The dative case is in general employed to indicate a person or thing that some act or circumstance applies to or refers to “indirectly,” as opposed to the accusative, which indicates the more immediate recipient or object of an action. The indirect object, e.g., is the person/thing toward which a direct object is “referred” by the subject + verb: “I am giving the book [direct object] to you [indirect object]” = “I am giving the book, not just to anyone anywhere, but in your direction, i.e., to you.” Even in the passive periphrastic construction, the dative of agent indicates the person for whom a certain action is obligatory. A number of other dative case usages are distinguished by grammarians, but most are simply variants on this basic notion of reference or direction.
DATIVE WITH ADJECTIVES
The dative with adjectives construction is one example which you have already encountered in your readings, though it has not yet been formally introduced. Simply stated, a noun in the dative case is employed with many Latin adjectives—particularly those indicating attitude, quality, or relation—to indicate the direction (literally or metaphorically) in which the adjective applies; such adjectives are normally followed by “to,” “toward,” or “for” in English (e.g., “friendly to/toward,” “hostile to/toward,” “suitable to/ for,” “useful to,” “similar to,” “equal to,” etc.).
Mors est similis somnō, death is similar to sleep.
Sciēbam tē mihi fidēlem esse, I knew that you were loyal to me.
Nōbīs est vir amīcus, he is a man friendly toward us.
Quisque sibi cārus est, each one is dear to himself.
Ille vidētur pār esse deō, that man seems to be equal to a god.
DATIVE WITH SPECIAL VERBS
Conceptually similar is the dative with special verbs construction. Many of these verbs (the most important of which are listed below) are actually intransitive and, like the adjectives that take the dative, indicate attitude or relationship, e.g., nocēre, to be injurious to, parcō, to be lenient toward, etc. Although these verbs are often translated into English as though they were transitive and the dative nouns they govern as though they were direct objects (e.g., tibi parcit, he spares you; lit., he is lenient toward you), the datives again indicate the person (or thing) toward whom the attitude or quality applies.
Although a common rule for the dative with special verbs lists those meaning to favor, help, harm, please, displease, trust, distrust, believe, persuade, command, obey, serve, resist, envy, threaten, pardon, and spare, the list is cumbersome and involves some important exceptions (including iuvō, to help, and iubeō, to command, order, which take accusative objects). The best procedure at this point in your study of the language is simply to understand the concept and then to learn some of the commonest Latin verbs that take this construction.
In memorizing the following list, note carefully that the more literal translation, given first for each verb, includes English to and thus reminds you of the required dative; note as well that each verb conveys some notion of attitude toward a person or thing, again suggesting a dative, as discussed above.
crēdō + dat., entrust to; trust, believe (crēdō tibi, I believe you)
ignōscō + dat., grant pardon to; pardon, forgive (ignōscō virīs, I forgive the men)
imperō + dat., give orders to; command (imperō mīlitibus, I command the soldiers)
noceō + dat., do harm to; harm (noceō hostibus, I harm the enemy)
nūbō + dat., be married to; marry (nūbō illī virō, I am marrying that man)
parcō + dat., be lenient to; spare (parcō vōbīs, I spare you)
pāreō + dat., be obedient to; obey (pāreō ducī, I obey the leader)
persuādeō + dat., make sweet to; persuade (persuādeō mihi, I persuade myself)
placeō + dat., be pleasing to; please (placeō patrī, I please my father)
serviō + dat., be a slave to; serve (serviō patriae, I serve my country)
studeō + dat., direct one’s zeal to; study (studeō litterīs, I study literature)
Crēde amīcīs, believe (trust) your friends.
Ignōsce mihi, pardon me (forgive me).
Magistra discipulīs parcit, the teacher spares (is lenient toward) her pupils.
Hoc eīs nōn placet, this does not please them.
Nōn possum eī persuādēre, I cannot persuade him.
Variae rēs hominibus nocent, various things harm men.
Cicerō philosophiae studēbat, Cicero used to study philosophy.
Philosophiae servīre est lībertās, to serve philosophy is liberty.
Some of these verbs, it should be noted, can also take a direct object (e.g., crēdō takes a dative for a person believed, mātrī crēdit, he believes his mother, but an accusative for a thing, id crēdit, he believes it); and some, like imperō and persuādeo, take a noun clause as an object, as we shall see in the next chapter.
