Ablative of Means and Instrument (with Constructions)

Ablative of Manner, Means and Instrument (p 3/3)

 

Summary of Use

Allen and Greenough identify three major categories of case usage with the ablative: (1) the ablative proper, (2) the instrumental ablative and (3) the locative ablative

• The ablative of means, manner and instrument are a collected heading under the (2) instrumental ablative

These uses of the ablative are part of what was once the instrumental case, so “no sharp line can be drawn between them, and indeed the Romans themselves can hardly have thought of any distinction” (AG 408)

The ablative of manner is often distinguished by the use of cum as an initiating preposition

 

Ablative of Means with Deponent Verbs

The verbs ūtor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor and their compounds use the ablative of means or instrument

• I will make use of your kindness: ūtar vestrā benīgnitāte.
• The hero takes the gold: aurō hērōs potitur.
• They fed on milk and game: lacte et ferīnā carne vescēbantur.
• She enjoyed the songs: cārmēnibus frūctus est.
• He performs the sacrifice carefully: hostiā religiōse fungitur.
• I could use your sharp eyes here: hīc acerbīs oculīs utār.

With Opus and Ūsus

The impersonal constructions opus est and ūsus est take the ablative of instrument, with ūsus est the rare variant of the two

These constructions favor an ablative participle over an ablative noun

• There was need of haste: properātō opus erat.
• I must have your best cunning and cleverness: opus est tuā exprōmptā malitiā atque astūtiā.
• There is need of magistrates: magistrātibus opus est.
• Now there is need of arms: nun vīribus ūsus est.

Opus est may also appear as a predicate, with the corresponding noun as nominative subject

• We need a chief and authority: dux nōbis et auctor opus est. 
• Here are the things which are required: hīc sunt quae opus sunt.

 

Famous Phrase: quod nōn opus est, asse carum est.

(what you don’t need is pricey at a penny)

[motto for frugality]

– Seneca, Epistulae Morales, 94 (quoting Cato the Elder)

 

ablative_means_instrument_p2.pdf

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Ablative of Means and Instrument (Basic)

Ablative of Manner, Means and Instrument (p 2/3)

 

Summary of Use

Allen and Greenough identify three major categories of case usage with the ablative: (1) the ablative proper, (2) the instrumental ablative and (3) the locative ablative

• The ablative of means, manner and instrument are a collected heading under the (2) instrumental ablative

These uses of the ablative are part of what was once the instrumental case, so “no sharp line can be drawn between them, and indeed the Romans themselves can hardly have thought of any distinction” (AG 408)

The ablative of manner is often distinguished by the use of cum as an initiating preposition

 

Ablative of Means and Instrument

These will typically appear without a preposition, and qualify an action, not an object

There is no fine line between means and instrument

• They fought with fists, heels, nails and even teeth: pūgnīs calcibus, unguibus, morsū dēnique certābant.
• I have resisted with virtue: virtūte passus sum. 
• I have resisted with force: vī passus sum.
• I have resisted with the sword: ense passus sum.
• There is no nation he could not conquer with his authority: nullā gēns est, quam nōn auctoritāte convincat. 

With Verbs and Participles of Filling

Verbs such as pleō, compleō, expleō, referō, and differō take the ablative of means

• God has filled the world with all good things: Deus donīs omnibus explēvit mundum.
• Her life was filled and crowded with delights: vīta sua plēna et cōnferta voluptātibus fuit.
• The Appian forum was crowded with sailors: Forum Appī differtum nautīs erat.

In poetry, may take the genitive instead of the ablative

• I fill up the banquet with my neighbors: convīvum vīncōrum compleō.

 

Famous Phrase: manibus dāte lilia plēnīs (give lilies with full hands)

-Virgil, Aeneid, 6.883

echoed in Dante, Purgatory, 30.21 and Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 3.6

 

ablative_means_instrument_p1.pdf

Ablative of Manner

Ablative of Manner, Means and Instrument (p 1/3)

Summary of Use

Allen and Greenough identify three major categories of case usage with the ablative: (1) the ablative proper, (2) the instrumental ablative and (3) the locative ablative

• The ablative of means, manner and instrument are a collected heading under the (2) instrumental ablative

These uses of the ablative are part of what was once the instrumental case, so “no sharp line can be drawn between them, and indeed the Romans themselves can hardly have thought of any distinction” (AG 408)

The ablative of manner is often distinguished by the use of cum as an initiating preposition

Ablative of Manner 

Like the ablative of means and instrument, the ablative of manner qualifies a verb is usually paired with the conjunction cum

• He came with speed: cum celeritāte vēnit.
• She died with honor: cum hōnōre periit. 

