Constructions with Abstineō

Abstaining from an object in Latin can leave you with one of three grammatical constructions, given here in the order of frequency:

• abstinēre aliquid/sē + ablative of object
• abstinēre aliquid/sē (absolute)
• absintēre aliquid/sē + genitive of object (cf. Greek ἀπεχἐσθαι τινός)

Here some examples of how and from what the Romans refrained—

• virgō nuptā abstinet — virgins abstain from marriage
• vir sapit quī urbis rēbus abstineat — the wise man holds off from politics
• mē ostreīs et muraenīs facile abstinēbam — I easily abstained from oysters and eels — Cicero, Ad Familiārēs 7.26 (they make him nauseated)
• mihi abstinē invidere! — don’t bother pitying me!
• animum coluit abstinentem pecūniae — she cherished a frugal mind

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The Reflexive Inter Sē

There are multiform variations on the inter sē construction, which I feel it best to expand on here. The basic structure is something like this:

• Inter sē cōncertant: they compete amongst themselves.

The basic sense in which this is a ‘reflexive’ construction seems clear here. However, we can (i.e. the Romans did) expand this idea into a variety of related senses dense and enigmatic:

• CIcerōnis puerī amant inter sē: the children of Cicero love one another
• furtim inter sē aspiciēbant: they stole glances at one another (think Jason and Medea upon first meeting)
• collēs duōs inter sē propinquinōs occūbat: they occupied two hills near to one another
• quod nos inter sē sit: which we’ll keep between us
• rēs inter sē similēs: matters sharing qualities
• fāta quae inter sē continentur: fates which hang together

An alternative to this reflexive idea is the alter alterīus/ alterī construction, similar to the ἀλλοs ἀλλοθεν idea of the Greek idiom, but I’ll cover that more in a forthcoming post!

• alter alterīus ōva frangit: they break each other’s eggs

The Essential AG: 145c, 301f