1241. (3.) The partitive genitive denotes a whole of which the limited
substantive denotes a part. There are two kinds of partitive genitive,
the numerical and the quantitative: as,
(_a._) #mīlitum pars#, 6, 40, 8, _part of the soldiers_, numerical
partitive (1242). (_b._) #multum aestātis#, 5, 22, 4, _much of the
summer_, quantitative partitive (1247).
1242. (_a._) The numerical partitive is a plural or a collective,
limiting a word expressing part of the number: as,
#mīlitum pars#, 6, 40, 8, _part of the soldiers_. #pars equitātūs#, 4,
16, 2, _part of the cavalry_. #alter cōnsulum#, L. 6, 35, 5, _one of the
two consuls_. #uter est īnsānior hōrum?# H. _S._ 2, 3, 102, _which of
these two is crazier?_ #eōrum neuter#, _Pis._ 62, _neither of the two_.
#multae istārum arborum#, _CM._ 59, _many of the trees you see there_.
#quis omnium mortālium?# _V._ 5, 179, _who among all the sons of men?_
#nēmō nostrūm#, _RA._ 55, _not one of us_. #nihil hōrum#, _RA._ 138,
_none of these things_. #Stertinius, sapientum octāvus#, H. _S._ 2, 3,
296, _Stertinius, of sages eighth_. #ō maior iuvenum#, H. _AP._ 366,
_O elder of the youths_. #hōrum omnium fortissimī sunt Belgae#, 1, 1, 3,
_of all these the stoutest fighters are the Belgians_. Also with
superlative adverbs: as, #deōrum maximē Mercurium colunt#, Ta. _G._ 9,
_of the gods, they revere Mercury most_. #minumē gentium#, Pl. _Poen._
690, T. _Eu._ 625, _no, never in the world_.
1243. #uterque#, _each_, _both_, often takes the genitive plural of a
pronoun: as, #quōrum uterque#, #uterque eōrum#, #hōrum#, #nostrūm#, &c.;
sometimes of a substantive and pronoun combined: as, #utriusque hārum
rērum#, _TD._ 1, 65, _of each of these things_. #quārum cīvitātum
utraque#, _V._ 5, 56, _each of these communities_. With a substantive
alone, it is oftener attributive: as, #uterque dux#, _Marc._ 24, _each
commander_; and sometimes with neuter pronouns: as, #quod utrumque#,
Brut. in _Fam._ 11, 1, 1, N. 25, 2, 4. The plural #utrīque# is used both
ways: as, #ab utrīsque vestrūm#, _Fam._ 11, 21, 5, and #ab utrīsque
nōbīs#, Brut. in _Fam._ 11, 20, 3.
1244. The plurals #tot#, #totidem#, and #quot#, are not used
partitively, and #omnēs# and #cūnctī# only so by poets and late prose
writers. #plērīque# is used either way, in agreement, or with the
genitive.
1245. The numerical partitive is exceptionally used in poetry with the
positive of a descriptive adjective: as, #sāncte deōrum#, V. 4, 576,
_thou holy of the gods_. And in late prose, particularly with words
denoting a class of persons: as, #cum dēlēctīs peditum#, L. 26, 5, 3,
_with the pick of the infantry_. #levīs cohortium#, Ta. 3, 39, _the
light-armed of the cohorts_.
1246. Instead of the numerical partitive, a prepositional expression
with #ante#, #inter#, or #in#, or with #ex# or #dē#, is sometimes used:
as, #ante aliōs acceptissimus#, L. 1, 15, 8, _most welcome before
others_. So particularly #quīdam# and #ūnus#, #duo#, #trēs#, with #ex#
or #dē#: as, #quīdam ex hīs#, 2, 17, 2, _one of these_. #ūnus dē
multīs#, _Fin._ 2, 66, _one of the common herd_. But #ūnus# sometimes
has the genitive: as, #ūnus multōrum#, H. _S._ 1, 9, 71. And usually so
in a series, when #ūnus# is followed by #alter#, #alius#, #tertius#, &c.
1247. (_b._) The quantitative partitive is usually a singular, limiting
a neuter singular word denoting amount. The limited word is either a
nominative, or an accusative without a preposition. This genitive often
borders very closely on the genitive of definition (1255): as,
#multum aestātis#, 5, 22, 4, _much of the summer_. #amplius obsidum#, 6,
9, 7, _something more extensive in the way of hostages_. #minus
dubitātiōnis#, 1, 14, 1, _less of hesitation_. #quam minimum spatiī#, 3,
19, 1, _as little time as possible_. #id aetātis#, _DO._ 1, 207, _at
that time of life_. #id temporis#, _Fin._ 5, 1, _at that time of day_.
