b. The answer NO is expressed by non, minime, minime vero, or by repeating the verb with a negative; as,—

'jam ea praeteriit?' 'non.' 'Has it passed?' 'No.'

'estne frater intus?' 'non est.' 'Is your brother within?' 'No.'

SUBJECT AND PREDICATE.

163. The two essential parts of a sentence are the SUBJECT and PREDICATE.

The SUBJECT is that concerning which something is said, asked, etc. The PREDICATE is that which is said, asked, etc., concerning the SUBJECT.

SIMPLE AND COMPOUND SENTENCES.

164. Sentences containing but one Subject and one Predicate are called SIMPLE SENTENCES, those containing more are called COMPOUND SENTENCES. Thus puer libros legit, the boy reads books, is a Simple Sentence; but puer libros legit et epistulas scribit, the boy reads books and writes letters, is a Compound Sentence. The different members of a Compound Sentence are called Clauses.

165. COOeRDINATE AND SUBORDINATE CLAUSES. Clauses which stand upon an equality are called COOeRDINATE; a Clause dependent on another is called SUBORDINATE. Thus in puer libros legit et epistulas scribit the two clauses are Cooerdinate; but in puer libros legit quos pater scribit, the boy reads the books which his father writes, the second clause is Subordinate to the first.

* * * * *

CHAPTER II.—Syntax of Nouns.

SUBJECT.

166. The Subject of a Finite Verb (i.e. any form of the Indicative, Subjunctive, or Imperative) is in the Nominative Case.

1. The Subject may be—

a) A Noun or Pronoun; as,—

puer scribit, the boy writes;

hic scribit, this man writes.

b) An Infinitive; as,—

decorum est pro patria mori, to die for one's county is a noble thing.

c) A Clause; as,—

opportune accidit quod vidisti, it happened opportunely that you saw.

2. A Personal Pronoun as Subject is usually implied in the Verb and is not separately expressed; as,—

scribo, I write; videt, he sees.

a. But for the purpose of emphasis or contrast the Pronoun is expressed; as,—

ego scribo et tu legis, I write, and you read.

3. The verb is sometimes omitted when it can be easily supplied from the context, especially the auxiliary sum; as,—

recte ille (sc. facit), he does rightly; consul profectus (sc. est), the consul set out.

PREDICATE NOUNS.

167. A PREDICATE NOUN is one connected with the Subject by some form of the verb Sum or a similar verb.

168. A Predicate Noun agrees with its Subject in Case;[47] as,—

Cicero orator fuit, Cicero was an orator;

Numa creatus est rex, Numa was elected king.

1. when possible, the Predicate Noun usually agrees with its Subect in Gender also; as,—

philosophia est vitae magistra, philosophy is the guide of life.

2. Besides sum, the verbs most frequently accompanied by a Predicate Noun are—

a) fio, evado, exsisto; maneo; videor; as,—

Croesus non semper mansit rex, Croesus did not always remain king.

b) Passive verbs of making, calling, regarding, etc.; as, creor, appellor, habeor; as,—

Romulus rex appellatus est, Romulus was called king;

habitus est deus, he was regarded as a god.

APPOSITIVES.

169. 1. An Appositive is a Noun explaining or defining another Noun denoting the same person or thing; as,—

Cicero consul, Cicero, the Consul;

urbs Roma, the city Rome.

2. An Appositive agrees with its Subject in Case; as,—

opera Ciceronis oratoris, the works of Cicero, the orator;

apud Herodotum, patrem historiae, in the works of Herodotus, the father of history.

3. When possible, the Appositive agrees with its Subject in Gender also; as,—

assentatio adjutrix vitiorum, flattery, the promoter of evils.

4. A Locative may take in Apposition the Ablative of urbs or oppidum, with or without a preposition; as,—

Corinthi, Achaiae urbe, or in Achaiae urbe, at Corinth, a city of Greece.

5. PARTITIVE APPOSITION. A Noun denoting a whole is frequently followed by an Appositive denoting a part; as,—

milites, fortissimus quisque, hostibus restiterunt, the soldiers, all the bravest of them, resisted the enemy.

* * * * *

THE CASES.

THE NOMINATIVE.

170. The Nominative is confined to its use as Subject, Appositive, or Predicate Noun, as already explained. See Sec. 166-169.

* * * * *

THE VOCATIVE.

171. The Vocative is the Case of direct address; as,—

credite mihi, judices, believe me, judges.

1. By a species of attraction, the Nominative is occasionally used for the Vocative, especially in poetry and formal prose; as, audi tu, populus Albanus, hear ye, Alban people!

2. Similarly the Appositive of a Vocative may, in poetry, stand in the Nominative; as, nate, mea magna potentia solus, O son, alone the source of my great power.

* * * * *

THE ACCUSATIVE.

172. The Accusative is the Case of the Direct Object.

173. The Direct Object may express either of the two following relations:—

A. The PERSON OR THING AFFECTED by the action; as,—

consulem interfecit, he slew the consul;

lego librum, I read the book.

B. The RESULT PRODUCED by the action; as,—

librum scripsi, I wrote a book (i.e. produced one);

templum struit, he constructs a temple.

174. Verbs that admit a Direct Object of either of these two types are TRANSITIVE VERBS.

a. Verbs that regularly take a Direct Object are sometimes used without it. They are then said to be employed absolutely; as,—

rumor est meum gnatum amare, it is rumored that my son is in love.

Accusative of the Person or Thing Affected.

175. 1. This is the most frequent use of the Accusative; as in—

parentes amamus, we love our parents;

mare aspicit, he gazes at the sea.

2. The following classes of Verbs taking an Accusative of this kind are worthy of note:—

a) Many Intransitive Verbs, when compounded with a Preposition, become Transitive. Thus:—

1) Compounds of circum, praeter, trans; as,—

hostes circumstare, to surround the enemy;

urbem praeterire, to pass by the city;

muros transcendere, to climb over the walls.

2) Less frequently, compounds of ad, per, in, sub; as,—

adire urbem, to visit the city;

peragrare Italiam, to travel through Italy;

inire magistratum, to take office;

subire periculum, to undergo danger.

b) Many Verbs expressing emotions, regularly Intransitive, have also a Transitive use; as,—

queror fatum, I lament my fate;

doleo ejus mortem, I grieve at his death;

rideo tuam stultitiam, I laugh at your folly.

So also lugeo, maereo, mourn; gemo, bemoan; horreo, shudder, and others.

c) The impersonals decet, it becomes; dedecet, it is unbecoming; juvat, it pleases, take the Accusative of the Person Affected; as,—

me decet haec dicere, it becomes me to say this.

d) In poetry many Passive Verbs, in imitation of Greek usage, are employed as Middles (Sec. 256, 1; 2), and take the Accusative as Object; as,—

galeam induitur, he puts on his helmet;

cinctus tempora hedera, having bound his temples with ivy;

nodo sinus collecta, having gathered her dress in a knot.

Accusative of the Result Produced.

176. 1. The ordinary type of this Accusative is seen in such expressions as—

librum scribo, I write a book;

domum aedifico, I build a house.

2. Many Verbs usually Intransitive take a Neuter Pronoun, or Adjective, as an Accusative of Result. Thus:—

a) A Neuter Pronoun; as,—

haec gemebat, he made these moans;

idem gloriari, to make the same boast;

eadem peccat, he makes the same mistakes.

b) A Neuter Adjective,—particularly Adjectives of number or amount,—multum, multa, pauca, etc.; also nihil; as,—

multa egeo, I have many needs;

pauca studet, he has few interests;

multum valet, he has great strength;

nihil peccat, he makes no mistake.

NOTE.—In poetry other Adjectives are freely used in this construction; as—

minitantem vana, making vain threats;

acerba tuens, giving a fierce look;

dulce loquentem, sweetly talking.

3. The adverbial use of several Neuter Pronouns and Adjectives grows out of this Accusative; as,—

multum sunt in venatione, they are much engaged in hunting.

a. So also plurimum, very greatly; plerumque, generally; aliquid, somewhat; quid, why? nihil, not at all; etc.

4. Sometimes an Intransitive Verb takes an Accusative of Result which is of kindred etymology with the Verb. This is called a COGNATE ACCUSATIVE, and is usually modified by an Adjective; as,—

sempiternam servitutem serviat, let him serve an everlasting slavery;

vitam duram vixi, I have lived a hard life.

a. Sometimes the Cognate Accusative is not of kindred etymology, but merely of kindred meaning; as,—

stadium currit, he runs a race;

Olympia vincit, he wins an Olympic victory.

5. The Accusative of Result occurs also after Verbs of tasting and smelling; as,—

piscis mare sapit, the fish tastes of the sea;

orationes antiquitatem redolent, the speeches smack of the past.

Two Accusatives—Direct Object and Predicate Accusative.

177. Many Verbs of Making, Choosing, Calling, Showing, and the like, take two Accusatives, one of the Person or Thing Affected, the other a Predicate Accusative; as,—

me heredem fecit, he made me heir.

Here me is Direct Object, heredem Predicate Accusative. So also—

eum judicem cepere, they took him as judge;

urbem Romam vocavit, he called the city Rome;

se virum praestitit, he showed himself a man.

