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Latin · Unit 32

Lessons LXXVI–LXXIX

Latin for Beginners II

Vocabulary Review: The Genitive and Ablative of Quality or Description; Review of Agreement, and of the Genitive, Dative, and Accusative; Review of the Ablative; Review of the Gerund and Gerundive, the Infinitive, and the Subjunctive

105 lines

Vocabulary Review: The Genitive and Ablative of Quality or Description (D'Ooge LXXVI)

Two cases describe a quality

Vir magnae virtūtis means a man of great courage. The genitive magnae virtūtis corresponds to of great courage.

Vir magnā virtūte means a man with great courage. The ablative magnā virtūte corresponds to with great courage.

Latin requires a modifying adjective with either case.

Measure and body select the case

Fossa duodecim pedum means a ditch of twelve feet.

A numerical measure uses the genitive with a modifying adjective.

Homō magnīs pedibus et parvō capite means a man with big feet and a small head.

A physical characteristic uses the ablative with a modifying adjective.

Other descriptions allow either case

Rēx erat vir summā audāciā and rēx erat vir summae audāciae both mean the king was a man of the greatest boldness.

summā audāciā is ablative. summae audāciae is genitive.

A description that is neither a numerical measure nor a physical characteristic may use either case with a modifying adjective.

  1. 1

    A man of great courage

    Virman, hero
    magnaemagnus: great, large; strong, loud
    virtūtisvirtus: manliness, courage
  2. 2

    A man with great courage

  3. 3

    A forest of tall trees

  4. 4

    A forest with tall trees

  5. 5

    a ditch of twelve feet

  6. 6

    a man with big feet and a small head

  7. 7

    the king was a man of the greatest boldness

  8. 8

    the king was a man of the greatest boldness

  9. 9

    the Helvetii intend, (lit. it is in mind to the Helvetians)

  10. 10

    to give in marriage

  11. 11

    to have no power

  12. 12

    to construct a ditch (lit. to lead a ditch through)

D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners (1911), Lesson LXXVI, §§440-446

§440. Review the word lists in §§524, 525.
§441. Observe the English sentences

(1) A man of great courage, or (2) A man with great courage

(3) A forest of tall trees, or (4) A forest with tall trees

Each of these sentences contains a phrase of quality or description. In the first two a man is described; in the last two a forest. The descriptive phrases are introduced by the prepositions of and with.

In Latin the expression of quality or description is very similar.

The prepositions of and with suggest the genitive and the ablative respectively, and we translate the sentences above

(1) Vir magnae virtūtis, or (2) Vir magnā virtūte
(3) Silva altārum arborum, or (4) Silva altīs arboribus

There is, however, one important difference between the Latin and the English. In English we may say, for example, a man of courage, using the descriptive phrase without an adjective modifier. In Latin, however, an adjective modifier must always be used, as above.

a. Latin makes a distinction between the use of the two cases in that numerical descriptions of measure are in the genitive and descriptions of physical characteristics are in the ablative. Other descriptive phrases may be in either case.
§442. EXAMPLES

1. Fossa duodecim pedum, a ditch of twelve feet.

2. Homō magnīs pedibus et parvō capite,
   a man with big feet and a small head.

3. Rēx erat vir summā audāciā or rēx erat vir summae audāciae, the king was a man of the greatest boldness.
§443. RULE. Genitive of Description. Numerical descriptions of measure are expressed by the genitive with a modifying adjective.
§444. RULE. Ablative of Description. Descriptions of physical characteristics are expressed by the ablative with a modifying adjective.
§445. RULE. Genitive or Ablative of Description. Descriptions involving neither numerical statements nor physical characteristics may be expressed by either the genitive or the ablative with a modifying adjective.
§446. IDIOMS

Helvētiīs in animō est, the Helvetii intend,
  (lit. it is in mind to the Helvetians)
in mātrimōnium dare, to give in marriage
nihil posse, to have no power
fossam perdūcere, to construct a ditch
  (lit. to lead a ditch through)
audāciā
boldness, audacity

Latin into English (D'Ooge LXXVI)

  1. 13

    The soldiers ran a ditch ten feet wide through their territory.

  2. 14

    The chief of the Helvetii, a man of the greatest boldness, gave his sisters in marriage to the chiefs of the neighboring tribes.

