Ablative of Quality.

224. The Ablative, modified by an adjective, is used to denote quality; as,—

puella eximiā fōrmā, a girl of exceptional beauty;

vir singulārī industriā, a man of singular industry.

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

est magnā prūdentiā, he is (a man) of great wisdom;

bonō animā sunt, they are of good courage.

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

sunt speciē et colōre taurī, they are of the appearance and color of a bull,

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

scopulīs pendentībus antrum, a cave of arching rocks.

Ablative of Price.

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

servum quīnque minīs ēmit, he bought the slave for five minae.

1. The Ablatives magnō, plūrimō, parvō, minimō (by omission of pretiō) are used to denote indefinite price; as,—

aedēs magnō vēndidīt, he sold the house for a high price.

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

Helvētiī omnibus Gallīs virtūte praestābant, the Helvetians surpassed all the Gauls in valor;

pede claudus, lame in his foot.

1. Note the phrases:—

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

minor nātū, younger.

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

dignī honōre, worthy of honor (i.e. in point of honor);

fidē indignī, unworthy of confidence;

mē dignor honōre, 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 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.