2. The Predicate Accusative may be an Adjective as well as a Noun; as,—

homines caecos reddit cupiditas, covetousness renders men blind;

Apollo Socratem sapientissimum judicavit, Apollo adjudged Socrates the wisest man.

a. Some Verbs, as reddo, usually admit only an Adjective as the Predicate Accusative.

3. In the Passive the Direct Object becomes the Subject, and the Predicate Accusative becomes Predicate Nominative (Sec. 168, 2, b): as,—

urbs Roma vocata est, the city was called Rome.

a. Not all Verbs admit the Passive construction; reddo and efficio, for example, never take it.

Two Accusatives—Person and Thing.

178. 1. Some Verbs take two Accusatives, one of the Person Affected, the other of the Result Produced. Thus:—

a) Verbs of requesting and demanding; as,—

otium divos rogat, he asks the gods for rest;

me duas orationes postulas, you demand two speeches of me.

So also oro, posco, reposco, exposco, flagito, though some of these prefer the Ablative with ab to the Accusative of the Person; as,—

opem a te posco, I demand aid of you.

b) Verbs of teaching (doceo and its compounds); as,—

te litteras doceo, I teach you your letters.

c) Verbs of inquiring; as,—

te haec rogo, I ask you this;

te sententiam rogo, I ask you your opinion.

d) Several Special Verbs; viz. moneo, admoneo, commoneo, cogo, accuso, arguo, and a few others. These admit only a Neuter Pronoun or Adjective as Accusative of the Thing; as,—

hoc te moneo, I give you this advice;

me id accusas, you bring this accusation against me;

id cogit nos natura, nature compels us (to) this.

e) One Verb of concealing, celo; as,—

non te celavi sermonem, I have not concealed the conversation from you.

2. In the Passive construction the Accusative of the Person becomes the Subject, and the Accusative of the Thing is retained; as,—

omnes artes edoctus est, he was taught all accomplishments;

rogatus sum sententiam, I was asked my opinion;

multa admonemur, we are given many admonitions.

a. Only a few Verbs admit the Passive construction.

Two Accusatives with Compounds.

179. 1. Transitive compounds of trans may take two Accusatives, one dependent upon the Verb, the other upon the Preposition, as,—

milites flumen transportat, he leads his soldiers across the river.

2. With other compounds this construction is rare.

3. In the Passive the Accusative dependent upon the preposition is retained; as,—

milites flumen traducebantur, the soldiers were led across the river.

Synecdochical (or Greek) Accusative.

180. 1. The Synecdochical (or Greek) Accusative denotes the part to which an action or quality refers; as,—

tremit artus, literally, he trembles as to his limbs, i.e. his limbs tremble;

nuda genu, lit. bare as to the knee, i.e. with knee bare;

manus revinctus, lit. tied as to the hands, i.e. with hands tied.

2. Note that this construction—

a) Is borrowed from the Greek. b) Is chiefly confined to poetry. c) Usually refers to a part of the body. d) Is used with Adjectives as well as Verbs.

Accusative of Time and Space.

181. 1. Duration of Time and Extent of Space are denoted by the Accusative; as,—

quadraginta annos vixit, he lived forty years;

hic locus passus sescentos aberat, this place was six hundred paces away;

arbores quinquaginta pedes altae, trees fifty feet high;

abhinc septem annos, seven years ago.

2. Emphasis is sometimes added by using the Preposition per; as,

per biennium laboravi, I toiled throughout two years.

Accusative of Limit of Motion.

182. 1. The Accusative of Limit of Motion is used—

a) With names of Towns, Small Islands, and Peninsulas; as,—

Romam veni, I came to Rome;

Athenas proficiscitur, he sets out for Athens;

Delum perveni, I arrived at Delos.

b) With domum, domos, rus; as,—

domum revertitur, he returns home;

rus ibo, I shall go to the country.

NOTE.—When domus means house (i.e. building), it takes a preposition; as,—

in domum veterem remigrare, to move back to an old house.

2. Other designations of place than those above mentioned require a Preposition to denote Limit of Motion; as,—

ad Italiam venit, he came to Italy.

a. The Preposition is also customary with the Accusatives urbem or oppidum when they stand in apposition with the name of a town; as,—

Thalam, in oppidum magnum, to Thala, a large town;

Genavam ad oppidum, to the town Geneva.

b. The name of a town denoting limit of motion may be combined with the name of a country or other word dependent upon a preposition; as,—

Thurios in Italiam pervectus, carried to Thurii in Italy;

cum Acen ad exercitum venisset, when he had come to the army at Ace.

3. To denote toward, to the vicinity of, in the vicinity of, ad is used; as,—

ad Tarentum veni, I came to the vicinity of Tarentum;

ad Cannas pugna facta est, a battle was fought near Cannae.

4. In poetry the Accusative of any noun denoting a place may be used without a preposition to express the limit of motion; as,—

Italiam venit, he came to Italy.

5. The goal notion seems to represent the original function of the Accusative Case. Traces of this primitive force are recognizable in the phrase infitias ire, to deny (lit. to go to a denial), and a few other similar expressions.

Accusative in Exclamations.

183. The Accusative, generally modified by an Adjective, is used in Exclamations; as,—

me miserum, ah, wretched me!

O fallacem spem, oh, deceptive hope!

Accusative as Subject of the Infinitive.

184. The Subject of the Infinitive is put in the Accusative; as,—

video hominem abire, I see that the man is going away.

Other Uses of the Accusative.

185. Here belong—

1. Some Accusatives which were originally Appositives; viz.—

id genus, of that kind; as, homines id genus, men of that kind (originally homines, id genus hominum, men, that kind of men);

virile secus, muliebre secus, of the male sex, of the female sex;

meam vicem, tuam vicem, etc., for my part, etc.;

bonam partem, magnam partem, in large part;

maximam partem, for the most part.

2. Some phrases of doubtful origin; as,—

id temporis, at that time; quod si, but if; id aetatis, at that time; cetera, in other respects.

* * * * *

THE DATIVE.

186. The Dative case, in general, expresses relations which are designated in English by the prepositions to and for.

Dative of Indirect Object.

187. The commonest use of the Dative is to denote the person to whom something is given, said, or done. Thus:—

I. With transitive verbs in connection with the Accusative; as,—

hanc pecuniam mihi dat, he gives me this money;

haec nobis dixit, he said this to us.

a. Some verbs which take this construction (particularly dono and circumdo) admit also the Accusative of the person along with the Ablative of the thing. Thus:—

Either Themistocli munera donavit, he presented gifts to Themistocles, or

Themistoclem muneribus donavit, he presented Themistocles with gifts;

urbi muros circumdat, he builds walls around the city, or

urbem muris circumdat, he surrounds the city with walls

II. With many intransitive verbs; as,—

nulli labori cedit, he yields to no labor.

a. Here belong many verbs signifying favor,[48] help, injure, please, displease, trust, distrust, command, obey, serve, resist, indulge, spare, pardon, envy, threaten, be angry, believe, persuade, and the like; as,—

Caesar popularibus favet, Caesar favors (i.e. is favorable to) the popular party;

amicis confido, I trust (to) my friends;

Orgetorix Helvetiis persuasit, Orgetorix persuaded (made it acceptable to) the Helvetians;

bonis nocet qui malis parcit, he injures (does harm to) the good, who spares the bad.

NOTE.—It is to be borne in mind that these verbs do not take the Dative by virtue of their apparent English equivalence, but simply because they are intransitive, and adapted to an indirect object. Some verbs of the same apparent English equivalence are transitive and govern the Accusative; as, juvo, laedo, delecto. Thus: audentes deus juvat, God helps the bold; neminem laesit he injured no one.

b. Verbs of this class are used in the passive only impersonally; as,—

tibi parcitur, you are spared;

mihi persuadetur, I am being persuaded;

ei invidetur, he is envied.

c. Some of the foregoing verbs admit also a Direct Object in connection with the Dative; as,—

mihi mortem minitatur, he threatens me with death (threatens death to me).

III. With many verbs compounded with the prepositions: ad, ante, circum, com,[49] in, inter, ob, post, prae, pro, sub, super.

These verbs fall into two main classes,—

1. Many simple verbs which cannot take a Dative of the indirect object become capable of doing so when compounded with a preposition; as,—

afflictis succurrit, he helps the aflicted;

exercitui praefuit, he was in command of the army;

intersum consiliis, I share in the deliberations.

2. Many transitive verbs which take only a direct object become capable, when compounded, of taking a dative also as indirect object; as,—

pecuniae pudorem anteponit, he puts honor before money;

inicere spem amicis, to inspire hope in one's friends;

munitioni Labienum praefecit, he put Labienus in charge of the fortifications.

Dative of Reference.

188. 1. The Dative of Reference denotes the person to whom a statement refers, of whom it is true, or to whom it is of interest; as,—

mihi ante oculos versaris, you hover before my eyes (lit. hover before the eyes to me);

illi severitas amorem non deminuit, in his case severity did not diminish love (lit. to him severity did not diminish);

intercludere inimicis commeatum, to cut of the supplies of the enemy.

a. Note the phrase alicui interdicere aqua et igni, to interdict one from fire and water.

