Chapter 23
as,--
opus est properātō, _there is need of haste_.
3. With nītor, innīxus, and frētus; as,--
nītitur hastā, _he rests on a spear_ (lit. _supports himself by a spear_);
frētus virtūte, _relying on virtue_ (lit. _supported by virtue_).
4. With continērī, cōnsistere, cōnstāre, _consist of_; as,--
nervīs et ossibus continentur, _they consist of sinews and bones_ (lit. _they are held together by sinews and bones_);
mortālī cōnsistit corpore mundus, _the world consists of mortal substance_ (lit. _holds together by means of_, etc.).
6. In expressions of the following type:--
quid hōc homine faciās, _what can you do with this man?_
quid meā Tulliolā fīet, _what will become of my dear Tullia?_ (lit. _what will be done with my dear Tullia?_)
7. In the following special phrases at variance with the ordinary English idiom:--
proeliō contendere, vincere, _to contend_, _conquer in battle_;
proeliō lacessere, _to provoke to battle_;
currū vehī, _to ride in a chariot_;
pedibus īre, _to go on foot_;
castrīs sē tenēre, _to keep in camp_.
8. With Verbs of _filling_ and Adjectives of _plenty_; as,--
fossās virgultīs complērunt, _they filled the trenches with brush_.
a. But plēnus more commonly takes the Genitive. See § 204, 1.
9. Under 'Means' belongs also the Ablative of the Way by Which; as,--
vīnum Tiberī dēvectum, _wine brought down (by) the Tiber_.
10. The means may be a person as well as a thing. Thus:--
mīlitibus ā lacū Lemannō ad montem Jūram mūrum perdūcit, _with_ (i.e. by means of) _his troops he runs a wall from Lake Geneva to Mt. Jura_.
Ablative of Cause.
219. The Ablative is used to denote cause; as,--
multa glōriae cupiditāte fēcit, _he did many things on account of his love of glory_.
1. So especially with verbs denoting mental states; as, dēlector, gāudeō, laetor, glōrior, fīdō, cōnfīdō. Also with contentus; as,--
fortūnā amīcī gaudeō, _I rejoice at the fortune of my friend (i.e. on account of it_);
victōriā suā glōriantur, _they exult over their victory_;
nātūrā locī cōnfīdēbant, _they trusted in the character of their country_ (lit. _were confident on account of the character_).
a. fīdō and cōnfīdō always take the Dative of the person (§ 187, II, a); sometimes the Dative of the thing.
2. As Ablatives of Cause are to be reckoned also such Ablatives as jussū, by order of, injussū, _without the order_, rogātū, etc.
Ablative of Manner.
220. The Ablative with cum is used to denote manner; as,--
cum gravitāte loquitur, _he speaks with dignity_.
1. The preposition may be absent when the Ablative is modified by an adjective; as,--
magnā gravitāte loquitur, _he speaks with great dignity_.
2. The preposition is regularly absent in the expressions jūre, injūriā, jocō, vī, fraude, voluntāte, fūrtō, silentiō.
3. A special variety of the Ablative of Manner denotes that _in accordance with which_ or _in pursuance of which_ anything is or is done. It is generally used without a preposition. Thus:--
meā sententiā, _according to my opinion_;
suīs mōribus, _in accordance with their custom_;
suā sponte, _voluntarily_, _of his (their) own accord_;
eā condiciōne, _on these terms_.
Ablative of Attendant Circumstance.
221. The Ablative is often used to denote an _attendant circumstance_ of an action or an event; as,--
bonīs auspiciīs, _under good auspices_;
nūlla est altercātiō clāmōribus umquam habita majōribus, _no debate was ever held under circumstances of greater applause_;
exstinguitur ingentī lūctū prōvinciae, _he dies under circumstances of great grief on the part of the province_;
longō intervāllō sequitur, _he follows at a great distance_.
Ablative of Accompaniment.
222. The Ablative with cum is used with verbs of motion to denote _accompaniment_; as,--
cum comitibus profectus est, _he set out with his attendants_;
cum febrī domum rediit, _he returned home with a fever_.
1. In military expressions the Ablative may stand without cum when modified by any adjective except a numeral; as,--
omnibus cōpiīs, ingentī exercitū, magnā manū; but usually cum exercitū, cum duābus legiōnibus.
