form it consists of a noun or pronoun limited by
a participle; as,--
urbe captā, Aenēās fūgit, _when the city had been captured, Aeneas
fled_ (lit. _the city having been captured_).
1. Instead of a participle we often find an adjective or noun; as,--
vīvō Caesare rēs pūblica salva erat, _while Caesar was alive the state
was safe_ (lit. _Caesar being alive_);
Tarquiniō rēge, Pythagorās in Italiam vēnit, _in the reign of Tarquin
Pythagoras came into Italy_ (lit. _Tarquin being king_);
Cn. Pompejō, M. Crassō cōnsulibus, _in the consulship of Gnaeus Pompey
and Marcus Crassus_ (lit. _P. and C. being consuls_).
2. The Ablative Absolute is generally used in Latin where in English we
employ subordinate clauses. Thus the Ablative Absolute may correspond to a
clause denoting--
a) Time, as in the foregoing examples.
b) Condition; as,--
omnēs virtūtēs jacent, voluptāte dominante, _all virtues lie prostrate,
if pleasure is master_.
c) Opposition; as,--
perditīs omnibus rēbus, virtūs sē sustentāre potest, _though everything
else is lost, yet Virtue can maintain herself_.
d) Cause; as,--
nūllō adversante rēgnum obtinuit, _since no one opposed him, he secured
the throne_.
e) Attendant circumstance; as,--
passīs palmīs pācem petīvērunt, _with hands outstretched, they sued for
peace_.
3. An Infinitive or clause sometimes occurs in the Ablative Absolute
construction, especially in Livy and later writers; as,--
audītō eum fūgisse, _when it was heard that he had fled_.
4. A noun or pronoun stands in the Ablative Absolute construction only when
it denotes a different person or thing from any in the clause in which it
stands. Exceptions to this principle are extremely rare.
LOCATIVE USES OF THE ABLATIVE.
Ablative of Place.
_A. Place where._
228. The place where is regularly denoted by the _Ablative with a
preposition_; as,--
in urbe habitat, _he dwells in the city_.
1. But certain words stand in the Ablative without a preposition; viz.--
a) Names of towns,--except Singulars of the First and Second Declensions
(see § 232, 1); as,--
Carthāginī, _at Carthage_;
Athēnis, _at Athens_;
Vejīs, _at Veii_.
b) The general words locō, locīs, parte; also many words modified by
tōtus or even by other Adjectives; as,--
hōc locō, _at this place_;
tōtīs castrīs, _in the whole camp_.
c) The special words: forīs, _out of doors_; rūrī, _in the country_,
terrā marīque, _on land and sea_.
d) The poets freely omit the preposition with any word denoting place;
as,--
stant lītore puppēs, _the sterns rest on the beach_.
_B. Place from which.[50]_
229. Place from which is regularly denoted by the _Ablative with a
preposition_; as,--
ab Italiā profectus est, _he set out from Italy_;
ex urbe rediit, _he returned from the city_.
1. But certain words stand in the Ablative without a preposition; viz.--
a) Names of towns and small islands; as,--
Rōma profectus est, _he set out from Rome_;
Rhodō revertit, _he returned from Rhodes_.
b) domō, _from home_; rūre, _from the country_.
c) Freely in poetry; as,--
Italiā dēcessit, _he withdrew from Italy_.
2. With names of towns, ab is used to mean _from the vicinity of_, or to
denote the point _whence distance is measured;_ as,--
ā Gergoviā discessit, _he withdrew from the vicinity of Gergovia_;
ā Rōmā X mīlia aberat, _he was ten miles distant from Rome_.
Urbe and oppidō, when standing in apposition with a town name, are
accompanied by a preposition; as,--
Curibus ex oppidō Sabīnōrum, _from Cures, a town of the Sabines_
Ablative of Time.
_A. Time at which._
230. The Ablative is used to denote the time _at which_; as,--
quārtā hōrā mortuus est, _he died at the fourth hour_;
annō septuāgēsimō cōnsul creātus, _elected consul in his seventieth
year_.
1. Any word denoting a period of time may stand in this construction,
particularly annus, vēr, aestās, hiems, diēs, nox, hōra, comitia (_Election
Day_), lūdī (_the Games_), etc.
2. Words not denoting time require the preposition in, unless accompanied
by a modifier. Thus:--
in pāce, _in peace_; in bellō, _in war_;
but secundō bellō Pūnicō, _in the second Punic War_.
3. Expressions like in eō tempore, in summa senectūte, take the preposition
because they denote _situation_ rather than _time_.
_B. Time within which._
231. Time _within which_ is denoted by the Ablative either _with_ or
_without a preposition_; as,--
stella Sāturnī trīgintā annīs cursum cōnficit, _the planet Saturn
completes its orbit within thirty years_;
ter in annō, thrice in the course of the year.
