Part 48

#prō Pompēiō ēmorī possum#, _Fam._ 2, 15, 3, _I could die the death for Pompey_ (1495). #quid habēs dīcere?# _Balb._ 33, _what have you to say?_ #scīre volēbat#, _V._ 1, 131, _he wanted to know_. #hoc facere dēbēs#, _RabP._ 7, _you ought to do this_. #Caesar Rhēnum trānsīre dēcrēverat#, 4, 17, 1, _Caesar had resolved to cross the Rhine_. #fugā salūtem petere contendērunt#, 3, 15, 2, _they tried to save themselves by flight_. #num negāre audēs?# _C._ 1, 8, _do you dare deny it?_ #vereor dīcere#, T. _Andr._ 323, _I am afraid to tell_. #num dubitās id facere?# _C._ 1, 13, _do you hesitate to do that?_ #mātūrat ab urbe proficīscī#, 1, 7, 1, _he makes haste to leave Rome_. #Dīviciācus Caesarem obsecrāre coepit#, 1, 20, 1, _Diviciacus began to entreat Caesar_. #Dolābella iniūriam facere persevērat#, _Quint._ 31, _Dolabella persists in doing wrong_. #illī pecūniam pollicērī nōn dēsistunt#, 6, 2, 1, _these people did not stop offering money_. #diem ēdictī obīre neglēxit#, _Ph._ 3, 20, _he failed to keep the day named in the edict_. #īrāscī amīcīs nōn temere soleō#, _Ph._ 8, 16, _I am not apt to get provoked with friends without just cause_. #illī rēgibus pārēre didicerant#, _Ph._ 3, 9, _the men of old were trained to bow the knee to kings_ (1615). #dextram cohibēre mementō#, J. 5, 71, _remember that you keep hands off_.

2169. The verbs or verbal expressions which are supplemented by an infinitive are chiefly such as mean _can_, _will_ or _wish_, _ought_, _resolve_, _endeavour_, _dare_, _fear_, _hesitate_, _hasten_, _begin_, _continue_, _cease_, _neglect_, _am wont_, _learn_, _know how_, _remember_, _forget_, _seem_. The infinitive in this combination contains the leading idea. For the occasional use of the perfect infinitive with some of these verbs, see 2223.

Some of the commonest of these verbs are #possum#, #queō#, #nequeō#; #volō#, #nōlō#, #mālō#, #cupiō#, #studeō#; #dēbeō#; #cōgitō#, #meditor#, #statuō#, #cōnstituō#, #dēcernō#, #parō#; #cōnor#, #nītor#, #contendō#; #audeō#; #vereor#; #cunctor#, #dubitō#, #festīnō#, #mātūrō#, #īnstituō#, #coepī#, #incipiō#, #pergō#, #persevērō#, #dēsinō#, #dēsistō#, #omittō#, #supersedeō#, #neglegō#, #nōn cūrō#; #soleō#, #adsuēscō#, #cōnsuēscō#; #discō#, #sciō#, #nesciō#, #recordor#, #meminī#, #oblīvīscor#; #videor#.

2170. The infinitive is also used with many verbal expressions equivalent to the above verbs, such as #habeō in animō#, #cōnsilium est#, #certum est#, #parātus sum#, &c., &c., or with #parātus# alone, #adsuēfactus#, &c., &c. Furthermore, in poetry and late prose, the place of many of the above verbs is often taken by livelier or fresher synonymes, such as #valeō# for #possum#, from Lucretius on, #ardeō#, _burn_, for #volō#, #cupiō#, or #absiste#, #fuge#, #parce#, &c., for #nōlī# (1584), &c., &c.

2171. A predicate noun used in the construction of the complementary infinitive, is put in the nominative: as,

#Aelius Stōicus esse voluit#, _Br. 206_, _Aelius wanted to be a Stoic_. #esse quam vidērī bonus mālēbat#, S. _C._ 54, 6, _he chose to be good rather than seem good_.

THE ACCUSATIVE WITH THE INFINITIVE.