Ablative of Association.
222A. The Ablative is often used with verbs of _joining_, _mixing_, _clinging_, _exchanging_; also with assuēscō, cōnsuēscō, assuēfaciō, and some others to denote _association_; as,--
improbitās scelere jūncta, _badness joined with crime_;
āēr calōre admixtus, _air mixed with heat_;
assuētus labōre, _accustomed to_ (lit. _familiarized with) toil_;
pācem bellō permūtant, _they change peace for_ (lit. _with) war_.
Ablative of Degree of Difference.
223. The Ablative is used with comparatives and words involving comparison (as post, ante, īnfrā, suprā) to denote the _degree of difference_; as,--
dimidiō minor, _smaller by a half_;
tribus pedibus altior, _three feet higher_;
paulō post, _a little afterwards_;
quō plurā habēmus, eō cupimus ampliōra, _the more we have, the more we want_.
Ablative of Quality.
224. The Ablative, modified by an adjective, is used to denote _quality;_ as,--
puella eximiā fōrmā, _a girl of exceptional beauty_;
vir singulārī industriā, _a man of singular industry_.
1. The Ablative of Quality may also be used predicatively; as,--
est magnā prūdentiā, _he is (a man) of great wisdom_;
bonō animā sunt, _they are of good courage_.
2. In place of the Adjective we sometimes find a limiting Genitive; as,--
sunt speciē et colōre taurī, _they are of the appearance and color of a bull_,
3. In poetry the Ablative of Quality sometimes denotes _material;_ as,--
scopulīs pendentībus antrum, _a cave of arching rocks._
Ablative of Price.
225. With verbs of _buying_ and _selling_, price is designated by the Ablative; as--
servum quīnque minīs ēmit, _he bought the slave for five minae._
1. The Ablatives magnō, plūrimō, parvō, minimō (by omission of pretiō) are used to denote _indefinite price_; as,--
aedēs magnō vēndidīt, _he sold the house for a high price._
2. For the Genitive of Indefinite Price, see § 203, 4.
Ablative of Specification.
226. The Ablative of Specification is used to denote that _in respect to which_ something is or is done; as,--
Helvētiī omnibus Gallīs virtūte praestābant, _the Helvetians surpassed all the Gauls in valor_;
pede claudus, _lame in his foot_.
1. Note the phrases:--
major nātū, _older_ (lit. _greater as to age_);
minor nātū, _younger._
2. Here belongs the use of the Ablative with dignus, _worthy_, indignus, _unworthy_, and dignor, _deem worthy of_; as,--
dignī honōre, _worthy of honor (i.e. in point of honor_);
fidē indignī, _unworthy of confidence_;
mē dignor honōre, _I deem myself worthy of honor_.
Ablative Absolute.
227. The Ablative Absolute is grammatically independent of the rest of the sentence. In its commonest form it consists of a noun or pronoun limited by a participle; as,--
urbe captā, Aenēās fūgit, _when the city had been captured, Aeneas fled_ (lit. _the city having been captured_).
1. Instead of a participle we often find an adjective or noun; as,--
vīvō Caesare rēs pūblica salva erat, _while Caesar was alive the state was safe_ (lit. _Caesar being alive_);
Tarquiniō rēge, Pythagorās in Italiam vēnit, _in the reign of Tarquin Pythagoras came into Italy_ (lit. _Tarquin being king_);
Cn. Pompejō, M. Crassō cōnsulibus, _in the consulship of Gnaeus Pompey and Marcus Crassus_ (lit. _P. and C. being consuls_).
2. The Ablative Absolute is generally used in Latin where in English we employ subordinate clauses. Thus the Ablative Absolute may correspond to a clause denoting--
a) Time, as in the foregoing examples.
b) Condition; as,--
omnēs virtūtēs jacent, voluptāte dominante, _all virtues lie prostrate, if pleasure is master_.
c) Opposition; as,--
perditīs omnibus rēbus, virtūs sē sustentāre potest, _though everything else is lost, yet Virtue can maintain herself_.
d) Cause; as,--
nūllō adversante rēgnum obtinuit, _since no one opposed him, he secured the throne_.
e) Attendant circumstance; as,--
passīs palmīs pācem petīvērunt, _with hands outstretched, they sued for peace_.
