THE USE OF PARTICIPLES.

In general, as often as the relative qui, quæ, quod, occurs, it may be omitted, and the verb, before which it goes, may be changed into a participle, which must agree in case with its antecedent; as,

I wish to satisfy my friend, who desires what is honourable. Amico honesta petenti satisfacere volo.

1. By the studying of the liberal arts (optimarum artium), a name is often acquired, which will never perish.

2. When a bungling cobbler, who was perishing with want, had begun to practise medicine in a place, in which he was not known (ignoto loco).

3. At length, O Romans, have we driven away, discarded and pursued with the keenest reproaches, this wretch, who was intoxicated with fury, who was breathing mischief, and impiously threatening to lay waste this city with fire and sword.

To define this more fully, we may say, that when two verbs, or two divisions of a sentence, are so closely connected together, that the one is the cause or the antecedent of the other, and both refer to one subject, having the relative qui, or the conjunctions ubi, quando, dum, postquam, &c. between them, these last are rejected, and the clause, before which they were to be put, is expressed by the participle.

1. And first I will vindicate my present behaviour to Cato, who governs his life by the certain rule of reason, and diligently weighs the motive of every duty (momenta officiorum omnium).

It must be observed, that the participle must be put in the case which the noun or the verb of the other clause governs; as,

When the Roman citizen was fixed to the cross, his hands dropped with blood.

Here hands is the substantive, which governs the genitive, and the participle consequently must be put in the genitive. Therefore we shall say,

Civis cruci adfixi manus sanguine stillarunt.

2. When I think of this circumstance, it appears wonderful to me Here the verb videtur requiring a dative, the participle must be put in the dative, and we shall say,

Cogitanti mihi hac de re, permirum videtur.

3. But as she did not trust in his promises, he sends her word that he wished to associate her sons into a share of the kingdom, with whom he had carried on the war, not with a view of depriving them of the kingdom (that he might deprive them), but that he might bestow it as of his own free gift.

4. When he entered the vestibule on the very threshold, Sophonisba, the wife of Syphax and daughter of Asdrubal, the Carthaginian, met him; and, having descried Masinissa in the middle of the troop of armed men, conspicuous above the rest for his armour and other nabiliments, supposing, as really was the case, that it was the king, she fell at his feet, and said, "Both the gods and your valour and fortune have given you an absolute power over us.'

But when two parts or divisions of a sentence have each a separate nominative, and refer to a different subject, the clause, which generally has dum, cùm, quando or postquam with it, if it is rendered by a participle, will be turned into an ablative absolute; or, for the sake of brevity, into some other case dependent on the noun or verb, as in the last examples; as,

When my father died, we sold his books: We shall say, Patre mortuo, ejus libros vendidimus :

Or perhaps still more elegantly: Patris mortui libros ven didimus.

1. But when his friends exhorted him to reduce Greece under his power, Darius fitted out a fleet of five hundred ships.

2. But as, or when, our men still demurred to leap into the sea, chiefly on account of the depth of the water in those parts, the standard-bearer of the tenth legion, having first invoked the gods for success, cried aloud, "Follow me, fellow soldiers, unless you will betray the Roman eagle into the hands of the enemy."

3. They say, that, while the boy was sleeping, his head appeared suddenly in a blaze; and that, when the tumult was appeased, the queen forbade the boy to be moved, till he awoke of his own accord.

The force of these two rules may be more clearly and briefly illustrated by these two short examples, in which it is shown, when the ablative absolute may, or may not, be used: When the sun rises, the moon withdraws her light.

Here are two nominatives to two different divisions of a sentence, the first of which may be rendered by the ablative absolute: and,

When the sun rises, it puts the stars to flight.

Here is only one agent or nominative case referring to two different actions or verbs, which are, however, closely connected together, and, consequently, though the first division may be changed into a participle, it must remain in the nominative.

But it is not solely by the rejection of the relative, or of these conjunctions, that participles are to be used; for very often, and with greater elegance, a substantive will be changed into a participle; as,

At the sight of my father, I ran away. I received him on his return (redeuntem).

Though in this case also, the substantive being thus turned into a verb, and admitting the conjunctions mentioned above, might be referred to the foregoing rules.

1. This officer, from his mistrust of his own safety, and that of the legion, rushes, unarmed, out of his tent.

2. If, therefore, I am under the necessity of arraigning one, I still seem to adhere to the rule which I have proposed to myself, without deviating from the patronage and defence of men.

