1132. The object of a verb is put in the accusative: as,
(_a._) #oppida sua omnia incendunt#, 1, 5, 3, _they set all their towns
afire_. #cōnspexit adrāsum quendam#, H. _E._ 1, 7, 49, _he spied a man
all shaven and shorn_. (_b._) #duās fossās perdūxit#, 7, 72, 3, _he made
two trenches_. This accusative, is, as may be seen above, either (_a._)
receptive, i.e. existing independently of the action of the verb, and
only affected or apprehended by it; or (_b._) of product, i.e. produced
by the action of the verb.
1133. Verbs thus used with an object are said to be _used transitively_.
Such verbs may also be used intransitively, that is without an object,
when stress is put on the action merely: thus,
(_a._) Transitively: #tū mē amās, ego tē amō#, Pl. _Most._ 305, _thou
lovest me, and I love thee_. #nova dīruunt, alia aedificant#, S. _C._
20, 12, _they pull down new structures, and build up others_. (_b._)
Intransitively: #amō#, Pl. _B._ 511, _I’m in love_. #dīruit, aedificat#,
H. _E._ 1, 1, 100, _it pulleth down, it buildeth up_.
1134. Some verbs, in addition to the accusative, often take an
infinitive also: thus, #eum vident sedēre#, _V._ 5, 107, _they see him
sit, they see that he is sitting_. Here the accusative #eum#, originally
the object, _they see him_, becomes at the same time the subject of the
new statement appended, #sedēre#, _sit_, thus giving rise to the
construction known as the _accusative with the infinitive_.
1135. Instead of the proper accusative of the object, another accusative
is sometimes substituted, denoting the ultimate result: as,
#rūpēre viam#, L. 2, 50, 10, _they broke a path_, i.e. _they broke_
through the obstacles, and so made _a path_. #foedusque ferī#, E. 33,
_and strike a covenant_, i.e. _strike_ a victim, and so make _a
covenant_.
1136. In Plautus, #quid tibī̆# with a substantive of action in #-tiō#
and #est#, has an accusative like a verb used transitively: as, #quid
tibī̆ hanc cūrātiōst rem?# Pl. _Am._ 519, _what business hast thou with
this?_
1137. Many verbs ordinarily used intransitively, particularly verbs of
motion, have a transitive use when compounded with a preposition.
Such prepositions are, #ad#, #circum#, #ex#, #in#, #ob#, #per#, #prae#,
#praeter#, #trāns#, and some others: as, #plūrēs paucōs
circumsistēbant#, 4, 26, 2, _a good many took their stand round a few_.
#Caesar omnem agrum Pīcēnum percurrit#, Caes. _C._ 1, 15, 1, _Caesar
runs over the whole Picene territory_. #praeterīre nēmō pristrīnum
potest#, Pl. _Cap._ 808, _no man can pass the mill_. #flūmen
trānsiērunt#, 4, 4, 7, _they crossed the river_.
1138. A few verbs with a transitive use, have, when compounded with
#circum# and #trāns#, besides the accusative of the object, a second
accusative of the thing to which the preposition refers: as, #istum
circumdūce hāsce aedīs#, Pl. _Most._ 843, _take that man round this
house_. #Caesar funditōrēs pontem trādūcit#, 2, 10, 1, _Caesar takes the
slingers over the bridge_. #trānsfer līmen aureolōs pedēs#, Cat. 61,
166, _over the threshold put thy little golden foot_. In the passive,
the accusative connected with the preposition is sometimes retained: as,
#Apollōniam praetervehuntur#, Caes. _C._ 3, 26, 1, _they sail by
Apollonia_.
1139. Verbs of weeping and wailing, and some other verbs of feeling,
which commonly have an intransitive use, sometimes have a transitive use
with an accusative: as,
(_a._) #lūget senātus, maeret equester ōrdō#, _Mil._ 20, _the senate is
in mourning, the equestrian order betrays its sadness_. (_b._) #mātrōnae
eum lūxērunt#, L. 2, 7, 4, _the married women wore mourning for him_.
#maereō cāsum eius modī#, _Fam._ 14, 2, 2, _I cannot help showing my
grief over a misfortune of such a kind_. #quid mortem congemis ac flēs#,
Lucr. 3, 934, _why dost thou death bewail and weep?_ Such verbs are
#fleō#, _weep_, #gemō#, _wail_, #lāmentor#, #queror#, _bewail_, #doleō#,
_am distressed_, #lūgeō#, _mourn_, #maereō#, _betray sadness_.
Similarly, #horreō#, _shudder_, #reformīdō#, _am in dread_, #fastīdiō#,
_feel disdain_, #rīdeō#, _laugh_, &c., &c. The object is oftener a thing
than a person, and passive constructions are rare, and mostly confined
to poetry.
[Errata:
1135 ... _they broke a path_, i.e. _they broke_ through the obstacles,
and so made _a path_. #foedusque ferī#, E. 33, _and strike
a covenant_, i.e.
_punctuation as printed:_
they broke a path_, i.e _they broke_ through the obstacles.
and so made _a path_. #foedusque ferī#, E. 33, _and strike
a covenant_, i.e]