  3. 15

    He wished to strengthen their friendship in order that he might more easily make war on the Romans.

  4. 16

    The Germans and the Gauls were not of the same race.

  5. 17

    Almost all the Germans were of great bodily strength.

  6. 18

    The Gauls who were bravely defending the town were throwing rocks of huge size from the wall.

  7. 19

    When Caesar asked the scouts who inhabited that town, the scouts answered that they were men of the greatest courage and of great wisdom.

  8. 20

    Walls twenty feet high on the left side, and on the right side a river of great depth, defended the town.

  9. 21

    When Caesar had arrived in Gaul, there was a rumor that the Helvetii intended to march through the Roman province.

  10. 22

    Caesar, in order to keep them from Roman territory, made a fortification many miles long.

English into Latin (D'Ooge LXXVI)

  1. 23

    Cæsar was a general of much wisdom and great boldness, and very skillful in the art of war.

  2. 24

    The Germans were of great size, and thought that the Romans had no power.

  3. 25

    Men of the highest courage were left in the camp as (for) a guard to the baggage.

  4. 26

    The king’s daughter, who was given in marriage to the chief of a neighboring state, was a woman of very beautiful appearance.

  5. 27

    The soldiers will construct a ditch of nine feet around the camp.

  6. 28

    A river of great width was between us and the enemy.

The Triumph of Caesar (Lentulus LXXVI)

  1. 29

    When Pompey and his friends had been overcome and all his enemies everywhere conquered, Caesar the commander returned to Rome and pitched camp outside the walls of the city in the Campus Martius.

  2. 30

    Then indeed he was honored with the highest distinctions.

  3. 31

    He was made dictator, and a triumph was decreed to him by the senate. On the day on which he celebrated his triumph over the Gauls, so great a multitude of men streamed together into the city from every side that all places were crowded.

  4. 32

    The temples stood open, the altars smoked, the columns were adorned with garlands. And when the procession entered the city, what a roar of men arose!

  5. 33

    First there entered through the gate the senate and the magistrates.

  6. 34

    There followed the flute players, the standard bearers, the foot soldiers crowned with laurel, singing: "Behold, Caesar now triumphs, who subdued Gaul," and "A thousand, a thousand, a thousand, a thousand Gauls we have slaughtered."

  7. 35

    Many were carrying the booty of the captured cities, arms, all the instruments of war.

  8. 36

    There followed the horsemen, riding on spirited and most splendidly adorned horses, among whom Publius was held to be the bravest young man.

  9. 37

    Bulls and rams were led along, to be sacrificed to the immortal gods.

  10. 38

    So, advancing in a long column, the army proceeded along the Sacred Way through the forum to the Capitol.

dēcrētus
decide, decree, from decerno
cōnflūxit
flow together, from confluo
sertīs
clover, from serta
signiferī
standard bearer, from signifer
laureā
laurel
subēgit
subdue, reduce, from subigo
trucīdāvimus
slaughter, butcher
immolārentur
sprinkle with sacrificial meal, from immolo
  1. 39

    When the commander himself entered the city, he was greeted on every side by the joyful shouting of the multitude.

  2. 40

    He stood in a golden chariot which four white horses drew.

  3. 41

    Clothed in an embroidered toga, in one hand he held the reins and a laurel branch, in the other an ivory scepter.

  4. 42

    Behind him a slave standing in the chariot held a golden crown over his head.

  5. 43

    Before the chariot the most wretched captives, kings and chiefs of the conquered nations, bound in chains, advanced; and twenty-four lictors carrying laureled fasces and the standard bearers accompanied Caesar's chariot.

  6. 44

    A multitude of captives closes the column, who, reduced to slavery, with downcast faces and bound arms, follow; with them come in a very long line the soldiers, these too carrying booty or military decorations.

  7. 45

    When Caesar had ascended the Capitol, he performed sacred rites in the temple to Capitoline Jupiter.

  8. 46

    At the same time those of the captives who were the noblest, having been led away to prison, were put to death.

  9. 47

    When the sacred rites had been performed, Caesar came down from the Capitol and in the forum gave military honors to his soldiers and distributed money to them from the booty of the war.