NOTE.—The Dative of Reference, unlike the Dative of Indirect Object, does not modify the verb, but rather the sentence as a whole. It is often used where, according to the English idiom, we should expect a Genitive; so in the first and third of the above examples.

2. Special varieties of the Dative of Reference are—

a) Dative of the Local Standpoint. This is regularly a participle; as,—

oppidum primum Thessaliae venientibus ab Epiro, the first town of Thessaly as you come from Epirus (lit. to those coming from Epirus).

b) Ethical Dative. This name is given to those Dative constructions of the personal pronouns in which the connection of the Dative with the rest of the sentence is of the very slightest sort; as,—

tu mihi istius audaciam defendis? tell me, do you defend that man's audacity?

quid mihi Celsus agit? what is my Celsus doing?

c) Dative of Person Judging; as,—

erit ille mihi semper deus, he will always be a god to me (i.e. in my opinion);

quae ista servitus tam claro homini, how can that be slavery to so illustrious a man (i.e. to his mind)!

d) Dative of Separation. Some verbs of taking away, especially compounds of ab, de, ex, ad, govern a Dative of the person, less often of the thing; as,—

honorem detraxerunt homini, they took away the honor from the man;

Caesar regi tetrarchiam eripuit, Caesar took the tetrarchy away from the king;

silici scintillam excudit, he struck a spark from the flint.

Dative of Agency.

189. The Dative is used to denote agency—

1. Regularly with the Gerundive; as,—

haec nobis agenda sunt, these things must be done by us;

mihi eundum est, I must go (lit. it must be gone by me).

a. To avoid ambiguity, a with the Ablative is sometimes used with the Gerundive; as,—

hostibus a nobis parcendum est, the enemy must be spared by us.

2. Much less frequently with the compound tenses of the passive voice and the perfect passive participle; as,—

disputatio quae mihi nuper habita est, the discussion which was recently conducted by me.

3. Rarely with the uncompounded tenses of the passive; as,—

honesta bonis viris quaeruntur, noble ends are sought by good men.

Dative of Possession.

190. The Dative of Possession occurs with the verb esse in such expressions as:—

mihi est liber, I have a book;

mihi nomen est Marcus, I have the name Marcus.

1. But with nomen est the name is more commonly attracted into the Dative; as, mihi Marco nomen est.

Dative of Purpose or Tendency.

191. The Dative of Purpose or Tendency designates the end toward which an action is directed or the direction in which it tends. It is used—

1. Unaccompanied by another Dative; as,—

castris locum deligere, to choose a place for a camp;

legiones praesidio relinquere, to leave the legions as a guard (lit. for a guard);

receptui canere, to sound the signal for a retreat.

2. Much more frequently in connection with another Dative of the person:—

a) Especially with some form of esse; as,—

fortunae tuae mihi curae sunt, your fortunes are a care to me (lit. for a care);

quibus sunt odio, to whom they are an object of hatred;

cui bono? to whom is it of advantage?

b) With other verbs; as,—

hos tibi muneri misit, he has sent these to you for a present;

Pausanias Atticis venit auxilio, Pausanias came to the aid of the Athenians (lit. to the Athenians for aid).

3. In connection with the Gerundive; as,—

decemviri legibus scribundis, decemvirs for codifying the laws;

me gerendo bello ducem creavere, me they have made leader for carrying on the war.

NOTE.—This construction with the gerundive is not common till Livy.

Dative with Adjectives.

192. The use of the Dative with Adjectives corresponds very closely to its use with verbs. Thus:—

1. Corresponding to the Dative of Indirect Object it occurs with adjectives signifying: friendly, unfriendly, similar, dissimilar, equal, near, related to, etc.; as,—

mihi inimicus, hostile to me;

sunt proximi Germanis, they are next to the Germans;

noxiae poena par esto, let the penalty be equal to the damage.

a. For propior and proximus with the Accusative, see Sec. 141, 3.

2. Corresponding to the Dative of Purpose, the Dative occurs with adjectives signifying: suitable, adapted, fit; as,—

castris idoneus locus, a place fit for a camp;

apta dies sacrificio, a day suitable for a sacrifice.

NOTE.—Adjectives of this last class often take the Accusative with ad.

Dative of Direction.

193. In the poets the Dative is occasionally used to denote the direction of motion; as,—

it clamor caelo, the shout goes heavenward;

cineres rivo fluenti jace, cast the ashes toward a flowing stream.

1. By an extension of this construction the poets sometimes use the Dative to denote the limit of motion; as,—

dum Latio deos inferret, till he should bring his gods to Latium.

* * * * *

THE GENITIVE.

194. The Genitive is used with Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs.

GENITIVE WITH NOUNS.

195. With Nouns the Genitive is the case which defines the meaning of the limited noun more closely. This relation is generally indicated in English by the preposition of. There are the following varieties of the Genitive with Nouns:—

Genitive of Origin, Objective Genitive, Genitive of Material, Genitive of the Whole, Genitive of Possession, Appositional Genitive, Subjective Genitive, Genitive of Quality.

196. Genitive of Origin; as,—

Marci filius, the son of Marcus.

197. Genitive of Material; as,—

talentum auri, a talent of gold;

acervus frumenti, a pile of grain.

198. Genitive of Possession or Ownership; as,—

domus Ciceronis, Cicero's house.

1. Here belongs the Genitive with causa and gratia. The Genitive always precedes; as,—

hominum causa, for the sake of men;

meorum amicorum gratia, for the sake of my friends.

2. The Possessive Genitive is often used predicatively, especially with esse and fieri; as,—

domus est regis, the house is the king's;

stulti est in errore manere, it is (the part) of a fool to remain in error;

de bello judicium imperatoris est, non militum, the decision concerning war belongs to the general, not to the soldiers.

a. For the difference in force between the Possessive Genitive and the Dative of Possession, see Sec. 359, 1.

199. Subjective Genitive. This denotes the person who makes or produces something or who has a feeling; as,—

dicta Platonis, the utterances of Plato;

timores liberorum, the fears of the children.

200. Objective Genitive. This denotes the object of an action or feeling; as,—

metus deorum, the fear of the gods;

amor libertatis, love of liberty;

consuetudo bonorum hominum, intercourse with good men.

1. This relation is often expressed by means of prepositions; as,—

amor erga parentes, love toward one's parents.

201. Genitive of the Whole. This designates the whole of which a part is taken. It is used—

1. With Nouns, Pronouns, Comparatives, Superlatives, and Ordinal Numerals; as,—

magna pars hominum, a great part of mankind;

duo milia peditum, two thousand foot-soldiers;

quis mortalium, who of mortals?

major fratrum, the elder of the brothers;

gens maxima Germanorum, the largest tribe of the Germans;

primus omnium, the first of all.

a. Yet instead of the Genitive of the Whole we often find ex or de with the Ablative, regularly so with Cardinal numbers and quidam; as,—

fidelissimus de servis, the most trusty of the slaves;

quidam ex amicis, certain of his friends;

unus ex militibus, one of the soldiers.

b. In English we often use of where there is no relation of whole to part. In such cases the Latin is more exact, and does not use the Genitive; as,—

quot vos estis, how many of you are there?

trecenti conjuravimus, three hundred of us have conspired (i.e. we, three hundred in number).

2. The Genitive of the Whole is used also with the Nominative or Accusative Singular Neuter of Pronouns, or of Adjectives used substantively; also with the Adverbs parum, satis, and partim when used substantively; as,—

quid consili, what purpose?

tantum cibi, so much food;

plus auctoritatis, more authority;

minus laboris, less labor;

satis pecuniae, enough money;

parum industriae, too little industry.

a. An Adjective of the second declension used substantively may be employed as a Genitive of the Whole; as, nihil boni, nothing good.

b. But Adjectives of the third declension agree directly with the noun they limit; as, nihil dulcius, nothing sweeter.

3. Occasionally we find the Genitive of the Whole dependent upon Adverbs of place; as,—

ubi terrarum? ubi gentium? where in the world?

a. By an extension of this usage the Genitive sometimes occurs in dependence upon pridie and postridie, but only in the phrases pridie ejus diei, on the day before that; postridie ejus diei, on the day after that.

202. Appositional Genitive. The Genitive sometimes has the force of an appositive; as,—

nomen regis, the name of king;

poena mortis, the penalty of death;

ars scribendi, the art of writing.

203. Genitive of Quality. The Genitive modified by an Adjective is used to denote quality. This construction presents several varieties. Thus it is used—

1. To denote some internal or permanent characteristic of a person or thing; as,—

vir magnae virtutis, a man of great virtue;

rationes ejus modi, considerations of that sort.

a. Only a limited number of Adjectives occur in this construction, chiefly magnus, maximus, summus, tantus, along with ejus.

2. To denote measure (breadth, length, etc.); as,—

fossa quindecim pedum, a trench fifteen feet wide (or deep);

exsilium decem annorum, an exile of ten years.

3. Equivalent to the Genitive of Quality (though probably of different origin) are the Genitives tanti, quanti, parvi, magni, minoris, pluris, minimi, plurimi, maximi. These are used predicatively to denote indefinite value; as,—

nulla studia tanti sunt, no studies are of so much value;

magni opera ejus existimata est, his assistance was highly esteemed.

