&c., omitted. "This' that', often prefixed similarly for effect in Intensives, English-cf. (10) 5, 13-may often be omitted in trans lation. Adverbs. $36. a. Adverbs (or adverbial phrases, as ex oc- § 36. culto) in Latin are constantly used where we use substantives (especially of time and space), or adjectives, or verbs; e. g. diu, procul, inscienter; haud dubie aderit, 'he is sure to be there,' &c. For instances of the converse, cf. Näg. § 83. On the other hand they use verbs where we use adverbs, substantives, or adjectives, (cf. § 22); e. g. qua soles cura; ut erat miti ingenio; quae est tua facilitas; solet (videtur) ire, he usually (apparently) goes.' Cf. 3, 2; 19, 31; (20) 29; 42, 2; 48, 16; 54, 6, 19. 37-39. § 37. In letters the precision of Latin appears in $87. Epistolary the use of scribere' for our colloquial 'say' (quod scribis), idioms, §§ litteras accipere, for 'hear;' and the constant insertion of such verbs where we omit them; e.g. 'In my last letter,' &c., 'In your note of the 24th inst,' in ea epistola quam dederas, &c. Where we quote from a letter without preface, they prefix scribis, &c.; and mention facts directly instead of alluding to them as we do. Cf. 45, 6; 42, 1 and (42) 2; 44, 1 and (44) 2; 47, 12 and (47) 16, 21; 55, 1.. § 38. Another instance of this precision is the use of the epistolary imperfect and pluperfect dabam, &c., which should be used (as in our phrases 'I am writing this,' 'I send this,' 'I have written so far,') where especial attention is called to the time of the letter-writing. The perfect is similarly used where we use the present. Cf. 47, 2, 13; 54, 4, &c. Cf. 37, 47; 41, 27—31; 44, 20; 47, 2, 3, 10, 18, 19; 49,35; 56, 2. $.39. Epistolary phrases. Colloquialisms in Letters. § 39. Some familiar and idiomatic terms, mainly from letters, are here given : 'Remember me,' &c., salutare, salutem dicere, dare, mittere; 'post,' 'postman,' tabellarius; to send, deliver, a letter,' dare, perferre, litteras; 'my dear Cicero,' mi Cicero; 'Cicero sends his love,' salvebis a Cicerone; 'write and give my love,' jubebis valere litteris; ' good bye, God bless you,' ama nos et vale, vale et so believe me, yours,' &c., ergo bene vale; 'mind you come,' fac (cura ut) venias; 'much obliged,' amo te, amavi te, amabo te ; 'you must know,' scito ; 'he gave me express instructions from you,' me tuis verbis admonuit; 'letters of the same purport, contents, tenor,' eodem exemplo epistolae ; 'let me tell you,' 'I assure you,' narro tibi; 'that same night,' nocte proxima, nocte quae secuta est or nocte eadem ; 'the eve of,' nocte quae-pridie erat. Of course in letters the colloquialisms of every-day life are to be found oftener than in other prose; quid agis? ecquid fit? 'how are you?' 'is anything going on?'-ago and facio being used very freely; cf. actum est de eo; bene actum cum eo; quid eo quid quaeris, enough,' 'in short;' Di immortales, obsecro te, 'good heavens ;' ais ne (tu, vero)? quid ais? noli, fac, &c., 'don't,' ' do.' What?' Titles and names are used only in the superscription, rarely elsewhere. Sometimes we find Heus tu, for 'What do you mean, Sir?' 'I say, Sir;' and mi amice or the name of a friend in the middle of a letter. A termination of a letter like ours will be found 37. 50. They end as a rule abruptly, with and without a 'Vale,' or the date of time or place. (Datum, dedi.) They begin sometimes (after the salutation) with S.V.B.E.V., &c. Cf. 30, 4. Postscripts are found. Cf. 47 a, 49 B. Cf. 38, 11, 16, 17, 27; 44, 23; 47, 8, 20; 52, 12-14, 20-2. Epistolary order, el § 40. The order of sentences in letters is much more § 40. easy and natural than in other prose. The period or idioms, anything like it would be out of place. The style will lipse, &c. also be sometimes very elliptical; verbs (e. g. ire, agere, facere, esse, ferre, venire, videre) being