  10. 48

    When all these things had been finished, Publius bade Caesar farewell and hastened as quickly as possible to the villa to greet his father and mother.

  11. 49

    So much for the exploits of P. Cornelius Lentulus.

eburneum
of ivory, from eburneus
superātārum
overcome, conquer
laureatās
crowned with laurel, from laureatus
fascīs
bundles of rods
Conclūdit
shut up, close, from concludo

Latin into English (D'Ooge LXXVII)

Four kinds of agreement

Mīlitēs quōs vīdimus dīxērunt imperium bellī esse Caesaris imperātōris. The soldiers said that the command of the war belonged to Caesar the commander.

An appositive or predicate noun agrees with its noun. An adjective, adjective pronoun, or participle also agrees with its noun.

A verb agrees with its subject. A relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent.

In the opening line, quōs agrees with its antecedent Mīlitēs. The appositive imperātōris agrees with Caesaris.

The genitive often means of

The genitive often corresponds to English of. It can express possession, the whole from which a part is taken, or quality.

In imperium bellī esse Caesaris, Caesaris states who possesses the command. Bellī states what the command concerns.

Tōtīus Galliae names the whole, all Gaul. Summae virtūtis describes the men's quality, the greatest courage.

The dative often means to or for

The dative often corresponds to English to or for when no motion through space is present.

Populō Rōmānō is the indirect object of persuāsit. Imperātōrī names the person to whom grātissima is directed.

In magnō ūsuī mīlitibus, magnō ūsuī expresses purpose. Mīlitibus names the soldiers affected and forms the second dative.

The accusative has six uses

Numerum is the direct object of cōgere. In sē cōnsulem creāret, cōnsulem is a predicate accusative with the direct object sē.

Germānōs is the subject of the infinitive intulisse. In oppidum follows the preposition in and expresses motion into the town.

Multās hōrās expresses duration. Decem mīlia passuum expresses extent. Genāvam names the place reached.

  1. 50

    The soldiers whom we saw said that the command of the war belonged to Caesar the commander.

  2. 51

    The Helvetii decided to collect as great a number of horses and wagons as possible.

  3. 52

    Of all Gaul the Helvetii were the most powerful.

  4. 53

    For many hours there was fierce fighting, and no one could see an enemy fleeing.

  5. 54

    Men of the greatest courage pursued the enemy ten miles.

  6. 55

    Caesar persuaded the Roman people to make him consul.

  7. 56

    The victory of the army was always most pleasing to the commander.

  8. 57

    They marched for three days and reached Geneva, a town of the enemy.

  9. 58

    Caesar heard that the Germans had made war on the Gauls.

  10. 59

    It was of great advantage to Caesar's soldiers that they had trained themselves in former battles.

D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners (1911), Lesson LXXVII, §§448-451

§448. There are four agreements:

1. That of the predicate noun or of the appositive with the noun to which it belongs (§§76, 81).

2. That of the adjective, adjective pronoun, or participle with its noun (§65).

3. That of a verb with its subject (§28).

4. That of a relative pronoun with its antecedent (§224).
§449. The relation expressed by the genitive is, in general, denoted in English by the preposition of. It is used to express

              { a. As attributive (§38).
1. Possession {
              { b. In the predicate (§409).

2. The whole of which a part is taken (partitive genitive) (§331).

3. Quality or description (§§443, 445).
§450. The relation expressed by the dative is, in general, denoted in English by the prepositions to or for when they do not imply motion through space. It is used to express

                       { a. With intransitive verbs and with
                       {   transitive verbs in connection with a
                       {   direct object in the accusative (§45).
1. The indirect object { b. With special intransitive verbs (§154).
                       { c. With verbs compounded with ad, ante,
                       {   con, dē, in, inter, ob, post,
                       {   prae, prō, sub, super (§426).

2. The object to which the quality of an adjective is directed (§143).

3. The purpose, or end for which, often with a second dative denoting the person or thing affected (§437).
§451. The accusative case corresponds, in general, to the English objective. It is used to express

1. The direct object of a transitive verb (§37).

2. The predicate accusative together with the direct object after verbs of making, choosing, falling, showing, and the like (§392).

