2243. The nominative of the gerundive construction, as the subject of
#sum#, denotes action which is to be done.
The combination acquires the meaning of obligation or propriety, and
this meaning also passes over to the accusative with #esse#. The person
who has the action to do is put in the dative of the possessor (1215).
Instead of the dative, the ablative with #ab# is sometimes used,
particularly where the dative would be ambiguous.
#tibī̆ haec cūra suscipienda est#, _V._ 4, 69, _the undertaking of this
care exists for you_, i.e., _you must undertake this charge_. #Caesarī
omnia ūnō tempore erant agenda: vēxillum prōpōnendum, sīgnum tubā
dandum, ab opere revocandī mīlitēs, aciēs īnstruenda, mīlitēs
cohortandī, sīgnum dandum#, 2, 20, 1, _for Caesar there was everything
to be done at the same moment: the standard to be raised, bugle call
given, soldiers summoned in from their work, line of battle to be
formed, soldiers harangued, signal given for engagement_. #quaerenda
pecūnia prīmum est; virtūs post nummōs#, H. _E._ 1, 1, 53, _there is
money-making to be the first aim: character second to dollars_.
#adeundus mihī̆ illic est homō#, Pl. _R._ 1298, _I must draw near this
fellow_. #Caesar statuit sibī̆ Rhēnum esse trānseundum#, 4, 16, 1,
_Caesar made up his mind that he must cross the Rhine_. #ego istum
iuvenem domī tenendum cēnseō#, L. 21, 3, 6, _for my part, I think that
young man ought to be kept at home_. #ē̆ī ego ā mē referendam grātiam
nōn putem?# _Planc._ 78, _should I not think that I ought to show my
gratitude to him?_ #quid ā mē amplius dīcendum putātis?# _V._ 3, 60,
_what more do you think that I need say?_
2244. #fruendus#, #fungendus#, #potiundus#, #ūtendus#, #vēscendus#, are
also used in this construction, chiefly in the oblique cases; in the
nominative the impersonal construction (2246) is usual. These verbs
sometimes have a transitive use in old Latin (1380).
#nōn paranda nōbīs sōlum ea, sed fruenda etiam est#, _Fin._ 1, 3, _that
is a thing which we must not only obtain, but enjoy as well_, of wisdom.
#nec tamen est potiunda tibī#, O. 9, 754, _she is not to be won by
thee_. Examples of the oblique cases in this use are cited below.
2245. #habeō# with the gerundive, as an equivalent of #est mihī̆#, #est
tibī̆#, &c. (2243), is sometimes found, chiefly in late writers and
particularly in Tacitus: as,
#multī habent in praediīs, quibus frūmentum aut vīnum aliudve quid
dēsit, inportandum#, Varro, _RR._ 1, 16, 2, _many on whose estates corn
or wine or something else is lacking, have to bring it in_. #multum
interest utrumne dē fūrtō dīcendum habeās an dē cīvibus trucīdātīs#, Ta.
_D._ 37, _it makes a great difference whether you have to speak about a
theft or about the murder of Romans_. #sī nunc prīmum statuendum
habērēmus#, Ta. 14, 44, _if we had to decide the point to-day for the
first time_.
2246. The neuter of verbs of intransitive use takes the impersonal
construction with #est#. Verbs ordinarily transitive also take the
impersonal construction when used without an object.
#nunc est bibendum#, H. 1, 37, 1, _now drinking exists_, i.e. _now we
must drink_. #inambulandumst#, Pl. _As._ 682, _I must be moving on_.
#ego amplius dēlīberandum cēnseō#, T. _Ph._ 457, _I opine there must be
more pondering_. #linguae moderandumst mihī̆#, Pl. _Cu._ 486, _I must
check my tongue_. #omne animal cōnfitendum est esse mortāle#, _DN._ 3,
32, _it must be admitted that every living thing is destined to die_.
#nēmō umquam sapiēns prōditōrī crēdendum putāvit#, _V._ 1, 38, _no wise
man ever held that a traitor was to be trusted_.
2247. The impersonal construction with an object in the accusative, is
old-fashioned and rare.
#canēs paucōs habendum#, Varro, _RR._ 1, 21, _one should keep but few
dogs_. #aeternās quoniam poenās in morte timendumst#, Lucr. 1, 111,
_since punishment eterne they have in death to fear_. This construction
occurs oftenest in Lucretius and Varro; once in Plautus, a few times in
Cicero for special reasons, and here and there in later writers. Not in
Caesar or Horace.
2248. The gerundive sometimes acquires, in itself, the meaning of
obligation or propriety, which it properly has only when combined with
#sum#, and becomes a mere adjective, used in any case.
#fōrmā expetendā līberālem virginem#, Pl. _Per._ 521, _a freeborn maid
of shape delectable_. #L. Brūtō, prīncipe huius maximē cōnservandī
generis et nōminis#, _Ph._ 3, 11, _Brutus, the first of this most highly
cherished house and name_. #huic timendō hostī obvius fuī#, L. 21, 41,
4, _I met this dreadful foe_. #Athēnās, multa vīsenda habentīs#, L. 45,
27, 11, _Athens, which contains many sights worth a visit_. For
#volvendus# &c., see 288.
2249. The attributive gerundive (2248), particularly with a negative,
#in-# privative, or #vix#, may denote possibility, like the verbal in
#-bilis#: as,
#labōrēs nōn fugiendōs#, _Fin._ 2, 118, _inevitable labours_. #Polybius,
haudquāquam spernendus auctor#, L. 30, 45, 5, _Polybius, an authority by
no means despicable_. #īnfandum, rēgīna, iubēs renovāre dolōrem#, V. 2,
3, _thou bidst me, queen, rehearse that woe unspeakable_. #vix erat
crēdendum#, 5, 28, 1, _it was hardly credible_. #praedicābile aliquid et
glōriandum ac prae sē ferendum#, _TD._ 5, 49, _something laudable and
vauntable and displayable as well_.
[Errata:
2243 ... i.e., _you must undertake this charge_
, missing
2248 ... _Ph._ 3, 11
3. 11]