Chapter 30

A. WORD-ORDER.

348. In the normal arrangement of the Latin sentence the Subject stands at the beginning of the sentence, the Predicate at the end; as,--

Dārīus classem quīngentārum nāvium comparāvit, _Darius got ready a fleet of five hundred ships_.

349. But for the sake of emphasis the normal arrangement is often abandoned, and the emphatic word is put at the beginning, less frequently at the end of the sentence; as,--

magnus in hōc bellō Themistoclēs fuit, GREAT _was Themistocles in this war_;

aliud iter habēmus nūllum, _other course we have_ NONE.

SPECIAL PRINCIPLES.

350. 1. Nouns. A Genitive or other oblique case regularly follows the word upon which it depends. Thus:--

a) Depending upon a Noun:--

tribūnus plēbis, _tribune of the plebs_;

fīlius rēgis, _son of the king_;

vir magnī animī, _a man of noble spirit_.

Yet always senātūs cōnsultum, plēbis scītum.

b) Depending upon an Adjective:--

ignārus rērum, _ignorant of affairs_;

dignī amīcitiā, _worthy of friendship_;

plūs aequō, _more than (what is) fair_.

2. Appositives. An Appositive regularly follows its Subject; as,--

Philippus, rēx Macedonum, _Philip, king of the Macedonians_;

adsentātiō, vitiōrum adjūtrīx, _flattery, promoter of evils_.

Yet flūmen Rhēnus, _the River Rhine_; and always in good prose urbs Rōma, _the city Rome_.

3. The Vocative usually follows one or more words; as,--

audī, Caesar, _hear, Caesar!_

4. Adjectives. No general law can be laid down for the position of Adjectives. On the whole they precede the noun oftener than they follow it.

a. Adjectives of _quantity_ (including _numerals_) regularly precede their noun; as,--

omnēs hominēs, _all men_;

septingentae nāvēs, _seven hundred vessels_.

b. Note the force of position in the following:--

media urbs, _the middle of the city_;

urbs media, _the middle city_,

extrēmum bellum, _the end of the war_;

bellum extrēmum, _the last war_.