3. The subject of the infinitive (§214).

4. The object of prepositions that do not govern the ablative (§340).

5. The duration of time and the extent of space (§336).

6. The place to which (§§263, 266).

English into Latin (D'Ooge LXXVII)

  1. 60

    One[3] of the king’s sons and many of his men were captured.

  2. 61

    There was no one who wished[4] to appoint her queen.

  3. 62

    The grain supply was always a care (for a care) to Cæsar, the general.

  4. 63

    I think that the camp is ten miles distant.

  5. 64

    We marched for three hours through a very dense forest.

  6. 65

    The plan [5]of making war upon the allies was not pleasing to the king.

  7. 66

    When he came to the hill he fortified it [6]by a twelve-foot wall.

Latin into English (D'Ooge LXXVIII)

One case, two English prepositions

Vīcus in valle positus montibus altissimīs undique continētur means "The village, situated in a valley, is shut in on all sides by very high mountains."

Valle and montibus altissimīs are ablative. In valle marks place, while montibus altissimīs marks the means that shuts in the village.

English renders the first with "in" and the second with "by."

Three groups of ablative uses

Ablative constructions form three groups by their usual English rendering: "with" or "by," "from" or "by," and "in" or "at."

In valle belongs to the "in" or "at" group. Montibus altissimīs belongs to the "with" or "by" group.

  1. 67

    The Gauls, having seized the higher ground, are trying to keep the army from its march.

  2. 68

    All the townsmen, having gone out of the town, began to seek safety in flight.

  3. 69

    Caesar shows that he holds the lives of his soldiers much dearer than his own safety.

  4. 70

    When he had arrived more quickly than anyone expected, the enemy sent hostages to him.

  5. 71

    The village, situated in a valley, is shut in on all sides by very high mountains.

  6. 72

    Among the Gauls this tribe was the most powerful both in courage and in number of men.

D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners (1911), Lesson LXXVIII, §453

§453. The relations of the ablative are, in general, expressed in English by the prepositions with (or by), from (or by), and in (or at). The constructions growing out of these meanings are

I. Ablative rendered with (or by):
  1. Cause (§102)
  2. Means (§103)
  3. Accompaniment (§104)
  4. Manner (§105)
  5. Measure of difference (§317)
  6. With a participle (ablative absolute) (§381)
  7. Description or quality (§§444, 445)
  8. Specification (§398)

II. Ablative rendered from (or by):
  1. Place from which (§§179, 264)
  2. Ablative of separation (§180)
  3. Personal agent with a passive verb (§181)
  4. Comparison without quam (§309)

III. Ablative rendered in (or at):
  1. Place at or in which (§§265, 266)
  2. Time when or within which (§275)
  1. 73

    In the second watch they went out of the camp in no fixed order and under no command.

  2. 74

    Having left two legions at Geneva, on the next day he set out for home with the rest.

  3. 75

    There were two routes by which routes the Helvetii could go out from home.

  4. 76

    The king was of the greatest boldness and of great influence among the people.

  5. 77

    The Gauls, moved by fear of slavery, were preparing for war.

  6. 78

    Caesar warns the lieutenants to hold back the soldiers, lest through eagerness for fighting or hope of booty they advance too far.

  7. 79

    A most bitter war was waged by Caesar against the Gauls.

English into Latin (D'Ooge LXXVIII)

  1. 80

    The lieutenant after having seized the mountain restrained his (men) from battle.

  2. 81

    All the Gauls differ from each other in laws.

  3. 82

    This tribe is much braver than the rest.

  4. 83

    This road is [2]ten miles shorter than that.

  5. 84

    In summer Cæsar carried on war in Gaul, in winter he returned to Italy.

  6. 85

    At midnight the general set out from the camp with three legions.

  7. 86

    I fear that you cannot protect[3] yourself from these enemies.

  8. 87

    [4]After this battle was finished peace was made by all the Gauls.

Latin into English (D'Ooge LXXIX)

The gerund has four forms

Caesar, cum pervēnisset, militēs hortābātur nē cōnsilium oppidī capiendi omitterent.

This means, "Caesar, when he had arrived, was urging the soldiers not to give up the plan of taking the town."

A Latin gerund has only genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative singular forms. The English phrase "taking the town" has a gerund and its object.

Latin uses the gerundive

Latin usually replaces a gerund and its object with a gerundive agreeing with the noun.

