Interest, Rēfert.

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, meī, tuī, nostrī, vestrī, the Latin uses the Ablative Singular Feminine of the Possessive, viz.: meā, tuā, etc.; as,—

meā interest, it concerns me.

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

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

hōc reī pūblicae interest, this concerns the state.

b) by an Infinitive; as,—

omnium interest valēre, it concerns all to keep well.

c) by an Indirect Question; as,—

meā interest quandō veniās, I am concerned as to when you are coming.

3. The degree of concern is denoted—

a) by the Genitive (cf. § 203, 3): magnī, parvī, etc.; as,—

meā magnī interest, it concerns me greatly.

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

cīvium minimē interest, it concerns the citizens very little.

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

multum vestrā interest, it concerns you much.

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

meā rēfert, it concerns me;

but rarely illīus rēfert, it concerns him.

Genitive with Other Verbs.

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

pecūniae indigēs, you need money.

a. These verbs more commonly take the Ablative (§ 214, 1); indigeō 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 potīrī rērum, to get control of affairs.

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

dēsine querellārum, cease your complaints;

operum solūtī, 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: līberō, solvō, levō;

b) The Verbs of depriving: prīvō, spoliō, exuō, fraudō, nūdō;

c) The Verbs of lacking: egeō, careō, vacō;

d) The corresponding Adjectives, līber, inānis, vacuus, nūdus,

and some others of similar meaning.

Thus:—

cūrīs līberātus, freed from cares;

Caesar hostēs armīs exuit, Caesar stripped the enemy of their arms;

caret sēnsū commūnī, he lacks common sense;

auxiliō eget, he needs help;

bonōrum vīta vacua est metū, the life of the good is free from fear.

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

urbem ā tyrannō līberārunt, they freed the city from the tyrant.

NOTE 2.—Indigeō usually takes the Genitive. See § 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:—

abstinēre cibō, to abstain from food;

hostēs fīnibus prohibuērunt, they kept the enemy from their borders;

praedōnēs ab īnsulā 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 sē-; as,—

dissentiō ā tē, I dissent from you;

sēcernantur ā nōbīs, let them be separated from us.

4. The Preposition is freely omitted in poetry.