̆ī moritur#, L. 29, 29, 6, _while serving in Spain he had the misfortune to lose his father_. #huic ego mē bellō ducem profiteor#, _C._ 2, 11, _I here proclaim myself captain for this war_. #sēsē Caesarī ad pedēs prōiēcērunt#, 1, 31, 2, _they cast themselves at Caesar’s feet_. #nostrīs mīlitibus spem minuit#, 5, 33, 5, _it dashed the hopes of our soldiers_. #extergē tibi manūs#, Pl. _Most._ 267, _wipe off thy hands_. #vellunt tibi barbam lascīvī puerī#, H. _S._ 1, 3, 133, _the wanton gamins pull thy beard, poor soul_.

1208. This dative is sometimes detached from the verb, and used immediately with a substantive, instead of the genitive: as, #Philocōmasiō custōs#, Pl. _MG._ 271, _the keeper for Philocomasium_. #rēctor iuvenī#, Ta. 1, 24, _a mentor for the young man_. So particularly with a gerundive in official expressions: as, #cūrātor mūrīs reficiendīs#, _OG._ 19, _commissioner for rebuilding the walls_.

1209. Verbs of warding off sometimes take a dative, especially in poetry, also those of robbing and ridding: as, (_a._) #hunc quoque arcēbis gravidō pecorī#, V. _G._ 3, 154, _him also wilt thou for the pregnant herd keep far_. #sōlstitium pecorī dēfendite#. V. _E._ 7, 47, _the summer’s heat keep distant for the flock_. (_b._) #torquem dētrāxit hostī#, _Fin._ 1, 35, _he pulled a torque away from his enemy_. #ēripiēs mihī̆ hunc errōrem#, _Att._ 10, 4, 6, _you will rid me of this mistake_.

1210. With verbs of motion the dative of the person interested denotes in poetry the end of motion also: as, #multōs Danaūm dēmittimus Orcō#, V. 2, 398, _we send down many a Danaan for the nether king_. So also the dative of personified words of place: as, #it clāmor caelō#, V. 5, 451, _up goes a shout for heaven_, i.e. _heaven hears a shout_. #sēdibus hunc refer ante suīs#, V. 6, 152, _first bear him duly to his place of rest_, i.e. let his expectant grave receive him.

THE EMOTIONAL DATIVE.

1211. The dative of the personal pronoun is often used with expressions of emotion, interest, surprise, or derision: as,

#quid mihi Celsus agit?# H. _E._ 1, 3, 15, _how fares me Celsus?_ #Tongilium mihī̆ ēdūxit#, _C._ 2, 4, _he took out Tongilius, bless my soul_. #at tibī̆ repente, cum minimē exspectārem, vēnit ad mē Canīnius māne#, _Fam._ 9, 2, 1, _but bless you, sir, when I least dreamt of it, who should drop in on me all at once but Caninius, bright and early_.

THE DATIVE OF THE POSSESSOR.

1212. The dative is used with forms of #sum# to denote the possessor: as,

#est hominī cum deō similitūdō#, _Leg._ 1, 25, _man has a resemblance to god_. #an nescīs longās rēgibus esse manūs?# O. _E._ 16, 166, _dost possibly not know kings have long arms?_ #suos quoique mōs#, T. _Ph._ 454, _to every man his own pet way_. So also with the compounds #absum#, #dēsum#, #supersum#: as, #hoc ūnum Caesarī dēfuit#, 4, 26, 5, _this was all Caesar lacked_.

1213. (1.) With #mihī̆ est nōmen#, the name is put either in the dative or in the nominative: as,

#mihī̆ nomen est Iūliō#, or #mihī̆ nōmen est Iūlius#, Gell. 15, 29, 1, _my name is Julius_. In old Latin and in Sallust, the dative: as, #nōmen Mercuriōst mihī#, Pl. _Am. prol._ 19, _my name is Mercury_; later the nominative: as, #canibus pigrīs nōmen erit Pardus, Tigris, Leo#, J. 8, 34, _the craven cur shall sport the name of ‘Lion, Tiger, Pard.’_ Cicero uses the nominative or rarely the dative, Livy oftener the dative than the nominative. Tacitus puts adjectives in the dative, substantives in the nominative, rarely in the genitive. Caesar does not use the construction.