In oppidī capiendi, capiendi agrees with oppidī in gender, number, and case. The phrase means "of taking the town."

Three uses of the infinitive

Dux suōs trānsīre flūmen iussit means, "The leader ordered his men to cross the river." Trānsīre is the object, with suōs as its accusative subject.

Trānsīre autem hoc flūmen erat difficillimum means, "But to cross this river was most difficult." Here trānsīre is the subject.

After vīdērunt, iactam esse reports what the messengers saw. Its subject, multitudinem, is accusative.

Five clauses take the subjunctive

Rēx mīsit explōrātōrēs quī cognōscerent ubi exercitus Rōmanus esset. Cognōscerent marks the scouts' purpose. Esset marks the indirect question after cognōscerent.

Tam ācriter ab utraque parte pugnābātur ut multa mīlia hominum occīderentur. The ut clause states the result: many thousands of men were killed.

Nēmo relinquēbātur quī arma ferre posset means, "No one was left who could bear arms." Posset marks a relative clause of characteristic.

Cum pervēnisset marks time. Cum hanc calamitātem molestē ferrant marks concession: although the Romans took this disaster ill.

  1. 88

    Caesar, when he had arrived, was urging the soldiers not to give up the plan of taking the town.

  2. 89

    The king, having pitched camp near the town, sent scouts to find out where the Roman army was.

  3. 90

    No one was left who could bear arms.

  4. 91

    The messengers saw that a huge multitude of arms had been thrown from the wall into the ditch.

  5. 92

    The leader ordered his men to cross the river. But to cross this river was most difficult.

  6. 93

    Although the Romans took this disaster ill, still they refused to turn their backs.

  7. 94

    When this rumor had been heard, so great a terror seized the minds of all that not even the bravest wished to join battle.

  8. 95

    There were those who thought that the time of year was not suitable for making a march.

  9. 96

    There was such fierce fighting on both sides that many thousands of men were killed.

  10. 97

    What do you fear? I fear that the Romans intend to overcome all Gaul and to inflict wrongs on us.

D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners (1911), Lesson LXXIX, §§455-458

§455. The gerund is a verbal noun and is used only in the genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative singular. The constructions of these cases are in general the same as those of other nouns (§§402, 406.1).
§456. The gerundive is a verbal adjective and must be used instead of gerund + object, excepting in the genitive and in the ablative without a preposition. Even in these instances the gerundive construction is more usual (§406.2).
§457. The infinitive is used:

I. As in English.

a. As subject or predicate nominative (§216).

b. To complete the predicate with verbs of incomplete predication (complementary infinitive) (§215).

c. As object with subject accusative after verbs of wishing, commanding, forbidding, and the like (§213).

II. In the principal sentence of an indirect statement after verbs of saying and mental action. The subject is in the accusative (§§416, 418, 419).
§458. The subjunctive is used:

1. To denote purpose (§§349, 366, 372).

2. To denote consequence or result (§§385, 386).

3. In relative clauses of characteristic or description (§390).

4. In cum clauses of time, cause, and concession (§396).

5. In indirect questions (§432).
fossani
ditch, trench
ferrant
bound or covered with iron

English into Latin (D'Ooge LXXIX)

  1. 98

    Do you not see who is standing on the wall?

  2. 99

    We hear that the plan of taking the town has been given up.

  3. 100

    Since the Germans thought that the Romans could not cross the Rhine, Cæsar ordered a bridge to be made.

  4. 101

    When the bridge was finished, the savages were so terrified that they hid themselves.

  5. 102

    They feared that Cæsar would pursue them.

  6. 103

    Cæsar [1]asked the traders what the size of the island was.

  7. 104

    The traders advised him not [2]to cross the sea.

  8. 105

    He sent scouts [3]to choose a place for a camp.

The particulars

The course
Paine and Mainwaring, Prīmus Annus (Oxford, 1912) and Secundus Annus (1917); Appleton and Jones, Puer Rōmānus (1913); D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners (Boston, 1911); Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles (1903). Public domain. The teaching pages, the glosses and the narration are ours.
Reading aloud
Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
The app
The course on your phone, with the drills, your place kept and the audio offline.
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The Aeneid, the work this course leads to, free to read here.
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