Genitive of Material
The Possessive Genitive denotes the person or thing to which an object, quality, feeling, or action belongs:—
-
Alexandrī
canis
,
Alexander's dog.
-
potentia
Pompêī
(Sall.
Cat. 19
),
Pompey's power.
-
Ariovistī
mors
(B. G. 5.29)
,
the death of Ariovistus.
-
perditōrum
temeritās
(Mil. 22)
,
the recklessness of desperate men.
The Possessive Genitive may denote (1) the actual
owner
(as in
Alexander's dog
) or
author
(as in
Cicero's writings
), or (2) the person or thing that possesses some
feeling
or
quality
or does some
act
(as in
Cicero's eloquence, the strength of the bridge
,
Catiline's evil deeds
). In the latter use it is sometimes called the Subjective Genitive; but this term properly includes the possessive genitive and several other genitive constructions (nearly all, in fact, except the Objective Genitive, §
347
).
The noun limited is understood in a few expressions:—
-
ad Castoris [aedēs]
(Quinct. 17)
,
at the
[temple]
of Castor.
[Cf.
St. Paul's.
]
-
Flaccus Claudī
,
Flaccus
[slave]
of Claudius.
-
Hectoris Andromachē
;
(
Aen. 3.319
),
Hector's
[wife]
Andromache.
For the genitive of possession a possessive or derivative adjective is often used,—regularly for the possessive genitive of the personal pronouns (§
302
.
a
):—
-
liber meus
,
my book.
[Not
liber meī
.]
-
aliēna
perīcula
,
other men's dangers.
[But also
aliōrum
.]
-
Sullāna
tempora
,
the times of Sulla.
[Oftener
Sullae
.]
The possessive genitive often stands in the predicate, connected with its noun by a verb (
Predicate Genitive
):—
-
haec domus est patris meī
,
this house is my father's.
-
iam mē
Pompêī
tōtum esse scīs
(Fam. 2.13)
,
you know I am now all for Pompey
(all Pompey's).
-
summa laus et tua et
Brūtī
est
(Fam. 12.4.2)
,
the highest praise is due both to you and to Brutus
(is both yours and Brutus's).
-
compendī
facere
,
to save
(make of saving).
-
lucrī
facere
,
to get the benefit of
(make of profit).
These genitives bear the same relation to the examples in §
343
that a predicate noun bears to an appositive (§§
282
, 283).
An infinitive or a clause, when used as a noun, is often limited by a genitive in the predicate:—
-
neque
suī iūdicī
[erat] discernere
(B. C. 1.35)
,
nor was it for his judgment to decide
(nor did it belong to his judgment).
-
cûiusvīs hominis
est errāre
(Phil. 12.5)
,
it is any man's
[liability]
to err.
-
negāvit
mōris
esse Graecōrum, ut in convīviō virōrum accumberent mulierēs
(Verr. 2.1.66)
,
he said it was not the custom of the Greeks for women to appear as guests
(recline)
at the banquets of men.
-
sed
timidī
est optāre necem
(Ov. M. 4.115)
,
but't is the coward's part to wish for death.
-
stultī
erat spērāre, suādēre
impudentis
(Phil. 2.23)
,
it was folly
(the part of a fool)
to hope, effrontery to urge.
-
sapientis
est pauca loquī
,
it is wise
(the part of a wise man)
to say little.
[Not
sapiēns
(
neuter
)
est
, etc.]
This construction is regular with adjectives of the third declension instead of the neuter nominative (see the last two examples).
A derivative or possessive adjective may be used for the genitive in this construction, and
must
be used for the genitive of a personal pronoun:—
-
mentīrī nōn est
meum
[not
meī
],
it is not for me to lie.
-
hūmānum
[for
hominis
]
est errāre
,
it is man's nature to err
(to err is human).
A limiting genitive is sometimes used instead of a noun in apposition (
Appositional Genitive
) (§
282
):—
-
nōmen
īnsāniae
(for
nōmen īnsānia
),
the word madness.
-
oppidum
Antiochīae
(for
oppidum Antiochīa
, the regular form),
the city of Antioch.
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