The principles of Latin grammar; comprising the ... - Essan.org

———'§ 146 SYNTAX.—THE CASE ABSOLUTE. 2S3while, and the like ; as, Ccesar hostes in fagain c onj ectos persecutus est," Caesar pursued the enemy who had been put to flight." Curio ad focumsedeuti, h To Curius as he wan sitting by the fire" Dionysius, Syr \expul s u s, Corinthi pueros docebat, " Dionysius, when he was expected fromSyracuse/' etc.689. Obs. 7 A participle is joined with another verb, and in thesame case with its subject, for the two following purposes, viz.:1st. It is used simply to connect an accompanying with the main action,whether simultaneous or antecedent in the same subject. Thus used, the participleand verb may be rendered as two verbs connected by a conjunction;as, venit ad me clamitan s, " he came to me and cried out^lit., crying out,Ccesar hostes ag gr e ssus ficg.avit, "Caesar attacked and defeated theenemy/'2d. Sometimes, as in Greek, it is used to connect an accompanying withthe main action, in the same subject, as the cause, manner, or meavs ofeffecting it; as, hoc faciens vlvam melius, " by doing this I will livebetter." Hor. So used, it is equivalent to the ablative Gerund.When a participle does not refer to some leading subject in the proposition,but to a new subject introduced, and not depending on any word inthe sentence, the participle is put with that new subject, in what is calledTHE CASE ABSOLUTE.690.Rule LX. A substantive with,a participle,whose case depends on no other word, isin the ablative absolute ;e - •7/• • j ^ z \ The sun rising, or while the sunhole or lent e fuqiunt tenebrce, A ff . -, -, l.J ff 'rises, darkness rues away.(as,put691.—EXPLANATION.—This Kule properly affects the substantiveonly, with which the participle then agrees by Kule LIX.692.— Obs. 8. This construction is much more frequent in Latin, thanin other languages, partly, because there is no perfect participle in theactive voice. When, therefore, in connection with an active or deponentverb, a past act of its subject is to be expressed by the participle, the perfeet participle passive must be used ; and hence, the object of the act mustDe introduced as a new subject, which, having no dependence on any wordin the sentence, must, under the rule, be put in the ablative absolute.in English we say : Csesar, having sent forward the cavalry, followed withforces. There being no perfect participle in Latin corresponding to"having sent," which would agree with Ccesar, in the nominative case, thisclause must be changed into the passive form ; thus, Ccesar, e quit at up r cem i s so, subsequebcltur,