4. By an extension of the notion of value, quanti, tanti, pluris, and minoris are also used with verbs of buying and selling, to denote indefinite price; as,—

quanti aedes emisti, at how high a price did you purchase the house?

5. Any of the above varieties of the Genitive of Quality may be used predicatively; as,—

tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem, of so great difficulty was it to found the Roman race.

GENITIVE WITH ADJECTIVES.

204. The Genitive is used with many Adjectives to limit the extent of their application. Thus:—

1. With adjectives signifying desire, knowledge, familiarity, memory, participation, power, fullness, and their opposites; as,—

studiosus discendi, desirous of learning;

peritus belli, skilled in war;

insuetus laboris, unused to toil;

immemor mandati tui, unmindful of your commission;

plena periculorum est vita, life is full of dangers.

a. Some participles used adjectively also take the Genitive; as,—

diligens veritatis, fond of truth;

amans patriae, devoted to one's country.

2. Sometimes with proprius and communis; as,—

viri propria est fortitudo, bravery is characteristic of a man.

memoria est communis omnium artium, memory is common to all professions.

a. proprius and communis are also construed with the Dative.

3. With similis the Genitive is the commoner construction in Cicero, when the reference is to living objects; as,—

filius patris simillimus est, the son is exactly like his father;

mei similis, like me; vestri similis, like you.

When the reference is to things, both Genitive and Dative occur; as,—

mors somno (or somni) similis est, death is like sleep.

4. In the poets and later prose writers the use of the Genitive with Adjectives is extended far beyond earlier limits; as, atrox animi, fierce of temper; incertus consili, undecided in purpose.

GENITIVE WITH VERBS.

205. The Genitive is used with the following classes of Verbs:—

Memini, Reminiscor, Obliviscor.

206. 1. WHEN REFERRING TO PERSONS—

a. memini always takes the Genitive of personal or reflexive pronouns; as,—

mei memineris, remember me!

nostri meminit, he remembers us.

With other words denoting persons memini takes the Accusative, rarely the Genitive; as,—

Sullam memini, I recall Sulla;

vivorum memini, I remember the living.

b. obliviscor regularly takes the Genitive; as,—

Epicuri non licet oblivisci, we mustn't forget Epicurus.

2. WHEN REFERRING TO THINGS, memini, reminiscor, obliviscor take sometimes the Genitive, sometimes the Accusative, without difference of meaning; as,—

animus praeteritorum meminit, the mind remembers the past;

meministine nomina, do you remember the names?

reminiscere veteris incommodi, remember the former disaster;

reminiscens acerbitatem, remembering the bitterness.

a. But neuter pronouns, and adjectives used substantively, regularly stand in the Accusative; as,—

haec memini, I remember this;

multa reminiscor, I remember many things.

3. The phrase mihi (tibi, etc.) in mentem venit, following the analogy of memini, takes the Genitive; as,—

mihi patriae veniebat in mentem, I remembered my country.

Admoneo, Commoneo, Commonefacio.

207. These verbs, in addition to an Accusative of the person, occasionally take a Genitive of the thing; as,—

te veteris amicitiae commonefacio, I remind you of our old friendship.

a. But more frequently (in Cicero almost invariably) these verbs take de with the Ablative; as,—

me admones de sorore, you remind me of your sister.

b. A neuter pronoun or adjective used substantively regularly stands in the Accusative (Sec. 178, 1, d); as,—

te hoc admoneo, I give you this warning.

Verbs of Judicial Action.

208. 1. Verbs of Accusing, Convicting, Acquitting take the Genitive of the charge; as,—

me furti accusat, he accuses me of theft;

Verrem avaritiae coarguit, he convicts Verres of avarice;

impietatis absolutus est, he was acquitted of blasphemy.

2. Verbs of Condemning take—

a. The Genitive of the charge; as,—

pecuniae publicae condemnatus, condemned (on the charge) of embezzlement (lit. public money);

capitis damnatus, condemned on a capital charge (lit. on a charge involving his head).

b. The Ablative of the penalty; as,—

capite damnatus est, he was condemned to death;

mille nummis damnatus est, he was condemned (to pay) a thousand sesterces (lit. by a thousand sesterces, Abl. of Means).

3. Note the phrases:—

voti damnatus, voti reus, having attained one's prayer (lit. condemned on the score of one's vow);

de vi, (accused, convicted, etc.) of assault;

inter sicarios, (accused, convicted, etc.) of murder.

Genitive with Impersonal Verbs.

209. 1. The Impersonals pudet, paenitet, miseret, taedet, piget take the Accusative of the person affected, along with the Genitive of the person or thing toward whom the feeling is directed; as,—

pudet me tui, I am ashamed of you (lit. it shames me of you);

paenitet me hujus facti, I repent of this act;

eum taedet vitae, he is weary of life;

pauperum te miseret, you pity the poor.

a. Instead of the Genitive of the thing we often find an Infinitive or Neuter Pronoun used as subject of the verb. Thus;—

me paenitet hoc fecisse, I repent of having done this;

me hoc pudet, I am ashamed of this.

2. Misereor and miseresco also govern the Genitive; as,—

miseremini sociorum, pity the allies.

Interest, Refert.

210. With interest, it concerns, three points enter into consideration; viz.—

a) the person concerned; b) the thing about which he is concerned; c) the extent of his concern.

211. 1. The person concerned is regularly denoted by the Genitive; as,—

patris interest, it concerns the father.

a. But instead of the Genitive of the personal pronouns, mei, tui, nostri, vestri, the Latin uses the Ablative Singular Feminine of the Possessive, viz.: mea, tua, etc.; as,—

mea interest, it concerns me.

2. The thing about which a person is concerned is denoted—

a) by a Neuter Pronoun as subject; as,—

hoc rei publicae interest, this concerns the state.

b) by an Infinitive; as,—

omnium interest valere, it concerns all to keep well.

c) by an Indirect Question; as,—

mea interest quando venias, I am concerned as to when you are coming.

3. The degree of concern is denoted—

a) by the Genitive (cf. Sec. 203, 3): magni, parvi, etc.; as,—

mea magni interest, it concerns me greatly.

b) by the Adverbs, magnopere, magis, maxime, etc.; as,—

civium minime interest, it concerns the citizens very little.

c) by the Neuters, multum, plus, minus, etc.; as,—

multum vestra interest, it concerns you much.

4. Refert follows interest in its construction, except that it rarely takes the Genitive of the person. Thus:—

mea refert, it concerns me;

but rarely illius refert, it concerns him.

Genitive with Other Verbs.

212. 1. Verbs of Plenty and Want sometimes govern the Genitive; as,—

pecuniae indiges, you need money.

a. These verbs more commonly take the Ablative (Sec. 214, 1); indigeo is the only verb which has a preference for the Genitive.

2. Potior, though usually followed by the Ablative, sometimes takes the Genitive, almost always so in Sallust; and regularly in the phrase potiri rerum, to get control of affairs.

3. In poetry some verbs take the Genitive in imitation of the Greek; as,—

desine querellarum, cease your complaints;

operum soluti, freed from their tasks.

* * * * *

THE ABLATIVE.

213. The Latin Ablative unites in itself three cases which were originally distinct both in form and in meaning; viz.—

The Ablative or from-case. The Instrumental or with-case. The Locative or where-case.

The uses of the Latin Ablative accordingly fall into Genuine Ablative uses, Instrumental uses, and Locative uses.

GENUINE ABLATIVE USES.

Ablative of Separation.

214. The Ablative of Separation is construed sometimes with, sometimes without, a preposition.

1. The following words regularly take the Ablative without a preposition:—

a) The Verbs of freeing: libero, solvo, levo;

b) The Verbs of depriving: privo, spolio, exuo, fraudo, nudo;

c) The Verbs of lacking: egeo, careo, vaco;

d) The corresponding Adjectives, liber, inanis, vacuus, nudus,

and some others of similar meaning.

Thus:—

curis liberatus, freed from cares;

Caesar hostes armis exuit, Caesar stripped the enemy of their arms;

caret sensu communi, he lacks common sense;

auxilio eget, he needs help;

bonorum vita vacua est metu, the life of the good is free from fear.

NOTE 1.—Yet Adjectives and libero may take the preposition ab,—regularly so with the Ablative of persons; as,—

urbem a tyranno liberarunt, they freed the city from the tyrant.

NOTE 2.—Indigeo usually takes the Genitive. See Sec. 212, 1, a.

2. Of Verbs signifying to keep from, to remove, to withdraw, some take the preposition, others omit it. The same Verb often admits both constructions. Examples:—

abstinere cibo, to abstain from food;

hostes finibus prohibuerunt, they kept the enemy from their borders;

praedones ab insula prohibuit, he kept the pirates from the island.

3. Other Verbs of separation usually take the Ablative with a Prepositon, particularly compounds of dis- and se-; as,—

dissentio a te, I dissent from you;

secernantur a nobis, let them be separated from us.

4. The Preposition is freely omitted in poetry.

Ablative of Source.

215. The Ablative of Source is used with the participles natus and ortus (in poetry also with editus, satus, and some others), to designate parentage or station; as,—

Jove natus, son of Jupiter;

summo loco natus, high-born (lit. born from a very high place);

nobili genere ortus, born of a noble family.

