English uses ‘-self / -selves’ in two different ways:
[1] As discussed in the previous posts, it conveys the third person reflexive pronoun i.e. ‘himself, herself, itself, and themselves’
Sē ex nāvī prōiēcit (Caesar) │ He threw himself from the ship
Puella in flumine sē lavat │ The girl is washing herself in the river
Per sē labor perfecit │ He completed the task by his own effort (ie by means of himself)
Dūxit sēcum virginem. │ He took the young girl with him(self)
Cōpiam frūctuum sibi cōnficiunt atque in hiemem servant │ They collect a supply of fruit for themselves and keep it for the winter
Sēsē castrīs tenēbant (Caesar) │ They kept themselves in the camp
[2] It has an emphatic use conveying the same idea as English ‘myself’, ‘yourself’, ‘himself’ etc. in combination with a noun or personal pronoun e.g. I myself can do it, the lady said it herself.
To express this idea, Latin does not use the reflexive pronoun, but the emphatic pronoun: ipse, ipsa, ipsum:
Agricola ipse frūctum numquam adspiciet │ The farmer himself will never see the fruit
Ancilla ipsa amphoram portāvit. │ The maidservant herself carried the jar
Prīmum amīcum plūs quam mē ipsum dīligō (Gesta Rōmānōrum) │I love the first friend more than me myself
16.07.25: Level 3; review: ipse, ipsa, ipsum
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/04/160725-level-3-review-ipse-ipsa-ipsum.html
[i] The pronoun declines in the same way as the nine pronominal adjectives discussed here:
19.07.25: Level 3; pronominal adjectives; introduction; the naughty nine …
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/04/190725-level-3-pronominal-adjectives.html
i.e. it has the same changes as those adjectives in the genitive singular (-īus) and dative singular (-ī)
[ii] It can translate either as “-self / -selves” or as “the very …”
Cicerō mē ipsum laudāvit. │ Cicero praised me myself.
Fidēlissimī servī senem ad templum ipsum portāvērunt. │ The most faithful servants carried the old man to the temple itself / the very temple.
[iii] in the 3rd person it can stand alone:
ipse cum gaudiō uxōrem senis mīlitis occīsī in mātrimōnium dūxit (gesta Rōmānōrum) │ and with joy he himself married the wife of the old soldier who had been killed
idque reī pūblicae praeclārum, ipsīs glōriōsum │ and this was splendid for the state, glorious for themselves
Dī capitī ipsīus generīque reservent │ May the gods hold in reserve [such a fate] to fall on his own head [ = the head of himself] and his son-in-law's
Examples from earlier posts:
Et omnēs hominēs cupidī erant rēgem Britannōrum ipsum spectandī. │ All the people were eager to look at the king of the Britons himself.
Ante oculōs prīncipis ipsīus collocātus "Rēx sum" inquit … │ Placed before the eyes of the Emperor himself he said “I am a king”
Tum prīnceps … veniam lībertātemque Caractacō ipsī … dedit. │ The Emperor then gave mercy and freedom to Caractacus himself.
Magna multitūdō captīvōrum Britannicōrum ūnā cum Caractacō ipsō et uxōre frātribusque eius in catēnīs aderant. │ A great number of British prisoners together with Caractacus himself and his wife and brothers were present in chains.
Vōs ipsī iūdicāte: decet mulierem nōn vēlātam ōrāre Deum? (Vulgate) │ You yourselves judge: is it proper for a woman without a veil to pray to God?
Lēgātōs cīvium Rōmānōrum ipsōrum servāvistis. │ You have saved the ambassadors of the Roman citizens themselves.
