Latin for Beginners, Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge [easy novels to read .TXT] 📗

neither, nor, and … not;
    «neque … neque», neither … nor
  «castellum, -ī», n., redoubt, fort (castle)
  «cotīdiē», adv., daily
   cessō, cessāre, cessāvī, cessātus, cease, with the infin.

  «incipiō, incipere, incēpī, inceptus», begin (incipient),
     with the infin.
  «oppugnō, oppugnāre, oppugnāvī, oppugnātus», storm, assail
  «petō, petere, petivi» or «petiī, petītus», aim at, assail, storm,
     attack; seek, ask (petition)
  «pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus», place, put (position);
    «castra pōnere», to pitch camp
  «possum, posse, potuī, ——», be able, can (potent), with the infin.
  «vetō, vetāre, vetuī, vetitus», forbid (veto), vith the infin.;
    opposite of «iubeō», command
  «vincō, vincere, vīcī, victus», conquer (in-vincible)
  «vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, ——», live, be alive (re-vive)

«212.» Learn the principal parts of «possum», I am able, I can, and its inflection in the indicative and infinitive. (Cf. §495.)

a. «Possum», I can, is a compound of «potis», able, and «sum», I am.

«213.» «The Infinitive with Subject Accusative.» The infinitive (cf. §173) is a verbal noun. Used as a noun, it has the constructions of a noun. As a verb it can govern a case and be modified by an adverb. The uses of the infinitive are much the same in Latin as in English.

1. In English certain verbs of wishing, commanding, forbidding, and the like are used with an object clause consisting of a substantive in the objective case and an infinitive, as, he commanded the men to flee. Such object clauses are called infinitive clauses, and the substantive is said to be the subject of the infinitive.

Similarly in Latin, some verbs of wishing, commanding, forbidding, and the like are used with an object clause consisting of an infinitive with a subject in the accusative case, as, «Is virōs fugere iussit», he commanded the men to flee.

«214.» RULE. «Subject of the Infinitive.» The subject of the infinitive is in the accusative.

«215.» «The Complementary Infinitive.» In English a verb is often followed by an infinitive to complete its meaning, as, the Romans are able to conquer the Gauls. This is called the complementary infinitive, as the predicate is not complete without the added infinitive.

Similarly in Latin, verbs of incomplete predication are completed by the infinitive. Among such verbs are «possum», I am able, I can; «properō», «mātūrō», I hasten; «temptō», I attempt; as

  «Rōmānī Gallōs superāre possunt»,
    the Romans are able to (or can) conquer the Gauls
  «Bellum gerere mātūrant»,
    they hasten to wage war

a. A predicate adjective completing a complementary infinitive agrees in gender, number, and case with the subject of the main verb.

«Malī puerī esse bonī nōn possunt», bad boys are not able to (or cannot) be good.

Observe that «bonī» agrees with «puerī».

«216.» «The Infinitive used as a Noun.» In English the infinitive is often used as a pure noun, as the subject of a sentence, or as a predicate nominative. For example, To conquer (= conquering) is pleasing; To see (= seeing) is to believe (= believing). The same use of the infinitive is found in Latin, especially with «est», as

  «Superāre est grātum», to conquer is pleasing
  «Vidēre est crēdere», to see is to believe

    a. In the construction above, the infinitive often has a subject,
    which must then be in the accusative case, as

      «Galbam superāre inimīcōs est grātum multīs»,
        for Galba to conquer his enemies is pleasing to many

b. An infinitive used as a noun is neuter singular. Thus, in the sentence «superāre est grātum», the predicate adjective «grātum» is in the neuter nominative singular to agree with «superāre» the subject.

«217.» EXERCISES

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 291.

I. 1. Magister lūdī līberōs cum dīligentiā labōrāre iussit. 2. Egēre cibō et vinō est virīs molestum. 3. Virī armātī vetuērunt Gallōs castra ibi pōnere. 4. Estne lēgātus in castellō an in mūrō? Is est prō portā. 5. Ubi nostrī[1] fugere incēpērunt, lēgātus ab vestrīs[1] captus est. 6. Gallī castellum ibi oppugnāverant ubi praesidium erat īnfīrmum. 7. Aliī pugnāre temptābant, aliī portās petēbant. 8. Fēminae prō domiciliīs sedēbant neque resistere validīs Gallīs poterant. 9. Bellum est saevum, nec īnfīrmīs nec miserīs favet. 10. Sed virī arma postulābant et studēbant Gallōs dē mūrīs agere. 11. Id castellum ab Gallīs occupārī Rōmānīs nōn grātum erit. 12. Gallī ubi ā Rōmānīs victī sunt, esse līberī[2] cessāvērunt. 13. Diū sine aquā vīvere nōn potestis.

II. 1. The girl began daily to carry water from the river to the gates. 2. The Gauls had pitched their camp in a place suitable for a battle. 3. For a long time they tried in vain to seize the redoubt. 4. Neither did they cease to hurl weapons against[3] the walls. 5. But they were not able to (could not) take the town.

[Footnote 1: Supply men. «nostri», «vestrī», and «suī» are often used as nouns in this way.]

[Footnote 2: Not children. The Romans used «līberī» either as an adjective, meaning free, or as a noun, meaning the free, thereby signifying their free-born children. The word was never applied to children of slaves.]

