2204. The accusative with the infinitive, or the infinitive alone,
regarded as a neuter substantive, may be used as the object of a verb,
or in apposition with the object: as,
(_a._) #leporem gustāre fās nōn putant#, 5, 12, 6, _tasting hare they
count a sin_. #errāre malum dūcimus#, _Off._ 1, 18, _going astray we
hold a bad thing_. (_b._) #ad id quod īnstituistī, ōrātōrum genera
distinguere aetātibus, istam dīligentiam esse accommodātam putō#, _Br._
74, _I think your accurate scholarship is just the thing for your
projected task--classifying public speakers chronologically_.
2205. The infinitive as a substantive is rarely preceded by the
preposition #inter# in late prose: as, #multum interest inter dare et
accipere#, Sen. _Ben._ 5, 10, 2, _there is a vast difference between
‘give’ and ‘take.’_ Cicero has it thus once in a translation (_Fin._
2, 43). In poetry #praeter# is thus used rarely.
2206. In poetry, the infinitive is used as a substantive object with
such verbs as #dō#, #reddō#, #adimō#, #perdō#: as, #hīc verērī
perdidit#, Pl. _B._ 158, _this youth has lost his sense of shame_.
(B.) THE INFINITIVE AS SUBJECT.
2207. The accusative with the infinitive, or the infinitive alone,
present or perfect, may be used as the subject of a verb, in apposition
with the subject, or as a predicate nominative: as,
(_a._) #mendācem memorem esse oportēre#, Quintil. 4, 2, 91, _that a liar
should have a good memory_. (_b._) #sequitur illud, caedem senātum
iūdicāsse contrā rem pūblicam esse factam#, _Mil._ 12, _next comes this
point, that the senate adjudged the homicide an offence against the
state_. (_c._) #exitus fuit ōrātiōnis, sibī̆ nūllam cum hīs amīcitiam
esse posse#, 4, 8, 1, _the end of the speech was that he could not have
any friendship with these people_.
2208. The infinitive is used as the subject (_a._) with impersonal
verbs, (_b._) with #est#, #putātur#, #habētur#, &c., and an abstract
substantive, a genitive, or a neuter adjective in the predicate.
2209. (_a._) Some of the commonest impersonal verbs are #appāret#,
#decet#, #expedit#, #licet#, #lubet#, #oportet#, #praestat#, #pudet#,
#rēfert#. Also in classical Latin, #attinet#, #condūcit#, #cōnstat#,
#dēdecet#, #exsistit#, #fallit#, #interest#, #iuvat#, #liquet#, #obest#,
#paenitet#, #patet#, #pertinet#, #placet#, #displicet#, #prōdest#, which
are used as live verbs by Lucretius and Sallust also. Similarly in
Plautus and Terence #fortasse#.
2210. The infinitive is occasionally used as a subject with verbs other
than the above (2209): as, #nōn cadit invidēre in sapientem#, _TD._ 3,
21, _envy does not square with our ideas of a sage_. #carēre hoc
sīgnificat, egēre eō quod habēre velīs#, _TD._ 1, 88, #careō# _means not
having what you would like to have_.
2211. (_b._) Some of the commonest abstracts used thus with #est# are
#fāma#, #fās# and #nefās#, #fidēs#, #iūs#, #laus#, #opus#, #mōs#,
#tempus#. From Cicero on, #opīniō# and #prōverbium#. In Plautus,
#audācia#, #cōnfīdentia#, #miseria#, #negōtium#, #scelus#, &c. For
genitives, see 1237. Neuter adjectives are such as #aequum#, #inīquum#,
#cōnsentāneum#, #crēdibile#, #incrēdibile#, #manifestum#, #necesse#,
#pār#, #rēctum#, &c., &c.
2212. The accusative is not expressed when it is indefinite, _you_, _a
man_, _a person_, _anybody_, frequently also when it is implied in some
other case in the sentence: as,
#nōn tam praeclārum est scīre Latīnē quam turpe nescīre#, _Br._ 140, _it
is not so creditable to be a Latin scholar as it is disreputable not to
be_. #mihī̆ inter virtūtēs grammaticī habēbitur aliqua nescīre#,
Quintil. 1, 8, 21, _in my eyes it will be one merit in a classical
scholar not to be omniscient_. #temporī cēdere semper sapientis est
habitum#, _Fam._ 4, 9, 2, _bowing to the inevitable has always passed as
a mark of wisdom_. #peccāre licet nēminī#, _Par._ 20, _no man is at
liberty to sin_. An indefinite #hominem#, #aliquem#, or #tē#, is rare:
as, #illa laus est, līberōs hominem ēducāre#, Pl. _MG._ 703, _it is a
crown of glory for a man a family to rear_.
2213. (1.) A predicate noun referring to the unexpressed indefinite
subject of the infinitive is put in the accusative: as,
#nōn esse cupidum pecūnia est, nōn esse emācem vectīgal est, contentum
vērō suīs rēbus esse maximae sunt dīvitiae#, _Par._ 51, _for a man not
to have desires, is money down, not to be eager to buy is an income; but
to be satisfied with what you have is the greatest possible wealth_. A
plural predicate is rare: as, #esset ēgregium domesticīs esse
contentōs#, _O._ 22, _it would be a grand thing for people to be
satisfied with home examples_.
2214. (2.) When the subject of the infinitive is implied in a dative,
a predicate noun may also be in the dative: as,
#mihī̆ neglegentī esse nōn licet#, _Att._ 1, 17, 6, _it will not do for
me to be careless_. With a dative and licet, however, the predicate is
sometimes in the accusative: as, #quod sī cīvī Rōmānō licet esse
Gādītānum#, _Balb._ 29, _now if a Roman is allowed to be a Gaditanian_.
Regularly so, when the subject is indefinite and not expressed (2212):
as, #haec praescrīpta servantem licet magnificē vīvere#, _Off._ 1, 92,
_a man who holds to these rules may live a noble life_.
2215. The infinitive, used as a substantive in the nominative or
accusative, sometimes has a neuter attribute.
Chiefly thus #ipsum#, #hoc ipsum#, #tōtum hoc#: as, #ipsum Latīnē loquī
est in magnā laude pōnendum#, _Br._ 140, _just the mere ability of
talking good Latin is to be accounted highly creditable_. Rarely a
possessive, #meum#, #tuum#: as, #ita tuom cōnfertō amāre nē tibi sit
probrō#, Pl. _Cur._ 28, _so shape thy wooing that it be to thee no
shame_.
[Errata:
2214 ... may also be in the dative: as,
dative. as,
2215 ... used as a substantive in the nominative or accusative,
, missing]