Immagini della pagina
PDF
ePub

16; in Verr., iii., 18: mererere, Divin., 18; de Fin., ii., 35. In the present indicative, on the other hand, re is used for ris only in the following passages: Divin., 12, in fin., and in Verr., iii., 80, init., arbitrare; pro Balb., 18, delectare; Philip., ii., 43, inaugurare; ad Fam., vi.,21,recordare; and v., 13, videre. Such forms as amere, moneare, loquare, audiare, amarere, amabare, amabĕre, monerere, loquerère, &c., are of common occurrence in all the conjugations.

[§ 167.] 9. The participle future passive of the third and fourth conjugations (including the deponents) is formed in undus instead of endus, especially when i precedes. In the verb potior potiundus is the usual form. In other verbs it seems to have been indifferent which of the two forms was used, though in some phrases, such as in finibus dividundis or regundis, in jure dicundo, there seems to have been something conventional in the use of these forms. We must leave it to the student's own observation to collect other peculiarities of this kind. Respecting the verbal adjectives in bundus, see § 248.

[§ 168.] 10. This is the place to speak of what is called the conjugatio periphrastica, or the conjugation by circumlocution. This name is applied in general to any conjugation formed by means of a participle and the auxiliary verb esse; but it is usually limited to the conjugation formed by means of the two participles future in the active and passive, and of the verb esse, for a conjugation made up of the participle present and esse does not occur in Latin (e. g., amans sum would be the same as amo), and the combinations of the participle perfect passive with sum, sim, eram, essem, ero, esse, are considered as a part of the ordinary conjugation of a verb in the passive voice; as, for example, amatus eram, which is the pluperfect passive of amo. But it must be observed that in the conjugation of the passive the perfects of esse are sometimes used instead of the above-mentioned forms for an incomplete action, such as sum, eram, ero, &c. Amatum fuisse, therefore, is equal to amatum esse as an infinitive perfect passive; amatus fueram is equivalent to amatus eram, and amatus fuero to amatus ero. Amatus fuero, in particular, is used so frequently for amatus ero that formerly it was looked upon as the ordinary future perfect passive, and was marked as such in the tables of the four conjugations.* But when the participle is used in the sense of

* We have abandoned the common practice, partly on account of the

an adjective, and expresses a permanent state, a difference is clearly discernible; e. g., epistola scripta est, when it is in a perfect tense, signifies the letter has been written; but if scripta is conceived as an adjective (in contradistinction to a letter not written), the meaning is, the letter is written, and epistola scripta fuit, in this case, would signify the letter has been written (has been a written one), or has existed as a written one, meaning that at present it no longer exists. And this is the usual sense in which fui is used with the participle perfect; e. g., Liv., xxxviii., 56, Literni monumentum monumentoque statua superimposita fuit (is there no longer), quam tempestate dejectam nuper vidimus ipsi; Martial, i., 44, bis tibi triceni fuimus vocati, that is, "we were invited, but got nothing to eat ;" tantum spectavimus omnes. The passages, therefore, in which amatus fui is found as an ordinary perfect in the sense of amatus sum may be doubted in good authors.

Note.-Justin (i., 19), however, writes: Itaque grave bellum natum, in quo et diu et varia victoria proeliatum fuit (passive): Gellius (v., 10); Sic magister eloquentiae confutatus est, et captionis versute excogitatae frustratus fuit (passive): and Plautus several times in deponents; e. g., oblitus fui, Poenul. Prolog., 40; miratus fui, ibid. v., 6, 10; and other passages.

[§ 169.] But by the combination of the participle future active with the tenses of esse a really new conjugation is formed denoting an intention to do something. This intention may arise either from the person's own will, or from outward circumstances, so that, e. g., scripturus sum may either mean "I have a mind to write, or I am to write," or "I have to write." The former sense is also expressed by "I am on the point of writing," or "“I am about to write," and this signification is carried through all the tenses of esse.

66

Scripturus sum, I am about | Scripturus fui, I was or have to write.

Scripturus eram, I was about to write.

Scripturus ero, I shall be about to write.

been about to write.

Scripturus fueram, I had been about to write. Scripturus fuero, I shall have been about to write.

But the last of these forms was very seldom used, and occurs only in one passage of Seneca, Epist., ix., § 14, sapiens non vivet si fuerit sine homine victurus, that is, if he

analogy, and partly because the number of instances in which the regular future perfect with ero occurs is so considerable that there can be no doubt about it. We do not quote any passages, because this truth is now universally recognised.

[ocr errors]

should be obliged to live without human society. The subjunctive occurs in the same manner.

Scripturus sim.
Scripturus essem.

Scripturus fuerim.
Scripturus fuissem.

Scripturus sim and scripturus essem serve, at the same time, as subjunctives to the future scribam; but scripturus fuerim and scripturus fuissem are not used as subjunctives to the future perfect, scripsero. The infinitive scripturum fuisse denotes an action to which a person was formerly disposed, and answers to the English "I should have written," so that in hypothetical sentences it supplies the place of an infinitive of the pluperfect subjunctive; e. g., in Sueton., Caes., 56; Pollio Asinius Caesarem existimat suos rescripturum et correcturum commentarios fuisse, that is, that he would have re-written and corrected if he had lived longer. The infinitive with esse likewise first de notes an intention: scripturum esse, to intend writing, or to be on the point of writing; but it then assumes, in ordinary language, the nature of a simple infinitive future, for which reason it is incorporated in the table of conjugations. For the particulars, see the Syntax, Chap. LXXVI.

Note. In the passive these gerundive tenses (tempora gerundiva), as they may be called, are expressed by longer circumlocutions in eo est, or futu rum est ut epistola scribatur, the letter is to be written, or about to be written; in eo erat, or futurum erat ut epistola scriberetur, the letter was to be written, or about to be written; in eo erit, or futurum erit ut epistola scribatur, it will then be necessary for the letter to be written.