1. Pronouns regularly (nouns rarely) take ex; as,

ex me natus, sprung from me.

2. To denote remoter descent, ortus ab, or oriundus (with or without ab), is used; as,—

ab Ulixe oriundus, descended from Ulysses.

Ablative of Agent.

216. The Ablative accompanied by a (ab) is used with passive verbs to denote the personal agent; as,—

a Caesare accusatus est, he was arraigned by Caesar.

1. Collective nouns referring to persons, and abstract nouns when personified, may be construed as the personal agent. Thus:—

hostes a fortuna deserebantur, the enemy were deserted by Fortune;

a multitudine hostium montes tenebantur, the mountains were held by a multitude of the enemy.

2. Names of animals sometimes admit the same construction. Thus:—

a canibus laniatus est, he was torn to pieces by dogs.

Ablative of Comparison.

217. 1. The Ablative is often used with Comparatives in the sense of than; as,—

melle dulcior, sweeter than honey;

patria mihi vita carior est, my country is dearer to me than life.

2. This construction, as a rule, occurs only as a substitute for quam (than) with the Nominative or Accusative. In other cases quam must be used; as,—

tui studiosior sum quam illius, I am fonder of you than of him.

—Studiosior illo would have meant, I am fonder of you than he is.

Plus, minus, amplius, longius are often employed as the equivalents of plus quam, minus quam, etc. Thus:—

amplius viginti urbes incenduntur, more than twenty cities are fired;

minus quinque milia processit, he advanced less than five miles.

3. Note the use of opinione with Comparatives; as,—

opinione celerius venit, he comes more quickly than expected (lit. than opinion).

INSTRUMENTAL USES OF THE ABLATIVE.

Ablative of Means.

218. The Ablative is used to denote means or instrument; as,—

Alexander sagitta vulneratus est, Alexander was wounded by an arrow.

There are the following special varieties of this Ablative:—

1. Utor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor, and their compounds take the Ablative; as,—

divitiis utitur, he uses his wealth (lit. he benefits himself by his wealth);

vita fruitur, he enjoys life (lit. he enjoys himself by life);

munere fungor, I perform my duty (lit. I busy myself with duty);

carne vescuntur, they eat flesh (lit. feed themselves by means of);

castris potitus est, he got possession of the camp (lit. made himself powerful by the camp).

a.. Potior sometimes governs the Genitive. See Sec. 212, 2.

2. With opus est (rarely usus est), there is need; as,—

duce nobis opus est, we need a leader.

a. A Neuter Pronoun or Adjective often stands as subject with opus as predicate. Thus:—

hoc mihi opus est, this is necessary for me.

b. An ordinary substantive rarely stands as subject. Thus dux nobis opus est is a rare form of expression.

c. Note the occasional use of a perfect passive participle with opus est; as,—

opus est properato, there is need of haste.

3. With nitor, innixus, and fretus; as,—

nititur hasta, he rests on a spear (lit. supports himself by a spear);

fretus virtute, relying on virtue (lit. supported by virtue).

4. With contineri, consistere, constare, consist of; as,—

nervis et ossibus continentur, they consist of sinews and bones (lit. they are held together by sinews and bones);

mortali consistit corpore mundus, the world consists of mortal substance (lit. holds together by means of, etc.).

6. In expressions of the following type:—

quid hoc homine facias, what can you do with this man?

quid mea Tulliola fiet, 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:—

proelio contendere, vincere, to contend, conquer in battle;

proelio lacessere, to provoke to battle;

curru vehi, to ride in a chariot;

pedibus ire, to go on foot;

castris se tenere, to keep in camp.

8. With Verbs of filling and Adjectives of plenty; as,—

fossas virgultis complerunt, they filled the trenches with brush.

a. But plenus more commonly takes the Genitive. See Sec. 204, 1.

9. Under 'Means' belongs also the Ablative of the Way by Which; as,—

vinum Tiberi devectum, wine brought down (by) the Tiber.

10. The means may be a person as well as a thing. Thus:—

militibus a lacu Lemanno ad montem Juram murum perducit, 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 gloriae cupiditate fecit, he did many things on account of his love of glory.

1. So especially with verbs denoting mental states; as, delector, gaudeo, laetor, glorior, fido, confido. Also with contentus; as,—

fortuna amici gaudeo, I rejoice at the fortune of my friend (i.e. on account of it);

victoria sua gloriantur, they exult over their victory;

natura loci confidebant, they trusted in the character of their country (lit. were confident on account of the character).

a. fido and confido always take the Dative of the person (Sec. 187, II, a); sometimes the Dative of the thing.

2. As Ablatives of Cause are to be reckoned also such Ablatives as jussu, by order of, injussu, without the order, rogatu, etc.

Ablative of Manner.

220. The Ablative with cum is used to denote manner; as,—

cum gravitate loquitur, he speaks with dignity.

1. The preposition may be absent when the Ablative is modified by an adjective; as,—

magna gravitate loquitur, he speaks with great dignity.

2. The preposition is regularly absent in the expressions jure, injuria, joco, vi, fraude, voluntate, furto, silentio.

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:—

mea sententia, according to my opinion;

suis moribus, in accordance with their custom;

sua sponte, voluntarily, of his (their) own accord;

ea condicione, 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,—

bonis auspiciis, under good auspices;

nulla est altercatio clamoribus umquam habita majoribus, no debate was ever held under circumstances of greater applause;

exstinguitur ingenti luctu provinciae, he dies under circumstances of great grief on the part of the province;

longo intervallo 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 febri 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 copiis, ingenti exercitu, magna manu; but usually cum exercitu, cum duabus legionibus.

Ablative of Association.

222A. The Ablative is often used with verbs of joining, mixing, clinging, exchanging; also with assuesco, consuesco, assuefacio, and some others to denote association; as,—

improbitas scelere juncta, badness joined with crime;

aer calore admixtus, air mixed with heat;

assuetus labore, accustomed to (lit. familiarized with) toil;

pacem bello permutant, 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, infra, supra) to denote the degree of difference; as,—

dimidio minor, smaller by a half;

tribus pedibus altior, three feet higher;

paulo post, a little afterwards;

quo plura habemus, eo cupimus ampliora, 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 eximia forma, a girl of exceptional beauty;

vir singulari industria, a man of singular industry.

1. The Ablative of Quality may also be used predicatively; as,—

est magna prudentia, he is (a man) of great wisdom;

bono anima sunt, they are of good courage.

2. In place of the Adjective we sometimes find a limiting Genitive; as,—

sunt specie et colore tauri, they are of the appearance and color of a bull,

3. In poetry the Ablative of Quality sometimes denotes material; as,—

scopulis pendentibus antrum, a cave of arching rocks.

Ablative of Price.

225. With verbs of buying and selling, price is designated by the Ablative; as—

servum quinque minis emit, he bought the slave for five minae.

1. The Ablatives magno, plurimo, parvo, minimo (by omission of pretio) are used to denote indefinite price; as,—

aedes magno vendidit, he sold the house for a high price.

2. For the Genitive of Indefinite Price, see Sec. 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,—

Helvetii omnibus Gallis virtute praestabant, the Helvetians surpassed all the Gauls in valor;

pede claudus, lame in his foot.

1. Note the phrases:—

major natu, older (lit. greater as to age);

minor natu, younger.

2. Here belongs the use of the Ablative with dignus, worthy, indignus, unworthy, and dignor, deem worthy of; as,—

digni honore, worthy of honor (i.e. in point of honor);

fide indigni, unworthy of confidence;

me dignor honore, 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 capta, Aeneas fugit, 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,—

vivo Caesare res publica salva erat, while Caesar was alive the state was safe (lit. Caesar being alive);

Tarquinio rege, Pythagoras in Italiam venit, in the reign of Tarquin Pythagoras came into Italy (lit. Tarquin being king);

Cn. Pompejo, M. Crasso consulibus, 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,—

omnes virtutes jacent, voluptate dominante, all virtues lie prostrate, if pleasure is master.

c) Opposition; as,—

perditis omnibus rebus, virtus se sustentare potest, though everything else is lost, yet Virtue can maintain herself.

d) Cause; as,—

nullo adversante regnum obtinuit, since no one opposed him, he secured the throne.

e) Attendant circumstance; as,—

passis palmis pacem petiverunt, 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,—

audito eum fugisse, 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 Sec. 232, 1); as,—

Carthagini, at Carthage;

Athenis, at Athens;

Vejis, at Veii.

b) The general words loco, locis, parte; also many words modified by totus or even by other Adjectives; as,—

hoc loco, at this place;

totis castris, in the whole camp.

c) The special words: foris, out of doors; ruri, in the country, terra marique, on land and sea.

d) The poets freely omit the preposition with any word denoting place; as,—

stant litore puppes, 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 Italia 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,—

Roma profectus est, he set out from Rome;

Rhodo revertit, he returned from Rhodes.

b) domo, from home; rure, from the country.

c) Freely in poetry; as,—

Italia decessit, 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,—

a Gergovia discessit, he withdrew from the vicinity of Gergovia;

a Roma X milia aberat, he was ten miles distant from Rome.

Urbe and oppido, when standing in apposition with a town name, are accompanied by a preposition; as,—

Curibus ex oppido Sabinorum, 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,—

quarta hora mortuus est, he died at the fourth hour;

anno septuagesimo consul creatus, elected consul in his seventieth year.

