Dative of purpose, double dative, and dative with certain adjectives
A dative, called the dative of purpose, can be used to succinctly express a goal or aim of an action. This dative is generally translated into English using the prepositions “as” or “for”.
Caesar omnem equitātum auxiliō mīsit. “Caesar sent his entire cavalry as aid.”
The dative of purpose may also accompany a noun.
Sīgnum receptuī dedit. “He gave the signal for retreat.”
Sometimes the meaning of a word expressing a dative of purpose is idiomatic, and additional words must be added in English to express the same idea. In such instances, the dative of purpose can often be conveyed in English with the addition of the phrase “a cause for” or “a source of”.
Mors ob rem pūblicam obita honōrī fuit.
“Death, which has been met on behalf of the Republic, was a cause for honor.”
Mors timōrī nōn erit. “Death will not be a source of fear.”
While the dative of purpose is occasionally found on its own, it is more frequently found as part of a double dative construction. In this construction, a dative of purpose is paired with a dative of reference. The dative of reference in this construction generally indicates the thing or person who is meant to be affected. The double dative construction usually accompanies a form of sum.
When translating into English, if the accompanying verb is a form of sum, the dative of purpose is translated as if it were the predicate of the linking verb and the dative of reference is translated with “to” or “for”.
Cupiditātēs cēterōrum hominum mihi impedīmentō fuērunt.
"The desires of other men were a hinderance to me.”
Id vōtum vōbīs nōn cordī fuit. “This prayer was not a care for you.”
If the double dative does not accompany a linking verb, the dative of purpose is translated with “as”.
Ille cum equitibus peditibusque Carthāginiensibus auxiliō vēnit.
“He arrived with cavalry and infantry as aid for the Cartheginians.”
Odiō may be used in a double dative construction in place of the absent passive form of the defective verb ōdī.
Celebritās mihi odiō est. “The crowd is hated by me.” or “I hate the crowd.”
(literally, “The crowd is a source of hatred for me.”)
A dative, called the dative with certain adjectives, may be found accompanying adjectives expressing suitability, inclination, pleasantness, similarity, proximity, and obligation. This dative is usually translated using the prepositions “to” or “for”.
Explōrātōrēs locum castrīs idōneum dēlēgērunt.
The scouts chose a suitable place for the camps.
Ille habet eōs esse sibi amīcōs. “He considers them to be friendly to him.”
Fac tōtam vītam iūcundam tibi. “Make your whole life pleasing to yourself.”
Aenēās similis deō in lūce refulsit. “Aeneas shone in the light like a god."
Cupiō esse semper proximus tibi. “I desire to be always closest to you.”
Dēiotarus fidēlissimus rēx reī pūblicae nostrae erat.
“Deiotarus was the most faithful king to our Republic.”
Likewise, the dative is frequently found with adjectives expressing the inverse of many of the same notions, including: unsuitability, dislike, difference, etc.
Caesar esse inimīcissimus meae salūtī dīcēbātur.
“Caesar was said to be the worst enemy with regards to my safety.”
Dīcimus omnem voluptātem esse contrāriam honestātī.
“We say that all pleasure is contrary to honorable character.”
Some additional notes
Sometimes a gerundive phrase will be set into the dative to express purpose (where one usually finds ad + accusative gerundive) (see Assignment 12). This construction is most common in phrases of legal procedure.
Comitia collēgae subrogandō habuit. “He held elections for selecting a colleague.”
The dative of reference in the double dative construction is sometimes better understood as a dative indirect object, in particular when the dative of purpose is expressed by dōnō (“as a gift”).
Patrēs Mūciō agrum dōnō dedērunt. “The Senators gave the field to Mucius as a gift.”
For a list of common nouns appearing as the dative of purpose in a double dative construction, see Woodcock §68 note i (called the predicative dative there).
Activity 1
Indicate which of the following datives is expressed by the highlighted word(s): Dative of Purpose, Double Dative, Indirect Object or Dative of Agent.
Sample: Aenēās manum bellō glomerat. Answer: Dative of Purpose
Sample: Quod scrībis mihi cūrae erit. Answer: Double Dative
Sample: Auxilium sociīs labōrantibus missum est. Answer: Indirect Object
Sample: Quid nōbīs faciendum est? Answer: Dative of Agent
Haec rēs nēminī umquam fraudī fuit.
Caesar oppidum incendit et praedam mīlitibus dōnāvit.
Illa mihi canenda est.
Hoc nōbīs exemplō sit.
Haec rēs salūtī fuit.
Illō annō pāx petentibus data est.
Idem tibi faciendum est.
Saepe iniūria locum māiōrī fortūnae fēcit.
Bellātrīx Rōma mihi māteriam nōn negābat.
Caesar sex cohortēs pontī praesidiō relīquit.
Pompeius exīstimāvit novum cōnsilium sibi capiendum esse.
Dīdō vīgintī taurōs sociīs ad lītora mīsit.
Vulnera et sanguis spectāculō erant.
Hoc aequō animō sibi ferendum est.
Teucer locum rēgnō optāvit.
Nārrābō tibi cum aliquid novī habēbō.
Ille cum omnibus cōpiīs auxiliō hostibus advēnit.
Fōrma quoque est onerī.
Tellūs limite certō aliīs gentibus data est.
Mea carmina Iovī cūrae sint!
