1140. The meaning of a verb, even of one ordinarily intransitive, may be
emphasized or more exactly defined by an accusative of kindred
derivation added.
(_a._) Seldom without an adjective: as, #dum vītam vīvās#, Pl. _Per._
494, _as long as life thou liv’st_, i.e. as long as you ever live and
breathe. #quōrum maiōrum nēmō servitūtem servīvit#, _T._ 29, _of whose
ancestors not one has served servitude_, i.e. been a regular slave.
#vidē nē facinus faciās#, _Fin._ 2, 95, _mind you don’t do a deed_, i.e.
a misdeed. (_b._) Commonly with an adjective: as, #scelestam servitūtem
serviunt#, Pl. _Cu._ 40, _a wicked servitude they serve_. #facinus
memorābile fēcistis#, L. 24, 22, 16, _you have done a deed well worth
mentioning_. #mīrum atque īnscītum somniāvī somnium#, Pl. _R._ 597,
_a strange and silly dream dreamed I_.
1141. The verb sometimes has an accusative of kindred meaning, but of
different derivation: as,
#ut vīvās aetātem miser#, Pl. _Am._ 1023, _that thou mayst live thy days
in woe_. #nōn pugnāvit ingēns Īdomeneus Sthenelusve sōlus dīcenda Mūsīs
proelia#, H. 4, 9, 19, _not towering Idomeneus nor Sthenelus alone has
battles fought for Muses to rehearse_.
1142. The neuter singular accusative of a descriptive adjective is used,
particularly by the poets, to denote manner: as,
#magnum clāmat#, Pl. _MG._ 823, _he’s bellowing big_. #suāve locus vōcī
resonat conclūsus#, H. _S._ 1, 4, 76, _sweet to the voice the pent-up
place rings back_. #suāve rubēns hyacinthus#, V. _E._ 3, 63,
_sweet-blushing hyacinth_. #cūr tam cernis acūtum?# H. _S._ 1, 3, 26,
_why dost thou see so sharp?_ The plural is not so common: as, #asper,
acerba tuēns#, Lucr. 5, 33, V. 9, 794, _rough, staring savageness_.
1143. Some verbs of smell and of taste have an accusative defining what
the smell or the taste is: as, #pāstillōs Rūfillus olet, Gargōnius
hīrcum#, H. _S._ 1, 2, 27, _of lozenges Rufillus smells, Gargonius of
the goat_. #doctrīnam redolet puerīlem#, _DO._ 2, 109, _it smacks of A B
C studies_. #nōn omnēs possunt olere unguenta exōtica#, Pl. _Most._ 42,
_not every man can of imported ointments reek_. #meliōra unguenta sunt
quae terram quam quae crocum sapiunt#, Cic. in Plin. _NH._ 17, 5, 3, 38,
_essences that smell of earth are better than those that smell of
saffron_.
1144. Any verb or verbal expression may be defined in a general way by
the neuter accusative of a pronoun or of an enumerative word: as,
#id gaudeō#, T. _Andr._ 362, _I’m glad of that_. #id maestast#, Pl. _R._
397, _she’s mournful over this_. #id prōdeō#, T. _Eu._ 1005, _I’m coming
out for this_. #cētera adsentior Crassō#, _DO._ 1, 35, _on all the other
points I agree with Crassus_. So also #quod#, _for which_, _on account
of which_, #aliquid#, #quicquam#, #nihil#, &c., &c., and particularly
#quid#, _why_, _in what respect_, _wherein_, _what_, or _what ... for_:
as, #quid vēnistī#, Pl. _Am._ 377, _why art thou come?_ #quid tibī̆
obstō#, _RA._ 145, _wherein do I stand in your way?_
1145. The accusative of an appellative is rarely used adverbially: as,
#magnam partem ex iambīs nostra cōnstat ōrātiō#, _O._ 189, _our own
speech is made up a great deal of iambs_. #maximam partem lacte vīvunt#,
4, 1, 8, _they live on milk the most part_, i.e. _chiefly_.
Prepositional expressions are commoner: as, #magnā ex parte#, 1, 16, 6,
_principally_. For #vicem#, _instead of_, _for_, or _like_, see the
dictionary.
1146. The accusative is sometimes disengaged from a verb, and qualifies
a substantive as an attribute, chiefly in a few set expressions (1129):
as, #ōrātiōnēs aut aliquid id genus#, _Att._ 13, 12, 3, _speeches or
something that kind_. #aucupium omne genus#, Cat. 114, 3, _fowling of
every kind_. #nūgās hoc genus#, H. _S._ 2, 6, 43, _small talk--this
kind_. #hoc genus in rēbus#, Lucr. 6, 917, _in matters of this kind_.
#cum id aetātis fīliō#, _Clu._ 141, _with a son of that age_. Similarly
#diēs quīndecim supplicātiō#, 2, 35, 4, _a fortnight thanksgiving_.
[Erratum:
1144 ... So also #quod#, _for which_,
_for which_.]