[i] Praeclārum fuit respōnsum illud Anaxagorae philosophī. Is enim, Lampsacī moriēns, quaerentibus amīcīs, "Vīsne in patriam auferrī?" inquit:"Minimē: undique enim ad Īnferōs eadem est via."
[1] Lampsacī: locative case of Lampsacum (or Lampsacus), a city on the Hellespont
[2] Vīsne in patriam auferrī? Present passive infinitive of auferō, auferre: take / carry away
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaxagoras
[ii] Cȳrus minor, prīnceps Persārum praestāns ingeniō atque imperiī glōriā, Lȳsandrum Lacedaemonium, virum summae virtūtis, Sardibus ōlim hospitiō excēpit. Huic quemdam agrum dīligenter cultum ostendit. Mīrantī autem Lȳsandrō arborēs, et humum cultam et bene dispositōs ōrdinēs, Cȳrus respondit: "Ego omnia illa disposuī: meī sunt ōrdinēs; multae etiam illārum arborum meā manū sunt satae." Tum Lȳsander, vidēns ōrnātum eius multō aurō eximium, dīxit: "Rēctē vērō tē, Cȳre, beātum ferunt, virtūtī enim tuae dīvitiae additae sunt."
dispōnō, -ere, disposuī, dispositus [3]: arrange
eximius, -a, -um: splendid; remarkable; extraordinary
ōrnātus, -ūs [4/m]: (here) apparel; dress
serō, -ere, sēvī, satus [3]: sow; plant
[1] ablative of respect / specification
Used to indicate in what respect something is or is done
praestāns (1) ingeniō atque imperiī (2) glōriā │ excelling [in what respect?] (2) in talent and (2) in the renown of his rule
LINKS
30.04.25: Level 3; Beasts in Egypt and Libya [2]; the Hippopotamus; … ablative of respect [note 2]
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/02/300425-level-3-beasts-in-egypt-and.html
11.06.25; Level 3; summary of of the uses of the ablative case [14]: the ablative of respect / specification
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/03/110625-level-3-summary-of-of-uses-of_7.html
LINKS
Ablative of respect with the supine:
19.09.25: Level 3; the supine [1]note [2](iii)
mīrābile visū = literally: amazing with respect to seeing = amazing to see
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/06/190925-level-3-supine-1.html
Latin Tutorial: The Ablative of Respect/Specification
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsOyjHhxK-k&t=110s
[2]
[a] genitive of description
virum summae [genitive] virtūtis [genitive] │ a man of the utmost courage; genitive of description, used to describe character or qualities
must comprise an adjective + noun i.e. “a man of wisdom” cannot be expressed in this way and needs to be rephrased: vir sapiēns (a wise man)
mīles maximī animī │ a soldier of the greatest courage
vir summae prūdentiae │ a man of the highest good sense
fossa quīndecim pedum │ a ditch of fifteen feet
rēx trīgintā annōrum │ a king of thirty years = a 30 year old king
LINKS
Latin Tutorial: The Genitive of Description
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dornNtDxCtI
[b] the ablative of description
The ablative – comprising noun + adjective – may also be used in descriptions:
nāsus: nose > vir ¦ magnō nasō: a man ¦ with a big nose
barba; capillus > vir ¦ [i] barbā albā et [ii] capillō prōmissō: a man ¦ [i] with a white beard and [ii] long hair
oculī > fēmina ¦ oculīs caeruleīs: a lady ¦ with blue eyes
The genitive and the ablative of description may be interchangeable i.e.
[a] vir summī ingeniī (genitive) and [b] vir summō ingeniō (ablative) both mean “a man of highest genius”
The rule of thumb is that the ablative tends to be used with physical descriptions.
Plautus:
Quā faciē voster Saurea est? │ What does your Saurea look like? [ = of what appearance …]
Macilentīs malīs, rūfulus aliquantum, ventriōsus, truculentīs oculīs, commodā statūrā, trīstī fronte.
Thin jaws — reddish hair — pot-bellied— savage eyes — average height — and a scowl (sad countenance).
LINKS
08.03.24: the ablative of description / quality
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/080324-ablative-of-description-quality.html
30.04.25: Level 3; Beasts in Egypt and Libya [2]; the Hippopotamus; ablative of description (quality) [note 1]
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/02/300425-level-3-beasts-in-egypt-and.html
Latin Tutorial: The Ablative of Description
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_1xx9iC0t8
[3] Mīrantī [dative] autem Lȳsandrō [dative] arborēs … Cȳrus respondit │ Cyrus replied to Lysandar [who was] marvelling at / admiring the trees
[4] Rēctē vērō tē, Cȳre, beātum ferunt │ Indeed, they truly say / report that you, Cyrus, are blessed.
ferō: one of its many meanings is “report”, “tell”, “relate” and other synonyms to indicate conveying information
____________________
[i] That was a glorious answer of Anaxagoras the philosopher. For he, when dying at Lampsacus, said to his friends askng, ‘Do you wish to be carried to your own country?’ ‘Not at all: for the way to the gods below is the same from all places.’
[ii] Cyrus the younger, a prince of the Persians, excelling in talent and in the renown of his rule, once received with hospitality at Sardis, Lysander the Lacedaemonian, a man of the greatest virtue. He showed him a certain field, carefully cultivated. Now Cyrus replied to Lysander, [who was] admiring the trees, and the cultivated ground, and the well-arranged rows: ‘I arranged all these things: the rows are my own: many of these trees were also / even sown by my hand.’ Then Lysander, seeing his dress splendid with much gold, said: ‘Indeed, they truly say / report that you, Cyrus, are blessed, for to your virtue riches have been added.’
