Bennett's New Latin Grammar is a book, now in the public domain, written by the famous Charles E. Bennett. I have made this version available online. Of course there may be errors, so use at your own risk.
THE ABLATIVE.
213. The Latin Ablative unites in itself three cases which were originally distinct both in form and in meaning; viz. -
The Ablative or from-case.
The Instrumental or with-case.
The Locative or where-case.
The uses of the Latin Ablative accordingly fall into Genuine Ablative uses, Instrumental uses, and Locative uses.
GENUINE ABLATIVE USES.
214. The Ablative of Separation is construed sometimes with, sometimes without, a preposition.
1. The following words regularly take the Ablative without a preposition: -
a) The Verbs of freeing: līberō, solvō, levō;
b) The Verbs of depriving: prīvō, spoliō, exuō, fraudō, nūdō;
c) The Verbs of lacking: egeō, careō, vacō;
d) The corresponding Adjectives, līber, inānis, vacuus, nūdus,
and some others of similar meaning.
Thus: -
cūrīs līberātus, freed from cares;
Caesar hostēs armīs exuit, Caesar stripped the enemy of their arms;
caret sēnsū commūnī, he lacks common sense;
auxiliō eget, he needs help;
bonōrum vīta vacua est metū, the life of the good is free from fear.
NOTE 1. - Yet Adjectives and līberō may take the preposition ab, - regularly so with the Ablative of persons; as, -
urbem ā tyrannō līberārunt, they freed the city from the tyrant.
NOTE 2. - Indigeō usually takes the Genitive. See § 212, 1, a.
2. Of Verbs signifying to keep from, to remove, to withdraw, some take the preposition, others omit it. The same Verb often admits both constructions. Examples: -
abstinēre cibō, to abstain from food;
hostēs fīnibus prohibuērunt, they kept the enemy from their borders;
praedōnēs ab īnsulā prohibuit, he kept the pirates from the island.
3. Other Verbs of separation usually take the Ablative with a Prepositon, particularly compounds of dis- and sē-; as, -
dissentiō ā tē, I dissent from you;
sēcernantur ā nōbīs, let them be separated from us.
4. The Preposition is freely omitted in poetry.
215. The Ablative of Source is used with the participles nātus and ortus (in poetry also with ēditus, satus, and some others), to designate parentage or station; as, -
Jove nātus, son of Jupiter;
summō locō nātus, high-born (lit. born from a very high place);
nōbilī genere ortus, born of a noble family.
1. Pronouns regularly (nouns rarely) take ex; as,
ex mē nātus, sprung from me.
2. To denote remoter descent, ortus ab, or oriundus (with or without ab), is used; as, -
ab Ulixe oriundus, descended from Ulysses.
216. The Ablative accompanied by ā (ab) is used with passive verbs to denote the personal agent; as, -
ā Caesare accūsātus est, he was arraigned by Caesar.
1. Collective nouns referring to persons, and abstract nouns when personified, may be construed as the personal agent. Thus: -
hostēs ā fortūnā dēserēbantur, the enemy were deserted by Fortune;
ā multitūdine hostium mōntēs tenēbantur, the mountains were held by a multitude of the enemy.
2. Names of animals sometimes admit the same construction. Thus: -
ā canibus laniātus est, he was torn to pieces by dogs.
217. 1. The Ablative is often used with Comparatives in the sense of than; as, -
melle dulcior, sweeter than honey;
patria mihi vītā cārior est, my country is dearer to me than life.
2. This construction, as a rule, occurs only as a substitute for quam (than) with the Nominative or Accusative. In other cases quam must be used; as, -
tuī studiōsior sum quam illīus, I am fonder of you than of him.
- Studiōsior illō would have meant, I am fonder of you than he is.
Plūs, minus, amplius, longius are often employed as the equivalents of plūs quam, minus quam, etc. Thus: -
amplius vīgintī urbēs incenduntur, more than twenty cities are fired;
minus quīnque mīlia prōcessit, he advanced less than five miles.
3. Note the use of opīniōne with Comparatives; as, -
opīniōne celerius venit, he comes more quickly than expected (lit. than opinion).
INSTRUMENTAL USES OF THE ABLATIVE.
218. The Ablative is used to denote means or instrument; as, -
Alexander sagittā vulnerātus est, Alexander was wounded by an arrow.
