1157. (1.) Proper names of towns and of little islands or peninsulas are
put in the accusative to denote the aim with expressions of motion: as,
#Labiēnus Lutetiam proficīscitur#, 7, 57, 1, _Labienus starts for
Lutetia_. #Leucadem vēnimus#, _Fam._ 16, 9, 1, _we came to Leucas_.
#nocturnus introitus Zmyrnam#, _Ph._ 11, 5, _the entrance into Smyrna by
night_ (1129). Plautus uses #Accherūns# a few times like a town name:
as, #vīvom mē accersunt Accheruntem mortuī#, _Most._ 509, _the dead are
taking me to Acheron alive_.
1158. With singular names of towns and little islands, Plautus has the
accusative alone twenty times, and twenty times with #in#; Terence has,
including #Lēmnum#, _Ph._ 567, and #Cyprum#, _Ad._ 224, 230, the
accusative alone six times, and twice with #in#, #in Lēmnum#, _Ph._ 66,
and #in Cyprum#, _Ad._ 278. Plural town names never have #in#.
1159. An appellative #urbem# or #oppidum# accompanying the accusative of
a town name is usually preceded by #in# or #ad#: as, #ad urbem Fī̆dēnās
tendunt#, L. 4, 33, 10, _they make for the city of Fidenae_. #Iugurtha
Thalam pervēnit, in oppidum magnum#, S. _I._ 75, 1, _Jugurtha arrived at
Thala, a large town_.
1160. When merely ‘motion towards’ or ‘nearness’ is meant, #ad# is used:
as, #trēs viae sunt ad Mutinam#, _Ph._ 12, 22, _there are three roads to
Mutina_. #mīles ad Capuam profectus sum#, _CM._ 10, _I went to the war
as a private, to the region round about Capua_.
1161. Proper names of countries are also sometimes put in the accusative
in poetry, to denote aim of motion: as, #abiīt Ālidem#, Pl. _Cap._ 573,
_he went away to Elis_. So in prose also, #Aegyptus# in Cicero, Caesar,
Nepos, Livy, and Tacitus: as, #Germānicus Aegyptum proficīscitur#, Ta.
2, 59, _Germanicus sets out for Egypt_. Rarely and in poetry names of
peoples: as, #sitientīs ībimus Āfrōs#, V. _E._ 1, 64, _to thirst-parched
Afrians we shall go_. In general the accusative of country names is
preceded by #in# or #ad#, as are also appellatives regularly in prose;
but in poetry, even appellatives without a preposition are common.
1162. (2.) The accusatives #domum#, #rūs#, and #forās#, are used like
proper names of towns: as,
(_a._) #eō domum#, Pl. _Mer._ 659, _I’m going home_. #equitēs domum
contendērunt#, 2, 24, 4, _the cavalry hurried home_. #domum reditiōnis
spē sublātā#, 1, 5, 3, _the hope of a return home being out of the
question_ (1129). (_b._) #rūs ībō#, T. _Eu._ 216, _I shall go out of
town_. (_c._) #effūgī forās#, T. _Eu._ 945, _I ran out of doors_.
1163. The singular #domum# is always retained by Caesar, even when two
or more separate persons or parties are spoken of. Plautus, Sallust, and
Nepos, have the plural #domōs# once each, and Cicero and Livy use it
occasionally.
1164. The accusative #domum# or #domōs# sometimes has an attribute,
usually a possessive pronoun: as, #domum suam quemque revertī#, 2, 10,
4, _for every man to go back to his home_. #alius alium domōs suās
invītant#, S. _I._ 66, 3, _they invite each other to their homes_.
#aurum domum rēgiam comportant#, S. _I._ 76, 6, _they bring all the gold
to the house royal_. #cum domum rēgis dēvertissēs#, _D._ 17, _when you
went to stay at the king’s palace_. The preposition #in# is sometimes
used when the attribute is a genitive or a possessive pronoun, and
commonly when it is any adjective but a possessive pronoun.
1165. (3.) In old Latin, #exsequiās# and #īnfitiās# are also used with
#eō#, and sometimes #malam crucem# and #malam rem#, though these last
more commonly have #in#: as,
#exsequiās Chremētī īre#, T. _Ph._ 1026, _to go to Chremes’s funeral_.
#ut eās malam crucem#, Pl. _Men._ 328, _that thou mayst get thee to the
accursed cross_. Later writers, as Nepos, Livy, and Quintilian, use
#īnfitiās eō# again, and, from Sallust on, #vēnum eō# and #vēnum dō#
sometimes occur for #vēneō# and #vēndō#.
1166. With the accusative in #-tum# (or #-sum#), called the supine, the
idea of ‘aim’ passes over into that of ‘purpose:’ as #mīlitātum abiīt#,
T. _Hau._ 117, _he’s gone away a soldiering_ (2270).
[Erratum:
1157 ... _the entrance into Smyrna by night_ (1129).
final . missing]