DATIVE WITH COMPOUND VERBS
A very similar dative usage occurs with certain verbs compounded with ad, ante, con- (=cum), in, inter, ob, post, prae, prō, sub, super, and sometimes circum and re- (in the sense of against). The dative is especially common when the meaning of a compound verb is significantly different from its simple form, whether transitive or intransitive; conversely, if the meaning of the compound is not essentially different from that of the simple verb, then the dative is ordinarily not employed:
Sequor eum, I follow him.
Obsequor eī, I obey him.
Sum amīcus eius, I am his friend.
Adsum amīcō, I support my friend (lit., I am next to my friend, i.e., at his side).
Vēnit ad nōs, he came to us.
Advēnit ad nōs, he came to us.
Often the dative appears to function essentially as a kind of object of the prepositional prefix, though the preposition would take another case if separate from the verb; thus adsum amīcō above and the following examples:
Aliīs praestant, they surpass the others (lit., they stand before the others).
Praeerat exercituī, he was in charge of the army (lit., he was in front of/ before the army).
If the simple verb is transitive, then the compound may take an accusative as object of the root verb as well as a dative:
Praeposuī eum exercituī, I put him in charge of the army (lit., I put him [posuī eum] in front of the army [prae- + exercituī]).
Praeposuī pecūniam amīcitiae, I preferred money to friendship (lit., I put money [posuī pecūniam] before friendship [prae- + amīcitiae]).
Since there is such variability in the rules for dative with special verbs and with compounds, the best procedure is to understand the concepts involved and then, when encountering a dative in a sentence, to be aware of these possible functions; just as with the other cases, you should be maintaining a list of the dative uses you have learned (there have been five thus far) in your notebook or computer file, including definitions and representative examples.
VOCABULARY
aéstās, aest
s, f., summer (estival, estivate, estivation; cp. aestus, -ūs, heat, aestuāre, to be hot, seethe, boil)
i
nua, -ae, f., door (janitor, Janus, January)
péctus, péctoris, n., breast, heart (pectoral, expectorate, parapet)
praémium, -iī, n. reward, prize (premium)
īr
s, -a, -um, angry (irate; cp. īra, īrāscor, to be angry)
antep
nō, -pnere, -pósuī, -pósitum, to put before, prefer
fóveō, fov
re, fvī, fm, to comfort, nurture, cherish (foment)
ignscō, -nscere, -nvī, -nm + dat., to grant pardon to, forgive
ímperō (1) + dat., to give orders to, command (imperative, emperor; cp. imperātor, imperium)
mror, mīrrī, mīrs sum, to marvel at, admire, wonder (admire, marvel, miracle, mirage, mirror; cp. mīrābilis, Ch. 38, mīrāculum, a marvel)
nóceō, nocre, nócuī, nócitum + dat., to do harm to, harm, injure (innocent, innocuous, noxious, nuisance, obnoxious; cp. innocēins, blameless)
nbō, nbere, npsī, nptum, to cover, veil; + dat. (of a bride) to be married to, marry (nubile, connubial, nuptials; cp. nūptiae, marriage)
párcō, párcere, pepércī, parsrum + dat., to be lenient to, spare (parsimonious, parsimony)
preō, pārre, pruī + dat., to be obedient to, obey (apparent, appear)
persudeō, -suādre, -susī, -susum + dat., to succeed in urging, persuade, convince (assuage, dissuade, suasion, suave; cp. suāvis)
pláceō, placre, plácuī, plácitum + dat., to be pleasing to, please (complacent, placable, implacable, placate, placid, plea, plead, pleasure, displease; cp. placidus, kindly, agreeable, calm)
sápiō, sápere, sapvī, to have good taste; have good sense, be wise (sapient, sapid, insipid, sage, savor; cp. sapiēns, sapientia)
sérviō, servre, servvī, servm + dat., to be a slave to, serve (service, disservice, subserve, subservient, servile, servility, deserve, desert = reward, dessert; cp. servus, servitūs; distinguish from servāre)
stúdeō, studre, stúduī + dat., to direct one’s zeal to, be eager for, study (student; cp. studium, studiōsus, eager, diligent, scholarly)
subrdeō, -rīdre, -rsī, -rsum, to smile (down) upon (cp. rīdeō, rīdiculus)
PRACTICE AND REVIEW
Minerva, filia Iovis, nāta est plēna scientiae et ingeniī.
Custōdiae sī cum duce nostrō līberē loquantur et huic tyrannum trādere cōnentur, sine perīculō ex moeniīs urbis prōtinus ēgredī possint.
Pārēre lēgibus aequīs melius est quam tyrannō servīre.