[Footnote 3: «in» with the accusative.]

«218.» THE FAITHLESS TARPE´IA

Sabīnī ōlim cum Rōmānīs bellum gerēbant et multās victōriās reportāverant. Iam agrōs proximōs mūrīs vāstābant, iam oppidō adpropinquābant. Rōmānī autem in Capitōlium fūgerant et longē perīculō aberant. Mūrīs validīs et saxīs altīs crēdēbant. Frūstrā Sabīnī tēla iaciēbant, frūstrā portās dūrās petēbant; castellum occupāre nōn poterant. Deinde novum cōnsilium cēpērunt.[4]

Tarpēia erat puella Rōmāna pulchra et superba. Cotīdiē aquam cōpiīs Rōmānīs in Capitōlium portābat. Eī[5] nōn nocēbant Sabīnī, quod ea sine armīs erat neque Sabīnī bellum cum fēminīs līberīsque gerēbant. Tarpēia autem maximē amābat ōrnāmenta aurī. Cotīdiē Sabīnōrum ōrnāmenta vidēbat et mox ea dēsīderāre incipiēbat. Eī ūnus ex[6] Sabīnīs dīxit, “Dūc cōpiās Sabīnās intrā portās, Tarpēia, et maxima erunt praemia tua.”

[Footnote 4: «cōnsilium capere», to make a plan. Why is the perfect tense used here and the imperfect in the preceding sentences? Explain the use of tenses in the next paragraph.]

[Footnote 5: Dative with «nocēbant». (Cf. §154.)]

[Footnote 6: «ex», out of, i.e. from the nuumber of; best translated of.]

[Illustration: TARPEIA PUELLA PERFIDA]

LESSON XXXVIII THE RELATIVE PRONOUN AND THE INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN

«219.» Sentences are simple, compound, or complex.

a. A simple sentence is a sentence containing but one statement, that is, one subject and one predicate: The Romans approached the town.

    b. A compound sentence is a sentence containing two or more
    independent statements:
      The Romans approached the town | and | the enemy fled.

NOTE. An independent statement is one that can stand alone; it does not depend upon another statement.

    c. A complex sentence is a sentence containing one independent
    statement and one or more dependent statements:
      When the Romans approached the town | the enemy fled.

NOTE. A dependent or subordinate statement is one that depends on or qualifies another statement; thus the enemy fled is independent, and when the Romans approached the town is dependent or subordinate.

d. The separate statements in a compound or complex sentence are called clauses. In a complex sentence the independent statement is called the main clause and the dependent statement the subordinate clause.

«220.» Examine the complex sentence

The Romans killed the men who were taken

Here are two clauses:

a. The main clause, The Romans killed the men

b. The subordinate clause, who were taken

The word who is a pronoun, for it takes the place of the noun men. It also connects the subordinate clause who were taken with the noun men. Hence the clause is an adjective clause. A pronoun that connects an adjective clause with a substantive is called a relative pronoun, and the substantive for which the relative pronoun stands is called its antecedent. The relative pronouns in English are who, whose, whom, which, what, that.

«221.» The relative pronoun in Latin is «quī», «quae», «quod», and it is declined as follows:

SINGULAR PLURAL MASC. FEM. NEUT. MASC. FEM. NEUT. Nom. «quī» «quae» «quod» «quī» «quae» «quae» Gen. «cuius» «cuius» «cuius» «quōrum» «quārum» «quōrum» Dat. «cui» «cui» «cui» «quibus» «quibus» «quibus» Acc. «quem» «quam» «quod» «quōs» «quās» «quae» Abl. «quō» «quā» «quō» «quibus» «quibus» «quibus»

1. Review the declension of «is», §114, and note the similarity in the endings. The forms «quī», «quae», and «quibus» are the only forms showing new endings.

NOTE. The genitive «cuius» and the dative «cui» are pronounced co͝oi´yo͝os (two syllables) and co͝oi (one syllable).

«222.» «The Relative Pronoun is translated as follows:»[1]

MASC. AND FEM. NEUT. Nom. who, that which, what, that Gen. of whom, whose of which, of what, whose Dat. to or for whom to or for which, to or for what Acc. whom, that which, what, that Abl. from, etc., whom from, etc., which or what

[Footnote 1: This table of meanings need not be memorized. It is inserted for reference when translating.]

a. We see from the table above that «quī», when it refers to a person, is translated by some form of who or by that; and that when it refers to anything else it is translated by which, what, or that.

«223.» Note the following sentences:

The Romans killed the men who were taken The Romans killed the woman who was taken «Rōmānī interfēcērunt virōs quī captī sunt» «Rōmānī interfēcērunt fēminam quae capta est»

In the first sentence who («quī») refers to the antecedent men («virōs»), and is masculine plural. In the second, who («quae») refers to woman («fēminam»), and feminine singular. From this we learn that the relative must agree with its antecedent in gender and number. In neither of the sentences are the antecedents and relatives in the same case. «Virōs» and «fēminam» are accusatives, and «quī» and «quae» are nominatives, being the subjects of the subordinate clauses. Hence

«224.» RULE. «Agreement of the Relative.» A relative pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender and number; but its case is determined by the way it is used in its own clause.

«225.» «Interrogative Pronouns.» An interrogative pronoun