1. Occasionally the Ablative denotes _duration of time_; as,--
bienniō prōsperās rēs habuit, _for two years he had a prosperous
administration_.
* * * * *
THE LOCATIVE.
232. The Locative case occurs chiefly in the following words:--
1. Regularly in the Singular of names of towns and small islands of the
first and second declensions, to denote the place _in which_; as,--
Rōmae, _at Rome_; Corinthī, _at Corinth_;
Rhodī, _at Rhodes_.
2. In the following special forms:--
domī, _at home_; humī, _on the ground_;
bellī, _in war_; mīlitiae, _in war_;
vesperī, _at evening_; herī, _yesterday_.
3. Note the phrase pendēre animī, lit. _to be in suspense in one's mind_.
4. For urbs and oppidum in apposition with a Locative, see § 169, 4.
* * * * *
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 sapiēns, _a wise man_.
A Predicate Adjective is one that limits its subject through the medium of
a verb (usually esse); as,--
vir est sapiēns, _the man is wise_;
vir vidēbātur sapiēns, _the man seemed wise_;
vir jūdicātus est sapiēns, _the man was judged wise_;
hunc virum sapientem jūdicāvimus, _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; prīma
et vīcēsima legiōnēs, _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 rērum mors est extrēmum, _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 māter, _your father and mother_;
eadem alacritās et studium, _the same eagerness and zeal_.
2. When the Adjective is Predicative, it is regularly Plural; as,--
pāx 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,--
rēs operae multae ac labōris, _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 fīlius captī sunt, _father and son were captured_.
Yet with feminine abstract nouns, the Adjective is more frequently
Neuter; as,--
stultitia et timiditās fugienda sunt, _folly and cowardice must be
shunned_.
b) If the nouns are of different gender; then,--
α) In case they denote persons, the Adjective is Masculine; as,--
pater et māter mortuī sunt, _the father and mother have died_.
β) In case they denote things, the Adjective is Neuter; as,--
honōrēs et victōriae fortuīta sunt, _honors and victories are
accidental._
γ) In case they include both persons and things, the Adjective is,--
αα) Sometimes Masculine; as,--
domus, uxor, līberī inventī sunt, _home, wife, and children are
secured._
ββ) Sometimes Neuter; as,--
parentēs, līberōs, domōs vīlia habēre, _to hold parents, children,
houses cheap._
γγ) Sometimes it agrees with the nearest noun; as,--
populī prōvinciaeque līberātae 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 bēstiīs objectī 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,--
doctī, _scholars_; parva, _small things_;
malī, _the wicked_; magna, _great things_;
Graecī, _the Greeks_; ūtilia, _useful things_;
nostrī, _our men_.
2. Neuter Plural Adjectives thus used are confined mainly to the Nominative
and Accusative cases. Such forms as magnōrum, omnium; magnīs, omnibus,
would ordinarily lead to ambiguity; yet where there is no ambiguity, they
sometimes occur; as,--
parvīs compōnere magna, _to compare great things with small_
Otherwise the Latin says: magnārum rērum, magnīs rēbus, 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 nēminī, _the honest man envies nobody_.
a. Usually vir, homō, or some similar word is employed; as,--
homō doctus, _a scholar_;
vir Rōmānus, _a Roman_.
b. But when limited by a pronoun any adjective may be so used; as,--
hīc doctus, _this scholar_;
doctus quīdam, _a certain scholar_.
2. Neuters are likewise infrequent; as,--
vērum, _truth_;
jūstum, _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 vērī, _something true_;
nihil novī, _nothing new_;
in mediō, _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,--
adversārius, _opponent_; hīberna, _winter
quarters_;
aequālis, _contemporary_; propinquus, _relative_;
amīcus, _friend_; socius, _partner_;
cognātus, _kinsman_; sodālis, _comrade_;
vīcīnus, _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,--
senātus frequēns convēnit, _the senate assembled in great numbers_;
fuit assiduus mēcum, _he was constantly with me_.
COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES.
240. 1. The Comparative often corresponds to the English Positive with
'_rather_,' '_somewhat_,' '_too_'; as,--
senectūs est loquācior, _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 cōpiae, _as great forces as possible_.
4. Phrases of the type '_more rich than brave_' regularly take the
Comparative in both members; as,--
exercitus erat dītior 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 prīmus, extrēmus, summus, medius, īnfimus, īmus; as,--
summus mōns, _the top of the mountain_;
extrēmā hieme, _in the last part of the winter_.
2. Prior, prīmus, ultimus, and postrēmus are frequently equivalent to a
relative clause; as,--
prīmus eam vīdī, _I was the first who saw her_;
ultimus