2172. A very common form of a dependent sentence is that known as the _Accusative with the Infinitive_.

Thus, of the two coordinate sentences #sciō: iocāris tū nunc#, Pl. _Most._ 1081, _I know: you are jesting now_, the second may be put in a dependent form, the two sentences blending into one: #sciō iocārī tē nunc#, _I know you to be jesting now_.

2173. The subject of an infinitive is put in the accusative.

Thus, in #eum vident#, _they see him_, #eum# is the object of #vident# (1134). If #sedēre# is added, #eum vident sedēre#, _V._ 5, 107, _they see him sit_, or _they see that he is sitting_, #eum# is at the same time the object of #vident# and the subject of #sedēre#. But the accusative by degrees becoming detached from the main verb, and closely interlocked with the infinitive, the combination is extended to cases where the main verb is intransitive or passive.

2174. A predicate noun referring to a subject accusative is itself put in the accusative: as,

#tē esse arbitror puerum probum#, Pl. _Most._ 949, _I think you are a good boy_. #nēminem vīvum capī patiuntur#, 8, 35, 5, _they do not allow anybody to be made prisoner alive_ (2198).

VERBS OF PERCEIVING, KNOWING, THINKING, AND SAYING.

2175. The accusative with the infinitive is used with active verbs or verbal expressions of perceiving, knowing, thinking, and saying: as,

#patēre tua cōnsilia nōn sentīs?# _C._ 1, 1, _you don’t feel that your plots are all out?_ #huic fīlium scīs esse?# T. _Hau._ 181, _you are aware that this man has a son?_ #Pompēiōs cōnsēdisse terrae mōtū audīvimus#, Sen. _NQ._ 6, 1, 1, _we have heard that Pompei has been swallowed up by an earthquake_, 63 A.D., 17 years before its utter destruction. #saepe audīvī inter ōs atque offam multa intervenīre posse#, Cato in Gell. 13, 18 (17), 1, _I have often heard ‘’twixt cup and lip there’s many a slip.’_ #dīcit montem ab hostibus tenērī#, 1, 22, 2, _he says the hill is held by the enemy_. #dīxtin dūdum illam dīxisse, sē expectāre fīlium?# T. _Hec._ 451, _didn’t you say a while ago the woman said that she was looking for her son?_

Some of the commonest of these verbs are: (_a._) #audiō#, #animadvertō#, #sentiō#, #videō#. (_b._) #accipiō#, #intellegō#, #sciō#, #nesciō#. (_c._) #arbitror#, #cēnseō#, #cōgitō#, #crēdō#, #exīstimō#, #meminī#, #opīnor#, #putō#, #recordor#, #suspicor#. (_d._) #adfirmō#, #āiō#, #dēmōnstrō#, #dīcō#, #disputō#, #doceō#, #fateor#, #nārrō#, #negō#, #nūntiō#, #ostendō#, #prōmittō#, #scrībō#, #sīgnificō#, #spērō#, #trādō#. (_e._) #rūmor est#, #nōn mē fugit#, #certus sum#, #nōn nescius sum#, &c., &c. Also occasionally verbs used in the sense of _think_ or _say_, as #mittō#, _send word_, and substantives or pronouns expressing a thought or judgement.

2176. The accusative with the infinitive is sometimes introduced by a neuter pronoun, or by #sīc# or #ita#: as, #illud negābis, tē dē rē iūdicātā iūdicāvisse?# _V._ 2, 81, _will you deny this, that you sate in judgement on a matter that was already decided?_ #sīc accēpimus, nūllum bellum fuisse#, _V._ 5, 5, _we have been told this, that there was not any war_. Sometimes by an ablative with #dē#: as, #dē hōc Verrī dīcitur, habēre eum perbona toreumata#, _V._ 4, 38, _about this man report is made to Verres that he had some choice bits of embossed work_.

2177. (1.) Passive verbs of this class are commonly used personally in the third person of the present system, with the subject, and the predicate noun, if used, in the nominative: as,

#hī centum pāgōs habēre dīcuntur#, 4, 1, 4, _these people are said to have a hundred cantons_. #nūlla iam exīstimantur esse iūdicia#, _V. a. pr._ 43, _there are thought to be no courts of law any longer_. #pōns prope effectus nūntiābātur#, Caes. _C._ 1, 62, 3, _the bridge was reported to be well-nigh done_.