1. Any word denoting a period of time may stand in this construction, particularly annus, ver, aestas, hiems, dies, nox, hora, comitia (Election Day), ludi (the Games), etc.

2. Words not denoting time require the preposition in, unless accompanied by a modifier. Thus:—

in pace, in peace; in bello, in war;

but secundo bello Punico, in the second Punic War.

3. Expressions like in eo tempore, in summa senectute, 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 Saturni triginta annis cursum conficit, the planet Saturn completes its orbit within thirty years;

ter in anno, thrice in the course of the year.

1. Occasionally the Ablative denotes duration of time; as,—

biennio prosperas res habuit, for two years he had a prosperous administration.

* * * * *

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,—

Romae, at Rome; Corinthi, at Corinth; Rhodi, at Rhodes.

2. In the following special forms:—

domi, at home; humi, on the ground; belli, in war; militiae, in war; vesperi, at evening; heri, yesterday.

3. Note the phrase pendere animi, lit. to be in suspense in one's mind.

4. For urbs and oppidum in apposition with a Locative, see Sec. 169, 4.

* * * * *

CHAPTER III.—Syntax of Adjectives.

233. 1. The word with which an Adjective agrees is called its Subject.

2. Attributive and Predicate Adjectives. An Attributive Adjective is one that limits its subject directly; as,—

vir sapiens, a wise man.

A Predicate Adjective is one that limits its subject through the medium of a verb (usually esse); as,—

vir est sapiens, the man is wise;

vir videbatur sapiens, the man seemed wise;

vir judicatus est sapiens, the man was judged wise;

hunc virum sapientem judicavimus, we adjudged this man wise.

3. Participles and Adjective Pronouns have the construction of Adjectives.

AGREEMENT OF ADJECTIVES.

234. Agreement with One Noun. When an Adjective limits one noun it agrees with it in Gender, Number, and Case.

1. Two Adjectives in the Singular may limit a noun in the Plural, as; prima et vicesima legiones, the first and twentieth legions.

2. A Predicate Adjective may stand in the Neuter when its Subject is Masculine or Feminine and denotes a thing; as,—

omnium rerum mors est extremum, death is the end of all things.

235. Agreement with Two or More Nouns.

A. AGREEMENT AS TO NUMBER.

1. When the Adjective is Attributive, it regularly agrees in number with the nearest noun; as,—

pater tuus et mater, your father and mother;

eadem alacritas et studium, the same eagerness and zeal.

2. When the Adjective is Predicative, it is regularly Plural; as,—

pax et concordia sunt pulchrae, peace and concord are glorious.

B. AGREEMENT AS TO GENDER.

1. When the Adjective is Attributive, it regularly agrees in gender with the nearest noun; as,—

res operae multae ac laboris, a matter of much effort and labor.

2. When the Adjective is Predicative—

a) If the nouns are of the same gender, the Adjective agrees with them in gender; as,—

pater et filius capti sunt, father and son were captured.

Yet with feminine abstract nouns, the Adjective is more frequently Neuter; as,—

stultitia et timiditas fugienda sunt, folly and cowardice must be shunned.

b) If the nouns are of different gender; then,—

a) In case they denote persons, the Adjective is Masculine; as,—

pater et mater mortui sunt, the father and mother have died.

b) In case they denote things, the Adjective is Neuter; as,—

honores et victoriae fortuita sunt, honors and victories are accidental.

c) In case they include both persons and things, the Adjective is,—

aa) Sometimes Masculine; as,—

domus, uxor, liberi inventi sunt, home, wife, and children are secured.

bb) Sometimes Neuter; as,—

parentes, liberos, domos vilia habere, to hold parents, children, houses cheap.

cc) Sometimes it agrees with the nearest noun; as,—

populi provinciaeque liberatae sunt, nations and provinces were liberated.

c) Construction according to Sense. Sometimes an Adjective does not agree with a noun according to strict grammatical form, but according to sense; as,—

pars bestiis objecti sunt, part (of the men) were thrown to beasts.

ADJECTIVES USED SUBSTANTIVELY.

236. 1. PLURAL ADJECTIVES USED SUBSTANTIVELY. Adjectives are quite freely used as Substantives in the Plural. The Masculine denotes persons; the Neuter denotes things; as,—

docti, scholars; parva, small things; mali, the wicked; magna, great things; Graeci, the Greeks; utilia, useful things; nostri, our men.

2. Neuter Plural Adjectives thus used are confined mainly to the Nominative and Accusative cases. Such forms as magnorum, omnium; magnis, omnibus, would ordinarily lead to ambiguity; yet where there is no ambiguity, they sometimes occur; as,—

parvis componere magna, to compare great things with small

Otherwise the Latin says: magnarum rerum, magnis rebus, etc.

237. SINGULAR ADJECTIVES USED SUBSTANTIVELY. Adjectives are less freely used as Substantives in the Singular than in the Plural.

1. Masculine Adjectives occur only occasionally in this use; as,—

probus invidet nemini, the honest man envies nobody.

a. Usually vir, homo, or some similar word is employed; as,—

homo doctus, a scholar;

vir Romanus, a Roman.

b. But when limited by a pronoun any adjective may be so used; as,—

hic doctus, this scholar;

doctus quidam, a certain scholar.

2. Neuters are likewise infrequent; as,—

verum, truth;

justum, justice;

honestum, virtue.

a. This substantive use of Neuter Singulars is commonest in the construction of the Genitive of the Whole, and after Prepositions; as,—

aliquid veri, something true;

nihil novi, nothing new;

in medio, in the midst.

238. From Adjectives which, like the above, occasionally admit the substantive use, must be carefully distinguished certain others which have become nouns; as,—

adversarius, opponent; hiberna, winter quarters; aequalis, contemporary; propinquus, relative; amicus, friend; socius, partner; cognatus, kinsman; sodalis, comrade; vicinus, neighbor; etc.

ADJECTIVES WITH THE FORCE OF ADVERBS.

239. The Latin often uses an Adjective where the English idiom employs an Adverb or an adverbial phrase; as,—

senatus frequens convenit, the senate assembled in great numbers;

fuit assiduus mecum, he was constantly with me.

COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES.

240. 1. The Comparative often corresponds to the English Positive with 'rather,' 'somewhat,' 'too'; as,—

senectus est loquacior, old age is rather talkative.

2. So the Superlative often corresponds to the Positive with 'very'; as,—

vir fortissimus, a very brave man.

3. Strengthening Words. Vel and quam are often used with the Superlative as strengthening particles, vel with the force of 'very,' and quam with the force of 'as possible'; as,—

vel maximus, the very greatest;

quam maximae copiae, as great forces as possible.

4. Phrases of the type 'more rich than brave' regularly take the Comparative in both members; as,—

exercitus erat ditior quam fortior, the army was more rich than brave.

OTHER PECULIARITIES.

241. 1. Certain Adjectives may be used to denote a part of an object, chiefly primus, extremus, summus, medius, infimus, imus; as,—

summus mons, the top of the mountain;

extrema hieme, in the last part of the winter.

2. Prior, primus, ultimus, and postremus are frequently equivalent to a relative clause; as,—

primus eam vidi, I was the first who saw her;

ultimus decessit, he was the last who withdrew.

3. When multus and another adjective both limit the same noun et is generally used; as,—

multae et magnae cogitationes, many (and) great thoughts.

* * * * *

CHAPTER IV.—Syntax of Pronouns.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

242. 1. The Personal Pronouns as subjects of verbs are, as a rule, not expressed except for the purpose of emphasis, contrast, or clearness. Thus ordinarily:—

video, I see; amat, he loves.

But ego te video, et tu me vides, I see you, and you see me.

2. The Genitives mei, tui, nostri, vestri are used only as Objective Genitives; nostrum and vestrum as Genitives of the Whole. Thus:—

memor tui, mindful of you;

desiderium vestri, longing for you;

nemo vestrum, no one of you.

a. But nostrum and vestrum are regularly used in the place of the Possessive in the phrases omnium nostrum, omnium vestrum.

3. The First Plural is often used for the First Singular of Pronouns and Verbs. Compare the Eng. editorial 'we.'

4. When two Verbs govern the same object, the Latin does not use a pronoun with the second, as is the rule in English. Thus:—

virtus amicitias conciliat et conservat, virtue establishes friendships and maintains them (not eas conservat).

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS.

243. 1. The Possessive Pronouns, as a rule, are not employed except for the purpose of clearness. Thus:—

patrem amo, I love my father;

de filii morte flebas, you wept for the death of your son.

But—

de morte filii mei flebas, you wept for the death of my son.

a. When expressed merely for the sake of clearness, the possessive usually stands after its noun; but in order to indicate emphasis or contrast, it precedes; as,—

sua manu liberos occidit, with his own hand he slew his children;

mea quidem sententia, in my opinion at least.

2. Sometimes the Possessive Pronouns are used with the force of an Objective Genitive; as,—

metus vester, fear of you;

desiderium tuum, longing for you.