1214. (2.) With the actives #nōmen dō#, #indō#, #pōnō#, #tribuō#, &c., the name may be in the dative or in the accusative; with the passive of these expressions, the name may be in the dative or in the nominative: as,

#quī tibi nōmen īnsānō posuēre#, H. _S._ 2, 3, 47, _who’ve put on thee the nickname Crank_. #quī fīliīs Philippum atque Alexandrum nōmina inposuerat#, L. 35, 47, 5, _who had given his sons the names Philip and Alexander_. A genitive dependent on #nōmen# is used once by Tacitus and in very late Latin.

1215. With a gerundive, the dative of the possessor denotes the person who has the action to do: see 2243. For the ablative with #ab#, or for #habeō#, see 2243, 2245.

1216. This dative is sometimes used with the perfect participle, and the tenses formed with it: as, #mihī̆ est ēlabōrātum#, _Caecil._ 40, _I have it all worked out_. #carmina nūlla mihī sunt scrīpta#, O. _Tr._ 5, 12, 35, _no poetry have I ready made_. Rarely with passives of the present system: as, #nūlla placēre diū nec vīvere carmina possunt, quae scrībuntur aquae pōtōribus#, H. _E._ 1, 19, 2, _no verse can take or be longlived that by teetotallers is writ_.

THE DATIVE OF RELATION.

1217. The dative may denote the person viewing or judging: as,

#eris mihi magnus Apollō#, V. _E._ 3, 104, _thou shalt to me the great Apollo be_. #Quīntia fōrmōsa est multīs, mihi candida, longa, rēcta est#, Cat. 86, 1, _in many eyes is Quintia fair, to me she’s bonny, tall, and straight_. From Caesar on, participles are often used to denote the person viewing or judging: as, #est urbe ēgressīs tumulus#, V. 2, 713, _there is, as you get out of town, a mound_. #in ūniversum aestimantī#, Ta. _G._ 6, _looking at it generally_.

1218. In imitation of a Greek idiom, #volēns#, #cupiēns#, or #invītus#, is used by Sallust and Tacitus in agreement with a dative dependent on a form of #sum#, the combination being equivalent to a subject with a form of #volō#, #cupiō#, or #invītus sum#, respectively: as, #cēterīs remanēre volentibus fuit#, Ta. _H._ 3, 43, i.e. #cēterī remanēre voluērunt#, _the rest were minded to bide where they were_. Once in Livy.

II. THE PREDICATIVE DATIVE.

THE DATIVE OF TENDENCY OR RESULT.

1219. (1.) Certain datives are used with a form of #sum# to denote what a thing tends to, proves, or is. This dative is generally accompanied by a dative of the person interested: as,

#auxiliō īs fuit#, Pl. _Am. prol._ 92, _he was a help to them_. #odiō sum Rōmānīs#, L. 35, 19, 6, _I am an abomination in the eyes of Rome_. #potestne bonum cuiquam malō esse?# _Par._ 7, _can good prove bad for any human being?_ #L. Cassius identidem quaerere solēbat, cui bonō fuisset#, _RA._ 84, _Cassius used to ask for ever and ever, who the person benefited was_, or _who the gainer was_. #nēminī meus adventus labōrī aut sūmptuī fuit#, _V._ 1, 16, _my visit did not prove a bother or an expense to a soul_. #rēs et fortūnae tuae mihī̆ maximae cūrae sunt#, _Fam._ 6, 5, 1, _your money-matters are an all-absorbing interest to me_.

1220. There are many of these datives, mostly abstracts and all singular, some of the commonest are #cūrae#, #ūsuī#, #praesidiō#, #cordī#, #odiō#, #auxiliō#, #impedīmentō#, #salūtī#, #voluptātī#. The adjectives #magnus#, #maior#, #maximus#, or #tantus# and #quantus#, are sometimes used in agreement with them; and the dative #frūgī# sometimes has #bonae#.