2178. Such personal passives are much more common in the writers of Cicero’s day than in old Latin. Particularly so #arguō#, #audiō#, #cōgnōscō#, #comperiō#, #concēdō#, #dēfendō#, #dēmōnstrō#, #dīcō#, #doceō#, #excūsō#, #exīstimō#, #inveniō#, #iūdicō#, #līberō#, #memorō#, #negō#, #nūntiō#, #ostendō#, #postulō#, #putō#, #reperiō#, #trādō#.

2179. (2.) With the first or second person the personal construction is rare: as, #quod nōs bene ēmisse iūdicātī sumus#, _Att._ 1, 13, 6, _that we are thought to have made a good bargain_. #cum inveniāre improbissimā ratiōne esse praedātus#, _V._ 4, 3, _when you prove to have been robbing most abominably_. But with #videor#, _seem_, the personal construction is the rule in all three persons, and in the perfect system as well as the present.

2180. (3.) In the perfect system, and also usually in the gerundive construction (2246), verbs of this class are commonly impersonal: as,

#trāditum est Homērum caecum fuisse#, _TD._ 5, 114, _the tradition is that Homer was blind_. #ubī̆ tyrannus est, ibī̆ dīcendum est nūllam esse rem pūblicam#, _RP._ 3, 43, _wherever there is an absolute ruler, there we must maintain there is no commonwealth_.

2181. (4.) With some verbs of this class, the impersonal construction is preferred even in the present system. Thus, commonly #intellegitur#, _it is understood_, as impersonal; regularly in classical Latin #crēditur#; with a dative in Cicero and Caesar #dīcitur#, #nūntiātur#. The impersonals #cernitur#, #fertur#, #memorātur#, #prōditur#, #vidētur#, are rare.

2182. The personal construction is sometimes extended to other verbs or verbal expressions, especially in poetry: as, #colligor#, O. _A._ 2, 6, 61, _I am inferred_, for #colligitur#. #nōnnūllīs magistrātūs veniēbant in suspīciōnem nōs dēmorātī esse#, Lentulus in _Fam._ 12, 15, 5, _the magistrates were suspected by some of having delayed us_ (1491).

2183. With verbs of thinking and saying the subject accusative is sometimes omitted.

(_a._) Oftenest thus #mē# #nōs#, #tē# #vōs#, or #sē#: as, #stultē fēcisse fateor#, i.e. #mē#, Pl. _B._ 1013, _I own I’ve acted like a fool_. #cōnfitēre vēnisse#, i.e. #tē#, _RA._ 61, _confess you came_. #quae imperārentur facere dīxērunt#, i.e. #sē#, 2, 32, 3, _they said they would do as ordered_ (2221). Often the future without #esse#: as, #refrāctūrōs carcerem minābantur#, i.e. #sē#, L. 6, 17, 6, _they threatened to break the jail open_, (_b._) Less frequently an accusative of #is#: as, #oblītum crēdidī#, i.e. #eum#, _Fam._ 9, 2, 1, _I imagined he had forgotten_. Such omissions are common in old Latin, Cicero, Caesar, Livy, and in poetry.

2184. When the accusative is not expressed, a predicate noun is sometimes put in the nominative, chiefly in poetry, in imitation of a Greek idiom: as,

#phasēlus ille quem vidētis, hospitēs, ait fuisse nāvium celerrimus#, Cat. 4, 1, _the clipper you see yonder, friends, says she was once the fleetest of the fleet_. #uxor invictī Iovis esse nescīs#, H. 3, 27, 73, _thou knowest not thou art the bride of the unconquerable Jove_. Similarly with verbs of emotion (2187): as, #gaudent esse rogātae#, O. _AA._ 1, 345, _they are glad to have been asked_. #gaudent perfūsī sanguine frātrum#, V. _G._ 2, 510, _they’re glad to have been imbued with brothers’ blood_.

VERBS OF ACCUSING.