frequently omitted as in § 42 y. The familiar courteous future e. g. dices (cf. Aéyos av) is used for the imperative sometimes, as also noli dicere, ne dixeris, &c., to avoid a direct command. Cf. 45, 9, 22; 47, 3, 4, 10, 20; 52, 17, 22. § 41. The chief peculiarities of idiom in Latin his- § 41. torical and descriptive writing are : Historical 15, Historic the a. The use of the historic present as aorist, as in 3, &c. In sequence of tenses dependent on this, present is sometimes treated as a present, sometimes as an aorist (especially in oratio obliqua and where the present, § 41. Hist. Inf Omission of sum, &c. Verb used for part. Part. as subst. Abl. Abs. dependent clauses come before the present, as in 9, 24); sometimes the two ideas are confused, and presents and imperfects follow intermixed, as in 10, 2-11; 17, 16. The use of dum with the present (cf. §30) arises similarly from this kind of vivid narration. Cf. 1, 2; 4, 10; 12, 6, &c.; 25, 11, &c. § 41. B. The use of the historic infinitive as a main verb to express rapid sequence or vivid description; where we use the hist. pres. or the verbs 'began to,' 'proceeded to,' &c., and often the participle or the verbal substantive in -ing. Cf. §§ 28, 8, 31; and (1) 21; 2, 15; (4) 18; 7, 9, 27; 12, 1—4; 26, 28. 7. The omission of the verb, mostly of est, sunt, and esse, or inquit, &c. (very rarely the subj. of sum, cf. 2, 3; 4, 9); and in cases (Madv. § 478) where the present participle of sum might be used if it existed. Cf. §§ 28, 40; and 17, 24; 21, 30—3; 24, 18; 25, 28; 31, 14. 8. Use of imperfect indic. (26, 40) or quum with subjunctive (7, 33) where we use a kind of ablative absolute, or pendent participle. Cf. § 25 (ii). E. The use of the present participle as substantive. C. The ablative absolute, with or without participle, nate clause. at the end of a sentence where we use a co-ordinate clause. for co-ordi § 42. Tacitean idioms. Pres. part. frequent. Cf. § 9, § 428. § 42. Tacitean idioms : a. Frequent use of present participle, as § 41 €, § 25 €, both for clauses (temporal, conditional, &c.), and also for persons, and classes, or for abstract substantives and of the passive participle similarly. Adeo furentes infirmitate retinentis accendebat. Hist. I. 9. Nec deerant sermones increpantium. H. 1. 7. Cf. 2, 15, 19; 8, 19; 19, 9, 32; 24, 47. § 42. B. Similar use of adjective, as participle, or as § 42. Adj. for if v were omitted; pronus ad novas res scelere insuper Part. agitatur. Cf. § 20, and 8, 9, 11; 18, 9; 24, 31. of copuia 7. Omission of copula-verb, especially with adjec- Omission γ. tives; omission of other common verbs readily supplied. verb, &c. Especially in the favourite parenthetical use of incertum an (dolo), or sive-sive. Sive verum istud sive ex ingenio principis fictum. Cf. 24, 49. Cf. 2, 3, 9, 12; 4, 9, 13; 11, 17. for co-ordi 8. Frequent use of ablative absolute both before Abl. Abs. and, more frequently, after the main verb, as co-ordinate nate. clause (stating a fresh fact), or as attendant circumstance, &c.; e.g. lubrico statu, attritis opibus, H. 1. 10; of the gerund in do, 24, 35, similarly; of the gerundive (e.g. An. xI. 32, dissimulando metu digreditur) in modal or final sense, cf. 22, 12; of the ablat. absol. used impersonally, e.g. explorato, nuntiato, cf. 4, 3. But cf. Tac. An. xv. 24, 28 with An. XI. 32. Cf. 2, 6; 4, 12; 11, 12, 17. Ind. €. Use of quamquam with subjunctive, and with Subj. for participles, e.g. H. 1. 19 (and quamvis with indicative); more frequent use of the subjunctive generally, wherever a fact can be stated subjectively or where the indefinite idea of frequency justifies its use; on the other hand, occasional interpolation of the indicative in obliqua oratio, and frequent use of the construction, circumveniebatur ni...se opposuissent. Cf. 2, 3, 18; 4, 22; 8, 29; 16, 14, 33. N. |