3. For special emphasis, the Latin employs ipsius or ipsorum, in apposition with the Genitive idea implied in the Possessive; as,—

mea ipsius opera, by my own help;

nostra ipsorum opera, by our own help.

a. So sometimes other Genitives; as,—

mea unius opera, by the assistance of me alone.

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS.

244. 1. The Reflexive Pronoun se and the Possessive Reflexive suus have a double use:—

I. They may refer to the subject of the clause (either principal or subordinate) in which they stand,—'Direct Reflexives'; as,—

se amant, they love themselves;

suos amicos adjuvat, he helps his own friends;

eum oravi, ut se servaret, I besought him to save himself.

II. They may stand in a subordinate clause and refer to the subject of the principal clause,—'Indirect Reflexives'; as,—

me oravit ut se defenderem, he besought me to defend him (lit. that I defend himself);

me oraverunt, ut fortunarum suarum defensionem susciperem, they besought me to undertake the defense of their fortunes.

a. The Indirect Reflexive is mainly restricted to those clauses which express the thought, not of the author, but of the subject of the principal clause.

2. The Genitive sui is regularly employed, like mei and tui, as an Objective Genitive, e.g. oblitus sui, forgetful of himself; but it occasionally occurs—particularly in post-Augustan writers—in place of the Possessive suus; as, fruitur fama sui, he enjoys his own fame.

3. Se and suus are sometimes used in the sense, one's self, one's own, where the reference is not to any particular person; as,—

se amare, to love one's self;

suum genium propitiare, to propitiate one's own genius.

4. Suus sometimes occurs in the meaning his own, their own, etc., referring not to the subject but to an oblique case; as,—

Hannibalem sui cives e civitate ejecerunt, his own fellow-citizens drove out Hannibal.

a. This usage is particularly frequent in combination with quisque; as,—

suus quemque error vexat, his own error troubles each.

5. The Reflexives for the first and second persons are supplied by the oblique cases of ego and tu (Sec. 85); as,—

vos defenditis, you defend yourselves.

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS.

245. 1. The Latin has no special reciprocal pronoun ('each other'), but expresses the reciprocal notion by the phrases: inter nos, inter vos, inter se; as,—

Belgae obsides inter se dederunt, the Belgae gave each other hostages (lit. among themselves);

amamus inter nos, we love each other;

Galli inter se cohortati sunt, the Gauls exhorted each other.

a. Note that the Object is not expressed in sentences of this type.

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS.

Hic, Ille, Iste.

246. 1. Where hic and ille are used in contrast, hic usually refers to the latter of two objects, and ille to the former.

2. Hic and ille are often used in the sense of 'the following'; as,—

Themistocles his verbis epistulam misit, Themistocles sent a letter (couched) in the following words;

illud intellego, omnium ora in me conversa esse, I understand this, that the faces of all are turned toward me.

3. Ille often means the famous; as, Solon ille, the famous Solon.

4. Iste frequently involves contempt; as, iste homo, that fellow!

5. The above pronouns, along with is, are usually attracted to the gender of a predicate noun; as, hic est honor, meminisse officium suum, this is an honor, to be mindful of one's duty.

Is.

247. 1. Is often serves as the antecedent of the relative qui. Thus:—

Maximum, eum qui Tarentum recepit, dilexi, I loved Maximus, the man who retook Tarentum.

a. Closely akin to this usage is is in the sense of such (= talis); as,—

non sum is qui terrear, I am not such a person as to be frightened.

b. Note the phrase id quod, where id stands in apposition with an entire clause; as,—

non suspicabatur (id quod nunc sentiet) satis multos testes nobis reliquos esse, he did not suspect (a thing which he will now perceive) that we had witnesses enough left.

Yet quod alone, without preceding id, sometimes occurs in this use.

2. Is also in all cases serves as the personal pronoun of the third person, 'he,' 'she,' 'it,' 'they,' 'them.'

3. When the English uses 'that of,' 'those of,' to avoid repetition of the noun, the Latin omits the pronoun: as,—

in exercitu Sullae et postea in Crassi fuerat, he had been in the army of Sulla and afterward in that of Crassus;

nullae me fabulae delectant nisi Plauti, no plays delight me except those of Plautus.

4. Note the phrases et is, et ea, etc., in the sense: and that too; as,—

vincula, et ea sempiterna, imprisonment, and that too permanently.

Idem.

248. 1. Idem in apposition with the subject or object often has the force of also, likewise; as,—

quod idem mihi contigit, which likewise happened to me (lit. which, the same thing);

bonus vir, quem eundem sapientem appellamus, a good man, whom we call also wise.

For idem atque (ac), the same as, see Sec. 341, 1. c.

Ipse.

249. 1. Ipse, literally self, acquires its special force from the context; as,—

eo ipso die, on that very day;

ad ipsam ripam, close to the bank;

ipso terrore, by mere fright;

valvae se ipsae aperuerunt, the doors opened of their own accord;

ipse aderat, he was present in person.

2. The reflexive pronouns are often emphasized by the addition of ipse, but ipse in such cases, instead of standing in apposition with the reflexive, more commonly agrees with the subject; as,—

secum ipsi loquuntur, they talk with themselves;

se ipse continere non potest, he cannot contain himself

3. Ipse is also used as an Indirect Reflexive for the purpose of marking a contrast or avoiding an ambiguity; as,—

Persae pertimuerunt ne Alcibiades ab ipsis descisceret et cum suis in gratiam rediret, the Persians feared that Alcibiades would break with them and become reconciled with his countrymen;

ea molestissime ferre debent homines quae ipsorum culpa contracta sunt, men ought to chafe most over those things which have been brought about by their own fault (as opposed to the fault of others).

RELATIVE PRONOUNS.

250. Agreement. 1. The Relative Pronoun agrees with its antecedent in Gender, Number, and Person, but its case is determined by its construction in the clause in which it stands; as,—

mulier quam videbamus, the woman whom we saw;

bona quibus fruimur, the blessings which we enjoy.

2. Where the antecedent is compound, the same principles for number and gender prevail as in case of predicate adjectives under similar conditions (see Sec. 235, B, 2). Thus:—

pater et filius, qui capti sunt, the father and son who were captured;

stultitia et timiditas quae fugienda sunt, folly and cowardice which must be shunned;

honores et victoriae quae sunt fortuita, honors and victories, which are accidental.

3. The Relative regularly agrees with a predicate noun (either Nominative or Accusative) instead of its antecedent; as,—

carcer, quae lautumiae vocantur, the prison, which is called Lautumiae;

Belgae, quae est tertia pars, the Belgians, who are the third part.

4. Sometimes the Relative takes its gender and number from the meaning of its antecedent; as,—

pars qui bestiis objecti sunt, a part (of the men) who were thrown to beasts.

5. Occasionally the Relative is attracted into the case of its antecedent; as,—

natus eo patre quo dixi, born of the father that I said.

251. Antecedent. 1. The antecedent of the Relative is sometimes omitted; as,—

qui naturam sequitur sapiens est, he who follows Nature is wise.

2. The antecedent may be implied in a possessive pronoun (or rarely an adjective); as,—

nostra qui remansimus caedes, the slaughter of us who remained;

servili tumultu, quos usus ac disciplina sublevarunt, at the uprising of the slaves, whom experience and discipline assisted (servili = servorum).

3. Sometimes the antecedent is repeated with the Relative; as,—

erant itinera duo, quibus itineribus, there were two routes, by which (routes).

4. Incorporation of Antecedent in Relative Clause. The antecedent is often incorporated in the relative clause. Thus:—

a) When the relative clause stands first; as,—

quam quisque novit artem, in hac se exerceat, let each one practice the branch which he knows.

b) When the antecedent is an appositive; as,—

non longe a Tolosatium finibus absunt, quae civitas est in provincia, they are not far from the borders of the Tolosates, a state which is in our province.

c) When the logical antecedent is a superlative; as,—

Themistocles de servis suis, quem habuit fidelissimum, misit, Themistocles sent the most trusty slave he had.

d) In expressions of the following type—

qua es prudentia; quae tua est prudentia, such is your prudence (lit. of which prudence you are; which is your prudence).

5. The Relative is never omitted in Latin as it is in English. Thus the boy I saw must be puer quem vidi.

6. The Relative is used freely in Latin, particularly at the beginning of a sentence, where in English we employ a demonstrative; as,—

quo factum est, by this it happened;

quae cum ita sint, since this is so;

quibus rebus cognitis, when these things became known.

7. The Relative introducing a subordinate clause may belong grammatically to a clause which is subordinate to the one it introduces; as,—

numquam digne satis laudari philosophia poterit, cui qui pareat, omne tempus aetatis sine molestia possit degere, philosophy can never be praised enough, since he who obeys her can pass every period of life without annoyance (lit. he who obeys which, etc.).

Here cui introduces the subordinate clause possit and connects it with philosophia; but cui is governed by pareat, which is subordinate to possit.

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS.

252. 1. Quis, any one, is the weakest of the Indefinites, and stands usually in combination with si, nisi, ne, num; as,—

si quis putat, if any one thinks.

2. Aliquis (adj. aliqui) is more definite than quis, and corresponds usually to the English some one, somebody, some; as,—

nunc aliquis dicat mihi, now let somebody tell me;

utinam modo agatur aliquid, oh that something may be done.