The ablative of manner may appear without cum where it is paired instead with a limiting adjective, though even here cum is not unheard of

• He came with the greatest speed: summā celeritāte vēnit.
• What does it matter how your compel me: quid rēfert quā ratiōne mē cōgātis?
• I will not say at how great a risk he did this: nōn dīcam quantō cum perīculō id faceret.

With Stock Words

Cum will also disappear with certain ‘stock uses’ of the ablative of manner, such as modō, pactō, ratiōne, ritū, vī, viā, silentiō, iūre, and iniūriā

• These may be translated as by means of, as agreed upon, with the reason, according to ritual, with force, by the road, silently, rightly, with injury, i.o and etc.

These have become, by frequent use, virtual adverbs

• He performed the deed according to ritual: ritū actum fēcit.
• They arrived on the Appian way: viā Appiā vēnit.

Latin poetry will also emit cum, as needed

• A mountain of water follos in a mass: īnsequitur cumulō aquae mōns.

Famous Phrase: cum hōc, ergō propter hōc

(with this, therefore because of this)

[logical fallacy linking correlation to causation]

ablative_manner.pdf

Uses of Quōminus

Uses of Quōminus

 

Summary of Use

Quōminus is used with verbs of hindering and refusing, and initiates a subjunctive verb

Quōminus is literally equivalent to ut eō minus

Exempla

• Poverty does not prevent us from speaking: nōn egestās impedit quōminus fēmur
• Poverty does not prevent us from speaking: nōn egestās impedit ut eō minus fēmur
• Nothing hinders us from being able to do that: nihil impedit quōminus id facere possīmus
• Nothing hinders us from being able to do that: nihil impedit ut eō minus id facere possīmus

 

The Essential AG: 558 b

 

Famous Phrase: I honestly couldn’t find anything for a word this rare, but here’s the motto of my alma mater, the University of Chicago:

 

crescat scientia, vita excolātur (let learning grow, that life may be enriched)

 

quominus_summary.pdf

Uses of Quīn

Origin of Quīn

Quīn is a contracted conjunction (viz. quī + nē) with negative force

Summary of Use

Where used explicitly, quīn may be translated why not, but is otherwise more subtle mechanic for the sentence, and translations will vary case to case

All translations of quīn will carry negative force

Quīn initiates a subjunctive or (rarely) an indicative clause

Subjunctive clauses may be attached to particular verbs or function as clauses of result or characteristic

Indicative clauses will work as commands

Quīn with Hindering, Resisting and Refusing

Quīn produces the subjunctive where it follows negative statements of hindering, resisting, refusing, doubting, failing, neglecting, delaying, etc.

e.g. I could not resist, I did not doubt, She did not delay

• He does not doubt you said these things: nōn dubitāt quīn haec fāta sīs. 
• I could not neglect to write to you: praeterīre nōn potuī quīn scriberem ad tē.
• She does not object to your judging: nōn recūsat quīn iūdicēs.
• He just missed killing Varus: paulum āfuit quīn Vārum interficeret.
• There is no doubt that he wants to kill him: nōn est dubium quīn eum interficere velit.

Nōn Dubitō as Exception

Nōn dubitō, where it means I do not doubt, takes the standard construction above (3.2; 3.6)

Nōn dubitō, where it means I do not hesitate, may take the standard construction or (commonly) an infinitive

• Nōn dubitō illum appellāre sapientem: I do not hesitate to call him a sage

Very rarely, verbs of hindering will also take the infinitive

• There is nothing to prevent saying it: nihil obest dicere

Quīn with Result and Characteristics Clauses

Where quīn has literal equivalency, (meaning quī nē, etc.), it will initiate a subjunctive clause of result or characteristic

• No one is so senseless as not to think this: nēmō est tam dēmēns quīn hōc putāret.
• There was not one of these soldiers who was not wounded: nēmō fuit mīlitum quīn vulnerārētur.
• Not one of them was not a senator: nēmō illōrum fuit quī nōn senātus esset.

Quīn with Commands

Quīn may move with imperative force, with an indicative verb, and should be translated why not?

• Why not take it: quīn accipis? 
• Why not listen to her: quīn eam nōn audītis? 

The Essential AG: 558; 559.1, 559.2

Famous Phrase: facere nōn possum quīn cotīdiē ad tē mittam 

(I cannot help writing to you every day.)

[Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, xii.27.2]

quin_summary.pdf

Uses of Quam (Quamquam and Quamvīs)

Uses of Quam (part 3 of 4)

 

Origin of Quam

Quam is derived from the feminine singular accusative of the interrogative pronoun quī, quae, quod 

Summary of Use

Quam has many and various uses in Latin

It appears most commonly as the standard coordinating conjunction of comparison between two adjectives, adverbs or clauses (part 1)

• Two things compared with quam will always appear in the same case
• There are better and worse (common and less common) ways to compare with quam

The phrases quam ut, quam quī, quam sī and quam (alone) may also initiate a subjunctive statement (part 2)

• These include clauses of purpose, characteristic and comparison

The compounds quamvīs and quamquam are concessive particles, taking subjunctive and indicative clauses, i.o. (part 3)

Quam and its compounds have several other functions (part 4)

 

Quamvīs

Quamvīs “means literally ‘as much as you will.’” (AG 527a)

• It was originally an expression of hortatory subjunctive

Quamvīs is speculative, and therefore followed with a subjunctive statement of concession

• They have died, however guilty they may have been: cecidērunt, quamvīs sceleratī fuissent.
• However incapable they are, still, these things must be revealed: quamvīs īnfantēs sint, tamen sibi aperienda sunt. 

Quamquam

Quamquam “introduces an admitted fact and takes the indicative” (AG, 527d)

• Though he is king, he is mortal: quamquam rex, tamen mortalis est.
• Although you have said these things, I doubt: quamquam ea fāris, dubitō. 

Quamquam also appears as and yet, introducing a new position in the indicative

• And yet, you have come: quamquam, vēnistī.
• He is filthy, and yet I love him: sordidus est, quamquam eum amō.

 

The Essential AG: 527 a, d

 

quamvīs tegātur, proditur vultū furor

(though covered, passion is betrayed by the face)

[Seneca, Phaedra, 363]

 

quam_p3.pdf

Uses of Quam (Everything Else)

Uses of Quam (part 4 of 4)

Summary of Use

Quam has many and various uses in Latin

It appears most commonly as the standard coordinating conjunction of comparison between two adjectives, adverbs or clauses (part 1)

• Two things compared with quam will always appear in the same case
• There are better and worse (common and less common) ways to compare with quam

The phrases quam ut, quam quī, quam sī and quam (alone) may also initiate a subjunctive statement (part 2)

• These include clauses of purpose, characteristic and comparison

The compouds quamquam and quamvīs are concessive particles, taking either subjunctive or indicative clauses (part 3)

Quam and its compounds have several other functions (part 4)

Tam…Quam

The pairing tam…quam connects a demonstrative and relative pair of phrases (i.o.) and should be translated so (as) … as with comparative force.

When used of present characteristics, the relative phrase may take a subjunctive verb

• He spoke as often as possible: tam saepē orātus est quam poterat. 
• She eat as much as she might like: tam multa edit quam velit. 

Quam with Relative Time

Quam may appear with single adverbs that already offer comparative force: ante, prius, post, posteā, prīdiē, and postrīdiē

• She did not let him go until he gave her a pledge: nōn ante dīmīsit eum quam fidem dedit.
• There came the third day after he said these things: post diem tertium quam dīxerat vēnit.

In this same way, quam may appear with the ablative of time

• She died within eight months after his death: octāvō mēnse quam eius mortem morīta est.

The phrase quam diū should be translated as long as and takes the indicative.

• She spoke as long as she could: ōrābat quam diū poterat.

Idiomatic Uses

Quam inhabits a number of idioms–mīrum quam (marvelously), sānē quam (immensely), valdē quam (enormously)–all of which function as adverbs.

• He has uncommonly few of his own: suōs valdē quam paucōs habet.
• I was immensely glad: sānē quam sum gāvīsus.

Placing quam before a superlative adjective or adverb intensifies the superlative

• They had the very least: quam mimimum habuērunt.

The Essential AG: 291c, 323g, 535c

 

 

Famous Phrase: carpe dīem! quam minimum credūla posterō [seize the day! put the very least trust in tomorrow]

(Horace, Odes, 1.1)

 

quam_p4.pdf

 

Resources for Latin Quotes

I attach a Latin phrase or quote to the end of every post I make, one which is (usually) a direct example of the grammar discussed in the post. I’d like to share my two usual online sources for these quotes.

(I use the quotes within A&G within the post itself.