Cum optimē honōribus ūsus esset et sibi cīvitātem semper antepōneret, etiam plēbs eī crēdēbat et nōn invidēbat.
Diū passa, māter vestra fēlīciter, sedēns apud amīcōs, mortua est.
Philosophī cōnsilium spectāvērunt et recūsāvērunt tālem rem suscipere mōlīrīve.
Cum dīves sīs atque dīvitiae crēscant, tamen opibus tuīs parcere vīs et nēminī assem offerēs.
Ab illā īnsulá repente profectus, eādem nocte ad patriam nāve advēnit; tum, quaerēns remissiōnem animae, diū rūsticābātur.
Hic mīles, cum imperātōrī vestrō nōn placēret, heu, illa praemia prōmissa āmīsit.
Nisi mōrēs parēs scientiae sunt—id nōbīs fatendum est—scientia nōbīs magnopere nocēre potest.
Magistra tum rogāvit duōs parvōs puerōs quot digitōs habērent.
Māter candida nātae cārissimae subrīdet, quam maximē fovet, et eī plūrima ōscula suāvia dat.
Why does he now wish to hurt his two friends?
If he does not spare the plebeians, alas, we shall never trust him.
Since you are studying Roman literature, you are serving a very difficult but a very great master.
If they were truly willing to please us, they would not be using their wealth thus against the state.
SENTENTIAE ANTĪQUAE
Nēmō līber est quī corporī servit. (Seneca.)
Imperium habēre vīs magnum? Imperā tibi! (Publilius Syrus.)
Bonīs nocet quisquis pepercit malīs. (*Id.)
Cum tō omnia pecūniae postpōnās, mīrāris sī nēmō tibi amōrem praestat? (Horace.—post-pōnō.)
Frūstrā aut pecūniae aut imperiīs aut opibus aut glōriae student; potius studeant virtūtī et honōrī et scientiae et alicui artī. (Cicero.— frūstrā, adv., in vain.—potius, adv., rather.)
Virtūtī melius quam Fortūnae crēdāmus; virtūs nōn nōvit calamitātī cēdere. (Publilius Syrus.—calamitās, -tātis.)
Et Deus āit: “Faciāmus hominem ad imāginem nostram et praesit piscibus maris bēstiīsque terrae.” (Genesis.—imāgō, -ginis, f.—prae-sum.—piscis, piscis, m., fish.—ēstia, -ae, beast.)
Omnēs arbitrātī sunt tē dēbēre mihi parcere. (Cicero.)
Quid facere vellet, ostendit, et illī servō spē lībertātis magnīsque praemiīs persuāsit. (Caesar.)
Sī cui librī Cicerōnis placent, ille sciat sē prōfēcisse. (Quintilian.— prōficiō = prō + faciō, to progress, benefit.)
In urbe nostrā mihi contigit docērī quantum īrātus Achillēs Graecīs nocuisset. (Horace.—contingō, -ere, -tigī, -tāctum, to touch closely, fall to the lot of.)
Alicui rogantī melius quam iubentī pārēmus. (Publilius Syrus.)
Vīvite fortiter fortiaque pectora rēbus adversīs oppōnite. (Horace.—oppōnō = ob + pōnō, to set against.)
Nōn ignāra malī, miserīs succurrere discō. (*Virgil.—ignārus, -a, -um, ignorant; ignāra is fem. because it agrees with Dido, exiled queen, who speaks these words to shipwrecked Aeneas.—succurrō = sub + currō, to help.)
Ignōsce saepe alterī, numquam tibi. (Publilius Syrus.)
Quandō tē, deum meum, quaerō, vītam beātam quaerō; quaeram tē ut vīvat anima mea. (St. Augustine.)
OVID ASKS THE GODS TO INSPIRE HIS WORK
In nova fert animus mūtātās dīcere fōrmās
corpora: dī, coeptīs—nam vōs mūtāstis et illās—
adspīrāte meīs prīmāque ab orīgine mundī
ad mea perpetuum dēdūcite tempora carmen!
(*Ovid, Metamorphōsēs 1.1-4; meter: dactylic hexameter. Ovid’s Metamorphōsés was an epic that recounted hundreds of stories of miraculous transformations, from the creation of the universe right down into his own times; the challenge in translating this brief excerpt, as with much of Latin verse, is to connect the adjectives with the nouns they modify, so watch the endings!—nova, with corpora.—fert, compels (me). — coeptīs … meīs, dat. with the compound adspīrāte, my beginnings, i.e., the inception of my work.—mūtāstis = mūtāvistis; such contractions, with v and the following vowel dropped, are common in certain perfect tense forms.—et = etiam.—illās, sc. fōrmās.—adspīrāre, to breathe upon, inspire.—orīgō, -ginis, f.—Note the interlocked word order of mea … tempora and perpetuum … carmen.—dē + dūcō.)