After post, especially, the substantive is elegantly changed into a participle; as,

1. After the building of the city, many years elapsed before any form of government was settled.

2. After, or since, the birth or creation of men (post natos homines), our country has not been desolated by so long and dreadful a war as the present.

Of two verbs that have a relation to each other, and have a case common to both, instead of being connected by the conjunction et, and put in the same mood, the one is elegantly turned into a participle passive, and becomes the case of the other, or, if the sense requires it, will agree with the nominative case; as,

He took and killed him: Captum interfecit.

1. Some of these were selected and sent to consult the Delphic oracle. 2. Besides the conspirators were many, who went to Catiline in the beginning. Among these was A. Fulvius, the son of the senator, whom his father drew back from his intended journey, and ordered to

be killed.

3. He made an obstinate resistance, and fought desperately to de

fend the house in which he was; but within an hour or two (interposito autem haud ita longo tempore), he is taken and carried away to prison.

Though the nominative of the participle present active is very inelegant, and is better rendered by a periphrasis with a conjunction, yet where two verbs come together joined by the conjunction and, if the first is of the past time, it may be turned elegantly into the participle of a verb deponent; as, He kissed me, and forbade me to cry: Me osculatus vetuit flere.

1. A very few, trusting to their strength, swam over; all the rest, our horse overtook and slew.

2. He promised better things of himself for the future, and then he raised his eyes to Heaven, and invoked the protection of the gods.

3. He thought that he could easily escape out of their hands, and suddenly rushed through the thickest of the enemies, but he soon fell to the ground, pierced with a thousand weapons.

After the verbs malo, volo, nolo, curo, &c. participles passive agreeing with their case are more elegant than the present of the infinitive active; as,

I'll take care to find you, and bring your Pamphilus with me: Inventum tibi curabo et mecum adductum tuum Pamphilum.

1. We beg this one thing of you, that, if, out of your clemency, you have determined to save us, you would not strip us of our arms. 2. But there is also something of which I should wish to advise you in a few words.

3. He wishes now more than ever, that his son should die. 4. The tyrant would not wish to free him from his anguish.

The participle future passive, with the dative of the person, is more elegant than the verbs debeo, oportet, necesse est; as, Diogenes, being asked at what age a man ought to marry, said, young men not yet, old men never:

Diogenes interrogatus quâ ætate ducenda sit uxor; juvenibus, inquit, nondum, senibus nunquam.

1. There is nothing, which old age ought to guard against so much as sinking into languor and inactivity.

2. We must not only acquire wisdom, but we should exercise it for the good and advantage of mankind (ad hominum utilitatem promovendam).

The gerund in do is often elegantly used, with the omis sion of the adjectives signifying convenience, &c. as, par, idoneus, &c.; as,

He is equal to paying: Est solvendo.

1. Farmers should take care what seed they put in the earth; for old and worn out seed is not fit for sowing.

2. Brown or pack paper (charta emporetica) is not fit for writing. 3. I know not whether I ever saw a stronger man; he is equal to bearing any weight.

The gerund followed by a substantive is elegantly changed into the participle future passive, and agrees with that substantive in gender, number and case; but only in those verbs that govern an accusative; as,

I shall ease all my regret by sending and receiving letters: Omre desiderium literis mittendis accipiendisque leniam.

1. In all my distresses and difficulties, it has always afforded me a heartfelt satisfaction to behold your alacrity and readiness in defending my cause.

2. I have always been the foremost in defending your liberty. (Prin ceps with a genitive.)

3. What can be more difficult than, in determining the differences of adverse parties, to acquire the good will of all?

4. We are by nature prone to love virtue, and to detest vice.

or

A finite verb, or a verb which determines the sense, the action, is often changed into the participle future passive, with or without esse, where the subject depends upon the will or the judgment of the agent, and the verbs puto, arbitror, existimo, credo, censeo, judico, statuo, duco, videor or video, curo, &c. are added; as, scribendum putavi, for scripsi; but care must be taken, that the choice of these verbs be appropriate to the sense, as we would not say, that a man moriendum putavit for mortuus est, as not depending upon his will.

1. Cæsar, seeming sufficiently to understand the minds of his soldiers, tried, or thought fit to try, what intention or inclination Pompey had to fight.

2. I wish to explain more at large, in this assembly of learned men, that discipline which Petronius has lightly touched upon, especially as, in the examination of it, I may be able to exhibit and explain that plan and method of doctrine which I myself pursue.

3. The wisest men have drawn from these sources, (that is, from Greek and Latin,) every improvement of human genius, all true and