Chapter 348 Allen and Greenough's Latin Grammar Dickinson College Christopher Francese

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Nouns of action , agency , and feeling govern the Genitive of the Object:—

cāritās tuī , affection for you. dēsīderium ōtī , longing for rest. vacātiō mūneris , relief from duty. grātia beneficī , gratitude for kindness. fuga malōrum , refuge from disaster. precātiō deōrum , prayer to the gods. contentiō honōrum , struggle for office. opīniō virtūtis , reputation for valor. This usage is an extension of the idea of belonging to (Possessive Genitive). Thus in the phrase odium Caesaris , hate of Cæsar , the hate in a passive sense belongs to Cæsar, as odium , though in its active sense he is the object of it, as hate (cf. a ). The distinction between the Possessive (subjective) and the Objective Genitive is very unstable and is often lost sight of. It is illustrated by the following example: the phrase amor patris , love of a father , may mean love felt by a father, a father's love (subjective genitive), or love towards a father (objective genitive).

The objective genitive is sometimes replaced by a possessive pronoun or other derivative adjective:— mea invidia , my unpopularity (the dislike of which I am the object). [Cf. odium meī (Har. Resp. 5) , hatred of me. ] laudātor meus (Att. 1.16.5) , my eulogist (one who praises me). [Cf. nostrī laudātor ( id . 1.14.6).] Clōdiānum crīmen (Mil. 72) , the murder of Clodius (the Clodian charge). [As we say , the Nathan murder. ] metus hostīlis (Iug. 41) , fear of the enemy (hostile fear). ea quae faciēbat, tuā sē fīdūciā facere dīcēbat (Verr. 5.176) , what he was doing , he said he did relying on you (with your reliance). neque neglegentiā tuā , neque id odiō fēcit tuō (Ter. Ph. 1016) , he did this neither from neglect nor from hatred of you.

Rarely the objective genitive is used with a noun already limited by another genitive:— animī multārum rērum percursiō ; ( Tusc. 4.31 ), the mind's traversing of many things.

A noun with a preposition is often used instead of the objective genitive:— odium in Antōnium (Fam. 10.5.3) , hate of Antony. merita ergā mē ( id . 1.1.1), services to me. meam in tē pietātem ( id . 1.9.1), my devotion to you. impetus in urbem (Phil. 12.29) , an attack on the city. excessus ē vītā (Fin. 3.60) , departure from life. [Also, excessus vītae , Tusc. 1.27 .] adoptiō in Domitium (Tac. Ann. 12.25) , the adoption of Domitius. [A late and bold extension of this construction.] So also in late writers the dative of reference (cf. § 366 . b ): as, — longō bellō māteria (Tac. H. 1.89) , resources for a long war.

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