nūllus can be:
[1] an adjective: no, in the sense of “not
any”
Nūlla victōria Rōmānīs grātior fuit │ No victory was more
pleasing to the Romans.
Miser erat Lūcius; nam nūllī eum
puerī, nūllae amāvērunt puellae. │ Lucas was miserable; for no
boys loved him, and no girls did either.
Bellum nūllum gessit │ He waged no
war = He did not wage any war
homō nūllīus colōris │ (Proverb) literally:
a man of no colour i.e. neither fish nor fowl
[2] a pronoun: [i] no one; nobody
[ii] none, not any, nothing
aut Caesar aut nūllus
erō │ I shall either be a Caesar or a nobody
Ibi nūllus
timet mortem / Sed prō Bacchō mittunt sortem │ Nobody fears death there
/ But they throw the dice in the name of Bacchus
Cicero usually
emphasises the point by saying it three times; this time, however, it’s four …
ut nūllīus rēs
tūta, nūllīus domus clausa, nūllīus vīta saepta, nūllīus
pudīcitia mūnīta contrā tuam cupiditātem et audāciam posset esse (Cicero)│ so
that no man's estate could be safe, no man's house closed; no
man's life protected, no woman's chastity fortified, against your
cupidity and audacity
It’s interesting
to note that, in that tirade, he leaves the worst till last i.e. the offence
against women
[3] an extension
of nūllus is nōnnūllus, -a, -um, literally meaning not none i.e. some,
several, a few; it can also be written as two separate words: nōn nūllus
Like nūllus,
it can be used as an adjective or a pronoun.
nōn nūllum perīculum est (Plautus) │ there
is some danger
nōnnūlla pars mīlitum domum discēdit (Caesar) │ some
part i.e. some of the soldiers returned to their homes
nōnnūllae cohortēs in agmen Caesaris, … incīdunt (Caesar)
│ several cohorts fell in with the main body of Caesar's army
Frūmentī cōpiam legiōnāriī
nōnnūllam habēbant (Caesar) │ the legionaries had a tolerable supply
[ = some] supply of corn
nōnnūllās (nāvēs) cum hominibus capiunt (Caesar) │ they
took a few (ships) with the men (on board)
These two examples
show nōnnūllus as a pronoun:
nōnnūllī suā voluntāte apud eum remānsērunt
(Caesar) │ several voluntarily remained with him
Dīcuntur etiam ab nōnnūllīs
sententiae (Caesar) │ Opinions were expressed by some
Quid dē nōnnūllōrum
senātōrum impudentiā dīcam? │ What shall I say about the shamelessness of several
senators?
Image #2: Latin has a specific word for nobody
i.e. nēmō; it can be either masculine or feminine. However, the genitive and
ablative of nēmō i.e. nēminis and nēmine were not used in
Classical Latin, the genitive and ablative of nūllus used instead.
Exercise: Complete the Latin
sentences with the appropriate form of nūllus:
[1] I’m a
worthless fellow [ = I’m a nobody] │_____ sum (Plautus)
[2] She does not
love anybody / she loves no one │ _____ amat.
[3] No sound
passed his lips [ = no voice was heard from him] │ _____ vōx est ab eō
audīta.
[4] We did not
see any / we saw no ships in the harbour. │ _____ nāvēs in portū
vīdimus.
[5] Cato did not
say a word [ = made no word] │ Catō _____ verbum fēcit.
[6] The teacher
does not give a reward to any bad boy. │ _____ malō puerō
praemium dat magister.
[7] When Claudius
and Aemilius were praetors, no thieves were condemned. │ Claudiō et
aemiliō praetōribus, _____ latrōnēs damnātī sunt.
[8] I am not disturbed
by any hope [ = I am disturbed by no hope], not by any fear
[ = by no fear]; I am not disquieted by any rumours
[= by no rumours] │ _____ spē, _____ timōre
sollicitor, _____ rūmōribus inquiētor (Pliny)
[9] if I fear
neither the violence of any one nor the influence of any one │ Sī
_____ vim, _____ potentiam pertimuerō (Cicero)
nūlla; nūllā; nūllās; nūllī; nūllī; nūllīs; nūllīus; nūllīus; nūllō; nūllum; nūllum; nullus
____________________
[1] Nūllus
sum (Plautus)
[2] Nūllum
amat.
[3] Nūlla
vōx est ab eō audīta.
[4] Nūllās
nāvēs in portū vīdimus.
[5] Catō nūllum
verbum fēcit.
[6] Nūllī
malō puerō praemium dat magister.
[7] Claudiō et
Aemiliō praetōribus, nūllī latrōnēs damnātī sunt.
[8] nūllā spē, nūllō timōre
sollicitor, nūllīs rūmōribus inquiētor (Pliny)
[9] sī nūllīus vim, nūllīus potentiam pertimuerō (Cicero)
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