There are the following special varieties of this Ablative: -
1. Ūtor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor, and their compounds take the Ablative; as, -
dīvitiīs ūtitur, he uses his wealth (lit. he benefits himself by his wealth);
vītā fruitur, he enjoys life (lit. he enjoys himself by life);
mūnere fungor, I perform my duty (lit. I busy myself with duty);
carne vescuntur, they eat flesh (lit. feed themselves by means of);
castrīs potītus est, he got possession of the camp (lit. made himself powerful by the camp).
a.. Potior sometimes governs the Genitive. See § 212, 2.
2. With opus est (rarely ūsus est), there is need; as, -
duce nōbīs opus est, we need a leader.
a. A Neuter Pronoun or Adjective often stands as subject with opus as predicate. Thus: -
hōc mihi opus est, this is necessary for me.
b. An ordinary substantive rarely stands as subject. Thus dux nōbīs opus est is a rare form of expression.
c. Note the occasional use of a perfect passive participle with opus est; as, -
opus est properātō, there is need of haste.
3. With nītor, innīxus, and frētus; as, -
nītitur hastā, he rests on a spear (lit. supports himself by a spear);
frētus virtūte, relying on virtue (lit. supported by virtue).
4. With continērī, cōnsistere, cōnstāre, consist of; as, -
nervīs et ossibus continentur, they consist of sinews and bones (lit. they are held together by sinews and bones);
mortālī cōnsistit corpore mundus, the world consists of mortal substance (lit. holds together by means of, etc.).
6. In expressions of the following type: -
quid hōc homine faciās, what can you do with this man?
quid meā Tulliolā fīet, what will become of my dear Tullia? (lit. what will be done with my dear Tullia?)
7. In the following special phrases at variance with the ordinary English idiom: -
proeliō contendere, vincere, to contend, conquer in battle;
proeliō lacessere, to provoke to battle;
currū vehī, to ride in a chariot;
pedibus īre, to go on foot;
castrīs sē tenēre, to keep in camp.
8. With Verbs of filling and Adjectives of plenty; as, -
fossās virgultīs complērunt, they filled the trenches with brush.
a. But plēnus more commonly takes the Genitive. See § 204, 1.
9. Under 'Means' belongs also the Ablative of the Way by Which; as, -
vīnum Tiberī dēvectum, wine brought down (by) the Tiber.
10. The means may be a person as well as a thing. Thus: -
mīlitibus ā lacū Lemannō ad montem Jūram mūrum perdūcit, with (i.e. by means of) his troops he runs a wall from Lake Geneva to Mt. Jura.
219. The Ablative is used to denote cause; as, -
multa glōriae cupiditāte fēcit, he did many things on account of his love of glory.
1. So especially with verbs denoting mental states; as, dēlector, gāudeō, laetor, glōrior, fīdō, cōnfīdō. Also with contentus; as, -
fortūnā amīcī gaudeō, I rejoice at the fortune of my friend (i.e. on account of it);
victōriā suā glōriantur, they exult over their victory;
nātūrā locī cōnfīdēbant, they trusted in the character of their country (lit. were confident on account of the character).
a. fīdō and cōnfīdō always take the Dative of the person (§ 187, II, a); sometimes the Dative of the thing.
2. As Ablatives of Cause are to be reckoned also such Ablatives as jussū, by order of, injussū, without the order, rogātū, etc.
220. The Ablative with cum is used to denote manner; as, -
cum gravitāte loquitur, he speaks with dignity.
1. The preposition may be absent when the Ablative is modified by an adjective; as, -
magnā gravitāte loquitur, he speaks with great dignity.
2. The preposition is regularly absent in the expressions jūre, injūriā, jocō, vī, fraude, voluntāte, fūrtō, silentiō.
3. A special variety of the Ablative of Manner denotes that in accordance with which or in pursuance of which anything is or is done. It is generally used without a preposition. Thus: -
meā sententiā, according to my opinion;
suīs mōribus, in accordance with their custom;
suā sponte, voluntarily, of his (their) own accord;
eā condiciōne, on these terms.
221. The Ablative is often used to denote an attendant circumstance of an action or an event; as, -
bonīs auspiciīs, under good auspices;
nūlla est altercātiō clāmōribus umquam habita majōribus, no debate was ever held under circumstances of greater applause;
exstinguitur ingentī lūctū prōvinciae, he dies under circumstances of great grief on the part of the province;
longō intervāllō sequitur, he follows at a great distance.
222. The Ablative with cum is used with verbs of motion to denote accompaniment; as, -
cum comitibus profectus est, he set out with his attendants;
cum febrī domum rediit, he returned home with a fever.
