1118. The vocative nominative is used when a person or thing is
addressed: as,
#quō usque tandem abūtēre, Catilīna, patientiā nostrā?# _C._ 1, 1, _in
heaven’s name, how long, Catiline, wilt trifle with our patience?_
#valēte, dēsīderia mea, valēte#, _Fam._ 14, 2, 4, _good bye, my absent
loves, good bye_. Instead of a proper name, an emphatic #tū# is often
used: as, #advorte animum sīs tū#, Pl. _Cap._ 110, _just pay attention,
sirrah, please_.
1119. Masculine stems in #-o-# commonly use the special form for the
second person singular called the vocative: as,
#urbem, urbem, mī Rūfe, cole#, _Fam._ 2, 12, 2, _stick to town, dear
Rufus, yes, to town_. But the vocative nominative is sometimes used even
of #-o-# stems: as, #audī tū, populus Albānus#, L. 1, 24, 7, _hear thou,
the people of Alba_.
1120. Poets use the vocative nominative or vocative proper very freely,
sometimes for liveliness, but often simply in place of other cases not
allowed by the metre: as,
#ōra manūsque tuā lavimus, Fērōnia, lymphā#, H. _S._ 1, 5, 24, _our
faces and our hands, Feronia, in thy stream we wash_. #occiderat Tatius,
populīsque aequāta duōbus, Rōmule, iūra dabās#, O. 14, 805, _now dead
was Tatius, and to peoples twain thou gavest, Romulus, impartial laws_.
#longum tibi, Daedale, crīmen#, O. 8, 240, _a lasting stigma, Daedalus,
to thee_. In these three examples, #Fērōniae#, #Rōmulus#, and #Daedalō#
would be impossible. In poetry, the vocative is particularly common in
questions.
1121. Nominative forms and vocative forms are often combined: as,
#dulcis amīce#, H. _E._ 1, 7, 12, _sweet friend_. #mī vir#, Pl. _Am._
716, _my husband_. #Iāne pater#, J. 6, 394, _thou father Janus_.
1122. In verse the vocative is occasionally used even in the predicate:
as, #quō moritūre ruis?# V. 10, 811, _whither, on death intent, fliest
thou?_ #quibus, Hector, ab ōrīs exspectāte venīs?# V. 2, 282, _out of
what limboes, Hector, dost thou gladly welcomed come?_
1123. The vocative nominative or vocative proper is sometimes
accompanied by #ō#, but only in impassioned addresses: as, #ō fortūnāte
adulēscēns#, _Arch._ 24, _oh thou thrice blest youth_; also by #prō# in
addresses to gods, by #eho# and #heus# in calls on men. Rarely by #au#,
#ehem#, #hem#, #ē̆heu#, #eia# or #heia#, #iō#.
[Erratum:
1120 ... #ōra manūsque tuā lavimus, Fērōnia, lymphā#,
final , missing]