1362. (1.) The ablative of a substantive, with a predicate participle in
agreement, is used to denote an attendant circumstance of an action.
In this construction, which is called the _Ablative Absolute_, (_a._)
the present participle is sometimes used: as, #nūllō hoste prohibente
incolumem legiōnem in Nantuātīs perdūxit#, 3, 6, 5, _with no enemy
hindering, he conducted the legion in safety to the Nantuates_. Much
oftener, however, (_b._) the perfect participle: as, #hōc respōnsō datō
discessit#, 1, 14, 7, _this answer given he went away_. (_c._) The
future participle is also used in the ablative absolute from Livy on:
as, #hospite ventūrō, cessābit nēmo tuōrum#, J. 14, 59, _a visitor to
come, your slaves will bustle each and all_.
1363. A predicate ablative with a participle meaning _made_, _kept_,
_chosen_, or the like, occurs in Cicero, Caesar, Nepos, and Livy, but is
rare (1167): as, #Dolābellā hoste dēcrētō#, _Ph._ 11, 16, _Dolabella
having been voted an enemy of the state_.
1364. The perfect participles of deponents used actively in the ablative
absolute, are chiefly those of intransitive use, such as #nātus#,
#mortuus#, #ortus#, #profectus#. From Sallust on, other perfect deponent
participles also are used actively with an accusative. Cicero and Caesar
use a few deponent participles, such as #ēmeritus#, #pactus#,
#partītus#, #dēpopulātus#, as passives, and later authors use many other
participles so.
1365. (2.) The ablative of a substantive, with a predicate noun in
agreement, is often used to denote an attendant circumstance of an
action: as,
#brevitātem secūtus sum tē magistrō#, _Fam._ 11, 25, 1, _I aimed at
brevity with you as a teacher_. #nātus dīs inimīcīs#, Pl. _Most._ 563,
_born under wrath of gods_. #M. Messālā et M. Pīsōne cōnsulibus#, 1, 2,
1, _in the consulship of Messala and Piso_. #istō praetōre vēnit
Syrācūsās#, _V._ 4, 61, _in the defendant’s praetorship he came to
Syracuse_.
1366. The nominative #quisque#, #plerīque#, or #ipse#, sometimes
accompanies the ablative absolute: as, #causā ipse prō sē dictā,
damnātur#, L. 4, 44, 10, _he is condemned after pleading his case in
person_.
1367. The ablative absolute may denote in a loose way various relations
which might be more distinctly expressed by subordinate sentences.
So particularly: (_a._) Time: as, #tertiā initā vigiliā exercitum
ēdūcit#, Caes. _C._ 3, 54, 2, _at the beginning of the third watch he
leads the army out_. (_b._) Cause or means: as, #C. Flāminium Caelius
religiōne neglēctā cecidisse apud Trāsumēnum scrībit#, _DN._ 2, 8,
_Caelius writes that Flaminius fell at Trasumene in consequence of his
neglect of religious observances_. (_c._) Concession: as, #id paucīs
dēfendentibus expugnāre nōn potuit#, 2, 12, 2, _though the defenders
were few, he could not take it by storm_. (_d._) Hypothesis: as, #quae
potest esse vītae iūcunditās sublātīs amīcitiīs?# _Pl._ 80, _what
pleasure can there be in life, if you take friendships away?_ (_e._)
Description: as, #domum vēnit capite obvolūtō#, _Ph._ 2, 77, _he came
home with his head all muffled up_.
1368. It may be seen from the examples above that a change of
construction is often desirable in translating the ablative absolute.
Particularly so in many set idiomatic expressions: as, #nūllā
interpositā morā#, Caes. _C._ 3, 75, 1, _without a moment’s delay_,
_instantly_. #equō admissō#, 1, 22, 2, #equō citātō#, Caes. _C._ 3, 96,
3, _full gallop_. #clāmōre sublātō#, 7, 12, 5, _with a round of cheers_.
#bene rē gestā salvos redeō#, Pl. _Tri._ 1182, _crowned with success I
come back safe and sound_.
1369. The substantive of the ablative absolute usually denotes a
different person or thing from any in the main sentence. But exceptions
to this usage sometimes occur: as,
#quibus audītīs, eōs domum remittit#, 4, 21, 6, _after listening to
these men, he sends them home again_. #sī ego mē sciente paterer#, Pl.
_MG._ 559, _if I should wittingly myself allow_, more emphatic than
#sciēns#. #sē iūdice nēmo nocēns absolvitur#, J. 13, 2, _himself the
judge, no criminal gets free_.
1370. Two ablatives absolute often occur together, of which the first
indicates the time, circumstances, or cause of the second: as, #exaudītō
clāmōre perturbātīs ōrdinibus#, 2, 11, 5, _the ranks being demoralized
from hearing the shouts_. #cōnsūmptīs omnibus tēlīs gladiīs dēstrictīs#,
Caes. _C._ 1, 46, 1, _drawing their swords after expending all their
missiles_.
1371. The substantive is sometimes omitted in the ablative absolute,
particularly when it is a general word for a person or a thing which is
explained by a relative: as, #praemissīs, quī repūrgārent iter#, L. 44,
4, 11, _sending sappers and miners ahead to clear a way_. #relātīs
ōrdine, quae vīdissent#, L. 42, 25, 2, _telling circumstantially all
they had seen_.
1372. The ablative neuter of some perfect participles is used
impersonally (1034). This use is rare in old Latin, in classical Latin
commonest in Cicero, and afterwards in Livy: as, #auspicātō#, _DN._ 2,
11, _with auspices taken_. #sortītō#, _V._ 2, 126, _lots being drawn_,
or _by lot_. Such ablatives readily become adverbs (704). Substantives
are also sometimes used alone: as, #austrō#, _Div._ 2, 58, _when the
wind is south_. #tranquillitāte#, Plin. _Ep._ 8, 20, 6, _when it is
calm_. #serēnō#, L. 37, 3, 3, _the day being clear_.
1373. The ablative neuter of some perfect participles is occasionally
used in agreement with a sentence or an infinitive: as, #cōgnitō vīvere
Ptolomaeum#, L. 33, 41, 5, _it being known that Ptolomy was alive_. This
construction is not used in old Latin, and is rare in classical Latin,
but common in Livy and Tacitus. So adjectives also: as, #incertō quid
vītārent#, L. 28, 36, 12, _it not being obvious what they were to steer
clear of_.
1374. The ablative absolute is sometimes attended, especially in Livy
and Tacitus, by an explanatory word, such as #etsī#, #tamen#, #nisi#,
#quasi#, #quamquam#, or #quamvīs#: as, #etsī aliquō acceptō dētrīmentō,
tamen summā exercitūs salvā#, Caes. _C._ 1, 67, 5, _though with some
loss, yet with the safety of the army as a whole_.