1255. (4.) The genitive is used to define that of which a thing
consists: as,
#magna multitūdō perditōrum hominum#, 3, 17, 4, _a perfect swarm of
desperadoes_. #innumerābile pondus aurī#, _Sest._ 93, _a weight of gold
too great to count_. #mīlle numerō nāvium clāssem#, _V._ 1, 48, _an
armada a thousand sail strong_.
1256. The genitive of an explicit word containing the leading idea is
sometimes used to define a more general word; as,
#praedae pecudum hominumque#, L. 24, 20, 5, _booty consisting of cattle
and human beings_. #pignora coniugum ac līberōrum#, L. 2, 1, 5, _pledges
in the shape of wives and children_. #cōnfīsus mūnītiōne fossae#, Caes.
_C._ 1, 42, 3, _relying on the defensive works in the shape of a moat_.
Rarely in poetry and late prose, the proper name of a place, with
#urbs#, #prōmunturium#, &c.: as, #urbem Patavī#, V., 1, 247, _the city
of Patavium_ (1045). Particularly with the words #vōx#, #nōmen#,
#genus#, and especially #causa#: as, #haec vōx voluptātis#, _Fin._ 2, 6,
_this word ‘pleasure.’_ #nōmen amīcitiae#, _Fin._ 2, 78, _the name
‘friendship.’_ Compare #nōmen frāternum#, 1, 36, 5, _the name of
brothers_ (1233). #haec īgnōminiae causa#, _Clu._ 120, _this reason,
namely the censor’s stigma_. #parvulae causae vel falsae suspīciōnis vel
terrōris repentīnī#, Caes. _C._ 3, 72, 4, _insignificant causes, as for
instance ungrounded suspicion or a panic_. #propter eam causam sceleris
istīus#, _V._ 4, 113, _for this reason, namely the crime of the
defendant_.
1257. The genitive of definition is very common with #causā#, less
common with #grātiā#, to define what the motive or cause is: as,
#amīcitiae causā#, 1, 39, 2, _from motives of friendship_. Compare
#vestrā magis hoc causā volēbam, quam meā#, _DO._ 1, 164, _I wished this
more for your sake than for my own_ (1234). #honestātis amplitūdinisque
grātiā#, _RA._ 15, _in compliment to their respectability and high
social standing_. So also sometimes with #nōmine#, and in old or
official Latin, with #ergō#.
1258. Conversely, the genitive of a generic word denoting a person is
sometimes added to a leading word defining the kind of a person: as,
#frūstum puerī#, Pl. _Per._ 849, _thou bit of a boy_. #mōnstrum
hominis#, T. _Eu._ 696, _thou fiend in human shape_. #quaedam pestēs
hominum#, _Fam._ 5, 8, 2, _some regular plagues in the shape of men_.
1259. #quidquid est#, #quantum est#, #quod est#, or #quodcumque est#,
with a genitive, is equivalent to an emphatic #omnis#: as, #quidquid
patrum est#, L. 3, 17, 5, _whatever there is in the shape of senators_,
i.e. _every single senator_. #quod est pecūniae, trādit#, Caes. _C._ 2,
20, 8, _what there is in the-way of money, he hands over_. Similarly
#tantum# for #tot#: as, #tantum hominum#, Pl. _Poen._ 619, _such a mass
of men_.