2185. The verbs of accusing, #arguō# and #īnsimulō#, take the accusative with the infinitive like verbs of saying: as,

#cīvīs Rōmānōs necātōs esse arguō#, _V._ 5, 149, _my accusation is that Romans have been slain_. #occīdisse patrem Sex. Rōscius arguitur#, _RA._ 37, _Roscius is charged with the murder of his father_. #īnsimulāre coepērunt Epicratem litterās pūblicās corrūpisse#, _V._ 2, 60, _they began to accuse Epicrates of having falsified records of state_.

VERBS OF HOPING, PROMISING, AND THREATENING.

2186. The accusative with the future infinitive is used with verbs of hoping, promising, and threatening: as,

#id sēsē effectūrōs spērābant#, 7, 26, 2, _they hoped to carry it out_. #pollicentur sēsē ē̆ī dēditūrōs#, 5, 20, 2, _they volunteer to surrender to him_. But sometimes the present infinitive alone: see 2236.

VERBS OF EMOTION.

2187. The accusative with the infinitive is sometimes used with verbs of joy, grief, surprise, or wonder: as,

#venīre tū mē gaudēs#, Pl. _B._ 184, _thou art glad I’m come_. #doluī pācem repudiārī#, _Marc._ 14, _I felt sorry peace was rejected_. These verbs often have the construction with #quod#, or in old Latin with #quia# (1851).

2188. Some of the commonest of these verbs are #doleō#, #gaudeō#, #laetor#, #mīror#, &c., &c.; and from Cicero on, #angor#, #indignor#, #lūgeō#, #sollicitō#.

VERBS OF DESIRE.

2189. (1.) The accusative with the infinitive is commonly used with #volō# (#mālō#, #nōlō#), and #cupiō#, when the subject of the infinitive is not the same as that of the verb: as,

#Catilīnam perīre voluī#, _Ph._ 8, 15, _I wished Catiline to die_. #māluit hominēs peccāre quam deōs#, _V._ 2, 22, _he wanted men to sin rather than gods_. #tē tuā fruī virtūte cupimus#, _Br._ 331, _we wish you to reap the benefit of your high character_.

2190. (2.) Even when the subjects denote the same person, the accusative is sometimes used with the infinitive: as,

#ēmorī mē mālim#, Pl. _As._ 810, #morī mē mālim#, T. _Eu._ 66, _I’d rather die_. #magnuficē volō mē virōs summōs accipere#, Pl. _Ps._ 167, _I’m going to entertain some highborn gentlemen in style_. Oftenest when the infinitive is #esse#, #vidērī#, #putārī#, or #dīcī#: as, #cupiō mē esse clēmentem, cupiō mē nōn dissolūtum vidērī#, _C._ 1, 4, _I wish to play the man of mercy, and yet I do not wish to seem over lax_. Rarely thus with #dēsīderō#, #nōlō#, #optō#, and #studeō#, and in Sallust with #properō#.

2191. For the perfect active with these verbs, see 2228; for the perfect passive, 2229.

2192. #volō#, #mālō#, and #cupiō# are often coordinated with the subjunctive of desire (1707). #volō# and #mālō# often have the subjunctive with #ut#, particularly in old Latin (1950).

2193. Verbs of resolving sometimes take the accusative with the infinitive: as, #certum offirmāre est viam mē#, T. _Hec._ 454, _I am resolved to hold the way_. So, from Cicero on, sometimes #cēnseō#, #dēcernō#, and #sentiō#, in the exceptional sense of #volō# or #iubeō#, _think it best_: as, #velle et cēnsēre eōs ab armīs discēdere#, S. _I._ 21, 4, _that they wished and thought it best for those people to give up fighting_.

2194. The accusative with the infinitive is sometimes used with verbs of demanding: as, #hau postulō equidem mēd in lectō accumbere#, Pl. _St._ 488, _I can’t expect, not I, to sprawl upon a couch_. #hīc postulat sē absolvī?# _V._ 3, 138, _does this man ask to be acquitted?_ Similarly with #ōrō# and #praecipiō# in late writers.