First, there’s this basic looking wikipedia page, which is useful because I can use control+F to search the entire collection for the particular word or feature I’m seeking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_(full)

The wikipedia page is a small collection, so for more obscure posts I’m generally forced to look elsewhere. A much larger collection is available at the European Dictionary. Here’s what a search for longior (they had one!) produces:

http://www.eudict.com/?word=longior&go=Search&lang=lateng

The trouble with both of these (and, it seems all) databases of Latin quotes is imprecise quotation. The quotes are often (i) prepared with a pretty sad translation and (ii) not properly sourced. For instance, here, there’s no further information about what work of Pubilius Syrus is quoted, which I consider a bare minimum before I’d be willing to throw this thing on my post.

These resources force me to further research the quote online, often within the Latin Library.

I wish I had an online source of Latin quotes not designed for the title page of high school English papers.

Uses of Quam (Subjunctive)

Uses of Quam (part 2 of 4)

Summary of Use

Quam has many and various uses in Latin

It appears most commonly as the standard coordinating conjunction of comparison between two adjectives, adverbs or clauses (part 1)

• Two things compared with quam will always appear in the same case
• There are better and worse (common and less common) ways to compare with quam

The phrases quam ut, quam quī, quam sī and quam (alone) may also initiate a subjunctive statement (part 2)

• These include clauses of purpose, characteristic and comparison

Quam and its compounds have several other functions (part 3)

Subjunctive Uses of Quam

The phrases quam ut, quam quī and (rarely) quam alone, following a comparative, initiate clauses of characteristic

• The statues of Canachus are too stiff to represent nature: Canachī sīgna rigidiōra sunt quam ut imitentur.
• They cut the threes too large more a soldier to carry: maiōrēs arborēs caedēbant quam quās ferre mīles posset.

These often fit the English construction too x to y (too big to fail)

These phrases may also initiate result clauses

• He endured all rather than betray: perpessus est omnia potius quam indicāret.

Quam sī may initiate a clause of characteristic without a comparative

• This should be translated as if or as though
• He sleeps as if he were a stone: dormit quam sī saxum esset.

The Essential AG: 535c, 571a

Famous Phrase: bonam ego quam beatam me esse nimio dici mavolo

[I would rather be called good than well-off] -Plautus, Poenulus, 303

quam_uses_p2.pdf

Uses of Quam (Comparisons)

Uses of Quam (part 1 of 3)

Origin of Quam

Quam is derived from the feminine singular accusative of the interrogative pronoun quī, quae, quod 

Summary of Use

Quam has many and various uses in Latin

It appears most commonly as the standard means of comparison between two adjectives, adverbs or clauses (part 1)

• Two things compared with quam will always appear in the same case
• There are better and worse (common and less common) ways to compare with quam

The phrases quam ut, quam quī, quam sī and quam (alone) may also initiate a subjunctive statement (part 2)

• These include clauses of purpose, characteristic and comparison

The compouds quamquam and quamvīs are concessive particles, taking either subjunctive or indicative clauses (part 3)

Quam and its compounds have several other functions (part 4)

Comparative Quam

Placing quam between two comparative adjectives or adverbs is a standard method of comparison

• The line was more long than broad: longior quam lātior aciēs erat.

Placing magis quam between two positive adjectives or adverbs is also common

• She is more renowned than is honorable for a queen: clārā magis quam honestā reginae est.

Placing quam (alone) between two positives or a comparative and a positive is a “rarer and less elegant” means of making a comparison (AG, 292 n)

• The prophet is more eloquent than wise: vatēs disertus quam sapiēns est.

Quam may also compare one clause to another

• I never saw a shrewder man than Phormio: hominem callidiōrem vīdī nēminem quam Phormiōnem.
• It is better to suffer than to do an injustice: accipere quam facere praestat iniuriam.

Quam or the Ablative of Comparison?

Where a noun, pronoun, adjective or adverb in the nominative or accusative is the subject of comparison, the ablative of comparison is standard

• Silver is less precious than gold, gold than virtues: vīlius argentum est aurō, virtūtibus aurum.

Where these are not in the nominative or accusative, or where the relative (comparative) statement is a clause, quam is preferred

• The old man is in this respect in a better position than a young man: senex est eō meliōre condiciōne quam adulēscēns.
• For examples of quam with comparative clauses, see (3.4) above

Be warned–the poets walk all over this rule

cariōr est illīs homō quam sibi : man is dearer to those (the gods) than to himself

(Juvenval, Satires, 10.350)

 

quam_uses_p1.pdf