SORRY, NOBODY’S HOME!
Nāsīca ad poētam Ennium vēnit. Cum ad iānuam Ennium quaesīvisset et serva respondisset eum in casā nōn esse, sēnsit illam dominī iussū id dīxisse et Ennium vērō esse in casā. Post paucōs diēs, cum Ennius ad Nāsī-cam vēnisset et eum ad iānuam quaereret, Nāsīca ipse exclāmāvit sē in casā nōn esse. Tum Ennius “Quid?” inquit, “Ego nōn cognōscō vōcem tuam?” Hīc Nāsīca merō cum sale respondit: “Vae, homō es impudēns! Ego, cum tē quaererem, servae tuae crēdidī tē nōn in casā esse; nōnne tū mihi ipsī nunc crēdis?”
“I DO.” “I DON’T!”
Nūbere vīs Prīscō. Nōn mīror, Paula; sapīstī.
Dūcere tē nōn vult Prīscus: et ille sapit!
(*Martial 9.10; meter: elegiac couplet.—Priscus was an eligible bachelor, and probably a rich one; Paula was apparently not his type!—sapīstī = sapīvistī; see on mūtāstis above.—dūcere, i.e., in mātrimōnium.—et here, as often, = etiam.)
MARONILLA HAS A COUGH
Petit Gemellus nūptiās Marōnillae
et cupit et īnstat et precātur et dōnat.
Adeōne pulchra est? Immō, foedius nīl est.
Quid ergō in illā petitur et placet? Tussit!
(*Martial 1.10; meter: choliambic. Gemellus is a legacy-hunter, and Maronilla a rich old hag whose estate he hopes to inherit.—nūptiāe, -ārum, f. pl., marriage.—īnstāre, to press, insist. —precor, precārī, precātus sum, to beg, entreat. — dōnat = dat.—adeō = tam.—immō, adv., on the contrary.—foedius = turpius.— nīl = nihil.—ergō = igitur.—tussīre, to cough.)
SUMMER VACATION
Ludī magister, parce simplicī turbae:
…
aestāte puerī sī valent, satis discunt.
(*Martial 10.62.1, 12; meter: choliambic.—simplex, gen. simplicis, here youthful.)
ETYMOLOGY
In the readings
4, postponement. 5. frustrate, frustration. 6. calamitous. 7. imagine, imagery.—Pisces, piscatory, piscatology, piscary.—bestial, bestiality, bestialize, beast, beastly. 10. proficient, proficiency. 11. contingent, contingency, contiguous, contiguity, contact, contagion, contagious. 13. opponent, opposite, opposition. 14. succor. “Ovid”: aspire, aspiration, aspiratory.—original, originate. “Sorry”: exclamation, exclamatory.—impudence. “Maronilla”: nuptials; cp. nūbō.—instant, instance, instantly.—imprecation.—donate, donation.—tussive, pertussis. “Summer”: simple, simpleton, simplex, simplicity, simplistic.
LATĪNA EST GAUDIUM—ET ŪTILIS!
Salvēte, discipulī discipulaeque! Or perhaps now that you have learned the meaning of studēre you should be termed studentēs, since it is clearly your zeal for learning that has brought you this far in your study of Latin! So, studentēs, here is your praemium, more delectables for your cēna Latīna, once more ex novā grammaticā (grammar) atque vocābulāriō: if you remember that verbs signifying “favor … etc.” govern the dative, you can understand this first, fortuitously alliterative motto, fortūna favet fortibus; favēte linguīs, lit. be favorable with your tongues, was an expression used in Roman religious rituals meaning “to avoid any ill-omened words, keep silent”; imperō obviously gives us “imperative,” but also the expression dīvide (from dīvidere, to separate, divide) et imperā; a placet is an affirmative vote, a placitum a judicial decision, and a “placebo” is an unmedicated preparation meant to humor a patient (what, literally, does the “medicine” promise to do?); secret meetings are held iānuīs clausīs (from claudō, claudere, clausī, clausum, to close, as in “recluse,” “closet,” etc.), but iānuae mentis are the ones studying Latin will help you to open (aperiōo, aperīre, aperuī, apertum is to open, as in “aperture”). Studēte Latīnae, aperīte mentēs, et semper valēte, studentēs!