[i] ille [m], illa
[f], illud [n]: [i] he / she / it; this (man / woman / thing); [ii] that (pl.
those)
ille dux │ that
commander
[ii] adsum,
adesse, adfuī: to be here / there; be present
Socius meus adest.
│ My ally is here.
Auxilium nōn adest.
│ There is no help here /at hand.
… neque
satis magnae cōpiae adsunt │ … nor are there sufficiently large
(numbers of) troops at hand
Iterum … in
Americā aderō │I shall be here in America again
[iii] neque: nor;
and … not; (here) neque … neque: neither … nor …
Neque arma habeō neque satis magnae
cōpiae adsunt │ I have neither weapons, nor are there are enough
large (numbers of) troops present
Neque iterum patriam meam vidēbō neque
tēla in manibus portābō │ I shall neither see my fatherland again, nor
shall I carry weapons in my hands
[iv] Two sentences
from the text
[1] Sē caecum esse
putābat.
[2] Dux caecus
auxilium esse prope nōn putābat.
[1] (2) Sē
caecum (3) esse (1) putābat. │(1) He thought that (2) he (3)
was blind.
Latin expresses
this idea differently from English. It is an unusual construction and it needs
time to become familiar with it.
(1) He thought that
(2) he (3) was blind; this is an indirect statement
expressing, for example, what a person said or thought or felt. It comprises
three parts:
[A] In English:
(1) An
introductory verb e.g. ‘he thought’, ‘I said’, ‘we felt’ etc.
(1) He thought …
(2) the person who
is doing the thinking, saying etc. is the subject of the indirect staement
He thought that (2)
he was blind
(3) the verb
agrees with the subject of the indirect statement
He thought that he
(3) was blind
[B] In Latin: no
word for that is used
(1) = English
(1) putābat
(2) the subject of
the indirect statement is in the accusative case
(2) sē … (1) putābat i.e. literally: He
thought himself …
(3) the verb
becomes an infinitive
(2) Sē caecum (3)
esse (1) putābat
Literally: (1) He
thought (2) himself (3) to be ¦ blind = He thought ¦ that he
was blind
Because of the use
of the accusative and the infinitive in this construction, it is known in
grammar as the accusative-infinitive.
[2]
Dux caecus (2) auxilium
(3) esse prope (1) nōn putābat.
Literally: The
blind commander (1) did not think (2) help (3) to be near
= The blind commander did not think ¦ that help was near
The links below
give you further basic information on this construction, but it will become
increasingly important as you progress in the language:
07.02.25: Speaking
Latin on Campus (University of Dallas) [7]: notes [iv]; introduction to the
accusative-infinitive
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/02/070225-speaking-latin-on-campus_30.html
31.08.25: Level 1;
readings [18]: Damocles’ sword; indirect statement; the accusative-infinitive
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/05/310825-level-1-readings-18-damocles.html
12.10.25: Level 2;
Reading (review): [22] Poor Delia
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