1287. The genitive is used with verbs of remembering and forgetting when
they denote an inherent state of memory or of forgetfulness: as,
#faciam ut meī meminerīs dum vītam vīvās#, Pl. _Per._ 494, _I’ll make
you remember me as long as you live_. #num potuī magis oblīvīscī
temporum meōrum, meminisse āctiōnum?# _Fam._ 1, 9, 8, _could I have been
more forgetful of my present interests, more mindful of my past career?_
#reminīscerētur incommodī populī Rōmānī#, 1, 13, 4, _he had better bear
in mind the rebuff dealt out to Rome_. #oblītusque meōrum oblīvīscendus
et illīs#, H. _E._ 1, 11, 10, _of friends forgetful and by friends
forgot_. See 1263.
1288. The accusative is used with these verbs when they denote the mere
intellectual exercise of memory or a failure to remember: as,
#equid meministī tu͡om parentum nōmina?# Pl. _Poen._ 1062, _do you
remember your parents’ names?_ #Cinnam meminī vīdī Sūllam#, _Ph._ 5, 17,
_I can remember Cinna, I have seen Sulla_. #utinam mēmet possim
oblīscier!# Accius ap. Non. 500, 5, _oh that myself I could forget!_
#subitō tōtam causam oblītus est#, _Br._ 217, _suddenly he forgot the
whole case_.
1289. #recordor# has once the genitive (_Pis._ 12), but from its meaning
_bring to heart_ it is naturally found oftener with the accusative. With
it and with #meminī#, the ablative with #dē# also occurs. The rare
#reminīscor# has the genitive once each in Caesar and Nepos; twice
later; oftener the accusative. Neuter pronouns are in the accusative
with all these verbs.
1290. The impersonal #venit in mentem# also takes the genitive: as,
#venit mihī̆ Platōnis in mentem#, _Fin._ 5, 2, _Plato comes into my
head_; very exceptionally the ablative with #dē#. But the verb in this
combination is often used personally, with the thing occurring to the
mind as the subject, and regularly in Cicero, when it is #rēs# or
#genus#, or a neuter pronoun.
1291. Verbs of reminding take the accusative of a person and sometimes
with it the genitive of a thing: as,
#admonēbat alium egestātis, alium cupiditātis suae#, S. _C._ 21, 4, _he
reminded one man of his beggary, another of his greed_. So also
#commoneō#, #commonē̆faciō#, and, in Tacitus only, #moneō#. Oftener
however the thing is in the ablative with #dē#, or, if it is a neuter
pronoun or adjective, in the accusative (1172). Rarely a substantive
equivalent to a neuter pronoun: as, #eam rem nōs locus admonuit#, S.
_I._ 79, 1, _the place has reminded me of that_.
[Errata:
1288 ... #Cinnam meminī vīdī Sūllam#
vidī
1289 ... the ablative with #dē# also occurs.
de]