2195. The accusative with the infinitive is sometimes found with #suādeō# and #persuādeō# in Terence, Lucretius, and Vergil, and with #precor# in Ovid and late prose.

VERBS OF ACCOMPLISHING.

2196. Verbs of accomplishing rarely have the accusative with the infinitive: as, #tālīs ōrātōrēs vidērī facit, quālīs ipsī sē vidērī volunt#, _Br._ 142, of delivery, _it makes orators appear just as they wish to appear themselves_. Oftenest in poetry. In prose usually the subjunctive with #ut# (1951).

VERBS OF TEACHING AND TRAINING.

2197. The verbs of teaching and training, #doceō# and #adsuēfaciō#, may take an accusative of a substantive and an infinitive expressing the thing taught: as,

#quīn etiam tondēre fīliās suās docuit#, _TD._ 5, 58, _why more than that, he actually taught his own daughters to shave_, of Dionysius, tyrant of Syracuse. #equōs eōdem remanēre vestīgiō adsuēfēcērunt#, 4, 2, 3, _they have their horses trained to stand stock-still_ (1608). Compare 1169.

VERBS OF BIDDING AND FORBIDDING AND OF ALLOWING.

2198. The accusative with the infinitive is used with #iubeō# and #vetō#, #sinō# and #patior#: as,

#mīlitēs ex oppidō exīre iussit#, 2, 33, 1, _he ordered the soldiers to go out of the town_. #pontem iubet rescindī#, 1, 7, 2, _he orders the bridge torn up_. #lēx peregrīnum vetat in mūrum ascendere#, _DO._ 2, 100, _it is against the law for a foreigner to get up on the wall_. #castra vāllō mūnīrī vetuit#, Caes. _C._ 1, 41, 4, _he gave orders that the camp should not be fortified with a palisade_. #vīnum ad sē inportārī nōn sinunt#, 4, 2, 6, _wine they will not allow to be brought into their country_. Cicero is the first to use #vetō# thus. Other constructions also occur with these words: see 1708, 1950, 1953, &c.

2199. The person ordered or forbidden is often omitted, when stress is laid on the action merely, or when the person is obvious from the context: as, #castra mūnīre iubet#, i.e. #mīlitēs#, 2, 5, 6, _he gives orders to construct a camp_. #iussērunt prōnūntiāre#, i.e. #tribūnōs et centuriōnēs#, 5, 33, 3, _they gave orders to proclaim_. #īdemque iussērunt simulācrum Iovis facere maius#, i.e. #cōnsulēs#, _C._ 3, 20, _and they furthermore gave directions to make a statue of Jupiter, a bigger one_.

2200. #iubeō# is sometimes coordinated with the subjunctive, especially in old Latin (1708). Sometimes it has the subjunctive with #ut#, especially in resolves of the people.

2201. In the passive, #iubeō#, #vetō#, and #sinō# are used personally, the accusative of the person ordered or forbidden becoming nominative: as, #iubentur scrībere exercitum#, L. 3, 30, 3, _they are ordered to raise an army_. #Nōlānī mūrōs adīre vetitī#, L. 23, 16, 9, _the men of Nola were not allowed to go to the walls_. #hīc accūsāre eum nōn est situs#, _Sest._ 95, _this man was not allowed to accuse him_.

2202. #imperō# often has the accusative with a passive or deponent infinitive, or with #fierī#: as, #praesentem pecūniam solvī imperāvī#, _Att._ 2, 4, 1, _I have given orders for ready money to be paid_. Rarely with an active infinitive parallel with a passive: as, #eō partem nāvium convenīre commeātumque comportārī imperat#, Caes. _C._ 3, 42, 2, _he orders part of the vessels to rendezvous there, and grain to be brought_. In the passive, a personal #imperor# occurs, like #iubeor# (2201): as, #in lautumiās dēdūcī imperantur#, _V._ 5, 68, _orders are given for them to be taken to the quarries_. See also 1950. #permittō# has sometimes the accusative with the infinitive from Tacitus on, usually the subjunctive with #ut# (1950).