Activity 2
Translate the underlined phrases including datives with certain adjectives.
Sample: Fuit haec ōrātiō nōn ingrāta Gallīs. Answer: “displeasing to the Gauls”
Sample: Scient nōs dissimilēs vulgō esse. Answer: “different from the crowd”
Sample: Phaethōn Epaphō aequālis animīs et annīs fuit. Answer: “equal to Epaphus”
Hoc nōmen invīsum cīvitātī fuit.
Ille poēta inimīcus amōrī nōn est.
Deī fortūnam tibi dissimilem meae fortūnae praestent.
Turba mihi fidēlis erat.
Bona valitūdo est iūcundior eīs quī ē gravī morbō recreātī sunt.
Quiēs alta et simillima mortī mē iacentem pressit.
Prūdentia grāta hominibus est.
Troiānī lītora proxima terrae Circēs rāduntur.
Salvē, ō tellūs fātīs dēbita mihi!
Nātūra tua contemplātiōnī apta est.
Tibi idōneus fuit nēmō quem imitārēre.
Duae legiōnēs ponte propiōre praesidiō trānseunt.
Pūblius Āfricānus nostrae cīvitātī cārus fuit.
Propter Caesarem tū meritō difficilis precibus meīs erat.
Lapis exiguus carmen pār sibi habet.
Simple Sentences
Translate the following sentences using grammar from this assignment.
Meus frāter mihi est cārissimus.
Sapiēns sōlus scit sibi vīvere.
Studia mea mihi salūtī fuērunt.
Eīs dolōrī fuit meus dolor.
Caesar hās cōpiās praesidiō nāvibus relīquit.
Ille hominēs huic reī idōneōs dēligēbat.
Ē castrīs sīgnum pugnae accēpērunt.
Scīs mihi magnae cūrae tuam vītam esse.
Ūllī remediō locus nōn appārēbat.
Quī sē futūrō bellō ante bellum parāvērunt, prīmum ictum facile excipiunt.
Examples in Context
Translate the following modified examples.
n) Context for the sentence(s)
Modified example sentence(s)
[grammatical and contextual notes, if any]
1) Ovid advises his reader to avoid lonely places when attempting to get over a lover.
Turba tibi auxiliō erit.
2) Seneca complains about useless forms of study.
Nōn vītae sed scholae discimus.
3) Hannibal looks to force battle with the Romans.
Hannibal locum īnsidiīs circumspectāre coepit.
[īnsidiīs, always plural “an ambush”]
4) Livy asserts that the flourishing of Servius Tullius as a boy was due to divine will.
Hoc ēvēnit facile quod deīs cordī esset.
[cordī, here “pleasing” or “dear”; esset, subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic]
5) Cicero passes along word about Atticus’ mother to Atticus while he is away in Athens.
Apud mātrem rēctē est, eaque mihi cūrae est.
[sum + adverb, to indicate a state of affairs, here perhaps “All is right”]
6) Domitius falsely claims Pompey is coming to relieve the siege.
Domitius dissimulāns prōnūntiat Pompeium celeriter subsidiō ventūrum esse.
7) Phineus sees all of his companions turned to stone by his enemy Perseus.
Phīneus crēdēns parum corpora sibi proxima tangit. Marmor erant.
[marmor, predicate nominative; erant, supply the subject corpora]
8) Seneca explains how we fear many things due of lack of understanding.
Diēs multa per noctem habita terrōrī vertit ad rīsum.
[Diēs, subject of vertit; habita, “considered”]
9) Caesar and his bodyguard come to the aid of his legate G. Fabius.
Caesar cum equitibus, quōs sibi praesidiō relīquerat, in castra pervēnit.
10) After addressing Aeneas, the ghost of Creusa departs.
Imāgō effūgit, pār levibus ventīs et simillima volucrī somnō.
[volucrī, here “swift”]
11) Ovid reflects on the obedience of the Olympian gods to Jupiter in comparison to the obedience experienced by Augustus.
Nec tibi grāta minus pietās tuōrum est, Auguste, quam illa Iovī fuit.
[tuōrum, substantive, perhaps “your subjects”; illa, refers to pietās]
12) Spurius Oppius attempts to aid his fellow decemvir, Appius Crassus, who has been imperiled by his own misdeeds.
Spurius Oppius, ut auxiliō collēgae esset, in forum ex alterā parte inrumpit.
13) Dido pleads with Aeneas to stay.
Sī quicquam meum tibi dulce fuit, miserēre domūs lābentis.
[quicquam meum, we would say “anything of mine”; miserēre, 2nd singular imperative, takes a genitive object (Assignment 11, additional notes); lābentis, here “perishing”]
14) Cicero, in one of his earliest extant speeches, lists three obstacles to his present oration.
Commoditātī meum ingenium, gravitātī mea aetās, et lībertātī haec tempora impedīmentō sunt.
[Commoditātī, here “suitable expression”; lībertātī, here “freedom of speech”; meum ingenium... mea aetās... haec tempora, all nominative; impedimentō est should be supplied in the first two clauses]
15) While mocking Achilles, the invulnerable Cycnus claims his armor is just for show.
Haec arma auxiliō mihi nōn sunt. Decor est quaesītus ab istīs; Mārs quoque ob hoc arma capere solet.
[ob hoc, “for this reason”]