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

——§ 110, 111 SYNTAX.—DATIVE. 231§ HO.—DATIVE GOVERNED BY SUBSTANTIVES.Rule XV. Substantives frequently go-378.vern the dative of their object; as,Hostis virtutibus,Exilium pecori,Obternperantia legWus,An enemy to virtue.Destruction to the flock.Obedience to the laws.379.—EXPLANATION.—Under thisrule, the governing substantivegenerally denotes an affection, or some advantage, or disadvantage, or act,which is limited, as to its object, by the dative following it, as in the precedingexamples.380 Obs. 1. Rule. The dative of the possessor is governedby substantives denoting the thing possessed ; as,Ei venit in men tern, It came into his mind.Cui corpus porrigitur, Whose body is extended.381.— Obs. 2. The dative in this construction is said to be used for, orinstead of, the genitive, as in Rule VI. There are but few instances, however,in which the genitive under that rule could, with propriety, bechanged for the dative. On the other hand, when the dative is used, thegenitive would fail to express so precisely the idea intended. In this construction,the noun governing the dative is connected with a verb in sucha way as clearly to show, that the dative is rather the object of that whichis expressed by the verb and noun together, than under the governmentof the noun alone. Thus, in the first example, ei denotes the person towhom that which is expressed by venit in me?ite?n, occurred. So, corpusporriaitur states What was done to the person represented by cui. Theprinciple of this construction will be more manifest from what is stated 502.§ 111. THE DATIVE GOVERNED BY ADJECTIVES.382. Rule XVI. Adjectives signifying profitor clisprofit, likeness or unlikeness, govern thedative ;as,Utilis bello,ISimilis patri,Useful for war.Like his father.3So.—EXPLANATION.—The dative under this rule, likethe genitiveunder Rule IX, is used to limit the meaning of the adjective to a particularobject or end, to which the quality expressed by it is directed. Thus, in thefirat example, utilis means ' ; useful " in a general sense ;bello limits the uso