3. Quidam, a certain one, is still more definite than aliquis; as,—

homo quidam, a certain man (i.e., one whom I have in mind).

a. Quidam (with or without quasi, as if) is sometimes used in the sense: a sort of, kind of; as,—

cognatio quaedam, a sort of relationship;

mors est quasi quaedam migratio, death is a kind of transfer as it were.

4. Quisquam, any one, any one whoever (more general than quis), and its corresponding adjective ullus, any, occur mostly in negative and conditional sentences, in interrogative sentences implying a negative, and in clauses of comparison; as,—

justitia numquam nocet cuiquam, justice never harms anybody;

si quisquam, Cato sapiens fuit, if anybody was ever wise, Cato was;

potestne quisquam sine perturbatione animi irasci, can anybody be angry without excitement?

si ullo modo poterit, if it can be done in any way;

taetrior hic tyrannus fuit quam quisquam superiorum, he was a viler tyrant than any of his predecessors.

5. Quisque, each one, is used especially under the following circumstances:—

a) In connection with suus. See Sec. 244, 4, a.

b) In connection with a Relative or Interrogative Pronoun; as,—

quod cuique obtigit, id teneat, what falls to each, that let him hold.

c) In connection with superlatives; as,—

optimus quisque, all the best (lit. each best one).

d) With ordinal numerals; as,—

quinto quoque anno, every four years (lit. each fifth year).

6. Nemo, no one, in addition to its other uses, stands regularly with adjectives used substantively; as,—

nemo mortalis, no mortal;

nemo Romanus, no Roman.

PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES.

253. 1. Alius, another, and alter, the other, are often used correlatively; as,—

aliud loquitur, aliud sentit, he says one thing, he thinks another;

alii resistunt, alii fugiunt, some resist, others flee;

alter exercitum perdidit, alter vendidit, one ruined the army, the other sold it;

alteri se in montem receperunt, alteri ad impedimenta se contulerunt, the one party retreated to the mountain, the others betook themselves to the baggage.

2. Where the English says one does one thing, another another, the Latin uses a more condensed form of statement; as,—

alius aliud amat, one likes one thing, another another;

aliud aliis placet, one thing pleases some, another others.

a. So sometimes with adverbs; as,—

alii alio fugiunt, some flee in one direction, others in another.

3. The Latin also expresses the notion 'each other' by means of alius repeated; as,—

Galli alius alium cohortati sunt, the Gauls encouraged each other.

4. Ceteri means the rest, all the others; as,—

ceteris praestare, to be superior to all the others.

5. Reliqui means the others in the sense of the rest, those remaining,—hence is the regular word with numerals; as,—

reliqui sex, the six others.

6. Nescio quis forms a compound indefinite pronoun with the force of some one or other; as,—

causidicus nescio quis, some pettifogger or other;

misit nescio quem, he sent some one or other;

nescio quo pacto, somehow or other.

* * * * *

CHAPTER V.—Syntax of Verbs.

AGREEMENT.

With One Subject.

254. 1. Agreement in Number and Person. A Finite Verb agrees with its subject in Number and Person; as,—

vos videtis, you see;

pater filios instituit, the father trains his sons.

2. Agreement in Gender. In the compound forms of the verb the participle regularly agrees with its subject in gender; as,—

seditio repressa est, the mutiny was checked.

3. But when a predicate noun is of different gender or number from its subject, the verb usually agrees with its nearest substantive; as,—

Tarquinii materna patria erat, Tarquinii was his native country on his mother's side;

non omnis error stultitia est dicenda, not every error is to be called folly.

a. Less frequently the verb agrees with an appositive; as,—

Corioli, oppidum Volscorum, captum est, Corioli, a town of the Volsci, was captured.

4. Construction according to Sense. Sometimes the verb agrees with its subject according to sense instead of strict grammatical form. Thus:—

a) In Number; as,—

multitudo hominum convenerant, a crowd of men had gathered.

b) In Gender; as,—

duo milia crucibus adfixi sunt, two thousand (men) were crucified.

With Two or More Subjects.

255. 1. Agreement in Number. With two or more subjects the verb is regularly plural; as,—

pater et filius mortui sunt, the father and son died.

2. But sometimes the verb agrees with the nearest subject; viz.,—

a) When the verb precedes both subjects or stands between them; as,—

mortuus est pater et filius;

pater mortuus est et filius.

b) When the subjects are connected by aut; aut ... aut; vel ... vel; neque ... neque; as,—

neque pater neque filius mortuus est, neither father nor son died.

3. When the different subjects are felt together as constituting a whole, the singular is used; as,—

temeritas ignoratioque vitiosa est, rashness and ignorance are bad.

a. This is regularly the case in senatus populusque Romanus.

4. Agreement in Person. With compound subjects of different persons the verb always takes the first person rather than the second, and the second rather than the third; as,—

si tu et Tullia valetis, ego et Cicero valemus, if you and Tullia are well, Cicero and I are well.

5. Agreement in Gender. With subjects of different genders the participle in the compound tenses follows the same principles as laid down for predicate adjectives. See Sec. 235, B, 2.

VOICES.

256. 1. The Passive Voice sometimes retains traces of its original middle or reflexive meaning; as,—

ego non patiar eum defendi, I shall not allow him to defend himself.

2. In imitation of Greek usage many perfect passive participles are used by the poets as indirect middles, i.e. the subject is viewed as acting not upon itself, but as doing something in his own interest; as,—

velatus tempora, having veiled his temples.

a. Occasionally finite forms of the verb are thus used; as,—

tunica inducitur artus, he covers his limbs with a tunic.

3. Intransitive Verbs may be used impersonally in the passive; as,—

curritur, people run (lit. it is run);

ventum est, he (they, etc.) came (lit. it was come).

TENSES.

TENSES OF THE INDICATIVE.

257. 1. The Latin tenses express two distinct notions:—

a) The period of time to which the action belongs: Present, Past, or Future.

b) The kind of action: Undefined, Going on, or Completed.

The Latin with its six tenses is able to express each of the three kinds of action for each of the three periods of time (making practically nine tenses). It does this by employing certain tenses in more than one way, as may be seen by the following table:—

KIND OF PERIOD OF TIME. ACTION. PRESENT. PAST. FUTURE. UNDEFINED Present: Historical Future: scribo, I write. Perfect: scribam, I shall scripsi, I write. wrote. GOING ON. Present: Imperfect: Future: scribo, I am scribebam, I was scribam, I shall writing. writing. be writing. COMPLETED. Present Pluperfect: Future Perfect: Perfect: scripseram, I had scripsero, I scripsi, I have written. shall have written. written.

2. It will be seen that the Present may express Undefined action or action Going on; so also the Future. The Perfect likewise has a double use, according as it denotes action Completed in present time (Present Perfect) or Undefined action belonging to past time (Historical Perfect).

Principal and Historical Tenses.

258. Tenses which denote Present or Future time are called Principal (or Primary) Tenses, those which denote Past time are called Historical (or Secondary).

The Principal Tenses of the Indicative are: Present, Future, Present Perfect, Future Perfect.

The Historical Tenses are: Imperfect, Historical Perfect, Pluperfect.

Present Indicative.

259. Besides the two uses indicated in the table, the Present Indicative presents the following peculiarities:—

1. It is used to denote a general truth, i.e. something true not merely in the present but at all times ('Gnomic Present'); as,—

virtus conciliat amicitias et conservat, virtue establishes ties of friendship and maintains them (i.e. always does so).

2. It is used of an attempted action ('Conative Present'); as,—

dum vitant vitia, in contraria currunt, while they try to avoid (vitant) vices, they rush into opposite ones.

3. In lively narration the Present is often used of a past action ('Historical Present'); as,—

Caesar imperat magnum numerum obsidum, Caesar demanded a large number of hostages (lit. demands).

4. In combination with jam, jam diu, jam pridem, and similar words, the Present is frequently used of an action originating in the past and continuing in the present; as,—

jam pridem cupio te visere, I have long been desiring to visit you (i.e. I desire and have long desired).

Imperfect Indicative.

260. 1. The Imperfect primarily denotes action going on in past time; as,—

librum legebam, I was reading a book.

a. This force makes the Imperfect especially adapted to serve as the tense of description (as opposed to mere narration).

2. From the notion of action going on, there easily develops the notion of repeated or customary action; as,—

legatos interrogabat, he kept asking the envoys;

C. Duilium videbam puer, as a boy I often used to see Gaius Duilius.

3. The Imperfect often denotes an attempted action ('Conative Imperfect') or an action as beginning ('Inceptive Imperfect'); as,—

hostes nostros intra munitiones progredi prohibebant, the enemy tried to prevent (prohibebant) our men from advancing within the fortifications ('Conative');

ad proelium se expediebant, they were beginning to get ready for battle ('Inceptive').

4. The Imperfect, with jam, jam diu, jam dudum, etc., is sometimes used of an action which had been continuing some time; as,—

domicilium Romae multos jam annos habebat, he had had his residence at Rome for many years (i.e. he had it at this time and had long had it).

Future Indicative.

261. 1. The Latin is much more exact in the use of the Future than is the English. We say: 'If he comes, I shall be glad,' where we really mean: 'If he shall come,' etc. In such cases the Latin rarely admits the Present, but generally employs the Future.