Chapter 409Allen and Greenough's Latin GrammarDickinson CollegeChristopher Francese
Publication information
Information about the source
The Ablative is used to denote the
means
or
instrument
of an action:—
certantēs
pūgnīs
,
calcibus
,
unguibus
,
morsū
dēnique
(Tusc. 5.77)
,
fighting with fists, heels
,
nails
,
and even teeth.
cum
pūgnīs
et
calcibus
concīsus esset
(Verr. 3.56)
,
when he had been pummelled with their fists and heels.
meīs
labōribus
interitū rem pūblicam līberāvī
;
(
Sull. 33
),
by my toils I have saved the state from ruin.
multae istārum arborum meā
manū
sunt satae
(Cat. M. 59)
,
many of those trees were set out with my own hands.
vī
victa vīs, vel potius oppressa
virtūte
audācia est
(Mil. 30)
,
violence was overcome by violence, or rather, boldness was put down by courage.
The Ablative of Means is used with verbs and
adjectives of filling
,
abounding
, and the like:—
Deus
bonīs omnibus
explēvit mundum
(Tim. 3)
,
God has filled the world with all good things.
aggere
et
crātibus
fossās explent
(B. G. 7.86)
,
they fill up the ditches with earth and fascines.
tōtum montem
hominibus
complēvit
(
id
. 1.24),
he filled the whole mountain with men.
opīmus
praedā(Verr. 2.1.132)
,
rich with spoils.
vīta plēna et cōnferta
voluptātibus
(
Sest
.23),
life filled and crowded with delights.
Forum Appī differtum
nautīs(Hor. S. 1.5.4)
,
Forum Appii crammed with bargemen.
In poetry the Genitive is often used with these words.
Compleō
and
impleō
sometimes take the genitive in prose (cf. §
356
); so regularly
plēnus
and (with personal nouns)
complētus
and
refertus
(§
349
.
a
):—
omnia plēna
lūctūs
et
maerōris
fuērunt
(Sest. 128)
,
everything was full of grief and mourning.
ōllam dēnāriōrum
implēre
(Fam. 9.18)
,
to fill a pot with money.
[Here evidently colloquial, otherwise rare in Cicero.]
convīvium
vīcīnōrum
compleō
;
(
Cat. M. 46
, in the mouth of
Cato
),
I fill up the banquet with my neighbors.
cum complētus
mercātōrum
carcer esset
(Verr. 5.147)
,
when the prison was full of traders.