2203. The verbs of hindering, #prohibeō# and #impediō#, sometimes have the accusative with the infinitive: as, #barbarī nostrōs nāvibus ēgredī prohibēbant#, 4, 24, 1, _the savages undertook to prevent our people from disembarking_. The infinitive used with #prohibeō# is usually passive or deponent. #quid est igitur quod mē impediat ea quae probābilia mihī̆ videantur sequī?# _Off._ 2, 8, _what is there then to hinder me from following what seems to me to be probable?_ See also 1960 and 1977.

THE INFINITIVE AS A SUBSTANTIVE ACCUSATIVE.

2204. The accusative with the infinitive, or the infinitive alone, regarded as a neuter substantive, may be used as the object of a verb, or in apposition with the object: as,

(_a._) #leporem gustāre fās nōn putant#, 5, 12, 6, _tasting hare they count a sin_. #errāre malum dūcimus#, _Off._ 1, 18, _going astray we hold a bad thing_. (_b._) #ad id quod īnstituistī, ōrātōrum genera distinguere aetātibus, istam dīligentiam esse accommodātam putō#, _Br._ 74, _I think your accurate scholarship is just the thing for your projected task--classifying public speakers chronologically_.

2205. The infinitive as a substantive is rarely preceded by the preposition #inter# in late prose: as, #multum interest inter dare et accipere#, Sen. _Ben._ 5, 10, 2, _there is a vast difference between ‘give’ and ‘take.’_ Cicero has it thus once in a translation (_Fin._ 2, 43). In poetry #praeter# is thus used rarely.

2206. In poetry, the infinitive is used as a substantive object with such verbs as #dō#, #reddō#, #adimō#, #perdō#: as, #hīc verērī perdidit#, Pl. _B._ 158, _this youth has lost his sense of shame_.

(B.) THE INFINITIVE AS SUBJECT.

2207. The accusative with the infinitive, or the infinitive alone, present or perfect, may be used as the subject of a verb, in apposition with the subject, or as a predicate nominative: as,

(_a._) #mendācem memorem esse oportēre#, Quintil. 4, 2, 91, _that a liar should have a good memory_. (_b._) #sequitur illud, caedem senātum iūdicāsse contrā rem pūblicam esse factam#, _Mil._ 12, _next comes this point, that the senate adjudged the homicide an offence against the state_. (_c._) #exitus fuit ōrātiōnis, sibī̆ nūllam cum hīs amīcitiam esse posse#, 4, 8, 1, _the end of the speech was that he could not have any friendship with these people_.

2208. The infinitive is used as the subject (_a._) with impersonal verbs, (_b._) with #est#, #putātur#, #habētur#, &c., and an abstract substantive, a genitive, or a neuter adjective in the predicate.

2209. (_a._) Some of the commonest impersonal verbs are #appāret#, #decet#, #expedit#, #licet#, #lubet#, #oportet#, #praestat#, #pudet#, #rēfert#. Also in classical Latin, #attinet#, #condūcit#, #cōnstat#, #dēdecet#, #exsistit#, #fallit#, #interest#, #iuvat#, #liquet#, #obest#, #paenitet#, #patet#, #pertinet#, #placet#, #displicet#, #prōdest#, which are used as live verbs by Lucretius and Sallust also. Similarly in Plautus and Terence #fortasse#.

2210. The infinitive is occasionally used as a subject with verbs other than the above (2209): as, #nōn cadit invidēre in sapientem#, _TD._ 3, 21, _envy does not square with our ideas of a sage_. #carēre hoc sīgnificat, egēre eō quod habēre velīs#, _TD._ 1, 88, #careō# _means not having what you would like to have_.

2211. (_b._) Some of the commonest abstracts used thus with #est# are #fāma#, #fās# and #nefās#, #fidēs#, #iūs#, #laus#, #opus#, #mōs#, #tempus#. From Cicero on, #opīniō# and #prōverbium#. In Plautus, #audācia#, #cōnfīdentia#, #miseria#, #negōtium#, #scelus#, &c. For genitives, see 1237. Neuter adjectives are such as #aequum#, #inīquum#, #cōnsentāneum#, #crēdibile#, #incrēdibile#, #manifestum#, #necesse#, #pār#, #rēctum#, &c., &c.