#quid causae est?# _Ac._ 1, 10, _what earthly reason is there?_ #hoc
litterulārum#, _Att._ 12, 1, 1, _this apology for a letter_, or _this
hasty line_. #hoc sibī̆ sōlācī prōpōnēbant#, 7, 15, 2, _they laid this
flattering unction to their souls_.
1248. Such neuters are: #multum#, #plērumque#, #plūrimum#, #amplius#,
#plūs#, #paulum#, #minus#, #minimum#, #tantum#, #quantum#, #tantundem#,
#nimium#; in poetry and late prose, also many other adjectives singular
and plural. Furthermore, #id#, #hoc#, #illud#, #quod#, #quid#, &c., and
#nihil#; also #abunde#, #adfatim#, #largiter#, #nimis#, #partim#,
#parum#, and #satis#.
1249. A few adjectives of place and time indicating a particular part of
an object, are commonly used in immediate agreement with their
substantives: as,
#summus mōns#, 1, 22, 1, _the highest part of the mountain_, or _the
mountain-top_. #extrēmā hieme, mediā aestāte#, _IP._ 35, _at the end of
the winter, in midsummer_. Such are: #prīmus#, #intimus#, #medius#,
#extrēmus#, #postrēmus#, #ūltimus#, #summus#, #īnfimus#, #īmus#,
#reliquus#. But the neuter is sometimes used partitively: as, #aestātis
extrēmum erat#, S. _I._ 90, 1, _it was the end of summer_. #summa
pectoris#, _Fam._ 1, 9, 15, _the upper parts of the breast_.
1250. The limiting genitive is often the neuter singular of an adjective
used substantively: as,
#aliquid bonī#, T. _Andr._ 398, _something good_. #aliquid malī#, T.
_Eu._ 999, _something bad_. #numquid tandem novī?# _Br._ 10, _nothing
new, pray?_ This use is ordinarily confined to stems in #-o-#; rarely
otherwise: as, #plūs inānis#, Lucr. 1, 365, _more of the void_: and
usually only when joined with an #-o-# stem: as, #nihil solidī, nihil
ēminentis#, _DN._ 1, 75, _no solidity, no projection_.
1251. The partitive construction sometimes extends to the predicate: as,
#id erit sīgnī mē invītum facere#, _RA._ 83, _this will be something of
an indication that I act with reluctance_; #sīgnī# is here in the
predicate, and yet made dependent on #id#. #quid ergō est tuī cōnsulī?#
Brut. in _Fam._ 11, 1, 3, _what then is your advice?_ #quid suī cōnsilī
sit ostendit#, 1, 21, 2, _he explains what his plan is_. #quid est enim
huic reliquī?# _Sull._ 89, _for what is there left for my client?_ #hī
mīlitēs nihil reliquī victīs fēcēre#, S. _C._ 11, 7, _these soldiers
left nothing over to the conquered_. #nihil ad celeritātem sibī̆ reliquī
fēcērunt#, 2, 26, 5, _as for speed, they left no effort unspared_.
1252. The accusative with a preposition also sometimes has the genitive,
as, #in id redāctus sum locī#, T. _Ph._ 979, _I am reduced to such a
strait_. #ad id locī#, S. _C._ 45, 3, _to that spot_. #ad id locōrum#,
S. _I._ 63, 6, _up to that time_. #in multum diēī#, L. 9, 44, 11, _till
late in the day_. In Cicero, also the ablatives #eō#, #eōdem#, and
#quō#, with #locī#: as, #eō locī#, _Sest._ 68, _in that position_. And
in later writers, other ablatives, with or without a preposition, also
have a genitive.
1253. Some appellatives of place are put in the genitive with adverbs of
place: as, #ubinam gentium?# Pl. _Mer._ 434, _C._ 1, 9, _where in the
world?_ #nusquam gentium#, T. _Ad._ 540, _nowhere in the world_.
Similarly, #locī# with adverbs of time or order, as with #intereā# in
Plautus and Terence, #postideā# in Plautus, #posteā# in Sallust, and
#inde# in Lucretius; also #locōrum# with #adhūc# and #postid# in
Plautus.
1254. In Sallust, Livy, and Tacitus, genitives of abstracts are used
with the adverbs #eō#, #quō#, and #hūc#: as, #eō miseriārum#, S. _I._
14, 3, _to that pitch of distress_. Ones with #ut#: #ut quisque
audentiae habuisset, adcurrerent#, Ta. 15, 53, _they should run up, with
a speed commensurate in every case to their daring_.
[Errata:
1241 ... (_b._)
. invisible
1242a ... #Stertinius, sapientum octāvus#
octāvos
1250 ... Lucr. 1, 365
1. 365]