1377. The ablative is used to denote the instrument or means: as,
#pugnābant armīs#, H. _S._ 1, 3, 103, _they fought with arms_. #clārē
oculīs videō, sum pernīx pedibus, manibus mōbilis#, Pl. _MG._ 630,
_I can see distinctly with my eyes, I’m nimble with my legs, and active
with my arms_. #iuvābō aut rē tē aut operā aut cōnsiliō bonō#, Pl. _Ps._
19, _I’ll help thee either with my purse or hand or good advice_. #lacte
et carne vīvunt, pellibusque sunt vestītī#, 5, 14, 2, _they live on milk
and meat, and they are clad in skins_. #contentus paucīs lēctōribus#, H.
_S._ 1, 10, 74, _content with readers few_. #centēnāque arbore flūctum
verberat#, V. 10, 207, _and with an hundred beams at every stroke the
wave he smites_. Rarely with substantives denoting action (1301): as,
#gestōrēs linguīs, audītōrēs auribus#, Pl. _Ps._ 429, _reporters with
their tongues and listeners with their ears_. #tenerīs labellīs mollēs
morsiunculae#, Pl. _Ps._ 67^a, _caressing bites with velvet lips_.
1378. When the instrument is a person, the accusative with #per# is
used: as, #haec quoque per explōrātōrēs ad hostēs dēferuntur#, 6, 7, 9,
_this too is reported to the enemy through the medium of scouts_. Or a
circumlocution, such as #virtūte#, #beneficiō#, #benignitāte#, or
especially #operā#, with a genitive or possessive; as, #deūm virtūte
multa bona bene parta habēmus#, Pl. _Tri._ 346, _thanks to the gods,
we’ve many a pretty penny prettily put by_. #meā operā Tarentum
recēpistī#, _CM._ 11, _It was through me you got Tarentum back_. Rarely
the ablative of a person, the person being then regarded as a thing: as,
#iacent suīs testibus#, _Mil._ 47, _they are cast by their own
witnesses_.
1379. The instrumental ablative is used with the five deponents #fruor#,
#fungor#, #potior#, #ūtor#, #vēscor#, and several of their compounds,
and with #ūsus est# and #opus est#: as,
#pāce numquam fruēmur#, _Ph._ 7, 19, _we never shall enjoy ourselves
with peace_, i.e. _we never shall enjoy peace_. #fungar vice cōtis#, H.
_AP._ 304, _I’ll play the whetstone’s part_. #castrīs nostrī potītī
sunt#, 1, 26, 4, _our people made themselves masters of the camp_.
#vestrā operā ūtar#, L. 3, 46, 8, _I will avail myself of your
services_. #carne vēscor#, _TD._ 5, 90, _I live on meat_. #opust
chlamyde#, Pl. _Ps._ 734, _there is a job with a cloak_, i.e. _we need a
cloak_.
1380. Instead of the instrumental ablative, some of the above verbs take
the accusative occasionally in old and post-Augustan Latin: thus, in
Plautus, Terence, Cato, always #abūtor#, also #fungor#, except once in
Terence; #fruor# in Cato and Terence, and #perfungor# in Lucretius, once
each; #potior# twice in Plautus and three times in Terence, often also
the genitive (1292). The gerundive of these verbs is commonly used
personally in the passive, as if the verbs were regularly used
transitively (2244).
1381. #ūtor# often has a second predicative ablative: as, #administrīs
druidibus ūtuntur#, 6, 16, 2, _they use the druids as assistants_.
#facilī mē ūtētur patre#, T. _Hau._ 217, _an easy-going father he will
find in me_.
1382. #ūsus est# and #opus est# sometimes take a neuter participle,
especially in old Latin: as, #vīsō opust cautōst opus#, Pl. _Cap._ 225,
_there’s need of sight, there’s need of care_. Sometimes the ablative
with a predicate participle: as, #celeriter mī eō homine conventōst
opus#, Pl. _Cur._ 302, _I needs must see that man at once_.
1383. With #opus est#, the thing wanted is often made the subject
nominative or subject accusative, with #opus# in the predicate: as, #dux
nōbīs et auctor opus est#, _Fam._ 2, 6, 4, _we need a leader and
adviser_. Usually so when the thing needed is a neuter adjective or
neuter pronoun: as, #multa sibī̆ opus esse#, _V._ 1, 126, _that he
needed much_. A genitive dependent on #opus# is found once or twice in
late Latin (1227).
1384. #ūsus est# is employed chiefly in comedy, but also once or twice
in Cicero, Lucretius, Vergil, and Livy. Once with the accusative: #ūsust
hominem astūtum#, Pl. _Ps._ 385, _there’s need of a sharp man_.