2212. The accusative is not expressed when it is indefinite, _you_, _a man_, _a person_, _anybody_, frequently also when it is implied in some other case in the sentence: as,

#nōn tam praeclārum est scīre Latīnē quam turpe nescīre#, _Br._ 140, _it is not so creditable to be a Latin scholar as it is disreputable not to be_. #mihī̆ inter virtūtēs grammaticī habēbitur aliqua nescīre#, Quintil. 1, 8, 21, _in my eyes it will be one merit in a classical scholar not to be omniscient_. #temporī cēdere semper sapientis est habitum#, _Fam._ 4, 9, 2, _bowing to the inevitable has always passed as a mark of wisdom_. #peccāre licet nēminī#, _Par._ 20, _no man is at liberty to sin_. An indefinite #hominem#, #aliquem#, or #tē#, is rare: as, #illa laus est, līberōs hominem ēducāre#, Pl. _MG._ 703, _it is a crown of glory for a man a family to rear_.

2213. (1.) A predicate noun referring to the unexpressed indefinite subject of the infinitive is put in the accusative: as,

#nōn esse cupidum pecūnia est, nōn esse emācem vectīgal est, contentum vērō suīs rēbus esse maximae sunt dīvitiae#, _Par._ 51, _for a man not to have desires, is money down, not to be eager to buy is an income; but to be satisfied with what you have is the greatest possible wealth_. A plural predicate is rare: as, #esset ēgregium domesticīs esse contentōs#, _O._ 22, _it would be a grand thing for people to be satisfied with home examples_.

2214. (2.) When the subject of the infinitive is implied in a dative, a predicate noun may also be in the dative: as,

#mihī̆ neglegentī esse nōn licet#, _Att._ 1, 17, 6, _it will not do for me to be careless_. With a dative and licet, however, the predicate is sometimes in the accusative: as, #quod sī cīvī Rōmānō licet esse Gādītānum#, _Balb._ 29, _now if a Roman is allowed to be a Gaditanian_. Regularly so, when the subject is indefinite and not expressed (2212): as, #haec praescrīpta servantem licet magnificē vīvere#, _Off._ 1, 92, _a man who holds to these rules may live a noble life_.

2215. The infinitive, used as a substantive in the nominative or accusative, sometimes has a neuter attribute.

Chiefly thus #ipsum#, #hoc ipsum#, #tōtum hoc#: as, #ipsum Latīnē loquī est in magnā laude pōnendum#, _Br._ 140, _just the mere ability of talking good Latin is to be accounted highly creditable_. Rarely a possessive, #meum#, #tuum#: as, #ita tuom cōnfertō amāre nē tibi sit probrō#, Pl. _Cur._ 28, _so shape thy wooing that it be to thee no shame_.

[Errata: 2214 ... may also be in the dative: as, dative. as, 2215 ... used as a substantive in the nominative or accusative, , missing]

THE INFINITIVE OF EXCLAMATION.

2216. The infinitive alone, or the accusative with the infinitive, is sometimes used in exclamations of surprise, incredulity, disapproval, or lamentation: as,

#nōn pudēre#, T. _Ph._ 233, _not be ashamed_. #sedēre tōtōs diēs in vīllā#, _Att._ 12, 44, 2, _sitting round whole days and days at the country place_. #at tē Rōmae nōn fore#, _Att._ 5, 20, 7, _only to think you won’t be in Rome_. #hoc posterīs memoriae trāditum īrī#, L. 3, 67, 1, _to think this will be passed down to generations yet unborn_. Often with a #-ne#, transferred from the unexpressed verb on which the infinitive depends (1503): as, #tēne hoc, Accī, dīcere, tālī prūdentiā praeditum#, _Clu._ 84, _what? you to say this, Accius, with your sound sense_. The exclamatory infinitive is chiefly confined to Plautus, Terence, and Cicero.

THE INFINITIVE OF INTIMATION.

2217. This infinitive has already been spoken of; see 1535-1539.

THE TENSES OF THE INFINITIVE.