1. In military expressions the Ablative may stand without cum when modified by any adjective except a numeral; as, -
omnibus cōpiīs, ingentī exercitū, magnā manū; but usually cum exercitū, cum duābus legiōnibus.
222A. The Ablative is often used with verbs of joining, mixing, clinging, exchanging; also with assuēscō, cōnsuēscō, assuēfaciō, and some others to denote association; as, -
improbitās scelere jūncta, badness joined with crime;
āēr calōre admixtus, air mixed with heat;
assuētus labōre, accustomed to (lit. familiarized with) toil;
pācem bellō permūtant, they change peace for (lit. with) war.
223. The Ablative is used with comparatives and words involving comparison (as post, ante, īnfrā, suprā) to denote the degree of difference; as, -
dimidiō minor, smaller by a half;
tribus pedibus altior, three feet higher;
paulō post, a little afterwards;
quō plurā habēmus, eō cupimus ampliōra, the more we have, the more we want.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A. Place where.
228. The place where is regularly denoted by the Ablative with a preposition; as, -
in urbe habitat, he dwells in the city.
1. But certain words stand in the Ablative without a preposition; viz. -
a) Names of towns, - except Singulars of the First and Second Declensions (see § 232, 1); as, -
Carthāginī, at Carthage;
Athēnis, at Athens;
Vejīs, at Veii.
b) The general words locō, locīs, parte; also many words modified by tōtus or even by other Adjectives; as, -
hōc locō, at this place;
tōtīs castrīs, in the whole camp.
c) The special words: forīs, out of doors; rūrī, in the country, terrā marīque, on land and sea.
d) The poets freely omit the preposition with any word denoting place; as, -
stant lītore puppēs, the sterns rest on the beach.
B. Place from which.[50]
229. Place from which is regularly denoted by the Ablative with a preposition; as, -
ab Italiā profectus est, he set out from Italy;
ex urbe rediit, he returned from the city.
1. But certain words stand in the Ablative without a preposition; viz. -
a) Names of towns and small islands; as, -
Rōma profectus est, he set out from Rome;
Rhodō revertit, he returned from Rhodes.
b) domō, from home; rūre, from the country.
c) Freely in poetry; as, -
Italiā dēcessit, he withdrew from Italy.
2. With names of towns, ab is used to mean from the vicinity of, or to denote the point whence distance is measured; as, -
ā Gergoviā discessit, he withdrew from the vicinity of Gergovia;
ā Rōmā X mīlia aberat, he was ten miles distant from Rome.
Urbe and oppidō, when standing in apposition with a town name, are accompanied by a preposition; as, -
Curibus ex oppidō Sabīnōrum, from Cures, a town of the Sabines
A. Time at which.
230. The Ablative is used to denote the time at which; as, -
quārtā hōrā mortuus est, he died at the fourth hour;
annō septuāgēsimō cōnsul creātus, elected consul in his seventieth year.
1. Any word denoting a period of time may stand in this construction, particularly annus, vēr, aestās, hiems, diēs, nox, hōra, comitia (Election Day), lūdī (the Games), etc.
2. Words not denoting time require the preposition in, unless accompanied by a modifier. Thus: -
in pāce, in peace; in bellō, in war;
but secundō bellō Pūnicō, in the second Punic War.
3. Expressions like in eō tempore, in summa senectūte, take the preposition because they denote situation rather than time.
B. Time within which.
231. Time within which is denoted by the Ablative either with or without a preposition; as, -
stella Sāturnī trīgintā annīs cursum cōnficit, the planet Saturn completes its orbit within thirty years;
ter in annō, thrice in the course of the year.
1. Occasionally the Ablative denotes duration of time; as, -
bienniō prōsperās rēs habuit, for two years he had a prosperous administration.
THE LOCATIVE.
232. The Locative case occurs chiefly in the following words: -
1. Regularly in the Singular of names of towns and small islands of the first and second declensions, to denote the place in which; as, -
| Rōmae, at Rome; | Corinthī, at Corinth; | |
| Rhodī, at Rhodes. | ||
2. In the following special forms: -
| domī, at home; | humī, on the ground; |
| bellī, in war; | mīlitiae, in war; |
| vesperī, at evening; | herī, yesterday. |
3. Note the phrase pendēre animī, lit. to be in suspense in one's mind.
4. For urbs and oppidum in apposition with a Locative, see § 169, 4.
[50] Place from which, though strictly a Genuine Ablative use, is treated here for sake of convenience.