[§ 170.] The participle future passive expresses (in the nominative) the necessity of suffering an action, and in combination with the tenses of esse it likewise forms a new and complete conjugation (tempora necessitatis); e. g., amandus sum, I must be loved; amandus eram, it was necessary for me to be loved, and so on with all the tenses of esse. Its neuter, combined with esse and the dative of a person, expresses the necessity of performing the action on the part of that person, and may likewise be carried through all the tenses; as,

mihi scribendum est, I must

write.
mihi scribendum erat, I was
obliged to write.
mihi scribendum erit, I shall

be obliged to write.

mihi scribendum fuit, I have

been obliged to write. mihi scribendum fuerat, I had

been obliged to write. mihi scribendum fuerit, I shall have been obliged to write.

And so, also, in the subjunctive and infinitive: mihi scribendum esse; mihi scribendum fuisse.

LIST OF VERBS

WHICH ARE

IRREGULAR IN THE FORMATION OF THEIR PERFECT AND SUPINE.

CHAPTER XLIV.

FIRST CONJUGATION.

[§ 171.] THE irregularity of the verbs of this conjugation consists chiefly in this, that they take ui in the perfect and itum in the supine, like verbs of the second; which i, however, is sometimes thrown out. It will be seen from the following list* that some verbs, in some form or other, again incline towards a regular formation of their

tenses.

Tof. Let. Pronum 70. Crepo, crepui, crepitum, make a noise, rattle, creak. Compounds: concrepo, make an intense noise; discrepo, differ; increpo, chide, rattle.

Cubo, cubui, cubitum, cubare, lie.

There is some authority for the perfect cubavi, incubavi. (See Oudendorp on Caes., B. Civ., iii., 63.) Compounds: accubo, recline at table; excubo, keep watch; incubo, lie upon; recubo, lie upon the back; secubo, lie apart, and some others. When the compounds take an m before b, they are conjugated after the third, but keep their perfect and supine in ui, itum. (See Chap. XLVIII.)

Domo, ui, itum, tame, subdue.

Edomo and perdomo strengthen the meaning.

Sono, ui, itum, resound. (Participle sonaturus.)

Consono, agree in sound; dissono, disagree in sound; persono, sound. through; resono, resound. (Resonavit, Manil., v., 566.)

Tono, ui (itum), thunder.

Attono (active), strike with astonishment (participle attonitus); intŏno, commonly intransitive, make a sound (participle intonatus); circumtono. Věto, ui, itum, forbid. (Vetavit, only in Persius, V., 90.) Mico, ui (without supine), dart out, glitter.

Emico, ui, atum, dart forth rays; but dimico, fight, makes dimicavi, atum. Frico, fricui, fricatum, and frictum, rub.

Defrico, infrico, perfrico, refrico, are formed in the same way.

* It has not been the object to include in this list every irregular verb, especially compounds, but those only which are necessary in good prose. When no meaning is assigned to a compound verb, it is because the sense is easily discoverable from that of the root and the preposition with which it is compounded.

Seco, ui, sectum, cut. (Part. secaturus.)
Desěco, reseco, cut off; disseco, cut in parts.

Juvo, jūvi, support, assist; the supine jutum is rare (see Tac., Ann., xiv., 4); but the participle juvaturus is found in Sallust, Jug., 47; and Plin., Epist., iv., 15.

So, also, the compound adjuvo, adjūvi, adjūtum, in the participle adjuturus (Liv., xxxiv., 37), and adjuvaturus, in Petron., 18. Frequentative, adjuto.

Lăvo, lāvi, lavatum, lautum, lotum, lavare, wash, or bathe, which is properly lavari.

The infinitive lavere, whence the perfect lavi seems to come, is preserved in old Latin, and is found in poetry, e. g., Hor., Carm., iii., 12, init., mala vino lavere.

Něco, kill, is regular; but from it are formed, with the same meaning, eněco, avi, atum, and enecui, enectum, both of which forms are equally well established, but the participle is usually enectus; interneco has inter

necatus.

From Plico, fold, are formed applico, avi, atum, and ui, itum; so explico, avi, atum, unfold, explain; implico, implicate. Cicero regularly uses applicavi and explicavi; otherwise usage, on the whole, decides in favour of the perfect ui and the supine atum. But those derived from nouns in plex form the perf. and sup. regularly supplico, duplico, multiplico. Of replico, whose perfect replicavi occurs in the Vulgate, replicatus only is in use (replictus is an isolated form in Statius, Silv., iv., 9, 29).

Pōto, drink, is regular, except that the supine usually, instead of potatum, is potum, whence potus, which is both active and passive, having been drunk, and having drunk. Compounds, appōtus, active; and epōtus, passive.

Do, dědi, dătum, dăre, give.

Circumdo, surround; pessundo, ruin; satisdo, give security; venundo, sell, are formed like do. The other compounds, addo, condo, reddo, belong to the third conjugation. (See Chap. XLVII.) From a second form duo, we find in early Latin the subjunctive duim, duis, duit, also in the compounds credo and perdo-creduam and creduim, perduim. Cic., p. Reg. Deiot., 7: di te perduint. See § 162.

Sto, stěti, stātum, stāre, stand.

The compounds have iti in the perfect; e. g., consto, to consist of; exsto, exist, or am visible; insto, insist; obsto, hinder; persto, persevere; praesto, surpass; resto, remain over and above. Only those compounded with a preposition of two syllables retain eti in the perfect, viz., antesto, circumsto, intersto, supersto. The supine, which is mentioned especially on account of the participle future, does not exist in all the compounds, but wherever it is found it is atum. The supine praestitum of

« IndietroContinua »