Passive Construction of the Foregoing Verbs.

332. Those verbs which in the Active are followed by the Infinitive with Subject Accusative, usually admit the personal construction of the Passive. This is true of the following and of some others:—

a) jubeor, vetor, sinor; as,—

mīlitēs pontem facere jussī sunt, the soldiers were ordered to build a bridge;

pōns fierī jussus est, a bridge was ordered built;

mīlitēs castrīs exīre vetitī sunt, the troops were forbidden to go out of the camp;

Sēstius Clōdium accūsāre nōn est situs, Sestius was not allowed to accuse Clodius.

b) videor, I am seen, I seem; as,—

vidētur comperisse, he seems to have discovered.

c) dīcor, putor, exīstimor, jūdicor (in all persons); as,—

dīcitur in Italiam vēnisse, he is said to have come into Italy;

Rōmulus prīmus rēx Rōmānōrum fuisse putātur, Romulus is thought to have been the first king of the Romans.

d) fertur, feruntur, trāditur, trāduntur (only in the third person); as,—

fertur Homērus caecus fuisse, Homer is said to have been blind;

carmina Archilochī contumēliīs referta esse trāduntur, Archilochus's poems are reported to have been full of abuse.

NOTE.—In compound tenses and periphrastic forms, the last two classes of verbs, c), d), more commonly take the impersonal construction; as—

trāditum est Homērum caecum fuisse, the story goes that Homer was blind.

Infinitive with Adjectives.

333. The Infinitive with Adjectives (except parātus, assuētus, etc.; see § 328, 1) occurs only in poetry and post-Augustan prose writers; as,—

contentus dēmōnstrāsse, contented to have proved;

audāx omnia perpetī, bold for enduring everything.

Infinitive in Exclamations.

334. The Infinitive is used in Exclamations implying scorn, indignation, or regret. An intensive -ne is often attached to some word in the clause. Examples:—

huncine sōlem tam nigrum surrēxe mihi, to think that to-day's sun rose with such evil omen for me!

sedēre tōtōs diēs in vīllā, to stay whole days at the villa.

Historical Infinitive.

335. The Infinitive is often used in historical narrative instead of the Imperfect Indicative. The Subject stands in the Nominative; as,—

interim cottīdiē Caesar Haeduōs frūmentum flāgitāre, meanwhile Caesar was daily demanding grain of the Haedui.

PARTICIPLES.

Tenses of the Participle.

336. 1. The tenses of the Participle, like those of the infinitive (see § 270), express time not absolutely, but with reference to the verb upon which the Participle depends.

2. The Present Participle denotes action contemporary with that of the verb. Thus:—

audiō tē loquentem = you ARE speaking and I hear you;

audiēbam tē loquentem = you WERE speaking and I heard you;

audiam tē loquentem = you WILL BE speaking and I shall hear you.

a. The Present Participle is sometimes employed with Conative force; as,—

assurgentem rēgem resupīnat, as the king was trying to rise, he threw him down.

3. The Perfect Passive Participle denotes action prior to that of the verb. Thus:—

locūtus taceō = I HAVE spoken and am silent;

locūtus tacui = I HAD spoken and then was silent;

locūtus tacēbō = I SHALL speak and then shall be silent.

4. The absolute time of the action of a participle, therefore, is determined entirely by the finite verb with which it is connected.

5. Certain Perfect Passive Participles of Deponent and Semi-Deponent Verbs are used as Presents; viz. arbitrātus, ausus, ratus, gāvīsus, solitus, ūsus, cōnfīsus, diffīsus, secūtus, veritus.