3. An Infinitive or clause sometimes occurs in the Ablative Absolute construction, especially in Livy and later writers; as,--
audītō eum fūgisse, _when it was heard that he had fled_.
4. A noun or pronoun stands in the Ablative Absolute construction only when it denotes a different person or thing from any in the clause in which it stands. Exceptions to this principle are extremely rare.
LOCATIVE USES OF THE ABLATIVE.
Ablative of Place.
_A. Place where._
228. The place where is regularly denoted by the _Ablative with a preposition_; as,--
in urbe habitat, _he dwells in the city_.
1. But certain words stand in the Ablative without a preposition; viz.--
a) Names of towns,--except Singulars of the First and Second Declensions (see § 232, 1); as,--
Carthāginī, _at Carthage_;
Athēnis, _at Athens_;
Vejīs, _at Veii_.
b) The general words locō, locīs, parte; also many words modified by tōtus or even by other Adjectives; as,--
hōc locō, _at this place_;
tōtīs castrīs, _in the whole camp_.
c) The special words: forīs, _out of doors_; rūrī, _in the country_, terrā marīque, _on land and sea_.
d) The poets freely omit the preposition with any word denoting place; as,--
stant lītore puppēs, _the sterns rest on the beach_.
_B. Place from which.[50]_
229. Place from which is regularly denoted by the _Ablative with a preposition_; as,--
ab Italiā profectus est, _he set out from Italy_;
ex urbe rediit, _he returned from the city_.
1. But certain words stand in the Ablative without a preposition; viz.--
a) Names of towns and small islands; as,--
Rōma profectus est, _he set out from Rome_;
Rhodō revertit, _he returned from Rhodes_.
b) domō, _from home_; rūre, _from the country_.
c) Freely in poetry; as,--
Italiā dēcessit, _he withdrew from Italy_.
2. With names of towns, ab is used to mean _from the vicinity of_, or to denote the point _whence distance is measured;_ as,--
ā Gergoviā discessit, _he withdrew from the vicinity of Gergovia_;
ā Rōmā X mīlia aberat, _he was ten miles distant from Rome_.
Urbe and oppidō, when standing in apposition with a town name, are accompanied by a preposition; as,--
Curibus ex oppidō Sabīnōrum, _from Cures, a town of the Sabines_
Ablative of Time.
_A. Time at which._
230. The Ablative is used to denote the time _at which_; as,--
quārtā hōrā mortuus est, _he died at the fourth hour_;
annō septuāgēsimō cōnsul creātus, _elected consul in his seventieth year_.
1. Any word denoting a period of time may stand in this construction, particularly annus, vēr, aestās, hiems, diēs, nox, hōra, comitia (_Election Day_), lūdī (_the Games_), etc.
2. Words not denoting time require the preposition in, unless accompanied by a modifier. Thus:--
in pāce, _in peace_; in bellō, _in war_;
but secundō bellō Pūnicō, _in the second Punic War_.
3. Expressions like in eō tempore, in summa senectūte, take the preposition because they denote _situation_ rather than _time_.
_B. Time within which._
231. Time _within which_ is denoted by the Ablative either _with_ or _without a preposition_; as,--
stella Sāturnī trīgintā annīs cursum cōnficit, _the planet Saturn completes its orbit within thirty years_;
ter in annō, thrice in the course of the year.
1. Occasionally the Ablative denotes _duration of time_; as,--
bienniō prōsperās rēs habuit, _for two years he had a prosperous administration_.
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THE LOCATIVE.
232. The Locative case occurs chiefly in the following words:--
1. Regularly in the Singular of names of towns and small islands of the first and second declensions, to denote the place _in which_; as,--
Rōmae, _at Rome_; Corinthī, _at Corinth_; Rhodī, _at Rhodes_.
2. In the following special forms:--
domī, _at home_; humī, _on the ground_; bellī, _in war_; mīlitiae, _in war_; vesperī, _at evening_; herī, _yesterday_.
3. Note the phrase pendēre animī, lit. _to be in suspense in one's mind_.
4. For urbs and oppidum in apposition with a Locative, see § 169, 4.
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